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.

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."

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.

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.

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."

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."