• Published 10th Oct 2012
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Things Rainbow Dash Doesn't Like - PresentPerfect

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"Fillies and gentlecolts," Princess Celestia intoned, the magical megaphone amplifying her voice across the stage, "citizens of Equestria; my little ponies. It is with great pleasure that I inform you the recent changeling incursion into Canterlot has been averted. There are no longer any changelings in your midst, so please, try to go back to your normal lives. I know times have been difficult, frightening even, but I assure you, as your Princess, you have nothing to fear."

Camera lights flashed and heads nodded appreciatively. Celestia beamed as she looked over the assembled press ponies. A slow chuckle bubbled up her throat.

"Yes," she continued, "you've nothing at all to fear, my little ponies." Her eyes suddenly flashed green. "Except me!"

In a burst of green magic, Celestia's form was rent from their sight. The crowd gasped as Chrysaslis, Queen of the Changelings, appeared before them in all her breathtakingly evil glory.

"You foolish ponies!" she cried, her voice echoing in the chamber. "Did you think you could defeat the Queen of the Changelings so easily? I have returned to feed on your love once again! Cower before me!"

With a maniacal laugh, she reared back before stomping her hooves. The ponies nearest the stage jumped, startled, and it looked like a panicked stampede was about to form.

"How was that, hun?" Chrysalis asked good-naturedly, slipping into her natural Southern accent. "Too scary for ya?"

The yellow pegasus stallion in the front row wiped sweat from his brow. "N-no, ma'am, it was just scary enough! Thank you very much!"

The other ponies stomped their hooves and cheered.

"You're quite welcome, sugah!" She turned back to the podium, smiling to the crowd. "Now that the, shall we say, 'performance' is complete, are there any other questions?"

The room filled with the clamor of ponies struggling to have their questions heard simultaneously. Chrysalis's eyes flitted back and forth and she tried to make them out.

"Ohh, Ah do believe Ah heard a good one over here! You, yellow in the press hat, could ya repeat that, hun?"

The stallion adjusted his hat and straightened his back. "Chrysalis, ma'am, Front Page from the Trotter. I wanted to know, is it difficult for changelings to find acting jobs?"

Chrysalis laughed. "Why of course not, sugah! We're naturals at actin', y'know. Ah think the real question you want answered is, 'Is it hard for changelings to find actin' jobs as changelings?'"

The crowd murmured appreciatively. Front Page nodded, his hat nearly sliding from his head due to his eagerness.

"The answer to that question, Ah'm afraid, is yes." Chrysalis began to pace across the stage, long, hole-filled legs clearing the distance quickly. "With our own faces, the only possible work is villain roles, like what y'all saw me do in A Canterlot Wedding. Now, Ah for one do not mind playin' the bad girl."

To emphasize her point, she reared back and let loose a demonic cackle. The crowd whistled.

"Villains are so much fun, y'see! There's nothin' quite like the feel of lettin' out mah inner bad girl." She sobered. "But it's true that many of my kind feel stereotyped. Either we don't show our faces, or we're the bad guys; Ah think there's rightly a point to that, and one might say that Applewood is biased towards pony actors." She laughed softly. "But Ah for one try not to let it get to me."

The clamor started up again, but one plucky unicorn mare had managed to elbow her way to the front of the pack. It was her question that Chrysalis chose next.

"Miss Chrysalis, my name is Evening Edition, from the Canterlot Times. There's a rumor going around in certain circles that you may in fact be best pony. Is this true, and if so, what are your feelings on the subject?"

Chrysalis seemed taken aback. She placed a hoof on her chest as the unicorn levitated a microphone up into her face.

"Li'l ol' me? Best pony? Why, Ah do declare!" She tittered, tossing her mane bashfully. "Ah never would have guessed such an honor might fall to a changeling, after all! Well, if that's the honest truth, then Ah'd have to say Ah..."

She never got to finish her statement. The doors to the conference room burst open and a rainbow blur shot through them. It impacted with Chrysalis's chin, knocking her into the air. A series of swift kicks and punches sent her sprawling, dazed, across the stage. She landed heavily on her head and stars swam in her vision. A flying elbow tackle knocked her unconscious. One more kick from her assailant, and she was sailing into a nearby garbage bin.

The room was deadly silent. The blue pegasus took up the microphone at the podium, tapped it twice to make sure it was on, crossed her hooves over her chest and scowled.

"I don't like when Chrysalis is best pony."

The assembled press ponies exploded. Cameras flashed and reporters frantically called in scoops to their editors. All the while, Rainbow stood, head high, mane blowing in an invisible breeze, stoic.

And then Rainbow Dash was best pony.

The End

Author's Note:

Well, that was unexpected! When I started this, I was anticipating it just being a short, silly thing to get the idea out of my head. But it's over 4,000 words long and I feel like I put way too much work into it for what it is. I wrote it in a fit of not wanting to do things I should be doing. Serves me right, I guess!

This story is basically just me riffing on kits riffing on "I don't like ponies touching my hooves" from Ponyville Confidential. To that end, this fic owes a lot to kits' fantastic A Typical Day in Pwnyville, which is hilarious and should be read. Past that, uh... It's all me, I guess. The joke in part 2 is based off the song Magic by Sim Gretina. Beyond that, I really have nothing else to say. Except that Chrysalis really is best pony. But you already knew that.