TwiDash

by MrPengu1n

Chapter 1

Okay, today's the day.

Rainbow Dash zipped high overhead, from cloud to cloud, dreading being seen by anypony on the ground below.

This is it, no backing out, for sure this time.

She dove into one final cloud, wrapping the fluff up and over her body until she was sufficiently hidden. She shoveled just enough out of the way of her eyes to see below her.

This is for all the marbles-wait, when did I start saying that?

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and continued scoping out the ground below. She was above the Town commons, the outdoor market in front of the Cakes' Cake shop. Ponies of all shapes and sizes milled about, discussing and purchasing wares from various market stalls. Rainbow's eyes zipped from face to face, searching for anypony she knew.

Applejack, Derpy, Vinyl, Octavia, Pinkie Pie, That one guy obsessed with jam...wait, there!

Slowly, imperceptibly so, she gently piloted her cloud cover over the market, following one particular pony.

She looks so adorable when she's running errands. Rainbow thought as her eyes followed her target, Twilight Sparkle. She had visualized this conversation a million times in her mind, and pictured every which way it could go a million times more. Mentally flipping through her lines, she took a few deep breaths, preparing herself for what she was about to do. This was it, no more backing out, today was the day.

Suddenly, Twilight's eyes shot skyward.

Panicking, Rainbow snapped her peephole in the cloud shut, then opened it glacially slowly, peeking out once more.

Twilight's eyes were intently following a butterfly zipping around her head. Whew. She hadn't seen Rainbow stalking her.

It's not stalking! It's...observing. Rainbow shook her head again, intent on her target.

Twilight stepped from stall to stall, inspecting various wares and pocketing a multitude of things over the course of an hour or so. But Rainbow Dash didn't mind the wait; she gazed over every inch of Twilight's body, the way her mane was tilted on one side, the way she would skip a step right before using magic. This must be what bliss feels like.

Suddenly, Twilight left the last stall she was to visit, and headed out of the market.

It's time. Rainbow Dash slowly followed Twilight from high overhead, puttering her cloud cover from a hundred feet above Twilight's unsuspecting figure. She followed her all the way to her library, where Twilight opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. Rainbow Dash hesitated for just a moment to make sure she was gone, then dove out of her cloud, inhaling sharply at the sudden rush of cool air. She swan dove out of the cloud into the bushes beneath Twilight's window, then reached up and peeked through her window. She was sorting through her books, flipping them past one by one, glancing through their contents briefly before replacing them on the shelves. She's so smart.

Twilight suddenly glanced over towards the window; Rainbow ducked down, praying to the Powers That Be that she hadn't seen her. She took this chance to remove the tickets from her pocket and rub them in her hooves for good luck. She had made sure to pick something Twilight would enjoy; a magic show (featuring the wonderbolts). She smiled at the tickets, kissed them, and put them back in her pocket. She then slowly poked her head up ever so slightly to see if Twilight was still watching.

"Can I help you?"

Rainbow shot ten feet into the air, then fell to earth in a very ungraceful mess. Twilight was standing above her, looking down with curious confusion in her eyes. Rainbow felt her face burn, and thought she looked red as Applejack's choice apples.

But Twilight just giggled and held out her hoof. Rainbow took it gratefully, and Twilight pulled her out of the bushes.
...and over her head.

Rainbow went sprawling across the ground again.

"Whoops!" Twilight giggled, "Sorry, I didn't expect you to be so light!"

This time Rainbow Dash helped herself up, "It's okay," she dismissed, fretfully dusting herself off and fixing her mane.

"So tell me," Twilight said, still wearing that perfect smile, "What were you doing in my bush?"

Rainbow's eyes widened and she blushed again, taking it the wrong way. She hadn't prepared a line for this. "Uh..."

Twilight just giggled again, "Come on inside, silly," and she turned and went inside, gesturing with her tail for her to follow.

Rainbow Dash followed gratefully, flipping through her lines once more. First, she would ask what she was doing, if she had any plans, then offer the magic show, and finally ask Twilight to come with her. That was the plan.

Twilight simply went back to flipping through her monumental collection of books, seemingly searching for something.

Rainbow awkwardly shuffled her hooves, cleared her throat, and said, "So...what'cha doing?" Smooth.

"Nothing much," Twilight said, still just flipping through her books.

Rainbow had kinda expected her to give a longer answer, so for a moment she just stood there awkwardly. Clearing her throat again, she asked, "So, you don't have any plans?" She knew her face must have been bright red, but Twilight didn't turn around.

Instead, she shrugged and said, "I guess not."

She guesses? Since when did Twilight not have every detail of her life adhered to a schedule? "Twilight, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

This time Twilight turned around, "Why? Do I seem not okay?" her face betrayed no emotion. It was very unsettling.

Rainbow awkwardly shrugged, scratching her head and looking everywhere around her, "No, you seem fine, just..." She said awkwardly. How was she going to explain that she knew she was acting off without confessing to stalking her for weeks on end? Instead, she shook her head, "No, you seem fine."

Twilight just smiled, "Good," and she returned to her books.

Rainbow took a deep breath, glad to be out of that awkward moment and planning to enter another, "Well, I was just wondering, if you didn't have any plans, uh..." she immediately blushed, and then turned around and removed the pitiful, crumpled tickets from her pocket, "I, uh, I got these tickets to a magic show, if you wanted to go..."

Twilight glanced over at the tickets. Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut, trying to turn invisible. "Sure," Twilight said cheerfully, but she didn't turn around.

Rainbow blinked, "Really?" she confirmed, cleaning out her ears.

"Of course, I'd love to go," Twilight said, turning around and smiling brightly at her, "Who else is going?"

Rainbow's heart fell through the floor. She had no clue, "Nopony, it'll be, you know...just us."

"Oh," Twilight said, then shrugged and smiled again, "Alright!"

Rainbow Dash's ears perked up, "Really?" She repeated.

"Of course!" Twilight repeated, taking one of the tickets and inspecting it, "This says 'Formal-Casual,' I'm pretty sure I have a saddle for that." She gave the ticket back and smiled at Rainbow Dash, "I'll see you then!"

Rainbow couldn't believe what was happening, "Right...see you..." for a moment, she just stood there, unable to believe what had just happened.

Twilight nodded in confirmation and went back to her books. After a moment, she noticed Rainbow was still there, so she smiled and said, "Uh, you can go now, Rainbow," giggling.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash snapped out of her trance, "Uh, I mean, right, see you!" And she turned around and ran straight into the wall.

Twilight put a hoof over her mouth when she saw her crash, "Rainbow-"

"I'm alright, I'm okay," Rainbow Dash said quickly, readjusting her position, "See you tonight!" And she tried to leave again, this time actually getting out the door and closing it behind her.

When she closed the door, Rainbow glanced around for a moment to see if anypony was around. Finding no such being present, she immediately got the biggest smile on her face, and began walking away, barely touching the ground. Then she wasn't touching the ground, and was merely fluttering inches above the ground. I did it! Rainbow Dash suddenly rocketed off, cheering, "I did it!"

She immediately stopped mid-flight, turned around, and zipped as fast as she could off towards a building. Upon reaching said building, she knocked loudly on the door. It was opened by her dear friend Rarity, "Rainbow!" She greeted warmly, "Can I help you?"

"What does 'Formal-Casual' mean?" she asked.

Later that evening, Rainbow was decked out in the very latest, very fashionable Formal-Casual wear. She had on a flattering saddle, a bowtie at a jaunty angle for style, and nice horseshoes on her hooves. She kept scratching at it and picking at it, unused to wearing clothes at all. Ignoring it for the time being, she removed the tickets from her pockets once more, rubbing them for good luck, and placing them back in her pocket. She slowly approached Twilight's library, taking a deep breath before knocking three times on the door.

She waited a moment, then another, and another, but finally, Twilight opened the door, wearing a similar set of clothes. Very similar. It was the same exact outfit. Rainbow's eyes widened in surprise and shock, and she started to sweat.

But Twilight paid it no mind, saying gleefully, "Look, we match!" and stepping out the door, standing at Rainbow's side, "Shall we?" she offered.

Rainbow Dash let go of her tension and smiled back; the night was going to be fine, she was sure of it! Rainbow nodded at her 'date' (she still wasn't sure if Twilight fully understood her purposes) and said, "Let's!" and the two left.
They arrived at the town hall, after a short, awkward, silent walk. But Twilight seemed perfectly at ease, so Rainbow Dash wasn't worried.

They were stopped at the door, which very nearly turned into something very awkward when Rainbow Dash had to fumble for her tickets. Luckily, she found them exactly where she had left them (who would've thought?) and they handed them over and went inside.

Finding their seats, Rainbow turned to Twilight and said, "You're going to like this show, Twilight, they've got some of the best magicians in the world, all the way from Canterlot!" She suddenly realized what she had said, and quickly added, "Though I'm sure you're better than these guys, obviously."

Twilight just giggled, "But they've gotten formal training from Magic College! I'm sure they're better than me."

"But they're not!" Rainbow refuted, "Remember that time Trixie came to town with the alicorn amulet and you kicked her out? Or that other time Trixie came to town and you defeated an Ursa Minor?"

"An Ursa Minor?" Boomed a great big voice, startling Rainbow Dash badly. She turned to see the Announcer had been listening in and had heard her bragging. He turned towards Twilight and asked, "Is this true, young lady? Did you defeat an Ursa Minor with your magic?"

Twilight just giggled and nodded.

"Well then!" He turned to the audience, "Why don't we make this interesting, folks? We've got a pony down here saying she's better than our whole team!"

The audience was filled with booing. Rainbow Dash was horrified, but strangely, Twilight seemed indifferent. She just smiled and laughed along. Every part of her smile is perfect. Rainbow thought.

"Now, now," The announcer quieted the booing crowd, "Let's give her a chance to defend her claim! if she can perform any spell that our team can't, we'll concede defeat. But," He turned back to Twilight, "If she can truly defeat our whole team, we'll all swear fealty to you, whaddya say?"

Twilight smiled and giggled again, "Okay!" She agreed.

Rainbow took her shoulder and pulled her back, "Twilight, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Twilight turned towards her, "It's alright, Rainbow," she reassured with a smile, "You said it yourself, I'm better than those ponies." and she hopped up and climbed onstage, to the cheering of the audience.

The magicians were standing across the stage. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, said, "We'll let you have the first move."

Twilight giggled and shrugged, "Alright," she turned around and looked for some stage prop she could use. Settling on a simple piece of rope, she lifted the rope and tied it into a stylish, complicated knot, to the 'Ooo's and 'Aaa's of the audience.

One of the magicians, not the leader, scoffed, "Please!" he took a step forward, took the rope, untied the knot, re-tied it, and then tied a more complex knot, eliciting applause from the audience.

Rainbow Dash felt just awful making her go up there for her, but Twilight just shrugged and turned back towards the props. Nodding towards a big beach ball, she focused her magic and suddenly disappeared. Then the beach ball suddenly grew in size and popped, revealing Twilight inside. The audience applauded her efforts.

The second magician laughed at her attempt, and focused her own energy. She suddenly vanished.

The leader suddenly started as if he had realized something. He removed something from his pocket and used his magic on it to create a large display, depicting the second magician waving from what looked like Saddle Arabia. She suddenly vanished from the display and reappeared onstage; the crowd was going wild at the show.

Twilight seemed to be thinking. She looked up and smiled as she decided on a spell, and turned towards the crowd, gesturing for Rainbow Dash to come up on stage. Rainbow started, not expecting the sudden request. She shook her head, but Twilight grabbed her hoof and pulled her up onstage, setting her down in front of her in one fluid motion. She then rubbed her chin, inspecting Rainbow Dash's face, and then she began walking around her, making a very big show of inspecting her body. Rainbow Dash's cheeks were flushing at the display, "Get on with it!" She hissed.

Twilight settled in front of her and smiled, "That's a brilliant shade of crimson," She remarked, causing Rainbow to blush further. But before she could say anything Twilight focused on her magic and was suddenly enveloped in a bright light, which dissipated to reveal a picture-perfect representation of Rainbow Dash standing in front of Rainbow Dash.

The two Rainbows rocked their heads back and forth, doing the classic twin/mirror act. Smiling and nodded in approval, the two Rainbows turned towards the other magicians with a sly look on their faces.

The magicians looked intimidated, even the lead magician looked nervous at the task before him. He focused on his magic, straining. A vein was visible bulging on his head. But after a moment, his magic faded and he began panting.

"It looks like we have a winner folks!" The announcer said suddenly, reappearing from seemingly nowhere. He gestured grandly to the two Rainbow Dashes and said, "The challenger has beaten the masters!"

One by one, the professional magicians knelt down, fulfilling their promise by swearing magical fealty to Twilight. Twilight finally turned herself back to normal, and the two friends hugged it out, laughing and finally having a good time. This is perfect.

"...and when that lead magician paraded you around on stage? Ha!" Rainbow Dash laughed, looking back on their perfect evening together.

Twilight giggled in response, "Yeah," she sighed contently.

"And it was amazing, the way you pulled off that transformation spell, I thought that was, like, waaay advanced!" Rainbow gushed.

Twilight just shrugged and said, "Well, I figured it out."

All too soon, they had arrived at Twilight's library once more. Twilight turned towards Rainbow and smiled, "I had fun tonight," she said, "Thank you."

"Thank you." Rainbow insisted, "I'm glad you had fun."

Twilight smiled, "well, see you!" and she immediately turned around and headed inside, closing the door behind her.

"See you..." Rainbow Dash said dejectedly, looking down in disappointment.

Twilight suddenly reopened the door, "whoops, I almost forgot," She suddenly stepped towards Rainbow and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Good night!" She dismissed, and went back inside.

"Good night..." Rainbow Dash said slowly, reaching up and feeling her cheek. A slow smile spread over her face, and she rocketed into the air, laughing and cheering with glee.

Twilight Sparkle, peeking out the window, saw Rainbow rocket away and giggled. She turned around and began walking across the room, "Such a nice girl," she remarked to nopony in particular. She stopped in front of a closet door and finished, "It's a shame she has to die."

She opened the door to reveal Twilight Sparkle tied up and gagged inside, looking up in horror.

"And what a shame it is," The imposter continued, her eyes suddenly turning bright green, "She loves you very much."

Twilight Sparkle struggled in her ropes and gag to no avail, and the imposter began giggling again, which slowly rose to an evil cackle. She was suddenly engulfed in bright green light, and when it faded Queen Chrysalis was standing where Twilight had been standing moments before, "This is too easy."

Author's Note:

I literally have no idea what to do next so if you have any predictions or suggestions then that would be very much appreciated.

Comments

[bholley]

Whaaaaaat?!!! That definitely caught me off guard. This could either become an excruciating, watching-a-train-wreck kind of thing, or a really awesome and fulfilling epic story. I hope it's the latter. I guess it depends on how long it takes to get real-Twilight out and what goes down in the meantime. But really, though... you have created so much angst in my mind and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope you continue soon. Thanks for writing!

[MrPengu1n]

3220707
Thanks! And this isnt my only story. Wink wink nudge nudge shameless self promotion what

[Lostzilla]

oh , your story lacks or a tragedy tag, or a sad tag or an Adventure Tag.

[Hawkeye364]

WHAT!?!?! I did not expect that! That caught me off guard! More! This story has caught my attention! Keep up the great work

[SomeponyTheVectorer]

Whelp, I'm intrigued. It certainly explains some issues I had with the characterization. I'll be interested to see more!

[the silver-maned pony]

No..
Noooo...
Noooooooooo...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
...
You have my attention.

[LeopardCay]

Me like..

[Bakmah Genesis]

God damnit, Chrys. How could you ruin such a beautiful ship?!
..
....
Oh yeah, changeling, forgot. Anywhore, good chapter

[Jarlax]

Well that was unexpected. I'll be keeping an eye on this story I think.

[twinn]

[Insert hank hill gasp here]

[Gentle Spy]

Before I continue reading the rest of this chapter I'm calling it right now that twilight is queen chrysalis.

[Gentle Spy]

Now I'd like to take this time to say, "Somebody better pick up that phone. Because I fucking called it!"

[ultrako]

My face when I read that somepony had to die :

[Indeliblink]

You know, I was thinking to myself for most of the chapter that Twi seemed a bit... off. Especially when she admitted, "I'm better than these ponies," which just doesn't sound like something the real Twilight would ever say.
Time to keep reading, hopefully death-free...

[Crumblin cookie]

Whaaaaaat! I neen more! So far it's one of the best I've read. When she said she was going to kill rainbow I knew it was chrysalis

[Daring Cammie Do]

As soon as Twilight said "I guess not," the alarm bells started ringing.

[twiily]

It's not stalking! It's...observing. Rainbow shook her head again, intent on her target.

if you say so 🤰

[twiily]

Twilight Sparkle struggled in her ropes and gag to no avail, and the imposter began giggling again, which slowly rose to an evil cackle. She was suddenly engulfed in bright green light, and when it faded Queen Chrysalis was standing where Twilight had been standing moments before, " This is too easy. "

THAT PLOTTWIST OMG