Chrysalis sat on her chair at the end of the table while all three alicorns and Anon ate their lunch across from her. She idly considered asking the butler if they had any love to spare for a quick snack, but decided not to and instead sat in silence as the ponies and human around her finished their meals.

Luna gave a tired yawn and looked over to the clock, finding that it was nearing one in the afternoon.

"I suppose I should go get some rest in a moment. The moon will need to be raised in just about five hours and I'd prefer to get some sleep, tonight." She announced, struggling to get out of her chair with her baby bump getting in the way.

"Want me to walk you to the bedroom?" Anon asked, already getting out of his seat.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd come with me for a moment. I have something I must show you before I retire for the afternoon. It should only take a few minutes." She replied, glancing over to her sister.

Celestia, taking the hint, rose from her chair as well, albeit with much more difficulty than her smaller sister, "I will accompany you. I believe I know what Luna wishes to show you." She announced, earning a puzzled look from Twilight and Chrysalis.

"Um, should we wait here?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, please. Anon and I will be back in just a short while. Then we'll discuss more about this Storm King and the threat he poses to Equestria," Celestia replied, before looking to Chrysalis, "We'll also discuss the introduction of your foals to Canterlot. They'll need to be securely transported via royal guard across the border. If luck is on our side, their arrival won't start a panic and fear of another invasion." She offered.

Chrysalis nodded her head, "Thank you. I would offer to send a letter, but..." She trailed off, looking up to the mana ring on her horn.

"Once you earn our trust, we'll take that off. Until then, it stays." Luna responded, firmly.

Chrysalis sighed and turned away from the lunar princess. Luna maintained a glare with the back of her head for a few moments before nodding in satisfaction and turning away.

As he watched the exchange, Anon leaned down to his wife, "Hey, Lulu, ease up just a bit on her. I know she's done bad things, but you don't have to put her down every chance you get." He placatingly suggested.

Luna rolled her eyes, "I am only ensuring the safety of my family, Nonny. Now come, speaking of safety, I have something to give you." She acknowledged, before heading out the throne room doors, Anon and Celestia in tow.

As they progressed through the hallway toward the barracks, Anon made his way up to Luna's side, "So, uh... what's this thing you want to give me?" He asked, curiously.

"It is an item that was made over a thousand years ago. It will ensure your safety while you watch over Chrysalis these coming weeks." Luna replied, glancing back at him.

Celestia strode up to her sister's side as best as she could with her baby bump, "Sister, is this the one we discussed?"

Luna nodded but said nothing. After waiting a moment for an explanation, Anon looked over to the lunar princess expectantly.

"Come with me. We need to go to the armory." Luna announced, before leading the way toward the staircase descending to the barracks.

"Armory?" Anon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It isn't a weapon, if that's what you're thinking, honey." Celestia responded as she followed after her sister.

Anon hurried to catch up and quickly enough the group found themselves walking down the spiral staircase leading down to the armory. Once they reached the bottom of the staircase, they were immediately greeted by the dozens of royal guards all inspecting their weapons or practicing drills on the cobblestone floor. Luna made her way over to the head armorer as she sharpened a sword near the blacksmith forge.

"Sergeant." Luna greeted, walking up to the guardsmare.

The guard instantly set the blade down and jumped to the position of attention. She gave a crisp salute as Anon and Celestia caught up.

"Princesses! Prince Anon! Good afternoon!" The mare returned the greeting, her eyes staring stoically ahead.

"Could you unlock the enchanted weapons room, Sergeant?" Luna asked, returning the salute.

"Of course, Princess!" The mare hastily responded, before turning tail and galloping toward the wall. Anon raised an eyebrow as she placed her hoof on one particular piece of cobblestone, only for both eyebrows to shoot up as the cobblestone slid further into the wall, and the entire section split open. The guard's horn lit up in an amber hue as she pulled the two hidden doors apart, allowing access for the group to enter.

"Many thanks, Sergeant." Luna said, giving a nod to the mare.

"You're very welcome, Princess!" The guard replied, snapping back to the position of attention.

"You may return to your duties, Sergeant. I think we can handle things from here." Luna announced, before leading the way into the room.

"Thank you, princess!" She replied, before trotting back over to her sword.

Anon and Celestia followed Luna into the room, finding that the construction was the polar opposite of the rest of the armory. The floor was hardwood instead of cobblestone, and the walls were constructed of an ebony wood that was sculpted with intricate runes and leylines of purple, blue, orange, yellow, and red magic that spanned the entirety of the room.

There were several tables lining the floor, each with a single weapon suspended in the air and encased in a golden or blue light. Anon's eyes lit up in fascination as he saw several different designs of swords, spears, crossbows, halberds, and even a few axes. Each weapon bore similar leylines to the ones inscribed on the walls, albeit with some slight variation. Anon found himself drawn to the nearest sword, and the Damascus-patterned blue leylines glowing all along its length.

"That was my sword when we fought the griffons." Luna announced, noting where Anon's eyes were focused.

"Holy shit.. that's badass as hell," Anon shook his head, before looking to a spear that glowed with golden light, "Tia, is that one yours?" He asked.

Celestia nodded, "I used that spear for two hundred years. I... must admit, I am still quite fond of it even to this day, even if I strongly oppose violence unless absolutely necessary. Are you sure he'll be able to use it?" She asked, turning to her sister.

"What do you mean? Seems pretty obvious to me." Anon replied, reaching for the spear, only for Luna's magic to halt his hand.

"These weapons are enchanted to our specific magical signatures, Anon. They were enchanted specifically to impair or even kill anything that isn't us. That includes an action as simple as picking them up. It's part of the reason they've been locked away for so long." Luna explained.

Anon slowly stepped back from the spear, "Ah... I see. So... why are we here if I can't even touch any of this then?" He asked, giving her a curious look.

"We're here for this." Luna announced, pointing to a ring that levitated just above a black stand at the end of the room.

The ring was golden in color, but there were leylines of green magical energy seared all along its side in an intricate pattern that swirled and spiraled before coming to an end at the small emerald embedded on the top of the ring. Anon slowly stepped toward the ring while Luna walked beside him. Once they reached the stand it hovered above, she reached out with her hoof and delicately plucked the ring from the invisible force holding it in the air.

Luna turned to Anon, the ring sitting comfortably in the frog of her hoof, "This ring was enchanted by Starswirl the Bearded over a thousand years ago. It absorbs magic and allows the user to harness a large amount of that same magic to use for themselves." She explained.

Celestia quickly made her way over to Anon's side, "Sister, I'm still not sure if this ring is the best option." She asked, a worried frown on her features.

"Yeah, I mean... didn't you just say anything in this room would kill me if I touched it?" Anon asked, holding his hands to his chest and backing away from the ring ever so slowly.

Luna rolled her eyes, "Anon, this ring is the exception to that rule," She replied, before turning to Celestia, "As for your reservations, sister, it's the only artifact we can give him for protection that won't kill him."

Anon visibly relaxed at that while Celestia shook her head, "Even though it won't work properly with Anon's lack of a mana pool and even if it did, he doesn't have any training or knowledge on how to use that magic?"

"His lack of a mana pool is exactly why I'm giving it to him. This way it will work purely as a defensive tool, limiting the potential for him to harm himself or somepony else." Luna rebutted.

Celestia facehoofed, "Sister, you know that Starswirl designed this ring to fight creatures with much less power than Chrysalis. It's a training tool for Faust's sake." She facehoofed.

"A fully powered Chrysalis, maybe," Luna shot back, "But look at her now. She's on the verge of starvation and weaker than a moth. Besides, Anon cannot use any weapon in this room to its full potential either way. The only purpose it will serve is to prevent Chrysalis from casting a spell on him that would ordinarily kill him. It's a defensive tool. It's original purpose may have been for training, but tell me you see a better way to protect Anon anywhere else." She elaborated, fixing her sister with a frown.

Celestia pursed her lips as she looked over the ring still held in Luna's frog. After a few moments to look around the rest of the room and coming up empty, she let out a quiet sigh.

"I... suppose you are correct. I just want to make sure that we leave no room for what we give him to accidentally hurt him." Celestia admitted.

Luna nodded, "As do I. The easiest way to solve this would be to keep Anon in a magical bubble to protect him from anything that would ever threaten him. However, our husband is a strong and independent human. The only thing we can do is ensure he'll be as safe as possible while he's watching over Chrysalis." She replied, looking back to Anon.

"Uh... I am right here, girls." Anon quietly spoke up.

"Indeed you are." Luna replied, levitating the ring over to him with her magic.

Anon looked back and forth between his wives and the ring for a moment. He hesitantly reached out and grabbed it, the feeling of cold gold registering on his fingers as he held the ring up to inspect. Its diameter was just large enough to fit over a small unicorn filly's horn. Coincidentally, that just so happened to be the perfect size for his middle finger. Anon gently slipped the ring onto his finger and balled his hand into a fist as the sensation of the magic's in the ring settled into his skin.

Leylines of green arced from the ring and surged through his arm, mimicking the veins atop his hand as they reached up to his shoulder.

"Oh what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck." Anon muttered, eyeing the glowing green lines trailing up his arm.

"Relax, honey. It's searching for your mana pool. Once it sees that you don't have one, it will simply return to the ring." Luna asserted, holding a placating hoof against Anon's chest.

Anon gave a hesitant nod to his wife before looking back to his arm. Just as she said, the lines of green energy soon faded and returned to the ring, leaving a slight tingling feeling in his flesh as the ring returned to its resting state. Anon once again flexed his fingers and balled his hand into a first, this time with no reaction.

"So, uh... how do we know it'll protect me from magic, then?" Anon asked, giving a confused look to his wives.

Rather than verbally reply, Luna ignited her horn and fired a small blast of ice-blue energy straight at Anon's chest. Out of instinct, Anon held his hands up to block the attack and shut his eyes. However, rather than any kind of impact, he simply felt the ring on his finger tingle slightly. He opened his eyes to find that a green shield enveloped his entire body, stopping the beam of magic in its tracks. The emerald in the center of the ring glowed a bright green light as it absorbed the magic pouring into the shield.

After a few more seconds, Luna cut out the spell, allowing the ring to return to its normal state and the shield to dissipate.

"See? Purely a safeguard against low level attacks." Luna smiled.

Anon shook his hand almost as if to confirm his fingers still worked, before fixing Luna with a wide smile, "Alright, not gonna lie, that's cool as fuck." He said.

Luna smirked, "I'm glad you like it. The green suits you," She replied, before looking over to Celestia, "I do believe that we've done all we can to prepare him. Frightening as it is for us, we cannot halt Anon's progress as a prince." She announced, a tired look in her eyes.

Celestia slowly nodded, "I... you're right, Lulu," She said, before turning to Anon, "We'll always be near, if you need us to help with Chrysalis." She said, a small smile forming on her muzzle.

Anon beamed, "Thanks, girls. I love you." He said, pulling them both into a hug.

After happily returning the hug for a few moments, Luna pulled away and let out a tired yawn.

"I do believe that I should go to sleep. I have to conduct night court tonight and I'd rather not fall asleep during any pony's plea." She announced.

"Alright, hun. You get some sleep. I'll join you for a bit tonight." Anon replied, leaning in and kissing Luna.

Luna gladly returned the kiss, but quickly gasped and pulled away, a shocked expression on her face.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, looking down to her barrel.

"What? What is it?" Anon quickly questioned as he and Celestia both leaned in to see where the lunar princess was looking.

"I felt a kick just then!" Luna answered, a beaming smile on her face.

"Really!? Anon and Celestia both exclaimed.

Anon instantly placed both hands on different parts of Luna's belly while Celestia nuzzled her sister. Anon fervently searched for any kind of movement for almost a minute. Then, he felt it. A distinct kick that almost pressed perfectly against his hand and made Luna gasp again.

"Oh my God! I felt it!" Anon beamed, his eyes lighting up in excitement.

"As did I." Luna chuckled, kissing Anon's cheek before sharing a kiss with her sister.

"It seems the little one is getting restless." Celestia teased, as she pulled away from Luna.

"Either that, or demanding I get off my hooves and let them rest." Luna giggled.

Anon quickly got back up to his full height and scratched behind Luna's ear, "Well then, you'd better get to bed, hun. I'll see you tonight." He offered a warm smile.

Luna nodded, "Agreed. I wish you both a pleasant evening. I will see you tonight." She replied, giving her sister and Anon one more nuzzle before pulling away and teleporting out of the room.

Anon shook his head and tapped his fingers against his thigh as he stared at the spot Luna vanished from, "I really wish she wouldn't teleport when pregnant. What if something goes wrong?" He worried.

Celestia laughed, "Oh, Nonny. Luna and I have been teleporting for centuries. It's like second nature to us. Besides, teleportation spells of today are filled with so many safety matrixes and protection wards that hurting oneself or even one's foal is impossible." She explained, turning for the exit.

"I know, I know. It's still just crazy to me that you guys do it so... frivolously, when you're this late into a pregnancy. I'm sure Luna will be fine, but I'm not so sure about the foal..." He trailed off, turning to follow her.

Celestia unfurled a wing and pulled him into a hug, "Honey, the foals will be fine. Mares have been teleporting while pregnant for the last thousand years at least. You worry too much." She said in a soothing voice.

Anon huffed, "Yeah, but were any of them pregnant with a nonmagical creature's baby?" He asked, a hint of worry working its way into his voice as they made their way out of the room.

The large stone doors closed behind them, sealing the room off and removing any trace of the room having been there at all. As they walked out of the armory, Celestia rolled her tongue in her mouth, her wing still squeezing Anon tightly against her barrel, and by extension, her baby bump. The contact brought a soothing sensation to Anon's heart as he felt the contact and the life growing inside on of the mares he loved.

"While it hasn't happened before, I'm sure that everything will be fine. Our doctors have said that the foals are healthy at every check-up we've gone through. If anything, they're growing slightly faster than normal. I'm sure that they'll be perfectly healthy when they're born." Celestia offered, giving Anon a disarming smile.

As they made their way to the staircase, Anon stared into his wife's eyes, finding only honestly in her beautiful magenta irises. He soon found himself smiling softly at just the sight of her and the way her eyes managed to convey such calm and optimism. It made his heart flutter in his chest and he soon found himself sighing in contentment.

"Alright, alright. I'll try to not worry so much about it. I just want to be sure you, Luna, and the foals are gonna be safe, is all." He responded as they reached the stairs.

Celestia nuzzled his chest, "And I love you so much for that. Here I was, starting to think you just liked us being burdened with all the foal-weight." She teased, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

Anon scoffed in amusement, "Now, while that would be hot as hell, I imagine it's playing hell with your back and shoulders."

Celestia instantly threw her head back, "Oh, you have no bucking idea, honey. Faust's sake, my hooves are killing me and my back feels like it's broken." She whined, leaning more of her weight against him.

Anon chuckled as he wrapped his arm around the solar princess and helped her ascend the stairs, "Well don't worry, hun. Even though it might have given my dirty talk a boost, you won't be pregnant forever. Just another month and you can pop the little munchkin out."

Celestia nuzzled her cheek against his chest and let out a sigh of contentment as they made their way up the stairs. Within a few minutes, they were walking back through the hallway leading back to the throne room, still practically attached to each other.

"Just promise me one thing, honey." Celestia said, drawing Anon's eyes down to her as they approached the throne room doors.

"Anything." He replied.

"Just promise me that you'll be careful around Chrysalis. I want to give her a chance, I really do... but I still worry." Celestia sighed, finally breaking the contact between them.

Anon nodded, "Don't worry. I will. I get why you don't trust her, and to be honest, neither do I... but I also feel like she's done a lot to show that she's serious."

"I agree. Like I said, she deserves a second chance, but I still don't trust her." Celestia replied, nodding toward the guards to open the doors.

Anon watched as Celestia lowered the sun below the horizon, the blood red waves of light mixing with the orange hues of the setting sun and the deep violet of the skyline. The mirage of color was only eclipsed in beauty by the creature bending nature to her will, just before him, and he couldn't help the soft smile that crossed his features as he quietly observed the bright golden light fade from her horn, and a soft sigh escape her lips.

"There we go. The rest is up to Luna when she wakes up." Celestia smiled, turning to Anon.

"That never gets old." Anon stated, his his shaking in amazement.

Celestia dismissively waved a hoof at him, "Oh, you've been saying that for months." She blushed.

"Cause it's been true for months." Anon replied, factually.

Celestia playfully rolled her eyes as she bumped her flanks against his hips, urging him to follow her. He quickly followed back inside and they immediately found themselves in the the war room once more.

"-so as far as we can tell, the Storm King isn't making any moves to attack Equestria just yet, but he is searching for powerful magical artifacts for his eventual attack on the capital. From what we've gathered on him, his goal is complete world domination. It stands to reason that Equestria is merely a stepping stone in his conquest, but make no mistake, he has made quite public plans to attack and enslave Equestria just like he did with Abyssinia." Chrysalis finished explaining, pointing to a few miniature battlements on the table, meant to represent the Storm King's forces.

Twilight and Captain Valorant both observed and scrutinized the war table before them. Angular, black pieces, meant to represent the Storm King's forces littered the lower half of the board, while more colorful pieces, meant to represent Equestria and her allies, covered the Northern and Eastern section.

"If these are his current troop positions, then it's unlikely he'll even try anything for at least a year or so. Abyssinia has no magical artifacts to speak of, and Kludgetown is just some backwater dump. Assuming this intel is good, we really don't have to worry about him for quite a while. His fleet is only a few dozen vessels strong and with no real way to defend them from magic yet... we have four alicorns that could vaporize it if they needed to." Valorant explained, shaking her head.

"I'll have to agree with the Captain. The Storm King doesn't have the fleet strength to even attack our Southern border with any measure of success at the moment. In the meantime, we can bolster our defenses and prepare accordingly for when he is in a position to attack." Twilight added, nodding to Valorant.

"Don't underestimate his commander. She's ruthless." Chrysalis cautioned.

"The unicorn with a broken horn?" Valorant scoffed, "I'd take her down in thirty seconds, max. Hit her with telekinesis and then two mana bolts and she'd be out of the fight for good."

Chrysalis shook her head, "She's taken down creatures stronger than you, Captain."

Valorant rolled her eyes while Twilight eyed the table, "Well, we'll just have to plan accordingly then. We've got a massive early warning thanks to you, Chrysalis, so we have time to bolster our defenses to the south and prepare for this Commander Tempest Shadow." She announced, giving a nod to the changeling queen.

"Sounds like we have a plan then," Celestia chimed in, making her way toward the doorway, "I'll head to bed for the night. Luna should be here to look these over in an hour or so."

"Sounds good, Princess." Valorant replied, readorning her helmet with her magic.

"Have a good night, Princess. I'll see you tomorrow." Twilight called as Celestia made for the exit, receiving a smile and nod in return.

Anon followed after his wife, but paused upon noticing Chrysalis as she stared out the window, her expression as unreadable as it could be in the fading light.

"Chrysalis? You wanna head to bed?" Anon asked, curiously.

"I'll escort her to her room." Valorant announced, turning to the changeling queen.

However, Chrysalis shook her head and appeared to struggle to find her words. Even Celestia froze mid-step, a worried look appearing on her muzzle at the sudden change in the Changeling Queen's demeanor.

"Chrysalis?" Anon asked, genuine concern filling his voice as he stepped toward her.

For a moment, she simply didn't respond. Her brow furrowed as she finally found her words.

"I've given you the information I promised... Now I need you to uphold your end of the bargain... please." She mumbled, her voice filled with uncharacteristic hesitation.

"Chrysalis... Canterlot isn't ready yet..." Celestia tried, in vain, to say anything else.

Anon quickly looked back and forth between his wife and the Changeling Queen, "Is... is there anything we can do now?" He hesitantly asked.

Celestia dipped her head in thought while Chrysalis fell to her haunches, "They... they need love. Desperately. This can't wait any longer." She muttered, a pleading look crossing her muzzle.

After several seconds of painful silence, Celestia turned to Valorant, "Captain, send word to Colonel LionHeart. Tell her to prep the First Expeditionary Force for immediate departure to the Badlands." She ordered, receiving a hasty salute before Valorant galloped out of the room.

"The First Expeditionary Force?" Twilight questioned as Chrysalis turned to look to Celestia.

"We'll need the airships," Celestia responded, before looking down to Chrysalis, "If you tell me where to send it, I can send a letter to your hive. Write to them and tell them that we will meet them at the border of the Badlands and Equestria." She instructed, levitating a parchment and quill over to Chrysalis.

Hesitantly taking the offered paper and quill, Chrysalis gave Celestia an unsure look, "Thank you, but... what of the ponies?" She asked.

"We'll win them over later. For right now, I wish to see your hive for myself. You've been truthful with us so far, but I need to see for myself. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." Celestia replied, firmly.

Time to meet the hive, eh?
Hope you guys liked that one. It was a bit of a doozy to get out right but I think it turned out okay. There are some funny shenanigans coming soon but we do need to actually move the plot forward every once in a while, don't we?