Wish sat at the head of her dinner table in her small home, mother and father sitting across from each other and laughing as the family had dinner together. It could’ve been any evening. The happy faces of the three ponies showed a loving family, anypony that came for a visit would see that. A slice of chocolate cake was sliced into three smaller pieces—the largest of which given to Wish of course. A fork levitated by magic aimed a piece of cake straight towards Wish’s mouth and she ate it up with a giggle, her father winking at her. Her mother ate the slice of chocolate cake in front of her before bringing a glass of wine to her lips to wash it all down.
Wish came home from school one day with a happy smile on her face. It had been a great day but she was just as happy to finally come home. Her father was away on a personal trip but her mother was still at home, tonight they were going to play games together. Wish giggled as she opened up the door and called out for her mother, announcing she was home. There wasn’t an answer though so maybe she was in the garden out back. Oh well, Wish tossed her book bag to the floor and trotted inside…
Wish looked down at a patch of ground in the garden behind her family’s home.
Wish wandered through the forest and picked flowers.
Wish and her father ate dinner happily together while a new picture sat on the mantle of their fireplace.
Wish looked up at the high towers of Hoofica Castle as she and her father came through the capitol city of Hoofica. They were so tall, she had been able to see them from far away already, the shadows they cast put so much of the city in darkness while the sun was out. She didn’t have a smile on her face, but her father did.
Wish woke up in a lavish four-poster bed.
Wish ate an unparalleled feast of food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Wish went to class with other ponies who didn’t have real smiles.
Wish’s maid disappeared.
Wish watched as the Queen tried to replace her mother in her father’s life.
Wish went through nightmare after nightmare about screaming ponies, the Head Inquisitor, a fire out in the country, needles, black ooze drowning everything.
Wish felt safe and secure when the blue comet with the rainbow trail was flying through the sky. It was the only thing that brought light and warmth into this dark world and the darker recesses of her mind. How come she never saw her father in her dreams doing the same thing for her? Why was she perpetually having these nightmares? What were they trying to tell her? Why couldn’t things just go back to the way they were when it was just her and her father, happy together in their home? How come no matter what happened she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread inside her?
Wish sat in front of a chained up pegasus as the two of them looked deeply into each other’s eyes. Truth. Trust. Goodness. She saw all of these things. The pegasus saw all of them as well. But there was fear, hesitation, worry, guilt, and love as well. Everything that kept the chains from being undone. Tears that fell, a crying filly, an ashamed mare.
Wish had a family.
Wish had her father.
Wish thought for a long time that that was all she needed. But in the end, no matter how much her father tried to make her happy and convince her that her happiness was all that mattered, she never stopped feeling sympathy and empathizing for the other ponies of Hoofica. Why couldn’t everypony be happy?
Wish woke up.
She hadn’t had a nightmare, and she knew the reason why.
It was because she had finally made her choice. There was no more denial or delusion in her mind. It hurt. It was painful because she loved her father and she knew he loved her too. But that didn’t change the truth. It didn’t change that ponies were suffering and right now she was the only one who could help.
Supposedly Rainbow Dash had a way to free herself, or do something at the very least—she had been a little vague, but she hadn’t done so just yet. And Wish also knew the reason for that as well.
It’s because she believed in Wish, she believed Wish would come back.
Of course, Wish getting back down to that dungeon today wasn’t going to be easy. She threw off her covers and pulled away the curtain on her bed to look at the clock. Seven in the morning. Dotty would be here soon. And unfortunately Wish didn’t really know a good way to get out from under her. She probably couldn’t try running off or ditching her because as soon as Dotty noticed she was gone she’d raise a fuss. So what was there to do?
For now she should probably just act normal.
That meant just resting in bed and putting a fake smile on her face until her cheery maid came in. Wish thought that maybe she could just talk to Dotty first and see if she could convince her… but probably not. Either way that would all have to wait until after her morning bath, grooming, and breakfast.
It wasn’t long before her bedchamber door was opened up and a happy Dotty waltzed on in. “Wish? It’s time to wake—oh! You’re already awake, good morning!”
“Good morning, Dotty,” Wish smiled at her.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Dotty asked her.
Wish shrugged. “As good as ever, I don’t know if I feel like going to class today though. I was thinking maybe we could just have fun today?”
“That always sounds good to me!” Dotty smiled. “Just tell me what you want to do, but first, let’s get you washed up and have some breakfast.”
“Okay,” Wish nodded.
She didn’t wait for Dotty to get the steps, simply jumping out of the bed on her own. After that Dotty prepared the bath and got the usual assortment of bath salts, soaps, and shampoos ready to give Wish the 5-star treatment. Wish could’ve done without it but she knew right now it was probably best to just let Dotty do her thing. After doing this nearly every morning for a while, Dotty had gotten a lot better at it too. While Wish relaxed in the hot water of the large marble tub, Dotty scrubbed her mane and coat and made sure she rubbed in all the right stuff.
After that the combing and mane styling went by as normal. Her rosy red mane was finished up straight just the way she liked it.
It was a normal day so far. As she looked at herself in the mirror while Dotty finished up the last bits of grooming, she really did look the same as always.
It was only the inside that had changed.
“Well, don’t you just look as cute as a button,” Dotty said and giggled.
Wish rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Dotty.”
“Breakfast should be all out on the table by now. Let’s go,” Dotty said and led the way out of both the bathroom and Wish’s bedchambers. Of course she was right, the servants in the castle were always punctual, and the table was already set with the usual suspects standing around it.
Truthfully Wish wasn’t that hungry but she still had to act normal for at least a little while longer. And she had absolutely no idea how this day would turn out, it was probably best to get some sustenance in her. That wasn’t chocolate cake or some other dessert.
So Wish ended up eating a normal breakfast, at a fairly quick pace since she was still feeling impatient, and afterwards the servants left like they normally did. Once again it was just Wish and Dotty.
Dotty of course opened her mouth back up as soon as possible. “So what do you want to do today?”
Wish blinked and hopped off her chair first, walking up to Dotty while her brow knitted together in a combination of stress and apprehension. “Um, I wanted to ask you something first actually.”
“What?” Dotty innocently tilted her head.
“So… I know my father told you that you can’t let me… but can we really not go to the dungeon again?” Wish asked her.
Dotty nearly froze up, a worried frown on her face and she looked away while sweat started to drip from her brow. “I-I’m sorry, Wish. But I was given explicit instructions to not let you go to the dungeon at all. I’m not even really supposed to let you out of my sight for a while now. And I really don’t think you should go there anyways, you were really upset last time and-”
“It’s okay!” Wish interrupted. She sighed and took a deep breath. “I understand, Dotty. I know you’re just following orders and you want to look out for me. It’s okay. Just forget I asked, I was being silly asking anyways.”
“S-Sorry,” Dotty still looked a little guilty and it of course made Wish feel guilty as well.
“Don’t be, I know I shouldn’t have asked,” she said.
Dotty shook her head a bit and put a small smile back on her face. “If you still want to just have fun today though we can certainly do that. There’s a lot of different things we can do!”
Wish had to think. What were her options? What was a way to get away from Dotty and get down to the dungeon? She looked around the boudoir—acting like she was just thinking about ideas for fun things to do—when really her mind was completely elsewhere. What was the answer. What was the answer to this problem.
She saw it.
A horrible feeling turned her stomach into coils, since she was going to have to do something bad. Something that was going to make her feel even more guilty to Dotty. But in the end it had to be done.
Wish licked her lips and brightly looked up at Dotty. “Let’s just paint!”
Sitting on the table in front of her and her easel was a flowerpot taken down from one of the cabinets in the room. Wish was practicing her still life painting abilities with it. At least that was what she had told Dotty she wanted to do. The reality was that at the moment she was just trying to gain the nerve to… Wish clenched her hooves. She knew what she had to do right now to get to Rainbow Dash but it didn’t make it any easier.
Briefly looking up from her easel she saw Dotty right across from her, focused on her own painting like usual.
The actual painting of the flowerpot for Wish was going poorly. Enough that if Dotty came around to look at it she would’ve cringed. Even for something that wasn’t Wish’s specialty it looked bad. There was a lack of detail, lines were crooked, it was lacking a three-dimensional look, and she hadn’t even gotten to coloring the flower yet. Wish was simply too nervous to put her heart into the painting, her pulse was skyrocketing with every passing moment.
She couldn’t screw this up. She had to act now before she chickened out.
Reaching for a smaller brush, Wish “accidentally” dropped it and had it roll right under her couch. The gap in the couch was big enough for a hoof to reach in, but not big enough to crawl under. She made sure the brush rolled far enough she wouldn’t have been able to reach it.
“Oops,” Wish loudly said. “Um, Dotty? Can you help me with something?”
“What is it?” Dotty only just now looked up from her painting. “Do you need advice on your still life? Did you make a mistake on it?”
“N-No, nothing like that. I just dropped a brush and it rolled under the couch, can you get it for me?” Wish asked. She tried very hard to act natural and keep her voice from wavering.
“Of course! Leave it to me!” Dotty smiled and put her own brush down.
She came over to Wish’s side of the table and dropped down to the carpet, peaking beneath the couch and looking for where the brush was. Wish heard her humming to herself as she reached her hoof under the couch in an attempt to retrieve the brush. Her eyes were glued to below the couch. Dotty’s attention was completely off of Wish.
And Wish’s eyes glanced over to the flowerpot on the table.
Wish moved from the couch to the table without Dotty noticing. She was quiet, fluid, as she stepped onto the table. Her small hooves didn’t make a sound.
Nor did she make a sound as she grabbed the flowerpot and lifted it over her head while she looked down at Dotty.
“I really like you, Dotty.” Wish said to her.
Dotty giggled. “Aw, I really like you t-”
She didn’t get to finish that sentence as Wish slammed the flowerpot over her head. With a resounding crack the flowerpot shattered and Dotty lied still on the carpet between the floor and the table, dirt and bits of ceramic all over her head. There wasn’t even a grunt of pain or anything.
“D-Dotty?” Wish gulped and jumped off the table, the sudden terror that she had accidentally done more than just knock her out filled her chest.
But her fears were unfounded. As she looked at the prone maid she saw a steady rise and fall of her body. Still breathing.
Wish sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from her brow. But there was no time to relax, she had to act fast now. There was no telling how long Dotty would actually be unconscious for or if anypony else might come in here and find her. She ran over to the door leading out of her chambers and quickly exited before quickly making her way to the stairs leading to the lower towers as well. While she wanted to just sprint the whole way, that might cause a ruckus and anypony who saw her might get suspicious. She still had to act natural. So Wish ended up walking at a quick pace down the stairs.
Please forgive me when you wake up, Dotty. Wish apologized in her head.
She really didn’t want to have to do that. She really wished she could’ve thought of a better solution. But there wasn’t time for that. Every second that passed by was another second Rainbow Dash spent in that dungeon. It was something that had to change. Wish was making her way down to the dungeon to correct her previous mistake, and to stop an injustice, and hopefully to help many, many more ponies.
The route from her chambers to the maw leading down to the dungeon felt miles longer than it actually was today and her mind was going at super speeds the whole time. She was trying to keep herself from sweating or looking nervous in any way. There were still other obstacles that she needed to overcome before she could get to Rainbow Dash and if she wasn’t acting totally calm and cool she probably wasn’t going to be able to get past them.
After an eternity, she made it once more to the bottom floor to the castle and turned to see the usual two guards flanking the entrance to the underground sections.
They saw her as well and a single uncertain glance was shared between them before they continued looking dead ahead.
It was only when Wish started walking towards them—clearly on the path to go down below—that the two guards became more wary. When she was only a few steps away, they both stepped in front of her and blocked her path. Wish merely stood there, not reacting in surprise or annoyance or trying to run past them. She instead slowly looked up at the two of them and raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry, young lady-” One of them said to her. “But your father has given us explicit instructions that you are no longer allowed to enter the dungeon.”
“He changed his mind,” Wish solidly stated to the two of them.
The guards were surprised at the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes, they almost took a step back. The other one frowned uncertainly and questioned Wish. “We didn’t hear anything abou-”
“He only told me just now. He came by and said I could go back to the dungeons if I wanted to,” Wish defiantly folded her hooves in front of her chest. “Are you going to let me through now?”
“Uhh… we, we really can’t just-” the first started before Wish again cut him off.
“Well you could go and ask him yourself and then explain why you didn’t believe something his own dearly beloved daughter told you,” Wish glared at them. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be upset about something like that. I’m totally sure the Head Inquisitor wouldn’t be contacted about it either.”
It actually made Wish feel even more guilty and sick to threaten something like that, but it paid off when both guards paled and stepped aside.
“G-Go right ahead, young lady,” the second guard said.
“Thank you,” Wish turned up her nose as she walked past the both of them and started the descent down the dark stairs.
Well that was easier than I thought it would be. Wish blinked and thought to herself. But still, she was praying and praying internally that Vox wasn’t down here right now. If she was then things might be totally hopeless. And even if she wasn’t, Wish still needed to convince that other Inquisitor at the desk to let her through, give her the keys, and leave the dungeon. What could she do to convince him to do that?
She sighed deeply and tried to calm herself down. She needed to approach this level-headed.
Her hoofsteps echoed as she walked down and down to make it to the dungeon once more. Wish was all alone for the moment and it made her worry even more for what was coming up next. If she just had Dotty by her side all of this would be so much easier. She passed through the halls, passed under the torches, and finally started walking down the narrow stairs that would end with her emerging into the dungeon. She’d be at the homestretch.
Vox hadn’t stabbed her from behind with a needle yet either. That was a plus.
At the final step, Wish walked out and immediately looked to her left, up at the desk and the same Inquisitor that had the unenviable task of manning it. No Vox anywhere. Fortune was favoring Wish today.
However, the other Inquisitor still looked down at her with surprise. Obviously he had been informed that she shouldn’t be here as well. And it wasn’t just that she had to get by him, she had to get the keys too.
Wish wasn’t letting him get the first word in though, she had to come off as strong.
But what did she say?! She hadn’t thought of that yet and the Inquisitor’s lips were already moving!
“The Head Inquisitor wanted to talk to you,” Wish blurted out. It was the first thing that came to mind: when in doubt, use the fear that everypony had for Vox.
His eyebrows shot up, a moment of fear in his eyes before it was replaced by plain confusion. “What are you talking about? And why are you even down here, young lady?”
“My father let me come again,” Wish used the same lie again. It was probably the best one to use. “Since I was coming here, Vox told me to tell you that she wanted to talk to you about something important. She’s waiting up at the second tower.”
The Inquisitor leveled his suspicious gaze at her. “That… doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
“It’s Vox.” Wish shrugged.
“Well, be that as it may, I can’t leave my post unattended,” he said.
Wish grimaced and looked back up the stairs. “Are you sure? She seemed pretty agitated. It might be bad to keep her waiting...”
“I have been ordered by her specifically to not leave this desk,” he said, his eyes narrowing.
“Well would you rather make her mad by accidentally disobeying her or purposefully disobeying her? Cause you kind of know how she is. I mean… do you really want to give her an excuse for putting that metal cage on your head too?” Wish asked him.
He paled, his eyes immediately looking over to the door where the box and the device were kept behind. “Umm… uh...”
“I promise to stay here and wait for you to come back,” Wish said, sitting down in front of his desk.
“I… uh… I-I really should get going then,” he stood up and, with surprising haste, walked out and up the stairs of the dungeon.
Wish watched him go until he disappeared from sight and then let out a deep breath in relief. “Am I just good at this or is everypony really that scared?”
Either way, it was the moment of truth now. There was only one thing left to do. The thing she had truly been gathering her nerves for. Wish went around to the other side of the desk and looked for a spare candle she could use, finding one, she hopped up on the desk and used the torch hanging overhead to light it. That wasn’t all though. There were the two key rings as well. Wish didn’t know if any of those keys would actually work for Rainbow Dash’s chains, but she hadn’t seen Vox or anypony else use or mention another pair. So Wish grabbed them both as well and carried them in her mouth as she jumped off the desk.
She paused, frozen, as she looked down the dark corridor that led to Rainbow Dash.
Was she really doing this? Was this really happening?
Wish narrowed her eyes and began walking. Yes. It was.
The dim light of the candle illuminated the path for her and the steady rattle of the keys drowned out the rest of the world around her. It was just Wish heading towards the thing she should’ve done a long time ago. While she couldn’t deny the fear in her heart, the concern for her father, she still felt good that she was doing this.
Her father… she nearly cried when he crossed her mind. She just… it was a difficult thing to face.
Wish made it again to the back of the dungeon and the dark cell that was waiting there. She placed down the candle and took the keys out of her mouth.
“R-Rainbow Dash?” Wish spoke to the darkness. “Are you there?”
There was no answer.
“Rainbow-”
“I knew you’d be back. Sorry about before,” the raspy voice of the pegasus came to greet her.
“I-I’m the one who should be apologizing...”
“...” another pause from the darkness. “I shouldn’t have tried forcing you to help me… and I shouldn’t have told you any of that stuff in the first place. You’re just a kid, you shouldn’t have to be doing any of this stuff.”
Wish glumly looked down before moving the candle forward and lighting up the sad face of Rainbow Dash. “I’m glad you told me.”
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Kid, I know that’s not-”
“It is true. I was just lying to myself the whole time. For months—ever since this all started even. You were right to tell me you t-think my father is responsible for all of this,” Wish told her. “But. But I still know my father. I know he isn’t evil. I know it, Rainbow Dash.” Wish sniffled and grabbed the bars, raising her head to look at Rainbow Dash. “A-And I know he loves me too, and just wants to help me.” Tears started to freely fall from her eyes as she wavered and struggled to speak. “And I also know… t-that he’s doing horrible things, and hurting other ponies, and it’s his fault Hoofica is like this! But I don’t know why, Rainbow Dash! He’s—he’s always been the best father ever! He’s always loved and protected me so much! So why?! Why is he doing all of these horrible, horrible things?! He’s not evil, Rainbow Dash. I know he’s doing bad things, but he still isn’t evil, I-I just need to find out why all of this is happening… there has to be a reason. There has to be a reason for all of it...”
Wish collapsed to the floor of the dungeon and cried as Rainbow Dash watched on.
After a few moments she managed to calm herself slightly and sit back up again, looking at Rainbow Dash with a miserable expression on her face.
“Rainbow Dash… if I get you out of there, will you help me?”
Her reply was instant. “You bet I will.”
“Thank you… thank you...” Wish cried, lifting her hooves to her eyes and futilely trying to rub away the tears.
Rainbow Dash was patient with Wish as she continued to cry and attempt to get control of herself. It took some time, but Wish did calm down enough to remember what she was here for. She got the keys she remembered Vox using and opened up the door to Rainbow Dash’s cell, stepping aside by herself for the first time and coming up to the table Rainbow Dash was chained to. Of course there were a few more keys to check to see if they unlocked Rainbow Dash’s chains and she didn’t know where to start-
“The small one on the end,” Rainbow Dash said.
Wish looked up from the keys. “Huh?”
“I remember when I was first imprisoned here. That’s the one for the chains,” she shifted a little bit and rattled the chains, twisting her limbs a little to show off the shackles at the ends of the chains with the keyholes in them.
“Okay...” Wish nodded and brought around the right key. There were a number of locks to open up, one for each limb, her midsection, and even her wings, so Wish quickly went around the table and unlocked every one. The key glided in without resistance and a satisfying click emerged with each turn.
Each chain that became undone gave Rainbow Dash a little more freedom. The shackles at her hooves popped open, revealing red bands of agitated skin, the extra body chain around her wings fell away and the flying appendages listlessly fell to her sides, the muscles having gone numb, the final shackle around her midsection fell off and the formerly strong body was totally free. When that last one was done, Rainbow Dash weakly pushed herself up and practically rolled off the table, making Wish gasp as she just barely managed to land safely on her hooves.
Rainbow Dash sucked in a deep breath of air, her visible ribs expanding in and out.
“Thanks,” she said to Wish and lifted a hoof to run through her mane before looking back at her practically limp wings. The blue pegasus frowned and, although they trembled a bit, she managed to still tuck them into her sides like normal.
Wish gulped. “N-Now what?”
“Now?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her. “Now...” she brought her left front hoof up to her stomach and pressed up against it, making a gagging sound. Wish watched in confusion as Rainbow Dash twitched and started to lurch a bit like she was about to throw up. After a few seconds, she saw a lump appear in Rainbow Dash’s throat and at last she regurgitated something into her mouth.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reveal a yellow, crystal-like orb sitting between her teeth, no larger than a walnut. Without hesitation she chomped down on it and shattered the yellow crystal into a million pieces.
The spirited eyes of Rainbow Dash, sunken as they were, slowly turned to glance down at Wish. “Well, kid, I hope you’re ready for something awesome to happen.”