“Because I am brave! Because I crave adventure! Because I need to go where no bobcat has ever gone before! And because I’m a hero for cryin’ out loud! And if that’s a crime, then book me!”
----------
Whew. I for while, I thought they might not’ve fell for my imitation. Woolies really are gullible. I did such a horrible job imitating Bubsy. How did they not notice the slight brooklyn slip? How did they not notice his voice being higher? How did they not see any flash of blue in my eyes when I thought I was doomed, and in the number of times I did so? Oh well; it’s nothing to worry about now. The important thing is that I helped save the Earth’s entire supply of wool.
Getting back into the rocket I rebuilt, I blast out of Rayon and attempt to head to Earth or my other home if not Earth. The ride starts out bumpy, mostly because it’s the blastoff, and turns smooth afterwards. I start out feeling sad because of the lousy job I did posing as Bubsy. Seriously, I shouldn’t have gotten away with it. And I did. The fact that the woolies nor any other creature never noticed was beyond me. But I start thinking. The fact that I posed as Bubsy was a good choice. The real Bubsy is home now. And in case I hurdle into another location, Bubsy will still be there to protect my new home as I try to find a way to get back on track to my destination.
But I have two fears. What will Bubsy think of my impression of him? Will he be angry about how inaccurately I portrayed him? I could go back to my hive, but what good does that do? Queen Antennae is going to wonder where I was all this time. Or even worse: she might permanently kick me out of the hive!
Suddenly, I hear an alarm, followed by the bumpiness of the ride returning. I stumble to look out the window. Instead of seeing stars like I should, I see white glows and blinding flashes. After changing back to my natural self, I faint.
----------
Waking up, the first thing that I notice is that the ride had stopped.
“Whoa, it’s sure creepy in here.”
I sure hope I’m home.
“You said it.”
I suddenly sense a scent. One that’s both strange AND familiar at the same time. I must’ve landed near my hive.
“Oh my! One of our kind is trapped in here!”
Who’s saying that?
“Hello?”
I open my eyes, welcomed by blurred vision. I lightly rub my eyes with one hoof, afterwards seeing a changeling above me. I gasp.
“Whoa. Didn’t mean to scare you there. An acquaintance and I were ordered to investigate this sight after a neighboring crash landing shook the hive.”
“Um... okay. Have you looked all around the rocket?”
The changeling expresses confusion in response.
“What’s a rocket?”
“N-never mind. I learned the term from a few friends of mine.”
Now, I sense curiosity in her now.
“Hmm. Perhaps these friends of yours are ponies?”
“No, they’re not ponies. Did you think they were going to be?”
The changeling’s “acquaintance” comes in with smirk on his face.
“Actually yes.”
Okay, now I feel like the first one is impressed.
“Okay. So now that we can trust you, should we head to the hive?”
“Lead the way.”
----------
So, completely silent, I follow the two changelings into the hive. Suddenly, I have an uncertainty on the back of my mind.
“Say, I’m just wondering. Where are we going?”
“To meet the queen.”
“Oh no! Queen Antennae!”
“Who... are you talking about?”
Did I actually say that out loud?!?
“Isn’t Antennae the queen of this hive?”
“Actually that’d be Chrysa-”
“Cervix, this changeling alrea-”
“Brand, he obviously doesn’t. Sorry there. As I was saying, the queen in this hive is Queen Chrysalis.”
Oh, what a relief. I thought I was going to be doomed for a second. I’m in the wrong hive. But I might still be on Rayon.
“Who’s Queen Chrysalis?”
“She’s our most recent queen of the changelings. She hasn’t even been on throne for a year yet. She’s a good queen, although we’re kind of concerned for the hive.”
“Why does that sound like how I’d describe Queen Antennae?”
“Perhaps you’re from another hive.”
“Yeah. Back in the whatever-you-call-it, Cervix and I never noticed any difference between us and you, but now we can.”
“Oh, nice one. That ought to tell the three of us apart.”
Suddenly, a stomp from the guards stops us.
“Halt; only changelings of this hive may enter.”
“No worries; he’s with us.”
----------
As we continue walking, we’re following suit of half a dozen guards.
“So Disc, tell us about these friends of yours.”
“Oh, I have four, Brand. Three are bobcats, and one is a pet armadillo. One of the bobcats is the uncle of the other two.”
“Hmm. I guess you seem to be more of the animal type. Hey! Wanna to be a temporary caretaker?”
“No, Cervix. I was just here to talk with this Queen Chrysalis. Then I’d better be out after that.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Suddenly, the guards stop, causing Brand to bump into the one on the back left of the group. The particular guard looks back at Brand with irritation. The front right guard walks in front of a pathway, me realizing we’re in front of the throne room.
“Okay, you three; let’s enter.”
Five of the guards clear a pathway as the other waits patiently for us. The three of us follow the waiting guard as he walks into the throne room.
The room is large quite like the throne room where I’m from. Above the throne is up to fifteen cocoons hanging on the ceiling.
Suddenly, I hear loud buzzing as if to summon the queen of the hive. Following the buzz is maniacal laughter. Coming from the laugher is the cocoons. Out of nowhere, a head pops out in between the cocoons. Afterwards, the head’s hooves help reveal the queen of this hive, who is Queen Chrysalis.
“Why hello there; I see someone has decided to pay a visit. Well done my drones, for successfully investigating the crash site.”
The queen hovers to the ground with an expression of pride. Cervix blissfully sighs as she and Brand bow. I follow suit.
“Thanks, your highness.”
“Who is this survivor you found?”
“This is Disc. He was headed to his home and ended up here instead.”
“Disc, I will let you head back to your home as I forgive the accident as long as my drones and I can help you with whatever you need to get back home.”
“Oh. Thanks Queen Chrysalis. It would take weeks for just one changeling to fix my rocket; even I couldn’t fix it before the next twenty days. I’ll greatly accept your help. Perhaps I could help organize the repairs since I know how the rocket works the most.”
“A rocket you say?”
“Yes.”
“Field trip anyone? Perhaps to the crash site?”
On our way, Queen Chrysalis leads a few dozen of her subjects to where I crashed the rocket.
“Cervix, Brand, I thought you were concerned for the hive.”
“We are.”
“But Queen Chrysalis is nearly twice as good of a queen as Queen Antennae. She doesn’t seem concerned in the slightest about taking love from other planets such as Earth.”
Suddenly, Cervix and Brand blink at me.
“What?”
“You do realize we ARE on earth.”
“We are?”
Cervix nods.
“Hmm. Extraterrestrial changelings. Are you guys the same as Rayonian changelings?
“Rayonian changelings? Is that what you are?”
I nod at Brand.
Suddenly all fifty two of us stop near the outer reach of the hive, where the rocket crash landed.
“Alright, Disc. Should we start now? Perhaps a recap?”
I walk up to Queen Chrysalis, nod, and turn to the other changelings.
“Yes. This rocket was originally designed to travel effectively from solar system to solar system. It would normally take years to travel from planet to planet. At the speed this rocket may have maxed out on, it must’ve been the reason I ended up here instead of heading home.”
As it turns out, when we start, Chrysalis can’t enter the rocket because of the size of the door. So, she’ll have to be outside. I’m going to be in the rocket because I have to help. I’ll just be an advisor.
----------
Some changelings have come to me for some help, which I was gladly able to do.
Surprisingly, once I got done with reparation blueprints, I had more free time than I thought I would, so I spent it on finding an unrepaired area to fix as I wait to be summoned.
Cervix and Brand meet up with me.
“Hey you two. Can i help you?”
“Eh, Brand and I were just wondering what you were doing.”
“Just fixing the nozzle.”
“Whatever that is, I’m sure you know about it.”
“Actually, I’ve been at this for an hour now. I just know the parts of the rocket.”
“Well, that’s better than us.”
Brand nods in agreement.
“If you’re more intelligent than any of us, then Rayonian changelings must have a wide range of knowledge compared to us.”
“Actually, no. Rayon’s species aren’t as intelligent and as I make them out to be. They don’t even know the uses of a single atom.”
“Oh. Well then, you could just share your knowledge with Rayon.”
“When I had gained the last of my knowledge, it wasn’t so simple. I was just protecting one of my friends from being taken to Rayon so that he could protect Earth from losing its entire supply of wool. I was taken to Rayon for him because I looked like my friend, which was the point. I may’ve done a poor job imitating him, but still.”
Brand gasps.
“Can we see you as your friend?”
“Okay.”
So, I change into Bubsy, which throws Cervix and Brand off in surprise. Suddenly, I start to feel nauseous.
“They’re back!”
As the two dash off, I moan, changing back and trying to sit down from the sudden flow of sickness.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yeah. That doesn’t sound good.”
Two other changelings arrive to see me sprawled on the floor and ready to vomit.
“Whoa. You don’t look so good.”
“What happened?”
I moan yet again as I try to get up.
“D’you two know where the nearest ditch is?”
“Actually, we have a better idea.”
“Yep. Cilia and I have this.”
So, Cilia and the other changeling carry me to the caretakers left in the hive. The initial reaction from the caretakers is already starting to nurse me out of my nausea. I get pats on the back, tucked under wings, and nuzzles on the cheeks.
“What ever brought you to such a state?” one of them asks.
“I guess soaking up fear isn’t the best idea in the galaxy.”
All I hear is the sound of a few dozen gasps at once in reaction.
“But why would you soak up fear?!?”
Another caretaker comes up in front of me.
“I just changed into one of my friends; the two changelings that visited me said the cryptic ‘they’re back’ and left. That’s when I got sick.”
A third caretaker comes up to me this time.
“What’s your friend look like?”
So, I decide to change into Bubsy again, which causes all the caretakers to faint.
Well, I still feel better than when I was on the rocket. Maybe I could come back.
When I return, Queen Chrysalis looks in shock.
“Where’ve you been, Disc? Changelings need your help!”
“Sorry Queen Chrysalis. I fell very ill on duty. Most likely because I soaked up fear.”
“Fear? How so?”
I change back into Bubsy yet again. However, Queen Chrysalis simply laughs it off.
“Do you really think I would be afraid of an upright bobcat?”
“But why would the other changelings be so afraid as to faint?”
“Lately, we’ve had a gouger problem. Perhaps your form has elements of a gouger’s skin color. Other than that, there holds no resemblance.”
“So, the changelings must’ve thought I changed into a gouger.”
Suddenly, we hear a call coming from the rocket.
“Wow! Twilight already?!?”
“Hmm. We must’ve lost track of time. Disc, since it’s your first night, you may sleep in my throne room.”
I gasp.
“Really? Thank you so much!”
“If you need anything for tonight, just let me know. Tomorrow, we will continue polishing the rocket.”
“Got it.”
----------
I find myself back home.
I must’ve overslept.
Then I find a familiar looking house, gasping as my response. Approaching it, I knock on the door. The answer I get is the welcoming bobcat I know best.
“Welcome back Disc! I see you managed to get home. How did stopping those woolies go?”
“‘It worked out’ is all I can say.”
“It worked out, and that only? What do you mean?”
“I did such a horrible job mimicking you on Rayon.”
“WHAT?!? Don’t you realize who you were mimicking?!”
“I-I’m so sorry!!”
“Beat it, buster!!”
“NO!!! Huh?!?”
Suddenly, Bubsy fades away and the landscape changes to my old hive on Rayon.
“Disc!!!”
I gasp again. I see the queen of my old hive with all the hive mates behind her.
“Queen Antennae?!?”
“What are you doing here?!?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have betrayed the hive! And now that you were even more foolish to return, you must be cocooned!!!”
“NONONONONONONONO!!! STOP!!!”
Suddenly, every last changeling disappears out of nowhere. In their place, a blue colored pony with a horn and a pair of wings stands. Her mane flows far in front of her face. The tail flows beside her. She wears a crown, a chestpiece with a white crescent moon on it, and armor on the lower back, also with a white crescent moon on it, all of which are black.
“Huh? Who’re you?”
“I am Princess Luna, princess of the night. Dreams are my domain.”
While I’m relieved that I’m only in a dream, my mind is a mess of questions. How is this pony talking? How does she have a blue coat? Ponies usually don’t wear anything. Not even a crown.
“But how’re you in my dream?”
Why am I talking to her?!?
“Your dream called to me, expressing concerns about both of your homes.”
“Huh?”
“Normally, I don’t visit changelings’ dreams. However, yours seems to be different.”
“But how will my friend react after how badly I imitated him? I know I was trying to save Earth’s supply of wool, but I came so close to being caught on Rayon, I have no idea how he will react.”
“Hm. Is this friend of yours a pony?”
“No.”
“I speculate that you were going to ask if I thought he was going to be?”
“How did you know?”
Luna giggles.
“No explanation needed. You helped save your friend by imitating him. No changeling has ever done so where you are. Just be honest with him. He will understand. Although, I sensed you had another fear.”
“Do you mean my old hive?”
“Yes. Rayon is its location?”
I nod.
“I have no idea what will happen if I return there and see Queen Antennae.”
“Disc. There will be no need to fret. Perhaps preparing scripts may help you speak with Queen Antennae, even if her reaction to your return maybe unpleasant.”
“Oh.”
“If the Rayonian changelings act unkindly, pay no mind of their attitude. Keep telling them.”
“Thanks for the advice, Luna.”
“It is no trouble, Disc. Now, I must depart.”
Suddenly, I wake up to find that I’m back in the throne room. As I wake up, my breathing starts out heavy but subsides.
----------
I’m in the rocket as I use my magic to test what it could do. Soon, I hear a creak above me, so I go outside to see what it was. As it turns out, the previously bent nose cone is back in place.
Then I realize that everything else is fixed. All I need to do is get this rocket out of the sand and clean off the bottom. After that I can fly off.
Suddenly, I hear hooves clip-clopping to the rocket.
“Disc? Where are you?”
Queen Chrysalis.
“Right here.”
“I was getting worried for a second. I tried to locate you, but my magic was being blocked off. I had to actually find you. What are you doing up so early? None of the other changelings have awoken yet.”
“I was just finishing all the fixes of the rocket. Somehow, I used my magic to make the last repair. All I need help with now is to raise the rocket out of the ground so that I can get home.”
“Very well. By now, the changelings start to wake up anyway. Give their arrival ten minutes at the most.”
A little while passes before a few changelings arrive at the repaired rocket. That being Cilia, Cervix, Brand and that other changeling that was with Cilia.
“We’re here! We’re here!”
“No rush, my changelings. Once we get the rest of the hive, we’ll be able to lift the rocket out of the ground.”
Moments later, the rest of the hive arrives.
“Okay, changelings. Due to accidental reparations to Disc’s structure, we will schedule breakfast as normal; furthermore, I’d like to invite him to come along. The only task left to do is lifting the structure out of the sand. Wherever it should be set down is Disc’s decision.”
Queen Chrysalis exits after her announcement, leaving me in charge yet again. So, I start by using my magic to char the grass over the small cliff, showing where to set the rocket down. When all the changelings fly to see the spot, they immediately levitate the rocket, careful not to ruin it, which is successful.
“Well changelings, it was fun here; however, I have to go home as I can’t stay here forever. My friends are expecting my return home. Someday, I’ll be back here, maybe even with one of my friends. But for now, this is goodbye.”
Brand raises his hoof.
“But what about breakfast? The queen invited you.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t hold off going home for longer than I have to. Maybe another time. Besides, I haven’t been hungry since I was with the caretakers. I hope I can come back sometime in the future; I really do. But going home is important. Goodbye, subjects of Queen Chrysalis. I will make sure we meet again.”
I get into the rocket and start it up. I creep my head out and warn the changelings to stand back. They wave goodbye as do I. Getting back in the rocket, I start the blast off like when I left Rayon and brace for the bumpy start I previously experienced. It came, but only lasted seconds. Looking out the window, I could still see the changelings.
“Cervix. Brand. Cilia. Chrysalis. Even you, Princess Luna. Can you all please be there for me when I get home? I can’t really do this alone. It will mean a lot to me.”
After my speech, I wipe my eyes with a hoof. A few minutes later, I fall asleep.
----------
Waking up, I find myself at my first destination. Bubsy’s house. I ring the doorbell once.
“I’m coming!”
When the door opens, there’s the all too familiar Bubsy Bobcat.
“Disc! I see you made it back! Welcome home!”
I nod.
“Thank you.”
“Arnold, Terry, Terri and I all have wanted to celebrate this occasion for MONTHS!!!”
I blink.
“What’s that look about?”
“Did you say ‘months’?”
Bubsy nods.
“It takes a while to ride from Rayon to Earth, you know.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.”
“Although it did take longer than it should have to get home as it seems.”
“Yeah, about that. I had accidentally entered a wormhole that took me to kind of another earth.”
“What’s this ‘other earth’ you speak of?”
“One where changelings have a leader named Queen Chrysalis and ponies have horns, wings and the ability to talk and enter changelings’ dreams.”
“Hm. That is quite the different earth.”
“I had to get rocket fixed quickly, and many of the changelings were willing to help me.”
“Oh. I bet that hive is an actually good one. Sometime, I’ll have to go with you on this trip to the hive.”
“Okay.”
“Say, how did that little plan foiling go?”
“I would say it worked out fine.”
“Really?”
“It was a lot riskier than I originally thought.”
“But why? You saved the world as we know it. Whatever went wrong was nothing that will destroy Rayon at all.”
“Somehow, I wasn’t caught by the woolies because of how badly I posed as you.”
“Disc, Disc-o, Disc-a-mundo. It doesn’t matter how inaccurately you mimic me; you managed to stop the woolies in their tracks and get home safe and sound. That alone is all that matters to me.”
“Either way, the woolies might return to Earth to try again.”
“Little do they know that there’s two heroes that can stop them now.”
“Something still lingers though.”
“What’s that, Disc?”
“Queen Antennae.”
“Of the Rayonian changelings? I sure hope that queen has it in her to brush off what you did.”
“Only one way to find out.”
----------
So, at Rayon, I get out of the rocket. There it is, my old home. Then I notice Bubsy isn’t with me. Looking back at the rocket door, there he is.
“Are you coming?”
“Sure, why not?”
So, when we’re in front of the hive, Bubsy stays on the cliff while I get to Queen Antennae.
“WHO... GOES... THERE?!?”
Hearing the call from the cliff, I see the queen of the hive.
“Uh. It’s just me. DIsc. A changeling from this hive?”
Queen Antennae hovers over to me.
“Disc, huh? Where’ve I heard that name before? Well, no matter! What were you doing out here? You should be back in the hive.”
“I was just looking for you.”
“Looking for me? You should be able to quickly locate me with that little horn of yours. Whatever you did, I hope you never went to another hive.”
“Unfortunately, for you, I did. But only on accident.”
“Accident? YOU TRAITOR!!!”
“Yes. I accidentally crash landed near a hive on a different planet.”
“Either way, you have been foolish to leave, and even MORE foolish to return!”
“I’ve done things more foolish than leave a hive behind. I came very close, numerous times, to being caught by the woolies when I was impersonating one of my friends. And if he forgave me for that, I’m confident that you have it in you to welcome me back into the hive.”
“The only thing you will be confident about is your cocoon!!”
I start floating without using my wings. Looking at Queen Antennae, her horn is glowing brighter than any horn I’ve seen glow in my life.
Bubsy finally steps in, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
“I’ll have to take things from here. Now Queen Antennae, I hate to break it to you, but NO CHANGELING IS GETTING COCOONED BY ANOTHER ON MY WATCH!!!”
“NO TIME FOR THIS, FELINE!!! I’m in the middle of showing this traitor what happens when they betray the hive!!!”
Suddenly, an emptiness begins in my chest. I’m getting hungry now.
“All that love... for nothing.”
“DIsc!! It’s not over yet!! Think of everything you did before getting kidnapped!! Do all that with Antennae!!!”
I use my horn to blast my remaining love into Queen Antennae, forcing me to spread out my limbs. A cocoon forms around me. Finally, heat builds up and the cocoon breaks. Looking at myself, I see that everything about me has changed. That’s not the focus now. Queen Antennae has hit the side of the cliff, and now, she is unconscious.
Now, I look to Bubsy.
“Do you think we should leave her be?”
“Definitely. The changelings are sure to have heard that explosion.”
Taking his advice, I come to him and teleport us back to the rocket. Afterwards, Bubsy starts the rocket and we head back to his place.
As we land, I suddenly see that the fuel meter is near the E.
“Any place where we could get some gas?”
“Of course there is. I’m sure Virgil and Oblivia have some. But we’ll save that for later. Right now, we have a party to throw!!!”
So now, I smile, knowing that I’m going to enjoy the company from my friends within the span of hours on end.