Chapters Night 1: Strictly Nebulous
Jimmy Hook was elsewhere. Elsewhere being the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom was far apart from Epcot and the Animal Kingdom, and this was where Jimmy was.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She looked at it, whilst seated in the benches for Joffrey's revive. Sorry, She looked at it, whilst seated on a bench for Joffrey's revive, having gotten her hand on a much needed coffee. "Flying through the cosmos does make you quite tired, I suppose," she said to nobody in particular. She glanced down at her messages, and saw a call from Tom was running on the line. "I wonder what he wants!" she smiled, and swiped back on the message. She moved the device to her ears. "Hello?" she asked. "Are you in need of anything?"
"Hi?" asked the voice on the other end. "Is that you Jimmy?"
"Call me Rosette, as otherwise it may seem a bit odd," Jim- sorry, Rosette, replied. "I suppose I'd better call you Vapour, hadn't I?" She paused. "Is everything OK?"
"No! It isn't!" Vapour cried on the other end. "Katrina's turned into Cozy Glow, I'm Vapour Trail, and you're Rosette! Must we turn into MLP characters everywhere we go?"
"Oh, calm down!" Rosette replied. "It wears off after a night or so, so we'll be fine tomorrow."
"If you say so," Vapour replied. "Look, I would like to talk more, but I'm watching Illuminations: Reflections of Earth in a few minutes."
"Oh?" Rosette asked. "As you lack a Fastpass, make sure to go to-"
"The UK Pavilion, I know," Vapour answered. "Sky told me about where to go."
"Found some love, have we?" Rosette teased.
"Shut up!" There was a pause. "They've just dimmed the lights, so I've gotta go. See you back at the Grand Floridian, OK?" The line then went shut, and a beep indicated that the call had just ended.
Rosette sat back, and sighed, as the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover rattled overhead, and There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow played over the speakers outside of the Carousel of Progress; played for the one hundreth time, in fact. As she listened, she thought back on how this particular incident had occured.
Several hours earlier...
Jimmy stepped off of the monorail at the station for Magic Kingdom. As the monorail pulled away, Tom waved to him. It would be a much easier run for him than Tom, who would have to get off at the Transportation and Ticketing Center in order to transfer to the Epcot Shuttle. He hoped Tom would enjoy himself, and walked into the park, when he saw the Walt Disney World Railroad sitting idle, with the engine and coaches sitting there doing nothing. He turned to a nearby visitor to address him.
"Excuse me," he asked, "but do you have any idea why isn't the railroad running?"
"There's building work going on in Tomorrowland," the visitor replied. "Something about a Tron themed coaster."
"Oh," Jimmy replied flatly, his heart sinking. The railroad was one of his favourite attractions (and a favourite of Walts, no doubt, given he had a massive indoor railroad) and to see it closed and doing nothing was a shame. He scanned his ticket on the entrance gate and walked through, walking under the line and into Main Street, USA. Here he was hit by the sites and smells of the early 20th century, including ice cream (he could just about do with one in these temperatures), cookies, and even fresh bread! As he walked down the street, the marvellous vista of Cinderella's Castle came into view. Seeing that huge structure again never ceased to impress him. Being one of a handful of proper castles in the USA (the other one that came to mind was the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine), it took the breath away as it soared above the guests. It surprised many to hear it only stood at 183 feet, but it looked taller than it really was thanks to forced perspective.
In order to reach Tomorrowland, Jimmy needed to go into the garden and take a right to cross the bridge. And this he did, leaving Adventureland and Frontierland for later. No, he needed to go to Tomorrowland, and take a ride into space.
Space Mountain stands at the end of the Tomorrowland's main street, with a large red crane behind it that was working on building the aforementioned new roller coaster. Jimmy noted that the queue line was off to the left, and the Fastpass+ line was on the right. So to the queue line he went, and scanned his Magic Band as he walked past. Little did he realise, a strange energy leaked out of the terminal and into him. But notice he did not, as he walked into the darkness. The queue line was very dark, and Jimmy struggled to see where he was going. And it was in the dark that he began to change...
As it was so dark, the first awareness he got of it was a spike of pain in his nether regions, as his manhood vanished, followed not long after by her hips widening and her shoulders compressing. Then her chest morphed into a pair of breasts, as her hair turned purple and did itself up in a severe bun. Her eyes turned green, and her skin went entirely blue (a much deeper shade of turquoise than Tom had experienced.
"Huh?" she asked. "Well, I didn't see that coming!" Now in a different state to that when she entered, she went on, suddenly aware of things briefly getting taller. This was because her trainers had changed into high heeled shoes, and the heel pushed her upwards. The front of the shoes also shrank back to only cover her toes, revealing her socks, which changed into a pair of tights. Her shorts changed into a red skirt of the sort seen on a suit, and her shirt became a white vest with a turtleneck. A red suit jacket appeared atop it, and her glasses changed colours changed colour to purple.
This meant they looked very different to when they had walked in, and Rosette was ready to ride Space Mountain. The scanner cleared her onto the ride, as the Fastpass gates had two sets of scanner gates to ensure people didn't just vault over the fence in order to queue jump. The park was very hot on queue jumping, and you could be ejected from the park if you were caught doing it. SO DON'T!
Jimmy took her seat, dropped her safety restraint, and relaxed. She was lucky. Although all seats had a good view, she was riding in the front row! The train took off and climbed through the lift hill, and then dropped into a series of sharp turns, sudden climbs, severe drops, and sudden stops. As they flew along, Rosette suddenly realised the constellations looked familiar.
"It's the Rosette Nebula!" she cried, pointing to one. Then another flew past. "And that is the Crab NebulAAAA!" They suddenly dropped down again, before going up.
"She's a bit of a nerd, eh?" shouted a passenger at the back.
"Yes indeed!" called another. "Fascinating stuff, though. I thoughts those lights were just random!"
The ride was quite tiring, and Jimmy felt awkward as she climbed off Space Mountain. She settled upon a coffee as the best solution. And she knew just where to get one.
Present day...
Rosette got off with Vapour at the station for the Grand Floridian. They walked through to their rooms to suddenly see a rather irate Cozy Glow. "Hello Cozy!" Rosette called. "How are you?"
"You've ruined everything!" Cozy exclaimed. "Your curse has infected us!"
"It wears off quickly," Rosette countered. "Right, Vapour?"
"Yeah," Vapour replied, rubbing her hands together nervously. "But I'm still kinda worried. What about Sky?"
"See?" Rosette laughed. "I told you she was in love."
"No I'm not!" Vapour exclaimed. "We're just going to be.. different when we get back. Is this what the whole trip's going to be like? Loosing and gaining bits for all eternity in a never ending cycle?"
"I suggest we go to bed and come back to it tomorrow," Cozy sighed. "IF this has worn off by then!"
They each said their goodnights, and headed off to bed, unsure what lay in store for them tomorrow. It was gonna be a wild ride...
Author's Note
Remember her? She only appeared in one EqG short.
The next morning dawned and dawn it did, glorious beams of the sunny sun (and not with an 'I'. That only occurs in the town of Westbrook) rolling in through the windows and curtains. Then, an alarm went off in one of the rooms book out by our (when we last met them) heroines. As the alarm continued to sound, Tom murmured and got out of bed.
"Am I back to normal?" he asked, before quickly glancing over himself. Yes he was. His pyjamas were the same as ever, but the skirt and shirt (back when he was she last night, which felt like an eternity ago) had changed back to normal, not to mention his normal footwear. He was nowhere near as new to this TFing lark as he suspected Katrina was, but nontheless it was still odd to him.
"Wonder who I'll be today?" he asked himself. Something else confused him. Whenever these occured, it made a mess of his sexuality. He had dated girls when he was younger, but last night he had been attracted to a boy- whilst a girl! He sighed. "I suppose such questions will have to wait," he sighed, as he dragged himself into the shower. Which blasted a jet of cold water at him.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF-?!"
Breakfast was, as you'd expect for a theme park, a mass catered affair. This being Disney, however, the food was of much higher quality than most theme parks, as fresh pancakes, waffles (naturally enough, in the shape of Mickey Mouse), sausage and bacon sat there, producing a beautiful aroma. Tom shuddered as he remembered a family trip to LEGOland Windsor many years ago which had been truly horrific, not only because of the old, broken rides and staff who clearly didn't give a darn, but they had stayed at the on site hotel. That had been a big mistake, as the mattresses were broken, the air conditioning didn't work (despite front desk's claims that it was), and he didn't even want to remember what he found in the toilet.
Not to mention the breakfast was inedible there. But such things were irrelevant now. As he sat with his friends (as Jimmy and Katrina were now back to normal) he spoke to them. "So," Tom casually noted, as he bit into a pancake. "What does today bring for you?"
"I'm off to Hollywood Studios," Katrina noted, looking closely at her coffee that sat in front of her. "Amongst other rides, I'm going on Slinky Dog Dash."
"How'd you manage to get a Fastpass for that?" asked Jimmy, his eyes aglow and maple syrup dripping out of his mouth.
"I got lucky, I suppose," their female friend (or should I say, consistently female friend) replied, looking back at her watch. "And you, Tom?"
"The same park, actually," Tom admitted. "I've got the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. When that comes to the end of its life they'll probably retheme it as Mad Men!"
"Why?" Jimmy asked, confused.
"Mad Men was inspired by the Twilight Zone."
"Oh," Jimmy replied. "Right."
"Speaking of Jimmy, what ride and park are you going to today?" Tom prompted.
"I'm also off to Hollywood Studios," Jimmy smiled. "Isn't that strange, eh? Indiana Jones Stunt Show."
"Each of us going to the same park on the same day," Tom sighed. "You hit the nail on the head, Jimmy. Very odd indeed." He cleared his plate, and got up. "Well, I'll go brush my teeth. Jimmy, you may want to wipe that maple syrup off your chin."
Jimmy reached up and felt it. "Oh," he said. He whiped it off, and then licked his fingers.
"Eww! Gross!" Katrina exclaimed. "Where are your table manners?"
Hollywood Studios is sometimes referred to as a 'problem park' by Disney fans. The original plan for the Florida project called for the Magic Kingdom to be situated to the north, and for Progress City (or the 'Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow', aka EPCOT) to be just to the south east. This vision was followed through with, and extending the monorail line proved to be fairly easy as a result. However, Hollywood Studios (or as it was rather grandly called back then, 'MGM Studios') was built to the west of Epcot, making it very difficult to modify the monorail line to serve it. This made it neccesary to catch a bus to Hollywood Studios, which was a problem as the buses were not amazing. The bus Tom was on pulled to a stop at the front entrance to the park, and opened the doors. Tom emerged into the sunlight, blinking, and walked towards the entrance booths, looking around at the vista of Hollywood opening up before him.
"This place sure is pretty," he said. "Though I do miss the Streets of America."
"Not to worry!" said a security guard, as Tom handed his bag to him. "You can still see them where the muppets live."
"Thank you."
"So, where are you from?" the guard asked Tom.
"Just north of London," Tom replied.
There was a pause. "I love your accent. My daughter once told a British dude he 'sounded just like Harry Potter'."
"That must've been awkward," Tom sighed, as his bag was handed back to him.
"Oh, it was," the guard admitted, "as this guy had never even heard of Harry Potter." There was another pause, as seemed to be fairly common around here. "Well sir, you're cleared to go. Have a nice day."
Tom walked onwards, scanned his magic band against the scanner, and walked into the park. He had an appointment at the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
Katrina and Jimmy had headed off their own ways; the former had headed by the Hyperion Theatre toward Pixar Plaze, to get to Toy Story Land. Jimmy, on the other hand, went toward the stunt show round Echo Lake. This left Tom on his own, wandering down Sunset Boulevard, though luckily he wasn't a down on his luck actor rekindling his glory years on the silver screen. The little acting he had done had been at school, and none of it was spectular. He walked into the queue line, past the Theater of the Stars, and stopped when he saw the Fastpass line. He clicked he had gone the wrong way, and got into the correct line and scanned his magic band.
The queue line led him straight into the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which looked a complete mess. Cobwebs were everywhere, the paintwork was faded, and the walls were beginning to crack. A porter ushered him past the entrance kiosk, and he joined a large crowd in the foyer for the preshow video. The door closed, the lights dimmed, and thunder boomed outside. A television abruptly switched on, and the intro to the Twilight Zone began playing.
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination" intoned the voice of Rod Serling over the speakers. "Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into- the Twilight Zone."
Dramatic music played as the scene came up on a hotel. "Oh yeah," Tom noted to himself. "They parodied this one once." He then stopped. His voice sounded wrong. Too high pitched.
"Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and the glitter of a bustling young movie talent at the height of its golden age, the Hollywood Tower Hotel was a star in its own right. A beacon for the show business elite. Now, something is about to happen that will change all that."
Something was indeed changing, as Tom's shoes changed into heavy black boots, and his slacks into khaki shorts. His shirt turned black with white trim and piping, and a pair of goggles with khaki trim appeared on his forehead.
On screen, the hotel was hit by lightning, and an entire section of it vanished into nothing, taking an elevator car with it.
"The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed. Tonight's story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a maintenance service elevator, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard because in tonight's episode you are the star. And this elevator travels directly to . . . The Twilight Zone."
Moments before the lights came up, everything seemed to happen at once. Tom shrank in height to less than 5 feet, and his clothes shrank to fit his smaller body. His eyes turned purple, his skin turned grey, and his hair turned black in two tone stripes.
The screen flashed off, and Tom looked over himself in confusion. "I'm... Rumble?" he asked. "He hasn't even appeared in Equestria Girls!"
"Move along, please!" the porter asked. "You're elevator is ready to go."
Rumble wandered along through a maintenance room, and eventually came to a set of elevators. Another porter guided him forward to a waiting elevator, and he buckled himself in.
"So, you like thrill rides?" asked a voice next to him. Rumble looked to his right to see a girl buckling herself in. She had peach skin, purple eyes and hair, and wore grey boots, green cargo shorts, and a turqoise shirt. "I'm Scootaloo. Nice to meet you!"
"I'm Rumble," Rumble replied.
"Good morning," said the bellhop. "Remain seated at all times, and keep all hands, arms, feet and legs inside the elevator at all times. Do not remove the safety belt at any times- the management would prefer you returned in one piece." He leaned closer. "If you need anything... don't forget to scream." He stepped back, and the elevator doors slammed shut.
The elevator slid backwards. "You are the passengers on a most uncommon elevator," Rod Serling continued, "about to ascend into your very own episode of The Twilight Zone." Lights flashed in front of them, and the elevator shot upwards before stopping. The doors opened, and the elevator suddenly began moving horizontally!
"This is so weird!" Rumble commented. "I've only been on the California Adventure version before."
"Shame you can see the drop shaft up ahead," Scootaloo noted. The elevator stopped moving, and suddenly went upwards.
"One stormy night long ago, five people stepped in the door of an elevator and into a nightmare. That door is opening once again and this time, it's opening for you." The voice paused. "You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination . . . in the Tower of Terror."
The car suddenly dropped 6 stories, then shot up 3. The doors opened briefly, and then the elevator dropped 2. Up, down, up, down, like a demented squirrel. Then it rose all the way to the top. The doors opened.
"Hello Hollywood Studios!" Scootaloo called.
Rumble groaned. "I'm gonna be sick," he said quietly.
Just then, the elevator dropped. Down and down and down it went, as if it would never stop. It then hit the ground, with a loud crashing sound. The lights then came up.
"A warm welcome back to those of you who made it, and a friendly word of warning, something you won't find in any guidebook: the next time you check into a deserted hotel on the dark side of Hollywood, make sure you know just what kind of vacancy you're filling, or you may find yourself a permanent resident . . . of The Twilight Zone."
"Which is now full of Rumble's vomit," said Scootaloo, quietly.
Rumble staggered outside, with Scootaloo helping him along. "You feeling better?" she asked.
"I wasn't expecting it to be so rough!" Rumble replied, looking about. "It was pretty wild, though!"
"Yep!" Scootaloo grinned. "The drop sequence is different each time, so that's cool too!"
Suddenly, Rumble's phone went off, and he checked it.
Katrina: come to Toy Story Land, STAT! I've TF'ed again!
Rumble texted back. On my way! He sped off, calling back; "A friend of mine's in trouble; I'm going to help her!"
"I can help!" Scootaloo called, and ran after him.
Author's Note
Anybody spot the VA joke?
This is probably the first Rumble TF ever. On a side note, Tower of Terror is one of my favourite WDW rides.
The vomit joke is a nod to an early fandom joke, which saw Rumble throwing up whenever he took a ride on Scootaloo's scooter.
"Bye Tom," Jimmy called over to his friend as he set off into the distance, toward the Tower of Terror. He glanced back at Katrina. "Well, shall we walk together for a bit?"
"Sounds good!" Katrina replied, and set off for her destination with Jimmy. The two walked around the side of Echo Lake, past the great big boat which served as a floating food venue, and on the other side of the lack was a gigantic dinosaur. Jimmy looked about, his mouth open in wonder, before Katrina suddenly pulled him aside and looked into his eyes. "How long have you had this?" she asked, her eyes on fire. She seemed cross, and her voice confirmed it. "How long has this been going on?"
"What?" Jimmy asked. "What is this what you ask about, and more to the point how is this connected to what and this is the matter of which we speak?"
"Do you always speak like this?" Katrina asked, pushing her glasses back up her face as they were on the verge of falling off. "Urgh. Fine. For how long have you been, you know... transforming into stuff?"
"Oh!" Jimmy replied, his eyes suddenly filled with understanding. "You want to know how long I've been transforming! Well, I shall tell you. It started in 2016, on the 11th September, when I entered a strange classroom in a strange school. They did or said something very odd, and sure enough, I started to change into Sunset Shimmer. Then it all goes a bit foggy. There was something about Canterlot High school, a crown, and before I knew it I was back in my home in Manteo."
Katrina shook her head. "So, something they did makes this stuff happen?"
"Oh yes, it does," Jimmy sighed. "And it happens to me a lot. Here's a full list."
Katrina shook her head. "We'll be here a while."
Jimmy began to rattle off the list he knew very well, speaking rhythmically as if he had repeated this list many times before. "Princess Luna (three times, the first two in 2018, and the third in 2019), a batpony of the same name, Mystery Mint (an Equestria Girls background character), Coloratura, Suri Polomare, Photo Finish (Equestria Girls Character), Sunset Shimmer again, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Skystar (Her Seapony Form to be exact), Queen Chrysalis (twice, first in July 2018, and then again in early 2019), Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo De Nile, and Lagoona Blue from Monster High, Pixel Pizazz, Violet Blurr, Lyra Heartstrings (the last three were all Equestria Girls variants), Valley Glamour (recorded by a friend of mine by the name of D.I.Scord), Sweetie Belle (Equestria Girls), Rarity (also Equestria Girls but of her Friendship Power form instead of her Regular Form), Then a string of Equestria Girls ones-Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, and Cheerilee, interspersed by Sapphire Shores, Cayenne and Pony Cheerilee, Somnambula Moonlight Raven, Sunshine Smiles, Citrus Blush, North Point, and Lily Love, plus Equestria Girls Fluttershy (another Friendship Power one). This was then followed by Cherry Jubilee, Watermelody, Queen Novo, and Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle. That last one happened shortly before we came here, but I was back to normal in time."
Katrina looked back again. "You said something about this sort of thing happening before. Multiple people being affected by your- ability, curse, gift, whatever. When was that?"
"Oh, the Brentwood trip!" Jimmy exclaimed. "I went down to Brentwood, California, with my mate Troy Creed and Tom, who happened to be there already. But that's not the bit where it gets weird. The transformations all seemed linked, and all went off at night."
"So, are we cursed to forever switch from being normal to fictional characters from a Hasbro show for the rest of our lives?"
"I might be," Jimmy said. "I'm not sure if you are, Kat. But if you are, you get used to it, as I have."
"Get used to it?" Katrina asked. "I was scared half to death last night! And Tom told me it was painful in his case."
"Well, he did lose his-"
"NOT OUT LOUD!" There was a pause, before the somewhat frustrated girl began speaking again. "Well, if it does happen to me on a regular basis, I will be seriously annoyed. OK?"
"If you do get cross," Jimmy said, "focus all your ire on me. Live Tom out, OK? He's just as much a passenger on this ride as you are."
"Right," Katrina sighed. "I need to be off for my ride. And to get some coffee. It's freezing here, and some caffeine would get my creative juices flowing. See ya, OK?" And she headed off before anybody else could say anything.
Jimmy looked to his left, and saw his slot for the Indiana Jones Stunt Show had just opened. "Time to go in, I suppose," he said, unaware that as he walked off his socks were starting to creep up his legs.
The queueline was so dark, nobody could see what was happening to Jimmy. His glasses vanished, as his shoes morphed into high top boots, and his jeans started sliding back up his legs, turning into a skirt that stopped halfway down his thighs. The sleeves on his shirt grew longer, stopping at his elbows, and a heart suddenly appeared on a string around his neck.
"Wait, what?" he asked, watching in morbid curiousity as his clothes began changing colour. The boots turned pink, and the skirt a horrifying shade of pink with multiple layers. The shirt changed from blue to turquoise on the main body, and purple on one sleeve, with dark blue for the other. More hearts appeared in his hair as that began to pile itself onto his head, turning multiple shades of purple, blue and pink all arranged in a poorly coordinated mess of colours. This was soon followed by his skin turning yellow, his eyes blue, and his chest tingling. He groaned as he watched two lumps push out from his chest, stopping when they reached a small (ish) size. He had reason to stay feeling odd, as his manhood was sucked into his body. Well, moments after they were gone, I suppose it was her body. Her entire body then slimmed down, his shoulders moving inwards, followed by his hips popping outwards with a cracking sound. Finally, her feet shrank, to match her boots.
"Now this is different," she said quietly. What was her name again? Oh yes, Supernova Tap. Or was it Zap? Anyways, she went into the seating pen, and took a side seat at the side of the theater, before her lying a boulder set rather like the one in the first Indiana Jones film.
Tap saw little of the show, sadly, as she was drafted into the show as an extra with a dull role. All she had to do was to say 'aah!' when Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood leaped off a building whilst escaping from Ernst Toht's goons. Later on, she did see a pretty impressive explosion, but that was about it.
Walking out of the show, her phone suddenly buzzed, and she went to answer it.
Katrina: come to Toy Story Land, STAT! I've TF'ed again!
No sooner had Supernova registered this information, she saw Rumble and Scootaloo wizz past. "Rumble!" she shouted. "What's going on?"
"What does it look like to you?" Rumble retorted rhetorically. "I'm Rumble now, and I have no idea who Scootaloo was originally!"
Scootaloo said nothing. Then she did. "Err, maybe?" she said. "I don't know who I am all the time."
"Well," Supernova said, "shall we go to Katrina? She seems to need help, after all."
They finally arrived at Toy Story Land. Out in the crowd was a woman with purple hair, shouting at a group of three people.
Author's Note
Creepy, eh?
Night 2: Queue jumping? Suri-ously?
"Right," Katrina sighed. "I need to be off for my ride. And to get some coffee. It's freezing here, and some caffeine would get my creative juices flowing. See ya, OK?" And she headed off before anybody else could say anything. She was grumpy. Jimmy had undoubtedly set bizarre forces into motion, and considering what Tom had told her this wasn't the first time that had happened. Far from it, as Jimmy's incredibly long list of people he had transformed into had confirmed. She had no idea who three of them were, as a matter of fact. Clawdeen Wolf? Who the heck was she, anyways?
Katrina continued to puzzle over it as she continued on her way through the park, and passed by the Hyperion Theatre, currently showing For the First Time in Forever: a Frozen Sing- Along Celebration . Katrina shuddered at the memory of it. When Frozen had first been a thing, back in 2013, she had been one of many to suffer from younger siblings playing (or singing) 'Let it Go' endlessly. And it got worse beyond then, as no sooner had 'Let it Go' ceased to be an ear worm, than 'Everything is Awesome' took its place!
And don't even get started on 'Catchy Song', the one 'that's gonna get stuck inside your he- e- e- ead'.
The attraction had one sole benefit, however. It took people, mostly families and small children, out of the park and therefore out of the queuelines. This was of incredible benefit to Katrina, as the next ride she was going on was popular with families and small children, and by logical extension the queuelines would be much shorter than usual (the ride usually commanded wait times in excess of ninety minutes. NINETY. MINUTES).
Katrina passed round the Hyperion, and was directed toward Pixar Place, which was where the Incredibles were currently hanging out after the success of Incredibles 2 (so incredible they forgot the definite article). That part of the park was currently dressed up as Municiberg, the city from the films, and as Katrina walked onwards she passed the building that housed Walt Disney Presents , with a crowd running out of the door to meet Mike and Sulley from Monster's Inc .
Katrina didn't see it, but a small particle of what looked like dust suddenly flew out of the door and hit her clothes, although she felt nothing and just continued walking. She had a ride to get to, after all. A few minutes later, however, she noticed some people giving her odd looks, though she had no idea what was causing them. Casually, she glanced down, and her jaw fell open in shock.
Her trainers had changed into loafers with a pronounced heel, and the laces had vanished. As she looked down in surprise, a pair of bows appeared on the shoes, presumably there to hold them on her feet. Her mind was on the verge of shutting down. "Oh not again!" she exclaimed, running as quickly as she could for the nearest restrooms, to ensure nobody could see this madness occuring in front of them.
Barging through the door and sending a customer flying, Katrina flew through the room and slammed a cubicle door behind her, turning to look in the mirror at what was going on. She had no power or control over what was going on, meaning she just had to ride it out, much like a storm, but that didn't make it any less frightening, and as such she watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as her clothes continued to change into the outfit of a fictional character.
She couldn't see the next bit, but she could certainly feel it as she felt her socks begin to slither up her legs, like a pair of snakes, stopping just above her calves. A few moments later, her pants began to slide up her legs, stopping at her knees and now resembling a pair of shorts. The zip and button holding them on vanished, being replaced by a layer of elastic, and followed quickly by the legs merging together and the former division between them vanishing, meaning she now had a grey skirt on. This skirt then turned purple, and was crisscrossed with purple, blue, yellow, and white lines in a tartan pattern. A quick glance confirmed her socks had turned purple, and had gained extra fabric hanging off the top of them. Her eyes were brought back to the skirt, which shrank back slightly further, now falling to just above her knees.
"I recognise this," she said to herself. "It's Crystal Prep's uniform! But which Shadowbolt?"
Her shirt turned turquoise, and began to grow longer, the sleeves sliding down her arms until they reached her wrists. A button formed on each cuff, as it now was, which was really tight, and buttons spread down the shirt, turning it into something more akin to something worn as part of a business suit than casual wear. A collar appeared around her neck, and the top button suddenly closed shut, reducing her air supply somewhat. The shirt was soon joined by a purple jacket appearing on top of it, with the lapels folded back and a pocket on each side. Then she got the first clue as to who she was becoming. Light blue fabric abruptly appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around her neck, and tying itself in front of her. It then grew forward, eventually hanging down her front and stopping partway down her chest.
"Wait a moment," Katrina noted. "I know that scarf. Now who does it belong to? Somebody beginning with S..."
The mirror suddenly seemed to be getting bigger, as her height dropped by a few inches. Her skin turned a very bright pink, as her eyes turned a light brown from their usual hazel, followed by her glasses vanishing into thin air. She innefectually reached for them, only to realise they were no more of this Earth, and had gone to the great scrapyard in the sky. Not long after, her body proportions shifted around a bit, to those of a slightly younger teenage girl, and her hair suddenly flopped into her face, now a deep shade of purple. Her hair pulled itself up at the back of her head, and suddenly formed into a severe bun, with a small amount hanging back off her head. Finally, a cream hairband appeared in her hair, and it finally, at long last, after all things, seemed to be over.
And with it being over, Katrina suddenly clicked who she now was. "Polomare?" she asked. "SURI-OUSLY?"
After having left the stall and headed on her way, Suri arrived in Toy Story Land. She was greeted by a massive statue of Woody the Cowboy talking to her. "Welcome to Andy's backyard!" he called. "We've got plenty of room for you new toys, so head on in and have fun!"
Suri grinned, and walked further into the crowd. On the right, Slinky Dog was racing round his track, the trains still pretty full despite the lack of children around. Suri went over to scan her Magic Band, and was let into the queue to go and board. Whilst there, she decided to text her friends to tell them what was going on, adding Tom and Jimmy (who no doubt were no longer Tom and Jimmy) to the chat and putting the following message out.
come to Toy Story Land, STAT! I've TF'ed again!
Seconds later, she got a reply from Rumble.
On my way!
Suri smiled. She knew she could count on those two. As she walked along, and was admitted into the main line, she suddenly spotted a mother and two children jumping over the barriers and landing in front of her and another girl, who was dressed similarly to her, but lacked the jacket, instead wearing a purple waistcoat. She had yellow skin and two tone blue hair, and looked rather annoyed at the fact these people had jumped the queue.
"Excuse me?" she said quietly. "Y- you can't just jump the queue. It's not fair."
"NOT FAIR?" the woman shrieked. "MY CHILDREN ARE VERY TIRED, YOU KNOW, AND DESERVE TO GET ON THIS RIDE! WE HAVE BEEN QUEUEING FOR TWO HOURS!"
The girl shook slightly. "The wait time is only fourty five minutes," she said, again very quietly.
The two kids had said nothing, but suddenly spoke up. "We deserve to go on first! We deserve to go on first!"
"Indeed!" added the mother. "I and my husband have saved all this money to come here, and we don't want random people ruining the magic for us!"
"By ruining the magic for other people?" the girl asked back. "T- that isn't very nice."
The mother snorted. "Oh, you're too old for Disney," she said, in a mocking tone. "Did you suffer brain damage or something? Get out of our way, you idiot, and let us have our fun."
The girl began to sob, clearly quite upset at what had just been said to her. Suri, however, had had enough. With rage boiling over in her heart, she stomped forward, walked past the girl, and looked straight at the mother. "HEY!" she bellowed. "What makes you think you can speak to her in that way?"
"EXCUSE ME?" the mother shrieked.
"She has just as much right to be here as you," Suri continued, giving this woman a very stern telling off. "And you and your children just queue jumped, which is unfair on all of us who have been waiting in line."
"You are setting a bad example to my children, backtalking to me and disrespecting your elders," the mother snapped. "Where are your parents? I demand to speak to them."
"You're setting a worse example for your kids," Suri countered. "Based on you, it is alright to simply ignore rules whn you don't like them, or call people stupid, or say they have brain damage."
The mother looked stunned, but resorted to her last weapon. "Well," she said, "I know the head of the entire corporation! When I tell Mr Eisner about this, you'll be thrown out of the park and banned for life."
Suri began to snort. Then she chuckled. And then she simply burst out laughing. "Seriously?" she laughed. "That is the biggest pile of horse manure I have ever heard!"
"ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!" the mother screamed at her. By now, heads were starting to turn.
"Michael Eisner isn't even head of the Walt Disney Corporation any more! He left in 2005! It's Bob Iger these days." Suri paused. "You can't prove that I did anything, but if you call security they can review CCTV footage and see that you jumped the queue. You can be expelled from the park for that." There was another silence. "So... what's it gonna be, eh?"
The mother huffed, and grabbed her kids. "You win," she said, "but remember you have ruined my children's holiday!"
Suri rolled her eyes. "The one thing I hate more than entitled parents is their kids," she muttered. She walked over to the girl. "What's your name?"
"I'm Coco Pommel," she said. "As in Coco Channel. And thanks for sticking up for me. What's your name?"
"Suri Polomare," Suri replied. "Shall we ride together?"
Coco looked astonished. "You'd do that for me?"
"Sure thing, m'kay?"
The ride was every bit as good as Suri had hoped. It packed motor launches, tight curves, sharp drops, and many other track pieces into the tight circuit. With Coco whooping alongside her, it helped to make for a great day. When they got off, Rumble, Scootaloo and Supernova were waiting for them.
"You rock!" Rumble said.
"We saw you give that queue jumper the what for!" Scootaloo added. "Way to go, miss...?"
"Suri Polomare," Suri replied. "And this is Coco Pommel."
"For now," Coco replied. "Assuming there's no legal dispute over my name."
"What?" Supernova asked, looking creepy.
"Oh, never mind," Suri smiled. "Who's up for some ice cream?"
Author's Note
The scene with the queue jumper is based on something that happened when I visited Disneyland in Anaheim, though I thankfully was not involved in the incident. Queue jumpers remain an eternal problem, however, as we shall see later.
Night 3: Well, Fiddlesticks to that!
It was the end of another long day at the Walt Disney World Resort, and the trio of friends that currently constituted Suri Polomare, Rumble, and Supernova Zap (or 'Creepy McCreepface', as some people had taken to calling her) settled down for dinner at the Backlot Cafe. Rumble ordered a burger, to nobodies surprise, though Suri went with fish, and Supernova went with a salad, which caught the others off guard somewhat, but nontheless they went to a table, grabbed some fountain drinks (Powerade for Rumble, Ice Tea for the other two), and set about eating their meals.
"Sho," Rumble started, his speech distorted by the fact his mouth was full of food, "apart from the obvioush, how was everybody's day?"
"Seriously, don't talk with your mouth full, OK?" Suri asked him, her eyes looking annoyed.
"It does make it hard to tell what you're saying," Supernova added, though she still had that grin plastered across her face, which was mildly disconcerting. "So do tell us what you went to say- once your mouth is empty!"
Rumble chewed a bit longer, and this was followed by a quick swallowing noise. "Sorry. Yeah, it does make you kinda hard to understand. Anyways, on to what I meant to say apart from the fact my mouth was full of food. Apart from the obvious that has been happening today, how was everybody's day?"
"I didn't get to see much of the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, I'll admit," Supernova answered, taking a short sip of her drink, which, per American cousin, was full to the gunwhales with ice. "I was an extra in the second stunt scene, where Indy and Marion are running from the German goons."
"Yeah, that scene's weird," Rumble admitted. "Especially at the end. The bit with the sword fighter dressed in black? That never ceases to make me crack up."
"What about you, Suri?" asked Supernova. "We saw you yelling at somebody."
Suri nodded, before looking around to ensure that the queue jumpers weren't around. "Yeah. We had a mom and her two kids jump ahead in the queue, on the grounds that they deserved to go on first as she had children and they were tired." She paused. "That, and they insulted somebody else in the queue and called them brain damaged. I came to her aid, and the mom was scared off, as all Karens usually are."
"Karen?" Rumble enquired. "I'm not familiar with the term."
"Slang term for an entitled mother," Supernova explained, shovelling another few leaves into her mouth whilst Rumble polished off his burger and commenced to eat the fries. "Imagine if her name actually was Karen, though!"
"I then offered to go on the ride with the girl they had spoken to so rudely, Coco Pommel," Suri continued. "It cheered her up, I think, as did that ice cream. How about you and Scootaloo, Rumble?"
"What about it?" Rumble replied, not sure where this was going.
"Seems like you're in love again, just it's the other way around this time," Suri teased.
"Shut up, OK?" Rumble replied. "I'm not in love with her. OK, I'm friends with her, but not in love. I've known her for less than 24 hours! Speaking of which, anybody seen Sky anywhere?"
"That raises another question of mine," Supernova admitted, finally getting close to finishing her salad, whilst glancing about her. "Apart from us, we've been seeing other characters turning up around the park. At first I wondered if one of our friends had stealth visited, but now I'm not so sure."
"It is odd," Suri answered, as she finished her plate and drink, before sitting back with a sigh. "Ya know, for mass catered food, they do it very well here."
"Yep!" smiled Rumble, his face rivalling Supernova in sheer creepiness. "Who's up for watching Star Wars: a Galactic Spectacular at 9:30?"
"Sounds good!" Supernova added. "It's one of those fireworks and projector shows, isn't it?"
"Yep!" Rumble replied. "All projected onto the front of the Chinese Theatre." He hopped out of his seat. "Let's go!"
Supernova sat there for a few more moments, until she saw Suri looking at her. "What?"
"Come on," Suri said impatiently. "The west wasn't won on salad."
The day after that began as the previous two had, with things back to normal. Unlike yesterday, the trio would not be in the same park again. Instead, two of them were headed for Animal Kingdom, namely Jimmy and Tom, and Katrina was off to Epcot, marking her first visit to that particular park.
Whilst she headed for the monorail station, Jimmy and Tom stood by the bus stop. "Enjoy MISSION: SPACE!" Tom called to Katrina as she walked away.
"Thank you!" she replied, as she vanished into the distance. Tom turned his attention back to Jimmy.
"You know," he said, "this is the reverse of the situation we had back on Monday!" It was Wednesday now.
"Oh?" Jimmy asked. "And what's that?"
"Katrina had to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom for her first ride, whilst we both took the monorail there," Tom explained. "But today we are going to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom for our rides, whilst she takes the monorail to Epcot!"
"I sometimes wonder if Twilight will be your next one!" Jimmy laughed. "Anyways, she's effectively doing your journey today, and you are doing hers!"
"Heh, funny that," Tom sighed. "Now where is that bus?"
The bus ride through the resort to Animal Kingdom was pretty dull, to be honest. It was roads, and roads, and roads, and the odd tree here and there, as well as a lake in which an alligator looked out at them.
"I hope he doesn't have a clock stuck in him!" the driver joked, trying to liven the mood inside the bus.
Tom continued to look at the floor. He was deep in thought. He had been in this sort of situation before, but now things seemed to be changing. If yesterday he had changed into a male character, did this mean the 'gift', 'curse', whatever you call it, was somehow evolving? It was magic, he was sure of it, but it made no sense at all! Maybe magic doesn't make sense, as it doesn't appear to conform to any law of physics or science. He enjoyed going places with Jimmy, and truth be told it had been too long since he and Katrina had done anything together, but was this always going to happen no matter where they went? And if that was indeed the case, why was Jimmy so blase about it?
He stopped himself. Those questions, and more, would have to wait.
Jimmy and Tom parted ways at the Tree of Life on Discovery Island. Tom headed off toward Asia, and Jimmy turned towards Pandora: the World of Avatar. His first Fastpass for the day was Na'vi River Voyage , and it was one he was quite looking forward to, if he was going to be honest (which he usually was).
Jimmy wandered toward the start of the Pandora section of the park, and suddenly became aware of the sun being less of a nuisance than it was previously, as it had been constantly shining in his eyes as he walked along. Reaching up, he suddenly felt a grey, old, tatty stetson hat up there.
"What?" he asked. "That wasn't there a moment ago!" That wasn't all though, as two red bands suddenly appeared around his upper left arm, followed by the sleeves of his shirt shrinking back until they were little more than straps over his shoulders. His shirt suddenly attached itself to his jeans, as if they had never been a separation between them, which looked like a very odd pair of dungarees. The legs of his jeans shrank back up his legs, stopping just below his knees. The legs merged into a single piece, creating a skirt, which suddenly flared outwards as if it was supported by a frame of some kind. It looked very 1950s, and the entire garment, which was now a dress, turned white, with the bottom being apple green with dots. Another of those red bands appeared around his waist, as his shoes transformed into a pair of high heeled cowboy boots with a treble cleff set into them on the front.
"Well," he said quietly, his face the colour of a beetroot, as people began to look on and take pictures. Then, the changes resumed, as his body began to shrink, shaving off at least a foot of height. His clothes shrank at the same pace, as suddenly two other garments appeared on his body; one around his chest, and the other 'down there'. Jimmy was too embarrased to comment on them. They were needed, though, as his chest suddenly expanded, gaining a pair of breasts that pushed out from under his 'dress'. Not long after that, he became a she, as certain organs vanished to a place where the sun doesn't shine. Following that, her skin turned yellow, her eyes a bright blue, and her hair a dark blue. The fringe grew forward, and then it grew down her back, stopping partway down it.
Fiddlesticks glanced around, figuring it was just best to try and continue as normal. She went onwards into the section of the park she was in, quite unaware of the media phenomenon she was about to become. She walked past the entrance board, and repeated back the words before her; "Ohe see ngenga", or "I see you."
The Na'vi River Voyage was a fun, if not particularly exhilerating, ride. The ambience was beautiful, and the Shaman was one of the most impressive animatronics that Fiddlesticks had ever seen. When she climbed off, she reached for her phone, only to realise an obvious problem. She had no pockets, meaning the transformation of her clothes into a dress had swallowed it up.
Suddenly, she saw a girl with green hair running toward her.
Author's Note
Night 3: Flaming at the Mouth
Katrina's journey, compared to her friends Tom and Jimmy's, had been quite pleasant in comparison. She had travelled to Epcot by monorail, having boarded at the Grand Floridian's station, and then travelled around the lake through the Contemporary Hotel, much like Tom had two days earlier, past the station for the Magic Kingdom, and into the Transportation and Ticketing Center (as Americans spell things funny). She had then got off the train, transferred to the Epcot shuttle, and waited in line for that to arrive.
A few minutes later, Katrina looked out of the window as Spaceship Earth loomed into view before her, glowing as a great, glorious symbol of human progress before her. And then, the monorail came to a stop, ready to offload before moving around the loop to pick up the passengers wanting to go back to the Transportation and Ticketing Center.
Once through security, Katrina headed for Mission Space. As she wasn't so keen on the more intense version of the ride (and movement through both X and Y axis made her feel sick) she had decided to go with Green Team. This only simulated a flight around the Earth, and was noticably less intense. As she joined the queue, however, Green Team not having Fastpasses due to the queues never being more than 10 minutes, she began to feel a little off.
"Hopefully I won't get motion sickness," she said, before stopping. "Wait, what?" Her voice was off, noticably raspier, and this concerned her a lot. Just then, the world around her began getting smaller, but only slightly, as she gained a few inches in height. "Well, this is a first."
Her skin turned yellow, before her hair shrank in length (another first) and repositioned itself to sit atop her head, in a fiery, flame like manner. It turned two different shades of orange, with her eyes going an even deeper shade of orange. She felt her muscles tense up a bit, then tightly corden themselves. It seemed this character had a lot of hidden body strength and musculature. Athlete or pilot, maybe?
Nothing else happened, but then her clothes joined in on the lark. Her shoes changed into a pair of formal parade shoes, done up with laces, and polished so finely she could see her reflection in them. Her jeans became a pair of formal parade pants, and her shirt gained buttons and a collar, before turning completely white. The top button sealed itself up, and her neck was suddenly adorned with a black tie, followed by a blue parade jacket appearing on top. This had the badge of the United States Air Force set above the left hand breast pocket, and two rank slides on her shoulders with a pair of metal bars linked by two horizontal thin bars. Finally, her glasses changed into a pair of Aviators.
Keen to find out which character she was, Katrina removed her glasses and looked in her shoes. A certain officer looked back. "Well, Spitfire, huh? Gotta say, this is the first one where I've aged a bit." She looked to be in her early 30s, which made sense for a commissioned officer, and certainly looked the part too.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" asked a person behind her. "Could you please move along? There's a bit of a build up to the queue behind you."
"Of course," Spitfire replied, and stepped forward. Mercifully, there were no British fighter aircraft in this one!
After ending the queue, Spitfire ended up in the briefing room for Green Team. The Green Team entrance was on the left, with the Orange Team (or More Intense Training) on the right. The doors closed behind them, and the screens flickered on, to reveal a woman in her 40s standing in front of a desk.
"Welcome," she said, "to the International Space Training Center. You’re here today to train for the the greatest adventure in the history of mankind: space travel. I know you’re probably feeling a little nervous right now, but don’t worry — every astronaut has felt that way at one time or another. Even the heroes who went to the moon. But there is one thing they had that you don’t have yet: training. You’re here today for flight training — the most thrilling experience that any astronaut candidate will ever have." She walked over to a digital display. "Before you decide if it’s right for you, let me introduce you to your spacecraft: the X-2 Space Shuttle. It’s powered by solid hydrogen and can accelerate from zero to 6,000 in 60 seconds. So when you hear the words, “Go for launch,” you’ll definitely want to hang on." There was another pause, and some lights came up to indicate crew positions. "Now, you’ve already been organized into teams, and soon each of you will be assigned a position — Navigator, Pilot, Commander, or Engineer. The success of your mission will depend on all of you working together as a team. I’ll be your Capcom, and in a few minutes, I’ll give you your specific assignments. But first, our flight director has some safety instructions for you. Lieutenant?"
A young man glanced up at them. "Remember the team number you’re standing on. When the doors in front of you open, you will be directed to a flight station with that number on it. When you get there, please stand on the circles. During your Green Team – Less Intense Training mission, you will be enclosed inside X-2 flight simulators that produce sensations of acceleration. Those who are made uncomfortable by enclosed dark spaces or simulators should bypass this experience." Text on screen reinforced this information, before the camera cut back to the woman, or CAPCOM.
"As you can see, astronaut fight training isn’t like anything you’ve ever experienced before. If you would like to opt out, just ask any member of the ISTC crew for directions. As for the rest of you, report for your pre-flight briefing. It’s go time."
The doors rolled open, and the Cast Members began directing people through the doors. "Come on people, let's move it!" they called.
"Get moving, newbies!" Spitfire added, from the back. They walked along, and stood on a marked number, in the case of Spitfire's team, 3.
Another video appeared on screen. "Attention, astronaut candidates," said the Flight Director. "You have selected Green Team – Less Intense Training. However, if you are made uncomfortable by enclosed dark spaces or simulators, you may exit the flight training area now. Ask a uniformed crew member for directions."
Nobody did. CAPCOM spoke again. "Congratulations, team! You have been selected to train for a spectacular mission around the Earth. Your flight path will take you west across North America, Asia, Europe, and back home to Florida. You’re gonna love it!"
"T- minus three minutes and counting." The countdown clock suddenly swung into action.
More visuals appeared on the screen, with the words NAVIGATOR, COMMANDER, PILOT, AND ENGINEER. The floor numbers lit up in sequence with the positions being read out. "Okay, listen up, here are your assignments. Navigator, you’ll be adjusting the pitch of the X-2 if necessary and firing thrusters for your decent. Pilot, on my signal, I’ll need you to trigger first stage separation. You’ll also be triggering the landing sequence." The lights then came up on Spitfire's floor position. "Commander, you will be responsible for activating the flight sequence and for activating manual control if needed. Engineer, you will activate the flight cameras when we reach altitude. You will also extend the wings for landing. Don’t worry, when it’s time to push the buttons, they will light up — then I’ll give you the go. One last thing. In the event of an emergency landing, there are control sticks at every crew position. Okay, Lieutenant, any final instructions for our new kids?"
"When the flight bay doors open, follow the markings on the floor to your capsule. Then move all the way across, taking your crew position in the cockpit, and stow all personal items in the compartment in front of you. Young cadets wearing a lanyard will need a special X-2 Booster to train for this mission. When you enter the capsule, insert the Booster as shown. Once you have secured all cargo, help your young cadets lower their restraints. Then take your seat, reach up, and pull down your restraint. After you have completed your mission, remove your X-2 Booster and place it in the recovery bin on your way out. They’re all yours, Capcom."
"Well, I guess that’s everything. Good luck, Earth team. You are on the clock." The display turned off.
A woman standing next to Spitfire turned to her. "Do you have experience in this sort of stuff?"
"Yeah," Spitfire replied. "The ones the Air Force uses are way more intense though. This is a walk in the park!"
"Follow the markings on the floor to your X-2 Trainer and begin boarding now." The doors opened, and the four of them followed the floor markings to the training module that was marked for them. They took their seats in their correct positions; Spitfire, as the Commander of the mission, was second from the left.
"Store personal items in the compartment in front of you. Then reach up and pull down on the restraints." The four of them reached upwards, and pulled the restraints downwards to keep them in place. Spitfire checked it was locked, and smiled.
"Busman's holiday," she grinned.
"Warning," said the computer. "Instrument panel closing. If needed, space sickness bags are located on the instrument panel."
"Capcom to X-2: Welcome aboard, team. After you get settled, check out your buttons. Navigator, welcome aboard. During the mission, you will be adjusting the pitch of the X-2 if necessary, and firing thrusters for your descent. Pilot, the X-2 is an excellent ship. Your job will be to trigger first stage separation and trigger the landing sequence. Surgeon, how we doing?"
"All good for launch!" said another voice. Other chatter was echoing about the capsule.
"Commander, your assignments are to activate flight sequence, and for landing, activate manual control."
"Loading flight plan," the Flight Director interrupted.
"Engineer, just a reminder: You will activate the flight cameras when we reach altitude. You will also extend the wings for landing." More radio chatter echoed about the room as the last checks for takeoff were made. "Good luck, team. All of us here at Mission Control wish you a safe journey around the planet!"
"It should be easy, right?" asked one of the others, a young man who looked nervous.
"We have a real pilot on board!" said the first woman. "It'll be fine."
"As long as we all do our jobs, that is," Spitfire added.
As the screens switched on, the shuttle suddenly began to lurch into the upright position, leaving the crew flat on their backs.
"Mission Control, this is the firing room. Give us the “go, go, go” for launch!"
"Network, you are go for launch."
"We have main engines start. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Liftoff!" The thrusters began to roar, and the X2 began to lift off into the sky, the cockpit shaking and Spitfire and her fellow flyers pushed backward into their seats. "Mission Control, the tower is clear! They’re all yours."
"Mission Control to X-2: You are go and throttle up. Pilot, initiate first stage separation, now!"
The pilot hesitated. "Which one's the first stage separation button?"
"The one that's glowing!" Spitfire exclaimed.
"Oh!" the pilot hit the button.
"Initiated."
By this point, the shuttle had entered low Earth orbit. The sight before them was incredible, unlike anything Spitfire had ever seen before. She'd flown pretty high in the atmosphere before, but never into space.
"Commander, initiate flight sequence, now!"
"Aye ma'am!" Spitfire replied, and punched the flight sequence button. With a roar, the shuttle began to fly in orbit at speed.
Initiated.
"Navigator, initiate thrusters to adjust pitch, now!"
"OK!" called the navigator, punching the button. This pitched the nose of the craft forward.
"Initiated."
"Engineer, activate flight cameras, now!"
"Yes ma'am, activating flight cameras!" called the engineer, everybody inspired by Spitfire and getting into character.
"Initiated."
As the Earth started to fly by them, CAPCOM narrated what was going on.
"Your flight path today is taking you across the United States, past the Grand Canyon and leaving the continent at San Francisco." As the X2 cleared the continental United States, the Space Station flew by them. "The Space Station should be coming into view. And down on Earth, the Hawaiian Islands."
Up ahead, a rocket could be seen lifting off.
"They'll be off on the Mars Mission," Spitfire commented.
"In a moment, you’ll be crossing paths with another X-2, just launched from the Pacific." The rocket flew straight over Asia. "Up ahead, you should see Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun. As you cross into China, you’ll pass Beijing, the Great Wall, and we’ve got reports of a storm brewing over the Gobi Desert. Passing over the Himalayas, you should have a gorgeous night view of India." Then, they flew over the Middle East. "By now, you’re over the Middle East, and to the left is the Nile River — snaking its way towards Cairo, and the Mediterranean. You should be seeing Greece and Italy. And up ahead: Paris, the City of Lights." In the skies above them, a spectacular display of lights could be seen. "Tonight, there’s a spectacular Northern Lights show on your horizon."
Suddenly, Mission Control contacted the crew. "We’re getting reports of a strong storm cell directly in the landing path."
"Okay, listen up, team: Change of plans. It’s going to be a challenging approach and we’re going to need all of you working together. Pilot: Initiate landing sequence, now!"
"The glowing button, right?" the pilot asked.
"No, the one that says Mickey Mouse. WHAT DO YOU THINK!?" the engineer asked, sarcastically.
"Computer override: initiated."
"Navigator, initiate descent, now!"
"Understood!" the Navigator called, punching the switch. There was a push as the rocket began to slow down for landing.
"Rockets fired."
"Engineer, extend wings for gliding, now!"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Computer override: wings extended."
Suddenly, the craft was hit by lightning, and a loud beeping echoed through the cockpit.
"We’ve lost auto pilot!" called Mission Control.
"Commander, activate manual control, now!"
"On it, ma'am!" Spitfire replied, punching the button as hard as she could without breaking it.
"Activated."
"All hands on the control sticks," CAPCOM ordered. "Pull right!" The craft lurched to the right. "Now left!" The X2 moved to the left. "Right. Left. Back to center. Hold it steady…"
"They’re coming in too hot!"
"Brace, brace, brace!" Spitfire called.
"Pull back!" The crew pulled back on their sticks, and the rocket slid along the landing strip before colliding with the wire net at the other end.
"Down and clear!" As applause echoed around the control room, CAPCOM addressed the crew directly. "Mission accomplished. Good work, team, and welcome back to Earth, and welcome to the Astronaut Corps!"
The Flight Director spoke one last time. "Okay, heads back, and release the restraints. Now, push the restraints up. Before you exit your capsule, please remember to gather your personal items and remove any X-2 Boosters. Thanks, and see you next mission."
Spitfire sat outside at Mission: SPACE's exit. Whilst she was used to far rougher rides, that was no spring chicken. In fact, she needed a few moments to get her breath back. Whilst sitting there and thinking, she idly took out her phone to check for texts. Nothing. She imagined that Tom and Jimmy (or whoever they would be by now) were fine. She hopped out of her seat, and headed for the Electric Umbrella for lunch.
Author's Note
A lot of people don't realise that Spitfire has actually appeared in EqG- in one of the comics.
Well, that was a massive chapter. But Mission: SPACE is one of the park's best rides, and I had to do it justice.
Night 3: The Perks of being a Wallflower
Tom and Jimmy stood in the centre of Discovery Island and glanced at a map. "Right," Jimmy started, "remember what the agreed plan was?"
"Yes, as we've been over it enough times," Tom sighed in annoyance. "I head to Asia to do the Gorilla Falls Nature Trail, whilst you are in Pandora. Once I am done in Asia, I come over to Pandora and we meet up. From there, we head into Africa for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Festival of the Lion King. That sound good to you?"
Jimmy seemed to be elsewhere. Tom cleared his throat. "Erm Jimmy, does that sound OK to you?" Still no response from Jimmy. Tom cleared his throat. "JAMES THOMAS HOOK, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?"
Jimmy jumped and turned to Tom. "Wow," he said. "Sorry, but there's no need to be loud here."
"Well, you weren't paying attention," Tom grumbled. "Honestly, you were like this back at Brentwood, from what I remember. Anyways, this is the plan. I head to Asia to do the Gorilla Falls Nature Trail, whilst you are in Pandora. Once I am done in Asia, I come over to Pandora and we meet up. From there, we head into Africa for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Festival of the Lion King. That sound good to you?"
Jimmy nodded. "Sure thing, Tom." He stopped. "Well, Pandora is to the left, and Asia is to the right. Which means that we split up here. Well, cheerio my UK friend."
"Bye," Tom replied and set off into the crowd of people headed for the Asia section of the park. By this point, the place was pretty busy, and the streets were thronged with people heading to different areas of the park. Tom walked over the bridge and crossed into Asia, the sun beating down upon the park. Kids were either in strollers (or push chairs, as they were called in the UK) or being pulled along by parents who seemed hot and bothered. Tom did appreciate the costs of a Walt Disney World visit, but what he didn't understand was parents planning family holidays of this sort like military operations. Young kids don't work like that, and the sheer number of times he had seen parents flipping out here was well in excess of one hundred. Most of the time, the only crime the kids had committed was being tired, and yet the parents over-reacted. Oh well, c'est la vie.
Tom walked further into Asia, and turned into the Gorilla Falls Nature Trail, next to the Anandapur Theatre, the fictional Asian kingdom that was the setting of most of the Asia portion of Animal Kingdom. Which didn't really explain the fact that Finding Nemo: the Musical was shoved into the land as that was really Australasia, but such exactness was not the case here when there was a property to tie it to. Maybe he was getting more cynical as he aged. Tom didn't really know, as he sighed and looked about. The trail was very quiet at this point, which was good for him as it meant that the animals wouldn't be being frightened off by little demons who were clearly too young for the trail.
After a short walk past some lemurs, more people began to crowd into the trail behind him. And yes, it was at this point Tom felt something was off. His trainers were no longer bouncing forward in the way they had done a moment earlier. He glanced down, and saw to his horror they had come loose. Not only that, the top part with the laces and cover plate had vanished, only to be replaced with one that held it on through friction alone. That's right, Tom now had slip on shoes for some inexplicable reason, but at least his socks were still there.
"Wait, what?" he asked, and only then remembered who he was on holiday with. "Oh, why did I agree to go on holiday with Jimmy?"
His slacks turned a greyish blue and the zip and button vanished, but apart from that nothing happened to them. His shirt turned white, presumably to counteract the heat, but then a sweater appeared on top, coloured in two separate shades of brown. One was considerably lighter than the other, and they alternated on the jumper. The cuffs around the wrists had also gained a texture that reminded Tom of the ones he had worn whilst an RAF air cadet, which was not a fun memory as those jumpers were incredibly itchy.
Tom glanced about to see what was happening around him, only for everybody to be walking straight past him and paying absolutely no attention to what was going on. "That's weird," he said. "Surely somebody's clothes changing would..." he paused, as his voice was starting to rise in pitch, as well a having shifted to an American accent. "Well, there goes my voice for the day. Oh well, better get used to it."
Suddenly, his height began to melt away. Tom dropped from his usual 5 foot 8 inches to little more than 5 feet, and his feet and hands shrank in size. His skin suddenly turned a light green, and freckles appeared under his cheeks. A waterfall of green hair flowed down his back and over his shoulders, and his shoulders themselves began to slide inwards, causing Tom to bite his lip in pain as the bones slid against one another. His eyes darkened slightly, but only slightly, as their usual brown still continued to glow from them.
Then his chest began to tingle, a sensation that Tom struggled to describe despite having experienced it so many times. A few seconds later, his chest grew into a pair of breasts, and his hips suddenly pushed outward. Tom let out a girlish squeal at the suddenness of what was going on, soon to be followed by a rather odd sensation between his legs that confirmed that, for the seventh time running, he had entered womanhood. Finally, she felt something moving about inside her body, and jumped slightly when her butt swelled up slightly, soon joined by her legs.
And then, mercifully, it stopped. Tom glanced about, and went over to the glass to catch her reflection. A girl with light green skin and dark green hair looked back.
"I'm... Wallflower?" she asked, confused. "Well, that means..." she looked behind her, and saw absolutely nobody was paying attention to her. A man suddenly walked into her.
"Oh, sorry, ma'am!" he said. "I didn't see you there!" And he went on his way.
"I've been standing here for at least 10 minutes," Wallflower said sadly. As she glanced about her, she suddenly heard music start up from nowhere, as well as an uncontrollable urge to sing. She sat down by the glass, and sighed as she looked at the nearby plant.
"You don't see me fitting in,
"If I could share my wildest dreams
She got to her feet, and dramatically pushed her way through the doors to the indoor area. Still nobody took any notice of her.
"I'm invisible, invisible!
She paused, and looked into a tank as a lizard took interest in her briefly, whilst everybody else was staring at the Komodo Dragon.
"Right beneath my picture
"A yearbook with blank pages
She moved onwards, exiting the building, and walked into the aviary, walking through chains that separated the aviary from the rest of the treck, to prevent birds from just flying off and causing a nuisance over Orlando.
"I'm invisible, invisible!
"I'm invisible, invisible!
And with that, the music just died away, and Wallflower stood on a suspension bridge, overlooking the tiger enclosure. Hopefully there were no lions and bears (a free cookie if you get that joke!).
"Hey, are you Wallflower?" asked a man on the bridge. He had a kind face, and stepped over to her. "The amateur botanist with a skill for finding odd stones?"
"Erm, yes?" Wallflower replied. She didn't know whether to be more astonished at the fact he knew her name, or that he had even noticed her.
"You wouldn't mind helping to identify some plants?" the man asked, pointing to one just under the bridge.
The pair had a fun time identifying plants for a bit, when suddenly who should come barging up the path but-
"Out of the way! I have children!"
"Oh no," the man sighed. "Wild Karen spotted."
A woman approached with a child (yes, child singular) and stood in front of them. "Can you get out of the way?" she demanded. "My child is very tired and deserves priority access."
"There's plenty of space for you to walk around us," Wallflower pointed out. "The suspension bridge is quite wide."
"How old are you?" the woman asked, out of nowhere.
Wallflower was taken aback. "I fail to see how-"
"So you're a millenial, then!" the woman snapped. "You waste space and take up tickets and queues that should be reserved for parents with children! In fact, only yesterday, somebody in my hotel was screamed at by a teenager because her children were tired. People without children should be banned and people with children should be allowed to skip all the lines at the park!"
There was a moment of shocked silence as the two of them processed what had just been said. Then Wallflower spoke up. "First, I witnessed that incident you refer to yesterday, and that woman and her kids were queue jumping. Second, your logic doesn't make sense."
"Of course it makes sense!" the woman proudly exclaimed. "If there were no childless people in the park, families could enjoy themselves. People have to have children, it's the law!"
"What if they can't, or don't want, to have children?" the man asked her. "That would violate the principle of personal freedom!"
"Also, you were a childless person once," Wallflower pointed out. "And your logic about skipping lines makes no sense as it would result in new lines- of people who had skipped the lines!"
The woman huffed. "Fine," she said. "But remember that you ruined my precious baby's birthday!" And she stormed off.
The child looked at her. "Sorry," he said, looking very embarrassed. "Mom says weird stuff when she's stressed."
"It's not your fault," Wallflower smiled. "Happy birthday nontheless."
The child laughed. "My birthday was a month ago," he replied, and walked on.
Wallflower, having done what she wanted to do, headed back to Pandora, still aware nobody seemed to have noticed she was there. She suddenly saw a girl with blue hair in a white summer dress standing by the exit of Na'vi River Voyage , and went over to her. "So," she said, presuming this woman had once been Jimmy, "how was the boat trip?"
"Oh, it was incredible!" Fiddlesticks replied. "There were glowin' plants, animals, an' music with a shaman of all thin's. And fer you?"
"Animals, trees, some nice folks, and a wild Karen," Wallflower replied. "Err, Fiddle, what do you think is causing us to perpetually change?"
"Ah have no idea," Fiddlesticks replied, moving aside to prevent her dress getting splattered by a nearby waterfall. "Ah just hope Kat's OK. Ah ain't heard nothin' from her."
Author's Note
In case you're wondering, I have been yelled at by parents at Disney for being a) single and b) not having any kids. What nasty people.
Night 4: Fluttering in the Wind
Fluttershy stood outside the exit of Expedition Everest, glancing around at the scenery of Serka Zong (for those who need to brush up on their Nepalese a little bit, that translates as 'Fortress of the Chasm', which was entirely apt as there was a) a fortress and b) a chasm. Exotic music and delightful smells surrounded her, whilst cheerful chatter and screams from riders and kids echoed through the land of Asia. It was every bit as nice as Wallflower had said it was a few hours ago, though apparently she had a very different focus on what sort of rides she liked.
As she sat down, pondering whether to eat or to go to Africa, Fluttershy quickly thought back to earlier that day, when talking with her friends...
"Expedition Everest is not scary, OK?" Tom informed Jimmy yet again, as they had their lively morning discussion. Having briefly had the chance to chat to one another whilst fictional characters, they had gone to bed, feeling pretty exhausted after their long days (and in Wallflower's case, dealing with silly, illogical parents who seemed to have a screw or two loose). Now, here they were, chatting over breakfast as to what they were up to next.
"I've heard it's the fastest roller coaster in the park!" Jimmy exclaimed, as he looked down into his bowl of cereals, consisting of utterly tasteless circular things officially called 'cheerios'. Tom didn't understand how Americans were so good at getting meat tasting good, and yet they could make cereals so bland and lifeless. It beggared belief, in his opinion.
"It does a maximum of 55 miles an hour, for about 5 seconds," Tom retorted. "And the yeti's nothing to be scared of! It's a figure that stands there and appears to move at you whilst lights flash at you, hence 'disco yeti'."
"Did you say, Disco Yeti?" Katrina asked, a mischevious smirk on her face as she hit the play button on her phone.
"Oh dear," Tom sighed, as they were assailed by disco hits.
"A little bit of timber and a saw! A little bit of fixing thats for sure! A little bit of digging up the roads! A little bit of moving heavy loads! A little bit of tiling on the roof! A little bit of making waterproof! A little bit of concrete mixed with sand! A little bit of Bob the builder man!"
"Thank heavens you chose to play the Bob the Builder version," Jimmy noted, his eyes glancing about and his face like a cherry, such was his embarrassment. "The original probably wasn't the best choice to play in a hotel in a family theme park."
"Erm, agreed," Katrina sighed. "So, where are you guys going today? I wanted to ask about Expedition Everest because that's where I'm going today and, well, I wanted to know what I was in for."
"Well," Tom replied authoritatively, "if you could handle Mission: SPACE Green Team with no difficulties at all, I imagine you will have absolutely no problem with Expedition Everest. True, it is a little wilder than most of the roller coasters in the resort, but then again this is Disney. The roller coasters, as a rule, are much tamer than in places such as Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags."
"Knott's Berry Farm is good," Jimmy added helpfully. "I liked it there when I went. They've got some of the original Rio Grande Southern Consolidations there in working order."
Katrina looked at him blankly. "Can somebody please translate?" she asked. "Because I don't speak rail buff."
"Gladly," Tom replied. "The Rio Grande Southern was a railroad in Colorado that ran from Durango to Ridgeway. A Consolidation is a steam locomotive that has two leading wheels, eight driving wheels, and no trailing wheels under the cab." Tom showed a picture to demonstrate his point. "That's a British loco of that wheel arrangement, called an 8F."
Jimmy suddenly interrupted. "I'll be in Animal Kingdom too," he said, with a smile. "I'll be back in Pandora, this time to ride Avatar: Rite of Passage!"
"Enjoy queueing, mate," Tom said to his friend. "Queues are typically two hours in length at their shortest."
"What about you, Tom?" Katrina asked. "Where are you going today?"
"It's funny you should ask, really," Tom smiled. "This day is similar to yesterday, just backwards! You two are in Animal Kingdom, and I'm in Epcot. We're even in the same relative areas of the park at first. Katrina, you're in Asia, Jimmy, you're in Pandora, and I'm in Futureworld on Mission: SPACE (Orange Team)."
Katrina glanced at her watch, and cleared her plate. "Oh well," she said. "I suppose I'd best be on my way. See you guys later!"
Tom waved, and glanced over to Jimmy. "Assuming we're still recognisable!" he laughed.
"Well, look for the people with the oddly coloured skin, and you're sorted!" Jimmy replied.
"That didn't help for Coco, Scootaloo, or Sky though," Tom said. "I honestly wonder what that was all about. Is the curse spreading worse than we thought?"
"Err, maybe?" Jimmy sighed. "Anyways, let's finish up. I'd rather not be late for my ride."
Katrina could certainly understand now why people preferred the monorail, as well as the many petitions to extend the monorail line to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. It was a lot smoother and gentler, not to mention cooler than the bus! It was absolutely boiling on the complementary bus as the air conditioning had failed and they didn't have enough time to put a replacement into service. So, off they went down the road, and at long last arrived at Animal Kingdom. The journey was similar to the one she had taken the first night (though a lot hotter) and, understandably, Katrina was a bit cranky when she got to the park. After clearing bag check and scanning her Magic Band on the entrance terminal (then needing to give her fingerprint (a first)), Katrina made her way up the path she had trodden a few times before, and headed round to the right of the Tree of Life, and across the chasm that had once contained the course of the Discovery River Boats, closed due to a lack of interest, although if you looked carefully you could still see the skewered knight and smoke effects that were projected from the dragon's den (meant to promote the Beastly Kingdom expansion that never happened). As Katrina came to a stop in the first section of Asia, an odd gust of wind blew her way, giving her an electric shock.
"Ouch!" she cried. "What sort of wind does that?" It should have been obvious by now what this was leading into, as she glanced down at her footwear to see her laces vanish and cover over into a boot. She simply walked behind a tree, where nobody else could see her, to let this process complete itself. It seemed that this would keep happening as long as she was still here, so she just needed to grit it and bear it.
Her now covered toecaps formed a boot of some sort, which then started growing up her leg to just below her knees. Her socks also grew up her legs, turning pink with white dots scattered over it. Her jeans turned green, and then shrank up her legs until the sat about halfway up her thighs. It then gained a bit more length, as a pink underskirt grew out of the bottom, and then suddenly the entire skirt poofed outwards. Her shirt morphed into a white tank top, and a green bodied butterfly hairclip with white wings appeared in her hair. Speaking of which, her skin suddenly turned yellow, followed by her eyes turning a light blue. Not long after that, pink eyeliner appeared on her eyes, and she lost a small amount of height, though not too much as to impair her movement. Finally, her hair turned pink, and grew most of the way down her back, followed by her glasses vanishing.
"H- hello?" Fluttershy quickly tried her new voice. It sounded incredibly quiet, which made sense somewhat. "I do suppose I'm getting kinda use to this." She stepped out into the crowd, desperately doing her best to stay hidden. But when she saw Expedition Everest, she began to quiver. It looked so big, and scary, and intimidating.
She quickly joined the queue, and shook the entire time, worried about what the ride might entail. "Those kids up ahead are so brave!" she said to nobody in particular.
"I know, right?" said a woman to her. "I can barely cope with the big one at LEGOland Florida! You know, LEGO Technic Test Track? It used to be at LEGOland Windsor as the Jungle Coaster, but they removed it due to noise complaints."
Fluttershy simply gulped. She wasn't looking forward to this at all, but it was that or waste a Fastpass, and Rainbow Dash would call her chicken if she didn't go through with this.
Fluttershy took her seat when the train stopped. The hiss of steam and the groan of brakes did little to ease her nerves, and the train rolled off into a series of short hills and bumps. It was quite the intense ride, but to her surprise, Fluttershy found herself enjoying it. The train climbed through the fortress, past a mural of the Yeti, and round a series of tight curves. The train dived into a tunnel, and rolled up a slope. Fluttershy gasped. Up ahead was torn track! Thankfully, the driver saw it and stopped in time.
Then, as suddenly as they had stopped, the air brakes hissed, and they began rolling backwards into the tunnel, round a curve and in pitch black! The train stopped in a cavern, to see a shadowy figure tearing up track, before suddenly noticing them and roaring. The train shot forward, straight down a steep slope, and round a series of bends. Up and down, round and round, in and out, the train and the riders flew toward the Yeti, who roared at them. Lights blinked and flashed, and the train cleared the Yeti, before coming to a stop in the station.
Fluttrshy grinned, before climbing out. "Nothing to it, really," she said.
Fluttershy settled on getting a meal nearby (authentic Nepalese, of course) when her phone buzzed. She answered it. "Hello?" she asked.
"Hey there!" said a male American voice at the other end.
Author's Note
Whoever would have known that finding reference art for Fluttershy would have been so difficult?
Night 4: Soarin' through the Heavens
Tom was in Epcot. This much was clear. But he was oh so close to where he wanted to be, and alas, it was not quite close enough. The reason why it was not quite close enough was because the monorail had come to an abrupt halt on the track, just outside the station. Because somebody had dropped an object of some description onto the track, and people were taking bets on what it would be.
"I think it'll be a pair of mouse ears," said one, glancing over at the time display.
"It wouldn't be up here, right?" said another passenger, who looked equally bored. "My bet is on the object being a pair of glasses."
"Hopefully not Katrina's," Tom sighed. "Well, they can't be as she was wearing them this morning. I would imagine it could be a tool of some sort. Maybe they were doing maintenance on the track and somebody misplaced a screwdriver or something like that?"
"If they did, it would be a real 'spanner in the works!', said the first, laughing at how very funny he was. It was just such a shame that nobody else in the compartment was sharing that opinion, and either groaned or just shook their heads, looking at the floor for entertainment.
"What if somebody's protesting on the track?" asked yet another person, keen to throw their hat into the ring. "I heard of a protest at Disneyland where somebody threw a orange bag designed to look like a Guantanamo Bay jump suit onto Big Thunder Mountain Railroad."
"Hopefully not," Tom replied. "If so, maybe they should look to their cars before attacking people who go to theme parks."
Just then, the train jolted forward, and the pilot spoke to the passengers. "Ladies and gentlemen, we do apologise for the delay. The hold up was caused by an object left on the track by a member of the engineering team that has now been retrieved. We shall be unboarding at Epcot station very shortly. Thank you for travelling on the Walt Disney World Resort monorail, and have a Magical day at the Walt Disney World Resort." The intercom cut out, and the train came to a stop in the platform. The doors slid open, and Tom hopped out and walked into the park.
"Good prediction," said the passenger who had laughed. "Do you have an eye for this sort of thing?"
"Let's just say that weird stuff tends to happen when I'm on holiday," Tom said. "Such as dodging a runaway tire that had come off a flatbed somewhere in Colorado. That was quite the adventure."
Tom walked into Mission: SPACE's queue line, and scanned his magic band against the reading unit. There was a momentary buzz, and then the reader turned green, followed by playing a short extract of 'When you Wish Upon a Star'. Tom proceeded onwards into the queue, and stopped at the end of the Fastpass line, where it merged into the main queue for Orange Team.
"Katrina said she didn't think it was too bad, but then again she was running the Green Team mission which is much less intense," Tom admitted. "Though, I did go on a shuttle simulator at Kennedy Space Center a few years back, so that ought to have been good preparation."
Tom was processed into the Orange Team holding bay. The briefing video then started up, showing the same people Katrina had seen the previous day.
"Welcome," she said, "to the International Space Training Center. You’re here today to train for the the greatest adventure in the history of mankind: space travel. I know you’re probably feeling a little nervous right now, but don’t worry — every astronaut has felt that way at one time or another. Even the heroes who went to the moon. But there is one thing they had that you don’t have yet: training. You’re here today for flight training — the most thrilling experience that any astronaut candidate will ever have." She walked over to a digital display. "Before you decide if it’s right for you, let me introduce you to your spacecraft: the X-2 Space Shuttle. It’s powered by solid hydrogen and can accelerate from zero to 6,000 in 60 seconds. So when you hear the words, “Go for launch,” you’ll definitely want to hang on." There was another pause, and some lights came up to indicate crew positions. "Now, you’ve already been organized into teams, and soon each of you will be assigned a position — Navigator, Pilot, Commander, or Engineer. The success of your mission will depend on all of you working together as a team. I’ll be your Capcom, and in a few minutes, I’ll give you your specific assignments. But first, our flight director has some safety instructions for you. Lieutenant?"
A young man glanced up at them. "Remember the team number you’re standing on. When the doors in front of you open, you will be directed to a flight station with that number on it. When you get there, please stand on the circles. During your Orange Team – More Intense Training mission, you will be enclosed inside X-2 flight simulators that produce deep-space flying conditions, such as turbulence and g-forces. Those who are prone to motion sickness or made uncomfortable by enclosed dark spaces, simulators, or spinning should bypass this experience."
CAPCOM smiled back at them. "As you can see, astronaut fight training isn’t like anything you’ve ever experienced before. It is intense, and if you would like to opt out, just ask any member of the ISTC crew for directions. As for the rest of you — report for your pre-flight briefing. It’s go time."
The doors swung open, and more Cast Members came forward. "Come people, let's move it!" called on, perfectly in character. "Remember the numbers you are on. Please stand on the same number when you reach the end of the corridor."
"Move it, move it, go, go, go!" called his compatriot. "To the boarding ramps."
Tom was standing on a 6, so went and stood on the corresponding number.
A video suddenly flickered up on screen. "Attention, astronaut candidates. You have selected Orange Team – More Intense Training. If you are prone to motion sickness or made uncomfortable by enclosed dark spaces, simulators, or spinning, you may exit the flight training area now. Ask a uniformed crew member for directions to the Green Team – Less Intense Training area."
"No way," Tom muttered, smiling. "I want the full experience."
"Congratulations, team!" CAPCOM cheerily greeted. "You have been selected to train for a mission to Mars. Teams are awaiting your arrival at the landing site here, at Valles Marineris. Your mission is to get to that landing site. Your flight path to Mars will take you around the Moon for a lunar gravity assist. But even with that “slingshot,” your trip will take three months, so we’ll have to put you into Hypersleep."
"Hypersleep activated."
"Don’t worry, it’ll only seem like a second or two to you. I’ll give you a wake-up call when you get to Mars."
"T-minus three minutes and counting," said another voice over the radio.
"Okay, now listen up — here are your assignments." Lights flickered on and off for each position in the crew. "Navigator, you’ll fire the thrusters for lunar orbit insertion and for decent to the surface of Mars." The lights suddenly lit up on Tom's position. "Pilot, on my signal, I’ll need you to trigger the second stage rocket. You’ll also deploy the shields. Commander, you will be responsible for first stage separation and activating manual control for landing. Engineer, when it’s bedtime, you will activate Hypersleep. You will also extend the wings for landing. Don’t worry, when it’s time to push the buttons, they will light up, then I’ll give you the go. One last thing. In the event of an emergency landing, there are control sticks at every crew position. Okay, Lieutenant, any final instructions for our new kids?"
"When the flight bay doors open, follow the markings on the floor to your capsule. Then move all the way across, taking your crew position in the cockpit, and stow all personal items in the compartment in front of you. Then reach up, and pull down your restraint. Now listen carefully. Leaning forward, closing your eyes, or looking left or right during your flight could disorient you, so keep your head back against the headrest, keep your eyes open at all times, and focus straight ahead even if you start to feel disoriented. They’re all yours, Capcom."
"Well, I guess that’s everything. Good luck, Mars team. You are on the clock." The display turned off.
"Attention, trainees: Follow the markings on the floor to your X-2 Trainer, and begin boarding now."
Tom shrugged. "What could possibly go wrong?"
"That's the wrong ride, mate," said a fellow British rider. "And besides, the quote is 'what can go wrong'?"
They stepped through the doors to get onboard the training capsules. The screens in front of them switched on.
"Store personal items in the compartment in front of you. Then reach up and pull down on the restraints."
Warning: Instrument panel closing. If needed, space sickness bags are located on the instrument panel.
CAPCOM's face then appeared on the screen. "Capcom to Mars X-2. Welcome aboard, team. After you get settled, check out your buttons. Navigator, welcome aboard. Now remember, during the mission you will be initiating lunar orbit and decent. Pilot, the X-2 is an excellent ship. All you have to do is fire the second stage and deploy the shields. Surgeon, how we doing?"
"All good for launch!" called another voice.
"Commander, just remember your assignments: First stage separation and manual control."
"Loading flight plan."
"Engineer, just a reminder: You will activate Hypersleep and extend the wings. Good luck, team. All of us here at Mission Control are proud to be a part of this historic liftoff."
Tom leaned back in his seat as the launch capsule began to move upright. "Walk in the park," he said confidently. Above them, beckoned outer space.
"Mission Control, this is the firing room. Give us the “go, go, go” for launch!"
"Network, you are go for launch."
Tom sighed. "Look straight ahead, hold onto the restraints, and carry out the instructions as needed. We should be fine if we work together."
"You take this really seriously, don't you?" asked another rider.
"He's just getting into character!"
"We have main engines start. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Liftoff!" The engines beneath them began to roar, and the rocket flew upwards into the sky at truly incredible speed. Tom could feel his cheeks being pulled back by the G force. "Mission Control, the tower is clear! They’re all yours."
"Mission Control to Mars X-2: You are go and throttle up. Commander, initiate first stage separation, now!"
"Yes ma'am, initiating first stage separation now!" the Commander exclaimed, punching the button in front of her. The first stage detached and the X2 continued to climb ever higher into the heavens.
"Computer override: initiated. Zero G confirmed."
Little did Tom realise, but the G Force did more than put strain on his body. He hadn't noticed, but his shirt and pants had merged into a single garment, which turned a light blue with a yellow lightning bolt pattern on it. The pressure pipes suddenly filled, stabilising the effects of the G Force on his body. His shoes changed into a pair of flight boots, and his flight suit became criss crossed with pockets and other additions.
Tom looked down in surprise. "What?" he asked, as a grey piloting glove formed on his left hand. This was soon followed by his right.
Not long after, his skin turned an icy blue, and then his hair went dark blue. His eyes went a very light green, and his body shifted to the rough size and shape of a man in his mid 20s.
"Who is this?" he asked. Suddenly, the voice of CAPCOM caught his attention, and he glanced back to the instrument panel.
"You’re looking good, team. Pilot, engage second stage rocket, now!"
"Got it, boss!" Soarin' replied, and punched the SECOND STAGE KEY. "Second Stage online!"
"Engaged. Leaving Earth orbit. Velocity: 15,000… 16,000."
"You should have visual of the Space Station now, and you are on course for your slingshot around the Moon." Just then, the ISS flew by, and the moon loomed ever closer. "Navigator, fire rockets for lunar orbit insertion, now!"
"Which one's that?"
"Left hand panel, by the switches, marked ORBIT ROCKETS!" Soarin' called.
"Roger that! Firing ORBIT ROCKETS now!"
"L.O.I. confirmed."
Below them, a beautiful vista of Earth opened up, and Soarin' felt his jaw fall open.
"Beautiful sight, isn’t it? Something to dream about on the way to Mars. Engineer, activate Hypersleep, now."
"Yes, ma'am," the Engineer replied. "Sweet dreams, guys."
"Activated. Hypersleep duration: three months. Monitoring…"
Soarin' was suddenly awoken by sirens blaring in the cockpit. The cockpit canopy slid open and revealed Mars below, with hundreds of asteroids orbiting.
"Rise and shine!" CAPCOM shouted. "Let’s go, team! We’ve got a problem."
"Beginning evasive maneuvers."
As the rocket darted back and forth, Soarin' looked confused. "What the heck? Those asteroids aren't supposed to be there!"
"This meteor storm is directly over your Mars landing site."
"Proximity alert."
"Pilot, deploy the shields, now!" CAPCOM ordered.
"Yes boss! Shields active... now!" Soarin' hit the button, and lights switched on upon his display to tell him the shields had turned on.
"Shields deployed."
"We’re ready for deorbit burn," Mission Control radioed.
"Navigator, fire rockets for descent, now!"
"Yes ma'am! Rockets fired!" the Navigator called, punching the controls.
"Rockets fired." The X2 suddenly began to glide toward the surface of Mars. "Two hundred miles to planet surface."
"Engineer, extend wings for gliding, now!"
"Popping wings!" the Engineer called. The display lit up with new buttons, and the rocket lurched backwards.
"Wings extended."
Suddenly, the alarms began blaring on board the craft. "Oh, what now?" the Commander called.
"We’ve lost autopilot!"
"Commander, activate manual control, now!"
"Activating manual control now!" the Commander called. "Pilot, I want you to call us in!"
"Yes sir!" Soarin' replied. "Hands on the stick!"
"Activated."
The shuttle began to violently lurch between canyon walls, and toward a landing strip ahead of them. Everywhere rocks were falling toward them.
"Pilot! What do we do?"
"We need all hands on the control sticks. Pull back. Pull back! Left! Pull left. Watch the canyon walls. Now, right. Ease it left."
The X2 suddenly smashed onto the runway. "They’re coming in too hot!"
"Back to center. Just hold it steady."
"It's gonna be close!" Soarin' shouted. "Hold that stick!"
"We're running out of runway!" the Engineer reported.
"Runway ends in one thousand feet. Two hundred feet."
"Watch the barriers!"
"Fifty feet."
"Pull back!" Soarin' tugged back on the stick with all his might.
"Hang on!" Mission Control called.
"Down and clear."
"Phew!" Soarin' laughed. "That has to be the roughest flight I've ever done."
The computer suddenly began beeping. "Alert! Location: canyon edge." The ground suddenly gave way beneath the rocket, and it tilted forwards on the edge of the abyss.
"Don’t move a muscle. Good work, team!" The personnel of Mission Control broke out in applause as CAPCOM smiled. "You made it to the landing sight. Welcome to Mars, and welcome to the Astronaut Corps."
The panels retracted, and the Flight Director spoke one last time. "Okay, heads back. Releasing restraints. Now push the restraints up, be sure to gather all your belongings, and follow the arrows out."
As they climbed out, the man next to Soarin' looked at him in confusion. "I swear you weren't dressed like that before we got on. Maybe the G Forces are just getting to me."
Soarin' laughed. "Maybe. Great run, though."
Author's Note
Soarin's physical appearance is based on this image, but I chose to have him wear a flight suit instead of what is shown here.
The bit about the tire in Colorado? 100% true story.
Jimmy had splintered off from Katrina earlier in the day, as their relative paths in the park went off in separate directions, for Pandora and Asia lay roughly at opposite ends of the park. Well, strictly, the opposite ends of the park were Pandora and Asia, as well as Africa and Dinoland, USA, but who cares about those two? Well, I suppose those who like DINOSAUR or Kilimanjaro Safaris (rising like Olympus above the Sehrengeti) would care about those two, but that is not the focus of this chapter. Indeed, we are focusing on Jimmy, and what he is up to.
Jimmy had a distinct edge over the majority of the visitors who were in the park and racing toward Pandora like an army of hippos. As he was staying in one of the Disney hotels, his Fastpass booking slots had opened at 60 days before his visit, unlike those who were not staying in a Disney hotel, as they could only book Fastpasses from 30 days in advance. This was of relevance because, unlike the people outside the park, Jimmy had access to Fastpasses that nobody else could get. So, Jimmy had secured Avatar: Rite of Passage, a Fastpass that was otherwise impossible to get, and that cut his wait time in half. Admittedly, that still meant a wait of an hour, but there are worse things in life than waiting for an hour. Waiting for two hours, for one...
Anyways, Jimmy walked into Pandora, this time himself and not a cowgirl, he repeated the words on the front gate; "Ohe see ngenga", or "I see you." Wandering past the Amplified Mobility Platform, currently stood outside the main shop, he headed off toward the entrance line for Avatar: Rite of Passage, scanned his Magic Band, and made his way inside.
As he walked through the line, he saw great rock carvings on the wall, of the great To'ruk, or Great Leonopteryx as humans called them. As he proceeded up through the rock formations and up to the point where the lines joined, an annoying gust of wind (which was probably artificial) blew over him. But this was no ordinary wind. Some people talk of the 'winds of change'. And this was a wind of change, alright. But not the type most people think of, but a literal wind of change.
It started with Jimmy's skin, sure enough, which went an icy blue. This was followed in fairly short order by his hair, which went white, the colour of snow, and pulled itself back, exposing his forehead, giving him a very minimal fringe. It then pulled back so it was stuck backwards behind his head. His eyes turned purple, and it was only then his body decided to lose height, dropping approximately 6 inches toward the ground as other features, such as his hands and feet, shrank in size. Not long after, he gained a pair of breasts, and his manhood was sucked into his body.
Not that she noticed any of this, of course. She somehow managed to be completely oblivious to what was happening to her. And then, her clothes joined her process of changing, as her shirt shifted size slightly to suit the body of a teenage girl. It turned a light blue, and gained a horseshoe icon on the front. She suddenly gained a two tone blue hoodie with yellow stripes on the sleeves, which she rolled up subconsciously due to the temperatures. Her jeans became a pair of grey cargo shorts with a large pocket on her left leg, although this time her zip and button remained in place, and her trainers became a pair of slip on shoes with a white base, and a two tone blue body with yellow stripes.
Not that Fleetfoot had noticed any of this, of course. She walked onwards through the queueline, not noticing that her magic band was loose on her wrist.
Up ahead, the lines joined and Fleetfoot was about to be let into the main queue. She scanned her magic band and went into the main line, weaving through an incredible forest parade of trees and bioluminescent objects. When suddenly, a mother and her two children jumped over the line in front of her, having appeared on her from the left as they had been in the queue behind her, and walked forward smugly.
Fleetfoot was not pleased, and went over to a cast member. "Excuse me?" she asked. "The three people in front of me jumped the queue."
The cast member nodded. "I'll go speak to them." He and Fleetfoot walked over to the family, and the cast member coughed to get their attention. "Good morning," he said. "A customer has just stated that you three jumped the queue."
"We did not!" the mother exclaimed, with a smile. "We have fastpasses on this ride, and so deserve to be here."
Fleetfoot spoke up. "They weren't in the Fastpass line. You can check with the guard at the terminals where the lines join."
"Aren't you too old to be here?" the mother asked. "This is Walt Disney World, not Universal Studios."
Fleetfoot shook her head. "This ride is based on a PG 13 rated movie," she replied. "That came out 10 years ago." She glanced down at the two children, who couldn't have been more than seven. "That means your kids wouldn't even have been alive when it was released."
"Well then, how old are you?" the mother asked.
"Fifteen," Fleetfoot replied. "More than old enough to be here. And Disney isn't just for kids; Walt created the park so that children, teens, and adults could all have fun together."
"Quite right," the cast member said. "Ma'am," he said to the mother, "we have a slot opening in one of the neural link chambers. Please follow me."
The mother smirked, and lead her two children away to a door marked 'EXIT'. Fleetfoot just looked in disbelief. "They're letting her jump even further ahead?" she asked, shocked.
The cast member came back a moment later. "You won't need to worry about them again," he said to her. "They have been ejected from the queue for queue jumping. However, we do have one slot open in the neural link chamber if you want to take it."
Fleetfoot would have been an idiot to say no.
Fleetfoot was grinning like a manic when she stepped off the ride. She had been on many theme park rides before, but to say the least, that blew each and every one of them out of the water. It had felt- for a brief moment, at least- that she was actually on Pandora, and that had been a magical experience. She was just sad that it had to end.
She glanced about, when she suddenly saw Fluttershy run towards her. "Hey Flutters!" she called, as she walked over. "You have fun?"
"Expedition Everest was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be," Fluttershy admitted. "It was actually quite fun. And you?"
"That was the best theme park ride I have ever been on," Fleetfoot grinned. She took something out of her back. "Cuddly Ikran?"
Fluttershy shuddered. "He looks fierce. Come on, we need to go pick up Tom, or should I say Soarin', as he's still in Epcot."
Author's Note
Fleetfoot is a background Wonderbolt who is yet to appear in EqG. It is, however, plausible she's in there somewhere.
The queue jump problem is a massive problem on this ride, but trust me, it is worth the wait. I waited two hours for this, and it was worth every second.
I also recommend buying one of these. Aren't they cute?
Night 5: Bloomin' Ridiculous!
Tom awoke the next morning, as he did every morning up to that point without fail, and glanced about his room to see that all was normal once more. At least, everything was as normal as it feasibly could be, given the most certainly not normal events that had occured to him and Jimmy, not to mention Troy, back in Brentwood, and indeed seemed to be repeating themselves here, just of course here Troy was not around, and Katrina filled those shoes. Speaking of shoes, Tom fumbled forward and checked the floor for any signs of yesterday's clothes. He was in luck, as the flight suit had reverted to his shirt and pants, and his boots were once again his shoes. To avoid awkwardness, he had got changed into casual clothes pretty promptly, and this was how he found those very articles of clothing lying on the ground before him.
His attention was suddenly drawn to a sound he could hear coming through the wall, and he instantly knew what it was. His room backed onto Katrina's, and the walls, as was commom on American hotels, were very thin. This meantt that he could sometimes here her speaking, and tonight (or was it Today? He wasn't really sure) he could hear what sounded like reflection or even prayer.
Tom sighed internally and turned to face the wall. Faith had got him out of some tight spots in his life, and although he had alway's been aware of religion, he had often doubted and been unsure of the correct path. He often wondered Katrina relied on the Man Upstairs for guidance more than he did, which was entirely possible, if not certainly the case. "Well," he said quietly to himself, "I suppose that a few moments of silent reflection here and there wouldn't hurt that much." He rolled onto his back, shut his eyes, and took a few minutes to reflect on all that had happened the last few months, his friends, and his life. When he re- awoke a few minutes later, he certainly felt a lot more certain about things, but some answers still evaded him. Nevertheless, he drifted off to sleep, aided by the dark room and the lack of the sun through the curtains, and was soon happily back in the land of slumber.
Breakfast was same old, same old. Jimmy looked across from Tom, letting out a great big yawn that most people noticed from across the room. Tom sighed. "Please do cover your mouth in future, Jimmy, when you yawn. It's considered polite."
"So I've heard," Jimmy replied, completely missing the point about what Tom was trying to tell him.
Katrina decided to try and liven up the situation a bit in order to avoid an argument. "You sleepy, Jimmy?" she asked. "I found it a little hard to get going in the morning, too. Holidays, especially this intense, do tend to wear you down a little with the sheer intensity of them and the amount you cram into them."
"We're putting as much into eight days as most families would put into two weeks," Jimmu noted, as he looked at his plate, featuring an ever diminishng pancake that even Pluto would have struggled to eat on a good say. "Tom likes to stay busy, you know?"
"It's how my parents do their holidays," Tom replied, taking some more sausage on his fork and putting it in his mouth. "It's how you get a lot done, and as the saying goes, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'."
There was a murmer of agreement around the table, and eventually Katrina spoke up again. "So, where are we all off to today?"
"Magic Kingdom," Tom replied. "I'm going to Frontierland for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which is one of my favourite thrill rides in the park, not to mention there are pigs on it according to my dad."
"I'm off to the same section of the park too," Katrina added. "Just I'll be on Splash Mountain instead."
"Have a zip- a- dee- do- da- day then!" Tom smiled, as he took another bite of his food. "Seriously, how do they make it taste so good?"
Jimmy was the last to speak. "Epcot, for The Sea with Nemo and Friends."
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
And lo, a great chorus of 'mine's' kicked off around the dining room, a prelude of weirdness to what would, in all likelihood, were the previous days in the great program of provenance any indication of the future, make for a very bizarre day indeed, just as weird as the fact that the narrator has just started referencing Herman Melville.
The journey to the Magic Kingdom was a fairly easy one, being a short hop on the monorail. Tom and Katrina parted just outside Splash Mountain whilst the former went to the bathroom, but as he walked along, he couldn't help but feel odd. Raising his arm to try and make sense of the issue, he noticed it had turned yellow, and the colour was spreading across his skin!
"Oh not again!" he exclaimed, and dived behind a bush next to a puddle from yesterday's rain. As he looked on, the yellow colour had spread fully, and his eyes turned an orangey red from their usual brown. His eyebrows turned red, as did his hair, but this was not orange. Literal red, it was. The hair suddenly went into a growing frenzy, pouring down his back and shoulders in a torrent. Not long after, his body began to shrink, and to Tom it felt as though he had been put through a vice. Every limb and muscle was contracting, his shoulders popping inwards and his hips staying as they were. And his manhood soon pulled itself into his body, leaving a preteen girl behind in some very baggy clothes, having lost about a foot of height.
His clothes joined in on the fun, his shirt turning green and shrinking. His pants morphed into jeans, held in place by a belt that appeared from nowhere. A pink bow threaded itself through her hair and her shoes morphed into a pair of yellow boots that sat underneath her jeans, and ran up to her knees or so.
Apple Bloom got up, and walked over to the entrance for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. "Welk, at least Ah know this body fairly well," she said. "Now let's get to it!"
The queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closely resembled an old mining operation that had fallen on hard times. The story was that the mine had indeed fallen on hard times, and had closed due to an accident (not to be confused with Anne Accident or Fay Tality over at the Haunted Mansion). However, thrill seekers had come from all across America to see and ride the legendary mine railway here, and as such a private company had reopened the line and refurbished the engines and rolling stock. The humidity and sticky heat added to the feeling of an industrial environment, and Apple Bloom wiped her forehead of what must have been at least a gallon of sweat, before grabbing a water bottle from her belt and having a drink. She had got so used to strange things happening to her that she had ceased to question little oddities such as water bottles appearing from nowhere.
"It's a hot day, isn't it?" asked a distinct British Midlands voice, one not too disimilar to the one that Apple Bloom had had when Tom. Apple Bloom looked over into the face of a boy with white skin, but a brown mark under his left eye. He had brown hair and eyes, and wore a green T shirt with blue shorts and green trainers. "It's boiling for us Brits!"
"It ain't so bad, but Ah've sweated enough ta fill Lake Taho!" Apple Bloom joked. "What's yer name? Ah'm Apple Bloom."
"Pipsqueak, or Pip for short, at your service," the boy replied.
"This encounter feels oddly familiar," Apple Bloom thought. "Well, ready fer this ride?"
"Born ready!" Pip replied, putting on his best game face. "No pirate is a chicken!"
At last, they boarded the train. "Please pull down on the lap bar restraints as far as they will go," the safety briefing said. "Keep your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the car at all times. Now hold on tight, as this is the wildest ride in the wilderness!"
The train suddenly lurched forward, and into a tight curve. The track tilted, and then suddenly the train was climbing through a mountain of caves and stalactites. At the top, the train suddenly lurched into another curve, and down and down it ran at speed, Apple Bloom whooping all the way down the slope till the train flew alongside a town and stopped abruptly. Then, the train let off its brakes. It rolled around another bend, and up a slope with a loud, clanking lift hill. Then, it dropped down with a bang, running through fast curves, over humps, and into some truly spectacular air time. After a run along the waterfront, the train swung around a bend and up a third lift hill, with bats. Up, up, and up it climbed, until the detonation of a loose stick of dynamite caused the train to fall downwards. It roared through more curves, into the final brake run, and stopped at last in the station.
Apple Bloom grinned from ear to ear as she walked to the bridge overlooking the Briar Patch. Logs were still flying down the slope and crashing into the water.
"That was fun," Pip smiled. "I hope to do this one next. Splash Mountain is a classic, after all."
"Howdy, sugarcube!" called a voice. Apple Bloom glanced over to see a blonde haired woman in a stetson walking over to her. She was soaking wet, but smiling happily.
Author's Note
This is one TF Tom has actually been through before. Possibly the most adorable Crusader too (don't tell Scootaloo I said that!).
My advice for Big Thunder? Do not ride on a full stomach. You will regret it.
Despite being a keen fan of all things Disney, Jimmy had never particularly been to the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Or EPCOT, to you and me. There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, shining at the-
That's quite enough quoting 'There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow', you lot. On with the story. Still, of all the parks of the Walt Disney World Resort, Jimmy knew Epcot least (or Eggpot, as his brother often called it to annoy him), having been there not as often as the others. He honestly wondered why.
He hopped through the gates and feasted his eyes upon Spaceship Earth. Following Walt's passing in 1966, the core idea of a great city (Progress City) had been shelved, as the company felt that the running and construction of an entire city, alongside several theme parks and a movie making division, would be too much for them. In response, they scaled back their plans, and envisioned a 'Permanent World's Fair', celebrating human achievement and ingenuity. This was later revised to form one half of the park, or as it became known, Futureworld. The other half of the idea was reworked to become a celebration of the cultures of the world. Notable entries on opening day had been Mexico, China, Japan, the United Kingdom (though mostly England, barring the occasional playing of bagpipe music), France, Germany (or West Germany, as it was back then), Nigeria, and the United States of America, (Sam the Eagle was very impressed indeed). In later years, newer pavillions for Morocco and Norway had opened, but one for the Republic of Ireland (NOT SOUTHERN IRELAND. THERE IS NO SUCH COUNTRY AS SOUTHERN IRELAND) was yet to be built due to funding and planning problems, not to mention objections from Britain for some reason.
So, there you have it. Epcot. Epcot in a nutshell. But Jimmy was on his way to one of the pavilions that made up Futureworld, set about in a ring around the Spaceship Earth attraction. Jimmy could see the twin pyramidaic towers of the Imagination Pavilion in the distance. He had such happy memories of going on the original version of Journey into Imagination, and absolutely hated the new version of the attraction with the immature jokes and mucked about interiors. It was basically the terrible Journey into YOUR Imagination with a poorly done overlay rammed into it. Speaking of lost attractions, he had recollections of riding Body Wars over in the Life Pavilion (now a glorified food court for the Epcot food and wine festival, whenever that was in town around here.
But now his target. The Sea with Nemo and Friends was a retheme of the much older The Living Seas, which still made use of the large salt water tank at the heart of the design. However, most of the sealife was now gone, replaced with screens and projectors. Jimmy didn't understand the need to theme each and every ride to a specific film. I mean, Walt didn't do it, so why should they do it now?
Anyways, Jimmy quickly joined the queue line, walking past the animatronic seagulls that periodically shouted "MINE! MINE!" As he walked in, he was surrounded by queue line features of a nautical nature, such as partially rotten wood, as well as the props in the queue, such as a giant pair of swimming goggles that belonged to a diver, or a coastguard tower that sat on the edge of Sydney, Australia (an Antipodean story indeed). As Jimmy prepared to board his clamobile, his hand brushed a support railing before the entrance, and there was a brief jolt that ran through his body as he sat down and the car rolled through the entrance to a dark tunnel.
"This is crazy," he said, before glancing downwards to see a phenomenon common to him was starting. It began with his shoes, which changed into a pair of red slip on shoes, complete with no laces or cover for his foot. As this was being processed by Jimmy's mind, his socks vanished, and his slacks suddenly lost their button and zip. The bottoms of the legs changed into bell bottoms, with another floral pattern growing out of the bottom of the legs. The top of the slacks suddenly (and it most certainly was suddenly) grew upwards, fabric looping over the top of his shirt and down to connect on the other side. The 'sleeves', as they were, gained the same frilly pattern, and a heart appeared on the chest section of this new garment. Finally, his shirt changed colour to pink, and the sleeves grew to his wrists, with the same floral effect on the ends of the sleeves. He also gained a small white collar, for some reason the author cannot possibly fathom.
This was, of course, followed by the inevitable. And those who have read enough of these stories will know that what comes next will see things through. After all, we cannot leave Jimmy looking totally ridiculous, can we?
The process promptly resumed with his hair, which turned a very pale orange, and grew into a ponytail at his back, with a red bow acting as a support to hold the ponytail in place. His skin turned yellow, and his eyes went to a vary pale blue (which didn't really constitute that much of a change when you think about it, as his eyes were blue anyway). Then he began to shrink, his body getting shorter and shorter until he couldn't have been more than four feet. Nothing else occurred in his chest area, but his manhood vanished fairly promptly, and, to be truthful, little else changed.
It was a good thing that the Clam Car was in a dark tunnel where nobody could see it, or else people would probably have freaked out at the sight of a 20 something man changing into a 10 year old. Jimmy looked at herself. "Really?" she asked, in a new, higher pitched, much more nasally voice. "G1 characters now?"
The Sea with Nemo and Friends, as theme park attractions go, is not one that is easy to describe. A variation on the Omnimover system, where riders sit in continously moving vehicles and are taken past things on the way, such as the Haunted Mansion, the ride took people past projections of the Finding Nemo characters in various parts of the sea with real fish swimming about behind them. Why not just leave the real fish there?
Megan was not impresed when she got off, walking over to the main observation tank to take a look at all the fish. "That overlay felt unneccessarry," she said to herself. "What next, Princess Skystar will appear in the tank?"
As if to tempt fate, a giant yellow seapony then appeared. "Hey now, don't be shy I know we-"
Go back to Dive Right In. As the Seapony vanished, Megan could only hope the day of her friends was less mad.
Author's Note
Apparently, Megan Williams is a reference to a G1 character. Quite why Hasbro want to remember that era is beyond me, but oh well.
Only ride The Sea with Nemo and Friends if you have nothing else to do.
Night 5: Into the Briar Patch
Katrina glanced about her as she and Tom stood in Frontierland. Frontierland sat at the back of the Magic Kingdom, right next to Adventureland (but that was for another day) and Liberty Square (which was heavily modelled on New England in the 1770s, around the time of the American Revolution). Much like the other lands which had been ported from California, Frontierland had roughly the same layout as its Disneyland counterpart. Although both Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain had opened first here, they had rapidly made the journey west to Anaheim, and they were both smash hits.
"So," Tom said, jolting Katrina out of her own thoughts for a second. "When I'm done, I'll wait on the bridge for you. Then, when you've arrived from Spash Mountain, we go and do the Haunted Mansion. That sound good?"
"Sounds good to me!" Katrina smiled, and started to walk toward the Fastpass+ line for Splash Mountain. "See ya!"
"Cheerio!" Tom replied, and began to walk toward the restrooms. A few seconds later, Katrina heard a loud cry of; "Oh not again!"
"Sounds like Tom has already got into difficulties," Katrina said to herself. Although she knew it was rude to derive amusement from the misfortune of others (who was also a resident at the Haunted Mansion if her memory was correct), there was something profoundly absurd about these last few days, a tone of absurdity that had not been lost on the Kansas girl. As she walked into the queue line, the speakers were loudly blasting music from the ride at the would be riders, so she scanned her Magic Band on the terminal, waited for it to beep, followed by a short extract of 'There's a Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow', and the terminal turned green, letting her through and into the queue. Given the line was 60 minutes, this would hopefully cut her wait to half an hour.
Few people know the complicated history surrounding Splash Mountain, but the story is an interesting one, to say the least. The ride as we know it opened in Magic Kingdom in 1989, but the ride is loosely based on the 1946 film Song of the South, which itself is based on the Uncle Remus tales of Bre'er Rabbit, Bre'er Bear, Bre'er Fox and so on, themselves based on old folk tales from West Africa. The resulting film was controversial at the time, as many claimed it glorified slavery and the Antebellum South, although the film is actually set during the Reconstruction period. Anyways, the film remains a difficult topic for the Walt Disney Company, but there's no denying that the film resulted in some amazing music, such as zip- a- dee- do- da (you can always rely on the Sherman Brothers). As a result, the decision was made to adapt the tales themselves into the ride, but ommit the live action aspects of the story. At the same time, an attraction at Disneyland called America Sings had just closed. The characters were based on ones created for a scrapped film called Chanticleer, but the characters for that film had been designed by Wilfred Jackson, who was also lead artist on Song of the South. As a result, Disney chose to be efficient and save money, recycling the old animatronics and moving them to a new home in Florida (with updated animatronic movement, new voices and dialogue, and new skins). And that's before you even begin to consider the ones that ended up in Star Tours as droids!
But I digress. Katrina was now stood in a queue, with a small pile of zip lock bags next to her, as they were the official sponsors of the attraction. She'd already put her phone in a waterproof pocket, but the sun was beating down, and the place was already beginning to heat up. As a result, a splash would actually be quite refreshing.
She put her hand on one of the walls, only to receive a sudden jolt. She recoiled from it. "What is going on around here?" she asked. She knew exactly what was coming next.
Her skin turned a light shade of orange, creating the impression that she had a light tan, and freckles appeared under her eyes. Her hair turned blonde, and she gained a noticable fringe, as well as grew further down her back and tied itself up into a ponytail, with a red band holding it in place. Her height shifted very slightly, so little so that it was practically imperceptible to the naked eye, and her muscles tensed briefly, presuming increasing in density. Whoever this was, it seemed, had great strength despite not having much visible muscle. Her eyes also changed colour to green, a gentle flash briefly being visible in one of the wall portraits.
"Huh?" she asked, looking in the portrait to see who she was. "Well, shoot, I'm Applejack." She also noticed, to her surprise, that her voice had barely changed from her usual tones. "Well, that's not much of a surprise. Kansas is a stone's throw from the Ozarks, after all!"
Her clothes, seemingly unimpressed by the other changes that had occurred, decided to get in on the transformation game, as out of nowhere a leather stetson appeared on Katrina's head. Her shirt turned white, and gained a collar and buttons, now more closely resembling a work shirt than casual wear of any sort. The upper chest area and collar turned green as the top button did itself up, and the sleeves grew longer, until they reached her wrists. Katrina quickly rolled them up out of habit- wait, since when did she do that?- and she quickly gained a belt made of leather, with a red buckle shaped like an apple.
Her pants changed material, the sensation of cotton shifting to denim both weird and fascinating at the same time. The zip vanished, as if it had never been there, and the legs of her jeans suddenly merged together, creating a skirt. This then shrank up her legs until it fell to her knees, and gained two pockets on the front for storage purposes. A small underskirt poked its way out of the bottom as her shoelaces abruptly vanished, creating a pair of boots. They turned brown before gaining heels, and they grew up her legs before stopping halfway up her lower legs. They turned brown, with the toecaps a slightly lighter shade of brown, as a symbol of three apples appeared on the front of them.
Applejack grinned. She was intent on having a fun day, even if she looked more like she was about to go apple picking than riding a log flume. "Yee- hah!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"
"Applejack?" asked a voice. She looked down to see it belonged to a small kid. "Mom! Look! It's Applejack!"
A mother glanced over, and suddenly grinned. "Hello miss!" she said. "You're my daughter's favourite character."
Applejack blushed. "Well ain't that sweet. C'mon y'all, let's get these wagons rollin'!"
Splash Mountain was every bit as good as Applejack had remembered it. After launch from the station, they went up a steep slope, and down into a shallow drop that sprayed water everywhere. Then, after another two drops, they went into a dark cave full of singing animals. And the geese from America Sings.
“How do you do?” Mighty pleasant greetin’.(Howdy!)
"This music sure is catchy," Applejack smiled. This had always been one of her favourites, not least because of how wacky the whole thing was. Her thoughts were soon interrupted as they plunged into gratuitous drop number 2, although the water spray was considerably less than usual.
Suddenly, they found themselves somewhere very strange indeed.
" Everybody’s got a Laughing Place,"
"This is mildly sinister," said a man nearby. "Why is everybody so cheerful?"
"Because this is Disney and you need to loosen up a bit?" Applejack suggested.
Not long after that, they climbed into the final lift hill for the big drop into the Briar Patch. Whilst she had the time, Applejack removed her hat and placed it into the pouch in front of her. The log climbed over the hill, and Cinderella Castle was briefly visible in the distance.
And then the drop opened up below them. The log roared forward, faster and faster down the slope, the wind picking up and blowing all around them, and the log reached the bottom and slammed into the water with a gigantic SPLASH! Water flew through the air, drenching the riders (which was greatly appreciated in the heat), and the log rolled around a loop into the next tunnel.
Which was full of singing animals, cheering and smiling and singing the most famous song from the ride, which everybody joined in with.
" Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
" He’s had enough of movin’ on now.
" Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
" Moving on taught him a lesson.
" Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
" Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder.
" Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!"
After Applejack got off the ride, she felt her stetson. Somehow, despite being in the storage pouch, it was completely and utterly soaked. "Oh well," she sighed. "Gotta take the good with the bad." Just then, in the distance, she saw Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak walking towards her. "Howdy, sugarcube!"
Apple Bloom sprinted over. "Hey, big sis!" she called. "How was it?"
Applejack could only grin in response. "It was great, Sugarcube. Shall we go on together?"
"Yeah!" the younger apple cheered. "Let's go!"
"Nice ta see you made a friend," Applejack smiled. "I take it we'll be seein' more of him in the future?"
Apple Bloom had no response. Her face was about as red as one, after all.
The two siblings had a great day around the Magic Kingdom, later running into all sorts of characters. Getting back to the hotel at the end of the day, Apple Bloom yawned and took out her key.
"Ya sleepy, Apple Bloom?"
"Yeah. It's kinda been a long day, and Ah'd like ta get some sleep."
"That's OK by me," Applejack replied. "I trust you'll be fine, Megan?"
"Yes," Megan replied. "I won't dream of fish, just of mildly horrifying 1980s animated ponies."
They all went to their own rooms, and Applejack lay back on her bed (after removing her boots. That'd never do). "What a great day," she said quietly to herself. "It really is true; that Walt Disney World is the happiest place on Earth."
Author's Note
Again, finding art of Applejack's first outfit was surprisingly difficult. If you are wondering why I didn't shift the spelling of the words Applejack is saying, Misty Rose (who created the character of Katrina) stated that Katrina's natural speaking voice is very similar to Applejack's.
Don't believe me? This used to be one of the America Sings geese.
Jimmy awoke the next morning to the dawn chorus of car alarms, shouting adults, and cast members trying to calm everybody in the car park down (the emphasis being very much on the word 'trying', and somewhat failing due to the sheer amount of noise coming from over there). Speaking of which, the car they had hired wouldn't be seeing much use this trip, as all they needed to do next was drive back to the airport after this. And that was just in three days time. This made Jimmy sad, but he soon realised this was the least of his worries, as he raised his hand and saw it was a yellow one there instead.
A momentary glance, and he was still in his clothes from yesterday. Or, should I say, she was still in her clothes from yesterday. Jimmy (or Megan, to use the correct name for this point in time) just glanced about in a panic, as it seemed something was wrong.
"This is bad!" she said, as she pulled herself out of bed. "Normally it wears off overnight, so what's changed here?"
Suddenly, she heard animated conversation from the corridor. Megan cracked the door open, and went to see what was going on. In the corridor, she could see Apple Bloom, who was looking a bit agitated, and Applejack, who looked noticably less agitated.
"Ah'm tellin' ya, we've got stuck!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, looking frustrated. "We need ta find a way to fix this, or else we may be stuck like this forever!"
"Hey, I can see that!" Applejack exclaimed. "But hootin' and hollerin' about it ain't gonna fix it none." She looked to her left, and saw Megan standing there. "Do you have any ideas as to what is going on here?"
Megan shrugged. "It should have worn off by this point. That's all I can say. Maybe the magic is getting a bit lethargic and has had a lie in today, which would explain why we have gotten stuck, but doesn't seem to make much sense if you think about it."
"It's magic!" Apple Bloom added into the conversation as best as she could. "Does it have ta make sense? It don't obey any known laws of physics, science, or nature!"
"Which makes it all the more fascinating," Megan smiled.
"Well, how on Earth am I gonna explain this to my folks in Kansas?" Applejack asked, looking annoyed. She then went into a mock speech and complaint. "Oh, howdy y'all, terribly sorry ta bother y'all, but yer daughter and big sis just changed into a fictional cowgirl and seems to be stuck that way."
"That's way less awkward than it would be fer me," Apple Bloom added sadly. Just then, there was a quiet humming noise, and the three of them were enveloped in a bright light. After a brief release of sound that indicated surprise, the light faded, after a buzzing noise had sounded in the corridor, and in place of Apple Bloom, Applejack and Megan Williams respectively, were Tom, Katrina, and Jimmy.
"That was a little slow!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"You're telling me, mate," Tom sighed. "Worried there for a bit. At least no wormholes opened up in my bedroom floor this time."
"At least you've been through this before," Katrina told him bluntly. "I haven't. Now then, instead of standing about inside this corridor and discussing things that would probably make most people think we were mad, how about we go to the buffet and get something to eat?"
Jimmy nodded. "That," he said, "sounds like a good idea to me. Let's go!"
This particular day marked Jimmy's second time in Hollywood Studios, and it would (sadly) also be his last of the trip, as the next two days he would be in two of the other parks (he had already done his two days in Epcot). Alas, unlike last time, Tom and Katrina were in different parks to do different rides (as you would do if you were in different parks, as otherwise it could get quite difficult to do anything. Having said that, trampolines would be useful for getting around the park, as you could bounce over the tops of tourists who were in your way). So, Jimmy Johnson (no, that's not right. Sorry, everyone) err, I mean Jimmy Hook, went down Hollywood Lane on his own, and walked past Municiberg on his left, where the Incredibles still were. That part of the park had once been Pixar Plaza, a section of the park dedicated to the most wonderful pioneer of computer animation, complete with a full animatronic figure of Luxo Jr on a flying pedestal, so he could see and speak to all. Well, not speak given he lacked a mouth, just as Pinochio lacked strings, but alas he had not lasted long in Pixar Place, and had now joined that long list of animatronics who had gone to the great storage yard in the sky.
But at least the land next to it celebrated another much loved Pixar icon, as Jimmy was entering Toy Story Land, a land dedicated to Toy Story (and especially popular following the release of Toy Story 4). As the barbershop quartet launched into another reprise of 'You've got a Friend in Me', Jimmy walked past Woody, who was doing a meet and greet alongside Jessie and Buzz, and walked toward the queue off his attraction of choice.
Aliens Swirling Saucers (for which Jimmy was eternally grateful). He walked into the queue as a remix of the Star Command theme began to play, and he pushed a switch that lit up some displays on a piece of box packaging (as previously discussed, the queues and ride buildings in Toy Story Land were built to look like packaging for toys). Jimmy stopped when he felt something or other slide up his legs, and upon an inspection of the offending article discovered his shoes had changed to boots, and these boots were black apart from Golden lining on the ankle joins of the boots.
"Now who could this be?" he asked rhetorically. "A might to match the Evil Emperor Zurg?"
His jeans vanished, and his shirt grew longer to cover over that area, stopping at the top of the boots and splitting into two legs that travelled down the boots, creating a jumpsuit of sorts. The bottom gained extra material that slid over the top of the boots to cover them, whilst his sleeves grew to reach his wrists, which were soon covered in another layer of golden trim (which could also be seen on the bottom of the jacket jumpsuit thing. The shirt gained an enclosed collar, and more gold trim, and with that the clothes stopped changing.
Then his hair went green, growing wildly until it flew in every direction. His skin turned purple, and his eyes went red with green outer irises. He felt a tingling sensation in his chest as it suddenly began swelling. He looked down to see two breasts growing under his clothes, which stopped after a few seconds. He grimaced as his manhood popped into his body (or soon to be her body), and her hips pushed outwards. She jumped as suddenly her butt inflated like a balloon, but just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.
The Maneiac threw a pair of glasses off her face, and laughed maniacally. "None can stand before me!" she laughed. "Not least the Power Rangers, whom Disney lacks the license for now! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Wow, all that monologing," said somebody behind her. "She's worse than Syndrome."
The Maneiac facepalmed. "How on Earth are the audience going to get their fill of exposition otherwise?" she asked them.1
Well, there is a narrator.
"Quiet, you!"
OK then. But not before, as they boarded the saucers and looked about, they saw-
"THE CLAW!"
Thank heavens that the claw was only an effect in the ride, and not an actual claw. The Maneiac sat down on a wall and listened to the cries of delight as the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster completed another loop. But boy had Aliens Swirling Saucers been rough. The whiplash motion often came out of nowhere, and the side from whence the whiplash came was equally unpredictable. "A few moments rest and I shall be fine."
Suddenly her phone went, and she saw it was Tom's number. "Hello?" she asked, confused.
"Hi, are you Jimmy?" asked a female voice that was heart meltingly adorable on the other end.
"Ocellus! Give the phone back!" shouted another, male, voice.
"This is gonna be a long day," the Maneiac sighed.
Author's Note
The Maneiac is the antagonist of the Power Ponies franchise. Whilst she has appeared in EqG form in the comics, Sunset ends up dressed as her in Movie Magic.
The Claw is a reference to a running gag from the Toy Story movies.
Night 6: Shut up and Drive
Breakfast had been a most average affair, as by this point the diet of pancakes, bacon, and waffles was getting not only somewhat repetitive, it was also becoming somewhat dull. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life, and although they had received variety in the sense of who they ended up as each day, it was not being repeated in the breakfast menu. I mean, seriously, where is the fresh fruit, or the salmon even? Katrina had heard from Tom that in Britain, people sometimes threw fits over the fact there was no salmon on the menu. Truly ridiculous, if you asked her. Weren't you supposed to eat salmon in the evening, anyways?
Apart from all that, Jimmy had already disappeared off to Hollywood Studios quite suddenly, saying something about avoiding the sun.
"What is he talking about?" Katrina asked, as she glanced over at Tom, who in turn was glancing at his watch.
"Apparently," Tom replied, "one time the sun in Manteo caused him to change into Sunshine Smiles, whoever that is."
"Background character?" Katrina suggested, before going back to her food.
"You're telling me," Tom sighed. "One write up of the occasion was very poorly received, with those thinking it was a fanfiction saying it had no plot and implausible characters. Have they ever read My Immortal?"
"What's that?" Katrina asked.
"Only the worst fanfiction ever written," Tom explained. "It's Harry Potter, which as I'm not a fan of it makes for even more of a turn off, but it is notorious for its nonsensical, incomprehensible plot, frequent random diversions from the story, a ridiculous number of sub plots that contribute absolutely nothing to the main story, a protagonist who is the definition of Mary Sue-"
"I know a Mary Sue in Topeka," Katrina interrupted. "Though probably not the one you're thinking of!"
"I hope so. Anyways, the protagonist is the definition of a Mary Sue, the story needlessly describes the clothes the character's clothes, most of which are bought from Hot Topic, and everybody is out of character. Horribly, horribly out of character. Dumbledore uses the F word, for crying out loud! Not to mention that the grammar is terrible. There's one passage where a character catches another 'masticating'. Nice to see them exercising their jaw muscles!"
"I assume they meant something else," Katrina sighed, before going back to her cereal. This was why she always made sure to send her writing via a proof reader to catch such problems and implausibilities, and to ensure that said problems and implausibilities were caught. And in doing so, they never made it to the page. "I'm off to Epcot today, for Test Track."
"Have fun," Tom smiled. "But you may want to tie your hair back. The G force on that ride is wild, not to mention the speeds you get up to. 64.9 miles an hour!"
"That's about as fast as you drive on an Interstate," Katrina said dryly, before taking a quick drink.
"But not through such tight turns!" Tom exclaimed.
Katrina walked through Epcot again for what would be the last time, glancing about at Spaceship Earth and the Innoventions building, which was the host for the Electric Umbrella restaurant, where she had eaten (as Spitfire) a few days earlier. Boy had that turned heads! Not only had she been questioned about what she was doing there (and got a Forces discount) she had been wolf whistled a few times, something she found extremely annoying as she wasn't particularly looking for anybody at this point in time. But that was the past, and this is the present. And the future is yet to come. After all, 'There's a Great big, Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the End of Every Day.' That's enough Sherman Brothers, back to the story for a change.
Katrina saw Test Track looming before her, opposite the entrance for Mission: SPACE where she had been a few days earlier. This ride had originally opened as World of Motion, which had opened with the park in 1982 and closed in 1996. Test Track arrived in 1999, sponsored by General Motors, and depicted a wild ride through a car garage, complete with oil smells, burnt tires, and roaring engines. However, when General Motors went bust in 2011 and Chevrolet took over the sponsorship, the ride was extensively rebuilt to receive a new story and theme. Katrina was looking forward to seeing what this new story was, when suddenly she felt off.
"This is the worst possible time to need to vomit!" she exclaimed, running off in the direction of a WC and bolting the door. Just as suddenly as the lurch in her gut had appeared, it vanished, and she stood up and turned around- to see her shoes change into laced up high top boots, similar to what a sports player would wear in basketball games.
"Well, here we go again," she muttered, as her socks slid up her legs to join the tops of the boots, turning the colours of the rainbow in alternating colours, with blue, yellow, and red at the top. Her boots turned blue with white toecaps, and her pants shrank back up her legs, as they usually did now, before splitting into a pair of sports shorts with a skirt on top (which looked really strange as both were a pale cream colour, which to the natural observer was very odd indeed). The shorts turned black whilst the zip and button vanished from the skirt, which now dropped to her knees, and turned two different shades of pink and white. Katrina was astonished as to how close fitting it was, as surely that would be impractical on a sports ground. Then she gained a clue as to who this was. "Rainbow Dash?"
Her blue shirt changed to white, with black trim running around her neck in addition to an emblem of a rainbow coloured lightning bolt energing from a white cloud, and a blue jacket formed on top of her shirt, with a collar that stuck up at the back, presumably to protect the back of her neck from the sunlight.
Her body soon followed up on the fun, with her hair growing longer until it was halfway down her back. A huge fringe flopped forward into her eyes and over her forehead, and her hair changed colour into a prismatic mess of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, though for some reason indigo was missing. Her skin turned a bright blue, and her eyes purple. She lost an inch or two of height, and some of her body mass shifted around a bit to compensate for the increased musculature. She was by no means a girl with huge muscles, but Rainbow Dash clearly had some power judging from her sprinting skill and soccer capabilites.
It was over at last. "Huh," Rainbow Dash shrugged. "That's the quickest one yet." She threw open the stall door, as she had a ride to catch.
And almost immediately ran into a snag. She walked over to the queue, but there was no terminal with which to scan her magic band. "That's weird, I coulda sworn there was some sort of terminal with which to check in."
She glanced about, trying to find this legendary terminal, but could not see it anywhere. A cast member, sensing her confusion, walked over to her. "Excuse me ma'am, do you need help?"
"I'm looking for the Fastpass line," Rainbow Dash replied, her Canadian accent a dramatic contrast to Katrina's Mid West one. "But I can't seem to find it."
"It's over there," the cast member smiled, pointing to the machine.
Rainbow Dash went red. "Oops. Thanks!" And she sprinted off, scanned her magic band, and went into the queue.
The cast member shrugged. "Where have I seen her before?" he asked himself.
The queue line was very well themed, clean silver and cool blue panels helping to create a calming atmosphere for testing and developing the future of automobile traction. Outside were two prototype cars. Both were sleek, shiny, and modern, and Rainbow Dash loved anything that went fast. As she walked through the queue line, she scanned her magic band and selected a car from the drop down list, opting for power over all else.
She then joined the main queue, and was placed into the front row. She was now excited as the ride vehicle came to a stop, and she hopped in and applied her safety belt. "This is gonna be awesome!" she said.
"Somebody's excited," said a voice to her left, a girl with brown hair.
"Ya kidding?" the prismatic haired girl replied. "This is one of the best rides in the park, PERIOD."
"If we ever get moving, that is," the girl answered, and indicated behind her. A group of foreign tourists, possibly Chinese, had sat down, and a woman was sitting there without her seatbelt on.
"Please put on your seatbelt," asked the attending cast member.
The woman just stared at him blankly. It seemed her English was either poor or non existant, and the cast member's American accent was a little hard to understand.
The cast member then made the motion of putting on a seatbelt, and as he did so he stated the instructions slowly and clearly. "Pull the strap out of its holder, and insert it into the red buckle on your left. Pull on it to secure."
There was no response. Then the man sitting next to the woman, presumably her husband, said "Ahh!" He then reached for the pouch in front of him.
Rainbow Dash facepalmed. "We're gonna be here a while," she groaned.
The car finally left the loading station and rolled into the car testing plant. After negotiating some curves, it bounced along rough ground as a handling test, followed by a brake test for an emergency stop. Then it took some very tight bends, and flew up and down, dodging a truck in the process.
"Hey, I remember that from last time!" said one of the passengers. "Cool effect, too."
"Yeah, it is pretty coOOOOL!" Rainbow Dash cried as the car abruptly accelerated and came to a sharp stop.
Before them lay a pair of steel doors. The engine revved, before the car suddenly shot toward them.
"Here we go!" said somebody else.
The car flew through the doors and onto an outside circuit, with heavy banked turns and incredible speeds.
"AWESOME!"
After flying past a camera, and racing through more inversions, the car came to a stop at the unloading bay.
Rainbow Dash stood in the car lobby of Test Track, grinning from ear to ear and panting heavily from the adrenaline. "Now that was my kinda ride!" she exclaimed. "Now to see how the others are getting on." She dialled Jimmy, and waited for the call to connect.
"Hahahahaha!" said the voice on the other end. "None can stop me!"
"Uh, Jimmy, are you feeling OK?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Who is Jimmy? I am the Maneiac! Hahahahahahahaha!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Great. Evil magic messing my vacation up, again. Well, I'll get some lunch."
"DASH! AAAHHHH! SHE'S A MIRACLE!"
The girl shrugged. "Can my day get any weirder?"
Author's Note
The character who got me into MLP...
Anyways, the incident with the seatbelts occurred to me on Indiana Jones Adventure in Dis eyland.
If anybody can identify the Queen reference, they get a shoutout in the next chapter.
Night 6: Up Sand Creek (without a paddle)
Tom, sure enough, found himself in Asia at Animal Kingdom once more. He had waved goodbye to Katrina an hour or two earlier, as they had to separate ways in order to reach their respective parks. As previously discussed, Animal Kingdom and Epot lay in entirely separate directions, and only the latter park was actually on the monorail network. Hence why Tom had been on a bus and Katrina had been on a monorail (hopefully without drunken singing this time). Tom also hoped that, unlike his last trip to Animal Kingdom, he wouldn't run into any wild Karens on the way. Dealing with them was annoying, and I mean ANNOYING.
Anyways, Tom proceeded onwards into the park, and stood in Asia, having crossed over the great rope bridge that connected Discovery Island to Asia. This bridge was crossed by many people in their way into and out of the park, and looked set to be so for many years to come. As Tom walked into Asia, he was once more assailed by the glorious sights, sounds, and smells of the kingdom of Anandapur, a fictional country meant to be somewhere in the Himalayas based on the architecture and flags fluttering about (that, and Everest, which was visible through the trees, was something of a giveaway as to this being a place in the mountains of the Himalayas). So, Tom walked onwards, passed the Anandapur Theatre (still showing the UP bird show, no doubt) and stopped before the bridge that took you into Serka Zong, glancing up at Everest for what he thought would be the last time in a long while. He had no clue as to when he was coming back here, and-
Oh, why was he being so negative? He still had three whole days here! In light of this revelation, Tom chose to make the most of them. He turned to his destination, an old classic of the park.
Kali River Rapids.
This ride was, as the title suggests, a journey over a river, that had opened one year after the park in 1999. The passengers rode along a river that was very bumpy, not to mention the victim of illegal logging, destroyed habitat, water sprayers, and even all sorts of other things like huge drops and splashes. Not slashes. This isn't Alfred Hitchcock: the Art of Making Movies!
That is quite enough of a digression. Tom walked forward to scan his Magic Band against the terminal, and after it played a short extract of 'When you Wish Upon a Star', it turned green, letting him into the Fastpass line. He stepped along a well kept path with a queue next to him that was already getting longer and longer, and full of people. Some were smiling. Some were complaining. But one group were keeping themselves entertained by playing I Spy, which Tom thought was a very clever way of passing the time.
Just then, he heard a voice. One that made him concerned.
"I'm a parent! I should be allowed to skip the line!"
"No, you shouldn't," said another voice, a man, presumably her husband. "You've already caused a scene once this trip and nearly got us ejected from the resort. Now be quiet and just queue like the rest of us."
"But my ba-"
"He's my son too, in case you've forgotten. And he looks completely fine to me." And indeed the boy was, happily soaking up the atmosphere of the queue line.
The woman, in comparison, looked completely silent in comparison, and resorted to looking at the floor, muttering to herself over and over again in an annoying way. Tom just went on by, the woman totally unaware that she and Tom had met before (admittedly when Tom was Wallflower).
Queueing was fairly simple, and Tom got onto the ride in about 15 minutes, taking his seat. The ride vehicles were boats that were circular, like huge rafts, and each raft had twelve seats arranged in a circle. As per Disney convention, the boats were named, the one Tom had boarded being called “Sherpa Surfer”. He relaxed in his seat, and attached his seat belt. In these weather conditions, he could do with a good soak in the water.
"You look like you're having fun!" said a voice to his left. Tom looked over, and to his astonishment saw something he had never seen before.
Sitting next to him was a girl, who couldn't have been more than twelve, who had blue skin and eyes. She had pink hair, in a fairly short cut, and wore a red dress with white socks and black shoes.
"So, it seems that somebody has TFed before I even got here," Tom thought. "That's a first."
"I'm Ocellus," the girl said, and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Tom extended his own hand, and shook hers, before suddenly getting a static shock. "Ow! Sorry, that sometimes happens at random." He stopped speaking after that sentence. His voice was getting higher, though not much higher, and it had hints of an American accent. The boat began to move off, luckily meaning that nobody could see what was happening. The boat left the station and began to go up the ramp.
Tom, on the other hand, continued to change, almost randomly. His skin turned a very light green that looked almost lime in colour, and his hair, whilst it remained the same length, changed to two tone green, with varying consistency and stripes. His eyes turned green, and his height began to decrease, dropping more than 6 inches judging by how baggy his shirt had become.
Speaking of his clothes, his shoes and socks abruptly shrank around his feet, followed by his slacks shrinking up his legs and turning into a pair of shorts, which turned dark green. His own shirt shrank onto his body, and it also turned green, thus completing the transformation.
Tom quickly checked a certain set of body parts were still on his person, and sighed. "Not often I get to stay the same gender after this," he said. Only then did he notice that Ocellus was looking at him in fascination. "Yeah?"
She giggled. "I suppose I'd better call you Sandbar now, eh?" she said.
"Works for me," Sandbar, as he was now, replied. "You don't seem at all freaked out, though."
"Trust me, I've seen a lot of weird stuff," Ocellus replied. "Including a pink girl in Brentwood who caused havoc at the Hotel Magique, not to mention a much older woman trying to keep her under control."
"I may have seen that on the news," Sandbar said casually, then looked ahead. "And into the river we go. HOLD ON!"
They sailed past rocks and fountains, including one formation that made the face of a tiger, and through burning trees which had been slashed and burned by an illegal logging firm. Nearby, a swamped lorry, overloaded with logs, attempted to drive out, to no avail, and kept sliding back into the water, the wood ablaze all around them.
"This is pretty hot!" Ocellus called.
Not long after, they passed under a flaming bridge... and straight down a thirty foot drop.
"Whoo!" Sandbar called. "Just what you need on a hot summer's day like today!"
Everybody was not wet. Everybody was not drenched. Everybody was SOAKED. The raft floated through a cave that shot water, and under elephants that also shot water. Then, at last, they floated into the dock and the passengers got off.
Sandbar took a seat alongside Ocellus just outside the Yak and Yeti cafe so he could dry off. Both of them were pretty drenched, but luckily neither of them had clothes that had gone see through.
"I'm going to call my friend Jimmy," Sandbar smiled, "and see how he's getting on."
"Jimmy Hook?" Ocellus suddenly asked, but then clamped her hand over her mouth. Sandbar, noticing this, said nothing, but dialled his mate's number.
"Hello?"
Suddenly, Ocellus grabbed Sandbar's phone. "Hi, are you Jimmy?"
"Ocellus!" Sandbar cried. "Give the phone back!" Taking back control of his phone, he started talking. "Who are you today?"
"The Maneiac! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Next she'll start monologing," Sandbar sighed. "Look, same drill as last time. See you this evening."
"Of course." The line closed off.
Sandbar got up to look at Ocellus. "How did you know I was calling Jimmy Hook?" he asked.
"Err, because he's known across the internet for transforming into fictional characters, and once his aura affected other people including two guys called Troy Creed and Tom Haddington, and that got posted on the internet too?" Ocellus replied. "It seemed like a logical conclusion to reach."
Sandbar sighed. "Fair enough." But he wasn't totally convinced Ocellus was telling him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help her God.
Author's Note
Congrats to Poet Knight and Snowkutsune for spotting the Queen reference last chapter.
Sandbar and Ocellus, as described here, are based on this image. First Sandbar TF ever, methinks.
The bit about Brentwood is a reference to 5 Summer Nights by Devious Dazzle.
Night 7: My past is not Today
To say that the previous day was weird would constitute something of an understatement for Tom, Jimmy, and Katrina. Not only had Tom recorded only his second change where his gender stayed the same, Jimmy had seemingly gone a bit loopy. That had really thrown them for a loop!
Katrina, on the other hand, found the contrast between nights four and six amusing in her case, as she had gone from timid in one to a daredevil in another with a love for adrenaline (or, depending on who you ask, ajrenaleen). As they sat about the bus stop, waiting for a bus (for some of them at least, as one was not needing the bus), they had got onto a most odd avenue of depate.
"Well, last night," Tom said, "my brother, not knowing I was Sandbar-"
"And having a nice time with Ocellus," Jimmy teased.
"Our interaction was entirely U rated, OK?" Tom snapped back, his cheecks red with embarrassment over the issue. "And do remember that this is technically your fault, right?"
Jimmy's face fell. "Sorry Tom," he murmured, going to clean some steam off of his glasses.
"Anyways," Tom said, "my brother sent me something on things called hapax legomenon ."
"Aren't those a brand of bricks?" Katrina asked. "You know, as in LEGO?"
"Not quite," Tom replied. "Though I did get a laugh out of the appearance of Taco Tuesday in Rainbow Rocks. Given the two films were being worked on at the same time, I can only assume that the use of the same phrase was a coincidence."
"Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream Everything is better when we stick together Some have said you and I are gonna win forever? Lets party forever We're the same unlike you, you're like me we're all working in harmony Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream"
Jimmy just looked confused. "First Disney, then Hasbro properties, and now the LEGO movie? What is going on here?"
"I'm astonished that you're the one asking the question," Katrina said in amazement. "You seemed to be pretty chill about this the first night when Tom and I were having screaming fits."
"Indeed, Little Miss 'You've Ruined Everything'," Jimmy reminded her. "Tom seemed pretty chill, mind."
"Well, you try going bonkers when you see somebody change into a fictional character in a queue line!" Tom was Tom. No, sorry, that's not quite right. Tom was indignant. "Anyways, I still haven't had a chance to explain what hapax legomenons are. It is where a word only occurs once in the written language."
"Such as?" Jimmy enquired.
"Well," said Tom, pulling up his phone, "notable examples in English include the word flother , a word for snow that only occurs once in The Eleven Pains of Hell , Manticratic only occurs in the T. E. Lawrence Poem The Pillar of Wisdom , and in all likelihood he invented the word, Hebenon is a poison referred to in Shakespeare's Hamlet only once, and Sassigassity only occurs in Dicken's short story The Christmas Tree ."
"Interesting," Jimmy nodded. "But I still don't understand how LEGO fits into all this."
"Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream Everything is better when we stick together Some have said you and I are gonna win forever? Lets party forever We're the same unlike you, you're like me we're all working in harmony Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream"
"Seems like transformations are soon going to be the least of our worries, if these random musical numbers keep happening," Tom sighed. "We had a few in Brentwood, methinks, and that got seriously weird seriously fast."
"You were Rainbow Dash then, remember?" Jimmy reminded him.
"What?" Katrina asked. "Are we just duplicating the same characters of one another?"
"Well, none of us have been Cozy Glow or Suri Polomare."
"I have," Jimmy said.
"On a completely different website," Tom corrected. "Not only that, the official cartographic record suggests that your memory was wiped completely."
"So it doesn't count?" Jimmy asked. He seemed sad at this.
"Mindwiping is just a cheap workaround to resolve the fact that a human and an Equestrian pony will have grown up with completely different cultural experiences," Tom sighed.
"I thought cartography was map making," Katrina added, confused.
Once more, Katrina and Tom found themselves in the same park, once all typos had been corrected. Mercifully, the mention of tacos had not drawn a hidden Sonata Dusk out of hiding, who in all likelihood was either asleep or stuffing her face at Taco Bell (yuck!). The bus trip was fairly mundane down to Hollywood Studios, and once they were through the entrance gates, the pair walked up Sunset Boulevard to their respective destinations. Both of them were in very close proximity to one another, and as a result coming here made perfect sense. As they walked down the street, they noticed the local cinema was playing Gone with the Wind (very controversial, very long, and frankly, my darling, neither of them gave a damn (though Katrina would have used a different word)), as well as frequent references to the film Sunset Boulevard . Ahead of them stood the Hollywood Tower Hotel, still as erratic in its elevator service as it was back on night 2, though whether the Twilight Zone had been cleaned of Rumble's vomit was unknown.
They took a left at where the old trolley tracks were still embedded on the road. This was a common feature in many American cities, so to see it included here showed Disney's attention to detail, and constituted something of a nice touch. Just outside Rockn' Roller Coaster (starring Aerosmith), Tom smiled, said his goodbyes, and headed into the queue. Katrina walked onwards to where she was heading next. Unlike most of the attractions this trip, she wouldn't need a Fastpass on this one. No, it is the enemy-
BOREALE! GET OUT OF MY STORY!
But I'm Bahld!
Do you want me to tell the Emperor that you have fehled!
There is no time to be lorst!
Thank Faust that's over. Anyways, this attraction was one of the few on which she wouldn't need a Fastpass, as this was a show.
The newly opened Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy, an attraction themed around the Cars franchise which took the form of Lightning McQueen himself dispensing tips and tricks about, well, racing I suppose. Which makes sense given he is a race car.
Katrina walked in through the entrance (and not the exit, as the exit was shut, and thus could not be used in any sense of the word). She went in and sat down on a bench, as Life is a Highway was blasted over the speakers. Then the show finally got underway, and so dark was the auditorium that Katrina didn't notice that the very incident timetabled for that very day and that very hour of that very day was underway. Just she didn't notice it somehow. Which is odd.
Her skin turned a very light amber, and her eyes turned blue. Her ponytail (which she had decided to put her hair into for that day for some reason) vanished, the hairband joining her glasses from a few days earlier in oblivion, and her hair flopped down her back. It grew slightly longer, but then another small fragment dropped down her forehead. Not long after that, her hair changed colour, turning red with yellow highlights. Her height shifted around a slight bit, and her hips narrowed slightly.
Then came the clothes. Her pants changed to a pair of leggings (that were blue), soon joined in the changing lark by her shoes, which morphed into a pair of heeled boots with silver buckles with an orange chevron on the front plate. Her shirt turned to light blue, and grew slightly longer, so that it stopped just above her hips. A yellow skirt emerged from the bottom, but which stopped at the very tops of her legs, and the shortest leather jacket ever seen in the history of the human race appeared on top, also featuring the provision of orange chevrons on the sleeves.
The show had ended by this point, and Katrina headed outside, to see she had become Sunset Shimmer. Her glasses were making it hard for her to see, so she removed them. "At least I've seen it from both sides now," she said, in a voice far removed from her own and unusually deep for a teenage girl.
Sunset sat outside Rockin' Roller Coaster, waiting for somebody (probably not Godot). She soaked up the loud rock music being played from speakers, when who should appear but-
"Hey Sunset!" Sunset glanced up to see none other than Flash Sentry smiling at her, and her cheeks went red.
"Hey Flash!" she said, hopping up from the wall. "Enjoy the ride?"
"The ride itself was great, but the music needed some work." There was a pause. "Fancy an ice cream?"
"Sure!" Sunset exclaimed, and the pair walked toward the nearby concession stand. She just wondered what Jimmy was up to...
Author's Note
The (former) bad girl we used to love to hate, now a much loved character. Although Guyver54 did a Sunset TF over on dA, Katrina takes the title for first female to female EqG Sunset Shimmer TF.
If there on a rainy day, Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy provides an excellent refuge from storms.
"Well, I must say," Tom observed, as he and Katrina walked up the path to the entrance to Rockin' Roller Coaster (starring Aerosmith), "that this section of the park- Sunset Boulevard, or Blvd as the road signs like to call it- is most nice, and very well themed. Do you agree?"
Katrina thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, it is!" she said with a smile. "But apparently the real life Sunset Boulevard is something of a dump. Most of Hollywood is, as a matter of fact." They kept walking, past the theatre with Gone with the Wind showing. "Did you know that particular film has one of the most complex and impressive special effects for its time at the end?"
"The burning of Atlanta?" Tom asked. "It must have been incredibly difficult to simulate a fire of that magnitude."
"Nope!" Katrina replied, with a smile on her face. "The director just set the entire set on fire, triggering explosives to time the fires properly. It took thousands of gallons of water to put the fire out, but the result clearly works on screen."
Tom looked to her. "I never took you for a movie buff," he said simply.
"Funny what you know when your extended family works in the film industry," came the reply.
The sounds of loud screams coming from the Hollywood Tower Hotel distracted them momentarily (or should I say, the loud screams coming from the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror distracted them momentarily), as the doors opened and people looked out upon the park. Then the elevator unceremoniously dropped them again, and they shrieked as they plummeted into the abyss of oblivion. Tom grinned. "I wonder if Rumble's vomit is still inside the tower?"
"Tom, that's disgusting," Katrina replied. "Besides, it would technically be your vomit, as you were Rumble at the time!"
"You got me there," Tom sighed, and they took a left at the embedded trolley tracks, not far from the entrance to the attractions that the two that day were interested in, and came to a stop just outside the entrance plaza for Rockin' Roller Coaster (starring Aerosmith). "Well, I suppose this is where we part. See you soon, Kat."
"Yeah, see ya," Katrina replied, and headed off for Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy.
"Enjoy your show!" Tom called after her. As she headed off, Tom went to the Fastpass line and scanned his Magic Band, which was followed by a short burst of music. But the burst of music he got was the last thing he was expecting.
"Jump up, make a sound (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around Start now, make a change Gonna come around"
"Wait, what?" Tom asked. "Why is it suddenly playing the Cafeteria Song from Equestria Girls? It's meant to play 'When you Wish Upon a Star'!
He was so caught up in his thoughts, the loud roar of a guitar and the start of the main riff of Fat Bottomed Girls caught him by surprise, and a small charge jumped from the terminal to him.
"Oh not again," he said quietly. "I'd better get moving." And he flew forward into the Fastpass line before anybody could really see what was going on.
Thankfully, he was into the building for G- Force Records and well out of view of anybody else before anything odd began to happen. Let through by the desk worker, he was processed into the pre- show room and, already aware of the changed beginning, went into a dark corner of the room so nobody would see what was going on. As Steven Tyler began talking on screen about the music of Aerosmith, Tom glanced down at what was going on.
His skin turned to a very mild orange in colour and shade, and this was followed by his eyes going blue for he didn't know the how manyth time that week (or two, he really had no concept of time anymore). His hair began to rise upward, and stuck up behind his head in a horrific haircut, joined by blue eyebrows (just to clarify to those unaware of such things, he did have eyebrows before the blue ones appeared. They just changed colour). Much to his surprise, however, his height didn't change an inch, which was a bit surreal as normally he lost or gained height at this point.
"Maybe the rock theme has something to do with it," he said, before recognising the tone that was coming out of his mouth.
It was the voice of Canterlot High's resident rocker and guitarist.
A character some Bronies hated with a passion.
Flash Sentry. Or Brad, as some people called him for some bizarre reason.
"Well, I hope nobody learns of this," he sighed. "I'd never hear the end of it on Brony forums."
His pants changed into blue slacks, and his shoes into white and black loafers with a white stripe running down the middle, and apparent lack of anything to hold them onto his feet (so why they were attached to his feet is unclear, as they should have fallen off). His shirt turned white, and gained an emblem of a blue shield with a yellow thunderbolt on the front, followed by a black jacket with red and white stripes.
The pre- show ended, not that most people noticed, and the doors to access the ride opened. "Have fun!" the cast member called. "And remember, the faster, the better!"
"In terms of music, not in terms of driving," Tom sighed. "That would be messy if driven badly."
A guy noticed him as they walked into the loading dock. "Hey, I know you from somewhere!" he said, as he looked at Tom.
"I'm Flash," Flash replied. "Not Flash Gordon though."
"FLASH! AHHHHHH! SAVIOUR OF THE UNIVERSE!"
"I wouldn't quite go that far-"
"He's for every one of us
"Where is that coming from?" the man asked. "Hey, any tips for getting close to Twilight Sparkle?"
Flash sighed. "Sorry, but I haven't seen her for a long time. I'm kinda with nobody at the moment, though I have rekindled my friendship with Sunset Shimmer." The fact he suddenly knew these things was a consideration that didn't even cross Flash's mind, as he hadn't known any of these things previously. The limo came to a stop and they boarded, as the vehicle rumbled forward and stopped in front of a traffic dispatch board with a traffic light set to red. This board displayed humourous messages periodically, instructing the riders to travel fast. Then suddenly, Steven Tyler could be heard over the speakers.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO GO GOOOOO!"
The car suddenly thundered forward as the magnets kicked in, and the vehicle accelerated to 57 miles an hour to hit the first corkscrew. The train raced through inversions, through tight curves, down drops (sharp and shallow) and even through more corkscrews to reach the end of the track. All the while, loud rock music was blaring through the speakers as they flew along.
"That chord's slightly off!" Flash commented.
"They did re- write a few of the songs mate," the guy said.
"OK then." Flash sighed as he crossed his arms as best he could, as the over the shoulder restraint was digging into his shoulder. "Maybe they just like distortion guitar here."
They reached the other end, and Flash walked straight through the shop and photo collection point to head outside. As he walked through the exit doors, he saw Sunset Shimmer sitting outside, presumably having finished at Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy. "Hey Sunset!" he called.
"Hey Flash!" she said, hopping up from the wall, her cheeks red. "Enjoy the ride?"
Flash shrugged. "The ride itself was great, but the music needed some work. Fancy an ice cream?"
"Sure!" Sunset exclaimed, and the pair headed off to the nearby concession stand to get one.
The two friends sat on the sidewalk, or next to it at least, eating ice cream that was rapidly melting and was dripping all over the place. Sunset cringed as a huge lump fell off the top and went SPLAT on the floor. "Well, that's annoying."
"Tell me about it," Flash sighed. "Like the endless Queen joke."
"FLASH! AAAAHHH!"
"This is getting silly, as I had that as Rainbow Dash," Sunset sighed, when suddenly her phone went. She went to answer it, and clicked the button. "Hello?"
"Hey Sunny! Nice to see you!"
Sunset was confused. "Sorry, who am I talking to?"
Author's Note
Flash Sentry was not a popular character in the early years of EqG, to say the least, although that seems to have improved in recent times.
I seriously recommend riding Rockin Roller Coaster. It is great.
Jimmy was in Epcot once more, in the World Showcase, which he had previously visited on Night 5 for The Sea with Nemo and Friends. That one had, in and out of itself, had resulted in a transformation into a character that nobody recognised, not even in the comments for the story, and this was a matter of mild concern as it reduced the traffic on the internet that discussed the issue. Obscure TFs are really unpopular for some really odd reason.
Anyways, Jimmy stood before one of the most notable of example of thematic discord (no not that type of Discord, so please calm down Fluttershy) that currently existed in the Disney parks. But first, a quick history lesson.
When Epcot originally opened in 1982, the only pavilions in the World Showcase were, in clockwise order, the United States of America, Japan, France, the United Kingdom (but mostly England barring the odd appearance of Merida here or a token bagpiper there), Canada, Mexico, China, Germany (or, when it opened, West Germany, as the two bits hadn't been put back together yet), and Italy. Norway hadn't opened until 1988, when it appeared with detailed replicas of Stave Church, the Akershus Fortress, and even a typical Norwegian bakery that served rice cream (no, that is not a typo). The pavilion was opened by then Crown Prince Harald of Norway (now King Harald V), and had continued to fund the pavilion until 2002.
One of the most notable features of the Pavilion was the signature ride, Maelstrom. Maelstrom was a hybrid of a dark ride and log flume that took riders through Norwegian legends, such as Vikings, trolls, and even a brief appearance from Odin himself. Then, the riders were flung forward in time and found themselves in the North Sea, beneath an oil rig in the midst of a thunderstorm. Then, they docked at a Norwegian coastal town and headed through the exit (nobody ever stopped to watch the promotional film at the end anyways).
Why the problem, you may ask? Well, in 2013, Frozen happened. Many parents probably wish it didn't, but Disney executives are sure happy it did, if the films box office performance and the fact that Frozen merchandise continues to fly off the shelves worldwide is any indicator of success. Amidst all the news of success and suchlike, Disney announced in 2014 that Maelstrom would be closed and rethemed around Frozen, but would retain the exact same ride layout. Maelstrom operated for the final time on October 5th, 1988, and work to retheme the ride began soon after. The replacement, Frozen Ever After, opened in 2016, and was a godsend for lovers of the bigger thrill rides as it drew do many people out of their queues. But it was remarkable how much of Maelstrom had survived from the original ride, and Jimmy was determined that very day to spot some of it if he could.
But why the thematic discord, you may ask? Well, as many have pointed out, it seems very odd to put a ride based on a film set in a fictional country in a pavilion based on a real one. It's like putting a ride about Avalon in the UK Pavilion, or a ride about Siegfried in the German pavilion. OK, not a great example, but you get the idea.
Anyways, and before I digress further, Jimmy headed straight for the queue of the ride and scanned his band on the terminal in order to access the Fastpass+ line. He was going to need it, as the queue stretched all the way into China, and the board gave a wait time of 70 minutes! As the Fastpass+ line cut the wait time approximately in half, this meant that he had 35 minutes to wait. But as anybody who knows Jimmy will knows Jimmy will know, thirty five minutes is an EXTREMELY long time, and all sorts of weird stuff can happen. And if you thought all of the previous days put together were weird, well, to quote Al Jolson, 'You ain't seen nothin' yet.'
Jimmy was in the line of queues, for what seemed like forever as the speakers blasted out music such as For the First Time in Forever, and the dreaded Let it Go (the curse and plague of practically any place with small kids for more than 5 years). Jimmy sighed, and glanced about. Luckily, he wasn't getting any odd looks. Due to his long hair and lack of beard or moustache, he could easily pass for a woman if viewed from behind. Though he wouldn't be simply passing as a woman for much longer.
His skin got going on the process by switching to a very light blue, almost the same shade that Rainbow Dash had for her skin. His entire body shrank in height, meaning his clothes got increasingly baggy, and he jumped when suddenly he felt pressure building up near the tops of his legs. Suddenly his hips pushed outward with an audible pop, and his butt began inflating, which stretched his pants. Two other bits retracted into his body, to be replaced with some completely different ones, now rendering Jimmy a she, yet again. Something began pushing her shirt forward, and as Jimmy glanced down it became clear what. Her breasts were growing, stopping when they were about B cups. Her eyes turned blue, and his hair promptly exploded in all directions, becoming a misshapen mess of pink and blue. Essentially, she looked like a low budget Pinkie Pie.
As two hearts appeared under her eyes, her shoes changed into a pair of old sandles that had purple heels but orange buckles and frames, as her pants strank back up her legs and attached themselves to her shirt. The legs merged, and created the shortest mini skirt ever seen in the history of humanity, which was pink and purple with yet more hearts on it. The sleeves and shoulders of the top part of the skirt vanished, and feathers appeared over her shoulders, joined by a choker around her neck, as the bodice turned varying shades of blue and purple, with even more hearts.
Kiwi Lollipop sighed. "Well, don't I look hideous," she said. She then went on with the queue, thankfully it being so dark and so loud that nobody heard what was going on.
Author's Note
If you thought Supernova Zap was bad, well... look what we have here.
View Online
Night 8: Yo ho, yo ho, a Kerfuffled life for me
Adventureland was, as the name suggests, a land where adventures happened. Themed around a mish mash of the far east and somewhere in the Middle East (Agrabar, maybe? That'd be a plausible one), it fitted in perfectly with the humid, stifling heat of Florida, and made sure the visitor was fully immersed in the experience of visiting and having fun. Just opposite Jimmy's current location, the Enchanted Tiki Room (thankfully no longer under new management) had just let out its latest crowd, and they were merrily singing along to the glorious soundtrack of that truly bizarre ride.
"In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki tiki room,
Jimmy laughed. He remembered this ride well. "I wonder what they were smoking when they came up with that," he smiled, and headed onwards into the park towards his intended destination, walking past the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and a part of the Jungle Cruise on the way. A group of passengers were howling with laughter over a hilarious commentary given by one of the boat captains, and seemed to be in high spirits indeed.
But Jimmy had no time for that. He had a journey to the land of the Buccaneers to look forward to.
When Walt Disney World was in the planning stages in the mid to late 1960s, one of the more popular rides at the Anaheim park was Pirates of the Caribbean. However, the imagineers had assumed that the potential visitors to Florida would not have been interested in a ride about pirates, given that there had been real pirates in Florida in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the dreaded Blackbeard. Instead, they planned an elaborate water based dark ride about the Wild West, which intersected with a roller coaster and a trail through the Rocky mountains. However, when Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, the first question most visitors asked was; "Where's Pirates of the Caribbean?"
In response, the Wild West ride concept was scrapped, and the imagineers put together a heavily abridged version of Pirates of the Caribbean to satisfy the guests. However, the Wild West concept was later revived, in the forms of Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad respectively.
And so, Jimmy went forward to the queue line, and scanned his magic band for the very last time. He walked into the queue building, built to look like a storehouse for explosives, gunpowder, rum (very important to Jack Sparrow), and even prisoners, judging from the prison cell that was partway through the queue. Jimmy walked along it, and was directed into the second line to sit. When the boat arrived a few moments later, he sat down, and other passengers joined him for this journey back into history. Within a few minutes, the boat launched into the water.
With the loud booming of "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES," the boat rolled past an abandoned pirate camp, where treasure and other useful items lay scattered about. The boat rounded a curve, and ahead of them was a skeleton, operating a ship's wheel in a storm whilst thunderbolt and lightning (very very frightening) echoed all around.
Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Figaro.
Magnifico.
Anyways, that's enough Queen. Disney only has the license to play their music in Hollywood Studios. Suddenly, the boat approached a drop, and went flying down it in pitch blackness, plummeting into the abyss.
And then it happened. It was so dark, Jimmy couldn't see what was happened, and nor could he feel what was going on either. For magic was doing some exceptionally weird things today.
Firstly, his shorts changed into a yellow skirt with a purple trim on the bottom, and his shirt merged with it. The sleeves shrank back into nothingness, and a purple waistband appeared on the skirt. His shirt shrank back so that his left shoulder was completely bare, and the other one turned into a strap holding the garment on. An badge with a pair of knitting needles appeared over the strap, and more of this purple trim appeared on the top of the garment. He gained a purple sandle on his left foot, but not his right, oddly enough.
The next bit, sadly, sounds like something out of an old anthology horror film. His left leg from just above his knee vanished, and was replaced by a wooden prosphetic that had golden trim and a metal joint. Magic then connected the limb to Jimmy's nervous system, allowing him to move it as if it was a natural leg.
His entire body shrank, his clothes with him, and his manhood vanished up through his body to where the sun doesn't shine, being replaced with something else a few moments later; a womanhood. Her hips popped outwards and her waist narrowed, followed by a pair of breasts appearing on her chest. Her eyes turned purple, her skin blue, and her hair into a messy combination pink and white, with braids holding some of it in ponytails, and a further hair piece styled like a pin holder.
Not that Jimmy noticed any of this, of course. When the boat hit the bottom of the drop and splashed everybody, it was only then he noticed. As did the other passengers.
"Help!" cried one guy, jokingly. "There's a pirate on board!"
"Yarr!" Kerfuffle replied. "Off to Davy Jones with ye!"
The other passengers just laughed, as they knew she was only pretending.
The boat sailed past scenes of pirates stealing rum, of auctions of goods (led by a female pirate called Red who replaced an older character not too popular with the modern crowd), pirates being chased by women with saucepans, and even THE HAIRY LEG! There were also some pigs, for some reason, a dog, a few pirates in jail, and even Captain Jack Sparrow dotted around a few places.
Despite her wooden prosphetic, Kerfuffle had no difficulty walking around the park. For some reason, it was moving just as easily as a natural leg would, and this made her happy indeed.
"Yo ho, yo ho, a Pirate's life for me!" she sang, as she walked out of the Adventureland section of the park, into the central plaza in front of Cinderella Castle, and onwards into Tomorrowland. She was utterly oblivious to the odd stares she was getting from a few people, irrespective of whether it was her leg or her attire, which was a little odd. As she walked into the land, she saw a girl with yellow skin who seemed excited.
"Yes!" she cried. ""Best score to me." The girl took her jacket off, and hung it over her arm. "I still feel as though I should have been in this form in Hollywood Studios though. That would have been far better for me."
"Hey Juniper!" Kerfuffle called, which got the other girl's attention. She wandered over to her.
"What happened to you?" Juniper asked, a slight frown on her face. "You look like a pirate? Did you get lost on your way to Pirates of the Carribean? Walt would be most annoyed seeing a Fantasyland character in Tomorrowland!"
"You're not the only one to wonder that," Kerfuffle replied. "Looks like you were able to use your geekiness to win a great victory. And Pirates of the Carribean is in Adventureland, not Fantasyland."
"A high score," Juniper smiled. "Didn't you get this one a few months back?"
"Yes indeed," Kerfuffle grinned in response. "Looks like we've each got ours now."
Suddenly, a massive explosion of candy roared into the air over Fantasyland.
"Hit the sea, ye landlubber!" Kerfuffle called. "Looks like a problem o' Diane!"
"Absolutely!" Juniper replied, and set off after her. "You do realise these shoes make it hard to run, right?"
Author's Note
Apparently, she appeared in Rainbow Roadtrip (NO SPOILERS. IT HASN'T AIRED IN THE UK YET).
The original concept for this chapter was for Jimmy to suffer an injury that required his leg to be amputated, and Kerfuffle's leg fitted in its place. I decided not to go with this, as it seemed a bit tasteless (and a ride malfunction chapter would be, methinks, in poor taste, as today is September 11th). Hence why we have this.
We'll check in with Katrina tomorrow, then onwards to the final chapter.
"It's a world of laughter
"It's a small world after all!
Katrina sighed. "If I hear that song once more, I'm pretty certain I'm going to go mad." She seemed oddly down, to those who did not know the great provenance of this day, but to those who did know the great provenance of this day, it indeed being great and sad, her behaviour would have seemed logical. Not to mention It's a Small World is something of an ear worm anyways, but that's besides the point.
Katrina seemed, at this moment in time, to be quite quiet and sullen, as she prepared to join the queue. "This must be like what being Maud Pie is like," she said sadly. To describe Maud as perpetually miserable, or possibly just utterly dry and disinterested in everything, would constitute something of an understatement in this field. She spoke with a monotonous tone of voice, and never seemed to shift beyond that, making for a dramatic contrast with her sister Pinkie.
Katrina suddenly spotted something odd. An errant piece of pink candy floss was floating through the air, and she reached up to grab it. Not long after the incident, you can probably guess what happened. The customary electric shock flowed out of the candy floss and into Katrina, who knew the drill pretty well by know, and took the opportunity to retreat to the nearby bathrooms (themed around Tangled for some bizarre reason that Katrina could not possible fathom, not being so familiar with that particular film, and hopped into a stall, slamming it shut as she did so. Same as ever, she then went to face a mirror.
Sure enough, it then started off for the last time, but the order changed around once again. It was very inconsistent as to where it started, or ended, but the fact remained that it started, and thus it did.
Her shoes lost their laces, and the front plate covered over to fill in the lost space, followed by a heel pushing out of the bottom of each of the shoes. These shoes, or boots as they could now more accurately be described, began to grow up her legs, stopping just below her knees. They turned blue, and the leg portions were threaded with white laces in a criss cross pattern, which held them onto her feet and legs. Just in case they didn't hold, a pair of pink bows appeared in order to hold them in place.
Her pants shrank back up her legs to about her knees, and the zip and button on them vanished, some form of elastic waistband taking over that particular duty. The legs merged together, and the divide between them vanished, producing some sort of mini skirt. It then turned to pink in colour, before suddenly poofing outwards quite explosively. A depiction of three balloons appeared in it as her shirt turned white, followed by a purple bow appearing around her waist. She gained purple trim on the top of her shirt, which gained a V neck, with a blue cardigan following its way on top of it a few seconds later. Katrina would need to ask Jimmy about the ability of clothes to just appear from nowhere, as it had happened with multiple garments she had worn over the last few days.
"Could it be?" she said, already aware her voice was INCREDIBLY high pitched. A pair of golden bracelets appeared on her wrists as her skin turned pink. She gained bright blue eyes, and her hair turned pink, suddenly exploding in all directions with an audible pop. Her height dropped slightly, to stay in line with the character, and then it stopped, just as suddenly as it had started.
Pinkie Pie was suddenly filled with uncontrollable levels of energy. "I'M SO EXCITED!" she cried, as she started bouncing up and down.
Moments later, a customer walked into the same restrooms and opened one of the empty stalls. Big mistake.
Seconds later, all of the stall doors flew open and confetti flew out of them in a tital wave of paper. The customer got wedged to the back wall.
"What in the world?" she asked.
"Sorry!" Pinkie cried, her head popping out of a roof vent. "The author just thought that a reference to Pinkie Pie's ending to Best Trends Forever would be a super cool idea and would perfectly convey my personality!"
"What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I don't know." Pinkie appeared on the floor just as suddenly. "But I've got a ride to catch, bye!"
The boat trundled past yet another display of dolls singing and dancing.
"It's a world of laughter
"It's a small world after all!
None of the dolls seemed especially excited. "Hmmm," Pinkie said, a hand on her chin. "How about we liven things up a bit?"
"There is just one moon And one golden sun
"It's a small world after all!
Suddenly, Pinkie was attached to the roof, dressed like a Spy from Splinter Cell, and dropped in some loudspeakers and a few party cannons. Then she added Gummy to the Hawaian display, for some reason.
Just as the boat came around the corner again, and she was somehow back in the boat, each and every party cannon and loudspeaker suddenly went off. Confetti, candy, and other items flew everywhere as the speakers began playing an upbeat remix of It's a Small World!
"It's a world of laughter
"It's a small world after all!
"There is just one moon And one golden sun
"It's a small world after all!
"COME ON EVERYBODY!" Pinkie cried. "TIME TO PARTY!"
Reportedly, the ride operators were confused as to why the ride suddenly went so upbeat, but they put it down to a technical glitch or a crossed frequency. This was not a problem, judging from their responses, and as such they did little about it, especially as the ride returned to normal after Pinkie got off.
Only problem was, she decided to go and buy some candy next. Which exploded. And it was visible over most of the park. "Oops," Pinkie said, with a giant smirk.
Moments later, Kerfuffle and Juniper arrived to see what was going on.
"What happened?" Juniper asked, visibly confused.
"Well, I bought some candy and some more candy and them BOOM! It was in the sky like fireworks! WHEEEEE!"
As Pinkie randomly started to float off, Kerfuffle pulled her down. "Attach weights to the cargo!" she called.
Once Pinkie was safely teathered down, Juniper stared at her. "Are you feeling quite alright?"
"I COULDN'T BE BETTER!"
"Stop shouting in my face!" Juniper replied. "And stop being ridiculous!"
"Aww, but I'm so good at it." Pinkie suddenly floated off and ate some chocolate coloured almonds, Pac-man style.
Kerfuffle shook her head. "Take me back to sea," she sighed.
After some more thrills and spills in the Magic Kingdom, they gathered at Cinderella's Castle to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks.
After a dramatic fanfare, a narrator began to speak. "And they all lived happily ever after. Each of us has a dream, a heart’s desire. It calls to us. And when we’re brave enough to listen, and bold enough to pursue, that dream will lead us on a journey to discover who we’re meant to be. All we have to do is look inside our hearts and unlock the magic within."
Juniper, Pinkie Pie and Kerfuffle looked up with happy smiles at the spectacle unfolding before them. Fireworks, projections, and music and light exploded before them in a glorious tapestry of light and sound.
"Why can't real life be this cheerful?" Juniper asked, sadly. She would have a cold, rainy, country to go home to.
"It can be," Pinkie smiled. "Just remember that life is a Party."
The narrator's words echoed through the park as the show came to an end. "And so, our journey comes to an end. But yours continues on. Grab ahold of your dreams and make them come true. For you are the key to unlocking your own magic. Now go. Let your dreams guide you. Reach out and find your Happily Ever After."
And so, the day came to an end. For the trip had been a magical one, but not quite what they had originally intended. But, it can be said that the magic of Disney never truly leaves, and goes with you wherever you go.
Author's Note
LIFE IS A PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDSsvS7t_eI
The Happily Ever After fireworks are superb. They are also the last thing I did at Walt Disney World.
Tomorrow will be the final chapter, in which the story shall be wrapped up.
Night 9: You'll be in my Heart
The next day dawned, and it was the 9th day. Now was the time to be sad indeed. As today was the day they needed to go to the airport and catch their flights home.
Tom slowly woke up, sitting up in bed. He glanced down, only to see that he was still Juniper. "Well, this throws a spanner in the works somewhat," she said with a groan. She would have difficulty explaining this to the car hire people, she knew it. Not to mention this would make passport control problematic, as she looked nothing like the guy on the passport that she had in her possession. And her friends, Jimmy and Katrina, who were presumably still Kerfuffle (yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me) and Pinkie Pie (who had been awake for a few hours beyond them possibly due to the permanent sugar rush she seemed to be on most days). But still, they would get to that hurdle when it came to it. First things first though, time to get in the shower, dressed, and to the airport for breakfast. But before breakfast, passport control and checking luggage in.
After having washed, which was still awkward for a guy who only spent small amounts of time as a female, Juniper quickly packed her case full of her possessions, as well as her carry on luggage, and headed out of the door to knock on the other rooms, numbers 102 and 103 to be precise. Being supersticious in many ways, they had avoided booking room 101. "Wake up, you two!" she called. "We need to go!"
"Aye, me hearties!" she heard Kerfuffle call from inside her room. "This here ship isn't going to sail itself."
"Ships cannot fly," Juniper sighed, facepalming as she did so. "We're catching a plane, remember?"
"Well," came the reply, "a plane is a ship of the sky. Besides, Peter Pan got a sailing ship flying, didn't he?"
Juniper sighed again. "Touche." She then paused once more. "Pinkie? Are you ready?"
Both sets of doors flew open at once, and both of them appeared from the doors. Pinkie's hair was flat, rather than all over the place, and her face looked tired, cold even. "Let's go then," she said quietly, her words completely devoid of any emphasis. You'd have thought she was Maud, not Pinkie Pie!
"OK," Juniper, beckoning to the corridor, said to the duo, and led the way, the silence that permeated punctuated by Kerfuffle's leg impacting with the ground with a dull thud. They loaded the car, and Juniper hopped in to drive it back. She was lucky she could pass herself off as an adult old enough to hire one. The drive back to the airport was completely silent. Nobody said a word. Nobody was in the mood to say anything.
Eventually, they found themselves in the departure lobby for Orlando airport, having cleared security. Juniper looked at the others. "Well, this is goodbye," she said sadly.
Pinkie finally said something. "I don't want it to end," she sniffed sadly.
"I know how ye feel," Kerfuffle told her, rubbing her back. "But don't be sad that it's over. Smile because it happened."
"Besides," Juniper chimed in, "it's not as if we'll never see each other again. So, in many ways this isn't goodbye. The Germans say auf wiedersiehn, which means 'until I see you again'."
"Until I see ye again," Kerfuffle smiled. "May you have good skies and clear seas."
"You two." Juniper turned to Pinkie. "Have fun in Kansas, and I hope to see you soon."
Pinkie nodded. "See ya," she said, before burying her head in some candy.
A loud beep sounded, indicating Juniper's flight being called. She headed away to catch it, but as she walked on, she never stopped looking back at her friends, and turned a corner, exchanging one last wave goodbye before they went out of sight.
This story is dedicated in memory of Walter Elias Disney, 1901 to 1966.
You reminded us that There's a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the end of Every Day.
Author's Note
As you've probably guessed by now, I've been a fan of Walt Disney's work since I was very young. That probably had something to do with the fact my parents are big Disney fanatics (as was my grandfather). As a result, Walt Disney World (and Disneyland) are amongst my favourite places on Earth.
This was also a tribute to my close friends, JimmyHook19 and Misty Rose. I hope you enjoyed this story, and have a Zip-a-dee-doo-da day!
Life was fairly quiet in Topeka, Kansas, and Katrina Miller had little to do. The summer was oddly quiet for her, as some of her friends were off in other parts of the world, and others still were occupied with life, work, and other things. It was also a Sunday, so she was back from church (small c, not big C. Small c is the building that rings its bells once a week) with not much else to occupy the sabbath.
"Why am I so bored?" she asked. Normally she appreciated all that life sent her, as good things can be given, and then just as suddenly taken away. Her mind drifted to one of her other friends, Tom. Only earlier that summer, he and another friend, Jimmy Hook, had had a crazy few days in Brentwood, California. Katrina hadn't been given all the details, but the fact that the speaker's voice on the other end of the phone was different each time had given her a little clue.
Just then, her phone went off, playing its familiar ringtone of My Lighthouse by the Rend Collective. Jumping a bit, she went over to it to pick it up.
"Hello?" she asked, not sure who would be calling her at this hour.
"Hi Kat!" said the voice at the other end of the line. Katrina instantly recognised it as Tom's voice. "How does life find you in the West?"
"Quiet, to be honest," Katrina replied, with a sigh. "Where are you? Wouldn't you normally be in bed now?"
"I've just touched down at Orlando Airport," came the reply.
"Come again?"
"I've just touched down at Orlando Airport," Tom replied. "Jimmy, myself and John Rooke had booked a trip to Walt Disney World from this Monday for 8 days."
"Lucky," Katrina said. She hadn't been there in years, although she still had a MyDisney account from when she had booked her Fastpasses.
"We've hit a slight snag. John has had to cancel at the last minute, and instead of refunding me, the company is letting me transfer his booking and tickets to a friend. They've also wiped the Fastpass bookings so the new recipient can put in new ones. The question is... would you want to join us?" Tom's offer hung in the air for a moment, before Katrina grabbed it with both hands.
"Would I want to join you guys? Count me in!"
"I thought you would." Suddenly, a loud bong interrupted the voice. "Blast it. I've gotta go. Jimmy's flight is due in any minute now, and I need to pick up the hire car. The details will be moved to your account, all you need to worry about is booking a flight and your Fastpasses!" The line went quiet.
Katrina looked around in disbelief. This wasn't happening, right? She pinched herself to check she wasn't dreaming. Sure enough, she wasn't. She sat down at her laptop, and, after finding her login details for MyDisney, went onto her account. After all, she had her Fastpasses (and a flight) to book.
The plane touched down the next day at Orlando International Airport, at 5 in the afternoon. After stumbling off the plane and finding her suitcase flying around on the carousel, Katrina wandered out into the exit hall, to see a very familiar face standing there. The same brown eyes and hair, combined with a blue shirt and grey pants, though they had last seen each other a little over a year ago.
"Am I glad to see you!" Tom exclaimed. "Was the flight OK?"
"As good as it could have been," Katrina replied. "Flying never was my style, as it gives me back ache."
"Same," Tom mused. "Shall we be heading to the park? We're booked into the Grand Floridian, and Jimmy's already there setting stuff up for you."
"Anything odd happen?" Katrina asked.
"If by 'odd', you mean 'spontaneous transformation into children's cartoon characters, then no," Tom replied. "Shall we get going? My first booking kicks in at 8, on Soarin' Across the World."
"Sure, by all means!" Katrina exclaimed. Extending the handle, she and Tom set off for the parking lot.
The car rolled into the entrance gate, underneath a monorail line. A monorail whooshed over and headed off into the distance, another load of happy passengers on board.
"Those are the new Mark VI's!" Tom exclaimed, as the Cars soundtrack blasted from the speakers. "They have those working all the lines on the resort monorail system, as well as the Epcot shuttle!"
"If you say so!" Katrina replied, grinning with glee at the scene all around her. Ever since she had been a kid, she had loved most things Disney related. This had never gone away, and even now in adulthood (18) that had never gone away. Neither had the narrator's habit of repeating himself. Tom took a side road, and then drove to the parking lot of the Grand Floridian. He stopped the engine, and got out of the driver's seat.
"Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for? Adventure awaits!" And he went around the back and opened the boot so that he could help Katrina retrieve her bags.
After a short walk through the halls to the rooms (check in was easy), they arrived at rooms 102, 103, and 104. Having rooms close to one another was a smart move, as it meant that they could easily talk to one another or coordinate. As they stopped, a man with long, messy brown hair and red glassed stepped out of room 104. He had brown eyes, and was wearing a red polo shirt, white shorts, and white trainers.
"Ah, Tom!" he said, in his distinct and cheerful American accent. "I've just finished setting up your room! The lights are a little awkward, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"Indeed," Tom replied. "Katrina, you're in 102, Jimmy's in 103, and I'm in 104. That way, we can easily stay in touch. Speaking of which, we'd probably best be off into the parks as soon as you're done unpacking. I need to get to Soarin'."
"I need to head to Space Mountain," Jimmy added. "My slot runs out at 7."
"Good thing it's the next stop on the route, eh?" Tom replied. "Katrina, you told me your first Fastpass is in Animal Kingdom. That's not on the monorail system, so you'll need to take the bus. Make sure to get on the right one, or else you may end up in Disney Springs!"
Katrina nodded, and then went into her room.
After getting changed and having a shower, Katrina caught the bus to Animal Kingdom. It was a relatively smooth ride, given the dreadful reputation of WDW buses, but Katrina didn't complain. It was that or drive, something she wanted to avoid or else incur a $25 parking charge. That would really cut into her finances. As she hopped off the bus and walked past the Tree of Life, a host of happy memoriea of coming here with her family flooded back into her mind. Those had been some of the happiest days she remembered, but they were always in her heart.
Enough referencing Tarzan. As Katrina walked into Dinoland, USA, she wondered what it would be like to be a little kid again.
She really should have been more careful what she wished for.
As Katrina walked toward the Fastpass+ line for Dinosaur, she suddenly felt her shoe come loose. Assuming the laces had come undone, she stopped to tie them up, only for it to fall off entirely. As she looked in confusion, her socks became loose as well. She could clearly see her toes moving back in her socks. She could also feel it.
Her feet were shrinking!
Letting out a high pitched, girlish shriek, Katrina ran for a nearby tree as the world started getting bigger around her. She dived into cover, the inches melting away off her height, before it stopped. Her clothes hung loosely off her body, and she grimaced as her hips narrowed and her breasts shrank. To any bystander, she looked like a preteen girl.
Her skin turned pink and her eyes changed from their usual hazel tone to red. Her hair shrank up her back, and began to grow again on top of her head, forming into a vast maze of curls. It then turned an icy blue colour, compared to the usual brown.
As Katrina was still unable to process a single coherent thought as to what was happening, her clothes began changing. Her shirt turned white from grey to white, gaining a colour, and becoming softer. Her jeans shrank onto her body before the legs merged together, making a skirt, and shrank up to just above her knees. The zip and button vanished, and the skirt turned green. Then, more green fabric began to grow, snaking up her front and back before joining together on the tops of her shoulders but leaving the top button exsposed, making a sleeveless dress. As her shoes transformed into a pair of black formal shoes, a white hairband appeared in her hair, completing the transformation.
Katrina went over to a puddle to try and process what on Earth had just happened.
Cozy Glow looked right back at her.
Cozy looked around her. "Well, I'd better get in line!" she exclaimed, before heading off to the Fastpass line and checking her Magic Band was still secure. She'd hate to lose it.
After successfully scanning her Magic Band at the start of the line, Cozy joined the line and walked in. The staff were probably used to kids joining queues, hence their lack of surprise at her age. As she walked through the queue, she looked in interest at the galleries and displays on the prehistoric world they were about to enter.
"Look!" a boy shouted, pointing to the central dinosaur in the main atrium. "A T-Rex!"
Cozy giggled. "T-Rex's don't have horns, silly!" she said. "That's a Carnataur. Or, 'meat eating bull', in Greek."
"Interesting," said the boy's mother, who up to this point had been trying to keep her daughter under control. "What's your name?"
"Ka- er, I mean Cozy Glow, ma'am!" Cozy replied, trying to save face as best she could.
"That name rings a bell," the woman replied, focusing her attention on her daughter again. "These creatures eat misbehaving children, which will include you if you don't behave."
The child fell quiet almost immediately.
The ride video explained the story; a scientist was trying to bring back an Iguanadon from the Cretacious era, and was recruiting the riders to hijack a CTX Time Rover to do so. This was against protocol, as they were dangerously close to the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs. But the scientist assured them nothing was dangerous.
"What could go wrong?" he asked the riders rhetorically, as the doors to the loading bays opened.
"Where have I heard that one before?" Cozy asked rhetorically. This story felt oddly familiar. She sat down and attached her seatbelt, then sat back as the Rover rumbled forward into the darkness.
The ride was exceptionally bumpy, as the vehicle lurched from dinosaur to dinosaur, racing round bends, flying up and down hills, and narrowly avoiding being eaten by carnotaurs. At last, when it seemed they had failed and the carnotaur had got them, they found their iguanadon and scanned it. They then returned to the present, with an extra passenger in tow.
Later that evening, she sat eating her evening meal of a burger and fries at Restaurantosaurus, the nearby eatery. "The only problem with that ride," Cozy noted, "is it was so dark and fast that you could barely see anything."
Just then a thought flashed into her mind. What had happened to Jimmy and Tom. She grabbed her phone and dialled Tom, waiting for it to pick up.
"Hello?" asked a female voice on the other end.
Author's Note
Hello everyone! I visited WDW over the summer, and that inspired this story. In case you are wondering who is who, Katrina is the OC of Misty Rose, Jimmy Hook is JimmyHook19, and Thomas Haddington is me.
There is a brief nod to the story Countdown to Extinction , by MarioBrony. Can you spot it?
This piece of art is the loose inspiration for the way Cozy Glow is described here.
See you soon!
Night 1: I really, really like you
Tom sighed as he hopped off the Epcot monorail. The run from the Grand Floridian had been awkward. First, he had had to go to the Transportation and Ticketing Center, which was currently a building site judging from all the JCBs rolling about, and then transfer to the Epcot loop, which was full of noisy people. He sighed. Although he had spent move of the journey next to a woman screaming at her kids for the terrible sin of being tired, he had at least seen Chef Mickey's inside the Contemporary. He had happy memories of that place. He had gone to a character breakfast there when just 7 years old, and the excitement of seeing Mickey signing his name in his own autograph book was something he had never forgotten. He walked down the ramp to the park, and after scanning his Magic Band on the gate, he walked into the park and to the Leave a Legacy panels. His face was somewhere in that collection of images imprinted on the walls.
"I doubt people want to look at my ugly mug," he joked, and walked underneath Spaceship Earth. Akin to a giant tennis ball, it stood as the icon of the park, and a monument to human ingenuity and invention. More than anything else, it conveyed the optimism of Walt Disney himself. He had always believed that the world was on an endless cycle of improvement, and that technology was a part of that. After all 'there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day', to quote the Carousel of Progress. Tom walked onwards, and took a right toward the Land Pavillion. Epcot, or 'Eggpot', as his brother so often called it, was built around two themed areas. The first, FutureWorld, consisted of a set of 5 pavillions, two of which had closed and one was being torn down to make way for a Guardians of the Galaxy rollercoaster. Seriously, how did that fit the theme?
Anyways, he was headed for the Land Pavillion, where Soarin' across the World was located. There was no time to waste, so Tom went inside, scanned his Magic Band against the terminal, and headed into the queue.
The queueline had exceptional attention to detail, being filled with potted plants, departure boards filled with flight times, and even those weird carpets that airports often have that catch the eye if only in terms of how horrifying they are. Tom looked around him, impressed at the level of theming to make the rider feel as if they were actually in an airport.
"Disney sure never miss a detail," he said, as his hand brushed over a rail guarding the edge of the queue. Just then, an electric pulse shot through him. "Ow! What the Heck!?"
A group of people looked over to Tom as he steadied himself, gripping the railings in support. Wait a second, was the rail getting bigger? Tom looked down and saw his hands were shrinking, as his entire body slimmed down.
"Why here?" He asked, before stopping. Any trace of his former accent was gone, replaced by a cute American one. His skin went a very light turquoise, as he gained a daintier figure. His manhood suddenly shot into his body, causing HER to yell in pain. There was a crack as her hips expanded, and then her butt inflated, making his slacks quite tight. Just as suddenly, her shoulders snapped inward.
Tom knew what was coming next, as her nipples started getting softer. Her chest soon began swelling, growing into a pair of B cup breasts. Her eyes changed colour from brown to a very light blue. Then her hair began growing longer, flowing down her back and seeming to float in place, like gravity didn't apply to it.
"Who- wha?" Tom asked, confused. She'd been through TFs before, but this was by far the most painful. She had no further time to think, however, as her socks grew up her legs to her knees. This was followed by her trainers morphing into a pair of turquoise sandles, with her slacks shrinking up her legs to just above her knees. The legs merged together, changing into a skirt that had two layers. The top half was coloured a gentle blue with a white star pattern, and the second half was coloured cream with brown stars arranged in a similar pattern. She suddenly felt a lot more at ease; this was so much more her style!
Her shirt began to change as well, gaining a collar with buttons running from the neck to her waist, where the shirt terminated. The sleeves grew to her wrists, which she subconsciously rolled up to her elbows.
She glanced about, to see everybody and their dog staring at her. "You all saw that, right?" she asked.
The crowd's reaction was all she needed to know.
"Oh sugarcubes!"
Suddenly, a queue began moving again, and Tom followed it. At the end of the queue, she was directed into a holding bay showing them their journey across the world.
"Impressive, isn't it? Said a voice behind her. Tom turned around to see a boy with dark blue skin and green hair looking at her. "We fly all the way from America across the globe, calling at the Matterhorn, Ijsford, Sydney, Neauchwanstein, Kilimanjaro, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, Mitten Buttes at Monument Valley, the Lau islands, Iguazu Falls, the Eiffel Tower, and Epcot. Pretty neat, huh?"
Tom looked at him. "Wow, he's cute!" she thought. "I wonder how long it took to put the ride film together!"
"Me too," the boy laughed. "My name's Sky Stinger. And you are?"
Tom thought for a moment. "Vapour Trail," she replied.
Just then, the lights dropped, and the briefing video started. A man appeared on screen, dressed as a pilot.
"Hello to you all," he said. "In just a few minutes, you will be taken on a flight across the globe. But before we can take to the skies, there are a couple of safety checks we need to make."
The screen changed to show a group of people getting on the ride vehicles with narration to emphasise what they were doing.
"Please make sure to follow the instructions the stewards give you. Please make sure to move along to the end of the row, and put your bags in the pouches in front of you for safe keeping. Pull your seatbelt from your right over to your left, and secure it with the red buckle. To release, push down on the red button. In the unlikely event of an emergency, lights will show to denote the exits."
The visuals then cut back to the pilot. "On behalf of my colleagues, I wish you a safe and pleasant flight."
The lights came back up again, and the doors rolled open. "All crew, prepare for boarding," said a voice over the intercom.
"C'mon!" Sky smiled. "Let's go!"
Vapour laughed. "Sure thing!" The two of them headed into the departure bay, where several glider like structures hung before them. The ushers- sorry, cast members- directed them to the front one, and both of them sat down and put their seatbelts on. Sky looked at Vapour with a friendly smile.
"Nervous?" he asked. Vapour nodded, her face forming a nervous smile.
"First time?"
"No, I've been nervous lots of times," Vapour admitted. The cast members finished their last checks, and gave a thumbs up.
"Clear for takeoff!" called one.
The lights in the room darkened, and the gliders suddenly lifted into the air. "Control, this is flight 4056, requesting clearance for takeoff," said the voiceover.
"Roger that flight 4056, clearance for takeoff is granted. Have a pleasant flight."
"Thank you control. Passengers, sit back, relax, and enjoy the vistas before you."
They flew over glorious mountain vistas, past balloons orbiting over Kilimanjaro (which rose like Olympus above the Sehrengeti), nearly through the mighty castles of Neuchwanstein and Howenschwangau, over the islands of the Pacific, around the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids of Giza, over Mitten Buttes, and finally stopped at Epcot to see the performance of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth . As the gliders dropped back into the unloading positions, Vapour looked over and suddenly realised she had been holding Sky's hand the entire time.
"Sorry!" she exclaimed.
"What for?" Sky replied. "I have to admit, you're pretty cute. Say, I'm going to see Illuminations tonight. Wanna join me?"
"Sure!" Vapour replied, as they walked outside, and into the spectacular sunset over Epcot. "Where are you watching it from?"
"I'm told the UK pavilion is the best viewpoint for those who don't have fastpasses," Sky replied. "Besides, the show's ending soon. It's been there since 1999, so I'm gonna miss it."
"Good thing I've set time aside for it," Vapour replied. "I've got a ride on Gran Fiesta Tour to do before then, but I'll join you after that."
"I'll save you a spot," Sky replied. "See ya!"
Later, Vapour arrived at the UK pavilion, which felt oddly familiar, a nice reminder of home. Sky glanced up from his fish and chips. "I saved you some," he said. "The Yorkshire County Fish Shop produces some excellent food. And the fries aren't soggy."
"Of course, they call them chips over there," Vapour laughed. "Isn't that confusing?" She bit into the fish, and was pleasantly surprised. The batter wasn't soggy, which was a miracle. Suddenly, her phone went, and she saw who it was. It was Katrina! "Can I take a call, please?" she asked Sky.
"Sure thing," Sky replied, who still looked across the bay.
Vapour pressed the green button on her phone. "Hello?" she asked.
"What happened to you, Tom?" asked the voice at the other end. She sounded oddly young, and squeaky.
"I could ask you the same!" Vapour exclaimed. "I got it in the queue line."
"Yeah, because I'm now Cozy Glow," Katrina- or should I say Cozy- replied. "I'm getting odd stares from the patrons."
"Where are you?"
"Restaurantosaurus."
"Hold one minute, I'm gonna call Jimmy." Vapour stopped the call, and dialled Jimmy. She pressed her phone to her ear. Had whatever had befallen her and Cozy got Jimmy as well?
Author's Note
Night 8: The Juniper-paved Road
It was a sad day indeed in the dining room of the Grand Floridian, and Tom, Jimmy, and Katrina (for it is they) all sat around the table at which they were sat with sunken, sad expressions. They had good reason to be sad, and indeed they were sad as there was good reason to be sad, for the day was sad, and thus they had good reason to be sad, as the day was sad, and thus they had good reason to be sad, and thus the day was sad, and thus they had good reason to be sad, and thus the day was sad-
We seem to have got stuck in a loop. Could somebody please go and remove the Time Twirler from Kiwi Lollipop's hand? This is getting very irritating. We seem to have got stuck in a loop. Could somebody please go and remove the Time Twirler from Kiwi Lollipop's hand? This is getting very irritating. We seem to have got stuck in a loop. Could somebody please go and remove the Time Twirler from Kiwi Lollipop's hand? This is getting very irritating.
Ah, there it goes at last. We can now resume the story normally. But first, let me clean this up.
EXCUSE THE MESS WHILST THE AUTHOR REPAIRS THE CHAPTER.
It was a sad day indeed in the dining room of the Grand Floridian, and Tom, Jimmy, and Katrina (for it is they) all sat around the table at which they were sat with sunken, sad expressions. They had good reason to be sad, as today was to be their final day at the Walt Disney World resort. Tomorrow, they would leave the magic behind, and return to their homes in Britain, North Carolina, and Kansas respectively, where they would have to encounter life once more.
Tom glanced up at the others. "Seeing as this is our last day," he said, the last of a bowl of cheerios being emptied before he went for a pancake, "it's a good thing we're all in the same park, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Jimmy replied, sounding somewhat unenthusiastic and avoiding Tom's gaze for some reason.
"Is something wrong?" Katrina asked, looking concerned for her eternally gender shifting friend.
"This trip has set a record for the number of characters I've changed into," Jimmy answered her, still looking at the floor. "It's put me through a heckuva lot of strain. When I get back, I suppose I'll just want things to be normal again for a bit."
"Changing into characters from fictional properties is the norm for you, mate," Tom answered. "Now, who wants a waffle in the shape of Mickey Mouse?"
"Sounds good," Jimmy replied, with a smile. "I'll be over on the Pirates of the Carribean."
"I'll be off to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin," Tom replied. "I'll be ending where you started."
"And I'll be enjoying the delights of It's a Small World," Katrina added. "It's one of my personal favourites, and one that was there at the 1964 World's Fair, alongside Ford's Magic Skyway (which evolved into Test Track), and Presenting Great Moments with Mr Lincoln."
"It's a Small World, after all," Tom answered, with a smile. Suddenly, there came music from nowhere!
"It's a world of laughter
Katrina laughed. "What a positive, uplifting, wonderful sentiment," she smiled. "Well, we'd better be going; this table won't fly to the Magic Kingdom!"
"If it did," Jimmy interruped, "it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that has happened on this trip!"
"... Touche!"
Tomorrowland had opened with the rest of Magic Kingdom in 1971, and unlike the Disneyland counterpart had opened with a full complement of rides (although the much loved Carousel of Progress only arrived in 1975, the same year as Space Mountain). The zany feel of a futuristic space port was there for all to see, and, rather than try to update the theme every few years, they had settled on a vision of the future that will never be; that as perceived in the 1950s. This avoided the Tomorrowland Problem quite effectively, even if the theming was somewhat messed up with the loss of Mission to Mars and ExtraTERRORESTRIAL: Alien Encounter. Tom had had a few good laughs about that ride, a sense not shared by Jimmy, who had spammed him with Jeez Louise's when he had sent him some video of the ride a few months back. Who Louise was was unclear, but anyways that had been replaced by the abominable Stitche's Great Escape, which was now gone and being gutted in favour of a newer attraction (though precisely what was currently unknown).
Tom turned to where he was meant to be going; Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This opened in 1998, and is based on the character of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films, who received his own spin off series in 2000 (which, interestingly, featured the voice of William Shatner, best known to MLP fans as Grand Pear. Or Captain Kirk, if you're a little older). The ride combined the Omnimover system seen on the Haunted Mansion with the laser shooting system that had originally been developed for a ride called Nostromo, which had been canned due to the concept being unworkable. But here, it worked perfectly. Tom scanned his hand on the buzzer, and went into the Fastpass+ line with a grin. He had once ridden this 8 times in a row when a much younger kid, and had gotten the highest score of all the riders that day. He planned to do it again, just with only one run instead of eight. He walked through the cold caverns and brightly lit scenes that depicted the Star Command base, currently under attack from the EVIL EMPEROR ZURG! As he styled himself. They had to get to Planet Z and stop him, forever, mainly by draining his batteries.
Tom was partway through the queue when he felt his shoes were odd. They no longer bounced as they normally did, they made a pathetic squelch as they went down. He looked down at them- only to see that a pair of purple slippers were glued to his feet where his shoes should have been.
"This couldn't be happening in a worse possible place!" he said, and hid in a very dark corner of the queue, where he hoped nobody would see him at all. His socks slid up his legs and stopped around his knees, the tops gaining a turquoise trim and the remainder turning white, a pair of what looked like cherries popping off of the sides in the process. His jeans slid back up to halfway up his thighs, and the legs merged together to form a skirt. The zip and button vanished from the 'skirt', which turned black, and purple dots appeared on the front.
Tom's shirt morphed into a turquoise blouse with a white collar, and a purple jacket appeared on the top, with light pink squiggles on the base of the jacket, and an emblem of a leaf on the lapel. Then, out of nowhere, a pair of glasses fell from above and landed on his face. A pair of purple, circle rim glasses, which looked very feminine.
His skin turned yellow and his eyes blue. His hair suddenly flowed down his back like a torrent, splitting up into a pair of pigtails held in place with hairbands designed to look like film reels. He covered up as best he could as his chest suddenly began growing, a pair of breasts becoming apparent on the blouse (which stretched to accomodate). His hips popped outwards as his manhood shrank back into his body, rendering him a her. Two gold bracelets appeared on her arms, as all of her limbs slimmed down and her height melted away, dropping by about 6 inches.
Juniper Montage finished breathing heavily, and concluded that whatever was happening must be over. She headed back into the queue and hopped aboard her car, to notice the laser projector was facing towards her. She leaned in, and adjusted the circle in front of her to narrow the focus of the beam.
"That ought to make aiming easier!" she exclaimed, as the car rolled into the first shooting section.
Juniper had landed the highest score by a considerable margin, thanks to her laser guided shooting of lasers. Such was the shooting of lasers accurately that other customers had looked on in disbelief.
"Yes!" she exclaimed as she walked outside. "Best score to me." Then the heat hit her, and she removed her jacket, hanging it over her arm. "I still feel as though I should have been in this form in Hollywood Studios though. That would have been far better for me."
"Hey Juniper!" a voice called. Juniper glanced over to see a girl walking over to her. A girl who had only one leg.
Author's Note
You're no longer the one with the monopoly on Juniper Montage TFs, Jimmy!
If you have some spare time, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a great way to let off some steam.
Main cast
JimmyHook19- James "Jimmy" Thomas Hook
Character cast
Sunni Westbrook- Cozy Glow
Background cast
Emmett Hall- Sky Stinger
