Chapter 1: The Night Princess Makes A Visit
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The stars twinkled in the sky and their tiny lights competed with the silvery moonshine for illuminating the cloud house beneath them. Of course the moon won and while the stars kept twinkling as if they were expressing their anger, the gentle celestial body cast its light into one particular window of the house.
Behind the window, Rainbow Dash was sitting on the edge of her bed. Or, rather, she was slumping. Her shoulders hanging deep, she fixated the moonlit floor from heavy-lidded eyes. Black rings accentuated them and made the picture of total exhaustion complete. A loud and infectious yawn left her mouth as she eventually reached for an alarm clock on the nightstand to her right.
It had been another typical day for Rainbow Dash. A workday split between teaching about friendship and loyalty and her Wonderbolts duties. Her muscles ached. They didn't hurt more than she was used to, but the pain brought with it the need for a good night's rest. Napping away the afternoon on a cloud was barely possible for her these days, which made it so much more important to use the nights for that purpose.
Rainbow Dash began setting her alarm. Seven o' clock, not a minute later. Nine long, relaxing hours of sleep and then it was time for a new day at Twilight's friendship school. She put the clock down. Another yawn left her, then she climbed into her bed and slipped under the blanket.
Rainbow Dash groaned comfortably. Turning to the left and away from the moon, she pressed the side of her face deep into the soft cloud cushion. The embrace of sleep was coming over her fast and she felt her mind drifting away. Eyes closed, Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep almost completely, as loud, thrusting knocks brought her back to the waking world.
The tired mare groaned and opened her eyes. “Who is knocking in the middle of the night?” she muttered.
Yawning again, she begrudgingly lifted her stiff and heavy body off the mattress. She made only slow progress with crawling out from under her blanket and leaving her bedroom and a second knock did nothing to increase her tempo. Drowsily, she dragged herself out into the corridor. Rainbow Dash barely found her way down the stairs and into the foyer of her huge cloud home without running into something. It knocked at the door again.
“YEAH, I'M COMING!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She didn't care about the volume of her voice, nopony was supposed to come for a visit that late! And if somepony did anyway, they deserved the tone, Dash decided.
She trudged to the door, now a noticeable pounding emerging from under her hooves where they hit the tiled stone floor of the foyer. Rainbow Dash reached for the doorknob. “Whoever is knocking there, it's better because of another crisis for Equestria or their life will become a crisis.” Pulling the door open, she shot the visitor who had dared to disturb her sleep a poisonous glare.
It was Princess Luna. Regal, imposing and not the slightest bit sheepish, she looked down at Rainbow Dash from cold and stern eyes.
“Princess Luna?” Rainbow Dash felt a little bit more awake immediately. Her glare faded. She rubbed the sleep out of one of her eyes. “So, it is another crisis for Equestria, right?” Dash asked as she was done, not realizing that Luna hadn't heard her words from a few seconds ago. “What's happening now?” Rainbow Dash stifled a yawn, trying to appear attentive.
Luna, though, was making sure that she had Rainbow Dash's fullest attention. A couple seconds passed before she proceeded to answer the question.
“Greetings, Rainbow Dash.” The alicorn smiled down at the tired mare friendly. “There is no crisis happening, don't worry. I am here for a different purpose tonight.”
“And what's this purpose?” Rainbow Dash followed up on the question with a strong yawn. No crisis for Equestria meant she should close the door, ignore the princess and slip back into her bed. Only politeness kept her from doing that.
“Yesterday, my sister and I have been sitting together to discuss how we can ensure that all of our duties will be in good hooves after our retirement. There are a lot of things Twilight Sparkle can take care of, but Celestia and I both agreed that we need a pony more suited than her to take over my work in the dreams of ponies. And I think you are the right pony for this job, Rainbow Dash.”
The yawn got stuck in Rainbow Dash's throat halfway through. She stared at the princess with an open mouth for a couple of seconds, before she finally closed it and answered.
“Me? Why would you want me for this job?”
Luna cocked her head. “Why?” she asked. “A few days ago, you were very eager to take on this responsibility, so I am surprised to see you reacting like this.”
“Well, yeah.” Rainbow Dash screwed up her face. “But I wasn't completely serious about this. I mean, of course it would be awesome to see the dreams of other ponies. Especially if they dream about me.” She grinned.
“But there's already other stuff I have to take care of. I'm a full-time member of the Wonderbolts and have to be fit for training every day. And I have my classes at Twilight's school. Sorry, but I can't fit becoming a dreamwalker into all of this.” Her head got lowered slightly and a flash of regret appeared in her eyes. It stayed for a few seconds, before she gave the princess a quizzical look. “And my reaction from a few days ago isn't the only reason why you made me this offer, is it?” she followed up her rejection with a question.
“No, of course not!” Princess Luna laughed. “I have observed you, Rainbow Dash. In the years since my return from the moon and since I was freed of Nightmare Moon's control, I have learned that you have quite the reputation among foals all over Equestria.”
“And?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, not understanding the princess' point.
“And I think this will be very helpful for my dreamwalking duties.” Luna smirked. “I help all ponies of Equestria with their nightmares and the afflictions that cause them. But I encounter most of these nightmares in the minds of foals, for it is the young ones who often deal with the most severe of struggles. These foals trust me as their guardian and I need a successor whom they will trust just as much.”
Luna stepped forward and put a hoof on Rainbow Dash's chest, in a solemn manner. “You, Rainbow Dash, carry a name that is known all over Equestria. The foals of Ponyville already admired you before you became a Wonderbolt and since then, this admiration has become extended to foals who live in every corner of the kingdom. They look up to you and this will create the necessary foundation to earn their trust as their new dream guardian.”
Rainbow Dash's face had become lit up more and more during the explanation by the princess. She looked down at her hoof, then back into her face. “Yeah, you're right. I think they would trust me, but I don't think that I can do this.”
The new rejection resulted in more surprise getting built up on Luna's face. “And why not?” she asked. “I have seen you, Rainbow Dash, you handle foals very well. The young ones like you for more than just your flight skills and career.”
Rainbow Dash rubbed over the backside of her head. “Maybe, but..... I just don't think I can handle more duties than I already have. If I'm dreamwalking at night, between being a Wonderbolt and Twilight's school, I won't be fit enough to do any of my other jobs.”
The surprise in Luna's face vanished as her mind finally comprehended the reason for Rainbow Dash's reservation.
“Can you see it now?” Rainbow Dash removed Luna's hoof from her chest. “There's no way I can do this. I'd like to, I really do. But I can't sleep during the day like you do. I worked hard to be a flier for the Wonderbolts and I won't give this up.” Her eyes became stern.
“I understand, Rainbow Dash. And I do not expect from you to give up any duties that you enjoy. But allow me to put your worries to rest.” She gave Rainbow Dash a reassuring smile.
“See, when I enter other ponies' dreams, it is something I have to do while being awake. But for you, there is a different possibility, one that allows your body to rest because you will dreamwalk in your sleep.”
“Okay, I admit, that does sound awesome.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “But how would I do this? I'm not an alicorn and neither a unicorn. I don't have a horn to cast magic with.” She tapped on her rainbow mane while looking at the princess in a puzzled manner.
Princess Luna chuckled. “You won't need any of this, Rainbow Dash. It's not going to work completely without magic, but I have something else in mind for you.” She put a hoof on the pegasus' chest again. “Would you join me in Canterlot tonight? I even promise that you will get enough sleep.”
Rainbow Dash followed the gesture with her eyes, then looked up again. “Can't you tell me about it here?”
Luna closed her eyes and shook her head in a slow tempo. “I am afraid this is not possible,” she said while opening her eyes again. “The knowledge I have for you has been abused in the past. It is better not to risk talking about it in public.” Her voice had become deeper and her face dark.
Rainbow Dash looked around. The moon still shone brightly and the sky around her cloud house was empty, except for a few stray clouds. There definitely was no pony in earshot. She looked back at Luna. “That bad, huh?”
Luna nodded, wordlessly.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine, I'll come and check it out. But no promises yet.” She turned away from Luna and closed the door of her home, then stepped outside fully.
“Promises are not needed. I will show you what I have to offer and then you can decide.”
Rainbow Dash and Luna took off together and flew towards Canterlot.
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Oh! An interesting premise and a lovely start. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes.
You've got my attention. Looking forward to where this goes!
I like it.
I like your confidence and nice Work!
Frankly, i am a bit unsure about that whole Retirement Thing. Day and Night tasks would be too much for Twilight to handle on her own. Plus Luna said r&r, and They didn't a Official Statement to the other Citizens of equestria, so i Hope we see them more in Season 9
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to write a story about that. I mean, that line uttered by Rainbow in the season premiere was basically a fanfic prompt.
I'm glad to see you're treating the premise with the seriousness it deserves, and I'm definitely looking forward to more.
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Me too. The ideas for it are flooding in and I have a very exciting plot for it planned. This is my biggest project since the completion of two previous fics of mine that I finished two years ago, "Princess Flurry Heart, Destroyer of Worlds!" and "Aunt Millie", and I can't describe how relieved I am that I can finally write through another big multi-chapter fic again.
I missed doing this during the last two years that weren't kind to me in that regards.
Thanks for the praise! I'll keep delivering with this!
9567288
Thanks!
9567385
I like my confidence, too, especially because there hasn't been a whole lot of confidence in my writing in the last two years. Starting this story feels like writing "Princess Flurry Heart, Destroyer of Worlds!" and "Aunt Millie" again. I have a very good feeling about this.
And seeing you join this ride here makes me think on the times when you regularly commented on my two hit stories up there and I am happy that you are reading this story. This puts me right back into 2016 and early 2017 and this will give me another confidence boost,
9568064
You name it and I'm surprised no one beat me to it. I would have thought that such an opportunity for a fic that not only puts a Mane Six member into a new situation, but also has a high chance of writing a lot for Luna, would be taken in a matter of days after the season opener aired.
It could have easily been a short-lived comedy fic or a quick clop one-shot that someone decides to write after hearing this sentence. But there is a lot more to get out of this opportunity and I'll do my best to use it to its full potential. Dreamwalking is something epic, so it deserves an epic story.
Thanks for joining the reader squad here, more chapters will come soon!
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Glad to hear it
9568351
Nyronus and I got to chatting about this idea pretty much as soon as the episode dropped, and his fic on the same premise went up tonight. That one's more light-hearted than this appears to be, but it's cool to see such divergent takes. Best of luck!
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I have just noticed this story on the front page. It's good to see that there are more authors who use the idea!
I was actually hoping somebody would do something like this, so let's see how this goes.
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Thank and thank you for the fave!
Chapter 2 will be here tomorrow!
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Personally, I think Celestia and Luna will continue to do things like move the sun and moon even after retiring, because that is what their special talents are. They just won't have to worry about all the governing duties as princesses going on top of it.
But that said, it would still be interesting to see how the Mane 6 would handle those same duties if turned over to them.
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Yeah. The fact Luna saw it as r&r and There was no Official Statement to the other Citizens of equestria, i can't Imagine they're just gone like that
Intriguing. I like how you pointed out Dash's relationship with foals.
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Looks like I forgot to answer a few comments here.
Thank you! I realized while revising the first three chapters that I am very good at writing interactions between Luna and Rainbow Dash. There's something there that flows really naturally when I write for them. I have written a story with them as the mane characters once already, a short story that I wrote for NaPoWriMo 2014 more than five years ago, and writing that story felt just the same as this one. Back then I was thinking it was merely the genre that made it so easy for me to write the story.
I am glad I can write so much more for them with this story!
But writing for them in "Dreamwalker Dash" feels just the same and happens just as easy, so it looks like I have a hidden talent of writing Luna and Rainbow Dash on adventures together!
I have just finished the revision of Chapters 1 - 3 and will gradually release the revised chapters over the next few days. Re-reading them is recommended, as a lot has improved, and will be appreciated.
The story will also update again beginning with next week!
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Thank you! I think that is one very overlooked aspect of her personality in the fandom. The show doesn't depict her talent with foals in any detailed way, save for her interactions with Scootaloo, which only confirm that she and Scoots get along well, and the few interactions with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle we've seen in "Flight to the Finish", but we don't see a confirmation of her general talent for dealing with foals there.
If I'm not forgetting anything, there are only three moments in the show when we saw her interacting with foals other than Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle; one was just a photo shoot without any conversations, one was saving Aura from a well she had fallen into and the third one was her short conversation with Alula that we've seen in "Fame and Misfortune".
The third one is the most detailed depiction we got to see in the show, but Rainbow Dash was too overwhelmend with the admiration of the fillies there to show us anything significant.
And the only time when we saw her interacting with many different foals, in hers and Spitfire's "Friends Forever" comic issue, that really let her talent for dealing with foals shine, is unfortunately dismissed as "not canon" by many, so most in the fandom (if they even read this issue) will likely not remember that.
There aren't many who really know just how good Rainbow Dash is with foals.
That could easily be.
This was a pretty harsh lesson for Rainbow Dash. And there is a lot she has to learn that's coming to her.
I have now finished revising the first three chapters of the story. They will be gradually re-released over the next few days and I will also update "Dreamwalker Dash" again beginning next week!
Re-reads of the chapters are highly recommended, as a lot has improved, and will be appreciated!
I like it already!