It was slowing down once more, the castle settling into a comfortable routine. Max found himself grinning as he walked the newly worked circuit of the outer wall. Well, not quite circuit at this point, but the wall was coming along nicely. Apparently the original workers thought he was going to be happy with a six foot wall, but he had quickly disabused them of their delusions. This castle would have to be big, big enough to house a lot more people and big enough to hold off a full-fledged siege if it came to that.
'God, sieges would suck in this world. Flying citizens, people who can basically swim through dirt, good night vision, if you're not set you're in for a bad time.'

Not that it wouldn't be possible, there were just so many more dimensions to think in at this point. Though it was good to know that teleporting was still in its infancy. The likelihood of an enemy group teleporting into the keep and being instantly ready to fight was highly unlikely, not to mention the dangers in attempting such a maneuver. The unicorn was more likely to kill themselves than manage to teleport a squad of six ponies into a keep.

The next thing to focus on was armaments. Swords and clubs were great but ranged weaponry was where he was setting his sights. A simple ballista and catapult were currently sitting in the keep's courtyard, the two knights he'd pulled to work on the project, as well as a changeling that had the plans both written and from the hive-link.

That was another thing he'd found to be helpful. He could show a changeling exactly what it was he was thinking about, down to the winches and gears that ran the catapults and he could leave them with an imprint of the physical object he had them working on. He couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to try and explain these things while attempting to draw a simple picture with his limited artistic skills.

"The ponies building the walls are still complaining about not using the changeling resin," Twist said with a chuckle, looking at the ponies on the wall as Max's group passed by.

"If they really don't mind rebuilding it every year, sure. But we need mortared walls, not something held together with spit and its own weight. The entire reason changelings build underground and in dry places is because rain can ruin the resin. We had a light rain a few days ago and the seal Crystal made around the old cave has already fallen apart," Max explained in exasperation. It wasn't the first time the complaint had been raised. "This is going to need to last a bit longer than a few weeks. Resin will work for a quick patch-job, but I don't want to rely on it for projects like this."

Several nearby workers gave off a flux of emotions and Max found himself shaking his head. The mare was more clever than he anticipated, timing her question to seem inane but causing his answer to be heard by several of the workers who were currently mixing the mortar being used on the wall.
'Have to keep that in mind.'

The trip was soon completed and Max was walking off to the planting fields. To his surprise they were already showing signs of growth, even as the fields were still being constructed. Corn, carrots, and that weird tuber that looked like blue potatoes were currently the focus, but Max could already see a larger field being set for grains.
"They're already growing. Wonderful. I thought it would take longer."

"Noble Red was adamant that the plants would be farther along if she had more earth ponies to tend the fields, but until such a time, well, this is still faster than pegasi and unicorns could manage."
Pike, his other guard, pointed to the stream that was now channeled through the middle of the field.
"There are some worries about the water washing away too much soil, but that's a worry for later. For now most of the farmers are happy to not have to walk several miles for water or rely on pegasi as the only source of rain."

"What would you guys think about natural weather?" Max asked. "I think we could save a lot of time and effort if we let that fall back for a while. There's also the issue of the seasons. We have them for a reason, after all."

"I don't know enough about the seasons to say one way or another, sir," Twist replied. "Weather though...that's kind of something pegasi pride themselves in controlling. That's going to be a hard sell."

"Eh, it's something to think about. Personally I think it would work well, just keeping a team for things like tornadoes and the like but that's me. The seasons thing could be an international issue. Something that will come up eventually seeing as how the Princesses are able to impact the weather on a global scale."

"Global?"

"The whole planet?" Max said. Seeing their blank expressions he nodded. "Ah, yea that would be another issue. I've done some explanations on scale to the two ladies, but it's difficult to expand someone's horizons when what's in sight is all they've known. I grew up seeing images of locations all over the planet, knowing the small area that I lived in wasn't even a fraction of the size of the world. This whole countryside we see? It's a pittance of what makes up this world. There are deserts where you can stand and see nothing but sand for leagues, oceans so deep the sunlight cant reach the bottom, and mountains so high the air is too thin to breath. It's all about scales, what we're used to and what we can compare it to."

Stopping and pointing to a plant, he sat down.
"This single plant for instance can be what we call an ecosystem. There are insects that live on it, that eat the plants and other insects that eat those bugs. When the bugs that eat the ones that eat the plant poops, it leave nutrients in the soil that the plant uses. It's a cycle, or a web. When we spread it out to this field, then we add things like mice and birds. Spreading it even wider, we include ponies and changelings. Spreading it even farther, we have situations like Copper Road Keep, where we interacted with several other three other large groups. That's what I mean by scale. Knowing and acknowledging the size of the world is an important part of advancing. The thing we're most concerned about right now is ourselves, but at the same time we need to at the very least be aware that this world is full of other groups who rely on seasons.
"Those deserts usually have rainy seasons that rely on the changes of the seasons to bring rain. The plains too. Mountains can become dangerous if its too long between winters, with the snow and ice thawing too much and eventually falling apart. All that ice melts into water which could flood lower areas if they're not meant to be on the receiving end of all that water, while afterwards those same areas that relied on mountain streams will start to experience a drought. Don't get me wrong, places can adjust, but they won't do so quietly. Mountains will have avalanches, the deserts will become even more barren, rainforests...I don't know. They may be okay, but I think they rely on a rainy season too, as well as a cooler season to keep from getting unbearably hot."

Max smiled, looking back to the knights only to find them and every nearby pony staring at him with a bit of drool hanging out of their mouths.

"...Right, maybe that's a bit too far at the moment. I guess that's why we teach kids about large scales early."

'I don't think I've ever seen someone zone out that hard before, much less an entire group.'

Max watched as a few ponies who were out of earshot went about trying to wake up their friends, shaking them or even dumping water from the nearby irrigation ditch on their heads. Most were still in a bit of a daze but they were at least moving now.

'I'll keep that in mind if I need to make a break for it,' Seven replied, still giggling every now and again at the ridiculousness of the situation. 'It's good to know ponies can't take too much knowledge at once. An info dump is much easier to pull off than a smoke bomb.'

'Good news though, the farm looks great as far as I can tell, as does the wall. Decent thickness, should be able to take a beating. I don't think it will stop a dragon from clawing it apart, but at that point I'm going to be worrying about other things. Not to mention dragons usually fly. Dragons do fly, don't they?'

'Some do,' Crystal chimed in. 'Some don't have wings though. There are many different kinds. Oh, wait, I'm getting your fantasy dragons and the local species mixed up...yes, they fly. I don't think I've see one of these 'wyrms' though.'

'Dragons don't exist so humans started letting their imaginations go wild,' Max sent, looking around at the field one last time before heading back to the keep. Another group of knights had shown up and were currently attempting to wake his escort, so he didn't feel particularly worried about leaving them out here. Another pair had taken up position on either side of him, taking over for his otherwise incapacitated guards. Not that he felt he needed them at the moment, but Luna had made a point of showing the link between the changelings and the alicorns to everyone who lived outside the castle as well. He wasn't just someone she spent time with, or her consort. He was someone with power.

'That's a scary thought,' Max thought with faint grin. 'She's setting me up to help them, letting the ponies know they can look to me as well.'

Taking a look around as he walked back to the keep, he found himself under intense scrutiny but none of it was filled with fear. Curiosity, yes, but fear? Not a bit as far as he could tell. Apprehension wasn't fear after all. There was also a bit of warmth, a bit of respect. He'd done what the ponies in the castle hadn't. He'd brought the princesses outside to speak to them. He'd come out and seen what they had and what they didn't. Certainly he was scary and was pushing them around, but at the end of the day there were things happening. He was there when the wall was planned out. He had been working with the alicorns when the scary dog-things were found. He'd literally taking time to teach anyone who wanted to help how to best defend against fires and explained why the homes needed some space.

He'd done something the nobles hadn't. He'd come out to speak to them. And he'd brought the princesses with him. The bug-pony-thing may have looked scary, but it was doing things for them. Which was more than they could say about those who had been in charge of them for the last several years.

"So you came across no issues during your inspection?"

Max shook his head as he nibbled on the vegetables, enjoying the spicy new seasonings that were traded from the diamond dogs.
"Not really. Worst thing that occurred was a bit of an overload when I started talking. It was a bit odd, but I think they'll be better for it once they recover."

"What did you say to them?" Celestia asked.

"Just some drivel about ecosystems and scale," Seven replied. "He was trying to get a feel for how the ponies would react to weather and season changes. He then went on to attempt to explain it to them why it mattered, but lost most of them halfway through the explanation."
"The main thing to take away from the conversation though is that the ponies are not ready to understand the reasons that weather and seasons may be important. It forces their viewpoints too wide and causes them to become confused. Perhaps the foals can be taught such things earlier as is the case in human schooling but-"

"I don't think we have the resources for a school system at the moment, much less one that would work properly. Maybe we could do some basic things like when I did a few lessons in the throne room. You know, basic biology and geology, maybe some weather things? We'd have to make sure we did it out of time with harvesting seasons and such. I'm pretty sure farm families had the kids help with chores for the most part. If it came to surviving and having the kids learn a few things that may not matter, a family in the middle ages would definitely choose to have the kid working on the farm."
The stallion sighed.
"I don't know though. There's only so much I can do after all. Maybe if we can find a few ponies who could learn this stuff to teach...this is something that's easier once we start working on it over several generations. You can't create a system that will educate everyone over night. That's why children go to school and parents work. It cycles. The kids learn things that are then put to use in the working class when they grow up. As more things are learned by the scientists and researchers, the kids are taught these updates and the education system improves, leading to smarter and more qualified workers...in theory at least."

"But there's going to be a lot that needs to be constantly looked over to make certain the things being added are factual," Crystal added. "There's also the effort of changing the, curriculum? Changing what is taught every time a new discovery is made."

Both of the alicorns were lost in thought as the changelings spoke, quietly ejoying their meal. Finally Celestia spoke up.

"I would find it agreeable if we could educate the young. One thing that was always difficult was the cartload of books Starswirl threw at us, citing it as important. Luna and I managed to get through most of them, but there was just so much...I feel as though much of it just didn't stick. For example, I know I read of how to lead ponies in formation, but it was-"

"It was one of a hundred things we were taught over the course of a few years," Luna finished. "I found the military aspects of the teaching to be the easiest to remember, while Tia was better with the rules of leadership. As for the sciences, well, I suppose it just wasn't something we really considered until now."

"When you try to cram for an exam, you don't remember it all," Max said. "I had the same issue. If I tried to study too much at once, none of it stuck. It's why the school year is so long. So that the students have time to absorb all of the information. What I was doing in the throne room was an overview in all honesty. Something that some might remember, but it was nowhere near as intense as a class. I'll see if we have a drone that likes interacting with foals, maybe try to set up a once a week class or something like that. It's a start, if nothing else. They'll need a bit of paper though, which will mean a budget...God this is going to get messy."

Luna and Celestia both looked to each other, grinning before turning back to Max.
"What's a 'budget'?"

Deep in the secured treasury room of the keep, Lady Sapphire shivered as she was examining a large uncut topaz, the feeling of dread striking her from nowhere. Whatever was occurring, it felt as though she would find herself in the middle of it.

As the group curled into a pile in the dream hive, including the alicorns, and Max set them up to watch another movie, the stallion ruffled Luna's mane playfully.
"I swear, I'm going to start charging you for these lessons."

"Bah, then I'll find someone else to play with at night," Luna retorted, sticking her nose into the air.

Crystal laughed, pushing the blue mare.
"You'd be begging after a week."

"I would not!"

Celestia coughed into her hoof, a slight smile on her face even as she looked away.

"No, not you too! I'm stronger than that!"

"You literally mated until you were in pain," Seven replied bluntly, not looking away from the screen as a setting sun over a desert came into view. "That is not someone who would do well without."

"You what?" Celestia gasped, looking to the blue alicorn in shock.

Before Luna could defend herself half the changeling drones turned around and shushed them before looking back to the movie. Max grinned, leaning closer to Celestia and whispering into her ear.
"I had to cut her off."

"You're all mad," the white mare muttered before sighing. "We're all mad."

The next morning left Max in a bit of a conundrum. While it took a lot of work, a changeling could add clothing to their disguise. The clothing never felt right though, and would either be as hard as chitin or as soft as their silken manes. The current style some of female-identifying drones were sporting though left him torn between laughing and patting the confused knights on the back in sympathy.

They'd decided to use the outfits seen in the movie the previous night, leaving several drones wandering around either in their base forms or as pony mares while wearing bedlahs. This was both funny and left many of the knights confused.

"They work quickly," Luna said, watching the serving mare, a changeling, giggling as she let the 'dress' accentuate her steps.

"I think they're happy with both the novelty of being allowed to use their disguises in a more casual way as well as the fact that they can experiment with the reactions. The dresses look nice, but they won't feel right. In that way, we may be getting a few ponies asking about different styles of clothing. Heck, changelings would probably make great models for tailors."
Looking to a knight as the smaller stallion's eyes tracked the swaying hips of the changeling drone, Max laughed.
"Ah, the return of the why-boner."

"That series would be fun to watch but without half of the experiences I picked up through the connection nobody else would get the jokes," Seven grumbled.

"I know," Max commiserated. "That's why I have to be careful about what I pick. I think Aladdin was kind of pushing it, but it's still fun. Now I need to think of what to bring to the table next...and then I get to wonder what the drones will do with that information."

"I don't think I expected them to start using what they learned so quickly," Celestia said. "I think I heard one of the drones speaking to a guard about the blades though, the curved swords."

"Scimitars," Max said. "I don't think we really need them, but they're scary as hell. On the other hand, they're for hitting someone you're running past, so maybe we can use them for a pegasus group as they fly by."

"Odd that one can take ideas for new weapons from a movie," Luna mused. "I did like the music."

"I did too," Crystal laughed. "After all, it spoke to me. The two of you have never had friends like us."

"And for that, I am thankful," Luna shot back, using a wing to shove the changeling off of her cushion.

Author's Notes:

Did you see those changelings? They had curved swords. Curved. Swords!

...I didn't think I'd ever find myself trying to find out what the dancer outfit was actually called.