//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: A Choking Challenge 
// Story: Dreamwalker Dash 
// by Fluttercheer 
//------------------------------//

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In the next night, Rainbow Dash and Hyper Sonic already hovered at Luna's side as their sleep had barely begun. They were poised to start and poised to get a certain information. Rainbow Dash had told Hyper Sonic about Luna's mysterious remark from last night, that the princess spoke right after she vanished to wake up, and now the filly was as eager to find out as Rainbow Dash was. “Or even more so,” a thought flashed inside Rainbow Dash's head as she watched Hyper Sonic. The younger pegasus left her position, flying in front of Luna's face, with an expression that demanded answers in hers.
Luna remained stoic at the reaction. Looking past Hyper Sonic, she stared at the bodies under her. For some reason, Hyper Sonic's dream in this night showed the dead dragons again that she and Rainbow Dash had taken out in the previous night. Luna moved her glance over the beasts and their lifeless eyes that were staring empty at their surroundings, pondering. Maybe Hyper Sonic wanted to see the fruits of her victory again because she was so proud of her achievement?
Luna turned away from the sight. She presented Hyper Sonic with a smile that carried secrets, then locked her eyes at Rainbow Dash. “I assume you are ready now.” She looked at Hyper Sonic teasingly from the corner of her eyes for a moment, then returned her attention to Rainbow Dash. “Both of you.” Luna smiled again.
Hyper Sonic's face turned into a frown. “Finally tell me what you know about me!” She followed Luna's face with one, strong flap of her wings. Now she was hovering exactly at Rainbow Dash's side, where she began to stare at the princess, expectantly.
Luna smirked. “You are right, I let you wait for too long and I apologize. But the manifestations of your wishes are very fascinating, young Hyper Sonic.”
The statement wiped the frown clean off Hyper Sonic's face. What appeared instead was a mix of confusion and astonishment. “My wishes? What do you mean?” Her mouth remained open after she spoke.
“As you were already informed,” Luna began with a sideways glance at the other pegasus “I was promising Rainbow Dash to tell her something new about you. But it is not just new to her, it is new to you as well.”
“And what is it?” it came out of the mouths of Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Dash at the same time. Their eyes were hanging on Luna's lips.
“You have a very special ability, Hyper Sonic,” Luna continued, unable to raise the suspense any more. “You are a natural-born lucid dreamer.”
The effect one would expect from this reveal did not fully occur. Rainbow Dash's eyes grew in size, but Hyper Sonic only gave Luna a sceptical look, one eyebrow raised. “What's a lucid dreamer?” she asked simply.
Luna nodded. “I will explain. A lucid dreamer is a dreamer who is aware of it that they are dreaming. Most ponies are not capable of having lucid dreams and if a pony realizes they are dreaming, it usually happens because of my intervention. Although some ponies indeed dream about meeting me, it is the real me who appears inside their dreams, in most cases.”
Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Dash silently followed her words.
“And once they see me, they become instantly aware of it that they are dreaming. The realization turns their dreams into lucid dreams, however, there are some ponies who are able to have such dreams without my presence. You are one of these ponies, Hyper Sonic.”
The answer confused Hyper Sonic more. “I know,” she stated blankly. “I know that it's a dream every night. But all ponies recognize it when they're dreaming, don't they?”
Luna shook her head, smiling. “No. To most ponies, dreams feel very real. It is only when waking up that they realize they were dreaming. The few exceptions are known as lucid dreamers. Developing lucid dreams requires long training, discipline and much patience. It takes ponies years to learn it and some never do. You, however,” Luna touched Hyper Sonic's shoulder. “can do this since you were born, Hyper Sonic.”
Now Hyper Sonic's eyes finally followed the example of the eyes of the pony she admired. “Does this mean I can control my dreams?”
“Indeed.” Luna gave her a nod. She looked happy. “You understand very fast. Yes, you are able to fully control your dreams. You did not realize it, but it was not a coincidence that everything you wished for in a dream happened. Each of your wishes becomes a part of your dreams.”
The filly felt like the ground under her, if there had been one, was going to collapse over this news. She stared at Luna like hypnotized. “I can really do this?”
“Of course.” Luna pointed to the ground, at the dead beasts. “You wished to see them again, didn't you?”
Hyper Sonic swallowed. “Yes. It was the first thought I had after falling asleep.”
“And so they appeared. I bet you can make them disappeare in nothing more than a second, too, if you wish for it. Try it out.” She gave Hyper Sonic a prompting, encouraging glance.
Nothing changed in Hyper Sonic's face, but something suddenly moved in the corner of Rainbow Dash's and Luna's eyes. They looked down and the dragons were gone. Now they could see a rocky desert, the landscape their massive bodies were covering up until now.
“It worked.....” Hyper Sonic breathed out audibly. “It really worked. This is fantastic!” She took off and flew a couple loopings, while laughing the entire time.
“Try something else,” Luna suggested as the filly returned.
Hyper Sonic held a hoof at her chin and began to think. “How about–”
“Hey, wait!” Rainbow Dash interrupted her thought process. “Can I suggest something? There are some really crazy things I always wanted to do in dreams!” A broad grin was plastered over Rainbow Dash's face.
Luna looked at Rainbow Dash, stern-faced. Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes. She felt like she could see sadness suddenly flashing up in Luna's eyes. It disappeared just as fast. “Uh, Luna? Did I say something wrong?”
The princess looked like she had just awoken from a dream herself. She shook her head a few times. “No. We, I, was just pondering the young one's abilities. I understand your desire to make use of Hyper Sonic's gift, but let her choose something first.”
“Okay.....” Something didn't feel right to Rainbow Dash, but she decided to postpone more questions for later.
Hyper Sonic continued pondering. Then, without a warning, the ground under them was gone. Trees appeared around them. Suddenly, they were not in the air anymore, but on the ground. The dreamer and the dreamwalkers stopped hovering and landed on the new forest floor. “We're in the Everfree Forest,” Rainbow Dash said, turning around and familiarizing herself with the place.
Hyper Sonic stared at a spot in a few meters distance, in front of a thick tree. A creature appeared a second later. Head of a rooster. Body of a snake. Leathery wings. A cockatrice. Rainbow Dash and Luna were on alert immediately, but Hyper Sonic grinned at the creature, gleefully. She trotted to the little demon of the Everfree Forest, no fear in her eyes, but a bright fire glowing in them. It looked just like last night when she fought the dragons.
As she could almost touch the cockatrice, it turned around. The glare from its glowing, red eyes pierced into Hyper Sonic immediately. The filly looked back at her body, noticing the beginning petrification. She smirked.
“Hyper Sonic!” Rainbow Dash sounded alarmed. She took off from the ground and was flying fast to come to the filly's aid. But before she could reach the cockatrice, Dash had to witness how the situation got solved without her intervention.
Hyper Sonic waited patiently, observing the petrification that crept up her hindlegs without flinching. Then, as half of her hindlegs were covered in stone, everything happened fast. Shifting her weight onto her forelegs, Hyper Sonic bent forward. She used all her strength to lift her hindlegs, then swung her body around. The stone of her petrified back hooves hit the cockatrice dead on. Knocked back by the momentum, it hurled towards the thick tree. A snap could be hurt as the demon hit it and the glow in its eyes went out. The cockatrice fell dead to the ground. In the same moment, Hyper Sonic's legs returned to normal.
Rainbow Dash had watched the entire scene with her mouth wide open. “How did you.....” She failed to finish the sentence.
“This wasn't impressive,” Hyper Sonic brushed off her victory. “I've done this before and it wasn't in a dream.” She flapped her erected wings and fluttered back to Luna, past Rainbow Dash, who stood frozen as if the cockatrice petrified her.
“This was a nice way to stay in form,” Luna welcomed the young pegasus. “Now all we need is something for Rainbow Dash to do.”
Hyper Sonic understood instantly. “What do you want me to do, Luna?”
“Why don't you think of something yourself?” Luna offered the filly. “This is your dream, after all, and you are Rainbow Dash's trainer. I am sure you have good ideas. Just make sure that it's a challenge.”
Hyper Sonic's face showed no objection. Her mind went to work. The contents of several books she read in the past circulated inside her head. Eventually, she stopped at one and an idea began to form. It only took a moment, then walls shot out of the floor and surrounded Rainbow Dash. The mare had just broken free of her rigor and wanted to return to Hyper Sonic and Luna, but now she found herself trapped inside a large room.
Rainbow Dash looked around, confused. “Hey, what's going on?” The walls were white and looked clinical. The floor was made of quadratic, blue tiles. They shimmered in the bright light that came from the long lamps on the ceiling and clinked melodically as her hooves moved over them. Through a window that was inserted in the wall in front of her, Rainbow Dash could see Hyper Sonic and Luna. She trotted up to it. To its right was a green metal door, but it did not budge as Rainbow Dash pulled at it. Near it was a black screen. A number pad was attached to it.
Rainbow Dash turned away from the device and put her forehooves on the window, staring at the other two ponies in confusion. “What's happening? Why am I trapped in here?”
“Your next training session,” Luna explained calmly. “A little bit different than last night, but I'm sure Hyper Sonic has something nice in mind for you.”
“Hyper Sonic?” Rainbow Dash peered at the filly.
“That was me,” Hyper Sonic confirmed. “I created this room.”
“And for what purpose?” Seeking help, Rainbow Dash turned at Luna again. She became increasingly uncomfortable in the empty, large room.
“You have to ask our lucid dreamer,” Luna explained. “It is all her idea and I do not know what her plan is.”
Rainbow Dash's skin turned white under the blue hairs in her face.
“It's very simple,” Hyper Sonic started. The screen next to Rainbow Dash suddenly turned on. A blue light emanated from it. The keys of the number pad were glowing blue, as well.
“The screen you can see is a computer,” the filly continued. “You have to–”
“A what?” Rainbow Dash asked, puzzled.
“It's from a science-fiction book. I explain it later. There isn't much time now.” Demonstratively, the younger pegasus pointed at the screen. “You have to play a little game. Like the ones in the Ponyville Arcade. Just move the pony on the screen around with the arrow keys on the pad. You have to solve three riddles and once you did, the door will open and you can go outside.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “Sounds like a challenge. But isn't it supposed to be dangerous? Luna said it has to be for my training.”
Now Hyper Sonic's lips curled upwards for a roguish smile. “It is.” A metallic sound occurred while she spoke and Rainbow Dash turned around. A hatch had opened in the ceiling and she could hear some kind of apparatus working behind it. Rainbow Dash looked back at the filly, a knot twisting her stomach.
“Starting now, the air will get sucked out of this room. You have five minutes, Rainbow Dash.” Like her words were a command, the pony she mentioned before appeared on the screen. Above it, red numbers flashed up and started to count down immediately.
Surprisingly, this information eased Rainbow Dash. “And that's all? I thought it's something that can kill me in a dream. But if it's just losing air, what should happen? My body will still get air, down in Starswirl's caverns, where I'm sleeping.” She moved to the screen, in a demonstratively slow tempo.
“Not exactly,” Luna took over for Hyper Sonic. “It is true that your lungs will still be able to breathe in air even if you fail with this challenge. But inside dreams, injuries of the mind will affect your physical body as well. If you can't breathe anymore while you are in a dream, your brain tells your lungs that there is no air and they will react like your body is indeed trapped in an airless void.”
Rainbow Dash's pupils constricted. She moved faster now and banged her hoof on one of the large keys. The pony on the screen started moving to the right.
“But don't worry about this too much,” Luna tried to calm her. “As this is merely a training scenario and with Hyper Sonic being fully able to control her dream, you will survive even if you fail. She can free you from this room at any time.”
The beads of sweat that formed on Rainbow Dash's forehead signalled that she wasn't fully believing in the abilities of the filly yet.
The red numbers showed 04:00 as the pony she moved over the screen hit a red door. “Time for the first riddle, I guess.” Rainbow Dash gulped.
The pony and the background were suddenly gone and instead, a row of numbers appeared on the screen.
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5 10 13 21 X 35 38 46 55

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“Numbers?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Why does it have to be something with numbers? I was never good at math.” Teeth gritted, she let her eyes glide over the row. Trying to ignore her rising tension, Rainbow Dash concentrated on the task. “Alright, I think I got it. Hopefully.” She hit two of the number keys. The X disappeared and was replaced with her chosen number in a green color.


5 10 13 21 30 35 38 46 55

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The numbers broke up into tiny fragments and rained down over the screen. Rainbow Dash's pony appeared again and so did the countdown. It showed 03:30 now. The red door disappeared. She lost no time to move her pony again. “Two more riddles, I'll never gonna make this.” Her voice sounded like incoherent mumbling.
The next door appeared thirty seconds later. It was a blue one. Like before, a row of numbers appeared on the screen.
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100 125 117 113 150 215 X 198 190 186 223 288 246

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The steep increase in difficulty made Rainbow Dash shuffle with her hooves on the floor. She felt her brain twisting and knotting while trying to find the right number to complete the row. Rainbow Dash was almost sure that the time was over as she finally thought she had it. She hit three keys as fast as she could.
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100 125 117 113 150 215 165 198 190 186 223 288 246

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Rainbow Dash stared at the red number that replaced the X. She felt her heart sinking all the way down through her stomach. The time had to be over now. Yet, she could still breathe rather well. Desperate, Rainbow Dash typed in another number that randomly entered her mind.
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100 125 117 113 150 215 173 198 190 186 223 288 246

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Once more, the numbers fell apart and the pony reappeared. The door couldn't disappear fast enough for Rainbow Dash. The timer showed that there was one minute left as her pony finally moved again. “Faster, faster!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the figure on the screen. But it took another thirty seconds for her to reach the last door. It was green, just like the door she could see next to her. A new set of numbers emerged, in a smaller size. Already the first one almost knocked out what little air Rainbow Dash could still feel in her lungs. Breathing had become harder in the last thirty seconds.
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1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 X 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

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“You got to be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Where does this filly get ideas like that from?!” Behind the window, Rainbow Dash could hear a laugh. Her mind perceived it only at its edges. Knowing that the time wouldn't be enough for mental math anymore, Rainbow Dash decided to test her luck.
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1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 3000 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

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Red. Rainbow Dash taxed her brain.
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1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 2800 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

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Another fail. Wheezing, she hit the number pad again. It couldn't be longer than a few seconds anymore until the air would be fully gone.
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1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 3200 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 3300 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

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Rainbow Dash was denied a fifth attempt. The screen went black and the numbers on the pad lost their glow. A deep gasp for air came out of Rainbow Dash's mouth, but there was none. She wheezed stronger, then started to retch, collapsing onto the screen. Her fading mind perceived the sound of something unlocking to her right. Then a loud hiss as she pulled the door open with her last remaining strength and fresh air entered the room.
Outside, Rainbow Dash fell on her knees. She coughed, eyes red and tears in them.
Hyper Sonic hurried at her side, faster than Luna. “Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?” A little bit of guilt and a good amount of fear that she might have overdone it got mixed in with the concern in her voice.
Rainbow Dash did not look at her. “You got guts, kid!” she finally pressed out as she managed to speak again.
Luna joined their side. “Looks like this training was a success.”
Rainbow Dash expected sarcasm in her voice, but there wasn't any. “A success?” She coughed again.
“Yes. Mastering the challenge was not necessary. This challenge was all about the experience, Rainbow Dash.” She reached out to the pegasus, but Hyper Sonic was faster again. Rainbow Dash took her hoof and the filly helped her back up.
“You sure this could happen in a dream of some random pony?” The fear for her life caused scepticism to develop in Rainbow Dash's mind.
“I assure you,” Luna said. “Anything can happen in the dreams of a pony, Rainbow Dash, and it's impossible to tell how a nightmare could manifest. Don't underestimate the imagination of a pony with nightmares.”
“Got it.” Rainbow Dash huffed. “So, what did you plan for next night?” she asked, feeling better.
“Nothing, actually.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash cocked her head and Hyper Sonic gave the princess a similar look of confusion.
“This night was especially taxing for you, Rainbow Dash. A break will be for the best. We can continue in the night after the next one.”
“No complaints here,” Rainbow Dash assured her. “After this night, I think I'll actually have to ponder this whole dreamwalker business for a bit. You really weren't kidding with the things you told me about it.”
Luna gave Rainbow Dash a silent nod. “I understand. My offer still stands, but if you decide against becoming my successor in the realm of dreams, I will accept your decision, Rainbow Dash.”
Hyper Sonic looked less happy. “Does this mean our training together is already over?”
“It could be,” Rainbow Dash answered in a taut manner.
Hyper Sonic's ears dropped.
“But, hey, even if I should decide to opt out of this, it doesn't mean we can't hang out anymore! You got some serious potential, kid, and I'm sure Scootaloo won't mind if I sometimes bring another filly along. How's that?” She reached out a hoof.
The offer brought the smile back in Hyper Sonic's face. She wholeheartedly agreed to this solution. A hoofbump between the two pegasi wrapped up the night for them.