Night had fallen on Equestria, and in the Crystal Empire, the citizens were falling asleep. In the Crystal Palace, the group of ponies, dragon and changeling were also bedding down for the night. A thestral guard had shown up sometime before sunset, but had not taken his post until around 10pm. Now, he was standing watch in the room.
Upon entering, Twilight Sparkle pulled him to the side and advised him to be cautious of his actions in regards to Thorax, but the guard leaned in for a whisper and told her of the arrangements he was to respect for the evening. This both surprised and pleased her, and she resumed preparing to bed down for the night.
"Um, princess", Thorax asked Twilight,"He's not going to be 'extra protective' while we're asleep, is he?"
"No, Thorax", Twilight answered him,"He was instructed only to act if you performed an action that could undeniably be deemed malicious, so tossing and turning in your sleep isn't going to cause him to try and subdue you." She then placed a hoof on his withers and advised him to try and get a good night's sleep.
It was approaching midnight and the other four in the room were already fast asleep. Thorax was still awake, his mind restless with thoughts about what would happen the next day.
Would the princesses judge him fairly, or would they allow the events of Canterlot cloud their judgement? Only time would tell, and it was drawing out slower than molasses in winter.
The thought made Thorax lick his lips; He could eat and digest small amounts of real food, and molasses had become a favorite in his journey outside the hive. Of course, food didn't provide the nourishment that only love could provide him. A part of him cursed the divine spirits for placing him in the wrong body.
Thorax looked out the window and saw the night sky, appreciating the constellations that called it home, as well as the large moon residing there as well. He recalled the panic in the hive when the face of said moon suddenly changed; apparently, they had been unaware of an alicorn princess being banished there and returning after a millennia. Some of the others in the hive called it a sign of end times. How right they almost were in that assessment.
Fatigue finally set in, and Thorax drifted off to sleep.
Princess Luna had finished with the night court and was retiring to her private chambers for her next duty: dreamwalking. The task was more appreciated since her return, as she used her influence to help her subjects with troublesome nightmares. It pleased the lunar princess to see ponies relieved of their troubles and to offer her guidance in resolving the problems that brought on these dreams.
She moved to a set of doors in the back of her room and opened them, revealing a winding staircase going up into a tower. Traveling upwards, she then entered a room that she seldom used. Tonight, she had need of it.
The chamber had a dome decorated with various symbols of the night sky, such as constellations and her namesake satellite. In addition, several metal supports holding up the roof were adorned with large quartz crystals, embedded with veins of gold and impregnated with countless jewels of gemstones. On the floor was a transmutation circle with several strange symbols, and at the center was an incantation:
Beyond this gate is a world of both fantasy and reality. To pass through, one must provide both sources of life, and still their mind.
Though the incantation would baffle most ponies, Luna and her sister had figured out the secret long ago. Grasping a pitcher of water and a bowl of soil, she moved to the center and closed her eyes, stilling her thoughts as she first laid out a heart shape in the center of the circle, and then pouring some water from the pitcher onto it. The now wet soil began to glow a bluish white and dissolved into a portal that encompassed the whole circle. Once it was finished, Luna allowed herself to fall inside it.
Thorax had been having a dream. In it, he was back in the changeling hive. He had apparently returned there after failing to find any creature in Equestria to befriend him. Other changelings were openly mocking him for his attempt at what they were sure was the impossible. Thorax held his head low as he made his way back to his nesting burrow, but he found it no longer existed once getting there. Confused, he looked for his brother Pharynx to find out what happened. As he wandered through the hive to find him, he was being stalked by a group of changelings intent on teaching him a lesson.
Princess Luna walked through the dream realm, looking at the dreams of ponies slumbering in her and her sister's nation. Most dreamt peaceful and happy thoughts, but others were troubled by burdens. She recalled her purpose here this evening, which also recalled a thought about the events after Canterlot.
Ponies in the new capital city had been terrified of the changelings for quite a while after. Most had been foals that had the unfortunate luck to see their parents captured and taken away. Fortunately, due to Cadance and Shining Armor's actions that day, no pony was abducted from the city.
That, however, didn't stop the flood of dreams that Princess Luna had to deal with. Foals, when frightened enough, could be inconsolable and unwilling to accept what was assuredly the truth. It had taken a while, but eventually the princess had convinced them that they were only bad dreams, and that they would find everything okay when they awoke.
In the present moment, she was looking for the dreams of one specific creature: the changeling in the Crystal Empire. She had to search for quite some time, but eventually found the dreams of crystal ponies, and followed them. Some had dreamed of another invasion by King Sombra, but those were easy enough to dispel. Most dreams were good, and she had no need to intervene.
A few more moments of searching and she was suddenly confronted with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Looking around, she then saw a dark cloud floating off in the distance. A lump formed in her throat. "That looks like the Tantabus" she thought to herself. She kicked off into the air and sailed on her wings to see what the dark cloud was.
Thorax had rounded a corner and was confronted by a group of changelings, all of them with a look of murderous intent in their eyes. Turning around, he found another group, and a realization that he was trapped between them.
"Uh, guys?", he questioned them,"What's going on?"
One changeling stepped forward and gave Thorax an uppercut. Thorax let out a pained yelp and fell to the floor. Immediately, several changelings surrounded him and began to kick him fiercely. Thorax had time enough to only cover himself as best he could.
"Traitor!" one of the changelings shouted.
"Coward!" called out another.
"Weakling!" came a third.
A cacophony of other voices called out at Thorax as he tried to protect himself from the onslaught of attacks. "Please", he thought to himself,"someling please help me!"
Luna was standing outside the dark cloud now. It wasn't Tantabus, but it was most certainly a night terror. She wondered who could be having such a terrible nightmare, and looked down to check the pony in question. To her shock, it was not a pony, but a hole riddled, black chitin coated, white fanged facsimile of a pony. She had found the changeling, and he was having a night terror. Acting on instinct, she put her horn to the cloud and stepped inside.
Thorax was still receiving blows from the group of changelings. He was now sobbing from both the physical attack as well as the terrible things being said to him. He hoped that there was someling there to help him. Perhaps his brother would chase them all off?
At that moment, Pharynx stepped forward, looking at the group who was surrounding his brother. Thorax looked up to see the purplish eyes of his clutchmate. "Oh, Pharynx", he called out to him,"I'm so glad to see y-OWW!"
Pharynx had walked over and gave Thorax a kick in the mouth. "SILENCE TRAITOR!" he shouted as he began to rain blows on him. Thorax tried to stand and run, but the changelings beat him down and kept him from making an escape. Pharynx continued his assault, slamming his hooves into Thorax's face.
Princess Luna found herself in a place that seemed rather alien to her. The bluish-grey walls resembled a natural cave, but were clearly made deliberately. From what she could see, there were openings in the walls that likely led to various passages and chambers. However, she also noticed these openings literally opened and shut at random intervals. She had thought that perhaps she had stumbled into some sort of prank being perpetuated by Discord, but a swarm of changelings buzzing down a passage told her the truth: She was in the changeling hive.
"What a peculiar place", Luna remarked to herself,"I must be cautious while inside this place." Luna looked around to see if she could spot the changeling she was looking for, but the twisting tunnels with disappearing entrances made it like trying to solve a puzzle box that constantly reset. She would have to sense her target's fear aura, since locating him conventionally was impractical.
Thorax was being beaten continuously now by a complete patrol. His brother was raining blows down on his head while the others threw kicks at his body. He cried out in pain and pleaded for them all to stop, but none did. He was pummeled by the group for a few more moments before a voice commanded them to stop.
Thorax was confused by the group stopping until he saw why. The group moved apart to form a gap, and through it stepped the one changeling Thorax dreaded ever meeting again: Queen Chrysalis.
"Well, well, well", the queen taunted,"Look who decided to show their face here again. Come to convince my subjects that there's a better way? Well, there ISN'T!"
Chrysalis gave one swift kick and Thorax was sent flying into the nearest wall, hitting so hard his chitin cracked on impact, and he was sure there was something broken inside as a sharp pain followed each breath he took.
"You should've known better than to try and befriend our prey", she continued,"Now, you'll suffer their same fate!" Chrysalis then opened her maw and began draining Thorax of all the love inside himself. All the happy moments he could recall having in his life were slipping away. He fought to keep her from taking them, but her pull was simply too strong. Once she was finished, she left him on the floor, too drained to resist anything further.
"Oh dear!" Princess Luna exclaimed, feeling a massive wave of energy in the dreamscape. The night terror was gaining more strength. If she didn't find the changeling soon, he would either wake before she got her chance to speak with him, or it could potentially kill him. She hoped the former if anything were to happen; It would just delay their meeting. But she couldn't chance the latter happening, not with how strong the wave of energy had been.
She galloped down tunnels, guided by the energy that she could tell belonged to the changeling. She hoped she could get there soon, rounding corners blindly. After a few more moments, she turned another corner and saw him, and the cause of his night terror.
The changeling was surrounded by a group of changelings who had him with his back to a wall. Standing tall above the group was a figure that Luna never met, but could only assume through reputation was the changeling queen Chrysalis. She was now cackling maniacally as she stepped forward towards him.
"It seems I missed some" she taunted him, lifting him above the ground. Her maw opened again and a tendril of pink energy shot out of the changeling, who screamed as though in pain. Luna looked on in horror.
"I've never seen the changelings actually draw love from ponies", she observed,"but it's every bit as terrible as I've been told." She then observed the changeling she was draining, a pleading look on his face for any to help him. Deciding that his suffering must end, Luna stepped forward and fired a spell at the queen and crowd of changelings.
Thorax was held in Chrysalis' magic as she drained even more love out of him. He was now feeling so weak, he assumed it would be little time before he even lost his will to live and withered away. He had heard of such things happening to changelings that had starved for too long, but to experience it was the worst thing he could imagine. Even an execution would be more merciful.
Before the queen could make another move, a blast of magic shot through her, making her fade into a cloud of smoke. "W-What?" Thorax questioned, now suddenly finding himself full of energy and love again, or at least as full as his current love reserves had been. He fell to his hooves and looked at the changelings before him, only to find them gone.
Before he could question it further, he heard the sound of hooves clip clopping towards him. He looked around for the source and found that he was no longer in the hive, but what literally looked like the night sky itself. As the clip clopping got louder, a voice joined it.
"You may rest easy, young changeling", it addressed him,"the nightmare thou suffered is vanquished."
Thorax realized the voice was behind him, and turned around to see who it was. Upon looking, his heart caught in his chest and he stumbled backwards before falling on his flank. Standing before him was an alicorn princess. She had a vague resemblance to Celestia, but was a dark blue, with blue and black adornments to her chest, hooves and head. On her flanks were a black splotch with a moon inside. All the evidence told him exactly who he was looking at.
"P-Princess Luna?" Thorax questioned.
The alicorn simply nodded, and then gave him a gentle but serious look.
"I would like to speak with you."