Chapter 7: Who You Are In the Dark
The pastel colors of the sunrise that initially flooded the sky gradually faded in favor of the blue of the coming day. It was only then that Rainbow Dash was able to bring herself to pull away from Mare Do Well's touch.
"Are you going to be all right?" the mare asked, seemingly unbothered by the sudden way Rainbow Dash jerked back, as though burned. "You were really tired."
"I'll be fine," Rainbow Dash answered in a clipped voice. "I'm going now."
"Don't push yourself."
"Oh, yeah, like I'll do what you tell me to."
"You're probably planning to go talk to Applejack, aren't you?"
Rainbow had been crouched down again, wings flared as she once more prepared to take off, just like before, but Mare Do Well's question caught her attention, and she found herself turning back to face the other mare. "So? No rule against that, is there?" Dash asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Do what you like. I just don't see why you're doing it at all."
"Because of the game you thought up, remember?" Rainbow retorted, with a sharp snap of her wings for emphasis.
Mare Do Well was silent for a moment before answering – but when she did, the response was an unexpected one. "You'd be surprised at how many ponies out there fall in love without ever really seeing whom they claim to love," she said. "There's a dissonance. Between what a pony is, and what everypony else perceives of them. A literal mask might be easier to work around than a figurative one."
The contrast between her philosophical tone, formal wording and her ridiculous costume was a little jarring, especially considering where they were right then. A roof.
Rainbow Dash waited for Mare Do Well to continue and explain herself, but no such explanation came, prompting the pegasus to say, "You're weird. I don't even know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about perception," Mare Do Well replied smoothly without missing a beat. "You've shaped these ideas about your friends based on your experiences with them, but they have a life outside of you that impacts them just as much, if not more – yet you refuse to allow for change. That's why you don't see any of them in me, and why you likely won't be able to uncover me. Because you refuse to accept that there might be something deeper to my character, or that one of your friends might have been hiding an aspect of themselves from you. You're so used to your ideas of them that you reject everything else."
"You know, saying stuff like that isn't really making me warm up to you," Rainbow Dash managed to answer.
"I'm not trying to insult you. I'm just saying that it might be easier for you to let it go and avoid the potential unpleasantness your investigation may bring."
"Yeah, not gonna happen," Rainbow Dash cut in, equally smoothly. "You're just trying to psyche me out so that I back down before I've even really started. You can't pull one over me; I know all the tricks."
"Do you?" the mare asked lightly, sounding amused again; so instead of saying anything more, Dash took off, flying into the new day and not looking back, no matter how much she found herself wanting to.
• • •
When Mare Do Well had spoken earlier, she'd spoken for herself, too. Perception and dissonance... the concepts rung especially strongly with her, especially now, and for obvious reasons.
There was a gap between who she knew she really was and the way she displayed herself, but whether that gap grew larger or smaller as Mare Do Well, she had no idea. All she knew was that no matter what Rainbow Dash said to the contrary, she knew now that the pegasus was starting to warm up to her, however gradually. That alone made her happy enough to practically erase any doubts that she may have had.
The sunrise they'd watched together was far from a genuine victory, but she was much closer now than she'd been before. It was progress, and if she somehow managed to continue along this track, then it wouldn't be much longer.
Plus, she'd gotten to spend a morning close to the pony she loved, and that in itself seemed to make everything worth it. No matter what happened now.
• • •
The first thing Rainbow Dash did upon returning home was go to sleep, and she was pleased to discover that she had, in fact, been correct. Clouds were much more comfortable for napping than the street.
But that comfort didn't stop her from dreaming.
Lately, Rainbow's sleep had been of the restless sort, but she had never once woken up with any kind of recollection of the nightly visions that kept her tossing and turning. This time, though, her dreams were vivid, sharp against her memory. Not that this unexplained clarity did much to tell her what they meant.
Although her dreams seemed brighter, somehow, and more detailed, they were as surreal and nonsensical as dreams could be expected to be, a collection of interwoven symbols and half-remembered memories from the day. A mare without a face, a maze where she caught glimpses of a black cape fluttering at every corner and over every wall, a border of blood-red flowers seeming to edge her thoughts, all tinged with a darkness that pressed against her, closer and closer, almost suffocating Dash with its presence.
And finally she woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily with her heart pounding, as if she'd just woken from a nightmare, and her mind flashed back to the mental image of the red flowers and the black against the black.
Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration and shoved her head deep into the tuft of cloud she'd been using as a pillow, hoping to muffle the thrumming of her heart that sounded so loudly in her ears, and maybe even to drown out all thought. It was only then that Rainbow could fall asleep again. This time without dreaming.
• • •
Upon waking for the third time that day, Rainbow Dash at last decided to give up on trying to sleep – but before she was ready to head back out into the world, she had some things that she needed to think very seriously about for a while.
This whole challenge was a race, basically, and Rainbow Dash was good at races. She just needed to keep telling herself that and soon she would believe it.
These were the basics, as far as she knew.
Rainbow Dash wanted Mare Do Well to go away, and Mare Do Well wanted to convince Rainbow Dash to want otherwise. This had led them to make a bet to see which of them would accomplish their goal first. If Rainbow Dash could figure out Mare Do Well's true identity, then Mare Do Well would finally step out of the picture and leave her alone. But like any other contest, there were rules.
The first rule: force of any kind was forbidden. Rainbow Dash couldn't tackle and unmask Mare Do Well against her will, and Mare Do Well couldn't try and slip Rainbow Dash some kind of black market love potion. Not that Rainbow would've eaten or drunk anything the mare had offered her anyway.
The second rule: neither of them were supposed to seek outside assistance, although Rainbow Dash had already recruited Pinkie to her cause and didn't really plan on telling her to go away. Dash privately resolved to compromise by not asking anypony else to help her. She could do that much, at least.
The third rule: neither of them were allowed to interfere with one another. Apparently this meant that Rainbow Dash was supposed to go along with whatever Mare Do Well suggested they do, and in return, Mare Do Well wasn't going to actively try and halt her progress. It wasn't exactly a fair bargain – it was one that Rainbow Dash doubted she'd be able to hold up, actually – but she'd agreed anyway, just to get Mare Do Well off her back.
And of course amendments could be made later.
The game itself seemed easy enough from the outside, and might have actually been as simple as it first appeared if it had been taking place inside a comic book or something. The clues would've been obvious, and the list of suspects much shorter. But as it was, Rainbow Dash had nothing to go but presumptions that she had no way of guaranteeing.
Although Rainbow Dash was at least 90% sure that Mare Do Well really was one of her friends in disguise, she had no idea who. They were all simultaneously equally likely and unlikely, and she just kept finding new reasons to either further question them or pass one over as a potential suspect. The only pony that Dash was now sure about was Twilight – because of the party, when her sudden appearance had prompted Mare Do Well's flight.
At first, Rainbow Dash had thought that Applejack was a sure thing, too, but then Pinkie Pie had planted the seeds of doubt in her mind with her casual mention of Applejack's apparent ability to disguise her voice.
All Rainbow Dash wanted was for Mare Do Well to disappear. If not that, then to at least stop bothering her. Dash didn't even care anymore if Mare Do Well still hung around Ponyville and did her superhero stuff or whatever; she just didn't want the mare to seek her out any further.
But after watching the sunrise together, Rainbow had found herself calling all of her preconceptions of Mare Do Well into question. The morning they'd shared, willingly or not, had been so different from any of their previous, tension-charged encounters. It had been so simple, so innocent, and for that little while, Mare Do Well had seemed more like a lovesick filly than the malicious deviant that she'd appeared to be before. It was only later, when Rainbow Dash had prepared to leave, that Mare Do Well had resumed the taunting, dignified air that was so characteristic of her. But until then, it had almost been easy for Rainbow to believe it really was one of her friends underneath the mask.
How much of Rainbow's initial impression of Mare Do Well had been due to prejudice, and how much to reality? Had she just been against the other mare from the beginning because she'd felt threatened by a potential rival?
On the first night, Mare Do Well had scared off a wannabe thief for her, but Rainbow Dash had lashed out – more out of embarrassment over the circumstances under which they'd met than out of any real hostility. It was a similar situation the second time; Dash had been an idiot and had gotten herself hurt, and Mare Do Well had been there to help her. And then, in response to Rainbow Dash's impulsive anger, she'd nuzzled Dash before disappearing. On the third meeting they'd spoken for the first time, and Mare Do Well had gotten way too close – but, as creepy as it had been, if she really was one of Rainbow's friends, that changed things. For instance, if it had been Pinkie Pie getting all in her face like that, it would've seemed playful and good-natured. Instead, Rainbow Dash had interpreted it as some kind of veiled threat.
And Rainbow Dash couldn't help but remember what Mare Do Well had said before she'd left, about perceptions. It was all about perception and interpretation, and those were such easy things to change.
• • •
Pinkie came to greet her first thing in the morning. Or afternoon. Whatever. It was morning for her, since she'd slept in so late. The point was, the first pony Rainbow Dash saw that day was Pinkie Pie, who was as bubbly as ever.
"What are you doing, Pinks?" Rainbow asked, bleary-eyed and mane mussed. She looked as though she'd just gotten out of bed, which she had. It was like her sleep cycles were gradually shifting so that she was becoming nocturnal. Dark, bruise-like circles were under her eyes, making Dash look almost fragile for once.
Maybe it was Rainbow Dash's obvious disorientation that caused Pinkie to considerately refrain from bellowing her reply the way she normally did. "Detective Pinkie Pie, at your service!" she announced gaily, but quieter than what was typical for her. "And we're gonna solve the Mystery of the Masked Mare some more, remember?"
"Yeah, because that went so well last time," Rainbow Dash yawned. "Remember how we went to Rarity's and found nothing?"
When Rainbow had first gotten up, she hadn't fully understood why Pinkie was waiting for her under her cloud house, sitting patiently on the road and waving excitedly when the pegasus first looked outside, but as soon as she'd spotted the pink pony, Dash had flown down to see what she wanted, knowing that Pinkie Pie would likely spend the entire day pestering her until Rainbow Dash finally gave in. It was easier to give in right from the start.
Her mind flickered back to the way Mare Do Well had been waiting so patiently for her to wake up when she'd fallen asleep in the alley, but decided not to dwell on it.
"Well, today we're gonna go to Sweet Apple Acres and find nothing!" Pinkie cried, throwing her arms wide open in excitement. Rainbow Dash half expected a burst of confetti to rain down on them as she did so, and was mildly surprised when it didn't happen. "You need to give Applejack a turn at being the suspect pony, and I'll come with you to investigate and then we can come back and make Rarity's apology cake together!"
"You're seriously doing that?" Dash asked incredulously, but she already knew that the answer would be a resounding yes. Pinkie Pie never missed an opportunity for unnecessary baking.
"I know, I know," Pinkie said with an apologetic giggle and shrug of her shoulders. "I'm a lazy pony for not doing it yesterday, but I tried to, I just couldn't finish! It just looked so good that I kept sneaking little nibbles, and the next thing I knew, it was all gone! But this way we can do it together and that's double the fun, right?"
"Um, sure. I guess."
"Great! C'mon!"
Before Rainbow Dash could protest, Pinkie Pie hooked a foreleg around her neck and began to half-walk, half-drag her down the road to Applejack's place.
• • •
The orchard looked bare, but that's because it was. The trees were utterly barren of any leaves or fruit. The last of the summer apples had been harvested long ago, put into storage for the winter in preparation of the snow that was taking so long in coming.
At some point, Pinkie Pie had released her iron grip on Rainbow Dash, but Dash still trotted along beside her, only half listening to the way Pinkie chattered on inanely about whatever caught her attention. Although the pegasus wasn't really listening, there was something soothing about the sound of her rambling. It was a familiar sound.
It felt strange to be walking through Applejack's fields when they were empty. With every step there was a crunch of dead leaves and dried grass that littered the ground in anticipation of the turn of the year. Their breaths came out in little white puffs that hovered alongside them as they walked.
One tree in particular, though, caught Rainbow Dash's attention. It was the only tree left with any life about it, but that was because of the tree house set in its branches and the laughter of fillies that emanated from it.
"Rainbow Dash!" somepony shouted from within, and a scrappy orange pegasus came tumbling out of one of the windows before darting forward to sit eagerly before her idol. "We were just talking about you!"
"We were not," retorted a voice with a familiar southern twang to it. Apple Bloom popped her head out the window, accompanied by Sweetie Belle. "You were. We were talkin' bout tryin' to get fire-eatin' cutie marks."
"Yeah, but then Sweetie Belle said that sounded dangerous and I said that sounded perfect, and that reminded me of Rainbow Dash, because they don't call her Rainbow Danger Dash for nothing! Right?" Scootaloo chirped.
Pinkie had sidled up to them surprisingly quietly, and when Scootaloo noticed the way the pink pony mildly took her place by Rainbow Dash's side, her eyes narrowed slightly. But Pinkie Pie only responded to her expression of distaste by breaking out into an enormous grin.
"Oh, hi, girls!" the pink pony cried, jumping up and down and waving. "Whatcha doin'? Can we help? Wait, no, we can't, we gotta go find Applejack. Sorry! Maybe next time! Bye!"
"Huh?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yer lookin' fer Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked. Her head ducked out of sight, then reappeared again in the doorway as she began to descend the stairs, once more followed by Sweetie. "She's over in th' apple cellar."
"Why are you looking for Applejack?" Scootaloo interrupted, eyes shining with barely repressed excitement. "Is Ponyville in danger? Are you guys putting together a crack team to fight evil?"
"Nah," Rainbow Dash answered coolly. She always tried her best to look good in front of the kid, and coupled this response with a proud toss of her mane and a cocky smile. "Not today, squirt. We're just looking for her to talk about stuff. Important stuff."
"I thought we were gonna ask her if she knew anything about Mare Do Well," Pinkie Pie asked, looking at Rainbow in confusion. It was all Rainbow Dash could do to restrain herself from kicking Pinkie right then and there.
By this point, both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had joined Scootaloo in standing before the older ponies, though neither of them had quite the same expression of worshipful adoration that Scootaloo had. The mention of Mare Do Well seemed to catch their interest, though.
"Mare Do Well? What about her?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.
"Ooh, yeah, Mare Do Well!" Pinkie explained eagerly. "Dashie wants to find out who she is because she's been showing up all mysteriously lately and trying to make kissy faces with her and we're gonna talk to Applejack because Dashie hasn't done that yet and then we're gonna make cake!" And she gasped for air, having said all of that in one breath.
"Mare Do Well?" repeated Sweetie Belle.
"Cake?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Kissy faces?" cried Scootaloo, looking horror-struck.
"Pinkie, you can stop talking now," Dash cut in.
"Yeah-huh, cake!" Pinkie continued, ignoring her. "A ginormous chocolate one! But first we gotta talk to Applejack."
The three crusaders exchanged sly grins. At least, they would have, if Scootaloo hadn't been so busy looking stricken.
"Y'know," Apple Bloom said slowly. "Fire-eatin' sounds awful dangerous."
"What would a fire-eating cutie mark even look like, anyway?" Sweetie Belle chimed in.
"Yeah!" Scootaloo added, getting into the swing of things. "You know what this calls for?"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MYSTERY SOLVERS! YAY!" the three of them shrieked in unison, causing Rainbow Dash to jump, before racing off. Only Scootaloo remained behind.
"Don't worry!" the orange pegasus vowed, a deadly serious expression on her face. "We'll find out who Mare Do Well is! No criminal's safe when the Cutie Mark Crusader Mystery Solvers are on their trail!"
And then she was gone, too.
"They got that right. Nopony's safe with them around," Rainbow Dash said dryly. "C'mon, Apple Bloom said she was over at the cellar."
She turned to go, but stopped when Pinkie Pie didn't immediately follow.
"I should go help them!" Pinkie cried, looking inspired. "Detective Pinkie Pie always helps those in need, and they can't do it alone! They might need my magic question ball!"
"Your... what?" Rainbow Dash asked, halting in her tracks and looking dumbfounded.
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie ducked her head down and whipped it back up, yanking a black and white plastic orb out of nowhere. She managed to carry it in her mouth in spite of the huge smile she wore. "Shee?" she mumbled through the plastic before setting it down on the ground and giving it a little tap, rolling it over to Dash. "Ya just gotta ask it a question and it answers. It knows everything," she added in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning close with wide, almost fearful eyes.
Rainbow Dash nudged the orb with a hoof, looking at it oddly as she sent it rolling back to Pinkie Pie. Why did I ever think she could help me? Dash thought, sighing inwardly – but she hadn't, she reminded herself. She'd only recruited Pinkie Pie to get on Mare Do Well's nerves.
"Watch!" Pinkie continued obliviously. "Dear magic question ball, will I get to eat a whole pie for dinner?"
She bent over and picked it up in her mouth before shaking her head furiously and dropping it back on the ground. The two of them simultaneously leaned forward to read the answer. Signs point to yes.
"See?" Pinkie Pie declared in triumph. "But now I gotta go, though. Bye!"
And then she was gone, too, leaving Rainbow Dash standing alone among the bare trees in confusion.
"Pinkie Pie, you are so random," Dash muttered out loud to herself. It was like a mantra, one that she could repeat whenever Pinkie got just a little too weird for her, to find instant comfort. Now she had to find Applejack on her own.
• • •
Apple Bloom had said that she thought her sister was in the apple cellar, and she was right. As Rainbow Dash descended, she was a little surprised by how dark it was. A musty smell pervaded the air. The only light came from the soft glow of the bare bulb that hung from the ceiling on a long, frayed string, illuminating the crates of apples that filled the tiny room. The darkness was oppressive; it reminded her of her dream. Rainbow Dash felt almost claustrophobic down there.
"Oh, hey, Rainbow!" Applejack greeted in her friendly way from within the black. "Just lookin' over the stores fer the winter. You guys ever plannin' on gettin' round to that?" she joked.
"Whenever I feel like it," Rainbow Dash shot back, swooping over to hover beside the workhorse. Who, she now noticed, looked absolutely exhausted, despite the cheerful manner in which she'd spoken.
"What brings you down here?" Applejack asked with a wan smile that Rainbow could barely see in the gloom. It looked ominous in the dim lighting.
"Can you really change your voice?" Rainbow Dash asked automatically. Best to cut right to the chase. Skip all the small talk. "I've never heard you do it, but Pinkie said it was awesome."
Applejack blinked, looking a little taken aback, before smiling. "Aw, shucks, it's been so long, I reckon I don't know if I can anymore," she chuckled. "I was just a li'l filly when I used to do it. But lemme see –" She paused to clear her throat.
"Ah, yes, is this what you were thinking of?" Applejack suddenly asked, her voice taking on the accent of a posh Manehattanite without even the slightest hint of her familiar Southern drawl.
With a yelp, Rainbow Dash drew back, and Applejack started to guffaw.
"Lookit you!" she hooted, voice back to normal. "Like you just saw a ghost."
But Rainbow Dash didn't laugh. In the dark, hearing such an unfamiliar voice come out of her friend was terrifying, like suddenly realizing that she was alone with a stranger. Especially when she could barely see Applejack as it was. "It's not funny!" Dash shouted, suddenly angry without knowing why. "Don't laugh at me!"
"Can't help it," Applejack retorted. "An' you laugh at me every chance you get. You dish it but can't take it?"
But it wasn't funny, not at all, because that meant that one of the only constants Rainbow Dash had been able to hold onto as an undeniable truth – that Applejack was incapable of deception of any kind – was wrong. Because for that moment, however brief, the workhorse had become somepony else.
Rainbow Dash wanted to demand an explanation, but was lost as to what to say; so instead, she came out with the first thing that popped into her head.
"Why are you so tired?"
"Been workin' all day. Runnin' a farm's hard work, y'know. Not that that's anything a lazybones like yerself has had much experience with." Another chuckle.
Why is she in such a good mood?
"Up late?" Rainbow asked, making no effort to disguise the challenge in her voice – but Applejack either didn't hear it or chose to ignore it.
"Yeah, I guess so. Up early, too. Crack o' dawn."
Have you ever gotten up early enough...
Before she really knew what she was doing, Rainbow Dash's hooves shot out, slamming into Applejack. The push caught the earth pony off guard, causing her to stumble backwards, but she'd never lost her balance before, and when she caught herself, she glared at Rainbow Dash.
"What in the hay didja do that for?" Applejack demanded angrily.
"Why were you up so early?" Rainbow Dash screamed. She couldn't have explained why she was so angry all of a sudden, but she was, and she wanted to hurt somepony because of it. "What were you doing?"
"Rainbow Dash, what –"
"Answer me!"
"Apples!" Applejack shouted, equally loudly. "Apples, Rainbow Dash! That's what I do! Remember? What else would I be doin'?!"
"Hmm, I dunno, moonlighting as Mare Do Well just to freak me out, maybe?!" Rainbow Dash shouted back. Her throat burned from the sudden screeching argument that she'd found herself in, and her heart was slamming against her ribcage, it was pounding so hard. Her chest was constricting, and she felt like she was either going to explode or cry, but why she was so upset, she didn't even know.
"I... what?"
Applejack had looked primed to buck Rainbow Dash right out of the air, but now she pulled back, looking genuinely confused.
"Mare Do Well?" Applejack repeated. "What're you talkin' about? I thought that nonsense got sorted out."
"What? No! That's, like, all I've been doing lately! How did you not notice?"
But Rainbow Dash could feel her anger fading, her resolve faltering. For a moment, she'd been so consumed by panic that she'd worked herself up into a frenzy – but now she saw the pure bewilderment in Applejack's eyes, like she really had no idea what Rainbow Dash was talking about, and Dash could feel herself begin to come down off her outburst.
"Well, I dunno. You never talked 'bout it after it first came up, so I guess I just assumed it worked itself out somehow. I was busy, y'know. I had to finish harvestin' before the cold snap. I didn't have a lotta time to worry 'bout somethin' like that – and I'd think you'd be too busy, too, with winter comin' an' all."
It sounded so reasonable.
The doubts had been pressing against Rainbow Dash from all sides, and the suspicions and darkness and fear had suddenly been overwhelming, but now she could see how ridiculous she'd been. Applejack was honesty and integrity, and although that could drive Rainbow Dash nuts sometimes, she knew that it meant Applejack was a pony that she could always count on.
Rainbow Dash touched down onto the ground so that she was face level with Applejack. And she told her everything.
• • •
Applejack looked disgusted.
"Why'd somepony go an' do somethin' like that?" she asked, seeming completely uncomprehending. "It's downright dishonest, goin' around pretendin' to be somepony else just to... to... I don't even know what!"
Rainbow Dash had no answer.
They were both sitting, side by side, propped up against a wall of the cellar. Dash kept thinking back to that night after Pinkie's party, when she'd been sitting against the wall of the bakery and Mare Do Well had come to sit with her.
Why had she ever, even for a moment, suspected Applejack? She was reacting exactly the way Rainbow Dash would've expected her to, and it seemed so illogical to imagine Applejack being capable of pulling off such a scheme without even once slipping up. It was downright impossible.
"So what're you doin' now?" Applejack finally asked, glancing at the pegasus. Her hat cast strange shadows over her face, reminiscent of the eerie lighting from before that had preluded their argument.
"I dunno," Rainbow Dash replied truthfully. "I know it's stupid, but I kind of feel like I need to actually do this and win. Because if I don't, then... I don't know. I just have to."
"Yeah," Applejack said slowly, with a thoughtful nod. "Yeah, I can understand that. But... an' I'm just sayin', here... maybe yer goin' about this the wrong way?"
Rainbow Dash's ears pricked up.
"What do you mean?" she asked carefully.
"Yer tryin' to figure out who Mare Do Well is, but maybe you should do it backwards. Like, try and figure out who'd wanna be Mare Do Well. Is there anypony out there that fancies you that might wanna tell you in such a... a dramatic way?"
"Oh, you know me," Rainbow Dash answered breezily, trying to hide the sudden heat she felt in her cheeks. "I got ponies falling for me left and right. Can't hold me back. Everypony wants a piece of the Dash."
"Yeah, yeah, we know. Yer a heartbreaker." Applejack grinned. "But seriously, now. D'you know anypony that might wanna go that far fer you?"
Rainbow Dash thought.
"No," she said.
"Huh."
A silence fell over the two of them. It was strange, sitting with Applejack in the dark. Since Rainbow couldn't see the other pony, it was almost like she was alone and talking to herself.
"Y'know, speakin' of breakin' hearts..." Applejack began casually, probably trying her very best to be subtle.
"I was kidding," Dash was quick to leap in.
"I know, I know. But I think you know who I'm talkin' about."
Another silence.
"Who?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.
"C'mon!" Applejack said, nudging her playfully. "You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?"
She could feel Applejack stare at her, even though she couldn't see it in the darkness, and when the earth pony spoke, her voice carried that pitying tone that ponies usually saved for when they were speaking to somepony of much lower intelligence than them. "Shucks, Rainbow Dash, I dunno what we're gonna do with you," Applejack said fondly with a hint of sadness. "How can you be so bright one moment and so dense the next? You mean to say you really don't know?"
"Know what?" Rainbow Dash repeated stubbornly. "Are you coming on to me?"
She could only joke about it because she knew now that that definitely wasn't the case. If she'd still suspected Applejack was Mare Do Well, she would've taken wing right then and there, getting away as fast as possible.
Applejack snorted. "Celestia, no," she giggled. "I know better than that, you heartbreaker you. I'm talkin' 'bout – you know what?" she said suddenly, changing course. "Never mind. I'll let you figure it out yerself."
• • •
When Rainbow Dash left Sweet Apple Acres, it was already sunset. She'd slept so late and long and had ended up spending so much time at the orchard talking with Applejack in that comfortable way that friends were able to talk about things that the day had disappeared before she'd even noticed.
Same time, same place, Mare Do Well had said earlier. Did that apply to tonight as well? If Rainbow Dash headed to the cul-de-sac, would she find the mare in black waiting for her? If that was the case, did she want to go? What would happen if she did?
She was so lost in thought that she almost didn't notice when she passed over Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, hi, Pinks," Dash said lightly, swooping down low to meet the pink pony. "I just finished talking to Applejack, and I'm pretty sure now that –"
"Where are you going?" Pinkie Pie interrupted.
"Uh, home?" Rainbow Dash answered with a careful smile.
"No, you're not. Don't lie. You're going back there, aren't you?"
Rainbow Dash blinked, and found herself drawing back a little.
Pinkie Pie looked dead serious for once. Not a hint of laughter in those blue eyes that usually shone with it.
"Pinkie, I don't think –"
"I don't want you to go!" Pinkie blurted, and she took a quick step back so that she stood before Rainbow Dash, forelegs outstretched as if to block her path, even though Rainbow Dash could fly.
"Pinkie?"
"Don't go," Pinkie Pie repeated. "I don't want you to go see Mare Do Well. We, we have to bake Rarity's cake, remember? You should come to Sugarcube Corner with me and spend the night. We'll bake the cake and eat tasty snacks and watch a movie or something, and it'll be totally fun! Right?"
Her voice had an edge of desperation to it.
With a nervous laugh, Rainbow Dash started to fly ahead anyway.
"Pinkie, relax. I'm just going –"
"No!" Pinkie said quickly, again stepping backwards so that she stood before Rainbow Dash, gazing up at the pegasus pleadingly. "Please don't. Please. I'm your best friend. That's enough of a reason, right?"
"Pinkie, ha-ha, very funny, but –"
"I'm not being funny! Not everything's a joke, you know! I don't want you to go, isn't that enough?"
Rainbow Dash could feel herself beginning to grow tense. "Pinkie," she began. "If you're worried about me, don't be. I can handle myself. Nothing's gonna happen. So just leave me alone, and let me do what I want, okay?"
"Why would you want to go spend time with her instead of me?" Pinkie Pie asked feebly.
She looked so pathetic. Nothing at all like the happy-go-lucky hyperactive ball of joy that had been trailing Rainbow Dash for so long. She looked forlorn and utterly lost and very, very tiny from Dash's perspective in the air, but still Pinkie stood there, trying to block her way from the ground.
Only then did Rainbow Dash realize what she was looking at.
For the first time, she was seeing Pinkie Pie with all pretensions of endless frivolity stripped away, baring the vulnerable, easily-wounded pony beneath: a pony that was desperate to keep a hold on her best friend, to the point that she would forcibly prevent her from leaving if she could.
And it frightened her.
Pinkie Pie isn't supposed to be sad or scared of anything, Rainbow Dash found herself thinking, but that only summoned the memory of Mare Do Well's words to her from their last conversation.
You're so used to your idea of them that you reject anything else.
She had caught a glimpse of this Pinkie before, on the birthday when the pink pony had thought all of her friends had rejected her. But rather than help Pinkie deal with whatever baggage she had that had made her that way, her friends had quietly forced her back into place, restoring the status quo and laughing it off as no big deal. It had been selfish of them, but it had been easier than trying to bend their perceptions to accept a Pinkie Pie that wasn't constantly joyful.
Even now, all Rainbow Dash could think was that she didn't want to deal with this. She didn't want to see Pinkie this way. Even as she thought it, she knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help it.
"Why would you want to go spend time with her instead of me?" Pinkie repeated, a little more insistent this time.
She was asking Rainbow Dash to choose. Rainbow's Element was Loyalty, and Pinkie wanted proof: would Dash remain loyal to her best friend, despite the startling revelation that there was more to her than meets the eye, or would she be abandoned the way she'd been abandoned once before?
The answer was obvious. Rainbow Dash was supposed to say, "I don't. Of course I'll hang out with you, Pinkie." She was supposed to choose Pinkie, and then Pinkie would smile again and they'd go have a fun, happy sleepover, and then everything would be okay, and that was all Dash wanted. For things to go back to normal and be okay again.
"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said carefully, and she saw the pink pony's ears prick up hopefully. "Pinkie, that sounds fun, but I want to do this, too. I don't really know why yet, but... I do. I think I should, at least. So I know you don't want me to, but... I'm gonna go. And then... afterwards... maybe I'll drop by Sugarcube Corner, and then we can hang out?"
Pinkie Pie stared at her blankly, before giving Rainbow a smile, but it wasn't the patented gigantic Pinkie smile. It was small. It faltered. It was fake. A mask to disguise the hurt.
"That sounds good, Dashie, but I dunno. Sugarcube Corner isn't open forever, you know. It might be closed when you get there," she said lightly, and she turned her back on the pegasus.
Pinkie walked away. A quick, meaningful step, slowly building into a trot and then into a run, and Rainbow Dash was left hovering, once again alone, suddenly feeling oddly hollow inside and wondering if she'd given the wrong answer.
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
737 users online
1,093,282 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I'm sure that it will be fine besides its shipping if it dint have the romance i would be disappointed. The mystery is just icing on the cake for me and really don't put yourself down so much.
:) continue this, i want to see what mare do well does, and what her friends try to do and what happens to dash....id probably want to hang on the side of a cliff than wait for this to update...XD lulz cliffhanga's :)
second post yeah. just wanted to point out some spelling errors. Superhero not superheor. In this sentence i think you meant to put chance to change "An' you laugh at me every change you get. You dish it but can't take it?". Thought i just let you know. Also MOOOOOOARRRRRRR
Wow. Dash sure is bitch here and uncaring prick. Poor Pinkie Pie.
Another great chapter. One problem though is not enough Fluttershy. But other than that great.
Keep up the fantastic work!
It wasn't exactly a fair bargain - it was one that Rainbow Dash doubted she'd be able to hold up, actually - but she'd agreed anyway, just to get are Do Well off her back. And of course amendments may be made later. (This should be "Mare")
All she wanted was for Mare Do Well to disappear. If not that, then to at least stop bothering her. Rainbow Dash didn't even care anymore if Mare Do Well hung around Ponyville and just did superheor stuff or whatever - she just didn't want her to seek her out any further. (This should be "superhero")
"Can't help it," Applejack retorted. "An' you laugh at me every change you get. You dish it but can't take it?" (This should be "chance"...unless you were REALLY mocking Applejack's accent)
"Why would you want to go spend time with her instead of me?" Pinkie repeated, a little more insistant this time. (This should be "insistent")
Applebloom (Apple Bloom is two words; it's a common mistake to put her as one word)
So, those were all the main errors I saw while reading this heart-gripping tale of love, pain, drama, confusion, and mystery. Once again, another really great chapter! Figures you'd make this one about Applejack...and Pinkie. It's SO obvious by this point that Pinkie is either one of two things...which I will list in my suspects list again:
1. Pinkie Pie: Yet again, she stays right where she is; at the top of my list. At this point, she's one of two things: very clearly Mare Do Well, or the typical cliche most-obvious-but-not-the-culprit suspect. Her words at the end...were very, very chilling. Plus, her scene with Dash...she obviously likes her. Everything points to her being Mare Do Well, but...we'll just have to see.
2. Twilight Sparkle: Not much to say about her, since she wasn't in this episode, but...eh, I'm still holding out hope that it's her. She and Dash are so cute together.
3. Applejack: Her scene with Rainbow Dash was very telling...and then not-so-telling. At one moment, it was clearly her. The next...it clearly wasn't. Ugh, so frustrating. I think the lesson here is...it's just a stupid element; she can lie if she wants to! It's not like she'll die if she lies. So...there's still a chance of it being Applejack, and while that chance is still slightly big, I just don't think so.
4. Fluttershy: Nothing much to say about Fluttershy this time, sorry.
5. Rarity: I read some of the comments on the last episode, and...while they make good points, and while Mare Do Well does SOUND a lot like Rarity with the talented way she speaks...I just have a very, very hard time seeing it being Rarity. How in the WORLD could she love Rainbow Dash? As cute as the pairing is, it makes NO sense whatsoever. Love is love, yes, but...if it's Rarity, I'm gonna go and kick something.
Other Possible Suspects: Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, Zecora, Trixie, Gilda
Scootaloo looked angry and stunned at what Dash said...possibly a hint? Yeah, I doubt it, but...just saying. Rainbow Dash herself is still a suspect, in my eyes. Zecora...eh, I just like the zebra. Trixie and Gilda...not gonna happen, but...you know how I am with making an even list of 10 suspects. Anyway, great job, and can't wait for more!
Mare do well's def Pinkie.
Now I'm leaning towards Pinkie Pie. She said not to come by later, the obvious reason is that she is hurt that Rainbow didn't choose her over Mare Do Well, BUT if she really is Mare Do Well then Rainbow swinging by would blow the whole thing wide open if she caught her just coming back as Mare Do Well. We'll just have to see how Mare Do Well acts around Rainbow Dash when they meet up again, if they meet up tonight. It might have been a choice for Rainbow to make as well as a test for Pinkie Pie to see if Rainbow would choose her true self or her masked persona. Very interesting chapter.
Have a good one.
Hmm ...
The Mare actually might be Pinkie now but, however, her scene with R.D ... no, that actually makes me think that Pinkie isn't Mare Do Well, now. After all, she obviously likes Dashie, but if she was Mare Do Well, why in tarnation would she not want her to visit Mare Do Well, and act all jealous over that? Something's not right there ...
Twilight has moved up my list, simply because of the sophisticated way Mare Do Well speaks. Rarity as well, since she has shown she can use 'fancy-schmancy' words. Fluttershy stays in roughly the same spot, and Applejack moves down a slot.
Anticipating eagerly more intrigue/suspense and above all ... clues!
Applejack is Pinky Pie. If you reread the chapter, you'll notice that Rainbow Dash didn't see Applejack due to the darkness of the cellar and it would be easy for PP to imitate AJ's voice and fool RD. PP was the one who gave RD the interesting tidbit that AJ can change her accent and served to remove doubt who that pony was in the dark.
Beforehand, PP lures the cutie mark crusaders away from the barn and at the same time give herself an excuse to not go along with RD. The purpose of the conversation was to find out what RD knows, to steer RD in the right direction (Mare Do Well and PP did say that RD couldn't solve it on her own), and a chance for PP to spend time with RD. After the conversation PP quickly left and met up with RD.
It could also be that it was someone else pretending to be AJ or it was AJ herself and I typed this for nothing. One thing is clear, PP is attracted to RD and is either Mare Do Well or in competition with Mare Do Well.
throws full wine bottles at your computer screens in anger
Your feeding the parisprites before we even get a chance to ask to be fed.
This took me about 30 min to read
and i actually am kind of glad its not 100% a detective and not 100% a romance, i think the balance is starting to lean twords romance, but as long as it is a mix, kind of like until you met her, i love it.
Well, the story IS listed as a romance, so including actual romance feels fair enough to me.
First and foremost: Cutie Mark Crusaders cameo! Yay!
So this is becoming a bit of a journey of discovery for everyone's favorite rainbow-maned pegasus. I like it! I like how she's being challenged and like seeing how she reacts. I also find it interesting that Mare Do Well kind of told her off on the roof, in that little speech about perceptions. I suspect that was her frustrated alter-ego leaking through a bit. (And I wish I could kick RD to make her notice that, say, hey, that little speech about perceptions is REALLY SIMILAR to the little speech about being a bad judge of character that she received previously.)
I really dug the scene with AJ. Applejack just felt very right, very Applejack, and I like when the two of them can interact as friends (and not just pure rivals). And her advice was spot-on. You may not be much for fancy mathematics, AJ, but you are one smart pony.
I am also absolutely convinced that Applejack was referring to Pinkie when talking about heartbreak. I even suspect that Scootaloo knows what the score is, given how she reacted to Pinkie stepping up to Dash's side, which means ... even LITTLE FILLIES can tell that Pinkie is crushin' on you, Rainbow, and you are being very, very dense.
In other Pinkie-related news, I wonder what her game plan is, why she's leading Rainbow to all of their friends and then mysteriously disappearing right before interrogations happen. My suspicion of the moment is that she's purposefully leaving RD alone with the Interrogation Suspect so that they can have a real heart-to-heart ... and so Rainbow can learn the things she'll need to know to revise her faulty perceptions.
Lastly, the final scene between Rainbow and Pinkie is amazing and richly-layered and utterly heart-breaking. I love the Rainbow DID grok what the problem was (at least to an extent) and DID know what she should do--but just choose not to do it. In particular, this line ... "That sounds good, Dashie, but I dunno. Sugarcube Corner isn't open forever, you know. It might be closed when you get there." ... was like a stab in the heart.
Pinkie and Dash are so different from one another, in so many ways, but they both lash out when they're in pain. It's interesting. Also heart-breaking. But I said that already.
64599
If it IS Trixie, then I swear to Celestia I will be the happiest kid ever. Seriously. I just love Trixie pairings. And stories. And anything to do with Trixie.... If you think about it Mare Do Well is a bit of a troll... Same with Trixie... I suck at mysteries....
No no no, guys, you're missing the point. Pinkie loathes Mare Do Well, because she's trying to seduce Rainbow Dash. Pinkie loves Rainbow but can't muster the strength to tell her, and Mare Do Well is showing up and threatening to pull Rainbow away. Pinkie Pie is now the only character I am completely striking off my list.
Now, like all the others, this chapter is beautiful. There are so many ways talented writers can spin things around, and you're doing an amazing job with the alternate sides of all these characters. Pinkie especially - the 'selfish' take on the events of Party of One makes this even more beautiful, tying in elements of the actual show in a way that makes perfect sense. I have this problem, and so do you: stop worrying about the quality of your work, because this is amazing.
In other news, it's damn hard to read all of this through a coating of red wine and a shattered monitor.
64599
Well I got this foreboding feeling that this story can be reflected with a nice game of Clue. But in any case, there are a lot of tells that point currently to Pinkie at this point. Though something tells me that Pinkie is jealous
, I cant help place trust onto outside the Mane Six as MDW.
So now here is my boardgame reference joke: Rarity - in her living room - removing Mare-Do-Well Mask
From a fictional perspective it damn well better be Pinkie Pie considering she's the second most prominent character in the story, and every single scene with Pinkie in it hints at a deeper relationship between her and RD. Also, the masked/unmasked duality fits Pinkie Pie more than any other mane six pony, or the entire show, for that matter.
The only direct, textual evidence against it being Pinkie is the wings slip-up last chapter, which is either the laziest red herring in history ("She was going to say 'I don't'!") or a clear sign it's Fluttershy. I'll give this fic the benefit of the doubt and say it's a red herring. The story kind of works if it's Fluttershy. Sorta, kinda. Maybe. But really if it's not Pinkie Pie then the narrative falls apart.
Keep in mind that I'm not analyzing all of the in-universe clues and whatnot, just looking at the general focus of the narrative.
Clue-wise everything points to Fluttershy, though it's easy to explain away some of the inconsistencies with Pinkie Pie's reality-warping prowess, leaving it open to the author at this point.
"You coming on to me?" Laughed my ass off.
Poor
dude. DAMMIT 
Y U SO THICKHEADED?
All right, I'm still 100% sure that it's Pinkie. The only thing I'm not sure about is what kind of mental state she's supposed to be in here. Is there some sort of full-blown schitzophrenic split going on, where she has two different personalities competing with one another? Or (more likely and preferrable to me) is she torn between getting Dash to fall for a mask or her true self? And then that brings up the question of which personality (hyperactive everyday Pinkie, or MDW) is her true self? Either way, she could be digging herself into a deep hole, here...
Other point of interest: CMC Mystery Solvers! Awesome. They'll be the ones to dicover and/or expose the truth, I'm calling it now. And the possible 'jealous Scootaloo' red herring (if that's what it was) was hilarious.
So good stuff as always, your writing owns, yadda yadda, POST THE NEXT CHAPTER. Or Fluttershy will find you.
I'm still not ruling out Applejack. Even though this chapter came close, neither she nor Mare Do Well have really lied...
65117
"Or (more likely and preferrable to me) is she torn between getting Dash to fall for a mask or her true self? And then that brings up the question of which personality (hyperactive everyday Pinkie, or MDW) is her true self?"
Why can't it be both?
Oddly enough, I identify with Pinkie the most out of the entire cast. I'm a chronic joker in real life and people — for whatever reason — take this to mean that I am always happy, always smiling, etc. It can be rather upsetting at times, especially on a bad day.
I'm starting to shift away from Pinkie, and towards Rarity. Think about it, Rarity could have just said she sold the outfit, and hid it. MDW is speaking in very poetic terms, and Rarity is that kind of pony. Of course, it could also be Applejack... But she is The Element of Honesty, so I'm not sure.
I have managed to narrow it down to three suspects though.
Rarity
Pinkie
AJ
YES!
So I come home from school after a long day of filling my brain with the knowledge needed to write so spectacularly and decide to pop on the computer before heading off to my part-time job, just to see how my li'l story is doing. And to my complete and utter shock, I discover that while I was gone, I BROKE THE TWO HUNDRED COMMENT MILESTONE!
I just wanted to say thanks to all of you. I never expected this story, which I started on a whim, to gain so much popularity. It's incredibly overwhelming and I doubt I can ever properly express my gratitude to all of you for being so fantastically supportive.
asset.soup.io/asset/1727/7254_ed8d.jpeg
64885
"If [Pinkie] was and Dash won, she would lose Dash. If she was and Dash lost, she could still lose Dash because she was messing with Dash the entire time, and Dash would be upset about that. Plus Pinkie would be breaking the rule of not interfering with what the other person is doing"
From Chapter 5:
"If she came clean now, Rainbow Dash would hate her forever. If Rainbow Dash successfully discovered her true identity, she would hate her forever anyway. Her only chance at salvaging their friendship was if Rainbow Dash never found out at all; if Mare Do Well just quietly disappeared, never to be seen again. That, or if she actually won somehow. But for all her confidence and smooth talk, her Mare Do Well persona was just an act, one that she wasn't sure she could keep up much longer. Not without giving something away. Not without Rainbow Dash figuring everything out. "
I like both the romantic elements and mystery elements, personally, so I'm okay with either of them taking precedent in a story.
I really liked this chapter, though it left me feeling bad for Pinkie. I really wanted Rainbow Dash to go with Pinkie and make her feel better... but ultimately, her choice was probably the correct one, because now if Pinkie is MDW, Dash will be able to tell, because Pinkie probably wouldn't be able to restrain herself from showing how emotional she was.
Oh, now I'm rambling... anyway, great chapter! Can't wait for more!
Guys, c'mon. It's obvious who Mare Do Well really is. Likes to play games? Delights in messing with heads? Seems especially talented in causing ponies to doubt their friends and turn their backs on their elements, what with the whole ditching Pinkie thing? I think you all know who I'm talking about. DISCORD.
This...this story is so amazing that I can't even describe my true feelings for it. I tried to space out the chapters so I could get a longer sense of enjoyment out of it but I couldn't resist and now I'm all caught up. I eagerly await your next chapter, even more so than the other 23 stories on my tracking list combined...I don't think I've enjoyed a story as much as this one.
I don't know how I didn't realize this sooner, Fluttershy can't be Mare Do Well because she admitted to not having wings.
Top suspect is still a Pinkie-split.
In which case Rainbow's in for some serious mindf
k when she figures it out.
That's two of the mane six eliminated.
I think this new chapter opens up the door for MDW being Pinkie in that she could be hurt that Dash could like being with MDW more than her actual self, but it can also just as easily be Pinkie saddened that Rainbow wants to go to Mare Do Well instead of staying with her so were still left nowhere. But despite the obvious crush Pinkie has, I just cant see her as MDW because of how well thought out everything Mare Do Well does is. Pinkie is Pinkie, and that's basically being random and unorganized but having a helpful nugget of information from time to time. Unless Pinkie went through some very dramatic character shift, she just doesn't have the personality to be Mare Do Well in the end. (And to be honest it would be a huge let down and an upset is she did end up Mare Do Well in my opinion)
The thing with Apple Jack now that she has been shown is that she is the Element of Honesty, and we should know from the episode Party of One that Apple Jack isn't the best at lying, so I'm more than sure she isn't lying now otherwise Rainbow should be able to tell. even if she can be as dense as she is at times. So like Pinkie AJ would need to go through some major character changes to be able to even be Mare Do Well. She just doesn't come off as one to be deceitful like that when it comes to her friends.
Right now my suspect list hasn't changes with Rarity first, Fluttershy second, and Twilight coming in third. My opinion is that Rarity doesn't make sense for most is because it's not a common ship (though one I do support fully) and because it isn't popular or seen very often it can easily be hard to see or understand but if given the right reasoning and story to back it up then I'll be even more excited to read this story through!
Dashity!
Okay, if I try and go any more without commenting and getting this all off my chest, I think I'm going to explode... This chapter alone was so heart wrenching and sad... man this story is great...
So, this will probably end up being a large rant about my suspicions and the feeling of the story, just a warning.
First off, I will say that if Rainbow Dash ends up winning this little 'game' they are playing, there is no way it will be a victory. Sure, right now her mind is fogged over and clouded because she views this as a challenge - a bet - and she never backs down from a challenge, she loves winning. Yet if she does win, what is that going to prove, what will it accomplish? Nothing - at least, nothing even close to being remotely good. What she will accomplish in winning is crushing her friends love for her and their secretly felt hopes and dreams, most likely utterly ruining their friendship forever - and if not - solidifying the fact that the relationship they once had will never be the same. That doesn't sound anything like a victory, and if it is, an extremely shallow and hollow one. Dash doesn't really seem to grasp this though, she is dead set on winning, beating Mare Do Well and keeping her self-viewed reputation intact. Now with Pinkies obvious feelings for Dash, if she doesn't end up being MDW, then one way or another, someone is going to get hurt.
At first I saw the main suspects, in my eyes at least, being Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight. Rarity for not being the one you would suspect, even now currently my mind is nagging me that it is possibly her. We really haven't seen any of her in the story, and all we know is that someone supposedly bought the outfit. She was also swamped with work recently, even though that happens often, but that could be attributed to her moonlighting as Mare Do Well. I know she's not the most reliable suspect, but my mind tells me otherwise. Then we have Twilight, not at the top of my list right now, but I hate to rule anybody out. She was openly against the idea of it in the beginning, telling Dash that it was most likely her just seeing things. That would imply that she was trying to hide the whole thing from her, but I can't really see that. We've seen Mare Do Well speak and talk in a intelligent and poetic manner, which I can say would fall under Twilight's category, but then her adorkable nature kind of keeps me from thinking that she could pull that off without fumbling or messing up. We then also saw Twilight walk up to Rainbow which scared MDW off, so that kind of really lowered the suspicion level. Yet Twilight is known to have great magical power, so I would think she jsut might be able to pull off a duplication spell or something, but who knows?
Finally, we come to Applejack. Not for a second in the beginning did I buy that it couldn't be her because she was the element of honesty. Just because she is doesn't actually keep her from lying. Just like Dash at this moment, she is the element of loyalty, it doesn't seem too loyal to go around scrutinizing your friends and doubting them of their truthfulness. Throughout the most of it so far, we have seen little of AJ. Yet from this scene right here, it kind of says a lot. First off it hows AJ can disguise her voice, now that doesn't say she did it, but it does bring her back into the list. She is also tired, now she can easily pass it off as the work though, but then again so is Rainbow. They are both tired, visibly anyway, so whose to say that AJ isn't actually tired because she was running around as MDW. That and she seems to be happy, which Rainbow points out. Last we heard MDW was happy, that moment she spent with Dash made it all worth it, and well so is Applejack. That;s another reason. Now I know that all of this can be for different reasons entirely, but hey, that is what I think anyways.
Next comes Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. They really should be the tops on my list, but I just can't see either one of them being Mare Do Well. Starting with Fluttershy, she seemed the obvious choice at first. Mare Do Well says she is a coward and that she uses this persona to masquerade around because she is afraid to do it as herself. That points towards Fluttershy, just because of her personality.Also Mare Do Well seems to act like Fluttershy, as said by other commentors. That especially made itself clear when she broke her facade once and said 'I'm sorry', and well that seems like Fluttershy. But I just can't seem to bring myself to actually believe she would do something like this. She just seems so reserved and the like that this all seems too much for her, and the fact that Mare Do Well does these athletic jumps, Fluttershy doesn't strike me as being too athletic. Well, that's my view on Fluttershy, I most likely left some things out, but eh.
Finally comes Pinkie, oh poor poor Pinkie. This really can't end well for her, that is unless she ends up being Mare Do Well, but I highly doubt this. You seem to be setting her up as a third wheel or a love triangle bit for her to be Mare Do Well, besides, the way she talks doesn't at all sound anything like the way Pinkie does. The way Mare Do Well acts just doesn't seem Pinkie-esque at all, I can't see the bubbly and spirited pony being Mare Do Well at all. Now if she has an alternate personality here, that would make a lot more sense. Mind you it doesn't make much, but it does more than it being actually Pinkie. That would make sense how Mare Do Well knew she would go talk to AJ, seeing as Pinkie mentioned it her other personality would know, because she is technically the same person. But then what would be the point, both personalities would be chasing after the same mare. They are pretty much racing each other to prove their worth to Rainbow, so that kind of muddies it. Well, yeah... I just can't really see it as being Pinkie either way...
Hmm, my thoughts were kind of getting away from me as I finished this, so most of this probably sounds like incoherent rambling. Anyways, that was pretty much what my head had swimming about inside of it. Now I have some more reading to do
66327 mlkshk.com/r/5CL6
64899 pinkie pie, based on the evidence so far, is the only pony it can be. pinkie has had multiple personalities before.
I guess Mare Do Well. She is Applejack, I can tell!
My god pinkie is an attention whoring bitch! Lol
applejack thinks its cheerilee to I can tell
You have a knack for writing Pinkie. I've never seen her as such a deep character before. Some of the things she says are so out of character, yet so...in character... I don't really know how to explain it... But it chills me, get my blood flowing and my mind racing. This is one of the most enjoyable fanfics I have ever read.
I normal don't comment but I'm really enjoying the mystery of who is behind the mask and I just had to throw my two cents in. its really only two cents to cause I really don't have anything new to add beside my list of who i believe are mystery mare is and here it is
yeah! just a side note, if it is Pinkie she really is leading this along. I mean 1st going to Rarity so Dasie can find the meaning behind that flower than to AJ so she can be told she a heart breaker than the end scene.
A silence fell over the two of them. It was strange, sitting with Applejack in the dark. Since Rainbow couldn't see the other pony, it was almost like she was alone and talking to herself.
Ah see what ya did there.
Also, happy-go-lucky, not happy-go-looking
Having fun reading this, not going to list who I think it is, because well... my list of suspects is slowly slimming and pointing them out would just get me off track.
Don't read the comments. Don't ever read the comments. I learned that. It's why I'm still reading.
Now, Pinkie is too obvious. It's gotta be. Everyone sees it. C'mon.
I think I is fluttershy why because she knew a lot about MDW in a hypothetical sense and thought a lot on how MDW would act why would she do that with out reason and MDW said she knew
better then anyone Fluttershy went to flight camp with rainbow dash and plus the
So far, I am really enjoying the story. It has been a while since I've read a big fanfiction story such as this and I love a good mystery when we are figuring out along side the character and you did a good job with it so far. There were times that I felt that you put in obvious remarks such as this:
I know what dreams tend to do because I have them myself so I felt that I did not need to be told how they work. What I would like, instead, was to show me what kind of dream Rainbow Dash was having. Parts like these do tend to bother me, but they are too far and in between to make me quit the story. The interations between Rainbow Dash and Mare Do Well are golden in this story and you kept the masked hero's idenity hidden pretty well that so that I have a hard time figuring out who she is. I do have my suspicions, but I'll keep my mind open until the end. I'm avoiding the comments until after I finish the last chapter.
That should be "rang". Simple past tense, not past participle.
And how confident are you that she couldn't slip a love potion into your food while out of costume? You'd eat food your friends gave you, I'm sure, and a little sleight-of-hoof and a brief distraction could get it into your food at a restaurant or party. She's most likely somepony you have regular contact with, after all.
Nope. Already considered the idea that Mare Do Well is Scoots long ago, and it hasn't gotten any less preposterous since then. More preposterous, in fact, since I don't think Scoots could be as philosophical as Mare Do Well even if she could fake being full-grown.
I don't think it could be AJ either. She doesn't have the free time. She'd either have to slack off on her farm work, which would be hard for her family to miss, or it's be like Applebuck Season all over again, which would be hard for anypony to miss.
Hmm, who could AJ be talking about? I dunno, maybe the mare who made Mare Do Well drop her persona in jealousy? The one who looked so jealous herself when she heard about Mare Do Well's intentions? Nah, couldn't be.
Seriously, how dense can you be?
So, anyway, my money's pretty firmly on Pinkie at the moment, which is a bit worrisome since she's hard enough to predict when she's entirely what passes for sane with her, and because this story is tagged as sad. Her external internal conflict may not end well.
For me, Mare Do Well's language gives me heavy reason to suspect Twilight, not only for the opulence of verboseness and the logic reasonings, but she also has the magical talent to be capable of pulling off an illusion spell, which would misdirect suspicion away from her. Then there's the letter analysis, as being Mare Do Well's pony, it would behoove her not to unveil that it was her writing, hoof or magically, not to mention that the attention to detail regarding the written word is just so Twilight. Plus, regarding her costume, she really could have given it to Rarity, and having second thoughts, or realizing that the costume would be a good idea to mask her identity from Rainbow Dash, purchased it again, and the subsequent answers to Rainbow Dash's queries were misdirection/ deflection to direct suspicion away from her. But the verbose language and rhetoric used by Mare Do Well, really makes me favor Twilight. Rarity, would be my second choice, if only for her sophistication/ education which would have enabled her to have such verbose language acquisition and oratory skills
Ok, unless Pinkie is schizophrenic, she's out. Twilight is 25%. Rarity, Applejack, and Flutters are out. That leaves Derpy, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust as main suspects.
Well well well. It seems that suspects are being crossed out and others opened up once again. I cant wait to read on. Keep up the great writing!
64559 I'd have to seriously disagree. Pinkie's being far too demanding of Dash's time. Good freinds don't do that. I wouldn't have gone along with it either. In any case, it's obvious that this is some sort of twisted love triangle, and Pinkie is being down-right creepy about it.
I'm quite out of my element with shipfics, but someone recommended this to me... and despite my initial prejudices, I'm getting quite interested. (Having managed to avoid spoilers helps!) Probably the moment at which I really stopped and said "Ooh, clever!" out loud was when you brought up the point about AJ being able to change her voice. We've known that ever since "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", but it really hadn't crossed my mind in this story until you mentioned it. I don't know whether I'm imagining it, but the story seems to have picked up pace in the last couple of chapters, too. I'm intrigued by what's going to happen to Rainbow and Pinkie's friendship.
And since it's more or less de rigeur to do this when commenting part-way through a mystery, I'll risk making an utter fool of myself by saying that my money is currently on Mare Do Well being Pinkie. Well, unless you've pulled a fast one by making her none of the Mane Six. You've dropped a whole heap of hints that there are similarities between some of Pinkie's stuff and some of MDW's, and in a lot of stories that would be done deliberately to throw the reader off the scent. But I reckon it's a double bluff. So I'm betting on Pinkie.
2494750 Hell, if your best friend wanted to be with a stranger (that neither of you know) more than you, and she was the element of Loyalty would you like it?