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.

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...

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 Notes:

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.