I found myself sitting in the middle of a strange cavern, being surrounded with what looked like a bunch of mes, Changelings, surrounding me on all sides. Wasn't I supposed to be sitting in my bedroom in Canterlot? Well, this did feel like a dream even if it was very realistic. Suddenly, a shadowy figure slammed into the ground before me, which looked as tall as Celestia did, crouching with its acid green eyes locked on me. I almost shrunk back under its gaze. The thing opened its mouth to speak and I could see rwzor sharp fangs.

"So you're the one I sensed," it said. Well, not it, that would be rude. This was a woman. "A little Changeling that is quite unlike the others. A little Changeling that is far too young to be so far from its hive… so alone as well. You're not connected to the Hive Mind either; I can't hear your thoughts. But I do know your name, what is a queen if she doesn't know each of her subjects' names."

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked. I really wasn't looking forward to whoever this was. Actually, this is just a dream, this lady can't do anything to me. That's if she was real to begin with.

"Well, that's just rude to assume that I am not real, Ray. I've been keeping my eye on you since you've entered this world. But as for who I am, I suppose you are long overdue with meeting your queen," the woman said. The shadows dissipated and what stood amazed me. What stood before me was a tall, slender Changeling. Her acid, green, slit eyes were now round and were friendly looking. She had a long main and tail, which were semi translucent and had a few holes in them. Her legs had holes as well, and her wings were almost as big as Celetisa's.

On her forehead stood, long, jagged horn that ended in a sharp point. Behind that horn was a black crown, which was probably a little too small for her head. Either it was my new Changeling body, but I found her beautiful. Sure, she was kinda creepy looking, but she looked regal as well. There was also a certain way she was carrying herself which made her look more elegant. If I were a normal Changeling, I'd probably be head over heels for her.

The Changeling giggled. "I do appreciate your view of me, even if you cannot truly admire me with your other worldly mind. But let's get introductions out of the way. I am Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. The very queen brought Princess Celestia to her knees…" Chrysalis cleared her throat. "Well, that's not something to be proud of. I was running on a love fueled power trip. Me and my Changelings have moved on from such brutish ways of gathering love, and those days of wishing to take over Equestria are over.

"But I am here to speak with you, Ray. Or Sting, whichever you prefer. And yes, I know you prefer being called by your last name, and I shall respect your wishes. I plan on infiltrating Canterlot Castle by the time for you to wake up, as I do wish to meet you in the flesh. After all, a child like you shouldn't be left unattended!" Chrysalis then placed a hoof on my shoulder.

"So I'm lucidly dreaming, and you invaded my brain?" I asked.

"Well, being able to enter dreams is not exclusive to Princess Luna. I can invade my subjects' brains while they slumber, but only my subjects. As for why, I'm not fully sure, but I do know what they are thinking whilst I am in their mind. Don't worry, you're not being mind controlled, it is far from legal to do to another Changeling. Do you have any questions for me, young Ray?" I tilted my head in thought.

"Wait, couldn't you just know what I'm thinking and answer as such?"

"Don't be silly, I am not that invasive. I do dig through immediate thoughts as I have proven, but I do respect your privacy. Since while you are a Changeling, your mind is not like one, and I highly doubt you'd enjoy it if I were to scour through every single brain cell that you have. So, for those questions? It would help me later when I arrive," she said.

"Well, the first thing I wanna know is… how do you know I'm not from here?"

"I can sense every Changeling in Equestria. You've just appeared out of nowhere, and I can suddenly feel you, but you're quite different. Your mind is a very foreign feeling, almost otherworldly as you can say." Chrysalis giggled. "And I can feel how you are suffering internally, I know you're not of this world simply because of the nature of me being a queen. Anything else?"

"You're a queen, right? So does that mean you're… a bit of an expert on the biology of Changelings? If so, can you tell me what my body's age is?" I asked.

"Of course I am! You're a Changeling drone, or a male, that's 14 years, 3 months, 2 weeks, 2 days old. You're quite healthy as well, your carapace is strong, shiny and black as it should be. Your actual colors will show once you grow up, but don't expect a drastic change in your complexion. Your wings and horn are a bit small for your age, but that's fine. You should be fully grown in six years, or more exactly, 5 years and 9 months. Your brain also does seem to have an issue with retaining attention, but I wouldn't call it… ADHD as you seem to call it."

Queen Chrysalis then crouched down before me, down to my height, and smirked. "Well, it is time for you to wake up. I'm sure Luna wouldn't be happy to see me messing with her newly adoptive son. You see, after the invasion of Canterlot… we Changelings haven't shown our faces. Some of my hive even suggested trying to integrate into pony society, but ponies have rather strong opinions on Changelings. In other words, if Luna sees me here, then she'll get the bug spray! Well Ray, see you at dinner!"

I shot up from my bed and looked around for a couple of seconds. That has to either be a really realistic dream, or I should expect to have my dreams invaded by two people now. Whatever it was, I didn't really care. If that was really Queen Chrysalis, then I should be weary… she seemed a little too nice. Then again, I did pretty much meet her? Was that the right word?

"Ray!" It was Princess Luna. "It is time for dinner," she announced. With that, I picked myself up, dragged myself out of bed, and trotted to the door. I pushed the door open with my head, which was surprisingly easy, and stepped out. Luna seemed to have forgotten her crown and necklace, but she had chosen to just wear a simple… summer dress? Ponies wear dresses? Well, I shouldn't question it. It's not like I can really judge what people(or ponies) can wear.

Also this world was already full of enough stuff to make my head spin.

"So, how was your nap?" Luna asked.

"Can't you see what I was dreaming?"

"Well, I can. Mostly during the night, when more ponies are asleep. I have caught a glimpse of your dream, though. Queen Chrysalis decided to pay you a visit, yes?" I nodded. "What did she discuss? You woke up just as I entered your dream."

"Well, she was just welcoming me to Equestria I guess? She was being pretty nice, and gave me a rather… insightful description of my new body. Got my age down to how many years, months, weeks, and days I've been alive. She even said that I was pretty healthy and that my wings and horn were small for my age. So of course I had to be a bit of a runt when I got my new body, but whatever. She said something about showing up tonight."

"Well, if she tries anything, then she will be sorry."

As we talked, the halls slowly began to resemble the usual aesthetic of Canterlot. It was almost like the castle was built with Celestia's colors in mind. That then gave me a new question. "Say Luna, are you and Celestia seen as goddesses?" I asked. I mean, it would make sense that two immortal beings capable of lifting and lowering two celestial bodies were seen as gods. Heck, in my world there'd be a religion made out of stuff like this.

"Well, in a sense, yes. Phrases have been used such as 'what in Celestia's name?'"

"Well, that sounds like 'what in god's name' from my world. So that's pretty cool. I'm surprised there are no churches worshiping your sister at this point," I said. Luna just giggled, and that got me confused.

"There are some cults that worship me and my sister. Even a couple phrases such as 'by Luna's left leg' have been made in my honor. Though it is quite clear that my sister is still our subject's favorite… though I have seen some rather egregious things said about me. From rather interesting comments made about my rear end and legs, to ponies saying that they'd marry me. Some news anchors have even said that I am more attractive than my sister for some reason," Luna shrugged. "It's quite strange, but stallions will be stallions."

"And I'm not even a pony, so I guess I can't really question how your subjects see you, but there is something comparable," I said. Luna raised an eyebrow. "I… suppose there are quite a number of people that are really popular in my world. They make music, act out in movies, whatever, really. The main thing is that they're usually pretty famous. Despite there being potentially more attractive people out there, it's usually the famous people that are the standard of attractiveness… what I'm trying to get at, is maybe you're just everybody's standard of beauty.

"I mean, you've got a pretty mane and your fur's a nice color, but that's all my human brain can say or think. I've got no clue what the hell you ponies find attractive about each other, but maybe there's just something about you that your sister lacks in appearance…? God dammit, I've been having too many shower thoughts outside of the shower," I groaned.

"Shower thoughts?"

"Pretty much, I think a little deeply into things. Usually that happens in the shower, hence the name. I dunno how deep I was going with that, but my brain was beginning to hurt towards the end of whatever the hell spewed out of my jaws," I said.

"Well, you did make a solid point, so I will give you that," Luna smirked. "Maybe that just means you're a deep thinker. We could use more of those in the castle, in all honesty. We could also use less pesky alicorns, I mean, there's a hundred of us in this castle right now. Having to deal with Celly is trouble enough. And now I have to deal with this dumb mare named Luna…" that elicitef a chuckle out of Ray.

"Well, you'll have to find Deep Thoughts Ray, or DTR, some other time. We're closed almost all week, and only open for five minutes of the week at random! Come by if you want to hear an idiot spew nonsense, that not even we have an idea as to what's being said. Tune in next week for when I accidently talk about how fucked up the world is!" Luna giggled at my little spill! I chuckled a bit as well. Maybe that's a thing I can do.

I could give people happiness that I can no longer find. Even if it's for a few short moments, then I'm glad I could make somebody laugh.

We stopped at some random set of double doors. "This is the dining hall. Usually it's only me, Celly, Mrs. Board, and from now on, you will be here. Though in the half of the day that we slept away, Princess Celestia may have sent out a letter to a few ponies. As we figured it would be best that we acquaint you with six of the most important mares in Equestria. They should know about you now, instead of at a later date where time is crucial."

"So, expect to be called an 'it' again?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. Don't worry, if they begin to show aggression, which is very unlikely, then I will step in. No harm shall come to you if I am in your presence, my friend," Princess Luna magicked open the doors. I stepped in and my jaw almost hit the floor. In the dining hall was a long table, where Celestia was currently sitting. Each wall had a set of windows which had tapestries of sole sort. Each window told a storie, but that wasnmt what grabbed my attention.

The room, or hall, was actually pretty underwhelming. Sure, it was a pretty, fancy room, but it wasn't very grand looking. The ceiling was pretty low down, and there wasn't even a chandelier. Just a few hanging lights, a table, and a bunch of chairs. In the corner was a stack of chairs, likely for when there were guests over. Speaking of guests, there were six ponies in the room.

There was a purple one, with a main that wss a dark shade of purple, with a pink streak in it. I couldn't see her, or any of the other ponies present, Cutie Mark so I didn't bother checking. The purple one had a horn and wings like Celestia and Luna. No crown though, but that didn't matter. There was a cyan one with a rainbow mane and tail, and she looked in really good shape. A pegasus. There was a white unicorn with a curly, purple main, and she had a decent amount of makeup on. There was another pegasus aside from the cyan one. She had a cream colored coat, with a pink mane and tail. The last two had no horns or wings. One had a cowboy hat on and was orange, and the other was pink.

What did I just walk into? Why didn't I just let Princess Luna walk in first? My concerns only grew when all six of them turned to the doors, and by extension, me! "Changeling!" The cyan one was up like a bolt. Before I could even react, I was pinned on the ground, and the rainbow maned pony was standing on top of me. "How did you get in the castle? And where's your damned queen? I know she's nearby!"

"Rainbow, do you recall why I called you and your friends here? I believe Twilight Sparkle filled you five in before coming, correct?" Princess Celestia said.

"Yeah, she said that you and Luna adopted somepony. We're still waiting on them to show up, and instead we got this Changeling here… it probably has Princess Luna under mind control! It walked right past her and she didn't do anything about it!" Rainbow asked. She then grew into a thoughtful frown before her eyes widened. "You didn't adopt a Changeling, did you?" She asked.

"Ray, you don't need to hide your origins from these six. They know about humans," Luna said. "Also Ms. Rainbow Dash, please get off of my son, or I will remove you myself-"

"Hey Rainbow, Sting Ray at your service! Yes, I do look like a Changeling, excellent observation. Unfortunately, I am only a Changeling in body, as I have the mind of a human being! I guess I'm a prince now, so I can add that to my 'long' list of accomplishments and talents. Right next to not even being able to get up properly! Anyways, feel free to keep me pinned to the ground, it's really fun. I like having my new wings be crushed under mine, and some crazy lady's weight!" I let out a sigh in relief once Rainbow removed her hooves off my chest. Oxygen! How I missed you!

"So let me get this straight… you're a human?" Rainbow asked.

"Yup."

"And you're now a Changeling?" The orange one asked.

"Yup, I'm glad for it too. I even get the right of being called an 'it' by my good friend Board over there. Hey Board!" I waved at the stupid horse that was sitting next to Celestia. "I also got quite the stir after recovering from the fact that I am, in fact, a bug horse. The Princess of Love stuck me in the dungeons, how lovely!" I grinned. "And now I can't show my face to anybody other than Celestia or Luna present!" I laughed like a madman. "It's awesome by the way. Now I can ask 'will I get through today without immediately being decapitated by somebody?'"

I trotted over to a chair and sat down in it. Each pony in the room was eyeballing me, especially the purple one. Assuming she had wings and a horn, I assumed this was Princess Twilight. "Anyways, how are you ladies doing? Great evening ain't it?" My accent began to itch its way back into my voice as I've stopped having a reason to care. I was already certain that the rest of my day would suck.

"My my, this is a nice little dinner party being thrown in Ray's honor, mind if I join in?" A familiar voice crept through the walls. Celestia, Luna, and everybody present looked on edge while I sat in confusion. What the heck is going on? Well, my question was answered when I looked up, and saw a female Changeling hanging from the ceiling. "After all, it would be rude to keep the Queen of Changelings from meeting a subject of hers, yes?"

"Queen Chrysalis, how did you get in here?" Twilight asked as her horn and wings flared up. The other alicorns in the room followed her example.

"Why my dear, I simply teleported in. Don't worry, I'm not here looking for trouble," Chrysalis smiled, took in her magic, and placed it beside me. The queen then sat down on it, and rested her head on a hoof. She gave me a toothy smile. "Ah Ray, it is good to finally meet you in the flesh, how are you?" She asked. I scratched the back of my head and shrugged.

"Well, I got tackled as soon as I walked in here," I said with a casual wave of my hoof. "It's now a crime for me to exist!"

"Oh, I love that feeling. Especially when-"

"What do you want with Ray, Chrysalis?" Princess Luna asked. "For all we know, you could be deceiving him, and then kidnap that poor child. I wouldn't put it above you doing that, if not because you want to, but to try and jab at me and Celestia," Princess Luna said. "And if you do attempt to kidnap him-"

"Yeah yeah Moonbutt, you'll hunt me down and torture me. Believe it or not, I have changed since we've last met… I do wish that our nations can reach peace in the future. I can admit when I am in the wrong, and wish to make myself better in the future. Trying to ruin somebody's wedding was a horrible way to steal love, but I was desperate. I merely wish to stop by and give Ray some coaching on his transformation magic. I can't imagine that he'd like to be cooped up in his room all day, moping about, can he?"

I shrugged. "I honestly don't care that much. I'm mainly just… seeing how I'll like this world. If I like it, then I'll keep on going. If not, then… I dunno. I'll probably find some nice, tall cliff in Canterlot; it's on a mountain after all. And then see if my new wings can be useful at all, without any prior testing. I'm sure it'll be a nice, fun trip if they don't, however." Queen Chrysalis looked genuinely dejected after my little admittance. "Then I won't have to worry about going home anytime soon. Like I was gonna be able to anyway."

"But…" suddenly Princess Twilight and Celestia were teleported outside of the room.

(Twilight's P.O.V)

I blinked a couple times when Celestia teleported me outside of the dining hall for a quick second. "Twilight, do not mention that Ray can still return home. We have one more day while the gateway to his world is active. We cannot deny how useful Ray is currently, and as such, we shouldn't tell him that he still has a chance to go home." That sounded so… wrong. Was this the same Celestia that mentored me? The kind, just ruler who would put a single subject over her own life? My mentor's expression told me that she was dead serious in her resolve.

"But… doesn't Ray have family back at home? It's wrong to keep them seperate, Princess."

"I know, but we can learn so much about humans and Changelings all in one go. And it's not like we can trust Ray to keep his mouth shut when we send him back, and we can't block out his memories of this world. The spell will wear off eventually, and then he will tell his world of our portal. Thirty moons from now with his world knowing of ours… could spell disaster for Equestria. For now, let's remain quiet about this, okay?"

I nodded. The reasoning did make some sense, but I couldn't help but feel a little guilty about this. "Is Princess Luna in on this?"

"She sort of is, but only on the part of adopting Ray. It seems like she and our little human friend quickly became acquainted with one another, so that should keep Ray busy while we study his body and study how humans operate. You may have some information, but it is very limited due to how short your visits to the human world have been.

"But it is important that we do not tell Ray of the possibility of him returning home, so please do not tell him."

"I won't tell Ray," I said with a tinge of guilt.

We both entered the room and what we saw shocked us both. Queen Chrysalis had Ray in a headlock, while the drone had a huge grin on his face. "That is for your crude sense of humor, Ray. You should know not to make a joke in front of this many mares!" She said… It felt weird to hear Queen Chrysalis when she isn't sounding like a cold, calculating monster with conquest in mind. Maybe it has to do with how young Ray seemed, and that was kicking in some maternal instincts within the Changeling Queen.

"All I said was-" Ray's mouth was shut by dark blue magic.

"Do not repeat it, Ray. It would be far worse if you were to say what you said in front of three princesses instead of just a Changeling Queen and myself." Princess Luna scolded. She was smirking, as it seemed that she and Chrysalis had forgone their differences for the night.

Ray shrugged. "Well, that just sucks. I can't tell that other joke I wanted to tell."

"Tell us!" Rainbow said.

"Do not! We are about to eat, and such crude humor is horrid, Ray."

"Fair enough, don't wanna make you lose your lunch. I wouldn't want to have to 'regurgitate' that joke once it's old and dying in my noggin, eh mate?" I cringed at Ray's terrible pun. I was kind of shocked at how well Ray had adjusted to my friends, managed to get Chrysalis to actually be friendly, and was perfectly fine with said queen resting her chin on the back of his head. It was like a mother holding their child.

The food was quickly served after… whatever Ray said. It was a really nice salad, with dandelions, lettuce, tomatoes, and even some bell peppers thrown in. Despite being offered to have a proper kitchen staff in my castle, I just never felt the need to. I grew up enjoying stuff like Hayburger, so I doubted I'd need a gourmet salad to be thrown together every night. Some cheap, salty fast food was considered premium to me, after all. Plus I have Spike, you don't need kitchen staff when you have a Spike!

"So like, this one time I was about to head to school right? And like, I realized that I left my bag that I left three hours late, and was mildly panicking. So I grabbed my backpack, tossed it on the ground, and just started burning it. Like, by the time I was done, the bag was a pile of ashes. Then I looked at the time on my phone and like, I realized it was a holiday and I just burnt my five page book report." Ray seemed to be telling some… nonsensical story while everypony was engrossed in it.

"How did you manage to burn your backpack? Do you know fire magic?" Queen Chrysalis asked.

"Nope. I think I stole a lighter from my dad, or my backpack just set itself ablaze because my science fair volcano was also in my backpack, which had my dad's lighter in it. Boy did I fail both my english and science classes that year, but it was totally worth it. I spent three days in jail for arson!" Ray's voice was now thick with an accent I've never heard before.

"You've had quite a childhood, Ray," Princess Luna chimed in.

"Boy did I!" The Changeling said cheerfully. I watched as Ray's expression turned into a smile, like he was remembering something, before it slowly turned into a frown and his ears flattened. Surprisingly Queen Chrysalis was the first to act, and began to rock Ray back and forth like a baby….

I felt terrible.