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Chapter 11,202 words
Chapter 21,311 words

Chapter 2

"Potion number eight-hundred and fifty-three: 'Poison Joke from Concentrate'." Spike read the label on the small blue bottle as twilight crossed it off of the list she had levitating in front of her.

"Looks like that's the last one, and still no sign of the missing potion" she said with a worried frown.

Spike placed the bottle on the shelf in its original position. "So what now? Whoever took the potion could be anywhere in Equestria by now."

"Twilight!" Both of them looked up in surprise as Pinkie Pie burst in through the basement door. "Twilight! I need your hel-- Ah!" Pinkie tripped at the top of the stairs in her haste, sending her somersaulting all the way down to land on her face with a thump.

"Pinkie!" Twilight said in panic. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, sure. Notice when she falls down the stairs" Spike said moodily.

Pinkie bounced back onto her hooves, seemingly unfazed by her long tumble and face plant.

"Twilight! I need your help! There's something wrong with Rainbow Dash!"

"What do you mean? What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know. She started acting weird after I gave her some cookies, and then she flew off, calling herself Queen Thunderbutt and talking about finding her royal court."

"Bwahahaha, Thunderbutt! That's a good one! Why didn't I think of that?" Spike said as he burst out laughing.

"Spike, this is serious!" Twilight berated. She turned back to Pinkie. "You said she started acting strange after eating cookies? What kind of cookies were they?"

"They were just plain old chocolate chip cookies, except I used a new spice I got for my birthday last week."

Spike's eyes shot wide open. "Uh oh."

"New spice? Who gave it to you?"

"Spike."

Twilight rounded on the dragon, but he was already half way up the stairs and running for his life.

"Oh no you don't" Twilight said as she grabbed him in her purple aura and floated him back in front of her.

"Be gentle!" he begged.

"We just spent the last five hours going through every single potion we have, when you knew where the missing one was the whole time?!"

"No, I didn't! Honest! I forgot that it was Pinkie's birthday and I needed to get her a gift! So I just grabbed the nearest thing to me! I didn't even remember about it 'till just now!"

"You forgot my birthday?" Pinkie asked with the longest face they ever saw.

"I'm really, really sorry" Spike said to both of them.

Twilight put him down, releasing him from her magical grip. "It doesn't matter now" she said. "What's done is done. Lets just go and find her before she hurts herself. Did you see where she flew off to, Pinkie?"

"Yep! She was heading towards the Everfree forest."

"Perfect."

~ ~ ~

Rainbow Dash sat atop a rock in the Everfree forest surrounded by all manner of woodland creatures. She was covered head-to-toe in mud and had a circle of twigs placed upon her head like a crown. Pinkie, Twilight, and Spike approached cautiously, afraid of how she might react given her unstable mindset.

"Step forward, my subjects" she called out in a commanding voice. "Why have you come before the royal court?"

"Rainbow Dash, Your sitting on a rock in the forest surrounded by squirrels" Twilight told her.

"Ha, do you really think such blatant lies could fool me, Queen Thunderbutt, Lord of Lightning and Rainbows?" She clapped her hooves twice. "Pink one! Your queen desires nourishment. Bring her the royal cookies!"

"Uh, Dashie, I think you've had enough cookies for one day" Pinkie said with a frown.

"You would dare deny your queen?!" She shouted in outrage. "Guards! Take her away!"

The squirrels made no move to obey Rainbow's order.

"My soldiers! You've corrupted their minds with your magic, haven't you?! No matter. My court wizard will deal with you when she returns."

Twilight cocked her head in confusion. "Court wizard?"

"Worry not, my queen!" a familiar and painfully annoying voice called from the shadows. "The Grrrrreat and Powerful Trixie shall subdue the usurpers." The blue show-mare appeared in a puff of grey smoke.

"Oh for the love of..." Twilight sighed as she face-hoofed.

"Hey, aren't you that phony-baloney-pony?" Pinkie asked.

"No, I am not! Uh, I mean... The Grrrrreat and Powerful Trixie is a true magical genius! And after this performance, she will be on the path to fame and fortune, for the rainbow nut has promised Trixie her weight in gold! Hahahaha!"

"Rainbow Dash doesn't have any gold" Twilight deadpanned.

"WHAT?!"

"Do not trust their words, Lady Puddinghead!" Rainbow Dash told her. "They are obviously agents of my evil twin sister!"

"Hahaha, Even I'm not that gullible" Spike laughed.

"I'm surprised you would trust the word of a mare who looks like she just spent the last hour rolling around in the mud" Twilight said in all honesty.

"Well, uh... KAZAM!" Trixie threw another smoke bomb and quickly ran away.

"She never changes..." Twilight said almost wistfully.

"Ha!" Rainbow laughed. "You may have defeated my soldiers and my wizard, but you have yet to face the wrath of Queen Thunderbutt! Now watch as I call forth the power of the heavens to smite you!" She stood on the rock and struck a dramatic pose with her hoof raised towards the sky. Several moments passed in silence, Rainbow trying to smite them and the three of them wondering how they should react to that.

"Alright, that's it." Twilight finally broke the standoff, wrapping Dash in her magic and dragging her in front of them.

"How dare you?!" she yelled. "I am Thunderbutt! Release me at once, peasant!"

Twilight brought Dash closer to her until her horn was touching her forehead. In a flash of light, she removed the effects of the potion and set Dash down. They all waited anxiously to see whether they were looking at Rainbow Dash or Thunderbutt.

Finally the pegasus opened her eyes and saw her three friends looking at her in anticipation.

"Uh, what's up?"

They all released the breaths they had been holding in. Pinkie hopped on top of Dash, embracing the mare in a bone-crushing hug. "Dashie!" she cried joyously.

"Can't... breath..." she managed to choke out. Pinkie obliged and released her.

"Hey Rainbow" Twilight said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I had too many sweets" she said as she stood and rubbed her tummy. "Uh... why are we in the Everfree forest? And why am I covered in mud?"

"....Sorry..." Spike said. Rainbow just tilted her head in confusion.

"It's a long story" Twilight told her. "Lets head back to Ponyville. Then we can tell you all about it."

After the four friends left the clearing, a cold wind blew through the woods. The crown of Queen Thunderbutt rested on her granite throne where it had fallen from her head, as if awaiting her return.

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