Rainbow Dash Around the World

by MagicS

Smile

“That’s a really special thing you made happen, Rainbow Dash,” Jolene said to her as she, along with Angie and Rosalie, sat at the edge of a flower field on the west side of Arondel the next day.

“You should’ve told us about what was going on, Rosalie,” Angie said to her friend.

“Well I didn’t want to say anything about it all in case nothing ever came from it,” Rosalie said.

“But still—to think we get to help out so many ponies in need. It’s just… really, really, special. Aint it?” Jolene asked.

“Yup. I think so at least,” Angie nodded.

“It’s just kind of what I do,” Rainbow Dash shrugged as she sat in-between a bunch of dandelions. “Part of me sort of wants to say it’s no big deal but the other part makes me want to say it’s a super big deal. I mean, it’s really important, yeah. It’s really important to the ponies in Hoofica and I’m glad your governor pulled through. That country needs it.”

“You told us so many stories but you really are a hero...” Jolene said in wonder.

Rainbow snorted. “Did you not believe me before?”

“It’s different to see it in action,” Angie said.

The happy yell of a filly momentarily broke their conversation and they looked to see the group of kids they were watching over all running through the flower field playing tag. One of them had almost been caught. The meadow was full of about a dozen of them, since some kids were now already back to work or hanging out in their own smaller friend groups. The tall grass and the flowers were practically being trampled through be the carefree army of kids.

Rainbow Dash watched Wish as she ran through the meadow as well. She didn’t quite have a true smile on her face but she seemed to honestly be enjoying herself better. The anxiety, the negative emotions gripping her, had lessened since they had their talk. Wish was attempting to go back to being a normal filly. To go back to a life before she ever set hoof in Hoofica Castle. In truth, Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure if it was possible, Wish had been through too much that being a “normal” kid again may have been a pipe dream. But at the very least she could live a normal life in a happy and peaceful place with plenty of kids her age to keep her company.

Rainbow bit her lip. But she wants to stay with me too… and I don’t know if… I can’t just leave her here or anything like this. Can I? She wouldn’t react well to that and I still have to help her. I made promises to her…

“She’s having such a great time, isn’t she?” Rosalie’s voice cut in.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash nodded.

Rosalie raised an eyebrow at her curt response. “Is something wrong again?”

“Not with her...” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I’m still waiting for something. The reason we traveled together… it’s not like we planned to stop in Arondel, or stay this long or maybe longer, but I have a feeling that we should. I have a feeling that there isn’t anyplace better for her to find what she needs. And you’ve already made friends with her too. I have my own adventure that I’m on, but I still have a promise I made with Wish that I need to take care of first.”

Rosalie’s hoof started rubbing up and down her back to relax her. “There, there, if it’s any consolation I think the both of you are doing great. Even I can tell that Wish has become more positive since I first met her.”

“She likes you,” Rainbow said.

“That… makes me very happy to hear,” Rosalie softly smiled.

“Are we friends with her too?” Angie asked.

“Yeah, are we?” Jolene asked.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “She’s not exactly the fastest filly when it comes to making friends. Talk to her one on one some more or come over and play some more games together.”

“For a while she’ll probably just keep feeling awkward though...” Rosalie said.

“That’s also true,” Rainbow nodded. “But if anything I think she’d still be quicker at making friends with you than with kids her age… which is why right now is pretty special. I like seeing her like this.”

Wish at the moment was running through the grass, both chasing and being chased at the same time. There were no teams, no set pony who was It, it was just a bunch of ponies playing around chaotically and doing whatever they wanted. Rules? No way. If she ran through some flowers and saw some pony turn and run the other direction she’d chase after them—if they decided to chase her then she’d run from them. She knew the names of all the ones she was playing with today too. It had taken a little time this morning but the longer introductions were worth it. Giggling fillies and colts were all around her and the noise from them echoed through the entire meadow. Wish wasn’t giggling with them, she couldn’t say she became as happy as easily as they did, but it was still fun right now. There at least wasn’t anything hanging over her anymore like during the Harvest Festival. There really wasn’t anything to worry about anymore, was there? But at the same time she couldn’t say she was truly happy yet either.

But it was still nice to be here. It was healing. After what they had both been through, Wish and Rainbow Dash needed a vacation in a place like this. Where it almost seemed like nothing ever bad happened and the ponies of Vissidia truly had nothing to worry about. Did these kids even go to school like she used to back in her old hometown?

Surprisingly, Wish found she wouldn’t even mind having class again.

“Better run faster, Wish!” The voice of a filly her age suddenly grabbed Wish’s attention.

Wish looked to see the grinning face of Henrietta as she ran towards her. Henrietta had a poofy light-green mane with a pair of thick braids tied around her head and joined at the back. Her white coat was a little puffier than the average pony’s as well, it almost made her look like a dog as she bounded through the grass. Her Cutie Mark was a blooming pair of gold and purple flowers, Wish was almost envious of how pretty it was. Pretty much every pony she was playing with right now already had their Cutie Marks.

“Nobody could catch me at Capture the Flag, you think you can?” Wish taunted and started running.

The two of them ran through the grass and flowers, creating new trails, almost vanishing in the tall grass unless you were looking at them practically directly from above. A lot of the other kids were doing the same, all on their own little chases. Wish and Henrietta ran right in between two others and jumped past a bed of roses so as not to get pricked by any thorns. A bee buzzed overhead, spreading pollen from flower to flower.

That was hardly the only insect out either. More bees, butterflies, dragonflies, the fields of Arondel were alive in every sort of way.

There’s just something so calming about all of this… Wish thought as she ran. Maybe this is what I needed more than anything?

While running, she also saw a colt named Antonio chasing a filly named Gabriela. The two of them were a few years older than Wish and clearly flirting with each other. Wish thought it was silly and she didn’t exactly “get” romance or anything but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. She didn’t exactly think colts were icky or anything like that but she didn’t want to kiss any just yet either. She could wait a few more years. Or ten.

A giggle that sounded a little closer came from behind and Wish looked over her shoulder to see that Henriette had gained a bit on her. She had let her mind wander too much.

“I’m gonna catch you!”

“Don’t count on it!” Wish stuck her tongue out at her.

There were a bunch of sunflowers ahead, taller than any of the ponies running through the meadow, Wish ran straight for their green stalks. They were too big and sturdy that she couldn’t just run into them and knock them out of the way, she—and by extension Henrietta—had to run between them like they were running through a maze of obstacles now. It gave some extra excitement to the chase that they both enjoyed.

Stalks of sunflowers shifted and wavered, the great big blooming flowers at the top tilted back and forth as both fillies nudged up and brushed against them as they passed through the field. It was fun doing this, Wish thought. They could probably have an even better time doing this at one of the local cornfields.

“Come on, Wish, give up already!”

“You give up!”

“No way!”

Instead of just running straight through to the other side of the sunflower field, Wish made a big curve inside it and looped back around, eventually going out the way she came in. Henrietta kept up the chase the whole time though, kids like the two of them just seemed to have limitless energy sometimes. When they came out of the sunflowers they ran through a bunch of wildflowers and scattered a group of butterflies to the air. There were some brambles ahead that Wish could potentially try running or crawling through but that might be painful.

A few other kids saw the two of them come out of the sunflower field though and they started joining Henrietta in chasing her. Now Wish had a few more on her tail.

“Oh, so you need everybody?” Wish laughed.

“Bleh! I didn’t ask for them!” Henrietta shouted back at her.

Wish still led them on quite a chase, zigging and zagging through the grass and flowers. There were a couple of rose bushes ahead now and she chose to run through them—they were at least far apart enough from each other where she didn’t have to worry about getting caught on any branches or thorns. Henrietta and the others followed her in, with Wish now actually laughing during the chase. She was close to leaving the rose bushes-

“Ah—Oh no!” The unhappy yell of Henrietta came from behind her.

Wish looked back and saw that the filly and her other pursuers had stopped in the middle of the rose bushes, Henrietta now sitting on the ground and worriedly tugging at her mane. Wish herself came to a halt and turned around.

“What’s going on?” She asked as she trotted back over to them.

“It’s my mane!” Henrietta said, she looked very upset. The braids of her mane had come undone. “My braids got caught on the branches, now my mane’s been ruined! My mom helps me with it every morning, I don’t know how to fix it myself. It takes so long for her to get it right...”

“Does anyone here know how to do their own mane or make a braid like that?” A colt named Bruno asked.

The colts of course all shook their heads, they looked like they didn’t even comb their manes at all. But the fillies who did have their manes styled didn’t have any answers either. Seems everyone still had their parents do it for them.

Wish bit her lip as she now looked at Henrietta’s braidless mane. There was something tickling the back of her mind.

“I um… I think maybe I can help? I had a professional style my mane every day for a long time, and then another pony who got good at it too. I haven’t done my own mane or anything, but I know how a pony is supposed to treat and style someone else’s. I think I kind of have some experience and ideas about it.” Wish said. “Um, does anybody have a comb or a brush with them?”

“I do,” another filly named Cordelia said. She had a bag on her side that she took a small hairbrush from and hoofed it over to Wish.

“Thanks,” Wish smiled and looked over Henrietta’s fluffy mane—there was already some strange feeling of inspiration welling up inside her just looking at it. “Let’s get out of these rosebushes first.”

The whole group left the rosebushes, now walking out into the middle of the field where they weren’t crowded by anything. Rainbow Dash, Rosalie, Angie, and Jolene could all see them again, and were now watching in confusion as to what was going on.

Wish meanwhile walked around Henrietta in a circle, looking at her mane every which way. She was sharply concentrating with her eyes narrowed in an attempt to figure out just how to start this. What did Dotty and Sweet Candy do first? No… Wish shouldn’t just rely on what she knew about them, she felt something kind of instinctual right now, she was getting ideas just looking at Henrietta’s mane. The feeling of a comb and brush dragging through her mane, hooves holding the strands of hair, pulling and tugging it the right way to get it perfectly straight and compliant.

“Do you think you can fix it?” Henrietta asked.

“Mm,” Wish nodded and stood behind Henrietta as she sat on the ground. She reached up and grabbed some long strands of Henrietta’s mane before running her brush through them. She had never done this before but something about it felt right, natural. Maybe because of how much it had been done to her.

When she had brushed through most of the mane she took a few hooffuls of it and started twisting them around each other, tying them in a tight braid. She held the end of it down and put it in her mouth for the moment, then reached across to the other side of Henrietta’s head and started making a second braid. Once that was finished she was able to tie them together at the back of the filly’s head. A little more primping and taking care of loose ends and Henrietta’s mane looked practically good as new.

Wish grinned to herself. That was surprisingly fun, it was like she had a knack for it.

She heard a couple of sudden gasps and some muttering coming from the other kids around her, but Wish ignored whatever that was as she looked over at Cordelia.

“There are a couple of split ends in your mane,” Wish said as she walked up to her and brought the brush to her mane. “Let me help you. Dotty and Sweet Candy would never let me go out with my mane anything less than perfect...”

Her brush glided through the mane and fairly easily fixed Cordelia’s split ends. One of the colts as well had his mane just shooting out wherever, she tidied it up and parted it to one side to make it look better. It all just felt so right to do…

“W-Wish!” Henrietta suddenly said.

“Huh?” Wish looked over at her to see the other filly staring in shock at her. Her hoof was pointing at Wish’s flank.

“Look!” Henrietta shouted.

Wish looked down at her own flank.

And saw something.

It was a brush with a red handle not unlike the one she was holding right now, but sparkling like it was brand new right on her flank.

“I-It just appeared right when you finished with Henrietta’s mane,” Bruno said. “Your Cutie Mark...”

Wish blinked in almost pure disbelief, she didn’t know what to think. “My Cutie Mark?”

“You got your Cutie Mark, Wish! Congratulations!” Henrietta cheered for her.

Wish continued to sit there in shock, staring at the Cutie Mark. “I… I...” The Cutie Mark she had wanted for ages, that she had always thought she would get in painting, the mark she wanted to show her mother so badly. The place she had wanted. The purpose, talent, everything she had been searching for. Tears that she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to slowly began to well up in her eyes. “You were right here? All this time… all this time you were just waiting for me?”

Her entire body shook and she squeezed her eyes shut with tears falling freely from them. Tossing her head back to the sky she started to loudly cry in the middle of the meadow.

“Aaaaaaahhhhh, mmmmmaaaaaahhhh!” She wailed like a baby, dropping the brush and bringing her hooves to her eyes. “Waaaaahhhhhh!”

The other kids didn’t know what to do at all, and Rainbow and the others saw what was happening as well too.

“W-Wish!” Rosalie said and started up to go see what was wrong.

But a blue hoof stretched out in front of her chest and stopped her. Rosalie blinked and looked over at Rainbow Dash, seeing a stony face on the pegasus mare.

Rainbow Dash alone then went to walk out into the field to Wish.

“W-What’s wrong, Wish? Why are you crying?” Henrietta asked her as Wish’s cries finally started to die down a little.

“I’m just… I’m just… so happy. I don’t know what to do,” Wish said as she opened up her eyes and looked back down at her brand new Cutie Mark. Through tears and even some unfortunate snot dripping from her nose, she smiled.

A shadow appeared on the grass and Wish looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing over her.

“R-Rainbow Dash, look! Look! It’s my Cutie Mark! I-I finally found it! I finally got my Cutie Mark!” Wish smiled up at her.

An understanding smile made its way onto Rainbow Dash’s face and she reached a hoof up to pat Wish on the head. “Yeah kid, I see it.” And under her breath she whispered: “I see them.”

Comments

[redmar]

I don't know what Rainbow Dash means with that last sentence. I'm not surprised Wish got her mark given the way the narration described it.

[TheCommunistDog]

Hmm well this seems like a problem/

[RoboRed]

Kinda had a feeling Wish was gonna get her cutie mark the way the narration was going while she was tending to Henrietta. Wonder why Dash seems kind of subdued about it and what she meant by what she said there at the end.
Maybe it has do with her inner turmoil from earlier. Is she going to be leaving Wish here with the others in Arondel?