//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Jumping at the Call // Story: A Night of Dashing Dreams // by Nyronus //------------------------------// “Are we ready to go?” Luna chuckled as she made a circuit around the room, tending to all the flowers. “I admit, Dash, I may have to invite you on my vigils more often, if only because it makes tending the palace lavender a much swifter task.” “Pff, no problem.” Dash continued hovering in place for a second, stock still aside from her wings, and silent. “So, we ready to go?” Luna smiled, setting down the watering can. “I believe so.” “Yes!” Dash pumped a hoof and backflipped out of the air onto one of the cushions on Luna’s floor. Luna gracefully slid into the one across from her. “Alright, before we begin, I want to reiterate two points: that of discretion and observation-” “Yeah, yeah, dreams are like crazy piles of ponies’ personal thoughts and memories and stuff, so like, keep an eye out and try not to embarass them or talk about it later.” Rainbow rolled her hoof as she rattled on. “Trust me, Pinkie Pie is like my bestie. I tooootally get all that stuff.” Luna stared, tilted her head, looked aside, then shrugged and smiled. “Alright then, let us begin.” Luna’s horn came alive with silvery tendrils of light, and one reached out and touched Dash directly between the eyes. The world was wiped away in a wave of black, leaving the two of them perfectly alone. Then slowly, a blue fog of light faded in, and it began raining dreams. Hundreds of orbs, each a window into the mind of sleeping pony, floated down from above, their numbers fading out into infinity in every direction. “Wooooah.” Dash said, flapping around, trying to look at each one as they came down. “This is cool.” “Welcome to the realm of dreams, Rainbow Dash.” “This is what it’s like for you every night?” Dash circled a sphere depicting a pony juggling fish while unicycling along the edge of a skyscraper. “This is so. Awesome.” Luna blushed. “I suppose it is.” Faint sounds began filtering in from all the dreams. “I am so glad you asked me too-” Dash wheeled around, her eyes locking on a sphere. A faint scream echoed through the fog. “Looks like it’s time to get to work!” Luna blinked and looked, trying to follow Dash’s vision. She locked onto one of the spheres. “Wait, Rainbow Dash, that’s-” But Dash was gone in a bolt, vanishing into the sphere. Luna frowned, and began gently flapping after her. ------ Lily Longstocking let out another scream. The timber wolves howled in delight at the sound, closing in with every ragged pant. A clearing opened up ahead, and at its far end, was a rock outcropping on which sat a huge boulder. Lily’s face twisted into a smirk and she let out another warbling, insincere scream. The timber wolves took the bait, hook, line and sinker, and chased her straight into the clearing. With a single mighty bound she leapt, clearing the boulder and the rock at once. She landed behind it, then, with a single mighty heave, reared up on her hind legs, the huge rock held over her head. The wolves skidded to a halt, only realizing too late her trap. “Hah! Gotcha!” And then a howling vortex of wind and light smashed straight into the clearing, wiping out the wolves in an instant. Plus most of the trees. “Have no fear, Rainbow Dash is here!” The smoke cleared, revealing the pegasus in all her glory. Lily groaned and hucked the boulder to the side. “I had that.” “Wut.” “I lured them here so I could smash them with the rock.” “This wasn’t a nightmare?” “No it-” Lily shook her head. “No, totally not.” Suddenly a bunch of foals and fillies filled the clearing. “Wow, Rainbow Dash! That was so cool!” Scootaloo piped up. “I’m so glad you came, Rainbow Dash!” Diamond Tiara said. “Wow, Miss Dash, you were so amazing!” Pipsqueak bounced in place. Lily went silent, hunched over, and turned to walk away. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone!” Dash waved the foals away from her and flew up to her. “You dream about kicking major monster butt?” Lily sulked as she walked. “Yeah.” “That’s so cool! I thought I was the only one!” Dash swooped ahead of her. “Can you really lift rocks like that?” Lily stopped. “I mean, yeah.” “Oh. My. Gosh.” Dash pressed her cheeks in. “That’s so cool.” Lily blinked. “Really?” “Yeah, totally! I mean, I’m fast, and speed can count for a lot when it comes to kicking butt, but not even I can do stuff like that!” Lily gave a small smile. “It is kind of useful.” “It’s more than useful, kid. It’s - wait. Have you met Rockhoof?” “The legendary earth pony hero?” “The one and the same.” “You know him?” “Course I do.” Rainbow leaned in, smirking. “Me and my friends were totally the ones who got him out of Limbo.” Lily’s jaw dropped. “I totally need to hook you two up so you two can, like, bond over your crazy-awesome earth pony strength.” It was at that moment that Luna hovered into the scene, but Rainbow Dash went on. “He was pretty down because he didn’t know what to do with his crazy strength, so you can show him a thing or two.” Lily stared ahead. “He was my favorite hero…” “Oh wow, that’s even better. He’ll get a real kick out of that. You live in Ponyville, right? Asks Scoots to find me, I’ll totally do that. It will be awesome.” She grinned and leaned back as she hovered up a foot. “Plus, you need to take me on one of these monster kicking trips you do, sometime.” Lily looked away and frowned. “Hey, what’s wrong?” “I don’t kick any monsters. Or anything. It’s just a dream.” “What’s that mean?” “Dreams contain a mix of memory, desire, anxieties, and fear, Rainbow Dash.” Luna landed next to the two of them. “I suspect what you interrupted was a fantasy, was it not, my child?” “Yeah…” “Why are you sad, then? This is a cool fantasy.” “Because that’s all it is!” Lily grumbled as her stance curled inward even tighter. “To most ponies I’m just a weirdo. A filly who can pick up houses, but when I dream, at least I can be useful.” “Hold it! Hold it right there!” Dash landed right in-front of her. “You stop that right now! You are not useless!” “But all I do is creep ponies out when I-” “Then buck them!” Rainbow Dash said. “Foals made fun of me all the time because I wanted to be a Wonderbolt. They even called me ‘Rainbow Crash’ at flight camp, and you know what?” Dash leapt up into the air, throwing her hooves wide and in a flash was sporting her yellow and blue flight suit. “I’m a Wonderbolt! I never let them stop me, and now they work on a rain cloud assembly line and I fly with freaking Spitfire.” Rainbow Dash leaned in. “You wanna be a kick-flank monster hunter? Go out and do it!” Luna gave Rainbow Dash a look. Dash blinked and then blushed. “I mean, yeah, you really shouldn’t be going into the Everfree. That place is crazy, even crazier now, but that doesn’t mean you should give up just because some loser gave you the stink eye.” Somewhere in the clearing, the figment of Diamond Tiara blushed and shuffled her hooves. “And maybe you don’t want to hunt monsters - that’s cool too! You’re a filly and if kicking flank isn’t your jam, you have time to figure that out. Heck, I’m sure Rockhoof would have all sorts of advice and stories. It’s kind of his job, now. What I’m sayin’ is, don’t give up. Build a playhouse out of boulders, go talk to Maud, don’t give up on what makes you special.” “Yeah, Lily, your strength is so cool!” The Scootaloo projection leapt in to say. “You’re the best!” Pipsqueak chimed in. “I am really sorry I said those things to you.” Diamond Tiara pouted. “Yeah, see! Tell your friends, they’ll have your backs! You’ve got a gift kid, so go out and use it. Prove those losers wrong!” Lily smiled, tears in her eyes. “You mean it?” “Uh, duh!” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.” Rainbow suddenly found herself in a hug. “Thank you, Miss Dash!” “No problem, kid.” Rainbow said, patting Lily’s mane. Lily let go and smiled wide. “As soon as I get to school tomorrow I’m gonna get everyone together to make a fort in the park! A real one!” She bounced in place. “That’s the spirit!” “I’ll see you later!” Lily turned and began walking away, the memories of the foals, falling in around her, chattering her praises. “Remember to ask Scoots to find me! I really think you and Rockhoof should chat!” “I will, thank you!” And with that, Lily was gone and the ruined clearing was getting blurry. Dash turned to face Luna, an embarrassed grin on her face. “Cute kid.” “Indeed.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Kinda got ahead of myself there, didn’t I?” Luna quirked her head, then rubbed her chin. “While it is true that you intervened where there was no present danger, you did so to the best of your knowledge and with good intentions.” She looked down at Rainbow. “Furthermore, you bonded fast with the dreamer and even managed to find a hidden anxiety and dispel it with reason and impassioned advocacy.” Luna smiled. “It’s hard to imagine a more resounding success.” Rainbow’s grin widened and she pumped a hoof in the air. “Aww yeah!” “‘Tis but one dream.” Luna clapped her on the shoulder. “Come, the night is young, and there are many yet to attend to.” “Alright!” Luna smiled and took to the air. Rainbow followed and the world washed into the light and mist of the realm of dreams.