One peaceful summer day, Princess Sally Acorn was out for a walk near the lake, enjoying nature after another battle with Doctor Eggman and his forces. Sonic was off doing his own thing again, and given how much he liked the outdoors, Sally decided to spend some time outdoors and wander around herself.

The world was calm, with a chill wind flowing by, and she could hear the sound of birds tweeting happily to each other. Sally wasn't even worried in the slightest about a thing, a Flicky landed on her shoulder, and the princess gave it a stroke on the chin. Then the bird flew away, leaving Sally alone again.

"Who said peace was boring?" Sally remarked, "It sure is relaxing around here."

Feeling at peace, the princess kept walking without a worry in her heart. Just then, she turned towards the lake, and spotted someone sitting on the edge of a pier. Sally's eyes zoomed in, recognizing the girl with the beanie and orange hair; it was the former Inkling girl Meggy Spletzer.

"Well, I didn't expect to find her in these parts." Sally quipped, "And... does she look sad?"

Sally walked towards the pier, slowly approaching Meggy to avoid startling her. Meggy was awfully quiet, and her shoulders were slumped, her head lowered. Sally came closer to her, and the former Inkling turned.

"Princess Sally?"

When Meggy spoke, she had that warble that Inklings had whenever they spoke, reminding Sally of the fact it hadn't been very long since the events on Anime Island. Sally hadn't been there, but she'd heard the story of what had gone down, and she knew that Meggy had been emotionally and physically affected by everything that went down on that island.

"Meggy..." Sally said, "I didn't think you'd be out here today. Mind if I sit with you?"

"I wanted to be alone... but I don't mind having a friend to talk to."

Sally sat down on the edge of the pier next to the beanie-wearing ex-Inkling, and put her hand on her shoulder. Meggy stared out at the water, silent, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. And Sally could see that, something troubled her greatly; especially as Meggy had been dealing with the aftermath of Anime Island really hard.

"Is there... something wrong?" Sally asked.

"It's been a few months..." Meggy replied, "...since the island... since she... lost her life..."

'She'. Sally began to realize, "You're thinking of the island. Desti."

"Yeah, Desti." Meggy said, "Can't stop thinking about... about her, about all of it. Had trouble sleeping last night, thought about her a lot."

"I understand what you're feeling, Meggy." Sally told her, "We've all lost someone. Eggman... He took away my father, King Acorn, and he destroyed our home. Desti... she was really important to you, as a rival..."

"No, we... we were becoming friends..." Meggy choked, "...We were making amends there... then, that stupid lizard with that pen... And I... was stuck in that machine... helpless... forced to watch her be stabbed... Its hard to keep moving forward, dealing with that... every waking hour, just thinking about it..."

"Everything will be fine, Meggy..." Sally said, "I feel your pain..."

"...Hard to train..."

"What?"

"Before she dropped... Desti... told me to win Splatfest... for her."

Sally remembered that Meggy was competing in Splatfests, the Inkling sport, and she'd been trying to come out on top for a while. She listened to Meggy, looking at her calmly.

"I promised her, at the funeral... Been trying to train as hard as possible... Not much motivation right now, but... I can't let her down, can't fail her... The next Splatfest is months away... Mario, Luigi, and Tari... We have to train, we can't lose... For Desti... Last few months since the island, been trying to train, not sure if..."

"Don't talk like that!" Sally said, "Its okay to be nervous, but you can do it! You just need the strength to train. Desti wouldn't want you to get distracted by grief, and you've been trying hard to make it to the top. You want to become the Splatfest champion, and its your dream. Desti wants you to fulfill it, she wants you to succeed, and your friends have your back."

Meggy looked at the princess, her face brightening up. The former Inkling then hugged Sally; "Thank you, princess. I... I dunno why I let myself down in the dumps like that, I should be training!"

Sally flashed Meggy a thumbs up, and Meggy stood, then she pulled out her Splattershot. With a "yeehee", the aspiring Splatfest champion dashed off to train while Sally watched with a smile. She was happy to offer support to a friend...

The End