Rainbow Dash shoved her face into the bowl of oats placed in front of her, gorging herself immediately. It was the first real meal, the first time she could really fill her stomach, in months. And she certainly wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Beside her, Wish sat with the same bowl of oats sitting on the table in front of her. Though the filly hadn’t touched hers yet.
The both of them had been found yesterday by the farmer whose field they crashed into right outside the capitol city. He had both watched Hoofica Castle collapse in the distance and saw their unfortunate flight—arriving shortly after Wish woke up. Of course the both of them passed out again pretty much immediately after he came upon them, they had woken up this morning to learn their “rescuer” had carried them back to his home and given them water while they were out.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mare eat that fast before. Though considering your state I guess that aint a surprise,” the farmer—Beet Harvest—said.
“You’re… telling… me...” Rainbow Dash said between huge mouthfuls of food.
Beet Harvest looked over at Wish, who was still staring at the full bowl without taking a bite. “Your sister okay?”
Rainbow Dash looked over at her with a bit of a concerned look as well. Wish’s eyes weren’t quite empty… but they were cold, and sad, and she hadn’t spoken much since waking up after Rainbow Dash had rescued her from the despair.
“She’s… been through a lot,” Rainbow Dash said. “And she’s not my sister.”
Beet Harvest took another look at the filly and raised an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. “Daughter?”
Rainbow frowned at him while Wish flinched. “Do I look that old?”
“Wasn’t judging… just wondering,” the farmer answered.
“Well no, we’re just friends. That’s it,” Rainbow said.
Beet Harvest nodded and let them get back to their breakfast.
Before Rainbow Dash went back to eating though, she took a look at just how much Beet Harvest had given them. “Err… is this really okay? I know the Inquisitors made you ration heavily… they’re gone but...”
“It’s okay. You two need it far more than I do,” Beet Harvest said. He brought a hoof up to his neck and absently rubbed where the black band used to be. “And you already said that the Inquisitors were gone after what happened in the capitol yesterday… and with the sky back to normal too, it just makes me feel better. Safer.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, I guarantee you don’t have anything like that to worry about anymore.” She snorted. “And hopefully ponies are already tearing down those stupid posters across the whole kingdom...”
“I was mighty happy when I saw the sky again yesterday. Had almost forgotten what it looked like,” Beet Harvest said.
“Seriously,” Rainbow Dash agreed. She looked over at the motionless filly again and frowned. “Wish? You should eat something.”
Wish only minutely shook her head in answer.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Come on, Wish, you really need to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Doesn’t matter, you still need to eat.”
An angry eye flashed up at her from the filly. “You’re not my mom.”
Beet Harvest sat back—silent and nervously confused. Rainbow Dash’s reaction was much more muted, staring down at the young filly as she glared at her. Wish eventually broke contact and went back to angrily frown at her untouched bowl of oats. The dinner table was quiet for a few uncomfortable seconds.
“Hey-” Rainbow Dash said to Beet Harvest. “I know this is your house and all… but do you mind giving the two of us some time alone? I need to talk with her.”
“That’s alright, I can tell that the two of you have some things you need to sort out. I imagine there are a lot of ponies that do after what’s happened over the previous year,” he nodded and sat up from the table, leaving the room and the two of them behind.
When he did, Rainbow Dash reached over and softly brushed Wish’s mane with her hoof, patting the young filly on the back. Wish’s expression slowly softened a bit from angry to just morose.
“You want to talk?”
Wish shrugged. “I dunno.”
“How uh, how much do you remember exactly?” Rainbow asked.
Wish sniffled and lifted a hoof to rub away at a few tears that were starting to form. “I remember what my father said… I remember turning the valve… and then pretty much nothing, just images. Then I woke up with you in that field.” She sadly looked up at Rainbow Dash, her eyes questioning. “Dad’s dead, isn’t he?”
“I...” Rainbow Dash bit her lip, unsure how much she should say. “Yeah… yeah he is, kid.”
“I don’t know,” Wish shook her head as more tears coated her cheeks. “I don’t know how to feel. Is that wrong? Am I broken?”
“No, Wish. You’re not broken,” Rainbow reached down to hug the filly close. “You’ve been through so much, so quickly, it’s okay to not be sure what to feel right now. It’s all okay. You don’t deserve to have gone through any of this, you just need time now, just some time to rest and let things heal.”
“You were right about him...” Wish said.
“I’m sorry I was...”
Wish cried into her chest. “I loved him… I loved him so much… he—he was… but I still loved him, Rainbow Dash.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash pet her mane. “I know.”
“I don’t know what to do… I don’t know where to go… I don’t have anything...” Wish said. “N-Nopony ever cared about me before you came here, not really, and now you’re going to fly away and leave...”
“Kid...”
“You are! I know you are so don’t even try to deny it!” Wish yelled, pushing away from Rainbow Dash and jumping down to the floor, pacing away. “All alone.. I’m going to be alone again.”
“No you aren’t.”
Wish paused and looked back at her.
Rainbow Dash got off her chair and walked over to the filly. She placed her hoof on the filly’s shoulder and took a deep breath. Everything that had happened since Rainbow Dash arrived in Hoofica was playing through her mind, every pony she had met, every fight she had been in, her time in the dungeon… what had occurred only yesterday. The moment she first met Wish. And later the promise she had made to Wish.
“Didn’t I say I would help you? Didn’t I say I wouldn’t stop until I saw your smile? How could I just leave you like this before that? Tell me, Wish—are you happy right now?”
“I...” Wish’s lip quivered, the question so similar to the one she had been asked again and again inside Hoofica Castle. Finally she shook her head back and forth, more tears spilling from her eyes. “No.”
“Then I’m still going to be here for you. And I always will be until I see a true, genuine smile on your face, and you can tell me that you’re happy for real,” she hugged the filly.
“So… you’re staying here with me?” Wish asked.
Rainbow Dash grinned at her. “Now I didn’t quite say that.”
“Huh?”
“Well I mean… do you really want to stay in Hoofica? Seems like you’ve got a lot of bad memories here. And I bet a kid like you would like the opportunity to get out and see the world. After everything else I think you deserve some fun adventuring,” Rainbow tussled her mane.
“So you mean...?” Wish looked up at her with wide eyes.
“That’s right,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “You’re coming with me.”
“You two are leaving already? Where are you going?” Beet Harvest asked them next morning after they had gotten another—still much needed—night of rest at his house. And of course another much needed breakfast.
“Going on a trip,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. She and Wish were standing out on the porch of his home, with Rainbow Dash stretching her body and her wings most of all. “Now that the barrier is down, anypony can go in and out of Hoofica again. Also I guess I didn’t mention it before but I’m not from here anyways, still got a long way to travel personally. And the kid… guess you can say she’s getting a much needed vacation.”
“But you sure you want to leave right now?” He asked again as he looked at Rainbow Dash’s still very thin form, her muscles and fat weren’t going to be back to normal for a little while, and her ribs were still visible along with the marks from a number of injuries she had sustained in the castle battle. “My home is open to the two of you—if Hoofica is back to normal then I need to do my best to make up for all those miserable months and show you the best hospitality I can.”
Rainbow Dash grinned and chuckled. “You did, dude. Thank you. Besides, the kid tells me that there are still tons of towns and cities to the south of here that we’ll be able to stop at at anytime.” She raised an eyebrow at Wish. “Right?”
Wish nodded with a small smile. “That’s right.”
“You can guide me until we get out of the country’s borders,” Rainbow patted her on the shoulder.
“Well then I suppose it’s goodbye and good luck to the two of you,” Beet Harvest said to them. His eyes lingered on Wish for a moment, but the filly seemed in much better condition than yesterday at least.
“Yep, we’ll be flying out of here in just a moment,” Rainbow Dash said. “Uh, but before I forget… do you know Red Wing? The former Captain of the Hoofica Royal Guard.
“I know of him, yes,” Beet Harvest answered.
Rainbow nodded. “Okay. Well at some point, he or some ponies working under him might come by here asking about me. If they do, can you tell them that Rainbow Dash is doing okay?”
“Uh, I suppose so,” he shrugged.
“Thanks again then,” she grinned and turned to Wish. “Ready to go?”
“Ready!” Wish replied.
Rainbow Dash reached down and tossed the filly onto her back. “There you go.”
“I could’ve jumped or climbed up on my own...” Wish frowned.
“Yeah, yeah, relax,” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Just grab on and hold on, kid. I fly fast.”
Wish smirked. “I know.”
Rainbow looked at Beet Harvest one last time and gave him a quick salute. “Bye, dude. Thanks for letting us use your place.”
“Goodbye,” he smiled to them.
Rainbow Dash then blasted off from the ground with Wish on her back, leaving a rainbow trail as she went. Beet Harvest continued to wave after the two of them until they quickly disappeared in the distance. But he kept staring at the sky for a long while afterwards. It was a beautiful day out after all, with a blue sky and white clouds floating around in it.
A truly beautiful day.
“Hoofica looks a lot nicer now than when I first came here,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew with Wish over the landscape. The green ground below, the healthy blue rivers, the wide valleys, the sprawling forests, rocky mountains to the east, it was a beautiful country now that she could see it in its natural state. It really was.
“Mhm...” Wish mumbled in agreement, having difficulty speaking with the wind whipping around her. She wasn’t exactly used to this and her hooves wrapped a little tighter around Rainbow Dash’s neck for safety.
“Er, sorry—I guess I might have to slow down a little,” Rainbow Dash chuckled in embarrassment. “Don’t be afraid to speak up about anything, okay?”
“I won’t be.”
“Good,” Rainbow Dash nodded and looked south. In the distance she could see a small village, and it wasn’t the only one. There were probably ponies out already, going about their business, talking with friends again, going back to normal. She smiled warmly at the thought. “Good...”
“Huh?” Wish said.
“Nothing… just thinking. How are you doing back there? How are you feeling?” Rainbow asked.
Wish was quiet for a second, shifting a little on Rainbow’s back before she responded. “Better… I guess. I just… I’m happy to be with you. I-I know that at least...”
“That’s… that’s probably the best we can do right now,” Rainbow said, a small and sad smile on her face. “But it’ll get better for you, I promise. We can do this together.”
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Wish said.
A cloud overhead briefly drifted in front of the sun and cast a shadow over the two of them before they were out from under it. And the friendly and inviting landscape of Hoofica continued to pass by beneath them, Rainbow Dash and Wish flying on and on.