Max woke up to a gentle rapping on the door. He blinked a few times in confusion, trying to reclaim what had happened the night before. A moment later it came rushing back. Not because he remembered, but because the mare currently snuggling into his neck took that moment to wake up, planting a gentle kiss on his chin. Gentle though the contact may have been, the emotion delivered with the contact lit his shell up with energy like a power line.

"Good evening, Max," he heard the alicorn whisper softly, just before a spike of curiosity emanated from her. An instant later the mare was rolling the two of them over so that Luna was resting on his belly and staring down at him. She smashed her lips into his own, causing his eyes to widen in surprise from the sudden act. He then returned it, even going so far as to use his forelegs to pull her more tightly against his barrel.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Max asked groggily.

"I just spent the night in the hooves of somepony I love," the blue mare answered easily, giving another peck to his nose. "I don't see a reason I shouldn't be happy."

"Who is this lucky guy? I'd like to shake his hand," Max snarked, earning a giggle from the alicorn.

A second set of knocks on the door interrupted their banter and Luna scowled at the door as if it was the reason for her irritation.

"Yes, we are awake. We shall bathe then dine with our sister, have patience."

Rising onto her haunches and flaring her wings to stretch them, she looked down at the changeling that was still on his back.

"We'd enjoy a second bedding with thee, but we must make ourselves presentable. Come, there is something I am curious about."

Luna cocked her head as another thought occurred to her.

"Oh, please make your way to the bathing room, we must collect something!"

Max slowly picked him self off the bed, wincing as the sensation of the sheet peeling away made itself known. Looking around him at the mess, he actually was kind of curious how such a large amount of, well, bodily fluids could be released by two individuals without killing either one. The bed sheets and blankets were a loss in his opinion, much of it hardened after being given several hours to dry. He felt kind of sticky and flaky as well actually, but as far as he knew chitin wasn't that difficult to clean.

'Oh hell and they don't have washing machines. Someone's gonna have to wash this by hand. I am so sorry.'

Max stepped off the bed, cringing as a sheet tried to follow him to the bathroom. Actually, now that he thought about it he needed to pee. How was he not dead again? Stepping into the bathroom he stopped just shy of the toilet as a mirror caught his eyes. He'd yet to actually look at himself in the mirror after his transformation.

The eyes were still his regular blue orbs, though the slit-pupils were a bit odd. A few scratches and scars from his childhood were scattered here and there in positions that translated to his new body; a patch of discolored chitin on his rear left leg where he'd torn off most of his knee after falling off a skateboard. A discolored line going down his foreleg where he'd sliced himself on a damaged slide. That one had required stiches. It was strange being able to identify them, but he was grateful for the additional familiarity. He had no real mane to speak of, though there were a few strange flecks of blue seemed to be peeking out from amid the small fins on his neck. Almost as if it was the beginning of a mane.

Another oddity was the fact that the holes the species was known for were non-existent. He would have expected to see a few but as far as he could tell, there really wasn't anything like that showing on his form. He was just a large black-shelled insectoid creature with blue slit eyes and a large jagged spike jutting from his forehead.

Shifting to attempt to get a bit of a profile of himself in the mirror, he jumped at the feminine giggle that broke him from his thoughts.

"We were certain only mares spent time checking ourselves in the mirror," Luna teased as she entered the bathroom behind him.

Max grunted a noncommittal response at her teasing, choosing instead to go back to his inspection of his form. He pulled back his lips, taking careful note of the fangs and shifting himself to try and see any holes or markings in his fangs that would indicate the presence of venom.

"What are you...ah, you seek knowledge of your fangs, correct?" Luna said, realizing where his focus was. "We are aware of a spell that allows for the determination of a species ability to produce venom. We shall have a mage summoned to the throne to test you, though it will not tell us the use of the venom. There are many creatures who have venoms of differing effects, but to learn the effects we must give it to an apothecary."

"Yea, but for that, I need to know how to spit it ou-erk!" Max cut himself off, coughing and sputtering as venom began spurting from the fangs. His distress only amplified the effect, causing more of the liquid to poor into his mouth. He heard Luna asking if he was alright, but his focus was on something else.

'Relax, don't tense your cheeks, just calm down and relax.'

After a few more spurts of the venom Max managed to relax enough to stop trying to kill himself. His mouth wasn't dissolving, so obviously it wasn't some type of acidic venom. On the other hand he felt kind of tingly. A numbing effect?

"Perfect!" he heard Luna exclaim. Looking over to the mare, he noticed she was now wielding two vials, one with a glowing pink gel while the other contained a cloudy liquid, likely his venom.

"We now have samples of both the love and the venom. We are curious what its purpose is. Have you any ideas?"

"I tink it's a anatetic," the changeling garbled out. "Make ting num."

The alicorn burst into laughter at the displayed effects of the venom.

"You, you have fallen to your own venom! Oh what marvelous skill, how brilliant is Max, our guest and being from another time and place. A being who's own existence leaves mine own to seem so trifling!" she went on, touching her right foreleg against her head before falling onto her back laughing.

"Ah-ya, where da bat-room," Max said with a scowl. He didn't see any toilets in the bathroom so far, just a mirror, another door to the large pool, and a... oh god no. Please, no- anything but that.

"Bath room? Just beyond the door. You have already been there, have you not?" Luna asked him in confusion.

"I nee ta pee," Max explained with growing dread. "Da toilet?"

"There is a chamber pot in the closet if you need it, or there was one of those garderobes down the hall. T'was a marvelous idea, much cleaner than chamber pots. We are glad the architect mentioned them before the castle was built. They are much cleaner," Luna said cheerfully. " Tis always a frustrating thing to deal with. Even when Tia and myself were living on our own we were forced to deal with such unpleasant things."

Max covered his face in his hooves, groaning in despair.

'Indoor plumbing. That's one of the first things we're going to talk about. I know it's not feasible right now, but the sooner I get a flushing toilet, the better.'

"There is something wrong?" Luna asked upon seeing his despair.

"We talk abou' la'er. I 'ee 'ack hoon."

Pissing in a hole that led out of the castle was unpleasant. Doing so in an equine body was even more so. The smells, seemingly amplified by his larger nasal cavity and more predatory nature, made it even worse. At this point, Max was thankful that the only thing he seemed to need was a place to pee, as trying to...no, that wouldn't be pleasant at all.

'Small miracles and all that jazz, I guess.'

"Come, we wish to examine something," Luna said as he entered the room. Before he could step into the bathing pool she met him at the edge, her magic gently causing him to sit by the edge of the pool as the mare began casting spells over his form. Most seemed to flicker out and die on contact with his shell, something about the chitin interrupting the magical aura.

"We suppose that is to be expected. Many scanning spells are difficult, so a defense against them that merely causes them to falter and die would be seen as a problem with the caster."

Max suddenly squeaked in surprise, his legs twisting away as the mare began running magic over his lower body.

"Oh relax," the blue alicorn admonished him. "Our experience has left us curious."

The aura began running over his groin, drawing a shudder of pleasure from the stallion as his breathing quickened slightly. Looking down at his plates and seeing a few shift as the sensations left him slightly aroused, he was suddenly immensely curious as a blue glow began tracing itself along his lower body. Luna lowered her muzzle to his opening plates, watching intently as the parted to reveal the stallionhood it was previously concealing. The mare began looking to either side of the twitching rod, maintaining her aura that left him tingling as she continued her inspection.

"Odd, we do not see any...ah, perhaps here?"

Max gasped as his body tensed, the sensation of a hoof running over something way to sensitive to be his shell causing him to buck slightly. Whatever it was the alicorn had brushed, it felt good. Really good.

"Hmm. Most curious. It is almost as if..."

The pleasure all of a sudden doubled, causing the changeling to moan. The tingling sensations had returned in full, buzzing up and down his penis and drawing a bit of pre from deep inside him.

"D-dammit, what are you doing?"

"We are curious," Luna said distractedly. "Excuse us for wishing to know more about what is being inserted into our body. We keep thinking about the amount of seed released during our joining the night before, and it does not add up."

"S-so what's the issue? I me-HEEan, what are you looking f-OR," Max belted out. The sensations Luna was giving him during her inspection, he wouldn't be surprised if his eyes were crossing every now and again.

"Thy seed-bearers. They do not hang as with most stallions, neither are they merely hidden under the plates, set free as thy siring rod was. We believe it is internal, which is most strange..."

The large changeling grunted again, this time bucking fully as the mare's magic began filtering down his dick and deeper into his body.

'She's, she's fricken' tracing the pipes!'

His mouth opened in a soundless groan as the sensations spread, causing him to twitch and eject a small amount of pre onto the distracted alicorn's barrel. Still Luna's attention was on her magic as it wound its way into his body. Finally the magic split, causing him to swear as it spread in several different directions.

"Amazing," she breathed quietly. Blinking as the male grunted again, this time ejecting a small amount of pre onto her muzzle. Luna grinned at his blank stare.

"We suppose that the sensation of our magic is quite pleasurable?"

When no response was forthcoming, Luna looked down to the twitching and leaking penis that was even now pointing in her direction begging for attention. The head was currently leaking a bit, but unlike most stallions the fluid seemed to be an almost pink color. In truth the color almost reminded her of a watered down version of the love she'd collected from the bed. Watching it curiously even as her magic suffused the male's genitals, she gave it a cautious lick. It was only fair after all, she thought. She enjoyed such things so surely if she reciprocated he'd be willing to employ his tongue on her once more. Judging by the moan and the buck, he was quite sensitive and found the contact agreeable.

Luna blinked in surprise as she licked her lips. It was only pre of course, but it tasted...sweet? It was strange. Not in a bad way though. In fact, it was tempting to- yes, she'd just have another taste.

Meanwhile Max was staring blankly at the ceiling, wondering how the hell the alicorn was managing to fry his brain with so much pleasure at once. It was even made clear to him at the start that his pleasure was a side effect of her exploration of his body in search of his balls. As far as he could tell, she'd found them, buzzing them in her magic from their position inside his body. It felt mind-meltingly good, but then she'd brushed against the sensitive whatever-passed-as-skin under the plates. It was taking all of his willpower not to finish here and now. A new sensation reached his brain though, one that threatened what little reserves he'd recovered so far. A tongue.

Jerking unsteadily at the new source of pleasure, he looked down and saw the blue mare licking curiously at his head before beginning to suck on it like some sort of demented lollipop. He clenched again and the mare swallowed, running her tongue over his tool and even attempting to lick more out of the tip. It reminded him of his own reaction to her cum the first night, when hunger was driving him to drink as deeply of her orgasm as he could. Was she reacting the same way? Why?

Luna began to hum happily as she sucked on his stallionhood, and he felt something inside him begin to clench.

Luna blinked as the changeling jerked again, releasing another burst of the sweet, almost honey-like fluid. Looking up, she also saw the orbs still high-lighted in her magic begin to jerk and tense. A grin split her muzzle as she began furiously sucking on the organ currently in her mouth, running her tongue over the rings and humming as deeply as she could to finish him off. Suddenly she felt the changeling lean forward, driving himself deep into her throat and nearly choking her on the thickness. She went to pull back, but he was leaning on her back, wrapping his forelegs around her barrel in a powerful grip even as he bucked into her throat as his orgasm overcame his sensibilities. Feeling the rings in her throat stiffen to form a seal, the mare panicked as her air was cut off. Certainly she could hold her breath for a long while, especially in comparison to other ponies, but that meant little to her at the moment. The stallion above her had been locked in her for a while after her own orgasm had passed, would it happen again?

She began swallowing, hoping to accelerate the process before she began to worry too much. It wouldn't have taken much more coaxing though, as the semen was already on its way.

She felt the gushing in her throat, spraying almost directly into her gullet as the male grunted above her. One, two three, four powerful bursts of the seed followed by what felt like an almost constant stream just leaking into her throat. In spite of her worries the changeling soon relaxed his grip, his rings softening even as he continued to dribble his cum into her throat. As the rod was removed from her mouth, she gave the still dripping member one last parting lick, savoring the sweet flavor that danced over her tongue. Curious. Most curious indeed.

"W-whoa," Max said weakly, his eyes still fogged with the pleasure of the experience. He looked at her longingly for a moment, a look that caused her to shudder. She'd wanted that, wanted to see that look in a stallion's eyes for a long time. Not that damnable reverence the alicorns inspired, nor the lust for power some of the nobles radiated. Just a primal desire for the one in front of her, mirrored in his eyes.

"I...I think we should finish up soon," the changeling said, shakily attempting to step into the pool. "We're going to be l-late."

Luna grinned at his dazed manner.

"Indeed, though I do wish to test one more thing before we are through here though."

Levitating a small stone and a small vial of oil, the lunar diarch pulled the still-weak changeling to her barrel.

"We wish to see if thy shell is capable of being polished."

Though it felt strange having an oiled stone rubbed over his shell in an effort to polish it, the left shoulder plates of his chitin (the only part Luna had time to work on) had turned out surprisingly well. The shell actually gleamed in the evening light. Not something he'd like if he was trying to be sneaky like an actual changeling, but it looked pretty impressive. Having the entirety of the shell polished to this level would be downright glamorous.

"I will be the most fabulous changeling to ever walk the planet," Max muttered with a chuckle.

Luna gave him a shove with her shoulder as they made their way down the hallway.

"We believe it looks nice. Perhaps later we may finish our work? It was very similar to polishing armor."

"No, tonight I have something special planned for you. We're going to be discussing biology, or at least what I know of it. Things could very well be different in a place of magic, but most diseases function on a very small level. Understanding how they work and how they spread allows you to counter-act them, possibly even preventing epidemics. One major thing I'll also suggest though is indoor plumbing. I don't think it's feasible right now, but sanitation is very important to health. That and I prefer flushing toilets to holes that smell like death," Max groused.

"The garderobe was not what you were expecting, was it?" Luna asked curiously. "Do your people truly put so much effort into their, 'bathrooms'? A few charms around the chute stops most of the smell, so while it can be unpleasant we fail to see the importance."

The changeling nodded.

"A lot of sickness, both actual illnesses and parasites, can be avoided by proper removal of waste. I'll explain that part later though. Not something you want to hear the details about while eating. We'll save it for around three or so, after I've hit the basics of biology."

The smaller dining room was once more the destination of the group, this time though it was devoid of nobles when Luna and Max walked through the door. Celestia was sitting across the way, talking with a mare who was holding a scroll about something. The moment the white alicorn heard the door open, her ears perked and she turned a cautious smile towards the pair.

"Evening, Princess Celestia. Sorry about the wait, Princess Luna and I ran into a few oddities on the way here."

As Celestia's eyes tracked the two with interest, Luna took her seat and began giggling excitedly.

"We obtained samples of both Max's venom and excess love. It turns out it is possible for a changeling to overfeed on an emotion! The venom also has a numbing effect, as the two of us learned when he accidentally ejected it into his own mouth!"

"Venom?' the alabaster mare asked cautiously. "We were unaware that changelings were venomous."

"So was I," Max said, rubbing his temple with a hoof. "I was looking at my fangs in the mirror, wondering if I had venom and I accidentally pinched the venom sacs. God help me if I accidentally bite my lip or tongue, I may knock myself out. Plus side, it's a useful venom to have if its purely a numbing venom with no damaging effects."

Seeing as both of the mares were looking at him in curiosity, he explained further.

"The venom could be used as an anesthetic. If someone's in pain, a changeling bites them, or you use previously gathered venom and inject it into the blood-stream of the patient. The venom would numb the injured area, lessoning the pain. It could also be used during surgeries, instead of either knocking them out and hoping they stay out or trying to get them drunk. I wouldn't suggest it right now as I don't know all the details, but it's something to look into in the future."

Luna levitated the vial of venom in front of her, looking at in in a new light.

"I'd never...you believe this venom may be used medicinally?"

Max nodded.

"It can, venom is also used to make antivenin, though I don't know the process. I know that snakes were milked for their venom, but that's all I remember. As I said before, I can point you in the direction of many technologies, but it would be up to you to figure out how to use them. With magic, you could even bypass some of the stages of technological development. Of course, that's the opinion of someone who knows nothing about magic. Back home magic is often a term used to explain the unknown or the spiritual."

As Luna began eating she kept looking towards the second vial now floating in her magical grip. Would it also have such amazing uses? Was there even more that such a magically based solution was capable of? Overcome by her curiosity, she popped the cork and poured a small amount onto her hoof. Heedless of her sister and the changelings questions of what she was doing she licked it off, noting the sweet taste as well as the power she felt flow into her. While she was unsurprised to find it tasting similar to the changeling's semen, she actually felt a bit of magic in the gel. Did changelings naturally change love into magic? It wasn't much, not enough to do more than cast a simple spell, but it was more than she'd expected. In fact once she looked, she felt a bit more magic than she expected in her system, much of it bearing the same feeling as the magic she gained through the small taste of love.

"It contains magic," Luna said. "We would hazard a guess that a small glass could easily supply the imbiber with enough magic energy to cast a minor spell, mayhap more."

"You're certain?" Celestia asked, taking the vial from her sister. Looking it over curiously, she sniffed at the liquid before following her sister's example. The results were, surprisingly, different.

"...Tia? Tia are you alright?"

Max was just about to leave his seat to check on her when the white mare burst into giggles, her naturally pink eyes almost masking the glow that they were currently emitting. Both Max and Luna walked around the table to the older alicorn, who was currently observing her reflection in her goblet while making faces into it. Luna looked ready to start teasing, but Max waved her back with a concerned frown.

"Let's make sure she's not going to get hurt by this before we tease her. I have no idea what that does to people, much less why it wouldn't have the same effect on you."

Luna nodded, understanding the situation but still finding it humorous, giggling quietly as Max began checking the white alicorn over. The blue mare's giggles increased when Celestia began running a hoof over his shell, muttering about how shiny it was.

"Her eye's are glowing a bit," Max said as he looked the princess over. "It's faint and I think its the same color of her eyes so it's tough to tell, but that stuff...it wasn't even that much."

Luna tapped her hoof to her chin.

"Mayhap we were unaffected because of its origin? It is our love, processed into a physical means by your changeling biology. Could that be the reason our sister was impacted much more visibly?"

The changeling shook his head in defeat.

"It's the best theory we have at the moment. I can't see it lasting that long, as it wasn't even that much. If it persists much longer I'd suggest putting her to bed and letting her sleep it off. If the effect persists longer than that..."

The plans were cut short as Celestia blinked in confusion for a few seconds, her happy smile fading into a blank stare as she regained control of herself.

"Sister, are you well? The love, it seemed to have a much greater impact on you," Luna said, showing actual concern for the other alicorn for the first time in Max's presence.

Celestia nodded slowly.

"I, we believe so. T'was a strange sensation. Everything around us just seemed so...wonderful for a moment. While it was disconcerting, we cannot call it an unpleasant experience."

"As long as it was a temporary thing. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep the rest of it for tomorrow morning. I think it was some time in the early morning that I arrived so I'd like to keep some handy just in case," Max requested, earning a nod from both alicorns.

Once everyone made their ways back to their seats Luna giggled again, looking over at her stoic sister.

"You were making faces in your goblet like a foal, Tia."

Max was actually surprised when Celestia stuck her tongue out at Luna before smiling a little. It was nice to see after the hostility. While the changeling wouldn't bet that the problem was resolved, it was looking a little bit better now. Maybe he could do this? Maybe he'd survive this brewing disaster?

"We were delighted to find one of the nobles leading the charge into the dining room when we retired for lunch today," Celestia said to the changeling. "Your recommendation to impose upon the stallion drew a delightful reaction from Sir Tin Index earlier. We were required to announce our need to be elsewhere during dinner before we closed court for the night of course, but from the word of our knights the Baron was quite overwhelmed."

"You jest!" Luna shouted in mock surprise. "Mine sister, duping one of the nobles? Foisting off her responsibility under a false flag? What have you done with mine sister, pretender?!"

"We are aware it was not...normal for our routine. However, we are in agreement with your...what is he to you, sister?" the white mare asked cautiously.

Luna looked over to the changeling who was also giving the question a bit of thought.

"We, are not certain actually. We wish to say friend but we find the term lacking."

"Anchor," Max said from his seat, not looking up from his meal.

"To keep a marine-themed line of explanation Luna and I are currently experiencing very rough situations, or rough seas. We're anchoring each other through this time, helping to keep the other stable."

"You seem stable enough," Celestia said with a confused expression.

"I am now, but I'll likely get bad later. I'm already nervous, as I know the deadline's approaching and I'm not certain if I have this right. There's a million things that could go wrong and until I talk to a natural changeling, there's a good chance I won't learn things about my species for years. After the deadline though, if everything turns out well...it still won't be. Not by a long shot."

The sisters were taken aback by the sudden twist in the mood. Luna gently placed a wing over his back, pulling him into a possessive hug. The stallion gave an appreciative smile at the affection before bumping his muzzle against her cheek.

They both jerked at the cough that came from the other side of the table.

"We apologize, but could the two of you keep that to yourselves? Luna, I know you care not a whit about the nobles, especially after their apparent...dismissal of your position, but they are still powerful enough to cause the lot of us problems. Be cautious."

The blue alicorn's muzzle twisted like she'd bit into a lemon but before she could retort Max interrupted.

"Don't poke them just because you don't like them, Luna. You can get them in other ways, trust me. Your country is just starting out, right? The power and influence they can bring to the table is important for now. Once you and Celestia are settled and your country is stable, you can do what you want. Within reason," he added with a smirk.

"Speaking of starting out, there was talk of bandits raiding a nearby village," Celestia mentioned with a bit of irritation. "We have dispatched pegasi scouts discover the extent of the problem. If it is not too many, would you like to take care of it, or shall I?"

"We would be glad to dispense justice to these fools who think they may take advantage of our subjects. We should be able to eradicate them before returning to court, in fact," Luna responded, her anger bubbling at the idea of banditry.

"Bandits huh? I can't say I have any experience with them, sorry. We had to deal with terrorists and pirates, but the goals of the former were usually just to harm as many individuals as possible in the worst possible way, hence the name, and the others operated in international waters, where they could pretend to be fishing boats or something like that. The former were often not interested in survival, and the latter were more of a nuisance to those of us on the larger continents or countries that had a decent military," the changeling said with a shrug. "I'm afraid I only have theory in that area of expertise. I've never been in combat myself and what little self-defense I know is, uh. Let's just say I don't think an choke-hold is viable with four legs. Not the way I know them, at least."

"Ha! Have no fear, Max. We shall grace you with lessons in combat in the future," the blue alicorn said with a laugh. "It would not do for mine friend to find himself gutted by a foal with a butter knife."

"Oh, I'm not worried about the foals with butter knives. I'm worried about the space-bears. Bears are mean, so I can only imagine that magical bears will kill me dead," Max retorted. "Oh, and don't forget the hydras. Because a dinosaur-sized monster with sharp teeth isn't bad enough, we need to give it several sets of sharp teeth."

The stallion cocked his head in confusion for a moment after mentioning the hydra.

"Do hydras regrow heads if you cut them off?"

Celestia blanched at the idea.

"Not that we are aware of. We have mostly been successful in driving them away from villages with fire, though.

"I guess the fire thing is still there," the changeling muttered.

Luna rose from her seat, tossing one last bite of her meal into her mouth before making her way for the door.

"Good night, sister. We shall see you with the rising of the sun. We hope for more information on the bandits soon."

"Luna, you barely touched your dinner. Are you well?" the white alicorn pointed out in concern.

Luna giggled mischievously as she looked over her wings to her sister.

"We must apologize. We just don't have room today, Tia."

Author's Notes:

Changeling love has actual love in it.