The bartender hesitantly returned to the group, the tray of drink shaking ever so slightly in her telekinetic grasp. Without a word, she deposited the drinks in front of each stallion, Anon, and Chrysalis, before booking it back over to the other side of the bar.

"Well maybe we can't change, but does changing give you any special skills or abilities other than just infiltration?" Javelin replied, the first to respond to the changeling Queen.

"How do you mean?" Chrysalis asked, looking down at the bar and picking up her sugar-water in her hooves.

"Oh sweet, martini time." Anon happily muttered to himself as he grabbed his glass.

"I mean, say you changed into me. Would you have my special talent? Like, could you shoot mana bolts as accurately as I can? Or would you just look like me and nothing else?" Javelin replied, picking up his drink as well.

"Aww, she forgot my little umbrella." Echo whimpered as he looked at his drink.

Chrysalis shook her head, "We can't copy special talents. I wouldn't be able to mimic your mana bolts exactly, although considering that I am a changeling Queen with significantly more power than you when I'm not bordering on starving... I could probably outshoot you either way." She replied, taking a sip of her water, "Hmm... I wonder if she spit in this?" She muttered.

"I think you'd be able to tell if she hocked a loogie in there." Anon replied, leaning over to look into Chrysalis's drink.

"Well you did kinda just prove my point though. Maybe not you, but any normal changeling would struggle to mimic anypony's special talent, so while you can transform into us, you won't have the skills or talents we have. I think this is still a win for ponykind." Javelin triumphantly smirked, holding his hoof up for Echo to bump.

Echo happily bumped Javelin's hoof, a gesture that made Chrysalis grit her teeth ever so subtlety. The briefest flash of anger appeared on her face, only to disappear and be replaced with a look of indifference within a matter of milliseconds. While the rest of the stallions of the group sipped their drinks, or were too busy hoofbumping to notice, Anon clearly saw the anger bubbling up in the changeling queen.

Oh shit, oh shit. What was I thinking? This is a terrible idea! This is just gonna piss her off! Anon mentally screamed.

"I suppose you bring up a fair point, Sergeant. That said, my kind have still infiltrated Equestria for generations." Chrysalis rebutted.

Echo and Dusk opened their mouths to reply, only for Anon to hastily, and almost frantically, speak up, "You bring up a great point, Chryssi! Changelings are great at infiltration for a reason. Very impressive stuff. I saw one of them turn into me way back and it was identical!" He asserted, an almost manic grin on his face.

"Cornicle. I recall him telling me about that encounter." Chrysalis nodded.

Anon did a double take, "Wait, you actually know the drone that did that?" He asked.

"I know all of my drones, Prince Anon. Cornicle also told me you knocked him unconscious with a frying pan." Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... well..." Anon awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, was that the same frying pan you threw at Chrysalis?" Javelin asked.

"Uh, hehe... y-yeah. Yeah it was." Anon sheepishly chuckled.

"It felt like getting hit by a cottonball, by the way." Chrysalis tittered, once more sipping at her drink.

Javelin, Dusk, and Echo snickered while Anon gave the changeling a deadpan look, "Well excuuuuuuse me. If I'd have known I'd be fighting a juiced up super changeling, I would have practiced my throw more." He smirked.

"At the end of the day, it still distracted you long enough, didn't it?" Javelin asked with a half-shrug.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "Yes, I suppose the goal was accomplished. I was distracted and Princess Lovey-Dovey was able to cast her spell with Captain Simping Armor." She tutted.

Anon snickered, before a giggle escaped his lips. He struggled, in vain, to control his laughter, until it eventually broke free and he was forced to support himself on the bar as he was wracked with laughter.

"Cap... Captain Simp... Simping Armor!!!" Anon wheezed, his stomach already beginning to hurt from his laughter.

Even Javelin, Echo, and Dusk were not immune to Anon's infectious laughter, and quickly found themselves laughing along with the man, much to Chrysalis's pleasant surprise.

"I'll be honest, I didn't think you would find that funny." Chrysalis stated, shaking her head in amusement.

"I think you- haha - I think you broke Anon." Javelin acknowledged through his laughter.

"He kinda is a simp for Princess Cadence, isn't he?" Dusk thought aloud, a grin on his face as Echo snickered next to him.

"To be fair, who wouldn't simp for Cadence?" Echo laughed.

"Me." Chrysalis answered, flatly.

Anon's laughter quickly turned to coughing, and he struggled to catch his breath as a coughing fit overtook him. Chrysalis patted him on the back a few times, helping him to recover. He gave a grateful thumbs up, to which Chrysalis only tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"What?" Anon replied.

"That thing you're doing with your thumb?" She clarified.

Anon looked down to his still extended thumb and pursed his lips, "Uh, well... it just means, 'I'm good', or something along those lines."

Chrysalis nodded, "Ah, I see. Minotaur's have similar hands to yours and in their culture, that's a gesture meant to offend." She replied, taking another sip from her drink.

Anon blinked in surprise, "Wait, really? I haven't heard anything like that... that explains the look that one gave me when I gave him a thumbs up for not running me over when I was crossing the street..." He muttered.

"I thought the thumb had to be pointing down?" Dusk questioned.

"No, it's pointed up. I spent the last three months in the minotaur kingdom. I know." Chrysalis replied, sharply.

Dusk backed away ever so slightly while Echo did the same. Noting the returning tension in the atmosphere, Anon looked down into his drink, "Alright, how's about we start getting properly drunk? Jav, Echo, you down?" He asked.

Javelin quickly leaned over to Anon, "I thought you weren't gonna get drunk tonight?" He whispered just loud enough for Anon to hear him.

"Oh, I know I did, but with how this is going so far, I think I might need to have a buzz to deal with the rest of this night." Anon replied, taking a swig of his drink.

Javelin shrugged, "Alright, well Dusk and those other night guards are gonna be sober, so it should be fine. Just try not to get too drunk. Chrysalis kinda needs you to be her handler, if you know what I mean." He offered, patting Anon's shoulder.

"I gotcha bud. No worries." Anon smiled, turning to Chrysalis, "So, Chryssi, out of curiosity, what was the weirdest thing you've ever transformed into?"

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, "The weirdest thing?"

"Yeah. The weirdest thing. Like, most detached from what you are normally, or... just most different to a changeling, I guess." Anon shrugged.

Chrysalis rolled her tongue in her mouth as she thought over the question, "I suppose the strangest thing was a minotaur. Walking on only two legs and being so top heavy took some getting used to." She replied.

Anon immediately eyed her with interest, "Y-you were still female when you were a minotaur, right?" At Chrysalis's nod, he held his hands up in front of his chest, almost cupping his pecs, "So... you were so top heavy because you had huge bozongas, right?"

Javelin snickered while Dusk and Echo looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. Chrysalis simply raised an eyebrow in modest amusement, "I did have fairly large breasts as a minotaur, if that's what you're referring to, yes."

Anon slowly moved his hands a bit lower, "About how big? Just tell me when." He asked.

Chrysalis watched with growing amusement as Anon's hands drifted lower and lower, until they were just above his belly button, "Right about there." She casually replied.

Anon eyed where his hands were with wide eyed astonishment, "Holy fucking shit... You had like... K cup tits! Mother of God!" He exclaimed, prompting a snicker from the Changeling Queen while Dusk and Echo shared a look of confusion.

"He's got this weird thing with teats, I swear." Echo said.

"That big? How could you even walk around like that?" Dusk questioned, turning to Chrysalis.

"Like I said, it took some getting used to." Chrysalis replied, flatly, "Besides, minotaurs are much like Prince Anon here. The bigger the teats, the better."

Dusk and Echo shook their heads in confusion as they took swigs of their own drinks. Meanwhile, Javelin scooched his stool over to Anon, "So Celestia and Luna still don't have big enough teats for you, huh?" He teased, playfully elbowing Anon in the ribs.

Anon simply tussled Javelin's mane, "They're both perfect, thank you very much. Still, I can have fantasies. You don't live through the invention of the internet and porn for your entire adult life and then not fantasize about some of those honkin mommy milkers." He laughed.

"Honkin?"

"Mommy?"

"Milkers?"

Anon looked up to see Chrysalis, Dusk, and Echo all looking at him with mixed looks of confusion and concern.

"What?" Anon indignantly questioned, "Is a guy not allowed to like the things he suckled on as a baby!?" He demanded in mock outrage.

Echo and Dusk snickered and shook their heads before taking another swig of their drinks. Chrysalis, meanwhile, only furrowed her brow in confusion at Anon's outburst. Before she could say anything, however, a saffron red pegasus mare with long, braided blond hair walked up to Echo and tapped him on the shoulder. The stallion quickly turned to the new mare and gave her a disarming smile.

"Evening." He greeted.

"Evening. I saw you over here with your friends and was wondering if you'd like to dance? Maybe I could get you a drink or something?" She politely offered, a warm smile on her lips as well, although it was clear that the smile was forced.

Every second or so, the mare glanced over at Chrysalis and a brief flash of fear spread across her face, before she refocused on Echo and the pleasant smile returned. Sensing the obvious fears of the mare, Echo nodded, grabbed his drink with his leathery wing and downed the rest of it in a single gulp.

"I'd love to dance with a pretty mare like you." Echo suavely replied, giving her a playful grin and hopping off his stool.

"Just don't add to the population while you're gone." Dusk called after him, making Echo roll his eyes and wave a wing at the older stallion.

Dusk chuckled at the response before turning back to the group, "I swear, that stallion pulls mares easier than anypony I've ever seen. It's like I'm invisible." He laughed.

"Well you guys definitely have it easier here than I did back on my world. Us guys had to go over to the girls and ask them out." Anon replied.

Dusk and Chrysalis both raised their eyebrows at that, "Seriously?" Dusk questioned.

"I'm starting to think your world is just a backwards clone of Equestria at this rate." Chrysalis snorted.

"Weird, isn't it? Ponies are ass-backwards to me when it comes to dating. I've literally never been approached or pursued in my life until I popped up here, and even then, that was a... bit of a rollercoaster." Anon shrugged.

"Ass? What do donkeys have to do with it?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

Anon and Javelin both snickered while Dusk rolled his eyes. Chrysalis looked back and forth between the group of males with a puzzled look on her face.

"That's for me to know, and you to only want to know until I eventually cave and tell you." Anon beamed.

Chrysalis gave him a deadpan look for a moment while Dusk leaned to the side and squinted slightly. After a few moments, he threw the rest of his drink back and slammed the glass on the bar, starling everyone around him.

"Welp, I've eyes on a cute mare on the third floor. If you stallions need me, that's where I'll be." Dusk announced, unfurling his wings and taking to the air.

"Have fun! Don't add to the population!" Javelin called after him, prompting Dusk to snort in amusement as he fluttered away.

"And then there were three." Anon cryptically announced, taking another swig of his drink.

Almost as if on cue, the DJ changed the song to a much more upbeat EDM tune, making Javelin's eyes widen.

"Make that two, Anon. This shit is my jam." He replied, drinking down his drink and slamming the glass on the bar, much like Dusk and Echo.

With that, Javelin hopped off his barstool and trotted over to the dance floor, where there was already a growing gathering of mares and stallions dancing to the booming beats of the speakers.

"Oh, alright! Have fun! Don't break a leg!" Anon called after the stallion.

With Javelin gone, and nobody else left to distract him or talk to, Anon quickly chugged down the rest of his drink and fixed Chrysalis with an overly friendly smile.

"So, are you having a good time?" Anon asked.

"Depends on your definition of a good time, I suppose." Chrysalis replied.

Anon pursed his lips, "Right... um, do you at least not hate it?" He offered.

Chrysalis sighed, "Well, the other three ponies here left at the first chance they had, eveypony else has been avoiding me like the plague, and you've been downing your drink as fast as possible in what I can only assume is a form of nervous breakdown because you're afraid you made a huge mistake by bringing me out here." She asserted, a hint of resignation in her tone.

Anon forced a laugh, "Damn! You're good!," He replied, before turning back to the bar, "Can I please get several more of these!? Also some Old Fashioned's." He called, pointing to his drink.

"Right away, your highness!" The bartender replied, hiding most of her body from Chrysalis's view.

"Thank you!" Anon turned back to Chrysalis, "Now, while that's a scarily accurate assessment, I do still think things are going relatively well, all things considered." He replied.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, "And how exactly is that? Ponies are still terrified of me, your friends abandoned you with me, and you want to get intoxicated so you won't really have to deal with the situation." She muttered.

The bartender slid several martinis and a few smaller glasses of whiskey over to Anon, who gratefully accepted them in both hands, "That, is where you're finally wrong, Chryssi." Anon declared, sipping one of the drinks.

Chrysalis tilted her head to the side, "And how do you figure that?"

"Because, while I'm sure you can sense my emotions and the nerves just spiraling out of control on me-"

"I can, and they're extremely obvious." Chrysalis interjected.

"As I was saying," Anon continued, "I am not drinking to get drunk. I am drinking to get a buzz. Helps make those pesky nerves go away for a little bit." He explained.

Chrysalis's eyebrow raised even higher, "Really, now?"

Anon nodded, "Really, really. Now c'mon, stop being such a stick in the mud. Live a little!" He encouraged, holding out the extra glass of whiskey for her.

Chrysalis eyed the glass with a frown, "I already told you-" She began.

"Just try it! Come on, you might even like it." Anon offered, shaking the glass encouragingly.

"I've consumed alcohol many times before, Prince Anon. I know that you don't drink it for the taste, you drink it for the intoxication." She deadpanned.

"Aw, come on. What did you actually drink?" He questioned.

"Beer-" Chrysalis began.

"Well there's your problem! Beer tastes like piss! It's no wonder you've been thinking of booze that way for so long. Come on, try this stuff." Anon asserted.

"Beer was enough for me to know I don't like the taste of alcohol." Chrysalis replied, a bit more firmly.

"Yeah, but you haven't tried this stuff. This whiskey is really smooth. Come on, please?" He offered once more, giving his best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

"What... what are you doing right now?" Chrysalis asked, leaning away slightly.

Anon continued his attack, gently shaking the drink in an inviting manner and even going so far as to give her a pouty lip. Chrysalis stared him down for almost a full minute before finally sighing in defeat and taking the glass from Anon.

"Faust's sake." She muttered, before sipping at the drink.

"Yes!" Anon happily cheered as the bug horse tried her drink.

A smokey taste with a hint of hickory filled Chrysalis's palette, making her eyes briefly widen in surprise. The whiskey was smooth, as Anon explained, and the warm tingling sensation she felt as she swallowed the drink only made her want more. She took another sip, and then another, each drink making Anon smile wider and wider, until she put the glass down. Half the whiskey was gone.

"See? What did I tell ya!" Anon happily exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Chrysalis.

Chrysalis went rigid in Anon's arm, her cheeks instantly turning the faintest shade of green against her black coat, and she couldn't help but notice just how soft his skin felt against her wither. She felt a very un-queenlike bout of nervousness creep up her spine at Anon's sudden proximity, but centuries of practiced leadership allowed her to quickly stamp the feeling down and replace it with the cool confidence she was accustomed to.

"It was acceptable, I'll admit." She replied, daintily looking at her hoof as if it were infinitely more interesting than Anon.

"So... you want more?" Anon asked, taking another sip of his drink.

"Yes." Chrysalis replied, taking her glass in her hooves and sipping down more of the dark amber liquid.

A sort of silent drinking competition began between the duo, with Anon taking a sip from his martini, only for Chrysalis to mirror his actions just a few moments later. As the beats dropped and changed, and the ponies around them slowly warmed up to the sight of the changeling Queen drinking beside their prince, a welcome change in the air came to pass. The tension that surrounded Anon dissipated with each drink while Chrysalis found herself more and more amused at the way Anon slightly swayed back and forth.

"So, Chryssi... this stuff doesn't get you drunk-drunk, but does it do... anything for you?" Anon asked, after finishing his third glass.

"It does help fill my stomach, which helps me not feel so hungry... but aside from tasting good and maybe giving me a slight tingling sensation under my wings, alcohol doesn't do much." Chrysalis shrugged.

Anon nodded, "I get that. Didn't you say that you can get drunk on love though?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I'd have to consume quite a bit of love to become intoxicated, given that I am a changeling queen, but yes. That is possible." Chrysalis replied, downing the rest of her drink.

Taking that as a challenge, Anon quickly threw back the rest of his drink and knocked on the bar, "Another round, bartender pony!" He demanded, before an afterthought hit him, "Please."

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow in concern as the bartender quickly brought over another couple of glasses and made the drinks right before them. She glanced over to Anon, finding him smiling happily to himself as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Um... far be it from me to question your alcohol tolerances, Prince Anon... but don't you think going drink for drink with a creature that literally cannot get drunk might just be a silly idea?" Chrysalis hesitantly questioned, looking down to the amber liquid quickly filling the glass in front of Anon.

What could only be described as a bellowing laugh emanated from Anon as he grabbed the glass closest to him and drank the entire glass down in a matter of seconds, "Oh, Chryssi. You make me laugh. Pony alcohol takes like, four times as long to get me drunk as the stuff back home. Hell, even this whiskey is only the equivalent of like, a stout beer back home. Plus, I've been drinking for a long time, I've got a pretty good tolerance to this stuff." He chuckled, motioning for the bartender to make him another drink.

Chrysalis raised both eyebrows, "Really now? Even with how you're swaying around like a drunk colt on prom night?"

Anon chuckled, "I always get a bit more loosey-goosey when I drink. I don't even have a buzz yet. If you wanted to see me drunk, then you should have seen me when Jav and I first started hanging out. I was a light-weight back then." He cheerily replied.

Chrysalis pursed her lips in thought for a few moments. Before she could think of a response, however, her stomach growled in a most un-queenlike fashion, making her eyes go wide and a very noticeable blush to cover her features.

Anon, having not heard the grumbling of her stomach over the music, clearly saw her blushing and tilted his head to the side, "Uh, you alright? You're kinda sorta... literally turning green right now. That's not because of the alcohol, is it?" He asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

Chrysalis fiercely shook her head and hid behind her mane, although since it was mostly transparent, Anon could still clearly see her blushing face, "Uh, it-it's nothing. It's just been a few days since I had any love and... well..." She trailed off, cursing her stomach as it growled again.

Now paying his full attention to Chrysalis, Anon clearly heard her stomach and pieced the pieces together, "Oh! Oh shit! It's been like, three days since I last fed you, hasn't it?" He exclaimed, a sense of concern washing over him.

"It's fine. I-I'm fine," Chrysalis replied, although her blush only intensified under Anon's concern for her well-being, "I'm not going to pass out yet if that's what you're worried about."

Anon shook his head, "I figured, but you shouldn't be starving anymore. Come on, let's get you fed." He offered, spreading his arms wide and motioning her closer with his hands.

Chrysalis hastily looked back and forth at the crowds of ponies dancing around and partying, no longer focused on her or Anon. She felt a strange sense of comfort in that fact, but she quickly shook her head as reason clawed its way to the forefront of her mind once more.

"Even if you're completely fine with me feeding off of you, the ponies around won't be. We'd have to go somewhere private." She replied.

Anon shook his head, "Sorry, Chryssi. No can do. My drinks are here and I don't intend to leave them until I get a good buzz going." He shrugged, taking another sip of his martini.

Chrysalis blinked owlishly at him, "I-you... but... you can't be serious? Ponies are terrified of me. I could smell it the second any of them looked at me. How would they react if they saw me feeding off of your love? They'd think I was trying to murder you." She rebutted.

"I can make an announcement to let them all know that you aren't trying to hurt me?" Anon offered.

"That... that wouldn't help and you know it." Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

"Okay then, I'll tell 'ya what. I was planning on switching to whiskey anyway. For each shot I drink of this, you drink a little love. That way, it isn't so noticeable. Also, this way you can kinda sorta get buzzed while I get buzzed. Also this way, I don't have to feel like I'm the only one drinking." Anon suggested.

Chrysalis opened her mouth to protest, but the growling of her stomach sharply cut her off, followed by an immensely strong hunger pang that almost made her keel over.

"You... you do know that a changeling being drunk off of love is a lot different than anycreature else being drunk on alcohol, right?" She managed to say as Anon helped her sit back upright.

"I'm sure we'll manage it," Anon replied, before holding out his fist, "So, whatda'ya say?"

Chrysalis stared at his fist for a long while, her lips pursed in consideration, only for yet another grumble in her stomach to force her hoof. She daintily bumped Anon's fist with the frog of her hoof and offered a weak smile.

"Just tell me if you start to get woozy, alright?"

This is where the fun begins...