It had been nearly three months since Rainbow Dash's suicide attempt. The more she thought about it the dumber it seemed. Obviously when she would have jumped off the chair her will to live would have taken over and she would have started flying. The whole ordeal was made her feel stupid and weak. She Rainbow Fucking Dash, and she tried to end her life because her girlfriend broke up with her? It was pathetic!
On top of it being embarrassing Rainbow's suicide attempt worried Fluttershy. She kept asking Rainbow Dash if she was okay or how she was feeling. It just kept reminding her of how weak she really was.
On a sunny afternoon Rainbow and Fluttershy planned to meet up at the park for a picnic. When she got there she saw Fluttershy sitting on a blanket with some food set out in front of her. Rainbow Dash smiled and headed over to the blanket.
"Hey, beautiful" Dash said as she sat on the blanket.
"Hi" Fluttershy was blushing. Dash loved when she blushed.
"I got something for you"
" Oh? What is it?" Rainbow pulled out a necklace. Fluttershy gasped. It had a gold chain with a big, pink diamond shaped like a heart hanging from it.
"It's beautiful." Fluttershy said after examining the gorgeous piece of jewelry. Rainbow Dash placed the necklace around her girlfriends neck. "But what's the occasion?"
"Nothing. I just felt like giving you something special, because... you're special"
"Thank you" Fluttershy said, blushing. Then she leaned over to kiss her girlfriend. Then she brought up what Dash had been trying avoid by giving her the necklace. "So how have you been feeling?"
"Ugh, I'm fine. Really, Fluttershy, I am okay!" Rainbow was really starting to get annoyed with her.
"Oh, okay. I-I'm just worried about you." Fluttershy was looking at the ground.
"Well don't be! I don't need people worrying about me! I am FINE!" Dash had had enough. "I can take care of myself! I AM NOT WEAK!"
"I-I-I'm sorry" Fluttershy had tears running down her cheeks.
"Oh, God. I'm sorry" But Fluttershy got up and ran away. "Wait! Fluttershy!" But she just kept running.
"God dammit!" Dash kicked a nearby tree.
Back in her house in the clouds Rainbow Dash pacing and ranting to tank her pet tortoise, Tank.
"I just don't know what to do. She's always worrying about me and asking me how I'm doing. It just makes me feel so weak" She looked at Tank, who just gave her a slow blink. "I know. She's just trying to look out for me because she cares about me. But why does she have to be so clingy?" Tank just stared. "Yeah, yeah, she is only doing it because she loves me" The tortoise started to take a step towards Rainbow " Okay, Fine! I'll go apologize. Jeez, calm down bro. I'm listening to ya." And Rainbow Dash flew out of the house leaving Tank, slowly shaking his head.
Dash landed in Fluttershy's front yard and walked over to the door. She scooped up a few flowers and walked in the door without knocking. Angel, Fluttershy's faithful but rather bossy bunny, immediately started yelling incomprehensibly and trying to push Dash out the door. Angel had never been fond of Dash so she just pushed her aside and went to Fluttershy, who was looking at herself in the mirror.
"Hey, sweetie" Rainbow said tentatively. Fluttershy turned around, slightly startled. The first thing Rainbow noticed was that she wasn't wearing the necklace anymore. Yikes! thisisnotgood thought Dash.
"Oh, hello" She said. Angel had started yelling again "Oh shut up you twittering little rat" Wowshemustbereallyupset thought Rainbow.
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to yell." Dash said handing her the flowers and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, it's ok... sweetheart. I'm sure you had every right to yell." Fluttershy replied, though it seemed a little off. Not so much what she said, but how she said it. Maybe it was louder than usual, more confident maybe. Dash couldn't quite put her hoof on it.
"Well, if you're okay, do you want to go get something to eat? I hear Pinkie made a new cupcake flavor and needs people to taste it." Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Cupcakes? Well if you insist." Fluttershy said though she seemed rather reluctant to go.
When they got to sugar cube corner it seemed like everyone in town was there. The place was packed.
"Looks like those new cupcakes must be a hit." Dash said.
"Well they better be if I'm expected to wait behind all these people to get one." Dash looked at her girlfriend. Whathasgottenintoherlately? DidIreallypissheroffthatbad? There was obviously something wrong.
"I'm gonna go find Pinkie. Maybe she can hook us up with some of those cupcakes so we don't have to wait." So Dash made her way through the crowd with some difficulty. When she finally got to the counter Pinkie was in the back and Mr. and Mrs. Cake had their hands full with customers. Mrs. Cake said Pinkie would out in a few minutes with more cupcakes, so Dash waited. When Pinkie Pie finally came out carrying a tray of cupcakes she handed two cupcakes to Rainbow and asked where Fluttershy was.
"She's waiting outside. We got into a bit of a fight earlier and she's been acting really weird" Dash answered.
"Oh, well these cupcakes will cheer her up." Pinkie said with a smile. "They're delicious!"
"Well the whole town seems to think so." She took the two cupcakes and walked over to Fluttershy, who was sitting at a table outside.
"Here you go. Pinkie hooked us. Last batch, too." Dash handed her a cupcake. Fluttershy sniffed it and turned up her nose.
"I don't like it." Fluttershy said.
"Oh, come on. You didn't even taste it." Dash was starting to get worried, but she didn't want to show it.
"I don't have to. It smells weird."
"Smells fine to me." Then Dash took a huge bite out of her cupcake. It was the most delicious thing that has ever graced her tongue. All at once there was vanilla melting on her tongue with a burst of strawberry flavor, then there was this faint taste of something she didn't recognize, but oh my God it was enticing. "Oh my God! This is amazing!" She took another bite. "Fluttershy, seriously you have to try it." Fluttershy looked at it one more time and took a small bite. All at once she started sputtering and coughing. Dash panicked.
"Help! She's choking!" She yelled. Twilight, who had been waiting in line with spike for a cupcakes, heard. She ran over to where Fluttershy was turning a faint blueish color. Twilight's horn started glowing and she magically drew the small piece of cupcake from the pegasus' throat. Fluttershy fell to ground trying to catch her.
"Fluttershy! Are you okay!" Dash yelled even though she was right next to her. Apparently it Dash had caused quite a scene because ponies had come out of the shops (and out of line for their cupcake) to see what was going on.
"Stop yelling! I'm fine, those cupcakes are just shit." That left everyone in shock. Fluttershy swearing? Impossible! "I'm going home." And she walked away, towards her cottage.
"Jeez, what's gotten into her?" Twilight asked, just as shocked as everyone else.
"I don't know." Dash answered. But she did know. While she was choking Dash saw something happen to Fluttershy. For only a moment Fluttershy's face turned into what looked like Queen Chrysalis, queen of the changlings. They had met her about a month ago, when she was pretending to Princess Cadence. But it had only been for a moment. maybe she was seeing things? Was it a trick of the light? No she knew what she saw.
Later Rainbow Dash called an emergency meeting with her friends, except for Fluttershy, of course.
"Okay guys, There is something wrong with Fluttershy. I'm not sure but I think I might know what it is." Dash started saying.
"I know what's wrong with her. She didn't like my cupcakes!" Said Pinkie Pie, who was in hysterics over the fact that some pony didn't like her cupcakes.
"That's the problem. That's not Fluttershy!" Dash yelled.
"How is that not Fluttershy?" Asked Apple Jack. "It certainly looks like Fluttershy."
"Well, while she was choking on the cupcake-"
"That she hated!" Pinkie cried, interrupting Rainbow Dash.
"As I was saying: When she choked on the cupcake I thought I saw her turn into the Queen Chrysalis. It was only for a second but I'm sure that's what I saw."
"But why would the Changling queen turn into Fluttershy?" Asked Rarity.
"She probably needs to build up her strength. We beat her pretty bad last time we saw her and she probably knows how much Rainbow Loves Fluttershy." Dash blushed slightly. "Plus, if she wanted revenge turning into one of us would be the best way to do it."
"The next question is how do we prove it's her." Dash continued.
"Well if she turned back into herself while eating the cupcake maybe it was something in it" Twilight pointed out.
"Well Pinkie, what was in the cupcakes?" Asked Apple Jack. The whole group looked over to her.
"Well there was flour, eggs, milk-"
"No, like something special, like a secret ingredient, maybe?" Rainbow Dash said, not wanting to hear the entire recipe for the cupcakes.
"Oh well it had white chocolate chunks, strawberries... Oh! and this...this fruit that Zacora told me about" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Well what are they?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh..umm...they're umm..." Pinkie started.
"Come on! Tell me!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She was becoming impatient.
"Oh I know it was! It was Laraha! I put some of the zest into the batter" Pinkie said finally.
"Twilight, do you know anything about that." Dash asked, but Twilight was already making her way to one of the bookshelves. She took down a book about changlings (which she made a point to get after the incident with her brothers wedding) and started flipping through the pages. She came to the section on weaknesses and set the book where everyone could see.
One of the few weaknesses of the changling species is the lahara fruit, which is commonly found in truth serums. Most species find the fruit delicious, but it disgusts changlings. When ingested it takes away the changlings ability to take another's form. It is so powerful the even the peel will render them useless.
"Well, that explains it." Said Pinkie "Fluttershy's a changling."
"But how do we prove it? And where is the real Fluttershy?" Asked Apple Jack.
"I've got a plan." Dash said, with an expression that made everyone know some serious shit was about to down.
Dash knocked on the door to Fluttershy's cottage. When Fluttershy- or rather Queen Chrysalis- opened the door she smiled.
"Hey sweetie." She said.
"Hi, I brought you something." Said Dash. She pulled a cupcakes out of the paper bag she was holding. The disguised changling queen looked at it in disgust.
"How...sweet, but I don't like those cupcakes. I almost died eating one." She said turning away from it.
"You just choked a little. Just makes sure you chew it thoroughly this time. Please it's delicious."
"No."
"Oh come on. It's really good." Said Rainbow Dash, waving the cupcake under the queen's nose. The changling started to turn green.
"No, I do not want a cupcake!" She shouted.
"JUST EAT IT!" Rainbow Dash shouted back, and she shoved the cupcake in the changlings face. She instantly started choking. Dash almost wanted to help her, she did still look like Fluttershy, but she knew better. She stood there watching Fluttershy slowly morph back into Queen Chrysalis. When she was completely back to her original state Rainbow Dash tackled her.
"Where is my girlfriend! Dash said, punching the Queen in her face. "What did you do to her!" Dash kept screaming and hitting the changling Queen until there was blood coming from her nose and dripping off of her forehead and both eyes were black.
"Stop! I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" The queen finally said. Dash stopped beating her to hear what she had to say. "I had my minions take her to a cave up in the mountains. It's north, near the edge of my kingdom."
"I swear to Celestia, if there is a single scratch on her when I find her I will kill you" Dash hit the queen one more time, got up and left the cottage. Angel followed her, stopping before going out the door to stick her tongue out at the evil queen.