Deep in the Everfree Forest, the former queen of the Changelings was spending her time in the most productive way she knew how amid horny temptation: complete focus on being petty.

A crude, almost childish drawing of Starlight Glimmer was put on the wall of her house, riddled with sharpened pieces of wood sticking through the paper.

As Chrysalis readied another crudely-made dart to throw from her couch, she heard a rustling of bushes outside her home.

Someone was either very brave to wander into the Everfree Forest so close to her home…or very foolish.

Or it was Cozy Glow trying to leech off of her. Either scenario was likely.

She listened to find out who dared approach her home, hiding from view for the moment.

The mystery intruder finally revealed themselves from the thick brush, showing an orange unicorn. “Woah, so this is where Chrysalis is living now, huh?”

Chrysalis let out an annoyed grunt. That was one of the other participants this year. At least it wasn’t Cozy.

“And what about it?” the changeling said, quickly stepping out of her home to confront the unicorn with a snarl. “What could you possibly want with me?”

Instead of being intimidated like Chrysalis wanted, Sunset was awestruck. “Cool, I get to meet the ruthless changeling queen!”

Chrysalis paused, mouth slightly agape in shock. She wasn’t rejecting the admiration, but she absolutely wasn’t expecting it. “I…so you are…”

“Yeah!” Sunset nodded. “I was told this was where to go to find you!”

“...Who told you?” Chrysalis squinted her eyes, looking at Sunset with suspicion.

With a magical poofing sound, her answer appeared in the form of a very smug Discord.

“Of course he did…”

“Oh, don’t look so grumpy, Chryssy!” Discord cooed, putting his fingers at the changeling’s lips, forcing them into a smile. “I thought you’d love to have someone that’s interested in you!”

“Not if you’re involved, Discord…”

“So you’re just going to turn her away?” Discord floated behind Sunset. “After all she’s been through just to see you and learn about a real bonafide changeling?”

Chrysalis didn’t trust a word Discord was saying, but Sunset at least seemed genuine. “...Fine. If that’s truly all she wants.”

“Awesome!” Sunset wasted no time going into Chrysalis’s house and making herself comfortable, and Discord had no objections to doing the same.

Chrysalis choked down some homicidal urges before going back inside.

“Coooool!” Sunset looked around Chrysalis’s humble home in awe. “So is this how changelings decorate their hives?”

“Only the former queens…” Chrysalis growled.

Sunset looked up at the impromptu Starlight dartboard. She opened her mouth to speak up about it, but figured it was probably best to just leave that alone. “Soooo…changelings are supposedly the best at this whole No Clop thing, right? That’s what I’ve been hearing, anyway.”

Chrysalis smirked. “Well, you’ve heard right. Finally, someone else that understands.”

“So, how does that even work?” Sunset asked. “From what I know, changelings feed off love, right? If everyone gets progressively hornier as time goes on, wouldn’t it be harder? Wouldn’t it be like dangling a hayburger in front of someone after going a few days without eating? Or is lust different from love to a changeling?”

“Oh, lust is quite similar to love when it comes to feeding a changeling,” Chrysalis explained. “They’re both sufficient food, but lust is more plentiful in a sense. Love usually takes its time to manifest properly, but lust can happen at any moment. Think of love like an actual meal, and lust like fast food. It’s cheap, everywhere, and could feed you, but there’s much better options.”

“So that’s why changelings don’t bother just feeding off of lust all the time? Love’s more sustaining?”

“Indeed. Though with so much lust everywhere during the month, it’s always just so…tempting…” Chrysalis licked her lips.

“Right, so doesn’t that just make this challenge harder for a changeling?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“I suppose so,” Chrysalis mused. “Which I suppose makes it all the more impressive to last the full month, wouldn’t you say?”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Damn…so changelings just have a ton of self-control, then?”

“We’d have to, dear Sunset,” Chrysalis scoffed. “It wouldn’t do to suddenly give into our primal instincts while in the middle of a disguise, wouldn’t it?”

“Now, I on the other hoof,” Discord interrupted, slipping in-between the two. “Have no need for this ‘self-control’ business!”

“Ugh, please,” Chrysalis snarled. “This is the one pony actually interested in changelings that I like, don’t ruin it…”

Sunset chuckled. “Oh yeah, Discord? You’ve never been tempted before? What kind of stuff turns you on, anyway?”

“Oh, only the kind of stuff that your preciously fragile pony mind would find incomprehensible!” Discord retorted, putting a claw underneath Sunset’s chin. “I’d be more than happy to show you, perhaps it’ll give you a brand new fetish!”

“I…think I’ll pass…”

Chrysalis could only chuckle and shake her head. “Such a terrible lie, Discord…”

“Whaaaat? When you’ve been through centuries, you tend to pick up new kinks!”

“Oh, and I know for sure you’ve picked up one or two things that even this pony’s ‘simple mind’ could understand…” the changeling smirked.

“Hey!”

A bead of sweat went down the side of Discord’s head. “...Like what?”

Chrysalis shot Discord a knowing smirk, undergoing a quick transformation. Her black carapace turned into yellow fur and feathers. Her holey green hair changing into a long and lustrous pink. “Oh Discord…” she said sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes.

“...Okay, that’s playing dirty…” Discord grumbled, though very clearly unnerved by Chrysalis’s new appearance.

“But isn’t that what you love the most?” Chrysalis chuckled, still using Fluttershy’s voice. “Making everyone else flustered and needy? Like you are right now?”

Sunset turned her head to snicker, watching Discord’s face literally turning red from horn to goatee.

“Well, You may look like Fluttershy, but you can’t just check her boxes quite so easily,” Discord scoffed, trying to remain composed.

“Can’t I?” Chrysalis waggled her eyebrows. “I know quite a bit, Discord. You’d be surprised at the secrets I’ve gathered. Some big…” She gently nudged the draconequus’s crotch. “Some…not so big…”

“Well, this might be a good time to learn about what makes a draconequus tick…” Sunset grinned.

Author's Note

Yeah, these three sound like they'd be good friends.