//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Long Lost and Forgotten 
// Story: Dreamwalker Dash 
// by Fluttercheer 
//------------------------------//

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Loud creaking that told of ancient times and secrets sounded into Rainbow Dash's ears as Luna pulled the massive, thick metal door open. It covered the lantern to its right and revealed nothing but blackness. On the grey brick wall to the left of the entryway hung another lantern. It was black and oval-shaped, just like its companion, and it radiated a warm, yellow light. But its light was not enough to dispel the darkness.
Rainbow Dash leaned forward and squinted but, even after a minute of staring into it, she could not see anything. It was a blackness her eyes couldn't get used to. She looked at Luna. “What's in there?”
Luna did not look at Rainbow Dash, nor did she answer. She only gazed into the darkness. Then suddenly, sparks shot from her horn. They landed inside the entryway and, for a brief moment, revealed stony steps that led into the depths. Luna's horn flared up with a strong light spell and the darkness finally retreated.
“Down there again? Are we going to Starswirl's secret library?” Rainbow Dash suggested over the sight in front of her.
“Indeed, Rainbow Dash. I see you still remember this place from the time my sister disappeared through one of Starswirl's mirrors.” The Princess of the Night gazed into the corridor for a few seconds more, long enough for Rainbow Dash to look back at her and to tilt her head in confusion. But before she could say something, Luna moved and marched ahead. “Follow me, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash did. Staying close to Luna, she trotted after her through the darkness that engulfed them. The door got slammed behind her, making her head twitch. She lowered it instinctively. “T-That was just the wind, right?”
“No, magic,” Luna clarified. “I shut the door. The fewer ponies know that we are here, the better it is.”
Rainbow Dash did not ask for the reason. Luna's spell only brightened a small radius around them and she had to move fast to keep pace with the princess. The darkness was weighing down on her and Rainbow Dash kept ducking her head. “That's not the same way we used last time, is it?”
“No, a different one,” Luna answered taut. “A lesser-known entrance into the caverns, it's better like this.”
“Okay. But why is it so dark in here? Why did Starswirl never hang up any lights in this corridor?” Her teeth started to clatter.
The words shot out of Luna's mouth in a fast tempo as she answered. “Safety reasons. Starswirl was interested in keeping intruders away from the caverns inside the mountain. A dark corridor like this makes it far less likely that anypony who isn't supposed to be here ventures forth.”
Rainbow Dash accepted the explanation, begrudgingly. The two stayed silent for the next couple minutes, until they reached another door. Luna picked up the conversation seamlessly, as if she had just finished her previous sentence. Now she spoke slower, though. “But behind here, we will be able to see without a spell again.” She opened the door and they stepped out into a dark tunnel.
To their left, where the tunnel widened into a large, cavernous room, Rainbow Dash could see light. She trotted away from Luna and hurried towards it, then breathed a sigh of relief as she was out of the tunnel. The room around her was still only dimly lit and she could not see the ceiling of it, but the various torches made it look almost comfy to her scared eyes.
Luna stepped at her side. “Do you remember this room, Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus mare looked around. Only a few steps further, she could see a towering blue building. An imposing yellow wooden gate was in its middle. It was flanked by two thick pillars and to its left, Rainbow Dash could see a lion statue. It rested lying on a socle and wore a content expression. A few stairs led up to the gate and in front of them was a sign.
“Athenaeum and Sundries,” Rainbow Dash read out loud. “Starswirl's library, this time I don't need a Thesaurus to know what it means. How are we here already?” She looked up at Luna, puzzled.
“These caverns are humongous. It was much more practical for Starswirl to have several entrances,” Luna explained, meeting Rainbow Dash's eyes.
“Works for me,” Rainbow Dash answered. “I don't mind that I won't have to get past that hydra skeleton again.” Luna went ahead already and Rainbow Dash followed her, catching up just as she had opened the gate.
The princess and the pegasus trotted through it together and down a small staircase. Going past a painting of Celestia and a statue of Starswirl, their eyes fell on rows of large bookshelves beyond an underground lake. On top of the highest shelf, a giant globe and a large telescope throned. Rainbow Dash whistled.
“It certainly looks impressive,” Luna agreed. “Even during a second visit. But we are not here to admire the interior.”
“And what are we here for?” Rainbow Dash inquired. “It hasn't something to do with mirrors, has it?” Memories of a certain adventure crept into her mind, making her feel a little uneasy, although she did not show it.
All of a sudden, Luna's voice sounded clipped. “No. We are here for something else, Rainbow Dash. What we look for is a blue book. It has a picture of a crescent moon drawn on it.”
“Got it!” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Where is it?”
“I-I don't know,” Luna admitted. “Starswirl never told me where he hid it after he–” She cut herself off.
“After he, what?” Rainbow Dash looked at her in curiosity.
“N-Nothing, Rainbow Dash. It's nothing important. I only know that the book has to be in here, it's where Starswirl stored everything that had significance to him. We must search for it.”
“So you aren't even sure if it's really in here?” Rainbow Dash groaned.
“I..... I am not. But for the most part, I am. It's the place that makes the most sense. If we split up, we will be faster.” Luna spread her wings and lifted off. Rainbow Dash watched her fly over the lake and land in front of the bottom shelf at the other side of it, right next to a fleet of stairs.
“Something tells me this is going to be a very long night. And that a certain promise will go up in smoke.” Rainbow Dash sighed and followed the princess.
Her suspicion had not been wrong. Without the slightest clue where the book could be, she and Luna had to go through each shelf and each row in these shelves. Time crawled by as Rainbow Dash pulled out book after book, checked the front cover and put it back. Below her, Luna did the same at a different shelf.
An hour had passed since their arrival in the library and Rainbow Dash began to yawn and was about to tell Luna that she has decided to go home, as a loud gasp from the princess sounded from above.
“I found it, Rainbow Dash! Come up here!”
“It was about time,” Rainbow Dash complained. She dropped the book she was holding and flapped her tired wings.
Luna stood on top of the uppermost shelf, waving a blue book in her magic. Rainbow Dash could see the picture of the crescent moon from the distance. She landed in front of Luna and took a closer look at the book.
It looked worn. The pages had a yellow tinge and it was tarnished with plenty of scratches. It could be seen at first glance that its owner had not been very careful with it. But the most remarkable was that the crescent moon wasn't the only drawing on it. Both the front and the back of the book were covered in hearts, stars and crude-looking stick ponies. It even had random words scribbled on it.
These details brought Rainbow Dash to a certain conclusion. “This isn't looking like one of Starswirl's spellbooks.” She cocked her head as she eyed the book sceptically.
“It's not,” Luna confirmed. “This is not a spellbook, Rainbow Dash. It's a diary. My diary.” She exhaled strongly and extinguished the aura around it, taking the book into her hooves. A strange expression appeared on her face, one that Rainbow Dash could not decipher.
“Your diary?” she asked. “Why did Starswirl have your diary? And why did he hide it in his library?” Confusion spread out on her face.
“I have written in this diary when I was a young filly. I can barely remember it, it was all such a long time ago.” Luna's voice began shaking. “B-But it contains the instructions we need, I-I recall this clearly.”
“Luna?” Rainbow Dash asked, coming a step closer. “Are you alright? You look nervous.” A mix of compassion and worry adorned her features.
“Yes!” Luna's head shot up from the book. There was a slight amount of fear in her eyes. “We are, I am, okay! We, I, just haven't seen this diary for more than one millennium and it brings back memories. Come now, Rainbow Dash. We need to be in a more comfortable space for what will come now.” Not awaiting a response, Luna took flight again, the book tightly pressed against her chest. She landed at the top of a colossal staircase just left of the bookshelves.
Rainbow Dash stayed behind for a moment and looked up at Luna, only then she flew to the same spot.
Quietly, the duo trotted through a large gate into another room. In the flickering light of the torches, Rainbow Dash could see a long, massive table made of oak wood that stretched itself out in front of another row of bookshelves. It was covered with cobwebs and thick inches of dust. A large spider with red eyes caught Rainbow Dash's attention as she glanced over the table. She flinched.
Luna beckoned her to come to the other side of the room. It formed a stark contrast to the table. Instead of the hard, uncomfortable wood structure that looked like it had been meant for stressful meetings and conferences, there were several comfy armchairs, a long sofa of a wine-red color and small, round tables, each one situated right next to an armchair. Old candles stood on them, burnt down halfway. In the middle was a tiny, fragile-looking table, only a few inches high. It stood on a red, ornamented rug that was adorned with complex golden patterns. A small reading corner between two bookshelves, meant to slump down and forget the hours with a thick book about adventures. Rainbow Dash felt like falling asleep just by looking at it.
The only thing the reading corner had in common with the opposite side of the room was the dust that covered everything. It made it hard to guess the material the furniture was made of. But Rainbow Dash didn't mind the dust as she let herself sink into one of the brown armchairs. Her body relaxed immediately as she felt the soft leather caressing it.
Luna was not relaxed. She stood at the tiny table and leaned over her diary, flipping through its pages frantically. Her hooves were shaking. Then she suddenly stopped at a page. “This is it,” she said. Her voice jumped a little. “This is what I created as a filly. Rainbow Dash!” Her head shot at the armchair.
“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and jumped to attention. She stretched herself and groaned. “What did you find?” A yawn escaped her.
“What we came here for. This page has the instructions for an ancient, magical meditation technique. I developed it myself as a young filly. It allows non-magic users or unicorns who are less powerful to enter dreams. With this technique, you can be a dreamwalker, too, and we can have fun in dreams together.” She had spoken the words in a hasty, excited voice and a cold, intense stare was in her eyes.
“Uh, fun?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head and gave Luna an awkward look. “Isn't dreamwalking, like, something of responsibility that needs to be taken serious because you're inside the mind of another pony?”
Luna's pupils shrunk. “Of course!” she yelled and turned around frantically. “We just, I just, we.....” Luna closed her eyes and breathed in and out. When she opened them again, she looked more calm. “Nevermind, Rainbow Dash. Let's proceed with what we came for, I promised you enough sleep and I can see that you look tired already.”
Rainbow Dash's awkward look remained.
“With this technique, you will be able to enter the dream realm and the dreams of other ponies. You will be able to do the same thing as I, assist them with their nightmares. But I need to know if you really want to do this.”
Rainbow Dash looked at Luna curiously. “Well, it was you who suggested this, but..... I guess I could give it a try. Is it any dangerous?” A bit of scepticism got mixed into her facial expression.
“The dreamwalking?” Luna responded with a question of her own.
“Yeah, kind of. But I'm talking more about that technique. I already know that dreamwalking isn't a piece of cake. Are there any side effects of that technique? Something important I should know first?” She leaned forward in her chair a little.
Luna shook her head. “There is not much to know. The technique itself is safe. It is the dreamwalking that can be a detriment to the minds of some, but this technique won't do you any harm, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “And you said something about requiring magic. I guess I don't already have that magic I need, right?”
Luna shook her head again. “No. Weather control magic will not be enough to master it. I will transfer you a bit of my own magic to make it work. It is a painless procedure.”
Rainbow Dash scrunched her face, pondering. “I'll try it out,” she said, a little hesitating, after a few seconds had passed. “But I won't agree to take on your duties just yet. I want to see all of this first.”
“This is exactly what I had in mind. What I will show you requires time and dedication, it is not something that can be learned overnight.” Luna smiled. “Least, not in one night. And I would not bestow this responsibility and burden upon you before I am sure that you can handle it.” Her face had become serious again.
“Okay. So, what do I have to do?” Rainbow Dash looked at the princess, expectantly.
Luna pointed ahead of her, at the wine-red sofa. “Lie down there, Rainbow Dash, and get comfortable.”
The mare slid out of her chair and trotted to the sofa. After she had inspected it for a few seconds, she climbed on it and lied down, head resting on a pillow that had the same color as the sofa itself.
Luna trotted at her side. “Relax, Rainbow Dash,” she said, noticing a nervous expression in the face of the pegasus. “I promise this will not hurt.”
Then her horn flared up with a burst of magic.