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..."

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 Notes:

That's a two-fer.