Celestia followed Luna at a sedate pace, much calmer than the younger alicorn at the moment. Flick had approached them as they were speaking with several ponies seeking their aid, informing Luna of an issue that had cropped up. Apparently Crystal had discovered something amid the memories Maximus held that had shaken her badly. The stallion had asked them to leave him alone with Crystal as he talked her through her crisis, but Flick was worried the stallion may have bitten off more than he could chew.

'I had no idea queens were prone to outbursts. Although it may not be so. Max did speak of the hive being an extremely dangerous and hostile environment.'

It was normal to expect something evil from the younger mare when she had such a form, but at the same time Celestia had watched the mare closely over the last month. She was much more assertive with the addition of Max's memories and personalities, but she had been completely submissive to Luna from day one of their relationship as far as Celestia was aware. Given how the blue alicorn had told Crystal to seek Max for advice and help should she have trouble, the idea of the younger mare lashing out at him was a distant possibility. Very distant, in fact.

"Maximus? Crystal?" Luna called out, opening the door and rushing towards the bed. Celestia stopped at the doorway, watching silently as Max perked up at their arrival. He was currently resting against the otherwise motionless form of Crystal, the smaller mare pressed firmly against his side as she slept.

'So he was able to calm her. Wonderful,' Celestia thought with a smile. With how things were going there may well be a time that she would need to work with the changeling mare. Crystal's willingness to listen to those Luna told her to hold faith in was proving to be more powerful than her experiences in the hive. It also helped that the three of them were becoming so attached to one another that Crystal was willing to place her faith in him and trust him with things she would normally have no reason to even consider. Even the other day Crystal had all but snubbed her, choosing to keep the stallion between the two of them in spite of the fact she likely would have preferred a warm body.

' I am not certain if I should have taken that as an insult or not.'

Max was whispering to Luna, likely explaining the issue even as Luna was settling herself into the bed on top of the sleeping shape shifter. The blue alicorn's wings settled protectively over the changeling and she stirred. Crystal looked up in confusion before smiling. She whispered something to Luna and relaxed back into the bed, dozing off in what was probably the safest location she'd ever find. The sight sent a spark of jealousy through Celestia. She couldn't remember a time when she felt so safe.

No, that wasn't exactly true. She'd felt more secure lately. More at ease. While Crystal was still new, she was unquestionably loyal to Luna, and Maximus, while not certain how to use many of his abilities, was another powerful ally. As they grew into their own power, they would become a force in this world. In Luna's flock, that force would be turned to her cause. Two creatures that according to the stallion were capable of matching an alicorn when fully empowered. The sheer power that was housed in their home at the moment was awe inspiring. Two alicorns, two changelings, Discord was amusing himself elsewhere...there was nothing nearby that was attempting to kill them. Nothing that existed for the sole purpose of causing the two mares misery.

'Perhaps it is as he has said. The fates of thousands who may never be becoming altered before they were ever born against the fate of the mare I cherish...that I should cherish more than any possession.'

The mare felt her wings sag slightly. It had only started after they had claimed the elements. Perhaps she should see them again. Being in the presence of those artifacts of peace always seemed to help her retain her peace.

Turning around, she never caught the eyes that were upon her as she left.

Max was silent as he followed the pastel-maned alicorn through the halls. A quick transformation pulled from Crystal's memory and his hoof falls were silent, lending no sign to his passing but a shadow in the evening light. Celestia had started radiating an emotion he'd not felt from her before, one Luna had been experiencing often enough for him to identify. It was fear, a very specific fear of something. Anxiety, if he was right. Fear of the future. That begged the question; where does Celestia go when she's been shaken? No answer was forthcoming. The library was still under construction, the garden was too public, her room was too obvious and she likely wouldn't leave the keep so close to twilight.

The alicorn opened the door to an unassuming room and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her. Max frowned as he stared at the door. It would be a trick, following Celestia without her becoming aware of his presence. Maybe he could...there was always cartoon physics.

Before he tried something silly like trying to squeeze under the door he gently tried the handle. It reacted, some sort of spell testing his magic. Whatever it was looking for it found only half of it. Grunting in irritation, he sighed as he looked over his options. At least the alarm spell on the door hadn't gone off when he'd touched it with his aura.

He slipped into the next room, opening the window and slipping into the air after once again pulling the information from Crystal. No window opened into the room.

'Surprise-surprise, it's a vault.'

He flew back inside the keep and began running a hoof on the door, trying to figure out a way in. On a whim he gave the handle a tug-

The changeling nearly squawked in panic as the door slipped open easily. He immediately grabbed the door, hoping to keep it silent before cautiously slipping inside. It was a dark room, the silence of a long forgotten tomb coming to mind. There was also magic. Powerful magic, just beyond the alicorn who was illuminating a good portion of the room with her horn as she sat in silent contemplation.

He approached silently, watching his step and keeping his wings from buzzing through sheer will. He was close, and didn't want to give himself away just yet. Celestia's ear twitches, but she was otherwise motionless, her wings stretching before settling back at a position of rest.

Her emotions were still roiling but he could feel them settling, the magic of the room seeming to pull at all of his fears and worries. It soothed him, actually. A soft, loving touch that told him all would be well. It was kind, it was honest, it was-

'Harmony.'

Celestia slowly opened the case that housed the source of magic and suddenly her horn wasn't providing all of the illumination in the room. Three gems of power floated in her magic, the orb forms of three of the Elements of Harmony floating in her magic. They orbited her for a moment as she sat there before they slowed, all three coming to a stop in front of her.

'She's using them to keep herself calm.'

It didn't sound healthy no matter how he looked at it. Like a drug that would deaden the feelings of pain and eventually lead to damage of the nerves. The Elements must have agreed, as they called to him. Their magic infused his own, but unlike the mare before him his magic was his life. Being more connected to the magic than even the most powerful mage, magic could effect them in more direct ways, it just took more. Or in this case, the proper kind of magic.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he'd bit the alicorn, hefted her onto his back and dragged her out of the room. The Elements pulsed as he left, returning to their chest and locking it behind him. He'd already set the mare in her own bed before he regained control of himself.

"That was incredibly stupid," he lectured, receiving nothing from the calmly staring alicorn. "Emotion abandonment doesn't work, it leaves you more prone to over reacting without the source of your high. What happens when your emotions start to come back and you're not able to get another hit?"

"Who are you to lecture me on the use of the Elements? They have a calming effect, one that as a bearer of their power I am entitled to use. What do you know of their power?"

"Nothing, but I know enough to tell this will cause you anguish in the future. They didn't want you doing that. Do you really think my first reaction to seeing you doing that would be to drag you out of the room?"

"You were spying on me,"

"I was worried about how your emotions were fluxing. Luna's experiencing emotional shifts all the time but you keep trying to smother your emotions!" Max barked, his mental haze finally starting to lift. "That story about the Nightmare? It causes you and Luna to lose your connection to the Dragon Balls. What do you do then, Celestia? What do you do when over a hundred years of suppressed emotions come crashing down on you? You may not even be able to feel them at the same intensity at that point. What if something went wrong, what if you could never feel with the same intensity again?"

"I can't be panicking right now," Celestia retorted, he emotions still a deadly calm in spite of the panic that was trying to surface. "If that means learning to live without emotions than so be it."

"Is that what you think? That you can live without emotion? Tia, without emotions we're lifeless husks. Not just changelings but all of the races I know. Without them there's no meaning to our actions, no color to our lives. Do you remember how I said Crystal's memories were flat? That's what your doing to yourself. Willingly. Don't destroy yourself like this. It doesn't help anyone."

"I need to. The dreams-" the alicorn started before cutting off suddenly.

Max leaned forward, running a against her cheek and brushing her mane aside.

"Tell me about the dreams, Tia. I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

"C-Crystal-"

"Is too busy going through things she thinks are important to understanding me and my world to look at anything recent."

"I, I can't. It's not your burden to bear," she tried again, her anxiety crashing into the wall the Elements had formed in her mind.

"A burden shared is a burden halved."

The alicorn looked around her room, anxiety and fear trying to claw at her mind but finding no purchase. As Max smiled at her he couldn't help but be curious of how long the mare had been doing this. What would have occurred when she lost the Elements? Would she turn to experimental magic to fill the gap, or would she go mad with grief, unused to dealing with such powerful emotions anymore? Perhaps it would be too late by then, leaving her unable to experience them fully anymore. Perhaps that lofty princess attitude she seemed to use in the cartoon wasn't a mask.

"It, the dreams, the visions started a while ago, after we defeated Discord. Visions of Luna in agony, of her In pain and unable to escape. Every night. I forbade Luna from entering my dreams, no matter the strength of the Nightmare. They were never truly terrifying by themselves, just unsettling. I worried over them, realizing it wasn't just some recurring night terror but possibly some sort of warning. A vision of the future. I-"

Max nodded along as the mare told her story, still running his hoof over her cheek soothingly.

Swallowing thickly, she continued.

"I started watching out for what could have been the cause. I started trying to do more, thinking it was the stress that was the culprit. That her anxiety was what would harm her. The dreams became worse. They started to show not just a mare in pain. She began to lash out, she struck at me. In the last one I felt she actually tried to kill me."

"Your story was horrible. It was horrible and I didn't want to hear it, because it meant I was responsible for the visions. Sure enough when Luna stopped listening to me, when she started relaxing, enjoying herself, spending time with her flock, those visions stopped."

"But others came," the changeling said, catching her slip.

She fought herself for a moment but nodded, chuckling under her breath.

"If it weren't for the Elements still having their touch upon my mind I would say no. Yes, they changed. Now I was the one lashing out at Luna while she was the one looking on in horror. I was the one that struck her, that struck to kill. I couldn't understand how such a thing could come to pass, even with your offer of aid. The offer was insulting in fact. I wondered if you were not telling Luna the truth but reading my mind in my sleep.

"The Elements have always reacted if I have them in my possession and I am in danger. The fact that you managed to strike at me while I was holding them..."

Max hopped into the bed, pulling the sniffling alicorn into his barrel. She was still kind of limp due to the venom, but she was recovering at her usual pace. Already her legs and wings were twitching. They'd soon return to full strength and she would either forgive his intrusion or break his legs. Judge if by the emotions now leaking through the wall that was left by her contact with the Elements of Harmony, a wall that he now realized was not her discipline but a magical construct, the latter outcome wasn't very likely. The next words out of her mouth sold it.

"Am I a bad pony?"

"No, no your not Tia. You're just scared. We all are. And people, as well as ponies, do silly and sometimes outright stupid things when they're scared. I didn't have to do that to Luna. Maybe I could have figured out a way to survive on ambient emotion, made enough ponies like me. I would have hurt after Discord's energy was yanked out of me, but maybe the ambient concern would keep me alive? I didn't want to take that chance. So I pushed for something I never would have in another situation.

"Luna didn't deserve that, but she was lonely. So lonely that the attention I gave her was like the sweetest fruits to a starving mare. She found the attention intoxicating, and she wanted to share it. That's why she did that to Crystal."

"Crystal was starving. I don't think there's two ways about it. She likely would have survived after the hunger drove her to desperate actions but she was in pain. She was in pain, lost, had no idea how to feed like an infiltrator would, she had nothing. Then along came this mare, this wonderful blue alicorn who not only fed her and cared for her but gave her a purpose again. Luna gave her orders, even if they were to rest and recover. And Crystal loved her for it."

The stallion chuckled, placing a quick kiss on Tia's head.

"We're all messed up, Tia. We just need to help cover each other's weaknesses while we heal. And next time you feel weird about Luna looking at you like that think of it this way. The first time she's been happy in a long time was after she and I were together. She felt safe, loved, and knew in her heart someone wanted her to be happy and would do anything to see to it. She wants you to be happy as well, so what method do you think she's going to turn to? Maybe the one that worked for both Crystal and herself?"

The solar alicorn gave off a weak giggle at the explanation.

"I like your reasoning better than my own."

"Oh?"

"That she has always secretly had a crush on me," Celestia said, sighing as she drooped in his grip.

Max chuckled in response, continuing to stroke the mare's mane.

"Well, you are a very pretty mare. Whoever does win your affection could only be considered a very lucky person. I have a question though. How long have you been using the Elements like that?"

"Just after Discord's defeat," she answered, her limbs finally managing to exert enough force to squeeze him back. "You can't tell Luna about this. I can't hurt her like that, I-"

"I won't tell her unless I think she needs to know. If you start getting bad though, I will tell her so she knows why. I don't want you using the Elements like that anymore, okay? That means you are going to have to learn how to deal with this some other way. Otherwise if something happens to put you through a lot of stress, you could have a breakdown."

"Like the battle," she realized. "I understand. Do you believe it is possible to learn to hold them back some other-"

He cut her off with a sharp bop on the nose, causing her muzzle to scrunch. The alicorn gave a quick sneeze and Max winced, seeing spittle giving his chitin a gleam in the evening light.

"No suppression," he said, though he wore a teasing smile. "Don't push them away, learn to deal with them. You learn to either use it, or ignore it. If you try to bottle it up for a good time, you'll never find that good time. Especially someone like yourself. You won't let anyone see you as anything but perfect, so you'll keep bottling it for years. Don't do that to yourself. If you need to talk, find me. I'm more than willing to listen as a big brother.

"We'll figure this all out, Tia. No need to take the world on your shoulders and go it alone. We're trying to avoid that outcome, remember? I do think you should at least tell Luna about the suppression you've been using. That way she won't panic when that starts to fall off."

"It...already is, actually. I was still using them when you interrupted me," she said, the anxiety and panic still clawing at her from beneath the wall of calm. "I already can tell I didn't manage to complete the suppression. I'm having slight bursts of panic and anger already."

"Well than Luna and I will help you learn to deal with it. Remember that we want you to be happy. Luna because you are important to her. I want to help because happiness tastes delicious, and your happiness makes Luna even happier. Well, that and the whole 'right thing to do' thing."

They sat in silence for several moments as Celestia's body worked the rest of the venom from her system, finally stretching her wings to their full span before sitting up. She pulled Max against her this time, using her wings to add strength to the hug and causing his shell to creak.

"If you tell Luna anything more I will destroy you."

"Lips are sealed, promise," he grunted out.

Max watched from afar as the mares switched heavenly bodies, silently rooting for Celestia to broach the subject with her sister on her own. She kept looking back at him, the underlying anxiety and fear once more reaching his senses through her normal façade of serenity. The white alicorn took a deep breath, ruffled her wings, and spoke.

"I've been using the elements on myself."

Luna blinked, looking from the newly risen moon to her fellow ruler with a look of confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've been using the elements," Celestia repeated, taking another deep breath. The wall was cracked already; the fear she was experiencing was not helping at all. For a moment Max almost thought she'd try to run.

"Tia, what did you do?" Luna asked, moving closer and pulling the older mare into a wing hug. "What is it you hoped to use them for?"

"I needed to be calm, Luna. I needed to be calm to keep the ponies calm. If I start panicking, if we start panicking it could all fall apart. I didn't know what to do, I've never done this. Starswirl tried to help but Maximus is right. This is not going to be like the Unicorn cities or the Pegasus Sky-Castles or the Earth Pony towns. It's a combination of all the tribes under one rule. Not even the Founders could hold back all of the built up hatred and anger the tribes developed for each other, how are we supposed to do this?"

Celestia was shaking at this point, her wings half-raised as if she was preparing to take flight at a moments notice while every part of her body was tense.

"Tia, why did you not speak of this to us?"

"You were hurting. I knew it but I didn't know why," Celestia answered, shuddering. "At first it was only to help me deal with the fear and the stress. I remained calm and it kept everypony else calm, even you. But then things kept piling up. There was more and more to worry about and I didn't know what else to do. The more I thought about it, the worse it became. With the cleaning of the leeches from the keep perhaps we can take time to calm ourselves but even then there is so much to do. I do not have time to be unwell, Luna."

"Running yourself into the ground or harming yourself is no answer either, Tia! What fool notion called to you and made you decide removing something so important was the answer? What madness would take you if you were unable to reach the Elements in time to reapply the effect?"

"We shall find out soon enough. I was unable to complete the spell before Maximus intercepted me. He interrupted the spell, under the influence of the Elements themselves if he is to be believed. The fact that no guard even questioned him as he carried me to my room to rest from the effects of his venom-"

"He was- Maximus! Come here!"

Max blinked in confusion, suddenly being blasted by Luna's emotions. Concern, fear, and not a small amount of anger were all being focused on him like light from a reflective panel. He nearly squinted or raised a hoof to ward the emotions away, they were so strong.

"I'm fine Luna, just a bit dizzy. Magic is my life-blood, so when a magic artifact starts trying to call to me it has a powerful impact on my ability to think. I didn't really realize what was happening until I was dropping Celestia in bed."

"That's not the issue. We warded that room against all sorts of magic, no one should have been able to get inside! How did you get inside?" the mare barked, causing Max to double take.

"So you're not- never mind. I pulled the door open. Didn't even feel like it was locked. I mean there was a spell that reacted if I tried to pull it with my magic but it just didn't let me in. It had some type of buzzer stuck to it as well, but it didn't react," he answered.

"Just...oh dear," Celestia said, giggling nervously. "Um, Luna? Did you happen to add the lock spell? I added a bunch of anti-magic and anti-scrying wards-"

"What? I was supposed to add the anti-scrying and anti-detection wards! You were supposed to make certain the door was secured against more mundane efforts!"

"Why would I do that? I am the one who was born with magic, I am more familiar with magic than you!"

Max watched the back and forth worrying his lip.

"Uh ladies?"

"I told you I was going to take care of the forms of entry I was most experienced with!"

"You have never teleported into an empty or unknown room in your life!"

"Luna, Tia-"

"I can't believe you left the door to the greatest artifact we have completely unsecured to mundane entry!"

"I left them unsecured!?! I spent three days adding spell after spell to defend against entry!"

"The only wards that were present when I started were ones on the door! What about the walls and ceiling? Or did you think spells are kind enough to use the door? I am curious, Luna, why would you only ward the door?"

"I warded the ceiling and floor!"

"Stop it!" Max shouted at them.

"Stay out of this!" both mares fired back, blasting him with enough sound to make his ears ring.

Max roared in anger, clamping his magic over both of their muzzles and rearing back, cracking the stone he was standing on.

"Are you two fucking serious? You go from a heart-wrenching discussion of abuse of a magical artifact to a blame game in three seconds? Get over yourselves!"

"Luna, Celestia needs help. She needs you to support her right now. She was shaking as she was talking to you and I could taste the fear and anxiety that was roiling in her. Mare the fuck up and hug her until she can't feel her hooves! Celestia, that pony right there is just as messed up as you are! She's just as messed up as the rest of us! We can fix the fucking door later, if either of you is capable of walking after this hug I'm breaking your legs, do you hear me?"

Both alicorns stared at him in shock, their eyes wide at the outburst. They both looked at each other, their emotions swirling between anger, embarrassment and fear before they started to calm. Feeling the emotions settling, Max released his hold on them.

"I, I apologize, Tia. He is correct. I was just worried about anyone walking in to...it is no excuse, I am sorry."

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but Luna raised a hoof and shook her head.

"You are unwell right now Tia. Slipping like that is to be expected. Once you regain control of yourself and recover I shall have no issue taking you to task but for now I shall accept full blame for this argument."

"Yes, everyone's sorry. We'll continue this later, okay? We'll have a nice night to sleep tonight, wake up tomorrow, then discuss fixing this. The elements are actually aware as far as I can tell. They'll give anyone who messes with them hell. Tia, do you need an escort to your room or someone to stay with you tonight?"

"Oh, excellent idea! You'll feel much better after a few mind-shattering-"

"No, Luna. I'm not going to force that issue no matter how much you want it," Max argued.

Luna scowled at the changeling.

"She'd feel better! I did, and so did Crystal."

"We are not pushing her to accept a relationship she doesn't want. I'm not going to be a part of that," he said, wings flaring in anger. "If she asked me, fine. It's your world, rules are different. I get that. But I'm not taking a mentally distressed no as meaning yes. That way lies a slippery path, Luna. Where would it stop? Or would it?"

Luna recoiled at the implication, looking to the white alicorn with distress, her own wings flaring out. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she turned and left without a word, swiftly closing the door behind her. The only reason it didn't slam shut was because she wasn't focused on the door after it was out of her sight.

Celestia shuddered as he did his best to calm himself, the implications of the conversation hitting her hard.

"Would she really...?"

"I don't know," he answered, watching the door. "I told you, Sunny. We're all messed up. I'm still scared, especially after this latest discovery of changeling biology. How far does the connection go, what if Crystal and I argue, would a disconnect hurt, or could she use the connection to hurt me; there are a hundred things I fear about it."

"We'll live, though. We'll push through this and be stronger for it. We'll get you through this, this thing you're going through and we'll get Luna through hers. Crystal's growing into a strong mare as well. Once we all calm down, we'll be ready to kick the butts of anything and anyone that comes our way. Got it?"

"Now come on, lets get you in bed. If you need anything you let me know, got it?"

The alicorn nodded, looking back to the door that would lead to Luna's room.

"Since she's kind of...there's a spare guest room near my room if you'd like."

"I'll take you up on the offer," he said, his shoulders sagging. "I think I'd be relegated to the couch after this."

Relaxing on a spare bed, one that was much smaller than the ones he'd been sleeping in lately and thus leaving him curled up on the too-small bag of feathers that was the mattress, Max was finally dozing off. As he faded from consciousness and faded into the dream-hive, he was met by a distressed looking changeling.

"Max, what happened?" Crystal asked.

He blinked as his mind finally caught up with what was going on and made his way to the bed, inviting Crystal to join him.

"Luna and Celestia are both hurting and I'm trying to keep them from hurting themselves any more."

At the mare's uncomprehending stare, he explained further.

"Celestia was using something to help keep herself calm, something that was holding back her emotions and leaving her with that unnatural calm she usually has. She's been reapplying it as needed and with our arrival she's been using it more. We evoke strong emotions in her and those emotions wear at her calming spell. Celestia and I have agreed that it's dangerous and she can't keep doing it, but she's scared of what will happen when the effect wears off and she's left with the build-up of a few years of stress."

"Luna meanwhile is telling Celestia that mating and sex will make her feel better and wants Celestia to join this flock. Celestia doesn't want to, but Luna thinks it would be good for Celestia. It...I think it made Luna rethink something."

"Me," Crystal said.

"Yea. Yea, you. What Luna did was a, it's morally ambiguous at best because she's not doing well either but it worked out for the best. It could have been very different though. It could have hurt you, or you could have hurt her. She took a chance and while this time it all worked out I don't know if it always will. I'd rather not have Luna try this with another queen and have the queen bite her and drag her away."

The mare bristled at the thought of someone stealing her alpha, a soft hiss escaping her throat.

"There are rules where I'm from, Crystal. I was wrong, pushing Luna like that. I pushed her onto a path she shouldn't have been on because I was scared that I was going to die. She continued on that path and took the lesson I taught her, that sex makes it better, and dragged you into her bed."

Crystal frowned at him.

"She helped me though."

"I know, that's why I didn't say anything to stop her, why I accepted you as well. I won't damn someone who was in my situation and who was helped the same way. We just have to be careful. Technically Luna and Celestia can do whatever they want, as there aren't any rules for them to follow but their own morals. The reality of the situation is much more messy."

Thinking of the awareness class he'd had to take at work, he introduced the mare to his experience with laws on the topic of consent.

"Technically you were hurt and scared. After you became drunk, you were beyond the ability to say yes or no."

"So she, hurt me?" the mare asked softly.

"Do you think she did?"

Crystal shook her head and Max nodded.

"The other half of it is this; Luna's not well. What did she feel like when you saw her before bed?"

"She was scared. She was holding me very tightly with her wing, she kept nuzzling me and asking me not to leave," Crystal answered, tearing up slightly. "It was bad. I told her I wouldn't but she wouldn't listen."

Max pulled Crystal into a hug, running his hybrid form's fingers through her mane.

"You tell Luna tomorrow morning that we both love her. I love her very much, so much that I want to make sure she doesn't do something that could make her unhappy in the future. If she hurts Celestia, she'd feel terrible about it for a very, very long time. Once Celestia is feeling better, Luna can ask again. If Celestia says yes, I will back them both one hundred percent. Until that time though, you and I will take care of Tia and Luna. We'll make sure they feel as happy as they can and as safe as they can, okay?"

Crystal nodded, resting her head against his chest and humming softly.

"You anger her to protect her. I do not understand it, but I will try to help. I want her to be, I- I love my alpha, my Luna."

"We both do," he agreed, staring up at the ceiling. Shifting to wrap both arms around her he smirked. "And I love you too, my little love-bug. I want you to grab Crack tomorrow and have him check your body. If you need anything, you let me know. I've just remembered something we need to get done soon, so I'll be heading out into the hamlet early in the morning."

Luna peaked through the door at the two, Max's strange form a curious hybrid of his bodies that she instantly recognized from the first dream. She hadn't heard much, but that they both, even in this private setting, professed love for her caused her heart to leap. She'd been so scared, terrified even, that Maximus had scorned her. That she'd done something unforgivable or breached a rule or moral he could not forgive. He soothed Crystal though, telling Luna's beta to remain strong for her. The beta giving the alpha strength. It was almost shameful in her mind. She was supposed to be the alpha, the protector of the flock. She was supposed to give them strength, not accept their help. Instead her beta was supporting her and the stallion was in another room, she'd messed up badly and-

'No, a flock's strength is in its numbers.'

Luna took a calming breath, watching the two settle in for the night. For all that she wished to join them she couldn't bring herself to enter the room. She was being silly, of course. She knew this in her head but her heart would not see reason. She would speak to the flock tomorrow during lunch or dinner. She would ask of these rules she had smudged, of this honor she had lost. The alicorn mares were to be paragons of the pony race. If they did not hold themselves to standards and uphold laws, who would?

'Laws. We shall start there. What laws do we truly have in our lands?'

Luna left the dream in a whisper of wind, a plan of action forming in her mind. The laws of old needed to be rewritten in this new age. Changes must be made, while the laws as a whole needed to be formalized once again.

Author's Notes:

There's no easy way to fix this. I've said it before and I'll say it over and over again. Luna's not well, and while I didn't really think about this until recently(shower), it just kind of came to me as a reason for Celestia's almost disconnected personality. Sure she acts motherly, there was always this almost creepy lack of reaction she has in some stories. It makes sense to me, and it's another thing to work on. Something else to bring the characters together.

Luna's also in a very dangerous spot. She feels loved, but if she thinks those that love her can stop loving her as quickly as they started, that could be very scary. She doesn't want to go back to that loneliness. She can't.

The changeling duo is the best off at the moment, Crystal having access to a stable life through Max's memories and Max no longer fearing for his life(not in the immediate future anyway). If these two can keep things calm long enough for the alicorns to recover, it should become much easier.