I Put a Spell On You

by cleverpun

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Lyra, Rainbow Dash, Queen Chrysalis, Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 8000

[Canceled] The desire to improve can be one of the most destructive, exploitable impulses we have. No one knows this better than Chrysalis.

Cancelled; leaving it up to remind me how terrible I was a year ago how much I've improved.

Yet another rejection letter from the Wonderbolts causes Rainbow to doubt her abilities, her usual confidence shaken more than she can admit.

When a pony offers to cast a spell on her that could make her better with no effort, Dash is skeptical. But her ineffective workouts, and numerous flashes of weakness cause her to reconsider the offer...oblivious to the poisonous plan behind it, and the consequences her decision might have.

Note: Contains PG mind rape, stalker undertones, stalker overtones, a trippy dream sequence, and invasion of personal space.

Published 2012-09-04 21:54:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-01 07:32:06 UTC

Chapter 1: Poisonous Plans

Ch. 1
Poisonous Plans

BY: cleverpun

Rainbow Dash had been staring at the letter for a while now. The return address definitely said “The Wonderbolts” at the top. It had to be a response to her latest application. And I mean, let’s face it, she was the greatest flier in Equestria. She had proven it in front of the Wonderbolts countless times; there's no way they would reject her. But every time she told herself that, then went to open the letter, doubt would flare up in her mind, and she would withdraw her hoof and go back to staring at it. She had gone through that cycle at least five times now.

“Come on Rainbow, the worst that could happen is rejection right? And, that’s not…that bad…in the long run.”

She let herself believe her own lie, and finally managed to get her hoof on the envelope.

She opened it slowly, partly because she didn’t want to damage the letter inside, and opening an envelope with a hoof isn’t easy, and partly because she was still afraid of the news that is might contain. When the letter was finally out, she immediately noticed that it was a lot shorter than the last rejection letter they had sent her, and her name at the top hadn’t been filled in by a secretary like usual.

Dear Ms. Rainbow Dash,

Thank you for all the applications you have sent us to date. Your enthusiasm and ability are, as always, beyond what we see from most of our fans.
We have, however, sent you this letter to politely request that you refrain from sending us any further applications. We are aware of your talents, and if we ever require additional members, we will contact you personally.
Thank you for your continued interest in our team.

Sincerely,
TSgt. Spitfire

Rainbow let the meaning of the letter sink in. She wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Guess I know what’s worse than rejection now…”

She walked slowly to her bed and put the letter in her nightstand, on top of the other seven. She then fell onto her bed, her usual confidence fighting with her latest failure.

After all the amazing things I’ve done, the Wonderbolts still don’t want me as part of their team. After all the times I’ve met them, impressed them, saved them, I’m still just another… fangirl to them. I’m the best flier in Equestria and I’m still not good enough…

Rainbow sat upright.

“No! I’m no failure! I’ll show the Wonderbolts, I just have to train harder. Yeah… work on my aim and my endurance. Then, they’ll have no excuse not to accept me!”

Filled with her old level of determination again, Rainbow gathered her bag and refilled her water bottle, and started to head to Ponyville Field.

As she popped out of her door, she decided to walk there as her warm-up, and flew down to the ground.

The bright sunshine made the walk pleasant enough, although as she trotted along she kept imagining herself in the sky, the wind in her mane. Not that walk was boring or anything, it just wasn’t as exciting. Hmm… maybe a light jog?

“Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow snapped out of her mental meandering.

“Oh, uh, hi, Rarity, didn’t see ya there.”

“I don’t normally see you on the ground; what’s the occasion?” Rarity fell into step with Rainbow.

“Oh, I was just heading over to Ponyville Field for some exercise. Figured walkin’ would…”

“Oh, did the Wonderbolts finally respond to your letter? I know you’ve been gushing about it for days and days! I saw you waiting for the mailpony yesterday too! Did it finally arrive? Did they finally accept you?”

“Oh, uhm, nah, I’m… I just got tired of sitting around waiting for letters all the time. Gotta be ready for when it finally does get here ya know.”

“Funny, it has been a week, you would think they would have responded already. Surely they would not want to keep a pony of your talents waiting.”

“Naw, they’ve gotta, you know, they can’t seem like they’re too eager to accept me. That’s why they sent me all those other rejection letters. They’re just playing hardball so they can get a better contract. It’s just how these things go…”

“Oh I see. Well, enjoy your workout Rainbow; I’m sure the fourth time will be the charm.” Rarity smiled and turned off towards a fabric shop, and Rainbow let out a deep breath once the store’s door had closed.

Right, almost forgot I lied about the last 3 rejection letters…

Lost in thought for the rest of her jog, Rainbow finally arrived at Ponyville Field. She hadn’t been here since she had been training everypony for the water tornado up to Cloudsdale. Several ponies were playing some team sport on the field. The track was empty, and at one end of the lanes were a series of large targets painted onto the ground.

“Alright, done this regimen a thousand times, just gotta push myself a little more is all.”

Rainbow started to practice her aim, starting at one end of the track, picking up speed as she took off, and then performing a large midair loop before flying straight down and landing on one of the targets.

As she repeated the exercise, a turquoise unicorn carefully watched her in the background. The mare was doing a poor job of being inconspicuous, but nopony seemed to notice her, least of all Rainbow Dash. For the entirety of Rainbow’s workout session the cyan spy went unnoticed, sitting in the same spot and never taking her eyes off Dash’s increasingly sweaty excercises. For countless hours Rainbow continued to train. As she finally packed up and went off to get some food, the spy felt satisfied with the information she had gathered. Instead of slinking off to stalk Twilight, as she usually did, she decided to return to her home.

As she trotted through the town square, a cream-colored earth pony popped up in front of her.

“Hi, Lyra!”

“Oh…hello, Bon Bon.”

“What’s up with you lately? You’ve been avoiding me, and don’t try to deny it!”

“Yes, well, I’ve just been busy. It happens, you know.”

“Oh honestly, Lyra, that’s the weakest excuse yet. You’ll really have to do better.”

“No really, I am in the middle of a very big project. Very wide scope, fate of the world sort of things. It’s been taking all my attention.”

“Hmph, a likely story.” She turned her head sharply to the side to punctuate her disapproval.

As she looked away, Lyra cast a quick spell, the wheel on a nearby cart glowing green as it shook loose. The stall promptly fell over, spilling its contents on the cobblestones. In the ensuing commotion Lyra quickly snuck away.

“Ugh, don’t think you’ll get off that easy, Lyra!” Bon Bon shouted into the crowd. “Honestly, sometimes I don’t know why I’m friends with that scatterbrain…”

A few streets over, Lyra finally arrived at her house, an uneventful two-story near Stirrup Street. She slipped in, and made sure to lock the door behind her. The house was clean, all of its furniture obviously spotless even in the dim lighting. After double-checking all the curtains were shut, she closed her eyes and cast another spell.

In burst of green light, the disguise burned away, and Chrysalis stretched her hooves, her neck cracking loudly as she turned it to either side. Her horn glowed green as she summoned the real Lyra.

Lyra trotted down the stairs, looking distinctly disheveled and drowsy. Her eyes were barely half-open, her usually gold irises instead a sickly green and her sclera a light minty color.

“Hello, My Queen! How did your evil plans go today?”

“Very well for once.” Chrysalis walked over to Lyra, checking that she hadn’t been injured in her absence. “While spying on the Element of Loyalty, I sensed a lot of fear, worry, panic in her; something must have shaken her today. This could be the weakness I’ve been searching for…”

Chrysalis stroked Lyra’s mane for a few moments, and then placed her hoof on Lyra’s chin, lifting the unicorn’s head until their eyes met. Both of their eyes began to glow brightly in unison. The pony wobbled slightly as a thin trail of green magic oozed out of her eyes and horn, her eyelids dropping slightly as the magical glow faded.

“Mmm, delicious as always.”

“Thank you, My Queen.”

“You may prepare yourself something to eat, I must plan my next move.” Chrysalis stretched out on the couch, trying to relax after standing around in that cramped disguise all day.

Lyra stumbled to her fridge, grabbing some food with quite a bit less coordination that she normally would have. “What are you going to do to her?”

“Well, first I have to find out what has caused her to doubt herself. What she is so worried about. Once I have spied on her a bit longer, then I can find a way to turn her weaknesses to my advantage. Yes… Just a matter of time now. And the Element of Loyalty must be capable of very strong feelings indeed. Mmm, I’m salivating just thinking about it!”

“And then she’ll serve you, just like me?”

Chrysalis chuckled. “Oh no, I have something bigger planned for them. They're far too powerful to waste as drones. But I need to be careful; they are off guard now, but I will not get another chance if I mess up this time…”

After Lyra had eaten her meal, or rather, robotically chewed and swallowed her food, she walked over to Chrysalis. She laid down on the floor below the sofa. She leaned her head against Chrysalis’ body and closed her eyes. Despite the awkward position, she wasn’t uncomfortable; Chrysalis didn’t allow her to be.

Chrysalis continued stroking the mare’s mane, just as she had been for so many other days beforehand, letting emotional energy trickle into her. A light snack always helped her think.

Chapter 2: Poisonous Promises

Ch. 2
Poisonous Promises

BY: cleverpun

It had been a week since Rainbow Dash had begun her new training regimen, and it simply wasn’t doing any good. She had pushed herself to the limit every morning, but no matter what she did she wasn’t getting any better; Her wingpower readings were still the same, her endurance hadn't really increased, and her accuracy was acceptable but unchanged.

As Chrysalis watched from under her tree, still disguised as Lyra, she could feel Rainbow’s frustration easily. It didn’t take an empath to notice her increasing irritation at her own shortcomings. Rainbow shot past the anemometer yet again, and even Chrysalis felt a gust despite being several yards away. When the multicolored blur ground to a halt, she was visibly strained, countless beads of sweat dripping from her as she attempted to catch her breath. She stumbled back to the device, and stamped the ground angrily when she finally read the number on it. Her exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she collapsed onto the ground, her breathing heavy, her eyes staring defiantly at the wingpower readout.

A toothy smile crept over Chrysalis’ face. This was it, the moment she had been watching for. She took a deep breath, wiping away her malevolent grin and replacing it with a curious, innocent one. She waited a few seconds, then sauntered carefully over to Rainbow’s prone body.

“Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash! Fancy meeting you here!”

Rainbow reluctantly rolled over onto her back. “Uh, hi? Do I know you?”

“Oh don’t be coy, I’m Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings? We met at Queen C... I mean Princess Cadence's wedding, remember? I was one of her bridesmaids.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Sorry, but that whole ‘changeling army’ thing kept me from meeting new ponies. Look, I’m kinda busy, did you want somethin’?” Rainbow tried to get up, failed, and took a few deep breaths.

“Oh, I was just walking by, and noticed you working out. I saw that sonic rainboom you did at the wedding; very glamorous!”

“Yea, I am pretty awesome.”

“I couldn’t help but notice you seem a little… tired out. You don’t need any help do you?”

“Help? ME? This is the one and only Rainbow Dash you’re talkin’ to! I definitely don’t need any help.” Rainbow made another attempt to rotate onto her stomach, but was again defeated by her lack of energy.

“Well, I know we don’t know each other very well, but one of my magical abilities just happens to be the ability to… inspire ponies with my magic. That’s what the harp means.” She waved a hoof at her fake cutie mark. “It’s like your own private cheering section in your head. Guaranteed to make any pony a hundred-and-ten percent better at anything.”

“Uh… thanks but no thanks, that sort of stuff is for losers; us winners don’t need magic tricks or boosts. Besides, Twilight always said that magic like that is really… unstable.”

“Oh come now, it’s not like you haven’t ignored her opinion before. Like when she was suspicious of that fake Princess Cadence and you left her in tears in the throne room…”

Rainbow immediately stood bolt upright, and stepped very close to Chrysalis’ fake face, her anger temporarily overriding her fatigue.

“Hey, just where do you get off bringing that up!? And how do you even know about that anyways?”

“I was there, remember? Royal bridesmaid you know.” Chrysalis turned her face to the side, mocking embarrassment as she covered her cheek with her hoof. “Oh, how stupid of me, I’ve upset you. I’m sorry if I offended you, but I was just being honest you see. I only offered because you seemed so stressed about your little wheel thing there.” She opened her bag with a burst of green magic and drew out a small card and quill. “Here, let me give you my address in case you change your mind. No charge after my faux pas of course. Think about it.” Chrysalis levitated the card over to Rainbow’s mane and stuck it behind her ear. “I promise you’ll feel like a whole new pony afterwards…” Chrysalis strolled off, as nonchalant as possible, and once she was out of sight she ducked behind a building, waiting to see if she could sense a response.

With a huff Dash pulled the card out of her hair, staring at the uneven cursive. She pulled her arm back to fling it on the ground, but at the top of her swing she hesitated…

“Well, guess it couldn’t hurt to have an extra… bookmark…” She walked over to her bag and tucked it in the front pocket, then proceeded to gather the rest of her things. “And that dumb unicorn nearly made me late to help Twilight move her new bookshelf…”

As Rainbow swiftly dabbed herself with a towel and trotted out of the park, Chrysalis watched her go.

Hmm… A seed well-planted, but I still need to make sure it sprouts if my plan is to succeed. She thought to herself.

She kept Lyra’s body shape, but changed the colors of her mane and body. After picking a new cutie mark at random, she stepped out from behind the building, making sure nopony had noticed the flickering light, and began to follow her target to the Ponyville Library.

Chrysalis kept her distance, but she could see that Rainbow was still groggy from her intense workout. The same malevolent grin from earlier snuck onto her lips, as a brilliant idea formed in her head. She gauged Rainbow’s walking path for a moment, and just before one of those blue hooves hit the ground, she nudged a cobblestone a few centimeters out of place with her magic. Rainbow tripped fantastically, only saving herself from a faceplant by a few inches. Chrysalis quickly moved the rock back into place, and as Rainbow checked for the cause of her fall, Chrysalis could sense shame and embarrassment flare up in the pegasus’ mind. A few bystanders began to stare as they walked past, and Rainbow quickly turned and continued walking, her pace slightly faster than before.

Chrysalis repeated her trick periodically as they moved along, taking care to only do it once Rainbow had forgotten about the previous time, and by the time they arrived at the library, she could tell concern and doubt had begun to fester in the athletes’ emotions.

Rainbow knocked on the door, and Twilight answered it eagerly.

“Oh, hi Rainbow Dash! Me and AJ were just sitting down to lunch before we start to move the bookcase up; come on in!”

As the door closed, Chrysalis scanned the area, then shamelessly walked up to the ground floor window, peeking in from the edge of the not-quite-closed curtains. One of the other windows must’ve been open; she could hear what they were saying without much trouble.

“Thanks again for helping me out with this, it’s too much for one pony to move alone.”

“No problem, sugarcube. That’s what friends are fer after all!”

“Yeah, don’t mention it Twilight.”

Twilight magicked some sandwich-bearing plates over to the table they were all sitting at, although once she sat down she was the only one who bothered with decorum. AJ picked hers up with her mouth and took a large bite out of it in one motion, while Rainbow was too drained to be concerned, and smacked her plate, flinging her own into her mouth and chewing messily.

“Fanks for th’food, Twilight.” She swallowed the wad of bread and hay loudly. “Pretty starved after my workout.”

“Oh yeah, I heard you were doing a lot of training lately! Worried the Wonderbolts might reject you again?” Twilight giggled slightly and took another bite of her meal, unaware of how fake Rainbow’s chuckles were.

“Naw, she’s jus’ gotta be in top form for when they finally wise up ‘n’ accept her, ain’t that right, Rainbow?” AJ gave Dash a playful nudge. “If’n you ever need a workout partner y’all let me know, I still owe you one for that race way back when.”

“Hehe… yeah, well, sometimes I’m glad when the Wonderbolts reject me; means I don’t have to work this hard all the time. Haha.”

“Oh, Rainbow, you’re such a kidder.”

“Yeah, like we didn’t see ya waitin’ for the mailpony every day for a week straight!”

“Or how every room in her house has a Wonderbolts poster in it!”

The two of them laughed together, while Rainbow forced out another chuckle.

“Aw we’re just foolin’ Rainbow. I betcha 5th time's the charm with this letter, if’n it ever gets here.”

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the pep talks, are we movin’ this thing or what?”

“Right, that’s Rainbow for you, always has to go fast!” Twilight dabbed her lips with a napkin, and then the three ponies went into the antechamber A massive oak bookcase was waiting for them.

“Me and AJ already moved the old one into the basement before you got here, but now the three of us have to get this one into my room.” Twilight gestured at the stairs “It’s really heavy, so I figured that I could levitate it, AJ could carry it, and you lift it from top, so that way it’ll be stable and none of us have to carry too much weight.”

“Sounds good, let’s do this.”

The three ponies took their positions, and as Twilight forced the heavy piece off the floor, AJ and Dash took their positions above and below it.

“Alright Rainbow, me and AJ can’t see too well, so you’ll have to guide us up the stairs and to my room.”

“Right…”

The three ponies inched along. The piece of furniture was both heavy and awkwardly shaped. But they made it to the stairs without much trouble, and as they slowly progressed up the steps, Chrysalis saw another opportunity…

She waited until the trio was about halfway up the staircase, and gently nudged the huge cabinet away from the wall and towards the steep side of the stairs. As it began to sway to the side, she could see Rainbow’s panic easily.

“Rainbow, keep it steady!”

“I am!”

Chrysalis nudged it a little more, and a little more, and finally she saw Rainbow’s hoof slip off one side, flailing about in mid-air. With a quiet chuckle she gave it a final, forceful push.

The bookcase immediately began to tilt steeply to the right, and as Twilight tugged at it with her magic, struggling to slow its fall, Rainbow realized what had happened, letting go of the other side and flying around to help push it back upright. Chrysalis subtly slid the bottom an inch or two off Applejack’s back, and gravity did the rest as the bottom hit the steps with a loud, creaking THUNK.

The shock of the movement caused Twilight to lose control of her spell, and as the purple light faded the full weight of the wood began to press onto Rainbow’s hooves. Chrysalis gave gravity a final prod, and Rainbow's determination shattered as she was forced to fly back and let the shelf drop onto the floor. It seemed to fall in slow-motion, and the impact made a terrific noise when it finally landed.

Chrysalis slunk below the edge of the window, her mission successful.

“Uhh… Ow…” Applejack muttered.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“My back is mite bit sore, but I’m alright.”

“Good. Whew, I didn’t think it would be that heavy… Do you think you could try again Rainbow?” Twilight asked.

“What? What are you lookin’ at me for?”

“Well, it did tilt from the top… It’s not a big deal, I’m sure your hooves were just a little sweaty.”

“Yeah, and nopony would be strong enough to push that thing back up after it’d wiggled outta their grasp,” Applejack noted.

“I didn’t… I could’ve…” Rainbow stared at the small dent the fall had caused in the floor, and then realized both her friends were staring at her.

“Rainbow, are you okay?”

“You look like a deer that wandered onto main street,” AJ observed.

“I’ve… I’ve gotta go.”

Without another word Rainbow flew out the door, and Chrysalis began to follow the rainbow trail at a leisurely pace, a triumphant sneer across her face.

Chapter 3; Poisonous Pictures

Ch. 3
Poisonous Pictures

BY: cleverpun

Rainbow Dash was having trouble falling asleep. She had tried reading another one of the Daring Do books, drinking water, and so many other tricks she had lost track of them all. That incident with the bookcase earlier in the day had shaken her up more than she wanted to admit.

Applejack and Twilight had come over right after to comfort her, but they just thought she was afraid of being injured. She hadn’t been able to tell them the truth; that she was terrified of her athletic ability failing her. A week of ineffective exercise, having two left feet all through main street, and now she wasn’t even able to help Twilight move a bookshelf…

She turned her head to stare at her nightstand, where she knew all those rejection letters still sat. She let out a deep sigh, then went back to staring at the ceiling. She had removed the Wonderbolts poster over her bed, it had been too distracting.

“C’mon Dash, you were just tired from the workout. And it was a heavy piece of solid oak. Everything will be fine after a bit of rest. Yeah, it’ll all be fine tomorrow…”

She didn’t really believe it, but she forced her eyes shut, and began to drift to sleep regardless.

As her breathing settled into a slow, steady rhythm, a dark figure slunk into her window. Chrysalis hadn’t bothered to disguise herself, it was a moonless night after all.

She sat at the foot of Rainbow’s bed, studying the sleeping mare for a moment.

How serene… Almost a shame to disrupt her. Almost…

Chrysalis took a deep breath, focusing magic into her horn, and slowly, carefully, a curtain of green energy began to blossom out of the gnarled appendage and wrap around Rainbow’s bed and body.

It had been a while since Chrysalis had manipulated anypony’s dreams, but as her magic seeped into Rainbow Dash, it felt like she had done it just yesterday.

Rainbow walked carefully across the edge of Everfree Forest. The familiarity of the surroundings was strange at first, but then she noticed Fluttershy’s cottage peeking out from behind some trees.

Must’ve been here to visit her…

She flew over to the kitchen door, animals scattering from her path. She opened the door, and found herself in a doctor’s office.

A teal pony in a large white coat turned to face her, glancing at a clipboard. Ah yes, the pegasus with the broken wings… Their mouth didn’t move, but Rainbow knew what they had said.

She looked down at the doorknob that had been in her hoof not a few seconds ago. Except in its place was a black leather armrest, a puffy bulge on a metal skeleton seat. She tried to move her arms, but thin strips of medical paper around her wrists bound them to the chair. She kicked her legs, but they too were immobile. She leaned forward, but a pressure on her throat told her it was tied as well. She tried to move her wings, but was only answered with a sharp pain.

The doctor shone a dentists light into her face, and when they took it away, their brown fur was all Rainbow could see.

Definitely going to have to operate.

The doctor walked behind the chair, and Rainbow turned her head to see what they had gone to get. She could feel the dry, slick paper slide across her throat as she tried to get a good look at them. But they had already gone out of sight, the clanking of metal her only clue.

She turned her head back forward, and there was the doctor, their coat larger than before, sagging off their soldiers, and a dentist drill in their purple hoof, an anemometer at the foot of the black chair.

This won’t hurt a bit, I promise.

The doctor removed their pith helmet, and a long pink mane spilled out of it

Fluttershy?

Don’t worry Rainbow Dash, this won’t hurt a bit, I do it to my animals all the time when they get too… rambunctious.

Rainbow thrashed about, but her eyes popped open when she felt a tug on her back.

The giant yellow hoof pulled her out of the chair easily, her paper restraints snapping easily as she was lifted. Fluttershy’s huge, open mouth drew closer and closer to Rainbow, and before she knew it she was falling in a pitch black void. She could hear Fluttershy dab her lips with a napkin, and then landed on hard cold dirt.

Rainbow stood up, the cave completely devoid of light.

Suddenly, a point of blue light flared up next to her, and Rarity patted Rainbow’s back. Don’t worry Rainbow Dash, we’ll find a way out of this mess, together. She assured her.

But as soon as Rarity had finished talking, there was a massive fluttering and shuffling of wings, and a swarm of changelings began to buzz and chirp and click throughout the cave. The light from Rarity’s horn flickered, vanishing and reappearing as the changelings flew about.

Rainbow called out, but no words came. She aimed a swift kick at the shapeless mob, but only managed to injure herself when her weak kick was deflected by the mighty horde.

Weakling, weakling, weakling! The changelings buzzed mercilessly.

The light from Rarity’s magic suddenly vanished altogether, and Rainbow was left alone with the frantic buzzing of wings and insults.

A green glow broke through the cave, and Rainbow saw that pony from the park, Lyra?

The unicorn cast a wide bubble of green energy across the stone cavern, and the shapeless black changelings retreated into the darkness.

Lyra summoned Rainbow with her hoof, and as Rainbow followed her to a large rocky mouth, she knew it must lead out of the cave.

She pushed open the door, and found herself leaving her own house. Before she could be confused by it, she felt two legs kicking her off her own porch. As she tumbled in midair, she saw Applejack waving goodbye to her, a pith helmet in her hoofs and a smile on her face.

Rainbow tried to beat her wings and fly before she hit the ground, but she had none. She saw a burst of green fire surround her house, and as she braced herself to hit the ground, struggling to remove the bedsheet noose from her neck, the mirror finally shattered. As a piece of the glass floated by her face she noticed her mane was styled exactly like Rarity’s. She kicked the piece of glass away and…

She woke up with a start, bolting upright immediately. She saw what looked like the silhouette of a changeling at the foot of her bed, but after she blinked and rubbed her eyes, it had gone.

Her bed was soaked, and she hastily wiped a thick layer of sweat from her brow. She could feel her fur and mane sticking to her body as she reluctantly got out of bed.

On the roof, meanwhile, Chrysalis forged herself a disguise as some grey Pegasus or other, and flew off.

Chapter 4: Poisonous Placebos

Ch. 4

Poisonous Placebos

Rainbow Dash couldn’t get the dream out of her mind. For her entire workout it had been lurking at the back of her thoughts.

“It doesn’t mean anything, dreams never do.” She had told herself over and over. But it was unsettling regardless, and the more she dwelt on it the worse it got.

She missed another target, but clearly it was only because she was distracted. Right?

C’mon Dash, focus. You got this!

As Chrysalis, in disguise as always, watched Rainbow miss a third target, and a fourth, a cocky smile crept across her mouth. She waited until Rainbow was at the apex of her fifth attempt, and jerked one of her hooves to the side as she began to descend. The blue Pegasus swerved downward and to the side. Instead of landing on the target she slammed into a pair of ponies standing in the field. The three of them tumbled several feet before they stopped, making a noticeable dent in the grass as they went.

Rainbow inelegantly extricated herself from the pile of ponies, dusting herself off after she managed to stand upright.

“I’m really sorry about that, I…” She trailed off when she noticed just how many pairs of eyes were staring at her. Apparently she had interrupted some game of… something.

“Geez lady, watch where you’re going!”

“Yeah, you could’ve killed us!” Two of their teammates helped the irate pair to their feet.

Chrysalis watched from afar as both teams chewed out Rainbow for interrupting their match, and for endangering their players. She could feel the pegasus grow increasingly distressed with every passing sentence. And then, after one of the large team captains pushed her a little, Chrysalis finally felt it. It was almost deafening, even from across the park.

Rainbow’s confidence had finally broken.

The blue pony uttered a hasty apology and ran off, retrieving her bag before flying off into town.

Chrysalis chuckled to herself.

Took long enough…

She slowly stood up, and made her way back to Lyra’s house, knowing that Rainbow would be there before too long.

Dash didn’t want to admit it. She had wandered around town for a little while, pretending she couldn’t find the place. She didn’t need any magical help did she? The very idea was insulting. But as she stood in front of the non-descript house, the address clearly the same as the card, she couldn’t really lie to herself any more.

She knocked on the door and waited. After a few moments of silence she was about to knock again, but Chrysalis opened the door.

“Ah, Rainbow Dash! I was expecting you, come in!”

Rainbow glanced around the room, still nervous about her decision. It seemed well-kempt, at least, Almost underused even, but the dark blue color scheme and well thought out interior may have been that way on purpose.

“Uhm, nice place?”

“Oh come now dear, you didn’t come here to make small talk I’m sure.”

“No, I guess not. I’m just sort of nervous…”

“I knew you’d take me up on my offer eventually. There’s nothing to worry about, I can assure you. Just sit down right here.” Chrysalis patted the sofa cushion next to her, and Rainbow reluctantly walked over and slumped down.

“So, how does this work exactly?”

“Well, I’ll cast the spell, which doesn’t take very long, you’ll fall asleep for a little while, and when you wake up all your abilities will be magically enhanced. Very uneventful really.”

“Ok… and I’ll just sleep on this…?”

“Yes, but don’t worry, nothing will happen to you while you sleep. Now stop fidgeting and look at my eyes.”

Rainbow reluctantly obeyed. The unicorn’s eyes were glowing a nearly blinding neon green. The pegasus instinctively looked away, but a hoof on her chin jerked her gaze back towards those eyes.

The longer Dash stared at them, the harsher the light seemed. She lost track of time quickly as she continued to stare, though she felt herself blink periodically. Suddenly a bright flash shot off of those green eyes, and the glow seemed to dim afterwards. Looking directly at them became easier, almost calming. The hue made her think of mint, or leaves, or grass…

Rainbow felt Lyra release her chin, and saw a beam of magic ooze off the horn and towards her own forehead. She couldn’t really see what it did, she was too focused on maintaining eye contact, but she couldn’t feel anything.

After what seemed like an eternity the unnatural glow faded from the pony’s eyes, and Rainbow’s eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. She tried to rub her eyes, blink, do something to make them feel less sore, but before she could really do anything she felt herself being leaned back onto to the couch, and the moment her head hit the cushion she fell asleep.

Dash woke up with a start, vague memories of her dream still flitting about her mind. Lots of wings, and flying and… she couldn’t quite grasp all the details.

“Ah, look who’s up. Sleep well?”

“I guess… How long was I out?”

“Oh, twenty, thirty minutes I suppose.”

Dash stopped rubbing her eyes and finally bothered to look around. It was the same house, same blue interior, and as she saw the cyan unicorn standing in front of her she suddenly remembered why she was there.

“D-did the spell work?”

“Oh everything worked perfectly.”

“I don’t feel any different…”

“Well, it’ll take a little for your body to acclimate to it. Go finish your workout and I’m sure you’ll notice a difference.”

Dash was too drowsy to wonder why Lyra would know about her workout not being done. She staggered over to her bag and then headed towards the door.

“Uhm, thanks I guess.”

“Oh no problem dear. Feel free to come back anytime; the spell won’t last forever. And when I say anytime I mean anytime.”

“Yeah. Right, thanks.”

Dash stumbled out of the door, Chrysalis waving listlessly until she was out of sight.

Hehe. Just a matter of time now.

She closed the door, making sure to lock it, and then went into the basement to finish the preparations for the next stage of her plan.

As soon as Dash left the house her drowsiness seemed to fade faster. She felt energetic, capable, dare I say peppy.

“Hmm, maybe I should go finish that workout…” She muttered to herself.

She made it to the park in no time at all, and thankfully the group of ponies who had been using the field earlier had left. She plopped her bag at one end of the track, but suddenly was hit with an idea. She rummaged through her duffel and found the anemometer. She set it up the and trotted to the other end of the track. Once she was there she took a deep breath, and zoomed down the lane and past the device, skidding to a halt when the dirt petered off.

She went back to check the readout, unsure of what to expect, but was slightly surprised when she got there.

“Huh.”

The wingpower reading was exactly the same as the last dozen times she had tried, but she wasn’t disappointed. It felt easier, for some reason. It felt like she had barely spent any effort at all to get that same result. For the rest of her workout that feeling persisted. Her target accuracy was the same, but it felt easier. Her track times were the same, but it felt easier. And after she had done everything, she wasn’t winded or tired at all.

She dabbed some sweat off her body with her towel, and decided to head into town for lunch.

The restaurant was mostly empty; Dash had arrived before the lunch rush. She sat down at a random table, and it was a rather uneventful affair until Twilight Sparkle spotted her.

Twilight spots her, and they have lunch together- Dash vaguely alludes to the magic she let be cast on her and twilight eventually notices her minty sclera – dash goes to the bathroom to check and doesn’t see anything wrong. Uncomfortable lunch? Or does dash come clean before rushing off in embarrassment?

Goes to work out again but the spell wears off, and so she goes to Lyras to get another dose.

Author's Note

I wrote this a year ago and haven't touched it since. Figured it was time to release what I had in case anyone was curious.

Outline [Warning, rough/unedited]

Loyalty and royalty, faustian filly, Dash's Deal with the Devil, fear folly fatal
Distressing Dreams traitorous thoughts (odd name out amid PP pattern?) terrible transformation
promises
pictures- dreams
placebos
process
progress
a p. permutation

Give Me All Your Love
I put a spell on you / because youre mine / You better stop the thing that you do
I said, "Watch out, I ain't lyin'", yeah
I ain't gonna take none of your, foolin' around
I ain't gonna take none of your, puttin' me down
I put a spell on you because you're mine, all right

SYNOPSES

~~CHrysalis/one of her agents goes to ponyville to turn the main 6 into changelings? transormation/light mind rape?~~

~~After her forces were devestated at the battle of canterlot castle, Queen Chrysalis knew she had to replace the servants she had lost. But she would never be able to take Canterlot as long as the elements of harmony and love protected it. So she decided to kill two parasprites with one stone - she could grow her army and disrupt the elements at the same time. All she needed was one of her transformative cocoons, a little bit of mind magic, and a moment of weakness from one of the Keepers of the Elements. She already had the first two, and her experiences told her the last might lie in Rainbow Dash...~~

~~Will Dash sucuumb to Queen Chrysalis' horrible plan? And if she does, will her friends be able to undo the damage?~~

After having her latest application to join the wonderbolts rejected... again, Dash starts to become worried that she isn't as great as she thinks she is. After all the things she's done, the wonderbolts still won't accept her... But when a mysterious pony offers her the ability to do magic, Dash has to make a decision...
After being told to stop sending applications to the wonderbolts by their manager, Rainbow decides to train harder than ever to realize her dream. She's already so good, however, that her training rapidly becomes ineffective.
When a pony offers to cast a spell on her that could make her better, Dash initially refuses. But as she continues to train to little effect she begins to reconsider the unicorn's offer... But is it that simple, or is there greater malevolence at work behind the mare's offer?

CH1; after dash trains, cut to queenie spying on her, then follow her back to lyras house, where a hypnotized lyra greets her as "queen chrysalis" and asks how her plans are going
for the first time since Ive been here, I think I may have a breakthrough...

CH 2; Dash had been training every day for a week now, and it wasnt doing any good. Her wingpower was still the same, her endurance hadn't really increased, and accuracy was acceptable but unchanged. Anemometer
Queenie senses this as the time to strike, and confronts dash after her latest workout. (we met at Queen C-... I mean Princess Cadence's wedding, remember?) Dash is both suspicious and skeptical, but when queenie writes down her address dash is about to throw it away... but decides not to.
Dash helps somepony do... something, and when her athleticism falters temporarily durring the chore she panics, taking -pony's- reassurances as a personal attack, or pity. she hastily apologizes then leaves.

Ch 3? After she returns to her house, Queenie uses her mind powers to give dash a bizarre nightmare, where she

ch. 4 upon waking up in the morning, dash cant get the dream out of her mind. she works out, pushing herself harder than she ever has, but to no avail. after missing yet another target and crashing into a bush (nearby sport, the ponies make fun of her? chrysalis' fault?) she finally caves in and runs to Lyras house. Queenie, still stalking her, senses her intentions and rushes ahead of her, knowing she has finally broken
at lyras, queenie casts a spell on dash, and instructs her to go home and sleep/nap.
Waking up, her dreams having been full of mysterious winged fiures, she goes to (finish her) workout as usual, and feels so much more... powerful than usual (placebo, psychosomatic, or real changes?) Wing power number (higher, higher but only in her head, same but feels easier)?
other pony notices minty glow in her eyes, dash looks in mirror but doesnt notice? -> chekhovs gun for why twilight bursts in later (i knew rainbow was acting suspiscious!)
As the day wears on, the spell wears off however, and still believing it to be a real effect, she returns to lyras house, desperate to have it cast on her again (does this remind you of addiction? too easy?)

Ch. 5 Lyra!queenie says that she'll need to do something more potent, since dash is starting to resist the spell.
takes her to her basement, where a premade cocoon waits, and when dash recognizes what it is queenie reveals herself, (mind controlled lyra walks in? Dash is horrified?). But Wait Rainbow dash! I thought you wanted power... queenie uses a combination of magic and good ol empty rhetoric to convince dash that this will give her everything she ever wanted; power, ability, and all she has to do is submit to her control... you can retain your individuality of course, but being a changeling really isnt that bad, you wouldnt be like those drones at canterlot, youd be a liutenant, still in control of your own body, just with a mental link to me. Youve always wanted fame, control, power, and as my second in command you could have all that and more...
As queenie continues pressuring dash with her magic and words (actual words + mental voice?), dash finally breaks (is forced in by lyra/queenie? not really a tragedy then) and climbs into the cocoon. As it closes, she feels her body begin to change, painfully, and the queens voice reassures her that the pain is only temporary.
suddenly lyras door is forced open (from dash's muffled viewpoint? or from queenies?) and sensing the elements she disguises herself as somepony (not lyra, who is right there, or did she send her up to be a lookout? might make for an unsettling encounter as she stalls the main six and/or celestia awkwardly) and when the rest burst in
when the main 6 finally burst in the disguised queen puts on a terrific act of being a brainwashed pony, left to guard dash as the cowardly queen escaped (dont reveal this to audience?)
the others break open the cocoon and find dash's body, with beetle wings, a stubby horn and darker fur?
they try and fail to fix her? Princess, can we fix her? I dont know twilight, I just dont know

Queenie decides to find a different pony to drain the love of.. and what better pony than the element of loyalty? She could regain her power, rebuild her forces, and disable the Elements in one stroke. And when she arrives in ponyville, she realizes her target's fear of failure could be the perfect catalyst to convert her to her side... has been there a while?
(uses her mind magic to make dash slightly better, remove internal limiters or something?) Look into my eyes -> makes her better slightly but also mind controls her
Hold on twilight always said that magic like that was really unstable...
Oh you dont care what she thinks, I saw that at canterlot castle.
I need you to cast that spell on me again -> what if you could cast the magic yourself? I can give you that power you know
Queenie mind rapes dash -> ~~weren't loyal to your friend, you discarded her the moment she did something wrong, even though she was proven right in the end.~~ (trust, loyalty, pressure [elements or just friendship in general], wanting to be the best? Inferiority Superiority Complex) Does Queenie reveal herself or not? Or is it allll in Dash's brain
Dreams? Disguising herself as dash/other ponies to make dash doubt herself/her friendships?
But you could have another chance -> pledge your loyalty to me/someone else a fresh start,
You could be the best, magic and flight and a connection to the earth
Drags her off to a cocoon (puts it in her house? CLOUDS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY)
The others (plus celestia mebbe?) burst in after dash has already been transformed (partially?) chrysalis disguises herself as a hypno'd pony and tricks them into thinking she flew off?

~~Dash arrives home to find a letter from the wonderbolts... but after tearing it open it turns out to be yet another rejected application.~~

Sequel- its been a week since Rainbow Dash was partially transformed into a changeling. As she struggles to reintegrate into ponyville society, she realizes that the incomplete transformation has left her flight abilities and magic both severely impaired.
Faced with her own limitations, and the constant nagging guilt of nearly betraying her friends, she begins to wonder... Would she have been better off as a changeling, serving Queen Chrysalis? Are those thoughts the lingering influence of the changeling magic, and does it even matter if they are?
As her friends struggle to accept the new dash, and dash struggles to fit in, Queen Chrysalis uses her new link to dash's mind to manipulate her while in hiding...
is connected to chrysalis mind, has to fight off her influence? or gives in to it.
climactic fight in a nightclub?
runs off to be alone, queenie confronts her, tells her she thrives on attention
afraid of being incapable, queenie could fix that too- with the powers of a changeling she would never have to worry about being inferior, or incapable, and youd have acess to flight and magic and strength beond any average pony.