Ofolrodi

by Imploding Colon


In My Restless Dreams

"They werre... talking to you?" Kepler remarked.

"Mrmmfff... mmhmmm..." Rainbow Dash nodded while enjoying a bowl of mushroom-and-beet stew. She took another sip of the broth and looked up at the gathered Herald. Her ghostly companions had all "woken" and hovered alongside her at the campsite. "In Moonwhinny too." She swallowed. "I heard a 'H'Luun' somewhere in there. And... I think I heard the lunar word for 'Celestia.' But it wasn't until I started talking like normal—like how you and I talk—that they began speaking recognizably. They called it the 'Penumbral tongue' and proceeded to address me."

"So..." Flynn tapped an Emeraldianian sword-tip to his chin in between pacing. "...it was all weird gibberish until halfway through the encounter?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So... it was just a crazy-ass dream, most likely," Flynn said. "I mean, you've got the midnighters on the mind—what with the Bloodwings and all. Most likely you just... brain farted it all up."

Seraphimus calmly joined in: "The leader of this expedition is nothing if not conscientious. It would make sense that her anxious mind would produce such a scenario."

"Heeeeeeey..." Rainbow smiled into her breakfast. "Really snazzy of you to compliment me, Sera! But you're still wrong." She took another sip of her soup. "Mrmmfff... you too, Flynn. Sorry, guys, but I really honestly thing this is the real deal."

"She's tellin' the truth!" Applejack said loudly. "As far as she knows it!"

Twilight and the others looked at Applejack weirdly.

"Erm... pardon..." Applejack's freckles swam in a brief blush. "Forgot they can't hear me worth a peep. Guess I just get a mite bit passionate at times."

"It's okay, Applejack," Fluttershy said, smiling.

"Aside from the random moonwhinny dialogue..." Flynn paced closer to Rainbow Dash. "...did they tell you anything you don't already know?" He arched an eyebrow over his remaining socket. "That is... did you discover anything you couldn't have imagined on your lonesome?"

Rainbow swallowed her last morsel and shrugged, making a face. "How the heck should I know? I mean... I got the distinct feeling that they were trying to drag information out of me." She gestured. "I didn't give them anything, mind you. Nothing short of..." Her ruby eyes rolled. "...a super lame 'I'M ON A MISSION OF HARMONY' crud. Yeesh... if this was a dream that I had control over, I'm pretty sure things would go more awesomely."

"I hate to say it, Rainbow..." Logan sighed, shaking his head. "But that's not convincing enough. Unless you've got anything to give us, it really just sounds likes a normal-ass dream."

"But what if it's not?" Ariel asked, looking up at the others. "What if she's not mistaken—and our leader really is being tracked by the Bloodwings through the dreamworld?"

Seraphimus groaned, pivoting to face the twilight. "How did I know she would take that stance...?"

Ariel frowned. "It means that the Bloodwings could very possibly know where we are! And if that's the case, it doesn't matter how close we are to either the Great Ocean or their Lair! They could hunt us dead within a heartbeat!"

Wildcard nodded, then gestured: "It is a very credible threat."

"Is it?" Flynn looked towards Rainbow Dash. "I thought only Princess Luna could dreamwalk. And—even still—she's limited to a range that covers your home kingdom of Equestria."

"Do you remember any instances in Equestrian lore where midnighters could do the Dreamwalk shit?" Logan asked.

"First off... they're called 'sarosians' back where I'm from," Rainbow Dash said. "Second of all..." Her nostrils flared. "No. I don't remember any instances of them being able to explore other ponies' dreams like Luna."

"Well..." Flynn gestured. "...there you have it."

"However..." Rainbow Dash stood up. "Sarosians aren't like any other natural equines." She looked at each member of the Herald. "They were fashioned from the dreamworld. In fact, Luna tells me that they were foaled into existence along with 'the very first nightmare.'" She slowly shook her head. "None of us would be dreaming today hadn't Princess Luna discovered them. Whether she can dreamwalk into the minds of all ponies existing across the plane or not, it doesn't change the fact that every living thing owes it to sarosians for having dreams in the first place!"

"Hmmmm..." Kepler stroked his chin. "...if the fabrric of nightmarres is the sourrce frrom which all physical incarrnations of sarrosians hail, then it stands to rreason that they might have some innate connection to drreams. Something—perrhaps—that could be tapped into thrrough the dedicated utilization of lunarr magic."

"So... what...?" Flynn shrugged. "They've got a cabal of dream monks or something?"

"Think about it." Kepler smiled through his tusks. "If therre's any chance whatsoeverr that drreams could be used as a means of extending some sorrt of telepathic vision, then it might give them an edge in monitorring theirr adverrsarries in the Trrinarry Warr."

"Sounds like the ultimate reconaissance," Seraphimus remarked.

"Maybe that's the 'edge' that Abaddon was talking about," Logan said. "The thing that this psychotic 'Lexxic' is using to outsmart his enemies."

Ariel's muzzle scrunched. "I thought he was just way more brutal and violent than the Bloodwing generals who came before him."

Wildcard interjected with slicing talon-tips: "Can we honestly expect a pony like that to have mastered dream walking in a single life time?"

"Good point, Double-Yoo," Logan said nodding.

Seraphimus craned her neck in Rainbow's direction. "Didn't you say that all of the equine figures you observed in your vision were female?"

Rainbow nodded. "Right. But that doesn't surprise me very much. Both the sarosians of Equestria and the flock of Xarchellus are matriarchal socities." She cleared her throat. "I... uh... was sorta expecting the same from the Dark Vigil."

"I am not debating that," Seraphimus said. "But if your dream has any merit to it, then it shows us that Lexxic is not in charge of this proposed telepathic ability."

"But I thought he was the one in charge?" Ariel remarked. "Leading the Bloodwings against the Changelings and the Night Shard?"

"Evidently it is a far more complicated matter than we had previously ascertained," Seraphimus said. "All the more reason to avoid the Bloodwings altogether." She said this with a sharp glare added for emphasis.

Rainbow sighed. "I thought I already made it clear." She gestured. "Our prime goal right now is to find the Dihmers—or reach the Grand Ocean. Whichever comes first." She shook her head. "I really don't wanna butt heads with sarosians right now... especially ones who love to torture and pay visits to one's head in the middle of the night."

"This... of course..." Flynn remarked. "...is assuming it wasn't just some random, crazy-ass dream—"

Rainbow interrupted: "It's not the first time I had it, Flynn."

Both the Herald and Rainbow's friends gave her a double-take.

"It's not...?" Ariel remarked.

Rainbow shook her head. "It's a bit fuzzy... but I remember having this dream long ago. Before we even set out from Spindler-Town." She looked at the others. "It wasn't as clear or real as this vision was... but I distinctly recall images of leather wings and fangs against a canvas of stars." A gulp. "I think they've been trying to contact me for a while... and only now are they having success."

"But you scared them off, right?" Pinkie remarked.

Rainbow held a hoof to her pendant. "Pinkie Pie makes a valid point." She summoned a ruby glow before the Heraldites. "One of the figures in the dream tried tackling me. They came within the width of a feather, and the light from my pendant knocked them back."

"What do you suppose that means?" Ariel asked.

"Ach!" Kepler adjusted his spectacles. "Prrincess Luna's blessing!"

"So it can protect you?" Logan remarked. "Her enchantment thingy wields power even on the Dark Side?"

"Well... just enough for it to work in the dreamworld, at least," Rainbow Dash said. "I... don't know if it'll have any real-life effect if any Bloodwings should come streaking our way."

Wildcard hand-signed: "It certainly helped us back at Bleak's Plummet."

"Can we really expect to be so lucky?" Flynn remarked.

"Expect? Negative." Seraphimus shook her head. "It is most frugal to plan for the worse."

"Heh..." Flynn scratched the back of his neck. "I'm actually with you on that one, Death Turkey."

Seraphimus ignored that. "In the meantime, this could serve to prove something alarming." She looked at the others. "If these midnighters—"

"Sarosians," Ariel groaned.

"If the midnighters of this realm possess telepathic knowledge, and they're manifesting themselves more clearly in your leader's dreams, then it stands to reason that proximity is their ally." Seraphimus' charcoal brown eyes hardened. "Despite what the dragon stone indicates, we are likely getting far closer to their lair than is safe. I would strongly suggest altering course to move closer to the Curve."

"We've been over that before, girl," Logan said firmly. "If we stick to the stream, we'll be out in the open." He pointed at the low ravine walls running a serpentine path towards Omega. "These craggy niches—however? They provide ample cover."

Seraphimus sighed. "... ... ...I don't particularly enjoy the hazards we are forcing this journey through."

"Welcome to the Dark Side." Logan smirked. Standing up with a grunt, he paced across the camp site. "Whelp... that was a breakfast in a half. I'd suggest we pack up before I get farting—or else we'll lose time."

"And we'll have to smell it," Ariel grumbled. "Flynn?"

"Sure, I'll lend a hoof."

Wildcard joined in. Soon Kepler, Seraphimus, and Logan were moving to their stations as well.

Rainbow wasted no time in packing her things. "Guess... in the meantime... I'll just quit sleeping!"

Several members of the Herald chuckled. Not Seraphimus, of course.

Rainbow Dash smirked.

"Doesn't this put you on edge, darling?" Rarity remarked, floating up close and wringing her fetlocks. "Just... the idea of such terrible creatures spying on you in your dreams! Brbrbrrbrbrrrr..."

"Not like they can do anythang to Rainbow!" Applejack stated. "She's got Lunar's spell protectin' her!"

"In the dreamworld, perhaps," Rarity stated. "But if they were to track her and her friends down in reality?"

"The Dashie will just have to give them the good ol' One-Two!" Pinkie charaded several martial arts moves. "Hi-YAAAA!"

"Heh..." Applejack tipped her hat. "Nothin' freaky could ever phase you, eh, Pinkie?"

"Yeah. Good thing Dashie's the one who can actually buck teeth in!"

"I'm still lost..." Fluttershy fidgeted as she and the others followed Rainbow as she packed her things. "If this is a real situation we're having to deal with... just how did the sarosians of the Dark Vigil learn to do what only Princess Luna could do on the Light Side?"

"Hmmmmm..." Twilight's muzzle scrunched in deep thought. She looked over. "Hey Rainbow."

"Hey egghead."

"Remember when Luna was telling us what she knew about the Dark Vigil?" Twilight thought out loud. "The ponies who performed their Exodus over to the World's Edge had several Nightmare Moon artifacts with them."

"Yeah, that's right." Applejack nodded. "They had Nightmare Moon's duds!"

"Her armor, don't you mean," Rarity collected.

"That's what I said!" Applejack tilted her head up. "Armored duds!"

"Didn't they also have something else?" Pinkie's nose wriggled. "The Book of Starch?"

"The Book of Saros," Twilight corrected.

"Eh! Close enough!"

"Those sound like very important artifacts," Fluttershy said. "Do you suppose that—through some sort of lunar magic—those things could have helped the Bloodwings master dreamwalking?"

"If they did..." Rarity blinked. "...how come they haven't completely conquered their foes?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Maybe the changelings and Night Shard don't dream? We heard that the Night Shard are older than anyone else."

"I think... the Night Shard are powered by something that goes beyond dreaming, Pinkie," Twilight said. "If you ask me—I think the Bloodwings dreamwalk to maintain control over their troops."

"Makes sense," Applejack said. "The Dark Side's pretty huge... and there're loads of battlegrounds between here and the Midnight Armory—most likely. Seein' as how the land's too plum dangerous for carrier pigeons and the like, a sort of dream messagin' would come in mighty handy!"

"Just how do we avoid a faction of ponies like that?" Fluttershy remarked, trembling.

"Hrmmmmm..." Rainbow sighed. "We don't, Fluttershy."

Her friends shuddered upon hearing that.

"I don't care what Flynn or Sera think." Rainbow looked up darkly from where she was packing her things. "Whether we want to or not... we are going to run into these punks." Her wings coiled. "It's just a matter of time."

"I... don't really look forward to that prospect," Rarity exhaled.

"Whatever," Rainbow muttered. "Between you and me, girls?" She tightened a bag of blankets and tent material. "I wouldn't mind having something to kick between the eyes sooner than later." She heaved the item over her flank and flew towards the center of camp. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road."