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.