A lone wander meets someone who could change his entire outlook on life. If only he knew what he was getting into.
A human, you, stranded in a strange world for months on end. You are the wanderer, simply living day to day, doing whatever you please.
One fateful night, you stumble across a small town. Tired and saddened by recent events, you decide to sit and take a rest. Little do you know, you're about to meet someone much different than other's you've met before.
The wind whipped at your hair, the dimness of the fading sunset lighting the path ahead of you just barely enough for you to see. You feel a chill run up your spine as the cold wind chills you to the bones. You look up at the sky, seeing clouds rolling in carrying a storm that would probably force you indoors.
"Damn it..." You whisper to yourself as you begin walking over a hill. You had hoped this would be just another normal night. Of course, many would consider sleeping on a park bench or under a tree far from normal, but ever since you ended up here, a lot of things have changed for you, including what you thought was normal.
As you push yourself over the of the hill, you spot some lights off in the distance, just close enough to walk to. You figure spending the night in town beats sleeping in the cold rain, so you shuffle towards the lights with a weary expression covering your face. You run your hands through your hair, sighing as you do so. You look down at them, watching them shake slightly from the temperature. You clench them into fists and shove them into your pockets, focusing your attention on the small town ahead.
You weren't really one known for socializing, especially with the... locals, around here. You weren't like them of course, far from it actually. You were a human, so of course a bunch of what are basically aliens would give you weird stares whenever they saw you. Sure they were usually pretty accepting once they saw you were just passing through. Wouldn't really surprise you that the whole planet knew about your existence at this point. They say news travels fast, but with limited technology, you aren't sure how accurate that statement is here.
You finally begin reaching the edge of the town just as the last of the sun's light dissipates over the horizon. With the sun gone, the temperature seems to drop even lower, forcing you to shuffle along faster that you were comfortable with. You pull your shirt up over your mouth and nose, trying desperately to savor whatever heat you could keep in.
As you enter the town, you notice very few of the locals out and about, which is to be expected at this time of day, especially with this storm rolling in. You get the usual routine of getting a few stares and some waves. Out of courtesy, you wave back to show you were friendly. The last thing you needed were a bunch of magical aliens attacking you.
You hope to find an abandoned building, or maybe some kind of public building that would be open overnight. Much to your disappointment, you can't seem to find anywhere suitable for you. That is, until you stumble across a small tavern on the edge of town. You stand in front of the establishment, pondering if you should go in. After a few moments of thinking, you push the door open and walk inside. The strong scent of apples hits you immediately, causing you to shake your head a bit from the instant shock.
You look around, coming to the conclusion you are in what would be equivalent to a bar back home. You shrug and walk to the main seating area, sitting down a stool and resting your arms on the bar. You toss your bag down onto the floor next to you and place your face into your hands, letting out a long groan.
"Rough day pal?" A rough voice says from behind the counter. Another one of the less uncommon greetings you got were the ones where these creatures didn't seem to care what you were. You enjoyed the few times they came about, and you savored the feeling of actually fitting in. You give the bartender a force, small smile and laugh to yourself silently.
"You wouldn't know the half of it." You say as you reach into your pocket, pulling out a heavy gold coin.
"Cider?" The bartender asks, taking the coin off the counter.
"Just a water." You say as you start running your hands through your hair again. He nods and walks, or I guess in this case trots into the back with an empty mug. There's no real beer or wine in this world, everything is faked. Cider seems to be the big thing around here, though it has literally no alcohol in it. You'd never drank, didn't plan to either, but you still didn't like the cider. It just has this weird after taste that would bug you until you drank something else.
You rub your eyes with the palms of your hands, and as you do so, you hear a faint rustling next to you. You open your eyes and just barely turn your head to see one of the creatures, a light blue one with the most vibrant hair you've ever seen.
"Whoa." The words escape your mouth just above a whisper, loud enough for the stranger to hear.
"Say something?" She's obviously female as you can tell by her raspy yet high-pitched voice.
"Oh, uh... Nothing, sorry." You say as you look back down at your hand, playing with your thumbs nervously.
"Hm... What brings you here?" She asks out of the blue, leaning on the bar in a similar fashion as yourself. You look over to her, your bangs falling over your forehead.
"You don't wanna know." You say as the bartender walks back in with your drink. You take it and sip from it slowly, sighing in relief as your dry throat is finally put at ease.
"C'mon, everypony's got a story." She says in a flat voice. You look at her weird when she says that word. You've heard it before, sure, but you never could get used to it. Ponies, that what these creatures were called, if you could even call them that. They only somewhat resembled the animals back home referred to by the same name. It confused you at first, but you learned to accept it as time went by.
"I wouldn't even know where to start." You say quietly into your mug, staring at your reflection in the rippling water.
"Well, I've never seen you before so I thought..." She says as the bartender walks up to her.
"The usual Ms. Dash?" He asks in a friendly voice like he knows her personally.
"Yeah, long day today..." She sighs, sounding pretty defeated.
"Alright, comin' up." He says as he walks into the back room once again. You sit in silence for what feels like forever until you finally decide to break the silence.
"Human." Is all you say as you stare down at the half empty cup.
"Sorry?" The pony next to you says, looking back up at you from the corner of her eye.
"That's what I am." You say as you take a small sip from the cup. "I'm uh... not from around here." You say in a monotone voice, thinking back on the past few months and how much you missed home. You couldn't even bear to think about the accident that brought you here.
"Where are you from then?" She asks in a quiet voice.
"Far, far away. Another world entirely..." You say in almost a whisper as you sigh into the cup. "I'm sorry, I don't even know your name." You say as you look directly at the pony.
"Oh, I'm Rainbow Dash." She says as she extends a hoof out towards you. You stare at it for a moment before realizing you're supposed to shake it. You grab hold and give it a nice firm shake before letting go. "What's your name?"
"I... Well my friends had this stupid nickname for me... I don't really know how they came up with it, but they called me Guy all the time. It's stupid I know." You say with a light chuckle that becomes muffled as you raise your cup back up to your mouth.
"Guy? Odd name." She says with a hint of a smile.
"Well, it's better than my real name." You say as you place the mug back onto the counter. "Don't even ask what that is."
"You never did say what you were doing here, at a bar, at night." She says as she moves her stool slightly closer to your's.
"Just stopping in for the night, what with the storm and all." You say as you look at her. You notice a set of wings on her back, and gently nudge her with your elbow. "Guess I have you to thank for that." You've learned in your time here just how this world works, and certain ponies controlling the weather had to be one of the weirdest things you'd learned.
"Oh, yeah that was me." She says with a faint smile.
"Damn pegasi." You say with a laugh. You get a nudge in the side and a smile from Rainbow Dash, causing you both to chuckle a bit. You sit for a few minutes just thinking as Rainbow's drink gets brought out to her. You watch her chug down half a glass before putting it down.
"What exactly are you doing here?" You ask her, watching her sigh as she sets the glass down.
"I... had a rough day. Old friend of mine really let me down... Well, I thought they were my friend anyway."
"Who?" You ask out of curiosity.
"Ah, you wouldn't know him. He basically used me to get close to one of my friends, Twilight because she's famous."
"Twilight? Like, the princess?" You ask with a confused look. You might not be an officially resident here, but you still knew who the big shots around here were.
"Yeah, I feel so stupid now. I thought he was actually my friend."
"Y'know, I had the same experience. Well, kinda." You say as you finish up the last of your drink, setting the cup on the counter upside-down.
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow says, giving you a curious look.
"Yeah, when I first uh... 'arrived' here, I met this group of ponies. I thought they were being friendly, but it turned out they were using me too, just to get attention. News spread quickly about me, and being the only one of my kind... I don't know, I just kinda became a big deal I guess. So, I left and I've just been wandering around ever since."
"Wow, that sounds rough." She says sympathetically. "Hey, do you have a place to stay tonight?"
"Of course not, I barely have anything to my name, much less a house."
"Dude... How do you live like that?" She asks, letting her hair fall over her face.
"I got used to it. It isn't that bad, other than the storms." You say as you stand up. "I gotta get going, I'm really tired." You reach into your bag, pulling out your old, wrinkled up hoodie. You quickly slip it on and begin walking towards the door. You catch Rainbow watching you as you walk towards the door, and turn to face her again.
"Are you sure? The rain's really picking up out there." Rainbow says with a worried look. You toss your hood on and give her a smile.
"I'll be fine." You say as you open the door, getting whipped in the face with freezing cold rain. "Not like there's anywhere to go..." You whisper to yourself. Another night on a cold park bench it is.
"You could just stay here, I'm sure the owner would-" Rainbow starts to say before you cut her off.
"That's be loitering. I'll be fine, I'm used to it..." You say, your voice falling in pitch a bit as reality starts to set back in. You start walking outside, stopping in the doorway one last time. "Hey, Rainbow..." You say as you turn back around.
"Yeah?"
"...Thanks... for the company." You say with a smile. You close the door behind you before she can even respond. With a sigh, you walk towards what you assume is the park, barreling your way through the steady downpour of rain.
Eventually, you stumble into the park, which is completely empty save for the occasional duck. You sigh to yourself as you sit down on a soaked wooden bench, placing your bag under it to attempt to keep it dry. I curl up into a ball, tucking your legs into the bottom of your hoodie to the best of your ability.
It takes forever, but eventually, you're eyes force shut and you fall into a light sleep, finally becoming free from the cold.
You wake up calmly, stretching your sore limbs as your groan to yourself. The sun shines brightly into your eyes as you sit up. However, as you sit up, you notice something heavy on the rest of your body. You look down to see a thick quilt on top of you. Wondering how it got there, you start looking around, until you look up. You notice it is still raining, save for an area cleared out right above where you lay.
"She didn't." You say with a smile. You shake your head as you sit up completely, slowly removing the quilt. You laugh a bit as you look up at the hole in the clouds where the sun shines through. You gather your belongings, throwing your damp hoodie into your bag. You toss the bag over your shoulders and stand up, stretching your legs a bit more. You leave the quilt folded on the bench, not being able to fit it into your bag.
You start walking, stopping a few yards out to look back at the bench. You stare at the quilt with a smile before turning and walking back through the park.
"Thank you Rainbow..." The words escape your lips in a whisper as you wander out into the cool, misty day.
You breathe in suddenly, gasping for air as your eyes slam open. You groan as the sun nearly blinds you, quickly shutting your eyes once again. Another nightmare, of course it would happen. You slowly open your eyes, being cautious of the light this time. The first thing you see are your old, worn out shoes and your raggedy jeans. You rub your head, trying to get the haunting memories to leave your head.
Ever since you arrived here, you hadn't been able to stop thinking about home, and how much you missed your family and friends. It was hard to believe you hadn't seen them in months, maybe a year or so. You'd lost track of time a long time ago.
You look up, staring at the morning sky through the tree branches that slowly sway above you. You still don't know why you're here, still in this town. Normally you would hit a town, stay maybe two days at most and then head out. But there was something different about this small village. You're pretty sure its the locals due to their seemingly perfect personalities. They were accepting to you, the few that you actually talked to that is.
Today you were heading out though, whether you felt like it or not. You had spotted a secluded lake at the edge of a forest near the town. It has been a few days since you really washed down, and the signs were becoming quite obvious, even to yourself. So, you stand up, stretch, gather your few belongings and head out.
As you walk through the park, you still get a few stares, though you're far past being used to it at this point. You simply wave back, trying your best to smile, though to little avail. The morning breeze feels warm on your exposed arms and face, causing you to genuinely smile a bit, something you haven't done in days.
As you reach the edge of the park, you start to feel like you're leaving something important behind, but you aren't really sure what. You furrow your brow a bit before shrugging it off and walking towards the forest not too far away.
The breeze and the crunching of soil under your shoes are the only sounds once you reach meadow between the park and the giant forest. You do appreciate the peacefulness that comes with wandering through the wilderness without a care in the world. Sometimes being homeless had its perks, and you appreciated the few that came along with the whole package.
You reach the forest's entrance within minutes of spotting it, and enter without hesitation. The sounds of nature overtake the sound of the wind, basically sucking you into a whole new world. You definitely knew how that felt from personal experience.
A small pond appears in a clearing, and small smile forms on your face as you approach it. There's a sandy shoreline around the round pond, mimicking a small beach. You slide down a small slope onto the sand, your feet sinking in a few inches. You sigh as you feel warm sand fill your socks, quickly taking your shoes off to empty them from the annoying substance. You then slip your socks off as well, now taking in the feeling of the warm sand between your toes.
You breathe in a sigh of relief as you sit down, placing your bag and shoes next to you. You lay back, looking up at the sky, losing yourself in the tranquility of the moment. It isn't long though before you remember the task at hand and begin to strip down to the essentials. Once you are down to your boxers, you slowly step into the water, hoping to God that it isn't freezing cold. Much to your relief, the water is actually quite warm.
You swim out a few yards to where the water goes over your head. You don't have any soap so the best you can do is hope the water will wash off any unwanted dirt and dust you'd accumulated over the past couple of days.
You completely submerge yourself under the water, holding your breath for what feels like hours before coming back up. Your head shoots out of the water, and you let out a short gasp for air.
You hear a quick, shrill shriek from the beach behind you. You quickly spin around to see a pony on the beach. A pony with technicolor hair and a light blue coat to be exact.
"What the-" You stutter out before realizing who it is you're looking at. "Rainbow Dash?"
"Guy? What the hay are you doing out here?" She asks excitedly, coming closer to the water.
"I'm swimming. Did I startle you? You kinda shrieked back there?" You say with a grin.
"Well, maybe... I haven't seen you in days! I thought you were gone!" She says with a friendly smile, something you hadn't seen on the night that you two had met.
"I don't know, I guess the town just kinda stuck on me so I stayed for a few extra days. I'm actually heading out today, but I thought I would stop by the lake for a while. So, why are you here?"
"I come to this lake all the time just to sit back and relax. Not many ponies know about, so I was surprised when you popped out of the water like that. Are you really leaving today?"
"Yeah, I like to stay on the move. I'm like a shark." You say as slowly tread in the water, your head bobbing just above the surface.
"Why? There's so much to do in Ponyville!" She says with a confused look on her face.
"Ponyville? Is that what the town is called?" You respond, giving your own confused look.
"Wait, you've been here almost a week, and you don't know the name of the town you've been staying in? Really?" She says, giving you a look that just screams "Seriously?"
"I... don't judge." You say as you go back underwater for moment. You pop back up to see Rainbow laying on her back on the beach. Deciding you'd rather not swim alone, you crawl out of the water and onto the beach, laying on your back a few feet away from the pegsus. The warm sand feels amazing on your wet back, and the sun shining down just perfects the whole thing.
"So... how's life?" She asks, opening her eyes for a moment to look over at you.
"Just as bad as its always been I guess." You say with a sigh. "Ever since coming here that is."
"What? Why's that?" Rainbow asks with a confused look.
"Well, I said I was from another world entirely right? Well, I meant that literally. I'm not from this planet, or dimension, or wherever the hell I am." You say as you make eye contact with her.
"You were serious about that? How did you get here?"
"It's a long story that I'd rather not relive. Point is, I'm never going home no matter how badly I want to."
"Well what is it that you miss? Maybe I can help you, y'know, feel better?"
"Ugh where do I start?" You say as you run a hand down your face. "I guess I miss my friends and family the most. I never even got to say goodbye to any of them, and they probably all think I'm dead or worse." You say in a defeated tone.
"Well... I'm your friend, right?" Rainbow asks, looking you directly in the eyes. You look up at the sky for a moment, thinking about what she just said. You'd only met her once, and not for long, and she actually considered you a friend. That's something you'd never seen. Ever.
"I hadn't thought about it like that. I don't think I have any friends anymore." You say honestly, continuing to look straight up at the sky.
"C'mon, I'm your friend and you know it." She says with a giggle.
"If you want to be, then go ahead. You'd make number one."
"I can't be your only friend. Your a cool guy, ponies probably line up to get to know you, right?" She says with a warm smile that just makes you feel a little better, despite the circumstances.
"I wish it were like that. I feel so alone here, like I don't belong anywhere. That's why I move around so much, because I don't want to get too attached to anyone who might just turn around and stab me in the back."
"It really sounds like you've had it rough."
"You don't know the half of it. You're probably the nicest pony I've met so far, and that's really saying something considering most of your are twice as nice as any human I've ever met." You say, feeling the corner of your mouth rising just a bit.
"That's the nicest thing I've heard all day." She says with a chuckle.
"You probably just woke up." You say with your own laugh, reaching over to lightly punch her in the shoulder.
"Point taken."
You both lay on the sand for minutes on end in silence, just staring up at the sky, enjoying the warm morning air. The silence is broken when you hear Rainbow flip over to her side to look directly at you. You open your eyes to look over at her to see her with a confident look on her face.
"What?" You ask simply with a curious look.
"How about I make you a deal. You come back to town, maybe meet some more of the locals, and if you like it, you have to stay. If you don't you can leave by all means." She says with a confident smile.
"What makes you so sure that this is the town for me?"
"This is a town for everyone! You said it yourself that we were different, and that you had grown kind of attached to the town right? I'm sure you could settle down here."
You think it over for a bit. How bad could it be? Worst case scenario you walk away and continue your journey into the unknown like you had planned to. Best case scenario... You weren't so sure what that would be, but you'd work it out should it come down to it.
"Alright, deal." You say as you stand up. You walk back over to your belongings, throwing your t-shirt and jeans back on after brushing all of the sand stuck to your body. You walk back over to Rainbow who is now stretching where she was once laying. She gives you a smile and meets you halfway.
"Shall we then?" She says as she takes the lead, leading you back into town. With a huff you follow her back up the slope and into the forest.
You walk next to her, matching the pace of her flying next to you. It pops into your mind what she did for you on your first day here, and the fact that you hadn't thanked her makes you feel kind of guilty.
"Hey, thanks by the way." You say quietly has you run your hand through the hair on the back of your head.
"Thanks for what?" She asks, looking over at you from the corner of her eye.
"The quilt and clearing out the clouds. That was you right?" You ask, furrowing your brow a bit.
"Oh, yeah, that." She says as if she's embarrassed. "I was heading home and I saw you there on the bench and I just couldn't bear it. Who just leaves somepony to freeze in a storm?"
"Well, I'm sure glad you did it. It was certainly nice to wake up to being warm for once." You say with a smile as you near the edge of the forest.
"Okay, so, just give it a shot, and I guarantee that you'll enjoy it here." She says confidently as the points to the town in the distance.
"Are you sure? I just haven't really had the best of luck here, Rainbow, and I-" You say before getting cut off by a hoof to the shoulder.
"Just give it a shot. You don't have to be alone, and you know that. I want to fix that."
With a sigh you begin walking again, back towards the town you never thought that you would see again.
"You could get a job, maybe buy a house and move in here. Oh, I'm sure my friends would love you, especially Applejack and-" Rainbow begins to ramble on as you start to tune out. The way she talks so positivist actually brings you something you never thought you'd feel again. not in a million years.
This one, random pegasus was giving you something you had been searching for all along, ever since you arrived here.
"There you go Applejack." You say with a smile and a huff as you wipe the sweat off your brow, the hammer in your hand hitting the side of your leg as you lower your arm. You admire your handiwork on the boards you just spent the last hour fixing, proud to actually be doing something productive that didn't only have something in it for yourself.
"Why thank ya partner. I could have never reached those old boards on my own. I'll go get yer pay." The orange pony says as she walks towards her house. You stare at the side of the barn you just fixed, kind of saddened that you were finished. It had been 3 months since you had taken up that deal with Rainbow, and boy was it... different, than you had first expected.
She had introduced you to her friends first, all of which were just as happy to meet you as she was. You were weary at first, sure, only being comfortable being around Rainbow, but after the first week, you started to warm up to her friends as well as some of the other locals in the town.
You had taken residence at the farm after Applejack had cleared out a space in the barn. She offered a room in her house, but you didn't want to intrude on any family privacy. Besides, you'd take a barn over a cold park bench any day.
You did odd jobs around the town, such as helping Applejack, to bring in some kind of income. Before you technically moved to this town, you'd have to beg or hope you found a bit on the ground just to get a drink other than water. Thankfully, you had enough now to buy the essentials and still be comfortable enough to splurge every now and then.
Applejack soon returned from the house with a small sack containing your pay for the labor. She drops it into your hand, and you quickly stuff it into your back pocket, smiling at the pony as you do so.
"Thanks Applejack." You say with a nod, placing your hands in your pockets. You start walking away, probably to wander around town when Applejack stops you in your tracks.
"Wait up partner!" She says, causing you to turn around. "I almost forgot this." She pulls out a letter from under her hat (Why she chose to keep it there is beyond you) and hands you the envelope. You turn it around in your hands, seeing no address or name anywhere on it.
"What's this?" You ask curiously, raising a brow at the farm pony.
"Rainbow Dash dropped that off while y'all were working."
"What? Why didn't she just give it to me directly?" You ask, starting to open the letter.
"Beats me. Welp, you have a nice day now, ya hear?" Applejack says with a smile, tipping her hat as she turns around and begins to walk away. You walk in the opposite direction, heading towards town while opening the letter.
Once you break the seal, you pull out a small note, and unfold it to begin reading.
"Guy, meet me at the hill in the park when you finish working. -RD"
You look at the note confused, not really sure what Rainbow would want to see you for. You'd been hanging out with her almost every day, becoming near best friends very quickly. But she had never sent you a note before on where to meet her. She would usually just find you and pull you away from whatever you were doing to hang out.
You shrug it off and begin changing directions to the park. You have to squint your eyes as the sun begins to set, shining brightly into your eyes. A cool breeze blows by, cooling you off from the past hour in the sun. You breathe in and sigh with a smile, actually enjoying yourself for once. These moments of relaxation became more and more common with each passing day in this town, and it amazed you.
As you approach the park, you notice almost nobody around, which is odd considering the park is usually packed until nightfall. Regardless, you make your way to the west side of the park where the large hill was that overlooked the town.
Passing by the pond, you spot a familiar wooden bench where you had slept on your first night in town. You actually smile at the memory, despite it not being a very good one. Other than Rainbow providing the quilt and whatnot, that wasn't the most eventful night in your light, but you appreciated it none the less.
As you approach the hill, you spot a single pony sitting with their back towards you. You smile and quicken your pace, climbing the hill at a steady pace until you reach the top. When you reach the peak, your breath is taken away by the view. The hill overlooks the entire town with the sun setting over the horizon. It has to be one of the most amazing, breathtaking sights you've seen in a while.
"Whoa." You say out loud, causing the pony to jump. She turns around with a somewhat startled look before smiling at you.
"Took you long enough." Rainbow says with a smile. You look down to see her sitting on a checkered picnic blanket, and she scoots over to the side to make room for you. With a smile, you sit down next to her, pulling your legs up to your chest. You rest your chin on your knees, staring at the town in front of you.
"Why'd you want to meet me here?" You say after an awkward moment of silence. You look over at Rainbow you keeps staring ahead of her.
"It was 3 months ago today that we met. Did you know that?" She says, finally turning her head to look at you.
"Really? It's already been 3 months... where did the time go?" You say with a chuckle.
"I know how you feel. It feels like we met yesterday, doesn't it?" She says in a quiet voice.
"I know, we met in a bar and now we're best friends. Its incredible how life works sometimes."
"I couldn't agree more."
You both sit together, starting at the sunset. As you do, you think back on the past few months. You'd had so little, and now you had so much, and it was all because of this one pony sitting beside you. You did still miss your family and friends more than anything, and nothing could ever fill that void, but all the friends you'd gained in this one town sure did help. All of the thoughts and memories start to flood your mind, and that mixed with the amazing sight before you causes your eyes to water up.
You sniff and wipe your eyes with the back of you hand, but more tears take their place as fast as you can wipe them away.
"S-Sorry, I'm just having a moment." You say, trying to chuckle through the tears. Rainbow gives you a sympathetic look, scooting a little closer to you. "I just... still miss everything I lost."
"I wish I could fix it... I'm so sorry about everything you've been through." She says with a saddened tone.
"It's not your fault." You say, placing your hand on her hoof without even thinking about it. Her leg twitches from the touch, but she doesn't move from that spot. You don't even notice as she blushes a bit.
"I just want to make you feel at home. I wouldn't want my best friend to be so upset when I know there's something I can do about it."
"You've definitely helped more than anyone else ever has, that's for damn sure." You say, wiping away a few stray tears rolling down your cheeks.
"I know I can't get you back home, and most likely never will, but... I really want to make you feel at home here. I-I don't want you to leave."
"Well, you won the bet I think. Looks like you're gonna have to try harder to get rid of me." You say with a hint of a smile, feeling the wind whip your hair around. "I'm really glad we met."
"You are?"
"Well duh, you completely changed my outlook on life. I thought for sure I had lost everything forever, but then I met you and you showed me that there were still things worth living for, and I could never repay you for that. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime... I feel at home. I truly feel like I'm home again, somewhere I belong... And it's all thanks to you."
You look over and make eye contact with Rainbow, only to see her eyes watering up.
"Ah, c'mon, not you too." You say with a chuckle, wiping the tears beginning to collect under her eyes. She huffs out a single laugh, smiling a bit.
"So you're not going to leave anytime soon? You could always try to find a way back home." Rainbow says, nudging her body up against the side of your arm. She leans her head on the top of your shoulder, looking back out at the town. You also turn your head back towards the sunset, resting the side of your head on top of her's.
"I don't need to. Thanks to you, I'm already home."
