Sing: The Talented Furry

The bus rumbled down the long road, leaving the studio far behind as the landscape slowly began to change. Inside, the mood had shifted. The tension of team selection was gone, replaced with anticipation and curiosity.

Prince sat by the window, arms crossed as he gazed out. Beside him, Rocky stretched out with a satisfied sigh. "Man, I feel like I just survived a battle."

"You're telling me," CJ said from the seat behind them, kicking his feet up. "This whole thing felt like a musical Hunger Games."

"Except with more smiling and less… you know… death," Prince added with a smirk.

"Give it time," CJ said. "Wait till the third eliminations start rolling in."

Before Prince could respond, his eyes widened as the scenery outside shifted dramatically. "Yo… look at that."

Outside, the sands of Sahara Square stretched out in golden waves beneath the blazing sun. Towering sand-colored skyscrapers rose in the distance, their designs inspired by ancient architecture but with a modern twist, sleek glass and sandstone blending seamlessly. And the streets down below bustled with life.

Camels in flowing robes strolled down the sidewalks, chatting on cell phones and carrying shopping bags. A group of gazelles in business suits hurried across a crosswalk while a street vendor. A stout, mustached fennec fox called out his wares. Two camels argued over a parking space while a zebra police officer tried to break it up.

"Is that… a traffic jam with camels?" Rocky asked, his face pressed against the window.

"Man, they're just like us," CJ whispered dramatically.

"Of course we are!" a voice suddenly called out.

Prince blinked in surprise as a camel walking alongside the bus shot them a glance. The camel adjusted the glasses hanging from his shirt, casually flicked them open, and slid them on with a smirk. "You think you're the only ones stuck with bad drivers?"

The trio stared as the camel casually strolled ahead without waiting for an answer.

"…Did we just get rizz by a camel?" Prince asked.

"We absolutely did," Rocky said.

"Legend," CJ whispered.

The bus kept rolling, and the sand slowly gave way to icy white.

Tundratown loomed ahead, its streets lined with buildings made of ice and stone, glittering under a soft snowfall. Polar bears in fur-lined coats walked arm in arm, and woolly mammoths trudged slowly across crosswalks. A reindeer-driven taxi zipped by, honking at a group of penguins jaywalking.

"Dude, this is wild," Rocky said, eyes wide. "It's like a Christmas movie came to life."

"Yo, look at that!" CJ pointed out the window. A group of seals slid across an ice-covered street, crashing into a snowbank while laughing. A polar bear construction worker just shook his head and kept shoveling snow nearby.

"I could live here," Rocky said, his breath fogging the glass. "Snowball fights every day? Yes, please."

"You'd freeze," Prince said. "You get cold when the AC's too high."

"This is aesthetic cold, man. Totally different vibe."

The bus moved on, entering the dense, misty green of the Rainforest District. Towering trees stretched high above them, their branches hanging with vines and glowing plants. Waterfalls spilled from rocky cliffs, feeding winding rivers. Sloths moved slowly along hanging bridges, taking their time with every step.

"Okay, this is incredible," Prince said.

"I swear I saw this place in an adventure movie," CJ said. "We're one cursed idol away from Rango popping out."

"Yo, check out that sloth," Rocky pointed at one of the bridges, where a sloth had just raised a hand to wave very, very slowly.

CJ waved back, equally slow. "Respect the vibe."

As they passed into Savannah Central, the city came alive with towering skyscrapers and open plains. Giraffes in tailored suits walked alongside zebras and antelope, and lions chatted on street corners with elephants. A giraffe-sized coffee shop served drinks from three different height levels, and a cheetah food delivery driver zipped past on a scooter.

"Whoah, I could eat here forever," Rocky said, his eyes on a billboard advertising giraffe-sized burgers.

"That's a meal and a half," Prince agreed.

"I swear I saw an elephant with three pizzas," CJ said. "I respect that hustle."

Finally, they rolled into the Meadowlands. A calm, rolling stretch of green fields and wildflowers. Sheep played soccer on a distant hill, and rabbits had a picnic under a massive oak tree. The air smelled of fresh grass and blooming clover.

"This place is peaceful," Prince murmured.

"I feel relaxed just looking at it," Rocky agreed.

As the bus rolled on through the Meadowlands, the peaceful scenery outside had Prince, Rocky, and CJ completely captivated. The rolling green hills stretched endlessly, dotted with flocks of sheep and herds of grazing antelope. The wind carried the scent of wildflowers, and somewhere in the distance, they spotted a group of otters flying kites.

"This place is really refreshing" Rocky whispered, eyes wide.

"I feel like we're in a dream," CJ said, leaning so far into the window that his nose smushed against the glass.

Prince just grinned. "Man, I didn't think a place like this actually existed. We've been missing out."

Behind them, a groggy voice cut through their wonder. "Are you guys serious right now?"

They turned to see Bryce stretching and rubbing his eyes, his face a mix of amusement and disbelief. "You guys acting like you've never seen scenery before. What, y'all a bunch of country bumpkins?"

CJ's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

Rocky spun around in his seat. "First of all—"

"We're not country bumpkins!" Prince interrupted, offended but laughing. "We've just… never been out of Calatonia before."

Bryce raised an eyebrow. "Never?"

"Never," the three said in unison.

Bryce shook his head, smirking. "Man, no wonder you're acting like tourists. You guys ever seen a skyscraper before, or was the studio the first tall building you've been in?"

"Alright, calm down, city boy," Rocky shot back. "We got buildings in Calatonia too, thank you very much."

"Yeah," CJ added. "They're just… smaller. And more… rustic."

Bryce snorted. "You mean old?"

Prince held up a hand. "Okay, we're getting off track here. We're just appreciating the world, alright? You could stand to take in some of this beauty too."

Bryce glanced lazily out the window at the idyllic fields and shrugged. "Eh. Seen one grassy hill, seen 'em all."

"Man, you're impossible," Rocky muttered, turning back to the window.

The bus kept rolling, and soon the landscape began to change again. The open meadows gave way to paved roads and rising buildings, and before they knew it, they were entering the outskirts of Zootopia.

The city skyline stretched up ahead, a sprawling metropolis with distinct districts they had just passed through. The glassy towers of Savannah Central glinted in the sun, while the mist from the Rainforest District's waterfalls created a soft haze in the air. The icy peaks of Tundratown loomed in the distance, and the warm sands of Sahara Square shimmered beyond.

The bus finally slowed, turning onto a wide boulevard lined with palm trees and street vendors. The energy was electric, animals of every species hurried along the sidewalks, some talking on phones, others arguing, laughing, singing. A parade of colorful birds flew overhead while a rhino taxi driver honked at a group of slow-moving armadillos crossing the street.

"Welcome to Zootopia," the bus driver, a gruff-looking buffalo called over the speaker. "End of the line, folks."

As the bus came to a stop, the doors hissed open, and the contestants began filing out.

Prince stepped off and took a deep breath, the vibrant sounds and smells of the city washing over him. "We're really here."