On the surface, Fluttershy was like a delicate little blossom, fragile and easily injured, with a sense of innocence that charmed those around her, but on the inside, she was a born nurturer and could easily be strong when she needed to be. Specifically, whenever somepony around her was hurting or vulnerable, she could always be counted on to put aside those insecurities and rise to the occasion to do what needed to be done.
Rainbow Dash was hurting and vulnerable.
They didn't actually go to sleep, instead staying awake with one another all throughout the night. "We'll get plenty of sleep on the train tomorrow," Fluttershy said in an unexpectedly firm tone, and Rainbow Dash nodded her agreement, not even bothering to think of an appropriate or clever response.
They spent the night huddled on Fluttershy's bed. It reminded Rainbow Dash of the way they used to stay up all night back in flight camp, after they'd become friends, back during her days as Rainbow Crash. Fluttershy had always been there with a welcome smile – always ready to listen and offer whatever comfort Dash may have needed, never asking anything in return. Fluttershy had been Rainbow's confidante, her keeper of secrets. The yellow pegasus had seen Rainbow Dash cry many times in the past, something nopony else knew, but she still kept it to herself, knowing what Rainbow Dash's pride meant to her.
In the end, Rainbow Dash was able to stop crying, but it took the potent combination of time and Fluttershy's endless patience. Even when the tears finally ceased, she was left a quivering, sniffling mess with red, puffy eyes. She felt empty, almost collapsible, like she'd just thrown up, but she also felt infinitely lighter, as if a weight that she'd been burdened with for far too long had finally been lifted.
Maybe crying had helped. There had been so many occasions lately when Rainbow had wanted to cry and had held it in for some reason. Maybe it had all been building up until she just couldn't hold it anymore. That would explain why the pressure had vanished. She'd finally released some of that compressed emotion.
"Don't tell anypony that I was acting so dumb," Rainbow Dash mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"I won't," Fluttershy promised. The fact that she had made and kept identical promises countless times in their shared past went unsaid. She was so used to making that promise, and Dash was so used to asking it of her, that neither of them felt any need to think about it or discuss it for very long.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," Dash muttered. After crying, after having felt as if she was on the verge of bursting for so long, she was now left feeling just... limp. Worn out. Exhausted. Used up. One of those. Any of them. All of them worked.
"You know," Fluttershy said softly. She was still stroking Rainbow Dash's mane. They were both curled up on the bed, Rainbow Dash tucked against her like a little filly with her mother, a position that was deeply familiar to the two of them by now. "Most ponies think that when you cry, it's because you're sad. But that's not true."
Rainbow Dash sniffed.
"When you cry, it means you're full. You can't carry all of something, so it spills over. Some ponies cry when they're happy. Some ponies cry when they're angry or frustrated. Some ponies cry when they're in love. It doesn't matter, really," Fluttershy continued in a conversational way. "So if you cry, it doesn't mean anything bad. It doesn't mean you're being weak or silly. It means that you got full somehow. I think the reason you were crying is because you were full of something. Do you want to tell me what you were feeling?"
"You're treating me like a baby," Rainbow Dash mumbled, but she stayed put, letting Fluttershy stroke her hair as her eyes closed.
Fluttershy was silent.
She knew not to push. If she was quiet and waited, Rainbow Dash would come clean soon enough.
And she was right, because it only took a moment for Rainbow Dash to confess everything. About Mare Do Well, and her paranoia and her insomnia, and the kiss with Pinkie and how Mare Do Well had pushed her away and how she didn't know what to do anymore because nothing was working and everything she did made just seemed to make things so much worse.
"Poor dear," Fluttershy murmured when Rainbow had finished. "You've been through a lot."
Another sniff.
"I don't even know why I care," Rainbow Dash said in a low, gruff voice. "They all suck. Everypony's just a big jerk now and I hate them all."
"You don't mean that."
"I do."
"No, you don't," Fluttershy countered peacefully, her serene expression unruffled even as Rainbow Dash's face twisted into a scowl. "If you hated them you wouldn't care, and if you didn't care you wouldn't be hurting so much. You hurt because you care."
"'Shy, you're older and wiser and stuff," Rainbow Dash mumbled, looking up to meet Fluttershy's clear, steady gaze. "What would you do if you were me?"
Fluttershy pursed her lips.
"Um," she began. "Well, I... I think I probably would... I don't know, actually," she admitted after a moment of stammering, face blushing pink. "I think I'd be too scared of Mare Do Well to do anything about her. But I kind of have an idea about what to do about Pinkie. Maybe. I mean, if you want me to tell you, that is."
"Tell me," Rainbow Dash ordered, voice fierce.
"Well, I think you're being selfish," came Fluttershy's startlingly blunt response. "You're not the one who lost something here. She's the one who was hurt, because she's the one who was rejected. You shouldn't expect her to comfort you. That's not very fair."
Rainbow Dash blinked, and Fluttershy shrank slightly behind her long, rose-colored hair.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to –"
"No, no," Rainbow Dash reassured, equally quickly. "It's cool. I just... didn't think about it that way before. But I guess you're right. It was kind of... unfair of me."
She blinked again.
She had never stopped to think about Pinkie at all, really. All she'd thought was that she, Rainbow Dash, didn't want things to get messed up between them, and so, she'd expected Pinkie Pie to play along with her petty desires. She had very, very briefly wondered whether Pinkie was really capable of going back to normal, but then she'd pushed those worries aside, instead growing annoyed when Pinkie had gone on to prove that no, she wasn't capable of going back. Dash herself hadn't really tried to fix things or make it right; she'd just waited for Pinkie to do it.
"So what should I do?" Rainbow Dash asked after a moment of pondering.
"Um, I think you should apologize to Pinkie, and I think you two should sit down and actually talk about what happened, instead of trying to ignore it."
"That's a good idea, I guess."
Rainbow Dash's eyes fell shut once more.
"Do you think..." she began, and her voice faltered.
Mare Do Well had kissed her.
Well, not her, exactly; just her hoof. And the mask had covered her mouth, so there had been no actual physical contact.
But still. She had kissed her.
Again, Rainbow Dash wondered at the taste of kisses: if, for example, Mare Do Well had kissed her on the mouth – would there have been a discernible difference, or would there have been the same vague sweetness as when Pinkie had kissed her?
"Do... do you think it's possible... to... I mean, without..."
And again her voice faltered, maybe because she wasn't quite sure what she was trying to say, or what she even wanted to ask.
"How well do you have to know somepony before you can tell if you like them or not?" Dash finally settled on asking, cheeks inflamed.
"Oh!" Fluttershy said. "Ah, well, I've, I've read about love at first sight before, but..."
"That's not it," Rainbow Dash interrupted with a sigh, eyes once again falling shut. At first sight, she had found Mare Do Well annoyingly persistent and just plain weird. It was only by the dozenth sight or so that she'd started to think that maybe there was even the slightest possibility that Dash could like her at all in any way. Platonically, though. It wasn't love, and the point was, it definitely hadn't been at first sight.
It was more like an obsession, and not a romantic one. A craving born from the need to solve this mystery, not from any kind of genuine attachment. After all, how could you grow emotionally attached to somepony whose face you've never seen?
Rainbow Dash fidgeted a little. There was a kind of nagging, squirming itch somewhere deep inside her, a need to do or say something, but she didn't know what or why.
"What do you call it if you can't stop thinking about somepony, and you always want to go see them and touch them and stuff?"
"...I think that's what a crush is..."
"Even if you hate them and fight with them all the time and sometimes just wanna smack 'em?" Rainbow Dash growled, sharply jabbing the air with a hoof to emphasize her point.
"Well, I don't think that's very healthy, but sometimes love can be like that," Fluttershy answered carefully. Then she leaned forward a little, concern written in her eyes. "Is this about Applejack?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"What? No! Why does everypony think I'm into her?" Rainbow snapped with another scowl.
"Oh. I'm sorry," Fluttershy said meekly, drawing back apologetically. "I think... that if you're not really used to feeling something that big, it can seem like anger, since it's so strong and scary, and it can make you feel sad," she said diplomatically.
"Have you ever been in love like that?" Rainbow Dash asked, a note of curiosity slipping into her voice.
"I've read a lot of romance novels," Fluttershy admitted, a little bashfully. "Rarity lets me borrow them. And in a lot of them, the heroine thinks she hates the hero, because she's afraid of what it means if she loves him. She thinks that it makes her weak. But she's not – you have to be very strong and brave to admit that you love somepony, and she becomes even stronger when she finally does it."
I'm not afraid of anything, Rainbow Dash thought, but she said nothing out loud, instead asking, "Do you know anypony like that in real life?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"I promised."
"Promised who?"
"I know somepony who has a crush on somepony that she fights with a lot," Fluttershy explained quietly. "But I can't say who, because she hasn't told anypony else yet, and it would be wrong of me to tell anypony myself before she's ready."
After that, neither of them spoke for a long while, and Rainbow Dash almost dozed off, curled into her friend. But then Fluttershy spoke up, voice once again a curious blend of sweetness and firmness.
"I think you should do two things," she said decisively, with a little nod. "You need to talk to Pinkie, to try and fix things between you two. You shouldn't leave it all up to her; if you still want to be friends, you both need to work on it. And I also think you should tell Mare Do Well how you really feel."
"I can't!" Rainbow Dash squeaked, voice cracking on the word can't.
"If she actually loves you, she won't want you to be unhappy. If she's really making you this upset, then I think you should tell her – but calmly. If you get mad, she might think it's part of, uh, the, the game." Fluttershy stuttered a little on the phrase, but her voice regained strength as she continued. "So if you're very, very serious when you tell her, then she'll know you mean it."
"Oh," was all Dash had to say, relief flooding her body as the fear dissolved. "I thought you meant –"
"Meant what?"
"Never mind."
Her stomach was twisting into anxious knots again.
Another gentle, perfectly timed stroke of her mane.
"Tell her that when you're ready," Fluttershy advised in a low voice. "Wait until you know for sure yourself."
Rainbow's face turned beet red, but Fluttershy only smiled down at her tenderly in a knowing way.
Luckily, Angel chose that exact moment to make his appearance, sparing Rainbow Dash the need to come up with a response. He stomped as much as a rabbit could stomp towards the bed before furiously pointing at the clock on the wall.
"Oh, Angel!" Fluttershy cried, swooping down to the rabbit's height and ignoring his gesturing. "Poor little baby! Did you have a bad dream? Do you need mama to come and tuck you back in?"
I need you two to shut up so I can sleep, his glare seemed to say, but he let the yellow pegasus scoop him up in her forelegs and flutter out of the room with him anyway.
Now that she was alone, Rainbow Dash found that she no longer felt sleepy, and sighed.
She did not want to reassure the pitiful, lost Mare Do Well who was so afraid of being hated and abandoned. She did not want to help the seriously messed up, no-social-skills Mare Do Well who had resorted to such a zany scheme just to be close to her, of all ponies. She did not admire the heroic Mare Do Well who moved so easily, with such fluidity and strength.
I do not like Mare Do Well, Rainbow Dash told herself. Nowadays, she needed plenty of reminders, and she had to reassure herself of these facts almost every night, now. I do not want to kiss her. I do not have a crush on her.
The speech she'd made earlier had been completely cribbed from what Applejack had said in the boutique. Dash had to admit it. She wasn't even sure how much of it she'd understood herself, but it had sounded good. She'd spent the rest of the day thinking it over before spontaneously deciding to share it with Mare Do Well.
For some reason, every problem the six of them seemed to encounter appeared to be best solved by figuring out which moral they were supposed to glean from it, likely an aftereffect of hanging around Twilight too much. And a good thing, too: this way, Twilight almost never fell back into that nervous insanity that she'd plunged into when she hadn't been able to find a good friendship lesson for the princess that one time. But now, Mare Do Well had specifically told Dash nope, that won't work. She'd been all proud of herself, too, thinking that she'd done what she was supposed to do, and this mostly-unpleasant episode of her life could come to a close. Now Rainbow felt something like mingled disappointment and relief, both of them due to the fact that the solution hadn't turned out to be nearly as simple as she'd suspected.
Rainbow Dash couldn't win through exploitation, and she'd already promised both Mare Do Well and herself that she wouldn't cheat by just ripping off the mask. So, unless she wanted to go to some kind of authority, thereby humiliating herself even further because she hadn't been able to handle the situation on her own, she had no choice but to find a new way to use her wits to win. What wits she had, at least; her investigation was leading nowhere, and apparently Mare Do Well was too smart to let her guard down or let herself be manipulated.
I could just ignore her, Rainbow Dash reminded herself. I could just stop playing.
But that wasn't an option. The pegasus already knew that it was too late for that. She wouldn't be able to live with herself at this point if she let everything drop now, of all times. Not when everything was changing, so much faster than she could keep up with. Imagine: her, Rainbow Dash, speedster of Equestria and the best flier to ever come out of Cloudsdale, unable to keep up with something. It was ridiculous.
Rainbow could hear Fluttershy cooing over Angel in the next room.
The sound reminded her of that velvet voice, so sleek and smooth in spite of the throaty, husky quality it had.
I'll just be hiding in a corner, admiring you from afar, she'd said.
Normally, a compliment like that would've made her feel pretty good. The cocky Rainbow Dash of yore would've basked in such attention without a second thought. Now it just felt like just another shove towards the precipice, and she knew that soon, very soon, she was going to reach that edge and fall.
• • •
"Are you ready?"
"Yes! Geez, I've been ready for, like, ever!"
"Okay... I'll be gentle."
"Don't bother, just hurry up and do it already!"
Fluttershy bit her lip, and her hooves trembled, but with a little nod of resolve, she began to undress the bandages binding Rainbow Dash's wings.
Her wings felt stiff and oddly tight from being bound for so long, and when she first experimentally tried to flap them, little crackles of pain made Rainbow Dash wince, but she could move them, they were free, and that was all that counted.
"Thanks, Fluttershy!" Dash cried, head turned to look at her beautiful blue wings. "You are so awesome! Like, unbelievably awesome! I totally owe you one, you know that?"
"No, it's fine," Fluttershy said, looking relieved as she watched Rainbow Dash's wings spread, stretch, and fold as she tested them out. "I'm just glad they're doing better. I was so worried."
"Oh, yeah, they're doing great," Rainbow Dash answered breezily. "Check 'em out!"
"You, you probably shouldn't use them too much for a little while," Fluttershy warned. "They'll be weak from lack of use. You'll need to break them back in gradually."
"Yeah, I know. And what better way to break them in than to go flying right now?"
"W-wait! Don't –"
Fluttershy's voice faltered. Rainbow Dash had already taken off, leaving her standing alone on the front steps of her cottage, watching as the streak of rainbow cut across the sky.
Oh, Celestia, how Rainbow Dash had missed flying. So, so much. The snowy ground, so cold and unwelcoming, suddenly seemed to become flittering and wonderful when viewed from the air. Her entire body had screamed in protest when she'd first spread her wings again, but those protests were forgotten the moment she was airborne, the wind cutting her face as she touched the sky.
It was still early, the world bathed in the pre-dawn light, but Rainbow Dash only had another hour or so of freedom before she was meeting the others at the station to board the train to Canterlot. What could she do until then?
Briefly, her mind flashed on that night – so long ago, it seemed – when Mare Do Well had revealed a fear of heights, and how Dash had almost wanted to take her flying just to freak her out. It didn't seem fair, exactly, that Mare Do Well could always come find her however and whenever she wanted when Rainbow Dash had no way of initiating contact herself. Then again, she'd never wanted to before, either.
Was that a bad sign? That she was wishing she knew how to find Mare Do Well, just so she could see her again?
No, it was fine. It didn't mean anything important. It just meant that she was, um...
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, and found herself picking up speed. The feel of the cold morning air rushing against her was a wonderful distraction. This was exactly why she'd missed flying so much.
• • •
"Dashie?"
"Guh!"
With a sound like a snort of surprise, she was snapped out of her slumber. Rainbow Dash jerked upright, whipping her head around wildly, and froze when her eyes settled on the bright pink source of the disturbance. Instantly, she relaxed.
"Pinkie?" Rainbow mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "What're you doing here? ...Wait," she added, casting a glance around her surroundings.
Oh, yeah.
Somehow, Dash had completely forgotten about boarding the train, most likely because she'd passed out the moment she'd hit her bunk, but now that she was awake, her memory was gradually returning to her. She hadn't been able to fly very far or long before her wings threatened to give out, and so she'd reluctantly cut off her glorious flight much, much sooner than she would've liked. But at least she'd been able to go see her house before they'd left. Everything had been exactly the same as she'd left it, except... cleaner. Apparently, Fluttershy had felt the need to tidy up while she'd been there to pack for Rainbow, but the pegasus wasn't about to complain.
Now the six of them were on the train to Canterlot. Applejack was asleep as well, snoring in a surprisingly cute way on her own bunk. Rarity was happily gossiping with Twilight, although Twilight's attention occasionally seemed to drift back to the book she had open on the seat before her. Fluttershy was staring absently out the window at the scenery rolling past. Although she looked a little nervous, probably because this was only the second time she'd ever been on a train, she also wore a contented little smile, likely because they were all going together. And Pinkie was directly in front of her, bouncing on her haunches and shaking the bed.
"Pinkie, stop it," Rainbow Dash ordered, grabbing her shoulder to still the pink pony. Pinkie immediately froze, and Rainbow Dash jerked her hoof away.
I didn't mean to, she thought with a surge of panic. But what hadn't she meant to do? Touch Pinkie, or pull away?
Luckily, Pinkie seemed to recover instantly, but unfortunately, "recovery" included returning to her bouncing.
"I'm bored, Dashie!" Pinkie pouted. "And we have a whole big long day before we reach Canterlot! What should we do until then, huh?"
The old Rainbow Dash would suggest they maybe think up some kind of hilarious prank that they could pull on the others from a moving apparatus, or go check out the snack car and buy everything they could carry, or something like that. The current Rainbow Dash was terrified by the prospect of being alone with Pinkie, but from the meaningful way Pinkie Pie was looking at her, she knew that this was one of those important questions that would definitely come up later if they happened to ever fight again. And the truth was, frightened of her or not, Rainbow Dash missed the easy way they used to hang out.
Fluttershy had told Rainbow Dash that if she wanted to maintain her friendship with Pinkie, then she would have to work at it, too, and this was probably what she'd meant. Even when things made Dash uncomfortable or nervous, if she wanted to stay friends with Pinkie, then she had to look past those feelings of discomfort and do them anyway.
"Let's go explore the train!" she suggested in a falsely cheerful way. Because that's the kind of thing the old Rainbow Dash might've suggested.
Pinkie beamed. "Okie dokie lokie!" she agreed happily. "That sounds fun! Do you think we'll find a –"
"Wait."
"Huh?"
"Um, before we do that, there's something I kind of needed to talk to you about. In private."
Maybe it was Rainbow's imagination, but for a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of fear cross Pinkie's face. It made her stomach twist unpleasantly. She hated knowing that she was the reason Pinkie was so unhappy, so anxious, but that only furthered her resolve to fix things between them.
"Um, okie dokie?" Pinkie said with a nervous laugh, but then her face brightened again, another enormous grin stretching across it. "Ooh, let's go to the snack car! We can talk in there, and get something really tasty to eat, too!"
"Okay," Dash agreed. "Sounds good. I'm hungry, anyway."
Pinkie bounded off down the corridor, surprisingly steady in spite of the shaking car, and Rainbow Dash fluttered after her. It felt amazing to do so after spending so much time unable to fly. Even the smallest movements of her wings seemed precious.
"What did you wanna look for?" she asked as she joined Pinkie, who immediately began to skip as she led her to the snack car.
"Look for what?"
"You started asking me if I thought we'd find something."
"I did?" Pinkie tilted her head, puzzled. "Maybe we will! I bet whatever we find will be really cool, if I don't even know what it is!"
A single chuckle escaped before Rainbow Dash could suppress it, and she briefly felt a wave of nostalgia for when they could talk like this all the time, without any of that awkwardness or unfamiliarity pervading the conversation.
"Pinkie Pie, you are so random."
• • •
The snack car of the train was empty when they arrived, and Pinkie promptly ordered a fudge brownie sundae, even though it was still early in the morning. Rainbow Dash thought it best not to ask. Although she'd said she was hungry, too, when they actually arrived, her stomach was back to knotting itself, and she doubted whether or not she'd be able to eat anything, so she ended up not ordering.
They sat down at one of the many empty tables, and Pinkie eyed her ice cream, which she'd doused in every kind of sauce imaginable, sighing in satisfaction before promptly beginning to stuff her face.
"So," Rainbow Dash began, unsure how to start, but Pinkie just continued to eat, oblivious to her uncertainty. Watching Pinkie eat was kind of a fascinating process. Unlike normal ponies, she never seemed to have to pause and catch her breath, and she never seemed to suffer from indigestion or brain freezes.
"Want some?" Pinkie offered, shoving her half-finished ice cream across the table, towards Rainbow Dash.
"No thanks," Dash said immediately, even though it did look pretty tempting. She took advantage of the lull by diving right in. "I wanted to talk about what happened."
Another flicker of fear. "What do you mean, Dashie?"
"You know."
A blank stare.
Either Pinkie was a fantastic actress or she really was insane. She couldn't have just forgotten something like that, not something that big, not something that had been making Rainbow Dash completely freak out ever since it had happened.
But then Pinkie said, "I thought we were going to pretend that didn't happen."
She spoke quietly, in an unnaturally serious way.
"I think that's a bad idea," Rainbow Dash said in a halting voice.
"We both wanted to pretend that it didn't happen, Rainbow Dash. We both agreed."
The pegasus flinched at Pinkie's use of her full name.
"I know we agreed, but maybe we shouldn't have. I know you've been trying really hard to make everything normal again, but things have still been really weird. For me, at least."
Pinkie wasn't looking at her, and instead of a smile, her mouth was a grim slit as she pursed her lips.
"I, I don't really know what I wanted to talk about, exactly," Rainbow Dash admitted. She just had to keep on plugging, even if Pinkie wasn't going to help. It wasn't fair of her to expect Pinkie to do this alone. "I just thought that if there was anything you might have wanted to say, then, I dunno. I miss just hanging out with you, when everything was cool. I feel like I have to be careful all the time because I'm scared of making things worse, and even if you're trying to be normal, just my being scared all the time means things aren't."
"So what am I supposed to do now?" Pinkie snapped, eyes flashing as she suddenly yanked her head up to glare at Rainbow. "I've done everything I was supposed to! I've been smiley, happy Pinkie, so what more do you want? That's not good enough anymore?"
"No. No! I mean, I like it when you're being happy and smiling, but I want you to mean it. I don't want you to just be acting happy because you think that's what you're supposed to do. That is what you're supposed to do, but, but not because we'll all be disappointed if you don't. We want you to actually be happy all the time," she stammered, wings fluttering slightly in panic. "Not because we won't like you if you're not, but because we want you to be happy, for you. Because we care about you."
"We?" Pinkie repeated. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You keep saying we. You're avoiding making this personal by making it about the group."
It was chilling to hear such serious words coming from Pinkie's mouth, but there was something dark crossing her face, something that Rainbow Dash didn't want to see shrouding her friend.
"I want you to be happy," Rainbow Dash clarified. "That's what I mean by things being normal. Things are only normal if you can smile and mean it. If you're upset about something, then it means things aren't normal, and I can't relax."
Pinkie was no longer scowling, but the darkness was being replaced by some kind of strange sadness that broke Rainbow Dash's heart to see.
"I don't think I can do that right now," she said weakly.
"You don't have to," Rainbow Dash answered softly. "That's the point. But I'd like to know that you're happy enough to be able to. Am... am I making any sense?" she asked.
"Kind of."
Pinkie was slumped against her seat, looking depressed. Literally. Like someone had taken her buoyant mood from before and squashed it into an unrecognizable gloom. How could she fake being so happy all the time, if this is how she really felt?
And then Rainbow Dash had an idea. It was going to be a sacrifice, but it would be worth it if it meant she'd get to see Pinkie happy again.
"Did I tell you about the ticket?" she asked, voice hesitant.
Pinkie's ears seemed to perk up, indicating her interest. "What ticket?" she asked curiously.
"I got a present from... somepony. A VIP pass to this Wonderbolts thing in Canterlot. I was gonna go during one of our free days."
"Wow, Dashie," Pinkie said with a small smile. "That sounds really nice. I bet it'll be fun."
"Do you wanna come, too?"
"How? I don't even have a ticket, silly."
"The pass I have is probably worth a lot. I bet I could trade it in for a couple of normal ones. Probably not for everypony, but at least two, for us."
Pinkie stared at her, blinking rapidly. "Dashie, no!" she finally gasped, looking alarmed. "Don't you wanna go and meet the Wonderbolts? Remember living the dream and stuff? That's like the most important thing ever to you!"
"No, my friends are the most important thing ever to me," Dash corrected. "And it won't be as fun unless I have somepony there to get excited with. The others ponies in the VIP section will probably all be stuck-up snobs that don't have a clue about racing. I'd probably have more fun in the stands. And besides, the Wonderbolts already kind of know me, remember? Talking to them isn't that important anymore."
Everything she said was technically true, but it still pained her to say so. Even if she wasn't still desperate to make a good impression on them, Rainbow Dash would've loved to have another chance to talk to them, but she watched Pinkie carefully to gauge her reaction.
Pinkie gave her another blank stare, and then an uncharacteristically slow, hesitant smile. "You know what?" she said brightly after a moment. "That sounds super-duper fun, Dashie! I've never been to a derby before!"
"They're pretty sweet," Rainbow Dash answered, leaning back in her chair haughtily in an attempt to look blasé about it, to hide the fact that she'd never seen one live, either. "Don't worry, I'll tell you who to cheer for. The most important part is that you do it really, really loudly so they know you're rooting for them." She gestured casually, as if she knew what she was talking about.
"Ooh! I can do that!" Pinkie cried, slamming her hooves down on the table. "Like this!"
She took a deep breath, screwing her eyes shut in concentration, before whispering, "Yay."
Rainbow Dash groaned, but Pinkie started giggling, and soon, Dash was, too. And then they were both laughing, snorting and cackling over something that wasn't nearly as funny as they were making it out to be, and they knew it.
Everything seemed okay all of a sudden. Rainbow Dash was going to the city. She was going to be the star of the biggest Hearth's Warming pageant in Equestria, and there would be a huge crowd gathered there to watch her be awesome, just as she liked it. There was a big fancy party and a Wonderbolts Derby to look forward to, not to mention the presents, and right now, she was riding on a luxury train with her best friends in the whole world and an enormous pile of ice cream that Pinkie had just shoved her face back in, causing them both to burst out laughing again.
There really wasn't much more she wanted out of life.
At least, that's how it felt at the moment.
• • •
It had started with the original Mare Do Well scheme, which felt so long ago, now. That was how it began. There had been a kind of dangerous thrill that had come with watching Rainbow Dash without her knowledge, trailing behind her in the shadows. It had been wrong, it had been sick, but she had loved it – loved knowing that she was so close, and that the pegasus would never tell her to go away or leave her alone.
Mare Do Well had felt guilty, sure, guilty as all heck, because she knew how bizarre that was, to have a crush on somepony that you were too scared to approach, but had no problem stalking.
She had justified it at the time by telling herself, again and again, that she was just sticking to the plan. They had all followed her. That had been the point. As the collective identity of Mare Do Well, they were specifically acting with the sole intention of humbling Rainbow Dash, and had to know where she was at all times. How else were they to keep up with her? To always be ready to spring into action?
She alone had taken a more personal interest, because when she was behind the mask, she'd felt safe for the first time. Mare Do Well was a blank slate. She could do whatever she wanted without fear of judgment, and the sense of power that knowledge gave her had been dizzying. Nopony knew who she was, so she didn't have to be anypony at all. And she'd liked that.
Now, though, was different. Every time she stepped back into the role of Mare Do Well, it got harder to stay in character. Every time she and Rainbow Dash saw each other, she felt herself lose a little more control, reveal a tiny bit more of her real self. The mask was cracking, and soon it would fall off, revealing the pathetic, frightened, love-struck pony hiding underneath. She was slipping. Before, she had liked having a new identity to protect her, but it had become a burden. Now it just felt like just another shove towards the precipice, and she knew that soon, very soon, she was going to reach that edge and fall.
Rainbow Dash was so bright and unique, like her namesake. She was blazing and glorious and absolutely terrified Mare Do Well. When they'd woken up together that morning, she'd shoved the pegasus away out of fear – fear at how strong and overpowering her feelings had suddenly become. She'd never felt something so huge before; it was like her emotions were an all-consuming wildfire, ravaging her.
Was that really what love was? How did other ponies cope? She had never known she was capable of feeling so much.
If it was pure obsession, surely Mare Do Well would've taken the stalking thing even further. She would've been taking secret photos and going through Rainbow's trash and collecting hair, or something else equally freaky, but she'd never even considered doing any of that. She'd just wanted to be close to Rainbow Dash.
If it was lust, surely physical contact wouldn't scare her so much, now. And besides, she knew all of Rainbow Dash's physical cues; if it had been about sex alone, she doubted it would've been very hard to get what she wanted. But just thinking that way made her feel sick. She hated herself for thinking that way, because that wasn't who she was. Only she didn't know who she was anymore.
It was more of a need, this longing. More than anything, she needed to be close to Rainbow Dash, to hear her voice and see her face. It didn't matter how or why. Even when Dash was angry, it was okay, because at least she was still paying attention to Mare Do Well. This greedy possessiveness, this burning desire, this hopeless frailty, all of it stemmed from the same selfish need.
The way they were right now – on the train, the pony Mare Do Well truly was absently following the oblivious Rainbow Dash with her eyes – this was okay. This was safe. As much as she could, she kept her distance, so as not to be overcome by Rainbow's presence. But it was difficult, both because Rainbow Dash didn't understand how she felt and because it was almost impossible for the mare to resist the impulse to reach out and touch her.
And Rainbow Dash was none the wiser, smiling at her and laughing like she didn't know.
There was no way Mare Do Well could keep it up for much longer.
That smile alone threatened to push her over the edge.
Wait... REALLY!?
Hmm. Ok, I think the cat's pretty much out of the bag now.
Does this mean Pinkie Pie is Mare Do Well or is it only it is one of her frineds she talked to on the train?
Its AJ. I'm pretty much positive. *Shrugs*
Keep in mind this doesn't necessarily make Pinkie Mare do Well. Just because it says they were laughing this probably means during normal conversation on the train. It's just the writer attempting to misconstrue our thoughts. Just like earlier in the story he stated that Fluttershy knew that somepony liked another one that she always fought with. I believe it was the writer trying to make us believe that its Applejack who likes dash since they always fight. Where it probably really means Rarity likes Applejack since they're always fighting. I personally believe that MDW is Twilight. But truth be told it can really go any way. Looking forward to more soon!
124129 Excellent plan, my good man. I shall do the same.
I still think it's Pinkie
Looks like the shoe is on the other hoof now, mare do well. This is awesome
This actually states that whoever MDW was tried to avoid Rainbow Dash on the train, and Pinkie didn't exactly try to avoid her, so MDW is now even less likely to be Pinkie. It's already definitely not Fluttershy, so right now it could be Applejack (very likely), Rarity (somewhat likely), or Twilight (also somewhat likely). My vote's on AJ, if only because of how Rainbow described her sleeping as cute, seemingly as a form of foreshadowing.
I like how you keep narrowing it down, yet keep us totally in the dark.
By now I'm pretty sure that it must be Applejack or Rarity. It's very unlikely that it's Pinkie/Pinkamena etc, because honestly? That'd be a horrible twist. That'd be like showing the kid what's in the present before Christmas, make sure that the kid knows what's in the present, but pretend it's not informed, and expect the kid to be exited when it unpacks.
I keep a tab on AJ simply because she's said that she can act like a completely different mare when in costume, she can alter her accent, and she's athletic enough to keep up with RD. She was also a part of the "original four", and it's pretty much said right out that Mare Do Well was one of the four that did follow her around.
It might be Rarity as well, because her "haughty" tone is actually a mask in itself. I've heard her drop the accent several times in the show when she's truly upset. That might also explain why RD can't really place Mare Do Well's voice when she drops the 'act', because Rarity doesn't drop her accent in her presence at any time in the show (if I remember correctly). The only thing that's missing is her athleticism, I cannot for the life of me see Rarity as any good at parkour, or be fit enough for the task as Mare Do Well... Of course she works out to keep her figure, I don't think that needs to be pointed out for it to be true, but any more than that? And she wasn't a part of the "original" four.
Can't wait to see the reveal though, it can't be far away now... D:
You were perturbed by clopfics before? I mean, I find them weird, but... you ever been on /b/? Or seen 2 girls 1 cup? Do that and nothing will bother you ever again.
On topic: I voted for Pinkamena as soon as that poll came up, both because I want it to be her and because I'm shite at puzzles and couldn't think of anyone else it could be.
With that ending though, I'm now much more sure it's her.
Oh my...could it be?!
You are just teasing us right now xD Atleast we know for sure it is 1 of the mane 6 and not rarity :P
Unless the writer slipped up somewhere, it can't be rarity, as she wasn't one of the original Mare Do Wells, and this mare-do-well was thinking back to when she was following RD because of the plan. That leaves either AJ, Twilight, or Pinkie, all of which (in my mind) also seem fairly unlikely for various reasons. I'm pretty sure it isn't Pinkie, because MDW mentioned just sitting in a corner watching, which I don't think Pinkie would be apt to do at a party. Even if I hadn't noticed the thing with MDW reminiscing about when the stalking was part of the plan with the other 4, I'd find it unlikely that Rarity wouldn't socialize at a high-class event either. (this is all assuming that the "hiding in my corner watching" thing wasn't a lie) That leaves the question (in my mind) of which is more likely: Twilight having a duplication spell of some sort, or AJ doing all this trickery despite her element and her normal levels of confidence, and I have no idea at all which would be more likely. Congratulations, AA, you've successfully managed to coax me into speculation despite the headaches doing so induces in me.
Nightmare Moon is Mare Do Well.
What?
Exactly.
IM SO CONFUSED!
This'll be fun. I can tell that after so long meeting almost nightly, MDW's gonna completely crack over the course of the week.
Could be that she's gotten so used to it that she can't bear that it's got to stop. Especially like this - the last real hiatus was due to guilt over Rainbow Dash's broken wings (and hey, nice to see that's been cleared up now). This one is by necessity. Hell, I wouldn't put it past her to have secretly packed the costume anyway just so she wouldn't have to put the game on hold, regardless of what she's been saying up to this point; seriously, how likely is it that one of the other girls will go through her bags?
Plus, if if she's intentionally trying to keep a distance, I think Rainbow would pick up on it over time. MDW may not even have to blurt it out; Rainbow could catch the change in behavior and out her just like that. You've shown how well she (thinks she) knows her friends, how much careful thought has been going into her deductions, and how hard it's becoming to ignore the changes going on around her. A misstep of this caliber could seal the deal.
Is it wrong to half-wish that doesn't happen, though? Partly because the game itself is part of the massive enjoyment I and the rest of your readership derive from the story. And partly because I can't begin to imagine how Rainbow will react to the revelation of (possibly) a second friend having a crush on her, and actually knowing who. Contentment over unraveling the mystery? Anger over all the trouble she's caused her? Reciprocating those feelings (ooh, a tie would be awesome!)? Or will she crush her the way she did Pinkie Pie, intentionally or otherwise?
This last chapter is shaking my Pinkie-done-it foundations a little, but they're holding. If I could have it be someone different, I'd say Rarity, at least until Applejack gets another significant taste of spotlight. As is, I can't solidly tell with her. But for obvious reasons, I don't suspect Twilight or Fluttershy. And now that I've actually typed out my hierarchy of suspects (I'm confident it's one of the Mane Six, since who else would it be?), I won't have to ever again. Well, unless something happens that completely changes my opinion.
This is why I can't be trusted in front of a keyboard. If I don't have a character limit, I'll go on for hours. Just ignore me when I do this.
i.imgur.com/Qflhc.gif
I wanna know who Mare Do Well is SO DAMN BAD!!!... But I know once we all know who it is, the fic will come to an end, *sigh*. Anyway, glad to see that Pinke and Dashie are working things out, I was worried about those two for awhile.
I think MDW being Pinkie is now just more unlikely than before But I'm glad she and Dash finally talked and made up, that makes it okay for me (still I'd love it to be Pinkie ).
I really liked Fluttershy in this chapter. I think she might know who MDW is, cause she mentioned keeping a crush secret for another pony. And she assumed Dash is crushing on AJ for a moment. Hmm.... is it a hint or a red herring? Can't wait to find out!
Anyways, I have to congratulate on one more thing: I have a hard time with most shipping fics (be it MLP:FiM or any fandom that came before that), because sooner or later many of them boil down to a boring soap opera. Your story (chapter 15, to be exact) had me screaming "Damn it, kiss her already!" at my screen. I can't remember when was the last time that happend. But then again is this really a shipping fic, since we don't know who's gonna end up with Rainbow Dash? ;-P
So, keep up the great work!
Highly entertained,
NTL
I don't know how you've managed to go this long with a faceless pony and still managed to give it a personality without revealing her identity. Props. Must be a pain to have to watch out for details like that
Here's what I think you could/should do: Have Mare Do Well reveal herself in one of her internal monologues. Then all the suspense will be not who Mare Do Well really is, but when/if/how Rainbow Dash finds out!
Or you could just tell me how it all ends. I won't tell anybody.
It's been a while since I've posted a suspect heirarchy (if I have at all...I can't remember for sure), so here's one now:
#5) Applejack: Pretty solidly eliminated by the events of Chapter 15. And frankly, I've had the impression that you're kinda struggling to find ways to keep her active in this story at all. She hasn't really done much of anything.
#4) Fluttershy: Also 99.9999% eliminated by MDW's lack of wings. Unless she's having Twilight magically remove them before meeting Dash every night, it ain't her. I can't imagine she'd be urging Dash to patch things up with Pinkie, either. That doesn't make any sense given what we've seen of MDW's mental state lately. Why help the competition? And she can't be in her house while MDW is out in her yard. And, and, and. It's not her.
#3) Rarity: Probably eliminated by the mention that whoever MDW is now was part of the original scheme, which Rarity was not. Anyway, I've not gotten any impression that she sees Dash as anything more than a friend. There's a microscopic chance that it could still be her, but...yeah. Microscopic. Not bloody likely.
#2) Twilight: Likely eliminated by that Sugarcube Corner scene a while back; barring the duplication spell idea, she can't be in two places at once. And like Applejack, she's hardly been in the story at all. She and Dash haven't been alone together since like the third or fourth chapter. So it's not her. She's only ahead of Rarity because her 'elimination' wasn't quite as definitive.
Which, by process of elimination, leads us to Suspect Numero Uno, the obvious choice, to whom virtually every scrap of evidence points:
I eagerly await confirmation that my detective skills are as flawless as I know they are. Post the next chapter; the wait's already killing me.
I think the pony who confided in Fluttershy is named Red Herring.
"Was that really what love was? How did other ponies cope? She had never known she was capable of feeling so much." < this sentence, that's all you need to know
only now, since I read in between the lines on the blog.... I'm afraid that MDW won't win and dash will choose pinkie in the end
oh well, it's been a great ride so far, I guess we'll see how it ends
just one last thing AbsoluteAnonymous, don't stop writing after you're done with this one!
So now we still have the Derby to get to? What is that going to be, at least three chapters away? I don't know if the tension will hold out.
Sounds like its Pinkie
124486
Hmm.... I was pretty sure, but thanks to you I am doubting again. I just.... In a way it would be really stupid if it was Pinkie, because she already admitted her feelings. And she never really seemed to try and make it a secret anyway. Still, it would explain one of the things Mare Do Well has said... And it would make for an easy way out of the possible love triangle the author has gotten himself into.
Ok, so its between AJ and Pinkie then. Personally, I would find it kinda lame if it was Pinkie, so I am still rooting for AJ.
I find with the poll asking for who we'd like it to be, and think it to be it's rough. I have ideas whom it is, but whom I want it to be is a lil tricky. It's easier to choose who I did not want it to be which hee.. is not suprisingly popular~
Actually, no. It makes no sense for it being Pinkie, since MDW feels threatened by her and vice versa. That could be a red herring or something I guess, Pinkamena/Pinkie, but that would be very stupid in my opinion. So yeah, unless Twilight did manage to trick Rainbow way at the beginning when she seemed to scare away MDW, it almost has to be AJ.
yay epic text wall time
1st why does no one remember MDW's words when she was talking to rainbow dash about her wings? she said that if she broke her leg it wouldnt be anything like dash breaking her wings that out right eliminates applejack and kinda eliminates pinkie (with her amount of movement can u actually see her sitting in bed for weeks?) rarity and twilight who do use their legs use magic more.
2nd no wings eliminates fluttershy and i dont think MDW (or absolute anon) would cheat dash (or us) by using magic to remove the wings.
3rd so that leaves twilight rarity and maybe pinkie we have to remember the whole fear of hights thing well we know that it could be very easy for pinkie to hide her fear with a song. rarity could have gained a fear of hights from her freefall in sonic rainboom. twilight is a bit harder
she has had to deal with alot of hights in her adventures in ponyville wich could make a fear possible or make her used to them and remove all fear
4th the pony behind MDW isnt used to being the center of attention thats why she dressed up as MDW she does it because she couldnt express her feelings in another way which eliminates pinkie why would she need MDW if she could confess by herself. while rarity could probably confess her feelings herself i think she thought that this would be a romantic way of doing things. i still think that its twilight using a duplication spell at the party
and it isnt a huge stretch to think that twilight has gotten into some pysical fitness from her adventures (then again rarity showed she is quite strong and fit at the sisterhooves social)
Hooray, Pinkie conflict is resolved, at least mostly! Thank god, I hate seeing a sad Pinkie
I really don't know but I've eliminated AJ, Pinkie and Fluttershy at least. So Twi or Rarity... Or maybe Pinkamena? OH!
It could be...
Rainbow Dash!
Fluttershy has been eliminated, Applejack has been basically eliminated multiple times, and it makes no sense for it to be Pinkie. Hence, its either Rarity or Twilight. However, while Rarity helped make the costumes as far as we know she never did any Mare-Do-Well stuff herself during the episode, so I'm leaning toward Twilight. Plus, MDW states in this chapter that she has difficulty understanding how other ponies cope with love. And Twilight found difficulties just accepting friendship at the start of the series. Love is a difficulty thing for her to comprehend, so when she feels it she'll act irrationally. The illusion/duplication spell remains plausible. She's the apprentice to the most powerful being in Equestria. If anyone would know such a spell, she would.
groan... It seems AJ has entered the culprits list again. I was so excited about narrowing it down too
"She had justified it at the time by telling herself, again and again, that she was just sticking to the plan. They had all followed her."
Hmm. This bit here... it intrigues me. Specifically the second sentence. The obvious meaning is that all the original Mare-Do-Wells had followed Rainbow Dash over the course of their mission. My first time reading this, however, made me think it more of all the MDWs having followed her lead, 'her' being the current MDW (i.e. Twilight, as MDW was Twilight's plan originally). Maybe it's my brain wanting to find things so I can contribute to figuring out her identity, or maybe it's just my TwiDash instincts making me see clues where none exist... I don't really know.
But hey, we can cross off both Fluttershy and Rarity (since she was never actually MDW) now, as well as Pinkie Pie (most likely).
Look at my fanfiction.
Now at yours.
Now back at mine.
Now back at yours.
I am a lazy prick for not reviewing this sooner.
My fanfiction isn't as good as your fanfiction, but my fanfiction may, one day, be as good as this heavenly creation by one of the gods of writing.
If I get a sudden surge of unimaginable talent.
I am on a pony.
... A large part of me wants Mare Do Well to be an OC... fml...
124527
You know... now I want to write a Pony mystery where all the evidence that there is keeps pointing at the poor schmuck who inherited that name (special talent: obstruction of justice?), until you interpret it differently, when it points to the real suspect.
124562
Last chapter did, but I zeroed in on a key phrase in Mare Do Well's part:
Dammit, now you've got me thinking again!
I'm positive there's a horn under that hat though....
For me this chapter is soild proof that it is not and absolutly can not be Pinkie Pie. In a previous chapter I'm very sure that pinkie pie said that she told no other pony. This chapter also makes me lean towards rarity because of fluttershy and her weekly spa treatment. I would prefer to see that rarity is mare do well but I will be fine with twilight. Only one thing could make me hate this story and that is if you added timetravel; so basicly nothing can stop this story from being a astrsal diamond. Sorry no long text wall today to busy.
If Mare Do Well is Pinke Pie
I swear
I SWEAR
I will make you suffer.
-Death glare-
I don't know what to say about clopfics, as they don't faze me like they used to either (though I find them distasteful anyways). Should we be worried? I dunno.... I would only be worried if you actually started liking them so much that you decided to throw in one of those scenes somewhere in this story.
ANYWAYS. My goodness...I'm not sure what to say at this point. I've been stalking this fic for awhile now, being a jerk and not leaving you any nice big walls of text, or even ONE single comment. I was going to leave a huge wall of text on my suspicions and who I think it is and why, and I've been thinking of what exactly I would write, but now I'm not so sure I should. Everyone seems to have their own ideas of who Mare Do Well is, so I guess anything I say won't influence them too much, but still...I feel like if I write all the stuff I figured out (or think I figured out) while going through all the chapters, it will sorta ruin the surprise for a few people, since it would probably be such a massive wall of text. Then again, probably no one would read it if it was too long anyways. Maybe I still will write a massive comment sometime when I have time and my brain isn't derping up...I'll have to think about it. The story will continue and end the same way either way, so...
Let's just say, by this point, from all that I've gathered throughout the chapters, somewhere halfway through or so it started to become pretty clear to me who it is. Meaning, of course, that it's probably somepony else entirely. I had a great ol' time reading it all the way through and looking at the clues and trying to figure out who is it, but it became increasingly obviously to me as I went on, though I'll probably still be wrong in the end. I realize how presumptuous it sounds to assume I know who it is already, but it's sorta hard at this point to not jump to conclusions, and I'm still considering all the possibilities I can think of (cause I dun wanna be a bad detective! ). Heck, maybe it really IS Spike. Looking at what fics you're a fan of may possibly also have helped to strengthen my suspicions, though that's not the most solid evidence to go by. ;) Let us also just say that people take ONE pony in particular for granted a lot, and assume that she's a lot more shallow and air-headed than she actually is.
Also, you are insanely good at writing the relationship between Fluttershy and Dash. My heart is melted on the ground after that, and now I have to clean it up. Jerk.
So, one other thing that I was going to include in a possible longer comment, but just gotta say here: I am amazed at this fic. I am amazed at how good it is. Amazed and very happy. I'm not going to say that you are the best writer ever, all should praise you, allmighty overlord...wait, what? Anyways, uh...yeah. It's amazing and you are a rather fantastic writer. Even if you didn't think you were to begin with, there's something about it that's so...organic and raw and emotional, and it came together in this really incredible and powerful way. There is so much that is just so real and relate-able. That probably sounds dumb, but my brain probably isn't functioning fully right now.
Somewhere in the fic I stopped caring so much about who Mare Do Well is, and figuring out who she is, because I got so caught up in the story, and the fact that this is one of the MOST FANTASTIC character studies ever. Did I mention that I absolutely love good character studies? I don't agree with everything you write about the characters (I'm not a big fan of Rainbow Dash being outright gay. I like to think of her as more asexual and not concerned with that sorta stuff), but this fic obviously isn't written just to please everyone %100 (I think I'd have a lot less respect for you if it was), and you just really get into the characters heads way better than most people, you really know how to analyze em. And stuff.
I can officially say that, after this chapter, I'm totally hooked. I was pretty hooked already, but now I'm really hooked to the point that I get jittery thinking about what's going to happen next....I haven't felt that way about a fanfic, well....EVER. Certain really amazing novels, yes, but a fanfic? Probably never. Just...keep doin' what your doin' and don't feel pressured to rush it and all that. Oh, and don't let it go to your head. *snicker* Yep.
Well..that's all I can think of for now. I hope my comment isn't too long and jumbled and inane. Derp. *runs away to hide in a corner and mope until the next chapter comes out*
124180
Watch the Sisterhooves Social. Rarity's not a wimp
In the MDW episode, Rarity never said she did any actual masquerading as MDW, but she never said she didn't. She could've been, as the MDW in the story described it, just following her so they could know where she was.
As for you, 124605,
chzmemebase.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/internet-memes-watch-your-tone-creep.jpg
Watch your tone
"I won't," Fluttershy promised. The fact that she had made and kept identical promises countless time in their shared past went unsaid. She was so used to making that promise, and Dash was so used to asking it of her, that neither of them felt any need to think about it or discuss it for very long.
This is such a beautiful encapsulation of the Fluttershy/Dash relationship. I love how you depict their interactions, and I love how wise and loving Fluttershy is.
"Well, I think you're being selfish," came Fluttershy's startlingly blunt response. "You're not the one who lost something here. She's the one who was hurt, becauseshe's the one who was rejected. You shouldn't expect her to comfort you. That's not very fair."
Oh, man! Go, Fluttershy, go! And I love that Rainbow accepts this advice the way she does. I'm not sure she would have, from any other pony, but it's nice that's able to do so.
"I know somepony who has a crush on somepony that she fights with a lot," Fluttershy explained quietly. "But I can't say who, because she hasn't told anypony else yet, and it would be wrong of me to tell anypony myself before she's ready."
RARIJACK. Rarijack, Rarijack, Rarijack!
I'd wondered briefly, after AJ had that moment last chapter, talking about Rarity being bigger than the boxes the Canterlot wanted to put her in, but I'd dismissed those thoughts. But now I'm back to wondering.
I didn't mean to, she thought with a surge of panic. But what hadn't she meant to do? Touch Pinkie, or pull away?
Oh, Dash. That hit like a punch to the gut.
"I, I don't really know what I wanted to talk about, exactly," Rainbow Dash admitted. She just had to keep on plugging, even if Pinkie wasn't going to help. It wasn't fair of her to expect Pinkie to do this alone.
When I read this part, I felt this huge surge of love and affection and fierce pride for Rainbow. Given how difficult she finds these conversations and how Pinkie isn't making things easier, this must be just about the hardest thing ever for Rainbow. And she keeps plugging away doggedly, out of love for her friend.
THIS is loyalty. Well done, Dash. Well done.
"You keep saying we. You're avoiding making this personal by making it about the group."
Sometimes, Pinkie is absolutely devastating in her observations. She's absolutely right, and I'm proud of Rainbow for immediately correcting herself to say "I."
"The pass I have is probably worth a lot. I bet I could trade it in for a couple of normal ones. Probably not for everypony, but at least two, for us."
I've been mostly keeping my thoughts on who MDW is to myself for several chapters now, as things have gotten kind of tense in the comments section regarding that topic. But I am so in love with this plot development that I have to say--I am still convinced MDW is Pinkie, and I'm still convinced that MDW being Pinkie adds to the story, not detracts for it.
And here is one of those moments why I believe that to be so. If MDW is Pinkie, then this is so very "The Gift of the Magi." Pinkie sacrifices goodness knows what to get her hooves on this impossible-to-find ticket, just to make Rainbow happy ... and then Rainbow gives it away, so she can get two tickets, to make PINKIE happy. It's so beautiful and so lovely. My heart can't even handle it.
And I love Rainbow for giving up the ticket just for the chance to try to make Pinkie happy. Dash is pretty much outrageously amazing and lovable this entire chapter, and you can really see just why someone would fall for her so hard.
Last but no means least, I love the continued use of parallels in the story to add to the mood and emotional background:
Normally, a compliment like that would've made her feel pretty good. The cocky Rainbow Dash of yore would've basked in such attention without a second thought. Now it just felt like just another shove towards the precipice, and she knew that soon, very soon, she was going to reach that edge and fall.
and
Before, she had liked having a new identity to protect her, but it had become a burden. Now it just felt like just another shove towards the precipice, and she knew that soon, very soon, she was going to reach that edge and fall.
This is gorgeous and perfect. I'm so in love with the journey that MDW and RD have taken together, over these many long chapters, and while I'll be sad when it finally ends, I can't wait to read how it ends. Thanks for another great chapter.
MY BRAIN, IT HURTS
Usually I can figure stuff like this out in a matter of minutes, but DAMMIT, I can't quit second-guessing!
it's almost impossible to totally rule out ponies in this fic, very well done that you reveal so little and yet keep such captive attention.
Fluttershy's out, applejack is almost for sure out, pinkie is a lot lower on my suspect list based on the things said in this chapter, so it's probably rarity or twilight or some other random pony.
Also living the dream in italics? perhaps you were referencing something?
Mare do Well is Trixie. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS.
But really, I can't wait until the mask falls...
And then shit will get REAL.
FUCK YEA.
POSE AS A TEAM [Wait what?]
I'm kinda leaning toward Twilight. She could he using the suit Spike got and she's been in the dark for awhile now. But I really can't tell the Red Herrings from the facts. This story is beautifully done, however. If you were a pony, your cutie mark would be a question mark fo' sho'
Well, you seem to have found the only way to break my theory. I guess it's safe to tell who I thought it was since I am no longer certain. Until this chapter, I had been convinced it was Pinkie. See, being that Pinkie and Dash's relationship had pretty much been trashed, I figured the only way for this story to have a happy ending (since it doesn't have a sad tag), would be for them to get together in the end and for Pinkie to be MDW. Now however, they can salvage their friendship and my theory is essentially moot. You've covered every angle I can think of sir, kudos. Now I just have to be patient like everybody else XD
Hmm... now I have to come up with a new theory...
Maybe I'll try speculating like everyone else.
Let's see. What do we know.
-MDW is for sure one of Dash's close friends (or, if we get technical, she's at least in the play still leaving Derpy as a weak potential)
-she isn't Fluttershy
-So far, Twilight hasn't shown mary sue levels of magical ability, so most likely, she didn't make a copy of herself after the party (For all intents and purposes counting this as ruling Twilight out). So she isn't Twilight.
-She isn't Spike XD
So, that leaves, AppleJack, Rarity and Pinkie. I'm inclined to write off AJ simply because we've seen so little of her and because what we have seen of her was done early on. It almost feels like the author wanted to get her interactions out of the way. So Pinkie and Rarity. Pinkie could still have her costume, and Rarity could easily have made a new one. And yet, it could still technically be any of them except Fluttershy. AJ might be the element of honesty, but when she is MDW, she can be whoever she wants, including someone who can tell a lie. Maybe Twilight found an easy to clone herself, or was using an illusion (although I think that was the night Dash smacked MDW, so probably not). I don't know, we have next to no evidence to suggest anypony. Dash sort of stopped really trying to figure things out a while ago, instead focusing on getting her feelings sorted out, while we have started to get glimpses of MDW's thoughts. Things are definitely coming to a climax, and we still basically have zero evidence. The last time I was this stumped by a mystery novel was Agatha Christie's 'Curtain'. I guess I will just have to be patient.