MLP: The Games We Play

"But this is fun, isn't it? The games we play."

The Games We Play (not to be confused with the other The Games We Play) is a My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Fanfic written by AbsoluteAnonymous.

There's been another sighting of the mysterious Mare Do Well... but this time, all of Rainbow Dash's friends plead ignorance, insisting that they've put aside their costumes for good. Rainbow Dash is determined to uncover the masked mare's true identity before she's humiliated yet again, but this time around, the vigilante seems especially interested in her as well. Will Rainbow Dash be able to solve the mystery before the culprit takes the hoax too far? Or is she in danger of losing not only her mind, but her heart?

The Games We Play is a remarkably psychological story dealing with hidden depths and the things we do for love. As Rainbow Dash learns, you can never take for granted who somepony is.

Tropes present in this work:
" Surprised?"
 * Always Someone Better: Rainbow Dash notes frequently how Mare Do Well seems to be better at her at almost everything.
 * Alternate Ending: AbsoluteAnonymous has stated there will be alternate endings, but that they'll appear in a seperate story; although they'll apparently be gag endings for the most part.
 * Have fun.
 * Amusing Injuries: Averted.
 * Audio Erotica: When Rainbow Dash gets drunk at the Hearth's Warming party in Canterlot, she starts rambling about how Mare Do Well has a "really sexy voice" and how she's probably "really good at making out."
 * Becoming the Mask:
 * Beneath the Mask:
 * The Bet: Mare Do Well wants to get Rainbow Dash to fall in love with her. Rainbow Dash wants to find out who Mare Do Well really is. Who will give in first?
 * Beta Couple: are together, and we see the clues and hints dropped about their relationship filtered through Dash's unknowing eyes.
 * Betty and Veronica: Pinkie Pie is sweet, affectionate, and bubbly, with a cheery personality  Mare Do Well is dark and mysterious, with every intention of taking advantage of her own mystique to seduce Rainbow Dash
 * Big Damn Heroes: Mare Do Well does this to save Rainbow after she gets struck by lightning.
 * Break the Cutie:
 * Broken Bird: is hinted to be one, but it isn't until after The Reveal that we learn.
 * Broken Smile:
 * Can't Live with Them Can't Live Without Them: Rainbow Dash openly dislikes Mare Do Well, but after  she finds that she actually misses her.
 * Catch a Falling Star: Mare Do Well saves Rainbow from falling to her death when lightning hits her, preventing her from flying.
 * During the climax,
 * The Chessmaster: Mare Do Well.
 * Rainbow Dash secretly wonders whether Pinkie Pie is one of these who is using Obfuscating Insanity to cover herself. Played with in that Dash cannot imagine Pinkie having any sinister motive and concludes that Pinkie simply arranges coincidences to make life happier for those around her.
 * Cerebus Syndrome: The early chapters come across as much goofier than the later ones. Around chapter 7, the story begins to shift from a light-hearted romantic mystery to a darker, more twisted psychological drama.
 * Character Development: Tons, with most of it focused on revealing the Hidden Depths of the cast.
 * Circling Monologue: Mare Do Well pulls one on Rainbow Dash in one chapter while teasing her about the suspicious way she now views her friends.
 * Cliff Hanger: A few are thrown in every now and then, but the Mother of all Cliffhangers would have to be the end of chapter 19:
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Both Mare Do Well and Pinkie Pie can be this way at times
 * Deadpan Snarker: Rainbow primarily, though Mare Do Well has traces.
 * Drowning My Sorrows: Applejack decides to partake in this during the Hearth's Warming Eve party and Rainbow Dash joins her, although it's mostly Played for Laughs.
 * Dysfunction Junction:  all have issues of their own they need to work through. Even the author admitted that their works usually invoke this trope.
 * Embarrassing Rescue: Rainbow Dash's main complaint against Mare Do Well at first is her habit of saving Dash when she doesn't want saving, such as when she's hit by lightning while flying and Mare Do Well catches her, despite Rainbow's insistence that she would've been fine even if she'd hit the ground.
 * Exact Words: Clarified at the start of Chapter 21:
 * Expressive Hair: Dash eventually asks Pinkie why her mane goes flat.
 * Fandom Nod: In a sense; in chapter 12, Rainbow Dash thinks over in her head which one of her friends might be Mare Do Well, using reasoning and wording that is very similar to the guesses and speculation readers posted in the comments. This may have been unintentional.
 * The chapters surrounding The Reveal also have Mare Do Well bring up all the avenues of investigation Rainbow never pursued, some of which would have solved the mystery in minutes. Many of these ideas were previously noted in fan comments, so the author might have taken inspiration from the fans on this point.
 * Fantastic Arousal: Pegasi wings are very, very sensitive.
 * Foe Yay: A strange variation. Mare Do Well is completely in love with Rainbow Dash and is perfectly willing to say so. No matter what she does, her motivation can usually be summed up as "I thought Rainbow Dash would like it." Rainbow Dash, however, despises Mare Do Well, viewing her not only as a rival, but as an enemy that must be defeated; yet she's still clearly attracted to MDW, even if she won't admit it to herself.
 * Freak-Out: In chapter 20,
 * The Gadfly: Mare Do Well, to an extent.
 * Genre Savvy: Mare Do Well, who intentionally invokes Rule of Cool and various superhero and Romance Novel tropes to try and appear interesting to Rainbow Dash.
 * The Glomp: Pinkie's traditional means of greeting Rainbow.
 * Heroic BSOD: Pinkie seems to go through one when Rainbow ditches her to continue looking for Mare Do Well. Rainbow Dash later suffers one as well, this time Played for Laughs, when she
 * Hidden Depths: EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. The philosophy behind the story as a whole seems to be that our perceptions of others are never quite enough to fully understand them, and that there's always more than meets the eye.
 * I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship:
 * I Have the High Ground: Mare Do Well seems especially fond of rooftops.
 * I Kiss Your Hoof: Mare Do Well kisses Rainbow Dash's hoof when they say goodbye to one another before Dash leaves for Canterlot in order to perform in the Hearth's Warming play. Indirectly, since it's through her mask, but the intention is clear.
 * Inferiority Superiority Complex: Rainbow Dash.
 * Indy Ploy:
 * Interface Spoiler: After about chapter five or so, it becomes rather painfully obvious that
 * In Vino Veritas: After the Hearth's Warming Eve Play, Applejack and Rainbow Dash get a little tipsy and a little too honest with one another.
 * Ironic Echo: "You mean the kissy-face smoochies kind of like?" First said by Pinkie when Rainbow Dash tells her that Mare Do Well claims to like her, and later said by  when
 * It's All About Me: Mare Do Well seems to love tweaking Dash's tail and getting under her skin, even as her actions start to hurt the pegasi's relationships with others.
 * It's All My Fault: doesn't take the events of Chapter 9 well.
 * Oddly enough. In the dialogue-only chapter 21, pauses in the conversation (indicted by ellipses) are used to imply that  with no actual description of the event.
 * Kissing Under the Influence: At the Hearth's Warming Eve party in the palace, Rainbow Dash gets drunk and kisses
 * Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: As much as Rainbow hates Mare Do Well, she agrees to the rules they set for their little competition.
 * Loss of Identity:  feared that this would become more likely as the Mare Do Well game continued.
 * Love Hurts:
 * Love Triangle: Between Rainbow Dash, Mare Do Well, and Pinkie Pie, with Mare Do Well and Pinkie both competing for Rainbow Dash's affections. Although there's certainly the possibility that Mare Do Well has been Pinkie all along.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Rainbow Dash is convinced that Mare Do Well is one.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Rainbow's ditching of Pinkie leads her into a Heroic BSOD.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Implied to be what happened to the unicorn lowlife who  and accordingly became a victim of Mare Do Well's Unstoppable Rage.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: Mare Do Well.
 * Oblivious to Love: Rainbow Dash towards Pinkie Pie.
 * Offscreen Teleportation: Mare Do Well is able to do this; by the end, Dash.
 * OOC Is Serious Business: A running theme is Dash discovering that moments that seem out-of-character for somepony at first are just part of their Hidden Depths.
 * Out-of-Character Moment: Mare Do Well, who is normally calm, gets annoyed and hesitant when Rainbow forces her to perform the "Pinkie Pie Swear".
 * Precocious Crush: In the supplementary materials, Scootaloo realizes her hero worship of Rainbow Dash is actually this . At least, that's what she thinks she sees, but since it's just an alternate perspective on a scene from the main story, the reader knows better.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Rainbow Dash gives Mare Do Well one in Chapter 20, outlining just why she hates her.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Rainbow Dash and Mare Do Well respectively.
 * Redundant Romance Attempt: Rainbow Dash eventually admits that she actually doesn't find Mare Do Well all that annoying, provided she's not putting on those superior airs.
 * The Reveal: Rainbow finally unmasks Mare-Do-Well at the end of Chapter 20.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: Mare Do Well.
 * Oblivious to Love: Rainbow Dash towards Pinkie Pie.
 * Offscreen Teleportation: Mare Do Well is able to do this; by the end, Dash.
 * OOC Is Serious Business: A running theme is Dash discovering that moments that seem out-of-character for somepony at first are just part of their Hidden Depths.
 * Out-of-Character Moment: Mare Do Well, who is normally calm, gets annoyed and hesitant when Rainbow forces her to perform the "Pinkie Pie Swear".
 * Precocious Crush: In the supplementary materials, Scootaloo realizes her hero worship of Rainbow Dash is actually this . At least, that's what she thinks she sees, but since it's just an alternate perspective on a scene from the main story, the reader knows better.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Rainbow Dash gives Mare Do Well one in Chapter 20, outlining just why she hates her.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Rainbow Dash and Mare Do Well respectively.
 * Redundant Romance Attempt: Rainbow Dash eventually admits that she actually doesn't find Mare Do Well all that annoying, provided she's not putting on those superior airs.
 * The Reveal: Rainbow finally unmasks Mare-Do-Well at the end of Chapter 20.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Rainbow Dash and Mare Do Well respectively.
 * Redundant Romance Attempt: Rainbow Dash eventually admits that she actually doesn't find Mare Do Well all that annoying, provided she's not putting on those superior airs.
 * The Reveal: Rainbow finally unmasks Mare-Do-Well at the end of Chapter 20.
 * The Reveal: Rainbow finally unmasks Mare-Do-Well at the end of Chapter 20.
 * The Reveal: Rainbow finally unmasks Mare-Do-Well at the end of Chapter 20.

"Rainbow Dash: You're still talking weird. Rainbow Dash: Mare Do Well...Mare Do Well talked really fancy, with big words and stuff. You're still doing that.
 * Say My Name: In Chapter 20,.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Mare Do Well has a noticably formal way of speaking and a habit of using long, unnecessary words. Lampshaded when Rainbow Dash complains about her pretentiousness.
 * Borders on Sophisticated As Hell at times, such as when Mare Do Well uses her elegant speech to make fun of Rainbow Dash for getting a wingboner.
 * Huh?
 * I'm not stupid. I can sound smart if I want to."

"Mare Do Well: But this is fun, isn't it? Rainbow Dash: What is? Mare Do Well: The games we play. I chase you, you chase me. Like an elaborate game of hide and seek; neither of us reaching each other, both of us circling one another..."
 * Sexier Alter Ego: Although there's no real change to her physical appearance (aside from the costume), Mare Do Well is charming, suave, and flirtatious, which is a far cry from how  normally acts.
 * Ship Tease: Aside from the Rainbow/Pinkie/MDW triangle, Chapter 19 seems to hint that Applejack has an interest in Rarity.
 * Shout-Out: To various memes in the MLP fandom, including cameos from Derpy Hooves, wingboners as plot points, "I emptied your fridge," and etc.
 * "We gotta be sneaky, Dashie! Sneaky!"
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Once Rainbow starts developing some feelings towards Mare Do Well, their interaction frequently falls into this territory.
 * Sleep Cute:
 * Something Completely Different: Chapter 21 (the aftermath of The Reveal) is a dialogue-only chapter.
 * Spoof Aesop: Referenced in the ending: Dash considers that the whole thing would be worth writing to Celestia about, only she can't put everything she learned into words. Instead, one of these gets suggested:
 * Stalking Is Love: Zig zagged. Mare Do Well truly does love Rainbow Dash, but that doesn't stop the pegasus from getting freaked out - even as she eventually begins to reciprocate. Plus, it's evident that although MDW's feelings are real, they way they've manifested themselves stems from genuine instability and mental fragility.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Mare Do Well, obviously.
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Mare Do Well pulls this off occasionally.
 * Stepford Smiler: Chapter 21 reveals.
 * Take That: The author apparently has something of a playful rivalry with another writer, Tailslover13 (author of Trip of a Lifetime and Total Magic Pony Island), who made no secret of the fact that his favorite character is Twilight Sparkle and that he firmly believed any other character being Mare Do Well would ruin the story completely. Shortly after the completion of the main story, AbsoluteAnonymous released this.
 * The Stoic: Mare Do Well, normally.
 * Technically a Smile:
 * Terms of Endangerment: Mare Do Well starts calling Rainbow Dash "Dashie" and "silly filly" in one chapter just to make her uncomfortable.
 * Title Drop:
 * Terms of Endangerment: Mare Do Well starts calling Rainbow Dash "Dashie" and "silly filly" in one chapter just to make her uncomfortable.
 * Title Drop:


 * Tsundere: Rainbow towards Mare Do Well.
 * Two Aliases, One Character: The very premise of the story. One of Rainbow Dash's friends is playing Mare Do Well...she just doesn't know who.
 * Wham! Episode: Chapter 19.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 19, Rainbow Dash gets called out by both Twilight and Mare Do Well for . Mare Do Well also accuses her of not taking their game seriously enough and claims she could've easily discovered her identity if she invaded her friends' privacy even more.
 * Chapter 20 and 21 involve a rather extended one from Rainbow to Mare Do Well, especially after The Reveal.
 * Chapter 20 and 21 involve a rather extended one from Rainbow to Mare Do Well, especially after The Reveal.

"Here I am. This is what I look like."