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The Games We Play

by AbsoluteAnonymous

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Intimacy

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At first, Rainbow Dash had considered going after Pinkie, only to remember the way she herself so often became frustrated when she craved solitude and couldn't find it. But Pinkie Pie was normally such a social pony, and she was upset because Rainbow Dash had turned her down; so, would following her make things better or worse?

Maybe it would be better for Rainbow Dash to just go, and...

What? No! That's crazy!

Whether Pinkie was overreacting or not – and she did seem rather inordinately hurt, actually – wasn't the important thing. If she was this distressed about Rainbow going to find Mare Do Well, then there must be a reason, something that Rainbow Dash just wasn't thinking of. Which meant that logically, it was Rainbow's job to go ensure that Pinkie Pie was okay and find out why she'd been so panicked. Besides, that was what a friend did, and no matter what else happened, no matter what kind of disagreements or annoyances passed between them, Pinkie would always be Rainbow's friend.

The pink pony was out of sight now, but Rainbow Dash had been heading to town anyway, and Sugarcube Corner wasn't that far away. Especially not since she could fly. There was no reason why Dash couldn't stop by and check up on her. Just to make sure.

• • •

When Rainbow arrived at the bakery, she thought for a moment that she could see somepony watch her fly up to the door from Pinkie Pie's window. Specifically, she thought she caught a glimpse of a head poking out from behind the curtains before twitching them shut and ducking out of sight. It happened too quickly for Dash to know whether it had actually happened or not. Maybe it had been in her mind.

The bakery was still open, much to Rainbow Dash's relief, but in retrospect, it was ridiculous for her to have worried that the Cakes might have actually closed shop early just to keep Dash out. Even if their favorite employee had requested it of them, they still had a business to run. Pinkie wasn't working the counter, though. Instead, Mrs. Cake stood there, smiling and chatting easily with a unicorn purchasing a lavishly decorated birthday cake.

As soon as the unicorn left, Rainbow Dash rushed forward and asked, "Is Pinkie Pie here?"

Mrs. Cake didn't seem unfriendly, exactly, but there was a definite coolness in her voice when she spoke.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," she answered stiffly, and the pegasus almost winced at how distant Mrs. Cake sounded. "She isn't feeling well."

Figures. "But –"

"I think you should go," Mrs. Cake said firmly, casting a meaningful glance at the door. Rainbow's heart sunk a little.

"Oh, man, she totally hates me," Dash muttered, wilting. Even her wings drooped.

Mrs. Cake's expression softened. "I'm sure that's not it. She could never hate you," she said gently, with a sympathetic smile. "But maybe it would be better if you left the poor dear alone for a little bit, just until she gets back to her old self."

Pinkie Pie had told Rainbow Dash once that she'd grown up on a rock farm before running away from home. Her old self was a lonely, friendless little filly that had been trapped in some kind of spiral of depression. At the time, Rainbow Dash had laughed it off, thinking that Pinkie Pie was exaggerating, and Pinkie Pie had laughed as well, seemingly confirming Rainbow's suspicions that the whole story had been some kind of twisted joke. But that evening, for the second time in their friendship that she could remember, Dash had seen that supposed old self resurface in Pinkie, no matter how briefly.

Maybe the Cakes didn't know – but if they didn't, it would be better for Pinkie Pie to talk to them herself. For now, Rainbow Dash had done everything she could. She felt uneasy about it, but if Pinkie Pie was going to refuse to see her, then short of breaking Pinkie's bedroom window and forcing her way in, Dash was out of options. She would just have to let it go for once. Or at least, for now.

• • •

Mare Do Well was already in their cul-de-sac when Rainbow Dash arrived, and for some reason, that only served to annoy Rainbow more. It meant that Mare Do Well had assumed her coming was a sure thing, either because Dash was getting predictable or because Mare Do Well was getting overconfident. Both options left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Why are you here?" Rainbow asked as soon as she was within speaking distance. She swooped forward to perch on the edge of the dumpster. It was closed, thankfully; the dramatic impact of her appearance would've been lessened somewhat if she'd had to perch next to a steaming pile of garbage. She wanted to maintain a relatively decent distance between the two of them, so that Mare Do Well couldn't try pulling any of that touchy-feely nonsense; and besides, Dash felt better about herself when she got to look down on Mare Do Well from up high. It made her feel in charge.

"I knew you'd be here," Mare Do Well answered peacefully, watching Rainbow from her place in the street. She made no effort to approach the pegasus. That was good, too. As long as they weren't standing beside each other or anything. As long as they weren't touching. "After all, you've been coming almost every night. I had no reason to expect otherwise from you."

"You don't know that I meant to come here at all. Maybe I was just taking a night-time flight and noticed you, and figured that I had nothing better to do."

"So you saw me and came to talk. I'm okay with that. Besides, I know you're lying; you hate flying at night."

"Stop talking like you know everything about me!" Rainbow Dash snapped.

"But I do."

"Seriously, cut it out! I'm not in the mood for your messed-up mind games tonight! In case you can't tell, I'm kind of mad at you!"

"Why?" Mare Do Well asked curiously, cocking her head as though she genuinely wanted to know. As if it wasn't completely obvious. But Dash knew that this was just another trick – everything Mare Do Well did was part of an intentional, concentrated effort to drive Rainbow Dash nuts. Nothing the mare did was accidental. She was far too precise for that.

"Because of you, my best friend totally hates me! That's why – gah!"

Halfway through her tirade, Rainbow Dash forgot that she was perched on the very edge of the dumpster and made the mistake of trying to gesture with a leg for emphasis, only to lose her balance and fall forward, face-planting on the ground.

"You're much more graceful when you fly," Mare Do Well observed quietly. "On land, you seem to have a little trouble."

Rainbow Dash lifted her head, scowling, and saw that Mare Do Well was offering a hoof in assistance. She roughly pushed it away. For some reason, it irritated her that Mare Do Well had just let her fall like that – but Dash knew that she probably would've been even angrier if the other mare had leapt forward to catch her or something.

"Why blame me for that?" Mare Do Well asked innocently, seemingly unfazed.

"Because... she wanted me to stay with her and I said no because I figured you'd show up again. So we had a fight and now she's mad at me. Because of you."

And Mare Do Well swept forward with a rush of her cape so that she was suddenly standing by Rainbow Dash, side by side, pressing uncomfortably close. It wasn't like when they'd watched the sunrise from the roof, when the mare's touch had seemed hesitant but genuinely affectionate; this was deliberate, and caught Dash off guard, eliciting a completely uncool squeak of surprise.

This is what I didn't want!

"So you chose me over her? I'm flattered," Mare Do Well whispered in that husky voice, face and mouth uncomfortably close to Rainbow's ear as the masked mare leaned in to speak, and Rainbow Dash yanked her head back.

"No!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "No, that's not what happened at all! Geez, can't I say anything to you without you twisting it around so that it's all creepy and weird?"

"But that's what happened, isn't it? You and Pinkie had a little spat and you chose me over her. Deny it all you want, but I think you're starting to like me." There it was, that hateful smugness and unwavering certainty. That overconfidence.

"No! That's –" Wait. "I never said that Pinkie was the one who was mad at me."

"You said your best friend. She is your best friend, isn't she?"

Rainbow Dash felt a sudden chill run down her spine. "How did you know that?"

"Come on, we've been over this!" Mare Do Well chastised playfully, gesturing to herself with a foreleg, bringing another furious blush to Dash's cheeks. Why did Rainbow turn so red whenever she lost her temper around Mare Do Well? "I thought you'd been making progress, but maybe I was mistaken. Haven't you narrowed me down to one of your five friends? Wouldn't you expect one of them to know something like that about you? And besides, I make it my business to know these things."

"Oh, right," Rainbow Dash cut in sarcastically. Her body had seized up again from the borderline intimate proximity they'd shared, but now that she'd managed to force a little space between them, she could relax. "I forgot. You're jealous of Pinkie, right? You probably already knew all about our fight and just thought it was so funny."

Rainbow Dash was starting to understand why Fluttershy had so much trouble flying. Fear did strange things to a pegasus; when her body was flooded with panic or anger, it was like she was paralyzed, and for a pegasus with such crippling shyness, it was no wonder that Fluttershy found it difficult. She was scared all the time. It was a wonder she could ever open her wings. Even just being around Mare Do Well was enough to make Rainbow Dash's stomach knot and wings freeze from how nervous she felt.

Not that Rainbow Dash actually feared her or anything. Dash wasn't afraid of anything. She was just uncomfortable because of how creepy Mare Do Well could get. It was natural to feel unsure around a pony as mysterious as this. Right? A pony that she knew absolutely nothing about as of yet, try as Rainbow might to learn something new. A pony that was now approaching her again. Once more, Rainbow Dash found that she couldn't seem to react quite fast enough.

"Even if I did already know about all it, it still wouldn't be my fault. I didn't force you to choose me over her. That was done all on your own. If I knew how to do that, I'd probably make better use of it. I wouldn't mind seeing you more often, and parties can get tiresome. It would be nice to be able to lure you away from them every once in a while."

Mare Do Well kept her tone nice and easy, but her words were sharp, like a foal who wasn't getting their way and had decided to be petulant about it, which only served to confirm Rainbow Dash's suspicions, not that she'd make the mistake of saying anything out loud. If she did, Mare Do Well would just find a new way to twist her words. Instead, Rainbow Dash took comfort in the small victory that Mare Do Well had unknowingly offered her – the knowledge that yes, she was annoyed about how Dash had gone to Pinkie. And upsetting Mare Do Well in any way was always enjoyable for Rainbow Dash. It helped to even things out a little.

Instead Rainbow Dash said, "If you were really one of my friends, I wouldn't expect you to be such a jerk. It's like you think it's fun to mess with ponies for no reason."

"It's that perceptions thing again. You don't see any of them in me, and you don't see me in any of them either; yet you can't stop wondering who's under the mask, can you?"

Mare Do Well was circling her like a predator surveying its prey, every step she took solid and deliberate, and it was all Rainbow Dash could do just to keep her eyes focused enough to watch the mare in black as she did so. "Because in your heart, all you can think is, what if it's sweet little Fluttershy, so timid and innocent that she jumps at her own shadow; would she be able to pull this off? Or maybe it's honest Applejack, who turned out to be not-so-honest after all! Would Rarity ever stoop to this, flouncing about in such a garish costume? Or –"

"Stop it."

"Ponies are more than just the basic archetypes that you can fit into little boxes for your own convenience, Rainbow Dash," Mare Do Well murmured, ceasing her circling and leaning in. "If you're going about this by comparing what I do and what I say to what you think your friends would do and say, then you're making a mistake. The purpose of being in this costume is to take advantage of an opportunity to become somepony else entirely. I've told you that. You won't get anywhere this way."

"Shut up!" Rainbow Dash screamed.

She had closed her eyes, as if trying to shrink into herself to block out what Mare Do Well was saying, so she didn't see where her foreleg connected when it shot out. She hadn't actually intended to hit her, believe it or not, but suddenly Dash hadn't been able to take hearing any more and had just wanted Mare Do Well to stop talking. Before she could really control herself, she'd found her hoof go flying, and then Rainbow dropped it in shock, opening her eyes when she felt it make contact.

Applejack had been knocked down when Rainbow Dash had shoved her in the cellar, but Mare Do Well was still standing. For a moment Rainbow Dash actually felt a flash of fear. She hadn't meant to hit her. As annoying as she could be, Dash didn't actually want to get in a fight with Mare Do Well.

But the other mare didn't strike back or run away or do any of those things that Rainbow Dash was suddenly afraid that she might do. Instead, Mare Do Well pressed a hoof to her face, tilting her head a little as she watched Rainbow Dash.

"Huh," Mare Do Well said, a touch of admiration in her voice. "I was wondering when you'd do that. You let me go a lot further than I thought you would."

"A lot... what?" Rainbow Dash sputtered, suddenly indignant. "You were expecting me to punch you? Then why the hay did you keep going?!"

"I didn't mean tonight specifically. That time I caught you after the lightning storm, you almost bucked me right in the head, and when you found me in the alley afterwards I half expected you to try it again. I think I wanted to see how far I could push you before you'd finally just do it."

"I don't remember bucking you in the head," was all Rainbow Dash could think to say.

"You probably forgot. You passed out soon afterwards. But while you were falling, you started kicking and shouting and telling me to drop you. So my curiosity on that matter is satisfied. How can I make it up to you now?"

For a pony that had just been hit in the face by an angry pegasus, she seemed surprisingly easygoing about it, as if she hadn't felt a thing. It was almost offensive, like Mare Do Well was trying to make Rainbow Dash think that her strikes packed such little punch that they did nothing at all. That, or she was made of tough stuff after all. Tougher than Applejack? It was unsettling to think about.

"You can make it up to me by getting lost. I'm sick of you," Rainbow Dash snarled.

"That's no fun. How about... here."

And Mare Do Well knelt, falling to her knees on the street before Rainbow, black cape pooling on the ground around her. She even bowed her head a little, and suddenly Rainbow Dash felt so incredibly embarrassed that all she could do was stand and watch, gaping, eyes wide. "I humbly beg your forgiveness for any offense you may have taken. I fully deserved that, and if you so wish, you may strike me again."

"Get up, weirdo!"

"I'll stay like this until you say you forgive me."

"Holy Celestia, you're a freak," Dash muttered, rubbing her head. "Okay, fine, I forgive you or whatever. Get up now. You're really creeping me out."

"All right, then." Mare Do Well stood up again in another fluid motion, and they were once again eye-to-eye; at least, they were until Rainbow Dash yanked back into the air, hovering so as to avoid standing too close to her.

"I meant everything I said, by the way, but I suppose I could've been gentler when I said it. And don't worry about Pinkie," Mare Do Well added. "She's hurt, because she'd started to seep out of her mold and had hoped you'd accept her anyway. But she adores you, so even if she's upset now, she'll probably put on her best sunshiney smile and go looking for you tomorrow to make amends."

She sounded a little sad when she said that, her voice becoming a little softer. But when Mare Do Well spoke again, she'd switched back to teasing mode.

"Believe it or not, I did have a reason for coming here, actually. I have a new idea. You don't seem to be especially fond of the flowers and moonlight approach, so I can either continue showering you with blossoms and hope for the best, or try a new tactic."

"Oh, really," Rainbow Dash said in a bored tone, staring at Mare Do Well through heavily lidded eyes to emphasize how little she cared, but the bristling of her wings betrayed the spark of intrigue she felt when the mare spoke.

"How would you like to spend a night on the town with me?"

"No," Dash replied instantly.

"Not like that. I meant, how would you like to join me on one of my nightly patrols? Adventure is your thing, isn't it, and Danger your middle name? You might enjoy it."

"Nightly patrols? I thought you weren't actually a superhero. I thought this was all some kind of lame excuse to run around in a mask."

"Well, that's how it started," Mare Do Well explained breezily, with a dismissive little wave of her front hoof. "Having a Mare Do Well costume lying around without anypony actually playing the part of Mare Do Well certainly seemed to indicate a convenient time to take on a new identity, I'll admit. But after a while I figured that if I was going to be going by this name, I might as well go all the way, so on those nights where I have nothing better to do, I like to walk the streets and see what I come across. It's surprisingly fun, you know."

As a filly, when Rainbow Dash hadn't spent her time obsessing over the Wonderbolts and perfecting her roster of tricks for the day they'd come for her, she'd spent her time obsessing over comic books, poring over them religiously. They'd presented her with a world where flashy costumes, outrageous stunts and a cocky attitude earned you a sea of glorious victories and triumphs over trickster villains that were always defeated either through wits or their own folly. It was a world where Rainbow would've fit in perfectly, unlike the one she'd been born in.

There had even been a point when Rainbow Dash would tell anypony who'd listen that if she never became a Wonderbolt (not that that would ever happen) she wanted to be a superhero instead. In the end, she'd finally grown out of that phase, because comic books were actually pretty dorky, but even though she'd eventually matured – slightly – the affection Dash held for those comics still lingered, and every once in a while, she'd pull out her old collection for another read-through. That was why Rainbow Dash so liked to refer to herself as Ponyville's number one hero. Even if she never actually gained any inequine abilities outside of being able to fly super fast, just pretending to be the hero she'd always wanted to be was enough to make Rainbow Dash feel pretty good about herself.

The chance to follow in the hoofsteps of one of the heroes of her foalhood was definitely an appealing one, even if it was just some kind of twisted game.

The catch was, it was Mare Do Well doing the offering.

"C'mon," Mare Do Well said in a persuading way when she saw the hesitance on Rainbow Dash's face. "It'll be fun, I promise. From rooftop to rooftop and crossing the shadowy streets in pursuit of the everyday villains that litter the streets? Doesn't that sound like something straight out of a superhero comic? You'll like it. You'll be good at it. I'll let you call yourself my sidekick."

"I'm nopony's sidekick!" Rainbow Dash barked. "If I go on some kind of nightly patrol thingy, then I'll do it as myself. On my own. Because I'm awesome."

"Okay, you don't have to be the sidekick. You can be my partner. We'll be a team. Just say you'll consider it. We can spend a night administering justice and it'll be romantic. Please?"

That last word was said in a soft, wheedling voice, so different from the way Mare Do Well usually spoke, and although Rainbow knew it was just another carefully calculated move in their game, that Mare Do Well was probably very intentionally trying to sound alluring just to entice Rainbow Dash into agreeing, she still felt her wings begin to stiffen, forcing her to land. A sudden burst of warmth sprung from somewhere deep inside of Dash, instantly spreading throughout her body and fully extending them.

"You liked that?" Mare Do Well asked with something like a laugh. Actually, it was more of a giggle. Like the breathy, seductive tone from before, it was a surprisingly girly sound to hear coming from such an imposing figure. "I was under the impression that you were into bravado and daring, but if cutesy-wutsey ponies are more to your liking, I can do that, no problem. Although I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, given the kind of company you seem to keep."

"Don't act like you know me! Y-you don't know anything about me!" Rainbow Dash managed to retort as feistily as she could, but her voice shook, and the heat flooding into her cheeks and wings implied otherwise, and she knew it.

"Silly filly. You can say whatever you like, but your wings don't lie."

"My wings?" Dash stammered, glancing down at the appendages, which were now fully outstretched at her sides.

"Yes. Your wings. The most sensitive part of the pegasus anatomy, the movements of which are often indicative of the mood of the bearer," the mare recited like a school filly answering a question for her teacher. "They beat when frustrated, snap down when irritated, bristle when primed to fight, and spread when excited. I've been taking my cues from you, you know. Your wings let me know when I've managed to arouse some sort of feeling from you, and I've just been working from there."

Oh, Celestia. Rainbow Dash whirled her head around on the pretense of trying to push down her now incredibly stiff wings, attempting to force them back into closed position, ignoring the way she felt Mare Do Well's eyes on her.

"Relax, Dashie," the masked mare cooed, and Rainbow Dash cried out, a sound halfway between a squeak and a gasp, as she felt Mare Do Well's snout brush against her cheek in another overly affectionate gesture. The sound was what some ponies might have referred to as a whimper, but only when associated with ponies much less cool than Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was too awesome to ever make a sound like that.

She wanted to turn and face Mare Do Well to properly size her up and bawl her out, but Rainbow was suddenly terrified of what would happen if she did, with their faces pressed so close together; so instead she froze, remaining still as the mare took her place beside the pegasus.

Mare Do Well was almost purring, as content as Opalescence after catching a mouse that she was now free to bat about with her paws like a toy. "You can deny it all you want," she continued in that horrifically self-satisfied way. "But we both know that I'm making more progress than you... even if you won't admit it."

"Nuh-uh," Rainbow Dash choked, ignoring how immature it sounded when compared to the eloquence with which Mare Do Well spoke. This brought on another soft, too girly too cute NO NOT CUTE AT ALL giggle.

"It's okay. I can wait until you're ready to concede defeat. You'll find that I'm very patient, and I am exceedingly fond of you, so I think it'll be worth it."

Rainbow Dash still wasn't looking at Mare Do Well, refusing to budge even the slightest inch that would allow her to see what the masked mare was doing, so she couldn't say for sure, but after a moment she felt Mare Do Well's looming presence at her side disappear, and assumed that it meant she'd finally backed off. Only to turn and suddenly find herself face-to-face with her, their snouts practically touching, inasmuch as one could be face-to-face with a mask.

"Gah! What the –"

Mare Do Well leaned in and gave Rainbow Dash's face another quick nuzzle, silencing her with a touch lighter than what Dash had even thought possible; like a feather brushing her skin. It was as if Mare Do Well hadn't even actually touched her, just hovered impossibly close as Rainbow's fur prickled in anticipation.

"At least consider my idea," Mare Do Well murmured. "It'll be fun. And besides, you're not supposed to interfere with my plans, remember?"

And then she turned her back and sauntered away, cape trailing behind her. No flashy gestures or theatrical leaps as she melted into the darkness this time; just a slow, deliberate walk, which somehow seemed a million times worse.

• • •

Rainbow Dash had no idea what time it was when she finally found her way back to Sugarcube Corner, but just as she'd feared, the bakery wasn't open. The "closed" sign hung on the door and no lights shone from any of the windows, not even Pinkie's. The building, normally the friendliest looking spot in town and Rainbow's favorite place to hang out, looked cold and unwelcoming.

Sugarcube Corner isn't open forever, you know. It might be closed when you get there.

There was nothing she could do but leave. But as Dash flew away, she found herself remembering what Mare Do Well had said for some reason, even though the masked mare was the last pony she wanted to think about right then.

She'll probably put on her best sunshiney smile and go looking for you tomorrow to make amends.

I hope... Rainbow started to think; then shook her head to clear her thoughts, trying to ignore the sinking feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach.

Next Chapter: Chapter 9: It All Falls Apart Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 19 Minutes
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