This story is a sequel to Hot Heads, Cold Hearts and Nerves of Steel
DASHVERSE: (Takes place several months after the events of http://www.fimfiction.net/story/68962/hot-heads-cold-hearts-and-nerves-of-steel)
Rainbow Dash and her friends are off to Canterlot to help in the preparations for the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor! But once she arrives, Rainbow learns of a sinister plot against Equestria. What's worse, she can't even rely on her friends to help her because one of them is not who she seems...
Chapters (20)
Oh, this should be good. While it's nice to know that D-Celestia believes in the problem, the paranoia is going to make it a lot harder to contend with. Hmmm. We might be looking at a Sombrazilla threshold.......
Yessss, and so the saga continues!
Whoa! I really hope that it's not actually Celestia who's been replaced and she's just sowing disharmony amongst the D6. But based on the description that's probably not gonna happen. Like this so much. I love how you incorporated elements from S4 into this.
Very good start to what promises to be a good fic. Love the shout-outs to the comic series with the pony D&D references, and the bashing of some of the more unrealistic stuff is as present as ever. Love the Rainbow Dash friendship report and the mother/daughter bond she shares with Celestia. And Love the extended almost family bond thing going on between Cadence Shining Twilight and Dash.
I withhold my judgement on the Rainbow Dash party until they all wake up in Las Pegasus short one pink unicorn bride and no memory of what happened the night before thanks to getting ruffied by common-senseless Twilight...
Of course now there's the question of why Celestia just doesn't have the mane 6 put on the Elements to see whose doesn't respond when its time to call the rainbow...but that's your plot-hole to fill.
CONTINUE!
Calling it now. Rainbow Dash herself has been replaced by a Changeling, but the replacement has gone so deep into the RD persona that he/she/it thinks that they are the real RD.
Glad to see you've returned with the Dashverse.
So you've decided to reveal the changelings existence earlier, and make Celestia aware of them as well. This completely changes the story around. I just hope that you can tell better, since you have that talent.
Also...
fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/216/2/9/ha_ha_ha_no_animated_gif_by_mackdoodle99-d6gn0sc.gif
If I were to quote my favorite lines from this, I'd have to copy-paste nearly the whole chapter
Buuuuut then all those happy feelings go *poof*
Will this story also be heavily featuring Cloud Kicker?
I'm calling it now. It's Fluttershy.
Great
Does D-Rarity have a infatuation with Blueblood? Also, I'm sure you've answered this before, but where's Spike? Does he just not exist in the Dashverse?
OH DEAR GOD, I just thought of something very scary, is Tirek going to show up in this verse!???!!
Very intriguing opener. Gives us quite the mystery, and the paranoia setup is a wonderful test for Rainbow to face. What happens to the bearer of the Element of Loyalty when she can't even trust her own best friends? I can't see Rainbow handling an intrigue plot where she can't trust anypony very well. Lots of RD angst and misery to look forward to.
New story!
The beginning of another installment in one of the best 'What If' universes. I can't wait to second guess myself about every little detail.
Should be "managed", I think.
CODE MAN BLUE! CODE MAN BLUE!
GET THIS STALLION SOME HAY JERKY, STAT! OR HAVE SOMEBODY INITIATE LIQUID PRIDE!
Definitely Dash-like. It does feel a little underwhelming, but as Dash said, "what else needs to be said?" (Maybe I'm just pining for Twi's more detailed letters.
)
Wow, this actually serves to make the plot seem a lot more sinister and deeper than S2's verision of events. I only wonder who Chrysalis is impersonating this time? It's not Cadance or Shining, and it's certainly not Celestia.
...Luna, perhaps?
Oh...
Oh, dear...
...Welp, I do expect kudos to whoever guesses which of the Mane Six minus Dash is the fake based off of this chapter alone. I will feel stupid if Chryssy really got Celestia instead, though.
4451173 Oh GOD, I hope so!!!
Well then, I look forward to seeing how you handle the intrigue to come in this story, Trinary. We have a pretty solid setup already, and look forward to seeing where this goes.
4452032
I am not sure if I am reading to much into this, however
She says one of Rainbows friends, not explicitly an Element of Harmony was replaced.
So Zecora is an Indigo Lantern?
Now at this point have you actually planted any clue's as to which of the mane 6 (if any) is the dopplegager? Will we look back at this chapter in 6 months and go, it was so obvious?
Eee! More Dashverse.
4450899 I actually agree with you about Spike. Before the reference to "Dragonshy" in this chapter, I had the idea that he'd actually be the dragon in this universe, resulting in the plot twisting half-way through to that of "A Bird in the Hoof", with Twilight taking Fluttershy's role in both episodes and her learning the cliché "If you truly love something, you'll set it free" lesson.
4452379
I'm calling it, Chryssi is disguised as Dinky.
4451324
I think we have a new tagline.
“Wedding Plans for Winning Ponies.”
If not for "Road Not Taken" and "You Can Fight Fate," I'd be calling that title an oxymoron.
4452654
Does that make Chrysalis Larfleeze? Who says a girl can't really have it all...
Calling it now; Zecora's not dead. To quote TV Tropes, "Like you would really do it".
4452379
Very possible, though the Element-bearers are the obvious targets strategically, since replacing one of them would remove the Elements as a threat. Of course, one could make the argument that they're too obvious as targets, so Chrysalis would get better results by grabbing somepony who can stay under the radar. On the other hand, Derpy, Raindrops, or Cloud Kicker wouldn't be especially useful to grab, save that they could be well positioned for knocking out Dash and the other Element-bearers. Derpy does have the advantage of easy food source in Dinky, at least.
4453589
I suspect if Chrysalis pretended to be Dinky, she would explode from overeating within 24 hours. Dinky just gets too much love.
I'm calling Applejack, that bit about making Applebloom mind her chores makes me suspicious, and what better pony to take out when changelings are about than the Pony who can sense lies???
4450574 if that is true then I want to see both versions of Dash fighting together against the changelings... And maybe doing a double Sonic Rainboom.
4454120
I would have thought that if I didn't think it was a reference to 'Somepony to Watch Over Me', that said it might both be a reference and a clue.
Let the
witchchangeling hunt continue.4454181 Everyone else was making guesses, I just decided the comment stuck in my mind and would make a good backing for a guess. Plus, it would be awesome to have called it.
The bigger question for me is, how will Chrysalis be portrayed in this universe? Trinary shone Sombra in a better light(both in character depth and action), so I have my hopes. At the very least, he's started good with eliminating the whole 'not believing your friend thing'.
I sooo badly want it to be Twilight for some reason
but it might be Fluttershy seeing how many other fimfic-ers are going along that line 
...I have a suspicion that "Celestia" is actually Chrysalis...
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say celestia is the changeling. What better way to divert attention from yourself than by starting a witch hunt.
Feels incredibly rushed for a first chapter, but then again we get to put the Element of Loyalty to the ultimate test as Rainbow is going to have a hard time to discern whom is the changeling in disguise . . .
So, in villain order, we have Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Chrysalis, and then eventually Discord. You've done a lot of depth with the other villains so I'm curious about Discord. Is this Discord beyond redemption? Actually gets killed off? Or does he have a chance of becoming more anti-hero than straight up villain? We'll have to wait and see when he finally shows up.
So, you planning on using new villain Tirek in your series or leaving him out?
Yeah! More Trinary! WOO!
Wait, you're not dead? Sweet!
This is looking good so far so I will follow it, but the lack of any response to my comments about the hive mind earlier makes me unwilling to give this a thumbs up until I get more information in that department.
For all we know, Celestia is a Changeling and she told Rainbow Dash this to take her off of the trail.
To check for a changeling Twilight, just see if she's carrying a How to Impersonate Ponies book, or see if take over the world is on her checklist.
4473460
The sad part is, that makes complete and utter sense. Also, sounds like the setup for a hilarious comedic one-shot.
4473458 Not only to throw her off, but to make her distrust all her friends as well and possibly weakening their bonds, which is a crucial part of the Elements of Harmony, after all. Probably hoping Rainbow gets so paranoid that the Elements won't work.
Stories with changelings always make me antsy, 'cause you can trust no one. :x
Fluttershy. It's definitely Fluttershy. I am 96% sure of this.
My guess is it's still Cadence who was replaced and Chrissi's just doing a much better job of acting the part, since Shiny's still having the migraines. Celestia just bucked up on who the priority targets were.
I also wonder if Cloud Kicker will make it to Canterlot to lead the stand at the Kicker compound as in Winning Pony. This 'verse draws enough from that one it's always hard to tell what will be similar and what will change
Twilight has a history of being a messy eater?
But, back in Rainbooms and Royalty, Twilight was very meticulous when it came to how much syrup was on her pancakes.
She's my prime suspect at the moment... aside from Rainbow herself being a changeling the whole time.
Wait. I just reread Hot Heads, Cold Hearts and Nerves of Steel and one line stood out and made me wonder... what if the whole thing with the Changelings is a red herring?
And the chief suspect is...uh...well...Ah buck it! Everypony's a changeling!
On a more serious note, Princess Celestia would be a prime candidate as well, especially given her "Just between you and me" attitude towards the whole thing.
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy would probably be the easiest to replace... Pinkie's randomness camouflages any inappropriate tics a changeling might have, and Fluttershy is quiet enough to just blend into the scenery... a perfect spy.
Twilight's messy eating is apparently not just limited to burgers.
It would be a twist if Celestia is mistaken about one of the Six being replaced, and the whole thing is a wild goose chase because the real spy is Cadance, Cloud Kicker, or one of the Doos. Considering that Twilight was suspicious of Cadance (rightly so) in the original episode, having a paranoid Dash unable to trust any of her friends makes Loyalty difficult...
Great
4474193
Have you watched Twilight Time?
AND THE PLOT THICKENS!!!! I can just see Rainbow pounding her head against the wall over how much frustration this whole thing is giving her.
BRING ON EMBARRASSING STORIES ABOUT THE GROOM!!!!!