Ordinary day, ordinary weather - save for the April snow - and ordinary homework. I let my head drop to the desk, moaning. When in life was I going to need to calculate the leftover angle in a random spew of lines? Who would design a house that wasn't normal?

I heard something move. The cat was leaving. Only cats could abandon you that well.

How had I heard the cat?

I lifted my hand to rub my ear. For a few seconds, I watched the cat turn around a corner and vanish.

It took me a few minutes to realize I had looked past a hoof.

Is there anyone in the house? No.

But there are a lot of windows. Never know when the Google Maps truck'll be coming by.

Well, bedroom it is.

I'm not really worried or terrified in any way. I've read a couple of human-to-pony stories, I know basically what to expect.

It's actually really dark in here with all the blinds closed. I've never noticed before. I check again to make sure the door is closed.

Meanwhile, I've been growing fur. Not the pastel, snuggly-looking fur like on ponies and cats. This is rough, short fur.

I started out kind of exicted. You know, "Bahahahaha I'm gonna be a pony!" excited. I wondered what color I'd be, what breed... and then the bombshell - "Holy nuggets, my hooves are cheese."

So know I'm sitting here, wondering about both the structural integrity of my floor and what's going to happen. I'm not extremely scared, in fact, this is one of the best things that could happen - I can act like nothing happened! I can hide my... ponyness?... until I'm ready to show it! I can fly! I can use magic! I can be the best cosplayer that's ever lived!

And now, the awkward part.

You know how the minions had a bit of an exoskeleton and shells? Well, they're more like insects than you think. I can feel my insides splashing around. I swear to god, if I stood on my front hooves right now, my stomach would fall out of my mouth. Which would be gross, and I don't recommend it.

Okay, I have a horn, and wings? Let's try these babies out! I poke the my shoulders a few times. Do insect wings have muscles? Do I just think about it?

Think, think, think think think... the ground shouldn't be that far away! I'm flying!

I turn around, looking at my wings. Despite how wimpy they look right now, I am completely off the ground! Whoo! Okay, okay, calm down. I can try this later, when I learn to transform.

Time for magic. Wait, landing. Landing comes first.

Landing is difficult.

Curtains are surprising harder to get out of when you have four limbs and can't stop flapping your wings.

Okay, upright. Standing, despite being unable to stop my wings from flapping. Magic time.

There's my target. About five inches of wood, rubber and graphite. Coated in plastic.

That's right. Dollar store pencil.

I manage to get my horn to light up. The pencil rolls across the table. I quickly realize how hard it'll be to pick it up with hooves, and that my shoulder is at table level and crawling will be difficult. And then the pencil is floating in a green bubble! I did it! The pencil is floating!

With a lot of concentration, I manage to lift the pencil back up to the table.

And drop it hard enough that it rolls off anyway.

I'll get it later.

Bam! Fluttershy!

Bam! Rainbow Dash!

Bam! Rarity!

Bam! Twilight Sparkle! Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Luna! Celestia!

You know you're jealous. I can sense it.

In the show, they make transformations look instant and painless. I guess in real life they're just as fast, and painless, but... creepy. I can feel every bone in my body melt and reform, or grow anew, and my organs become solid. My fur completely disappears before regrowing again. Any extra parts are formed from scratch. It feels like it should take at least ten minutes, but no, seconds! It's probably a good thing it's hidden by a flash of light, because I wouldn't like to see myself in a mirror.

But this is just so fun.

Discord! Derpy Hooves! Lyra! Bonbon! Mrs. Cake! Mr. Cake! Pound Cake! Pumpkin Cake! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Cheerilee!

I would warn about turning into the opposite gender. It feels creepy.

Okay. I have to focus. Time to become... well, me.

Which brought me to something kind of shocking - what if I had been a Changeling my whole life?

I stop mid-change and revert back to my original form.

I've read that some insects seem to almost communicate telepathically. They can move as one, as one large organism instead of millions of smaller ones. A hive mind.

Changelings are pretty close to insects, right?

It takes a few seconds of thought, before I decide there's no harm in trying.

It's an indescribable feeling. Suddenly, my mind just seemed to open up. I could see through thousands of eyes, hear through thousands of ears, and all in one big scene. And then it all just faded together. It seemed like a cave. There were a few glowing rocks...

...rocks that were squirming.

One of them burst, sending a flume of slime plummeting towards the ground. A Changeling crawled out, shook off it's wings, and hovered away into the dark.

My eyes were adjusting. The walls of the cave were coated in sleeping or resting Changelings. Most of the airspace was filled with them too, most looking bored. A couple flitted closer to the ground, a sense of purpose obviously fueling them. Something changed in the group, making the ones in the air scatter to the walls. A couple dropped to the ground, one landing right beside me.

And it turned around and looked at me. Not through me, at me.

"You new here?"

I stared at it. They couldn't talk in the show... I think. "Uh... kinda?"

It stared at me for a few moments, before nodding. "I came from an outer hive too. Her Great Majesty is coming, so we all have to move out of the way."

An eerie light flooded the cavern, a green glow coming from down the tunnel. Around the bend came three armored Changelings, each carrying a lantern as well as their own magic. They were followed by two lines of gaurds, which had another line behind them. There must have been twenty of them, but they kept changing formation.

They were surrounding one of the most eerie creatures I had ever seen.

The Changeling Queen, Chrysalis.

And no matter how creepy you thought she was before, it's way worse when she's flying towards you.

I felt a sudden breeze. The Changelings around me had scattered. I was kind of confused. Why were they leaving?

THUMP

I think I turned around slower than I ever had before.

It was her.

"I don't know you."

"I... uh... well..." To be honest, I was suddenly aware of her little entourage in a very tight circle around me. With teeth bared and horns lowered. "I've... uh... been gone for a while, and..."

"Female 3217?"

"Uh... yes? I don't really know, honestly."

"I sent you away thirteen years ago to scout?"

"Uh, I think it's fourteen now."

"What in Equestria happened?"

"I... I... I forget."

"You... forget?"

The ring drew closer, the Changeling closest to Chrysalis conjuring up a glowing spear. The Queen herself looked little more than surprised.

"You forget? How could you forget thirteen-"

"-fourteen-"

"-years away from the Hive?"

"Well, I don't know how, but I didn't end up in Equestria. I didn't know I was a Changeling until two hours ago."

"Guards, leave 3217 alone. I'll be fine." The guards looked at her in shock before obediently fluttering away. "Where did you end up? You see, we had a problem-"

"I know. The power of love. It's called Earth."

"Earth?" She sat back, lifting a holey hoof to her chin. "Release yourself from the Hive Mind. I will follow."

The original feeling returned, a sudden omnipotence before shutting down to my own mind in my own body, in my own room.

thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack

Chrysalis had found the fan.