Twisted Fate

Chapters

In Which a Target is Chosen
In Which a Princess is Served
In Which Alicorns Freak Out
In which Physical Biology is Explored
In which the Deadline is Reached
In Which One Finally Gives In to Panic
In Which One is Troublemaking Drunk...
In Which One Learns a Lesson
In Which One Sightsees...Or Gets Distracted
In Which the Plot Becomes Obvious
In Which Things get Awkward
In Which One Finally Goes Outside
In Which One Becomes Acquainted with the Dangers of Nobles.
In Which One Enjoys Victory and Revenge
In Which One Discovers It's Not For Everyone
Stay at Home Princess
The Trip
Return Issues
Culture Clash Already? We Just Met!
Don't Teleport on a Full Stomach
The Lunar Flock
Teaching the Newbie
Strange Biology
Voices in Your Head
Changelings Share Everything...Yes, even that. Especially that.
Human Cuisine
Betrayal
Awkward
Breaking a Bone to Set it Properly
Overload
Mood Swings
Disastrous Outing
Slightly Less Disasterous Lunch
Am I Broken?
Freedom of Release
The Dawn Comes Again
Alicorn Issues and Biofuel
Forging Bonds
Pawns and Queens
Mental Repairs
Alternate Uses of Venom
Trade Winds
Copper Road Keep
The Other Side
Sunny Skies and Moonbeams
Tempered Relationships
Changeling Queen Anatomy Lesson 1: How to fertilize your eggs
Forgemaster's Crucible
Progress, even if it's slow
How did you two qualify for this position exactly?
Refill
Scale and Production
Sharing the Love
In which Discord Discovers Starswirl's Stash
One Person's Love is Another Person's Lunch
Another Day, Another Issue

In Which a Target is Chosen

Early morning found Celestia once more dining with her sister. Once more she watched as servants prioritized the sun princess over her sister, and once more she watched as her sister entered alone and sat down without a word. Once more, her failing was thrown in the face of the white alicorn.

"Tia, something must be done about this. We tried having the creature brought before our court, and the sergeant said it would require both of our approvals. We know this is not so," Luna said, buttering some pancakes.

Under normal circumstances, Celestia would have not paid attention to the comment, or waved it off as inconsequential. But now? Now it was a buck in the jaw, a painful reminder that all was not well in her world. Even more painful though was the fact that Luna seemed to not expect an answer, or at least not one that would solve the problem.

'Thus I would have damned my sister to madness and a millennium of isolation on the moon. Would she have been aware of the passage of time, cursed to watch each day and long for what she could not have?'

Not even a decade after she'd been told by Starswirl the Bearded, had sworn on the Stallion's deathbed that the two of them would remain loyal to each other until the end of their lives. Not even half of that, and she'd already abandoned her sister to play princess to their subjects. Already she'd put her mortal subjects ahead of the one companion Starswirl had said would stand beside her through the centuries.

"Leave us," Celestia said to the serving ponies. A few looked confused, but they left without question. The fact that when they all left through the nearest door, only one exited through the door closest to her sister was yet another strike against her already damaged conscience.

"I, I'm sorry Luna. I had no idea it was this bad."

"Tia?"

"The creature, he spoke of a possible future, one that...one in which I lost you for a long time. I will not assume everything he says is truth, but I took it into consideration. Lo, I see our servants doing just as he said, tending to me and leaving you to yourself. I am ashamed it took me this long, and a creature like that to point out your pain. Will you forgive me, Luna?"

Luna stared at her older sister for a breath, before shaking her head in sorrow.

"I need more, sister. I have been asking for your aid for nearly a year now, and just now you notice? Not only that but was it my pain that you fear, or your own discomfort? Was it your fear of loneliness that drives you to speak with me now?"

Celestia flinched at the venom in the words and the Lunar alicorn raised her voice in frustration.

"Our subjects have always spoken highly of you, Tia. Of your ability to empathize so easily with any of them, regardless of their background or status. Why was it you could do so much for our subjects, while I was left alone?"

"I will speak to the creature before retiring. I hope you deliberate long and hard on this question, sister. I can not accept a simple apology for this grievous insult to my station and honor you have allowed to fester."

Celestia watched her sister leave through the door beside her, not wanting to use the door closer to the solar alicorn's chair even if it was a faster route to the dungeon. The white mare sighed, pushing back her plate and rising from her seat. She had a statue to pace around.

It was so obvious now that she watched. So many beaming smiles directed at her, so many ponies stopping to offer help, asking her what had happened to upset her. Yet having looked at the records for the Lunar court, there were just so few petitioners. What did she do wrong? How could she fix this? Would the creature help, or was it just playing her?

Celestia shook her head. No, it was not playing her, at least not in this case. There had been a problem, one she had not seen and the creature had brought it to her attention. Luna's reaction, the actions of the serving ponies, even the records of the solar and lunar courts testified that there was a problem. One that she had been horribly blind to.

Walking before the statue of Discord, Celestia sat down. The draconequus was once more in his strange pose, a top hat and monocle as he tried to put on the air of-

As the mare's eyes widened in shock, a voice to her left caused her to whip around so fast she blurred.

"I think you need more statues, Tia. Would really help break up the garden, add some things of interest," Discord said nonchalantly, sitting on a nearby bench with his nose in another book. Pulling off her glowing horn and using it to pick at his teeth, he then tapped it against her forehead.

"You also need to watch where you point that thing, you'll put somebody's eye out."

"How? You were...it couldn't have been the shape shifter, he has not left the dungeons since we found him!"

"Oh but it was, you see by talking to you and bringing up Lulu's issue, you now know something's wrong. Even if things proceed apace, the timeline's been changed," Discord explained, not looking up at her. "When you decided to listen to his story, the entire world shuddered at the change; the tapestry of fate was torn asunder!

"I thought you were going to ignore him, you know. Keep things going the way they were supposed to be. You always struck me as a stickler for fate and destiny in that story. Luna would be willing to put that on the line for you, but in reverse? Maybe Luna's madness is what made you that way..."

"I, I don't understand..." Celestia muttered. Discord had been free all night? Why had she received no reports? Surely he would have gone right back to his old habits.

"That's the thing about chaos, Tia. The thing I was missing. Chaos is change. I wasn't changing, I was doing the same silly thing over and over again! Yes I was causing mayhem but when everything is in chaos, when chaos is the norm, what is order? Order becomes chaos, and chaos, order. I was falling into the very thing I'm supposed to oppose!"

Giggling mischievously, he looked up at her from his book.

"Or is it the lack of floating buildings, screaming ponies, and candied clouds that bothers you? Perhaps I've gone the subtle route for once? Those clouds are going against the wind, the leaves on a few trees fell up, I even threw a few purple dandelions into a field of the flowers to see if anyone noticed. You know what? They did! They didn't panic, either, they were intrigued. Changes or differences aren't to be feared, they're to be celebrated. 'Change is the spice of life,' you know. Quote from several of the dimensions I've been to, four of them were human-worlds. The fact that the same species keeps a few of the same quotes like that is telling, don't you think? Change keeps things from getting dull, but too much change and we become jaded about it. In those cases, it's the order that catches our eyes. On a piece of paper with hundreds of lines, our eyes are drawn to the blank spot in the corner."

The mismatched creature put the alicorn's horn back on upside down, stretching out with the pops of several firecrackers.

"Well, I'm off. Things to see, places to do, all that jazz. Keep the statue, Celery, and I suggest getting a few more. Maybe statues that aren't creatures that have been petrified if you're up for something different. Oh! And do remind Max that he has about 48 hours left. Might want to get to work soon. Once that's over, his loan is due. Anything he hasn't used will be given back to me, so he better have his own source by then."

With that the draconequus snapped his talon, opening a green rift in reality. He stepped through while still reading, leaving a dumbfounded alicorn in his wake.

Celestia stared in abject confusion as the rift slowly faded, taking any last traces of the lord of chaos with it. The moment Discord was gone, she rubbed at her temple with a hoof.

"I find myself in need of a drink...the words he spoke made sense."

<-(0)->

Max paced the cell, finally figuring out the basics of movement and which muscles had been shifted where. His tongue was finally cooperating as well, allowing him to speak clearly for the first time since this fiasco started. He felt much better about the situation, but he doubted he could manage a run, much less flight at the moment.

'At the very least, Celestia listened to what I had to say. She may be on the lookout now for the signs of depression, though if she knows how to respond to them properly is anyone's guess,' he thought to himself.

'I'm going to beat that ass-hat into a fine gravel next chance I get. What did he say I had? 72 hours of energy? When did it start, and is it affected by how active I am? Or is it considered loaned energy, and the second that time's up it all disappears? In that case, I need to find out how this works, as well as find a target or two. What was it he said, the best source would be obvious? Obvious would be...Luna? She might be in a bad place right now, depending on how far along this is, but how do you go about seducing a centuries old-wait, Discord happened recently, so maybe they just ascended? In that case, how old are they?'

'Luna might be facing a lot of loneliness and depression at the moment, meaning that she may be willing to jump at any chance to have a friend that won't try to use her for their own political gain. Technically I need her to survive, so I can't say I won't use her, but it's not with the intention of leaving her bleeding in a ditch somewhere.'

'Celestia would be another option I suppose, but she's pretty solid except for her connection with Luna. Start bringing that up and she gets kind of shaky. Could use that to force her into working with me, but I don't know if platonic affection is enough to keep me going. Celestia's just waiting for me to turn around and attack somebody at this point. Even if I can get her to accept helping me as a sacrifice instead of me needing to use Luna, I'd be dealing with someone who would rather stab me in the face than look at me.

'The only other creatures I've seen since arriving are the guards, and I technically didn't see them. As for their use, no way no how. I'm not feeding off a guy. Just thinking about that is...no. I'm not nearly close enough to dying to try that.'

Max stopped, looking at himself once more. He'd done a cursory exploration of his form earlier, finding it to be a weird variation of the changelings from the wedding assault he'd read jokes about. Transformative abilities were likely part of the package, but would he need training in that, or was it instinctive? Was the suppressor stopping him from feeding? There were just so many questions, and time was ticking.

'No fingers, no magic, no flight, no food, at least I'm still...wait, I'm still a guy, right?'

Panic was just around the corner for him as he looked at his lower barrel, seeing nothing between his legs.

'No, I feel like a guy, I sound like a guy. Some animals have...maybe it's hidden? Open sesame? Think sexy thoughts?'

He decided on the latter and after short while managed to coax 'little Max' out of his shell, to his immediate relief. The rod expanded to about the length he'd guess a creature of his size would be equipped with, but it was sectioned with several strange rings down the length.

'Okay, we're in business. Looks really weird, but it's still a penis. Definitely still male.'

A cough from the front of the cell made him look up. He covered himself a second later, seeing Luna staring at him from outside the cell. It wasn't embarrassment he felt though.

"You're fucking kidding me. I've been in this cell for what had to have been ten hours or so and the second I decide to check my equipment to make sure I'm still a guy you show up? I'm not apologizing for this."

Max glared at the blue alicorn for a moment before noticing a light tint to her cheeks.

'She's blushing?'

"How long were you standing there."

"Since thy exercises with thine wings," she answered, shifting uncomfortably.

"And you saw no reason to say anything?" he responded in irritation. "I mean, I know you're royalty and likely used to preferential treatment, but I'm a bit distracted at the moment. I'd rather get as many surprises this body has for me out of the way as possible while I'm stuck in a cell. Right when I have to pee is a bad time to find out how the plumbing works."

'Fuck it, while I've got her off-balance...'

Max stood up and approached the bars, sitting down in front of her in such a way as to be pointing right at the alicorn. It made him uncomfortable, but judging from the mare's squirming, it was mutual. Luckily for Max, he was used to being in awkward social situations. Luna seemed to have no such luck.

"So what brings you to my cheery room today, your highness?" he asked her, acting as if he wasn't saluting her in full view.

"I- I mean, we we're coming to question you regarding the words you shared with our sister. She said you knew of our, plight. That we felt alone, that we were jealous that our subjects showered our sister with affection while we were but an afterthought. Yet you also spoke of being from another, another world. How is it possible for both to be true?" she asked, her eyes darting downward at the distraction.

Max suppressed a chuckle. He'd flexed his stomach muscles, causing himself to bob slightly to try and distract her and it seemed to have worked. Even more entertaining, both of them were maintaining straight faces. He'd hate to play poker with her.

"Where I'm from there's a story. A fictitious story about a mare who tried to blanket the world in eternal night. I don't know about how this world works but where I'm from, that would lead to the death of all life on the planet. Without the sun, the planet would slowly freeze over. Normally I would toss the fact that Celestia and yourself are named similarly to those characters to chance as things like controlling the sun and moon manually is impossible. What makes it more likely to be truthful is the fact that pegasi and unicorns are creatures of myth back home, and I'm staring at a species that should not exist; I am a species that should not exist.. There's been no proven use of magic, so seeing creatures that are supposed to be fictitious has given me a bit of healthy skepticism about what else could be true.

"Could the two of you have worked it out? It's possible. It was a single ending among many and as Discord and I talked about, for each world there's another where a single decision was made differently. Maybe the two of you would have been fine? Maybe it would have been your sister who went mad? There's just no telling."

The human-turned changeling cocked his head in thought.

"Do you know how long it's been since I was found? I'd like to know how much longer I have."

"It was just over a day ago, why?" the mare asked, curiosity in her voice. "What do you mean how much longer you have. Are you ill?"

"It was part of this, thing Discord wanted to do. I have 72 hours worth of energy. If I don't find out how to increase my energy, to feed, I'll starve. I don't know how it works; there were many theories on how it worked but nothing was actually shown or explained. The enemy in one of the stories about the ponies said changelings feed on love. How? How do I feed on something that I can't see or feel? I suppose it would be like eating magic, but even there I'm out of luck. I've never touched magic before. Is it just love, or could other emotions sustain a changeling?"

"Why would you reveal this to us?" the alicorn asked suspiciously. "You have been...strangely forthcoming in all of our questioning. Why?"

"Because it's not Discord I need to swing to my side. I'm alone here, princess. My home, my family, everything I know is out of my reach. I have no backup coming, I have no friends to turn to right now. I need someone who trusts me, someone I can trust in return. I need allies, friends, people willing to help me."

"What about Discord? Did he not name you as a friend?"

"I think friend and pawn mean the same thing to Discord. His game has already played out successfully. He managed to cause chaos without forcing it; in fact he caused chaos while absolutely immobile. Now my part's been played. I doubt he'll do anything to help me. I'm not putting my life on the hope he actually does care about what happens to me. The chances of me dying that way are too high, so I'm going to try other routes. I'd be happy to discuss anything of interest to you, or even swear to refrain from harming those under your rule. I really don't want to die of starvation in a jail cell. I'm low on options, Luna. What do you want from me?"

The mare shifted a bit, thinking on the offer. Would she help, or was his play to her desire for companionship and their similar situations not strong enough? He clenched his teeth inside his muzzle, trying to keep his face calm. No, it had to work. He didn't want to die here, he needed her to work with him, needed Luna's help in the coming days.

"Why did you tell our sister about this, and not us?" Luna finally asked, looking almost...hurt?

"How do you tell someone that they're going to lose their minds to loneliness and depression? Besides, I wasn't going to mention anything with those guards there. If there really is an issue, the last thing you want is those who don't understand the situation getting ahold of information they don't understand. Once it starts circulating, everyone will know. I don't want to put you through that."

Not exactly true, he just wasn't certain who he was speaking with until Celestia had threatened his life. Still, it would likely pass inspection and-

He felt himself being pushed back into the cell as the door was thrown open. Luna stepped inside, staring intently at him from inches away as if daring him to try something. So he did.

He licked her nose.

Even as the mare's eyes crossed, trying to look at her own face and comprehend what he'd done his own eyes went blank. Sensations exploded across his mind. Curiosity, loneliness, jealousy, anger, excitement, happiness, they all forced their way into his mind in a blast that left him staring blankly ahead.

A few pokes caused him to blink, finally shaking off the intense sensation and noticing the mare looking at him with worry in her eyes.

"Are you well? You uh, kissed us and you blanked out. Why did you do that?"

"I...I think I just tasted emotions," he explained weakly. He shook his head and blinked furiously, trying to clear his vision of the myriad of colors.

"That was honestly something to ease the tension. I, I usually do something off the wall if I feel awkward. It distracts people, gives a topic of conversation even if it's just talking about how strange I acted. I hate uncomfortable silences. With a burning passion"

Luna's expression turned to one of curiosity.

"And what do we taste of?"

"A bit of curiosity, though I can see that in your eyes. A bit of excitement, my guess would be with the possibilities a strange creature brings, or maybe the technology or advancements I may be able to direct you to? I don't know a lot of specifics, and I'm going to warn you against advancing too quickly, but I would be willing to help you in that manner if you wished it. Finally...how long have you felt alone?"

The mare's ears splayed in irritation, and her wings ruffled.

"You can taste that?"

"It's disgusting, frankly," he told her with a snort. "Something I'd likely avoid if I didn't know what it was."

A bit of sorrow filled her eyes at the answer before she frowned. He'd worded that correctly, it seemed.

"And since you are aware of what it is?"

"I'd like to cure it, to lessen the feeling," he said with a soft smile. "Loneliness isn't something you can fight alone, right? It's caused by being alone. If I can help, even if it's just by lending an ear while you vent about the idiots you deal with every day, would you allow me to?"

Luna stared at Max for a moment, judging his words carefully. Finally she sighed, using her magic to stand him straight before her.

"First you will swear to never bring harm upon our subjects. We shall allow self-defense, as some of our ponies are foolish enough to ignore our warnings and decrees. We will also endeavor to find a solution to your...diet."

"I think I can agree to that," he said with a nod. "I'm Max, by the way. Max Logrun. A pleasure to meet you."

"Luna. I mean Princess Luna, Sovereign of the Night," the alicorn offered with a smile.

Luna removed the magic suppressor from his horn and the world lit up around him with a buzzing energy he'd never felt before. He gasped, looking about and feeling the energy radiating from every object in the room. Finally able to focus through the haze, he turned to the mare.

Blinding was the first thought that came to him. Where before he could only taste emotion when he'd licked her muzzle as a joke, now she radiated strange colors that he assumed were attributable to her emotions, the brightest of which was excitement despite her cool demeanor.

"With this Oath, you will be magically bound to us. Will you accept this binding?" the blue alicorn asked, her voice resonating with authority.

Max just smiled. This was what he needed, a link to another, a connection that placed him under the authority, and therefore protection, of a local group. In this case, he would be under the alicorn's rule, beholden to her requests and orders. Perhaps he could sweeten the deal for both of them just a bit more though?

"Only if you promise me that you'll take my words into consideration when I offer them, and that you assume that if I act in a strange manner, it is with your best interest in mind. If I find myself able to feed easily on our relationship, the bond two individuals share, I will be even more inclined to help you.

"No amount of gold or power would turn me from your side, Luna. Your happiness will be my lifeblood," he finished, bowing theatrically and placing a hoof over his barrel.

The mare's happiness and excitement sparked further, and she lit her horn to power the binding. Max stepped forward, a happy smile on his face. There was no reason to hide it at this point anyway. He moved his horn closer to hers at the mare's request, moving to touch his own horn to the spell when everything went pear-shaped.

"Luna! What are you doing?" Celestia shouted, blasting Max to the back of the cell and pulling her sister through the still-open door.

"We were binding him to an oath to serve us. An oath which you interrupted!" the blue alicorn accused.

Celestia shook her head.

"You do not even know if he can be bound by such oaths, Luna. He is not of our world, there's no guarantee it would work!"

"I'm not going to just leave him in this cell till he passes on from starvation, Tia." the smaller mare argued. "He explained to us that his time is short, that he needs help learning about his form. He has promised to follow our orders, to answer any and all questions we may direct at him. Betrayal would lead to his death and he is aware of this."

"Luna..." Max said softly, finally pulling himself off the floor and shaking his head. In response the smaller mare looked at him strangely for a moment, a blend of anger and sorrow flooding back into her. Worst of all, the loneliness was back, and her anger was now focused solely on her sister. Without another word, the blue alicorn left the dungeon.

"I'm watching you, creature. I know you see Luna as being weak right now, but I won't let you hurt her. Do you understand? If you did anything to upset her-"

"Oh for the love of Pete; you just stabbed yourself in the foot, you dumbass!" Max shouted back, throwing the Celestia off her rhythm.

"We're not playing the same game right now, Celestia. This isn't a 'you win, I lose' situation. We both want her to recover, and right now you just pissed her off. She was about to do something she felt was important and you stopped her. How do you think she's going to feel about that?"

Celestia sputtered in rage for a few seconds, not catching the actual words but preparing to strike her prisoner for speaking back in anger. Then the words reached her. She stopped, wings slouching and ears drooping as she tried to think of reasons the creature, Max as Discord had called him, was wrong. None came to her.

"I want her happy, Celestia. She's similar to me in a lot of ways, making it easier for me to make this connection to her. In all honesty, she doesn't even need to actually use the binding oath, I'll follow it anyway. Her trust is too important to me.

"I get it, you're scared for her, you're scared that you could have lost her and now you're overcompensating. The problem is that now you're smothering her, and you're preventing her from filling a gap she asked you to fill already. You didn't when she asked you to, and now that she's trying to do it herself you've stopped her. Your cutting her off at every attempt, Princess. I'll talk to her again and when I do I'll try to keep her calm, but I need you to try to help me help her. Her happiness is a victory for both of us."

"I'm beginning to think we should have had you destroyed. It would have saved me the trouble of-" the mare began, only to be cut off again.

"So you could keep on being oblivious to her distress? Or do you mean after you learned, so that you could use me before you disposed of me? It's too late now, princess. You destroy me and Luna will see it as you attacking the first being in too long to offer her companionship. Eternity is a long time to be alone, you know. I don't know how long I'll live, seeing as I know next to nothing about this species, but I don't abandon those who help me.

"Your sister may have not managed to actually bind me, but I'm smart enough to know how to reinforce what trust I've gained. I know to hold to that oath even if it isn't magically reinforced. We don't have magic back home, as I've told you before. Our words are all we have. Now I'm likely going to see her again, so I'd appreciate it if you-"

"You will never again be in the same room as my sister. I will not allow it," the white alicorn said threateningly, stomping a hoof and cracking the stone floor.

"What are you going to do, send her to her room for the rest of the week?" Max said with a chuckle. "She's supposed to be a diarch, your equal, so why does she have to listen to you? I've yet to see the outside of this cell, Princess. How would I have any effect on whether I see her again or not?"

Walking up to the bars, he closed the cell himself. Celestia didn't seem to notice it wasn't locked at this point, but that wasn't the point. He was probably safer in the cell than out there with the white alicorn anyway.

"Personally, I'd send her a note apologizing and promising to stay out of her way. She's not going to talk to you right now...well, I wouldn't. Would you want to talk to her if the situations were reversed?"

Celestia growled, a low rumbling sound as she stared daggers at the stallion. Her wings were raised slightly as well, but that wasn't what concerned him. What he was focused on was the mare's absolute devotion radiating from her, directed at the mare who only felt anger in return.

"I can literally feel your love for her right now, Princess. Once that ring was pulled off, I could sense it, I've even tasted a few emotions from your sister when she was close enough. Loneliness was one of the deepest she was feeling. I'm willing to help both of you, whether you believe me or not. But to do that, I need you to stop seeing me as the issue. I'm not the problem here, it's Luna's solitude. That's what's going to destroy her. Now that you know about it, there's a good chance you'll take it worse as well. Do you think you would be able to wait one thousand years for her to come back to you, when you knew it was you that destroyed the last chance she had to avoid that fate?"

As the white mare slumped slightly, blowing out a breath and attempting to mentally evaluate the situation, Max's stomach gurgled. Celestia scowled at him, remembering Discord's words from earlier.

"Discord is free again because of the changes you have wrought. He also said you had about forty eight hours left, then he's taking any remaining loaned energy back. If I find you harmed my sister to ensure your own survival, I will see you destroyed."

With that she left him, slamming the outer door behind her. Her anger had left a bad taste in his mouth, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't feel as hungry. Had he eaten some of that anger? If so, how? The alicorn certainly hadn't seemed any less angry.

Max shook his head in frustration. He'd need to wait for Luna to sleep through the day as she seemed to be doing, so he'd likely take a nap himself. He'd spent most of the previous night figuring out his new form, and the exhaustion was catching up to him.

'Nothing to do about it now...wait, doesn't Luna have power over dreams? Maybe she'll contact me there?'

With that thought, he made himself as comfortable as possible in the cell. A difficult task to be sure, considering the lack of anything to lie on but a stone floor.

'Luna's definitely the way to go right now. Celestia's way too cold to me. I really don't think she'd be too upset if I up and died right now. At least not until her sister went batty. Would Luna try to resurrect me? That would be weird, though it may be possible in this world. Where there's magic, there's likely necromancers.'

'I know I have her attention and I know she's curious about me, but how to turn that into something more?' he pondered. 'I don't know how much energy each emotion would grant, but Chrysalis was dead certain Love was the most powerful. Even if I can't get a lot, just a blooming relationship would help. I want to thrive though. It's not enough to just wiggle by. This is food we're talking here, energy that keeps me going. The more I can grab, the more I can do. The stronger Luna feels about me, the better off I'll be.'

Max shifted a bit, finding a more comfortable position to sleep in.

'It was odd though. She looked...beautiful. More so than I thought an alien could. Maybe it's the new body talking, but when she was walking away earlier, hell even when her sister was walking away, those butts. I felt like I could just...'

With that the changeling drifted off to sleep, the idea of nuzzling flanks locked solidly in his mind. An unfortunate thing to be certain, when the target of such thoughts is capable of dream-walking.

In Which a Princess is Served

Luna waited in the realm of dreams for the creature to doze off. It had looked a bit tired and had likely stayed up all night trying to figure out its new form while stuck in the cell. Following that thought, it would soon be turning in. After all, if it wished to escape, the night would be the perfect time to do so.

'The question is, will he try to escape? By his own words his situation is quite deplorable. He seemed intent on turning us, in bringing us to his side as an ally. The creature could be dangerous, but then again, so are dogs in many ways. They are also extremely loyal though. He would need somepony to keep him supplied with energy, and if I can find a way to do that, whether it be through feeding him myself or finding an artificial way to do so, I would have what could be a powerful ally. An entire world without magic, and yet he spoke clearly. Many of the tribes that are less civilized speak only in broken Equish. Surely his species found another route, another way to advance. He even offered his knowledge to us in exchange for our aid.There must be something he is knowledgeable in that our ponies are lacking in.

'Our sister is a fool, seeking to throw away such a boon. The griffons would jump on the chance for technology, as would the minotaur tribes. It could both give us something to trade with them, and give us an even greater edge than our already impressive repertoire. Magic, unity, and technology.'

She giggled to herself, another idea coming to mind.

'Would he allow us to study his form? I believe he would, as he knows nothing of the form he currently resides in. The, he called his species a changeling, he knows but the basics, and that is from observing his own body. There are others of his kind out there, to know how to fight or aid them, it could bring yet another species to our side. Already we have begun to receive petitions from the thestrals to join us. Changelings would bring the total number of species to five!'

Five different types of ponies all living in the same country, all working towards the goal of a better tomorrow. Two of those species would be nocturnal as well if the changeling's eyes were anything to go by. Or at least they were more suited to low-light locations. He seemed almost insectoid, perhaps they are subterranean? Was he an alicorn-variation of the changeling species? Did the thestrals also have such a variation?

Luna nearly squealed in excitement when she saw the dream of the changeling appear. So many questions, so many ideas flowing through her head. She had to know, she needed the answers to them all! With a giggle she took off towards it, diving in without a second thought. What do changelings dream of? What do Hue-mas dream of for that matter?

She landed in the dream, and immediately regretted everything that led her to this point.

Whereas pony dreams are fairly simplistic and even the dreams of the other species were fairly fluid, this creature's dream was chaotic, a raging river that was constantly trying to wash her away. She was beset by a constant stream of images, thoughts, sensations, ideas, they just kept coming. She vaguely was able to notice the dreamer, a strange shape that kept shifting between the form of a changeling and another form, one bearing the face of the creature displayed on the card from earlier. it was the first time she witnessed the change that damned her. Luna was shocked at the sudden shift, not understanding what was going on. It caused her to lose her grip, to lose the wall that separated her from the dreamer. From that point on she knew fear.

A flash of her belted into a strange contraption, the constantly shifting creature beside her garbling strange words to her. The outside was flashing by, locations he'd seen in his life. Everything from large farmlands that must have taken hundreds to work to large cities that towered over her. The strange buildings, all full of the creatures that the being was before his encounter with Discord, rose higher than mountains around her. With a flicker the scene changed and she found herself seated in a dining establishment, several blurred creatures eating blurred food around her. The scent of meat was unmistakable, but she found herself eating despite her apprehension. She had lost control, she was part of his dream now.

Luna desperately prayed he woke up soon. The Zebra she'd learned most of her dream walking from had spoken of the dangers of losing one's grip on a dream. You became a part of it while the dreamer slept, unable to leave of your own accord. In some cases, the dream-walker was actually killed by the dreamer, as many of the injuries one experienced would transfer over to the waking world. She mentally wept as the scene changed again, another ride in the metal contraption through locations she could barely comprehend.

The next thing she was aware of was Max sitting beside her on a seat, a large one that was made of strange material. It was almost the same texture of leather, something the griffons used quite often but it was strange, fake almost. Too uniform, too large of a piece to be from any creature. The changeling/hue-man turned and planted a deep kiss on her lips, much deeper than the mischievous little peck from earlier. She gasped as he pulled her closer, her hooves wrapping around him and returning his kiss with full force despite her confusion. He was dreaming about her. He was dreaming of courting her. They broke the kiss, and he lifted her up and moved.

Luna blinked, finding them now on a comfortable bed, the changeling straddling her as she laid on her back, he kissed her again, and she felt him drive himself into her marehood without hesitation. She wanted to cry out in shock, to say anything, but she could only feel herself moan in approval, returning his kiss and humping against him. She felt herself clenching unnaturally, felt her body already reacting to his touch even though she couldn't feel anything. A male couldn't know what kind of pleasure a female would derive from such contact, nor would it normally matter in a dream. She moaned loudly as she climaxed, a wet squelch and few last thrusts into her signaling his own finish. She mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Most males woke up soon after achieving such a state in their dreams. She was waiting for the end of the dream when he leaned to her ear, whispering to her. It was garbled like the rest of the dream, but she understood enough.

'Attractive, lovely, beautiful...he finds me beautiful,' she mentally recited. 'He wants to help me, to take away the loneliness.'

She tried holding on to the stallion as the dream faded, the dream still holding her but not as tightly anymore. That's what if felt like for a moment, anyway. It wasn't a forced hug, it wasn't the dream carrying her away in emotions that weren't hers. She felt wanted- no, he needed her. He needed her for her, not just her ability to control the moon. He wanted her love, her happiness. He quite literally would die without it.

Luna awoke with a start, a dull ache flowing through her body. She lifted her head from the pillow and blinked her bleary eyes. She instantly knew what had happened, and chastised herself for her mistake. Losing herself in a dream could easily spell disaster. If the changeling...she almost forgot his name. Oh by the sun and stars, she was feeling closer to this creature whose name she'd heard once than her sister of the past...decade? No, it had been longer than that. She and Tia had been together for much than just a decade, maybe it was closer to three now?

She slowly rolled the covers back, the thick scent of arousal drawing her eyes to her rear. A puddle of fluids had formed behind her, though it was more from her forced orgasm than any actual arousal she'd experienced from the...

Luna squirmed a bit as she removed herself from the ruined bedding. That wasn't exactly true, was it? She was hopeful, she felt a desire to speak with the changeling again, to be near him. It could have been some sort of spell, some instinctive spell to induce feelings when there should be none, or perhaps pheromones. She knew now that his words of another world were true if nothing else came from the experience.

She stepped off the bed, looking back at the revealed puddle for a moment. She'd not experienced a pleasure-less orgasm in a long time. Now she was aching, wanting to fill herself with a stallion. Once more, it could have been a way to turn her, to bring her closer to his side. Once more though, she found her logic shooting it down. Stallions often dreamed of mares they'd met, mares they'd found attractive.

'He found us attractive. He desires us.'

He had tried offering her aid, had promised to do as she wished if she helped him, calmly offering everything from aid in developing technologies and his species experience with them (a much more impressive offer now that she'd experienced a brief glimpse of hue-man culture) to, much more important to her at this point, his companionship. He offered to be close to her when she needed him. She would speak to him again. She just needed to clean herself up first.

As she stepped towards her bath she stopped, her mind bringing up the memory of the stallion sitting before her with his rod on full display. A grin split her muzzle as she decided on a new course of action. It had been too long since she was able to trade jabs like this. Not only would he be forced to smell the problem he caused, she would make him clean her as well. He would likely need a bath as well anyway.

<-(0)->

Max drifted back to consciousness with a familiar feeling. It was one he did not want to deal with at the moment though; the sensation of sitting in one's own fluids. He'd had enough wet dreams over the years to know the kind of wakefulness one experienced in such instances.

Lifting himself off the stone floor with a groan, he sure enough was greeted by a sticky belly and the smell of semen.

'God dammit, of all the times to... and it was over her too. That's embarrassing. What would I do if she had showed up halfway through that?'

The changeling stretched, not really expecting to get much more sleep with his sleeping space currently soiled. He was just wondering what he'd need to do to get a drink of water when he heard movement down the hallway.

Luna walked into view, walking right up to the cell and pushing the door open, staring at it curiously when it was found to be unlocked.

"You remained in the cell even though it was unsecured?"

"Well, it's not like I know where I am. What do you think the odds of me finding my way anywhere while exhausted and looking about twice the size of everyone else? Besides, I wanted to talk to you again. Hard to do when I'm running from guards," he added with a smile. As the princess moved closer, almost uncomfortably close in fact, his smile dropped.

"Ah good, you noticed. We attempted to find you in your dreams last night," Luna said, a small grin of her own growing at the sight of his widening eyes. "While we are honored that you find us, attractive, we were left in an odd position of being pulled along for the ride. Your dreams are unlike any we have ventured through before, in fact they were so different that we are certain you are exactly what you proclaim yourself to be. Of course, there is a problem with my experience in your dream. We were forced to experience what occurred, you see..."

"Oh, oh I'm so sorry, I thought you would be able to, uh, stop it or something, I mean part of the story said you were the alicorn of dreams and-"

Luna cut off his rambling by clamping his mouth shut with her aura.

"We admit the forced climax was most uncomfortable. You will be fixing this though. As your first duty in our service, you will bathe your mistress."

Max's response died on his lips. Bathe? Mistress? She wanted him to...oh, oh!

A quick check of her emotions showed a good dose of amusement and happiness in spite of her hard tone. The stallion mentally sighed in relief.

'Thank god for that, I wouldn't be willing to do this without being certain. One wrong step, and-'

"I'd be glad to assist you, your highness. Might I suggest a demonstration beforehand, though? There are a few things I've learned, such as just how much control over my tongue I have," he offered, waving around his long tongue after speaking.

To his joy, the mare stared at it for a few moments, a hint of lust bursting through. She shifted, grinding her rear legs together before nodding vigorously.

"We find this to be an acceptable offer. We trust you will seek to impress us with your performance?"

Max just smiled at her.

"Your highness, your happiness is all I crave."

Luna seemed to shiver at the odd purr in his voice, the strange cross of hunger and desire he touched upon. She turned and motioned for him to follow with a wing, floating the inhibitor over to him and locking it on before leaving the cell. Max followed at a slow pace, one that became even worse when he reached the stairs. The mare giggled and laughed at his unsteady pace up the steps, even bursting into laughter when his back left hoof snagged on a step and caused him to fall on his face. Eventually he managed to struggle up the steps, earning a patronizing congratulations from the blue alicorn and a few more giggles for his trouble. As they began walking through the halls though, he noticed something. It was likely she'd been doing it for a while, but it's difficult to watch a mare when you're tripping over your own hooves.

Luna was...for lack of a better word the mare was swaying her hips, waving her tail back and forth in a way that was almost hypnotizing. A look back and a hungry smirk from the alicorn confirmed that she was doing it purposefully. He made a note to find a way to display to her in the future in a subtle way. She obviously liked having someone to tease and seemed to respond well to return-teasing.

"You will be lodged within this room," Luna said after a while, gesturing to an unmarked door. "My room is just down the hall. That is our destination."

With no hesitation she walked into her room, stopping only to bark at the guards.

"He is to be admitted to our room, we have much to discuss. See that we are not disturbed."

The guards gave him a suspicious look, though the left one looked more scared than suspicious. Either way both guards stepped back and allowed him to pass through. Walking into the room after Luna, he received his first view of the outside world through an nearby open window.

"Ah, this is your first chance to gaze upon the world in which you have found yourself, is it not? We suppose we can wait for a few moments while you collect thyself," Luna called from the bed, a strangely understanding look on her face. "It is mostly during the night that we gaze upon the land. The night, evening, or morning. We usually sleep at this time. Sometimes though it is nice to see the country bathed in sunlight...we can admit to that."

"It is beautiful, but it's more of a curiosity thing for me," he explained softly. "When I look outside this window, I wonder about all the things that are out there that I'm ignorant of..."

Shaking the thoughts from his head he turned back to the waiting princess. It wouldn't do to keep her waiting too long.

"Could you remove the ring? I'd like to be able to pull on some of the emotions if you don't mind. It will also let me know if I'm, heh, doing this right."

The alicorn giggled at the request, lighting her horn and pulling the ring off of his own. Once more the world lit up around him with magic and emotion. Once more he focused on the mare on the bed.

Where once the princess was a cross of excitement, happiness, deep-seated loneliness and a bit of lust, now the lust burned brightly. She was under no illusions what he'd offered, so he decided to play with her a bit. She seemed to like that.

He extended his tongue, running it through a few shapes including a circle, a square, a very shaky triangle, and was beginning to try to spiral his tongue when the mare struck the bed with a hoof in frustration. He chuckled at her, slurping the tongue back into his mouth.

"I'm kidding, Luna. May I see it?" he asked softly, moving to the bed.

The alicorn stared at him for a moment, shuddering at the intensity with which he was now staring at her. She slowly rose, turning around and presenting her flank to the stallion, her tail raised slightly in anticipation. To her surprise, he used his forelegs to pull her back slightly, standing her rear legs on the ground. She looked back at him in curiosity.

"I need better access, your highness. How can I serve you if I can't reach you properly?" he offered with a fanged grin.

Luna flinched slightly as he began to run a hoof over her flank, his touch surprisingly gentle for such a predatory form. She watched as he moved closer, sniffing at her marehood and blowing hot air over it, causing her to squirm. Just as she was opening her mouth to speak, he smiled once more and flicked out his tongue.

"Ah!"

The stallion chuckled softly even as he fought against the waves of lust that assaulted him on the contact. She was beginning to burn brighter with every second. There was no doubt in his mind what she wanted.

"If you enjoy it enough, you may even return the favor. I'd be very grateful. I mean, it's not like I actually experienced sex last night."

The mare barked in laughter.

"HA! A princess servicing a commoner? What will you suggest next, a-oh!"

Max cut her off, running his tongue up her leaking flower and tasting the fluids that had begun to flow. Pulling them back into his mouth and smacking his lips, his eyes widened. It was almost as if the fluids were saturated in lust. His stomach gurgled at the possibility, and he drove his tongue into her with renewed enthusiasm. He could taste the lust, could taste the emotion saturating her lubrication. It burned his tongue with flavor, setting his instincts alight. He needed more of the sweet, succulent sustenance.

Luna bucked instinctively as she felt the alien appendage begin to writhe inside her nethers. The tongue wasn't as broad as a stallion's would have been, but then again most stallions seemed more interested in the rut than bringing her pleasure. As she listened to him noisily slurping at her winking heat, she absently wondered if he was trying to drink her arousal as much as he was trying to pleasure her.

A quick glance back, seeing him swallowing deeply as he pressed his muzzle against her confirmed that he actually was drinking her cum. She squirmed a bit more, the realization that he was actually feeding on her arousal striking her as so dirty, yet so wonderful. It would be a mutual thing, food for pleasure. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it.

"Yes! Drink deeply of our nectar, oh by the stars we need more, deeper."

The changeling quickly obliged, driving his tongue as far into her as he could, thrashing it around and bringing her even more pleasure as he explored her deepest reaches. No, there was no denying it now. There was no way a stallion could reach that far into her marehood. their tongues just weren't that long. She squeaked at the strange sensation as the tip of his tongue brushed against her cervix, the feather-light contact causing her to clench tightly around her intruder.

Max was almost mindlessly lapping at the mare's heat at this point, the hunger that had been building over the last day and a half finally being sated. He forced his muzzle against her, trying to drink as much as he could. His eyes became fogged with the red of lust, the focused burning emotion forming a feedback loop. He fed on the lust, using his tongue to lap at the emotion-saturated fluids and his tongue drove Luna to higher levels of pleasure, causing her to burn with even greater passion.

The blue alicorn squealed, her sex clenching tighter than ever before. The mare came with a final buck, holding his tongue deep inside her as she loosed a wave of lust-saturated cum on her partner. She felt it flowing down her legs even as the changeling at her rear attempted to wrest his thick muscle from her grip. As soon as he could, he began lapping at the dribbling fluids, running his tongue up and down her legs and chasing it down to her hooves. She panted as she came down from her climax, feeling the changeling still running his tongue over her body. She squirmed slightly, feeling her arousal already starting to pick up again at his actions. He wanted more and would do what he could to get more. She panted, her tongue lolling out as he returned to her marehood and burying it deep inside her again. After nearly climaxing a second time, she felt him retract from her body, a needy whimper her only possible response at this point. She felt him grab her tail, watched as he used his teeth to pull her fully onto the bed.

"W-what are you, what are you doing?" she gasped.

The changeling didn't answer, instead sliding his forelegs under her flank and wrapping his forelegs around her lower barrel, lifting her flank to his muzzle and holding her at an awkward angle. He drove himself back into her, causing her to moan loudly at the sudden penetration. He once more began running his tongue all along her insides, driving her closer to her second climax of the night. Just as she was beginning to think it couldn't become any more pleasurable, his wings buzzed, the vibrations traveling through his tongue into her marehood. She shouted in shock once, then once again as he began thrusting his thick organ into her before retracting it, fucking her with the makeshift penis. She panted heavily as he drove her to the brink, her tongue lolling outside of her mouth as she gave a few weak bucks against his muzzle.

"We, it's coming, we're so close, please just a little, oh!"

Once more the mare clenched around his tongue, but this time the stallion pressed his mouth against her flower, swallowing repeatedly even as she gushed in her climax. He drank desperately, feeding on her burning lust and drinking deeply of her cum. She giggled as she heard the sloshing with his movement, his stomach holding a good amount of her fluids by now. Her wings slumped in exhaustion even as the changeling lowered her to the bed with a sigh. It seemed they'd found a mutually beneficial way to achieve their goals. Her relief was his meal.

"We are definitely keeping thee," the mare muttered as he released her and carefully slumped over her back.

His own arousal was just no match for the sheer exhaustion he was feeling after his first feeding.

"You can, you can pay me back or we can have sex for mutual pleasure later. I feel exhausted. I think my, I think my hunger was worse than I realized."

The mare giggled softly at his weight on her back, using her magic to pull a nearby blanket over the two of them. She had a friend now, a lover even, someone to talk to. Her sister could take her disapproval and shove it up her perfect flank, while she had her new friend shove his tongue into her marehood. He was a shapeshifter right? Did that extend to his shaft?

Luna gave a mischievous giggle. Oh, she would help him learn to use that body properly and provide all the love he asked of her. In exchange, he'd stay by her side. He'd keep her company, he'd be there when she needed somepony to talk to.

The changeling gave off a weak belch before dozing, the scent of her own sex reaching her as his muzzle laid beside her head. She smirked at his presence. It had been too long since she'd entertained the idea of taking a stallion into her company. Her sister had sworn off such things for now, citing a need to focus on the kingdom. What good was all of that power and wealth when you denied yourself the most base of pleasures?

Far beyond the Lunar alicorn's bedroom in a place beyond existence, a tapestry began to unravel. Destiny stared at the ruined Threads of Fate, screaming in rage. She'd find that damned draconequus and throttle him if ever she found the opportunity. For now though, she had to try and figure out what the fool's meddling would do to the future. Repairing the tapestry was likely impossible by now, she would merely need to rework it to the best of her abilities.

Author's Note

I'll be adding to this as I feel like it, but I think it'll be kind of like Cost of Asylum. No real focus, nothing like that. Still, there will be a few things that will be arising in the immediate future. I don't know when the canon encounter was, but Celestia and Luna will be dealing with the Crystal Empire soon. That, and changelings are going to be dragged out into the open a lot earlier in this timeline.

In Which Alicorns Freak Out

Celestia walked down the halls to her sister's room with apprehension. She'd spent most of the day trying to think of a way to make up with her sister, but nothing occurred to her. Now it was time for their shared meal and the blue alicorn was nowhere to be seen. It scared the white mare in more ways than she could have anticipated. Was Luna still angry, was the smaller mare still angry that she'd stop the binding oath? Was the creature, Max, right in saying she was her own worse enemy in this latest fiasco?

She needed to find a way to make this all right. He was right in saying that ignoring the problem now would just make it worse. Before he'd spoken, she at least had the excuse of saying she hadn't noticed, she could-

'Sun and stars, now I'm making excuses, making sure they check out. What am I doing? Luna was suffering and I did nothing about it.'

Celestia soon found her way to her sister's room, the two guards stationed outside the door standing straighter at her approach.

"Is my sister present?"

"She is your highness. She also brought the, the creature up a few hours ago. We've heard nothing from either since," the stallion on the left of the door answered.

"She requested privacy, saying none were to enter while she discussed things with it," the stallion on the right offered.

Celestia bit down her apprehension. Luna was powerful, there was no way she would be endangered by a creature that didn't even seem comfortable in his own flesh. Opening the door to her sister's room, the solar alicorn stepped inside and closed the door behind her, not wanting the guards to hear a possible fight. Turning back to her sister's bed, Celestia choked.

The room was thick with the scent of feminine arousal, the smell causing her to dread what she'd find. Certainly her sister wasn't so weak as to be seduced by the creature that quickly? Had he already consumed her emotions? Was there anything left of her sister?

Throwing the blanket off the lump on the bed, she was greeted by the horrific sight of the changeling sleeping on her sisters back. Even worse, his muzzle was smeared with an odd substance that the white alicorn soon identified as belonging to her sister. Worse, Luna was sleeping easily in the changeling's hooves, a content grin on her face even as they slept the day away. A slight resistance at her hooves directed her attention to the floor, a stain similar in color to that coating the stallion's muzzle covering a good portion of the floor just before the bed.

'Oh gross, I just stepped in it!'

Celestia was thankful her regalia had taken the contact instead of her own hooves. For once the ridiculous jewelry the ponies graced the diarchs with was proven to be useful. Unfortunately, the aching hooves she was often left with because of them just didn't make up for a single point in their favor.

Looking back to the two creatures currently resting with each other, the mare noticed the changeling was now awake and staring at her in curiosity. His eyes drifted lazily towards the window, spotting the evening light. He nodded in comprehension, acting as though he were oblivious to her anger. Without another word, he nuzzled the mare below him, whispering something to her that was so quiet the white alicorn didn't hear it. Luna did, however, and soon the smaller alicorn was yawning widely as she slowly awoke from her rest.

The deepest fears Celestia had seemed to fade slightly as the changeling whispered something into Luna's ear, drawing a happy giggle from her sister. Whatever the male had done, Luna still retained her emotions. That left a her slightly curious, actually. The stallion's eyes had a red tint to them, so he'd done something while they shared...

"I do believe I told the guards that we were not to be disturbed," Luna said, breaking Celestia out of her mental rambling.

"Is this how it is to be, sister? Celestia gives the ponies orders and they follow them without question, while Luna's orders are ignored? Are we not just as much a princess as you are, mine sister? What about our rank is different from yours?"

Luna shifted, sitting up on the bed and causing the stallion to roll off her back in surprise. She glared at Celestia, showing a well of anger the white mare could never have guessed at.

"Why, Tia? Why do you continue to lie about this? You said yesterday you wished to fix this, yet you continue to trot over our orders! What must we do to make you understand?!"

Celestia took a step back, unprepared for such an outburst. To her horror, the blue alicorn pursued.

"We are always your shadow, always below your level!" Luna shouted, stomping closer. "Ponies clamor for your attention while we are forgotten, they listen to your words of wisdom while ours are dismissed. They obey your requests immediately, yet ignore our commands! We work just as hard as thee, and yet our place seems to be forever in thy shadow. Why, Tia? Why go through this nonsense of naming us thine equal if we are to forever be thy second in all things?"

As the white mare stared in horror at the rage and hatred spilling off the younger alicorn, unable to react in any way besides sputtering denials, the changeling moved. He approached Luna from behind, pulling her back and wrapping his hooves around her, holding the blue alicorn against his barrel. He whispered into her ear and she seemed to deflate, closing her eyes and breathing deeply before nodding. The changeling looked Celestia in the eyes, darting them towards the door while mouthing the words 'wait outside' to her. The alicorn of the sun, shaken by Luna's tirade, promptly left, closing the door behind her. She told the guards to alert the maids that she would be late and to tell either the changeling or Luna that she would be next door. Celestia walked into the room, closed the door and made sure the privacy spell that had been placed on most of the rooms was active.

Seeing that it was, she trotted over to the bed, jumped up on it, and wept.

<-(0)->

Max held Luna for a while, feeling the bubbling anger slowly receding as he nuzzled and hugged her. She seemed to be slowly working the anger out of her mind. In the meantime the emotion was leaving her physically warm to the touch to his senses, an oddity that he filed away for later. Once the blue alicorn was sufficiently cooled, she slumped slightly in his grip and sighed.

"Why does she do this to us? She continually acts as though we were her equal, in both word and on script. The second we seek to act of our own accord though, doing things she sees as unbecoming of our place in society, she acts the part of a mother or older sibling. She cannot have it both ways! We are either her equal, or we are below her!"

"She's scared right now, I think," Max offered, still stroking the mare's mane. "She thought she knew what was going on, that everything was going well, and now she learns that it isn't true. Her world's falling apart around her and she's looking for control."

"We are not some, some toy to be controlled! We do not come at her beck and call!" Luna shouted, stomping the ground.

"Maybe not, but I need you to be the adult Luna. She was radiating fear when you started yelling at her, and now she's just tasting of sorrow. At least I think it's sorrow. She's likely even crying now. I don't need you to forgive her just yet but I need you to be willing to eat dinner with her, or breakfast as the case may be. The first step to solving this isn't talking it out. It's being able to talk. Right now I don't think the two of you are capable of that. There's too much emotion right now. The wounds are too fresh. So we work on being calm, being civil. Do you think you can do that for me, Luna?" the stallion asked while nuzzling the alicorn's neck

Luna sighed at the physical sign of affection, leaning into him.

"Only on thy word that you will be in attendance for our court tonight. It is often quite tedious. Boring even."

"I promise. Now, would you like me to make sure your sister's alright, or should we both go?" he asked her.

Luna shook her head.

"I will tell her we will dine together tonight. You are not going to be wandering the halls looking like that. With our own tell, we may at least mask the scent with a spell. We are not certain if thy shell will accept our magic at this time. The bathing room is through yonder door."

While he was dubious about Luna handling the situation, he was left curious about her comment. A quick trot over to a nearby mirror caused him to wince at the sight. His muzzle was currently smeared with what he could only assume was the dried remnants of last nigh-no, today's activities. It wasn't a few smears, either. The entire portion of his muzzle that extended from his neck seemed to have a good layer of the dried fluids on it and the smears continued down his neck and over his belly.

'Oh yuck,' the stallion thought with a wince. A bubbling in his stomach came forth as he remembered in detail his...feast the night before.

'Oh god, I was just, and I just kept, oh geeze what the hell?'

Max shuddered at the memory. He'd never been one to just jump on a female like that, but that had unfortunately been his goal, one directly linked to survival. He needed someone that loved him, preferably a female. Luna was fairly desperate for any attention at this point, so he'd used that to push himself into the situation he'd found himself in last night and attempted to feed. What he didn't realize was what feeding seemed to entail.

'There's got to be more to it than that. I mean, I still feel hungry. It's like I ate a few Peeps before bed. Maybe it's like that; the easier the emotion is to cause, the less powerful the emotion, the less energy I get. I don't know, this is all so weird. The fact that I actually could taste her lust in that though, ugh. I think she said the bath was through...that's a big bathtub.'

The large changeling stared for a few moments at the large pool of water that was currently steaming before him. Why it was already hot he could only guess, and currently those guesses were somewhere between a schedule( it was just about time for Luna to be up) and 'fuck it, it's a magical bathtub.'

Walking over to a small pile of clean rags, he grabbed one in his mouth and hopped into the warm water. He instantly felt his muscles relaxing. The warm water, while feeling strange on the bug-like shell he was currently occupying, still warmed him up in a wonderful way. Max managed to wipe what he could see from his muzzle but was certain he would need Luna to verify his work.

He'd begun on his forelegs, the towel painstakingly wrapped around a fetlock to keep it in place when the mare in question arrived. Without a word she jumped in, levitating to her side a myriad of oils, soaps, towels, and brushes. Looking to his own pitiful attempt at cleanliness, the mare burst into laughter.

"Surely there is no questioning that thou art entirely out of place, Max. Do you not even know how to grasp with thine hooves?'

"Honestly, Lu-do you mind if I call you Luna?" the stallion asked, looking up from his makeshift scrubber "I have no fricken' clue what I'm doing. It's embarrassing, but I may have to hold off on giving you that bath. In fact I may owe you two after tonight. Would you mind helping me out?"

The blue mare rolled her eyes and approached, her brushes and soaps wielded like weapons as she advanced on her unfortunate victim. A pitiful squeak of fear was all the stallion managed before he was overcome.

<-(0)->

Max watched the two alicorns as they ate their dinner. Awkward as his own family reunion meals had been, this was downright pitiful. Luna had taken a seat on one side of the table, while Celestia sat at the other. It was by no means an obnoxiously large table, but the fact that they were both the only ones normally eating at a table that could clearly seat about sixteen beings of their size spoke volumes.

Max was seated by Luna of course, the two of them on one side of the large table. The blue mare was currently eating quietly, more than he'd hoped for considering the toxic interactions the two had partaken of earlier. Celestia was doing likewise, though she'd cast depressed glances at the other mare every now and again. Both were radiating their respective emotions to Max, but he was uncertain if it was possible to repair this in the near future. Both seemed unable to see the problems, just the resulting issues, the symptoms. Both were also unwilling to even say one word to each other at the moment, though it seemed mostly hesitation on Celestia's part and a case of 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all' for Luna. It wouldn't be something the two would overcome in one day, but it was more than had occurred naturally as far as he knew. Perhaps with a bit of effort it would be possible to work this out?

The stallion was picking at his meal, Luna having taught him the proper use of hoof-grip during the start of the meal. The food tasted alright, it was just odd. Not just because he mentally was assigning it as things that weren't edible to his previous form, but because it did nothing for his hunger. That was currently being supplied in a trickle from the alicorn at his side, a small stream of gratitude and affection keeping him sustained and active. The small trickle seemed to be doing more for him than his entire feeding session the night before. It just reinforced the idea that simple emotions wouldn't cut it for him. He needed more.

"Is it not to your liking?" Celestia asked carefully.

"It's not that, it's fine-"

"Max is incapable of subsisting on the same nourishment as you or I. He feeds on our emotions. That being said, why do you eat this as well?" Luna asked, turning to him.

"It's familiar to me, helps add a bit of normalcy," Max answered, looking to the blue mare. "I need anything I can get at the moment, Luna. New world, new body, new metabolism, it's all weird to me. Eating dinner though, that's something I did all the time with my family or friends. I know it probably doesn't do anything for me, but it's calming. If food's an issue for you guys though, I'm sure I can skip it."

"No, it is not. I was merely curious," Celestia offered, returning her attention back to picking at her own dinner.

Max managed to not roll his eyes at the depressing lack of interaction going on during the meal. It was bothering him quite a bit and he'd only had the experience this one time.

"Why is the table so long?"

"We must be able to accommodate any who wish to speak with us. Therefore, our dining hall is created with the intention of hosting anypony that may stay here," Luna answered.

Max nodded at the reply, but it still didn't help him much.

"That's nice, but it kind of feels...empty?"

At the uncomprehending stares of the two alicorns, he chuckled nervously.

"I mean, there are other rooms that aren't being used, right? You throw a smaller table into one, one suited for four to six individuals, and suddenly the room doesn't feel so empty. You don't have to shout at each other, the servants aren't making a two minute trip to round the table...I think it would feel a bit more personable. A bit less lonely."

"I believe I understand what you propose," Luna said while tapping her fork on her plate in thought. "One dining hall for when we have ambassadors or visitors of importance, another for daily meals. One to be a bit less ostentatious, yes I think I like that idea. One does become a bit tired of constantly being surrounded by opulent, empty space. You suggest a more homely approach?"

"Would that not make us appear poor? I was under the impression that such things were only to be enjoyed by the common ponies," Celestia added. It was normal speaking volume, but the distance cut it to a whisper.

"As I said, it would only be for you, or whoever you decide to share it with," Max explained to the white mare. "Friends who can be trusted, confidants, family. Keep this place, keep it clean and ready, but save it for when you're trying to impress. In fact, you can do the same with the plates and utensils. Keep a few sets that you use here, and a few sets that are for your private use. The more expensive ones are saved for when you have company. May save you a bit in ruined silverware as well. It's what my mother did. She wouldn't let us touch the fine china unless it was a special occasion. It may come across as petty or cheap, but it makes the nicer things a bit more special."

"I find it an acceptable plan," Luna said, drinking the last of her wine. "Night court begins momentarily, Max. We must be going."

As he stood to follow the mare, he called out to her.

"Be there in a moment, Luna."

Stepping around the table to Celestia, he winced at the confused mess of hostility and depression flowing from her.

"Are you alright?"

The mare blinked in confusion at the question.

"For what reason do you ask such a question? Are mine emotions not plain for you to see?"

"Emotions, yes. Actual thoughts on what's going on? Not so much. I want Luna to be happy, as I've told you before. For her to be truly happy though, this thing between the two of you needs to be resolved. I'm going to lay this out for you, princess. All three of us are terrified right now. Luna of losing the one creature that's approached her for the longest time, you of losing your sister I assume, and I'm scared of what happens tomorrow night when Discord pulls the plug. I don't know how much energy I need to be pulling to survive, as it's not something I've had to deal with before. We all need to work this out before someone gets hurt."

The white alicorn took a calming breath, attempting to cool what the changeling was feeling.

"I, I know Luna is alone now, and I know how I feel about all of this, but why would you tell me your own issues? You've been very forthcoming with any and all information we may require of you, suspiciously so."

"It's been too much? I was just trying to-damn, too much?" Max asked, scratching his chin with a hoof. "I was trying to relax you, to head off any problems you may have. I already told you this though, princess. I have nothing on this side, nothing but my connection to Luna now."

"Which you have already exploited," Celestia accused with a glare.

"I hate to try and explain this to you, but I think the trickle I was receiving during dinner did more for me than all that I fed on earlier. That flow of happiness and affection was something that was focused on me, directed. I can actually still feel it and it's still powering me right now, whereas all that emotion I ate last night was burned by the time I woke up. I think the more complex emotions, the ones that actually require a relationship, provide more energy. Lust wont cut it. So I'm going to keep doing my best to make her happy. Making her happy will require more than just doing what she asks me to do, though."

The stallion gave her a sad smile. "

"I'm willing to help you too if you ask me, Celestia. I don't want to help one of you just to see the other fall."

"You're a very dangerous creature," the white mare said after a moment of silence.

The changeling turned to follow Luna, opening the door with a hoof. He stopped just before closing the door, calling back to the mare.

"So are you, princess. We're just dangerous in different ways. From what I know of the story, you have a lot of magic, more than most creatures on this planet. For your own peace of mind though, the reason I'm not running around panicking in spite of my situation is because I'm scared. This is a survival scenario for me right now. If I panic, there's a good chance I will die. Therefore I need to maintain what little control I can exert. One thing Humans are good at is surviving. I won't just roll over and die when there's still a sliver of hope left. I'm willing to offer that to you as well. An ally or, if you'll allow it, a friend that will endure any hardship to survive. Right now, survival means making those around me happy, maybe even earning their love."

"And once you are safe? What is to become of mine sister after you are situated?"

Max chewed his lip, a bad idea with his new body.

"Ow, dammit. I don't know yet, princess. This may be an ongoing campaign, as just because I have access to enough emotion to survive doesn't mean it will last forever. I need to be able to live, not just survive. So I need Luna to be happy for as long as it takes me to either find a better solution, or until the day I die. Even if such a day comes that I no longer require her to survive though, I will not harm her. That both speaks ill of me and my own, and goes against everything I was taught as a child."

<-(0)->

Night Court was dull.

No, dull didn't quite capture the sheer level of boredom that the stallion was experiencing at the moment. He was sitting beside the throne, watching the time pass, watching the guards shooting him nervous glances and the single maid that was waiting nearby for any requests Luna may have. The mare had almost passed out when he'd first focused on her.

After nearly two hours of boredom, he'd been ready to call it the most boring, tedious, ridiculous waste of time that he'd ever experienced.

"It's like this every frickin' night?"

"It is. We must remain vigilant, however. We do receive requests during these courts. We will not abandon the subjects who require our aide," Luna said.

Max shifted a bit, feeling pins and needles in his legs from not moving for a while. Finally groaning in irritation, he stood up and started walking the width of the room, stretching his legs. He never did like sitting around for hours on end, sitting on his...ok, so he did sit around for hours at a time, but he had something to focus on. Actually, maybe that would work.

"You have a chess set or something?"

"Chess? You wish to play a game in the middle of court?" a guard asked with a mixture of anger and shock.

"Well no-one's showing up right now," Max said with a gesture to the doors. "That and the guy down there will announce when someone shows up. It's not like we're going to be playing a game while someone's petitioning for help. In fact, I think it would help a bit. I'm dozing off, and if you do this every night I can't see this being very...stimulating for you. It could keep you awake, leaving you better suited to deal with whatever issues are brought up. Personally, I think you could even do something else, then show up when someone comes looking for help. I mean, you talk about a game being a waste of time here, I think it's more of a waste to sit here for hours on end doing nothing."

"Our duty to our ponies is not a waste of time," Luna said stoically, though he tasted a bit of curiosity in her voice. The guards were still between livid and shocked he'd be talking like this to her.

"I'm not saying abandon them. When a, a pony shows up to ask for help, have someone call you back to the throne room. You can study, exercise, what have you. When you're needed, you show up and take care of whatever the problem may be."

Luna seemed to ponder the idea.

"It...does seem to have some merit."

"Your highness, you can't be seriously considering this thing's words!" a guard said in disbelief.

"How long is the rotation for the guards?" Max asked the stallion, catching him flat footed.

The stallion stuttered for a second before looking to Luna for permission to speak. When she nodded in approval, he answered.

"About six months for regular schedules, two for night guards. It keeps us from getting..."

"From getting too apathetic in your duties," Max finished. "Even the guards get bored of this, soldier. Princess Luna's been doing this for a while now, how do you think she feels? She doesn't get to switch with her sister every few months and you expect her to keep doing this for, for however long she rules. Actually, having the two of them switch would probably be a riot to watch. Those ponies come in, expecting Celestia and end up with Luna."

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, creature," the other guard corrected.

"Max, not creature," Luna added with a mischievous grin. "I would love to take mine sister's place for her court, but the day is not our time...perhaps if we kept the moon up for-"

Max blanched at the route Luna was thinking of pursuing.

"I'm going to stop you right there, Luna. The moon doesn't have to be up for you to be on the throne. Also, I don't think anyone would appreciate the sun and moon acting wonky again. After Discord, they want something they can count on. My own people count the moon and sun as an untouchable source of order while the ponies and everything else on this planet aren't so lucky. As I was saying earlier though, I don't see why you waste your time sitting here for hours at a time."

"It is tradition for the ruling party to be seated on the throne during their hours of duty," the guard to Luna's right answered.

The stallion stared at the guard for a breath before speaking.

"How long has that been tradition first of all. Second, did you ever have a ruler that was up all night? The situation has changed, so you need to adapt. I know it's not something you want to do after all the forced change with Discord, but change isn't to be feared. That's the one thing I'll kick that jerk for when I see him. Well, besides the whole forcibly changing me and leaving me on your front lawn to starve. That earns him an extra special kick in the 'nads. That being said, the only thing that doesn't change is the fact that things change. It's normal for societies to change and adapt to new ages, and this is a new age. New rules and customs are to be expected, in fact I'd say they're guaranteed."

Max grinned as the guards looked questioningly at each other and Luna thought the idea over. Celestia was proven to be capable of managing the day to day things in the worst case scenario, so why not? Luna didn't need to be wasting her time on a throne as nothing more than a seat warmer. She could go out and do things, see the country they were working to build, manage things while Luna passed her time in other ways. In fact, that would be his next pitch. She wanted to be closer to the ponies, so he'd suggest going out to the various towns and settlements, seeing what it was that the commoners wanted, what they did, what they needed.

Luna eventually nodded, beckoning the maid closer and asking her to retrieve a chess set. The mare left, soon returning with an ornate glass chess set, along with a small box containing the pieces and an additional set of checkers. A small table was set near the throne and the game was started.

Just before he moved his first pawn, Max moved around the table to whisper into the alicorn's ear.

"Winner of the first game gets a favor from the other, redeemable after court."

Considering the flair of excitement and just a little bit of lust he tasted after saying that, he was fairly certain he knew what Luna's favor would entail. It was fine though. He was here for her, after all. Anything the mare asked of him, if it was in his power to deliver it he would do so. His life was dependent upon her happiness, after all.

Author's Note

Soemone commented last chapter that it seemed to be moving fast. To that I have three things to say.

1: Max's life depends on making this relationship as quickly as possible. He doesn't know how the feeding works though, so he needs someone who wants him to survive, needs someone who needs him. By making this connection with Luna, she's that much more likely to endure discomfort for his sake.

2: Luna is experiencing her depression right now and it includes a feeling of abandonment. She suddenly has someone who asks about her, who wants her to be happy and is willing to stay up late with her for the sake of her comfort. I think she'd be willing to jump at anything to get rid of that feeling of loneliness.

3: It's a clop-fic, of course there's going to be those kinds of scenes. That being said, the connection has been made, and things are being learned. Now that he knows lust won't do it, he's going to be aiming a bit higher. Survival comes before freak-outs, after all. It helps to have someone there to support you during those, anyway.

In which Physical Biology is Explored

Max woke up to a gentle rapping on the door. He blinked a few times in confusion, trying to reclaim what had happened the night before. A moment later it came rushing back. Not because he remembered, but because the mare currently snuggling into his neck took that moment to wake up, planting a gentle kiss on his chin. Gentle though the contact may have been, the emotion delivered with the contact lit his shell up with energy like a power line.

"Good evening, Max," he heard the alicorn whisper softly, just before a spike of curiosity emanated from her. An instant later the mare was rolling the two of them over so that Luna was resting on his belly and staring down at him. She smashed her lips into his own, causing his eyes to widen in surprise from the sudden act. He then returned it, even going so far as to use his forelegs to pull her more tightly against his barrel.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Max asked groggily.

"I just spent the night in the hooves of somepony I love," the blue mare answered easily, giving another peck to his nose. "I don't see a reason I shouldn't be happy."

"Who is this lucky guy? I'd like to shake his hand," Max snarked, earning a giggle from the alicorn.

A second set of knocks on the door interrupted their banter and Luna scowled at the door as if it was the reason for her irritation.

"Yes, we are awake. We shall bathe then dine with our sister, have patience."

Rising onto her haunches and flaring her wings to stretch them, she looked down at the changeling that was still on his back.

"We'd enjoy a second bedding with thee, but we must make ourselves presentable. Come, there is something I am curious about."

Luna cocked her head as another thought occurred to her.

"Oh, please make your way to the bathing room, we must collect something!"

Max slowly picked him self off the bed, wincing as the sensation of the sheet peeling away made itself known. Looking around him at the mess, he actually was kind of curious how such a large amount of, well, bodily fluids could be released by two individuals without killing either one. The bed sheets and blankets were a loss in his opinion, much of it hardened after being given several hours to dry. He felt kind of sticky and flaky as well actually, but as far as he knew chitin wasn't that difficult to clean.

'Oh hell and they don't have washing machines. Someone's gonna have to wash this by hand. I am so sorry.'

Max stepped off the bed, cringing as a sheet tried to follow him to the bathroom. Actually, now that he thought about it he needed to pee. How was he not dead again? Stepping into the bathroom he stopped just shy of the toilet as a mirror caught his eyes. He'd yet to actually look at himself in the mirror after his transformation.

The eyes were still his regular blue orbs, though the slit-pupils were a bit odd. A few scratches and scars from his childhood were scattered here and there in positions that translated to his new body; a patch of discolored chitin on his rear left leg where he'd torn off most of his knee after falling off a skateboard. A discolored line going down his foreleg where he'd sliced himself on a damaged slide. That one had required stiches. It was strange being able to identify them, but he was grateful for the additional familiarity. He had no real mane to speak of, though there were a few strange flecks of blue seemed to be peeking out from amid the small fins on his neck. Almost as if it was the beginning of a mane.

Another oddity was the fact that the holes the species was known for were non-existent. He would have expected to see a few but as far as he could tell, there really wasn't anything like that showing on his form. He was just a large black-shelled insectoid creature with blue slit eyes and a large jagged spike jutting from his forehead.

Shifting to attempt to get a bit of a profile of himself in the mirror, he jumped at the feminine giggle that broke him from his thoughts.

"We were certain only mares spent time checking ourselves in the mirror," Luna teased as she entered the bathroom behind him.

Max grunted a noncommittal response at her teasing, choosing instead to go back to his inspection of his form. He pulled back his lips, taking careful note of the fangs and shifting himself to try and see any holes or markings in his fangs that would indicate the presence of venom.

"What are you...ah, you seek knowledge of your fangs, correct?" Luna said, realizing where his focus was. "We are aware of a spell that allows for the determination of a species ability to produce venom. We shall have a mage summoned to the throne to test you, though it will not tell us the use of the venom. There are many creatures who have venoms of differing effects, but to learn the effects we must give it to an apothecary."

"Yea, but for that, I need to know how to spit it ou-erk!" Max cut himself off, coughing and sputtering as venom began spurting from the fangs. His distress only amplified the effect, causing more of the liquid to poor into his mouth. He heard Luna asking if he was alright, but his focus was on something else.

'Relax, don't tense your cheeks, just calm down and relax.'

After a few more spurts of the venom Max managed to relax enough to stop trying to kill himself. His mouth wasn't dissolving, so obviously it wasn't some type of acidic venom. On the other hand he felt kind of tingly. A numbing effect?

"Perfect!" he heard Luna exclaim. Looking over to the mare, he noticed she was now wielding two vials, one with a glowing pink gel while the other contained a cloudy liquid, likely his venom.

"We now have samples of both the love and the venom. We are curious what its purpose is. Have you any ideas?"

"I tink it's a anatetic," the changeling garbled out. "Make ting num."

The alicorn burst into laughter at the displayed effects of the venom.

"You, you have fallen to your own venom! Oh what marvelous skill, how brilliant is Max, our guest and being from another time and place. A being who's own existence leaves mine own to seem so trifling!" she went on, touching her right foreleg against her head before falling onto her back laughing.

"Ah-ya, where da bat-room," Max said with a scowl. He didn't see any toilets in the bathroom so far, just a mirror, another door to the large pool, and a... oh god no. Please, no- anything but that.

"Bath room? Just beyond the door. You have already been there, have you not?" Luna asked him in confusion.

"I nee ta pee," Max explained with growing dread. "Da toilet?"

"There is a chamber pot in the closet if you need it, or there was one of those garderobes down the hall. T'was a marvelous idea, much cleaner than chamber pots. We are glad the architect mentioned them before the castle was built. They are much cleaner," Luna said cheerfully. " Tis always a frustrating thing to deal with. Even when Tia and myself were living on our own we were forced to deal with such unpleasant things."

Max covered his face in his hooves, groaning in despair.

'Indoor plumbing. That's one of the first things we're going to talk about. I know it's not feasible right now, but the sooner I get a flushing toilet, the better.'

"There is something wrong?" Luna asked upon seeing his despair.

"We talk abou' la'er. I 'ee 'ack hoon."

Pissing in a hole that led out of the castle was unpleasant. Doing so in an equine body was even more so. The smells, seemingly amplified by his larger nasal cavity and more predatory nature, made it even worse. At this point, Max was thankful that the only thing he seemed to need was a place to pee, as trying to...no, that wouldn't be pleasant at all.

'Small miracles and all that jazz, I guess.'

"Come, we wish to examine something," Luna said as he entered the room. Before he could step into the bathing pool she met him at the edge, her magic gently causing him to sit by the edge of the pool as the mare began casting spells over his form. Most seemed to flicker out and die on contact with his shell, something about the chitin interrupting the magical aura.

"We suppose that is to be expected. Many scanning spells are difficult, so a defense against them that merely causes them to falter and die would be seen as a problem with the caster."

Max suddenly squeaked in surprise, his legs twisting away as the mare began running magic over his lower body.

"Oh relax," the blue alicorn admonished him. "Our experience has left us curious."

The aura began running over his groin, drawing a shudder of pleasure from the stallion as his breathing quickened slightly. Looking down at his plates and seeing a few shift as the sensations left him slightly aroused, he was suddenly immensely curious as a blue glow began tracing itself along his lower body. Luna lowered her muzzle to his opening plates, watching intently as the parted to reveal the stallionhood it was previously concealing. The mare began looking to either side of the twitching rod, maintaining her aura that left him tingling as she continued her inspection.

"Odd, we do not see any...ah, perhaps here?"

Max gasped as his body tensed, the sensation of a hoof running over something way to sensitive to be his shell causing him to buck slightly. Whatever it was the alicorn had brushed, it felt good. Really good.

"Hmm. Most curious. It is almost as if..."

The pleasure all of a sudden doubled, causing the changeling to moan. The tingling sensations had returned in full, buzzing up and down his penis and drawing a bit of pre from deep inside him.

"D-dammit, what are you doing?"

"We are curious," Luna said distractedly. "Excuse us for wishing to know more about what is being inserted into our body. We keep thinking about the amount of seed released during our joining the night before, and it does not add up."

"S-so what's the issue? I me-HEEan, what are you looking f-OR," Max belted out. The sensations Luna was giving him during her inspection, he wouldn't be surprised if his eyes were crossing every now and again.

"Thy seed-bearers. They do not hang as with most stallions, neither are they merely hidden under the plates, set free as thy siring rod was. We believe it is internal, which is most strange..."

The large changeling grunted again, this time bucking fully as the mare's magic began filtering down his dick and deeper into his body.

'She's, she's fricken' tracing the pipes!'

His mouth opened in a soundless groan as the sensations spread, causing him to twitch and eject a small amount of pre onto the distracted alicorn's barrel. Still Luna's attention was on her magic as it wound its way into his body. Finally the magic split, causing him to swear as it spread in several different directions.

"Amazing," she breathed quietly. Blinking as the male grunted again, this time ejecting a small amount of pre onto her muzzle. Luna grinned at his blank stare.

"We suppose that the sensation of our magic is quite pleasurable?"

When no response was forthcoming, Luna looked down to the twitching and leaking penis that was even now pointing in her direction begging for attention. The head was currently leaking a bit, but unlike most stallions the fluid seemed to be an almost pink color. In truth the color almost reminded her of a watered down version of the love she'd collected from the bed. Watching it curiously even as her magic suffused the male's genitals, she gave it a cautious lick. It was only fair after all, she thought. She enjoyed such things so surely if she reciprocated he'd be willing to employ his tongue on her once more. Judging by the moan and the buck, he was quite sensitive and found the contact agreeable.

Luna blinked in surprise as she licked her lips. It was only pre of course, but it tasted...sweet? It was strange. Not in a bad way though. In fact, it was tempting to- yes, she'd just have another taste.

Meanwhile Max was staring blankly at the ceiling, wondering how the hell the alicorn was managing to fry his brain with so much pleasure at once. It was even made clear to him at the start that his pleasure was a side effect of her exploration of his body in search of his balls. As far as he could tell, she'd found them, buzzing them in her magic from their position inside his body. It felt mind-meltingly good, but then she'd brushed against the sensitive whatever-passed-as-skin under the plates. It was taking all of his willpower not to finish here and now. A new sensation reached his brain though, one that threatened what little reserves he'd recovered so far. A tongue.

Jerking unsteadily at the new source of pleasure, he looked down and saw the blue mare licking curiously at his head before beginning to suck on it like some sort of demented lollipop. He clenched again and the mare swallowed, running her tongue over his tool and even attempting to lick more out of the tip. It reminded him of his own reaction to her cum the first night, when hunger was driving him to drink as deeply of her orgasm as he could. Was she reacting the same way? Why?

Luna began to hum happily as she sucked on his stallionhood, and he felt something inside him begin to clench.

Luna blinked as the changeling jerked again, releasing another burst of the sweet, almost honey-like fluid. Looking up, she also saw the orbs still high-lighted in her magic begin to jerk and tense. A grin split her muzzle as she began furiously sucking on the organ currently in her mouth, running her tongue over the rings and humming as deeply as she could to finish him off. Suddenly she felt the changeling lean forward, driving himself deep into her throat and nearly choking her on the thickness. She went to pull back, but he was leaning on her back, wrapping his forelegs around her barrel in a powerful grip even as he bucked into her throat as his orgasm overcame his sensibilities. Feeling the rings in her throat stiffen to form a seal, the mare panicked as her air was cut off. Certainly she could hold her breath for a long while, especially in comparison to other ponies, but that meant little to her at the moment. The stallion above her had been locked in her for a while after her own orgasm had passed, would it happen again?

She began swallowing, hoping to accelerate the process before she began to worry too much. It wouldn't have taken much more coaxing though, as the semen was already on its way.

She felt the gushing in her throat, spraying almost directly into her gullet as the male grunted above her. One, two three, four powerful bursts of the seed followed by what felt like an almost constant stream just leaking into her throat. In spite of her worries the changeling soon relaxed his grip, his rings softening even as he continued to dribble his cum into her throat. As the rod was removed from her mouth, she gave the still dripping member one last parting lick, savoring the sweet flavor that danced over her tongue. Curious. Most curious indeed.

"W-whoa," Max said weakly, his eyes still fogged with the pleasure of the experience. He looked at her longingly for a moment, a look that caused her to shudder. She'd wanted that, wanted to see that look in a stallion's eyes for a long time. Not that damnable reverence the alicorns inspired, nor the lust for power some of the nobles radiated. Just a primal desire for the one in front of her, mirrored in his eyes.

"I...I think we should finish up soon," the changeling said, shakily attempting to step into the pool. "We're going to be l-late."

Luna grinned at his dazed manner.

"Indeed, though I do wish to test one more thing before we are through here though."

Levitating a small stone and a small vial of oil, the lunar diarch pulled the still-weak changeling to her barrel.

"We wish to see if thy shell is capable of being polished."

<-(0)->

Though it felt strange having an oiled stone rubbed over his shell in an effort to polish it, the left shoulder plates of his chitin (the only part Luna had time to work on) had turned out surprisingly well. The shell actually gleamed in the evening light. Not something he'd like if he was trying to be sneaky like an actual changeling, but it looked pretty impressive. Having the entirety of the shell polished to this level would be downright glamorous.

"I will be the most fabulous changeling to ever walk the planet," Max muttered with a chuckle.

Luna gave him a shove with her shoulder as they made their way down the hallway.

"We believe it looks nice. Perhaps later we may finish our work? It was very similar to polishing armor."

"No, tonight I have something special planned for you. We're going to be discussing biology, or at least what I know of it. Things could very well be different in a place of magic, but most diseases function on a very small level. Understanding how they work and how they spread allows you to counter-act them, possibly even preventing epidemics. One major thing I'll also suggest though is indoor plumbing. I don't think it's feasible right now, but sanitation is very important to health. That and I prefer flushing toilets to holes that smell like death," Max groused.

"The garderobe was not what you were expecting, was it?" Luna asked curiously. "Do your people truly put so much effort into their, 'bathrooms'? A few charms around the chute stops most of the smell, so while it can be unpleasant we fail to see the importance."

The changeling nodded.

"A lot of sickness, both actual illnesses and parasites, can be avoided by proper removal of waste. I'll explain that part later though. Not something you want to hear the details about while eating. We'll save it for around three or so, after I've hit the basics of biology."

The smaller dining room was once more the destination of the group, this time though it was devoid of nobles when Luna and Max walked through the door. Celestia was sitting across the way, talking with a mare who was holding a scroll about something. The moment the white alicorn heard the door open, her ears perked and she turned a cautious smile towards the pair.

"Evening, Princess Celestia. Sorry about the wait, Princess Luna and I ran into a few oddities on the way here."

As Celestia's eyes tracked the two with interest, Luna took her seat and began giggling excitedly.

"We obtained samples of both Max's venom and excess love. It turns out it is possible for a changeling to overfeed on an emotion! The venom also has a numbing effect, as the two of us learned when he accidentally ejected it into his own mouth!"

"Venom?' the alabaster mare asked cautiously. "We were unaware that changelings were venomous."

"So was I," Max said, rubbing his temple with a hoof. "I was looking at my fangs in the mirror, wondering if I had venom and I accidentally pinched the venom sacs. God help me if I accidentally bite my lip or tongue, I may knock myself out. Plus side, it's a useful venom to have if its purely a numbing venom with no damaging effects."

Seeing as both of the mares were looking at him in curiosity, he explained further.

"The venom could be used as an anesthetic. If someone's in pain, a changeling bites them, or you use previously gathered venom and inject it into the blood-stream of the patient. The venom would numb the injured area, lessoning the pain. It could also be used during surgeries, instead of either knocking them out and hoping they stay out or trying to get them drunk. I wouldn't suggest it right now as I don't know all the details, but it's something to look into in the future."

Luna levitated the vial of venom in front of her, looking at in in a new light.

"I'd never...you believe this venom may be used medicinally?"

Max nodded.

"It can, venom is also used to make antivenin, though I don't know the process. I know that snakes were milked for their venom, but that's all I remember. As I said before, I can point you in the direction of many technologies, but it would be up to you to figure out how to use them. With magic, you could even bypass some of the stages of technological development. Of course, that's the opinion of someone who knows nothing about magic. Back home magic is often a term used to explain the unknown or the spiritual."

As Luna began eating she kept looking towards the second vial now floating in her magical grip. Would it also have such amazing uses? Was there even more that such a magically based solution was capable of? Overcome by her curiosity, she popped the cork and poured a small amount onto her hoof. Heedless of her sister and the changelings questions of what she was doing she licked it off, noting the sweet taste as well as the power she felt flow into her. While she was unsurprised to find it tasting similar to the changeling's semen, she actually felt a bit of magic in the gel. Did changelings naturally change love into magic? It wasn't much, not enough to do more than cast a simple spell, but it was more than she'd expected. In fact once she looked, she felt a bit more magic than she expected in her system, much of it bearing the same feeling as the magic she gained through the small taste of love.

"It contains magic," Luna said. "We would hazard a guess that a small glass could easily supply the imbiber with enough magic energy to cast a minor spell, mayhap more."

"You're certain?" Celestia asked, taking the vial from her sister. Looking it over curiously, she sniffed at the liquid before following her sister's example. The results were, surprisingly, different.

"...Tia? Tia are you alright?"

Max was just about to leave his seat to check on her when the white mare burst into giggles, her naturally pink eyes almost masking the glow that they were currently emitting. Both Max and Luna walked around the table to the older alicorn, who was currently observing her reflection in her goblet while making faces into it. Luna looked ready to start teasing, but Max waved her back with a concerned frown.

"Let's make sure she's not going to get hurt by this before we tease her. I have no idea what that does to people, much less why it wouldn't have the same effect on you."

Luna nodded, understanding the situation but still finding it humorous, giggling quietly as Max began checking the white alicorn over. The blue mare's giggles increased when Celestia began running a hoof over his shell, muttering about how shiny it was.

"Her eye's are glowing a bit," Max said as he looked the princess over. "It's faint and I think its the same color of her eyes so it's tough to tell, but that stuff...it wasn't even that much."

Luna tapped her hoof to her chin.

"Mayhap we were unaffected because of its origin? It is our love, processed into a physical means by your changeling biology. Could that be the reason our sister was impacted much more visibly?"

The changeling shook his head in defeat.

"It's the best theory we have at the moment. I can't see it lasting that long, as it wasn't even that much. If it persists much longer I'd suggest putting her to bed and letting her sleep it off. If the effect persists longer than that..."

The plans were cut short as Celestia blinked in confusion for a few seconds, her happy smile fading into a blank stare as she regained control of herself.

"Sister, are you well? The love, it seemed to have a much greater impact on you," Luna said, showing actual concern for the other alicorn for the first time in Max's presence.

Celestia nodded slowly.

"I, we believe so. T'was a strange sensation. Everything around us just seemed so...wonderful for a moment. While it was disconcerting, we cannot call it an unpleasant experience."

"As long as it was a temporary thing. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep the rest of it for tomorrow morning. I think it was some time in the early morning that I arrived so I'd like to keep some handy just in case," Max requested, earning a nod from both alicorns.

Once everyone made their ways back to their seats Luna giggled again, looking over at her stoic sister.

"You were making faces in your goblet like a foal, Tia."

Max was actually surprised when Celestia stuck her tongue out at Luna before smiling a little. It was nice to see after the hostility. While the changeling wouldn't bet that the problem was resolved, it was looking a little bit better now. Maybe he could do this? Maybe he'd survive this brewing disaster?

"We were delighted to find one of the nobles leading the charge into the dining room when we retired for lunch today," Celestia said to the changeling. "Your recommendation to impose upon the stallion drew a delightful reaction from Sir Tin Index earlier. We were required to announce our need to be elsewhere during dinner before we closed court for the night of course, but from the word of our knights the Baron was quite overwhelmed."

"You jest!" Luna shouted in mock surprise. "Mine sister, duping one of the nobles? Foisting off her responsibility under a false flag? What have you done with mine sister, pretender?!"

"We are aware it was not...normal for our routine. However, we are in agreement with your...what is he to you, sister?" the white mare asked cautiously.

Luna looked over to the changeling who was also giving the question a bit of thought.

"We, are not certain actually. We wish to say friend but we find the term lacking."

"Anchor," Max said from his seat, not looking up from his meal.

"To keep a marine-themed line of explanation Luna and I are currently experiencing very rough situations, or rough seas. We're anchoring each other through this time, helping to keep the other stable."

"You seem stable enough," Celestia said with a confused expression.

"I am now, but I'll likely get bad later. I'm already nervous, as I know the deadline's approaching and I'm not certain if I have this right. There's a million things that could go wrong and until I talk to a natural changeling, there's a good chance I won't learn things about my species for years. After the deadline though, if everything turns out well...it still won't be. Not by a long shot."

The sisters were taken aback by the sudden twist in the mood. Luna gently placed a wing over his back, pulling him into a possessive hug. The stallion gave an appreciative smile at the affection before bumping his muzzle against her cheek.

They both jerked at the cough that came from the other side of the table.

"We apologize, but could the two of you keep that to yourselves? Luna, I know you care not a whit about the nobles, especially after their apparent...dismissal of your position, but they are still powerful enough to cause the lot of us problems. Be cautious."

The blue alicorn's muzzle twisted like she'd bit into a lemon but before she could retort Max interrupted.

"Don't poke them just because you don't like them, Luna. You can get them in other ways, trust me. Your country is just starting out, right? The power and influence they can bring to the table is important for now. Once you and Celestia are settled and your country is stable, you can do what you want. Within reason," he added with a smirk.

"Speaking of starting out, there was talk of bandits raiding a nearby village," Celestia mentioned with a bit of irritation. "We have dispatched pegasi scouts discover the extent of the problem. If it is not too many, would you like to take care of it, or shall I?"

"We would be glad to dispense justice to these fools who think they may take advantage of our subjects. We should be able to eradicate them before returning to court, in fact," Luna responded, her anger bubbling at the idea of banditry.

"Bandits huh? I can't say I have any experience with them, sorry. We had to deal with terrorists and pirates, but the goals of the former were usually just to harm as many individuals as possible in the worst possible way, hence the name, and the others operated in international waters, where they could pretend to be fishing boats or something like that. The former were often not interested in survival, and the latter were more of a nuisance to those of us on the larger continents or countries that had a decent military," the changeling said with a shrug. "I'm afraid I only have theory in that area of expertise. I've never been in combat myself and what little self-defense I know is, uh. Let's just say I don't think an choke-hold is viable with four legs. Not the way I know them, at least."

"Ha! Have no fear, Max. We shall grace you with lessons in combat in the future," the blue alicorn said with a laugh. "It would not do for mine friend to find himself gutted by a foal with a butter knife."

"Oh, I'm not worried about the foals with butter knives. I'm worried about the space-bears. Bears are mean, so I can only imagine that magical bears will kill me dead," Max retorted. "Oh, and don't forget the hydras. Because a dinosaur-sized monster with sharp teeth isn't bad enough, we need to give it several sets of sharp teeth."

The stallion cocked his head in confusion for a moment after mentioning the hydra.

"Do hydras regrow heads if you cut them off?"

Celestia blanched at the idea.

"Not that we are aware of. We have mostly been successful in driving them away from villages with fire, though.

"I guess the fire thing is still there," the changeling muttered.

Luna rose from her seat, tossing one last bite of her meal into her mouth before making her way for the door.

"Good night, sister. We shall see you with the rising of the sun. We hope for more information on the bandits soon."

"Luna, you barely touched your dinner. Are you well?" the white alicorn pointed out in concern.

Luna giggled mischievously as she looked over her wings to her sister.

"We must apologize. We just don't have room today, Tia."

Author's Note

Changeling love has actual love in it.

In which the Deadline is Reached

"...and the nerves transfer lightning from the brain to the muscles, allowing for movement by causing them to contract. There are actually two sets of muscles in each major flex point, one to pull in one direction," Max demonstrated by pulling his leg up off of the ground "and one to pull it back into position."

What had begun as a simple biology lesson had soon turned into a briefing on every little bit of relevant biology he could dredge up, while what had begun as a simple audience of just Luna and her guards had soon evolved into a small crowd of educated individuals, mostly unicorns, who were more interested in learning than sleeping. Many were either taking notes on long scrolls of paper or had an aide writing down the entire explanation for later review. It actually made the stallion a bit nervous. This information, if it passed muster here tonight, would likely be disseminated throughout the country and eventually the planet. The ideas he was proposing were years ahead of what medieval medicine would be able to prove anyway, even with magic supplementing it, not to mention the loss of knowledge Discord's reign had caused.

When Max and Luna had first entered the throne room and he'd explained to the knights what he was about to do, as well as asking for a chalkboard or something similar, one of the guards had asked if it was possible to hold off while he alerted a unicorn acquaintance who was a well-known scholar. According to the knight, the stallion would never forgive him if he allowed this information to pass his friend by. One thing had led to another, and eventually the private lesson had turned into a public class about basic biology regarding the body. Many had balked at the idea of learning from a creature as strange as Max, but both the fact that Princess Luna was sitting on a comfortable long pillow with several scrolls held in her magic as well as the presence of an increasingly interested group of scholars seemed to calm many of the more uncomfortable visitors.

"You say that lightning causes the muscles to move," one of the older unicorns said, looking over his scroll. "I find this a trifle difficult to believe, as I've seen the damage caused by lightning. Burns are always an issue, even among pegasi who don't manage to shield themselves properly. How can our...brains? Yes, brains- generate enough power to generate lightning, or do so without causing harm to our bodies? I would think that such power contained in the skull would cause irreparable damage."

"The amount you're using is extremely small. So small in fact that it would dissipate in you body if not for the fact that the neurons are specially designed to carry these electrical signals. Once they reach the muscle, it's a simple yes and no question that decides what the muscle does. Is there a signal? If the answer is yes, the muscles contract. If the answer is no, the muscles relax. I'm oversimplifying this, as there's also the number of muscles that contract and how far, but that's the basics. You can actually prove this idea with how a body reacts to lightning. A being's muscles will all contract from the stimulation, sometimes causing convulsions as opposing muscles vie for which is going to pull the electrified parts."

The group descended into general chatter, a unicorn and pegasus even trying out the theory and those around making notes at the twitching the electrical discharge caused in the pegasus' foreleg.

Seeing Luna waving his attention to the setting moon, Max cleared his throat.

"I'm afraid we're just about done for the night. I'll be happy to continue this at a later time. It will also allow you to both think up any questions or clarifications you need, and maybe even tell some friends that you think may be interested in this. And remember, power corrupts, and knowledge is power. So study hard and be evil."

A few curious stares came from the ponies, though one or two did chuckle at the saying. A few whispers were traded and the number of chuckles increased, some not seeming to understand the joke or realize it was a joke. The courtroom emptied in preparation of the end of night court and Luna smiled widely at the changeling.

"We have not seen so many in the night court in our memory," Luna said, a twinge of sorrow in her voice. "The explanation was also very interesting. You will be discussing mico-bees next time, as well as the parasites?"

"Yea. As something to grab their attention, I figured a bit of anatomy would be better. You can use biology in anything. Self defense: knowing the soft parts of an opponent allows you to take them down faster. Medicine: knowing about the blood flow and pressure points can help you slow down bleeding thus preventing death by blood loss. Even sex, as the little button inside a wo-mare's private bits would actually become a penis if she had ended up as a male. When the child is still developing it actually has a point in its growth where it doesn't have a gender. Once it starts developing those traits, the body molds to the proper form. In this case, either a penis or a clitoris. That's why it's so sensitive, I think. I don't know if it's true, but I want to say the female has almost as much sensitivity in that one spot as a male has in his entire length."

Looking to the guards, both of whom were listening with perked ears, Max grinned.

"Keep that in mind, guys. Females are really sensitive there. Sometimes that means too much can hurt them, so you have to treat it with caution till you know what the girl likes. Everyone's different though, so be prepared to roll with it."

Luna giggled at the attentiveness of the knights. Whatever their opinions of Max, they were certainly listening now.

"I believe Autumn Breeze would be most delighted to help put this knowledge to use, Lance."

Max raised an eyebrow as the pegasus' wings popped out, drawing a full-on laugh from Luna and a face-hoof from his compatriot. It seemed that wingies were a thing. He vaguely remembered Luna's wings splaying, but it was difficult to tell if it was from stimulation or from some flight-based instinct.

A sudden twinge in his chest caused the changeling to flinch, putting a hoof to his barrel. His eyes widened in horror as he realized it was getting closer to the end of the third day. He'd been so involved in the lecture he'd not paid any attention to the hour.

"Max? Max, what is... Remain calm, we are right here. We even have the vial with the extra love present," Luna comforted, moving closer and pulling him towards her with her wing.

"I completely forgot about the time, oh shit oh shit. I don't even know how long I have, I mean I could have been lying there for hours before one of the guards stumbled across me. My shell is black, it would have been easy to miss in the dark. What if that was the disconnect? What if I don't have this right? I-" *clack*

Luna, having stepped back from him during his tirade, slowly lowered her hoof back to the floor even as the changeling nursed the marred shell of his cheek.

"Calm yourself. You gain nothing by panicking. If that was the disconnect, then you are still alive and well. If that was a warning, you are well and truly prepared, even wielding extra love in case what you have is not enough."

Stepping in and brushing her cheek against his own, she smiled softly.

"And should even that fail to work, we are more than willing to give you what you require. Come, mine sister awaits. We will dine with her then retire."

<-(0)->

Celestia blinked blearily as she sipped her morning tea, working out the last bits of sleep from her eyes. The sight of her sister still attached to her, dare she think the term, lover was still difficult to deal with but it was nice to see Luna speaking well of night court for a change.

"T'was most informative, sister," Luna said between bites. "We shall send your assistant a copy of the notes for your own perusal. We had at least twelve nobles in attendance for Max's lecture on basic anatomy and there may be even more next time. He even knew the purpose of some of the stranger or disconnected body parts."

The princess of the day nodded in feigned understanding. She could only assume Luna meant several of the inside-bits that scholars had yet to determine the purpose of. Perhaps reading the notes would help relieve some of the misgivings she had about the stallion? She was already starting to believe his story, if only because she had come face to face with Discord and the amalgamation had merely insulted her décor and then left.

That had been a terrifying experience no matter how she tried to think about it. Discord was random, he never had a purpose. He acted out, and those around him suffered. To see that same mind turn from childish games that ruined the world around him to an intelligent, calculating and worst of all planning being capable of ripping the fabric of reality asunder? Celestia was certain that her troubled sleep was only just beginning.

Taking another bite of her pancakes, she watched curiously as the changeling just stared out he window, anxiety playing over his features.

'That's right, it was about now that our knights had first discovered him.'

The timeframe Discord had given had been very vague, but at her most kind guess she gave the changeling an hour or two before its time was up. After that its survival would rest on her sister.

Looking closer at the stallion, she noticed he was shaking slightly, while the slight buzzing she had attributed to a fly was actually his wings buzzing with nervous energy. Pegasi did that sometimes, as did Luna when she was agitated. The only reason Celestia didn't ruffle her wings that often was because she was still not quite used to them. It had only been five years, after all. Five years since two young mares had stood up to Discord and sought to wrest control of the heavens from him. Luna had walked away with a horn while Celestia had gained wings, leaving the two of them the only ones on the planet to have achieved this state of being in recorded history. The following year had been a crash course for the two of them in using the new appendages, as taught by the one who had been borne with them.

Looking back to her sister, Celestia nodded her head, directing Luna's attention to the jittering male. The blue alicorn rolled her eyes, drawing a polite cough from the white mare.

"Max, be still," Luna chided. "At this rate, the energy you have gained shall be burned from your system in minutes. We shall see you through this. We swear."

The changeling nodded absentmindedly.

"I, I know but I've just never had a deadline that was quite so literal. I'm not even running on food right now. I'm living on what amounts to magical fumes. It really doesn't make sense to me, it's not something I understand and that's what scares me. I mean, this is it. If I screwed this up I'm dead. I don't even know how feeding works, I think it just kind of happened, my body pulling in the energy that was directed at it. What if that's not how it's supposed to work? What if-"

"Calm, Max! Calm. You will be fine," Luna said again, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

The white alicorn watched the changeling trying to calm down for a few moments before noticing something incredibly strange. While pegasi would flutter their wings, and some ponies would scuff their hooves on the ground, the stallion was bouncing one of his rear legs. It was almost...alien?

The mare blinked as the idea hit her. There was just no explanation for having a nervous tic like that, it didn't even make sense. Judging by the fact that despite how awkwardly the changeling was in his leg-bobbing he wasn't slowing down, he wasn't even aware of it.

'Luna had already said that she had seen things in his dreams, things that prove that he is from another world.'

It was almost painful for her, but Celestia had to admit it. Max really was an alien. Going by the picture, his awkwardness, and even his strange habits he wasn't even a quadruped by birth.

As the mares finished the last of their meals, Celestia and Luna both rose from their seats and made their way to an open balcony.

"Come Max, we would like you to be present," Luna called back as she left the room. "We believe you will like this."

"Is that a royal we meaning you, or are you speaking for Celestia as well?" Max retorted without thinking.

Both princesses stopped dead in there tracks and stared at the stallion, who blinked and seemed to realize what he'd just said.

"Sorry, I'm a bit...I retort on autopilot sometimes."

Luna smiled good-naturedly and beckoned with a wing, holding a door open to allow him to step into the cool morning air. Max smiled as he walked out onto the balcony. In truth, this was the first time he'd actually been outside since he first ended up in this mess. Well, aside from lying unconscious in the garden, but he wasn't certain that counted.

Luna and Celestia both took places on either side of the balcony, spreading their wings and lighting their horns as they participated in their daily ritual. The changeling smiled at the exchange. The two alicorns were pulling energy in towards themselves, charging the air around them with potential. Max idly noticed his own horn was buzzing as it was exposed to the magic in the air, but he was soon distracted by the ignition of the blue princess's horn.

Luna pulled the magic to herself, channeling the blazing vortex of power through her focus and gently pushing the moon below the horizon. The moment Luna's horn dulled Celestia's lit up, the magic sweeping from Luna to her sister like a wave of water contained between two barriers. Riding the rush of magic dissipating from her sister's spell, Celestia lit her own horn, pulling the magic towards herself and pulling the sun over the hills to begin a new day. As the magic was released from the solar sister, Max could feel the magic washing over him as it dissipated into the surrounding area. Never before had he felt both so small and so excited at the same time. This was the potential of magic, something he would be able to grasp given the time and effort. What was the top end for a changeling? Would he one day be capable of such a feat? What kinds of things would he-

Max jerked as he felt something snap inside of him.

The world swam in and out of focus while he impacted on the stone floor, his legs having given out from the sudden vertigo. He heard someone shout, felt someone bumping him in the shoulder. He closed his eyes to avoid the spinning vision, but it didn't seem to help him much. Things felt off, wrong. Like suddenly he was aware of the fact that he hadn't actually eaten anything in days. It was about how he would have assumed he'd have been, actually. Weak, in pain, hungry. Maybe dying?

Suddenly there was a torrent of warmth pouring into his body, both from something currently holding onto him as well as a warmth flowing down his throat. The warmth immediately spread throughout his form, causing his head to finally stop spinning. Opening his eyes, he found himself on his back with two concerned mares standing over him. Luna was holding him, crushing him against her barrel and nearly in tears. He was about to say something, something to assuage her fear when she leaned in and kissed him.

His eyes widened as he felt energy pour into his body. It was pure, it was sweet, it was potent, it was like nothing he'd felt yet. No, that wasn't right. He'd felt it before, in fact some of what he was feeling was the vial of love that Luna had kept for him in case something like this had happened.

'Then why does it just feel so much more...powerful?'

Whereas before the flow of energy was noticeable, it had gone from a trickle to a fire hose. After only a few moments, Max swore his vision started to tint pink from the large amount of love the mare was pouring in to him. He blinked a few times to clear his sight and managed to wrap his own forelegs around the lunar diarch.

At his movement, Luna jerked back, yelling into his face.

"Max? Maximus, are you well? Speak please, you collapsed and-"

"Relax Luna, he is recovering. See his eyes? They are tracking us again."

Max felt himself lowered back to the floor, the two alicorns hovering over him as everything started coming into focus again. The pink tint was fading at almost the same rate that his gnawing hunger faded, so he could only guess that the emotions Luna had focused on him was being processed by his body for energy. Not just the love either, he could taste the bitter fear, the sour worry. He could even taste the less potent concern from Celestia, though from what he could tell much of it was directed to Luna.

He could taste other things now as well. Curiosity from a serving girl in the other room, boredom from the knights down in the courtyard. Disgust from a distant pony at the edge of his senses, somewhere in town around the castle. Lust, anger, happiness, curiosity, love, confusion, hate, fear. Where before they were faint, he felt them with absolute clarity now. Focusing on Luna, he could almost see the emotions wafting from her, many of them blazing at him and pushing at him as she focused them on the changeling.

"Maximus, can you hear me?" Celestia asked softly.

Max managed a slow nod this time, his mind finally catching up with the new information he was being forced to process.

"I, I'm here. I felt like something got ripped out, everything went, kinda fuzzy. It's coming back now and, it's all a lot clearer. I can sense more emotion now, I can feel more and from a, farther distance."

Celestia lit her horn, the bright light causing him to wince and squint his eyes. A moment later he was staring in confusion, as were the alicorns, as the world had taken yet another tint. A blue tint this time.

"A secondary eyelid. Some creatures have that, but we had no idea...and I assume you didn't either, correct?" he heard the white mare ask.

He shook his head, attempting to open his eyes wider and get them to open properly. After the alicorns began chuckling at his eye-movements, he sighed and lied limply on the balcony.

"The problem with, with new muscle groups is that you, don't know how to make them move. I don't know how to open them now."

He watched as Celestia once more lit her horn, her magic sweeping up and down his form in what he assumed was a scanning spell. Where Luna's fell apart though, Celestia increased the power and held the magic together, pushing through the diffusing effect of the chitin.

"There's a bit of Discord's magic lingering still in your body, but we believe we understand what has occurred," Celestia said. "Discord left a good amount of energy in your form to sustain you during these days. Once the time expired the energy was removed, leaving a large void in your magic. Being a being who, er, lives on emotional energy, it left you physically weakened. "

Max pondered the explanation for a moment before nodding weakly.

"That makes sense I guess. Would someone else's magic dull your senses? I feel like I just got over a cold, and my nose is clear for the first time."

"We would assume so, especially with Discord's magic, though we have not actually heard of such things before. How do you feel?" Luna asked.

"Tired. I feel like I haven't slept in a while and just ate my first meal in twice as long," Max said, his body slumping in exhaustion. Now that the deadline had passed and he was alive, the fear and tension he'd been feeling was gone leaving him pleasantly numb.

Luna smiled, hefting the stallion with her magic and placing him on her back.

"We shall see you tomorrow, sister. We will be turning in early tonight. This excitement was a bit much and I believe I shall feel better later today."

Max lied limply on Luna's back for the trip back to her room, almost falling asleep before they even reached her room. She carefully dropped him onto the bed before hopping into bed herself, pulling the light blanket over the two of them and pulling the stallion closer with a wing. Dozing there with the blue alicorn pressing possessively against him and even now radiating warmth and love that he could feel empowering his body.

"Sorry I'm not up for doing anything for you now, Luna."

The mare giggled and gave him a peck on muzzle before laying her head over his neck.

"We are not so cruel to require you to attend to us when you are unwell. We have plenty of time, Max. You may make it up to us at a later date. Perhaps tomorrow we may start training you in properly grooming wings?"

The changeling gave a noncommittal grunt before dozing off. After panicking for the better part of the day he was exhausted. He'd feel better later. Probably.

No, never mind. He would likely end up feeling worse.

In Which One Finally Gives In to Panic

Max blinked awake later that day. He felt warm, energized if still a bit hungry, and most importantly he didn't feel the hanging dread he'd been suffering from for the last few days. He'd survived the disconnect from Discord's energy even if it laid him out. He was free now, free to relax, free to calm down, enjoy himself. Free to...do what exactly?

Laying in the bed, Max realized that he had no idea what he should be looking into at the moment. Certainly he could help the princesses in their pursuit of better lives for their subjects, but what would he do now? He wasn't even certain how his own biology worked, much less how the world around him ticked. Was this the dark ages of their history? If so, what did that entail?

'No plumbing, no modern medicine, they might not even sterilize the tools used in surgeries. The biggest question isn't what is needed, it's what's practical enough for them to go for. Plumbing is material intensive and requires more work then they're likely willing to put out at the moment, and I'd have to convince whatever passes for medical professionals here to take better care of their tools.'

Someone comes up to you and tells you that the way you've been working, the way your master taught you and that the way you and yours have been working for hundreds of years was wrong? That would go over well. Then there was the princesses subjects.

'How big is this kingdom anyway? Just how much power are Celestia and Luna throwing around in the world? I can't see them being too big, even if they did take out Discord. This is pre-telephone so information may not reach the other parts of the world, if it ever does. At this point in history for humans large kingdoms weren't something you pulled out of your ass. You needed infrastructure, you needed the people to maintain it, and you needed the food to feed that population.'

The biggest issue he was facing, Max decided, was what he was going to be to this kingdom. What was he anyway? As fun as it was, he wasn't sure 'royal consort' was something he wanted to be known by, much less 'royal fuck-buddy'. Not only was that kind of weird and not on the list of things he wanted to be known as, Luna deserved more than that. He needed to be more, he needed to do something that really set him at a level that didn't leave Luna stooping to his level.

The changeling managed to wiggle his way out of the alicorn's hooves and stretch in the bedroom, cracking open the window afterwards and taking a deep breath of the fresh air. No cars meant no familiar scents. Some may cheer at the lack chemicals floating about on the breeze, but it was just another thing that left his situation unfamiliar. There were few places he would have gone that didn't get any vehicle traffic whatsoever, and even in those locations you could still see a jet flying overhead or hear a distant freeway. The lack of such things left the world almost hauntingly quiet at night. Hell, scent of burned gasoline would have been welcomed as familiar.

"Going to have to check farming, tech, medical, navigational things, I may even look into doing some engineering of my own. Not like I've got anything else..."

His mutterings trailed off as a stray thought hit him. This wasn't temporary. There was a good chance he'd never get back home, never even manage to get a message back home. For all his friends and family would know he just dropped off the face of the planet. They'd never even find a body.

His rump hit the floor as one thought led to another. He'd never finish his college courses, his belongings were gone so he had nothing to his name but what Luna allowed him to use, the only reason he could think of for his even surviving this long was because the mare was dangerously depressed. She was so desperate for a friend she was willing to accept him in spite of the innumerable and unknown risks. Not only that, she was willing to go that far with someone she'd only recently met. Was that normal for ponies? Were they naturally just more intimate, or was it something else? Was it her fear of losing her companion that drove her to such dangerous acts?

His thoughts only spun downwards from there. Was he hurting Luna more by doing this? Could the feeding have long term effects that would hurt her in ways he couldn't comprehend? What about him? How long did changelings live? How long did whatever variant he was live? Would he ever be able to come close to making up for what he'd been given?

<-(0)->

Luna blinked awake the next morning feeling refreshed. Max was beyond the grip of Discord and, as far as they could tell, healthy. The stallion was already beginning to allow them a taste of the knowledge he had access to. She was curious what other things he knew of. She was well aware that he wasn't going to be able to tell them everything, but even general knowledge could push Equestria decades into the future.

The mental image of a pony seated in one of those strange metal things from the changeling's dream was interrupted by a grumbling sound followed by a scraping impact on one of the walls. Luna rose from her covers to look out into her room, seeing Max pacing about as he muttered darkly. Every few passes he'd shove a shoulder or flank into the wall, the impact leaving an odd scraping sound as chitin struck stone.

"Max? Whatever is the matter?"

The changeling slowed in his pacing, giving her a glance before resuming his previous pace.

"I'm fucked, that's what. I survived Discord's game, but now what? I'm an alien on a world I know almost nothing about, I've probably already made some enemies with that little stunt I pulled in the dining room, enemies with more power and resources than I could guess. I'm a fricken' bug-thing that eats emotions which means if ever I get separated from you or anyone I know I could die of starvation even if I know every edible plant and animal in the wild. I'm literally dependent on the good will of those around me, Luna!

"I'm dead on my own, and even then my situation sucks. I've got fangs that I can poison myself with, I've got a fucking alien dick, I may even have more testicular mass than brains! Do you know how stupid that is? This body pumps out more semen than anything would ever need! Why? Why the hell is it so virile when there's no need for it? Even if a changeling queen produces several hundred eggs, there's no reason for my body to have so much capacity!"

Striking his shoulder against a wall once more, he growled before using his fangs to nip at the itch.

"Look at this! I'm so stressed out I'm molting!"

The stallion's eye twitched and he stopped in his tracks the moment the words left his lips.

"Max..." Luna tried to start, but was cut off as his tirade began again.

"Molting?!?" he shouted, "Are you fucking kidding me? Not only do I look like a bug I'm going to shed this shell like one? What the actual fuck? How does that even work? If I'm eating emotion, where the hell does the mass come from? What do I do in the meantime, hide under a bed? What happens when I shed? How do I shed? This is driving me up the wall, I don't understand any of it!"

"Please calm down," Luna interrupted. "Perhaps a drink would allow you to relax? We could have something potent brought to breakfast, something that could help with your nerves."

"If I could even get drunk," Max muttered darkly, scraping his hoof against a shoulder. He seemed two seconds away from trying to scratch his neck with a rear hoof like a dog when an idea seemed to strike him. Luna found herself leaning back a bit from the intensity of his gaze.

Max walked over to the bed and stepped up onto it, his eyes drilling into her own.

"I had an idea. Will you help me test it?"

Luna nodded blankly. The tone of voice, it sounded almost as if-

He wrapped his forelegs around her and gently set her back on the bed, this time on her back. It was a bit uncomfortable to be exposed in such a way, but even as her head hit the mattress he'd met her lips in a kiss.

She blinked in confusion as he drifted away, leaving a trail of kisses running down her neck and barrel. What was he doing? Why would he try to arouse her at this time?

She flinched as his hot breathe ran over her vaginal lips. He was moving fast, almost too fast. A few feather-light kisses over her marehood and she was winking, surprising even her with how quickly her body was responding to the changelings touch. Before she could even begin to ask him what he was attempting to accomplish, she felt his tongue begin to slide teasingly over her slit before it ran along her inner thighs, tracing the lines between her legs and her barrel.

She squeaked in shock, not expecting the flurry of sensations as he began to stroke her nethers with a soft touch from his hoof. His tongue continued it's journey about her lower body, even passing along her flanks. It came close enough to her ring that she actually clenched in surprise. Never had a male been so bold!

"M-max, what are you-aah!"

Once more he cut her off, this time giving her dampening need a few tracing licks before sliding the roaming organ between her lips by the slightest amount. Her breath hitched in her throat and she had to stifle a moan. He was licking her again, oh she was almost praying he'd drink of her cum again. A few more licks and she felt his lips pressing against her even as his tongue went on to explore her more thoroughly.

As the prehensile muscle began writhing inside of her, Luna bucked, feeling her dampness shifting to an absolute soaking arousal. The changeling was right there waiting though, noisily slurping up anything that escaped. As his tongue began feathering against her cervix again in its movements, the alicorn's eyes widened at her rapid ascent. He was drinking from her again, he wanted her cum again. A blissful smile came to her face; she wanted to give it to him, more than anything else right now.

"Almost, a-almost there. There, again! Yes! Oh yes!" she cried, her legs bucking into the air even as her body clenched, an eruption of fluids rushing from her canal. To her absolute delight, the stallion was noisily gulping down every drop, even chasing it down to her-whoa! That was...actually that was kind of strange feeling. Not bad, but...perhaps she should remember that for another time. Or maybe ask Max, he seemed to know about the sensations.

Even as Luna came down from her peak, she heard the changeling chuckling to himself. What was so funny? She managed to regain enough control of her neck to look down her body at him and his eyes were a deep red with swirling hints of pink. A much deeper red than she'd seen the first time he'd taken her this way.

"Max, what are you doing?"

"Testing a theory. So far I think it's working pretty well," the stallion answered with a smile. "Not that I think you mind the interim results."

Luna couldn't help but squirm at the sight of him smiling at her, the smears of her excitement easily visible against the black chitin. He seemed to sense her reigniting fire, his smile growing as he began tracing a hoof along her lips. She giggled in spite of herself. Whatever he was doing, it felt good. Really good. With a sigh, the alicorn laid back against the bed once more.

He was still watching her with a smile even as she felt his hoof begin tracing her once more. The red of his eyes slowly faded out as he processed the energy and his motions became rougher. He began driving his tongue into her most sensitive locations with greater force and frequency, causing her to buck erratically, soon explosively reaching another peak. Before she could even finish coming down from the second orgasm, she felt him begin once more.

"Sweet Elysium what, what are you doing? Was that not enough?!?"

Another long lick was her answer, this one accompanied by the buzzing of his large wings. Her mouth opened to release a soundless scream at the spike in pleasure, and everything went white.

Luna returned to awareness for the second time that day, this time not from falling asleep though. Looking about, she realized she was currently on her barrel, her head facing towards the door. When did she move?

A grumpy mumble from underneath her tail gave her the answer, right before she shuddered at something nuzzling her flanks. Looking back over her barrel, she found that the changeling was currently laying on her pillows, holding her over himself in reverse as if she were a living blanket.

"Max?"

An irritated grunt, followed by a lick of her inner thigh was his answer, causing her to shiver. She was actually feeling a bit sore at the moment, so it wasn't as nice as it had felt earlier. Luna shook her head in amusement; she'd not even been aware such a think was possible. Too much pleasure? Ha!

"Max, did you attempt to intoxicate yourself on my arousal?"

"Mhm."

"Why?"

She rose and fell slightly as the stallion sighed.

"Because I want to be drunk, and I don't think alcohol will work."

Luna's eyes widened and she whispered a quick 'oh yea' before noticing his hooves were wrapped around her barrel.

"We seem to remember seeing a drunk farmer hugging tightly to their liquor bottle some time ago. Is that all we are to you? A simple container to hold your poison of choice?" the mare asked with a smirk.

"Nope. My last booze bottle wasn't so soft and warm," he said, nuzzling her flank. "It also didn't make funny noises when I did this."

The alicorn gave a squeak of surprise as she felt teeth nipping lightly at her flank. She flicked her tail, earning a chuckle and a sneeze in response before she found her eyes drifting downwards. Frowning at what she saw, she returned the nip before asking a question over her shoulder.

"Why does your body have an anus if it does not have a digestive tract?"

The changeling shifted a bit, leaving Luna to watch as he flexed different muscle groups to test his form. Not that it wasn't interesting to watch. The way the chitin and leathery skin underneath tightened and relaxed was almost mesmerizing, and she saw him actually move the plates over his groin at one point. After a few shifts she felt him sag, a string of strange curses leaving his lips.

"I don't know what to tell you, Luna. My guess would be for the shape shifting, as it would be a give-away if a pony didn't have a proper butt. If not, I can't think of anything right now. God dammit, another thing to think about."

"Well, we suppose we shall suffer the court alone tonight," Luna sighed, patting his flank reassuringly. "Rest, Max. We shall return later tonight to make certain you are well. Oh, and we must ask; for what reason did you decide to utilize us in your quest for intoxication?

"I felt kinda fuzzy after I did that the first time. It filled me up a lot more this time, but that's secondary to the fact that I needed a buzz. Ha, get it? A buzz?" he asked, vibrating underneath her as his wings buzzed against the bed.

Luna chuckled lightly before hefting herself up and gingerly stepping off of the bed. She had some magical studies to catch up on and...perhaps later she could study with Max? He was even more behind in his understanding of magic than she was when she first ascended and if his horn was something to go by he could cast spells like a unicorn. Yes, that may be nice. The best way to learn was to teach after all.

After her studies there would be dinner with her sister and then night court. Considering Max's current state, he likely wouldn't be making it, though the ponies who'd showed up the night before might once again. What would she do in the meantime to keep the lords interested? It wouldn't do to finally get a group of ponies and have them leave again.

"Hey, Luna," Max mumbled from the bed. "I don't think, I really don't think I'll make it tonight. So you can, you remember that metal box thing from my dream? The one that moved? I got somethin' for ya. You tell those guys...if any of 'em show up, here's the puzzle. Tell them the box-cart-thing moves by itself, and that it's not magic that powers it. They hafta' think up ways to make a cart move on its own, without magic. Well, they can use magic, but...they can, but they can't just spell the wheels to move because everyone has to be able to use it. That's the trick, see? You can store magic in it to make it run, but it has to run for someone without magic too."

"I'll have a few answers next time, I promise. I'll also see what random stuff I can think up. I'm sure I can give you guys something nice."

Luna nodded as the changeling curled back under the covers. Opening the door, she flicked her ear as a soft tune reached her ears. Was he singing something?

"Sweeeet emoooootion...Sweeeeeet emoooootion..."

With a final giggle at the intoxicated creatures antics, Luna made her way to her bath. Her mind was already attempting to puzzle out the question put forth by the stallion. What was it that propelled the carts if not magic?

Author's Note

The idea of a changeling holding onto a pony like a drunk covets his liquor bottle was something I'd thought up a while back. Glad to have somewhere to throw it. Second part was rewritten 2x and I'm still a bit mad at it, but what can I do, right? I'm off to take a shower.

Oh, and thanks ARK: Survival Evolved. The new creature in the swamps gave me an idea for how Max can help out.

In Which One is Troublemaking Drunk...

Max sighed. He wasn't certain how long he'd sat there, staring at the ceiling after Luna had left but it had to have been a while. Even with the fuzzy sensations of his buzz diluting his sense of time, it was hard to miss the fact that the flavor of the emotions outside the door had died to a fizzling boredom. Oh, he could feel that the knights were awake, but it was a close thing.

Rolling off the bed and making his way to the bathing room, he managed to wipe himself down in the lukewarm water. It seemed the water wasn't always hot, but he was too distracted to really think about it. He was also fairly certain that since Luna and Celestia were bathing every day and hadn't done much lately the water would work for now. Some people may not have clean water at all, so who was he to complain?

Stepping out and drying himself off, he nearly slipped once or twice trying to get his hooves dry. It turned out that drying your hooves with your hooves was tougher than he thought. There was also the constant itching sensation that had spread from just his shoulders to most of his body, but there wasn't much to be done for that.

Tossing the towel away with a grunt of irritation, he opened the door and nearly took a spear-shaft to the muzzle. The guards had jumped in shock at the sudden movement, wheeling around to confront whatever had just left the princess's room. In fact, one of the spears had actually grazed his chitin. It likely would have cut him if not for the hard shell, and he scowled at the unicorn.

"Ya know, if it was Luna who had just walked out here, you would have cut her just below the eye."

"You uh, you should return to your room, creature," the guard stuttered, a bit of fear mixed with his confusion.

"Have you guys seriously not...you have notices don't you? You guys talk about what's happened last shift, right?" Max asked the guard.

As they shared a confused glance, Max flung his head in exasperation.

"Oh my gosh, you guys are hopeless. You need to discus, discus? No, that's the thing you shoot. Dis- fuck it, you need to talk to the people you take over for. I mean, what if the Princess got sick and all her fur fell out? You'd like, freak out and stab her or something. What would you say then? 'Oh sorry, Luna! Didn't recognize you and nobody told me you got into a fight with a barber.' Yea, that would work. She'd prob'ly shove that spear of yours right up your ass."

Taking off down a random hallway before the guards could refute the statement, Max decided to find out more about this place. If he was going to be stuck here for any length of time, it would behoove him to know how to get around. After all, if you act like you're allowed to be there, sometimes you can get away with wandering around.

'Ha! Behoove.'

"Hey, wait! You cannot just wander the castle!"

Then again, it didn't always work. Normally Max would have stopped, trying to explain to the guard that if a guy walks out of the queen/ruler/head honcho's room and aforementioned ruler has said nothing against it, there's a good chance said individual is there legitimately. This was not such a time.

Sticking his tongue out at the group of guards, the stallion took off down the hallway with a shout of "You'll never catch me, coppers! Bwahahahaha!"

Celestia took another sip from her tea cup, the pot sitting on a tray beside her as she looked over yet another request for aide from yet another nearby village. While the alicorns were more than willing to aide any ponies who approached them, she was finding increasingly difficult to do for several reasons. First was the sheer number of requests. There were almost fifty small villages scattered along the countryside, many not even having roads between them and no discernable landmarks to find them with. The second issue she was running into was funding the help she was sending. Pegasi and Unicorn Nobility were set on reinstating their rule with the disappearance of Discord and that meant knights moving to claim the towns for their princesses.

The knights themselves caused no small amount of trouble, finding it their right to take food and lodging from their new serfs, but the main issue was that the rise in villages had led to a rise in banditry. Griffons were making appearances, yes, but she was disgusted to hear that pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies were all attacking settlements as well. In fact, the report she'd that the two sisters had received about nearby bandits was reportedly a flock of pegasi. Luna wouldn't be happy about that. Not one bit.

She was drawn from her thoughts by the sounds of several guards rushing through the garden. They looked around quickly, one even looking through the bushes around her, before the group continued on their panicked search. So quickly did they tera through the area she could not even get them to explain what they were searching for. A fit of hysterical laughter came from the direction of their arrival as into the courtyard stumbled the changeling.

"Those guys..." The changeling chuckled to himself. "That was too easy."

"I would ask that you not unduly harass my subjects," Celestia scolded, causing the stallion to jump.

"Sunny? What are you doing up so...is it late or early for you?" Max asked, looking to his hoof for some reason. Not finding what he was looking for, he raised the other leg, waving his forelegs a bit as he nearly lost his balance.

"I could'a sworn I had my watch on me...would it still tell the right time? Hey Tia, how many hours in a day here?"

The alicorn blinked in shock at the casual address before shaking her head.

"About twenty eight, why?"

"Damn. My watch wouldn't work anyway. Earth's a twenty-four hour cycle of day and night."

Wandering over to a nearby patch of grass, the changeling dropped his rear to the ground heavily and looked over her collection of papers.

Normally she may have taken his actions as insulting but there was something off about him. It was almost as if...

"Have you been drinking?"

"Huh?" he asked, his attention snapping to her. "Oh, drinking? No, not really, well kinda, but it's not the same. I noticed I got tipsy the time I drank your sister's cum so I did it again earlier. Without Discord's energy plugging me up it all goes straight to my system, so instead of a buzz, I get full on drunkenness. Which is awesome, because I don't want to think about...and now I'm thinking about it again, great."

His eyes, which she now noticed were glowing with a red and pink swirling light, locked on her as an idea struck him.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind if I-"

"Absolutely not! We will not allow ourselves to be used for thy intoxication!" Celestia shouted as her cheeks lit up scarlet red, blowing away a few papers and causing Max to squint through the sonic burst.

"Sheesh I was gonna ask if you guys had any actual wine or something, see if it would actually work on me," The stallion grumbled, watching the paperwork that was scattered about.

"It likely wouldn't taste half as good anyway. Your cum, I mean. It would prob'ly end up 90% lust, so while yea it would get me drunk, nobody likes drinking pure alcohol. Heck, I'm pretty sure that would get people sick."

Grabbing a piece of paper in his hooves, he began twisting it this way and that, bending and creasing it in a strange pattern that, while alien, seemed to have a purpose. He appeared less than pleased by the end result, however.

"Yuck, parchment airplanes suck."

"Parchment? This is paper, and what are you doing with my-" Celestia trailed off, distracted by the curious design. With a flick of his hoof, the shape floated through the air, actually managing to glide for a limited time before finally being reclaimed by the world.

As she picked up the shaped paper in her magic to get a closer look, the stallion began inspecting another sheet closer.

"Huh, so it is," the changeling conceded. "I guess I assumed it would be something else. It's thicker than the paper I'm used to. Looks sturdier too. Prob'ly made a different way as well."

"Of course it is thicker. If it was not, the messages would not survive the journey," Celestia explained. The paper was not imbued with magic, so it appeared to be the shape that had carried it. Strange.

"I've heard some ponies shape paper as an exercise, but I've never seen it myself. Who taught you this?"

"Uh, paper airplanes are something everyone learns. Mostly when we're supposed to be learning other things," he responded with a grin. "Oh, and paper footballs, and paper claws...those wont work anymore I don't think. Maybe if I make it really big- no, then I won't be able to walk... Duh, wings. First I need to learn how to use them, though."

As the large changeling began buzzing his wings experimentally, Celestia's ears perked at the sound of approaching hooves. It seemed the guards were making their way back while looking for the stallion. He seemed to hear them as well, as his ears perked and his head shot to the left, looking in the direction of the commotion. A wide grin spread across his muzzle one moment, the next he launched himself over her reclined form, diving into a nearby bush.

"The beast must be around here somewhere, look again! Pardon us, your highness. We shall depart momentarily."

Watching the group of guards begin to go over the areas again, Celestia nearly found herself giggling as she watched them comb the garden, never seeming to notice the glowing red and pink eyes that were peeking out from the large bush behind her. Unbidden, a thought came to the white alicorn. A thought that caused her to smile.

"Tell me gentlecolts. This creature that you pursue, it would not happen to be large and black, would it? A shining carapace? A jagged horn atop its head?"

At each description, the stallions nodded eagerly.

"You have seen it, my lady? We must stop it before it eats somepony!" one nearly shouted.

Her eyes meeting Max's, her grin only grew. He knew what she was about to do, she could see it in his eyes.

"You mean this monster?"

Before anyone could react, Celestia lit her horn with magic. A strangled yelp came from behind her as she levitated the changeling into the open, hanging by his tail. She giggled into a hoof as the male glared accusingly at her.

"Traitor," he muttered, crossing his forelegs in a foalish pout.

Seeing a few of the guards reaching for weapons, she was surprised. He'd been in the castle for almost four days now including attending night court with her sister. How did they not know about him?

"He is no monster, mine subjects. Away with your weapons. Max has resided here for several days now, have none been informed of this?"

"I, do remember something about Princess Luna having a new pet," one said cautiously.

"Pet? I know we're close and all, but I don't think either of us is ready for pulling out the collars yet. Is that a thing here?" the changeling muttered before turning to Celestia.

"Do you guys do pet play and dominance stuff? What about stripping, how does that work? Like, do you put on clothes while playing strip poker or something? I mean, stripping wouldn't mean much if women-er, mares were always naked, right? Damn, now I want to see Luna in a one-piece. I'd say bikini, but I don't think that would look right, I mean part would be inconsequential, and the other part would disappear between...do ponies wear swim-suits?"

Celestia barely managed to contain her blush.

'He's so...crass. How does Luna stand him?'

Outwardly though, she managed to contain herself. If only barely.

"I would like you to keep an eye on him, gentlecolts. If you like, I'm certain a few of the night watch would be interested in learning how to stop a drunken pony. It should prove quite the challenge, doing so without magic and with a creature of this size."

"Oh sure, throw me to the guards. Thanks a lot, sunbutt," the changeling griped.

Her magic released him, dropping him a few inches onto his head where he landed with a thud.

"Oops! Oh dear me, we must apologize. Your lack of manners just shocked us into losing our grip."

Not even rising from the heap Celestia dropped him in, he grinned.

"You're learning. I'll get you rolling around in mud soon enough, Celestia. Of your own free will."

Rising from the awkward position and walking around the still gawking guards, he looked back at her. His eyes tracked to her form for a moment, before he took off down the hallway at full gallop.

"Luna's coat is softer and shinier than yours!"

Watching as the stallion took off down a hallway, cackling madly and nearly bowling over a serving filly in the process (he instead opted to leap over her, leaving the poor dear shaking in both fear and confusion), Celestia sighed. He was a strange creature. She began to pick up her papers before turning in for the night when she realized the guards were all still staring at her.

"Is there a problem, gentlecolts?"

"You, you allow the creature to speak to you so? Should we not punish him?" one asked, his eyes shifting from the corridor to her. "This creature, he wanders your halls and speaks to you like a commoner, your highness. It is-"

"If you wish, alert Luna of Max's misbehavior. The changeling is her guest, so if he offends somepony the issue is to be brought to her. As for his treatment of us..."

Celestia rose slowly, stretching out her wings and legs before answering.

"We take no offense from the words of an intoxicated creature that is drowning the problems brought on by Discord's trickery in strong drink. Return to your duties and spread the word that he remains here at Luna's behest."

As the guards went their separate ways, Celestia stopped for a moment. It had been quite a long while since she'd last enjoyed a laugh and while the stallion was almost overwhelmingly disrespectful, it had distracted her. A distraction that she felt was most welcome.

'I don't want to help one of you just to see the other fall.'

Celestia gave a huff as a smile broke out on her face. She'd been feeling worried about this situation lately, but perhaps she could start worrying about other things now. The changeling seemed to be a positive influence, even if he was slightly unsettling. As for Discord, he seemed different last time. He left of his own will, finding amusement elsewhere and apparently going on a journey of self discovery.

The idea of Discord sitting before a scholar while studying the concept of chaos was silly and somehow seemed to suit the chaotic being. Perhaps everypony would learn something from this incident.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, everypony would have gained something.

"Tia! Help! They're taking me away! I'm too pretty to go to the dungeons, and I just got some of my chitin polished, and Luna's gonna be really upset, and I can't scratch my itches like this, and I'm too young to meet Bubba!"

Stopping and staring as the guards dragged the bound and blubbering changeling in the direction of the throne room, she shook her head and let lose a fit of giggles. While she wasn't thrilled about the process, the results of his intoxication were entertaining if nothing else. Most of the ponies kept their drunken antics outside of the castle out of respect for the alicorns. Sometimes though, there was nothing like watching somepony make a fool of themselves for the entertainment of others.

Walking back to her room, she levitated a single sheet of paper before her, creasing it carefully to copy the pattern she'd seen earlier.

<-(0)->

'Do not laugh. Do not laugh at the sight of Max tied up and being dragged by several guards.'

Luna was pleasantly surprised to hear that the stallion was up and about in spite of his earlier issues. She was curious when she'd seen a group of guards rushing about looking for something, though none wished to bother her with the details of their search. Now, seeing the changeling being dragged along by the guards, she was fairly certain she knew what had occurred. The questions now were, what did he do and why did some of the guards still not seem to know about him?

The guards deposited the bound and gagged creature before her, nearly drawing a giggle from the lunar alicorn at his trying to drag a hoof up his neck while staring at the guard. She was uncertain what the gesture meant, but it was likely less than kind.

"Max, pray tell, why are the guards of the castle dragging you about?" she asked, ignoring the confused petitioner that was staring in a mix of awe and fear at the strange creature.

Max began mumbling through the gag, seemingly attempting to explain the circumstances before breaking into muffled laughter. Luna rolled her eyes, using a quick burst of power to remove the gag.

"Well, I got kind of bored and realized that I didn't know anything about the castle, so I figured I'd take a look around. Some of the guards told me I needed to stay in my room, which was odd cuz, you know, it wasn't actually my room. I tried talking them out of it, and they refused, so I just decided to take off down the hallway while they discussed things amongst themselves...and they took exception to that," he explained, still lying on the ground before the throne.

"And at no point in this fiasco did you think to approach me? Or perhaps ask to be brought to me?" Luna asked while keeping her face straight.

"Well, throne rooms tend to be full of guards, and with some guards already angry well, that's only going to get worse and worse, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone. I learn the layout of the castle and get some exercise!"

"And how is that plan working out for you?" the mare asked, leaning forward slightly with a condescending glint in her eyes.

"Well, it would be better if it was a pretty mare that had tied me up instead of a bunch of sweaty guards, but I suppose I have to take what life gives me," Max said dismissively. "Oh, no one will answer me, do ponies wear swimsuits? I mean, you guys don't normally wear anything, so I was curious. And do you happen to know why everyone's so-ph mmphr rrph rrg br... rhr, shry rp."

"Max, we will be taking a break momentarily. Please do not go anywhere."

Turning from the re-gagged changeling, she redirected her attention to the confused peasant petitioning her.

"You were saying, mine subject?"

The muffled laughter from the stallion brought a smirk to her muzzle in spite of her best efforts. He was just too fun to tease and often made it too easy.

While waiting for Luna to finish up Max began humming 'Nobody knows the trouble I've seen,' idly staring at the ceiling. It seemed he was to be court jester for the moment, which was fine. It was something he'd put on his next resume. Jester for pony princess. That would probably go farther than royal consort of pony princess. Though the guards were probably going to be naming him 'royal pain in the ass' or something like that.

'Ha! As soon as I figure out flying, those tin cans won't stand a-oh wait, pegasi. Damn.'

While Max was busy trying to find a way to defeat the castle guard on his own, with most of his ideas having horrible flaws, Luna finished speaking with the petitioner and called the court to recess. The first clue the changeling had that Luna was done was a grip on his tail dragging him along behind the dark alicorn as she walked out through a door.

'It's a good thing I have chitin, or this would be really painful. Instead it feels nice on the itchy parts. Maybe if I aim my butt, ooh, right there.'

"What shall we do with you, Max..." the mare asked as they came to a halt in a dining room, shaking her head in mock irritation. He knew it was mock. She tasted too happy to be really angry. Instead of answering he splayed his legs, pointing at her then tapping his lower barrel with his bound hooves.

She flashed with a quick burst of emotions before settling back on amusement, pulling the muzzle back off of his-

"Why is it called a muzzle if it goes on a muzzle? Who thinks up these names? Why is a face called a muzzle, but a muzzle isn't always a face?"

"You are being silly, hush. It is lunch time, and I'm hungry. Perhaps later," Luna told him, using magic to remove the rest of the ropes.

Finally free, Max went about stretching and making sure the journey across the floor hadn't done any irreparable damage to his shell. There were actually a few sections that looked pretty scuffed, though he couldn't tell if it was the guards or Luna who had done the most damage. While messing with them had been fun and they'd never really done enough to hurt him through his shell, a fleshy being would have at least walked away with a few cuts and bruises.

"Nothing too damaged?" the mare asked from her seat.

"No, just making certain of that though. I can't say I've been kind to the shell today," Max responded as he began moving to a free seat. "Between you dragging me and getting tackled by the guards, several times I might add as they seemed to think for some silly reason that just because you catch someone means they'll stay caught. Absolute nonsense. Your sister actually caught me before they did."

Levitating the slow male into his seat, Luna took a moment to digest the statement.

"Tia was still awake? I would have thought she'd been in bed by now."

"Likely is by now," the changeling muttered, looking at the meal before them. It wasn't skimped on by any means, but he wasn't very interested in it. Besides, he'd already tried hay. Wasn't exactly spectacular. Instead of adding anything to his plate, he opted for rising and moving over to Luna's place. He certainly didn't seem to require physical contact to taste the emotions in the air, but the contact both encouraged more of the same, and he found the mare to be pleasantly warm.

"I suppose it would be cruel of us to eat without offering you anything," Luna said with a smile. "We trust it is to your liking?"

"Could use some seasoning," he quipped, leaning into her. "Bleah, I'm weird."

"We find it fairly benign. We have found nothing wrong with out senses or emotions. Though we suppose we would not be able to tell..." Luna trailed off before shrugging her wings.

"We feel better overall since your arrival. It still weighs upon us, that our court is still so quiet. Even those who arrived the other night did so to see the strange being that was speaking in the throne room. A changeling speaking in the night court draws more attention than an alicorn princess who moves the moon..."

"Hey now, it's my turn to be a whiner," Max joked, sidling up beside the mare. "You get to wait your turn and be a supportive person until I feel better. Then you can go back to being miserable and I can look for new ways to cheer you up. It's gonna' have to wait until after this molting thing, though. I'm nervous, but also curious. I remember seeing snakes and spiders molting, but I never learned how it actually works."

Chuckling, the stallion wrapped his forelegs around her and whispered into her ear.

"I'll probably be soft for a bit. A big squishy bug."

Looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, the mare lit her horn brighter as she ate, and Max shuddered as the magic washed over him like a thousand tiny fingers. While he was getting to the point of having to ignore the itching, Luna had just managed to scratch every part of his body at once.

"Oh wow. You need to teach me how to do that," he muttered, shivering at the magical touch.

"We shall see," Luna said, before slowing to look at him.

"What?"

"Our magic seems to have less difficulty having an effect on you," she explained. "Yet another thing to think about, we suppose. If it is in fact easier, it may be because it is my emotions you are using for sustenance. In the Laws of Magic, Tia always said that like affects like much more easily."

"Huh," the changeling hummed before cuddling closer. "I guess symbiosis is a thing. Either your right, or it's the fact I trust you so my body responds to that. I don't think you'd hurt me, so any magic you'd use could only help."

Nibbling on the mare's neck, he chuckled.

"Of course, I don't think mine is the only body learning to accept the presence of another am I?"

"Stop it!" Luna giggled, pushing him away. "We still have court. We refuse to sit on the throne while aroused. Not only would it be unpleasant, but we will not do that to our sister."

The changeling backed off with a pout.

"Fine, I'll just go off to starve. Don't mind me."

"You shall not starve if you are not nibbling our neck all night," Luna retorted, catching his tail in her magic. As he turned to see what had caught him, she met his lips in a quick kiss.

"There. That shall sustain you for now. We shall see that you are...properly fed later," she said with a hungry grin.

"Oh, awesome. Cuz I was getting kind of hungry and- I'm kidding, Luna," he said as her face fell. "I'll hang around for the rest of the night, okay? Sitting in your room was even more boring than night court."

"More tedious than night court? Lies." the mare said with a haughty sniff. "We are aware of nothing more tedious than sitting on the throne for hours by ourselves. Curses, do not tease us anymore while we have court, sitting like this will be uncomfortable. Of course, we shall make our discomfort your problem later, you realize."

Max blinked, staring at nothing for a beat before focusing on her.

"I see no problem with this."

In Which One Learns a Lesson

After night court ended Max found himself slowing, a strange lethargy coming over him. Luna said something about his eyes looking wrong, but by then the changeling was having a difficult time keeping his focus on anything, let alone conversation. At his request Luna begrudgingly left the changeling in his own room for the day.

While the room wasn't exactly spectacular, it was somewhere he could retreat to and he appreciated that. A simple bed, not a raised dais that supported a huge bed like in Luna's room, was over by the windows, the portals to the outside world barely big enough for him to squeeze through if he ever decided to try. A wooden desk was placed right against the same wall the door was on, while a small alcove by the outside wall held a bucket. Seeing as the shutters were closed, he went for the lights.

His hoof clattered against the wall for a moment before he stopped, realizing there wouldn't be any light switches for another few centuries at least.

"Shit."

He walked into the room and used a foreleg to open up a shutter for a moment while he took in the room. The blankets were mostly linen, though he knew Luna had at least one fur blanket. It was likely that the fur blanket was either expensive or taken from a monster the alicorn had battled. That left everyone else to use linen blankets or rely on their own fur.

'Not exactly an option. Though I do have a warm body pillow in the next room.'

As much as he'd enjoyed being around her, he'd felt the need to be alone right now. Max wasn't certain why but he was feeling off. Strange. He just felt better now, being by himself. He closed the shutters and poured himself a drink from the nearby water pitcher once his eyes adjusted again, enjoying the quiet for a moment. The incessant itching of his carapace had continued, but was so constant that he was beginning to ignore it. What could he do about it anyway?

Laying down on the bed, he sighed and stared at the ceiling. And stared at it some more. Something was still off. He still felt restless. What was he missing? The room was dark, as dark as it would get anyway. It was quiet except for the faint sounds of the castle's town through the window. He could vaguely taste the warm bundle of emotions that was Luna in the next room, so he knew where she was as well as the guards that were marching about the castle. It was also in the middle of summer, so it was too hot to really dive under the blankets.

Tossing and turning for a few minutes, he rose from bed and jumped to the floor, pacing irritably while nipping at his shoulders and flank every now and again. The itching, it had to be that. It had been almost a full day now and it was only getting worse. Slamming his hooves against his muzzle in frustration, he flipped his head back with a shout of irritation. What would he need to do to make it-

Looking back down at his hooves, he could only stare at the heavy chitin mask that perfectly matched his face currently gripped in his hooves.

"Oh shit."

Looking over his shell once more, he tried to remember how insects molted. It was always a split in the back right? So if he pulled his shoulders forward and arched his back it should...there!

A crack reverberated through his body, signaling the split of the chitin down the back. Max braced himself, knowing the next step would be both irritating and likely take a long time. Part of him wished he had Luna here to help, but another part of him swore that he had to be alone for this. Just the thought of someone walking in on him now made his heart pound in his chest.

Wriggling about on the floor, he began the agonizingly slow process of pulling himself out of his old shell.

After finally pushing the last of the old shell away, Max allowed himself lie on the floor in exhaustion. The entire experience was irritating, frustrating and exhausting. Worst of all he now felt cold and vulnerable, as if tripping and hitting the stone floor would cause him to split down the middle. Pulling himself to the bed and yanking the sheets off, he wrapped himself in the linen bed sheets before slipping under the bed. Safe. No one would look here, and he'd be safe.

<-(0)->

"-and there have been a few sightings of griffons from one of the villages, though I believe they're of the same individual. We'd require an actual verification by a pegasus scout, but I do not think it's anything to worry about."

Sitting at their smaller table for the morning meal, Celestia recited a few of the reports she'd been going over the night before when the changeling had shown up. Most of it was things that Luna was already supposed to know, though some things seemed to be new to the blue alicorn. It was an exchange of information, one that had been a long time coming.

"So we have confirmation on the presence of bandits," Luna muttered, poking at her breakfast. "We suppose we shall be heading out then. Do you have a location from which we should begin our search?"

"Never you mind, Luna. I will be taking a contingent in three days to deal with them. You may remain here this time. Our subjects will not wither without our guiding hoof for a few days, not when you are here," Celestia said. "You have been the one to deal with threats for the last year. We should not be foisting these on you so often, not when we are just as capable. In fact, our flying has improved much over the past few weeks. We must test ourself, lest we become lazy."

The lunar diarch nodded before sighing woefully.

"They will await your return, Tia. This will not drive them to our court."

"And thus they will display to all the pettiness of their requests," Celestia said with a smile. "Did you know that seven of those that claim nobility in our court do not have any property? They merely claim nobility as a right of birth. Even then most cannot reliably trace their bloodlines through the era of Discord."

"While we feel for those who lost their history, it may be time to look closer at our courts. We cannot afford leeches in this day and age. Especially those that look down on the peasants when they truly have no reason to," Luna nearly growled. "These reports of using the land and lodging of the peasants as if it is their right, with no recompense. I do not like it. An army should know of its soldiers, hold them accountable. To allow them to act no better than the bandits they are supposed to be protecting the commoners from is a truly heinous crime."

"While we agree, who will hold them accountable? We are more powerful now with our new forms, sister, but the two of us are only two individuals. We cannot be everywhere," the white mare chided.

"We should still be able to do something. We must expand, Tia. We must increase our strength in ways besides personal strength. The game has changed, and we must adapt. Mares-at-arms, peasants, villages. These are the strengths of this new world," Luna said, taking a sip of her water. "It is...We believe we will be taking Max to task on the subject. His knowledge may be useful in this manner. As his species was without magic, he may already be knowledgeable of such things, or at least know of them. We will inquire about his education after our rest."

"He was raised a commoner, was he not?" the white mare asked. "It is possible he will not know of the military of his people. The pegasus and unicorn clans of old were very rigid in their social structures. I believe a baker touching a sword was a punishable offense in some places, even in the face of death."

"What his people considered commoner's knowledge is very different from our own," Luna added somberly. "At the very least, it will not hurt to ask him."

Celestia nodded.

"Speaking of the changeling, where is he? He has been attached to your hip for the last few days."

"He was not feeling well and asked to be shown his own room. Something about wishing to be alone for the night," Luna explained before leaning forward with a smile. "I believe he is molting at the moment and as such wishes to be alone. Such a strange experience will likely leave him confused. He has been itching almost constantly since yesterday evening, and his eyes were looking strange earlier."

Celestia cocked her head in confusion.

"Molting? Like an insect shedding its old shell? Does that not strike you as strange, Luna?"

"Oh most certainly but...I do wish to see what he looks like after his molt. He has predicted a white shell while he is soft. Ha, he would be as those caterpillars in our old cottage!" Luna barked with laughter.

Celestia snickered as well, choking on her water as the image of the changeling, his shell stark white, was chased by fillies poking at him with sticks flashed through her mind.

"Do you mind if we walk you to your room, Luna? We still have a few more things to discuss."

<-(0)->

"Good Morning, Luna," Celestia called as Luna closed the door. At least the younger mare was no longer snapping at her. It was still a bit early, so she'd likely end up going over the reports a bit longer, perhaps double checking her information on the nobles currently wandering her courtroom. She was certain she could remove some of the more annoying ones after the last report, and then it would be-

The sight of the changelings room stopped her, curiosity eking into her mind. What would he look like? Would he truly be soft like a caterpillar? The thought of poking the talkative stallion and seeing him squish like a large blob of dough was too much to pass up. Besides, she owed him a bit more than a single prank for speaking to her like that in front of her knights.

Sliding the door open, she looked about the darkened room for any sign of life. Seeing none she stepped inside, sneezing at the strange oily scent that filled the room. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was nothing she could identify. The bed was also empty, devoid of sheets for some reason she couldn't fathom. Did he attempt to use them to escape through the window? She started towards the window, her thoughts beginning to race.

'That would just be silly. He has wings, doesn't he? Ah, then again, he cannot use them yet. Same with the shape changing, it was not something he knew how to use. So where-'

Hearing a scraping noise at her hooves, the alicorn looked down to see what she first thought was a mangled corpse. She let out a yelp of fear, scooting back a few paces before falling over and landing heavily on her flank beside the bed.

'His shell," she belatedly realized, levitating the mess before her. 'He really did molt. But if he molted he wouldn't be in any condition to leave, so where...'

A noise, something between a growl and a hiss, emanated from behind her. Looking down, Celestia finally saw a piece of the sheets sticking out from under the bed. She swallowed loudly, fearing what she'd find but already committed. Bending down to look under the bed, her eyes widened at the sight of the hissing changeling.

She let out another yelp, this one of fear, as blurred into motion. It was much too late, though. He was already on her. His fangs flashed in her vision, and then...

<-(0)->

Luna blinked in confusion as she was reclined in her bed. She could have sworn she heard a yelp from the next room over and it certainly didn't sound like Max. The voice was much too feminine. Did a molt cause a changelings voice to crack?

Laying back down to get some sleep, she was brought back to consciousness a few seconds later by another noise, this a strangled yelp that cut out suddenly.

'We did not imagine that, it came from Max's room.'

Worried that something may have attacked the changeling in his weakened state, the mare jumped from her own bed and burst through her door, turning sharply and running to the stallions room. Three guards were already standing outside, one pounding on the door and demanding entry.

"Move, we shall handle this!" she shouted, flinging the door open and closing it behind her. If Max was worried about others finding him in a weakened state, the fewer that entered the room, the better. Steping into the dark room, she quickly spied the shell beside the bed. What was next to the shell left her both irritated and worried.

A multi-hued tail was sticking out from under the bed, along with the very edge of a white flank and a leg adorned with a golden shoe.

"Perhaps this will finally teach her not to walk into another's room unannounced," Luna muttered before raising her voice. "Max? We are coming over to the bed."

Her approach was met with a rising his from under the bed, one that had her worried. Max never hissed, in fact she wasn't even certain the male knew how to do so. Did humans hiss?

The blue alicorn slowed in her approach, calming herself and thinking warm thoughts of the changeling. Positive things, things she wished to show him, things she wished to speak with him about, the desire to merely sit in the garden and while away the time in his presence.

The effect was almost immediate, the hissing dying down to a low growl and the occasional mutter. Reaching the bed while still keeping her thoughts on the changeling, she slowly leaned down and gazed under the bed. She was immediately required to clamp a hoof over her muzzle to prevent a burst of laughter from escaping.

Celestia was staring at her, eyes glaring accusingly at the blue mare while the changeling was gently licking the bite marks on Celestia's neck. The venom had left the white alicorn completely incapacitated but otherwise awake and aware. The changeling was... Luna couldn't help it, she burst into another fit of giggles at the sight of him.

As predicted he was stark white, his horn actually bending as it poked into the top of the bed. Everywhere his body was pressed against something, be it the white mare or the bed, his body was squished into the surface as it had no real toughness of its own. The covers that were missing from the bed were scattered all over the underside of the bed, giving the makeshift cave the feeling of her blanket nests. One that Celestia had been dragged into upon her intrusion.

The blue alicorn started to gently pull on the white mare's tail, trying to extricate the solar dairch from her prison. Max was having none of it though, his hooves wrapping around Celestia and his hissing increasing the more Luna tugged.

"Shh, It's okay Max, I'm here. Come here. Come to me," Luna whispered, deciding to try a different rout. She even teleported a blanket from her own room over her back and spread a wing, inviting the shape shifter over to her.

The changeling shook his head, nuzzling the white mare and licking once more at the marks on her neck. Marks that, on closer inspection, were fading quickly due to Celestia's alicorn nature.

Celestia gurgled what was likely an insult, but still managed to twitch a wing and a hind leg. The venom was quickly burning from her system, returning control of her body in spurts. Seeing that, the changeling twisted his neck and bared his fangs, ready to reapply the venom.

"No Max! Max, trust me. Please? Let Tia go. She tastes bad, right? I taste better, warm too. Come on. Come here."

The changeling scowled at the mare he was curled around before making a gagging noise and moving closer to the edge of the bed, allowing Luna to catch a glimpse of his eyes for the first time. They were almost the same color as his soft shell. The revelation actually helped her to make a bit more sense of his current state.

"He can't see. That's why he's so aggressive right now, Tia. He's almost blind and his shell is gone. He's vulnerable," Luna whispered, still beckoning the changeling out from under the bed. After a lot of quiet coaxing and warm, happy thoughts she managed to pull him into a hug, wrapping her wings around him.

"Shh, I have you. Remain calm, Max. You are safe."

The stallion pressed himself up against her tightly, his muzzle in the crook of her neck as he breathed in her scent. After a rather loud exhale the changeling relaxed a bit, idly nibbling on her neck affectionately and beginning to purr.

"Erg, we shall get him, get him back for this. Fool hasn't, beaten us yet."

Laughing at the sight, Luna levitated her sister up onto the bed and left a blanket over the mare.

"We shall return shortly Tia, we need to drop Max off in our own room."

Flashing into her own room, she was met with a flailing changeling as the sudden displacement panicked him.

"MAX! Shh, we are here, calm. Calm."

Placing the changeling in her nest of blankets and pillows, she was delighted when he began sniffing through the bed and calming down, apparently recognizing her scent in the bedding even after she'd had it changed. She was his safe place and he trusted her, even when he couldn't see her.

"We shall return, rest here. Stay."

The changeling moved a bit, looking like he would follow her to the door but thought better of it, instead burying himself under the pillows and blankets until he was no longer visible. Nodding, Luna walked out the door and found the guards still waiting outside, looking lost. Pulling on her best regal air, she walked over and easily threw open the door. Now that the changeling was gone from the room and there was no need to worry about the guards storming in, she could leave it open.

"Tia, one of these days you shall end up walking in on the wrong person," she teased, earning a dismissive flick of the white alicorn's wings.

"We are serious Tia. He could have hurt you in his current state. How are you feeling."

"Like we have not slept in a week," the white mare mumbled, slowly rising from the bed. Her wings gave a few twitches before fully splaying in a stretch while her legs shakily lifted her from the mattress.

"Perhaps next time you will not stick your hoof in a hole that may belong to a snake?" Luna asked with a wicked grin. "We have asked you several times not to barge into our room, it seems that Max shares our displeasure at such intrusions."

Glaring back, Celestia gestured to her neck.

"He bit us!"

"He is blind and scared," Luna shot back. "All he likely saw was a blob of feelings that was getting close to him. Judging by the fact we heard two yelps, you were already fearful so the only thing he would have really tasted were curiosity and fear. Remember what Starswirl told us of fear? It is contagious."

Lifting the shell in her magic as Celestia began flexing the last of her lethargy from her body, Luna brought it out into the hallway, inspecting it curiously.

"Knight Moon Prism, bring this to the alchemist. He may study it, but we wish for it to remain in one piece for now. We would also like to see in in its original shape later, so if he can manage that it would be appreciated."

"Uh, at once your highness," the mare answered, motioning for another guardsmare to help her. Together the two guardsponies awkwardly set about moving it to the alchemist's laboratory.

"We shall have our revenge on the changeling, Luna. Of that you can be certain," Celestia growled as she walked out of the room.

"Moon Prism, Flicker, a moment of your time," Luna called after them before turning to the other alicorn. "Be aware of what you speak, sister. The way you sound right now, I worry for Max's safety. The ponies are very protective of us and you know this. What do you believe they will think if you come out of his room swearing vengeance upon him, and not in a joking manner? You know well that many ponies hang on your every word."

"Surely you do not think that our ponies would...no, they would," Celestia corrected herself and raised a hoof to rub at her temple. "We apologize, we do not appreciate surprises, though it seems Max does not either at the moment. We shall, apologize once he is well for intruding upon him in a time of distress."

"And we are certain he will apologize as well, though he likely will not remember this incident. If he is well later today, we shall ask if he is aware of any information that may aide us in our current issues," Luna said as she turned back to her room. "It may be that he is better suited to this sort of thing than us, Tia. As we said before we are moving to a different game, a game his people have played for much longer while our own are only beginning to recover from the Era of Discord."

"Very well, we hope to hear something at dinner then. Good morning, Luna," Celestia called to her as she entered her room.

Closing the door, she could feel eyes upon her and immediately remembered to think warmly of the changeling. Looking to the bed, she smiled as she was just able to make out a nose poking out from the blankets. Time to find out just how soft her changeling was.

"Alright Max, we are coming to the bed. Remain calm."

The changeling's nose was always pointed at her as she slowly approached the bed, though there was no hissing this time. Reaching the bed, she slowly climbed in, laying down on her mess of pillows and blankets and nuzzling the spot where she assumed his neck to be. The stallion shifted a bit, allowing himself to be seen as he moved closer to her side. Sure enough his entire body was still stark white, though it seemed to be fading ever so slowly. Hopefully it would all be over before too long, as she wasn't certain how much longer she could stand talking to him like this.

"That's right. Safe," she muttered, nuzzling his neck. Curious, she pushed her nose against his neck, testing the give and earning an irritated nip on her foreleg for her trouble. It didn't stop her though. Instead, she wrapped him in her legs and wings, giggling as she hugged him like a stuffed animal. He quickly returned the attention, pressing as closely to her as possible and muttering about warmth.

"Oh, you're so squishy! We love it! Ah, if only you were alert enough to tease," the mare lamented. "Perhaps later then. Oh we shall torment you endlessly about how wonderfully soft and cuddly your form is during a molt. Not to mention your own desire to be near a source of warmth."

Cuddling into the stallion and giggling to herself, Luna slowly drifted off to sleep. While she was certainly curious what an experience it would be to mate with a molted changeling, the stallion was in no state for such a thing. After all, could something so soft even get hard? Eyes widening at the idea, she pushed back from him a bit and looked down, noticing that even his genital plates were soft at the moment. Could they even move right now? Ah well, something to test another time. Perhaps next time he molted he'd be a bit more cognizant and she could learn more about the process. Cuddling back into the soft male, she fell asleep with a grin on her face.

In Which One Sightsees...Or Gets Distracted

Luna yawned widely as she prepared to rise from bed. Max was still beside her, though his constant shifting over the last few hours had caused her to settle for a wing over his back as opposed to a full hug. It was likely for the best. No telling how he'd react if he ended up with grooved imprints of her forelegs all over his body.

'Ha, Tia would turn into a tomato if she saw grooves over his flanks. Though they may aide in grip during intercourse, especially if we could use our hind legs better during that...other position. Still, we are certain he would be unappreciative of love-making handles.'

Running a hoof softly over his foreleg and giving it a gentle press she was both happy and a bit disappointed in the fact that the shell had hardened. At the least, he should now be a bit more alert. That would mean somepony to talk to again, as well as the possibility of learning if he knew anything about power through ponies.

One of the changeling's eyes popped open, looking at her in confusion before he raised his head to look around. Grinning at his apparent confusion, she nuzzled his neck.

"How much of this morning do you remember?"

"I, went to bed and...shed?" he said cautiously. "I remember being frustrated and I think I pulled my face off, or at least the chitin around my face. That was weird..."

"I thought as much. You shed this morning, and were quite lost to us. We actually found you under the bed in your room, wrapped in blankets and hissing," the alicorn mare explained. "Tia was unfortunate enough to find you first. She walked into your room without announcing herself. As is normal for her. This time she did not walk back out."

Max's brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"We mean that when she looked under the bed for you, you bit her and dragged her under the bed with you. It was as though you were one of those ambush spiders. You were holding her like you were claiming her as your mate. She was unable to move or cast magic, we nearly laughed ourself sick at the sight!"

Max wrapped his hooves over his face, groaning at the information.

"Oh my god, she's going to kill me."

"Nay, we spoke to her when she recovered from your venom and said you would likely apologize even though you were not aware at the time," the alicorn said with a smile. "We will oversee the exchange of apologies before our evening meal, then the two of us shall walk the castle's town. You requested a tour so that you would know what we have to work with, correct? Tia is about to take some of our mares at arms to deal with bandits and we would like to know if you have any knowledge of such warfare. The two of us have dealt with most incidents personally, but it becomes difficult sometimes. We cannot be everywhere."

Max sighed before standing and moving over her, lying on her back and wrapping his hooves around her.

"That's not my idea of pillow talk. Yea, I'll see what I can think up. There's plenty of things to think about and I may be able to help a bit."

"That is all we may ask of you. Now while we would like nothing more than to laze about for the remainder of the week, we have a meal to attend and plans to make with Celestia."

Not waiting for the changeling to remove himself from her back, she rose and leapt from the bed. To her amusement, the changeling wasn't so easily dislodged. That amusement faded with his next action.

"I've always wanted to ride a horsey! Giddy up!" the stallion barked, his rear leg digging into her thigh.

Luna whinnied in shock, rearing up before dashing forward. She hadn't even made it five steps before she tripped on a discarded blanket and slipped, tumbling to the floor in a tangled mess of limbs. Max was laughing hysterically at their own foolishness, even as he went rolling off of her back.

"Hahaha, again!" the changeling barked, rolling onto his hooves.

"I think not!" Luna shouted as she took a step back, preventing him from resuming his position. "And refrain from calling us your whorse. We do not care for such a title. Such individuals are usually less than what we wish to be regarded as."

"Individual-wait, what?," Max asked. "A horse is an animal from back home. It looks like an alicorn without the wings or horn and usually only comes in brown, black, white and red. What are you talking about?"

Luna blinked in confusion for a moment.

"An animal? As in a mindless beast? There is a creature that looks similar to alicorns where you are from?"

"Kind of," the changeling said with a nod. "Horses are beasts of burden. Herbivores mostly, though I've heard of them being trained to be able to handle meat in the real nasty parts of the world. I'd say that Celestia would be more passable as an Earth horse, but her mane would give her away. There's nothing on Earth with hair like that and even dyes can only do so much. What were you talking about?"

"Whorse is another word for mares of the night," Luna said, not sure which name would be worse to bear. A beast of burden or a whorse, both were less than flattering.

"Mare of the night.." Max muttered, running the title through his mind. "Mare is a woman, women of the-oh. Oh geeze, I'm sorry Luna. No, horse is different from a, a whore-se? In fact, we have a similar word, whore. That, that's actually a really strange coincidence."

A knock at the door drew both of their gazes.

Using her magic to open a shutter and seeing the setting sun, Luna nodded.

"We suppose it is about time to begin our night. Come, we must be going."

<-(0)->

Max entered the dining room just behind Luna, catching sight of a stoic, if slightly irritated Celestia staring at him. Deciding to get it out of the way, he walked around the table and bowed his head low.

"I'm sorry if I managed to hurt you. Or frighten you, or whatever else occurred while I was out of it. The last thing I remember was accidentally pulling my face off."

The white mare's gaze shifted from him to her sister before returning and, to his surprise, she bowed her head slightly.

"We also apologize for intruding. We should have held our curiosity in check."

"I accept, thank you," the stallion said before moving to his seat.

As he was getting comfortable, Luna began chuckling.

"He was as soft as the caterpillars, wasn't he?"

"Yes, yes he was," Celestia admitted. "How did you calm him? I was certain he was going to bite me again when I started moving."

"He responded to warm thoughts, actually. While it sounds silly, the idea of thinking happy thoughts seems to work with changelings. If ever that occurs in the future, you should try it. He became quite cuddly last night. We were actually curious if we could imprint our legs in his shell. Such indentations would have made excellent grips while he claimed us in a reverse mount," Luna said casually, causing Max to stop mid bite while Celestia began choking on her salad, pounding her barrel with a hoof.

"Luna!" the solar diarch barked out amid her coughing.

"Uh, thank you for not doing that?" the changeling ventured. "Not that I don't find the idea interesting but I'm not certain how my legs would respond to that. It could damage the muscles. I'd uh, wait until we know a bit more about my shell before we start messing with it."

Tasting the her amusement at her sister's embarrassment, he decided it was time for some brownie points, as well as setting himself up for some much needed lessons.

"Tell you what, Luna. If you can teach me that levitation thing you do, I'll teach you a different position."

The blue mare's ears perked at the deal while Celestia gawked.

"Humans are well-versed in love-making?" Luna asked.

"There isn't much that humans haven't managed to turn sexual. Give us a new technology, and we'll use it for sex. Give us magic, we'll probably end up using it in the bedroom. Give us a peace treaty with an alien species and we'll get to know them really well," Max said, chuckling. "I'm certain I could turn some combat spells into spells that are used in the bedroom if I had access to them. It's kind of something humans do. I think my favorite version of such things was someone likening rockets flying into space being similar to a male penetrating the sky. It was supposedly the ultimate display of male sexual prowess."

While Luna laughed at the oddity, Celestia just looked confused.

"What is a rocket? And space, you use the term differently. Is space not the area all around us?"

Seeing Luna also watching him curiously he, carefully this time, bit his lip in thought.

"Space is used to define the emptiness around us, but it can also be used to describe the emptiness between planets. As you go higher, the air starts to get thinner, right?" he asked while looking between the two. Luna nodded and he smiled, glad it wasn't different here.

"That continues as you go higher and higher until eventually, there's just no air at all. Once you get to a certain point, you break free of the planets pull and you just kind of float. That is what most humans think of when they mention space. It's a void, an emptiness that doesn't even have breathable air."

"As for the rockets, those are a bit more complicated. Let's just say that the end all-be all of some of the most advanced human technology is fire."

"Odd. Most ponies think of magic when discussing advancement," Celestia stated, leaning into the conversation.

"We didn't have magic though. Fire is also a lot more versatile than you would think. It destroys, but it also changes," Max explained. "If you put a pot of water over a fire, it changes the temperature of the water. Leave it long enough and it will change the state of the water, boiling it until there's no water left in the pot and you're left with water vapor floating in the room. It can allow you to reshape metal, or cauterize wounds. It is even used in farming in some areas, the farmers burning either left over plant matter to prevent rot and infestation from pests from harming their other fields, or to clear the land and allow easier tilling of the land. That's all just straight up fire, ladies. Flames. You take the concept or other variants like lightning, explosions, and burning? There's not many limits to what you can do.

"Using concentrated light to superheat a target, you can cut away dead tissue thus preventing infections from spreading. Lightning powers most of our appliances and is used to in everything from keeping food cold and preventing spoilage to heating it up and cooking it. The thing you need to know now though is the explosions. Do you remember the carts I asked you about Luna? I asked you to think about ways to move them without active spells."

Shock spread over the lunar alicorn's features.

"Surely you don't mean those things are moved by explosions?! We have heard of ponies killed by the effects of spell misfires that resulted in explosions!"

"The explosions are very small, very fast, and extremely controlled. There are safeties now, but people have to be careful that the engines they were using didn't get out of control, otherwise the entire thing could explode. The worst thing that could happen is the fuel tank is heated to a combustion point causing the tank of flammable materials, often kept in a metal case for protection, to explode and throw the metal outward. The metal in such a case is called shrapnel. It can and will kill you."

"Taking that same idea of using the energy that results from controlled explosions, it's possible to move things heavier than air without magic. With such ideas we made heavier than air vehicles that could move faster than sound itself. Continuing on that same line, we made a vehicle that was completely airtight with a good supply of air inside and aimed it straight up. Rockets use that same idea to leave the atmosphere, that's what we call the entirety of the area around a habitable planet like this, and move through the void."

Watching the two alicorns processing the information, he gave a fanged grin.

"Then we learned that because there's no gravity, it's kind of hard to have sex in space. So people started discussing ways to allow proper intercourse in a place where a good thrust could send your partner floating across the room."

While Celestia's look of deep thought immediately twisted into disgusted irritation, Luna burst into laughter.

"Your species breaks free of the very planet that bore you, and you discuss the, the complications of intercourse in the void?" the smaller mare asked in gasping breaths.

"Here ye, here ye, we have discovered a way to prolong life indefinitely! The answer is not to engage in intercourse! Tell us Max, how many humans would be immortal?"

"Not very many, I don't think," he answered with a chuckle. "Oh don't be like that, Celestia. It's funny and you know it."

"It was improper," the solar alicorn huffed. "It was also rude. We are eating a meal, the table is no place for such discussions."

"Tia, you must see about removing the rod from your flank. This is not a dinner with guests, it is the three of us. If we cannot make merry with those gathered here, when shall we do so?"

"Maybe she likes having something stuck up there?" Max sniped with a chuckle.

Once more the comment was met with two starkly contrasting responses. Celestia was staring at him with her jaw hanging open in shock. Luna on the other hand-

"It can be pleasurable? We would assume such a thing would be uncomfortable."

Max worried his lip a bit, unsure how to field the question.

"It...can be. For both individuals if done right. I think the mind sometimes confuses where the sensations are coming from, especially sensations of that type. Thus it could feel as good as conventional sex. I think, I'm really not sure about that. You also have to be more cautious about it. I mean, what's one of the first things that happens to you when you start thinking about having sex?"

"We cannot believe that the two of you are talking about this during dinner," Celestia muttered, covering her face with her hooves.

"We feel warm," Luna answered before her eyes widened. "Oh! Our marehood becomes wet and we leak fluids, allowing easy penetration. Such wetness would not be present, correct?"

"If it was there's something wrong with you," Max joked. "You can use substitutes of course, basically anything that would reduce the friction to a manageable level. There's also the fact that it's not as clean as regular intercourse. You don't really want your partner to be swapping back and forth carelessly between the two holes or you could get sick."

Chuckling nervously, the changeling waited for any further questions. When no more were forthcoming he returned to his dinner, laughing inwardly at the irritation that was radiating from the white alicorn, though there was something else underneath it...no, he had to be imagining that.

"We wish to try it," Luna suddenly said, causing a round of chokes to issue from both Celestia and Max.

It was the white mare who managed a response.

"Luna!"

"You are aware of what would be needed, correct?" she asked the changeling. As he nodded dumbly, a look of shock still on his face, she turned to Celestia.

"We trust him to be cautious and are curious as to the sensations that such contact would evoke. Can you cite anypony you would trust while in such a vulnerable position, Tia?"

"Uh Luna?" the changeling cut in, seeing the predatory grin growing on the blue mare's face.

"When you feel the need to speak plainly, who will be capable of listening to you vent?" Luna asked Celestia with rising hostility. "When you see a stallion that catches your eye, who shall you speak to of him?"

"Luna, we are princesses, and princesses do not speak of, of..."

The lunar alicorn rolled her eyes, fixing her sister with a glare.

"Of a stallion mounting us and filling us with his seed? Or of receiving his seed in the incorrect hole? Perhaps we should not speak of licking-"

"Stop it, jeeze. You're acting like a pair of five year olds," Max interrupted. "Luna, not everyone wants to hear of our exploits. We can discuss things later. I'll even walk you through some ideas I've had with magic. Celestia, I gave the idea of this room for a reason similar to this. It's a place where you can tell dirty jokes, tell us what you really think of an individual, complain about other rulers, or whatever you wish. I apologize for egging your sister on like that, but please don't use the 'it's not princess-y' reasoning. You can both act as princess-y as you want in front of the masses. It's neither needed nor welcome here."

Luna's glare shifted to the changeling for a moment before she sniffed haughtily.

"Tis not like she would know what to do with a stallion should she ever find one."

"Excuse me?"

"Is your hearing failing you as well, Tia?"

"Check please," the stallion muttered, standing up and hip checking Luna.

"Come on, everyone up. You two are obviously done here. Where do the guards practice?"

"The practice yard of course. Where else would they practice?" Luna said, her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Lead the way, Luna," he said in reply, moving around the table. Reaching Celestia's spot, he began bumping her with his muzzle, pushing her off her seat.

"Come on, you too!"

"Do not order us around, changeling! We are your superior and-"

"And you're not moving fast enough, let's go!" Max said, snaking under her forelegs and hefting her up on his back. The white alicorn whinnied in surprise at the sudden change in elevation, earning a giggle from Luna.

"Lead the way, Luna. We're all going to get some practice in."

"We are the princess of the sun! We wield more power than you shall ever know, changeling! We do not need to learn to wield a weapon, we-"

"How many of the ponies here are present because they think you can defend them better than anyone else?" Max asked, interrupting the white mare's tirade. He noticed Luna slowing as well, her ears perked and swiveled towards him.

"How many of the ponies are here because it was the two of you who imprisoned Discord in stone? You didn't hire someone else, you went and did it yourself. They see that, and they hope that you'll put that same effort into their safety. They hope that after so long with nowhere that was safe, the castle watched over by two alicorns will be a place where they can lie down at night and not have to worry about their children going missing. They respect you because you saved them from their old life, and they stick around because they hope that in the event something else goes wrong, you'll do so again. Just because you have a ton of magic doesn't mean you can't benefit from knowing how to fight the old fashioned way. It will also allow the three of us some exercise, which will be nice."

The changeling slowed, seeing both of the alicorns staring at him.

"How old are you two, anyway?"

"We are uncertain. It is difficult to gauge time when the days come and go at the whim of a creature of madness," Luna answered quietly.

Celestia nodded from her perch on his back, agreeing.

"Luna was just coming of age when we battled Discord, and that was...two years ago now," Celestia added.

"Christ, you're younger than me," Max griped. "At least I think you are, we can discuss length of years later. Let's go learn something interesting."

"You may put us down. We will go with you," the mare on his back said.

"Nah, I think it would look good," Max said with a smile. "In fact, when we get outside, go ahead and sit up straight. Let everyone see a Princess being treated like one."

The changeling laughed when the white alicorn launched herself from his back with a huff, ruffling her wings in irritation as she started walking down the hallway. As he started walking again though, a weight landed on his back before his ears were blasted with a shout.

"Forward, servant! To the training yard!" Luna barked, her hooves wrapped around his neck.

<-(0)->

The group received more than a few stares as they walked into the training yard, Celestia leading the way with an irritated expression while Luna proudly sat upright on her mount. Max was barely restraining his laughter, thankful they didn't seem to weigh that much. It could have been the pegasus in them, or maybe it was something to do with him? Who knew?

Luna was entertaining herself by shouting directions for him to follow, swatting at his ears if he didn't respond correctly or fast enough and snickering in spite of her best attempts to remain stoic. Eventually they reached an empty training circle and Max, still getting his ears batted by Luna, bowed theatrically while tilting his head to the side, keeping his horn out of the way as Luna tumbled off his back.

"We have arrived, Madam. Bringing you here was my pleasure, Madam. I live to serve, Madam."

Quickly rising and ruffling her wings, Luna coughed theatrically.

"Yes, yes. Very good. Well done."

Celestia stared at the two as they held their composure for only another moment. When the moment had passed the two of them burst into laughter.

"Ah we needed that. You make a fantastic mount, Max," Luna said, patting the changeling on his shoulder.

"So do you," he whispered back, earning a blush and a punch in the shoulder, though the mare continued to giggle.

"Okay, so how about we grab a few knights who know what they're doing and get started?"

Cupping his hooves around his mouth, the changeling shouted into the training yard.

"I need a unicorn who knows weaponry, a pegasus who knows aerial drills, and another pony who knows stretching and strength exercises."

Luna suddenly spiked with nervousness, as did Celestia, but both held their ground as a few ponies approached. Many kept their distance, but a few came close enough to speak.

"The, creature said you required a few ponies, your majesties?" a pegasus in bronzed armor asked, eyes keeping on Max.

"Indeed, though we are uncertain of his plans for the evening," Luna responded.

"Right, here's the deal. The three of us are brawlers. We can fight in a pinch, but we don't actually know how to use weapons properly, nor do we know ha-hoof to hoof techniques. I'd like the three of us to get some basics over the next few weeks, or however long it takes."

The knight looked confused, as did his colleagues.

"But their majesties defeated Discord, Lord of Chaos. Surely they are powerful enough to face anything that challenges them."

"Indeed they are powerful, and in time their power will only grow," the large stallion agreed. "But tell me, what happens if they find themselves spent of magic? What happens when their foe is resistant to magic, as with a being such as myself? Will you leave them to their fate when a few moments of your time could have saved their lives?"

"Of course not! We will teach you whatever we are able, my ladies," the pegasus said with a bow before raising his head slightly. "If that is your wish, of course."

"Indeed," Luna answered with a nod.

Celestia looked torn, leaning between dismissing the idea as foolish and agreeing with the stallion's plan. The idea of running into a creature like Max who was resistant to her magic swayed her opinion. With a sigh of defeat, she nodded as well.

"Excellent. First thing is proper stretching. Do you guys have a set method or is there different rules for different workouts?" the changeling asked.

"Uh, Twister? You want to run them through the stretches while I set up a quick flight course? Pike, you grab some practice weapons."

"It shall be done," a unicorn mare said with a quick nod of acknowledgement, rushing off to grab the training weapons and padding.

"Alright, your majesties. I ask that you keep up and, er, please don't force yourselves to do anything you do not wish to," an unarmored pegasus mare stuttered, moving into the training circle. She was a skinny thing, with a golden mane and blue coat.

"To start, we shall be, um, stretching our forelegs...are you aware that the, uh, creature is also..."

"We are, Knight Twister," Luna reassured her. "Max is the one who requested that we take these lessons and after hearing his reasoning we concur. He would also gain from this training, so he will obviously be joining us, right Max?"

"And miss out on a chance to hit you with a training sword? Ha!" the changeling guffawed.

Celestia brightened considerably at the prospect, though whether it was hitting Luna or himself that caught her attention he was unsure. It would be a bonus either way. Stress relief the old fashioned way. Maybe he'd finally figure out some magic during these lessons as well?

A stray thought occurred to the solar alicorn as the three of them moved on to the rear legs.

"Luna, did you cancel court tonight?"

"Nay, we found a substitute," she answered, her grin downright insidious.

Celestia's focus was instantly on the smaller alicorn.

"Luna, what. Did you. Do?"

<-(0)->

In the throne room, two knights sat on either side of the resplendent seat of power. Neither moved a muscle, staring stoically ahead as was expected of them. The halls were quiet as usual, in fact the only sounds being made were from the individual seated on the throne. And what a nervous individual she was.

"Um, are you certain I should be here? I mean, it really seems..." a serving mare asked nervously.

"Her highness asked you to do so. You will not be in trouble. Consider it your place of duty until her highness is available again. Like if you were assigned to clean the dining hall," the guard on the right answered.

Silence pervaded for a while, broken only by a nervous cough from the serving mare currently occupying the throne. Finally, one of the guards sighed.

"I believe the creature is a bad influence on Princess Luna."

"I believe you are right," his companion said. "I believe he's a bad influence on myself as well though, because I find this hilarious."

"Indeed it is," the first guard answered. "Did she ever say where she was going to be if we actually needed her?"

"Gave me a list with different times, also said to allow for about five minutes for each item and that if one of their stops takes too long she'll send word to us," the second said, patting a satchel on his hip. "We're covered."

Once again the throne room lapsed into silence, nothing happening but the shifting of the serving mare on the throne. Feeling her nerves fraying even more, she said the only thing she could think of to sum up her situation.

"Oh dear."

Author's Note

Max is the worst, getting Luna to play hooky. He's a bad influence. I also like the idea of Luna just being curious about everything that comes up.

In Which the Plot Becomes Obvious

The stretches were a pleasant experience overall, actually helping Max learn the full rotation of his four primary limbs. Luna and Celestia were likewise interested in some of the stretches, both claiming to enjoy the sensations that came from proper stretching. Then there was the fact that Celestia was a tad less comfortable with her wings than her sister. Whereas Luna knew most of the flexing and stretching, or at least was faster when learning it, the white mare was constantly running into issues. She'd cramp up from flexing incorrectly or even put too much force into a stretch, nearly dislocating her left wing by accident. Clearly this this kind of training was needed. Max improvised his own wing exercises by testing the control he had over the transluscent wings on his back. It actually drew a few pegasi to him, the ponies curious about the dragonfly-like wings that were being displayed.

Luna's time to shine soon came to an end though. A few of the more intricate magic warm-ups left Luna disoriented, pouring a bit too much power or not enough to do as needed. As Luna teased Celestia during the wing stretches, so now was Celestia teasing Luna about her lack of magical finesse.

While the two continued to snipe at each other, Max focused on the explanation he'd heard on the horn-lighting exercise. It was supposedly the basis of most magic spells, so even achieving that would be fantastic.

'Focus on the buzzing you feel inside of you, will it to the horn an-'

Max found himself staring blankly ahead a moment later, his mind scrambling to figure out what the hell had happened. Wisps of smoke were rising from his muzzle and Luna was mouthing something with a look of concern as she circled him. Oh, and he was on his back for some reason.

"-ear us? Max? Max, are you well?"

Wait, she wasn't mouthing words, he just couldn't hear them. Aaand now he could make out the ringing in his ears. So whatever it was that he'd done, he must have done it wrong.

"Love hurts," he muttered as the world slowed in its spinning. "So that was a bust."

"You attempted to use magic?" Celestia asked. "Tis no wonder it reacted like that, magic must be contained. One cannot just push it to one's horn and stop there. A caster must maintain their grip on the energy to prevent it's dispersal. As you experienced."

"Fret not, Max," Luna commiserated. "We did the same thing whilst attempting to cast for the first time. T'was most unpleasant. Most unicorns learn this lesson early in their lives when their magic is still weak. We were not so lucky. When an alicorn experiences the pops, they are better described as the bangs."

Shaking the last of the cobwebs from his head, max grunted in acknowledgement before rolling over and rising. The pops, a time when unicorn foals were constantly exploding their magic. That was a new one. Pegasi likely had something similar, and he'd hear of it while hitting the ground during his first attempts to fly. If not, he was trademarking the wrecks as the Pegasus version of the pops.

"Well, at the least we know he is capable of magic," the white mare said with a shake of her head.

"So I get a sticker for trying, right? Cuz' that would be awesome," Max muttered. "I really want my magic fingers. Guess I'll have to work on those later."

"Levitation? That is your goal?" Celestia asked. "Most unicorns are capable of learning it within a few weeks of passing through their pops phase. It should not be too difficult. Most set much higher goals though."

"Look, princess. I've never had the option of magic before. The fact that I exploded my face is more than anyone on Earth's done as far as I know, so now I'm headed for the next mile-stone," the stallion explained. "Maybe someday I can heat up my soup with my mind. After I manage that we can get into the fun stuff like fireballs and lightning bolts and rail-guns."

"You are not making me look forward to your advancement with magic," the solar diarch deadpanned.

"Oh you worry too much," he waved her off with a flick of a hoof.

"If I may interject?" a unicorn said, catching the attention of the trio. "I find myself better able to cast if I center myself."

"I'm all ears, dude," Max said as he turned his focus to the speaker. "Explain it a bit more though."

The unicorn, a flimsy looking fellow with dark red coat and purple mane, flinched slightly at the changelings focus but stood his ground.

"When focusing my magic, I attempt to center it first. I draw the energy to my center, then draw it up to my horn."

Max nodded in understanding, closing his eyes and focusing once more.

'Center the energy, pull it all to the middle.'

A belch left his lips, but he kept going, ignoring it for the moment.

'Once you have it centered, you bring it up to-'

The stallion choked, vomiting a spray of pink, red and white onto the ground before him.

"Max, what- are you alright? What happened?"

Licking his lips clean, the taste surprisingly not revolting, Max stared at the puddle on the ground before him.

"I uh, I think the energy I was pulling on was emotion, not magic. When I centered I belched but I ignored it, then I brought it up and uh," the changeling trailed off, gesturing to the mess lamely.

"Don't get me wrong, it was unexpected. But I've actually been wondering if I could do that emotion gel thing on command. I guess we have our answer."

"You believe you can do this on command? What does that mean?" Celestia asked, looking at the mess in disgust.

"It means I can save energy for when Luna's not around for one," he answered. "It also means we may be able to use it for other purposes."

"Oh! Like a magic recovery elixir!" Luna said, clapping her hooves in excitement. "Those are horrifically expensive. No more exhaustion headaches from practicing too much magic!"

"You intend to drink it?" Celestia nearly shouted before her eyes went wide This time she did shout.

"We tasted changeling vomit?!?"

"What did you think it was when we told you it came from Max? Besides, the other option is a great deal worse," Luna said dismissively.

"Other option?" the solar alicorn asked with fear in her eyes.

Luna leaned towards Celestia's ear, whispering the answer, likely semen if he remembered her words. She'd said something about sensing magic in it, or something. The possibility that he was correct was supported by Celestia's reaction. The larger mare's eyes widened and she turned beet red while sputtering and tasting of shock and disgust. Eventually she managed to form a single coherent word.

"Luna!"

"To be fair, Celestia, I don't think changelings throw up in the normal sense. I mean I turn food, and likely most other biological material, into that paste when I eat it, and I think this is kind of a 'save it for later' ability," the stallion explained, attempting to calm her. "Actually, I wonder if..."

Rising and trotting over to an archery target, the changeling breathed deeply as he focused on a bale marked with several dyed circles. He sensed a burst of excitement from Luna, the smaller alicorn likely understanding just what he was about to try. Celestia and most of the other ponies just tasted confused. Max grinned at that. Whether it worked or not, the concept was awesome.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to recall the sensations from the first time he'd gotten 'sick'. The pseudo-nausea, the fullness, the feeling of it travelling up his throat. Fighting the urge to stop himself from vomiting and try to keep it down, he pushed it forward, crouching slightly as he aligned his spine with the target. With a quick hacking bark, he let it loose.

"Huzzah! Your aim is only slightly worse than Tia's!" Luna said from behind him before bursting into laughter.

"Luna, he just expelled slime via projectile-vomiting with enough force to give a mare a concussion, much less the effect of that gel striking a pony and adhering them to any nearby surface!" the white mare shouted, her face tinted a lovely shade of green.

"Well, I need to practice on the aim, but I think the question I have now is..."

Max set himself, preparing for his second test. Breathing deeply once more and once again allowing the sensations to take him, he lined himself up and pushed.

Two more impacts, slightly farther from the target. Five more in quick succession. When attempting to speed up even more, Max choked as he launched the third with his mouth still closed. Green goop sprayed from his mouth and the changeling began sputtering and choking, earning another round of laughter from the dark alicorn.

"T'was an impressive display Max, even with the mistake at the end. We are certain your aim shall only improve in time," Luna said while clapping a hoof on his shoulder. Turning to one of their instructors, she smiled. "Now, what was the next thing on our agenda?"

"Hoof to hoof, your majesty," Pike answered, levitating a few training weapons onto their circle's weapon rack. "We shall walk you through the basic forms and then you shall practice them. Will the changeling be joining you? Some of the styles may not work well with his form."

"It's fine. Better to know the styles ahead of time than to be guessing what they'll do when I'm under attack," Max said dismissively.

The mare nodded.

"Then if the three of you will return to the ring, we shall begin demonstrations."

<-(0)->

The unicorn mare was correct in assuming Max would be unable to use most of the forms they would be teaching due to his being so different from the ponies. What they didn't seem to grasp, however, was the fact that the forms were for creatures of their own size. Celestia and Luna were unable to learn some of the forms either while others were useless to them. Even the forms that could be used as practice were only usable on beings of similar size, leaving the three large beings as the only viable sparring partners.

Max sat next to the two alicorns as Pike explained the rules of the next exercise. The sun was already down, the area lit by torches and most of the knights and guards in the barracks for the night. Due to the ones requesting the training though, Pike and Twister were still present.

"The next is just strength and endurance building," Pike said as she paced in front of her audience. While she kept her cool, Max could taste the anxiety she was experiencing.

"We call it rolling, and you can use whatever you have learned if you get the chance. The rules are simple. No strikes meant to injure, only unbalance. No biting hard enough to mark. No pulling out feathers. No strikes against the horn or inner wings, and no strikes against genitals. Who's first?"

"I wish to challenge the changeling," Celestia immediately answered, moving to the circle before any could object.

"Tia, that is not fair!" Luna called after the older mare. "We wish to spar with him!"

"Not the kind of popularity I want," Max muttered. None the less, he took his place in the circle opposite from Celestia. Pike raised a hoof to signal them to prepare, then dropped it.

Max was fairly certain the alicorn was moving before the hoof fell, but that really didn't matter at this point. Celestia bowled into him at surprising force considering how little distance she had to pick up speed. He rolled with her, already having set himself to take the hit, but she used his defensive roll to right herself, flapping her wings to lift herself before dropping on his back as he recovered. Wrapping her forelegs around his neck, she pulled while throwing her weight to the left, causing him fall back over with the mare remained underneath while attached to his back. Having him on his back and in her grip, she tightened her hold on his neck.

"Yield!"

"That's no fun!" he retorted, thrashing about desperately while keeping his neck flexed. Seeing an opportunity, he drove a hoof into her side right below the ribs, causing the alicorn to squawk in pain and release him.

Rolling out of her grip, he rose and took a few steps away. He knew she'd likely try another charge, so he dug himself in. The roll didn't work before, so maybe...

"Rargh!"

Celestia came at him once more with a war cry, her irritation blazing up into a hot anger. Bracing himself for the move, Max jumped to the right slightly before rearing up and falling toward her. She gave off a squeak of surprise, her hooves scrabbling at the ground in a desperate attempt to stop and leaving her leaned back as he fell on her. He wrapped his forelegs around her neck and his rear legs around her barrel, locking them just above her own legs and leaving him clinging to her side before he began pulling upwards and towards himself, crushing the alicorn's neck between his forelegs and barrel. The pressure was enough to cause the alicorn to choke.

"You yield!" he yelled into her face with a smirk.

He felt a similar jab to his belly as she mimicked his own strike but his chitin gave him the advantage of taking the hit. Confidant in his victory, he settled in to wait for her to give up while slowly increasing the pressure on her throat. Thus it was a complete shock to him when she twisted into him in such a way that she could have bit her own tail and grabbed his rear leg in her jaws. The stallion gave a yelp of surprise as she twisted the other way, pulling his rear leg fast enough to toss him a few paces and leaving the changeling rolling on the packed dirt.

Before the world stopped spinning, Max felt a weight on his belly as well as on his throat, Celestia placing both of her forward hooves on his neck and daring him to continue.

He could have continued. He could have given it a bit more effort, could have shoved her forelegs aside and put his fangs to her throat, demanding her surrender. That wasn't why he'd dragged them here though.

"Uncle," Max wheezed, earning a beaming smile from Celestia as she stepped off of him.

"We challenge Tia, we are next!" Luna shouted angrily, storming to the ready position with her wings flared.

The blue mare looked ready to tear into her sister after that last round. Standing slowly, Max tapped his hooves in a T formation a few times while catching his breath.

"Give Celestia a few seconds to recover, Luna. It's not very sporting to take someone on who's a bit tired when you're fresh. Or would you rather have any victories tainted by the fact that Celestia had to take on two opponents in a row?"

"Very well, we shall allow her a reprieve," Luna growled, relaxing her posture. "How long do you suggest, Pike?"

"Three minutes is the usual for knights, your highness," the mare answered nervously. "If you wish to add more or shorten the time, it is up to you though."

Luna shook her head.

"Nay, the time shall work. Is that enough for you, sister?"

Celestia nodded, ruffling her wings and running a charge through her horn to blast off the dirt. She was absolutely radiating satisfaction now. Unsurprising really, as Max knew he wasn't her favorite person on the planet. Likely not next to Discord, but up there.

After the unicorn called an end to the break, the alicorns faced off in the ring. Max actually stepped in between them for a moment before the start, sensing the burning anger from Luna and the smoldering irritation that Celestia was giving off. He didn't want this to turn into an actual altercation.

"Calm down, both of you. If I see blood, I'm stepping in and both of you are getting bitten, understand? Same with wings and mane. If I see some come loose and I saw a jaw near a wing or mane, I'm ending it."

They grumbled a little but cooled a bit, settling in to ready stances as Pike cautiously raised a hoof. The second it dropped, Max grabbed the unicorn's tail in his jaws and yanked her out of the way.

Both alicorns charged, their anger spiking as they impacted in the center of the ring. They both reared up, seemingly hugging each other and trying to twist their opponent into a fall that would leave them with an advantage. After several twists that failed to serve any purpose, Celestia managed to rise a bit higher and pull Luna forward slightly, unbalancing the smaller mare. After that, the two were a rolling pile of fur, mane, tails, wings and anger.

"They are quite upset," Pike said quietly from beside Max. "I had no idea their highnesses were angry at each other."

"They've both been under a lot of stress and each has things they blame the other for. The anger isn't focused on the other mare, not by a long shot, but right now they have a target for all their frustrations. Luna's also a bit sore that Celestia went after me like that, I think. Celestia's irritated that Luna isn't taking her position seriously enough, Luna's mad that Celestia expects her to do things she doesn't like to do. Then there's the fact that they're in charge of a small kingdom after fighting off a Chaos God, or whatever the heck Discord called himself. They're strong, very strong, and willing to do anything to keep you guys safe, but this is new to everyone," Max explained to the knights. "It's not ideal, but hopefully they'll feel a bit better after they burn some of this anger off. Speaking of energy, you sure you two should still be up? We could have called it at any time."

"Our duty is to our princesses. If we lose a bit of sleep for their benefit, so be it," Pike answered, a nod of agreement being Twister's answer.

The three of them went silent as the mares tousled in the ring, neither able to overpower the other. Each time one would appear to gain the advantage, they'd make a mistake the other would capitalize on, leaving both at square one. Luna swung her horn into Celestia's knowing the impact would stun the older mare but not taking into account that hers was just as sensitive. Celestia struck Luna in the jaw with a wing, instantly recoiling as the limb lanced with pain. A few more probing strikes were exchanged before the two alicorns once more tackled each other, devolving into a rolling ball of anger.

Max stared at the mares as they rolled around, feeling his cheeks heating up. No this certainly wasn't why he had suggested this, but it was a nice bonus. Yes, very nice indeed.

Flailing white wings.

Full moons.

Angry Luna with her sister's rear leg in her jaw.

Celestia's tail, and he was fairly certain her tail wasn't the only pink thing he caught a glimpse of.

The alicorns were beginning to sweat now, their glistening bodies rolling over the dirt and smearing with the beginnings of mud as the dirt was dampened by their passage. White wings started changing color, dark blue wings became brighter. The pristine white coat became dusted with brown and the shimmering blue coat became a lighter shade of blue with darker spots around her wings, legs and tail.

'Now is when I need shape shifting. I really don't want to start sporting an erection right now,' Max thought to himself, shifting his legs to keep his plates together.

After about five minutes of neither mare getting the upper hoof, Max gave the ponies beside him a shove.

"I'll watch them. If they get out of hand, there's not much you can do anyway. Go to bed. I'll take care of them."

Twister yawned deeply, nodding but turning to Pike for approval. The unicorn looked at him with suspicion before nodding.

Turning to leave, the unicorn poked his side with a hoof.

"If I hear you did anything untoward, there shall not be a hole deep enough for you to hide in."

"I literally survive on their good will, Pike," Max replied with a sad smile. "Harming them is the last thing on my mind."

"I want you to explain that to the guard later," Pike said with a scowl. "Some of those living in the castle are starting to speak of you and there are many wild stories beginning to circulate. While meeting you has settled some of my worries, I would like to understand the creature the Princess of the Night has placed so much trust in better."

<-(0)->

He guessed that it was nearly an hour later when the mares finally collapsed on each other. Celestia was on her back gasping while Luna was lying crosswise on her sister's belly, her wings fluttering weakly. Both were staring off into the dark courtyard as they were finally reaching the point of exhaustion.

Max approached the mares with a grin, hopping up onto Luna's back and holding his nose into the air.

"I declare myself the winner. Is anyone going to challenge my claim?"

The mares both groaned and Celestia's horn lit for a moment before fizzling out. The white alicorn slumped back down, weakly attempting to shove her sister off of her stomach.

Luna actually growled at him, attempting to nip at him before her head slumped and hung limply off of her sisters barrel. With a burst of irritation the blue mare sagged, no fight left in her.

"Awesome! I suggest a bath after that little exercise. That dirt turned to mud with how much you two were sweating."

Carefully stepping off the pile and pulling Luna off of Celestia, Max gave the lunar alicorn a warm nuzzle while holding her between his forelegs.

"Do you feel better now? Both of you?"

"We do," Luna admitted with a pout. "Perhaps we should pull our sister's mane more often. 'Tis most satisfying."

"And we shall continue to strangle our sister with our own two hooves," Celestia added, her back still against the dirt. "It was deeply gratifying. Nearly as much as charging into her changeling pet."

Max chuckled at Celestia's jab, nodding along.

"I'm glad you two liked this. I'd suggest resting tomorrow though, you'll likely be kind of sore."

Rubbing her head on the underside of his chin, Luna giggled.

"A bath, ha! Is our scent no longer pleasing to you?"

"Oh, I don't mind it, but your subjects may not be as appreciative of it as I am," he responded. "Another issue would be the amount of mud you're going to be tracking into your beds though. I don't think you're going to enjoy laying down with that caked to your bodies."

Both of the alicorns took stock of themselves, Celestia actually balking slightly at just how muddied she was with her coat nearly approaching a shade of brown.

Giving them a few moments to catch their breath, he watched as the two mares began to slowly stand up on their own. Celestia was about halfway up when her legs buckled, and she nearly hit her face on the ring's floor before Max caught her with his forelegs. Setting the white alicorn back down, he quickly moved over to Luna who was having just as much difficulty.

"Guess it's up to me," the changeling said with a rueful smile.

<-(0)->

"We cannot believe we're going to bed so late," Celestia whined.

"Indeed, though a bath is still in the running, Tia," Luna commiserated. "That and some stretching...once we reclaim sense of our legs."

"It's not so bad. You two were pretty amazing. I don't think I've ever seen opponents keep going so long, in fact I bet most ponies wouldn't last a quarter of the time you two rolled," Max said cheerfully to the two mares.

The two alicorn mares that were currently stacked on his back.

A duo of guards led the way to the bathing room, the water already being prepared by a serving mare who was sent ahead along with a unicorn knight. The guards were a more than a bit agitated by the current level of defilement their god-rulers were in, several actually aiming accusing glares at him and some actually making him queasy at the amount of hostility being directed at him. A few irritated orders from the rulers on his back mollified most of the protests, leaving him to make the journey relatively unmolested.

"So how did it feel to finally cut loose, ladies?" he asked as he turned down another seemingly random corridor.

"Wonderful," Luna said, giving her sibling a nuzzle. "Tia makes such a wondrous target for our frustrations."

"And Luna does make the most pleasing noises when impacting the ground," Celestia returned, both of them giggling as the changeling shook his head.

The guards stopped outside a door and one opened it but didn't let Max enter.

"Tis improper to enter with-"

"Oh let him pass," Luna said in exasperation. "Unless you believe yourself to be capable of carrying us both? Perhaps you would prefer to leave the serving mare to attempt to drag the two of us into the bath? T'would be much more proper, wouldn't it?"

Max chuckled as he passed into Luna's bathing room once more, Celestia's being on the other side of the castle. Not that he minded helping them, but none of them cared for making that kind of journey right now, nor were they upset by using the same bath.

"Alright Max, step in and we'll slide off. Once we are in the water, we should be a bit more capable of movement," Luna instructed.

Doing as he was asked, he looked back and watched as Luna slid off her sister before Celestia slipped off of his own back, both mares sighing with delight as they sank into the warm water. They'd recovered a bit on the trip over and both had been supplied with glasses of water, but even now the stallion could still see the wobbliness that still plagued them. That and there was some bruising showing through their coats. It didn't stop them both from radiating satisfaction though.

While the alicorns began washing themselves, Max hopped out of the water and began to head for the door before his tail was snagged in an aura.

"Where are you hoping to wander off to?" Luna asked with a grin. "Did you not end up in the dirt as well?"

"I uh, kinda figured that with Celestia bathing as well I'd wait my tu-"

A yank on his tail caused him to yelp in pain. His hooves were soon in the air and Luna kept pulling, leaving him to splash into the water. He flailed in the water for a bit before popping up, the room having a bluish tint once more. Cocking his head in thought, he ducked under the water and held his breath, blowing through his nose to keep water out and looked around. He could see surprisingly well underwater. Including the blue legs that were approaching.

A hoof jabbed into his side and he surfaced, willing back his built-in goggles and turning to the blue mare.

"Why are you abusing me?"

"Because it makes us feel better," she quipped. "Now hold still, you are still hopeless when bathing is involved. Mayhap someday you will be able to bathe yourself like a foal, but until then we shall help."

With an exaggerated whine, Max allowed himself to be scrubbed down with a rag and have his stubble of a mane rinsed out. It didn't take that long, most of the dirt coming off easily. The issues were the points at which plates joined or where plates and his hide trapped dirt. Those Luna approached with a strange looking brush and gently scrubbed the grime out.

Looking across the way, he saw Celestia with a similar brush in her hooves as she ran it over her horn, cleaning out the grooves in her horn before sparking her horn with power to check her work. The mare fluttered her wings in the water, splashing about before wading over to Luna with her brush.

"Luna, we have told you to wash the grooves of your horn many a time. Why is it that you always have dirt caked in there?" the white princess complained as she splashed the brush in the water before taking it to her sister's horn.

"Tia, we care casting!" Luna squeaked as the larger mare wrapped her hooves around the blue alicorn's neck. "Wait until-ah!"

The brush currently running through the grooves of his chitin fell limply into the water as Luna's concentration was broken by the contact. Celestia paid no mind, her focus on the dirt she was currently extracting from her target.

Deciding to not be completely useless, Max grabbed the brush and cleaned the brush before settling in opposite from Celestia. Very carefully, he began running the brush along the grooves as he'd seen Celestia doing. It wasn't as good a job he was certain, but it made him feel slightly less of a burden on the alicorns.

"Use a bit more pressure. It is only sensitive when magic is present," Celestia instructed him, reaching around Luna and using a hoof to push his own hoof down harder.

Nodding his acknowledgement, he allowed the solar alicorn to explain the finer details of horn care, including the fact that filing them was a thing. It was usually done by another unicorn though, as hooves were not conducive to the finer movements needed. After she was finished with her sister, Celestia turned her attention to him.

"Come here, we wish to see your horn in detail."

Grabbing his face between her wet hooves, she turned his face this way and that even tapping along the face-pike at several points and nodding to herself. Then she leaned forward, lighting her own horn and touching it to his own.

Max's senses exploded as Celestia's inspection brought forth a bit of information that should have been fairly obvious, leaving her humming curiously while the changeling stared blankly ahead.

"Well, we suppose it should have been obvious that our magic is not quite compatible, but the mana lines are present as they would be in a unicorn, if not slightly displaced due to the horns shape."

"Tia, what did you do? He looks...Max, are you well?" he heard Luna ask as a hoof began rubbing at his shoulder.

"I think I saw lavender soap smell and tasted yellow for a second but yea, it's clearing," he answered, blinking rapidly. "So someone else putting magic to my horn is trippy. I'll keep that in mind."

"It mostly could be due to your lack of proper training in magic. Once you are versed in using your magic you will easily be able to contain magic, be it your own or another's. We do apologize though. We did not expect our magic to disperse into your system so quickly. Usually there is some resistance."

"I believe that is enough for now," Luna added, guiding the dazed stallion towards the entrance of the tub. "We would like to lie down. Come Max, we require some support."

The females toweled everyone off and laid wings over his back, using him to keep themselves upright. With his vision finally clearing, Max made his way to the door and walked the mares to Luna's bed.

"Alright, I'll see you ladies tomorrow," Max said as they moved into the bed.

"Oh no you don't," Luna said with a giggle as she once again latched onto his tail with her magic. "We are going to teach you proper preening. How shall you pamper us if you do not know how to care for our wings?"

"Luna, your sister's here. I don't know about how ponies are, but for me it's not really proper to sleep with-" the changelings response was cut off as a golden aura clamped his muzzle shut, the two auras combining as the mares levitated him to Luna's left side. Celestia, on the right, began preening Luna's right wing as she held out her left wing before the stallion.

"Now, before you begin we shall demonstrate a bit. Pay attention," Luna admonished him.

Max watched carefully as the blue alicorn began running her muzzle along the wing, following the layers of the wing from the deepest and lowest parts out to the wing's curve. Reaching the curve, she began again near her barrel, moving once more along the wing, raising her head enough to spit out a few disconnected feathers before returning to her work.

As she finished her second run, Max already had an idea of where to start. The level of manipulation the mare was capable of with her lips and teeth was daunting, though. It would likely be a while before he could move that quickly through feathers, much less be able to properly set them and not cause any discomfort to the one he was working on.

"Just be cautious, we will be watching. We have been doing this for much longer, so we do not expect you to-Ah! Tia, that one was still attached!" Luna barked at her now blushing sister, a blue feather in Celestia's mouth.

Sighing in irritation, she looked back to Max.

"Tia still makes mistakes when preening. Merely contain the force you utilize, and you shall not pull any incorrect feathers. We will alert you if you may tug with more force."

Taking a breath to steel himself, he leaned into the next row of feathers, gently lipping each feather and giving them a quick tug before moving on to the next. The process was painfully slow and what took Luna less then a minute nearly took him five. She was patient though, giving him tips and advice while watching him carefully.

"Slow for a moment. See the feather in your current line? Yes that one there. I want you to pull it out. The vane is broken, it will only cause us discomfort in the future."

"Couldn't you just, you know, snap the broken part off then wait for it to molt naturally?" Max asked, looking up from the wing.

"We-" Luna's face went blank for a moment as she processed the idea.

"We, suppose we could. T'would likely be less uncomfortable as well..."

"But Luna, what about your rule of no magic during preening?" Celestia said teasingly.

"Oh be silent," the blue mare shot back. "You were speaking of running magic through the entire wing to repel dirt. The first time you did that, your feathers all fuzzed up with static. It took us an hour to fix your wings and our lips were numb from so many sparks striking us."

Max watched as Luna carefully took the feather in her magic, beginning to tug at it while wincing.

"No, can you hold two spots at once? Hold here and here, then pull them apart."

Once more Luna tried to follow his instructions, but the feather was being stubborn. With a growl of irritation, the changeling leaned in and grabbed the feather in his jaws before biting down just after the break. He felt a spike of pain from Luna, but other than a quick squeak she was quiet. He turned and spat the feather out, looking at the remains with a scowl. It was by no means a good way to deal with such a thing, but it wasn't like they had scissors. At least, he hadn't seen a pair since he'd been here. Maybe that was something he could give- oh yea, hooves. Well, maybe unicorns could use them. Finding the next feather in his current line, he settled in to finish his work.

"Excellent job, Max. After this we shall take care of Tia's wings," Luna said with a contented smile.

Celestia spiked with a bit of fear at the proclamation.

"Luna, we don't want-uh, what we mean is-"

"Nonsense. Your wings look horrific, when was the last time you actually preened them?" the lunar alicorn asked before running her lips through a line of her sisters feathers and spitting out a wad of molted feathers. "What would your pegasus subjects say if they saw your wings in such a state? Unicorns and earth ponies may not be able to tell, but your wings are a mess."

Finishing his current line and beginning on what would be the last line, Max grinned. Luna was radiating a steady warmth at this point even next to her sister. For now, they were not only willing to speak to each other, they were actually taking care of each other. He'd suggest combat training in the future as a way to vent frustration. It seemed to work well for the mares.

Luna sighed as she leaned into her sister's side.

"We missed this, Tia. Why did we stop spending time together? Is it all truly worth it if we lose everything we loved in the process?"

Celestia's wing lifted over the smaller mare, barely brushing against Max's side as the white alicorn nuzzling into Luna's mane.

"We apologize, Luna. We allowed ourself to be distracted. Forgive us?"

"Of course," Luna said with a smile as rubbed against the larger mare. "After all, if we do not care for your wings, who will?"

Celestia gave a soft giggle before laying down on the bed.

"We must still guide our ponies, Luna. We will attempt to make time for the two of us, but we cannot abandon them either. They need us."

"Yes, we understand," Luna said with a sad smile. She perked a moment later, gesturing for Celestia to spread her wings.

"For now though, we must repair the results of your neglect. And no, Max will not be sitting this out. We shall require his aid if we are to finish this endeavor sometime before the morning comes."

The white alicorn shifted nervously as two pairs of lips began the arduous task of preening her unkempt wings, one with an uncomfortably large set of fangs housed within. Fangs that she knew could render her incapable of motion with a single bite.

Author's Note

This chapter just kept going and going and going, my god. I'm glad it's finally over. There was just no good place to stop. In fact I'm still not happy with where I stopped it, but almost 7k with no smut in a mature story like this? I'm going to have to make that up next chapter. Maybe, I'm not going to force that kinda thing.

Oh, also: Guys with shape shifting = no more awkward boners in public.

In Which Things get Awkward

It was still early when Max woke up the next morning. So early in fact, that the sun wasn't up. Neither of them, really. Blinking sleepily, he could see the white mare across the bed, her body curled away from him. At least she was able to sleep well after last night. Maybe he'd suggest the two of them take the day off? Just a day to recover from both the training and exertion and a day to be together like they were before this happened. He'd find Pike and talk to her, explain whatever it was the mare was interested in and maybe recruiting a few more of the castle's staff to his cause.

It was a good possibility that the alicorns hadn't had a day to themselves in- what did they say it had been since Discord's fall? Two years? Yea, he was certain that it had been pretty hectic but if you didn't unwind every now and again you'd snap. Maybe that's what had happened? Too much tension for the blue alicorn and she just snapped. Yup, if you don't release that tension, it would just blow all over the place...that was feeling really nice.

Max gave a grunt of pleasure as something rubbed against him. He didn't know what it was, though neither did he know why he was currently on his back.

'That's awesome. Right there, just a little-'

His eyes suddenly widened and he leaned forward, finally catching a view of the third individual in the room. While Celestia was sleeping beside them, Luna was hard at work nuzzling his penis and giving it a thick layer of spit. Even as he stared in shock at her boldness she'd begun licking and kissing it. Now he began to feel panic cutting through that pleasure. They weren't alone in the room and it was likely getting late in the night.

"Luna, s-stop it. Not now!" he whispered as loud as he dared, giving another stuttering buck as she giggled at his predicament.

With her forelegs locked into his rear legs and her barrel against his rump, the alicorn dragged her broad tongue lazily from the base to the tip, tracing the veins with her tongue. Staring at him mischievously as he pleaded for mercy, she licked a slight trickle from the tip and hummed happily before shaking her head.

"We believe now is a perfectly acceptable time," she whispered back.

Max clamped his hooves over his muzzle to stifle a groan as Luna gave him another sensuous lick before rising and sitting just to his right. She placed her forelegs on either side of his barrel and leaned over him slightly, kissing the head and giving it a suckling kiss. He saw her tail bobbing excitedly and heard as much as felt her begin to take more and more of him into her mouth, humming and fluttering her wings as she did so.

The changeling did his best to keep himself quiet, the barest of moans leaving his locked lips as he did his best to keep quiet. Even worse, Luna was giggling to herself as she worked, the rumbles of her laughter sending him even higher.

Releasing him from her mouth but not ceasing the stimulation, she looked back at him while circling a hoof over the sensitive flesh that was revealed by his opening plates.

"Be silent, Max. We would not wish for our sister to wake, would we?" she whispered before falling into another fit of giggles and returning her attention to his lower body.

'Shit shit shit shit' he mentally chanted as he bucked into the air, a hum from the mare sending fireworks off in his brain. How long had she been there before he was awake? How would he keep quiet when the mare was administering such exquisite torture? Celestia was sleeping right next to them, how could he feel any more awkward about this?

Fate answered him a moment later as the white alicorn shifted, rolling over and wrapping her forelegs around the changeling in a strong grip that sent Luna into a fresh fit of giggles. Max was nearly in tears now. He wouldn't be able to hold it back. He would die.

There were worse ways to go, he supposed. Even as Celestia nuzzled into the crook of his neck and mumbled happily in her sleep, Luna went back to his dick, humming and suckling as she went. Suddenly another surge of pleasure struck, the mare running her tongue over each ring in sequence while humming a wordless tune.

Between the suction, the heat, and the feeling of her tongue running along the sensitive flesh of his rings he was doomed. A grunt became a moan, and that moan soon became a bucking grunt as his legs kicked out in an instinctive attempt to drive himself into the warm, wet tunnel his dick was currently occupying. Feeling his climax approaching, Max gave in.

A loud groan escaped his throat as he finally released into Luna's throat, the alicorn quickly swallowing the torrents of seed. He wasn't certain how much there was, but judging by the fact the mare sighed and licked her lips as she sat up had him staring at her in wonder.

"Did, did you just drink-"

"Of course we did," Luna said haughtily. "We will not have our mate drinking deeply of our own nectar and not be willing to return the favor. Besides, we feel magically drained after our brawl with Tia in spite of not using magic. A large dose of your magic-rich seed is most welcome. The fact that it delivers such pleasure to you is but a bonus, as well as the fact that we were able to watch you squirm."

"So I'm your magic-restoration potion dispenser," Max deadpanned before blanching. The white mare was still attached to his side and he'd just spoken aloud.

"You need not worry about Tia, Max," the blue alicorn said with a grin. "She could sleep through Armageddon if it occurred while the sun was down. She rises early, but never is she awake before the sun is due to rise."

Looking over the other mare with a slowly growing smile, Luna tapped a hoof to her chin.

"In fact, we do believe we may have even more entertainment with this situation. You will aid us, will you not Max?"

"As long as it's nothing too bad sure, but you owe me a favor afterwards," the changeling relented. He knew he'd regret it and that thought was proven when Luna, after using a blanket to wipe his lower body dry, proceeded to grasp Celestia in her aura and float the snoozing alicorn directly onto his barrel.

'Nevermind, now is when I die,' he thought to himself, feeling Celestia repositioning herself into a more comfortable cuddle.

"We cannot wait to see Tia's face when she awakens," the blue mare said while clapping her hooves excitedly. "This will be excellent payback for those tricks she loves to play on us."

After what felt like an eternity, Celestia blinked awake, her eyes lacking any true focus. She yawned deeply, giving Max a good view of most of her teeth and her curling tongue. Before she was even done yawning though, Luna made her move.

"Oh Tia, I'm so happy you agreed. It's nice to know Max will have a second source of love should we not be present," she said from her place beside the pair.

Celestia's eyes suddenly shot open, gaining perfect clarity as she looked down between her hooves at Max. Knowing he was already in deep, he went all out. Reaching his neck up, he locked lips with the white alicorn.

Confusion and fear bloomed from her, the negative emotions nearly making him choke. Celestia wasn't the most passionate of individuals fighting for his continued presence so it didn't hurt him as much as the same from Luna would have but still, it wasn't something he enjoyed He mentally decided to avoid these kinds of things in the future unless he had a good reason. He ran his tongue along her sealed lips searchingly as if he was expecting her to allow him entry and her fear spiked even higher. Yes, from now on he wasn't doing this without a very good reason.

The confusion radiating from the mare was only growing at his displays of affection. He heard her sniffing, smelling the arousal of a mare and his own musk and he felt something he didn't expect. Despair. She had become certain she'd been taken by the stallion holding her and she choked out a sob into the kiss. Before he could break away to explain that it was a prank though she pushed forward, pressing herself into him and gingerly returning the kiss. He felt her shift her body, pressing herself fully against him even as fear turned to shame.

Feeling it was going much too far, Max pushed back and broke off the kiss, leaning up to her ear.

"Nothing happened Celestia, relax. Look at Luna."

He felt the despair and shame suddenly twist to confusion and felt her head twist towards the beacon of mirth across the way. Confusion shifted to anger and-

"Stop it, calm down. It was a joke and you weren't actually touched anywhere like that. Calm yourself, Celestia. I would never do something like that to you. I swear."

"Aw, why did you give yourself away?" Luna asked with a pout.

"Because unlike you I get to feel her emotions as she goes through them. It may be funny to watch someone's face twist as they fall victim to a prank but it's a lot less fun when you get blasted by the emotions they're going through," he explained before turning back to the solar alicorn.

"I have to ask," he said, tightening his grip as she tried pulling away from him.

"Why did you taste of despair?"

"We, release us now," Celestia choked out, attempting to retreat from the situation.

Max wasn't having it though. Instead of releasing the alicorn he pulled himself up onto his haunches using Celestia's attempt to escape and pulled her back to him.

"What, so you can go and cry about this in your own room? Luna was doing that for the last year and it did her no good."

Luna wrapped around the white alicorn from behind, folding her wings around the other two in a hug.

"We merely wished to return your pranks, not cause you misery, Tia. No more of this. We must begin talking with others about these things. We shall either leave you to speak with Max, or he may leave the two of us. Either way, we will have you speak your mind."

"It would be unbecoming of me to-" Celestia started, only to be cut off by the changeling.

"There's no crowns in this room," Max said, tapping a hoof to her exposed head. "No serving ponies, no nobles, no knights. If you can't speak frankly to us, or at least to your sister, who can you speak to? Or will you keep it bottled in until you break down in front of the masses when it becomes too much?"

"But we, we can't- the sun must be raised and-" the white mare stuttered, choking back another sob.

"The world shall not end if the sun rises a few moments late for one day. It was random for centuries, mine sister, the world will not fall into chaos once again if you do not raise the sun at precisely six o'clock every morning. There is something more important occurring in this room."

Luna tightened her grip, nuzzling into her sister affectionately.

"Why did we have to give this up? We can do this again, Tia. Who is to say we cannot enjoy each others company? We miss you, we want to be with you, to play pretend with you, to live in harmony once again. We have allowed our duties to separate us but this changeling, this creature before you has brought the two of us together once more. He supports us in our attempts to be ourself, and he supports us in our wishes to be close to our sister once more. Please Tia, speak with us. Speak with us and we shall speak with you. We shall talk of the attractive guards, of which treats are best, of which flowers go better with which leaves.

"Please Tia," the blue alicorn pleaded, "come back to us."

The white mare gave a weak shove against the stallion before sagging into the pile of concern. Luna guided her sister to the bed, carefully directing her to the mattress while Max moved out of the way. Seeing the two of them so close and feeling the burning familial love from Luna and the sour sorrow from Celestia that was only growing with the passing moments, the changeling rose and backed away.

"I uh, I'll see about getting some breakfast sent here, okay?" he whispered to Luna, who responded with a quick nod before going back to her increasingly agitated sister.

Stepping off the bed and walking into the hallway he came up short as several guards stood in his path, among them a familiar unicorn mare.

"Uh, good morning Pike."

"It shall be a better morning once the sun rises," one of the armored ponies, a mare by the sounds of it, quipped.

"Luna and Celestia are talking right now. I don't know if they want to be disturbed. I was actually just going to see if I could get some breakfast delivered for the two of them. It may be a bit over the top, but they've earned some spoiling. Is that possible?" he asked, looking over the group.

"Breakfast in bed? It seems a bit..."

"Lavish. I like it."

"They deserve it, I suppose. They do raise the sun and moon."

"I know an amazing recipe for muffins."

"There are already chefs, Doo. Let them do their jobs. Though they may need some help getting it all here."

The stallion watched curiously as what was moments ago an agitated mob of guards took off down the hallway towards the kitchens. He wasn't certain what was more impressive. Their concern and willingness to dote on the princesses or their ability to be easily distracted. Maybe that was just a requirement of being a guard. Well, now most of the ponies were gone. All except one.

"While I agree that such a treat would be nice, I must insist that they do their duty," Pike stated, looking back from the retreating group.

"They're not going to ignore it, Pike, but to be completely honest the sun doesn't rise the same time every morning where I'm from either and we all survive. A few minutes is only going to panic the most timely individuals," he answered, stepping in front of the door.

Pike stepped forward with a deepening scowl. Her magic flared and she tried to push the changeling away from the door.

"I'm afraid I must insist. I need to speak with them."

"Cute, but even Celestia has trouble with her magic when she casts on me," Max said with a snort. "I know you guys are big on this respect thing, so I'm going to ask once more. Give them a chance to sort themselves out before you walk in."

Pike gave an irritated grunt as her magic washed over the changeling with no obvious impact. Gritting her teeth, she drew a sword, aiming the blade at the stallion before her.

"Remove yourself from my path. I allowed you to watch them last night and now they are not leaving their room. I will see them and be certain of their condition."

He pondered attempting to stop her, but even with chitin there was no guarantee he'd survive the encounter. Even with the chitin he was unarmed except for his horn, which likely didn't count as a weapon considering it was apparently sensitive when used. Not something he wanted to bring against a trained guardsmare, even if she was smaller than him. With an eye roll he stepped aside, allowing the mare to enter.

She did so, nearly breaking down the door in her haste.

"Your highnesses, the sun is three minutes late. I ask that you-"

"We are well aware of that, but we are conversing with our sister. Leave, Pike, or we shall eject you from our room forcefully," Luna barked, cutting off the guardsmare.

Max watched as Pike took one last look at the alicorns, Celestia clinging to Luna and sniffling while the blue alicorn nodded along and stroked her sisters back. It was heartbreaking, really, and he could taste the emotions pouring from both of them as they clung to each other. The moment Pike cleared the doorway, Max closed it gently behind her.

The mare stood just outside the door and took a calming breath before rounding on the changeling.

"What the buck was that?" she said in a perfect blend of whisper and shout. "Princess Celestia is never upset, Princess Luna is always moody, what's going on?"

"Come on. I'd like to make sure those guards aren't pissing the cooks off," Max said, turning to walk down the path the guards had taken.

He heard and tasted the mare following him, her frustration and confusion a bitter blend to his senses. Still, it was better then the blend of emotions that was currently being exuded by the alicorns as they poured their hearts out to each other.

"I know you were asking for some more information about me, so lets start there. I wasn't actually a changeling a week ago. What you see before you is the result of Discord learning a new trick. He actually pulled me from another plane of existence, at least that's what I assume. The possibility of traveling to other planes of existence is purely theoretical back home. I don't know if you ever saw the items that were confiscated from me...I need to see about getting that stuff back, actually. It would be nice to see those things, see if I my size changed too much. I think I also have a measurement card in my pocket. Get you guys some actual measurements that you can use instead of eyeballing everything.

"Anyway during his travels Discord had a conversation with me using a form of long distance communications that was common on Earth. They were also fairly anonymous unless you knew how to dig for the information. So a guy named Discord, a name that doesn't carry as much weight as it does here, contacts me and starts questioning my understanding of the multiverse and fate. Said he didn't like fate, that it was his antithesis. He found information on a possible future of this world and because he didn't like fate, threw me here. An individual who was not involved in the original timeline.

"He learned something very important in his travels, Pike. Chaos isn't evil. Whereas he was claiming to be an avatar of chaos, he was only acting out his name. Chaos is neutral. It can be good, too. An earthquake rattles a city, but when they inspect the cracked earth a few blocks outside the city, they find rare metals and gems are visible from the surface. Perhaps Discord could make it rain sandwiches from the sky. Normally this is bad, but if the area is experiencing a famine, those sandwiches are a gift. I think he's planning on moving in that direction now, or at least I hope he is."

"Would he think that his new knowledge would excuse him of the atrocities he has committed? He will never be accepted among those of this world," the mare growled, stomping a hoof for emphasis.

"I think he can wait for your never, Pike. How old is Discord?" Max asked, looking back to the mare.

At the mare's shrug, he nodded.

"Discord has plenty of time to wait for his deeds to pass from memory, even history. He lives on a different scale from the rest of us. Someone that old, they blink and the person that was demanding their death has died of old age, as did their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Their were discussions back home about immortality being a horrific thing to actually experience, as it becomes difficult to be concerned about the wellbeing of others when you don't experience life the same way they do. There's just not the need to savor life anymore when it's a certain thing"

"Do I support him? No, in fact if I ever see him the first thing I'm going to do is kick him in the balls, wherever they may be on his mismatched form. If I'm lucky, they'll be in his skull, so I can buck him in the face and the nuts at the same time.

"He left me here to die for his own amusement and to play a game I wanted no part in. That being said, I don't regret being here. Even if I could go back home, I don't know if I could do that to Luna. She was just too happy to have someone to talk to, someone who would just listen to her. So I just have to accept the fact that I may never see my family again..."

"You and everypony else," the mare snorted. "I don't know where my family is, in fact I'm fairly certain that most of those in the castle would say the same thing."

Surprise flashed over the changeling's face.

"Really? Discord broke families?"

"He liked teleporting ponies about randomly. He never left anypony in the wilds as far as I know, but it's not very nice to find yourself in a town of earth ponies as the only unicorn. Especially when some of those earth ponies have had no experiences with unicorns in the recent past. Not only that, but the only magic some of the ponies in that town knew was what Discord used."

"So this unicorn wouldn't happen to be a mare I know, would it?" Max asked with a sad smile. "Witch hunts were a thing back home. They're not as common now, but they still happen if the locals are scared by something. Fear can be a very dangerous thing.

"The most common use of witch hunts was identifying a scape goat, a target to lay the blame on for bad things happening. It doesn't surprise me that you'd be targeted by those who've only witnessed the destructive side of magic. They'd see active magic in general as evil. There are many places on Earth where any kind of magic is seen as a sign of affiliation with dark spirits and evil powers."

"I'll be honest with you Pike, I don't know much about Discord other than he likes messing peoples lives up for his own amusement," the stallion admitted. "I didn't even know it was that bad. All I'd heard was he messed with everyone he came across, nothing about the hows or what was involved, nor the repercussions such screwing around would have."

"There are a lot of things I don't know about this world, too. I'm running into oddities every day. Even my biology, the way my body works is strange to me. I survive on emotions, I turn any normal food into goop, I shed my shell a few days ago..."

"You shed your shell? Wait, what was that about emotions?" Pike nearly shouted, igniting her horn and wrapping her aura around her blade's handle.

"It's not like that. I don't steal them, I think it's more along the lines of the trees absorbing sunlight. I absorb the energy your emotions give off. You actually give off different types of energy depending on your mood, and I interpret those types of energy as having different flavors. The positive ones like love and happiness taste better, while things like fear and sorrow are like biting into a rotten apple. Hate could actually make me sick if I ate it I think. The hostility I was hit with last night by some of the guards almost made me physically ill."

"Alright, you lead, I have no idea which way to go from here," Max said, coming to a stop at an intersection.

Giving the stallion a cautious glance as she passed him by, she motioned for him to continue.

"As for the emotions, Luna has been providing me with most of what I've needed, and we actually found a return for her. Do you remember when I accidentally spit out that colored gel last night? That was emotion-laden gel. Basically it's a way to store emotions for later. Well, Luna has said that she actually felt a bit of magic in the gel.

"It's possible that when my body processes emotions, it goes from passive energy to magic. When I spit that gel out, it contains magic that can be used to restore the energy of a magic user."

"That's...useful, if a bit weird," Pike admitted, taking a left at the next hallway.

Already Max could make out the smells of breakfast being made, and he could faintly hear a terrible racket coming from ahead of them.

"It is, but there's a catch."

Chuckling at the unicorn's muttered 'of course there is' he continued.

"Luna's the only one who can drink the gel without it having a negative effect on her. Celestia tried it and it made her giggly for a few moments, and she only put a dab on her hoof. To have any real restorative effect I think you'd need a bit more. So the catch is it incapacitates you. Not in a bad way, but it's not something you can use in combat. Maybe with some practice and experimentation we could remove that though...it would be nice, don't you think? A cheap drink that restores magic? It could also be used in the cases of a unicorn expending a lethal amount of energy and going into shock. Is that a thing or am I just seeing a positive where there isn't one?"

"No, no that would help...well it would depend on how quickly the energy is absorbed. I mean, if I had to chose between going through magical shock or being a bit...silly for a bit, I think I'd be fine with being silly. It's not, permanent or anything, right?" Pike asked with a frown. "And what do you mean, it's similar to a tree absorbing sunlight? Everything absorbs sunlight, doesn't it?"

"The dab only lasted a few seconds, maybe a minute. I don't know how it would effect a pony, but I can't see it doing much more than that. May be best to test it in small doses or something like that, mostly on a unicorn that's been using magic a lot so the full effect is felt. As for the tree thing, plants convert light into energy. The cells that do that are green. An active plant that is absorbing sunlight is green. The process is called photosynthesis. I, did you ever have any schooling, Pike? Who taught you when you were growing up?"

"I was raised by an old earth pony nag that was kind enough to take me in. She didn't know anything about magic, so most of my abilities I learned on my own. I've managed to get some more practice in with the unicorns around here, but there's only so much we can do."

"I see," Max muttered, scowling in thought. He really didn't expect everyone to be this bad off.

"Please don't take offense when I ask this, but are you able to read?"

"I can read some Earth Pony script, but Unicorn is a bit difficult," the mare answered quietly. "I don't know if I wasn't old enough to be taught before I was teleported or that my unicorn parents didn't have the time or money to teach me but I never was educated in Unicorn Script. I've asked a few of the unicorns here to teach me, but we're all so busy all the time with training and patrols."

"I see," the changeling said while contemplating the situation. "I don't think I'll be able to read any of the local script. Best case is we can use my writing for codes if we really need it, but there are easier ways to encode messages then teaching someone a whole new language."

Walking a bit more down the hallway the two lapsed into silence. He wouldn't call it companionable, the mood was much too poor for that. He flitted his wings a little in bored curiosity, actually feeling a bit of wind this time. Maybe with his strength increasing, his abilities were as well? Was everything about changelings based on how much energy they had available?

"Fly... on your wings...like an eagle, fly as high as the sun."

Max perked up at the idea. And what better song to learn how to fly to than...oh wait.

"Nope, never mind. That's a horrible song to learn flying to."

"It sounded interesting. Why is it so bad?" Pike said, making a final turn and swinging open the kitchen door.

"The song is called Flight of Icarus. I'll tell you the full story later, but Icarus is a figure of mythology who fell to his death while trying to fly," Max answered with a chuckle. Entering the kitchen, that smile soon fell from his face.

"Get out, get out, get out, get out!"

One pony, a large stallion with a chef's hat, was currently trying to corral the mass of ponies that were flooding the kitchen. It seemed that it wasn't just the first group of guards liked the idea of giving the alicorns a reward for their hard work. The group had picked up several more guards as well as a small collection of serving ponies that wanted to pitch in as well. This was all well and good, of course, but the kitchens were not really sized for almost two dozen ponies all trying to help the already-present kitchen staff.

"Yea, this is a mess," Max muttered before taking a deep breath. He'd done it once before, so why not again?

"Everyone who's not kitchen staff, get out! Now!"

Regardless of if they fled due to his voice or his appearance, the serving ponies and a good number of the guards scattered at the sight of a roaring changeling that was larger than themselves. A few of the cooks looked ready to bolt as well, but the chef had managed to coral them all into a single corner and Max was between the cooks and the door. So instead, most huddled in the corner hoping the bug-thing wouldn't eat them.

When the amount of activity was finally lowered to the point that he could hear himself think, Max was treated to the sight of Pike chewing out a few of the other guards for abandoning their duties and causing problems for the chef. Seeing the stallion seething at the door that most of the crowd had exited through, Max tapped his shoulder.

"Sorry about this, but I was wondering if it would be possible to get something for Princesses Luna and Celestia," he explained. "I'm willing to carry it myself, but I'd like to see it brought to Princess Luna's room."

"It was your idea?" the head chef belted out in anger before his eyes tracked up the changelings form.

"Huh, don't think I've seen you around here before. I don't keep meat in the kitchen, so you're own your own for that. I've cooked meals for many a being, can't say I've fed a bug-pony before. What do you eat?"

"The reason you've not cooked for my kind is likely because bug-ponies don't need to eat solid foods. My diet's a bit more esoteric," Max explained before tapping his chin in thought. "Though I may be able to substitute the honey in something like cookies for a baked snack...anyway I'd like the princesses' breakfast delivered to Princess Luna's room. Is there anything I can do to help?"

The chef looked around at the jittering cooks that were keeping as far from the changeling as possible.

"I think it would help if you stepped outside, actually. I'd like to have my help not shaking in fear and your presence seems counter to this. Would you mind..."

"No, it's fine. I'm not fully comfortable in this form myself, so no offense is taken," the changeling replied, stepping towards the door. Just before he walked outside though, he stopped and looked back to the head chef.

"By the way I'd like to ask you, the next time you have a moment, about some recipes I know. Some may not be viable right now, but I think one should be pretty easy to make and it tastes pretty good. Let me know when you have a moment and we'll see about putting it together."

The stallion nodded.

"I suppose I'm always up for new recipes. A bug-pony's recipes should be a decent challenge."

"Actually, I'd also like to discuss any honey-related recipes you may know later on as well. I have to ask though. Why are you so calm around me? Most of the guards seem to have heard of me by now, but I'm still getting, well..." the changeling weakly waved a hoof to the cowering ponies across the way in example.

"Bah, if you're wandering the palace with the guards aware of your presence, then obviously you're allowed to be here," the chef said while waving a hoof dismissively. "That and I don't think anypony's going to attack the kitchen first. It's not exactly high on the priority list when there are other places to hit."

With a quiet 'ah, Max walked back outside, only to be met with a critical stare. From a mare.

"I remember hearing from the other knights about a monster attacking the nobles during a meal. I take it you did something similar at that time?" Pike asked.

"It was me, yes. I didn't really think about the fact that they likely have more power to back them up then I do, but I was kind of angry at them. I was also the one who suggested the princesses use a private dining room for some alone time, some time to talk and unwind. The fact that the room was full of ponies when Luna and I arrived?"

"Was in direct opposition to your reasons for the dining room in the first place," Pike said with a nod. "While I won't argue it's effectiveness, you may wish to stop using it. It will get you stabbed."

Max's muzzle scrunched up in confusion.

"What do you mean-"

"There it is!"

"Get it!"

Pike stepped in front of the rallying group of guards and stood firm before the approaching charge.

"Halt. This being is here by the grace of her majesty Princess Luna. To attack him is to strike at her highness herself."

The charge slowly fell apart as the mare's words reached their ears, but then the muttering began.

"If it is here by her highness's grace, why did it attack us in the kitchen?" one particularly irritated stallion asked.

"The kitchen you lot were clogging up? I also never actually attacked, I just shouted over everyone. Your fear and confusion did the rest.

"The chef was trying to get the extra ponies out of his kitchen so he could work. You say you wanted to help, but did any of you actually ask the guy who knows what he's doing how you could best help him?" Max said, speaking over Pike to the returning guards. "I'm sure the princesses would be ecstatic to hear you guys think so highly of them, but all you were doing at that point was causing a mess. Let the cooks do their job and offer to help if you can. There's no reason to make a nuisance of yourself if you're trying to help the chef out."

Seeing the guards muttering amongst each other once more, the stallion decided to once more cut in with a distraction.

"Now, I gave Pike a bit of my story, but more ears means less problems for me later on and it will kill time while we're waiting for the cooks. Any major questions to start with? No? Okay, so I started out this week as a different species..."

<-(0)->

The sun rose only a few moments after the changeling had begun to tell his story, much to the relief of several of the ponies present. As for the chef, it took a lot less time than Max would have suspected, but once the stallion was back in control of his kitchen the chef worked wonders. The meal was soon finished and set up for transportation to Luna's room. Seeing as the staff didn't have a rolling cart, something the changeling swore to remedy at some point, the chef decided that the big bug-pony who came in with the request could deliver it. So the ponies, guards mostly who had been listening to the story of his origin and of other possible worlds, ended up tying a large platter to his back. A few towels to keep the heat from burning him, and he was set.

"So what was the biggest monster of these fantasy creatures?" Pike asked as she guided the group back to the princesses room.

"The biggest...I want to say it was this whale- do you guys know what a whale is?" Max asked the guards. He received only one nod, so he worried his lip a bit in thought. "Fish. Think of a large fish that has to breath air every now and again. They can hold their breath for a really long time, but they still need air. The whales back home were large enough I think three or four of you could stand side by side in the mouth without touching each other. Anyway the biggest was a giant whale. You'd fit about fifteen to twenty ponies in this things mouth alone, and it was three times as long as it was wide."

The guards descended into chattering once more, some of them arguing about such creatures surviving. Of course, one of them mentioned dragons and that silenced most of that kind of talk. Max saw a few decorations he recognized and quickly perked up. Having been in and out of it several times by now he could recognize Luna's door.

Speeding up a bit and walking up to the door, he knocked gently at first. When no answer was forthcoming, he knocked harder.

"L-Princess Luna? It's me, Max. We've brought something for you and your sister."

A few hoofsteps sounded on the other side of the door and it opened slightly, Luna peaking out at him. She saw the meal on his back and her eyes widened.

"Eat in our room? But we are, no...no we shall accept this. Thank you, everypony. We shall speak with you all later. Come in, Max."

Stepping in with his cargo, the stallion walked into the still-dim room, Luna having kept her curtains drawn to maintain the darkness. Celestia was still in the bed, it appeared, as there was still a lump in the center of it.

"Here, let us take that."

The tray was levitated off of his back in a blue aura as Luna began taking stock of the meal. Setting it on a stool by the bed, she gave a magical nudge to the ball of blankets.

"Tia, come out. Our subjects have graced us with a meal delivered to our bedroom."

"What? Why did they," Celestia mumbled, peeking out at the fare from her blankets. Her gaze tracked to the grinning and waving stallion and she squinted at him.

"You suggested this, didn't you?"

The stallion smiled.

"Duh. It's the ultimate way to spoil someone or tell them that you appreciate what they do. It would get old after a while, but everyone likes to be appreciated. Of course, I'm certain we could just bring it to the dining room if you like..."

"No, it is fine. We are just...unaccustomed to such treatment," Celestia admitted quietly, finally emerging from her cocoon.

"Well the two of you bust your butts to keep this place going, right?" Max asked with a smile. "You deserve a bit of spoiling."

"Tis a wonderful gift. Thank you, Max," Luna said with a giggle, standing beside him and using a wing to pull him against her. "We are most grateful, even though you gifted us with food from our own cellars."

"Hey, I don't take credit for the food, I take credit for the idea of breakfast in bed. Now go on, you can't eat breakfast in bed when you're sitting on the floor."

Escaping her hug and giving her a shove, he herded her to the bed and jumped in after her. As the mares stacked their plates and began eating, Max took his own place right at Luna's side.

"And while you're eating, I'll have a snack too," he said while pressing his muzzle into Luna's neck.

The alicorn hummed contentedly as she ate her breakfast, pulling him to her side with a wing and holding him while she ate.

"So are you feeling better, Celestia?" Max asked cautiously after a bit of silence.

The mare stopped just shy of sticking a rolled pancake in her mouth and stared at the food in thought.

"Yes. Yes, we are feeling a bit better. We have missed the opportunity to speak with our sister like this. It is something we shall need to do again. Much like the training. Our performance was rather lackluster, we must admit."

"We suggest you train a bit more before heading after the bandits, Tia," Luna suggested. "They are often quite brutal. As much as you may wish to save everypony, it is not always feasible. Some do not wish to be saved. Some will make you choose..."

Max pressed closer to her at the spike in sorrow, causing the mare to smile thankfully.

"I'd be happy to give you a training partner If you need it, Celestia, but for now I ask that you two take it easy for a day. I know there's a lot to do, but it's not healthy to be running full throttle all the time. Rest, talk, read a book or scroll or what have you. Take a walk around the castle, see for yourselves what it is you're working to protect."

"That sounds like a splendid idea," Luna said. "After breakfast we shall all walk the grounds. We have not done so for a while, we are curious what has changed."

Luna's smile shifted from pleasant to downright lecherous.

"Of course, after breakfast we shall require that you leave the room, Tia. Max still owes us a new idea. We do not have the oil, so we are afraid he must come up with another idea."

"You, are insatiable," Max said, giving the blue alicorn a peck on the cheek. "Oh, speaking of Luna being crazy, can I ask what it as that made you so uncomfortable?" He asked to the white mare. "I won't force you to answer, but I'd like to know what's off-limits. That was pretty big for you, so I want to know what kind of jokes to avoid."

Celestia slumped at his question. Luna extended a wing to reassure her sister, but Celestia waved it off.

"We are saving ourself for our true love. We felt that our chance for such had been, stolen from us. That we were no longer worthy of the stallion we dreamed of. We apologize for acting out, it was-"

"No no no, don't apologize for being scared of something like that," he cut her off. "You're a romantic. It's not a bad thing. I promise to do my best to avoid those kinds of situations in the future, okay? You hold onto that dream. I'm sure you'll find your perfect lover someday."

"You always did enjoy any of those old novels you could find, didn't you Tia? We must wonder though, if the time comes when you find yourself with your lover, what will you do? After all, you squirm at the mention of engaging in such activities. Do you believe he would not be looking to mount you?" Luna asked with a giggle. "Such is the way of the world Tia. Even your perfect lover will wish to engage in such passions with you eventually. What will you do, tell him it is improper?"

To Max's shock, the white alicorn burned with embarrassment at the idea, though there was a bit of lust in there as well. Physically Celestia lit up red and then lit up her horn, slapping her sister with a pillow.

"Our desire for our perfect stallion does not preclude our lack of interest in such activities, but neither does it spark our interest in your own. We have no desire to shout of our mate's skill in the bedroom."

"Oh, there is much shouting Tia. So much shouting," Luna giggled as she turned to Max. "The only question is who is doing more of it?"

Max shook his head but couldn't help himself.

"I believe I remember you being the loud one last time. Besides, I'm more of a grunt and groaner."

Celestia groaned and covered her face with her hooves. Unfortunately, the other two weren't done.

"No, it's a bit louder than that. A bit more energy and desperation, as well," Luna said with a huge smile.

"We are leaving," Celestia finally said, moving to rise.

She was stopped by Luna's wing, the blue alicorn shoving her sister's foreleg and making her stumble. Once Celestia was on the bed again, Luna pulled her into a hug.

"We only tease. We remember you doing much more to us in the past. We shall stop until after breakfast, agreed?"

The white mare scowled at Luna for a moment before nodding.

"Afterwards, we shall prepare for a trip around the town to see what has changed. It has been much too long since we had a chance to observe our home in the daylight."

Looking back to the changeling, she smirked.

"And while Tia is speaking to her guards about her new schedule, the two of us will be discussing our plans for the night."

"And why is it that we must be the one to discuss changes to our schedule with our subjects?" Celestia asked in irritation.

"Because it is your schedule that ponies work off of, Tia," Luna explained. "Do you think there were any that were bothered by our absence last night? We heard of no issues when we left the throne unattended last night even after giving the guards orders to bring any issues that may have arisen to us. It is taken care of, Tia. Your own court is not the case though. We are certain there will be ponies looking to speak to you. You will need to tell them to come back later."

"I'd suggest having one of the guards or maids, or if you can put one of those houseless nobles to work," the changeling added. "Have them record the requests and the two of you can look over them later. If it's really important, you two can look over it later. I don't mean this as an insult so please don't take it that way, can the two of you read? I heard from Pike that it was difficult to be taught sometimes and that there are three different scripts. Pike knows Earth script, but never learned Unicorn."

"Starswirl made certain that we both knew Unicorn and Earth, though Luna is the only one who knows Pegasus," Celestia offered thoughtfully. "That would help, actually. If we do this, it would allow us to leave the throne room more often."

"Just be cautious that you don't let yourself get too far separated from the action. All it takes is one individual on the line of communication to decide some issues aren't important. In that case, you may end up with only nobles making requests while peasants are left out, or vice versa depending on the individual," Max suggested.

"I'd hate to say this, Luna, but I don't think I can read any of those scripts. I'll take a look, but I'm likely going to need to learn them. Pike said Earth is the simplest so I'd like to start there if there's time."

Celestia stared at the stallion.

"You cannot read? Oh, do changelings have their own script as well? Wait, you...oh. What script do humans use?"

"English is the one I write in," Max said. "I can show you ladies what it looks like after our tour. I also promised Pike the rest of a myth from my home, so you're welcome to listen in on that as well."

"We would love to hear it," Luna said. Taking the last bite of her pancakes, the mare rose and walked to the door. Max heard her speak to someone outside and she returned to the bed.

"They will have our bath heated in a few minutes. Tia, I ask that you leave. I never did get my time with my changeling last night."

"You know we don't have the time for what I thought up, right?" Max asked as Celestia left in a huff.

"Oh we don't mind," the alicorn said as she jumped back onto the bed and laid down on his back. Nibbling his ear, she whispered into his ear "we just want you to return our attention from earlier. We have been warm since we tasted you."

"Oh? What if I'm not up for drinking your nectar?" the stallion asked her.

The mare spiked with both lust and a bit of determination.

"We must insist."

Max blinked in surprise when Luna stood from his back and then lifted him in her magic, putting him on his back as she straddled him in reverse. Before he could say anything, the mare grabbed his muzzle in her magic and held it straight up as she lowered herself. She clenched her butt, capturing his muzzle between her firm flanks and holding his mouth against her nethers.

"Do well, and mayhap we shall reward you..." the blue alicorn trailed off, tracing his groin-plates meaningfully.

'Damn, she knows what she wants...' Max thought as he began lapping at her already wet lips. He was actually curious as to how long she'd been in this state. Celestia would have been able to smell her like this, wouldn't she? Was she using her magic to mask it, was Celestia just too tired to care or notice, or was she just that excited about him eating her out?

"Ooh, right there...," Luna moaned as his tongue began swirling deeper in her pulsating depths. As promised, her hooves began tracing his plates enticingly, attempting to draw him out.

A second thought occurred to him. Was his feeding putting her on a hair-trigger? Her neediness was almost a guarantee of a meal for him, providing plenty of lust if nothing else. It was something he'd need an actual changeling to find out about. It could also just be her pushing against Celestia's ideals. Actually, that was likely part of it as well. Luna was jumping at anything he suggested that Celestia even hinted as having an objection to.

'Am I the target of Luna's rebellious phase?'

"Oh, take it," Luna panted, her heat clenching and ejecting some of her cum into his mouth. He swallowed it loudly, knowing by know how much she was aroused by the action and she shuddered.

"Such a good stallion. We reward good stallions."

A buzzing aura settled over his plates and soon started warming his entire groin. The moment her aura was through his plates, he felt it engulfing his penis and massaging it in a warm aura.

'God-dammit, I need to learn how to use magic too. I need to learn to protect myself from her chea-EE-ting.'

"Run your tongue against our depths, deep inside us. Oh by the stars, just like that. Keep, keep doing that," Luna grunted, her lips winking and clenching against his tongue in need.

Max grunted as Luna's magic began running over his sensitive skin of the pouch that usually held his rod, buzzing and massaging him in her aura even as she started pressing his muzzle more deeply against her vagina. Already getting into the reward system Luna had set up, he began searching her lower lips with his tongue. He knew her weakness and he'd find it shortly.

"Oh no. No, you are not getting out of this that quickly. You will do it properly," Luna commanded, giving his rod a swat with a hoof.

Max winced and slowed in his search. His tongue was what she was watching, he just had to be clever about this. While he writhed his tongue around inside her clenching heat, his lips twitched and shifted, exploring the crease of her opening for his target.

She winked and he felt it touch him, the mare gasping at the contact but not paying much attention. After all, his tongue was his weapon in this battle. Deciding on his strategy he continued to wriggle his tongue around inside of the mare until she began to wink and clench almost constantly. Then he made his move.

Wrapping his forelegs around her lower barrel, he twisted and quickly pressed his groin against Luna's upper barrel while locking his rear legs around her chest, preventing her from separating the two of them. Then he attacked her clit, suckling and licking the throbbing nub with abandon even as Luna screamed in pleasure. A pillow hit him with all the force the alicorn could muster, trying to dislodge him as the mare attempted to reassert herself but it was too late. With a whiney the mare came, unloading a wave of cum that the stallion let wash onto the bed.

Knowing she would be dazed for a moment he quickly released her and spun around, mounting the still panting mare and grinding against her. It took a few thrusts, but he found her dripping nethers and soon managed to drive himself inside, rocking against her even as she weakly muttered her plans for revenge.

"I win," the changeling grunted cheekily as he gave a few deep thrusts.

Luna had already been working him towards his own release so it wasn't long before his orgasm arrived. He held onto the mare tightly as he drove himself in as deeply as possible and finished. Warmth bloomed from his stallionhood as his orgasm filled the mare, painting her insides and marking her as his own.

"You want to see who's dominant, I'm going to put up, a fight. I like hearing a, mare moan beneath me," Max panted, capturing Luna's lips in an aggressive kiss.

"You win this round," Luna gasped as he broke off the kiss. "But this is far from, over. We swear it. Now, we must bathe."

The dark mare attempted to roll him off of her, but sagged back onto the bed.

"As soon as we are capable of rising from the bed."

Author's Note

That's a two-fer.

In Which One Finally Goes Outside

Sitting in the bathing tub, Max wrestled with properly wording his question. After the aggressive rutting the mare gave him(there was nothing else to call it when a mare throws you onto her bed and shoves her weeping need into your face) he was beginning to question just why she was so willing to act out on any desires at any time. Was it a reprieve from her duties? Was it because she was worried she'd lose him otherwise?

Looking over to the blue mare, he couldn't help but frown as she carefully washed her flanks with a wet cloth. The wince was normally something he'd be proud of but coming from someone he was supposed to be taking care of, it didn't sit well with him. Wading closer, he sat down behind her and pulled her into a hug.

"We are busy, Max. Tia will be looking for the two of us soon and we should not keep her waiting," she said, not bothering to stop in her washing.

The changeling nuzzled against her cheek.

"Luna, I need to ask you something. I want you to be truthful, too. Are you hurting?"

"We...'tis a slight discomfort. It is of no impor-"

"Luna..." he cut her off warningly.

"We, are a bit sore yes. We are unused to such continuous attention to our marehood," she answered quietly.

He could taste the embarrassment wafting off of her from the admission, but chose to tighten his grip on her.

"I'm not going to wither away if we don't some fun every day, Luna. I do well enough on cuddles and kisses. If you're hurting, that doesn't help me. In fact I don't like tasting your pain."

"We are aware, but it is not just..." she cut off suddenly, blooming with anxiety and fear.

"Go on," he whispered encouragingly, giving her another nuzzle. "I won't judge, say it. That's one of the ways I want to help you, by giving you someone you can speak your mind to. Anything you tell me to keep quiet about, no one else will hear about. Promise."

"We...we couldn't stand the rules Tia held us to," Luna began. "Intercourse was something that was inappropriate to bring up and thus never discussed. Any time we asked about it we were shushed or told it was an inappropriate topic. She helped us after we were teleported, watched over us like an older sister would and taught us what she could but intercourse was always something that wasn't discussed. Now that we are a mare and have you beside us, we..."

"Now that you get to try that thing you never could even talk about, you want to explore it thoroughly?" he asked, smiling encouragingly.

Luna nodded.

"Indeed. It sounds silly saying it aloud but we also, we enjoy watching Tia squirm when the topic is brought up. Tis natural, something everypony does, is it not? Why is our sister so squeamish about it?"

"I don't know," Max admitted. "I do know that there were a lot of people back home who sounded almost scared of it, like hearing someone talk about sex would cause them to burst into flames or something like that. It's a strange topic and you're likely to get different answers depending on who you ask. I think it can be a wonderful thing, but you need to be smart about it. Like making sure you don't over do it? What would you do if you ended up hurting yourself, trying to have sex every night? If something went horribly wrong, you may never be able to do that again without pain."

"Ha! as if we would be brought low by too much mating!" the mare scoffed.

Max rolled his eyes before scooting back and pulling her butt up. She looked back in confusion for a moment at his action then hissed in pain as a hoof brushed against her overly-sensitive nethers.

Seeing the stallion raising an eyebrow at her reaction, she pouted.

"Very well, we will attempt to calm ourselves. We just enjoyed it so much, it always made us feel so..."

"I understand, and I like how it makes the both of us feel too. When you orgasm I feel like I'm sucking down pure sugar. It becomes a bit more potent every time, too. Not to mention how great it feels to be inside you."

Caressing the mare's flank, he grinned.

"Give it some time and I'm sure we'll get used to the increased activity."

"You had best be ready as well. We will take this break, but we will expect you to make it up to us," she responded.

"Luna? Are you ready yet?" a voice asked from the door. "We are waiting on you. You're not, doing anything are you?"

"Come in, Tia. Nothing improper is occurring," Luna called out, before rounding on Max and pulling him into a deep kiss.

"Alright, we've let the knights know our plans for the day and..."

Max pushed away from the mare and gave her an irritated stare.

"Remember when I said be nicer to her? This isn't being nice."

Luna rolled her eyes and moved past him to speak with her sister.

"Nothing was happening Tia, calm yourself. Unless you now find kissing to be improper," the blue mare said with a smile.

"You are shameless," Celestia said with a shake of her head. "Are you almost ready? We would like to begin our walk before lunch."

"Yea, just about. I just...do you have something on your nose?" Max asked the white mare, moving closer to the edge of the bathing pool. As he approached, he squinted, focusing on Celestia's nose.

"What? We washed ourself thoroughly this morning after breakfast. We should be-"

"No, I swear I see something right on your upper lip," he affirmed.

Celestia's eyes crossed for a second as she tried to look at some speck of dirt or food that was on her muzzle. That was all the distraction he needed though. Rising our of the water in a splash, he locked his forelegs around the white alicorn and threw himself backwards.

The white alicorn barely had time to scream before she was in the water.

Rising from the water and choking on the water that managed to get in his nose, Max shook himself off and turned to where he heard splashing and choking.

Celestia had managed to surface but her mane was plastered to her head, keeping her eyes covered as the irritated mare growled in anger.

"Luna, we hope you enjoyed your time with him. Because WE ARE GOING TO KI-"

She was cut off by Luna, the blue alicorn jumping onto her sister's back and taking her back under the surface of the water once more. Again Celestia surfaced, sputtering in anger at her impromptu bath. The mare issued what he figured what a warcry, the sound stuck somewhere between a whinny and a roar, as she began furiously attempting to dunk the other alicorn under the water.

Slipping away while the two were distracted, Max made his way out of the tub and dried off. it wasn't as difficult as it could have been, like if he had fur, but his clumsiness still left him fiddling with the towel more than he would have liked. Walking back to the bathing pool where the sisters were still attempting to drown each other, he cleared his throat to draw their attention.

He would soon regret this action.

"So are we going to be leaving anytime soon? We don't have all day," the changeling said, gaining the undivided attention of both alicorns in the process.

Celestia lit her horn, and Max felt her aura sliding over his form and he realized what she was trying to do. Luckily, the white mare couldn't get a grip on his shell.

Unluckily, Luna had proven to have no such issues. With a quick flick of her magic, the stallion yelped as he was flung back into the water.

As his head broke the surface, he shook the water from his muzzle and blinked, his secondary eyelids protecting him from getting soap in his eyes. Both of the alicorns were now looking at him, Luna wearing a grin while Celestia was glaring at him. They slowed only long enough to look to each other, nodding in silent agreement before continuing their advance.

Max back up to the side of the pool, feeling his flank bump against the stone.

"Uh, parley?"

<-(0)->

Eventually the group did manage to leave for the tour of the area surrounding the castle. Max followed behind the mares, not having any idea where he was going anyway. The two alicorns led him through the main courtroom, passing a few ponies on the way that were desperately attempting to stop them.

"Your highness, you can't just call off court! Who will sit on the throne while you are away?" one particularly stubborn pony shouted as he chased after the group.

"Just because we are not sitting on the throne does not mean we are abandoning our positions. We merely wish to see our subjects. Is that so wrong?" Celestia asked,

"If they wish to see you, they may come to the castle. There is no need to wander around with the commoners," he pursued, looking fairly disgusted at the idea.

"We do not wish to have them come to us, we wish to go to them. Is that so wrong?" Luna asked in mock curiosity.

"Your highnesses, I must insist that the throne be occupied. It has always been this way and to leave the castle is just, it isn't done!" another, a unicorn mare, insisted.

"Well then perhaps it is time that changed. We must remain aware of the state of our subjects, after all." Celestia retorted, drawing a horrified gasp from several of the following ponies.

"Change? That madness is the path of Discord!" a well dressed unicorn mare shouted, actually looking terrified at the prospect.

The three larger beings stopped, turning to look at the mare who spoke.

"Hoo boy..." Max muttered under his breath. this was exactly the wrong mindset to have when entering a new age.

Celestia moved closer, looking down slightly at the mare.

"Change and chaos are two different things, Lady Sapphire. Do not confuse the two. If something is proven to be ineffective, we will find other ways. In this case, we cannot allow ourselves to be restricted to the rules you wish us to maintain. We wish to know more of our subjects."

"Indeed," Luna said, coming around her sister to look over the gathered ponies. "Our time would be much better spent actually aiding those around us. You say the throne must be occupied, but how many take advantage of the night court and seek me out? Instead you crowd our sister's court. What good does a pony of our strength do our ponies sitting on a chair all night when our subjects are in danger?"

"But we can't just change! You can't just change how things have been done because you feel like it!" the blue pony exclaimed, her panic rising when the princesses didn't accept her explanation.

"That's a very bad attitude to have right now," Max piped up from behind the two alicorns. "With Discord gone, you're looking at the possibility to advance your towns, castles, and society in general in ways that weren't possible with him messing with your people. We're talking an unprecedented chance for your people to advance and change into a true power in this world, to recover that which you've lost and then surpass what you were. That's going to require changing how you work, though. A castle is one thing. A kingdom is another, and it's a kingdom that your princesses are looking to build."

"Indeed. We can think of no better way to defend ponies from predations than to gather them under our wings," Luna said, looking back to the changeling. "And it shall be difficult to do so from an overly ornate cushion. We do not like the idea of sitting on our flank while ponies are in need."

Celestia looked at Luna with a bit of poorly disguised disappointment for her dismissal of the throne but understood where the younger mare's disillusionment had come from.

"While we believe that keeping our traditions is important, we also would like to see what it is we are protecting, to see those we work to help. It shall do both of us good to see what has changed lately."

"No," the unicorn whimpered. "No, no no no! You can't do this! You have to stay in the castle. It's how it's supposed to be, it's how it's always been!"

The entire room tensed as the mare's horn flared with magic. The doors they were walking to slammed shut and the ones leading back to the throne room were thrown open. A few pegasus guards dove towards the mare, but most unicorns merely shielded themselves and those closest to them against the surging mare's magic, knowing better than to attempt to approach a hysterical unicorn.

"You need to sit on the throne, you always have to be on the throne! It's how it should be!" she shrieked. Magic wrapped around the sisters, seeking to drag them back towards the throne room. Luna and Celestia dug in their hooves, doing their best to slow their pace but the mare's hysterical fit was giving her unprecedented strength.

"Tia, she's going to attempt to bind us to the throne!" Luna shouted over the screaming.

"Can you use your magic to stop her?" Max asked, trotting up to the sisters to be heard over the mare's screaming.

Celestia and Luna both looked confused for a breath before remembering his magic resistance.

"Nay, if we were to do so, it could harm her. To forcefully subvert the magic from this kind of surge would force all of her power back into her horn. It would explode and possibly take a good portion of her head with it!" Celestia shouted, causing Luna to drop the magic she was gathering.

Looking around and seeing most of the guards and servants standing around in shock or terror, Max turned back to the alicorns.

"Then I ask for your permission to stop her without magic."

It took only a moment for Celestia to understand what he was asking.

"No, you, you could hurt her!"

"Tia, we must either allow Max to attempt to incapacitate the mare, or we must act on our own. We do not wish to know what happens if we reach the throne with this much magic being used!" Luna shouted back, beating her wings furiously to slow herself further.

The white alicorn looked back to the screaming unicorn, the blue mare's eyes having turned white with surging power. A loud crack echoed through the hall, bringing their eyes to the crack that now leaked blood and a blue liquid that Max could only assume was concentrated magic from Sapphire's horn. Clenching her eyes shut, Celestia nodded.

Max quickly circled the surging mare, the roiling magic washing over and off of his shell as he came up behind her. He heard a few ponies gasping in fear as he approached the unicorn, his low stance giving the large stallion the appearance of a predator prowling after his prey. Seeing the mare was completely focused on the alicorns, Max quickly but gently moved his jaws over the back of her neck, holding his breath and hoping this worked. Then, he bit down and clenched his cheeks a little.

The unicorn mare squawked, attempting to dislodge the stallion from her neck. Worried she may do more damage to herself if he let her flail about he pressed down, pushing her to the stone floor and keeping a firm grip on the pony. After counting to fifteen, the changeling clenched his cheeks lightly again, feeling another slight burst of venom being injected into the screaming mare's neck. This time he felt her muscles begin to relax slightly and her flailing slowed, though her magic was unaffected. A third small injection soon did the job, the unicorn ceasing her floundering and screaming. Max slowly opened his mouth and pulled back, careful not to harm her any more than he'd had to. To his surprise, even with the pony in a venom-induced daze her horn was still blazing with magic.

Luna and Celestia were there in a flash, Sapphire's lack of mental coordination allowing the alicorns to break out of the unicorn's grip without much effort and thus without much damage to the mare's horn.

"Luna, I need you to act as a ground, I'm going to try to shut down her surge," Celestia said, moving her horn to the blue unicorns and channeling her magic even as Luna began pulling in the magic the pony was giving off, releasing some of the less fortunate pegasi from their magically enforced attraction to the floor.

Max stood back and watched as Celestia worked with the unicorn, slowly turning down the flow of magic until only smoke and blood were being emitted from the incapacitated pony's horn. With a sigh, Celestia slumped as she was finally able to release her magic and let go of her concentration. At the same time, Luna quickly flew over to a nearby window and emitted a large blast of magic into the sky, discharging the gathered magic in a relatively safe direction.

Celestia smiled at the completion of the rescue.

"It is done. Thank you Luna, it is difficult to shut down a pony's magic while also grounding a surge. Once her horn is healed, we can worry about reactivating her magic. Until then she cannot cast without damage, so this will remove the temptation."

Luna smiled softly at the praise and looked to the changeling.

"Max, were you not concerned that you could, overdo it? Your venom was powerful enough to affect Tia, we would think that much would do more than leave the mare tired and dizzy."

"I tried using small doses," he answered softly. "Not sure how well it worked, but I don't have full understanding yet and don't want to use too much. That's why I gave her several injections and watched how she reacted to each one. Even something like anesthetic can kill if you use too much."

"Well at the least you saved her horn. If Luna had not stopped herself from casting that general counter-spell earlier, there is a very good chance Lady Sapphire would be in worse condition. Loss of her magic would have been the least of her worries," Celestia said as she finished her inspection of the insensate mare.

"Please take her to a spare room. She is not to leave until we return, though that should not be much of a problem. Inform her that we shall discuss the restoration of her magic when we return."

A few knights gingerly approached the mare. When one was able to touch her without being thrown away, the knights picked her up and carried her off.

Many of the individuals in the room were giving Max looks now, varying from gratitude to fear to curiosity. Growing impatient, the stallion walked up to Luna and nudged her.

"We should get going. I'd like to be out of here before another one decides to have a breakdown," he whispered into her ear.

"Of course," Luna agreed. "Tia, let us be off. Before we run into any other distractions."

Max stepped behind the two alicorns once more, trying to suppress his grin at the view he was being given. Two shapely mares walking before him, both focused on the road ahead as their flanks swayed with each step. He was certain some ponies would have killed for such a view.

Luna must have realized what his position meant for him though, as she burst with excitement for a moment. Curious, he watched the mare look around her, keeping track of the location of each pony that was in the hall. As they approached the main door most of the entourage moved ahead, helping to move the giant stone and wood barrier. Smirking slightly, she looked back to him and her eyes darted backwards for a minute. Before he could ask what she wanted she flicked her tail slightly, giving him an unobstructed view of her marehood just as she clenched it. His eyes met hers again and she grinned, mouthing 'we shall win next time'.

'I just got flashed by Luna,' he thought, his face going blank. 'Not only did I get flashed, she did it in the main hall of the castle while standing right next to her sister.'

Luna's emotions bloomed into an explosion of excitement and happiness, the mare giggling at the success of her action.

The byplay drew the white alicorn's attention, though she likely had no idea what was going on...thank god.

"Luna what are you, you can giggle and tease him later. We are about to go out in public."

"She's right, Princess Luna. You need to be on your best behavior," Max admonished the younger sister. "That means saving any teasing until after this is over. We need to set an example. As much as I hate acting properly, I understand the importance of good first impressions. That includes proper titles and full names. If you'd like, call me Maximus while we're out there. It sounds more officious than Max."

"Well, let's go meet your adoring public."

With no further interruptions forthcoming, the three of them stepped through the main door of the castle and into the midday light.

<-(0)->

As Max followed along behind the mares into the town, or at least that's what he assumed it was supposed to be, the best he could think of to say about it was 'we all start somewhere.' The houses, and calling them such was a kindness on his part, were made of thatch and wood, haphazardly erected close to the castle's stone walls. No, not a wall around the castle, it didn't have one. The houses were right up against the actual castle itself. They were also scattered about with little rhyme or reason, as the only roads that were to be found were the paths worn into the ground by sufficient foot traffic.

'This would be a nightmare during any rainy seasons,' he thought to himself, ignoring the curious stares from the gathering ponies. 'It doesn't smell too bad though. That was something that was worrying me. Lack of smell from waste means they're not throwing it into the streets like was the usual method back in the dark ages.'

A tap on his rear leg followed by scampering hooves drew his attention. Out of the corner of his eye he managed to spot a small group of foals talking animatedly and gesturing to him.

'He touched the butt!' Max recited, desperately trying to hold onto the smile from his face. Full smiles weren't good right now, as full smiles showed the ponies his fangs. Ponies seeing fangs without knowing about him panicked.

Most of them seemed more curious than scared of him at the moment, as he was following along with their alicorn goddesses and there were several guards nearby. Cautious of course, but not panicking.

'Don't see any vendors or stalls and most of the ponies out here are pegasi and earth ponies. Growing what they need? I'll ask how the winters are here,'

While the changeling was certainly coming up with ideas, the issue he was running into was, as he'd expected, viability. What use was plumbing to ponies who couldn't afford the piping? What good was knowledge of safe building practice when ponies were throwing up huts where ever they could? It seemed to be chaos in the little town that was sprouting outside the alicorn sisters castle, no real rhyme or reason to the building of any huts that were being erected. One or two had actually been right beside the path of the main gate; any closer and troops would have had to walk around the huts to leave or enter the castle.

'Talking to them about actual roads will definitely be on the list. This is madness out here. The town needs someone in charge of where people settle down. Maybe have a pony that keeps track of available plots of land near the castle. Keeping track of that would cut down on fire-safety issues as well as help keep things organized.'

While the town was a mess, the residents muddy, and the foals everywhere, Luna and Celestia had enjoyed the trip immensely so far. That was when things started getting...awkward.

"Please, your highnesses, will you bless us?"

"Bless our marriage, your maj'sties!"

"Who do I ask?"

"The white one's crops, the blue one is fertility I think."

"No, the white princess is fertility."

"Ya daft? ya don' go rollin with yer other in the daytime, ya do it when yer in fer the night! Blue has moons, so she's fertility."

"Wings and a horn? I'd heard it, but I din' b'lieve it."

As soon as the novelty of the slightly taller mares walking through the hamlet wore off, the group was absolutely surrounded by the villagers. Max wasn't ignored either, many of the ponies asking each other what the strange creature was. Some suggested a pet, others suggested an enslaved and mutated Discord, others suggested a demon held to the alicorns' service.

'This is great. I wonder what else they'll suggest before this is over? Oh, I know, an alien that was kidnapped by Discord.'

"It is wonderful to meet you all, we are overjoyed by your warm welcome. We are Celestia, Warden of the Sun," Celestia said, raising her voice to be heard over the din of the crowd.

"And we are Luna, Warden of the Moon. Tis a pleasure to see so many making their homes here. We hope to see this town flourish," Luna said, a little louder than normal conversation would require.

'Maybe that's where the Royal Voice came from. No speakerphones or speakers, so they have to make sure everyone can hear them when they give an address or an announcement. Probably have to do so from a balcony or something,' the changeling mused.

"Is it true that yer highnesses defeated The Mad One?" one of the mares asked, sounding like she didn't want to believe it.

"Yes. We, our sister and ourself, managed to defeat the draconequus using the power of the Elements of Harmony, ancient artifacts of balance that we discovered in our quest for a way to stop his madness," Celestia explained, her lips twitching as she smiled. "We watched as he was petrified and sealed away. Discord was sealed away in stone. Even now his form is in the castle, "

"We know the pain his power inflicted on those around him," Luna added. "Both mine sister's and our own lives were shattered by his power. In spite of this, we came together and with each other's aid, defeated him. No more shall ponies be scattered on the winds. This we promise you all."

And that was that. A promise of safety in a world that was still reeling from Discord's caring touch. Something the alicorns didn't have growing up. Knowing what he did now about the time of Discord, he couldn't fault ponies for rushing to the protection of the rulers who overthrew the draconequus. Of course, the world being like it was now, with few roads and almost no travel between towns, it wasn't very surprising that only about forty ponies were scattered about the hamlet of...what was the town called anyway?

'At least no one is panicking too much about the weird thing following the alicorns,' he thought with a small smile. It left him as both a simple oddity that garnered a bit of attention, though not nearly as much as the mares ahead of him, and something ponies didn't stray too close to. That was fine for now, as it left him to take a closer look at the homes around him unhindered.

Mostly unhindered.

Max stopped, staring at the stallion that was currently glaring at him during the changeling's inspection of a shack.

"Go on, git," the stallion grunted at him, brushing him away with a hoof.

'Did I just get shooed away like a dog?' Max boggled as he moved on to the next hut. It, no. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. They had griffons, dragons, zebra and sapient dog things, why would a pony assume something that looks mostly like a pony would be an animal? Part of him wanted to laugh at the stallion, but another part worried. That could be the only reason the ponies weren't panicking. They thought he was an animal.

'Or at least under their control,' he mentally added while looking back to the alicorns. It could be worse, he supposed. At least he wasn't being chased away with pitch forks and torches...did the ponies even have pitch forks? Probably not, judging by the gear they were toting around. Dark ages didn't match what he was seeing, this was pony society just starting out. No matter what awesome things they'd achieved before, those gathered here at this castle were a step above living in caves.

"Which is why they're so eager to come to the intelligent, powerful, godlike beings that are in this castle," he muttered to himself. "The alternative is being alone in a world that until now has had it out for them, or at least that's how it probably felt. I don't know what Discord did to other races, but he seemed to have it out for ponies. Maybe it's because they were the easiest to tease? I assume griffons would try to claw at him, maybe find some way to kill him off. Maybe that's why he targeted them...that's for later. Proper housing would be important, but we'd need a forge for metals and possibly a mine.

"In the meantime it would be best to let them keep the shacks, though I'll suggest spreading them out a bit to prevent fires. Roads...how would you make a road? Asphalt is out, possibly the same for concrete. Can't remember how to make either, and even if I knew, not sure what you would need. Pavers may work. I'll ask where they got their stone for the castle and-"

"Many ideas tickling your fancy?" Luna asked, causing the changling to jolt in surprise.

"A few," he responded softly. "As I said before, the biggest issues will be finding ones that are worth the resources you need to pour into them. Others, we would need to convince the locals that they're for the best. If how they're looking at the two of you is anything to go by though, it shouldn't be too hard. I'll start you off with something simple. Roads and a plan for the town. Otherwise they'll keep building randomly and you wont be able to get anywhere in town. In fact, once you have enough citizens to make additional towns, roads will allow you to travel to them faster, excluding pegasi of course. Wagons for trade goods will move more easily on them as well."

"Yes, we remember Starswirl mentioning that Paradise Valley was easy to traverse. We assume it could be because they had many such roads. Maps as well. With Discord no longer changing the world around us, mayhap we could begin using maps again?" Luna guessed. "'Twould be easier for a pegasus to do so, however. For that..."

"Not really," Max interrupted. "There's cloud-walking spells, right? Could you have a pegasus fly someone up there?"

"Cloud walking...allowing unicorns and earth ponies to walk on clouds," the mare mumbled, tapping her chin in thought. "That would help immensely actually. We shall ask Tia if she knows anything about such spells."

"Do you two have a library?" Max asked, an idea that had occurred to him a while back returning.

"We do, but many of the tomes are old and some are damaged. It would take too much time to repair them," the blue alicorn said with a huff. "We believe maintaining what little knowledge we have kept over the years to be very important. 'Tis a way to avoid past mistakes, to avoid going through the same trials that have plagued our race in the past."

"I may have something for you, in that case. I'll need some help getting it set up and someone who knows how to work metal, but a printing press shouldn't be too difficult to set up. Not sure how it will work with scrolls though. Should be fine."

The two beings blinked at the flurry of hushed whispers, including a few 'it can talk?'s coming from the ponies around them. Max chuckled, looking to Luna at the questioning murmurs.

"Shall I leave my introduction to you, your highness?"

"We shall take care of this, since the ponies put you so ill at ease," the mare giggled before hip checking him and nearly causing him to stumble.

"Subjects, do not fear. Maximus, the creature you see beside us, is merely the last of Discord's victims. He, like so many of us, has been taken far from his home with little hope of returning. He offered his aid in return for our own. We accepted, thus he aides us by advising us when we request information from him. Already he has told us of several things he believes could help make your lives both safer and more prosperous. We hope that you will treat him kindly. He has become a close friend of ours in the short time we have known him."

He swore he could hear Celestia grumble something, but couldn't make it out over the gossiping crowd. It wasn't that important though, likely the mare grumbling about the relationship he had with the lunar princess. In other words, nothing new.

The tour continued for another few minutes, as there really wasn't much to see. A few more shacks and a storage barn that a few earth ponies had set up with the help of two peasant unicorns. That was the town. No market, no blacksmith, no inn. Most of the ponies didn't even have scraps of clothing, instead they slept in large groups to keep warm. Thus the number of shacks compared to the number of families was a bit disproportionate. Still, there was something that nagged at the stallion even as he followed Celestia and Luna back to the Castle proper.

Why did he feel like there was a hole in the crowd?

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"The mold then presses the pre-arranged characters into the paper, imprinting the ink from the mold onto the page. You can easily make hundreds of small fliers with a press. It may take a bit of fine control though, like a pegasus with its wings or a unicorn, but changing out the individual parts of the mold would allow you to copy anything from ledgers to history books to spellbooks. The diagrams would have to be done by ha-hoof, but it would cut down on the required time by quite a bit."

On the way back to the castle, Luna had inquired about the details of the press. The details like the materials to use were still up in the air, but both of the princesses looked interested. At the very least, it would allow them to copy simple communications quickly.

"You could even make a quick notice and have it delivered around, telling of the defeat of Discord and the creation of this castle."

"Perhaps, but we have other things to do than spread word of our location and brag of our deeds," Celestia said. "We are more interested in the roads you were speaking of. Are you aware of ways to build them that would be easier than, creating bricks and placing them one at a time to form a path?"

"Gravel could work, though I'm not sure how that would be on your hooves. Dig out a slight depression in the ground, fill it with ground stone, and that would work for a bit I think. Cement would work if you broke it up into chunks so the weather doesn't destroy it, but I don't remember the details on cement, just that it was something to do with, burning lime, not the fruit but things that have lime in it like limestone. If we can get cement, concrete isn't that difficult, and that stuff lasts a long time. Add gravel, sand, and cement all together with water and let it dry. A lot of people back home built the foundations for houses with that stuff, it's pretty sturdy."

"Seashells." Celestia responded, looking up thoughtfully. "Starswirl mentioned a mortar that could be created by burning shells. It is possible he was speaking of your cement, as he said there would also be sand and, something else required for the mix. We would need to find his works again. Hopefully some of his tomes survived Discord's perusal."

"Yes, then it would likely be prudent to make certain to create copies of the tomes we find. We are capable of reading Pegasus Script and a little unicorn, but we believe most of the transcribing will fall to you, sister. Starswirl was a unicorn, after all."

"Where did you two get the stone for this castle, anyway?" Max asked, his eyes wandering over the large sections of stone that were, for lack of a better word, melted into each other. It gave the castle a strange feeling, now that he thought of it. There were no bricks, no cracks in the castle walls. In fact the more he thought about it, the more it bothered him. What would happen if the stone began to shift during the transition of summer heat to winter cold?

"We pulled it from the ground," Luna said with a proud smile. "We even shaped it ourself. 'Twas excellent practice with thermal spells."

Max stopped in his tracks as he felt the blood rush from his face.

"And just, where did you pull the stone from?" he pursued, dreading the answer.

"From the ground of course," Celestia responded. "Why? 'Twould have taken weeks to find a suitable place to pull the stone from so we teleported it up from the earth."

"So you brought all this heavy stone up from the ground...straight up?"

"Of course. The smallest distance is a straight line," Luna offered, looking at the stallion with a bit of apprehension now.

Shoving Luna towards a door, he pulled both of the mares aside and closed the door behind him, leaving him alone with the mares.

"You two left gaping holes in the ground below a castle that weighs several hundred, if not thousand, tons and is being approached by ponies daily? Do you have any idea what would happen if it rained too much? A heavy rainfall could easily double the weight of this structure and the ground around it! Not to mention earthquakes!"

Both of the alicorns stared blankly ahead for a breath as they processed the issue.

"Perhaps that is why Paradise Valley used quarries instead of teleporting the needed stone," Luna whispered weakly, a blush of embarrassment creeping over her features.

Celestia was not so calm.

"We, we have to move the ponies," she stuttered, eyes wide in fear. "We can't, we have to, they don't have, there's nowhere to put them, I-"

"Calm," Max whispered, hooking a hoof over the white alicorn's muzzle and jerking her so that she was face to face with him.

"Nothing's happened yet, so as long as it doesn't rain too much we don't worry. I'd like to check out the foundation, see how deeply you pulled from the earth and that kind of thing. If it's bad, we move the ponies. Quietly. No need to get everyone in a panic. We set up a new place, make a quarry and a proper foundation, make stone bricks instead of this thing you did here. It looks nice and keeps out the cold, but it wont weather well, I don't think. That or find a spell to prevent the rock from cracking and shifting due to weather changes."

"No, we do not need to move. We make a quarry anyway, we fill in the hole below us," Luna said, smiling at her plan. "Yes, we could, we could also make a basement for parts of the castle. We remember, there were ways to keep food for longer durations in dark, dry locations. A basement would work wonderfully, giving the castle storage and reinforcing the, what was the bottom-"

"The foundation. We could even use it in the event of the castle being attacked, the ponies in the village could stay there," Celestia continued, her panic giving way to excitement. "We had not planned on adding to the castle, but perhaps it would be prudent. As we grow in power, we will only gather more ponies to us."

"Right. Right, that's good. I'll sleep better at night knowing that the castle isn't going to sink into the ground, so the faster we get this set up the faster I stop panicking whenever I hear rumbling."

The group slowly made their way back into the main hallway and down to the dining room, minds all on plans for the future. It would be a ton of work and would require a lot of experimentation, but it could be done. It would work.

Over the midday meal, the group discussed the layout of the town over a hastily drawn map spread out on the table.

"This place here is flat woodlands right? There's a spring right here on a hill, which is amazing by the way. You can use that for both drinking water, after you check it, and for irrigating crops," the changeling said, pointing to a point to the south. "I'd also like to see some of this woodland chopped down. That would give us a lot of wood as well as some flat farmland."

"Irrigation is not a problem with pegasus. They are capable of moving clouds where they are needed," Celestia countered, only to earn an irritated grumble from Luna.

"Pegasus magic does not work that way. We need clouds to be nearby in the first place. That, or a place to create them that is well supplied with water. Until we have enough pegasi that are not needed for scouting and guard duty, pulling that kind of weather management off is impossible. If we can simplify the process, we should. A simple trench cut into the stream here would lead water right up to the fields, cutting the distance the farmers would need to travel to nearly nothing."

Celestia blinked at the correction before nodding. Luna was expert of the group on pegasus magic after all. Which left her with magic, and the stallion across the way with...what?

"The quarry, we would like to see it here. There is an abandoned town here, so it should not be too difficult to rebuild," Luna said, pointing to a small clearing to the north west.

Celestia shook her head.

"That town was destroyed by something, Luna. The scouts said there were bones in some of the homes."

"Gas?" Max asked.

At the uncomprehending stares, he tried to explain further.

"Sometimes when you dig into the earth, you find pockets of poisonous gas. Before we had things that detected the gasses through other means, miners used canaries. The small birds were more susceptible to the gasses as their lungs were smaller. If the bird died, you got out of the mine. We later learned that you don't build a town too close to a mine either, as the gasses can leak out and kill the miners while they're sleeping."

Celestia blinked a few times at the news.

"Poisonous gas, something you cannot see but that can kill you? Why would your people brave such dangers in the first place?"

"There are some things that can only be found underground. Coal was a big one, so was gold and silver. If people were willing to pay for it, people were willing to go into the earth to find it. For now don't worry too much about mines. We'll likely be using open pit mining. Just keep plenty of paths going out of the mine," the stallion said, grabbing a small rock marker and placing it on the map.

The mares were quiet as they ate, digesting both the information and the food. Finally Luna spoke up.

"We, do not remember Starswirl mentioning these things when warning of the things we would need to know. We feel unprepared, seeing just how much is involved. We knew we would need to know much, but this is..."

Celestia smiled warmly at her sister.

"We shall get through this, Luna. We've done so much already, I'm certain this will be no different. Tomorrow we shall look to starting the planning for the farms. Why our nobility has not done this already is beyond our comprehension."

"Ah, the nobles," Luna snorted in irritation, "The same individuals who told us they were taking care of such matters already? Perhaps we should find out what they were planning. I suggest we use the large dining room tonight, ask them what they've accomplished in the last year. For all the time that they have had, it had best be something."

"Ask for actual dates," Max suggested. "Ask for names of ponies put in charge of the projects, ask for specifics. If they start fumbling, well.."

"Then perhaps it is time to take matters into our own hooves. We shall not be a pretty princess on a pretty throne when ponies are in need," the blue alicorn stated with zeal. "We shall find our quartermaster after lunch and question her on the state of our supplies."

"Where does this food come from anyway?" the stallion asked while gesturing to the table.

"Most was tribute and gifts for the defeat of Discord. Even now we still receive tribute from nearby towns for protecting them. It is why we must mobilize our soldiers to deal with the bandits. They give us supplies to keep them safe."

"Huh, so you're already getting taxes," Max chuckled. "I think that was usually the payment in places that don't have a currency. Does this world have currencies?"

"Paradise Valley had bits," Celestia answered. "They were small gold coins, Starswirl had a few in a small display. He said it was a sign of the ponies' trust in their rulers. That the coins themselves were worth only as much as ponies trusted them to be worth. With Discord's reign, such trust was lost. To attempt to return to such things right now would be folly."

"We may wish to return to those at a later time. If we can reintroduce such things, we could even use them to reaffirm our strength. It would require we wait for now, but once our power is certain and we have our subjects trust, it would be a return to what we once were. It would be a return that was brought on by the alicorn princesses," the blue alicorn giggled almost maniacally. "We bring low Discord and reintro-"

Max and Celestia looked at Luna after she cut herself off.

"Tia, what did you mean by your phrasing, that Discord was sealed away, but that his form was in the castle?" the smaller alicorn asked suspiciously.

At the white mare's shrinking posture at the question, Luna's wings flared.

"TIA?!" she growled warningly.

"Hoo boy, and here I thought we were past this," Max sighed, ignoring the clattering and crashing as the enraged Princess of the Moon circled around the table after her sister, Celestia shouting apologies and pledges to make it up to the blue mare at a later time. At least now he had an idea of what he had to work with. Which basically amounted to nothing, infrastructure-wise.

"I suppose two alicorns would be worth something," he said with a sigh. His ears perked at a shriek from the hallway as Luna finally caught up to her sister.

"Okay, one alicorn. Still gotta be worth something," he mumbled, looking over the map one more time.

In Which One Becomes Acquainted with the Dangers of Nobles.

Max followed along as Luna led him to one of the storage rooms. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't an armory so much as one storage room for weapons and armor and a second for other tools. The one for tools was...kind of empty.

"Oh dear," Luna whispered, realizing this may be more difficult than originally suspected.

"I suppose we'll have to make some shovels and picks. I don't know how well stone would work, but if you or your sister could shape some stone like you did with the walls we could have a starting point at least. I'd like to get a forge up before too long, but I have no clue about what's needed aside from a lot of fuel for a fire and some materials that won't melt at high heat. Bellows maybe. I remember seeing those near forges in some medieval games," Max rattled off as he walked past the alicorn into the cellar. "We could melt down weapons and armor for some metal tools, but I don't think I'd suggest that just yet. We likely barely have enough arms for the guards."

Stopping during his inspection, he looked back to Luna.

"You and Celestia are going to be checking up on that nearby village, right? I'd check to see if they have a blacksmith. If nothing else you could learn how to build a forge of your own."

"Tia wishes to lead this expedition," Luna said as she watched the changeling make his round of the room. "Would you be willing to travel with her? It shall not be far, and you could stay around the village. It would allow you to make your notes."

The stallion nodded.

"Hook me up with some paper and pencils and I'll do what I can. Why do you need me to go, though? I'm sure there are others who could sketch the basics of a forge or ask the local smith. That's assuming there is one, of course."

"We understand, but we worry that another may not remember to ask for important details, like the shape of the forge or the materials used, or..."

"Or about the flue," the changing added. "That kind of fire must have some venting as well. Alright. I'll watch for your sister, as well."

The lunar alicorn flushed in embarrassment.

"Y-yes, well you were quite knowledgeable in medical matters when compared to our knights. Most do not know more than wrapping a wound and you were speaking of proper care of medical tools to prevent infection. We, our sister and ourself, did battle with Discord but it was always a game to him. We fear Tia is not prepared for what she is about to encounter. Should she find herself injured-"

"I'm no doctor. I took a baby sitting course five years ago at my mother's suggestion. That's the height of my medical experience," he shot at her with a frown.

"Even if you can do nothing, you can ease her pain. Our bodies, Starswirl said alicorns are more durable than normal ponies. What would kill a Pegasus would only injure us. Even if you are only there to watch over her..."

"Alright. Alright I'll go with her," he relented, holding up a hoof to forestall the mare's hug. "In return though, I'd like two of your knights to stay with me if you can spare them."

"Done. Tia still doesn't have a time for her journey, nor have either of us done something like this. Any aid you can provide would be appreciated. You have traveled, correct? With the intent to return to your home?"

"Yea I'll talk to her about it," he agreed. "Can't be too bad, just planning a trip for, how many Knights are going?"

"We believe the number that we would be able to spare would be around thirty. Thank you. It means much to us. Tia is frustrating at times but...she is our sister. We would be remiss if we did not worry for her well being," Luna offered with a sigh.

Max nodded, continuing to look through the few boxes and bags that were scattered about the room. While it was dark, he once more found himself having no issue seeing, even when peering into the boxes. Finding one that was actually full, he sat down and began rummaging through the bits and bobs inside.

A surge of lust caused him to jerk his head upright and perk his ears just as Luna's hooves wrapped around him from behind.

"We must see to it that you are properly supplied for your journey. It would not do for you to become hungry on your trip."

"Are you a masochist?" he asked, turning to look at her and receiving a kiss on the cheek.

"What is a masochist?" the mare asked, looking genuinely confused.

The stallion sighed. He'd likely regret explaining this to her.

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Celestia scowled at the changeling as the evening meal was being served. Okay, it wasn't a scowl; she couldn't afford to scowl with the nobility filing in. Not only was Luna's face scarlet, she could tell by the way she kept sneaking glances of the changeling that it was something he did. Breathing in through her nose and attempting to calm herself, she let her gaze slide over the ponies that were walking in. Many of them looked put upon, even though they jumped at the opportunity to be around the alicorns again.

'They might regret that decision in the coming moments.'

The meal was served and the group ate in comfortable silence. Celestia enjoyed the fare, a simple blend of toasted vegetables and hay mixed with a light and flowery dressing. Even as she ate though, her mind was running through the day.

'I can not believe so little has been accomplished. Two years, and most of the work was done by Luna and I,' she thought to herself sadly. 'We raised the very castle in which we now live while the peasants that come to us live in shacks outside our door. The changeling is correct that we must solve the problems in order of magnitude and based on what resources are available, but I just feel like more could be done for them.'

She felt almost used, as if the nobility were merely distracting her and fattening themselves off of her pantry. If none could back up their claims of working for the ponies that had approached the castle for safety then perhaps it was time to clean house.

As the conversations started up, signifying that the majority of those gathered were finished with their meals, Celestia asked a knight to bring in the map they had created earlier that day. It was a simple thing, true. But it was the only one she knew of at the moment. A few nobles went quiet as the guard returned with the rolled paper, wondering what was going on. Judging by the smirk on the changelings face and the fact that he was looking to several particular nobles, some were becoming anxious. That didn't bode well for her faith in them.

Feeling she was putting it off long enough, she took the rolled map and set it beside her plate. Clearing her throat, she gazed over the nobles while she spoke.

"Honored guests, for some time we have watched over the land around this keep. Two years ago we alicorns raised it from the earth and shaped the stone ourselves, erecting a home for ourselves and, we hoped, to those who would join us. Many of you approached and offered to aid us, citing noble blood and birth that left you better suited for such a task. We accepted and left you to do as was needed. To do as you thought best. I ask you now; what plans have you made for our land and when will they be implemented."

Many eyes widened, the nobles whispering amongst themselves and several pointing at each other then at her. With each passing moment, her stomach dropped. Surely there were a few that had something to offer her. Surely her court was not comprised entirely of leeches and tail-riders.

"Your highness," a pink maned and red furred earth pony mare started, drawing Celestia's eyes and causing her hope to return. "I have, I gathered the seeds for the fields that were supposed to be prepared. I am uncertain who it was that claimed preparation of the fields, but the seeds are in a storage closet near my room. I have been, watching to make certain they are not damaged by pests or weather."

The white alicorn smiled gratefully. It wasn't something she'd thought of, in fact even during their planning earlier at lunch neither the alicorns nor the changeling had thought about the actual seeds for the fields. It was what the nobility were supposed to be for. To remember things that slipped by her and her sister.

Once more the table descended into silence, much more whispering going on this time. She heard a few accusations, ponies swearing the one they were looking at was the one in charge of this or that. Luna was making no effort to hide her disgust, her face buried in her hooves. Max was likewise leaning heavily on a single foreleg, massaging his muzzle with a fetlock. A few nobles gave false starts, but none spoke.

"One?" Celestia asked incredulously. "One of you actually carried out their duties to this new home we have built?"

Luna slammed her hoof down on the table, causing the gathered ponies to jump.

"How long was this to continue? How long were you to feast on that which was not yours while those outside our walls waited in poverty? How long would you have kept us in the dark as to the actual state of our kingdom? Noble Flint Chip, did you not tell mine sister last week that things were going apace when she asked you for information? To what plan were they going apace? There is no mine, there is no field, there are no actual homes outside our walls. There is not even a well, something we specifically requested when ponies first began arriving!"

"Disappointed is one word we would use in this situation." Celestia said, having taken a drink of water. "Insulted is another. If you did nothing to earn your keep, you have stolen from us. Stolen that which ponies gave mine sister and ourself in thanks for our part in making this world safer for all."

Unrolling the map, she held it aloft in her magic and allowed those gathered to see it.

"Luna, Maximus, and ourself created this map over lunch. In less than one hour, we set up the basic plans for a field for the farmers, a mine, several roads, as well as several separate scrolls with itemized lists on how to organize the ponies outside our castle. Ways to reduce the danger or fires or sickness from having too many ponies living too closely together. The three of us did this over a single meal. You have had two years and claimed to be knowledgable in leading such efforts."

Rolling the map back up and tucking it under a wing, the mare stood from her cushion and turned to leave.

"We give you until tomorrow at dinner to bring to us your plans. Actual plans that have ponies assigned to jobs and that have been prepared. Do not bother bringing parchment with still-drying ink. Those of you who are found inside our home without these items after dinner will be escorted out of our home. This insult will no longer be tolerated."

With that, she left. She would go to the garden to read before turning in for the night. Perhaps one more chapter of The Brown Eyed Mare.

Max was torn between laughing at the panic he felt wafting off of the nobility and slamming his face into the table in disgust. One pony had done something. One! there were at least twelve others gathered in the dining hall today. Twelve individuals who were riding the coat-tails of the alicorns and eating them out of house and home, all while distracting the mares from what was going on outside the walls.

'I guess it could be denial,' he reasoned. 'They lost what they had, so they pretend they still have it? I have to wonder how many actually qualify as nobility at the moment. What are the requirements, anyway?'

Tapping Luna on the mare's shoulder, he leaned over to her ear and asked her in a whisper.

The alicorn cocked her head in thought. He tasted a bit of confusion and even a bit of embarrassment as she searched for an answer. Finally, she looked across the table.

"Lady Fortune, what are the requirements for assuming a title of nobility? We believe that one of your education could enlighten us."

The unicorn, who Max soon recognized from the bucket incident, sputtered and floundered at the question.

"Your highness, to ask such a thing in public, much less to acknowledge that one is unaware of such things, it simply isn't done. 'Tis a breach of the highest protocals of-"

"You don't actually know, do you?" Max cut in, having tasted her fear when Luna asked the question. The lines she was throwing out after the burst of fear smelled strongly of bullshit.

Lady Fortune gawked at the interruption, as did several of those gathered around her. Flushing with anger, she stood herself up with her hooves on the table.

"I will not stand this! Twice now you have insulted me, you, you thing! I will not allow it. I demand recompense!"

"You can bluff and huff and shout all you like but all your doing is wasting oxygen," the changeling retorted, looking at her with a condescending gaze.

The mare stared at him, her anger boiling over but too diluted by her fear and confusion brought on by Celestia's ultimatum to cause discomfort. Suddenly her emotions warped, causing Max to focus on her in curiosity.

"Blood."

Several nobles gasped, their emotions spiking with shock. Luna did as well, choking on her water and tapping her barrel with a hoof.

"Excuse us, did you really-"

"I demand blood for the insults I've been subjected to," Fortune said, her confidence slowly increasing as she spoke. "By my right as nobility, I demand honor be paid with blood."

'What?' Max thought, his eyes nearly crossing in confusion.

"And of course you would retain the right to assign a second," Luna said levelly while staring at the mare across the way.

At Fortune's nod, Luna gave a sharp nod of her own.

"We shall be Maximus' second. We offer the training courtyard tomorrow afternoon. Three hours after the midday meal. No magic aside from that which is used to wield the weapon. Swords will be the weapon of choice."

Max blinked in shock and looked over to Luna. She turned and gave him a slight smile.

"If you will accept, of course."

Max just stared at the blue alicorn, nodding dumbly at her. A moment later his brain finally caught up to his situation.

"I mean I'd appreciate it but you don't have to if-"

A hoof to his lips silenced him, Luna smiling deviously.

"'Tis only proper. After all, a mare should be willing to defend her stallion."

This time the changeling's eyes did cross, the situation now being cast in a different light. She was being chivalrous. Like some knight...

'Does that make me the damsel?'

"Of course, you shall have ample time to find your second, Lady Fortune, but recall that our Knights are not your own. You shall be required to field your own mare at arms. I assume a noble like yourself already has a few under her employ?" Luna asked casually.

"I, yes of course I do. I merely need to uh, find the proper one for this battle."

"Excellent. We would hate to have to track you down after you demanded the blood of our stallion. We are more attuned to our pegasus blood than our sister, and as such are very protective of our flock."

Standing up and ignoring the wide-eyed states of the ponies, Luna nudged him with her muzzle. The moment he was standing she began ushering him towards the door.

They cleared the room and a bit more to be safe before the alicorn sped up and grabbed his ear in her teeth.

"Ah! What the hell?"

"Be shilent," the mare growled, not releasing his ear until they had reached her room. Using her magic to pull the door open, she dragged him inside and closed the door behind them.

"We did not think about it at the time, but you require education on proper address of nobles, even those that are suspect. Accusations of dishonesty and fraud are assaults on honor and she is within her right to demand reconstitution for defacement."

"Even if she's lying through her teeth? Even if she starts accusing you of breaking protocol that may or may not exist?" Max challenged.

"Yes, even if she is a sham. To parade about as a noble is a horrid crime. They all know this. While some may truly be nobles, the truth matters not. To make accusations against their peers is to insult the lot of them."

Luna's fury softened a bit.

"You stated earlier that you have none to aid you but those allies you make here. We wish to help you Maximus, but we require your trust. Trust us to know our culture and to attempt to keep you from these problems."

The stallion opened his mouth to retort, but snapped it shut a second later.

'Making enemies, painting myself as a target. Shit, I can't be doing this right now. Even if there are some shams out there, some of the legitimate guys could jump on the chance to get rid of me. Especially if they thought I was a threat. This investigation only began after I arrived, so they would blame me for it.'

"That was a duel challenge, wasn't it?" He asked instead. "Duels, they haven't been used officially in more than a generation back home, maybe several. I didn't expect a call for blood, especially not from some blue unicorn mare that seemed to just yell a lot. I'm sorry, thank you for watching out for me."

"'Tis our pleasure. She may not even show herself. We do not remember seeing any ponies in her employ," Luna offered with a smile. "Now, you will make this up to us by continuing your practice with our wings. We expect you to put some effort into it and you will do so again after the duel. A proper preening is important for such an event."

The changeling followed her to the bed, jumping up and lying down just shy of a pace to her left. She spread the appropriate wing in front of him and relaxed, allowing herself to doze off even as he began carefully preening her wings as he'd been shown. It was still weird, doing this preening thing. The closest thing to it he could liken it to was mare-women brushing each other's hair. Of course, this seemed to be more of a family or close friend thing. Not to mention most things humans did didn't involve their mouths.

'Then again, they don't have hands. Not like you can just grab a...wait, they can use their hooves like hands. What even...'

He shook the thought off, spitting out a few loose feathers and returning to her wing. Tug, align, move on, tug, align, move on. It was almost hypnotic after a while. Something you could do for hours without noticing where the time went. In fact before he realized it, he found himself running out of feathers. Frowning and looking over her wing, he realized that it was done, that as far as he could tell he hadn't missed any. Carefully standing up and stretching, he moved around the alicorn and tapped on her shoulder. When she didn't extend the wing, he pushed harder, earning a grunt and a shift as Luna snuggled into her pillows.

'She fell asleep?'

He poked her a few more times to confirm his suspicion but the blue alicorn didn't respond. Deciding he may as well finish, he carefully bit her wing, pulling it out to extend it to its full length so he could work on it. The moment he grabbed for a feather though, she fluttered her wings, resting them back against her sides and leaving the changeling with the feeling of feathers in his nose.

"You know, this would be so much easier if you worked with me," he grumbled, settling closer to her right side and working on the wing as best he could. It wouldn't be nearly as good as the left, but with Luna sleeping comfortably he wasn't going to wake her.

Tug, align, move on. Tug, align, move on.

Tug, align, move on.

Tu-"Luna? Are you already in bed?"

"Gah!" Luna yelped, the sudden intrusion causing the changeling to jerk in surprise and yank one of her feathers.

"Dammit! I'm sorry Luna, she took me by surprise," he said, checking the wing to make sure there wasn't any bleeding. Turning to the white alicorn he scowled.

"Haven't you learned your lesson about barging into other people's rooms yet?"

Chuckling at the twin glares being directed at her, Celestia shook her head.

"No, we require many more incidents before we learn our lesson. Luna, it is time to end the day."

The blue mare grunted, slowly rising and stretching out before making her way to the balcony. They gathered their power and once more, Max found himself gaping a little. The power, it was just...wow.

"So, Luna," Celestia started when they were finished. Luna, mid turn to return to her bed, slowed and perked an ear.

"We have heard the strangest thing while walking through the corridors after dinner. Rumors of a duel, insults to nobility, something about a flock?"

'That's right, I wanted to ask Luna about that. Was she claiming me earlier?' the stallion thought to himself, watching the mares curiously.

"We, one of the nobles took offense at Maximus' words," Luna started, flicking her tail nervously. "She was bluffing and he called her on it. Already in trouble, Lady Fortune decided to demand blood for the insult. We told her that she would be unable to use our knights for matters of her own honor and that we would be his second, standing in his place in the duel. We were, angry and warned her against threatening our stallion and, yes we claimed him as our stallion. Publicly."

"So, a flock is-"

"We are speaking with our sister," Celestia cut him off, looking back to Luna.

The smaller mare was rubbing a foreleg with her alternate fetlock, blushing furiously. Looking back at him she smiled widely and looked back to her sister, standing taller.

"We will stand by our words. He has been nothing if not kind to us, more so than any pony we have spoken with before. He is..."

Max ducked into the bed as Luna gave a flap of her wings and soared to the bed, landing behind him and causing him to bounce with her impact. The next thing he knew, she was wrapping her legs around him with her wings splayed down either side.

"He is important to us. We will not allow anypony to take our happiness away."

Celestia sighed. Max could taste her irritation, but he could also taste something else. The barest hints of joy.

"Very well. It is your decision, Luna. I trust you shall be taking steps to limit the number of incidents he causes?"

"We will keep him from the nobility, lest he harm their fragile egos. At least until we can teach him of social ranking," the blue alicorn answered, snuggling into his neck.

Max scowled at the treatment. The second Celestia was out of the room...

"Very well. We will leave you to your rest. Good night, Luna."

"Good night, Tia," Luna called, waving as the taller alicorn left.

The second the door closed, he felt Luna begin to shift. She was likely preparing for some kind of lecture, but Max had questions that were going to be answered.

Bucking and throwing the mare off his back, he jumped on her back as she righted herself and pinned her to the bed.

Nearly growling at his earlier treatment, the stallion moved his muzzle to her ear.

"I need answers Luna. What's going on? What's a flock, why did you volunteer to be my stand-in in a duel, and most importantly, why are you pushing me around like some animal or pet?"

It came out a bit more forcefully than he intended, but he didn't like being confused. Not when everyone else seemed to know that was going on. Judging by the medley of emotions she was emitting, Luna was now just as confused as he was.

Taking a breath and stepping off of her back, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.

"I know now that I have to be careful around the nobles. I get that. But that ear thing, the comments about defending your stallion, that makes no sense to me. It sounds like reversed chivalry."

Opening his eyes and jumping from the bed he began pacing about the room, his wings buzzing in agitation. He felt...he felt like he was a prize the mare had claimed, like he was less than a man. A guy should stand for himself, right? That's what he was always taught.

The alicorn's emotions roiled as she watched him from the bed. Anger, sorrow, confusion, it was disgusting but he was too involved in his internal ranting to pay any heed.

"A, a mare is the head of the family. In instances where the stallion is threatened, the mare is expected to step in. This, should hold true whether the danger is to his health, wealth, or honor. Sapphire's demand for a duel was out of line, though she likely does not see you as a male.

"As for the flock, a flock is the pegasus family unit. It usually consists of the mare and stallion, though the number of mares and stallions can increase in time. Sometimes it is in the form of a son or daughter marrying, expanding the flock by blood connections. Other times, additional ponies may request to join the flock. Such joinings must be approved by the mare who, if another mare joins, would thenceforth be known as the alpha mare. It is, we were raised in a flock. We do not remember much, but we remember we had several mothers and fathers."

Sighing and letting her wings sag, she continued.

"'Tis another difference between Tia and ourself. She does not like the idea, having been raised in a traditional unicorn family. One mare, one stallion. There may be maids or serving ponies and those individuals may earn a place in the family, but for the most part they tend towards monogamy."

"And the, earth ponies? Do they have something different?" Max asked, processing the information.

"They often use flocks, though they call them herds. They run by the same standard as flocks, though from what we remember they are more likely to start with multiple individuals than Pegasi," she answered softly.

Max nodded before beginning his own explanations.

"Chivalry, otherwise referred to as the Knight's code, states the proper treatment of ladies by men in the Middle Ages. There have been calls of chivalry's death for years, that chivalry is dead, but my parents gave me the basics. Hold doors open for ladies, never strike a lady, never insult a lady you are unfamiliar with even if you are joking. Pull out her seat if she is your date or there is no one to do so for her, never make a lady pay for any part of a date you invited her on, there's more but that's all I can recall at the moment.

"I'm sure you can see the difference. Men are traditionally the head of the house, men have held positions of power, males made up the majority of the nobility, the ladies they married answering to them. That's what I am, Luna. A male raised in a patriarchal society. Things were certainly more easier at present back home than it was years ago, but a male getting pulled by his ear was either something observed for the laughs or a male who was submissive. A submissive male in a society that favored dominance and power. Heck I remember in one old society, the wife was expected to throw herself onto her husbands funeral pyre if he died before her. As for the human family, it was similar to unicorns. One male, one female. At least, that's what it's supposed to be. Emperors and kings could and did break the rules if they wanted to."

Turning to face her, he took another deep breath, blowing it out and trying to rid himself of his irritation.

"I know this is different. I know that our cultures are different, I get that. I promise to do my best to avoid causing you issues in the future. This duel thing, I, I want to thank you for that. I feel like you're cleaning up after me, and being raised as I was, I just...I can't stand it. I don't like owing someone so much, much less a mare that I've been trying to help. How am I supposed to help you if you're stuck spending time cleaning up after me?"

"We were...unaware that it was so different," Luna admitted, still trying to wrap her head around such a reversed set of roles. "We have heard griffon males are more aggressive, but it is only in the presence of other males. Hens still rule. It has always been mares who have led, always a princess leading the unicorn, pegasi, and earth pony tribes."

The mare's thoughtful expression morphed into something more lustful.

"We suppose it would explain your obsession with being on top."

"That, that was more of a challenge," Max said with a nervous chuckle. "You were pushing me around and it almost felt like you were taunting me. I felt like I needed to respond. So I did, I responded and uh, reversed the position. If you want to actually do something like that, I could. I mean, I wouldn't mind-"

"Shush," Luna said, smiling. "We may discuss who is the alpha of this flock later. Privately at least, the nobles may take it as a sign of weakness on our part if we allowed our stallion to lead. They may attempt to coerce you into joining their flock, thereby placing themselves over us. We will attempt to be aware of your differences but please understand that if we act as we did earlier, it is with the best of intentions."

Smiling even wider, she lit her horn and levitated a small vial, as well as several jars with stoppers over to the bed and set them on the floor.

"Now, we believe we should work on getting you properly supplied for your trip."

Max stared at the assorted containers, curious as to their purpose. The stoppered jars he assumed were for any extra love, but the small vial...

"Okay, the jars are for love, but what's the vial for? Venom?"

"Oh, that's already full," she answered, lifting it in her magic grip. "You said something about oil?"

The changeling's muzzle formed an 'oh' as her meaning came across.

"Uh, I think we should hold off on that."

When she pouted, he held up his hooves in a placating gesture.

"You just accepted a duel in my name, Luna. I know your curious and any other time I'd be willing to try these things with you, but I've gotta suggest against this. We don't know how this will work and if something goes wrong, I don't want you walking awkwardly when you go to the training yard tomorrow. Worst case, you'll be in pain during the duel and it will distract you."

The alicorn slumped, the changeling sensing her irritation as she nodded in agreement. He walked up to the bed and held her face between his hooves.

"Tell you what. Tonight we'll just sleep together. After the duel I'll preen your wings and then we'll do whatever catches your fancy."

Luna spiked with lust and joy at the promise, moving forward slightly to steal a kiss before standing and moving back on the bed. Finding a comfortable spot, she laid down and pulled over her blanket, raising a wing invitingly. Max accepted, moving onto the bed and awkwardly sliding under the wing and against her side. She pulled him closer with the wing, making certain she was comfortable before pulling the blanket over the two of them.

As an after thought, she grabbed a jar and popped the lid off.

"Our emotions flow even in our sleep, correct? You should begin to prepare your sustenance now."

Max rolled his eyes but grabbed the offered jar in his hooves. Focusing on the warmth from before, he centered it then pushed. The first push filled the jar about half way. Not wanting to push himself, he shook his head and Luna took it from him.

"You do not wish to store more?" she asked while setting the jar beside the bed, the emotion giving off a soft pink and white glow.

"I don't know how to quantify it," he explained, licking the excess gel off of his lips. "I don't know how much I need to survive, I don't know how long it will last me. It's different from eating food. Even just that made me hungry, but this hunger is different. It's not the "I haven't eaten since last night and it's now bed time, I have a headache from being too hungry" kind of thing. It's just a feeling of need. It's tough to explain. I'll add to the jar tomorrow when we get up.

Luna nodded in understanding, laying her head on his own and sighing with satisfaction. Max soon found himself relaxing as well, her breathing a steady rhythm that lulled him to sleep while both her body heat and love warmed him. Just because the world made no sense sometimes didn't mean he couldn't find comfort. She was right, of course. He had to trust the mare to know her own culture. The support had to be mutual.

Author's Note

So I don't know when it was added, but I just found it and now my new mission in Heroes of the Storm is to see every character's dance.

Oh, and you didn't think we saw the last of Fortune, did you?

In Which One Enjoys Victory and Revenge

Max went through the next morning not certain what to think. Many things were the same, such as the sisters throwing veiled jabs and Luna flirting with him. Others changed. During the morning bath the alicorn insisted on washing him down and had him return the favor, including preening her wings afterward. During breakfast, he found Luna taking from his plate and offering bites of her own meal, much to Celestia's chagrin. Even when walking down the hallways to the dining room she was more physical, pressing against him as they walked or brushing a wing against his side.

'She's certainly following through on her words,' he thought morosely.

The mare's actions just left him feeling worse about his part in the fiasco. He was careless, dismissing a pony claiming a noble title as a poof and looking down on her. In return the noble challenged him to a duel, a duel that Luna publicly accepted in his place while also stating that she considered the changeling to be of her flock, her family. He had to step up to keep pace with what Luna was doing for him, but he also had to be cautious. With his name tied to Luna's now, any misstep on his part would be against her reputation. That wasn't what he wanted to do to a young ruler of a fledgling kingdom.

"If you two don't mind, I'd like to grab one or two serving ponies and a few Knights after breakfast. I'd like to make sure we have clean bandages ready, not just for this duel but for the trip. I'll talk to some of the Knights about first aid basics as well."

Celestia was radiating confusion but nodded, rising and opening the door to speak to the serving pony outside.

Luna on the other hoof, her emotions swirled.

"Max, you may address us as you have in the past here. We understand you may feel confused after our talk but we, we enjoy speaking to a pony who does not fear what they say in our presence. We merely ask you to be cautious around the nobility."

The stallion nodded mutely, idly noting he had been using a spoon with no issue while his mind was elsewhere. Maybe the trick was not to think about it.

"Lemon, we would like you to retrieve anything Maximus requests. Find another to aide you as well. The changeling will be instructing several Knights on some as yet unnamed medical skills. Ah, Lance. Gather a few of the other knights and meet with Maximus in the training yard. If he asks you to help with something, do so. Yes, you can report any strange requests afterwards."
Turning from the door, Celestia looked over to the stallion.

"Max, Lemon will help you. Tell her what you need and Lance will lead you to the training yard. After you arrive, he will gather some knights for you to teach."

Rising from his seat with a nod, Max excused himself before walking out the door.

"Luna?" The white mare asked as she returned to her seat. "What was that about?"

"We believe that he is feeling guilty about our planned duel. He feels as if he failed us," the smaller alicorn explained. " We spoke last night of our cultures, the differences and similarities of families. Humans apparently are more likely to follow the unicorn family style. The males also tend to be the heads of the family and involved in matters of honor, so-"

"So he feels as though his duties are being usurped?" Celestia asked, taking her place at the table once more.

"We are uncertain. He was certainly distressed about the duel last night. He said his people used them in the past to settle affairs of honor but they have fallen out of practice in many areas. Mayhap the idea of blood is unsettling to him? Strange for a creature that claims to have been omnivorous, but it is possible," Luna answered before taking a sip of her water.

"Ah yes, he said that we would require a forge for metalcraft so we asked him to accompany you on your journey. He will likely stay in the village gathering what information he deems useful while you remove the threat. He will require paper and...he said pan-sils I believe. Ink will have to do though, we are uncertain what such things are."

"Luna, we watched over you for several years. We do not require a baby sitter," the white mare grumped.

"Neither of us wish to leave the keep unoccupied to deal with this threat, so one of us must stay. We cannot go with you, Tia, so let us send somepony we trust. If nothing else, he can provide instruction on caring for the wounded. In fact, we believe you could catch his lesson if you hurry. Remember what Starswirl said, 'Tis better to-'"

"'To know and not require the information than to need it and find yourself lacking.' We remember," Celestia sighed.

Luna slowed in her eating, lowering her utensils.

"This is the first time you are going out to lead the knights, Tia. The bandits, sometimes they do not wish to entreat with you. Sometimes they will attack you on sight, hoping to kill as many of your warriors as they can before you even know they are there. It is why we wish you to take Max with you. We would feel better knowing he is near you."

"He is still clumsy. He can barely walk up stairs, let alone do battle with bandits," Celestia scoffed.

"Perhaps," Luna admitted," but his shell gives him a natural durability you are dismissing, and his strength grows with our own. He will also be carrying some of his honey with him. Should a unicorn suffer from magical shock, it could save them."

"Honey?" Celestia asked in confusion.

"Well, bee honey is a gel-like substance the insects use to store food, and Max is...reminiscent of an insect and produces a gel-like substance to store food, so we just started thinking of it as changeling honey. What would you call it?"

The white alicorn chewed the information over before shrugging.

"We suppose it will work. Just be certain he has enough. We shall not have him feeding off of us."

"You don't need to love him, you know. I believe he draws strength from all emotion. If the group of ponies he is with is happy, he will be stronger for it. If you were to even accept his presence as you would a friend, he would be stronger," Luna explained.

"The intercourse is merely a bonus."

"Luna!"

<-(0)->

Max poured over a few illustrations of pony anatomy that one of the maids, Lavender, had delivered amongst all the other things he'd asked for.

Sheets of cloth cut into long strips, a pot of water that was currently over a fire and being brought to a boil, several (relatively)clean bags to hold the boiled cloth and keep it as sterile as was possible in his current situation, a jar of the most potent fermented liquid the ponies could find and several sticks and strong segments of fabric.

As he'd feared he couldn't make heads or tails of the script in the scroll, a flowing language that was apparently a prime example of unicorn script. Still, he had enough general knowledge of anatomy to be able to spot the major organs and confirm their placement. There was scant little information on the circulatory system though.

"Too small to see most of it? I would think they'd do more to keep track of it, though it may just be this scroll. Problem with not being able to read it, I guess. "See scroll seven, part three for the circulatory system"" he muttered, rolling it up to the best of his ability and moving to check the water. Seeing that it was at a boil, he tossed the strips of cloth that were to be the bandages as well as the line he was going to hang them on to dry and a small chunk of soap. Airborne germs and pathogens would be an issue, but there was only so much he could do. He'd just confuse them if he started talking about clean rooms. As an afterthought, he had a pony bag a line of needles and lower them into the boiling pot as well. Sutures...what was the thread made of and could it be cleaned easily?

"What do you guys use for stitching? No I don't mean stitching clothes. I mean if someone gets their leg ripped open with a large gash."

"Just thread," Pike answered, watching the changeling curiously. "Why are you cooking all this stuff? If you asked us to taste it, I'm going to have to decline."

"It's a form of cleaning," Max answered, using a wood stick to stir the mixture and hanging it from a post so it didn't lie on the ground. "Just as cooking food and boiling water makes them safer for consumption cleansing the utensils you use to clean and care for injuries reduces the chance of infection. The threat after battle is infections, which are caused by tiny animals that enter the body through injuries. By cleaning the wounds with an antiseptic, like alcohol, and covering them with clean bandages you reduce the risk of infection.

"There will always be those who get hurt, both in general and in combat, and while you're fighting there's only so much you can do to help them. Many knights and foot soldiers who were injured and later pulled from the battlefield died to infection due to all the blood and...other things on the battlefield. Lance, did you get the sticks and linen I asked for?"

"Right here," the blue maned stallion answered as he hoofed Max the sticks and wraps.

"Awesome. Does anyone here know what a tourniquet is?" He asked, seeing two hooves being raised, one surprisingly enough being the maid, Lavender.

"For those of you who don't know, a tourniquet is a simple device used to stop bleeding. It is a stop-gap method, as too long with it on can cause damage. The damage can range from permanent loss of feeling in the limb to complete loss of the limb. However, when choosing between losing part of your leg or losing your life, the argument for its use gains quite a bit of momentum.

"My father told me that a tourniquet is whatever you can get a hold of and wrap around a limb. A belt, a rope, some fabric strips and sticks," he said, gesturing to the materials Lance had given him " it's all useable, it can all be used to save a life. Twist, you said you know how to use them, can you demonstrate? Afterwards I'd like to see you use one, Lavender. I may ask some of you to teach others of your tribe how to do this as well. Unicorns may have the easiest time I think but everyone should be capable of applying one of these."

The group spent the rest of the morning working with the tourniquets, teaching any late arrivals and any who were interested in learning how to use them. Even though he already was knowledgeable of the devices, Max found himself having trouble. His hooves were just too clumsy to handle the device the way he was used to and he was forced to use a two-hoof method, an issue when your hooves are larger than everyone else's. While a few knights were skeptical at the usefulness of the simple bands of cloth, the word of some of their peers persuaded them and soon most of the knights were capable of using them. A quick break for lunch was followed by a group discussion on medical scenarios, Lavender once more surprising the changeling with her knowledge of several local plants that could be used to treat burns and even poison. Several knights also offered home remedies, everything from treating stomach aches to fighting illnesses and infections.

The booze was a bust though, not nearly potent enough to be useful as either a painkiller or an antiseptic. He'd have to look for a way to fix that.

"So what about yourself?" a stallion asked as he removed a tourniquet from his own foreleg. "That shell would stop anypony from using one of these things on you."

The changeling looked at his foreleg, thinking about the possibilities. It was true, the shell could prevent many injuries, but pressure points and tourniquets wouldn't help him much either.

"I...worse case scenario, maybe shatter the shell around the area you're applying it, or find a way to remove the shell. I don't think that would be feasible though. It would probably be excruciatingly painful. I think...that may work. I may have a solution built in."

Thinking back to the sensations from a few days prior, he picked up a jar and, carefully so as not to shatter it, choked out a wad of the green adhesive.

"I may be able to use this in a pinch. I'd have to see if it blocks water though. Normally I wouldn't dream of using something like this because of sanitation, but life and limb outweighs that I think."

"Built in armor, built in way to stop major injuries from bleeding out, anything else you get in that package?" Pike called to him in amusement.

"Goggles," he answered, flipping the membranes over his eyes. "I don't know how tough they are, but they keep water out of my eyes if nothing else. I also can sense locations based on what you're feeling. Happy or sad, the more powerful the emotions you're feeling, the easier I can find you. If you're trying to find someone, I think having a changeling on your side would be pretty useful.

"Trade off with the detection is that when some of you guys were directing hateful glares at me after the princesses' training, I felt physically ill. I'm almost worried what hatred would do to me. That, and if I ever end up stranded on an island, I'm going to die no matter how trained in survival I am. I can't survive without other beings to supply me with emotions. Other than that, I know that changelings are supposed to be shape shifters, but I don't know how to use that ability."

"You'd almost be scary if you weren't so clumsy," Pike said with a laugh. "I saw you trip down a flight of stairs the other day. Were you born yesterday?"

"No, but I wasn't a quadruped last week," Max shot back. "It's been kind of weird walking around on all fours instead of just two legs. I'm getting there though."

"Hey, you owed me the full story of that Icarus guy. Why he was a bad pony to think about while learning to fly?"

"I guess I can, oh, good afternoon Princess Celestia," the changeling said, rising and giving a slight bow as Celestia approached. "I was just about to give them a bit of a story from home. Not a happy one, but a lesson none the less. Would you be interested?"

"We had arrived for the lesson, but if we are too late we will hear the tale. Court is quiet at the moment on account of the nobles being preoccupied and we have taken Luna's strategy for our own, leaving the knights in the courtroom to come to us in the event of an emergency."

Max nodded.

"If you know how to use a tourniquet you didn't miss much. That was what we spent most of the time doing. Anyone here can run you through it if you'd like. Other than that, I gave a few ideas for keeping wounds clean and preventing infection then discussed what they knew about local medicine."

Taking a place near the center of the group he tapped his chin as he tried to recall the details of the story.

"Icarus was a young man, a male human, who along with his father was imprisoned after his father angered the ruler of the country they were residing in. His father, Daedalus, was an amazing inventor, creating many wonders and even fashioning a trap that kept a horrible beast from escaping to terrorize the country. Wishing to escape their prison, Icarus' father created a pair of wings out of wax and feathers gathered from the local birds. They worked splendidly, but his father warned the young man to be weary of flying too close to the heat of the sun, as well as too close to the ocean where the spray of the waves could soak the wings. Icarus followed his father from their prison and soon found himself soaring above the ocean, a feeling no mortal on Earth had ever experienced before. So great was his joy, he pushed himself onward, soaring to even greater heights than he'd ever imagined.

"He failed to heed his father's warning though, and flew too close to the sun. The heat of the sun melted the wax of the wings, allowing the feathers to come loose and leaving Icarus with naught but his wax-covered arms," a few pegasi snorted at that, but the stallion pushed on. "Flapping his arms in panic, he could not save himself. His father watched helplessly from a distance as his son dropped like a stone out of the sky. Icarus was claimed by the seas, never to be seen again. That, Pike, is why I do not think the song Flight of the Icarus is a good one to have on your mind while learning how to fly."

"The sun doesn't work like that!" a pegasus shouted from the back, followed by a few other jeers from the feathered ponies.

"Oh, I am well aware of that," Max responded. "However when the story was created, they had never reached the heights pegasi are capable of reaching. They could only guess that the higher you were and closer you were to the source of heat and light, the warmer it became."

"That was a rather bleak tale," Celestia said, looking fairly disappointed. "Are all tales from your home so dreary?"

"Many of the Greek myths are. Greeks were more about telling stories about things you shouldn't do and the consequences thereof, I think. Icarus is the person who pushes too far, meddling in things he shouldn't and being punished for doing so. Prometheus was cited for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals; he was punished severely by the gods for his deeds with eternal suffering. Oedipus' father attempted to avoid fate by having his son, who an oracle said would kill him, left in the wilds. His son was given to a servant who couldn't follow through and left him to be raised by farmers. His son grew to full maturity and later, after hearing from the same oracle that he would kill his father, left home and went to the city of his birth. On the way, his birth-father nearly drove Oedipus off the road. Having almost been killed, Oedipus killed the man in retaliation, not learning until much later that it was his birth-father."

"That's horrible!" Lavender exclaimed.

"It is, but it leaves you with a question. If the king had not attempted to subvert fate, nor had Oedipus tried to avoid it as well, would the same outcome occur? Or was their fate sealed from the beginning? There's more to the tale and there are many others besides. The Greek myths are some of the more known stories that were being passed around where I grew up. Do you have myths and legends?"

"The, the only one I can think of is that of The Weaver," an earth pony mare stated, tapping her armored hoof on the ground. "A many-limbed mare that weaves the fabric of fate. Each life is a thread, to be cut from the tapestry when their time is concluded. Her work continues forever and only she knows where the future will lead us. Only she knows the pattern she wishes to weave."

"Interesting. Spiders and beings with spider-like qualities often come up with powers tied to fate if I remember correctly, thus allowing for phrases like 'the web of fate' or 'the threads of fate'. I think ancient Egyptians had a god or goddess that was associated with spiders but I can't remember at the moment."

A burst of activity from the entrance to the training yard interrupted any further conversation as a large group of nobles poured into the area, chattering loudly amongst themselves. A few flaps from above signaled the arrival of Luna as well, the alicorn landing lightly beside the gathered guards and approaching her sister.

"Good afternoon, Tia. Did you learn anything interesting?"

"Only that the changeling's culture is capable of being as twisted as his horn," the white mare responded, directing a quick smile at Max. "Otherwise it is things we were already taught."

The changeling nodded.

"We also had a few of the knights as well as Lavender talking about home remedies. I'd like to get those recorded in the future if it's not too much trouble. Never know when they may be useful."

The younger mare looked to the knights before turning back to the stallion.

"Max, we do this of our own desire to help you. We were worried about this announcement but now that it has passed we relish the chance to speak freely of our affection. You have already aided us immensely and continue to do so. We are aware that our emotions are open to you, do not allow your fear for our wellbeing to blind you to the fact that we exult in this opportunity to repay you for your aid."

With that said the mare kissed him before turning around and walking to the ring.

Most idle chatter in the courtyard dropped off as Luna stepped into one of the practice rings. Max and Celestia were watching from several paces away, a few sterilized bandages in a bag by the changeling's side. A few Knights had been assigned to pass on knowledge of tourniquets to anyone else that displayed interest, otherwise they had been dismissed.

The changing watched as Luna calmly tested a blade, neither her face nor her emotions betraying any sort of anxiety. He wasn't certain if it was because she was certain the mare wouldn't show or because the alicorn was certain she would win. Either way it boosted his own confidence.

To his surprise Lady fortune did show up. She was by herself though and while she carried herself with a sense of superiority he could feel the underlying fear she was experiencing. He tightened his lips, refusing to say anything else to the noble; that's what put him in this situation in the first place.

"Lady Fortune," Luna greeted neutrally. "Where is your second? You mentioned last night you would be using one."

"She is away," the mare answered. "I had, forgotten of a mission I had assigned her days before."

"A shame. You still wish to pursue your case against Maximus? We are prepared to put our blood on the line in his stead and are ready to begin when you are," the alicorn said, moving to a spot marked in the training circle.

The smaller mare nodded and entered the circle. She accepted a blade from a knight and gave it a few test swings with her magic. Taking her place opposite the alicorn, she took a calming breath and crossed blades with her opponent.

A single noblemare walked up to the circle, clearing her throat.

"This is the duel between Lady Certain Fortune and Princess Luna over the perceived insults to Lady Fortune's honor. Princess Luna, do you stand here willingly in the place of...the, uh-"

"Maximus the changeling. We do," the Alicorn supplied.

The mare nodded.

"Lady Fortune, will you withdraw this challenge?"

"N-no."

"Then at my mark, the participants shall begin," the mare said, turning and walking a safe distance out of the training circle. Raising her hoof, the noble dropped it with a shout of "begin!"

Certain Fortune charged forward with a shout, swinging her blade in a wide slash. Luna stopped back, allowing the blade to pass by before stabbing forward. Fortune twisted, avoiding the attack before bringing her blade full circle for another swing.

This time Luna pulled her own blade back and deflected it skyward. While the blade continued on its new orbit, the alicorn made two more stabs for the unicorn, one to her barrel and the other to her foreleg. Jumping back to avoid the second thrust, Fortune made a third slash with her orbiting blade, her horn blazing brighter as she attempted to speed the sword up and cut down on its down time. Once more Luna deflected it skyward, this time giving it an almost vertical orbit.

Luna made three another set of attacks at the unicorn, but it was already over. With a thud Certain Fortune's orbiting blade struck the field, embedding itself into the packed soil somewhere behind the unicorn.

Feeling her magic jerk to a stop, Certain jumped backwards and to the right, looking behind her to see her blade lodged in the dirt. She made a grab for it with her mouth, hoping to use her momentum to free it in time, but Luna was already moving forward.

There was a single swipe of a blade wrapped in blue magic followed by a shout of pain and the fight was over.

Raising the blade, Luna offered the now reddened edge to the noblemare standing over the duel. The mare nodded and cleared her voice.

"The call for blood is answered and it has been Lady Certain Fortune's blood that answered. This matter of honor shall no longer be pursued, nor shall any of the involved use it as reason to seek recompense in the future."

Max stared.

No, he outright gawked in confusion as Luna gave the blade to a knight and headed his way. Certain Fortune was weeping as she limped off of the circle, a knight approaching the mare with one of the clean bandages and offering to wrap the injury for her. Deciding to ignore the noblemare for now, he turned to look the alicorn over.

"We are unharmed," Luna said with a smile. "You shall have to find another to test your knowledge of medicine on."

Max gestured to the unicorn that was being treated by a knight and Luna giggled.

"We wonder, what would she say if she knew it was you who had the bandages prepared before the duel?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Speaking of the duel, that was it?" he asked quietly, still confused.

"Of course. 'Twas a demand of blood and blood has answered. We would be within our rights to pursue a public declaration of forgiveness from her, but we are uninterested in it. She may not even remain in the keep after dinner."

"And if she had won?" he ventured.

"She would be within her rights to make a demand of recompense and you would be required to meet that demand. It could be anything from asking for trinkets or land to demanding the loser submit to their flock," the alicorn explained. "As we accepted the duel as your second, she would be able to make the demand of either of us."

Max cocked his head while watching the group of nobles depart.

"I...can't say I'm disappointed by your definition of a duel."

"They are different in your own culture?" The alicorn asked, leading him with a wing out of the training yard.

Max nodded, picking up a bag with several jars in it and moving after Luna.

"A call for blood wasn't answered until blood was spilt. In other words, the duel was to injury or death, often the latter. Swords, pistols, knives, even jousting, which was more for sport than for killing, often ended with one or both participants dead. I'm relieved that it wasn't as dangerous as I thought it would be, but it-"

"It was very dangerous actually. It plays to your suspicions of her assumed title of course, but she had almost no training. Any unicorn trained with a blade could tell you orbiting your weapon like that is a foolish technique. It leaves you without a means to defend yourself after each attack and with a few simple deflections your orbit can be altered," Luna lectured.

"And an untrained opponent can be as dangerous as any other, right? If she lost control of that sword, it could have killed someone."

"Correct."

"Where did you learn swordplay?" he asked as they entered the castle.

"Starswirl, believe it or not," the mare answered. "He used practice duels between Tia and ourself to familiarize the both of us with our new abilities. We needed to learn to wield our magic to hold the blade properly, while our sister was required to maintain altitude. If one of us started to improve quickly, the other would strive to keep up. Thus we drove each other to quickly grow in our new skills."

"Huh, so both of you were required to split your attention between skills you had mastered and skills you were completely new to. That's pretty clever. It would prevent the two of you from teaching each other though, wouldn't it? I would think that the competition would drive the two of you to try to sabotage each other," the changeling pointed out.

"You would be incorrect. The two of us were actually very interested in improving each others skills. After all, we were working together to defeat Discord at the time. The duels were merely a way to test our growth. If we began to have trouble with a particular sort of casting, Tia would spend extra time talking us through it. If our sister was having difficulty with a maneuver, we would give her additional instruction. Most of Starswirl the Bearded's lessons involved history and book learning, not magic. Even when he did teach us magic, both of us were required to master it before he moved on. Teleporting, how to ground spells and lighting, we even discussed the possibility of dimensional travel. Tia was more involved in his travels than we were, the spell books he had were just too interesting for us to pass up."

Luna opened the door to her own personal room, allowing the changeling inside before closing the door.

"Of course, now we have new lessons to learn," the alicorn said with a smirk as she moved to her bed.

"I suppose that now you're looking for a reward for your hard work?" Max asked, carefully dropping his bag before following her onto the bed. He circled around behind Luna and waited for her to get comfortable. That way he could best decide where to position himself for the task ahead.

"If only it were so simple," she lamented as she finally extended her right wing. "We are still required to be present for dinner later this evening. We shall sadly be limited to preening for now."

Max nodded, accepting the offered wing and beginning to go over the feathers once more. The battle had been quick, so not many feathers were ruffled or out of place. The changeling found preening an odd cross of mind-numbingly boring and soothingly relaxing. The fact that Luna tended to radiate a warm blend of love and happiness that just filled him right up. He could probably live on that bliss alone, actually.

After finishing the mare's left wing as well, once more having to fight with her for it as she'd fallen asleep again, he walked over to the door and peeked outside. He didn't see any ponies around but could taste one nearby, so he walked off to find it.

"Right around...excuse me? How long until the evening meal? Princess Luna is sleeping, and I'd like to know when to wake her."

The maid jumped, nearly screaming when she first laid eyes on him. She calmed down after a moment and looked out the window.

"I, I believe it will be another hour or so. Princess Celestia had said something about preparing her sister a bath after her activities this day, so we were planning on waking her before too long."

"Excellent. Knock when the bath is ready, I'll wake her," Max said with a smile, drawing an uneasy one in return from the serving mare.

Following the powerful emotions that could only be the blue alicorn, he soon found his way back to her room. Closing the door softly, he carefully climbed back up on the bed and looked her over. How to do this, how to make it interesting...

Looking to the bag beside the bed, an idea quickly formed in his mind. She'd likely be a bit confused, but he didn't think the mare would object.

<-(0)->

'Such a wonderful dream,' Luna thought as she woke up. She was being given a very enjoyable rut by the changeling, the stallion holding her tightly as he pleasured her in so many ways. A blush tinged her cheeks, she'd even dreamed about some of the things he'd told her, about being tied up and-

The mare blinked in confusion, or at least tried to. Her eyes were covered by something. Her hooves were currently immobile as well, held to what felt like the headboard of her bed. A quick tug showed they gave a little, but something was keeping them in place, something...sticky?

'He, he isn't using that gel to...by the stars I think he is!'

A sort of panic settled over her and she ignited her magic in an attempt to pull the goop on her face away only to have the power sputter out, revealing the sensation of a layer of something covering the mare's horn. That was when she finally noticed the motion. A slow, almost methodical gyration that was grinding inside of the deepest reaches of her marehood.

The changeling was currently deep inside her. As far as she could tell he'd been inside her the entire time.

'Perhaps he is still upset about, about our prank on him.'

She felt him slow in his movements, laying across her stomach and barrel before placing his muzzle near her ear.

"Evening princess, I remembered your little joke from earlier and thought, hey, why not use this opportunity? It's a great way to both get some revenge, as well as teach Luna a little about bondage. What do you think?"

The alicorn let out a muffled reply, shaking her head and flapping her wings. The movements did nothing for her though, as she was currently on her back. The wings beat uselessly against the bed while her mouth remained sealed.

"What's that? Go faster?" the stallion asked mockingly. "Why certainly!"

Luna felt herself clench needily as he began to pick up the pace. She wasn't certain how long he'd been slowly rutting her in her sleep but going by how sensitive she felt to his every movement it wasn't something he'd just started. Each thrust into her velvet folds ended with a wet impact, her nether lips drooling and coating her intruder with a thick layer of mare cum with every thrust. One particularly hearty impact caused her to give a muffled yelp, drawing a chuckle from the stallion even as he began nipping at her neck.

"You're adorable like this. Underneath me, unable to even ask for the time of day," he whispered into her ear as he rutted her. "You already came once in your sleep, you know. It was beautiful to watch. All of that cum, just pouring out of you. Your muzzle twisting into the most contented smile..."

Luna flushed in embarrassment and arousal. That wet dream had been him. He'd been pleasuring her in her sleep, possibly already rutting her even as she dreamed those dirty scenes. A brief flash of worry caused the changeling to slow and she realized the truth of her situation. He wouldn't hurt her even like this. He could taste her emotions. If anything scared her, he'd know before she was even aware of what she was afraid of. All she had to do was accept it. Accept her rutting like the good mare she was. She'd pay him back for this later of course, but for now, oh she was going to enjoy it.

"Oh? Decided to just accept your lot as my little fuck-toy? To be a good little mare and listen to your stallion?" he asked into her ear.

She nodded, her blush increasing even as her wings flared almost painfully against the bed. It felt so good, he was just so deep and going, going faster all the time. She bucked, her hind legs finding his flank and trying to pull him deeper into her body even as her forelegs tensed against their restraints. The headboard creaked in protest of her movements, but she was oblivious. The rings, his rod, his teeth on her neck, that was all she was certain of in the world.

"Good girl. After this we'll bathe and then go to dinner. Then, then I'll have you all to myself for the rest of the night. Then I'll rut that cute little ring of a butt you have until you can't sit anymore. I'll rut you until you can't think of anything but me, rut you until your world is nothing but pleasure," he growled into her ear, his pace still increasing. "Now listen to me, Luna. Are you listening?"

Luna nodded, her entire body shuddering with anticipation. She knew what was coming. She felt it in her folds, in her heart, in the electric sensations roiling through her body, running up and down her spine. She waited for it, she needed it.

"Listen," he grunted, his thrusts lingering inside of her longer each time," listen to me, Luna. Don't you dare finish yet."

The alicorn flinched, her need for the pleasure of climax suddenly interrupted by this strange order. Don't finish? She was so close!

"Don't, finish until I say. You better not, or you'll be punished. It, it won't be the fun kind of punishment either. No you, don't want to upset me, do you?"

Luna shook her head, biting back her moan. It wasn't easy, but she fought against the pleasure. He wanted her to do so, so she did. Each thrust, each time his rings scraped against her as they entered and exited her body. Each time her flanks shuddered from the impact of his thighs against her rear. She fought it, she tightened her entire body and fought it off. She clenched her teeth, her entire body shuddering as the stallion worked her slick marehood. She held on for as long as she could. Feeling herself loosing control, she whimpered pitiably and fought back the tears forming in her eyes. She had to hold it, he told her to hold-

"Come for me, Luna. Finish with me," the changeling grunted, thrusting deeply inside of her and filling her body with a beautiful warmth.

The mare gave a muffled scream as her orgasm struck, her entire body shuddering and clenching as the pleasure she'd been fighting against took her body. The stallion was wrapped tightly around her, his fangs falling just shy of sinking into her shoulder as her world went white. She felt herself seize up, a horrid cracking noise from somewhere reaching her disinterested ears. She smelled something burn, but it didn't matter. She felt the changeling release her from his jaws, his tongue carefully running over her neck even as her mind attempted to restart.

Everything felt wonderful. Everything was amazing.

<-(0)->

Max stared down at the insensate alicorn with a broad smile. He was still panting with effort, but judging by the fact that he'd never seen the mare convulse like that during an orgasm, it had been powerful.

A quick look at her cracked headboard and his grin dropped a little. Maybe a bit too powerful.

Still, it had been fun, it felt great, and most importantly Luna had liked it. Flawless Victory. Now he just had to remove the adhesive and-

"Luna? Are you asleep again? We had a bath prepared. We shall be having dinner in about an hour."

Max blanched, looking down at the alicorn on the bed. Luna was still out of it, the aftershocks of her orgasm still visible in muscle spasms in her wings and hind legs. His dick was still buried inside her, the mare's canal holding him in a vice-like grip that was relaxing ever so slowly as she came down from her high.

Luna would not be saying anything more than mumbles for a few more minutes at least.

"Uh, uh, think think think, what do you do?" Max mumbled, looking about the room. Closing his eyes, he sighed. It was worth a shot.

"We are awake, Tia. We will be along shortly," he yelled to the door, his voice actually being a reasonable impression of the mare's.

'I can't believe that works. Oh please leave, oh please leave, oh please have learned your lesson.'

It was not to be. Celestia opened the door and peeked in, a kind smile that slowly faded as her nose picked up the scent of arousal saturating the room. Looking towards the bed, her face flushed as she caught sight of the changeling currently...

"If our sister is harmed-"

"Oh get out!" Max yelled, his voice still a match to the currently gagged mare. "If she was scared or hurt I'd get sick. The only way I can do this is if she enjoys it! Go! Get out! If you barge in again, I'm going to paste you to the wall and make you watch!"

"Luna would never-"

"I can guarantee she'd help. She'd find it hilarious and you know it. She'd probably talk to you the entire time, telling you exactly what we were doing and how it feels," Max interrupted.

Celestia blushed profusely before retreating, casting one last glare at the stallion.

"We will speak to her at dinner, if she is harmed-"

"Out!"

Max sighed in irritation, finally pushing off of the mare's barrel and pulling himself free. The blue alicorn giggled a bit, her hooves wrapping around herself in a hug as her mind finally began to clear. Max leaned back over her and kissed her, running his tongue over the adhesive to remove it. It turned out it could be saved for later if you didn't mind licking what you stuck it to. Removing enough for Luna to open her mouth, she let loose a giggle.

"We would, find it hilarious if Tia were to be stuck to the wall during our, our passions," she panted, her muzzle twisting into a dumb grin.

"Yea, I kind of figured you'd like that," the changeling admitted, eyes widening when he found his voice hadn't changed back.

Luna gave off another burst of giggles, but the stallion's shoulders slumped.

"Shit, how do I turn it off?" he muttered.

Author's Note

Celestia's gonna get in trouble. The kinky kind of trouble.

In Which One Discovers It's Not For Everyone

As the alicorn and the changeling made their way to the dining room, Max gave off a weak belch. Luna was radiant right now, having spent the majority of the bath either attempting to suck his tonsils out or chattering excitedly about the experience. He'd already filled another jar and a half with the 'honey' as Luna was calling it and likely could fill at least half of another right now.

A jab into his side caused him to start, looking to the mare in confusion.

"Are you alright? You seem to be disconnected from the world," Luna asked in concern.

"I'm good, just a bit...you're radiant right now, Luna," he muttered, still stuck with her voice. "Positively glowing with emotion. It's a bit intense, that's all. Like trying to eat chocolate that's way too rich. It's wonderful and powerful and feels amazing, I just don't know how to, not absorb it. So I'm feeling a bit full. I'll probably fill another jar before dinner at this rate."

The happiness bloomed even more, Luna pulling him into her side with a wing and nuzzling his cheek as they walked down the hall.

"Excellent. You will be well supplied for your journey. Tia wishes to leave either tomorrow or the day after. The town is a mere days march from here, so it will not be long."

"T-thanks Luna. I, did you know you turn purple when I have a lot of love in my system?"

<-(0)->

As it turned out, he did fill another jar when they reached the dining room. Two in fact. It helped clear his mind for the moment, allowing him to try and focus on changing his voice back. It was an effort he soon had to cut short though, as some nobles began filing into the room.

Celestia and Luna were seated on opposite ends of the table, Max being seated to Luna's right on the long table. The plates and cushions were prepared for a good number of ponies as usual but only about seven showed up, compared to the twenty or so that had been there earlier.

One in particular, the red earth pony mare from the day before, was hanging her head, sorrow pouring off of her. It was a strange change from the day before and the stallion made note of it, tapping Luna's shoulder and whispering into her ear.

"Something's up with the mare from before, the one with the seeds. You don't think any of these guys would sabotage her, do you?"

Luna gave a shrug of her wings, fighting back a giggle at his still altered voice. She leaned over to his own ear and answered in a deeper voice that was likely supposed to resemble his own.

"We-I do not know, I will ask her after the meal," Luna whispered, bursting into a fit of giggles as she leaned back into her seat.

Max cocked an eyebrow but otherwise was silent, his eyes tracking over those gathered at the table. When the meal actually began, there were only about twelve ponies gathered. The others...who knew where they went?

After the meal came the much dreaded request for actual proof of work. It wasn't bad all things considered. Celestia and Luna weren't even asking for their proof of nobility, just the fact that they'd done something in the past year. About six tried hoofing over ledgers with no particulars like names or dates or papers that were so freshly written the ink was still drying and smeared when Celestia wiped a cloth against it. One almost passed inspection, until Max mentioned to Luna that it had some powder sprinkled on it. Closer inspection revealed the use of some sort of powder to speed the drying process, though all that did was call the time of writing into question. It wasn't proof of wrong-doing.

That came from a name written on the paper.

"Cedar Block...this name is familiar to us," Celestia muttered, looking over the schedule.

"Ah, that is where we heard it!" Luna shouted from across the table. "Cedar Block was a fine craftspony, who lived in Paradise Valley about...one hundred and seventy years before the great migration?"

Celestia tapped her chin. "I find it amazing that you could contact such a pony from beyond the grave for the purpose of creating carts and wagons for us, Noble Tender. Now unless you can point us to another pony by the name of Cedar Block in the hamlet outside the keep, we suggest you leave by tomorrow. Lies reflect very poorly on one's name."

One by one the nobles presented their case. Finally they came to the red earth pony, the one who seemed to be on the verge of tears from the second she'd entered the room.

"Noble Redstreak? You spoke of collecting seeds for the crops and storing them while waiting for the fields to be prepared. We would like an estimate as to the count and kinds of seeds that you gathered."

"I, I can not provide that your highness," the mare said while staring at her untouched plate. "When I went to check on them after the duel, they...I shall be leaving in the morning."

Luna looked to the changeling for a moment before speaking.

"Lady Redstreak, we would like you to lead Maximus to the location that you kept the seeds."

Max nodded, rising from his seat and moving around the table. The noblemare looked terrified, radiating fear in his direction before seeming to deflate as she accepted her fate. Redstreak weakly nodded before rising from her place and walking out the door, the stallion following behind her.

Celestia sipped her water as she looked at the small stack of scrolls the nobles had presented to her. Most were already dismissed after the ink smudged, going against her request that they not write up something a few hours before the meeting. She wasn't certain why Luna had sent the changeling with earth pony noble, but she was certain she'd find out soon enough.

The last pony filed out of the room, leaving the two alicorns alone. A knight approached cautiously, bowing before speaking to them.

"Your highnesses, I wish to inform you that Noble Shimmering Barricade is the one who created and maintains the guard rotations and training regimens. He is rarely seen outside of his office however, and thus may not be aware of your request. Had I known before now, I would have informed him of this. In fact I am uncertain why he has not been told of this yet."

"Thank you, Duty. The two of us shall be discussing this situation in full later tonight," Celestia said, rising from her seat and levitating the scrolls after her.

"Luna, why did you send Maximus with Redstreak?" the white alicorn asked as the walked through the hallways to a private room. Celestia had already mentally nixed Luna's room. She wished to be nowhere near it.

"He said she was, he believed she may have been sabotaged," her sister said. "That a pony may have damaged the seeds or stolen them. After seeing how she'd brightened after delivering the information yesterday, we must agree with his assessment. We sent him with her to view the area she'd kept them in. Perhaps he could find something to prove her word? Watching her face us empty hooved tonight, we truly wish to learn what became of her seeds."

Celestia nodded as she opened the door to her own room, allowing her sister to follow her in before closing the door.

"And you are certain you need not send somepony to bring him back to your room?"

Luna shrugged her wings.

"We believe he shall be fine. The keep is not as large as you seem to believe, sister, and he can detect nearby emotions. We hope to find out if he can track us by this ability. If he is able to, we shall not need to worry about him becoming lost."

The white alicorn sighed as she set the papers on a table.

"Luna, earlier, when he was, were you aware of what he was doing?"

"Not until we woke up," Luna answered with a blush and a giggle. "We, he was exacting his revenge on us for doing similar to him after the two of us rolled and slept in our room."

"You mated with him while we were sleeping in your bed?" the older mare asked incredulously.

"'Twas not exactly mating, more that we pleasured him to tease the changeling. He was quite certain he'd wake you if he was loud, but you sleep through anything so-"

"Luna, that's- you can't just rut with him when we are in the room! It's not proper! It's, at least give us the chance to leave!" Celestia barked at her sister, blushing furiously. She knew she'd smelled sex but that it was in fact her sister playing with the stallion and not her own arousal...it left her a confused bundle of relief and anger.

"Oh, you are one to talk! Walking into our room at all hours as if you have no sense of privacy and decency!" the blue alicorn retorted. "Several times you have walked into our room, acting disgusted or appalled by what you find. Well Tia, the solution is simple. Stop walking into our room! Maximus is our stallion and we enjoy spending time with him. Did you know we were worried when we first awoke to find ourselves bound like that? We panicked, we panicked and he slowed, ready to stop should we have requested it. Only once we relaxed into his care again did he continue. And Tia, we have never felt such blinding pleasure as what he has delivered to us earlier today."

Celestia balked at the statement, but Luna continued to talk over her.

"We were only just regaining our bearing when we heard him arguing with you. Speaking of attaching you to the wall and leaving you there while we enjoyed each other's company. We would help him, Tia. We would hold you in place while he applied the adhesive to you. Mayhap such an experience would finally ingrain the idea in your head to stay away when the stallion and ourself are enjoying each other's company.

"Or perhaps, Tia," the blue mare added with a predatory grin. "Perhaps you would become interested in joining us. To experience the pleasure such a joining brings. We would have no compunctions with you joining our flock, and since he is empowered by love, he recovers very quickly. Not only that, but the things he has spoken of, he will be teaching us another way to experience pleasure tonight..."

Celestia felt her cheeks heat up at the accusations and suggestions. This was the little pegasus she'd shared a home with for the last ten years, the little mare who would curiously ask what sex was then wander off when Celestia told her it was icky and something she shouldn't worry about.

"Luna, we're practically family. You cannot just go inviting-"

"Tia, you cared for us for a few years. We acknowledge this. We can never thank you enough. We are both adults now, however. This constant avoidance of a topic because it causes you discomfort is silly, why are you always so shy about it?" Luna asked softly.

"Luna, we can't just, we have other things we must work on," Celestia finally stated, deciding to change the topic. "We wish to finish working with one problem before we invite a slew of others."

"Very well. This discussion is far from over though, Tia. We will have an answer from you."

Taking a seat beside the table and levitating a few papers in her telekinetic grip, Luna frowned.

"The number of parasites is ridiculous. Did none of these ponies even try to do work?"

"Some of the guards found three of them in the cellar, attempting to take enough food for a long trip, maybe more. They were kicked out for attempted theft and their names were recorded by the knights. The scroll with the names is apparently in the knights' tower, though we will ask for our own copy tomorrow. Other than that, many were seen packing their things last night. I believe I prefer that to this charade some tried to pull today. Using a dead pony's name, it disgusts me," the white mare said with a shake of her head.

"It is as the saying goes, Tia. Sometimes you cannot trust another to do a job, you must see to it yourself. When will you be leaving with the knights?"

Celestia winced.

"We would like to leave tomorrow. Pike and Lance have already prepared supplies, citing that they've taken lead roles in this sort of expedition before. We have had a bag set up for ourself as well. We are a bit nervous, but we shall see it through."

"We would be willing to go," Luna said when she noticed the white mare's anxiety. "You need not take this burden if you do not believe yourself ready. There is plenty to be done around the keep."

The older alicorn shook her head.

"We left you to take care of this for too long, we disconnected ourself from one of the primary things a princess must be willing to do for her subjects. We must, reconnect with the knights. We must remind ourself why we lead."

"Very well, Tia. Do not be afraid to call for assistance should you find yourself in over your head. We know how quickly things can go stale in such journeys." the smaller mare counseled.

"We shall, Luna. Shall we leave you to prepare his things? We know the two of you have been preoccupied lately, what with the duel and his discussion with the knights earlier."

"We shall delegate to one of the knights. We believe Pike will be going with you, correct? Max seems to have a friendship with her, she will see to it that proper care is taken in preparing his pack. After all, Max still has something to teach us tonight."

Celestia rubbed at her temple as the blue mare burst into giggles. It seemed that no matter the topic, Luna was always going to find a way use it to bring up her activities with the stallion.

<-(0)->

"Here," the noblemare said, opening a closet and stepping aside. Max looked around the barren room. It was completely empty, not even a scrap of cloth left in the darkest corners of the room. That didn't mean he didn't see any proof of the mare's words though. In between some of the cracks on the floor and right where the door was attached there were several seeds. Proof that at some point, the room had contained what the earth pony had said she had gathered. He stepped into the room, breathing deeply through his nose and even sticking out his tongue. The air was strange, it was almost as if...he could taste something. He sniffed again, looking at the location that he knew the seeds had sat. He could see them, see the outline of the damn things. It was like he was seeing...

'The care that was poured into them. She watched over these things religiously.'

He sniffed about, looking about the room and smelling the care the mare had been pouring into the seeds for who knew how long. That and something else, something more recent. Something that burned his tongue and tickled his nose.

'Looks like we have our second emotion, the one who stole it. Is it fear, shame or anger though?'

"W-what are you doing?" Redstreak asked as she watched the stallion, confusion settling in as he sniffed along the ground like some dog.

He licked a hoof and wiped it on the floor near a wall outside her room, bringing the hoof to her muzzle. The red mare squinted in confusion before her eyes widened. There were seeds stuck to the bottom of his hoof. He was searching for the seeds.

'I just hope they're nearby. And that no one asks me anything. I don't want to have to explain my voice right now,' Max grumbled to himself as he followed the nearly invisible trail. Twice he doubled back after the trail grew cold. Several more times he found himself nearly goring a pony that he didn't see, his nose stuck so close to the ground for the emotion-bearing seeds that he wasn't aware of much else.

"He's a tracking dog now?" a familiar voice called out at him, causing him to blink and look to the sound.

Twister and Lance were both walking down the hallway, the pegasus mare fighting off her laughter by keeping her muzzle held shut.

"So what are you doing?" Lance asked, looking to the noble and back to Max.

The changeling slumped. There wasn't a good way out of this.

"I'm tracking some seeds that were taken from Lady Redstreak's closet."

The three ponies went silent as their eyes widened.

"Uh, why do you-"

"I was trying out some of my changeling abilities and my voice got stuck like this. I don't know how to change it back yet. That's why I wasn't talking," he said, looking to Redstreak for the last bit. "I can smell the care she put into those seeds, she likely watched over them for a long time. I also smelled another emotion there, one not as strong but, it felt like it layered into the care. Are you two on patrol or-"

"We can help!" Twister shouted in excitement. "We're on general patrol right now, no real path we need to follow. I can talk for you, too. You know, if sounding like the princess is too much for you. You aren't going to turn into a mare, are you?"

"Not as far as I know. Oh, I hope not. I'm kind of attached to my gender, thank you," the changeling said, returning his nose to the ground. Straight down the hall, a left at the next intersection. Down some stairs and out a back door into the courtyard of the keep. He kept seeing little seeds on the path, so he knew he was going the right way. Following the scent, he walked under a small overhang near the gate and up to a wagon. Pulling back the tarp over the wagon-

"What are you doing? Get away from my cart!"

"Noble Flint Chip," Redstreak greeted calmly, her eyes not even looking in his direction. "If this is your cart, why are the seeds that I spent several months trading for and gathering thrown in the back?"

"What are you talking about? These seeds are mine. There's nothing on those bags to denote your ownership of them. Are you calling me a thief, Redstreak?" the stallion huffed, trotting up and trying to loom over her. As she was focused on the bags, it didn't work that well.

"Those are the seeds I spent several weeks, almost several months gather," the mare growled, finally turning to look at him. "I had to face her highnesses today with empty hooves, because somepony stole them from me. Do not play with me, Flint. I will shove that horn of yours so far up your flank you'll be spitting magic!"

The stallion balked at the mare's outburst, but quickly found his spine again.

"You can claim they are yours all you like, Redstreak, but my seeds are on my cart. What are you going to do, challenge me to a duel?"

"The changeling seems quite convinced those are her seeds." Twister said, giggling as Max played the part of a pointer and stared intently at the bags.

"Ah yes, the same changeling that insulted Lady Fortune several times?"

"The same one that Princess Luna offered to second for in that very duel," Redstreak retorted. "The same changeling that Her highness personally asked to investigate this occurrence."

"Well unless you have something a bit more concrete then-"

Max tuned the guy out, moving to the side of the cart and grabbing the cover on the back a good yank. The cover fell away and the four ponies stared at him.

"You, you dare to touch my cart after I demanded you to leave it alone? I'll-"

"Hey Lance?" Twister called as she flitted over the cart, lifting a candelabra in her hooves. "Wasn't this from the library?"

"Yea, it sure looks like it," the stallion replied as he approached the cart. "I think these plates were from the kitchen."

Redstreak turned to face the now slowly retreating Flint Chip.

"You realize that being asked by the princess, he does in fact have authority to investigate all goings on of the castle, correct? That by threatening him even after being told that he was here on her highnesses behest, you have threatened her highness herself."

"Noble Flint Chip, please calmly follow me. Princesses Celestia and Luna will be wishing to speak with you about this," Twister calmly stated as she approached the noble.

The stallion sputtered and shifted on his front hooves.

"You can't do this, these are baseless accusations and-"

"Chip?" Redstreak said with an unsettling smile. "If you resist their request, they would be within their right to take you to the dungeons. Nobility or not."

As the two guards led the stallion away, several more knights joining in to make certain he wouldn't try anything and a pegasus flying ahead to warn the princesses of their soon to arrive guest, Redstreak nearly bounced over to Max and hugged his foreleg.

"Oh, I can't believe you found it! I thought it was gone and that I'd have nothing for their majesties! Thank you thank you thank you, if you ever need anything, you need only ask, I'm so sorry I thought you were going to execute me or eat me, I'm so happy to have the seeds back! I'll make certain they're well guarded this time. I-"

Max watched as the mare began rambling and prancing about, radiating a sense of happiness that felt similar to the seeds. It just left him more convinced she was actually attached to them. That actually left a very important question. If ponies could imprint emotions on things from constant interaction, what would that do to a creature that fed on those emotions?

<-(0)->

Luna was just stepping out of her sister's room when he found her, calling her goodnights over her back as she closed the door.

"Oh! You were able to find us, excellent! We were informed of Flint Chip's attempted theft. He will be leaving the castle in the morning, after the knights do a thorough check of anything he tries to bring with him. The cart actually belonged to Lady Sapphire, who is still recovering from her surge the other day. Tia is reluctant to question her as the unicorn is...fragile at the moment."

"We shall take a bath then retire for the night. Is that acceptable?"

"I think, actually I think we should head to bed first," he said quietly into her ear. "If you don't like what we do, we can wash ourselves up and just enjoy each other the regular way."

Luna cocked her head curiously before nodding.

"It sounds like a plan. Very well, let us be off."

It was getting to be a familiar sight, following Luna to her room. Watching the mare as she jumped up on the bed, stopping to quickly raise her tail in his direction before turning around with a faint blush. Max smiled at her in return, stepping sideways to show his own body as his plates opened up in preparation. Despite the mutual teasing, he could taste the mare's nervousness. He jumped up on the bed beside her and pulled in into his barrel, kissing her and allowing his weight to topple them, Luna ending up on her back. The stallion nibbled lightly along her neck, causing her to nicker softly in anticipation. She pushed him off and rolled onto her stomach, levitating the vial of oil over to the bed and into his grip.

"You're certain you want to do this?" he asked, looking over the vial before meeting her eyes.

She nodded.

"We are, we are just...nervous. We are uncertain how it will feel."

"Well that makes two of us," he muttered. "Before we start, I want you to go use the toilet. Do your best to empty yourself."

The alicorn blushed but rose and jumped from the bed. She made her way to the garderobe and closed the external door. Max was sitting on the bed, staring out the window as he waited. He heard the mare grunt a few times as she...did her thing. After a few moments, he heard something else.

He heard her whine.

"Luna? Are you okay?"

"F-fine!" she answered a little too quickly. After another moment she emerged, still blushing furiously as she approached the bed. "We, we decided to be thorough and used our magic. It felt strange. However we believe we are...ready to receive you."

Max intercepted her, meeting her just before the bed and kissing her deeply. She hummed with delight, running her tongue over his teeth and against the roof of his mouth as his own organ explored her mouth. Breaking the kiss, he gave her a light peck on the nose and moved around her.

"Put your barrel on the bed, Luna. We're going to make sure you're in the right mindset first."

The mare carefully hefted herself partway onto the bed, allowing her neck and barrel to lie in the cushions. Her wings gave away her nervousness though. That and her roiling emotions.

"I'm going to start things of very simply, okay? No surprises, I'll tell you everything that's going on," Max explained as he began circling his hooves around her cutie marks.

"First things first is basic arousal. You have to be in the mood, as it were."

He leaned in and nipped her flank lightly before trailing a line of nips and kisses straight to the teardrop of her marehood.

"That means playing with you until you're ready for a rut," he breathed into her flower before kissing it. She groaned as she felt his tongue slide in as he'd done so many times before. She felt it begin to explore her folds, writhing inside of her like something alive. She felt herself clench lightly as her body began to heat up, felt the changeling begin to start slurping noisily from her need as her nethers began to weep her natural lubricant.

His tongue was pulled back, a slight flick playing over her clit and drawing a shout of pleasure as he pulled away from her.

"Now, we make certain everything's all nice and ready. I'm going to get myself nice and slick now. It will only be for a little bit though.

He mounted her, driving his stallionhood into her clenching muff easily and quickly. The mare squirmed at the penetration, looking back to him questioningly.

"Just a, hah, warm up. Gotta make sure, we're both ready."

He pulled out, fighting the powerful urge to continue and sat on his haunches. His dick was slick with her arousal now, and she was currently dribbling that same arousal down her legs. Looking a bit higher, he spotted her second hole just below the tail. It looked kind of like an inflated ring, a little thing that clenched as his breath rolled over it. He trailed his tongue around the mare's flanks, slowly circling the ring before letting his tongue flick over it.

"Ah!" she squeaked, the ring clenching again from her surprise.

Max grabbed the vial and popped the stopper off with his teeth. Carefully, he added a little to his hoof and began applying it under her tail. Taking the vial in both hooves, he held it just over her ring and chuckled.

"Alright Luna. I want you to relax a bit. You said you cleaned yourself out, so push like you're going to go."

The ring began flexing, clenching then relaxing in sequence as the alicorn slowly worked up the nerve to relax herself. The moment it was open enough for him to see the shine of her insides, he tipped the vial, letting it pour over her hole.

"Cold!" Luna squeaked out, not only clenching her butt shut but shifting her legs and pressing her flanks together.

"I know it is, but I need you to relax. We're almost ready," he soothed, running a hoof along her flank.

Slowly the mare relaxed again, spreading her legs and fluttering her wings as she forced herself to relax. Once more the ring began to spread open as she forced herself to reveal herself to him.

"That's it. Just like that," he soothed, running his oiled hooved along the ring before pouring more over his dick. Rubbing up and down the length, he bucked slightly as his hooves ran under his rings, the sensitive parts of his penis reacting strangely to the cool oil. Certain that there wasn't anything else to do, he mounted her and slowly guided himself to her northern entrance. He stopped as he felt himself brushing against her lips and hiked himself up on her back. He felt the head press against the ring, resting perfectly against her anus.

"I'm going to push it in a little. You say if you need me to stop."

She squeaked, clenching once more before breathing deeply through her nose. She was nervous, but she was also excited. She relaxed nodding him forward.

He only made it about half way to the first ring before she clenched, her body already reacting to the intruder. Instead of just sitting there, he rocked against her slightly, keeping himself hard as the mare adjusted to the intrusion. She relaxed and he pushed in further. The first ring pressed against her and she once more clenched. Once more the stallion rocked against her, whispering encouragement as the alicorn slowly forced herself to relax.

So it continued until at long last, with a jittering thrust the stallion finally hilted. He sighed in both relief and pleasure. Pleasure at having himself buried in the mare underneath him, and relief at the fact that the first part was finally over.

"This is, supposed to be pleasurable?" Luna grunted, her emotions a mix of curiosity, irritation, and fatigue.

"Well neither of us, knows what we're doing. I can almost guarantee we messed, something up," Max panted, his legs all feeling a bit of burn from the constant fight for proper alignment. It wasn't like before where her body was trying to suck him in the entire time. This had been a battle.

"It had best, pay out well in the end or this is, not going to be happening ever, again," Luna panted.

Max nodded, shifting himself to prepare for the next step.

"I, can't argue with that. I'm going to-"

"Oh just do something already!" Luna barked at him, her irritation spiking. "We've been aroused for much too long with no pleasure beside your tongue earlier!"

Nodding, the stallion began rocking against the mare once more, her rear clenching and relaxing as his largest ring kept battering against the inside of her ass. With a little more force, the ring came free, the mare's clenching having receded enough to allow him to continue rocking even as it left her. Pulling out most of the way, the stallion stopped just shy of exiting the mare and began to thrust forward. He rocked against her, driving to the first ring, driving the first inside of her with twinge from both of them, drove the second in, drove the third and forth ones inside as well.

The fifth on the stallions rod, it wasn't cooperating. The stallion's ring was too wide for entry in a thrust. It actually caused both of them to cringe with every impact, the ring not giving enough while Luna's ass was no where loose enough to accept it's easy entry. With a grunt of irritation, Luna sat up from the bed. Max sat up as well, pulling out and growling in frustration as Luna looked back at him.

"If not for the fact that everything else you suggested has been wonderful, we would have you beaten for allowing us to try this. Never mention this again. Now rut us properly!"

"No, we're going to get cleaned up," he said as he gave her an apologetic kiss. "I want to get off as badly as you do, but I'm not going to risk either of us getting sick. We're going to clean up well, then we're going to rut each other silly. The easy way. In fact, you can think of it as something similar to what I did earlier."

Luna perked at the idea before grabbing the stallion in her magic and running to the bathroom.

"Let's hurry than. We require a release before we go insane!"

Rushing back to the bed after their quick but thorough cleaning, the mare displayed herself to him, taking a very similar position to what she'd been in earlier. This time Max indulged, eating the mare out ravenously and reveling in her moans and mewls of pleasure.

"Stars, that's what it's supposed to be like. Not that, that ridiculous-OH!"

Max grinned as he fluttered his tongue against her deepest reaches, causing her to shudder and clench from the contact. He slurped loudly on the fluids she leaked, knowing she was looking over her back towards him.

Removing his muzzle from her flower with a loud smack of his lips, he circled around the mare and jumped on the bed. Before she could ask what he was doing, he laid down and rolled over, exposing his solid ringed dick to the air. He smiled at her before patting his inner thigh, inviting her to take a seat.

"You wish us to, to mount you?" she asked cautiously as she jumped on the bed.

The stallion nodded.

"It's a nice position, don't you think? You can control the depth with your rocking and, if you want, we can kiss the entire time."

The mare gingerly took her place over him, her unsated arousal from earlier coming back with a vengeance. Lighting her horn, she gripped his stallionhood in her aura and directed it into her needy folds. A sigh of pleasure escaped both their lips.

He watched as she gingerly began rocking back and forth against him, testing her control and even shifting left and right, her wings splaying as it brushed against whatever part of her depths she desired. With a final giggle she wrapped her hooves around his body and kissed him.

He returned the kiss, reaching up and pulling her upper body close to his own. He explored her mouth as the mare humped, ground against him, shifted her body, did anything that caught her fancy. He bucked as her body pleasured him, forcefully resisting the urge to flip her over and rut her as he'd done already. This was hers, he'd already offered her control. He'd just have to, to hold on a bit longer.

Luna finally broke the kiss, panting deeply and pressing her hooves against his barrel. Her wings were fluttering rapidly, as she moaned her pleasure, rocking back and forth with him deep inside her. it was so much better than that failed experiment. She looked down at him with a hungry smile before leaning forwards a bit. She hooked her rear legs against his own and began furiously rutting him, rising and smashing back down against his inner thigh repeatedly as wet slaps began to fill the air.

"Yes, yes this is what we wanted! Yes, it feels, so good!" she whined, slowing to grind into him before continuing her frenzied pace. With a shudder the changeling came, thrusting up into her depths and causing her to shudder at the sensation. She slammed down on him, her own body twitching as an orgasm rocked her form.

"M-more, you need to, to make up for that, disaster," she growled, continuing to pump the changeling feverishly.

Max was staring blankly at the ceiling, the mare's lust having long ago fogged his mind. He didn't even need to do anything but thrust on every down stroke. That was all he could do. She would do the rest. She wanted his seed, she wanted it so badly. He had plenty to give her.

Thrust, thrust, thrust, thr-Uhst, clench. Hold her while he filled her with his seed. Thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, th-Ha-rust, hold her while his body clenched once more. Thrust, thrust, thrust...

Luna panted as she came down from her...actually she wasn't certain what orgasm that was. The stallion had kept throbbing underneath her, so she'd kept going. Blinking as her mind slowly came back, she realized the stallion was comatose, his glazed eyes a swirling mix of red and pink as he drooled emotions freely.

She giggled in exhaustion as she allowed herself to fall to his barrel. The test had been a flop, but they'd made up for it. It was a learning experience. He'd already warned her that not all of them would interest her.

Feeling herself slosh a bit as she settled against him, she looked down to see her belly having gained a bit of a bulge. She giggled, shifting him loose enough to cause his seed to pour from her body and onto the bed. It drizzled to a trickle, leaving the stallions tail coated in a think puddle that would be the nightmare of any cleaning mare. There was always so much, as much as she wanted him to give her. Perhaps next time...yes. That would be fun...

And perhaps tomorrow she wouldn't have to listen to him speaking with her voice anymore.

Author's Note

They can't all be winner's Luna. Sorry.

Stay at Home Princess

Luna blinked awake the next morning, the tingle in her horn alerting her that it was near dawn. The moon needed to be lowered to make way for the morning sun. She idly wondered what it would look like if she left it up but dismissed the thought. It wasn't just tradition, Starswirl had been quite adamant about the order of the heavens. The moon and the sun should never occupy the sky at the same time.

She lifted her head and looked around. It seemed she'd slipped off the changeling sometime during the night. Her butt was still a bit tingly from the experiment while her nethers were achy but sated. Indeed it was how she felt in general at the moment. Content.

Rising languidly, she hopped from the bed to feel a bit of resistance from her tail. She turned to look and blushed. The long tail she'd been growing out since her Ascension was matted and flat, a layer of white flakiness visible amid the blue. Trotting over to the mirror, she took a long look at her flank, a bit of warmth flooding her body at the sight. It was easy to tell which side she'd slept on, the pinkish white substance falling from her marehood and pooling in the fur on her right side.

Squinting at something she'd almost missed, she looked down to her barrel. Pink gel was matted into some of her fur around her right upper body, the farthest reaches being the brightest pink while the closer to the changeling it had been the more red was blended in with it. While the stallions seed was mostly dry, the honey was still mostly wet. It was salvageable as far as she knew, all she needed was a jar or two to collect it in.

Smacking her lips and noticing her thirst, she went to the door. She'd need some water delivered to the room, as she seemed to have sweated a bit as well as lost...other fluids the night before. Stopping just before the door and looking to the stallion sitting in a dried mess of semen and honey, she decided to get three pitchers of water. He would probably need more water than she did.

<-(0)->

"...and if you tug on this strap the pack will loosen, allowing you to drop it to achieve maximum mobility. Pike will be one of your guards while in town, the other shall be chosen when you arrive. On the pack here is a small blade should you need it. Tug it up before pulling and it shall come free. You believe you have enough honey to sustain you?"

"I'll be fine, Luna. It's a day. If it were longer I'd be more worried, but we'll have thirty Knights who've done this sort of thing before. We'll be back before you know it," Max soothed, giving the mare a peck on the nose.

He'd woken up with what could only be described as a horrible hangover, a combination of too much emotion and not enough water leaving him with a powerful headache and a thirst to end all thirsts. Luna had anticipated the thirst though, supplying him with two wonderful pitchers of cool, refreshing, wet water. After he'd drank a bit, she suggested filling another jar, bringing his current total to six jars of emotion. He was only bringing four of them, however. Three of them were in his own bags while a fourth was with Pike. That way even if he was hit by something and his jars shattered, he wouldn't be up a creek.

Max trotted over to the prepared Knights, many standing at the ready in some various kinds of armor. There was plate armor, some jerkins of thick cloth, even a few etched wooden plates that shimmered slightly in the morning light. Most of the knights were also armed; hammers, blades, bows, one Pegasus even had what looked like a very old but well-cared for crossbow. There was no mistaking this group's intent. They were ready to deal with the bandits, however they needed to.

'I think in most places banditry was punishable by death. There was no going back once you took that step.'

That meant that any and all bandits they ran into would likely be fighting to the death. Things could get nasty. He really hoped it was only a small group of bandits.

Celestia entered the courtyard with her packs strapped to her sides. The blade at her side was on the small side for her size, but it was likely made for a smaller pony. She wore no armor, not even her golden shoes. She wore nothing but the bags at her side and her crown.

The white alicorn made her way to the knights and walked through their ranks, checking their packs, armor and weapons personally before stopping before him. Her face tightened a little as she looked over his bags and drew the small blade Luna had given him, placing it back in the scabbard and walking to the front of the group.

"My knights, as many of you have heard a nearby settlement has requested aid. We go now to remove the bandits from their land so that the ponies may live in peace. Are you ready?"

Max gave one last smile to Luna as he followed the group out the gate. It was time to see the rest of the world.

The dark alicorn watched the group walk out of the keep with a bit of jealousy. Max, her first friend in so long and now her stallion, was going out on this journey with Celestia. While she was certain that neither would hurt the other, it left her feeling disappointed. It would be his first journey into the new world, one that would likely bring up many questions. She wished she could be there to watch him as he spoke of the differences, of the similarities. To hear him speak of the forests of his home, of the creatures. Of the landmarks and the wonders.

It was something she'd have to enjoy another time. For now, she had things to do.

"Redstreak! A pleasant morning to you."

"And to you, your highness. Shall we begin?" the mare asked, gesturing in the direction of the planned fields.

"Indeed. The sooner we start work on the fields, the sooner the ponies under our rule will be properly nourished. Max also mentioned trading surplus to other towns for goods we may require," Luna answered with a smile. "Let us begin."

<-(0)->

Luna yawned as she walked to her room. It had been a busy day, much busier than she'd expected. Redstreak had liked the idea of running the water from the spring to the fields but was adamant that the fields they chose be used for fruit trees. The crops needed specific types of soil, she'd said, and they would grow best in specific locations. Thus the mare had argued vehemently with the alicorn about placement of farms, stopping just shy of demanding that certain locations be used for certain crops and that earth ponies would be the primary ones overseeing the farms.

The latter demand forced Luna to put her hoof down. There just weren't enough ponies to specify a tribe for a job. If a pony could do a given task, they'd be assigned that job; it was as simple as that. Maybe once the hamlet grew a bit and their numbers increased, but for now...

"Must make our way to the mine tomorrow," she muttered sleepily. Raising the Moon was a much more arduous task without the power of her sister to help with the process. Celestia was likely just as exhausted by the experience as she was actually. The white alicorn may even need to use some of the changeling's honey in the morning, since she wouldn't be able to relax after raising the sun. That would be fun to watch.

Seeing to the mine would be the first step in stabilizing the castle. For now the alicorns and the changeling had agreed that they would not worry about it, but should the rains come... the weather of the world was still reeling from the stabilization of the solar cycles. A random bad storm was not out of the question. The sisters had seen a few come close to the keep, hundreds of lighting strikes flashing in the distance, but none had actually struck the keep. The rain that would be brought by such a storm would drastically increase the weight of the castle and soften the ground. If the stallion was correct in his worries, it could be very dangerous.

Crawling into her bed and making herself comfortable, she huffed at the silence. It wasn't even that long ago that she was sleeping through the days and standing vigil through the nights, most of her time spent alone with the exception of the knights and serving ponies. So why did it feel so quiet?

Luna inhaled deeply with her muzzle in the covers. The maid had done her best, but the stallion's scent was still present. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd managed to soak his scent into not just the sheets but the bed itself. It kind of happened when one was as, heh, virile as he was.

'That's why it feels quiet. We're by ourself again.'

It felt wrong now that she thought about it. The room was empty, she felt...alone again. It wouldn't be for that long, but it was long enough for her to notice. She lit her horn and levitated a small vial of glowing pink liquid to her side, watching the softly glowing honey as her thoughts wandered. She'd need to practice her dream walking now and again. With practice, she may learn to stabilize the changeling's dreams. Then she could visit him no matter where he went, or where she went. Distance wouldn't be and issue anymore. She set the vial back in the cabinet beside her bed and drifted off to sleep.

Luna's eyes opened to her still-dark room. Something felt off. Something was out of place.

Raising her head and looking around, she heard a rustling noise from a cabinet next to her bed. It was where she stored a wine bottle and, more recently, a jar of changeling honey. A dark shape was currently going through the cabinet. It pulled back with the jar of changeling honey in its hooves, revealing the creature in the soft glow of the gel.

A changeling.

The creature fought with the stopper, growling angrily as it tried to get the cork off of the bottle. The second it came loose, the changeling threw the cork away and crowed in victory. The creature then began to devour the honey, holding the jar up and draining the contents even as its tongue flicked out into the jar to remove as much as it could.

'Has it not eaten recently, or is the love just that tempting?' Luna thought, watching the shape-shifter look over the jar. The creature spotted its target, sticking its muzzle into the jar and licking the last few specks from the bottom with its serpentine tongue.

Looking to the chest across the way, she opened it quietly and drew the other jar of honey the stallion had left behind. She needed to know more about these creatures. They were notoriously flighty, most ponies never seeing a changeling in its true form even if they knew one was nearby. One scroll she'd read even swore that a pony could walk through a town consisting only of changelings and never know anything was amiss. So why was this one in its base form?

"Hello?" Luna whispered softly, hoping not the startle it too badly. Her efforts were in vain. The changeling squawked in fear, tearing off for the door and-

*Crack*

-running straight into the wall beside it. The changeling curled in on itself, grasping its horn and muzzle while barking angrily. It started to rise again but began tilting sideways as it attempted to keep its hooves underneath it. It hit a desk, then another wall and didn't get up again, curling into a ball and whimpering in pain and fear. This time it didn't rise again.

"Your highness, are you alright?" a guard asked, knocking on the door.

"We are fine. We shall call on you if we require aid. Remain close by," Luna answered, lighting a few candles with her magic. The increased light sent it into a fresh panic. The changeling made another attempt to rise and flee but it seemed unable to coordinate itself. Every attempt just ended with the creature landing awkwardly or running into something.

Finally convinced it was done trying to run for the moment, Luna filled a small glass from the second jar of emotion and experimentally placed it beside the changeling. The creature instantly moved it's head to the gel, sniffing at it before clumsily trying to grab at the cup. It spilled the cup, but the fact seemed to not bother it at all. The changeling began licking the gel from the floor, the act seeming more like desperation to Luna than greed. Coming closer with a candle to the creature as it licked a crack in the stone floor to try to reach some of the escaping emotion, Luna's eyes widened. The creature was in fact a changeling, it's carapace giving off a soft gleam in the candlelight. However, scattered over its form were holes, some small but many gaping, allowing her to see the floor through the changeling's legs and barrel. It was also thin, a rail of a creature when compared against the stallion she'd seen only hours ago.

Starvation wasn't something Luna was very familiar with, but she was not ignorant to the possibility either. She'd been hungry before, hungry enough that her stomach churned and her head hurt. After all, the two alicorns had foraged for their own food before their ascension. That meant two little fillies were wandering around looking for any food they could find. When the garden they had was damaged or attacked by a thief or wild animals, they were left with grass and leaves. In spite of this, at no point in her history did she remember being so hungry that she could see her own bones. Around the changeling's barrel its shell hung oddly. It seemed like it was too big for it, like the creature had not too long ago been better fed and cared for.

Luna circled the creature and it curled in on itself, its eyes tracking her with fear. The same eyes that were glowing red and pink at the moment.

'It's drunk on the lust. That or the emotion is just too rich for its current state.'

Stopping by the tail, she shifted it in her magic to try to ascertain the creatures gender. Whereas Maximus' shell had a split on the underside to release and hide his penis, this one's shell was split just underneath the hole for the anus.

'A mare?'

"Do you understand me?" she asked, sitting in front of the changeling but keeping a distance. Those fangs still contained venom. If they could incapacitate her sister, this changeling could likely knock her out as well.

"Do you have a name?"

Luna cocked her head in a little irritation as the changeling curled tighter on itself. It wasn't being very helpful. A stray thought brightened her up considerably though. Bribery was always useful. It even drew admissions from her own lips when Tia was seeking her lost doll. One that Luna never, ever, ever moved so her sister couldn't find it. She just knew where it was.

Filling the cup with a bit of honey, she held it closer to the changeling.

"If you answer my questions, I'll let you have some more. Even though you stole a jar, you quite obviously require the sustenance. We will not hold you accountable for the first jar but if you wish to have more, we need you to help us in return. Is this acceptable?"

The changeling looked through a hole in its hooves to her, watching for something. Perhaps trying to taste any deceit? Could changelings taste when one lied to them? After staring at Luna for a moment the changeling shifted, pushing itself again the wall but uncurling slightly as though it found security in the stone behind it.

"What do you want from me?" it(she?) rasped.

"To help you so that you may help us," Luna answered. At its hard stare, she raised an eyebrow.

"You are a creature that can sense the emotions of those around it. Do you not sense our desire to aid you? You are a creature in distress, one that is...very similar to our stallion. We believe you could aid him, to teach him about his species. In return we would be willing to aid you. The honey you have been consuming, it was made by our stallion after feeding on our emotions. It is our love you consume."

The changeling perked slightly at the admission, looked from the cup of honey to the mare and giving a curious sniff. Eyes squinting in confusion, the changeling wobbled to its hooves and moved closer, sniffing at the mare before sniffing from the cup.

"Same," it said, it's voice dry and rough.

Deciding to get down to business, Luna sat down on a cushion beside the table in her room. It was a recent addition, one that she appreciated now that she had the chance to use it. The changeling kept its distance at first, but begrudgingly took the offered cushion when Luna swirled the jar of honey in her magic.

Pouring herself a glass of water and pouring another glass of water for the changeling, the alicorn asked her first question.

"You were not raised in this condition, correct? What caused you to flee that situation. What exactly happened?"

"I...I do not know. Mother was furious at an intruder, she was pulling at my energy. I should have given it to her, it was my duty as her daughter, but I fled. I abandoned her. I did not look back. I'd flown for a while and had just landed to rest when He found me. He had come for me. He snapped his talon, and I was somewhere else. I, I do not even know where the hive is in relation to where I am now."

"Discord struck your home? He is able to twist the emotions and minds of those he torments. Did he touch your mother?" Luna asked, pouring a bit of honey into a glass.

The mare stared at the glass intently, her focus only on the glowing gel that was before her.

"I did not see. M-mother was always easy to anger, she found anything entering the hive without her permission an insult to her position. Insults were repaid in blood."

"Do you think she noticed she was harming the rest of the changelings?" Luna asked, filling the glass the rest of the way and using a hoof to push it to the changeling.

The changeling grabbed the cup in her hooves, downing it in a two loud gulps before licking the rest of the honey from the bottom of the cup. She sighed in contentment as her eyes began to glow again, the powerful gel causing her to relax.

"The hive belonged to mother. It was hers to do with as she pleased, we all were hers to use as was needed. I, I refused her demand. She'd kill me if she ever found me. Any changeling of the hive would."

'If there were any left' Luna added darkly. From the sounds of it the mare's mother had gone mad and started causing more damage to her city than Discord. It was unlike Discord to cause grievous harm to others, even at his worst. Ponies were never physically harmed, but if they hurt themselves while trying to fight him off he didn't consider it his fault.

Walking over to the door and leaving the mare with another cup of honey as a distraction (Luna kept the jar to herself, though it was going to go faster than she'd hoped at this pace) she walked over to the door and opened it to be met with several anxious knights.

"Peace. We have a guest, one who has been through a difficult time. Please see to it that a bath is prepared."

One of the knights saluted before leaving to search for a maid. The others looked back to her in worry.

"You are well, being left alone with this...guest?"

"We are," Luna answered with a smile. "She is a changeling. She detected the honey we kept and has gorged herself on one of the jars. She is still hungry, but we believe power of the gel is a bit too much for her at the moment. She is worse than Max was his first days in that while he was clumsy, he was aware and thus moved cautiously. She has run into the wall several times and a few other things."

Luna closed the door against their continued questions and turned back to the changeling, only to find the mare stumbling to the window.

"We would suggest against such a course of action in your current state. It could prove fatal."

"Need to, to get out of here. Why is d'room moving. What you do?" the changeling slurred, her eyes glowing a myriad of colors.

The alicorn giggled, realizing what was wrong.

"It was the emotion you ate. It was not pure love. There was also lust mixed in with it, some happiness, maybe other things. We do not know how your body processes emotions, but every time Maximus has consumed any quantity of lust, he becomes intoxicated. It will pass. Perhaps you could teach him to properly sort the emotions, to make honey that is only love or only happiness? One thing we would greatly appreciate is if you would teach him to use his magic. We have felt it when he activated it and his magic is different from our own. Much more volatile."

Moving closer to the mare as she crawled to the window, Luna pulled her up into a hug.

"We were alone for a long while. Maximus changed that, he left us feeling happy for the first time in several months."

The changeling bristled at her touch, trying to wriggle free.

"Changelings never alone, always more. You think strong but I...I-"

"Shh," Luna interrupted, nuzzling the mare's neck. "You are tired. You are alone, hungry, lost. We were alone before our stallion arrived, we know how it feels. We may not understand the severity of your full situation, but we only wish to see you recover."

She'd made up her mind. Luna wrapped her wings around the changeling, nuzzling her gently.

"You need not fear loneliness or hunger any longer. We will help you grow strong again...sister."

The mare was similar to herself. A being feeling so lost, alone with nopony to speak to. Tia spoke to her of course but with how their schedules had become, Luna barely saw her. Living the 'graveyard shift' as Max had called it had been an exile of sorts. Away from the ponies, away from her sister, away from everything she wished to experience.

The changeling was a mess, but in her own way so was she previously. The mare just needed love, she needed somepony to lean on. Somepony who would listen to her fears and assure her that it would all work out. Maximus had given Luna the companionship she needed, she wouldn't turn away another who was alone.

"Come now. We will watch over you. Just follow our commands and all will be well."

Luna relaxed her hug, leaving the changeling to stumble slightly as her support left. She came to its side, using a wing to guide the shape shifter to the door while whispering soft assurances that it would all be alright. The mare was scared, terrified in fact once the other ponies laid eyes upon her. Their lack of hostility seemed to confuse her, though.

"They are already used to seeing a similar creature. You are not the only changeling they have seen us speaking with," Luna assured, tightening her wing-hug.

A bath had been drawn and a bath was taken. The changeling mare was cleaned, but there were many things Luna knew would require further attention. The shape shifter had been resistant at first to even stepping into the water, but the promise of more honey seemed to purchase her cooperation. After that the mare was tense but did not shy away as Luna washed her.

She was definitely young, no ancient evil that would suck out a pony's soul if given the chance. In fact Luna found it odd. The more direct of a command the changeling was given, the more likely she was to respond. Requests were met with resistance, while commands were met with obedience. It made her wonder about the creatures past. What was she before Discord struck?

Returning to her room with the changeling in tow, Luna made her way to the bed. Hopping up into the warm covers and levitating the jar of honey along with several glasses and a fresh pitcher of water to her night stand, she motioned the mare to sit across from her.

"We know that our feelings are open to you, changeling. You know in your mind that we will do you know harm. We ask that you accept this in your heart as well."

The changeling mare sat down on the bed nervously, her eyes darting about as if expecting some sort of ambush. She jumped a little when Luna lifted a blanket over her but soon relaxed under the reassuring pressure of the covers.

"We have a few more things to ask you," Luna said, smiling as she relaxed on the bed. "'Tis not much more, we promise. After that we shall see you to a warm bed and a good rest. The most important question we have not asked you yet, what do you call yourself?"

The mare shifted nervously and avoided her gaze. Perhaps it was something one was not supposed to ask a changeling? She tried another question.

"What was your purpose in your...hive?" the dark alicorn asked.

"I...I was to be a field queen," the changeling answered, looking around the room nervously. "I was to lead the drones from afar, where Mother's link to them, her connection would be..."

Luna scrunched her muzzle in thought. The mention of a link was confusing, but she believed she understood.

"So you were to be a field commander? Is this what you wanted?"

"What I wanted was of no concern. I had a purpose."

"But this purpose, you are unable to serve it any longer," Luna pursued, causing the changeling to shrink slightly. "What if you were to aid us? Suppose we supplied you with a purpose. Suppose we supplied you with love, warmth, and safety. Would you aid us in protecting the ponies who come to us?"

"I do not defend food. I defend the hive. The workers harvest the food and-"

"This is not the hive," Luna scolded gently. "Love is not so difficult to come by if you are willing to work with us. Maximus left with four jars of emotion and that was only because we wished to keep some here in case of injury or theft. You have consumed nearly two in one sitting, though we are certain most of that is because of your hunger. Will you accept this offer we make to you? Food and shelter for your strength? You will find love in ample supply here, we guarantee it."

"P-food does not love freely. It must be harvested by...by-mmph!"

The changeling's defiant speech died on its lips as Luna pulled the shape shifter to her barrel, engaging a deep kiss that cut off any further arguments. The alicorn had started wondering...wondering if she could begin her flock in earnest. If she could add to it. She was certain Maximus wouldn't mind and the changeling was so lonely. She needed love, she needed love just like Luna needed another pony to be with her. Max had been that other pony for her, who was she to turn down the mare?

Luna would take care of her, she'd make certain the changeling was well fed.

"We wish to accept you into our flock, but first we must have your name," Luna said, caressing the mare with a hoof. "The rules are changing, young shape shifter, and we must change with them. Give us your name, and we shall give you our love."

The changeling looked at her with confusion rippling in her eyes, as though she were unable to comprehend the situation. It hurt Luna to see her like that. So certain that she would receive no love, that she was alone. It merely cemented the alicorn's resolve.

"I, I was called...I was sub-queen seventeen," the changeling blurted out.

Luna balked. That wasn't a name. That was...likely why she didn't want to give her name in the first place.

"And now that you are no longer of that hive, do you seek a different name? One that you may call your own?"

The mare nodded.

"I, I wanted to be called...I want to be called Crystal Wish. It was the name I used for a disguise a long while ago. When I was learning how to act around the foo-"

"Stop that," Luna interrupted, placing a hoof over the changeling's mouth. "The word is ponies. Maximus once described the relationship the two of us share as symbiotic. We provide emotion, he provides support. We give him what he requires and in return he gives us what we require. You shall learn this as well. For now though, we will not ask much of you, Crystal. We shall only request that you trust us and our experience. "

Leaning forward and letting her weight topple them, Luna smiled devilishly at the confused and slightly panicking mare.

"Trust our experience, young Crystal. We shall teach you everything you require to survive. You merely need to accept us as your alpha."

With a giggle Luna pressed into a more aggressive kiss, pinning the smaller form of the changeling underneath her. Max was aggressive, so he would likely also end up on top of this one. She was born to follow, after all. Perhaps in time that would change, perhaps she could learn to adapt but it made her an excellent beta for now.

"How does it taste?" the alicorn asked, breaking the kiss.

"More," the field queen panted, trying to reach for Luna. Her eyes were already glowing again, the slightest hints of pink and red emitting from the changeling's torso. Pulling back, Luna began trailing her kisses down the shape shifter's body. Crystal squirmed with every contact, mewling and panting as the emotion-charged actions set her shell on fire with energy.

"We have never tried this before, but we do remember thoroughly enjoying it when Maximus attempted this on us," Luna said, giving a lick along the changeling's plate slit.

The reaction was instantaneous. Crystal squeaked in shock as the strange sensations rolled over her body. She squirmed in place, unable to right herself in her drunken state. There was just too much love and lust to allow her to focus. It was becoming more powerful, as well. So much of it directed at her, leaving her to slow in her squirming. The alicorn was feeding her and had offered her a family again. She, she would trust the food...she would trust this pony, her alpha.

Luna backed away enough to glimpse at the changeling's flanks. The plate was slowly folding back as the mare relaxed, revealing a dark green tunnel that was slowly dampening with the help of Luna's ministrations. Leaning in to give the revealed flesh a few experimental licks, her eyes widened. She could once more taste magic in the shape shifter's fluids, but unexpectedly she didn't feel the influence of any foreign emotions. It was as if everything Crystal's body was using at the moment was from Luna.

'We did not realize she was in such need. Surely there were others she was able to pull emotion from.'

"You are doing well, Crystal. We are about to make this even more wondrous for you. Relax and trust us and you shall not be lead astray."

Luna began trailing long sensuous licks over the changeling's slit, earning squeaks and mewls of pleasure and causing Luna's own marehood to begin to dampen. It excited her, hearing her new flock member responding like this. It meant she was doing it right. A brief image of the changeling pinned between both herself and the stallion caused her to wink powerfully. She'd been so interested in taking care of the mare she'd nearly forgotten about herself!

'Easily rectified.'

Rising and stepping over the changeling's body, she turned and lowered her flower to Crystal's face. Turning to look back, Luna spoke to her mare with authority ringing in her voice.

"We wish to experience some pleasure as well. Return our ministrations with your own."

Even as she pressed herself to the smaller mare's barrel she could feel the long tongue begin to flick across her nethers experimentally. Luna cooed at the familiar contact, lowering her own muzzle to the changeling's tunnel and beginning anew. It was slightly thinner than Maximus' tongue, but it was just as long. Inserting her tongue into pulsing tunnel, she was rewarded with both a squeal of pleasure from Crystal as well as the mare's own tongue penetrating her in kind. That was when things changed.

Suddenly the changeling shuddered, the emotion-laden fluids inside the alicorn setting her tongue on fire. Then the emotions they bore began to register to Crystal's already emotion-engorged mind. The changeling began writhing her tongue around inside of Luna in an attempt to coax as much of the nectar from her as possible, much like the stallion's first feeding. The alicorn was only too happy to give her what she wanted.

"Yes, right-just a little more. Here, let us show you."

Luna began suckling on the shape shifter's throbbing clit, eliciting a buck and a shout of ecstasy from the smaller mare at her contact with the overly sensitive nub. Crystal took the hint, returning the focus on Luna's own body and causing the alicorn to clench hard. Feeling her climax approaching, Luna took hold of the mare's muzzle in her magic and forced it against her weeping opening.

"We...prepare yourself, we are about to finish. Drink...drink deeply."

Tensing her flanks against the muzzle that was pressed against her nethers, Luna squealed as her climax struck. The changeling swallowed loudly as the alicorn's fluids were released. It was...

Luna blinked away the last of her high and moved to the changeling's wanting marehood. She wasn't certain if Crystal would even be aware after ingesting so much lust, but she wouldn't leave her without a similar peak. That would be cruel. Licking and suckling lovingly, the alicorn soon felt her beta begin to writhe and moan. She placed her muzzle against the mare's entrance as well, anticipating the coming peak. With a whine the changeling's climax struck with a burst of fluids that left Luna feeling concerned. There just wasn't as much as with the alicorn's own peak. It may have been the species, but it could also have been her physical condition.

Fighting her exhaustion, Luna stepped off the mare and pulled her to her haunches. She levitated a glass of water to them and began slowly tipping the glass into Crystal's mouth. The mare weakly ran her tongue along the inside of the glass, swallowing loudly and trying to coax more 'fluid' from the container.

Luna giggled at her insensate state. She gave the changeling two more glasses of water before lowering her to the bed on her back. She climbed atop Crystal once more, nuzzling the smaller mare's neck and lowering her wings over her beta protectively. Hopefully by the next morning Crystal would be more alert. There was still much Luna needed to know about the mare. Perhaps after the changeling had a chance to recover, Luna would finally learn something substantial about the species without stumbling upon it with Max.

The Trip

As the group left the familiar keep and surrounding hamlet, Max wasn't certain what to think. On the one, well, hoof, it would be a new experience. Even after only an hour he'd seen a butterfly species he didn't recognize and several trees that while familiar, had too many differences from their earth relatives. He was no naturalist, but being able to identify trees on nature hikes had always been a family game. His mom usually won those...

'Bet she'd love to see these things.'

Trees that looked like oaks, but the bark was wrong, maples that had purple flowers. One even reminded him of a paw paw with the huge leaves. The only difference was the leaves looked like a video game sword he'd seen long ago, the leaves widening into points at the end with a curve at the top.

Some of these trees, he swore they were alive not just in the normal sense either. He began imagining what the trees would feel like if they were alive like the Ents or tree spirits from fairy tales.

'That one would be content, that one would be irritated that some of its sun was being cut off by some clouds, that one-

The changeling jerked, choking a little as the imagined emotion registered.

"Are you alright," a voice from his side asked.

He turned and looked at Pike, his body shaking off the imagined taste of the last tree.

"Sorry, I was imagining how the trees would feel if they were alive. With so many creatures of fairy tale wandering this world, Ents and tree spirits would be a possibility. It was going well till I looked at that one," He explained, gesturing to the last tree he'd looked to.

It was a dead or dying tree, split by lightning and appearing to have several concentrations of either rot or insect nests scattered over its form.

The mare cocked her head in confusion before spotting the mangled tree.

"Oh, yea I guess that wouldn't be too nice. I'm not certain I'd want to know how that tree would feel either."

Max nodded, that was a kind of agony better left unexplored. Unfortunately with the group pursuing bandits and his empathic senses there was a good chance he'd experience the real thing. His stomach churned at the though.

Pike bumped his shoulder.

"Hey, it's not like you're going after them. You're worried about the fighting right? We have another job. Worry about that and leave the fighting to them."

"It's not that simple," he argued. "Bandits, they always relied on ambushes in the stories I've read. They won't take soldiers on in a straight up fight, not normally at least. They're doing this to either make a living or to live better than they were. Death is counterproductive to that and most are going to be fighting for themselves."

"In this case I feel...I feel like I should be going with you guys. I'm a living radar, I can point out an ambush faster than anyone because they'll likely be feeling hostile or angry when they see us. I'll pick up on that and the ambush will fall apart. They'll have to attack early and the surprise will be gone. In fact it may put them at such a disadvantage that the ambush is technically reversed. I don't want to feel like I'm hiding when I could be making sure everyone makes it home."

There was some chattering around them at his statement, some of the knights discussing the possibility of such a thing. Many sounded excited at the prospect of having an ambush detector, a fact that just made Max more nervous. He'd never even gotten into a playground fight, let alone an actual battle. Linked with his new ability to sense the states of those around him, this could go horribly wrong for him. That didn't mean he didn't want to help. Maybe...maybe he could stay near the back?

'No, the back is where people target to try to break a force with a surprise attack. The center is where you push to fracture a force, making it harder for them to recover and rally. Add to this that I'm one of the taller ones out here I'll probably get shot at as much as Celestia.'

Looking over to the unarmored alicorn, he winced. At least he had the chitin. He wasn't sure what it would do against arrows, but it had to be better than what Celestia was working with. That and spells wouldn't do much to him. So that left him just the tiny little problem of having no idea what to do in an actual battle.

The group made a quick stop for a meal after a few hours of marching before continuing on their way. By the time they were arriving in the village, Max was certain his hooves were about to peel off. He couldn't remember ever having walked so much before. Still, village was something to behold. It was quaint, something he'd expected to see in a storybook. There was even a small market where ponies traded knick knacks and food amongst themselves. No true stalls were set up, though. It was more of a flea market or bazaar.

The groups entry into the town immediately caught the attention of the villagers. Some watched from a distance, nervously moving about to keep from straying too close to the strangers. Others actually darted into nearby homes. One even fainted on the spot, being dragged away by an irritated neighbor.

"Peace, ponies of this fair village. We have come after hearing word of banditry plaguing your fair village," Celestia said, stepping before the group.

"There aren't no bandits. Go home, tall pony."

"Nopony needs ya here, take yer suits with ya."

Celestia's eyes widened at the reception. She opened her mouth to say something, but Max cut her off with a tap to her left foreleg.

"I need to speak with you, come on," he whispered.

The group pulled back from the city and made camp a short distance away; just enough to be out of sight. Celestia was livid, likely because after taking the time to travel to the town her efforts at kindness were rebuffed.

"Settle down, Princess. It's not you and it's not them. Those ponies are scared," Max told her, putting a halt to her fury.

"Of what?" Celestia asked incredulously. "We came here to aid them. What could they possibly have to fear?"

"Scouts? It's possible the bandits have people watching the town. Maybe some of them are even from here. Maybe the bandits are threatening the town? With us just waltzing in like that, it's very likely they know we're here."

"Agreed," Lance said, stepping into the conversation. "They will likely attempt to ambush our forces en route to their hideout. The issue then, is that we must find it."

"Water would be a requirement, perhaps a river?" Pike added, drawing a nod from Max and Lance.

"We have a few pegasus with us. I shall dispatch them immediately," Lance said, moving to leave.

Max shook his head.

"Is there any way to keep the pegasus in groups? I'd ask at least two, that way if they're ambushed one could escape. Single person scouting is dangerous, especially when you're in the open sky."

"I will attempt to do so. There is a lot of ground to cover and only so many pegasi. If we are to complete our objective quickly, we must find this base with all haste," Lance said.

The unicorn was just beginning to leave when an earth pony approached the group.

"I can tell you where they are."

Max blinked, the stallion having snuck up on him. Focusing on the pony, he realized the issue. There was no emotion. The pony was a void. Before anyone else reacted, Max reached into his bags and withdrew a jar of honey with his mouth. Walking over to the pony, he set it down and sat down.

"I'd love the help. We won't expect the information for free, though. Would this work as payment?"

He felt the ponies around them spike with confusion then realization as all eyes landed on the, now that he thought about it, entirely too nondescript pony. The pony looked about with a bit of fear at the increase in attention and once again Max didn't sense anything from it. The pony being a changeling was the only solution he could think of.

"None will attack you. If you can help us, we'll help you," Max said, pushing the jar forward a bit more. "After that you may leave if you wish. You have my word that no one will stop you."

In a flash of green fire, the pony transformed. Or to be precise, the changeling dropped its disguise. It looked similar to him, albeit a bit smaller. It also had a few holes in its legs, something that Max didn't like the look of.

'They do have holes. The question would then be 'why don't I?'

A few of the knights jumped at the sudden transformation but otherwise none reacted too badly. Celestia trotted up beside Max and spoke to the shape shifter.

"We seek the bandits in this region. If you supply us with the information, we will give you the honey."

The changeling, seemingly gaining confidence at its continued existence after dropping its disguise, shook its head.

"I smell more. Two."

Max fought back a grin. He was standing in front of a military force and making demands. If nothing else the changeling had balls.

Walking up to it, he stared it down.

"You get the jars at the completion of our mission. It wouldn't do for you to wander off after sending us in the wrong direction."

"What, so you can leave without paying me?" it retorted. "Two jars and I give you the information."

"One now and one once we confirm the bandits are there," Celestia said, walking up beside Max.

The smaller changeling chewed its lip before nodding.

"Nopony follows me into town."

"Agreed. You may maintain your anonymity amongst the townsponies. We will not betray one who aids us in our mission," Celestia conceded. The shape shifters had not been shown to cause any damage due to their feeding so far, so she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The changeling approached Max and took the jar, quickly popping the cap and taking a sip. It smacked its lips thoughtfully before nodding and securing the cap once more.

Then it swallowed the jar.

Max bit back a gag, tasting the shock and confusion of the ponies around him as well. It made sense in a way. The changeling didn't have any bags to carry things and a changeling's throat and stomach seemed to work differently. It began buzzing its wings and motioned for someone to follow.

"This way, I'll point it out from the sky. The center of the camp is visible from a distance."

A few pegasi took off after the changeling and the rest of the knights walked off to prepare for the assault, leaving Max and Celestia alone again.

"How did you know it was a changeling?" she asked him.

"It was more of a feeling. Most of you, I feel some sort of emotion from ponies regardless of whether or not they direct it at me. Curiosity is pretty nice, if you're curious. A bit like buttered carrots. Gratitude would be like mashed potatoes. Kind of plain, but warm and filling."

"And love?"

Max found himself wearing a dopey grin.

"Love is a steak dinner with all the fixings, a glass of my favorite soda, and some steak sauce on the side."

The alicorn turned a bit green at the idea and he chuckled at her nausea.

"It's not a direct translation, it's just the best I can do. For a species that was omnivorous and living where I was, that's like height of good eating. A good steak that's properly prepared and garnished is tough to beat. Anyway when I saw him, it was like a spot where emotions just didn't exist. It may be because changelings eat emotions and don't radiate them. That...that would actually mean there was a changeling just outside the keep. I remember feeling a void like that before."

He felt her panic begin to rise and he put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Don't freak out on me just yet, princess. They're not harming anyone as far as we know. We'll find the changeling and speak with it if this is bothering you, but don't treat them differently just because they're hiding in your towns."

"Simple for you to say," the alicorn grumbled. "When the changeling approached we did not see any difference from a normal pony."

Max chuckled.

"Really? Because he looked a little too plain to me."

At the mare's inquisitive look, he gestured to the knights.

"The ponies I usually see are all different colors with marks that are often fairly specific. The changeling's disguise was a brown stallion with a black mane. I think his mark was a triangle or something like that, either way it was a disguise. Something he didn't put a lot of effort into and could throw away when he was done with it. Most people back home call that being suspiciously inconspicuous, someone who looks like they're trying too hard to be calm and casual. He may have another one he uses from day to day, but I don't know. I'm certainly not going to approach him in public in either case. "

Celestia nodded, running over the memory in her mind. Strange that she'd never thought of that.

They were joined moments later by a trio of pegasi flying down to them

"We have the location your highness. The changeling said he'd meet us here in several hours to collect the rest of its payment.

"Excellent. Will you be returning to the town for your information, Max?" the alicorn asked.

"Actually that depends on you. I...I don't have any combat experience or anything like that but I could help you guys. The forge is a secondary goal. Your safety is more important. I can detect ponies from a distance, Celestia. Those bandits? If they're not rushing to pack their stuff right now its because they have and ambush or trap set up somewhere. We planned this thing to be a day and it's...what time is it?"

"It's about an hour before evening meal," one of the scouts answered.

"I suggest eating a bit before we leave so we are ready for the battle," Lance said as he approached the group. "The changeling saved us a lot of time scouting, and the reports gave the makeup of the bandits as consisting mainly of pegasi. It's possible there are unicorns, but it would be my guess that the majority of them are flyers."

"That will make getting them all very difficult. If the battle turns against them, as it likely will, they will flee. If Maximus is correct in that they were terrorizing the townsponies, too many escaping will lead to the bandits returning here to seek revenge," Pike said, looking to the princess.

"Then we will not miss any. We will be moving out in half an hour. Place the ward over the supplies we leave and be prepared to move out. We will return here to repay the changeling for its information, Maximus will gather his information in the morning and we shall be on our way before lunch tomorrow," Celestia said, opening one of her packs and withdrawing a bag of various nuts and dried fruits.

The knights saluted, placing their hooves across their chests before dispersing. Max thought about leaving some of his gear as well, but decided to only leave a single jar of the honey instead. That would leave him with two between himself and any injured unicorns slash alicorns that needed a magic boost after the fight. He popped the cork off of one of the jars and took a few swallows, shuddering a bit as the energy-rich gel entered his system. Even in so far away from her, he found his thoughts turning to Luna. Not in a chaste way either.

"Dammit, must be a bit more lust in this stuff than I thought," he muttered.

He caught a spike of irritation and disgust from Celestia before she moved away, carrying her food with her. Wondering what had upset her, he moved to ask her when he realized the issue. His eyes widened as the movement made the issue clear. His genital plates were shifting.

"Definitely too much lust."

<-(0)->

Celestia was still radiating a bit of irritation as they walked through the forest. A bowing apology had helped a little, but she still spiked with negative emotions when she spotted him. The group had otherwise gone quiet, a tension that was settling in as the knights prepared for combat. The bandit encampment was only a short distance away.

Max was looking all about, trying to remember any and all types of traps that would be possible at the current level of technology the pegasi had. From deadfalls to spike canopies to tripwire arrows, he was watching for them all. He was also looking for any flashes of emotion outside the group, hoping to spot any scouts and ambushes before they landed. Surprisingly, besides a few tripline and sound traps there wasn't much there.

Tasting a flurry of emotions and movement at the very edge of his senses he stopped and perked up.

"Do you sense something?" Celestia asked quietly, looking about and giving off a bit of fear and excitement. It was the general sense the group was giving off at the moment, making it easy to identify them.

"A lot of somethings," he answered in a whisper. A few knights began to loosen their weapon straps at that. "How close are we to the camp?"

A single pegasus shot over to a tree and quickly ascended, using the leaves as cover. A moment later he returned using the same route, barely making a sound.

"It's a little outside of charge distance, though I'd cut the charge distance by half considering the trees and that not everypony here is a pegasus."

Celestia nodded before addressing the knights.

"Once we call for the charge, destroy the bandits. We will not entreat with ponies who despoil the land and steal from their neighbors. Let none escape, lest they begin anew elsewhere."

The knights continued on, the energy in the air building to a crescendo that left the stallion feeling like lightning was about to strike.

After another two minutes of tiptoeing through the forest, Celestia shouted and raised her blade.

In an instant all thirty knights did likewise, pegasi rushing forward while unicorns charged in with blades in their magic. Earth ponies bulldozed through the makeshift barricades of the camp and attacked any bandit they came across. Max stayed well outside the brawl, the myriad of emotions that were blazing making him physically ill. Agony, someone likely was dying. Fear, hate, anger, excitement in battle. The emotions were blazing from the camp, leaving a sickly warmth in his belly when he focused on them.

To one spot in the battle though he felt fear and hope.

'Prisoners?'

Slinking around the brush surrounding the camp and avoiding the strongest sources of the negative emotions he came across three small cages. Two held ponies that were radiating fear at the proximity of the battle but hope that they would soon be free. The third cage held...an emotional void.

'That little bastard set us up with the location to free a friend.'

Seeing a few pegasi moving towards the cages, Max lunged out between the bandits and the captives. He hissed, baring his fangs and covering his eyes with the his secondary lids while prowling towards the pegasi.

The bandits squawked in fear, turning to flee from the monster that had invaded their camp. Turning his attention back to the cages, Max looked over the cages and spoke reassuringly.

"You'll be free in a moment. Just stick with me and you'll be safe."

Even as he fiddled with the first cage, opting to eventually grab the door and pull it off with his muzzle while bracing a hoof against the cage, the ponies were radiating increasing amounts of fear. The changeling though was right at the door to its cage, its eyes bright and trusting of his words. He ripped the second door off and moved to the changelings cage, sensing the ponies not leaving the cages. Likely for the best considering the fighting that was still occurring.

As the last cage door came free, a shout of alarm drew his attention. He looked back to see a several bandits aiming their bows right at him. One bandit was struck with an arrow even as it fired its own weapon, causing the pegasus' shot to go wild. Max winced, backing away as the bolt flew just shy of his face. A second arrow skipped off of his shoulder, and a third buried itself in the ground at his hooves. A fourth bit into the chitin of his chest, not causing him any pain. Moments later the bandits were dead or fleeing, the knights finally breaking through to the deepest reaches of the camp.

Max stared at the dying pegasi in confusion. Something felt off. He looked over his shell, noting the furrow where the arrow had skipped as well as the arrow stuck in the chitin of his chest but those weren't causing him any pain. Blinking, he stopped cold. One side of his vision wasn't blue.

The arrow had cut the membrane over his eye.

Folding both membranes back, he shuddered. Not even a month in this new form and he'd almost lost an eye. Maybe worse depending on the direction of the impact. He turned around and looked over the captives, noting the changeling was currently pressing against his rear leg for safety while the ponies were keeping their distance. Still, they were now keeping him between them and the fighting.

"Couldn't help yourself, could ya?" a voice panted out.

"Pike, any injuries?" he asked, trying to distract himself.

"Not on me," the unicorn answered, looking over the ponies behind him. "Princess took a few arrows though. To be expected in a battle like this. I don't think she's realized it yet, but we may need your help with her once things settle."

"I see. I'll be t-there soon," he said, rising on shaky legs. He walked through the battlefield to where he heard the alicorn shouting orders, mostly to burn this or that. As he came closer he could see the unicorn wasn't exaggerating. Celestia had at least eight arrows stuck in various parts of her body, most with small trickles of blood dripping down from the shafts. There were also several cuts over her form, ranging from nicks to full gashes that leaked, staining her coat red in even more locations.

The mare turned to face him as he approached, her eyes lighting at the sight of the ponies following behind him.

"They held captives? Excellent job finding them, Maximus," the white alicorn said with a tired smile. "They were preparing to leave, but with the aid of the changeling we were able to strike much faster than they anticipated. Many were still running about camp and those that tried to flee either left without supplies or were brought down by the pegasus knights. I believe their numbers were only in the area of twenty seven or so, though there is always the possibility of them having a patrol or raid in the field. We shall be destroying this camp, so that they have no camp to return to."

"Better than we'd hoped, worse than we'd like," he said, shifting uncomfortably. "If you're done with the battle I think you should see to your injuries."

"What injuries do you speak o-" she started, her eyes widening as she lifted a blood-stained foreleg into her vision. Her eyes began to track over her form and her panick rose with every new injury spotted. Her wings flared and she whinnied in panic, lighting her horn as she readied to remove the arrows.

"Stop! You'll hurt yourself more!" Max told her, moving forward and grabbing her muzzle in his hooves. "You need to be careful with those. We'll get a knight to help get them out but for now leave them. Just don't jostle them too much. Moving causes them to do more damage. If you yank them out their going to rip your skin up three times as worse."

"But, but they're inside. They're in me and it hurts and-" she babbled, eyes starting to tear up and panic as the adrenaline wore off.

"I can make it not hurt, remember? Lay down," he instructed, bracing her while directing the alicorn to lie down. She nodded, lowering herself to the ground while wincing at every movement. He exposed her neck and bit her, giving the mare the full dose of venom before carefully extracting his fangs. Eventually her whimpering tapered off as the numbing effect took hold of her, leaving her dazed instead of in pain. A few knights were gathering the injured to the center of the bandits one-time camp and were doing what they could to tend to the injured.

"How did we do, Lance?" Max called to the unicorn, petting Celestia's mane even as a unicorn set to work securing the arrows for removal at a later time and applying bandages.

"The bandits are gone and we only lost two ponies so far. Most of the injuries seem manageable for now. Ace may argue that point though," the unicorn said, gesturing to a pegasus that was being carried along by another knight. The stallion in question was missing a wing, the stub tied off with a tourniquet but still showing a lot of red in his black fur.

"The deaths were a pegasus that took a bad fall after her wing was injured and an earth pony who was separated from the group. He ended up getting struck by several bandits from all sides. We're grabbing a wagon to use to bring them back. A second wagon will be used for the injured, though her highness wont fit in them."

"On the other side we eliminated about fifteen bandits and the rest scattered. I think we saw about four leave that we couldn't stop."

"I'll carry her. Just make sure she's secured to my back. If you can manage it grab any decent weapons. I know looting isn't honorable, but we're short on supplies. We could always use spare swords or in this case the metal. Check for valuables and usable armor and weapons then burn everything else."

"'Bout what I'd suggest," Lance said. "Bind the wounded till we get to camp! Turn this place upside down then burn everything else. Don't give the scum a camp to come back to!"

Max watched with increasing disinterest as the camp was torn apart around him. He jerked as a Pegasus tapped his side to alert him to the fact that the princess was secure. Oddly enough she showed no sign of fighting the venom off so quickly this time. Perhaps a sign of exhaustion?

He stood up slowly, being cautious not to jostle her too much before making his way to the carts. One of his jars had been passed around amongst the injured, the high induced by the honey preferable to the pain the injured Knights were suffering. It left him with a single jar, but many of the ponies had begun to warm to his presence. No doubt he'd be a bit hungry, but the friendship of the Knights would help take the bite off of the worst of his hunger.

The group arrived at the camp soon enough, setting about caring for the injured to the best of their ability. Celestia was removed from his back and placed on a blanket as were most of the injured ponies. The injuries ranged from the loss of a wing and the several cuts and arrows Celestia had suffered to a simple nick on a foreleg. The clean bandages were being passed out and the medical tools were being reused more often than was sanitary but the group only had one set, the other being left at the keep. They were about to send a pegasus to the town to see if there was a healer nearby when one of the freed captives came forward.

"It was the townsponies who gave us to the bandits."

"Excuse me?" Pike asked, earning a yelp from the pony she'd been bandaging when she became distracted.

"The townsponies, they had some agreement with the bandits. They supply them with some food and don't sell them out and the bandits leave the townsponies alone. In some cases the bandits even drove off wild creatures that were harassing the townsponies," the pegasus mare said, draping a wing over the younger earth pony stallion at her side.

"We saw some ponies from town in the camp. In fact it was the town's carpenter that built the cages," the stallion added almost too quietly to hear.

Max chewed the information over. He was strangely inclined to say how he didn't care but instead he gave a sickly belch. All eyes turned to him as he stumbled over to the edge of the camp and began hacking and coughing, eventually spewing out a large blob of dark colored gel. He coughed, spitting and gagging before choking out more of the negative emotions, the sensation being much closer to vomiting than anything he'd felt in this form yet.

After struggling to remove the mess from his system for longer than he'd ever like to remember, he found himself being moved away from the thick mess that was scattered over the ground by warm feeling blobs. They were still reeling from the battle, but the emotions that were being directed to him were mostly positive. The worry and concern didn't taste good, but it was certainly better than what he'd been tasting earlier.

"Open up," a voice ordered. He obeyed, earning himself a sip of his honey in return. He gagged a bit and choked out more of the negative emotions, but this time it wasn't so dark.

"One more time."

Again he sipped at the jar. While he gagged again, nothing came up this time. The world was also finally agreeing with his brain which way was up and coming back into focus, allowing him to see the ponies that were helping him. To his surprise, Pike and Lance weren't among them. Instead the changeling from the cage was before him, looking to the gel on the ground in a mixture of horror and disgust.

"You really need to learn to shield yourself."

"Says the, idiot who gets himself captured. Your friend sent us," Max muttered, not finding the strength to raise his head. "Cheeky little fuck has some balls, sending us after the bandits. He made the request for aid as well, didn't he?"

"Sounds like him," the smaller changeling answered, the byplay drawing confusion from the ponies around them.

"They won't hurt you, you know," Max encouraged.

The changeling looked about nervously before dropping its disguise. There were a few shouts of surprise and a few ponies spiked with panic, but otherwise they soon settled.

"That's how you knew what was wrong with him," one knight accused with mirth. "You've probably experienced it."

"Emotion poisoning isn't something I've experienced, no," the changeling said. Looking over the jar, he looked to the larger stallion questioningly.

"Go for it," Max nodded. "Just don't eat too much. It's pretty potent."

With a happy chirr, the freed changeling drank a few sips and shuddered in delight.

"Too long since ate such pure positive emotion. Tastes good. Ooh, feel tingly, too," it buzzed happily

"Another changeling?" Pike asked as she walked up to the group.

"Helped us take care of the big one," a knight answered, gesturing to the mess across the way and the smaller mess near Maximus. "Something about emotion poisoning."

"Ah," Pike acknowledged. "Well thanks for taking care of him. We don't have any experience with changelings."

"Most don't, though that's something changelings do on purpose," the smaller changeling answered. "Thank you for helping us. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"No, this would have come to light sooner or later. As it stands we may need to do something about this town later. I'd rather learn about this problem now then after they took some of our farmers," Pike said, shaking her head. "It's a strange issue. I'm getting everypony prepared to start moving back to the castle. I want us a good distance from that town before night falls. That town was big enough to cause us problems and two of our biggest sources of intimidation are currently injured."

"Good idea," Max mumbled. "Know the time one must, when to get the fuck out of Dodge it is."

Struggling to his hooves, Max grabbed the jar from the changeling and downed a good portion the remaining gel before hoofing it back to the smaller shape shifter. The energy would help fight off his fatigue for now.

"Where's the princess? Her ride's here."

It took a bit of careful maneuvering with the many bandages currently scattered over the alicorns body but they soon had her secured to his back once more. The ponies began marching off once more and while many were curious, none dared to ask Maximus why he'd sprung a boner while carrying the injured alicorn.

Author's Note

Awkward boners are the worst. Sometimes it's best to pretend they're not there.

Return Issues

It was just about twilight when the company of Knights began setting up camp for the night. They'd put a good bit of distance between themselves and the town and if they waited any longer it would be time for sunset before the camp was set.

Max stared off at the Knights as they set up tents all over the clearing, two unlucky Knights tasked with digging a latrine in return for having their tents and food prepared by the time they were done.

'Speaking of tents...'

The Pegasus, earth pony, and changeling had all followed along, the changeling eventually giving its name as Flick. Not its birth name, it had admitted, but it sounded better than drone Seven G Fifty-seven. Max had to agree.

The three of them were currently setting up the tents belonging to himself and Celestia. He wasn't sure where they'd be sleeping though. Flick could stay in his tent, but the other two?

A commotion from across the way drew his attention, Celestia dutifully raising her horn and igniting it with power to lower the sun. Without her sister there to help, she stumbled afterwards. She was quickly pressed back to the blanket they'd set her on, a blood-stained unicorn returning to his task of removing the arrows from her hide.

Max made his way to the mare and sat down beside her, stroking her sweaty mane reassuringly.

"How are you feeling, princess?"

"Like we could...sleep for a week. We sadly do not have the time for such a rest." She muttered, wings twitching as the knight removed the last arrow and did his best to sew up the hole.

"We will not be needed until the morn'. How much...how much honey do you have left?"

"I may just keep that second jar that was promised to the changeling. He didn't give the full story, though I'll explain it later," Max assured. "You get some sleep. You're going to need all the energy you can get. You need to raise the sun in the morning."

"We are aware of that. It is getting easier as our body acclimates to our new magical capacity but we did not realize how much we relied on Luna for this spell," the alicorn muttered.

"It's a lot of energy. Do you need another dose before you sleep?" He asked, rising to leave.

The mare shook her head.

"We still feel tingly. We believe it was our magic that burned your venom last time. With our desire for the effect our bodies focus is elsewhere. Save it for an emergency."

The changeling nodded and walked away. He was fairly certain their informant would find them since he wanted his friend back. Max would have loved to pick the changelings' brains on the shape shifting and other abilities, but he was feeling dead to the world. There was one near town, he'd ask that one for help.

Just before he turned in for the night it happened. The changeling from before showed up looking for his payment. Max watched the one they rescued, noticing the new arrival trying to gesture to Flick even as the rescued changeling followed him dutifully.

"Deal's changed," Max growled at the changeling, "Were you the one who came to the court to ask us to remove the bandits? Because according to the other prisoners we freed, the town had no desire to see them taken care of."

The newly arrived changeling backed away at the larger stallion's advance and heated words.

"You're planning to run off with his one the moment he-"
"She," Flick corrected.
"-she was clear of us, weren't you? Why am I paying you when we're doing a job for you? The only reason I don't rip that jar out of your gut is because those two would still be captives if we didn't come here. That, and these guys were close enough to cause us problems down the road. But no, you don't get the second jar. I'm going to need it anyway. Now take your friend and leave."

"I don't want to go with him," the newly announced changeling mare responded. "The emotion you carry is strong. Not pure, but potent. Your hive is strong?"

"Hive?" Max asked. "I harvest this, not a bunch of other changelings."

Both of the smaller changelings stared at him in awe.
"One changeling harvests...how?"

"Pretty simply, actually. No disguises, support and help ponies, I'm actually feeling better just sitting with these guys," Max answered, gesturing to the nearby guards. "I put my neck on the line just like they did. Hell, I almost lost an eye in that fight."

Max lowered his secondary lids, earning a squeak of fear from the changeling mare and several winces from the guards.

"Whoever took out those bandit archers by the cages, thank you. I don't know how tough my shell is, but I don't want to find out how many hits it takes to reach my gooey center."

"Oh wow, I saw the arrow in his shell but that's...oh Priness Luna's going to be angry," Lance muttered to himself, rubbing his muzzle with a hoof.

"Either it will heal or I'll go without. I'll have it inspected by a doctor later, as I'm not certain anyone here knows much about them," MAx said, waving a hoof dismissively. Turning back to the changelings he continued his explanation.

"The point is I live beside them. They know me and have opinions of me. That means that that those I've befriended provide me with energy, which I, in turn, use to help them even more. It's give and take. I'll help you until you start your own relationships, but I expect you to be working for what you receive."

"I understand...I think. I help them, they love me?" The changeling mare asked cautiously.

"It's not nearly so cut and dry, but that's the gist of it. If you have any questions about strange things ponies do that doesn't make sense, ask them about it. I'm certain a few of these guys and gals would be willing to answer. In return for answers to their own questions. After all, you two probably know more about changelings than I do."

"Do your eyes do that second-part thing too?"

"He changed his form, can you?"

"Can you be any colors and species or does it have to be an existing pony?"

Max stepped away from the changeling mare as the Knights pressed in with questions. The second changeling wasn't flying off, so it was possible he'd stay as well if given the chance. That meant two changelings he could question on the species, two changelings that could teach him about his new body's abilities.

"I expected you to start asking them about changelings right away," Pike said, trotting up to him.

"Basics first. They need the emotional connections more than I need answers. Letting them answer questions like this lets the Knights make a connection to them. Besides, I'm too tired to care about that right now. I just want to go to sleep. I feel tired."

"The first battle can be draining on even the most stalwart of ponies. You stood no chance. You'll probably still feel lethargic tomorrow, but it will pass. Sleep well, we will be leaving near dawn."

Max nodded in acknowledgement.

"Wake me up a bit before Cel-Princess Celestia. If she's still in pain or needs some magic I want to be able to help her."

"I'll let the sentries know. Get some rest."

Max trudged into his tent and collapsed onto the padding. He couldn't remember ever being so exhausted in his life. Barely remembering that his shell wouldn't maintain heat well, he pulled the blanket over himself before passing out.

<-(0)->

Morning came much too quickly for the stallion. He was shaken awake by a knight who's name he couldn't recall and blinked awake. The sun wasn't up yet, but that would soon change. Moving to rise he found he wasn't alone, the two changelings currently curled up by his legs and buzzing their wings every now and again.

'Okay, that's a great way to stay warm at night if I can teach myself to do that but why are they in my tent? And when did they come in?'

Rising from his covers and jostling the two awake, he walked into the cool morning air and stretched. Celestia was just leaving her own tent, giving him a nod of acknowledgement as she stretched herself awake.

"We trust you find yourself just as tired as we find ourself?" The white alicorn asked, using a fetlock to wipe her eyes clean.

Max grunted in reply, pulling out his last full jar of emotion and taking a sip.

"When your ready, let me know. I'll give you a dose of you need it."

"We merely await Luna's lowering of the moon...there it goes...and here we go."

While with her sister the two were a torrent of swirling magic now Celestia blazed with power. The energy poured off of her in waves, leaving many of the Knights backing away in awe and fear. Max stood a few paces away, unperturbed by the roiling energy. In fact aside from the wind he wasn't bothered that much by the power. Sure he felt it, but he'd been exposed to it several times now. It felt...sloppy. Like she was losing too much power as she prepared herself.

With a grunt of effort, the sun peaked over the horizon. Celestia kept pouring power into her ritual for a few more moments as she rode the spell down to a safer level before deactivating her horn. Her legs wobbled slightly at the exertion and she was breathing hard, but a quick shake of her head and she was picking herself back up.

"That was...decidedly more difficult to perform alone."

"Well, let's get some food in you and we'll head back home. You can rest in your own bed after a bath," Max said. He approached the alicorn and guided her to a small blanket that had been prepared for her. She began eating a little, but she didn't seem to have the stomach for much food.

"Even if you're not hungry, you should try to eat a bit more. You used a ton of power over the last few hours."

"You're our nursemaid now?" The mare asked in irritation.

"Watching others distracts me. I feel like shit right now, but until we get back I have to keep moving. I...that was the first time I've seen combat, Princess. The first time I watched people fight to the death like that. I was shot, too. My shell protected me fro the worst of it, but..."

Max flicked his secondary lids shut, turning to look at the alicorn through the damaged lid.

"I don't know if the eyelid things are that tough or I was that lucky, but I avoided a nasty injury by the skin of my teeth."

Celestia winced before turning her nose up.

"We walked away from the battle with many more injuries. To be expected since we led the charge."

"Walked away? I remember carrying you when you started freaking out and had to be tranquilized," Max said, poking her in the shoulder. "They healed nicely, by the way."

The alicorn blinked in confusion before looking over her sides, even checking the wounds under her wings. Most were already fading, her bodies magic accelerating the healing by an absurd amount.

"That is...strange. We remember scuffing our fetlock against a log years ago and it took time to heal. Now even horrible injuries..."

"It's likely another reason you feel so tired. Instead of recharging overnight, your body was busy healing," the stallion offered.

"We believe that to be likely," she said, spotting the changelings as they dismantled a few tents. "We believe one was the changing who directed us to the base, who is the other?"

"Flick was one of the three prisoners. And no, I didn't know until I realized she wasn't scared of me and wasn't radiating any kind of emotion. She asked to join my hive, which I'm guessing is a group of changelings living together. They seemed surprised to learn the emotion I had was something I pulled myself.

"The other prisoners will likely travel with us as well. Lance set them up in the tents of the two we lost. Are you going to hold a service for them when we get back?"

"A service...you mean one of those, we understand," Celestia answered, nodding. "We will. We believe such bravery should be honored. Besides that, most of those who have offered their service to us were alone. It would normally be the family that saw to this, but since many have no family here..."

"It falls to you and the other knights. It will also solidify the idea that you'll take care of them like family. Doing that will inspire even more loyalty in the knights, I think. Not that some of them aren't already almost fanatical in their devotion," Max added with a grin. "You and your sister are the world to some of these ponies. One of them was still reeling from the loss of his wing and he asked if you were alright."

"Loss of, is he alive? How is he doing?" Celestia asked, nearly jumping to her hooves.

Max placed a hoof on her shoulder, stopping her.

"He's recovering. They had to sew the wound shut and the wing is a loss. Not enough know-how to re-attach it. Maybe in the future we can bring doctors with us but for now we have to make do. For now they've given him a weighted pack on the side his wing was on so he isn't so off-balance."

"We understand. That...we cannot imagine how that shall impact him. He will never fly again," Celestia said mournfully.

"Just stay strong for them," the stallion suggested. "We'll talk in full once we're back. This was your first time in combat as well, right?"

Celestia shook her head, casting him an irritated look.

"No, we battled with Discord many times before this."

"Did you ever see people dying while fighting him?" Max asked quietly. The alicorn shook her head and he nodded.

"It's different, princess. We just went through a battle where people died. Discord was downright cruel sometimes, but there was never much bloodshed. He doesn't enjoy killing. I suggest we include your sister in the conversation as well. She's done this before, hasn't she? Repelling bandits, I mean. Maybe she knows how to deal with it, maybe she'll just be able to understand what we mean when we tell her that neither of us have experienced it. I promise to even talk to her beforehand, no sex jokes."

Standing up and rolling his neck, the changeling sighed.

"We should get moving soon. The faster we get back the faster everyone can rest. There are also a few knights that may need some extra treatment. Once we're safe we'll rest."

<-(0)->

Luna awoke to a quiet knocking on the door, a servingmare calling to her that it was about time to lower the moon. She yawned, lifting her head only to feel shifting in her hooves.

'But Maximus went with...oh.'

The queen she'd captured the night before was shifting in her sleep, disturbed by Luna's movements. With a fang-filled yawn, Crystal blinked awake and stared at Luna with uncomprehending eyes.

"Good morning," Luna said optimistically.

The queen continued to stare for another breath before her eyes widened in shock. She rolled, trying to get to her hooves as panic overtook her. She had to get away from-

"Crystal, calm yourself. We will do you no harm," Luna soothed, pulling the changeling against her barrel in a hug. "We promised the night before that you would be unharmed. Are you in pain?"

Crystal shook her head in a negative, her body still tense while her eyes darted around the room, looking for an exit.

"We promised you would be fed. Do you feel stronger?"

The queen's shoulders slumped slightly as she took stock of her current state.

"...better," the changeling whispered, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Shh," the alicorn hushed her, nuzzling against the smaller mare's neck. "We promised you safety and food. We will not be made a liar. We wish for you to feel safe here. In this room here, you will feel no hate or fear from those around you. You are safe here, my sister."

The queen jerked at the last word to leave Luna's mouth. She turned to look behind her, meeting Luna's eyes and staring at the blue alicorn.

"...sister...I...I lost them. I don't know what happened to them," the changeling whispered, her eyes tearing up.

"Neither do we, nor our sister know what became of our families after Discord separated us all. We shall watch vigilantly for them, but we shall not allow it to consume us. We must live our lives fully and grow. We wish to see you recover and grow as well."

Luna kissed the bottom of the changelings neck, just above her left shoulder, trailing kisses up the mare's neck. Planting a kiss just under the mare's jaw, Luna used a hoof to pull her closer, meeting Crystal's lips in a strong kiss that caused the changeling to melt into the alicorn's embrace.

"We will not force you to stay, Crystal. You may leave when you wish, even this very moment, but do not flee from us. If you must leave, do so knowing that you may return to us whenever you wish."

Crystal sobbed, leaning back into Luna's grip.

"It makes no sense. Mother always said ponies would kill changelings if they saw them, that we couldn't...that they wouldn't help. That we were to build until we were strong enough to take, that..."

"Times change, Crystal. We have no true reason to fight, to take from one another. We can become strong. Stronger than any city or kingdom that has come before."

Sensing her horn beginning to resonate, a sign that it was time to lower the moon, she released the mare and walked to her balcony.

"Come, we wish to share this with you."

Crystal followed cautiously, eyes scanning the balcony even as Luna set her sights on the moon. She allowed her magic to flow and focused, gently setting the moon below the horizon. Not a moment later the sun began to breach the sky and Luna could have sworn she saw a twinkling of magic in the distance.

'Tia...I hope your trip has been successful.'

Luna turned to face Crystal, finding the mare staring in a mixture of fear and awe.

"While we guide the moon our sister guides the sun. It is more difficult without her here to aid our spell, but she shall be returning later today. Once she does we will introduce you to her, as well as our stallion. Oh, we cannot wait for you to meet him! He is so kind and loving, he helped us. He came to us when we were alone, he brought light to our life again. It is why we wished to help you, Crystal. We know that pain. We know that loneliness. We do not wish it upon anypony."

Smiling kindly at the changeling, Luna walked past the mare and into the room.

"We have things to do today. You are free to remain in this room if you desire. Or, you may come with us."

Luna watched over her shoulder as Crystal looked from the bed to the blue alicorn, her muzzle scrunched in thought. Luna looked back to the bed as well, though her thoughts were of her flock making use of it. The sudden burst of emotion caused the queen to jerk back to her.

"I...I'll follow."

Luna smiled happily, giving the changeling a peck on the nose.

"Excellent. Follow us, we have some things to work on today while we await the return of our sister and stallion. What do you know about tunneling?"

Crystal brightened at the topic.

"We oversaw many tunnel repairs in the hive, the majority of the chambers being underground. We are intimately familiar with tunneling and awareness of stability. If this is the purpose you wish for us to fulfill, we shall oversee your drones in the creation of tunnels."

"We do not have drones," Luna giggled, ignoring the looks of confusion from the serving mare as she entered her bathing room. Stepping into the water and motioning for Crystal to join her, Luna washed herself clean before moving behind the changeling and beginning to clean her as well.

"We will have to teach you about wings as well. In return you shall teach us how to care for your own wings, agreed?"

Crystal watched as Luna ran a wet cloth over her chitin, murmuring at the pleasant sensations. She nodded distractedly and uttered a quick 'of course' before leaning back into Luna once more.

"We are pleased that you are enjoying this," Luna said softly, nuzzling the changeling's cheek. "You shall join Maximus and I in both the bathes and in our bedroom. We shall be your flock."

Seeing the mare stiffen up at the statements, Luna sighed.

"We understand that you may not have been fully aware last night. We will not force you to keep to your words, Crystal, but we ask that you give them thought. We wish for you to be part of our flock, that you accept us as your alpha. As the alpha of the flock we are sworn to keep our mates happy and healthy. If you require it and it is within our power to provide it, we shall acquire it."

Pushing away from the shape shifter, Luna left the tub and dried herself off.

"We shall be eating breakfast before moving to inspect the mine. Will you join us?"

Crystal stared at Luna from the warm water. It was a simple offer, but there was more to it. Could the changeling really accept this offer as genuine? Was the mare really willing to accept her so completely?

Even as memories of the warmth and love she was fed the night before returned to her, she rose from the water. No, Luna was not attempting to fool her. The alicorn believed every word she spoke. Sub Queen...Crystal would believe her as well.

Mother would destroy her if she returned to the hive so her home was no more. She would accept the alicorn's offer and make a new home here. Luna would give her purpose, would be her Overqueen and Crystal would be happy, occupied and fed once more.

<-(0)->

Maximus and Celestia traveled in silence on the journey back to the keep, as did most of the group. The world just felt more dull to the changeling after the fight.

Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the emotion poisoning.

Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn't eating enough honey to sustain his current level of activity.

Or perhaps seeing a few ponies die right in front of him, ponies who had nearly killed him just seconds before, had left him in shock.

Either way, Max wasn't in the best of moods. The long walk back to the keep wasn't doing much to lift his dropping morale either, nor were his aching hooves which he was sure would split open at this rate, nor the constant buzzing of the two drones that were following him, demonstrating yet another thing he'd have to learn. A task that would no doubt involve lots of crashing and bruising.

Celestia wasn't much better, having become very withdrawn on the trip back. Her emotions fluxed a bit but for the most part it was a lot of sorrow and fear. Some shame would appear every now and again, but it wasn't as common.

The keep was in sight before too long, looking more inviting than any stone structure the changeling had ever laid his eyes on. The group stopped once more for lunch on the way in but many ate only a little, more interested in returning home than eating at the moment.

'Can't say I blame them. The faster this fiasco is over, the better.'

The group once more pulled together before setting off for the keep. After another two hours of walking they arrived, a solemn procession entering through the gates.

"See to it that your things are cleaned and returned to the proper store rooms. Leftover rations are to be inspected and if they're still usable, returned to the store rooms. After that, rest," Celestia called to the knights as they gathered in the training yard. "Has anypony seen our sister?"

"She went to check the mine, your majesty. She left just before lunch," a servingpony answered, bowing.

"She likely won't be back for a while..." Celestia muttered, wandering into the keep.

Max followed after her. The mare was keeping a straight face, but the moment they were out of earshot of the knights Max hurried his pace to trot up beside her.

"Bathing room sounds nice. I think we could both use a good, warm soak."

"That sounds...very nice actually," Celestia said, perking a bit at the idea. She picked up her own pace towards her bathing room and had the tub filled even as the two watched. The alicorn heated the water herself, not wanting to wait for the runes to do their work.

As Celestia was busy with bringing the water to a comfortable level of heat, Max turned to a servingmare and motioned her closer.

"Wine, water, and glasses."

The mare nodded and left, returning just as Celestia was stepping into the water. She carried on her back several glasses, a pitcher of cool water and was followed by a stallion carrying two casks of what the changeling assumed was wine. He wasn't sure if it would impact him, but at least one of them would feel better.

"Do you always turn to intoxication to solve your issues?" Celestia asked as she waded into the water, using a small bucket to douse her mane.

Max shook his head, carefully pouring two glasses from a cask.

"Not usually, but it gives you some distance from the issue. It gives you some time to move away from the event that's causing the depression. Not the best coping mechanism I'll admit, but it's better than just letting it eat at you. Once you get some distance and rest, you can turn around and take on what's bothering you with a clearer head. Or at least that's how I try to do it."

"Besides," he added, placing his cup at the side of the water and slipping in, "would you rather give yourself some time to unwind, or just keep going until something snaps?"

Even as the stallion drank from his cup, Celestia stared at the casks. Letting out a sigh, she levitated a glass to herself and drank it.

"I'd rather be fuzzy right now than thinking about the battle. Thinking about how close I came to losing an eye, or those guys that died right in front of me," Max muttered, finishing the rest of the wine. Celestia hummed as she threw back the rest of the glass and levitated the cask over to herself. She started to pour from the small barrel into her cup but stopped, opting instead to drink straight from the cask.

"Holy shit, chug it!" Max said with a laugh.

The mare flushed in embarrassment but took one more pull.

"You are a horrible pony and a horrible influence on us. We are going to hate ourself in the morning."

Max waded over to the cask as the alicorn set it on the side of the bath, taking it in his own hooves and drinking a bit more.

"I really don't know if it will work, but I don't have a Luna at the moment so I have to make do."

"Make do without...you're disgusting. We do not understand what Luna sees in you," Celestia said in distaste.

Max shrugged.

"I don't know either. I kind of sucked out there. If it wasn't for the fact that I have a shell, I'd be dead."

"Let me see it," the alicorn said, moving to him and grabbing his face in her hooves.

Flicking the membrane over his eye, he winced as she used her magic to pull at the membrane and place it over his eye properly.

"I may be able to seal it again later but it will have a line through it. It's up to you of course," she said, pouring herself another glass of wine and taking a few sips. "You also said something about, oh! There is it. One and...there's the furrow. Interesting."

Max watched her make her inspection, running a hoof through the gouge in his chitin curiously. She wasn't so bitter right now. In fact she felt kind of...friendly. Maybe he could pull some of that emotion to sate his hunger?

"So this guy is screaming at the manager, drool dribbling down his chin and his face has turned beat red, right? And he's just saying the most horrible things to the owner of the store," Max said, giggling as he recalled the story. "I'm on my knees crying because I'm laughing so hard, this drunk is spewing hate and rage at the manager, the manager's only been in charge for a week and she's brand new to this position so she's pretty lost as to why the guys even angry, then the cops show up.."

"Cops?" Celestia asked curiously, stumbling slightly as they made their way to the next room. "I think I forgot to seal the cask, it seems to have leaked."

"Nah, you drank it. I watched you," Max replied, ignoring her gasp of indignation. "The cops enforce the laws, they're like your knights only not expected to fight on the front lines. Soldier and police officer are two different jobs. Both are pretty dangerous though...anyway the cops show up and cuff...sorry, they bind this guy's forelegs together and start dragging him away."

"How...oh right. Bipedal."

"Yea, and the manager is just standing there for another two minutes just staring off into the wild blue yonder in shock. I finally manage to pull myself together enough to give a statement to the cops and they call for an ambulance. The paramedics, emergency doctors basically, show up and end up declaring she's gone into a kind of mental shock. They take her away on a stretcher and bring her to the hospital for care. Cops leave, paramedics leave, manager is gone, it's just me, a coworker and a whole bunch of confused customers. I walk up to the register, push the guy who was standing there to the side and offer to help the next customer. Tim wakes up few moments later and moves to another register and together we get through the customers. After that, I end up calling the evening manager for help and he comes in early," the changeling explained, shaking his head. "It was the damnedest thing, I've never seen two people snap like that in such completely different ways."

"Well, Sapphire isn't the first pony I've seen lose their minds like that," Celestia said, closing the door behind them. "It's bad sometimes. Earth ponies will start walking through solid walls like they're made of paper, Pegasi will start whipping together storms or destroying storms that are needed in an area, unicorns surge...I don't know about other races, but I would bet they have some sort of reaction to such things as well."

Max stared at her blankly as his brain belched an idea.

"How long does the water stay warm, anyway?"

"It will stay warm for a long time," Celestia explained, raising a hoof and staring at it. "I feel strange...a slight tingling in my hooves."

"Hah! The alicorn can't hold her liquor!" Maximus barked, slipping on the floor and bursting into laughter. "I think, I think it would be nice if you let the guys who went with us use the tub. Send them some booze too, to celebrate."

The alicorn giggled, grabbing him with her magic and lifting him back to his hooves. "An excellent idea. Glad I thought of it!"

Celestia wobbled over to the door, opening it and calling down the hall to someone Max couldn't see.

"I want you to go get several more casks from the cellar and place them in the bathing room. Then you are to tell Knight Lance and Knight Pike that those who participated in the expedition earlier are free to make use of my bathing room for the rest of the day."

"I bet that will make their day. Talk about a way to celebrate. Booze and a hot tub. Sounds awesome," Max chuckled. "You know what else sounds awesome? A nap."

"A nap sounds nice," Celestia mumbled before gasping at the stallion. "No, that's my blanket, give it to me!"

"It's soooo warm and fuzzy," the shape shifter groaned, rubbing it over his muzzle.

The alicorn tried to remove it from his grip but he kept changing the location he was holding it from. Growing increasingly frustrated, Celestia groaned.

"What do you want, changeling. What must I part with to be allowed ownership of my blanket?"

"Something equally fuzzy," he said with a smirk. He let go of the blanket, causing the mare to fall over with a shout of surprise and a giggle. Then he moved next to her, pressing against her side.

"You'll do. You can have your blanket now."

"The prices I pay," she muttered, dozing off even as the changeling's eyes drooped. Max grinned as he fell asleep. The white alicorn certainly tasted better like this.

<-(0)->

Luna found the Knights had already returned from their excursion when she returned. Looking about for them, a servingpony led her to her sister's bathing room, finding it currently occupied by almost 30 ponies, many of which seemed to have partaken in drink. She blushed as she spotted a pegasus stallion, missing a wing frighteningly enough, currently sandwiched between two mares. The mare on his back was nibbling his neck while the mare between his hooves...

'Oh, we must try that one,' Luna thought, mentally swapping in members of her own flock in the proper positions.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she approached a familiar pair of ponies, both currently engaged in a furious oral battle and smelling heavily of wine.

"Knight Lance, have you seen my sister?"

The ponies both squawked in fear, drawing a smirk of amusement from Luna even as she dismissed their bows with a hoof.

"Our sister, where did she go?"

"I...I think she went to bed. She'd been looking pretty exhausted for the whole trip back," Pike answered, blushing furiously.

"Excellent. And this little party, my sister gave you permission?"

"She had a few servingponies bring in some drinks and said those who went could use it. I was, I was wondering if after everyone's left for the night..."

"No Lance, we do not mind if you allow the rest of the knights access to the bathing room," Luna said with a tired smile. "No wine for them, however. The knights who just returned will be resting tomorrow, the rest will not be so lucky. We will not have ponies with hangovers guarding our keep. The same goes for the serving staff. And do be careful that you do not allow this room to become too crowded. Leave a maximum number of ponies who may use the room at once."

Raising her voice so that she could be heard over the chatter in the room, Luna continued.

"There are three rooms across the hallway that you may use for the night. We thank you for aiding our sister in her battle. Enjoy the comfort, my knights. Do not destroy the rooms and mayhap we shall make this a ritual."

Walking out the door and leaving the cheers behind her, Luna stepped up to the door beside the bathing room and knocked.

"Tia? Tia, are you alright? We have returned and wished to see you."

Crystal sniffed at the door.

"There's a pony in there, but they're not awake."

Nodding in thanks to the mare, Luna opened the door with her magic. She stared for a moment as she caught sight of the bed.

Max was sleeping on her sister's bed while Celestia slept right beside him, a wing holding him close to her side. Luna spotted a pink mark on her sister's cheek, likely from blood in her fur that didn't wash out properly. The stallion bore no visible wounds, but then again it was difficult to see anything on his chitin in the darkened room. The only real noticeable thing the blue alicorn noticed when walking in was the heavy scent of wine in the air, drawing her eyes to two discarded wine casks.

That was worrying. Celestia didn't drink for any reason Luna could think of. Maximus likely convincer her, but then the question became why?

Stepping closer, her eyes widened. It wasn't just one pink mark on her sister's cheek, the white mare was riddled with pink spots. Closer inspection of the changeling revealed two marks on his body as well, one being a furrow in his shell while the other...

'An arrow impact?'

"He's a changeling," Crystal muttered in awe, moving up beside Luna and placing a hoof on the stallion's muzzle. "Not a drone, big but doesn't look like a queen. I do not see any holes though...what is he?"

"We are uncertain. The form was given to him by Discord when the draconequus pulled him to this world. Something about his previous form reacting poorly to magic. It made sense considering he told us his world is either devoid of it or it's not something his race can access or knew about," Luna explained. "We had hoped that you could aid us in learning about him, however it seems we must stick to the title Viceroy for his kind for now."

"I...I was not allowed near mother's room," the changeling mare said softly. "It is possible there were males there but..."

"But you had neither access nor information on it. It is fine, Crystal. We shall learn about his kind through discovery," she assured the smaller mare. "For now, we will leave them to their rest. There is still a few hours before the sun must be set."

<-(0)->

Max woke up with a pounding headache once more. Lifting himself from the bed only caused more pain, so he just sat there limply while trying to remember why he'd woken up.

"Good evening, Maximus. A rough trip?" he heard a voice ask.

"Hello Luna," Max greeted in a mumble. "Yes, it sucked. No information on a forge and the town wasn't the one who filed the complaint. We lost two soldiers, I got sick due to...emotion poisoning, Flick called it. Your sister got shot up and panicked, so I drugged her. It was bad. Hopefully your time was better."

Max felt Celestia stirring, making the same doomed attempt to rise as he had earlier. She whined, grabbing her head in her hooves even as Luna beamed, blasting him with happiness. It perked him up a bit, but it seemed to be fighting something in his body. Strange...

"It was. We worked diligently with Redstreak throughout the day yesterday in an attempt to find suitable locations for the farms. Today we spent most of our time at the mine. We looked over the structures already in place and were able to learn much about tunneling thanks to somepony we wish to introduce to you.

Max blinked his eyes clear, focusing on Luna and the...was that a changeling? The large changeling sitting nervously beside her.

"Tia, Maximus, allow us to introduce Crystal Wish. Our tunnel expert and beta of our flock."

Max stare in dumbfounded confusion at the mares as his mind struggled to come to grips with what Luna had just announced. A burst of irritation to his side caused him to look to Celestia, the mare giving him an angry, groggy stare.

"This is your fault."

Dropping his head back on the bed, he sighed.

"I know."

Culture Clash Already? We Just Met!

"Excuse us?" Luna asked. She looked between Max and Celestia, shock and a bit of hurt flowing from her.

"No, that came out wrong. Come here Luna," the stallion said softly. Luna opened her mouth to object but closed it, hopping onto the bed between the two of them.

"We're just a bit shocked. Worried as well. When I first ended up here, Discord told you I'd be alone and that I would be from another place, somewhere very far away. You knew what it was like, I was scared of my new metabolism and alone and we latched onto each other. I don't... I won't say you did the wrong thing. Crystal looks like she needs help. But just...be careful okay?"

Celestia's jaw dropped.

"You're just going to-"

"I'm not going to complain about her doing something that saved my life. Especially when it looks like Crystal was in worse condition than I was," Max explained before turning to the blue alicorn. "Just, if you do something like this again in the future give me a bit more warning, okay Luna?"

"You're really okay with that?" Celestia balked, looking to the shrinking back changeling mare. "You don't know anything about her!"

"Luna placed her trust in me. I owe her a lot for that, returning the favor is the least I can do. It's my mission, remember? Keep my mare happy. If that means letting her build her flock, I'm not going to stop her."

Luna looked between Max and Celestia in confusion.

"I...I forgot, Max. You said humans were...I'm sorry, I-"

"No, don't worry about it," the stallion said, nuzzling her cheek. "I'll let you lead in this, my princess, because you and your sister are rulers and you said mares tend to lead families. Just don't be surprised if I push back. I'm both a predatory species and was raised in a patriarchal society."

"We do not mind some directed aggression every now and again. Your revenge was enjoyable," the blue alicorn giggled. "Crystal is...quiet. We do not foresee her attempting to assert herself over you."

"Well, if she does I'm sure I can have some fun with that," Max said, grinning at Crystal and causing her to squeak in fear.

"So much for not speaking of sex," Celestia growled at the stallion.

"I promised our talk with Luna later on will be free of sex. There were no such stipulations of everyday conversations, just the promise to try and reduce it."

Luna looked at her sister in confusion.

"You wished to speak with us about something?"

"Celestia and I both experienced our first bloody battle he other day," Max said before Celestia could answer. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to talk to us about it. What was it like, how did you react. How did you cope with it afterwards?"

"Yes. We would be honored that you chose to speak with us about such things. We promise to treat the conversation with respect," Luna said in an almost reverent tone. "Now come, Tia. Dinner is ready and then we will exchange the sun and moon."

"My dinner will be afterwards," Max added with a grin.

Celestia buried her face in her hooves, lighting her horn and shoving the stallion off the bed with a burst of magic.

"Huh. I believe our theory on like magic and emotion has been proven, Maximus," Luna called to him from the bed. "Tell us, Tia. Did you even notice that you just used magic on him with no additional effort?"

"But that would mean... You cur! You were feeding on us?! Return to us what is ours!" Celestia shouted, jumping over Luna to tackle Max.

"It wasn't, I was drunk! It doesn't hurt you!" Max shouted even as the princess caught up with him.

"You dare steal from us?" Celestia growled as she pulled him to the floor.

"Borrowed. Borrowed without permission. With every intention of returning it."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

The stallion grinned wickedly.

"Like this."

Max pulled her down in a hug and into a deep kiss. Celestia's anger fizzled into confusion and disgust at the contact but that changed a moment later.

Max took off running for the door, nearly breaking it down as the white mare choked and sputtered, gel dripping from her lips.

"Oh sun and stars, he-it's, I swallowed it, oh stars he just- ew ew ew!"

Luna burst into laughter even as her sister wiped her tongue off with her hooves, gagging and sputtering before rising to her hooves.

"Oh, we're most certainly going to feed him this time. We are going to feed him his own wings!"

Luna followed along sedately as her sister tore down the hallways of the keep in pursuit. Celestia was already swaying slightly as the gel made its effects known.

"You are not concerned that she will harm him?" Crystal asked from behind her.

"Nay, Tia is angry at the moment but she is impeded both by the gel and the fact that she doesn't hate him. You can taste the anger, but relationships are a bit more complicated than that. How was she feeling before his prank?" Luna asked, looking back to Crystal.

"She was angry, but before that she was...comfortable," Crystal said, thinking back to a few moments ago. "A little irritation but otherwise she was at ease. It is difficult to describe. It was positive though. Wouldn't her current anger damage that?"

"Ponies, and we are certain Max would tell you humans as well, fluctuate wildly in their emotions throughout the day. Happiness, anger and sorrow come and go. By teasing her like this, Maximus is claiming a connection to our sister. Most ponies are either submissive, some even lowering themselves to groveling and scraping at her hooves, or they denounce the two of us. We find his treatment of her as more akin to a brother. He teases her, but he does not wish her harm."

Luna cocked her head in thought.

"It's strange, is it not? That such anger would give way to affection? Our sister will be angry for a little while but it will pass. Only the silly memory of him teasing her shall remain and in time she may find it amusing as well."

"I do not believe I am capable of such interactions," Crystal said. "They are much too confusing."

Luna nodded understandingly.

"Give yourself some time. It is something all ponies learn to do, something we learn from others doing it to us. We do not expect you to understand right away, but you must keep in mind that just because a pony is causing you irritation does not mean they dislike you or wish you ill."

"I will attempt to do so," Crystal said, looking down a hallway they were passing by. "Are we not going to retrieve them?"

The blue alicorn shook her head.

"They shall make their own way to the dining room...perhaps they will have already made amends?"

<-(0)->

Max's head was still throbbing a bit but at least now he was laughing instead of in pain. He was holding on to a window ledge, Celestia having collapsed from the gel's influence but still having enough control to grab his right rear leg in her magic. The mare was struggling across the stone floor while pulling him closer so he grabbed the nearest structure he could. The mare's strength continued to diminish as time passed, so all he needed to do was wait.

"We will...we will hurt you..." Celestia growled, her eyes not having much focus any more. The magic around his back leg began to sputter a bit and the alicorn's crawling had devolved to writhing on the ground.

Letting go of his support and trotting around her, Max chuckled before poking her side.

"I don't think you're capable of that right now, Princess. How do you feel?"

"...fuzzy. The floor feels nice," she answered. Her movements had stopped and she stopped channeling magic. Running a hoof over the floor she sighed. "Why do you do this to me?"

"Because I find it funny. Because you get wound up but don't relax and have fun. Because as part of Luna's flock, her sister is my sister as well. I mean, I don't know how ponies do it, but humans call it a sister-in-law," Max explained. "That means I tease you and prank you. But that also means I watch your back and do what I can to keep you well."

"...like...the arrows?" Celestia asked quietly.

"Yes, like that. Now let's go get something to eat."

With that Max sat next to the alicorn, allowing her to pull herself to his back. She held on with her legs, her wings hanging to the floor.

"We'll get you back for this..." Celestia mumbled, reaching up and sticking her tongue in his ear.

"Ah, ergh, yuck and hooves don't fit in, ew!" Max squawked, dropping the alicorn in his flailing.

In spite of the fall Celestia was laughing at him.

He shook his head and rubbed a hoof against his ear, trying to remove the saliva but all he managed to do was smear it around inside his ear.

"Oh that's...wet willie's are horrific when you have hooves."

"Perhaps now you will be aware of our superiority," the white alicorn giggled.

"Says the mare who can't stand up straight...alright you had your revenge. Truce until after dinner?" Max offered, extending a hoof.

Celestia shook her head.

"Nay, our revenge is far from complete! The ponies shall tell tales of our crusade against you for eons to come."

"Fine, you can stay there," Max said, rising and moving down the hall. "I'm going to dinner."

"You shall become lost on the way~" the white mare called in a sing-song tone.

Max shook his head.

"Nope, I can smell Luna's affection from here. All I have to do is follow it."

"...Upon further reflection we find a truce to be in our best interest," Celestia called as he started walking away again.

"I could just walk away...but I'll accept the truce. Shake on it."

"Drat," the mare muttered as they shook hooves. "Luna always forgets to confirm the agreements."

With a bit of teamwork the two managed to restore Celestia to her position on the changeling's back.

"Alright, lets get some food," Max said as he took off, following his nose. "Water too. I've still got a bit of a headache."

<-(0)->

"See? What did we tell you. They found their own way here," Luna said to Crystal as Max walked in.

He'd received a few questioning stares along the way but otherwise was unmolested. Reaching a seat, he leaned down and allowed Celestia to slide off of his back and into her seat. She was still a bit wobbly but began eating as soon as she was stable.

"Hungry?," Luna asked. "Did you not eat well for lunch?"

Celestia grunted something through her meal before turning red in embarrassment. Swallowing her mouthful, she tried again.

"We were more interested in returning home. We had a very light lunch."

"And a light breakfast," Max piped in. "And a light dinner the night before, if I recall correctly. Don't really remember yesterday's lunch either."

The larger mare drooped slightly.

"We...had a conversation with Knight Lance before our journey. We were hoping for a non-violent way to end the threat but bandits are usually destroyed. To do otherwise would be a disservice to those they have harmed or killed."

"We understand," Luna said. "We too once planned to bring them back into the fold, hoped that there could be another way. The Knights were appalled by the idea. A few of them told us so, explained to us that to accept the criminals in such a way would only harm those we fought to defend. What pony wishes to live under a ruler who will not see them protected? Who shall not see those who wrong them brought to task for their crimes?"

"It feels cruel to not offer them a chance at redemption but it is cruel to the peasants to allow those who preyed upon them to return to society so easily. Anypony would be willing to ask forgiveness when faced with death. It i those who come to us of their own initiative we shall forgive, but even then they must work for their forgiveness. This is the rule we have adopted."

"Sometimes there are no good answers," Max said as he idly poked at his dinner. The food on his plate, not Luna.

"Mother did not suffer traitors. If anyling so much as questioned her they were publicly destroyed," Crystal said, drawing an inquisitive look from the other changeling.

"It is the only word we can think to describe it. Mother took great pleasure in dealing with traitors. Some of them... I question whether our clutch-mate, sub queen 16, was truly a traitor or Mother was merely bored."

"Ultimate power over a city or country, in the hands or hooves of someone cruel, can be a terrifying thing. Humanity experienced our own share of monsters masquerading as people," the stallion said. "Have ponies?"

Luna tapped her chin with a fork.

"We recall reading of a mare who was convinced drinking the blood of young colts would give her eternal life. Or was it a stallion drinking the blood of fillies?"

"Both variations of that story exist," Celestia cut in. "There were also tales of necromancers, ponies who bound the souls of those who perished into eternal servitude. To use magic in such a perverse way..."

"We had the idea of necromancers," Max said. "The closest thing we had to real necromancers we're those who studied dead bodies, though. Many early doctors and scientists ended up robbing graves for a corpse to study. We later adopted the idea of donating one's body to science, where medical students could learn from a preserved body by cutting it open and learning how everything is interconnected."

"Fear and speculation about what early doctors were doing with those bodies produced some interesting ideas though. The most notable scientific necromancer I can think of at the moment was from the story Frankenstein. One scientist had decided he would create life from death. Using his knowledge of the body and its functions he took many dead bodies and stitched them into one larger human. The size was important, I think something to do with how he was doing nerves but I don't remember...or maybe I'm just remembering the dick joke from the parody movie."

Luna giggled.

"What was the joke?"

Even as Celestia buried her face in her hooves, Max grinned.

"The scientist was conversing with his assistant about how everything would need to be scaled up for the creatures body, by I think it was a scale of two or three. Everything. The assistant then makes a comment that his... I think the word she used was braughshweigen or something -it was a made up word- would be enormous."

Luna burst into a fresh fit of giggles before turning decidedly green.

"It would also be, oh stars we are unable to clear it from our mind!"

Celestia smirked at that.

"It serves you right, inquiring about inappropriate jokes during dinner."

"Aw man, I've got all of these jokes but none of you have the information necessary to understand them," Max complained, wracking his brain for a decent joke. "Chemistry, that one's an English joke, oh this sucks."

"You could tell them anyway and explain them," Luna suggested.

"Nah, explaining a joke's like dissecting a frog. You learn how it works but the joke dies in the process."

Celestia snorted, choking on her water and pounding her chest while coughing.

"Huh...so that one still works."

Crystal poked at the plate before her, uncertain what to do with it.

"What about...I'm sorry, I shouldn't..."

"Go ahead, Crystal. You are a part of this conversation as well," Luna encouraged, hoping to get the smaller mare to open up a little.

"I remember hearing ponies telling riddles. I found them enjoyable. Do you know any?"

"We love riddles, actually," Celestia said, smiling at the topic. "We know a few, would you like to hear them?"

Crystal nodded, as did Luna and Max.

"Let's see, no door or lock, but a golden treasure resides inside. What am I?"

"Luna." Max called as the blue alicorn opened her mouth. "Quiet, give Crystal a chance to figure it out."

Crystal's face scrunched up in concentration. She began pouring over the information studiously, trying to figure out the answer but seemed unable to discover it.

As she began to shake her head in defeat, Max was struck by a disturbing idea.

"Hey Crystal, do changelings lay eggs?"

"Yes. Usually it is the queen, but drones can be altered to produce eggs if one uses enough energy. Many changes can be made with enough energy. Some changes will take several molts to fully take effect, but it is possible to alter the form of a changeling," the quiet mare said. "Why?"

"Because this riddle may not work for changelings," Luna said, her eyes widening in realization. "Do you know what a chicken is?"

"Those noisy birds that some ponies keep," Crystal growled in irritation. "They're messy and loud, I do not know why ponies keep them."

"The eggs," Celestia answered, oblivious to the context. "They're quite useful, used in a variety baked goods. They keep bread and cakes from falling apart."

"Ponies eat..." the changeling mare trailed off, her eyes going to the food with horror.

Max saw her start to heave and called out to her.

"Stop, Crystal. It's not the same. The eggs they use will never hatch. The birds lay them all the time. Do queens lay eggs that won't hatch?"

Even as Celestia's eyes bulged as the issue became clear to her, Crystal shook her head.

"I do not remember hearing of such a thing. Mother always had a clutch or five in the nursery but we do not recall ever hearing about eggs that would not hatch...was this made with..."

"The bread likely was, so you don't have to eat it," Luna said, feeling awkward about the whole situation. "Do you not enjoy eating meals? You have not touched anything yet anyways."

"I do not see the point. It does not nourish me. Why would I eat it? And now I find that you used..." the mare trailed off with a shudder.

"For one it calms the ponies around you. It would also help you blend in while in disguise," Max explained, taking another bite of his vegetable mix. "Ponies are used to seeing those around them eat, so it can be disquieting to see someone who never seems to eat. It also can be interesting. There are hundreds of foods out there and they can be prepared in thousands of ways. The flavors alone are worth it.

"Let's talk potatoes for instance. You can just throw them over a fire, baking them. You can boil them in water, making them softer and then mash them into a fluffy mush that can then be seasoned as you like. You can cut them into strips and fry them in oil, something I really need to show you guys. French fries are awesome. Then you can slice them into thin discs and either fry them for chips or use them in a dish with other things. Scalloped potatoes and ham was a pretty good meal, though I do wonder if pigs are sapient here. No more bacon in that case."

Luna smiled at Max's pouting before turning back to Crystal.

"Consuming the product of another creature is of no great concern to ponies. In truth, all ponies do this. We spend the first few months of our lives dependent on the milk produced by our mothers."

"Don't think about it too hard for now, Crystal. It's a culture difference," Max assured the mare. "I was a mammal not too long ago, so the thought of eating eggs doesn't bother me. We can show you a chicken egg later, I'm sure it looks nothing like a changeling egg. Even if it was, I don't think anyone here would consider changeling eggs as food. I'm not a big fan of eating anything that's sapient."

The group fell into silence as they continued their meal, Luna putting a reassuring wing over Crystal's back. The changeling pressed closer to Luna in response before turning to Celestia.

"So what was the answer to that riddle?"

<-(0)->

"Okay, so how are we going to do this?" Max asked, sitting on the bed in Luna's, or as it had now been claimed, the room for Luna's flock.

Luna smiled.

"Traditionally the greater number surround the lesser. In this case, the mare's sleep on either side of the stallion."

"Ah, but I think both of us are going to want to sleep next to you," Max countered. "You're warm and you produce love even in your sleep. I think Crystal and I are going to want our heater."

Crystal nodded in agreement with Max before looking to the alicorn with a bit of uncertainty.

"I will follow whatever you deem preferable."

"We are asking for your opinion, Crystal. There is no need to fear reprisal for disagreeing with us on sleep arrangements. We also understand your reasoning. Very well, we shall be center. Now then, what shall we do tonight?"

The stallion opened his mouth to make a suggestion when there was a knock at the door.

"Luna?" Celestia called, opening the door a crack. "Oh, if you are all, we apologize. We shall leave."

"Come in Tia. Nothing untoward was occurring...yet," the mare said, adding the last bit under her breath. "What do you require?"

Celestia shifted uncomfortably, her gaze drifting from one changeling to the other.

"We were wondering...we were wondering if we may stay together once more tonight."

"I don't mind," Max said with a shrug.

Luna looked to Crystal for a moment before shaking her head, knowing the changeling mare wouldn't offer an opinion. It would be something to work on in the future, bringing the changeling out of her-

'Oh dear, that saying just doesn't work with changelings.' "Very well, come here. We'll all sleep here tonight."

Crystal looked at the white mare with worry.

"How are we supposed to feed when she is here?"

"There are other ways to draw affection from ponies," Max said. As Celestia jumped onto the bed he gave the larger alicorn a push, causing her to rest on her side in confusion before he began to run a hoof up and down her left foreleg. Having done his exploration, he began to rub the leg in slow circular motions.

"I'm not an expert, but I think I can manage something. Crystal, I want you to do your best to copy my motions on Luna."

"What are you doing? We don't need you...oh wow..." Celestia trailed off as his motions brought him to her shoulder.

Max grinned.

"I'd use venom to increase how much you were relaxing, but then you wouldn't feel this. I've always enjoyed how it felt. Had a massage or two before this whole fiasco. Just say something if it starts to hurt. Crystal, don't be afraid of using a bit of force. Luna will tell you if something hurts."

"Do not fear for us, Crystal. It feels nice," Luna encouraged. "Try putting a bit more force...yes, like that."

Max moved behind Celestia, waiting until Crystal had mimicked the action. As he began to work on her rear leg he looked to the white alicorn.

"If you feel uncomfortable with the contact, say so."

Celestia watched him carefully, the contentment and enjoyment she was feeling starting to shift into discomfort. Max slowed just shy of her flank and moved away, motioning for her to flip over and allow him to work on her other side.

"Why did you stop?" Luna asked, looking from Crystal to Max. "Max, why did you stop the massage there?"

"Because your sister didn't feel comfortable with it," Max answered, slowly working his way up Celestia's right side. "After this I want you to sit on your stomach. It's going to be a bit weird and I'm not touching the wings until I learn more about them, but the neck...actually I should probably just have you stay on your side for that. Your neck sits differently from a humans...and Tia, next time say something. It made you uncomfortable, so why didn't you tell me to stop?"

"We did not wish for it to stop. We also know Luna would have wanted to experience it," Celestia answered. Her discomfort was shifting to a bit of shame at taking such a thing from Luna.

"It's about you though. I told you that. I can always go back to Luna when we're done, or Crystal can try to do it on her own," Max explained as he worked on her side. "This is about helping you two relax a bit. I don't think you could return it, I mean it would be kind of hard to rub through chitin."

"Perhaps...we have an idea," Luna said as Crystal continued to mimic the stallions actions. Pushing Crystal back a bit Luna rose and hopped off the bed, walking out the door with a smirk on her face. She returned a few moments later with a bucket of steaming water and several washcloths.

"You still enjoy hot baths, do you not? Then let us see how this works."

Luna jumped back on the bed, pushing the changeling mare to the matress before taking a cloth, wetting it, wringing it out a bit, and moving it over the changeling's shell.

Crystal let out a strange, purring mewl at the contact causing Max to raise an eyebrow. "Does it really feel that good?"

Luna giggled as the mare below her turned into pudding.

"Tia can show you when you finish with her. After all, she should return the attention."

Max continued to work on the alicorn for several more minutes, painstakingly going over every part of her the two felt comfortable with. With a sign of irritation, Celestia rose to her hooves in a shaky manner and walked over to the bucket. It was time to play her part.

"More enjoyable than you thought?" Max asked the sleepy alicorn, receiving a nod in answer.

Celestia nodded, moving towards him and folding the cloth in half.

"Yes. You said you had ponies who do that where you are from?"

"Massage therapists or masseuses, most put a lot of effort into getting their licenses. I think it was a year or two of schooling," Max explained, sighing as the cloth began to run over his shell.

"That's awesome, actually. I wasn't sure how it would feel."

"Crystal is quite fond of it. We believe she's fallen asleep," Luna said.

Max looked over and saw the changeling sleeping on her back, completely limp as Luna ran the cloth over the changeling's shell.

"Looks like it. Glad we have a way to get her to relax. She seems very wound up."

"We are certain she can be taught to calm down. She has been through quite a bit. It shall be interesting to see how she adjusts," Luna added with a faint smile.

Max nodded in agreement, his eyes drifting closed as the warm sensation flowed over his shell. It was an alien sensation but it just felt so nice. In fact at this rate he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up falling...

"Two for two," Luna giggled, hearing the stallion beginning to softly snore. Celestia continued to mindlessly move the cloth over the changeling for a few moments more before Luna poked her.

"Come now, Tia. It wasn't as bad as you thought, was it? He treats you as family. It's nice to have another pony we can trust."

"It is only, we feel strange about the whole affair. Isn't such bonding for families? Like herds and flocks?" the larger alicorn asked dubiously.

"You are a part of the family, Tia. It is only a different kind of relation. We remember having a large family, and sometimes the sons and daughters would remain with the family for years. They would sleep and mate in a different room, but everypony bathed together. It is a form of bonding.

"He even avoided touching your flank when you wished for him not to," Luna added with a grin. "He likes you. Not in the way he likes us, but he enjoys being with you. We have no doubt he would gladly go with you if you asked him to accompany you on another task."

Celestia stared at the sleeping changelings, worrying her lip.

"We will accept that the stallion is...truthful in his words of his mission. We are reserving our judgment of Crystal for now. She is strange."

"We believe she was bred for war. What she spoke of, her mother was cruel. She saw the changelings as tools for her use instead of individuals. We hope to change Crystal's perceptions of self. To see her acknowledge that she has value and purpose, that her value and purpose is not reliant on a mare who saw her as disposable."

"But that is for a later time. It is getting late," Luna added with a yawn.

"Agreed, we-"Celestia herself was cut off with a yawn, "-Tartarus, we hate when you do that. Good night, Luna."

The mare's relaxed on the bed, Luna with a wing draped over Crystal and pulling the smaller mare to her side. Her flock would have time in the morning. Her older sister needed the sense of safety a flock provided after her experience.

Author's Note

I'm coining the phrase "Momma-birding"

Don't Teleport on a Full Stomach

It was some time after sunrise when Max finally woke up. Odd, but not too bad. He was never a morning person before all of this crap anyway. He sighed. Luna and Celestia had both woken up already and done their duty. He'd woken up when they moved, so he knew they were gone. That just left him with the new mare.

Who was strangely warm.

Blinking fully awake he turned to see that the body pressed against his back wasn't a black shell but white fur.

'She went back to bed?'

Not that he blamed her. The two of them were exhausted after the trip. He still had to check on the other changelings, Flick and...he never did learn the guy's name, actually.

'Wonder how Luna and Crystal Wish would react to that. That changeling...she's so wierd, so passive and accepting of Luna's commands. It's scary to think what would happen to her if Chrissie was left...no way.'

Max bolted upright, jolting the alicorn awake.

"Holy fuck!"

"What in Tartarus are you going on about?" Celestia asked sleepily.

"There was a wedding in the story and a changeling replaced the bride," Max said, his panic quickly waking him up. "She used the groom's love to power herself up and was almost successful in taking over the country. She was called Queen Chrysalis in most stories, though I remember there being an issue of her never saying her actual name."

"And?" Celestia trailed off irritably.

"Luna just found a changeling that was raised to be a military leader who wants to be called Crystal Wish. This is a storybook kind of place, coincidences don't exist."

"You believe the mare to be a threat?" Celestia said, having woken up at the mention of an attack.

"Crystal? God no, at least not with Luna around. The mare won't sneeze without Luna's permission.

"That wedding occurred in the story. It happened a while after Luna's return, over one thousand years in the future. But that's the issue. You heard what Cris was saying her mother did right? If Luna didn't keep that emotion in her room, Crystal would have never approached her. That changeling would have continued to wander around half-starved for years. Hell, I don't even know how long changelings live; it could be her or it could be her many-greats grand daughter. Either way this opens the door. There won't be an invasion because the changelings are known. Not only are they known but some accept them. Not all, but as foals grow up knowing about them and seeing them they become normal. After a few generations a pony may think nothing about buying bread from a changeling or even working beside them.

"That's what changed, princess. Another future event was just torn apart. We'll get to the point soon enough where the story that I know will be a mess. Heck, we may already be there. With Luna stabilizing, you two may not lose your connection to the Elements. The destinies of the new bearers would change, if they're even born or recognizable at that point, and Discord...Discord doesn't feature in this story much anymore I guess. Huh, the more I think about this the more confused I get."

Celestia stared at him for a breathe as she tried to make sense of his words. Something about long-term changes, the destinies of future ponies being changed...then he lost her. He was right about Crystal though. The changeling mare was acting more akin to a servingmare or servant than a herd or flock-member. But if Luna hadn't caught the sub-queen, what would have become of her? Her mind was very much focused on order and military ideals, total devotion and discipline, dedication to your cause. What would she have been like if left to her own devices for a million years?

"She...yes, we could see her leading an army. You say this will not occur now because Luna has taken her in?"

"I don't see it happening," Max said, shaking his head. "She's totally loyal to your sister right now. She wouldn't even question our sleeping arrangements when we were discussing term last night."

Celestia made a face and Max laughed.

"Nothing inappropriate. We were discussing who slept next to whom. Luna wanted the mares around the stallion, I suggested the changelings around the alicorn. She's warm and produces a bit of love while she sleeps. Crystal and I would both want to sleep by her. That and I don't think Crystal really cares for me. Maybe she thinks I'm competition for Luna's affection."

"Are you?"

"No...at least I don't think so. I might be wrong about my understanding of how emotions work, but then again Crystal admits that she was raised as a military leader. She may not know either. In that case she's treating emotions as something that must be rationed. If that's the case what I did to you yesterday would be considered a waste, something that in some cases is a grievous offense."

The alicorn scowled at the memory but Max continued.

"For me it was an investment. I use some emotion now to build up our relationship. I think that the more people tweak your emotions, the more powerful a shift you experience because of their actions, the stronger you feel about them. It's why Luna, who went from lonely and receiving no emotional alterations for a while, became so attached to someone who gave her attention. You deal with ponies all the time though.

"Crystal doesn't see that kind of give and take. For her emotions are static. It's why when I approached Luna, she looks at me like I'm stealing her dinner. On the other hand she won't say anything if Luna approaches me because she won't question your sisters actions."

"So you believe she may be becoming aggressive or possessive of Luna?"

"A little. She's still weak and knows it, but if you're starving and someone is threatening to take away the only food you have..."

Celestia sighed

"Then she will react badly. Wonderful. What do you propose?"

"I'll be talking to Luna about officially assigning ranks for now. The sub-queen, I think that what she referred to herself as, sees Luna as her ruler or over-queen but I'm unranked so she'll likely see me as beneath her at best, as an intruder at worst. After that, we teach her relationships. Teach her how to draw affection instead of just accepting what Luna's giving her."

"What do you mean by drawing affection?" the alicorn asked, rising from the bed and stretching.

"When you think of someone being affectionate, it involves physical contact. Kissing, hugging, leaning against someone. Crystal sticks to Luna, but it's-"

"It's more that the mare is putting Luna between herself and those around her. That's strange though. Should not a creature that lives on affection be aware of how to draw it?"

"Not if she wasn't expected to gather for the rest of the changelings. It's completely normal for people back home to use vehicles and energy and not know how they work. If her focus was on military things..."

Celestia nodded.

"A logical leap. If she wasn't expected to harvest emotion but was always supplied with the gel then she could be uneducated about emotions and how to invoke them.

"Actually now that we ponder this issue, her lack of education would leave her dependent on the harvesters, which her mother controlled. The harvesters were dependent on the soldiers and the soldiers were dependent on the harvesters, with neither side having the information to survive on their own. If the two groups were unwilling or unable to work together without the queen's say-so..."

"Then we may have a complication if she runs into those other 'lings. Wonderful. I love it when a tyrannical ruler screws up a group of people so much they don't know what to do with themselves without her," Max groused. He started rubbing his temples in frustration but stopped as a tingle ran over his shell.

"We seem to be able to get a grip on you again," Celestia said with a mix of irritation and anticipation. "We are curious how this will work."

With a flash of the alicorn's horn, everything twisted in on itself.

Celestia smirked as she landed form the teleport, hearing the changeling impact the floor a few paces away. A servingstallion had just walked in to take her order when she heard a gagging noise from behind her.

Turning to the noise, she watched as the changeling stumbled from the teleport and fell, wretching horribly as the vertigo struck him. With another heave, he vomited a large mess of green and white gel, the adhesive and emotion both being ejected from his stomachs.

Celestia quickly approached, moving him away from the mess and using her forelegs to hold him against the floor.

"Max, stop moving. It's vertigo. It will pass shortly. The more you attempt to stand up, the worse it will become."

The stallion stopped trying to move, relaxing slightly even as his eyes rolled a bit. He closed his eyes after a moment, trying to avoid the spinning but gagged and opened them again, the lack of vision only making it worse.

"Oh Luna's going to strangle us..." the alicorn muttered as she rubbed a hoof over the stallion's back.

<-(0)->

"...all the stupid, irresponsible things you have done in the past, this is- do you not remember the warnings on the teleport spell? Only bring others in the matter of life and death situations. The spell was never designed for multiple ponies to be teleported at once!" Luna barked, pacing back and forth in her bedroom.

After nearly breaking down the door in her haste to find out why Celestia had teleported, she'd been livid to find the stallion suffering from the effects of a bad teleport. She'd instantly carried him to her room and set him on the bed and then proceeded to tear the white alicorn a new one.

"It was a mistake, Luna," Max said, trying to be diplomatic. "I'm already feeling better. She-"

"She did this either with the intent of making you ill or out of carelessness, Max, and in either situation she could have injured you. If something had caused her to lose her grip on you, something that's very possible with your resistance to magic, you could have ended up in three different pieces scattered along her path. Teleporting is dangerous, even for the strongest unicorns and while Tia and ourself can quickly heal most of that damage, you are not so lucky. You still have those furrows in your shell while our sister no longer even has scars. You could have been killed!"

Max winced, both at the feeling of Luna's burning anger, thankfully not directed at him, and the bitter feeling of contrition from the white alicorn.

"I forgave her, Luna. I'd also rather have her make the mistake with me than with a pony. They won't say anything to her, so she wouldn't be here right now getting this reminder. If she started doing this often and made a mistake, she'd likely never try to teleport with anyone again, even in a bad situation."

Turning to Celestia, he gave her a strained smile.

"Just try to remember this incident the next time you get the idea in your head, okay? Maybe once I know more about magic we can work out a safe group teleport, or just smooth out the one you're using so it doesn't hurt others. Heck, you can check out how to stabilize it better in your free time. You don't have to worry about losing the information anymore, so write it down, study, do whatever you need to in order to make teleporting safer."

Celestia nodded as she walked out of the room, though her wings were still sagging. Max only hoped she didn't take this too hard and forgave herself. Mistakes happened and he certainly wasn't going to hold it against her.

Luna closed the door after the white mare left, taking a breath to clear her thoughts.

"Now that Tia is gone, we're going to-"

"Talk about where we all stand and what a family is," Max cut in, earning a look of surprise from Luna and a glare from Crystal.

"Think about it Luna, what's her definition of family? She always says mother as if it's a position, not a title. Her mother was her queen, not a loving figure like the two of us think of when the word is used. I can only assume her understanding of family is even more removed from our own.

Seeing the confusion etched across the alicorn's face he smiled, shaking his head.

"I look like her, Luna. But I was born and raised a mammal. My ideas of what a family should be is closer to your definition than Crystal's."

Luna nodded, turning to Crystal and catching the mare glaring a hole into Max's head.

"Crystal, you have something to say?"

The changeling mare yelped in fear, turning to face Luna while shaking her head quickly. Luna and Max both rolled their eyes at that.

"Crystal, tell us...explain to Maximus and ourself why you are angry," Luna ordered, jumping up onto the bed beside the stallion. When the changeling began to shrink away from Luna she shook her head and ignited her horn, lifting the mare and setting her between the two of them.

"This is no hive, Crystal. Neither of us shall exclude you for speaking against what we say. We just ask that you keep arguments away from the public eye. To the ponies we rule, we would prefer to have our flock's support."

"That means trying to hold off arguments until it's just the three of us," Max explained. "Celestia is fine as well, she's someone you can speak your mind to freely in private. Now what is bothering you?"

"He, that...thing and the white one, they both speak to you as an equal," Crystal said to Luna. "You are the alpha. You rule, they should not be speaking to you that way."

Luna cocked her head in thought.

"Celestia is a co-ruler. We are both of equal power in this town we have started. The two of us have been together for many years now and we, trust each other. We've had our disagreements but we are working to resolve them. As for Maximus, he has been supporting us in our time of self-doubt. Why do you speak so hatefully of him?"

"He is not changeling. He is...he is strange. He looks like a changeling, speaks like one, smells like one, even feels like one. But he is not a changeling," Crystal said with slowly building confidence.

"You are correct. His being a changeling is the work of Discord. Maximus was not even from this world by birth. Discord found him, changed Max's form and left him in the gardens where he would either befriend somepony for energy or die. We both needed each other, so we did our best to ensure each other's health. The love you consumed the other night was our love, but it was Maximus who stored it."

"It was sloppy. Different emotions mixed together, love and other things," Crystal sniffed.

"Then show me how to do better," Max said, bumping her with a shoulder. "Luna's right there, after we're done talking, show me how to separate it properly."

Crystal blanched, shrinking in on herself slightly when Luna turned to her expectantly.

"Could you teach him, Crystal?" Luna asked.

The mare whimpered in embarrassment.

"I...I don't know how to."

"You don't? How do you not know how to deal with emotion?" Luna asked in shock.

"I never had to deal with it!" she blurted out. "The harvesters took care of the food, the army took care of the conquests. It was simple, if the number of food-ponies ran low, we took a town. The harvesters took care of the food-ponies and gave the army the food they needed. If we were running low on food it was because someling messed up. Either the harvesters didn't pull enough energy from the food-ponies or the warriors didn't collect enough of them.

"I wasn't expected to know how to do this, I was just in charge of the warrior drones! I'm sorry, I don't know how to do it, please don't exile me! I'll learn how to do it, just give me some time!" the sub-queen finished, ducking into the bed with her hooves over her head while sobbing in terror.

Luna shared a look of confusion with the stallion before they closed in on her, pressing reassuringly against the smaller mare's sides.

"We will do no such thing, Crystal. We shall learn what we can through experimentation if we need to."

"Yup," Max said, nodding. "Luna and I have learned a lot about changelings just by observing my new form and how my body works. The adhesive gel changelings turn all food into, the fact that I can store emotions in a gel-like form, we even learned that ponies can consume the gel to restore their magic."

"You wasted more food?" the changeling yelled in shock before covering her mouth with her hooves.

Max shook his head.

"It's not a waste. It's working with ponies. I don't need a harvester to grab the love from Luna, I can do that myself. And is it truly a waste when using it like this causes the ponies to generate more emotion for you? To have better attitudes about changelings and what you can do for them? When you were walking around with Luna, what did you feel from the ponies living here? Compared to anywhere else, what did you feel?"

Crystal worried a lip, thinking over her stay so far.

"They taste...curious. A bit of fear but it's not as prevalent as it normally is. The soldier ponies, they didn't seem to fear me much at all. Some even felt happy for a moment before it twisted to confusion and embarrassment."

"Maximus went with them on the latest expedition. Many of them hold a bit more respect for him now, as he not only aided them in finding another changeling that directed them to the camp, but watched for ambushes on the way to the camp," Luna explained with a smile. Turning to Max, she reached over Crystal and brushed a wing against his side.

"The knights were speaking of you. They were speaking of the fool who stood between the bandits and their prisoners, taking several arrows before other ponies could remove the threat. Many are uncertain if you stood there purposely to protect the prisoners or because you froze up. I'd put my crown on the latter," Luna finished with a grin.

Having been brought back to the topic of the raid, Luna sparked with hope.

"Crystal, do you know of a way to heal Maximus' eye? The second eyelid was damaged in the fight."

The sub-queen looked at him questioningly for a moment before nodding.

"Most injuries can be healed by submerging the injury in love. If it was a very powerful or intelligent sub-queen, Mother would heal them. I do not believe anything else was really needed, though I may be wrong. I was never told anything more than how to fight."

A smile bloomed on Luna's face at the admittance.

"In that case, pay attention Crystal. We shall teach you how to survive without your queen. For starters, those in this room right now are your family. We three are to support each other, to aid the others in any way we are capable. There is no reason to fear retaliation for speaking your mind or asking questions. Protect your family and we shall protect you. As you are currently weak from malnourishment, we shall protect you from harm."

"That means showing and accepting weakness," Max added. "If you see that one of your family members is not running at full power, do what you can to help them. If you are not feeling well, let us know. We aren't going to hurt you if you show weakness, in fact in this setting we encourage it. I'm clueless when it comes to changeling biology, but Luna has helped me survive this long."

"And we were lonely, we felt as though nopony was truly giving us the attention we felt we deserved. We attempted to bring it up with Tia but she allowed herself to be distracted by her duties. Not only was Maximus somepony we could freely talk to, he thanked us every opportunity he had, he spoke of how much he loved what we did for him, he was...he said what we'd been wanting to hear for the last few years...that we were needed and loved."

Crystal perked up at the last word and turned to the stallion.

"You know how to give love? Are you able to give it to me?"

"It's not like that, Crystal," Max said with a shake of his head. "Ponies can't taste emotions so they use actions and gestures to display affection and emotions. It's why we're holding you close right now. This kind of proximity is only used in families. What's a family to you, Crystal?"

"A family...that's, it's another word I've heard used for the hive, the spies and harvesters used the term. It was a large group of changelings working to a similar goal under a single leader," she answered.

"I believe the idea of a group working for a similar goal is the only thing our definitions have in common," Luna said with a giggle. "While I am the alpha of the flock, I am not the unquestioned authority. The two of you are allowed your own ideas, your own thoughts and goals. That is why I do not take insult if Max disagrees with me, nor shall I take insult if you disagree. In fact, we want you to disagree, Crystal. We want to learn about you, to learn what you like and what you do not like."

"The more you speak with someone, the stronger their thoughts on you. The stronger their thoughts on you, the more emotion you receive," Max said. "You saw how strong Celestia felt about me as she left, right? It was stronger than before we went to bed the other day, stronger than before the meal we shared. The more you interact with Luna, the more you'll receive. It's give and take."

Luna nodded in agreement. Rising and moving around Crystal, she walked over Max and began running her teeth over the stallion's neck.

"And now it's time to show the full extent of that relationship, Maximus. We will give you love, and you will give us pleasure."

"One more thing, Luna," he interrupted. "Crystal, you said changelings lay eggs, right? As a...a sub-queen, are you capable of laying eggs?"

"No. It was neither my duty nor my privilege to be a clutch-bearer."

The male nodded.

"You said changelings could alter themselves or each other if there's enough love, though. Could you become a fertile queen?"

"I can't. I was never allowed..." she trailed off, a strange look coming over her.

"I...would you allow me to become a clutch-queen?" she asked Luna.

Luna stopped in her nibbling at that question. She'd become hopeful for a moment before Crystal had said she was infertile, then perked up again when Max had reminded them of a changeling's ability to alter themselves. Now her emotions were blooming with anticipation and hope. Max held back a smile, the alicorn was barely holding back her demands that the smaller changeling do so.

"If you would like to," Luna said instead.

Crystal's own face had twisted in thought before shifting to longing.

"I...I would want nothing more..." the mare hiccupped, tears of joy falling from her eyes.

"Until we discover if your mother survived Discord's attack or if any other egg-producing queen survived your Mother's call to supply her with energy, we should assume that you are the only viable queen at the moment. Thus we believe that it would not only be something you wish to do, but your duty to your species to keep them going, do you agree?" Luna said, though Max could tell the mare was enjoying the prospect more than she had a right to. It actually left him curious as to why she was so excited.

Crystal nodded in agreement and Luna smiled.

"Excellent. Unless you have any other things to bring up, shall we proceed to the main event?"

"Only other question would be if Crystal knows what she's getting into," Max chuckled. "You did this to her the night you found her?"

Crystal's ears perked up and Luna nodded vigorously.

"We remembered it was how you first drew emotions from us, so we attempted to feed her in the same way. She was less clumsy but much weaker than you and fell unconscious after our first climax. We are uncertain if she was even aware of her own. In either case, we may show her the proper method first. Agreed?"

Max shook his head while smiling as Luna hopped off of his back and made her way to the middle of the bed. The mare hitched her tail up and lowered her lower body, leaving herself on display as she wiggled her butt at them.

"I want you to pay attention not just to what Luna's feeling, but to what we're doing. This is only a small part of drawing more love from her. I've been building this relationship longer, so don't be surprised if you don't get as much emotion as I do," Max explained to the smaller mare as he approached Luna's position.

"If she is still in need of more, you could always share," Luna giggled. "We seem to recall that your seed bears a large quantity of emotion."

The stallion nodded as he ran a hoof along the blue mare's flanks.

"I suppose that could work, but only if she's comfortable with it. Otherwise I can share with the gel."

Luna shivered in anticipation as the male began to run his hooves over her flanks.

"Ooh, only a few days and already we missed this."

"I can tell," Max said, smiling. "You're already getting excited."

Cocking his head in thought as he ran his hooves over the alicorn's rump, he turned around and looked to the other changeling. It was strange to him, having a third in on this activity but if she was going to be here...he waved Crystal closer.

"I was going to not worry about you, but I'll be nice. What do you remember of your night with Luna?"

"Not much. I was very hungry, then I was eating a very potent mixture of love and lust. A pony spotted me and I panicked, but couldn't walk straight, let alone escape. After a while, she offered me more in a cup, then offered me more in a...kiss. It was very strange. I've not often tasted it so fresh, only what I've had to pull from ponies to survive these last few months."

"Well pay attention and we'll all get something out of this. Luna here wants us to make her feel really good, so that's what we're going to do. And if she's good, I may enjoy a drink or two," he said, directing the last part to the blue mare.

Crystal's ears perked at the sudden burst of emotion the phrase triggered.

"How...?"

"It's something Luna likes. She thinks it's very exciting when someone drinks from her. See, she's already starting to leak a little," he chuckled, pointing to the drop of cum as it dribbled down the alicorn's lips. He caught it on his hoof and licked it off, making certain Luna was watching as he did so.

"Now watch this."

Max ran his tongue along the mare's flank, tracing just outside of her vaginal lips and drawing a needy moan from his victim. Luna's emotions lit up at both the contact and the promise such an action made.

"She becomes more and more sensitive as you tease her, to the point that you don't even need to actually touch anything, just get close. Now do you remember what Luna made you do last time?"

"I remember I was licking around and inside of this part," she answered while pointing to the larger mare's nethers. "I also remember there were...places inside of her. Places that she reacted to when I touched them with my tongue."
Pointing with a hoof, Crystal gestured to the blue mare's puckered hole.
"What about that one?"

"We don't have the right stuff to use that one, we already tried and it ended up being more frustrating than anything."
Max moved forward flicking his tongue over Luna's lower lips once more before noticing Crystal was moving closer. Backing up, he gestured to Luna's flank and the smaller mare dove in, driving her muzzle into the alicorn with abandon.

Luna squawked at the sudden aggression and Max snickered.

"I think she's still hungry, Luna."

Curious, Max moved beside the smaller shape shifter and inserted his own tongue, leaving Luna gasping as two changeling tongues began to writhe inside of her.

His ears perked as Luna began shouting into her pillows, the dark alicorn's legs beginning to shake as the pleasure continued to assault her mind. Pulling back and smacking his lips he pulled Crystal back as well. The mare resisted a bit, but eventually allowed herself to be parted from Luna. To his surprise the changeling was already suffering from too much lust, her eyes glowing a faint red as she swayed unsteadily on her hooves. Grinning in anticipation, he mounted the alicorn, rubbing himself against her. With no warning he thrust forward, drawing a shout of pleasure from the mare below him.

"She's already drunk," he grunted into Luna's ear, nipping it lightly. "She can barely stand."

Luna grunted as he gave a hearty thrust, nodding as she caught sight of the stumbling mare.

"Ngh, warn-hah, warn us before you climax. We wish to...we need to do something."

He nodded, gripping his forelegs around her tightly to steady himself before beginning to thrust into her with abandon. She mewled, burning with lust and love at the sensations and clenching around him. It was almost too much, and he barely managed to grunt out a warning before her warm grip finished him off.

"Luna, I'm gonna-"

A quick burst of magic pushed him back onto his flanks, his sex-driven daze leaving him confused. Luna whirled around, or at least tried to. She stumbled a bit as one of her legs wobbled but she quickly caught herself. Max stared in confusion as she reached over to Crystal and grabbed the mare, pulling her closer to him. Luna put the mare's muzzle to his shaft and said one word.

"Swallow."

The sub-queen obediently took the organ in her mouth and swallowed, the tight confines nearly setting off his orgasm. As she began to taste the emotion saturating the pre-ejaculate, her enthusiasm skyrocketed and she began to suck and swallow rapidly in an attempt to coax more from the source. Max groaned, using his forelegs to pull her farther down his shaft. The changeling mare allowed it and soon was pushing herself closer to his body without encouragement, taking his full length into her throat and swallowing loudly. Buried impossibly deep in the smaller mare's throat, his hips jerked forward as he peaked.

Spurt after spurt launched from his body, his hips rocking slightly against the sub-queen's muzzle as he rode out his orgasm. She took it all, not letting a single drop escape her. After a few more shuddering thrusts, he swayed unsteadily as the pleasure continued to build.

Crystal was still swallowing with his dick deep inside her throat. She apparently wasn't interested in stopping anytime soon.

Luna watched with a wide grin as the stallion started sagging, falling onto his back even as his eyes rolled back in his head. Crystal still pursued him, climbing onto his stomach in a reverse mount as she attempted to draw the last drops of seed from him, flicking her tongue into his penis in pursuit of any more seed before swallowing it down once more.

The smaller mare was staring off at a wall, her eyes blazing with pink. While Maximus was becoming better at handling the love, Crystal had no such resistances. So it was that both of them slowly slipped from consciousness, the sub-queen still holding the male's rod in her mouth and giving it a few idle suckles every now an again. The penis itself was losing its girth, leaving a smaller ringed rod attempting to retreat into the stallion's shell.

'I can't believe she's falling asleep like that,' Luna giggled, staring at the two. Her smile fell a moment later as she realized a problem.

Both of the other members of her flock were passing out and she'd yet to reach her climax.

"Oh stars and sun, we didn't take this into consideration."

Looking over the two, one sleeping and another insensate, Luna worried her lip in thought. A sudden inspiration struck her and she lit her horn, running a pulse of magic over her marehood.

Flinching at the strange sensation, she began vibrating her own clit and mewling into the bed as she doubled over at the stimulation. She caught sight of Crystal looking towards her, but the mare was too dazed to move any closer. Instead Luna stepped closer to them, lifting the mare and slipping between the changelings before continuing to stimulate herself. Letting out a moan of pleasure, her mouth hung open as she continued to buzz herself silly. Crystal was reacting now that Luna was closer, wrapping her hooves around the alicorn and slowly lapping at Luna's sex as magic did the rest. With a shudder she finished herself off, the vague sense of a tongue running over her nethers reaching her mind. She giggled in exhaustion, cuddling into the stallion's barrel.

She had to agree with the changelings, being positioned between them was nice. Perhaps later she would suggest Max actually rut the new mare. If Crystal enjoyed the prospect of consuming so much love-laden seed, she could only imagine the euphoria of having it fill her womb would do for the smaller mare. Meanwhile Luna would have the sub-queen servicing her, running her tongue along the alicorn's insides until she...

A knock at the door caused Luna to roll her eyes.

'Three, two, one...'

"Luna are you, oh stars..."

"Good afternoon Tia," Luna called from the bed in a happy daze. "You know, while this time our flock is unable to act, next time we will enjoy siccing them on you. Is there anything of import to share?"

"I-we were going to invite you to lunch, its about...nevermind," the white mare said, closing the door behind her.

"Send somepony to wake us around dinner, Tia. We do have things to discuss tonight," Luna called out, receiving a nod from the older alicorn before the door was closed.

Maximus was likely teasing her, but the idea of the pure, haughty and completely inexperienced mare screaming into her mouth while the stallion drove himself deep into the white alicorn's untouched marehood drew a toothy grin to Luna's face. Cuddling into her flock, she hummed in contentment, receiving a buzzing sigh from her back.

It had been a good day so far and it sounded like Crystal agreed with her.

"And it's still not over yet."

Author's Note

When you nut and she still suckin'

The Lunar Flock

Luna's eyes popped open as a gentle rapping on the door drew her from her nap.

"'m awake," she mumbled, moving to rise but finding herself held firmly in place. At some point their pony pile had toppled, leaving her sandwiched between the changelings while on her side. Her right wing was numb from sleeping on it but as she ran through events from earlier...

'Poor Max, he stood no chance against Crystals hunger.'

Speaking of the smaller mare, Luna craned her neck to see that Crystal was still clinging to the alicorn's back. Crystal's tail was splayed over the bed under Luna's head while all four of the shape shifter's legs were latched to the blue alicorn's barrel.

Luna rose carefully, trying not to jostle the others too much. Crystal woke up anyway, snuggling into Luna's flank before snapping fully awake.

"Do you find our flank a suitable pillow, or shall we consume more pastries to add to your comfort?" the larger mare whispered, causing Crystal to jerk in her direction.

"I-I'm sorry, I'll-"

"Peace, Crystal. We are teasing. No anger, see? We actually enjoyed the proximity to two ponies. It reminded us of..." Luna trailed off, her thoughts drifting to a Pegasus fully who was just learning to fly. Of cold nights spent in a large pile of warm fur.

Luna looked behind her a moment later, the smaller mare reclining behind her nervously. With an encouraging nod from Luna the changeling scooted closer, pressing against the alicorn's back.

"No, like this,"Luna whispered over her shoulder before tightening her grip on Max. Pulling herself against him, she laid her head on his neck. Crystal soon copied the position, carefully winding her own forelegs around the blue mare and resting her own head on her alpha's neck.

"Perfect..." Luna muttered, dozing in the comforting contact. She could sit like this forever...

A second round of knocks caused her to jerk awake again. Crystal was woken up as well, judging by the growling that was resonating against her back.

"Your bath is ready, your highness."

Luna sighed in irritation.

"We are awake, we-"

"Go away!" Crystal barked before latching back onto the larger mare.

Luna giggled at the tantrum.

"Do not get angry at them for doing their job, Crystal. I asked that we be woken for dinner. Besides, he just said that there's a nice warm bath waiting for us. Does that not sound nice?"

"I'm warm here..." the sub-queen mumbled.

"As am I, but we need to get up. We'll sleep like this tonight, in fact," Luna trailed off as she twisted around to face the shape shifter "We shall embrace you tonight. How does that sound to you? We shall hold you, and Max will hold us."

The sub-queen grumbled but nodded, yawning widely and finally releasing Luna. Taking advantage of her newfound freedom the alicorn quickly left the bed, stretching her wings to their full length. She turned around to find Crystal moving the blankets and raising Max's leg, staring at the stallion's protective plates.

"It was here..." she mumbled, running a hoof along the crease in the plates.

Luna watched in confusion as the changeling sub-queen stroked the location again, causing Max to shift and begin to display himself. Staring at the stallion's shaft, Crystal poked it curiously.

'It's like she's never seen one before,' Luna thought, confused. 'Does she not know...'

"Is it some kind of stinger?" Crystal asked, staring at the slowly growing organ. "It seems a bit soft though...didn't he use it on you? Did it hurt?"

Suddenly the changelings eyes went to the dribble of pre that was starting to leak from the sleeping male. Taking a cautious sniff of the fluid, Crystal's eyes widened in recognition.

"It...you told me to swallow it last night, didn't you? It started gushing love."

Luna stared at the mare. How could she not know? How was she supposed to survive if she didn't even know about males?

'Perhaps that was the point. She could not start another hive if she didn't know how to fertilize her eggs. But wouldn't she at least have a drive?'

Crystal's ears perked at the concern from Luna.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it is not you, Crystal. We are merely...surprised that you are unaware of the differences between a male and a female. Maximus, being a male, is equipped with a penis. That's what you are poking right now," Luna explained, pointing to the fully erect rod. "Mares like ourselves do not have them. Instead we have, well..."

Luna turned around, presenting her flanks to the changeling. Flicking her tail to the side, Luna spread her legs to give the mare a better view.

"You have this, though it is hidden by your chitin. Do you remember your first night here, when we instructed you to repeat the motions you felt? We were playing with yours while you played with ours."

Crystal moved closer to Luna, staring at the alicorn's display with curiosity.

"I never actually felt an interest in such things. I mean, I remember that it felt...nice, but even then..."

"We are uncertain why you lack such a desire, but we were going to ask that you allow Maximus to mount you tonight as he mounted us. You remember when we told you to swallow, correct? When we achieve climax, we tend to gush. When Maximus peaks, he repeats what you experienced earlier. So if he were to mount you..."

"He would pump love into me," the mare finished, looking back to the stallion. The penis was already sagging, being left alone for a bit. "Do we have to wait until tonight?"

"I think it would be best," Luna said, turning to face the smaller mare. "It will likely be a lot of love so you will feel dazed again. Besides, this way we have plenty of time for him to replenish himself. It tends to be our love he uses, so if we cuddle a bit beforehoof-"

"He'll have more for me!" Crystal said smiling brightly. "I understand now."

"Excellent. Now I wish to make something clear to you, Crystal. Your education as an individual was horribly stunted through no fault of your own. If you find something that confuses you, ask somepony. Max will be happy to answer, in fact he may be able to tell you more than some of the ponies that live here. He would also be more willing to talk to you. He will help you and when you feel you are ready, we would like you to teach him how to fly and how to transform."

The changeling pondered that for a moment before nodding.

"I will. Would you like me to use Mother's method or another way?"

Luna's smile dropped slightly. There was only one reason she could conceive of that would cause Crystal to ask that.

"What was her way?"

"Drop him into a deep hole. If he survives the fall, he has the proper instincts. Escape is only possible through flight, but if he survived the fall, it should only be a matter of time before he learns to fly out," Crystal answered. "A few changelings die that way, so I wasn't sure if you'd want me to do that."

"No, no we're not using method," the alicorn said, her eyes flicking to the stallion in concern. "In fact never mention that method again."

Crystal nodded, stretching a bit as she prepared to rise. Looking back to the stallion one last time she turned back to Luna with a pout.

"Can't I just have a little?"

Luna raised an eyebrow before turning to the still-sleeping male. It was a bit mean to arouse him without any relief...

<-(0)->

Max walked down the halls from the bathing room feeling oddly fatigued... and hungry. He was certain that he would have rested up and gained a bit of love from Luna over the course of the nap they all took but he had a feeling something had happened that the mares weren't telling him. The fact that they'd shared a look after he'd mentioned the fatigue only solidified the idea in his mind.

The group was actually walking towards the larger dining room this time, Celestia and a few of the nobles apparently planning to discuss the changes that would be implemented in the hamlet before things were set in stone.

Luna opened the door for the group, letting the changelings enter before her. Max barely hid a wince at the gesture. It still struck him as odd, having Luna speaking of her position as the alpha of a flock. Crystal seemed a bit more welcoming of him though. Perhaps she just needed a chance to warm up to him?

The three sat down at the far side of the table from Celestia and the stallion took note of the nobles remaining. Most he didn't recognize, but Redstreak smiled brightly at him from her seat.

'Good to know she's still around, but the others...oh boy...'

Max winced at the blast of emotions pouring off a particular noble. Lady Sapphire was sitting across the way, a bandage over her horn and another over her neck where he'd bit her. The mare was radiating a potent mixture of anger, gratitude and embarrassment. It was as if she couldn't make up her mind to be mad or grateful for his intervention.

Taking the seat Luna pointed him to, he found himself a seat away from Luna, with Crystal Wish taking the closest seat to the alicorn. Likely for the best, since it put him between the nearest noble and Crystal...be it for Crystal's safety or the pony's.

"Dinner is being served shortly, Luna. Unless you had something special in mind, we ordered your usual to be brought to the table. The same for Max and Crystal," Celestia called from across the table.

Luna nodded her thanks as she took her seat, leaning over to the changeling mare and whispering a quick word of reassurance to her. Crystal's eyes were darting from pony to pony, a sure sign the smaller changeling still wasn't comfortable around ponies without her disguises.

"As you are all aware, the keep has been undergoing changes. We are attempting to be understanding of the trouble Discord inflicted, but by that same token we will not allow ponies to feast on the fruits of our labor with no effort of their own. Some of you have been given a temporary dispensation due to circumstances," Celestia explained, her eyes passing over the blue unicorn mare "while others have already proven yourselves. We hope that you will continue to do your part in making this keep a place ponies will flock to for protection and eventually, for a better life altogether."

"Shimmering Barrier, you've done an excellent job with the guards and we ask that you continue to keep them well organized. If you have any issues with supplies, please bring them to our attention."

The stallion to the mare's right bowed slightly.

"It has been my honor and my pleasure to aid the two of you. It is only proper, after you ladies defeated that monster. Any additional armaments or weapons would be appreciated, as well as the means to properly maintain them."

"We attempted to learn how to build a proper forge, but our last expedition was less than successful. We managed to destroy most of the bandits and drive off the one or two that escaped but with the town apparently being in support of the villains we were uncertain if we should return to claim the knowledge," Celestia said, frowning at the memories.

"Though you were unsuccessful in your secondary goal, the bandits were removed. At less than a day's march away, they would have been trouble before too long," Luna added. "Besides that fact, it was your first scaled battle. Multiple bandits can often be more deadly than a single skilled opponent."

Shimmering nodded.

"Aye, I have had the misfortune of running afoul of a group of highwaygriffons. Three-to-one odds is never a pleasant experience. If not for a passing swordsmare I likely would have been killed."

"The first crops are being planted this week. With a bit of hard work, we should be capable of sustaining ourselves in a few weeks. Less if we have enough earth ponies to tend to the fields," Redstreak added, a happy smile on her face.

"We shall attempt to get the proper workers for the fields, Noble Redstreak, but do remember our words from before," Luna admonished before looking to Crystal.

"Crystal Wish has actually been through the old mine and confirmed that there was a foul gas in the area. It has dissipated though, leaving a few exposed veins of gold and a patch of crystals in the deepest section of the mine. With these crystals we should be able to attempt some cooling runes in our cellars as suggested by Maximus.

"We also have several more changelings in the keep now. I do believe they are going to be most helpful in keeping ponies safe while working in the mine. Crystal was able to show us several points in which the mine's walls were weak and in danger of collapse. Being a species that spends so long underground, they will be invaluable in helping us maintain a safe working environment."

"I'd heard they subsist on emotions though. Does that not, er, unsettle you? Are you not worried they will leave you an empty husk?" a green pegasus stallion asked.

"We do not have such a fear," Luna said with a shrug of her wings. "We are inclined to believe Maximus' interpretation of emotions. That they provide more energy for a changeling the closer the pony feels to the changeling."

Turning to the mare at her side Luna smiled.

"Crystal, who do you believe receives more energy from our interactions, Maximus or yourself?"

"There is no question. He draws more energy than I do," the mare said softly.

"He has done much to improve our mood. He stayed with us during our court, sleeping during the day and standing beside us at night. He spoke with us, offered counsel, even warned against dangers we were unaware of. It was because of his warnings I thought to ask Crystal about the air of the mines.

"He has done this for us and we feel very strongly about him. We have even claimed him as our own. As we feel so strongly about him, the emotions we direct to him are fierce."

Still directing her question to the sub-queen, she smiled deviously.

"How long do you believe it would take a harvester to fill a jar with emotion from a single pony."

The sub-queen's muzzle scrunched as she tried to think up an answer. She tapped a hoof on the table, muttering to herself before shaking her head.

"I would guess a week, though there may be damage to the pony and the changeling."

Luna raised her nose haughtily, though she was beaming with happiness.

"The stallion filled a jar with love in about an hour. We have felt no harm as he drew on our emotions, either. The changelings are adapting, friends. They are learning to work with us, we would do well to match their adaptations. We would like to see ponies attempt to work with them. This could be the start of a powerful alliance, beaten in importance only by the unification of the tribes."

"And what would stop them from attempting to just enslave us once they have the numbers?" Shimmering Barrier asked.

Max blinked, curious. There wasn't any hate or fear in the stallion's voice, just curiosity. It was a straight question, not a lead to some point he wanted to make.

"For one it's easier this way. We don't have to care for a bunch of comatose ponies. How many changelings were dedicated to that, Crystal?"

"Many," the sub-queen answered. "I do not know the numbers but we had many that were dedicated to caring for those who were captured and we were constantly on the lookout for more settlements to increase the amount of food we had available."

"Instead of wasting bodies caring for ponies that are capable of caring for themselves, we can put those numbers to use elsewhere. Not only that, do you think those ponies that the hive kept had foals? The numbers were constantly dropping due to old age and from the sounds of it, fatigue from overfeeding. This way, the ponies that are being helped grow stronger and more numerous. As your numbers grow, your numbers support more of our numbers. More ponies means more healthy changelings. Even looking at it from a resource standpoint, this way is cheaper and easier. Does it take time to foster those relationships? Yes. Is it more time consuming at the start? Yes. Is it worth it? I'd like to think so."

The stallion nodded.

"An interesting answer. How do you propose to keep other, what did you call them? Hives? How do you propose to keep them from attacking us?"

"There are no hives," Crystal answered. "There was The Hive. Discord struck and Mother went mad attempting to drive him away. Many were already dead by the time I was removed from the fight. It is unlikely there were many survivors. She demanded we give up our energy, all of it, in order to allow her to keep fighting. I almost did, and I know for certain that there were many who answered her demands. They died at my hooves, withering away as Mother took every last bit of their energy."

"Mother did not suffer those who did not follow orders, so even though it was through no fault of my own that I could not fulfill her demand she would kill me on sight as would any others who follow her. Perhaps there is another queen that is out there, but the chances of a bearing queen surviving would be unlikely. Only those completely dedicated to Mother were given that honor. Unless another surviving sub-queen or myself find a way to unlock that potential, any living changelings are all that is left of our race."

"Crystal has explained that changelings may alter themselves with high quantities of energy," Luna added. "While she is currently barren, that is something that she could change in the future should she discover the proper method. In the mean time she will be aiding us with her knowledge of tunneling and of maintaining the structural integrity of our mines."

Redstreak looked to the shape-shifter sadly, likely at the mention that she was unable to produce offspring, before asking her own question.

"Do you believe changelings could accept this change to their lives?"

"Two already have. Flick and Crack have already been feeding using his methods," Crystal said, gesturing to Max with a hoof. "It is strange seeing changelings loose their holes. Mother always said it was a part of us..."

Max blinked at that, looking to the sub-queen in surprise.

"What do you mean they're losing their holes?"

"They told me that after attempting your method and by focusing on several ponies, in this case the knights, servingponies, and the captives that were released from the bandits, they've never felt more full. Mother likely would have named you for such a discovery, something not even those she trusted with the honor of laying were given. Being able to draw that much, no it isn't even drawing. Being given so much energy so quickly is something that would have earned you Mother's attention."

"Of course, she would than have had a fit and had you executed for treating the sources of food with kindness and mercy. Those were things Mother offered no creature. She said many times that if someone dared to offer her such an insult, she would make their end most painful."

"And what is your opinion of those things?" Sapphire asked, earning a chorus of head-bobs from her peers.

"I-"Crystal started before frowning. She cast a glance to Luna who giggled before shaking her head.

"We find mercy and kindness to be virtues, Crystal," the dark alicorn said.

Crystal nodded.

"Than we shall accept that as our way...though we may need time to relearn such things."

"Just like that?" the unicorn said in shock. "You would give up the way you were raised for Her Highnesses way so easily?"

The sub-queen nodded simply.

"She offered me food, shelter and safety when I was lost to hunger and fear. She has denoted herself as my queen, my alpha. I follow her lead."

"You...two changelings?" Shimmering asked, his face twisting into a frown.

"A herd! I'm so happy for you, your highness! I wish you the best of luck and many foals!" Redstreak squealed while clopping her hooves excitedly.

Max frowned at that.

"You said changelings lay eggs, right? Do they hatch into foals, grubs, or what?"

"Eggs?" Redstreak repeated, the smile on her face becoming strained.

"I do not know. My time in the nursery was very short. Nearly as soon as I could...there was that thing...she said..."

The mare shuddered, her eyes seemingly losing focus.

"Serve Mother. Do as your Mother demands. Never question Mother. If Mother requires your sacrifice, do so."

" What then?" Crystal whispered. "What was I supposed to do after I served her? What was I supposed do if I survived it all?" the mare shouted, slamming a hoof on the table. "I survived, others may have survived but what now? What is our purpose? There should be more than following her orders. What do we do after we've done our part? What is our goal if we are separated and unable to return? What should we do if she dies? What happens to us then?!"

Luna grabbed the panicking shape shifter's muzzle, looking deep into her eyes.

"You serve as our beta. We told you we would not leave you without purpose, did we not? Do you think that we lied to you?"

The changeling choked, coughing on her tears but shook her head.

"What did we ask of you, Crystal?"

"To-to follow your commands and to heal."

"Are you following those orders?" Luna asked, stroking the queen's cheek.

The shape shifter nodded, choking out another sob.

"Tonight or tomorrow, we would like you to speak with Maximus about your own goals. The two of us will help you find something to work towards," Luna said softly, still stroking the mare's cheek. "Understood?"

Crystal nodded again. Luna smiled warmly at the mare and wiped away a stray tear with her hoof.

"Good. Tia, do watch over things for a moment in our stead. We shall return shortly. Come, Crystal. Follow us."

Luna rose from her cushion, leading the mare back out the door and towards the alicorn's room. The moment they were gone, the nobles descended into hushed whispering.

Celestia looked to Max with a curious glance but tapped her glass to call the room to attention.

"While our sister is attending to Crystal, we shall continue. The mine, the knights, the fields. Is there anything else that should be discussed?"

"Wealth," Sapphire said, dabbing her lips with a napkin after taking a drink. "The wealth of the rulers, be they of a keep, kingdom, or country, is important. I realize that right now there isn't a legal tender but ponies still value gems and certain metals. If a kingdom is to survive and thrive, there should be a secure location to store what valuables are acquired until they are needed."

Max nodded in agreement. Even without any major governments surviving, everyone liked shiny things. There would be value in gems, metals, and even art once the world began to recover. Heck, it was possible there were other countries out there that managed to escape Discord's notice.

'Not likely, but not out of the realm of possibility. Of course, as the one to suggest it...'

"I would be happy to help with that, your highness. I have studied both metallurgy and gemology and would be delighted to be able to use this experience for you," the unicorn continued.

That was something he wasn't expecting, actually. The mare had legitimate experience in the field that made her qualified to handle the job, not just the fact that she was the one who suggested it. Actually...

"In that case would it be possible for you to check the quality of the gold and gems in the mine? If we were aware of which veins were of higher quality, we could mine those first. It would give us a nice boost as we start out. I would also appreciate any help you can give in regards to other mineable materials in the area."

Sapphire nodded with a wince, though if it was because the changeling was asking her or that she was being asked to go into a mine it was hard to decide.

Shimmering Barrier had no qualms about teasing his fellow noble.

"Oh, cheer up Sapphire. It is not as though they are asking you to dig out the gold yourself."

The mare sniffed at the remark but still gave a slight smile.

"I will do so if her highness believes it to be for the best."

"I do. Thank you for the suggestion, Maximus. And thank you for the idea and volunteering, Lady Sapphire. It is our hope that such cooperation continues. It could mean the difference between success and prosperity or defeat and poverty. It has always been the willingness of ponies to work together that has allowed our kind to achieve greatness."

"Divided we fall, united we stand," Max quoted, earning a few curious looks. "Old saying. Back when the colonies that would one day make up my home country first began to seek independence it was a common slogan. Against the Empire they were breaking away from, each colony would be crushed. But if none aided the British, if everyone fought against them..."

"Then they would have no issue pushing them back," Shimmering said.

"I won't say no issue. There were hundreds that were killed, maybe thousands. The colonies won eventually and they developed another slogan. The price of freedom. If you are free, there will be others that want to take that freedom from you. Be it through defeating your country to place their own rulers over you or outright slavery. Discord is no longer turning every town that starts to gain power on its head for his own amusement. There will be people who look to fill that power-vacuum that he's left. Some will seek it for the benefit of their fellows, others for their own power and benefit."

"Agreed," Barrier said. "I shall do my best to prepare the knights for such encounters, but I will need supplies to do so. Lady Sapphire can help by finding good metals and gems for enchantments and production, once we have a working smelter and forge. Lady Redstreak is working to allow us to be self-sufficient in food production."

"That just leaves us with finding a use for the ponies in the hamlet outside. The changelings, would they make good miners?" Sapphire asked, looking to Max.

"I think it's going to depend on the changeling," the stallion replied. "Crystal has made it abundantly clear that the Over-queen, or whatever title she went by, kept all of her changelings focused on a single task, be it harvesters or military. I would think they'd have tunnelers, those in charge of maintaining the structure of the hive, but I could be wrong. The hive could very well have been on the surface.

Our bodies are suited to low-light conditions, but we do prefer being around ponies. At least, I do. If they were supplied with gel containing the emotions they need to survive, you may be able to find changelings willing to work if not live in the mine."

The meal arrived at that time, though no one touched their food until Luna had returned. The moment she was seated, dinner commenced. The meal passed in relative silence, most of the diners mulling over the events so far. Even as the nobles finished they kept their voices low and spoke in hushed whispers to each other.

Looking to Luna the mare saw his unspoken question and leaned to him slightly.

"We put her to bed. She shall be waiting for us after we retire."

Max nodded, explaining to Luna all that had transpired in her absence. Finishing his tale he turned back to the dinner, enjoying the vegetables even though they did him no good. A gurgle in his gut had him smiling softly. He'd try to get some of that adhesive into a jar, see if it could be stored for later use.

'Or ask Crystal about it.'

Finishing her meal and seeing that most of the ponies were finished as well, Luna cleared her throat.

"We would like to add a library to the list of things we would like to see. We understand it is in no way a priority, but with knowledge no longer being destroyed by Discord, it would behoove us all to preserve what knowledge we have. We still have a good supply of paper and ink, so we would like ponies to write down things that they believe would be useful. For instance, we shall be collecting the information on home remedies from the guards and servingponies on a scroll or two. If you have anything to add, please feel free to acquire some paper and ink to preserve your knowledge. With your aid, we shall create a library to rival even those that were found in the home lands."

That drew a chorus of whispers from the gathered nobles. Not too surprising, as Max was fairly certain noble titles were often gifted for great accomplishments. Any additional accomplishments you could link to your house, or even better to yourself, would be a big deal. With the meal finished and none of the ponies having anything more to add, the nobles cleared out for the night. Luna was looking at him as if she wished to ask something when the door stopped before closing, opening to reveal Lady Sapphire.

The unicorn mare approached the table, looked at those gathered, and bowed.

"I thank you for your efforts in...in sparing my life and magic, your highnesses. I apologize for my outburst, it was most unbecoming of one of my rank."

"These are trying times for all of us, Lady Sapphire. It is to be expected that many will act out of fear. The important thing is to remember that we seek the happiness of our subjects. That includes yourself. We will never attempt to harm those who come to us for aid or protection, even if it puts us at risk," Celestia said with a faint smile.

"Indeed. We are happy to see you are making a recovery. Seeing a mare of your caliber brought low due to panic and fear would have been a terrible loss," Luna added with her own smile.

Lady Sapphire bowed low.

"Thank you, highnesses. And thank you as well...Maximus. I remember little of my episode but I remember panicking more as something...grabbed me. I was told you helped, but I would like to know, er, how."

"In my experimentation with my form, I found changelings have venom. It isn't like a snake's venom that causes pain and possibly death. It numbs the body, making moving and sometimes even thinking difficult. So I'm sorry to say this but I bit you," he explained, bowing his own head to the mare in apology.

The unicorn stared at him in shock before turning to the alicorns for confirmation.

"It is true. Without Maximus deadening your senses though, we would have been unable to approach you and stop your surge. It is very possible you could have lost your horn, or even your life. His resistance to magic meant he was also the only individual who could approach you in that state."

The unicorn nodded uncertainly, her hoof reaching to her neck and rubbing where the stallion's fangs had latched onto her.

"I...I understand, your highnesses. It is just..."

"It's scary, I know," Max soothed. "I swear to you though, Lady Sapphire, that I have never bit an innocent pony with the intent to cause them harm. Nor shall I in the future. Some of the things my body is capable of, it's specifically suited to dealing with ponies. Changelings literally can't survive without your kind, we need you. We also need you to be happy and healthy. Miserable ponies that get hurt or killed only cause problems for my kind. I just ask that you understand that like yourself, there may be changelings out there that fear this new world we're making. They may resist the changes, they may even panic and become dangerous to those around them. But we can't let that stop us from making the world a better place to live in."

The unicorn nodded before turning and walking out the door. Max sighed, not really looking forward to tasting her fear in the future. Nor was he looking forward to-

"Why did you provoke that reaction from Crystal?" Luna asked, her mood burning at a low-anger. It wasn't hot so she wasn't furious, but neither was Luna very happy.

"I actually didn't know she'd freak out that badly. Mostly I was digging for information. The more you know about something the less scary it usually is. Not like spiders, the more I learn about those things the scarier they are. One of them back home, that thing bites you, you get an erection for a few hours, then you die."

The stallion shuddered. Maybe the shell would protect him from spider bites? Unless the planet had giant spiders. He wouldn't say it was impossible.

'Danger Will Robinson, danger!'

"Her freak-out was more than I'd expected, but on the other hoof it may be a good thing. For one, we learned just how badly she was treated and what her prospects for survival were. You can't help someone if you don't know what's wrong. The second thing was that the nobles were here for it. Some may see it as a weakness, but a lot of them fear me and Crystal for being a different species.

"Tell me, princess. Do monsters cry?"

"You hope to use it to ponify yourself and Crystal to the nobles. To prove that you are living beings just as they are," Celestia stated, her eyes scrunching as she realized that point.

"It wasn't the original plan but it was a bonus. I'd like the two of us to talk to her tonight, Luna. That was...that was pretty messed up. I'm genuinely worried about her after that breakdown," he said, looking between the mares. "How was she doing last time you saw her."

"She wasn't speaking much. We believe she is merely confused now. We do not believe she's done much thinking about what her prospects were in the hive," Luna said as a frown bloomed on her face.

"It was disturbing to hear anypony speak like that. Do you believe she is..." Celestia trailed off, looking at her meal uncomfortably.

Max shook his head.

"Hearing her talk like that I, don't think she was meant to survive. I don't think any of the changelings were meant to survive beyond what this queen needed them for."

"Even with the horrors Discord put ponies through we never felt such an intense...hatred for an individual."

Luna was staring at her plate, a dark look passing over her face.

"It would be best if this queen truly is dead. For all living creatures. We believe it would benefit us all if we were to find out where the hive was located and confirm that the threat has been removed. Still, that is a worry of the future. Likely the far-off future."

"A shame. If we want to really know everything about changelings, it would likely be the best source of information," Max groused. "Still, I don't think we have the time or resources to mount that kind of an expedition. It could take weeks or longer and that's assuming we know where to look. Which we don't."

Luna nodded.

"We feel as though Crystal would have returned to the hive if she had known where it was located. Even if it meant her death. It is likely the only reason she was able to break free of her mother's programming was because she lost all contact and direction to her home."

"You think she would have returned to the hive, even saying those things? That her mother would kill her not following orders even though she attempted to?" Celestia asked.

"We do," Luna said with a nod. "She is a strange mixture of aggression and submissiveness. She was raised from birth to be this way, she just doesn't know any better."

"She can change," Max said with a smile. "I'm trying my hardest to adapt to this weird world, I'm certain a mare born on this planet can figure it out. We'll help her together."

Luna's worried expression melted into a warmer smile.

"We hope you are correct. Crystal has grown on us. We enjoy teaching her."

"Speaking of the mare, we should probably get back to her. I think she's going to need a bit of attention after all of this. You won't object to focusing on her a bit tonight, would you?" Max asked, standing from his seat.

"We would not. And Tia?" the blue alicorn said, turning to smile at her sister.

"Always about the sex," Celestia grumbled, standing to leave as well. "What is it, Luna?"

"If you enter our room again,," Luna said, stopping to give the stallion a deep kiss "you shall not be leaving until we have climaxed."

"Last warning?" Max asked Luna as the mare walked out the door. She nodded and Max turned back to Celestia with a grin. "Last warning. I won't touch you inappropriately, but don't expect me to stop Crystal or Luna. She's asked you to not walk in on us more times than should have been necessary."

<-(0)->

Max enjoyed the walk back to the room. Not because of the conversational partner he had. Luna was fairly quiet as she led the way back to their room. No, what made it enjoyable was once again the scenery. The view was stunning.

Distracted as she was by other matters, the mare didn't seem to notice what a wonderful sway her walking left her with. Max was fine with that. The concerns were important, he was sure. Crystal, the keep, ponies, other princess-y things he probably didn't know about...he'd be worrying about them as well, just at a later time.

'Enjoy the little things...or the not so little things."

It might have been his imagination, but he swore he started noticing the sheen of her wings or the tone of her body as well. Things that weren't as important to him before. Either it was his brain locking her into his idea of an amazing mare, or his mind was adapting to the new form and lending him a proper appreciation of all the proper attributes a mare should posses. Either answer was fine with him.

Luna opened the door and stepped aside, inviting him to enter the room first. Crystal was in the bed as Luna had left her, curled up and sleeping soundly. That was likely going to change shortly.

"We're going to wake her, right? I don't think she'd want to miss this."

"Soon," Luna said.

She closed the door behind her and moved closer, kissing him hungrily. He sat down, running a hoof along her neck and she moved closer, also seating herself and laying her forelegs over his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his neck, holding him tightly as she bullied his thinner but more agile tongue about. Breaking the kiss for a breath, Max smiled.

"I think we're getting better at that."

Luna nodded.

"As do we. After all, practice breeds perfection, does it not?"

"Is that why you're so good at being beautiful?" he asked with a grin.

The mare giggled, blushing a bit before moving to the bed. Max followed, giving her flank a gentle nip just before she jumped into the bed. Crystal stirred at the disturbance, blinking sleepily even as Luna draped herself over the smaller mare.

"Good evening, Crystal. Do you feel better?"

The sub-queen looked at both of them before laying her head back into the mattress.

"No."

Hopping onto the bed beside the mares, Max gave the changeling a gentle nuzzle.

"You'll feel better when you start making your own goals. We'll teach you how. For now your only concern is healing and growing stronger."

Luna giggled before moving off of the changeling's back, much to the chitinous mare's disappointment.

"You would not believe what we learned earlier, Max. She was unaware of the differences between male and female."

Max looked to the sub-queen, causing her to shrink slightly at his attention. Looking back to Luna he raised an eyebrow.

"You're joking."

When Luna shook her head in a negative he groaned, rolling to his side and settling a fetlock over his eyes.

"Oh boy, this promises to be fun. Did you give her the basics?"

"With your unwitting aid, yes," Luna nodded. "She was asking if your penis was a stinger, then said something about vaguely remembering that it was ejecting love. Would you be willing to educate her? We shall be taking another tour with Tia tomorrow, it would be a good time for the two of you to speak."

"Sure, I don't...is that why I felt hungry earlier? Did she suck me dry again?" he asked, looking over to the dark alicorn with mock irritation.

"Well, you were already aroused from her prodding. It would have been a much more cruel fate to allow you to suffer arousal without hope of relief."

Looking to the watching shape shifter, Luna made her way to Max, rolling him fully onto his back and resting on his barrel.

"We trust Max, Crystal. We wish for you to trust him as well. He will do what he can to keep you safe and answer any of your questions. For now though, we are going to make certain that you understand exactly what it is you have joined."

Nipping at his neck, Luna rested her head on his shoulder.

"The most obvious thing you've seen between us is that we produce many focused emotions for those we feel close to. That now includes yourself. We shall support each other and aid one another in any way we can, from simple things like bathing together to offering support during times of need, as you are experiencing at this time, to doing everything we can to ensure each other's survival. We have put our life on the line to ensure our stallion's safety, he put himself at risk to ensure Tia's safety. He did not have to accompany her to the bandit's encampment, but felt that his presence could deter an ambush.

"We tease her and she irritates us often, but we still consider Celestia to be a sister to us. She is not a member of the flock, but she is to be treated in most of the ways you would treat Maximus or ourself. If you are uncertain if you should do something, ask either her or one of us."

Careful not to get stabbed in the jaw by Luna's horn, Max looked to the sub-queen as well.

"The most important thing we want from you, Crystal, is your trust. Trust us to have what's best for you in mind and do what you can to reciprocate."

Nodding and rising to a seated position on the stallion, Luna's smile became slightly more hungry.

"Excellent. Now another important thing to keep in mind is that for many, a flock is a way to ensure the safety of both the members and the young that are produced. My children would be yours and your children would be mine. Do you understand?"

The queen raised her head at the mention of young.

"But I can't-"

"It's something that flocks are usually for, but it does not always have to be the main goal. Even if the two of us never produce a single foal, we could still be considered a successful flock," Luna explained. "Most flocks are created with the idea of starting a family. Mares and stallions gather together and engage in intercourse. The mare's become pregnant, have their foals, the entirety of the flock works to ensure the safety and health of the foals.

"In our case, the flock is for support. We are uncertain if we, as an alicorn, are still...viable but we hope that we are. It is something we shall learn in the future though."

Max wrapped her in a hug, giving her a reassuring nuzzle.

"Where did you hear something like that?"

"Starswirl the Bearded had several accounts of alicorns in his travels," she answered softly. "Never did he read of them having children though. The only family they ever had were the ones the had before their ascension. Even the one who did wed after her ascension...she was declared barren. Her flock, containing three stallions, attempted to impregnate her during her heat and nothing came of it. Either all of the males were impotent, which is unlikely, or it was the transformation that changes us."

"It could also be the size or possibly a species thing," Max offered. "If the change is too great, it could be that your body would no longer recognize a pony stallion as the correct species. It could be a hundred things. We'll worry about it later, okay?"

Luna nodded, taking a calming breath before returning her gaze to the queen.

"Intercourse is...several things to a pony. It is a very pleasurable experience and also makes one feel closer to one's flock. In a way it is a bonding activity. It is also a display of trust.

"Maximus understands this. We woke a few mornings ago adhered to the bed with adhesive gel covering our horn and mouth. While we were bound, he pleasured us to climax, quite a powerful one as well. It is not something we would have accepted from anypony else. We trust him implicitly, we knew that he was not doing that to harm us."

Crystal frowned in confusion.

"You allowed him to do that? He attempted to subvert your rank."

"It was a game. Have you never played a game?" The alicorn asked with a chuckle.

To both their surprise, the sub-queen shook her head.

"Oh," Luna mumbled. "That may explain a bit."

"A game is a... it is a way to enjoy oneself. To pretend things are not as they are. In the case of Maximus' binding us, he was assuming the mantle of alpha for himself. After the game, we resumed our place. He also did not use his assumed position to cause harm to anypony. In the future we will allow you to do the same for a night. Both of us would treat you as the alpha and you would be able to command us as you wished."

"We will not say his game was expected, it actually scared us for a moment. He recognized our fear though and slowed, giving us the option to say no."

"But you said your mouth was..."

"We don't need to hear her words, Crystal," Max said with a smirk. "We can taste her fear and happiness. When I started to taste fear from Luna I slowed down. If she had continued to radiate fear I would have freed her. If the point of a game is enjoyment of both individuals and one isn't having fun, there's no reason to continue. We'll play a few children's games tomorrow, I'll show you what I mean."

The sub-queen nodded before looking back to Luna expectantly.

"Right. We suppose the next thing to move onto would be to go into the actions that..."

Luna rose from the stallion, turning and presenting herself once more to the smaller changeling.

"You have already been told you have one of these as well, correct?"

The mare nodded and looked to Max

"And he has that...stinger. The penis."

Max chuckled at the description. It wasn't wrong per se, especially if you had nothing else to compare it to. It had the same basic function after all. Injecting fluid into another's body.

"The difference is that it's sensitive to contact. I mean, I've never really tried jerking off a bee, but I don't think a stinger is sensitive. Males and females both react when they're aroused, when they're thinking about sex. For Luna, she starts getting wet. Her body starts producing a fluid that makes it easier for a male to enter her body. For me, blood starts rushing to that stinger-thing, making it grow thicker and longer."

"We also become a bit more sensitive. Both of us. We understand perfectly what we are about to do, so even before we begin our bodies are already preparing."

Using a bit of magic to spread her flanks and allow the queen a better view, Luna looked over her shoulder.

"Go ahead, Crystal. We can confirm you have the same anatomy, visually at least."

Max moved beside Luna, beckoning the queen closer before bringing her hoof up to stroke Luna's vaginal lips.

"If you were to touch her when she's not thinking about sex, this wouldn't get such a reaction. Since she is though..."

"She twitches. Would-" the queen started before stopping herself.

Luna watched, giggling as the changeling began trying to get a view of her own genitals by spinning in place. Turning and stopping the queen with a hoof on her shoulder, Luna smiled brightly at the sub-queen.

"There is an easier way, Crystal. Come.

Luna led her to a mirror and the shape shifter quickly turned around, shifting her tail enough to get a good view of her plates.

"Odd, when I start thinking about sex my plates usually shift pretty quickly," Max said, moving around the queen to get a closer view. The queen's plates were still sealed shut while the stallion's had shifted long ago, leaving him to swing freely as he walked around the room.

Luna frowned at the reflection before running a hoof over the slit in the plates. It was right where the mare's important bits should have been and on the third stroke, they shifted slightly.

Crystal was shuddering at the contact, watching the reflection with rapt attention. As the mare's plates began to shift open Max watched as her expression shifted from discomfort to curiosity.

"It is the same as yours," she said in wonder.

Max nodded in agreement. Except for the color of the flesh, Crystal's walls bearing the dark green meat that was normal for changelings, her vaginal opening seemed very similar to Luna's. He could even make out her clit tucked away inside the canal.

"Odd, it is as though she feels no arousal," Luna muttered, giving the sub-queen's now-exposed lips a stroke with her hoof. Crystal shifted, but it seemed Luna was right. There wasn't much in the way of a reaction. No secretion of fluids, no quivering of the muscles, not even a moan of pleasure from the sub-queen.

Max scowled as he leaned in closer, deciding to throw all caution to the wind and giving the smaller changeling a quick flick of his tongue. As Luna had stated though, she really didn't react much. The clench was more out of the mare reacting to an unexpected touch than what you would get during sex.

Luna stepped in closer, running her a hoof over the mare's flank.

"Tell me how this feels.

Leaning closer, the alicorn gave a sensuous lick to Crystal's flower before inserting her tongue, exploring the smaller mare's depths with the muscle. Crystal squeaked in surprise but otherwise watched curiously, her breathing quickening as Luna lapped at her nethers.

"I-it feels strange. Not bad, but...I don't know."

Luna pulled back for a moment, using her magic to spread the sub-queen and allow herself a view of the mare's canal.

"She's a bit damp now and it was not all us. We...this makes no sense."

Max worried his lip for a moment before walking behind Luna and pulling her into a hug. He nibbled on her ear, causing her to mewl and grind against him needily.

"Max we have to, to figure out what is wrong with-"

"She said a good dose of love heals things, right?" he whispered into Luna's ear. "Well, let's put it to the test. I'm going to need to make certain my stores are full, though."

Max began grinding against Luna, his hardening member sliding along the fur of flanks enticingly. The mare in his grip groaned, using her magic to push him off of her back.

"Just because she doesn't feel aroused doesn't mean she cannot learn. Crystal, watch carefully," Luna instructed, propping herself up on the bed and spreading her legs slightly. Max approached from behind her, giving her needy pussy a few kisses and a lick before mounting her. He tried keeping a leg clear, allowing Crystal to see what was going on as he began to run his head against the alicorn's flower. With a buck, he drove himself into her canal.

Luna shuddered underneath him at the penetration, a low moan of pleasure escaping her lips as she pressed back into his hips. Accepting the offered fleshy embrace, he slid into the slick, velvety tunnel and began pumping into the mare with abandon. He pulled out and gave another thrust, working to pleasure them both into oblivion. All the while Crystal watched with rapt attention, her ears perked as she focused both on what Luna and Max were doing as well as what Luna was feeling.

"Feels odd, giving a demonstration, like this," the stallion puffed, slowing to nip the alicorn's neck. Luna's legs buckled slightly and her wings splayed fully. The dark mare gave a few weak flutters of her wings but otherwise was completely consumed by the pleasure that was flooding her mind.

"Stars, t-take our love. Take it, take it, ta-AKE IT!"

With a shuddering flutter of her wings, Luna clamped down on him, her walls massaging him gently as she climaxed. Max slowed, confused as to how she got off so quickly but soon noticed her horn was sputtering weakly.

"Did you magic yourself to climax?" he asked in irritation. His own arousal was nowhere near sated and his shaft was rock-hard.

"Y-yes," Luna panted, a manic giggle escaping her lips. "You, you need to be- you can't be giving up any of that love just yet. You need to save it."

Shifting so that the male fell from her grip, Luna moved over on the bed, patting her previous spot while looking to Crystal.

"Come now, Crystal. If nothing else it will be a large dose of love."

The sub queen nodded, moving to the bed and positioning herself before Max with a bit of apprehension.

"Crystal, if you don't want to do this-"

"I want the love," she cut him off. "I, I want to be normal. I want to be family. You both say it should feel nice and for her it does but...just do it."

Max nodded, giving the mare's plates a few strokes to get them to open up. Giving her a few licks to make certain she was wet, he rose up and mounted her, slowly driving himself deeper into the sub-queen.

Max grunted as he drove himself in further, pistoning slowly as he pushed forward to make certain he was still sliding easily. Crystal wasn't so much as clenching around him, her muscles slowly relaxing to allow him deeper passage into her body but doing nothing more. It was almost like that part of her had been turned off.

'We'll see if this doesn't help with that.'

She eventually began to produce her own lubricant, speeding his push to drive himself into her. Hilting, he blew out a sigh of relief. No more worrying about hurting her by dragging across an unprepared part of her body. It would all be-

He frowned, a shudder going through her body. She flinched again, this time gasping in surprise. Her breathing began to increase to near-hyperventilation but Luna took Crystal's muzzle in her hooves.

"Speak, Crystal. What is going on."

"It, it feels weird. It just started...feeling. I don't know," the mare whimpered, looking to her stomach.

"T-hink it's the pre?" Max grunted. "It has a bit, ha, of love in it as well."

Luna's eyes widened at the idea. Smiling, she took Crystal's muzzle in her hooves once more.

"You are fine, Crystal. Your body is merely waking up. It is likely that by tomorrow you will be able to enjoy this as much as we do."

Max grunted, his body clenching as his orgasm approached. Now that he was watching for it the reaction was more noticeable. With every clench of his body, with every quick burst of pre into the mare below him, she began to react more like a mare than a robot. Another clench, and Crystal shuddered, her vaginal walls tensing slightly for the first time. Another clench, and the shape shifter's forelegs wobbled. Another clench sent her to the bed, leaving her flank supported only by the stallion that was currently buried inside of her.

"Yes, just a bit more. It's going to be amazing, Crystal. You're going to love this!" Luna said, encouraging her.

Max just grunted, the mare beginning to pulse and grip him as her body reacted to his presence. Another thrust ended in a wet slap, the fleshy parts of their bodies beginning to become soaked with their mixed fluids. Grunting loudly in effort, Max drove himself deeply into the mare, feeling something twist around him as the mare seized up. He clenched once more, this time shoving himself as deeply into the mare below him as possible. Something, something inside her body was expanding slightly, the placement coinciding almost perfectly with his multiple rings to form a multi-layered seal in the sub-queen's depths. The stallion shuddered as the first spurt of his load was released, followed by a second and then a third.

Crystal was staring at Luna, her eyes unseeing and blazing pink as her body began to absorb the love. It was too much for the sub-queen though, her eyes rolling back in her head even as Max's own legs crumpled, leaving the pair laying on the bed and gasping in exhaustion.

Max chuckled dumbly as he began to doze. Most of his orgasms weren't that exhausting. There was just something about that one though, like he'd given it his all. Pulling Crystal closer to his barrel, he saw Luna entangling herself in the sub-queen's forelegs and laying her head on the smaller mare's neck. He managed to give the alicorn a quick kiss before his head slumped to the pillow. Next time would probably be a lot more fun for them all.

Author's Note

This one...it just kept going. I couldn't find a good place to cut it off.

Teaching the Newbie

Max blinked, finding himself staring at the ceiling. Not a strange situation, but not normal either. Even stranger was the weight on both his chest and...

"~Ah~!"

'That sounded more like Crystal than...'

Max looked down, finding the queen currently riding him, or at least trying too. Luna was giggling uncontrollably nearby, her laughter doubling as she saw he had awoken. Crystal was a drooling mess, the mare whining with need and trying to grind against him even now, her shaking body unable to lift itself or find purchase.

"How long...?" He started to ask.

"Since she woke up. Not just you, either. She's been grinding herself against blankets, our own body, then seemed to remember you. She's climaxed repeatedly but doesn't seem to have the strength to last long enough to draw a climax from you. That's at least the fifth time she's nearly passed out on you."

Looking down at the drooling sub-queen he nearly started laughing as well. She was looking at him with a half-pout, half I'm going to fuck you silly expression as her body shook, the failing attempts to lift herself doing nothing but further exhausting her. Even her internal muscles weren't doing much, her vaginal walls barely managing to shudder every now and again.

Rolling over on top of the mare he placed his hooves on her barrel before giving a good thrust into her marehood, drawing a gasp of pleasure and a coo of happiness.

"She's more responsive, at least," Luna said as he grabbed the smaller changeling and began to rut her at a quick pace.

Calling Crystal more responsive to the stimulation was like saying a mountain was tall. The mare was whining, shuddering with every beat of his heart, pulsing around him desperately. Her legs wrapped around him, trying to keep him as deep in her heat as she could. Her tongue was lolling, a distant look in her eyes. Nothing really mattered to her at the moment besides that peak.

Max gave a solid grunt as he thrust into her, feeling his body begin to lock up. Crystal had already shuddered in a less powerful orgasm, her exhaustion making it impossible for her to continue any more. A few more full strokes and the stallion found himself locking up as well.

Hopping off of the bed, Luna gave one last giggle at the sub-queen's drooling expression.

"While we are happy Crystal is finally able to enjoy intercourse fully, there are things we need to do today. We shall leave her in your hooves, Max."

"She...she is aware of this, right? I mean I know we talked last night, but-"

"We shall speak to her after breakfast to confirm this. We shall return shortly with news of the baths readiness."

Max nodded, watching Luna walk out the door. Both his and the sub-queen's breathing was finally leveling out now, though she still was lost to the world. If he could only remove the mare's hooves from his...oh shit.

Max lifted a leg, doing his best to control his fear at the sight. A small hole was showing up just below his fetlock, allowing him to see the bed on the other side. It wasn't even half the size of those that Crystal had come in with, but the fact it was there at all, it was something alien and terrifying.

"The bath will be ready- Max? What's wrong?" Luna asked, trotting over to the bed quickly. She took his hoof in her own, looking at the hole in concern before he pulled it out of her grip.

"I'll be fine. It's not that bad. I was just...surprised is all. The only time you'd see a hole in a guy's body is if he was dying," He explained. Pulling away from the queen, he shivered a bit. While he'd just started to show holes, likely from filling the queen with his spare love, she was still bearing quite a few of them. They were much smaller than they were when he'd first seen her, but considering her state when Luna had first found her it was a hundred-fold improvement.

"She...she'd probably be even better off right now if it wasn't for all the damage her body has to heal. Love is being used for more than sustenance."

"Indeed," Luna mumbled, not taking her eyes off of him. "Max, if you are worried about it, you need only say so. You do not need to engage with her in intercourse if it-"

"I said it's fine Luna. I'll be fine. It's just a game of balance. Balancing out how much I have versus how much I can live without. I've been worried about any kind of hunger, but the fact that I've not been hungry at all means I've been gorging a bit. Even as a human I experienced hunger. It's not a bad thing."

Breathing deeply and blowing the air out of his nose, he nodded to himself.

"Just another bit of the changeling biology. I'll be fine."

The alicorn didn't seem convinced but didn't press the issue either. Instead she nodded, propping the forward part of her barrel up on the bed and giving him a gentle nuzzle against his cheek.

"If you think you are in danger do not hesitate to speak to us."

"If Chrysie was fine as she was, I don't think a pinhole in one of my legs is going to kill me."

Luna scowled, looking like she'd say something when he waved her off.

"Most of the this damage was done before she was left without food. You and I both know this."

The dark mare nodded, giving one last worried look to his foreleg before moving to Crystal. She took the giggling queen on her back and started making her way to the bath.

Max stepped off the bed gingerly, cautious of any weight he put on the affected leg. It tingled a bit, but otherwise it didn't hurt. Putting a bit more weight on his leg, he sighed in relief. No pain as far as he could tell. That was good. That was very good.

Letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, Max followed Luna to the bath, stepping in after her and moving to the washcloths and soaps. Luna was currently washing down the still-giggling sub-queen, Crystal trying to wrap Luna in a hug and hump against her while almost limp with exhaustion. He shook his head. Maybe breaking her out of that...whatever it was wasn't a good thing.

"Crystal, stop it. There will be time for that later," Luna chided

"Bu'it feelsso goo'" the changeling slurred, pouting.

Luna nodded.

"I know. We'll have some more fun later though. We have things to do. It is not proper for us to be acting like this in public though. Be good and listen to Max and we'll have some fun later tonight, okay? Now that you actually feel it, we'll show you just how good it can feel. We promise."

Crystal whined a bit more but otherwise seemed to accept Luna's request. At least, she stopped trying to hump the alicorn. As they were walking down the halls to the dining room, Max noticed a blast of embarrassment from behind them. He saw a few knights walking away, one blushing furiously while his companion punched his shoulder and laughed.

He looked over Luna and noticed something that made him sigh.

"What?" Luna asked, looking at him curiously.

He pointed to Crystal who kept walking as they stopped, her tail flagging high and her plates open. Her marehood was on full display, glistening in the morning sunlight.

"Last night we couldn't get her open, now she won't close."

Luna shook her head in irritation, her wings sagging slightly.

"Crystal, what are you doing?"

The sub-queen's ears perked and she turned to face them, looking at the pair curiously.

"Is there something wrong?"

<-(0)->

Max did his best to hold back his laughter as the three of them took their places at the smaller dining room table. Luna had pulled the shape shifter aside, explaining that displaying yourself publicly like that was improper. When the mare cocked her head in confusion at that, Max chimed in that it would make Luna look bad if her beta couldn't act properly in public. That seemed to work better as Crystal had started apologizing to Luna, her submissive side coming back in full at the idea she'd harmed the alicorn's reputation.

Celestia looked to him curiously, taking note of Luna's irritation and Crystal's pout.

"Is there something wrong, Luna?"

"Just attempting to adapt to the situation, Tia. Crystal was...she was worse off than we originally thought," Luna said, taking her seat.

"She had no education of the differences between male and female bodies and from what we could tell her uh, mare-bits were turned off. She couldn't feel any pleasure," Max added. "Couldn't feel much of anything, actually."

Celestia's face twisted in disgust when she realized what the topic was but that disgust soon shifted to confusion.

"Wait, she couldn't...that makes no sense."

"It makes perfect sense, actually. If she doesn't know how to reproduce, she can't start her own hive. It would keep the competition nonexistent," Max said, looking over the spread. "The sub-queens don't know how to reactivate themselves, they have no desire to have sex so they don't lay eggs. Even if one leaves, once they die that's it. The rogue hives die with them."

Celestia turned back to her meal, chewing the possibility over.

"If that was the case then the changelings were in greater danger than we thought."

Crystal wasn't paying attention to the two of them, completely focused on Luna as she set a plate before the smaller changeling. Max and Celestia both watched curiously as the sub-queen poked at the food before nibbling on a pancake. Luna offered her one with butter and she accepted, eyes widening in surprise.

"She is certainly more...active now," the white alicorn said diplomatically.

"She is. Also confirmed that the holes are a sign of hunger," Max said, raising his own leg up and looking at Tia through the hole in his foreleg.

Celestia, having been in the middle of taking a drink, began coughing and pounding her barrel.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really," he said with a shake of his head. "It's kind of tingly, like I know something should be there but I can feel the air that passes through it. I freaked out at first but now it's...it's just strange."

"You asked that we do another pass of the work-locations, Tia? We have asked Maximus to watch over Crystal while we check out the areas you specified," Luna said, adding a few pancakes to her own plate. She also grabbed a bowl of oatmeal, pouring a bit of milk and sugar into the gruel.

Celestia nodded.

"Excellent. I know he's been good for ideas, but he cannot fly. We will be moving swiftly. There is much ground to cover and not much time to travel over it."

Luna smiled at him, brushing her wing against his side lovingly.

"Once you have learned to fly we will enjoy an evening flight or two. We always enjoyed that and we assume we will only enjoy it more with company."

Max nodded in agreement, though he was dreading his first few days trying to figure out the wings. He know how to move them a little, but for the most part all he could do was buzz the damn things.

Luna and Celestia soon finished their meals, standing and making to leave. Luna stopped at both of the changelings, giving each a warm kiss before she left. The moment the door closed behind them though-

"So can we mate now?" Crystal asked, trotting over to him with a large smile on her face.

Max shook his head.

"Why me. Why do I get stuck with this...no Crystal. We're going to wait until tonight."

The mare whined at that response.

"But it feels soooo good! Luna said we have to be alone first and we're alone now, right?"

"Crystal, this is a dining room. There are going to be ponies coming in here to clean up shortly. You are going to need to wait. I know it feels good, trust me. It can't be your only focus though."

Rising from his seat and walking to the door, Max tried focusing on a few specific ponies. Thinking he had what he was looking for, he began wandering the halls, soon coming out into the training yard with the sub-queen following curiously.

"What are we going to do in the yard, Max? Ah!"

Max stopped, turning to look at the mare who was now face-down in the dirt. There was no way the world was that...nevermind, it probably was.

"You okay?" Lance asked, trotting over and picking up a spear. "Idiots, if I find out who it was who left this lying around I'll string him up by his nose."

Sitting beside the confused sub-queen, Max pulled her up off the ground.

"We're going to do a bit of practice. Play a game or two. Okay?"

"Practice? I'll get Twister, she likes leading stretches," Lance said, leaving to find the mare.

"Alright, Crystal. If Twist tells you to try something, you do your best. After that we'll do some sparring and then we'll go play some chess. That sound good to you?"

"No," she muttered, following after him. "I want to feel good again."

"You will, this is going to be a different kind of good though," Max said, sitting down in an empty training circle and waving to the approaching pony.

"Hello again. This is the larger changeling I was hearing about?" Twist asked, looking to the sub-queen curiously.

"Twister, this is Crystal Wish. Crystal, this is Twister," Max introduced, standing up and rolling his neck. "We're here for a quick stretch before we get into some actual exercise."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" the blue pegasus said cheerfully, flitting right up to Crystal and offering a hoof.

After watching the two stare at each other, Twister's smile fading as the time passed, Max rolled his eyes and approached the two.

"She's asking for her to return her greeting, Crystal. Like this. Offer to me, Twister."

Twister complied, her confusion only growing as she bumped her hoof against Max's hoof.

"Now ask her again," Max instructed.

Twister turned back to Crystal, offering her hoof to the watching shape shifter. This time Crystal moved, slowly lifting her hoof up to touch the smaller mare's limb. On contact the sub-queen jerked a bit, as if expecting the pegasus to attack her or something.

"It's a sign of greeting, Crystal. Nothing to worry about," Max soothed, buzzing his wings to get them moving.

"She doesn't...oh, that would make sense. So she just didn't know," Twister said, more to herself than to the changelings. "We're going to start with some simple stretches. Just follow after me."

Max stretched out, his flanks in the air and his rear legs straight while his forelegs were about as far forward as they could go.

"I was wondering why she was so quiet. Is there a lot of things she doesn't know about?" Twister asked, trying to make conversation.

"She didn't know the differences between the genders," Max said with a grin, pulling himself back up and leaning forward, this time keeping his forelegs straight and curling his back and neck in a C. He actually chuckled when he felt his horn poke into his back.

"That's...that's very strange. You taught her though, right?" Twister asked. "Cross-leg stretch."

"They did. They also taught me sex feels really really good," Crystal piped in cheerfully. "Why are we doing this stuff?"

"It loosens your muscles and prepares you for a workout," the blue pegasus explained. "If you don't stretch properly, there's a chance you'll end up hurting yourself."

"I'm going to be teaching her some games later as well," the larger changeling added. "She doesn't have much of a concept of fun...you know what, I think I've got one you'd like as well."

<-(0)->

Was Max a bad person for introducing this to the ponies? Probably. Was he going to get Celestia, Luna, and Crystal to play this game? Most definitely. Once he'd explained the basics of, well, Twister to Twister, the mare had been ecstatic. She was giggling about how she was made for the game, easily able to make the most ridiculous contortions and beating everyone else who challenged her. It was great watching ponies trying the game, but even better was the realization of a good portion of them of what they were doing. After that point the entire yard was looking to play a game, even the most hardened knights chuckling at the lewd situations the ponies were ending up in. After all, no clothes meant...

"Ah! Get your balls out of my eyes!"

"Stop it, your wing's brushing my teats!"

"Hahaha, I sure hope Sentinel doesn't have gas, Skies."

Max was in tears, watching the havoc that was descending on the field. It was about lunch time and most of the knights had eaten quickly before rushing over to see the new game. At the moment they had three different boards scratched into the ground, Twister standing by her improvised spinner and calling out hooves and numbers and being answered by groans at each call.

Yes numbers, seeing as how the boards were scratched into the ground and colors weren't an option. Instead the ponies scratched numbers above and below each row.

"This is...I don't understand. What does this accomplish?" Crystal asked, watching the ponies jeering and cheering for their friends.

"It's a game, like I told you I'd play with you. As for its purpose, it brings people closer together. It's silly and we get to be silly together Sometimes it can help you, too."

Taking a seat facing the mare, Max propped himself on his butt.

"Sit like this. Mirror me."

Crystal did, staring at him in confusion. He shook his head as her eyes drifted south but stuck out his left foreleg, prompting Crystal to do so as well. Their hooves met and he pulled the leg back, extending his right foreleg. Then he pushed foreword with both forelegs, meeting the mare's hooves with a clop.

"It's a simple game that is all about trying to do it faster and faster. We'll go really slow the first time," he said before pushing forward with his left hoof again. "Peach porridge hot, peach porridge cold, peach porridge in the pot nine days old."

The queen frowned, concentrating as Max began to recite the rhyme faster and faster. Her frown soon shifted to a grin, the two going fast enough that each impact clacked loudly as their chitinous shells struck against each other.

"Okay, okay. We're done with that," Max said, still chuckling. It was a silly game, but always brought back good memories.

"But I liked it," Crystal whined. "We can do it again later, right?"

"Yea, we can. I'm just showing you a few games. Now come on," he said." Next game's going to be a bit more physical."

Lance looked up at their approach.

"Finally done with whatever that...thing you were doing was?" he asked, waving his hoof dismissively at their previous location.

"Yea. I'd like to get Crystal here rolling. Only against me though," Max said as he entered an empty ring. "She's been taught to fight already and I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"In that case i'd think it would be better if you had her go against somepony else," Lance said, waving over a knight. "She may hurt you."

"Not as much as she would someone else. Alright Chrysie, rules are simple. No biting hard enough to draw blood, no injuring your opponent, and no shots to the genitals. Otherwise, you try to take me down and I try to take you down. It's practice though, so don't think about it too much."

"Genitals?" Crystal asked as she stepped to the marked spot across from him.

"Sex bits," he clarified. "Don't punch or bite me in the stinger. It's extremely painful. Oh, and if he tells you to stop you stop, okay?"

Crystal gave the pony a heated glare.

"Why should I listen to some pony? I don't know him and Luna didn't say to listen to him."

"No, but Luna told you to listen to me, and I'm telling you to listen to him. Besides, he's going to watch us to make sure no one gets hurt."

Crystal stared at him in confusion.

"I thought we were fighting. What's the point if nopony gets hurt?"

"You can't keep practicing and training if you keep getting injured. It takes too long," their referee said. "We can't just heal up every injury and we can't just get new knights if one gets hurt. We have to train in such a way that we improve ourselves without injuring or killing the knights."

Crystal's mouth opened slightly, the mare squeaking out a soft "Oh."

"I know you can probably kick my butt, however this is going to be about getting used to the different methods. We're just trying to pin the other, not break each other's legs," Max said.

The stallion that was overseeing the match raised a hoof to signal the start of the match and dropped it. Max moved forward wearily as Crystal approached at a full charge. He wasn't sure just how strong the mare was, so-that's a buck!

Max's vision started to clear and once more he found himself staring up, this time at the noon-day sky. There were a few pony faces looking at him with worry, but there were also a few shouts of alarm from across the way. Rolling to his side and raising his head a bit, he could see Crystal panicking from the training ring . She was crying as well, jabbering about how Luna was going to kill her for killing him.

He had a few wings and shoulders giving him support as he made his way to the mare but it was still a shaky walk across the training yard to the sub-queen. As he approached he heard Lance trying calm her down from her panic.

"Let it go, Crystal. Can't...mistakes happen, you can't catch them all," Max said, shaking the cobwebs out of his skull. "What happened?"

"I tried bucking like I usually do and it was stronger! I meant to hit you kind of hard and kind of fast and the next thing I know you're rolling away and then you weren't getting up. What's happened to me, I shouldn't be this strong right now, only changelings who've earned Mother's favor get this strong! I don't understand!" the mare gibbered, sobbing as she tried to push past the unicorn. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't hate me!"

Max nodded, blinking the spots from his eyes. He was starting to recover so it wasn't all bad.

"I think I'm uh, going to call this for now. She's recovering a bit faster than even she knows. It's like having a cold for most of your life and suddenly being able to smell again. Heh, amazing what some good eatin' will do for your strength."

Bumping against the changeling's side and pushing her to the main castle, Max chuckled as he made his way back to Luna's room. Not how he planned to spend his day. A little rest would make him feel better right about now.

"Will you need help getting back?" Lance asked, trotting up beside the pair.

Max turned to look at the stallion, pondering the question.

"No-you know what, yea. I'll take an extra just in case. Just in case I'm worse off than I thought."

<-(0)->

Luna was surprised to see the two sitting on her bed, a chess board between them. She walked up to the bed, expecting one of them to greet her but the changelings were both completely absorbed in the game. Maximus finally moved a piece, earning a glare from Crystal. She moved another piece and the stallion took a pawn. Crystal growled in anger, moving another piece and knocking over the male's rook before loosing her knight.

Back and forth it went, the queen attempting to be aggressive but unable to really make any headway against her opponent. Each attack cost her. Sometimes even preparing for an attack cost her a piece. The smaller mare's anger grew until finally-

"Checkmate."

With a shout of rage Crystal threw the board from the bed in a burst of magic, screaming in anger while she jumped from the bed and began to stomp around spewing hateful words about the male.

Max chuckled before calling to the sub-queen, dragging her out of her rage.

"I win, so you know what that means."

Max rolled to his side as Crystal hissed at him. She none the less approached him, jumping back onto the bed to-

Luna blinked, her jaw dropping. She'd expected him to request a sexual favor but once more he'd required cuddles as his payment. Crystal pressed against his barrel and he wrapped her in his forelegs, nuzzling her happily even as she pouted in disappointment.

"You're doing a lot better. The first game you didn't even know all of the pieces. With enough practice, you could probably beat Luna or Celestia."

"It's still frustrating. I didn't win one game," the mare lamented. She sat in his hug for a good minute before noticing that they weren't alone. She made to get up but the stallion tightened his grip, nipping and kissing Crystal's neck and causing her to whine at the pleasant sensations.

"A-alpha's here, we should-should..."

Max rolled the sub-queen over, leaving him on her side while she sat underneath him limply. Giving Luna a quick grin, Max trailed his tongue over the grooves of her neck plates. Crystal was obviously enjoying the attention even if she was trying to say otherwise. It was actually kind of sweet. Made her want to join in.

"Why not," she muttered, jumping onto the bed and joining Max in his torture of the smaller member of the flock. She too began to kiss and nuzzle the sub-queen, leaving the smallest flock member smothered in their care.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Max asked Crystal softly, earning a soft hum of agreement. Turning to the alicorn he gave her a kiss as well.

"It's wonderful to see you as well. I trust things went well?" Luna asked before returning to her pampering of the changeling mare.

"As well as could be expected," he answered. "Crystal's a bit stronger than I thought, bit stronger than she thought, too. Laid me out when I tried setting up a quick spar in the training yard then started panicking about you coming after her. She's strong Luna, really strong. Pretty fast as well. Maybe you two can spar later. She needs someone who can keep up with her and right now I don't know enough about magic or even movement to last against her."

"You taught her chess." Luna said with a grin. "Excellent, we love chess. We will wish to play a game against you later, Crystal."

Crystal groaned in irritation.

"I hate that game. It's so boring..."

"Nonsense, it teaches you. It teaches you about the pony you play against, teaches you to think ahead and it helps you learn to anticipate your opponent. If you play it well, you can make Max pay for each piece he takes with one of his own. He causes us problems, but we can defeat him. Perhaps we shall demonstrate later on?"

Rising from her bed and releasing the changeling, Luna hopped off of the bed and made her way to the door.

"Tia is waiting for us in the small dining room. The nobles have other things to do than dine with us every day, so we shall be alone once more."

Walking out the door and down the hallway with the changelings following close behind, Luna looked over her shoulder at Max.

"You bet cuddles, but what would Crystal have gotten if she won?"

"Sex," Crystal answered with a pout. "He said it would have been with his tongue, because he doesn't have much love right now to give me."

Crystal looked over to Max before turning back to Luna.

"It's strange having somepony offering their food to me so freely. Queens, sub-queens and drones fought viciously for their portions, often times stealing from each other. Drones and queen's died that way every week or so. Here it's...love is freely given even by those who feed on it."

"Just remember to return the favor if you're full and I'm the one who's really hungry," Max said before shoving Crystal with his shoulder. "It's a mutual thing. I'll take care of you, but I need you to help me as well. If we watch out for each other, we're safer. We'll live longer that way."

"Very true," Luna said with a nod. "The entire reason pegasi use flocks is because if one gets injured the others could watch them and their foals while the injured pony heals. Flight is inherently dangerous, so self-inflicted injuries are far more common than with earth ponies and unicorns."

"I guess that would make sense. Still odd to me," Max said, looking through a passing window. "Did you and your sister accomplish what you were trying to do?"

"We did. For the most part it was merely re-checking the locations. We are attempting to find a trained cartographer so that the surrounding areas can be properly mapped, but it is appearing as though we will need to assign a pegasus to do their best."

Luna opened the door, allowing the changelings to enter the dining room and closing it behind her.

"Good evening, Celestia. Enjoy the flight?" the stallion asked as he took a seat.

"We shall not say it was fun, but we accomplished what we set out to do. Everything is now in place, we merely need the work to begin. Another noble mentioned an alternative for the stone to your quarry. We had to convince him to pick another hill, as he wanted to use the one with the spring for Redstreak's crops, but he suggested destroying a hill for the stone instead of digging down for it."

The larger changeling looked surprised at that but smiled.

"If you can find a good hill that won't cause much trouble by removing, I don't see the issue. Keep the dirt nearby though. After you remove the stone we need you can throw the dirt back over it and maybe use it for crops or trees. Or use it to level out some land, like a nearby valley."

Several servingponies arrived at that moment, setting dishes on the table before leaving the four to their meal. Luna set up a plate for the sub-queen once more, delighted that the mare was interested in trying the food now. It was certainly a vast improvement and Crystal had only been in their care for several days. She couldn't wait to see the changeling reach her full potential.

<-(0)->

Max was curious about what Luna had planned. She'd said there was a plan for tonight but refused to give either of them an answer. The bath was skipped for now, they'd be better served taking the bath in the morning. That way they would be able to wash away any and all stains that occurred in the next hour or so.

Entering the room, the changelings followed Luna onto the bed, sitting across from her and waiting for her idea.

"As Maximus is feeling a bit depleted from giving so much energy to Crystal, we feel that it would be best if we were to give him some time to relax for once," the dark blue alicorn said, hopping off of the bed and motioning for Crystal to follow her. Max rolled his eyes, watching the mares walk to the far side of the room and begin whispering to each other. Well, Luna was whispering, Crystal didn't seem to understand what was going on besides the fact that he probably wouldn't be leaving her an insensate mess like last night.

'That kind of thing may not even happen again now that she's awoken,' he thought. 'Possible that she'll get over this little bout of nymphomania soon. It feels good, but I think her overly interested behavior's mostly due to the fact that she doesn't have many good things to compare it to. Like saying you can't live without cake when you've never had any other kind of pastry.'

Luna was speaking more firmly now, the queen sulking a bit as she nodded along with her alpha's plan. He grinned a bit. Maybe this would be a good time to introduce Crystal to the idea of saying no. If Luna's idea was boring or not effective, he'd persuade the smaller shape shifter to join his cause and they'd leave Luna a mewling pile of need in no time flat.

The mares jumped back onto the bed, Luna using her magic to move Max farther back on the bed and putting him on his back. He watched them curiously, raising an eyebrow as Luna turned to drag the smaller female into an aggressive kiss. The alicorn pulled her close, latching onto the mare's muzzle and, from what Max could tell, doing her damnedest to suck her tonsils out.

Breathing hard, Crystal pulled back with a look of confusion.

"Why are we doing this?"

"Think of what those tongues would feel like in your other hole," Max called out, causing Luna to burst into giggles and the shape shifter to frown in thought.

Luna kissed her beta again, this time getting a bit more participation from Crystal before Crystal broke the kiss again.

"I like this a lot more now."

"Of course you do," the alicorn said, caressing the sub-queen's cheek. "It's exploring your other's body. Learning what makes them feel good. Mutual participation makes it all the more enjoyable."

"And yet you have me sitting over here doing jack," Max called out to them, causing Luna to jump a bit.

"Patience, for somepony who likes chess you have so little of it," she responded before turning back to Crystal. "Now remember, Follow our lead."

Luna gave Crystal one last quick kiss before approaching Max with a promising sway in her steps. She stopped at his splayed rear legs, lowering herself to the bed and giving his opening plates a gentle nuzzle. Crystal copied the larger mare's actions, laying beside her alpha and beginning to nuzzle the stallion's shaft as he started to react.

"I am definitely okay with this," Max mumbled, watching the two begin to kiss and lick him to full readiness.

At that point, Luna whispered into Crystal's ear and the two shifted, Luna moving closer and working on the soft, sensitive flesh that usually sat behind the genital plates while Crystal began happily extracting as much pre as possible by stimulating every accessible point on his penis. sliding over and under rings, wrapping her tongue around him, slithering it over the tip and even slipping just barely inside the sub-queen left no part of him untouched.

Luna began trailing feather-light kisses all along the underside of his plates, causing Max to groan with the pleasure. His chitin wasn't that sensitive, but that flesh was twice as sensitive as anything he could remember from before.

"Oh my god, yes..." Max groaned, letting his head fall back on the pillows.

He felt another shift of weight and looked down just in time to catch an eyeful of alicorn flank before Luna laid on his barrel. Her tail flicked to the side, giving him an amazing view of her winking marehood even as he felt a pair of mouths begin fighting over who would get the most of him. He bucked a bit, hearing an echoing growl from Crystal before she moved between his legs and hooked her fetlocks on his hips for grip. He bucked again and this time didn't move even a quarter of the distance, the sub-queen pinning his legs in place.

Crystal muttered something, her words causing the changeling's tongue to vibrate wonderfully against his shaft and earning another buck. Luna chuckled, whispering something back before his length was taken into a wet, warm tunnel. Crystal whined, leaving the stallion certain it was the alicorn who was currently bobbing up and down on his rod. The pleasant sensation stopped and he blinked away the for of lust for only a moment before a mare once more took him inside her mouth. This time Luna spoke, offering encouragement from the sounds of it. Judging by how enthusiastically the sub-queen was sucking down every last drop of pre she didn't need much encouragement.

Grinning to himself and finally managing to do more than just grunt and groan in pleasure, he gently ran a hoof over Luna's flank before trailing it down her slick flower. The mare shuddered at the touch but the moment he leaned forward to give her a real dose of pleasure with his tongue, he found himself dealing with a face full of hair.

"You don't get to play right now," Luna said with a coy smirk. "You need only sit there and enjoy it. We are certain you shall return the pleasure at a later time, correct? We shall look forward to it."

Max grunted as a pair of lips slid down his dick as Luna turned back around, her need even now winking with excitement and arousal A long tongue began to coil around him even as the mouth of the sub-queen began to compress his shaft and take him into her mouth. As he watched, Luna sat up, grinding against his chest and leaving a smeared trail of fluids on his chitin. The scent was intoxicating, lust and love filling his changeling senses while the smell of Luna's sex filled his nose. The fluid itself was charged with her emotions, leaving his shell tingling everywhere the alicorn smeared her need.

As Max's legs began to tense up, jerking a bit with his approaching orgasm, he felt the cool air on his stallionhood again before two tongues began running over it encouragingly. The thinner tongue fell back, movement on the bed telling him Crystal was repositioning herself. He saw her sit down beside Luna and recline against him, resting her head on his barrel before returning to her task. Luna whispered something to the sub-queen and she shifted, displaying herself to him as Luna currently was.

Max jerked again, the writhing tongues and the needy display driving him to madness. It was taking every bit of his willpower to not throw the alicorn off of his barrel and rut her. Instead he grit his teeth, growling as he stared at the winking holes taunting him every few moments with their vacancy.

"L-luna, I'm gonna finish soon," he warned.

To his pleasure, the mares redoubled their efforts, their tongues swirling this way and that, warm wet kisses trailing over his flesh even as the sub-queen's whip-like tongue tickled his shaft's opening. Clenching as his seed-maker's churned their payload and sent it on its way, he heard a bit more whispered conversation, his penis once more being buzzed by Crystal speaking with her tongue wrapped around him.

It was too much. Jerking and grunting he climaxed, earning a few giggles from Luna and even more whispered conversation. What they were saying didn't matter though. What mattered was that next time, he was going to make sure he finished buried deeply in one of the females currently winking at him. It felt great, but nothing to date beat the sensation of Luna's earth-shattering orgasm he'd forced her through a few days ago.

A faint grin passed over his face as he remembered that experience. Maybe he could get Crystal to help him with that. Bind Luna with the resin and see just how long they could tease her before she begged them for release. Crystal may not understand though, so he'd have to assure her they wouldn't be hurting the alicorn. Oh that would be awesome.

Crystal stared in disappointment at the love-laden seed that the stallion had just spurted all over Luna's barrel and neck. The alicorn was adamant that she not feed on any of it tonight, allowing the male to reabsorb most of it from their alpha. The sub-queen did manage to get a bit of the pre-cum, so it wasn't a total loss. It just wasn't as much love as she'd have liked.

Luna lifted herself from the stallion, stepping off of him and onto the bed beside him before gesturing for Crystal to approach. The dark alicorn rolled onto her back while patting her barrel.

"Come here, Crystal. We are in need of some assistance cleaning ourself."

Crystal immediately perked up at that. Help clean off the love-laden seed? There was no need to ask twice. Crystal immediately hopped over the dozing male and began trailing her tongue over Luna's body, noisily slurping up any of the semen she could find. She heard Luna giggle and paused, looking up and meeting her alpha's eyes.

"I still don't see why you didn't just let me catch it before he made this mess."

"Because now you are licking us," Luna said with a burst of lust. "We want to feel your tongue explore our body, so we felt it proper to give you an incentive."

The queen stopped, going over that line of thought again. If Luna had wanted Crystal to lick her, the alicorn needed only to order her to do so. As she was thinking this though Luna was beginning to burn with more lust, clearly reacting to the sub-queen's touch. Crystal continued to lick her alpha, her mind awhirl as she tried piecing her thoughts together. Her alpha wanted her to lick her, but didn't want to tell her to do so. She also wasn't specifying where to lick her, letting the queen wander her body as she searched for any trace of the male's essence. Was Luna attempting to train her on how to properly pleasure the alicorn?

Deciding to attempt to follow her own logic, Crystal began trailing her tongue through every crease of the mare's forelegs, her ears perked and her senses watching for any sense of disapproval from Luna. To her delight, Luna moaned in response, the larger mare's lust burning a bit brighter the more she wandered.

It was all the encouragement Crystal needed. She began to explore every part of the dark mare's body, licking and kissing her alpha and listening for any reaction. She made a mental archive, the good, the bad, the great. All the locations she roamed were meticulously catalogued in the sub-queen's mind. Her queen wanted to be pleased, so her follower would please her.

She was brought out of her exploration by the gentle pull of Luna's magic, the dark blue mare guiding Crystal to her muzzle and meeting her in a gentle kiss.

"That was wonderful, Crystal. I'm glad you figured it out. Now we're going to try something again. Do you remember your first night here?" Luna asked.

"N-not really," Crystal said, feeling a bit silly about the lack of memory. She'd been so hungry all she could remember was the heavenly amounts of lust and love she'd found in those jars followed by the panic of being caught. After that, it had been a strange sensation of lust and care being projected at her directly, something she'd never experienced before, then...nothing. Whatever Luna had done after the bath, which while nice after being on the run for so long was still kind of fuzzy, it had left the sub-queen with no memories of the occasion.

"I want you to sit like we are now, then follow our actions," Luna instructed before rolling over and standing up. "Once we begin, you may explore as you wish."

Crystal did as she was told, feeling strangely safe even in the exposed position. She'd have never exposed herself like this with the other queens and sub-queens back in the hive, but she was certain at this point that her alpha meant her no harm. The male wasn't a concern either, just another part of the alpha's flock.

She watched curiously as Luna moved over her, sitting against the sub-queen's barrel. Crystal's eyes widened in realization when Luna flicked her tail to the side, leaving her marehood exposed and in reach of the queen. It took a good deal of bending her neck to do so, but Crystal quickly began to pleasure Luna, feeling the alicorn returning the actions with her own, much broader tongue.

Crystal shuddered. The combination of lust and pleasure was a bit intense for her and it was becoming harder to focus as time passed. Already having consumed so much during her exploration of Luna's body earlier, her mind quickly became overwhelmed and her eyes began to glow bright red with the alicorn's building lust. The changeling gave a few last, sloppy licks of the alicorn's dripping nethers before slumping back onto the bed, too lust-drunk to continue. She giggled as she felt her alpha continue to lick her though. It felt so good, like she was going to...

Luna retracted her tongue from the clenching changeling's mare bits, a bit disappointed that the sub-queen couldn't keep up. The sub-queen was still recovering though, so it wasn't all her fault. Perhaps in the future she'd last a bit longer. Still, it was always a joy to see her flock so happy. Even if it left her...

"Didn't think this through, did you?" Max asked, still on his back.

"Oh hush. We believed she had recovered more than that," the alicorn retorted. "It's fine, we-"

"Shut up and get over here."

Luna huffed at the changeling but none the less approached. Max slowly rolled over and stood up, waiting for the blue alicorn to reach him. The moment she did, he kissed her in an almost sleepy manner.

"If you do not have the energy, then leave us to our own ideas. We can always use magic to-"

Max put a hoof to her lips, silencing her before trailing a line of soft kisses down her neck.

"If you ever have an issue, even something as simple as not being able to climax, you say something. We're both more than willing to help you. I am at least. Crystal's learning to be a team player but I don't know if she's there yet."

The stallion began to circle Luna, leaving an erratic trail of kisses up and down her sides, legs and wings before leaving a long, suckling kiss right on her vaginal lips. After that he continued on his route, kissing her randomly before coming back around her give her another lover's kiss.

"I don't want to hear about you trying to fly solo because you were worried we'd be too tired. You know from experience that I produce more than what you two milked me for earlier," Max scolded the alicorn.

"Is that why you decided to take a nap?" Luna shot back, unable to keep her wings from fluttering excitedly.

Max suddenly wrapped her in his forelegs, twisting her to the bed. Finding her mouth for another much deeper kiss he began to grind against her as his tongue explored her mouth.

"I take that as a challenge, little mare."

"Mayhap it is?"

"Challenge accepted, in that case," he said, continuing the kiss.

Before Luna could do anything besides return the kiss, she felt his member searching for her opening. It slid between her flanks, poking her in various points as the stallion ground himself against her rear. Breaking the kiss, Luna lightly batted his muzzle.

"You drive your stallionhood into our anus again and we shall have words, Max."

A grin bloomed on his face and she felt the tip of his shaft begin to prod her rear again, causing her to clench at the sensations.

"Maximus, we swear by the sta-ARS!"

With no warning he shifted slightly, driving himself deep into the depths of her slick flower. Her world exploded with pleasure, the sudden occupation more than she had been ready for at the moment. He pulled out and drove in again, drawing another gasp from Luna as she finally started to find her senses again. After the male found his rhythm Luna slumped, her head reclining limply against the pillows as the changeling began nipping and kissing at her neck. The throbbing organ that was leaving her alternately filled and empty was the only thing that truly mattered. No nobles, no mines, no farms, no bandits, no fears. Panting with arousal Luna found herself staring at the ceiling, one last though crossing her mind before pleasure consumed her.

'Tia doesn't know what she's missing.'

Strange Biology

Max blinked awake the next morning, a soft tapping on the door drawing him from his rest. It was apparently about the time to wake up. He didn't agree with this early-morning nonsense, but then again Luna was supposed to be lowering the moon to make way for the sun. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun first.

Slipping out of the pile of warm that was the bed, blankets, and mares Max trotted over to the door and quietly opened it.

'Definitely getting Crystal to show me how to use changeling magic later.'

The pony at the door jumped at the glowing blue eyes that peered out of the darkenss at him but managed to calm himself before starting a riot.

"Her highness's bath shall be ready in about an hour. Please see that she is awake in time."

"I will," Max mumbled, slipping the door shut again. Walking back to the bed he let his mind wander. Last time he pasted the mare to the bed and drove her to a mind-shattering orgasm. He could do that again, hell Crystal would help him if he explained the objective. Of course, it would be more fun if he could wait until tonight, securing Crystal's help when Luna wasn't looking. A bit of venom, and they'd have all the time they needed to properly secure her before teasing her to a glassy-eyed nirvana.

In that case he'd keep it simple.

Hopping back onto the bed he didn't even bother waking the sub-queen. She was worse than he was when it came to waking up early. It likely had to do with the fact that she didn't understand the necessity of Luna and Celestia being up at dawn and dusk. The rising and setting of the sun was literally tied to their efforts. If they didn't rise, the heavens didn't change.

His eyes wandered Luna's body, the dark blue alicorn currently playing big-spoon to Crystal while the two slept soundly. Wings were fun to play with but he didn't want to risk hurting her, the horn was only sensitive while she was channeling, her vagina? Too obvious...

Max's eyes rose as he stared at her cutie mark. It wasn't sensitive, or at least not enough to warrant special attention during intercourse but his mind latched onto the thought of what it represented.

Supposedly it represented everything a pony was, linked to their personality, their magic, some even went as far as to say it was linked to their very soul. So if he...yea, that may work.

Settling down on the bed with his tail beside the heads of the girls, Max began to kiss and lick at the mark. He took his time as well, making sure to trail kisses along the outline of the moon before using his tongue to trace the spots around it. He heard Luna stir, felt the mare shifting and her emotions picking up from the slow-burn of love and happiness it had been while she was asleep. Lust was picking up a bit and sparing a glance to her head he found out why.

The alicorn was staring at him with her mouth hanging open, as was Crystal. The sub-queen looked confused though, as if she was unable to understand why such simple actions were causing the alicorn so much pleasure. Luna twitched as he began kissing her again, giving a quick hump against Crystal before pulling the smaller mare tight against her barrel and squeezing her tightly. The changeling mare squealed in surprise and fear at the sudden strength of Luna's grip. Even as he began nipping and kissing around the mark with more force Luna's grip on the sub-queen increased and she gave another twitch, this time the smell of her arousal reaching his nose.

Max stopped, confused for a moment. He'd only been kissing the cutie mark, not any real sensitive part of the mare. So why was Luna acting like he was eating her out?

The mare continued to moan and squirm under his touch, humping against the changeling in her grip harder as she rode her apparently growing arousal even higher. Luna suddenly twisted, shifting herself on top on Crystal and humping mercilessly at the confused sub-queen while Max changed tactics, beginning to lick and suckle against the alicorn's nethers properly while rubbing the marks with his hooves.

"N-no, keep-hah. Keep using our mark. Please, do not stop," Luna begged, looking back at him pleadingly.

The stallion gave her a questioning glance before shrugging, returning to the mare's moons and beginning to kiss and lick them once more. As before, Luna began to hump the sub-queen with abandon, earning a confused mewl of happiness as the smaller shape shifter began to absorb a bit too much lust. It was food, but it was quickly causing the sub-queen to become intoxicated.

Pulling back once more and earning a confused moan from Luna he smacked his lips while tracing her flank with a hoof. He was all about enjoyment, so why not go the extra five yards?

Max gave the alicorn a shove, extracting a disappointed changeling from underneath Luna. Leaning in to whisper into Crystal's ear, Max couldn't keep a smile off of his face.

"Crystal, you want to make Luna feel really good?"

The sub queen immediately started nodding and shakily rose to her hooves. She circled Luna and began licking and kissing the dark mare's other side while Max returned to her left flank. Setting back to work, he could only laugh as Luna's legs gave out and the alicorn began mindlessly humping the bed as her eyes lost focus. It turned out there was an easier way to drive the alicorn to a mindless pile of lust than all those ideas he was going over. Certainly adding another mare to the ideas left him a bit confused as it wasn't something he was used to thinking about, but if it was as simple as this, well...

'Not only that, but it seems she trusts me enough to listen in some if not most things,' he thought as Luna proceeded to writhe between them, neither of the changelings letting up on their assault.

'It shouldn't be too hard to bring her aboard my plan to play with Luna tonight.'

As the alicorn panted in exhaustion between them, Max stepped over her and kissed Crystal, wrapping his forelegs around her and pulling her into the kiss.

"Now that Luna's been taken care of, it's our turn."

As Crystal's lust-drunk face turned to him, he swore the mare would have had to shape-shift to smile any wider.

<-(0)->

"We are telling you that it is not normal. We have never had that kind of a reaction to contact with our cutie mark before," Luna said as the three of them walked to breakfast and the first meeting of the day with Celestia.

"So the question would be why," Max stated, his brows furrowed. "I mean, I've heard of the mark being tied to the pony but that was a bit strange. The closest thing I can think of off the top of my head would be the sensitivity of the horn."

"Which is preposterous. The cutie mark of a pony does not channel magic," Luna countered.

"It is a point of magic though, isn't it?" Crystal asked. "A focus?"

Luna frowned in thought but nodded.

Max worried his lip as they walked, deep in thought.

"I think the follow-up question would be how do cutie marks work. How do you get them?"

"I assume you are asking how they manifest and not how a pony earns it. I do not know. We can ask Tia, she may know something we do not," Luna offered, opening the door to the dining room.

Celestia was already present, several scrolls floating in her magic. A pony was refilling her tea which, in Max's opinion may have been the only thing keeping the mare awake. Luna apparently agreed with his assessment as she approached the larger alicorn instead of making her way to her seat.

"Tia? Did you not sleep well?"

"Hm? Oh, good...morning Luna," Celestia responded, stopping to look at a nearby window. "We've just, there's all of these things that are waiting for us, we just couldn't sleep knowing there was so much work to be done..."

"So instead you work yourself 'til you can barely see the papers before you. The work shall remain there for you tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. It will be a long time before we are done, Tia. There's no need to work ourselves to exhaustion just yet. There will be plenty of situations that arise where it will be required in the future."

"Did Max tell you that?" Celestia asked with a hint of irritation. "He may be educated but he knows nothing of creating a kingdom."

"And we do?" Luna retorted. "We are making this up as we go, Celestia. Both of us are aware of this. Even as somepony to throw ideas at, we do not know the breadth of his knowledge nor how much can be used now or in the future. Besides, it wasn't Max. It was Starswirl the Bearded who said that to us after we spent three days working on our teleport spell. Now come, we have our duty to perform."

The two alicorns walked out the door, making their way to a nearby balcony to trade the skies. This left Max sitting at the table alone with...

Crystal let out a loud snore, her jaw resting on her thankfully empty plate.

"So just me," Max muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Clearly the mare was more like him than he'd admit. If not for the fact that he couldn't just sleep anywhere, he'd likely be following the shape shifter's example. Mornings just weren't his thing. Maybe eventually he'd get used to-

"Ha! How many years of school? Of getting up for classes and work and I still can't get out of bed without a reason if it's before noon. I don't think it's an issue of being use to it."

The changeling settled into his seat, watching the shifting colors outside as night turned to day. It was funny, no matter how many times he witnessed that shift he was always awed by it. Or maybe it was the fact that he personally knew the mares who did it. Either way it would be a long time before he grew bored of that rapid change.

"-back to bed. You look horrible and you are going to wear yourself out."

"It's not that bad," Celestia muttered. "I've been worse off before."

Luna shook her head.

"Being worse does not mean it's okay for you to overwork yourself. We said it before and we shall say it again. There will be time aplenty to work ourselves to exhaustion in the future."

"Luna, we are not returning to bed when we have so much-"

"Max, will you take Tia to her room? We will not have her wandering the halls in this condition, not when we shall be speaking to the peasants today to rally them to their tasks. The planning for the farms is done so Redstreak shall be overseeing the work, but we must make certain her workers understand their task. We do not foresee any issues though. Most of the ponies already have simple gardens beside their homes."

"I'll escort her, but I suggest having a light breakfast first. Might as well since she's already here and I doubt she ate much last night."

"Very well, breakfast first. And Tia? He can always help you sleep."

Celestia blushed scarlet at that and Luna giggled.

"Tranquilizing venom, Tia, though if you ask nicely..."

Max rolled his eyes. Luna seemed almost obsessed with getting the older alicorn into her flock sometimes. Whether it was the familiarity of a known mare or the idea that Celestia needed the comfort as well he wasn't certain. It could have been something else entirely. The only way he'd learn though. Actually, there was a better question to ask.

"Is there any particular reason you keep wandering into our bedroom?"

Celestia blushed, stuttering our a denial before Luna rolled her eyes and spoke.

"Tia, if you want to stay with us, you need only ask before we go to bed," Luna scolded. "I'm certain we can hold off for a night or two. Or we can have you join us on specific nights. You need only request the night, Tia. We shall not whither away if we are forced to go without."

"With how you act sometimes, I wonder," Max sniped, earning a chuckle from Luna.

"Oh hush you," the darker alicorn said with a smile. Turning back to her plate she stopped in confusion. "Where is the teapot?"

"My apologies your highness," the serving...ling? Max's eyes widened as he recognized the mare currently hovering with a teapot in her hooves.

"It was empty and I needed to run back for another pot."

"Flick? Since when did you become a servingmare?" he asked.

"It was just last night actually, sir," the smaller changeling answered. "I was asking if there was anything that needed doing and with Princess Celestia staying up later than usual, Princess Luna no longer staying up all night and no servingponies that were used to the night schedule, they asked me to fill in. I'll be heading to bed shortly since the usual staff are arriving but it's been fun. I don't think I've ever felt this good before, not just because I'm not hungry but because...I feel like I'm being paid in emotion for my work instead of just enough food to keep me alive. It's strange not having to drop all of the emotion I receive into a cache for other drones to pick up."

"Speaking of which, do you have a place to store extra? I'm kind of running on full and so is Crack, even if he won't admit it. We will need a storage chamber soon. If you add to our current amount, it shall be within a day or two."

"I think we can get something set up," Max said sleepily. "Right now we're using jars, storing the honey in glass jars for later but if we get any large amount of the stuff that may not work. Do changelings have a way to store emotion en masse?"

Flick frowned at his response.

"You...you don't have a place? You don't know how to store it?"

"Do you?" he retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but you're...like a queen so I thought you'd know this. I thought you...what are you?" she finally asked in confusion.

"He is a stallion that was brought to this world by Discord," Luna answered. "He was not born a changeling. All that he knows of your species, he has learned either through experimentation or accident."

"I'd actually like to get you, Crack, and Crystal together and see if we can pool some changeling knowledge, maybe even write some of it down. It if makes you more comfortable, we can use English, since I don't think anyone on the planet speaks it, much less is capable of reading it," Max added, looking over to Crystal. "I still don't know how to use changeling magic or shape-shift and I'd like to fix that as soon as possible. We can also figure out what we're going to need in terms of storage space for food."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Luna said, taking a sip of her tea. "Redstreak will be taking up most of our day again, this time discussing any issues that have arisen since she started on her project. We do not see a need for your aid arising in the meantime, so there should be no problem with you taking the time to learn more about changelings. It may also enable us to better accommodate your species. We assume the open grounds of the keep are a bit strange to you, are they not Crystal?"

The sub-queen nodded quietly, her focus drifting from her alpha to the smaller changeling.

Max grinned as Luna stared at the smaller mare. Crystal still wasn't aware of it, but she tended to bleed her true emotions through her expressions in a way she just didn't seem to understand. And right now she was staring a hole into Flick's head.

"Crystal, stop it," Luna reprimanded, bumping the sub-queen's shoulder with a wing. "Max, will you be able to deal with this? I trust you to act in everypony's best interest here."

"I will. You still want me to take care of..." Max drifted off meaningfully, bobbing his head to the white alicorn mare...who without much stake in the current conversation was currently sleeping on her pancakes.

Her buttered pancakes.

Luna's mouth twisted into a rueful smile and she shook her head.

"How does she expect to aid the peasants if she cannot find the energy to stay awake? Nay, we shall take Tia to her room. You shall begin what we imagine shall be a long, painful process of learning what you can while maintaining civility between the changelings."

Swallowing the last bit of her breakfast, Luna levitated Celestia over to her and placed the sleeping alicorn on her back.

"Behave yourself, Crystal. While she remains in our keep Flick is one of our subjects as much as any pony. I care not what rivalries or ideas you entertained about her when you were in the Mother's hive, for now you shall listen to Max and follow his lead in this endeavor. He knows what it is we need from the two of you and with your help he will be able to better educate us on the needs of your species. The more we know, the better we shall be able to accommodate you and any other changelings that may approach us seeking asylum."

Max followed Luna's example, throwing the last of his breakfast into his mouth before looking to Flick.

"First thing we're going to need is a spare room to be the changeling room, preferably one underground. That's where the Hive was located, right? Some familiarity is nice, trust me on this one. If we're going to be dealing with newcomers I think a place for them to relax would be a good idea."

"There were some ponies digging out two cellars earlier," Flick said, trying to ignore the sub-queen's attempts to stare a hole in her head. "Do you think they'd let us..."

Max nodded in understanding.

"I do. We'd likely need to wait until they were done, but I don't see why they wouldn't let us use one or at least add a small addition to a cellar. Even if there's not enough room to keep changelings down there, we can store the emotion down there where it will be out of the way. Unless you ladies think it would be preferable to keep emotion as we would keep valuables."

"I'd like to do so with love at least, other positive emotions just aren't as...sought after as love," Crystal said in reply.

"It would also be wise to keep enough emotion to sustain ourselves for a time in the event that things go south here," Flick said quietly. "I really don't want to go hungry again if I can avoid it."

Max nodded.

"I don't really see it being too much of an issue but better safe than sorry. I still don't know how much emotion would last how long but I think at least a week's worth of food would be the target, per changeling. Three days was the suggestion by some of the government groups back home in the event of possible disasters, but our food source isn't exactly easy to scavenge and we don't have FEMA coming along to help us out."

At the blank stares, Max chuckled before standing up. Starting towards the door and motioning for the other two to follow, he explained.

"FEMA was a disaster relief agency that the government ran. I've never actually experienced a disaster so I don't know the details, but I think it was FEMA and the Red Cross, another group, that sent disaster relief supplies. If there was flooding or a tornado tore through a city, those two would help coordinate both the supplies and the volunteers that were sent to help the people who were hurt. "

Slowing to make certain the mares were following, Max made his way to the courtyard...or what he hoped was the courtyard.

<-(0)->

"How is it that you still have trouble finding your way around the keep?" Crystal sniped from behind him as they finally found the new cellars.

"Because I haven't really just wandered around to get to know the place?" Max shot back. "It was several days before I actually managed to see the village outside, since Luna and I kept getting sidetracked. Why would it surprise you to find out I still don't have the place memorized? Besides, I've always been horrible at remembering places. It takes me at least a few visits before I remembered the layout of my friends house and this place is five times that size at least."

The three changelings finally slowed, standing before the doorframe of the cellar that was closest to the barracks. The other one was being built near the kitchens, allowing for easy access and storage of foods in a cooler area. Luna had already asked another noble, a Lady Glistering Glyph to look over the runes that would be needed for adding additional cooling to the cellars. The lowered temperature would make changelings uncomfortable so that cellar was out of the running as a changeling home.

Max looked over the construction, never having seen such an effort before up close. Sure he remembered seeing a house or two under construction but this? Ponies were doing everything by hoof, the only exception a few simple levitation spells being used by unicorns to hold things in position or a pegasus or three holding a beam in place while an earth pony used a gauntlet of formed stone to punch the bolts of metal in. Several earth ponies were digging with cut-gem claws on their hooves. That one had thrown him for a loop before a unicorn had mentioned the simplest gems were often found only a few paces underground. In fact it often meant that made gem-crafted tools were cheaper than metal tools!

'What kind of- it's like a diamond sword in Minecraft being easier to make than a stone one. That is bullshit.'

Approaching the pony overseeing the project, Max tapped his shoulder.

"What do ya, oh! Oh me mother's... ya nearly made me heart jump from me barrel. Yer one o' tha bugs? What'cha doin' 'round me project?" the purple pegasus pony petitioned.

"We're making our own plans. I'm looking for a place that we can either use for changeling sleeping quarters and a place to store the honey."

Max held up a hoof, forestalling the foreman's argument.

"I'm not saying we're going to use it, but it's something i'm thinking about. Changeling's are subterranean so many may feel more comfortable sleeping underground. The honey on the other hoof can be stored like anything else for now, unless we learn of a specific way to store it."

"Maximus is currently using glass jars. I know the Hive used jars made with hardened adhesive, but I'm not certain how that process works, or how to process it properly," Crystal added, craning her neck to look into the pit that was being finished. "Until we can find a better solution, glass jars will be our go-to method."

"You can taste...smell that stuff through the jar, right?" Max asked the sub-queen. "What do you think the distance is that you were detecting the emotion from?"

"I do not know. I was not of a mind to remember such things," Crystal said.

"I could detect it from a good distance, but I wasn't really aware of what it was. Only that it was good, that I wanted it," Flick added. "Of course, I was in a cage at the time so I couldn't really make any moves towards it."

"I guess that's something else to find out...I'm going to need some paper...magic too, see if they can help me with that," Max mumbled under his breath as he tried to plan storing the emotions on a larger scale.

If any number of changelings did happen to show up at the keep it was likely that the storage facilities would need to be expanded well beyond a section of a store-room. In fact, it was possible that the entire keep would need to be expanded. Luna and Celestia had already mentioned that after seeing the slowly growing number of ponies that were congregating outside. Add in another race, one that would likely be focused in this one location? Not to mention Luna's desire to get the thestrals allied with them as well. It was going to become very busy over the next few years.

"How are changelings at tunneling, Flick?"

"Not bad," the mare answered. "I remember there were a few back in the Hive that had special hooves for it. It made transformations a bit more difficult as they had to smooth their hooves but their shells were stronger to defend against any loose dirt or stone."

Crystal huffed in irritation.

"I remember working with a few of those during an experiment. Mother was trying to use them to dig around or under fortifications so the army could strike faster, but we ended up losing almost ten drones when the tunnel collapsed."

"Yes, because you were pushing them to dig too fast. The tunneler had several injuries on his flanks from the drones behind him pushing him to dig faster even after he warned them that it wasn't safe," Crack growled as he joined the group. "Those deaths weren't his fault, yet he was terminated for inadequacy. 3A7G-238 didn't deserve that."

"Crack. Thanks for showing up, I wasn't really sure where to find you," Max said, ignoring the heated glares the sub-queen and the new addition were exchanging.

"We're looking into possible storage areas for the food or even sleeping quarters. I imagine you guys would sleep better in a familiar place."

"I'm perfectly content with a sleeping mat, thank you," the smaller stallion replied tartly. "It's better than the floor drones were left with."

Max nodded. It would likely be the same with how they were now much better fed - neither wanted to return to the old way now.

"What was your job in the Hive?"

Crack looked ready to explode in anger but Max raised his hooves in a placating gesture.

"It's not because I'm going to set you on the same tasks, I just need to know what information we have. From what I've learned talking to Flick and Crystal, changelings didn't learn much outside of their assigned tasks. Flick was infiltration, Crystal was military."

"I was a medical drone," he said after a moment of silence. "Mostly it was diagnosing the...efficiency of salvaging injured drones."

"I think I understand," Max said. "Rest assured that both ponies and humans put a lot more effort into keeping even workers alive. I'll do my best to make sure you aren't put in that kind of situation again. In the meantime, it's good to know we have someone who knows changeling first-aid. Do you know how to fix a nictitating membrane?"

"You managed to...nevermind," Crack muttered, shaking his head. "With enough emotion it can be repaired. Queens and sub-queens were given priority for healing and that seemed to be a common injury. Given the proper supplies and some love I should be able to fix it. I've only repaired about a hundred of those..."

"Awesome. It's not painful, but it feels weird at the moment. Is there a time in which it needs to be fixed?" Max asked, scrunching the eye. It wasn't painful but talking about it was reminding him of the irritation.

"No, love-soaks tend to remove most injuries. You don't even need to soak the entire body, just the injury. They're very expensive in energy-use though, so Mother tended to only be willing to go so far to repair injuries," Crack explained. Looking to the larger stallion cautiously, he tapped against his left foreleg with his right hoof.

"If Flick or I end up with injuries..."

"We'll use the energy to heal you," Max assured him. "We've got plenty for the numbers, though if it's something simple or if someone else has a life-threatening injury we may have to delay the process until our supplies can cover it. Right now we're starting to approach a point where we're collecting more than we're burning, so it's a good time to start thinking about storage methods. Do you know any?"

"Only the jars we used in the hive. I didn't have permission to enter the storage areas, so I don't know how Mother had it all stored. Glass jars should work for now though. Oh, did you want that jar back?"

Max chuckled, shaking his head.

"Nope, I'm good. You go ahead and keep it. Try not to swallow too many jars like that though. I know the glass is tough, but the cork may not be so durable."

Taking one last look at the cellar that was shaping up quickly, Max turned back to the keep.

"Lets go find a room and some writing supplies. We're going to try and compile our racial knowledge. I wont force you to keep a job if you don't like it but we'll need this information to be stored somewhere in case something bad happens to one of us."

Crystal frowned but otherwise said nothing, following along behind him while Flick and Crack took up the rear. A little bit of wandering and a few questions to a passing servingmare and the group eventually found themselves in a small receiving room, complete with writing utensils and scrolls.

Crystal closed the door as soon as the other two were inside, locking it for good measure. At Max's questioning look, she shrugged her shoulders before taking a spot at the low table beside him.

"I don't like the idea of some of this being discussed openly. I know they're supposed to be our ally now and my alpha is leading them but...old habits die hard. Security was important in the Hive, it kept us from being anticipated."

"It also kept the infiltrators safe," Flick chimed in. "If ponies didn't know something like changelings existed, we didn't need to worry about being hunted, just discovered."

Max nodded, looking to the feather and quill in irritation before unrolling a scroll. He picked up the quill with his hoof carefully and dabbed the quill in the ink, wary of how much was on the tip before trying to write his name. After reaching the x he slipped, cutting a hole in the scroll.

"Dammit, I knew this would be difficult."

"Let me," Flick said before reaching over and taking the quill in her mouth. She wrote out a quick line in a fourth type of script, presumably changeling. Smiling around the quill, she nodded for him to begin.

Max nodded in understanding, tapping his hoof to his muzzle in thought.

"Okay, so at the top write Changelings. Then, were going to go over basics. Gathers energy by absorbing emotions, gaining more energy the more focused the emotions are. Shape shifters, including the abilities to alter physical appearance and voice. Do you also alter your weight?"

Crystal looked a bit worried that the abilities of their race was going to end up recorded, but put the worries away for now. After all, Flick was writing in Changeling script so the possibility of a pony walking in and knowing what it was would be low.

"Yes. Otherwise a foal would make the floors creak too much, or a griffon would be able to stand on snow. The less different we are from the target species, the less likely we are to arouse suspicion."

"Infiltrators learn to do a bit more though," Flick said after putting down the quill for a moment. "My disguise is one hundred percent realistic. I even have fur and if I have the energy, the proper body heat. Ponies are a bit warmer than changelings."

"Some of the oldest infiltrators actually used some of their awarded love to alter themselves, adding fur or mass to better cement their disguises," Crack added. "For instance, a changeling who uses an earth-pony disguise most of the time may want to make themselves heavier to mimic the mass of that tribe."

"Earth ponies are the easiest to mimic as long as you don't get in a test of strength with them. Pegasi are a bit tougher, as many of them are very proud of their speed. A pegasus that isn't showing off every now and again draws attention. Finally unicorns were the toughest to copy. The unicorn tribe is very proud of their magic. A changeling's green, flickering aura wouldn't stand out too much, but several unicorns with the same aura would. All of the newest ponies walking into a town, with no relations besides what their covers allowed for? That would be obvious."

"Okay, that makes sense," Max said. Tapping the table, Max sighed. Might as well get it out there.

"You two have heard my story, right?"

Flick and Crack both nodded, the male speaking.

"The ponies were very willing to speak to me. They've been passing the information around for the last few days, in fact. One mentioned that you were stuck with the blue alicorn's voice for a time. I assume you're going to be asking how to use shape shifting?"

"That and changeling magic in general," Max said with a weak smile. "I actual managed to learn how to store emotion while following a unicorn's advice on how to use magic. It got me thinking that the difference in species would mean that our magics may be too different for cross-species training."

"It's not," Flick said. "Most of the spells are the same, in fact many of the ones I've learned were originally unicorn spells. Our magic works a bit differently, but once activated it behaves the same as unicorn magic."

"It's because the magic is directly tied to our lives, right?" Max asked, looking between Flick and Crystal.

"Yes," Crystal said, looking at the paper with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. "Changelings have a much faster rate of both healing and magic replenishment if they're well-fed, but unlike unicorns it's much easier for a changeling to accidentally burn too much energy. It's why most of the Hive's defenders were both well supplied and cautioned against using magic in battle."

"No idea how long they'd have to fight, right? Wouldn't do to have the guards falling over from exhaustion early in a protracted battle," Max said, thinking about what it would mean in a full society. Magic would have been heavily discouraged, especially when food was so hard to come by, when nobody was actually full. Thus the only ones who fully delve into magic would have been unicorns. Changelings would take what spells they could, but most would be abandoned as changelings didn't have the energy available to throw away like that.

"I assume using magic for things that didn't require it was heavily discouraged."

"It was," Crack answered. "It was taught at a young age that magic should be a last resort. Most changelings only really learned one or two spells. Levitation was fairly simple, though frivolous use was discouraged. A simple fireball, which was more pure changeling magic than an actual spell."

"Disguise was only really mastered by infiltrators like myself," Flick said, taking over. "My disguise would be hooves down the best of the three of us. Some of the queens and sub-queens didn't even bother with disguises. They said it was beneath them, but they didn't actually know how to use the magic, or at least to any believable level.

"While it's more of an ability changelings are born with, disguise magic is reliant on how much you know about the species you're attempting to mimic. The more you know, the more believable the disguise. If you've never even seen a griffon, for instance, your disguise will likely be very sloppy. It may pass to creatures who have also never seen one, but anyone who has had any interactions with griffons would likely be able to spot the changeling, even if they didn't know it wasn't a griffon. In that case it would just be a suspicion that there was something different or wrong with the changeling."

"Is there any chance I can get one of you to volunteer to teach me shape shifting and magic?" Max asked.

"Shape shifting is fairly simple. If you want the basics, anyone here can teach them to you. If you're looking to learn better shape shifting, I'll teach you. Same with magic," Flick answered. "It's the least I can do. I don't think I've ever been able to...eat and sleep so much. It feels strange."

"And what of me?" Crystal growled at Max in anger. "I know how to transform and use magic as well!"

"You were still in training if I remember correctly," Crack responded coolly. "You had only been fit for service for a few months. In fact, you were on probation."

Crystal turned to the male, furious.

"Lies!"

"In fact, I'd heard two of the queens talking about you," he continued. "Something about making hatchling mistakes in your first actual attack? losing several warriors in what should have been a simple mission?"

"There was a squad of pegasus knights passing through the area!" Crystal shouted at Crack. "Did they mention that? That the information and the warriors I was forced to work with were both subpar? If I hadn't been watching every aspect of the battle so closely the losses would have been worse!"

"Enough!" Max shouted, slamming a hoof on the table. "We're on the same fricken' side! Crack, stop taking shots at Crystal. Crystal, I may ask you for help just by virtue of the fact that our biologies may differ from Flick's since she's a smaller changeling. I don't know what my abilities are in comparison to her own."

Turning a bit and using a hoof to pull the sub-queen into a hug, he leaned onto her shoulder.

"Don't assume I'm dismissing you if I ask for help. I have several things to take into consideration, including the fact that you may be with Luna sometimes. Besides, I want to know how to use shape shifting to the best of my abilities. I would think an infiltrator would be best for that kind of information."

Flick and Crack both shook their heads at the display.

"I swear, you act so much like a pony sometimes that it's scary," Crack muttered.

Flick nodded but said nothing, taking the quill back in her mouth and motioning for the group to continue.

"Right, right, back to it. Storing emotions...we know that the Hive used jars made of the adhesive, but for now we're using glass since it's more plentiful. I mean, I don't know how to make the jars so glass is what we have."

"If you don't mind, I need to get some sleep," Flick mumbled after writing down that last bit. She set down the quill and yawned, using a hoof to push the paper and quill towards Crack.

"I don't know if I'm going to be permanent night-shift or not, it will depend on Proper Place. She asked me to talk to her after that shift with the sun princess and after I'd gotten some sleep. Crack, if you can't find anything else, you could offer yourself as a healer. I'm sure Lance and Shimmering Barrier would be happy to have a pony who knows there way around injuries, even if it was for a different species."

The smaller mare walked out the door, leaving the group to their discussion. Max listened intently as the group wandered from topic as they created their list while talking about their own experiences with the Hive, good and bad. A number of things were written down, but many were not. After all, knowing how to best subvert ponies didn't do the locals much good when the only major changeling base of operations had been left in shambles by Discord. Perhaps at a later time he'd talk spy-stuff with Flick. For now, he focused on biology and energy needs. Things that would be important in the coming weeks. After all, it was high time he learned a few things about his new body.

Voices in Your Head

It wasn't until the next morning that Celestia started wondering if something was amiss with the shape-shifting pair. Luna was the reason the changelings had to get up in the morning, though so her absence would likely cause them to sleep in. Sitting down for lunch and finding out that nopony had seen either Crystal or Maximus was too much. Ponies didn't change their sleeping habits that quickly without effort. Even if they were relaxing for the day or Max was soothing the mare's nerves in Luna's absence, she was certain the two would be awake.

Celestia rose from her seat and made for the door, telling the servingmare she'd return shortly. It wasn't that far from her destination after all. In fact their private dining hall was closer to Luna's room than her own. Walking down the cool hallways as the afternoon sun shined outside, she found herself mentally listing the needs she would be seeing to over the next few days. The quarry was producing stone, so the alicorns would start teleporting it into the cavern as filler. The farms were beginning to germinate, leaving Redstreak to begin searching for workers from the village that was forming around the keep. Sapphire was taking a trip to the mines under the guard of a squad of knights as well as with Crack, the changeling agreeing to the trip as it was a chance to do something besides what he was assigned in his old hive.

'I believe Shimmering Barrier assigned a pegasus and unicorn team to begin mapping the local area. I'd like to do that map thing I read about in Starswirl's book of Dream Valley, the...what was that sort of map called again?'

Reaching the door, she knocked quietly and waited for a response. When none was forthcoming, she knocked louder, the changeling's warning playing through her mind. She wasn't nearly desperate enough for companionship that she'd risk that...

"Maximus? Crystal? Are you present?"

After a long silence, Celestia weighed her options. She wasn't certain if the changelings would act against her without Luna being present, but they certainly didn't operate on the same level ponies did. On the other hoof, somepony was always present during the meals. Breakfast had been unbearably silent as she ate by herself and knowing there would be no nobles present for lunch either, she was unwilling to suffer two meals alone.

'Okay, maybe I am willing to risk it.'

Breathing out a sigh she opened the door, she stuck her muzzle into the dark room and took a quick look around. Having confirmed that no illicit activities were occurring, or had occurred in recent history judging by lack of musk blanketing the room, she stepped into the bedroom and approached the still-occupied bed. Both of the changelings were present; both were facing each other, their horns locked as their heads laid on the bed at awkward angles.

"Max? Crystal? Are you well?"

Her worry rising, she stepped closer, giving a nudge to the stallion before she pulled her hoof back. His shell was oddly cool to the touch. Not only that, she couldn't imagine being able to sit as they were for any length of time. The way their necks were contorted was painful even to look at.

Crystal slowly opened her eyes, waking up as Celestia tapped the mare's shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Are you aware of what happened here, Crystal?"

The shape shifter stared at her in confusion for a moment before she looked to the stallion sitting limply before her.

"Wha-what the hell?"

"Crystal?" Celestia called to the trembling changeling. "Crystal, look at me. What happened?"

"I don't know!" she responded, quickly falling into a blind panic. "It was supposed to be a simple exchange, I'd give him the information on how to fly and I'd be able to learn the, I'd learn how to act like he does. The easy, the casual interactions!"

"Crystal!" Celestia shouted, jumping onto the bed and using a hoof to force the mare to meet her gaze. "What. Happened? What did you attempt that led to this situation."

"I wanted to link. Changelings, we can link with one another, we can speak over the link even if we're not physically present. It's, it's something I missed from home. We were all connected. Here we're alone and I, I thought it would make learning from each other easier. Oh my god, I have no idea what's going on, my brain feels weird and everything's all weird looking and tasting and feeling. I don't understand! It was a simple exchange of information!"

Celestia blinked in shock as the mare began a tirade that would make the stallion proud. Then she blinked again. It wasn't just a tirade that would make the stallion proud, it sounded almost exactly like his own panic attack, or at least what Luna had described to her.

'Link? Did she...did Crystal link their minds?'

"I'm screwed! Luna's going to kill me! I have no idea what went wrong, but it all went pear-shaped! All of it, it all went to hell and I can't stop it and I keep thinking things I don't mean to and I have no control over my thoughts anymore!"

The changeling grabbed Celestia in a telekinetic grip, dragging the alicorn into her hooves. She then proceeded to shake the older mare as she screamed her fears.

"She'll never forgive me! I'll have to go away, I'll be forced to turn into a Lovecraftian horror that eats people's souls to fill the void in my own, Luna will hunt me down for hurting him and I'll never know a nights rest! I don't want that! I didn't mean to do this!"

Celestia bore the tirade with all the patience she'd been gathering over the last few years.

"Crystal-"

"-have to change my name, oh my god what would I call myself? I'm not good at names! I was assigned Crystal Wish!"

"Crystal, please-"

"-to move to the south, it's too cold to the north for changelings, are there even ponies down there? I mean this is where most of-"

*Slap*

"Crystal Wish, return to thy senses!"

Celestia breathed a calming breath, waiting for the changeling's eyes to regain their focus.

"This was an accident. Luna will not blame you for an accident you could not foresee. Max is physically a changeling, but I would guess that his previously being another species caused the, link you called it? It may have caused the link to become unstable or react in an unpredictable way. You are currently speaking almost exactly as he does. Calm yourself."

Crystal stared at her in shock before nodding dumbly.

"I was about to engage in a meal. We will make certain he is comfortable, we will speak of this at length, and we shall ask Flick or Crack if they know anything of this sort of reaction."

Using a quick burst of magic to straighten out the male's body and placing a blanket tagged with a simple warming charm over him, she watched for a few moments before nodding and making her way to the door. The stallion would likely wake up in time as Crystal did, she just needed to make certain his posture didn't cause him any harm in the interim period.

<-(0)->

Max blinked awake to find himself alone in a dark room. It looked to be fairly bright outside judging by the light shining through the shutters, which was odd because it didn't feel like he'd slept all that long. In fact he didn't remember going to bed at all. Just following Crystal into the room and-

He shook his head, the odd glow of the mare's eyes stuck in his mind. She did something to him, to them. She did something and he wasn't really sure what in the nine hells it was. Maybe after his missions for the day he'd be able to ask her what it was she'd hoped to accomplish.

He nearly made it to the bathroom before he stopped, running the line of thought through his head again. He didn't do missions, did he? What was it called when Mother directed you to-

"What the hell?"

A mare was appearing in his thoughts when he pondered the term, or at least the title. A changeling mare, large and imposing with a permanent sneer on her face. He actually found himself shivering at the intensity of her gaze. She saw all around her as an instrument of her power. None could touch her and those that dared to defy or even question her were treated to a personal demonstration of her displeasure. She would start by drawing a few leeches from a barrel, teleporting them into the changelings emotion-pouch where digestion couldn't occur. They weren't normal leeches though, they were special. Their venom was what she prized, enhancing all senses. Including pain. Once the changeling began to flinch from the bites they couldn't fend off, a sign the venom was taking effect, she'd begin. A wicked looking blade floated towards Sixteen as she writhed in panic on the stone slab, her shattered horn sputtering weakly as-

"Holy fuck!" Max shouted, shaking the images away. Those weren't ideas or a wandering imagination. That was something that had happened. It was a front-row seat to an execution and she'd watched the entire thing. If you didn't, you'd be on the table next. Mother was patient like that. It's why you listened. If you didn't-

"Shit, not mine. Not my thoughts, where's-"

Images of another female, this one a bipedal female in jeans and a T-shirt as she drank her morning coffee. The brown-haired, green eyed woman threw a quick, cheery insult about his clothing choice at him as he grabbed some pop tarts and ran out the door, almost late for school.

Max nodded, taking a calming breath.

That was a mother. Not that thing Crystal knew and feared. Mom rubbed his back as he puked his guts out while sick with the flu. Mom screamed like a woman possessed as he walked towards the front of the gym to grab his high school diploma. Mother and Mom were two different beings. Mom was kind, Mother was cruel. Mom calmed his fears, Mother inspired them. Mother had no place in his life. Mother was also likely to be dead from her own mad attempts to kill Discord.

'Maximus? You're up?!?'

"Crystal?" he called out, looking around the room. "Yea, I'm up. Where are you?"

'We'll be there in a second, stay calm,' was her reply, though he still couldn't give direction to her voice. It almost felt like it was coming from everywhere. His ears began to swivel, searching for the source of the voice even as a clattering of hooves echoed from outside the door. The changeling mare smashed open the door, likely nearly damaging the wooden barrier in her haste.

"Wait, if you were down the hall- Crystal what did you do to me?"

"I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to be like this! I messed up!" the mare cried, pulling him into a hug.

He wasn't sure what threw him off more, her sudden affection and willingness to engage in physical gestures or the echoing shout he was hearing, like he was hearing her words twice. Celestia entered the room at a much more sedate pace even as Crystal continued to panic, shaking her head at the changeling mare's mannerisms.

"I'd just gotten her to stop wailing about exile when you woke up, too."

Patting the inconsolable changeling on the back while she gibbered in stereo and crushed him into her barrel, Max looked to Celestia.

"So the short version of what happened?"

"Short version of- oh! She attempted to form a sort of mental connection with you, a connection that is apparently common for the changeling species." the alicorn explained. "Something happened though, likely to do with your alien psychology, and it ended up leaving the both of you out cold. At least, that's what I have managed to decipher. How do you feel?"

"A bit of a headache, but that's more from hearing her crying in stereo. It explains why I could hear her when she wasn't in the room. That's so weird. I also keep seeing things like...you know how if you try, you can remember people or places you've seen in the past? I know what her mom looks like now. I think I know a lot more, too. I just haven't...I don't know if I feel right looking through all of that. This wasn't exactly something I've spent time thinking about. Kind of worrying, actually. I keep having to think about which memories are mine right now. In hindsight it's obvious but every now and again I'll fondly...no. Nevermind, I can't use that word with most of her memories. That's kind of depressing, too. Interesting, sometimes exciting, but I can't use the word happy with most of them."

Celestia nodded.

"That is not so strange. The transfer went both ways. She has been acting oddly all day, as her mannerisms are much closer to yours at the moment. She also speaks much more quickly. A little too quickly sometimes. I had to explain her sudden energy to Redstreak and Shimmering Barrier after she insulted both myself and them. I imagine it is what you would sound like if you did not filter your words at all."

Max winced, able to easily imagine the smaller mare's tirade if it was anything like what he'd learned to keep a lid on. A quick bout of fear for what Mother would do to the changeling was quickly crushed, though Crystal pulled closer as the vicious queen crossed his mind. Actually, she was probably the source of that fear.

"She'd destroy me if I thought even half of that in her presence," Crystal sobbed.

"Well she's not here, is she?" Max consoled. "She's not here, and we have a bunch of friends who want us to be strong. They want us strong so we can lean on each other, remember?"

He held Crystal as she finally started calming down, stroking her back as she settled comfortably against him. A quick flash of his mom crossed his mind, and he could feel Crystal smile cautiously.

'Can I think of her as mom too?'

The stallion chuckled.

"I'm sure she'd be fine with that. Being part of Luna's family, you'd be considered a daughter-in-law anyway. She'd even call you her daughter, right after she got over the whole 'other species are real and my son is one now' thing."

<-(0)->

After calming Crystal and putting her in bed, Max and Celestia spent the next few hours discussing the town outside the keep. Not all of the things the changeling spoke of were pleasant. Deciding to call it for the day, Celestia hoped that adjourning the information dump would end it until later. Possibly even until Luna could take care of it.

"-would sometimes throw their toilet water out the window. It led to some towns making sewer systems to help flush the filth away with the rain so that they didn't have to deal with a buildup of sewage in the roads."

Max was not interested in putting off the discussion. Celestia's normally pristine white coat was taking a green hue during their discussion of sanitation and disease control. Not that he blamed her. It was a rather unpleasant if necessary topic. He personally wasn't sure what the ponies outside the wall did with their shit-buckets, but some of the garderobes in the keep fell straight into small pits dug below them. It removed the waste from the keep, but it was far from gone. Just distanced from those living in the structure.

'Which wont be any fun after a year or two. Going to have to figure out long-term solutions for these kinds of things. Sewers cost money for both materials, man-hours, and maintenance.'

'Blech. The hive didn't have half of the problems these ponies do,' he heard Crystal complain.

"Just because changelings don't worry about these things doesn't mean they're not important," Max lectured, drawing a look of confusion from Celestia. "I'm sure the ponies you guys caught and kept for emotion had to be cared for, which meant they probably produced waste as well. Just because you never saw it doesn't mean it wasn't there."

The stallion blinked as he felt a wave of confusion followed by amusement wash over him.

"It is so strange, hearing you talk to a pony who is nowhere near us," Celestia chuckled.

"You think this is weird, you should try walking down a sidewalk in Chicago. Can't tell if half the people are talking to you, talking on their phones, or just insane," Max replied, grinning and hearing a few feminine giggles in his head. He instantly brightened up. "Oh wow, that means I have someone who will get my jokes!"

"Sun and stars save us, two changelings making jokes only they understand," the alicorn said, rolling her eyes. "While I am certain it will bring you and Crystal no end of amusement, please attempt to remember that not everypony is capable of being inducted into your link and thus not everypony will be capable of understanding your jokes."

"I know, but it's still something new. Weird and confusing, but new."

Max shuddered at the memory of the changeling queen.

"I don't think you understand just how scary Crystal's mother was, Tia. She didn't just do executions. She held torture sessions and everyone had to attend, especially those related to or working with the damned. She also carried out the executions personally. I really do hope that changeling's dead, because I don't know if I can shove down Crystal's terror enough to stand against her."

"Until today you were unaware you could feel another's fear, Maximus. Perhaps in time you will learn to shield yourself as well as bolster her own courage," the alicorn soothed. "Do not allow fear of the unknown to hinder you. Is that not what you said only a few days ago to Lady Sapphire?"

Max laughed.

"I think there's a big difference between allowing your fear to hold you back and having another's fear blind-side you. I-jeeze, the idea is just..."

"Is there anything useful you have gained from the connection?"

"Well, I could might be able to shape shift or fly if I didn't think about it too hard. That's the main reason she did it, to avoid having to teach me, but I think I can also...I wonder if..."

Max stopped in the halls, closing his eyes and focusing. Focusing on another set of eyes. It would make sense that the information would go both ways if Crystal could hear him talking. Or was he thinking too hard about it?

He blinked a few times as the kitchen came into focus, an absolute mess of ingredients and half-finished foods scattered over the counters and crushed into the floor. No, he wasn't blinking. Crystal was.

'Max! No, don't- get out! It's supposed to be a surprise!'

He flinched as he felt himself shoved away, the sensation so alien he couldn't even think of the words to describe it. Shaking his head, he looked to the curious mare beside him with a wry grin.

"We need to get to the kitchen before Crystal burns the castle down."

"Maximus, this structure is made of stone," the alicorn deadpanned.

He grinned even wider as he took off towards the smell of burning carrots.

"You didn't see what I did. We need to move. Now."

<-(0)->

"Oh quit your bellyaching," Max joked. "You were trying to make seven different dishes at once based on half-remembered recipes and most of those recipes either aren't for herbivores or are made with different ingredients and utensils that we don't have here."

"I wanted to try to make them. I've never had them before, but I knew how they tasted, or at least how they were supposed to taste. I wanted to know for myself," the changeling mare pouted, looking at the light dinner that was being served. Only two of the things on the table were from her foray into cooking, and even those items were what Max would charitably call a mistake.

'Truthful would be calling the incident a food-pocolypse.'

'I heard that!'

The stallion stuck out his tongue, earning a growl from the smaller changeling as she transmitted various images of him being subjected to bodily harm, from strikes to the head to an interesting image of him being hit by a rather large and jagged-looking rock. Seeing that she was able to 'send' full images so easily, he cocked his head in thought before focusing on an image of his own. Crystal's eyes widened and she sputtered, choking on her water even as the mare mentally screamed yes over and over again.

"Good to know this link thing didn't change you too much," he chuckled.

Celestia coughed politely into a fetlock.

"As amusing as it is to watch what is apparently an entire conversation take place inside your heads, it is less than engaging for myself. If you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts in a way we normal creatures are stuck using?"

"Oh, I'm sure we could work something out for you, Tia!" Crystal giggled. "Maybe a headset to tune in to our brain-waves. Maybe a spell that lets you link for a little bit?"

"Oh, but aren't we the jester today. And I thought one of them was bad," Celestia sighed theatrically, rubbing her temple as if she was upset. It fooled no-one of course, not when they could feel her amusement.

Crystal's mood sombered slightly and she looked from Max to Celestia.

"Do you think Al-Luna will be alright?"

"I do," the alicorn answered with a soft smile. "Luna can take care of herself. She also has some very interesting ponies she likes to be with, so she shan't let this mission take any longer than it requires."

"I know it feels like a long time, but it really isn't," Max added. "Luna will be back with us before you know it."

The alicorn of the sun nodded, smiling at his confident statement.

"I am aware I am sometimes uncomfortable with the two of you, but you do make her happy. Something I seemed to be unqualified for."

"Leave the abuse to the enemies, Sunny," Max said with a grin as he added another helping of salad to the solar alicorn's plate. "There will be plenty of it in the future, I'm certain."

<-(0)->

Max closed the door to the flock's bedroom later that night, having bid the white mare a good night after fielding a few more questions about sanitation and diseases. Of course, magic could change how things worked in microbiology, but why confuse yourself even more? Until he managed to recreate or show a pony how to build a microscope, microbiology wasn't going to be a thing for a while. Still, Celestia had been interested in the explanation of scurvy, as that was apparently something many species dealt with in the few remaining port towns. The idea that the horrible and sometimes fatal Ocean's Kiss could be cured by eating citrus fruits every few days boggled her mind. He knew there were more ways to cure the vitamin deficiency of course, but having seen a good number of lemons and limes in the food stores it was an easy call.

"I thought the day would never be finished," Crystal griped, lounging on the bed while covered in the still-enchanted and thus still-warm blanket.

"Well it is," he soothed as he shut the door behind him "so now the question is-"

"Sex!" Crystal shouted before bursting into giggles. "And the answer is yes!"

Max rolled his eyes as he jumped onto the bed as well.

"So you're still okay with sharing-"

The smaller changeling interrupted him by jumping out from the covers and pulling him into a deep kiss, or at least what he thought was a kiss. Seconds later a large helping of love was being pushed into his mouth, causing him to reflexively swallow.

"Does that answer your question?"

"I uh, suppose it does. So, how do you-"

Crystal once more moved before he could by using her body and her magic to guide him onto his back.

"I want to know. I want to know what happens when we do this, and how long we can go."

Max chuckled nervously as the queen began running her tongue over his plates, causing him to shiver in pleasure while they began to shift. The smaller changeling giggled as his body reacted, watching in fascination as the plates pulled back and freed his waking rod.

"It's still so weird, knowing all of this stuff about it," she murmured as she ran a hoof along the bottom ring, causing the shaft to twitch at the contact.

"Well, I can't say I know that much since you don't either, but it's more than I did before."

"So how much more do you know?" Max asked. It still wasn't clear to him what the limits to the link were, if any existed at all.

"Oh, quite a bit," the mare giggled, running her tongue along the underside of his bottom ring and causing him to jerk. "Like how much you liked it when Luna did that," before running her hoof lightly along the skin exposed by the shifting plates "or how you react to being touched there."

"So if you know about that, you know about the time I stuck Luna to the bed?" the changeling male asked leadingly.

Crystal kissed the exposed underside of his rod, nodding.

"If it wasn't for the fact I know she ended up loving that I'd be mad. I still don't really understand this change. I think I can turn off the...filter I've been seeing things through, but I just don't want to. It's strange, but it also feels amazing. Like I can finally do things without fear of the consequences. I still try to keep my thoughts locked down most of the time, but sometimes if I get excited-"

"So how would you feel about this?" he asked, pushing a mental image to the changeling. Luna was once more bound to the bed, gel holding her hooves to the headboard as well as sealing her magic and covering her eyes. Max positioned himself in the image in the same position he had occupied last time, thrusting into the alicorn's sex while this time Crystal was added to the image. The changelings were kissing deeply while Crystal held herself over Luna's muzzle, which was occupied with the smaller mare's nethers.

Crystal's eyes glazed as she entertained the thought, a wave of excitement and curiosity pushing its way into his head from the mare. An image followed, this one containing Crystal in Luna's position, minus the restraints.

"I'm sure we can work that out when she gets back," he assured her. "Would you help me with mine though? We'd have to take it slow and tease her a lot before we get to the good stuff. You saw, er, know how she reacted when I teased her up to that point, right?"

The changeling mare nodded before rising and sitting on his barrel with her exposed vagina facing him. She took him into her mouth even as he gave her a tentative lick, feeling her lips clench and her body buzz with a pleasured purr that echoed into his stallionhood.

'I want to feel that, too. It's going to be hard though. I don't know if I have the patience to wait that long for an orgasm.'

"Huh, didn't actually think about that..." Max admitted, earning a swat of her tail. He rolled his eyes, busying himself with a few nips to the sensitive flesh surrounding her opening before slipping his tongue inside of her.

'Didn't think about that, being able to talk while my mouth is occupied. Could be useful.'

'You need to figure out the difference between thinking and using the link. There isn't any for you right now, so you tend to flood the link with useless information,' Crystal explained, buzzing happily at his ministrations.

'Though you really didn't have to worry about that before this, did you?'

'I wonder...'

Without missing a beat the mare flipped herself around, leaving her face to face with the male. She met his eyes, her own orbs beginning to glow again.

"Cryssi, what are you-mph"

'I want to know if we can actively share,' she said, giving him another mouthful of love. 'I need you to be properly supplied for this, though.'

He saw her horn glowing and felt her take hold of his penis even as he was becoming aware of other weird sensations roiling through his body. He felt her line him up with her sex before pushing it inside of her tunnel and suddenly everything melted away in pleasure.

'Oh Wow,' they mumbled, shivering at the layered pleasure. Every time he throbbed inside of her, the sensations he left were causing her to shiver. Every time she shivered, her body pulsed and gripped at him, attempting to pull him deeper into her depths. Normally the time between sensations would leave the pair with enough time to recover their senses, but Crystal's connection had left them feeling both their own pleasure as well as the sensations the other was feeling. It was confusing of course, as they didn't have the same organs and the sensations didn't correlate properly to their own bodies, but the doubling of the contact left them both shuddering and jerking spastically, Crystal trying to thrust deeper into her as Max tried pulling him deeper into her body.

There wasn't any worry about peaking first or about accidentally harming the other. Everything was shared, and neither had anything but the continuing build-up of pleasure in mind. Crystal felt her body clenching as her balls roiled with seed and her pussy quivered, begging for a release she could almost taste. Max felt a strange burning in his gut even as his dick twitched deep inside his body, the tip pressing against some hidden barrier with each clench. They weren't even able to work out a single thrust between the two of them, the feedback loop the mare had opened them to being too strong for either to fight. Too strong to allow either of them the time needed to form any coherent movement besides twitching and shuddering.

They seized again, moaning into their mouths as an orgasm ripped through their minds, the male spewing a powerful burst of love-soaked seed into the female that caused them both to clench as their body felt the energy-rich love coating their tunnel. The pleasure extracted another burst of seed, which in turn caused another orgasm to rock their bodies.

'Too much on one side, need to, to balance it. Keep going.'

The mare pushed out another dose of love that was quickly pulled into the male's stomach and distributed to the depleted parts of his body. Another orgasm drew another burst of love from the male side, so they corrected with a quick push from the female side and a swallow from the male side.

Imbalance, corrected, too much, wait for the next peak, balanced now, another peak, corrected.'

They held it as long as they could, their bodies burning with exertion as the male gave off his...how many was it now? There wasn't anything left to give though. Even with the emotions empowering their actions, their bodies couldn't keep up the magical transfusions any longer. With no flow of love continuing through their bodies, the connection started to fall apart, Crystal sagging off of Max's barrel as they lost their direct link.

The two sat on the bed for a long while, gasping for breath as their muscles burned from exertion and their clouded minds finally started to clear. Max swore his dick was raw and his balls had been launched with the last load he gave off, his body was in such pain.

'But damn if that wasn't the best sex I've ever had in my life.'

'Right. But next time we're keeping some spare love. I, I think we burned some during that,' Crystal's voice echoed in his head. 'Oh my gosh I can't believe I actually did that.

'Use number two of the link,' he thought with a wheezing chuckle. 'Talking when you're out of breath.'

'It's a good use,' she sent, weakly nuzzling into his shoulder even as he felt her fading from consciousness.

'Yea, sleep. That sounds nice about now.'

Author's Note

Luna's sitting in the woods somewhere on her journey, looking around in irritation because she knows she missed something fun. :twilightangry2:

Changelings Share Everything...Yes, even that. Especially that.

Normal Saturday afternoon checklist.

Radio playing? Check.

People shouting outside? Check.

Sun's already up, trying to peak behind his curtain? Check.

Max yawned widely, stretching under the covers before slipping out of bed. What to do, what to do. Maybe he'd hit a BK for lunch or something. That would-

That line of thought died a quick death at the sight of his arm, a mish-mash of human flesh interspersed with black chitin. The second thing he noticed was the very confused and very lost changeling looking around his room, eyeing everything with curiosity.

"Alright, Crystal. What the hell is this."

"It's supposed to be home," she answered, looking at a small fan and flipping the switch on and off. "When a hive-member sleeps, they find themselves in the hive's dream-side. It...is usually a cave. Mother's was her throne room with a few chambers attached to it that drones could rest in if they had nothing to say to her. Is this a place you know?"

"It's my apartment. Or at least a memory of it. For a second I forgot...I assume this is to do with...I think Luna said the term is transmorphic dissonance," he said with a wave, gesturing to his hybrid arm. "The brain having trouble accepting a big change to the body, an unnatural one."

Crystal nodded absentmindedly, hopping onto the bed and pulling the covers over herself.

"Oh, this is nice. Better than Her bed."

Curious, the human/changeling made his way to the door of the apartment, opening it and finding the small hallway outside was even smaller than he could recall it being. Like the dream couldn't sustain the entire length of the hall. Only one other door was present and the moment he opened it his jaw dropped. It was a cave, an astoundingly small chamber with a bed carved into the stone and a small chest. A clump of glowing moss on the ceiling provided light, but the light provided was washed out by the sunlight coming in from the hallway.

"My old room," Crystal whispered, passing him and looking over the hive-chamber fondly. "Queens and proto queens were given their own rooms, it was something of an honor reserved for them. I think I like your room better though. Can we go back?"

Max nodded, leading her back to his room and hopping into the twin sized bed. While it had been workable for him, the moment Crystal joined him things became slightly cramped. Thinking of the small chamber she'd called her own though, it became a bit more obvious why claustrophobia was something she'd laugh at. It was what she grew up with. It also confirmed the theory of changelings being subterranean. Not a big surprise, but every confirmation was another point of information they didn't have before.

Staring at the ceiling and dozing, he began absentmindedly running his fingers through the mare's silk-like mane. Would this mean he would be experiencing lucid dreaming from now on? It wasn't a bad thing, not if he learned how to alter the dream around him, maybe even have a bit of fun with it every now and again. Another thought occurred to him; Luna was just starting her dream walking. Was the hive dream-side considered a single dream or a cluster? We're other changelings able to join this link, or was it dependent on something like age or strength?

'On the plus side I can explain some things to Luna with visual aids if I learn how to control this to some degree. Maybe add on a demonstration room or a separate zone where I can play a game or two. I think Crystal would love some of the ideas she'd get from them.'
Even if the weapons were unnecessary or out of their reach in terms of technology, it would allow for some ideas of strategy training. Maybe he'd introduce her to the Order of the Assassin.

'A shape shifter would be able to blend into any crowd. You'd never know they were there till they had struck.'

So far the world didn't seem to need a bunch of shapeless assassins but there was a lot of time between the Fall of Discord and the Return of the Nightmare. Societies and countries didn't just appear overnight after the sisters took the trickster out, but they were certainly popping up all over the place. With magic and flyers, things may even develop a little faster than things did for humans.

'Ponies also have the advantage of trying to recover to a previous level as opposed to making a completely new level of civilization as humans did. That means that somewhere, there may be entire libraries worth of information just waiting to advance everyone by decades.'

That actually gave him an idea. Stories always told of adventurers delving into scary places to find treasure. Sometimes the treasures weren't physical wealth, but knowledge or forgotten technologies. If they put out a bounty on such an things, or even offered a title for a particularly stunning find-

He was pulled out of his musings as the changeling resting on his chest shifted, using her hoof to stretch the front of his pants up.

"Huh, it looks different too."

Max looked down his chest at the mare before shaking his head.

"Never change, Crystal," he muttered, ruffling her mane.

<-(0)->

Early the next morning Celestia was pulled from her thoughts by a knock at her bathing room's door. The moment she asked who it was, a pair of changelings walked and jumped into her bath, both smelling of sex and sweat.

"Luna's not here so they didn't prep her tub," Max offered as he began to float a few brushes towards the shape shifters before grabbing one with a hoof. He then perked, likely sensing her confusion.

"It's not like learning it yourself, but I think if I use it enough I'll remember it. Shape shifting too, though I haven't tried it yet. We're also going to be keeping magic to a low use for now since Luna's not around. No magic practice and no shape shifting practice."

"So you are in essence using her knowledge?" the alicorn asked, looking to the smaller mare.

"It's as strange to me as it is to you, Tia. This is some straight up sci-fy shit here."

Looking to her and seeing the blank look on her face, her rolled his eyes even as Crystal giggled.

"Science fiction. Stories that take guesses at what will be possible in the future, like metal constructs that could approach the sun a and moon, flying past the stars, finding life on other worlds-"

"Can we build a space ship?" Crystal asked, her ears peeking. "All we need is a lot of metal, right? That's what this says."

Max stared at the wall for a moment before shaking his head.

"That's a video game, Crystal. Actual space ship construction is a hell of a lot more complicated than that. There's life support, because there's no air in space. At least I assume that's still true, this place is different in a lot of ways. You need all your resources like fuel, air and supplies for the crew to be self-contained, you need to have a place for the crew to eat, sleep, use the bathroom and shower or bathe. You also need a propulsion system that will work in space. Propellers, sails, and jet engines don't work in a vacuum."

Celestia nodded absentmindedly, watching as the male began to explain further on his race's experience with space travel while he washed down the female shape shifter. A Cold War( A concept that made no sense to her. How could a war have a temperature?), humans strapping themselves to horribly dangerous boxes and using explosives to propel themselves higher than any Pegasus could fly, the creation of satellites and finally the great victory of the Lunar Lander's arrival on the moon. The line the human had delivered was considered inspirational even years later and in truth she felt a twinge of excitement at the idea. Achieving such things without magic, surely ponies could do even more if they tried.

Shaking the thought from her head, the alicorn smiled.

"While I appreciate the company, I ask that you wait to be invited in. It wouldn't-"

"It wouldn't be appropriate if we afforded you the same courtesies you afford us," Max scoffed, earning another set of giggles from the smaller changeling.

"I do not care if you are Luna's flock, I will punish you," Celestia added, a hint of irritation edging into her voice.

Crystal perked at the mention of punishment.

"Oh, what kind of punishments? I was looking through these things Max knows and some look really interesting."

"Wow, don't think any guy's ever had a few nights of curiosity come back to bite him that hard before," Max muttered.

"Oh, what's this?"

"Curiosity, mixed with access to the internet."

"And thi-is that a pony?"

"More curiosity. Also, it was a cartoon, so I didn't feel bad about it."

"And what's...its mesmerizing, just spinning around and around..."

"Bait and switch link, I swear you better not transmit that image to me during the day or I'll hunt you down. Can't believe I fell for that..."

"And this... oh...oh my gosh, why would she, and then they- ew ew ew! Why would mares do that!?!"

"That was a drunk dare. And to win I had to watch the whole thing."

"So you don't actually-"

"I thought it was disgusting as well."

"As interesting as this is," Celestia interrupted "I need to get some breakfast. Will you be joining me?"

Crystal's eyes continued to stare ahead, various expressions ranging from curiosity, confusion, to surprise flashing across her face, but otherwise she was silent as the stallion scrubbed her down. shaking his head in mirth, the male looked at her with a grin.

"Be happy to. Think you could help me first? I think Crystal's going to be busy for a bit."

Nodding and approaching the stallion with a few brushes and clothes, Celestia found her curiosity eating away at her.

"What is she doing?"

The shape shifter chewed his lip, pondering a way to explain it to her before nodding.

"Think of having access to every trashy romance novel ever written, reading a few of them, then having someone else getting access to your memories. She's going through my porn stash."

"Porn," the alicorn sounded the word out in confusion, trying to ascertain it's meaning. Judging by Crystal's interest, it could be...

"You do not mean to tell me that you have read stories of stallions and mares..."

"Not so much read as watched. Technology is a wonderful thing and humans are quick to jump on ways to apply new technology to our sex drive. In this case, we record it then it gets put on the internet where anyone can watch," he explained with a chuckle. Looking back at her and seeing her discomfort, he grinned even wider.

"Some humans even found the idea exciting."

"I do not, though. Such a thing is a private affair. Even the three of you, well..." she trailed off, blushing at the implication. Why was she talking about this, her ears were burning already. Should a pony walk in and hear this she'd never be able to show her face in public again.

"We keep it behind closed doors. As I said though, some found it exciting and even more found it profitable. It's not just as a joke that people call prostitution the oldest profession. Humans have been willing to pay for gratification since the dawn of time. Hell, we've found the behavior in animals. I remember there being this one species of monkey, primates being one of the closer non-sapient creatures to us in behavior and form, where the females would trade sex for grooming. If there were fewer females, they could get more time for each, well, round. Supply and demand in the animal kingdom."

Crystal turned to the two, smiling brightly.

"Does that mean if we wash her we can have her-"

"You're not a mindless monkey, Crystal, as much as you act like it. No, you can't charge her sex for washing her. Besides, this is her home we're living in. Granted, it's shared with Luna. But we don't force ourselves on people who don't want it. Even if their emotions say otherwise. Understand?"

Crystal pouted but nodded in understanding, leaving Celestia to watch in wonder at his handling of the strange mare.

"How can you so easily...I do not know how to say it, but how is it that you can so easily field such questions from her? Does not the idea that she would force herself on a pony against their will bother you at all?"

"It does, but I kind of knew she was a little uneducated," he answered with a careful smile. Crystal shoved back against him and his smile widened.

"Don't give me that, you know it's true. You've learned a lot and you learn quickly; you're not stupid by any interpretation. But Mother didn't teach you how to interact with others. She taught you how to be a part of an army. She taught you how to fight, how to work for her, and how to die. Now you're learning how to live."

He pulled the smaller shape shifter against him, nuzzling into her cheek even as she continued to pout.

"We'll have some bumps in the road, but we'll figure it out. Right Crystal?"

She mumbled what sounded like an affirmative and straightened, allowing him to continue running the brush along the creases of her shell. Celestia was just finishing on Max's shell when the changeling mare perked up and turned in his grip.

"Can we try this one?"

Releasing a sigh as the stallion used their link to speak about the topic she was uncomfortable with, Celestia supposed her situation could have been worse. At the very least, he was able to keep the mare in check. He also at least made an effort to not talk about things she didn't want to hear in her presence, something she couldn't say of her fellow alicorn and ruler. Given Luna's recent interests, his goal of making both of the alicorns happy was likely the only reason her sister wasn't going on about every little detail of their nightly(yes, she was certain it was every night) activities.

'He has called for peace many times between us. I suppose it is nice to have a pony to speak to when all is said and done. And while I do not see his presence sparking revolutions as Luna does, he is at the least knowledgeable of things I'd never contemplated. And some of the wonders or accomplishments he speaks of are quite inspiring.'

Disease, stability of the castle, farmland and ways to outfit the warriors with additional weapons should the ones they arrived with become worn or damaged. The sisters were so overwhelmed with their new stations and with the ponies claiming nobility vying for attention that many things had slipped past them. Max was willing to offer advice, support, and if it was required, a way to direct their aggravation when they required it. All for a bit of love.

'Well, that and his continued comfort. I am certain that the better we do and the more we advance, the more comfortable he will be.'

Noting she'd finished scrubbing the majority of his carapace, Celestia watched the two as they engaged in their back and forth before a whimsical smile graced her lips. It wasn't something she'd done lately nor was it an idea she would have entertained a week ago, but perhaps...

<-(0)->

Max sulked as the three of them ate, still sneezing out bits of bath water every now and again. While Crystal had also swallowed some water in her surprise, she'd managed to shape shift away her nostrils, sealing her lungs off from the water of the bath before it could properly settle. Max hadn't been so lucky. Having been caught on an exhale when the alicorn struck, he had no air with which to keep the air out of his nose. Thus for every moment he'd floundered about, he'd sucked in a good deal of water. The end result had been downright painful, Celestia having needed to pull him out of the bath as he choked up large quantities of water.

The near-drowning had left him irritable and tired, as well as setting everyone at the table at odds. Crystal had nearly become violent when Max's condition was finally revealed. Only his voice, using the link as his body lacked the oxygen to speak, had kept her from lashing out at the older mare. Celestia meanwhile was radiating shame and no small amount of fear. Apparently she'd never been taught how to react to a near or full case of drowning, as ponies usually avoided large quantities of water.

"Think of it as a learning experience," he finally said. "You learned to pay attention during and after a prank, and I learned that you guys don't know how to treat drowning."

"She could have killed you!" Crystal barked, glaring daggers at the alicorn.

"She thought it was a joke, Crystal. Nothing was meant by it. It just went a little too far."

Smiling at the changeling's protectiveness, he looked back to Celestia.

"I know you didn't mean anything by it. It was just a bunch of unfortunate events chaining together at once. The fact that I could feel your fear also helps, Tia. Just try to be ready to pull someone out of the water. A pranks good and all, but you need to up your reaction time in the event someone doesn't come back up out of the water. Between my panic and Crystal being affected by it as well and using me as a stool to get out of the water..."

The alicorn nodded, her wings slumped in defeat.

"I am aware of that now. I do apologize from the bottom of my heart."

"And I forgave you, in fact I think I've forgiven you about seven times now. Lets just get on with the day. What was it we had today?" he asked as he dipped his bread in the yolk of an over-easy egg.

"Um, I believe it was the mine that we were to double check," Celestia said, tapping her spoon against her plat in thought. "There was also the quarry one of the nobles had suggested. They've managed to finish the planning and are ready to put the peasants to work moving the stone. Luna and I shall place it when she returns, but in the meantime it will be set aside. Other than that I had planned to view the fields and perhaps see the town again."

"If we get a good amount of the stone freed up before Luna gets back, is there any way we could use some of it to start a smaller wall? A secondary wall to fence in what will be the town? It may not provide much defense, but the added wall would give us a physical limit to the town as well as give the peasants some peace of mind. It would let them know we plan on seeing to their safety," Max suggested, earning a nod from the white mare.

Celestia nodded.

"That is something I wish to see added. An actual wall to keep them safe. We shall just have to see how quickly this excavation yields stone. It may also be in our interest to see if there are any peasants who would prefer specific jobs. Perhaps we have some displaced ponies outside who have been unable to find a proper position in the ensuing chaos?"

As they talked about possible activities, Crystal was mercifully quiet. Receiving a few flashes as the mare's mind wandered his memories of the internet, he was kind of thankful for that. It seemed they had awakened something terrible in the young shape shifter, and with access to his knowledge of sex it would only get worse.

'At least she's keeping it to herself now,' he thought, turning his attention back to Celestia.

His mind was flooded suddenly with an image of himself fucking Crystal senseless while his body was sporting two penises, each one inserted into a separate hole.

'I want to try this. I mean, with the love you eject ending up in both of the holes even if one doesn't really feel as good, I think it would be fun. Or I could just make it so that I have two vaginas! Oh, that's a good idea, twice the pleasure, right? What do you think?

"Crystal, can we talk about that later?" he deadpanned. "We're kind of busy discussing ways to make this place into an actual town and eventually its own country. Once we've set everything up, we'll have years and plenty of resources to try out whatever fucked up ideas you want to try."

"Fine, you're no fun," the mare pouted, going back to her thoughts with a huff.

Celestia flashed with a bit of curiosity but it was quickly squashed, the alicorn coughing politely before returning her attention to their conversation. Grinning at her, he bobbed his head in Crystal's direction.

"At least now you don't have to listen to her ask questions or talk about things you don't want to hear. Now I get to field them in private."

The alicorn blinked in confusion before giggling into a hoof, a slight tinge of pink in her cheeks.

"Indeed. Now, you mentioned planning out the construction of homes and buildings as well as making roads to ease travel through the hamlet. I asked the duke who put forth the alternate quarry and he said he could have gravel or flagstone for the roads, but that he was uncertain of the quantities. Which do you think would be better for our situation?"

Author's Note

Fun Fact: while at a pool party while I was in the Army, I threw one of my fellow soldiers into the pool. A second later, they didn't come back up and I was already in right next to him, pulling him out of the water. Turns out the guy didn't know how to swim, was about four or five feet tall(I'm about six and a half), and I threw him into the 6-7 foot end of the pool. For the next few months, people were accusing me of trying to drown the guy.

Human Cuisine

For only the third time in...however long it had been since he'd been dropped on the figurative lap of the Sisters, Max found himself walking around the outside of the keep. The full circuit of the keep, in fact. In order to get a better idea of what he was working with he'd asked Celestia to add a lap around the keep to their list, something she'd agreed to fairly quickly.

"I didn't realize how small this place was, actually. It's big for a house or mansion but in terms of a castle it's actually pretty small," he commented quietly while looking up at the stone wall.

Celestia balked at the perceived insult.

"This is the largest building I have ever seen in my life! It holds more ponies than-"

"Scale, Celestia," Crystal said before rolling her eyes at Max's stare. "Princess Celestia."

"I know you don't think much of it, but we're in public right now, Crystal. Full titles for now."

The stallion smiled at the smaller changeling stuck her tongue out at him but otherwise remained silent, allowing the more invested individuals to continue their tour.

"It's big because of what you're comparing it to. I'm comparing it to my idea of a city, a city in a country whose population is at least three hundred million. You'd be lucky to break about three hundred ponies when all is said and done."

Surprise rippled around him, the ponies not having the reference for such a large scale. Even worse, Max was knowledgeable enough to know some areas of the world were extremely densely populated. It had been something people laughed at, but picture of the Japanese hotel had been a scary thing to think about, each 'room' having about the same space as a body in a morgue.

"It's nothing to worry about right now, but I'd almost guarantee a population boom in the coming years. Once everyone starts settling down and is certain they won't be thrown to the winds on the whim of a demi-god they'll start wanting homes, families, jobs, all of the things that shape a civilization. Add in the security of having two lovely, powerful ladies ruling the land and I can almost guarantee this place will explode with ponies.

"It's kind of why I'd like to get some semblance of order to the homes at this point. Once the population boom hits, regaining control will be even more difficult. Food, we'll have that covered for a bit but we'll likely need to expand the farms, maybe even add a few farming communities a small distance from the castle. Forts here and there to provide security and allow easier patrols...are ponies claustrophobic? No, that's the wrong word. Are ponies unsettled at the idea of being underground?"

"Somewhat. Not all of them, but some become uncomfortable. The deeper you go the worse it gets."

"So underground storage will be limited unless it was changelings using it," Max trailed off, his eyes roaming the castle and moving to the land around them, plains interspersed with small forested areas.

"Can ponies accelerate the growth of trees?"

Celestia frowned, turning my to Redstreak for the answer.

"Yes, though it takes time for an earth pony to achieve the needed bond with the soil for such a thing. Why do you ask?" the mare inquired.

"Lumber is a big starting industry. You use it to build houses, carts, barrels, handles for tools, the tools themselves if you're desperate. Charcoal as well, can't remember there process, though-"

"I believe we had something on charcoal," Celestia interjected. "I will try to find it, or ask the knights and nobles if they are aware of such a thing. I believe it is also time to start gathering knowledge as you suggested. Several of the Knights have filled scrolls with home remedies and cures as well as random bits of information. Unfortunately it is all a jumbled mess. Each scroll has everything each pony could think of and we have no way to separate the information."

"Books were a commodity for the longest time back on earth and for good reason. Even if we can scrounge together a printing press they still require a good amount of materials and labor to run, as well as the issue of the tribes having three different languages. I'd like to see Earth script as the go-to so that everyone can use it, but I'm sure there will be plenty who would fight such an 'insult to their tribe'. For now just focus on getting the information. We'll sort it later."

Stopping and humming thoughtfully, Max broke into a smile.

"We may be able to use the press for education as well. Books for teaching subjects like reading and writing are usually fairly simple and give the student a chance to practice. Blank paper would work for that in a pinch though. I also think more widespread education is still something for the future. We don't really have the resources, manpower, maybe not even the interest in it from the population."

"God, there's just so many things to- I need a physical list, we're going to forget some of these. There's just too many things to think of. There's a reason kings, sultans, emperors and presidents have hundreds of people helping them."

"How many are we speaking of?" The alicorn asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"Relax a bit, Princess. I'm talking about my own country in that regard as well as several other countries I've read about. We're just staring so a simple cabinet of advisors and trusted individuals will work. K.I.S.S. is a good strategy no matter the subject."

"Kiss?"

"Keep it simple, stupid!" Crystal barked out gleefully, giggling to herself as Max nodded.

Before either of the mares could take offense Max began to explain the acronym.

"The more complicated things get the more likely you'll run into issues. Not only that, but it becomes more difficult to find the source of the issues. It's why government corruption was so hard to prove in some areas. The web of bureaucracy becomes so tangled after a while it's extremely difficult to find who did something wrong and who was just following orders. Even if you can find the perpetrator, then you have to find out what they did to scam or steal, which can be another nightmare in and of itself. If we can keep things relatively linear for now it will cut down the chances for problems both now and in the future. We're going to need long distance communications if we want to add farming communities though. That or appoint nobles or lords or something like that for lands that are beyond our reach."

"A-appoint nobility? As in grant noble titles?" Celestia gasped. "I, I can't do something like that, I don't have the authority. The only ones who-"

"You may not think much of it, princess, but once this place starts gaining notoriety your word will have more weight than Princess Platinum. That was her name, right, the unicorn ruler from the unification?" Max asked, receiving a nod from the alicorn. "Not only will you be someone the ponies could go to and witness as having a position of power, unlike a historical figure, this little attempt to give ponies a safe place to stay will not stop when you pass on. Because unlike Platinum, you won't die off in a hundred years or so. One of the common ways a wealthy kingdom would fall would be a son inheriting it and squandering the wealth, or some councilors swindling an inexperienced prince of his wealth as he's still learning of his position. Perhaps there just won't be a child there to inherit the kingdom at all and the dukes of the kingdom begin fighting over who should take over?

"Change is something you stand against. You and your sister are islands in stormy seas. In one hundred years, you will remain. After a thousand years, you will remain, barring spells or combat. There aren't many who can say the same. I don't even know about myself. Crystal's mother may have been very old, or she could have lived as long as any other pony. It may be that she just removed information on the queen that existed before herself, leaving it to look like she was the only one. Information is power, after all. If you can control the flow of information, you can make it say whatever you like."

"You used Platinum's rank, Princess Celestia. Did you not plan on using it?" Crystal asked with a smirk. "If you wanted to just be another defender of pony-kind, you could have just assumed the rank of knight."

Lady Redstreak, present for the upcoming inspection of the fields, balked at the changeling mare's suggestion.

"But assuming ranks, that's-"

"Who's going to know? There's no records right now, no way to double-check if someone's faking their rank. No way to find out if someone actually earned a title or is actually part of a blood line," Max cut her off. "We can start keeping track of it now, but as far as I can tell, Discord kind of forced ponies to blend in wherever he threw them."

The group continued on their tour for a while longer without issue. Max suddenly perked his ears, looking at Crystal in confusion. She was humming something, something that was fairly familiar.

"Are you humming Imperial March?"

The changeling didn't answer immediately, instead cocking her head in thought.

"How hard would it be to make pony stormtroopers?"

"Incredibly difficult," Max answered, ignoring the confusion radiating from behind him. "The armor was supposedly a ceramic alloy that was good at deflecting ballistic weapons and blades, the weapons you see them using are hundreds of years ahead of my own people's technology, and even if I could give the knights armor like that, I wouldn't The armor's shape would need to be different of course since it's for ponies, the plates would need to be something we can actually afford to make and that would help against common combat spells and arrows, and finally I'd prefer some kind of full-face visor. Those helmets look cool, but I can't imagine it would be easy to see out of them. Maybe a changeling could get away with using a kind of empathy-radar, but then you could end up shooting allied ponies."

Looking back at the confused alicorn and noble, Max smiled.

"Fictional army. I swear she's better at remembering things I know than I am."

"That's because I've done this kind of thing before. Some of it's buried under a mountain of other information, but there are tons of things in your head. Some of them make no sense though. What's so important about the flight-speed of a small bird?" Crystal asked, drawing a laugh from the male shape shifter.

Mentally playing the scene in his head, what he could remember of it at least, Crystal continued to stare at him without comprehension.

"I thought it was funny...think you can find the recipes for pizza sauce and the dough? We'll treat the princess to some Human cuisine. Redstreak is of course welcome to join us, as is anyone interested. I can't say it will be the best pizza, but it should be something different. After all, we're trying to expand our horizons, right? Maybe later someone else can show us a dish they know. It should be fun, even if they merely give the recipe and directions to the chef."

<-(0)->

"This is really unnecessary," Celestia argued, doing her best to squirm out the grasp of the changelings.

"Nope," Crystal giggled, giving her another push. "Totally necessary."

"It's pizza, princess. The best part is making it yourself and deciding on the ingredients. You put as much as you like and even decide how heavy you want the sauce. Besides, it's a group activity, something you do with friends and family," Max explained.

"You can teach Luna when she gets back," Crystal added.

Eventually they managed to force the white mare into the kitchen, where the chef was already setting up some of the requested items. Max could see various vegetables chopped up in bowls, a large container of dough, as well as what appeared to be a pot of tomatoes cooking.

"What consistency is the tomato sauce supposed to be?" the cook asked.

Max passed the females and peered into the pot, nodding at the scent and texture.

"That looks about right. Needs some spices though. Oregano I think it was called, some garlic and onion."

"Onion I can do, may have a clove of garlic somewhere, but I don't recall Oregano. What is that?" the cook asked in confusion.

Crystal moved past them all to the spices, taking a quick sniff of each one before letting out a cheer.

"This one, Sawtooth. It smells like what he's asking for."

"Sawtooth...wonderful, different spice names. Just a little bit will do." Max said as he began looking about the room for something. "Where's your rolling pin?"

"My what?" the stallion asked, looking up from the pizza sauce.

"What do you use to flatten dough?" Crystal asked, buzzing right over Celestia as she moved to the dish-rack and grabbed a ladle.

'Useful having someone else who knows what I'm talking about,' Max thought as he looked over the dough. There was a bucket of warm, soapy water at the door, but it was hard to imagine ponies making food without using hooves. Which they had just used to walk around on the floor.

Speaking of hooves, his holes were back. They were also getting a bit larger and his hunger was getting deeper. Crystal was showing some holes as well, but considering her previous state, it likely wasn't bothering her that much.

'May get weird when we start spreading the dough. Can't imagine it will be fun getting dough out of the holes.'

Walking over to a free workspace, he began spreading a bit of flour over the area before motioning for the alicorn to join him.

"So what we're going to do here is flatten the dough into disks and put some sauce and toppings on them. The toppings are up to you and you can do whatever you like, just be careful not to go overboard. If you put too many toppings on, you can drown out the flavor or even make a combination that doesn't taste very good."

They had to settle for a simple stone roller dusted with flour, but Celestia was quick to adapt to the motions and soon both she and Crystal had begun adding sauce to their disks before looking over the selection of chopped toppings.

Max chuckled as the mares both reached for the mushrooms at the same time, their auras flickering over the bowl and causing it to wobble unsteadily before Crystal jabbed a hoof into her opponents side. The alicorn squawked in surprise, losing her grip on the bowl and sending fungus scattering over the table as the bowl bounced off of Crystal's chitin. Just as the mares began raising bowls and bits of food in their respective auras, he gave their ears a quick flick, drawing both sets of eyes to him.

"Lets not destroy the kitchen on the first day here?"

Crystal muttered darkly but otherwise turned back to her pizza. Celestia blushed at the admonishment, stuttering out an apology before turning back to her own pizza. She was still radiating a warm satisfaction though. A happiness that had slowly been growing over the past few days.

"Thanks for this, I know you usually have a set schedule for dinner but sometimes its fun to make it yourself. We'll probably drag Luna back here when she gets back. That's no problem is it?" he asked the cook.

"No it isn't. Besides, a good cook should be willing to learn new recipes. It's fairly simple, but the concept seems solid. Any ingredients will work?" the stallion asked him.

"I won't say no, because there were some people who put some really odd things on their pizzas and enjoyed it. Its pretty adaptable. I think I remember someone making a desert version with chocolate in place of the sauce and various sweets as the toppings. Maybe you could use strawberries and blueberries or something like that." Turning to the chef, Max asked "I'm sorry, I don't think I ever got your name."

"Emerald Lasagna, and no it wasn't my birth name," the chef answered. "Took my new name after I managed to earn my mark while cooking. Wanted to do something special with the noodles, so I added some spinach while making them and ended up with green pasta. Took the name as a mark of my achievement. Even if nopony here knows about it, I'll be reminded of that day every time somepony calls my name."

"That's not bad. You ever have some ideas, we'll give a few of them a try. I will at least. I like trying out new foods. Just give me a warning before you send it in. Do you do anything spicy? Oh, hang on. They're just about done."

Approaching the mares and taking in the pizzas, Max instructed them to cover the dish with a cheese of their choice before asking Emerald to throw them into the bread oven.

"Going to need to clean out my oven after this," the cook complained, setting the pizzas in the oven and stepping back.

"It's fine. You should be cleaning it every few days, or even once a week at least, truthfully. I know the high temperature will kill most germs but it's better to be safe."

Taking his own bit of dough and kneading it flat, Max used the ladle to spread the tomato sauce with practiced precision.

"Wow, you're really good with your sauce," Crystal said, drawing a cough from Celestia and a raised eyebrow from Max. Looking at the stallion with a wide grin, she pointed at the pizza.

"I'm serious. You've become quite good at handling your sauce. Do you think you can put some sauce on my dough, too? I don't think I used enough."

"I'd be happy to, but you have to come over here," Max said, sitting down in front of his pizza and motioning her closer. To his delight the mare approached, sitting down and pressing her back against his barrel. Both of the changelings were grinning broadly, Max beginning to guide the mare's hoof as he slowly spread the tomato sauce over the pizza.

"You need to make sure the entire thing is covered. If you miss some, it won't cook evenly."

Crystal giggled, looking over to the others before pushing against him with a buzzing purr.

"Then we carefully spread the vegetables all over the pizza, making sure it's spread evenly over the entire surface. After that, we give it a light dusting of cheese. this is a bit easier than the vegetables, as you only need to make sure everything is covered in white," Max said, grinning widely.

Crystal held her muzzle with a hoof, snickering at the confusion and embarrassment radiating from the other side of the kitchen.

"Oh, you're so good at making sure everything is covered in white."

"It comes with practice," he chuckled. "If you'd like, I can give you a more in-depth lesson later."

"Oh, I'd love that!"

The changeling stallion was laughing

"It's not hard, not yet anyway. How about you, Princess? Would you like to learn how to properly make a pizza?"

The alicorn was out the door a second later, leaving Crystal and Max to laugh at her quick exit while Emerald looked very confused. Shaking his head, the cook moved the pizza into the oven and added the pie to the oven.

"Is there anything else I should know about them?"

"No, no you just wait until the crust browns and the cheese melts," Max said, shaking his head in exasperation. "But seriously, Emerald. Go talk to some mares. If you didn't get that joke, you need to get out of the kitchen."

<-(0)->

"This is delicious," Celestia said, using a burst of magic to cut a string of melted cheese.

Nodding, Max took another bite of his pizza.

"It's not quite how I remember it, but it's to be expected. I mean, we had to use different ingredients, the dough was kind of rushed, and the cheese is different. It's still pizza, but it's different."

"I think it's interesting," Crystal said, looking her pizza over curiously. "I don't think I've ever heard of anything like this in Equestria and there are a few more you know about I'd like to try. I just find it odd that you were able to do it much easier even though I find it easier to pull the recipes from your memories."

"It's because I know how they're supposed to look and how to make them. You got a bit excited last time and tried to make seven different meals at once, too. You can't go from never cooking before to cooking seven dishes at once with ingredients that may not match
what I know," Max said with a chuckle. "When we get a bit more used to the concepts of cooking and which ingredients we actually have access to. I mean, I like pepperoni, but I don't have them here. Sausage too."

"Did you two really need to do that, that thing in the kitchen?" Celestia asked, her cheeks tinting a little.

While Crystal began snickering, Max looked to the alicorn with an innocent look of confusion.

"Thing? What thing? I was just teaching Crystal how to make pizza. You know, spreading my sauce all over the dough before sticking it in the oven. Oh, and making sure I get cheese all over the place. I mean, that's pretty easy because you just have to make sure it's all...I'm kidding Celestia, I know. It actually kind of surprised me when Emerald didn't seem to get it."

"He needs to get out more," Crystal said. "I mean, if you could understand that in spite of the stick up your rear, that stallion won't know a mare's interested if she displayed herself to him in the hallways."

"What is with you creatures and your obsessions with sticking things in a pony's rear?" Celestia muttered before covering her mouth in embarrassment.

"It's a turn of phrase where I'm from," Max told her. "Where it came from I couldn't guess, but it really doesn't matter. And We already told you, Tia. Casual. Don't be embarrassed about saying things like that to us."

"Yes, it's nice to know you can actually talk to us. You'd also feel better afterwards," Crystal added, taking another slice of her pizza.

Nodding, Max looked back to the alicorn.

"We've got some time before bed, I'll make up a list. That's going to take some time. Do you mind if we work in the same room?"

"No, I do not."

Looking over the pizza, the white mare swirled a glass of water in her magical aura before looking back to the stallion.

"Would it be too much to...well, I would..."

"I don't mind," Max said with a smile. "I'm sure Crystal and I can hold off for a night."

Crystal finally seemed to clue in on the request and turned to Max in horror.

"No! We have a hundred things I want to do! I want to, but, and then we..."

"Crystal, we're running low on love. We'll wait for Luna to get back and we'll involve her. Until then, we have to take it easy."

Max laughed as the mare started pouting, but she nodded in understanding.

"We don't mind, Tia. You're important to Luna, and me as well. Crystal I don't know, of course," he said with a grin, getting a raspberry in return for his jab. "As such, if you want something from us, you need only to ask."

<-(0)->

Luna scowled as she stared at the quiet little village set in the dense forest, her ears twitching.

'Something happened. I missed something back home.'

She shook the thought away, focusing on the buildings scattered here and there with little rhyme or reason. There wasn't a single guard as far as she could see, much as it had been a few years ago when the two alicorns had removed a nearby bandit group at the townsponies request. The fact that not even a wall stood between the ponies and the dangers of the forest irked her more than the lack of guards, as the ponies that had moved around the keep had at least erected a small wall around their makeshift town. A better wall would be constructed in time, but the lack of even the most basic defenses around a town in such an out of the way location after so long left her confused. At least the ponies around the keep could retreat into the stone walls of the alicorn sisters' home if something attacked.

'Which begs the question why do they not defend their town, especially when Duke Silverblood has made it obvious he has no interest in their defense.'

It was something else that was bothering her now that she looked at the town. It was not built near a river or road, it wasn't near any place of importance as far as she knew(the closest was Duke Silverblood's keep and that was a good distance away for the earth pony and unicorn peasants even if one didn't take into account the incredibly dense forest), it wasn't even near any obvious resources like a mine, for goodness sake it wasn't even on a ley line. So why did the ponies decide to set up their town here? What was gained by using this location?

The dark alicorn was silent as a wraith as she wandered the village, her apprehension growing as she wandered the buildings, some well built, others fairly patchwork in their construction. Everything about the town was now causing her discomfort. How had the alicorns not noticed this before?

She paused beside the town's well, looking around and finding not a single pony awake at this late hour. Perhaps it wasn't the duke. The town itself was beginning to strike her as foul. Pulling out her hastily sketched map, a combination of memory and consultations with several knights before she left, she made her way back home. She'd heard all these evil things about the stallion but she wasn't certain anymore. Most of those words had come from the peasants of Coltson and the surrounding territories. If ponies were willing to commit such crimes as theft in their own keep, feeling they'd been wronged for being ousted from the keep after two years of doing nothing for the alicorns, what was to stop them from slandering a pony they didn't like? Perhaps she would need to look into talking to the stallion in person.

She paused midflight, looking back to the town one last time. She felt like she was being watched even though she couldn't see or hear anypony in the town. She wouldn't dismiss the possibility of them being forced to do this by somepony, but neither would she return without a full contingent of knights, and possibly a changeling or two. Spells could hide one's magical presence but hiding one's emotional state was much more difficult, something ponies hadn't really worried about in the past as far as she knew. If Max could track her from the other side of the castle with little experience with his body, a trained infiltrator like Flick might be able to track down what was going on in the town or if there was anything more nefarious ahoof.

With a powerful flap of her wings, the mare made her way back home. She would speak with her sister and her flock over this. Perhaps she would also bring a group to speak with the Duke in person. It was time to begin opening dialogue with other cities.

Betrayal

Luna landed silently outside the castle two days later, about an hour after sunset. She'd done her duty on the wing, something that had actually been a lot more difficult than she'd anticipated. It nearly left her crashing into the ground in fact. She survived the ordeal however and was now certain that she would be avoiding such an undertaking while flying for a long while. Perhaps one day she'd grow into her powers enough to do it in her sleep, but the raising of the sun and moon often left the two alicorns exhausted if they were not together to boost each other's casting.

"Something to remember in the future, I suppose."

She passed the knights watching the gate, nodding as they saluted but motioning them to be silent.

"There is no need to wake everyone up. I will be heading to bed shortly."

A maid helped her to prepare a bath, the alicorn warming the water herself to save time. She'd worried about waking her flock, but they were apparently in a deep enough sleep that even her radiating emotions weren't enough to wake them. She knew they should be able to sense here excitement if nothing else.

'I have to wonder if Max was correct. I do feel like I would give my crown for another chance to experience the embrace of Maximus and Crystal. Oh dear, I would hate to learn that it actually is addicting. Or would it be so bad...'

She bathed quickly, using her magic to wash her body before jumping out of the tub and drying herself as quickly as possible. A spark of static leaped from her hoof to a the servingmare, causing the poor pony to jump in surprise before she realized what had occurred. Luna's giggles increased tenfold when she merely giggled in embarrassment and muttered about the changelings being a bad influence on her. It was true in a way. She was more active, more emotional. What irony it was that creatures that fed on emotion would encourage her to embrace her own. Not just her either, no. Max was set on pulling her sister out of her self-imposed isolation as well.

Luna quietly crept into her room, slowing in surprise when she noticed there didn't seem to be anyone present. Were the changelings still up somewhere? She glanced around the room quickly, even looking under the bed and on the ceiling. Nothing, no sign of either Crystal or Max. Surely they were at least preparing for bed, were they not?

The alicorn left the room, trotting down the hallways in search of her missing companions. She needed them, needed to see them again. To smell them, to feel them, to hold them. Preferably feel them as they brought her repeatedly to orgasm and smell them as her room was filled with the scent of their lovemaking, she giggled as her cheeks turned purple.

Luna searched the dining rooms, the sitting rooms, even a storage room that was being converted into a makeshift library. It seemed the knights had finally been coerced to write down their secrets. Now they just needed a way to keep track of the information.

"Hello, Princess Luna," Flick said, not looking up from the scrolls she was studying.

"Flick? What is it you are working on? And is it so important that you must do so this late?" the alicorn asked in surprise.

The changeling mare hummed, making a note on a large scroll before unceremoniously tossing the smaller one into a pile.

"I'm going through what the knights and servingponies have given us. A few have even asked for somebuggy to write down their own tonics and curative tricks, as they can't read or write themselves. The issue that has arisen is that some of this information is repeated. If everyone knows the same cold rememedy, we're going to end up with seventeen scrolls with the same information on them clogging our library. When that same issue is repeated for forty different bits of information..."

"I understand. Do be certain to avoid throwing away scrolls that have only one or two copied recipes or ideas. There could be new information somewhere else on the scroll." Luna warned.

"That's what that pile is for," Flick said, pointing to a smaller pile of scrolls. "I haven't double checked all of the information on them, but one or two of them are questionable. I had no idea ponies had so many cures for hiccups and colds. I had to go back through the scrolls when I realized that just because it is a cure or treatment for the same thing, that doesn't mean it is the same treatment."

Luna nodded in understanding.

"Yes, ponies tend to use whatever is nearby. That means that with as spread out as we are, we learned many different cures for the same things."

"Unlike changelings, who as far as I know have all lived in the same location," Flick said, shaking her head. "It's kind of strange having ponies directly interact with me. Not bad, but...it's different."

"And you are well cared for?" Luna asked.

Lifting a solid hoof into view, the shape shifter nodded.

"I don't think I can remember a time when I didn't have holes. In fact I thought it was a normal part of us. It's also strange to not have a queen or stronger changeling demanding the emotion I've gathered. I heard Maximus and Crystal both are showing holes at the moment, but they didn't even call for me, much less demand that I hoof over any extra emotion I've gathered. It almost feels like I'm, I don't know, like I'm hoarding it. Like I could get in trouble for doing this."

"They are showing holes? I best see to their feeding, in that case," the dark alicorn said with a broad smile.

Flick was giggling as she left, likely sensing the lust and love rolling off of the alicorn. If Maximus could track her from the other side of the castle than certainly the infiltrator would be capable of smelling it from two paces away.

The changelings were in none of the places she'd thought of checking, so Luna decided to try asking Celestia. It was a long shot, but if they went anywhere Max was intelligent enough to warn someone of his absence. Wandering down the otherwise quiet halls and finding the solar alicorn's room Luna quietly opened the door, peering inside.

"Tia?" she whispered. If the mare was asleep, she would find someone else to help her find...

Luna brought a hoof to her mouth, stifling a giggle at the sight. Celestia was in a deep sleep, currently using a wing to hold Max firmly to her side. Crystal was present as well, but she was pressing into the stallion's other side, apparently not finding the white mare's warmth worth physical contact with the larger female.

The fact that Celestia had allowed them into her room at all was remarkable considering her cold initial response to Maximus's presence. Perhaps she was finally warming up to them. Perhaps in the future she would be able to get Tia to relax around them enough to join them.

For now she would abide by Max's request. No pushing the older alicorn beyond what she was comfortable with. While Luna was certain a few mind-shattering orgasms would leave the white alicorn feeling much better about herself and life in general, she would have to be patient.

"She may find someone else, you know," a voice said, calling her from her thoughts.

Luna blinked, looking up and finding two sets of eyes currently fixated on her. Crystal and Max were both awake, the youngest member of her flock moving away from Max in invitation. Not wishing to be rude, Luna flapped her expansive wings a few times, gently settling on the bed between the changelings and giving both a kiss. She paused afterwards, looking to Crystal with a bit of confusion. The proto queen had always been very docile in her presence, but that kiss was a bit more passionate than what she usually received.

"We'll explain it tomorrow. Something happened to us while you were away," Max soothed, likely sensing her confusion. She nodded in reply. If Maximus didn't think it was important enough to tell her at the moment it wasn't something that put either of them in danger. She used a wing to pull Crystal to her side, earning a happy purr from the mare but wasn't quite sure what to do about the stallion. He was, after all, currently being claimed by Celestia's wing.

Max rolled his eyes, giving her what she assumed was a wingless shrug before settling in for the night.

"I shall make certain you are both properly cared for in the morning," Luna whispered to him instead, earning her a hungry grin and a giggle from Crystal. She would also tell them of her discovery in the morning, as well as her wish to begin relations with the other keeps and towns. From what the stallion had said before, it would both allow them to grow and allow them to use any surplus resources. Tia would likely be unhappy with the idea, but it would need to be done eventually.

<-(0)->

It was early the next morning when Max was pulled from his dream by the loss of his warm blanket. Looking around in confusion, he remembered too late that the blanket had likely been a wing belonging to one of mares on the balcony as they completed their twice daily ritual.

As Luna's power receded and Celestia's bloomed, the two alicorn's a swirl of power, Crystal was fumbling around for a blanket so that she could go back to sleep. He smirked at her irritated huffing but didn't join her. Luna had been gone for several days and he had both missed her company and was curious as to her findings.

"So much easier with your aid, Tia," Luna giggled as they finished.

The glow of Celestia's horn faded and she nodded in agreement.

"I find it a bit easier as time passes, but it is so much easier when we work together."

"Speaking of together, what horrid night terrors caused you to offer your bed to my flock?"

Seeing the elder alicorn look to her in confusion, Luna bobbed her head towards the bed.

"We found Maximus and Crystal in your bed last night so we joined you all. It was enjoyable, but we could not wrest our stallion from your wing."

Max hopped off the bed, the clack of his hooves on the floor causing the ears of both alicorns to perk at the sound. He smiled as they turned to look at him.

"Ponies were leaving us to our selves, so we decided to stick a bit closer to her. She's was not used to having you gone without a distraction to keep her occupied. Any news, or do you want to tell us over breakfast?"

Luna made a wing assisted leap to the changeling, kissing him long and deeply in response.

"We shall discuss it after breakfast. I also wish to know if you are privy to trade or business with other towns."

"You will not be joining us, Crystal?" Celestia called back as they approached the door.

In response a hoof rose from the covers, waving them off. It caused Luna to frown, as she was unfamiliar with such casualness from the queen.

"She's fine, Luna. Just a side effect of some bit of changeling biology she sprung on me," Max explained.

Celestia nodded.

"It was worrying to find you two in that condition."

Sensing the burst of anxiety blooming in the darker mare, Max pressed against her shoulder with his own for a moment as they walked.

"Crystal wanted something familiar, something from home. So she activated some sort of connection changelings are capable of using. It left both of us out of sorts for a while, but it allows us to share information. It also seems to have had a greater impact on her personality than my own."

"Is that why she seems more assertive? She did not yield to a kiss this time, instead she pressed back. It took me by surprise," Luna admitted.

"It also gave me access to her memories of the hive. I know you said Tia took care of you after Discord struck your home, but I think you two were much better off than Crystal. Mother was a right terror, prone to torture sessions at any perceived sleight. She hasn't really talked about it, but if you wanted to learn about Crystal's life in the hive there's no better time to ask than while she's looking at the world through a different filter," Max suggested.

"A filter. I believe you used the term after the incident but I could only guess at its meaning," the white alicorn said.

"A filter is... in terms of an item, it usually is something you run air or water through. It removes impurities like dirt or dust. In terms of a mental filter, we experience the world through the filter of our memories. We all have different experiences, so each of us will react to things differently. As Crystal is currently coming to terms with my memories, it's my way of reacting she'll be following. It also may have to do with our perceptions of the memories.

"When I think of a past event, I remember how it made me feel. I remember scents, sounds, emotions, voices, tastes, all kinds of things that add- we'll call it color, they add color to the memory. Most of Crystal's memories just feel flat by comparison. Sure there are emotions, but she doesn't remember the smell of an early morning patrol through the desert. She doesn't remember the temperature of the hive or the voice of a friend she lost. She's kind of disconnected from her memories and it's that way on purpose. Mother would actually get angry if she had to sort out additional fluff from a warrior queen or drone's memories aside from the facts. While Flick can get away with the additional development as an infiltrator and Crack was never really away from the hive enough to warrant a search of his thoughts, Crystal was under the mare's constant supervision."

Luna looked at him with worry written on her face and clouding her emotions.

"You are calling that queen Mother."

"I think that's both a bit of the ingrained fear as well as a way to distinguish between our parents. Mother is different from Mom, we're both aware of this. I also asked Crystal about it last night, as she said she can pull the filter at any time. He reason she doesn't is because she's terrified she'll have a panic attack the second she does. Her memories are being recorded with full color at the moment, so if she thinks back to what she did or goes through my memories without the filter-"

"She will only remember that such additions shall cause her grief. That such additions will get her in trouble," Celestia finished.

"I think a bit of distance between her old memories and these new ones will help. It's been fun, actually. I now have someone to talk to about things from home and she is apparently better at sorting memories than I am. Likely has to do with practice."

"Oh, our dreams are joined now as well. For the last few days we've ended up in a shared dream taking place in my old apartment. I want to change it, but I'm not certain how."

Luna perked at that bit of information.

"Your dreams have been more stable? The first time we entered you dreams they were very chaotic. We lost control for only a moment and were pulled along the winds of the dream without mercy. It was a frightening experience."

"They don't really feel like dreams anymore to me. It's more a waiting room while I'm asleep. While I'm there I can talk to Crystal if she's sleeping as well but for the most part we just kind of doze on my bed."

"I think it's a good opportunity to show you some things, like how a printing press looks and works. I just need to figure out dream manipulation. Right now we're kind of just using what we have, which means the bed's a bit cramped. It was made for a single adult human, not two people. Oh, and my body's a weird hybrid of changeling and human in the dream. I don't know if the changeling bit is increasing, but it's kind of weird seeing the mish-mash of species," Max said with a chuckle.

"Truly?" Luna asked. "Oh, this is a wonderful opportunity! I must see this, tonight perhaps. I have been fairly cautious of entering dreams since I encountered yours. A book I read once spoke of dream walkers becoming injured in dreams and with how easily my concentration slipped, I did not wish to experience any further incidents. Perhaps once I learn more I will be capable of bringing Tia to join us."

"Mmm, dreams being filled with pretty ladies. I have no objection to that," the stallion said with a laugh, causing Luna to giggle in turn. Celestia merely huffed, though he caught the barest hint of a smile on her lips this time.

"Come on, Tia. You know you can't hide it from me. You thought that was funny."

"Tia, do not make us fetch Crystal. I am certain with the three of us we are capable of overpowering you and I seem to remember somebody being extremely ticklish," Luna threatened, giggling madly. "What say you, Max? A quick application of adhesive and she would be at our mercy."

Max nodded along, smiling brightly at the now wary white alicorn.

"I think I like it. We'll have to catch her off-guard though. Maybe get Crystal in on it for the first shot to make sure she can't get away."

Celestia jumped in surprise when Luna brushed a wing along her other side, the dark mare having used Celly's focus on the changeling to slip behind her.

"When you least expect it," Luna whispered threateningly, bursting into giggles as she sped towards the dining room.

Watching as Luna slipped into the dining room ahead of them, Celestia turned to find the shape shifter smiling at her.

"Would you be interested in springing a trap on her?" Max said with a fanged grin.

The alicorn looked back to the door Luna disappeared behind and smiled.

"That sounds like a lovely plan. I assume you will bring Crystal in on it?"

"Of course."

Celestia finally let loose a chuckle.

"You realize Luna will likely seek revenge for this betrayal."

"It's worth it. Besides, I've hit you with enough jokes for now," Max joked. "Time to knock Luna down a peg."

<-(0)->

"-I found that the town of Coltson was still as undefended as before. It was strange, Tia. Very unnerving as well. There were no walls or patrols at night, even though they had almost a year to make one. It was as if they simply did not care for their own safety."

Luna slowed enough to shove a large piece of toast with egg on it into her mouth, humming at the flavor and nodding to Max.

"You are correct, it does taste good. I believe I may try one of these egg and cheese sand witches you mentioned earlier."

"I still don't know how ponies can lose the idea of slapping ingredients between two slices of bread. I think that's about as basic as cooking gets," Max grumbled. "I mean, next thing you know you'll be telling me you guys forgot how to make corn on the cob or mashed potatoes."

He was about to take a bite of his eggs when he noticed both alicorns staring at him, confusion and curiosity radiating from the two of them.

"Oh you're kidding me."

"I know what potatoes are so mashed potatoes is simple enough to deduce, but I do not recall ever hearing of this corn," the lunar alicorn said.

The stallion nodded.

"Add that to the list of things we need to get a hold of. Corn is another one of those things that is very useful. Food is the main thing people think of, but you can also use it for a bit of fuel or alcohol. Not for drinking usually, but I'd like to see some stronger spirits being produced for the sanitation effects if nothing else."

"You have mentioned using alcohols for sanitation purposes before. Why is that?" Celestia asked.

"It has to do with those cells I was telling Luna about a while ago. The one's all bodies are made from? Some of the ways we get sick is from cells that don't belong in our bodies getting in through cuts and scratches. Alcohol kills those cells. It does a bit of damage to you as well but when the choices are a little damage that your body will heal in a week or so if it even takes that long versus an illness of unknown strength, I'll take a little extra pain any day."

"I'll see if I can put together a quick class on biology later on to better explain it. If nothing else I can likely get Crystal to help me remember the names of all the bits and bobs of a cell. The thing you're doing though, if I remember correctly, is breaking the shin of the cell by altering its environment to be something it cant survive in. Like how a pony can't breath under water. The high concentration of alcohol is lethal to most germs. It's a poison after all..."

"I do not believe our definitions of poison are the same, Maximus," Luna said with a laugh. "Creatures usually do not go about purposely drinking poisons."

The stallion sighed, rubbing his temple while thinking of his explenation.

"Booze has a lot of weird effects. It messes with your blood, your mind, everything. Sometimes it's what people want at the moment though, like reduced inhibitions, coining the term liquid courage. Of course if the drinks are strong enough, you can drink yourself to death. It sounds strange, but there are plenty of things that while dangerous, in smaller amounts they aren't just safer, but their effects are desirable. Like if someone's in a lot of pain, sometimes getting them drunk can help distract them or dull that pain. In that case, the altered state of mind is what you want."

"We are getting off topic," Celestia finally said. "As informative as this is, was there anything else you saw, Luna?"

"Merely the fact that some houses looked quite nice while others were hastily constructed. Other than that there was just a feeling..." the blue alicorn trailed off.

"What kind of feeling?" Max asked.

"It is nothing of importance, just a feeling of being watched. It was likely nothing but I was certain that I was hiding my presence."

"You were carrying that jar of emotion, it is possible there is another changeling or two in the town and they sensed the emotion. An unguarded town would be a perfect target."

"I have to disagree with you, Celestia. An unguarded town sounds like a good target but if anything starts attacking ponies there's no way to protect your food source. In that case the lack of guards and defenses makes it just as dangerous for you to live there. But there were no bandits or anything like that?"

Luna shook her head.

"Not that I could see. In addition to my explorations I decided it would behoove us to make contact with nearby towns and castles. Duke Silverblood's is the only major one I am aware of at the moment."

"That could be dangerous," Max said. "Something's going on in that direction, whether the issue is in Silverblood Keep or Coltson. I'd rather find another individual to contact first if it was possible. If not we can do a bit of infiltration work. Nothing too in depth; just seeing the market and possibly the duke himself. Find out what we can about him."

Celestia nodded, though she was obviously irritated at the idea.

"I suppose that is what we shall end up doing. Silverblood Keep is the only nearby trade center I am aware of. All of the other locations are small towns that usually have only a few small shops that do not carry much of interest."

"Awesome, I'll talk to Crystal and we'll practice my shape shifting. I didn't want to burn too much energy while you were away, Luna," the changeling chuckled. "I wouldn't be able to do much if I was starving and out of energy."

"This link that Crystal shares with you. It has not had any negative side effects?"

"Not that I've noticed. I mean, aside from a deep fear of a crazy old changeling queen and a few stray thoughts that upon closer inspection don't quite fit my usual line, no. Worst I've dealt with lately has been a few times I wanted to push Flick or Crack around, one time I even got it in my head to start bullying Crystal. I think that's her knowledge of the hive though. Things were kind of dog eat dog there. Either you bullied those below you or they stabbed you in the back because they saw your kindness as a weakness.

"The other two haven't really shown that kind of aggression so it might either be just the queen's or just the soldiers. It's getting a bit easier to spot the stray thoughts based on her memories now that I know where they came from. They're also kind of jarring for me, so that makes it even easier. Like a pacifist all of a sudden wanting to kick puppies."

"A pacifist you most certainly are not," Luna giggled, rising from her seat. "I believe it is time Crystal was awoken. We have much to do and the sooner we accomplish it the sooner I can enjoy time with my flock."

Max rose to follow, giving Celestia a wink before motioning for silence and following Luna. Concentrating on the link, he called out to Crystal.

The smaller shape shifter responded with a line of z's, causing him to roll his eyes.

'I swear, you pull out some of the most ridiculous jokes. Speaking of which, Luna's coming to see you. We're going to ambush her.'

'Yes!' The mare nearly shouted back. 'What are we gonna do to her first?!?'

'Nothing sexual for now,' he returned, getting a whine in response. 'Celestia's following me, we're just going to be tickling Luna a bit. And Celestia.'

'Oh, a double betrayal. I like it.'

'Celestia doesn't know about the double-cross so don't clue her in I'll let you know when we strike. For now pretend to sleep. When Luna gets close-'

'Pow! I grab her!'

<-(0)->

Celestia stifled a giggle as she followed the pair as silently as she could. It was not as necessary as she would have thought, Luna having been lost to day dreams nearly as soon as she had left the dining room. She felt like a little filly again, planning on ambushing her sister like this. How long had it been since the two of them sat down and laughed, or enjoyed the time spent together after Discord's defeat.

As frustrating as the stallion's attitude could be at times, he was certain of his priorities. Family first. She wasn't certain she could accept that, but his attitude had done wonders for Luna's mood. In fact, it had done wonders for Luna in general. The younger mare was more confident, more expressive, more everything. Add to this the fact that he was kind to her in his own strange way, she felt guilty to have dismissed him at their first meeting.

'He would likely call my suspicions justified of course. In fact I believe he did so several times.'

His reasoning for helping them was also sound. The stronger their power base, the safer he was. The more their technology advanced, the closer they would be to what he was familiarity, to what he was comfortable with. She still found his reasoning for sanitation odd but his reasoning for dictating a more ordered town around the Keep was sound as anything she'd heard. She could very easily see a fire rip through the densely constructed huts and hovels that were being thrown together, most even sharing walls. She almost had almost thrown him away. Almost left him to starve in the dungeon. It would have devestated Luna but it also would have scared her. She thought he was lying about the emotion thing, attempting to talk her in to removing the suppressor. If Luna had not taken it into her own hooves and, well, bedded him it was very possible the male would be dead of starvation.

She flushed such dark thoughts away as the reached Luna's room. It was almost time to strike. She just had to wait a little longer. Luna approached the bed and Crystal rose to meet her, moving forward and kissing the alicorn passionately even as Max moved into position beside them. Crystal broke the kiss, looked up a little and hacked.

Less than a second later a second bark emitted from Max, the stallion adhering one of Luna's hooves to the floor and leaving her trapped.

"Traitor!" Luna shouted in surprise, trying desperately to work any kind of magic even as the changelings stuck her other three hooves to the floor. To Celestia's delight, Luna managed to catch sight of her as she walked into the room. Luna's eyes widened in shock as the older alicorn approached.

"What are you doing? You were supposed to help me capture Tia, not give her the chance to attack me!"

"Well, I figured I've teased Tia quite enough lately, so it was time for some payback. She's all yours, princess," the stallion called back to her.

Luna's eyes went wide as she redoubled her futile struggles with the adhesive gel.

"Maximus, Crystal, release me at once or I sha-hahahaha, no, Tia, stop! Not that! Ah-hahahaha!"

Celestia giggled merrily as her magic and wings danced over Luna's body, causing her little sister to writhe and squirm as she was tickled mercilessly. The last time she had done this, Luna had merely flown away, albeit rather drunkenly as Celestia's magic had a decent range. Once Luna had started learning magic, the two were fairly well matched. Luna could dispel her magic touch and Celestia had wings with which to defend herself as well.

'And so did our tickle-sessions end. Neither could gain a solid advantage and then we became so busy...no, I became so busy. Lulu was bored out of her mind.'

By now the younger alicorn was in tears, gasping for air and begging for mercy. Celestia slowly approached Luna's face, her tongue hanging from her mouth threateningly.

"Nuh-ho, Tia do-haha, don't you dare. I, I swearee-heehee, I swear I shall make you, hahaha, I'll make you regret it!"

Celestia continued her approach and Luna began straining against her bindings, tilting ponderously and she aimed her head away. Finally Celestia wrapped her forelegs around Luna's neck. She leaned forward and stuck her tongue in Luna's ear.

"Tia! Oh that is most foul, ew ew ew, stop! No, don't, get it out! Oh this is so disgusting! Maximus, a pox upon you and yours! Crystal, free us this instant! No, subdue mine sister that I may met out proper punishment! Mine wrath shall be the thing of le-hehahahaha, no, damnation, Crystal! You are to stop her, not aide her!"

Celestia removed her tongue to find sparks of green fire dancing over Luna's body, following the paths her own magic had used just moments ago. Max approached Luna, his own tongue hanging out threateningly and causing Luna to redouble her shouts and threats. The white alicorn giggled, preparing to give her little sister a double wet willy when something unexpected happened.

Her magic cut out.

Looking up, she saw the male had licked a layer of the adhesive onto her own horn, cutting off her magic so quickly she almost hadn't noticed. Before she could take more than three steps backwards Crystal was raising herself over Luna's back with her forelegs, barking a few quick shots of adhesive at Celestia's hooves and trapping the older mare in the same position Luna was in.

"Oh wow," Max chuckled, looking to a giggling Crystal. "A sudden yet inevitable betrayal. I never saw that one coming!"

"We win!" Crystal laughed, her horn blazing with power as her magic danced over both alicorns. It was joined a moment later by Max's own magic, doubling the effect.

Celestia resisted of course. She did as best she could, but even she could not resist the contact for long. Seconds later it became much worse, both of the changelings assuming Luna's form and beginning to run their feathers over their captives in addition to their magic. Her thoughts were instantly turned to planning revenge on the stallion and how best to incorporate Luna into her plans. After all, Luna would surely be interested in avenging this betrayal.

Even as her eyes began to tear up from the constant assault, her mind was hard at work planning her revenge. The stallion would rue the day he betrayed her like this.

<-(0)->

Max chuckled merrily as he tickled Celestia into a stupor, the mare gasping and giggling mindlessly as he slowed in his assault. It wouldn't due to have the alicorn pass out from lack of air.

'It's all fun and games until someone dies of oxygen deprivation.'

He moved to her face, picking her tear-streaked face up in a hoof and forcing her to meet his, or this case Luna's, gaze.

"Say uncle," he said in the blue alicorn's voice.

"We, we yield," she gasped. "M-mercy."

"Mercy if for the weak," he sneered before laughing once more. "But I am pretty hungry right now so I suppose that's a form of weakness."

The alicorn blushed deeply at his jab and he shook his head.

"No, I'm not going to try push you into a relationship. You know that by now, Tia. So how this is going to work is we have a day to recover. After that, you get to do your prank or revenge, then you get a day reprieve. How does that sound? You don't even have to do anything immediately, but nothing for today or tomorrow. Give Crystal and I a chance to rest and recover with Luna nearby."

Celestia nodded still giggling every now and again as the stallion began to lick the adhesive off her hooves. She burned with a bit of embarrassment, but she was still radiating enough happiness to drown out nearly all other emotions.

As he began working on the oldest mare's third leg, he was his by a wave of powerful lust radiating from beside him. He turned to see Crystal taking advantage of Luna's predicament, the changeling having added a bit more adhesive to Luna's muzzle to silence her as the shape shifter began licking enticingly along Luna's flank.

"Dammit, Crystal. Wait until Celestia's out of the room," he groaned, causing the aforementioned mare to perk up and look at Luna. Seeing a copy of the blue alicorn currently burying its muzzle in the younger alicorn's muff, Celestia blushed hotly and began to panic in her bindings.

"Stop it, Celestia. I'm going to get you out of here as soon as possible, but if you kick me it's going to take longer. Seriously, they couldn't give me like, two minutes to get Celestia out of here? Pain in the ass horny mare with no self control, I swear she's worse than some collage students."

The second her fourth hoof was free Celestia was bolting from the room, only being stopped outside as Max reminded her of the adhesive still sitting on her horn. Pulling Celestia into Luna's bathing room to remove the gel privately, he dropped his disguise, spat into a rag and began wiping the gel off of her horn that way. No way did he want to spend extra time licking her horn. After he'd removed any that he could see and began using the rag to double-check his work on her rear legs, he gave her a quick hug.

"I'm sorry, Tia. I thought they had a bit more self-control. Crystal's new attitude sometimes takes unexpected turns. Or in this case I suppose it would be a completely expected turn."

"It is fine, Maximus," she assured him with a tired smile. "The experience was enjoyable aside from the last few moments. I do not believe I have laughed like that for a long time. Perhaps tomorrow, once everypony is recovered, we may all practice in the yard again?"

"You just want to smash me into the dirt again," he accused with an indignant huff.

"Oh dear, my plan was so obvious? Perhaps I should do such things more often so that I learn to better disguise my motives."

Opening the door and stepping through, she looked back at him.

"I expect Luna to be somewhat presentable by lunch, Maximus. I shall even send a serving pony along in a few hours. That should give you ample time to corral those mares."

"I'll do my best, Tia. Don't expect a miracle though. I'm only one man. Stallion. Same thing, I guess."

The alicorn tittered as she walked out of the bathroom and left him to himself. Taking a preparatory breath, he used the door connecting Luna's room to the bathing room to reenter his mare's bedroom.

Not much had changed since he left a few moments ago. Luna was still panting, her tail now raised to its maximum height as Crystal continued to press deeper into her alpha's depths. Luna's wings were fully extended, flapping every now and again but not aiding the blue mare in the slightest since her hooves were still stuck to the floor.

Crystal meanwhile had returned to her changeling form and was buzzing her wings happily as she gave a few messy slurps, enjoying the first real powerful expressions of lust and love in several days as she brought her alpha pleasure. Pressing herself more deeply against the alicorn's backside, the younger mare swallowed several deep gulps as Luna shuddered from an orgasm.

"Damn, you've already got her under your hoof, huh?" Max asked as he approached, watching as the two continued without even slowing.

Stepping around to Luna's side, he began to nibble her already stiff wings and nip at the sensitive muscles that connected her wings to her back, causing a fresh set of spasms to fire down Luna's spine. The alicorn whimpered into her bonds, squirming even as her legs began to shake from the constant pleasure and successive climaxes the changeling at her tail was setting off. With a pitiable whimper, her legs gave out, causing her to collapse awkwardly to the floor.

Max pulled Crystal from her feast with a burst of magic, earning a pair of needy whines from the mares before he motioned to the bindings holding their mate to the floor. Crystal immediately perked up and began helping him remove the gunk before transporting their prey to the bed. Setting Luna on her bed, her splayed wings holding her in position as she sat on her back, he grinned as he felt her emotions finally start to clear of the orgasm-induced cloud of happiness. It was the perfect time to set Crystal back to work.

He grinned viciously as Crystal dove back into her previous position, causing Luna to give a muffled shout of surprise as she was once more invaded by the proto queen's writhing tongue. Straddling Luna, he removed the adhesive binding her muzzle shut before driving his own tongue deep into her mouth, kissing her as passionately as he could. He stroked her neck, running his magic aura over her wings as she bucked underneath him, radiating lust and love like a furnace set to overload.

"I know you'll look for revenge, Luna, but for now Crystal and I are hungry. I'm sure you don't mind, do you?"

Giving a quick warning to Crystal and causing her to, albeit reluctantly, pull back, he backed himself up slightly and shoved himself forward. The alicorn immediately spasmed at the penetration, her eyes wide even as her hooves locked around his neck. There was no issue with her being unprepared though, Crystal had seen to that. He drove himself deeper, causing the mare to moan with abandon, driving him on further even as he heard the needy whines of the younger mare who was currently being left out.

'Front and center, shape shift like this,' he sent to her, along with a mental image.

Crystal jumped over the two, a flash of green fire passing over her body as she shoved her needy sex into the reach of her mates. Max grinned, beginning to lick at the top set of vaginal lips as Luna took the bottom, both of them lapping at Crystal's double sex as the stallion continued his rhythmic thrusting.

Apparently not satisfied with the pleasure another flash of fire flowed over Crystal's body. Her moans turned to shouts as she amplified her own sensitivity, the two tongues exploring her twin depths causing her mind to explode with pleasure.

The pace continued for only a few moments though, Crystal's heightened sensitivity coming at a cost. With final squeal and a flash of green fire the mare climaxed, dropping her disguise and leaving Max with his tongue buried deep inside a very different hole. With a mix of amusement and confusion, he slurped his tongue back in, drawing a shudder of pleasure from the young shape shifter before she tottered precariously on the bed. With one last insensate giggle she pitched forward, falling off the edge of the bed entirely.

Max stopped mid-thrust, both of the remaining members of the flock staring at the mare's tail as her muffled giggles reached them from below. It took an act of will that would have broken others, but both Max and Luna scrambled to the edge of the bed, Luna's legs still shaking slightly from her previous orgasms.

Crystal was out of it, her back arched almost painfully as her rear legs sat on the bed, leaving her face and barrel to bear the brunt of the impact. A small bit of green blood was currently leaking from her nose but it was already drying. Max sighed, lifting the drooling changeling back onto the bed and into the hooves of a concerned Luna.

"She doesn't seem to be greatly injured. Just a small split right between her lip and nose. We can have Crack take a look at it later," Luna said as she tucked her beta in to the covers. Turning back to the stallion, she grinned hungrily before raising her rear in his direction.

"Now, I believe we were in the middle of something?"

He grinned right at her, causing her to pulse with lust and love at the sight. Not missing a beat he jumped over to her and mounted her again, assuming his previous pace and doing his best to drive the mare into the bed.

"You know, ha, that I will have, ha, revenge for that, right?" Luna gasped in time with his thrusts.

"Long as, it ends in, ha, the three-EE of us, in bed, I don't mind," he responded, leaning in to nip her ear. Giving a few more powerful thrusts, he shuddered as the mare's tunnel began undulating violently, milking him and sending him over the edge. He thrust forward one last time, burying himself inside of her even as the mare came one last time, only having the energy left to whimper as her body seized up once again.

As they basked in the afterglow, Max allowed himself to go limp on the mare's back. He could already see a few of the larger holes in his forelegs starting to fade, the sex/feeding leaving him both exhausted and full. Judging by the dazed giggles emitting from his flock's alpha, Luna was thinking the same thing. Just, you know, a different kind of full.

Author's Note

I don't care what happens to Crystal, she gets to be silly. Even during sex.

Awkward

The room was silent except for the clatter of utensils on plates. A serving pony would also enter the room every now and again, but aside from a few confused glances. Not a word was said.

"Hnk-"

Max smothered another chuckle, Luna sitting across from him desperately doing the same. The alicorn was doing a better job actually, but only because she was silencing herself with a spell. In terms of food consumption, Max was doing better.

Crystal pouted as Luna bust into another fit of silent giggles, a bandage on her nose being the cause of the other two flock members amusement. Well, the bandage and the fact that Celestia had seen it and resolutely avoided looking at Crystal since they'd arrived.

Breaking into a wide, toothy smile as he tried to fight back his laughter, Max raised an eyebrow at the white alicorn.

"I can taste your curiosity."

"I already said I don't want to know."

Max began giggling like a schoolgirl, both at the insult Crystal had thrown at him over the link and Celestia's continued avoidance of the topic.

"It's not going away, Tia. She almost broke her nose after all. Crack said it was just shy of a total break."

The curiosity returned, but the solar alicorn quickly smothered it, turning her thoughts to other things. It did her no good though. Underneath that steadfast expression she wore her mind still needed to know.

Luna finally broke down, falling from her chair in a gale of laughter that only she could hear, causing Crystal to shrink in on herself in embarrassment. Finally Celestia sighed, looking at Max with a straight face.

"Fine, out with it. I am beginning to think my avoiding the topic is what is driving Luna to such insanity. I may as well get this over with. What happened to Crystal."

"You're right. I think that's twice as funny as what happened. Crystal was in such a daze after she finished she fell off the bed and landed on her face," Max explained, causing the younger alicorn, who had just returned to her seat, to break into a renewed round of silent laughter.

"We actually had to stop and make sure her nose wasn't broken or anything. She was so out of it though, she, she didn't even notice!"

Celestia gave a confused look at Crystal, likely trying to comprehend how a pony could suffer such an injury and not react. At the increased attention the shape shifter shrunk farther into her seat, eventually disappearing in a flash of fire. Leaning over, Max and Luna both spotted a small filly attempting to hide under the chair.

It was not to be. Luna gave a silent squeal of delight, yanking the miniature queen out of her hiding place and smothering Crystal in a hug. She babbled silently, likely not remembering her silence spell even as the mare in Luna's grip hid her face in her hooves.

"I was unaware changelings could alter themselves like that,"Celestia finally said.

Max just nodded dumbly as Luna smothered her beta in affection.

"I wasn't either, but it's because I haven't really looked at the limits of shape shifting yet. That could be useful to know. I think I'm going to go practice a bit of shape shifting and flying today. If anyone needs me I'll be in the yard."

"Didn't you manage that earlier?"

"I was pulling from Crystal, actually. I will be doing so for a while as well. But if I get the muscle memory for lack of a better word, I should be able to do this stuff without using Crystal's knowledge. If I end up falling off a cliff, that's a really bad time to try and ask Crystal where her flight memories are."

"It's like asking a librarian where a certain book is," he explained, seeing the look of confusion on Celestia's face. "After I have been using it for a while I may learn how to find information from others much more quickly but for now I don't know how to search or sort her memories. She knows how to look through mine, but she doesn't have any idea what to look for right now. She's kind of looking through my memories at random I think."

Max turned to Luna, sensing her curiosity and seeing her ask a question. Of course, the silence spell was still active so not a sound came from her mouth. She blushed purple as she realized her mistake, drawing a burst of giggles from her sister before she removed the effect.

"You are not concerned with her gaining access to memories?"

"I'm terrified by the prospect, actually. Someone else going through my head? Yea, that's creepy. However, it's helped her a lot over the past few days and I've learned a bit in return. It's passive enough that I don't see us melting into a single mind, so I'm willing to use whatever advantage I can grab. Besides, do you know what this means for us as a group? I don't know the range, but if I go with Luna and Crystal goes with Celestia, both groups can stay in contact with each other. It also means that if we do this infiltration thing I can send the information I get back to you without walking back out of the town."

"Queens are capable of relaying information farther than drones, but I do not know your classification," Crystal piped in. "The distance is quite large though. It should be simple enough to set ourselves up outside the patrol line of the Duke's keep and receive your messages. As for maximum range, after a distance the information becomes less clear. At maximum distance one can only make out that someone is calling you."

"Ah, Morse code."

Crystal's eyes widened as she searched for the relevant information.

"Oh, I understand! Let me try, this is going to feel strange but it will give you an idea of what to expect."

'A'

Max nodded, trying to replicate the sensation and think a bit to the proto queen.

"Argh! Tone it down!" the younger changeling yelled, clutching her head. "Look, I'll explain link communication later tonight. Just...just go practice."

<-(0)->

"Flank's a bit too thin. Stallions have more bulk back there."

Flash.

"Lost your wings. Also, you're a bit tall for a pony."

Flash.

"Your color fades from front to back slightly."

Max was aching in a new way as he did his best to shape shift into a simple pony he remembered from the show, Thundercloud or something. Black hair, white mane. It was a one he'd seen a few times, but trying to focus on every detail of the transformation at once was starting to give him a headache. At least it was a pony he wouldn't run into, as the stallion wouldn't be born for another thousand years at least, maybe two.

Flash

"Not bad," Twister said, walking around him and taking in the form. She suddenly stopped, looking under his barrel.

"Uh, you kind of forgot to make yourself male."

Max blinked, looking between his forelegs and down the underside of his body. He hadn't made himself the wrong gender, he had the genitals of the wrong species now. He could just barely make out the genital plates underneath the fur.

'Wonderful, so I can fuck that up too. I always did try to not look at the junk of other guys. Maybe I can find a medical document. That way it doesn't get awkward.'

'Max! Help, I was looking through these weird things in your memories and one's stuck in my head! It keeps playing over and over and what the hell is a centerfold?'

"God damnit, Crystal," he groaned, burying his face in his hooves.

'It's called an earworm. A song playing over and over in your head. I don't know how to make it stop, try listening to other songs. As for a centerfold, it's...here.'

He sent several images of magazines, all with the centerfold exposed. Guns, cars, swimsuit models, there were tons of centerfolds he'd seen. It didn't all have to be sexy. The variation would probably also help her to determine that it was the large picture, not just a swimsuit model.

'Oh, so it's...wait so the angel, oooooh. Thanks Max.'

He nodded, jumping slightly when he found Twist waving a hoof in front of his face.

"Are you okay? You zoned out for a moment."

'Crystal was-damnit'

"Crystal was asking me something. Turns out changelings can do a form of mental communication. It's weird but it's really useful. I can pull how to shape shift from her or how to fly, but I want to be able to do it on the go. Pulling from her takes way to long to rely on."

Twister frowned.

"Isn't that weird? Having somepony else in your head, I mean."

"Twister, your species is a mythological one where I'm from. Magic doesn't exist where I'm from, not in any form we've discovered. Gryphons, changelings, unicorns, hydras, manticores, they're all fake. They're all storybook characters that have never existed on Earth. I'm beyond the point where I'm going to get put off by something weird coming up. I won't say I can't be surprised, but I'm a bit jaded at this point. Besides, as I mentioned to the princesses, Crystal seems to be better at sorting memories than I am. She pulled up a recipe for a dinner I wanted to try in about a minute while I could not for the life of me remember the recipe."

"I suppose I can see that being useful. It just sounds, it sounds kind of scary."

"I went from a world where the biggest thing I had to worry about on a day to day basis was a dog attacking me in the street or getting mugged on the bad side of town to a place where there are walls to protect us from the wild animals that can and will maul and eat me. Dragons, Ursa's- hell, I don't know half of the dangers that are out there. I can almost guarantee that there are more things out there that can kill me than there were in my country. I wouldn't be surprised if some monsters from games I dismissed as an irritation would be lethal in reality."

Twister nodded, a look of worry crossing her face.

"Do you really think we'll have to worry about dragons?"

"I don't know, Twister," he sighed. "There's a lot out there that I don't have any information on. I know for a fact that there are griffons out there, but have you ever seen or even heard of them. Changelings, the bat ponies, zebras-"

"Zebras?"

"White ponies with black stripes running from the spines down to their bellies."

"A pony with spines?" She boggled.

"No no, this is your spine," Max said, moving closer to the mare and tapping her back. "The segmented bone chain here is a spine. It protects a long chord that connects your brain to the rest of your body. That's why someone who suffers spinal damage can become paralyzed or worse. If that cord gets damaged, the results can be catastrophic. With zebras though, the stripes run from here to here."

Twister nodded as he pointed the locations, looking back to him in curiosity.

"You've mentioned things like this before. I know some ponies talk about the importance of specific strikes in battle. Some of the knights also said you gave a lesson on parts of the body in the throne room. Could you possibly do the same for us?"

"I'd like to, sure. There's just a lot to think about. We're still missing a forge, we've got the quarry under construction last I heard, I'll do my best to get you guys the information before the next battle or what have you but I can't guarantee when it will be. Actually, I'd like to make sure the princesses are there for it as well. I- oh wow, I wonder if- give me a second, Twister. I need to ask Crystal something."

Grinning, he did his best to send to the mare without blasting her with his thoughts.

'Crystal? Hey Crystal, I was wondering if you could help me with something. Is it possible to...

<-(0)->

"What is so important that you insist we go to the yard at this moment?" Luna asked the changeling as Crystal trotted merrily ahead of her. The mare was proud of something, likely something she'd worked out with Max if her previous five minutes of silence were to be taken into consideration. She's flashed with changeling magic several times, but Luna had never noticed what it was she was changing with the spell. The shape shifter had merely taunted that she'd have to follow and see.

The yard opened up just ahead of them and Crystal took flight to the large gathering of knights currently occupying the far side of the field. Max was definitely teaching something, but he question was what?

Celestia squeaked as a pony in the middle of the group came into sight, a very simple brown stallion with a black mane. The reason for her sister's distress was the stallion's organs were visible, as if half of his body was glass. A beating heart, pulsing and twisting organs, even the cords of muscle visible in his neck and chest would flex and relax with every movement he made.

"-that strike in particular would cut the tendon of the rear leg. I don't have much experience with your muscles and tendons and how they work, but in my old species cutting this tendon back here would result in an almost complete loss of mobility. Being bipedal, the loss of one leg is catastrophic. You could likely continue with the loss of one until you could be seen to by a medical professional but you would be severely hampered, possibly even permanently crippled. Next strike?"

A stallion with a training sword stepped forward, delivering a slow-motion strike to the stallion's temple with the flat of the blade.

"It's kind of obvious what this blow does to most of you. The reasoning is what's behind the skull. The brain is very susceptible to impacts and damage. That's why your skull is so thick. It's also why we wear helmets. Now when a blow strikes the skull, the impact isn't what causes the spots in your eyes or ringing in your ear. It's the momentum being carried through to your brain. The spots and ringing are your brain trying to process direct damage to itself, which is kind of hard because it doesn't have the same nerves as the rest of you. It's not supposed to be hit. Ever."

"Speaking of the brain, can everyone see the eye? Most eyes are like this. While my eye may look different in my normal form, the basic anatomy is the same. It's also usually a very soft and squishy tissue. If ever you find yourself against something you can't seem to hurt, the eyes are usually a good bet. Even if you can't kill it, blinding it could give you that crucial second to get away or give your allies the opportunity to escape or attack."

"Next attack I can think of is the spinal tap," Max said. Crystal flew over to him, and quickly touched each end of the spine in demonstration of his focus.

"The spine contains a good portion of the nervous system. It transmits your thoughts to your muscles. That is to say, when you think of moving your arm, the brain fires off a message that travels down the spine to the proper limb and causes the muscles you thought of to move. If it's damaged, that process can be hindered or outright stopped. Each of these segmants is a separate bone joined by cartilage, the same stuff that gives your nose a bit of mobility. Cartilage is also present in your joints. If I manage to get a hold of a rabbit or chicken later I'll show you guys the difference in a real creature."

"Being such an important part of the body, a heavy blow to the spine is capable of putting an enemy out of the fight," he said, giving Luna and Celestia a quick smile before turning back to the knights.

"Anyone else have attacks they want to discuss?"

"I don't know if you can add wings, but I was always told to strike at a pegasus' wings," an earth pony volunteered.

"That sounds like it has more to do with cutting off their advantage, literally if you can manage it," Crystal said, receiving several grimaces from the gathered pegasi. "One of the things I was taught was how to deal with dragons as they sometimes wandered close to the hive. The tactics were varied but all called for an attempt to drive it away with other methods before we turned to killing it. If we can chase it away easily and not give away our location, the issue ends there. If not, the battle should proceed as follows. Eyes and wings are the first targets. While very strong, dragon wings can be vulnerable to high-speed ruptures. In other words, we'd have drones dive through their wings at high speed to punch through them much like an arrow. I don't know if a pegasus could pull off such a maneuver without injury, but the holes in the wings would limit its mobility. After that you either attempt o wear it down, or attempt to strike at the larger scales on the dragons belly. They are as strong as the rest of them, but it is much easier to wear down a single large scale than it is to attempt to wear down a scale the size of your hoof that's layered among hundreds of others on a moving target. One queen even preferred to fire a powerful magic spell either down a dragons throat or up it's rear, bypassing the scales entirely.

"Combat is what my life was dedicated to in the hive. I was taught how to take towns and keeps, how to defend the hive, how to fight and how to lead and coordinate drones in combat. I have been told some of the things I do are not feasible for ponies, but if there is any creature you have question about I may know how to kill it. If I don't know for certain how to do so, I'll be able to put together a strategy to learn how to kill it. I won't be able to tell you anything else about the creatures, as Mother was adamant about not cluttering our minds with needless information. We knew our jobs, and that was all we knew."

Luna nodded, turning to Celestia with an appreciative smile.

"We may need to take her to task on some of the local monsters. Her methods of using drones as disposable troops would be an issue but she may know how some creatures would react to hostile or defensive actions."

"I am more concerned with how Maximus managed to turn himself into a living model of the pony body," Celestia muttered back, her face looking a bit green. "To see such a thing is, it is extremely bothersome."

"Oh, you think too much about such things," the younger alicorn dismissed. "Maximus! Are you capable of returning to your previous form but retaining your transparency?"

The changeling looked to Crystal for a moment, the two of them flinching or shrugging as they discussed the request before the brown half-pony disappeared in a flash of green fire. He returned to his full body, while Crystal was the one to convert herself into a living model.

"This feels strange," the young shape shifter muttered, looking back at her side and watching her body as it operated.

Luna stepped closer, looking over the mare's body and comparing it to what she remember reading and what the stallion had explained during her last night court. Some of the bits she could identify, but others...the changelings did indeed have two stomachs, making it a total of three branches from the throat. The esophagus if she recalled the term correctly.

'Lungs, heart, the anus seems to just end not too deep inside and...oh wow.'

'I guess that explains the overabundance of reproductive equipment,' Max thought as he looked over the sectioned mare's reproductive organs. Yes, organs. As in multiple. Her vaginal tract seemed to split off into several different chambers, Some of them looking to be empty sacs while others deeper inside had what he could only guess were her ovaries. With a quick command to the mare, she canceled the transformation. She may not have had any idea what the issue was, but there was an awful lot of blushing and coughing coming from the crowd.

'Humans aren't the only species with perverted tendencies,' he chuckled to himself, finding Celestia and Luna in the crowd. Luna looked at the young shape shifter intently, burning with curiosity mixed with a hint of lust and telling him exactly where her focus had been as well. The older mare seemed not to notice, too busy attempting to fight off her nausea at the sights that had assaulter her so recently.

" Any questions? Any additional questions, comments concerns, bitches, moans, complaints, gripes, requests, desires, or fantasies?"

A round of chuckles wound their way through the guards and he had to bite back a chuckle, several mare's asking for a demonstration from him as well. He shook his head at the request and the gathered ponies shared a round of laughter before dispersing back to their training.

"Interesting. I was unaware you two were capable of such transformations," Luna said as she approached the two.

"We weren't either, but I asked Crystal about it and she worked it out. It's kind of advanced stuff though, at the end of what Crystal was capable of," he explained before turning to his assistant. "If you don't mind, Crystal, I'd like to take a look at you with that transformation up in private. I saw something that kind of bothered me."

"Was there something wrong?" Luna piped up, her emotions blooming in concern.

Max shook his head.

"Not something that would cause damage, but I think I saw either the reason or the after effects of her sterility. Maybe if we can get Crack's opinion on it, we can find a way to reverse that."

"You mean you think you can help me lay?" Crystal asked, staring at him. "You, you think you can fix it? Make me a true queen?"

"Maybe, I don't know, Crystal," Max said as the mare rushed up to him. "It was just some things I noticed. For future reference though, genitals are private things. We talked about that, remember?"

"But you asked me to do what you did."

"Max also removed them from his model. His form was asexual as far as I could tell, though the shape of the body seemed more fit to be a stallion," Luna said, carefully pulling the queen away from Max. "We shall discuss this with Crack later. For now we have several ponies waiting to speak with us. Though I do appreciate the demonstration, Maximus. I do not believe I have ever seen such a thing before."

Trotting a bit to catch up to Luna as the alicorns made their way back to the keep, Max leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"What would you think of being able to see just how deep I go into Crystal, maybe even seeing my seed rushing out during a climax?"

The alicorn stumbled slightly, flapping her wings a few times as she attempted to calm herself. It was too late though. Max could already taste the lust bomb he'd just set off in her head. He'd have to ask Flick if there was a way to hold a transformation after an orgasm. There had to be something they could do to lock their forms. It would probably make infiltrations safer as well. That way they wouldn't accidentally drop them at the wrong time.

<-(0)->

After dinner and hunting down the other changelings, Max found himself standing outside their shared room. Flick was a bit tired, still preferring her night time schedule. Still, the idea of seeing what Max and Crystal had worked out for herself had her burning with curiosity.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to spot the difference in her body if she does that. I've looked over enough queens that had trouble with egg laying. Assuming the issue isn't magical, I may be able to force a shift in her body to allow her to finish maturing," Crack explained as they arrived.

The larger stallion stopped as his hoof was reaching for the door.

"Mature- wait, Crystal's not a mature changeling ? Does that mean she's still considered a changeling teenager or something? That would make more sense though. If there's some kind of block on her, it would keep her from being capable of breeding even if she could have sex."

"There's a final molt a queen goes through before they start laying. Mother had a way to stop that final molt if it wasn't convenient. If it's magical, we may be able to remove it with some cancelation spells. If it's biological, I should be able to find the difference between her body and a healthy proto-queen that's about to enter her final molt. She's old enough, older than she needs to be at least. She's also shown a vast change in attitude which I would attribute to her linking with you. How has the link been treating you?"

"It's an interesting experience. It's odd to know there's always someone I can contact if I need something, but I'm not used to the idea of sharing memories like this. She never came across as having a powerful personality, so it's like having- Crystal? What's wrong?"

Max stopped in his tracks, looking at the beta of the flock as she stood before a mirror. Her form was different though. The holes were back, though only because of the transformation she was wearing. Her horn seemed longer and more jagged, her legs longer and thus, her body taller. The relatively short and scraggly mane style she bore, compared to the alicorns at least, was now a full flowing mane. She spread her wings, displaying a tattered wingspan that still managed to catch the wind when she flapped them. She gave a flick of her teal tail and Max boggled, wondering how the mare's mane and tail could have holes. It was almost unreal, looking at Crystal right now, as if-

'Oh fuck,' he thought. "We'll need to speak later, guys, I think this is going to be...I don't know. Give us a bit, I'll come find you again later."

The smaller changelings beat a hasty retreat, not certain what was occurring but smart enough to see the larger shape shifter's distress. Max could feel it too now if he concentrated. It still wasn't a form of communication he was used to though, so he'd not noticed her mood suddenly fall.

"Crystal? Come on, Chrissy, talk to me."

"Is this what I'm supposed to look like?" she whispered.

'Fack'

"No," he answered, a hint of hesitation in his voice causing her to glare at him. Taking a breath, he gestured to the bed. "Will you let me explain those images?"

At this range he could feel her raging thoughts as they simmered beneath the surface. For a moment he wondered if she would lash out at him, but she slowly nodded, dropping the form for her smaller body.

"I, I've trusted you a lot and you haven't hurt me. Do you promise that won't happen? That I won't lose myself like that?"

Instead of answering he sent another image, a picture of Nightmare Moon as she attacked Celestia, another of her crowing her iconic line. It wouldn't mean much without an explanation, but it would hopefully let Crystal know there was more to this. It seemed to work too, the changeling shrinking a bit but moving onto the bed.

"It's a story. You remember these?" he asked, sending images of several cartoon characters. She nodded and he sent another batch of images, these featuring ponies in all forms, the changelings, Discord, all of them viewed from a screen.

"Back home there was a story. It was about a little girl finding out she was the key to an ancient artifact of power along with five other young girls. They banded together and defeated Nightmare Moon, cleansing her of her hate and jealousy, or so the story goes. Later on at the wedding of the brother of that hero, a changeling queen attacked, taking the place of the bride and using the brother's love for the pink princess to defeat Celestia. The queen lost though. I want you to look at this story though and tell me something. When does this occur?"

He watched as Crystal sorted through the images, finding what he was alluding to. The train she could only identify because of Max's memories. Same with the streetlights, and the castle was well beyond anything the ponies were capable of. In fact she didn't even know what mountain the city was situated on. There were several nearby, after all. She frowned, recalling the image of Nightmare moon so he sent her the tale of the Mare in the Moon.

"A thousand years?" she whispered.

"More. The sisters were well situated as far as I could tell. Score that occured. They had a nice castle that was bigger than this one, they had defeated several other enemies that are likely going to show in the future, and I think ponies were either in or heading into a cultural revolution. Tapestries, stained glass windows, statues, armor for the sake of decoration, decorative weapons and dishes, and the library! More books than you could read in a year. We don't even have two bookshelves of scrolls at the moment between all the literature in the castle, Crystal."

"So even if it's far in the future, that will still-"

"I don't know if it will," he cut her off. "Discord talked to me before he brought me here, said he wanted to change things. If we help Luna, if we can watch her and make sure that doesn't happen, why would any of these other bits occur? Besides, now you know better. Even if that was you, would you do the same things?"

"No," Crystal answered, a bit of strength returning to her voice. "She- I? The mare had several opportunities to win but squandered them. They-"

Her voice cut out again as Max sent a few ideas, her expression turning thoughtful as she began searching for the information herself. Max shivered this time, the sensation of the changeling mare's presence flowing through a memory he was actively working with causing his spine to tingle. She followed it deeper and he followed her presence, finding the full list buried in his memories.

"Lets play a game, Crystal. I think up a villain and we try to see how many of these rules they break, as well as which one sends them to their deaths or defeats."

The smaller shape shifter nodded as she pressed closer to his side, pulling the blanket over both of them. Even as he began to list villains for their game, he could hear something from her. A single word she repeated over and over as if tasting it.

'Chrysalis.'

Author's Note

"You want to know what happened, don't you Celestia?"

Breaking a Bone to Set it Properly

Celestia followed Luna at a sedate pace, much calmer than the younger alicorn at the moment. Flick had approached them as they were speaking with several ponies seeking their aid, informing Luna of an issue that had cropped up. Apparently Crystal had discovered something amid the memories Maximus held that had shaken her badly. The stallion had asked them to leave him alone with Crystal as he talked her through her crisis, but Flick was worried the stallion may have bitten off more than he could chew.

'I had no idea queens were prone to outbursts. Although it may not be so. Max did speak of the hive being an extremely dangerous and hostile environment.'

It was normal to expect something evil from the younger mare when she had such a form, but at the same time Celestia had watched the mare closely over the last month. She was much more assertive with the addition of Max's memories and personalities, but she had been completely submissive to Luna from day one of their relationship as far as Celestia was aware. Given how the blue alicorn had told Crystal to seek Max for advice and help should she have trouble, the idea of the younger mare lashing out at him was a distant possibility. Very distant, in fact.

"Maximus? Crystal?" Luna called out, opening the door and rushing towards the bed. Celestia stopped at the doorway, watching silently as Max perked up at their arrival. He was currently resting against the otherwise motionless form of Crystal, the smaller mare pressed firmly against his side as she slept.

'So he was able to calm her. Wonderful,' Celestia thought with a smile. With how things were going there may well be a time that she would need to work with the changeling mare. Crystal's willingness to listen to those Luna told her to hold faith in was proving to be more powerful than her experiences in the hive. It also helped that the three of them were becoming so attached to one another that Crystal was willing to place her faith in him and trust him with things she would normally have no reason to even consider. Even the other day Crystal had all but snubbed her, choosing to keep the stallion between the two of them in spite of the fact she likely would have preferred a warm body.

' I am not certain if I should have taken that as an insult or not.'

Max was whispering to Luna, likely explaining the issue even as Luna was settling herself into the bed on top of the sleeping shape shifter. The blue alicorn's wings settled protectively over the changeling and she stirred. Crystal looked up in confusion before smiling. She whispered something to Luna and relaxed back into the bed, dozing off in what was probably the safest location she'd ever find. The sight sent a spark of jealousy through Celestia. She couldn't remember a time when she felt so safe.

No, that wasn't exactly true. She'd felt more secure lately. More at ease. While Crystal was still new, she was unquestionably loyal to Luna, and Maximus, while not certain how to use many of his abilities, was another powerful ally. As they grew into their own power, they would become a force in this world. In Luna's flock, that force would be turned to her cause. Two creatures that according to the stallion were capable of matching an alicorn when fully empowered. The sheer power that was housed in their home at the moment was awe inspiring. Two alicorns, two changelings, Discord was amusing himself elsewhere...there was nothing nearby that was attempting to kill them. Nothing that existed for the sole purpose of causing the two mares misery.

'Perhaps it is as he has said. The fates of thousands who may never be becoming altered before they were ever born against the fate of the mare I cherish...that I should cherish more than any possession.'

The mare felt her wings sag slightly. It had only started after they had claimed the elements. Perhaps she should see them again. Being in the presence of those artifacts of peace always seemed to help her retain her peace.

Turning around, she never caught the eyes that were upon her as she left.

<-(0)->

Max was silent as he followed the pastel-maned alicorn through the halls. A quick transformation pulled from Crystal's memory and his hoof falls were silent, lending no sign to his passing but a shadow in the evening light. Celestia had started radiating an emotion he'd not felt from her before, one Luna had been experiencing often enough for him to identify. It was fear, a very specific fear of something. Anxiety, if he was right. Fear of the future. That begged the question; where does Celestia go when she's been shaken? No answer was forthcoming. The library was still under construction, the garden was too public, her room was too obvious and she likely wouldn't leave the keep so close to twilight.

The alicorn opened the door to an unassuming room and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her. Max frowned as he stared at the door. It would be a trick, following Celestia without her becoming aware of his presence. Maybe he could...there was always cartoon physics.

Before he tried something silly like trying to squeeze under the door he gently tried the handle. It reacted, some sort of spell testing his magic. Whatever it was looking for it found only half of it. Grunting in irritation, he sighed as he looked over his options. At least the alarm spell on the door hadn't gone off when he'd touched it with his aura.

He slipped into the next room, opening the window and slipping into the air after once again pulling the information from Crystal. No window opened into the room.

'Surprise-surprise, it's a vault.'

He flew back inside the keep and began running a hoof on the door, trying to figure out a way in. On a whim he gave the handle a tug-

The changeling nearly squawked in panic as the door slipped open easily. He immediately grabbed the door, hoping to keep it silent before cautiously slipping inside. It was a dark room, the silence of a long forgotten tomb coming to mind. There was also magic. Powerful magic, just beyond the alicorn who was illuminating a good portion of the room with her horn as she sat in silent contemplation.

He approached silently, watching his step and keeping his wings from buzzing through sheer will. He was close, and didn't want to give himself away just yet. Celestia's ear twitches, but she was otherwise motionless, her wings stretching before settling back at a position of rest.

Her emotions were still roiling but he could feel them settling, the magic of the room seeming to pull at all of his fears and worries. It soothed him, actually. A soft, loving touch that told him all would be well. It was kind, it was honest, it was-

'Harmony.'

Celestia slowly opened the case that housed the source of magic and suddenly her horn wasn't providing all of the illumination in the room. Three gems of power floated in her magic, the orb forms of three of the Elements of Harmony floating in her magic. They orbited her for a moment as she sat there before they slowed, all three coming to a stop in front of her.

'She's using them to keep herself calm.'

It didn't sound healthy no matter how he looked at it. Like a drug that would deaden the feelings of pain and eventually lead to damage of the nerves. The Elements must have agreed, as they called to him. Their magic infused his own, but unlike the mare before him his magic was his life. Being more connected to the magic than even the most powerful mage, magic could effect them in more direct ways, it just took more. Or in this case, the proper kind of magic.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he'd bit the alicorn, hefted her onto his back and dragged her out of the room. The Elements pulsed as he left, returning to their chest and locking it behind him. He'd already set the mare in her own bed before he regained control of himself.

"That was incredibly stupid," he lectured, receiving nothing from the calmly staring alicorn. "Emotion abandonment doesn't work, it leaves you more prone to over reacting without the source of your high. What happens when your emotions start to come back and you're not able to get another hit?"

"Who are you to lecture me on the use of the Elements? They have a calming effect, one that as a bearer of their power I am entitled to use. What do you know of their power?"

"Nothing, but I know enough to tell this will cause you anguish in the future. They didn't want you doing that. Do you really think my first reaction to seeing you doing that would be to drag you out of the room?"

"You were spying on me,"

"I was worried about how your emotions were fluxing. Luna's experiencing emotional shifts all the time but you keep trying to smother your emotions!" Max barked, his mental haze finally starting to lift. "That story about the Nightmare? It causes you and Luna to lose your connection to the Dragon Balls. What do you do then, Celestia? What do you do when over a hundred years of suppressed emotions come crashing down on you? You may not even be able to feel them at the same intensity at that point. What if something went wrong, what if you could never feel with the same intensity again?"

"I can't be panicking right now," Celestia retorted, he emotions still a deadly calm in spite of the panic that was trying to surface. "If that means learning to live without emotions than so be it."

"Is that what you think? That you can live without emotion? Tia, without emotions we're lifeless husks. Not just changelings but all of the races I know. Without them there's no meaning to our actions, no color to our lives. Do you remember how I said Crystal's memories were flat? That's what your doing to yourself. Willingly. Don't destroy yourself like this. It doesn't help anyone."

"I need to. The dreams-" the alicorn started before cutting off suddenly.

Max leaned forward, running a against her cheek and brushing her mane aside.

"Tell me about the dreams, Tia. I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

"C-Crystal-"

"Is too busy going through things she thinks are important to understanding me and my world to look at anything recent."

"I, I can't. It's not your burden to bear," she tried again, her anxiety crashing into the wall the Elements had formed in her mind.

"A burden shared is a burden halved."

The alicorn looked around her room, anxiety and fear trying to claw at her mind but finding no purchase. As Max smiled at her he couldn't help but be curious of how long the mare had been doing this. What would have occurred when she lost the Elements? Would she turn to experimental magic to fill the gap, or would she go mad with grief, unused to dealing with such powerful emotions anymore? Perhaps it would be too late by then, leaving her unable to experience them fully anymore. Perhaps that lofty princess attitude she seemed to use in the cartoon wasn't a mask.

"It, the dreams, the visions started a while ago, after we defeated Discord. Visions of Luna in agony, of her In pain and unable to escape. Every night. I forbade Luna from entering my dreams, no matter the strength of the Nightmare. They were never truly terrifying by themselves, just unsettling. I worried over them, realizing it wasn't just some recurring night terror but possibly some sort of warning. A vision of the future. I-"

Max nodded along as the mare told her story, still running his hoof over her cheek soothingly.

Swallowing thickly, she continued.

"I started watching out for what could have been the cause. I started trying to do more, thinking it was the stress that was the culprit. That her anxiety was what would harm her. The dreams became worse. They started to show not just a mare in pain. She began to lash out, she struck at me. In the last one I felt she actually tried to kill me."

"Your story was horrible. It was horrible and I didn't want to hear it, because it meant I was responsible for the visions. Sure enough when Luna stopped listening to me, when she started relaxing, enjoying herself, spending time with her flock, those visions stopped."

"But others came," the changeling said, catching her slip.

She fought herself for a moment but nodded, chuckling under her breath.

"If it weren't for the Elements still having their touch upon my mind I would say no. Yes, they changed. Now I was the one lashing out at Luna while she was the one looking on in horror. I was the one that struck her, that struck to kill. I couldn't understand how such a thing could come to pass, even with your offer of aid. The offer was insulting in fact. I wondered if you were not telling Luna the truth but reading my mind in my sleep.

"The Elements have always reacted if I have them in my possession and I am in danger. The fact that you managed to strike at me while I was holding them..."

Max hopped into the bed, pulling the sniffling alicorn into his barrel. She was still kind of limp due to the venom, but she was recovering at her usual pace. Already her legs and wings were twitching. They'd soon return to full strength and she would either forgive his intrusion or break his legs. Judge if by the emotions now leaking through the wall that was left by her contact with the Elements of Harmony, a wall that he now realized was not her discipline but a magical construct, the latter outcome wasn't very likely. The next words out of her mouth sold it.

"Am I a bad pony?"

"No, no your not Tia. You're just scared. We all are. And people, as well as ponies, do silly and sometimes outright stupid things when they're scared. I didn't have to do that to Luna. Maybe I could have figured out a way to survive on ambient emotion, made enough ponies like me. I would have hurt after Discord's energy was yanked out of me, but maybe the ambient concern would keep me alive? I didn't want to take that chance. So I pushed for something I never would have in another situation.

"Luna didn't deserve that, but she was lonely. So lonely that the attention I gave her was like the sweetest fruits to a starving mare. She found the attention intoxicating, and she wanted to share it. That's why she did that to Crystal."

"Crystal was starving. I don't think there's two ways about it. She likely would have survived after the hunger drove her to desperate actions but she was in pain. She was in pain, lost, had no idea how to feed like an infiltrator would, she had nothing. Then along came this mare, this wonderful blue alicorn who not only fed her and cared for her but gave her a purpose again. Luna gave her orders, even if they were to rest and recover. And Crystal loved her for it."

The stallion chuckled, placing a quick kiss on Tia's head.

"We're all messed up, Tia. We just need to help cover each other's weaknesses while we heal. And next time you feel weird about Luna looking at you like that think of it this way. The first time she's been happy in a long time was after she and I were together. She felt safe, loved, and knew in her heart someone wanted her to be happy and would do anything to see to it. She wants you to be happy as well, so what method do you think she's going to turn to? Maybe the one that worked for both Crystal and herself?"

The solar alicorn gave off a weak giggle at the explanation.

"I like your reasoning better than my own."

"Oh?"

"That she has always secretly had a crush on me," Celestia said, sighing as she drooped in his grip.

Max chuckled in response, continuing to stroke the mare's mane.

"Well, you are a very pretty mare. Whoever does win your affection could only be considered a very lucky person. I have a question though. How long have you been using the Elements like that?"

"Just after Discord's defeat," she answered, her limbs finally managing to exert enough force to squeeze him back. "You can't tell Luna about this. I can't hurt her like that, I-"

"I won't tell her unless I think she needs to know. If you start getting bad though, I will tell her so she knows why. I don't want you using the Elements like that anymore, okay? That means you are going to have to learn how to deal with this some other way. Otherwise if something happens to put you through a lot of stress, you could have a breakdown."

"Like the battle," she realized. "I understand. Do you believe it is possible to learn to hold them back some other-"

He cut her off with a sharp bop on the nose, causing her muzzle to scrunch. The alicorn gave a quick sneeze and Max winced, seeing spittle giving his chitin a gleam in the evening light.

"No suppression," he said, though he wore a teasing smile. "Don't push them away, learn to deal with them. You learn to either use it, or ignore it. If you try to bottle it up for a good time, you'll never find that good time. Especially someone like yourself. You won't let anyone see you as anything but perfect, so you'll keep bottling it for years. Don't do that to yourself. If you need to talk, find me. I'm more than willing to listen as a big brother.

"We'll figure this all out, Tia. No need to take the world on your shoulders and go it alone. We're trying to avoid that outcome, remember? I do think you should at least tell Luna about the suppression you've been using. That way she won't panic when that starts to fall off."

"It...already is, actually. I was still using them when you interrupted me," she said, the anxiety and panic still clawing at her from beneath the wall of calm. "I already can tell I didn't manage to complete the suppression. I'm having slight bursts of panic and anger already."

"Well than Luna and I will help you learn to deal with it. Remember that we want you to be happy. Luna because you are important to her. I want to help because happiness tastes delicious, and your happiness makes Luna even happier. Well, that and the whole 'right thing to do' thing."

They sat in silence for several moments as Celestia's body worked the rest of the venom from her system, finally stretching her wings to their full span before sitting up. She pulled Max against her this time, using her wings to add strength to the hug and causing his shell to creak.

"If you tell Luna anything more I will destroy you."

"Lips are sealed, promise," he grunted out.

<-(0)->

Max watched from afar as the mares switched heavenly bodies, silently rooting for Celestia to broach the subject with her sister on her own. She kept looking back at him, the underlying anxiety and fear once more reaching his senses through her normal façade of serenity. The white alicorn took a deep breath, ruffled her wings, and spoke.

"I've been using the elements on myself."

Luna blinked, looking from the newly risen moon to her fellow ruler with a look of confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've been using the elements," Celestia repeated, taking another deep breath. The wall was cracked already; the fear she was experiencing was not helping at all. For a moment Max almost thought she'd try to run.

"Tia, what did you do?" Luna asked, moving closer and pulling the older mare into a wing hug. "What is it you hoped to use them for?"

"I needed to be calm, Luna. I needed to be calm to keep the ponies calm. If I start panicking, if we start panicking it could all fall apart. I didn't know what to do, I've never done this. Starswirl tried to help but Maximus is right. This is not going to be like the Unicorn cities or the Pegasus Sky-Castles or the Earth Pony towns. It's a combination of all the tribes under one rule. Not even the Founders could hold back all of the built up hatred and anger the tribes developed for each other, how are we supposed to do this?"

Celestia was shaking at this point, her wings half-raised as if she was preparing to take flight at a moments notice while every part of her body was tense.

"Tia, why did you not speak of this to us?"

"You were hurting. I knew it but I didn't know why," Celestia answered, shuddering. "At first it was only to help me deal with the fear and the stress. I remained calm and it kept everypony else calm, even you. But then things kept piling up. There was more and more to worry about and I didn't know what else to do. The more I thought about it, the worse it became. With the cleaning of the leeches from the keep perhaps we can take time to calm ourselves but even then there is so much to do. I do not have time to be unwell, Luna."

"Running yourself into the ground or harming yourself is no answer either, Tia! What fool notion called to you and made you decide removing something so important was the answer? What madness would take you if you were unable to reach the Elements in time to reapply the effect?"

"We shall find out soon enough. I was unable to complete the spell before Maximus intercepted me. He interrupted the spell, under the influence of the Elements themselves if he is to be believed. The fact that no guard even questioned him as he carried me to my room to rest from the effects of his venom-"

"He was- Maximus! Come here!"

Max blinked in confusion, suddenly being blasted by Luna's emotions. Concern, fear, and not a small amount of anger were all being focused on him like light from a reflective panel. He nearly squinted or raised a hoof to ward the emotions away, they were so strong.

"I'm fine Luna, just a bit dizzy. Magic is my life-blood, so when a magic artifact starts trying to call to me it has a powerful impact on my ability to think. I didn't really realize what was happening until I was dropping Celestia in bed."

"That's not the issue. We warded that room against all sorts of magic, no one should have been able to get inside! How did you get inside?" the mare barked, causing Max to double take.

"So you're not- never mind. I pulled the door open. Didn't even feel like it was locked. I mean there was a spell that reacted if I tried to pull it with my magic but it just didn't let me in. It had some type of buzzer stuck to it as well, but it didn't react," he answered.

"Just...oh dear," Celestia said, giggling nervously. "Um, Luna? Did you happen to add the lock spell? I added a bunch of anti-magic and anti-scrying wards-"

"What? I was supposed to add the anti-scrying and anti-detection wards! You were supposed to make certain the door was secured against more mundane efforts!"

"Why would I do that? I am the one who was born with magic, I am more familiar with magic than you!"

Max watched the back and forth worrying his lip.

"Uh ladies?"

"I told you I was going to take care of the forms of entry I was most experienced with!"

"You have never teleported into an empty or unknown room in your life!"

"Luna, Tia-"

"I can't believe you left the door to the greatest artifact we have completely unsecured to mundane entry!"

"I left them unsecured!?! I spent three days adding spell after spell to defend against entry!"

"The only wards that were present when I started were ones on the door! What about the walls and ceiling? Or did you think spells are kind enough to use the door? I am curious, Luna, why would you only ward the door?"

"I warded the ceiling and floor!"

"Stop it!" Max shouted at them.

"Stay out of this!" both mares fired back, blasting him with enough sound to make his ears ring.

Max roared in anger, clamping his magic over both of their muzzles and rearing back, cracking the stone he was standing on.

"Are you two fucking serious? You go from a heart-wrenching discussion of abuse of a magical artifact to a blame game in three seconds? Get over yourselves!"

"Luna, Celestia needs help. She needs you to support her right now. She was shaking as she was talking to you and I could taste the fear and anxiety that was roiling in her. Mare the fuck up and hug her until she can't feel her hooves! Celestia, that pony right there is just as messed up as you are! She's just as messed up as the rest of us! We can fix the fucking door later, if either of you is capable of walking after this hug I'm breaking your legs, do you hear me?"

Both alicorns stared at him in shock, their eyes wide at the outburst. They both looked at each other, their emotions swirling between anger, embarrassment and fear before they started to calm. Feeling the emotions settling, Max released his hold on them.

"I, I apologize, Tia. He is correct. I was just worried about anyone walking in to...it is no excuse, I am sorry."

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but Luna raised a hoof and shook her head.

"You are unwell right now Tia. Slipping like that is to be expected. Once you regain control of yourself and recover I shall have no issue taking you to task but for now I shall accept full blame for this argument."

"Yes, everyone's sorry. We'll continue this later, okay? We'll have a nice night to sleep tonight, wake up tomorrow, then discuss fixing this. The elements are actually aware as far as I can tell. They'll give anyone who messes with them hell. Tia, do you need an escort to your room or someone to stay with you tonight?"

"Oh, excellent idea! You'll feel much better after a few mind-shattering-"

"No, Luna. I'm not going to force that issue no matter how much you want it," Max argued.

Luna scowled at the changeling.

"She'd feel better! I did, and so did Crystal."

"We are not pushing her to accept a relationship she doesn't want. I'm not going to be a part of that," he said, wings flaring in anger. "If she asked me, fine. It's your world, rules are different. I get that. But I'm not taking a mentally distressed no as meaning yes. That way lies a slippery path, Luna. Where would it stop? Or would it?"

Luna recoiled at the implication, looking to the white alicorn with distress, her own wings flaring out. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she turned and left without a word, swiftly closing the door behind her. The only reason it didn't slam shut was because she wasn't focused on the door after it was out of her sight.

Celestia shuddered as he did his best to calm himself, the implications of the conversation hitting her hard.

"Would she really...?"

"I don't know," he answered, watching the door. "I told you, Sunny. We're all messed up. I'm still scared, especially after this latest discovery of changeling biology. How far does the connection go, what if Crystal and I argue, would a disconnect hurt, or could she use the connection to hurt me; there are a hundred things I fear about it."

"We'll live, though. We'll push through this and be stronger for it. We'll get you through this, this thing you're going through and we'll get Luna through hers. Crystal's growing into a strong mare as well. Once we all calm down, we'll be ready to kick the butts of anything and anyone that comes our way. Got it?"

"Now come on, lets get you in bed. If you need anything you let me know, got it?"

The alicorn nodded, looking back to the door that would lead to Luna's room.

"Since she's kind of...there's a spare guest room near my room if you'd like."

"I'll take you up on the offer," he said, his shoulders sagging. "I think I'd be relegated to the couch after this."

<-(0)->

Relaxing on a spare bed, one that was much smaller than the ones he'd been sleeping in lately and thus leaving him curled up on the too-small bag of feathers that was the mattress, Max was finally dozing off. As he faded from consciousness and faded into the dream-hive, he was met by a distressed looking changeling.

"Max, what happened?" Crystal asked.

He blinked as his mind finally caught up with what was going on and made his way to the bed, inviting Crystal to join him.

"Luna and Celestia are both hurting and I'm trying to keep them from hurting themselves any more."

At the mare's uncomprehending stare, he explained further.

"Celestia was using something to help keep herself calm, something that was holding back her emotions and leaving her with that unnatural calm she usually has. She's been reapplying it as needed and with our arrival she's been using it more. We evoke strong emotions in her and those emotions wear at her calming spell. Celestia and I have agreed that it's dangerous and she can't keep doing it, but she's scared of what will happen when the effect wears off and she's left with the build-up of a few years of stress."

"Luna meanwhile is telling Celestia that mating and sex will make her feel better and wants Celestia to join this flock. Celestia doesn't want to, but Luna thinks it would be good for Celestia. It...I think it made Luna rethink something."

"Me," Crystal said.

"Yea. Yea, you. What Luna did was a, it's morally ambiguous at best because she's not doing well either but it worked out for the best. It could have been very different though. It could have hurt you, or you could have hurt her. She took a chance and while this time it all worked out I don't know if it always will. I'd rather not have Luna try this with another queen and have the queen bite her and drag her away."

The mare bristled at the thought of someone stealing her alpha, a soft hiss escaping her throat.

"There are rules where I'm from, Crystal. I was wrong, pushing Luna like that. I pushed her onto a path she shouldn't have been on because I was scared that I was going to die. She continued on that path and took the lesson I taught her, that sex makes it better, and dragged you into her bed."

Crystal frowned at him.

"She helped me though."

"I know, that's why I didn't say anything to stop her, why I accepted you as well. I won't damn someone who was in my situation and who was helped the same way. We just have to be careful. Technically Luna and Celestia can do whatever they want, as there aren't any rules for them to follow but their own morals. The reality of the situation is much more messy."

Thinking of the awareness class he'd had to take at work, he introduced the mare to his experience with laws on the topic of consent.

"Technically you were hurt and scared. After you became drunk, you were beyond the ability to say yes or no."

"So she, hurt me?" the mare asked softly.

"Do you think she did?"

Crystal shook her head and Max nodded.

"The other half of it is this; Luna's not well. What did she feel like when you saw her before bed?"

"She was scared. She was holding me very tightly with her wing, she kept nuzzling me and asking me not to leave," Crystal answered, tearing up slightly. "It was bad. I told her I wouldn't but she wouldn't listen."

Max pulled Crystal into a hug, running his hybrid form's fingers through her mane.

"You tell Luna tomorrow morning that we both love her. I love her very much, so much that I want to make sure she doesn't do something that could make her unhappy in the future. If she hurts Celestia, she'd feel terrible about it for a very, very long time. Once Celestia is feeling better, Luna can ask again. If Celestia says yes, I will back them both one hundred percent. Until that time though, you and I will take care of Tia and Luna. We'll make sure they feel as happy as they can and as safe as they can, okay?"

Crystal nodded, resting her head against his chest and humming softly.

"You anger her to protect her. I do not understand it, but I will try to help. I want her to be, I- I love my alpha, my Luna."

"We both do," he agreed, staring up at the ceiling. Shifting to wrap both arms around her he smirked. "And I love you too, my little love-bug. I want you to grab Crack tomorrow and have him check your body. If you need anything, you let me know. I've just remembered something we need to get done soon, so I'll be heading out into the hamlet early in the morning."

Luna peaked through the door at the two, Max's strange form a curious hybrid of his bodies that she instantly recognized from the first dream. She hadn't heard much, but that they both, even in this private setting, professed love for her caused her heart to leap. She'd been so scared, terrified even, that Maximus had scorned her. That she'd done something unforgivable or breached a rule or moral he could not forgive. He soothed Crystal though, telling Luna's beta to remain strong for her. The beta giving the alpha strength. It was almost shameful in her mind. She was supposed to be the alpha, the protector of the flock. She was supposed to give them strength, not accept their help. Instead her beta was supporting her and the stallion was in another room, she'd messed up badly and-

'No, a flock's strength is in its numbers.'

Luna took a calming breath, watching the two settle in for the night. For all that she wished to join them she couldn't bring herself to enter the room. She was being silly, of course. She knew this in her head but her heart would not see reason. She would speak to the flock tomorrow during lunch or dinner. She would ask of these rules she had smudged, of this honor she had lost. The alicorn mares were to be paragons of the pony race. If they did not hold themselves to standards and uphold laws, who would?

'Laws. We shall start there. What laws do we truly have in our lands?'

Luna left the dream in a whisper of wind, a plan of action forming in her mind. The laws of old needed to be rewritten in this new age. Changes must be made, while the laws as a whole needed to be formalized once again.

Author's Note

There's no easy way to fix this. I've said it before and I'll say it over and over again. Luna's not well, and while I didn't really think about this until recently(shower), it just kind of came to me as a reason for Celestia's almost disconnected personality. Sure she acts motherly, there was always this almost creepy lack of reaction she has in some stories. It makes sense to me, and it's another thing to work on. Something else to bring the characters together.

Luna's also in a very dangerous spot. She feels loved, but if she thinks those that love her can stop loving her as quickly as they started, that could be very scary. She doesn't want to go back to that loneliness. She can't.

The changeling duo is the best off at the moment, Crystal having access to a stable life through Max's memories and Max no longer fearing for his life(not in the immediate future anyway). If these two can keep things calm long enough for the alicorns to recover, it should become much easier.

Overload

Max had rolled out of bed almost the moment that the knock on his door came. The serving mare who knocked nearly jumped out of her fur when he breezed past her, knocking on Celestia's door in turn. He helped the mare out of bed, her emotions roiling as they continued to crack apart her failing mental barriers. She had actually shivered when he entered, barely suppressing a burst of fear at the sight of him.

"Come on, Tia, gotta take care of the sun, maybe a bath and breakfast, then you can lay down."

She sluggishly nodded, moving to the balcony and lighting her horn with power as she began her morning ritual.

"Not gonna do this with Luna?"

The alicorn winced, shaking her head and stopping at her balcony before sitting down hard. Max nodded, moving beside her and waiting. A quick ping from Crystal caused him to perk a bit.

"Crystal says Luna's starting."

The solar diarch nodded as she began to blaze with power, causing the surrounding area to once more become heavy with magic. The moment the moon was clear of her path, Celestia raised the sun. Her power fizzled out quickly though as her mood was too sour to truly find interest in her work. She rose and made her way back to bed, stopped only by Max grabbing her tail in his teeth and pulling her towards the door.

"Food first," he called around her tail, slowing enough to give her a chance to walk on her own. The alicorn nodded after a moment's thought and followed him to the dining room. It wasn't much, but at least he wasn't going to have to force-feed her during this depression.

'And depression is better than mania, though that may come later.'

"Morning Crystal," Max called as the four entered the dining room from different sides. Luna was still half asleep of course. The mare was too similar to Max to enjoy being up this early. Crystal as well, judging by the shape shifter's irritated grunt.

"Good morning, Luna," he said cautiously as he took his seat.

Luna nodded her head stiffly in response.

"Good morning, Maximus."

As the servingponies began setting out the breakfast, Crystal waking up enough to make certain Luna was eating while Max urged Celestia to eat, he coughed into his fetlock to draw their attention.

"I'm going to take a knight or two into town today. There are a few things that need to be done sooner rather than later. The roads need to be plotted for one. I'd also like to get started on a bit of a census on who we have outside the keep. If we have someone who can work glass, for instance, I'd like to know about it. I don't think I'll get this all done in one day, but the sooner we start the sooner it will be done."

"I'll watch Luna," Crystal said softly, pressing closer into Luna's side and drawing a cautious smile from her alpha.

Luna shook her head.

"I have decided that I will be going through the old laws and attempting to update them. You will remain within calling distance of Tia. If she requires aid, you will attempt to help her or call Maximus from the town. I shall be fine for the time being, but Tia is..."

The solar alicorn didn't even respond, only grunting as Max gave her a poke and offered her some tea. She accepted the food he set before her but the mare was nearly dozing off in her breakfast. Chuckling to himself, he offered what she'd accept before slipping her onto his back and moving from the table.

"I'll speak to you all later. Crystal, remember what I said. If you need anything, anything at all, you ask."

He stopped as he was turning to leave, a presence in his head emanating a sense of warmth and answering in a way he was unfamiliar with. He rolled his eyes at the contact, giving a quick poke over the link and sending the smaller shape shifter into giggles.

He opened the door to Celestia's bathing room and took note that the bath was already prepared. Not one to question a gift or good fortune, he stepped into the large pool of warm water, shifting and dropping the dozing alicorn into the water beside him, making certain to keep her head above the water. He washed her down quickly and dried her off before carrying her back to her room and setting her back in bed.

"Tia? Come on Tia, I need you to focus for just a minute," he called, shoving her awake. The moment her eyes focused on him, he stroked her mane.

"I'm heading out, Crystal will be nearby. If you need anything, ask. I'll be there as soon as I can. Rest up, okay? Then you can take care of Crystal and I when you two are feeling better."

He left a quick kiss on her forehead, drawing a faint smile from the mare as he turned to leave. Her unsteady flutter of happiness was all the answer he really needed. Now all he had to do was find a few knights to help him with setting up the town to be less of a fire-slash-plague hazard.

<-(0)->

"Mark here as well, about eight paces sounds good. Wait, you guys are shorter...main road out of the gate so make it about twelve at least. We need to be able to march down this road," Max told the knights who were following him.

A few of the peasants were watching cautiously, unsure what to think of the strange creature that had come from the keep of the alicorns. Sure a few of them had seen him the first time he wandered out, but he was still strange to them. Max was also running into an issue with the ponies throwing up huts where ever they felt like.

"But I put my house here!"

"Well why in the ever-loving fuck did you put it right outside the gate? How are the knights supposed to protect you if they cant leave the keep?" he retorted to the angry earth pony. "Seriously, I know this is going to suck for a lot of people but we wont just leave you homeless. We will give you plenty of time to move, plenty of time to either ask for help from friends and family to move it or even build a brand new home. We're only in the planning stages."

"Well why don't you plan around it?" the stallion shot back.

"Look at the keep!" Max shouted, throwing a hoof towards the gate. "You can't step ten paces out of the gate without walking into a home! If I thought it was possible to do what you're asking I'd do it. But you guys are building so many homes near the keep that it's impossible to leave. If there's a fire, what do you think will happen with all these homes stuck so close together? Even though my people had fire safety regulations coming out of their ears we still lost tons of homes to fires. You guys don't have that! In fact if I drop a match somewhere in there, the whole thing could go up in flames. That's one of the things we're going to be fixing."

"He's giving you plenty of time to either ask for help in moving or to move the home yourself. If you need help, ask. If your home is still blocking the path after we begin forming the road, it will be moved with less care," a knight said, placing a marker in the dirt. "The princesses have given the changeling you speak to their blessing in preventing disaster and aiding them in making this town livable. It was his investigations that lead to the acceleration of plans and the creation of the farmland and quarry."

Twister, his second escort, nodded emphatically.

"He's trying to help both you and everyone in this hamlet. I will ask you the same thing I told every other pony that built their home in front of the main gate. Why would you do that? How are we supposed to leave when you do something like that?"

"We want you guys to be safe and happy, but there has to be some sort of order to this madness. It's not just fire im worried about. We'll need a marketplace, we'll need a second wall around the town. I'm looking into forges, wells, food storage in case of emergencies, defenses in case of enemy or monster attacks, there's so much I'm trying to do for you guys it's making my head spin! Please, please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Max stopped as he was looking over his sketched plans, a rock clattering to the ground at his hooves. The same rock that had just left a scuff on the chitin of his neck.

He hadn't even turned around before the knights were moving between him and the stallion, their weapons drawn. The stallion snorted, pawing the ground aggressively in spite of being outmatched. Max stared at the pony in shock. Why? Why did he have to be such a pain in the ass?

"I'll tell you what," Max said, looking at the stallion. "You place the markers in such a way that you can mark out a ten to twelve pace road, one big enough to allow the knights to move quickly if they need to defend the city, and I will let you decide where they go. It has to be a relatively straight road though. And remember, everyone else is going to have the same argument you are making."

The stallion perked at the offer, looking back at the town. His ears soon sagged as he took in the amount of homes scattered around him. The place was becoming thick with homes, more being added even as the day wore on. His ears finally went flat and his body slumped as his mind tried to plan the road...

"I get it, you don't want to move. Nobody does, but this is for the entire towns benefit. Not just mine, not just the guys in the keep. There are going to be others coming here in the future. Be it to trade, live here, or even talk to the princesses in the castle. We make this place look nice and we'll have a leg up on every other town. Not to mention proper planning can help us improve things faster once we're settled. Good planning will make it easier to install sewers, water for new homes, make it easier to move goods along roads and thus allow for easier troop movement, all kinds of things."

Max sighed, looking over his papers.

"I don't hate you, I don't have any feelings about you one way or another in fact. I'd like to hear about everyone out here being happy though. And cramped conditions and lack of safety aren't things I'm going to leave unattended to."

Twister frowned, looking to the stallion and leveling her spear at him.

"You sure you don't want us to do something? He attacked you."

Max shook his head in irritation as the pony beat a hasty retreat. He felt like a politician trying to sell an idea to people. It was ridiculous. He was no public speaker. He threw up after his English class speech for pity's sake! Yet here he was having to assure these ponies that he wasn't doing this because he hated them, or because he had some hidden agenda. Like a bunch of herd animals they were attempting to press as closely to a being they considered safe as possible. Or two beings in this case. They wanted to be as close to the princesses as possible, even if it meant clogging the area outside the keep and making it impossible to move things in and out of the keep.

"Shit could have been prevented if those assholes had done their fucking jobs but no, they had to sip their fucking tea and twiddle their hooves while things went to hell out here."

"That's why we have you," Twister said with a chuckle. "Fixing stuff's what you do, right?"

"No, I just don't have the princesses tolerance for bullshit from the nobles. Or those who claim to be nobles," he said, whispering the last bit under his breath. "Stuff needs to be done though and I at least know how a town is supposed to look. Have either of you seen a castle-town?"

Both knights shook their heads, the stallion who had set the marker down looking back at the path they had taken.

"Aren't you worried about ponies moving the markers?"

"No," he said, looking at the surrounding area and trying to envision it with proper roads. "Not because they won't move them but because I'm almost expecting them to. I have a feeling this is going to be a fight. They're huddling near the alicorns for safety and anyone that says they should do otherwise can get bent."

A bloom of confusion caused him to massage his temple with his free hoof.

"They're going to tell you to buzz off. Say that we can take our delegated authority and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. It doesn't matter to me though. This needs to be done and we'll double check everything before we start to make sure it's correct. No assuming the markers are in the right place."

"Then why are we using them?"

"So the ponies out here have a warning for one. They also can't say they didn't see them. Well, they can but we'll know they're full of shit," Max chuckled. Standing up and moving away from the Keep again, he turned and judged the distance over his shoulder. His master plan for this place was to do the wall in stages, adding more sections as the town grew. There wasn't a need for a huge wall that would surround the city on all sides and the fact that there were digging and flying races would limit the walls effectiveness by several factors. That didn't mean it would be useful against animals though and he knew the world had several dangerous animal species.

That train of thought brought him up short actually. Ponies had lived under Celestia for a thousand years and they had no information on dragons or zebras. The ponies of Ponyville had been terrified of the zebra they ran into, in fact.Why?

'Because they don't have the drive.'

Ponies were perfectly happy to live out their lives in peace. They were the perfect peasant, but anything else would require other races. He'd need to find a griffon or Minotaur to speak to, maybe a zebra and thestral as well. A full changeling society would come in time, either through Crystal starting a hive of her own or interactions with other drones and queens.

Celestia may not have had the drive to push for advancement either considering her mental state. Thus they spent a thousand years of peace, languishing and failing to utilize the opportunity such an advantage gave them.

Pointing out the location he wanted the wall built at, a good half-mile from the Keep as far as he could tell, he began circling the structure. A wheel and spoke wall-style may work here. That way they could add to it as the town grew. Once they had enough ponies they may even be able to divide the place into sectors.

'District twelve's tribute has arrived, sir,' he thought with a chuckle.

The stallion was just plotting out inner roads that would allow for access to the other chambers of the castle's wheel when a pegasus hit the ground at high speed a few paces away.

"Sir, Princess Luna is demanding your presence. Something happened with-"

"On it," he said, spreading his wings. It was getting easier, but he still wasn't quite flying on his own yet. Lifting off into a hover, he turned to the knights and handed them his board, paper and charcoal stick.

"Try to set out some markers that follow this pattern. Don't worry if it's perfect just yet. I need to get back."

With a loud buzz filling the air, he took off to the castle. It kind of worried him actually. He didn't hear Crystal call him. Wasn't she supposed to watch Tia?

<-(0)->

Max arrived outside the door to Celestia's room to find Luna nervously pacing. The moment she heard his hooves hit the stone floor, her ears perked.

"Maximus. We have need of your aid. Tia is, I don't know what's happening. Every time I try to speak to her, however, she begins weeping and screaming. Crystal is currently drunk, she was drooling several different colors of emotion so Crack is watching over her. He said there's nothing truly wrong, but she was taken by surprise."

"So it finally broke?"

"It would appear so. If you do not believe you are capable-"

"I told her I'd do what I can. Be ready to pull me out though. I don't know how this will go."

Luna nodded, carefully opening the door but making certain she was not visible to the white alicorn. The second Max caught sight of her, he found out why.

Celestia was radiating a plethora of emotions, none of them particularly strong. The moment something came into her view that drew her attention though, her emotions bloomed. Fear, hope, happiness, sorrow, anger, and lust slammed into him like a wave, nearly knocking him off his hooves. He pushed through it, stepping closer to the beacon of emotions and doing his best to mentally push against them in turn. The idea seemed to work, as he wasn't on the ground drooling just yet.

"Tia? Tia, it's okay," he grunted, stroking a small bit of her tear-stained cheek. "I'm right here. I said I'd come if you needed me, right? It's okay, just rest."

The alicorn nodded, letting out a few strangled sobs as she slumped into her covers.

"I can't stop it, it just keeps happening," she sniveled, using a burst of magic to pull her blanket over her head. "I'm just so useless right now, I couldn't even look at Luna. I hate this, I just want to die."

Hopping onto the bed and pressing close to the distressed mare, he shushed her.

"I know you're not feeling well. Luna's worried about you, but nobody thinks your useless. You were willing to hurt yourself to help everyone. That's not something a useless person does. Now we're going to show you how much we love you by taking care of you. You understand?"

"I haven't done anything!" She yelled at him. "Discord walked away! I didn't beat him, I didn't notice the ponies stealing from us, I didn't notice anything! I just, I-"

Max shifted, resting his barrel and head over the mare's body.

"I don't think you're useless, nobody does. You're just hurting. Everyone wants you to get better though. Even the Elements."

Not waiting for the alicorn to fall into another bout of self-hate, he began to hum softly as he stroked her mane. It was a song that he only half remembered, but ponies were often shown as reacting to songs. Maybe music really was a part of them?

"When your day is long...

"and the night, the night is yours alone.

"When you're sure you've had enough, of this life, well hang on...Don't let yourself go.

"'Cause everybody cries. And everybody hurts, sometimes."

Max smiled and sat up, watching the waves of emotion role through the alicorn but seeing her ears had perked up at the tune.

"Emotional trouble is so common, Tia, humans have made hundreds of songs about it. But the most important thing to remember is it will pass."

"'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends.

"Everybody hurts, don't throw you hand, oh no. Don't throw your hand.

"If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you're not alone."

Celestia shivered, another wave or roiling emotions ramming into the changeling life stormy waves at sea. To his surprise, she shifted her head enough to open her mouth.

"My days have been long...

"And the night's they're longer still.

"The only mare I've had, by my side, I left alone.

"I couldn't let myself hurt, couldn't let myself cry, at all.

"I had no time for hurt, I don't have a single friend.

"I have no time to hurt, so I threw it all away.

"When I stood before the crowds, I never knew, I was so alone.

Max perked, a second sun of emotion drawing his attention to Luna. The alicorn was walking in step with the silent rhythm, the song having taken control of their bodies and minds.

"I've been waiting too long...

"I can't let it go on any longer now,

"I just went along, with your plans, I didn't say a word.

"I let myself hurt, let myself cry, all through the night.

"Now I've found a cure for the hurt, I found my first friends.

"I found the time to smile, I held them close to me.

"Now we stand side by side, with a strength, I never knew I could hold.

"Everybody hurts, but you do have friends.

"Everybody hurts, don't let this be the end, because it is not, it is not the end.

"There's no need to feel alone, because, I tell, you now, you're not alone.

Max gave a flittering hop, vacating his position while Luna stepped closer. The dark mare jumped on the bed, using a wing to pull Celestia to her side.

"I love you Tia. Don't you ever think otherwise. I'm willing to wait for as long as you need. If you need me to wait a hundred years before you're willing to speak to me again, I will wait. And the day you come to me, willing to accept my love in any way you choose, I will celebrate the moment like the occasion of joy it is. Because I love you, and I want you to be happy."

Max choked a bit as Celestia seemed to explode with an array of emotions, wiping his muzzle with a hoof and having it come away with a bit of honey on it. He made a quick exit, stopping outside and grabbing a vase off of a nearby table. He dumped the plants out and gagged, choking out a swirl of emotions, coughing and hacking up the tie-dye mess for a good minute before he stopped.

It had been almost painful at the end there, just too much emotion swirling in the room for him to ignore it all. Add Luna's own emotions to the mix and he was in over his head. They're feelings were strong, both for each other and the situation. He'd give them some time, but he needed a moment to balance himself. A moment to-

"Have you seen the Princesses? Princess Luna said she would be in the room beside her bedroom, something about turning it into a study. I need to speak with them."

Max looked up, a little honey still dripping from his lips and causing Redstreak to frown in confusion.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the honey with a hoof.

"It's honey," he answered, wiping it off of his chin. "Changeling honey. My species apparently stores emotions as a gel if they find themselves with an abundance of it. As for the princesses, they're busy. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, I need to speak with the princesses," the mare responded, moving towards the door.

As she raised her hoof to knock, Max pulled her away by the tail.

"What part of they're busy do you not get? They are very busy right now, so unless there's a fire or a monster attacking, you need to leave them alone."

"I understand you're not yet knowledgeable of our lands, but do not stand in my way," Redstreak said, swatting his muzzle with a hoof. "I do not care what push you think you have with the princesses or what aid you have rendered me, you cannot-"

"Bitch I will eat you!" he shouted, causing her to take a few steps back. "I will not let you bother them when they need a moment to themselves. I will lock you in the dungeons myself. I will glue you to the ceiling of the throne room and you know what? I know that several knights would back me up on that. They would watch me and then let Luna know where you are after she's done. Wait until lunch or tell a serving pony to ask Luna to contact you when she's done here. Celestia is not to be bothered by anyone until further notice, and if I hear anybody bothering her when she's not feeling well I will feed them their own heart!"

Redstreak squeaked in fear, taking off down the hallway with her tail tucked between her legs. A few more wavering points of fear behind him caused him to spin and glare at some approaching knights.

"Got a problem with that?"

"N-no sir. Just seeing what the, er, commotion was, sir," one of them, a stallion, stuttered out.

"Good, now get- no, I want you two to stay here and guard this door. No one gets in. If they try to push, you push back. I don't care if Discord himself shows up to get in, nobody enters without permission from Luna or myself. The rooms of the Princesses are places where they go to rest, not to be hassled at all hours. If something important comes up during normal hours, ask me. If it's big, I'll get Luna."

Shaking his head and taking a few breaths to calm himself, Max relaxed slightly. The knights were still standing there watching him so he nodded.

"Sorry, high doses of emotion make me emotional. I mean it though. You don't let anyone into that room. If a noble tries to get in, you jail their sorry butts. Those ladies are not at their beck and call. I'm going to talk to Shimmering about setting up a rotation on the door."

Taking the emotion-filled vase with him, he headed to the yard and Shimmering's appropriated office. Flick was working in the library last time he saw, so maybe she could do something with the swirl.

<-(0)->

Flick had accepted the vase, muttering about teaching Max how to filter emotions at a later time but otherwise leaving the vase to the side while she continued her work. He found Shimmering in his office, studying a scroll that was written in flowing script that the shape shifter assumed was unicorn. After all, Earth was reminiscent to morse code, and pegasus...actually he hadn't seen pegasus yet. Was it racist to assume the unicorn was reading unicorn script?

"Shimmering? I needed some help with guards. I'd like a pair of guards stationed outside Celestia's room while she recovers."

"She's sick? Wait, this doesn't have anything to do with you feeding off of her, does it?"

"No! God no, if it did it would be Luna who was out of it. No, Celestia's just not feeling well. She'll be better soon but for now we're trying to give her some time to rest. I wasn't even clear of the room before Redstreak was trying to blow past me. That's their private rooms. If some type of disaster is going on I understand, but otherwise-"

"I, I suppose I can see that being an issue. Everypony should have a sanctuary."

The unicorn nodded before moving towards the door and motioning for Max to follow.

"I shall be asking Luna about this. If I find this to be some effort of yours to harm them..."

"I get it, I don't really care though. Those mares need some time to themselves. If that means I have to stand in front of the door I will, but I was trying to plan out the roads."

"Wasn't that...oh yes, one of the nobles who were evicted was supposed to have taken care of that. How goes it?"

"It goes. Going to need to move some of the peasants. They built their homes all over the front entrance."

"Yes, I remember seeing that before. I was wondering why they did that. One moment."

Shimmering trotted ahead, calling the yard to attention.

"I require four rotating patrols. They will be adjusted at a later time and possibly continued at the order of the princesses but for now I need four ponies to stand guard over Princess Celestia's room. Another four will guard it tonight, while two shall Guard princess Luna's room tonight. You are not to let anypony in without the permission of the princesses. Or the consorts."

"I'm trusting you on this one," the unicorn said to Max. "You're a smart enough stallion and have brought about some world-shaking changes. Most of them benefit those mares as far as I can tell. I'll put my neck out for you this time because of that. Don't make a fool of me."

"No intention of it, Shimmering. Thank you."

"Keep putting your heart into this place and we'll call it even. I heard from some of the Knights about your demonstration with the other changeling, so I know you have one."

"Don't know if I can do that, Shimmer," Max chuckled, moving back to the gate. "Already put my heart into Luna's happiness and I only saw one heart during that demonstration."

The guard captain gave a laugh as he turned back to his office, grumbling about something Max couldn't make out. The changeling looked to the sun and nodded. He should still have some time before lunch. He'd likely see Luna then. Or he'd make sure to bring some food into Celestia's room.

'Crystal, you there?'

The answer was a drunken giggle, several emotions bleeding through the link and giving him a bit of a contact high.

'Roy G. Biv is a colorful man, and he proudly stands, at the rainbow's end.

Max sighed. He really wanted to get the roads planned, but if it meant leaving Crystal like that...

'Marco'

"Polo!"

He perked, finding the open window of the castle the sound came from, Crystal was staring out at him, giggling drunkenly the whole while. She spotted him and leaned forward with a hoof on the window's ledge, waving a hoof at him.

"I WIN! Does that mean I chose the position tonight?"

He quickly flew up to the window and pushed her back inside. He didn't need Crystal falling out of a third story window when the other powerful mares were indisposed. Crystal began giggling madly as she rolled around on the ground after he shoved her back, unbothered by the rough-housing. Not normal behavior for her at all.

"You alright Crystal? I heard you got blasted pretty badly by Tia," he asked, landing and approaching the giggling changeling.

"It was great! I was just sitting here minding my own business while keeping a bit of focus on Sunny and then I get blasted and everything went silly. Did you know when Tia did that I saw sounds and tasted colors? It was silly. Everything's kind of silly right now."

Max stared as the mare began rolling around on the floor like a dog, giggling to herself. She finally became bored with the action and stood up, stumbling over to him and pulling him into a kiss. He was so caught off guard by the motion he was poorly prepared for the flood of honey the mare ejected into his own mouth the next moment.

"Bleah, that was way too much," Crystal said as she shook her head. "I feel like I just went swimming in a pool of honey."

The stallion shook his head as well, coughing and attempting to fight against the new surge of emotion the other changeling had pushed off on him.

"W-warning next time."

"Sorry, Max, I could barely think with that much emotion. I don't know what else I would have done if I couldn't drop the overload a little and you weren't doing too badly, so..."

"No, no it's, it's fine," Max mumbled, blinking away the colors from his vision. 'Holy shit, is this what it's like to be high?'

"No, we gotta, give me a jar. We're going to go talk to Flick about proper processing and separation of emotions, maybe that...shielding thing. Right after I stop smelling green."

Mood Swings

Finding Flick was a bit more trouble than the pair anticipated, both because the changeling they were seeking was still on the night shift and thus had gone to bed by the time they went looking for her and the fact that the two drones had appropriated a room. Or in this case, a closet.

"Huh," Max muttered, staring at the drone as she slept while curled up in a black chamber stuck to the closet's wall. It almost reminded him of the chambers of a beehive, only more oval-shaped and sized for a changeling to sleep in. A second chamber was slightly higher on the same wall, likely belonging to Crack. Max set the jar of emotion on the ground of the room before closing the door and walking away, motioning for Crystal to follow.

"Why did you leave her? We came to speak with her, did we not?"

"She's asleep," Max explained. "Golden rule and all that jazz. I'd rather not have her waking me up at all hours. There's also the issue of trying to get a sleepy, grumpy changeling to teach me something. I'll wait until she's up before I ask her. We still have Crack to talk to, then it should be time for lunch."

Crystal nodded, not truly paying attention judging by her tone.

"I suppose. I still find it odd. Drones were sort of...disposable in the Hive."

"Well I see two problems with that," Max shot back with a grin. "One, we don't have a method of resupplying. No new drones are being made right now. The second is that ponies and humans both put a lot of time and effort into keeping themselves and those around them alive. Even the injured, crippled, mentally unwell, what have you. Again, it's the golden rule. If you were in their situation, you'd want someone to help you, right?"

Crystal grunted in response but said nothing, looking around for the second drone. There were a few places he could have been, but they ended up having to ask around for a while before a serving pony managed to direct them to the proper room. A room that to Max's complete and utter surprise was currently being converted into a makeshift hospital.

"No no no! There has to be room between, can we remove the wall here? I need more room than this! I also want the room past that to be set up with multiple beds, yes I'm certain! Where are you going to keep the recovering patients? No, pods are easy and save room, I've already marked on the walls where I want them. Look, I can teach a pegasus how to remove a pony from one, it's easy enough. The issue is I'm going to be the only one making them so it will take time."

The pair found themselves amid a flurry of activity, several mares and stallions of different tribes scurrying around the room and setting up desks, beds, large stacks of clean linens, knives, thread and needles, and several empty bottles along with two that were full of an assortment of emotions. In the eye of the storm was Crack, his hooves currently stained with blood as he worked on a pegasus that was unconscious on a low table. Max recognized the pegasus after a moment, the stallion that had lost a wing during the raid on the bandit camp. The remaining wing had apparently not been properly cared for after the battle and the stallion was now suffering something terrible. Even from the doorway Max could see blistered skin through the missing feathers that Crack was attempting to drain of pus. It didn't last long though. Crack began growling in frustration before noticing the queen in the doorway and calling her over. Before Crystal could even think to object, he was shouting instruction to her and several other ponies. Pulling the wing straight in his magic, he marked a point on the stallion's wing and ordered the proto-queen to sever it. Crystal complied, at a loss as to what else to do at the moment. Max winced as there was a strange noise and several of the ponies helping all jumped back. Crack didn't slow a bit though, tossing the now-disconnected infected limb onto a second table and beginning to stitch the wound shut with a speed and precision that left the ponies staring with their mouths agape.

"The heck are you doing? I need grain alcohol, more thread, and another towel! And a new knife, this thing's almost too dull to use! Medical blades should be kept sharper than any knights sword, understand? A dull blade might not kill your enemy but you can still use it, a dull knife can cause more damage than the actual injury itself and for a medical drone that is unacceptable! Move, now!"

Seeing the changeling back off from the unconscious pony as two other ponies began to carefully move him from the surgery table, Max took the opportunity to approach.

"You have everything you need? I'll be speaking to Princess Luna shortly and be sure to pass on any requests. Including your request to get the room expanded."

"No, not that I can- actually yes. You can ask her to make this official. I had several of these so called doctors go on about how the wings would regrow with time, another was slapping leeches on his patients and calling it a day. I don't even know what those damned things are supposed to do, but I saw their jaws. No buzzing way am I letting someling stick one of those things on my shell and the fact that they swell up like that? Other than the queens', er-princesses' support, I want the knights who were on that expedition to stop in for a quick inspection, make certain there aren't any issues. It only takes one drone with a bad infection to start a wave of illness."

"I'll talk to Luna, that shouldn't be any issue. You already know what you want in a medical facility so I'll gladly throw in with you on that. And yea, leeches are nasty. Can be used for medical purposes if you know what you're doing but just throwing them on the patient and crossing your fingers...hoping for the best doesn't work. They drink blood, so if the patient had a lot of bleeding in an area, fine. But just using them as a cure all? I'll back you on getting rid of that."

Max looked around the room, nodding his head to the pegasus the changeling had just been working on.

"I was there when he lost that wing, it should have been taken care of a while ago. Thank you, Crack. I know you were saying you didn't want to-"

"Stop," the smaller changeling said, holding up a hoof. "I was frustrated with the lack of supplies and the rules. I, the hive medical facility was...for most drones, for most of us it was a chop-shop. We looked at drones, saw if they could be helped quickly without any permanent damage, and if not we put them out of their misery. I didn't want to do that again. At least with this I can take a real shot at helping some of the injured walk out of here."

Max smiled at the drone.

"You do what you need to, Crack. I don't remember a lot of medieval medical practices but know enough about biology to be able to back you up or shoot you down in some instances. I'm sure Luna and Celestia would be delighted to hear they'll have one of the best medical facilities on the planet. Authority was one of the things I was going to be asking Luna about, actually, as it's difficult to help when ponies keep seeing me as some random shmuck who doesn't know what he's talking about. I'll talk to you later on about this if you like but all I ask is that you listen to what the pony doctors suggest."

As the drone opened his mouth to reply Max held up a hoof.

"I'm not saying to do what they say, I'm saying check their experience against your own. A lot of doctors in human history were just educated individuals who studied the body. You have experience, but it's with changelings. Be careful you don't make a mistake by confusing the two as there are tons of biological differences. For instance, you can't just throw them a ton of emotion and expect them to heal. Change out the bandage every now and again, check the wound, clean it if possible, that kind of thing. And for the love of god, boil your tools and wash them in soap or alcohol after each use if you need to re-use them."

"I thought most medical tools were disposed of?" Crystal asked, looking at the larger shape shifter in confusion.

"We don't have the tools. If I thought we could get away with it I'd tell them to smelt the surgical knives after each use, but we can't," he answered with a sigh.

"We don't have the supplies. So he'll just have to do his best with what he has."

Crack nodded in agreement.

"At least my tools are sharp and clean. I'd prefer a bit sharper, but we can't have everything."

"We'll see what we can get you. At the very least we should be able to get you some glassware and keep you supplied with bandages, and I know for a fact that at least one of those wound-care things was legitimate. One of the plants sounds like Aloe. If the plant they're describing is the same here as it was back home, that stuff was used for all kinds of medical purposes, especially burn treatment."

Max turned and left the changeling, hearing the drone beginning to yell more orders to the servingponies before they'd even left the room. One thing was for certain, that drone felt strongly about proper medical treatment.

'Which is good because with as many quacks as ponies likely have wandering around under the title doctor we need all the help we can get. I'll have to talk with him about biology later. That may help him quite a bit.'

"Sir?"

Max turned to find a serving pony standing in the hallway, nervously staring at the two larger changelings.

"Her highness Princess Luna has requested that you join her in an early lunch. If you would follow me?"

<-(0)->

"Hello Maximus, Crystal."

Luna was already seated and served by the time they had arrived at the dining room, a plate of bread, fruit, and cheese before her. Taking his seat, Max managed to hold off his question until they were alone.

"Tia?"

"Doing slightly better but she is sleeping at the moment. She is still very emotional, though. It is unsettling. I was beginning to wonder if I should attempt something similar with spells, a way to separate my emotions. Seeing her like that and knowing it was with an artifact like the Elements, I no longer wish to even consider the idea. If even the Elements of Harmony would leave one so...unwell, I do not wish to consider what my own attempts into such spells would yield."

"Recovery from most injuries is a long process. She has our support, Luna. She'll recover," the stallion assured her. "I started on my mapping today, trying to set up the roads. We're going to have several issues. The ponies in the way and my lack of, well, authority. The Knights know me and know I'm worked not for you and Celestia, but the peasants don't. I also had another run in with a noblemare. I like Redstreak, but she was trying to walk into your sisters room after I left you two alone. She wouldn't listen when I said to wait so I kind of, uh, snapped at her."

He felt a prodding in his mind before Crystal burst into laughter.

"You threatened to adhere her to the throne room's ceiling?"

"I was suffering from emotion overload at the time!" Max said trying to defend himself. "I had just filled a vase with the emotions Celly was radiating, not to mention Luna herself came into the room like a second sun! I almost didn't manage to stumble out of the room and that mare was about to blow past me and walk in unannounced because she's puffed up on self-importance!"

"Redstreak is far from the worst," Luna said, frowning.

"She still thinks that someone who's part of your flock is to be ignored by virtue of lack of status. I know she's not the worst but I swear that if a bunch of Knights tell a noble a wild animal may be in a building some of them would walk in because 'what do the peasants know.' Celestia was just calming down when that mare tried shoving her way in. What do you think her presence would have done to Tia?

"I'm far from a psychology expert, an individual who studies emotions and the mind, but I know what Tia's going through at least in the broadest sweeps. Redstreak's presence was the last thing she needed."

The stallion blew out a breath, deflating a bit. He knew it was only how things worked at this time in the world. The fact that someone who was educated was not of noble blood would be unthinkable, much less having an individual who would stand against nobility or even stranger, step out of their own gender or social roles. Certainly Shimmering Barrier was a stallion noble who had an important job but he was the exception, not the norm.

"I must agree," Luna finally relented. "I shall speak with Redstreak as soon as possible. She may have my ear when it comes to the crops but this does not give her the authority to enter into our bedrooms. I- is that why the guards were present outside the door?"

"I asked them to keep others out in the mean time. Shimmering backed me on it but he was kind of cautious in doing so. I'd appreciate it if you could either send him a note thanking him or even personally telling him that it was me helping the two of you. I know you two are big and important but that..."

Max trailed off as the door swung open, a very flustered Redstreak walking in the door. The mare looked a little unsure of herself as her eyes tracked over the changelings but she puffed herself up when she found Luna was present.

"Your highness. I need to discuss with you the lack of ponies that are working the farms. They-"

Luna frowned, quickly levitating a Scroll to herself from a nearby bag that she had begun to carry with her and looking over the script written out on it.

"You requested twenty ponies for the initial preparation, a group that will be expanded or shrunk as the amount of labor required is properly adjusted. You even had our permission to draft twenty ponies, though not from the Knights. What is the problem?"

"The problem is that only half of the ponies we have are Earth ponies. Pegasus and unicorn ponies are-"

Luna stomped a hoof, cutting the smaller mare off.

"We have said before, Redstreak. We have not the time to specialize our workers. If they volunteer to do the work we require, they shall be accepted."

Taking the momentary silence as an opportunity, Maximus stood up. He walked around the table to stand before the noblemare.

"I don't regret my decision to stand in your path, but I do regret losing control of myself. I apologize for lashing out at you, and for threatening you."

"I understand you may take offense to Maximus' actions but we agree with his actions. Our room is not a place to invade unless the emergency is desperate. The fact that both Celestia and myself have already dismissed this complaint only affirms my belief that Max took proper action. That was why you did not wish to discuss it with him, is it not? He already knows my answer as well as the fact that Celestia agreed with me. Unless there is threat to...uh..."

"Lives or the kingdom?" Max offered.

"That sounds appropriate. We are usually available for most of the day. If we are in our room, we would prefer a little privacy. Unless you would like for us to intrude upon you when you are retiring for the night?"

To everyone's surprise, Luna giggled after the threat, drawing a look of confusion from the mare she was speaking to.

"I do understand the that you mean well, Redstreak, but there are times that I will wish to rest. Be it after seeing to the removal of bandits or a simple illness as Tia now suffers from, quiet and isolation are sometimes best for us."

Crystal frowned and was about to open her mouth but Max cut her off, giving her a quick blast over the link to interrupt her.

"Maximus and Crystal are of our flock and as such have our trust. If I was to fall ill, I would trust no other with my health."

"I appreciate that, Luna. Thank you," Max almost whispered.

"You have been aiding Celestia and myself almost constantly, even before we formed a flock. It would be foolish if I did not support you in turn, especially as I ask things of you. 'Twas foolishness on my part to send you out into the hamlet to see to the planning of the roads without making certain the Knights and peasants understood that you act in our stead. My stead, at least. I will not speak for Tia."

"So you do not plan on punishing him for his actions?" Redstreak balked.

"We would have him apologize of course, which he did of his own will. He is our seneschal, Lady Redstreak. I fully support his decision to block the bedrooms from invasion when the matter is complaints such as those you were bringing forth or regular petitions. We still require rest, after all. Should I become ill, I do not believe I shall have any tolerance for such things. You have become spoiled with constant court. I shall keep my herd in check, but do not allow your self-importance to become bloated just because you survived the cull. In truth it means little, as it means you did as you said you would. Do not expect special privilege for being one of the few who did not take advantage of our distraction and naivety."

"Now, if there is nothing else, Lady Redstreak, I would appreciate the opportunity to finish eating lunch. Maximus, if you could check on Tia for me, I would appreciate that. The Knights on guard have our orders to retrieve one of us in the event of her waking, however I would rather she have somepony she could trust nearby upon waking."

Max nodded.

"Take Crystal with you. If something comes up and I need you, she can pass the message. Crystal, if I contact you but can't get my point across, assume something has happened. Heck, use my eyes if you need to. I know you can."

The changeling mare nodded cautiously, looking about the room uncertainly as the two other flock members made their plans. Redstreak seemed to have deflated with Luna's warning and left, grumbling under her breath and giving off an irritated mix of emotions as she closed the door behind her.

"It's nothing personal, Crystal," Max soothed a few moments after the earth pony noble left. "Control of information is important. Sometimes that means under or overstating things. If I were to go into the village and tell those ponies Celestia had driven herself crazy with the Elements, they'd all panic. How quickly she recovers doesn't matter. In this case, Tia just needs some rest as her mind readjusts. She'll be better soon, and she'll likely taste better too. Luna, I will try to get her to dinner if it's possible. I don't know how long this will take, but we'll play it by ear. If you could also find Twist and...damn. I went out with two Knights to plan the roads. They knew my plans and knew the markers weren't important just yet. If you could back them up and help them I'd appreciate that."

"Crack has also taken several rooms for a medical facility," Crystal reminded him.

"Oh, yes. When you see Shimmering, tell him Crack would like to check the Knights that were just out with Tia and I for any sort of cuts or injuries that have become infected. If you could give that drone the go-ahead for his project to remodel some of the rooms into an infirmary, he'll keep working on any injured you send him."

Rising from his seat, the stallion made his way around the table and gave Luna a kiss on the cheek, followed by a quick nip on the neck that caused her wings to flutter. Even as the mares began giggling he made his way into the halls. It was best not to leave the solar alicorn unattended for too long.

<-(0)->

Max had dozed several minutes after arriving to watch the alicorn, having realized too late that unlike Luna he couldn't read or write anything the ponies could use. Sure he could have used English and had Crystal translate it, or at least he assumed he the mare could do that. But he hadn't slept all that well while sleeping in the guest room next door to Celestia. Perhaps he was becoming used to sleeping in a pony-pile?

He shifted a bit as he woke up, sensing a powerful source of emotion nearby and very likely directed at himself. He'd already managed to dampen his reception a bit, something that still bothered Crystal to know, so it wasn't overwhelming but it was definitely powerful. Opening his eyes, he found the alicorn he was minding staring intently at him.

"Evening," he yawned before looking out to the still-slightly bright light leaking in through the window. "Or afternoon."

"Afternoon," she corrected. "Evening starts around dinner time. Are you feeling well?"

"Fine. 'm fine, just tired. Think I got used to sleeping with someone else. Bed was a bit on the small side, too. I'll sleep better tonight. How are you feeling?"

"I am...not certain. I feel much happier, but there is something else, like I am perhaps too happy?"

"Better an upswing than a downswing," Max muttered as he sat up on the couch. He rolled his neck, slowing as he noticed the mare staring curiously at him.

"Anything you need?"

"I do not know. You said that I may speak openly with you, correct?"

"Absolutely. Anything you need to say, you can say to me. No judging. I may tease you a bit though."

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Max froze. There was a hundred ways this could end, all of them being horrible outcomes that left the mare standing before him a broken mess. With Celestia's emotions running so high, he couldn't really pick up her full range of emotions through his filter. That left him with his wits and a bit of experience with two other emotionally distraught mares against a single mare who was not only teetering on the brink of a possible emotional melt-down but was also running on such high emotions that she'd gone from emotionally blank to mentioning suicide over the course of a few moments.

'I am so fucked.'

"You, you don't...am I ugly? Is that it?" Celestia asked, her emotions swinging quickly enough that he could feel it even through the filter.

"No, you're not ugly. You're a very pretty mare, Tia. I told you that already, I will say it again, and I will continue to say it for as long as I know you. You. Are. Beautiful," he said, emphasizing the words with a poke to her chest with each word.

"You make Luna feel beautiful, right?"

"No, Tia. I am not going to do that with you."

"Why not?!?"

"Because you're recovering. In a week, if you're feeling better and you ask me? I'd be happy to. Luna and Crystal would both-"

"I did not ask about them! I do not care what they think, I asked why you found me to be unappealing!"

"I find you very appealing," Max snapped back. "Your wings are soft, your horn is smooth, your coat nearly glows, you're smile is wonderful, you really should smile more in fact. Do you want me to continue?"

Though the question was rhetorical the alicorn nodded vigorously, scooting closer to the couch.

"Uh, okay...you are physically strong, which is somewhat scary to people but I know you're on my side so it's a plus. You raise the sun, you're a powerful spell caster who will only grow stronger in time, you are maturing into a good leader, ponies look up to you, heck in time everyone may look up to you. You-"

Celestia put her hoof to his muzzle, silencing him.

"Go back to the others. About me. What makes me pretty."

"You mean what makes you beautiful? Maybe your eyes, maybe the sound of " He asked, causing her cheeks to tint but drawing no other reaction. Smiling at her; he poked her nose with a hoof. "A ton of ponies think you're beautiful, Sunny. Many would give everything they own just to see you laugh or see you smile."

"And what would you give?" She whispered, leaning closer. "What would you do?"

"I'd risk getting sick to carry you when you're hurt. I'd risk getting hurt to help you learn to fight. I'd risk my life following you into a battle to make sure you don't get ambushed. And I'd risk a night sleeping by myself to keep you and Luna together."

He pushed her back slightly and stepped off of the couch.

"I love you, Tia. I love you so much I'm willing to stay here with you when you aren't feeling well. I want to see you get better. But more than that?"

Max gave the mare's horn a quick lick, spreading a very thin layer of adhesive on the horn.

"More than that I'm willing to do anything to make sure you don't hate yourself later. What did I tell you earlier?"

"I don't care," the mare said, her mood swinging again. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she pushed forward, placing her hooves on either side of his neck. "You make Luna feel pretty, make her feel beautiful. I want that. I want you to make me feel beautiful. I-I want you to do...that to me."

"You still can't say it without falling to pieces can you?" Max chuckled, pulling the distraught alicorn into a hug. "What did I tell you earlier? I said that in a week, when you feel better, I'd be willing to do anything you're up for. If that includes making a beautiful mare feel beautiful? I'd be happy to help."

Celestia pulled back from the contact horn sputtering as she attempted to use some spell on him.

"What? Why can't I-"

"I'm not stupid, Sunny. You're in a very delicate place right now. You're scared-"

"I'm not scared!"

"-of how others will treat you and you want to be certain of their affections. So you know what? I'll give you a little preview."

Levitating the mare into bed on her back, Max jumped up and straddled her. Kissing her neck several times, he gave her a quick, venom-filled bite before she could struggle free.

"I'd start simple. A kiss on the cheek, the neck, maybe a nip to the shoulder or wing to let you know I'm there. It would be at night of course, closed windows that would leave the bedroom almost completely dark. With my shell you wouldn't see me very well, maybe a quick flash of moonlight off of the chitin. I'd kiss you on the lips, maybe teach you how to kiss someone deeply. You know, explore their mouth with your tongue. Check the shape of their teeth and their mouth."

The alicorn had looked angry at the bite, but that was slowly fading. Now she was staring at him intently, the mare's wings extending as her cheeks tinged pink.

"I'd start to trail kisses down your body, all the way down to you teats. May play with those for a little. Not as sensitive as a human female, but I still like them. That's hard-wired. Then I'd get to those wonderfully soft pillows of you have attached to your body. Nip and play with those for a while. Then we get to the fun stuff."

The mare below him swallowed thickly, her wings fully extended against the bed but unable to move with the effects of his venom rushing through her blood.

"I'd start off simple. A lick, a breath. All as I watched your sex inflate. It does that, you know. Gets swollen as you become aroused. I think it's to help catch the male, give him some directions to help find the hole. Yours might be getting swollen right now, actually. It will start leaking a little bit of fluid, too. Helps make penetration by the male easier. A wet penis just slides right into a properly prepared vagina. That would come last, though. First I'd explore your canal with my tongue. I can do it pretty well, too. Maybe even reach the very back. Anyway after that comes the actual intercourse. I'd likely use my magic to make sure it lines up properly, don't want to get the wrong hole after all. I'd push forward, and you'd feel all five rings scraping along your most sensitive points and setting off nerves you didn't even knew existed. That could last anywhere from a few moments to several minutes depending on our mood and experience. Orgasm soon follows, a white wave of pleasure that just seems to make everything else fade away. Then we sit here for a few moments, just cuddling and being close to each other."

He relaxed onto her stomach, ignoring the mare's attempts to move or speak. Instead he leaned into her ear.

"I'd do all of that. Maybe a bit more. And that would just be the first time. Any night you ask me to, Tia. But first you're going to heal. You will wait one week, as that is the minimum time I think it would take an alicorn to ride through their back-logged emotions, and after that I will do anything you ask. If you want to train in the yard, I'll do that. If you want to play chess, we can do that. Making paper airplanes? Sure. Asking me to force you to climax, to orgasm until you can't see straight? I'd love to. But not before I think you're all there. Until then, I'll sit right here. If you need to cry about something, or yell at me, or flirt with me, you can.

"We love you, Tia. Don't forget that."

It was several minutes of silence that followed, brought on by both the venom and the white alicorn's mental instability. When she finally did find the physical and mental strength to answer, she reached up and hugged him tightly to her barrel.

"I'm sorry, I don't- I was being horrible and-"

"You're mood and emotions are swinging all over the place, I know. I had to basically turn my ability to detect and eat emotions off or I'd get dizzy from your swings. But I'm still here, right? I'm still sitting with you because you're important to me."

<-(0)->

He kept his promise, staying with the alicorn through it all. Enraged shouting that only ended after a nip to a part of her body, lust-filled attempts to seduce him(one of those caught him off guard and left him drunk for several minutes. Luckily she couldn't find his equipment), and tear-filled nights of self-recrimination. As time passed the swings became less violent, less extreme. Moods could be triggered still and often were as part of the healing process as well as to test how well she was recovering. By the time Celestia was sleeping alone again, she was doing well enough to appear among the Knights and nobles. A few days after that and she was ready to help again. The task she chose to help with, however, left Maximus more than a little concerned.

She was going to oversee the clearing of the path for the new road out of the keep.

Some of the ponies would tug at her heart, others would anger her, still others may test her patience. The mare could be a walking bomb and she was going to be walking out into a town of matches.

"I'll go with her," Max offered, looking cautiously to the white alicorn. "Tia? Tia, look at me."

She turned to him curiously, ears perked.

"I'll back you up when you go to the town. If I say we need to leave, though, we head back here and relax for a while, okay?"

"Maximus, I'm fine. I don't need you to-"

"Please listen to him, Celly," Luna added, looking at the white mare with a hint of fear. "We only worry about you. You know that. He is only going to be there for your safety."

Max put a hoof on the solar alicorn's shoulder.

"One of those ponies threw a rock at me. I don't think they'll do the same to you, but some of them may try to fight for what they've claimed as their land. You know, even though it's your front yard."

She was silent for a moment as she rolled the thought around in her head before nodding.

"Very well, I shall accept your escort. Thank you, Max. Let us be off."

"Not so fast, Tia," Luna called to the retreating mare. "Breakfast first."

Celestia stopped in her tracks, her stomach rumbling in agreement. She giggled sheepishly before making her way back to her seat, filling her plate with a myriad of foods before digging in, radiating a warm happiness in an intensity the changeling had never seen from her before. It brought a smile to his face. A simple bout of curiosity on his part, possibly saving the solar alicorn an eternity of damage. Looking at the two smiling alicorn princesses as they ate their breakfast, he felt a smile break out on his own face. Three happy mares, where once there were none. He could do this. He'd see them through this first hurdle and he'd be with them for as long as life allowed.

Author's Note

Just as an FYI to all of you who enjoy seeing Canon get shredded before it even has a chance to be say hi, I recently came across another story that threw things out the window because of Discord. It just went about it differently. Discord's Rewrite's a pretty silly story, you may enjoy it. No sex so far, but there's definitely some waggling eyebrows.

Disastrous Outing

"What are you doing?"

The words fell on deaf ears at first, the Pegasus continuing to build a little shack right where the path was supposed to go. As we're about four other ponies, unsurprisingly, and Max could already see that another two had been added since he'd last been there. The difference between Max asking them to move and Celestia telling them to move became apparent a moment later. The stallion was levitated from his work with a surprised squawk, as were all the others currently attempting to build huts right in front of the gate.

"I asked a question. What are you all doing? Maximus gave warning that there would be a road built in this location and Luna told me that she had confirmed the route the day after. The ponies who attempted to move the stones were jinxed to have pink polka-dot coats and were picked up by the guard. So why did you believe building your homes here would be beneficial?"

"We-we were told that if we did you'd build the road somewhere else!" one squeaked out.

Max rolled his eyes as Celestia sputtered in confusion.

"Build the road where? You are building homes only six paces outside of the gate! There's nowhere to go, nowhere that I may weave a road through this mess of homes and huts that would allow proper travel! I look upon this hamlet and wonder how I am supposed to walk out of my own front door! I need to fly to leave now!"

"You were set up to take the fall for them," Max told the ponies, pointing back at the peasants currently peeking out from the huts that had already been made and had yet to be moved. "They hoped for one of two things. First, that if anyone gets in trouble, it would be you. Yes, those wonderful ponies back there set you up to be thrown in the dungeon. They set you up to take the fall in their stead. They also hoped that more ponies making homes here would force us to choose a different route. Something that's impossible because there is only one gate. We may be able to make a secondary one with a lot of magic and a lot of time, but it won't allow a full contingent of knights to leave easily like the main gate. Honestly, if it were up to me I'd brick this gate up and open up another wall. You guys would be at the back of the keep with no quick route inside. Would serve you right, too. Expect us to protect you, but then not letting us leave the keep? It's the dumbest thing I've seen so far."

"Either you will remove the homes you have started upon, or I shall move them myself. If I must do so, I shall not be gentle with them," Celestia told the ponies. Setting them down and stepping towards the preexisting homes, she raised her voice. "Did you hear me? I shall finish my walk today and return tomorrow. If you have not removed the homes from the path that has been planned, I shall do so for you! You have been granted adequate time to do so on your own!"

"What did you do to her?" a cloaked mare accused, pointing at Max. "She was kind before, what vile magics did you weave in her mind?"

That set the crowd off. Suddenly ponies were pressing in shouting about destroying the monster who hurt the alicorn. Max was staring at the crowd wide eyed, not expecting the sudden surge of bodies intent on doing him harm. A rock bounced off of his chitin, then another. Then a piece of wood. The crowd's jeering and shouting slowly picked up, ponies who's homes were threatened looking to the changeling as the cause of their woes. They stopped when Celestia lit a golden shield around the two of them.

"This is my thanks?" she growled, staring angrily at the crowd. "I share my bread, I offer protection, I do all of this to make a land safe for you to live in and you become upset when I ask for a path from my door from which to leave my home? Not only that but you accuse Maximus of trickery? The only trickery being played is those who told others to make their homes where a road was planned. Those who set others up to fall in their stead!"

Max poked her shoulder, whispering nervously.

"Tia, let's go, we can come back with help and-"

"No!" the alicorn shouted, stomping her hoof down. Her aura began to flare, magic pouring off of her as she took the homes outside her doorway and picked them up in her magic. Not just the half-finished huts either, but every hut on the path. "I am done. I welcomed ponies here, attempted to do what even the unification failed to do. I did not want the tribes to merely be at peace. I wanted them living together, seeing each other as family. I cared for Luna before her ascension, a unicorn filly minding a pegasus filly. If we could find happiness why then could others not?"

"Instead I find the same bigotry on my doorstep! Ponies lying to one another, using one another! Making false accusations and attempting to rouse others to violence! I will not allow this to occur! If you foalish ponies are unhappy with how things are done here, than you may leave. Find elsewhere to settle."

Walking the houses out beyond the markers for the outer wall, some still containing ponies that were clinging to walls and windows, she set them down in a heap.

"Be gone from my home. I have allowed such poison to fester on my land for too long and will no longer allow such an insult to Harmony."

"Who are you?!" the mare from earlier shouted from behind the crowd. "Celestia would never do this, you imposter!"

Celestia whipped around, scanning the crowd.

"For two years I did as others recommended; as the nobles and peasants suggested. For two years ponies fattened themselves off of the fruit of my labor while they distracted me with false promises and platitudes! No more shall I allow such an insult. Do not hide in the crowd while throwing such accusations, knave!"

"I shall always welcome ponies into my home, always work to protect those who seek me out. But I shall have order in my home. I shall not allow you to spit upon my authority. I shall not allow you to insult those who act in my stead. If you dislike this than you may leave. Let it be known from now until eternity, however, that should ponies spread hatred and bigotry amongst my subjects I shall bring my wrath down upon them like a sun!"

The alicorn trudged back through the village and personally set down several more markers for the new road, slamming some of them into the ground so hard they cracked. Max watched this all with a weary eye, ready to call for help if the alicorn lashed out at the crowds or the crowds became rowdy again. Even as they moved down the path though, several pairs of guards arrived, drawn by the commotion. They quickly took up positions around Celestia, weapons at the ready in case they were needed.

For the most part the final preparation of the roads went smoothly. The occasional pony attempted to heckle them but Celestia would give a quick flick of her magic, tossing them beyond the markers for the wall. If they attempted to re-enter the border, she would throw them farther away, with a warning that next time she wouldn't hold back and that the pony was to leave since they disliked her rule. Eventually the mare from earlier tried rallying the crowd in spite of the demonstrations, shouting how Celestia would never be so cruel and that it must be the second shape shifter that was attempting to replace Celestia. Knowing Celestia was getting ready to launch the entire crowd from her home, Max stepped in front of the alicorn.

"Are you guys really that easily swayed? That mare that keeps shouting things has yet to show herself. She's done nothing but send you guys forward to take the punishments she deserves."

"You just watched this alicorn levitate fourteen huts out of the path for the road and you're still willing to try to strong-arm her? You're still trying to denounce her identity? Crystal and I haven't used a disguise since we arrived. We don't need to. None of the changelings that are working for the princess have. And I'd hate to say this but the world isn't changing. It's already changed. Discord's gone and a new age is upon us."

"Indeed," Celestia said, nodding in agreement. "I shall not be a Princess Platinum, sitting on my throne and shouting orders for the masses to follow while my knights execute those orders. Luna and I shall fight beside them. We shall use our strength and magic to defend and lead by example. Those who are unable to adapt may leave, as I have already said. I have better things to do than sit on a throne and hope my orders are followed. Because clearly doing so has accomplished nothing."

The mare tried once more to rally from the shadows but it failed again, this time the ponies around her pushing her forward and leaving her before Celestia. To the neither Maximus nor Celestia's surprise they recognized the mare. Max in particular remembered her, though her elegant clothing was gone and she was as dirty as the rest of the peasants. On her back was a tattered cloak, the remains of her assumed title and a sign of wealth now being used to keep back the chill of the night and inclement weather.

"Lady Certain Fortune," Celestia said calmly, raising an eyebrow. "Or perhaps it is merely Certain Fortune? You were asked to leave the Keep if my memory serves me correctly. Both for failing to actually do anything and after losing a duel with Luna. Why is it that we now find you attempting to incite a riot amongst the peasants? Was it perhaps you that started this ridiculous idea of forcing us to redirect our road if too many ponies were present on the path?"

The unicorn babbled incoherently for a moment, utterly baffled by her ousting by the peasants. It actually nearly made Max laugh. The unicorn was so certain that she had control of the 'dumb peasants' and had already turned them to her cause that she didn't seem to have any additional plans, not readily available at least.

"Fortune, you were allowed to leave in good faith. We did not pursue you, did not question your rank, Luna did not even demand anything of you aside from leaving Maximus alone. Instead of acting your claim, you attempt to rouse the peasants against us! What noblemare would do such a thing? You shall not be walking away this time. You shall be joining Flint in the dungeons, for inciting unrest and impersonating nobility."

Certain Fortune's eyes widened.

"You do not have the right to dispute my claim of nobility!"

"Nopony shall stand by the side of a mare who hides behind peasants and attempts to incite riots!" Celestia shot back. "Name one noble who would dirty their hooves and risk their reputation for a mare who has done such things. None would. None will stand for you in the face of this treachery."

Max felt every muscle in his body tense. Fortune's mood swung quickly, far too quickly for anything healthy. From her earth shattering terror at being caught in the act and the fear of punishment from the alicorn she suddenly shifted to a deadly calm, one that set his nerves on fire. Not even Celestia, with the Elements of Harmony suppressing her emotions, had managed such a calm emotional state. His muscles tensed as he watched her horn flair with power. His second eyelids dropped and the changeling barely had time to remember to keep his left eye closed. The membrane still hadn't been healed, leaving the eye exposed if he tried to use them.

"You are correct, Celestia, I don't have any support not."

The next few moments were a blur to him. The unicorns horn flashed, causing everyone to blink or look away. From under her coat she drew a blade and lunged forward, moving on memory as she kept her magical flare active. The first galloping step and he knew her target. Celestia.

He was moving before he could even reason that a blade wouldn't do anything permanent to the alicorn. She raised her blade to strike, but Maximus struck first.

His fangs sunk into her neck, the force of his impact sending her tumbling with the larger male even as he heard the guards shouting in alarm. The mare screamed even as he attempted to separate himself from her, slamming the blade against his chitin over and over again. The light finally faded and she gave a final shout, putting all of her focus into the blade. Max swore, kicking her in the muzzle and attempting to cause the insane mare to drop the blade. She held firm though and he flinched, looking down to see the blade wedged between the plates of his right shoulder and barrel. It sank into his flesh with the final burst of effort.

The changeling stared at the blade, not daring to touch it. He'd been stabbed. He'd just been fucking stabbed with a knife.

<-(0)->

He watched it all happen from a distance, a pair of binoculars hanging from his neck even as he looked through his claw and paw, both appendages currently curled into circles as if he was holding a telescope. He was surprised to say the least. Ponies were always pushovers, running in fear when Discord came through the area. Sure a few would throw a spell or two at him, but he couldn't remember ever having a weapon launched at him.

The mare was gone the moment she was thrown from the changeling, a flash of light and a scorch mark the only sign anyone had been in her position.

Discord let loose a low whistle. The alicorn he'd talked to not too long ago, the mare who had looked at him and realized he'd escaped without so much as a shout of fear, had just vaporized a pony who had attacked the changeling. Oh one could certainly argue that the unicorn had originally intended to strike at the alicorn with the weapon and had thus sealed her own fate, but that looked much more like a defense than-

"Yup, that's an attachment."

The mare was barking orders to the knights even as she began inspecting the blade. Max stopped her from yanking it right out but after a moment she did anyway, casting it aside and having him use that changeling puke to seal the puncture. The moment the goop was in place, she blasted it with a quick fire spell, hardening it.

The draconequus frowned. He knew basic wound treatment by mortals usually involved leaving the items inside as the item often helped prevent additional bleeding, especially in the case of a broken artery or vein. He snapped his talon, magic-ing up a perfect copy of the blade into his possession. Right down to the green blood currently dripping from the tip of the blade. It wasn't the blood that had his attention though, but the sheen it seemed to have at the part that hadn't been covered in blood.

"Wow, that mare played for keeps didn't she?"

Luna arrived on the scene only moments later, a second large changeling hitting the ground and rushing to Celestia and the injured shape shifter. It only made him more curious. Sitting back as Max was transported back to the castle and Luna began shouting orders, he summoned his newest assistant. While the scroll was nice, sometimes it just wasn't able to grasp the finer ideas he tried to communicate.

"Oh, what fresh hell is this?"

"Be nice, Lazyap. I need an analysis on the poison on the blade," he scolded the small grey imp, handing it the weapon. "Also the way to make an antidote. Plants available should be in Equestrian Herbology, time-frame of about 3539 Discordian Era to two hundred AM."

"AM?" the little imp asked, hefting the blade like a battleaxe.

"After Me, of course. What else would it mean?"

"Right, right. All the masters I could have ended up with and I get this guy," Lazyap grumbled. "Coulda been someone who spent all day looking at demoness butts and breasts, but no, I get someone who actually wants the imp to do things."

<-(0)->

Luna stood in a small hut as she scoured the area for any trace of the poison that had been on the blade. She was terrified for his safety, having seen him starting to curl in pain as it began to have an effect. What the effect was she couldn't guess, but the blade was on its way to the alchemist so that the mare may attempt to figure out the poison used as well as form a cure. Knights were also present, bringing her eveyr scrap of paper in the building. They'd learned from the peasants that Fortune had taken the home from another mare, threatening her with false rulings and promises of incarceration if the owner didn't vacate the hut. It disgusted Luna, but more awful than that was Fortune's attempt to incite a riot amongst the peasants.

"Need a little help, Princess?"

Luna's blood froze at the voice. She'd extracted from her sister the truth of the statue in the gardens but had been too busy to actually confirm Discord's whereabouts. Looking up she found herself staring down at a brown unicorn with a shattered horn, various scars over his form and several patches of missing fur. What unsettled her most though were the eyes, yellow eyes with red pupils. The eyes that had haunted ponykind for hundreds of years.

"I heard your beau got hurt, nasty bit of business that. But what I saw in the aftermath made me curious. It left me wanting to know what I've missed in the interim. Of course, you'd never just talk to me. So I decided to go a different route."

Luna tensed as the unicorn sneezed out a scroll, causing it to roll to her hooves. She nearly panicked, blasting both the scroll and the unicorn; it would only be natural after the years the alicorns battled him. Something about his tone though, it was different. Too similar to the tone he used that last day of his rule. It was calm, nowhere near his old methods of spastic and unthinking chaos. She looked to the knights surrounding the unicorn and held up a hoof.

"Leave us."

As the last knight left Luna cast a quick privacy spell over the hut and turned back to Discord, only finding that now he was in his natural form. Or at least as natural a form as a creature like him could have.

"What do you want, Discord."

"Oh, it's simple. I've learned the importance of curiosity. And right now I'm curious. So very, very curious. A second changeling is now living in the castle? Did you know they were considered monsters, a menace in the future I was throwing off track? I figured things would be different but to see another-"

"There are two other smaller drones as well. Three changelings besides the one you left us. And we have cast out a good number of the nobles who were distracting us and accomplishing nothing."

His eyes lit up in surprise at that.

"Truly? How interesting. Even more interesting to me, however, is this attachment Tia seems to have formed with him. Last I recall she was ready to leave him in the dungeons to rot or worse, destroy him herself."

"Things have changed, Discord," Luna said simply, levitating the scroll in her magic and reading it. To her surprise it was exactly what he had said it was, the composition of the poison as well as several cures made with common and easily retrieved ingredients.

"It appears you have changed as well. No trickery? Information for Information?"

"I need to get in the practice. One of the worlds I'd like to visit is very...particular about exchanges. You have to be careful about anything you offer, even words of encouragement or jeers. A calm mind can keep you out of trouble, so I've had to learn a few new tricks."

"I can hardly imagine a creature that would threaten you. Even with the Elements, Tia and I were only able to slow you down. You escaped not two years later."

To the mare's surprise Discord just smiled. Not the one she usually saw on his face, not the smile that told her the being before her saw her as nothing more than an amusement. It was a familiar smile though. One that she'd seen on Starswirl's face as he calmly corrected their false assumptions.

"I've met several, actually. One was not only capable of it, but actively tried to kill me. It was a surprise as much as any other, knowing I wasn't the top dog. Sobering, too. We can discuss this later though. I believe you'll want to get that to an herbalist or alchemist before too long. Not that he's in any danger, mind you, but the sooner he's cured the sooner he'll stop being in pain."

Luna nodded, making for the door but stopping just as she reached it.

"Since when did you worry about the health of others?"

The draconequus gave her that same smile, folding his arms over his chest and reclining in the air.

"It's easier to worry about pain when you've been subjected to it. I've spent most of my immortal life being the biggest and baddest fish in the pond. I've found my way to the ocean though, and I've run into a few sharks."

The alicorn pondered his words, not knowing what a shark was. A closer inspection of the self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos caused her to shiver, however. The scars of the unicorn form he'd taken were still present, just much more difficult to pick out on his mismatched form. Something had tried to kill him, and judging by the scars had very nearly succeeded.

"Oh, don't worry. I clean up my own trail. Nothing's going to follow me back. I make certain of that after every jump."

Luna nodded, her eyes lingering on a particularly long scar that ran down his torso, nearly a pace long. Time had changed all of them, very quickly too. She surprised herself a moment later when she next spoke.

"We have a private dining room in the castle that we use now. It was one of Max's suggestions. Ask the guards at the keep to allow you entry to meet and dine with us, and they will allow you to enter. Please use your disguise until you arrive though. I may be willing to speak to you, but ponies still remember your reign. If this helps us help Maximus, that will be three that I will weigh against the misery you have brought me."

Without another word the mare departed, leaving Discord in the hut. She didn't care though. She needed to bring the scroll to the alchemist posthaste.

<-(0)->

Max listened as Luna breathed a sigh of relief when the alchemist began applying a mixture to the wound. The cures that were to be imbibed were useless for this toxin, as it targeted the stomach and intestines. Constant vomiting, cramping, diarrhea, eventually progressing to intestinal rupture due to all the twisting and pulling if the dose was high enough. And it had been aimed at Celestia.

Half of the poisons effects had no impact on changelings while the stomach issues were more of a hindrance than actually painful. unlike most species, a changeling only produced acids if their pouches were occupied. It left the target compromised though, as without a source of raw emotions the changeling would starve. Both the resin-pouch and the honey pouch of changelings cramped, meaning a changeling couldn't feed on honey while under the effects of the poison.

While being an alicorn Celestia would have survived all but the most potent doses, it would have meant a few hours suffering many of the symptoms rather than a few cramps and expulsion of resin as it did in Max's case.

The injured changeling was currently resting on Luna's bed, the resin on his shoulder having been removed as the alchemist, a pegasus mare of all tribes, pressed a paste into the wound. It was one of many cures but the only one they could easily give the stallion, as many others required being able to absorb it through digestion. Max was not keen on having the wound disturbed, but when the alternative was waiting for his body to finish processing the toxins, he quickly conceded.

Crack was also present, currently working on the larger shape shifter's eye. A simple resin-pouch was held over his eye, attacked with a second application of the material to hold it in place. The pouch contained a bit of gelled love, provided by Crystal, and would soon enough heal the injury.

"This makes zero sense to me," Max muttered as he blinked his eyes, feeling the warm sensations of the honey on his eye. It was as alien as everything else, though. Hardly something that would confuse him too much. The issue came from the lack of logic. When doctors stitched a wound closed, it was bringing the flesh together. In this case, the love would cause the cut to seal, eventually closing the membrane completely. Without, you know, actually holding the separated parts of the membrane together.

"I already explained it, you can't eat anything without vomiting, so we have to use an alternate way to introduce it into your body," the pegasus, Healing Philter, explained.

"No, that I get. In fact, I don't know if anything I drink or eat would get through to me...wait, how did I get drunk then?"

Max blinked, looking to Celestia in confusion.

"You tried getting drunk on wine?" Crack asked in surprise.

"It was after a particularly difficult experience we shared." Celestia explained. "Maximus suggested a little drink to help separate ourselves from the occurrence. To allow ourselves time to center ourselves. We both enjoyed a few uh, casks of wine. In truth, I cannot recall ever feeling so...free. It was an interesting experience."

Luna looked to Celestia in surprise.

"You partook of wine and did not, oh, I remember. I was inspecting the mines with Crystal. We must do that when both of us are present. I have heard it is more entertaining to imbibe in groups."

Max let loose a tired chuckle at that, but still didn't let the topic drop. Instead he looked to the changelings present as a thought presented itself. Went right up to him, turned around, and lifted its tail. Gave him bedroom eyes and everything. Even started talking dirty to him.

'Dammit, I think I'm addicted to Luna. It's been almost a week without a good roll in the hay. I'm getting horny. Tia's been no help there, either.'

"Would it matter if the pony we feed off of is intoxicated?"

"Maybe? I don't know," Crack admitted, moving to observe the wound on Max's shoulder. "Most of my experience with feeding comes from what I've done here, and I don't usually see drunk ponies among the keep's staff."

"Do you think I could get a sample of that resin?" the pegasus asked as Crack began inspecting the wound. "I'm curious about it. Also, do you turn food into that stuff, or any organic material?"

"Any organic material," the medical drone replied. "Some drones would turn off their taste buds, especially those charged with caring for the ponies. Sadly, it was the cleanest way to dispose of things."

All ponies present turned green, though Crystal looked confused.

"And yet changelings were always filling those positions. Why was Mother always so hard-pressed to find drones to see to us?"

"Because a drone lives longer caring for insensate ponies," the drone dead-panned.

"So you're telling me," Max wheezed out, laughing in spite of his injury and the pain the action caused him "that drones would rather, quite literally in this case, eat shit than deal with the queens?"

"Some of the queens and proto queens were prone to bouts of manic violence. I never was given a chance to try and find a reason, but I think it was something the Over-Queen did. She didn't seem bothered by it as long as the other queens directed it to the drones."

Crack frowned, looking to Crystal in contemplation.

"It's possible She tampered with them during their final molt, or perhaps it is something she programs into the queens at their hatching? We won't know for certain until Crystal completes her final molt."

"Is there any way to induce a molt like that?" Max asked.

"Not to my knowledge, though I'm hardly an expert on the nature of queens," the drone answered, using a clean cloth to remove the excess paste before applying another love-pouch to the stab-wound.

"I suppose the princess could always order Crystal to molt."

Max could feel the proto queen tensing at the casual mentions of her name by the drone but she bit her tongue. The smaller changeling was currently patching up one of two ponies she trusted and would likely be the one to watch over her if she was injured.

'Not in the hive anymore, Crystal. Be nice and he'll be nice to you.'

'I know,' she returned. 'It, I can't help it. Drones were respectful. They were punished for not showing respect. I'd have been allowed to do whatever I wished to him for saying that in the Hive.'

'Not in the Hive anymore. Golden Rule.'

The queen pouted, looking away as the alchemist and Crack went into a deeper discussion of biology and things the alchemist had learned from the shed shell she'd been given a month ago. He instead found his focus on the two alicorns standing watch. Celestia still looked tense, watching any movement with a twitchiness that was unnatural. It was unfortunate, but Max couldn't tell if her lashing out at the mare was simply reactionary, a sign she was still unwell, or merely a reaction that was expected. Hell, of someone attacked him or his family with a knife and he had a laser cannon on his forehead, that guy would have been dead before he took his second step.

"How are you holding up, Tia?"

"Wha-I am not the one who was stabbed!" The solar alicorn sputtered. "It is I who should worry about the state of your injury, especially when I came to no harm."

"Don't say you came to no harm. One of your subjects pulled a knife on you. Are you okay?"

Celestia stared for a moment before lowering her head, a small tide of emotions passing over her.

"Why did they do that? I always wanted what's best for everypony but they, they didn't even listen to what I was saying."

Max shifted, wanting nothing more than to give the depressed mare an assuring hug but was stopped by Crack. The drone punched his leg in irritation before returning to his work.

'Crystal, give her a hug.'

'But she's mean! I don't like her!'

'Crystal, you give that mare a hug right now or so help me I will find a way to make you.'

The female shape shifter whined aloud but otherwise moved. She pulled a surprised Celestia into a hug, scowling the whole time before backing off and pointing at Max.

"He said I had to."

The alicorns shared a giggle before Luna lost it, descending into gales of laughter and pulling her beta into a hug of her own. Celestia watched the shape shifter melt into Luna's affection, a happy smile on the smaller mare's face.

"Thank you. I suppose that until the wound is healed you shall be confined to bed rest?" the white mare asked the medical drone.

Crack nodded in answer, moving Max's head and making sure the love-sack on the injured changeling's eye was secure one last time.

"Nothing to tear open that shoulder. That means you can't play with your...hive for a few days. No walking either until I confirm that the wound is mostly healed."

"Blast, is there no way to bring him to the dining room?" Luna asked.

"You could carry him, but I'd like him to keep most of his weight off of that side of his body."

A chorus of 'I'll do it's echoed and the mares all stared at each other in surprise. Mostly though the eyes were on a blushing Celestia.

"I would appreciate the opportunity to repay his kindness," she explained.

Max rolled his eyes at his flocks antics, Crystal trying to protest while Luna quickly dragged the other mare out the door. He could taste the giddy happiness rolling off of Luna and he had a good idea why. The mares were followed by Crack and Philter, both still chattering about changeling resin and its uses. The moment they were gone Celestia coughed, attempting to think of a way to speak to him.

Max grinned at her nervousness.

"It's fine, Tia. I told you I'd be willing to help you. I may not be so quick to jump a knife wielding lunatic in the future, but I'm still going to look out for you. I promised you that, didn't I?"

"You did," she admitted. "I appreciate that, too. But I did not expect such...aggressive defense from a stallion I have done so much to deny. I went out of my way to hinder you in all things, even when you promised to aid me. I, I am sorry, Maximus. Will you forgive me?"

"You know better than that, Tia," he chuckled. "I told you that you were important to both Luna and by extension myself. I want you to be happy. I know you're scared, we all are in our own ways. Your use of the Elements was done out of fear, wasn't it? Tell me I'm wrong."

Celestia nodded in agreement, sniffling quietly as she looked to the floor.

"I know. I wanted to do this, I wanted to be the one to save everypony. I couldn't though. Instead I put not only Luna and myself in danger, but all of my subjects."

The changeling managed to raise himself with his uninjured leg and pushed back slightly, raising his right foreleg invitingly. Celestia jumped up onto the bed with him, accepting the hug while being cautious of his injured side.

"Thank you, Maximus. I, I don't know what I was thinking."

"Well, nobody may know what you were thinking then, but I- can you do a privacy screen?" Max asked.

The alicorn did as requested, looking at him curiously.

"Luna and Crystal are still outside the door," Max said, playing a few sex scenes in his mind when he felt Crystal pushing for information. "Anyway, I can taste your emotions, Tia, your feelings. I know you've changed how you perceive both myself and Crystal. And if you ever decide you want to give that a shot, you let me know. I'd be more than happy to help you out. I meant it when I said you were a very beautiful mare, and while I don't think you need me to make you feel as beautiful as you are, I love you. We're all a team, the four of us, and we'll do everything we need to do to keep everyone healthy, happy, and safe. If you need anything at all, you need only ask."

The mare blushed deeply and giggled, pulling him closer for a tighter embrace. She quickly backed away, stepping off of the bed and offering the changeling a ride.

"You know, I find it interesting that the last time it was you on my back," Max remarked as Celestia used her magic to help him onto her back. "Get to the door and...can you phase it out? Make it incorporeal?"

Celestia looked to the door thoughtfully, using her wings to hold him in place as she made her way to the dining room. She shook her head, making her way to the side door that led into the bathing room instead, slipping out a second door and finding Luna and Crystal both pressing their ears against the door while Crystal whispered to Luna, both mares blushing deeply. Celestia silenced her steps, moving up behind the flock's mares with a large grin. Leaning in, she whispered into Luna's ear.

"What are you listening to?"

Luna waved her away, both smaller mares giggling as they did their best to listen. Crystal gasped, here eyes widening in shock.

"And now he's-wait, how is he rutting me if I'm out here?"

"I'm just that good," Max whispered, grinning from his position on Celestia's back.

Luna and Crystal flinched, turning to find the one's who had previously occupied the room behind them. Celestia leaned closer, a smile on her face.

"Boo."

Slightly Less Disasterous Lunch

Max was chuckling to himself as Celestia carried the injured changeling to the private dining room. Luna and Crystal were following along quietly, both whispering harshly to one another after being caught in the act of spying. Luna calling Crystal out on not realizing two ponies, both of which she should have been able to detect, had left the room, while Crystal was arguing that Max had distracted her and she was almost certain the two were mating.

"What did you do to Crystal? She seemed certain that the two of us were fornicating," Celestia whispered back to him, cautiously watching for any guards who might overhear her.

"I sent a few flashes of sexual acts over the link," he replied, his grin never faltering. "Change a few colors from blue to white or navy to pink, blue and green, and I had Crystal convinced she was catching glimpses of the two of us getting to know each other intimately. Good distraction, but kind of tough doing that. Switching details and pushing those thoughts towards her while having a conversation."

"B-but you were imagining doing that with me?!" she nearly squeaked out.

"Not like it's hard to imagine. I wasn't lying when I said you were beautiful."

Seeing the mare's ears fold back as her cheeks lit up he leaned forward, giving one of the ears a quick nip. Instantly the alicorn shivered and he could feel the tingle go up her spine.

While Celestia was too busy fighting down her blush, Luna and Crystal had gone silent, both staring in surprise at the flirting and banter Max was directing to the older mare. Luna was radiating a bit of lust as usual, though there was a desire below that which carried more than a sexual want. Longing, almost. Crystal was also silent, both through the link and in the hall. The shape shifter's emotions were much easier to read, transmitted openly through the link Max shared with her. Confusion along with a good bit of surprise.

'I'd probably be surprised too, if I hadn't spent a week looking after her while she was recovering,' he thought with a dismissive shake of his head. Instead of speaking though he relaxed, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Maybe I should get hurt more. This is kind of comfy."

The alicorn hummed happily, her wings shifting enough to touch his sides in what he assumed was a subtle hug. He let his eyes drift closed, enjoying the warm happiness radiating right into his shell as well as the bubbly emotions from Luna behind them. It was worth some misery, though lunch wouldn't be much fun since he likely wouldn't be able to eat. Really, he didn't even want to try until at least a little time had passed. He still didn't have a stomach after all. Poison's didn't stop working the instant you added a bit of an antidote to the victim's blood.

He woke some time later to a spike of fear and anger. The horn just before him was blazing with power as Celestia lowered her head and flared her wings. Luna was attempting to say something but he couldn't make it out over the blazing emotions he was currently sitting on. The energy suddenly snuffed out, causing the alicorn to recoil in shock and fear just as Max's vision was clearing. What he saw was the last being he expected.

"Well, I see some things don't change. Thank you for letting them know, Luna," Discord remarked casually, sitting at their now round table. With a Casual gesture he flicked on a light switch that was on the wall and suddenly Celestia had her magic again, though her shock caused the power to sputter out.

Max shifted on Celestia's back, staring at a sheepish Luna who was currently being used as a shield by a now very terrified proto-queen.

"I was, uh, a little distracted with your injury, Maximus," the blue alicorn said, giggling nervously. "I also thought he would show up for evening meal, as that is the normal time visits are done."

"Rule of thumb, Luna," Max deadpanned. "When it comes to anticipating Discord, don't."

<-(0)->

To everyone's surprise the draconequus was downright amicable. There was a nice spread on the table, the servingponies couldn't enter or even find out what was going on inside the room, Discord even snapped his claw, leaving Max's seat with a comfortable sofa that left his head just above the level of the table. Max sat down but kept a weary eye on the being across from him. As did everyone present. Celestia still had Luna seated across from her but this time she had Discord to her right, while Max was across the table from the chaotic creature.

Crystal was still present, but she was currently on Luna's opposite side, nearly hiding under her alpha's wing. The fear pouring off of her was palpable even to Discord, who didn't seem to understand why he terrified her.

"She's scared you'll teleport her again," Max finally said, getting tired of the nervous tension at the table. "She's just getting comfortable and the last time she saw you her world was shattered."

"But it all turned out for the best, didn't it?" Discord asked, looking to Crystal. "You're happier now than you ever were, correct?"

"While your actions did end in a better situation for Crystal, they originally left her wandering the countryside with neither food nor allies. If not for her stumbling upon some extra honey that Maximus had produced, something he discovered how to do quite by accident, it is very possible she would still be lost and alone," Luna said, slowing to take a sip of water. "Do not attempt to offer her situation as an example of your kindness, Discord. The same is true for Max's appearance in the garden. You did not put him there to help us, but to steer our path away from the one we were following. To change fate. Was his survival something you considered important?"

Discord opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut, tapping his chin instead.

"Nope, can't say it was."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Max shot at him, a small smile appearing on his face none the less. "Not that I'm completely against how things turned out but the only help you gave me was convincing them not to kill me outright. From what some of the knights told me, the idea was on the table."

Celestia gave a nervous chuckle at that, shooting Luna a glance that they shared.

"One of our knights was of the mind that Discord's ally should have been destroyed the moment he arrived. It was only your boast that you won no matter the outcome that led to our questioning the changeling. It very nearly could have ended in his death. In fact, it still has nearly ended in his death several times. The first being in the garden. Another one of the knights nearly killed him on the spot out of fear."

"Just because good things happen because of your actions doesn't mean you had good intentions," Max added. "I wouldn't change it for the world, though. Luna's happy, Crystal's happy, Tia's happy, I'm happy. We're all going to work together on this. Watch each other's backs while this country develops. Maybe in a generation or two you could visit openly, but you'd have to wait. The ponies alive today know you and your actions first-hand."

"Yes, I am aware of that. It's why I've done my best to avoid the lime-light. Even used a disguise. Not a very good one, but I think that was the first time in Equestria I've done that," Discord responded, his mood sober. "That bit though, last I heard from Tia over there she was hating your existence for slipping into Luna's good graces, among other things, so easily. How'd you change her mind?"

"Went with her into a bandit raid, carried her out, then spent a good week watching her while she was recovering from emotional backwash. She apparently thought using the elements to keep herself calm was a good idea."

While the white alicorn was busy looking anywhere but at the changeling, Discord looked genuinely worried.

"You stopped her, correct? I mean, that won't end well. There's actually this cult I keep running into, even seen it here on Equis, that seems to think sealing away all emotions is the way to inner peace or something like that. They usually end up going mad. Not the fun kind of mad, either. The stabby kind."

"He did. He then spent the last week watching over me while I attempted to relearn how to deal with my emotions. It was an unpleasant experience, for both of us at times, but Luna was unable to do so as I would...become upset when she entered the room. Maximus was still a relatively new acquaintance and I was able to handle my feelings regarding him. For the most part anyway," the alicorn finished with a blush.

"Her mood swung all over but I never really felt like I was in danger," Max added, giving the mare an assuring smile. "The worst I remember was her getting clingy, which was more cute than anything else."

"How did you convince Luna to not rip your spine out through your ass?"

Discord guffawed at the casual delivery of the question before waving a paw in Luna's direction.

"I offered her an analysis of the poison as well as several local cures. As I said before, the last I saw of the relationship between you and Sunny-buns, antagonistic would be a kind description. She wanted you gone. Yet just earlier I watched her defend you quite viciously."

"Oh don't take it the wrong way, Celestia. The mare's willingness to attack you surprised me even more than that but the fact you defended Max then tended to him without a second glance to your attacker was interesting. Certainly the last thing I expected to see. Then Luna arrived, surprising only in how quickly she seemed to realize you were in danger. She was accompanied by a second love-bug though, one who seemed just as concerned for Max-y if not more so than Celly."

"Crystal and I have grown close since she showed up," Max said, flashing the shaking changeling a smile. "There are a few things we're worried about with her development into a full queen but Luna and I will help her, she knows that."

"Actually I don't know if I should be angry that you destroyed the Hive or thankful you destroyed Mother's power base. The changeling over-queen that your presence set off was the living embodiment of cruelty."

Taking a deep breath and pushing those thoughts aside, Max turned to brighter topics.

"So you've been world hopping in the meantime, anything interesting catch your eye?"

The misshapen being beamed, pulling a book out of nowhere and showing Max the contents. Pages upon pages of pictures.

"Do you want the most interesting or the most bizarre? Because I don't think we have enough time to cover everything I've seen in half an hour."

<-(0)->

Discord left after lunch, a box of Pop tarts left in the changeling stallion's possession as a sort of peace offering. Max had accepted, promising to only buck Discord in the face as opposed to the genitals and the draconequus had agreed, shaking his hoof with a grin.

"Strange," Celestia muttered. "To see Discord so calm. So...normal?"

"I think this was an experience for him as well. He may consider this his home in spite of the two of you claiming the land from him. It's familiar. And familiarity is always nice," Max said, looking at the blue box before him with a distant smile.

Luna stared at the box, taking note of the strange symbols scattered all over its surface.

"It is something from your home, is it not? I would not have believed him capable of such an act had I not seen it with my own eyes. What is it?"

"When I can eat I'll show you. They're better warm, but even just tasting something like this...I didn't think I'd ever really see something from home again."

Max chuckled but still felt a few tears forming in his eyes. It was a simple thing, not too over the top but it was more than he ever hoped for. Because of that, it gave him hope that he'd find more. A way to speak to his family before too long. Maybe he'd look for that mirror from the show. It was never made clear how exactly it worked, but the timeline of that world was much closer to his own than this one. Maybe he could at least enjoy a few snacks, take the flock out for a nice dinner or something like that. Crystal would understand more of the culture now, so she wouldn't be bad company either.

"It was nice," Celestia added quietly. "Like he held no desire to do us ill. Considering our extended campaign to dethrone him, I would have expected him to at least wish us ill if not outright attack us upon his return. I am uncertain how I feel about this new Discord."

"I think we should worry about hosting him later," Max said. "He's not looking to shake things up here, for better or for worse, so we can continue to make our own plans. Try to be civil if you can manage it, otherwise just don't go out of your way to attack him.

"Like I'm one to talk. I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the dick, even in my current state."

Letting out a self-deprecating laugh, Max gave Celestia a quick nudge with his magic.

"Nobody has complete control over their emotions. Even though the guy was capable of smearing me into a fine enough paste I'd be able to coat the entire castle, I still wanted to hit him. There's nothing logical about that."

Luna nodded, pulling Crystal closer while whispering reassurances to the still-shaking mare. It was strange to all three of them. Normally only a shift in Luna's attitude left Crystal this upset. Now the young mare couldn't stop shaking, even several minutes after the source of her discomfort had left.

"I think the most surprising thing about this was his discomfort," Max finally added, looking to Crystal. "He was genuinely surprised by Crystal's terror. Like he didn't realize just how badly those around him took his games. Hell, it's possible he didn't. Empathy isn't something everyone has in equal measures and being as strong as he is..."

Luna nodded again.

"He mentioned something similar in village. When he offered the cure I asked why he was suddenly concerned with the pain of others. In response he told me that he'd nearly been killed by a creature he met in his travels, and that the introduction to pain gave him a different perspective. He was scarred, Tia. Did you see them?"

"I did, though many were difficult to make out. It is unsettling to imagine something capable of causing Discord harm."

"When you two first became alicorns were you able to raise the sun and moon on your own?" Max asked.

Celestia frowned thoughtfully.

"I do not recall. I do not believe so, as for the first year or so we always used our ritual to aid each other."

"And yet now you can, even if it takes a bit of work. You're already getting stronger. Maybe in a few years you could match him, maybe in a few decades you could beat him? You're only just now coming into your power, Tia. Discord's older than dirt and his magic is intuitive to him. He doesn't even think about it from what I've seen. It's all force of will. It's also likely why he could beat you so easily. He knew he could, he knew that your spells wouldn't work on him so they didn't."

"Yet he did not know of these new creatures so they were able to harm him?" Luna postulated.

"Possibly, but it's also possible that whatever attacked him is running by different rules. I don't know, I still don't know much about magic. Hopefully I can change that once we're properly set. Do we have enough stone to begin filling the cavern?"

"We do," Luna said. "I was only waiting until Tia was well enough to aid me in teleporting the stone below the castle. Though I would suggest making certain nothing sapient has taken residency in the cavern in the past years. It would be most unfortunate if we were to find that creatures had decided to make a home there and we began filling it in with rock."

Max smiled, looking to Crystal.

"Want to go spelunking?"

<-(0)->

The mare slowed in her tunneling, watching as magic pulled large chunks of stone and dirt from her path back the way she had come. The tunnel was not straight down as Crystal had wished it to be, but rather at a comfortable angle. It meant more digging in the long run but it also meant that Luna was capable of following her into the earth, a reassuring prospect after her close encounter with Chaos earlier that day.

Being so deep underground was reassuring as well, actually. She didn't realize just how much she missed it. The changeling had spent most of her life underground after all. While her flock were comfortable above ground, the darkness of the tunnels beneath the surface would always be her home.

'Perhaps some day I might be able to create a home of my own. A place where the three of us would all be comfortable.'

She began tunneling again, her hooves having been shifted into shoveling claws that tore easily into the dirt ahead of her. Simple, relatively mindless work that didn't require her to think. There was no strange ponies with their strange wants and needs or their strange reactions to her presence. Just a changeling, the earth that held her close, and a mare behind her that gave her strength.

"We should be nearing the cavern, Crystal. Prepare yourself accordingly."

The changeling nodded, a flash of green fire passing over her as she increased the density of her shell even further. She knew now that her alpha feared things, knew it for certain. And if Luna feared things, things could hurt her. Crystal wouldn't let that happen.

'Easy, Crystal. Easy. She's a big girl and can see in the dark as well. I'm here for you as well, if not physically,' Max soothed over the link.

The proto queen nodded, feeling the earth before her beginning to shift and cave away. After several hours of work that would have taken pony miners days if not weeks to accomplish, Crystal gave a quick burst of force from her horn that knocked loose the dirt and stone ahead of her, sending it tumbling into the darkness of the cavern ahead. Stepping up to the newly opened area, she stared in awe.

The cavern was perfectly cut, the alicorns having teleported the stone directly out of the earth as they shaped it to their needs. A large orb of the planet having been removed by the hand of a God. Luna stepped up behind her, the soft glow of her horn spreading the barest trace of light that didn't even touch the farthest reaches of the chamber. The two were towards the upper section of the orb, leaving a long drop just ahead of them that fell into the darkness of the cavern.

"I knew we had removed much from the ground, but I did not realize the scale. Maximus is right, this is dangerous," Luna whispered.

Crystal listened to the lose dirt rattling off of the chamber's floor, focusing on any source of emotion nearby. Luna was the only thing she sensed, however. It seemed the cavern was empty. She was just turning to leave when Luna leaped into the cavern, her emotions sparking with curiosity. Crystal buzzed in irritation as she tensed her legs, leaping and following the alicorn into the chamber.

Luna was providing plenty of illumination as she descended to the cavern floor, the shimmer of various underground metals catching the changeling's eyes as she followed the alicorn mare. Max was curious as well, attempting to identify them from memory but having little success. The thing that had drawn Luna's attention however was the shimmering glint of a visible gem, a small part of it cut from the teleport spell the alicorn's had used and causing it to reflect the light beautifully.

"Crystal, could you unearth this for me?" Luna asked her.

Crystal nodded quickly, tearing into the rocky terrain and quickly excavating what turned out to be a full gem vein. Luna was ecstatic, cheering the proto queen on even as Max whispered caution into her mind.

'I know you like making Luna happy but you two went down there for a reason, don't get too distracted.'

'I won't, I can taste anything if it gets-'

She stopped mid-scratch, a faint sense of emotion reaching her through the stone. It was nearby, but on the other side of the gem vein.

"Something's under the gems."

"What do you mean?" Luna whispered, leaning in closer to the extra tunnel the queen had begun to excavate.

Crystal flew backwards out of the small tunnel she was beginning, looking around nervously. She could sense it still, a blob of emotion steadily digging through gems nearly as quickly as she had. Pointing with her hoof, she looked to Luna.

"I can sense something, it's right there."

"Can you determine its current state? Curious, scared?"

"It tastes curious, excited should we...?"

Luna nodded.

"If there is something living beneath the castle, I would like to know now."

The changeling moved back to her tunnel, continuing to dig towards the source of emotion. It was tunneling in her direction, following the gem vein as well. She dug a little closer, letting Luna carry the beautiful gems she cut loose out into the cave behind them for teleportation to the surface. Feeling the unknown creature drawing closer, Crystal slowed in her digging. The other burrower did as well, likely hearing the movement on the other side. There were a few taps against the gem-wall and she returned them, tapping with her clawed hoof against the various crystals.

A more forceful impact hit the crystals and she backed up, perking her ears as the digging started again. A few loose gems fell back into the tunnel beyond before the rest of the wall fell in, revealing a second small tunnel just beyond Crystal's excavation. Standing in the tunnel, staring at her in curiosity, and illuminated by a glowing crystal attached to a plant-fiber band around its head was a creature neither mare had ever seen before.

The first term that came to the changeling's mind was a troll or orc, the monster of several of the fantasy worlds Max had read about. It was furry though, a dusty grey fur that covered its body. The creature's lanky forelegs ended in clawed paws while its muzzle was much shorter than her own. It wore a ragged vest, the material threadbare while on its forehead was a plain band that held a glowing gem. The moment she laid eyes on it, she felt Max reacting.

'Diamond dog. Wow. They're certainly different in reality.'

Crystal flew back out to the main cavern, landing lightly beside Luna as the creature followed behind. As it peaked it's nose over the edge of Crystal's tunnel and looked about in the cavern, the proto queen leaned in to Luna's side.

"Max said it's a Diamond Dog," Crystal whispered. "Or at least that it might be since he's never seen one."

The creature slowly crawled out of the tunnel, sniffing the air as it explored the cavern. It yammered excitedly for a few moments before taking off down the tunnel again, leaving the mare's confused. Just as Crystal was about to suggest they make for the surface and return tomorrow the strange dog-like creature returned, jubilantly cheering and pointing to the cavern while using its other paw to drag along a much older dog.

"Found it, found! Found top! Found!"

The older dog muttered darkly under its breath, striking the pup upside the head and drawing a surprised yelp.

"This is not the surface, fool. It is merely a large cavern. Now let us return-"

"Excuse me," Luna called, causing the older dog to flinch in surprise. "You are looking for the surface? You are quite close. We just tunneled down here from the surface ourselves, in fact."

The elder creature regarded Luna and Crystal with a gaze that surprised both of them, as if he were carefully measuring their worth. Crystal returned his gaze, her eyes traveling over the brown dog's clothing and the belt of gems slung over his shoulder. Max was already postulating uses for the gems on his belt, everything from beacons to snacks to replacement crystals for his mining light.

"I suppose most four-legs would not stray too far from the surface. I remember hearing of ponies being seen outside our cities before the Great Bath. They are ill suited to travel underground. What brings you down to the darkness of the earth?"

"An attempt to correct a mistake before it causes a disaster," Luna explained. "This cavern was excavated by myself and another for materials to build our home, a castle on the surface. A stallion, er, male of Crystal's species warned us that our idea would bring about a disaster, that we risked the loss of both the keep and any near it if we tarried too long in filling in the cavern we created as we built the structure directly overhead. He said that with a large cavern like this, the land could become unstable or too heavy in the event of heavy rains or storms. Sooth, neither Tia nor myself realized just how much earth we moved to the surface to obtain the stone. We asked Crystal to allow us to check the caverns for any activity before we attempted to fill them in with stone from elsewhere."

The dog looked about, wandering the cavern and touching his paws to the sections of the cavern where stone had been magically hewn by the alicorns' magic.

"It would depend upon the depth of course, as well as the weight of your structure. I know neither and thus cannot give you a solution. I must know, though. Can you show me to the surface, to the sun? The packs have been lost beneath the oceans for so long, none live that have seen the sky."

"We would be delighted, though it is evening at the moment. I am most glad that we decided to investigate the cavern. I would have been horrified to find out we harmed one of your own as we attempted to fill in this cavern. Crystal, if you could fly to the tunnel and light your horn?"

Crystal did as she was asked, even going so far as to dig out a small chamber just beyond the tunnel where Luna could easily land with two others. The alicorn arrived shortly after Crystal lit her horn as a signal, the two dogs levitating in her grip and being set down in the newly excavated chamber.

"I, I think I would rather walk from this point on, miss. Thank you anyway," the older dog mumbled shakily, leaning forward to keep all four limbs on the ground. The younger pup didn't even attempt civility, whimpering and clinging to the ground like it would run away from it.

Luna giggled sheepishly, murmuring apologies while burning with embarrassment that Crystal couldn't understand. It wasn't as if her alpha would drop them after offering to help.

'They can't fly, Crystal,' Max sent, his amusement blooming over their connection. 'Creatures without wings often develop a fear of heights. Even more so when they spend their time in confined spaces like these tunnels.'

'I suppose that makes sense'

Luna led the way back to the surface, with Crystal following after and the dogs bringing up the rear. Once more she found herself thinking about how much easier it would have been to tunnel straight down then fly straight up, but Luna's wings would have been confined. Even Crystal's own wings likely would have been brushing against the walls as she flew up and down the tunnel. Something that could have ended with the ends of her wings becoming damaged and tattered.

Luna stepped out of the tunnel with a sigh of relief, spreading her wings and radiating happiness at being free of the earth. Crystal followed shortly after, taking note that Celestia was standing nearby, two large mounds of dirt and rock beside her as well as a good portion of the gems the changeling had been digging out as well. A pony was sorting through the gems, holding each up to the fading sunlight and commenting on the quality of each before putting them in to one of several piles that were being watched over by knights.

"Clouds...this is it," a voice whispered from behind her.

The old dog was walking in silent awe, pulling along the confused pup with a strong grip. He sniffed the air, his tail beginning to wag in excitement before he walked towards a nearby copse of trees. He took a deep breath of the air before sitting down in the grass, rolling a bit before settling down on his back, staring at the evening sky through the leaves.

"What is it?" Celestia asked quietly, approaching Luna and Crystal as the dogs rested under the trees.

"Maximus said that they were called Diamond Dogs, though we have yet to hear them identify themselves as such. I had asked Crystal to begin excavating a gem vein while we were down there in the hopes of acquiring a good amount of gem dust for long-lasting enchantments lest we bury them beneath the stone we move into the cavern, but while she was doing so she noticed another digging into the vein from the opposite side. If we had not checked it is possible we would have dropped the rock on top of the younger pup."

Shifting her wings uncomfortably, Luna nodded back to the tunnel.

"The elder asked to be brought to the surface, something about being lost beneath the oceans. That is a long ways from here, Tia."

"Max said if that was true, they would have been extremely cautious of digging too high. Doing so would flood their tunnels," Crystal added, vocalizing the stallion's thoughts for the older mares.

Luna worried her lip in thought.

"It would make sense. We will need to know more of course."

As one, the three mares approached the peacefully humming dog as he rested in the waning sunlight. His ears perked at their approach and he sat up, pulling himself to his feet with a tired smile on his face.

"I thank you, big pony. We have been lost under ground for a long time, digging through the earth in the hopes of finding a cave that would bring us to the surface. We could not find any, none that we wished to explore anyway. Once or twice we came upon occupied caves, but even under the ocean we found such things. It was often best to seal the caves before the inhabitants realized we were there. Less dangerous that way."

"It was my pleasure," Luna offered with a smile. "We do require information, however. Your people, you species, and I am curious as to this Great Bath you spoke of."

"Diamond Dogs was the name our packs use. Mostly there are only digging packs now. The old dogs spoke of a rocky paradise where we first learned our trade but it collapsed into the sea. Too many tunnels, they said. Too much earth missing from beneath our home with no true support left. The island fell into the sea, drowning many while some managed to fill the tunnels in behind them enough to prevent themselves from drowning. There was never a number given to the deaths but..."

"But it matters little in the end, as you lost your homeland and your race was scattered," Celestia said softly. "You are not alone in surviving a disaster to befall your race. Crystal the changeling here also lost her home in a disaster, as did the ponies. Ponies were driven from their lands by windigoes, creatures that feed off of hate and anger while slowly driving the land they reside in to eternal winter. This was to be our new home after the disaster of the windigoes, but we soon found why nopony had settled this beautiful land. Discord, a being of great power, roamed these lands not too long ago. He left the land, the communities, the ponies themselves in shambles. He shattered Crystal's home, her hive, leaving her to roam the land lost and alone. Discord is no longer a threat, so now we rebuild."

Luna smiled widely.

"We would be delighted to deliver aid to your, um, pack should you require it. I'm certain our races could be of benefit to each other."

"I, I must convene with my pack first. Your offer is appreciated, strangers. I shall attempt to return here tomorrow with others," the old dog said. Turning to Luna he smiled hesitantly. "We shall make our own way to the tunnel you created, Blue one. Your aid will not be needed in returning to our tunnels."

'Ask them if they need water or food,' Max sent over the link.

"Before you go, is there anything you require?" Crystal asked. "Food or fresh water? We have Vegetables and grain for bread."

"No, though your offer is again very much appreciated," he said with a much more sincere smile. "Directing us safely to the surface is a favor we can never repay. It will be good for the pups to play in the sunlight again."

Sensing a bit of fear and apprehension from behind them, Crystal turned to find the guards and Lady Sapphire watching the exchange with fear. It didn't surprise her though. They had viewed changelings with fear upon their first encounter, why would she expect any different from...

"Luna, why do you not fear them?"

Luna blinked in surprise, looking from the tunnel the dogs had just entered.

"We have found much benefit from the changelings joining our cause and personally I wish to pursue the rumors of Thestrals in the northwestern mountains. Why would I attempt to drive away this race when I open my door to so many others? Besides, they are not the first creatures capable of bipedal motion I have encountered."

"Discord does not count as a bipedal creature, Luna," Celestia admonished with a small smile. "In fact I do not think Discord counts in any category you may wish to create."

"I was speaking of Maximus. You have seen his other form in the dream-hive you share with him have you not, Crystal? The difference between his current form and his old one? His old race is much more jarring than these doglike creatures as I have never seen anything even similar to a Human."

Grinning brightly, Luna turned her attention back to the tunnel.

"It will be a great city, Tia. One that will put those glimpses we received of Maximus' homeland to shame. Now, lets get these gems to the keep so we may begin the cellar's enchantments. We have much to do, and I aim to see our home grow."

Author's Note

The Great Bath, a disaster that sounds both silly and horrific. You should feel ashamed for laughing about it. The smell of wet dog still permeates that part of the ocean.

Am I Broken?

It was a miserable and exhausted changeling stallion that shifted in bed as the alicorns raised the sun the next day. Luna had made some glib remark along the lines of 'no sex, doctor's orders' then proceeded to grab Crystal and vigorously sixty-nine the smaller mare. Max had left in an irritated and aroused huff, ducking into a nearby room so he wouldn't have to deal with both the smells and the sounds of sex.
That idea failed though, as soon he could hear Crystal shouting and Luna squealing as the mares began to climax...

...Again, and again, and again.

Finally he'd moved to the other side of the castle, looking for an unused room. He'd found one, jumped into the bed, and then found himself shouting in anger as Crystal started giving him the play-by play of her exploration of Luna's body.

Celestia had heard his shout of frustration and after getting her giggles in offered to share sleeping quarters with him. After all, it was getting cool at that point in the night and his blankets only helped retain heat, not create it.

Thus it happened that, after raising the sun, Celestia found herself staring at the male sprawled in her bed comfortably. She was debating on rejoining him for a little while longer. After all, there wasn't anything that required her attention until much later.

Nodding and coming to a decision, she moved to the door and told the guard she did not wish to be disturbed until at least an hour before lunch. Five extra hours just lazing about in bed, it was almost criminal!

'Best get to it,' she giggled to herself, getting her forelegs onto the bed...

Only to stop as she raised the blanket.

Max shifted on his back at the cool air now flowing over his body, but Celestia didn't notice. She was staring at the alien scene before her, the stallion currently sporting a fifth leg with his lower plates opened up. She idly remembered searching for it while suffering from her mood swings and ending up unsuccessful. How she had missed it before she could only attribute to the plates and her confused state of mind.

Part of her wanted to ignore the stallion's morning wood, either grabbing a separate blanket and returning to the bed or finding another room entirely. There was that small portion of her mind though, that rebellious thought that was whispering in her ear.

'What would it be like?'

The novels had always described the act as the single greatest act a living being was capable of experiencing in spite of everything she knew. Something that left even the most disciplined creatures drooling in pleasure and wanting nothing more than to continue the act for eternity. Luna swore it was a wondrous experience, leaving her with a burn in her muscles as though she'd just worked herself to exhaustion and a tingle on her skin and in her spine. A sensation that words could never do justice to. Something 'one must experience to understand.'

She looked nervously to the door before turning her attention back to the sleeping stallion. It was wrong of her to even entertain the thoughts but here she was. It looked...strange? Ponies only had one ring, and the authors always emphasized the sensation of the ring dragging along the mare's sex, or of the ring striking against swollen vaginal lips during intercourse. Of the ring pushing at the sensitive flesh before sliding into the mare's depths or dragging along the inside. He also lacked the engorged head of a normal stallion, the rod coming to end in a soft rounded tip that even now shimmered slightly at the tip. It wouldn't hurt going in, in fact it could likely slip inside her with almost no effort at least until the first ring. The rings of a stallion's penis had some give, so even then it wouldn't be painful. It would just feel strange.

She leaned in quietly, her horn glowing as she locked the door out of paranoia. She couldn't believe she was even entertaining the thought but she had to know. She wanted to know first-hoof.

A careful sniff caused her nose to crinkle. Musky was the first word to come to mind. Sweet was the second, oddly enough.
'Like the honey,' she realized, remembering Luna's comment about the other way to make a magic restoration potion with the stallion's aid. The emotion-saturated honey had been one of if not the sweetest thing she'd ever tasted.

Celestia turned scarlet, realizing she was licking her lips while staring at the changeling's siring tool. She dropped the blanket and levitated another in her magic towards her. She was being ridiculous. All of the stress or something like that. Yes, that was it. Just rest and the heat in her stomach would go away. She'd feel better-

The alicorn whimpered softly to herself as the changeling shifted in his sleep, moving to press against her back and nibble at her neck subconsciously.

'So much for relaxing in bed.'

The male behind her shifted, the pressure against her lower back increasing slightly as he pressed closer. It was answered by a strange sensation in her own body, an unfamiliar intensifying of the heat between her legs as that traitorous part of her brain spoke again.

'Two spells. One to remove the blanket, one to line the two up properly. It would be amazing. Everyone said it would, even Luna. Especially Luna, and you trust her word.'

As Max nuzzled into the fur on her neck she shivered. She couldn't remember ever feeling like this before. She...

She had to move or else she'd lose her mind.

She threw off the covers and jumped from the bed, her wings fluttering in agitation and her heart pounding in her barrel. The male was still sleeping of course, blindly groping for the warm body that had vacated the location. She caught the blanket before it settled back down, staring once more to the veiny green rod the male had pressed into her back. Maybe if she just...

<-(0)->

Max stirred, irritation still his primary emotion as his eyes slowly readjusted to the light. Luna had just revealed to the two of them she was capable of entering the hive's dream-side, with the sole focus of getting him as riled up as possible. He'd grabbed both mares by the scruff of their necks and launched them from his room, slamming the door closed behind them. He was able to block out most sound with a little concentration, but his connection to the changeling proto queen was strongest in the dream-hive. She and Luna were still going at it after only a quick break to swap the heavenly bodies.

'Hope those assholes end up dehydrated,' he thought darkly.

He flinched, an unexpected sensation of a cool breeze flowing over a full-on erection.

'I hate morning wood.'

His irritation gave way to surprise when he looked down to find he'd gained an audience, one was that was currently in the midst of an emotional battle with herself.

Celestia was staring at him, her eye twitching as he did from a stray breeze. There was also something else, something...

The alicorn dropped the blanket and walked a few steps away, pacing while muttering to herself as her emotions swung from lust to embarrassment. She slowed, looking back to the blanket and what it covered while completely missing the blue, cat-like eyes staring back at her before going back to her pacing with a flick of her tail.

'Hoo-boy. This is gonna be fun.'

Shifting onto his belly to contain himself he used a quick flair of magic to poke the alicorn's shoulder. She jumped in response, her emotions clearly matching her face as she became filled with embarrassment and self-loathing.

"Tia, get back here," he called after her as she made for the door. Her wings and tail were both slightly raised while a faint glint of moisture could be seen on her right leg's inner thigh.

"You walk out that door and I'll ask Luna and Crystal to bring you back. You'll never hear the end of it."

To his surprise she slumped, her head bobbing in sobs.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I was just, just..."

"Curious? I'm not going to yell at you, ya goof," he said calmly. "In fact I want to apologize. Did I wake you or...I didn't uh, poke you or anything did I?"

"After I raised the sun I was going to go back to bed and I saw it," she whispered back, her cheeks still crimson.

"You silly mare, look at me. Tia, please look at me," he said softly, rolling in left hoof in a 'come closer' motion when she did. "Everyone wonders. Everyone looks at others and assesses their attractiveness. It's hard-wired into our brains, it's how we keep the species going. There is not a damn thing wrong with you, do you understand? You are a healthy, beautiful mare who just went through a very hard time. It's completely normal to be curious. In fact I could say it's strange that you're just now beginning to look. Luna certainly had no issue doing so from what I've been told."

He chuckled as the mare refused to meet his gaze.

"Celly, when you saw me in the dungeon for our first encounter, how did you feel?"

"Worried," she answered easily, having grown used to this game during her recovery. "Discord claimed you as an ally and seemed to think your arrival would help him. It did in a way, but not in such a manner that left us in danger. Relieved as well. The knights had no issue capturing you. I'd spent several restless months worrying about another Discord arriving in our land, setting him free and forming an alliance Luna and I would never be able to match."

Max nodded.

"When you found Luna and I together?"

"Angry. She didn't know you, didn't know who or even what you were. She hadn't even spent a day with you and felt you were safe to be around. Scared; that you'd hurt her, or that you already had. Um, confused that she was happy. She was, for a while she was happier in your presence than in my own. That hurt, it hurt more than any..."

"Did you ever talk to her about that?" he asked.

"No. No I did not. I was also feeling guilty. She was lonely and I didn't respond. It took a stranger showing up and staying with her for several days, quickly improving her mood to show me how quickly I could have saved her myself if I'd paid her more attention. How am I supposed to-"

"Nobody can catch everything. I knew there was a problem-"

"I did as well!" Celestia interjected. "You even told me the issue and I still didn't know how to fix it!"

"But I was free to help her while you two were on different schedules. I knew what it was that was bothering her and had a way to fix it. While joining her flock wasn't my goal, I was also looking for a solution to both of our issues. I was in danger of dying of starvation, remember?"

"You told me the issue, you told me to my face what the issue was while expecting nothing in return. I still left you in the dungeon. I wanted to leave you there and forget about the entire encounter. Instead of fixing it I wanted to punish you. That's not...I don't know why I did it."

Max smiled softly.

"And how do you feel now? Come on, you know you can tell me, Sunny."

"...Scared. I want to know, but at the same time I'm terrified. Luna is adamant that it's the best thing in the world, that she feels safe. I certainly feel safer as well even without being part of the flock and it confuses me, because the last time-"

Max perked as she cut herself off, her emotions spiking sharply between fear and anger. It worried him, and he let that emotion seep into his voice.

"Tia? What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit, you're hurting. I don't even need empathy to tell that. What happened?

"It's nothing!"

"My ass it's nothing, Celestia you're scared of something. Tell me so I can help you, please?"

Stepping off the bed, Max winced as his shoulder pulled in an uncomfortable way. He moved forward though, sitting down in front of the now-shaking alicorn and placing his hooves on either shoulder.

"Tell me I've not done everything I can to help you. I want you happy, I need you to be happy. It makes me physically stronger, Celestia. This isn't some idle good will I have, it has a direct impact on my wellbeing as well. If Luna leaves, you are my second lifeline. The knights are nice, but I need someone who genuinely cares about me as more than 'the boss's boy-toy'. Even as a good friend, you could keep me going. I hate this, I hate being tied to people like this because it makes me feel weak. But I want you to be the best damn alicorn princess you can be. Have I done anything to make you think otherwise?"

Celestia sniffled, her eyes drifting to the now-dim patch on his shoulder before shaking her head.

"Did somebody hurt you? Did somebody hurt you before you became an alicorn? While you were taking care of Luna, just the two of you?"

Her eyes darted to the and for a moment he thought she might run. Instead she bowed her head.

"He said it was either Luna or myself, that if I wanted her to be safe- it wasn't like there were guards. Nopony watched us, they were all busy trying to survive in the Age of Discord. None would miss a couple of fillies." she choked out. "Said it was how it worked, that it was natural. That the reason it hurt was because I was broken. That I was a freak and it was my fault."

Max felt his heart drop out of his chest.

"Oh my god, Tia. Oh geeze, I don't-"

He pulled her into a deep hug, shushing her while rocking slightly even as she returned his hug, sobbing uncontrollably. She said it had been awful, that it had hurt. That she had become terrified when Luna started asking questions about stallions. That for a while she'd felt uncomfortable around males before just assuming there was something wrong with her.

"So why do you trust me?"

"You, you said it yourself that day I found you with Luna. When you stuck her to the bed and I thought you'd done something to her." she whimpered. "You can't do that. You can't, it would make you sick. The fear, the pain. It's not something you can do, it would hurt you as well. I want to feel like Luna, I want to be safe and happy but every time I think about it, I just, I want to try it, part of me wants it but I just keep- I want it gone. You keep saying these things but I only know what I have experienced."

"Listen, listen to me. What I do with Luna and what happened to you are two different things," he said softly. "There's a process, you may not even know it but earlier, I could smell you, I could see you're interest. You were curious, you wanted to know. Remember what I said happens when a mare gets excited? The wetness? That wasn't present for you that first time. That's why it hurts. He didn't care. I do, Tia. Oh stars above, do I care. I want you happy, I want you to be the happiest mare you can be. Anyone who does something like that is scum. They are the lowest form of un-life in the universe."

He gave her head a quick kiss, returning to his rocking hug.

"Tia, Tia. I'm right here, Luna will always love you, you are the most selfless mare I know. I love you too, we all do, you wonderful mare."

"It always sounded so strange," the alicorn mumbled into his shoulder. "For a long time I thought that was just how it worked. I read the books. The medical texts describe it exactly as it happened, while the novels described it in almost the same manner. I thought they were lying, or that the writers were attempting to play up the pleasure. I enjoyed the stories but when it would reach those parts I would skip them. They were so fake. I thought you'd done that to her at first. Even through the mental barrier with the Elements, I wanted to destroy you. Then I saw Luna positively glowing, smiling so brightly. She kissed you, hugged you, acted as though you had only been kind to her. Like you hadn't hurt her. I was so confused. I felt, I spent so long telling myself the stories lied but Luna wasn't lying. If she wasn't lying, then what did that say about me? Maybe it was my body that was wrong. Maybe he was right. I don't know anymore. I just-"

"They weren't lying and there's nothing wrong with your body," he assured her. "The only thing wrong was with that asswipe's head. Love is a beautiful thing. It's trusting the other person completely, knowing they love you just as much. That the'd never hurt you. Luna would turn him into paste if she knew. So would I if I found him, and so would Crystal."

"You don't know that, what if there's something wrong with me?" she argued, pushing away from him and pacing the room again. "What if there's always been something wrong with me? What if my- mine doesn't work?"

"It works just fine. I saw that while you were pacing around earlier."

The alicorn stared at him, her emotions swinging from anxiety to embarrassment so fast it could have been called emotional whiplash.

"Y-you looked at my-!"

"And you saw mine," Max said calmly. "Do you want to hear how I know?"

Celestia worried her lip before nodding, her wings fluttering nervously.

"You spent some time looking at me, right? I saw you pacing, but the thing I also saw was your body reacting. Your wings lifting a bit, your tail hitching slightly, but most importantly was when you were going to run out the door, I saw a little bit of a shine on your rear right leg. I could also smell it. When a mare gets excited, you can smell it."

"When Luna's excited, her sex starts producing that fluid that helps prevent injury. When Crystal gets excited, now that she's been fixed at least, she starts to leak that fluid. When human females get excited, they start to produce a similar fluid. It helps the male slide in and out without harming either of the participants. It makes things more pleasurable. Celestia, you are a perfectly healthy, exceptionally beautiful alicorn mare. And if anyone who finds the female form attractive tells you otherwise, you don't pay them any mind. Because they don't matter."

The mare blushed, a ghost of a smile quirking her lips for a moment.

"You said that when I was better you'd-"

"I said I'd be willing to, yes. Anything you two need. If you need me to stand here while you cry, holding on to you the entire time I'll do that. If you need me to leave you alone with your thoughts, I'll wait until you're ready to talk to me. If you want to beat someone up in the training yard, I may ask for another day to heal, but sure. I'll be there. If you want me to prove to you, once and for all, that sex is not a horrible thing and that you were wronged in the most horrible way, I will. If you want me to prove that there is nothing wrong with that beautiful body of yours, from your shimmering eyes to your flowing tail," he said with a playful smile, "I'd be more than happy to."

"I think that I just want to feel safe. I just want..."

Max hobbled back to the bed, slowly pulling himself back onto the cushions and settling the blanket over himself while holding one side of it up for her. The alicorn smiled cautiously but accepted the offer, resting on the bed and shifting slightly, leaving herself curled into his side. He dropped the blanket over her and rested his head on her neck, settling in for a comfortable nap. She was still scared, still radiating a bit of fear but it was a small thing. The past wouldn't hurt her here.

"You can count on me," Max whispered, kissing her forehead and dozing off beside her.

<-(0)->

Luna sat beside the tunnel the diamond dogs were using, nervously shifting her wings while Crystal clung to her side. The younger mare had mentioned tasting strange things from Max and with Luna's encouragement had pursued the information. What followed, Luna still didn't understand. Crystal's emotions swirled, anger to some unnamed being, fear, sorrow, and determination. Determination to protect someone. She refused to explain even at Luna's demands for information. When Luna demanded to at least know why Crystal was being silent, the changeling looked at her and smiled.

"She doesn't want anyone to know. I shouldn't know either, so Max wouldn't want me saying it. I...I agree with him. She will speak when she is ready to."

Luna found herself wrought with worry at the explanation. It had something to do with Tia. The mare who meant so much to her was in pain again and once more the white alicorn was hiding it. Max had only barely pulled it out of her, according to Crystal. If Max thought it was best not to say then it would likely be for the best. He spent the last week with Celestia, seeing to her every need. He fed her, bathed her, made sure she slept. He knew her well, he knew who she was behind her mask, behind the wall she'd raised with the Elements. Even before the Elements, Luna had felt as if there was some barrier between them. Something that had kept them from understanding each other.

"Maximus has her, Luna," Crystal reassured the panicking alicorn. "They just went back to bed. She wants to rest. She trusts him to keep her safe, trust me to let you know if they need help."

Luna exhaled, settling her wings back to her side and nodding.

"Very well. I shall ask Maximus later on tonight what he thinks. I need to know Tia is well. She is-"

"Important to you. I know. You're important to her, too. More than you realize."

Luna looked taken aback by the casual certainty in Crystal's voice but nodded none the less. The older alicorn had cared for her for years, after all. Well, they'd cared for each other, but Tia was the elder. She was the one who remembered the blankets or the food, she was the one who brought the extra from their garden into town for thread or cloth or medicine. She certainly deserved the chance to rest.

'She deserves to be loved.'

Crystal buzzed her wings, getting Luna's attention and pointing a hoof to the tunnel. Not a minute later, a diamond dog stepped out, followed by another, then another. They kept coming, a grand total of twenty seven Diamond Dogs. The entire pack by Luna's guess. They seemed to jubilant at being above ground. They hugged, they cheered, some wept. Like ponies who had escaped the windigoes, from what Starswirl told them. Like ponies who learned that Discord would no longer torment them.

'They were lost for a long time. Is this truly the first time they have seen the sun?'

They were still cautious, weary of the strange ponies watching them from a distance. The elder from the day before approached her, bowing his head.

"Blue One. These are the elders of the pack. Mitzy, the pup-minder. Rusty, our tool-mender. Buster is our metal-expert and scouting master. And I am Duke, Elder alpha of the Rock-Divers."

"A pleasure to make the acquaintance of you and your pack, Elder Duke. I am Princess Luna and this is Crystal, beta mare of my flock. My fellow ruler, Princess Celestia, is currently resting while Max, my flock's stallion watches over her. While I understand you would like to remain outside, we have an outdoor garden in the keep. If you would prefer we can speak there. I shall be happy to answer questions if you would be willing to entertain my own."

The elder dogs exchanged glances before nodding to Duke, who in turn gave a toothy smile to Luna

"An outdoor meeting place would be preferred. I mean your home no insult, Princess Luna, but we only just found the sun again. We would like to remain under it for now."

"Excellent, will your pack require anything? Water, provisions, directions?"

"They shall remain near the tunnel for now. For all that we have longed to see the sunlight, the tunnels have been our home for far too long to just leave them."

Duke walked off to the pack, barking(literally) orders for a few moments before returning with two dogs with weapons and armor crafted from shaped gems. The dogs were not the first owners of the tools, however. They seemed ill-fitting. Like the helmet was too large on the first and the shoulders were too small on the second. They were lovingly cared for, though, the armored dogs moving in such a way as to put the minimal amount of stress on their weapons and armor.

"It is not a problem if these guards remain with us, is it?"

Luna shook her head.

"They are defending their leaders. I see no harm, so long as they remain calm and civil. I wish for you to be comfortable, after all. Please, follow me."

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Max watched the meeting through Crystals eyes, the TV in his room serving as his viewpoint as he lounged in his bed. He knew the alicorn was still sleeping as he could feel her emotions bleeding into him, he could feel the warmth of her body radiating into his own. It was the best of both worlds, in fact. Learn what was going on with the dogs while giving Crystal some additional information or helping her understand what was happening, all while providing physical and emotional support for the white alicorn sleeping beside him in the waking world.

"...Starswirl, a powerful unicorn and a very knowledgeable pony, took Celestia and I as his apprentices. He taught us all he could in the time he had, wide topics from history to economics to the laws of Paradise Valley, the homeland of the ponies. Even with the education he provided we have dedicated ourselves to learning more. We are forming our own library with the help of our subjects, collecting all of the information we can. One of the changeling drones, a changeling that is of similar size to our subjects such as Lemon here," Luna gestured to the servingmare as the pony offered to replenish the alicorn's tea "thank you Lemon, is sorting the information and making certain we do not have the same information scattered in twenty scrolls throughout our library."

"We unfortunately did not manage to retrieve much from our home. The rubble was soaked through with water, and we were ill equipped to deal with the aftermath. We tunneled for many years, finding other packs every now and again by accident. Some were ambivalent to our meetings, others welcomed us. Still others were hostile, though we knew not why. We shared what knowledge we remembered with those who would speak with us, passing it on to the next generation as best we could. But not everything is remembered. Digging strategies, tool-shaping techniques, how to form the ores of the earth into metals, so much was forgotten. The only tools we have left are a few diamond hammers and a blades. Anything less powerful has worn away, while it is just not worth forming new armors from what little we have. Even more tools were lost do accidents or a pup getting lost, unable to find their way back. The ruins are so deep underwater, I fear they shall never see the light of day."

'S'cuse me, Crystal,' Max said, tapping into her vocal cords and mouth.

"Retrieving them would be easier in time. I am aware of several methods of moving about on the ocean floor, while changelings may be able to shape shift ourselves into forms more suitable for underwater exploration. A barge or even blimp with a properly prepared crew could retrieve your homelands artifacts."

Duke blinked in surprised, both at the changeling's sudden interruption as well as her sudden willingness to speak.

"Apologies, Elder Duke, allow me to explain," Luna said, chuckling at their confusion. "I mentioned yesterday that Crystal was removed from her hive, correct? A hive to changelings is in fact much closer than a pack or even flock."

"Nothing is closer than a pack," one of the dogs, Buster, interjected, his hackles rising at the perceived insult.

Duke raised a paw to the other dog, calling for calm.

"You will explain, of course?"

"Oh, yes. I apologize. It is not a matter of my doubting the bonds of your pack. A flock is a pegasus family unit, different from a community in that it is often intended for foal-rearing and close inter-member support. Changelings are even closer than that. They are connected to each other mentally, able to speak to each other over a good distance with a single thought. The one who spoke was not Crystal but Maximus, the stallion of our flock."

Max chuckled nervously, feeling the proto queen slip back and push him into control of her form. It was an alien feeling as much as any other, and he found himself rubbing a fetlock with the changeling mare's hoof.

"I apologize. Sometimes I allow my mouth to run unchecked. The solution is very real of course, it would only take time to bring together sufficient resources and confirming technologies. There is also the possibility of hostile creatures in the oceans which we would have to contend with. Otherwise the history of your race is not as out of reach as you may think."

The dogs nodded dumbly, watching the changeling queen as she acted differently now. She was more relaxed, her voice more calm. She also spoke with conviction, believing every word she spoke.

"And you know how to do this?" Duke asked.

"I know the things we need. Many we do not have at the moment. Rubber hoses would be needed if you wanted dogs or ponies down there, and that's assuming changelings have a way to shape shift gills. I don't know if we can do that, as I am not an expert. I will ask our infiltrator later tonight and inform you of her answer as soon as possible.

"The barge would take time to create, at least two years by my guestimates if we had decent ship builders, which I don't think we have. Metalwork for the helmets, rubber or some other waterproof material for the suits, a way to pump air down to the divers, maybe we could magic something up like water-breathing spells if we really want to get fancy. Then you would have the supplies; you'd need enough food and water for the trip of course, or instead of water you'd need a way to take the salt and organisms out of the ocean water so it would be safe to drink."

"It sounds...time consuming. And expensive," Rusty said, deflating. "We have neither time nor resources at the moment."

"I'll get back to you on those, as there's one big issue that prevents us from moving to do this even if we had the proper equipment. Princess Luna, do you know what I'm alluding to?" Max asked through Crystal.

"The location of the island," she said, nodding. "Even if we were to find all of these things within the next hour, we have no idea where we would send this barge."

"Don't give up on retrieving your people's heritage," Max added, flashing an understanding smile. "Instead focus on recovering from the disaster you suffered. You have a chance to start again. Other packs are still searching for the surface, right? Leave a note or message in your old caves. Send scouts to the nearby packs and help them as well. Pull your race back together, make them strong again. You can rebuild without this information if you need to, you could discover these things again. Finding your homeland is a long-term goal, as is our desire to find the Hive. It is something we would like to do, but aren't ready to attempt yet."

The elder Alpha closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"I...see wisdom in this counsel. Thank you. Other packs may wish to search for the Old Land, though. What would you suggest then?"

"Provide what aid you can or what aid you are willing to, but don't put your pack at risk. You'll get there, but don't be afraid to leave this task to the next generation either. Don't destroy yourselves chasing an dead city that you don't even have the location of. Instead do what I plan on doing in the future. Put a bounty on information. Wealth, items, whatever you want to offer. You'd likely need to talk to sailors about it though, considering where it was and where it is now."

"I do apologize for interrupting your tale, I just felt it necessary to bring that up. There have been quite a few disasters these last few years and sometimes the depression they invoke gets to me. I will likely be joining Princess Luna after lunch along with Princess Celestia, so I look forward to seeing you in person."

Crystal accepted control once more, her presence pressing against him in her own happy way as he pulled back to the dream-hive. The proto queen gave Luna a bright smile before returning her attention to the dogs.

"An interesting trait. Is it only the two of them, or..."

"Changeling's must bond mentally to allow such interactions," Crystal explained, the ears of the pack elders all perking at her change in tone and posture. "Only Maximus and I are currently bonded, but we may add other changelings at a later time. I am a bit hesitant to do so, however, since Max is not used to the bond."

"Thank you Crystal, and tell Max that I appreciate his aid as well. His ideas were most appreciated," Luna told the proto queen. Turning back to the elders, she smiled brightly.

"You have a goal for the future it seems, but what do you intend to do in the interim?"

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Max listened to the planning as best he could and even threw Crystal a few ideas or clarified some statements for her, but for the most part the changeling mare began zoning out the conversation. Which meant most details began to float in one ear and out the other faster than Max could catch them. It was strange, trying to catch details when the owner of the ears wasn't paying any attention. Eventually Max gave up as well, telling Crystal riddles while she attempted to answer them. It was good for her, expanding her knowledge-base and helping her learn more about the world he'd come from.

'Got to go, Crystal. Think Tia's waking up.'

He woke with a smile on his face, the whining of the bored proto queen still reaching him even as he took stock of his situation. He was still beside the white alicorn, his neck resting protectively over her own. She was emitting a little fatigue, but otherwise she was staring at the wall.

"Feel better?"

A single pink eye looked to him, their faces quite close due to their position.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't wake me. I don't even really sleep the same way anymore. Not totally, anyway. I'm sure if I didn't at least do my zone-out thing in the dream-hive I'd pass out from mental fatigue."

Shifting onto his side he pulled her to his chest in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry for pushing you earlier, Tia, but you're scaring me. The first time I think something may be wrong, I find you abusing the Elements. The second thing that comes up was...promise me you'll talk to me, or someone else if you don't trust me to understand. Just talk to someone."

"I do trust you. Stars, I still don't know why I said that. I don't-you promise? Anything I want to say? No matter how weird or bad. Or scary or stupid?"

"Anything."

"I used to wet the bed as a foal. I did it once when Luna was sleeping with me and I told her it was a leak in the roof."

Max cocked his head.

"Did she buy it?"

"She spent two hours the next day helping me patch the roof of our cottage."

Max nodded, looking to the cushions they were resting on.

"You grew out of it, right? I won't have you trying to tell me you spilled tea?"

The alicorn regarded him in silence for a beat. It was as if she was waiting for him to laugh, say 'just kidding, I think you're a freak!' and trot off. Instead he leaned in closer, whispering conspiratorially.

"When I was a little kid I was so into a cartoon, I peed myself because I didn't want to go to the bathroom. I blamed our dog, and my dad started yelling at it while cleaning up the mess."

He smirked, fondly remembering his foolishness.

"My mom grounded me later. I couldn't go out to play or watch TV or anything like that for a week."

"She discovered your lie?"

"Humans wear clothes all the time. I had thrown my ruined clothes in the laundry and my mom put two and two together. She wasn't too happy about that, but my dad would still joke about it years later. You remember what I told you? What I said I wanted to be for you? A friend, a confidant if you need it. Someone you can say anything to. I trust you, Crystal and Luna to watch out for me. Luna trusts all of us to look out for her."

Pressing his muzzle against her cheek, he rubbed his nose against her.

"We want you to trust us to do the same. You're not a unicorn filly looking out for a pegasus filly anymore. We're all adults here, we're all capable of taking on that responsibility. And we're all damn well capable of defending each other. Even if my version of defending is just being a meat-shield."

Max sighed.

"It's coming up on lunch. We could get in a bath if you'd like, or just head over to speak with Luna and the Diamond Dogs. Or we could do something else. I'm sure Luna would let you get away with a token appearance if you don't want to talk to them."

The alicorn rose drone the bed, stretching her wings to their full extension.

"Lunch sounds lovely, actually. I believe I shall meet with Luna and decide on further plans later."

Max watched as the large white mare stepped off the bed, stretching her legs in an almost languid fashion. He chuckled in spite of the situation, causing her to look back as she stretched her forelegs, flank in the air and pointing directly at him.

"Oh, don't stop on my account," he said, rising into a sitting position and flaring his wings in his own stretch/display.

Stepping off the bed himself, he ran through his own stretching. The fact that he kept his smile focused on her the entire time didn't seem to help her recover from her earlier embarrassment. Finishing and moving to the door, he shoved her with his shoulder as he passed by.

"Don't be embarrassed about your body. I'm just learning what the local species consider attractive. Even then, I bet most mares would kill for a figure like yours."

"Flatterer. I am too tall, my legs too skinny. I was always awkward as a young mare, now I am an oddity. One of two oddities. Luna is closer to the pony ideal, but even she is much too tall now."

"Really?" Max asked. "I must be ugly as sin to most ponies in that case. Too tall, too skinny, no fur, horn looks like I grew up with scoliosis of the horn."

He never lost his smile though. Instead he looked back at the alicorn as he opened the door.

"Good thing the only mares whose opinion I value think I'm at least tolerable. Besides, old male saying. When you get into a relationship, be the ugly one. If I'm the ugly one, then that makes Luna and Crystal the pretty ones. And if Luna's pretty, where does that leave you?"

"With a stallion who enjoys talking logical circles in order to make me feel better," Celestia sniped, a small smile on her lips.

"Exactly. Now let's get some food in you. I need some water, too. Would also like to get Crack to take a look at my shoulder and eye. These patches are driving me nuts."

"I can hardly see that being a specifically difficult endeavor."

Max clutched his chest, gasping dramatically.

"Oh, she strikes so deep!"

Slumping to the ground in the hall, Max put a fetlock over his eyes.

"Oh, I can feel my strength fading, I'm not long for this world, already I an see the next life and it's..."

He peaked under his foreleg, finding a pair of knights staring at him in confusion.

"Filled with sweaty stallions. Shoot, I didn't think I warranted eternal damnation. No cute mares in water balloon fights?"

"Hurry, Maximus. Sometime before night?" Celestia chided, poking him with a wing.

"Hark, what joy my heart sings with. A vision of beauty come to grant my dying wish. A kiss? Nay, I would not sully her lips with such a request. Listen close, fair creature of light. My wish, my last request...is that you give Luna a noogie."

With that the stallion fell limp to the floor, his tongue hanging out in feigned death.

He felt the alicorn's amusement even as she sighed, picking him up and setting him on her back.

"I suppose he is too large to dispose of through the garderobe. Perhaps I shall ask Luna what she wishes to do with the body."

As the alicorn began carrying him down the hallway her stomach cried out for nourishment. She stopped in her tracks, embarrassment blooming in her emotions while Max snickered in amusement. She let loose a nervous giggle in response before her stomach spoke again. This time Max laughed, shifting off of the alicorn's back and moving down the hall.

"Come on," he said, still grinning brightly. "Let's go make sure that wild animal you're hiding in there is fed. Otherwise it may eat someone."

Author's Note

This is in fact something I have considered was a possibility in their past several times. As I said, my headcanon for the two was that Luna and Celestia were both separated from their families and banded together, Celestia taking care of Luna as the elder filly in an abandoned cottage. A unicorn caring for a pegasus. That wasn't a safe time, though. There are no large bases of power, Discord roams free, Ponies are driven mad and tribalism is still a very real thing. Celestia and Luna wanted better for the future. So they decided that with their new power, they were going to carve their dreams out of a world that abandoned them.

And I can easily see Celestia doing anything to protect Luna.

I promise, teasing is only going to last so long.

Freedom of Release

Luna brightened when She saw Celestia enter the dining room, the changeling stallion holding open the door in his magic. Whatever dark thoughts or secrets had worried her earlier were apparently forgotten, as the two were smiling and laughing easily. The smile even reached the white alicorn's eyes, something Luna hadn't seen for a while. Not since the white mare had jubilated over their victory against Discord two years ago. Before that it was even longer.

'And that is why I wish for her to be with us. She is happy, happier than even she realizes.'

The two were speaking to each other comfortably, but the moment Celestia took notice of her, the older mare's eyes rose. Celestia entered the dining area, looking around and nodding to herself. She then approached Luna, giggling the whole time.

"Luna, I have something to give you. It was the dying wish of a stallion dear to both of us."

Luna frowned, confused. Tia's attitude was completely wrong for such a subject so why-

The line of thought ended abruptly as the white alicorn used her magic to pull Luna into her side, locking the lunar princess's head under the larger alicorn's foreleg. Before Luna could do more than cry out in surprise Celestia's second hoof greeted her, vigorously rubbing the blue mane.

"Tia, stop! What madness has taken you? It was Maximus, wasn't it? Why do you do this to me? I shall avenge this betrayal!"

"Psh, this is revenge for what you did to me all night. Hell, this doesn't even start to cover it. All night Luna? Really? I mean I get joking and all but all fucking night? And in the dream-hive, too?"

"I understand! I will not do that again while you are unable to participate," Luna whined, still trapped Celestia's hooves.

"Oh you are damn right it won't. Hey Crystal, you willing to help me? We can stay with Tia afterwards. I was thinking glue Luna to the wall, maybe forget her there until morning."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Max stared at Luna, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

The mare slumped, defeated.

"You would dare. I surrender, I will not do such a cruel thing again. I promise."

Celestia chuckled at Luna's pout, giving her one last rub of her mane before moving across the room to her own seat.

"Are the Diamond Dogs on their way or will they be present for the evening meal?"

"They will be along shortly, actually. They requested a chance to retrieve something from their den. I hope you do not mind waiting for a short while."

Celestia's belly responded before she had a chance to, vocalizing its displeasure at the delay.

"Oh dear. Do you know how long it will be?"

"Your highnesses, the uh, dogs are back," a knight said, entering the dining hall. "They brought a few things as well, it seems to be food. Shall we send them in?"

The alicorn nodded, running a quick spell through her mane to straighten it after Celestia's assault.

"Yes. Allow them entrance. I am curious as to what they have brought."

The door was opened and the Elders entered, looking around the large dining hall in curiosity before taking places. Crystal made her way to a seat beside Luna and Max was about to as well, but noticed the other alicorn was alone. Rolling his eyes, he moved over to the other side of the table and took a seat, earning himself a grateful smile from the white mare.

The Elders were followed by several other dogs, each carrying stone trays that were covered, likely containing some sort of dish. From the opposite end of the room the pony chef entered, looking put out as the staff laid out their own meals at the table.

"No worries, Emerald. It's a meeting and there are a lot of people here. May even learn something," Max told the stallion.

The chef nodded and Luna watched in anticipation while the dogs lifted up the tops of the trays. Several were plates of fungi, mushrooms, a moss and even a few vegetables that in truth should have been incapable of growing underground. The third tray though caused both of the alicorns to gag. It was some sort of charred flesh, cut into strips and laid out in what was an otherwise interesting display.

"Fish?" Max asked, looking over the third tray. "Looks like shrimp as well."

"Crawlers," Mitsy corrected. "They often hide in underwater pools. Easy enough to find if you look near the shores for their mud-hills."

"Oh! Crawdads! Called them crayfish as well. There were several names for those back home. Never actually tried them though. Heard Cajun cooking used them, lots of spices as well," the changeling said cheerfully. "The fish looks amazing. There's a lake not too far from here you could use for fishing. Lots of fish since the only things that eat them would otherwise be wildlife. What do you do for seasoning?"

Mitsy beamed at the stallion's words praise.

"A little salt for preserving them, otherwise just a few subterranean herbs. Difficult to find, but they add so much flavor."

"You cooked this?" Celestia asked the female.

"No, I only teach others. I do enjoy cooking, but there are other things to do and not enough paws."

Luna brightened, though she was still looking a little ill with the smell of the fish.

"Oh, before I forget. Elders, this is Maximus. He was the one who was speaking to you through Crystal earlier today. The white alicorn is Princess Celestia, co-ruler of this land alongside myself."

Max and Celestia both bowed politely in greeting before Celestia's stomach gurgled once more, causing the alicorn to flush.

"My apologies, I did not eat this morning."

Luna nodded to her own servingponies and the lids of the pony dishes were removed, revealing several roast vegetable dishes, a bread loaf with a creamy dip sitting in the middle(something Max had suggested, or so she had heard) as well as a hay and oat balls, held together with honey.

"I would like to mention before we all start ponies and diamond dogs have different diets," Max spoke up. "I don't know how your species processes it, but before Discord stranded me on this world I was an omnivore like yourselves and I could not eat hay. By the same token ponies are not big on meat dishes, or so I've seen. Keep this in mind and if you are uncertain of the ingredients, please ask."

Luna nodded. She actually hadn't thought of that. It would have been horrible to find that the diamond dogs were incapable of eating something after the fact. It would likely be a good way to start an incident.

The group began passing out portions of various dishes, though Luna was keeping her distance from the fish and...whatever those things were. In fact she couldn't understand why anyone would eat-

Luna and Celestia both stared slack-jawed as the stallion began adding fish and even a crawler to his plate with an exuberant smile on his face.

'He did mention he was omnivorous.'

She watched with almost a morbid curiosity as he cut loose a small portion of the fillet, the tender flesh parting with only the barest amount of effort. Stabbing it with a fork, he brought it to his mouth and took a bite.

"Mmm, been a while," he hummed to himself. "Reminds me of Bass. My grandfather was a fisherman, showed me how to cut and clean fish. Delicious.."

"The vegetables are interesting, I do not believe I've had this one before. How did you manage to grow them underground?" Celestia asked, pointedly ignoring the stallion beside her.

"Crystal-lights. They can be altered with the proper magic and knowledge, causing them to shine with the proper amounts of light to grow plants. We also use them for mining lights," Duke answered. "The fruits are delicious, thought the skin leaves something to be desired."

Luna bit back a chuckle, seeing the elder dog eating the peel of the orange. It certainly played into Maximus' comment of not being aware of the foods that were served.

"The peel is to be removed from the fruit," Celestia responded, using her magic to nick a fresh orange with a knife and remove the peel. "The fruit is actually also used for a sweet drink. I shall make certain to send some for you later. We normally only use it for morning meal."

The elders all looked curiously to the orange fruit , several taking it and using their claws to remove the peels. Luna was just about to take another bite of her meal when a loud crack reached her ears. Everyone at the table, diamond dogs and ponies both, winced at the sound. Crystal wimpered, spitting a crawler back onto her plate while nursing her jaw with her hooves.

"Like this, Crystal," Max instructed, using a knife to leverage the shell of the crawler open. "The shell is pretty tough, don't bother with it."

It was then that Luna noticed that Crystal had also placed a bit of fish on her plate and in fact had already tried it. The feeling of revulsion died a quick death as she watched Max taste the different meat dishes. He'd said his species was omnivorous and he'd mentioned eating things like this before. It was merely the fact that the information was previously just that: information. Now the alicorn had to deal with the fact in reality.

"Max, you showed Tia this Pizza dish, are there any um, fish dishes you know?"

"Fish...I mostly only remember cooking it like this, only with different spices. Lemon-pepper, garlic and herbs, Italian seasoning. Of course, I could just go to the corner market and buy a few bottles of various spice mixes. Here I'd have to try and figure them out myself," he answered, chuckling. "Maybe...tuna salad? That was always a good one."

Luna nodded, her eyes tracking to the remaining fish cuts. Now that she wasn't attempting to immediately dismiss it as horrific, she found herself filling with morbid curiosity.

"Max, you said that you were an omnivore. Did you ever, um, eat anything that was..."

"Humans were the only sapient creatures. I never ate anything that could say hi," Max answered quickly. "It was actually a philosophical question I heard being discussed in some circles. Would you do that? Eat something that could speak to you? I...don't know if I could. It seems like it would be wrong, eating another sapient creature. That may just be because as the only sapient species, we associated the idea of sapience with humanity. Maybe others would have a different idea, but I don't. I find my current diet close enough to be worrying. Almost parasitic, if not for the fact we've seen no negative impact on you."

"I'm sorry, you said he feeds on you? How?" Buster asked.

Max smiled cautiously at Luna from across the table.

"It's an odd thing, actually. I feel energized by the emotions ponies radiate. Positive emotions that are focused on me provide the best source of nourishment while negative emotions make me feel ill. Like the heat that radiates from a fire warms you. In return for providing me with this energy, I do everything in my power to keep that mare happy. It's why I don't feel too bad about feeding on the emotion, it's closer to symbiotic this way. A relationship where both partners benefit."

"Actually, I'm curious if changelings could feed on other species. It would be nice, knowing that if I became separated in a strange place I could survive even if the locals weren't ponies. I know griffons are a thing. In that story I remember, diamond dogs made only one or two appearances. Griffons made several. There's always the chance they'll still be kind of...wild but if not I think it would be interesting, speaking to them."

"What do you mean when you say they may be wild?" Celestia asked, looking nervous.

"He means they may not have advanced beyond the most basic of tribal structures," Crystal explained. "I've gone over some of the things he learned and because it's so far in the future the entirety of his knowledge could be very hit or miss. The majority of his ancestors' advancement in society occurred over the course of a few thousand years, with no outside interference. Hell, they went from sail boats and beast-pulled wagons to a human standing on the moon in under a thousand years. With outside interactions it's very possible a civilization could appear in a much shorter time."

"For all I know it was contact with ponies that allowed the griffons to advance. The term in that case would be uplifting. You raise them to another level of technological advancement. Maybe the same went with the minotaurs, maybe the minotaurs have their own culture already and they uplift the griffons, maybe it's vice-versa. Maybe there are other civilizations that I've no idea of. Dragons at least had the very basics of a society, a hierarchy. A dragon lord who could summon any and all dragons to him at any time. Although I think that was more like a magic stick...I don't remember and until we have a dragon problem there's no reason to worry about it."

"Tia and I may take you to task on these species later," Luna said after a pause. "You were correct in identifying the diamond dogs, it would be foolish to assume the other species do not exist."

"I'm always happy to help. Just remember that I don't know much in the way of specifics. I can visually identify them, certainly, but what they eat? What they think like, what their cultures are? I can only take educated guesses and even those are going to be difficult to make. It's like reverse paleontology; trying to guess at what something was hundreds of years in the past based on what the future result was. A future result that is likely unobtainable at this point."

Duke cocked his head in curiosity.

"Could you explain that? You speak as though you know of the future."

"I, it isn't the future, it's a possible outcome, one that I'm not keen on seeing. For instance, Princess Luna and Crystal met you in the caverns correct? I was the one who sent her down there, or at least warned them about the possible dangers such a large cavern underneath us could prove to be in the future. When you read a story and you notice a possible issue that could come back to harm the characters, you can't warn them."

Max took another bite of his meal, enjoying the familiar textures of fish.

"Even if you could, your interference would change the entire outcome of the story. While a hero may have fallen for a trap and become captured, if you save them they will no longer go through that experience. If you prevent them from becoming injured in a fight, the next few fights would be easier. If you save a single individual during the first battle, that individual could save another who would have died in the next fight. You break the chain of events."

"As a better example, let me use you and your pack. What would you have done had Princess Luna and Crystal not found you? You were tunneling very close to what I'd guess would be the bottom of the ocean. What would you have done if you found the cavern?"

"We use those for new dens. If it wasn't occupied we would have moved in and used it as a basecamp." Buster answered.

"Right, so what would have happened if during a really bad rainstorm, the disaster I've warned the princesses about came to pass. What would happen if this castle collapsed into the earth? How many dogs would you be losing?"

The ears of the entire group of diamond dogs dropped, realization settling in. Duke, unsurprisingly as he was the chosen leader, recovered first.

"Not...all of them. Such an event is common enough underground but if it caught us by surprise, we may lose some pups, maybe an elder. I know Rusty sleeps soundly, too many hours of repairing tools means he doesn't hear as well as a young dog. I understand, though."

"There's also the chance that after such a disaster the survivors of your pack could have blamed Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. You would have taken a hit after surviving one disaster, leaving you even worse off and believing the ponies attacked you. Instead you are sitting at the table talking about the future."

"We don't need you to join us, Elder Duke. I'd personally be delighted to have a new neighbor just as much as having a few diamond dogs joining this little town. The most important thing to me right now is to get that cavern filled. That means that for now we need to make certain that you have a way back down to your old den that doesn't use the cavern so that we can start filling it. If we can prevent a disaster and make a few friends along the way, well, that's more than I'd hoped for."

Celestia nodded.

"We would be delighted to host you for as long as you require, Elder Duke. Be that as refugees looking to settle elsewhere or as new citizens. In the meantime rest, enjoy the sunlight and the fresh air."

"Indeed," Luna agreed. "Stars know I would be a much different pony if I did not spend my foalhood staring up at the moon and the stars each night. When Discord left them in the sky properly, at least."

"Actually, if you don't mind I'd like to pick Rusty's brain on metals and any metallurgy he may know. We're currently attempting to create a bit of a mining and metalworking economy of our own. A way to replace or repair what weapons and armor we have should the need arise," Max added.

The mentioned diamond dog looked a bit disturbed at the thought.

"Wouldn't that be...painful?"

"It is a turn of phrase," Crystal giggled. "It means he wishes to learn what you know. He's not literally going to do something to your brain."

Duke looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"I have many questions of my own. Would a trade of knowledge be sufficient? I would like to learn all I am able about this new land we find ourselves in."

"If a trade of knowledge would be preferable, then we would be more than happy to oblige. Max will likely take Rusty to the library, where we may record the information for later use. Will you be needing to retrieve a scribe from your pack?"

"I am afraid that, being underground for so long-" Duke started, unsure how to finish his thought.

"You don't have paper, I would assume," Max said. "I'm certain we can lend you some, or even...ah. Yes, that would be a problem."

Luna opened her mouth only to click it shut a moment later. Of course a race that had been trapped underground would lack paper and proper writing implements like quills. They may be able to use something like stone tablets but the easiest way to learn to write was through practice. The walls of their caves would have been filled with writing, but none of it was easily transportable.

"We...I would be delighted to speak with you at your den, that you may properly record the information."

Duke nodded, a smile coming over his features.

"Then we will leave Rusty in the paws of your...changeling. We are grateful for your aid and hope this is the start of many profitable meetings. May our packs flourish."

<-(0)->

All four of them, the alicorn's and the larger changelings, were bathing that evening. It had been a grueling day, one that had left all of them exhausted and ready for bed. Still, they'd needed the information. While they still lacked a forge Rusty had the knowledge of most metals and ores that could be found in the earth. He'd recited for Max a good amount of he knew while Max wrote down the information in English on several scrolls. It would need to be translated later but at least it was recorded.

Luna had likewise experienced a drawn out explanation, though in her case she was the one speaking of the local land. History, threats, local species of both sapient and non-sapient creatures, plants, fruits, spices. She was hoarse by the time she returned, keeping her answers down to either very short phrases or preferably nods or head-shakes.

Max sighed as the water warmed him, hearing Crystal buzzing through the pool in poorly contained boredom. She'd been left to watch over the white alicorn while Max and Luna were preoccupied, but Celestia had mostly busied herself with study or rest. As a mercy to the proto queen, Celestia had even taken a quick trip to the training yard, allowing Crystal to spar against the Knights. The queen had torn many of them apart. Metaphorically speaking, as Celestia was able to issue enough warnings and reminders to the mare throughout her 'fun' that she avoided inflicting serious injuries.

The changeling flicked an ear, feeling a source of emotion drawing closer. It wasn't love, so it was likely-

"Maximus, do you believe..."

He opened a single eye, the evening light currently being supplemented by magic-infused crystals as the group rested from their long day. Celestia was looking around, the anxiety she was feeling obvious even without his empathic abilities.

"We don't have to do anything, Celestia. Don't push yourself into something you don't want."

"I am aware, but I keep finding myself asking the same questions. I want this part of my life behind me, to know for once and for all I am whole. Untarnished. You said you would be willing, did you not? I do not know if I would ever accept Luna's invitation, if I can love her like that but..."

Max bit back a sigh. He didn't expect her to keep on that idea in all honesty. Celestia always came across as the proper one. Sex in the conversation? She'll call you out. Fart joke? She tuts in disgust. Poking fun at Luna? She was just starting to participate, barely. So the idea of the alicorn going zero to sixty wasn't big on his list of possibilities.

"I'll need to talk to Luna."

Celestia's white fur turned pink in the dim light but she nodded.

"You are, well, hers after all. I suppose it would be wrong otherwise. But please do not tell her why."

Max sent a call to Crystal via the link and the changeling shaped motorboat slowed long enough to catch Luna's attention before approaching, blue alicorn in tow.

"Luna, Tia's asked me to stay with her tonight. For a lesson in anatomy."

The younger mare looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened in realization.

"Tia, if you wish, we would be happy to-"

"It's not like that; not at this point anyway," Max cut her off. "Maybe in the future, but for now this is... it's something else."

"It has to do with the anger you were feeling earlier, doesn't it?" Luna asked after a pause.

Celestia paled, remembering that the changelings sometimes shared memories.

"Crystal told you about-?"

Luna placed a wet hoof to the white alicorn's muzzle, silencing her.

"She told me something upset Maximus but that it was not her place to make such a reveal. That you would speak to me when you are ready. She said no more of the topic and I respect her decision. It was the proper one."

"He just earned your trust," Crystal added quietly, her wings burbling in the water. "I did not want to shatter it in such a cruel way. I was silent and shall remain so until such a time comes that you are ready. Though I did tell Luna that you loved her. More than even she has realized."

The solar alicorn looked genuinely surprised at the reveal.

"I thank you, Crystal. I trust most ponies easily with simple things but such items as I have shared with Max, I do not remember sharing with any. Thank you for helping him keep his word."

Taking a deep breath, Celestia stood straighter as she looked to Luna.

"Luna, would you allow Maximus to accompany me-"

"Yes, Tia. I would prefer it be as a member of my flock but...I assume this has to do with the revelation? I would do anything for you, Tia. A simple request for some time with my stallion is a strange but not horrid request. Besides, perhaps you would be convinced of the benefits of such a relationship?"

"It doesn't have to be now, Sunny," Max added. "I actually thought you'd give yourself some more time to rest."

"This has bothered me for years. One way or another, Maximus, I will learn the truth. Either that you speak the truth, or..."

"Your faith is not misplaced," Crystal chimed in. "If you ever become lonely, we shall be here for you as well. For as long as we need to be."

The solar alicorn nodded, choking back her emotions.

"I thank you, Crystal. I have been unforgiving of you and your kind. I misjudged you horribly."

Crystal giggled, shaking her head.

"No you didn't. I've just been learning a lot in the last few weeks."

Max lifted himself out of the water shortly after Celestia began to dry herself off. This wasn't going to be for feeding, or for love, or even for fun. It would be to keep his word.

"Maximus?"

He flicked his ear, turning to find Luna watching him cautiously.

"Treat her well."

"As if I'd do anything else," he answered with a smile.

The blue mare nodded, pulling Crystal into a hug as she watched him leave. Luna was upset, but not at the request. It was the fact that Celestia didn't trust the younger alicorn with her pain. That hurt Luna more than any blade or barbed tongue.

<-(0)->

For what felt like the hundredth time, Max bit back a tired sigh. He and Celestia were in the alicorn's room now, but it seemed all of her courage had fled the moment they had sat down on the bed.

He could feel the confusion, the fear, the anxiety wafting off of her and he wasn't really sure where to begin. This wasn't something he could rush after all. She'd asked for proof, but how does one go about proving such a thing without falling into the same category as those who had wronged her years ago?

Finally he sat up, ignoring the bloom of curiosity and nervousness from across the bed. He focused on the proto queen, currently burying her muzzle in Luna's groin as the blue mare returned the favor, both enjoying the contact and the pleasure immensely. With such a close connection, it didn't take long for him to react, his plates slipping open and revealing himself to the white mare across from him.

"What are you doing?" Celestia asked.

"I know you saw it, but that was in a different setting. Do you want to know about it, touch it? We need to start somewhere or we'll be here all night. Talk to me, Tia. I told you I'd work with you."

She stared uncomfortably at his shaft for a moment before nodding.

"H-how does it feel?"

"Going to need you to be a little more specific, Tia. If you're talking about the skin of it, touch it. If you're talking about penetration, I don't know. I vaguely remember feeling a shared pleasure from when Crystal and I did something weird with the link, but I don't have a vagina. But this is why we're here. You do whatever you want. I'll let you know if you do something wrong or painful to me."

That last bit seemed to confuse her.

"You can be hurt there as well?"

"Oh boy," he said, rolling his eyes. "One of the best things about this form are the genital plates, princess. With both the shaft or my previously free-hanging fruit, any impact will send me to the ground. The pain is excruciating and it usually reverberates; it's not a one time burst of pain."

"So a blow there would-"

"Take most guys out of a fight for at least a few seconds. They'd probably be tender for a while after the hit, as well," Max explained, just a little uncomfortable. It was like he'd just given her his kryptonite and the alicorn was considering using it.

She sat up and scooted closer, her eyes looking over his lower body.

"Where are the, uh, testicles?"

"Inside. I assume it's because I'm not exactly warm blooded like a pony stallion, but mine are all in here," he answered, tapping about the level of the intestines and bladder. "In fact I have no idea how many I have, I just know that it felt like more than two."

The alicorn cautiously reached out a hoof, running it along the soft insides of the genital plates, her mood flashing for a moment before she pulled back and lashed out at his sensitive bits. Max winced, his legs crossing instinctively and causing him to fall over but there was no pain. It had been a feint.

"I am sorry, Maximus. I know you are attempting to help but I need to know-"

"You owe me for that one, Sun-butt," Max groaned in irritation, shifting back into a sitting position. His dick was currently getting soft from the lack of stimulation and he played with it a bit, stroking it while allowing his connection to the horny pair in the other room to bring it back up.

"It rises and falls with arousal, correct?"

Max nodded, watching as she leaned in. She poked it with her hoof, giggling a little as it bobbed back into place. A quick but gentle push and she began experimenting with its range of motion, slowing when she saw his legs tense in anticipation of pain.

"You swell up as well. I told you that before, remember?"

She nodded, beginning to run her hoof over his rings in curiosity and sending a shiver down his spine. The reaction did not go unnoticed, and she repeated the action several more times. He closed his eyes, allowing the pleasure to flood him for a moment before a strange sensation brushed against the very tip of his penis.

"You know, it's possible to make a person orgasm without proper intercourse."

"I am aware," the alicorn answered, continuing her exploration of his lower body with her hooves. She stopped, looking at the glowing pre-ejaculate that was stuck to her hoof before bringing it closer. She niffed it briefly before gingerly touching it to her tongue.

Max winced at that there weren't many reasons he could think of that would teach a mare that, beside-

"Did you learn it from a book or-"

"It wasn't a book. You taste better, actually. Sweeter. I assume it is the love?"

He nodded.

"You know you can experience that sort of orgasm as well."

She blinked, staring up at him.

"I can?

"Would you like a demonstration? One orgasm, dick-free. Promise."

She looked at his tool nervously before nodding.

"You keep saying...I suppose I need to do this for my answer, do I not? Is there anything I must do-"

"Relax for once," he whispered gently. "I trusted you to not hurt mine, now trust me to return the favor."

He moved around her body, leaving a few gentle kisses and nips along her side and flank while taking note of her already-rising wings. Her arousal was already progressing even if she didn't realize it.

"If I do anything, and I mean anything you don't like, just tell me to stop. Okay?"

The mare nodded, watching him over her back with a nervous anticipation he'd kind of been expecting. There was also fear, likely the fear that he'd go too fast for her comfort.

He paced himself, using a hoof over her buttocks and kneading the soft flesh to begin the stimulation. He'd not lied when he said she was beautiful. Her voice, her almost glowing pink eyes that were watching him over her wings, the white hair that he was even now running his black hooves through. The contrast between their colors was just astounding. Even in the dark of the moonlight he could see her coat, her feathers. He moved closer, his muzzle brushing against her cheeks in gentle contact before shifting closer to her tail.

The mare clenched her body as he brushed closer to her sex, so he moved back to his exploration of the surrounding flesh. He gave the right flank a gentle nip, drawing a gasp of surprise before beginning to trail back to her flower. This time it wasn't as bad, her body still tensing slightly at his approach but her tail bobbed upwards, drawing a smile to his lips.

"And you were worried it wasn't working right," he playfully scoffed using a hoof to brush her tail out of the way. Sure enough she was damp already, a little of the liquid having been caught in her tail and causing it to cling to her. Her tear-shaped opening was already engorging, though he didn't think she was all the way there yet.

"It looks like it's working fine to me. But let's make sure."

He slowly traced his tongue up the outside of her swelling lips, drawing another gasp, this one of surprise. It swiftly shifted into a coo, the sensation new but certainly not undesirable. He traced the outer lips for a few laps, watching in fascination as they slowly ballooned at his touch. She moaned, the first real sound of sexual pleasure he'd heard from her yet. All it had taken was a good deal of oral stimulation.

'Crystal would have already squealed.'

"Ready for the next step?"

She looked back over her wings, nodding curiously as he ducked back under her tail. With a quick flick of his tongue, he lapped at some of the gathering moisture, causing her body to flinch at the sudden contact. He ran his tongue around the outer track one last time before slipping inside, her emotions flaring with surprise at the action.

He explored her cautiously, watching every flinch and every surge of emotion for any sign of fear. That emotion had faded it seemed, her experience thus far being more than enough to believe the stallion's words. She trusted him, and in a way she trusted nobody else. It was time she was rewarded for that trust.

His thin muscle pressed a little deeper into her body, drawing another moan as well as a bloom of embarrassment from the alicorn. She shifted on the bed but otherwise did nothing, her emotions speaking only of enjoyment. He thrust deeper, tasting what he could and taking note of which locations drew the best responses, mapping out her vaginal walls for the final push. It was just about time. She'd either enjoy it or ask him to stop.

He pulled back out, drawing a confused mewl from his target before giving her flank a playful nip and diving back in. Celestia's canal rippled at the sudden renewal of his assault, his tongue moving much more quickly for any location that had previously drawn even the smallest reaction. He heard a muffled moan, the earlier shifting being the white mare burying her muzzle in her pillows. It was going well though. She radiated pleasure, happiness. It was what he was looking for. The alicorn was experiencing nothing but pleasure. He pulled out, suckling on her swollen clit and drawing another pleasure-filled twitch, a small stream of her natural lubrication leaking from her body.

He sat there for a little longer, alternating between his exploration of her winking tunnel and the stimulation of her clitoris. As he was working on the little button, she tensed. A high-pitched squeal left her lips, muffled as it was by the pillows. Her sex clamped shut ahead of him, a small squirt of mare-cum being his reward.

He waited, a grin on his face as he listened to her labored breath. Luna was much more used to this sort of exertion but even she had needed rest between particularly powerful orgasms. When her breathing was back under control he nuzzled her flank tenderly. She flinched at the unexpected contact but quickly relaxed, a tired giggle escaping her lips.

"So do you still think you're broken?" He asked her jokingly.

She didn't respond, merely rising to her shaking hooves and moving towards him. She sat down heavily in front of him, thee her forelegs around his shoulders, and pulled him into a deep and powerful kiss.

Max blinked, confused at the outpouring of emotion. It wasn't love, it was everything. Pain, happiness, fear, lust, nervousness, it was like her brain couldn't decide on what to feel and just said 'fuck it, run 'em all'. She twisted, pinning him to the bed in a bout of aggression that surprised him. As she pulled back from the kiss, now standing over him, he frowned.

"Tia, how are you feeling?"

"I don't know," she said in a half-whimper, half crazed giggle. "You, haha, you were right. It felt wonderful, but that means that the other, that he- he was wrong. He hurt me, and I should hate myself for even thinking about this but I want to know at the same time. Just that alone felt amazing but L-Luna would not stop talking about actual intercourse. She told me it was amazing when you used your mouth but that-"

Max put a hoof up to her mouth.

"You're rambling. And I told you I'd do anything you wanted. I kinda' need some help right now anyway. I love hearing a mare experiencing pleasure, you know. That's why..."

The mare lifted her hind legs up and gazed down her belly, seeing the erection the changeling was even now sporting. It seemed even bigger now actually, and it likely was. The connection he had used to first free it from his plates wasn't quite that strong and he currently had a gleam on his muzzle from her orgasm. Not as much cum as the other mares produced, but enough to fill his nose with her scent.

"I-it's bigger."

He winced, feeling the alicorn's fear return as she stared at the shaft currently bobbing between them.

"It's the proper length to make a mare feel good. It won't hurt. It may feel strange and you may get nervous, but I won't force this on you. You can even call this right now. I'll leave if you want."

She worried her lip before looking him in the eyes.

"Your certain it won't hurt?"

"Use your magic. Guide it in, then lean back into it. That way you can say how deep you want it to go."

Her wings flapped nervously as she looked under her body, her horn swinging uncomfortably close to his face. She shuffled forward a little and lowered her flank, closing her eyes and grasping his shaft in her magic. Max felt the tip entering her ready entrance with almost no effort, the pointed end slipping in almost unnoticeably in Celestia's current state of arousal. She noticed the ring though, her eyes widening as her body clenched, letting her realize just how deep he already was.

She was panting even now, her nerves and lust leaving Max to try and shut out the emotions. An infinitely more difficult prospect when you're sharing bodily fluids with an individual. She pushed back again and Max felt the first ring fold slightly, giving way as it slipped inside of her body.

"Oh sweet stars," she gasped, accelerating her descent as her body began to cling around him more and more quickly. "Sweet stars, the, they feel-"

She shuddered, another clench of her body obliterating any further words. The nervousness was almost entirely gone, drowned in the sea of Celly's pleasure. She pushed back faster until she landed on his hips, feeling him pressing deep into her body. It wasn't painful though, there wasn't a bit of pain to be found. Just the mind-numbing pleasure of her previously ignored sex being treated properly.

"This is much better, right?" Max whispered, drawing a dazed nod from the alicorn.

She shifted, her wings flaring as the shaft in her depths shifted and scraped at her insides in all the right ways. She looked down, her eyes finally finding some focus.

"N-now what?"

The changeling chuckled, using his own magic to grasp her hips and rock her forward before slowly bringing her back onto his shaft. The mare seemed to understand as she began repeating the motion herself, the look of bliss returning to her features as she moved. For what felt like hours she rocked against him, rhythm leaving his inner thigh and her flank soaked in their combined fluids.

Celestia slowed once more, rocking left and right slightly as she rested on him. Max was staring at the ceiling by now, close to his peak but the constant slowing or shifting wasn't allowing him that final release. He bucked slightly, inwardly cursing himself as the mare's eyes widened in surprise. Max realized why a moment later, feeling a strange sensation deep inside the Solar alicorn.

"W-what is that?"

"Something not possible with human females. Since it didn't hurt though...I guess it's normal."

His words set something off in her. She stared at him, chuckling even as her eyes watered with tears.

"You, you've been watching this entire time haven't you? For pain or fear."

He nodded and she gave another teary-eyed chuckle, shaking her head. She pulled off of him, moving beside him and lowering her head to the bed.

"Mount me."

"Tia, are you sure you want-"

"Mount me, please. I trust you. Stars and sun above, I trusted you this far already. Please, just...be gentle."

He rolled to his hooves, coming around behind her and nuzzling her flank tenderly. Before she could say anything else he hefted himself onto her back, quickly lining himself up and returning his cock to its warm, wet home.

Taking a preparatory breath and watching for the slightest sign of discomfort he began gently rocking his hips against hers, the sensation drawing pleasured moans from both of them. He leaned forward, nipping her neck even as he continued his thrusts.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes", she breathed. "Faster."

Max complied, following her instructions as he hammered into her clenching need. He jerked forward a little unsteadily, groaning in irritation as he realized he was hitting his limit. He didn't want that kind of experience for the mare though. She sounded close, he just had to hold out.

He shifted, his thrust dragging against a new and unexpected part of her body and drawing a gasp and shudder of surprise from his partner. He gave two more thrusts before shifting again, this time hearing her moan into her covers, her muff clamping down tightly on him. It squeezed him tightly, actually preventing his continued movement for a moment before relaxing and releasing him.

"Come on, Tia, I know you're close. Come on, come with me."

Celestia whinnied in response, fluttering her wings and slamming back into him as she began to participate with more enthusiasm. Max felt himself clench, gripping her tightly and drawing a gasp from the alicorn as he drove himself as deep as he could but he held on, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to pull back out while picking up his previous pace. It was so close, but he couldn't. Not yet, not until.

The mare shuddered underneath him, her vaginal walls tightening down on him as her entire body locked up. Her emotions turned into a wall of white pleasure, letting him know it was time. With one more thrust deep inside of her, he peaked.

It was a powerful one, as were most of his climaxes when he finished after holding back for so long. He pressed closer to her and closer still, his fangs sinking into her shoulder as he instinctively tried to lock her into place. His rings did their part, keeping his seed inside of her even as the pressure in her belly grew. He felt another clench, felt another spurt of the warm, emotion-saturated semen as it filled her womb. Her emotions didn't even flicker at the gush of emotion-laden seed, they just burned; a constant wall of pleasure and happiness as she continued to ride the aftershocks of her peak.

The changeling stallion was mindlessly licking her neck when she finally recovered enough to form any sort of cognizant thought. He wasn't doing much better though, still enjoying her quivering flesh that was still locked around his shaft even after their breathing had calmed. Her emotions were finally moving again, a flowing chain of happiness, contentment and...amusement?

"You bit me."

Max blinked as the statement hit him, looking down at the spot on her neck that he'd been licking. Sure enough there were pink marks that showed the location of the punctures, though the wounds had never bled that much. The only pink was immediately surrounding the actual punctures.

"Uh, I'm uh, sorry? I don't remember, I kind of got lost in the-"

"Don't," she muttered, pushing back into him. "It's fine. I liked it. It made me feel...like you were never going to release me."

They didn't move from their position, just basking in the warmth of each other's presence. What was most important was what she wasn't saying. She wasn't asking him to leave, wasn't saying he lied. Her body was relaxed; she was no longer tense in his presence, wasn't radiating that underlying fear. In fact her reaction was the opposite of the blue alicorn's. Whereas Luna burned brighter with emotions, feeling them settle on her partner with increased intensity, Celestia's mood had fallen into a near emotionless void. She just...was.

He let her enjoy this new state, dozing with his head sitting on her neck as the night wore on. He hoped his was now a comforting presence, one that gave her the reminder that she wasn't carrying these horrible experiences alone. That at the end of the day she could talk to someone if she needed to.

He woke from his daze as he felt her move, heard as much as felt the wet pop of a cork being removed from her lower regions before she giggled, embarrassment burning in her now. He looked around and found her still sitting on the bed, watching the trickle of nearly-glowing seed dribbling out of her body. She watched it for a while, mesmerized by the color before noticing he was watching her.

"That was enjoyable. I'm glad I was able to experience it, and I'm glad I- I'm glad I trusted you to care for me."

"And I'm glad to hear that," he answered softly. "You know I'm not going to stop paying attention to you, right? This isn't some evil plan of mine, where once I get a chance to bed every mare I laugh maniacally and leave. If you need to talk to me, regarding anything, I'm here."

The alicorn smiled, looking at the puddle that was forming on the bed.

"I know, and if you're not than I suppose I know how to get your attention."

Max rolled onto his stomach, curving his body slightly in an invitation. The white mare accepted the offer, slipping into the place beside him and relaxing once more. Her emotions were burning again, this time settling into a low simmer of contentment. He nuzzled her cheek before settling in for the night. He hoped she'd become more trusting in the future, but only time would tell.

"If you ever need anything, Tia, just ask. Don't make me beg, because I will."

<-(0)->

"How is she?"

Max blinked, confused at being intercepted by a blue alicorn and changeling proto queen the moment he entered the hive's dream side.

"Uh, give me a sec to get my bearings."

Moving to the bed, Max flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling as he ran the encounter over in his mind. The final emotions Celestia had settled on were a good sign, but there was always the chance that what she considered a good thing in the heat of the moment wouldn't carry over. A slight chance, but it was there none the less.

"She's doing better. At least she seemed to be last I could tell. It will be clearer tomorrow. She was hurt bad, Luna. It's nothing against you, but she's trying to work things out on her own. She's still used to being the older mare, being the one who has to be strong."

"Stars damn it!" Luna yelled, stomping about the room. "What am I to do? How do I help her if she will not allow me to help her? How do I offer my aid if she will not even tell me what has occurred to put her in such a situation?"

"You keep doing what you have been doing," Max soothed, rolling in bed to look at her. "You tell her you love her, you offer her an ear, and you let her know she's loved. Just don't ask me to tell you, because I don't want to break her trust like that. The fact she was so..."

"No, I understand," Luna said, huffing in irritation. "It's better this way anyway. I would rather she have someone she can trust implicitly than to know one thing that bothers Tia and shatter her trust. I expect you to guard her, Maximus. She is stubborn, but I worry for her."

"I don't think you'll need to worry too much about that," Crystal said, quirking an eyebrow at her alpha. "He did take a knife for the mare, after all."

"Ah, that reminds me-"

"The idea of me getting stabbed reminds you of something?" Max asked, causing Crystal to giggle.

Luna rolled her eyes.

"You were injured so we were unable to enjoy ourselves, while tonight we know you keep watch over Tia. I would like nothing more than to enjoy this time, but we shall have to wait until tomorrow. If I had known something was bothering Celestia, I never would have pushed her so. Enjoy this time to rest, stallion of mine, because tomorrow you shall find yourself properly expended, no matter how much your body produces. Crystal and I shall see to it."

Max grinned as the alicorn jumped onto the bed and rested on his chest, nuzzling him before setting her head on the pillow beside him.

"You come into my dream to threaten me with a good time?"

"Threatening implied there's a chance we won't do that," Crystal replied, shrinking herself down to fit between his arm and chest like a small dog. "That wasn't a threat."

The stallion chuckled, closing his eyes and basking in the closeness. Maybe when Luna became better at dream-walking he'd ask her about expanding the bed. It was getting a bit crowded, trying to fit two mares and a changeling/human hybrid on his mattress.

'Or maybe it's something I need to learn to do. I'll try to change things around tomorrow.'

Tomorrow. He was both anticipating it and dreading it. He prayed the alicorn beside his physical form was okay. Nobody should fear their own body, nobody should have no one to trust.

Author's Note

This one was...tricky. Still not sure if I feel right about it, but I think I managed to get all of the emotions. This isn't something the alicorn was dealing with recently, as this is most certainly not the answer immediately following such a horrible experience. This is the culmination of several years of self-doubt, misinterpreted information, fear, and lack of a confidant. Like with Luna, I don't intend for this to be a miracle cure, nor will Celestia be immediately jumping into the herd. She's not ready. That kind of relationship just...scares her.

As for the crawler, think crayfish but with a much harder shell.

The Dawn Comes Again

The changeling stallion was pulled from his dazed rest, a slight movement and lack of warmth warning him of movement in reality. He opened his eyes to find Celestia missing. He raised his head, looking around the room in confusion only to find the alicorn sitting on a balcony.

He rose and stretched, moving out to see her while keeping a blanket wrapped around his form. The nights were fairly cool after all. No sense in letting all of his hard-earned body heat fade.

"I cannot seem to rise without waking you, can I?" Celestia asked quietly as he walked out the small doorway.

"It has to do with the body heat. You're warm, so I notice when I'm no longer sleeping next to you. Same goes for Luna. Would you prefer to be alone or-"

"No, you may stay. I have merely been thinking."

"Didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

She chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"I shall have you locked in the dungeon and seen to only by stallions. You will never see a female again."

"Ouch, might as well just cut mine off and mount it on your wall as a trophy. You may upset some ladies with either situation, actuallly," he said, taking a seat beside her.

Celestia sighed, her wings sagging as her thoughts rambled, a blurring kaleidoscope of emotions radiating from her. Regret, anxiety, fear. She was thinking of the future and the past though, not of him. Those would have been much more potent to his senses if she had been focused on him.

Pressing up to her side, he smiled.

"You know, Luna was a mess of anxiety a few weeks ago. I told her it tastes terrible, that if I didn't know anything about emotions and what it's like I'd probably avoid her with that kind of an aura."

The mare winced, but like Luna perked slightly as she ran his words through her mind.

"And since you understand them you wish to help."

"Everyone has fears. Fears, regrets, worries of the future, things we're uncertain about, you won't find a single person out there who doesn't. Except maybe the old Discord. This new one I saw, he was familiar with fear. He'd learned what pain was.

"I have regrets, as well. I'm not happy with how things went with Luna. That first night, I could have said no. I was scared though, and the emotions rolling off of her were so good. Now I just have to try and develop what should have been there before we crossed that line."

"And our relationship?" The mare asked.

"That depends on you. This was for you, Tia. You were convinced that something was wrong with you, and I was convinced that it was merely mistreatment. Now we know the truth and you can sleep easily. Luna will back off for now, but the only reason she pushed the flock was because it makes her feel safe and she could tell you feared something. She's worried, but she's trusting us. Trusting that you can watch yourself and trusting that I can help you if you need it. She even said so last night; that she'd rather know that you were willing to talk to me than to know what was wrong."

"She always tried hugging me if she thought I was upset," Celestia sighed, turning back to stare at the dark horizon. "I didn't understand how she could tell sometimes. It was like she had a second sense for it. Even if I tried to hide it.

"She made excuses for me after the thing...happened. I was surprised when my greatest emotion was fear, and not for myself. Fear that he'd come after her. I made sharp sticks and put them in various places where I could get them if I needed. I taught Luna where to strike ponies if they tried to hurt her. She learned the movements quickly enough, she was always happy to learn what I taught her. But she always felt so clingy."

Celestia smiled wistfully.

"It's the Pegasus blood. The families are very close. It was what she knew, so it was how she expressed her concern. Unicorns are not so close...perhaps that is why they were the last to attempt to integrate their tribe. Theirs has always been a more solitary existence. Your family was all that truly mattered. Your blood kin."

"Do you remember who your parents were?"

Celestia frowned.

"Vaguely."

"Have you ever have thought about looking for them?"

The alicorn became silent, her face falling into a frown as she thought on his words.

"Starswirl was adamant that we not worry about such things. That it would complicate things needlessly."

Max raised an eyebrow.

"Did Starswirl have a family?"

"Not that I can remember. His work was his life."

"Well in that case it sounds like someone who never had something telling you that it's not needed," Max replied. "You don't even need to talk to them, just find out for your own benefit. Heck, we'll be visiting nearby towns in the future, right? Keep an ear to the ground while you're looking around."

Celestia nodded, a small smile coming to her face as she recalled her family.

"Sunshine Scryer was my mother, and Sky Caller was my father. He had a spell, when he called us you could hear it for miles around. They called him Shouty in town. Mother was a seer, though she could never see the fates of my family. It was her curse, she called it, knowing the fates of all you met but never knowing your own. I had sisters as well but they were young. I do not remember them."

"Your Dad sounds like he'd be easy enough to find. A unicorn like that develops a reputation after all," Max said, envisioning an old unicorn dragon-shouting foals off his front lawn. "A seer is something kingdoms often pursue as well. It never ends well, but in this case we don't want to use her, just say hi. She may be known outside of her home town as well."

"Do you really think we could find them? That we should?"

"Tia, I don't think there's much you couldn't do if you put forth the effort. You are the literal embodiment of the phrase 'Carpe diem'; seize the day. There is nothing to stop you in the long run. You have all the time in the world and many here, even some of the Knights and servingponies, who would love to see you succeed. Or did Ace being willing to lose his wings like that mean something else to you?"

"Crack had to amputate the other wing. Poor Pegasus managed to get an infection and it was going to kill him. Hopefully he heals up. Big strong stallion like that ought 'a draw in all the ladies.

Max beamed, tapping the discolored part of his shell, right near the shoulder.

"After all, all the cool kids have scars. And his are bigger than mine. That...is the only time you will hear me admitting that."

Celestia burst into laughter, amusement tinting her emotions.

"See? That, you need to do that more. Laugh, smile, enjoy life. It's going to be hard, it's going to have its rough spots but that's why you have friends and family. To pull you through those. We're not family, but I'm here if you need me."

"Luna wants us to be family."

"Luna wants the mare who took care of her to be safe and to her a family is a safe place. It makes sense, honestly. She already considers you family, she just wants it to be official."

"Which is a step I am not ready to take," Ceelstia admitted with sorrow. "I barely trusted you but just last night I allowed... I couldn't even tell Luna."

"Because you were protecting her. You still are."
Max looked over the countryside below, still bathed in darkness.

"How long before sunrise?"

"It is still several hours away. I just found myself unable to rest. I would do this sometimes, before our ascension. Just sit on the roof of the cottage and stare at the stars."

The changeling nodded.

"If you end up being sleepy later on don't be afraid to call it a day early. You and Luna both have the nasty habit of staying up much too late and then getting up early regardless. It's the opposite issue I used to have."

"But-"

"The problems won't go away. Besides, the two of you have some heavy lifting to do today. The dogs are working on that new tunnel so we should be good to start filling in the cavern...right after Luna and Crystal pull out some titanium. We can use that."

"What would we need that for? It is incredibly hard to be sure, but it is also heavy."

"Arrow heads, bolts for a crossbow, blades for weapons, we could even plate a wagon with it. Make the first armored vehicle. It also doesn't melt easily so we can use it as a set of smithing tools for softer metals. Not to mention the trade value. That stuff is a deep ore, so ponies have a tough time finding it. We have several chunks that Luna can rip out of the ground, just one of which could probably purchase and furnish a forge. We need surpluses, Celestia. Without those we have to trade things we need."

The alicorn nodded.

"I understand. Perhaps we should do a full check before we fill in the cavern. It seems strange to wish to pull more out, but perhaps we could begin with the very bottom and excavate what we require before beginning to fill it in."

"See? Now your thinking like a gamer. Never ignore resources. Even if we can't use it now, we may find a use for it later," the changeling said, poking her side. "You always need more stuff. I have to show you some of the games I know. In most survival games, resource management was key. Do I plant my saplings or use them for fuel in my furnace? Do I use my stone for narcotics to tame dinosaurs or use them to build walls?"

"Speaking of resources, Crystal saw some dirt patches down there. What did you two do with the dirt? We could use that."

"We uh, washed it away," the mare answered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"You washed it..." he trailed off, his thoughts jerking to a halt. "Celestia, that would have been several tons of dirt! You don't just wash away several thousand cubic feet of dirt, it's just too much."

"We used the river nearby," she explained. "It took time but we used the water to wash away the dirt in the form of mud. It took a while so that we didn't merely block the river, but we managed to dispose of most of it. The rest we used to level the area the castle is sitting on."

"But that, that's even worse! You took the time to muddy it so the current would carry it away instead of just throwing it in a large hill somewhere? That takes more effort then a dirt hill off to the side! Oh god, why," he muttered, burying his head in his hooves.

"No, don't worry about it," he finally said, taking a calming breath. "More important things to worry about. How are you feeling?"

Celestia smiled once more, a genuine smile that he was beginning to see more of.

"I am well. Though I thought I had said as much after..."

"I'm not going to take an answer from a mind-melted mare. It was a lot, wasn't it? The pleasure?"

She looked around as if to confirm they were alone before nodding.

"That's what you're supposed to feel. Being with someone you really love makes it, I think it makes it better. You learn their sensitive spots, how to play their body like an instrument. You learn what their reactions will be and you can hold them at that peak, you can hold them at the cusp of climax for just a little longer. That extra time, it can make the peak so much more powerful.

"Any questions now? You've experienced the real thing now, so how do you feel about sex?"

"Do we have to talk about this?" the white mare asked, her ears perked for any sounds beside their own.

"Tia, I need to know. If there are any unanswered questions I want to hear them now. We still have a few hours if you need me to answer any other questions and there likely won't be a better time than this. You know sex isn't as bad as you had originally thought. Do you have any intentions of finding a stallion of your own? Of starting your own family?"

"I do not know, I haven't really thought of it," she whispered, her eyes glancing to him.

"Do you, will you teach me something?"

"Anything you like."

Celestia shifted, scooting closer.

"Can you teach me how to kiss? I've seen you kiss with Luna and it's nothing like the simple kisses i know. Other ponies do that as well, and if I do decide to, um, find a stallion I don't want to mess it up."

Max nodded, twisting his neck to face her before tilting his head slightly.

"Angle, Tia. Needs to be at an angle. Opposite of my own."

She complied, watching their movements carefully until his lips just barely touched her own. With a smack of a kiss he pulled back, noticing only afterwards that she was frowning.

"You sure you want the full thing? It includes tongue, most deep kisses like that do. It takes some getting used to but I make a goal. Run my tongue around their mouth or wrestle it against their own. Keeps me from doing nothing."

He chuckled at the heat coming off of her face and leaned back in, his lips slightly parted. She looked him over before following suit once more. Burning with nervousness as he licked against her sealed lips. They hesitantly parted and he licked against her teeth, causing her to shudder and break the kiss.

"I, I can't do this out here. Inside."

Celestia ducked back into her bedroom without another word, though Max did get a glimpse of her tail flagging slightly. Was it just the kissing, the prospect of being caught, or was it running the night over in her mind again?

She sat on the bed, motioning for a spot in front of her while she fluttered her wings and settled them at her sides.

"I didn't expect you to ask for this, actually. It's something most couples fumble through for the first time," he remarked as he stepped into the bed with her.

"If you say so. I still would like to know."

The shape shifter nodded, moving in and pressing his slightly parted lips against hers once more. She once again hesitantly opened her mouth, her eyes closed as she focused on his movements. He touched her teeth, moved over them and began prodding at her otherwise immobile tongue, then wrapped his own tongue around it and pulled it into his own mouth where he clamped his teeth gently onto it.

"Y'll g't eh ba' whin you pert'cip'te."

She stared in confusion before moving her own muscled organ, carefully touching his back teeth and moving on. He released her from his grasp and sealed his mouth around hers again, letting her do as she wished. Max was about to join in again when he noticed the mare was turning blue. Breaking the kiss quickly he inwardly cursed as the mare began sputtering and coughing.

"Breath through the nose, Tia. Don't hold your breath."

"I'm sorry, I-"

He placed a hoof on her muzzle.

"Shh, this is why you practice, right? So Luna doesn't get a chance to make fun of you. While this would make perfect blackmail, I won't tell her. That was up there with a mare getting confused by the term blowjob."

"And what, pray tell, is a 'blow job'?" She asked.

"It's the mare doing to the stallion what I did to you last night. Using my mouth and tongue to make you peak. Sometimes a mare will hear the term, want to do it to make the stallion happy, but not know the details. When you hear that term, what does it sound like you'd do?"

Celestia frowned, her ears still burning with nerves but feeling secure in the privacy of her room.

"It, I would assume it has to do with...blowing on him?"

"Not quite. Not sure where the term comes from, but you do just about everything but blow on it. Heck, if you think it will help you can. It's about stimulating the male with your mouth and tongue. Mostly, this includes licking or taking him into your mouth."

"Has Luna, done this with you?"

Max raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't a game of outdoing her, Celly. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. I'm just explaining things. Are you good to give the kiss another go?"

She nodded, moving forward a bit more eagerly this time. Max suppressed a laugh, seeing her focus on breathing as their lips met. he tapped against her teeth and she opened her mouth, this time her tongue moving to meet him. He poked and moved around it, chuckling into the kiss as he pushed her back into her own mouth in an improvised game of dominance.

The alicorn took up his issued challenge to his surprise, using her own muscle to shove him out of her mouth before pursuing him back into his own muzzle, she pushed forward into the kiss, doing her best to pin his thinner and more agile organ in place. He eluded her though, laughing into the contact as he slipped past her back into her own mouth.

Max was enjoying the game for a while, keeping one step ahead of her in an otherwise obscene wrestling match. Maybe he'd use this method to teach Crystal how to tongue-joust? It ended suddenly though, Celestia finally pushing too far in her quest for leverage and tilting the two of them over into the bed.

As they broke the contact, both began chuckling at their game.

"See? You're not half bad. It just takes a little time and motivation. My motivation tends to be thinking of your mouth as similar to another thing I'd like to explore."

The alicorn mare giggled uneasily, her emotions burning with the slightest hint of lust at both the extended kiss and his words.

"Is there a way to um, experience this later? Without you?"

Max raised an eyebrow as he looked at the female currently resting on his barrel.

"Are you asking about solo performance? Doing this on your own?"

She nodded and he smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Can't believe I'm teaching you this. Alright get off of me and get on the bed. Rear legs straight up, front legs trying to touch your rear hooves."

Tia complied, taking the awkward pose and looking to him curiously. He circled around to her flank, looking at the distance to see if it was physically possible.

"I know Luna used magic to help get herself off, but you can do something else."

He reached down, taking a hoof and bringing it up between her legs.

"Just rub the outside lips, the part you felt me licking last night. Do that and focus on the pleasure. A good amount of it's mental anyway."

"What do you mean by that?"

Max moved into her field of view and sat down, closing his eyes in concentration. He spread his rear legs to give her a view as he ran sexual encounters through his mind. With no outside stimulation, he was bobbing in almost no time.

"A lot of this is in your head. It's possible to get this far, maybe farther with just thinking about it. It's the same for you. Just think about how you felt last night and let your hoof wander.

He let her sit there for a few moments, her eyes unfocused as her mind burned with slowly building lust. His horn lit up after a while, grabbing her hoof and circling it gently over the now-sensitive mare-bits.

"Come on, Tia. You need to be able to multi-task. Think sexy thoughts and rub the bits that feel good."

The mare whined as she took over, her pace picking up as she explored her own nethers. He offered hints or encouragement but otherwise enjoyed the show, her growing comfort with her own body making him smile.

'If I ever run into that bastard I'll show him what humans think of when they hear the term cruel. Bastard made her scared of her own body.'

Celestia's horn glowed, her clit lighting with the spell as she continued to vigorously rub herself into bliss. With a pillow-muffled shout she finished, a few weak drizzle of her fluids now trickling down her legs and covering her hoof.

"See? Only thing hard about this whole situation is me. And that's easy enough to fix. Any other things you want to know?"

"Have you and Luna, have the two of you been trying something new every night?"

Max tapped a hoof to his chin.

"Not every night. Sometimes we just can't be bothered, other times we're too horny to hold back. Crystal further complicates things as she was focused on the results of my orgasm; the emotion-saturated seed. To a starving changeling it was a feast. I think it has to do with making sure the eggs are properly supplied with nutrients, or in this case emotion. We won't know until she goes through her final molt."

Celestia nodded, having picked herself up on shaky legs. Worrying her lip, she tapped a hoof on the bed and fluttered her wings.

"Tia, I'm here for the night. If you want to know something, ask."

"Could you, would you be willing to allow me to experience the entire encounter, from beginning to end? It was pleasurable but it was so shaky. I know you will not take advantage so, will you treat me as you believe I deserve? As you have said I deserve to be treated."

"Full experience, no stops? Are you certain?" he asked. "I could do that, may give me a chance to really enjoy that wonderfully squishy flesh of your flank. Seriously, if I never saw you again I may have to shape shift just to get to look at those again. They're magnificent. Anyone who says otherwise can shove their wrong opinions up their own asses."

Celestia nodded and the stallion pulled her into a deep kiss, pushing into her mouth and exploring it in earnest this time. He grabbed at her with his forelegs, pulling her tightly against his own barrel even as he pressed his advantage, breaking the sensual kiss and beginning to trail nips and kisses along her neck and shoulder. Confusion shifted to anticipation; her body's nerves starting to light up at every touch while she felt her heat return. Wrapping his neck around hers and lowering his head by a good bit, he gently gnawed on her wing, just by the base.

"Oh stars," she whimpered, feeling her back arch at the intense sensations.

He raised his head to her ear, snickering at her reactions.

"I'm going to play your body like a harp, you beautiful thing, you. And what happens when you play a harp?"

He kissed her again, using a bit of magic to squeeze the base parts of her wings. It drew a muffled moan from her lips and she flushed, though she didn't look away.

"It sings for you," he whispered, moving back to her neck.

She moaned again as he worked her neck, Pushing her onto her back and moving down her body in a thorough manner. Her forelegs, her belly, her teats, hell, she seemed more sensitive there than any of the other mares. He enjoyed it, a part of his brain that was still human finding the soft flesh desirable in a way that just didn't make sense otherwise.

The alicorn was indeed singing for him, having coated the walls in a longer-lasting privacy spell and sealing the doors once he'd began. She squirmed underneath him as he suckled on a teat, pulling back in a way that grazed the tip with his fang. She shivered but the burst of anxiety died almost as fast as it arrived. He began to trail his explorations lower still and she looked down her barrel at him with fiery anticipation. She wanted the whole experience as it was meant to be, and that meant she knew what was coming.

He didn't rush, taking his time playing with her sun-stamped butt with playful nips, even servicing the cutie mark a bit and drawing a confused mewl from her throats when she began to feel overly sensitive to his touch. A small trail of kisses back around her flank and he aimed low, trailing to the base of her tail and nibbling the small visible portion that her flowing tail connected to.

Her legs tensed slightly as he licked in one smooth motion, coming apparently a little too close to the pucker of her ass before all thoughts fled her mind. He'd reached her sex, finding it already swollen with need. He nodded as he kissed her lower lips, lifting his head and waiting for her to make eye contact.

"Already looking ready. I think it's time I was able to enjoy this as well."

He hopped off the bed, pulling her close the edge and allowing himself easy access to her slowly trickling heat. He planted his front hooves on either side of her, just under her still spread wings as he guided himself into her body. Her back arched the moment she felt him pushing in, the fire in her belly demanding he finish what he started.

"D-do it, make me feel-"

Her words died on her lips, her sex clamping down on him repeatedly as he slowly pushed inside. Shifting his rear legs for better leverage and using his forelegs to hold her tightly he kissed her again even as her body trembled underneath him.

"I shouldn't have to make you feel beautiful. This, ha, this is why I thought you were being silly. You didn't need to do anything for...me. Just being able to explore you, your body; that was enough to prepare me for this."

The stallion nipped her neck, pulling out and giving another hearty thrust into her now-winking nethers. She shuddered, a brief glimpse of her impending climax telling him she was already close.

"Don't finish, Tia. Try to hold it back. I'll, I'll tell you when. Just hold it back."

Max grinned as she squirmed in his grasp, whining needily even as he gripped her wings again. A shift of his magic and her cutie-marks were being massaged, another shift and it was her teats. The mare Twisted under him, her forelegs already having a grip on him, pulling him tightly against her. The hind legs soon joined them, the white alicorn holding him with every bit of her strength. It was coming but she was fighting it with every fiber of her being, trusting that he knew this subject.

"Almost," he grunted, thrusting deeply with every motion. He felt her quitting, felt his own legs tensing, it was close and-

Celestia squealed, her body locking up as the pleasure became to much. Her vaginal walls gripped and stroked him, desperately milking him for anything he had to offer. After a few moments of this treatment, just as she was coming down from her peak, he grunted.

The mare gasped, this time aware of emotion-soaked fluids being pumped into her body. She shivered, feeling each tensing of his form and knowing it was another spurt of fluid. She felt the pressure in her depths build slightly, the male's rings keeping the seed inside her as he gave her his all.

Max growled as he pulled tightly against her body, feeling her relaxing into an exhausted heap. His wings buzzed as if the additional thrust would drive him deeper but all he managed was to destroy her slowly recovering sense of self, his mate locking up a second time as his entire length vibrated deep inside of her. Her mind blanked again, spasms of pleasure running up and down her body. Her legs were shaking and her head lying limply on the bed. It was just too much at this point.

Max slumped, no small amount of pride bringing a smirk to his face. It wasn't intentional but he'd honestly forgot about the wings. A sad situation seeing as it meant he had a built-in vibrate mode.

It took time for her to recover, much longer than the peak of her first orgasm that night. Even then, her mind was a driveling mess of pleasure and happiness.

"That," he finally whispered as her mind recovered "is what a beautiful thing like yourself deserves. Anything less is not good enough for you."

Celestia finally managed a response, a tired giggle as her right wing spasmed with her still-fading aftershocks.

"P-powerful."

"Well, when you hold back that tends to help," he said with a smile, nuzzling into her neck.

"That was, if that had been what I first experienced...I believe I would have become as bad as Luna and Crystal," she finally wheezed out. "I still feel tingly."

"I know," he responded, nipping her neck. "Still inside, remember? Every time you clench I feel that. I'm glad you trusted me with this. If you ever have any questions about anything, no matter how strange, you feel free to come to me. If it means waiting until midnight before you feel safe to speak in the security of your own room, I'll wait as long as I need to."

She nodded before hiccupping, surprising him as joyful tears started streaking down her cheeks.

"I know. I know, and I love it. I don't remember ever having anypony I could..."

"Well now you do," he assured, cuddling into her barrel. "Anything you need, no matter how silly you may think it is. Crystal as well. You know she won't betray you, and if you need to you can use her as a relay. I can even talk through her. It feels weird but it works. So even if I'm not there, you can use her if you need."

"Now, I need you to let go."

Celestia grimaced, looking down her right side as she tried to figure out how to do that. She still felt ripples running through her spine and she knew what he meant. An irritated buzz turned into a curse though, her body clenching once more at the vibrations he channeled into her.

"Do I have to?" She whined, looking at him pleadingly before giggling. A few deep breaths and they came apart, Max wincing at the abuse m his stallionhood had been put through. It had felt great but the mare squeezed him pretty tightly after every climax and for a time after that as well. It left him feeling a bit tender.

Sidling up beside her he relaxed into the bed, enjoying the scent of their efforts. It tickled something primal inside him, made him even more driven to hold her to him. he was tempted to use shape-shifting to grant himself wings, a way to hold onto her as they rested, but he ended up dismissing the idea. He'd had trouble walking in this form, he'd likely only smack the mare in the face with a wing before twisting it incorrectly.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Celestia rose not too long after she'd recovered, stepping off of the bed and stretching once more.

"I believe I know what else I want. A bath, a preening, and a little practice in the yard. I have been neglecting my exercise lately."

"You've been out of your mind, lately. I think that's a good excuse for not exercising," he shot back, standing in the bed and rolling his neck. "Nobody's going to fault you for taking a break."

"I stopped exercising long before that. I'm uncertain when exactly it was, but I stopped soon after we finished creating the castle and the nobles arrived."

Max chuckled as he followed her into the bathing room, the contempt she felt at the mention of those ponies breaking through what little control she'd managed to reassert over her feelings.

"A true princess wouldn't be practicing with a blade, that's what the knights are for. A princess does not tarnish herself with such menial tasks as removing bandits. A real princess wouldn't be worrying about the crops, that's somepony else's job. No, princess, I'm certain things are going well. Yes princess, of course you are doing well. Ha! It was more along the lines of 'Yes, Princess, you are doing exactly what we wish for you to do!' Curs, stealing from my stores while doing nothing in return. They did not even oversee the addition of a well to the town! It takes less than a day with the proper use of magic!"

The alicorn continued to vent, her horn lightning as she activated at few crystal lights and warmed the prepared water. She stepped onto the steaming water only to jump back out again.

"Damnation!"

Max sat down behind her, pulling her into his chest and holding onto her.

"Relax. Breath. The water is just a little warm, we can either wait for it or you can use another spell."

"The only ice spell I know would drop the temperature of the pool too low."

"Than cast it on something else. Like a small bucket of water. That way it doesn't cool as much water at once. Freeze a bucket of water and we'll dump the ice in the bath."

She did so, tossing the bucket-shaped chunk of ice into the too-hot water and watching it quickly melt away. It only took two of those ice chunks to cool the water to a reasonable level. And by reasonable, the water was still steaming but would no longer cook Max inside his shell.

Celestia sighed, dozing slightly in the warm water while the changeling washed her down.

"I'm sorry I snapped earlier."

"You were venting. I did it all the time back home, even about things that didn't really matter. The fact that these issues are things you feel are important and you were wronged just amplifies the issue. Done, now stand up, I want to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"What are you searching for?"

"Dried fluids. Water will wash most away but Tia, your tail was caked. I want to make sure I got it all. Don't need ponies seeing that, right? You get to check me afterwards, make sure my tail's clean. Should be, but better safe than sorry."

Max moved the mare's tail around, wiping down anything that could be unseemly. While the solar alicorn's white coat was gorgeous, it was a lot harder to clean after sex than Luna's. On the blue mare, such stains were obvious.

"Oh stars, the maids will..."

"You could always burn the sheets if your worried. Open the windows and air the place out, throw your dirty stuff into Luna's pile and change them yourself. I wouldn't worry too much though. Most of the nobles are going to be too busy to harass you about that. And besides, didn't you try that already? Keeping to their rules?"

She once more flashed with anger before smothering it, slapping the water in frustration.

"You'll get yourself back under full control soon. Your doing better every day."

"It is still frustrating. I feel as though I should avoid diplomacy for now, lest I snap at the ponies I am entreating with," she grumbled, shifting in the water as she began wiping him down.

"Well, that's why you rule with Luna. And in the future, you two can plan vacations around each other," Max suggested, washing himself down as best he could. A tug on his tail caused him to wince, and her turned to look at what Tia was doing.

"This is so foul, does it always end up everywhere?" She asked as she ran a scrub brush though his matted tail.

"Well, usually I have a chance to soak before washing and that makes it easier. Also doesn't help that we did it at two different points, so it's a double layer of ick. At least only one of us needs preening, right?"

Celestia nodded in agreement.

"That and the rest of this...mess seems to not stick to your shell. That is remarkably convenient. Much easier to clean than my own mane and coat."

"Well, juries still out on how I feel about the shell. Molting is hella' weird."

"I want to see it again. Next time you molt, I mean. Would you object?"

The changeling rolled his eyes.

"If I'm not out of it, no. I don't mind. I'll likely still want a safe, quiet place for that. Crystal will as well, once she molts. Not sure how that will work. So do you want to grab a bite to eat before we head out or what? What's the plan, man?"

"The plan, as it stands, is the have breakfast, which hopefully is quite grand. After that I shall go to the training yard and learn to stand, against my foes before joining Luna as we fill in the cavern like an hourglass with...sand."

"That was painful to listen to."

"Oh hush," she giggled, pulling him off balance and dunking him in the water.

<-(0)->

Celestia dozed in her bed, clean sheets already spread over the mattress while the windows were open, helping to airate the room. Max was beside her, carefully preening her wings and not allowing her to participate, citing it as much needed practice as well as a chance to learn the difference between the wings of the alicorns. Celestia didn't not mind too much. It was relaxing. More so than she remembered it being, in truth.

'Likely because those fangs have been in much more sensitive places and nothing happened,' she though in amusement.

There she went again, her mind shifting to the topic of fornication. Not three days ago she couldn't even say it. She'd look around, once she was recovered. Look at the stallions around the keep and see if any caught her eye. If she had questions she could always ask Max. Even if he didn't know, she could get him to ask the embarrassing questions in her stead.

She barely held back a giggle at such an abuse of his willingness to help. He'd do it, too. He'd even tell the ponies he was asking something silly, like he was looking for a stallion to keep him company. She finally did giggle, the mental image of the changeling jokingly attempting to woo a knight and sending the stallion scurrying away too much.

Max didn't slow in his self-appointed task. When she looked to him, all he did was smile through her feathers before returning his focus to his work.

She sagged into the blankets, an odd feeling of total contentment rolling over her. She still had several hours before sunrise, she would just close her eyes for a bit...and...

Alicorn Issues and Biofuel

"-cant believe you just let me fall asleep like that! There were things I could have done, things I wanted to do and now it's breakfast time and I've not done anything!"

Maximus followed along as the solar alicorn directed a distressed stream of irritation at him. It wasn't especially bothersome, but the heat was impressive. Both in her emotions and coming off her coat. Turns out touching the sun while emotional tended to give her a solar aspect aligned with the emotion. Anger made her coat almost simmer with heat.

'Awesome 'Hey Crystal, tonight we're running an experiment. We're going to make Luna squeal before she raises the moon, prefferably close to when she has to do it.'

'Um, why?'

'Because Celestia raised the sun while angry and she's literally smoldering. I want to see if Luna glows.'

The queen was silent before an explosion of what could only be amusement struck him through the link. As Celestia slammed the doors to the dining room open and stomped over to her seat, he found Crystal doubled over in laughter.

"I trust you can explain this, Max?" Luna asked before taking a sip of tea. "Both situations?"

"Celestia's mad because I fell asleep after taking care of her wings. She wanted to get some stuff done and was up stupid early, but fell asleep when I was preening her. It was, as I said, stupid early so I fell asleep soon after. As for Crystal? Celestia's burning her cushion right now because she raised the sun while angry."

The older mare blinked, a bit of toast hanging before her open mouth at his words. She twisted, looking underneath herself before yelping, jumping off of the smoking pillow and using her magic to beat it against the floor.

"I figured experiencing a particular emotion before linking to your charge actually had a physical effect on you, maybe a climax beforehand would make you glow."

Crystal was still trying to recover from her earlier amusement, giggling even as Luna's muzzle twisted in confusion. Her eyes widened a moment later as it struck her and she giggled as well. To everyone's surprise, Celestia joined in.

"Alright. I admit that would be amusing. You will need to let me know if that works."

Luna's jaw dropped.

"Laughing at the mention of coitus? Who are you and what have you done with Celestia?"

"I was not that bad," Tia defended herself. Seeing the raised eyebrows all around the table she huffed, opting to sit on the stone floor rather than risk igniting another cushion should her temper and temperature flare again.

"Bothersome ponies, all of you. Luna, Maximus has asked that you gather some of the metals in the cavern before we fill it in. I shall begin moving the stone into position. Shall we be teleporting it down there or pushing if down Crystal's tunnel?"

"I would think the tunnel would be easier, barring a clog," Max offered. "If she smoothed it out while Luna and I look for good ore deposits we have access to, it should work well. Maybe even see about getting Rusty to help us out, at least for the deposits on the cavern floor. Could be a good first joint mission."

"We would have to share the resources gathered in that case, though. I'm not certain if that would be a good thing or not. If there are disputes between ourselves and the elders over resources so early in our relationship it could become dangerous."

Max shrugged at Crystal's warning.

"A fair point. Either way we need to do something about those metals. If needed we may be able to get Lady Sapphire to check them, but there's a difference in asking her to check the mine and asking her to check a cavern a good distance under the castle."

"Oh, that is correct. I'd nearly forgotten about Sapphire. Her horn should have recovered by now, correct? I shall speak to her, but she is currently busy sorting through that pile of gems that were recovered earlier. She was delighted to have work, but apparently raw gems are of greater value when cut. She is currently working with Glyph, who needs the gem dust for the enchantments that we were asking her for."

"Ah, I forgot about that. How is that coming along?" Max asked.

"Well since she didn't have the gem dust before, she's doing much more now," Luna giggled. "I like the idea of a magic-cooled cellar. I am surprised that the idea has not been used before."

"It may have, Luna. We lost much information and technology during the unification and the Era of Discord. Dream Valley could very well have used it," Celestia added.

"It's fine," the changeling stallion assured them. "We'll get it back. Then we'll blow it out of the water. I think we've got a solid setup here for the moment, and as long as we stay flexible, because things are going to get crazy in the future, mark my words, we'll make it through this as number one."

Max chuckled, putting his hoof towards the center of the table. Crystal was the first to recognize the gesture, quickly putting her own hoof on his with a delighted giggle. Luna followed as well, looking intrigued. Finally they all looked to Celestia.

"I suppose I must take part in this madness as well," the white mare grumped, though her face twisted into a grin as she put forward her own hoof.

"I believe the line was, One for all, all for one?" Crystal asked Maximus.

"I was going to say go team, but sure, we can use that one," Max laughed.

The smiles of the alicorns soon matched those worn by the changelings and the group broke contact, each with an idea of what they needed to accomplish.

Max hit the bottom of the cavern with a clatter of chitin on rock, his notes, quickly rewritten to a second scroll so that the originals didn't become damaged as well as keeping the notes down to just the descriptions and warnings on reactivity or dangers of the materials. Throntium for instance reacted to water, often sparking and generating enough current to hurt someone.

'Could use it, I'm certain, though it may degrade quickly if the current is used. I know we're in magic-land, but things don't change that much I don't think.'

He used some thick brushes to wipe away dirt from a shine on the floor, nodding at the bulbous surface of the metal deposit before him.

"Luna, over here. More titanium."

The alicorn flew over, a slight sheen of sweat present as she landed from her exertion. She lit the metal with her magic, cleaving the ore from the earth and teleporting it to a beaconed location set by Celestia, the white alicorn adding a new beacon after every batch of metal arrived on the surface. They'd made good time, leaving the materials to be sorted later. Celestia would be the one to transport most of it to the keep for safe keeping. While he didn't think the peasants would try to steal it, he also didn't think someone would be willing to swing a knife at Celestia.

'Shows what I know,' he snorted in amusement.

Max continued his job as junior prospector for a good while and by the time they were even half-way done Luna was hitting her limit.

"Alright, we'll call it a day," Max called to the shaking alicorn. "We'll head back up and Sunny can start dropping the first batches of rock down here. I owe you some TLC for all your hard work."

"We need this material, do we not? I am still, fit to work," she panted. She stood straighter as well, trying to appear to be in better shape but she didn't fool him.

"It's extra. We don't need it but it will help us in the long run. We don't even have a forge set up, but this will help with that as well," he explained. "Everything you pull now is something we won't need to mine or buy later. But seriously, Luna. You're exhausted and you still need to take care of the moon later. Celestia can help, you two can do your ritual, but you shouldn't kill yourself if you don't need to."

She pouted, her wings sagging in exhaustion and defeat at his words and he trotted closer, kissing her cheek.

"Come on, lets go. We've been playing in the dirt all day. We all need a bath."

The two began flying towards the exit tunnel but Max stopped, a glint of light shining off of something in the distance. He stopped, confused as it wasn't a metallic shine but wet.

"Luna, hang on."

Max landed a few paces from the shine and his face twisted into one of horror.

It was a pony.

"Oh fuck. Oh shit oh fuck, shit shit shit," he gasped, rushing to the form. Luna was close enough now for her light to give details and none were encouraging. Pulped legs, blood that was mostly dried, the young pony had been there for several hours at least. Most of the body heat had faded, leaving a flattened corpse directly under the tunnel entryway. Since the dogs were digging an alternate route now, hey wouldn't have found it either.

"What happened to him?" Luna whispered.

"Fell, from the tunnel up there. Unicorn, no wings so they fell. The tunnel was kind of steep so if they took a tumble they never would have been able to stop. Fack, I completely forgot about that. We need to rope off the tunnel, make sure nobody wanders in. Dammit, if I'd just-"

"Maximus, this was an accident. You did not go out of your way to harm ponies. One merely wandered where he shouldn't have. I shall...return the body to the peasants. The parents should at least know his fate."

Max sagged, his wings buzzing with his anger. It was obvious now that he thought about it. Hell, it was why retention ponds were all being walled off; too many little kids wandering into the water. A deep dark hole in the ground relatively close to a village? One that has enough of an incline to walk into? For pity's sake they had just removed a ton of gems and other shinies from the cave the day before, of course someone was going to try and look.

"Stop it. We are attempting many things at once, Max. I do not expect you to think of everything and accidents happen. Let Tia and Crystal know I shall be bringing up a deceased pony."

Luna pulled him into a hug before pushing him away. Not waiting for him to respond she turned to the body, pulling a large slab of stone free to use to carry the young stallion.

With one last glance at the broken body, Max took off for the tunnel again. This wasn't the kind of alterations to time he was hoping for. Who's many-greats grandfather was that? An entire line of ponies never being born because he'd forgotten to take the necessary safety precautions.

He slowed as he flew through the tunnel back to the surface, however, sending a quick ping to Crystal as well about what they had found. It was also possible the family line died out in the disaster they were currently trying to prevent.

'Luna's right. You can't think of everything. Learn and move on,' Crystal encouraged him.

'I know but it's still, I feel like I should have remembered something like this. It's a basic safety thing, but with having wings now I didn't think about it.'

Max cleared the entrance to the tunnel soon after, finding Celestia already prepared with a blanket laid out on a liter.

"Crystal has told me, how bad was it?"

"It would have depended on how he landed. Best cause scenario he died instantly. Worst case...I know he was already dead by the time we showed up, since here were no emotions in the area. Some faint traces, but there are ghost emotions all over the place. You learn to filter those out."

Max sat down heavily turning to watch as Luna arrived with the thin stone slab. She carefully pushed the pony off of it and onto the litter, wrapping the blanket around the body before chucking the bloodied stone into the tunnel behind her.

"We should either seal the entrance while we're not here or post guards. We can't have the this happening again."

"Fools, I say. I know it is different here but can you really stop a young stallion from wandering into a dragon's maw?" Crystal asked the older shape shifter. "He is young by your standard, but he is an adult by the thinking of the ponies. Do not think you allowed some foal to die, because that stallion was old enough to know better."

"While I do not approve of Crystals attitude she is correct. He was old enough to know better. Old enough to process the risk of wandering into a small hole in the ground. We shall find out if there is any family in town. Unicorns stay with their families a little longer, from what Celestia has told me."

Turning to the older alicorn, Luna smiled softly.

"Tia, would you accompany me?"

The white mare nodded, picking up the litter in her magic and following Luna back to town. For his part Max wanted nothing to do with the situation but knew it wouldn't be the last body he came across.

'No rules, no laws but what we enforce. Scarier than you would think, actually. I'm so used to laws enforcing some basic decency I don't know how to react when they don't exist.'

'That's why you have family. Those who you know will protect you,' Crystal offered, pressing into his side. 'Even in the village I attacked death was common. They lost four ponies even as I made my plans to take the town. Do not forget that. There are no hospitals; Cracks workplace is a M.A.S.H. at best, though less equipped and with poorer staffing. Education here was minimal. Medical technology is all but nonexistent. Defense technology is okay for this time, especially when we add unicorn magic but that only barely puts it above your own world's abilities at this point.'

'Even the most powerful humans did not create their empires overnight, Maximus. While Mother was not patient even she knew this. The hive was powerful but it was also at least a century old, likely more.'

The smaller shape shifter gave him a quick nuzzle before moving towards the hole in the ground, sizing it up.

i]'We are done for the day, correct? I shall seal it.'

Max watched in fascination as the queen began lining the outer ring of the tunnel with a thin layer of resin before blasting it with a fiery burst of magic to solidify it. Once she'd covered about a foot in depth she began to try to put a thin film over the entrance. Emphasis on the word try.

'I could use some help. I don't have enough resin.'

"Can you teach me to do this?" He asked her.

'Certainly. Start by spitting some resin right here and thin it out along the outer ring of the entrance. Then you run a quick wash of magic over the film to harden it. Now at this thickness it won't hold up to a weapon or an adult pony pressing into it, but it will definitely keep out your main concern, little foals. Okay, next I want you to catch the next bit of resin in your magic. You need the start adding to what's already there in a circle, flashing it hard after every ring. Good, now run magic, just like that.'

Celestia landed heavily outside the new storage area that had been completed only a few days ago. The runes on the wall were still a work in progress and thus were not empowered, allowing Max and Crystal to enter the cellar in relative comfort. The male's ears perked at the alicorn's landing, walking to an unused corner and lighting it with his magic, all while making notes on his ghetto clipboard. Seriously, a slab of wood with an improvised clamp holding the paper to it and the ponies found it a wonderful invention.

'They'd cream themselves at the thought of a decent pen.'

His charcoal stick flashed over his paper as he took notes of the metals and the amounts being stored, many of them still raw or loaded with dirt. They would need to be refined but the village had neither the time nor the facilities to do so.

'Maybe we could just wing it. I mean I know what a forge is supposed to look like.'

The entire wait for the forge was getting to him. It was something they should have had within a week of setting up here. Instead they were going on three years since Celestia and Luna defeated Discord and created this home. If this was a video game, he'd be calling them all newbies for lack of foresight.

'I razz those girls enough as it is though. Not going to bitch at them for something they didn't anticipate. Not when they thought the nobles had their backs.'

Celestia dropped the ore with a grunt, the heavy metals and constant exertion now taking its toll on her. Luna had tried offering to help with the transportation but all three of the larger beings had sent her to the keep, Max even ordering her to drink water or tea to rehydrate.

"This is nearly all of it," the solar mare panted. "One large chunk of titanium remains. The Knights have already gathered the smaller bits of metal and gems on a wagon and are bringing them here using Lady sapphire's wagon."

"Isn't that the one Flint tried to steal?"

"The same. Perhaps that is why she was so willing to allow us to use it. She was unconscious while it was being stolen and would have never known."

"Leave the last chunk, Tia. We're calling it a night."

"But the metal-"

Max laughed.

"If a pony manages to walk off with half a ton of titanium, with no footprints or drag marks, the little shit deserves it. You and Luna killed it today, it's time to grab dinner and get ready for bed."

She wrinkled her nose in frustration but nodded, her wings sagging in exhaustion.

"Very well. I will not argue that I have not exerted myself like this in a long time. Luna and I still have yet to change to sun and moon."

"Honestly we've done more in a single day than most species would be able to do in several days, if not a week."

Making a note in his papers, Max nodded and started towards the door.

"I may try to set up a forge on my own. We've got to get this done. Is there a town nearby we can visit besides the duke's?"

Celestia hummed in thought as she followed along behind him, closing the door to the storage room as she left.

"I believe there was a mare by the name of Copper Road that was nearby as well. It's a bit farther than Silverblood Keep and not as big but it should be viable. You should take Luna when you go there. She would be a better option until I...complete my recovery."

"You're most of the way there, Tia. You'd be fine to go if you'd like. In fact I think it would be good for you. You like talking to others, right? That's going to be half of this trip, talking to Miss Road and setting up a possible trade agreement between this village and her own. In fact I suggest that we bring some samples of the metals we recovered as proof we're legit; that we actually intend to trade. We may also be able to learn about Silver and why he's got it out for you two."

"Why don't you stay with us tonight, too. We'll get all the washing done and I'll see to it that you girls get another massage. You're probably going to be sore tomorrow, even if it was just magic you were flexing."

"That would be nice, but I'm certain she was looking forward to spending time with you, and I do not wish to-"

He looked back at her, his smile becoming devious.

"Oh, you are horrible. I will stay for the bathing and the massage but then I'll leave you all to your night. You will need the love for the trip, even if you can supplement it with friendly affection and interactions on the way."

"Oddly enough, Crack and Flick have been storing a ton of emotion lately. As drones they burn less energy than Crystal and I do on an average day. That means that the simple camaraderie they feel with the Knights and servingponies here is more than enough to sustain them. It's amazing how much they've stored in all honesty. Maybe I can borrow some for the trip."

"I do not believe they will object. After all, you were the one who allowed them to make this life."

Max shrugged.

"I'm still going to ask. Never assume someone's going to give you something. That goes double if you need it badly. Otherwise you could end up in a bad way, especially if something bad happened and now they need it. I mean, there are possibly other changelings out there so-"

"There are, sir," Flick said quietly, buzzing her wings in nervousness as she landed beside him.

"A few drones have started gathering nearby. They can smell the honey we've been keeping but they also saw Crystal and it worries them. She wasn't the nicest proto queen but one was an infiltrator like myself. He contacted me and asked for information, like why I'm not using a disguise. They're scared, sir, but they're also lost and hungry. Can we help them?"

Celestia cocked her head thoughtfully, a smile forming on her lips.

"I do not see why not. You have done no harm. Just ensure these new drones are aware of this rule, that harming ponies by overfeeding is not tolerated."

"It also causes the ponies to feel less to you," Flick said, nodding. "I got excited once and drained a knight a little too much. I, I worked his shift while he recovered as an apology. He didn't taste the same for a few days after that, like he was afraid."

The changeling drone's ears wilted at the memory.

"It wasn't a good experience. He forgave me, but he still doesn't taste the same

"We can meet them tomorrow. As petitioners, actually. Have them approach the Keep for an audience with Celestia and Luna. Petition for citizenship, for the right to join the townsponies here."

"Some of them will want a hive, sir."

Max paused at that. It was still something he was getting used to, having someone with access to his thoughts. Crystal was fiercely loyal though and wouldn't hurt him. The same couldn't be said of the drones.

"What does expanding a hive like that include, Flick?"

"I don't know, sir. I've never dealt with the hierarchy involved. You and Crystal though, you're physically different from us. I've never really tried to pull information from a queen. I don't know how it works."

"Can a drone disconnect after a connection has been made?"

It was like he'd offered her an early Christmas present.

"You'd let me choose? You'd let me leave if I didn't like being in your link?"

"Flick, I thought you'd realize by now that I don't think like that. I've never demanded you serve me, never demanded a link, I've never even demanded the extra honey you and Crack stock up on. In fact I was going to ask if I could use some for a trip."

She nodded, her wings carrying to his barrel as she latched onto him.

"As much as you need. Thank you, thank you so much! I was so worried you'd just forgotten or assumed it was yours like the queens always did. I'm sorry I doubted your kindness, anything you need sir, I'll do anything-"

"Whoa, Flick. Calm. Did you make sure those drones out there are fed? You can spare some extra honey until we can talk to them, right? Then tomorrow we'll talk about the hive. I may need Crystal's help with that. She's the one who linked to me after all."

"I still have those jars you gave us to store as well. We have so much right now, it's wonderful! I'll take two jars out with Crack, is that acceptable? I'll tell them you're the hive leader, not Crystal. That Crystal listens to you and the large blue mare."

Flick pressed her face into his chest once more, torn between crying and laughing.

"I won't let you down, sir. I'll talk to them, they'll be ready to see you when you want. Will you be bringing one of the large ponies?"

"Bring Luna, Maximus. It will settle their minds seeing the affection she feels for you."

"You're getting pretty potent yourself, Tia. I do agree though. Luna, maybe Crystal if it doesn't bother them too much. I'd prefer to bring her since she's part of the family."

Flick nodded quickly.

"I understand, sir. I'll speak to them. I can't tell you where they are, they made me promise not to, but some will come to speak when you are ready."

Max nodded and the drone buzzed off, squealing happily as she went to speak with the new changelings.

"Could make things interesting for certain. Kind of worried how a hive will impact me though," he said to the white alicorn.

"I am certain you shall find a way to adapt. I am uncertain I could have achieved the level of comfort you have found in your new form as quickly."

Max stepped closer, pulling her into a hug.

"You nut, you weren't comfortable with your own body to begin with. I was. It may be different but it's still mine and as soon as I figure everything out about it I'll be good to go."

Celestia sighed.

"Very well. Now I'm hungry and it is almost time for sunset. Let's go."

The changeling perked at her words.

"Shit, I'd nearly forgotten!"

Not waiting for a response, Max took off at top speeds, pinging Crystal and sending her to Luna's room.

'It's time to science this shit up!'

Crystal laughed at his enthusiasm over the link.

'Yea science!'

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Celestia scowled as a large changeling nose poked into the dining hall. She was famished after her long day and had ended up barely receiving much help from Luna during their ritual, though there were now other magics mixed in as well, the changelings providing their own power to supplement the power of the alicorns. Now she was sitting at the table, food prepared for a very late dinner, while she waited on Luna.

There was some hushed giggling and the muzzle darted back out the moment the stallion's eye caught sight of her. Then the door was pushed open and a furiously blushing Luna was corralled into the room by the rest of her flock.

"Ta-da!" Max declared, splaying his forelegs while gesturing to the blue mare.

Celestia squinted in the crystal light, she could just barely make out a faint aura of light around-

Max, seeing her focus, proceeded to snuff the lights with his magic and dropped the light level even more. The results were as amusing as they were beautiful.

As he'd postulated, Luna did indeed glow with a beautiful light of her own, her blush appearing as an even brighter glow around her cheeks. The moon of her cutie mark was a vibrant white, while the flowing mane twinkled in the dark. The changeling was right; Luna glowed.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Just when I thought she couldn't get any better I find out she's got a built-in night-light mode," Max chuckled, pulling the embarrassed alicorn into a hug.

"It is... beautiful. You look lovely, Luna."

The younger alicorn perked at that.

"You mean that, Tia?"

"I do. I am not comfortable sharing that connection with you, but you do look lovely. I dare say that your flock's experiment may be considered a success. We should endeavor to remain calm during our ritual. It could be slightly dangerous should our charges imbue us with powerful magics upon contact. I burned that pillow, Luna. While this particular situation is amusing, be cautious."

"Thanks, Celly," Max said, moving to his seat. "So after this a bath, preening and a massage for the hard working ladies, then bed. Sound right?"

Celestia nodded as she finally dug into her meal. She felt absolutely ravenous. She chomped loudly, her ears beginning to burn as she slowed. Both changelings were watching in amusement while Luna's glow was increasing in intensity once more.

"Grace," Crystal muttered, giggling in amusement as Max tucked into his own dinner at a much more sedate pace.

"Eat, eat. It's why we're here. You two missed lunch and busted your butts. The night's yours," he assured them.

Though she continued to eat, it was now at a more reasonable pace. Stars above, it was a good thing Luna's glow was the primary source of light in the room or they would have been able to see her very un-princess-like blush. The last time she had let herself eat like that was before she and Luna had ascended.

She tucked away another plate of vegetables, not bothering to savor the taste. She was too hungry. More bread, some cheese. A glass of tea disappeared down her throat, the warm liquid doing what her spit couldn't keep up with and helping to wash down the meal. More bread, this time not even buttered. Still her belly demanded more, her energy needed to be replenished after such a long day.

She heard Crystal muffling laughter, but didn't pay it any mind. Luna was stuffing her face as well, her own body screaming for food after such a large display of power.

"Hey, must be the magic," Max muttered, taking an empty cup and choking into it. Celestia's ears perked even as she began eating her third helping.

"Drink up, Luna," he said with a smile, offering the smaller alicorn a glass of changeling honey.

She watched curiously as Luna slowed in her eating long enough to down the glass of emotion. The other mare hummed in delight as the magic-saturated liquid entered her gullet, and her eating actually slowed.

"I don't understand," Celestia mumbled before her eyes widened. "It is the magic, isn't it? But-"

"It's probably why you're hungry," Max guessed. "I mean, have the two of you ever burned that much magic in a single day?"

"Not since Discord. And even then our battles were often quick and decisive...with the draconequus hoofing us our flanks most of the time," Luna said, her muzzle screwing up in irritation at the memory.

"Well, you two just burned more energy in a single day than most people do in a week. Does it really surprise you your bodies need to restore that energy? Look at the bright side. This means you can eat as much as you want without worrying about getting fat. Do you know how many mares back home would kill for a metabolism like that?"

"All of them," Crystal said, bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Its like my molting. It's a part of who you are. The alternative would be keeping either a ton of honey or a ton of mana-gems or something like that, gems you store magic in for later use. In the meantime eat, you deserve it. And Tia, you're looking for high-energy things. That includes sweets."

Celestia's eyes widened in delight. She'd always enjoyed sweets but remembered that too many could be harmful. Not to mention wasteful. However this time she had a reason to eat them; she'd get more out of sweet things than most ponies would, actually.

A second choking sound from Max raised her eyes from her plate to see the stallion now holding half a glass of white fluid, which he offered to her.

"It's not love so it's not as potent, but it should help take some of the bite off of your hunger."

The white alicorn stared at the liquid the stallion was offering with a hint of disgust but it quickly disappeared. It wasn't...it was honey. It wasn't like he was offering her a glass of vomit, even if she felt as if that was the case. The honey was magically charged, sweet as well surprisingly enough, though she couldn't for the life of her understand why. Looking to her plate even as she contemplated a forth serving of dinner or maybe even a fifth, she took it in her magic

"It won't make me act too silly again, will it?"

"It may. Some of it is going to be your emotions this time, but you're consuming a lot more. While I don't think it will be totally incapacitating like it was that first time it won't be as effective as what I gave Luna either."

She stared at the glass, taking it in her magic and swirling it slightly, watching the glowing gel with unease. It could leave her a bit dizzy or silly, depending on the intensity of the emotion. Then again it would be better than gorging herself like her body was demanding. She couldn't remember being this hungry before but even against Discord the two alicorn's had never used so much magic.

'Likely because by the time we brought our power to bear we had already lost. That and the he battles were quick and decisive.'

Never before had the mares worked so long and so hard.

'No, that is not completely correct. When Luna and I raised the stone for the Keep, when we formed it the process exhausted us. We ate and slept for a good while after that.'

With a sigh, Celestia downed the honey, smacking her lips at the strange sweetness as she knew what it was. There was no physical reason for emotion to be sweet. Maybe that's why dealing with the changeling was so frightening his connection with Luna and his obvious concern for the two of them helped but...okay maybe frightening was the wrong word. Frustrating? Perhaps confusing was a better word.
The room slowly became a bit fuzzier and Celestia was thankful she had already done her celestial duties for the night otherwise there would likely be problems; she wasn't sure if she trusted herself with that kind of spell in this condition.

"Don't worry, Tia. We'll get you bathed and in bed after dinner. Just finish eating."

She nodded, a giggle escaping her lips as a little bit of fuzziness started to seep into her mind. She was still kind of hungry, but it was fading a little now. She took another bite of her meal, only now realizing how full she was feeling. A wonderful sensation, now that she thought about it. It meant they had food. Luna was full from the contented sigh her fellow ruler released, Celestia felt full, the changelings were well cared for, her Knights, her servingponies, her peasants; all were well supplied with food and water was being seen to both with the irrigation and the new well. She had a warm bed, she was loved...

This also wasn't the first time she'd felt fuzzy in his presence. Max had been with her after her first blooded battle, had become drunk with her and nothing untoward had occurred in spite of her weakness. With Luna nearby as well as Max's concern with her wellbeing, she could relax a little. She could trust them to take care of her.

She didn't need to fear these ponies.

<-(0)->

Max rubbed in a methodical way as he worked his way down Luna's back. The entire area around her wings was tense from exertion and it apparently felt great. She was putty under his hooves, as was Celestia nearby.

Crystal was currently the one tasked with the older mares care, Max seeing it as both an excellent time for Crystal to work with the white alicorn as well as a time that Celestia wouldn't complain too much. The Tia was still a bit high, her dopey grin as she melted into the bedding hilarious when compared to the pout Crystal was wearing. Still, the changelings had been relegated to support roles for the day, passing information between the princesses in a way that wouldn't be technologically feasible for hundreds of years. Not only that it may be more secure; it was complicated enough to decrypt electronic communications after all, how much more complicated was the link that joined the two shape shifters?

Max slowed as he worked Luna's shoulders and approached her wings. The muscles were tense but they were also sensitive. Not just to touch, either, but to everything they experienced. Wind, temperature, sudden shifts in air currents, the wings needed every bit of sensitivity they could muster. It also meant they could be used to set off an excited mare once you knew what you were doing. Or at the least, you could mess with them until you learned how they worked. That ran the risk of either irritating the pony attached to said wings, or causing an orgasm.

"Such horrible risks we run," he muttered softly, gently rubbing up to the base of the wings.

Luna mewled softly under his touch, the dozing mare's wings twitching slightly as he slowly and gently ran his hooves over the base of the powerful muscles.

'Jerk! Leaving me to deal with her while you play with Luna!'

'It's not dealing with her, Crys. It's building that all-important relationship and trust. She knew the honey would leave her a little silly but she trusts us to take care of her while she's buzzed. Because you're the one watching her, she knows you're trustworthy as well. I'm not going to lie, you may get stuck watching out for her when Luna and I leave to work out a trade deal with Lady Copper. We need you to watch her back while we're gone, give her someone to trust as well as a way to communicate with us. Otherwise she'd be alone here.'

'There are ponies all over the place, she isn't-'

'Do you feel like your not alone when you walk through the halls, Crystal? I feel kind of lonely. Some are nice, sure. But it's not the same as a solid relationship. It's just not enough for her. She doesn't want someone who will see to her every whim or fulfill her orders. She needs someone to be there for her. She's going to need support.'

'Maximus, that mare just moved enough tonnage to compare with those large buildings you've shown me. She also did this on top of her normal duties, which happen to be raising the damn sun and then setting it in the evening. She fucking moves a giant ball of fire, Max!'

'Crystal, she was using the Elements of Harmony to keep her emotions in check because she didn't trust anyone. Not even Luna. She doesn't need you to physically protect her, but you should be ready to help her mentally.'

The proto queen slowed in her motions, her eyes lighting with understanding.

'Covering weaknesses. This is what you were talking about, isn't it? I watch her when she's emotionally weak and she'll physically protect me with...with the power she was using today.'

'That's pretty much it, but it goes a bit farther. You don't do it because you want them to help, it's not a quid-pro-quo. If Luna and I were to disappear tomorrow she'd be crushed, and so would you. You would need to rely on each other. Comfort each other. That's what Celly's been missing. She has no friends, she has no confidante. Listen to what she has to say and if she asks you not to mention it don't. There is only one exception, Crystal. Can you tell me what it is?'

He felt the queen reaching for his memories but pushed against her, a smile forming on his face.

'Come on, Crystal, use that lump of mush between your ears. Why would I ask you to break her trust? Trust is important, so what's more important?'

Crystal buzzed her wings, drawing a sigh from the alicorn she was massaging as the vibrations were carried into Celestia's back.

'Her life.'

'Exactly. If you see or hear something that makes you worry she may hurt herself, you let me know immediately. I think she's past that but there's a reason I don't want to leave her alone.

'Besides, you've been spending all this time with Luna. It's my turn.'

Crystal pouted a bit more as he nuzzled into the blue alicorn's neck, drawing a happy sigh at the affection from his charge. The smaller changeling wasn't upset at the notion of caring for the white pony though, just his teasing. It brought a smile to Max's face. She was learning, they were all improving every day. Luna was happy and Celestia was stabilizing. Crystal was becoming more intelligent, often times drawing directly from his experiences when she was uncertain of how she should proceed.

'Must be nice, being able to learn so quickly,' he thought to himself while trying to shield the thoughts from the queen. She didn't respond so either she wasn't paying attention or it worked. Maybe one day he'd figure out why he wasn't panicking from the idea of the young mare pulling from his experiences. He was fairly certain such a reaction wasn't exactly normal, even if the one he was mentally linked to didn't seem fully matured at times.

Forging Bonds

The next few days went quickly, the alicorns slowly filling in the cavern and removing the various metals for later use. Max had busied himself with a side project well outside the castle walls while this was accomplished. He'd managed to scrounge together a simple bellows, two large chunks of wood with a thick stitched cloth that was stuck to the wood with resin. The furnace itself had started as a mess, a crude ring of stones over the burning coals that were sealed into a in-leaning tower held together with clay. The bellows blew into a small clay channel that could be accessed from the side by removing a loose stone for cleaning. The bellows were attached to allow the air to rush into and up the forge while keeping the cloth and wood bellows clear of the heat and flames. It had all seemed to be a good plan, but once the fuel was added and the heat increased...the forge fell apart. The stones cracked and the clay shattered, outright exploding in some areas as moisture escaped the material.

He'd walked away with several new nicks and cracks in his shell, earning him a lecture from Crack and Luna as well as some pampering that night. Not a bad situation all-round.

Now he was working with seared clay bricks and a cobbled together variant of heat-clay for his forge. It had taken a bit to remember that, but a few modded games mentioned a specific type of clay that would hold against heat better. Those same mods didn't tell you where such materials were found, but curiosity about the legitimacy of the information had given him the information he'd now needed. Unfortunately it was only after two days of working with the wrong materials that he was able to recall the specifics, with the help of a busy changeling sub queen.

The changeling stallion sighed, his wings still sore from fanning them during his first experiment. Changelings didn't sweat, so the heat had to be removed a different way. That meant buzzing ones wings in such a way as to blow the wind away, carrying the heat with it. It had almost made him sick the first day of his work, his mind unused to worrying about such things. He'd even taken to splashing his wings with a fine mist of water from a nearby bucket. The temperature felt like it dropped five degrees the second he started fanning the damp wings.

Crystal had been gob-smacked by the idea of adding water to the wings to speed cooling. It apparently wasn't something that was thought of before. Not that changelings normally used forges or didn't know enough about transformations to alter themselves in ways that would keep them cool. Like increasing the size of the blood vessels running up and down his back right under his fanning wings.

Max placed some fuel inside his latest ring-forge and set up a small fire. It was relatively small, only about two or three feet wide at the base and slowly coming to only a foot wide at the top and about He let the flames take, dumping some water on his bellows before giving it a quick pump. He let the temperature settle, adding a little more fuel to increase the temperature in a controlled manner. His first forge had cracked and broken because he'd failed to raise the heat slowly, or use the proper materials. He'd taken two days setting up this latest model, he wasn't going to let carelessness or impetuousness be the death of his hard work.

More fuel, wait for the forge to warm. More fuel, give the bellows a pump or two. More fuel, check the outside for cracks or other problems. Splash water over his wings and begin fanning them as the temperature rose, add more water to his bellows. Add a bit more fuel.

The forge was by no means a finished product, his final goal being something similar to the forges from some medieval games that would allow a good bit of metal to be smelted at a decent pace. The issue was there was no crafting menu to dump the materials into. There was also no guarantee the forge would work after he made it. Taking a tempered heat-clay container that had been left touching the forge to raise its temperature, Max filled the bowl with some relatively dirt-free gold ore. He set the container inside the flames, the brackets on either side just outside the hottest bit of the fire. That was reserved for the container that was holding the bit of gold he was practicing with.

He waited, pumping the bellows every now and again for extra heat or throwing additional fuel on the fire. Eventually the gold was level in the container, a molten soup that caused his muscles to tense in caution. He carefully removed the container and poured the molten metal into a previously prepared ingot-mold.

Max felt a grin playing over his face as he watched the gold slowly dribble into his mold, a feeling of accomplishment giving him an amazing rush at the near-completion of his task. There was a little left over so he pored it into a second mold, a simple sun and moon symbol he'd made while waiting for the clay to temper over the last few days. It made him giddy, thinking of the results. The gold wasn't pure by a long means but the overall mass would be lowered, as would the mass of most of the metals the mares had recovered. The purification of the metal wasn't the point though. With a proper forge the tools they already had could be re-forged and repaired, not to mention the ease of transport for the individual bars as compared to chunks of raw ore. It was possible he'd eventually be able to cut down the room that was being used to hold the metals down to about three quarters of its current capacity. A simple fact when you factor in how much easier ingots stacked as well as the removal of most of the dirt and grime.

'Could be wrong, may very well be wrong, but it should be easier to handle at the very least.'

Waiting a few minutes as the metal cooled, he carefully pulled the gold from the first mold the moment he thought it was ready. It was soft and fragile, not being reinforced and not pure, but it was still a gold item he'd made with little to no outside help. With some practice and time, he'd be forging works of art. After all, he still didn't have a set time for how long changelings lived. Until he noticed himself growing old, he'd bet on later rather than sooner. It was easier, meant he'd be there for Luna for a long time to come.

Max shook his head, dispelling the sappy thoughts even as they brought him a bit of happiness. He had things to do. It was about dinner time. He was meeting up with the girls in a little bit.

His ears flicked, a soft buzz followed by a soft impact on the ground heralding a changeling drones arrival. Crystal hadn't acted with subtlety for a while now.

Turning to look at the drone, his face scrunched in a moment of confusion before realization set in.

"So you guys are ready to talk?"

"I speak for those who have watched, though they demand the right to choose for themselves. To leave or accept your offer on an individual basis," the drone struggled out, almost shaking as he spoke.

Max nodded, both in understanding of the request and understanding of the drones fear.

"I have no issue with that. I won't be linking with the drones that join for a while. I am not yet comfortable with sharing so much with so many but perhaps in time I will be willing to do so. Do you have any questions for me?"

The drone shook his head quickly.

"I think you do, go ahead and ask. I'm sure Flick has already said that I'm not anything like the queens you dealt with in the hive. By that same token, I'm teaching Crystal my rules and customs, and part of that is not lashing out at those who ask questions."

Reclining in the grass and making himself comfortable even as he idly checked the gold bar, he smiled.

"I'll wait here, you can let the others know that I'll answer any questions they have out here away from the castle. No proto-queen, no ponies, just myself and whoever decides they want to talk. After that, they're free to go wherever they wish. I won't tolerate them hurting those of this town though. The ponies around here are under the care of a mare who is very important to me. To hurt them is to hurt her, and to hurt her is to hurt me. While I will not force changelings to adapt to my ways, I will defend myself."

<-(0)->

Max ended up waiting a while, asking Crystal to send either Flick or Crack to him with some honey. The older shape shifter had been running on fumes by the time Flick showed up with a few jars of honey and he'd gladly accepted the food while he waited. He hadn't expected to finally get a response from the other changelings, nor did he expect them to take so long to respond. Out of boredom, he turned to the drone waiting beside him with a question.

"Do you know how a changeling bonds or disconnects with others?"

"I don't sir. I only know that it works, not the how or why."

"Would you be upset if I uh, practiced with you?" he asked, chuckling at how awkward his wording sounded.

"I don't mind," Flick said, nodding. "You already said you would allow my to choose to stay or leave. I believe you, I know you won't force me to stay in the link."

Max nodded, calling for the information from Crystal with the link, she directed his thoughts to the information, following him back to watch through his eyes as he linked to the drone. He pushed a bit of magic through his horn into the smaller shape shifter, following Crystals instructions.

'Bit of the brain that's right- there it is. Push your magic there and it should-'

The drone reacted instantly, her eyes widening as the connection was gently applied to her. Max frowned, watching carefully as her thoughts slowly bled into his own perception. Unlike before though, where his thoughts and Crystals thoughts seemed to blend at times, there was only an awareness of the drones thoughts and ideas. Her nervousness, her fear, her hope. Everything she was, laid bare before his mind. He experimentally prodded at thoughts, memories, watching as they unfolded before him like books. Her time in the hives, the events leading up to her capture. He never stayed focused on them long enough to really watch, but the idea was just...

'Intoxicating. That explains a lot,' he thought, watching as she flinched at his projected thoughts. He actually felt bad about that, he'd blasted her with that thought. Unlike Crystal and himself, the mare had no defense against the demands of a higher changeling. If he told her to be happy she'd be happy, even if she didn't know why.

'And that's why she's scared. It's putting everything you are in the hands of someone, having to trust them completely, more completely than anything I have reference to.'

It also explained the fear of the drones that were coming to see him. Binding the mare to him had been simple now that he knew how to do it. It wouldn't take much effort for him to take every drone and force them to follow his orders. It's why the queens looked at the drones as disposable. They were slaves to the higher queens.

About an hour before sunset, the changelings arrived. It would have been silly if it wasn't so heart-wrenching. The drones arrived like a bunch of scared forest animals, peeking around trees and bushes while watching for any sign of betrayal. One heard the snap of a twig that was stepped on by another and nearly shat themselves, jumping away from the sound and sending the rest of the drones into a panic. Even Flick was unnerved, hiding behind him as the drones finally figured out they'd panicked themselves and began to calm down. When they'd finally settled in, keeping a straight shot back into the forest behind them and clumping into a large group in the clearing Max was working in, he decided to try to talk.

"Good afternoon."

His words caused seventeen pairs of ears to perk, half in panic. One darted off, unable to keep going anymore. Max didn't pursue it, though. The whole point he was trying to make was that Flick and Crack were here because they wanted to be. These drones were free to leave at any time.

One of the drones looked like he was going to pursue the one who fled, others looked to him in panic. Max just nodded to the drone who had splayed their wings.

"If you want to go make sure he's okay, you can. I'll talk to you later if you'd like. He doesn't have to be here if he doesn't want to be. Has everyone had something to eat?"

"We have, sir," one of the female drones whispered, flinching when he focused on her.

"Well, thank Flick here. She's been working on keeping the emotions stocked. I'm still learning how this stuff all works. Still haven't figured out how to separate the various emotions into a more pure honey. I'm sure the one who showed up earlier told you my deal. Anyone who has questions may ask, any who wish to leave may do so, and any who wish to stay, well the only rule is don't harm the ponies. Flick and Crack will both attest that feeding can be done without pods or capturing ponies."

Max watched the changelings as they buzzed their wings, looking to each other while waiting for another to make the first move.

"I wont force you guys. If you want to leave, you're free to leave at any time."

"Is it true you command the proto queen, sub queen seventeen?"

"I've been teaching her a few rules, but I don't command her. She's linked to me, but we have similar goals at the moment. I know most of you have an issue with her though, so that's why I'm your contact. She will not seek you out, she won't make demands of you, and she won't hurt you. I promise. If you have any issues with her, I will correct them."

Seeing a few winces, Max rolled his eyes.

"I will not take your issues lightly. I also will not assume that Crystal is in the right. She's learning to act as I would, but she's still learning."

Standing up, he stepped a bit closer and sat down in the middle of the group.

"I don't intend to push any of you into this. I'm trusting you to follow my rules out of respect and because they've worked well so far. But if any of you break these rules you will be punished, and not just by myself. There are others that I'm working with, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Pony princesses that are higher on the totem pole than myself. You will be following their laws. If you harm any of the ponies or each other, we're going to have a problem. If you wish to join me, you will introduce yourselves to Luna and Celestia in court.

"We are not hiding, we are not taking emotions and hiding in the background," he stated, standing back up and pacing in front of the drones. "You will be citizens, defended by both the alicorns and myself as well as the knights. You will be free to choose your professions, even joining the knights in defending both this hive and the ponies that provide you with emotion. That is what you are looking at. Now, do any of you have any questions?"

Surprisingly they responded better to the forceful approach. It was familiar to them. Something they expected. The soft approach seemed to confuse them. Like they didn't know what he was doing, or they were expecting him to betray them.

"I said, Are there any questions?"

"Sir, you said we are not allowed to cocoon the ponies. How do we feed?" a female drone asked, standing at attention.

"You speak to the ponies. You form emotional connections, friendships, you help them and offer them comfort. Flick, is this not how you ended up with more emotion than you need?"

The drone behind him jumped at his voice, nodding emphatically.

"Yes sir. I'd be happy to teach them."

"Flick will teach you the rules. You will be cautious of overfeeding- it hurts the ponies and nets you less emotion in the long run. You will not steal physical items from the ponies, you will be allowed to trade or barter. I will teach you how personal ownership works if you need, but you are free to share or keep things to yourself as you wish. It is up to you in that line."

Max stopped, looking over the attentive changelings. The change with his altered attitude was impressive.

"The link is something that is relatively new to me and its something I'm still getting used to. If I speak to loudly over the link, let me know so that I can improve on it. If you have an issue with someone else, say something so that we can either fix it or move the two involved changelings or ponies and changelings to different locations and keep them apart."

Standing before the group and holding his head high, he looked over them once more.

"I will add rules as they are needed. For now I have nothing else to say. I am heading back to the castle and heading to bed. If any would like to head back to the castle, we'll set you up in either the underground storage room, which should be comfortable for you guys as its underground. After that we'll look into putting you wherever you feel comfortable."

The changeling stallion turned around, walking back to his forge and grabbing his ingot and molded symbol. He carefully set the ingot in his bags and took off towards the castle. Flick was flying just off to his left, keeping formation with him while behind him he could hear a few sets of wings. He didn't look, instead gently prodding Flick to take a look while allowing him to use her eyes. About six drones were following, the rest still sitting in the clearing around the forge. It was more than he'd expected actually.

'Thanks, Flick. If you need anything, you let me know,' Max whispered into her mind, being cautious of putting too much force into his thought.

'Thank you sir. I didn't expect any of them to follow,' she answered.

Max nodded, landing outside the gates of the castle and nodding at the guards before turning to address the drones that had followed.

"You've chosen to follow and that means you've chosen to follow my rules. Flick will be your guide and your boss. Listen to her, follow any suggestions and rules she implements, and enjoy your night. If you guys want to join the link, we'll discuss it tomorrow."

Stepping into the main gates, Max wasn't surprised to see Crystal present with Luna and Celestia, all three watching carefully as the drones followed Flick into the storage room.

'Flick, offer them blankets if they'd like, offer them. Make sure they're comfortable and hidden so none of the ponies working in the castle stumble across these guys before they're ready to start working with the ponies.'

'Yes sir. I'll make certain they're secured. Is there anything else you need?'

'Nope, you take care of them and get some rest. Thanks for the help.'

"You've linked with Flick," Crystal said, watching the drones walk away.

"I did, we can talk about this later," Max said, pushing Crystal towards the main building. "We'll be talking about this with them in detail tomorrow. You'll be with me but you'll keep to the side unless they talk directly to you. I don't want you scaring them away, but don't let them insult you. If they start throwing insults, I'll personally kick them out."

"You are not going to be gentle with them?" Luna asked.

"First off, there's a difference between being gentle and being a pushover. They also expect a certain firmness. When I tried being gentle, they immediately became suspicious. They seem to respond better to an almost militaristic force of will. That's fine with me, I can work with that. Second, this isn't all of them. There were about seventeen drones out in the forest, so we'll need to keep an eye out for missing ponies. If the drones out there think they'll be allowed to act out just because I was being nice they've got another thing coming."

Max sighed, deciding to give the alicorns and Crystal a play by play as they prepared for bed with a quick bath.

"I asked Flick to let me practice the link with her, so I at least know what it entails. It turns out its a lot more one-way with the drones. I don't know if they can pull like Crystal can, but i'd bet they can't. Everything about her, every experience she lived was open to me. It was scary, having that kind of power over someone and I can see why the queens would abuse that. If I told them to be happy, they'd smile every day never knowing why they're doing so."

"Anyway after a while the drones showed up, as I said there were about seventeen of the little guys. I tried laying down, being non-threatening but they were so jittery one bolted. They were expecting a betrayal, expecting me to drag them into my link and use them to hunt down their friends. It doesn't take much to form a link to a drone, I did it with Flick in a few seconds. A little magic to mark them as yours into a specific section of the brain, imprinting them into your hive, and they're yours. It doesn't even have to be voluntary."

Max buzzed his wings in agitation, remembering the looks of fear he'd received.

"When I went Sergeant Bugsy on them, they listened. It was what they were used to, but they were still kind of worried. Just, I don't know how this will turn out. we'll have to be cautious of them for a while. Watch them, make sure they don't get into anything they shouldn't."

"You do not trust them," Celestia stated.

"Not really, but it's more to do with the fact that I have to be careful. Crack, I had him by the balls after his little trick to free Flick. He hoped to earn her help as she was an infiltrator and knew how to survive outside a hive. Flick was grateful for the rescue though, more grateful than I realized, and so he was still in the same barrel. These changelings aren't alone. They have others to support them. They could very well be planning something and until I get a chance to check I won't know for certain. But that just causes another issue. Do I rip into them like that? Your thoughts are your own, and while I don't mind sharing with Crystal, I don't know how I feel about tearing through a drones thoughts to make sure they're loyal."

Max took a deep breath, looking to the smaller shape shifter.

"That's why tonight I need you to help me, Crystal. I need you to teach me everything about drones that you know. Flick may be there as well, since I pulled her into the link but I need to know everything about the connection you two can give me."

"You shall do fine, Maximus. You have given Tia and I so much help, should you need any aid in return we would be only too happy to provide it. Shall I avoid the dream? If you are going to be working on the link, the dream may react, considering where it comes from."

"That would likely be best," Crystal replied. "I follow Luna in many things, Maximus, but in the hive...in our hive I trust you to take care of me."
'I-I submit.'

Max winced, feeling his connection to the queen shift slightly. He scowled, checking his connection for several moments before he realized what she'd done.

"Crystal, you didn't need to-"

"They need to see a single ruler. I know my alpha and Celestia rule together but it is an alien concept to them. It will, it will help you. I only ask that you be kind to me," she whispered, hanging her head in deferment.

"I do not understand," Celestia whispered, confused by the events.

"Crystal handed me her keys," the stallion responded, pulling the beta mare into a hug. "You silly goose, you didn't need to do that. And of course I'll take care of you. I promised, didn't I? I said we'd all watch each other's backs. Don't you dare start treating me like Flick does. I'm part of your flock and your hive, we're family."

Holding her for a moment, a grin spread across his face.

"I intend on making us equal again once the new drones are settled, but I am going to tease you."

'I wonder,' he sent, grinning maliciously. 'Cum.'

Crystal's body locked up instantly, her eyes widening as her body pulsed with a pleasurable aftershock.

"Oh wow, it works," he chuckled, getting an confused mutter in response even as Crystal fell into the hug limply.

Luna cocked her head.

"What works?"

"I can command her to do anything," he responded, his fanged smile telling it all. "Even that."

Celestia rolled her eyes, choosing not to respond verbally even as Luna perked, fascinated at that kind of authority over another.

"You commanded her to peak? And it worked?" the blue mare asked.

"It did, surprisingly. As I said, I didn't really understand just how much power a hive-leader has over another changeling. It's kind of ridiculous. I wonder just how far it goes?"

Max paused, feeling a faint discomfort from the changeling mare in his grip but noting that she didn't even flinch at the idea of being experimented on.

"I'm not...damn. I'll take care of you, Cryssie. Golden rule still applies. Dammit, I can't even ask her for permission because she'll give it automatically."

"What do you mean? She can still say yes or no, can she not?" Luna asked.

"I can ask all I want, but she's going to give me permission. It's how the link works. I can give her freedom, but the moment I ask for something, that's priority," Max answered, holding Crystal tightly. "That's fucking terrifying, and it's why the drones are so iffy about joining a hive again. I can literally tell them to rip their own legs off and they would do so with a smile."

Celestia stopped in her washing of Luna's wings, staring at him in horror.

"What? Can they not deny such orders?"

"The master of the hive is the master of those who follow him," Crystal said softly. "We live and die at the hive-master's pleasure. Mother made certain we knew this."

"That means that you're the uncontested ruler of the changelings in the hive," Luna said, realizing what it meant. "Crystal is putting...oh my. She basically gave you control of everything she is."

"It's a lot of trust, but I won't let her down. And if you start calling me sir I'll be upset, understand?"

Crystal nodded and he smiled at her, giving her a quick kiss on the nose.

"Time for bed, ladies."

"No massage this time?" Celestia asked, giggling as she hopped out of the bathing pool and began to dry herself off.

Max shook his head.

"You're getting spoiled. I'll make it up to you later, but unless you want to join in on some flock activities, I suggest heading to your own bed."

Celestia laughed again, tossing her wet towel at Luna before walking out the door.

"I will see the three of you tomorrow. Good night, Luna, Maximus, Crystal."

"Sleep well, Tia!" Luna called before turning to Max.

"Any plans this night, stallion of mine?"

Max nodded, looking Crystal over with a smile.

"I've got one or two, yea."

<-(0)->

Max grinned as Luna ate out the smaller mare, Crystal's rear raised high in the air with her tail falling down over her back. The younger shape shifter was moaning loudly, obviously enjoying the attention but there was a fear in her thoughts. A fear that had to do with what Max had said at the start.

He'd forbid her from peaking.

Luna had been enjoying teasing Crystal for a good three minutes now, enjoying every squirm and moan as the changeling mare desperately fought for that peak she was physically incapable of reaching.

Tapping Luna's back he took over, writhing his tongue around inside the smaller shape shifter and making certain she was ready. Boy was she ever. Max mounted her, lining himself up and sliding into the mare easily. She was soaked, her entire body trembling with anticipation but she wouldn't ask him to release her, she wasn't able to. His word was law after all. He sighed, feeling the soaked canal gripping and twisting around his shaft with no help from him. She wanted the stimulation, she pushed against him and moaned. She shivered and buzzed her wings as best she could, doing anything to add to her own pleasure.

"Stop buzzing."

Instantly the mare's wings stopped, her body locking up as his orders registered. Nodding in satisfaction he began to thrust into her, listening to every wet squelch his entry brought forth from her depths.

"How bad do you want it, Cryssie?" He whispered. "How badly do you want your reward?"

Her only answer was a moan, her tone changing with every impact into her sensitive nethers. Max began nibbling her neck, able to watch every muscle tense through his connection to the mare. He knew where she was, knew just how far over the line she was. He continued to thrust, moving himself and watching for the usual reactions. A clench of her belly, an arch of her back. She was going mad with pleasure, but she couldn't peak. Not until he said so.

For another minute this continued, Crystal's mind screaming for release. Max grunted, thrusting as deeply into her body as he could manage as his own orgasm arrived.

'Cum.'

Crystal gave a muffled scream into the bed, her body convulsing with the overpowering orgasm that had been held back through her connection to the hive. All the pleasurable build-up, all of the dirty talk and anticipation suddenly crashing down on her mind in one large wave of satisfaction that mixed with the sensation of emotion being poured into her womb.

Max felt another pulse from his dick as the changeling underneath him shuddered again, her pussy gripping him and holding on as if her life depended on it. She shivered, her aftershocks slowly lessening as his own spurts of seed diminished. With one last shuddering breath, Crystal blacked out.

"Damn," Max whispered, still unable to extract himself from her body. "That was, I'm not sure. Intense, but I, I need to speak to, wow.'

With a wet plop his dick came free, the sub queen's nethers still clenching rhythmically and squirting a bit of excess semen from her body. Luna was instantly on him, pressing him onto his back as she took the position of dominance and began to nibble on his own neck. He chuckled, relaxing into her care as she ran her tongue along the creases of his neck plates.

"Crystal is well?" Luna asked, kissing the underside of his jaw before moving back down to his neck.

"I don't know. She's not answering through the link," he puffed. "Ha, I think she's out cold."

"I shall speak to her as well. Perhaps she will speak freely to me, since I am not part of the link."

"It may also be because she's, ah god, reverted to before our link," Max said, gasping as Luna ground against his reawakening member. "Remember how she, was before?"

"I do," Luna panted, her eyes closed in concentration. "I, you think she has returned to that?"

Max closed his eyes in bliss, a soft and warm aura massaging his inner belly right over his testicles. He felt the quivering muscles of the flock alpha mare's sex slowly taking him as Luna pushed back onto him, felt her warmth pulling him deeper.

"Oh that's so much better than just watching. Not that I didn't enjoy watching you turn our little beta into a shaking mess of pleasure, but I have needs of my own."

"No complaints here," Max mumbled, letting Luna have her way with him. She shifted, grinding herself against him and smearing his chitin with her arousal. Her sex clenched, pulling at him and tightening seemingly at random. She moaned, leaning down to kiss him on the neck as she started to rock against his shaft.

"Oh stars, I missed this. We've been spending so much time with Tia, I've not...oh sun and stars. We're taking a day to ourselves. After the two of you settle this hive matter, I'm going to lock the door and none of us shall leave this room," Luna muttered, her eyes closed as she radiated pleasure and lust.

Max grinned as she continued to ride him, the alicorn oblivious to the world. He flashed his horn and squeezed the base of her wings, eliciting a whinny of shock as her sex clamped down on him. Luna blinked in confusion a few times before looking down at him, only to see him flash with green fire. Then the lunar mare's mouth hung open in shocked bliss.

Max had changed himself, inflating his dick slightly while adding protrusions at nearly every sensitive point of Luna's vaginal wall. With every shift of her weight, the pleasure shooting up her spine intensified, causing her to shiver.

"T-that's new," she mumbled, beginning to rock back and forth with a small bit of drool on her chin.

Max just nodded, watching Luna as she picked up her pace. She started flapping her wings, adding just a little more force to her movements. She started snorting, blowing hot air out of her nostrils as her instincts to mate became irresistible. She slammed against his hips, her ears perking slightly with every wet impact as she worked herself to climax.

As she reached her peak, she slammed down on him one last time, grinding against him even as her pussy quivered around him, the pulsing muscles gripping his altered rod and sending her even higher. She let herself fall to his barrel, pulling him tightly against her as she came, attempting to force him as deep inside of her body as she could. She felt him climaxing as well, felt the warm bliss of his emotion-laden seed pouring into her depths. What little hunger she still had from dinner faded, the magic being pulled into her body even as she shuddered in pleasure.

"There's, no better way to restore my magic," she giggled drunkenly, running her tongue lovingly along his neck. "Take care of Crystal tomorrow. She has never been in this situation before and she is scared."

"I know," he answered, shifting Luna to the side and pulling Crystal's limp form between them with his magic. "She's trusting us. Can't let that go unrewarded."

Luna and Max both wrapped themselves around Crystal, pulling the blankets over them as they settled in for a good night's sleep. Max smiled as he watched Luna settle her head over her beta's neck. Crystal was likely the safest changeling queen on the planet right now, and he'd hate himself if he ended up hurting her in some way. He'd have to be careful, and remember that he couldn't' really trust her word at this point. She was his, mind and body.

The scariest part of his newest discoveries though was that the connection existed in such a form at all. Could a queen do this to him?

Max pulled Crystal a little closer, praying he never had to find out.

Author's Note

I've actually put some time into learning how to forge things, how to make a forge, looked up videos, played a modded version of minecraft, the works and I think I want to try some smelting and forging of my own. It's dangerous, yea, but I can't think of anything more amazing than being able to pull this off. I've got plenty of soda cans XD

Pawns and Queens

Max frowned as he watched Crystal sitting at the breakfast table, no interest in the plate ahead of her aside from making Luna happy by eating a little. While Luna may have dismissed it as nerves, Crystal's reasoning was wide open to him. She wasn't interested. Without the filters that pulled from his memories and thoughts she just lacked the drive to try foods. She was right back to square one.

Almost back to square one. Crystal still trusted Luna. She still trusted her alpha, and by extension didn't think Max would actually do anything to hurt her. It didn't mean the queen was any less scared, but the shape shifter was drawing her strength from that. She also apparently saw Celestia as an alternate authority, someone else she could ask questions of if she needed to. That was an improvement even if she was having trouble still seeing him as approachable.

The time in the dream hive had been less than helpful. Crystal was extremely submissive the entire time he spoke to her, as if her very presence offended him. Digging a little deeper into her memories of her time in the hive he found out why.

It wasn't just Mother who abused the queens and drones under her rule. Other queens would put their peers in dangerous situations, doing anything they could to thin the herd and reduce competition. Mother actually rewarded the behavior as well, giving the surviving queens control of the forces of the deceased to their killer. It made it extremely dangerous to have any sort of presence, so most queens who weren't strong stayed meek and submissive to avoid attacks by paranoid queens. Crystal was physically strong, more so than some of the others, but she'd been brutally shut down by another queen. The only saving grace was that before the mare could kill Crystal, she'd been killed herself.

Crystal just didn't have the head for backroom politics, a dangerous weakness in the world of Mother's Hive. It had almost led to her death several times, so she followed her orders and did her best to watch her back. She didn't betray, she kept her head down, and she survived. It still brought Mother's attention though, and with that came the ire of those seeking the ruler's attention for themselves. There was no winning, so she stayed submissive with any queen that had power.

It was why she'd folded so quickly under Luna's authoritative attitude. Luna was a mare that approached her, even if it was with kindness, as a leader. Luna's aggressive style had sparked something between habit and self-preservation in the younger mare.

'Not sure how to take that revelation.'

Finishing his meal, Max waited patiently as the alicorn's finished their plates, Luna eating noticeably less and giving Celestia a smug grin at the fact.

"Alright, I'm going to go say hi to our newest additions. Crystal will accompany me, but after that, do either of you want her to accompany you? Tia?" Max said, looking to the larger mare hopefully.

"You want me to care for her? Why?"

"She trusts you and you're outside our circle," Max replied. "If she's going to relax around anyone it's you."

That seemed to blindside Celestia.

"Crystal trusts me?"

"Why would she not?" Luna replied, rolling her eyes. "You are her elder, in fact you are the closest thing to a peer that she has. Did you not wonder aloud a few days ago why she was less inclined to complain about being stuck with you?"

"She's in a bad spot right now, Tia. A spot she thinks you can relate to. Just keep her safe."

Luna looked questioningly at the white mare but kept silent, still not willing to pursue the older alicorn's issues from before. With the meal finished the group stood, said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

<-(o)->

The door to the storage area was opened, allowing the morning sunlight to enter as Max, Flick, and Crystal all walked into the chamber. He spotted a few discarded blankets in a corner, noted the few boxes and barrels that had been shifted for cover. He closed the door behind them, sitting down and waiting patiently for the drones to notice his entrance. When nothing happened for almost two minutes, he stomped a hoof to the ground.

"Get out here, I'm here to speak with you."

There was a scrabbling of chitinous hooves on dirt and wood as the drones rushed to stand at attention, lining up before him. A few nervous glances were given to the proto queen behind him but otherwise all eyes were on him.

"You've slept, you've ate, you've watched from a distance. Will you join us, hive link or not I don't care, or will you leave?"

"I wish to leave."

Max turned to the drone, barely suppressing an eye roll at its now-expected flinch. She likely expected him to kill her, after all.

"Could I ask why? If it's something I can fix or something I haven't noticed I'd like to know. Speak truthfully."

"T-the ponies, I don't want to walk about without a disguise, I can't. And you're not a queen."

"You're right, I'm not a queen. And if you wanted, you could use a disguise. I just don't see the point of them. I get a ton of love from a single mare, as well as affection and respect from many others. I don't feel the need to use them. If you felt you needed to use a disguise, I don't care. In any case, you and anyone else are free to leave at any time. I'll repeat my warning earlier though. Don't harm those of this Keep, inside or out. Do that and I don't care what you do, even if you stay in the town outside."

The drones continued to shift and buzz in agitation as Max later down the rules for interactions in both the hive and with the pony population, usually emphasizing the fact that both sets of rules should be the same. The drones just didn't seem to grasp the idea he was setting before them and they all avoided linking for the moment, an undeniable fear showing through their movements.

Max scowled at the group, his feelings of frustration evaporating into suspicion. Nobody was this dumb. Even Crystal usually grasped a concept when it was explained to her, albeit in a twisted way. He'd given them an explanation four times and three of the drones still didn't get it. It wasn't even as if they were paying attention. They seemed distracted, uninterested unlike the other...

Max grabbed a drone in his magic, pulling the smaller shape shifter up to him and using his will to push into the drones mind. It was simple, the changeling not even managing a yelp before his aura was saturating its mind. What he found though set his blood on fire. The drone already had a magic signature there. It was pulsing orders even now, telling the drone to distract the hive that was present.

He flooded the drone with his own magic, washing away the old signature with his own before dropping the drone and mentally commanding Flick and Crystal to prepare for a fight.

Max stepped back even as two of the drones surged forwards, the others panicking and apparently unclaimed. One was struck by a blow from Crystal, hitting the far wall with a sickening crack while Flick intercepted the second. Now with room to breath, Max yanked the second drone off of his infiltrator and flooded its mind with his aura as well, causing its struggles to die out as he commanded its obedience.

"Stand down and line up!" He shouted to the remaining drones. "These three were linked to a queen. Either submit to a check for a similar link or you'll be treated as hostile."

He went over the drones one at a time, finding no trace of the aura he felt in the others. Nodding as he set the last shaking drone down, he looked to the first drone he'd muscled into his hive.

'Can't believe I did that.'

"What is your queens goal?"

"The honey," he answered simply, unable or unwilling to even try to resist.

"Where is she?"

"I do not know."

The larger shape shifter pushed on the drone over the link, finding no resistance. The drone really didn't know where the queen was. He nodded, pressing firmly on the second drone and found the same answer. Nobody knew her location.

'This is bad. This is sooo bad.'

"The three of you can either stay here while we work this out or run. I don't care. I have an infiltration to stomp on."

The drones fled to the back corner of the room, wanting nothing to do with the power-plays of the larger changelings. Max actually found himself envying his old form. Sure he didn't have magic, but he also didn't have a built in enslavement channel in his brain. It seemed he was going to find out the hard way if a queen had the ability to control him.

<-(o)->

Luna hadn't been thrilled but she hadn't been overly surprised either. Based on his own comments of changelings and the flightiness of the drones it was almost a forgone conclusion that Max and Crystal would be butting heads with other surviving queens. The question was how to deal with it.

"The obvious solution, in my opinion at least, is a trap. We know what she wants, but we don't know her location. If she's as bad as Crystal was, it shouldn't be too hard to overpower her. Of course, that's assuming she's weak. If she's not, it could be a nasty fight."

"We managed to sway Crystal to our cause. Are you certain this queen will be different?"

"I don't know, Luna. We can give it a shot, but with all the emotion we store it was only a matter of time before we ended up in somebody's crosshairs. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If you'd like to talk to her you can give it a shot but be careful. I think this may be a full fledged queen."

"I have a better idea," Luna said with a smile, tugging at him with her magic before wrapping them in the shadows.

Max followed, unsurprised when she began heading towards the room they kept the honey in. What did surprise him was that even as the approached Max could see a pony fiddling with the lock on the door.

"Distance, Luna. And watch your emotions. You want to talk or should I?"

"You should. They do not even wish to be around me and Crystal's first reaction was to flee. I shall aid you if she becomes hostile, but she may feel less threatened by you."

Max nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat even as he called Crystal to back him up and gave her access to his sight. She perked almost instantly upon seeing the mare before him attempting to gain access to and likely steal their food. After all, this was what she knew- a possible threat to her hive.

'No attacks yet, and watch for scouts on the way. Flick, let Celestia know what's happening.'

'Yes sir, I will. Shall I stay with her?'

'Yea,' Max nodded, mentally smacking himself for following through with a motion for a mental order. It wasn't like the drone could see him. 'Let her know if any changelings approach, proof of your connection to me is to say 'everybody hurts.' Tell her why, then say those words.'

'Two more drones in the courtyard,' Crystal reported, 'Orders?'

'Side door, use a window if you need to. We don't want to harm her drones more than I already have.'

Stepping out of Luna's cloak of darkness, Max stood behind the suspected pony, building his courage. When he felt as if he wasn't getting any better, he tapped a hoof to the ground.

The pony, a servingmare by appearances, stopped in her fiddling, her ears perking. She whipped around with a very unponylike snarl, only confirming that it was a changeling. Max didn't flinch, fully expecting such a reaction. What he didn't expect was the look of confusion the played across her face a moment later.

"You are not a queen," the mare said in confusion before her eyes lit up. "A breeder, I thought they were all dead. How did you survive?"

"Discord is the short answer," Max replied, relaxing slightly when the mare didn't immediately try to rip his throat out. In fact, she sounded downright courteous. "Long answer is I'm not part of Mother's group of...breeders? Seriously? I'm sticking with Viceroy. Sounds better."

The queen cocked her head, seemingly confused. She flashed with green fire, revealing herself to be not a full queen but a sub queen like Crystal was. She walked around him, her eyes wandering his body in curiosity.

"I was never allowed to even see a breeder. Mother kept them separate from those who were not given the privilege to lay. It kept them away from the infighting many of my sisters were always engaged in. Still, I think they were quite rare, and difficult to provide for. Which queen is providing for you?"

"I harvest my own love. It's not that hard if you know how emotions work. It's supplemented by several friendly relationships and a strong friendship with another pony."

Max took a moment to compare the sub queens. It was night and day, the mare seemingly completely at ease with him. Crystal hadn't been nearly this comfortable the first time they had talked. The mare was certainly a bit thin but that was to be expected. Actually she was healthier than Crack had been. She was shorter though, the top of her head only reaching his chin if they stood at attention side by side.

"What was your role?"

"Infiltrator. I led the planning of pony infiltrations. It's what has allowed me to survive. To thrive though, I need to achieve my final molt," she answered casually. "I want to start my own hive. Mother's gone as far as I've been able to figure. The other queen's I've run into were all fighting each other, nobuggy seems to care about the old order."

Then she attacked him.

There was no warning. No change of posture, no darkening of her tone. Her training in subterfuge left Crystal's acting in the dust. Max reeled, flinching away even as he felt her aura surging into his skull. In an act of desperation he did the only thing he could think of to counter her. He did the same thing.

It was simply logic. Two things cannot occupy the same space. She wanted to put her magic in his mind so he flooded his mind, the areas he knew housed the link's connections, with his aura.

It took only a moment, the mare taking a single step in the time of the exchange. She stopped in confusion, her eyes locking onto his own with confusion and irritation.

"A breeder can't be a queen. Submit. I'm going to use you to force a molt."

"Won't work," Max replied shakily, thankful for the breathing room her subsequent surprise and confusion allowed him.

"Tried it with another sub queen. Didn't do anything aside from healing some damage."

"Explain," she ground out, pressing down on his mind again.

"Vagina's supposed to be sensitive to contact. Is yours? T-think Mother did something to the queens, made them unable to molt on their own. Messed up their reproductive tracts as well, took away the drive to lay eggs."

The sub queen released her pressure, looking over her back in confusion before sitting down in front of him.

"Why do you resist my link? There is safety in a hive."

"Because I'm already the focus of my own hive, and I don't trust you to take care of me. At least not better than the setup I've made for myself."

Max breathed deeply, setting his mind for another round if the mare pushed the issue.

"How do you know it won't work?"

"Sub queen seventeen has already experienced it. It unlocked her nerves, allowed her to enjoy sex and consider breeding, to think about laying eggs and what it entails in more detail than simply desiring to add to her hive's numbers. It didn't allow her to become a queen though."

"Seventeen is alive?" The mare squeaked. "Is she your queen? I-"

"Crystal is not my queen. I rule myself. Another drone is under my care, and I found three of yours earlier when they attacked me. I'll release them back to you later."

The mare winced.

"Mother would kill me if she found out I accidentally sent a drone at a breeder. I knew something was attacking their link but..."

"Mother's not here now. I'd be happy to trade emotion for information if you'd be willing to work with me. Not just information of changelings but the local area. We could use an experienced scout and would pay well in emotion."

The mare pressed down on him again, causing Max to flinch at the pressure.

"I am not your drone to command. In fact you should not be commanding drones at all. You should be kept in a hive where it's safe. You may be the last breeder alive."

"I'm quite safe here, thanks," Max growled, pushing back this time. He didn't stop at just pushing her out of his head though. This time he pushed into her mind slightly.

The queen recoiled in horror at the touch, realizing what it was she was up against.

"No, no! I will not be subservient again! I am my own queen!"

"I don't want to link with you, we don't have to-"

Max was cut off as the mare barreled into his mind, flooding his head with her aura. He held firm, feeling his mind strain but refusing to panic.

'Just like before. Panicking gets you killed. Focus, push. It's all mental. You're better than this, you've got this. She can't win.'

Max stood, taking a single step towards the queen as their auras raged against each other. He brushed against her mind, scrabbling for a foothold even as she slammed Into his own shoddily erected defenses over and over again.

A single bit of his aura tickled her connection and she panicked, her eyes wide with terror. She switched tactics, sending a few stray images from her memories. It caused Max to fumble his assault, not expecting the sudden influx of information. The attack gave him an idea though, one he capitalized on the moment she tried to counterattack.

Music, movies, images, art, sound clips, books, internet videos. Thousands of terabytes of information flooded across the battlefield, drowning out the queen's thoughts with more information than her mind could comprehend. Her assault eased off and he pressed forward, sending a new wave of tastes and smells even as she physically recoiled from the first wave. This new wave, consisting of senses she rarely dealt with, flattened her.

Max grit his teeth, grabbing her mind and slamming into it with his own aura as the mare buckled under the sensory overload and physically fell to the ground. With one final push, the pressure on his mind cut out entirely. Still he pushed forward, saturating every bit of her now-compliant mind with his aura, stomping out every bit of her will. She wouldn't take him, she wouldn't enslave him to her will.

Max took a deep breath as he slowed, finding no resistance. He looked over her mind, now open to him as Flick and Crystal's were and found no gathering storms of resistance. There was no hidden plots, no tricks left for the mare to rely on. The sub queen was defeated. He'd won.

He jumped as a hoof touched his back, whipping around to find Luna staring at him in worry.

"Max, what happened?"

"She tried to take me," he answered, unable to keep the tremor out of his voice. "She was pushing into my head so I pushed back. Then she freaked out and pushed harder. I, she tried confusing me with a memory or two so I threw it back at her...I have a lot more memories. A lot more information. She caved."

"So you own her? You have taken her into your hive?"

Max paused, realizing the situation. Cautiously, he prodded the mare for information like her name.

'Sub queen Seven B'

'B?'

'Seven was my clutch. I was the second egg.'

'So was Crystal the only queen of her clutch?'

'The last surviving queen of a clutch takes the number of the clutch. Infiltrators live longer than frontline queens. Seventeen was dumb, but she was strong and hardy. She survived things that should have killed her. It was why Mother kept her. She was useful.'

Max nodded, frowning as he brushed against the queens mind. There was something...wrong about it.

Looking through a few random memories, his face twisted in shock. It was like a tornado had torn through her head, thoughts intersecting each other at random areas. Information from his assault having still not been processed and sitting idly in her brain as she awaited his orders. He pulled a few loose, watching as her mind healed the damage to many but in some cases the intersecting memories were jumbled. It would take time to remove them.

"Shit, her head's a mess."

"What? What do you mean? Was she unwell when she attacked you?"

"No, she threw some images, memories from her past to try to throw me off. I reciprocated with everything I could. I just took a look, I found a movie scene intersected with a patrol route. Like the information I sent at her was a rock launched at high speed into a post. It's a mess. I, god, it's almost like I lobotomized her. I need to fix this."

Luna pulled him away, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"You were defending yourself from an assault you greatly feared in a form of combat you are unfamiliar with. Did you initiate this battle?"

"I pushed her back, scared her-"

"She struck first, you were acting in self defense. The fact you feel guilty speaks highly of your sense of morals, but do not feel bad for defending your freedom."

Max shook his head.

"She doesn't even consider her attempted forced link an assault. She was doing me a favor, taking me in. She just...fuck, I hate this."

Crystal chose that moment to barrel into the room, snarling at the smaller queen before slowing in confusion.

"She's been taken care of, Crystal. Sorry I forgot to say something," Max explained.

Crystal scowled at the smaller shape shifter, walking around her while inspecting Seven.

"Do you recognize her?," Max asked aloud. "She knew you."

"I don't. What was she?"

"Infiltrator, Seven B according to her."

Crystal nodded.

"The sevens were oddly loyal to each other. Mother was concerned by lack of infighting in that group, but it was dismissed as them all being out on missions so often. Some talked though..."

"Possible coup?" Max asked.

Crystal nodded.

"Nothing was ever proven. That didn't stop Mother from executing two of them. She's-what happened to her?"

"She tried to take me, hit me with a few images-"

"You pushed through that? It's a lot of information. Sometimes the shock-"

"Crystal, when she did that I panicked and threw everything that wasn't nailed down at her."

Crystal stopped in her tracks, her jaw hanging open. Max pushed through the link, giving Crystal access to the smaller queen's mind while ordering her not to do any additional damage.

'This is bad,' Crystal mumbled over the link as she assessed the damage.

'I want to remove the damage, has this sort of thing been done before? On either end?'

'Not that I'm aware of. Can you repair it?-'

Max nodded, pulling a few memory fragments away and gently sealing the memories up again.

'It's mostly will, pushing power where I think it's supposed to go. It seems to work. Can you see anything wrong with the memories I just worked on?'

Crystal hummed, focusing on different memories before shaking her head.

'I've never worked on this but it looks fine. Start with the earlier memories though. Those are usually the most difficult to alter but they also can cascade damage to later memories.'

'Alright. Makes sense, ones personality is based on your memories. First memories would be the most important.'

Max physically pulled Crystal against him as they left the damaged queen's mind.

'Thanks for trying to help, Crystal. I know you and the other queens didn't get along but I didn't want this outcome. I think I can safely say that's one of my biggest fears right now.'

It was also one he'd need to face, and soon considering his position and the state of his race. Looking to Crystal, he smiled cautiously, looking into her mind. He found his connection to the queen and pulled, seeking to remove his aura from her mind.

'What are you doi-' Crystal squeaked in surprise, cutting off mid-sentence as he accidentally severed the connection.

"Sorry, was just trying to balance us. Either way, I need your help," he explained, shifting Crystal in his forelegs to look her in the eyes. "Crystal, will you help me practice this? A simple match before bed, to be released the next morning. We can turn it into a game if you want, or you can just order the other to massage the winner or use a wet cloth. Seven won't be the last. Others will come, and they may engage us like this. We need to be ready."

Crystal nodded.

"It...sounds like a good idea. I have only one question though, will you...

Max rolled a hoof, encouraging her to speak.

"Will you let me lead? I've never been in charge of a link. Just for tonight. I'll release it-"

He cut her off with a hoof touching her muzzle, smiling nervously.

"You let me lead and I need to get used to this. As much as it terrifies me its a fact I have to deal with and I trust you not to abuse it."

The sub queen nodded and cautiously started pushing into his head. Max shivered at the contact, stopping her with a raised hoof.

"Before I forget," he said, turning to the opening door as Celestia and Flick walked in the door. With a quick pull of his aura Max disconnected the drone, causing the small shape shifter to flinch in surprise.

"Didn't want you getting pulled into a hive you didn't want and Crystal and I are going to be practicing."

Flick nodded mutely. With that done Max turned back to Crystal and nodded.

It was an alien sensation, though at this point that description wasn't meaning as much to him. He could feel Crystal slowly working her way through his head, stumbling about for the center. Max brushed against her gently, leaving a small hole to guide her to where the queen was aiming; to where he'd hit before the queen was defeated. The smaller mare hesitated as she finally touched upon his link-focus, encircling it cautiously with her will before pushing into it. It was not unpleasant, a trickle of cool water running into his mind as Crystal pushed deeper. He didn't feel any urge to stop breathing, no urge to stand straight and call her his master. There wasn't any sudden twist of personality. It just...was.

'Sit down,' Crystal ordered over the link experimentally.

Max blinked, finding himself on his butt before he realized what was happening. He stood up, frowning at the queen but nodding to her.
'Do it again.'

'Sit down.'

Max felt the order reach him, felt the portion of his brain responding. He pushed back though, feeling his legs tense as two conflicting orders were sent to his muscles. He could stop it, or at least hesitate. That was good. He could work with that. It wasn't an insurmountable goal, it was something he could train himself to do. Something he'd train Crystal on as well. That way even if one was compromised they could resist, possibly even aiding each other. At the very least he wouldn't have to fight another queen and Crystal.

'How did you do that?,' Crystal whispered into his mind, looking at him in confusion. 'Sit down.'

Once more Max tensed, fighting the order and only flinching slightly this time. She tried again, then with a different order. Max almost lost control when she told him to stick out his tongue but he sucked the muscle back in before it was fully extended.

'You can fight it. I-I had no idea.'

'What do you think Mother would have done had the idea ever occurred to you?' Max asked, drawing a wince from the sub queen.

'Don't worry about that though, the past is history. We're going to practice this. And if Seven ends up being friendly when she isn't scared for her safety, we'll teach her as well. Now, I'll let you hold that control for now. Talk to the drones in the storage room, let them leave if they want. Release the others there as well if you can. I'm going to work on Seven- actually, I linked to her. If you can control me, can you piggy-back to her?'

Crystal frowned in concentration and Seven rose to her hooves, staring blankly ahead. The queen then sat down again and Crystal nodded.

"It works. You're still the source of her connection, but it seems we are able to... you called it piggy-backing?"

Max nodded, pushing an image of a human riding another's back as an example. It was weird to do this again after a day of the mare being completely submissive, but he could already feel her thoughts speeding and taking a color of their own as she used him to reapply her mental filters.

'That was strange. And most unpleasant. I kept thinking Mother would approach at any time and find my thoughts a mess, that she'd destroy me for thinking in a way I was not supposed to. I don't even know why I keep fearing her.'

'Because she's a possible threat to your health and happiness. It's fine, Crystal. You don't have to explain this stuff to me. The Link scares the piss out of me but it's something I need to learn to use. We'll practice Link stuff later though. I want to fix up Seven before her memories are damaged for too long. I know changelings are a bit more mentally durable than other creatures but there's no reason to leave this to chance.'

Calling the queen to follow him, he watched carefully as she did so, heedless of stares or requests from anyone but himself. He bid the alicorns a good night and began even as he was walking to the bedroom.

'That's mine, no way is that Equestrian, too high tech, magic is local so-wait, that's a plasma bolt from a video game gun- flying from a unicorn horn?. Who...caster blends. This one's going to take some time.'

Crystal calmly watched as Seven followed Max out of the room, the smaller changeling anchored to the male as he even now began to fix the damage she suffered from their conflict. The idea of the damage was horrifying but his response was reassuring. He was hoping to repair the queen, restoring her to her previous state. The thought of rewriting her mind was horrifying, not even considered.

If he was willing to do that to a mare that attacked him, even if Seven didn't consider it an attack, what more would he do for her?

She relaxed, the filters she'd held in place now properly working again now that she had a connection to the male. A dominant connection oddly enough, but a connection none the less. She was thinking back on her previous day, chiding herself for her fears and her lack of emotion. The breakfast had been horrible, the meeting with the drones-

'Oh hell, he forgot the drones in the storage room...and-'

"Flick, could you find the bag Maximus returned with after using the forge? I believe he left some things in there. Be careful with them, as they are fragile. Bring them to the dining room."

Crystal stood, moving to the door and giving Luna a passing kiss as she walked by.

"Sorry I was being silly, old habits die hard."

"Where are you going now?" Celestia asked, moving to follow on Crystal's right even as Luna took up position to the changeling's left.

"Maximus' mind is all over right now, he forgot the changelings in the storage room. I will be seeing to them. There are also two that he forcefully inducted into his hive when they attacked him. Oh stars, there's also-"

Stopping and tapping a serving mare on the shoulder, Crystal sent her to bring Crack to the storage chamber.

"There was a drone that nearly reached Max, so I struck him. I don't know if he survived, I didn't think much of it at the time. He was a threat to my hive and I dealt with him as such."

Luna nodded.

"Very well, Crystal. We shall leave you to your duties. If you should need us, do not be afraid to ask for aid."

Stepping forward and giving Crystal a quick kiss on the cheek, Luna smiled brightly as she left their company.

"And please try to trust Maximus a bit more. I know you have had bad experiences, but do not let them color your current situation too much."

Celestia watched Luna depart, an odd tint to her emotions.

"Were it so easy."

"They haunt us, they do not let us forget," Crystal said, realizing what the older mare was referring to. "We can't help but worry that what we have already experienced is the norm, or that it will occur again."

"I will not forget, and I do not believe you should either," the white alicorn said, nodding in agreement. "That being said, I do not think you are in any danger from the stallion. Maximus has been quite open with his motivations, so much so that I was suspicious at first."

"He does try a little to hard to be honest with the two of you," Crystal agreed, looking to Celestia with a smile. "Is there anything you want to know? I have full access now."

"I- are you certain that would be... I do not know if I should..."

Celestia looked down the halls, making certain they were alone. Certain there were no ponies in the hall at the moment, she leaned in to whisper her question.

"What is Maximus' opinion of me? Unfiltered. What does he think of me, my body, my personality. I want to trust him, that he was speaking openly, but I just..."

Crystal nodded focusing on the distant male even as he was focusing in turn on the queen. It wasn't hard finding his experiences with Celestia. She ignored the sex for the most part, only taking note of specific reactions the alicorn had to contact, wondering if Luna would have the same reactions. Some were obviously the same, a few points inside her vaginal canal and the clitoris(duh), a few wing-points that mostly coincided with what she knew from Luna, the emotions Max was subjected to that ranged from fear and hesitation to joy and pleasure.

What surprised her was the amount of caution he used. Max was exceedingly careful, knowing that this was his only shot to make it right. If he had ruined it, had hurt Tia, she may never have trusted him again. He made absolutely certain she knew what was going on, made sure the alicorn was experiencing it all with the proper mindset.

Crystal nodded mentally as she watched him field her questions, give her warnings, ease her into certain topics. It was fascinating, actually. The exact opposite of her own reaction to sex.

"He was worried he'd hurt you if he moved too quickly. He likely could have done more to you much more quickly, but he was fearful of any sort of discomfort on your part. Most mares are willing to forego a little pain to hurry things along if they are desperate enough, I know I have in the past. Otherwise he was concerned with making certain it was the best experience possible."

The changeling giggled, having moved on to the rest of the experience, Max's oral battle with Celestia which inspired Crystal to try such a thing next chance she had.

"An interesting evening and morning. I'm actually kind of sad I missed out. Yes, you're physically beautiful to him. Humans tend to see the flank and teats as desirable. You posses both in ample amounts, you're coat is soft even to a changeling's sense of touch, he also thinks your voice is pretty. How he feels about you...I don't know. It's similar to Luna, but not quite as intimate? Still powerful. Protective, which is odd because the two of you could likely destroy him without much effort.

Memories of the conversation she'd shared with Max over the types of strength returned to her and she opened her mouth.

"Oh, that kind of protective. Emotional and psychological. He's fairly certain the two of you are capable of crushing most physical threats to your power right now."

Celestia's eyes widened at the queen's unfiltered delivery.

"So he truly finds me physically enticing? He was not just saying so?"

"The pony that told you otherwise was exerting a form of control over you. Your doubt left you weaker, more vulnerable to his advances. You would not push back if you thought you couldn't win or that Luna was in danger. Max was not lying, that was about power. The power he held over you. Anything he said is suspect, Celestia."

"Those who matter don't mind, while those who mind don't matter. If a pony finds your appearance less than pleasing, does it change the fact that those close to you say you are beautiful? You do not even remember his name, do you; This stallion who put you through this pain? Then put the final nail in his memory. Dismiss his words, and move on. If we come across him in the future, however...well, the balance of power has shifted greatly since your last meeting. None of your subjects would stop you from exacting retribution from him."

"I, I don't know if I could do that," Celestia whispered, nervously fluttering her wings. "It would be an admittance first of all, that a pony held power over me. It has also been years. I do not even know if he is still alive, or if he was harmed by Discord. I just..."

"Than do as Max and I have suggested. Put it out of your mind. It does us no good, watching you agonize over this. Is there anything else?"

The white mare shook her head.

"No, Crystal. Thank you for your time."

Crystal nodded, moving towards the storage room. She smiled, feeling alive once more. She needed to learn to achieve this state of mind on her own. She didn't want to experience the dullness she suffered before again. If she didn't she would be left in that miserable state of mind every time she was either disconnected or using a subservient connection to Maximus.

<-(o)->

The drones were still hiding when Crystal entered the room. Unsurprising, considering what occurred. Crack had shown up before she arrived and was tending to the drone as it stared off into the distance, left to await an order that was never coming.

"Will he survive?"

Crack nodded, using resin to seal a few cracks in the other drones chitin.

"The splits will be painful but he'll live. The others are unharmed, just...on standby. If you could awaken them?"

Crystal nodded, running her connection through Max and grasping the drones for herself. She lifted the fog from their minds, allwing them to act freely again before disconnecting the drones from the hive. They instantly fled to the back of the room, sending the other hiding drones running in a panic as the free changelings assumed they were about to be seized by Crystal's hive. The entire thing would have been amusing if it wasn't so painful to watch.

"When you're done panicking let me know. I'll take you out to the forge Max was using and you'll be free to leave at any time. For those who were being used by Seven, you'll be interested to hear she was defeated by the one who brought you here. Maximus is currently attempting to repair the damage dealt to her mind during their battle."

Crack looked at her in surprise, not having heard of the battle until now.

"He beat a queen? In a battle over the link?"

"A sub queen but yes. Seven B, according to her. Infiltrator."

Crack's eyes widened.

"He's working to help her, to repair her mind? What did he do?"

"According to him, Seven attempted to overwhelm him by sending a few images through the link. Max already does this when explaining things to me so it did not harm him. It did give him an idea, though. He sent every stray memory and thought he could muster across their connection. It broke her defenses, her concentration, her assault, even her thoughts have been hampered.

"It was a little unsettling to know he managed so much damage without meaning to, but the fact he wishes to see it healed and has even spoken of releasing her even after she attacked him...I think I feel a little safer connected to him. He also allowed me to try leading the link."

Crack's jaw dropped as he stared at the sub queen.

"That stallion willingly submitted to a subservient link?"

"He directed me in the linking process himself," Crystal added, feeling herself puff up a little in pride.

"That's-is he out of his mind, trusting you with that?"

"He was reciprocating my trust," Crystal retorted. "When the drones arrived I gave him control so they would feel safer. So that they wouldn't worry about being dragged into a link. I was...I didn't like being like that again but I thought it was necessary, even if I couldn't remember why after I lost the filters I built through his memories.

"Going back and forth though, it makes more sense to me. I need to be able to do this sort of thing on my own. I need to be able to keep these filters until they no longer exist as such. I don't want to degrade like that again."

"And you think he might be able to help you."

Crystal nodded in reply.

"He's repairing Seven right now, if he can do that maybe he can help make these mental constructs more permanent."

Crack shook his head, looking back to the drones that were peeking out from behind some crates and barrels.

"Mental manipulation is dangerous. If you can't find the line between his and-"

"Most of the memories involve technologies or individuals that do not exist in this world. The distinction for many is simple."

"Fine. The mental constructs will be more difficult. It's not removing something, it's- you have to store the memories you built them from in your own mind. You have to copy his memories. Looking at them is one thing, Crystal. This is permanent."

"Is there a way to store them separate from my own memories?" the queen asked.

Crack frowned.

"I don't know. Most of my knowledge is from trying to repair damage. Most queens and drones that came in with that kind of damage were wiped clean by Mother so she could just start again. She didn't waste time, as she put it. I tried it once or twice, but a drone just doesn't have the mental presence to make those sorts of repairs. A queen though, or a...what was Max's type?"

"Seven called him a breeder, he's going with viceroy."

"A queen, sub queen, or viceroy may be able to pull it off. Just be careful. You're altering your base personality with these filters. One mistake could drive you insane."

Crystal nodded, turning her attention to the drones still hiding in the room.

"While Max is trying to heal Seven, dealing with you six falls to me. If you'll take on disguises, I'll lead you out of the keep and back to the forge where this fiasco started. Those who wish to stay can help Crack until we find a more permanent use for you. Follow his orders and if he tells you to help a pony or another changeling, Flick, do so. You'll be swimming in emotion soon enough if you can adapt."

Only one approached Crack, standing nearby and ready to help. Two others immediately donned pony forms, though they kept their distance from the sub queen. The other three...they didn't seem to know what to do. One of the drones that was waffling was a drone that Max had forcibly inducted, the other remaining one being the drone standing beside Crack. The second was staying in spite of the experience.

"Because Max is capable of besting a queen yet still gives you a choice?"

The drone nodded mutely, her eyes flashing with fear and anticipation at the same time.

Crystal smiled thoughtfully before turning to the remaining three.

"Max's offer stands. You may return at any time if you decide to leave. I have some things to take care of while he's busy though, so if those who are leaving will follow me?"

Two more took on their disguises, leaving only two of the original six staying of their own accord, the third that was staying still being injured. Crystal led them to the promised location and watched them go, the faint whisper of her training to hold to that power easily being crushed by her memory-based filters. She didn't need that kind of power right now, she had a different kind. Loyal individuals, ponies and changelings both. She didn't need to fall back to Mother's way of ruling.

She would never forget Mother's rules, but that didn't mean she had to live them. They could be a warning. A warning of what she should avoid. As Maximus had taught her, she would not forget Mother's rules, nor would she forget the fear and horror she experienced under them.

Mental Repairs

"Strider..."

"Dr Ned..."

"Zordon..."

"That's...what was that show...oh god, something about raining wolves?"

"Nope, pimple robot isn't native."

"Native? Nope, just Chuck. God, this is has taken forever."

Max sighed, sitting in the hive's dream-side as he sorted through the mess of his newest acquisition' mind. It just seemed easier in the dream-hive anyway. There were no serving ponies to bother him, Crystal was still active, Luna was busy; it left him to work with the changeling sub queen alone. It also, conveniently enough, left him alone with his guilt.

One of the first things he'd done was go over her interpretation of the battle. It ate at him, wondering if she was actually trying to force him into a link for her own power or not. After spending a good amount of time repairing the damage to the event itself he watched it from Seven's point of view, watching her reasoning and her emotions as well. He'd been right. Seven thought she was doing him a favor, giving him a hive that would protect him. She only knew of the males of the hive from hearsay, having never seen one before. In fact, it was possible Max wasn't one of these breeders (though his reproductive assets said otherwise). They just didn't have the information.

Another string of memories were sorted and repaired in quick succession, these bearing memory fragments that were easily distinguished from the original memories. It wasn't always so simple. Sometimes they blended well, or at the very least the queen's mind had attempted to incorporate the information before locking up. Her mental lock-down was probably keeping her from suffering too much, actually. If not for that, the damage would likely be much worse and that much harder to fix. As it stood she didn't respond to his questions beyond what he commanded of her but at the same time the information fragments didn't seem to be becoming any more lodged in her mind.

"Suppose I should count my blessings, it could have killed her or left her a vegetable."

Max shook his head, rubbing his eyes even though he knew it had no real effect in this realm. There was so much to do, he'd had to sort her mind into sections and just pick one. So far he'd only done a single section out of hundreds, and it felt like hours had passed. Who knew how long this would take in the end?

'But I'm better than that. Not going to just wipe her mind and start over because it would be easier. She wasn't hostile. We need more of that in this world.'

Setting himself into the next section of the queen's mind he began his preliminary scan, pulling anything that obviously didn't belong before settling in for a deeper scan for the more melded or incorporated memory slivers.

<-(0)->

"You seem more vibrant now," Celestia commented as the three mares took their seats at the table.

"I feel so. It's nice to feel this way again. Before we get settled, I have something from Maximus. As he's busy with Seven, I thought it would be best if I made sure the two of you received them."

Reaching into a bag Crystal removed a single gold ingot, causing both alicorns to stare in surprise.

"He figured it out?" Luna asked. "Max made a forge?"

"It's a very simple one but-"

"But it is a forge," Celestia finished, smiling widely. "Are we able to start melting the metals now or is there still more to do?"

"Max wanted to make it a bit bigger, though I don't know if we need that just yet. I believe the output of this single forge is enough for now as we don't have much in the way of metal usage. It may help store the metals the two of you recovered though. That was his primary concern. These ingots can be stacked much more cleanly than the chunks of metal you recovered. There is also he matter of purifying the metals, which he doesn't know about, but that's something to worry about later."

"The second item was more of a gift. I think it was nice. I don't think you two have a coat of arms, do you?"

At the confused expressions on their faces Crystal chuckled.

"I'll take that as a no. It's a symbol that represents you, one that goes on the flags and banners. Right now you two are using suns and moons, but it's not a unified theme."

Creating two symbols in her green magic, one of the sun and one of crescent moon, Crystal reached into her bag and pulled out the gold symbol Max had created.

"While it's nice to use something simple like the marks you bear as symbols of your authority, you're using two different symbols. This means there are two different authorities as opposed to the unified front you're trying to show. That's why Max thought this would work better, or something like it."

Luna took the gold symbol in her magic, smiling lovingly as she took in the detail. It was a simple enough combination of the marks of the alicorns, but it was combined in a way that was intriguing. The sun was cut at an angle as was the moon, leaving them joined at two locations. The moon flowed into the sun at both the two o'clock position and the seven o'clock position. Of course since the sun would look the same no matter how you rotated it, it was the moon that the rotation was based on, specifically the angle of the moon on Luna's cutie mark.

"It is a little rough, but it bears promise," Celestia said, taking the symbol once Luna was done looking at it. "You are certain of your reasoning for a combined symbol?"

"I am, as is Max. You are ruling jointly yet use two different symbols. It appears to be two different princesses that merely rule from the same Keep. Whether or not they work together isn't obvious. This however, is a combined symbol of authority. One cannot argue that these are bound to each other."

Celestia and Luna both nodded, the older mare frowning as she flipped the symbol around. There wasn't any subtle marks or symbols that added something she couldn't read. Not even a forge-smiths mark with the changeling stallion's name or initial.

"It is nice. How is Max doing?" Luna asked as she began to serve out several portions of vegetables.

"Completely consumed by his current task. I made sure the two of them received some emotion but his focus is absolute. I don't think he even noticed my presence. As for Seven, she still is in a trance to preserve her mind."

"And the damage to this queen?" Celestia asked.

"Catastrophic if left unattended. She can't function right now, but there's some activity there. Max's work is already showing in her mind. There is still too much clutter for her to function but she's recovering. I find it odd that I wish her a quick recovery. It wasn't something I worried about before but knowing that could be me in any other situation...I suppose that's what Max meant by the difference in being an empath and having empathy."

"Yes, being able to read others doesn't preclude understanding those emotions. That being said it is a good thing. Being able to understand and empathize with ponies allows you to both deepen a relationship as well as predicting the actions of emotionally driven individuals," Luna explained. "It also means that Max and I will have to explain these things to you less often as you come to your own understanding of the thought processes of others."

Crystal nodded, idly nibbling on a steamed carrot. The flavor had never changed, just her perception of it. Having lost the filters and having that recent experience to compare it against, she definitely preferred the male's thought-processes and the filters she'd created from them.

The shape shifter stopped mid-bite, a strange thought occurring to her. From what she'd seen Seven was more mature. It had been Crystal's lack of focus on details that had left her seeming so cold, so how did Seven manage to develop herself more fully without incurring Mother's wrath?

'Perhaps I should have a look into her memories myself.'

<-(0)->

Luna strolled down the halls to her room, still working the kinks out of her wings from the days work. While there wasn't as much ore to move anymore the alicorns were still moving a good amount of dirt and stone into the tunnels. They were also soaking it in water, making certain it was packed in properly so the ground shifting wouldn't leave them with a smaller but still present cavern under their home. Neither Max nor Crystal were interested in using a cave system for their hive at the moment and considering it only consisted of the two changelings and four drones she could understand. There weren't enough bodies to worry about yet. Perhaps in the future but for now a storage closet was more than enough for Crack, Flick, and the two new drones.

The alicorn slowed her stride, frowning in confusion as she approached her bedroom. Crystal was outside the room she'd designated for Maximus when he'd first arrived, pacing and grumbling under her breath.

"What troubles you, Crystal?"

The shape shifter jerked, looking to Luna in surprise before shaking her head and returning to her pacing.

"I was thinking of going through Seven's memories, trying to figure out what makes her different from myself. She seemed more mature, she flopped this infiltration but she kept her cool until the end when she learned Max could push back. I wanted to know how she managed to do what I've been using my connection to Maximus to accomplish."

"And the issue is?" The alicorn asked leadingly.

"I don't think Max would appreciate it. In fact I have the feeling I shouldn't be doing it. Which is rediculous because she's in my hive so she's mine, but at the same time Maximus is part of that hive and I don't think it would be right to just start sorting through his head at random...any more than I did before, anyway. Actually I feel kind of...bad? I feel like I shouldn't be doing that. Is it wrong to take from Seven like that?"

"That is... in my opinion yes. Those are her memories. While Maximus must search through them in order to undo the damage to Seven's mind he does not search out specific things that he could later ask her for.

"In fact you could use this to prove a point."

"What do you mean? What point?"

"Max was attempting to negotiate with Seven. He was trying to talk to her. While I don't think Max will allow her to harm those here neither will he allow harm to befall her until she is capable of leaving of her own power. Wait until she is healed and has disconnected from your hive, then ask for the information. It will prove Max's words to her as well as showing that you support his way of living. It may even earn her trust, or at least her respect."

"While I doubt it would be seen as anything more than weakness and earn nothing more than her contempt, I agree that Max wouldn't want me rooting through her head in her current state," Crystal admitted. "I hate this. If I don't do this I feel like I'm allowing a perfectly good opportunity pass me by. If I do, I feel as if I have overstepped my authority and broken some unspoken rules."

"It is called a conscience. It is supposed to be the little voice in our heads that tells us right from wrong. I'm glad to know you picked up more from your link with Max than a larger vocabulary and a bit of his personality. I ask that you keep in mind that many of your sisters will not have this though; if Max is the source of your newly awakened conscience the other changeling queens may be unscrupulous in their attacks on our home."

Stepping to her room and pulling the queen along with her Luna paused for a moment.

"Actually, I have a question. Seven was an infiltrator, was she not? Why then did her attempt to steal from us fail so quickly?"

"I asked that as well. The best Max and I could come up with was she has no experience infiltrating a town that both is aware of our race and counts changelings among their defenders. She has never had to deal with changeling security before now."

The queen shook her head in irritation.

"Honestly, you'd think the infiltrators would practice on each other at least once and realize this sort of thing."

"One would think so, however there is also the possibility that the primary queen did not want them capable of such an infiltration. After all, the only hive you knew of was your home, correct? What would those queens do if they were capable of sneaking in and out of the hive at will? Do you think your Mother would tolerate that?"

"No," the sub queen relented. "She wouldn't have allowed it."

Luna nodded.

"Then you have your answer. She had no way to learn and even if she did, she would have been punished for her knowledge. Now, since Max is still busy, how about I teach you a few things. Better yet, why don't you see if you can find anything fun for us to do in Max's head?"

Luna bust into giggles as the sub queen perked instantly, following the alicorn to her room. It certainly didn't take much to get her attention when she had that filter up. Perhaps she would find a way to make it more permanent.

<-(0)->

Another string of memories, another string of shards. Another string...

Max yawned. Even if this was a dream-hive he was still terribly exhausted. It felt like he'd been doing this forever. But it was almost done. In fact, he was certain that as of now Seven would only be suffering from slight confusion and maybe some odd thoughts or memories. You know, as opposed to seizures and loss of bodily control.

'Holy cow was that hard.'

He stood up and paced the mental construct of his room, stretching a bit and exercising his thoughts on other topics just to wake himself up a bit. He nearly tripped over the two mares currently sprawled out in some blankets and cushions on his floor.

"It's night already? Shit."

Moving around the sleeping mares Max walked out into the hallway and walked a few circuits, idly noting there was a third door in the hallway now. He opened it, not certain what to expect since Seven was in his room.

Several drones were currently curled up and resting in the small room, including Flick. They buzzed in the same half-sleep he fell into while resting, unaware of his presence and apparently unconcerned with the strange shape of the hive

'Did she link back with Crystal? I could have sworn I disconnected her.'

The others he didn't recognize just yet but it couldn't have been the ones from before as there were currently nine drones in the room. He hadn't feel anything particularly jolting over the link so he didn't think they were forcefully pulled in but that was still odd. The battle between the queen and himself would have spooked them for several days at least by his reckoning.

Closing the door and leaving the drones to their rest he returned to his own room, finding Luna sitting up and looking to him in surprise.

"I was beginning to believe you would never rise."

"Is it that late? I saw the two of you and figured you'd gone to bed."

Luna blinked owlishly, confusion coloring her features.

"Maximus, you have been beside the sub queen you captured for nearly twelve days."

"What?"

"Crystal has been keeping the both of you fed while you work but we dared not wake you. You were looking through memories and interacting with them. Disturbing you while you were doing so could have been dangerous."

Max was still boggling at the number when Luna's second reveal hit him.

"Wait, you said Crystal was caring for us?"

"She kept you fed while you were occupied. She has also kept the both of you clean with Flick's help. It was surprising, but your display of trust in Crystal cemented both Flick's loyalty to yourself as well as the drone's trust of Crystal. With one drone willingly joining a queen several others followed. They have been looking for ways to make themselves useful. Three even approached by the front gate asking to speak with the 'drone who willingly rejoined a queen.' It has kept the two of them busy, explaining the workings of this new hive."

Max moved across the room, sitting down on his bed beside the still comatose Seven. He'd not realized it but he'd kept her close both physically and mentally over the last...few days, apparently. It helped him connect with her, he felt.

Nudging Crystal with his foot he waited until the sub queen had shifted to her hooves, stretching languidly before him. The moment she was standing straight, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest in a powerful hug.

"Thanks, Crystal. I didn't know I was in so deep," he whispered into her ear, giving her a kiss on her cheek. "I appreciate you looking after me like that and I'll make it up to you, deal?"

Crystal shifted in his grip, settling her haunches on his legs and leaning in to smother him in a deep kiss of her own.

"You think I would let the best source of pleasure and love I've ever run into fade away because of his own idiocy?"

They kissed again, longer this time and only broken by Luna politely coughing into her fetlock.

"While I support any and all affection in my flock, I must ask; how is Seven? Have you made progress?"

Giving Crystal another quick kiss, this one behind her ear as the sub queen was looking to Luna, Max set the changeling down on the floor, grinning widely as Crystal spread her legs teasingly from her position on her back.

"Its going well. I was going to ask you both to be present when I tried waking her, see if I can use her being awake to find anything I missed. The earliest memories I went over with a fine-toothed comb but later ones, they're so numerous that finding the errors are difficult. One I almost missed because it was meshed well and the memory was from that story I told you about."

"The, oh! Yes, I can see how that would be difficult to discern. Still, you believe she is ready?" Luna asked.

"I do," Max said. Turning to Crystal, he grinned before picking Seven up and setting her on the floor and motioning for the mares to join him on the bed.

"Would you do the honors?"

Jumping onto the bed on Max's left while Luna sat to the right, the sub queen nodded with a smile.

"It would be my pleasure."

<-(0)->

It was with a sudden command that Seven found herself being called back to wakefulness. A command that while powerful and having control over her, was disconcertingly warm. None of the queens she knew would be that gentle, nor would they wake her once they had her in their power. She frowned as she began to asses her senses. Something felt off.

Opening her eyes she found herself in a strange room, though the feel of it felt familiar.

'Hello, Seven B. It's been a while.'

Seven's blood ran cold for a moment as the voice reached her ears. It was Seventeen. The breeder had mentioned the sub queen, so it only made sense he'd hand her over to the guardian after her...defeat.

She'd lost to a breeder. She'd lost in a link-struggle against a changeling who's only purpose was seeding queens.

'Well that's a bit harsh, on both of us,' the breeder muttered over the link.

Seven blinked in shock and confusion, finally noticing the strange creature sitting on the bed next to the queen. Even stranger, there was a pony mare on the male's other side.

"What..."

"It's an amalgamation. A mix of my current and old bodies," the breeder explained, flexing his fingers in front of her. "It's also one of the reasons I don't like being called a breeder. Viceroy sounds better. I don't know how I stand up against the queens, but the only one I've physically gone toe to toe with is Crystal, here. She kicked my butt."

"I've been training for physical strength my entire life and have never been so well cared for," Seventeen answered happily. "I'm just glad I didn't try to fight a pony guard, I may have broken them."

The pony mare giggled as well, proving she was no hallucination.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Seven B. And in less hostile a situation as well. I am Luna, and the castle you were infiltrating belongs to myself and another alicorn. I'm certain you will meet Celestia in the morning."

"This...this is wrong, we should not be exposed before a pony like this."

"My dear hive sister, I do not think you understand just how exposed to ponies you are," Seventeen giggled, causing every muscle in Seven's body to tense. "Not only does my current hive not need disguises, Luna here can access something few ponies are able to. This is the dream-hive."

Seven blanched. It was why the area felt familiar. It was a situation she'd been in only a few times, keeping herself on missions often enough that she didn't spend many nights in the hive. Her connection to the dream-hive was weaker at a distance and Mother had trouble pulling from you when you were far enough away. Now she was in that situation with Seventeen...

Seven B blinked, looking over her old hive-sister once more. She was filled out, her holes few and far between. She also spoke more clearly, as though her mind was different. Like she had matured to an impossible degree.

"Amazing what happens when a link is for the benefit of all individuals, isn't it? When a hive exists not to bolster a single changeling, but to empower us all."

It was ridiculous. It made no sense, there was nothing to stop either of these changelings from betraying each other. She knew they wouldn't though. Not even clutch-sisters relaxed that much around each other, not queens anyway. Seven and her clutch-sisters would relax a little if Mother was nowhere nearby, but even then there was always a level of expected distrust. The three before her were calm. Relaxed.

Trusting.

'Of course I trust them. Luna here managed to pull me out of the confused panic I was in after wandering alone for so long. Maximus has given me both the ability to use his memories, accepting my presence in his hive-link as an equal creature, as well as being the primary reason Luna was willing to accept me. He was the one who opened her to the idea of changelings and ponies living like this as well as gave her the honey that brought me here in the first place. The same honey that brought you here.'

'You tricked me.'

'No, I did not.' Seventeen responded with glee. 'I didn't need to bait you here. You came of your own desperation. You could smell the love from a distance. It isn't all bad though. Your words with Maximus have reassured me in some ways and strengthened my resolve in others.'

'None of the queens and sub queens you have encountered are under Mother's banner. However, the others are now playing their games of betrayal and fratricide with abandon. They have no one holding them back anymore. They will rip each other apart until only one remains. When the only remaining queen not subjugated or killed is you, where will you turn?'

'Be nice, Crystal,' the breeder admonished. 'Just because Luna can't hear you and thus can't tell you to stop doesn't mean you can torment Seven.'

Turning to her, he smiled.

'That being said, Crystal has a point. The war between queens is only going to escalate if what I know is correct. You don't live through these without allies, Seven. It's going to get worse once they settle into camps or start trying to assimilate each other. After all, the fastest way to grow your army is to add other armies to your own. If you need a place to rest, I'd be happy to be an ally so long as you are willing to reciprocate the peace.'

'Wonderful. I'd love to ally myself with a hive that has enslaved me to their-'

'Don't even try that,' the breeder interrupted, pressing against her in the link. 'I defended myself, Seven. I then spent the next week and a half repairing the damage I'd inflicted because I learned you hadn't meant to harm me. I only learned your intentions after the fact, though. Only after removing the memory slivers and reviewing the fight from your perspective. As far as I knew you were a queen trying to force me into her hive. I pushed back. To make a point, I pushed into your own mind.'

'When he did that, you panicked,' Seventeen continued in his stead. 'You did not take the threat as it was meant; a show of force. You ignored everything he said, every attempt to speak with you. Even after your attempt to force him into your link he cared for you; or did you think you healed on your own?'

"As entertaining as it is watching the two of you berate a confused and defeated mare, I believe you are going about this the wrong way," Luna interrupted, surprising all three of them.

Max managed to pull together a response first.

'Wait, you can hear this?'

"I am in a dream. it's as close to being in your head as I can manage. I do not see why you think that switching back and forth when we are already in the hive dream-side would matter."

The breeder looked to Seventeen in confusion before shrugging his shoulders.

'Welcome to the collective. We are one, you are now assimilated.'

The pony mare rolled her eyes and gave the male thing a shove, coincidentally knocking him into Seventeen. Instead of being upset at the impact, the sub queen shoved him as well, knocking the male back into the pony. The two mares began laughing, apparently agreeing that the battle was to be waged with the strange breeder-thing simultaneously playing the part of their weapon and their battlefield. After several strikes, Seventeen shoved the male out of the way and tackled the pony. The two then began to do...something to each other. What ever the two were attempting (to Seven B it seemed they were trying to bite each other's mouths) the male didn't seem to find it of interest. Instead he moved out of their way, moving closer to Seven. Uncomfortably close, actually.

"How do you feel? Any odd thoughts that you can't place, any memories that...I guess you wouldn't be able to tell, would you?"
Seven B flinched as the cross of alien being and changeling moved to sit on the floor beside her, his dominant presence in her link preventing her from fleeing or attacking. She felt him prodding through her head, gently pushing here and there, checking for something she didn't understand. He said random words, watching for reactions and then moving through her memories if she reacted. Sometimes he merely looked, other times he took something, leaving her unable to recall what it was he had originally said.

Another string of words, another few fragments of memories gone.

Seven was on the brink of despair when of all creatures it was Seventeen who came to her rescue.

"Max, stop. She's panicking-badly."

"Huh? She is? But why didn't... right. She's not going to say anything. Sorry, I've been working on cleaning up that mess for the last few days and I just assumed. You know what they say about making assumptions."

The full phrase, something about making a butt out of 'you and me', briefly flashed through her mind but Seven was still attempting to understand the relationship the three had that allowed them to speak to each other as equals even with hive-dominance. The pony female came closer, wrapping the confused queen in her wings and gently nuzzling her while whispering kind words. This of course did nothing for Seven's fragile state of mind; Ponies did not help changelings.

"I understand you have been doing your best, Maximus, but you must make certain she is aware of what you are doing," Luna chided. "Were you not the one who said the road to hell is paved with good intentions? You meant well, but her lack of context has left her thinking the worst of your actions. Perhaps if you gave her some time and explained the situation to her?"

"Got it, just got a bit swept up in the doing. Sorry about that," the male responded, ceasing all activity in her mind. She felt Seventeen press on her but the younger sub queen didn't actually attempt to pull or destroy anything. It was just a presence. One that sat in her mind like Mother used to, only with less pressure. Less looming.

"Well, in the meantime I have an idea. We can get Seven settled a bit tomorrow or whatever, but I want to give something a shot. If we can do this hive-link thing by will and even manipulate memories by will, surely I can manipulate the dream-hive."

The strange creature walked into the hallway with his strange, ambling gait and disappeared from her vision. Moments later he returned, an excited grin on his face.

"Got it, come on! Luna, are you good enough to grab Tia? She may enjoy this as well."

The next few moments were a blur of activity, both of the other females seeming to find his excitement contagious. The pony disappeared only to reappear a short time later with a second white pony, reassuring the second female of the stability of the dream.

'Of course this dream was stable, there was always a changeling sleeping. Therefore it should always exist.'

'Not necessarily,' Seventeen countered. 'There aren't as many drones here. There are only two or three that sleep during the day. As such there are times the dream-hive becomes fragile.'

Frowning and still a bit shaken from the male creature's casual sifting through her mind, Seven cautiously followed the group as they walked out into the hallway and into a hive-chamber that was strangely built. Cushions were lined in rows from front to back in a slowly descending format, while lights were lining the walls and even in the ceiling. On the far side of the room there was a blank wall with alien words that for some reason she could read, asking her to 'Please Stand By'. Drones both familiar and new to her, including a medical drone she remembered having visited in the Hive once or twice, slowly entered the room at the male's behest, taking seats and chittering nervously or in some cases merely in curiosity. One of the drones were even bold enough to approach him, speaking to him freely.

An even greater surprise to Seven was when the male merely rubbed the drone's ears and thanked her for trusting him, as well as trusting Seventeen. He also thanked her for helping the other queen care for the two larger changelings while they were indisposed. The ponies took seats near him while he sat in a strange bag-like seat that better supported his gangly form.

'You may sit where ever you please, Seven,' Seventeen told her, mentally highlighting the unused seats in the smaller queen's mind. The sub queen did so, taking a seat towards the door that was relatively avoided by the drones. Those few drones nearby quickly vacated the area, giving her a queen's due space.

The lights dimmed, seemingly of their own accord and a silence fell over the gathered drones. Something was happening, something she understood for some reason. There was a sudden light on the blank wall, some chanting in a language she'd never heard before. Animals she'd never seen, all gathering together for something...

'This has to be the dumbest group of animals I have ever seen. What fool herbivore gathers in celebration for the birth of a predator?'

Alternate Uses of Venom

It was an interesting morning to say the least. It turned out that like any other body, the changeling form did not appreciate being abandoned. Both Max and Seven spent several hours trying to shift and stretch enough to move without pain or kinks. They managed though, and afterwards Max was adamant the mare learn the wonderfulness that was a warm bath.

The stallion was all smiles as he washed down the infiltrator queen. Like Crystal, Seven had never been given a warm bath in her lifetime. The warm water, soft rags and scented soaps turned the nervous queen into a purring puddle of contentment.

"Not as bad as you thought it would be, is it?"

Seven grumbled a little, too out of it to realize she was objecting to a link-based superior before muttering a negative. It was all for show though, he could literally feel the muscles in her body sagging as he washed her down, running the warm cloth over her shell, working it into the joints and creases. He could feel her doing her best to resist purring at the wonderful sensations the warm water delivered.

"After this we'll get something to eat, in both senses of the word. I think Crystal should have some extra saved up for us and I enjoy eating with Luna and Celestia.

When they were done, to Seven's displeasure as he dragged her out of the warm water, Max brought the mare to what he realized was lunch.

"Didn't think it was that late already. Thanks again for looking after us, Crystal. I appreciate it."

"I was happy to return the care. You taught me a lot about such things after all, even if not directly. I expect you to reciprocate though."

Max grinned as Luna spooned a helping of some mashed tuber onto his plate while he nabbed a sandwich.

"I'd be happy to bring a warm bucket of water and a rag when you molt. I can only assume it would be mind-numbing."

"I would like to be present as well for such a thing. Maximus was quite soft when he shed his shell, it was the strangest thing. He was jumpy though."

Looking to Seven with mirth in her eyes, Luna leaned in conspiratorially.

"Maximus bit Tia when she invaded his room after his molt. I think it was her hostility towards him at the time, but I found her rear leg sticking out from under Max's bed. He had bit her and pulled her under the bed in his altered state of mind."

"It should be better next time. With more changelings a molt isn't as big of a deal. He may even retain his senses next time, as shall I."

"Excellent, we look forward to the delightfulness that was a squishy changeling and having Max be alert enough to comprehend our teasing," Luna giggled.

"We?" Seven asked, surprising everyone, including herself.

"Myself and Celestia, of course. In spite of the terrible experience, I managed to obtain an admittance of both curiosity and agreement that you were pleasantly soft."

Max groaned, throwing a fetlock over his muzzle in irritation.

"Seriously? That's, of all the odd things you could find to tease me over; that's like me making fun of your heat."

"A mare's estrus is nothing to joke over!" Celestia denounced.

"Oh please, a time where even the most stoic of mare's become dick-hungry? I find that hilarious...or I would if I wasn't going to be dragged into a dark room for a week or however long it is for Luna."

"We don't have heats anymore," Celestia scoffed. "It's part of our ascension."

"Actually Tia, Max has hypothesized that our bodies are still adapting to the changes. Do not assume you are done with those troublesome times just yet," Luna said, giggling as the white alicorn's face blanked.

"Oh, this will be good!" Crystal giggled before turning to Luna. "How long before she tries to steal Maximus for herself?"

Luna scoffed.

"As if Tia would do such a thing. After all, I'm more than willing to allow her to join us. It's not theft if the owner allows one to take something."

Max rolled his eyes as the mares reacted, two tittering in amusement while the third burned with embarrassment.

"Yea, well at least I'd be able to tell when Tia's in heat."

The giggles resumed, this time with Luna turning red. She soon joined them in their laughter though, leaving only one mare at the table uninvolved. Everyone seemed to notice this, causing the joviality to die out as the group began eating in earnest.

Max wasn't that surprised though. In many ways Seven was experiencing culture shock. The food wasn't necessary so she didn't eat, but at least she was drinking some of the tea.

'More than I can say about you,' he sniped at the queen sitting across from him.

Crystal graced his insult with a raspberry, resuming her meal afterwards. He felt a few questions and answers go between the two changeling mares but didn't press for more information. Seven would probably prefer some distance from him at this point anyway.

After she'd finished eating Crystal smiled as she attempted to restart the conversation.

"I delivered the metal items you were working on while you were preoccupied. The bar and the symbol."

"Oh! Yes, it was wonderful news," Luna said, brightening considerably at the reminder. "We have since created a small team that has been running the forge in your absence. The stallions and drone seem to enjoy the work, one of the ponies even earning his mark as he began to learn how to melt the metal down. All three are fascinated with working the metal but until we can find a trained blacksmith I'm afraid they're merely playing with the material."

"That doesn't exactly put my mind at ease, Luna," Max replied drolly.

"We made certain there were plenty of rules for safety and material usage. Crystal said she was using many of your...chemistry?"

Looking to the changeling mare and getting a nod, she continued.

"She instated several rules from your chemistry classes. Water-buckets, medical kits, the drone is the one who does most of the pouring since he is resistant to the heat and even the molten metal. Crystal has even given them all a crash course in diurnal energy."

"Thermal, Luna. How heat moves and how it is transferred from one object to another. It may seem obvious but some individuals seem to think that just because one end of a rod is hot and the other was cool ten seconds ago, the same shall hold true after an hour. Myself being among those individuals."

Once more Crystals words were followed by a few quick messages between herself and Seven, but once more Max ignored them. He was more concerned with other business.

"About the trip to...Lady Copper? The nearest city aside from Silver Keep."

"Oh yes, we have been preparing for that, each in there own way," Celestia answered with rueful smirk. "I have been working on gathering a group of guards to escort whomever we shall decide to send as well as learning what supplies or trading goods should be brought while Luna has been hard at work...saving up food for the one that is left with myself."

"Ah, a tactful way of saying Luna's left you to take care of it while she ruts Crystal till they both pass out," Max said, nodding in feigned approval.

"I object to such statements! I have been training Crystal in the use of weaponry!" Luna barked.

Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Oh do not even attempt such misdirection. You are merely using the training as a form of...what was it called, the thing you do to achieve a proper mood?"

"Uh, foreplay?" Max answered, taken aback by the white mare's surprisingly lewd insult.

"Yes, that was it. You merely use the battles as foreplay, striking your beta's flank as often as possible. Odd, as with a shell it does not react in a pleasing way."

Max and Crystal both stared slack-jawed at Celestia, even as Seven attempted to stifle a chuckle.

"Princess Celestia, do my ears deceive me or are you implying an enjoyment of flanks that bounce when struck?" Crystal asked in almost-mock surprise.

"Now now, Crystal," Max tutted. "To each their own. You shouldn't judge a pony on their kinks."

"I suppose you have a point. If I did I'd never be able to look at myself in the mirror," Crystal reluctantly agreed.

"Oh spare me. When I check the dictionary definition of nymphomaniac, you're grinning muzzle is staring back at me," Max scoffed. "I'm sure you'd not only be able to look at yourself, you'd make out with yourself if you could."

"Lies!" Crystal laughed.

Max scowled in response, disappearing in a flash of fire and leaving a second Crystal sitting at the table. Max nearly ran around the table, pulling the grinning queen into a deep kiss that she quickly began to reciprocate.

"Luna, have you no control over your beta?" Max ehard the white mare complain, though he could taste her amusement.

Luna slowly approached, tsk'ing the entire time. Before Max could break away from the kiss and escape, Crystal clamped down on his own thoughts with her own.

'Don't leave, I have a plan. Seven, your eyes please?'

Both changelings complied with the request, though for Max it was more out of curiosity than the hive-link. He felt Luna near and try pulling them apart only for Crystal to pull her into their embrace, sandwiching Luna between them. Crystal continued making out, only this time with Luna getting her tonsils tickled while Max began nipping and kissing along the alicorn's neck and shoulder. Before Luna could begin to enjoy it though, the shape shifter launched the second part of her plan. As Luna relaxed into their grip, Crystal commanded him to move. He allowed it once more, curious as to what she was planning.

He wasn't disappointed.

<-(0)->

Seven stared in confusion as the meal played out. The constant back and forth, the jokes, the thinly veiled insults, they were all familiar. What wasn't familiar was the complete lack of hostility between the individuals gathered. She was almost certain this was normal for them, that there wouldn't be any backstabbing later once they'd retired for the night.

Once more she witnessed two of the 'flock' biting each other's mouths, this time the breeder and Seventeen. She still didn't know why they did that, nor did she understand why the ponies were calling Seventeen by the name of Crystal.

'Seven, your eyes please?'

Seven didn't even think about it, letting the other sub queen see through her own eyes. Even as the changeling felt Seventeen watching the blue pony's approach she felt herself gripped by an unusual bout of curiosity. What was it the two were going to do?

She was completely unsurprised when the alicorn was pulled into the mess, the breeder now nibbling at the hybrid mare's neck while Seventeen did that strange biting thing with her 'alpha'. Then in the blink of an eye Seventeen and the Breeder both moved in sync, sticking their tongues into the pony's ears.

The blue pony squealed in disgust and shock, her emotions shifting through a myriad of colors and flavors. The pony began struggling, desperately attempting to escape the lock the two changelings had on her but to no avail.

"Tia! Help me!"

The white mare merely rose from her seat and approached at a casual pace. Just as the blue pony looked hopeful, the white mare grinned viciously.

"Long live the princess."

It didn't make much sense why the mare would be quoting that strange story the breeder had shown them the night before, nor did the blue pony's reaction as the older one's wings began brushing over particular spots on the smaller, causing the captive mare to redouble in both her laughter and her struggles.

Shaking her head and taking another sip of her tea, which with changeling honey added was surprisingly good-tasting and filling, she realized she'd likely never understand this.

'Don't count yourself out just yet,' Crystal said, breaking away from the other three as the breeder and white mare continued to torture the blue one. 'It isn't as difficult as you seem to think. It also opens up a lot of possibilities. Here, take a taste.'

Before Seven could say anything Crystal opened her senses and connected them to her own, leaving the smaller queen experiencing the emotional deluge Seventeen was under. Seven blinked in shock, barely keeping hold of her senses as the emotions washed over her.
'Y-you experience this-'

'All the time, yes. You become acclimated to it, but it is still nice. This isn't even the most intense emotions ponies can feel. This is just them having fun. When it's time to sleep and we go to bed...'

The changeling queen perked her ears in curiosity as Seventeen shuddered in delight, sharing a stray memory through their link of an endless wave of love radiating from the blue mare, or of the male's willingness to share his energy in other ways.

Seven felt a shiver run down her own spine at the amount of love and other emotions this hive was dealing in. It put her own gathering to shame, and the fact that a good amount was being gathered by a combat queen? It hurt.

'Don't be like that, Seven. I likely would still be wandering the countryside if not for these two. It was Max who first proposed this form of feeding and Luna who agreed to be his source. It was a trade, his help and support in exchange for her love. Ponies already consider it a relationship, so it was simple for them to work out.'
Moving towards the door and leaving the other three to their games, Seventeen called for her to follow.
'Flick is holding a lesson on our new way of feeding. I think it would explain a lot if you attended.'

Slipping away from the pile that continued to torture the blue mare, Seventeen bade Seven to follow as she walked out the door. Taught by a drone. Seven could already hear her clutch-sisters laughing at her for this one.

'Ah, but if at the end of the day you are the one with jars upon jars of extra honey, what would their teasing mean to you?' Seventeen asked. 'And it's Crystal now. I prefer a name with a bit more depth than clutch and hatch order. Have you never wished for something more than mere existence.

Seven felt her thoughts drift for only a moment before she managed to clamp down on them. She'd trained herself to hold that back for years, why was she having trouble now?

'Because not all of your memories are your own,' Crystal responded to her accidentally voiced question. 'Flick can wait. I think it's time you learned just how badly you were hurt. Then we'll discuss what we're going to do with you in the future.'

Seven followed the larger queen out into the main courtyard and into a relatively empty storage room. It took a moment but Seven realized it was the one that had housed the drones earlier.

'Now, I'm going to do something that Maximus thinks is very foolish. I think it will help though. You were damaged, seven. Badly, in spite of what you feel. I will ask though. Do you want me to disconnect you from the hive? You will be free to go.'

'You won't attack me?' Seven asked, a hint of accusation in her voice.

'If you can make it out the door without hurting yourself, I'll open the gate myself.'

The smaller shape shifter frowned but nodded. She felt as though she was being set up but Seven-Crystal had been truthful in everything she said so far.

'Disconnect me.'

Seven actually didn't expect the other queen to follow through. She expected any number of responses, but as she felt the other queen pull both her own as well as the breeder's presence from her mind, Seven realized Crystal had been playing straight...which actually scared her. She said she was maintaining the link for Seven's benefit, but why.

As the other queen's presence faded from her mind, Seven closed her eyes to savor her regained freedom...and opened them again to find herself staring at the ceiling.

She frowned, noticing the breeder and Crack present as they were wrapping something around her forelegs, a layer of resin on her hoof where the limb reached into her sight. The breeder was furious, speaking harshly to someone she couldn't see...
'Oh, that's why I can't hear. My ears are ringing.'

The next thing she noticed was the slow increase of pain in her body. Her hooves started to register, and they hurt. Her legs stopped being numb and they hurt. Her nose felt like she'd slammed her face into a wall. She felt...

Seven sighed in relief as the breeder began to shut down her nerves, speaking gently to her. The pain slowly stopped, but she still couldn't hear.

I can't hear.'

'Ah, that makes sense. No worries, Seven. You're in good hooves.'

'What happened? When was I pulled back into this hive?'

The male slowed in his bandaging, his expression softening.

'When Crystal released you, you had a break.'

'A break...'

'A psychotic episode. You were screaming, punching walls, you attacked anyone who so much as looked at you. It's what I was hoping to avoid. It's why I told Crystal not to release you yet. I knew there was more damage from our fight left over.'

The injured sub queen frowned, thankful her body was currently numb.

'What damage? I feel fine. Seventeen, what did you-'

'Exactly what I offered. I disconnected you. I disconnected you from our link and from Maximus in the process. The source of those stray memories. He does not link like we do, his mind remains open. If you question something and he knows the answer, he offers it freely. When your mind tries to understand the source of the memory fragments, his mind responds automatically. It allowed you to dismiss a good portion of the damage.'

'When you disconnected, all of those little slivers were no longer being ignored. The animals I knew, the stories, the horrors and the wonders, you had no frame of reference.'

The breeder drew a hoof across her muzzle gently, though she couldn't feel it.

'I was in the middle of removing these slivers when I woke you up. I wanted to make sure you were even there. To make certain you'd survived. You were alive but then I couldn't just continue my work. Not when it scared you like that. I want to work with you, Seven. I don't want to be your enemy.'

'I memorized the disconnect if you'd like to watch,' Crystal offered. 'I know you don't believe me, it's why I did this. I wouldn't believe you if I was in your situation either.'

Seven nodded, feeling Crystal connecting her to the memory. She watched intently, feeling the breeder's presence slip into the memory as well as he joined her. That actually helped set her mind slightly at ease. If the breeder was watching as well the chances of this being false or tampered with were low.

She watched from Crystal's eyes as the larger sub queen led her into the room, watched as the younger mare withdrew her presence. This time though, she felt the male yelling at her over the link, asking her what she was doing. She saw herself close her eyes, savoring the newfound freedom...then those eyes opened with wide-eyed terror.

Seven saw herself scream, saw herself curl up on the floor and begin writhing in agony as her mind was overwhelmed by who-knew what. She watched herself rise to her hooves in a blind panic, running headlong into a wall.

'That would explain the damaged muzzle.'

She watched as she rose again, punching and kicking at the wall, still screaming about monsters, about things that hid in the shadows or would burrow into a creatures eyes. About spores that would slowly destroy a living creature and bloom from their dead body, infecting any unfortunate enough to be close. About creatures immune to fire, creatures that lived in the darkest oceans, creatures...

She saw the viewer wince as her hooves began to crack with the impacts, the chitin splitting as Crystal nailed her horn with resin to prevent Seven from casting. The door exploded open and the breeder rushed in, tackling Seven and rolling to his back, holding the mare to his barrel as her legs continued to flail in the air. Seventeen approached her, staring into her wild and unseeing eyes, and reconnected Seven to the hive.

As her world faded back into view, Seven was silent. The male once more began working to bandage her leg. The drone was currently working on her muzzle, having finished the other leg while the three of them were reviewing the memory.

She didn't know what to think. The memory didn't feel wrong, didn't feel like it was missing anything. In fact there was too much detail. Mother didn't like it when she had to sort through superfluous information, so they had to keep their memories bare...but Crystal wasn't doing that anymore. Whether or not Mother was truly gone, Crystal was declaring her independence. She had allied herself with this breeder and these ponies and spat on Mother's rules. The sub queen standing over here seemed to know what she was realizing as she smiled widely before looking to the breeder.

'Want to show her?'

He nodded, setting his shoulders before Crystal spoke again.

"Max go to Luna."

Seven watched curiously as the male's muscles tensed as the order was pushed over the hive-link, not a request but an order. A moment later he was finishing his work with her bandage, having apparently ignored it.

"Max is going to be teaching me how to do that as well, we're going to be practicing so that even if we are forced into a hive we won't be used against each other. We might even be able to resist more forcefully, perhaps even disconnecting ourselves with enough practice."

"And we'll teach you as well. I said I want you to be an ally, and I won't have my allies making me look bad in front of the other hives. So we're going to make sure you can take care of yourself before we release you."

Both queens tensed as they felt the male gather himself in the hive, pushing against his link to Crystal.

"Crystal, go sit in the corner and think about what you've done."

Even the drone was staring in confusion when Crystal started walking to the corner of the room, only stopping several paces away with a shudder as she finally pushed through his command.

"I am the hive-ruler, how did you do that?"

"It's still a link. We've both held that position. If a queen's been subservient once, they know the sensation; they may be ordered if they're not expecting it. Honestly though it was a guess and a little irritation on my part."

Looking down on her the breeder smiled.

"I don't want you practicing that just yet. You need rest. After that I'll talk to you about what I was doing earlier. I want to fix the damage I caused, Seven. I feel horrible having caused you this kind of pain, even if everyone tells me it was justified.

"I'll help heal your mind, we'll teach you how to fight Link orders, and you can leave afterwards. How's that sound?"

'Like a trap,' Seven thought, wincing as she felt the thought leak into the hive.

'You already found a way to grow beyond what Mother intended,' Seventeen said, leaning over her. 'I'd gladly pay love for you to teach me how you managed that.'

Before Seven could respond the blue female from before arrived. Taking in her appearance, Seven was surprised by the anger she felt being directed to Seventeen. In fact it was almost scary.

"Max told you she was still hurt. Why did you do this to her?"

"I didn't do-"

"Your negligence led to her injury," she insisted. "Your disconnecting her caused her to harm herself."

The blue mare stepped closer, standing over the queen imperiously.

"You will see to her until she is at least as recovered as when you took her from the dining room earlier."

"Luna, she was trying to make a point. Seven still didn't trust her so she-"

"So she allowed her to cause herself injury? Maximus, look at her! Her legs are shattered! This is not making a point, this is cruelty!"

"The kindness scares Seven, Luna! She's not used to it. She keeps expecting betrayal. I don't agree with Crystal but she knows the other queens. As much as I don't like this I think Seven needed some sort of refference."

"Do not attempt to help her out of this, she overstepped her authority," the angered hybrid stated.

"Wouldn't dream of it," the breeder responded, his face twisting into a wicked smile. "Besides, the two of you have spent a week together, right? Well, now Crystal gets to watch over her. That means we get some time to ourselves."

Seven nearly found herself giggling at the expression Crystal wore as the mare nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that seems like a proper punishment. I'm certain you'll find no objections, little beta of mine. I will allow you back into the room when Seven is. A labor of walking again. Until then, you will see to her. And unless something of importance comes up, you will not delegate this task to a drone."

"But- but the training! The trip!"

"You are staying with Tia, as our communication. Max will be aiding me in the negotiations and I wish to have a way to speak with Celestia should something occur while we are away."

Turning to her, the blue pony smiled.

"Rest easy, Sub Queen Seven B, you are a guest in my home while you recover. Max has asked that your attack on his freedom be forgiven, and so I have. Respect my home and my ponies, and we shall get along fine. Max and Crystal will see that you are cared for until you are capable of deciding on your future."

The strange mare left, leaving the bree-Max grinning at a pouting Crystal.

"Don't even-"

"Oooo, you're in trouble!"

"Max I swear-"

"Looks like somebody's sleeping on the couch!"

"Rargh!"

Watching as the large changelings began rolling along the floor, Crystal in fury even as the male was laughing hysterically, Seven realized she'd crossed some strange threshold. Logic just didn't seem to apply anymore.

'....what's the Twilight Zone?'

'That's mine, sorry. Tv show.'

'Tv?'

'This may take a while...'

<-(0)->

The rest of the day passed with little worthy of note. Max was of course thankful for that after what he'd already dealt with but his mind was currently hard at work trying to think up a good idea for that night even as he checked on Seven.

The mare was currently in his bed, or at least the room Luna had given him at the start of his stay. Crystal was curled up beside the queen as well, both of the mares under blankets to retain he warmth of the day as the cooler evening turned to night. Crystal had admitted it felt odd but it wasn't something she would complain about. He'd checked Seven's bandages for any signs of fresh blood but had otherwise left her to rest, telling her he'd explain anything she needed either in the dream-hive or in person come the morning.

He nearly jumped when a nearby voice called out to him, Celestia leaving Luna's chambers and wishing him good night. He nodded in response, though he wasn't sure if the white alicorn saw his nonverbal response in the dark. He entered the dark alicorn's room quietly and closed the door behind him.

"You are still troubled by Crystal's actions?" Luna asked from her vanity as she brushed a few tangles from her damp mane.

"Not so much. Seven's relaxing a bit now, which is good. What bothers me is Crystal's knowledge of the Hive's politics. Or rather, the lack there-of. I thought I had a grip on what it was, but talking to Seven and seeing some of those memories, things weren't cut and dry."

Taking a second brush and moving it through the mare's tail, he sighed.

"There was a lot of background politics. Alliances, betrayals, bartering, a whole economy living under that mare's iron rule."

"Is that why you've focused more on trading with her or helping repair her mind as opposed to-"

"Yea. She actually had it hidden and I didn't even realize what I was looking at till recently. But Crystal kept her head down. She did her best to avoid enemies but that also meant she had no allies. Seven had allies, may still have them. If she feels we've harmed her they could be enemies. If she feels we did right by her they could be allies. The issue is explaining the situation in such a way that makes her understand I want to help her. How do you explain to a mare that some of her memories are wrong and they need to be removed for her to be healthy? I know I'd be terrified if someone told me that."

"Well, you'll just have to take it slow when you work with her. I'm certain you'll figure out how to speak with her in time."

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to do tonight?" Max asked, a small grin appearing on his face.

Luna hummed in thought, tapping her brush against her nose.

"I suppose not. Just a calm session, just the two of us. I love Crystal, but I've had quite enough changeling tongue for now. I'd like something with a bit more...mass."

"Mass huh?" Max asked with a chuckle. "I guess that's a nice way to put it."

"Well, there's something to be said for the delightful tingle I end up with afterwards. The magic just feels..."

Shaking his head, Max laughed.

"Alright, I get it. Don't need to spell it out for me."

The dark mare shifted, turning around and resting wrapping her forelegs around his neck.

"Are you certain? Because I really want to feel you inside me. I want to feel the tingle of your seed as my body is flooded with magically charged semen. I want to feel the fullness that only comes from a stallion driving himself deep into my body. I-"

Max cut her off with a kiss, knowing she'd keep going if he let her. Not that he minded too much, but hey. He had needs too.

'Why talk when you can act?'

Luna giggled as he began to nibble down her neck, her body already giving off the scent of need.

"I want to feel every ring as my stallion fills my body with pleasure. I want to see, smell, and hear nothing but my mate."

He bit her neck, feeling a wave of confusion and excitement flood her mind. He held her there for a moment as the venom did it's job, leaving the mare limp in his forelegs. He levitated her now-limp form to the bed, using a second bit of magic to get a good look between her legs. She'd riled herself up so much already she was practically dripping arousal. He really didn't even have to work for this one. Max left her rear legs hanging off of the bed, leaving her perfectly positioned.

"I love you, Luna, and I think your voice is beautiful. Could listen to it all day. But, well, as Seven said, I'm a breeder. A breeder who hasn't bred in almost two weeks and I swear now that the prospect of sex has come up I can feel myself leaking at the thought. My balls are just screaming at me to find a nice warm body to rut and I know just the one."

Lining himself up with the mare's already warm and ready nethers, Max easily slipped inside, thrusting himself deep into her slick need with little trouble. The sudden wave of confusion that washed over her the next moment though was hilarious.

"Oh, don't you remember?" Max huffed, pulling out and giving the mare another good thrust. "The venom is numbing. Makes it so, you can't feel anything. Don't worry, it will wear off in a moment."

Max thrust forward once more, the mare's wet lips greeting his impact with a wet slap. It felt strange, as the venom relaxed everything. She wasn't even flexing around his dick as he brushed against her insides. He pulled himself deeper, leaning into her ear as he smiled devilishly.

"Unless you're a bad mare, in which case I could always reapply it. Are you a bad mare, Luna? Do you need to be punished?"

The burst of desperation mixed with her arousal as she vehemently denounced being bad, which in her state ended up sounding more like slurred moans and grunts under the effects of his venom, caused him to laugh.

"What's that? It sounded like you were trying to say no. No to what? No to being a good girl? Or no to being rutted until you can't walk straight? I guess I could always find Crystal..."

Luna squirmed as she fought the venom, her slick vaginal walls desperately trying to grip him as the venom ran its course. Already Luna was regaining some semblance of control over her body, her horn flickering and her wings shifting slightly underneath him. Grinning, Max leaned down and placed his jaws on her neck again, causing the mare underneath him to whine piteously in fear.

"Nuh, duh...wunnu...fee. Pulz, buh gud."

"Oh, you'll be good?" Max asked, shifting left and right and earning a mewl of pleasure as feeling returned to the mare's body. "I guess I can hold off on another dose..."

The male began thrusting at a good pace, enjoying the feeling of the slowly awakening muscles that gripped and squeezed him. The mare's tunnel was still weak, still not quite tight enough in its tensing to truly aid in his pleasure but that was only half the game. The motions of the rut were already setting him off. Burying himself inside his mate, Max grunted as he climaxed almost instantly, feeling a powerful pressure being released inside his gut. Like a hose that was finally uncapped, he could feel the magic-saturated seed pour into the waiting womb, filling Luna with the pleasant tingle she desired.

Grunting, Max began rutting her once more, feeling his instincts firing off. He needed this release, needed it worse than he'd realized. His body was full and he needed to make room, more seed was being generated even now. He wanted to be empty, to feel that contentment that only came with the fulfillment of being completely expended. So he continued to thrust, feeling the squelching of his own cum being packed deeper into the female as he continued to pound her, feeling his own pleasure remain just shy of climax-levels of intensity. A little more was all it would take right now, just a twist and grind so that a new part of his dick-

Luna moaned underneath him, the feeling and control over her body finally returning in time to feel the male on her back driving into her depths at full speed even as the ejaculate from his first climax sent electric tingles through her quivering walls. She shivered as he grunted a second time, pouring more warmth into her in a short time while his rings worked with her now clenching vaginal walls to contain the seed.

"M-more, harder! Stars, I missed this, I needed this."

"Good mare's are quiet when their stallion is giving them a rutting," Max growled, pressing his teeth to the shuddering alicorn's neck. "Do I need to, to punish someone?"

Luna shook her head quickly, using her hooves to try and muffle her moans even as her mate threatened to cut off feeling in her body again. He could tell the thought frightened her but at the same time the sheer amount of control over the situation he had was a thrill to them both. It really wasn't something Max had planned on using the venom for but god did it set him off. Total control over the mare below him, the ability to...oh wow.

Feeling Luna approaching her climax, Max chuckled and pressed his teeth against the alicorn's neck.

"N-no, don't-ah, don't you dare! Maximus I swear, I swear I'll never forgive you if you-"

Luna's argument was cut short as the stallion peeked for the third time, pumping even more seed into the dark mare's already swollen womb. She gave a shudder as her orgasm struck suddenly, cutting her off midsentence and leaving her eyes staring blankly ahead with her mouth hanging open.

Riding out the orgasm, Max grinned as a thought struck him. He had more, much more to give her. But she was full. While he didn't want what he'd already packed his mate to go to waste, neither was he done with her. He needed a way to keep her full without plugging her canal with his rod.

Magic suddenly blazed around luna's arousal-bloated lips, pinching them together like a demented balloon neck and keeping most of the semen inside of her, though a few spurts of the pink jizz managed to squirt out from her overfilled hole. He heard the mare mewl and groan, saw her legs trying to roll to her side as her slightly bulging belly flexed in confusion.

The changeling hacked up a bit of resin, smearing the gel-like substance over the mare's nether-lips and hardening it with his magic. The resin creaked and cracked a little, a small bit of pink leaking from a chip in the seal. A second layer of resin solved the issue though, completely sealing his seed inside her. Three, three climaxes and he still wanted more. He still had more and he still wanted to give it to her. Her marehood was out of the equation now, bloated and sealed as it was. There were other holes though. He was far from done.

Max giddily circled his mare, shifting her head slightly even as her eyes were still fogged from the pleasure of her peak. A peak that was hanging around much longer than usual as a result of the incredible feeling of fullness she was currently feeling. Wasting no time, Max began pressing his shaft into her muzzle, using his magic to open her jaws and allowing the slick member to slide down her throat.

The shape shifter managed a good four pumps into the alicorn's esophagus before she registered his presence, swallowing hard several times in quick succession. It was good, so much goodness that he almost couldn't pull out. He waited in her mouth, feeling her tongue running over his shaft and slipping along his rings for a moment as she took a few deep breaths. The second he heard her take a deep breath though, he went back to it, fucking her throat with abandon and letting loose yet another torrent of seed into her, this one washing deep into her gullet.

Pulling back out, the changeling panted, feeling the effects of his effort. He felt his balls clenching, pushing out the last bit of seed they contained. One more. He had one more in him and he was done. He needed...he needed a place. A place that would be memorable. His eyes tracked over her body and he got an idea, a wonderfully awful idea. His teeth bared in glee and his dick throbbed in anticipation. He knew where his last one would go, he knew where the last orgasm would take place.

Circling back to her flank, he began licking and massaging the moons on the lunar mare's flanks, feeling and hearing the pleasure the feelings brought her. He licked, nipped, kissed, suckled- he adored those wonderful flanks. He treated them as if they were treasures. Luna was going to need this extra bit, too. Especially with what he was about to do.

Buzzing a bit with a hoof on her cutie mare and leaning forward to nibble on a sensitive bit of her wing, Max nodded as the alicorn climaxed again, her mind overtaken with lust and pleasure. Her body shuddered as the aftershocks of her orgasm played through her body, unaware of the prick of his teeth on her flank.

Luna was none the wiser, her body completely consumed by its most recent peak and not yet registering the numb feeling that was flowing through her at the moment. He bit her again, adding just a little more venom. It had to be a sure thing, there had to be no muscle control. No feeling, no way for her to hurt either of them. Certain she was sufficiently relaxed, the changeling lined himself up with the upper entrance and pushed forward.

He sighed as his dick slid into her body with almost no resistance, the slick member still exceptionally lubricated from its previous two journeys. The rings also slipped in this time, the mare's pucker not even twitching in token resistance. She couldn't clench on him, couldn't feel any discomfort. Not this time. Certain he was properly situated, the changeling began to thrust, his pace starting out ragged and only becoming worse as he worked. Four, six thrusts, eight and he was bottoming out, feeling his ability to hold on any longer shattering. Nine and he was done, his rod erupting with it's fifth powerful torrent of seed into the same mare, filling her in a way she'd never experienced nor expected.

Max gasped, feeling his energy finally running out even as he drank in what little emotion the half-conscious mare was able to direct at him. She still was holding on, still so desperately trying to recover from her second orgasm that she didn't realize she'd been numbed a second time. He chuckled as he slumped onto her back, the sudden tensing of her anal ring telling him the feeling was returning. She blinked, a wave of confusion washing over her as she shifted and clenched her butt, feeling the shaft still lodged inside. She shifted again, a feeling of pleasure washing over her as the seed in her colon was displaced, slowly working its way into her body and leaving her with even more of her body in contact with the charged sensation.

"You...jerk," she gasped, unable to lift her head. "You, you did that when I was, when I-"

"When you were still zoned from your second," Max slurred, giggling as he snuggled into the alicorn's back. He felt great, like he'd accomplished a life-goal. His body was exhausted, certainly, but it was a good fatigue. He felt...good.

The mare below him clenched again, gripping his shaft as a bit of uncertainty danced along her emotions.

"It didn't...hurt. Did, you enjoy it?"

He shook his head.

"Not really, but I wanted to cover all my bases...and fill all the holes. All the ones that matter anyway. I'm not into noses or ears. That's weird."

A quick flash of disgust followed by amusement.

"You're going to make this up to me. A full night of brushing in the dream-hive, as well as a climax or two."

"I'll give you three," Max mumbled, already drifting off. He pulled himself out of the alicorn carefully, feeling her tense as every ring was pulled out of her ass. As the head slipped out he shifted, using the blanket to wipe himself off. He'd shower in the morning and clean it up in full. He just didn't have the energy for sanitation right now.

'I'm probably going to be disgusted with myself later.'

Author's Note

Any problem can be solved by rigorous and vigorous application of horse-dick. Fenoxo - 2017

I saw that quote on his website and realized it was the guiding principle of this entire story :facehoof:

Trade Winds

It didn't take long for the preparations for the trip to Copper Road Keep to come to an end. Eventually it was time to go, and Max was once more standing outside the gate as the Knights and an alicorn prepared for the trip. This time though, Crystal was double-checking his packs and even moving things to his hip-pouches as she dropped extra stuff to the ground.

"It's for food. Your biggest enemy on these trips is weight. It will be uncomfortable but keeping yourself to honey will limit your weight by quite a bit. The fact that Luna will be with you means you will have a good source and won't need to worry so much about storing it but you should at least keep enough for a few days. A single jar of love is plenty. No, the blade is worthless over there. Keep it here."

Max boggled as the mare added some resin to his shoulder plate and hardened it in place, slipping the weapon into the new pouch and making certain it settled properly.

"I'll show you how to make these pouches later. Properly securing your equipment is important and this shouldn't get in the way. If it does you can easily remove it. Now if you find yourself under attack, pull it out like this and let go here. That will launch the blade into your opponent. Oh my goodness, why didn't I do this last night. I'll speak with you tonight about some of my training experience. You might be able to use it. Your size will throw some things off but since it's mostly going to be against ponies..."

The stallion smirked as the smaller shape shifter continued on for a while, making plans to train him in this weapon or that skill. He could sense Seven as well as the older sub queen watched from a nearby balcony. She was currently being seen to by a drone and two pony nurses, a very uncomfortable situation but the ponies' experience with Crystal and Flick had apparently been pleasant enough that they were willing to give this other mare a chance.

'Better than I'd hoped.'

'You be good, Seven. I don't want to find the Keep burning when we get back.'

'This is a stone structure, it does not burn.'

'You say that now, but you know as well as I do that stranger things have happened.'

'That and there's plenty of flammable items inside the Keep,' Crystal added. 'I'm sorry, I started rambling and-'

'And I'm fairly certain those were combat-queen only techniques you're speaking of sharing with him,' Seven quipped.

'Of course I'm going to share them with him. The greater the chance he has to come back the safer my hive is. If you think I'm going to let some stupid rule Mother enforced to keep us weak stop me from keeping my flock alive you're mad.'

'Well don't expect any infiltration techniques from me,' Seven grumped.

Max grinned.
'Oh, you'll break my heart, Seven.'

'That's-'

'Finish it, Seven,' Crystal ordered, a grin sprouting on her own muzzle.

'T-hat's not all I'll break-oh God don't-'

'Peace, Seven. Relax. We're not like Mother. There is a limit to what I'll tolerate but I won't just flay you for crossing it. And a snippy remark like that is nowhere near the line. It's banter, which can be fun even for the insulted party.'

'I don't know, Crystal. I think I need to invent a flushing toilet for that insult. I want to know what happens to a mane when you give a mare a swirly.'

Max's grin only grew as he felt the queens dig for the things he mentioned, Seven going quiet even as Crystal burst into audible laughter.

'That's disgusting,' the elder mare finally muttered.

"Are you ready, Maximus?" Celestia asked, shoving Luna as the smaller mare giggled excitedly beside her.

"I am, or at least I hope so. I can't seem to find my toothbrush but I'm sure I can stop at some Speedway on the road. Maybe some soda as well. I'll bring you, Crystal, and Seven souvenirs, okay?"

The white alicorn smiled brightly.

"Tis' more than Luna has promised me, so I guess it will have to do. Watch her for me, won't you? Keep her out of trouble, and do your best to avoid the same."

"I'll do my best, Tia, 'cuz that's the best I can do," he answered.

Luna pulled Crystal into a deep kiss before brushing a hoof along her beta mare's cheek.

"Be good for Tia and take care of Seven. We'll keep in touch each night. And if you're good, Max and I will see to your reward when we return."

Seven made a sound of disgust.

'What are you, some pet to be promised treats for good behavior?'

'Woof,' Max and Crystal responded simultaneously before laughing aloud.

'Don't be such a downer,' Max jeered before turning to Crystal. 'I expect that mare to be capable of banter and jokes when I get back.'

'I don't know. I am powerful, Max, but even I cannot work miracles,' Crystal replied, causing both of them to start laughing again.

"If you two are done making jokes only the two of you can hear we're about ready to move out," Luna said, using a burst of telekinesis to bop both shape shifters on the nose. "Come along, Maximus. You're walking with me. I want to speak to you about anything you may know of trade. Starswirl didn't have much on the topic and you tout its importance continuously."

Max nodded, pausing only long enough to look back and flip Crystal's tail as he walked away.

'We're going to shave that when we get back. Otherwise it might get in our way.'

The sub queen made a strangled noise somewhere between a squeal and a cheer before rushing off, her smile nearly splitting her face. He received an odd look from Celestia but ignored it, choosing instead to lean in to answer Luna's questioning glance.

"I told her we're going to shave her tail when we get back, so it doesn't get in our way."

"That's horrible," the blue alicorn said as she shoved him with a wing. It still brought a smile to her face though, as well as a slight tint of lust to her emotions. "We need to focus though. Why do you wish to make this contact so quickly?"

Max straightened up as he focused on his task, all business for the moment.

"Right, so there are several reasons we need to make contact with another settlement. First of all I need to know if there have been any currencies adopted in the last few years. Sometimes things like that can crop up without you noticing. The second reason is actually a bit of a two-fer. A large Keep that's well established and properly managed will have a market, something we don't have yet but will likely be able to add once the walls are completed. It's also a gathering place of individuals both looking for jobs or just resting and chatting. In other words it's a good place to find workers and information. I mean, there's a reason a lot of games use taverns as starting points for a ton of quests. It's where people congregate. A market is the next most popular place. Heck, you were asking about finding an actual smith? This will be a great chance. We talk to the blacksmith and find out if he has either some apprentices that are ready to start on their own or can direct us to another metalworker looking to move out of the city."

"You believe we shall find all of this?" Luna asked with a sudden burst of excitement.

"It's not a guarantee but we could. I'd be surprised if we didn't at least see a forge in or near the town that I can check my own work against," Max added, watching the wall that was currently under construction as the group passed it. Ponies of all tribes and even a changeling or two were hard at work moving the stone into place. Now that the cavern was filled in the wall was the only thing the quarry was supplying, though whether or not there was enough stone was debatable. There were other hills they could tear apart though. The countryside was relatively unmolested, leaving little chance of stumbling into a pre-existing mine. With the completion of the wall they could look into starting th next project...whatever it would be.

"Should probably also look at what Lady Road has. May remind me of something or give us some ideas."

"What, you do not know everything we shall need? Oh, I have been deceived! My stallion has sold himself under false pretenses! Whatever shall I do? Perhaps have him, yes! I shall gift him to Tia. Just chain him up in her room, to do with as she pleases."

Max winced.

"I may end up bruised pretty badly, and not in the fun way. In all seriousness though, knowing what you don't know, or knowing the limits of your knowledge, is sometimes even more important than what you do know. You remember how I was talking about advisors, right? Redstreak is your agricultural advisor, Shimmering is your military advisor, though I don't know if he has any knowledge of troop movements and military strategies, I'm general knowledge as well as your...I think the word was sensachel?"

"What's that?" Luna asked.

"I believe the word is seneschal, sir." A nearby knight corrected.

"Thanks. I'll tell you if I think you're forgetting something or taking something too far. Some don't realize this but there's a reason the Overlord list advocated having a small uh, foal as an advisor. Kids are pretty straight forward. They won't dance around the topic or try to be nice about it a lot of the time, they'll just tell you how they see things. Sometimes it helps to have a blunt opinion, even if it can be irritating. I'm a bit more thorough, I also go out and see what we need for myself. If I find something that seems dangerous or needs to be addressed immediately I'll let you know."

"Like the cavern..."

"Not just the cavern but the lack of a well, lack of a wall, lack of a smithy, all of these things should have been brought to your attention. Instead the two of you were blocked off from the process. By disconnecting you from the actual happenings of your home, those nobles were able to rule as they saw fit while the two of you would take the blame for any issues that cropped up. When the keep fell to disrepair and poor management, or in the case of the cavern just plain fell, who do you think would be responsible? Certainly not the simple nobles, not with a pair of princesses ruling the town. It was a free ride with no responsibilities."

Luna's face twisted as he spoke, her emotions shifting to confusion.

"I'm afraid I don't follow your logic, what-"

"You and Tia didn't have advisors, you had a court of nobles that you were delegating to. This is fine normally, but if something isn't getting done, who checks on the advisors? The nobles of course. It's one of the most frustrating bits of most government and business investigations I would hear about back home. Government's done something wrong? Oh, don't worry, they have the authority to investigate themselves. UN peackeppers facing criminal charges in countries they're supposed to help? They'll take care of it.

"Tell me, Luna. If someone was able to investigate their own actions and able to either dismiss or outright cover up their mistakes, do you think they'd do it? Especially when the alternative is political suicide and losing their position?"

"I...They would likely attempt to dismiss it, or sabotage any investigation."

"Exactly. Just remember to watch your step. Your decisions will impact the lives of more and more people as the keep and the surrounding town grows. It gets easy to distance yourself from them and in some cases you will have to do just that. Don't forget to check on things every now and again."

"I don't remember who said it but I remember someone saying not to listen to the complaints but to what people are complaining about. If they're whining that they don't have better food or that they're clothes are dirty, it means they have food and clothes. If they're saying they don't have food, then you have a problem. People complain, it's normal. It's what they complain about that you need to focus on."

"I can't exactly go around asking about these sorts of things," the alicorn grumbled. "Admitting the lack of such knowledge could be perceived as weakness."

"But I have no issue looking like an idiot as long as my friends know the truth, so I'll gladly ask the questions for you. Crystal is more than happy to do the same for you. And you tell me who's dumb enough to call her weak? I bet she'd put them through a wall."

One of the Knights began snickering and Max looked to them, quirking an eyebrow.

"Go on, Twister. Tell the princess what you think would happen if someone had either a bad case of stupid or was brave enough to call Crystal out like that."

"She'd meet them in the sparring ring within five minutes of the insult, sir," the Pegasus mare giggled, keeping her eyes forward.

"Is that what happened?" The stallion next to her asked, earning a nod in answer.

"Wait, this actually happened?" Max asked.

"It did. The mare was upset when she saw Princess Luna teaching Crystal basic weapon techniques and wondered aloud how the princess could accept such a weak mare into her flock. Some of us thought Princess Luna would chew her out, but Crystal stopped her and invited the mare into the sparring ring."

The stallion next to Twister, a knight Max couldn't recall the name of, nodded before taking over the narration.

"That queen then proceeded to take the unicorn apart. Even when she reached for her magic, Crystal managed to keep the knight in the dirt. Mare's been in the infirmary for a few days now nursing bruised ribs and a fractured horn."

Max winced, noticing a wave of smug reaching him over the Link.

'Did you have to fracture her horn?' He asked.

'The match had been called and she was casting a spell at my back. There's a reason Luna didn't say anything. That mare had it coming.'

The shape shifter nodded.

'Alright. Long as you're not being a bully.'

"How have the dogs been treating you guys?"

"Dogs?" Luna asked. "Oh, the diamond dogs. I'd nearly forgot. We've not heard much from them aside a request or two for aerial scouting or paper. They're settling in a cave system several leagues away. They said it would give both of our homes room to grow without crowding. I don't see the importance just yet but Crystal thanked them regardless. We send a Pegasus to find out if they require anything and the one shipment we sent of paper and food came back with various metals and gems in payment. That was what you meant by trade, correct? Trading our surpluses for things we could use. The gems and metals aren't as useful, but unlike the food they have no expiration date."

Calling to Crystal for the actual locations of both his destination and the den, Max nodded happily.

"That's spectacular, actually. I'll ask Crystal to send someone to the dogs and make sure they're okay with it but if any of the merchants from Copper Road Keep want to trade with them they'll be passing us by."

"And this is good...why?" the alicorn asked him.

"Well, we'd be a supply stop, an extra trading hub along the way. If we play or cards right, we'll make a neat profit. The merchants have to go by us to reach their destination or the dogs could come to us for trading instead. I'm not suggesting a toll just yet, not when we don't even know if there's been a currency chosen. That's kind of asinine at this level. For now we're just another stop, and we want the business. We want bartering and trading in the town, we want to see more people passing through. More than that though, a lot of people passing through means we can open a hotel, or as they were in the olden days, a tavern."

"Which you said is where people gathered. We would have our own with enough traffic."

"I don't know for certain, but I think many of them actually started working with just the locals as a place to gather, drink and chat. We don't need the traffic for a tavern but it helps. In fact I think it may be a good idea to make sure we have a bit of infrastructure before we get too far along. A guard barracks outside of the keep, one relatively near the main gate. A large storage area would be nice, maybe make an extension to the keep on the backside, weld some of that stone into it. I also want a smaller forge and smithy inside the Keep and our main forge inside the wall. Some of that metal will be valuable. If it's easy to steal, people will try to steal it."

A quick scowl fell over the mare's face, likely as she recalled the nobles who were found attempting to steal from the Keep as they fled.

"I would have dismissed that before. With ponies that were supposed to be paragons of virtue and good breeding robbing my home however..."

"It's fine, Luna. Sometimes disasters bring out the best in people. They can also bring out the worst though. Just need to keep your eyes peeled and pay attention."

The alicorn nodded, blowing a frustrated breath out her nose.

"I saw Crystal teaching you a simple blade trick, we shall have plenty of time, so why not use it? I want my stallion capable of defending himself, and we've been distracted."

Wielding a blade in her magic, the mare grinned brightly at the prospect of teaching him in turn.

"While anyone can swing a piece of metal, it takes practice and knowledge to wield a weapon. A blade is as versatile as the mind using it. Defensive blocks, parties, thrusts, slashes, feints, in some cases even using it as a brace, driving it into the ground to give yourself a hoof-hold. Many bladesponies would be angered by such an abuse of the blade but most who have endured actual combat understand that when one's life is on the line, tis better to damage the blade than endure the damage yourself."

Max nodded, the two falling into a comfortable pace as the day continued on. The day wound up being relatively uneventful, which was more than Celestia was able to say unfortunately.

<-(0)->

The white alicorn sighed as she finished lowering the sun. It was still a bit difficult without Luna being present but she would swear it was becoming easier every day. Especially with a few days like this spread between the normal cooperative exchanges.

'A muscle that is getting exercised. Like any magic-users abilities, my own grow with use. Perhaps someday I'll be able to do this without getting up at dawn.'

"I don't see why not. She's not paying attention and she's currently still tired from her spellcasting. We could take her."

Celestia's eyes widened in surprise and she turned around, finding a very surprised Seven and a face-hoofing Crystal.

"You were speaking aloud again. And I told you that to attempt such a thing was stupid. She's raising the sun. Neither of us can generate that kind of power on our own nor are we able to harvest enough energy to do so."

"We don't need the sun," the smaller changeling scoffed, bringing a slight twitch to the alicorn's left eye.

Crystal gave an exasperated sigh, gesturing to her fellow queen with a hoof.

"Do you see what I have to deal with now that Max is gone? She's been like this the entire time. I don't want to tell her to stop because it would be a hive order, and I think most of her inability to control what she says is due to the mental damage."

"I hate when she says that," Seven muttered, rolling her eyes. "I am a sub queen, I think I'd notice something like damage to my memories."

"Or that you are speaking your thoughts aloud?" Celestia asked, causing the smaller mare to jump. While it was simple to dismiss Crystal hearing her due to the link, Celestia being able to hear her was not something Seven had considered.

"There was damage done to you, Seven. Even with my lack of knowledge of your species I've seen the issues. The fact that Maximus spent almost two weeks working to allow you any form of self-awareness, foregoing everything else to focus on you, is proof enough to me.

"You trust a creature based on falsehoods. We are changelings, we-"

"I trust a stallion who did the same thing he did for you to help me. I trust that stallion with things I haven't been able to speak with Luna about yet and he has not broken that trust. He has yet to do anything to harm myself or Luna and at this point even if he did I'd be more curious as to why he did so than angry about such a betrayal."

Seven shifted nervously at Celestia's words, her eyes tracking to Crystal then to the alicorn.

"Crystal, could you leave us for a moment?" Celestia asked at length. Perhaps she could help. Max had mentioned that Crystal trusted her. Maybe Seven would find an unlinked creature would be easier to trust than the mare holding her leash?

Crystal nodded, turning to leave but not before looking to her charge with a glare.

"Harm her and I'll disconnect you immediately, mental damage or not."

The two mares were left to themselves, the silence hanging over them being almost palpable. After what felt like an eternity, Celestia walked over to her bed and relaxed in the sheets, motioning they still wide-eyed queen to sit on a chair she pulled closer.

Seven did so nervously, likely expecting some sort of retaliation, but the white alicorn just smiled at her.
"Alright Seven, I'm going to tell you a little story."

<-(0)->

That night the flock met in the dream-hive, which in spite of the current distance of a day's journey was still strong as ever. To make them more comfortable, Max had even increased the size of the bed as well as the general size of the apartment, then made sure the drones were all comfortable. It didn't look like it but it seemed they actually preferred the cramped conditions. Whether that was because it was what they were used to or because they felt safer like that he couldn't be certain.

Crystal couldn't help but giggle as she told Max and Luna of seven's misadventures during their absence. The fact the smaller queen was currently hiding under the bow much larger bed the flock was using in the dream hive made the situation even funnier.

"-she started plotting out a sneak attack on Celestia but was speaking aloud. Right behind her!"

Luna burst into laughter at the idea, a small changeling queen speaking openly of an attempt to usurp the throne while they were gone just too ridiculous to comprehend.

Max didn't take the reveal too well, however. Reaching under the bed he nabbed the injured queen's tail and pulled her out from under the bed, drawing a yelp of pain and surprise.

"I don't care if they find it funny," Max said, gesturing to the other mares with a thumb. "I don't want to hear you talking about this kind of thing while you're linked with me. Afterwards you're free to do as you please, even if it's something stupid and suicidal like that. While you're here with us you respect our rules though, got it? And we don't attack our friends, family, or allies. Right now, Seven, you and I are allies. Understand?"

Seven, currently hanging upside down by her tail with her front hooves scrabbling at the floor, nodded in understanding. The moment Max released her tail she darted back under the bad, hissing in anger and irritation at the embarrassment he'd subjected her to.

Crystal rolled her eyes and continued her story.

"Well, after that Celestia asked to speak to her alone. Told her about the situation here in detail while drawing analogies between Seven and herself. I didn't understand a lot of them, but Celestia seems to think she's tolerable. After that we had lunch, answered to a few petitions to the crown, and retired early. If ever I have to make my own way, I'm making my hive near a hot spring. I don't think I could live without a hot bath."

"Sadly, the road does not allow us such wonderful things," Luna lamented. "We shall likely take a long bath upon our return, however."

As the group settled in, Luna leaned in and gave Crystal a strong hug.

"Give that to Tia for me when you wake up."

Max shifted a little before reaching under the bed once again and pulled Seven out by her tail. Before the changeling queen could do more than squeak in surprise he pulled her into the pile, allowing Crystal and Luna to surround her. A grin formed on his face as the queen tried squirming free, only to give up at the iron grip the flock had her in.

As the group settled in to their new positions, The half-changeling male relaxed. He'd probably have trouble sleeping alone at this point, as even in his dreams his family was present. It wasn't a bad thing though. In dreams or in the waking world, none of them were alone. Not anymore.

Copper Road Keep

Max woke in the early morning, a warmth on his chest as well as the emotions said warmth radiated making him grin. The two large beings were sharing a tent( Luna wouldn't even consider any other possibility) and it had helped Max keep warm. The nights were still slightly cool, and having a warm-blooded body to snuggle with kept away most of the chill.

That and he'd begun to enjoy her scent overall. It was a slight modification to his biology, one he'd not really noticed amidst all of the more prominent changes. Ponies in general smelled 'good' but Luna smelled amazing. The normally less than appealing scent of sweat, her hair, her blankets and pillows, a sniff of any of them perked him up. He breathed it in, taking in the aroma that was Luna...and frowned, looking down to his chest. It wasn't a mischievous pair of eyes that greeted him though. Instead, with his changeling vision, he could see a gleam of moisture in the darkness of the tent. A gleam that followed a teardrop pattern he was intimately familiar with.

"Luna, as fun as this would be, were in the middle of the camp and less than a day from our destination. If we end up doing it here we'll be walking into Copper Road Keep smelling of sex."

The alicorn groaned in irritation, looking over her back to him with a pout.

"What if we keep it clean? I won't let any make a mess and-"

"And I am physically incapable of keeping this end of you clean," Max sighed, watching as her nethers winked. "You leak like a faucet when you get going. Even if I were to use shape shifting to get some sort of seal between my lips and yours I don't know if I would be able to take it all."

"That's actually kind of weird. How do you get so wet? I would think it physically impossible to produce that much without becoming dehydrated."

Luna's ears fell flat and she sat up, smearing what little arousal she'd worked up onto his chest.

"Fine. Fine, we'll wait until later. I swear to you, Maximus, that this week of travel shall be reimbursed once we return home. Why must we worry about such things? Did you not spend hours telling Tia and I that we should relax and be ourselves?"

"First impressions," he answered, sleepily rubbing a hoof against his eyes. "I don't care what you do at home but this is a public appearance. What they see, and smell, will impact how they treat you in the future. As such not only will we be avoiding sex for the day, but I want you to make sure you clean yourself up thoroughly. There's a river coming up and while it's not the best choice, we should be able to rinse off most of the sweat and grime from our trip."

"This isn't just the four of us having dinner and shooting the breeze, chatting about whatever crosses our mind. As much as I think it's important to relax, it's also important to be able to pull your pants up and sit up straight when talking to those with authority. Even if it matches your own."

"You know the river will be cold, correct?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know. It will suck, but you only get once shot at a first impression. I'd have suggested perfume of some sort but I could't find any in the Keep. Just your shampoos. I suggest you use one. Preferably one with a powerful smell to it."
Max rolled over and lifted himself up, grabbing a towel to clean himself off.

"I gotta wonder if I'm having some sort of effect on you. It's either that or alicorns are horny as hell."

"We are equipped with larger ones than unicorns, yes," Luna said, gesturing to the protrusion from her forehead. At Max's stare she giggled, shoulder-checking him as she walked to the entrance of the tent.

"I jest. Come, let us see this trip finished."

An hour later and the caravan was sitting near a slow-flowing river. The water was crisp and cool, and Max would swear he'd not often seen such crystalline water. Unfortunately, some of them were going to be desecrating this water with their filthy bodies.

While a few guards went farther upstream for water and the rest of the group guarded the gear, Max and Luna were cleaning themselves up.

"Alright, I'll wash myself on the shore. If I try to wade in that I'm going to freeze to death."

Luna chuckled, filling a bucket and hitting it with a heating spell before passing it to Max and wading into the water. She shivered a bit, but otherwise seemed unaffected.

"Cool, but not too terrible. I have bathed in worse."

The changeling used his magic to dip the towel into the water and wiped it over his shell.

"I really need to learn magic."

"You have been gifted telekinesis from Crystal, correct? Did you learn nothing else from her?"

"Not really..." Max mumbled, shaking himself a moment later. Wet mares, oh why did he have to behave for the next few hours?

"I can pull a few basic combat spells from her if I needed to but at that point I may as well just let her have the wheel."

Luna ducked under the water and splashed about for a moment before grabbing her soaps from the shore.

"Taking the wheel... I am afraid I don't understand the expression."

"Sorry, it means letting her take control. I mean I know I can look through her eyes and she can use mine, it shouldn't be to difficult to swap out every now and again. May be bad to keep swapped for too long but a quick swap like that shouldn't be bad. Then again, I don't know if that's harder to do than hive communications or not and if it has a more limited range. It's something we should probably mess with later."

Finishing wiping himself down, he looked back to the river just in time to see Luna wading out of the water, using a few spells to dry herself off. She sat down on the shore, spread her wings and smiled.

"Would you get the left?"

It was nearly two hours later at they reached the outside of Copper Road Keep, most of their equipment on the backs of other knights. It was something Max was hard pressed to sell to the blue mare, but it would have been counter-productive to carry a heavy pack and work up a sweat again after a bath.

They were stopped well before the gate and challenged as was expected. What they didn't expect was the arrow that landed near them as they slowed in sight of the Keep. It took a lot of soothing on Max's part to stop Luna from rushing forward and tearing every stone asunder in search of the one who fired at them.

Another few minutes farther back and with a few additional knights, they finally saw a small contingent of ponies trotting out to meet them. This time Max was unable to reel Luna's anger in.

"What was the meaning of that attack?" She barked as the Knights came into range. " we approached this Keep peacefully and made our intentions obvious! Still one of your archers shot at us!"

"You are trespassing," the lead guard said. "Take your pet and leave or we will remove you from our territory."

"We arrived peacefully and intended to make contact with the Lady of the Keep. I-"

"Luna? He's not listening. Don't let him get to you. Get Lady Copper for this. He doesn't give a damn. Though maybe he will when he ends up cleaning out the garderobes for the next ten years."

Seeing he had her attention, he smiled.

"I've been called worse, honestly. We'll find somewhere else to take out business. I don't like the idea, but we could always check out Silverblood Keep."

"Fine. I will not waste my time attempting to find an audience with a pony who cannot tell the difference between an envoy and a night-prowler."

With that Luna turned away and walked back to the rest of the knights. Max looked to the ponies from the keep, seeing and sensing the mixture of boredom and disgust they were focusing on him. He hated the idea that his presence was weakening the position of the two sisters but if the duchess wasn't even willing to consider hosting others at the moment, she was going to be in for a nasty surprise. The diamond dogs were going to be growing alongside these pony cities. The griffons were out there, the minotaurs, the changelings, the dragons, the...seaponies? He was pretty sure most people talked about them as a joke back home but they were a possibility as well. If they were turning away a predominantly pony group based on a single changeling, things were going to get nasty for Lady Copper Road in the coming years.

After returning to the rest of the knights and reclaiming her things, Luna was just giving the order to return home when Max managed to spot a second group approaching the keep from a nearby road. Just as they had noticed this second group though, the second group had spotted them. The group then began trotting towards them. After the last meeting, Luna and the knights were a bit wary of the second group's approach.

"Why don't you go ahead, Luna," Max suggested. "I'll stay back with the rest of the knights and you can speak to them."

"Nay. I shall not allow their ignorance and fear to alter my course," the alicorn responded, using her magic to pull Max along with her. "We greet them together. If they have so little spine, I do not want them as allies."

The group stumbled a bit, a few bursts of fear and worry radiating from the distance as Max and Luna cleared the knights and stood waiting for them but at least one pony in the group was seemingly unaffected by the appearance of the larger beings. A silver-gray pegasus in well-fitted and clean clothes.

"Hail and good afternoon," the leader of the group shouted as he came into hearing distance. "Who do I address?"

"You approach the Knights of the Alicorns, Princesses Celestia and Luna. I am Princess Luna, Alicorn, guardian of the Moon and sealer of the chaos spirit, Discord."

"So you say. Many are the beings who claim to have banished Discord," the stallion challenged.

Luna balked at his retort.

"They what?"

"I've had at several ponies demand rewards for defeating him. Not one had even a fraction of the power it would take," the stallion replied casually. "Two didn't even know what the demon actually looked like."

"That's...not all that surprising, actually. There's nobody to confirm or deny that it was you," Max whispered to her. "It's insulting, but don't think he means anything by it. As long as it's profitable there will be cons and from the sound of it this guy's run into a few."

The mare rustled her wings but otherwise relaxed.

"Right. I understand, my apologies. Celestia and I have only recently been made aware of that side of ponykind. We just removed a group of ponies claiming nobility from our Keep. True or not, they did nothing but steal from us and once we demanded answers for their inaction the proceeded to attempt to steal our actual property, not just our food...we do not need that sort of 'help'."

The stallion chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Indeed. I think one of those made their way to my own home. Claimed to have been wrongly accused by two mares with egos so large- er, anyway, I must ask. What brings you here? You seemed be looking to make contact, so why do you linger?"

"The guards fired upon us," Luna growled. "We approached and an arrow nearly struck us. Then a small group of guards approached and demanded my 'pet' remain outside."

Max chuckled as he listened, his grin growing when Luna's angry stomp at the reminder of the guards caused the other group's knights to jump slightly. After all, when an alicorn puts her hoof down, everyone feels it.

His amusement earned him the attention of the leader of the group.

"And what, pray tell, is this creature? I hear it speak, but never have I laid eyes upon it's like before. Is it an alicorn as well?"

"Maximus is a changeling. A larger specimen than most, much like how alicorns are larger than ponies. What did you call your type? A Viceroy?"

"Yes. As far as I can tell not even the other changelings have a name for my kind, though they have seen changelings similar to myself. I hate doing this but I'm afraid you have us at a disadvantage, sir."

"Oh, look at me, getting distracted like a foal given a shiny coin. The name's Silver. Duke Silver Blood."

"That..." Max started, not sure what to say at first "is an odd coincidence. We recently received a request for aid from a small town in your land."

"The only one I can think of that would try that would be..." Silver started, his expression turning irritated. "It wasn't Coltson, was it?"

"I'd guess you're not surprised to hear that?" Max asked.

Duke Silver scowled.

"I forbid the settling of that region, actually. It was too far from the roads, with nothing of value out there. If I did set up roads and employed the knights and guards it would require to keep the area secure, it would be coming out of my pocket. Considering how little I'd be getting in return, that would be no small amount. Even the last reports I received from the town said they barely were doing enough to make ends meet.

"Then there's the fact that I've lost a few scouts in that area. I don't trust it. Not the town, nor the forest. Not only did they create that town against my orders and then demand protection, they don't pay any taxes nor do they clear enough of the forest to be safe! They didn't even create a wall!"

"Coltson did petition for aid in repelling some unspecified bandit threat," Max said. "Princess Luna checked it out overnight and found that they are still a wall-less town even now. That and she said she felt as though she was being watched even after not seeing a single pony."

Silver looked to Luna in surprise.

"You were in Coltson? Did you see any sign of ponies that could have been scouts? I have two who are missing."

"I saw nothing. In fact, that is one of the things that disturbed me. The town had no sentries keeping watch even late at night," the alicorn answered. "It was actually at Maximus' request that I explored the area. Celestia and I were about to make our way there to remove the threat with a full contingent of knights. Maximus suggested a more, what did you call it? A tactical approach?"

"My first thought was it was an attempt to ensnare these two in hostilities with your own forces. They want to help others, even if the ponies are under another's rule. When Princess Luna told me of the town's complete lack of anything for defense I started worrying it may be something deeper. The entire thing smells of a trap, though I don't know who or what the trap was set for."

"The fate of a town that foolishly believes itself too important to need walls isn't why we are here though. We are attempting to learn about the local powers as well as initiate a possible trade deal, both on our behalf and the behalf of an ally."

"Well, this is...should be an excellent place to do so. I was just coming to visit Lady Copper myself. She's normally an excellent host who loves meeting new ponies. Also serves a wonderful brew of tea."

Silver looked to Max with a grin.

"And new anythings, to be honest. I don't see why there would have been an issue. I shall see if there's a deeper reason for your problems at the gate."

With that the Pegasus stallion left them to approach the Keep. Max watched him go, a confused expression on his face.

"That went nothing like I expected after what the two of you told me of him."

"I must agree. He was much more level headed than I was lead to believe."

Looking from the Pegasus to Max, Luna's frown deepened.

"You do not believe those nobles were attempting to pre-emptively sabotage any diplomatic attempts, do you?"

"It's possible," the changeling said, letting loose an irritated sigh. "It's also possible that the nobles who were speaking about him had prior interactions with him and they didn't enjoy speaking to him. I don't doubt some of them would lie about how horrible he was just to tweak his nose."

Luna nodded, watching as Duke Silverblood and his entourage approached the keep. The group didn't bother stopping a distance as Luna and Max had as they were already known. The sentries on the wall noticed the group and...

Max really didn't have time to think. He'd barely gotten Luna's name out when the alicorn ignited her horn and teleported herself right beside the duke and his knights, throwing up a shield around herself in an attempt to protect the ponies even as the sentries rained arrows down from above. The alicorn kept her shield up as the smaller group retreated, two of the knights dragging away allies with arrows lodged in their bodies.

"Prepare to receive wounded, drop those liters and get ready to move them the moment they're close enough to set down. Once we can, we move them farther away. The keep is considered hostile!"

"How are they?" Max asked, moving past her and watching as the knights tended to the wounded. Silver wasn't among them, but the spray of blood on his otherwise pristine form told the changeling just how close the attack had come to ending him.

"I-I don't understand. Copper was always tolerant of others, she never sought to expand, she never, I mean I just don't see how this could have happened and it just doesn't make sense. She was always so kind to me. We were going to have tea like we usually do and-"

Pulling the slightly frazzled alicorn from the group, Max used his hooves to cup her face.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, smiling at his display of concern. "I am only confused. This makes no sense. Why would they fire on a friend?"

"I can think of several reasons off the top of my head. The first being a change in management."

"A change in what?"

"What if Lady Copper isn't in charge of the keep?"

Luna's eyes widened and she looked back to the keep, her mouth hanging open.

"You think...you believe it is possible the keep fell?"

"It's only one possibility of many, but it explains the reaction to Silver. We'd know instantly if something happened back home and Celestia was removed from the keep. Silver there isn't so lucky. For others it could be days, weeks, months, maybe even years before they find out about a change like this. Having access to the changeling link gives you and your lands an advantage Earth didn't see until the nineteenth century. If she suddenly caught a bad disease or was killed in an accident and nobody sent out information on it, you wouldn't hear anything for years."

Luna looked over the keep once more before shifting her wings.

"So you think something has happened to Lady Copper?"

"Possible. It's the only sensible reason I can think of, at least. Silver doesn't seem to have an over-inflated ego. Not enough to dismiss someone's anger at him at least. He also seemed genuinely surprised we weren't well received."

Joining Luna in her observations, Max grinned.

"I could look tonight."

The alicorn mare looked to Silver before looking back to the distant keep with a scowl.

"I do not like it. I could do this as well, Maximus, and I can teleport out if things become too harrowing."

"I'll be careful, I promise," he said, leaning closer and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. "Besides, we need someone to watch the little guys out here and I don't think I'm up for that. Heck, you can start to escort Silver home tonight or tomorrow morning and I'll be able to just follow you based on your emotions. I can follow those easily, and from quite a distance. I could still feel you for a long while after you left."

"I'll even be going out of my way to not be seen, not to mention I can use disguises. I can walk on walls, disguise myself, I think I can even make myself a bit transparent. Crystal managed it a while ago. That would be better than an invisibility spell I think, especially in the dark."

"Very well. We'll pull back about a day's travel so we're not in range of the castle's patrols and you're going to get some sleep. You will have every possible advantage I can give you."

"Awesome, I've always wanted to be a spy," the stallion chuckled as they walked back to the rest of the knights and guards. "I'll ask Silver if he knows where Copper's room is, then I'll check the dungeons. I'll even know if there's anyone present before I walk in."

"Duke Silverblood," Max called out, drawing the shaken pegasus out of his mumblings. "I have questions about the keep. With your help, we'd like to see if we can learn the fate of Lady Copper Road."

<-(0)->

Max slowly approached the Keep under the cover of both the nearby forests as well as the low sun. His shell was currently a brown and green mottled mixture to help break up his color and profile. He crept through the taller grasses, watching for any movement on the keeps walls as well as any pegasus sentries. It was thrilling and nerve wracking at the same time, but for some reason the keep didn't seem to use pegasus scouts.

'Incredibly stupid,' Crystal mumbled, watching through his eyes. 'Pegasus would have been an excellent choice. They have better vision than unicorns and earth ponies. Even if they were just sitting on the battlements they would be an excellent sentry.'

'Are you truly surprised when the sentries fired on two targets like that? Both looking to make contact?' Seven responded, also watching. 'The patrols are poorly planned, the shifts too long for the stationary ones, and the torches they are lighting will only inhibit the night vision of their sentries. I have not seen a single patrol outside of the keep, either. Whoever is seeing to these sentries should be executed for incompetence.'

'Well for now their incompetence plays to our advantage,' Max said, slowly moving again now that the only sentries he could see were moving away.

It took a good bit of time, constantly slowing or stopping, altering his coloration as he walked closer to keep blended in, even resting for a little behind a large rock to allow his muscles to rest. The constant tension of moving slowly and quietly was actually kind of exhausting. if it wasn't for the fact that he was capable of burning a bit of love energy to refresh himself, he may not have even gotten that far before the sun finally set and the moon rose into the sky.

Looking around the rock to the keep, now only a few minutes away at a trot, Max felt a grin creep onto his face. The wall wouldn't stop him and he could already taste the varying emotions of the ponies inside the keep. It was just a matter of-

'Interesting, your vision is a little better than my own.'

'Luna? What are- you're with Crystal and Seven in the dream-side of the hive, aren't you?'

'Indeed. it seemed a good idea. At the very least, I will know if anything occurs or I am needed.'

Max nodded, grinning.

'Good to know such a beautiful mare has my back. If I find Lady Copper and this is what I think, I might appreciate a distraction.'

'Just be careful, idiot,' Crystal chided playfully. 'Seven and I both would suffer should something happen to you.'

The stallion rolled his eyes.

'Psh, careful's my middle name.'

'There's a pony there, stop.'

'Is there anyone in that room?'

'Did you change your coloration? This isn't the woods anymore.'

Max felt an eye twitch.

'What was that?

Did you see something?'

'I thought cars had to be invented before backseat driving became a thing,' Max thought to the three mares, earning a bit of confusion before he felt Crystal give a mental pull. He sent the idea of a car, as well as his mother doing exactly what these three were. There were some muffled conversations, the distance meaning thoughts did have to be focused on someone to reach him. Then the giggling began.

'God I'm going to have a headache after all of this.'

Scaling the wall had been relatively easy. With no external patrols, he'd slipped up the wall with ease and then over the wall while the patrols were focused elsewhere. At Seven's suggestion, he'd climbed the wall near the main keep, so it was barely a hop across the way to latch onto the walls of the main building. He'd then found a small window, used a scanning spell provided by Luna and translated by the other queens to check the lock, then popped it open with a burst of green energy.

Now he was playing AVP again, walking along the ceiling and watching for any and all activity. The halls were pretty empty, actually. Even Luna and Celestia's keep had patrols through it at night. Aside from the walls, there didn't seem to be much going on even this early in the night.

One room he passed by without a second thought, the emotions dull and blurred from sleep. Most others were empty or similar. One though held both a swirl of varying emotions as well as the hushed words of several individuals. Slowing and perking his ears, Max moved as close to the door as he could, crawling down from the ceiling and even using a quick burst of magic to open the door a little.

"-way too early. If they hadn't been so quick the chicken wouldn't have escaped."

"Right. We obviously should have known that the weird pegasus/unicorn thing would step in, even after we chased it and it's bug-pet off."

Max's ears perked. There was no way- that kind of thing only happened in the movies, right? There was no way he'd found a few of the guys in charge just chatting...

Moving closer to the door in an agonizingly slow pace he leaned his head sideways so as to minimize the amount of his face visible through the slightly ajar door.

Four ponies were present in the room. One was a forest green unicorn mare, resting on a nearby sofa while watching the other occupants. Another was an orange earth pony stallion, pacing closer to the door, though his focus was on the second male. The other stallion, a unicorn with black fur and a blue mane was currently on the bed...

'Luna, settle down. I need to know if that's Lady Copper. Wake up and ask Silver. If not, see if he knows who it is.'

"Must you do that while we're here?"

'He's-!'

Max winced as the unicorn forcibly buried himself balls-deep inside the mare that was tied up on the bed, the minimal whimper of pain leaving him to wonder how long the mare had been subjected to this abuse.

'If you attempt to free her you will not only put Max in danger, you will forfeit this infiltration and possibly any chance of finding Lady Copper,' Crystal argued against her.

'She's experienced this treatment before,' Seven added with disinterest. 'The pain she's experiencing is dulled. It is unlikely he'll kill her. You can recover her later.'

'Give me the word and I'll talk to Celestia,' Crystal suggested instead. 'Have her send a full military force. Hell, have her come as well. Or I can lead them here. Do not attempt to take this Keep without information, though. Not when you have an infiltration going on. Attacking during an infiltration is the best way to get the infiltrator killed.'

As the unicorn settled into a...hearty pace, Max winced at the emotions being given off. Despair wasn't something he was used to. Coupled with the stallion's pleasure it left him feeling a little nauseous.

"I told you plots to tell me about this, shit at dinner," the unicorn growled as he rutted the mare. "If you want to, talk to me on, my time you deal with it."

"I don't see what the big deal is. So one fancy got away. There are others. You think that guy was the only one who talked to the nag?"

"That's the problem!" the earth pony shouted. "He goes and warns his buddies and suddenly the rest stop coming. We lose the easy catches, and we have nothin' to help us get into the other keeps."

"We have enough here to keep us fat and happy for at least two years," the mare retorted. "What good's loot if you don't enjoy it?"

"The window for this kind of opportunity is only open for a little bit. If we hit these other guys early, we walk away with more. If we sit on our flanks, what we have is all we'll get. Do you think every time we turn around there will be some snob with such an inflated ego they'll 'hire' us to get them their own castle?"

The unicorn on the bed began huffing a bit before he glowed with pleasure. A moment later and he was sighing, pulling out and shoving the used mare off of the bed before looking to his fellows with irritation.

"The stallion from earlier is gone. You can talk to the rest of the group about waiting longer later, but keep in mind that the freak is gone. The next target won't have an escape."

Max pulled back and shuffled back up to the ceiling as the other two began filing out of the room.

'Silver said it sounds like one of the serving mares,' Luna suddenly said, causing Max to tense. 'Crystal is already talking to Tia about removing this threat. I'm going to make sure Silver gets to safety before they arrive and give him the option to help in this. As it's a friend of his, he will likely wish to be involved. I still don't know how I didn't realize-'

'Don't give me that,' Max thought, rolling his eyes. 'Silver's been here many times and didn't know something was up before they started shooting at him. They slipped in and took the place without anyone noticing. From the sounds of it, they had help as well. Likely someone to open the gate to let them storm the Keep. Hit them at night before the alarm can be raised and you could possibly take it without a peep.'

'In either case, I believe the next step would be to check the dungeons. Are you comfortable doing so?'

'Sure,' he casually replied, slipping into and empty room and looking out an open window. 'That it?'

He felt Luna and Seven watch for a moment before the alicorn answered.
'It is. The layout is fairly simple, i-'

'Oh for pities sake,' Seven muttered in exhasperation. 'this could be much simpler. Let me-there!'

Max blinked, suddenly feeling the general layout of the prison, or at least a description of it, being pushed towards him. It wasn't comfortable but he accepted the information, feeling knowledge of the halls and passageways filing into his brain.
'Thanks Seven. I'll be sure to pay you for this.'

The smaller queen snorted over the link.
'You can start by returning and helping undo this damage you've caused.'

'Not going to argue that I didn't do anything?'

'I'm stubborn, not stupid. Between the...seizure? Between that and the discussion I had with the white female, I know something's wrong. I would prefer having my oath-bound sisters help me, but until I can reconnect with them, I have to deal with you...'

Max landed lightly on the ground beside the door to the dungeons, opening it and slipping inside since he couldn't sense any minds nearby.
'You don't know if their coming. If they're looking for you.'

The observation was met with silence, so Max decided to not push any more. Instead he focused on the fortress he was walking though. He paused, once more allowing his shell to ripple with magic as he altered his colors to better blend in with the surrounding stone. He also used a darker color in general, taking the lack of light into consideration. The first outpost was devoid of activity, only two smears of dried blood giving testimony to any previous struggles. Deeper inside and in a second outpost there was a mare on watch. And by on watch, she was currently watching the inside of her eyelids, snoring loudly as she hugged an empty mug. Beside her was another mare, this one staring sleepily towards a flickering torch on the wall. Which left her staring in the direct opposite way as the path Max found himself taking.

Still deeper he walked, checking several sections of the cells and finding several prisoners in various states of neglect. Like the previous areas though, there was almost no security. Picking a random stallion, Max moved closer and shoved him awake with a burst of magic.

The male's reaction was completely justified. He looked up, still in a sleepy haze, only to see slit pupils staring at him from the darkness, attached to a creature half-again his size. Still, as funny as the panic was to Max, it wouldn't do for the jailed servant to bring the guards.

"The guards are sleeping or staring at a wall," the changeling whispered through the bars before the pony could work himself into a proper panic. "If you make a racket, I can't help you."

"I am uncertain I desire your kind of aid, demon."

"Ouch, a demon now? First a bug-thing, then a pet, now a demon," Max chuckled, causing the pony to recoil at the sight of the larger creature's fangs. "I'm looking to learn what happened here and don't feel that I will get a good answer from the current, eh, occupants of this Keep. Considering they fire on visitors and rape the serving staff, I'm fairly certain this is a new thing.
"In addition, princesses Luna and Celestia, as well as Duke Silverblood I believe, are interested in removing this threat to both themselves as well as the common people. All I'm here to do is find out the how's and why's, and maybe find out what happened to Copper Road."

"That's Lady Copper Road, you uncultured-"

"It's alright, Clean." A fatigued but cultured voice called out. "I'm over here, creature."

The cells were shuffling with activity now, many of the captives awake after Clean's outburst. It was possible it had been the first thing to occur down here since Copepr Road Keep was taken.
Moving to the cell he'd heard the voice from, Max smiled as he came across the form of Copper Road. She was a little worse for wear, a little thin like the rest of the prisoners and her clothes were filthy, but she stared at him with enough fire to melt ice.

"Good, I was beginning to worry. There were plenty of stories back home of nobles being executed or worse upon capture by the sorts I was seeing upstairs. Do you know how this happened?"

The mare looked at him judgingly before shaking her head in irritation.

"A small group of ponies arrived a few days ago. They claimed nobility, so I allowed them entry and invited them to dinner. They wove some tale of being wrongfully exiled by some...you wouldn't have exiled ponies, would you? Now that I see you, I admit you do appear rather terrifying. They described a creature much like yourself as the reason for their wrongful removal from their home. A monster black as night with a soul to match, whose eyes gleamed with malicious intent. His horn as crooked as the lies he spun..."

"I didn't exile anyone," Max said, his eyes shining with a bit of mirth. Those descriptions were straight out of a folk-tale. "What I did was warn two lovely mares that they were being cheated. Princesses Luna and Celestia were getting the run-around while the ponies claiming nobility were eating all of their food. At the same time though, these ponies hadn't even overseen the installation of a well outside the Keep. They kept telling the princesses that things were "proceeding apace" or that "everything was under control". In the two years they helped the princesses though, nothing was done. Only endless courts and empty words. I suggested going out and taking a look for themselves and, well, let's just say it's hard to not notice something as simple as the lack of a well. Or walls, or the fact that the ponies outside had been setting up huts all over the place."

Max chuckled.

"I take it some of them came here?"

"Some of their mares at arms were bandits in disguise. Actually, I believe that all of their mares at arms were bandits. Being inside the gate, the ponies easily ambushed the gate-keepers while others started a fire inside the Keep. It prevented us from noticing them until it was too late. The next thing I know my Keep is over-run."

"And the nobles who betrayed you?" Max asked.

"Dead," Copper replied coldly. "At the very least I won't have to concern myself with them. They began making demands of the bandits, saying the Keep should belong to them. The bandits executed them."

Max nodded and closed his eyes.

'What do you ladies think?'

Crystal's response was immediate.

'Celestia and I are already making plans. I shall arrive with about half of our forces in two days.'

'I will be giving this information to Silverblood,' Luna said. 'I'm certain he will have his own warriors he will wish to bring to bear. Is there any way to evacuate the staff?'

'Maybe a tunnel from the dungeons. There are a lot of them. I don't think I can move them all without being seen. Not fast enough to get everyone out. I also don't dig as fast as...Crystal, is that drone still with the dogs?' Max asked after a moment of thought.

'I believe so, why?'

Luna began giggling a moment later, having caught on.

'An excellent idea. I whole-heartedly approve.'

'Right. Now I just need some way to keep these guys alive for a few more days.'
"Do the thieves give you food and water?"

"Very little," Copper answered, looking at him curiously. "It's supposed to keep us weak, but several of my ponies are-"

"I understand. Let me see if I can..."
'Is it possible to replace a guard? As a guard I can bring them extra food and water.'

Luna wasn't pleased at all.
'That's extremely dangerous, Max.'

'He'll be gone with the ponies if the dogs agree to help,' Crystal said.

After a moment of silence, Seven stepped forward.
'This is rediculous. I don't know what you expected to do without me.'

Seven began pushing Max aside, asking for control of his form until he mentally 'stepped back'. The mare than moved back up the stairs to the guards. The one who was sleeping she ignored, instead slowly reaching his jaws around the neck of the mare who was still staring at the torch. A quick snap of his jaws followed by a barely audible squeak of terror and the guard was out from a large dose of venom, being quietly dragged back down the stairs to an empty cell. There Seven began weaving a few spells even as she used adhesive to bind the pony to the ceiling of the cell. Instantly Max felt information start to flow. Her name, Slippery Sand. Her friends amongst the bandits. Her past, her attitude, her fears.

'I...I had no idea a changeling could-' Luna began, having been close enough to pick up on what was occurring.

'Most can't. A queen with the proper spells can, but it takes energy. More than I usually care to burn. If you need me to, I can even play the part. I'm uncertain how you are with societal infiltrations, Maximus, but for this you will need to BE this mare.

Max mentally nodded, feeling his mind getting fully pushed from his body followed by a weird pulling sensation. When he snapped back into full consciousness, he was in a large bed. Crystal was beside him and...

"Oh wow, that was weird."

Max stood up, his legs a little unsteady as he looked around the room he was in. He stepped off of the bed, looking in the mirror nearby to get a better view of himself.

Well, herself.

"Changelings are weird as hell."

The Other Side

Celestia had found out about the swap early the next morning. It wasn't difficult to explain, but once she was certain that the changeling before her really was Max, the alicorn had been absolutely confused.

"You, and she- I do not understand. One cannot just transfer consciousness. The mind is linked to the brain and vice-versa. What you're telling me flies in the face of everything I know about how the brain works. In fact I believe if flies in the face of what you've been speaking of as well."

"I'd like to disagree, Tia, but as strange as it is, it happened. It was apparently a thing in the Hive as well. Mother would sometimes shove queens aside and use them to do things outside of the hive. In that case though the queens were just...subsumed for lack of a better word. They didn't get an option, they were just along for the ride until mother was finished with them."

Max didn't actually feel too different, riding in Seven's body. No stray urges to kill someone, the carrots didn't taste different, no need to lay eggs. Actually that last one made sense when he thought about it. Wasn't that the one thing the sub-queens were all looking for? A way to activate their ability to start laying eggs?

Max frowned, his thoughts hitching for a moment. He'd not really given it that much thought yet, but while he was waiting for Celestia, Luna and Crystal to work on ousting the castle thieves, maybe he could take a look at Seven's body. It wasn't like he'd get a closer look at a female body than this.

"I'm going to go talk to Crack," he announced, sitting up and moving towards the door. "Maybe I can figure this whole sub-queen to queen activation thing out while the rest of you are working on these bandits."

"I'm sure Seven would be more than happy to receive that as payment for her aid," Crystal giggled. "Good luck. I expect you to share any discoveries with me as well."

"Do you think I'd keep that from you?" He snorted. "After all; you're mine, little mare. I want you at top capacity. That means fixing whatever fuckery Mother worked on these bodies."

As he walked away he could hear Crystal break into giggles. Celestia was also amused by the byplay.

"Well at least it's easy to tell the difference between the two of them."

<-(0)->

Crack was fast asleep when Max first went looking for him. Another drone offered to fetch him, drone 5334-b-79 or something like that (Max just called him Sear). Max had declined, as Crack was usually hard at work either training up the medical staff in actual surgeon techniques or sifting through the medical knowledge Max had brought to the link. The drone had already written out several scrolls based on observations and questions asked of Max. Maximus had no intention of disturbing the hard-working drone's schedule on a whim. Instead he decided to try working it out himself.

So it was that the sta-mare found HERself in front of a mirror, with her tail falling down to the right of her flank. He'd had to physically move the plates for a view of the mare-bits as the nerves were shot or turned off. Either way, he now had a straight view to Seven's...yea. That was weird. He didn't feel nearly as much arousal as he thought he should.

'Does it have to do with the damage? Maybe keep them from rutting around in the meantime?'

It would certainly make sense that arousal was next to impossible without functioning sex organs and without the proper hormones. Wasn't that a thing? There was that story of Cleopatra being seen to by a bunch of unic's so they wouldn't be 'overcome by her beauty' or something like that. While the sub-queen's had the equipment, it wasn't turned on. No working mare-bits, no desire to use them.

He frowned, using a scanning spell from the queens memories to check the nervous system of his current body. Nothing came back as damaged, but he focused on the results. Followed the magic down the nervous system right to the lower body where...still nothing was out of the ordinary.

Growling in frustration, he reached to the link and asked Crystal for her own diagnostic scan then mentally overlapped Crystal's results on herself while the scan went on. After watching the scan pass the genital region three times he was finally able to find the cut-off. A dormant nerve-cluster.

'Not damaged, just inactive.'

Actually that raised another question. If a new queen was born after Mother's defeat, would that queen develop straight to queen or was sub-queen a legitimate development phase? What about the nerve-deactivation? Was it done by Mother on a case-by-case basis or was it programmed into them?

Turning to Crack's medical knowledge it was a simple affair to awaken the nerves. After a few moments of pain as the body figured out what this strange new collection of senses and organs were, Max was finally able to start feeling a little bit of heat when either thinking of his time spent with the flock or even just staring at Seven's presented rear. The tail raised a little (as it should have), an odd warmth bloomed in his gut, and he could feel the plates shifting out of the way to allow access to the sensitive organs inside.
"Much better. Now that that's settled all I have to do is....whoa."

The sudden surge of need as the mare's canal clenched was unexpected. His eyes widened as she began to twitch and swell, the clit winking and showing itself in the mirror, the awakening of the system leading to a powerful surge in hormones as the body attempted to fix the problem the best way it could. Overcompensation.

"Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit..."

Max wobbled to the bed, his overly sensitive vaginal lips rubbing against themselves as he walked and leaving his steps shaky. She crawled into the bed and at first debated letting it pass. After all, he'd managed to wait out boners before. He had better self control then that.

Pulling his rear onto the bed his winking clit managed to brush against the sheets as she sat down, setting off a chain of fireworks running up his spine and right into his brain. Max yelped in Seven's voice before shivering. That had felt...really good.

He shifted a bit, smearing a bit of natural lubrication into the bedsheets before another wink set off another explosion of pleasure in his mind. Even the simple back and forth motion of rubbing the puffed lips on the sheets was amazing.

Max moaned deeply in the sub-queen's voice as the heat in her belly continued to grow. More, she needed a bit more. She was so close, she could feel it! Curling up as best he could he began gently rubbing a hoof over his tender sex, relishing in the simple pleasure it gave her. Each time he winked he made sure to tag her clit, driving it even higher. It wasn't far. Just a, just a bit more and-

She pushed just as the body clenched in a wink, putting a good amount of pressure on the button and once more fireworks went off up his spine. This time they didn't stop though. The spasms kept coming as waves of pleasure thundered through her mind, forcing more pressure on the sensitive nub and thus causing more pleasure. The brutal back and forth continued for a good minute before it finally started to ebb.

Panting as he stared at a wall, his body finally done with the burning arousal that activating the nerves had unleashed, he noticed a muffled giggling from the direction of the door. Grunting as he lifted his head from the bed, he saw Crystal watching from just inside the door, her hooves around her muzzle.

Max dropped his head back into the covers.

"Crystal, I swear to god. If you say a word-"

"Oh don't be like that," Crystal giggled, jumping onto the bed and wrapping herself around the smaller growling form. "I didn't really understand what was going on when I first started feeling the urges but context makes everything better. It also helps that you know about the flood of hormones and understand what's happening. I didn't have that luxury when I went through the same thing. All I knew was that the part of my body the two of you were focusing on was suddenly hyper-sensitive and all I could think about was the wondrous feelings you two were leaving me with."

Crystal nipped Max's neck, slowly moving down Seven's rented body.

"What are you do-oh. Ooo-oh no. No, no-no-no-no..."

"You didn't think you were done with just one, did you," the larger queen giggled, shifting his smaller body onto his back below her. "Luckily for you, I'm more than happy to help."

Before Max could formulate a response Crystal slipped even lower, shoving her muzzle into the already heating loins that were still wet from the first orgasm. The larger queen's tongue slipped inside the slick tunnel with no trouble, writhing about like a snake on fire.

Max stood no chance, immediately squealing from the sudden intrusion. The alien sensation, the complete ridiculousness of the situation as well as his still rising heat left his mind devoid of thought, capable only of staring at the ceiling as Crystal ruthlessly worked him over. Her tongue was everywhere at once, causing Max's body to spasm with the overwhelming pleasure running up her spine. Then the tongue was gone, replaced moments later by another explosion of pleasure as the larger queen seized her pleasure-button mid-wink.

'Oh shit oh fuck oh shit, shit fuck shit...'

Crystal giggled into his sex and shifted a bit, slipping her tongue inside again in such a way that it brushed against Seven's clit the whole way in. His back arched and she let out a gurgled scream, unable to do much more in his current state.

'Already losing mental cohesion? Didn't you make fun of me for the same thing?'

'When I, when I get my dick back-Oh fuck! Oh, I'm going to rut you until you can't walk straight.'

'Sounds fun,' Crystal answered slyly.

Max panted, his brain finally learning to process the intense pleasure.

"I'd tell you...to fuck off... but this is almost painful. Keep going."

Crystal giggled into his sex again, making him shiver. It felt amazing and the need was just so strong right now. At least when Crystal's sex had been reactivated they'd been mid-fuck.

'Yes, I was very fortunate,' Crystal responded, leaving Max to wonder just how tight of a grip the mare had on his existence at the moment. 'I don't know if I'd have been capable of dealing with those sensations. With all of the new things that were going on and with so many new ideas being thrown at me, I was confused. Scared, as well even if I didn't understand why. But my new hive, my new family was right there to make me feel wanted, needed, and loved.'

'You and Luna, you two gave me a purpose. A focus, a goal to work towards. Now I'm strong enough to push around one of the bigger sub-queens of the Hive. I'm curious how Seven will respond once she trades back with you. What will she do after being exposed to all of these repairs?'

Max felt her body clench as Crystal buzzed her wings, setting off a new wave of tingles through the body. The large queen giggled before extracting her tongue, causing Max to let out a moan of disappointment.

'Oh don't worry, Max. We're not done yet. I'm just getting bored.'

Standing over the smaller mare and stepping around Max, Crystal rested her body on his, leaving Crystal's now-exposed nethers facing Max.

'I'm willing to help you, but relationships are give and take, right? How about giving some attention to me as well?'

Max tried to laugh at the turn around, but only managed a weak gurgle as the larger queen used a bit of telekinesis to bury his muzzle into her sopping marehood.

'Fine, I guess I can, spare the time.'

Crystal hummed in delight as Max finally got started, finding the larger queen already worked up.

'You and Luna both, I swear,' Max thought with a grin, happily beginning to pleasure the flock's beta. 'Mention sex and you two come running. Then you just cum.'

'Oh it's not like you're much better. You started this after all,' Crystal shot back, pressing her body back into his muzzle. 'You're the one who started this mating for energy thing with Luna. It feeds me and it feels amazing. Why would I not love it?'

Max mumbled his agreement, causing Crystal moan as the vibrations traveled into her body. His own body, or at least the one he was borrowing from Seven, was starting to burn again from the hormone dump he'd unleashed.

'Crystal, Crystal do something, it's starting to, to hurt.'

The queen did do something, just not what he was expecting. She began stroking the needy lips of the smaller mare's marehood tauntingly before opening the link fully, sharing her own pleasure with Max. Then, even as he was wrestling down the sudden surge of pleasure, the uppity beta began returning the pleasure by once more driving her tongue inside Seven's depths.

Having barely been able to maintain coherence while being eaten out, the doubling of the sensation was enough to finally fry Max's brain. The male riding in Seven's form began to spasm in the first throes of orgasm. He wouldn't remember anything else for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon.

Several hours later Maximus was sitting in front of a mirror, the lower portion of Seven's body transparent except for the extensive reproduction system. It was almost silly in its complexity, so many bits and bobs in the body that came off of the vaginal canal. It was difficult to keep track of it all. For that he'd started color-coding the different bits. Blue were storage, or sperm sacs. Red was actual egg production, while yellow were egg storage sacks. The ovaries and stores were usually close to each other and in some cases the muscles for the tubes connecting them, as Max and Crack had learned from observation and stimulating the muscles directly, were fully capable of moving eggs from the ovary to storage then back out and into the mixing-pouches.

Said pouches had both a direct connection to he vaginal canal for laying as well as to the seed-pouches, serving as a mixing vat for the eggs and sperm if fertilization needed to happen a long time post coitus.
'It's like the perfect breeding machine,' he marveled, flinching as Crack used a bit of magic to stimulate another set of muscles as they mapped out the organs.

"I never thought I'd get the chance to do this, actually," Crack mumbled. "Most queens won't let you near their reproductive organs even if they've been badly injured. How did you end up swapping with Sub-queen Seven?"

"She actually volunteered," Max explained. "I was looking at the possibility of a long-term infiltration and she swapped because she was convinced I'd muck it up. I figured I'd do this while everyone else is working on the problem of Copper Road Keep. Be slightly less useless."

Looking over the organs, Max frowned. He'd already checked the ovaries and with the return of hormones to the body they were starting to produce eggs. The issue was he didn't know the mechanism for getting the body to ovulate.
"It's might be in the brain or something. Maybe something like a, a subconscious act. Like breathing or a heartbeat. Wasn't there a part of the brain that was specifically dedicated to involuntary actions?"
Suddenly his eyes lit up. He turned his head, a flash of fire leaving the brain and spinal column, or at least the changeling equivalent, visible in the mirror.

"Crack, we have a new project. I want to know every part of the lower brain and what it does.

At the uncomprehending stare, he rolled his eyes.

"If reproduction is so ingrained in changelings, it may be instinctual. Egg laying may be one of those things a queen doesn't hunk about but with such an extensive reproductive tract there has to be some processing power dedicated to it. There has to be some way for the body to process which sacks are full, which are empty, which ones need to be emptied into the other parts. Hell, with so much dedicated to egg laying I wouldn't be surprised if it was a larger part than the bit that regulates heart and lung function."

<-(0)->

It took working through the next day to figure out which bits of the brain weren't dedicated to egg production. The solution left both of the male changelings irritable, too. After all, drones wouldn't have the extra sections of the brain a queen would have if the issue was related to the nervous system.

With a sleepy Flick standing next to Max(who was still renting Seven's body) the two made a few startling discoveries.

For one, both the queens and drones spinal cords actually acted as receivers to the hive link. Queens had an extra bit though, an entire additional length that ran down their back that acted as a powerful transmitter while drones only had a small section to transmit. Most of their nervous system was dedicated to either receiving orders or transmitting information. There was also a section that allowed a drone to receive direct input from a queen, allowing a queen to 'ride' a drone for a time.

Queens were a whole different story. The brain had several additional segments including a small area near the brain that apparently contained the hive. For Seven the section was undeveloped while Crystal's was extremely active, growing to accommodate her hive. Max could only guess what his own brain would look like. Breeders could link, but his first link had been to a queen. Sure a lot of the parts in their shared link had been influenced by him but Max was easily more mentally developed than Crystal was at the time. They already knew that Crystal was adapting a lot of Max's mannerisms and attitudes; it would surprise nobody to learn that his influence continued into the development of the hive. Having been using that bit of her mind for longer, Crystal was capable of controlling more drones than Seven was at the moment.

While the information was interesting, there were several bits of the changeling brain that a queen had while a drone didn't. It would be a while before Max was finished looking, and even then there wasn't a guarantee that he'd find what was locking them out. It was something though. Another step closer to giving the changeling species a future to look forward to.

<-(0)->

It was nearly four days later, Crystal having already arrived with Luna to oversee the siege of the Keep as well as the removal of the bandits, that a breakthrough was made. It wasn't even during any specific tests or studies. Like many wondrous human discoveries, the answer was found while the scientist was screwing around, bored.

Max was resting on a couch near where Celestia was writing out some new legal precedent, one that would give any species in the Keep the same protections ponies were being offered. She'd not really considered it before but with the diamond dogs as well as the changelings, as well as Maximus' word that they'd be dealing with other species eventually, she'd decided to get it out of the way. The fact that such a thing had to be written had bothered her a little. She also made certain to specifically mention all pony tribes, including alicorns. After that, she began working on catch-all's to make certain a species wasn't excluded for any reason.

"What was the word, Max? Not intelligent, but-"

"Sapient. Able to reason."

Max was on her back, looking up a clear hoof. Changelings were nothing if not masters of their own bodies and he'd taken to lighting nerves with a minuscule amount of energy, allowing him to watch the energy flow down the leg and into the spine.

Of course, it wasn't running actual energy down the nerve, just a bit of emotion around it. He'd made that mistake already and ended up needing Crack to undo an extremely painful nerve-burn. The drone had been less than pleased at the extra work.

Watching the glow run up the leg and into the body, Max shifted the rest of his body into the mostly clear form, leaving the spiderweb of nerves the only thing darkening the otherwise clear form.

A shiver of revulsion passed through Celestia as she looked up at the use of changeling magic but it passed quickly. He'd been doing this for several days now and it has lost a good deal of its shock value.

Up to the spine. Pick another line and follow a path. Try not to use the same one as last time. Follow it down the spine till about...now. Follow the line through the body till you reach the endpoint. Hot and cold nerve there, a pressure nerve on the other side. Follow it back up and run to the spine. Follow the chain back then run back to the body.

Up, down.

Up down.

Up, Dow-

Max perked. The nerve chain cut off suddenly, much like a few others the queens were incapable of accessing. One had been a little thing that inhibited a queen's ability to trust anyone, even other queens. After conferring with Crystal and reconnecting the nerves the flock had theorized Crystal would be less likely to fall into her mindless obedience again since her ability to trust her flock was no longer solely from her connection or her beta attitude. Another cluster had resulted in dampened empathy. Still another had been a warped cluster in the brain that doubled the amount of happiness a queen registered in seeing others in distress.

As with any experiment regarding the nerve clusters and the brain, Max pinged Crack that he'd found a new bit of the queen's body that wasn't connected properly. The second he received a ping back, Max used a bit of love energy to stimulate the body to turn on the nerves.

He waited, running through the mental checks they'd developed, trying to figure out what the damaged nerve had been influencing.

'Not anger. Not love, doesn't feel emotional at all. Where's it based? That's part of the medulla, right next to the glands. Right next to it-'

Max's thoughts were cut off by an odd sensation rolling through his body. He frowned, the odd tickle making him lose focus on his transformation and flashing back to the chitin covered form of Seven. He mentally began running full-body scans and was just about finished when his rear legs twitched.

"Oh fuck...oh shit, oh fuck-fuckity-"

'Crack! Office, now! Bring help!'

'Sedatives or bandages needed?' The drone replied, already moving.

'No, I found it! Towels, lots of fucking towels. And honey! Oh shit, shit'-"shit, shit, shit!"

"Max? Maximus, what happened?"

He rolled off of the couch even as the Seven's body began going into overdrive, burning extra energy to accelerate the growth of the eggs. The body ovulated for the first time and pulled the eggs along into the connected chambers, attempting to mix them with seed. There was none present(Max wasn't that curious), so after a few odd pulses where the body was squeezing an empty sperm-sack, the egg moved on. The eggs were pushed into the vaginal canal that was already being flooded by a thick, lubricating fluid that would aid in the laying. The same lubricating fluids that were beginning to leak from the still-covered vagina. Max found himself instinctively shifting into a laying position even as the door was knocked off its hinges, three changelings barreling over the knight that had been getting ready to knock.

'Towels all around. We don't have a laying chamber so- Sear! The windows!' Crack shouted, throwing orders left and right. 'Eyes are dilating, light sensitivity is going to skyrocket.'

Max winced as s/he felt the first egg being pushed down. Two drones began setting towels down and prepared to catch the eggs as they came.

He couldn't see or hear anything, his eyes burning even as a drone closed the windows. A moment later, something was draped over his eyes.

"I'm right here, shh. You're fine, safe. I have you."

Max grunted again, feeling an egg pass from his body. She moved forward a little, latching her forelegs around Celestia's neck as his body continued to work out fresh eggs.

'Honey.'

It wasn't a minute later that a large jar was pressed to her muzzle, letting Max guzzle the stored emotions while Celestia relaxed from the lessened strain on her own emotions. Another jar followed as he finally started evening out from his bodies sudden burst of activity. Another egg began its journey out of her body, then another, and another...

The changeling panted as he held weakly to the alicorn, noting the small pricks on her neck and the blood that had dried.

"Sorry...'bout the blood..."

"It is of no concern," Celestia responded, yawning. "The drain on our emotions from your unexpected energy burn was a bit more disconcerting. I feel a little...flat. Tired, as well. I must ask though. Maximus, would the foals refer to you as their father...or their mother?"

Max sat there for a moment, staring at the princess's neck.

"I don't know what kind of venom Seven has. Would you like to find out?"

<-(0)->

Seven walked through the forest with her head, or rather the head of the Breeder, held high. With her superior experience, she'd been able to direct the pony forces in taking the Keep with only a few losses. The serving staff had been evacuated, along with the Breeder's form, in a tunnel dug by a strange bipedal creature whose digging capabilities put the best-fed burrowers to shame. The diamond dog, as Crystal called them, swam through the earth. There was no discernable effort involved. One was even able to rip apart the stone walls of the individual cells, leaving nothing to stop the ponies from running down the entry tunnel and making it to safety. Once Seven and the prisoners were free, a small group of knights along with Crystal filed into the tunnel, readying an ambush for the bandits.

Seven found herself deep in thought, though. She'd taken the bandit mare who she'd been impersonating with her. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like it was a good idea. No other option would be available to her so the mare would be the queen's own personal servitor. That or she'd be executed for banditry.

'An offer she can't refuse, I believe it would be called,' the queen thought wryly.

The Keep was in full alert by now for all the good it would do. The sounds of explosions from spells were reaching her even from her current position. She watched with disinterest as the prisoners were seen to. Some were being given food or water, some were being treated for a few medical issues. One seemed to have a bad infection on an ear. Too much longer and it may spread to the pony's skull and brain.

Seven scowled as she found herself staring at a mare's flank. The male's body was apparently flooded with something called testosterone, which made him crave a mate. The longer he went without releasing his seed into a female, the stronger that desire for a mate became. She already knew the male was almost constantly copulating with Crystal and the large blue mare, Luna, so the sudden cut-off left him antsy. Or rather, it left her antsy. The opposite, something called estrogen, was supposedly something the male had recently unlocked in her own body a few days ago. While she didn't like the idea of the male doing things with her body while she was in his, Crystal had shown Seven the images from a drones eyes at the castle. Eggs could be seen developing in Seven's body now if he shifted into a glass-like form. If a couple strange chemicals were necessary for the production of eggs, than Seven would...she would just have to accept that maybe the breeder knew what he was talking about.

Looking back to the castle, Seven listened as the sounds of battle finally started to run their course. She wanted to get back to her own body of course, but first she had to make certain the others knew why she was carrying the pony, as well as waiting for the pony to finally wake up. The venom she'd used would be fading right around the time the ponies were ready to stop for midday meal. After that, the breeder could carry her new servant back.

<-(0)->

Several hours later, her cargo shifting on his back uselessly and radiating terror, Seven finally found Luna and Crystal together, both speaking to two smaller ponies. One was an important prisoner, the previous ruler of the castle that was now likely a shattered pile of stone. The second was some silver Pegasus. Upon seeing Seven, Crystal had nearly squealed in delight, rushing over and pulling the male form she was riding into a crushing hug.

'Dream-link! Now! You need to see this!'

So thrown off by the stronger queen's giddiness Seven almost didn't remember to retrieve her captive, who was thrown clear by the hug. A quick glance to Luna revealed nothing more than an encouraging smile, though there was a lingering taste of excitement present. It wasn't battle-lust either. It was...anticipation.

Seven went along with the crazy creatures as she'd been forced to before, not really bothering to hide her irritation. Laying next to Crystal after making certain her prisoner couldn't escape, Seven delved into the dream-hive, finding Crystal and several drones yammering loudly while looking at a projected image that was showing a drone's current focus. In the focus...
'No...'

Crystal saw her staring and grinned happily, pulling Seven into another hug.

"Congratulations, Queen Seven."

Author's Note

I'll likely get a few "That doesn't work that way!" or "But that doesn't make any sense!"

I want to say I don't care, but that's not true. I think it makes sense. A species of shape-shifters would find control of their own bodies much more innate than any others. In this case, the complete control makes sense to me.

If your issue with the science-y or biology bits I used, please, feel free to explain where I was wrong or what you think it should be.

Sunny Skies and Moonbeams

The Home of the Alicorn Sisters had settled down a bit since the wildfire of news about Max's discovery. Seven had already traded back with him the moment he'd recovered enough to reclaim any semblance of consciousness. For the queen, it was the desperate need to confirm that which she'd apparently been shown via link; that she had her own clutch of eggs back at the Keep.

Celestia opened the door to her old office several days later, two jars of honey floating to her from the serving mare who'd been following along behind the princess. The alicorn was the only being Seven currently trusted to be in the same room as her eggs, so for now Celestia was willing to allow her office to be moved rather than force the queen to relocate. That meant moving some of the furniture herself, but all she'd really needed to do was move it into the hallway or move the things from Seven's room into her office.

"Seven? Do you have a moment?"

The room was dark, as it had been from the moment the drones had managed to block off the window. It took Celestia's eyes a moment to adjust, but she could just make out the queen sitting in front of the small mixture of towels and resin that was currently holding six small eggs.

Sensing the larger mare approach, Seven's shoulders tensed a bit but otherwise she didn't move. Instead she spoke.

"Do you think they'll hatch?"

"I do not know," the alicorn said softly, sitting down and holding the jars before the queen. "These are the first eggs some of the drones have seen, correct? It is possible there is something that needs to be done that we are unaware of, or that the first um, clutch? That the first clutch was improperly prepared before their release. Most creatures need a male for their eggs to become viable. Chickens come to mind. The females, hens, lay eggs almost all the time. Most of them are infertile eggs and will never develop even if the hen incubates it properly."

"Incubate?"

Celestia rubbed a hoof under her chin.

"The hen sits on the egg, keeping it warm as it develops. I doubt you'd need to do so, but I also don't know if there's something special that needs to be done. Maybe keeping the eggs where they will be exposed to emotions or...maybe the honey?"

Seven stared at the jars in contemplation before slowly uncorking one and pouring a small amount into the nest. Sure enough the eggs began to glow slightly in reaction. Celestia watched carefully, noting the level the honey seemed to decrease before stopping. Seven apparently didn't see this change in level, only the fact that the eggs reacted. The queen poured the rest of the honey into the nest before the alicorn could react and had the cork off of the second not a moment later.

"Calm yourself, Seven!" Celestia said, catching the jar with her own magic.

The queen hissed, baring her fangs but the larger mare stood firm.

"You could drown them."

Seven' mouth immediately snapped shut. She looked back to the eggs in a panic.

"Is this too much? I can siphon some away, it shouldn't be too hard to-"

"Calm down, it's going to be all right," Celestia giggled, using a wing to pull Seven closer. "You are doing all you are able. Max has given you this little gift but these are not the only ones. You may have others on the way, Seven. You need to let the drones in so that they can prepare more space. You may need more nests for other clutches."

A panic washed over Seven at the prospect.

"I, I don't have enough honey to supply even these! I can't-"

"You can help us here, Seven." The alicorn soothed. "You did an excellent job at Copper Road Keep and have more than earned our help. Have you given my suggestion any thought?"

"A name...I have thought of it a little. I have been Sub-queen Seven for so long I just...I don't know if I'd respond to anything else."

Looking about the room while worrying her bottom lip, Celestia walked over to a mirror and took the linen covering the drones had placed on it off.

"Luna and I never really talk about this but I suppose in this case...I ask you keep this between the upper members of your hive if it is possible.

"Luna and I weren't always 'Celestia and Luna, Alicorns of the Sun and Moon' you know. We don't speak of it, but it was Starswirl that suggested our current names. Apparently Sunny Skies and Moonbeam weren't regal enough for his taste."

"The two of you changed your names?"

"Starswirl was a wonderful teacher...most of the time. He was intelligent, explained things in detail if we asked, and always encouraged us to dig deeper into our studies in any spare time we had. However, he had a very specific view of how the world worked. If something, or someone, didn't fit his vision, he would make it change. In our case, our names didn't fit what he thought rulers of ponykind should be so he made us change them. We didn't like it, but after a few weeks of Starswirl calling us by these names, we just sort of...accepted it. It made sense, anyway. Sunny skies just does not command the respect and authority Celestia does."

"That seems unhealthy," Seven said, uncertain of herself. "And worryingly similar to Mother's philosophy."

"It wasn't a healthy mindset, it is true. But his will was so strong that it actually resisted Discord's magic. In a way that same unyielding mindset was what allowed his home to remain whole in spite of a visit from Discord. It left the draconequus flummoxed when he couldn't passively influence some of the parts of Starswirl's home. I believe that was what sparked Discord's interest in our old teacher. He was the first pony with a will so strong it overwrote anything but a focused effort on Discord's part."

With a flash of magic an illusion settled over Celestia. It was nowhere near as perfect as a changeling's disguise but it did the part. The wings were hidden from sight, only a brief shimmer of magic showing on her back when she ruffled them. The horn was smaller, by the stars, everything about her was smaller.

She saw Seven approach through the mirror and marveled at the queen's relative size. If not for the fact that the alicorn's were larger than most grown ponies, Seven would have stood a full head over her.

Turning back to the mirror, Celestia ran a hoof through her now motionless mane. It was so much simpler back then. Everything was simpler.

"Luna, or Moonbeam as she was once called, was completely against the renaming. She said it was wrong, that we were turning our backs on ourselves in favor of this new destiny. That we shouldn't have to give up the only piece of ourselves we had left for some old stallion's ideal world."

"Eventually I convinced her to follow along with it. We needed Starswirl to teach us. We were just two little fillies, after all. Nopony would listen to us if we were as uneducated as we had been. For that I will always be thankful. Starswirl worked tirelessly to make certain we could function as not only adults, but as mares above the common folk. As nobles. As princesses."

"But you eventually gave up your names," Seven said.

"It wasn't an immediate thing," the alicorn explained. "We still called each other by our old names in private. We even introduced ourselves in some towns by those names. Starswirl was correct though. Ponies treated us differently. Celestia just sounded more powerful. Luna found herself also being treated differently depending on which name she gave. Eventually it just...we just stopped using them."

Seven stepped closer to the larger mare, well, the illusion of the pink maned unicorn, and stared at the reflection Celestia was finding so mesmerizing. The unicorn seemed fairly unassuming. The mark on her flank remained the same, her bright sun-mark blazing as it always had. When had she received it? It was, was it before or after her ascension to an alicorn?

Celestia looked at the queen's reflection, then back at her own. What would have happened to them all if Discord hadn't been causing this trouble? The queens would all still be in the Hive, obviously, unless changeling queens only lived for so long. Maximus would be back on his own world, doing...didn't he say something about training to be a guard? Luna and herself, they'd both still be with their families...or not.

'Mother was warped as well, if I recall correctly. She talked about having lost her own family, as had so many others. It is not an effect of having lived different lives if not for Discord, but where history would have taken our ancestors.'

"What is it you are pondering, pony?" Seven asked, drawing Celestia from her thoughts.

"How different things would have been without Discord. At first I assumed I would have merely grown up in a different way, but I believe he is the reason my mother was able to meet my father. It seems things are never as simple as one would hope."

"You though, would still be working under Mother in the Hive. You likely would not have ever laid a single egg, nor would you have ever been able to go where you wished. I wanted to hate him even after seeing him change so radically, but..."

"But you would not exist if not for his existence. Not just in the sense of who you are today, but in general. Sunny Skies would never have been born."

Seven looked from the illusion Celestia was projecting to the mirror, turning slightly to get a better look at her own form.

"And I would not be...here. I would not have been hurt by the breeder, nor would he have fixed me. Fixed my ability to lay eggs."

Celestia found herself giggling, letting the illusion fall from her form and spreading her wings in a stretch.

"Your turn. What's on your mind?"

"I have just been given not only a way to allow my sisters and I to continue our species, but information on several other things Mother did to us. I, I want to fix this, to help my sisters, but not all of these fixes are absolutely necessary. Do I offer the fixes as a full set or let them know about each change?"

"That's understandable," Celestia said, nodding. "You wish to give them the freedom to choose. I believe there is something you are forgetting though. Mother made these changes to you and your sisters in order to better serve her cause. Every one of them is a way to make controlling you easier. From more predictable reactions to forcing you to live alone out of paranoia, they all weaken you in some way. Give them the option, but remind them why these changes were made. They weren't done out of love. These changes were not made to help you survive."

Seven seemed to brighten at the explanation.

"That is acceptable. I do hope they accept all of the repairs, but-"

"Do not forget that Maximus only found these problems by occupying your body and searching it extensively. There could be other problems, from lifespan limits to the inability to birth another queen. This issue is not solved, Seven. You have merely made the first of many great steps in becoming something greater than a queen's attack dog. Enjoy the victory, but be prepared to continue to fight for the continuation of your species."

Standing up and stretching her legs, Celestia gave the eggs one last look before heading for the door.

"I would like for you to join me for lunch, Seven. Without Luna it's been very quiet."

The queen stared at her eggs for a solid minute, shifting from left forehoof to right forehoof before taking a deep breath.

"Alright. I will... I will leave them with the drones. I will join you."

Celestia beamed, opening the door and allowing a single drone into the room.

"Seven is going to be dining with me. I want you to make certain there's room for another clutch and to make sure there's always at least a little bit of honey at the base of the eggs for now. Understand?"

"Of course, your highness," the drone responded, bowing low and trotting into the room.

Seven watched it nervously for a little as it began preparing a second clutch-nest but eventually allowed herself to be led outside. Celestia considered the entire experience a win for both herself and for the mare's slowly increasing ability to trust others. Perhaps once she made her own way in the world, Seven would still consider them allies?

<-(0)->

Max was once more following Luna down the halls, in his body again after almost a week as a female queen. The two of them were currently at Silverblood Jeep, making their connections to the rest of the civilized world and staying as very special guests to the Duke. Silverblood had been extremely grateful for their part in both saving his life from the ambush as well as the removal of the bandit threat. A lot of Copper Road keep had been damaged in the fighting, mostly from Luna's absolutely ruthless hunt for the black unicorn stallion she'd witnessed raping a servingmare. Several holes were in the main keep now and it would take time to repair. In the meantime, both the serving staff as well as Lady Copper herself were being treated well at the Duke's home.

Actually, saying that Lady Copper was being treated well would be an understatement. A smile tugged as the edges of his face as he remembered the emotions Silver had been radiating once Copper was safe. It wasn't just relief for her safety. There had been something else there as well, and it had only become more obvious when they arrived at the Duke's home. Copper was given the best beds, the best linens, the best food, everything Silver could do for the mare, he did. Max had encouraged it in his own way, giving the Duke the truth of Lady Coppers reactions to certain things. She was too respectful to tell him she didn't like a certain dish, so Max let him know. She was too controlled to let it be known how much she'd loved a certain soap the Duke kept in stock, so Max had whispered the truth of the situation to him. Eventually Luna had caught on as well and had of course been nothing but encouraging to both sides.

The moment they were in the room the flock was staying in, the door closed behind him and the bolt slid into place with a solid thunk. Max hopped forward a pace and buried his muzzle in Luna's flanks, driving his tongue deep into her sex before she could so much as look at him.

His ears swiveled towards her as she moaned in pleasure, not having any issue with his now-common way to end the day. After first getting his body back, the stallion had dragged Crystal off by the tail, the sub-queen giggling the whole way, and rutted her in the woods until neither were capable of walking. Luna had come across the pair nearly five minutes later, Max swearing repeatedly even as the two of them were nearly passed out from exhaustion. Of course, Luna's presence had helped revive the changelings and Max had immediately dragged Luna into the impromptu mating frenzy. He'd seen Crystal watching as he began on the alicorn, staring at them with a glazed look in her eyes and a grin on her face.

He mentally grinned now as well, as Luna pressed back against him with her wings splaying in arousal. He'd already been shaky after getting stuck laying eggs in Seven's body. Then he came back to find his own body ready to explode after not mating for well over a week. The swift shift between estrogen-flooded body to testosterone flooded body had been stressful in ways he'd never experienced.

He used his magic to float Luna to the bed, never removing his writhing tongue from her sex. The moment she was in position, her barrel lying on the bed while her rear legs were spread to give him easy access, he pulled out from her marehood and jumped on her back. A quick spell to guide the head of his cock into her and he began rutting her at break-neck pace, grunting and growling like a possessed animal. It felt right, this kind of sex. It was the way he was supposed to feel, and there was not a damn egg to be seen.

The two of them climaxed once, twice, three times and still he continued. With Luna supplying a direct stream of love, Max was a machine, filling the mare beyond capacity until finally, after nearly ten minutes he finished one last time and slipped out of her. Sitting back on the now cum-soaked bed and gasping for breath, he stared at the abused, gaping sex of the blue alicorn as glowing pink-colored semen flowed freely from its depths.

His eyes began to drift closed from exhaustion but he perked slightly, a faint sound from Luna catching his attention. She was looking at him with foggy eyes from the bed, weakly trying to raise a hoof, inviting him into a hug.
He was exhausted as well but he complied, moving forward on wobbly legs and wrapping her in a hug while guiding her own forelegs around his barrel. He even settled her head on his neck, earning a contented sigh as Luna relaxed against him.

They sat there for a long while, basking in both the afterglow and the companionship before Luna mustered both the energy and mental coherence to speak.

"Did it scare you?"

"Hm?"

"Did laying the eggs scare you?" Luna asked again, pulling him tightly against her. "You can tell me."

His first instinct was to deny it. To prove his alpha-male manliness, to be the MALE(yes, capital letters) he felt like at the moment. He managed to strangle it, though, tightening his own grip on the mare. He'd asked Luna to be truthful with her own fears, so why would he do otherwise?

"I...don't know. It felt wrong. I was, technically I was giving birth. I knew after Seven switched places with me it was possible but I was only really thinking about what it would be liked to be fucked with my own dick. That and if it was gay."

"It just leaves me with more questions though. Sex, the physical gender of a body, not the act, was always solid back home. Either you were one or you were the other. Some people tried saying there was more to it but at the end of the day, sex was a checkbox. Either you had a dick, or you had a vagina. X or Y."

Shifting a bit and pulling Luna up off of the bed so he could move her wing, he set her on her back and rested on her stomach.

"It's not cut and dry with changelings. When we shapeshift we can choose. When we swap with each other, we can be whichever gender we swap into. It's...fluid. If a queen swaps with a viceroy and they stay that way for a long while they may fully change. That's different, so radically different, so alien I find it terrifying. But that's what I am now.

"I think that's why Crystal hasn't said anything. She knows I needed to separate myself from my time as a queen. She let me rut her in the bushes after I swapped back, never tried pushing back like she usually does. Not even in an attempt to tease me. She let me have the control, she let me rule the hive-link, she even let me move her own body in order to better accommodate myself.

"She knew I was scared, and I think that scared her in turn. I've always been so certain of myself and it-"

"We can't always be certain of ourselves. Everyone feels doubt's from time to time, Maximus. Especially when they encounter something that goes against everything they once thought they knew. It hit Tia and I hard when we found out the truth of the nobles in our home. But you were there, you kept us focused on fixing the problems. Now let me be your focus."

Leaning up, she kissed him softly before letting her head fall back to the pillow.

"Let me begin to return the favor for all you have done for me."

Max stared at the mare for a moment before a soft smile pulled at the corners of his face.

"Alright. You can be my rock during this storm," he whispered, nuzzling her cheek. "Moonbeam."

Crystal giggled as she pulled her ear from the door. She could have listened over the hive-link, but Maximus would have sensed her presence. Instead she let him rest and recover, let him separate himself from his time in Seven's body. It seemed that it was finally paying off. As much as she appreciated the absolute ferocity with which the male had rutted the two of them these last few days, it wasn't him. It wasn't her flock's stallion as she'd come to know him.

Hopefully this would help him recover. Then, when they returned home, the three of them would build up their reserves a bit, save up some honey, and Crystal would finally activate her bodies reproductive capability.

The queen shivered, her wings humming with nervous energy as she walked to the room beside the one Luna had been given. She could have gone inside and stayed with them, but Max needed this. He needed to feel like a male again.

She opened her door and was about to close it when a pony she'd sensed nearby cleared its throat. Without her link to Max she would have assumed it was sick but she understood the sound for what it was now. An attempt to gain her attention.

"Yes?"

"I'm terribly sorry Lady Crystal, but Lady Copper Road would like to speak with you."

Crystal took a moment to stare at the servingmare. It was likely one of Copper's own, but what had caught Crystal flat-footed was the title. Due to her place in Luna's flock, she was a Noble by marriage.

'As would Maximus, actually.'

A slowly growing sense of nervousness drew her from her thoughts.

"Lead the way. I'd be happy to speak to her."

The serving pony lead the changeling sub-queen to another hallway and eighth up to a door with two guards with an orange motif. Copper's own knights and guards that survived had remained with her at all times, zealously protecting their lady in her recovery. The guards watched carefully as she approached but otherwise stepped aside when the changeling neared the door.

Inside Lady Copper was sitting at a table, a small carafe of tea present along with two cups. Seeing the orange earth pony mare gesture to the empty chair, Crystal took a seat and waited.

"Do you prefer anything with your tea?"

"I have never truly drank tea before these last few weeks, Lady Copper. My old position did not allow for any comforts."

"Not even a simple brew?" The mare asked, not truly surprised but digging.

Crystal smiled widely, letting her fangs show.

"I do not believe I was supposed to survive my fourth battle. I was given inadequate troops, no supplies, no infiltrators or information, and was expected to take a fortified position that was prepared for something headed towards them. I managed to pull it off, with a casualty report that was so low Mother thought I was attempting to lie, either about the losses or that I had taken the village. She ripped the memories from my mind...I still have trouble recalling specifics of the battle. A shame, too. It was my greatest triumph. It was when I passed every expectation Mother had of me."

"You were not upset that she hurt you?"

"I do not know who you believe Mother was, Lady Copper, but she delighted in causing pain," Crystal replied emotionlessly.

"To slaves, to drones, to her daughters. It mattered not. I was thankful she released me without leaving me incapable of speech. There were other queens not so lucky."

The pony shifted uncomfortably, obviously not expecting such a brutal story.

"But you found a family. A flock."

Nothing could stop the smile from appearing on the shapeshifter's face.

"It would be better to say that they found me. Luna saved me, she fed me when I was a mad, starving creature barely capable of thought. If they hadn't already found each other, I don't know where I would be."

"So you trust them absolutely."

"I do," Crystal said, still smiling. "They've done nothing worth my suspicion."

"So you would know why they have been encouraging certain behaviors?"

Crystal had to stop to try and place the accusation, as it had been without context. The only encouraging they'd done was-

"If you speak of the Duke, I believe it is because he is...smitten? I believe that's the word. He is smitten with you. And in spite of your words you find him pleasant to be with, perhaps even enjoying your time with him."

"I do not enjoy my time with him in any special way. He is an excellent host, but it not proper to-"

"You have recently lost a lot, Lady Copper," Crystal interrupted, causing the pony to frown. "It was a bad experience and he was deeply involved in your rescue. It is not unnatural to feel something for him."

"How can you be certain he is actually interested in me, and not my position?"

The changeling queen stopped a moment more, processing the question and using her best source of information on pony culture.

"You worry he's after your property and the power that would come with it."

The shape shifter burst into laughter, almost spilling her tea as she fell off of the cushion. The mare thought he might be a gold-digger. A stallion who had just as much, if not more at this moment, power and wealth as she did.

"I, haha, I'm sorry, it's just, hahaha, you think he, he's after your wealth and position."

Comparing herself but still giggling, Crystal sat back down. She still didn't dare try to drink, she'd spill it in a fit of giggles.

"What have you learned of my species?"

"Mostly that you are shape-changers," the mare said nervously. "And that you can apparently pull information from a pony's mind."

"That was a spell I'd never seen before, actually. Seven is an infiltrator sub-queen, or she was. Such spells were her focus. I do not believe I could pull off the same, nor would most drones be capable of such a spell.

"The most important thing to remember when working with changelings is that we are emotivores. We draw energy from the emotions of those around us. More powerful, positive emotions give more energy. As Maximus has discovered, when those emotions are directed at a specific changeling, the energy is multiplied even more. It has allowed the drones and myself to experience the first food surplus I know of, possibly the first one in our history. Luna was responsible for allowing us to stay, and Maximus changed our way of life from parasitic to symbiotic.

"That's why I trust them so implicitly. It is also why I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the Duke's feelings are genuine, as are your own."

Copper Road's eyes widened, causing Crystal to break into a fresh set of giggles.

"We can taste emotions. Even if you don't show it, ponies just glow with emotions. That means I am more than qualified to tell you that the male sees you as a good mate, not a good source of income. It is similar to the flavor of emotion Luna radiates for us, though not as intense. Then again, that could be for a number of reasons. The fact that Luna sees us not as a potential flock but as a fully realized one, the fact that the emotions are not directed at myself but another, or even the fact that you yourself have not truly realized the emotions."

"But why does that male, Maximus, encourage him?"

"Because Duke Silver fears that his advances will be ignored or worse, that you will feel insulted by them. You aggressively denounce all others who attempt to court you, or so the word about the Keep goes. It's completely justifiable."

"Fear is not an emotion I care for. Some queens acquired a taste for it, but it is...bitter. It leaves my chitin feeling tingly. In addition, I find love pleasant even if it is not directed at me. Why would any changelings not attempt to foster such high-energy emotions among those around them?"

Having finally purged herself of her giggles, Crystal took a sip of the tea. It wasn't a bad flavor and she could pick out certain herbs or spices in the mixture.

"It is why Max has been telling him what you respond well to or what you don't like. I think it's an excellent idea. What better way to ensure our own wellbeing than encouraging positive emotions in those around us?"

The mare sighed, idly stirring her own tea while staring at the table.

"Are you certain he is actually interested? That it is not just..."

"He owns this Keep," Crystal chuckled. "You do not need to fear. Well, not as much as with some of these ponies. Fiddle is a nice stallion but what he feels for you is nowhere near as intense as what Silver feels. I do not believe the unicorn is after your wealth, but..."

"It would be wonderful to be able to read others like that," Copper mused. "It would have saved me a good deal of trouble in the past."

Taking another sip of tea, which at her size drained the cup, Crystal cocked her head.

"Go ahead. Curiosity is like an orange, by the way."

"I do not wish to impose. I have already taken up so much of your time."

Crystal rolled her eyes.

"I find a certain enjoyment in teaching others. I do not quite understand it as I have been learning much about my own body these last few weeks, but I can suffer a few questions. Ask."

Pouring Crystal another glass of tea, the mare let loose an almost sinister giggle.

"Very well. Where to begin. Oh! That creature from the jail, the one who tore through the wall?"

"A diamond dog. They were lost underground for many years. Luna and Celestia made contact and directed them to an unoccupied bit of land."

The orange mare nodded.

"So they will not be affiliated with you? I'm sorry, they shall not be affiliated with Princess Luna and Princess Celestia?"

"No, they have their own hierarchy."

"And you said something about energy from the feelings of ponies around you?"

Crystal swallowed the rest of the warm glass of tea before coughing out a small bit of honey.

"It is apparently a tangible form of magic. Unicorns may drink it for a boost of energy if they are low."

The earth pony took the offered cup and stared with curiosity.

"So it is safe to drink?"

"It is not dangerous, though different emotions leave different effects on the pony. This is mostly love and happiness. It would intensify those emotions in you for a little bit. Longer if you drink the entire glass. If the emotion is consumed by the individual that produced it, there is no effect. Luna may drink honey created from her love with no negative effects. Celestia tasted the same honey and was a little...silly for about a minute."

Copper Road stared at the honey for another minute before looking back to the sub-queen.

"Is there any way I may purchase some from you? I would like to keep some, if for no other reason than to have liquid love. I believe that would be something worth bragging about."

"Silver has actually made the same request," Crystal chuckled. "Unfortunately I do not know how to purify it. All honey I make is a blend of the emotions I receive."

"A pity," Copper lamented before setting the cup on the table. "Now, how good is your illusion magic? I saw the male changeling use some spell to alter his appearance."

Crystal looked over the mare before lightning her horn. As the flash of fire cleared, Lady Copper found herself staring at an exact duplicate of herself, clothes included.

"That is...remarkable, actually."

"It is, isn't it?"

Copper's eyes widened as the duplicate perfectly mimicked her tone of voice as well.

"So it is more than just a visual disguise."

"Of course. In fact, I propose a challenge. How well do your knights know you?"

"One knight and one server. Clean would be able to tell."

"Of course. Shall I call for them or will you?"

The guard had panicked at the sight, likely knowing what had happened. When both Copper Roads assured him it was a challenge that was in good fun, he attempted to pick out the correct Pony. He was correct, but after Crystal had expressed disappointment in him it came to light that he had guessed. After the guard wandered off radiating embarrassment, which Crystal found nearly as entertaining as Max did, Clean was sent for.

The stallion didn't seem to mind that he was being called well after dark. Once Crystal and Copper explained the challenge, swapping off the explanation every other sentence, the stallion just stoically stared at the pair. Growing bored with the game, Crystal decided to pour out the tea, refilling both Lady Copper's as well as her own.

"It is an impressive disguise. As impressive as the one used against the bandits that took our home."
Turning to Crystal, the edges of his lips turned up in the slightest smile.

"You even properly made certain to pour your guest their tea before your own. Which of the shape changers are you?"

In a flash of green fire Crystal sat before him, currently sitting in Lady Coppers seat. The two had swapped before Clean had arrived to keep things difficult.

"What gave me away?"

"My lady licks her left inner cheek when bored. She also uses less honey than you."

The two mares shared a quick laugh but Copper Road soon yawned.

"Oh dear, what time is it?"

"Late enough that only the guards should be awake, soon to be early enough that only the bakers are working in the kitchens."

"I'm terribly sorry for keeping you so long, Lady Crystal. If there is any way I can return this favor-"

"No, it's quite alright," Crystal cut her off, giggling as she caught herself slipping into the mare's forms of speech. "I enjoyed myself and the other members of my flock need some time alone. Maximus spent the last week or so trading bodies with Queen Seven so that she could pull off the infiltration and keep the prisoners of the bandits fed and watered. During that time, he worked hard on finding all the damage Mother had worked into the minds of the sub-Queens to make them more pliable but his time as a sub-queen did wear on him. If you consider the strangeness of being a male for a week, I'm certain you would have an idea of his experience.

"Anyway, I'd be happy to field more questions in the future. Good night, Lady Copper, Clean."

Watching the large black creature slip soundlessly into the hallway and disappear into the darkness beyond, Copper stirred her tea.

"You really couldn't see anything?"

"It was an illusion my lady. One of the better ones I've seen,"Clean answered, frowning a moment latter. "Does and his have to do with your dreams?"

"I do not think they were dreams. I think...I think it was another changeling. A changeling that was staring at me in my dreams. They were good dreams but-"

"You believe she is the one responsible?"

"No. I think it might have been her mother. You were not here for the creature's tales, but when she spoke of the one who gave her life she did not speak of a loving mare. She spoke of a tyrant who no longer held power over her life.

"Those creatures were always skeletal. Sometimes they were missing bits. Sometimes there was this green glowing ooze. But not one looked at me with the energy this creature possesses."

"The Blue Alicorn, Princess Luna, is said to be learning dream magic," Clean reminded her. "You could ask her."

Copper nodded, noting belatedly she was stirring her tea even though it was cold.

"Did you ask her about Duke Silver?"

Copper frowned.

"Mind your place, Clean."

"I know my place, My Lady. It is making certain you are well cared for and happy. She said the same thing I have been telling you, didn't she? That Silver's gestures and attempts to woo are legitimate?"

The orange pony huffed and moved to her bed, slipping off her clothes and setting them on a nearby chair before moving into her bed.

"I will see you in the morning, Clean."

"Good night, My Lady. And do let me know if I should send away Duke Silver when he visits your dreams."

"Good Night, Clean!"

Author's Note

More princess headcanon. Enjoy!

Tempered Relationships

The next week passed in relative peace for both the Lunar flock and Celestia back in the Keep. Seven had been complaining about a strange ache in her gut which Max had guessed was her body shifting to accommodate the increase in production of eggs(0-6 was quite the increase, after all) but otherwise the only big bit of news was a few diamond dogs arriving with a changeling drone.

The dogs were of course met with fear from the general populace. More than even Max and Crystal, who were at least pony-like in physical form.

It was why, in spite of being so different, the dogs were visibly relieved to see the larger forms of the changeling leaders at the keep. Seeing as Luna was currently speaking with Silver about the possibility of trade as well as the use of currencies and bartering, Silver wouldn't be available to speak with them until later.

"Hello, gentlemen." Max greeted cheerfully. "How's the pack doing?"

"Well, Max. It is doing well," Duke replied.

"Came out here yourself? I would have thought you'd send someone in your place as a representative."

The old dog shrugged.

"The other elders are all busy at the moment and none of us are especially talented in these sort of meetings. I have also been having difficulty even finding out what it is that the pack stands to gain from this meeting. The ponies have been less than accommodating."

"I understand," Max said, nodding. " They're a skittish lot. I was actually about to go out to the market, see what they have on display. Would you like to join me? It may answer that question of yours better as well as give me someone to talk to."

"It is better than attempting to corner one of these ponies to extract the information I seek. Very well, please lead the way."

Max found it kind of funny how quickly the ponies of the market scattered before his small group. Between the changelings, Rust, and the Elder's guards most of the ponies stayed out of their way. Some outright fled. The local guards were aware of their presence and thus didn't feel the need to interfere, though Max could hear a few terrified ponies asking the guards to protect them from the monsters.

'Ah, good to see the ponies are as skittish as ever.'

Really though, he'd been getting spoiled by the easy acceptance of those back at the alicorns' keep. His proximity to Luna, including the fact that his name was being thrown around by every knight and maid in the Keep.

A few of the vendors attempted to flee , but Max wasn't really interested in them. It was their goods he wanted to see. Cloths, both finished and the basic outlines of them hanging from a few stalls as well as in the open glass-less window of a single permanent shop, foods of all kinds that tickled his nose and caused him to salivate, spices both familiar and alien, jewelry that ranged from simple to glamorous. One of the few who didn't run was a potion seller who had a proudly displayed notice from some 'alchemical expert' that all of the mixtures were legitimate. Max found it both hilarious and not even a little bit encouraging.

After getting a good chuckle over the various potions(he was fairly certain his honey would be a more potent mana potion than the one the mare was hawking) Max's ears perked as he finally heard what he was hoping for. A sound the alicorn's keep had been missing.

The sound of a hammer striking metal.

Max giddily trotted towards the sound, weaving around the few ponies who didn't notice him and causing quite a ruckus in the process. While Duke and his guards belatedly noticing they'd lost their fourth member to a distraction(Not too big a deal, it was fairly easy to follow the trail of terror), the changeling didn't really mind. Max had been looking for a damned smithy since he first started helping the mares improve their home. He was hopefully going to get a few questions answered.

Entering the sweltering environment of the smithy, the changeling was almost giggling as he looked about. Tongs, hoof-hammers of different materials, metal bars and a seeming overabundance of gold items met his eyes.

'Why so much gold? Is it really that much more common here?'

He moved through the shop, lifting a few items and attempting to recognize the materials. Gold, very little silver as it was apparently still a rare item here with quite a few magical properties, a single titanium hoof-hammer, and several metals that were either a metal he'd not seen or some alloy.

"This is it! this is what I've been looking for! Finally, a damned smithy!"

"I'm not taking anymore orders, full up! So you can-"

Max turned to look at the voice, finding a large, sweaty, and apparently angry brown stallion who forgot how to speak at the sight of the strange creature. His confusion only increased when Duke stepped into the smithy as well, though he had to duck to do so. Duke was instantly entranced by the tools, looking over the various metal instruments with interest. The elder walked over to an unfinished blade, picking it up and lovingly running a paw over the flat side while nodding.

"It has been a long time since I've seen metalwork of any kind. It is good to know the local species are as capable. Rusty will be happy to know the trade will not be lost to us merely because there was no way to recover it or teach it to the pups."

"I'm only going to ask once before I call the guards. What are you, and what do you want?" the Smith asked with what sounded like anger. A changeling is hard to bluff though, and Max could taste the fear pouring off of the smith.

"Maximus, a changeling," he answered, smiling a little less to keep his fangs back. "This is Elder Duke of the Rock Diver pack, a group of Diamond dogs. I'm actually here to try and make certain the forge I managed to cobble together won't explode on me or even better, learn to make a sturdy one. That and see if there's an apprentice I could take off your hooves. As for Duke..."

"My race live underground. Metals are found by our scouting parties all the time but are useless to us in our current state. We no longer have the information on how to properly work it. As with your own species, the diamond dogs suffered a calamity. I personally have not seen the sun since I was a little pup. During our contact with the alicorns and the changelings, this was finally changed."

"The winged unicorn mare that has been speaking with Lady Copper and Duke Silverblood is the ruler of another keep to the southeast. I currently work as an advisor to Princess Luna and another princess, alerting them to pressing issues I find in the keep. One of the things they didn't have was a forge. This was unacceptable, so I took it upon myself to correct this issue."

Chuckling as he looked around excitedly, Max turned back to the smith.

"I've managed to make a forge from scratch, but it's not a very good one as I've no prior experience with such things, only theory. If you could point us in the right direction, either by allowing me to compare yours against what I've built or even pointing me towards a local smith I can poach, I'd appreciate it. A pony who knows how to build and maintain a forge would be even better."

"I've lived in this keep longer than I've lived anywhere else," the smith replied, looking at Max with a hard expression. The expression did nothing to cover his emotions though. Fear was once more what Max felt from him. Not of the strange creatures anymore, but a fear of losing the familiar . "There may be others though. My apprentice tried opening another forge not too far from here. There was a third pony who wanted to be a smith as well, but she never was given the opportunity. She paid for a few lessons from me and seemed a natural but after my apprentice tried pushing me out of business..."

"Do you think you could direct me to them, Mr-?"

"Good Strike's my name. I don't know about my old apprentice, but the mare works odd jobs. Spends every night in the Nature's Love tavern. Shouldn't be too hard to find her. Mare's as tough as they come. Last I heard she was the hoof-wrestling champion of that tavern."

"I'll be sure to look there tonight. The younger stallion's name, though?"

"You're looking for Sure Fire," the stallion answered. "The mare goes by Temper."

"Thank you for your help. I'll be certain to let them know you sent us their way."

"I'll be upset if I hear that colt disappears," Strike called after them as they left.

Max just looked back and nodded before looking around the still-crowded market.

"Now, who would know where a smithy-less blacksmith would be staying?"

<-(0)->

"You said you had found a smith?" Luna asked as their knights gathered just inside the central keep's main gate. After rubbing elbows with the leaders of several keeps and learning the local currency was nothing more than simple gold coins, each valued at a loaf of bread or five to a days work, she was ready to return to her own bed. Though she was fond of the stares she received every evening and morning. One of the dukes had even accused her of faking it, to which she had simply not raised the Moon for a few minutes, letting the stallion's insult die in front of those he insulted her in front of. Afterwards he'd been charged with providing restitution, which would be delivered to the her home within a month or so.

The coins had been a surprise for her, at first getting her excited. If they were simple gold tokens, well, they'd unearthed plenty of that back home. Max didn't like the idea though, citing something called inflation and then explaining the negative impact such an activity would have on the value of the coins. Until they were powerful enough to issue their own currency, adopting the coin currency would give them a starting point with which to interact with other towns. To that end they'd managed to walk off with a small chest of the coins. Silverblood gave her a good three hundred for the destruction of the bandits, even if his own troops were involved(Luna was fairly certain it was because of her intervention earlier that when the stallion had been attacked). Copper Road promised to visit once she'd sorted her own affairs and promised no less than a full hundred out of her own pocket, which Luna declined on the premise that the Lady put the coinage into repairing her home.
Max and Crystal were also a source of coin. Between selling a few bottles of honey and Crystal participating in a tourney the dukes were holding, they brought in just over an additional hundred coins.

"Should be here any...ah, right there."

Luna turned to follow his hoof, spotting two mares and a stallion walking towards them. They were stopped at the gate by the guards, but Max was already moving to welcome them.
'Well, I would be remiss if I did not welcome him as well.'

"-wanted to be sure, sir. I apologize if ye find insult in my distrust-"

"No, no! It's completely understandable. Two strange creatures walked into your inn and offered a mare a job. I get it. In fact I find your loyalty to your patrons inspiring. I wish the innkeepers in my homeland were half as concerned for my wellbeing when I stayed the night."

"Well I can't rightly say I'd do the same for a pony who just stayed the night but this dear's become a regular and I wouldn't be able ta sleep tonight if'n I didn't check on her."

"Ah, Temper, Mr. and Mrs. Candlehearth. Allow me to introduce Princess Luna, Guide of the Moon and Co-Ruler of the Keep to the south."

Luna watched curiously as the younger mare stepped forward, throwing off her previous assumption of who the smith was. Temper if she assumed correctly, was a black maned earth pony with an almost golden pelt, with no cutiemark to speak of.

"Temper, your grace," the mare said with a full bow. "I only hope I can serve well."

"If you have any experience with working metal, we can use you," The alicorn assured the mare. "Maximus is currently the closest thing we have to a smith, and he's never worked a forge in his life."

"That's not true. I managed to make that ingot and the little trinket. That's at least a day."

Crystal began giggling from behind the two larger creatures, and Luna turned to thank the innkeeper for her concern. Seeing the old matron's face though, it did something to her...
'Candle-hearth.'

"Ask her, Luna," Max whispered into her ear. "You'll never know unless you ask."

"We...I must make an additional request, this one of you, Miss Heath. Do you...have you ever..."

Luna swallowed hard, nearly jumping when her flock set themselves to either side, pressing into her encouragingly.
"Do you remember a mare, blue maned and grey hair, a Pegasus mare who had...three fillies. And a colt, I think. She had a few rain clouds for her cutie mark."

Hearth frowned as she focused on the details, attempting to run down the list of mares she'd seen in the past.
"I can't say I recall a mare like that stay- oh, no, that's why. She was a neighbor. Flurries. Flurries was a Pegasus of those colors. I don't think she's the one you're speakin' of though. Flurry only had two foals, a filly and a colt. She also didn't have a mark."

"It's perfectly fine, Miss Hearth. Any news is good news, even if it's crossing another lead off the list. Thank you for your time."

Crystal shooed the smith towards the knights, telling her she could use one of the new wagons for her heavier gear. They only had two, but the wagons weren't even half full at the moment.

Max was pulling Luna back to the knights telling her that it was an honest attempt and that was what mattered. That they'd find Moonbeam's parents if they kept looking. As they walked away though, Crystal found her gaze turning back to the innkeeper, who was deep in thought.

"Moonbeam...Moonbeam..."

"A small Pegasus filly," Crystal said, gaining the mares attention. "It was...I believe my alpha said it was almost a decade ago by her best estimate. That was when the filly went missing."

Candlehearth frowned, closing her eyes.
"Small Pegasus...Moonbeam. But that...how, why would..."

"You recognize the name?"

"I believe so, but the filly' mother was a different coloration. The mare she described, I think that was one of Moonbeam's older sisters. Flurries, she was the only one who hadn't been teleported by Chaos. All of the others are gone."

"Max! Max, come here!"
Crystal wasn't certain if it was possible, but she was aware other creatures could muddle details. It was why Max asked her for help remembering things. He'd remember colors, but forget the order. He'd recall a song, but switch around lines of he chorus. Luna had a good memory, but Max's earliest memories were often so muddled not even the changeling queen could make sense of them. The same could be true of her flock's alpha.
"Please repeat the information for Max."

Crystal watched carefully as the old mare described a small family on the outskirts of town, a flock of Pegasi that she could recall seeing a small blue Pegasus filly being a part of. The more details the mare added, the more Max's mind buzzed with excitement. When the mare gave a location for the pony in question the stallion was off like a shot leaving Crystal to persuade the mare that Max had no ill intentions with Flurries. He would either confirm this lead or deny it. She wouldn't bother Luna with it until they knew for certain.

<-(0)->

Max had needed to stop and ask for directions several times, eventually opting to use Twister's form to prevent ponies from screaming at his rapid approaches. After freaking out another pony due to forgetting to shift his eyes, Max was once more getting directions. Or at least, they were words that had different directions in them.

"Flurries? I thought she lived on the banks of the Hanky-Panky River."
"No no no, that's Bullfrog and his herd," another argued. "She lives-"

"So y'er lookin' for flurries? May be waitin' a while, haven't seen a single snowflake in years."

"Flurries huh. Aye, I know the way. Now, ya see that road down there? Don't take that one, it'll do ya no good. What ya need to do is-"

Max was rubbing a hoof over his, currently her temple. In some areas he got more propositions than directions and while he thought Twister was cute he didn't think she was so desirable it would cause him problems.

"Flurries, you say?" An older mare asked.

"Yes. I need to ask her something in regards to her family. I'm pursuing an old missing filly case and hope to get the mare some closure. Or better yet, a family."

The Pegasus mare tapped a hoof to her chin, looking into the sunset.
"Flurries. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time."

"You know her?"

"Well of course I know her," she answered with a smile. "She's me. Come along, I was just heading home to put some tea on the fire. The foals are still on their routes and won't be home until late. The difficulties of having your foals join the guard. Still, they take care of me, and Blizzard is being targeted by a cute little unicorn down the road. Oh, I can't wait for the grandfoals. It's a mare's dream to see her grandfoals, you know. Do you have anypony, dear?"

"I'm actually in a flock. We're all quite happy at the moment but there's been a few fertility issues."

"Oh dear. Has your stallion tried a little blood-weed in his evening drink? That helps a bit."

Max chuckled at the suggestion.
"Uh, no. The stallion doesn't have any issue. He's also pretty virile."
At the mare's confused glance, he grinned awkwardly.
"He produces a lot."

"I understand. Sorry dear. I just don't think I've heard that word before. You are rutting during heats, right?"

"That's kind of the issue. One's not a pony-well, neither is he, technically. Two aren't ponies and the third, she recently was subjected to a deep magical change. The non-pony mare, she had something done to her. She was sterile. Is sterile, but we found a cure. We're holding off on using it though because to do so would weaken her, and right now we're traveling. We don't want her to be put in unnecessary danger."

Max followed the older mare up to the cottage and in the door, making note of the simple furnishings scattered throughout the home. One thing that stuck out was he lack of pictures. Older people always had hundreds of the damn things but here, there wasn't so much as a speck of paint on the walls.

Watching the Pegasus put a large kettle over the fire pit and wandering off to find her matches, Max added a horn and fired a quick fire starter he pulled from Crystal before dropping the horn again. No need for her to strain herself.

"Oh, why thank you. Now, you said something about a missing filly?"

"Does the name Moonbeam ring a bell? Sorry, sound familiar?"

Flurries' face scrunched up in thought. "Moonbeam."

"Small blue Pegasus filly. Was teleported by Discord."

Flurries flinched at the name but otherwise just shook her head.

"I can't say it does. I'm sorry dear. I wish I could help."

"No, it's perfectly fine. I didn't really expect to find answers so quickly. Thank you for your time."

"It's no trouble at all. Would you stay for a cup of tea? I don't get many visitors."

Max hummed, quickly seeing how far Crystal was from his current position. The group was already moving, but as they were on ground and he would be flying...

"I'd love to."

<-(0)->

Celestia let loose a deep yawn as she walked to her room. She'd been feeling exhausted lately, left to perform her twice-daily ritual of raising the sun by herself. While there was honey to help her out, she couldn't drink too much of it without getting intoxicated. Being the only leader present at the moment, she wasn't about to get drunk and leave the Keep uncared for.
'Just a day or so more,' she thought happily.

A noble or two had been feeling particularly brave with only one princess present but to her surprise Seven had ruthlessly stamped out his attempt at subverting the alicorns' rule, rounding up he and the few who were involved, either as accomplices or who encouraged him, into changeling holding pods until such a time as Celestia or Luna could see to them. When Celestia had been given the report by Shimmering and asked for her reasons for acting, she merely cocked her head and asked if Celestia was upset because she had wanted to take care of them.

Celestia let out a quiet giggle. The mare had never realized it hadn't been a question of what she had done but why. The alicorn didn't feel as though her talk with Seven had inspired some sort of loyalty, but the queen's actions said otherwise. Whatever the changeling's thoughts regarding her current situation, she wasn't about to allow this city to be destabilized.

Slipping out of a warm bath after dinner, the exhausted mare was nearly at her bed when the guards outside her door began arguing with someone. She perked and ear and soon noticed the odd buzzing voice of Seven outside her room.
'I suppose I can see what she needs. I do kind of owe her for that.'

She opened the door and called the queen in, thanking the knights standing guard before closing it behind Seven.
"I'm about to head to bed, Seven. Is there something you need?"

The queen nodded. Trotting up to Celestia, she turned around and shoved her rear towards the solar alicorn, showing her swollen vaginal lips that were even now seeping with arousal.
"What do I do with this?"

Celestia almost choked on the fumes of the queen, they were so potent and unexpected. Pushing the flank away, she leaned away and took a few breathes.

"I, I am afraid I do not understand the issue? Did you lay a second clutch or are you merely aroused? And I do not understand why you approach me with this. Would not Maximus be a better individual to question?"

Seven scowled, scuffing a hoof on the stone floor after turning to face her.
"The Breeder has already fixed more than I could ever repay him for and I do not, I cannot ask more of him. Seventeen, she receives most of her knowledge from him so asking one is akin to asking the other. And you...have not led me astray to this point. I require your aid, Alicorn."

"Celestia," she corrected, noticing the queen wince slightly at the correction.

"Y-yes. I apologize. I require your aid, Celestia. What is occurring?"

'It must be bothering her more than I thought if she's that willing to accept my corrections.'
"How long have you been, er, experiencing arousal?"

"My egg canal has been leaking since yesterday morning. I laid a second clutch of three, my first clutch, but the tingle hasn't gone away. I tried remaining in my room until it passed but it hasn't."

The larger mare rolled her eyes at the terminology.
"Seven, what have you learned about the repairs Maximus worked on your body?"

"Something about dead nerve-clusters, and then the repair to my egg-production."

Nodding, the alicorn rolled a hoof for her to continue. When she didn't, Celestia began to realize where the problem may lie.
"Seven...have you ever been...aroused before?"

"You keep saying that word like it means something to me," the mare said emotionlessly.

"Oh my stars, do not tell me; Seven, have you ever learned anything about that portion of your body?"

"Very well. I shall not tell you. Will you help?"

Celestia wanted to cry. His was not what she wanted to do right now. She wanted to sleep, to get as much rest as she could before the sunrise was needed. She had been exhausted by the lowering of the sun and the next cycle was promising to be even more tiresome.
Rubbing her temple in frustration she snapped her eyes open as the deep scent of the queen's need became all-inclusive once again, Seven having turned around and stuck her butt back in the larger mare's face.

"How do I make this stop? Please, if you make this stop I shall do whatever you ask. Anything, just make this feeing go away."

Celestia flinched at the desperation in the queen's plea. It wasn't that bad for her, was it? Then again, Crystal had been constantly flagging her tail after her own healing even with constant attention from Luna and Max. Seven had undergone a much deeper change, and without the attention. Seeing the queen grinding her teeth even as her nethers winked, the older mare came to a decision.
"Alright. But you will do what I say, and you..."
Changeling honey had less effect on the ones who provided it, right? Eyes lighting slightly at the idea of a mutually beneficial exchange, Celestia hopped on her bed.
"I shall help you, but I need you to use the emotion you gather from me tonight to make some honey that I may drink in the morning. I'm exhausting myself and need the extra magic. In return I shall help you with your...problem."

"Thank you. It has been bothering me all day and I didn't even sleep last night. Thank you. Anything you require, Princess. Please, what do I need to do?"

Leaning back slightly at the intense outburst, Celestia checked to make certain her sound wards were in place.
'I cannot believe I am about to do this.'
Celestia guided the horny queen onto the bed and rolled her onto her back, taking up a reverse straddle which left her own nethers in reach of the queen.
"I want you to do your best to mirror my tongue's actions. You should see a similar set of, eh, things to your own under my tail and um, tailhole. Can you do that?"

"You're going to lick it? That doesn't help, touching it just makes it leak more. How do I make it-"

"You asked me for my help, did you not?" Celestia cut her off, twisting to look at the mare she had pinned. "Are you refusing my help? If so you may leave."

Seven snapped her mouth shut and shook her head before making a motion across her muzzle, one that confused Celestia. Judging by the cross-eyed expression that came a moment later, it may have been a stray memory from Max that hadn't been removed yet.

Nodding, Celestia turned to the pulsating flesh that was now directly below her. She could smell Seven, but would it be like Maximus or...

Not hesitating anymore, she gave the outer lips a broad lick, followed by another. She smacked her lips and hummed. It didn't taste too bad. In fact it tasted better than her own-

Celestia broke into a blush at the thought. She still couldn't believe she'd done that but after learning the pleasures that were just a properly placed hoof away, she'd given into her curiosity. Changelings seemed to taste sweet in general.

Seven subconsciously bucked into the attention, a spurt of fluids ejecting out onto the bed even as the queen gurgled through clenched teeth. Licking the nub of the changeling's clit when it was exposed, Celestia followed it back into the canal with her tongue.

"Oh, oh Hive, what-"

The white alicorn blinked in confusion as the queen suddenly orgasmed, squealing as she let out a quick gush of fluids.
'But I only-'

Looking back to the glassy-eyed mare, her own arousal just beginning to burn, Celestia smacked the queen's muzzle with her tail.
"I did not think it was that bad. Are you still with me Seven, or are we done?"

Her partner nodded slowly, using her chitin-covered hooves to pull Tia's cheeks apart before running her serpentine tongue over the moistening labia.

Shivering at the touch, the older mare began circling a hoof around the queen's own sex, earning a few bucks and a whine in return. The tongue felt just as good now as it had when Max had-

Celestia groaned, pushing back into the muzzle as she let that scene play in her mind. Max had been thorough, exploring every bit of her and knowing exactly what he was looking for. Seven was bumbling around in the dark by comparison.

"Focus on, on the bit, here! Focus on this," Celestia moaned, rubbing her hoof over Seven's clit.
Seven jerked at the sudden explosion of pleasure shooting up and down her spine but obeyed, running her tongue all over the nub as the larger mare smothered her with her sopping heat. With a quick realization, she flashed with changeling fire, moving her nostrils down to her cheeks to allow continued breathing before going back to work. A few moments later and she ended up regretting that decision.

Celestia moaned, pushing down on the queen's face as her wings spread fully, eyes staring across the way as she mentally replayed the orgasm achieved by the stallion's oral ministrations in her mind. It helped her hit that high a bit faster and hold it a bit longer, like she was borrowing a little of that pleasure. Her body shivered, clenching tightly around Seven's muzzle and soaking her in a wash of fluids.

"G-good. Now I'm going to work on you again, and I want you to, to try and not finish so quickly. If you can, you need to do that at the same time...Seven? Are you still with me?"

Not without a little regret Celestia lifted herself off of her partner, causing the queen to take a wet gasp of air through her mouth before falling into a coughing fit.

"Oh no, I am so sorry, Seven. I, I just was completely-"

The queen caught Celestia's flank before the top mare could turn, finally catching her breath.

"Just, just do it again please. It felt so good, and when you did that-that thing as well, it tasted so good. Don't stop."

Nodding, Celestia relaxed back onto the smaller mare's belly and leaned in once more into Seven's thighs. The mare's sex began twitching in anticipation as soon as her breath hit it and Celestia giggled.

"Calm yourself, Seven. How are you to enjoy this if you are so quick to finish?"

"I, do not need, to enjoy it. I merely want this need, to cease."

The alicorn frowned, standing and turning around in spite of the queen's attempts to slow her. Setting herself on Seven and staring at her face, Celestia pushed forward, taking her into a deep kiss while focusing on the pleasure she'd been feeling.

Breaking the kiss, she looked at the queen's unfocused eyes and smiled.

"It's important to know the full extent of this activity, Seven. Even if you do not intend to repeat it with me. After all, as Maximus has said, most beings become extremely emotional during such an activity. It can be very rewarding for a changeling."

It was actually kind of exciting, seeing the smaller mare drooling a bit of honey after the intense focus of emotions she'd been subjected to. Standing and stepping back, she dove back in with a little more energy, feeling the queen buck and squeal with every lick. It felt...empowering. It felt like she controlled the mare in her legs, and it made her giggle at the thought.

"I'm fairly certain Maximus and Crystal could last longer than you, Seven."

Seeing the sudden burst of life her challenge brought to the queen's eyes even as she began running her hoof over the twitching flesh before her, Celestia grinned.

"In fact, I daresay I lasted ten times as long. Not that 'Instantaneous orgasm' is hard to outlast."

"I, I can last longer. I-"

Seven's retort died on her lips as Celestia buzzed her clit with a little magic, causing the mare to go into pleasured convulsions again and spewing a little more from her over-sensitive sex.

"Doesn't seem to be the case, Seven. I guess I should stop so I can let you play with me, otherwise I won't get much out of this."

The solar alicorn giggled as her toy began to whine, helpless in Tia's grasp. But she was merciful. She wouldn't leave the queen without a rewards for playing with her...right after she taught the queen the proper way to use that wonderful tongue.

Changeling Queen Anatomy Lesson 1: How to fertilize your eggs

It was an introspective changeling stallion that was walking with the convoy on their way back home. Max knew something had happened back at the Keep, but he hadn't known what. What he did know was that it was most likely sexual in nature and that it included Seven and Celestia. Worried the queen had done something stupid, he'd perused her most recent activities. In a way it was a lot like going through someone's browsing history. Sometimes what you saw surprised you in a good way, like the queen's ruthless defense of the alicorns' power. Sometimes you find exactly what you'd expect in someone's browsing history.

Porn.

He'd skipped over most of it but the fact was that Seven and Celestia had done that. And while doing that, the alicorn had been apparently been thinking about him.
It was what had tipped him off to something happening in the first place. A wave of lust had reached him while they were traveling and while the drones sometimes would partake of brave or horny ponies, the fact that it was so focused but unfiltered had tipped them off to Seven being involved. After a bit of discussion with his other half(third?), Max had agreed to look into the matter but keep Luna out of the loop. If there was an issue, she'd be alerted. If not, well, as Luna had her own secrets( granted, there weren't many she held from them) so did Tia. Being able to learn things that weren't meant for his eyes meant that a whole lot of discretion would be practiced both now and in the future.

He'd paused the memory as Seven was drowned by the larger mare, focusing on the emotions and what Seven had picked up. It was about there the spike that had alerted them had occurred, and judging by the position he had a pretty good idea why he'd been blasted with a lot of lust at that point. Still, that was one for the bucket list, right? Have a female think of you while achieving orgasm during intercourse with another?

He'd left Crystal to review it at her own leisure, though cautioning her to do so in such a way as to not cause their alpha to become suspicious. Crystal was quiet now, but the implications were clear to them. The fix would likely cause another bout of nymphomania in the young proto queen. Not a bad thing, but it certainly helped justify holding off a bit. There was also the fact that they had no idea how to properly care for the eggs.

That was something he'd discussed in detail with the queen. The eggs...the eggs he had laid (God that was weird to think about) were still being soaked in honey but only one seemed to be using it, the others not needing to have their supply replenished. The latest batch from the queen seemed to be doing better though, all three of the eggs looking well-formed and accepting a constant stream of honey. The method seemed to be working and hopefully they would hatch soon. At that point they would know what it would take to continue the species.
As much as Seven hated being bound to them, she spoke freely and listened intently where the eggs were concerned. It wasn't just her after all. All of the changelings were depending on the discovery of how to produce and maintain a hive. Without this information the only living changelings would soon be the proto queens, and there was no information about how long they lived. If he was wrong in his estimate and queens didn't live for much longer than the average pony/human, the entire race was in extreme danger, as since Discord's visit to the hive, no new drones or queens had been hatched to their knowledge.

'For all we know these will be the first changelings hatched in almost...what? Four years? Longer?'
'Crystal, do you have any idea how long ago the Hive was shattered?'

'No, why?'

'Because Seven's hatchlings may be both the first born free of Mother, and the first born in the last few years.'

Crystal brightened for a bit before pouting.
'I wanted to be the first one.'

'Well, you do like being first in other things...'

Her eyes narrowed.
'Excuse me? Is that a challenge, Maximus?'

'Of course,' he chuckled. 'To be initiated once we return home and make certain we have enough honey to supply two egg-producing queens.'

'And if we don't have enough love intake?' She asked quietly.

Max moved closer, rubbing his cheek against her own in a comforting manner.
'Would you rather start laying and have your children starve, or wait just a little longer? I know it's hard, Crystal. You're so close, but be patient. I'll make it up to you in either case. I promise.'

"What does my Crystal need comforting for?" Luna asked, moving closer to the pair.

"I said we may need to hold off on the eggs until we know we can supply two laying queen's. I don't want to have to choose between everyone going hungry and losing eggs if I don't have to."

"You two are always welcome to draw from me," Luna offered, only to have Crystal shake her head.

"We are not speaking of two large changelings, which is a lot of drain as it is. A queen is constantly laying more eggs and the hive's population will grow. If the drain becomes too much, there will be no way to reverse the decision," the queen replied sorrowfully. "I do not want to hurry this and end up harming you, Luna. You are too important to not only us, but this world right now. I will not put either at risk."

Max used a bit of magic to clamp Luna's mouth shut when she opened it, getting a grin from the queen.

"This is not up for debate," he said firmly. "It won't be a long time and I already promised to make it up to her. We'll treat her extra special for a bit, at least until we can safely move to that stage. This is big Luna, and I want this to go smoothly. As I told Crystal a moment ago, Seven's clutches may be the first new changelings in years. This could be make or break for the changelings as a species if no other queen has made progress."

In the shows he remembered, there was only ever one changeling queen mentioned, and while it was possible there were others still lurking about, the fact she called herself The Changeling Queen was worrying. What if only one survived till that point? What if something changed that caused that mare to not last to that point? They still hadn't even seen the Crystal Empire or Tirek as far as Max knew, so they were well before the Nightmare incident if it still occurred(however unlikely that would be). That meant a queen would need to survive over a thousand years, likely closer to fifteen hundred years.

'And fifteen hundred years of solitude and starvation would drive anyone insane.'

<-(0)->

A powerful yawn cracked Celestia's muzzle. She vaguely remembered raising the sun that morning and then drinking the honey, but after that things got a bit hazy. Odd, because she was certain she was the producer of most of the emotion the queen had been exposed to over the last night.

Opening an eye and looking around her bedchambers, she frowned. Speaking of which, where did Seven end up?

She shifted in bed, hearing an odd crackling below her. She looked down, seeing what at first registered as a dead changeling crushed under her weight. A closer look identified it as a shell. Seven had apparently molted recently.
'But where did she go? And when did she-'

Celestia blushed scarlet as she slowly felt the trickle of memories reaching her. After drinking honey that was a good portion of lust, she'd felt much better, but it had left her incredibly needy. Seeing as there was an otherwise willing mare nearby, Celestia had once more grabbed the queen and began vigorously tongue-fucking the shape shifter for a good five minutes before giving the queen time to recover. After that, she'd for some reason rolled on her back and demanded the queen...bind her hooves and muzzle her with resin.
'Oh dear, and I thought Luna's ideas were bad. I think I'm going to be avoiding that stuff for a while. At least until I find better solution.'

There was a slight humming purr under her and Celestia nearly rolled her eyes. Of course the queen would duck under the bed when she molted. It was a time of vulnerability.
Remembering her last run in with a freshly molted changeling, Celestia moved off of the bed and looked under it.

Seven hissed as soon as then Solar alicorn's eyes landed on the soft chitin, trying to drive away the presence. Instead of forcing her hoof, Celestia followed Luna's advice. She thought positive, warm thoughts. She trusted Seven and wanted the queen to do the same.
"Come on, Seven. Come here. I am a friend, remember? Safe."

The hissing slowed but the queen backed up, shifting deeper into her makeshift burrow.

"Come on. I'm nice and warm, remember?" Celestia giggled, moving a blanket from her bed to the queen.

Seven bit the blanket, hissing anew at the sudden movements before slowing again, pressing her face into the warm blanket.

"That's right. It's nice isn't it? Come here, Seven. Come on."

Speaking softly and soothingly seemed to help and with her mind set at calm and happy, Celestia was able to draw the stark-white changeling from under her bed.
"Good, good. Now, come here, up on the bed. I'm not going to hurt you, Seven."

After a bit more prodding and coaxing, the queen was finally in the warm bed, right under Celestia's wing. Watching the queen stare off into the distance while keeping tight to the alicorn's side, Celestia felt odd. It just felt...nice to have someone beside her again. Someone who was currently needing a reassuring presence.

Leaving a feathery wing over her charge, Celestia rested her head on her pillow and once more dozed off.

<-(0)->

Returning home was always a wonderful feeling. The familiar sights and sounds, the promise of ones own bed and most importantly to Max, a bath that wasn't a wooden tub filled with cold water.

'That was the most unpleasant washing experiences I've ever had,' Crystal sent, shuddering.

"You had baths at the Hive?"

"Not so much baths as cleanings. Drones were assigned to clean the queens and other drones to prevent illness and parasites. They were far from gentle, but the few who were too rough usually ended up in several bits after causing a proto queen too much discomfort. They usually used water and rags, much like we do, but the water was always cool."

"Not that they wanted you to relax," Max added. "That's why this type of bath is best taken towards the end of the day. Speaking of baths, I'll ask if they can have one ready after dinner. We'll get something to eat, bathe, then turn in. Do you think we could get the knights a slot?"

"With so many unicorns there should be no issue powering the heating array for the other bath. We will use mine, Tia can join us as well. The knights will be free to use the other bath."

"Same rules as before though, ladies and gents," Max said to the knights, some of whom were listening rather intently. "Don't get too rowdy and clean up after yourselves. You haven't let us down in keeping it clean, so we'll keep offering this benefit."

With the Keep coming into view in he distance, the group began to buzz with energy.
'Everyone enjoys a warm soak. Especially those who's work is physically demanding.'

A sudden squeal over the link caused him to wince and look to Crystal in surprise. The mare was looking at him with just as much confusion in her eyes and the two quickly realized the source of the cry.

"Seven," they said simultaneously.

Max dove into the other queen's senses, trying to pull the reasoning for her shout. He felt Crystal following him into the connection, felt her taking in the information he was. Crystal was in he hatchery, looking at-

Max blinked as Crystal's physically emitted squeal of excitement nearly matched Seven's mental one. Unable to wait any longer the proto queen took off for the Keep, and it took all of Max's willpower not to follow her.

"Max? Has something occurred?"

"T-the first egg", he mumbled, almost shaking with conflicting emotions. "It just hatched."

Luna stepped closer, using a hoof to pull her his muzzle in line with hers.
"What's the matter?"

"I- am I a mom now, Luna?"

It took a moment for Luna to comprehend the issue. The male was once more bothered by the fluidity of changeling forms, as well as the fact that, by a mammal's standpoint, he'd given birth to the hatchling. The thing was, it was Seven's body that had done he laying, so...
"I think you'd be considered the father in this case."

"But I was-"

"You were, but they were Seven's eggs. I know this may be odd to try to work out, but while you were involved, they originated from Seven."
Luna pulled him into a comforting hug.
"It is fine to feel attached to this hatchling. You have done much to see this event occur. Now go, see to your hatchling. I shall be there as soon as I am able. After all, somebody needs to stay with the knights."

Max nodded thankfully, leaning towards her as Luna pulled away to give her a kiss.
"I'll see you later Luna. Thanks."

He took to the air and was off like a shot, following after the excited proto queen. Curiosity and excitement flooded his mind. What would it look like?

<-(0)->

Luna found the changelings all gathered in the hatchery once she was finally able to tear herself away from the return proceedings. Even the other drones were there, but the mood was...tense. There wasn't the excitement she'd seen earlier. There was only a quiet energy as Max inspected the tiny hatchling on the floor before him. To Luna's concern, it wasn't crying, or even moving beyond staying upright. It seemed...absent.
"Maximus? Is something wrong?"

The stallion flinched at her voice, the breaking of the silence having caused her own ears to fold back.
"It's...the hatchling isn't sapient. It's not 'there'. Like a shell used to do simple jobs. I think...I think it has to do with the lack of a father for the drone. After all, Seven said Mother kept breeders separate, along with the queen's she allowed to lay eggs. Maybe we need both?"
he looked over to the queen who was now hovering over the second clutch, pacing nervously.
"Seven? Seven, it's fine. We're learning, right? We'll figure it out."

"But what if it isn't? What if they're like that?" The queen yelled, gesturing between a second batch of eggs and the lone drone.

"Seven, that drone is the only survivor of a first clutch! With how little we know and how unprepared we were, and still are by the way, we should count ourselves lucky a single egg hatched! After this group hatches we'll see if they're the same. If they are..."

"If they are, Max may need to mate with you," Crystal said, drawing all eyes to her. "We know Mother kept breeders, correct? Why else would she keep the breeders and the egg layers together? Hell, why would she have breeders?"

Max looked worried at the thought, his eyes flashing to Luna, but he nodded.
"We need to know how to do this. We need to know what the energy cost is before we push Crystal through these changes. Otherwise we could be facing a food shortage even with our current production. Tin, how are our stores doing?"

"Well enough, master. No drones are hungry and we have a surplus that grows every day. The eggs are sipping from that but otherwise we are fine. In fact, I'd say the queen could continue at this rate and we'll still have a surplus."

"And of our numbers steadily rise over the next few moths like this?" Max asked, the drone cocking his head as Max shared what Luna assumed was an image over their link. "Are we seeing a steady increase in energy? Because this is not going to be something that will stop. And while as far as I can tell that drone type only needs very little energy, I don't know how long they live. If they last a long while, the number we'll be seeing could get too high, especially if we can't find a way to control the number of eggs and this is a constant thing."

"I don't want them to be like that," Seven said after a moment.

"At this point it's too late if it's due to fertilization. Shells don't accept sperm, and even if they did the changelings apparently develop without it anyway. They're already growing."
Max sighed, looking back to the drone. It raised one leg, then the other, leaving Luna to wonder what he was doing. It spun around, walked a full circle of the room, and stopped where the circuit finished.

Luna felt a shiver run up her spine at the sight. It was a golem more than a child, and was likely why the tone had quickly gone from jubilant to horrified. None of them liked this outcome.
"Maximus, are you three- do you need anything?"

Max looked to her, his face mostly dead of emotion.
"We're going to need a bath as I asked earlier. Seven, will you join us?"

The blue alicorn mare watched the queen quietly as she stood over her second clutch, as though attempting to protect them from the future. After looking from the second clutch to the drone a few times she nodded, silently gritting her teeth.

<-(0)->

The bath was relaxing even after the stress of the last half an hour or so. Crystal was burbling in her own corner, still casting worried glances to Seven every now and again. Celestia and Luna were washing each other, speaking quietly about what happened while they were separated. And Seven...
Max frowned as he watched Seven buzz her wings, stirring the water for the seventh time in five minutes. She was agitated by the outcome and she was in agreement with Crystal and himself as to what the outcome would be with her drones. She was also looking rather uncomfortably at him, likely trying to figure out how to broach the subject he knew would be brought up. The race needed to continue after all.
'Queens have several holding tanks as well. She could probably last several weeks if not months on a single ejaculation. Actually, she could likely choose to create drones like that at a later time if there turns out to be a use for them.'

Max shifted, lowering his head into the water and leaving his nostrils just above the waterline. He'd done his cleaning earlier. Most of them had actually, and they'd already changed out the water once. The alicorns were pretty much clean at this point as well, just some comfort-scrubbing and hair brushing happening between them.

After soaking as long as was comfortable they went to bed, the entire group of five heading to Luna's room. The lunar alicorn brought the bed from his old room in and used a spell to fuse them together, and everyone pulled in, claiming positions near those who left them most comfortable. Luna was on an edge, Crystal wrapped in her hooves. Max was against Luna's back, with Celestia on his other side. To his surprise, Seven was under Celestia's wing, sitting closer to the alicorn than he'd ever seen before.
Ribbing her in the dream-hive occurred to him but he decided against it. Antagonizing her would only agitate her, and at this point nobody needed the extra stress.

<-(0)->

Nearly five days later, the eggs of the second clutch hatched. This time Seven didn't watch with jubilation but trepidation. Depending on the results, she may need to be seeded by the male. In reality she should have been thankful that she'd run across the breeder, but while her sisters would be happy to have all of this information, she found herself in a bit of a...a funk?
Seven rolled her eyes. She'd allowed the male to return to his task of purging her memories of the bits and pieces of his own but her mind had began to heal as well. While she would no longer fall to madness or be left catatonic after being disconnected, it was still uncomfortable finding ideas and terms that weren't her own. It was another reminder that she continued to exist because of a breeder's benevolence.

Seven growled at the word. It was another leftover from his purge. She may not have the connected memories anymore but some terms and knowledge stayed. Benevolence wasn't a word she'd ever even heard before, but she knew it now, even having not heard a single pony say it.

Watching the eggs crack, she decided to ping the other two. If nothing else, the result would concern the male. If these were the 'true drones' as Max was calling them that would mean the two of them would be working together on the next batch.
That was another mess. While she was thankful the male had fixed several things Mother had apparently deactivated, she wasn't sure about some of the fixes. She could have done without the new sensitivity for one. Though if she would still feel that odd burn in her gut after laying if she wasn't sensitive was up for debate. To that point she was extremely grateful that Celestia had taught her a few tricks to keep herself sane. She merely needed to be cautious, lest she end up a slave to the pleasure she was now able to inflict on herself.
'Not that it would be a bad way to go.'

She shook the thought away, looking to the door as Max and Crystal filed in. Both were looking rather somber. The same way she felt actually. There was no helping it though. The eggs were laid and were ready to hatch.

One cracked then another, the drones struggling out of the shells and looking about. The moment they made eye contact with her they reached for a connection to the hive, causing her shoulders to sag. She allowed the connection and the drones just sat there, waiting for orders. Just like Bot.

Sending them to the servant quarters with the same 'obey these ponies' order Max had given the other drone, Seven moved to the door, pushing Max out with her.

'Don't even question this, you know exactly what I need from you,' she sent, receiving only a nod as Max began leading the way. Unsurprisingly he led her to the flock's bedroom, Crystal following along quietly.

'We already discussed this with Luna. This is important to us all, so we are free to use her room,' Crystal explained, closing the door behind them.

Seven nodded, looking to the male.
'You're the breeder, where do you need me to stand? Or sit, or whatever I'm doing.'

Max came around to her front, pulling her a bit closer and pressing his lips against hers in what Seven recognized as a kiss. She pushed away, growling in irritation.
'I want you to seed me, not make love to me.'

'Do you want to do this again later? Because there's a reason a good rut ends with all parties achieving orgasm. When you finish, you muscles pull, bringing the seed deeper into your body. With your anatomy it's almost necessary to orgasm because you need the seed to be deep inside so you can store it. For me, the stronger the finish, the more I produce.'

'You already acknowledged that he knows more about this than you, Seven. Let him do his part and do as he asks you to. Or if it's too much for you, I can do it...'

Seven could almost hear the hope under the challenge. Crystal's obsession with mating was ridiculous, leaving her at the male and the alicorn's mercy more often than not. The fact that they had that kind of power over her but used it for mutual pleasure was something she just wasn't capable of understanding.
'I do not want this to be, I am not part of your flock. Once I find my sisters-'

Max pulled her into another kiss, this time invading her muzzle with his tongue. She flinched at the odd sensations, her mind going back to her experience with the white mare.

'Even if you leave, I'd like you to know what a good rut is,' he chuckled confidently. 'The difference between someone who just wants to get off and someone who wants their other to have just as much fun as they do.'

Seven felt herself shivering as the male slid his teeth harmlessly over the chitin covering her throat before he slid his tongue into the grooves of her shell, slipping along her leathery under-shell in a way that left her feeling confused. Why had that felt nice?
He continued to wander her body, his muzzle drifting over her and his tongue striking odd sections that made her muscles twitch with his passing. He slipped around to her flank and-

Seven gasped in surprise as the thin muscle slipped inside her egg canal with no warning. She hadn't even noticed her plates were open.
The stallion positioned himself fully behind her and began gliding all around her tunnel, even feathering against some deep barrier inside her. She felt hat barrier flex and shift, opening slightly as the male worked on her and he pulled back.

"And now you'll accept the seed better. If that was closed, nothing would have gotten in. Of course, sex could have caused it to shift, but where's the fun in that?"

Seven turned to watch as he approached her, his own body preparing for the coming actions. He was already showing a little, the plates having shifted enough to allow him to hang freely.

'What are you-'

"Oh come on, Sev- oh yea, she hasn't done this before. Oh! Let me teach her. Please?"

The male rolled his eyes before jumping on the bed and reclining on his back. Crystal quickly mounted him in a reverse of his facing, leaving her looking down on his seeding stick and...promptly took the entire thing in her mouth.

Frowning, Seven moved to watch his reaction as he was currently buried between her flanks. It seemed he was repeating his earlier performance with Crystal, both of them moaning and purring into the other.

After a few moments of stimulating each other Crystal pulled back from his shaft, the fully erect organ leaving her throat with a sucking pop.

It wasn't something she'd seen before but she was already noting the biological advantages of the rod. The rings would both help her hold or pull him deeper while simultaneously sealing her during an orgasm.
'And if it's mutual, my increased grip would form an even stronger seal, meaning it would all be collected.'

'See, I do know what I'm talking about,' Max sent even as Crystal continued to mewl in pleasure.
Since she wouldn't be party to this rut, the male had decided to finish her off another way. He was viciously eating her out, leaving the queen to moan and grind him deeper into her body. Her tongue rolled out of her mouth and hung limply, nearly touching her barrel before her entire body seized up. She ejected some fluids from her body onto his muzzle but he just chuckled, easily avoiding drowning in them. Perhaps she'd ask him for the trick to that?

Watching the male role Crystal onto the bed beside him, the proto queen giggling in delight as her orgasm ran it's course, Seven jumped onto the bed as well.

"How do you want to do this? Me on your back or you riding on top?'
Max sent her two images after that, one with Luna pressing her hips into Max's own as Luna leaned down to kiss him. The other was Max looking into a mirror as he drove himself deep into Crystal's egg canal.

Seven grit her teeth as her opening winked at the pleasures each position promised. In one she would have control over the male, and control was always nice. But the mounted position...he was the expert. Surely he'd know exactly what was needed. She wouldn't have to worry about, about disappointing someone with her lack of comprehension again.

'Don't worry. If you ever want to try that with Tia again I'd be happy to coach you. You'd have her screaming into the pillows and flooding your emotion-reserves in no time.'

'How-?!'

The male pulled her to the edge of the bed and set her in a simple mounting pose, spreading her legs slightly to pull her open a bit.
'We felt a burst of lust when she almost drowned you. So you know, while mares really likes pushing onto you when they get like that, you don't want your muzzle in there when she peaks. The ejaculate has nowhere else to go but your face. If you need to, watch for the mare's peak and swallow. It's not a perfect solution especially against Luna, but it can help.'

Seven grunted as the male mounted her and began rubbing himself against her. She could feel him sliding against her well-lubricated entrance and ended up bucking back against him, drawing a chuckle from him.

"Feels good, right?" He whispered, his warm breath blowing over her ear. "It's all uphill from here, Sev."

"S-sev?" She asked, her legs shaking a little as he continued to tease her.

"Well you seem to want to keep Seven as a name, so I'll use that until either I think of a better one or you pick a different name."

Seven was about to tell him how ridiculous the name was when he slowed, shifting to push the tip of his seeder into her body. Her entire being tensed in anxiety, only for the pressure to slow as the male began once more rubbing himself against her. This time it was his shaft's tip slowly moving up and down, parting her in the slightest increment. He twitched against her and she squealed, an electric sensation running down her spine.

"What the hell was that?"

Instead of answering he pushed in even more. Seven went cross eyed as she was filled, the pole that was being driven into her setting off nerves that the alicorn hadn't even been capable of reaching. He kept pushing too, and soon she felt him pressing against the end of her canal, against the seal that he'd opened earlier.
'T-that's it. Just finish and we'll be done.'

'Silly bug,' he chuckled, slipping his teeth along her neck once more. 'I have no intention of finishing when we just started.'

She felt him slip out, her muscular walls trembling and trying to pull him back in to no avail. Then, just as the last ring slipped out he drove himself back into her, sending more fireworks off in her body.

'B-besides. A quick rut isn't what you need. We're doing this so you can start laying proper drones. And that means I'm going to make sure as much of my seed gets as deep as possible. That means deep thrusts, and powerful orgasms.'

Seven's eyes bulged as he began in earnest, keeping true to his promise. Each and every thrust both split her wide open with his mass and drove her into the soft bed below, she felt her canal quiver and twist as the muscles tried to milk him, utterly failing to even slow the slicked up rod and only causing her to feel the rings moving in and out of her with more detail.
She gave off a gurgling moan as he began thrusting even faster, pounding her into the bed and growling in her ear.
And then he stopped.
Seven almost screamed at him. He drove into her and began gnawing on her neck, breathing deeply as he calmed them both down from the edge.

"Why!?" She screamed in fury. "Why did you stop?!?"

"Because I need to," he grunted, beginning slowly once again. Seven tried to throw him off, wanting to take control but her legs were shaking so badly she couldn't manage it. A quick hack from Crystal had her magic cut off, the proto queen merely looking at her with a smile.

"You're going to love this."

"I don't want to love it, I want this to be over. I want, I need him to finish!"
Feeling the mail picking up the pace again, she began pressing back against his thrusts as much as she could, eventually timing to drive him even deeper. She felt something, felt the tip pressing against the barrier deep inside her and hitting the opening in the center. He slowed, shifting and taking note of its location before beginning again, each thrust driving his tip almost directly against the hole.
He stopped against that barrier again, breathing hard and his dick twitching inside her body. She opened her mouth to scream at him but merely gasped, her body flashing with energy as he twitched inside of her. Something, there was a burst of energy. What-

'His seed is absolutely saturated with emotions,' Crystal answered. 'He's getting close. Once he starts doing that, he can't hold off much longer. Your entire body is going to light up in about a minute or two.'

The queen's body tensed as Max began again, the thrusts much more ragged than before. She could feel the sparks of energy causing her nerves to burn, could swear she could feel the pressure building up just behind her. Just a little more, a little more and she'd-

She felt the peak coming well before it reached her but wasn't expecting him to push her over it. Seven locked up, her egg canal twisting tightly and pulling him deeply just as he gave another powerful stroke. She felt him fully pierce that barrier, the head of his shaft and the first ring now forming a seal against the outside world. Then with another grunt and pulling her tightly against his barrel, he finished. And then Seven's ability to comprehend things ceased to function.

Something was different. As Max pumped his love right into the deepest parts of the queen, he felt his entire lower body locking up. He pulled tighter, feeling their shells creak at the strain. He felt his body churning, felt more and more seed being pumped into the queen as his orgasm continued on. Seven spurts, eight spurts. It wasn't stopping. He felt his balls clenching in their homes, driving every last bit of semen in them out into the mare, felt his body desperately trying to force more into her. Seven's body swelled with the sudden additional fluids, bits of her shell cracking and even breaking from the strain. Her belly swelled out, glowing pink with the focused emotions he was forcing into her. It was the strongest and most powerful climax he'd ever felt.

Then the orgasm ended.

He shivered as he felt one last twitch from his dick set the queen into orgasmic convulsions again, the poor mare completely lost to the world. She held him inside still and his own body refused to relax, holding the seed inside her until her body was completely stocked on both the energy and the sperm he'd delivered. Then, after nearly five minutes, he slipped out of her and slumped to the floor.

'H-holy shit.'

He felt Crystal moving them both onto the bed. He also felt her roll him over, straddling him and pressing against him in a kiss- no, that was honey.
He accepted the offering greedily, chugging down as much as she offered. When she separated he followed as far as he could before falling weakly to the bed.

"We are not doing this again without a few jars of love nearby, or better yet without Luna," Crystal told him.

Max nodded, his head still swimming. For the first time he felt empty. Like he had nothing left to give. Judging by the boated, round body next to him, Seven was experiencing the opposite issue.

"I think," he rasped, coughing a bit. "I think that I could have gotten away with just a regular rut. Pressure would have, carried it deep enough. That was, actually kind of unpleasant afterwards."

"Oh?"

"I...don't think I had the energy left to get some food. It was all used. All pushed out. felt amazing but..."

He saw Crystal sitting at his side, running a hoof gently over his cheek.
"Well as you said, this was experimental. We don't know how these things work. So we do what we think is right and hope we survive the consequences."
He saw her look over to Seven and she turned back to him with a smile.
"Though I think I'd like to experience that at least once. The look on her face and the pleasure that she leaked into the hive was another level. I may need to see if there's a way to alter my shell though."

"Why?"

"Because her shell cracked in several locations. I was going to have crack immediately come over to check you two, but it looks like she's already healing. Now get some sleep. You sound like you need it. I'll have Luna visit you later to top you off."

The changeling stallion nodded. Sleep sounded like a good idea about now. He just wanted to lay on the bed now. To forget about the world.

<-(0)->

He opened his eyes, looking around in confusion. Max frowned as he found himself still in Luna's room. He hadn't fell to the dream-hive as he usually did, and he was currently wrapped around Seven, who was still unresponsive.

He lifted his head, wincing at the slight pound in his head from the deep hunger gnawing at him.
'God, I don't remember being this hungry as a human at any point.'

Lifting a hoof and staring at the holes now scattered throughout it, as well as the holes scattered over his form, he began to worry. Some were fairly large, one even being large enough for a foal to stick their hoof through.

The door opened behind him and he realized what had woken him up. He could smell Luna's emotions from a good distance if he focused, even following their echo if he had to. Now though, he'd felt her getting close enough to feed on while he was in this state.
He carefully stepped off the bed as Luna entered the room, her steady joy turning to concern as she saw him.

"Max? Are you-"

"Honey," he rasped, cutting her off. "Honey and water."

"I'm more than happy to provide-"

Max almost took her up on the offer. She was willing, absolutely full of emotion, all directed at him. He'd pull, and pull and-
"No! No, honey for now. I don't, I've never been this bad before and I don't, I can't accidentally hurt you."

Feeling the concern shift to actual fear for him, he shook his head.
"It, the breeder-queen rut was powerful. I'm exhausted, Luna, and feel as though I'm completely spent. Please, just do as I ask. If there's leftover love we'll give it back to the hive, but for now..."

She nodded.
"Very well. I shall send someone to fetch those items. Would you like me to leave in the meantime?"

"No," he sighed. "I want you to stay. In fact I want you here with me, but if you stay I'm going to start drawing from you in earnest."
It hurt, but he didn't think she had a way to understand just how bad he was right now. With gritted teeth, he pushed on.
"I need you to leave."

When several drones came running in with the honey, including two full jars of bright pink love, carefully separated from the rest of the emotions by one of the new infiltrators, Max's mouth was watering. He drank a grand total of six jars of emotion, chugging at them desperately before moving to the pitcher of water, which he also chugged. He stood there for a few seconds while his body processed the feast, feeling the tingle of emotion running through his body again. Now that he had a moment to think about his state, he realized his mind had been sluggish. He'd completely forgotten about his hive connection, completely forgotten to contact Crystal when he woke up. She would have had him taken care of in half the time, too, since she didn't have to find a drone.

He shook off the last bit of sluggishness and looked to the queen still passed out on the bed. She was slightly bloated, with several stretch-marks and cracks showing on her shell around her abdomen.

Crack chose that moment to walk in, spending only a few seconds looking over the dazed stallion, including an uncomfortable lower-body inspection(it turned out it could bruise from a queen's vaginal contractions) before moving on the queen.

'Geeze, if this is what mating does to queens I suggest we start working on that artificial insemination thing. It may be less painful for all involved parties.'

Max chuckled, wincing as his body protested even that movement.
'I agree. Though I don't think that's completely necessary. This was an empty queen milking a full viceroy. It was...let's just say I plan on keeping honey with me if I do this with Crystal.'

'Which you likely will need to,' the drone sent from behind the queen. 'Her chitin split in several places and has started to heal in a different pattern. She's... her plates are much more flexible in this pattern. It was mostly a solid shield before, but now it's a bit or armor. It will give and flex.'

Max stumbled around the bed to get a look, lifting Seven's tail with a bit of magic while the drone continued his inspection along the mare's sides. Sure enough he was able to see the new form of the shell, the queen's body burning a bit of love to round the chitin and heal the skin that was now exposed to the air.
He reached out with a hoof, gently tugging at what was once a solid plate and finding it shifting much more easily. In fact if he pushed like this-

Seven stirred, turning to look at him in confusion.
"Why are you touching me?"

"Your shell has cracked and re-formed, Queen Seven," Crack cut in, saving Max an awkward explanation. "Seeing as he was the reason for the shift and his proto queen will be going through a similar change as soon as it's safe to do so, I did not think there was anything to object to."

She nodded, frowning as she attempted to look herself over. Max pulled at her through the link.
'Here, use my eyes. Just say what you want me to focus on.'

He felt her accept the offer and he began inspecting her form, slowly moving around her before stepping onto the bed for a closer look.

'It's...it looks like it should have hurt,' Seven sent softly.

'I think that between the mind-breaking orgasm and the overload of love, you were desensitized enough to not feel it. I know if it wasn't for Crystal I might not have survived this, since I wasn't prepared and hadn't been well supplied with love. Maybe if I was better supplied...'

'...you almost-?'
'Well let's just say I woke up suffering dehydration and a minor bout of starvation this morning. Had a mouth as dry as the Gobi desert and holes all over my legs,' Max recounted, moving Seven's tail with a hoof so she could see the altered features for herself. 'I vaguely remember Crystal giving me a boost, and considering my condition I would have been worse off.'

He let his eyes wander over the sectional plates, watching Seven shift them a bit.

'It's strange. It wasn't something I thought about before but now I can feel them. Could you push that section?'

He complied and was rewarded with a view of her clit at rest. Chuckling, he released the section of chitin.

'What are you doing? I said hold it. I need to see something.'

Max blinked at the odd request but again pulled the chitinous segment back, this time noticing the muscles of her vagina shifting and moving as she tested her control.

'Is there any way you can open it a bit wider??'

He cocked his head in thought before Shaking his head.
'Ponies can form solid objects out of magic and could likely make them see-through, but I don't know how to do it. Can you shift?'

Seven quickly tested her ability to alter her shape with several flashes of fire and found herself unable to achieve a smaller size.

'Likely because of the eggs. Don't worry about it too much. Now, can you do this?' he asked, sending an image o her with a see-through shell.

The queen flashed again, her chitin seemingly made of glass a moment later. Then he had her remove her hide from sight, then most of her muscle and flesh.

'Perfect. Now let's- ah, see? These here.'
Max pointed to the queen's lower body, specifically one of the bits he'd identified as a seed-storage. Every sac was currently bloated, as were three of the egg-sacs.

'These hold semen. That's what fertilizes your eggs. These produce the eggs, and when you push them out they'll likely mix here before getting moved out and being laid.'

Seven nodded, watching the anatomy lesson with extreme interest. She grunted, shifting a bit and suddenly Max was witness to the egg sacs contracting as they pushed out the ready eggs. One slipped into the mixing segment and passed through without any response. Max realized it was because she didn't know how to use the pipes.

'Whoa, pinch here and push there, and over there,' he instructed, pointing to the various muscle groups and sphincters even as he sent for several drones.

The queen looked at him oddly but did as he said, shifting her body and trying to find the proper muscles to follow his instructions. When she did it was like watching a brand new line cook trying to watch four dishes at once. Semen poured out and flooded the fertilization chambers, causing her to panic. This caused her to lose concentration, which also cause the eggs to slip out of the holding chambers and into her vagina along with a good amount of semen.

Max caught the soaked eggs, carefully setting them down in the sheets before the drones he'd called only a moment ago nearly knocked the door down, grabbing the eggs and taking them to the incubation chamber.

Max chuckled as the queen tried flexing and pulling at the muscles, trying to learn all of her new controls. It was fascinating, but every now and again she'd do something wrong and some of his seed would end up pouring out on the bed.
'Ya'know, I worked hard to get that into ya.'

'Shut up, these muscles are all over the place and I'm trying to figure out how to, to move everything.'

He nodded, but instead of continuing to watch he settled down next to her.

'What are you doing? I need you to watch-'

'Nope.'

He chuckled at her but otherwise pulled her into a hug.
'You did awesome. And then we'll find out if that worked. Max and Seven, Saviors of the Changeling Race. And all it took was a really good fuck.'

Curling up comfortably against the queen, he rested his head on her neck. It was amazing how many problems could be solved that way.

Forgemaster's Crucible

Luna walked into the foundry the day after the changelings had their fun. She'd heard about the odd changes they'd all found with Seven afterwards, how the shell in that section seemed more open now. It was an interesting turn of events and she found herself wondering what Crystal would look at act like after her own growth.

Walking through a section of wall that had recently been reshaped to give access to a new room, one that was currently sweltering in spite of the ventilation Max had demanded be put in place, Luna took a moment to admire the forges. Three medium-sized furnaces were currently all running, tended to by the team that had been running the single forge a while ago. All three had turned out perfect for the job and now that they had some experience they could each handle a forge on their own if needed. As it stood though, all three worked together to keep the smelters running, pouring out the liquid metal into empty molds, adding more fuel to the fires, or adding more chunks of various metals that needed smelting.
In the far end of this new courtyard sat the fruits of their labor, a pile of metal ingots sorted by metal type that in the case of titanium was currently numbering...thirty bars? It was likely more, but the other occupant of the room was hard at work with the results of their efforts, currently hammering a bar of titanium while her other hoof was giving off a faint glow.

Watching the mare work, Luna was captivated. Temper was absorbed in her work, striking here and there before returning the metal to the fire of her own forging pit, bringing out another bar and working that one until it cooled. She had several items in development at her forge, from a sword to a hoof-shovel to a hoof-claw and even a rear-leg mounted pick.

It was apparently how ponies were supposed to mine. The front legs would be equipped with either shovels or claws while a rear leg would have a pick mounted to the worker's hoof. They'd dig and scratch their way through most softer materials and buck against the stronger ones.

'But now we have two races built for digging,' she mused, noting that another metal piece appeared to be a blade. It was fairly simple though, and hadn't been sharpened yet.

Max had mentioned something about different ways to build a grindstone for sharpening the blades. One was a water-powered device, using large paddles so that the force from the river could be directed and used to spin the wheel. Another used pedals to spin the stone. They were all much more efficient than the ones she saw in Silverblood's Keep, flat whet stones being used to sharpen a single blade, sometimes taking the workingpony an hour to sharpen a single side of the weapon. With the stone moving, all one had to do was adjust the blade accordingly and press it to the stone.
'Not that I am an expert smith,' she thought with a small smile. It was likely much more complicated than either of them realized, but he swore he'd seen those sort of things before. Afterwards he'd suggested using the nearby river for a mill since the air was too calm for a windmill.

Equestria hadn't seen a mill since before Discord's rampage began.

Temper finally noticed the alicorn and squeaked in surprise.
"Your Highness! What- I mean, how may I help you, your Majesty?"

"I am merely seeing that progress is being made, Temper. Celestia and I relied on the nobles to do so for a long while and only now we're alerted to the lack of progress. So as Max had said, 'if you wish for something to be done right you must do it yourself.' If I wish to confirm that things are progressing, I must make certain to check on progress every now and again. How are you fairing? I am certain this has been a change for you."

"A pleasant change your Grace. I have always enjoyed this work but it was not possible to find this sort of work back at Silverblood Keep. I also did not know how to travel, and there would be no guarantee that I would find enough work to support myself..."

"I have seen no place where an earth pony is not wanted. At the least, a mare like yourself should be able to feed herself with no issue."

Temper winced at her statement.
"I've killed grass, your Majesty. I can work metal and stone with ease and love doing so, but please do not ask me to farm. Nopony deserves to clean up my attempts at such things."

The alicorn giggled at that.
"Truly? An earth pony unable to farm? But it is in your blood. Perhaps you do not have the proper flow of magic."

At the smaller mare's confusion, Luna frowned.
"You are aware that earth ponies oft use magic to aid them in farming correct? That you use it even now? It is why titanium is so easy for ponies to mold. To a good earth pony smith it may as well be clay. Starswirl once even told me a master of metals could work Titanium without a fire."

"I, I do not understand your majesty. I do not know magic, just how to-"

"Do not sell yourself short, Temper," Luna said, cutting her off. "I have asked about this at the Keep after Maximus alerted us to his choice. I was certain the Smith would be a unicorn but Lady Copper Road was emphatic that the best smith she'd ever seen was an earth pony. The fact Max chose you over Strike's apprentice also speaks well for you. He believes you to have the proper attitude and that your attitude is worth more than a completed apprenticeship. That willingness to work on what we need is more important than skill at this point, and I find myself in full agreement.

Temper's ears dropped and Luna giggled.

"I do not mean to disparage your skills, Temper, but you know it to be true. You will improve. But the other apprentice finished his studies. He was more experienced. We could not have use him though. What do you think he would have said to creating simple blades and tools?"

Temper nodded.
"He would have laughed at you. I know that because that was why his smithy didn't last. Somepony asked him to repair a pick and he yelled at them. A guard asked him to sharpen a blade and he threw the stallion out. He just..."

"He refused to lower himself, or do things below his level of skill. Max told me about it. He said that the stallion was still refusing work that was below him even as he sat in the ruins of his home. We do not need that. We need a pony willing to do the job. That is a hundred times more useful than a master craftspony that refuses to make bolts.
"Have you seen Maximus' plans for a grindstone? What are your thoughts on it?"

"I'm afraid I never saw anything like it before, Princess. I don't know-"

"I asked if you thought it would work, Temper. I shall not hold you to your word or take your agreement as a professional endorsement in it, I am merely looking for a second opinion before putting resources to their construction.
"It is one of several things I would like to see built, so the questions become not what I would like but what is most needed, what would bring the most benefit, and what do we have the skills, resources, and time to construct."

The blue alicorn couldn't help but chuckle at the look of confusion that rolled over the smith's face.
"Do not be too concerned about such things. All I wish to know from you is if you believe the pedal-powered grindstone would work better."
The lunar mare's smile dropped slightly at the look of embarrassment that came over the smith.
"Have you never sharpened a blade?"

"N-no your majesty. My lessons did not get that far."

"Very well," Luna said, turning to the changeling working one of the forges. "Ember, I would like word to be passed to the knights. Ask that a pony with experience sharpening different sorts of blades come to the smithy. It shall be their place of duty until further notice. I shall verify this with Shimmering at dinner tonight. Turning back to Temper, Luna's smile returned.
"On that same note, ask a servingmare for a bath and a proper brushing. I wish for you to be present at dinner tonight. While you may not understand the full importance of the meeting, we may have questions for you after the meal when we are discussing future plans."

Temper stared as Princess Luna walked away. A dinner with the royalty? She didn't know how to act with nobles, much less royalty! Oh, she was going to mess this up so bad she'd end up fed to one of those-

"Calm down, Temper," one of the forge workers said, seeing her expression.

"Calm? I don't remember the last time somepony invited me to dinner and that was a princess! I'm going to-"

"Hey Ember, you said the big male bug-guy was nice, right? Do you think he'd help her out?"

Temper watched the bug-thing cock it's head while staring at a wall. After a few moments she nodded, then shook her head. At Temper's questioning stare, the first stallion just chuckled.

"It's weird, but the bugs can talk to each other even if they're not in the same room. Some ponies have started to take advantage of it, but the leader-bugs have asked we keep it to important things. Otherwise the hive thing starts getting too loud. too much information flying around."

"I reckon this is important enough. And if it isn't, he'll just say so. Nopony's abused it enough to anger the bigger bugs so we should be fine."

The changeling buzzed her wings and fluttered over to the small group.
"Lord Maximus would be happy to instruct you. He said that he plans on teaching another as well. Once you are finished with your current projects, please report to the maid-quarters. They will make you presentable, and Lord Maximus shall instruct you and your fellow student in proper etiquette."

<-(0)->

Max was grinning as Temper walked into the dining room. She was radiating nervousness in such large amounts that he was surprised the mare wasn't shaking. That being said, she was at least showing up. Crystal as currently on the way with Seven, the second one that was being taught a bit of manners for this evening. It would be the first dinner involving the nobles that Queen Seven was to be appearing in and he'd be damned if he was going to let a mare who just reached the pinnacle of her species skip out on it.

"Hello Temper. Please stay there, Crystal's bringing the second in a moment."

Max heard the shouting long before the door opened, but eventually the door was pushed open and Seven was shoved in, all while shouting various expletives at the taller mare.

'She's a bit taller now, though. Another molt and she'll pass Crystal.'

"Seven? I know you don't like this, but I also know you're aware of your current position. I'm not going to demand you do this, but I need you to understand you may have to do this in the future. Would you rather make these mistakes around us, or during your first attempts at diplomacy?"

"I do not need to use this, I can-"

"Don't lie to me, and don't lie to yourself," Max said. "You know how well this is working. To keep having access to this amount of energy you need to learn how to interact with ponies. Even basic interactions are considered diplomacy on some level. Now would you rather keep this simple way of life or go back to what Mother preferred?"

"Um, I'm sorry but what's going on?"

"This is Queen Seven. She recently went from a proto-queen to a full fledged queen, and we hope the most recent clutch of eggs is a sapient batch, unlike the last few. If she ever hopes to create her own hive though, she'd have to interact with others. Something Mother never taught any of the proto queens under her rule. After all, why would they need to know diplomacy when Mother ruled everything."

"And this, Mother pony?" Temper asked.

"Mother was queen of the Hive, the biggest changeling hive and possible the only one at that time. Discord managed to shatter it and with it, Mother's power. While attempting to drive him off, Mother used all the energy she could, which for changelings is very dangerous. Our energy is our lifeblood. She kept going though, pulling energy from other changelings that were in her hive. Let's leave that for later, and be glad she's likely dead. She was not a nice person."

Moving to the table, Max put out a few plates at the table. He then took a seat at the head of the table.

"First things first. Your seat. If you're not certain where to sit, wait for someone to offer you a seat. Since you are a guest, it's completely fine to wait for that. If you come into a room and try to take a seat next to say, Celestia, and she wants someone else to sit there, you'll embarrass yourself. She'll ask you to move, likely after most of the guests have arrived. Taking a seat like that is rude both to the host and to the other guests and shows arrogance. Not a good first impression."

Max marked a few plates by putting small plates to correspond with a few of the cushions.

"These are usually taken by Celestia, Luna, Crystal and myself. These positions over here are taken by Lady Redstreak, Lady Sapphire, and Lord Shimmering Barricade. There are a few other nobles that are still hanging on to their positions, but otherwise it's become a bit quieter here."

Seven looked at the unmarked positions in irritation.

"So I am expected to take one of the lesser positions?"

"You're an unknown at best, Seven. At worst, you previously attacked me, as Shimmering Barricade is aware of. What would it say about him if we had you sit at a higher position at the table? A stallion that has been loyal the entire time?"

Seven slumped, pouting. She grumbled a bit but otherwise nodded and moved to a seat. Temper did as well, sitting on the opposite side of the table from the larger mare.

"Now the next issue you're likely to run into is forms of address. Most of the ponies that you'll see are nobility of some sort or another, and while you don't need to use their formal title at all times, avoid insults unless you know them. Trust me on this one, it's from experience. I insulted a mare and ended up having her challenge me to a duel. Most of the remaining nobles wont do that, but keep in mind that some of them are extremely petty. Yes Seven, more petty than you can be. I don't doubt that."

"There are things about the different utensils and such but that's not too important in this setting. Don't worry about that. Best thing you two can do until you become comfortable in this sort of scenario is to remain calm, ask questions if you have them, and just watch others."

"I, is there anything I will be required to do?" Temper asked.

"For this dinner? Not really. There may be some questions, and Luna will be asking Shimmering to supply you with a knight who knows how to properly sharpen a blade, but otherwise you're just making an appearance. It's for our benefit more than your own, as this way the nobles know who the new smith is."
"That's really all you two need to know. Just try the food, don't gorge yourself, mind your p's and q's, and do your best to remain calm. Seven, you're lucky here. If you have a question, you can ask me. Temper, if you don't know the answer, just say so. I had Crystal look at the forge room and it already looks better, so your position isn't in danger. I promise."

"P's and q's?" Temper asked.

"Say please, thank you, your welcome, could you please pass the biscuits, things like that. Be nice. I know some of them won't be; even though Redstreak is better than most she'll get a little petty when she's talking down to someone of lesser 'breeding'."

"Talk down to me and I'll rip their throats out," the queen growled, causing Temper to cower.

Max just sighed. This would be a test alright. And not just for Temper and Seven.

<-(0)->

Thankfully there wasn't too much to worry about at the meal. While that didn't keep Temper from looking like she was in a room full of rabid dogs, it did mean she didn't have to worry about being viciously torn into for lack of manners. The same went for Seven as well.
Not that anyone would have spoken to her if Celestia and Luna hadn't initiated a few conversations with the uncomfortable mare. Seven looked like she was liable to bite anyone who even looked at her funny.

On the whole though, the dinner was a success. Elbows were rubbed, plans were made, and the new blacksmith was introduced. Shimmering was ecstatic, looking forward to getting a few blades replaced while others would need to be repaired. The learning curve Temper was looking at was steep, but considering her knowledge of metals and how to work them it was only a matter of experience. Not saying much when she had a mark of tongs and a hammer.

Luna also mentioned a few bandits that had been attempting to gain a foothold in the area and that they had likely been survivors from Copper Road Keep. They were quickly shown the error of their ways when she stormed their brand new camp with about forty knights.

"You did well, Seven," Max said afterwards, having pulled both the queen and Temper aside to speak to them in the private dining room. "A little unapproachable but I think that's what you wanted. It can be nerve wracking though, so I don't blame you. If you have any questions you can always ask. If not myself, than Celestia."
"As for you, young mare," he sniffed haughtily, looking down his noise at the still shaking smith. "You did fine. Relax, Temper. It's over. Go ask for some wine or something to calm your nerves and get some sleep. The forges and smithy will still be there in the morning."

He grinned as she jumped just before reaching the door, Luna, Crystal and Celestia walking in before she could escape. She squeaked in surprise and darted around the others, leaving the changelings and the alicorns alone in the dining room. The beings quickly took their spots at the table, pouring drinks and passing them around.

"That went better than I expected," Luna said.

"I still think that it was a bad idea," the white mare disagreed.

"We need to get everyone used to each other, unfortunately," Max explained. "Seven needs to learn to be more comfortable around those who can be just as volatile as she can."
"I'm right here," Seven growled.
"As for Temper, well-"

"If she does well, the Royal Smith could be a lifetime position, a Knighthood or even an elevation to nobility," Luna said.
At Celestia's look of surprise, the Lunar alicorn giggled.
"It was something I discussed with Maximus. While I will not do so now, once we are well established we will have the ability to name nobles and give titles. It comes with being princesses."

Celestia hummed, looking to her drink thoughtfully. Taking a sip of water, she nodded.
"I suppose it makes sense. I had actually forgotten about that. By the stars, titles were given as rewards for deeds done. Between the forge, the well, planning the wall, and helping us with the farms, there would be no reason not to grant Maximus such a title."

"I do not remember, are we allowed to give specific titles or are they merely general titles of nobility?"

Max rolled his eyes.
"No Luna, you can't name me 'Royal fuck-toy.' That's an abuse of power."

"Fie, where has your sense of humor gone?"

"Oh, it would be funny," Max chuckled. "But after the fifth year I think I'd be done laughing."

Luna's smile dropped at the statement.
"Oh. Those are permanent, aren't they?"

Even as Luna blushed in embarrassment, Crystal, Seven, and even Celestia broke into giggles or laughter.

"You would be six hundred years old and still carrying the title 'Royal Fuck-toy," Crystal howled, falling off of her cushion.

"Consort's fine with me unless there's some rules I' not aware of. Member of Luna's Flock is fine too," Max said at length, taking a sip of his tea. "It's been my pleasure to help, especially considering all you've done for me, Luna. I could spend a century doing everything I can to help and I still wouldn't be close to repaying you for saving me when I first arrived."

"We saved each other, Maximus. Do not forget that," she replied. "I was...I was considering the same course Tia was taking, only I wouldn't have used the Elements of Harmony. There's no telling the damage I could have done to myself."

"I suggest a movie night!" Crystal said. "We can try some new kinky stuff tomorrow."

"I suppose I can wait," Luna huffed.

Max chuckled at Luna's feigned disappointment.
"Any requests? Adventure, horror, comedy, romance..."

"Funny."
"Adventure."
"I wouldn't mind seeing a battle."

"I want to see humans this time," Seven said, drawing looks of surprise from the rest of the table.

The stallion nodded.
"Alright, I'll think about it during the bath. Warm bath, then a movie in the dream-hive. Sounds like a plan."

He jokingly put his hoof towards the center of the table and immediately Luna and Crystal placed their own hooves over his. It took a little, but Celestia was soon pressured into joining leaving only one remaining.

"Come on, Seven."
"Join us Sev, it is your destiny!"
"If I am able to suffer through this, so can you."

With a final growl, Seven placed her own hoof on the top of the pile.

"Luna stinks on three, one-two-three-Luna-stinks!"

"Maximus!"

He was out the door before Luna made it across the table to him, tearing down the hallways towards the bathing room. With the thundering hoof-falls of an irate princess behind him, only one thing was on his mind.
'It's good to be home.'

Author's Note

We need to bring this word back into modern use. Fie is awesome. I love using it.

On another note, I had someone asking me why I was using odd metals. The truth is I read somewhere that the royal guard used gold because iron is both extremely rare and going by old fairy tales, it's nasty against any magic user. Thus not only would it be hard to work with if every time a smith touched it they'd be burned, but who would use a tool that you need special protective items to use? Therefore you will be seeing more fantasy-based metals. Iron is super-rare and would be a god-slayer, or in this case an alicorn-slayer, but you wouldn't see billy-bob-pone down manestreet using an iron hammer to fix his roof.

Progress, even if it's slow

Max sat at the breakfast table, surrounded by the most important mares of the age. Well, two were definitely important. Seven was much more important due to her being the only breeding queen, and Crystal had Luna's ear(and her tail-end). So overall, pretty important. The current topic of discussion? Last night's movie.

"-no such thing as the undead. A creature cannot remain in its body after the body has ceased to function."

"T'was obviously a magical binding. We have not even begun to delve into the depths of magic, Tia. What makes you think such a curse would be impossible?"

"Curses are not real."

"Just because Starswirl said it does not make it so!"

Seven stirred her drink thoughtfully.
"You said there were larger battles to come, Max?"

"There are. This was the tip of the iceberg. The story's just started; it's a three parter."

"Three? And it was-are the other's as long?"

"Yup," he nodded, looking to Seven curiously. "You enjoyed it. That came as a surprise."

"While many parts were boring, I will admit some of the battles were exciting and some of the individuals were...fun to listen to. The silliness of the short ones as well as the bickering of the tall and short warriors was especially interesting."

"Yea, I always enjoyed their friendly competitions, especially because of how strange it is when you consider it. Battle is not a nice experience and yet there they are, joking about achieving a higher kill-count. I'll do the next movie tonight if you like. Consider yourselves lucky, I had to wait several years to see them all."

"I was especially impressed by their abilities to mask themselves," Celestia added as she stirred her grits. "They were all humans, correct? Yet one looked almost divine while others were grotesque, even though they were all human."

"Makeup is one of the oldest creations on the planet," Max explained. "As we gain access to new technologies, we tend to have at least one or two people who go back over what we already have and ask how it can be improved. The issues come with accessibility. Just because we can reach the moon doesn't mean everyone can try out their own experiments on moon dust or check to see the effects of lowered gravity on cooking."

"Viability. You used that term before when speaking of things we could use. Like...plumbing I believe you called it. The material needs would be much too great for our current means," Luna said.

"Yea, you'd either need to dig out a sewage system, which I'm still recommending and should be easier with either the dogs or changelings, or install pipes. The best metal solution would be corrosion-resistant, and I don't think we have enough information to know which pipes would work best in that case, and that's if we can get the amount of metal processed and worked to make miles of piping that we'd need."
Shaking his head, the male chuckled.
"Anyway, as more and more new technologies are either discovered or rediscovered you'll find both better ways to create them as well as ways to simplify the processes. That's advancement in the simplest terms. The wagons for instance? Those things are fairly simple and yet we only have four in the keep at the moment, two being owned by nobles. I owned a self-powered wagon back home, one that had a decent cargo capacity and that could travel pretty quickly. It's why I've been pushing for different areas of advancement. Even if I could make a car myself, the people of this world can't create the fuel I'd need. What good is a car without gas? What good is a rune without the magic to power it?"
"Back to the movie though, there are things humans have recognized as crucial to storytelling. The protagonist, the hero. The antagonist, the villain. In this movie they're fairly obvious but a good movie usually has more than one of each. Strider for instance is also a protagonist, not just Frodo. Each will have their own story, and the next two movies will see their story diverge. So be ready for that; the story is going to get really complicated."

"Ah, I believe I understand." Seven finally announced. "As rulers, the alicorns will be dealing with multiple stories at all times."

"True, but not the real reason for the movie. For one I just really enjoyed it and thought it was an excellent display of both what humans can do with technology and makeup, as well as what a good story looks like. This one is really good not just in the narrative, but in the lore and how the writer created the world. There were maps, a language for the elves, Tolkien was very good at what he did.”

“Perhaps, but I also see possibilities. Binding invisibility spells to rings, blades that act as warnings to the presence of specific species-“

“-illusions of fire that would terrify the uninformed, the idea of warding a gate with a locking phrase, one that will only open to those who know the words,” Seven continued, her own smile becoming dangerous. “The idea of a hive in the trees. I know there are large forests out there in this world, maybe even as large as the one we saw. I also didn’t know a simple sheet of mithril could do that.”

“I do not think it can,” Celestia said interrupted. “It may merely be a part of the tale, or perhaps Earth-mithril is stronger?”

“Earth-mithril is a myth. It’s a fantasy metal. As is adamantium and saronite. After all, we haven't found magic in any of our metals, so maybe other metals would hold magic, or perhaps worlds with magic would have different metals? Don’t assume any properties of metals you see in these stories are real. If you're curious, ask. I'd rather have you ask me about silver than assume something based on a movie and waste time and money building something the material won't work for.”

Celestia nodded.
“And since nopony else is saying it I shall. Those creatures unsettled me.”

“The ones that looked like tall ponies?” Luna asked. “I admit they were strange, but I figured they were beasts of burden.”

“As the taller one, she is closer in appearance to them,” Seven said. “I imagine seeing a creature, especially a mindless beast, that is similar in appearance and coloration to herself was a bit unsettling.”

“I understand,” Max said with a nod. “I think the closest we have to a species that looks like us but is a beast is the ape. Nothing like the comparison between alicorns and horses though.”

“I also noticed fire seems to be a very prevalent thing. Do humans fear fire?” The white mare asked.

Max cocked his head.
“Not exactly. Our relationship with fire is infinitely more complicated than that. There’s two sides to fire. The destroyer, an entity that burns all, living and dead, with equal fury, and then there is the life-giver. With fire we cook, we purify water, we warm ourselves, and we bring light to the darkness. That’s why the monster in the mines was so scary. It was something more powerful than a primal force. Something that ignored the rules of fire.”

“So humans would find ponies scary?” The Lunar alicorn asked.

“You two? Of course. Two immortals that control the sun and moon, you’re deities by most definitions. And humans don’t just worship what they love. Many worship what they fear.”
Max smiled at as he imagined it.
“Even normal ponies would be seen as unnatural and dangerous. Unicorns that use magic, Pegasi that fly even though physics says they shouldn’t, Earth ponies who can shape metal and push crops to their limits, changelings that can alter their forms, and even the diamond dogs who can dig through rock like it’s sand. All these races bend the rules, and humans aren’t used to that. It would be a terrifying time while they learned to adapt to these new rules. Some would be fine, but a lot would panic.”

“But then you’d start trying to learn how to use it to your advantage,” Crystal giggled. “I like that. To look at a balrog and say ‘they would make an excellent heat-source for a forge’ or better yet to look at a rushing river and say ‘we can use this to grind our grain.’ I feel that way sometimes now, and it feels amazing!”

“I will admit I like being able to think in more directions then mere survival, as many of us were trained to in the Hive. I, I really must find my sisters and share this. Not just the ability to lay eggs, but to be able to think in multiple directions.”
“For instance, I am well aware of the dangers of merely handing the ability to lay eggs over to them. Most would immediately attempt to use the fix, draining their likely minimal food reserves in days. They’d attempt to harvest more, but eventually they’d all probably starve. Because several queens living in close proximity may not be able to survive that sort of demand.”
Seven sighed, staring into her cup.
“Being able to consider these things is both a gift and a curse. They will not understand why I deny them their right. I only hope they trust me enough to listen to reason.”

“Only going to be one way to find out, Seven,” Max said.

The queen nodded, her expression dark.
“I know.”

<-(0)->

For nearly five months everything was calm. The castle was expanded in several ways, from a few small hive/storage rooms to a new and larger treasury(to which Lady Sapphire was assigned most of the time, sorting and cutting gems in such a way as to maximize their value or making note of which ones were being removed from the vault for enchanting purposes).
Patrols began to include the odd changeling, and a new group was created after a brief panic with a small blaze in the shanty-town outside the walls. The first fire-response team, a mixed-race group that were normally peasants or knights with additional training as overseen by Maximus. By adding a few different alarms throughout the town, the fire-response team was able to reach the fire within a few minutes of the alarm being raised, a vast improvement from the peasantry fleeing in terror while a few tried throwing water at an inferno.

The first attempt at a hospital was also made, a small-ish and wide-open building more akin to a warehouse that could hold dozens of patients built in a second spoke of their castle wall-wheel. The doctors attempting to apply were heavily scrutinized and Max spent every chance he could adding to Crack’s library of medicinal knowledge. The changeling drone had complete control over the hospital at the end of the day, too. If any doctor hoped to make it, he had to either prove his knowledge, an impossible feat given Crack was working with Maximus' medical knowledge, or agree to study medicine and start as an assistant until the drone was comfortable with their efforts. More than a few medicine mares were insulted by the new rules and some even left, but after considering why Max wasn't about to complain. They could take their damned leeches with them.

Finally, a trader arrived. An honest to god trader dragging along a small wagon of goods and looking to make a living for herself. While it almost passed by without their knowing, the addition of so many eyes to the hive meant Crystal and Seven knew about the trader before the guards did. Therefore the mare and her husband, a brutish looking male in armor, were met not just by a bustle of curious peasants but two large alicorn mares who also took a look at their wares, as well as three large changelings.
He’d debated on giving them a small jar of honey in return for a trinket that had caught his eye but he didn’t want to make them a target. The lord of a Keep was one thing, a pair of traders walking down the forest paths would be hit by starving changelings before they knew what happened.

<-(0)->

Max rolled his neck as his attention was pulled from his notes. Around his new desk were a plethora of notes and scrolls on the ideas he'd decided were viable as well as his calculations for changeling energy consumption. It was a pretty easy thing to set up once he found a decent unit for love energy. The trick had been finding that love to energy conversion unit. Naming it was...he'd been outvoted four to one on that topic.
"Still think Kiss is a stupid name for an energy unit," he grumbled.

The average changeling drone used about ten, er, Kisses per day with a variance of 1-3 Kisses if their work was physically intensive. If magic was involved that number could rise exponentially, as the magic being used was a direct burn of energy. As such any magic use by changelings was intensely regulated until such a time as large reserves could be created.
Which wasn't happening with their new queen going through so much energy in egg laying and egg care. In fact even with Seven's low egg count, the sheer number of eggs that they were maintaining and supplying kept their outgoing supply about even with their intake.

As such Crystal was still in her proto queen stage even after five months, unable to mature until they had either found a better source of energy or the number of drones bringing in more than enough energy to survive on was higher. That was one of the things he felt was holding them back. Many of the drones were terrified of ponies, in some cases more so than the ponies were of them. As such only a few of the first drones were really bringing in any additional emotion. Several even outright refused to form relationships, stating it wasn't their job. That they were workers or soldiers, not harvesters.

Still, Crystal and Seven had at least come to an understanding. The two were fond of swapping now, Crystal because she wanted to experience motherhood and Seven because she was learning just how restricted an egg laying queen was in movement and schedule. Perhaps in the future they'd learn how to focus the egg laying over certain times or get it to fit their schedules, but as it stood the mare was waking up at odd hours every week to lay more eggs.
'Just glad she took my advice and kept the number low. Otherwise we'd be swimming in eggs and that would be a problem.'

While the low egg count helped keep the love drain manageable, what they'd found to be the real saving grace was the true drones. By laying those for the majority of the clutches, only every fourth or so clutch being fertilized, they were able to more than half the resource drain. They'd also found other uses for the golem-like drones.
Basic tasks, like cleaning and maintenance. Dangerous tasks, times that they didn't want to risk losing an actual drone. It was a hard mental jump to make but when he looked at it 'realistically' the drones were basically made for this. They were disposable. They were a resource.

And that was a terrifying idea to Maximus.

To be able to throw away life in this way was built into the changeling form. The queens were all but required to lay eggs, and this second type of drone was both cheaper from a resource perspective and something you could throw away if needed. He couldn't even fault anyone for thinking in that way; it was the way these drones were supposed to be used!

He sighed, looking to Bot as the drone waited in the corner for orders. It was already looking ragged and old even after a few months. It was likely a good thing though. The true drones were not meant to last, and it meant that it would keep numbers within a certain level once things leveled out. Once the true drones began dying as new eggs were laid.
"Scheduled breeding, this is ridiculous. And yet letting Crystal and Seven lay as much as they desire would kill us all."

Bot moved on his command, opening the door as Luna approached. The mare was a little more settled around Bot by now, but many ponies found the true drones a worrying if not scary presence.

"Maximus, will you be joining us for dinner?"

"Yes, I'm just doing some last minute calculations. There's just so much to do and the queens are already stressed with eggs and making lists of all the changes that were made to their bodies so far in the name of repairs, that means they're not watching intake and output. We're fine for now, but I'm so glad Crystal listened and held off. Add the two other drones that showed up last month, we're keeping afloat. In fact, we're saving a little love for a rainy day. But if we had two fully functional queens that would not be the case. We'd be looking at a shortage with our current intake. I've let a few drones do some passive gathering like they're used to, but I also have them reporting any and all changes in their target's habits. That's actually what that stack over by the wall is. A study on prolonged unaware feeding. Three different 'lings using three different methods. It's not producing nearly as much as Flick is with her new herd but its what changelings are used to. Even if there are negative effects we can use them to find other changelings in the future. It's also the first real documented proof that undisguised gathering is the way to go."

"You have actual numbers now, not just guesses," Luna said, nodding. She approached the desk and looked over his work, frowning. "Max, how can you read this?"

He looked down. It was all in English; well, most of his notes were. Then he realized that some of the reports were in changeling script, there was one or two papers in earth pony, and another in unicorn...and focusing on them he had no problem reading all four languages.
"I uh, think I'm pulling information. Like how Crystal and Seven will ask for stuff? I just don't really think about asking. I'll ask if it's bothering anyone, but I haven't heard anything."

"Well I'm certain Seven will be happy to know that you're keeping the notes in a language most creatures cant read. In fact she may find it comforting that she can't read it."

"I think she could as long as she was connected to me. Actually there's a good chance she could read English quite well even without the connection considering how many memories she's eaten."

The mare tensed, her wings flaring slightly.

"No, not like that. I mean her mind has had to process them. I didn't find them all Luna. Her mind had recovered enough that it could start healing on its own, and it sort of incorporated those extra memories. At least that's what I think happened. I don't think she purged them herself as she couldn't tell what was hers and what wasn't. She's also griped at me a few times for strange terms or ideas."

"If you are certain no damage has been done. I still find this interconnected mind web difficult to understand even with your explanations and examples."

Max chuckled.
"Luna, I have a hard time understanding it myself and I have real-world examples of what's going on. The issue I run into is computers were both designed for that kind of sharing and needed a physical connection to each other for the longest time. Wireless stuff was catching on and becoming commonplace for computers, but it was taking an old concept and improving it, making the computers use signals to communicate with each other. Old hat at that point. Problem people ran into was power, signal readability, and how expensive the equipment was."
"Converting that to changelings though, we have better range than the best wireless routers I've seen, can transfer a lot of information ranging from actual communications to images and memories, and we can even transfer consciousness. That's big. I don't think we're just projecting when that happens, I think it's an actual transfer of the mind into the other body. Otherwise Seven and I would have felt what the other was doing during those days we were swapped. I don't have those memories or sensations though. When she transferred back, she took the memories with her."

"You're giving it more thought than most of the changelings, I see," Luna said with a smile. "Do you have any idea how long before Crystal will be able to mature?"

"Too long," he replied, making a few last notes before standing. "The drain isn't dangerous, but Seven isn't going anywhere if you haven't noticed. She'd starve quickly out there at the rate she's burning energy. it also reinforces my opinion. You wouldn't be able to supply two producing queens. It may harm you, it could very well cause permanent emotional damage to you if we pushed it. I'm not taking that risk and neither is Crystal. As it stands we're comfortable and making a small profit but all it would require would be a bad stunt by a rogue changeling to change that."

"The issue with living on the good feelings of others. I would think that the individuals in the keep and the peasants would help. You're certainly popular with the fire fighter idea."

"That's...it's not like our connection. To them I'm not an individual. Most may have seen me but there's no real connection. I'm an idea, a being that exists in some far off place that they'll likely never see. Being grateful is also different than having a meaningful emotional connection."

"So the connection is just not strong enough. I was sort of hoping that would help."

"Don't get me wrong, it's nice and it means I get a nice burst of energy just by walking around outside but its not something I can keep the hive running on."

Luna nodded.
"As with running the keep being more involved than anyone bothered to tell us. In theory things should be simple. When it comes time to actually implement things it gets much more difficult."
"Elder Duke will be visiting tomorrow. Something about a strange creature flying by their cave a few times."

"How are they doing? I haven't managed to visit them lately."

"Well enough. They're more focused n rebuilding a small city at the moment, which Crystal and Seven find more comfortable than Tia or myself. It's mostly underground, a few holes in the earth that Crystal has asked be marked so there aren't any accidental deaths like..."

"I still feel bad about that even now. But unfortunately that's sometimes the only way we learn about an issue."

"Yes. As I was saying, they're beginning to grow. I think I even heard a few young ones last time. If they were newborns or merely young though, I do not know. I do not have enough experience with their kind to be able to tell."

"What? Luna, that's racist!" Max laughed. "How could you! Next you'll be telling me all changelings look alike or that a dragon looks like a lizard."
"Don't do that by the way. I don't know if it's a thing, but calling a dragon a lizard was a grave insult in most games and stories. Good way to end up in a fight and since those things can be huge-"

"-I should avoid doing so. Yes, I will definitely take the advice of the male who has insulted nobles within minutes of meeting them."

Opening the door to the dining room and catching a quick glimpse of the three other important females, he rolled his eyes.
"Right, because they actually were nobles. I'm still convinced most of them were lying."

The two sat down, several serving ponies bringing out the evening meal nearly the moment they were settled. Max, Crystal and Seven were also served glasses of glowing emotion. Max and Crystal's glasses were a mosaic of colors while Seven's was completely pink, as was the small jug of additional emotion that was set down near the exhausted looking queen.

"Being a full queen not all it's cracked up to be?"

"Be quiet," Seven shot back, her scowl slipping into a small smile. "It's exhausting, but I don't regret it. Not when I have someone willing to help."

Crystal brightened at the compliment, but Celestia just looked confused.
"How can she help? I thought you were laying eggs and overseeing a hive."

Seven smiled, looked to Crystal, and then Crystal started speaking.
"It's easy when you can trade off duties, even if they're bound to your body."

"So Crystal has experienced a few clutchtes?" Max asked. "How did it treat you, Crystal?"

"It was...tiring but I enjoy it. It's not something I ever thought I'd experience!" she giggled, jittering slightly in her seat. "I know you said we need to wait and I've seen your calculations, but I still can't wait!"

"I see a few flashes of orders about the wall from time to time, how's it coming?" Max asked before beginning to eat.

"It's going well. With the diamond dogs and changelings we're also looking at ways to magically reinforced the ground around the city so that enemies cant simply dig through the dirt. We're also improving the walls a bit, as the dogs can apparently shred stone."
Crystal, still in Seven's form, nodded.
"It was fun, overseeing defenses for once. I've done so many infiltrations and even an invasion or two, but I've never had to see to a defense. Knowing a few things about both my own tactics and having that unicorn to add what ponies tend to work with, I think we're doing well. We're also doing the wheel thing you mentioned. It's easy enough to expand with a bit of magic to meld the corners."

"Are you certain you don't want me to meld the wall? A solid stone wall would be stronger."

"It wouldn't hold to weather though," Seven replied, sitting next to Luna now. "If it gets cold the wall will crack and break."

"Speaking of cold, how long are the seasons?" Max asked, looking to the alicorns. "It feels like it's been summer for several months."

Luna looked at Celestia for a moment before looking back to the changeling stallion.
"Seasons?"

Author's Note

Not much happening, just some more progress on the town. Headed to Chicago soon(today or tomorrow), so I may not get anything else posted. Merry Christmas. Next chapter of Sub will be done shortly...hopefully.

How did you two qualify for this position exactly?

Max stared at Luna.
Luna stared back.
Celestia was also staring at Maximus, while Crystal and Seven were staring in turn at the alicorns.

"You...don't know what seasons are. You're in control of the sun and moon, the heat of the sun being the primary source of seasons while the moon changes the tides and you have no idea what the seasons are."

Luna looked to Celestia one more time before turning back to Max.
"Tides?"

"Oh my god," Max whimpered, burying his face in his hooves. "This is, I don't even know how this is supposed to work in magic pony land. I mean, sure we're doing well but I can't see an eternal summer being good for the planet."

"The weather is fine. Why would you want it to change?" Celestia asked.

"It's not the weather as you feel it, but the weather of the world as a whole," Seven explained, her connection to the male giving her memories of winters and springs. "While it may be difficult for you two to pull off at the moment, spring is often a rainy season. Deserts will become inhospitable in an eternal summer, while seasons allow rainfall. It also helps with weather in areas that are not subject to pony rules. You've already seen it outside the keep, the clouds that float randomly about. They don't come into our airspace because of pony magic."

"Something about pegasus weather magic leaves behind a kind of...magic soup that slows weather that they don't control. The more active they are, the less natural weather you experience. I want to say this means that if we cut off the weather patrols we can get some natural rain and not just have the pegasi grabbing clouds that are floating by, but we need to explain to not just the knights but the peasants as well that the rain is necessary. That a little bit of natural order saves us time and effort."
The changeling stallion rubbed his temple, trying to gather his thoughts.
"It's fine, we're fine. The world is still in a recovery phase right now so a few nice solid summers is to be expected. We may need to start changing day length a little bit to fluctuate temperatures. Experiment a little. Hot and cold air make wind, which is the basis of a lot of weather systems. This, this is going to take time and effort. We're going to need a way to record temperature accurately, as well as-fuck, humidity and pressure won't be calculable for now because of pegasi. Oh god, this is so much more complicated than I ever thought."

Luna was still looking a little confused but smiled.
"You were successful in identifying several other issues, Maximus. We'll trust you on this. But we're going to need more information. I do not recall Starswirl mentioning seasons before, nor do I recall reading about anything like that from before Discord's reign."

"Did you at least, was there snow and rain?" he asked. If ponies were completely unfamiliar with any kind of natural weather they may see even uncontrolled rain as some horrible thing.

Celestia thought for a moment.
"Rain we are aware of. Snow is...the powder on mountains?"

"It's frozen rain. When water falls to a certain temperature, it becomes ice, correct?" Seven said. At the nods of the alicorns, she smiled. "When it gets cold outside, the rain can become either sleet, which freezes on contact with anything, even clothes if they're not worn, hail, which is ice falling from the sky, or snow, which is soft ice crystal formations that stick together and gently fall down. If it's cold enough and it snows, you can find yourself staring at a landscape that is completely covered in the stuff."

"I'll show you what different seasons look like in a dream tonight, if you'd like. We'll discuss weather as well, and...we really need better maps," Max said, his voice trailing off. There was, god there was always so much more stuff that he was finding was missing. Things that on Earth were so unchangeable he wasn't even aware things could be wrong with them.
"We'll figure it out. Maybe a way to slowly acclimate people to seasons again. If this world is as big as I anticipate, there may be others who depend on them. First reactions would probably be to say screw those guys but we know nothing about the surrounding territories. I'd say countries but at this point in the world..."

"There aren't any as far as we are aware. Countries are usually a united governing body ruling hundreds if not thousands. As it stands you rule over a single piece of land. While it feels like a large amount, it is only the smallest of starts," Crystal added. "Mother's empire was comprised of thousands of changelings. Drones, queens, not to mention the hundreds to thousands of captured ponies used for food. The hive itself was almost four times the size of this keep and it expanded in all directions. Add the outposts for foragers and raiding parties; she controlled a vast area. And I do mean she controlled it. Nothing happened without her say-so."

"That absolute control was what caused her to snap so quickly when Chaos decided to visit. Suddenly her perfectly controlled world was in ruins and she did not allow even the smallest perceived slights to go unpunished, often by death at the least. What he did? She wanted to torture him until the end of time."

Celestia winced.
"That...makes sense I suppose. I also vaguely remember one of Discord's weather changes dropping clumps of ice from the sky. They were multi-colored though, and had different flavors."

"I think my favorite was the red ones. It tasted of cherries."
Luna giggled at the memory.
"Not all of Discord's games were maddening, but that does not change the fact that many were terrifying. If not because of how they broke all laws of reality then because of the sheer power it displayed."

Max stared at her.
"He dropped icee's on ponies. He...you know what, that doesn't surprise me nearly as much as it should. Nevermind. Right, right. Weather, maps, how's the forge? Is it working well?"

"It is," Crystal said with a smile. She looked to the door and it opened, allowing a few ponies and a drone to enter. Each was carrying a blade with a standard muzzle-guard.
"She wanted to give a gift to Luna for hiring her, then realized that you pointed her out to Luna. After a while she just made blades for each of us."

Max cautiously accepted the blade, taking it in his magic and tilting it this way and that. Then he bit onto the handle, feeling the weight such a grip would give to his head.

Beside Celestia, Seven was staring in confusion as a blade was offered to her.
"Why am I receiving one? I'm not, well, I hadn't planned on staying."

"You have been working with us extensively, Seven. So much so that ponies have begun seeing you as part of the changeling leadership," Celestia explained. "And in truth, you are. You are both a full fledged queen, and one of the people the drones turn to for orders."

"Welcome to the top, Seven. It's just a little hill at the moment, but this little civilization will be growing soon enough. We're going to need all the help we can get in the coming months and years, so if you've been enjoying how things are..."

"That's the most unwarranted offer I've ever been given."

"Like you've been given many offers," Crystal scoffed, a smile playing over her face.

"You know damn well what I mean. I have food, I have safety, and I have access to a breeder...a viceroy. I can't think of anything else I need, and leaving would only leave me without."
Seven gave the stallion a hard stare.
"You've made what should be a hardened enemy position into a sanctuary for changelings. A place where we have what we need. Only the mentally deficient would wish to leave."

"Like you were trying to," Crystal added, bursting into giggles.

"I had just experienced a mental ass-beating the likes of which I did not think possible. I think I am allowed to be listed under mentally deficient at that time. And before that, it was a combination of starvation and fear. Part of me assumed it was some sort of trap. The other part of me...I was too hungry to ignore the amount of emotion I sensed."

"You were separated from your sisters, do you have any idea how far they were?" Luna asked. "I find it strange we've only picked up a few drones. If the honey called to you at a good distance, than shouldn't we have seen these other queens?"

"I...we used Mother's presence and the location of the hive for most of our direction-finding."

Luna and Celestia didn't seem to understand, but Max's eyes widened.
"So without the link, when the Hive collapsed, every changeling was suddenly very lost. You hadn't bothered trying to watch for landmarks because you all had a line to follow that would lead you right back home."

"I think we should make certain that any changeling scouts and explorers learn something about exploration and pathfinding. I mean, I'm not an explorer by any means but I know about following a river to find civilization, or which way the sun rises and sets."
A sly grin passed over his face.
"The sun always comes from the east."

"She has a preferred direction?" Crystal asked. "I didn't know that. Luna doesn't seem to care, as long as she cums.

The white alicorn blinked before setting a hoof over her face, though Max caught the faintest hint of amusement coming from her this time.

'We'll get her settled eventually. Ruling doesn't mean being alone.'

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"No, I do not- stop that!" Seven shouted.

Max wandered closer, getting a look at an excited Temper attempting to check the queen's size by fitting some large metal plates of armor onto her back. The cause of the mare's excitement? The metal ingots currently on her flank.

"It wont take long, your majesty. I promise. I just need to see if I can get these to settle properly over your shell."

"I'll do it," Max offered. The blacksmith perked at the offer and Seven took off like a shot, fleeing from the crazed mare before she could be sucked in to something else.
As she began her work, Max watched her curiously.
"I take it life's treating you well?"

"Oh is it ever!" Temper gushed. "I love working with the metals, and there are so many! I only ever really saw gold or copper back at Silver Blood Keep, but here, here you have titanium, electrum, I even saw some Dark Triton! That metal can only be found in the deeper parts of the ground, how did you get it?"

"The Princesses pulled the stone for this keep directly from the earth with a teleport spell. I don't know what they did with the metals, but we just went down there to fill it in. While we were down there, we grabbed a lot of ore."

"So it's straight from the ground, never touched by ponies before," the mare said, looking to the metal ingots across the way in renewed awe. "I'm working....I'm working virgin metals."

"I take it that's uncommon."

"Ponies aren't the best miners, if you couldn't tell by looking at us," Temper said, hefting a large plate onto his back. She hummed to herself as she adjusted it, making note of how it sat on his chitin.

"It just looks odd," she huffed, removing it and putting it with a small group of other plates. "Anyway, because of this most of the metals we use are reclaimed. We melt down old things, scrap them, turn them into things we need. Less than a quarter of the things in Sure Strike's smithy are virgin metals, if that. As such, ponies put more value into items made this way. The items...Strike didn't believe it, but they say sometimes, the metal reacts to your wishes. That by pushing magic into it and shaping it like that, it tends to hold up better. A metal that's only ever been a shield will resist blows that would normally shatter one of the same material. A sword may keep its edge longer than should be possible. Even a bucket could become puncture or corrosion resistant. But it only ever was said to happen to metals that were being shaped for the first time. It only works for virgin metals."

"Really? Didn't know that," Max said, watching the mare begin wandering her workplace. She paced, she picked up a few random tools and ingots before placing them back down, she shivered...
"Temper? Are you alright?"

"Alright? Of course I'm alright! I have the job of my dreams! It's all I could have asked for, I mean I even received my cutie mark! Do you know how few ponies get those since Chaos? It's great, I'm great, everything's-"

"When was the last time you ate, Temper? Or slept?"

"Sleep? Oh, no-no-no, waaaay too much to do. I'm the only blacksmith, which means that I have to take care of all of the weapons and armor and I need to forge the tools and the weapons and I ned to make the new hoof-hammers and I need to make a new forging hammer because mine is starting to bend-"

"Temper!"

The mare squeaked, looking to him with wide eyes.

"I appreciate your loyalty. We all do. But I need you as a long-term asset."
'Flick, I need you to get some help. Temper's gone a bit Cutie-mark Crazy.'

'I'll have a team ready in a moment sir. Alicorn level?'

'The whole shebang. She doesn't look like she's bathed, slept or eaten in at least a day. Likely longer if she grabbed a snack.'

Max used a quick spell to pull the tools out of the mare's hooves, much to her protest.

"No, I need that! I need to work! I need to improve, the princesses need a good blacksmith, I have to-"

"Temper, I am going to order you, as an advisor to the throne and one given Luna's permission to make such decisions, to rest. We will not think ill of you, you will not lose this job, and you will likely work better once your body has had a chance to recover."

The mare began sobbing, rushing forward and grabbing his forelegs.
"No, no I need to do this! I can't, if I'm not working, its not worth it! I cant afford the food, I don't have a bed aside from the one I was given. I'm using your metals to work, I don't make anything here!"

Max picked her up, looking her in the eye. It was a bit more difficult than he thought it would be, given the mare's earth-pony build left her fairly solid.
"You, Temper, are a servant of the Solar Alicorns. Your service pays your rent, your food, and your baths. All you need to do is ask one of the servingponies and they'll get you set up. In fact I thought they already assigned you a bed."

"I, it's not mine."

"It is your payment, Temper. This is not a private smith. It's owned by the crown, but what good do these materials do us with nobody to use them? This entire room, this whole setup is useless without you. You are here to do what we need and in return, your own needs are met. Do you know how important this job is? When I heard they didn't have a smith, I was gob smacked. It didn't make sense. Castles and Keeps don't function without a smith. We. Need. You."

He set the mare down as a small group of changelings arrived, Flick at the head of the group. Two earth pony knights were also present, carrying some restraints just in case.
"I don't think those will be needed, but good job thinking ahead," Max chuckled. "I want her bathed, fed and put to bed. You have my permission to sedate her if she gets out of control. And uh...Stone and Brick-thank you, Flick- If you two know of any other ponies that are like this, make sure they don't hurt themselves. I don't want something exploding because of a pony burning out. Temper here could kill herself if she collapses onto her forge, for instance."

"General health and wellness inspection, got it," Flick replied, giving a quick salute.

'Keep an eye out for this sort of thing as well, Flick. Pass around that I want changelings to watch for it. We're not hurting for anything right now so there's no reason for people to be killing themselves. And I don't want to hear about you guys doing this either. Unless there's something important going on, there's no need for it.

'Yes sir.'

Max looked to the still smoldering forge, mindful of the fact that it had to be kept hot.
'I also want someone to keep an eye on the forge every now and again.'

Max huffed in irritation, moving out of the room.
'There will be plenty of time to push ourselves in the future. All doing so now does is wear you down. If you see someone doing that, even myself or the princesses, say something. Consider this your permission to do so.'

'Does that include the knights?' he heard one of the newer drones, Enord, ask him. He still wasn't sure why the drone was keeping the name after he offered to let them change it, but apparently it was a bit of a proud accomplishment for him. To that the drone had merely smiled and explained that a queen had changed his designation to Enord after he'd done something extremely well and asked for a different name. She'd done it more as an insult than anything else, but he'd kept it. After all, the best revenge was to be proud of it, and it was still a different name.

'Bit more complicated for them. Those guys may push themselves as part of their conditioning. Ask Shimmering first. He should know enough to be able to spot the difference between dedication and self-destructive tendencies.'
Feeling a surge of information flowing between Crystal and Seven, he pinged them both.

'Oh, Seven said you were busy with Temper," Crystal sent. 'Excellent. We received a ping from the bots we left near the dog den. You remember the creature they were reporting? We have an image.'

'Hit me.'

Max stopped in the hallway, letting the 'security footage' play. The drone was sitting in a tree, a mixture of bark-texturing and clear skin making it near-impossible to spot. Add in the fact that it wasn't sapient and didn't use a lot of energy, they were able to hide the drones and leave them guarding areas for extended periods of time. A sort of living security system.

The drones focus shifted, its eyes on an approaching emotion source. A flicker of movement near the river, and it stepped out, drinking from the water's edge.

'Tell Luna and Celestia we're going to show them something in the dream-realm,' Max said, a grin splitting his face. 'We found our strange creature.'

'Already done,' the proto queen replied.

Max trotted down the hallway, renewed energy in his steps now. Their intruder had excellent timing. The changeling stallion was beginning to think he'd be stuck playing Civ-builder for the next decade before something interesting happened. Hopefully this next week would be a bit more interesting than move rocks here, build walls, harvest grains, store food in storage sheds, build more storage sheds, build better roads.
'You must construct additional pylons,' he chuckled to himself.

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Luna and Celestia both watched the drone feed with interest, staring at it for several moments even after the feed stopped. While both were excited at the prospect of the new being, both were also aware of what it was at the end of the day.
"It's a predator."

"A griffon," Max said. "But yes. It could be dangerous. It could get even more dangerous if we add to the fact that it's likely not the only member of its kind nearby. I've read that eagles can be solitary predators or hunt in mated pairs, but big cats...it depends on which one you're speaking of. Lions used prides, mostly female groups, while I don't think I ever saw more than two jaguars or cheetahs that weren't blood relations.."

"So we do not know how many could be nearby. Were you unable to follow it?"

"No, he-at least it looks male from this distance, was gone by the time we were able to find this," Seven answered. "I only just recently thought of using the drones in this way after going over some of the odd technologies floating around in Max's head and realized some could be replicated easily enough. Since I didn't know what to do with most of the drones, a security system seemed appropriate."

Crystal nodded.
"We just don't know how to make them ping us when something specific occurs. We can have them store the information and give them commands, but aside from a general ping, which any pony or diamond dog sets off, there's nothing we can do to make this easier. Aside from having sapient drones review the images, but that is extremely personnel-intensive."

Luna scoffed.
"You can't expect me to believe that with how quickly you share information that-"

Luna's words died on her lips as the queens and Max expanded the screen to fill several walls, each wall hosting several images of their own that were playing images from various drones used to survey important locations. The alicorns vaguely noted that there were apparently drones watching the treasury and the storage rooms in particular, both locations that would be difficult to secure completely if the guards were subverted.

"It's like when people were telling me the government was reading our texts," Max said. "We get all of this information, Luna, but we don't have time to review it all. So we have to focus. If something happens in an high-profile area, we review it more closely, but otherwise a lot of this is just forgotten at the end of the next day. No pings, no checks. Pings in an area we're not worried about, no checks. Lots of pings in a high-traffic area that the knights didn't report issues with, no checks. We simply don't have the time or resources to go through it all. Not only that, do you know how boring it is to watch an empty forest for ten hours?"

"This isn't a replacement for guards," Crystal added. "We cant do anything unless we notice something wrong and sometimes that doesn't happen for hours. Sometimes we don't even notice until the knights mention something and it gets passed along to us. That's actually why Max suggested holding the memories a day, so that the knights don't come along mentioning these things and we've already forgotten what we need."

"I would like to get this information passed along to the dogs. They'll need to know what they're dealing with. It will settle them down a bit if nothing else, as the scariest bit here for them is all of the unknowns. The more we can resolve, the better they'll feel."

"Then we have to find out what state the griffon is in. If it's sapient, if it is a lone hunter or scout, if it has family."

Celestia nodded, looking to Luna.
"You managed to make first contact with the dogs. I want this one."

"This isn't about who makes more contacts, Tia," Max admonished. "This is about contacting them in a way that's safe for us, and doesnt spook them. Those claws arent for show. By the same token though, if we come to them with weapons drawn we could instigate a fight."

"If we come across too weak though, the griffons, if there are mutliple griffons nearby, could see it as weakness," Seven said. "I wouldnt want to ally with some creatures that would only weaken me. So there we reach the issue of balance. Max would like to make a good impression, but we need more information on how to approach them."

The alicorns and changelings stared at the image of the griffon, a tom if he was going by feline terms. Did eagles have specific terms like that? Either way, the next few weeks would be interesting.

Refill

The diamond dogs were quickly alerted to the identity of their mysterious creature and Duke was thankful for the quick response. When he offered to help hunt down the creature, Luna found herself slightly perterbed.

"It is not that we do not appreciate the offer," she explained "but that we do not wish to kill it...him. This is yet another species. Be it sapient or not, Max is certain they are capable of sapience; if not now then in the near future. If we must be the ones to teach them, Tia and I shall. We do not wish to see them destroyed. There have been enough orphans and shattered families in the last few decades to last us another era."

The old dog nodded.
"Apologies. I did not realize it was not some monster. Most clawed creatures we have come across in the depths were dangerous beasts."

"So your first reaction is defense. It is understandable. I fully support defending oneself. However, I hope it will not come to that. Not only that, but where there is one there could be others. With these being flying beings, their range is significantly larger than unicorns, earth ponies, or even diamond dogs. It may take time to find out where it rests."

"Or it could be passing through," the elder added. "We came across other packs in the underground who were the same. Some were mad, some had lost their way. Others were merely uninterested in joining together. Only two or three of the packs we have contacted wished to join us even if they all celebrated the news. It saddens me, but I do not know if we shall ever recover what was lost."

"I suppose it is worst for you in particular, Elder Duke. You can remember what you have lost. For Tia, myself, and for most of ponykind it has been generations since we lost our place. There are none alive who know how far we've fallen, only scattered records and the knowledge that something was lost. The changelings are not too injured by their own losses from what I have heard as their over-queen had a habit of driving her subjects to paranoia and bloodlust. Betrayal was common, so there is no real feeling of loss at the deaths of their fellows. Merely discomfort and fear at the subject of extinction. Even that is a new idea to the queens that has been brought up by Maximus."

"Extinction," Duke muttered, tasting the word. "I do not believe we are at that point. There are many packs still roaming even if we are scattered. Hopefully the directions we left will help. Hopefully we shall one day be strong again."

The diamond dog looked to the horizon, squinting.
"I was worried we were still under the ocean. From here I can not see it, though. It makes me wonder just how far we traveled in the darkness. Makes me wonder how easily we could have missed you. Even a single degree from one of our expeditions, and we never would have been close enough to come into contact with you."

"We are quite a distance from the ocean, yes," Luna said. "One of the things Max is still asking about is better maps. That is going to be a long and demanding project in and of itself."

"Would it be possible for us to receive one as well?" Duke asked.

"I would be delighted to send a copy once we have it," Luna said, turning to face him. Seeing the look on his face she quickly added "and one of our current versions as well? It may not have much for your location but anything would be better than nothing. I do remember hearing one of the unicorns speaking of a simple copying spell."

The diamond dog gave a polite bow in thanks before walking to a small burrow near the walls of the keep, which was connected to a tunnel that lead nearly directly to their current home.

"I'm glad you are so eager to speak with them," Celestia said as she landed beside Luna. "I do not know why, but I find their presence slightly unnerving. Perhaps it is the teeth."

"Well when you've spent as much time near sharp teeth as I have..." Luna trailed off with a smile. "You never seemed nervous."

"It's not...I just keep wondering if they would ever try to eat a pony. I know Max and the changelings wouldn't because that would be the exact opposite thing they need to survive, but the diamond dogs do eat meat."
The solar alicorn sighed, shaking her head.
"It's silly, but I worry about the griffon doing the same. If they decide ponies are edible we could be looking at a very difficult encounter."

"I'm certain its not that bad. Max would-"

"He was the one I was asking about such a thing," Celestia interrupted. "He agrees that it would complicate it all to no end. If it wasn't done purposefully, what do you say to the pony's family? 'I'm sorry, but this griffon ate them because he didn't know any better'? Luna, this is a very bad situation. A predator like the griffon would rely on killing their prey quickly so they don't get hurt during any struggles. So quickly that even if the griffon could understand the pony, the pony wouldnt have a chance to cry out. Max, Seven and Crystal all agree on this, which is why I have asked them to find this griffon as quickly as possible. Even if more information would be preferred, we do not have the luxury of time. It would be easier to capture it and work things out from there than wait for it to harm somepony and have to work out the ethics-debacle later."

Luna nodded. They'd already started talking about whether or not they'd have issues communicating with the griffon. Max didn't think they would, citing the diamond dogs which had no reason to speak Equish. While the written word of the diamond dogs was different from any of the pony scripts or changeling script, all spoken languages seemed similar enough to make communication relatively simple. It was something innocuous to her, but it drove the changeling stallion up the wall. Literally.
'I have never seen someone pace along the ceiling before...'

It certainly made diplomacy simpler. Now if only there weren't seven different written languages to try and learn. Or eight, the griffons might have their own. What about the minotaurs?

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"Do you know where they are?" Celestia asked, looking over the otherwise empty dining room.

Luna shrugged her wings.
"You asked them to find the griffon post haste. It's possible they're working on it."

Celestia took another bite of her meal, some new variety of steamed vegetables and herbs the chef was trying out, this time using a very strong and spicy herb he'd recieved from a diamond dog cook. It wasn't a bad taste, but Luna wasn't really used to any sort of 'fire' as Max called it. Perhaps in the future she would grow accustomed to it, but for now it was uncomfortable.

"I think I like this," Celestia said with a small smile. "I may have to look into trying these types of dishes more often."

"Oh wonders, the mare who moves the sun enjoying something hot," Luna commented, rolling her eyes. "I still prefer minty or tart."

"Well, yes. Mint-leaves are nice as a snack, but the vegetables get boring after a while. It's nice to know there are other ways to prepare them. I think Max was also trying to get Emerald to fire-roast some of them. Emerald was a bit upset at such a simple cooking technique, but I remember eating them like that a long time ago."

"I asked Emerald to make some pizza the next time the dogs visit. I believe they'd enjoy it. Duke also promised us a new kind of drink. Something they made in the tunnels called Biting Water. I admit, I'm curious. Crystal thinks it will be a form of strong drink, much stronger than wine."

"I look forward to trying it."

"-just wouldn't stop asking me for support. I told her several times why it wouldn't work and even asked if there was something she knew that I didn't but the mare had nothing more than a desire for information."

Luna giggled, poking Celestia's side with a wing.
"I'm all for exploration and discoveries, but I'd like a bit more information before we start funding expeditions. There is also the issue of not even knowing if the area has previously been explored or claimed. Then there is the problem of general lawlessness since the defeat of Discord. Everypony is trying to pull themselves back together and it takes time, so even as we speak the world is attempting to heal around us."

"The scouts have started on their maps and we're not even close to mapping out to the nearest keeps. It's going to be a long endeavor."
Celestia sighed, ruffling her wings in irritation. There was more, always more to do. The baths they enjoyed were one of the few times they'd been finding to relax, even with the changes to their ruling system that the changeling had suggested. Certainly Luna was happier with more to do and Celestia herself was enjoying the more hooves on approach, but with less of a buffer between the rulers and the ruled, everything was suddenly much more visceral. Everything was much more real.
'In a way it is an improvement, but I did like having other ponies to take care of the day to day...or taking care of the day to day minutia in theory.'

"I have set aside some time for us to learn to properly use blades tomorrow afternoon. I know you would rather do things through diplomacy but as you saw, that is not always a solution. I would prefer we never run into such a situation again, but I find it unlikely. As such, I would feel better knowing you could protect yourself."

Luna opened the door to her room and stopped cold, both of the alicorns left staring at the scene before them.

Max and Crystal, the alicorns expected to engage in explicit activities. Thus seeing the two on Luna's bed was no surprise. Seven's inclusion was what the two found so shocking. She was resting her forward body on the bed as a brace while the stallion was thrusting deep inside of her. Crystal was sprawled on the bed resting on her belly, her legs spread in such a way to allow Seven access to her nethers. With each thrust, the male was driving Seven's muzzle deeper into the other queen's folds, which was causing Crystal to squirm and moan along with the other two.

"Well we know they get along," Luna whispered before giggling. "Max did mention Seven having some trouble with her reproduction control, leading to wasting a lot of seed. I guess she needed more um, more?"

Celestia sighed, moving to continue down the hallway until a tug on her tail stopped her.
"Luna, you know I have no intention of joining...that."

"I know," Luna said, moving closer and planting a simple kiss on the older mare's cheek. "I wish you good night, and if you need anything let us know. In the meantime well, I have no such qualms of joining the fun. If you do change your mind, I'm certain we can find some way to squeeze you in."

Celestia turned, watching Luna briskly walk into the room with a wide grin on her face.
'It would be so easy, walking in there and just...'
She shook the images from her head. It was alien, these ideas of joining in, but she wasn't scared of them anymore. She just wasn't ready. Maybe she'd never be ready.

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Max felt the two alicorns as they wandered closer and as they opened the door. He wasn't particularly surprised to feel a little bit of conflict in their emotions, nor that Celestia didn't follow Luna into the room. Thrusting into Seven's body while kissing along the queen's neck, he opened an eye to watch as Crystal threw her head back and let out a moan of pleasure. A blue blur landed on the younger queen in the next moment, pinning Crystal's face to the bed under Luna's flank as she pulled the queen's flanks up and began kissing and licking her beta to a pleasurable oblivion.

"Geeze, Luna," he chuckled, slowing as he and Seven stared in mirth.

Seven gave a breathy chuckle as well.
"Not wasting any time, are you?"

Luna pulled back, a trail of cum connecting her lips to Crystal's flanks for a moment. Lighting her horn, she began to play with Crystal, dancing her magic over the sensitive flesh even as she responded.
"I have been busy. Not all of us can rut all day and night. As such I wish to 'catch up.' I owe Crystal at least two nights worth of pleasure and I intend on making good on that debt."

"If I wasn't, helping Seven with the drone population, we'd all be turning you into, a fuck-toy."

"We could, turn you into, a mass of pleasure," Seven huffed, her eyes fogging slightly at the constant strokes driving into her depths as her body prepared for its due.

Max grinned at the Seven's increasing inability to speak, nipping and licking at her neck before giving a powerful thrust into a similarly powerful buck. Both changelings locked up as their orgasms struck and Seven groaned as her body worked overtime, pulling the seed into her body and refilling her internal stores. Not only did the mare begin to radiate a sense of fulfillment over their link at the restoration of her bodies stock, but the muscular tube was hugging, rubbing and pulling at his shaft, attempting to milk him for all he was worth.

"God that feels good," he muttered into her ear as their climax faded. "Feel better?"

"Much," Seven muttered, her eyes slowly focusing on Luna and the alicorn continued brutally dominating her beta. Crystal squealed as she peaked, firing a gyser of lubricating fluids high into the air as Luna watched the muscles spasmed. The stream arced through the air, spattering over the floor a good distance away.

"Oh, that's what it looks like," the blue mare giggled as she continued working Crystal's tunnel with her magic. "I wonder if I can get more distance if I work you harder?"

"Max! Do Something!"

The stallion slowly pulled out of the queen, basking in the feeling of Seven's body doing its best to retain every drop.
'I don't know, Crystal. I'm mighty curious myself. What do you think, Sev?'

'I think one more should be fine. She'll survive it.'

Max and Seven jumped on the bed, moving to either side of the lunar alicorn as Luna focused completely on her task. Crystal's growing pleasure, seen both in her body's convulsions as well as her increasingly panicked kicks from her lower legs, had her completely enraptured. A giggle escaped her, and she leaned in to give the winking clit a kiss as it pushed out into the air.

Cum on, Crystal, let's see your best shot.'

'You jerk I'm going to-oooh!

The entire group laughed and chuckled as the queen peaked, a weaker stream of cum emiting from her that didn't even clear the bed.

"Well that was just pitiful," Max muttered, watching as Crystal's legs went limp. "I mean, i think even my worst gets better distance than that."

"Fuck...oooh..ugh..."

"I do believe Crystal is done for now," Luna giggled. Setting the still shuddering bug down she looked up and realized her position between two grinning changelings.
"Oh...um...could I interest you two in a parley?"

Seven roughly pulled the alicorn off of Crystal while Max moved her to the other side of the bed, clear of their current plan. After a quick oral battle, Seven twisted and fell forward, pinning the alicorn to the bed.
"So, dominance plays. I want to give them a shot as well."

jumping up and using her aura to capture Luna's muzzle, Seven leaned down and basked in the sensation of the alicorn tongue working her already-slicked inner walls.
'Well, what are you waiting for?'

"Luna, you are hereby temporarily demoted from alpha to 'toy" Max chuckled, taking his own position at the alicorn's flank. Lining up with her weeping need he easily penetrated her, earning a moan from both Luna and Seven, though Seven's was a second-hoof moan. Shifting and bracing his forehooves on her belly he gave another thrust, grinning at the queen as Seven's eyes crossed.
'Come on, Seven. Hold it together.'

'I don't want to, it feels soo good,' she sent back, grinding down and forcing the blue mare's face deeper between her flanks. 'Oh, I can't believe we were missing out on this. Y-you know my sisters are going to need, a little help as well. I'm going to enjoy sharing this...information..'

Max began his rythmic thrusting anew, enjoying the shuddering and quivering of the pinned mare for a few moments before Seven leaned across and kissed him. He leaned into it, attempting to continue his rythm. It wasn't as strong though, leaving him to soon break away so he could focus on his current task.
'Didn't expect that, when did you start kissing?'

'Since it, draws a positive reaction,' Seven muttered drunkenly.

Max smiled as the queen's mind called forth an image of Celestia locking lips with the queen. Even as Luna began bucking and mumbling into the queen, Max directed the queen's attention to the door. The one currently hiding a single point of emotion that thought they were watching without being seen.
'She's watching you. How does that make you feel?'

"Tia!"
Seven came hard, her rear legs locking up and driving down with the entirety of her weight, driving Luna into a slight panic as her muzzle actually entered the queen's vaginal canal. She slumped slowly, leaving Max to push her off of the last remaining mare. He smiled down at her, pushing on Luna's neck as he pulled the still shivering queen, causing Luna's face to come lose with a wet plop.

"I think she just tried to eat you," Max whispered, leaning down onto the dazed alicorn.

"I, didn't think that possible," the mare gasped, giving him a quick kiss. "Two down, Maximus. Two to...go."

"I'm in no hurry," he said, settling into a slow and deep rythm. "Are you?"

The mare didn't need to answer, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and allowing herself to become a vessal rocking gently on a sea of pleasure.

Celestia winced as the Seven squealed. The heat in her cheeks was slowly spreading through her wings and back to her tail too. The mare had shouted her name, thinking of her while engaging with others. Seeing the action dying down to a slow burn between Luna and Maximus, she quietly closed the door and trotted down the hallway, magic covering her hooves to silence her steps. She just wasn't certain what to think anymore. What was she afraid of? Could she participate in such things?

The next morning a very confused maid would spend several minutes trying to discover the origin of the odd stain-trail that lead to Luna's private quarters before deciding it was best not to think of such things.

Author's Note

Been kind of stuck, but i think i figured out where i want to go with this. Gonna be figuring out how to bring in the birbs next. I think i know how that will go but...eh, we'll see. Changelings aren't much of a threat at the moment, the two keeps to the north are basically one and a half and friendly, the dogs are setting up a city to the...east I think I said? I really need to write another map. These stories get complicated :rainbowhuh:

Scale and Production

It was slowing down once more, the castle settling into a comfortable routine. Max found himself grinning as he walked the newly worked circuit of the outer wall. Well, not quite circuit at this point, but the wall was coming along nicely. Apparently the original workers thought he was going to be happy with a six foot wall, but he had quickly disabused them of their delusions. This castle would have to be big, big enough to house a lot more people and big enough to hold off a full-fledged siege if it came to that.
'God, sieges would suck in this world. Flying citizens, people who can basically swim through dirt, good night vision, if you're not set you're in for a bad time.'

Not that it wouldn't be possible, there were just so many more dimensions to think in at this point. Though it was good to know that teleporting was still in its infancy. The likelihood of an enemy group teleporting into the keep and being instantly ready to fight was highly unlikely, not to mention the dangers in attempting such a maneuver. The unicorn was more likely to kill themselves than manage to teleport a squad of six ponies into a keep.

The next thing to focus on was armaments. Swords and clubs were great but ranged weaponry was where he was setting his sights. A simple ballista and catapult were currently sitting in the keep's courtyard, the two knights he'd pulled to work on the project, as well as a changeling that had the plans both written and from the hive-link.

That was another thing he'd found to be helpful. He could show a changeling exactly what it was he was thinking about, down to the winches and gears that ran the catapults and he could leave them with an imprint of the physical object he had them working on. He couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to try and explain these things while attempting to draw a simple picture with his limited artistic skills.

"The ponies building the walls are still complaining about not using the changeling resin," Twist said with a chuckle, looking at the ponies on the wall as Max's group passed by.

"If they really don't mind rebuilding it every year, sure. But we need mortared walls, not something held together with spit and its own weight. The entire reason changelings build underground and in dry places is because rain can ruin the resin. We had a light rain a few days ago and the seal Crystal made around the old cave has already fallen apart," Max explained in exasperation. It wasn't the first time the complaint had been raised. "This is going to need to last a bit longer than a few weeks. Resin will work for a quick patch-job, but I don't want to rely on it for projects like this."

Several nearby workers gave off a flux of emotions and Max found himself shaking his head. The mare was more clever than he anticipated, timing her question to seem inane but causing his answer to be heard by several of the workers who were currently mixing the mortar being used on the wall.
'Have to keep that in mind.'

The trip was soon completed and Max was walking off to the planting fields. To his surprise they were already showing signs of growth, even as the fields were still being constructed. Corn, carrots, and that weird tuber that looked like blue potatoes were currently the focus, but Max could already see a larger field being set for grains.
"They're already growing. Wonderful. I thought it would take longer."

"Noble Red was adamant that the plants would be farther along if she had more earth ponies to tend the fields, but until such a time, well, this is still faster than pegasi and unicorns could manage."
Pike, his other guard, pointed to the stream that was now channeled through the middle of the field.
"There are some worries about the water washing away too much soil, but that's a worry for later. For now most of the farmers are happy to not have to walk several miles for water or rely on pegasi as the only source of rain."

"What would you guys think about natural weather?" Max asked. "I think we could save a lot of time and effort if we let that fall back for a while. There's also the issue of the seasons. We have them for a reason, after all."

"I don't know enough about the seasons to say one way or another, sir," Twist replied. "Weather though...that's kind of something pegasi pride themselves in controlling. That's going to be a hard sell."

"Eh, it's something to think about. Personally I think it would work well, just keeping a team for things like tornadoes and the like but that's me. The seasons thing could be an international issue. Something that will come up eventually seeing as how the Princesses are able to impact the weather on a global scale."

"Global?"

"The whole planet?" Max said. Seeing their blank expressions he nodded. "Ah, yea that would be another issue. I've done some explanations on scale to the two ladies, but it's difficult to expand someone's horizons when what's in sight is all they've known. I grew up seeing images of locations all over the planet, knowing the small area that I lived in wasn't even a fraction of the size of the world. This whole countryside we see? It's a pittance of what makes up this world. There are deserts where you can stand and see nothing but sand for leagues, oceans so deep the sunlight cant reach the bottom, and mountains so high the air is too thin to breath. It's all about scales, what we're used to and what we can compare it to."

Stopping and pointing to a plant, he sat down.
"This single plant for instance can be what we call an ecosystem. There are insects that live on it, that eat the plants and other insects that eat those bugs. When the bugs that eat the ones that eat the plant poops, it leave nutrients in the soil that the plant uses. It's a cycle, or a web. When we spread it out to this field, then we add things like mice and birds. Spreading it even wider, we include ponies and changelings. Spreading it even farther, we have situations like Copper Road Keep, where we interacted with several other three other large groups. That's what I mean by scale. Knowing and acknowledging the size of the world is an important part of advancing. The thing we're most concerned about right now is ourselves, but at the same time we need to at the very least be aware that this world is full of other groups who rely on seasons.
"Those deserts usually have rainy seasons that rely on the changes of the seasons to bring rain. The plains too. Mountains can become dangerous if its too long between winters, with the snow and ice thawing too much and eventually falling apart. All that ice melts into water which could flood lower areas if they're not meant to be on the receiving end of all that water, while afterwards those same areas that relied on mountain streams will start to experience a drought. Don't get me wrong, places can adjust, but they won't do so quietly. Mountains will have avalanches, the deserts will become even more barren, rainforests...I don't know. They may be okay, but I think they rely on a rainy season too, as well as a cooler season to keep from getting unbearably hot."

Max smiled, looking back to the knights only to find them and every nearby pony staring at him with a bit of drool hanging out of their mouths.

"...Right, maybe that's a bit too far at the moment. I guess that's why we teach kids about large scales early."

'I don't think I've ever seen someone zone out that hard before, much less an entire group.'

Max watched as a few ponies who were out of earshot went about trying to wake up their friends, shaking them or even dumping water from the nearby irrigation ditch on their heads. Most were still in a bit of a daze but they were at least moving now.

'I'll keep that in mind if I need to make a break for it,' Seven replied, still giggling every now and again at the ridiculousness of the situation. 'It's good to know ponies can't take too much knowledge at once. An info dump is much easier to pull off than a smoke bomb.'

'Good news though, the farm looks great as far as I can tell, as does the wall. Decent thickness, should be able to take a beating. I don't think it will stop a dragon from clawing it apart, but at that point I'm going to be worrying about other things. Not to mention dragons usually fly. Dragons do fly, don't they?'

'Some do,' Crystal chimed in. 'Some don't have wings though. There are many different kinds. Oh, wait, I'm getting your fantasy dragons and the local species mixed up...yes, they fly. I don't think I've see one of these 'wyrms' though.'

'Dragons don't exist so humans started letting their imaginations go wild,' Max sent, looking around at the field one last time before heading back to the keep. Another group of knights had shown up and were currently attempting to wake his escort, so he didn't feel particularly worried about leaving them out here. Another pair had taken up position on either side of him, taking over for his otherwise incapacitated guards. Not that he felt he needed them at the moment, but Luna had made a point of showing the link between the changelings and the alicorns to everyone who lived outside the castle as well. He wasn't just someone she spent time with, or her consort. He was someone with power.

'That's a scary thought,' Max thought with faint grin. 'She's setting me up to help them, letting the ponies know they can look to me as well.'

Taking a look around as he walked back to the keep, he found himself under intense scrutiny but none of it was filled with fear. Curiosity, yes, but fear? Not a bit as far as he could tell. Apprehension wasn't fear after all. There was also a bit of warmth, a bit of respect. He'd done what the ponies in the castle hadn't. He'd brought the princesses outside to speak to them. He'd come out and seen what they had and what they didn't. Certainly he was scary and was pushing them around, but at the end of the day there were things happening. He was there when the wall was planned out. He had been working with the alicorns when the scary dog-things were found. He'd literally taking time to teach anyone who wanted to help how to best defend against fires and explained why the homes needed some space.

He'd done something the nobles hadn't. He'd come out to speak to them. And he'd brought the princesses with him. The bug-pony-thing may have looked scary, but it was doing things for them. Which was more than they could say about those who had been in charge of them for the last several years.

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"So you came across no issues during your inspection?"

Max shook his head as he nibbled on the vegetables, enjoying the spicy new seasonings that were traded from the diamond dogs.
"Not really. Worst thing that occurred was a bit of an overload when I started talking. It was a bit odd, but I think they'll be better for it once they recover."

"What did you say to them?" Celestia asked.

"Just some drivel about ecosystems and scale," Seven replied. "He was trying to get a feel for how the ponies would react to weather and season changes. He then went on to attempt to explain it to them why it mattered, but lost most of them halfway through the explanation."
"The main thing to take away from the conversation though is that the ponies are not ready to understand the reasons that weather and seasons may be important. It forces their viewpoints too wide and causes them to become confused. Perhaps the foals can be taught such things earlier as is the case in human schooling but-"

"I don't think we have the resources for a school system at the moment, much less one that would work properly. Maybe we could do some basic things like when I did a few lessons in the throne room. You know, basic biology and geology, maybe some weather things? We'd have to make sure we did it out of time with harvesting seasons and such. I'm pretty sure farm families had the kids help with chores for the most part. If it came to surviving and having the kids learn a few things that may not matter, a family in the middle ages would definitely choose to have the kid working on the farm."
The stallion sighed.
"I don't know though. There's only so much I can do after all. Maybe if we can find a few ponies who could learn this stuff to teach...this is something that's easier once we start working on it over several generations. You can't create a system that will educate everyone over night. That's why children go to school and parents work. It cycles. The kids learn things that are then put to use in the working class when they grow up. As more things are learned by the scientists and researchers, the kids are taught these updates and the education system improves, leading to smarter and more qualified workers...in theory at least."

"But there's going to be a lot that needs to be constantly looked over to make certain the things being added are factual," Crystal added. "There's also the effort of changing the, curriculum? Changing what is taught every time a new discovery is made."

Both of the alicorns were lost in thought as the changelings spoke, quietly ejoying their meal. Finally Celestia spoke up.

"I would find it agreeable if we could educate the young. One thing that was always difficult was the cartload of books Starswirl threw at us, citing it as important. Luna and I managed to get through most of them, but there was just so much...I feel as though much of it just didn't stick. For example, I know I read of how to lead ponies in formation, but it was-"

"It was one of a hundred things we were taught over the course of a few years," Luna finished. "I found the military aspects of the teaching to be the easiest to remember, while Tia was better with the rules of leadership. As for the sciences, well, I suppose it just wasn't something we really considered until now."

"When you try to cram for an exam, you don't remember it all," Max said. "I had the same issue. If I tried to study too much at once, none of it stuck. It's why the school year is so long. So that the students have time to absorb all of the information. What I was doing in the throne room was an overview in all honesty. Something that some might remember, but it was nowhere near as intense as a class. I'll see if we have a drone that likes interacting with foals, maybe try to set up a once a week class or something like that. It's a start, if nothing else. They'll need a bit of paper though, which will mean a budget...God this is going to get messy."

Luna and Celestia both looked to each other, grinning before turning back to Max.
"What's a 'budget'?"

<-(0)->

Deep in the secured treasury room of the keep, Lady Sapphire shivered as she was examining a large uncut topaz, the feeling of dread striking her from nowhere. Whatever was occurring, it felt as though she would find herself in the middle of it.

<-(0)->

As the group curled into a pile in the dream hive, including the alicorns, and Max set them up to watch another movie, the stallion ruffled Luna's mane playfully.
"I swear, I'm going to start charging you for these lessons."

"Bah, then I'll find someone else to play with at night," Luna retorted, sticking her nose into the air.

Crystal laughed, pushing the blue mare.
"You'd be begging after a week."

"I would not!"

Celestia coughed into her hoof, a slight smile on her face even as she looked away.

"No, not you too! I'm stronger than that!"

"You literally mated until you were in pain," Seven replied bluntly, not looking away from the screen as a setting sun over a desert came into view. "That is not someone who would do well without."

"You what?" Celestia gasped, looking to the blue alicorn in shock.

Before Luna could defend herself half the changeling drones turned around and shushed them before looking back to the movie. Max grinned, leaning closer to Celestia and whispering into her ear.
"I had to cut her off."

"You're all mad," the white mare muttered before sighing. "We're all mad."

<-(0)->

The next morning left Max in a bit of a conundrum. While it took a lot of work, a changeling could add clothing to their disguise. The clothing never felt right though, and would either be as hard as chitin or as soft as their silken manes. The current style some of female-identifying drones were sporting though left him torn between laughing and patting the confused knights on the back in sympathy.

They'd decided to use the outfits seen in the movie the previous night, leaving several drones wandering around either in their base forms or as pony mares while wearing bedlahs. This was both funny and left many of the knights confused.

"They work quickly," Luna said, watching the serving mare, a changeling, giggling as she let the 'dress' accentuate her steps.

"I think they're happy with both the novelty of being allowed to use their disguises in a more casual way as well as the fact that they can experiment with the reactions. The dresses look nice, but they won't feel right. In that way, we may be getting a few ponies asking about different styles of clothing. Heck, changelings would probably make great models for tailors."
Looking to a knight as the smaller stallion's eyes tracked the swaying hips of the changeling drone, Max laughed.
"Ah, the return of the why-boner."

"That series would be fun to watch but without half of the experiences I picked up through the connection nobody else would get the jokes," Seven grumbled.

"I know," Max commiserated. "That's why I have to be careful about what I pick. I think Aladdin was kind of pushing it, but it's still fun. Now I need to think of what to bring to the table next...and then I get to wonder what the drones will do with that information."

"I don't think I expected them to start using what they learned so quickly," Celestia said. "I think I heard one of the drones speaking to a guard about the blades though, the curved swords."

"Scimitars," Max said. "I don't think we really need them, but they're scary as hell. On the other hand, they're for hitting someone you're running past, so maybe we can use them for a pegasus group as they fly by."

"Odd that one can take ideas for new weapons from a movie," Luna mused. "I did like the music."

"I did too," Crystal laughed. "After all, it spoke to me. The two of you have never had friends like us."

"And for that, I am thankful," Luna shot back, using a wing to shove the changeling off of her cushion.

Author's Note

Did you see those changelings? They had curved swords. Curved. Swords!

...I didn't think I'd ever find myself trying to find out what the dancer outfit was actually called.

Sharing the Love

"This is frustrating, I just wish this was easier to translate," Celestia grumbled as she was looking over the gems that Sapphire had already looked over. "We have wealth, but there's no easy way to translate them from gems to wealth."

"Liquidity," Crystal said, marking on her own scroll for each gem she sorted from one pile to another. "How easily forms of wealth can be transformed from one to another. At this point in time though, the issues are much more pronounced. The most easily traded goods are the simple and cheap ones. The gold coins are nice and they'll be helpful when dealing with other groups but until such a time as when even the peasents outside have some coin, they're not going to be much use to any but the wealthy. There's also the issue of those with the coins holding their products for more coin. It's why prices were fixed in Max's home. Those who sold the goods could withhold their products. If you did not like the price, well, they didn't need your business. Of course, there is a limit to such ideas and if the prices are too high, either the companies wont sell anything or lose business to those who sell things for less value. It's...a headache and a half if you ask me, but I suppose I understand a little of it."

"And even knowing a little is more than I can say," Celestia sighed. "This wasn't part of our lessons. Starswirl was certain ponies would move right back to the Bit once Discord was gone. But as you know, the Bit was dependant on the old world's leadership to enforce its worth. With no old world leadership doing so, there's no value to the bits. They're valued more on their material and weight than anything else."

"Which is why the simple gold coins works so well for now," Crystal said. "Besides, we need to start somewhere. I'm with Max on the gems though. I think we can get more value out of using them for runes and enchantments than we could from selling them. Besides, the only ones who would give us a decent value for them are other keeps and castles. It isn't something we should try to market though, as we'd be competing with the diamond dogs. And while changelings can dig better than ponies, i don't think we can match the dogs. I say we let them have the gem market, and we focus on something else. Like honey-products or food. If we do it well, we can likely even work out ways to make novelty or quality of life items. Treats like candies or beds. Is there a plant that's used for cloth we could farm, like cotton?"

"I can't say I am familiar with such a plant," Celestia said, eyeing a sapphire and lobbing it into her own pile of gems sorted by cut/uncut.

"I am, your highness. It's...an odd plant. The fibers are comfortable for blankets once properly worked. I don't think they grow locally, but I don't know for certain," Sapphire chimed in, Looking over a gem of her own. Like the other two, she was working with several piles, but her's were feeding into the piles being used by the other two mares. Her current job was merely seperating gems from cut glass. A task which angered her in no small part. "I still can't believe I didn't look for it at first."

"You didn't know," Celestia soothed. "Neither did we, in fact. And now we know to pay attention to such things. I do not mind payments of food or supplies or even ponies, but to attempt to swindle us is surprising. We did not demand the tributes, so why did they feel the need to give false gifts? What is the point of a gift if it is fraudulant?"

"Appearance," Crystal answered. "If they didn't give a good gift, it would look bad. If they give better gifts, many would be more likely to help them in the future. If you had to choose, would you rather help someone who could provide compensation, or someone who just said thank you?"

"I would prefer-"

"I didn't ask you what you would prefer, I asked which you think would be better to help."

"But-"

"She's correct, Tia," Luna said, walking into the room. "Sometimes you can't save everyone. I've told you this, and you learned it firsthoof during your attack on the bandits. You can't save everyone and sometimes you need to choose. In this case, yes, the choice is to help those who will benefit us more in the long run. So their reasoning is sound. Their methods though...lets just say we will speak to them. It's even possible they didn't know the gems were glass."

Sapphire gave a polite bow, but didn't stop checking the gems.
"Good afternoon, Princess Luna. What brings you here?"

"I was merely curious as to why the inventory was taking so long. I take it you found an issue and had to restart the count?"

"It was only found by accident, I'm afraid," Lady Sapphire explained. "Normally I would have been able to find this sort of thing easily, but the gem was actually enchanted with a spell to cause it to reflect light like a real gem. The only reason we found the fraud was because Crystal stepped on one and it cracked. Normal gems don't break that easily, so I started looking over the gems again and realized there were more frauds. Whether or not these were given to you on purpose or given to the ponies who gave them to you, I do not know. Whatever the case may be, it appears we have somepony making counterfeit gems."

"And either a unicorn or a changeling," Celestia said. "Though they could be working with others."

"I suppose we'll just need to pay attention," Celestia said. "Now that we know about this, I want anyone who makes purchases or trades for gems to double-check them."

"I can teach your negotiator what to look for if that is what you mean," Sapphire said, looking up from her work.

"I would also like to know. After all, with our hive, you teach one, you teach us all."

Luna looked at Crystal with a raised eyebrow.
"I am fairly certain Max explained it to be much more complicated than that."

"Ok, so we'd need to actively ask for the information from the one who knew it, but the point remains. Any changeling can use the information."

"If they'er part of your link," Celestia added.

"Which, if i recall, Glamour isn't. She's an interesting creature, to be certain."
Luna nodded.
"I don't think i've ever seen a pony so interested in clothing, much less a changeling."

Celestia looked confused for a moment before brightening.
"Glamour...oh, the changeling that has been looking for ways to make herself more attractive!"

"I don't think any changeling has quite embraced the earning love thing like she has," Crystal said, staring at nothing. "She's...also very interested in the physical aspect of harvesting love."

"What do you-" Celestia started, cutting herself off and groaning in exasperation. "You're kidding me..."

"Nope. Apparently she's gained a few fans."
"And by fans, Luna means ponies who enjoy her company."
"And by company, Crystal means ponies that enjoy rutting her."

Celestia rubbed at her temple, sighing.
"It's spreading."

"No, she's spreading...her legs!"

As Luna giggled at her beta's line and Sapphire just stared in shock, Celestia found herself hanging her head. At this rate the entire kingdom would descend into an orgy.
'But at least the changelings would be happy.'

<-(0)->

Max was not a happy changeling.

The day had started nice enough. The after effects of showing a movie to a hive of shapeshifters was once more making its effects known throughout the land, with changelings either telling parts of the story to ponies who listened in awe at the tales or the changelings who were good enough shapeshifters to actually add clothing adding the sheer silk clothing shown in the tale, something that not only had the stallions feeling funny but had the mares asking about how to get them for themselves. Even Redstreak was curious, commenting on the soft appearance and wondering how to aquire such a provocative outfit. When asked, a changeling had been more than happy to shift into a copy of her wearing a light green version of the outfit, leaving the mare to wander off with her head in the clouds.

Now though he was stuck talking to their smith, the mare still sort of fidgety in his presence. That wasn't the issue though. The issue was the fact that she'd let herself get distracted with thanking the royals for her job and hadn't been putting as much time into repairing weapons and tools as he'd liked. When he'd mentioned this, specifically when he mentioned that actually doing the repairs would have been thanks enough, she'd panicked and gone into the same spiral once more, gibbering and tearing up about how she kept messing it up until he'd physically lifted her in his forelegs and spoken soothing words to her.

Now she was settled again, still sniffling though as she slowly polished some armor while ordering a drone and a pony to help in several projects by gathering materials, moving them into locations where she could begin her work or instructing them on how to care for the armor of the knights, something she herself was quickly mastering. That was something else he'd had to teach her. That she wasn't training a replacement. She was training others who would help her, because her workload was so large.
"These ponies can be so fragile."

"And yet we need them to survive."

"How are you doing today, Sev?"

"Well, which is odd to consider," the queen answered truthfully. "I was confused at first, wondering why ponies find a creature with more clothing to be more attractive but then i realized i was remembering human culture and the fact that your previous species was always clothed. How do you keep track of it all?"

Max shook his head.
"I don't. I make mistakes and get confused. Sometimes I confuse myself worse than any pony or changeling could. But you just can't let it get to you. If you do, well, the alicorns are looking healthier but I'd rather not devolve into a gibbering mess right now. So I just have to keep calm."

"It's not as simple as that, however," the queen said. "You're getting better at seperating yourself from the hive, keeping your emotions from overpowering the drones, but I can still feel them."
"When are you going to let yourself relax a little?"

"I've already cut loose a few times, Seven. I really don't know what more you're asking of me."

The queen giggled, stepping closer and leaning closer to his ear.
"Being willing to participate in sexual activities with the three of us does not mean you were relaxed. You still remained focused. You were starting to feel like I did. You were doing your job."

"Uh."

"So we're going to fix that."

Max blinked, staring at the mare in confusion as he smile turned predatory.
'Uh oh'.

"The best part of this link, I believe, is the fact that any and everything you have read or been told about psychology and sexuality is available to Crystal and I. And right now we're curious. We've trusted you with our minds and our lives, Max. Tonight, can you do the same?"

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Dinner that night was a quiet and calm affair, though Max found himself both lost in his own worries and finding the three mares who he knew now were planning something whispering amongst themselves and casting glances in his direction. The question wasn't if they were plotting against him, the question was what they were planning. Obviously it would involve sex, as well as the queens and possibly Luna, but he wasn't certain what the queens had planned.

He looked up, belatedly realizing someone had asked him soemthing.
"Huh?"

"I said are you alright?" Celestia asked. "You look distracted."

"He is," Crystal answered before he could even form a thought. "He's distracted by a combination of fear and anxiety. Seven said he wasn't relaxing. That we were going to make him relax tonight. And just as was expected, the stallion begins to worry. You know, the exact opposite thing that we want."

"I have very little direct control in my life right now, Crystal. I can alter my form to be whatever I like, but is that really control? It doesn't change the fact that I'm not human anymore. The ponies are listening to me because Luna and Celestia tell them to, and...I just..."

"I thought you were adjusted," Luna said. "It seems to not be the case. If there is something that is bothering you, you will be telling us."

"It's not a fear, Luna. It's a bit more complicated. It's...I actually don't know how to explain it," Crystal trailed off, looking to the full queen.

"It's difficult for me to place into words as well, but i think it boils down to the difference between knowing and feeling. He knows he can trust the three of us, but deep down inside, well at least for where Crystal and I are concerned. After all, our connection isn't just emotional."

"And mine is?" Luna snapped.

"Your's is...it's a connection he can quantify," Seven answered. "Do you really think you'd be able to ignore the fact that every time you connect to someone they will know anything you let them learn about you? Your past, your family? If I look, I can compare Mother to his mother, and from a position where both were technically my mother. I can remember Mother walking into the training grounds and snapping a sister's neck because she was attempting to dodge and attack during her training and bumped mother. Then I can recall a woman who cheered as he blew out the candles on his birthday cake."

Max winced, nodding. It was nice at first because it made it easier to explain things, but it still freaked him the fuck out if he started thinking about it too deeply. And with things being calmer lately, there was so much time to think.

'Well you can't hide in your head from us,' Seven sent. 'That's why we're going to work on this.'

The stallion nodded. Seven was right, even if he didn't want to do this now. But then again, would there ever be a time he wanted to...dive? Would there ever be a time when he felt comfortable being so tightly bound to others?

"We'll start simply of course. And you know as well as we do that we won't do anything to hurt you, in any way."

"Is there any way we could help?" Celestia asked. "Baring, well..."

"We could lie and say it would greatly help," Crystal giggled. "And I think we'd all have a lot of fun with that. But this is a bit deeper. She's talking about his discomfort with the link. He uses it, certainly, and we can pull from him in turn. But there's always a resistance. He has to fight himself if he thinks about the connection, fight an instinct to protect his thoughts."

"I believe protect is a bad choice of words," Seven said. " It implies we'd damage or harm him. He tends to cut himself off which leaves us feeling disconnected. This becomes even more obvious when we're either working on something that is based on his information or when he is not as distracted. The less he has to focus on, the more his connection to the link locks up or fades in and out."

"It's disconcerting, confusing. The information is there, then it's gone." Crystal continued. "For many of the drones it's not that big of a deal, as they are used to having limited access, but when he keeps trying to share the information and then he ends up cutting us off it becomes frustrating."

"I'm trying, alright?" Max said, belatedly noting his shoulders were tight. He sighed, feeling the wings flex and shift as he forced himself to settle down. He'd never liked being called out. No one did.
"One doesn't go from being alone in your head to finding everyone sorting through your memories like a file cabinet and not get upset about it."

"We're not doing that," Seven said with a roll of her eyes. "You know that."

"I do, it's just..."

"And stop calling it weird and abnormal. It is completely normal for our species. For your species."
Crystal scowled at him, using a fork to push around her unfinished meal.
"Honestly, you accept a lot but there's more to it. And it's not like things have only changed for you. I went from doing my damnedest to survive to actually having fun. I had to change how I think. So don't tell me I don't know anything about this, Maximus. I was terrified to even think, much less just relax and enjoy myself. I trusted you to be right about everything you've been teaching me. Now trust Seven and I to work with you on this. We're not going to meld into some indistinguishable soup."

"But your memories and thoughts are what make you an individual! How do you keep it separate?"

Crystal sighed.
"You don't. It happens naturally. I could have deactivated the filter at any time, I told you that I just didn't want to. It was new, it was something I wasn't able to do on my own. I needed your memories to start learning to make my own. You already have a strong base. That's why I used you like that."

"That's why we used you like that," Seven added. "I was a little closer to knowing how to adapt, but I still wasn't there. You also benefitted from sorting through my head though. Or did you think your sudden aptitude with flight and magic came from nowhere? It wasn't just borrowing it enough times as you assumed. It was the bleed. Your personality won't be altered too much, but that doesn't mean you won't hold aything. It's how we share. It's a constant thing, the constant contact of our minds benefiting us all."

"That makes no sense," Max said, shaking his head. "A brain shouldn't work like that. The constant blending of thoughts should just...it would start blending into a big mess."

"I've never had any such issues," Crystal said, looking to Seven. "Have you?"

Seven chuckled.
"Even the drones are separated. Or did you not notice the fact that the drones, who are at the bottom of the ladder and have no defense from your thoughts and memories, are still individuals? That Crack and Flick, who have been in your hive the longest, are still individuals?"

"I-"

"Maximus?" Luna said, reaching a hoof to his wither. "You spoke to me of adjustment, please don't fight what you are. Tia and I both accept that we are no longer what we were, if you need to speak to someone else about that, we are at least able to understand the species change."

"I...alright. I'll trust them," he relented. "I assume you want to do this in the hive tonight?"

"It will be tonight, but it's not just going to be the hive," Seven explained. "This is going to be a bit deeper. For that reason, I do not believe it would be safe for Luna to join us. This will be much deeper than the connection she's been walking into."

"To start things off though...I want you to put Crystal in charge. Full stop."

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Luna was a bit nervous herself as she followed the changelings into her room. The stallion was constantly looking around nervously, buzzing his wings and looking to her with a smile that she knew was as much for his own benefit as her own.

He was terrified about what the queens were going to do. But he also knew they didn't want him getting hurt. He wanted to trust them, but the more Luna thought about it the more she found herself understanding his worry. What he feared. He was worried about losing himself like Crystal and Seven did during their first connection. Seven hadn't even known there was something wrong until he'd repeatedly pointed it out, and even then it had been something she quickly forgot.

It just wasn't something an individual could grasp. If you lost yourself, you'd never realize it.

The changeover had already happened, both queens now acting a little more stiffly as their mental hierarchy was being altered. Crystal was still cheerful and happy, but her language was more formal while Seven was looking a bit more tense. They were all now resting on her bed, but they were just...waiting? Going by expressions, they weren't even talking at the moment.

"Are you certain there's nothing I can do to help?" Luna asked.

"Yes-no. Maybe?" Crystal said, looking to Seven. The older queen sighed, her eye twitching before she looked to Luna and began to speak.

"We're trying to think of how to do this in such a way as to explain it to Max, or even give examples but this isn't something we've studied. It's just something we feel to be correct. The issue then becomes how do you explain that which you only know by instinct?"

"I'm done thinking for now. I want to relax. That's what this was supposed to be about," Crystal growled. Before Luna could respond all three changelings were moving quickly, The pillows being piled into one area while Max stood and rolling onto his back. Crystal settled with her forelegs wrapped in his as she kissed him, Seven beginning to kiss and lick at his lower plates while his back was propped on the pillows.

"Oh? I'm not given something to do?" Luna asked, grateful for the distraction.

Crystal broke the kiss and looked at her before grinning.
"I think I can find a use for my beta."

"You'll find a use for your what?" Luna squawked indignantly. Before she could do more though Seven had slathered a thin coating of resin on her horn and was pinning her to the bed, giggling viciously as Luna began struggling. A resistance that quickly died as a few very sharp teeth pressed against her throat.

Luna looked up to see both of her flock looking down Max's barrel towards her, his emergent rod just starting to come to its full length at the older queen's now-abandoned work.

"Yes, I think I know what I want," Seven whispered into her ear.

To say Max was nervous as he watched the battles in the bedroom was an understatement. He was approaching outright panic. The queens were currently taking over, as between his subservient connection all but forcing him to stay put and Crystal deciding that she would be the alpha of their flock tonight, things were getting weird. Add to this mess the fact that Crystal had just inched him forward to sit behind him, reaching around and teasing his shaft while Seven went on to treat Luna to the bent-back tongue-fucking Luna had given Crystal not too long ago, he had a sneaking suspicion that the queens were going to be having their fun with the other two.

"So how is it, Luna?" Crystal jeered, watching as Luna's tongue lolled in pleasure, the queen's flanks pinning her neck to the bed. "It looks just as fun as it was for me!"

Luna moaned, her wings fluttering and her hind legs kicking into the air uselessly.
"It...deeper, I know, you can get-"

Luna's words cut off with a squeal by Seven's increase in intensity even as Crystal ran her hoof along one of his rings, causing him to throb at the touch.

'Just relax. We have things under control.'

He blinked at the odd echo in his head. Both of the queens had said that.
'What are you doing?'

'An exercise. One in sharing. And trust. And maybe a little bit of experimentation.'

He was about to turn to the queen behind him when Seven began grinding herself against Luna's neck, smearing her nectar into the alicorn's mane. At the same time Crystal began rocking as well, moaning softly into his ear as she began using her magic to stroke his shaft.

'You're sharing the sensations.'

'Of course we are,' Crystal sent, giggling as she nipped at his neck. 'It's not like I can reach myself from this position. So I just need to rely on Seven for this. Ready, Seven?'

'Oh, I think I am,' Seven said, letting Luna's flank fall bonelessley to the bed. 'I've been curious if it was possible, now we're going to put it to the test.'

'What-'

Seven was already moving, hopping off of the bed and pulling the alicorn's rear so that the blue mare's legs hung limply from the bed. Even as Luna looked back, Seven was engulfed in a flash of fire that for all Max could tell didn't really change anything.

'Not that you can see from your angle, at least,' Seven giggled, shifting her hips and letting him see the new addition that was now hanging from between her legs: an exact copy of his own equipment.
"I've been wondering if this would work. You ready for a little experimentation, Luna?"

The alicorn looked back slowly, her brain still catching up with her new position before her eyes caught sight of the changeling penis staring back at her. She blinked, looking back towards Max and Crystal before looking back to Seven in confusion, her emotions swirling. Finally she seemed to understand.
"Oh. Ooooh."

"Yes, Oh." Seven giggled before attempting to shove herself into the alicorn too quickly. Both winced, Seven looking at the stallion with an apologetic air.
'I suppose I should have checked for details before trying to use this.'

'Don't apologize to me, I'm not the one you tried to shove a dick into without even making sure it was hard.'

Luna meanwhile was looking at the queen in amusement.
"You missed."

Crystal laughed, still running a hoof over Maximus' lower body. As her hoof slid along the psuedo-leather of his lower body inside the plates, Max felt a connection flowing into his head, one that connected his other head to-

He shivered as the sensations flowed into his mind, causing him to begin to harden even faster. He felt as Seven rubbed herself between Luna's legs, felt himself rubbing up against the blue mare's teats. He felt Seven pull back and finally, slowly push into the pinned alicorn's sex. He felt her tighten around him instinctively, watching his stallionhood throb as Luna's eyes widened in surprise. He felt the mare clamp down on him, felt as the shifted queen began thrusting as the pleasure increased exponentially.

"Take a good look, Luna, as he's feeling every twitch," Crystal giggled, pushing him and causing the rod to bob before the blue alicorn's eyes. As Luna clenched and shivered Max groaned, feeling every caress. It also had the added benefit of showing Luna just what her every shift and twitch was doing to him. She was focused completely on his tool, watching raptly as a stream of glowing pre dribbled down from the tip.

'Now to see if, it works,' Seven giggled as she buried herself into Luna's depths. Max felt the clenching and was rewarded for following along with an orgasm, the pink glowing cum jetting up into the air only to fall back onto his exposed belly. Luna's eyes bulged in time with his spurts of cum, staring in confusion at him.

After his shaft slowly sagged with the ending of his orgasm, Luna finally worked up the energy to respond.
"I, felt something. What was that?"

"It's called recycling," Seven explained, her smile never leaving her face. "After all, we have so many ways to store seed but only one source. If other queens do ally with us, they're going to want access to your male. Think of it as both a way to expand the ways we can enjoy ourselves and a way to remove a bit of the burden from your mate. I also don't think he'd survive contact with some of the other queens."

"A, a peace offering," Max panted. "They'd trust you enough to, let you inseminate them. To prove you have access."

"I'll admit it's not as fun as recieving and it would mean I'd need to replenish more often, but if it keeps my hive-sisters happy so be it."

Max nodded, letting his head hang back as he allowed himself to recover. He vaguely noted the queen behind him moving to lick the emotion-saturated semen off of his barrel. The sensations were still there. He could still feel the flocks alpha twitching and squeezing him from across the room and combined with the cool night air it was a confusing sensation. He could feel her but...he wasn't?
'This is so wierd.'

'We're not quite done yet, either,' Crystal said.

The queen moved to sit herself on his barrel, encapsulating his stallionhood in her magic and moving him between the soft flesh of her flanks. She ground back and forth, causing Seven to Flinch as the sensations hit the older queen as well.
"Wait, you're still connected to Seven? But she's connected to me-"

"It's a bit more complicated, but if you'd like i can share it all," Crystal said aloud. The next thing he felt was a blast of arousal as the sensation of her sensitive vaginal lips rubbing against his leathery skin forced itself into his head, causing his member to spring to full wakefullness again. It also apparently had the same impact on Seven, as Luna squawked at the sudden re-inflation of stallionflesh still sitting inside her.

"Oh shit, Crystal this is, we already know what happens." Max grunted, attempting to grab the mare sitting on his lap. It didn't work though. She blocked the command, leaving him sitting there limply as she continued to grind against him mercilessly untill finally lifting her body and allowing him to slide inside. The moment the cross-body sensations of penetration hit him, his body locked up instantaneously.

Crystal giggled as the stallion came quickly, and judging by the grunting and moaning coming from behind her so had Seven.
"My, everyone's so hair-trigger today."

'Cheater,' Seven accused. 'You, you redirected, you didn't share. Redirected it to us.'

'And now nobody's cognizant enough to stop me from having my fun!'

Crystal focused on her inner workings, feeling the body pulling the seed into her depths and into the usual storage pouches. She felt her body warming from the emotion he filled her with before turning to Luna, the exhausted princess staring in confusion and exhaustion. Crystal looked at the queen slumped over her alpha and she smiled.

"Oh buck," Luna wheezed.

"You certainly will be."

Moving around behind the two exhausted mares Crystal moved Seven's tail out of the way. The queen had apparently only changed enough of her body to replicate the stallion's equipment...which was excellent in her opinion as this left her staring at the weeping and sadly underserviced marehood of Seven.
"You look like you could use a bit of energy, Sev. Let me help you with that."

She mounted Seven quickly, learning from her hive-sister's mistake and allowing the replicated malebits to fully engorge from the freeflowing arousal they were all feeling. The moment she considered it sufficient, she drove her own dick into Seven, which not incidentally shoved the still recovering queen deeper into Luna. Both mares shouted at the penetration, Luna in well-fucked ecstasy while Seven responded in panic.

'I'm going to be empty again, I'm not going to have enough to keep going!'

'That's why I'm here, Seven," Crystal sent with a grin.

Crystal gave an enthusiastic thrust into Seven, listening with glee as Luna and Seven both grunted with the impact. She pulled out while pulling Seven's hips back as well, though not as far, and gave a second thrust, slapping the three of them together again.

She looked over her current target at the male, who even as he was recovering was staring in wonder at the new levels of carnality the queens had delved into.
'This is all you, Maximus,' Crystal laughed. 'I set this squarely on your shoulders. Oh I'm certain the other queens will only take this farther once they learn of it. In the meantime...enjoy.'

She tapped his connection and wired the sensations from both her own immitation shaft as well as Seven's, funneling the entirety of Seven's sexual gratification as well as her own through his mind. His eyes bulged at the sudden flow, as did his stallionhood. A few more thrusts and he was groaning and moaning again, erupting into another fountain of glowing seed.

'I don't know why I waited this long to start messing with the link. This is amazing!'

'I'll, get you for, this,' Seven managed between the impacts. She wasn't doing well, her body twitching while her legs shook. Just a little more and-

Seven squealed, shooting what meager reserves were left inside of her body into the alicorn. Moments later her body was being filled from behind, Crystal unleashing the fresh batch of semen into the queen while moaning in delerious pleasure. It was nowhere as fun as being on the recieving end as Seven had said, but it had its perks. Namely she felt a thrill at the idea of rutting the other two into submission. She was on top. And it was amazing.

<-(0)->

Max stared at the queens as they discussed the next phase of their plan, something to do with a 'link-dive' or something that he wasn't sure he followed. It was supposed to set him at ease. Hoipefully, unlike their earlier enthusiastic work, it woudln't leave him a drooling mess.

"Ok Maximus," Crystal explained. "The next thing we're going to do is a deep dive. We wish to prove that you will not be altered in meaningful ways by your connection. Thus we're going to form as deep a connection as possible."

"We'll start simple. A general selection of memories from Crystal's life, up until she met Luna. After that we will switch it over to me, then we'll dive into yours."

"And you're certain it won't...break us?" Max asked. "The last time we messed with memories you ended up almost brain dead, Sev."

"We were in combat," the queen huffed, waving away the comment. "This is a link. The information is supposed to be shared this way. It's how we work. Our brains are made for sorting this sort of information. Now, Crystal, if you would be so kind?"

As the queens and the viceroy allowed their minds to connect more deeply than ever, none noticed the still fuck-dazed alicorn entering the dream. None noticed as she walked closer. None of them noticed as she was pulled into the delve until it was already in progress.

In which Discord Discovers Starswirl's Stash

It was yet another day in the Country of Chaos in the State of nowhere's-ville. Discord, sitting on his large and horrifically uncomfortable chair, found himself dealing with that most irritating nemesis. Yes, it was more frustrating than those two ponies who kept trying to beat him. They actually had some power and broke up the monotony of winning easily. Made him work for it. But today Discord was once again bored.

Normally this would spell doom for those around him, and in many ways it would have been so. This was not a strange day though. This was a good day. This particular day, after wandering off to find something to do, Discord found something interesting.

Seated deep inside a mountain of chocolate he'd found a hide-away, a stronghold of one of the more powerful of the unicorn sorcerers. Starswirl's own collection of notes, ideas, and even some of his experiments.

Discord wandered the chamber, plucking various doodads, confusing bits and bobs, and even a few thingamajigs off the tables and inspecting them. The papers didn't concern him, not at first. What caught his eyes, figuratively this time, was the mirror sitting in the back of the cave. It was a simple thing, and he'd almost walked past it until he'd seen what it showed. A wave of his paw and an explanation appeared in the air.

'Hello, it looks like you're trying to identify this item. Would you like me to scan it for you?'

"Of course I would, why else would I bring you here, you useless scroll?" the chaotic being muttered with his arms crossed over his chest.

'Full body mirror. Several spells overlapped in the following order.

1: Veil-sundering

B: Scanning of end-point inhabitants.

2: Transformation spell. Target: traveler. Reference for transformation: nearby life forms.

4:Mana Battery, charge time-varies based on local mana saturation. Current saturation will charge in approximately five years, two months, and six days.

Discord sighed. He could easily snap his talon and charge the spell, but that wasn't interesting. It would just send him to wherever the old codger had last been. Discord wasn't interested in the sloppy seconds of dimensional travel. If he was going to do this, he'd be popping the trans-dimensional cherries of worlds himself, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, that meant understanding exactly how the old unicorn had found the worlds. Slithering up to a nearby bookshelf, he tapped his chin in thought while ignoring the crowd of books chanting 'pick me, pick me!' Seeing one he thought may serve his purpose, he reclined nearby as the book recited its contents to him in the voice of a large minotaur. Why ponies bothered reading when half the books on the planet would read themselves to anyone who would listen was beyond the Lord of Chaos.

After a few minutes of listening, something that was harder for Discord to do than he'd ever admit, he slapped his talon and paw together and rubbed them in anticipation. He snapped his talon to open a portal to another world and entered with a pirouette.

Or at least he would have.

The portal fizzled, kicking the surprised draconequus out with the sound of an echo snapping. Lifting himself up off the ground in shock and irritation, Discord snapped his talon again, giving it a second go. When he received the same result, he did something he hated doing. He sat down and tried to ponder out what went wrong.

'It seems you're attempting trans-dimensional travel. Would you like some help?'

Discord glared at the scroll for a moment before sighing in frustration.

"Fine, but don't expect a raise."

<-(0)->

After nearly a full day of, ugh, straightening out his understanding of how the connections between worlds worked, Discord had finally managed to find his first world. He quickly decided that a deserted planet that had no sun, no air, and nothing interesting was not one he'd claim as the one he first found, and promised to claim the next planet as his first foray into trans-dimensional travel.

Unfortunately he had to make that promise about seventeen more times. It turned out there were possibly just as many 'duds' as he was calling them as there were actual planets out there. Some of these duds were uncomfortable even to him. Even Discord was inclined to stay away from a magic-void like that one place he found. It seemed to suck the very energy out of the air around him, leaving him feeling lightheaded and nauseous.

After finally finding worlds with other beings, he ran across an interesting idea. Worlds that existed in fiction in that dimension could be found existing in other dimensions. So he read, he learned, he watched, and the most difficult part of it all was he didn't cause chaos wherever he went.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was that he didn't need to. Ponies were creatures of order but many of the beings he came across were creatures of chaos, creatures of change and transition. It warmed his three hearts to see it; to see beings who not only lived in chaos, but thrived on it. Why couldn't ponies be like this? Why was his home so...ordered?

"Princess Celestia's coming to Ponyville!"

Discord jerked to a halt at the name, though the title attached was new. He turned to the nearest television on his path, watching as ponies ran all over trying to set things up for their sovereign. Then he saw her. It hadn't been that long, maybe a week since he'd seen the white mare making moves on his over-sized chair. The two big ponies had already claimed the sun and moon, wrenching them from his total control. He could still move them, of course, but it required a certain amount of effort now and sometimes he just couldn't be bothered with such things.

"...and for every realm of fiction...oh by the wars of the Old Ones, this world knows my own as cartoon," he muttered, watching the television intently. This would require further study. Lots of study. Maybe he could put some of the things he'd learned to use when he got back home?

<-(0)->

It was a relatively normal night for a young man. He was sitting in his apartment, talking to friends after a particularly long day at work. The young man, a one Max Logrun was currently regailing his friends and aquaintences with his latest encounter during his work as a sales rep at a nearby store.

"So I said, no seriously, I said that I didn't have any of those in stock, right? And this customer, he just looses his mind!" Max said into his headset. A few friends chuckled at the shared experience, many having had to deal with customer service at least once I their lives.

"The guy starts screaming for a manager, calls the cops even, and the officer that shows up arrests him for public disturbance! I'm almost crying because this is just getting so out of hand, the manager is apologizing to everyone around me, and the cop has the guy on the floor in handcuffs, while the customer is still screaming about how he's going to attack me, and destroy my car. The cops making note of all of this, as these are actually threats at this point. The guy is finally dragged off when two more cops show up to help the first, and he's still screaming, vowing to burn down the store for this 'indignity'."

Max grinned as another friend began his own tale, this one having to do with a project gone horribly wrong when the installers arrived at a house- through the front of the building. Before he could really focus on the main part of the story, a distraction arrived. A fresh message box popped up with a name and a question.

Discord: Ever read on Multi-verse Theory?

Take-it-to-the-Max: For every work of fiction, or for every action or decision, there is a world that exists where either that fiction is a reality, or another decision or action was taken at that point.

Discord: Good, so you're not completely lost in this idea. Do you think it's true?

Take-it-to-the-Max: No reason to believe it's false. Just because something can't be proven with current tech doesn't mean it's not true.

BTW, ever watch Star Trek? one of the actors, Q. His VA was the same as Discord's. Q was hilarious, too. Loved the mariachi band on a space ship.

Discord: I have in fact made myself knowledgeable on such characters. It's been a very eye-opening experience. I have to say though. I've learned that I hate Fate.

Take-it-to-the-Max: Don't get too deep, man. Drowning in philosophy is a terrible way to go.

"Max, you still there? We're headed over to grab some pizza at Marcus' Pizza Vault," a voice called over the headphones.

Max grinned.

"I'll join you guys in a bit, I'm curious about who just contacted me. Guy using the name Discord."

"I thought you dropped that brony stuff?" another chided.

"I'm not a brony, dammit," Max said with a groan. "That shit's all over the internet, you can't tell me you can't identify a few of the characters. Before you say anything, Tim, you're a lying bitch. You can't tell me you don't know a few of the names."

A few denials were issued in response, followed by many more jeers now targeted at another friend. Many began logging out, wishing their friends well and promising to grab some pizza for those unable to show up. Max brought up the conversation again, seeing a few more lines had been added.

Discord: I have to ask though. If you had a chance to alter history, would you do it?

Discord: What's your thoughts on alternate timelines, as well? Is it safe to do something like that, or would the paradox shatter the world?

Discord: Hello? Oh I see, not interesting enough for you? Here I thought I found a fellow lover of the strange.

Take-it-to-the-Max: Sorry, friends on voice chat. I don't know if I'd change anything. Maybe in my own history, but if you go back to far, you may not be born. Butterfly effect and all that. A single small change in the distant past can have more impact than throwing a bomb into a time-portal set to three weeks ago. The farther back you go, the farther back you make the changes, the less likely things will turn out the same. As for being safe? I like to think Time's a bit more durable than that. Dr. Who.

Discord: Ah, the timey-wimey stuff. Yes, interesting how that works out. In some ways it reinforces itself. In other instances, the future or past are re-written.

Discord: What do you think of Discord, the guy from MLP?

Take-it-to-the-Max: Odd guy. Seemed bored more than anything else. Not my fav char or anything, but he was funny. Nice to see biggest horse get taken down a notch or two.

Discord: Do you think a single person could alter the timeline for that show?

Take-it-to-the-Max: Easily, especially if they were early enough.

Discord: What about at the very beginning?

Take-it-to-the-Max: Like first episode? Sure, I guess. Not sure how Big White would take it but-

Discord: No, like before Moony went Loony.

Take-it-to-the-Max: Oh god, easily. May not even recognize the end result. If they did it right, may be able to stop her from losing herself to whatever happened.

Discord: I want to try an experiment.

Discord: Let's play a game! You have 72 hours of energy to survive on, and have that long to find a source. Best sources are obvious, but you could easily find a way to drag that energy out if you found supplements.

Take-it-to-the-Max: What the hell are you on?

Discord: I'm high on life, my friend. The possibilities, the changes, the Chaos!

Max blinked in confusion. The chat system he was using didn't allow for words to flash different colors.

Take-it-to-the-Max: How did you do that? I only know how to change text color.

Discord: Simple, my friend! I want it to flash.

Before he could respond, a talon reached out of his computer screen and grabbed him, yanking him forward.

Max did not scream like a little bitch, and he'd fight anyone who said otherwise.

<-(0)->

After nearly a week of searching for him, they'd found him back on his throne. Celestia and her sister, Luna, made their way up to the mismatched creature, Elements of Harmony in tow. They were ready for anything he'd try, ready for anything that could await them at this latest engagement.

"Tia, I''m confused," Luna whispered, staring ahead at the throne.

On it lounged Discord, head hanging off the seat of the chair while his tail hung over the back. In his grip and the reason for the mares' confusion was a book. Discord, master of chaos and disharmony, was reading.

In absolute silence.

Celestia shuddered at the sight. What horrific creature could hold the Discord's attention? As they approached her confusion grew. Lovecraft? When did Discord read romance novels?

"Have you ever thought yourself a master, only to have it revealed to you just how little you truly understand a topic, Tia?" Discord said as he flipped another page.

"So many with nothing. No powers, no magic, nothing but will to live and make their changes and they cause more change than I do. Longer lasting changes as well. I found Starswirls Hidey-hole bee-tee-dubs, learned how to visit other worlds and everything. Found someone who will make this interesting. I could have left of course, or tried something else, but I want to put my lessons to use. I want to see if I can cause chaos without actually going around attacking order. So I found a friend. He got caught up in customs, but he'll be along soon enough. Equis doesn't agree with non-magical creatures, you know."

"We will stop you this day, Discord, and your ally will fall as well!" Luna shouted, three of the Elements of Harmony glowing as she held them before her.

Discord just chuckled.

"Oh, but that's the fun part. He's not on my side. If you play your cards right, he may end up on yours. Or if you fail too many diplomacy rolls, maybe he'll be an enemy? Maybe he'll die, or maybe he'll end up trying to destroy the world? It's out of my mismatched limbs I'm afraid, and for some reason that gives me a real chaos-boner. Oh I'm getting giddy just thinking about it! For the first time in as long as I can remember, I really don't know what will happen as a result of this."

"You see, I'm not certain I've really lived up to my title. I've caused havoc, yes, but is it really chaos? Or is it just disasters that I'm leaving in my wake? Chaos shouldn't be good or evil, it just is. That's what I've learned, little fillies, and it's why I'm going to get an A on this project.

"Even if you kill him the moment you see him," Discord said, finally looking to the approaching mares "I still win."

"Now, we all have places to go, people to see, a world in chaos to restore and all that jazz. So whenever you finish charging your magic doohickeys, just hit me with your best shot and fire away."

Donning a blindfold, the draconequus pulled out a strange device and tapped it, causing the metal thing to start blaring music of all things. Still, the two had come too far to be put off by such foolishness. With a grunt of effort, Luna and Celestia poured magic and will into their respective elements, seeking to contain the chaos he had wrought on the land. A rainbow beam of energy lashed out at the unconcerned creature and for a moment, Celestia's heart knew doubt. Would they not work? Was that why he was so unconcerned?

When the light faded, Discord was nothing more than a statue, albeit a statue in a strange pose, as if he was pondering life's great mysteries. It left a bad taste in her mouth, and moments later her sister voiced her own concern.

"He knew it would turn him to stone," Luna muttered, staring at the newly formed statue. "He knew it, yet he still did nothing to stop it. Does he truly care so little for his own safety? Or was he that certain of his ally's victory?"

"I do not know, Luna," Celestia said with trepidation. "We will prepare for this, creature that Discord summoned but in the meantime we have work to do. The world needs our help."

<-(0)->

It was nearly two years after the defeat of Discord when Celestia received the notification of a strange creature saturated in chaotic magic being discovered. It was not with a report of towns burning, of animals being twisted or apples changing into oranges for no reason. In some ways, she actually doubted it was the ally Discord had predicted. Still, she was taking no chances. She had the report passed to her sister, unfortunately rousing the Lunar princess from her sleep to see to this threat. Stepping into the castle dungeons, she and her sister were less than impressed.

"It's been asleep the entire time?" she asked the guard.

"Yes, your grace. We found it near the Statue in the castle gardens while on patrol. I do not believe I have ever laid eyes upon such a creature before, but it does seem like something that could be expected from the beast," Iron Heart said.

The creature was currently chained against the dungeon wall, its black skin shining in what little illumination there was available by torchlight. Its forelegs were splayed and held against the wall, leaving its rear legs laying uselessly on the stone floor while its head hung limply against its barrel. A blindfold was over its eyes, preventing it from identifying its surroundings or using any ocular spells or abilities while a suppressor was clamped to its horn. Finally a muzzle was clamped over its mouth, though fangs could just barely be seen poking out from its lips.

"I believe it is a, a shape shifter. They are extremely skittish, but I don't think I've ever seen one of this size," Luna said cautiously, moving up to the cell's bars for a better view. "There isn't a name for them at the moment I don't think. Tia, it's saturated with Discord's magic. This is the one he mentioned."

"Than I humbly request we destroy it before it awakens," Silver Blade said, levitating a sword in his magic. The unicorn guard made to open the cell and move closer when Celestia stopped him with a hoof.

"We know nothing of this creature, nor of his relationship with Discord. The draconequus was acting strange when we last found him and specifically said that even if we destroyed the being at its discovery, Discord would still win. We need more information."

With that, Celestia grabbed a nearby bucket of water, splashing it over the creature and causing it to sputter awake with a start.

Max came to with a jolt, coughing and choking on water. He'd been woken up that way only twice before and knew exactly who it was that often did so.

"(Dammit, James! I said I'd beat your ass if you...)"

The words died on his lips as he registered the fact that his mouth was clamped shut. Not only that but it felt...wrong. Everything felt wrong and it was way too cold. He shifted, hearing metal clinking and rattling with every movement. His neck was way too long; it shouldn't feel this way. A quick check of his memories put the blame squarely on the last thing he saw before blacking out.

'You son of a bitch...' he thought as he remembered the talon bursting out of his computer screen.

"Have you checked the creature for anything of interest?" a female voice called out from ahead of him. To his confusion he felt his ears twist in the direction of the sound, further cementing his theory that Discord had, in fact, done something to him.

"We did a cursory check for weapons but none were found," a male voice answered.

A strange tingling sensation washed over the confused male for a moment before another voice spoke out.

"There is something in the right hip. I think it's some sort of pouch or compartment. Silver Blade?"

"On it, your grace."

Piercing agony struck Max the next moment, the feeling of someone twisting his fingers backwards emanating from his thigh. It intensified several times as whatever was pulling on him tugged harder before a clattering sound was heard, several small objects hitting the floor. The pain subsided and Max choked on his pain, twisting himself to try and move the part that was hurting so badly. It likely just left him more exposed, but at this point he was so lost he didn't even know his species.

"Odd, I do not recognize the script on these coins, nor on these...things...of what material are they crafted?" the first female voice spoke again.

The second female answered.

"I do not know. I've never felt it before, and it has a strange spell on the black part here. There's another one on this small metal piece here. It's much more complex though..."

"Certainly feels like no spell I've ever felt before."

"Shall I take the items to a linguist, your grace?" a gruff male voice asked. Max made special note of this voice, it was the one that brought pain.

"Discord mentioned the other being originating from another world. I doubt it would be something you could find easily. You may, but we do not expect any real headway to be made in deciphering the language. I believe we are ready to start."

Whatever was on his face was removed, allowing him to answer the questions of those keeping him captive. The question was, who was it behind the bars? It could have been the pony sisters like he suspected, but then again...

"What are you?" the second voice asked.

Max sputtered out a few garbled sounds before working his jaw, attempting to get used to the strange shape. Rolling the weird tongue around in his mouth, which almost reminded him of a serpent's tongue except it wasn't forked at the end. Rolling his tongue over his elongated mouth and finding fangs, he was surprised to find himself growling at the thought of Discord.

"I asked what you are, creature. Can you understand me?"

"I...do. S-eak har- now. Mouf, body wong. Mouf long, ton wrong, fass, face mess. Was Human, now not know," Max sputtered out in broken English. It was difficult, but he hoped he got his point across.

"Are you allied with Discord?" the older female voice asked.

"Ally? I beat him, kiss ass, piece o' sit, bur in hell and fuck hi-self with ca-tus!" Max roared, thrashing about slightly while still unable to see. Oh just let him get his, whatever he had now on that son of a bitch. He'd find out if you could pluck someone's eyeballs out without fingers.

There was silence for a moment as his reaction set in.

"Do you know that word?" the older female asked.

A male voice stuttered out a negative, while the younger female turned the question to their captive.

"We are unfamiliar with some of these terms. What's a ca-tus?"

Max sighed, realizing he was going nowhere soon. He shifted again, attempting to take some of the strain off of his legs. They were starting to cramp.

"Cactus is plan. Plant. Long, tall, gree-green. Many spike. Painful," he answered.

"My guess would be he is requesting that Discord copulate with said plant your majesty. I, I am aware that it was a common request during his reign that he do so with various objects that would bring discomfort," a male answered. It was the first male, the one who hadn't caused blinding pain to the lost human and Max nodded along with his guess. The guy was on the money.

"How did you end up in Discord's focus?" the younger female asked, directing the conversation once more to Max.

"I talk to per-on on co-pu-er. Name Di-cord. Not know who was, talk abou- tings like tie-line, -ultiverse, an canging -istory," Max struggled out, attempting to corral his new tongue. Unfortunately it was proving elusive and uninterested in cooperating with its master.

A racket outside the cell was met with hushed voices and Max found his ears focusing on the voices. Even with directional hearing, he was unable to pick out the voices. After they finished, most of the audience apparently left, leaving Max pinned to the wall without so much as an explanation. His ears drooped in irritation before perking back up. Someone had opened the cell door and stepped inside.

"You say Discord sent you here to alter the timeline. Why would I not just kill you to preserve it?" the voice asked.

Max blinked in shock at the venom with which the words were spoken, but the soft volume gave him an idea of who it was.

"Selesia, yes? Is impor-an even if mean civil war, sister going mad, and spending mille-i-a alone?"

Two hooves suddenly we on his barrel, pressing him against the wall.

"What do you know of our future, creature?" Celestia asked in dangerously.

"One I say, can't take ba-k. Sure want this pat-?"

The hooves slipped off of his barrel, and the cell was silent once more. The blindfold was finally removed, causing Max to blink several times as his eyes adjusted to the light. Before him, a white mare with a flowing pastel mane of several colors was staring deep into his own eyes.

"Speak," Celestia commanded him, and so he did.

"This place, it li-like book from home," Max explained. "I read bits and parts, not all but some. Also hear many speak of it. About how moon-sister go mad, from monster taking mind and body or loneliness I dunno. Story set way in future, think Discor- saw it. Not like Fate, said so hi-self. Want change, put me here. I have find way to sur-rive here, I already change tings. You know now, maybe stop it? Is keeping time-ine worth losing sister? Long, long time to be alone, Pri-sess. Dis 'ting Disco make me, I not know anyting 'bout it. I hear once feed on love, but how? Love not have amount. How eat what can't quan-fy? Absorb, or need to pull? Scare me, and can't do any-ting abou- it."

Celestia was silent, not answering his question. She stared at him, as if demanding he change his story, or change to the truth as she hoped it to be. Such a hope was to be unfulfilled. Instead she slumped, her wings sagging and her ears splaying.

"Do you know why Discord chose one of your kind? The thing you were before, I assume it was the strange creature on one of those cards. I think it had a picture of an strange creature's head."

"My license, yes was what look like. He lazy. Find idea, want do it then. Grab sumbody nearby. I tink dat it," Max responded, wiping his tongue along his muzzle to test it a bit.

The mare sighed in frustration. With a burst of magic, Max fell to the floor, the restraints releasing him to be supported by his alien muscles. Seeing him struggling to stand up, the mare flared her horn, lighting up his body and setting him on his stomach.

"I will ask one more thing for now. What were those things in your side?"

Max scowled, twitching different muscles as he worked to figure out his new form.

"I tink was stuff that in my pock-es before. Had stuff, cards and coins. Maybe put in closest have to pocket like dis?"

With that the white mare left, leaving Max alone in the cell. He shifted repeatedly for the next few hours attempting to learn how to move his new body. When he finally found a way to reach that damn statue the ponies likely turned Discord into, he was going to kick it in the balls. Such an action required being able to stand, though. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Max set to work on learning the ins and outs of being a quadruped.

<-(0)->

That night, after taking her final meal of the day and finishing her new duties in the castle she shared with her sister, Celestia retired for the night. Lowering the sun did not leave her feeling relieved of the weight of responsibility. Instead her mind was awhirl with questions. Questions she dreaded to find the answers to. The stallion, strange as he was, was so out of place in his own body she was almost forced to admit the possibility of his story. The two alicorns had experienced a lot of problems with their ascension, as much of their height and power had come suddenly as well as the addition of two brand new forms of magic to learn about. What would she have acted like if her entire body was foreign to her? She would likely have no control over it until she spent time learning the basics of movement and muscle control again.

What truly drove her to madness though was his words on her sister. She'd never thought of it but having it spoken of so plainly she could already see it. Luna arrived alone while Celestia arrived with an escort. During dinner the servants would constantly see to her, while her sister fed herself. Slipping in quietly before bed, she saw the emptiness of the Night Court while her own court was backlogged weeks into the future. Jealousy was what the stallion had said drove her sister to madness, jealousy and loneliness. What was she to do? Could she really watch her sister descend to madness for the sake of preserving a timeline that was likely already damaged?

Celestia eventually retired for the night, laying upon her bed as these questions plagued her mind. She retired to her bed and wrapped herself in her blankets, but sleep would not find her that night.

One Person's Love is Another Person's Lunch

Max watched curiously as Luna made her decision, moving a rook out of danger instead of using it to take out his queen. It was an oddity about how ponies played. Luna attempted to get through a game with most of her pieces instead of just winning. Apparently it must have been some sort of ingrained instinct or value driven into her very soul, not just some propaganda used to make ponies look better. It made sense in retrospect. When they had the opportunity Celestia and Luna had stood before Discord personally.

Another oddity was that Equestrians played to the end, till there were no pieces left. Again, part of that made sense as just because a ruler is removed doesn't mean the followers disband. Still, it was odd to put her king in checkmate just to have her move through it, causing him to take the piece. When he did, she moved another piece, causing the changeling to stare at her in confusion. The two had then spent a good half-hour discussing rules and the differences in the their species ideas of chess, differences they'd not thought about after discovering the pieces moved the same in both of their versions of chess.

The mare was a bit miffed that his overly aggressive play-style had left him the victor for the first three games, but she'd quickly started making changes to her own style to attempt to head him off, trying to make him pay in spades for even a pawn. Unfortunately, this left her turtling quite a bit, so she didn't have much room to move her own pieces. Thus he'd surrounded her, moving a knight around to pass his own turned while waiting for her to make a mistake. She wrecked most of his pawns, but then again he wasn't too worried about those. His other pieces were untouchable with her current strategy, eating her forces alive even as she tried to keep him back. It drew a smile from him, thinking of his soldiers as zombies or orcs, trying to overcome the last bastion of humanity and plunge the world into darkness.

'Okay, so I'm not a good guy. Not like I'm actually going to try and raise an army to overthrow the two of them.'

"What is it you find so humourous? You've lost more soldiers than I this round," Luna said, moving a pegasus knight in the familiar L-pattern.

"Just thinking about the two different styles" Max explained. "I was taught that because it's a game, the loss of a few pieces is not something you should worry about. It says something about our mindsets. I say the ends can justify the means, to a point. I won't justify something like genocide, but a little discomfort for the betterment of all can be justified in most cases. In the case of survival, sacrifice is to be expected. My country's military played such things up. There are few soldiers who received the medal of honor that didn't die in the line of duty and I don't think there are any who left the field unscathed. Their sacrifice allowed victory in the most unlikely of places, saving the lives of hundreds of others. They're remembered as heroes.

"I believe my favorite story was the single soldier who held off an advancing enemy line while his unit retreated. He used a...the closest thing you may have with your technology would be a ballistae, I believe. He used it on the advancing forces until it's ammunition was depleted, then used his personal bow until it was out as well. Running out of options, he engaged the enemy with a trench blade, a small weapon that could be held in one limb and proceeded to kill even more of the advancing enemy before he was finally brought down."

Luna nodded.

"At the end of the day though, Tia and I have always tried to keep those we can safe. It's our duty to defend those who are unable to defend themselves."

"That's something else," Max added. "Magic and those who wield it are nothing but a story where I'm from. We know of it, tell stories of it, some even dream of it, of having such power. It's just not something that's ever been discovered, as far as the general populace is concerned. Thus we stand alone. We are the only species on the planet, with no physical deities to direct us. I know you don't think of yourselves that way, but you and your sister are a step up from ponies. Many will look to you as higher beings and be more accepting of your rule because of this."

"Your highness, there's an earth pony farmer here to speak with you," a guard said, approaching with a bow. "He questions the tax on his crops."

The changeling chuckled as the guard returned to the main doors to admit the supplicant.

"Death and taxes, the only things guaranteed in life."

"Tis a very dark view of the world, Max" Luna chided.

"Humans don't have any guarantees of a better tomorrow besides what they rip from life," the stallion responded with an easy grin. "Many of us have developed a lot of dark humor. It's even called gallows humor, gallows being a place criminals were executed."

Luna nodded in understanding.

"Yes, the minotaurs and diamond dogs have their own execution methods, though in Equestria it's mostly banishment that ponies fear."

"Separation from the group. For most of the herd animals back home such an outcome would result in death. Well, unless they found another herd to accept them. Kinda hard to find a substitute for a couple of demigoddesses standing watch over you and your family, though."

The blue mare giggled at the title.

"In spite of what you say, we are not goddesses. Merely...stronger than most ponies. Our connection to the sun and moon provide a good amount of our power. Alicorns are merely extremely rare...it is very difficult to become an alicorn."

Max tapped a hoof against his chin for a moment, feigning deep thought. Afterwards he shook his head.

"No, I don't see it. After all, only a goddess could embody that kind of beauty," he complemented, gesturing to Luna.

The mare giggled once more, this time sporting a blush, before schooling her expression as the farmer approached. Her mouth was curved into a small smile though, so Max counted it as a victory.

<-(0)->

The rest of the night passed fairly quietly. Only one other peasant had shown up during the entire night and by Max's guess it was likely because they couldn't afford to wait for day court than an actual desire to seek Luna's counsel. Neither of the petitioners had commented on his presence, though the first one did stare at him for a bit.

'Not that it was mean. I'm certain he's just never seen something like myself before.'

Now, with the day beginning and Luna turning over the kingdom to her sister, the two were set to meet for breakfast soon. The prospect of sitting with her sister again had killed Luna's mood however, leaving the changeling to make a face. Saying someone's mood is souring is funny until you learn that you might as well bite into a lemon when it happens.

Turning to her shadow as she made her way down the halls Luna cocked her head in curiosity before beginning to giggle, realizing what had caused him to make that face.

"Truly it is strange, to have one so influenced by our emotions. We apologize, we are not looking forward to meeting our sister again."

"Never apologize for feeling bad, Luna," the stallion reassured. "It just caught me by surprise. It's also strange, tasting that. I mean, I spent most of my life eating regular food and now I'm like this. It's a trip for me as well."

"We must apologize, we are unaware of your context for that word."

He bit his lip in thought, flinching a moment later when the fang pierced the fleshy inside of his lip. He'd need to get used to that, it seemed.

"It has a few meanings. In this case, it's a drug reference; to experience an altered state that is induced by chemicals. The experience of tasting emotions is something I'd relate to the hallucinations experienced by individuals using mind-altering substances. Magic as well, once I learn of it. It would be a sense I've never experienced before, likely leading me to question how many things are connected. After all, I'm currently surviving off of something I didn't know could be quantified. I'm curious how my biology does that. How it works."

"Your people, your previous species. They had an in-depth understanding of how their bodies worked, correct?" the alicorn asked.

"Absolutely. Without magic we relied on science and knowledge for all of our medical needs, from small scratches to a person losing a limb. We did quite a bit with what we learned. We'd even managed to create artificial organs. An artificial heart was a real thing back home. A heart that was built by human hands. It's kind of strange to think about. There were some who wondered just how close we were to immortality being achievable through technology."

"I see. Ponies are doing better without Discord constantly changing the laws of the world around them, but we're still lacking in many technologies. At one point we had them, but...tis difficult to keep information through the generations when the words run off the page."

At his chuckle, the mare looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"We mean that literally. We have watched as words fled from ponies the moment they opened a book, screaming nonsense about the pony stealing their wisdom. You will find that many ponies fear any type of change, some even reacting violently. For now though, the wounds caused by Discord's reign are still too fresh."

"I think I understand. There have been disasters that did things like that back home, be they engineered or natural, that drove people from certain ways of life. As it stands, I'll need to know where you are in terms of science as well as how magic changes the rules before I can give you anything of value. Some things you may not even need. Would knowing how the body repairs itself have a direct impact on how well a healing spell works? I have no idea at the moment."

"It does, actually. If one were to attempt to uitilize a healing spell without the proper knowledge of both the body and the damage it has suffered one can cause the body to regenerate the wrong parts. It is one of the reasons healing spells are so difficult to master. If one misuses one, the patient can be killed."

Max nodded in understanding.

"Basically a healing spell can cause cancer."

At the mare's request to explain, he went into detail on the subject.

"We had something like that occur naturally, in fact it was one of the more known ways people died back home. Cancer was a big issue, that and a few diseases that were difficult to stop but there were many plagues that were nearly driven out of existence by proper medical technologies as well as understanding of nature and our own bodies. One example was the Black Plague. In its height, it wiped out more than a third of the human population, but more recently there was a little girl that came down with it. Once it was identified, they treated her and I think she was back home before the month was out. In its hay-day, contracting that disease was a death-sentence. Now it's dangerous but with the proper resources it can be dealt with."

"I see. We believe this will suffice as a topic of discussion tonight. We are certain we can arrange for the relevant tomes to be delivered to the throne room. While it will be some time before your understanding of magic is advanced enough to attempt to use it, it is still good to know," Luna said, opening the door to the dining room.

To their surprise, the room seemed empty aside from the plates and furnishings still present in the room. As they stood there in confusion, a pegasus maid came flying down the hall towards them.

"You're highness, I apologize. Your sister has asked that you join her in the new dining room down the hall. Somepony was supposed to deliver to you the information while you were still in court, as Princess Celestia asked us to prepare this last night."

"We understand. Thank you, though we ask that the one responsible for seeing this information to us is brought to both mine and mine sister's attention," Luna responded with a bit of irritation. "Lead us to our new dining room."

As the two followed the nervous maid down a side hall, Max winced at what he was feeling from the serving mare. Luna bit back a giggle at his face, the changeling looking like he bit into a lemon.

"We hazard that fear is not a pleasant emotion to taste?"

The maid stopped in her tracks at the comment, staring at the two in horror. Seeing the pony's terrified expression, Luna smiled kindly at her.

"Peace, mine subject," the alicorn assured her. "Max will not leave you some empty husk devoid of happiness. We have been learning about his form while we find a place for him. At the moment it is as our friend. The nights become quite...tedious I believe was the word you used, was it not Max?"

"Mind-numbingly so," he confirmed.

They continued for a little longer down the hallway and upon reaching the destination, the maid opened the door and stood aside with a bow. Entering the new dining room, Max was less than impressed.

"So I asked the young stallion what he was doing on my property, and the little foal starts going on about how he was lost in thought. Well I wasn't going to have some ruffian wandering around in my front yard so I told him he best-"

The chattering at the table slowly died out as the two larger beings stopped in the doorway. Max didn't need to see the look of irritation that was painted all over the dark alicorn's face; it was perfectly mirrored on his own. He knew damn well Celestia understood his reasoning for this kind of dining room. Privacy and a place to get away from the hustle, a place where the two sisters could relax and be themselves.

This wasn't going against that sentiment. This was setting the aforementioned sentiment on fire then throwing out the window. Judging by the irritation and fatigue he was sensing from the princess seated across the way though, it wasn't something she wanted any part in. Every seat was filled with a noble, some opting to have their own chairs brought in as they chattered amongst themselves. A clearly uncomfortable Celestia sat at one side of the table, looking about the disaster as if she herself was uncertain how it had begun. The guards were stoic, but he could taste the frustration and anger that, if he guessed correctly, was directed to the ponies who had taken over the now-cramped dining room.

Unlike Luna's anger, Max's expression soon shifted to a devious smile as a terrible idea occurred to him. Nudging the blue alicorn mare, he nodded to the table and smiled widely enough to bare his fangs. Luna soon nodded as realization struck her and she motioned the waiting staff to cover their ears before she did so as well. Celestia, being so distracted by the nobles, barely had time to notice the servants and guards were all covering their ears before she saw the large changeling jump onto the dining table as he took in a deep breath.

The noise emitted by the stallion wasn't so much a roar or shout as it was a screeching hiss that echoed horrifically in the close quarters. The nobility instantly began darting about in confusion and fear, a few firing off random spells to slow their attacker. One hit Max in the foreleg and another struck his chest, though they did little more than push him back a step or two. The real issue came from the spells striking other nobles. In such tight quarters cramped with individuals, the likelihood of friendly fire seemed to have been unaccounted for. So it was that three nobles fell to spells of their compatriots.

After most of the unruly guests had nearly broken down the doors in their haste to flee and the guards assured there was no monster attempting to eat the princesses, the incapacitated were removed from the dining room along with the extra chairs.

"Well that was certainly something. Did they not get the memo either?" Max asked casually, looking to Celestia.

Celestia, still in a bit of confused shock, turned to him with confusion painted across her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Max is referring to the fact that we were not forewarned of the changes to the dining arrangements," Luna said as she took her seat. "We would ask that you find the one responsible and properly discipline them, but it also seems that some of the nobility do not care for proper decorum. This must be...rectified. Immediately."

"I don't know if I'll agree with what your planning if your tone says anything, but I do agree that this needs to stop. If these guys are anything like the politicians and nobles back home, not stopping them tells them they can keep going and they'll find even more obnoxious ways to ruin your day," Max said, hopping off of the table while being careful not to step in anything edible. "Maybe next time this happens let them know the next breakfast will be at another noble's house. Just pick one of the group, like the first one who shows up and lets himself in. That's what happened, right?"

Celestia nodded as the two newcomers took their seats, Luna sitting opposite of Celestia while Max once more sat at Luna's side. The blue alicorn snorted in irritation as she cleared away the dishes of the nobles that had attempted to take over the room and left them in a pile towards one of the doors. A maid, the one who had led the two of them to the dining room in fact, nervously approached and began laying out clean dishes and silverware for the two of them.

"What would h-her highness be interested in for her morning meal?" the mare meekly whispered.

"We believe we shall stick to our usual fair for the morn'," Luna responded. "And for our companion, we request a bowl of oatmeal and pan-cooked cakes."

"Just the pancakes, no oatmeal," Max said flatly. He gave the mare beside him an irritated look. "I know you'd enjoy seeing me make a fool out of myself trying to eat oatmeal with my lack of precision, but I'd like to avoid that until I have either a decent understanding of magic or more control with that, thing you guys do with your hooves. I nearly stabbed myself earlier."

"Drat. Here we were looking forward to being entertained during our morning meal," the mare countered as a grin blossomed across her muzzle. Turning to the serving pony she nodded, conceding Max's point.

"Just the, pancakes? I do like that name, you have something similar from whence you originated?"

"We do, at least I assume it's the same thing," the changeling answered. "As I said earlier, I need to know what you have access to before I can make proper judgment calls. I could tell you all the things you need to build a flying machine, but you likely won't have the ability to even create the tools needed to make the materials, and that's not taking into consideration the fact that some of your subjects can fly by their own power. By that same token though, if you start telling me about magic I'll likely get lost pretty quickly. Saying that we come from two different worlds doesn't even begin to describe this situation... Luna, thank you for doing this for me. I'm still scared about tomorrow, but I may just survive this yet. If I do then I can have myself a proper freak-out about this situation and you can laugh at me afterwards. Deal?"

Luna just smiled warmly at the stallion, her happiness spiking sharply as well as a few hints of something much more powerful. He blinked away the strange sensations, idly noting the mare had brushed his side with a wing. While he would have dismissed it for a comforting touch on a friends shoulder, the spike of shock from the white alicorn across the way told him he'd have to ask about it later.

"So question, I thought petty nobility was something that developed over centuries. This kingdom is just starting out, right? Where'd the goon squad come from?"

"Many of the nobles from Paradise Estates journeyed to Equestria to escape the Windigoes and the cold they brought," Luna explained. "Some were able to retain their wealth through the journey, though how they managed to keep it secured during the Reign of Discord is beyond us."

"Many are not as well off as they would have us believe, but it is not their wealth that gives them power. It is the fact that they command respect. I understand you may not have experience with ponies in such positions, but we ask that you exercise caution in their presence. They are quite capable of making your life difficult at best. At worst, they could be dangerous," Celestia added.

"I bet they would...and I just scared the piss out of half of them. My luck, those will be the trouble makers, too," Max groused as the serving ponies came in with the requested dishes.

Luna giggled at his complaint as she seasoned her oatmeal, added milk and sugar to her tea and buttered her pancakes. Simultaneously.

"Fret not, Max. Should the nobles decide to get rid of you, we shall keep the bad ponies away."

"I really need to learn how this magic stuff works," the stallion muttered as he bent down to nab a pancake with his teeth.

Seeing his predicament, Luna's smile only grew.

"You need only ask, you know. We shan't ask much in return..."

The changeling stared at her, his expression flat as he chewed his pancake, the fluffy cake slowly being pulled into his mouth as he ate to the best of his abilities. Just because he could get the blasted utensils to work with his weird ankle-wrist things didn't mean it was easy. In the case of pancakes, he wasn't even certain he wanted to try messing with buttering them.

"And just what would be your price, you irritating little ma-"

Max's response was cut off as his eyes bulged and he gagged, some instinctive reflex that felt like nausea causing him to choke on his words.

"Bucket."

Celestia responded first, levitating a nearby wooden bucket to the stallion who wrapped a foreleg around it. Backing off the cushion and muttering an apology even as he urped a second time, he breathed deeply as he tried to keep down whatever was angry at him.

"-have that thing destroyed, that's what we'll do. Princess, we demand you leash your pet before it attacks somepony!"

It was at that moment that one of the scattered nobles decided to make her entrance, nearly bowling over a serving pony who was attempting to distance himself from Max. The mare pine green coated and baby blue maned unicorn was dressed in flowing clothes that likely would cost a small fortune even with plentiful materials, let alone in a world that had seen the hardships Equestria had just come out of. Seeing the heaving changeling she scowled, stomping up to him and slapping away the bucket.

"I'll not be made a fool in front of my fellows, monster. I'll have you strung up by your balls from this castle's highest tower! What do you have to say for yourself? Answer me!"

The alicorns were watching with very different expressions. For Luna, was in giddy anticipation of what was about to happen. She knew that while the noblemare would be angered, she would have only herself to blame. She also knew that the mare would likely be a problem in the future, considering where this was going.

Celestia was staring at the situation with horror, watching as the large changeling urped again, his hooves pressed over his muzzle in a desperate attempt to stop himself from vomiting on the mare. The stallion leaned left, then right, but both times the nobemare moved to remain in his path. The situation was completely lost on the infuriated unicorn. All she could see was the object of her ire standing before her.

After a third and final shout for an answer, she received one.

Luna cocked her head in curiosity as the changeling didn't so much vomit as launch a wad of green gunk from his maw at an explosive velocity, pinning the smaller pony to the floor in a thin layer of the mucus-like substance. Even as she began to flail about and scream, albeit in a much more muffled volume, Max rushed over to his bucket and hacked again, this time aiming for the bucket.

The blue alicorn's eyebrow rose as this time, the green gunk punched a hole in the bottom of the bucket, splattering over the stone floors while containing the splintered wood to the impact zone. Seeing the male standing over the gunk with a both confused and relieved expression, she wandered over and noticed that there was no stench of a pony getting sick. In fact, the only thing she could smell was the breakfast still on the table.

"Are you well?"

"I...I really don't know. I've gotten sick before, but that wasn't the same thing. There's no- no sensation of bile. I also don't feel weak," Max answered in a daze, his gaze wandering over to the flailing noblemare before wincing.

"Oh, this isn't going to end well."

"She confronted a visibly distressed individual. T'was nopony's fault but her own. We must wonder why you reacted in such a way. Was it the food? Was it tainted?" Luna asked, looking over the food cautiously.

"Perhaps, sister, the answer may be found in the difference of his species?" Celestia suggested from her seat. "He is empowered by emotions, correct? Perhaps he does not possess a way to eat in the same way as ourselves."

"We suppose that would make a certain form of sense, though we will certainly be interested in studying this substance. Was the food merely destroyed, or does this substance have a second-" stopping as she looked back to the noblemare as some maids began attempting to remove her from the floor, Luna tried again "third use? The first would be disposal, Certain Fortune seems to be proof it can restrain ponies, oh we are curious now! Come Max, we will turn in early this morn', we have much to learn come the night!"

Before he could say anything in response, the stallion was lifted into the air in a shimmering blue aura, his confusion soon giving way to irritation as he realized what was going on.

"What about breakfast? I know I don't need the pancakes, but you need something to eat. You can't live off of some bizarre, intangible energy, remember?"

The Alicorn of the Night slowed, turning and nabbing her breakfast in her aura before continuing on her way with a spring in her step.

Shaking his head in irritation, the changeling called back to the serving ponies who were having little luck freeing the now sobbing noble from the green goop.

"Try peanut butter, I hear that works on removing sticky stuff."

As the changeling disappeared from sight, the servants looked to Celestia in confusion.

"How does one make butter from nuts?"

<-(0)->

Luna was scowling as she relaxed in her bed, the changeling currently humming contentedly from his position on her back. She imagined his request from his victory to be much more...explicit. Instead he'd opted to cuddle with her, nuzzling and nibbling her neck while buzzing his wings every now and again. She didn't even feel him prodding her flank, even though she was certain he knew what she had been expecting.

It certainly felt wonderful. She had hummed in contentment as his wings buzzed, the vibrations massaging her back in a most wondrous way. The nuzzles and nibbles were cautious and unpracticed, but she understood their meaning. It was the cautious touch of a stallion who was wary of causing discomfort to his mare, or perhaps it was the touch of a being who wasn't certain what was intimate affection in his new form? In either case it was an appreciated gesture, just one that wasn't as intense as she'd expected. Especially when she considered that first night.

"Does it really bother you that much?" Max asked, his forelegs wrapped around the mare.

"It is not what we expected," she answered. "We anticipated some joke or prank after thy victory, perhaps even a...request of a more intimate nature."

"Like the one you were planning on making?" he asked with a smirk. As the mare blushed he chuckled.

"It's no telepathy, but you can tell a great deal about people based on the shifts of their emotions. Well, you can once you learn what emotions taste like what and are able to identify them. When I made that wager, your lust spiked. That was something I expected you to think of in all honesty, but that doesn't mean it's my goal. When you were speaking with me both in the throne room and at breakfast I felt energized, more so than after that entire binge I indulged in. I think it has to do with the complexity of the emotions. The more there is to them, the stronger they are. In this case, lust was very weak while the happiness and companionship was much more powerful."

She hummed thoughtfully at the explanation.

"Most stallions would be rushing to claim a mare, though."

"Perhaps, but I have a vested interest in the connection I've made with this mare. Of course, if you'd rather this go down that path..." he whispered leadingly, shifting to grind against the mare's flank.

He smiled as her lust spiked and her wings flared. Nipping a perked ear, he whispered into her ear.

"...I'd be more than happy to oblige. Just be warned that I'm not starving like I was yesterday. This time I'd like some give and take."

Rising in such a manner as to drop the stallion off of her back, Luna gave the changeling a view that left no doubt as to her desires. Her flank was raised in the air while her legs were spread slightly, leaving her flanks parted enough that he could see her marehood peeking out at him. Her tail began flagging, bobbing as if to wave him forward. With a quick flick, it was cascading over her right leg, giving Max an unhindered view of her backside. "Shall we repeat the previous morn's activity?"

"You really liked that, didn't you?" he responded. Approaching her with an almost reverent pace that made her shudder in anticipation, he once more caressed her flank.

"Good thing I've always found butt's more appealing than breasts. Teats just don't have the same effect."

Using his hoof to knead the flesh, he began massaging it in easy circles, watching was the mare's muscles twitched, watching as her moistening flower began to invite him in both pulsing winks and powerful pheromones. He smiled as her tail hitched every few moments, listened to her gasp as her trailed nips from the cheek of her flank to the emblem of the moon. Just shy of nipping it, he instead kissed it in a feather-soft way that left her staring at him pleadingly.

Max stared back, giving her moon another kiss without breaking eye-contact.

"If something makes you uncomfortable, please don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"

Luna nodded with an almost undetectable mewl, her lust spiking to such a degree that his vision actually tinted for a moment. Forcing it from his mind, he returned his attention to her nethers. He used his hooves to spread her flanks wide and gave her flower a deep kiss, slipping his tongue inside her even as her breath hitched at the sensations that began to flood her mind.

The lust was still powerful, still saturating her fluids and burning his tongue but this time he wasn't being drawn in by the need for sustenance. He was calmer, instead choosing to savor the mix of flavors she emitted. He tweaked some points inside her with his tongue, enjoying the spikes of pleasure and happiness, tasting her joy and lust even as something deeper bubbled beneath the surface. It was strong, the same level of power that he'd tasted hints of earlier when she'd stroked him with her wing. Humming and writhing his tongue around inside her, she squealed as she approached her first peak.

Luna's breathes were coming in short gasps as she squirmed on her bed, the overwhelming pleasure being introduced via changeling tongue leaving her unable to do much more. She looked back at him, watched as he buried his muzzle inside of her cheeks. He was more deliberate this time, he didn't seem to be so...wild. Desperate was another word she could have used to describe his feeding. A brushing against her vulva made her eyes widened as she recognized the contact. His fangs, those wicked looking things that could punch through her flesh so easily. He was brushing them against her most vulnerable spots. She squirmed, her heart pounding at the thought of such danger. Did changelings produce toxins? Did he even know how to utilize the venom if he had it?

Surprisingly, she soon realized it wasn't fear that she was feeling at the contact but excitement. She trusted him. She knew he would do her no harm. All of this, all the touches and brushes, even the little nip to her nether lips that drew a gasp from her muzzle were for her benefit, to drive her to higher levels of pleasure. It was all for her.

It was the first time in too long that she'd felt so wanted. She felt him extract himself just as she'd begun to grip his tongue, her body claiming its preparation nearly complete. She whined pitiably as she turned to watch him, finding him staring at her clenching need with both a kind smirk that spoke only of a desire to make her happy as well as curiosity. Before she could sound out her own curiosity and ask what he was waiting for he lunged forward, catching her clit in his lips and humming strongly, even buzzing his wings as he suckled the sensitive nub. With a wordless scream, the mare climaxed.

The world fell away for a moment, nothing actually having any meaning other than the pleasure coursing through her body. Nothing mattered other than the stallion delivering the pleasure, and the fire that was running laps on her spine. Her wings were twitching in their full display, the barest of breezes through the room feeling like fire over the sensitive feathers. Her horn glimmered slightly as the mental overload threatened to cause her to eject mana from her horn. She shuddered as she felt him back off, a gentle brush of her flank the final contact she felt before turning back to look at him once more.

She couldn't contain a sigh of disappointment as he gently stroked her back. The feeling of him feeding on her the night before, it was just so dirty. It made the experience feel so much more arousing. She wanted him to do it again, wished he would-

"So you enjoyed what I did last night, you dirty little girl?" he whispered huskily into her ear, having used the mare's distraction to climb onto her back.

She eeped in surprise, feeling his strange rod pressing against her lower back and tail.

"I suppose we all have things we like," Max continued softly. "I'd be happy to try that again another time, just for you. For now though, I want to know if you're ready."

Luna's ears perked at the question, the meaning being instantly clear. He wanted to rut her, to mate with her. But despite the fact he'd just left her a whimpering puddle of pleasure, despite the fact that he was likely painfully hard and pressing against her he was still asking for permission before actually attempting to penetrate her.

With no hesitation she nodded, feeling him begin to shift as he lined himself up with her still sensitive lips. Just as she felt the tip slide in, she remembered what it had looked like when she'd stumbled across him the other day. There wasn't a flare like there would have been with a pony stallion, but-

'Five rings...oh heaven five of them!'

The tip and first one slipped inside of her wet marehood easily, spreading her open only enough to cause her to shudder as he shifted further inside. The second and third rings followed in a similar fashion, though Luna's mouth was hanging open now. The fourth brought out a low moan of pleasure, the four rings all sliding farther into her tunnel and brushing against her still quivering walls as Max slowed in his movement. For Luna, the anticipation was too much.

"Please!" she whined while bucking weakly, her legs still splayed on her bed after her first orgasm. She had no leverage, but her point was made. The stallion suckled her neck before clenching his body, his forelegs pulling her down even as his hips thrust forward. Her eyes were staring vacantly ahead after the final thrust. It wasn't as though that much more of his length had entered her, as the final ring had been resting against her outer lips only moments before. No, what caused her to feel so complete was the act as a whole. He was gently nipping at her neck now as his forelegs held her close to his chest. She could feel his wings buzz every now and again, the sensations being transferred directly into her vaginal walls by his presence inside her. His body was perfectly conformed to hers, from shoulders to croup. He kissed her shoulder and shifted again, the rings scraping against her as he pulled out in an agonizingly slow pace. One ring slipped out, then two, three, four. He stopped with the first ring just inside her body, then he thrust forward and her world exploded.

Shoving himself in and out of the mare below him, it was all Max could do to keep himself from drinking the lust and passing out. It was tantalizing, the overwhelming amount of emotions the alicorn was directing at him. Joy, friendship, lust, longing, even the growing flavor that he'd labeled as love. Growing sensations that were beginning to burn more and more brightly as he pounded her to bliss.

That wing touch, it was more than just a reassuring presence. That much he was certain of now. The burn of love was getting stronger but that had been the first sign of it. Now it was showing itself again, taunting him with its power. If he tried to taste it he'd likely either feed on too much or lose track of his rhythm, ruining the experience for the mare who'd been willing to help him.

'Don't want her, thinking I'm not going to, take care of her,' he mentally recited as he continued to thrust in and out of her canal. The tightness was getting to him, sapping his concentration. It seemed the longer he went, the more lust he pulled in and the foggier things became.

Stranger still was the sensations that he was feeling from his lower body. The rings were extremely sensitive, relaying every quiver of her walls back to him and letting him feel every time her body shuddered or twitched. It was mind-numbing pleasure, but the best part was the fact that the mare was actually gripping and pulling him deeper. Every time she winked or shuddered he felt her pull on his penis. The velvet grip combined with his sensitive rings actually seemed to be allowing him to drive deeper into her body, giving both even greater pleasure. It was actually a small miracle he hadn't found himself driving into her cervix.

Max suddenly tensed, a weird churning sensation from just above his shaft causing him to jerk forward, his legs locking onto his mate and holding him snugly against her flank. He twitched a bit, Luna's lust peaking as she prepared to receive his seed. Both knew it wouldn't be long now.

He felt the sensations traveling up his dick, the pulsing warmth of her walls coaxing it up and out even as his entire body clenched up in orgasmic bliss. Luna moaned as the first spurt fired from his tip, painting her inner walls with his seed and causing him to lose his defense against her emotions. Suddenly the emotions came rolling into his mind, lust and love, joy and friendship, all washing over him and leaving him dazed from the overload.

He lost track of time for a few minutes, only moving when Luna buzzed with unheard words. She repeated them, and he finally realized she was asking if he was alright.

"F-fine. Fine, it was just- it was just really intense, that's all. I managed to, to keep most of the emotions back for a while but once I finished, it just washed over me."

Licking his lips he noticed a powerful taste in his mouth. Looking down, he found he'd actually drooled some brightly colored liquid over Luna's neck, bright pink with red tints swirled in for good measure. She gave a weak giggle as he licked the pink gel, eyes widening as he realized what it was.

"We, we were worried when you began to drool the pink liquid, however we believe it is due to an overabundance of it," she whispered, dipping a hoof into the gel and looking at it. "It's love, isn't it? Our love...tis beautiful to behold."

"You taste and feel wonderful, Luna," he assured her softly. "I don't know how much I need but if I'm drooling it, I'm fairly certain I'm full, and that means I'm not going to starve when Discord cuts me off. Thank you."

Attempting to pull out and finding an odd resistance, he noticed the mare seemed a bit wider. The second he finally managed to remove the plug from her nethers, white fluids began to pour out, spurting every now and again as the mare twitched at the feeling of relief. Luna sighed as the pressure dissipated and her belly shrank, the mare collapsing limply onto the bed.

"We were unaware changelings were so, virile," she panted. "We were worried for a moment, that we would burst. Even after the flow, ceased we found ourself unable to, to loosen our grip on thy siring staff."

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked softly, nuzzling her as he settled back into his position on her back.

The alicorn smiled softly as she shifted, causing him to slip to her side. Before he could ask what she was doing, the mare pulled him into her forelegs with her magic, holding him tightly against her body and laying her head on his neck. Cuddling into the stallion, she giggled lightly before yawning.

"We have not felt better in a long time."

Another Day, Another Issue

Max, Crystal, and Crack walked back to the dining room in silence. The smaller changeling, called a drone according to the sub-queen, was carrying their list in his hip-pouch while Crystal worried her lip in thought.

The information discussed had been interesting, giving Max several more things to think about. For one, Crystal had taught him how to call on the magic of their race during a water break. That meant that while he didn't know any spells, Max could now light his horn with the green burning glow of changeling magic. With a little practice while they were working on the list, Max soon discovered that a changeling's entire body was capable of channeling the magic.

'Makes sense in a way. Not only do we basically live off of magic, but being a shape shifter we need to be able to alter every bit of ourselves. I wonder if that's why Luna and Celestia could hold onto me better after I'd been feeding on their emotions...'

It would likely explain the resistance to other magics as well. With changelings being so reliant on magic, the active magic rolling around in their bodies may have been the reason for the magical resistance.

"Luna really didn't realize how close she was to the truth," the stallion muttered. "Like reacting to like. The emotion in my body was mostly from her, so even as magic it still had enough of an imprint of her power that it would allow her to affect me."

"What did you say?" Crystal asked, picking up her pace to catch up to him.

"I said the magic that rolls around in our body may be what grants the resistance. With most of our emotion coming from Luna, it allows her to cast spell that wont just bounce off our shells. The magic in our forms recognizes it as similar to our own and doesn't outright reject it as foreign magic. It's something to keep in mind. If you're spying on another town or something, you may have to be careful with feeding as it would probably allow the local unicorns to affect you."

Crack hummed thoughtfully at the idea, turning it over in his head as Crystal scowled.

"Wonderful. Perhaps that is why Mother preferred to harvest energy from those who were already incapacitated. Any time we feed on a unicorn we allow them to use their magic on us."

"It's not so simple, Crystal. I think it has to do with the amount. Right now you and I have been pulling most of our emotion from Luna. That means that most of the energy we're running on is similar to her magic, so our shells don't reject it like they do with everyone else's magic. It's not a bad thing. Do you think Luna would hurt you?"

Crystal quickly shook her head.

"Then there's no issue. It's possible it would take a long time for a pony to be able to move you with levitation. I mean, the two of us are using Luna almost exclusively. If we started spreading out our energy harvest, or used emotion gel processed by other changelings her spells may stop working. It's just theories at this point, Crystal. I'm taking what I know and guessing at what I don't.

"On the one hoof I find it kind of odd that changelings don't know some of these things, but I also have been getting a feeling for the kind of leader you were working with. The Queen didn't want you guys to become smart enough to survive on your own. She, literally in Crystal's case, made it so that you couldn't continue your race without her. She needed your dependence."

"I think we'll figure it all out in due time. It's just going to take a little while to put everything together," Max assured them as he opened the door to the dining room.

It had taken a bit, but he was finally starting to remember the routes through the castle. He wouldn't count on his memory if there was an emergency, but he was fairly certain he could make it to the training yard, the dining room, Luna's room, and the gate. Celestia's room he'd only seen...once? Twice? that wasn't enough for him to memorize the route just yet.

Luna was already present, a few sandwiches on her plate while a small platter in the center of the table was filled with more of them.

"Good afternoon Crystal, Max...Crick?"

"Crack, Princess. Flick was the other changeling, the female drone," Crack corrected.

Luna giggled in embarrassment.

"Ah, our apologies. We have yet to see the differences in individuals for changelings. We are certain it will come with familiarity."

Max went to his seat at the table but stopped just shy of sitting down.

"Uh, is your sister still sleeping?"

"Oh dear," Luna muttered, rising to her hooves. "We shall return shortly. Sometimes Tia becomes difficult to remove from her bed."

"I do not blame her," Crystal said, sitting down on a cushion beside Luna's seat. "A warm, dark room can be very enticing."

"Agreed, but if you sleep too long it can be hard to go to bed when you actually need to. I wonder how ponies would react to that, Celestia becoming the nocturnal one? That would throw them for a loop," Max said with a laugh.

Luna soon returned with a sleepy sister in tow. The white mare was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, moving to her place at the table without a word.

"We trust your time was well-spent?" Luna asked as she began to levitate sandwiches to everyone present, including a confused Crack. While Crystal tried relaying Luna and Max's reasoning for changelings to eat, Max turned to answer the lunar alicorn.

"Well, we managed to consolidate a bit of information. Mostly we were just talking about what we know and we became distracted a few times, but it turns out Crack may be able to heal my eyelid. Oh, and I've gone from blowing up my face to setting myself on fire."

Luna looked horrified for a moment before Max burst into laughter.

"And this is an improvement...how?" Celestia asked in confusion as she finally shook off the last holds of sleep.

"Changeling magic favors fire. It's easier to do fire spells and the like. We also have the ability to move the magic through our entire bodies. I assume it has to do with the shape-shifting. As such, it's not hard for me to light myself on fire. It's kind of an energy burn and I don't think it actually does anything but it's intimidating as hell if you don't know much about changelings."

"That, we could see it being useful. Ponies suddenly bursting into flames would be a terrifying sight to be sure," Luna acknowledged. "But of course it would waste energy fairly quickly, correct?"

"It would depend on the type of flame." Crack replied. Most changelings use what's called a Ghost-fire spell. It's not actually hot, it just looks like it could burn you. When the being you're facing suddenly bursts into flames...on the other hoof we can use more energy to add heat, though I remember treating a few burns on warriors that were learning that trick. It takes practice."

"The flame trick is a bit energy intensive in my opinion, but it's still cool," Max added. "As much as I'd like to mess around with the spells and learn more, I'd also like to conserve what energy we have access to. I'll wait until we get things settled before I start really getting into the spells. I'm curious just how far changeling shape-shifting can go if you have free time to just practice with it and spare energy to burn."

As the group was in the middle of their meal someone knocked on the door, drawing everyone's attention. It was Luna who responded first.

"Enter"

"Apologies about this your highness, but there's a pony asking to speak with you and since there hasn't been much of a court lately-"

"No, it is alright. In fact pass the news to the rest of the guards that my sister and I would prefer this kind of forewarning. We will eventually return to holding court, but there's much to do right now and little can be accomplished by holding court," the dark alicorn said. "Please issue a proclamation to the ponies outside our walls as well. If the peasants require something, they may speak with a guard who will either pass the news to our ears or bring them to us directly, where Celestia or I shall hear their case. Is the pony present?"

"She is, princess. Shall I send her in?"

Looking around the table to the still occupied plates Luna nodded.

"Yes, please do so."

"Luna, we are not so certain that inviting the ponies into our dining room is proper," Celestia whispered across the table as the knight left.

Luna giggled at the older alicorn's concern.

"That's silly. We are attempting to connect with the ponies, are we not?"

"I'm with Sunny on this one, Luna," Max added. "It could come across as a bit too casual. I'm all for rubbing elbows with ponies, but I don't think I'd invite a stranger into my dining room when I'm eating. Maybe if I didn't have a receiving room I'd use a dining room instead but in your case-"

"Do we have a receiving room?" Celestia wondered aloud.

"Is that not what the main hall, the throne room, is for?" Luna asked in response.

"Not quite the same. A receiving room is also a room that guests can use while waiting for you to speak with them. Good to have if you're busy with either court or the individual wishes to speak with you privately. I know we used one for our meeting, but it would likely be a good idea to have more than one," Max offered. "There must be at least one or two spare rooms somewhere. I mean, you already had a few spare rooms in the castle for visitors, right?"

The alicorns frowned in thought.

"We actually didn't expect so many ponies to arrive," Celestia muttered. "Between knights and nobles, the number of rooms has rapidly decreased. I think the serving ponies also use a few rooms, so the number of remaining rooms is even lower."

"Add to this the need for additional storage and I believe our keep is, er, filling rather quickly," Luna added with a giggle. "It is a surprising and not altogether unwelcome problem. We, I have never seen so many ponies as there are gathered both in and outside our walls."

"It's a nice change I'm sure but there are problems that also arise from increased population density. We'll talk about that later though," Max counseled before nodding his head to the door.

Both mares straightened up as a guard admitted the petitioner. A nervous looking earth pony mare walked in the door with two knights on either side of her. She looked over those present at the table before laying out her request in what the changeling could only describe as a terrified, stuttering manner. The bit that stuck with him though, was that none of the fear was directed at him or Crystal.

"More bandits. Shall we never be rid of these wretches?" Celestia swore, tapping a hoof against the table in irritation.

"And Coltsvale again," Luna added, her own irritation spicing the air. "Duke Silverblood continues to lounge in his keep while the commonpony suffers."

Max's eyes widened.

"Wait, this village is under the rule of another pony? A duke? Then why are they coming here?"

"Duke Silverblood refuses to raise a hoof in their defense, preferring to sit in his keep while sending his guards out only to gather taxes."

"But he rules that area, even if he's a, even if he's not nice right?" The changeling pursued, catching himself before he insulted another being in power. Luna seemed to catch his save, giggling even as she nodded.

"In that case, don't you need his permission to do something?"

"He doesn't grant passage to anypony, not without charging them for it," Celestia told him, her irritation hidden but palatable. "Not even to those who defend innocents."

The stallion scowled as he worked the information over. Something was just striking him as...

"Something's not right. You did this before, was it before or after you became rulers of your own keep?"

"What does that have to do with-" Celestia started, only to be interrupted by a giggle from Crystal.

"We would often bait traps if the defenses of a town were well entrenched," the queen said with a fond smile. "A lost filly, a band of bandits well outside the town. I seem to remember one instance where my soldiers and I took a caravan by surprise and used it to enter a city unnoticed. We then proceeded to take out a few of the watchponies from inside the town under cover of darkness. The town was defeated before they knew we were there."

"I am in agreement with Max on this. This smells foul. Even the pony's attitude is questionable. She fears something, but it is nobody in this room. If I were to be in the presence of strange and powerful creatures I would be nervous, but at least a little of that attitude would be directed towards the beings present. She fears none who are present, not even Maximus or myself. For entering a room filled with beings like ourselves, she is too scared of something else to have any fear left for her situation."

Standing up and walking over to the shaking mare, the queen leaned in, moving her muzzle inches from the petitioner's face.

"Why do you taste of desperate fear. Bandits do not inspire this kind of fear, nor is your fear directed at any of those present. Is it someone else?"

The mare's anxiety spiked and Crystal's irritated scowl became a wicked smirk.

"Hmm, I'd heard that Crack over there petitioned the crown under false pretenses to attack a few bandits that had captured another changeling, but this is something more. Perhaps it's not you that is in danger."

The ponies emotions began swerving erratically between fear and despair, letting the changelings know Crystal was on to something.

"Your family," Max stated, looking at her with a hard stare. "Your family or village is in danger, but it's not the bandits. Bandits don't target a specific household unless its personal, do they?"

Luna shook her head.

"That makes no sense. If bandits are not the source of her fear, the only logical source of danger would be Silverblood or his soldiers."

Sensing the terror the mare emitted at the guess, Max began tapping the table in thought. What would the duke gain by threatening the mare's family and making her go to another keep?

"It's bait. He wishes to engage you either on his own territory or to strike while you are away," Crystal Wish declared, causing the pony before her to shiver. "It's well thought out, but in his arrogance he used a pony that had no training in deception and too much at stake."

"Why though?" Celestia demanded of the changeling queen. "Why would the duke seek to strike at us? We have aided the ponies of this town before and he did nothing."

"Did you two have ponies outside the gates before or knights of your own?" Max asked, drawing a shake of Luna's head. "You've advanced into his game now. You have something he wants, power. If he defeats you or gets you to surrender, all the power you've been amassing is his to take."

As the earth pony collapsed on the ground, begging them to do something to save her family, Max could only shake his head in disgust.

"Welcome to the game of thrones, princesses. Where everyone's a piece even if they're not a player and the goal is to control as much of the board as possible before someone kills you."

"You do not truly believe that Silverblood would actually-" Celestia began before cutting herself off, disgust warring with confusion in her expression.

"Such lovely pieces they would make as well," Luna whispered darkly, anger starting to radiate from her in a budding inferno. "If they die on the way, it is no loss. If they die to us, it is no loss. If he has to lose a few to prove himself, it is no loss. He stands to lose naught but a few peasants, but stands to gain a second keep for his own. We shall wring his corpulent neck for this travesty!"

At her final declaration, Luna slammed her hoof down on the table, shattering it and sending dishes and leftovers clattering to the floor.

"Calm, Luna," the larger changeling soothed, running a hoof over Luna's back. "We're only guessing right now. I'm not going to take the mare's grief as proof we're right and I won't dismiss any possibility, but for now we need to keep calm and learn what we can. We gather information first, then act."

The dark alicorn breathed in deeply through her nose, nodding before motioning a dismissal for the guards and the petitioner. Celestia called after them, asking the knights to see the mare cared for after her journey before turning her gaze back to those present.

"So Maximus, you say we require information. How would you suggest we go about this."

Crystal chuckled, looking around the table before realizing the alicorns weren't asking in jest.

"You, you are serious? You are asking how to gain information with four changelings living in your castle, one of which is an infiltrator and another of which is a warrior queen? Flick could likely bring you the Silverblood's nightgown if she knew where it was, while I could bring down the gate before they knew I was there."

"I think we're aiming for a little less destruction here, Crystal. Even if we assume her anxiety as being proof that Silver's up to something, we still don't know what. It could be as simple as getting another ruler to take care of his issues for free. Maybe he wants to see the bandits removed without paying for the troop movements, so he throws a threat at a pony and sends them here. Luna and Celestia have already proven they want to help the peasants, so why would you spend the time and money if you didn't have to?"

"If you believe this then why did you mention the possibility of Silver being involved in a plot against us?" The white alicorn asked him. "This seems much more realistic."

"I don't know what's going on, I'm throwing out ideas. The plot idea was to stop you from agreeing to help without knowing all the details. I'm sorry if I came across as manic, I'm still working things out myself," Max groaned, rubbing his muzzle with a hoof. "I'm certain you three are perfectly capable of paranoia on your own, but Crystal doesn't like contradicting Luna when she's set on something and you two have prior experience with the town. That alone makes me nervous. Back home there would be a public outcry over the duke's knights being unable to protect their own cities, the duke would face public humiliation for this and if it turns out to be a trap no one would ever trust him again. Not any leaders of other cities or states, anyway. When someone's willing to use such methods, would you trust them? Information travels faster on earth, so the idea of something like this happening in such an obvious manner is unsettling. Some leaders are accused of it, but at least they use methods that are harder to track back to them than their own knights sending a peasant to another ruler."

"We understand. And we appreciate your concern, but we need to see this issue corrected. I shall personally check for bandit activity near Coltson."
Luna held up a hoof as the other three opened their mouths, forestalling any arguments.

"If they are as numerous as we fear or it is a trap I shall return posthaste, and I shall approach the town under cover of darkness in either case so as to hide my presence."

Celestia shook her head, casting a cautious glance to Crystal who seemed to be growling of all things.

"I do not care for this idea, Luna."

"Neither do I," Max agreed, "You could very well be sticking your hoof into a bear trap just to see if it is a trap."

Seeing the mares look at him curiously, Max rolled his eyes.

"It's a circular ring of metal that activates when the switch inside it is touched. When it is tripped, the two sides slam up, catching whatever stepped in it in a heavy and often secured ring of sharp metal. Stronger ones were powerful enough to actually shatter bones, and meaner varieties had lots of sharp teeth that would also bleed the victim. The point I'm making is you're walking into what could be a trap to find out if it is one. I don't like the idea; nobody here does."

"The alternative is either ignoring a plea for assistance or bringing a large force of knights into Silverblood's territory," the blue mare retorted. "In this way, we shall know for certain what the truth of the matter is. While for most pegasus ponies the journey is three days, we shall be capable of making it in two, perhaps even in a shorter span of time. We shall scout the town and return before the mare has even retraced half her journey."

Luna smiled happily, pulling Max to her barrel while using a quick burst of levitation to drag a squawking Crystal to her side.

"I find your concern for my wellbeing most endearing, but I cannot sit idly by when my aid is required. I wish for the two of you to take care of Tia while I'm gone. Crystal, you-"

"I am aware, Maximus is my keeper in your absence. Listen to him and your sister until you return," the changeling queen muttered, crossing her hooves over her barrel in a pout.

Luna giggled at her grumpy attitude, nuzzling Crystal's cheek before stealing a kiss from both of the shape shifters.

"Very well. I shall return as soon as I am able. I don't want my flock getting lonely, after all."

<-(0)->

Max watched as Luna flew off for Coltson that evening. He was still incredibly nervous about the entire situation but the mare only seemed to find his concern endearing. She tapped him on the muzzle with a hoof, stating that until recently the two alicorn mares had to take care of everything themselves. That this was something she'd done before, that she was no stranger to pain or danger. That Luna, the Alicorn of the Moon, was completely capable of completing a scouting mission without being seen. So he'd let her go.

That wasn't the word for it. He didn't choose, he just stopped questioning her choice. He accepted her decision to see this mission through, to find out where the danger was and in what form it existed. He accepted that without the knowledge of how to use his wings, he would be unable to keep up with her. Actually even if he did know how to use them, he likely wouldn't be able to keep up with the mare. She was born with wings and had been flying her whole life.

He'd approached her with a small jar of honey, as it was all he was certain he could spare. He' was catching a lot more from the knights and even Celestia, but it was like adding rainwater to his pond. A pond Luna easily filled, apparently. To everyone's surprise Crystal had taken the jar from him and stormed off, returning later with a much larger container that was full of even more potent honey than he'd seen before.

Luna had pulled the smaller mare into a crushing hug and kissed her deeply, likely restoring a good portion of what the changeling queen had deposited in the jar in the process. She'd bid all three of them farewell, and with a quick hug to Celestia she'd departed.

"Do you think you could start me on flying lessons?" Max asked, tapping Crystals shoulder and drawing her eyes from the slowly fading dot in the distance.

Crystal looked back to Luna's previous position, buzzing her wings in agitation before nodding.

"I will. So that you can be stronger. So that we can keep her safe."

The stallion grinned as they walked to the training yard, shoving Crystal with his shoulder.

"Now you're getting it. You teach me how to shape-shift and fly, and I'll teach you how to act inconspicuous. Then we'll be able to infiltrate places like Silverblood's keep with out anyone knowing we're there."

"And then she won't have to taste sad," Crystal whispered. "I do not know why, but it makes me feel...bad."

"She's sad because she has to say goodbye," Max explained, drawing a faint smile from the mare. "But she'll return. And when she does, you'll get to feel her happiness at seeing you again. You'll get to feel all the longing and love she's saved for us in her absence. And we'll treat her to a bath and a brushing, letting her relax while she tells us what happened on her trip."

"I'd rather treat her to a rutting," the queen said, her smile turning hungry.

The stallion grinned back.

"After this we'll have some fun to ourselves. And if you're willing to let me have some of that love back we can have fun for a lot longer."

Crystal's smile fell at the request. He knew she was fighting her instincts to horde the emotions, a tough habit to break after being hungry for so long. Still, the queen nodded. He wasn't going to keep it from her. He wasn't going to take the emotion and run off somewhere. What was his was hers, as he'd shown already. If giving some of the emotion back allowed them to have more fun, perhaps she'd be willing-

"I shall. Most of it was yours anyway, before you...gave it to me," she said, her smile returning. "If allowing you to have some of that emotion back in the form of honey means that I can feel that sensation a bit more, then I suppose I can allow such a transfer."

<-(0)->

"Damnation! Use your barrel to keep yourself straight. Your wings move too fast to actively think about each individual flap, a changeling reacts!"

The instructions didn't help Max that much as he lost control of his hovering flight, nor had they helped the last seventeen times the mare had thrown them at him. The wings were unlike anything he'd ever even thought of, a set of muscles that moved too fast for him to really think about much more than the tilt of the wings while they were extended and the speed at which they were moving. A few more moments of flailing his hooves and he was hitting the ground, rolling uncontrollably with the impact and checking to make sure the diaphanous wings hadn't been damaged in the roll the moment he regained his hooves.

"Pull your wings in when you hit the ground," Crystal barked, marching over with an angry scowl. "You need to keep them safe. If you keep trying to flutter them even while you're rolling on the ground you'll damage them."

"I know! I'm using a set of muscles that has no analogue in my old species, Crystal. It's a bit harder than relearning how to walk because I don't have anything to compare it to!"

Buzzing his wings and holding them out for a final check, he began slowly buzzing them again, this time keeping them to a pace he could track while he ran through the different wing beats.

'Up, left, right, left twist, right twist, hover...'

"I told you to not do that, it's instinct. You should be-"

"I might not have those instincts, Crystal. I didn't have instincts for anything else since I was changed by Discord, why would flight be any different? You said that the queen would throw changelings into a hole, right? And not all of them survived? I'm certain I can fly with practice but it's just going to take some time. Time and effort the queen wasn't willing to spend on her drones!"

The mare shrunk back at his outburst and he sighed.

"I know it's frustrating, but not everyone learns the same way. You're asking me to learn the way you did, but there are a hundred differences between us. I appreciate the advice, especially the wing-thing. I just need to get used to reacting faster. Besides, I didn't expect to learn this in a single day."

Crystal's face twisted in thought as an idea occurred to her.

"Perhaps we can teach you another way."

She nodded, her smile growing brighter. Walking back to the castle, she motioned for him to follow with a bob of her head before leading him back through the hallways to the flock's bedroom.

"I am uncertain how it will work, so please remain calm," Crystal said as she hopped on the bed, motioning for him to do the same.

Max looked to the sub-queen with a bit of uncertainty as he joined her.

"Uh, Crystal? Not to be a downer, but what exactly is it you want to do?"

"We wish to join with you. To become one," she answered simply, pressing her cheek against his own.

"I really don't think sex will teach me how to fly."

As the mare's horn lit he felt his own horn, currently touching hers, react and begin to glow.

"I do not mean mating. This is a part of what you are now. Join with me."

His eyes locked on hers, a spike of panic shooting through his mind at the intensity of her gaze. The power increased as his own magic reacted, and her eyes seemed to pull him in. There was a flash of garbled words and images flashing through his mind and-

Author's Note

Got up early to watch the inauguration, so I figured I had the time to finish patching this up and shipping it out. What happens when you introduce a human mind to a mental-connection?