At first, Rainbow Dash insisted that she was fine, because she felt fine – but only a few minutes after arriving back in town, a wave of dizziness washed over her. Next thing she knew, her legs had given out and suddenly Rainbow was sprawled on the ground.
The collapse made it clear. She was not fine. The fall and the chase immediately afterwards must have certainly taken their toll on Rainbow, something that was obvious to the third-party observers nearby but which Rainbow Dash herself was in complete denial about.
Fluttershy, being uncharacteristically assertive, insisted on treating Rainbow Dash's injuries if the pegasus was serious about refusing to see a proper doctor. In the end, Dash gave in. She didn't want to become reduced to arguing with her best friends just because of those nagging doubts swirling about in her mind. She was smarter than that. Too smart to let what had happened bother her.
That didn't stop it from bothering her.
During the days immediately following the incident, Rainbow Dash was confined to bed with her wings wrapped in bandages, unable to escape Fluttershy's fussing. The entire time, she ached to spread her wings and return to the sky.
What made it worse was that for the first time since she'd moved to Ponyville, Rainbow Dash had to miss a storm. Specifically, the one that she'd flown through which had gotten her into this whole mess in the first place. Sure, Rainbow could be a little lazy or unreliable at times, but she had never, ever shirked her duties on the weather team before, and being forced to sit out – literally – while the storm broke was almost more than she could take. Especially when she could see the whole thing from her place by the window, able to observe and criticize every move made by her substitute as she pondered all the ways she would have done everything better.
Just like Rarity had predicted, the story of Mare Do Well's return soon hit the local paper. To Rainbow Dash's further aggravation, her so-called rescue was featured rather prominently in the article. She first saw it when Twilight gave it to her during one of the visits her friends made together during her recovery.
"We thought you'd want to see it," Twilight explained, looking embarrassed on Rainbow's behalf. "So that you're not taken by surprise later."
The article was the usual flattering drivel, probably written by one of the Faker Do Well groupies that had been in the crowd – or rather, audience – that day. And of course it made sure to mention how Mare Do Well's triumphant reappearance had been highlighted by the courageous rescue of a local weather pony. The writer hadn't even had the decency to mention Rainbow Dash by name. There was even a picture of Mare Do Well carrying her limp, unconscious self on her back, a picture presumably taken while Rainbow had been out. She looked pathetically frail in it.
After reading the story through, Rainbow Dash threw the newspaper away in disgust, only to end up digging through the garbage to pull it out and read it again. It was on the fourth or fifth reading that she finally noticed something.
"How did the reporter find out all this stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked one day while scanning the article. "And why did Nurse Redheart know, too? How did either of them find out what happened? I'm pretty sure I was alone when I, uh, fell. So nopony would've seen me, and I sure didn't tell anypony."
"Maybe Mare Do Well told them," Fluttershy suggested as she tenderly dressed Rainbow Dash's wings in fresh bandages. Rainbow Dash was stretched out on a sofa in Fluttershy's cottage, trying to ignore the way Fluttershy's touch never failed to send a fresh wave of pain through her wings. At first she'd fought Fluttershy's efforts to play nurse, but in the end, she'd given up and given in. When Fluttershy wanted to take care of you, it was pretty much impossible to tell her no.
"But she doesn't even talk," Rainbow Dash protested. "That's, like, her thing. She's the no-talker."
"She doesn't talk in front of you," Fluttershy pointed out in an off-hoof way, still focused on the bandages and moving as slowly as she could so as to avoid causing Rainbow Dash undue discomfort. "Maybe she does that on purpose, because she's afraid you'll recognize her voice. But while you were unconscious, she could have explained what happened."
Rainbow Dash considered. "Wow, Fluttershy," she finally said, sounding mildly impressed. "You're a lot smarter than you look sometimes."
Fluttershy smiled, choosing to ignore the insult in favor of the compliment.
When the yellow pegasus had finished with the bandages, she fluttered over to the loveseat in the corner of her cottage parlor and settled in, looking as content as ever before continuing on in her serene way.
"When Twilight first had the idea for Mare Do Well, she told us all to remember not to say anything while in costume. She was worried that our voices would give us away, because we all sound really different, even with our voices disguised, and nopony was supposed to know that Mare Do Well was played by more than one pony, but also because she figured you'd recognize us."
Fluttershy opened her eyes, looking at Rainbow Dash meaningfully – but Dash only stared back, looking like she didn't understand what Fluttershy was getting at.
"Nopony in the village knows what Mare Do Well is supposed to sound like, because when Mare Do Well first appeared, she never spoke. So the only ponies she'd have to be careful when speaking around would be ponies who did know," Fluttershy explained patiently. "This new Mare Do Well has one of the original costumes, too; so unless you're somepony who knew the truth, there'd be no way to tell that this isn't the same Mare Do Well as before. But we can tell, because we do know the truth. But nopony knows that we were behind it or that we told you, so as far as everypony else in Ponyville knows, we shouldn't know the difference, either."
The entire time Fluttershy was speaking, the cogs in Rainbow Dash's head were in motion, and as soon as she had finished, it was like somepony had flipped a switch, suddenly bringing a light bulb to life.
"Which means it must be one of us!" Rainbow Dash finished, voice rising in excitement. "I mean, if you're right and Mare Do Well was the one who told everypony what happened, then that must be it! If this Mare Do Well was anypony else, then she wouldn't know that I'd unmasked the original Mare Do Well, and she'd expect me to just buy whatever she did, since she'd think I wouldn't know – but I do know. So it must be one of us, since she knows enough to hide her voice around me so that I don't recognize it!"
Then Rainbow Dash frowned, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. "Wait, what? I think I'm confusing myself."
Fluttershy smiled a shy little smile from her perch on the loveseat. "It's just an idea," she said softly, looking down in embarrassment at her hooves, which were folded neatly before her.
Rainbow Dash gazed up at her reverently from her place on Fluttershy's sofa, looking awed. "Wow," she breathed. "Applejack was right. You're like some kind of freaky genius."
The butter-yellow pegasus blushed delicately in that adorable way of hers, but she appeared to be growing uncomfortable under Rainbow Dash's gaze. She squirmed, fidgeting uncertainly. "I really like reading mysteries," Fluttershy explained in an almost apologetic tone. "They're... nice."
"Geez, Fluttershy. We keep finding out all these weird things about you. Next it's gonna turn out that you're really..."
Rainbow Dash paused.
The thought that had just now flitted through her mind was one so impossibly ridiculous that her first instinct was to laugh it off and forget that she'd ever had it; that's how little it was worth thinking about. But it was the doubt again. Doubt that she'd never held towards her friends before. The paranoid feeling that they were all somehow scheming against her, and that the moment she turned her back, she'd learn that they'd all played her for a fool again.
When Rainbow spoke again, her normally brash, easygoing voice practically shook.
"Fluttershy, this is gonna sound totally crazy, but I really, really need to know that it's not you. I promise I won't be mad."
Normally, being around Rainbow Dash made Fluttershy a bit nervous. Her arrogant, attention-seeking personality was at a direct contrast with Fluttershy's own more timid and reserved nature. To put it simply, Rainbow Dash intimidated her.
But moments like these, when she allowed the tiniest bits of uncertainty to slip through the cracks, allowing Fluttershy to catch a glimpse of the fragility beneath the surface, never failed to endear Rainbow to Fluttershy and win her sympathy. After all, Fluttershy was never one to turn her back on a creature in need.
"It's not crazy. I understand," Fluttershy said gently. "I promise that it's not me. Why would I be helping you and trying to trick you at the same time? That wouldn't be very nice of me."
"I don't know," Rainbow Dash muttered. She was almost sulking, scowling somewhere at the ceiling. Suddenly her head was throbbing, and she brought a hoof up to her temple, wincing. "All I know is that somepony is messing with me and I really, really don't want to think it's one of you guys."
Rainbow Dash sounded so lost that Fluttershy could feel herself instinctively switching over to nurturing-mother mode.
She fluttered over to the sofa that Rainbow Dash was now sitting up on, propped up by her elbows, and grabbed the other pegasus by the shoulders, firmly pushing her back down onto the cushions.
"You need to rest," Fluttershy explained sweetly, draping a blanket over Rainbow in response to the puzzled look she got. "You poor thing. You're very tired, aren't you? I bet you'll feel better after getting some sleep."
"Maybe..." Rainbow Dash grudgingly acknowledged. She had to admit, Fluttershy had a surprisingly comfy sofa. It was almost as nice as a cloud, but not quite.
She pulled the blanket closer. Rainbow Dash was the kind of pony who could sleep anywhere and anytime if she so chose, no matter how worked up she'd grown during the day, so it only took a moment for her eyelids to begin to droop.
Satisfied, Fluttershy returned to her seat, but just as she began to settle in, a weary voice drifted over from the mound of blanket Rainbow Dash had created for herself, asking, "You won't tell anypony how I acted like a baby, right?"
"Of course not."
"'Kay. Thanks." Rainbow Dash yawned, loudly and obviously, before snuggling under the blanket again. "But I'm only letting you treat me like this while my wings get better. After that, no more fussing. I don't wanna look needy."
"Of course not."
"Okay. Good."
"Have a nice nap."
"Yeah, whatever."
And like that, Rainbow Dash was asleep.
• • •
Once the bandages were off, despite Fluttershy's orders that she stay grounded for at least two weeks before attempting to fly again, Rainbow Dash decided to take to the skies the moment she was able to beat her wings without feeling like they were being torn off. She was a sturdy pegasus, after all, and it would take more than getting struck by lightning to finish her off. A few days of rest were all she needed; further proof that she hadn't needed rescuing after all. Not that anypony listened to her. Or cared.
When Rainbow Dash had first chased after Mare Do Well after the incident with the lightning, she'd been able to push through the pain that she'd felt, too focused on catching the other mare to let herself get slowed down. But after the initial rush of adrenaline had worn off, Rainbow had been left completely drained, her body stiff and tired.
That was how she felt all the time, now. When she tried to fly, her movements in the air were noticeably clumsier and slower than usual. Occasionally Dash stopped to mull this over, bitter, but when she did, a tiny voice in the back of her mind would always pipe up to remind herself that it was technically her own damn fault.
The conversations that Rainbow Dash had with herself tended to go something like this:
It was stupid to go through a storm.
Well, Faker Do Well shouldn't have paraded me around town like that! It made me look dumb!
...but I deserved it. I was dumb.
Shut up!
And so forth, her mind once again spinning around in circles as Rainbow argued with herself like some kind of schizophrenic.
Apparently, there'd been no more Mare Do Well sightings during the entire time Rainbow Dash had been out of commission, and she had no idea whether it was a coincidence or not. It was unlikely, but possible. Maybe she'd only been present at both incidents by pure coincidence. Maybe there were plenty of other ponies out there that were getting harassed by the so-called superhero, who were just too embarrassed to say anything or report it to the police.
The conversation with Fluttershy had given her an idea, though, and it had also strengthened the idea that it couldn't possibly have been Fluttershy. For the time being, Dash was at least seventy percent sure of Twilight's innocence, and about eighty percent sure of Fluttershy's. Rarity was standing at approximately sixty percent; even if she wasn't the one behind the new Mare Do Well persona, she was being exceedingly unhelpful, refusing to relinquish the one piece of information that might have helped Rainbow Dash and causing Dash to hold a grudge.
If the new Mare Do Well truly was one of her friends, that left either Applejack or Pinkie – unless Rainbow Dash was going about this whole thing the wrong way. Most of the conclusions that she'd drawn were based on assumptions, after all, and it was always possible that one of her friends had just lied to her.
But she didn't want to believe that.
The next logical step, then, was to talk either to Nurse Redheart or to the newspaper reporter who'd written the article about Mare Do Well in the first place, to find out who their source was. If Mare Do Well had spoken to either of them directly, then that basically confirmed Fluttershy's theory that she was specifically hiding her voice from Rainbow Dash, and from there, Rainbow Dash would figure out what to do next.
• • •
"So it was definitely her?" Rainbow Dash asked. "No doubt about it? You spoke to the real deal, accept no substitutes Mare Do Well?"
"Yes," Nurse Redheart answered, looking awkward. "That's what I just said."
"Can you tell me again exactly what happened?"
"She was carrying you on her back and brought you straight here. She said that you'd been flying through a storm when you got hit by lightning, and she wanted to make sure you were okay, but then the reporters started to crowd in and I couldn't catch the rest. They made too much noise."
"Okay," Rainbow Dash answered with a curt nod. "That's all I needed to know. Thanks."
And then she took off, leaving behind a perplexed Nurse Redheart to watch her go.
The entire exchange, from Rainbow Dash's abrupt landing to her sudden departure, took about ten seconds in all, but at least the pegasus seemed to be getting back to her old self. Lately, she'd seemed out of sorts, and the nurse had credited that to the fact that she couldn't fly. Maybe getting back in the air would be good for her.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was scheming. As a master prankster, creating traps to trip ponies up was her forte – and now, all of that practice would finally prove to be useful.
For whatever reason, the new Mare Do Well seemed to have a habit of coming out of nowhere to save Rainbow Dash, so it should be easy enough to draw her out. All Rainbow had to do was get in trouble somehow, then wait for the pseudo-hero to come to the rescue, and then she could confront her.
The first time, Rainbow Dash had almost been robbed by some random unicorn stallion. The second time, she'd been flying through a storm. Both times, she'd been alone and, for whatever reason, hadn't been able to fly. So, if she wandered alone along the streets by hoof at night, she was bound to run into some kind of trouble at some point. Nothing Dash wouldn't be able to handle, of course; just the good kind of trouble. The kind that she could take care of herself, but that Mare Do Well would probably want to try and get a piece of anyway, just to make Rainbow Dash look bad.
The sun was already setting. She couldn't waste any time. It was a good thing Fluttershy had made Rainbow Dash sleep so much; it was shaping up to be another long night.
• • •
For once, the dark alleyways of Ponyville didn't seem to be housing any riffraff. How disappointing.
Rainbow Dash could distinctly hear the sharp clop, clop, clop of her hooves echoing on the cobblestoned roads with every step she took. Although it was late, she felt wide awake and alert.
The streets weren't exactly empty. After all, there was the odd couple here and there taking a romantic stroll under the moonlight, or the occasional groups of friends happily chatting together as they headed out to some party, their evenings just beginning.
She walked for a long, long time, her frustration increasing with every passing moment, until Rainbow Dash started to wish that she'd run into Pinkie or somepony, and that she'd be invited to come hang out. That way, she'd have had an excuse to quit this pointless patrol, but her pride wouldn't allow her to quit on her own, and she'd intentionally chosen the downtown area of Ponyville so that there would be less of a chance that she'd run into any of her friends. As boring as the slow, steady pace of her stroll was, if it led to any insights in the true identity of the Mare Do Well imposter, it would be worth it.
She walked a circuit, turning the same corners and circling the same buildings, treading a route so steady and unchanging that Dash eventually came to expect to find her hoofprints worn into the street and was mildly surprised when she didn't see them.
Gradually the streets emptied, until she found herself wandering the more unfamiliar areas of Ponyville completely alone, without even the excuse of having attended a Wonderbolts show that had run late.
It was then that Rainbow Dash first started to feel that old familiar prickle in the back of her neck. It was the feeling of somepony watching you. It was a feeling that she tended to get a lot, being friends with Pinkie Pie and all, so she'd almost gotten used to it, but it was definitely not a sensation that you wanted to feel when you were alone in an unfamiliar area of town, the streets dark and empty and vaguely menacing in their silence.
But she'd wanted trouble, hadn't she?
Rainbow Dash ignored the trepidation she had begun to feel. Instead she thought, Now we're getting somewhere.
• • •
Mare Do Well had a dilemma.
On one hoof, the only reason she was keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash in the first place was because she liked feeling like her protector. It was almost a guilty pleasure. So if she wanted to fancy herself somepony's protector, then it was naturally up to her to protect them from harm, but if Rainbow Dash was actively seeking danger in a misguided attempt to draw her out, was she still supposed to rush forth and defend her?
A part of her wanted to. Not just because she secretly loved that adorable indignant expression Rainbow Dash got when she was riled up, the way the pegasus always seemed to get when they ran into each other, but because Mare Do Well genuinely didn't want to see her hurt. But on the off chance that Rainbow Dash actually had some sort of cunning scheme beyond "make Mare Do Well come out so we can have a showdown," then she didn't know what she would do. She wasn't going to fight Rainbow; she knew that. But it was definitely Rainbow Dash's style to try and set up some kind of duel in the moonlight.
It was more than that, though. It was the desire for the perfect moment. To wait for just the right time to do and say just the right things to sweep her off her hooves. To be charming and romantic, the way any good vigilante was. To render her speechless. To be dashing, for lack of a better word. No pun intended.
But in the end, the desire to keep her crush safe won out. The thought of Rainbow Dash wandering the streets alone, literally begging for trouble, made Mare Do Well too nervous to let it stand.
• • •
There was a light thud from somewhere behind her, and Rainbow Dash whipped around eagerly.
She'd been expecting to see a gang of chain wielding thugs when she turned to look, thugs that she could kick the flanks of before Faker Do Well showed up – just a little too late, most likely – leaving her and Miss Mysterious free to sit down and have a friendly chat about whatever Mare Do Well thought she was doing back in Ponyville.
Instead, Rainbow Dash turned around to see Mare Do Well herself.
"Oh. It's you, huh?" she asked, affecting an absent-minded tone and indifferent posture. All ways of indicating that she could care less about whether Mare Do Well was there or not.
No response.
The two of them faced each other in silence.
It was like a game, a staring contest to see which of them would give in first, either by looking away or breaking the silence. But in the end, it was Rainbow Dash who did so, jerking her head away so that she didn't have to look at the other mare anymore. She began to pace briskly from side to side in quick little trots as her multicolored tail swished back and forth.
When she finally glanced back up, Mare Do Well was still standing there.
It was impossible to tell for sure due to the mask, but her eyes seemed to follow Rainbow's every movement, head turning ever so slightly to watch the pegasus as she paced.
"Why're you following me?" Rainbow asked after a moment, in her characteristically blunt manner, but the mare remained as stoic as ever, not even faltering in the slightest.
"I know that you talk," Rainbow Dash said suddenly, pausing in her pacing to glare. "You told Nurse Redheart what happened, and she went to the news with the story. It's in the paper. Did you know that? The Ponyville newspaper ran a story specifically about how awesome you are, and how I'm a weak little damsel in distress. Was that your plan? Because if you wanted to turn me into even more of a laughing stock than I already was because of you, then, wow, you're doing a great job, buddy!"
"That wasn't my intention."
"Gah!"
Rainbow Dash was so taken aback that she literally jumped practically five feet in the air, propelled by the rapid beating of her wings.
Oh, wow, I didn't think she'd actually answer. But she had to save face. Couldn't let the enemy see that they'd managed to surprise her. She was Rainbow Dash, for Celestia's sake. It should take more than that to catch her off guard.
"Wasn't your intention, huh?" Rainbow spat, summoning her best scowl. "Then what was your intention?"
"Maybe I wanted to be close to you."
The first time Mare Do Well had spoken, Rainbow Dash had been so surprised that she hadn't really listened to the quality of the other mare's voice, but the second time, Rainbow had intentionally provoked her to gain a response, just so she could hear it again. But when Mare Do Well spoke, it didn't sound at all familiar. She was obviously disguising her voice, pitching it lower and gruffer than it must have actually been. Not only that, but it was slightly muffled by the cloth of the mask. It almost sounded like she'd been smoking too many packs of Mareboros.
Rainbow Dash had hoped that actually hearing her voice would finally give her an idea as to who it was behind that mask, but what she heard wasn't at all familiar. It was only after she realized this that she heard what the mare had actually said.
"Huh?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"Maybe I wanted to be close to you," Mare Do Well repeated in a conversational way, strolling forward, closer and closer to Rainbow Dash. Before she could get too close, Rainbow Dash took a step back, but Mare Do Well was pressing closer and closer still, like she was trying to back Rainbow up against the nearby wall.
Which was exactly what she did. Rainbow Dash's back was pressed against the side of Quills and Sofas, the mare in black's face unsettlingly close to her own. Their snouts were practically touching.
"So, you're a stalker?" Rainbow Dash challenged, ignoring the way her voice shook. If she wanted to maintain the upper hoof here, she couldn't allow herself to feel intimidated, even if Mare Do Well really was starting to freak her out.
"I wouldn't call it that."
"What would you call it then?" Rainbow Dash challenged. "Following a pony around for no reason and messing with her life just to prove some dumb point? What can I do to make you go away?"
"I don't think there's anything you can do, really," Mare Do Well answered, sounding entertained, and suddenly, Rainbow Dash really, really wanted to see what she looked like under the mask. Not only to find out who the mare was, but to see what kind of expression went along with a tone like that. "Not when you're making that face."
"What face?" Rainbow snarled.
"That one. It's cute."
"I'm not cute!"
She was teasing her. Mare Do Well was playing with her. She sounded amused by their entire exchange, as if Rainbow Dash's anger meant so little to her that she couldn't even be bothered to take it seriously.
Wait. No. It wasn't just teasing. She was –
"Are you flirting with me?!" Rainbow Dash asked, an incredulous expression on her face.
The very thought was... well, unthinkable. It was almost too bizarre to consider – but Mare Do Well made no comeback to this accusation.
"Oh, wow," Rainbow Dash muttered. Any intimidation that she might have felt before now vanished, having melted away when she realized what this was. Just another stupid crush. It was almost embarrassing to think that she'd been so upset about Mare Do Well when the truth was so... dumb.
"You don't care for my approach?" Mare Do Well asked, affecting a petulant air, but her voice still had that lilting, teasing edge to it that caused Rainbow Dash's temper to flare up again.
"No, I don't!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "Usually when somepony likes somepony else they do... I don't know. Flowers and moonlight and stuff. Not this. They don't dress up like a superhero and seriously creep them out just to get their attention."
"It worked, though."
"No, it didn't! This doesn't count! When you like a pony, you're supposed to... take them out on romantic dinners, or whatever! I don't know, I'm not good at stuff like that, but that's not the point! The point is that this whole... thing is weird!"
Rainbow Dash was waving her forelegs wildly to demonstrate her point, nodding emphatically as she spoke, and Mare Do Well almost seemed to be listening respectfully, watching the pegasus as she flailed in the air. But as soon as she touched the ground again, Mare Do Well just pressed forward once again, moving dangerously close, and with a yelp, Rainbow Dash was back against the wall.
"Well... I could bring you flowers, if you want. We already have the moonlight. But this is fun, isn't it?" Mare Do Well almost purred.
"What is?" the pegasus spat, trying to ignore the sudden blush she felt spreading across her face.
"The games we play," Mare Do Well whispered, and Rainbow Dash could hear the smile in her voice as she said that. "I chase you, you chase me. Like an elaborate game of hide and seek; neither of us reaching each other, both of us circling one another..."
"I'm not chasing you! I want you to leave me alone."
That last heated remark earned Dash a soft laugh in response. Mare Do Well ducked her head in, too close too close too close oh man and Rainbow could feel the shape of the other mare's mouth against her ear.
"Too bad," Mare Do Well whispered.
Rainbow Dash could feel the mare's hot breath on her neck. Her eyes widened in surprise, and for the second time since she'd begun hunting Mare Do Well, an unexplained surge of warmth coursed through her body, extending throughout her wings. Dash opened her mouth to speak, to say something of the sudden rush of confusion she felt, but the mare had already turned to leave.
"W-wait!" Rainbow cried, and instantly hated herself for the way her voice broke.
Mare Do Well cast a glance backwards, and their eyes met. Rainbow Dash knew, she could just tell, that she was smirking behind that stupid mask of hers.
"Don't worry," the mare said sweetly. "You'll see me again."
And then, with a final mocking salute, just like the one she'd given Dash when they'd first met, she was gone, cape fluttering behind her as she disappeared into the night.