//------------------------------// // Chapter 3; Poisonous Pictures // Story: I Put a Spell On You // by cleverpun //------------------------------// 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.