Chrysalis blearily opened her crusty eyes to the first rays of morning sunshine as they beamed in through her window and directly onto her face. She let out a long, drawn out groan as she rolled over to try to halt the process of actually waking up just a few more minutes. Her head throbbed, and although she didn't feel hungry for the first time in months, she was sore all over. Her wither, her forelegs, her hooves, and even her neck felt as if they'd carried her a hundred miles the previous night.

"I... am going to get Anon back for this..." Chrysalis muttered, massaging her temples in an attempt to help deal with her pounding headache.

Sluggishly rolling over to her side and off of the bed, her hooves met the floor with a *clop* and she made her way over to the bathroom to rinse off any grime from the night prior. Upon stepping into the bathroom and glancing over at the vanity mirror, she nearly gave a start at the sight of herself in the mirror. She was still a white unicorn mare, standing at what would normally be wither-height for her.

"No wonder I feel so gross and groggy..." Chrysalis shook her head, an act which made her headache instantly worse.

She walked over to the shower and washed herself, before stepping out and drying off. Despite her hangover and little sleep, she completed the task of cleaning up with militaristic efficiency, and walked over to the door of her bedroom in just five minutes' time. Upon opening the door leading outside, she was met with the two guards standing on either side.

"Good morning, your Highness." One of the guards greeted.

"Princess Luna and Prince Anon asked to speak with you in the throne room as soon as you were awake and ready." The second added.

Chrysalis nodded, "Thank you." She replied, before leaving the bedroom and making her way over to the throne room.

She passed several guards along the way, almost all of them giving a nod of acknowledgement or a curt greeting, to which she curtly replied. She passed through several hallways, the morning light spilling in through glass-paned windows that illuminated every square inch of the path before her. With a quick glance outside, she confirmed that the sun was just over the horizon.

"Can't be later than eight or nine in the morning..." Chrysalis thought aloud.

Soon enough, she reached the throne room doors and was swiftly granted entry. Upon stepping into the throne room, however, she found that both Luna and Anon were asleep, on a velvet couch that she vividly remembered seeing in a guest room when she was impersonating Cadence. Anon was spooning his pregnant wife, his hand resting comfortably on her baby bump while her tail was wrapped around his leg. Before she could even ask, Celestia addressed her from her throne.

"Chrysalis, is that you?" Celestia asked, sounding a bit unsure.

Beside her, Twilight quickly got to her hooves and walked over to the human and lunar alicorn to wake them.

"She fits the description Luna gave before going to sleep with Anon." Twilight offered over her wither as she reached Anon and Luna.

Chrysalis slowly nodded, "It's me... a-apologies for not informing you about changing but-" Chrysalis began, only for Celestia to hold up a hoof to silence her.

"It's quite alright, Chrysalis. Anon already told us about what happened last night. You both made the front page of the paper, by the way." Celestia explained, levitating a newspaper over to Chrysalis with her magic.

Chrysalis accepted the paper in her hooves and looked down at the front page, finding that there was a picture of both her and Anon mid-dance and surrounded by hundreds of other ponies cheering them on.

Chrysalis's brow creased as she read the first paragraph. She looked up to Celestia just in time to watch the solar alicorn ignite her horn and wrap her magic around the ring attached to her own horn. A few moments passed before the ring clicked and detached from her, allowing the changeling queen to feel her magic once more.

"You can change back now, if you'd like. I assume it must be costing you some amount of love or magic to maintain that form." Celestia nodded.

Chrysalis transformed back into her normal form with a flash of green flames, before the ring was securely attached to her horn once more. She frowned ever so slightly at the sudden return and subsequent removal of her magical ability, but said nothing as Celestia smiled at her again.

"Even if it was a bit sooner than anticipated, I thank you for not betraying Anon's trust last night, or mine right now." Celestia gratefully acknowledged.

Chrysalis half smiled, "Maybe I'm not so bad once you get to know me?" She shrugged.

Celestia chuckled as Chrysalis set the paper down. Simultaneously, Twilight roused Luna and Anon from their sleep. While Luna quickly shot up, alertness and concern instantly bleeding into her features as she hopped off of the couch, Anon struggled to even open his eyes. He clung to Luna's mane and tried to cover his eyes with it as the mare attempted to step away from the couch.

"Come on, Anon. Get up." Twilight ordered, using her magic to usher him into a sitting position.

"Ughghgg." Anon whined, fighting to stay down on the couch, but failing with each attempt.

"Nonny, honey you need to get up now." Luna comforted, leaning over to nuzzle her husband.

While the gesture was comforting and clearly appreciated, Anon simply held his head in his hands and leaned against Luna's wither for support.

"My brain... is being squeezed... by a vice..." Anon mumbled, his eyes tightly shut the entire time.

Anon struggled to sit up, let along stand and even with Luna's help, he found his legs simply giving out from under him. A worried frown forced its way to Chrysalis's face as she observed, prompting her to speak up after nearly thirty seconds of watching him struggle.

"Um, I believe this might be my fault. You should let Prince Anon rest. I... may have syphoned too much love from him last night." Chrysalis admitted, casting a worried glance over to the sun princess.

"How much love did you drink?" Luna questioned, looking to Anon as he laid back down and covered his head with his hands.

Chrysalis looked down in shame, "More... more than I should have. If there was a way to return it, I would immediately."

"Is he going to be okay?" Celestia demanded, pushing herself out of her throne.

"He'll be fine. It's just a combination of all the alcohol as well as the exhaustion from how much love he gave me. He just needs lots of liquids and rest." Chrysalis hastily explained.

Both royal alicorns gave her what she could only assume was a skeptical glare, before Anon spoke up.

"She's... right... my fault... didn't stop her until like... two in the morning... ugh." Anon muttered, curling into the fetal position.

"He's worse now then when you two returned." Luna frowned, gently laying her wing over Anon's frame. The comfort and warmth of the soft appendage instantly registered against his skin, and Anon let out a pleasant sigh as he snuggled under it.

"It's... usually the worst after waking up the next day. Unless you drain a creature completely, then it hits all at once. I made sure to only take little bites of love throughout the night... but I suppose they added up." Chrysalis explained.

Celestia's frown softened slightly, "So it's essentially a hangover? A hangover combined with the hangover he already has from the alcohol?"

Chrysalis nodded.

Celestia sighed, "I see. We'll make this quick and then Luna can take him to bed. Sister?" She announced, turning to the smaller alicorn.

"Right, so firstly, Anon explained it a little to me last night, but both of you were largely incoherent. What happened last night? Why did Anon take your ring off and let you transform?" Luna questioned.

"The night started a little rough... ponies were terrified of me and didn't want to be anywhere near me. It slowly got better, but they still didn't want anything to do with me. After we went to the Pillars, Prince Anon offered to let me change into a pony so that the night would go on without so many ponies being afraid of me." Chrysalis responded.

Celestia gave an almost imperceptible nod, "I see. I can assume how you two ended up on the front page of the newspaper, but what I still fail to understand is your demeanor when you returned." She replied.

"My... demeanor? I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be more specific." Chrysalis tilted her head to the side.

"You were wantonly sniffing Anon's groin like a harlot, Chrysalis." Luna deadpanned.

Chrysalis blanched, "Oh..."

"You said a few choice words about his 'musk' and getting into bed with him. Ring any bells?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

Chrysalis sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, "I... see. I can explain that."

"Do tell." Celestia spoke up.

Chrysalis wasn't quite sure, but she could scarcely detect the faintest hint of amusement from the solar alicorn.

"Well... I was intoxicated... with love." Chrysalis answered.

"Intoxicated?" Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. When changelings drink too much love, especially after being on the verge of starvation as I was, it can cause a changeling to become... well, a bit flirtatious." Chrysalis elaborated.

"That was a bit beyond flirtatious." Luna shook her head.

Chrysalis cringed, "As I said... I drank a lot of Prince Anon's love. The more of one creatures love I consume... the more attracted to that one creature I can become. Combine that with the fact that last night was more love than I've consumed in over a year and well... I wasn't in control of myself when I returned last night. I apologize for that." She finished, bowing her head slightly.

Celestia and Luna considered her answer for a few moments before sharing a nod. Twilight wore a calculating look on her face as she scribbled notes into a parchment.

"I see... interesting. Too much love and Changelings can get drunk like ponies can on alcohol. Very interesting." Twilight muttered to herself as she scribbled.

"I... suppose that's an acceptable answer." Celestia nodded.

"I didn't do anything with your husband, if that's what you're concerned about, Princess. I may have been out of my mind a bit, but I wasn't so far gone as to do anything sexual." Chrysalis hastily added.

Both Celestia and Luna chuckled, prompting Chrysalis to tilt her head to the side in confusion, "Oh, we know nothing like that happened. Anon can handle his liquor surprisingly well and both Kiowa and Top Heavy already confirmed that for me. We just wanted to know if that was some kind of 'spur of the moment' endeavor or if you were actually developing feelings for Anon." Celestia dismissively waved her hoof.

"Ah, I... see." Chrysalis replied.

That makes sense. It's not like I actually like him or anything like that... right? Chrysalis thought to herself, her cheeks heating up slightly as she looked over to Anon.

"Now, onto the second reason I brought you here," Luna announced, before bowing her head in shame, "I made a grave error last night and I seek your help to rectify it. I tried to bring it up to you last night but you were so incoherent that we decided to let you sleep it off before I brought it up to you."

Chrysalis gave her a blank look, "Um, w-what kind of grave error?" She hesitantly asked.

"Last night, I entered the dream realm. I was... unaware that changelings could dream and when I entered one, I assumed it was a pony's dream. I... I helped that changeling's nightmare kill them in the dream. I wish to atone for that mistake and help this changeling however I can." Luna admitted, a pained look of regret on her features.

Chrysalis took a step back, an unsure look on her face, "I... don't understand. You didn't know changelings could dream?" She replied.

Luna looked to the floor as she shook her head, "I just... assumed your kind couldn't. I've never seen a changeling's dream in my entire life until last night."

Chrysalis pursed her lips as her head dipped in thought, "No... I suppose you wouldn't have." She muttered.

Luna tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"My throne. Back in my hive. It negates all magic except for changeling transformation magic. That would include your dream magic as well." Chrysalis answered.

Luna's eyes widened in shock, "You mean... this whole time your hive has been able to dream? I just couldn't see it?" She asked in disbelief.

Chrysalis nodded, "Yes. And now that they're here in Canterlot, you're going to be able to see all of their dreams."

"I, b-but... what about all of the changelings you've sent to infiltrate Equestria in the past? Why haven't I seen any of their dreams?" Luna questioned.

Chrysalis apologetically shrugged, "If I had to guess, I'd assume that you just missed them. There were only ever a few changelings in Equestria at any point in time in the last several centuries. You have millions of ponies to look after every night. It's reasonable to assume that you just simply didn't notice them."

Luna sat on her haunches, her muzzle scrunched up as she deeply pondered the implications of what Chrysalis was saying. She shook her head in disbelief before glancing over to her sister, finding the solar alicorn looking down to her with a look of concern.

"Luna-" Celestia began.

"All this time... I thought that they couldn't dream and yet... they were right under my muzzle." Luna muttered, cutting her sister off.

"T-there was no way you could have known, Luna. Like Chrysalis said, there were only a few changelings in Equestria at a time. Even you can't search every single dream every night." Twilight offered, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Where is he now?" Luna asked, suddenly.

"Who?" Chrysalis, Twilight, and Celestia asked in unison.

"The changeling who's nightmare I entered." Luna answered.

"I don't suppose you caught their name?" Chrysalis responded.

Luna shook her head, "I didn't, but I know what they look like. I need to see them. I need to fix this." She declared.

Chrysalis curiously raised an eyebrow, "Why? It's just a dream? Changelings have been having bad dreams for millennia. It's not like you actually killed them."

Luna let out a sigh, "I take dreams very seriously, Chrysalis. They're my domain and the negative effects they can have on the dreamers psyche are not to be underestimated."

Chrysalis pursed her lips, "I don't think you're giving my changelings enough credit. If you don't even know what their name is then it's going to be hard to narrow it down either way. Changelings aren't just going to leap forward if I go around asking if any have had a particularly bad nightmare recently." She rebutted.

"Chrysalis, when you surrendered to us, you and all of your subjects became Equestrian subjects. Ponies are protected in the waking moments of the day as well as the quiet moments of their slumber. Please... let me extend this curtesy to your changelings as well. I only wish to atone for my mistake." Luna declared, stepping toward the changeling queen with authority.

Chrysalis held her gaze for a moment before letting out a huff, "Alright. If you're so set on this, then can you at least give me a description of what the changeling looked like? I sensed a few negative emotions throughout my hive last night but it's impossible to pinpoint this specific changeling without a description or name."

Luna almost vigorously nodded, "They had chitin almost as black as yours, and cerulean blue eyes. They had a dark turquoise elytra and were male. I... didn't see any other identifying features, but their voice was soft and meek. Nothing quite as aggressive as your general, Pharynx."

Chrysalis nodded, the description painting a picture in her mind, "One more question, what exactly was he dreaming about?"

"It was the invasion last year. They were in the guards' locker room downstairs. I... am unsure of who exactly they were but there were two dark creatures chasing him." Luna explained.

"Thestrals?" Chrysalis questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Luna nodded, "I assume so, although I am not one hundred percent certain."

Chrysalis returned the nod, "I think I know who your dreamer is, Princess."

"Who!?" Luna questioned.

"Thorax. I can take you to him now, if you want." Chrysalis answered.

"Thorax... I see," Luna muttered to herself, almost as if testing the name out to see if it sounded right on her tongue, "I will fix my mistake, Thorax. I swear it," She quietly declared to herself, before looking back up to Chrysalis, "Yes, please take me to him now."

"Are you sure don't want to handle this after you rest, sister? I know Anon keeps saying it but he is right... you can't push yourself too hard these next couple of weeks." Celestia spoke up, concern emanating from her voice.

Luna snorted, "Rest? Sister, I couldn't possibly rest right now. All I would be thinking about as I laid awake for the next six hours would be fixing my mistake. I'm doing this now so I can rest." She declared.

Celestia quietly sighed and shook her head in amusement, "I see. Well do try to take it easy. I will let Anon rest beside me until he is ready to wake up." She replied, igniting her horn and levitating Anon's sleeping form over to her throne.

Luna gave a grateful nod before turning to Chrysalis, "Lead the way, Chrysalis."

Chrysalis gave a single nod, "Follow me."

Luna followed Chrysalis down the staircase leading to the cave entrance at the base of Canterlot Castle. Top and Kiowa followed closely behind the lunar alicorn, their steely gaze locked on the back of Chrysalis's head as if she would turn and lash out at their princess at a moments notice. The group's arrival took longer than expected, due largely in part to Luna's bloated belly slowing her down most of the way. Even despite her stubbornness, she found herself struggling to keep pace with Chrysalis and needing to stop to rest at the entrance to the caves.

"Are you alright?" Chrysalis asked, looking over her wither to the huffing princess behind her.

"I'm... perfectly... fine..." Luna managed through her heavy breathing.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow but said nothing, instead opting to turn and nod toward the encampments below, "My changelings are down there. Would you rather fly down there or teleport? Teleporting is faster." She offered.

"I know which is faster, thank you very much." Luna deadpanned, before igniting her horn and teleporting the entire group down to the encampment below.

The group appeared with a resounding *pop*, startling the present changelings and making several of them jump. Chrysalis eyed Luna curiously as the pregnant alicorn huffed and panted from the spell, even her guards leaning in to make sure she was okay.

"Perhaps you should lay off the spells until your foal is born. You're a bit too weak to be throwing out teleportation spells left and right." Chrysalis cautioned, looking to Luna with a level of concern.

"I... am fine. It was nothing I am not... used to," Luna replied, before looking up at the group of changelings before her, "Where is Thorax?" She asked, looking to Chrysalis.

Chrysalis hesitantly nodded, "He's this way. Follow me." She instructed, before turning and leading the way through her changelings.

While the changeling living quarters were hastily constructed, they were still somewhat expertly made and cozy. The accommodations included dozens of makeshift houses with all necessary facilities like bathrooms or kitchens and even living rooms in some of them. The buildings were melded into the crystal walls, almost appearing to be made of crystal themselves.

Luna eyed the royal construction team's work with approval. Each structure bore many resemblances to an apartment complex, allowing up to seven floors of rooms for changelings to live in. The rooms were fairly spartan, having only the basic accommodates, but changelings were already making the rooms their own with various trinkets or pieces of artwork that they'd collected over their lifetimes.

Even though they were hastily constructed, the were still more than enough to house the literal thousands of changelings standing around, wondering just what the lunar princess of Equestria was doing before them. Some of the gathered changelings chittered amongst themselves, worried frowns on their faces as they observed the panting pregnant alicorn.

Regardless of their feelings toward the alicorn before them, all of the changelings present bowed before their queen and one of the rulers of Equestria, receiving a nod of acknowledgment in return for their efforts. Chrysalis fixed them with a confident look, honed from centuries of rulership.

"I need Thorax to report here immediately." Chrysalis announced, looking to the crowd before her.

The many changelings instantly bowed and chittered amongst themselves, a few of them rushing off to retrieve the aforementioned changeling. Luna eyed them curiously for a few moments before looking over to Chrysalis.

"This should only take a minute. Thorax is one of the more meek and quiet types." Chrysalis replied to Luna's unspoken question.

They each have their own personalities... I really have been completely wrong about changelings this entire time, haven't I? Luna questioned to herself.

After a few minutes of waiting, the group of changelings before them parted enough to allow a single changeling to walk through, a worried frown on his features as he arrived before the princess of the night.

"Is this Thorax?" Luna questioned, looking back and forth between Chrysalis and the changeling.

Chrysalis nodded, "It is," She replied, before turning to Thorax, "Present yourself before the Princess of Equestria." She ordered,

Thorax immediately complied, rushing forward and bowing before both Chrysalis and Luna.

"Yes, my Queen!" He replied, his face just barely an inch above the ground.

"You may rise. Princess Luna wishes to speak with you." Chrysalis replied, casually ushering the drone to stand up.

Thorax quickly willed himself to stand tall before the lunar alicorn, even though his appearance and the fact that he was shaking clearly indicated that he was absolutely terrified.

"Thorax, I wish to speak with you about your nightmare last night." Luna explained, offering the most sympathetic look she could.

While she couldn't be one hundred percent sure, the changeling standing before her certainly did look like the changeling from the dream realm just the night prior. Still, she felt a worried feeling in her gut as she looked into the compound eyes of the changeling before her.

"The... nightmare?" Thorax tilted his head to the side, before a worried look immediately plastered itself on his face, "Oh, um... you saw that..." He mumbled.

Luna nodded, "Indeed. I wish to atone for my mistakes in your dream last night. Will you hear an old mare out?" She asked.

Well I don't know about you, but I would love to have Luna to make sure my dreams are always nice and not filled with nightmares.

I suppose bonding with the changeling hive is a very good thing for Equestrian/Changeling relations, huh?