//------------------------------// // Father // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// When Wish went to class today, Little Note’s desk was missing entirely. It looked like he was never coming back. That already sent her mood down the drain and it’s not like it had been a great mood to begin with. It was becoming more and more difficult to actually keep a smile on her face and act happy. Maybe Star Eyes, or whoever it was that decided what went on in this classroom, knew that because what they were doing today was reading and checking the grammar and writing of some classic Hoofica children’s stories. At least those were fun to read. Reading a story about a family of mice building a raft out of discarded popsicle sticks to journey down a creek was certainly a good way to escape from the current dreary world around her. So the one good thing she could think about right now was how it was going to be an easy and relaxed day in class. Every time she read the word “father” or “dad” in the story though it sent a sharp pang through her chest. She tried to ignore that too and just enjoy the story. There were others to read that came after, others that wouldn’t have such a painful reminder for her. Not when she was trying to escape reality. The next story was about a pony building a hot-air balloon and traveling across Hoofica in it, after that was a story about a unicorn going to a new school that only had pegasi, and then a story about a pony being shrunken down to the size of an ant and trying to find her way back home. Each little story had its own little moral. Wish was familiar with them all, her mother and father had read some of them to her when she was younger. Or she had read them for class back in Ashen Birch Thicket. She glanced at Comet Burst—he was taking diligent notes while reading. She glanced at Bright Dawn and Aqua Jewel—they were taking notes as well. Wish, in her desire to escape reality around her, had pretty much forgotten about the actual assignment. If she flat out told Star Eyes she didn’t feel like working, what would Star Eyes say? Probably that that was a-okay and whatever made Wish happy went. Wish almost snorted as she realized how likely that was. How she could just do nothing, or blatantly copy what the others were doing, or mess around, and Star Eyes and her fellow classmates would just smile and cheer. All that mattered was her being happy, right? Wish clenched her hooves as she read. No way. I’m not that kind of pony. Just no way. It would take a little extra work, but she’d make up for her lack of note taking now. Together the class read the classic tales and took notes for the better part of two hours. It was only a dent in what one could call the library of Hoofica’s children stories but they had gotten through most of the more popular ones. A better day than learning about some dumb new math stuff. It was also something that her classmates probably needed, not just her. Whether that was Star Eyes choice or somepony elses, Wish again didn’t know. “I think that was certainly a fun day of class,” Star Eyes said as everypony finished the last story. “What was everypony’s favorite story? Comet Burst?” “Gobbler and the Great Balloon,” Comet Burst smiled. “That was always my favorite one.” “I love that one too,” Star Eyes nodded. “What about you, Bright Dawn.” “Um… that one’s also my favorite. I remember reading it when I was little,” the pegasus filly said. “Nothing wrong with both of you having the same favorite. And you, Aqua Jewel?” Star Eyes asked the other little pegasus. “My favorite is the one with the pony who lives in the lake. Princess Lilypad,” Aqua Jewel answered. “A very sweet story. And what about you, Wish? Which one is your favorite?” Star Eyes finally asked her. “I-” Wish thought for a second. Which one did she like the most? While it had been pleasant enough to read them all she couldn’t say that she had any real opinions or feelings on them. They were nice. That was it. Was she just having trouble really getting attached to anything? She felt like her heart shouldn’t feel as dull as it did. “I think my favorite was The Traveling Mice Family.” It was as good an answer as any. “That’s a very cute story,” Star Eyes beamed at her before looking down at her desk at a piece of paper. “And I think that just about wraps things up for today. Wish, I believe your maid is already waiting for you.” The only way Star Eyes could actually know that is by habit and knowing the schedule, but Wish didn’t call her out on it. Instead she smile and stood up from her desk, waving goodbye to the teacher and her classmates. “Goodbye, I’ll see you tomorrow!” “See you tomorrow, Wish!” Everypony replied together. Once she left the classroom she found Dotty there waiting for her. Just like usual. What was unusual though was that Dotty seemed happier than normal. And since she was normally already all smiles and giggles it was especially strange. Her eyes had an extra brightness to them and her smile seemed a bit wider and more peppy. Wish raised an eyebrow at her. “Is something up, Dotty?” “I have a surprise for you!” The ecstatic maid yelled. Wish stepped back, startled by the volume. “W-What?” “I can’t tell you, that would spoil it. Just come on and come back to your chambers with me!” Dotty giggled. “Okay...” Wish shrugged and followed Dotty along as they made the return trip up to the third tower. She couldn’t imagine any surprise Dotty had for her would be anything Wish cared about, but she could feign interest in it and at least act happy when it came. And meanwhile of course Dotty was teasing her about the great surprise the whole time they walked. “You’re gonna love it~” Dotty sang as they walked up the stairs to the towers. “You’re really making it sound like a great surprise.” “I’m just trying to get you excited!” “Well, I’m excited,” Wish lied. They passed through the second tower and went up the stairs that would now take the both of them right to the third tower. Dotty knew what her favorite food was now, maybe she had something prepared for lunch? Or maybe they were going to do something with painting? Wish probably shouldn’t be so pessimistic about it, Dotty was clearly trying her best. “Heehee~” the maid giggled right on schedule as they emerged from the stairs. “The surprise is for me but you’re more excited than I-” Wish’s words stopped dead in her throat as she looked towards the front doors leading to her chambers. There was a pony standing right outside of them. An older brown unicorn stallion with a short orange mane and tail and the friendliest pair of green eyes a pony could have. He wore a black and white pin-striped suit with a red tie and a white undershirt beneath it. Upon seeing Wish, the stallion lifted up a hoof to smile and wave at her. Wish’s jaw dropped. The stallion raised an amused eyebrow at her and chuckled briefly. “Well aren’t you going to say hello, my darling?” “Dad!” Wish shouted and ran at full speed at him, galloping over the stone floor and practically propelling herself into him, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Hahahaha,” her father laughed in his fairly deep voice and quickly put his hooves around her. “So “Dad”, huh? Not father?” Wish blushed. “Sorry! I was just so excited to see you and-” “Relax, darling,” he patted her head. “I’m only teasing. You can call me dad if you want, it’s far less formal and stuffy than saying father all the time, isn’t it? And so excited? It’s only been about a week since we last saw each other.” “I-I know, I just missed you,” Wish said. “I missed you too, my work here is just very important. At least we’re getting to see each other now. In fact I have the whole rest of the day free. I made sure of it just for you,” he said. Wish smiled and her eyes sparkled up at him. “Really?” He nodded. “Really.” Dotty then finished walking up to them with a big grin on her face, and bowed. “I’ll be leaving her in your care then until tomorrow morning.” “Thank you, Dotted Easel. You’ve done a wonderful job as Wish’s maid so far,” her father said. “Enjoy the rest of your day however you see fit.” “Thank you, Master Dreamweaver,” Dotty said. Dreamweaver looked back down at his daughter and smiled. “Now then, how’s lunch sound?” None of the other maids and butlers stood around the table in Wish’s room this time as she and her father ate together. It was just time for them and that was exactly how Wish wanted it. She wasn’t sitting at the head of the table this time but right next to it so her father could sit across from her. The typical lunch meal was placed in front of her and she and her father were eating cheese and hay sandwiches together. “Aren’t these fantastic?” Dreamweaver said. “Hay and cheese is hardly a rare treat but the castle certainly has access to the best.” “Mhm!” Wish smiled and swallowed down what she was eating, her cheeks rosy. “Way better than any sandwich I had before coming here.” Dreamweaver reached over and ruffled her mane. “That’s my good little filly. I know it was a tough adjustment coming here at first, but everything is so much better now for the both of us, you especially. Your maids and teacher tell me how happy you’ve been, always a good ten out of ten.” “Y-Yeah,” Wish nodded. She couldn’t disappoint him. She didn’t want to ruin this day by speaking about how she really felt. If they could only see each other once a week, Wish wanted those to be the moments when she could be truly happy. “If anything isn’t ever completely perfect you only need to tell me or your maid. Everything will be done to make you happy.” “I know, dad.” Dreamweaver smiled. “Which is why I have something extra special planned for us right after lunch. You know the opera hall in the south wing of course?” “Uh-huh,” Wish nodded. “I’ve asked the King and Queen if they can arrange a performance of “The Farmer and the Noble Lady”. They’ve gotten the best thespians together from across Hoofica just for tonight! Not only that but we’ll be seated in the best box in the hall to watch it. Doesn’t that sound fun?” Dreamweaver told her. “Yeah! I’ve never seen an opera before,” Wish said. Dreamweaver chuckled. “Some of them are quite stuffy, I chose one more comedic and fun. Figured that would suit your tastes better.” Wish giggled. “Yeah, maybe just a bit.” “Well let’s finish up eating here and then the two of us can head over to the opera hall. Although they won’t start until we arrive, so I suppose we can take our time if you want to eat more,” Dreamweaver said. “Um… actually,” Wish twiddled her hooves as she looked down at her plate with a blush. “I have something I want to show you.” “Hm? What?” Her father raised an eyebrow at her. Wish grinned and hopped off her chair. “Just one second!” She ran towards her bedchamber and opened up the door, heading inside and reaching up to her dresser to grab something. With pure glee she rushed back out into the boudoir and over to his chair, unrolling her painting and showing it to him. “Ta-da!” Did she just unconsciously do the same thing Dotty did? “I painted this in class!” Wish proudly said. “It’s me and you!” “Thank you, Wish, I could tell,” her father chuckled as he looked the painting over. “It’s quite a nice painting you have there. I wouldn’t be surprised one day to see a paint brush on that flank of yours.” “Hehe...” Wish blushed and rolled the painting back up. “I-It’s not that good.” “I beg to disagree, sweetheart,” he patted her head again. “And I’m sure Dotted Easel can help you out with any pointers now if you think you need them.” Wish nodded. “Mm, we painted a little together last night. She draws really good landscapes and buildings and I mostly draw ponies. I thought we could probably make something really good together.” “I’d love to see it when you do.” “Thank you...” Wish blushed. Dreamweaver got a contemplative look on his face. “Hmm… actually, do you mind if I keep that painting of yours? I’d love to hang it up in my lab.” Wish gasped in surprise. “T-This one? This one I just made in class during free time?” “Of course, what else?” He grinned. “W-Well, um...” “Wish, don’t be embarrassed for a second. It’s a lovely painting,” he lit up his horn and levitated it out of her hooves, unfolding it and taking another look at it. “Just you and me. I couldn’t ask for anything better.” He folded it up and stuck it into one of the pockets of his suit. “There we go, safe and sound.” Wish almost wanted to cry, she was so happy. “I’m really glad you like it...” “Of course I do,” he patted her head again and straightened up, getting out of his chair. “Well, I suppose we should get off to the opera. Even if it’s for our benefit, it would be somewhat improper if we kept them waiting for too long. The others in the hall are probably looking forward to seeing it too.” “Others?” Wish blinked. “Well it’s such a large hall, there may not be other guests like normal in the castle anymore, but I still felt the seats needed to be filled. A number of guards and other servants are getting a lucky break today. The King and Queen will be there as well,” Dreamweaver explained. Wish didn’t exactly like the Queen that much from the few times she had met her, but they wouldn’t be sitting in the same box anyways so it wasn’t a big deal. The royal family had their own special place to sit in the opera hall. It was a little funny to think about, normally the operas held there would only be watched by the richest and most famous ponies of Hoofica, personal guests of the King and Queen. Now it was going to be filled up with guards and servants because practically nopony else was allowed in the castle anymore. “Ready to go?” Dreamweaver asked her. “Yep!” Wish answered. “I can’t wait to see it!” In truth, she would’ve enjoyed doing anything as long as she was with her father. He could’ve said they were going to go throw tomatoes against a wall and she would’ve been ecstatic just because it was something for the two of them to do together. An opera certainly sounded more fun than that but it was getting to spend time with her father that was the main attraction. Also, she hadn’t ever been in the south wing of the castle before. She learned about it, she knew it was there, but she’d never actually been inside and certainly had never been inside the opera hall itself. She wondered what it was like. Probably quite grand. As they left her chambers together, Wish noticed something else—there weren’t any guards standing around anymore. Not by the stairs or anywhere. She wondered if maybe all the ones normally on duty were in the opera hall or if perhaps her father saw no reason for there to be guards around when he was with her. She knew the Queen had given him a lot of favor but she didn’t know exactly how much influence her father had over the guards. It must’ve been something either he or the Head Inquisitor decided. Wish still almost shuddered thinking about her. But a quick look up at the happy face of her father quashed any such negative emotions. This was a great day. And a time to have fun. It was a long walk to the opera hall but Wish enjoyed it more than most of her walks through the castle thanks mostly to her father being with her but also because she got to see new art and stuff she hadn’t seen before. By the time they arrived at the large foyer that led into the opera hall her hooves were a little bit tired. Down, up, and then back down and to the opposite side of the castle. The foyer leading into the hall was located at the ground floor of the castle as well, the opera hall itself was three stories but you could only get into it from down here. Wish wondered where exactly the box she and her father were going to be sitting in was. “Just a few more stairs, darling,” her father said. Well that answered that question. Dreamweaver led the two of them into the hall’s lobby. It was painted gold with red velvet curtains on the wall, giving it a prettier look than the typical harsh black stone of the castle. The ceiling also had a large decorative panoramic painting of pegasi flying through the sky while earth ponies and unicorns galloped through a beautiful meadow. While Wish gawked up at it, her father took her to the spiral stairwell on the left side of the opera hall while the big doors to the floor seats remained closed. The other “guests” were probably all inside and seated already. They went up the golden steps all the way to the third floor and then traveled down a well-lit corridor to the very back. A door was open to the right and she and her father stepped through to emerge into a private box that had two luxurious and extremely comfortable looking chairs placed in it. The box gave them an excellent view of both the stage and most of the ponies seated below them. It wasn’t a full house but at least the closest half of the floor seats to the stage were filled up. No other boxes were in use though. Aside from one. Directly across the way, on the right side of the opera hall, sat a larger than average box. There were two chairs just like this side but there were also several armored guards standing behind them. A purple and gold trim also lined the box—denoting its royal nature. The seats were of course occupied by the King and Queen of Hoofica, it was difficult to really see them from the distance across the hall, but Wish recognized them. The Queen also seemed to notice their arrival, it looked like she was waving at them. “Them”. Wish almost rolled her eyes, she was waving at her father and nopony else. The King meanwhile seemed to be gazing intently down at the stage, waiting for the opera to start. Her father gave the Queen a small wave and smiled as he sat down while Wish sat in the other chair. Much to her annoyance—it had a booster seat in it so she could see over the railing of the box without trouble. She wanted to knock the dumb thing off but that wouldn’t get her anywhere. She made do with a discreet glare and sat down as well. “The opera should start in just a few moments now,” Dreamweaver said to her, keeping his voice low so it wouldn’t carry down to the other ponies in attendance. Wish nodded and smiled at her father. “Thank you for bringing me here to see it. I-I’m really happy to get to see it with you.” “I’ll try and find some more time for us to do things like this together. Or even just poke my head in every now and then to say hi, you deserve it.” Dreamweaver smiled sadly at her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d miss me so much. But it proves how special and wonderful of a pony you are that you could keep your chin up and stay happy. Just remember to stay happy, always give me those perfect, ten out of ten days.” “I will, dad,” Wish said. She could do it for him. Forget everything weird going on, forget all the nightmares, at least her father was still here and he loved her. That was all she needed. Maybe some days it would be tough if she hadn’t seen him in a while, but just being reminded about stuff like this was enough to help her. “Oh, the curtain’s rising.” Wish looked down and saw the large stage curtain being lifted to reveal the sets and ponies acting in the opera behind it. There was a lengthy backdrop placed at the back of the stage, painted as a wide open farmland with a fancy mansion on top of a hill in the background while the foreground was taken up by a simple dirt road and a farmhouse on one side. On the stage itself there was only one pony standing at the moment—a stallion dressed up as a farmer. Ratty overalls, a stick of hay in his mouth, a dirty straw hat on his head, and a hoe held over his back. She’d find it an over the top portrayal of a farmer if it wasn’t so accurate to all the farmers she knew back where she came from. From stage left another pony emerged—a mare dressed up in puffy, frilly, white and purple clothes. She walked with charm and grace and held a fan in front of her lower face while heavy eye shadow was visible on her eyelids. Wish didn’t know much about this opera, but she was pretty sure the two of them must be the titular farmer and noble lady. Music started coming from somewhere, she wondered if maybe there was an orchestra behind or under the stage or perhaps a record player placed somewhere. It was a light melody of strings—setting the scene of a pleasant morning. “And yet another gorgeous morning, here I walk my lands again~” The mare started singing, shortly joined by the farmer. “And yet another hot morning, here I work the lands again~” Wish leaned in intently, the way they sang they were able to project their voices through the entire hall. The mare had an impressive contralto voice while the stallion was a surprising tenor. Just the sound of their singing was drawing her in before she even really knew what the story of the opera was. “One of my farmers is it? What a crude and ugly pony~” The noble lady sang, folding her fan and showing off a smile that belied her true thoughts. “Is that my lady that I see? What a lovely and sweet pony~” The farmer sang, far more generous and upfront with his feelings. Romance was, in a word, icky to Wish. From the way her father had described the opera she expected there to be some comedy or other entertaining stuff coming soon. She hoped at least. She briefly looked down at the audience and saw all of them smiling at the stage and the performance. It had to be more enjoyable than standing around guarding hallways or cleaning them, no surprise they were liking the time off. Wish glanced back at them a second time—there was something about the audience that seemed a little off to her. Everypony was being too perfect. Just smiling widely and not taking their eyes off the stage for a second. Wish had been to some plays as a kid, and had been in one or two at her old school, and she knew no audience behaved that well. Some of them should be talking in hushed tones with each other, or disinterested, or at least have a more neutral expression on their faces. But they didn’t. Were they even actually paying attention to or enjoying the opera at all? It reminded her of her class. That thought brought her attention back to the stage. Sure, the mare and stallion were smiling and looked all happy. But they were actors. They were performing an opera right now. How did they really feel? What would they say and look like when the curtain fell back down? Where did they come from and what would they go back to? The sky outside was dark everywhere. She looked up at her father. He was happily watching the opera go on. Good. That was all she needed. Don’t think about the other stuff. Don’t think about the other stuff. As she endlessly repeated that mantra and tried to keep a smile on her face, she forgot to pay attention to the opera. Once more everything around her became a vague shadow. The world was all dark and fuzzy, she was on an island with nopony else around- The sound of clapping hooves snapped her back to reality. “A marvelous act one, but acts two and three are where the story really picks up,” Dreamweaver happily said as he clapped in appreciation of the performance. Wish was sweating without realizing it but she quickly regained control of herself and acted normal. “Yeah… I really like the farmer.” “Hah, I knew you would. Reminds you of quite a few old ponies from back home, doesn’t he?” Her father smiled at her. “Yep,” Wish nodded. “Well his best moments are yet to come. I know this is going to be another ten out of ten day for you. This opera should be a delightful memory.” Wish felt warmth fill up her chest, her momentary dark thoughts discarded temporarily. “Any day where I can spend time with the best dad in the world is automatically a ten out of ten!” She smiled and puffed out her chest. Dreamweaver had a sparkle in his eyes as he gazed down at her. “My darling, I’m more happy than you could know to hear you say that. And this “Best dad in the world” still promises to make you the happiest pony in the world.” Wish came close to crying tears of joy as she sat up straight and positively glowed. The rest of the opera was a lot easier to watch after that. Wish could pay attention to it and the darker thoughts at the edge of her mind were kept at bay by the warmth and love from the parent sitting next to her. And it turned out her father was right; it really did pick up in acts two and three. “That was the best! Way better than any play I saw back home!” Wish said as she and her father walked out of the opera hall. “It was so funny in act three when, snort, when—the farmer came out in the lady’s dress a-and had to pretend that he was the lady to convince the Prince not marry her. And then the lady threw that bucket of water on him!” Wish’s sentences devolved into a fit of giggles. Dreamweaver chuckled along. “Perhaps we can see it again someday, or even another opera maybe.” “As long as we go together,” Wish smiled and pressed against him as they walked. “Of course,” Dreamweaver smiled. Now they had a ways to walk before they made it back up to the towers. They were still on the ground floor of the castle after all, in the central area right underneath the spiraling towers. They had to make about a quarter turn and then go up three flights before they reached the tower stairs. At least getting to sit down for so long allowed Wish to rest her hooves. And with her father and the happy mood she was in, she just had boundless energy. “We’re eating dinner together too, right?” She asked her father. “Of course!” He repeated with another chuckle. “I bet you’d love a slice of chocolate cake right now.” “Mhm, definitely.” Wish trotted on giddily through the castle. Once they got closer to the stairwell that they needed to go up, she noticed something that she hadn’t before when they first came down. It was another open entryway situated in the wall right behind the stairwell, and through it was a staircase that went down. Down below ground level. Wish hadn’t seen it earlier because it was slightly sunken back in the corner and her father had ushered her in the opposite direction towards the opera hall when they came out onto the ground floor. Surprisingly there were also guards standing outside of it. She had thought that pretty much every guard had gotten to go to the opera, or had stopped watching over things because she was with her father. But not these ones. There was no sign or any indication of what might be down those stairs and yet… as Wish looked at them, for some reason they felt familiar. Why? She had just noticed them for the first time, hadn’t she? She didn’t see them just a few hours ago, she knew that for sure. They must just go to some kind of underground storage. There was probably a big basement in the castle for holding stuff like food and other supplies. That had to be it. What else could be down there, after all? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! A scream shot through Wish’s head and she almost stumbled as a sudden headache assaulted her. She reached up and grabbed her head in pain, squinting her eyes and looking at the stairs. Her vision was blurry but for a moment—a moment that might not have even been real—she saw the shadows of phantoms at the stairs. An indistinct, fuzzy, tangled, mess of phantoms. A few white ones, and one in the middle that was an eye-shattering rainbow. Wish’s breath caught in her throat as her head pounded. “Wish? What’s wrong?” Her father asked her, having come to a stop in front of her. He had a concerned frown on his face. She panted and blinked a few times, the phantoms at the stairs were gone. Did she even actually see that? “S-Sorry, dad. I just got a headache all of a sudden...” “Aww, my poor darling,” he softly rubbed her head, trying to do his best to lessen the pain. “Must be all the excitement. Let’s get you back up to your chambers.” “Y-Yeah...” Wish swallowed and smiled for her father as the two of them entered the stairwell. “Thanks, dad.” She tried to take one last look at the other stairs as they trotted on up to the third floor, but they were already out of sight.