"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh…" Dash pumped her wings hard, rocketing out of the cave and smashing through the window of the house. Landing on the ground and rolling, the mare looked up and around. Everything had stopped; ponies in their bridles stared at her, and curious changelings blinked in her direction. "Geddit off!" She jumped to hooves and then wings, pushing into the air and pumping again for height.

Spilling out of the hive entrance, a whole group of "Rainbow Dashes" looked up at the mare, watched her fight with the bridle on her head. "After her, if she gets hurt it will be our chitin on the line." Spreading their wings together, they launched after their new diplomat.

The fastenings were clearly not a weak point, and after struggling with them for a few moments Dash tried instead on the longer lengths of the stuff. "Get off, get off…" A pressure was building in her head, she could feel the bridle seemingly squeezing and then suddenly a wave of power rushed through her. All the warning threads in her mane and tail screamed about something as the power rushed down and into Rainbow's legs. Before her eyes, her hooves turned black and the dark color spread up her forelegs. When the holes appeared in them, she screamed.

"Have you ever seen the Chancellor put one of those on a pony before, Dark?"

Dark Thrust shook his—or due to his looking like Rainbow Dash right now, her—head. "Never. It is a high honor for a pony." Squinting, Dark looked at the mare, watching as changeling magic started turning her into a drone. "Strong, stubborn… that looks painful."

Rainbow Dash gulped hard. Her legs hurt, her brain was going crazy with how to stop what the bridle was doing to her. She kicked and snarled at the thing on her face, always pumping her wings harder and harder.

Squinting, Dash could see the border fort in the distance and threw everything she had into speed. She launched herself at the height she had been told to maintain and held it, but not a single changeling—and there were many dotted along the ground—challenged her with magic. Up and down her spine the warning tingles continued until Dash reached the gorge. The bridle seemed to squeeze again and Dash let out another scream as it sent a pulse of green fire into her. More of the mare's extremities changed, her tail felt different, strange, her head seemed the right size for the bridle at least but she doubted it was a good thing. Launching herself with the last of her energy, she arced over the walls of the fort and landed in the courtyard. "DAWN GLIDER!"

It was long past his shift, but Dawn's head snapped up at the yell. Moments later a guard pony belted on the door to his barracks. "Ugh, coming… what is up?" He didn't bother with his armor, figuring if it was a problem the guards on duty would deal with it. Opening the door to his barracks he squinted sharply at the bright afternoon sun. Moments later his eyes widened a little again. "Boss?" He trotted out just in time to see the bridle around the pony-changeling seem to squirm and tighten, magic pushing out of it in a wave pushing a long pair of fangs free of Rainbow Dash's snout. "Get that thing off her now!"

"Sir?" One guard—like the rest—had his spear leveled at Rainbow Dash. "If you say so…" Stepping a bit closer, he reached out with his magic and grabbed hold of the bridle and pulled hard. "Help me here, it won't let go!" Horns lit all around him and suddenly, as they all pulled at once, the bridle ripped and tore free of the mare's head.

"Canterlot, you need to take me to Canterlot!" Rainbow Dash stared up at Dawn, reaching one hole-filled hoof toward him.

"Us too." Dark landed amid even more guards aiming spears at him and his squad of drones. "We are the escort for the new diplomat of the Changeling Collective." The words were disgusting to have to say, particularly to ponies.

"Lock them up, bring her." Dawn Glider gestured to the train. "Taking them all to Canterlot. I don't know just what this was all about, but I have never heard of the bugs doing this to a pony before." He leaned down to Rainbow and reached with a gentle hoof to check the mare's eye. "Still your own, good. Your eyes are too damn pretty to turn into one of them things." Dawn noticed the pupil narrow at his words and laughed. "Come on, get up and lean on me."

Rainbow struggled a moment, her body feeling very strange. Her tail didn't flare out behind her. She started to turn her head but the stallion at her side used a wing to hide her view. "The buck was that thing? Worst I expected was they would try to claim me as a slave…"

"Ain't life just full of surprises?" Dawn turned his head to one of the guards. "Grab that bridle thing up and bring it, too."

"Thank you." Dash barely had the energy to stumble along at Dawn's side. "Rainbow Dash's my name…" She stumbled up to the side of the train, with help. "Don't… don't leave me alone… please."

"Not going to. The pony who gave me the highest security password I know told me to stay near her." Dusk leaned his head under Dash's belly and lifted, pushing the mare up to where she could scrabble into the car. The train jolted as something thumped into the back of it; Rainbow started to fall before a strong bat-wing wrapped her back and held her tight. "Thanks, Dusk. Can you get me a mirr-" She froze and realized the thing partially reflected in the mirror was her. Her face was mostly her own still, but shaped different. Like a changeling's head. She gulped. Stepping a little closer and turning, Dash sighed in relief at seeing her wings still her own.

"You got some of that 'greeny' color in your mane, look." Dawn reached up and gathered Dash's mane in a foreleg, drawing it to the side and showing it to her. "And some black too. It's odd… it wasn't like that before we took off the bridle."

"I'm still changing… just a lot slower." Rainbow stared at herself more. Her black, chitinous legs stopped mid shoulder and hip. She reached a hoof out and felt that it seemed like the fur itself had reshaped into the hard covering now on her limbs. "Canterlot… Luna…" Dash felt her strength giving out as she slumped down.

~~~~~+++++~~~~~

"Long hours." Luna stepped from her bedroom, having spent the day missing having Mac at her back. She stepped out into the brightly lit hall.

"Your Highness, it is late afternoon." Sooty Rose was at her door, flanked by Deep Dive on the other side. "If you wish more sleep-"

"Long hours. Things are happening that require my attention." Luna repeated and gave a little more insight; but not too much. "Please escort me to the throne room, I wish to see my sister before she retires for the day."

Flanked by her guard, Luna made her way through the halls and to the throne room. "Have something brought up for breakfast, make it something sweet so Celestia…" Luna's throat jerked a little at the name, "my sister, can have some too." Coming up to the doors, Luna reached to them with her magic and opened the great things.

"Ah, speak of the darkness and it appears." Molestia was reclining on her throne with Twilight Sparkle beside it. When Luna and Twilight's eyes met each gave a slight bow. "You still show her respect? I guess she did make you what you are and all."

"She did. You cannot stop me from owing Princess Twilight Sparkle a great debt, along with the rest of Equestria. I will pay that debt." Luna strode in and left the doors open. "How has the day been, Tia?"

The old nickname took all of Molly's attention, she focused on Luna with an intense gaze. "The day has been just dandy, Lulu." It was only fair, or so Molestia thought, to use an old nickname back. "I made three guards climax just by putting on a show with my pet here." As if it were an afterthought, she let go of Twilight's leash. "You did well little pet, go."

Giving Luna a look of thanks, Twilight Sparkle walked from the room with all the grace of a full alicorn princess, her leash dragging along beside her.

The only pony left in the room now, apart from the princesses, was Applejack. Standing impassive, the stallion ignored everything going on until it was his duty to open the door. Looking into Twilight's eyes he saw a determination that shocked him. "Twi…"

"Go, you too. I would speak with my sister alone." Luna half turned her head and gave AJ a meaningful glare from just one eye. "Go and show your friend to her room."

Relieved of duty, Applejack turned and used his horn to yank the big doors open. "Your Highness." He gave the smaller mare a lopsided grin. "Ah think Ah know the way to your quarters." Every step he took was an agonizing bliss that he now had learned to keep contained—centered.

Leaving the great room, the pair fell in together, Applejack leading the way and Twilight following. Halfway to Twilight's room both were startled by a bat pony leading a strange sight.

"Your Highness! The guards said Princess Luna is in court with Princess Molestia, I thought I should bring her to you." Dawn Glider drew Twilight and Applejack's attention to Rainbow Dash.

"That… that isn't possible!" Twilight watched as her old friend's mane tinted a little more toward being entirely green as the yellow in it succumbed to the change. She rushed to the other side of Rainbow, her horn flaring to work diagnostic spells.

"Yeah, you tell me that." Dash lifted her head, looking drunkenly up at the alicorn. "How you doin' Twi, AJ?" Her smile was irrepressible, even in the face of losing herself. " 'S not so bad, only hurts to-" She cried out as a searing pain started in her forehead. Something was pushing out and in.

"It started with this thing." Dawn reached into his saddle bag with one prehensile wing-claw, pulling out the bits of shredded bridle. "They put it on her and told her she would soon be a changeling. We ripped it off but all it did was slow this down."

Twilight tilted her head a little. "What about her has changed since you removed the bridle?" As she spoke she ushered Rainbow Dash and Dawn toward her rooms. "Applejack, can you carry her?"

The doors in the throne room were huge and his friend looked so very small to him. "Wait a second." Lighting his horn—just how he had been practicing—Applejack lifted Rainbow up with ease. "Yeah I got her…" He followed after Twilight, able to actually see the fine magics his friend wrought on the pegasus. "Ah'm sorry too, Twi. When all this started, Ah might have blamed you a little."

"This is all kinds of messed up, Applejack. You will see, things will be fixed soon." Twilight spared a glance up at the big stallion guard and gave him a smile. "Get the door please." The last she directed to Dawn and in moments they had the transforming mare in her room and set on her bed. "Whatever it was in the bridle it was also steering the change. What parts of her changed before you got it off?"

"Tail, legs, fangs, her head-shape was the last." Dawn secured the door behind them.

"Figured. Now she has a queen's horn, the mane of a queen… the bridle was meant to force her to be a drone." Twilight withdrew her magic and watched as the change claimed another of the colors in her friend's mane. "I need to turn it back on itself… Applejack, whoever taught you to use your horn, did they teach you spell-combining?"

"Uh, Twilight, I can lift things, sometimes heavy things." AJ gave his head a shake. "This is way above me."

"Well, I need more power than I have, so crash course time. I will be bucked if I leave our friend to this fate." Twilight's eyes flashed as AJ had not seen them do since her friend ascended. "Start pulling on your power, build it up and hold it in your horn." Twilight waited and, when she felt the magic swirl she latched on to it with her own. "Now push it down into what I just put there."

The heat of magic almost made Applejack dizzy; he adjusted his stance and called on part of himself that had always been "him." Applejack braced his body like an earth pony who did not wish to be moved. Centered, supported by that old sense of support, he pushed.

"There, good work, more though… a lot more." Twilight started taking off her own bridle as she spoke, unclasping the leash from it and directing AJ's and her own magic into it. "Luna has a friend who normally does this stuff, I wish she were here…"

Applejack couldn't believe how weak he started to feel. Memories of his friends—of Rainbow Dash in particular—steadied him like a rock. "Just do what you can, Twi."

The magic was completely mad, or so it looked to Twilight. This was changeling magic, working on principles she would never attempt to emulate; but she began to pull the new bridle over Dash's face. It was dainty, it had easily undone clasps, but it was superb manufacture. Twilight found the part of the magic that was boiling away within her friend, she didn't so much tweak it as hit it with a hammer, a hammer she then bound in the bridle.

Dash's eyes flew open wide, looking a cross between changeling blue and her own cerise, she saw in a mirror on the other side of the bed as the blue part changed, turning green and flowing around where her whites normally would be. It felt like that corrupting thing inside her was twisting around, not aiming at her anymore.

"Can Ah stop now?" Applejack had felt the drain on his magic lessen, but he wouldn't stop completely until Twi had told him so.

"It… it is working. The bridle is making the corruption attack only the parts it had already changed." Twilight bounced in place, delight filling her. "Look, her eyes had gone blue, now they are looking a little like Chrysalis' would!"

The news was better than nothing, Dash smiled up at Twilight. "Two days." Consciousness fled her.

Author's Note

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and ~~I~~ they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, ~~I~~ They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! ~~I~~ They will pick one question per chapter.

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