Contingency Plans

Two months later...

Queen Chrysalis and two of her drones lounged on a wooden bench, watching the citizens of Ponyville go about their shopping in the local market. They had taken on pony forms of course, so that they would be able to observe the town without being bothered. Chrysalis herself had chosen the form of a black unicorn mare with stylish green hair. She lit her horn and levitated a small sheet of paper in front of herself, licking her lips with anticipation. In top left corner was a symbol of a white cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt crackling down.

Name: Rainbow Dash

Age: 22

Height: 4 ft 2 inches

Weight: 170 lbs

Residence: Cloudsdale (previous), Ponyville

Occupation: Weatherpony, Wonderbolt (as needed basis)

Physical Attributes: Sky blue coat, rainbow mane, cutie mark of a white cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt, athletic physique

Titles: Element of Loyalty, National Hero, Wonderbolt, First pony to perform a Sonic Rainboom

Description: Rainbow Dash is a good friend whose loyalty and courage knows no bounds. She was one of my first friends when I came to Ponyville, and has helped me throughout my adventures and missions this past year. Besides her exemplar character and easygoing attitude, Rainbow Dash's greatest asset is her speed, especially while flying. Rainbow's flying skill earned her praise at an early age, when she managed to complete the first recorded Sonic Rainboom in history. Since then her flight skills have only improved, serving us well on numerous adventures and earning her a place among the Wonderbolts. Rainbow also has basic hoof to hoof fighting skills, and has refined them since joining the Wonderbolts.

Possible Counters: Due to her fighting skill and speed, engaging Rainbow in direct combat is inadvisable as she could easily escape or use her agile reflexes to counter any attack. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash's great flying abilities have led her to often display a cocky attitude, believing herself to easily be able to handle a problem or threat while actually completely unprepared. This weakness is further augmented by her laid back lifestyle, and can often lead to Rainbow making careless mistakes. Furthermore, Rainbow Dash's sense of pride creates another weakness. Put simply: she never turns down a challenge, no matter how ill-advised or dangerous it may be.

If one were to expose Rainbow to a magical gas, altering her perception, it would be easy to make her accept a never-ending race with a perceived opponent. She would eventually tire out, and thus be easy to capture and contain as needed. This would be even more effective if the opponent she saw was a pony she already had a past rivalry with, like Lightning Dust for example.

"Careless mistakes ha! This will be the last mistake you ever make Rainbow Dash." Chrysalis laughed. She turned to her drones. "It's time to put our plan into effect. Drone 51, you know what to do?"

Her drone, who had taken on the form of a red pony with unkempt black hair, nodded.

"Excellent." Chrysalis hissed with a sinister grin. She levitated a small photo in front of the drone's face. "This is the pony you'll be impersonating." He nodded again eagerly. "Drone 29? Take your position. The show is about to begin!" Chrysalis chuckled. Drone 29 was in the form of an innocent looking colt, with large brown eyes and wobbly knees. He trotted into the market place, idling by a small fruit stand manned by a blue earth pony.

Chrysalis' eyes narrowed as Rainbow Dash carefully landed in the center of the market, carrying a small basket for her shopping. She knew Rainbow would show up on this day at this time, as her drones had been spying on Rainbow's routine for months now. Her changelings had always been there in the background, watching. The only time she had to call them back was during Hearth's Warming Eve, as the love magic was just too tempting for her drones to feed on.

She shook herself from her thoughts and watched in anticipation. Rainbow hummed loudly as she trotted from stand to stand, haggling and buying food. Suddenly there was a loud ZOOM, as a blue and gold flash streaked by. Drone 29 took his cue. "Help!" the colt cried. "Thief!"

The shop owner looked at his stand and realized several of his fruits were missing. "Get back here with my fruit you thief!" he yelled shaking a hoof.

A blue pegasus with a gold mane hovered nonchalantly above the market. "Nah I don't think so. Unless one of you losers is fast enough to catch me!" she teased.

Rainbow Dash looked up. "Lightning Dust!"

"Hey there Rainbow Crash! Still slow on the uptake I see!" 'Lightning Dust' grinned.

"You got kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy so now you're just a common thief?!" Rainbow yelled, clearly enraged at being called slow. "Give back that fruit now and get outta here!"

"How about a race Rainbow Crash?" Lightning Dust taunted. "I'll prove to everypony I'm better than you once and for all!"

"You're nothing but a two bit crook!" Rainbow flew up into the air dropping her basket.

"Catch me if you can!" Lightning Dust called as she zoomed away. A rainbow flash streaked the sky as Rainbow Dash flew after Lightning in pursuit.

Rainbow had never been angrier in her life. This no good mare had nearly cost Rainbow her dream to be a Wonderbolt with her recklessness! Then she'd surfaced again and helped other villains attack the Crystal Empire and bring back King Sombra. But this time she had the gall to steal from Rainbow's town and thought she could get away with it? No way!

As Rainbow poured on more and more speed, she found herself slowly gaining on Lightning Dust. Nopony, especially a faker like Lightning Dust could outrace her! The closer Rainbow got, she noticed that Lightning dust seemed to be trailing smoke of some kind. "Almost... have you!" Rainbow coughed trying to wave the smoke out of her face. She had no idea what Lightning was up to, but even this smoky stuff wasn't going to save her! The noxious fumes were making Rainbow tear up, so she used her pegasi magic and summoned a large wind to buffet the gas away.

After it had cleared, she saw that Lightning Dust had stopped just a few feet ahead of her. Rainbow slowed her speed and hovered in front of her rival. "I was wondering when you were going to do that. Unfortunately it's too late now." Rainbow felt her vision swim and go fuzzy for a moment. "I knew you'd never inhale enough for a knockout gas to work... but this gas is something cooked up just for you. Lightning Dust explained. "It works even if you inhale the tiniest amount."

When her vision cleared, Rainbow was Lightning Dust standing in front of her with a smug expression. Rainbow dived at her angrily, but all she caught was empty air. "Huh? What the..." Lightning Dust was... everywhere. Rainbow saw Lightning Dust to her right, to her left, in front of her, above her, below her, beside her. They all had the same smug grin, and had the bag of stolen fruits slung over their backs.

"I'm right here Rainbow Dash!" The Lightning Dust to her left taunted. Rainbow flew after her with all her speed, and grabbed for her. Once again... empty air.

"Or am I here?" Another Lightning Dust called.

"W-whatever freaky game you're playing Lightning... I'm out!" Rainbow yelled defiantly. She turned around and began to fly away.

"Then I guess you lose!" Lightning called after her. Rainbow stopped. "Everypony saw me challenge you and saw you accept. If you leave, you forfeit! Even if Princess Twilight catches me with her magic, I still win! Your reputation as the fastest pony in Equestria will be history!"

"You cheated." Rainbow said flatly, still facing away.

"But you can't prove it. Oh sure your friends will say they believe you, they'll say you did the smart thing. But that doubt'll always be there won't it?" Lightning Dust said gleefully. "In the back of their minds they'll wonder: is Rainbow really the best?"

Rainbow flew at Lightning with anger in her eyes. Empty air again. "I AM the best!" she roared.

"Then prove it." the Lightning Dusts said in unison. Rainbow flew at another one, panting. "Slow as usual Rainbow!" "Oops try again!" "How'd a second rate flyer like you become a Wonderbolt?" On and on it went, until Rainbow was barely able to hover, panting with exhaustion.

"I- I'll get you..." Rainbow felt herself slowly sink back to the ground, coming to rest in a lonely meadow. She collapsed, too tired to even move an inch. Lightning Dust, singular, landed beside her. Rainbow's vision was swimming again, as sweat poured down her face.

Lightning Dust seemed to shimmer and turn black. She looked like... a changeling! Rainbow tried to get up but found herself unable to move. Two more black figures trotted up beside her. Rainbow managed to tilt her head up to look at the tallest one. "C-Chrysalis?"

"That's Queen Chrysalis to you. Don't worry, your friends will be joining you soon enough. But for now, they'll want to see their pal Rainbow Dash won't they?" The changeling that had been Lightning Dust morphed into a copy of Rainbow Dash. Chrysalis' horn glowed green. "For now, it's time to say goodnight, little pony." Rainbow saw a green flash and blacked out.