Chapter 14: The Peak
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Rainbow Dash was sweating. A look over the landscape that surrounded her, combined with what she felt, instantly confirmed that her hunch when Luna spoke about a sweltering experience had been correct. Heaps of sand surrounded her, dunes so high that they could be called little mountains and breezes that should have brought some refreshment, but were just as hot as the sand under her hooves and cut into her skin like glowing-red knives. A sandstorm was around them and Rainbow Dash's mouth instantly turned dry. She let her tongue hang out.
“Here we are,” Luna spoke, stepping at her side. “Finding this dream has been very difficult, but I think it will be a more than suitable challenge for you, Rainbow Dash.”
“I think so, too,” Rainbow Dash sarcastically remarked as she tried to spot anything that wasn't sand.
With them, like in the previous dream, were Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo. Hyper Sonic smirked over Rainbow Dash's remark and came closer. A large plastic bottle filled with cold water and a few ice cubes suddenly manifested in Rainbow Dash's hoof. The same bottles appeared in the hooves of Scootaloo and Hyper Sonic herself a second later. Only Luna shook her head, smiling.
Rainbow Dash complained some more before she noticed what has happened. She interrupted her stream of words and looked at Hyper Sonic. “You are helpful, kiddo!” She reached out with a hoof and ruffled Hyper Sonic's mane, while unscrewing the bottle with her wing and taking a huge sip from it. Hyper Sonic laughed in delight.
Scootaloo watched everything with a frown from the other side, then tugged at Rainbow's mane, pouting and with teary eyes. Rainbow Dash's pupils shrunk, then she turned around at Scootaloo. Noticing her reaction, she gave her a noogie, as well, resulting in a happy, satisfied smile by the other pegasus filly.
With all the preparations finished and having gotten somewhat used to the environment, Rainbow Dash turned at Luna again. “So, who are we here for tonight? Who is the foal we are going to meet?”
Luna smiled mysteriously. “This is for you to find out, Rainbow Dash. But you may want to look at this mountain over there and then you might learn who you will help tonight.” She pointed at the distance and Rainbow Dash followed her hoof.
“Mountain?” Indeed, she could see a high mountain in some hundred yards distance. The sandy desert formed a softer prelude to the craggy and harsh clefts and heights and to the dark trees that covered the lower parts of the mountain. It was very steep, but a path began at the bottom, leading upwards. Near the very top, where a plateau of snow and ice formed another contrast to the desert, a completely vertical crag required climbing to reach the peak of the mountain. The crag was just rocks, but there was a cap of snow at the top. And there, in the middle of the crag, Rainbow Dash saw something pink. She needed a few seconds to see that the pink spot moved up, ever closer to the mountain peak.
Rainbow Dash unfolded her wings and took flight, figuring this was her destination. Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo did the same and followed her in a close distance.
The pink spot became clearer and better distinguishable from the sand grains that obstructed Rainbow Dash's view, the closer she got to the mountain. As she was about hundred yards away, Rainbow Dash could see that the pink spot was a pony who was trying to climb up to the snow-covered peak of the mountain.
As she was twenty yards away, the sand grains became replaced with snow flakes and she could determine the size of the pony and knew that it was a foal.
Ten yards closer, Rainbow Dash realized that the foal was a filly. A prismatic mane and tail in six different colors made her stick out from the white snow more than her pink coat was able to. The filly bit down on her teeth and had her narrowed eyes focused on the mountain peak with its snow that was only a few yards above. Her movements were slow and Rainbow Dash could see that her hooves were shaking. The filly climbed bravely and Rainbow Dash was sure she would make it, but then her face distorted in despair and her hooves lost their grip. The filly fell off the mountain.
Rainbow Dash rushed in and tried to catch her, but the wind picked up, grabbed the filly and blew her a few yards away. She landed in the thick snow of the plateau and disappeared inside the soft mass for a few moments, before she emerged again, freezing and crying. She patted the snow off her body and her wings. Rainbow Dash noticed only now that she was a pegasus, as well. As she was done, the pink pegasus filly stared at the peak she had failed to climb on. “I-I'm sorry,” she whispered.
Rainbow Dash could barely hear the words through the whistling wind. To her surprise, the filly suddenly wiped off her tears and marshed towards the crag again, suddenly with a blissful smile on her lips. But she had bad luck once more. The gusts of wind became much stronger, so strong that they flung even Rainbow Dash to the side. The aspiring dreamwalker, as well as the two younger pegasi who were with her, crashed into the mountain and were only saved because Luna was there to cushion their impact with a spell. The filly below them, though, had to deal with the full force of the storm. She fought against it, used all of her four hooves and her wings to advance through it, but the wind paralyzed her and she got blown off the mountain plateau. Rainbow Dash, who blasted through the gusts with a Sonic Rainboom could only see how she disappeared in the sandstorm that covered the foot of the mountain.
“That's a horrible start,” she judged the situation.
The wind lessened all of a sudden and Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo joined her.
“I'm not surprised she has a nightmare like this,” Rainbow Dash announced.
“It was to expect,” Scootaloo agreed.
“Yeah, this dream fits her omnipresent problem,” Hyper Sonic confirmed their words.
Luna looked at the three pegasi with a baffled expression as they stared down the mountain. “All of you know this filly?”
“Yeah, that's Rainbow Harmony. She's a student of the friendship school,” Rainbow Dash explained.
“A new student,” Scootaloo added. “She visited the school before summer vacation and this is her first year now.”
“And she has zero orientation,” Hyper Sonic completed the explanation. “She always gets lost on the school grounds. Just today, after the last lesson, she asked me and Gooseberry where the exit of the building is. We had to lead her outside.”
The expression in Luna's face remained, but turned into a delighted kind of surprise. “This is very good news. If our dreamwalker-in-training gets stuck, both you and Scootaloo are qualified to help her along with finding out this filly's problem.”
“Unfortunately not,” Hyper Sonic denied her. “Rainbow Harmony mostly keeps to herself. She's always nervous and doesn't talk to many students. There's nothing else we know about her.”
“But I can still tell what her problem is,” Rainbow Dash claimed. “It's easy. That mountain has a lot of different paths leading to the plateau here. I saw them between the trees when we got close.” She pointed down the mountain with a wing. “And they are very complicated, they have many forks and a lot of them are dead ends.” Rainbow Dash pulled her wing back in and turned around at Luna. A smile built on her face. “She tries to find her way up here, manages eventually and then tries to climb up the crag to reach the mountain peak. But then the wind picks up and blows her down the mountain again and she has to start over. Her nightmare is about her lack of orientation and her problems to get to a destination.”
Next to her, Scootaloo's eyes became wide and sparkled and she opened her mouth in fascination.
Luna smiled, as well. “That was very impressive,” she praised. “You start to learn how to analyze dreams. Come, let's fly down and see what we can do for this filly.” Luna took off and Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo followed her down the mountain.
Unlike their expectations, Rainbow Harmony retained no harm from her fall. As they arrived at the bottom of the mountain, she was just burying herself out of one of the sand dunes. Busy with dusting off her coat and feathers, she didn't notice their arrival.
“Hey, Rainbow Harmony, right?” Rainbow Dash greeted her, coming closer.
Rainbow Harmony's eyes shrunk like pinpricks and she froze for a moment, before she turned around. “Who wants to know that?”
“Rainbow Dash. I'm one of your teachers, remember?” Rainbow Dash stretched out one of her wings.
Anypony who might have thought that Rainbow Harmony's eyes couldn't shrink more would have felt like a fool, as they did exactly that. “Rainbow Dash?! I mean..... Professor Dash?” Rainbow Harmony's face turned from shock to anger. “What are you doing in my dream?! You aren't supposed to be here!” She was suddenly gritting her teeth and gave Rainbow Dash looks of undisguised hostility.
Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo stepped at Rainbow Dash's side. Hyper gave Rainbow Harmony a displeased frown while Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and looked at the pink filly with the prismatic mane sceptically.
“You are here, too?” Rainbow Harmony's expression went back to surprise. “Why did you three..... Why am I dreaming about you?!” She gave all three of them glares.
“You aren't exactly dreaming about us,” Rainbow Dash clarified. She had given Rainbow Harmony a frown herself, but now her face turned into a sympathetic one again. “We are here with Princess Luna tonight.”
Like on command, the princess of the night came closer to the dreaming filly. “Indeed. I will stay in the background and mostly watch, however. Rainbow Dash here will be your guide tonight as part of her training.”
“Great! A rookie dreamwalker!” Rainbow Harmony aimed a glare specifically at Rainbow Dash now. “As if my problems aren't big enough already! I don't need your help!” She ignored Rainbow Dash now and stomped past her, the impact of her thrusting hooves absorbed by the softness of the sandy ground.
“Hold on!” Rainbow Dash flew after her. “Luna wouldn't have detected your dream as a nightmare if you didn't need help!” She landed in front of her and blocked her way.
Rainbow Harmony looked up at the mare and presented her with the same hostility as before. “Leave me alone and get out of my dream! You aren't welcome here!” She lifted a hoof and kicked one of Rainbow Dash's legs, then ran away.
“Ouch! Hey, wait!” Rainbow Dash followed her once more.
As Rainbow Harmony set the first hoof onto the mountain, her demeanor changed all of a sudden. The thrusting of her hooves stopped and turned into slow, sedative steps, her facial expression eased and her mouth formed a blissful smile and a milky haze appeared in her eyes. Steadily, she began to trot up the mountain path.
Rainbow Dash noticed the change as she flew past Rainbow Harmony. “Hey, what are you doing?” She landed next to her.
“Climbing,” Rainbow Harmony answered in a calm voice that sounded almost tired. The filly trotted past her, without giving her a look.
“You are so relaxed now,” Rainbow Dash assessed.
“Yes,” Rainbow Harmony answered in the same tone as before. It failed to deliver the enthusiasm that her words implied. “Climbing this mountain is the greatest joy. There is nothing I love to do more.” For a moment, without Rainbow Dash seeing it, her face grimaced and a pained expression appeared in her eyes. Then she appeared blissful again.
Rainbow Dash gave Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo a clueless look. They looked back at her in the same way. Scootaloo, once more, raised an eyebrow at Rainbow Harmony. “There's something wrong with her,” she said.
The statement caused Luna to look down at Scootaloo. “It may seem like that with some of the embodiments in a pony's nightmare. But it's important not to judge. It's a dreamwalker's task to find out the deeper meanings behind a nightmare.”
Scootaloo was going to respond something, but Rainbow Dash cut her off. “Right! And I'm on it!” She turned around and looked past Rainbow Harmony, up the mountain and at the network of paths. Even she had to admit that it looked confusing, all the craggy paths that streaked between the densely-growing conifer trees and quickly disappeared in the depths of the forest.
Rainbow Dash caught up with the filly. Trotting at her side and closely followed by Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo, who curiously observed her attempts to help, she began to speak to Rainbow Harmony again.
“Looks like you have problems finding your way to places. How about I help you with that?”
“No. I have to do it alone,” Rainbow Harmony answered monotonously.
“And why?” Rainbow Dash got more direct.
“To not disappoint. I need to impress. Only if I impress, I will be a good filly.” Rainbow Harmony's lowered eyes were fixated on the path the entire time while she spoke.
Rainbow Dash gave her a look of confusion. The filly spoke in riddles and she had no idea what to make of it. It became darker around them as they entered deeper parts of the forest. The trees looked more crooked here. Their branches seemed to reach out for Rainbow Harmony as she trotted past them, sharp ends pointing at her like they were planning to impale her. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if they actually moved or if it were the shadows and the darkness that created the illusion of movement. She trotted past the trees quickly.
During their trot up the mountain, Rainbow Dash continued her attempts to get clear answers from Rainbow Harmony, but all she gave her were the same, monotonous responses. She had to do it alone, she needed to impress, she wanted to be a good filly. When Rainbow Dash asked if the creepy trees scared her, Rainbow Harmony began to shake and there seemed to be a trace of fear in her eyes, but she always denied being afraid and said that trotting up this mountain was a joy and that it gave her the best feeling in the world. And to Rainbow Dash's surprise, she did find her way through the network of paths alone. There wasn't a need to lead her, no, it actually was Rainbow Harmony who led them up the mountain.
As they arrived at the plateau without getting lost one single time, Rainbow Dash doubted that Rainbow Harmony suffered from nightmares about her orientation problems. She was left with the feeling that something else was going on, but couldn't tell what it was.
They found themselves in the middle of a snowstorm again. It raged over the plateau, but the wind was less stronger than the first time. It pulled at their manes and tails, but didn't blow them away. Rainbow Dash didn't complain about it, she still felt the heat from the desert and the chill climate up here was a welcome change of temperature, just like the cool forest had been.
Rainbow Harmony did not stop upon their arrival. She kept marshing straight for the crag in the middle of the plateau. Rainbow Dash and her company continued to follow her. The wind was howling loudly up here. Rainbow Dash thought that something was off about the sounds it made and looks into the faces of Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo confirmed her that they thought the same. As they came closer to the crag, the howling began to change and to sound more and more like whimpering. And the whimpering turned into crying. Cries of many voices, desperate cries. It sounded like many foals who were in distress and fear were crying at the same time, but they couldn't see anypony in the driving snow. The shudders that went down their backs as they carefully inspected their surroundings didn't come from the cold.
Rainbow Harmony addressed the sounds without being asked, like she was reading their minds. “They cry every night,” she said.
Rainbow Dash's shudders intensified. The question who cried there, who they were, rested on her tongue, but she swallowed it.
Rainbow Harmony continued with another sentence regardless, now standing right in front of the crag, which she looked up at. “They don't want to, but they have no choice.” Then she grabbed the rocks and began to climb. “And neither have I.” Her voice shivered during the last sentence.
Behind Rainbow Dash, Luna's face darkened.
Rainbow Dash followed the filly with her eyes, attention focused on her wings. “Why don't you fly up to the peak?”
“Flying would be useless to get on top of it. It can only be climbed,” Rainbow Harmony gave her another enigmatic answer. Her eyes were sternly fixated on the snow-covered peak now.
“You said you have no choice. Why? Why do you need to climb that mountain?”
Rainbow Harmony stopped to climb all of a sudden. She looked to the side, with her still milky eyes. “Because the Master demands it.” Then she instantly looked back up again and continued to climb. “I have to do what the Master wants”.
Luna's eyes widened and her mouth opened, in shock. Before Rainbow Dash could do anymore attempts to find out what was wrong, Luna stepped up to the crag in haste.
“I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but you need to leave for tonight. This nightmare requires the intervention of an experienced dreamwalker.” The words weren't simply spoken, they shot out of Luna's mouth.
“Really? But I'm getting close to something!” Rainbow Dash protested. “Didn't you hear what she just said?”
“Yes, really, Rainbow Dash.” Luna did not look at her, she stared at Rainbow Harmony, eyes still wide. “Her words are the reason why you have to leave. This is nothing for a dreamwalker who is still in training. We continue in a few nights. But now you have to go. This filly needs my full attention.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. She didn't understand what was happening and she didn't anticipate leaving, now that everything seemed to go so well. But there had been a commanding tone in Luna's voice that extinguished all of her resistance.
Rainbow Dash turned around at Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo. “You heard what Luna said.” Some regret swung in her voice. “Let's leave.” But before they could do so, the dream suddenly vanished around them and they found themselves floating in the dream realm. A second later, they stood on a path that Rainbow Dash identified as being inside the Everfree Forest. She looked at Hyper Sonic, who gave her a wide grin.
“That's it,” Rainbow Dash said. “Luna sent us into Hyper Sonic's mind.” She felt a little helpless, Luna hadn't taught her how to send sleepers, including herself, back into their own dreams yet. All she could do now was to wait with Hyper Sonic until Scootaloo and herself would wake up.
Thankfully, Scootaloo didn't mind the wait and Hyper Sonic didn't mind to keep them company. They sat together the entire night, in a more comfortable environment consisting of a cozy room with a fireplace, a soft armchair for each of them and a small table, with steaming mugs of cocoa on them, courtesy of Hyper Sonic. They discussed the odd, creepy dream and Luna's behavior, neither of them able to come up with a satisfying explanation. But the events kept lingering in their minds until they woke up in their beds the next morning and left each of them with a dark sense of foreboding.
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Great chapter!
Does this “Master” enslave foals or something?
Is the next chapter going to take place in the waking world?
How intriguing, I shall wait patiently for the next chapter.
nicely done!
10720430
Thank you!^^
10720551
you're welcome, keep up the good work!
10720045
It will all be revealed once the rainbow curtain rises. Soon.
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Very possible~ And we might or might not see an interesting creature, who hasn't been around for a couple chapters, again.....
10720052
Thank you!
The reward for the patient wait will be reaped in the next chapter.
10720620
You're welcome.
Good thing my Bionicle OC didn't find out about Rainbow Harmony's current predicament, as he doesn't like it when someone does terrible things to the young to the point where once he finds the culprit, he will end them. Even though there are times when he had to during the time of KL had to do them, even if they're not mentioned in the story.
Does the latter make him a hypocrite? Maybe, as he tries to avoid harming those innocent in the involved in the events that effected even the young, and they haunt him and wished he hadn't resorted to those methods.