//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Mission 9: Semi-Reliable Performance 
// Story: Changeling Space Program 
// by Kris Overstreet 
//------------------------------//

Every paper in the world ran the story over the following week. 

Changelings First in Space.

The exact nature of the headline and article varied depending on the paper. The Canterlot Herald, for example, focused on the dangers of allowing changeling superiority in the space race. On the other end of the spectrum, the Manehattan Times soberly reflected on the strong governing hoof of Chrysalis over her subjects(120). The Foal Free Press of Ponyville went farther than anyone in favor of the changelings, mostly because the grade school student writing the article had only two positive adjectives in his vocabulary, “cool” and “yummy”.(121)

The Crystal Empire Post-Dispatch reported the bare facts plus an interview with Twilight Sparkle, and that was all. The Griffondale Penny-Press didn’t even include the interview, though it did mention that the changelings were accepting contracts for space-related enterprises, which might be a profitable enterprise in the future. The tabloids of the minotaur islands practically presented the whole affair as a minotaur program which just happened, for no particular reason, to be piloted by a changeling queen(122).

The dragons didn’t publish newspapers, but even they began to gossip about the launch. 

And as the gossip and news and discussion spread and circulated, it eventually got back to the changelings by one channel or another. There were still thousands of infiltrators in deep cover across Equestria, of course, rotating in and out, bringing love back to the hive and to the workers at the space center. They also brought the latest word, and the word was… 

… not that bad, actually. 

On the one hand, most ponies still feared changelings. On the other hand, a growing number were giving them respect. And a few, here and there, were actually showing approval. 

But only a few. Chrysalis looked at the reports and decided it would take a lot more than a glorified elevator ride for her species to live down its past. On the other hand, she reasoned, by the time she did enough for that to even be a possibility, she’d have the Moon and enough power to conquer the world, so why worry about it?

One thing the news had done; every single space program still running, even the griffons and dragons, now wanted the new rocket engines being turned out in Appleoosa. The yak space program had sent a forty yak strong trade delegation to the Crystal Empire to order rocket parts and haul them back home. 

Cherry Berry spent two weeks at Cherry’s Rocket Parts and Odd Jobs, letting her duties at the space center lapse, helping Goddard the Griffin organize the manufacture of engine after engine after engine, plus the fuel tanks. This didn’t hurt matters much, since the construction crews which had been juggled to prepare for the Big Launch Day had now been thrown into building a new launch pad, designed by Warner von Brawn, which could hold ten times the weight and withstand ten times the thrust of the original dirt-and-gravel mound. The process, which required a lot of engineering, welding and steel, was due to take weeks, even working day and night with the aid of unicorn lights.

Chrysalis was kept busy by the construction, by the need to go back to the hive for a few days to catch up on royal business,  and by the occasional interview requested by journalists from around the world. Despite that, she spared a little time to set a few guidelines for the next flight:

No more flying ground surveys. They’d complete the one still on contract, and that was all.

The next rocket would focus on finally clearing out the old missions. No missions would be accepted unless they could be accomplished along the way on the same flight with no additional weight. 

Once all the old, unfinished contracts were settled, the space program would design a rocket specifically for an orbit attempt, and no contracts would be accepted that interfered with achieving orbit. 

That was the plan, and she repeated these guidelines in her interviews, making it clear that although CSP was currently not flying, it was not idle, either.

Other space programs were flying, however. Twilight Sparkle’s Equestrian Space Agency flew a Swivel-propelled rocket into the upper atmosphere piloted by Rainbow Dash. That one had nearly ended in a Bad Day. Twilight, still convinced that keeping the rocket whole was the way to go, had tried the same all-the-parachutes approach Chrysalis had suggested when she first encountered the concept of decouplers. The rocket came down nose-first on a thankfully shallow trajectory, but the nosecone parachute failed due to heat and the other parachutes came close to doing likewise. Once Rainbow Dash had splashed down safely the core Ponyville group had a long, private discussion, which resulted in a large order for decouplers being sent to Old Minotaur Bombs and Mining.

In the week that followed, Princess Cadence became the second being from Equus to leave atmosphere and return safely, splashing down, ironically enough, not far offshore from Horseton.(123) Two days later Gordon the Griffon became the third, just barely getting out of atmosphere but tracking a long, shallow trajectory that brought him down in the ocean south of Saddle Arabia, a quarter of the planet away. The Prench and the dragons each launched their second flights, Yakyakistan had a misfire that never got off the ground, and a group of diamond dogs, after two months of trying, finally got a Flea-hopper into the air and down again safely. 

The bad news was, the Changeling Space Program was barely ahead in the space race, if it was ahead at all. The good news was, two-thirds of the components being used by the other space programs either included parts designed by CSP or were wholly manufactured by CSP and its front companies. 

Between this and the checks cashed from contractors and from the Royal Canterlot Astronomical Society, far from tottering on the brink of insolvency as it had seemed weeks before, CSP was actually flush with cash. 

And then, three weeks after Chrysalis’s space flight, something new entered the world, which drowned out, at least for the moment, all thoughts of the space race… 



Footnotes:

(120) A point the Baltimare Sun mocked, pointing out and exaggerating the “riotous conduct” of the changelings who had recently visited. This despite the fact that, after the Times, the Sun had the broadest coverage of the flight and, more often than not, viewed the effort favorably.

(121) And although a changeling would have no problem describing a pony as yummy, most ponies would not appreciate it being applied the other way, Snails notwithstanding.

(122) Which is not totally inaccurate.

(123) She understandably declined the offer of recovery services from CSP, waiting for a team from Cape Friendship to come get her and her capsule.



Time passed, as it does. 

The launch pad was completed. A flight was flown. The press oohed and aahed, though only half a dozen newspapers sent reporters to witness Mission Nine, also known as Mission Mop-Up among the press. 

But three others were present- two unicorns and a hired pegasus- and it was these three ponies who, throughout their stay at Horseton Space Center, held the near-total attention of the space program’s officers. 

And now, a week after the launch, all work was called off remaining construction(124), all training ceased, and over two hundred changelings, ponies, and this and that gathered in the lounge of the astronaut complex, in front of a large box with a slightly curved crystal window in the front.(125)

“Is everyling here?” Occupant asked, fluttering around the room, wings buzzing like a chainsaw. “It’s going to start any minute!”

Chrysalis, with a front row seat as was due a queen, said, “If they miss out, they miss out.” With a flicker of magic from her horn she switched the device on and adjust the knob marked CHANNEL to number 2.(126)

A slow hissing noise built up from the grille underneath the window, which began to glow with an eerie light. The light resolved itself, bit by bit, into a picture, and the hiss into words.

Chrysalis groaned as she saw a graytone picture was of a unicorn smiling far too broadly, holding up a bottle of something. “Why,” she asked the world, “is it always an advertisement?”

“… and those mares out there love a stallion whose mouth has the minty-crisp ting of Flim-Flam!” The unicorn stallion smiled even more broadly, if such a thing were possible, as he held the bottle as close to the camera as possible. “So order today! Supplies are limited! Don’t miss out on Flim-Flam Brand Oral Hygiene Elixir!”

Where the image of the unicorn had been in black and white, the title card listing the address to send off to which followed was in brilliant color. There was nothing wrong with the spell that powered the device, or which powered the broadcast it received. The moving pictures were black and white because the ponies running the broadcast had been too cheap to buy a color moving picture camera. (127)

Chrysalis heard a few pencils being put to paper. “When I decide a changeling needs mouthwash, I will buy some,” she said, putting a strong tone of warning into her words. “For the rest of you the answer is no.”

“Awwww.” The scribbling stopped.

The commercial card was pulled away, replaced by the view of a desk with the twin brother of the pony who’d been in the mouthwash ad. Fluffing out his mustache with a breath, the unicorn crowed, “Here’s a preview of the Seven O’Clock Report, brought to you by FF Television, the world’s first and only legitimate television broadcaster!”

The quiet sound of a film projector began under Flam’s speech, and an image of Manehattan Courthouse appeared on the wall to one side of Flam’s desk. “Leading our news, FF Television continues to appeal the unjust revocation of its patent on television!” 

The image of Manehattan Courthouse switched to a moving picture of Twilight Sparkle, obviously furious. “I still want to know who gave that spell to those two!” she snapped, before the picture froze on a most uncomplimentary frame of a face twisted in either rage or indigestion. “Twilight Sparkle, who has been a princess of Equestria for only a bit more than a year and who obviously is inexperienced with legal matters, pleaded the case for the government at Manehattan Courthouse today. Given her conduct when interviewed by reporters, we can expect our appeal to the high court in Canterlot to be completely successful.”

Warner von Brawn, loafing in a large chair suited to a massive minotaur of middle age, said, “Do you think they’re going to win?”

“Not a chance,” Cherry Berry said through a mouthful of cherries. Chrysalis wished the pony would either not talk with her mouth full, or else sit farther away. “Celestia paid off their patent. They’d have a fortune if they accepted. The way they’re going, they’ll lose the whole amount on legal costs trying to restore their monopoly.”

Meanwhile, Flam had kept on with other news items, mostly with a strong Flim-Flam spin which either made the brothers look good or tied in to products offered by mail in their advertisements. “… the thief entered through the second-story window, which sadly was not secured by a Flim-Flam Patent Pane Protection Product. Also later tonight, the sports scores, the weather schedule for all Equestria, and the latest science on how beet juice and pressed cabbage stimulates muscle development!

“And now tonight’s schedule! After the Seven O’Clock Report, we have a double feature movie! A tragic tale of parental neglect written and directed by Wooden Head, I Accuse My Sire and Dam, followed by the classic sci-fi comedy, Pod Ponies! But for now, it’s six o’clock and time for this week’s edition of Look At It!”

There was a brief clatter as one reel of film was hurriedly swapped for another, and then the picture focused on the black-and-white projection.

Throughout the lounge changelings shushed each other. The shushing grew louder and more hostile, partly because the “shhh” sound in Equestrian means “back off right now” in old Changeling.

“Silence,” Chrysalis snapped, and the changelings froze, settled down, and turned to the television just as the exciting tinkly piano music began to play.



Footnotes:

(124) The administration building, which included a throne room with a telepresence link straight back to the hive, was nearing completion. There was now a hangar for Cherry Berry’s plane, though construction on a larger airship hangar was still in process. The research and development complex was just finished, and bit by bit Goddard the Griffon and von Brawn’s minotaur associates were shifting the research and experiment functions of Cherry’s Rocket Parts from Appleoosa to Horseton. Finally, plans were being drawn up for a larger tracking center and a much expanded vehicle assembly building (VAB). At the rate things were going, some of the non-changeling construction workers were considering buying or building homes in the area in anticipation of that golden dream of contractors, a project which is never fully complete.

(125) Within a week of its first release, her changelings had demanded one. Chrysalis had resisted, first because of the expense, second because she had quite a few notions of what the thing would do to the minds of her subjects, many of which turned out in the end to be absolutely correct. This hesitation had put her in the right place when the competitors to the first device came out, offering (among other things) a bigger screen and knobs that actually did things. When she gave in she bought two, and ONLY two- one for the hive and one for the space center- but she bought the biggest and best models she could find.

(126) In any house with a unicorn or other magic user, the remote control, if it was ever invented at all, would gather dust on a shelf.

(127) When you consider that, as with all photography in Equestria, the process was entirely magical rather than chemical, and thus color was barely any different from black-and-white in technological terms, this means Flim and Flam had been very, very cheap indeed. Also, a bit stupid.










A Proud FF Feature

Look At It!

A Weekly In-Depth Examination of the Coming Trends Changing Your World!
Episode 3: the Changeling Space Program


Behold the south shore of Muck Lake, where the writ of Equestrian law ends, and where the Forbidden Jungles still hold tribes of uncivilized ponies and unspeakable monsters. This land of tropical terror represents the past of ponykind- superstitious, quarrelsome, and simple.

And now having seen the past, let us look at- the future!

This gleaming complex on the shores of the Griffon Ocean is Horseton Space Center, named for the nearest pony village which recognizes the rule of the Royal Alicorn Sisters. This is the future- where creatures of all races come together to advance the boundaries of learning for us! Here ponies, griffons, minotaurs and other races dream of new worlds, new discoveries and new challenges.

And here one race dreams an even more ambitious dream- a dream, after centuries of hatred and fear, of acceptance. 

For Horseton Space Center is the home of the Changeling Space Program.




T -48 hours until Mission 9 Launch

The annoying thing about being a changeling queen is that you almost never get to enjoy a leisurely breakfast by yourself.

Oh, you can have whatever food you like, whenever you want it, if that’s your thing. Never mind that your system uses practically none of it unless you need to create some particular fluid, web, or casing. You can taste pony food all you like, enjoy it if you like the taste, and then discreetly spit it up and throw it away. For a changeling that’s not breakfast, that’s posing.

A meal for a changeling means concentrated love energy, and the changeling queen is responsible for storing and redistributing love gathered by her subjects, ensuring none go hungry and that the warriors and workers are strong enough to fulfill their tasks. One side effect is, although the rest of the time the queen is absolute ruler, at mealtimes she’s little more than a lunchlady to a particularly quarrelsome group of children.

Chrysalis was leaving the almost-finished administration building after distributing large doses of love brought back from the hive in the Badlands to the changelings at the space center, generally thanking Whatever that changelings could go for weeks without a feed, when she noticed the paddle-wheeled barge working its way up the Muck Lake inlet. 

Cherry Berry had come out of the astronaut complex to check on her; she was due to launch Mission Nine at noon two days later, and both earth pony and changeling queen needed to be in the simulators to prepare. They hadn’t had a successful Flea test in simulations yet, and as mission backup and capsule communicator Chrysalis had to be there for every test, half in the capsule, half on the observer station. “Morning, Your Majesty,” she said. “What’s that, more rocket parts?” 

Chrysalis put a hoof over her eyes to shield them from the morning sun. “Occupant’s schedule doesn’t mention a shipment,” she said. “Besides, Goddard and von Brawn are here, so who’s left in Appleoosa to ship anything to us?”

After flagging down a passing changeling and sending her to fetch Occupant, Chrysalis and Cherry trotted over to the docks. The closer the barge came, the gaudier it looked, brass and glass and brightly colored paint, as if the whole were a seagoing theater bent on attracting the attention and custom of… who, exactly?

Then, as the barge’s large paddlewheels backed water to bring the craft to a stop by the docks, the wind picked up just enough for the flag on the ship’s stubby mast to flap open, revealing a bright red-and-white FF logo.

“Well, pony, looks like we have been honored,” Chrysalis muttered.

“How do you figure?” Cherry Berry replied.

“The list of people who are bigger deceivers than any changeling is a short one,” Chrysalis said. “This ship belongs to two ponies near the top of that list.” After a moment’s thought she added, “That is, if they bought it legitimately, which I doubt.”

Cherry grunted noncommittally, not really reacting until the barge’s owners exited the pilot house atop the big square superstructure. Unicorn magic deftly cast out ropes, tied them to the pilings, tugged them fast. More magic levitated a gangplank out from a covered walkway to connect ship and pier. The two unicorns, dressed in their snappy blue-striped vests and straw boaters, trotted down the gangplank, followed by a sullen-looking, bulge-eyed gray pegasus carrying a large, beaten-up movie camera.

Upon reaching the shore, the two unicorns stopped, stood side by side, and bowed in unison, bending one foreleg sideways as they bent their heads. “Greetings, Your Majesty Queen Chrysalis!” said the one without a mustache.

“And a good morning to you, oh famous test pilot Cherry Berry!” said the one with.

“We are-“

“Flim and Flam, yes, we know,” Chrysalis interrupted. “You boys seem to have done well for yourselves, even after losing your monopoly.” She cocked her head slightly, pretending to think. “Six days from hitting the market to having your patent bought out from under you? And two days after that before four competing device makers and six competing broadcasters burst out of the woodwork? Even considering the fickle and gullible nature of ponies, that must be a record for scam gone sour, wouldn’t you say?”

Truth be told, Chrysalis’s feelings about the brothers before her ran multiple directions. She’d found out after the fact that the two had been around for her space flight, which was when she guessed they got their hooves on the telepresence illusion spell. That meant they’d stolen from her, and that was unacceptable. However, they’d produced a very ingenious device indeed, one with massive potential for use and abuse. This intrigued her. (128) Finally, their very existence, never mind their brazen effrontery at every stage of their current scheme, annoyed Twilight Sparkle enough that she lost her cool, repeatedly, in public. That sort of amusement bought a lot of forgiveness in Chrysalis’s books. Any pony the purple princess detested couldn’t be all bad.

Once she had taken certain actions in secret for her own advantage, Chrysalis greeted her visitors with a more or less open mind. After all, if all else failed, there were empty pods back in the Badlands, and these were two ponies the Princesses wouldn’t ask any questions about… well, at least not for a good long while.(129)

As it happened, her snide remarks hadn’t thrown them off their sales pitch for an instant. “The unsubstantiated rumors of our fiscal downfall are gravely exaggerated, Your Highness!” Flim said.

“Indeed, even if all goes against us in the courts, this is but a minor setback!” Flam added.

“Because although we have competition, we remain the first!” Flim said.

“We are the inventors!” said Flam.

“The innovators!”

“The explorers!”

“The leaders at the dawn of a brand new medium!”

The two ponies paused. Flam cleared his throat and tapped his hoof meaningfully.

“Right, boss,” the bulge-eyed pegasus grumbled, flying up to the ship and settling in at an organ perched on top of the superstructure. As the music began, the unicorn brothers sang:



My Queen, your reputation’s shot and your popularity is down
You want to make a change, but you need a way to get the word around
We know you can’t bear the idea that it’s beyond all repair
So allow us to adjust your image by putting you on the air

Why, you’ve got opportunity
At this space facility
He’s Flim-
-he’s Flam
We’re the world-famous Flim-Flam Brothers
Traveling broadcasters nonpareil



“Oh, not again,” Cherry Berry sighed, slowing the brothers down not at all.


You’re in a bind, and that’s the reason why, you see
Nopony else in the whole world will give you such a chance to make your case on T.V.
It’s a new world with tons of viewers with wide-open ears and eyes unblinking
That’s viewers that you can sway over to your way of thinking

You’ve got opportunity
At this space facility
He’s Flim-
-he’s Flam
We’re the world-famous Flim-Flam Brothers
Traveling broadcasters nonpareil


Flim stepped forward and gestured a hoof at the barge, on top of which the pegasus  resolutely pounded out the old fashioned march tempo.


I suppose by now you’re wondering about our fashionable sailing vessel
- Our means of cruising ‘cross the ocean
- And I suppose by now you’re wondering where’s our studio?
- Anypony knows you need a stage and set to have a show
- Well, my brother and I had ideas nopony else could
Inspirations and inventions nopony else would
And that’s INNOVATION
Ma’am, it’s the one and only, the biggest and the best,
Unique!
-Tres chic!
- First-class
- Unsurpassed
F. F. Television’s Super Sailing Studio 6000!


Chrysalis took over the chorus, while a few flubbed notes from the organ took the song into a disturbing minor key:


And that’s why you’ve brought opportunity
To this space facility
We know who you are
You’re the infamous Flim-Flam Brothers
Shady hucksters nonpareil

Now before I buy your drivel
Just want to show my brain’s not shriveled
Now here’s the way it is, unless I miss my guess
You’ve got a ton of competition
So you’ve come here on a mission
‘Cause if you give the nation a sensation you might just squeeze out of your mess


Flim replied, as Fish Eye corrected his errors and the music shifted back into the cheerful major key:


Well, you make an excellent point, Your Highness, I say you make an excellent point
Our viewers are great sophisticates who we really don’t want to disappoint



And Flam added:


It’s a win-win situation, at least from our point of view
So whaddaya say, C.S.P.?
Care to take your message to the world
And let us film a documentary of you?


And the two unicorns joined in for one more chorus:


Accept this opportunity
At this space facility!
He’s Flim-
He’s Flam-
We’re the world-famous Flim Flam Brothers
Travelling broadcasters nonpareil!


And with a last clumsy flourish from the organ, the song ended, to the cheers of the crowd of changelings (plus a few construction ponies) who had gathered round as the song progressed.

Chrysalis turned to face the impromptu audience. “Don’t you all have non-pod related things you need to be doing?” she hissed.

The audience dispersed, precipitately. 

“So, what do you say, Your Highness?” Flam asked. “I guarantee you none of the donkey-come-lately broadcasters will give you so much as a sixty-second ad spot. We’re going to make you the feature for an entire hour!”

“Less commercial breaks,” Flim added softly.

“And although we no longer have the market to ourselves, for a week we did,” Flam added.

“Eight thousand Truly Terrific Television 1000’s in pony homes,” Flim added. “And we’re still selling more, along with the optional TTT Tuner box additional!”

“You’re clearing the old units out at one-fifth your original asking price,” Chrysalis said. “Which is still three-quarters the price of the smallest competing tunable set. And a lot of your early buyers have sold or junked their old sets in favor of your competitors’ product.”

“How exactly are you so knowledgeable about our newly founded industry?” Flam asked.

“I went shopping a few days ago,” Chrysalis said. “My subjects insisted on trying out your idiot box-“

“Shame, shame!” both brothers chided.

“- and once there was a selection of units I could no longer put them off.”

“I say, you haven’t made your purchase yet, have you?” Flam asked.

“Next week our TTT 2000 and TTTT 3000 will hit the shelves,” Flim said.

“What’s the extra T for?” Cherry Berry asked.

“Tremendous!” Flim grinned.

“Instead of an enclosed screen, the TTTT 3000 projects on a wall!” Flam added.

“Of course you have to turn out the lights in the room to get the full effect,” Flim continued.

“But with that minor drawback, the TTTT 3000 will have the largest screen resolution of any television on the market!”

“Sadly, I have already made my purchases,” Chrysalis admitted. “But to get back to business.” She walked up to them, allowing her eyes and horn to glow. “You are aware, of course, that I could bend your minds to do my bidding. And given your history of, to be polite, questionable salesmanship tactics,” she added, “there aren’t that many ponies who would weep.”

“It took me a week to get your Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 sales pitch out of my head,” Cherry Berry said. “Longer to get the taste of that horrible cider out of my mouth. Compared to that,” she added, pointing at Chrysalis, “her mind control is honest.”

Chrysalis paused, glancing at her earth pony test pilot. “Thank you, I think,” she said. “But this is moot, since I really have no need to do so. The fact is,” she said, smiling and showing off her fangs and pointed teeth, “you need me vastly more than I need you. Your competitors are bidding up the lousy old movies you’ve been airing, and they’re getting money from advertising sales, which you don’t because you only advertise your own products.”

“Actually, day before yesterday we did begin accepting outside advertisements,” Flim noted. “We rather had to. You see, that is our broadcast studio there,” he said, pointing to the barge. “And while it’s away from the docks at Manehattan, we can’t process orders for our products, so we needed something to finance this trip and keep broadcasting in the interim.”

“I stand corrected,” Chrysalis replied. “This doesn’t alter the fact that your income is shrinking rapidly along with your market share. You want something so controversial and attention-grabbing that it will help salvage your own reputations, regardless of what it does to mine.”

“We prefer the term sensational,” Flim replied firmly.

Chrysalis nodded. “Here are my terms,” she said. “You stay throughout the flight in two days. I then view your final edit to make sure it’s not, shall we say, counterproductive to my wishes.”

“She means no slam piece on the space program,” Cherry Berry added.

“Also you don’t use the program or my subjects to sell your trinkets,” Chrysalis continued. “You then go back to Manehattan or wherever and air the piece as I saw it here. If it doesn’t match, I have ways of making my displeasure felt.” She narrowed her eyes and added, “Not all my subjects are out in the open, even yet. Do I need to say more?”

“Message received, Your Highness!” Flam nodded, barely breaking a sweat… but breaking a sweat all the same.

“And we get half the advertising space,” Chrysalis added. “Free.”

The salesponies’ jaws dropped. “WHAT?” they both shouted.

“You heard me. Half the ads. Five out of nine, not counting the top-of-the-hour material.” As the unicorns struggled for words, she added, “That’s the deal. Your options are to take it,” and she gestured at their ship, “or take off. Any attempt to dicker or suggest a third option, and my demand becomes all the ads.”

For thirty seconds Chrysalis thoroughly enjoyed the sight of the two confidence ponies suffering in silence, unable to confer, unable to admit just how bad their position was (130), and yet unwilling to accept the offer as presented. Something had to break, but the breaking process was entertaining enough that Chrysalis wished she had her own camera to record it all.

Of course, the break came in the direction she expected. “You strike a very hard deal, Your Majesty,” Flam said reluctantly.

“But we accept your terms in all particulars,” Flim said.

“Provided,” Flam continued, “that we get your full cooperation on everything else.”

“Consistent, of course, with safety and the requirements of your agency,” Flim concluded.

“But of course,” Chrysalis smiled. “If you would come this way, I’ll introduce you to our flight manager and mission planner, Occupant. He’ll be your guide and liaison to the rest of the program.” She gestured to the changeling hovering respectfully behind her, who had taken to wearing a bright white vest in an (unsuccessful) attempt to distract from his buck fangs.

“We will need to interview you on camera later,” Flim put in.

“But of course,” Chrysalis purred. “I insist upon it.”



Footnotes:

(128) Also, it had inspired her, and Twilight Sparkle as well, to seek other applications for their spell besides scrying on a spaceship. The first application was being worked into the administration building- a telepresence link between the space center, the hive, and the Appleoosa workshop. Twilight Sparkle’s assistant, Starlight Glimmer, was working on a spell that could be networked with thousands of others. Since Flim and Flam’s device had already taken the name ‘television,’ Twilight Sparkle wanted to use the name ‘teleconference,’ but Chrysalis liked von Brawn’s term better, ‘telephone.’

(129) And it wasn’t like these two would be dry holes like Double Face. Considering how eagerly they sought money by fair means or foul, they at least loved that. Love for each other, she sensed, would be a distant second place.

(130) It was bad enough that the ponies had decided a few days away from Manehattan would be good for their health, at least until the advertising checks cleared the bank. But then, they had built their studio on a magic-propelled barge for the same reason that, in other worlds, a certain breed of used car salesman has their office in a trailer hitched to a truck whose engine is always running…








This is CSP Mission Control, the room where a dozen scientists and workers do their best to ensure a safe flight for the mission of the day. It’s empty now, but soon it’ll be busy and crowded as the CSP prepares for its ninth mission. 

CSP Mission Eight was the first non-magical transport of a creature from Equus beyond the atmosphere into outer space. Since then two other vessels have made brief trips into the great unknown, but before CSP can regain its lead in the space race, it is determined to clear all prior obligations. We spoke with CSP mission planner and flight director Occupant to get more information.


I’m sorry, but I’m a little embarrassed. My fangs, you see.


That’s quite all right, just go ahead.

Well, the thing is, the mission objectives Twilight Sparkle gave us were sort of, um a challenge. We were being asked, demanded really, to do things noling else-


Sorry, noling?

No one. To do things no one else had ever done before. And, well, we changelings do lie quite a lot- we have to, really- but we don’t back down from a challenge. Particularly not from Princess Twilight Sparkle, whose own Equestrian Space Agency has all the advantages we lacked- the knowledge base of Canterlot’s universities, first pick of existing technology, the full cooperation and funding of the Equestrian government. 

Are you jealous of the ESA, then?

A bit, yeah. But mostly because they have respect and support. Changelings never get that. As long as we can remember, we’ve had to take everything we have. I guess that’s what Mission Nine is really about. Taking the respect we’re due.

Do you want Equestria to fear changelings, then?

No! No! All I want is that Equestrians stop treating us like horrible mindless monsters! You ponies already have so much, with your trains and skyscrapers and Album of the Month Clubs and princesses who raise the sun and moon and everything! Why can’t you at least leave us changelings some self-respect?

That’s fair enough. Anything else you’d like to tell our audience?

Um, yeah. This is kind of important.

Yes?

If you order the Priceless Memories collectible figurines from the Unicorn Mint, be sure to pay extra for special courier service. Your postal ponies are very nice and friendly, but they don’t seem to understand the word ‘fragile.’ (131)



T -47 hours until Mission 9 Launch

“OK, Mr. Flim, Mr. Flam,” Occupant said, holding up a map of the complex. “For your safety and our security these are your no-go areas. First and foremost,” he said, pointing to the area around the launchpad, “you are not to go anywhere in this area, between the VAB and the ocean, from noon tomorrow until after the launch the next day.” He then pointed to the VAB. “If you want to film inside the VAB main assembly room, you must be escorted so you don’t interfere with the workers assembling the rocket. The rest of the VAB is storage and off-limits. We insist on these restrictions for our safety and yours.”

“Oh, most understandable, wouldn’t you agree?” Flim asked.

“Beyond all question, oh brother of mine,” Flam nodded.

“Mission Control and the residential portion of the astronaut quarters are free-access,” Occupant continued. “The training area is restricted-access while training and simulations are ongoing, but we’ll arrange for an escort if you want to film some of that.”

“Sounds a most capital idea,” Flim nodded.

“The research complex and the gift shop are of course fully open,” Occupant continued, “and you will be offered a ride in the Fun Machine if you so desire. Administration, the airship and aeroplane hangars, and the runway are off limits due to ongoing construction, but since we’re not using any of that yet that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Quite understood,” Flam agreed.

“And finally,” Occupant finished, “your pegasus… I’m sorry, what’s your name again?”

“Fish Eye,” growled the pegasus in a deep, gravelly voice. 

“Yes, Mr. Fish Eye. It is vitally important that you remain on the ground on the day of the launch. The sound and force of the engines at launch is tremendous, and it can cause sudden drafts that can send flyers out of control. We’re used to it, but we changelings are a bit more durable than ponies.” Occupant looked seriously worried. “And we really don’t want a guest being injured.”

“S’allright,” Fish Eye agreed.

“Actually, if we could backtrack for just a moment if you would,” Flam said, “I’m quite intrigued about the idea of filming your astronauts during training. Could you tell us more about it?”

Occupant double-checked a clipboard lying atop one of the piles of paperwork on his desk. “Well, everything’s simulations today,” he said. “We use the actual capsule for our simulations, you see, and tomorrow the capsule will go to the VAB for final rocket assembly. And no training happens the day before the launch, except for the final flight physical.”(132) Occupant shrugged and added, “So I’m afraid you won’t see any of our other training equipment in use.”

“Not to worry, my good man… er, bug,” Flim reassured Occupant. “I think during the lunch break- there is a lunch break from training, yes?- we get some shots of the equipment, especially the capsule- and then…”



Footnotes:

(131) Over two hundred changelings watching the show in the astronaut lounge looked, as one bug, at Occupant. “Well, it is kind of important,” he insisted.

(132) At CSP the pre-flight physical boils down to a questionnaire: “Any limbs broken?” “Hit your head in the last twenty-four hours?” “How many hooves am I holding up?” “Got a sore throat or sniffles?” “Tummy and guts behaving?” “That’s good enough. Have a good flight tomorrow, Your Highness.”








The centrifuge, which simulates the forces of acceleration and deceleration during takeoff and landing.

The Crazy Chair, which trains pilots to correct spins in flight.

Treadmills, chinup bar, weight machines, to ensure the astronauts maintain their fitness for flight.

And then there’s this. This isn’t just a machine meant to simulate the capsule. This is the actual capsule itself. CSP uses the capsule to simulate actual flight conditions, putting their pilots through Tartarus on the ground so that, if it happens in the sky, they’ll be ready. 

This particular capsule is a Cherry’s Rocket Parts Mk. 1 Capsule, production number 11. Capsule 1 flew as Missions One through Six, refurbished each time, and was retired after its historic flight to space in Mission Eight. The same model capsule is bought and used by the Equestrian Space Agency, the Crystal Empire Spaceflight Project, Griffonstone Space Exploration, and the Diamond Dog Project Stardust. Saddle Arabia and the Prancy-Germaney joint space program have orders in. The Yakyakistan and Dragonlands projects are building their own capsules. This, then, is the workhorse for spaceflight around the world- literally. 

Taking a look inside the capsule, you’ll see it’s actually a bit roomier than you’d expect. Two ponies could technically squeeze inside, but the capsule is designed to allow one pony or changeling in a spacesuit total freedom of movement. The flat flight bench is designed to absorb the same force on landing as an earth pony jumping off a four-story building without injuring the pilot. Behind it, in those cabinets, are dehydrated stores for more than thirty days in space. No flight to date has lasted more than half an hour, but the designers are planning ahead to trips to the Moon and beyond. 

Many of the pushbutton switches you see on the control panel are variable-function. They do different things depending on what things are attached to the current mission’s rocket. Both the pilot and the backup pilot have to memorize these functions fresh with each new mission. Pushing the wrong switch at the wrong time can change a successful mission into a disaster. 

To find out what motivates someone to do all the work required to fly in this capsule, we interviewed CSP’s third-tier pilot, Dragonfly.

I’m sorry to ask, but is it Mr. or Ms. Dragonfly?

That depends on who’s dinner.

Beg pardon?

Sorry, little changeling joke. In my natural form, I’m female.

How did you get selected as a pilot for CSP?

Well, before our queen decided to work towards a trip to the moon-

Which is your program’s ultimate goal, I take it?

That’s right. Before then I was the most skilled flyer in the hive, and one of the most elite warriors. I was in the invasion of Canterlot, you know.

That’s truly fascinating. Did you like being a warrior?

Well… I like the flying. I mean, I really, really like the flying. I wasn’t part of the legion that fought the Elements of Harmony, which was disappointing, ‘cause I’d like to go against Rainbow Dash in a race- not an open-sky race, though. And, well, sure, it’s always fun when your hive’s enemies go down. But seeing your own buddies get thrashed? That’s not fun at all. In fact it’s a lot more un-fun than winning is fun. 

I like what I’m doing now a lot better than being a warrior. I’m helping unlock the potential of changeling goo for all sorts of things!

Could you show us some examples?

Not with that camera running, no! Believe me, your viewers don’t wanna see! But to get back to my point, I built the parachute systems every space program uses for landing. I helped create the material that keeps every pressure suit airtight and impact-resistant. And I’m working on all sorts of other stuff. Knowing I did that- that I can do that- that’s a lot more satisfying than just biting, kicking or zapping some stupid pony who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And you’re doing all this and training as a pilot too?

Yeah, it’s a lot of work. I don’t get as much training as the other two. I’m a better pilot than my Queen, at least in simulations, but she’s got better judgment. She’s smarter, and I’m just all about the go, right? And Cherry Berry is obsessed with flying. She loves it. She puts everything into it, and that makes her a much better pilot than either the Queen or myself.

So, what’s going on now?

We’re about to run a simulation of the upcoming mission. My Queen is in the capsule now, and in a moment we’re going to simulate the launch. Along the way we might include a couple of problems she’ll have to solve. 

And if the simulations today succeed, then the actual flight will be a success?

No, no! We’re hoping the pilots fail the simulation. That way we can find out why it failed, fix it, and when it comes up in a future flight, we don’t fail then. 

That sounds remarkably like the Bridleway tradition that a bad rehearsal makes a good opening night.

Well, yeah, maybe, except if your stage is moving faster than a mile a second, flubbing a line or stepping on some chorus pony’s hoof is the least of your worries, believe me.

One final question. You’re not doing any simulations today, right?

Nope. I cross the ocean to the Griffon Lands tonight leading the advance recovery party. 

Let’s say Chrysalis and Cherry Berry both broke a leg and couldn’t fly. Would you feel ready to step into their horseshoes and fly the mission?

Put it this way. If I didn’t feel ready, I sure wouldn’t admit it!

A brave and loyal pilot. But is Dragonfly’s attitude shared by her fellow pilots? We’ll find out after these messages.

And now a special message from Bridleway Bridal Wares.

“Good evening. This is Something Blue of Bridleway Bridal Wares. Recently many of you accused my husband Bell Ringer of being a changeling to feed off love at weddings. This is absolutely untrue. Bell Ringer was born an earth pony in Canterlot, graduated from high school there, and apprenticed under Beau Brummule here in Manehattan. He is definitely not a changeling.”

*flash*

“But I am. My real name is Lacewing, and I’ve made all your bridal dresses by hoof for seven years. I’ve been able to keep myself fed and send love home to my family in the hive thanks to you, without injuring or influencing you in any way.

“Now if our customers insist that I leave, I will, but I ask this one thing: please stop attacking my husband. He’s done nothing wrong, and as Manehattan’s best wedding planner he deserves better than to be attacked by ponies who are afraid of ponies like me.

“But I hope our customers will continue to support us. After all, now you know I have just as much reason to make you wedding the happiest day ever as you do. So, when you think love, please continue to think of Bridleway Bridal Wares.”(133)




T -43 hours until Mission 9 Launch

“Buck, buck, BUCK!” Chrysalis slammed the hatch open on the cockpit, throwing herself out as the pair of changelings who had been levitating it lowered it to the floor. “Someone want to tell me what went wrong that time? I didn’t even get out of second stage before I had to abort!”

“Center of mass issues again,” Warner von Brawn rumbled. “You keep trying to pitch over too far too soon. Center of mass and center of thrust come too far out of alignment, and the ship goes into a gradual dive that you don’t have enough steering power to recover from.”

“Think of George Bull,” Cherry Berry added. “He’s always doing sums on a clipboard, but he always rushes around the halls, right? So imagine he trips on his hooves. He tips forward, but by the time he notices he’s falling he’s already halfway over, too late to correct his balance.” She used one forelimb to mime the act of falling on one’s face.

Chrysalis growled. “Tell me we’re working on that,” she said. “We need to be able to turn lateral as soon as possible. The more we go straight up, the more we risk a ballistic trajectory like mine. We barely got away with that!”(134)

“We’re working on it,” von Brawn said. “Goddard has experiments going back in Appleoosa, and he’ll be going back to that once this flight is in the books.”

“Well… good.” Chrysalis looked around the room. “Those idiotic hucksters aren’t filming in here now, are they?”

“They were in here earlier,” Cherry Berry reported. “They shot an interview with Dragonfly while you were running your second sim. You know, the one that went smoothly.”

“Except for the Flea test,” Chrysalis grumbled. “We keep getting so close…” Shaking her head, she added, “Are you coming down here for your run?”

“No, you’d better have another go,” Cherry Berry said. “Your abort came too early for us to spring the new problem on you.”

One corner of Chrysalis’s mouth twitched up. “You intrigue me,” she said. “By all means, surprise me.”



Footnote:

(133) Chrysalis had scripted this one to be filmed as soon as Flim and Flam returned to Manehattan. She loved every moment of it. The knife-twisting pathos was made sweeter by the fact that every single word in the thing was absolutely true. Guilt wasn’t very tasty, but it was nourishing, and darn if it wasn’t fun to watch.

(134) The realization that one has come seconds away from being splattered into a million pieces across the ocean will convert almost anyone, even a callous changeling queen, into an advocate for flight safety, at least in the short term. Chrysalis had now experienced that sensation twice, and she didn’t like the odds the third time around.









The day before launch day is a day of rest for the pilots of the Changeling Space Program, but for everypony else activity kicks into high gear. The mission planner looks for any last-minute contracts which can be performed without changing the rocket or the primary mission. The recovery teams spread out across the globe, hoping to anticipate the landing zone of the rocket. The launch teams inspect the launch area, making sure it’s clear of debris and ready to withstand the tremendous forces required to lift more than twenty tons of rocket into the air.

And here, in the Vehicle Assembly Building, the workers are busiest of all. Under the supervision of former Minotaur Rocket Society president Warner von Brawn, the changelings carefully inspect each component(135) before placing it on the assembly floor. Here, through a careful combination of magic and construction equipment, the components are assembled into a working rocket and secured together so that they will only come apart when the pilot wants them to.

You see below the noted rocket scientists Goddard the Griffon of Griffonstone and the aforementioned Dr. von Brawn, hard at work. We interviewed them together earlier in the day.

Thank you for giving us your time.

Think nothing of it.

To start with, I’d like to know how the two of you became interested in rockets. They were, of course, a staple of wild fantasy stories before Twilight Sparkle’s thesis on the nature of the solar system.

Indeed they were! And from my childhood I read and devoured those stories, longing for the day when, like my noble minotaur ancestors, I could journey and explore new lands! But instead of sailing the Middle Ocean, I dreamed of sailing between the stars! So I fell in with like-minded members of my people to explore and research whatever science lay behind the fantasy. Unfortunately that science was shockingly thin, and we had to build on what little there was. During our researches by far the most notable name was that of Goddard the Griffon.

Balderdash! Nobody paid any attention to my papers but you and a handful of scribes, and you know it.

It was a small field, I admit, but you were its undisputed leader. For my part, you still are.

Indeed. How did you get started, Dr. Goddard?

*grunt* Well, I was always a weak flyer. Airships were the new and coming thing when I was a chick, but even then I could see they were just too slow. I wanted to go fast. And then I went to a pony town, Rainbow Falls I think- yes, I was there for the trade days, I remember now- and I saw my first fireworks show. And I was hooked. I’m lucky I couldn’t afford to buy fireworks at the time, or else I’d have tried strapping about a hundred to a chair and lofted myself to the next world. And I don’t mean the moon!

*chuckle*

We’re glad you didn’t, Doctor.

Anyway, I managed to get into college, and I majored in chemistry. I quickly figured out that fireworks weren’t any good. Black powder is too heavy and inefficient. I wanted something with a bit more kick. So I began considering liquid fuels, which could be controlled, which would be lighter and more uniform, you see? Powder is a mixture of different chemicals, but I learned there are a lot of individual chemical compounds which will burn if you just look at ‘em the wrong way. 

But I didn’t abandon fireworks. I studied the physics behind ‘em, extrapolated on Neighton’s laws of motion, and created ways of calculating trajectories for ‘em. I created words for all sorts of things nopony ever thought of-

Using old minotauran, for which I thank you.

The language of ancient science, obvious. Anyway, I was able to put it all together- the math, the physics, the chemistry- into my doctoral thesis, which earned me my degree. Unfortunately it came fifty years too soon, and I quickly found myself unemployable, a laughingstock among my kind and among academics. 

It’s cruel to be mocked by your peers, we know.

It sure is! But that was my life, until Chrysalis and Cherry Berry came calling.

On that note, Doctor von Brawn, you had a space agency until you were bought out by the CSP. And Doctor Goddard, you were hired even before then by Queen Chrysalis. Would it be fair to say that you are the true brains behind the Changeling Space Program?

*joint laughter*

Are you kidding? 

Ahem. We may provide the scientific knowledge, but Chrysalis could have eventually found that herself. We are grateful for the opportunity, but we are not indispensable. 

Right. If you want the mare with the brains, that’s Cherry Berry.

The earth pony whose education ended with primary school?

Try, the earth pony who’s spent most of her adult life dreaming of flying and working to make it happen, kid. She’s not a scientist, but when it comes to flying, she studies and learns and works. And then she turns around and makes sure others work, too. 

It’s my understanding that it was Cherry’s idea to hire us. And furthermore, without Cherry Berry, this program likely would never have got where it is now.

But give Chrysalis credit; she’s smart enough to listen when others who know more than she does are talking.

Usually.

Usually? Could you give some examples?


Well, there was that argument last week about whether or not we should buy a tel-

*abrupt cut to commercial*(136)

“Scot Free Key’s(137) charter boat service of Baltimare offers you a new way to escape the everyday: a cruise to the Changeling Space Center!

“Come see where the leading space program in the world advances the bounds of rocket science every day! Tour our astronaut training center, our vehicle assembly building, and our research facility! 

“Your excursion includes a shopping trip to scenic rural Horseton, where local artisans and natives from the nearby Forbidden Jungles trade their unique wares!

“And every ticket includes a free five minutes in the Fun Machine!

“Ask about the CSP Charter, available exclusively from Scot Free Key! Find him in Baltimare’s Inner Harbor, office above the Two Black Birds Pub and Inn.

“Scot Free Key: Oh say, will you see!”




T -20 hours until Mission 9 Launch

Occupant spread the copies of the mission checklist apart with his hoof, offering them to the others at the meeting. “Twilight Sparkle wanted data on the first launch of the Thumper solid fuel booster,” he said, “so I added that contract. Miss Berry won’t have to do anything extra, but we still get paid. I also took on a contract to scan the ablative shield during re-entry at orbital speeds, just in case. And I’m quietly letting all further offers for flying surveys of Equus expire, at least anything that requires in-atmosphere flying. This one,” he tapped the item on one copy of the list, “is it.”

“Very good,” Chrysalis nodded.

“This is a pretty full mission as it is,” Occupant continued. “The Thumpers. The Flea. The Hammer. The survey site. And if conditions are right, the heat shield. I really didn’t want to add anything else. I only added the heat shield test because we’ll almost certainly hit the test conditions during our first return from orbit, if we don’t do it on this flight.”

“I wish to point out,” von Brawn added, “that our estimates of the power of the new rocket systems have been extremely conservative thus far. It’s just barely possible that Mission Nine will have enough thrust to achieve a very low orbit. I trust Miss Berry will be eager to attempt it.”

“You better believe it,” Cherry Berry nodded.

“But not at the expense of the mission,” Chrysalis insisted. “The whole point of Mission Nine is to clear our agenda and give us a free hoof for a proper orbital mission. The checklist comes first.” She tapped the list with a hoof, adding, “That said, the capsule will be prepared for orbital flight, correct?”

“Just like in the simulations,” von Brawn nodded. 

“Good.” Chrysalis gave the mission checklist one final look. “I think we’ve covered everything except our guests. How are they doing?”

“They seem nice enough,” Occupant said. “I remember what you said about not letting them sell me anything, but they haven’t tried. The only thing that annoys me is, they use the telegraph an awful lot. I’ve had messages that couldn’t get through because Mr. Flim and Mr. Flam want to know what’s happening in Manehattan and Canterlot four times a day.”

“Let them use it as much as they want,” Chrysalis shrugged. “They need the info for their news broadcasts. They’ll be gone day after tomorrow. And now that the hive has a telegraph- who’s running it?”

“My assistant Clickbug, my Queen,” Occupant said.

Chrysalis groaned. “You mean the one who never washes? Who’s always gossiping about this and that?”

“She sends at fifty words a minute, my Queen,” Occupant said. 

“Well, we can use the new device in the administration building to contact her, and she can get messages in and out from there, if the ponies get too annoying.”

“Where are they, anyway?” Cherry Berry asked. “I promised them I’d do my interview for their show after this meeting.”

“Misusing the wind tunnel,” Goddard growled, “where else? They’re filming a bunch of off-duty changelings having fun in free fall.”

“By my orders,” Chrysalis said pointedly. “Playful changelings on film will look like harmless changelings. Our reputation will be bolstered.” She smiled a bit as she added, “And so will our tourist income. I understand Sparkle still refuses to let visitors ride in her wind tunnel.”

“That’ll change soon,” Cherry said. “The Wonderbolts are setting up their own wind tunnel- they call it the Fly Box- at the Rainbow Falls training camp. And if the Wonderbolts say it’s a proper use of the wind tunnel…”

“Then let us get all the publicity we can for the Fun Machine first,” Chrysalis finished. “And on that note, let’s go get your interview over with.”



Footnotes:

(135) Sample inspection questions: “Did you play basketball with this piece?” “Did you play football with it?” “Yes, Hosstralian rule football counts.” “Did you, in fact, play any sports with it whatever?” “Are you lying?” “You know I’ve got your name written down here, so if that part blows up Chrysalis will come straight to you, right?” “Well, all right, it looks good enough, put it on there. No, there. And the other way up.”

(136) When asked, during the viewing in the astronaut lounge, why that part of the interview had been left in, Chrysalis said, “von Brawn could have said a lot more embarrassing things. Instead he embarrassed Flim and Flam. So he gets to live this week.”

(137) Scot Free Key was of course a changeling in deep cover for quite some time now, having learned that romantic charter cruises were an easy way to soak up excess love energy while, at the same time, providing an emergency escape route for any changeling who had to leave the central east Equestrian coast in a hurry.





Doctor von Brawn and Doctor Goddard are technically not employed by the Changeling Space Agency. They’re employed by Cherry’s Rocket Parts and Odd Jobs, Inc., a corporation founded by various pony and griffon financiers and run by test pilot Cherry Berry to supply the space program with its rockets. 

Although all the rocket components are manufactured in the frontier town of Appleoosa with mainly changeling labor, research and development of new rocket systems has moved here, to the research and development department of Horseton Space Center. Here construction workers are building new labs to house devices to test new designs and create new spells and technologies for the program to use. The television you’re watching right now came out of that research.

So did this. This is technically a Canterlot Weather Factory wind tunnel, used for flight training and weather education. It’s also useful for designing rocket ships to fly through the air. But the changelings here call it the Fun Machine, and they love to romp and play in it. When you’re inside, you experience what a parachute jumper or hang glider feels as they cut through the air. The ride is over all too soon, but everypony gets a fair turn at Horseton Space Center.

On a more serious note, Mission Nine will use a new solid-fuel booster, designed here at Horseton, for the first segment of launch. Cherry Berry explained to us the advantages and disadvantages of solid fuel boosters.

Solid fuel rockets are simpler than liquid fuel rockets. There are no valves, no fuel tanks, no directional thrust. Once you ignite the fuel, it burns until it’s exhausted, and whatever rate it’s configured to burn at is locked in. That’s why the first stage of Mission 9 also has a Swivel liquid-fuel engine; it will act as a rudder to keep the ship under control with all that thrust.

The solid fuel rockets sound a little dangerous.

Well, there’s a reason the launchpad is so far from the VAB. It’s not because we want to give fifty changelings a magical workout! You have to remember that all rocket flight is basically a controlled explosion with a tin can on top. If something happens and you lose control, then a lot of people could have a really bad day.

But you’re willing to climb into that tin can.

Yep. That’s right. I’ve flown balloons, helicopters, aeroplanes and now rockets. One of these days I’ll get around to airships. If it’s a flying machine, I want to be in it, preferably at the controls.

And the danger doesn’t bother you?

Mm, bother’s the wrong word. I know the danger’s there. If it’s too dangerous, I won’t go, end of story. But once I’ve worked to make sure I know where the danger is and what to do about it, then no, it doesn’t bother me anymore.

Let’s change the subject for a moment. I’ve heard some talk that without you, there wouldn’t be a changeling space program. Why-


Well, that’s just not true! I didn’t tell Chrysalis to start a space program! Chrysalis announced her program first. I went and asked her for a job. It took two weeks for me to get it, too. 


But you’re basically in charge. You make all the big decisions. 


Not all of them. Chrysalis lets me run things, but she’s the queen, and don’t ever forget it. If she wants something, she gets it. 


But you’re the pony who provides the vision.


Only if you think the space program’s vision is rockets in the air. 


It isn’t?


No. There are two visions. One is of changelings becoming a part of Equestrian society, becoming accepted, able to get the love they eat openly and freely instead of stealing it. The second vision is ponies and changelings and whoever on the Moon, and on the other planets, exploring it together. I didn’t come up with those. Chrysalis did. If you’re looking for the indispensable mare? Try the queen.


And what’s your vision, then? What’s your ultimate goal?


I’m living it now. Me, flying higher and faster than any other pony in the world. It’s always been my dream to fly, and I got a lot of ribbing about that when I told other ponies. People would joke that I was a pegasus in the wrong body. But when you’re in the sky, in a balloon or rocket or whatever, the laughter goes away, and all you’re left with is freedom and movement. And it’s beautiful.


Well, I can’t think of any better way to end this interview than that. Thanks very much, Miss Berry, and good luck tomorrow on your launch.


Thanks!


Look at it will be right back after this:

“Hi! I’m Cherry Berry! I founded Cherry’s Rocket Parts and Odd Jobs for two reasons; so I could fly into outer space, and so changelings could have the chance to show that they’re good, hard workers just like me! 

“Got a field that needs harvesting? Got rocks that need clearing away? Or any job that can use untrained labor? Why not try a changeling? Changelings learn quickly and work hard, and with a little supervision you’ll find your job done before you know it!

“Now a lot of ponies find changelings scary. I certainly did, the first time I met one! But all the changelings who work at Cherry’s are eager for a chance to prove that they can be trusted to do an honest day’s work. Don’t you think they deserve that chance?

“So stop on by Cherry’s Rocket Parts and Odd Jobs with your labor needs, and we’ll schedule you for a changeling worker or a whole crew! Now open at our main factory in Appleoosa and new labor shops in Baltimare and Canterlot!”(138)

“Notice: workers recruited from Cherry’s will not act as strikebreakers or to undercut prevailing wages. An honest day’s work by an honest changeling deserves an honest day’s pay. Cherry’s is also hiring ponies, griffons and other races and is an equal opportunity employer.

“Cherry’s: because all races deserve the chance to earn an honest living.”








Footnote:

(138) The Canterlot location had been opened by Royal Command. In fact, Celestia had picked out a storefront location directly across from the main gate to the palace grounds, in a spot which could be viewed from Celestia’s tower balcony. She’d even paid for an express train for a hundred and twenty changelings from Appleoosa to the capital. Chrysalis didn’t know what the princess’s scheme was, but she knew there was one.







Early morning. Less than an hour remains before liftoff. The changeling ground crew carefully levitate the rocket, weighing more than twenty-five tons, out to the launchpad. The pilot, Cherry Berry, is already inside the capsule, preparing for liftoff. This represents the climax of weeks of effort, large amounts of money spent, the most careful work done, all for a flight that will probably be over in less than an hour.

If everything goes perfectly, Cherry Berry may end the day as the first earth pony in space and the fourth being from Equus total to escape the atmosphere. The first in space, of course, was Queen Chrysalis, and we managed to squeeze in one last interview before launch.

Thank you for your indulgence, Your Majesty.

You’re welcome. You know, you sound a lot different when you’re interviewing somepony?

Our viewers expect a calm and impersonal interviewer, Your Majesty. The attention should be on you, not us.

Oh, that’s fine. But I wanted to say I like it. I like it a lot better than when you’re trying to sell something. You actually sound like there’s a pony there instead of a sales pitch. (139)

Er… your time is doubtless limited, Your Majesty, so I’ll be to the point. You were first in space, if you don’t count the millennia of Nightmare Moon’s imprisonment. Could you tell us what it was like?

No, I don’t think I could.

Er… if you don’t want to-

No, I mean that literally. The few minutes I spent above the world, before I had to worry about re-entry, were indescribable. I had the sense of being surrounded by joy and laughter, and it seemed like everything outside my ship was put there just so the universe could show off. Everything said to me, “You know, this universe, this life, here and now, is truly wonderful.” But I suspect the experience will be different for every pony who makes the trip.

Is it worth the danger of a rocket launch?

Well, yes. It’s even worth the danger of landing, and that’s a lot worse, believe me.

Let’s turn for a moment to the agency as a whole. The outside world believes that, without scientists like Warner von Brawn and Goddard the Griffon, there would be no Changeling Space Program. The scientists, when we interviewed them, said that without Cherry Berry there would be no CSP. When we asked her, she called you the indispensable mare. Who do you think is the true reason for CSP’s success?

Isn’t it obvious? Of course I’m indispensable. And Cherry Berry is indispensable. And so are Goddard, and von Brawn, and George Bull and George Cowley and Occupant and Dragonfly and Lucky Cricket and any number of others. And we also owe a lot to Twilight Sparkle and Alexander Popoff of Yakyakistan and any number of others. 

Exploring space is a team effort, gentleponies. Each rocket is based on discoveries from every speaking race in the world. Our rockets begin as ore mined and refined by earth ponies and diamond dogs, built into capsules and fuel tanks and engines by changelings, ponies, griffons and minotaurs, transported by train and ship, assembled, fueled- there are hundreds of beings involved in every launch.

This program isn’t about any one pony. It’s about opportunity for everypony. This is about changelings like Occupant and Dragonfly discovering things about themselves, creativity and responsibility, that nopony suspected in them, not even themselves. It’s about an earth pony proving she can fly just as well as a pegasus. It’s about a griffon and a group of minotaurs realizing lifelong dreams. We’re discovering Equus while we’re discovering space flight. 

My personal dream is to be the first to set hoof on the surface of the moon. But when I do that I’ll be doing it for every living being in our world.(140) And where I go, where Rainbow Dash and Gordon the Griffon and Princess Cadence and Cherry Berry and Fireball and all the other pilots of our world’s space programs go, one day everypony will follow.

A most noble dream, and thank you.








Footnotes:

(139) “Oh, they wanted that done over so badly,” Chrysalis told the others watching the show. “But they only brought so much film, and I told them it had to be in the final edit anyway. I bet they make sure the right to final edit gets in all their documentary contracts from now on.”

(140) A sentence said in perfect honesty, yet which almost everyone listening would take to mean something quite different from what the speaker intended.




Zero Hour for Launch of Mission 9

Fish Eye had a very simple philosophy: everything and everyone sucked. 

Being a pegasus with bulging wall-eyes sucked. 

Being continually asked if he was any relation(141) to a certain destructive mailmare sucked.

Being continually on the job hunt because of the reputation of said mailmare sucked.

Taking work as a camerapony for a pair of unicorns who neither knew nor cared anything about film work, that really sucked. 

Having to work with a camera dug out of the trash behind a Los Pegasus film studio, which only worked due to his own special tender care, sucked mightily.

And standing on the roof of the VAB, the tallest structure in the space center, and pointing said camera at the rocket about to launch, zoom lens working overtime to bring the rocket fully into view, while being careful to keep the morning sun out of direct shot, sucked rocks. Obviously the mission control room was where he should be, filming the crew hard at work, using the fancy-schmancy spell to film the rocket. The spell never had to worry about zoom lenses. 

But no. His bosses thought filming the actual launch, even from this long distance, would be more dramatic when televised. He was to go to mission control once the rocket was too far away to film.

The least they could do was actually tell him when the rocket was going to launch. Instead he was sitting here, running film, hoping like Tartarus he wouldn’t be midway through putting a fresh reel in when they actually lit their stupid expensive firework.

If he’d wanted to spend all day out in the sun, he’d never have left the fishing village he grew up in. 

An ear-splitting shriek of noise rent the air, and Fish Eye zoomed back out to catch the group of changelings flying like mad for the safety of the space center. One last changeling hovered directly above the rocket for a moment, and then that one changeling was also bugging out, easily catching up to the others before the noise ceased.




Finally, Fish Eye  thought, some action. He stopped the camera and swiftly swapped a fresh roll of film in. In less than a minute he had it back at work, zooming back in to the rocket, adjusting focus carefully. 

And then light and smoke erupted from the base of the rocket, and slowly, gracefully, soundlessly, it began to rise from the massive metal launchpad. With a firm hoof, like the professional he was, Fish Eye panned upwards, tracking the gradual ascent, keeping the rocket perfectly in center frame.

Then the roar of the rockets reached the VAB, and Fish Eye had to fight to keep his hoof steady. Nopony warned me about that! he thought furiously. Despite the hammer-blow of sound he kept the camera trained on the rocket as it started to bank away from him, away from the space center, out to sea. 




And in less than thirty seconds, the zoom lens maxed out. The rocket faded to a tiny dot. The slow, graceful ascent, Fish Eye realized, had been an illusion; that huge tin can had been moving, really moving, and it was still speeding up. 

Huh. That’s somethin’.

The moment of wonder passed, and Fisheye grabbed the tripod, not bothering to turn the camera off. He had to fly down to his jackass(142) employers while there were still any dramatic shots worth taking. 

Bet they don’t even use any of this stuff in the final edit.(143)



Footnotes:

(141) No.

(142) The use of “jackass” as an insult is of course degrading to donkeys everywhere. We apologize for the jacks and jennies who are offended by Fish Eye’s crude and insensitive language. However, we felt that changing the term would not reflect the attitudes of the persons in our drama, and therefore we left it in. Please remember the historic context of the period, i. e. five minutes ago, as you continue reading our story, and don’t judge by our more modern, sensitive age of today.

(143) Although “Look At It Ep. 3: Changeling Space Program” would lose the nod for Best Documentary to news items from later in the year, Fish Eye’s tracking shot of Mission 9 would win him the first Mulitzer Prize for Best Photojournalism, Television Division. Flim never let Flam forget it was his idea, that the shot would be more compelling without any voiceover, which deprived the brothers of a chance to share the award and its substantial cash prize.







Mission Control during a launch is a literal hive of activity. Only the professionalism of the crew and carefully crafted procedure keeps it from becoming total chaos.

Thumper burnout at ten thousand! Speed four ten and falling! Throttling to full!

Roger, Nine, Horseton reads go at full throttle.

Verified both decouplers fired, successful booster separation, both boosters fallen away clean.

She’s too heavy, Flight! Too much fuel remaining in the first stage! We should have had her throttle up earlier!

Four-twenty at twelve thousand! We need four-sixty before fifteen thousand!

Are we going to make it?

Not quite.

OK, let’s focus on the Hammer. Cap-com, tell her to fire Hammer at eighteen thousand or five hundred.

Roger, Flight. Nine, Horseton; you are to destage and ignite Hammer at either five hundred or eighteen thousand.

Nine copies second stage at five hundred or eighteen thousand.

Four-forty at fifteen thousand! No joy on Flea test!

*groan*

Four-seventy at sixteen thousand!

Horseton, Nine. Throttle to zero. Destaging. Second stage green. Igniting second stage.





Horseton copies, Nine.

Green light on Hammer test! Hammer reads ignition at four sixty-six at eighteen point two kilometers!

Well, that went right at least.

Horseton, Nine; banking down to thirty by ninety in preparation for area survey. 

Horseton copies, Nine. We show go for area survey.

Roger, Horseton. Recording: It’s difficult to make out anything clearly at ten miles altitude, but the wave motion through the target zone seems to suggest a large object under the surface, possibly a seamount, splitting the prevailing currents. There’s a discolored patch in an eddy which might be a trash field; need to get somepony to clean that up. No other features discernible. End recording. Coming up on Hammer burn-out.

Flight, tracking.

Go ahead, I’m listening.

Trajectory’s a bit shallow. Remind Nine she needs to thrust up if she’s to get out of atmosphere. 

I’m pretty sure she already knows, Dr. Bull. 

Hammer burnout. Destaging. Third stage green. Igniting Flea.

Roger, Nine, Horseton copies Flea ignition.

I’m beginning to pick up some atmospheric heating. Looks like I’m at too shallow an angle. 

Horseton confirms, Nine. Tracking recommends thrusting at higher attitude.

I’m working on it, Horseton, but it’ll have to wait- Flea burnout. Destaging. 




Roger, Nine, and hold on fourth stage ignition, please.

Tracking, what do we do?

She might as well fire now. Tell her to make it steep, say sixty or higher. She’s going to have to burn most of the last stage just to get out of atmosphere, and every second is lost momentum.

Anybody else have something to add? No? Okay, do it. 

Nine, Horseton, you are go for fourth stage burn, recommend vector sixty by ninety.

Roger, Horseton. Throttle to zero. Fourth stage activated. Throttling up slow, pitching to sixty by ninety. Throttle full. Tell the bullpen I want a cut-off when my trajectory goes trans-atmospheric. I want to save every drop of fuel I can for orbit.

Horseton copies, will do. – Well, gentlemen, you heard her?

We need to develop some way of sending that info up to her nav-ball. I think I see a way we could code the tracking computer’s projection to-

Now, please, we’re still on the mission clock!

Sorry. Projected apoapsis rising… rising… 

For the first time in minutes the room goes quiet. There is nothing left to do but wait and see if Cherry Berry will become the fourth in space.

… and now! Cutoff now!

Nine, Horseton-

Throttle zero! 

And with that the launch is over. Cherry Berry will leave the atmosphere and briefly enter outer space. In the process she has successfully completed three out of four mission tasks. Now the only questions remaining: will she achieve orbit, and will she return safely to Equus? The rest of Mission Nine when we return.







Five minutes after launch of Mission 9

Cherry Berry rested in her harness, ignoring the loose nut floating back and forth across the capsule, and stewed. Anypony else, anypony at all, would have been thrilled at the prospect of going to space. Not Cherry; she was livid, absolutely angry at herself.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! I dumped the first stage with a quarter tank of fuel left! I pitched over too hard on the second stage and lost a ton of delta-V to the air! Now I’ve got maybe a quarter-tank left in the last stage to achieve orbit and get back down! With all the mistakes I made, that’s not enough! I should have had orbit this mission, and I blew it!!

“Nine, Horseton,” Chrysalis said, her calm, level voice calling Cherry’s mind back to business.

“Copy, Horseton,” she replied.

“You’re coming up on apoapsis. The bullpen says orbit burn is borderline at best for success, but you’re welcome to try.”

“Nine copies, Horseton, go for orbital burn on your mark.”

“The bullpen also wants me to warn you,” Chrysalis said, her voice just a little less level… did she sound worried? “You are not, repeat not, to use all your fuel on this burn. Getting an orbit does no good if you can’t break back out of it.”

“Understood, Horseton,” Cherry said. “Will one-quarter of what I have remaining be enough reserve if I do make orbit?”

After a pause Chrysalis said, “Affirmative, Nine. If you get an orbit at all, pretty much anything should be enough to get you back in atmosphere.”

“Roger, Horseton,” Cherry sighed. “That lines up with what I’ve been thinking. I’m regretting that we had to dump the first stage with fuel remaining.” She bit her lip before allowing herself to continue. The press was watching, especially Flim and Flam. She couldn’t admit pilot error in public, no matter how true it might be. 

“Orbit isn’t on the checklist, Nine,” Chrysalis replied, all business. “Ten seconds to aps. This is just gravy if it happens at all.”

“Nine copies,” Cherry Berry grumbled. “Throttling up to fifteen percent.”

Cherry had been so busy condemning herself for her errors that she hadn’t really noticed free-fall until it was gone. Even the gentle, faint pressure of acceleration from the fourth stage pushed Cherry into her seat, brought the loose nut to rest somewhere behind her helmet. The engine murmured where its brothers had roared in her ears during launch. 

And yet, even with the feeble trickle of thrust from the engine, the speed readout on her instruments rattled higher and higher, racing from number to number. The ship was light enough, and far enough above the atmosphere, that fifteen percent thrust, a fraction of a single gravity, accelerated her faster than the three engines firing at launch combined.

But would it be fast enough? The levels of fuel and oxidizer in the tanks dwindled as the speed rose. Did she have enough to keep the ship out of atmosphere, to make the circuit around the planet without landing? 

Her eyes flickered back and forth between the fuel readout and the speed readout. More speed. More fuel. More speed. More fuel. 

Come on. Come on. Come on.

Eight percent fuel and oxidant remaining. Seven percent. Six percent. 

Come on, Chrysalis, SAY something!

Five percent. No more. “Throttle to zero,” she said aloud as she shut off the engine. 




“Nine, Horseton,” Chrysalis said. “We copy throttle at zero and report no joy on orbit burn. Tracking still shows you on course for a surface landing somewhere in the southern Stalliongrad steppes, possibly Ibexistan.”

Cherry Berry stopped herself from saying something that Princess Celestia would not approve of(144) over the comms. “Horseton, please tell Dr. Bull that I want a switch added to the controls that lets me turn off the outgoing comms. Privacy would be nice.”

“Definitely a good idea, Nine,” Chrysalis agreed. “Tracking says thirty seconds to atmosphere.”

“Already?” Cherry Berry sighed. “I just got here! I’m going to use the remaining fuel to extend my flight.” She slammed the throttle to full, and the engines kicked her in the back for about three seconds, then fell silent. “Did that do anything?” she asked. 

There was a long silence.

“Horseton, this is Mission Nine, please respond,” Cherry said.

“Nine, Horseton,” Chrysalis said. “You are re-entering atmosphere now. We have more news in a moment, please stand by.”

“Roger, Horseton,” Cherry Berry replied. “I’m going to destage and reorient to retrograde for re-entry.”

“Horseton copies, go for destaging,” Chrysalis said. 

Cherry Berry activated the last decoupler, felt the kick as the explosives separated the fourth and final stage from the capsule. With gentle care she flipped the capsule around so the heat shield would face forward in flight. And that done, she thought, all I have to do is hold the reticule on the retrograde marker and everything should be fine.

I certainly can’t be coming in too steep.




“Nine, Horseton,” Chrysalis’s voice called. “That very last burn you did resulted in a trajectory which, for a moment, looked like an orbit. Periapsis of twenty-two point five kilometers. But the bullpen says air resistance will slow you down enough that you’ll probably come down long before then, almost exactly on the other side of the planet from the space center. Over.”

Cherry Berry digested this news. It gave her indigestion. “How much more thrust did I need for orbit?” she asked.

“About five more seconds at full throttle on your last stage,” Chrysalis said. 

Five seconds. Five measly, fleeting, tiny little seconds of thrust.

“The bullpen also wants to remind you that if you’d had that extra five seconds and spent them now, you’d be stuck up there,” Chrysalis added. “So cheer up, relax and enjoy the ride back down. Next time you go up there won’t be any business to distract you from an orbital flight.”

“Roger, Horseton,” Cherry Berry said. Come to think of it… on the one hoof, Cherry Berry didn’t want to be stuck in this little capsule forever. On the other hoof, leaving this world by, well, having left this world had a certain appeal. Everypony said it was best to pass on while doing the thing you loved. Of course, Cherry Berry had usually imagined herself drowning in a vat of cherries as big as Mount Canter, but…

“In other news,” Chrysalis continued, “you’re right in the zone for the heat shield test once you get down into the stratosphere. In the meantime, you’re on a very shallow return trajectory, so you are go to release harness for a few minutes of IVA.”

Cherry Berry blinked. “IVA? I didn’t copy that, Horseton?”

“We mean, get out of your seat and have a little fun,” Chrysalis said. “You’re still in free-fall, so enjoy zero-g while it lasts.”

“Eh, copy, Horseton,” Cherry said. She shrugged, released the harness clips, and allowed herself to float off of her seat.

Whoa.

Oh.

Oh my.



Footnote:

(144) Actually Celestia had no problem with strong language. Unfortunately, her worshipful subjects had a deep and intractable problem with the idea that the eternal princess full of wisdom and serenity might occasionally feel the need to say, “Shoot! Darn it to heck!”








On the big screen above CSP Mission Control is the illusion of the Mission Nine capsule. Of over twenty-five tons of rocket, only this capsule, weighing less than one and a half tons even with its pilot, remains. There are no more engines, no more fuel tanks, nothing but the gyroscopes which let the ship roll itself over, the heat shield to protect it from the heat of re-entry, and the skill of CSP’s best pilot.

For a while the capsule skips along the upper atmosphere, maintaining its momentum. During this time the pilot has a brief moment to relax and observe her surroundings. 




I think I’m passing over Zebrica now. The grasslands seem so lush from up here, and the snows of Kiliponjaro, or I guess that’s that big mountain, anyway it’s really incredible. 

It’s so amazing up here, Horseton. I’ve always wanted to fly like a pegasus, but now I feel like I am a pegasus, hovering on my own magic. Part of me wants to open the hatch and go outside, throw away the only thing between me and absolute freedom. Of course that part’s a big fat idiot, and I’m staying right here.

Thanks, Nine, I think every person in the room just stopped holding their breath. 

There’s the Middle Ocean below me now. I can’t really make out the buildings on the islands from this high up, or I’d wave at Dr. von Brawn’s house. 

Copy, Nine. We’re picking up a bit of plasma outside the capsule now, so it’s time to end IVA and strap back into your seat. 

Nine copies, Horseton, strapping in. Back on retrograde.

According to Doctor von Brawn, re-entry is the most dangerous portion of the journey for CSP’s spacecraft. The capsule has to slow down from miles per second to the speed of a farm wagon using nothing but air friction. Any error in piloting at this stage will mean the loss of the ship and the death of the pilot. 




Mission Control watches in silence as the fireball builds around the capsule. The air can’t get out of the way of the ship fast enough, and so it is compressed in front of the heat shield until it self-ignites, becoming a turbulent plasma that licks at the craft and streams behind it. 

None of this disturbs Cherry Berry. She completes the final mission task, the scan of the heat shield in mid-flight, almost in passing. She shows little discomfort as the thickening air begins to slow her down, the rapid deceleration pushing against her ship at as much as five times the gravity on Equus’ surface. 

And then, after an eternity of fire, the ship begins to cool. The flames fade away as the air continues to slow the capsule down. The worst is over. The flight will end with a safe parachute landing.




And what a flight it has been. The ship launched in the bright morning light of southeastern Equestria. It ends in the gathering twilight of the empty grasslands of the high Stalliongrad steppes, the mountains of Ibexistan visible in the distance. The rocket has gone from sunrise to sunset in about half an hour.

The capsule drops below the speed of sound, and with a flick of a hoof the parachute opens. The canopy doesn’t fully open immediately, allowing it to gradually slow the capsule without bringing it to a sudden and destructive halt. When it does open there is one last hard jerk as the pod, which flew ten thousand miles in half an hour, slows to the pace of a casually trotting pony.

And yet there is time for one bit of contemplation.



I can see a planet out the window. I don’t know which one. Bucephalous? Sleipnir? Chiron? 

We’ll get back to you on that, Nine.

Well, whichever it is, it’s another place we need to go. It’s like that planet is looking at me, telling me, I’m waiting for you. I’m waiting for a visit. It’s been so long and there’s so much for you to see here. Come and visit.

And we’re going to go. It’s going to be a huge challenge, something that makes the Moon look like a picnic gallop, but sooner or later we’re going to get there.

And I can’t wait to make the trip.

One final observation about Mission Nine after the following messages.




MISSION 9 REPORT

Mission summary: Test Thumper solid rocket boosters; fulfill outstanding contracts for Flea and Hammer booster tests; survey target zones while in flight, second attempt; if conditions are right, run test of ablative heat shield during descent (36K-24K).

Pilot: Cherry Berry

Flight duration:  40 min. 10 sec.

Contracts fulfilled:  4
Milestones: none

Conclusions from flight: Frustrating! We came so close to a perfect flight, if not for the stupid, stupid Flea! But this time we just barely missed orbit, so we know we CAN do it the next time we try. But first… curse those Fleas!!

MISSION ASSESSMENT: MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL





A tall, slender unicorn stood on a bare stage in front of a camera, flanked by a couple of changelings, three earth ponies, a pegasus, and a griffon.(145)

“Good evening, my name is Cool Drink. Like many of you, I am an investor in the Changeling Space Program, which is already beginning to pay dividends both scientifically and financially.

“In fact I’m so pleased with my investment that I’m investing in another enterprise involving changelings. With the new medium of television opening new avenues for acting and filmmaking, there is a new demand for new actors, new directors, and new stories.

“That’s why several of my colleagues and I are founding Honeybee Studios. We intend to offer shows such as our documentary of the early days of Equestria, Founding Fillies; exciting tales of cowponies and bandits and buffalo in Dodge Junction Tales; and a comedy about two changeling roommates trying to keep their cover in Manehattan, The Neighbors Upstairs. 

“The studio will hire employees of all races, including changelings, whose disguise abilities make them especially talented for acting. Honeybee Studios is already preparing pilot films to offer to the various television stations. 

“We hope you will enjoy Honeybee Studios’ original programming and support efforts like it to bring all Equestria’s races together in harmony.”

Cool Drink vanished from the screen, replaced by Flam, hatless, mane parted impeccably. “Only a short time has passed since the Changeling invasion of Canterlot,” he began in the deep, solemn voice he’d used through most of the documentary.

Half the changelings booed, drowning out the next few words. 

“SILENCE!” Chrysalis shouted. “We are WATCHING this!”

As the grumpy changelings settled down, Flam’s voice came back into hearing. “… many ponies will never forgive them, either for their aggression or their parasitic nature.

“But it is important to remember that the changelings did not choose their fate. They live among us because they need us to survive. They steal love because they do not believe anypony will give it freely. They try to conquer us because they live in fear of us.

“But with the coming of the space race the changelings have found a door not slammed in their faces. Now they are pouring through that door, not as invaders, but as workers and guests, invited by fate and opportunity to earn what they could not take. 

“The results stand on the edge of the Hayseed Swamps as the Changeling Space Agency.

“The changelings, and the other people who stand beside them, are obviously capable of great good as well as great evil. Equestria has faced other threats in the past, including the griffons, the dragons, the buffalo. In every case Equestrian friendship has prevailed, and not Equestrian might. And we are all the richer for it. 

“We do not know if the changelings’ claims of peace are true or false, but it is this pony’s belief that we owe them the chance to prove they are real. Indeed, as this pony knows from experience, everyone deserves a chance to turn over a new leaf.

“Thank you, and goodnight.”


A list of credits began to roll over the shot of a darkening studio, and Chrysalis switched the television off. “All right, everyone,” she said, “That’s all for tonight!”

“Awwwwww!” moaned the changelings and ponies who’d wanted to watch I Accuse My Sire and Dam.

“Out! Out! No more brain rot for you!” Chrysalis clopped her hooves, and gradually the crowd began to thin.

“You know,” Cherry Berry said, “I’m surprised at how even-hooved they were. With just a few words they could have destroyed us.”

“And don’t think they didn’t know it,” Chrysalis replied. “What you saw wasn’t even-hooved. That was a highly skilled and slightly dishonest sales pitch for changelings in general. Exactly as I ordered.” Chrysalis shuddered. “Those two will never be more dangerous in their lives than they are today. With that idiot box they could make almost anypony think anything.”

“But you got what you wanted out of it,” Cherry insisted. “After this a lot more ponies will be willing to accept changelings. It’ll make our job a lot easier.”

Oh, yes, Chrysalis thought, nodding but not responding aloud to Cherry’s thought. It will make it very much easier to conquer them all, once I get my hooves on the moon.

After all, it’s not like ponies will really let changelings live among them in peace.  A few would, but most of them are just too flighty, too timid, too afraid. Eventually they’ll herd up and throw us out again, if we don’t do it to them first.

But in the meantime, I’ll take all the détente I can get.



Footnote:

(145) Shot only two days before, this commercial had triggered a shouting match between Chrysalis and the Flim-Flam brothers. The unicorns didn’t know Chrysalis and Cool Drink were one and the same pony, and they resented her using one of her contractually obligated commercial slots for what they saw as a competitor. Chrysalis pointed out, forcefully, that all they had to do was put in the top bid for all the shows the new studio would produce, and then there wouldn’t be any question of competition. This, of course, they probably wouldn’t do even if they could. 

After the argument was ended by Because I Say So Or Else, Chrysalis decided not to destroy their enterprise completely, despite her personal feelings of the moment. She estimated it would be wasted effort. The two would either destroy themselves or get tired of the steady work and sell out within the year- the latter guess, as it happened, eventually proving correct.

Aside from Cool Drink, the ponies who stood in silence next to the changelings were all actual ponies, Bridleway actors who were open-minded to spending a few minutes on a stage with two changelings. The two changelings, on the other hand, were not actors or infiltrators, but warriors who were in Manehattan as a ceremonial bodyguard for Chrysalis. In fact they were atrociously bad liars and actors even by pony standards, let alone for changelings, which is why Cool Drink did all the talking in the shot.