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The Games We Play: Supplementary Materials

by AbsoluteAnonymous

Chapters

Alternate Ending: The Only Ending Tailslover13 Would've Been Happy With

A/N: This is for you, Tails. NOW will you let it go already? As for everyone else...guys, I'm so sorry. I swear they won't all be like this. Maybe.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #1

There was only silence; the sound of the two of them breathing and the hushed whisper of snow falling.

"We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."

And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only her.

Wide violet eyes. A mouth, seemingly unsure about whether or not it was meant to smile. And hair of a deep shade of indigo, interrupted by two streaks of lighter colors - one purple, the other pink - her bangs lying neatly against her forehead and mane pooling around her like a waterfall, long and straight as glass.

-----

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still the mare had nothing to say for herself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, then gave Rainbow a weak smile.

"I can explain," Twilight whispered.

"No, seriously," Rainbow said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. Like, at all. What about that party at Pinkie Pie's place, when Mare do Well and I were talking and then she ran away because you showed up? Did you use some kind of duplication spell? Because that would totally be a cop-out."

"Oh, no doubt. It would be a cop-out. But you see, it's not, because I actually have an explanation for that," Twilight answered primly. "You see, there were two Mare Do Well's. Whenever Mare Do Well was being charming, clever, or likable, it was me. Whenever Mare Do Well was being immature or bratty, it was Pinkie Pie. Now do you understand?"

Rainbow Dash wasn't actually listening. Instead, the pegasus had found her eyes drifting downwards, to the way the damp black and violet cloth of the bodysuit was now clinging to Twilight's body, hugging and accentuating her every curve. It was extremely distracting.

"You know what?" Rainbow Dash announced firmly, a sly smile making it's way across her face. "That makes perfect sense to me."

For a while there, Dash had almost begun to believe that she might have been in love with Pinkie; but now that Rainbow could see the lavender unicorn splayed out before her, she realized how very wrong she'd been. After all, how could somepony as annoying and hyperactive as Pinkie Pie possibly compare with a unicorn as adorkably lovable as Twilight Sparkle?

And if the smug, irritating Mare Do Well had purely been a product of Pinkie Pie's ineptitude as an actress, then, well, that left Twilight as the possessor of all of Mare Do Well's more positive traits. For instance, her romantic nature and obvious intelligence, or perhaps the absolute, borderline obsessive worshipful adoration she regarded Dash with.

All of these were traits that the pegasus could get easily get behind.

And so Twilight found herself swept into a flurry of kisses as the pegasus carried her off into the night, back to Twilight's library, where they then proceeded to have hours of kinky library sex (which you all know is the best kind) right on top of a pile of Daring Do novels, when suddenly, the door was thrown open and Pinkie Pie burst in.

"DASHIE!" Pinkie Pie shrieked. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? This isn't what's supposed to happen at AT ALL!"

"Pinkie!" Twilight cried, blushing as her hooves flew to cover herself, despite the fact that ponies tended to go around naked most of the time anyways. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"'Sup, Pinks?" Rainbow Dash asked with a lazy grin. The pegasus was straddling the unicorn, her face red from exertion and her breathing labored.

"This isn't what's supposed to happen next! You were supposed to catch me during the chase, and then we were supposed to totally make out and then you'd fall in love with me for realsies and then we'd live happily ever after like the author planned all along! Why are you with Twilight?"

"Well, geez, Pinkie. I mean, I kind of thought about picking you? But then, well, Twilight happened. And she is best pony," Dash said with some affection, smiling down at the unicorn, who smiled back lovingly.

Kill them all! Pinkamena hissed to Pinkie. Your so-called friends have betrayed you yet again! If Rainbow Dash won't love you, nopony else can have her, either!

"No!" Pinkie shrieked, clutching her head and twisting her face as if in pain. "Stop it! Bad pony! Stop telling me to kill my friends!"

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle exchanged looks of concern. Well, Twilight tried to exchange a look of concern; but Rainbow Dash had donned a pair of cool shades and was in the process of lighting a choice cigar, and didn't seem to notice.

"Um, Pinkie?" Twilight asked, propping herself up on her elbows atop the pile of books. In retrospect, they probably shouldn't have used the books as their base. It would make actually reading them afterwards fairly awkward, if not completely disgusting and unsettling.

KILL THEM ALL! roared Pinkamena from within Pinkie's mind. WHO WANTS CUPCAKES? WE DO!

"No! I won't let you make my friends into cupcakes!"

"Pinkie Pie, are you all right?"

Pinkie lifted her tear-stained face, blue eyes wild, only to see Twilight Sparkle's gentle, compassionate face smiling back. There was such concern written in those lovely, sparkling eyes of hers, and suddenly, Pinkie Pie saw the truth. She didn't love Rainbow Dash. Not really. The truth was, she was deeply, irrevocably in love with Twilight.

No! her Pinkamena self wailed. But what about Rainbow Dash? We've wanted her for so long, you can't seriously be giving up NOW!

Well, Dashie's here, too, Pinkie offered. What if we just all did it together?

Ooh, that sounds fun.

And Pinkie Pie threw herself at Twilight. A series of endless sloppy kisses rained down upon the unicorn to little protest; that was all the invitation Rainbow Dash needed to join in, and in a single, glorious moment, the three of them found themselves entangled in a Twilight Sparkle-centered orgy of desire, and also of sex.

At some point there was a knock at the door, but the three ponies - earth, unicorn, and pegasus - were so wrapped up in one another that no one noticed; and at last, the visitor grew fed up with waiting for an answer and opened the door themselves. In walked Applejack.

The moment Applejack saw three of her best friends locked in passionate embrace on the library floor, she quietly turned around to leave.

But then, Applejack stopped in the doorway, for she'd realized something. She'd been wrong all along. The unicorn she loved wasn't Rarity; it was actually Twilight. All this time, she'd been projecting her true feelings of lust on the closest substitute she could find, knowing that a simple country bumpkin like herself would never be able to win the heart of a Canterlot-born mare like Twilight, a mare who was not only well-educated, but the personal student of Princess Celestia herself. Now, though, the farmer could be free to act upon her true feelings.

For it was true, what had been said so many times in the past - Twilight really was best pony. And Applejack really, really liked her mane.

Before any of them truly knew what was happening, Applejack had joined the fray; and at some point, Rarity joined in as well, presumably because she had suddenly realized that Twilight Sparkle was the greatest pony who had ever lived and was fully deserving of the combined forced of their love and friendship.

The five of them made love long into the night, and it wasn't until the next morning that they saw any need to stop when Fluttershy walked in.

"Oh my," Fluttershy whispered when she saw what her friends were doing.

"Hiya, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie cried. "Wanna join in?"

"Um...no, thank you," Fluttershy mumbled, her face blushing a furious red when she saw what Rainbow Dash was doing to Twilight; and yet, she couldn't look away. "I like stallions."

"So do I, but mares are fun, too!"

"Pinkie Pie, you are so random," Rainbow Dash chuckled, sounding somewhat out of breath.

"I, uh, um...no. No, it's okay," Fluttershy squeaked, quickly scampering away and slamming the door behind her; and so, the dainty butter-yellow pegasus remained chaste, staying pure and undefiled until the day of her marriage to Big Macintosh.

Gradually, their numbers dwindled; one by one, the others grew tired and left, until at last, only Rainbow Dash and Twilight were left.

"I'm glad you turned out to be Mare Do Well," Rainbow Dash said happily before giving Twilight a soft kiss. "This so completely works on so many different levels, I can't see why anypony would have any problems with this result at all,"

"I know," Twilight agreed, sounding equally happy as she nestled against the side of the blue pegasus, where she'd always known she belonged. "I don’t understand how anypony could've been expecting anything else."

"Wanna have sex again? Let’s go somewhere else, though.”

"Where?"

"The roof?"

And so they climbed onto the roof, where they proceeded to have sex yet again.  

Their relationship was long and loving and full of all sorts of zany romantic encounters, and  the next day, everypony in Equestria simultaneously realized that Twilight Sparkle was their very favorite of all the ponies they knew; and so they all agreed to share her, so that none would have to go too long without basking in her glorious presence. But of course Rainbow Dash had dibs. And so they all lived happily ever after.




End

Alternate Ending: Bear Do Well (Guest submission from protractror)

A/N: I received this in a PM from protractror shortly after the publication of chapter 19 and before the big reveal. I know it's short, but it cracked me up when I first read it, so I wanted to share it with you guys. I don't want to come across as some kind of arrogant jackass who assumes that I'll be receiving many more guest submissions like this, but if anyone out there feels like making fun of me and my work by writing their OWN guest submission, feel free to do so. I honestly don't mind, and I'll even publish it here for you.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #2

Rainbow Dash’s lungs were on fire, her wings were screaming for mercy and her whole body ached. None of that mattered though as she put all of her energy and then some into catching Mare Do Well. There was nothing left that mattered, nothing to lose. With a final push she tackled the fleeing ‘hero’, landing on top of her like she had so many months ago.

Rainbow Dash felt like she should have a witty line for the unmasking of Mare Do Well, but she just couldn’t muster anything. This charade had gone on for long enough. Rainbow grabbed for the mask and pulled it off. However, the second she pulled on the mask, the whole costume seemed to explode off of the caped crusader. Rainbow Dash was sent flying backwards as she saw a gargantuan 8 foot tall bipedal beast stand where Mare Do Well had been just seconds ago. For a moment the streets of Canterlot were eerily quiet, until Rainbow Dash broke the silence in a shocked exclamation.

“Oh my gosh! Mare Do Well is a BEAR Do Well!”

“Yes it is all true!” Roared the bear. “I, Harry the bear have been in love with you the whole time. But now that you see me it must all make sense to you, right?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t understand a word the bear had said, as he was a bear, but she could tell he was waiting for a response. She slowly nodded her head, scooting back as quietly as she could.

“I mean, is it almost clichéd for a bear to be as shy as me! Look around, how many bear socialites do you see? For that matter, how many bears are there in Cloudsdale? None! Because we are all scared of heights! I was afraid I was making it too obvious for you sometimes Dashie.” The Bear said in his native tongue, which sounded a lot like a death threat to ponies.

“Uhhuh, Yeah...” Rainbow squirmed. She needed somepony to go get help, anypony! Looking around the streets of Canterlot she finally made contact with a pony. Sadly, that particular pony was Pinkie Pie, who looked at the scene unfolding with heart breaking sadness.

“Mare Do Well and Rainbow Dash together? I just can’t bear it!” And Pinkie ran back to her room.

“But you had your chance Rainbow Dash, you had your chance and you blew it! Honey, were leaving!” The bear bellowed, causing rainbow Dash to literally be blown back a few inches.

“Yes dear, coming!” A peppy voice came out from behind Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle pranced up to Harry, and as he put his arm around her shoulder (somehow) they wandered off into the sunset.

Rainbow Dash was left in the alley, all alone with no friends left in Equestria. Reality had started to sink in on her now that there weren’t any giant bears talking to her.

“Life all alone? I couldn’t bea-“

“Hey, I already used that!” Pinkie Pie yelled from across the street.

“Sorry! I just-“

“Get your own puns!”

“Ok, ok! I guess I’ll, uhm, have to hide out from now on. Cause, uhm bears have hide?

“Weak.”

And Rainbow Dash left the city furious at herself. She had let down Mare Do Well, she had hurt Pinkie and she had made possibly the worst pun of all time.




End

Alternate Ending: Mare Doooo- where the Well are yoooou?! (Guest submission from Lucefudu)

A/N: Holy hell. I wasn’t expecting people to actually wanna do the guest submission thing, but I’ve already received a couple, plus I’ve had two people request permission to write their own, as well. Don’t you guys have anything better to do than write fanfiction about fanfiction?! Also, Lucefudu was the one who originally selected the links included in the body of the work; I have nothing to do with them. Don't blame me.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #3

Guest Submission from Lucefudu

There was only silence; the sound of the two of them breathing and the hushed whisper of snow falling.

"We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."

And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there, Rainbow Dash knew there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only her.

-----

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still the mare had nothing to say for herself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, and then gave Rainbow a weak smile albeit remaining absolutely silent. Rainbow Dash furrowed her brows in anger and brought her head closer to the cloaked mare’s, “THIS DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!” she yelled in frustration.

Under that mask stood the source of Rainbow’s frustration. The agony that plagued her mind for what felt to her like an eternity. The face that would finally set her mind free. Under the mask stood...

Another mask... ?!

Rainbow Dash was having none of it. She felt the mare underneath her struggle, which only prompted herself to double her efforts in keeping the mare pinned down. She forced Mare Do-Well’s shoulders harder against the ground and bent down one more time, bringing the two mare’s faces closer another time. Rainbow Dash expected some sort of trick on the mare’s part to hide her real identity, she just didn’t know it would be a... strange one.

She gripped the mask once more with her teeth and yanked hard. She quickly tossed it to the side and laughed, “Now let’s see who you really are.”

She looked down and her eyes widened with shock, “ANOTHER MASK?!” Rainbow Dash frantically looked to her sides, expecting some sort of prank from her friends.

No... this... can’t be true! she thought as the panic set into her body. She felt the cloaked mare relax under her hooves and chuckle lightly. Rainbow Dash quickly bent down once more and gripped the third mask with her teeth. It was with a shock that she saw another mask under the one she just removed.

“But... but we kissed! I- I felt your coat! How is this even possible?!” she said, feeling her brain itching hard. She pulled the mask again... and again... and again... and again.

“No... No. No! NO! NO!” Rainbow Dash screamed into the night, gripping her head with both her forehooves. Feeling the pressure pinning her to the ground vanish, Mare Do-Well bucked Rainbow Dash, getting the cyan mare away from herself. She proceeded to get on her four hooves and jump to the top of a nearby building.

The wind swirled around the cloaked mare, making her cape ominously flutter. Although Rainbow Dash couldn’t exactly see it, she knew Mare Do-Well was staring right in her eyes. The cloaked mare’s lips moved, and Rainbow Dash felt as if the wind itself carried her booming voice to her ears.

“YO HOME, SMELL YA LATER!”

Rainbow Dash remained silent as the cloaked mare jumped from the building, away from her line of sight. The lower eyelid of her right eye trembled slightly and her mouth quickly mumbled unintelligible sounds as the cyan mare felt every single neuron in her brain wither and dissolve as the seconds passed.


End

Alternate Ending: Fight Club is Mindbuck (Guest submission from Shrinky Frod)

A/N: I find it extremely amusing that I’m already technically four chapters into this mess, and yet I’ve only written one of them myself. How quickly this has all devolved into pure crack.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY”

ALTERNATE ENDING #4

Guest Submission from Shrinky Frod

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still she had nothing to say for herself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, and then gave Rainbow a weak smile.

"Well, come on, Rainbow... who else could I ever have a hard time admitting my feelings for... but me?"  Rainbow Dash grinned meekly up from where she was laying under herself, pinned against the roof.

"How could you possibly be me!"  Rainbow shouted down at herself.  "What is this, My Little Pony, Fight Club is Mindbuck?!?"

"Nah," Rainbow shrugged, working her way onto her hooves and dusting herself off.  "I mean, it makes perfect sense, right?"

"No, no it doesn't!  You don't have any wings!"  Rainbow protested.

"Well, that's the thing.  This whole thing was about you coming to grips with losing your wings after that tragic accident with the cider press, when you went to try and lick some cider off the stone."

"I don't see how that would make me lose -"

"While Big Mac was running on the platform."

"Eww."

"Very eww.  That whole batch had to be thrown out," Rainbow sighed wistfully.  "But you see, since you never saw me when anypony else was around -"

"Yes I did!"  Rainbow interrupted again.  "Twilight saw you... me... us!  I know that much!  And I thought Fluttershy did too... didn't she?"

"Well, okay, so there is that.  You see though... you're forgetting one very important thing I told you earlier.  We're all wearing masks, Rainbow Dash.  Even you," Rainbow said solemnly.  "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out earlier.  After all... would Rainbow Dash really be afraid of somepony being in love with her?  Even herself?"  She gave a scoffing snort.

"Wait... you mean...?"

"I mean you're not really Rainbow Dash!  You're really...."  Rainbow Dash leaned forward, kissing herself, biting down on her lower lip - and then ripped her head back, yanking the rainbow-maned mask off of her doppleganger only to reveal....

~~~===~~~

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still she had nothing to say for herself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That really doesn't make sense!"  Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, and then gave Rainbow a weak smile.

"Yeah... it really doesn't, does it?"  Mare Do Well asked sheepishly, her mask and hat having somehow miraculously fit perfectly beneath the Rainbow Dash mask.  "So... what do we do now?"

"I dunno," Rainbow Dash admitted, scratching her head with a hoof.  "Make out again?"

"I guess that works!"  Mare-Do-Well admitted.  "At least then we'd have an ending more satisfying than this all turning out to be a dream!"  Suddenly, the world around them began to become hazy, wavering and fading out of the snowlit scenery of Canterlot on Hearth's Warming.

"Oh, you just had to say that, didn't you?"  Rainbow Dash groaned, smacking herself in the head with a hoof and falling backwards.....

~~~===~~~

"Son of a bitch!”  Rainbow snarled as she woke up in her cloud bed.  "Damn it, I have one cherrychanga and a pitcher of cider before bedtime, and I dream up twenty goddamn chapters only for it all to turn out to be a dream?  I didn't even get any!  Now what am I supposed... to... do?"  Rainbow reached over, poking a lump in the cloud blankets next to her, curious about the distinctly solid form beneath them.  She lifted them up and looked underneath, only to see Mare-Do-Well's curled up beneath the covers, snoring contentedly.

Rainbow threw back the blankets.  Indeed, Mare Do Well was sleeping next to her in bed, in full costume, apparently oblivious to Rainbow's outburst.  The weird thing was, Rainbow Dash couldn't remember how she'd gotten there... well, okay, she couldn't remember much of anything besides a vague impression that AJ's infamous six-week cider and cherrychangas shouldn't be consumed at the same time ever, ever, ever, ever again.

She reached down, fastening her teeth around the base of Mare-Do-Well's mask, and pulled it up, peeling it off with some attempt not to disturb the pony wearing it.  When it came off, and she saw who was wearing it, she gasped.

The costume was completely empty... just lying there, like some invisible pony was wearing it, with no physical body inside.

"Three A.M. in the morning with the start of a hangover is way too bucking early to deal with this," Rainbow decided, pulling the blankets back up and tugging the mask onto her own face to have somewhere to keep it.  She'd figure it all out in the morning....


End

Alternate Ending: None of This Makes Sense (Guest submission from Cookies Need Love)

A/N: Okay, seriously - what the hell? WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? I've written a total of ONE alternate endings by myself so far, and was just about to work on the next one when I received yet ANOTHER guest submission! You guys are weird, man. Also, I think this might be the crackiest one yet, and that's saying something. My OWN next chapter should hopefully be more normal.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #5

Guest Submission from Cookies Need Love

There was only silence; the sound of the two of them breathing and the hushed whisper of snow falling.  

"We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."  

And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.  

"Are you ready?" she asked.  

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.  

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.  

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.  

It was time. She took one final deep breath.  

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.  

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

There, beneath her, was not a pony but a kind of maybe sort of a little bit his ancestor was a pony. That is, if the dragon-esque creature with a chicken arm and one fang had any ancestors. As far as Rainbow Dash knew, he had simply appeared out of nowhere. No one had really explained that part to her. Well, if they had she hadn't been listening. After all, it was most likely part of Twilight’s too-long-for-anyone-to-bother-paying-attention-to-but-it's-going-to-be-important-in-the-plot-later tangents about various outdated bits of information that Rainbow Dash didn't care about. Well, that or she was too distracted by staring deeply into Twilights eyes and wishing she could screw her right there on the table. It depended on who was reading. (*cough* Tailslover *cough*).

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Aren't you getting a little off point? I mean, I just found out that the person who's been chasing me around is Discord. Shouldn't you focus on that?" Rainbow Dash said to the author.

Right. Sorry. Rainbow Dash was freaking out.

"No! No, this doesn't make sense. No way!" Rainbow Dash said. She stared down at the smirking, and clearly pleased with himself Discord. Then a thought seemed to strike.

"Wait a minute.... this really doesn't make sense. Are you even thinking this through?" Rainbow Dash asked the author.

Will you stop talking to me? It's not good for my image! I'm supposed to be a mysterious force that can do whatever it wants.

"But Discord? I mean, the Mare Do Well is a pony. And a MARE! This is... Discord!" Rainbow Dash replied. The author then decided that Rainbow Dash needed to do something with her mouth other then point out plot holes in the alternate ending. So Rainbow Dash began to kiss Discord again. However, Discord decided that the next logical step was to disappear and then reappear right beside Rainbow Dash, causing her to do a face plant of epic proportions.

"Hey! We're supposed to be in love here!" Rainbow Dash looked up indignantly at Discord.

"Riiight, about that..... I'm really just in love with Hayseed. You're much too normal for me. It has been fun messing with you, though!" Discord explained. He then (somehow) put his arm around Hayseed's shoulders, defying all laws of physics that hadn't already been broken, and strolled off with the old pony.

"Hayseed? Why can't there be a straight pairing in this fandom?" Rainbow Dash groaned, then facehooved. Then she blinked and realized there was something else wrong with the picture of Discord and Hayseed doing the jitter bug off into the sunset.

"Wait! Hayseed and Discord? Isn't Discord shipped with Pinkie Pie? What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash once more questioned the author in that annoying way of hers. Pointing out details that were just fine being left un-pointed out. The author decided to distract Rainbow Dash again.

Look over there! Like the silly filly that she was, Rainbow Dash looked over there and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Yeah, it's Lyra and Mrs. Cake making out. They do that all the time," Rainbow Dash commented carelessly, looking back over here. That was when she noticed that somehow, inexplicably, she was now right next to Rarity's house. Seeing no other logical option, Rainbow Dash looked in Rarity's window. What she saw defied any sense of anything at all, common or otherwise.

"Is Rarity taking off her sweater? On a stage? With Chief Thunderhooves watching?" Rainbow Dash asked. That could not be happening.

I've always suspected there was something going on between them. the wise author noted wisely.  

"Well I haven't. Because there's no proof. I'm pretty sure they never even talked!" Rainbow Dash dumbly responded because she wasn't as wise as the amazing and awesome author.

"And stop saying things like 'Rainbow Dash dumbly responded because she wasn't as wise as the amazing and awesome author'. It's not fair!" Rainbow Dash said. (Dumbly)

"I saw that!"

Sorry.

Rainbow Dash said.

"That's better. But that doesn't explain Rarity and Chief Thunderhooves. I mean, her main shipping partners are Applejack and Spike!"

Just then Applejack and Spike emerged from Rarity's kitchen, munching on popcorn.

"Did we miss a good part?" Spike asked. He saw on one side of Chief Thunderhooves while Applejack sat on the other. Rainbow Dash stared, her mouth wide open. Clearly the author was an evil/insane genius to think of such a simple answer.

"Clearly the author is an evil/insane idiot to think of such a dumb answer," Rainbow Dash said. She turned away from Rarity's window, not really wanting to see much else. Rarity had taken off her sweater and was now in the process of slowly rolling up some stockings for her cheering audience that had somehow gained over ninety ponies, manticores, parasprites, hydras, and other various creatures.

"Okay. You're not even trying anymore," Rainbow Dash cried in exasperation as she took another few steps and found herself right outside Twilight's door. The author did not deign to reply to that comment, as the author found it rather insulting as clearly the author was trying very hard. Rainbow Dash ignored the author's hurt silence and pushed open Twilight's door, too rude to even knock. Rainbow Dash stared at the scene before her.

"Is that me? Listening to Twilight read from Daring Do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Yes. Yes it is.

"Am I a Unicorn? Is Twilight a Pegasus? Is Pinkie Pie an Alicorn?"

Yes, you do have a magical horn. Yes, Twilight has wings. And yes, Pinkie Pie is a huge, talking Unicorn's horn because that is what Alicorn means.

"Right. As long as you got the Alicorn part right, the rest of it doesn't matter," Rainbow Dash commented sarcastically. She stared at the scene, with no words to describe the insanity. The fact that Pinkie Pie was a horn with legs and a bushy tail and a huge smile didn't really phase her much. She always knew Pinkie Pie was weird. It was more that she was listening to Twilight read her a book that she found utterly confusing and weird. Sure, it was Daring Do but she would never let Twilight read it to her.

If that's what you think of that, I wouldn't open the door behind you. the author advised. Rainbow Dash closed Twilight's door and turned around to find herself in front of Twilight’s door.

"What's behind this door?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little worried.

Seriously. You don't want to know. It's for the TwiDash shippers that might be reading. the author said, smiling sexily into the camera like a sexpot.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that there's now a camera. But hey, I wanna be like Daring Do! So I have to go on adventures and see weird stuff. I get the feeling whatever is behind this door will fall into that second category," Rainbow Dash said. She opened the door, stared inside for a moment, and then shut it again. The author continued to smile into the camera and do sexy poses.

"That was me and Twilight having sex. While Pinkie Pie worked the camera," Rainbow Dash commented, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

I told you not to open it, the author scolded, winking into the camera.

"Would you stop it with the camera? It makes me think of Pinkie Pie recording... stuff," Rainbow Dash made a face and wheeled around so that she could leave that door firmly behind her. At least Pinkie Pie wasn't an Alicorn. That might've made the whole scene a little weirder.

If Pinkie Pie was an Alicorn, she wouldn't be behind the camera, the author said rather suggestively. Rainbow Dash decided that things were getting a little too graphic for a teen rating and walked towards Sugarcube Corner. Because it was now only a couple feet away from her.

"Well, I've already seen two Pinkie Pies. A third can't hurt," Rainbow Dash commented. Maybe she'd finally be able to make out with this Pinkie Pie. Or somepony. Rainbow Dash hadn't made out with anyone yet, and it seemed like everypony else was getting some. It really wasn't fair.

Be patient, Rainbow Dash. Your hookup comes at the end of the story. I need you so I can show off all of my creativity.

Rainbow Dash sighed, but realized she would have to hold back for now. At least the author hadn't ended it at the first paragraph, when she'd attempted to make out with Discord. That would've been silly and ridiculous.

"Okay. So, what's this Pinkie Pie doing?" Rainbow Dash asked. She peered into the window of Sugarcube Corner and was surprised to find absolutely no Pinkie Pie there at all. Instead there was another stage, just like the one in Rarity's house, and another Rarity, just like the one stripping on the other stage in Rarity's house. This time Rarity in a robe. Rainbow Dash quickly looked away from Rarity and towards the crowd of onlookers. It was smaller this time, but just as weird and diverse.

There was a second Rainbow Dash, however this one was all in shades of green. A ten feet tall Gummy was throwing ones onto the stage as Scootaloo wolf whistled.

"There's two Rarity's now? And they're both stripping? Why is she so promiscuous in your mind?" Rainbow Dash asked the author.

Have you seen those eyes? She's totally the type. the author replied.  

"Okay. I've seen two Pinkie Pies, two Twilights, two Rarity's and a second me that's been colored entirely in shades of green. Where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, thinking of her meek, buttery friend. The author simply pointed to Fluttershy's house. It was hanging off of one of the Twilight tree/library/homes like some kind of weird fruit. Rainbow Dash flew up to the window.

"You can't make Fluttershy weird. She's just too.... Fluttershy-ish," Rainbow Dash reasoned. Then she realized that reason had nothing to do with anything. In fact, reason was quite useless and went off to elope with logic somewhere far, far away from this fan fiction. Rainbow Dash peered into the window.

Fluttershy now had a yellow mane and tail, and pink fur. Angel was apparently a carnivore, because the grumpy bunny was gnawing on some kind of meat. Rainbow Dash really wasn't eager to find out exactly what type of meat it was. Fluttershy was circling the ceiling, staring down at the floor. Her entire house as covered with various pelts and furs, presumably from animals she had hunted.

"Really? You're going to make an anti-Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash questioned the author.

Say hello to Shyflutter! the author introduced this newest character theatrically and with lots of thunder booming and lightning flashing. It was really quite impressive. Rainbow Dash clapped politely before getting back to the point.

"Okay. I've seen all of my friends now, and I'll probably need extensive therapy for life. Can I make out with someone please?" Rainbow Dash pleaded. She stopped flying because she was now on the ground in a field, with no other ponies in sight.

Fine. You've let me ramble on for at least several hundred words now, the author agreed because the author was nice and kind and sweet and amazing.

"Hey! I said stop doing that!"

Oops.

the author agreed.

"Better. Now, who can I make out with?" Rainbow Dash asked eagerly. Just then Discord appeared in front of her. This Discord had purple eyes and an orange beard. Hereafter he will be referred to as Discord #2.

"So, I'm making out with Discord #2?" Rainbow Dash asked hopefully.

Yup. Go for it, my friend. Rainbow Dash then proceeded to 'go for it' but was interrupted by Discord #1 reappearing, still with his arm around Hayseed. He spotted Discord #2 and approached, smirking like evil beings are apt to do.

"Hey, good looking," Discord #1 flirted.

"Right back at'cha, hot stuff," Discord #2 flirted right back. Hayseed watched, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of hay.

"Right. We're gonna go off and have a threesome now," Discord #1 said. He picked up Discord #2 and Hayseed, the disappeared again.

"You said I could make out with him!" Rainbow Dash complained to the author.

Don't blame me! I didn't do that, the author said. Rainbow Dash sighed and sat down in defeat.

Do you want another Pinkie Pie? the author offered. Rainbow Dash nodded, sniffling. With the noise of a small elephant being shoved into a large mouse's mouth, Pinkie Pie appeared right above Rainbow Dash. She then fell on top of them. Without waiting for someone to come steal away this make out partner too, Rainbow Dash began to fiercely make out with her.

Such a happy ending..... I think I'm tearing up a little. the amazingly cool and awesome author who was the best and most sensitive but still cool person in the world said. The author reached for a tissue and blew her nose. Everything disappeared again and there was only a few dots trying to scrape out a life in the severely anti-dot white plain they had to live in.

Hey! That could be taken as offensive, or an allegory for racism or whatever, the author pointed out. So the white plain promptly became an orange plain and the dots turned into green polka dots which then joined the circus and became quite famous.

Much better. The author smiled and ended the story.


End

Alternate Ending: Fluttershy Ending (Guest submission from Midnight-Specter)

A/N: I'm proud to present the first serious take on an alternate ending that I've received so far. You guys are allowed to be serious, too, if you want. And you don't have to restrict yourself to alternate endings, either. If you want to try your hand at a random side story, go ahead.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #6

Guest Submission from Midnight-Specter

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only her.

Big blue eyes. A mouth, seemingly unsure about whether or not it was meant to smile. A mane, bright and beautifully pink, pooling around her like a waterfall, long and sweetly straight.

And a coat, yellow as daffodil petals.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. The exact same color as the sky that Rainbow Dash loved so much. "No. No. That doesn't make sense. You didn’t even have wings!"

Rather than sit there watching as Rainbow Dash drove herself to insanity, shaking her head and wings anxiously, she spoke. “Well, I sort of always did – it’s just that I had Twilight enchant a necklace for me that hid my wings.

"That still doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced. “Why didn’t Twilight know about you doing this then?”

“Oh... well, you see, I... I told her it was for a colt who didn’t like pegasii,” Fluttershy answered.

“But what about all of that... stuff? You’re supposed to be kind! Nothing about any of this was kind – look what we’ve done to Pinkie!”

A pained look entered Fluttershy’s eyes, as she replied, “It’s like I’ve said. We all have masks we like to hide behind.”

“And what about... when I said I liked you before?”

“My reaction back then was the truth... but then things changed. I’ve seen you, Rainbow Dash. I’ve seen how hard you work to achieve your dreams – I’ve seen how hard you try for your friends, to do anything you can to help. You’re a good pony... and I’m just... I’m just...” Suddenly, she broke down crying.

Rainbow laid a tender hoof on her shoulder, but her eyes were anything but as she spoke.

“You’re right. You’re just Fluttershy. You live down in your little hut with your stupid little bunny and your life is perfect. Everything you’ve ever dreamed is in Ponyville, right there with you... but to get one of the things you want, you dress up as some freaky superhero wannabe and ruin her life?”

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...”

“The worst part is that I started to like it. I started to like it! And I hate that about you.”

“Just go. Just leave me – it’s all I deserve now...”

“But I never stopped liking you. Whether as a lover or a friend, I’ve always loved you, Fluttershy. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you – for any of you. But now that you love me back...”

Fluttershy turned her head slowly, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rainbow’s violet eyes – but she was immediately met with a passionate kiss. It lasted for eternity, but eternity was too short.

“Rainbow Dash! There you are!”

“Um, hi, Twilight.”

“We've been looking for you every...Fluttershy? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, hello Twilight. What brings you here?”

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Oh... Um...”

“Were you two...?”

“Can we just go back to the palace? I'm kind of tired.”

---

One night wasn't enough to fix everything, just like Rainbow Dash had warned; but still they stayed together in that quiet room, just the two of them. And then, the night eventually gave way to the morning; and from it emerged two ponies, changed in almost imperceptible ways - both of them exhausted and scarred, but looking considerably happier than they had before.

Hearth's Warming Day itself was a quiet, solemn affair at the palace, unlike the joyful celebrations everywhere else in Equestria. At least, until that night. Although the morning was somber enough and full of ceremony and ritual, by nightfall, things were in full swing; there were food and gifts and carols, like any other Hearth's Warming celebration. And then, that night, as well, Rainbow Dash found her way to Fluttershy's room, and the second night began - a night of speaking in hushed whispers, of silent tears; then finally, quiet smiles and soft kisses before falling asleep together.

So, no, one night wasn't enough to fully repair the damage that had been done. But there was no time limit, after all -   no rule saying they only had one night. They were friends and lived in the same village, seeing each other nearly every day. They had as many nights as they wanted to find their way. If it took a thousand, so be it.

---

There were nights when all Rainbow Dash wanted to do was ask questions. Questions that hadn't occurred to her before, or clarification that she needed to fully understand something; and Fluttershy would answer them all, giving whatever explanations she seemed to require, even though it sometimes caused her pain.

Other nights, Rainbow Dash would talk about herself, instead, and Fluttershy would listen; so, so patiently. To Dash's many stories about growing up - about flight school, about Fluttershy herself, and Gilda - never offering even a single judgmental word of reproach, even as Dash confessed to her many embarrassing mistakes over the years.

And still on other nights, Fluttershy would talk, instead. Not about Mare Do Well; but about her own mistakes. She always had so much to say – but not always with words themselves. It was as if she could tell a story just by looking into her eyes.

They made no grand announcement of the change that had come over the two of them, but the others seemed to pick up on it, anyway. It wasn’t as if they actually tried to hide it - they just didn't go out of their way to advertise it. Maybe Twilight had said something, or maybe the others had been expecting something like this to happen eventually.

When Rainbow Dash finally summoned the courage to say those four little words – I really like you – Fluttershy reacted by... well, she stopped reacting at all. She stood frozen for ages, until finally, Dash, driven by sudden curiosity, stroked her mane, and she burst into an enormous blush – but she was happy. Something similar happened the first time Rainbow Dash was given the idea to bring her flowers, as well. Rarity had been the one to suggest it, ever the hopeless romantic; the same thing happened again, broken this time by a kiss. That time, though, she'd reiterated by later sending Rainbow Dash a bouquet of her own. Red carnations.

The sight of them alone induced a momentary flutter of panic in Dash's stomach; but the note accompanying them consisted only of a crudely drawn pair of pegasii watching a sunset together. This one isn’t a mask, it said.

Sometimes they would be alone together, on one of the nights where there was no talking at all, and Rainbow Dash would find herself confronted with something darker than the Fluttershy she was slowly getting to know. On those nights, the pegasus’ whispers and her laughter would take on a seductive tone, and the way her hooves travelled over Rainbow's body, caressing her wings, were eerily reminiscent of those nights in the alley. Before Dash even knew what she was doing, she'd shoved her away – but something about the look in Fluttershy’s eyes, something about the way she’d shrink back, and Dash hated herself for doing so.

The sixth or seventh time this happened, Rainbow Dash just seized Fluttershy's hoof and firmly pulled it back into place against her wing, an action that seemed to both shock and delight her, prompting her to pull the rainbow mare into another eager kiss.

And so the nights passed.

Winter came to an end, and true to her word, Rainbow Dash worked twice as hard at winter wrap-up, bringing in spring with a previously unheard-of gusto. From the skies, she watched as Fluttershy woke up the sleeping critters, waking them up to a bright new day.

The chill of winter faded, melting into the delirious golden warmth of summer.

A broken mirror would always show cracks. Even if every piece were to be glued back into place, the spider-web thin fractures would continue to carve elaborate patterns across the surface and the mirror would never truly be repaired - but it would still reflect. That was what Rainbow and Fluttershy were like, now. Every day that passed saw yet another piece be put back into place, slowly putting them back together again.

For a time, it was like they both underwent a shared period of mourning; but Mare Do Well had never been real, Dash had to remind herself again and again.

Sometimes in life, you had experiences that were much too complicated to summarize in a mere few words, but if Rainbow Dash were to have tried, maybe she would've said something about falling. About how fearing the fall didn't stop it from happening. About how all you could do was try and ensure a soft landing. About how being afraid didn't always mean there was a genuine cause for fear, and that sometimes you could come out all right, after all.

She wasn't a poet, though, and didn't have any special way with words. So Dash settled for letting the subject go, and instead basking in the warmth of one of Fluttershy’s gentle smiles.

Those who watched them from the outside might have laughed. The two most opposite ponies they could have imagined, brought together by the wonders of first love. But if any of them had known what had transpired during the months previous, maybe they wouldn't have laughed. But you could never really know. You could never say for sure what was happening in somepony else's private life, or what they were thinking in their most secret thoughts.

Neither of them cared, though. It was enough that they could fall asleep wrapped in one another, and that they could take walks, wrapping a wing over one another - a show of affection so common between young pegasii couples. It was enough that Fluttershy would surprise Rainbow Dash all throughout the day with random acts of kindness – a massage one day, or a tender kiss. It was enough that Rainbow Dash could take Fluttershy dancing, weaving through the skies like the life-long friends, the soul-mates they were.

It was enough that they could watch the sun rise, and Rainbow Dash could turn to see Fluttershy smiling and know that she was loved at last.

It was enough. Because it meant that - no matter what else happened - right then and there, in that moment in time, they were happy.

It meant that everything was going to be fine. It meant that everything would be all right. There wasn't much more you could ask for, really. Those snapshots of happiness had to be enough.

And when Rainbow Dash lifted her head to see Fluttershy beside her, whether it was a good day or not and the expression gracing her face was a smile or a frown, it felt like more than she deserved.  

The sentiment never rang truer for her than those times when Rainbow would catch a glimpse of Fluttershy and the tenderness there would be replaced by something darker, flickering for just a moment -  and then she would see the exact same wonder in those big and beautiful blue eyes of hers. Wondering how this had happened, how this had come together. How it hadn't all collapsed already.

Those were the moments when she knew, with a conviction stronger than anything she had ever felt before.

No more hiding. No more pretending. There was only the two of them; and together, as broken as they were, they could make the whole they'd both so desperately sought out.

And they were going to be okay.


End

Side Story: Whatever Happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?

A/N: As a side story, this could be considered canonical within TGWP's continuity, and won't be as cracky or random as the alternate endings have been. Don't read this expecting a barrel of laughs. It's not heartbreakingly depressing, but it's more serious in tone.

"Whatever Happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

The Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse may not have been the best place to meet that afternoon, given the weather, but they had nowhere else to go. Their only other options were Carousel Boutique, but Sweetie Belle had been told to stay away, or the Apple house, where they would've had no privacy. After all, Applejack tended to mother her sister, and would've constantly been hovering and dropping by to check up on the three of them. That left only the treehouse, so it was there that the Cutie Mark Crusaders reluctantly gathered, dressed in their scarves and jackets.

The plan for the day had been to look into cutie marks that involved fire and heat, mostly because the clubhouse had no heat source and the three of them were freezing. Somehow, the conversation ended up drifting from lighting fires to magically igniting things to spontaneous combustion to arson and then finally to fire-eating, when Scootaloo had caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash and promptly leapt out the window to go meet her.

Apple Bloom had brought spiced cider for the three of them, cider that had been specially prepared by her sister when Applejack had heard that they'd be playing outside; but by the time Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had left, the once-steaming drinks had cooled considerably in the chilly open air of their headquarters. But that didn't stop Scootaloo from taking a great big swig of hers the moment they'd returned to their base.

"Okay!" she said eagerly, slamming her mug back down on the table and wiping her mouth. "So forget about the fire cutie marks -we're gonna be Cutie Mark Crusader Mystery Solvers! How should we start?"

"Well, Pinkie Pie said that she and Rainbow Dash were gonna go talk to Applejack," Apple Bloom drawled, nibbling on one of the charred black lumps that Sweetie Belle claimed were cookies. The little unicorn was a terrible chef, but it was an unwritten rule among them that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would always sample whatever Sweetie brought in, just to be good sports. But that didn't stop Apple Bloom from making a face and wincing as she gulped it down. To her credit, she didn't audibly gag. "An' that probably means they think she knows something. But they didn't say why they thought that."

"I bet that's why they were talking to my sister yesterday!" Sweetie Belle offered excitedly, practically bouncing in place on her haunches. "I was making those cookies for Rarity, then Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came by and she told me to go find you guys; but I wanted to hear what they were talking about, so I stayed behind to listen. I bet they were interrogating her!" Her voiced dropped a bit at the end, taking on a hushed tone as Sweetie leaned forward in a conspiratorial way.

"Really?" Scootaloo cried, sounding just as excited as the unicorn did. "Good job! What did you hear?"

"Um...I can't really remember. I didn't hear that much, anyway," Sweetie confessed, looking more ashamed at having failed to gather information than she did about spying on her older sister. "Rainbow Dash asked her about flowers, I think. That's what it sounded like, anyway. And then Rarity got excited."

"What else did they talk about?" Apple Bloom asked, sounding just as curious as Scootaloo had moments ago - but the orange pegasus now looked stricken, as though she was envisioning her hero presenting somepony with a bouquet of roses.

"I dunno. Pinkie Pie caught me around then. But she thought it was funny and laughed and promised not to tell on me if I helped her find Rarity's office. She said she was gonna pull a prank on her."

"What kind of prank?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I showed Pinkie my big sister's office like she asked, and she kind of dug around her desk for a bit. It's not like Rarity keeps anything private there; it's probably not that big a deal if Pinkie Pie looked through her stuff. But I'm not really sure what she was doing."

"She didn't take anything?" Scootaloo demanded, having apparently recovered from her temporary bout of shock.

"I don't think so, but it's not like Pinkie Pie would do anything bad, right? And then she and Rainbow Dash left."

The orange pegasus only scowled.

Apple Bloom had listened to this entire exchange between her friends in silence, quietly sipping her cool cider and wearing a thoughtful expression; but she took advantage of the lull to say, "Well, we know that whoever Mare Do Well is, she likes Rainbow Dash. And she wants to kiss her, too."

"We don't know that," Scootaloo said quickly. "Pinkie Pie was probably just saying stuff."

"Rainbow Dash looked really embarrassed, though, so maybe it is true," Sweetie Belle added. "I bet Rainbow Dash likes her back, and that's why she was asking my big sister about flowers."

A strangled noise erupted from Scootaloo's throat.

"That doesn't matter if it's true or not," she managed to choke. "All that matters is that - "

"Yer just jealous," Apple Bloom giggled through a mouthful of blackened cookie. Sweetie Belle giggled as well, and Scootaloo's face flushed a deep red.

Sulking, she plopped down and sullenly reached for her cider to take another gulp.

"Aw, calm down, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said warmly, nudging the pouting filly with a hoof. "We were just teasin'."

"Well, we know that Mare Do Well's back, and...and that Pinkie Pie thinks she likes Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said quickly, as if to change the subject. The wooden floor was cold, and sitting on it was uncomfortable; she shifted, adjusting her weight and trying to find a better position. "And we know that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are investigating, too, and that they already talked to your big sisters. So tonight, your jobs are to find out what Applejack and Rarity know, okay? And I'll do some investigating of my own, too, to see if I can track down some clues!"

"Who made you the leader?" Apple Bloom asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'm the leader because I started the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Scootaloo answered primly. Apple Bloom looked as though she wanted to argue this point, but a meaningful look from Sweetie Belle silenced her. "So we all know what we're doing, right? We're gonna find out who Mare Do Well is. Because we're..."

Scootaloo paused, grinning, and the three of them finished together.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MYSTERY SOLVERS! YAY!"

They slapped hooves.

-----

If somepony had asked Scootaloo to place a bet regarding Mare Do Well's identity, she would've said that stupid Pinkie Pie. After all, it was obvious to anypony with eyes that Pinkie had a crush on the pegasus, and quite frankly, it made Scootaloo sick. Like the way Pinkie had so nonchalantly strolled up beside Rainbow Dash earlier that day; the casual possessiveness of the gesture, as if to say yes, I belong here. What of it?

It made her feel nauseous.

But the irritation didn't stem from jealousy, like Apple Bloom had suggested. Scootaloo just didn't like watching another pony fawn all over her hero like that, simpering and practically begging for attention that Rainbow Dash was way too cool to give. It was undignified, and therefore, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel embarrassed on Pinkie's behalf.

Mare Do Well had initially appeared out of nowhere, only to vanish soon after, her identity never revealed. And then, for some reason, she seemed to have  reappeared; but from the stories Scootaloo had heard so far, both from the other Crusaders and from eavesdropping on older ponies, Mare Do Well hadn't been doing any of the normal superheroing - instead, she'd just kind of zeroed in on Rainbow Dash. And only one pony would be as pathetic and obsessive as that.

The thing was, Pinkie Pie wasn't nearly smart enough to have pulled off a stunt like this. Especially a stunt that had even Rainbow Dash fooled.

Scootaloo rarely wandered Ponyville at night, and it almost felt like a completely different village when the moon was out. The streets were surprisingly empty and still. No wonder Luna had grown lonely.

Theoretically, she could've sought out Rainbow Dash herself, or even that stupid Pinkie Pie, or maybe Twilight Sparkle or Fluttershy for interrogation. In fact, that was exactly what Scootaloo had tried to do; but Pinkie Pie had been nowhere to be found, and the one time she'd thought she'd seen Rainbow Dash, the pegasus had been flying too fast for her to follow. She'd been heading downtown, though, and that was where Scootaloo now wandered.

There were practically no other ponies in sight at all, let alone other fillies. Luckily, if any of the adults she passed by on her scooter thought to question why one so young was out on her own, they never actually stopped to ask.

She scooted through the twisting streets for what felt like hours, but was in reality likely only a few minutes. And yet, Scootaloo never saw Rainbow Dash once. Even as the sun set, there was nothing of interest to be seen, and at last Scootaloo decided to give up.

When she came to a stop, the sky was blazing orange with the rapidly fading light, and the faintest glimmer of stars could be seen dancing through the evening. The buildings and lampposts cast long, spooky shadows that crawled down the streets like creatures from some kind of nightmare. But only a coward would be afraid of the dark or the night, and Scootaloo wasn't a coward. Definitely not.

In a certain area of downtown Ponyville, there was a row of condos and shops lined along a brick wall that served to create a series of cul-de-sacs down that particular street. Every alley had a dead end, and along the wall the buildings were lined against there was a gathering of trashcans and dumpsters for the use of the residents. That was where Scootaloo now stopped, parking her scooter and propping it up against a wall as she removed her helmet and sighed in frustration.

With a growl, she chucked her helmet off to the side, actively choosing not to notice when it fell amongst the cans with a noisy clatter. She slumped against the wall, once again sighing heavily, as if she was waiting for somepony to ask her what the matter was.

And then Scootaloo felt it. The familiar pricking feeling in the back of her neck, and the odd sensation of a chill suddenly washing over her and making her shiver. As though she were being watched.

She leapt upright and whipped around to see who was behind her. Scootaloo glimpsed her watcher only briefly; but that flutter of a black cape, quickly ducking out of sight behind the wall and back into the alley, was enough for her. Whatever else she was, Scootaloo was definitely one thing - fast. It only took a moment for her to react. With a cry and a leap, Scootaloo crashed on top of the trash cans that hadn't yet been knocked over, propelled by her tiny wings as she attempted to scramble over the wall.

"Hey!" she shouted, pulling herself over the edge. "Why are you - "

But as it turned out, Scootaloo didn't need to shout, because Mare Do Well was right there, perched atop the closed lid of the alley dumpster.

Scootaloo froze. She had very nearly climbed over the wall completely, but had only made it halfway, and was now practically hanging from the ledge. She could feel her eyes widen as they met Mare Do Well's. Even with the distance between the two of them, the mare's eyes felt almost piercing in the dark.

Neither of them spoke. The only sound Scootaloo could hear was that of her own breathing. Her forelegs were beginning to ache from the strain of holding on.

When Mare Do Well had first made her appearance in Ponyville, Scootaloo had fallen under her spell, just like everypony else. There was something undeniably exciting and hopelessly romantic about the idea of a cape hero seeking justice for the weak; now, though, the mare seemed more ominous than anything else.  

There was something so quiet about the figure before Scootaloo; something silent and still, like the shadows that the mare stood amongst, melting perfectly into the scene of a cul-de-sac at night. The eerie blue eyes of the mask almost seemed to glow, wide and staring and unblinking, and although Scootaloo definitely wasn't a coward, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of fear right then. Fear, or something like it. Maybe it was silly for her to look upon the visage of a supposed superhero and feel afraid, but there was something downright chilling about those eyes that shone so brightly in the dark.

Grunting in exertion, she managed to hoist herself over the wall, and attempted to steady herself once she was on top.

"Do you need something?" Mare Do Well asked quietly.

Her voice. Scootaloo had never heard Mare Do Well's voice before, and yet somehow, it was simultaneously exactly what she'd expected and completely foreign to her. Deep and throaty, with a trace of huskiness. Utterly unrecognizable as belonging to anypony she actually knew. Hearing it for the first time took Scootaloo by surprise, and although the masked mare had asked her a question, she found that she was unable to answer.

"I said, do you need something?" Mare Do Well repeated. This time, she sounded almost bored.

"Were you spying on me?" Scootaloo blurted. It was the first question that came to mind.

When she spoke, Scootaloo tried to make her voice sound strong and unwavering. If Mare Do Well was causing Rainbow Dash some kind of trouble, then it was up to her to take care of it, and she wouldn't be able to intimidate anypony if her voice shook. Even if Scootaloo did suddenly feel incredibly nervous.

"I wasn't spying on you. I heard the noise you made and wanted to make sure nopony had been hurt." Mare Do Well answered calmly. "You shouldn't be out here, though," she added, chiding Scootaloo, but almost as an afterthought. "It's not safe."

There was definitely something about Mare Do Well's voice that Scootaloo found unsettling. So soft and low. Almost dangerous. Although, maybe her perceptions were being colored by what Scootaloo knew - that the masked mare had been harassing her hero, somehow.

The menace pervading from her begged the question, what if Mare Do Well isn't the hero anymore?

But that was dumb.

"What are you doing here?" Scootaloo managed to ask. She had never felt as uneasy as she did right then, and the words were almost impossible for her to force out.

"That's none of your business."

"Well, I mean...you're right here. Anypony could see you."

"You're taking this surprisingly well. You run into a superhero and your first concern is for their secret identity?"

"You're not a superhero," Scootaloo retorted. This, she said with confidence.

All Mare Do Well replied was, "Very smart."

"But why are you here?" the pegasus filly demanded, her wings fluttering irritably. "If you're trying to be all sneaky, this isn't the best place."

"Well, I don't know. It's served my purposes so far. And I'll be honest; I wasn't expecting to be seen. I've had pretty good luck as of yet," Mare Do Well answered in a conversational way, sounding friendly enough. "I've felt fairly assured of my invisibility, unless somepony were to intentionally go out of their way to locate me, or if I were to choose to make myself seen. So - "

"I bet you're just waiting to bug Rainbow Dash again!" Scootaloo finally blurted, trying to twist her face into a fierce scowl. And to her shock, the intimidation tactic actually seemed to work, because the next thing she knew, Mare Do Well had stopped speaking.

"I find it hard to believe that she'd be confiding in you," the mare replied curtly, all prior traces of friendliness gone, the pretence of amicability dropped for now. But Scootaloo stood her ground - or rather, her brick wall - refusing to flinch.

"She didn't, but I found out anyway. And me and my friends are gonna get our cutie marks in mystery solving by, um, solving the mystery! So there!" Scootaloo retorted. It would've been an excellent moment to stick out her tongue in defiance; but Scootaloo liked to believe that she was a little more mature than that, and mature ponies were above sticking out their tongues at one another.

And Mare Do Well started to laugh.

It sounded desperate and angry, but it was still a laugh.

"Sorry," she said after a moment. "Sorry. I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because it's sort of ironic. You think you can impress her by taking me down, and that then she'll be grateful to you, don't you?"

"Um - "

"It won't work. Trust me. She'll just be annoyed that you didn't let her take care of it herself. She doesn't want help, and she'll only feel humiliated and resentful if you go ahead with your little plan. But by all means, prove me wrong. Maybe I'm mistaken and she'll be utterly charmed by this little display of loyalty; although I seem to remember that you didn't exactly rush to her side the first time."

Mare Do Well's words came out in a rush, flowing as smoothly as a stream of water. Calm and thoughtful, and above all, continuous; to give you no time to react, and to ensure that Mare Do Well retained control of the conversation. Luckily, this was a tactic that Scootaloo recognized. It was common amongst those bullies who specialized in taunting and harsh words. This was a game she was used to playing.

"First time?" Scootaloo shot back. "You mean the first time you made her totally hate you? Pinkie Pie?"

Scootaloo had been expecting some sort of tell to come from her wild accusation - one that she deeply suspected may somehow be true - such as a pause, or a laugh or a gasp. Instead, Mare Do Well only said, "I doubt it would've hurt her so badly if she'd had somepony who'd stayed by her side through it; but you didn't, did you?"

A beat.

"Wow, you're mean," Scootaloo finally whispered; but she didn't whisper because of anguish or distress, but instead because of how impressed she suddenly felt at the depths the mare seemed willing to stoop to.

"I am, aren't I?"

"Did you even hear what I said before?"

"About being Pinkie Pie? Yes. But we both know that you have no evidence at all regarding my identity, so there's no point in obsessing over it."

And then, there was silence. Shadows pressing in from all sides, oppressive and hiding the unknown from view. The bitter, tingling cold. Scootaloo, trying to stand brave and tall, confronting those eerie blue eyes in the dark.

"Go home," Mare Do Well said after a moment. The venom from before had left her voice. "It's not safe for a filly alone at night. Besides, it's cold. And I'm sorry about what I said. I lost my temper. I didn't really mean it."

Scootaloo didn't move.

It was a clear night. Early still, the sun having only just set. What little light there was in the alley was, for the most part, cast by the stars overhead. With this light, Scootaloo could see the way her breathing sent tiny white puffs of cloud into the air. She couldn't see Mare Do Well's breath at all. Like the mare was dead and didn't breathe at all.

"I'll let you in on a secret," Mare Do Well said suddenly. Still so gentle. "I'm waiting for Rainbow Dash right now. That's why I'm here. I'm not going out to look for her, and I'm not planning to hurt her. She's coming to me. The only reason she isn't here yet is probably because she went to Sugarcube Corner to see Pinkie Pie first."

"..."

"If you leave, I promise I won't tell her you were here tonight. And trust me - I know from personal experience. Rainbow Dash won't like you for trying to step in and help her."

The masked mare sounded almost sad.

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed.

"Fine," she answered, her voice ice. "I'll leave for now. But I don't believe you, and I don't like you very much anymore, either."

"Did you ever?" Mare Do Well asked, sounding amused, even as Scootaloo turned and walked away.

-----

Scootaloo wasn't stupid and wasn't about to miss a chance to spy on the mare. Not after an encounter like that, which had only served to make Scootaloo dislike Mare Do Well more than she'd even thought possible. Not when the opportunity to do so had practically been gift-wrapped and presented to her with a big red bow.

She'd thought that Mare Do Well had been bluffing to get Scootaloo to leave, and that the moment the filly had gone, the mare would flee in pursuit of Rainbow Dash. But Scootaloo hid herself, crouching on the portion of the wall hidden by the building lined against it, just out of sight, only to see Dash actually fly overhead and descend into the alley after all.

No. Why would Rainbow Dash -

Slumping against the wall of the building, she closed her eyes, covering her ears with her hooves and trying to block out all sound and sight.

After a while, being careful not to make a sound, Scootaloo crept away from her hiding place and peered around the wall and into the alley.

She could see them. Two shadows huddled together. Way closer than they had any need to be. And two voices - one low and seductive, one scratch and rough and practically breathless - drifting out into the street. Almost inaudible; but is Scootaloo stood utterly still, not even breathing, she could just barely make out what they were saying. Even then, she caught only occasional snatches of conversation.

"...it'll be romantic. Please?"

"You liked that?"

"Relax, Dashie."

The two shadows pulled apart, only for one of them to press forward again. The second shadow didn't move. It looked almost like -

Are they kissing?!

It was too dark to see for sure, and the sounds were too low and quiet to truly catch, but that single glimpse of the shadows together was all it took for Scootaloo to jerk away as though burned, scrambling back around her corner.

A bitter anger; a resentful disgust. Simmering within her.

Her friends teased her and Scootaloo denied it, but now she knew exactly what that feeling was.

Jealousy. The same burning jealousy that she felt whenever that stupid Pinkie Pie was hanging out with Rainbow Dash instead of her, when Scootaloo had no place with them. A sense of righteousness, born not of justifiable anger, but of envy that Scootaloo couldn't be there instead.

The pegasus shadow hadn't pulled away, and her wings had been flared. Everypony knew what open wings meant.

Scootaloo's stomach was twisting, turning, churning with pure dislike. Had Mare Do Well done it on purpose? Had she somehow known that Scootaloo hadn't truly left, and so she'd put on a little show accordingly? Flaunting her unfathomable proximity with Rainbow Dash and the intimacy that she and Scootaloo were never going to share? Had she done it just to get at Scootaloo?

Well, it had worked.

Scootaloo didn't stay behind to see what happened between them next. Instead, she leapt off the wall and grabbed her helmet, yanking it on with shaking hooves, her vision blurred with furious tears.

-----

"Applejack said that Rainbow Dash did talk to her 'bout something', but she wouldn't say what, so I gotta find a way to make her tell me!"

"Rarity just got mad that I'd been eavesdropping," Sweetie Belle confessed.

Apple Bloom giggled. "Why'd you tell her?"

"I didn't mean to! It just sort of happened! Then she sent me to Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie Pie watched me for the afternoon, so I didn't really learn anything. She let me help her make cupcakes, though, so that was fun. And they didn't even burn!"

Stupid. Stupid Pinkie Pie. Stupid Mare Do Well. Stupid flowers and stupid alley and stupid -

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked, bringing Scootaloo back to the present with a jolt. "Did you learn anything about Mare Do Well?" She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.

Both of Scootaloo's fellow crusaders were looking at her with expectant, smiling eyes. They were treating it like a joke. A game. No wonder none of them had gotten their cutie marks yet.

Mare Do Well and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

There was nothing official yet. They weren't actually dating or anything. Not really. But what would happen if Rainbow Dash found out...?

No. No way. That couldn't happen. Just because Rainbow Dash might have let Mare Do Well kiss her, didn't mean she actually like the masked mare. Maybe it had been an accident, or maybe Scootaloo hadn't seen it right.

That stupid Pinkie Pie...

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle repeated, now with a note of concern in her already musical voice.

"Nah," the pegasus filly declared abruptly, forcing a bold grin on her face. "I didn't get anything good. This whole thing is stupid, anyway." Stupid. Right. Stupid - "Let's forget it. I mean, what would mystery-solving cutie marks look like anyway? Right?"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged a glance.

"Um...question marks? Or magnifying glasses?" suggested Sweetie Belle.

"That actually sounds pretty neat," Apple Bloom said slowly.

"No, they sound lame," Scootaloo interrupted with an air of finality. "Let's check out fire-eating again!"

That was all it took to completely change the flow of the crusaders meeting, all in one fell swoop. Soon it was as if Mare Do Well's name had never been mentioned in the clubhouse at all. But a shadow darkened Scootaloo's smile, a shadow that she would never confess to carrying.

A secret worry, a nagging suspicion, so close to touching the truth at the heart of the matter. A memory of something she now desperately wanted to forget. All of it, kept close to her heart and now pushed down deep inside, deeper and deeper, until it was far enough out of sight for her to forget it entirely. Or to at least to convince herself that she had.

Omake: The Games We Play, 20% Cooler Edition

INT. APPLEJACK’S BEDROOM – AFTERNOON

APPLEJACK’S bedroom. Humble but tidy. A room that is cheerful enough in that folksy, down-home country way. There is little decoration here except for pictures of family and APPLEJACK’S many rodeo trophies. Unsurprisingly, there is an apple on her bedside table.  Next to the apple is a mound of dark purple and black cloth.

APPLEJACK is present. She is wearing an annoyed expression.

She stands facing RAINBOW DASH and PINKIE PIE. RAINBOW DASH looks focused, gesturing wildly as she attempts to explain. PINKIE PIE is uncharacteristically quiet, occasionally nodding along in agreement with what RAINBOW DASH has to say.

RAINBOW DASH

(talking quickly)

You remember how it started, right? I told you guys about it, and you all said it wasn’t you, but I totally knew better and started investigating anyway.

PINKIE PIE

(affectionately)

You’re so smart, Dashie.

APPLEJACK

(obviously annoyed)

Uh-huh. Get on with it.

RAINBOW DASH

But Rarity was really annoying and wouldn’t help me. She was all “ooh, customer confidentiality blah blah blah” so I was all, forget her, man. And then I decided to go out and do some real detectiving on my own, without any help, and then Mare Do Well totally came out of nowhere and creeped on me -

PINKIE PIE

Nuh-uh!

RAINBOW DASH

Huh?

PINKIE PIE

First you went flying and got hit by lightning.

RAINBOW DASH

Oh, yeah. Okay, first I went flying and got hit by lightning, which totally wasn’t cool at all. I mean, it hurt. But anyway, Mare Do Well caught me, which I guess was kind of nice of her or whatever. So I went looking for her again the next night, and then she creeped on me, getting all up in my face and stuff. And trust me, that was so not cool of her. It kind of negated the niceness she did when she caught me, I think.

PINKIE PIE

Ooh, “negated!” That’s a big word.

RAINBOW DASH

Then the next day I got flowers and they were kind of pretty but also really dumb. And then Pinkie Pie had her party, but Mare Do Well showed up there, too, and she bet me that she could get me to fall in love with her before I found out who she was. And I accepted. Like a boss. I mean, there wasn’t even any doubt who would win, right? There’s not even any point in challenging the Dash at a contest. I always win.

PINKIE PIE nods wisely, forelegs crossed over her chest. APPLEJACK stares on in confusion.

RAINBOW DASH

So then a bunch of stuff happened, but long story short, Mare Do Well was just Pinkie Pie being crazy and then we made out. And I guess technically that means she won and I did lose, but that doesn’t really matter. I’m not that mad. Mare Do Well was kind of sexy,  and I did already like Pinkie Pie, so if it turns out that Pinkie has some kind of secret sexy side, I’m cool with that.

PINKIE PIE giggles happily, resting her head against RAINBOW DASH’S shoulder. APPLEJACK looks even more confused.

APPLEJACK

Now, hold up there. None o’ that explains why there’s blood on this here costume.

APPLEJACK grabs the pile of cloth from the table. It is revealed to be her old MARE DO WELL costume, which does, indeed, appear to have a dark-colored stain on it. RAINBOW DASH and PINKIE PIE exchanged looks of confusion. There is a moment of silence.

RAINBOW DASH

(after a beat)

Oh, yeah. Pinkie killed a guy.

PINKIE PIE

(indignant)

I did not!

RAINBOW DASH

Well, you never told me what happened, so what am I supposed to think, huh?

PINKIE PIE

I didn’t kill him, though! I just kind of lost my temper. I mean, he hurt you, Dashie! I couldn’t just let him do that and get away with it!

RAINBOW DASH

But you got his blood on you.

PINKIE PIE

(pouting in a cute but angry way)

That doesn’t -

APPLEJACK

Okay, okay, wait up, you two. What are y’all talkin’ about?

RAINBOW DASH

When Pinkie was being all Mare Do Well, she took me superheroing once and it was pretty awesome. But then some lame jerks attacked us and she went completely psycho on them.

APPLEJACK

Um, what?

RAINBOW DASH

(sounding proud)

She kicked their flanks!

PINKIE PIE smiles proudly as well. APPLEJACK looks afraid.

APPLEJACK

Can’t y’all go to jail for that?

RAINBOW DASH and PINKIE PIE exchange another glance. They put their heads together and proceed to whisper furiously with each other. RAINBOW DASH is distinctly heard to say "Didn't I ask you that, too?" and PINKIE PIE is heard to say "I didn't know!"

RAINBOW DASH and PINKIE PIE turn back to APPLEJACK.

RAINBOW DASH

(threateningly)

Not if you don’t tell.

PINKIE PIE

(equally threateningly)

Promise you won’t tell anypony! PINKIE PROMISE!

APPLEJACK backs away nervously.

END SCENE.

Side Story: Sweeping Up Broken Glass (Guest submission from Donny's Boy)

A/N: This was so well-done that I'm choosing to accept it as canon.

"Sweeping Up Broken Glass"

Guest Submission by Donny's Boy

The question had been burning in her mind for the entire hour and a half that Pinkie Pie had bounced around the happy little kitchen at Sugar Cube Corner while baking, singing, and gobbling down cookies. As Pinkie stirred bowls, the question burned. As Pinkie cut little shapes out of the dough and decorated them, the question burned. As Pinkie took out trays of fresh cookies from the oven, the question burned like fire.

Finally, the strain of holding it in was too much, and Rainbow Dash blurted out, “Did you kill him?”

Pinkie glanced over her shoulder. There was a smile on her face, but her eyes were dark and troubled. “What, when I ate that gingerbread cookie just now? You know the gingerbread ponies aren’t really alive, don’t you, silly filly?”

Rainbow frowned. She was pretty sure that Pinkie knew exactly what she had meant and was deliberately deflecting. Pinkie had gotten better about not doing that, but she still did it altogether too often. And still, Dash could never tell for certain when the earth pony was or wasn’t doing it. She could guess, and she often guessed correctly, but she never knew. Not for sure.

“That unicorn,” she replied, her tone curt. “The one who broke my wings.”

Pinkie’s smile froze in place.

Dash refused to take her eyes off the other pony’s for even a split second. This was too important to just let go. She had to know the answer to this question. She had to.

After a few moments, when Pinkie Pie still hadn’t replied, Dash prompted, “You had blood on your … there was blood on the costume.”

“No,” whispered Pinkie, turning back around, facing towards the ovens and away from Rainbow Dash. “No, I didn’t kill him.”

“But you hurt him. Didn’t you? I mean, it seemed like you messed him up pretty bad.”

“Yes.” Pinkie’s voice was nearly inaudible by this point, and her shoulders were shaking, ever so slightly.

Rainbow felt a sharp stab of regret. Maybe she’d pushed this too far. This was still so new--asking the questions she wanted to ask, getting answers which were truthful, no matter how awful that truth might be--and she wasn’t sure at all where the boundaries between the two of them were any more. If there even were boundaries.

She was surprised at how much she missed those boundaries, sometimes. Sometimes she missed them nearly as much as she used to hate them.

But even as she felt regret over how upset Pinkie was becoming, she felt something else, too. Something in the pit of her stomach, all balled up tight, so tight it almost hurt. Something dense and dark and thick as molasses. It sort of made her want to throw up, actually, but that might have just been due to the smell of so much ginger in the air.

“Pinkie Pie,” she began again, hesitant and uncertain.

Pinkie didn’t speak, didn’t turn, didn’t so much as twitch. For some reason, the lack of the slightest acknowledgment sent Rainbow’s temper flaring.

“Pinkie Pie.” Her tone was louder, now. Harsher. “C’mon, Pinkie, look at me.”

Still nothing.

No. No. Pinkie didn’t get to do this. Pinkie didn’t get to decide when they were done with a topic, not after all those weeks of mind games, all those weeks of making Dash feel so helpless and out of control. Deciding when they were finished was something that was reserved for Dash and Dash alone. It was the least--the very least--that Pinkie owed to her.

“Mare Do Well.”

The other mare whirled around, her face twisted into an expression that was a strange mixture of anger and fear. “I thought you were dead, Rainbow Dash! Dead! I thought he’d killed you!” Pinkie pointed a hoof at Dash, almost accusingly. “You … you were just lying there, all beaten up and bloody, and it didn’t … it didn’t even look like you were breathing anymore! You … you …”

It was at this point that Pinkie’s shaking voice and watery eyes both completely broke. They shattered into a thousand shards of glass, like a mirror that had been dropped from somewhere way up high. And it was this sudden, wrenching vulnerability that led the pegasus to cross the distance between them and pull Pinkie into a rough embrace. She held Pinkie as the other pony sobbed into her mane, and Rainbow Dash just stood there and allowed it.

The temperature was much warmer by the ovens--oppressively so, even--and it didn’t help that Pinkie was drenching her shoulder with wet, scalding tears. The room felt so hot and so tiny, almost as if the walls were closing in on them. It took nearly all of Rainbow’s willpower to not make a blind run for the door, to escape into the cool night sky, to escape into blissful freedom.

But she’d promised. She’d promised things would be okay.

She stayed as still as a statue.

As Pinkie’s crying eased and segued into muted sniffling, Rainbow quietly offered, “I guess I understand. It’s not like I’ve never gotten violent myself. I mean, I even hit you.”

“W-what?” There was another sniffle. “What are you talking about, Rainbow Dash?”

“That … that one time. You know. In the alley. You made me really, really mad, and I just kind of lashed out.”

Pinkie drew in a sharp breath.

“It was pretty cool, actually. You didn’t fall down or stumble or anything. I mean, it … it didn’t even seem to faze you. You just stood there like you were made out of steel or something.” She almost added that it was the first and only time she’d actually feared Mare Do Well, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. Not with how fragile Pinkie felt right now, trembling anew. “I’m sorry, by the way. I didn’t actually mean to punch you. It was an accident.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Pinkie muttered, her voice muffled. “I know I provoked you. It kinda really wasn’t your fault.”

“Still sorry.”

They lapsed back into silence but remained standing right where they were, motionless, as if under a spell. They held on to one another and listened to their synchronized breathing until the oven timer started beeping. Slowly Pinkie Pie pulled herself away from Dash and went to turn off the timer and, as she did, the pegasus took a seat at the long counter that stood in the front of the kitchen.

Rainbow Dash watched as Pinkie retrieved a tray of cookies from the oven and began setting them on racks to cool. Even as upset as the baker still obviously was, her every movement was fluid and adroit. Quickly she moved all of the cookies to the racks, without fumbling or dropping a single crumb.

Dash found herself asking, “Why do you pretend that you aren’t strong?”

Still Pinkie didn’t flinch or miss a beat, as she carried the now-empty cookie tray over to the sink. “I’m not pretending.” She laughed. It wasn’t a particularly nice laugh, though--it sounded bitter, almost angry. “I’m not strong.”

Rainbow’s tone was quiet but firm as she replied, “Yeah, you are.”

Pinkie turned her head at that, and Rainbow could see the uncertainty in Pinkie’s eyes right beneath their shimmering blue surface. But then the earth pony grinned, a small but genuine grin--and it wasn’t a lot, that feeble little grin, but it was something. Maybe even something to build on.

She tried to focus on that, tried to hold onto that fragile thread of hope, even as she tried not to notice that Pinkie hadn’t called her “Dashie” even once since she’d brought up her question about that unicorn lowlife. That was surely a coincidence, after all. Surely it didn’t mean anything.

She also tried not to notice that nagging voice at the back of her mind, the voice that whispered that maybe she should have let well enough alone that one night back in Canterlot. That maybe she should have kept her eyes closed, should have left that damned mask untouched, should have just allowed Mare Do Well to disappear once and for all after one last flourish of that ostentatious cape of hers.

She tried so hard to ignore that nagging voice that taunted her, tormented her, telling her that she would have been better off never knowing.

She had to try, because if she heard that voice, if she truly listened, it would surely drive her insane. Because it was too late--there was no way to turn back the clock, no way to unlearn everything she now knew. At this point, there was no going back, only going forward. Whatever that meant, and wherever that led.

Pinkie Pie’s face was unreadable as she carried over a plate of the cookies that had already cooled. She placed them down on the counter next to Dash and nodded towards them. “Do you … do you want a cookie, Dashie?”

That gingery smell that permeated the kitchen was still a bit too strong, and it still made her feel a little sick to her stomach. But Rainbow Dash smiled anyways. “Sure. Why not?”

She took a cookie and bit down, chewing slowly and thoughtfully. The ginger taste was pretty strong but, all in all, it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared it might be. It was pretty okay, really.

It was okay.

Side Story: Behind Blue Eyes (Guest submission from Donny's Boy)

A/N: Maybe someday, when I'm not distracted by real life and other stories I wanna write, I'll get around to actually remembering to write something for this myself. In the meantime, we have Donny's Boy! You rock, whoo-hoo! Again, I absolutely love this and wish I'd written it myself, so you guys can all do me a favor and pretend this actually WAS written by me, okay?

"Behind Blue Eyes"

Guest Submission by Donny's Boy

“But my dreams, they aren’t as empty

As my conscience seems to be.

I have hours, only lonely--

My love is vengeance that’s never free.”

--The Who, “Behind Blue Eyes”

The main problem, as far as she could determine, was that there were only so many archetypes available to be filled in an adventure story. And somehow over the last few weeks, this had become an adventure story, a tale of intrigue and romance, of danger and mystery, of secrets and lies.

She couldn’t be the hero, obviously. Heroes were brave and bold and selfless and always dedicated to doing the right thing. And she was … well, none of that. She was, in fact, pretty much the exact opposite of everything a hero should represent. Besides, this little story already had a hero, a hero who actually was brave and bold, charming and clever.

A hero who was dashing, even, one might say, if one was particularly fond of bad puns. Which, of course, she was.

So, no, she wasn’t ever going to be the hero. She’d resigned herself to that inevitability long ago. What did that leave her with, then? She could be the sidekick, she supposed. Dopey, slow-witted, always tucked away in the shadows and denied the light. Relegated to being the wacky comic relief, as two-dimensional as a sheet of paper. Goodness knew that it was a role she was good at performing. It was a role she’d been rehearsing for her entire life, in fact, and she had her acting honed to perfection.

But she’d grown so tired of being the sidekick. The role had always strangled her, every bit as much as the mask of Mare Do Well strangled her now. She didn’t want to play a sidekick any more, and she didn’t want to feel as though she had to laugh and act the clown even when her heart was being torn apart.

Not a hero, then. And not a sidekick. But what? Where did she fit into this story? What role was left open for her to play? It was at this point in her ruminations that a voice, a voice that seemed not quite her own, whispered softly in her ear: You could be the villain.

She felt her breath catch in her throat even as the thought flitted across her mind. It was a ridiculous, crazy thought. She wasn’t a villain. Was she? She didn’t want to be a villain, anyways.

Did she?

She tried not to even think about it, but once the idea had wormed its way into her brain, it wouldn’t leave. Villains were … interesting. Villains lurked in the shadows of their own volition and for their own reasons, not because they’d been shoved there by someone else. Villains could take the things they wanted, without asking, without worrying. Villains answered to no one but themselves.

But she wasn’t a villain. Of course she wasn’t a villain.

Still, as days and weeks went by, as all their little games intensified and spun out of control, she found her thoughts drifting back to that same question over and over again. What role was she playing here? What role did she want to play? Not the role of the villain, she knew that much, even though …

Even though. Villains weren’t lackeys or second-stringers or laughingstocks. They were the equals to their respective heroes. Worthy opponents. Smart, cunning, capable. Even charming, in their own way.

She remembered the way it felt to circle around her chosen prey like a patient vulture, to lean in so close she could almost taste the other pony’s nervousness, to whisper words soft and awful and true. She remembered how the pegasus had stared at her with wide open eyes--as though she was something powerful and impressive, someone worthy of respect. She remembered how her own heart had thudded painfully in her chest and how an overwhelming cocktail of excitement and terror had rushed through her veins.

She remembered how she had realized, just for a split second, just in passing, that she could have done anything. She could have done anything at all, and no one would have been able to stop her. No one. She remembered how it felt to have absolute, complete control for once in her life. It had felt amazing. Sweet and intoxicating, like the nectar of forbidden fruit.

At least, it had felt that way at first--until later that night, when she’d returned home and peeled off her mask, shrugged off the cape. Then, she wasn’t the mysterious Mare Do Well any more. She was just … nothing. Nobody.

Finally coming down from her earlier high, she’d started trembling uncontrollably as the room turned cold, so bitterly cold, colder than anything and anyplace she’d ever known. Without warning her stomach gave a lurch, and suddenly she was vomiting all over the floor of her bedroom.

After she finished emptying her stomach, she just laid there on the hard, wooden floor, and she wondered if villains were supposed to ever have second thoughts. If they were even allowed to have regrets. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be a villain.

Not that she was a villain. She wasn’t a villain. Of course she wasn’t a villain.

She couldn’t stand to look at herself in the mirror the next morning. Or the morning after that.

Back at the very beginning, she had thought that she might be able to become the hero of this little story. It seemed foolish now, and almost painfully naive, but at the very beginning she had actually entertained that as a real possibility. That had been what she’d wanted, anyways. To be a hero. To be brave and strong. To save the day.

To win the girl.

Maybe that was what all villains wanted. Maybe the only difference between heroes and villains was how successful they were in obtaining that tantalizing object of desire. Maybe heroes wouldn’t be quite so heroic if they had to exist in continual deprivation, always denied the warmth of the sun. Maybe villains wouldn’t be quite so villainous if once in a while they’d be granted a tiny taste of what they longed for so desperately. Maybe that was where everything had started going so very, very wrong.

Maybe she was making excuses for herself.

She forced herself, once, to look in the mirror. To look into her own eyes. When she did, she found that she didn’t really recognize those eyes any more or the pony to whom those eyes belonged. But maybe she never had, not really. She couldn’t remember. It didn’t matter, anyways.

Nothing mattered, any more, except for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was everything. Rainbow Dash was what kept her putting on that mask, putting on that cape, even as doing so dragged both of their lives farther and farther down into that chaotic vortex. Even as she felt their entire world begin to rip apart right at the seams. Even as she felt herself slip almost subconsciously into the role of villain, in an instinctive response to Rainbow’s heroic nature.

Because even as Rainbow resented her, screamed at her, hated her, Rainbow was nonetheless there, right within reach. Tangible. Touchable. Hers and hers alone, if only for a few hours every night.

But all that was understandable, wasn’t it? Wouldn’t anyone feel that temptation, that urge? Or was it these very urges themselves that made her a villain? Except--she began to feel a bit confused, a bit panicky, as her thoughts jumbled all together--except that she wasn’t the villain here. Wasn’t a villain at all. She wasn’t. She wasn’t, she wasn’t, she wasn’t.

Was she?

The eyes in the mirror refused to answer.

Alternate Ending: The Games We Play: Pinkiefied (Guest submission from Bellum_Civille)

A/N: This will probably make a lot more sense if you're familiar with Bellum Civille's story "The Pinkie-Verse," in which everypony is Pinkie Pie. If you haven't read that, then I honestly don't know what to tell you.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #7

Guest Submission from Bellum_Civille

Pinkie Pie dashed from rooftop to rooftop, chasing after the mare that had haunted her waking life for the past months. She hopped nimbly from each precipice, timing each jump so as to strike a pose in midair. She had a special talent for jumping- it was a wonder it wasn’t her cutie mark.

When she thought about it, though, all her friends seemed to be able to jump very well. Even Pinkie, who was probably the least fit of the six of them could jump a good ten feet if needed. Or if she felt like it. All depended on the weather.

She looked at the hopping pony in front of her, the same speed and height achieved. She was even doing poses! Was she some sort of imposter? Or, if her theory that this Mare-Do-Well really was one of friends, it could’ve been any of them! Every time she tried narrowing it down, her scope got even wider! She even had suspicions about Pinks, that pegasus who liked baking!

She couldn’t give up now, not after chasing her for so long. She upped the pace, imagining there were some pastries of a pink variety on her prey’s back. She pushed herself harder than she ever had before, forgetting to pose and instead focusing on speed. She was close now, she could feel it- but then her leg kicked back. And her head started shaking.

My Pinkie-Sense! she thought. It’s tingling!

She knew this combo from before- somepony was about to fall off a building and crash into a dumpster! She skidded to halt by the edge of the next building, but Mare-Do-Well jumped for it.

Pinkie watched Mare-Do-Well plummet to the ground, crash landing in the dumpster.

If only I could fly, she thought, but my wings have been messed up ever since that pink criminal lobbed a frying pan at me! And that was her fault! Why do I want to help her?

She must be going crazy. True, some ponies found her crazy already, but everypony was crazy these days. It came with the times. Even Princess Pie sometimes pranked the populace by turning the sun into a giant cookie, or working with her younger sister Pinkamena to lace the guards’ food with hot sauce.

She was getting off track again. Right now, for whatever reason, she had to save Mare-Do-Well. Whoever it was under that mask, dying in a dumpster was not the best way to go. She leapt down to an awning, but she slipped off the side, landing hard against an abandoned hot muffin stand. She rolled off the top, landing in the freezing snow. She rolled for a bit, the cold seeping into her pink fur. Now her hooves and wings hurt, and once again, it was all Mare-Do-Well’s fault.

She finally got to her hooves, steadying herself against the wave of dizziness that assaulted her upon standing. She could see cupcakes in the corners of her eyes, so she closed them for a bit. It was so that she didn’t see Mare-Do-Well fall out of the dumpster, but rather heard her smack against the side of the dumpster and thump into the frozen water below.

Pinkie’s eyes opened. She looked down at the pony beneath her. She looked so fragile, shivering and paralyzed by the pain. Yet the pony made no noise, no crying or grunts. She was as emotionless as the mask that covered her real face. Pinkie was putting a stop to this madness, putting a stop to it before any more ponies got hurt.  She didn’t like to see hurt ponies, even ones that messed with her head.

She stumbled over to the sprawled out figure, leaning against the dumpster for support as she surveyed her defeated opponent. It looked like she had won. Now she could take off that mask, and show this mystery pony what for.

She kneeled down to the prone figure, her mane draped across her face from her impact in the snow. It would be poofed soon enough; it was of no worry to Pinkie. She was only worried of how to approach this, the right way. Should she just rip off the mask? Or was it like tape, and you had to do it slowly?

In the end, Mare-Do-Well made the decision for her. She grabbed the pink pony by the head, while her other hoof raised the bottom of her mask. Pinkie couldn’t see the mouth that was pressed against hers, but it tasted like sugar. Pure, delicious sugar. She didn’t want to pull away, and that disgusted her- for so long, she had rejected this pony’s advances, lived with knowing one of her friends wanted to hold her close and never let go.

But now she didn’t want to let go either.

Their mouths left each other, but Pinkie kept her eyes closed.

“Take your mask off. Please. I can’t take it anymore.”

Silence.

“Ok.”

It was a quiet whisper, but in the cold and soundless confines of the alley it sounded like the toll of a bell, ringing her salvation from this crazy whirlwind of chase scenes and sleepless nights. She could finally, finally figure out who Mare-Do-Well was, and maybe, just maybe, make out one more time.

She had waited long enough. She opened her eyes and looked at the pony below. She met a pink mane, blue eyes, and a hopeful smile.

“Surprised?”

Pinkie’s mouth dropped open, landing on the other pony’s chin. This couldn’t be possible. It shouldn’t.

“But… how could it be you, Pinkie? I saw you outside at that party you threw!”

“I jumped out the window and came around the side. There’s a fire escape by my bedroom.”

Pinkie pondered it. It made sense. But… Pinkie? She had always thought she had a thing for Pinkie, not her. It was shocking, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

She had stopped throwing parties, and avoided her like a baked bad. She hadn’t seen her at the party, and they had barely spoken on the ride in. Pinkie had eyed her, and winked at her that one time at Pinkamena’s birthday, and had tried to eat her mane when she suggested it was actually made of cotton candy. But, any of her friends would’ve done that!

Right?

She didn’t know what to do. She was breathing heavy, laying on top of Pinkie, who was looking more and more worried by the minute.

“Pinkie, if you need to talk-“

“Pinkie? Pinkie? What are you doing out here? And why is Pinkie dressed like Mare-DO-Well? Is this a costume party you guys didn’t invite me to again? But Pinkie isn’t wearing a costume… unless Pinkie is just trying to pretend to be Pinkie and Pinkie is pretending to be Mare-Do-Well! Of course!”

Pinkie looked at Pinkie, and they both looked at Pinkie who stood by the entrance of the alley.

“Let’s just go back to the castle. I could do with a chocolate bath… and some alone time.”

Pinkie nodded in agreement. They stood up, brushed each other off, and set off into the moonlight, Pinkie behind them bouncing around suggesting new and better ideas for costumes if they wanted to have another, ‘Alleyway Costume Party at Night’ party. For the time being, they didn’t know what the future would hold. But with enough chocolate, anything was possible.


End

Alternate Ending: The Shaggy Dog (Guest submission from Dashie222)

A/N: For once, I have nothing to say. Enjoy!

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #8

Guest Submission from Dashie222

"We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."

And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect Mare Do Well’s face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only…HIM?!

There beneath her was…a stallion! He was white with a dark blue mane.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still he had nothing to say for himself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the stallion's shoulders, gripping him as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The stallion winced, then gave Rainbow a weak smile.

“Surprised?” Soarin’ said.

“But this doesn’t make any sense! You don’t have wings…and you’re a stallion! And you’re not even one of my friends! I barely even know you!”

“I made up a lot of the stuff to throw you off. And as for the wings, I just kept them inside the costume,” Soarin’ replied, “I got you the ticket as an excuse to see you, because I was too nervous to actually face you. I thought you would come and see me but then,” he became a little angry, “You sold the ticket and went with Pinkie Pie.”

Rainbow Dash heard the voice of one of her friends approaching.

“Hi Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said excitedly and then saw Soarin’ dressed as Mare Do Well, “So that’s where my costume went! I was going to use it to finally get you to like me, Dashie.”

“Wait, so YOU’RE Mare Do Well!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the strange twist.

“Uh-hu,” Pinkie Pie replied, “Now let’s go put all of the other alternate endings to shame by finishing this story the way it was supposed to be.”

“The way AbsoluteAnonymous intended it to be,” Rainbow Dash replied, “But what about the costume?” she then asked.

“I have a spare.”

“Great!”

And so Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie went on to finish the story leaving Soarin’ to ponder what he did wrong.


End

Omake: In Character

The stallion lifted a shaking hoof, taking a clumsy, unsteady step back, then again, and then once more. Still he gaped, babbling incoherently as he struggled to speak.

"Mare Do Well!" he finally whispered.

Rainbow Dash frowned.

"Huh? Did you just say-"

She turned her head to glance behind her, and her jaw dropped as well.

Perched on the roof of the building above them was a figure cloaked in darkness, a black cape streaming behind it, its shape illuminated only by the light of the silver moon.

"Mare Do Well!" the stallion yelped again. "Mare Do Well's back!"

He turned and broke into a run, and although Rainbow Dash normally would’ve given chase right then and there, she remained frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded.

Mare Do Well leapt with surprising grace from the roof, landing in the alley directly beside Rainbow Dash - who continued to stare, jaw still hanging open in shock. The stallion's hoofsteps faded into the night, but the masked mare didn't even attempt to go after him; instead, she bent her head to gather the straps of Rainbow Dash's saddlebag in her mouth before offering it to the pegasus, who accepted it wordlessly.

"Um, thanks?" Rainbow Dash ventured after she'd affixed it onto her back once again.

“Hey, no problem! Oh my gosh, did you see the way that guy ran? I just jumped down and my cape went all whoosh! all dramatically and he was all oh my gosh it’s Mare Do Well ruuuun!  and I was all yeah, you’d better run, chump, nopony messes with my friends! Oh, wow, that was superiffic! I bet I looked super duper cool up there, didn’t I, huh huh huh?! I bet I looked like a real, actual superhero! Isn’t that awesome?” Mare Do Well babbled, hopping up and down in place excitedly.

Rainbow Dash blinked, somewhat stunned, before scowling.

"Okay, very funny. Who is it?" she asked before reaching for the mask that hid the other mare's face; but Mare Do Well hopped back, just barely escaping Rainbow Dash's reach.

“Aw, c’mon, Dashie, you’re supposed to play along!” Mare Do Well whined, the pout in her voice practically audible. “I’m the dramatic masked vigilante and you’re my love interest, and now you gotta let me rush in and save you all the time and stuff so that you’ll fall into my hooves, okay? It’s no fun if you know who I am right away! Don’t you know how romantic mysteries work?”

"Twilight? Is that you?" Rainbow Dash guessed, once more reaching for the mask; but Mare Do Well again backed away. "No, Twilight would've used magic to get the bag. Uh...Applejack? Oh, wait, it's probably Pinkie, isn't it? This is a prank."

“Aw, boo! Booooo! Stop guessing, you’re ruining it!”

-----

There was a light thud from somewhere behind her, and Rainbow Dash whipped around eagerly.

She'd been expecting to see a gang of chain wielding thugs when she turned to look, thugs that she could kick the flanks of before Faker Do Well showed up - just a little too late, most likely - leaving her and Miss Mysterious free to sit down and have a friendly chat about whatever Mare Do Well thought she was doing back in Ponyville.

Instead, Rainbow Dash turned around to see Mare Do Well herself.

"Oh. It's you, huh?" she asked, affecting an absentminded tone and indifferent posture. All ways of indicating that she could care less about whether Mare Do Well was there or not.

“Well, yeah, silly filly! Who else would I be but me? Unless I was somepony else, but then I wouldn’t be me, and then where would I be?” Mare Do Well giggled, then gasped, as if she’d just had a wonderful idea. “That’s like a little song almost! Me and be? They totally rhyme! Do you think I could write a song about that? Oh, wait, you’re being all scowly now and not saying anything. Oooh! Are we having a staring contest? I love contests! I bet I can beat you! THREE-TWO-ONE-GO!”

The two of them faced each other in silence.

It truly was like a game, even though Rainbow Dash hadn’t actually intended to play along; a contest to see which of them would give in first, either by looking away or breaking the silence. But in the end, it was Rainbow Dash who did so, jerking her head away so that she didn't have to look at the other mare anymore. She began to pace briskly from side to side in quick little trots as her multicolored tail swished back and forth.

When she finally glanced back up, Mare Do Well was still standing there, bouncing slightly on her hooves as though it were impossible for her to keep completely still for even a moment, bopping her head in time to a song that only she could hear.

-----

"Have you ever wanted to be somepony else?"

She sounded wistful.

Rainbow Dash turned to look at her.

"Huh?"

"Like a pirate or something? Because that would be really super fun. I’ve always wanted to be a pirate. Or a monkey. Either one.” Mare Do Well sighed. “I used to wanna be a hedgehog, but then I found out that when they hug each other, they get pricked by their quills! Wouldn’t that be the saddest thing ever, to never be able to hug anypony because you’d hurt them? That would be sooo sad. I love snuggling way too much to ever stop. I’m glad I’m not a hedgehog. But being a pirate would still be nice.”

Strangely enough, Rainbow Dash actually knew what she was talking about. Not that she'd ever tried actually taking on a new identity before; but she could remember feeling that way back in flight camp, during her days as Rainbow Crash. She'd never donned a real disguise, but she'd worn a mask of sorts. She'd hated being the filly that was victimized by the bullies and snobs that chose to taunt her, and had instead chosen to act the role of the cocky show-off instead - the filly that never let anything get to her. Because if she played the part long enough, then maybe it would start to sink in, and that's who she'd become.

"I guess...I can understand that. But if you wouldn't mind me unmasking you, then why don't you just come clean on your own? Right here, right now?" Rainbow asked, trying to ignore the way Mare Do Well was now spontaneously trying to snuggle her, giggling happily and nuzzling Dash’s neck.

"Because that’s no fun!” the mare answered, her voice somewhat muffled from the way her face was now buried in Rainbow’s coat.

Rainbow Dash sighed, rolling her eyes. “Mare Do Well, you are so random.”

-----

Somepony was speaking.

"I'm sorry," they were saying. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, slowly and reluctantly.

She was on her back, lying in the street. The road felt gritty, and her wings were stiff. She tried to fold them, to test them, but little crackles of pain kept her from moving them more than an inch or so.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," The voice continued to say. No, not say. Cry? "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

With a groan, Rainbow forced herself upright. Only now did she notice the way her wings hung limply at her sides, sloppily bandaged with strips of white cloth. Mare Do Well was huddled beside her, seemingly attempting to shrink into her costume with the way her cape was pooling around her.

She was the one crying.

"Dashie!" Mare Do Well sobbed when the pegasus sat up. “Dashie, I’m so, so, so, so, so, super ultra mega sorry!”

"Huh? Sorry for what?”

“I BROKE MY PINKIE PROMISE!” the mare wailed. “You made me Pinkie Promise that  I wouldn’t touch you but I did! I’M A BAD PONY!”

“Wait, what?!” Rainbow Dash cried in alarm, frantically trying to think back to what had just happened between them, before she’d passed out. What had Mare Do Well done?

“That meanie old stallion broke your wings and I had to carry you back here to fix you up, but then I remembered that I’d promised not to touch you, BUT I ALREADY HAD! I broke a Pinkie Promise that wasn’t just a normal boring promise, but super important promise between friends! Dashie, I’m so sorry! Now you won’t ever trust me ever again and you won’t wanna be my friend anymore!”

"Whoa!" Rainbow shouted. "We, we just...we totally beat the hay out of those guys! Can't we get arrested for that? And, and, my wings...what?!"

“DASHIE! That’s not important! Your wings get busted all the time! What matters is that I BROKE A PINKIE PROMISE!”

“Um…” Dash said slowly. “Are you sure that’s the important part here?”

“Don’t you get it? NOPONY BREAKS A PINKIE PROMISE!”

-----

The streets of Canterlot were surprisingly empty at night, but Rainbow Dash stuck to the shadowy corners and back alleys anyway. If anypony decided to look for her when they noticed she was gone, they'd likely ask around, and she didn't want anypony to be able to say they'd seen where she'd gone.

At last she stopped, by the café where she and Pinkie had almost kissed. No, not almost kissed. Rainbow Dash had wanted to, but she'd chickened out.

She needed to stop. Needed a place to think, a place to plan. What was going to happen?

Rainbow Dash was the biggest idiot who'd ever lived and the worst possible friend a pony could have, but she hadn't meant any harm. She'd been drunk. She hadn't been thinking. It wasn't her fault. And was it her imagination that she could hear the crunch of hoofsteps through snow in the distance somewhere? Or -

"RAINBOW DASH!”

"No," Rainbow Dash said automatically.

Not here. Not now. NOT. POSSIBLE.

"How are you here?!" She screamed, wild-eyed.

"Rainbow Dash, you suck!” Mare Do Well screamed in response, completely ignoring Dash’s question.

"N-no. Wait." Rainbow Dash stammered, struggling to rise back up on all fours before taking a step closer to the mare. "But how? Why?"

“What kind of pony just kisses a girl and ditches her?! Didn’t you say you’d never leave your friends hanging?! I, I mean Pinkie, really, really wanted to make out some more, and you just ran off! That’s not very nice! I’m telling you right now that you’d better get your scrawny butt back to that castle and finish what you started, missy!”

-----

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only her.

Big blue eyes. A mouth, seemingly unsure about whether or not it was meant to smile. And a mane, bright and beautifully pink and curling as wildly as cotton candy.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say. “No. No. That doesn't make sense. That doesn't make sense," Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, and then gave Rainbow an enormous smile.

“SURPRISE!” Pinkie Pie shrieked. “OHMYGOSH THIS WAS THE BEST PRANK EVER! I totally fooled you, didn’t I? Hee-hee! TWIST ENDING!”

She sprung onto all fours and began to skip a little dance in circles around the bewildered Pegasus. “I’m the bestest-est actor ever, huh? You totally didn’t know it was me even though it was sooooo obvious and that’s what makes this omake so funny!”

“This what?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but ask, although she was still stunned from the amazing reveal. “Oh-mah-kay? What does that mean?”

“Oops, I shouldn’t have said that!” Pinkie giggled apologetically. Beaming, she threw her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck. “But now it’s over and we can have our happy ending and spend all night kissy face smooching with each other!”

And with those words, she planted her lips directly over Rainbow Dash’s with a noisy smack.

“I love you, Dashie,” Pinkie said affectionately, eyes shining with affection.

Rainbow’s first instinct was to push Pinkie away and storm off so that she could figure out what to do next; but upon reflection, she decided that she was in the mood for making out some more. So instead of rejecting the pink pony, Dash slid her own forelegs around Pinkie’s neck, drawing her closer. And then they totally made out.

Alternate Ending: The Pinkie Pie Ending!? (Guest submission from Arby Works)

A/N: Well, it had to happen eventually.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #9

Guest Submission from Arby Works

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her... before her... there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was a perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only her.

Big blue eyes. A mouth, seemingly unsure about whether or not it was meant to smile. And a mane, dark and dully pink, hanging down like a sopping wet mane.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

“No,” was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those big and beautiful eyes... but then again, they were doing so already. Those eyes... the exact same colour as the sky that Rainbow Dash loved so much. “No. No. That doesn't make sense.”

And still she had nothing to say for herself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

“That doesn't make sense,” Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, then gave Rainbow a weak smile.

“Surprised?” Pinkie Pie let out a weak giggle.

There was a long silence; it felt like hours. Pinkie Pie merely keeping an oddly stoic smile on her face through her wide, diluted eyes and her dull, sagging mane. Pinkie felt the few seconds go by almost instantly, for Rainbow, it was years.

“You said you wouldn't be mad!” Pinkie said in a dark, giddy tone of voice. “You're toooootally mad, Dashie!” she exclaimed, her voice retaining a giddy pep to it as it cracked.

Rainbow lost all ability to speak. She could only stare wide eyed at the display before her. Her partying pink friend, giggling away under the Mare Do Well costume.

“I... I'm...” Rainbow attempted to question the situation.

Pinkie's expression changed to one of a hard thinking Pinkie, rubbing her chin with her hoof. She looked at the ground, then at Rainbow. Back and forth, back and forth. She placed her hoof back on the ground and stared at Rainbow. Rainbow grit her teeth, frustration, anger, confusion, and all around pent up emotion trying to escape.

“Well, SURPRISE!” Pinkie said, shouting as her voice cracked.

Rainbow Dash inched away, unsure of the sporadic attitude or outburst Pinkie would make. The last time Rainbow saw Pinkie like this was during her birthday where she thought her friends hated her.

Except now, she's not sad...

“Silly filly Dashie washie, you mad, sis?” Pinkie asked again, not moving from her spot.

She never giggled, she never flinched. Pinkie just sat there, staring at Rainbow Dash with an empty expression... one that begged the question: is this really Pinkie Pie?

“No, I'm...” Rainbow finally said, unable to think of a proper response.

Pinkamina leaned forward, Rainbow shaking her head to ignore the thoughts.

“No, I mean, I never said I wouldn't be mad but right now I'm...” Rainbow paced around in the alleyway, all the while Pinkamina merely followed her with her eyes never seeming to blink.

Rainbow was completely oblivious to Pinkamina's following eyes, merely pacing back in forth with her eyes closed as she pondered her next words. Pinkamina never giggled, made a peep, or anything to attract Rainbow's attention. Either she knew that Rainbow was trying to think, or...

“I'm confused. How? Why? What's wrong with your mane? You... you are Pinkie Pie, right?” Rainbow asked, facing the pink pony.

She gave a nod, her tiny pupils and stern smile unnerving Rainbow.

“Silly filly, of course it's I, Pinkie Pie!” Pinkamina said, the crack in her voice getting worse.

Rainbow could barely think, instead staring at Pinkamina's face. The way she said that was worded oddly and the crack in her voice...

“How? Simple! Pinkamina sense told me to run when necessary. Why? As I said, I love you, Dashie. The fear of you discovering who I was disappeared after you unmasked me and now, I feel totally silly for thinking you'd be mad so I'm just a little giddy.” Pinkie's voice cracked every other word.

Rainbow stepped back, attempting not to cower down; Pinkamina here started to scare her and... she did say her name was Pinkamina, not Pinkie. Her actual name? Why? She gulped in an attempt to get rid of the lump in her throat. She let a shiver roll down her spine as Pinkamina cleared her throat.

“Sooo, about my mane? I just don't feel like silly old Pinkie right now. The more serious Pinkie was actually silly Pinkie and Pinkamina Pinkie was the goofy one. Silly Pinkie is natural for me so I can be more serious yet stay silly while Pinkamina is the inner happiness I never feel often.” Pinkamina said, her face turning into a somber one.

Rainbow stopped shivering, she merely stared at her friend. Inner happiness? She took a step forward.

“Pinkie or... Pinkamina, can you... can we do something later? I want to know more about you like this...” Rainbow closed her eyes, trying to imagine Pinkamina as her usual best friend.

Pinkamina smiled at Rainbow but it wasn't out of happiness. It was an almost regretful smile full of relief. She let out a long sigh.

“I... I'd like that, Dashie. I don't want to be covered by a mask anymore.” she took a step forward towards Rainbow, Rainbow not flinching or getting a shiver.

Rainbow felt a warmth inside her chest. She was curious about Pinkamina. She wanted to learn more about this off irony of Pinkie/Pinkamina's personalities. She... she fell in love with both and the more serious Mare Do Well... or in reality, silly Pinkie (she couldn't wrap her head around that one), she preferred. But... Pinkamina... why was she so... out of it? Why couldn't she make Rainbow like that part about her? And will it be any different if Rainbow talks to Pinkamina without her anonymous persona of Mare Do Well? Rainbow let out a long sigh as she thought out her next sentence.

“Can I see a party run by Pinkamina?” Rainbow asked, sincerely wanting to explore this personality of her pink friend.

Pinkamina broke out into a smile, seemingly sincerely wanting to accept her proposal but something inside her mind didn't sit well.

She looked at Rainbow with an odd gaze; one Rainbow couldn't describe.

“Dashie, when I call you next, we can party... after we get back to Ponyville.” Pinkamina said with a rather regretful face.

Rainbow smiled, glad that Pinkamina was able to connect properly in an oddly... serious way for this supposedly giddy personality of Pinkie Pie.

“That's alright Pinkamina.” Rainbow said, stepping closer to Pinkamina.

The two ponies inched closer, the distance between their mouths closing until...

Weeks later after the end of Winter Wrap Up, Rainbow was flying around the skies of Ponyville in a leisurely practice. It wasn't serious but it was just rechecking her basic skills. She remembered the situation earlier... Pinkamina wanted to show Rainbow a party finally. The promise from weeks ago was going to be fulfilled. She can finally explore who Pinkamina is, how she rungs a party. She considered blowing it off due to Pinkie's crazy antics recently but... well, she decided against it. She stopped her training and flew towards Sugarcube Corner. Heck, what did she have to lose? Pinkie was fun, maybe Pinkamina is a bigger prankster compared to Pinkie? She picked up speed to make up for the time wasted pondering her next activity. Entering Sugarcube Corner, she was greeted by her bouncing pink hostess.

“Yay! You're here! I've been waiting all day!” said Pinkie, her mane not having all of it's pep in it.

“Sorry I'm late Pinkie. I was doing some tricks and I lost track of time.” Rainbow apologized as she stood in the centre of the store.

Pinkie giggled gleefully. “Oh, that's okay. You're here now. What's a few more minutes? I've been so excited thinking about what we're going to do! I haven't stopped bouncing since I woke up! I mean, I almost forgot to breathe, I've been so happy!” she let out an odd giggle.

Dash giggled uncomfortably. She had always appreciated Pinkie Pie's outgoing look on life but... she stopped thinking. If Pinkie is this worked up, whatever she has planned must be good.

“So, are you ready to get started, Rainbow Dash? I've got my stuff all ready.” the pink pony said, her mane dulling in colour.

Dash's mind instantly pondered the possibilities. Pinkamina could have anything planned. “You betcha! What d you have planned? We gonna prank some ponies? I've got a couple good ones planned up, or maybe some stunts I-”

“MAKING CUPCAKES!” Pinkie interjected happily.

Dash let out a disappointed sigh. “Pinks, I'm not a good baker, you know this.” she said almost dully.

“Oh that's okay. I only need your help making them. I'll be doing most of the work.” she explained as the spectral maned mare shrugged.

Dash pondered the idea for a moment. “Well, I guess that's okay. What exactly do you need me to do?” she asked.

“That's the spirit! Here you go!” Pinkie said, handing Rainbow a cupcake while her mane lost even more colour.

Rainbow examined the cupcake, puzzled. “Wasn't I supposed to help make cupcakes, not eat?” she asked.

Pinkie shook her head. “Not at the moment. I just made one for you before you got here! It's all part of being a good pouncing pink party post! Err, host!” she said, giggling at her own correction.

Rainbow stared before nodding her head. “So, taste testing right now?” she asked as she sniffed the cupcake itself.

“Sorta...” Pinkie said, trailing off.

Rainbow shrugged, opened her mouth, and tossed the cupcake into her mouth, munching down on it's frosty goodness. She chewed it a bit and swallowed. It was actually pretty good.

“Okay, now what?” Rainbow asked as she felt the cupcake go down her throat.

Pinkie smiled, her mane loosing all bounce and colour.

“Now you take a nap.”

Rainbow wondered what she meant and went to ask a question, but she instantly felt drowsiness overtake her as soon as she opened her mouth. Soon, she fell to the ground, the world of sleep taking over.

She couldn't be less prepared for what she saw when she woke up.

-----

Author's Note: Mr. Masato/Arby Works/Hunter-the-hedgehog is the author of this guest fic. Permission to write for “The Games We Play: Supplementary Materials” granted by Absolute Anonymous of FanFiction and FiMFiction. All credit goes to her for “The Games We Play”. All credit goes to Sargent Sprinkles for the referenced fic at the end (just Google it if you don't know).

Special thanks to Absolute Anonymous for granting this opportunity to me (hey, I can show my skills to many since TGWP is well-read (egghead), so yeah). Please check out her other fics, stapled all around the internet.

Please check out my other works if interested. I go by Arby Works on FanFiction and FiMFiction along with Pony Fiction Archive. For artwork, Hunter-the-hedgehog @ Deviant Art.

Thanks, enjoy yourselves all who read this guest fic.

Side Story: What Happened With Spike? (Guest submission from Dashie222)

A/N: Remember how there was a dragon named Spike or something in the original show, and he lived with one of the main characters, only I completely forgot to include him in my story and made only a half-assed explanation for his mysterious absence? While, Dashie222 noticed too and set out to remedy that grievous error on my part by writing this.

"What Happened to Spike?"

Guest Submission from Dashie222

Spike the dragon had just stopped over at Carousel Boutique to ask a favor of Rarity. He had just arrived and she looked very busy with her work.

“Hey Rarity,” Spike began.

“Yes Spike,” she replied though she didn’t look up from her work.

“You know how Twilight gave you back the costume for Mare Do Well.”

“Yes, what about it?”

“Well I was wondering if I could buy it back.”

“Why would you need to buy it back. I can lend it to you if you want to use it,” she appeared to be paying little attention to the dragon.

“It isn’t exactly dragon shaped though. I was thinking you could change it to fit me and then I could buy it. I could pay you in baby blue sapphires”

“I’m sorry Spike, but I just have too much work to do and I am already so far behind,” she looked over at Spike with his huge, pleading eyes, “But, I guess I could make time for you. After all it shouldn’t take much time to change it.”

“Great! Oh and, if it wouldn’t be too much, could you have it ready by tomorrow morning? I’m leaving for Canterlot and I want to have the costume when I’m there.”

Again she looked into the pleading eyes of Spike, “Oh, alright. But you’re making it very difficult for me to say no.”

“Oh thank you so much Rarity. And promise you won’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone to know my secret identity.”

“Okay Spike. I promise.”

-----

The next morning Spike arrived at Carousel Boutique to receive his costume.

“I spent all night preparing it so I hope you like it,” Rarity said as she unveiled the costume.

It looked just like the original Mare Do Well costume, but dragon shaped and Spike sized.

“It’s amazing Rarity. It’s even better than I thought it would be,” he said after a quick examination. Spike handed over the bucket of baby blue sapphires to Rarity and took the costume.

“It’s going to take forever to catch up on my work but,” she looked over at the overjoyed Spike, “It’s worth it to see you happy, my little Spikey Wikey.”

Spike loved it when he was called that by Rarity.

“I’ve gotta get going now. I don’t want to be late.”

-----

Spike had just arrived at Princess Celestia’s castle in Canterlot. He was greeted by two guards who then led him to the Princess.

“Hello Spike,” Celestia said, “I hope you’re ready for the work ahead.”

“Yes I am,” Spike replied and gave a little salute.

The work was boring but it kept Spike bust until Hearths Warming Eve and the arrival of Twilight and the others. He was soon pulled away by Rarity.

“I’m sorry Spike,” she said.

“For what,” he asked.

“I told Rainbow Dash that you bought the Mare Do Well costume.”

“But Rarity, you promised! Why did you tell her?”

“Well…” she then explained what Rainbow Dash had told her.

“I guess it’s okay then but…I’m still upset you told her.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find some way to make it up to you.”

-----

The play had gone smoothly just like last year and the party afterwards was fun as well. Spike was walking down the hallway when he heard crying in the room next to him. He knocked on the door and opened it. He stuck his head in a little to see that Pinkie Pie was crying.

“What’s wrong Pinkie Pie,” he asked.

“Can you keep a secret?” Pinkie Pie asked him.

He nodded and stepped into the room.

“Pinkie Promise?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Spike said while doing the motions.

She took a deep breath.

“WellIwantedtobemorethanfriendswithRainbowDashbutIdidn’tthinkshe’dwanttobemorethanfriendswithmesoIdecidedtodressupasMareDoWelltotrandgethertolovemebutthatdidn’tworkbecausenowshehatesMareDoWellandshejustkissedmejustsoshecouldgetbackatMareDoWell!”

“Could you explain that again, but slower?”

Pinkie Pie re-explained why she was crying.

“Well if Rainbow Dash doesn’t like Mare Do Well then maybe she should just disappear so things can go back to normal,” Spike suggested.

“Oh my gosh Spike, that’s a great idea!” Pinkie Pie said as she hugged him.

“Well I guess-“

But Pinkie Pie ran off before he could finish.

-----

The all got back to Ponyville and it seemed the whole Mare Do Well thing had been sorted out. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were a good couple though they did have their problems.

But then Spike noticed some affection between Applejack and Rarity. He would have to act quickly if he wanted Rarity to love him. Maybe it was time for Dragon Do Good to step in. After all it did work for Pinkie Pie…

Alternate Ending: For Science (Guest submission from Z)

A/N: So for a little while, it was all serious dark angst up in here, what with the side stories, and then it was randomness, what with the omakes, and now we're back to alternate endings made of pure crack. We've gone full circle.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #10

Guest Submission from Z

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the 'hero' shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a figure clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop it's head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only it.

Big green eyes. A mouth, seemingly unsure about whether or not it was meant to smile. And green spikes, round and smoothed back on it's head, giving it a porcupine-esque appearance.  

-----

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. The exact same color as the fruit that Rainbow Dash loved so much. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still it had nothing to say for itself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the thing's shoulders, gripping it as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The dragon winced, then gave Rainbow a weak smile.

"This isn't creepy, right?" Spike asked, his green eyes hopeful.

----

"No. Just how..." Rainbow breathed finally, leaping back from the dragon. "No. No! NO!" She finally ended up screaming at Spike, who was now wiping the snow from the outfit, and removing... What appeared to be stilts from inside the outfit.

Rainbow however was still tripping the buck out, her pupils barely even dots as she stared in horror at him. "But... But... Rarity!" She shouted once more.

"Eh. I got over it. Y'know, with Applejack and all." Spike shrugged rather nonchalantly as he folded the outfit.

"B-But... But... You're... A baby dragon! And what do you mean 'Applejack'?" She said, her voice beginning to come to what could almost be considered loud.

"And you're a fillyfooler. I mean, I'm not surprised really, I'd heard the whole 'Rainbow Dash and Mares' talk from Twilight, but I wanted to see if she was right. Oh, and AJ and Rarity have wanted to buck each others brains out for who knows how long." Another shrug.

"So... You make me suspect my friends... Make Pinkie hate me... Make me love someone that never existed... Just so you could find out I liked Mares?! WHY!?" She shouted once more.

"For Science! Beam me up, GLaDOS!" He shouted at the sky, and before Rainbow Dash could say anything, he was gone in a flash of light.

"Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!" She turned, her jaw still on the floor, to see who was yelling at her.

"There you are! She's over here girls!" Twilight shouted out of the alley. "Are you alright? And have you seen Spike?"

Rainbow Dash simply stood there and considered her options. She managed to raise her jaw from the ground and gave Twilight a serious look.

"Twilight. What do you know about... Combustible Lemons?"


End

Alternate Ending: The Great and Powerful Ending (Guest submission from Silverquill)

A/N: Guys, I DO read the comments, you know. I'm fully aware of how derailed you can get, and I honestly don't mind. Have fun talking about mushroom soup or whatever topic you get on today.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #11

Guest Submission from Silverquill

    There was only silence; the sound of the two of them breathing and the hushed whisper of snow falling.

    "We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."

    And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.

    "Are you ready?" she asked.

    "No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

    A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

    "Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

    It was time. She took one final deep breath.

    Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

    And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

    Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

    But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.

    There was only her.

    Soft lavender eyes, locked firmly on her own. A mouth, seemingly unsure whether or not it was meant to smile. And hair, a mixture of the lightest blue and white, both colors fighting for dominance all the way along the mane, eventually forming a pool around a darker blue coat.  

    Rainbow Dash felt a gasp rise in her throat; she forced it down as she stared in open-jawed shock. Her mind tried to piece thoughts together, forming the only words she could think right now.

    “No,” she whispered. The mare underneath her watched with wide eyes, a flicker of hurt being visible for only the briefest of seconds. “That… that just doesn’t make sense.”

    The mare averted her gaze, shivering a little- whether it was from the cold or nervousness, nopony knew. “Trixie has some explaining to do, doesn’t she?”

    For a moment, Rainbow could only stare, dumbstruck. Sense slowly returned as she shook her head, her mind clearing up just enough to formulate a reply. “Yes, she does!” Rainbow hissed. She blinked. “You do! What the hay is going on?”

    Trixie looked back up at the pegasus, ignoring the pressure of Rainbow’s hooves holding her down. “Alright, alright. Where do you want her to begin?”

    “The beginning.”

    “Trixie figured.” The two ponies sat there in silence for a moment; Trixie laid there choosing her words very carefully, while Dash fought back the urge to connect her hoof with her captive’s face.

    Finally, Trixie spoke again. “It all started simple enough. After that day in Ponyville, Trixie could barely bring herself to show her face in any town. For Celestia knows how long, she wandered, making ends meet with odd jobs. The Great and Powerful Trixie was reduced to the life of regular citizen. To put it bluntly… you ruined Trixie! Humiliated her!”

    “What does that have to do with anything?” Rainbow snarled.

    “Everything,” the unicorn replied, smirking. “One day, Trixie hears about your little Mare-Do-Well escapades from a newspaper. And then, it hit her: If you foals were the ones who took away Trixie’s fame, then why shouldn’t she be allowed to use them to get it back?”

    Trixie flinched as the pegasus astride her grinded a hoof deeper into her shoulder. “What are you going on about?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

    “Let Trixie finish!” the mare stated. “Where was she… ah, yes. After Trixie had made that decision, she plotted. She schemed and she thought until everything worked out. As soon as all was decided, she took the first train she could find to Ponyville. To begin, Trixie had to get a Mare-Do-Well costume, of course. Your country friend was happy enough to supply it…” Trixie chuckled under her breath. “And by that, Trixie means your friend really needs to get a lock for her chests.”

    Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed. “You stole the costume from Applejack? Why? Why go through all this trouble just to screw with my mind?!”

    “Because Trixie was going to make a comeback! She’d do a few rescues here, a few fancy tricks there, and then bam, it’s revealed that she’s Mare-Do-Well! The crowds would flock to see the Great and Powerful Trixie‘s wonderful magic and heroic deeds!” Trixie smirked. “Or would that be the Great and Powerful Mare-Do-Well?”

    “Anyway,” she continued, ”as for messing with you, Trixie had no intention to at first. But when she saw you in distress that first night, her scheme evolved. Trixie could have left you at the mercy of that thug, but no, she decided on another option: She presented herself to you that night, and of course, you didn’t take it too well. From there, everything went according to plan.”

    “What plan? And why me?” Rainbow Dash asked, her angry tone giving way to curiosity. “You could’ve targeted anypony else!”

    “To throw your friendship into turmoil, of course,” Trixie replied. “That’s why Trixie chose you; if she’d chosen somepony else, then they most likely wouldn’t care, or they’d be told they were seeing things when they reported what they saw. But you, no, Mare-Do-Well was invented just to steal your spotlight. As such, you were the perfect target; you would definitely respond, and as a bonus, Trixie managed to convince you that she was one of your friends.”

    Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words. “But… that’s right! How couldn’t you be one of my friends? Why are you even in Canterlot in the first place if this was little more than a cruel publicity stunt?”

    Trixie scoffed. “Trixie is a master of illusions and tricks, you foal! Subconsciously sending you down the wrong path was foal’s play.”

    Another sharp grind of Rainbow’s hooves. She glared straight into Trixie’s eyes, their noses only inches apart. “And this whole ‘romantic game’ we’ve been playing? It was just a joke, too? Publicity? A mind screw?”

    Trixie’s expression deadpanned. For once, the mare’s fierce expression seemed to lose all confidence. “Well… yes, it was just a joke,” Trixie confirmed. “…At first.”

    Confusion crossed Rainbow’s face. “Huh?”

    “At first, it was a joke… and something more,” Trixie muttered. “Trixie doesn’t always go around as the confident mare you’ve seen. Sometimes, she tones down a bit. When Trixie started messing with you, it allowed her a chance to be the pony she never was in public. As for the game, yes, that was just for revenge. But… as the days wore on, it was hard to distinguish the game from what was really going on.”

    Rainbow Dash blinked. “What are you saying?”

    Trixie’s eyes darted elsewhere. “What Trixie’s saying is that… well… she’s genuinely fallen for you.”

    When Rainbow Dash remained silent, Trixie dared to venture on. “Trixie isn’t quite sure when it happened, but over time, the compliments she gave sounded more and more true. The teasing little touches that Trixie gave felt better and better, until she actually wanted to give them. It got to the point where she was afraid to let you win, both because Trixie didn’t quite want to leave and because she was afraid her first impression would scare you away if you figured out who she was.”

    Trixie flinched as Rainbow Dash’s hooves shot out. She waited for the impact, one that never came. Cautiously, she peeked open an eye. The pegasus had moved her forelegs to the sides of Trixie’s head, leaning in closer to get right up into the magician’s face.

    “So,” Rainbow began, ”did you think you were just going to mess up my life and walk away? Play dress-up for awhile for your own selfish goals?”

    Trixie recoiled a bit, forcing herself to meet Rainbow’s eyes as the pegasus kept lashing out. “Hay, did you think that after all that you did, I’d forget all about it and we could just be together? Maybe laugh about it later on?”

    “But…” Trixie tried to interject.

    “No, that’s not how it works,” Rainbow stated. “Why should I forgive you, anyway? You made me unable to trust my own friends. You made me hurt my friends. Pinkie, especially. You messed with my sleep schedule, dragged me around Ponyville, and acted like the biggest creep I’ve ever met, just for some publicity?”

    There was no masking the pain in the unicorn’s eyes. “Trixie will admit that she may have screwed up a little bit,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

    “A little?”

    Trixie ignored her. “Trixie’s desires were selfish at first, but she’s come to realize the error of her ways. She asks for your forgiveness, but the only thing she can say for herself is that she lo…” Trixie paused. “I love you.”

    Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. Silence filled the alley as the two mares stared at each other, their breathing visible in the chilly air. Finally, Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Well, I don’t forgive you, and odds are I won’t for at least a very, very long time.” Rainbow placed a hoof against her captive’s nose, pushing just enough to get her point across. “For now, you’re coming with me back to the palace, and you’re going to explain everything to the others.”

    The sharp sting of Rainbow’s words stunned the unicorn momentarily. When she spoke again, her words took on the edge she’d sported earlier. “No! Trixie refuses! She’s already made an even bigger fool of herself, and she refuses to make things any worse!” Trixie’s eyes darted around the alley, seeking out any possible escape routes. “Just let Trixie go!”

    “No,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Because if you don’t come with me, you’re never getting one of these again.”

    Trixie’s aggression faded into confusion as Rainbow leaned forward, pressing her lips against hers.

    Trixie stifled a gasp. She slowly closed her eyes, letting her guard down as she lay there. Her entire world just consisted of her and Rainbow Dash at that moment; she hoped the moment would last all night, if not forever. But Rainbow Dash pulled away, the kiss being teasingly, tauntingly brief. The coy smile on the pegasus’ face showed that she knew that.

    “Get up,” Rainbow commanded. “Everypony should still be back at the castle.”

    “But…”

    “Don’t worry about us,” Rainbow said, as if reading Trixie’s mind. “For now, let’s just make sure everypony knows who’s behind this Mare-Do-Well shtick. We’ll get you a room to stay in, alright? Nopony has to know about us- not yet, at least.”

    Rainbow Dash got off Trixie, extending a hoof towards the mare afterwards. Trixie reached forward and grasped it, rising to a standing position. “Deal?” Rainbow Dash asked.

    Trixie started walking out of the alley, feeling the warm cover of Rainbow’s wings enfold her as they headed back towards the castle. “Deal.”

    The trip back to the castle was filled with Rainbow interrogating Trixie over the small details: Where did she stay in Ponyville? How did she get access to the zip line? How did she appear in X location at Y time? Trixie answered as honestly as she could, leaning in towards Dash to ward off the cold.

    Soon, they arrived. Like both were expecting, it wasn’t easy to explain to their friends. Everypony seemed stunned to see the magician show her face again, some a bit more than others. It took a lot of convincing, but Rainbow’s friends eventually accepted Trixie’s explanation: She’d wanted to regain her fame, and messing with Rainbow had just been a prank. The romantic undertone and their showdown in the alley went completely unmentioned, of course.

    Mostly, everypony just seemed glad that Rainbow was okay. They’d been scouring the castle for her and were just about to continue their search out in the streets. Trixie’s arrival and apology were unexpected, but eventually, lodgings were secured for her in the castle wing they all shared. While Rainbow’s friends seemed curious about why she hadn’t knocked the stuffing out of Trixie, they just assumed that Rainbow could respect a great prankster.

    With all the hype of that night, everypony was quick to get to bed after all questions were answered. When she was sure all her friends were asleep, Rainbow snuck out of her room and down the hall, silently slipping into Trixie’s room. She found the mare awake and expecting her.

    They talked through the night. Questions were asked, chit-chat was made, soft kisses were given before the duo fell asleep in each other’s embrace. One night wasn’t nearly enough for things to be set right, but it was a start.

    Come morning, Hearth’s Warming itself, the duo went down to breakfast together. If anypony was curious as to why, they didn’t bother asking. Everypony chatted over their meal as if nothing had happened. In fact, the whole morning was a relatively quiet affair.

    But as night fell, the mood changed noticeably. Presents were given, carols were sung, food and drink were shared, and good times were had by all. Except one.

    Rainbow Dash saw her, gathering an assortment of sweets from the buffet table in the grand hall. Pinkie Pie turned, not expecting Rainbow Dash to have left her spot near Trixie to come block her path. The pegasus spoke the words she dreaded to hear: “We need to talk”.

    And so they did. Rainbow led Pinkie away from the others, and she explained. She had no desire to make public her and Trixie’s current situation, but she simply couldn’t lie to Pinkie; she’d hurt her more than enough. Rainbow apologized for everything she’d done to her, especially what she’d done last night. She even talked about the real reason Trixie was here. She let Pinkie know she could be upset, she could even hit her if she wanted, but all Rainbow wanted was to know Pinkie would still be her friend.

    In response, Pinkie embraced Rainbow. “It’s fine, Dashie,” she assured. “I’m just glad you’re happy. I won‘t tell anypony, Pinkie Promise.”

    Rainbow Dash doubted Pinkie was telling the truth, but what could she do? She returned the hug, promising Pinkie that this wouldn’t change anything between them- well, anymore than things had already changed. The two released each other, talking amongst themselves as they went back to rejoin the festivities.

    That night, Rainbow found herself drawn back to Trixie’s room. The showmare had been a little distant to everypony at the party, but Rainbow’s friends had done their best to make her feel welcome. Trixie didn’t move an inch as Rainbow explained what she’d told Pinkie, simply sighing as Rainbow Dash finished. “At least we have one out of the way,” she muttered.

    After some more whispered conversing and a peck here and there, the duo once again fell asleep together, holding each other close as they slept under their blanket.

    And so the days passed. Every night they spent together left them a little changed as they spent more and more time with each other. But eventually, the time came where they had to return to Ponyville. Options were thrown around by everypony until it was settled: Trixie could stay with Twilight, as well as receive a minor weekly allowance from the unicorn’s own royal funding, provided Trixie helped her with her research and agreed to leave as soon as she was financially stable enough to have her own place. While reluctant to share a home with the mare who had shown her up, Trixie begrudgingly agreed.

    Back in Ponyville, life went back to normal. Twilight had noticed Rainbow’s recent habit of visiting the library every day, spending time with a certain magician, and it didn’t take long for her to put two and two together. When she confronted them, she merely laughed off their embarrassment. “So long as you two are happy together, who am I to judge?”

    Encouraged by their friend’s acceptance, the couple decided to stop keeping their relationship a secret from the rest. They went place to place, making sure all their friends were updated. Some were surprised, others saw it coming a mile away, but all were accepting.

    But something bothered Rainbow. Her and Pinkie had slowly been recovering as friends, but things still weren’t the same. Deciding to pay her a visit, Rainbow and Trixie stopped by, catching the mare as she was frolicking about Ponyville.

    Pinkie Pie admitted that, while she was still a bit heartbroken, she’d move along. In fact, she’d found another mare that caught her interest, and reciprocated her feelings as well. When questioned as to who it was, the mare simply made a zipping motion across her lips, smiling brightly as she hopped away.

    As for Trixie and Rainbow Dash, their relationship wasn’t perfect. Both being bullheaded, competitive mares, they would bicker and compete from time to time. But they made sure to make everything right before nightfall, where they would either spend their night together in the warm library or part with a gentle kiss.

    And everything was okay.

    But Trixie was a show mare at heart. Helping out Twilight wasn’t the worst job, but she yearned to return to her days onstage. Months passed by, winter faded into Spring, and eventually, she found herself with enough bits to buy a new caravan.

    Calling in a few favors, Applejack helped the magician pick out a great caravan, while Rarity designed Trixie a new stage outfit almost identical to her own. Supplies were bought, shows were planned, and eventually Trixie was ready for her new role as the official performer of Ponyville.

    The arrogance was still there from time to time, but she toned herself down when she performed for the crowd. The bits came in in a steady flow, allowing herself to part from Twilight and officially move into her caravan. She stayed on good terms with her newfound friends, and she had a smile on her face as she caught a certain rainbow-maned pegasus at her performance each day.

    With her new home came more time with Rainbow Dash, the two spending many nights together simply talking and nuzzling in the personal quarters of the caravan. One night, sometime mid-Summer as Trixie was about to go onstage, Rainbow Dash stopped her.

    “Break a leg out there, Trix,” she said, chuckling slightly. She pecked the mare on the cheek, her face blushing fiercely as she opened her mouth again. “I love you.”

    It was a first for the pegasus. The smile on Trixie’s face could have been seen from the moon. She swept the pegasus into a deep, loving kiss. She pulled away, forgetting the stage for just a moment. “I love you, too.”

    Her performance that night was at a level far beyond what she usually did, and the crowd went wild as it ended. Nopony clapped harder than Rainbow Dash though, as Trixie let off one last firework. A red heart illimunated the sky above her head, and above that, two little words she occasionally created at the end of her performance:

    The End.

Alt-Universe Side Story: Paper Faces on Parade (Guest submission from Donny's Boy)

A/N: Can we all just agree to let Donny's Boy write all of these from now on? He is seriously awesome.

"Paper Faces on Parade"

Guest Submission by Donny's Boy

“Masquerade! Paper faces on parade ...

Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you.

Masquerade! Every face a different shade ...

Masquerade! Look around, there’s another mask behind you.”

--”Masquerade,” The Phantom of the Opera

With her heart pounding in her chest and her breath ragged in her throat, Mare Do Well leaped from one snow-covered roof to the next. She’d managed to keep herself together while she and Rainbow Dash were talking, but now that Rainbow had left for Rarity’s, her brain was racing as quickly and as recklessly as her legs.

Pinkie had confessed.

Pinkie had confessed.

She’d known about Pinkie’s crush, of course. She wasn’t stupid, and she wasn’t blind. They had all known. But not a one of them had thought that Pinkie Pie would actually ever admit to her feelings. That wasn’t how Pinkie worked--wasn’t how Pinkie was supposed to work, anyway. Pinkie smiled and smiled and smiled, and she pushed everything that wasn’t sunshine and laughter deep down inside, where it would never see the light of day, where it would fester and ferment.

It was all too easy for Mare Do Well to recognize that Pinkie did this. After all, she did the exact same thing herself.

She hadn’t realized she’d been heading for Sugar Cube Corner until she landed on the bakery’s roof with a soft thump. Mare Do Well took a deep, steadying breath. This was a bad idea. A terrible idea, really. There was still time to turn back and return home, and she knew that was the smart thing to do.

But then, absolutely everything about Mare Do Well was a terrible idea, wasn’t it? Mare Do Well was impulsive and brash and manipulative and utterly unlike the actual pony behind the mask. That had been the entire point. And, honestly, sometimes she grew tired of always having to do the smart thing. The responsible thing. The carefully considered thing.

Sometimes, giving in to the impulsive felt as freeing as it did to fly through the air as easily as one of Fluttershy’s birds as she jumped across Ponyville’s rooftops.

Besides, if there had ever been a moment for her to turn back, it had come and gone a long, long time ago. So, after one last moment’s hesitation, Mare Do Well dropped down through the still-open pegasus door on the bakery roof. She landed in Pinkie’s bedroom with barely a sound and, after taking a quick look around, spotted Pinkie sitting on her bed with Gummy clutched to her chest.

For her own part, Pinkie Pie was staring directly at Mare Do Well. Her eyes were watery but also strangely hard; her deep, blue irises glittered like ice. “Hello, Twilight.”

Mare Do Well didn’t react. Didn’t gasp, didn’t jump, didn’t so much as twitch. But her heart leaped into her throat, and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach with nausea. She waited a few moments, to allow herself time to settle her nerves, before she spoke in the smooth, husky voice she’d cultivated and perfected over the last several weeks.

“Hello, Pinkie Pie,” she replied. She was downright amazed at how calm and in-control she sounded.

“Why are you here?”

“Do I really need a special reason to visit a good, dear friend?” She hadn’t meant it to sound snide, but that mocking Mare Do Well tone had crept into her words regardless.

Pinkie pursed her lips, as she glanced down at Gummy. “You’re hurting her. You’re one of the smartest smarty pants ponies I’ve ever met, so I know you have to be able to see how much you’re hurting her.”

Mare Do Well fought down the urge to fidget nervously or to paw at the floor like a foal who was being scolded. “I don’t mean to. I … I’ve never meant to hurt her. To hurt anypony.”

“You have to stop, Twilight. You have to tell her.”

“I can’t.” Mare Do Well shook her head. “If I tell her, she won’t want to have anything to do with me. If I tell her, I’ll lose her completely, and I can’t let that happen.”

Pinkie Pie gently set her pet alligator down on the bed before hopping up herself. She took a few steps towards Mare Do Well and, when she spoke again, her voice had softened considerably. “Rainbow Dash is the loyalest pony in Equestria. She wouldn’t leave you.”

“Well, she left you, didn’t she?”

The earth pony flinched, as though she’d just been struck. In an instant, the ice was back in her eyes and in her voice, as she spat out, “Why are you here?”

Mare Do Well hung her head. This was … this was not what she wanted. This was going all wrong, just like everything else she did, and she had no one to blame but herself. She sighed. She could feel Pinkie’s eyes boring into her, but she didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t even sure herself exactly why she’d come here, truth be told.

Instincts. Instincts were what led her here, and instincts were what had told her to first put on the mask she wore right now. Mare Do Well was starting to remember why she never used to listen to her instincts, why she always planned everything down to the very last detail.

Instincts couldn’t be trusted.

“Perhaps I wanted to talk to someone,” the masked mare finally allowed, very quietly. “Perhaps I just wanted to talk to someone who would understand.”

“But I don’t understand! And I’m not sure I want to understand, either.”

“Oh, you don’t?” Mare Do Well lifted her gaze and snorted. “You don’t know what it’s like to live behind masks? To pretend to be somepony you aren’t?”

Pinkie didn’t respond. She just looked out one of the bedroom windows, her face blank and unyielding.

Mare Do Well should have stopped. She should have shut up right then and there, but she didn’t. She couldn’t resist pressing her advantage, couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “Don’t stand there and pretend that you aren’t jealous that you didn’t think to do the same thing. And don’t you dare pretend that you haven’t hurt Rainbow Dash yourself in a hundred ways of your own.” Her eyes narrowed behind the relative safety of her mask. “Don’t you dare, Pinkamena.”

“W-what?” Pinkie’s head whipped back around, and her eyes went huge with sudden fear and panic. “How did you … did Dashie tell you … “

“No. No, Rainbow didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to.” She tilted her head, studying her friend. Her rival. Her adversary. Her … dear Celestia, she didn’t even know what she and Pinkie were to each other anymore. “It’s as you said earlier, Pinkie. I’m smart.”

The two mares stood there, staring down one another, for seconds that seemed to last for hours. The only thing Mare Do Well could hear was the ticking of a nearby clock and her own heavy breathing. Outside the bakery, the snow began falling again, lightly, silently, beautiful and idyllic.

“So, what now?” Pinkie asked at last, her voice sounding small and distant.

“I don’t know. But ... but I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Pinkie let out her breath in a gusty sigh. She didn’t say anything, but Mare Do Well took it as a sign that Pinkie accepted her offer. She hoped that Pinkie accepted, anyway.

Then, Pinkie turned around and walked slowly back over to the bed. She sat on its edge. “You should probably go.”

Mare Do Well nodded. That was fair. More than fair, really--it was almost kind of Pinkie to tell her to leave. Without further ado, she headed for the pegasus door and nimbly leaped on top of a nearby dresser. Just as she was about to jump for the door above, she paused. “Pinkie Pie?”

“What?”

To Mare Do Well’s surprise, the earth pony didn’t sound angry or bitter. Just tired. Exhausted, actually.

“You’re wrong, you know. About us not accepting who you really are. If you gave us a chance, we would.” Mare Do Well glanced over her shoulder. “I promise you that.”

In return, Pinkie gave her an inscrutable smile. “I’m not so sure I think your promises are worth a lot right now. But thanks for saying that anyways.”

There was nothing else to add, so Mare Do Well simply turned back around. Crouching down, her muscles coiling in anticipation, she pushed off the dresser and grabbed onto the edge of the pegasus door with her front hooves. Quickly and efficiently, she pulled herself up onto the roof.

“Twilight! Wait!”

She shouldn’t have reacted to the name, shouldn’t have responded. When she was wearing her mask, she was Mare Do Well, and Mare Do Well had no name. But the plaintive note in Pinkie’s voice caused her to freeze in her tracks and look back through the opened door. Pinkie stood directly below, gazing up at her.

Mare Do Well cocked her head and patiently waited.

Pinkie licked her lips before saying anything further. “I just want to know why. Why Rainbow Dash.”

“You do realize I could ask you that very same question.”

“Yeah, but I asked you first.”

Despite herself, Mare Do Well laughed, a short bark of a laugh. Pinkie had gotten her there, she had to admit. Pinkie was good at surprising ponies like that. That was just one of the many reasons it was never advisable to underestimate the deceptively bubbly baker.

Thinking things over for a minute, Mare Do Well finally decided on an answer she wanted to give. “Rainbow Dash doesn’t give up on ponies, no matter how badly damaged they are or how many times they’ve fouled everything up.”

There was a brief silence, and then Pinkie sighed, a soft, wistful sigh. “Maybe you were right,” she said, still looking up through the open door, her big blue eyes reflecting the sunlight from above. “Maybe I do understand.”

Mare Do Well smiled down at her friend, despite the fact she knew it wouldn’t be visible behind her mask. Then she whirled around and took off running, jumping across rooftops with practiced ease, the wind whipping her cape behind her. Even though everything was still a complete and utter mess, even though she was ruining everything and everyone she ever loved, as she flew through the air, Mare Do Well felt as light as a feather.

Pinkie Pie understood.

And if Pinkie Pie understood … maybe Rainbow Dash could, too.

Alternate Ending: Insert Rock Pun Here (Guest submission from SirDerpy)

A/N: So, I think it's safe to say that everyone else ever has beaten me to every single alternate ending I've ever even considered writing, either because they've already submitted it or they've called dibs on it for the future. This entry confirms it.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #12

Guest Submission from SirDerpy

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

"Too bad." she whispered. She could feel the figure shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Under her...before her...there lay a thing clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath it. Atop its head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.

But now, there was no mask to protect its face. No facade to hide behind.

There was only it.

A rock. A rock, shining and polished, but a rock nonetheless. A rock, growing even as she was pinning it down. And still a rock, no matter how Rainbow Dash looked at it, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that logically this was impossible.

-----

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those facets, those shining, reflective facets. The exact same color as the rocks that Rainbow Dash, well, always saw everywhere. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."

And still it had nothing to say for itself, only sitting silently as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to what would have been its shoulders, gripping it as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The rock did nothing, then gave Rainbow Dash no expression.

’Surprised?’ A voice in Rainbow Dash’s head whispered.

-----

She stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she recovered from her shock.

“H-how? W-what is this?” Her voice shook as she asked the question.

Still Tom gave no response.

“This-this isn’t possible! How could this happen?” Rainbow’s eye twitched.

“You ruined my life. You isolated me from my friends. Y-you made Pinkie hate me. You injured my wings, you manipulated me, you made me fall in love with a mare that never existed. A-and now, you tell me that you ARE A BUCKING ROCK?”

It was here that Rainbow Dash lost it. Picking up anything nearby that looked hard (Insert erection-related sex joke here) enough to cause damage, she launched herself at the rock, beating it furiously.

Not a scratch was made on it. It was as solid as…well, a rock.

“AGGH! DIE!” Rainbow Dash had never been so angry, so frustrated, so hateful in her life than at that moment. At the time, a small part of her sensed that she might have been overreacting a little, but that part was quickly shouted down by the other part of her mind. The overreacting part, that is.

She continued her relentless onslaught.

Tom continued to do nothing.

-----

“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow? Are you here?” A distant voice penetrated through the red haze that had settled around her mind.

She paused for a moment in the middle of her 2898-hit combo to shout out her location. Then she turned her attention back to the rock.

Two hours later, Rainbow Dash ran out of Mana-er, energy.

Chest heaving and muscles screaming in exertion, she landed on the ground in front of her former love.

“You’re…lucky…that ‘gasp’ I’m tired right…now. I’ll be…’gasp’ back, right…after a short rest.” Rainbow Dash collapsed on the ground. The haze in her mind steadily turned black…

“Rainbow? Rainbow Dash! Applejack, I found her! She’s right over here!” Twilight ran up to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow! What happened to you? Applejack, you better hurry up. Rainbow looks like she might need help.”

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

Twilight looked visibly relieved. “Thank goodness! We were worried about you. Let’s get you back to the castle now, alright?”

“…No.” The word came out as a low, guttural growl. “That rock must die.”

“Sugarcube, are ya sure yer fine? There ain’t no rock hereabouts as far as ah can tell.”

Rainbow Dash leapt to her hooves almost faster than she could fly. “What? Impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!”

But true to Applejack’s word, there wasn’t a rock. Just a pile of snow, a few pieces of litter, and an abandoned Mare Do Well costume.

“B-but this c-can’t be! It was a bucking ROCK, for cryin’ out loud! Rocks can’t move. Rocks can’t do anything!” Deep in her mind, she asked herself why she hadn’t recognized this fact earlier, and saved herself the trouble of using more Dragon Ball Z moves than she could count on Tom.

She burst into tears and collapsed on the ground, bawling about how life could go buck itself. Applejack sighed and threw Rainbow Dash over her back.

“Let’s go, Twi. I think tha’ RD needs a bed right now.” Nodding, Twilight followed Applejack back to the castle.

Strangely enough, the canon ending was not affected by this turn of events at all, and so they lived happily ever after.

And then they had sex.


End

Side Story: Daytime Patrol (Guest submission from grazehunter)

A/N: ARGH THERE ARE SO MANY OF THESE NOW. DO YOU PEOPLE HONESTLY HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO I MEAN COME ON. (Don't stop, though. Keep sending me stuff. I love it.)

"Daytime Patrol"

Guest Submission from grazehunter

It was a wonderful morning in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was walking with Pinkie Pie to the prank store when she decided to ask Pinkie what had been on her mind for the last week.

“Ummm, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yeah, Dashie?”

“You remember that…nighttime patrol we did?”

Pinkie hesitated, her prance coming to a halt. It hadn’t occurred to Rainbow Dash that she was still guilty about what happened the last time.

“Listen Pinkie…I understand if you still feel guilty…”

“I know Rainbow…I guess I was just ready to give up the whole super hero business.”

“Yeah but what about all the ponies that look up to you?”

“It doesn’t matter if the ponies I love get hurt in the process.”

“Well who says that they have to know who Mare Do Well is?”

“But they know who you are, Dashie. I couldn’t risk you getting hurt again.”

“No, but come to my house later and I will show you something.”

-----

Rainbow’s house floated like a mansion lowered down from the dreams of a filly. It was almost enchanting.

Pinkie waited down below, her mane down and her eyes filled with anxiety and concern. What did Rainbow Dash mean? Was she really thinking about this?

Just then the cyan mare flew down and offered Pinkie her hoof.

As they glided above to the house, Pinkie's mane fluffed back into shape.

Before they even stepped in to see the surprise that Rainbow had in store, Pinkie already had an idea about what exactly her friend had done.

And it made her giggle with excitement.

Mare Do Well the lover may be gone. But Mare Do Well the superhero would live on.

-----

In a deserted lot, a gang of rough looking stallions gathered. Among them, the white unicorn that had injured Rainbow Dash shuffled his way among the dense crowd.

A brown earth pony in a black jacket made his way to the top of the stand where he announced to the crowd.

“Alright, boys, after what happened in the last heist…”

All eyes darted on the white unicorn, whose nickname was Lead Rose.

“Hey it wasn’t my fault that she was there. And then that rainbow-maned pegasus. Wasn’t she that one pegasus from the paper? The Wonderbolts fan?”

“Doesn’t matter cause you messed up Lead,” the leader whose name was Boar Bane said under gritted teeth," and my patience is only so thin.”

Lead was silent.

“Now,” Bane continued, "Today is a noon heist. And because our colts have been getting a sweet tooth, guess where were going?”

“Uhhhhh…to Daisy Queen?” said a green colt.

“No, you idiot! Drumroll please…”

The group began to pound their hooves, kicking up dust.

“Sugarcube Corner!”

There was a loud roar of approval as the crowd ran to their carts.

As he walked to his cart, Lead Rose began to think about the plan.

Two carts would enter the bakery and sack the place. Then they would meet the remaining three carts and spread the goods out so that the guards wouldn’t get suspicious.

Dear Celestia I hope this works.

The whole gang of thugs were being assembled for this task and if they got caught, it would be the end to them all.

-----

Pinkie felt a tingle in her spine.

“Dashie,” she whispered.” My Pinkie Sense is tingling.”

“What do you think it could be?” the pegasus questioned.

“The kind of thing that Mare Do Well would respond to.”

The pink pony’s mane went down and her face was grim.

-----

BAM!

The door to Sugarcube Corner was broken in two by a large orange stallion.

The patrons inside screamed as the thugs filled the bakery, preventing any routes of escape.

“Alright ladies and gentlecolts,” Lead Rose announced,” put your heads down and imagine you’re taking a nice nap.”

A filly made a whimper and with one quick motion, the unicorn kicked her in the flank. It took all the filly’s strength to not cry.

Mare Do Well will save us. Oh Celestia please save us!

The Cakes were put into a corner except for Mr. Cake, who was being directed by a blue colt to open the safe and store all the bits in the sack while his partners began stuffing cakes, pastries, and whatever looked sweet into large wheat sacks.

“Boss,” a colt ran up to Lead.

“There’s a cop outside.”

“Oh, you bucking gotta be kidding me…”

-----

Officer Orange was hugging against the wall when he saw a purple flash in the sky and on the roof.

Huh?

But just then a bat found its way to the top of the officer’s head and it was all black.

-----

“Lock that Orange in the pantry!” Lead barked the command to two of his thugs

Just then there was a dull thud above the ceiling.

“What was that?” a colt asked.

The bandits were silent for a moment, until Lead broke the silence.

“Check it out.”

The colt, known as Red Hoof, nodded and ran up the stairs.

Mrs. Cake made a sound that was somewhere between a cry and a gasp.

“Please don’t tell me Pinkie Pie just came back with Rainbow Dash.” She whispered as tears ran down her cheek.

-----

Red Hoof opened the door quietly and rushed in with his baton.

Nothing.

He began to look around, checking to see where the pony may have hidden.

Suddenly there was another thud and Red Hoof swung around to come face to face with no pony other then Mare Do Well.

“Ohhhhhhh Celestia…” Red backed away when he suddenly bumped into another figure.

He turned around, expecting to face a wardrobe, but instead found…

“Wait? Mare Do Well?” the colt said dumfounded.

He swerved his head to see both mares closing in on him…

-----

There was a sound of hoofs clashing upstairs and Lead Rose looked up with concern.

“He’s probably giving them a good beating,” Scour Stone assured.

“I hope so,” Lead murmured.

"I'm going to get the cart ready. I'll drive this time."

With that, Scour Stone trotted outside.

Just then the unconscious figure of Red Hoof toppled down the stairs.

Several of the outlaws gave gasps of surprise.

“It’s nothing,” Lead yelled,” You two, go and take care of it.”

The two colts he had ordered ran up the stairs and once again there was a sound of a struggle.

After a momentary silence, the two bodies of the thugs toppled over Red Hoof like some messed-up dog pile at the end of the stairs.

Then the sound of hoofs made the thieves cringe. The sight afterwards only made them jump back in bewilderment.

There stood Mare Do Well.

Oh, buck me, Lead thought.

“Every colt run for your lives!” a bandit screamed before rushing out the door.

And in an instance there was an influx of stallions trying to get past the front entrance. The few who stayed to fight only met a hoof to the face before they were knocked down.

“Out of my way!” Lead screamed and an orange aura surrounded the thieves and forced them aside.

Pinkie Pie’s blood boiled. She recognized the thug who had injured her friend.

He wasn't going to get away like last time. Not anymore.

And with that she dashed past the crowd, ramming her body into the unicorn, throwing him onto the pavement of the road.

“Lead Rose?” a surprised Scour Stone asked confusingly as he turned to see who had just shoved the unicorn to the ground.

"Who the heck are you?" He asked the masked crime fighter before him.

Lead quickly scrambled to his hooves and dived into the back of the cart.

“Step on it!” screamed Lead Rose.

The cart sped down the street, past surprised ponies and officers.

Not on my watch, Pinkie determined.

As Officer Orange became responsive after his attack, the officer galloped through the hole that was once a door.

He only managed to see the cart racing towards the horizon and a purple blur follow it skillfully over the roofs like some professional acrobat.

------

Lead Rose was almost to the backup. If he outnumbered Mare Do Well, then he had a chance.

Just then he heard a thud and saw that, by some amazing amount of speed, Mare Do Well had caught up.

Lead tried to buck her off but she was one step ahead. She dodged his kick and returned with a front hoof to his cheek. She then somersaulted and landed on top of his back with her two front hooves.

Lead howled in pain and tried to get the swift mare off his damaged spine.

Just then there was another thud and Lead felt the cart come to a halt. He managed to kick the masked hero off and ran to the side of the cart to see Scour lying sleepily under the harness. A pegasus was standing over him.

Wait a minute.

Not just any pegasus, but a second Mare Do Well!

“Huh?”

He arched his head to see the first Mare Do Well get up and begin to advance towards his position.

“Wait a minute!” he squealed as he the mares cornered him into an alley.

“How can there be two you?” he chocked at his words.

The first Mare Do Well gave a dark chuckle and said, “You thought there was only one Mare Do Well?”

“You really need to get out more often.” The other Mare Do Well added in a matter-of-factly-voice.

Lead turned his head to see he was in a dead end. There was no escaping this time.

“Hold on! Hold on! We can talk this out like civilized ponies.” Lead’s blood was starting to run cold.

“You stopped being a civilized pony when you attacked that pegasus in your last heist.”

“It was self-defense!” Lead pleaded.

If they got in range, he would be ready.

“No, it was just plain cruel,” the second Mare Do Well hissed.

“Come on now?” Lead tried to let out a chuckle, but his mouth felt as dry as an empty mug of cider.

However, the mares were now in range and using his magic, he decided to attack the first mare.

Pinkie felt a sharp pain in her legs as the unicorn pinned her down like a ragdoll.

She managed to arch her head only to watch in horror as her friend suffered the same effect.

Lead trotted up, laughing.

“You mares never learn do you?” he mocked. "Well, it looks like Professor Lead Rose will have to give you a proper lesson in Outlaw 101.”

A purple aura suddenly surrounded Lead and his eyes froze. His grasp was released and the orange aura dissipated into thin air.

Both mares got up to see a third Mare Do Well standing over them.

Both wanted to know how, but decided to save explanations for later. Right now, they had a thug to lecture on.

Lead was pinned to the ground, and he saw the third Mare Do Well land safely on a ledge and then onto the ground, never releasing her grasp on him as she did so.

“Now you seem to have not yet mastered this spell,” the third Mare Do Well said in a steely voice.

“Bu-bu-Buck yo-you.” The stallion hissed in agony.

“Now let us teach you something in Flank-kicking 101,” The second mare said cynically.

“If you want to avoid injury or getting your flanks handed to you, please avoid the following occupations.” The first mare chided.

“Theft, vandalism, anything really that is against the law.” The third mare lectured.

Lead felt himself levitate into the air and over the buildings.

“Oh and tell your boss,” the first mare added,” that robbing a bakery, especially one as nice as Sugarcube Corner, is really just a stupid idea. Only meanie bullies whose brains are the size of cupcakes ever try that kind of stunt.”

He continued to rise until he was sure a bird could actually collide with his snout.

“Wait! Wait! Please don’t kill me! I promise to be good. I won’t rob another pony as long as I live. I will even stop littering! I promise! Just let me go!”

“Suit yourself.” And with that, Lead was tossed into the sky.

He screamed out loud until he landed in a heap of flour sacks in front of Sugarcube Corner, where officers were leading bandits out into prison wagons.

“Lead Rose, what they hay are you doing?” one of the younger colts asked. "Run for it!”

But Lead didn’t even manage to glare at the colt before he was tackled by a distraught Officer Orange.

In the safety of the alleyway, all three Mare Do Wells took off their costumes, revealing themselves to be Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and…

Both ponies jumped back in surprise.

“Twilight!”

The purple unicorn gave an embarrassed giggle.

“Good teamwork?”

“You have a whole pies worth of stuff to talk about!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“As do you.” Twilight replied.

So Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had to explain to Twilght why they were dressed up and how Rainbow Dash had come up with the ingenious idea to ask Applejack and Fluttershy for their costumes in order to make sure that she would never “suspect” them of being the masked mare who was trailing her.

“So you and Pinkie…have done this before?” Twilight questioned.

“Have you?” Rainbow Dash blurted back.

Twilight gave a sigh.

“You see Rainbow Dash, I had performed a duplication spell on the costume before I gave it to Rarity, just as a back up in case she needed another one. But then one night, that unicorn you saw had came in and robbed the library. He had tied me up and since Spike was in Canterlot, I was the only one that could have stopped him. I told the police to keep the incident confidential in fear that he might come back for me. But then I realized that he would rob me or some other pony again anyway, so I took out the back up and used it to hunt him down and get my books back.”

“How long ago was this?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Just before we took the train to Canterlot for Hearth's Warming Eve. I was worried that you would all get stressed if I told you what happened. I didn’t want anypony else to get hurt.”

Pinkie put a hoof over Twilight and the two mares shared in a warm embrace.

“I know what it feels like when you are worried about somepony,” Pinkie whispered into Twilight’s ears.

After the hug, Twilight asked Rainbow about…well…everything. The bet, the nightly endeavors, the romance, the drama, and everything else in between.

When they were finished, all three costumed heros stood in place, not knowing exactly what to do now.

“That colt is really despicable.” Pinkie said coldly.

“No kidding, Pinkie,” Rainbow said,” I’m just glad that we got to teach him a lesson before we gave him to the cops.”

“So what’s next?” Twilight asked.

"My Pinkie Sense is telling me where we can find more of these nasty thugs."

-----

Boar Bane was getting impatient. The sound of voices from the direction of Sugarcube Corner was making him antsy.

I just need to relax.

That was when he heard a sound behind him.

“I swear Spork, for the last time you cannot be a spy unless you learn how to use a butterfly…” Bane stopped in mid sentence to see three masked Mare Do Wells facing him.

His eyes widened in absolute terror

“Surprised?”


Authors Note: Trying to write fan fiction for well...fan fiction. Do not take this concept too seriously. I just wanted to see if I could actually write something like this.

Alternate Ending: Life & Dreams (Guest submission from Tailslover13)

A/N: See, Tails, this is why I love you. You're a good sport, even though you hated my ending and I kind of sort of keep rubbing it in your face that I don't really care whether you like it or not.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #13

Guest Submission from Tailslover13

There was only silence; the sound of the two of them breathing and the hushed whisper of snow falling.

"We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."

And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

“Too bad,” she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes…

~~~

“Doctor, come quickly!”

The first feeling she experienced was pain. A bright white ceiling, complimented by white, desolate walls, greeted the cyan Pegasus as her eyes fluttered open. The sheer brightness of the strange room struck Rainbow Dash’s pupils, weakening the Pegasus and making her squirm uncomfortably. Somewhere to her left, the shrill voice of another pony was squealing and speaking gibberish that Dash wasn’t focusing on. All she cared about was what happened and where she was now.

Rosy eyes darted around the room after at least a dozen weaker eyelid fluttering exercises. The pupils dilated and began to focus in on her surroundings, Rainbow Dash spying several odd machines displayed around the white room. A respiratory machine and a defibrillator both situated the area to her right, but Dash was more focused on in what she saw towards the left of her bed. It was at this point that she finally began noticing that she was hooked up with IVs and tubes, which were both connected to even larger machines that Dash couldn’t identify.

A cardiac monitor beeped softly over Dash’s head, showing her slowly-quickening heart rate. The IVs that she had taken notice of were attached to each of her forelegs, to her neck, to her forehead, and a few around her chest. The Pegasus, continuing to panic, finally came to the realization that she was in a hospital. A place that she did not ever enjoy taking residence within, at least not since discovering who Daring-Do was. Plus, with some pony in a white jacket trotting back and forth in a frazzle next to her bedside, it didn’t seem like a normal accident this time around that had led to her coming here, either.

Seconds later, the door to the small room burst open and Nurse Redheart trotted inside. Upon laying eyes on Rainbow Dash, the pony’s jaw dropped and her eyes doubled their usual size. The younger, giddier pony in the white coat was pushed aside as Redheart rushed over to the cyan mare’s bedside. Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel a knot form in her stomach from all the attention and confusion that was beginning to escalate within the tiny hospital room.

“Rainbow Dash, this is truly a miracle!” Nurse Redheart exclaimed, reaching over onto a nearby table out of Dash’s eyesight and grasping a clipboard, “I didn’t want to believe it, but I feared that you may never wake up again. Still, even though it’s been months, your friends never gave up hope! They made sure to visit you every single day, and…”

“Whoa, whoa, hold it right there!” Rainbow Dash croaked out, finding her voice to be raspy and rather weak. It was like dust was coating the inside of her throat, and it hurt whenever she gurgled any words at all. But, the situation was much too dire for the frantic Pegasus, and she wanted answers. “Just what the hay is going on here? Why am I in this hospital bed? Why do I have all this stuffed hooked up to my body? Where’s Mare Do Well? Where are my friends? WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!?!”

“Rainbow Dash, please calm down. You mustn’t overexcite yourself, especially after what you just woke up from.” Nurse Redheart glared at the Pegasus, trotting up and placing a hoof against her shoulder, attempting to calm her down. “Waking up from a coma after several months is a miracle within itself, but you really can’t…”

“WHAT?!?! A COMA?!?!” Rainbow Dash’s face paled, the heart monitor behind her beginning to beep even faster as her blood pressure accelerated. All she wanted to do was rip the cords off her body and get the heck out of that room and find Mare Do Well and her friends. Mostly the latter, but she had been that close to finding out who Mare Do Well was, and now she was here? After several months? This couldn’t be happening.

“Rainbow Dash, if you do not calm down, I will be forced to sedate you,” Redheart warned, pushing firmly onto Dash’s left shoulder and giving her a stern look. “It’s only natural for you to be confused. But, if you would please just relax and let me explain the situation, I’m sure all your questions will be answered. I will have my assistant run to get your friends, given that they’ll make you feel better. But, please, do NOT overexcite yourself. Your body cannot take it right now.”

Giving a nod to the other nervous earth pony, Nurse Redheart went back to scribbling furiously across her clipboard with a quill. The young assistant quickly galloped out of the room, leaving the two ponies alone and in a deafening silence. The only sound came from the cardiac monitor’s beeping over Dash’s head and the soft tapping of the quill against Redheart’s clipboard. Rainbow Dash was beyond angry by this point. She was annoyed, scared, confused, and downright enraged by what the current situation looked like. Did Mare Do Well somehow do this to her?

“So? Tell me already! What the hay happened to me?”

“Yes, of course.” Nurse Redheart pulled up a chair, sitting down gently onto the cushion as she gave Rainbow Dash her full attention. The nurse’s eyes met Dash’s, the pony continuing to try and calm her patient’s inner fury as much as she could. “Rainbow Dash, you suffered a cardiac arrest a few months ago, and was quickly rushed here by your friends Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. This led to you…”

“Uh…what’s a cardiac arrest? Something to do with playing cards and the police or something?”  Dash frowned a little, hating when she didn’t understand fancy talk or complicated issues.

Nurse Redheart gave a patient sigh, shaking her head. “No. Cardiac arrest is a very serious medical condition that is brought on by cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart being able to contract effectively.”

“In English, please.”

“A very serious condition caused by an unnatural interruption of your blood flow caused by your heart not working properly.”

Dash’s ears flattened against her skull at the mention of her heart being involved. So, there was a chance that she could die? She still didn’t understand. Did Mare Do Well make her heart unbalanced or something? Was all that lovey-dovey junk causing her body to go about a change that could effectively end her life if not treated? Her fright was once again replaced by rage at Mare Do Well. Oh boy, Rainbow Dash was going to rip into her once she got her hooves on the mare again. This was going too far. Messing with her heart using psychological and mental tricks was bad enough, but now this?

“Oh. Well…okay, whatever. But, you said something about a coma, too.” Dash tried to remain calm, not wanting to upset her heart again, or whatever the situation was.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash. As soon as you were brought in, we rushed you to intensive care at once. Cardiac arrest is a very horrifying condition that must be treated immediately, or else the consequences could be fatal. We did all we could, but…” Redheart’s ears drooped a bit, since she hated being the bearer of bad news. “…even though we stabilized your blood flow and your heartbeat, you didn’t wake up again. You…you went into a coma.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she knew enough about simple terms to know what the nurse meant. “Wow. Me, in a coma? Ugh, that’s rather annoying.” The mare scowled to herself that Pinkie and Twilight had been the ones to rush her to the hospital. Did that mean that one of them was Mare Do Well? After all, the masked mare had been the last thing that Dash had seen before…well, opening her eyes to find herself in a hospital bed.

“Naturally, we outfitted you with the proper equipment to make sure you were taken care of during your coma.” Nurse Redheart motioned her head to all the wires and tubes attached to Rainbow’s body. “During a coma, the patient cannot eat or drink, and their body does not function as it would during its host’s full attention. Therefore, we had to maintain your respiration and circulation by using intubation and ventilation, which also allowed us to administer intravenous fluids, blood and other supportive care while you were in your vegetative state.”

“Once more, in English, please.”

Rolling her eyes slightly, Redheart poked one of the wires on Dash’s left foreleg. “All these wires are what kept you alive all these months, Rainbow Dash. They pump blood and fluids into your body so you don’t die.”

“Oh. Right.” Rainbow Dash raised a hoof to give herself a slap in the forehead, but Redheart scowled at her and forced her to not move. “Ugh. So, let me get this straight. I suffered a cardiac arrest, Twi and Pinks rushed me here, and I fell into a coma and I’ve been a vegetable for the past few months?”

“DASHIE!” Before Nurse Redheart could respond, the door burst open and a very familiar voice broke the calmness of the room. Even though she was still rather annoyed with her for obvious reasons, Dash couldn’t help but crack a weak smile. Seeing the puff of pink mane suddenly appear at her bedside was a welcome sight at the moment. “Y-y-you’re awake! Y-you really woke up!”

“Hey, Pinkie. What’s up?” Dash grinned, attempting to lean back even further against her large, comfy pillow in an attempt to make herself look like she didn’t mind being in the bed.

Nurse Redheart stepped aside for a moment to let Rainbow Dash’s three current visitors view the Pegasus. Besides the teary-eyed Pinkie Pie, who was trembling in joy at seeing her best friend awake, there was also a rather pale and messy-maned Twilight Sparkle with dark bags under her eyes and blood red pupils replacing the white sanctum of her eyeballs. Having to stand on her hind legs and place her forelegs on the bed surface to steady herself, Scootaloo peered at Rainbow Dash with the same loving and adoring expression that she had grown accustomed to seeing each and every day. Or, in the very least, whenever she actually saw the filly.

“Oh, Dashie, I was SO scared that you would never wake up again!” Pinkie sobbed, burying her face into the side of Rainbow’s pillow and having to be restrained from putting her hooves around Dash’s neck for a loving embrace. “I…I couldn’t live without seeing you again, at least not in the sense of flying around and showing off and stuff. Seeing you in this bed all the time, not moving…not speaking…my poor little heart nearly broke a hundred times. I had to go out and buy some glue.”

“Rainbow Dash…you are one of my best friends, and you mean so much to me…” Twilight whispered, her voice akin to Dash’s. It was hard to tell just who the one with the voice problems was as the purple mare edged forward to try and get closer to the cyan mare, since Pinkie was hogging most of the space closest to her head. “I used my medical books to study cardiac arrests and comas, and I was terrified of what I found out. I thought…I thought I was going to lose you. I couldn’t eat, or sleep. Knowing that you might never get to stretch your wings again…” The unicorn went silent, trying to hold back her tears.

Finally, it was Scootaloo’s turn to talk. The little filly was wide-eyed and anxious, but looked almost just like Twilight in the face. It was clear she was suffering from a lack of sleep and nutrition as well. “Rainbow Dash…thank goodness you’re okay! My grades had been dropping in school because Miss Cheerilee has been annoyed with how much I keep drawing your picture and answering every question she asks with ‘Rainbow Dash’. I don’t want any other hero…I want you! Please, please don’t ever leave me like that again, okay?”

Rainbow Dash eyed Pinkie Pie closely, contemplating just how real her sobs were. Then she looked at Twilight, curious as to how SHE had been so worried about her, too. The mare grinned softly at seeing Scootaloo; the little kid really was a sweetheart in her adoration for her. It was no shocker that she’d be worried about her after this shocking revelation. Still, Dash had to admit that being admired and cared about so much wasn’t such a bad thing, life-threatening or not. However, she still had several questions that needed to be answered.

“Pinkie Pie.” Dash’s voice came out serious and direct, the mare staring at the hysterical earth pony staring at her with shimmering blue eyes. “I just need to know, right now. I can’t go through all that again. So…it was you, wasn’t it? It didn’t make much sense, but…something told me that it HAD to be you. You were her, weren’t you?”

Wiping a tear from her eye, a confused smile forced its way across Pinkie’s lips. “I was who, Dashie?”

“You know who I mean, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash sighed, not even caring that Twilight, Scootaloo and Nurse Redheart were there. “Look, enough is enough. After what I apparently suffered, I think I deserve a little confession from you, since it was YOU who caused me to suffer this!”

“W-what? Dashie…w-what are you talking about?” Pinkie took a step back, her ears flattening against the sides of her head. “Why are you mad at me? What did I do? I…I didn’t put you into a coma. When Twilight and I found you, we were on our way to your home to ask you how the Wonderbolts show had gone. You were on the ground…not moving…” Pinkie’s head lowered, her eyes filling with tears once more. “I…I almost lost it right then…thankfully Twilight was there to help us take you to the hospital.”

Rainbow Dash did a double take, shaking her head and blinking a few times. She wasn’t sure she had heard Pinkie Pie properly. “Uh…what? The Wonderbolts show? But…that was months ago!”

“Uh…yes, Rainbow Dash, I think we already established that,” Nurse Redheart sighed, shaking her head and going over her notes. “I fear you may have suffered some memory loss or at least some amnesia thanks to your coma. It is said that once you wake up from one, you sometimes don’t know where you are or how you got there.”

Before she knew it, Rainbow Dash was sitting up in bed and looking angry. “Girls, please, this isn’t funny! Just tell me already that ONE of you was Mare Do Well, right? Pinkie, I was sure it was you. I mean, it didn’t make sense, but…it just HAD to be. Twilight, you were my next guess, even though you had shown up at the same time Mare Do Well did during that party, so that’s the only reason I thought it couldn’t have worked. Mare Do Well had no wings, so it couldn’t have been Fluttershy. Rarity and Applejack, I just don’t think that they…”

“Rainbow…what are you talking about?” Twilight interrupted, struggling to stay awake as she rubbed a foreleg over her eyes. “Mare Do Well? I thought we put all that behind us. Oh…wait, was it maybe a dream you had during your sleep?”

“A dream? Oh, heck no! It was no dream! It happened!” Rainbow Dash protested. “I can still feel it all in my heart! The ticket…my broken wings…the carnations…the chases…the touches…it was all real! There was no way that was a dream!” She pointed a hoof accusingly at the two mares beside her bed, now ignoring Scootaloo. “One of you is Mare Do Well and one of you…possibly both of you…loves me!”

Silence filled the room once more, any attempts from Nurse Redheart trying to calm Rainbow Dash down going ignored. Twilight and Pinkie both stared at Rainbow Dash for a long time, their eyes widen and their cheeks turning dark red at the sudden accusation. Scootaloo looked crestfallen, both from being ignored and from not being accused of also loving Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash herself had her teeth bared and her messy mane puffed out due to stress. She wasn’t about to let this game keep going on after all she’d been through. One way or another, either Pinkie or Twilight was going to confess. That or Rainbow Dash would demand to see Applejack or Rarity next.

Very slowly, Pinkie trotted back up to Rainbow’s side. Since Nurse Redheart was now being ignored and would not be listened to, Pinkie reared up on her hind legs and wrapped both of her hooves around Rainbow’s middle. Burying her head into the Pegasus’ shoulder, Pinkie just closed her eyes and nuzzled up to mare, not uttering a single word. The same feelings that Dash had been feeling since the beginning about Pinkie Pie began to resurface, her cheeks lighting up and her heart pounding inside her chest. The sad, gentle smile on Pinkie’s face didn’t tell her anything she wanted to know.

Trotting around to her other side, Twilight joined Pinkie in hugging Rainbow Dash’s free side. The unicorn pressed her swollen cheek against the side of Dash’s face, indicating just how badly she had been crying the past few months. Rainbow Dash was used to being near Pinkie, but now that Twilight was holding her like this, she could easily see just how beautiful and sweet she was. If one of them really was Mare Do Well, it was a time like this that made Rainbow realize just what these ponies saw in her. When Scootaloo leaped up onto the bed and crawled onto Rainbow’s lap a second later, the Pegasus just wanted to scream.

“Stop…stop torturing me. Who is Mare Do Well? Please…tell me!” Rainbow choked out, trembling a little and struggling to not push the three ponies surrounding her away.

“Dashie…we honestly do not know what you are talking about,” Pinkie whispered, cuddling the mare even closer and snuggling her mane into her face. “You remember that Wonderbolts show, right? The one where you overloaded your saddlebags with Spitfire and Soarin memorabilia? Well, it was about an hour after it was over that we found you collapsed on the street, near a dark alley.”

“Pinkie and I must’ve felt something similar, since our hearts were telling us to go out and see you,” Twilight continued, speaking in the same quiet voice as her counterpart. “I found Pinkie bouncing out of Sugarcube Corner, and both of us began to chat about you while we headed to your place. Luck was on our side, and we ran into you on the ground, as Pinkie said. She tried to give you mouth-to-mouth, but it wasn’t working. She was…freaking out, to put it lightly…so, I levitated both of you to the hospital. After the doctors worked on you for a few hours, we heard that you had a cardiac arrest.”

“If I had to pinpoint a reason as to why you had the attack, I would have to blame who you are and your lifestyle,” Nurse Redheart spoke up. “Think about it, Rainbow Dash. You had just watched your heroes perform in a show, which easily must’ve increased your heart rate. Then, you tried to return home with weighed-down saddlebags that easily put a strain on you. I’d say that, given all the insane flying you do, combined with your usual outgoing attitude, your intense training, always flying at such dangerous altitudes, and from that exciting night…all of that ultimately led to you having an attack.”

“I-I rushed over to see you as soon as I heard, too, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo piped up, but sighed when she saw that Rainbow Dash was already looking sullen and terrified at the realization.

“No…it can’t…it can’t be…” she whispered, lowering her head and now feeling utterly broken. “It was all just…just…a dream? All of it? N-no…it c-couldn’t have all been…fake. I felt it…I know I did…”

“Dash? What…what kind of dream…um…well, what did you ‘experience’ that was so interesting?” Twilight asked, accidentally giving Rainbow Dash a nuzzle to the face with her own mane to go with Pinkie’s. The unicorn continued to tighten her grip on Rainbow Dash; the fact that she felt she had forever lost a pony so close to her heart did not sit well with the mare who had struggled to learn how to be social. Right now, she did not want to let Rainbow go.

It was an odd feeling having two different manes with two vividly different scents in her face at the same time, but Dash found her heart squirming inside her chest as she smelled each one. Pinkie’s was so sweet and fluffy, like diving headfirst into a bowl of rich cotton candy that just screamed for you to roll around in it. Twilight’s was rather minty and silky, almost the complete opposite of Pinkie’s, like being the first to open up a brand new copy of a Daring-Do book that was beautiful in both essence and appearance. Both manes were so incredible and yet so different, just like each pony they belonged to.

“Nurse? Would you please give us some privacy?” Rainbow Dash asked, glancing to the side and narrowing her eyes slightly at the nurse pony.

“Very well. But, please, for the love of Celestia, STOP getting worked up or else your symptoms may relapse!” With that, Nurse Redheart exited the room, closing the door with a gentle lick behind her back. Rainbow Dash was soon left alone with Twilight, Pinkie and Scootaloo.

Through the next hour, Rainbow Dash spilled her guts to the three ponies surrounding her. She shared everything that she had thought she experienced, from the time the thuggish stallion very nearly ripped her off, to the moment she was about to open her eyes and find out just who the pony who was that had been messing her with heartstrings for so long. She didn’t leave out a single detail. What was the point in doing so? Sure, this could all be some elaborate trick, with Nurse Redheart in on it, but Dash now doubted it. Clearly, Mare Do Well never existed a second time and that was it.

Pinkie Pie’s face turned multiple shades of red throughout the entire story, her hooves rushing up to her mouth several times to block muffled gasps and squeaks from escaping. Twilight Sparkle looked utterly dumbfounded, yet also fascinated, by the entire tale, and her own cheeks showed small hints of redness as well now and then. Scootaloo looked mostly dejected for the most part, but eagerly wagged her tail when Rainbow Dash came to the part about the Cutie Mark Crusaders attempting to help the Pegasus with her mystery. Rainbow Dash finished up a while later and immediately checked out Pinkie and Twilight’s facial expressions.

“So…what do you think?” Dash asked, taking a few deep breaths after her long storytelling.

Pinkie was sitting on the floor, nervously fidgeting and squirming in place. Her cheeks stayed a dark red, and her body trembled lightly. Deep in her heart, something was telling her that she was ultimately going to be behind that Mare Do Well mask. All the pieces, at least the logical ones, fit into place. A lot of it made no sense for her to be Mare Do Well, not to mention that she would’ve had to do a lot of fancy maneuvering to do so. However, something was telling her that if Dash hadn’t woken up from her coma, she would be face-to-face with the Pegasus in possibly one of the most shocking and embarrassing moments ever.

Twilight was staring down at the floor, lost in her own thoughts. She had read enough mystery and psychological books to understand just who she thought would’ve been Mare Do Well. Even though many things still did not add up, Twilight was sure that Dash would’ve opened her eyes to Pinkie Pie. But, at that thought, Twilight couldn’t help but feel her heart sink. To know that Dash would’ve gone through all that with Pinkie, while she just stood by and basically did nothing to help her, it tore her up. She cared for Rainbow Dash so much. She had never technically lost a friend before, the time with Discord notwithstanding. That feeling of losing Rainbow Dash…she felt it in her heart, and it hurt.

“Rainbow Dash, that was such an awesome story!” Scootaloo squealed, breaking the silence as the filly threw her arms around Dash’s middle and cuddled her tightly, very nearly puncturing a few of the wires at the same time. “You sounded so totally cool. I so wish I had been there…even though I apparently was. I can’t believe you had a dream like that! Most of the dreams I have are…”

“Say, Twi? Where are Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash interrupted Scootaloo once more, turning to look at the mare lost in her thoughts.

“Hmm? Oh, right, them. Rarity had to tend to her boutique, Fluttershy’s animals needed tending to, and Applejack had chores. They all really wanted to be here, but…well, unlike Pinkie and myself, they actually have things they must do on a daily basis and they had confidence in the two of us being here in case you woke up.”

“I…I never left the hospital, Dashie,” Pinkie said softly, moving back to Dash’s side, the same dark redness still lingering in her cheeks. “I ate the hospital food, even though they said it was for patients. I tried to get myself sick so that I would be a patient, but they wouldn’t let me. I just wanted a bed that was close to yours! Was that so wrong?”

Rainbow Dash stared into Pinkie’s eyes, seeing the same warm glow and feeling the same loving radiance that she had felt in her dream. Was she really Mare Do Well? It looked like Dash would never know, but…after a moment of thinking, she realized that she didn’t need to know. As she glanced over at Twilight next, watching the purple unicorn struggle with her internal battle of confused feelings, Rainbow gently stroked over Scootaloo’s backside, as though she was a cat. At the moment, nothing filled her with greater joy than being surrounded by those she loved most.

“Dash…dreams can sometimes point to future events, or in the very least tell us something that our heart our mind wants us to know but our mouth never speaks up about.” Twilight gulped a little bit, reaching out and grasping Rainbow’s hoof. “Do you think that…um…you and Pinkie…”

“Yo, Twilight…just shut up.” Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s neck and gently pulled her into her side. She then did the same to Pinkie, tugging the pink mare into her other side. Getting another dose of two beautiful manes for the price of one, Dash gave a little sigh and just shook her head. “You both talk too much, you know that? Sometimes…words just ruin things. Sometimes…you don’t need words to let you know what your heart wants. I…I learned something in my…my…dream.”

“What…what is that, Dashie?” Pinkie squeaked, peering up at Dash with her big, blue eyes, the pony nuzzling Dash’s upper chest and holding her as close as possible.

“Your brain will fool you, your eyes will deceive you, but…your heart will lead you.” Dash closed her eyes, leaning back down onto her pillow and pulling Pinkie and Twilight’s heads right up close to hers. She didn’t know what she wanted. She didn’t know how she felt. But, with the blushing cheeks of the two most important ponies in her lives in her forelegs and pressed against her face, she was at peace with herself. Oh, and she had her biggest fan snuggled up on her lap, too.

There was no hiding. There was no pretending. There was only the three of them, plus Scootaloo. Together, as confused as they were, Rainbow Dash knew that the questions her dream and secret desires had presented to her would soon resonate and become real. Here, in the real world. She didn’t know what she wanted. She didn’t know what to do now. But, she was alive, and she was surrounded by love. What was broken was now going to lead to a whole new path of their lives.

And they were going to be okay.


End

Alternate Ending: Déjà Vu (Guest submission from Bellum_Civille)

A/N: I don't have anything to say today but it feels as though it's become traditional for me to always leave an author's note at the beginning of these things, so, um, here ya go.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #14

Guest Submission from Bellum_Civille

There was only silence; the sound of the two of them breathing and the hushed whisper of snow falling.

"We'll be okay," Rainbow Dash said, her voice firmer this time. "I promise. No matter what happens. I'm not going to give up on you."

And without waiting for a reply, she enfolded the mare in one final embrace before quietly lowering her to the ground.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"No," Mare Do Well answered, still breathless and panting.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, and Rainbow Dash ducked her head in, so that her mouth was moving against the shape of Mare Do Well's ear.

“Too bad,” she whispered. She could feel the mare shiver beneath her.

It was time. She took one final deep breath.

Mare Do Well was perfectly still, as if preparing herself for what was coming. For whatever Rainbow did next.

Rainbow hesitated no further, swooping in and pulling off the mask that covered the mare’s face. Her eyes were closed, surely, but when she raised herself to full height, shaking off the mask to the side, her eyes cracked open.

Sprawled on the alley before her lay a mare swathed in shades of moonlight and street lamps, a fine covering of snow already settling on the deep purple costume that covered her body. The only part uncovered, vulnerable to the elements was her head.

Light blue eyes and a small smile greeted her.

“Pinkie?” Rainbow whispered, aghast. “How could you… this doesn’t make sense!”

“Well, Rainbow, that’s because you aren’t looking at the whole picture!” she explained, as if that would make it clear as day as to why Pinkie, who had grown ever-jealous of Mare-Do-Well, was actually Mare-Do-Well.

Rainbow stopped and thought of the past weeks, the sleepless nights, and the wasted days. Her anger was rising again, at the turmoil Pinkie had seemingly caused, and she turned back to the pink mare, who had stepped up and brushed the snow off her coat.

Rainbow was opening her mouth when she heard voices from behind her. She raised an eyebrow, but Pinkie just smiled.

“Rainbow!”

Rainbow turned at the sound of Twilight’s voice, uncertain if she should be happy or not to see her studious friend. But when she finally swiveled her head around, she didn’t meet Twilight’s eyes.

She met the cold mask of Mare-Do-Well.

Rainbow flinched, eyes wide in shock. She looked between Pinkie and the not-Twilight, her face in complete confusion.

“Rainbow!”

Rainbow looked up at the sudden voice of Fluttershy. But instead of meeting Fluttershy’s nervous gaze, she met another Mare-Do-Well.

“What?! Ok, what the buck is going on! How are all of you-“

“Rainbow!”

Rainbow turned yet again, not even expecting that Rarity would be there. She was right- it was simply another Mare-Do-Well.

“Augh! What now, Applejack’s Mare-Do-Well, too?”

“Howdy, Rainbow!”

“AUGHHHH!”

Rainbow soared over the assembled group of Faker-Do-Wells, looking at each. One had wings, two had horns, one had a Stetson instead of the normal wide-brimmed hat, and the last was Pinkie, still smiling.

“How did you even… but you all… what?”

“Yup! We all played Mare-Do-Well at different times!” said Twilight, removing her mask.

“I stopped the carriage bus with these babies- Bucky McGillicuddy, and Kicks McGee!” she said, showing off her legs.

“I saved the construction workers with my Pinkie-Sense!” said Pinkie with a wide smile.

“And I used my magic to fix the dam!” said Twilight, slipping off her hat.

“And I did the, um, fly-by afterwards,” Fluttershy chirped.

“And I made the costumes! Fabulous, if I do say so myself,” Rarity added, proudly.

Rainbow Dash stood, shell shocked. These were the exact lines, to the word, they had said when they had first played Mare-Do-Well all those months ago.

“But… that doesn’t even-“

“Of course we want you to be a hero!” reaffirmed Twilight.

“But a real hero doesn’t brag,” Applejack finished with a wink.

Rainbow Dash wondered if she was going crazy. She probably was, almost certainly.

“Why are you guys-“

“A LITTLE?!” They all shouted, sending Rainbow a mini-heart attack.

Twilight trotted over to Rainbow’s position on the snow-covered ground.

“Rainbow? Rainbow, wake up. We’re here.”

Rainbow woke with a start to Twilight prodding her in the shoulder.

“We’re at the castle, girls! Isn’t this exciting?”

Rainbow looked at each of them in turn, taking a moment to wonder what the buck just happened. She calmed herself down, realizing it was just a dream.

“Celebrating your accomplishments is natural, but-“

“Rubbing them in everypony’s face is not.”

“Yeah, the only thing that should be rubbed in anypony’s face is chocolate cake!”

Pinkie started licking her hooves frantically.

Rainbow’s wail of agony was heard from as far as Canterlot.


End

Alternate Ending: Rarity Ending, Part 1 (Guest submission from BubbleBerry Pop)

A/N: I've been told that here will be more coming, as it's only part 1; so if this ending feels incomplete, that's because it, um, is.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #15

Guest Submission from BubbleBerry Pop

And Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.  

Under her...before her...there lay a pony clothed in shades of midnight, a cape fanned out beneath her. Atop her head there was perched a matching wide-brimmed hat.  

But now, there was no mask to protect her face. No facade to hide behind.  

There was only her.  

Big blue eyes. A mouth, seemingly unsure about whether or not it was meant to smile. And a mane, dark violet and curled as elegantly as ever.  

-----  

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. Her eyes were wide, her voice disappearing somewhere on its way to her mouth. Utterly lost for words.  

"No," was all Rainbow could think to say; and a flicker of pain flashed in those eyes, those big and beautiful eyes. The exact same color as the sky that Rainbow Dash loved so much. "No. No. That doesn't make sense."  

And still she had nothing to say for herself, only watching as Rainbow Dash shook her head, wings fluttering anxiously.  

"That doesn't make sense," Rainbow Dash repeated. Her hooves had found their way to the mare's shoulders, gripping her as tightly as she could without even meaning to. The mare winced, and then gave Rainbow a weak smile.  

"Surprised?" Rarity whispered looking more guilty than anything, “I...I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?”  

“Yeah. You do.” Rainbow’s grip loosened slightly but she kept the unicorn firmly below her.

“I… I don't know where to start…”

“Not my problem.”

“Should, should we get up? It's kind of cold.” Rarity shivered slightly in the snow, emphasizing her point.  

“Yeah, we probably should.” Reluctantly Rainbow Dash let her up and allowed her to brush herself off before pressing for answers, “Okay, start talking.”

“I'm...I'm not sure where to begin…” Rarity kicked a hoof through the snow as she attempted to think of a good place to start.

“Start at the beginning, why me? I thought you liked stallions. What happened to that?”

“Oh, that… well after what happened with Blueblood at Gala I guess my ideas of romance were rather shaken. He single hoofedly destroyed my ideals of how “the one” was supposed to be… Though I suppose all my romance novels may have left me with rather unrealistic expectations…” The unicorn let out a sigh as her ears drooped at the thought.

Rainbow Dash just slammed a hoof to her face and groaned, “What does that have to do with me exactly?”

The fashionista blushed slightly as she thought about it, “Well after what happened with Blueblood I thought I’d never find anypony that would meet the ideals I formed from my romance novels, but then the first Mare Do Well scheme happened... as a group we all agreed to be the collective identity of Mare Do Well, but as we followed you and watched I started to take on a more personal interest. You were everything I was looking for in Blueblood, so brave and loyal, so strong willed and determined… just watching you was a thing of beauty I couldn’t help but admire.” Rarity blushed deeper as this confession just spewed forth, but she had to continue. “After we put away with the whole Mare Do Well thing I couldn’t get you out of my mind, but I refused to accept why. I just couldn’t… It wasn’t until you saved me for a second time when Spike and I were falling that I just knew that no matter what, you would always be there to catch me when I fall... and in knowing that, I fell for you… but I didn’t know what to do.”

“You could have just talked to me, you know. I still don’t see why you couldn’t.”

“Rainbow… we both know exactly what would have happened if I just told you how I felt. You would have rejected me without giving it a second thought, and I just wasn’t sure I could take that… not from you.”

Rainbow crossed her hooves as she sat back annoyed at the blunt accusation, “How do you know that for sure? Huh Rarity? You didn’t even give me a chance and just assumed I’d reject you huh?”

“We’re two entirely different ponies, Rainbow… it wasn’t exactly a secret that you saw me as some frou frou, overly critical drama queen. There was no chance of you accepting me and I knew that, so I just ignored my feelings and just tried to get over it.” Rainbow Dash still looked rather displeased but Rarity continued anyways, “Don’t look at me like that, you know as well as I do that it’s the truth… but after a while it almost worked, I managed to get you out of my head if only for a few days. That was of course, until Twilight brought her Mare Do Well costume back to me.”

“Wait, I thought you said you altered it to fit Spike.”

“You never actually confirmed that with him did you? When I first got the costume from Twilight it fit me almost perfectly and that’s when I started to come up with the idea of becoming Mare Do Well. It was my ticket to becoming a pony you wouldn’t reject at first glance, somepony who wasn’t afraid to tell you how she really felt. I was going to be the one to woo the mare of my dreams, rather than wait for her to sweep me off my hooves. But on the day I finally convinced myself to go through with the plan Spike showed up asking if I could alter it to fit him. Initially I told him no and that I had other ideas for it, but after thinking about it I also told him that I would just make him his own Mare Do Well costume from scratch for Fright Night like he wanted. I wasn’t aware he was going to be in Canterlot all this time so I wanted to make sure that if asked right he would be able to throw you off my track when you got to snooping around for my identity. It just worked in my favor that he came here to Canterlot during the whole thing… so that’s basically it. How I started the act of being Mare Do Well. You know everything from there.”

Rarity started to shiver and moved a bit closer to Rainbow for more warmth, causing the

pegasus to back off a bit, “Don’t, not right now… I still have questions.”

Rarity’s ears dropped as she shivered, “I’m sorry, it’s just that sitting in the cold snow is…. well cold…”

With a sigh Rainbow Dash scooted closer to the mare and wrapped a wing around her, “better?” The pegasus didn’t wait for a response before asking her next question, “okay fine I can understand at least that much so far and I know now that the carnations and meaning came from your book you showed me…”

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure me out by that actually, I was really worried you would.”

“Right, anyways… So then my next question is then the writing for your notes, Twilight said it was done by an unskilled unicorn or a very skilled pegasus or earth pony. I figured you’d have better writing than that.”

“I knew you would go to Twilight with my notes, it took a lot of careful attention to detail to make sure she wouldn’t be able to trace it back to me even if she tried.”

Rainbow had to think about it before finally accepting the explanation, “alright, so then how did you manage to beat me back to Pinkie’s party after Twilight walked in on our conversation?”

“That one wasn’t so simple to be honest; after we were interrupted I took off around Sugar Cube Corner and hid the costume outside before walking back in to the party.”

“That doesn’t seem too hard.”

“That was the easy part. When I got back in Applejack had noticed that I had disappeared, and she seemed rather upset about it. So I had to try and keep her quiet when you walked in again, if she got too loud everypony would have found out that I left the party for a while, and more importantly you or Twilight would have figured out that I was Mare Do Well.”

Again Rainbow had to take a second to think about it before accepting the response as well, “okay so then why did you disappear for so long after starting your challenge then? Other than the note you sent me the day after the party you all but disappeared for a few days.”

“So you actually noticed? I was actually worried you’d forget about me,” Rarity giggled slightly as Rainbow just glared, “but to answer that, I do have a job too you know. With the upcoming snow storm I had a rush of orders of winter clothes. The day I finally managed to finish my orders was the day you talked to Twilight… and Pinkie…”

Rainbow Dash flinched at the mention of Pinkie, there were no doubt things we going to change after this no matter what. For now she shook her head and focused on the unicorn under her wing, “the night you were jealous right?”

“… right…” A soft sniffle came from the unicorn; the memory wasn’t exactly one she liked to remember. “I really didn’t want you to see me like that you know. Even as Mare Do Well I still took care in my appearance, especially with you.”

“Part of your attention to detail I take it?”

“Right, but that didn’t always work... obviously because the façade kept slipping… the more we continued the harder it became to stay Mare Do Well.”

“That night your voice cracked a bit, and I know how you really talk so how do you manage to change your voice like you did as Mare Do Well?”

“Oh that, that was actually rather easy. You’ve noticed Canterlot ponies talk with a weird accent of sorts right? Well more often than not it’s actually forced; I’ve been around the Canterlot elite enough to pick it up rather easily.”

“Okay, the voice makes sense, but what about all the jumps you did and all the stunts? I’ve never seen you do anything like that at all. You always make it known you hate doing things like that.”

“Just because I don’t like to do something doesn’t mean I can’t do it Rainbow. Sweetie Belle and I did place second at the sisterhoof competition you know.”

“Wait really? I didn’t know you were capable of doing anything like that...” Rainbow had to put her hooves up defensively as Rarity glared at her, “uhh.... no offense?”

“Well I’d have you know I am plenty capable, I just find the concept of competition to be uncouth.” Rarity shoved her snout into the air to emphasize her annoyance with the pegasus.

“Hey, you’re not the one aloud to be annoyed right now. I am! And if you find competitions so bad why did you challenge me to your game then? That was your idea after all.”

“I was losing your interest… it was an impromptu decision to keep you interested in me at the time... I know you well enough to know that you like to win, so it was my last chance to keep your attention.”

“And how exactly did you know me so well? Like with the wings, how did you know about that?”

“The wings? Oh you mean how I knew when you were actually excited about something or upset about what I was doing because of your wings right?”

Rainbow Dash huffed a bit as she started to shiver herself, the cold was definitely getting to her as well now, “yeah that, how do you know so much about pegasus wings?”

“Fluttershy told me.”

“Fluttershy? What, why?”

“She told me at one of our weekly spa visits, well she told me after I asked why her wings kept spreading every time Lotus came by at the spa.”

“Wait, Fluttershy likes one of the spa twins?” Rainbow was definitely interested but had to shake her head to keep focus, “no, that’s getting off topic… I still have questions.”

“What else is there to explain?”

“The ticket, where did you get it? Or more importantly how? Those kind of tickets are like impossible to get.”

“The Wonderbolts ticket?” Rarity couldn’t help but smile as Rainbow nodded, obviously very interest in this particular answer. “I have important contacts here in Canterlot, so I struck up a deal with one of them for the ticket.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

“Remember the first night you stayed over at my boutique? I was working late that night on my end of the trade. Since the ticket was worth so much, I had to make ten unique ensembles for the ticket. Five were for him, and five for his marefriend.”

“Ten outfits? For just one ticket? That’s rather steep isn’t it?”

Rarity nodded as a blush formed, “well to me it was worth it so I could have the ticket for you.”

Rainbow had to turn her head away as guilt suddenly started to overtake her, “you know… I ended up trading that ticket away… right?”

“I know I figured you would honestly.”

“Wait what? How?”

The unicorn continued to blush as she nuzzled into Rainbow’s neck, “because I know you, you’re the element of loyalty after all… and I knew what my actions were doing to Pinkie…”

“Oh...” Rainbow didn’t stop Rarity as she nuzzled, and soon an awkward silence overtook the pair as they sat there until Rainbow finally spoke up again. “So was this pony you knew the one you were dancing with earlier?”

“Dancing with?”

“You know… the stallion you were dancing with at the party today.”

“Oh him, no he’s just another Canterlot pony I know. He actually runs an auction house a few blocks from here.”

“And he just agreed to dance with you?”

“He took some convincing, but as it turns out he’s a romantic at heart so after he heard my reasonings he agreed. Though I did promise to tell him how things turned out… how are things turning out exactly? I mean what happens now?”

“I… I honestly don’t know…” The sigh of Rarity’s ears dropping and slightly hurt expression made Rainbow’s heart ache. Her hooves just wrapped themselves around the other mare to comfort her as they sat there together, “but I promise that everything will end up alright in the end, no matter how it ends…”

“There you two are!” Twilight an up to the pair panting for breath as she stopped in front of them, soon followed by the rest of the group, two of which had a pained expression as the saw the pair sitting together.

Applejack was the first to say something as the others continued to catch their breath, “ya’ll care to explain what’s going on here, and why Rarity is dressed up like that?”

“Oh hey girls…” Rainbow faked a long yawn as she scooted away from Rarity, “look I’m really tired right now and it’s kinda cold. Can we talk about this later?”

Rarity was quick to follow Rainbow’s lead as she also faked a yawn, “I do need my beauty sleep, and it is chilly out. Maybe a good night’s rest is what everypony needs.”

“Now hold on you two, first I’m told Pinkie is crying because of Rainbow and the next thing I know you two are missing only to be found huddled together in some random alley way with Rarity dressed up like Mare Do Well. I do think an explanation is needed first before we all go anywhere.” Applejack seemed to be eyeing Rarity moreso than Rainbow as she demanded an explanation.

“They’re obviously tired, let them go… I’m sure they’ll explain by tomorrow right Rainbow Dash?” The way Pinkie used her full name made Rainbow cringe as she walked by closely followed by Rarity.

“uhh…. right Pinkie, first thing in the morning.” The group walked in complete silence as Twilight led them back to the castle. Each on stopping at their own room until only Rarity and Rainbow remained. “I don’t even know how what to tell them…”

Rarity nuzzled up against Rainbow again as she let out a sigh, “I suppose we should tell them the truth…”

Rainbow Dash was quick to move away as Rarity nuzzled against her, “Don’t… not right now…”

“Please don’t do this to me, not now….. not after all we’ve been through. I can’t just act like nothing happened, not again.”

“I’ll figure something out okay? I just need to talk to Pinkie first…”

Rarity stepped forward instantly, “then I’ll go with you, it’s only fair since I started the problem…”

“No, you should go to bed… I’ll talk to Pinkie alone.”

“But it’s partially my fault; I want to be by your side for this… I’m the one Pinkie should hate not you.”

“I don’t want you by my side right now Rarity, just go to bed.” Rainbow put a hoof to her mouth and instantly regretted what she said as it came out louder than she intended. The hurt look on Rarity’s face just making her feel worse as the unicorn turned and ran off to her room, tears obviously starting to form in her eyes. “Way to go Rainbow… screw up everything with everypony why don’t you…” With a sigh she went and knocked on Pinkie’s door. “Pinkie, you in there?”

“What do you want? Shouldn’t you be in bed since you’re so tired?” The voice through the door chilled Rainbow to the bone but she knocked again anyways. “Go away!”

“Pinkie let me in, we need to talk…”

Slowly the door creaked open to show a rather depressed looking Pinkie, “what, did you want to tell me all about the kissy face smoochies you made with Rarity? Came to rub it all in or what?”

“Pinkie… I’m sorry… about everything… I didn’t know Rarity was behind the mask, I thought it was you and that somehow we’d make everything better again… I want to make everything better, I need to…”

“So what, you thought you would just come and apologize and I’d just be okay with it? You kissed me at the party ,Rainbow, me! And I was happy until you said that it was just to make her mad. How am I supposed to feel after that? You used me to make her upset…” Pinkie clenched her eyes shut as tears started to roll down her cheeks. “How is everything supposed to be better again when I have to see you with her now? Tell me Rainbow, how?”

“We’re not together Pinkie… I’m still trying to figure everything out okay… Everything just went by to quickly for me to handle… I’m sorry.”

“Well boo hoo… Finally something is too fast for even Rainbow Dash…” Pinkie was visibly shaking as she stood there glaring at Rainbow, “just go…”

“Pinkie…”

“Get out!” Pinkie shoved Rainbow out the door and slammed it closed, the sound of crying still making its way through the door as Rainbow turned to go to her room.

Once in her room Rainbow tried to get herself to fall asleep, but with everything still running through her mind sleep was obviously something out of the question. Not only did she possibly ruin everything with Pinkie for good, but she may have just destroyed whatever it was she had with Rarity as well. She had basically promised them both that she would make everything okay again and now she was failing to hold up on both ends. Everything had managed to crumble in under a day and there was nothing she could do about it. She needed to fix everything quickly, and deep down her heart knew which one she needed to talk to first. With a deep breath Rainbow rolled off her bed and approached her window. With a quick beat of her wings she was out into the midnight air and on her way to a very specific window.

“Here goes everything…” with that Rainbow knocked on the window hoping for the best.


End of Part One

Alternate Ending: Rarity Ending, Part 2 (Guest submission from BubbleBerry Pop)

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #15 (cont'd)

Guest Submission from BubbleBerry Pop

Rainbow hovered anxiously outside the window as she knocked again, fully determined to reach the mare inside. “Hello? It’s kind of cold out, can you let me in? We need to talk…”

Suddenly the window opened but the mare blocked Rainbow’s entry as she glared at the pegasus, “What? Were things not made clear enough earlier? Just leave me alone…” Tears were already forming in her eyes as she shut the window again leaving the pegasus hovering outside.

With that Rainbow could see everything slipping away; she couldn’t let things end like this, not now. Determination was the only thing keeping her going as she took off into the cool air of the night in search of the one thing that could help her now. The temperature was quickly dropping as it got later and later into the night but still she persisted until finally the store she was looking for came into view, a simple flower shop tucked away in some part of Canterlot she probably wouldn’t remember. The purchase didn’t take long and soon enough Rainbow was back in the air flying straight to her room, silently thanking Celestia that her castle stuck out from all the other buildings.

As she landed in her room, the pegasus quickly went to work. Everything had to be perfect, in a rush she pulled out a quill and paper to write out a quick note before folding it up and placing it in the box with her gift. “Please let this work….” With a deep breath to calm herself Rainbow took to the hallway looking around to make sure the coast was clear before creeping as silently as possible to the door she was looking for. This was it, she needed this to work as she placed the gift at the door and knocked before taking off back to her room before she could be spotted.

“I told you to leave me alone Rainbow…” Slowly the door opened as the mare looked into the hall surprised to see nopony around until she noticed the box on the floor.

Dash poked her head out from her doorway as she watched the mare take the box into her room, now all she could do was hope for the best.

Inside her room the mare just sat and looked the box over, obviously it was from Rainbow so the question now was should she open it or not? She had already been through quite a bit that night, and her eyes were still stained with tears as she just watched the box. After thinking it over for a few minutes, but still against her better judgment she finally decided it open it. Slowly she lifted the lid preparing for the worst, but to her surprise she wasn’t prepared for what she found inside. A single red carnation sat in the box with a small note tucked underneath it. Tears began to form again as she lifted the small note out of the box, the writing itself was rushed and messy typical for Rainbow Dash, but she still managed to read through it.

You know I’m not really good at these things… but I’m sorry. I screwed up big time and I know that… I just really need to talk to you. I need to make things right, just stop by my room please. I’ll be waiting all night if I have to.

-Rainbow Dash

Putting the note down Rarity just sat in disbelief as she inspected the flower, half expecting it to change into something else, something less meaningful. Rainbow wasn’t a romantic, that much was certain but still… it was the same flower she sent her when under the disguise of Mare Do Well, it couldn’t be a coincidence. Taking the flower with her Rarity headed out into the hall, straight for Rainbow’s room. Unsurprisingly the door was opened just seconds after she knocked, but the unicorn wasn’t about to let the pegasus get a word in as she floated the flower in front of her. “Do you mean it?” The unicorn was cautiously optimistic; her eyes showing a mixture of hope and fear. “You know what this means to me, if you don’t mean it tell me now.”

Rainbow had to take a step back as the flower was shoved in her face, the meaning ringing clear in her head. My heart aches for you…. This was it; she had to make a choice, “Rarity I… I… you… you know I really care for Pinkie…”

In an instant the hope faded from Rarity’s eyes, “I…. I understand,” Slowly the unicorn turned to head back to her room, “Good night Rainbow.”

“Rarity wait!” Rainbow had a slight smirk on her face as she turned back around, “Gou didn’t let me finish…” In one quick motion the pegasus swooped in for a kiss, completely catching the unicorn off guard. Rainbow had a deep blush as she pulled away to look Rarity in the eye, “I care about Pinkie… but… I… well… I…”

Rarity only smiled as she put a hoof to Rainbow’s lips, “I understand darling…” Now it was her turn to blush as she leaned in for another kiss, “And I love you too.”

The pair stayed together through the rest of the night, sleeping soundly wrapped up in the hooves of the other. Neither of them prepared for what the next day was going to bring, but ready to face whatever came as long as the other was by their side.

Morning came too quickly and Rarity found herself awoken by several knocks on the door, with Rainbow still asleep she reluctantly had to roll out of bed to get to the door. Standing outside AppleJack waited for the door to open, she originally wanted to talk to Rarity but she never answered the door. Finally after another series of knocking the door opened, “Rainbow I need to ta…. Rarity?” The farmer had to do a double take to make sure she was at the right room. “Wh…what are ya’ll doing in Rainbow’s room?”

“Good morning to you too darling,” Rarity couldn’t keep a blush from her face as she looked back to the pegasus still asleep on the bed, “As for your question, that’s something we’d like to explain later.”

“So it’s true then? You and Rainbow?”

The hurt expression on AppleJack’s face went unnoticed as Rarity was caught off guard and was now trying to figure how to respond, “Wh... whatever do you mean darling?”

The earth pony just glared as she got into the unicorn’s face, “I’m not dumb Rarity, and it doesn’t take no fancy mathematics to put two and two together. How could you be so selfish? I thought you were supposed to be the element of generosity. Don’t you know how this makes everypony feel? How much it hurts m…” Applejack had to catch herself, she almost made it a personal matter when she was there for Pinkie, “H…how much it hurts Pinkie?”

“Leave my marefriend alone AppleJack,” Rainbow was quick to swoop in between Rarity and AJ as she glared at the farm pony, irritated from being woken up but more so at hearing what AppleJack was saying to Rarity. “what’s it to you anyhow?”

Unknown to the three somepony else was near enough to overhear everything, somepony who’s voice made Rainbow’s spine cringe, “Marefriend huh? So did you and Rarity spend the night making kissy face smoochies?” AppleJack made sure to take a few steps back as Pinkie took her spot in the door.

Now it was Rarity’s turn to step in as she moved herself in between the pink pony and Rainbow, “Pinkie… it’s not her fault, please don’t be upset with Rainbow. It’s me you should hate…”

“She picked you Rarity, how else am I supposed to feel?” The sudden outburst caused the fashionista to back up a bit, but Pinkie wasn’t done, “She kissed me last night, ME! And you want me to be okay with it? To just accept that I have to see you two together now, no matter how much it hurts?”

“Pinkie… I can’t even tell you how sorry I am… it’s j-“

“Everypony is always sorry, but do you really mean it? You knew how much this would hurt me, but you did it anyways!”

“Pinkie that’s enough!” Rarity’s eyes were already starting to water as Rainbow took charge again, “You’re not being fair.” The pegasus turned her attention back to her marefriend as she lovingly nuzzled into her neck. “Hey babe, you okay?”

The two only managed to share a quick kiss before Pinkie interrupted again, the show of intimacy just fueling her further. “I’m not being fair?” Tears were forming in the party pony’s eyes as her voice got louder, “I love you first Dashie! You kissed ME first! But you still picked her! Why? What does she have that I don’t?”

Suddenly Rainbow found all eyes on her, the sudden pressure on her making her rather uncomfortable as she shifted her weight from one hoof to the other. “Pinkie… it’s not about what she has…”

“Then why! Why couldn’t you pick me? Is it because she did all the fancy jumps? I can do that too!”

“No Pinkie, that’s not it…”

“Is it because she is more serious than I am? I can be serious Dashie, you know that!”

“It’s not because she is serious…”

“Is it because she can get you the Wonderbolts ticket? I can find a way”

“NO, Pinkie!”

“Then why did you pick her? Why not me?”

“Because I don’t love you!” The words were out before Rainbow could stop them, leaving nothing but an eerie silence as the other’s eyes went from Pinkie to Rainbow and back again.

“Okay…” That was it that was all Pinkie said as she turned to head back to her room, her voice and body seemingly devoid of emotion.

It wasn’t until Pinkie was back in her room that AppleJack finally spoke up again, “Now why’d you have to go and do that Rainbow? You should be a mighty proud of yourself.”

Rainbow was already feeling low with what just happened with Pinkie, but she was in no mood to deal with anypony else. “I was just being honest AppleJack; I figured you of all ponies would appreciate that.” Both were getting into the other’s face as they continued, the shouting only getting louder and louder.

“What’s going on out here?” Twilight trotted out from her own room as she joined the three in the hall, “why is everypony shouting?”

Before the tension could explode further Rarity took charge to at least try and defuse the situation. With as much enthusiasm as she could muster the fashionista put on her best smile to hopefully come off as natural as possible, “Twilight darling, good morning! We were just simply discussing about last night. AppleJack here seems to have had a few questions she wanted explained from what you all saw last night so we were just answering them.”

Twilight’s eyes almost immediately sparkled, “Oh? I would love to hear the whole story! Would you girls mind coming to my room and starting over? I’d like to take notes while you explain.”

“Sorry Twi but I still have packing to do before we head home to Ponyville tonight, I’ll see you girls later.” Before even waiting for a reply the farmer was already off for her own room, leaving Twilight left rather confused at the hasty exit.

Rarity and Rainbow exchanged glances as they thought over what to do next. On one hoof Twilight was the smartest of the group so she would more than likely know what to do, but on the other hoof not only was it a topic she might not be familiar with but she may also get upset like everypony else had. Rarity was the first to come to a decision, in the end Twilight was going to find out sooner or later so maybe they were just better off with the sooner rather than later. “So you still want to hear the whole story, then, darling?”

“Oh yes!” Twilight eagerly nodded her head.

“Then I suppose we should get started then.” With a simple nod the three of them headed off to Twilight’s room.

As the door to the unicorn’s room closed, another door down the hall opened as a canary yellow pegasus poked her head out of her room. She had heard all the arguing before but was too afraid to come out at the time. Now that the coast was clear Fluttershy quickly made her way to a certain earth pony’s room and knocked.

“Who is it?” AppleJack opened the door slightly relieved to see who it was standing there. “Oh hey Fluttershy, did you need something?”

“AppleJack, we need to talk….”

Alternate Ending: Chasing Rainbows (Guest submission from Professor Piggy)

A/N: This is absolutely glorious. This is, without a doubt, the single best ending I've received yet.

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

Alternate Ending #16

Guest Submission from Professor Piggy


"I'm scared," Mare Do Well whispered.

She had never sounded as young or as vulnerable as she did right then.

"It's going to be all right." Rainbow Dash found herself saying, in a tone far gentler than she'd even known herself capable of using. "I don't know how, exactly, but we'll figure it out."

Mare Do Well was no longer trying to pull away, so Rainbow Dash at last released her hold on the mare's forelegs, moving instead to cup her face.

She closed her eyes. Leaning forward, she gripped the cloth of the mask between her teeth and, with a swift movement, tore it away.

Then, eyes still shut, Rainbow Dash kissed her.

-----

This was it. After all the time spent trying to get the rainbow-maned pegasus to feel what he felt, all the time trying to win her love, this was it. Mare Do Well’s heart was racing in his chest as he watched Rainbow Dash move closer, as if in slow motion. He felt her warm breath on his snout and knew that now was the moment. He had to act.

Lunging forward suddenly he made contact with her muzzle, pouring all his passion and adoration into that one perfect moment.

-----

She hadn't been expecting this.

It was more of an assault than a kiss. Something clamped around her muzzle, squishy and wet but extremely strong - holding her mouth closed and cutting off her breathing. For just a few moments Dash was stunned - and then she jerked back violently, trying to shake off whatever Mare Do Well had thrown at her. But it was no use - it clung to her for dear life and refused to let go, occasionally sucking on her muzzle as if -

Her eyes snapped open as she realised what was happening, and she saw purple. A swimming sea of shimmering, shifting purple that seemed to go on forever.

Dash stared at Gummy. Gummy stared at Dash. Neither one spoke.

Slowly, the perplexed pegasus reached up a hoof and batted the alligator lightly on the nose. His reaction was immediate and terrifying - Gummy blinked at her, the left eye closing and the second following it a moment later. The sight sent a chill through Rainbow Dash and brought her crashing back to reality.

Moving very, very slowly Dash lowered her muzzle to the ground and slammed a rear hoof onto her nemesis’ tail, pulling her face away while keeping him held in place. The alligator clung to her for dear life, refusing to relinquish his prize.

Dash strained against the vice-like grip, a voice somewhere inside her reminding her that this just wasn’t possible - the tiny alligator had to have grown to four times the length to still be holding on as she rose to her full height, tearing herself away with as much force as she could.

Another voice told that voice to shut up and help pull unless she wanted to let a toothless baby lizard kick her flank. She narrowed her eyes, and Gummy blinked at her vacantly. Briefly the two, pony and ‘gator, were locked in a brutal contest of strength.

Dash proved the stronger a moment later, Gummy snapping backwards with a loud slurp, and she felt glorious air flow into her lungs again. For a moment Dash’s heart soared with the thrill of freedom and victory. And then, physics being physics, she toppled over backwards.

-----

Gummy watched the mare he loved topple backwards and crash into the ground as he did the same, his mind reeling in confusion and his tail throbbing with pain.

Had she changed her mind? No, it couldn’t be that - she’d been just about to kiss him when he had taken the initiative, and the Dash he had come to know so well wasn’t that flighty. Aggressive, temperamental, impulsive, arrogant, occasionally violent and sometimes a bit dense, but never flighty.

Had he done something wrong? He didn’t think so. He had followed all of his Pinkie’s advice - advice, he was sure, she would never have expected him to try to use to win the affection of the one she herself sought - and she was wise beyond any Gummy had ever known. Her words echoed in his head as he sat there, shocked.

-----

“And then Rarity and Applejack started discussing stallions and Rarity asked her if she likes anypony and Applejack got all embarrassed and mumbly wumbly it was so cute because it’s sooooooooooooooo obvious that she likes Rarity, but I guess Rarity doesn’t know that because she kept asking if Applejack likes somepony and I was gonna interrupt but then Applejack’s all ‘I ain’t met nopony who suits me yet okay’ and so Rarity starts gushing about how she’s done chasing stallions and how real stallions take the initiative anyway because mares love a stallion who takes initiative and I thought maybe if I took the initiative with Dashie I could get her to notice me even though I’m not a stallion so I’m not supposed to take the initiative but Dashie’s a mare so she loves ponies who take the initiative so maybe if I try reeeeeeally hard she’ll see how much I love her and realise she likes me back! What do you think, Gummy?”

-----

Gummy had approved of the plan, of course - and by the time he had seen it fail, it had been too late for him to drop his charade without blame being pointed squarely at his Pinkie. Of course if it had been possible to stop he would have, to avoid her being hurt. Of course he would have.

-----

Dash stood, glaring down at the tiny alligator as he stared blankly at nothing, anger building up inside her as she tried to figure out what in Celestia’s name was going on. She had had her. After all this time she’d had Mare Do Well right where she wanted her, and now she was gone.

Laying at her feet was the discarded Mare Do Well costume, whoever had occupied it having vanished in the few moments she had been distracted by Gummy attempting to digest her face. That wasn’t possible - nopony could have gotten out of the costume while Dash had her pinned down like that and without the costume itself even moving. It made no sense.

That alone would have told her who had been inside the discarded suit moments before, but the alligator that had just attached itself to her tail left her with no doubt at all.

The betrayal she felt, the sheer fury, escaped from her in one low hiss before she rocketed from the ground, dragging Gummy along behind her.

“Pinkie.”

-----

Gummy was watching as the beautiful streams of colour danced around him, arcing this way and that like lightning as Rainbow Dash tore through the sky. His eyes locked onto one - a striking strand of red that had somehow become interlocked with a vibrant, beautiful blue.

He wanted to lunge for it. To taste it. It would taste absolutely incredible. He knew, because it was so shiny, and nothing that shiny could taste anything but. But if he did he would fall. He didn’t quite remember how he had gotten quite so high in the air. He had been in an alley with Dash one moment and the next there had been a flash in the corner of his eye - a colour so vibrant he couldn’t resist it.

And now he was flying. That was not something he wanted to be doing - Gummy despised heights at the best of times, and right now his heart had just been torn asunder. But she had brought him along, he assumed - how else could he be here? - and so perhaps not all hope was lost.

The tiny alligator consoled himself with that thought as he tore through the sky, clinging to the tail of a rainbow and reminding himself desperately to focus on the colours and never, ever look down.

It was not as difficult as it sounded, all things considered.

-----

Dash raced over the back streets and alleys of Canterlot, narrowed eyes scanning every rooftop, every alley, every backstreet for a trace of the pony she had thought was her best friend. She knew she should have been confused, knew she shouldn’t be able to think straight, but it didn’t matter. In that moment, nothing mattered to Dash but finding Mare Do Well - finding Pinkie Pie - and...

Something. She didn’t know yet. The realisation only made her angrier. All she had done all night was lose - she had lost her cool at the party, lost her friends’ respect after what she had done to Traitor-Pie, lost the game that had consumed so much of her life in the past weeks. And now she had lost her best friend, all because she’d been too stupid to realise that Dash would have forgiven her.

Instead of just explaining herself she’d thrown an alligator at her and left her alone and humiliated in a dark alley. Her. Rainbow Dash. The one who both of Pinkie’s two faces had claimed she loved - before she tried to vanish mysteriously into the night. Dash’s heart was pounding in her ears as her speed picked up. She clenched her teeth, trying to convince herself the moisture in her eyes was because she was moving a little too quickly.

Not one part of her really believed it.

-----

Clinging onto Rainbow Dash for dear life as she picked up speed, Gummy wondered if perhaps he had been unclear when he had expressed his distaste for heights to his love that night so long ago. It seemed to him that his rainbow was either unaware of that particular problem of his, or she did not care.

Under normal circumstances he would have, ever the optimist, assumed the former. But given that she had just snubbed him without an explanation - without even a word - Gummy was afraid the latter might just be the case. The thought made him feel ill - a slimey, nauseous feeling that swirled around his equally slimey body before settling in his stomach.

Suddenly he wished very much that his Pinkie were here. She would hold him, kiss him. She would make it all better like she always did.

Except she wouldn’t, would she? Not this time. Not after what Gummy had done to her. He had broken her heart. Torn it apart in his tiny jaws like one of her less durable balloons.

If it was possible for Gummy to feel any worse than he already did, he would have in that moment.

He had come here to end the game, to end the pain he was causing his Pinkie - the one who had taught him to smile, to play, to love life and even to overcome his shyness and express himself fully to the ones he held dear. She had been crying, when he left her. He recalled that her tears had tasted surprisingly similar to sarsaparilla, when he had tried to kiss them away.

She had clutched him against her and reminded him for a thousandth time that night exactly why he didn’t deserve to be her Gummy anymore.

-----

A flash of movement in the corner of Dash’s eye caught her attention. Her heart jumped as she spun around in the air, only to find herself looking on as two cats did furious battle far below her, their war cries piercing through the night and cutting into her eardrums like a knife. She was enraged. She was furious. She was ...

Ugh. She was exhausted. A long sigh escaped her, taking with it the adrenaline and a large part of the anger that had been powering her for what had to have been hours. It was replaced by a sense of resignation and a strange apathy - Mare Do Well had escaped. Again. It didn’t surprise her, really - she had never been able to find her stalker when she decided to disappear. But this was ... different.

Before, when Mare Do Well had vanished, it had been Mare Do Well - vanishing mysteriously into the night was just what she did. Who she was. Dash was used to it, and the way the other mare had used it to escape her whenever she felt the need. Sure, it was annoying - but it had never hurt like this before. Never made her want to curl into a ball and cry like a baby before. But this was different. This time it wasn’t Mare Do Well who had abandoned her. Run from her. It was Pinkie.

Why had she run? Did she really believe Dash would hate her? Could she believe that? She couldn’t, could she?

Then again ... Dash had rejected her, pushed her away once already. And ... Pinkie didn’t exactly cope all that well when she thought she’d been rejected. A rock had told her so once, pretty convincingly. A chill ran through her at the thought.

Yeah. Pinkie could believe it, alright. Dash had to find her. Soon. But where had she run to? Did she really think she could delay ever being confronted just by running? She’d have to head back to the ... palace ...

If Dash had been on the ground, she might have slammed her face into her hoof as she was struck by the realisation her anger had kept her from. There was nowhere else Pinkie could have run to. Not for the first time the fastest flier in Equestria was glad to be in the air. She changed direction and took off towards the royal palace, a small smile of victory on her face.

She wasn’t going to lose Pinkie. Not for anything. She would get her answers, too. But right now all she wanted was to hug her friend tight and promise her it was alright.

And maybe afterwards, when she was sure her best friend wouldn’t leave her, she’d hit her. Just the once.

-----

For a moment Gummy had thought his ordeal was over. When Dashie had slowed to almost a stop, he had thought she would land. In a gesture of sincere thanks and affection he had begun batting at one of the hairs near him. Watching it swirl and twist in the night breeze, a shining point of light in an endless sea of black. Admiring how it glowed in the moonlight. Wondering how it would taste in his jaws. Would it taste as her kisses had? He couldn’t help but wonder.

And how had she thanked him, for his kindness and generosity? By suddenly accelerating to even faster than she had previously been

‘-bow Da-’

moving and that was his Pinkie’s voice. He would know it anywhere. And Dash hadn’t slowed down. Hadn’t heard. Didn’t know that his Pinkie was chasing them. Chasing Gummy and his rainbow.

-----

“I wish you coulda seen it, Gummy! It was so beautiful, the beautifulest most super amazing thing I’ve ever seen! It was just like CRACK and then all the clouds went away and they took saddy-waddy Pinkie too! I’d never seen a rainbow before - it was like the world smiling. A special smile, just for me! And I knew I just had to share that feeling with everypony - and then maybe I could make the world smile too!”

She had looked at him then, and kissed the top of his head. He had been very small then, but he remembered.

“So now everytime I see a rainbow I like to think I made the world smile.”

-----

Her rainbow. Dash had been her rainbow first, long before Gummy had even existed. He knew what he had to do. Blinking away the doubts and fears that he would lose both the mares he loved, he began to climb. He would just have to tell Dash to land himself. She loved him, he knew. She would listen.

-----

It is not often that the night sky is graced with rainbows. Even in Cloudsdale, where rainbows are born, this is true. Most ponies lived their entire lives without ever seeing a rainbow in the night, and those who did see it never forgot it. The streets of Canterlot were not empty that night - ponies went about their business as they always did - but the ponies lucky enough to be out and about that night were graced with just such a sight.

It is likely that those few lucky ponies would tell their grandchildren of the day a rainbow appeared in the night sky. How it was more vibrant and beautiful than any they had ever seen, with colours that seemed almost like an early dawn. How it was a moment in their lives when they felt anything was possible.

It is likely that very few of those few lucky ponies would add that the rainbow had been screaming threats at the top of its voice as it suddenly spiraled out of control. Or how a moment later it collided with the side of the Canterlot history museum, and then vanished as suddenly as it came.

None of them would likely mention the pink blur that sped through the city streets, chasing after the rainbow as though Discord himself was on its tail.

Some things were just that special kind of unusual that made them impossible to believe.

-----

Laying on the cold stone of a Canterlot street, staring up at the sky in something of a daze, Rainbow Dash was almost relieved. For the first time in she couldn’t remember how long, her thoughts were clear, simple. Sure, they were almost all along the lines of ‘ow ow ow ow why does my head hurt so much?’ or ‘How did that building get into the sky?’ but they were simple.

She watched as a shooting star trailed through the night sky, flying higher than she ever would. Probably thought it was better than her. Stupid star - nopony was better than Rainbow Dash. Especially not dumb pink traitor ponies. Dumb pink traitor ponies who dressed up in capes and sexy hats.

Dumb hats. She meant dumb hats.

A drop of something warm landed on her head and she reached up quizzically to find the source. This turned out to be a small scaly thing that was contentedly sucking on her ear. Dash supposed that was okay, for now. Dimly she was aware that she’d be angry when her head cleared a little, but right now it seemed like far too much effort.

It was far from the first time she had crashed. It wasn’t quite as far from the first time she had crashed headfirst into a building, but even then it was still pretty far from the first time. She knew the steps pretty well by now. Better than some of her own aerial stunts, even.

The thought made her chuckle. A stilted, pained sound, but a real laugh. First things first, she knew, she had to get up. That would probably be the hardest part. It always was. She positioned her hooves carefully and lifted herself, finding her feet a moment before some impossibly fast ambushing attack thing decided to slam into her side, sending her sailing through the air and she crashed into the ground for what felt like the thousandth time that night.

-----

Gummy was not entirely sure what had happened. As he sailed through the air, detached from the pegasus he had been whispering comforting words to not a moment before, by the sheer impact of the attacker targeting his defenceless Rainbow Dash, he replayed what had happened in his mind.

He remembered his heroic journey up Dash’s tail and across her back, conquering powerful winds and temptation - shiny, swirling delicious temptation - to reach her ear, whereupon he had whispered, ever so gently, that his Pinkie was after them.

Then there had been a lot of yelling, and some crashing. He was fairly sure she hadn’t meant it when she had threatened to skin him, for she was the most kind-hearted of ponies. He was almost proud that his words had had such an effect on her. So he hadn’t been mad for long.

Her ear had, he recalled, been delicious.

And now they were under attack. She would be hurt again and it was all his fault. Moving faster than he had believed himself capable, Gummy used his tail to push himself to his tiny feet so that he could identify his attacker.

His jaw dropped at the sight before him. There lay his Pinkie, face buried in Rainbow Dash’s chest, bawling her eyes out and speaking in a tone louder and more desperate than any Gummy had ever heard her use. Slowly, uncertain of his reception, the alligator stepped towards the only mother he’d ever known.

Scared or not, he would make it okay for her.

-----

She knew it was wrong of her to think it, but Dash couldn’t help feeling that it was kind of nice, laying here in the dark with Pinkie cuddled into her. Running a hoof through her mane, drinking in her warmth. Somehow, despite everything - the chaos, the treachery, the aching in her head - she felt safe. She’d have happily stayed right there. She knew it was wrong. Knew she should be furious.

Atop her Pinkie was still speaking, an endless stream of words Dash was having a little trouble focusing on at the moment. She exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, trying to make the words sink in.

“ - saw you in the sky and yelled to you but you didn’t hear me and I chased you but you kept running and I thought maybe you were running from me then -” The flow of words was briefly interrupted by a painful sob. “- then you crashed and I saw you and then there was just nothing and I thought you were hurt again and it was my fault and you were going to die and leave me and please don’t leave me Dashie please I need you I know you don’t love me but we’re still friends please say we’re still friends please answer me talk to me please!”

No. She couldn’t be angry. Not right now, looking into the tear filled eyes that had just locked onto her own. All she could do - all she wanted to do - was make it okay. Arguing would wait. She argued better when she could think properly, anyway. So instead she reached up, wrapped her forelegs around her best friend, and whispered to her.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Pinkie. I’m okay. I’m here. I’m not leaving you. I promise.” The words sounded far away, to her. But she was fairly sure she was the one who had said them.

Pinkie was silent then, apart from her sobbing. Dash didn’t know if that was good or not. She hoped so.

After a few moments, her friend spoke again. “I’m really glad you’re safe, Dashie.”

Dash just smiled at her. And then almost jumped in fright as Gummy dropped out of seemingly nowhere, landing squarely in the bed that was his owner’s straight pink locks. Pinkie didn’t miss a beat, reaching up a hoof and running it gently along the alligator’s scaled back. “Hi, Gummy. I missed you, too.”

Her hoof stopped moving suddenly, and it was only then that her head snapped up, the expression on her face one of total confusion.

“Gummy?” Pinkie’s voice was soft, and still quivering. “What are you doing out here?”

-----

If someone had asked Gummy twenty seconds ago how his plan to cheer up Pinkie had gone, he would have explained - with much pride and sparing no detail - that it had been a success of truly remarkable proportions. His Pinkie had sensed him coming, of course - he had known she would, clever as he was, and cut short her conversation with Rainbow Dash to greet him. The warm glow of his mere presence, his gentle stroking of her mane, had been enough to make her tears cease. It had been, he would have claimed, a job well done.

If someone had asked him right this moment, however, his answer would have been quite different. The pink mare who had raised him since birth had, ever carefully, taken him from atop her head and now held him in her hooves, gazing into his eyes. His eyes, he knew, would shine with nothing but adoration ... and perhaps, just possibly, a touch of guilt.

In contrast, the bright blue orbs that had been his first sight held nothing but pain and doubt.

The gears in his brain spun rapidly, trying desperately to find the right words to fix things - to win a hug from his Pinkie. And her forgiveness. But none would come. All he could do, all he really wanted to do, was tell her the truth. The petrified gator could only hope she would understand.

Inwardly, he cursed his tendency to wear his emotions on his sleeve.

He opened his jaws, intending to confess everything, when suddenly he dropped to the ground, watching for the second time as one of the ponies he loved tumbled backwards. It was not, however, simple physics this time that had brought Pinkie Pie down.

Rainbow Dash stared down at Pinkie, eyes narrowed and face twisted into a scowl.

-----

Pinkie Pie still lay where Dash had shoved her, staring up at her with wide, frightened eyes. Dash didn’t care. All of the sympathy she felt for the lying little traitor had vanished in a heartbeat as she had said those words. Asked that question. Lied to her. Again.

“Dashie ... ?” The party pony was on the brink of tears, again. And she knew it was her fault, again. But maybe that was too bad. Maybe, just maybe, she deserved to cry a little after what she’d put Dash through. Was still trying to put her through.

“Dashie, are you okay?” And that had to be what she asked. Of course. She couldn’t just have gotten angry. Screamed and yelled and lost her temper. No, that would be too simple. She had to make sure Dash was okay. Guilt tore through Rainbow Dash, and she turned her head away. She could hear her friend struggling to keep her voice under control. Struggling not to break down.

“Why are you still pretending?” Her voice was harsher, angrier than she had expected. Angrier than she wanted.

“Pretending ... ? I’m not pretending anything, Dashie, I don’t know what you mean.”

Dash whirled on her frightened friend. “I’m not stupid, Pinkie Pie! I know you and everypony else thinks I am, but I’m not! I know it was you! Why are you lying to me!? Just tell me the truth!”

Only when Pinkie flinched away from her, tried to scurry backwards, did she realise she was shouting.

“Please Dashie don’t yell I don’t know what I did please don’t yell at me I just want to help.” She was shaking, and Dash was ashamed. But it was too late. It was pouring out of her now - all the fury and frustration that had been building up over the past weeks. Every slight, every insult, every defeat and every mistake.

“Mare Do Well!” she heard herself scream in a voice she could barely recognise. “I know you’re Mare Do Well!”

“What? No, Dashie, no, I’d never -”

“Why did you run? I was ready to forgive you! I didn’t care who was under that stupid mask anymore! I just wanted to be able to look you all in the eye without wondering! Without wondering every minute which one of you was lying to me - which of my friends I couldn’t trust!”

“Stop it stop stop stop stop stop ... ”

“And you know what’s worse? I wanted it to be you! I wanted to open my eyes and see you there! I wanted to be able to tell you, honestly, that I ... ” Here she faltered, just for a moment “That I forgave you! That I understood! And you throw your stupid alligator at me and run off again! You say you love me but all you do -”

“Stop it! Stop yelling at me!”

If Dash had been yelling, Pinkie’s voice was like thunder given verbal form. With every word she stepped closer and closer, forcing Dash to back up until she was pressed against the wall, with nowhere to run as her friend screamed in her face. For all her shock, she couldn’t help but notice the tears running down Pinkie’s face.

“You don’t get to yell at me! You pretend to care about me just to hurt her and then you disappear without telling any of us where you’re going! You make me blame myself for the way you play with my feelings and toss me aside when you don’t need me anymore! You make me chase you through the dark for hours! You almost -” A sob interrupted Pinkie’s assault, and she took a step back.

After a moment she continued, voice much softer. “You almost die - almost leave me alone again - and all you can do is accuse me of stalking you? You treat me like I don’t matter at all for weeks, ignore me for somepony new, and now you try to make it all okay by hurting me some more?” Pinkie turned to face Dash, and the expression on her face was like nothing the pegasus had ever seen.

The party pony was angry, true, but beyond the anger there seemed to be ... nothing. No disbelief, no confusion - just fury and hurt and ...

Acceptance.

“Pinkie Pie, I -”

“No!” The baker’s tone was sharp, defiant. “I know what you think of me, Rainbow Dash. I know you want to blame poor crazy Pinkie Pie for all your problems, but guess what? I’m not the problem, Dashie, you are! I’ve done nothing but try to help you, nothing but try to make you smile, and all you’ve done is throw it in my face!” They were nose to nose now, and Dash had never been so afraid.

“But you know what, Rainbow Dash? I forgive you. I forgive you because I love my friends. Because I love you. Even if you hate me.” Pinkie spun away from her and began walking away. “I’m glad you’re okay, Dashie.”

“Pinkie Pie, please don’t g-” Dash did not beg very often. It didn’t matter, considering how quickly she was cut short.

“I’m not Mare Do Well, by the way. See, I care about my friends. I want them to be happy. But I guess you wouldn’t know a whole lot about that, would you?”

Dash recognised her tone, now. The false calm, slowly giving way once again to rage. The pleasantness belied only by the many insults being thrown her way. She knew what she had to do.

Pinkie froze for just a moment when Dash intercepted her and threw her arms around the pink pony’s neck. Whether in shock or anger, the pegasus didn’t know. So she did what she had always done when she was afraid - she made her mouth start working and hoped it would cover her doubts.

“I’m sorry,” she heard herself start. This surprised her - it was a phrase she had only uttered a handful of times in her life. Still, it seemed fitting. “I believe you. I know you wouldn’t lie to me. And I know I’ve been kind of a jerk to you ever since ... ” Hesitation. Right when it was least needed. Yeah, that seemed about right. “Since you kissed me. I didn’t want to. I just didn’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose you.”

Slowly, ever so slowly, the mare in her arms seemed to be relaxing. She took that as a good sign.

“I know you’re not her. I guess ... I accused you because I kinda ... ” Well, no going back now. She might as well blunder in as usual. It was what she was good at, after all. “I wanted you to be. Her, I mean. Mare Do Well.”

She felt a sharp intake of breath from a body not her own, and then a question - soft, scared, but not without an edge to it. “Why?”

Dash couldn’t help but hear a “So you didn’t have to feel bad for treating me like I was nothing?” where there wasn’t one. That was okay, too. She deserved it.

“I ... I’m not sure yet.” Oh, way to go Dash. Because there were so many things she could’ve said to make it okay, but why be boring? Pinkie already hated her, right?

“Dashie?”

“Yeah, Pinkie Pie?”

“I meant it. When I said I forgave you. It’s okay, if you want things to go back to how they were before.”

“I know. But ... ”

“But what?”

“I ... don’t think I want that.” She heard herself gulp. Heard the hitch in her voice. Felt Pinkie tense once more.

“But ... but I ... ” A steadying breath “Then what do you want, Dashie?”

“I think ... I think maybe I ... ”

“Wait.”

Dash ... had not been expecting that. Nor was she expecting Pinkie to detach herself and wander over towards where Gummy sat, gazing at the two - or maybe simply gazing, it was hard to tell - with what Dash could only assume was curiosity.

Or would have been. If the alligator was capable of conscious thought.

She was quite impressed with herself when she managed a rather squeaky, “Huh?”

“You said Mare Do Well threw Gummy at you, right? So why don’t we ask him? I mean, she couldn’t have been sneaking around the palace dressed like that, and he was with me so she must have taken him from there, which means she couldn’t have been in costume yet and he must have seen her face!”

Pinkie seemed amazingly proud of her idea. Dash was less impressed. But, still slightly stunned from the interruption and not able to bring herself to hurt Pinkie again so soon, she simply nodded her head. “Sure, Pinkie. It’s gotta be worth shot.”

The two mares fixed their eyes on Gummy, and Pinkie spoke:

“Gummy? Can you tell your Auntie Pinkie Pie who's been stalking Dashie?”

-----

She didn’t know. The realisation struck Gummy like an angry pegasus, and suddenly it all made sense. Rainbow Dash had run not because she didn’t return his feelings, but because she hadn’t known - hadn’t seen - that he was the one who had claimed her heart. Not only that, but she believed that the one who had been wearing the mask was his Pinkie.

Perhaps that was for the best? If Gummy lied, claimed ignorance, he could still end this now. Mare Do Well could disappear, and nopony would ever see her again. His Pinkie could have her Rainbow, and he ...

He would still have Pinkie. That was something. And she would hold him, and stroke him, and tell him he was brave and good and wise as she had always done. But Gummy was not wise. No, Gummy was not wise at all. He was not good or brave. He was very handsome, and he had excellent taste. But somehow such things brought precious little comfort, now.

No. He knew that was not an option. Not after what Rainbow Dash had done - casting her pride to the wind and admitting her mistakes. Letting Pinkie judge Dash - the truth of Dash - as she saw fit. For him to even consider lying again would dishonor her.

Gummy gazed up at the rainbow-maned pegasus, seeing her once again in an all new light. This was not the same pegasus he had begun wooing so long past. That pegasus did not make mistakes, did not have failings - or so she would have had everypony believe. Had this moment, this confrontation, between her and his Pinkie happened back then, Dash would never have claimed fault. Never have entertained the possibility she had been wrong, treated his Pinkie badly.

When Dash had towered over his Pinkie, attacking her with sharp words and loud voices, Gummy had tried to defend her. He had pulled Dash’s tail, attacked her - he had actually tried to do her harm. And now he was ashamed. She had proven herself a better pony than he ever could have believed, owning her mistakes and helping his Pinkie more than he could have hoped for. His gaze held nothing but admiration for the one he loved.

He could not, however, focus overlong on Dash. His Pinkie had asked him a question and he meant to answer it. All he had done - his deception of not only the pegasus he had fallen for but also of the one who had raised him, the only one who truly knew him - was unforgivable. But perhaps, if he followed her example as he had so often followed Pinkie’s, he would at least have a hope of forgiveness.

And perhaps, if he was lucky, Rainbow Dash would forgive him as well.

And so, staring into the eyes that had greeted him when he had first struggled from his egg, Gummy told his tale. He told of how he had seen the joy the rainbow one brought her, seen the spark her will had forged in the very soul of the pony that had been his whole world. How his earliest memories may have been of Pinkie - but they were the work of Rainbow Dash.

He told how he had watched her, seen the way she acted - the way she ignored his Pinkie and acted as though he didn’t exist. How it had cut him. Even the yellow one - he couldn’t remember her name - had acknowledged Gummy. She had even danced with him once. It had been his first slow dance, but he digressed.

As he spoke he watched the expression on his Pinkie’s face change. It went from pure, unrelenting love to puzzlement to shock and then to something Gummy had never wanted to see directed at him - hurt, anger. He watched as the one pony in all the world who really cared for him realised the depth of his betrayal.

And when he moved to comfort her, she pulled away from him.

-----

Pinkie Pie and Gummy were talking. Admittedly, that in itself wasn’t particularly odd - she talked to Tank all the time, and if someone had called her crazy for it she wouldn’t have been pleased. What was odd, however, was that it didn’t appear to be Pinkie doing the talking. No, the party pony was pressed flat against the ground, staring intently into Gummy’s blank, staring eyes, listening intently as the alligator ...

Remained perfectly still and looked for all the world like he didn’t know she was there. Every now and again he would blink, and Pinkie would make a sound. So far she had done a lot of mm-hmming, and a couple of ‘ooooooohs’ had slipped out. At one point she had let out a snort of laughter and and giggled uncontrollably before apologising to the alligator profusely and asking him politely to continue.

It had been less than two minutes. Rainbow Dash could feel her patience wearing thin.

She creeped forward, fully intending to poke Pinkie Pie in the side, and remind her that Mare Do Well wasn’t going to find herself and sitting in an alley being ... well, Pinkie Pie, wasn’t going to help anything. And maybe to see how far in the air she’d jump. That was always funny, and Dash needed cheering up.

She never got the chance. Suddenly her friend pulled back violently, putting at least two feet of distance between herself and the little lizard, and let out a loud, shocked gasp. Dash blinked, confused, and opened her mouth to ask what the hay was going on. Then she saw the look in Pinkie’s eyes. Shock, betrayal - an expression she was becoming all too comfortable with, all too used to seeing on a face that should be smiling, with bright eyes and wonder written all over it.

This time, at least, she wasn’t the cause. At least, she hoped not.

Pinkie Pie sat, balanced on her rump, one hoof pointed straight at her pet. The position would have been adorable if not for the apparent gravity of the situation. Dash bit back a small smile, before Pinkie spoke.

“You’re lying. Tell me you’re lying, Gummy!”

Right. Well. Maybe not so much gravity after all. Still, she knew she should probably say something.

“Pinkie? You know he -” She was cut off - yet again - by the pink pony. Or more specifically, by the hoof the pink pony had just shoved into her mouth. It tasted like dirt. Some part of her had time to be disappointed her friend hadn’t been eating caramel that day, while the rest of her simply stared flatly at Pinkie.

“Dashie.” The tone was quiet, angry, and completely, frighteningly serious. “Gummy is Mare Do Well.”

-----

Gummy looked on as Dash attempted to consume his Pinkie, wondering not for the first time why the ponies insisted on performing this ritual whenever they wished silence from one another.

He heard his Pinkie whisper words he could not hear to the cyan pegasus. Saw her rainbow mane whip through the air as her head jerked towards him, eyes wide and staring. Watched as she turned to face his Pinkie, placed her forehooves on her shoulders.

Listened as she burst into gales of laughter, using his wounded aunt for support and struggling to keep herself upright as tears streamed down her face.

He didn’t understand. Why was she laughing? He knew his Pinkie had told her the truth - it was written all over her face. He had expected anger. Hatred. Sadness. Confusion. Anything other than laughter. Was she happy? Pleased that he felt for her as he did? His small heart leapt at the thought, but Gummy knew he couldn’t afford to assume again.

He strained to understand the words that could occasionally be heard between fits of laughter.

“Pinkie Pie, you are SO random!”

-----

Pinkie Pie was frightened.

Of all the things she had been expecting Dash to do, laughing was maybe last on this list - or maybe second to last, because it hadn’t really seemed all that likely at all that Dashie would suddenly decide she loved Twilight and serenade her while juggling flaming books, but then again, who knew - if anything was gonna impress Twilight, it was books and she lived with a dragon so, duh, of course she loved fire.

Or maybe it was third to last, because where would she have found a flamingo and a robotic replica of herself at this time of night? But it was definitely no higher than seventh to last! She had definitely been expecting Dashie to push her down again more than she had been expecting her to laugh like she’d just heard Pinkie’s superterrificmazingtasticist joke, mhm.

And it wasn’t even the right laugh - Dashie’s laugh was loud and strong. It was the kind of laugh you couldn’t hear without wanting to laugh too, although when she thought about it, who didn’t want to laugh? Then again maybe she understood that because she was sick of having to laugh all the time too but anyway, this wasn’t a Dashie laugh at all, it sounded more like Rarity did when Pinkie had borrowed all her gold silk to make a big ball for Gummy’s birthday and then brought it back all drooled on and soggy, and Rarity had decided she’d miss her deadline and gone into a big panic.

It was a bad laugh, she decided. High pitched and constant and with no happiness in it, and all laughter should be happy.

Dashie, Pinkie decided, was hysterical. And when somepony was hysterical, there was only one thing a pony could do or at least one thing she knew of but there had to be others and she really didn’t want to do that anyway, so she decided to try something else and see what happened.

She shook Dashie gently, and when Dash just kept laughing, she tried hugging her and whispering in her ear. “I’m serious, Dashie. Please believe me.”

She was amazed by how un-Pinkie she sounded.

Dashie didn’t stop laughing, and Pinkie could hear her gasping for breath as she held her, feel the spasms in her chest. That, she decided, wouldn’t do at all. And so she did the only thing she could think of.

Pinkie pulled her hoof back and smacked Dashie hard across the face.

-----

Her head hurt.

To be fair, that had been true for quite some time before Pinkie had slapped her. But even still, it was even more true now. Dash wasn’t mad, though. If she was anything, she was relieved. She didn’t know what had come over her. Why she hadn’t been able to stop laughing. She didn’t even know what she had been laughing about in the first place. All she knew was that she hadn’t been able to breathe.

If she had been anything - if she had felt anything - she supposed she’d be grateful. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? She didn’t feel anything. She was too drained, too tired to care about anything more than breathing slowly and steadily in and out.

Gummy. Pinkie said Gummy was Mare Do Well. Gummy. The little alligator was barely capable of moving, and Pinkie was telling her that he’d ... what? Magically transformed himself into a pony - a girl pony - so that he could stalk Dash around and try to show that there was more to him than he let on? Make her fall in love with him so he could catch her by surprise and slowly digest her over the course of weeks, or months?

It wasn’t possible. Then again, maybe it was. She’d seen a lot of things she didn’t think were possible - she’d had her wings stolen by an evil statue donkey, done battle with a pony princess and manifested a magic doom rainbow. She - and only she - could ... what had Twilight called it? Oh yeah ... shatter the sound barrier and paint the sky in her own image just by being really fast.

Normally, she’d have walked away as soon as Pinkie had made the suggestion. Normally she’d have thought Pinkie was trying to throw her off, hide her own identity as Mare Do Well. Normally she’d have decided she was insane for even entertaining the idea. But tonight was not a normal night. If nothing else she believed Pinkie, when she said she wasn’t the one who’d been stalking her. And what other leads did she have?

She owed Pinkie. And if her friend wanted to try and convince her that her pet alligator was Mare Do Well ... Gator Do Well. Gummy Do Well. Gum Do Well. Yeah. Gum Do Well. If Pinkie thought she knew the secret identity of Gum Do Well, the least she could do was give her the chance to explain. What did she have to lose, after all?

Apart from her self respect. But she was pretty sure she had left that lying in an alley next to a superhero costume.

-----

Gummy watched as Rainbow Dash lifted herself slowly off the ground, face impassive, and stared blankly at Pinkie. Watched his Pinkie slowly wave a hoof back and forth in front of her friend’s face, winning an annoyed grunt from the pegasus.

Listened, and tried to contain his excitement - and his fear - as she spoke.

“Okay, Pinkie. Let’s say that all this time your alligator’s been dressing up in tights and chasing me through the city. What’d be the point? What’s Gum Do Well’s interest in me? Convince me, Pinks. Please. Because I really don’t want to think you’re crazy.”

He watched as Pinkie nodded, then turned to him with fire in her eyes. “Here’s how it’s gonna go down, Gummy. You’re gonna tell me exactly why you did this to Dashie - and why you did it to me - and you’re gonna make it good. I’m gonna tell Dashie what you’re saying and if you don’t tell the truth, you’re gonna be in big trouble, mister!”

Pinkie pressed her nose against his snout. “Be in big trouble big time!”

Gummy blinked, mentally steeling himself for what was about to come, and started to tell his story.

-----

His whole life had been built around rainbows.

From the day he hatched, an orphaned alligator and the lone surviving egg from his brood, all he had known was Pinkie Pie. All he had known was love, and laughter. She had raised him. Taught him everything he knew. When he had hurt the yellow one, she had taken his teeth out so gently and taught him how to survive all over again. She had loved him, and she was his world.

His world had been pink. But that pink had been born of a rainbow.

She had told him, when he was only a few days old, about the day a rainbow had cleared away the clouds in her heart and brought sunshine to her smile. Told him how that rainbow meant more to her than anything. How that one moment had defined her life.

He had seen her friends, of course. He had never paid much attention to them, except in the broadest sense - they were the stars, and he was gazing at them from his own world. Except for the yellow one. His Pinkie had always taken him to the yellow one, for as long as he could remember. He didn’t know her name but she mattered, too. Once upon a time Pinkie had told him she was his mummy and -

-----

“Woah, woah, woah. I don’t care what your alligator thinks about Fluttershy. I want to know why he’s been stalking me.”

In truth, Dash was slightly disturbed by the way her friend’s eyes had rolled back into her head and outright unnerved by the way her tone had shifted, sounding frighteningly close to her. Or him. Whichever. Mare Do Well.

The pink pony blinked, seemingly disoriented, and there was a silence before she answered. “Gummy says it’s important, Dashie. He says you need to...uhm...appreciate the context and see things from his perspective so that you can properly grasp the seriousness of the situation and the reasons that he undertook his endeavour.”

Right. Of course he did. There wasn’t really a whole lot she could say to that, was there?

“ ... Whatever. Keep talking.”

-----

He had never paid the rainbow one any more heed than the orange one, or the one who wasn’t allowed in the same room as him because he was slimy and she smelled good. But then one day things had changed. His Pinkie had raced into the room, scooped him up and held him as she bounced around the room, even more excited, more exuberant, more alive than he had ever seen her.

“You won’t believe it, Gummy, do you remember me telling you about how the world smiled for me and then I was happy and oh what am I saying of course you do you’re such a good little gator well today I found out what made that smile, what made me, and it’s been under our noses the whole time well under my nose, I mean, you don’t really have a nose but it was under your snout so don’t you worry, Gummy, you don’t need a nose to be perfect!

It was Rainbow Dash! She’s the one who made the world smile for me, Gummy! Can you believe it? I finally found her and she’s been here the whole time.” She had paused then, his Pinkie, and the next words had been calmer, more measured.

“I always knew I wanted to make the world smile, Gummy. But now I know why. I want the world to smile because then she’ll smile, and she deserves to smile. Everypony deserves to smile!”

And then, after a moment’s pause. “And everygator too of course. C’mon Gummy, lets see that smile!”

He had smiled, of course.

-----

Dash couldn’t help but notice the story she was hearing didn’t have a whole lot to do with Gummy. Still ... there was no real reason to interrupt it quite yet, was there? It was a good story, after all, and she was enjoying hearing it. She didn’t say a word.

-----

Knowing that she was the one who had planted such a spark of life in his Pinkie had made Gummy take more notice of the rainbow one. He hadn’t known her name then. He had just watched, at first. Seen how she always brought a smile to his Pinkie’s face. How she moved. When she was around, his Pinkie was happier, and that made him happier.

In time, it had become Dashie - he had learned her name listening to his Pinkie, so to him she was Dashie - herself that brightened Gummy’s world. He had come to love the smell of her, the way she moved. The way the air tasted around her. But most of all he had come to love the sound of her voice, and the calm.

His Pinkie did not know calm, and so neither had he. Although he would later learn that by normal standards Dashie was quite aggressive, to him she had always seemed relaxed. It was soothing. Like the yellow one, but with none of the smothering he so detested. He admired her drive, her passion to show the world what she had and her refusal to bend before it.

Gummy did not push back against the world often. Rainbow Dash never stopped pushing, testing, striving. Gummy loved it. And in time he loved her. But when he spoke, she refused to hear him. She refused to acknowledge his words, his attempts to know her. For so long he had tried to get her attention, even - in a moment of foolish bravery from an alligator drunk on the excitement of his first birthday party - kissing her once.

Still she had ignored him. The brave alligator had taken solace in the embrace of the punch bowl, washing his sorrows away - however briefly - into a drunken haze.

-----

“Kiss me!?” Dash was incredulous. “He tried to eat me!”

Pinkie’s voice was free of its edge now. Dash could have sworn a small, sad smile had appeared on her face as she spoke. “Gummy says you were his first kiss, Dashie. He’ll get better with practice. He promises.”

“Wait, what? Practice!? Does he really think i’m going to -”

“Gee, I dunno, Dashie. Maybe if you listen to him instead of interrupting every five seconds you’ll find out!”

Dash was not pleased. But she took the hint.

-----

He had suffered in silence. Suffered for so long, waiting for her to notice him. Poor little Gummy. So lonely. So handsome, and clever, and patient.

-----

Dash rolled her eyes. But she couldn’t stop a small grin from appearing on her face.

-----

Until that fateful day. The day Pinkie had first donned the mask. He hadn’t understood, at first. Why they insisted in stealing away Rainbow Dash’s well-deserved praise. But he would come to, later. Her arrogance would be her downfall. Her foolish pride would lead her to become dependent and needy where before she had lived for nopony but herself.

Plus, she had kind of been a jerk. I mean really, really been a jerk. In fact, he would go so far as -

-----

“That’s not funny!” Dash fumed as she watched her friend roll around, translating between giggles. “Stop laughing at me, Pinkie! It’s not funny.”

“I’m sorry, Dashie, but he’s just sooooooooooooooooo right!” The laughter bellowing from her friend brought a real smile to Dash’s face, and a minute later she was laughing too, one foreleg slung around the party pony’s shoulders.

She could have sworn that Gummy’s mouth had curled up, ever so slightly, into a smile.

-----

His Pinkie was doing it for Rainbow Dash. Gummy knew this. Knew she would never have deceived the pegasus without some higher purpose, be it the learning of a lesson or the honour of being pranked by the world's premiere pink pranking party pony. But even she could not deny the slight thrill she got from hiding her brightness from the world and becoming the night.

The way that, after returning from a successful rescue, she would almost always be glowing. Radiant. Her bright blue eyes glowing like the endless depths of the ocean on a summer’s day, and her voice exuberant. “Nopony laughed at me, Gummy! Nopony thought I was just a big joke, no siree Bob - that’s you, Gummy, you’re Bob - and everypony took me seriously! Can you even imagine if it’d been Pinkie in that construction site, Bob? Everypony woulda thought she was crazy and nopony would’ve listened to her warnings or let her help them even though they all know about her Pinkie sense because she’s just so silly and she could never be serious nope nope!

But I wasn’t Pinkie Pie today, Bob, no siree Gum, I was Mare Do Well and I swept in and I saved them all and you shoulda been there, Gummy, you shoulda seen the way they were looking at me but of course there’s no way I could carry you around and not give away my secret identity and you couldn’t fit into one o’ the costumes but I’m sure if you wanted Rarity will make you your own superhero costume and then you can be Bob, Alligator Avenger, but really you’ll just be -”

-----

“I get it, Pinkie!” Dash laughed, suppressing a giggle at the way Pinkie was delivering her own lines - not as Pinkie, but in a voice Dash could only assume was supposed to sound like Gummy’s impression of Pinkie - a coarse, high-pitched falsetto tone that sounded somewhat like a clown who had inhaled too much helium. “Slow down! It’s hard enough keeping up with you when you when you’re the only one talking like that, but when I have to listen to a story too, I can’t focus!”

The pink mare giggled. “Oops! Sorry, Dashie. I gotta keep up with Gummy, y’know? When that gator starts talking, he just never stops and even I have trouble understanding him sometimes! I’ll ask him to -”

“Wait a second! If this is really all true and Bob here’s the one who’s been following me around all this time, then how come it’s only now I can’t understand him? Sorry, Pinks, but that kinda doesn’t add up.” If it had been ten minutes ago Dash’s voice might have been raised, her mouth twisted into a frown, but now there was only a grin on her face and her voice was gently teasing.

Pinkie, she decided, was crazy. There was absolutely no way around that. But here she was sitting in an alleyway listening to - allegedly - an alligator tell the story of why he was in love with her, in the middle of the night after attacking her best friend. So maybe she could deal with crazy. And even if Pinkie was making this all up - well, her friend had made her laugh, made her smile and made things okay again. Dash could forgive her, just this once.

At her question, Pinkie had looked confused and was now conversing with the alligator in hushed tones. Or rather, she was whispering in hushed tones to the blank-faced alligator, pausing every so often and staring at him intently.

The party pony turned towards her, face grim.

“Gummy says that it’s because you don’t listen right.”

Dash blinked. “... What?”

“I dunno, Dashie. That’s all he’ll say. Maybe he had an enchanted mask or som - oh!”

She paused and tilted her head. “He says that he’s frankly shocked you haven’t asked how he fit it into the costume! He says that’s a much more fun story.”

“... Fine. How did he fit into the cost-”

She was cut off by the gravelly voice of Gum Do Well, emanating from the little pink pony and demanding her full attention. Her eye twitched, ever so slightly, as the words washed over her.

-----

But not every day was the same. There was one day that his Pinkie had returned, mane flat and eyes downcast. Those days she had told him of sadder things. Of how she was tired. Tired of never been taken seriously. Tired of being ignored, and looked down on. How she wanted people to look at her, just sometimes, the way they looked at Mare Do Well. With respect. With admiration. And how she didn’t think it would ever happen. Nopony would ever look at silly ol’ Pinkie that way. Rainbow Dash would never look at her that way. She -

-----

Pinkie’s face had fallen, and here she let out a choked whine. Dash took a step closer to her, earlier annoyance forgotten, and silently rested her head against her friend’s neck. After a few moments the pink pony began again, nuzzling Dash as she spoke, ever so gently.

-----

She would always be a joke, to everypony. And most of the time that was okay, because his wise and kind Auntie Pinkie loved to make ponies laugh, but sometimes it made her sad. As Mare Do Well everyone could see that other side of her - brave, dependable, trustworthy. All the little pieces of herself that were overlooked every day, by everypony. Even the ones she loved the most.

She spoke of this, and Gummy comforted her. And listened. At first he resisted. For a long time he resisted, struggled against the temptation growing within him. The terrible, festering hunger that would slowly come to consume him, spreading through his heart like a dark army marching across an enemy nation, bringing with it thoughts and dreams our stalwart hero had no right having.

Long he fought, and valiantly, but in the end -

-----

“Enough with the melodrama! Ugh. You have no idea how to tell a good story, Bob.”

Dash patted the gator on the head, before freezing on the spot, caught somewhere between terror and shock. Dash and Pinkie stared at each other, neither saying a word.

Dash had been talking to Gummy.

“I ... that is ... you ... we ... I meant -” she stammered, desperate to justify herself, but Pinkie just shook her head slowly, gracing her with a tiny smile.

“It’s okay, Dashie! I’m not gonna tell anypony you’re a crazy pony! I mean, you’re not a crazy pony - don’t get me wrong - but I’m not gonna start telling ponies you are. And usually they don’t listen to me anyway, so even if I did you’d have nothing to worry about! Pinkie Promise!”

“Thanks, Pinkie. I think.”

“You’re welcome!”

-----

Gummy - who was, in addition to his other fine qualities, a master wordsmith and a storyteller superior to the object of his affections - lost his fight. When he first donned the mask he told himself his motives were good. He would take the guise of Mare Do Well and lead Dashie to believe that the one beneath the mask was his Pinkie.

It was like a game. Let just enough slip to tweak her suspicions, then when her heart was won, tell his Pinkie everything. Gummy told himself he was a clever Gummy, a good and caring Gummy, but deep down he knew he was wicked. Manipulating Dashie, and using his Pinkie’s feelings as a mask for his own.

But once he had begun, he couldn’t stop. He spent weeks trying to win her heart, eventually even coming to view the one who mattered most to him - his Pinkie - as competition, a rival to be beaten. He got the one he craved hurt so badly, and tore both his world and his rainbow apart. And even as he tried to pull away, he fell more and more in love with the rainbow mare. And hated himself more and more for harming his Pinkie.

He couldn’t stop. He loved her too much. Needed her too much. She was perfect. And delicious.

Had he mentioned she tasted like sunshine and wonderment? He didn’t remember. She did, though.

-----

“Sooo ... what you’re trying to tell me is that everything you just said came from Gummy?” Dash’s tone was skeptical. Amused, and without the hint of the steel it had held earlier, but skeptical. Her expression matched it perfectly.

The party pony beamed at her, wide and cheerful. “Yup! Every word. Well, most words.”

At the last part Pinkie looked down for just an instant before glancing back at Dash, blinking innocently.

“Pinkie ...”

“Well ... it all came from Gummy. It was his story and everything and all true, but I maybe kinda had to degummify it a little bit here and there.”

“ ... What?”

“Degummify! Sometimes Gummy uses big words, Dashie, and I dunno what they mean. And sometimes he gets sidetracked a little bit but sometimes ... ” She turned a slightly darker shade of pink, leaning closer to whisper in Dash’s ear. “Sometimes he doesn’t make any sense. I think maybe cause he’s small, his scaly little head doesn’t work quite right yet, but when he explains it I always know what he means so I just, y’know, degummify it. But don’t tell him I said so, okay? I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

Yep, Dash decided. She was definitely insane. For just a minute she had almost allowed herself to be drawn into the story, almost allowed herself to believe it. If that didn’t certify her to be locked up right along with Pinkie, nothing would.

“Dashie?” Bright blue eyes were locked onto hers, the question asked in a tone of concern.

So what did that leave? Did it mean Pinkie really was Mare Do Well and believed that she could get away with it by pinning the idea on whoever had happened to be closest? Dash doubted it, somehow. If that had been the case, Dash suspected the peculiar pony would have jumped on her after she’d confessed - almost confessed - her true feelings for the mysterious mare. That would have been pretty aw - no, bad Dash! Focus!

“Dashiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie?”

She was vaguely aware of something being waved in front of her face, but it wasn’t important. Not more important, at least.

Was Pinkie covering for Mare Do Well? No, that didn’t seem likely. Her friend had been genuinely hurt by a lot of what her stalker had done - a lot of what Dash had done. Besides, Pinkie had promised to help her find out, and even if she was a bit ... generous ... with loopholes sometimes, Rainbow didn’t believe she’d lie to her. She trusted her friend. So that left her other friends.

“Gummy, help me!”

The echo on the edge of her mind was shriller now, more insistent. She ignored it. Pinkie’d be fine.

It wasn’t Fluttershy, she knew that for sure. And she was willing to say it wasn’t Pinkie either. Rarity? Maybe. It seemed possible, for sure. She’d known about the flowers, and it wouldn’t exactly be the first time she’d manipulated people into doing what she wanted. Or tried. And Dash couldn’t really argue that Rarity could have depths she didn’t know about - of all her friends, she saw the least of - ow.

Something had just rapped her on the nose. Not hard, but with her already aching head it was enough to earn a grunt of pain from the proud pegasus and send her world spinning. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. Breathing in, and out.

A rough, deep voice muttered something, and she heard Pinkie answer.

“This is serious Gummy! We broke Dashie! We gotta fix her!”

Another remark she couldn’t quite hear, and this time that voice almost oozed mockery. It was so familiar, and yet she couldn’t place it.

“She’s not fine! Look at her! Y’know, you’re really mean sometimes, Gummy! I thought I taught you to be nice to ponies!”

A brief pause, and then a mutter that sounded almost ...

Mare Do Well! That was her voice! And she was ... pouting?

Her eyes snapped open as she realised what was happening, and she saw purple. A swimming sea of shimmering, shifting purple that seemed to go on forever.

Dash stared at Gummy. Gummy stared at Dash. Neither one spoke.

Slowly, the perplexed pegasus reached up a hoof and stroked the alligator’s head gently. His reaction was both comforting and terrifying - Gummy smiled at her, mouth curling up just barely. If she hadn’t been looking, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all. The sight sent a shiver through Rainbow Dash as her world came crashing down around her. It was true. It had to be.

The mysterious masked pony who had been stalking her for so long - the pony whose presence she had come to find a comfort, and then almost a necessity. The mare who had dragged her through Tartarus for what felt like years and made Dash need her ... was an alligator. A male alligator. It didn’t make any sense. Like, at all. But it was true. And so was what he had said. Dash had never taken him seriously - she hadn't even believed that Gummy could think, let alone could think that way. About her, of all ponies.

But he hadn't let that stop him, had never given up. He had pursued her and pursued her and now here he was, before her. Forcing her to see him as he really was - not a creature comparable with any rock in the street, but a cunning, romantic beast. One who had given everything to win her heart. Risked everything. One who had tried so hard just to make Dash notice him.

And succeeded.

Somewhere, deep in her brain, some small part of Dash came to understand that she had fallen in love with an alligator. That part of her brain began screaming. The rest of her turned to face the pink pony who had just laid a hoof on her shoulder, and drank in the small, genuine smile she saw on her friend’s face.

“Dashie? Do you ... do you want me to leave you two alone?”

Rainbow Dash, fastest and most fearless flier in all of Equestria - all of anywhere - shook her head slowly, feeling somewhat dazed.

“No. No, not yet.” That seemed a good place to start. She took a gulp of air and looked deep into Pinkie’s bright blue eyes, wet with unshed tears. “I...” A pause, as she searched for words. “This is big, Pinkie. You know that, right?”

A nod was the only answer she received. Her friends eyes were searching, hopeful.

“Okay.” She had to be careful. Not careful would be bad. Heck, for her, normal would be bad. But that was okay. This time all she had to do was be honest. She just had to do it gently. “Pinkie, I’m in love with your alligator. I thought I loved you because I thought you were Mare Do Well - I wanted you to be - but you’re not. He is, and it’s Mare Do Well I fell in love with.”

Well. That had gone about as well as expected. The party pony turned her head away and took a step back, clearly fighting tears. Then she spun back, her voice high and uncertain.

“But you kissed me, Dashie! I thought maybe you … why? Why did you do it?”

Dash couldn’t meet her eyes, then. Couldn’t bring herself to look into them and see the fear and pain and desperate clutching hope in them. Part of it was that she couldn’t bear to see that glimmer of hope fade away - to watch how deeply her next words cut. What she was about to say could easily cost her Pinkie’s friendship and trust. Could destroy Pinkie, if she wasn’t careful - and she’d proven to herself more than once tonight that careful was not a word that should be in the same sentence as ‘Rainbow Dash.’

But another part, just one more thought that she tried to ignore, whispered that the reason she couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes was that she knew her next words weren’t entirely true. But they had to be said. She couldn’t let Pinkie keep clinging to the hope that they’d be together. Even if she herself doubted - just a little, in the back of her mind - that Mare Do Well was the one she wanted.

“I told you before I wanted you to be Mare Do Well.” Her own voice sounded shaky in her ears - trying to reassure somepony else was one thing, but trying to convince herself was something else altogether. Under the circumstances, trying to comfort Pinkie was about a hundred times worse. “I meant it. I … I was so sure. I felt so much for you. And so much for her. And she reminded me of you, when she - or he, whatever - wasn’t being all fake and snooty!”

She looked up, willing herself to look into those sad blue eyes. It didn’t matter. Pinkie wasn’t looking at her anymore - her eyes were downcast, and she seemed to want to look anywhere but at Rainbow Dash.

“Pinkie, I … I had a lot to drink.” The glare she suddenly found herself facing spurred her on, words spilling out of her faster than she could think them through. “I know that’s no excuse but I was so sure! I convinced myself it was you, and I thought if I kissed you - if I showed you it was okay, that I cared about you - you’d tell me it was. Then I could love you, and be with you like you wanted.” She sighed - a small, shuddering breath. “I wanted to love you. Because I know with you I’d be happy. But afterwards all I could think about was how Mare Do Well would feel - whether she’d hate me. Whether you’d hate me for kissing you when you were trying to win my heart. And ...”

Here words failed her, just for a moment. She knew she’d made mistakes - a lot of them - but this was one of the things that made her wonder if she really was just a terrible waste of a pony. “And I wanted it to hurt her. Because of how much she’d hurt me. But then I realised it’d be hurting you and I’d never want that. It was dumb. No - it was horrible. Both.” She waited, hoping for some reaction from her friend, but none came.

“I’ve been a terrible friend, Pinkie. I’ll understand if you never forgive me. I doubt I ever will. But I’m not going to lie to you anymore. I don’t love you, Pinkie - not how you love me. No matter how much I want to.”

Her friend sat, staring downwards with dark eyes and an expression Dash couldn’t read. She was shaking, ever so slightly.

“Okay, Dashie. I understand.” The words were hollow. Empty. “And of course I can forgive you, silly. I love you, remember?” A long pause. “I think it’ll take a while, though.”

Dash didn’t think anything had ever hurt her like that did. She hoped, fervently, that nothing would again. She knew she should say something, but no words came. After a long pause, Pinkie turned and started to walk away from her, head downcast and with none of her usual vigor. “We should probably get back to the palace, Dashie. The girls were real worried when you disappeared. They’ll be happy to see -”

The party pony blinked up at the pegasus that was now blocking her path, before turning her face away and starting to speak again. Dash cut her off. She couldn’t leave it like this. She had to make it okay. She could make it okay - she was Rainbow Dash! She could fix anything. And then it’d all be awesome, the way it had been before all this. Except better.

Words had never been easy for Dash, but one thing she was good at was tactless, guileless honesty. And maybe, just maybe, that was what she needed to help her friend be happy again.

“Pinkie, don’t you dare think that any of that means you’re not the most important pony - or ... not pony - in the world to me, because you are!” She put a hoof on her friend’s cheek and turned the mare’s face towards her, staring into her wide, scared eyes.

“You mean it?” her best friend whispered, voice barely audible.

“You listen to me, Pinks. Just because Bob over there swept me off my feet doesn’t make him better than you - I barely know him, and this whole time he’s been lying to me ‘cause he was too scared to even talk to me! He’s cool and all, but next to you? Please - there’s no comparison!”

“But why?” She sounded desperate again, and maybe just a little hopeful.

“Because you’re you, Pinkie. And do you know what? You’re the coolest pony I’ve ever known!”

“I am?”

“Heck yeah! You’re the kindest, funniest, most awesome friend I’ve ever had. Nothing’s cooler than hanging out with you - I’ve never just enjoyed life as much as I have since I met you, Pinkie - you just make everything seem so much brighter. And you know what? That’s not me overstating things - I swear when I’m with you, everypony around me is happier. And I don’t mean the way I see them - you make those ponies happy. Not because you’re always smiling and laughing and being crazy, but because you love them - you care about them, and knowing that makes them so much happier!

Pinkie shook her head “No. No, I don’t. Ponies don’t like me, Dashie, not the real me. They all think I’m crazy!”

“Some of ‘em do. And you know what? Too bad! The ones who think that way, do they know you? Know you really?”

“I ... I dunno. I guess not?”

“Exactly! They just see what they wanna see and decide there’s nothing more to you, but they’re wrong! You’re like the best friend ever, Pinkie. Except not just to me - to the whole world! There’s nopony else like you. And you know what?”

“What, Dashie?”

“Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t mind if you’re not always smiling, not always laughing, but you gotta promise me something, okay?”

“Promise what?”

“No matter what happens - no matter what anypony says - you have to keep being Pinkie Pie. Not everypony will like you, but there are a whole lot of ponies who don’t like me -” Dash couldn’t help but be a little pleased when this won a gasp from her friend. “- and that’s too bad. I don’t need ‘em. But I do need you.”

For the second time that night Dash was tackled to the ground by a bright pink blur. For what had to be the billionth time she hit the ground. For the however-many-would-never-be-enoughth time, she felt her friend’s forelegs around her neck, squeezing her happily.

It was, however, the first time tonight she had heard the words her favourite pink blur uttered a moment later.

“I promise, Dashie. I promise.”

-----

Gummy would, at any other time, have been annoyed at having been knocked from his perch atop Dash’s muzzle. But this time, he would make an exception. After all, the alligator mused from his new resting place, nestled between the two ponies he loved best in all the world, it was a small sacrifice to make to see his Pinkie happy. And his rainbow, too. His Rainbow.

It was a good thought.

He knew it would take time for the relationship between he and his Pinkie to truly heal. Knew that his claim to Rainbow Dash would take time to cement and grow. Knew that both journeys would be long, and difficult. Idly, he wondered if his Pinkie would now find room in her heart for poor Rocky, who had pined for her so patiently for so long, ever since the day a lonely little filly had built him to fill a void in her heart. Ever since the day of the Rainboom. Gummy didn’t know. But he knew that he would succeed. He had come this far, after all, and he couldn’t help but feel that both of his ponies seemed, on the whole, happier than they had before he had come along.

He was certainly happier. He watched as a strand of vibrant green entangled itself with a strand of brightest pink. The hairs held one another like lovers, moving and dancing as one - swaying in the gentle breeze of the calm Canterlot night. It would taste divine, he knew. He could tell, because it was them. And he had worked so hard. Come so far. Surely he deserved a little treat?

Gummy leapt for the hairs, clutching them in his toothless mouth, and tried to pull them free. For as long as they lived, nopony who had been out and about that night would forget the sight of a tiny alligator scurrying through the streets, dragging a swearing rainbow and a giggling blur of pink behind him.


End

Alternate Ending 16 Cont'd: Her Rock to Stand On (Guest submission from Professor Piggy)

"Her Rock to Stand On"

Alternate Ending #16 Continued

By Professor Piggy

It smelt delicious. That was a given, o' course. If there was one thing that filly was good at - and there were quite a number of things the pink filly was in fact remarkable at - it was baking. On second thought, it was probably lucky for her that it was a given since she couldn't actually smell it, not having a nose or anysuch. Pinkie'd been at it for hours, and she'd been helping her every step of the way. This was no ordinary dessert - not like any o' the things Pinkie made for whoever happened to ask her or be in a three foot radius of her at any given second.

Nah, this was a masterpiece - weeks in the making. Fourteen layers of sweet chocolatey goodness with every inch dipped in top-quality marmalade - that struck her as a strange thing to put on a cake but hey, Pinkie'd promised it was Gummy's favourite and who was she to argue? - covered in sweet honey and enough marshmallows to build a boulder. The monstrosity had then been coated in chocolate icing and topped with a masterfully chiselled chunk of peppermint carved to resemble the mug of the lucky little guy.

It looked perfect. And so it should - it had taken the two of them - mostly Pinkie, since baking or even moving wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world for her to do without some help, but she’d been on the sidelines the whole time providing moral support - more work than almost any of her other projects they’d worked on before, but it'd been worth it. As Pinkie placed the last cherry on the very tip of the slightly creepy edible alligator’s snout, Rocky felt a quiet but very real rush of pride. She had helped Pinkie. Pinkie had cared enough to include her. She wasn’t quite sure why her old friend was suddenly hanging out with her again - until she’d taken Rocky down about a week ago she’d been sitting up on that same shelf in the corner of Pinkie’s teeny little room, gathering dust, for what felt like years.

Not that she minded the peace or relaxation, of course - she’d never say no to a good long nap, and having nopony to answer to suited her fine. But after the first few months the lack of company had started getting to her, just sometimes. It was one thing to nap peacefully high above the floor, looking down on whatever passed beneath her. It was quite another to look down and see all her friends having fun without her, and seeing how they ignored her when she tried to call out. Pinkie’d spoken to her a handful of times, true, but they’d been rare - maybe three the whole time she’d been stuck up there. Not at all like back when they were both a little younger, and little Miss Pinkamena was a little lonelier.

Not that she wished that on Pinkie, of course - she was glad the lonely little pony had friends now. She’d missed her oldest friend bad though, and it was nice to be back with her again and just hanging out, like they hadn’t since she’d wandered off into the Everfree with her fancy new friends and saved the world. That’d been a story to hear, even if Rocky’d had to hear it second hand courtesy of Gummy. Even if since then Pinkie didn’t have time for her oldest friend any more.

The party pony swept her eyes across the cake - and Rocky didn’t think she was too far from being able to say that literally. The pony’s baby blues were narrow and piercing as she circled the cake, her face scrunched up in concentration and her tongue poking out from between her lips just a little. Ever few seconds she’d stop and dart forward so that her eyes were almost touching it, tilting her head this way and thataway. It might’ve unnerved Rocky if she hadn’t been used to it - sure woulda bugged Pinkie’s new friends. They seemed to think she was dumb, and crazy - like the two had to go hand in hand. She didn’t have to be dumb just ‘cause she was crazy!

And that filly wasn’t dumb. When she poured her little heart into something she gave it everything - and now that it was done, she had to make sure it was perfect. She’d done the same, even back then - picking out only the biggest, nicest stones to make sure she was the best Rocky she could be. Little things like that meant the world to Pinkie - and those were the moments you could see just how clever she really was.

Not that she didn’t look completely ridiculous, of course. Because really? Even Rocky was having a hard time not laughing at the poor kid. After a few more minutes Pinkie nodded slowly, face a grim mask, and stepped away from the cake. She spun on Rocky, and shot her a smile like a sunrise - big, beautiful, and shining.

“Doesn’t it just look amazing? I mean of course it looks amazing ‘cause it’s cake and cake always looks amazing because it’s just so delicious but even when you compare it to other cakes it looks amazing so I guess that makes it super terrifically amazing! I think it might be the single most delicious thing I’ve ever baked - I know I say that every time, but this time I really mean it and I think Gummy’s really gonna like it, don’t you?”

The rambling stopped, after a little too short a time – Rocky didn’t like it – something was off with the little pink pony she owed so much. Pinkie’d been acting not quite Pinkie all day. The pony in question stared at her, blinking expectantly, but she couldn’t answer - Pinkie was so beautiful, and she didn’t know what to say. The breath’d been knocked straight out of her. It hardly mattered - after a moment Pinkie continued speaking as though she’d never stopped.

“Thank you for helping me, Rocky. You’re the most terrific baking buddy ever!” And with that she had bounced away, cake balanced - amazingly, impossibly - on her back and not wobbling even a little.

Rocky just sat, stunned, and watched her go.

----

Pinkie Pie had never had a particularly large number of possessions.

Well, really that wasn’t quite right. She’d had plenty of things in her life - probably more than a lot of ponies would ever have in theirs but their things tended to be things that just sat around not doing anything and her things tend to be the kind that went patchoo and exploded or made noise or colours or other things like balloons, so even though she’d probably had a whole lot more than some ponies, her things were always getting used up or popping so she ended up having a whole lot less which suited her fine, because really she’d never seen the point in owning lots of stuff anyway unless it was the kinda stuff that made her or her friends happy. And since she’d never needed stuff to make her happy, she’d never really had a need for stuff that wasn’t presents, party supplies or just plain fun.

When she’d first come to Ponyville all she’d had with her was a big bag of homemade pastries, a few blankets, a bunch of tools and - balanced proudly on her head and wearing a little hoofmade raincoat - Rocky, and she’d been okay. She hadn’t had many friends then, of course, and Gummy hadn’t even been born so it’d been just her and Rocky, and she’d supported the both of them by building things and doing odd jobs around Ponyville - even then, though, nopony had taken her seriously and some of them had given her really mean looks and worse words, but her friends had helped her and eventually she’d gotten her job with the Cakes at Sugarcube Corner after Fluttershy had shown them some some of her baking. They’d even given her a room. She remembered the day she moved in - she’d placed Rocky in his own special little corner, tucked in her bed and known she was home.

But some days - not very often - her little room, filled with only a few more things now than it had been then - mostly gifts people had given her which she’d never, ever let go of as long as she lived - felt awfully empty. Today was not one of those days. Every inch of the room was strewn with decorations! Banners bedecked, balloons bounced, streamers streamed and confetti... did whatever it was that confetti did. Confettied? Festooned? Bedazzled? What would Gummy say? Oh! That it danced through the air like autumn leaves on a breeze, twisting this way and that, entrancing the eye. And then he’d try to eat some. And that was good, because it was his day after all and she’d made special edible confetti just for him - she would have given some to Rocky of course but Rocky couldn’t eat and – she’d forgotten Rocky!

She’d left her rough little friend sitting all by herself in the kitchen while she’d been busy being all proud of herself like a silly lazy Pinkie instead of a good-friend Pinkie and that wouldn’t do at all! The party pony stopped her celebratory dance around the room, carefully placing her three errant legs back on the floor and - after ensuring she was in proper walking position - turned to head towards the door.

Rocky sat on her table, next to the cake, looking at her with what she could have sworn was a little smile. That seemed odd – she hadn’t even heard the door open and usually Rocky was real loud on account of being so heavy and all. But Pinkie was glad to see her and so, of course, she grinned back.

“Hi, Rocky! I was just coming back for you - sorry it took so long. I guess I got a little caught up partying about Gummy’s think!”

Oh, wait. Oops.

“Or maybe I was even thinking about Gummy’s party!” she added with a giggle, waiting for the first friend she had made in her life to laugh along too.

Rocky didn’t laugh. She didn’t even answer – she did not, in fact, react at all.

Pinkie felt her smile falter, just a little – nopony else would have noticed it but then nopony, and that meant nopony, else was as good a smiler as she was, she practised all the time and she was really good at it, she had to be ‘cause almost nopony could ever tell when she didn’t really mean her smiles – which, thankfully, wasn’t really all that often.

She meant this one. She wanted to hear Rocky laugh – to hear that loud guffaw bellow outta her friend, like she hadn’t in way too long. All she wanted to do was share Gummy’s special day with her oldest new best friend, but all Rocky kept doing was being a grumpy pants about it.

Maybe …

Maybe she was a bad friend?

No. No, she couldn’t think like that. Those were the kinds of thoughts that danced in her mind like those little dancing cupcakes that were always begging her to eat them when she was asleep, except less delicious and more the kind of thoughts that would make ponies think she was crazy and not want to be her friend. Today was a good day, and she was going to spend it with her friends – her bestest friends. The party would cheer Rocky up and Gummy would stop ignoring her and Dash would keep her promise, and they’d all be friends again.

But of course, the pink pony pondered, she wouldn’t be a very good friend if she didn’t at least ask what was wrong – and she wanted to help so of course she should and then she could try and make it all better.

“Hmmmmmmm.” She dropped her voice low and put on her best suspicious face, creeping towards Rocky on the tips of her hooves, then stopped about a foot away. When she spoke, her voice sounded absolutely serious – a tone belied by the smile she suddenly found tugging at the corner of her mouth

“Rockamina Snuggleton Pie! You’re being all quiet today and I wanna know why – you better answer me, missy, or I’ll have no choice but to withhold your bedtime story!”

Rocky still didn’t laugh, and after a few moments Pinkie frowned deeply and stalked off to continue preparations for Gummy’s very own special Pinkie Pie party.

-----

All around Rocky, there was noise. Streamers popped, music played an’ Pinkie’s little friends danced and danced and ran their little mouths and had fun. And everywhere she looked, there was Pinkie – when the clumsy purple one accidentally tripped Fluttershy and she fell, Pinkie caught her. When What’s-her-face – the snooty one - spilt punch all over herself and started complaining about how her life was ruined, Pinkie was first in line to offer a listening ear an’ a hug.

Rocky suspected – just a little – that Pinkie didn’t so much get what was wrong with wearing the wrong hat outside, but it was important to … Rarity! That was it. And that was what mattered to Pinkie.

Rocky had different opinions. She’d never quite forgotten the time lil’ Miss Sophisticated had cast that stupid gem finding spell on ‘er, sniffed and proceeded to ask, loudly, whether Pinkie knew she’d been lugging around a ‘perfectly ordinary rock’ all this time. Since then, Rocky’d more or less decided Rarity was a complete jerk. Just ‘cause she wasn’t some stuck-up gemstone didn’t make her not special. Pinkie’d gotten her back, though. Rocky didn’t even think it’d been intentional, but it’d been real anyways.

Pinkie’d blinked her beautiful eyes all innocent like and said, “Huh. I guess you’re right, Rarity. I mean, you know more about rocks than anypony except maybe my dad but maybe even more than him since you’re so good with dresses and all! Like that big one you were carrying around back when Discord showed up! I mean, everypony else thought you were just being weird but not me, no sir. I thought, ‘Rarity has a plan for that there rock and it’ll be great!’”

After a short pause she had smiled sheepishly and added, “Well, that’s what I thought after I turned back into me again. You probably don’t really want to know what Meanie Pie thought. I mean, I sure wish I didn’t!”

The unicorn’s reaction’d been priceless. And later Pinkie had sat Rocky down and told her that even if she didn’t sparkle she was still the prettiest rock in the whole world. It was garbage, o’ course – Rocky knew it, and had said so. She’d never been much for sentiment. But she had to admit that when she thought of that particular moment she couldn’t really help but grin a little – even lies were nice to hear sometimes.

Lies like the ones Pinkie was stuffing down her friends’ throats, for instance. All the smiles, all the laughs and hugs and reassurances she was throwing at ‘em – all lies. It was obvious - no matter where she looked, there were signs. The way the party pony didn’t immediately join in when her friends started dancing. The way her eyes’d get all sad, just for a second, when ‘er friends weren’t looking. The way she’d insisted nopony cut the cake – nopony touch the cake – because it was for Gummy. Because he’d eat it when he got back. Because of course, the traitors hadn’t come. They had promised – sworn up an’ down – that they’d be back in time for the party. Promised Pinkie they’d all have fun together. And they hadn’t come.

And her friends didn’t care. Sure, they’d acted all concerned when they’d arrived – asked if she was okay, hugged her, promised her that the guest of honour and his blue floozy would be there real soon – another lie, but one she could forgive. One told for the right reasons. But she couldn’t forgive the way they’d all taken Pinkie at face value when she’d laughed it off, promised them it was okay and that she didn’t mind them abandoning her again as long as they were happy. Not the words Pinkie used, o’ course. But the ones she meant.

The hours dragged by – Rocky wasn’t sure how many. Didn’t have a whole lot of reason to keep track of time, mostly, what with not having a whole bunch to do and all. But she kept a close watch on that crazy little farm filly. If Pinkie looked like she was gonna have a meltdown or lose it Rocky was going to be there, like Pinkie always was for her. She needn’t o’ worried - it wasn’t like it was the first time her friend had played this particular game. Pinkie wouldn’t break down in front of her friends - not because she didn’t trust ‘em or nothing, but ‘cause she was afraid they’d think she was crazy. Rocky’d seen her do it a lot, but it never got any less terrifying. Over the years, Pinkie’d come to rely on her to tell it like it was, instead o’ how she wanted to see it. But today Pinkie didn’t seem to hear her. Or maybe just didn’t want to.

It was hard to tell, with that pony - but she’d been chatting to Rocky all day so she kind of doubted it was on purpose. She hoped it wasn’t on purpose.

Only one of Pinkie’s friends was still hanging around - the purple one. The one who kept trying to help Pinkie look after the little baby ponies, even when Pinkie kept tellin’ her it was fine. Celestia? No - that was a different one. The big one. Twinkle? Yeah, Twinkle. That was it. Twinkle was telling Pinkie all about how Dash and Gummy had probably just lost track of time somewhere and it wasn’t that they didn’t want to be there and ... lots of other, big words, that Rocky was pretty sure meant the same thing. But she didn’t believe ‘em. Heck, from the look on her face when Pinkie had said so she didn’t even believe the pair of ‘em were out together.

But Pinkie smiled and bobbed her head and hid her eyes - anything to make Twinkle believe she was okay, and not be a burden to her friends. And it must’ve worked ‘cause not too long after, the purple pony walked out the door, with Pinkie waving her off with a smile on her perfect pink face. A smile which disappeared as soon as the door shut. Which fell into a frown as she slowly plodded over to the window and sat, staring out the window without a word.

And then, all alone except for Rocky herself, Pinkie Pie started to cry.

------

Rocky was staring at her again.

Not that that was even a little odd or anything, nope nope - the little pile of rocks never seemed to be able to take her eyes off of Pinkie, though actually she didn’t really have eyes what with being made of rocks but she did have pebbles and they spent an awful lot of time peering at Ponyville’s Premier Party Pony, and Pinkie didn’t even know why. It wasn’t like she minded or anything - it was nice to feel like she mattered to someone, even just a little and even if she didn’t quite get why Rocky was staring so much. Most days the party pony didn’t even notice it anymore - Rocky’d been with her almost all her life after all, and if she wanted to sit there and stare at Pinkie, who was she to tell her no? Although of course if she really wanted Rocky to stop she would ask and of course she would because the two of them were friends, duh - but today wasn’t like most days. Today she was crying. And her friends should never, ever have to see her cry - crying Pinkie scared ponies away. But it wouldn’t scare Rocky away. Rocky would be her friend no matter what. And he understood just why this particular day mattered so much.

Today was Gummy’s birthday. His third birthday, in fact - and rather than sticking around for his birthday party like he always had before, he’d blown her off to go gallivant around with Rainbow Dash! He hadn’t even said, ‘Hey Pinkie, do you mind if Dash spends the day with us’ and that didn’t make sense because she would’ve been like, ‘Ohhhhh, Gummy, that’s a super duper terrific idea’ and then they could have had fun together. But Gummy hadn’t wanted that. And neither had Rainbow Dash. They hadn’t wanted her.

Not that she should have minded, really - if anything she should have been happy for them because really, how often did somepony get to see the two ponies - or one pony and one gator - she loved most in the world find a pony they could spend the rest of forever with. Not often, that was for sure - you’d have to love an awful lot of ponies best to have it happen a lot, and even though she loved an awful lot of ponies, Rainbow Dash and Gummy were right at the top of the list.

And she had been happy, the first dozen or so times they’d disappeared and left her behind - she’d just hung out with her other friends and ignored that feeling in the back of her mind like maybe she wasn’t good enough. The next dozen times she’d still smiled for them, and her and Rocky had started talking more too. So maybe that was okay - it was bad manners to neglect your friends after all and, boy, had she ever neglected Rocky. That wasn’t really her fault though, was it? I mean, it wasn’t like Rocky ever even tried to start conversations with her. There were even some days when Pinkie tried to talk to her and she wouldn’t talk back - she’d just sit there and stare. Like today. When Pinkie needed her most.

“Rocky?” She tried again, voice shaking slightly as she tried to stop the tears. No answer. She glanced over to where the little pile of rocks sat on her bed, staring at her still. Meeting the small pebbles that were Rocky’s eyes - a new addition, small and grey and tough just like Rocky herself - she continued:

“I’m sorry I called you Rockamina. I know ... I know you don’t really like it much when I do that, but I thought maybe if I did you’d answer me.”

Still silence. Rocky hated her. She must hate her. Pinkie had put her up on that shelf and just left her there - forgotten all about her. But Rocky had always forgiven her before, and she’d try harder. She’d be a better friend. She knew what it was like to feel abandoned by your friends, and she’d never ever want Rocky to feel like that, and she loved Rocky - not like she loved stupid Rainbow Dash, of course - but still more than anything she had to make her see, why wouldn’t she understand?

“Rocky, say something. Please? I really need you.”

She rose to her hooves and took a few hesitant steps forward, hoping desperately that Rocky would open her mouth. Would say something, even if she wanted to tell Pinkie what a horrible pony she was, it would be better than the quiet and at least she’d know Rocky cared even if it was the wrong kind of caring, and then she could fix it but there was nothing.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry i’m a bad Pinkie who doesn’t deserve a friend like you. I’m sorry I haven’t been talking to you and -” A sob escaped her, and she bit back tears. And then in a blur of motion she cast herself forward, throwing her forelegs around her oldest friend and letting the tears flow free.

And then it was all okay. She felt Rocky press a little closer against her cheek, felt the cold rock and clung to it as a voice whispered in her ear, gentle but strong and powerful, “You got nothin’ to be sorry for, Pinks. Not a thing in the world. ‘S not like you threw me into the street or glued eyes to me or somethin’. You just made some new, less awesome friends, that’s all.”

Pinkie snuffled, just a little, and hugged her cold, heartless friend closer, wondering distantly how she managed to be such a nice rock-pile when she didn’t have a heart. “I ... I thought they were my friends. I mean, Fluttershy and Applejack and Twilight and Rarity are all my friends for real, but I thought Dashie was too. What’d I do wrong, Rocky? Why does she hate me? Why does everypony always hate me?”

“Hey, don’t talk like that - everypony loves you, kid. All your friends had a blast tonight - and that was all you.”

“But I was pretending. I didn’t wanna dance or play games or party. I didn’t even want any cake!”

She felt Rocky jump at her last remark, just a little. The thought of piggy-wiggy-party-Pinkie not wanting cake had to be as foreign to her friend as it was to Pinkie herself - she couldn’t remember ever not wanting cake before. She felt sick. Ashamed. What kind of party pony didn’t want cake?

It was only after a long moment that Rocky spoke again. “That’s … I mean, wow. No cake? Not even a little cake? I mean, look at that thing - it’s practically beggin’ you to go over there and stick your little face in it! You know you wanna.”

“No! That’s what the cake said! But I don’t want cake! I don’t want anything! I just …”

She sighed, finally out of tears, and whispered the next words.

“I just want Rainbow Dash.”

-----

“What!?” Mare Do Well snapped, glaring down at him. Gummy could imagine her beautiful eyes, glistening like diamonds behind her mask. Glowing in the night and shining with anger and defiance. He wanted to kiss her - to leap up, and take her face in his hands. To meet her lips tenderly, as she had taught him.

He also wanted to taste her tongue, but for some reason his Rainbow had screamed and gotten very angry the last time he had attempted that. She had refused to kiss him for a month afterwards, and had hesitated to even come near him. She also hadn’t spoken to him quite as much, though Gummy was fairly certain that that was a result of her sudden difficulty speaking - he wondered, not for the first time, what had caused it. His Rainbow had refused to tell him, going so far as to take wing the moment he mentioned it.

“Well? What are you giving me that look for? I suppose you’re going to tell me I did something wrong again?” she demanded, and he knew her face was twisted into a scowl even if her radiance was hidden from him by the mask she wore.

Gummy hesitated.

It did not seem wise to further anger his Rainbow, but when she had agreed to his courtship he had sworn never to lie to her again. Never to give her reason to doubt him. And when she had asked him to teach her, she’d demanded he be brutal. She had rewarded him well. He could almost taste the strands of her mane as he remembered. Certainly, she would hurt him for his words, well intentioned and loving as they were. Though not on purpose. Never on purpose. And he would be a good and patient and handsome Gummy and forgive her.

He blinked up at her, doing all he could to channel every ounce of love he had for her into his eyes, before he spoke.

“My landing wasn’t cool enough!? What the heck are you talking about!? That was way cooler than anything you’ve pulled off the whole time you’ve been doing this - oh, so now I’m not awe-inspiring?” She stomped a hoof on the ground and snorted in irritation.

“Well, you sure seem impressed by my flanks for someone who’s not in awe! Like with those last guys! There were four of them, and you just stand on the sidelines drooling?”

The memory was a recent one. And a fond one. Gummy could picture -

“Stop that!” his Rainbow snarled, pressing her face against his. “If you’re not gonna take this seriously, why are we even bothering? All you’ve been doing for the last three hours is complaining about how everything I do is -” She stopped, and when she spoke again there was an edge of panic in her voice, and all Gummy wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and tell her it was alright.

“Wait. What time is it? Are we late for Pinkie’s thing? Oh man. We gotta go, Gummy!”

And then she was holding him, and they were soaring through the air. He had come to love this feeling more than any other. As he listened to her heart beat, all was right in Gummy’s world.

------

“I know you do, Pinks. And I know nothin’ I say’ll make it okay or anything. But for what it’s worth, she’s an idiot if she doesn’t care about you. Heck, she’s an idiot anyways! She promised, and she can’t even be bothered getting that stupid technicolour tail of hers here on time. And the little traitor’s no better! All this effort, just for him. And he don’t care.”

Rocky was angry. Beyond angry. That stupid little gator and his girlfriend had hurt Pinkie, and hurt her bad. Nopony was allowed to hurt Pinkie - especially ponies she loved as much as she did them. More than she’d ever love Rocky.

“You didn’t do a thing, Pinks - unless you count ‘carin’ about your friends too much’ as a flaw, and I sure as heck don’t. They’re the ones with the problem. Not you. And you know something?”

Pinkie looked up at her, eyes desperate and hopeful, and shook her head.

“That whole party, earlier tonight? That wasn’t you pretending, even if it feels like it was. That’s a big part of you, an’ even when you don’t feel it, won’t acknowledge it, it’ll always be there. Always look after you. Your friends loved it, Pinkie - Twinkle, and Fluttershy, an’ all of them.”

“But -”

“Shh. Just listen, okay, kid? Yeah, they loved it because you were all smiles - but that’s ‘cause they thought you were happy. I …”

Rocky hadn’t expected explaining this to be quite so hard. She really, really hated this sentimental stuff. She’d never had a head for it. But Pinkie needed her, and Rocky wouldn’t - couldn’t - let her down.

She didn't know when she'd started looking at Pinkie different. It hadn't always been that way, she knew that - Pinkie'd been a little kid when she’d made Rocky, after all, and she wasn't some kind of sicko. Not that she hadn’t loved Pinkie then, of course - that little filly'd meant the world to her right from the start. That big dopey grin of hers had been the first thing Rocky saw, and it was what she lived for now. But she hadn't loved Pinkie like that for a long time after ...

First time she'd realised had been about two years back now. It'd been Pinkie’s birthday then - not the little green traitor gator’s. None of her stupid mean friends had turned up, and that'd suited Rocky fine. She figured if they didn't care enough to even remember the one day o’ the year that was just for Pinkie, they weren't worth knowing - she'd remembered, after all. But the kid hadn't taken it so well. She'd grabbed a sack o' flour, some dirt and a bucket full of turnips and started talking to them. Like they were alive.

Rocky'd known she was crazy, even before that - but she hadn't known just how crazy until that day. But she hadn't wanted to hurt the birthday girl’s feelings, ruin her day like her fake friends had. So she'd played along. She’d made nice with the freaky little things, just to make Pinkie happy. And she'd been doing good. When Pinkie’s stupid - if hot - blue friend turned up to drag her off and hurt her some more, Rocky'd stepped up. But Pinkie'd gone anyways. And there hadn't been a thing Rocky could do to save her.

She'd spent the rest of the day sitting there, just staring at the door. Waiting for it to open so she could hug that pony and tell her it was okay. Hours and hours, without moving an inch. But then Pinkie'd come back. And she'd been laughing. Smiling. Dancing on those hooves of hers like a fuzzy pink angel. Rocky had never been able to make her that happy. And even though she knew in her little stone heart she should be happy, should've smiled, it had broken her heart.

And that was when she knew: She loved that little pink pony. She'd do anything for her. To make her smile. Even ...

Even let her go. Let her find somepony who could make her that happy. Like the dumb blue one. Only it hadn’t quite worked out that way. The stupid one’d fallen for Gummy, of all things - the alligator was barely alive and she’d picked him over Pinkie. Talk about not having any taste. Not that Rocky hadn’t liked Gummy, o’ course. She’d seen the little guy grow up, after all, and she had a certain attachment to him. Didn’t like him any more, though.

And now Pinkie was a wreck and she didn’t know what to say to make it better. But she had to try. She couldn’t just leave Pinkie like this. Not after all that pony’d done for her, and not when Rocky loved her as much as she did. Pinkie, who fed off the happiness o’ those around her - and not in a mean way, but like a ... like a gem, reflecting sunlight - she made that happiness brighter and reflected it right back again. And suddenly, Rocky knew just what to say. It wouldn’t fix it all, of course. She knew that. But maybe it would help.

“You make ‘em happy, Pinkie. You’d make ‘em happy even if you put on your biggest frownie face and cried that big heart of yours out - they’d be sad, sure. But even if they’re dumb - Fluttershy, of course, excepted - they love you to little bitty pieces. And they’d want to help you, and when they did you’d be smiling again, and then they’d be happier than ever. You may be annoying as hell sometimes, kid, but not one o’ those ponies’ lives would be half as bright or wonderful if you weren’t in it. They didn’t enjoy your fake smiles - they enjoyed you. Like I do. Like everyone with sense does.”

Pinkie sniffed and backed away slightly from the little rock pile. Her voice was a whisper as she spoke “You really think so, Rocky? You really think they’ll like me anyway?”

“I dunno. They’re pretty stupid. And they don’t have taste like I do. Especially snooty little Rarity.”

“They’re not stupid. And you know it!” Pinkie huffed as she spoke. That was good - it meant she was cheering up, at least a little - she had enough feelings to spare to defend her little friends now. That was the Pinkie that Rocky wanted to see. “They just trust me to tell them when I’m not okay and so they should! I’m their friend. And I lied to them.”

The party pony seemed to have a great interest in the floor all of a sudden. “I’m a terrible pony.”

Okay. Maybe that wasn’t quite as good. Rocky hadn’t so much been aiming to make Pinkie feel worse, after all. That was a problem. Rocky had to convince her, had to make her see.

“No! You’re not. You’re a good pony! The best pony! You just didn’t wanna hurt ‘em. You think they tell you every time they’re upset? They don’t, I’m tellin’ you that now - and not ‘cause they don’t trust you, they do. I mean ... like Fluttershy! How many ponies would she let grab her the way you do without panicking!? Or the purple one? She stayed after the party just to make sure you were alright! Would she have done that if she didn’t like you?”

Pinkie looked at her for a long moment, eyes wide and staring, without saying a word. And when she did speak, she gave Rocky a gift - a little smile, just for her. “I guess you’re right, Rocky. And even if they didn’t care, I’d still have you right? But they do. Twilight and Fluttershy and Rarity and Applejack - they’re all my friends. And they all love me. But I don’t think any of them could ever understand me like you do, I mean, you’ve known me like forever and you always know just what to say. Thanks.”

Before Rocky could answer, Pinkie’s expression darkened. Her smile - Rocky’s smile - faded, and was replaced with a familiar frown. Her next words were a quiet mutter. “I’m glad someone cares about me. Not like Rainbow Dash. Or little Mister Traitor Pants. Why didn’t they come? They promised!”

Rocky was worried, now. Nothing she tried was working. So she did what she always did when she didn’t know what to do - it had only ever failed her before, so it made sense it’d work this time. She blurted. “Ah, I bet something happened to ‘em is all. I know they care about you, Pinks. Gummy adores you - and that pretty one, remember that speech she gave you?”

“Well, yeah. But what if she didn’t mean it? What if she just said it to make me feel better and it was all just lies and she thinks I’m a stupid pony who’ll believe anything she says and - wait.” Pinkie tilted her head , ever so slightly, to the left and blinked at Rocky in confusion. “How do you even know about that? You weren’t there.”

“You told me about it, o’ course, you dope. How else would I know?” Even to her own ears - nonexistent as they were - Rocky’s words sounded a touch off.

“I … No. No, I didn’t. I’d remember that. That mattered. How do you know that, Rocky? Have you been spying on me!?” Pinkie’s voice rose a little, became shriller, as she spoke. Rocky knew she had to be careful now.

“What? No. Don’t be stupid. You know I wouldn’t do that to ya. Fact is you tell me a lotta stuff you don’t think you tell me. Does it matter, kid? Fact is I know. Don’t you trust me?” Oh, that was low. Even for her. But this was a bad line of questioning. It needed to be stomped out. Quickly.

“Of course I trust you, silly!”  Pinkie sounded cheery. That was bad. A slight edge of hysteria undercut her voice. “You’re my friend! You wouldn’t lie to me. Ever. No sir, not you. You’re the only who’s always been there for me. I’d be crazy not to trust you!”

Pinkie hesitated, and when she spoke again it was in a more even tone - but there was something desperate and frightened in it. “But I don’t understand what you mean. Please, tell me!”

“Pinkie, you gotta relax. Calm down. You can’t panic now. It’s just ... it’s just cause o’ how well I know you, that’s all. I mean, I can see how you’re feeling  at the worst of times - I’m good at that.  And when I walked in the door that day you were sitting there and watching, and you were dancing on your hooves and I could tell, I could just see it on your face, how happy you were. I knew something had to have happened, so I asked Gummy!”

Pinkie was breathing heavily, and shaking just a little. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide, and stared unblinkingly at Rocky. After a moment that seemed to last forever, she closed them, and her breathing became slow and deep. It was a minute before she stopped shaking.

And then she was grinning at Rocky, and bobbing her head up and down furiously. “Yeah, of course Gummy told you, I mean, duh, he must’ve been so excited and so was I, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself but I was kinda sad too because ... well, you know why, don’t you?” A little giggle escaped from the pony as she spoke. It frightened Rocky. Just a little.

“Yeah,” was all Rocky could think to say. “Yeah, Pinks, I sure do.” She thought for a second, and then, feeling clever, added, “And don’t worry about it. I get it. But I’m always here for you. You know that.”

“I know.” Pinkie hugged her closer, and then pulled away and turned to gaze out the window.

“Rocky … you don’t think something happened to them, do you?”

-----

Rocky didn’t answer, at first. That normally wouldn’t have worried Pinkie, because if Rocky was anything she sure was quiet, and it’d been a really long time since she’d said as much as she had tonight so maybe she was tired or maybe she was just thinking really hard and if that was the case the last thing Pinkie wanted to do was interrupt, because she knew all about being interrupted when she was thinking - Twilight had even called her an expert on it once! - and it wasn’t a fun thing at all. So normally she’d have just let Rocky be until she felt like talking again.

Only this felt different. It didn’t seem like Rocky was being quiet just ‘cause Rocky liked being quiet - this felt like the kind of quiet that meant Rocky didn’t want to answer her. And that would mean Rocky thought something had happened to Gummy and Dashie and that would mean it was her fault for letting them go Mare Do Welling and not putting a stop to their daring do when she had the chance. And if they were in trouble because of her that meant she had to go find them!

Then again … maybe she was jumping to conclusions? Ponies had told her she did that, sometimes. She hadn’t really noticed herself, but her friends didn’t lie to her very often, and when they did they had super duper good reasons like surprise parties or being ashamed of doing really well, which still confused her ‘cause doing well was something you should be really proud of, but anyway she thought she should probably make sure she wasn’t putting words in Rocky’s mouth or whatever it was Rocky used to talk since she didn’t really have a mouth.

“Rooooooooooooooooooooooocky?” She waved a hoof in front of Rocky’s face. Rocky sat staring at her, and looking unamused, but not saying a word. Pinkie thought, for a moment. She could leave Rocky in peace, but this was important. So she did what she always did when Gummy wouldn’t answer her, because maybe it’d work on Rocky too. She leaned close, and very, very gently poked her in the side.

She had not been expecting Rocky, usually so stoic and distant, to lean forward and nuzzle her hoof. To whisper, in a voice softer and more reassuring than anything Pinkie had ever heard from her. “You worry too much, kid. You know Dash, and you know Gummy. Which means you know anyone pickin’ a fight with the pair of ‘em would be in real trouble. And that Dash isn’t exactly what you’d call good at keepin’ track o’ time.”

“So... you don’t think they abandoned me, either?” Pinkie couldn’t keep her voice from shaking.

“You don’t think they did. Not really. Me? I dunno so much. And I say even if they didn’t, they still got a whole heck of a lot of grovelling to do - how hard is it to turn up on time to your own birthday party!?” After a brief pause a gravelly, nervous chuckle escaped the rock and she added, “Uh … no offense, Pinkie. I wasn’t sayin’ -”

Pinkie smiled, and then laughed a little quiet laugh. “I know, I know. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day. My first birthday party. And you got to meet Dashie! But it’s kinda different for Gummy. His birthdays actually matter.”

“So do yours, Pinks. Trust me, kiddo. The day you waddle off to whatever’s waitin’ for you on the other side, the world’s gonna cry for you - all your little friends, Gummy, and ... well, at least one actual part o’ the world. You mean a whole heck of a lot more than you think you do.”

Pinkie, for the first time in a long time, didn’t know what to say. So she said nothing. She just closed her eyes and let the warmth that Rocky’s words had carried heat her up. Felt herself rise, like yeast in an oven or a thousand balloons sailing away into the sky. And as she said her next words, she smiled. “Don’t you worry, Rocky. I’m not going anywhere for a long, long time yet - Pinkie Pie never abandons a friend, and I’m never going to leave you all alone.”

Then, because she knew Rocky would squirm and get all awkward and adorable if she left it at that, she plowed on. But she felt Rocky press a little closer to her hoof, and it felt good.

“I ... I don’t know what to do. About Gummy, I mean. And Dashie. I know they’re not doing it on purpose because I know they love me, I know that, but they’re pulling away and I don’t understand. I feel like I’m losing them. But if I say anything they’ll think I’m crazy, and then they won’t want to be my friends and Dash’ll go and she’ll take Gummy.” There was a moment of hesitation before she finished.

“Only ... only she won’t, will she? She wouldn’t do that to me.”

“See, kid? I knew you’d get there in the end.” Rocky’s voice carried a hint of gentle teasing. But she could hear a smile in it. That was good - Rocky didn’t smile much, and that always made Pinkie a little sad. Nopony was there for her like Rocky was, and Rocky deserved to always be smiling. But Rocky was still talking, and she forced herself to listen. “You always do. Just need a little push sometimes, is all. From certain charming and intellectual-type rocks.”

Pinkie tried not to laugh. It would be rude to interrupt. She just nodded her head, expression grave, as Rocky finished in a more serious tone.

“You do know what to do. You tell her. You tell them both. You explain it, just like you did to me just now. And they’ll understand. They love you, Pinks. They’d never hurt you on purpose. And sure, maybe they think you’re a little loopy, but you know what? That’s okay. You are a little loopy.”

“Hey!” That had hurt, just a little. She wasn’t crazy. She knew she wasn’t. But Rocky only laughed again.

“It’s okay, kid. You have to be a little crazy to light up the world the way you do - it takes a certain ... perspective. Heck, your friends are crazy too. Twilight spends all her time with her nose buried in books - if you went over there now and took her for a ride to Cake Mountain in your flying doohickey, she’d spend the whole time taking soil samples and trying to figure out how it got to be cake. If you went to Rarity, she’d refuse to use the doohickey at all ‘cause its colours are wrong. They don’t make sense to me, and I’m willing to bet they don’t to you either.”

It was true. Pinkie couldn’t even imagine what it’d be like to see something that amazing and just want to take it apart and see how it worked - like with the doozy of a disaster Future Twilight had told Twi about, when she’d gone all crazy trying to figure it out so she could fix it. Pinkie woulda just thrown a big party, so that every pony in Ponyville would be there and she could look after them because, really, nopony would miss a Pinkie party. And why did it matter if her mane liked to poof up? It was happy that way. But Rarity thought it was some kind of monster from the way she used to look at it. Slowly, she shook her head. “No. You’re right. They don’t. But that doesn’t make them crazy!”

“I know. But that’s all the ponies who look at you and call you crazy are doin’ - not getting you. Not understanding. And if that makes you crazy, then they all gotta be crazy too. And if that’s the way it is … well, nothin’ wrong with being crazy. World’d be a snoozefest without crazy. So tell them, Pinkie.”

“And heck,” Rocky finished. “Why not ask if you can take that cute little cape off her and go out doing the whole Mare Do Well thing with ‘em? I know you wanna.”

And suddenly Pinkie knew what she had to do. And maybe, just maybe, everything was okay again.

-----

When Rainbow Dash crashed in through the window a little while later, she was met by a smiling, bouncing ball of pink. As Dash apologised and apologised and offered all the excuses she had running around through that thick head o’ hers, Rocky watched. She watched Pinkie laugh, and hug her, and tell her it was okay, and she forgave them. Asked them to be more careful next time, ‘cause she’d been sad when they hadn’t come.

The smile was real, this time. The laughter in her eyes and on her lips not forced out. But there was something else too - a nervousness in everything she did. Rocky saw it. None of Pinkie’s other friends woulda seen it. Except ... Gummy did. And so, to Rocky’s surprise, did Rainbow Dash. And she asked.

There were fewer smiles, then. Sad words. Sad ponies. And Dash did get mad - but not, as Pinkie had feared, because her friend was complaining or being crazy. But because she hadn’t told her. There was some yelling, by both of them. But not once did Pinkie come close to losing a friend, that night. Rocky didn’t hear the words too well, though. She was busy having a little talk with a certain alligator.

-----

Gummy was frightened. It was not a feeling he liked, and he wished very much that it would go away. When his Rainbow had tumbled - gracelessly, always gracelessly but oh so perfectly - through the small window that had once seemed an impenetrable barrier to him, when he was smaller and before she had taught him the joys of flight, he had immediately hugged his Pinkie. Had whispered apologies in her ear, which tasted sweet and felt like safety, while his Rainbow said too many words at her again. But they were better words, this time. Gummy had smiled, at that.

And when their conversation had become different and private, Gummy had come to visit Rocky. He had been expecting adulations, congratulations on another year of wisdom and joy - a wonderful year, if a painful one. He had not been expecting the one who had helped his Pinkie raise him, had been almost a second parent to him, to round on him as she had. Rocky stood over him as he pressed his back into the corner, willing himself to disappear. Her eyes were narrowed and her voice a low growl when she spoke, hopping menacingly towards him with each word.

“You stupid little idiot! What do you think would happen when you didn’t turn up? She’d just be all sunshine and roses happy and do a little jig?” He had never heard Rocky, usually so calm and aloof, so angry. Her voice was like ice in his veins, chilling him to his bones and filling him with a fear he had very rarely felt. He huddled into a ball, blinking up in terror at her as she stopped directly in front of him.

“She was in tears!” Rocky spat at him “You broke her heart!”

She leaned down so that her smallest rock, her face, was close to his - and smiled, pulling him into a hug. “Just messing with you, Gums. I know it was an accident. Just be more careful next time, huh?”

Of course. Of course she had been joking. Rocky could never hate Gummy - they had been friends forever, and she knew him well. Knew he would never intentionally hurt Pinkie and that in his heart he was - “Stop that. The staring into space thing. It’s creepy.”

Then she booped his nose, and hopped away - turning only to add, “Oh, and happy birthday, little guy.”

Gummy stood there for a long time, contemplating his next move. Eventually, he decided that whatever it was it needed to involve cake.

-----

Pinkie Pie looked ridiculous. There was no question of that. Dash wasn’t entirely sure how she’d managed to make a moustache entirely out of marmalade, and she didn’t remember giving the party pony her hat and cape - but they had definitely disappeared off her costume at some point during the night, and now Pinkie was dancing around Gummy in the centre of the room, eager to demonstrate her worth as a Mare Do Well.

Seemed kind of ironic, thinking back. But hey. If the party pony wanted to spend more time with her and Gummy, she sure as heck wasn’t going to say no. Maybe she’d be useful. And it’d definitely make things more fun if Gummy had someone else to criticise for once.

As the alligator leapt into the air, tackling Pinkie to the ground and devouring her facial hair in one bite, Dash realised just how exciting the idea was to her. And then, moving quickly, she took her hat back and ran away with it, Pinkie chasing after her with a giggle.

-----

The two sat, staring across the table at one another with grim expressions and serious eyes. Rainbow Dash had left an hour ago, and Gummy was curled up on Pinkie’s pillow snoring loudly. There was nothing to distract them. Nothing else to focus on. All that mattered was Pinkie, Rocky, and the prize. They would do battle - a battle for the ages - and the winner would claim the prize.

It sat between them, the last remaining piece of a once magnificent cake. It promised delights beyond imagining. Richness, sweetness and the soft caress of crumbs against their lips. Sprinkles, frosting, peppermint alligator, marmalade! It was glorious. A thing a beauty that sang out, begging to be eaten.

Neither would blink. Neither could blink. As soon as they did the cake would be gone, and they would never taste another like it.

Pinkie Pie was starting to sweat. In all of Equestria there were less than a dozen ponies that could hold their own against her in a staring contest. But it had been almost five minutes, and Rocky didn’t even seem to be trying. For the first time in her life, she was going to be beaten at her own game. And then she’d have to make another cake. And it wouldn’t be as good as this one because it wouldn’t be as special.

And then, Rocky sneezed. A simple error, but one that came at great tactical cost - as she did, her eyes snapped shut and her fate was sealed. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring once again into the sparkling jewels that were Pinkie’s eyes. And as the party pony grinned at her, her heart skipped a beat.

Pinkie stared at the cake for a long moment. Admired the colours, the scent, and imagined how it would taste - how this cake was, at least for tonight, the most delicious thing she had ever baked. And then, in one swift movement, she nudged it towards Rocky, rose to her hooves and kissed her oldest friend firmly on what she assumed was her forehead.

“Enjoy it, Rocky. You deserve it. Thank you. For always being my rock.”

And then she was gone, and Rocky was alone. But she was smiling. She knew - had always known - that she’d never hold Pinkie, never kiss her or hear her say she loved her. But she had made her happy. And for Rocky, that was enough.


End

Alternate Ending: Rarity Ending, Part 3 (Guest submission from Bubbleberry Pop)

"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #15 (cont'd)

Guest Submission from BubbleBerry Pop


Fluttershy hovered anxiously as AppleJack stepped aside to let her in. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she struggled to figure out how exactly to phrase what she wanted to say.

Seeing the troubled expression on her friends face made the farmer’s ear droop, what she was trying to say was quickly becoming clear. “Listen sugarcube, I know what ya’ll is going to say so you really don’t need to. I shouldn’t have gotten mad and I promise to apologize later alright…?” AppleJack was having trouble keeping eye contact as she kicked at the floor.

“Ohh… ummmm… that’s nice that you are because you really should apologize…. but that’s not why I’m here…” The pegasus let out a squeak as AppleJack’s attention was suddenly fully on her again. “Wh…what I mean is…. I just wanted to see how you are doing.”

“How do you think I’m doing Fluttershy? I’m upset… upset that Rainbow would pick Rarity over Pinkie, upset that Rarity is so happy to be with Rainbow now while Pinkie is depressed… but most of all I’m upset with myself for waiting so long… and now I’ve blown it and it’s too late…” The farmer was fighting a losing battle as she fought back her tears. “It just not fair Fluttershy, I was gunna tell her you know… when we got back to Ponyville. I even spent good bits for a reserved table at the fanciest place we got back home, but now it don’t matter…”

The pegasus already had her hooves wrapped around the farmer as the tears began to flow, “shhhh… there there Applejack, just let it all out. Everypony needs a good cry every now and again.” Fluttershy cooed softly in her ear as she pet Applejack’s mane.

Applejack pulled away from the embrace as she tried to force the tears away, “yeah well I don’t! I haven’t cried since I was a filly and I aint gunna start now.” Despite her best efforts the tears wouldn’t stop, only causing her to try and rub them away, “I’m a big mare, I shouldn’t be crying like some school filly that lost her favorite ribbon.”

Fluttershy simple smiled as she pulled her friend back into a comforting hug, this time the farmer didn’t fight it as she sniffled a bit, “I umm…. hardly think that you could…. compare Rarity to a ribbon in this situation…. If it’s okay for me to say that…” Fluttershy waited for a response but when none came she decided to continue, “you never actually owned Rarity… she was always free to make her own decision, and now she did. None of us should fault her for following her heart like she did, even though it was done at the expense of Pinkie’s feelings and unknowingly yours.”

Applejack just shook her head as she thought about it, the tear flowing slowing slightly, “but it aint right, she knew about Pinkie’s feelings and went after Rainbow anyways.”

Fluttershy simple smiled as she stroked the work horse’s mane again, “So you are expecting her to ignore and forget her own feelings and step out of the way for somepony else?”

AppleJack could feel her argument crumbling, “b…but she’s the element of generosity…” She knew it was a lame excuse but it was all she could think of.

“So Rarity isn’t entitled to her own happiness as long as she gives so that everypony else is happy? That doesn’t seem very fair does it?”

With a sigh the farmer hung her head defeated, “I know, I just wish that happiness was with me…”

“If you love Rarity like I know you do, then I know you’ll find a way to be happy for her and for Rainbow.” With a smile Fluttershy wiped away the last of the tears as she got up, “but I’ll always be available if you need to talk alright?”

“Alright, thank ya sugarcube, and I’ll do my best. It’ll just take some time to get used to is all.” Getting up from her spot AppleJack stretched a bit before heading to the door, “I should probably check on Pinkie then.” She was just about to leave when she suddenly turned around again smiling, “Hey Fluttershy, ya’ll still fancy that spa pony right?” For the first time Applejack had a genuine smile as her friend turned a dark shade of red nodding, “well I did spend a good amount of bit for that fancy reservation. Would ya’ll be interested?”

Fluttershy simple shook her head as she joined her friend at the door, “oh no I couldn’t, besides I’m sure you can find somepony else who would appreciate a night with a friend.”

“You’re probably right, thanks again Fluttershy. I do appreciate it.” With a nod the two departed ways, Fluttershy to her room and AppleJack to Pinkie’s. As she approached the door, AppleJack found it surprisingly quiet but decided to knock anyways. With no response after a few minutes she decided to knock a second time and a third but still got no response. “Pinkie are ya’ll in there? I wanted to see how you were doing.” Again all she got in response was quiet, “Pinkie! Come find me when ya get the chance alright?” With a sigh the farmer headed back to her room to finish packing.

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Twilight was on her bed quickly scribbling away into her third book as Rainbow continued to tell the whole story from start to finish. Rarity just sat peacefully leaning onto her marefriend, perfectly content to have Rainbow’s wing wrapped around her. Rainbow was nearing the end when Twilight closed her current book and opened a new one to continue, “so that’s when we found you two in the alley way right?”

“Right, so by then we already had our first kiss and I guess I already knew I loved her,” With a smile Rainbow turned and gave her marefriend a kiss on the cheek, eliciting a small giggle from the unicorn before she continued. Twilight once again scribbling away in her notes, “so after we got back I told Rarity I wanted to talk to Pinkie but she insisted on joining me which at the time I didn’t want… and well basically the conversation ended with Rarity leaving in tears…”

Rainbow’s ears dropped as she thought about it but instantly perked back up again as Rarity nuzzled against her smiling, “though I’ve already forgiven her for that, I do understand her reasoning and she was right I probably would have made things worse.”

“Honestly though I’m not sure I believe that now anyways, Pinkie just ended up kicking me out of her room shortly after I entered…”

Twilight simply watched fascinated as the two comforted each other as she took more notes, “so what happened next?”

“After that I just went back to my room feeling really depressed, I knew I was losing both of them at that point and had to do something about it. Deciding who to go to first didn’t take too long but when I went to Rarity’s window she was still upset and ended up locking me out…. I was desperate to talk to her so I did the only thing I could think of and bought her a red carnation just like the ones she had sent me as Mare Do Well. At the time I had completely forgot about the meaning of the flower until Rarity shoved it in my face again later demanding if I really meant it. It was then that I finally admitted it to her and myself that yes I did mean it.”

A faint blush was making its way onto Rainbow’s face causing Rarity to giggle again as she leaned in for a kiss, which the pegasus gladly accepted letting it linger a few moments before finally pulling away. “Though I must say it was much more romantic than anything I’ve read in a book.”

“Wow…” That was the only thing the purple unicorn could think as she set her book and quill aside, “that’s actually quite the story. Can’t say I agree with your chosen method but I don’t really know romance to be honest I suppose if it ends up in a success then who am I to judge anyways. Though what about earlier? What happened with Pinkie and AppleJack?”

“Oh that… well Pinkie and AppleJack didn’t take the news about me and Rarity very well this morning…”

Rainbow hung her head low as Rarity did her best to comfort her as she continued on, “Pinkie took it rather hard… probably more so than she did when we threw her that birthday party last year. We want to make sure everything is alright, but she probably doesn’t want to see us anytime soon.”

“That may be for the best actually, just give her some time…. She may come around eventually. Our friendships have managed to pull through in tougher times right?” Twilight still seemed optimistic as she went back to taking notes. “But I am happy for you both, though with all these notes I was kind of wondering if you two would mind if I made your story into an actual book. I’d change our names though of course and have it published as fiction just in case.”

Rarity couldn’t help but giggle once more as Rainbow just looked on confused, “Twilight darling, I’m not sure anyone would be interested in reading our story, but I am flattered.”

“Yeah Twi, who’d be crazy enough to actually enjoy our story anyways? That just seems kind of weird.” Rainbow just shrugged as she turned her attention back to the mare under her wing, “though there was some cool action in our story.”

“And romance.” Rarity added with a smile, “but still I don’t know if many ponies would like it.”

“Well just something to think about right?” Twilight was determined to get them to agree but decided she’d just try to bring it up again later. “So I was also wondering though, so all relationships start like yours did?”

“Oh no darling, ours was just a special case that was probably taken much farther than it should have been.”

“Oh…” Twilight could feel her ears drop as she wrote down more notes, “so then how does one normally get a mares attention anyhow?”

Rarity could feel a small smile creeping onto her face as she looked at Twilight try to avoid eye contact, “usually with little acts of romance, like an anonymous letter or some flowers. Mostly just to let the mare know they have an admirer. Most mares do enjoy the mystery behind a secret admirer. Though why do you ask Twilight?”

The purple unicorn turned a few shades of red as she turned away from the pair, “n…no reason… just curious is all.”

Rainbow was a little slower to catch on but when she did her smile mirrored Rarity’s with ease, “oh? Well you are an egghead so I guess you would be curious about that huh? Is there anything else your curious about?”

“Oh well ummm…. Are then any other carnations that maybe don’t mean as much as a red one but come somewhere close? Y… you know for research purposes….”

“Well I will be sure to look that up for you when we get back home Twilight,” Rarity leaned more onto Rainbow as they watched Twilight’s face continue to get redder. “But now I do have a question of my own if you don’t mind.”

Immediately Twilight’s ears went up as she started to feel more comfortable moving into something she was more familiar with, “alright then, what is it Rarity?”

“Who is the lucky mare?” Both Rarity and Rainbow burst out laughing as Twilight’s face finally got the deepest shade of red possible.

The three mares continued to talk until well into the day until finally Rainbow and Rarity had to head back into their own rooms to finish packing. Slowly each of the mares began making their way to the station where their train awaited, Pinkie was the first to board as she put all her stuff in and headed straight to her room hoping to avoid meeting with any of the others. She just didn’t feel like talking to anypony today.

As luck would have not thirty minutes after reaching her room somepony was already knocking, “Pinkie? Are you in there sugarcube?”

Reluctantly Pinkie went and opened the door, “What? I don’t want to talk to anypony right now…”

“I know Pinkie, but I just wanted to come and make sure ya’ll was okay. I know how you are feeling so I wanted to-

“How could you know how I’m feeling? How could any of you know?” Pinkie’s voice was filled with spite and anger as she moved to closed the door, “just go away.”

AppleJack shoved a hoof in the door as she saw it closing, flinching quite a bit as the force used shot pain through her leg. “Trust me Pinkie I know how you feel…” The farmer could feel her ears drooping as she looked down to the ground, “and I know it’s not going to be easy to get over…”

Pinkie could feel her anger dissolving as the realization dawned on her, but her anger quickly flared up as that realization came, “You liked Rainbow too didn’t you? Great just another pony that would have taken her from me! Go away AppleJack!”

AppleJack flinched again as the door was slammed on her hoof once more, “Wait Pinkie, it’s not Rainbow that I liked okay… I wasn’t gunna take her from you.”

Pinkie just glared and looked away, “If you don’t like Rainbow then how could you know how I’m feeling huh? You’re just a liar!” As she turned around to leave AppleJack there the real realization dawned on her and she turned back around, “you liked Rarity didn’t you?”

With a small nod the farmer finally stepped into the room, “Yeah, so now you know why I know how you feel huh?”

“Oh Jackie! I’m so sorry for being such a big meanie to you! I didn’t know! Please don’t hate me! Pinkie was already close to tears as she pulled her friend into a tight hug.

“P…Pinkie… c…can’t breathe…”

“Oh sorry…” The party pony finally released her friend and just sat there feeling even worse.

“It’s alright Pinkie, ya’ll didn’t mean it.” With a small smile AppleJack pulled Pinkie into a gentler hug, making sure to wipe away any tears as she did so. “Feeling any better Pinkie?”

“A little…. Thank you Jackie!” With a small sniffle she wrapped her hooves around the other mare actually smiling a bit as she did so, “You’re a great friend, not like Rainbow or Rarity.”

As she pulled away AppleJack simply shook her head, “Pinkie, now ya’ll know I can’t just let you believe that right? Rainbow and Rarity are still our friends”

“I know, I ‘m just not happy right now… but you understand that right?”

“I do sugarcube, but we can’t let this ruin our friendships now can we?”

Pinkie’s smile faded slightly but she nodded anyways, “No, but it’s hard… how do you do it AJ?”

AppleJack just smiled, “well I had some help to realize it, but I learned that if I did love Rarity then I would be happy that she is happy, and the same should go for you and Rainbow.” Before Pinkie could respond AppleJack decided to continue, “and I know that it’s not going to be easy so I wanted to ask that maybe you wanted to join me for a friendly dinner date tomorrow night, Just as friends though. I figured we both could use the company and I already had the table reserved anyhow. So what do you say?”

Pinkie simply nodded and smiled more, “That sounds nice,” Once again the pink mare grabbed her friend in a hug, “A friendly dinner then maybe we could throw a party? Just for us?”

The earth farmer couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sure Pinkie that sounds great.”

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18 MONTHS LATER

Celestia stood proud in front of the two mares as she spoke the final lines for the ceremony, “I now pronounce you mare and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

AppleJack didn’t have time to prepare herself as she was suddenly tackled with Pinkie planting many sloppy kisses all over her face and neck. The crowd stomping in applause for the happy couple. Amongst the crowd Fluttershy stood blushing as Lotus leaned lovingly onto her, the pair only having been dating for a few months now. Next to them was Twilight, a now bestselling author, and her date Princess Luna, with Twilight only just recently gathering enough courage to ask out the princess. The only pair that was missing, wasn’t missing at all and if anypony looked up they’d see the dark purple and rainbow colored tails hanging off a cloud overhead.

Rarity curled up close next to her marefriend as she cautiously tried to look over the edge, the idea of being in the air still bothering her to an extent, “I still have no idea why I let you talk me into watching the wedding from up here… You know I don’t like heights…”

Rainbow smiled as she nuzzled Rarity’s neck, “I know, but there was something I wanted to ask you…” A blush was already forming as Rainbow moved a bit on the cloud, “something important that I wanted to do…” Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves rainbow turned to retrieve a small box she had from under her wing. “With hearing that AppleJack and Pinkie were getting married, well it got me thinking…” Rainbow did her best to position herself to look like she was kneeling as she opened the box revealing a small white gold ring with accented with a dark purple jewel. “Rarity, would you make me the happiest mare in Equestria?”

“YES! Of course I will Rainbow!” And with a smile the four friends on the ground knew exactly what had just happened as they heard the excited acceptance from up above, and they couldn’t be happier.

THE END

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