Rainbow didn't do anything slowly, but she found both her companions were slower than her "normal" speed. At last, however, they arrived in Ponyville and she dropped down at the castle. "Right, if you are going to be teaching me to use this thing, I want it to be somewhere safe." She gave the front door a good kicking.

"Go awa-" Spike froze as the door flew inwards. "What the… Twilight isn't home." Sullenness coated his words, he hadn't seen the mare who had raised him for far too long.

"We know, Twi sent us." Rainbow strode into the castle, looking around. "She happy that you let the place go so much? I thought it was your job to clean it, squirt?"

"What's the point? She can't come home." Spike turned his back and walked off. "Do whatever you want, just don't wake me up, okay?"

"A bit surly." Dawn pushed the changeling drone ahead. "Alright you, down into the dungeon… this place has a dungeon, right?"

"Uh… we should probably check that." Rainbow looked around the ground floor but couldn't find anything leading down. "Well buck, I guess being the Castle of Friendship means unfriendly things aren't stored here. Well, you get to come and meet a few friends of mine." She looked at the drone. "Hey, changeling, you got something less… stand-out, than that?"

"My name is Dark Thrust." The changeling drone drew himself up as tall as he could and flared his magic.

"Really? An alicorn? Eh… kinda growing on me. Keep it." Rainbow Dash smiled at the drone who now resembled a mint-colored alicorn stallion with vibrant orange mane. "I know one of my friends is going to love the colors." Dash gave a grin that could be described by a lot of ponies as "evil." Dark looked both a little startled at the mare's acquiescence and a little worried about her final comment.

"You are really going to let him go out like that?" Dawn gestured to the disguised changeling with a wing claw. "Well, I guess the best disguise is the outlandish one nopony will believe. Besides, you aren't exactly inconspicuous yourself."

Rainbow Dash laughed and trotted for the door again. "Okay, let's head over to Carousel Boutique, Rarity is going to love this."

"R-R-Rainbow Dash?" Derpy "landed" close to the odd little group as they made their way through town.

"Hi Derpy, like my costume?" Rainbow turned from side to side, showing off her odder details. "Just need to get something from Rarity to really make it shine."

"OH!" Derpy flapped her wings a little. "A fancy-dress party, I was confused for a little while there."

"Yeah, Princess Twilight is holding a special party in Canterlot in a few days, I wanted to get this outfit looking perfect. Better go, though, Rarity is waiting." Rainbow gave the gray pegasus a wink and turned.

They were almost to the door of the amazing boutique before Dark stopped Rainbow. "You lie better than a changeling, is… how is that?"

"Just that awesome. But mostly practice. That was one question, now I get to ask one. Is this kind of thing," Rainbow gestured to herself, "common?"

The disguised changeling grinned widely. "I have never seen it done before." Dark clamped his snout shut lest he ask more questions but at last said, "This game can go both ways, if you ask me something I will expect a question back."

"Fair enough, you aren't that bad for a bug." Dash opened the door and strode into Carousel Boutique. "Hey Rares, Moony, you two home?" The sound of gasps from the back room were followed by stumbling and, finally, the door opening.

Rarity stepped out into the main room. "Darling, I was just telling Moon Dancer how much I have missed you." Rarity batted her eyelashes at the three strange ponies. "I love the green and black contrast to the normal rainbow, but Darling, I really think you may be overdoing it."

Moon Dancer stepped out of the back room next, her main quite rumpled. "Cap-" She cut off quickly before saying more, but smiled at Rainbow Dash as widely as she could.

"It's cool Moony, these two know." Rainbow turned her attention back to Rarity. "I had a bit of a run-in with the changelings, they talked so smoothly they got all the way under my skin." She stretched to show off her form. "The biggest problem is, though, they shorted out a few of my enchantments."

Moon Dancer almost pushed past Rarity to get at Rainbow Dash. Flaring her horn to life, she started working through Rainbow's mane. "You did more than a few. Over half of these are burned out!"

"There is more." Dash turned to pull her mane away from Moon Dancer, trying to make the unicorn look at her face. "Come on, you have to spot this one."

Forced to confront Rainbow head on, Moon Dancer finally noticed the bridle on her head. "What is that? Fashion?" She knew better, and had a way to probe it. The moment her magic touched the thing she jerked back. "Who enchanted that?"

"Guess." Rainbow was unmoving, her grin challenging Moon Dancer.

"Alicorn, only an alicorn could do an enchantment that powerful. Princess Luna is not this skilled—or she wouldn't have recruited me—Princess Molestia might be, but her touch in an enchantment is like a hammer." Carefully reaching her magic out, Moon Dancer felt along the lines of the powerful magic. "That leaves either Empress Cadance, and I reasonably sure she wouldn't do anything you would like; or Princess Twilight Sparkle. But I have not encountered any of Twilight's enchantments, I wasn't aware she was allowed to work such magic?"

"You got the maker, it was Twilight. I can't wait until-" Rainbow blinked and stopped talking. "Never mind that, can you work out what it is doing?"

"Dark magic, mixed with light. It is subverting part of your nature against itself." Moon, having poked around the bridle enough now, was confident in her words. "What is it doing to you? No, wait, let me work this out."

Moon began looking at more than just the bridle, she started turning her examination on Rainbow Dash herself, examining her aura before exclaiming, "You're turning into a changeling! Wait, I don't mean like that, I mean still, it is still happening, and by Luna it is powerful. This bridle is modifying the effect, changing it so it targets itself? No, that isn't right… it is making it target a lesser change already on you."

"See, Dawn? I only recruit the best." Rainbow Dash ruffled her mane. "Big question though, Moony-"

"I hate it when you call me that." Moon Dancer, despite her protests, knew there was no way to make Rainbow Dash stop calling her "Moony."

"Okay, Moony. But can you work on this thing without taking it off me?" Rainbow pointed to her bridle. "Twilight said that it is working fine now, but when the last parts of me that are 'drone' become 'queen,' it will start in on the rest of me."

"Work on an enchantment while it is still functioning? That's mad. I would have to take it off." Moon Dancer shook her head.

While the two argued about the enchantment, Rarity sidled closer to the "alicorn stallion." She looked him up and down in contemplation. "You are a most interesting pony. I would say you were one of those odd royal guard stallions with the special armor, but it doesn't make anything quite like you."

"Err," Dark Thrust suddenly regretted his decision to throw horse-apples in Rainbow Dash's face, "it's a bit complicated…" he glanced toward the rainbow mare that had gotten him up to his crest in ponies. "Easier to show you." With that, he dropped his disguise.

"Oh, a changeling." Rarity gave a little sigh and looked around quickly. Her magic lit and pulled a little couch closer, positioning it just-so. Then she fainted onto the couch.

"What did you do to her?" Dawn rushed between the downed unicorn and the changeling. "Captain, your pet is misbehaving!"

"What?" Rainbow Dash had been ignoring all the goings-on, but turned her head to see what Dawn Glider was yelling about.

"No! Don't move…" Moon Dancer threw her hooves up. "How can I work like this?"

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down Dawn, Rarity does this all the time." Rainbow shook her head, getting more complaints from Moon. "There is only one way to wake her, you have to give her love's true kiss."

"Don't you dare!" Moon and a suddenly recovered Rarity both yelled at the same time.

"Rainbow Dash, you know my fainting is always impeccably timed, both the faint and the recovery." Rarity tossed her mane. "It was simply too much, realizing that such an exquisite example of alicorn-hood was a changeling." She paused for exactly three heartbeats before turning to face Dark Thrust. "Please change back, I simply must make you an outfit to match!"

It was certainly not what Dark had been expecting, so much so that he blinked and did as requested, going back to the green alicorn stallion. A blur of magic summoned a white measuring tape and soon he was being carefully checked and counted, numbers scribed into the crazy white unicorn's notes. "Wait!" Dark tried to move away but found the tape measure chasing him. "I said stop!"

"A changeling is no match for Rarity with a tape measure." Rainbow Dash gave a snort.

Giving a glare at Dash, Dark turned back to Rarity. "I am a changeling, not a doll!" He flared with green fire, becoming his natural shape again. "And besides, if I wanted clothes I have only to think about them when I disguise." And once more he changed, this time becoming the stallion, covering in a perfectly tailored shirt and dinner jacket.

"Well now that is hardly fair. Take it off and let me measure you properly." Rarity glared at the changeling. She watched him puff himself up, then shift back to his alien-like natural form. "Are you done? This will only take longer if you don't do what I say."

Dark stood aghast at Rarity. "Changelings don't take orders from ponies! Ponies are fodder!" He never saw the slap come, never even felt it until the sharp sting of Dawn's hoof connected with his cheek.

"Talking to guard is one thing, but you don't talk to a mare like that. Not a second time." The threat was obvious as he stood staring at Dark.

Rarity's heart beat a million miles a minute, she would have swooned if her fainting couch was just a little closer. "A real gentlecolt, oh my…"

Looking to Rainbow Dash, Dark saw the mare's profile, the long jagged horn, almost-green mane hanging, something triggered a subservience he hadn't felt since Chrysalis left the hive. "My Queen-" Whatever else he was going to say died in Dark's throat. Both forehooves flew up and covered his snout. The sound of hooves heralded Dash walking right up to him. "I mean…"

"If you mean that, if you really mean that, then you follow every order I give." Rainbow Dash too, had something come over her, a sense of control and a need to seize power. "If you teach me how to use whatever magic I have, you can call me your queen."

Dark was in awe, the aura of a queen was unmistakable, but they were still half pony, and the half that was changeling was only half queen itself! "M-M-M…" He couldn't say it, instead just lowering his head. "Please."

Dash pressed a hole-filled hoof to the drone's head, not pushing down, just holding him steady. "Rarity, Dawn, my drone will not be struck again."

The trembling in Dark's heart eased, there was something very visceral about pledging yourself and then being protected by your liege. He chittered and chirped softly, wings vibrating.

"And Dark Thrust, if you ever say that to anypony else I will pull your wings out, you got that?" Rainbow flared her own wings, as if to reinforce her words.

"Y-Y-Yes… my… my Queen." Dark wasn't even sure how it happened, how he had been lain-low so quickly.

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.

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
Canary in the coal mine
Daremo
Mary Rowland
Boulder
A.P.O.N.I.

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Daremo
Vutava
Boulder