Before me, Luna, and Chrysalis could go see Twilight and the gang, the Changeling queen decided to pull a disappearing act, and she was gone. As it turned out, showing up in somebody’s castle uninvited could lead to people getting mad at you, who woulda figured? Anyways, Luna explained to me that the only reason why Chrysalis didn’t immediately get arrested when she showed up in Canterlot, was the fact that Chrysalis claimed to be of no harm. In Equestria, it was illegal to strike at foregin leaders if they claimed to be in the country for a peaceful mission.

Now, if Chrysalis had shown up with battalions of Changelings, with plans to take over the world, then people were allowed to attack her if they so chose to. It’s also why Chrysalis wasn’t attacked, since she clearly wasn’t here to cause trouble. She had some tea, which she had probably stolen, played a card game and left. Luna even admitted that Chrysalis was pleasant to be around as long as the queen wasn’t doing anything malicious.

I never really got any of that, so it’s kinda cool that Luna explained the very basics of foreign relations. Or at least, how Equestrians deal with foreign leaders. It also explained why Chrysalis wasn’t immediately killed even if she had invaded Canterlot at some point. Like I’d want Chrysalis to get killed to begin with, she’s pretty nice. Well, she held me like I was her child, and that was a kinda pleasant feeling. Especially when your actual mother couldn’t hold you. It was nice even if I’m apparently some geopolitical pawn… I used that term correctly, right?

“So Ray, what was that song you sang during karaoke last night? Is it a popular song from your world?” Luna asked as we walked through the labyrinth that was Twilight’s castle. “It was quite pleasant, even if the lyrics were clearly not meant to fit the music you were singing to,” she paused for a moment. “And your voice mixed with your accent probably also helped quite a bit. It’s very pleasant even if I can tell that you’ve never taken part in singing lessons.”

“Well, the song I was trying to sing was called ‘Kiseki’ or ‘Miracle’ if you were to translate it from Japanese. Some company made a video game where the themes were life and death. I just sang what came to mind, and I found it kinda ironic while singing it,” I chuckled before poorly singing with my morning voice. “You and I were born, right here in the same world,” I laughed. “Ah, if only that were true. Then I wouldn’t be such a nervous wreck at parties, and I wouldn’t be a defective bug horse. Everything about me would be… normal.”

Luna swatted me with her wing. “Ray, if you were a normal Changeling, you probably wouldn’t even be alive. You’d probably attack Princess Cadence and Shining Armor would’ve taken your head off. You would be dead if you weren’t ‘defective’, Ray. I do not care if you are not from this world, I will try to get you home as soon as I can, but I will not tolerate you talking about yourself in such a manner, got it?” I quietly nodded. “Good. Now, let us gloss over that, and continue what we were talking about. You can even tell me what that video game was about.”

“I… alright,” I took a deep breath as I pushed… less pleasant thoughts back. “The game’s mostly about catching creatures and having them fight each other. At some point, the developers wanted to tell a story about life and death, and how important both of those things are… sadly the story writers kinda botched it, and like, the story isn’t as good as it could’ve been. It was kinda rushed.” I shrugged. “Not like I care too much, I did like the message no matter how poorly conveyed the story was.”

“Life and death is quite a hard subject to write about. On one hand, so many over appreciate life, while never giving death its dues. So many ponies treat death like this terrible thing, which is when it prematurely happens, but death should also be appreciated. It gives life an end, and makes you enjoy the time that you have more. It gets quite difficult to find joy if you know your time is unlimited,” Luna said.

“And lemme guess, you and your sister know from experience?” I asked.

“Of course. My sister has probably suffered from this more than I have, as I was stuck on the moon while not even being conscious. My sister has tried every single hobby you could quite possibly have, painting, writing, singing, everything. Tia can get quite bored of things that don’t revolve around her work. It’s partially because of her workaholic nature, but also because what can she enjoy if she’s done the same things for thousands of years?”

Our conversation came to an abrupt end as we entered the dining room. Well, it wasn’t as big as the dining hall in Canterlot, and this one looked more homely. “Good morning, Ray, Princess Luna. How did you two… well, how was your sleep, Ray?” Twilight asked. It was kinda like that she almost forgot about how broken Luna’s sleep schedule was. I probably would have, had I also not witnessed it myself many times. Luna needed some fucking sleep.

“Now Twilight, I did actually get some sleep as well and not just a power nap. Albeit, it was more or less meditation, I still had to attend to my nightly duties. I did manage to sleep before Ray woke up, and I… had a pleasant dream.” Luna gestured towards me.

“Well, assuming I fell asleep halfway through karaoke last night, I slept like a log. By the way, you guys need to step up security,” I casually said while Twilight’s eyes widened.

“Did somepony break into your room? Is somepony in this castle as we speak?”

“Nope. Well, I don’t think I register as a pony, so Chrysalis doesn’t either? I dunno if that’s rude, since it’d be saying somebody isn’t a person back in my world. Like, if you were to call somebody other than by name, and make hints at said somebody being beneath you, then expect a couple of teeth to be knocked out. Anyhow, I woke up to see Chrysalis sitting at the coffee table in my room. Luna teleported in, and then we played Uno.”

“Uno?” Twilight asked.

“What kind of game is that?” A new voice said. It belonged to… a little lizard guy? Lizard people were an actual thing here? Well, that probably makes me a bug guy.

“You two would not like to try it. I have tried it, and it is quite aggravating. I got skipped 6 times in a row!” Luna growled. “Humans have found a way to make playing cards, without bits on the line, infuriating and I do not know how!” Twilight and the lizard guy looked a bit lost. I couldn’t blame them either, since Luna was talking about a game neither of them had heard of. It was kinda impressive to see how mad Luna was over that after a good half hour… that’s Uno for you.

“She threw me in a wardrobe and chained me to a bed for five minutes after the game was over. Took five minutes of begging to be free, but I was freed.”

“You are lucky that adolescent Changelings have rather cute faces, or I would have left you there for a day.”

“No you wouldn’t.”

“Yes I would have, you bug horse.”

“Blue Butt.”

“Now, that is simply uncalled for. My rear end is not just blue, it is midnight blue, Ray.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Twilight face hoofing. It was probably a really funny sight to anybody who didn’t know what I was. Luna, Lunar Princess, pretty much a goddess in her subjects’ eyes, was having a stupid little insult war with a Changeling. Not even a full size Changeling, just a small one that was probably the equivalent of a hamster in ponyland. Anyhow, before our insult war could continue, Twilight slammed a few journals on the table and cleared her throat.

“Okay, I have a long checklist of things I want to do with Ray today. Luna, may I borrow him for the day?” Luna nodded. Great, now I was a Guinea pig instead of a hamster. Luna blew a raspberry at me and told me to behave myself. There was a solid chance that she was going back to her room, or was off to do paper work. “Okay so the first thing on my list…” Twilight said as soon as Luna was out of the room. “I want to give you a physical.”

“What?”

“You know, a physical. I prod at you for a bit, and write notes. You’ve got the body of an adolescent Changeling, which nopony has even seen before, and you’re probably more cooperative than most Changelings. So I would like to gather as much information from you as possible. And since… you aren’t actually a Changeling, the only information I can gather from you is physical,” Twilight explained. That… actually kinda made some sense, I think I said I’d let Twilight poke at me with a stick(my memory sucks), and I guess she could only get a physical on me.

“You won’t be poking at me in areas I’d rather keep private, right?”

“If you don’t want me to check in those areas, I won’t. I’ll try to be as noninvasive as possible.” With that, we were teleported into a little white lab where the little lizard guy, who I now know is a dragon(he just burped up fire), was sitting with a bunch of paper. “Spike, are you ready to begin helping me take notes?” Twilight asked. Spike did a little solute before going off about how he’d always be ready to help Twilight. The little fella was dedicated and I could respect that.

Anyways, Twilight began to go over my body, lightly tapping my carapace with a hammer, shining a light into my eye, and testing my reflexes. This was kinda… just like a basic checkup that doctors did all the time. There were a few extra things, like checking my horn and magic levels, examining my wings and checking my ears. And to give Twilight some credit, she didn’t poke too much and she strayed away from places I made clear that I didn't want her to see.

It may be weird, especially since it’s okay for me to walk around with clothes on, but I would still like to keep my dignity.

“Okay… double jointed limbs…” Twilight said under her breath as she shined a light into my left ear. “You could probably use the holes in your leg for a specially designed lock that only you can get into,” Twilight said.

“Wouldn’t that cost a small fortune to do? I dunno about what you think, but I definitely don’t have any money. I was flat broke before I came here, and I absolutely had the time to work a summer job in some burger place before I ended up in Ponyville.”

“Ray, didn’t Celestia and Luna adopt you? If they did, then their personal funds are also yours. You know that, right?” Twilight asked.

“That’s… where you’re wrong. Sure, I might have access to that fund, but I don’t want to take from it. Even if I loathe Celestia now, I wouldn’t wanna dry up her personal fund on stupid shit like a key hole that my leg could work with. That money’s for when she ends up going on vacation, or when she wants a little souvenir. It’s not for some stupid thing from another universe to use because he wanted something.

“It’s also just how I want to roll. If I can, I’ll try to earn the things I want. My parents drilled that into my head super good. If I wanted some cool, new toy that everyone else has, I earned it. And I earned said toy through either doing good on my grades, or just doing my chores. All that money that Luna and Celestia say I have access to is stuff I didn’t earn. All I did was show up in their niece’s storage closet, insult them a couple times after I found out that I couldn’t go home, and Luna still wants to keep me after all of that.” I sighed. “I definitely didn’t earn anything that’s happened so far. Except for the broken leg.”

“Your parents didn’t mess up on raising you at least. They made sure you knew that most things in the world aren’t free. The thing is, Ray, if Luna or Celestia say that you had free reign over their personal funds, then you have free reign with them, and they won’t mind missing a few bits. They’re the rulers of one of the strongest countries on the planet, a few hundred bits going to a hammock wouldn’t even make a dent in their wallets.”

“I’d still feel kinda shi-shiny for it.”

We both decided to just get over this stupid… I guess this stupid argument? Since it definitely wasn’t going to go anywhere. Twilight waited for Spike to finish writing down her notes, and started to ask about my world. Specifically the friends she’s made in my world. Go shocker, the five sophomores, now juniors who all shared names with friends she had in this world, were also her friends. She asked me how they were doing and what they’ve been up to.

“I honestly can’t answer that. I never talked to anybody at school, and I definitely never hung out with… any of your friends. I’ve seen them around, definitely had, or still have, a crush on one of them, but that’s it. Beyond the one person out of your friend group back at home, who I had the crush on, I barely even saw them. I mean… they look happy, I guess?” Twilight nodded.

“It’s fine if you can’t give me an answer, I was just hoping that you could tell me how they were doing. Though… it definitely hadn’t been 30 moons since I first entered and left your world, so I’m curious. How in the hay did you manage to come through the portal after just a few months?” Twilight asked.

“You think I know? For all I know, God exists and he hates me. Or maybe I just really suck at staying put.”

(Somewhere in the multiverse)

“Hey Jesus, look at this idiot I sent to another world! He’s so damn sad and depressed! That’ll teach him not to believe in us!” God said. “We should do this more often!”

“Yeah yeah, God, shut up,” Zues said. “He didn’t believe in you, boohoo! Well, guess what? Now I’m just a mere myth!”

“Shut it Zues, you’re not real!”

“And neither are yo, you stupid son of a bit-“

“Can you two dumbasses shut up? I’m trying to sleep over here!”

“Yes Jeffrey Bezos,” the two gods droned.

(Back with Ray)

Twilight shrugged. “Well, I suppose that’s all I need from you today. I’ve got to prepare for my sister in law to show up in two weeks. She wanted to spend her Nightmare Night with me, and we want to have matching costumes!” What the fuck is a Nightmare Night? I’ll probably figure it out in two weeks! I blinked, and now we were in the lobby for Twilight’s castle. “Well Ray, if you want to go explore town, you can. Personally I’d go get Luna if I were you, but I doubt anypony will try to hurt you.”

As soon as Twilight wandered off to prepare for his sister in law, I opened the door and slipped on out. The sun was high in the sky, and it was probably well past noon. God damn do these days go by fast. Then again, I spent most of a day on a train, another inside of a castle room that had no windows, and then another castle room after passing out at a party. There was probably a really solid chance that time was just moving faster because I had nothing to tell me the exact time of day.

My eyes slowly moved up and down the scenery, people were out and about, doing their daily business, and a lot of them were smiling like nothing had ever gone wrong in their lives. Now that the streets weren’t empty, and I could properly appreciate this quiet little town, this was admittedly a nice place to live. If I weren’t from out of this world then I’d love to live here. Unfortunately, I have a family back at home that I want to see again before my eighteenth birthday, so the thought of moving here slipped past my mind.

I made my way down the stairs and began to trot down the street. Nobody thought I could see them giving me weary glances, but I could. Well, so much for that welcome party, everyone was still kinda scared of me. I really hate that detail, as it meant that I was going to be getting more side eye glances, which was always fun. I wanna be treated like I’m about to stab somebody at a moment’s notice. Well, this is what I chose to let happen, since I left without Luna.

(Meanwhile)

“Sting Ray, please report to your queen’s throne room immediately. If you do not come, then you will be forced to come. Don’t test your Queen’s patience,” that message rang through the Hive Mind and it made me wince. What did I do to gather notice from Glorious Queen Chrysalis? All I was doing was sitting around, doing my job, and occasionally I would unwind with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Food was a rather rare thing in the Hive, and if anybug could get some, they were considered the luckiest in the Hive.

And here I was, with a couple boxes of instant hot cocoa, and these boxes full of cocoa powder was a rare treat for myself if my duties to my Hive began to take its toll on me. I am very fortunate, thank Glorious Queen Chrysalis for not taking my prized possession.

Anyhow, I began to make my way down to the throne room, embracing what could possibly be execution. Was my performance really that bad, that the queen would want to speak with me? If so, then that was bad. Usually if anybug was so bad at their job that the Queen herself wanted to speak with them, it was safe to assume that they were going to die. Nobug that walked into that room, for underperforming, walked back out in one piece. Often, they were dragged out in a transparent, love-honey bag.

Many other Changelings in the Hive Mind were discussing what might happen to me. What I must have done to possibly anger Queen Chrysalis, especially since according to many in the Hive Mind, I excelled at my job. Sure, I did laze about, but only after my duties were finished. All I had to do was prepare love and process it into gel for consumption. I had the science for cutting every single second down possible without screwing the job up.

In other words, I was a good worker even if I was lazy. I was fast, efficient, and actually did my job.

I stopped in front of the throne room and took a deep breath. “Good luck, Sting, the Queen is expecting you. Don’t die!” One of the guards said. Neither guard, one stationed on both sides of the throne entrance, stopped me as I stepped forward. If I die, that’ll suck, but if the Queen demands my death, then I will happily allow it. Even if there was so much that I wanted to do. I’ve never left the Hive, and I keep hearing so much about Equestria.

Equestria sounded like a terrible place, where you spend all day working to make sure you, the individual, can have a good life. That’s disgusting, since everybug and everypony should be working to better the whole. That’s how we Changelings roll, we work for the betterment of the Hive, and our own personal joys come second. That’s if we want personal joy to begin with beyond the satisfaction of serving the Hive. We only had small luxuries such as sugar, none of this fancy nancy bedding that ponies need to sleep on.

Queen Chrysalis was sitting on her throne, looking regal and as beautiful as ever. The Queen, even to us, her subjects, had an eerie feeling about her. Glorious Queen Chrysalis wasn’t known as ‘Chrysalis the Paralyzing’ for nothing, she could scare you out of your carapace even if she didn’t intend to harm you. I would’ve tried to sneak a glance at the Queen’s legs and horn, if it weren’t for the fact that she’d kill me for staring.

“You know Sting Ray, as your Queen, I know what you are thinking, correct?” I let out a squeak of fear. I was a dead bug. “Worry not,” Chrysalis let out a haunting giggle. “It flatters me that my subjects consider this old bug attractive, really. The time is coming where I would like to choose a mate, so maybe you might be the lucky one.” Suddenly her friendly, almost casual demeanor dropped. “And I wouldn’t harm one of my subjects for admiring me. At least, not the ones that aren’t in trouble.

“Now my little bug, I have called you here for a reason. I have a special mission for you, Sting.”

“What is it, my Queen?” My heart and hopes were beginning to rise. Many Changelings in the Hive Mind were beginning to protest about how unfair this was. Being able to directly serve the queen, as a guard, or a mission she, the Mighty Queen, specifically tasked you with was the highest privilege amongst Changelings. And the Queen just chose me… she knows what I’m thinking, of course she does. Chrysalis smirked as she heard everyone one of my thoughts.

“I know, you must be having the day of your life to be given a mission from me personally. However, we must discuss what your mission is, and what your role in this will be.” Queen Chrysalis stepped down and was now standing before me. “You’ve never left the Hive before, so this mission will also help fulfill your desires to see the outside world. So while I may be benefiting from this, I am considering your desires in this as well…” That was why our Queen was also called Queen Chrysalis the Generous. Also because it had a nice ring to it.

“As for your mission, I have discovered a rogue Changeling living in a small town called Ponyville. He shares your name, Sting Ray, but prefers to by as ‘Ray.’”

“So, you want me… to take him out? If so my Queen, then… I’m sorry. I just don’t feel comfortable with taking the life of a fellow Changeling, even if he has betrayed our Hive.” Queen Chrysalis chuckled.

“You need not to worry about that. I would have expected nothing less from a subject as loyal as you. I simply ask that you go to Ponyville, render this Changeling unconscious, and bring him to a rendezvous point. From there, I want you to take his form, and steal his identity and return to Ponyville. If I recall correctly, many of the ponies in town have warmed up to Ray already, so taking his identity should not be a problem. “

I nodded, prepared to do whatever it takes to capture this rebel.

(Chrysalis’s POV)

I did feel a tiny bit bad about putting a hit on young Ray, he is from another world and lost, but he could be very useful. If I were to capture him, I could perhaps… make Princess Celestia and Princess Luna bow down to me, unless they want their precious little Changeling to be beheaded on the spot. And I do like this… false Changeling, he’a a good, young drone, but I could claim revenge. And if nobody notices that I have swapped both Rays, then I get an adoptive son, it’s a win win.

“Wait my Queen, how will I know that I have met this other Sting Ray?” The drone before me asked.

“He is an adolescent Changeling, my little bug. He is conpletely incapable of transforming, meaning that locating, and replacing him should not be a problem.” Maybe that was slightly problematic. This Sting Ray was very clearly not trained to infiltrate or gather love, so he had no clue as to how he could detect other Changelings whilst disguised. Well, that’s not my problem, I just need to swap both Rays, and I will be able to set my plan in motion.

“When do I start my mission, my Queen?”

“Just after Nightmare Night, we need to prepare you for the mission, after all. You will leave for a train to Ponyville in a week and a half, with a map, train schedule, and a train ticket that I will provide. As soon as you get off the train, which I expect you to use the near five days of travel available to study your map, I want you to track down this other Sting Ray and bring him to the rendezvous point that will be marked on your map.

“Just know, that from there, you will have to pretend that you are this other Sting Ray. It shouldn’t be too hard, as I believe you two act quite similar…” That was also a new problem I had not fully thought through. Sure, I had spent a bit of time with Ray, and I knew he trusts and loves me, I haven’t spent enough time with him to get a full psychological profile on him. I was admittedly too engrossed by that little Changeling. He had a sense of humor, even if it was crude, and there was this… odd feeling that I couldn't put my tongue on. That odd feeling made me want to simply enjoy Ray’s company…

Ray was depressed. That was why I felt the desire to hold him when I was in his presence. He is an adolescent, a teenager, whatever you may call him. That alone made me want to enjoy his company, and then he was depressed. That was the odd feeling, as for why I felt the need to hold him over somebug feeling a bit down, I won’t know. Maybe it was a good thing that I can disconnect from the Hive Mind at a moment's notice. My subjects might think I have gone soft.

Perhaps after I successfully kidnap Ray, we can play Uno again. It was nice to see how mad Moon Butt got over having her turn skipped every other turn. Hay, I would like to spend more time with Ray, as I would love to learn more about him. Again, he’s a good little bug, and I do enjoy his company. If I don’t behead him, I don’t hold my punches when it comes to threats, then he will be a good adoptive son. If he’s a little uncooperative, then I can just brainwash him. For now, I won’t need to; he already trusts me.

Though I do hope that I do not have to brainwash him, it would be very hard to keep his personality intact if I do.

Author's Note

So, I had this cool idea just now. Anyhow, so much for keeping Chrysalis as the good guy, but I really couldn’t do my idea if she was playing nice.

Also dont take that bit with god seriously, idgad if you believe in a toaster or if you believe a goat can fly.