> Dreamwalker Dash
>  by Fluttercheer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 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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> Chapter 2: Long Lost and Forgotten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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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.
> Chapter 3: A Lesson in Crimson Red
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Rainbow Dash's eyes were glued to the horn of the princess. It was glowing as a whole and emitted a soft, blue light. Despite her tiredness, Rainbow Dash didn't leave it out of her sight while Luna lowered her head, like she was watching a large needle during a doctor's visit. Ever so slowly, Luna brought her horn closer and pointed it at Rainbow Dash's chest, only a few inches away from her fur. The glow became more intense and spread out. Rainbow Dash shivered as she felt a chilling cold numb her skin.
“Uh, are you sure this is a good idea?” Rainbow Dash craned her neck to see what was happening.
Luna did not answer. She closed her eyes and the glow grew even brighter. A tiny orb of magic formed at the tip of her horn. Rainbow Dash felt the temperature dropping as it became bigger and touched her chest. When it stopped growing, Luna opened her eyes again. She retreated her horn, then poked the magical orb that was now hovering above Rainbow Dash, with it. The orb descended and began entering the chest of the pegasus without resistance.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and arched her back. “Wow, what the.....”
“What do you feel, Rainbow Dash?” Luna inquired, observing the process.
“I-It's cold,” she said. “My heart feels like it's freezing. A-Are you sure it is supposed to feel like that?” Rainbow Dash started to wheeze.
“Good,” Luna said, answering the question rather indirectly. “Then it does what I expected. I transferred my magic to another pony only once and this was over a millennium ago. I was unsure if I could do it again, so I'm glad to see that it works.”
“A-Another pony? W-Who?” Rainbow Dash's teeth clattered as she watched the orb of magic invading her. It was halfway inside.
Luna did not detract her eyes from the orb. She narrowed them. “Once, I needed help with dreamwalking. I was sick, I could not do it alone, and the foals of Equestria were relying on me. Don't worry about the reason too much, Rainbow Dash.”
“Uh-huh.” Rainbow Dash nodded. She still fixated the orb. The individual hairs of her chest fur pointed away from it, the magical energy displacing them. Rainbow Dash could see goosebumps under the hairs and her skin had become slightly blue. “This looks freaky,” she said.
Luna nodded. “Indeed. But it appears to be much worse than it is. It's unpleasant at first, but your body will get used to it quickly.”
The two mares watched the rest of the process in silence. Where Rainbow Dash's chest began to feel colder and colder, the rest of her body broke out in sweat. Eventually, Luna's magic had disappeared inside her chest completely. Her heart instantly started to beat faster and Rainbow Dash arched her back again. The hairs returned into their former position and the skin slowly took on its old color.
Luna placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's forehead. “How do you feel, Rainbow Dash?”
The wonderbolt panted, her lungs catching as much breath as they could. “I-It's tough..... but not tough enough.” She forced herself to a small grin.
“Good.” A chuckle escaped Luna. “I knew that you would be able to endure it without consequences. A strong, trained body is required for this procedure.”
“Okay. And what next?” The pegasus tried to sit up, coughing a little.
“No, Rainbow Dash.” Luna pushed her down again, gently. “You need to lie and rest. Standing on your hooves would be too dangerous now. Give your body time to adjust.”
Rainbow Dash groaned, but surrendered. “So, what next? I now have your magic, but I still don't know how to use it. What do I do?” Despite all the exertions, she held the grin in her face.
“I will explain.” Luna paused for a moment, searching for the right words. “Your mind is the key to enter the dream realm and the dreams of ponies. My magic needs to be in your brain, like it is naturally the case for unicorns and alicorns. And–”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Rainbow Dash interrupted her, a bit of panic on her face. “But I won't grow a horn from this, right?!”
Luna looked at her, dumbfounded, then laughed. “No, Rainbow Dash.” The amused tone of her voice washed over the pegasus mare and caused relief in her. “As I said, to become an alicorn is not necessary. My magic will merely travel through the neural paths of your body until it has reached your brain. It should take about ten minutes for it to arrive there.”
After Luna had ended her sentence, Rainbow Dash could feel it. The cold spot in her chest dissolved. The chilling feeling became split up into tiny fragments that spread out into different directions. It felt like somepony was moving microscopic icicles over her chest, but under the skin. The prickling caused Rainbow Dash to erupt into a series of shivers.
“D-Does it have to t-take so l-long? You could h-have let it enter at my b-back, I'm sure going up my s-spinal cord would mean it arrives in my b-brain f-faster,” Rainbow Dash suggested, applying what little anatomical knowledge she had.
Luna's look became more intense. “This would be too dangerous,” she said. “What you propose could create serious damage and possibly cripple you forever. What I just did takes longer, but it is safer.”
Rainbow Dash flinched and decided not to ask any more questions.
The temperature around them increased suddenly and Rainbow Dash's shivering stopped. Her fur became drenched by new sweat. Rainbow Dash looked at Luna, surprised. “Are you doing this?” she asked. Her mouth remained open.
Luna nodded. “Yes. I thought you were aware that alicorns are also able to harness pegasus magic.”
“I am,” Rainbow Dash clarified. “I've just never seen an alicorn do it.”
“And do you like what you see?” Luna smiled.
“I do, it's awesome! Hey, maybe I should think about becoming an alicorn again! Then I could let flowers grow with my mind, right?” She grinned widely.
“You could,” Luna confirmed, still smiling. “This and much more. But I am afraid I lack the means to let you undergo such a transformation.” She gave Rainbow Dash a puzzled look. “And I am surprised to hear such a request from you. There are without a doubt advantages of alicornhood, but it also comes with woes and challenges.” She frowned a little.
“Pfft, I know that!” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof, dismissively. “Of course it does! I was just joking, looks like I got you good there!”
Luna's face lit up instantly. “And I thought my sister and I are the only ones who enjoy the occasional prank. You have earned more respect from me, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash grinned for a moment, before her face became thoughtful and serious. “Having all these powers would be amazing, but I can't imagine to live for that long. It would be horrible to see my friends pass away, while I just keep living. I'd rather follow them into whatever comes after death.”
“An admirable and very mature view.” Luna nodded solemnly. “I got spared from seeing entire generations of ponies perish because of my exile on the moon, but I have seen my sister being affected by this, on sleepless days I spent with comforting her. And I have fond memories of old friends myself.” The alicorn cast her eyes down.
It became cold in the room again. The mood for conversation gone, the two mares awaited the desired result of the magic transfer silently.
“I think it's ready,” Rainbow Dash said in a low voice after a few more minutes had passed.
Luna looked up. “Is the feeling gone?”
“Yeah.” She touched her forehead and stroke over it with a hoof. “But there's a pressure in my head now. Is that normal?” She scrunched her face in discomfort.
“It is. This pressure is usually much stronger, but unicorns are born with it and soon stop sensing it. The amount of magic I gave you is tiny in comparison, so it should not take more than a few days for you to get used to it.” She smiled reassuringly.
“Alright. So, about that meditation technique..... Do I have to assume some kind of pose for it?”
Luna shook her head. “No. Or, rather, you already assume it. One result of this technique is sleep, so a sleeping posture is what you need.” She placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. “Relax now, Rainbow Dash. The more calm you are, the better this will work.”
Rainbow Dash followed the advice. She relaxed her muscles and her breath became stronger.
“What comes now is simple,” Luna continued. “You need to close your eyes, focus your concentration on the part of your brain the pressure comes from and envision the dream realm in your mind.”
“The dream realm?” Rainbow blurted out before Luna could proceed. “I've never been there, how does it look?”
Luna acknowledged the impatience with a smile. “Think of the nightsky, Rainbow Dash. Imagine its appearance when you look up at it a few hours after sunset. This, is how the dream realm looks. You are surrounded by stars while floating in the midst of it and the entire realm is traversed by a network of paths made of pure starlight.”
“And that's all?” Rainbow Dash looked baffled. “That's easier than I thought it would be.”
“Yes, this is all you need,” Luna confirmed. “As I said, it is very simple.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Ok. Let's see what happens.” She closed her eyes. Thanks to the pressure she felt, it was not hard for her to focus on the right part of her brain. Rainbow Dash visualized herself, flying through the nightsky. She flew past shadowy clouds, the houses of Ponyville stretching out underneath her. For a moment, she observed the lights shining from the windows, then she redirected her attention at the sky.
A gust of wind came up and gently graced her feathers. Rainbow Dash inhaled the cool air deeply. “Nothing better than a flight at night,” she mumbled. The moon came into her vision, then disappeared from it again as she quickly turned into a different direction. “Careful, no moon in the dream realm,” she reminded herself.
Rainbow Dash concentrated harder and forced the picture of a path of stars into her imagination. It stretched itself out over the entire nightsky and Rainbow Dash aimed for it, flapping her wings faster. She landed on it only hesitantly, but gave up the resistance as she found the surface to be solid.
Rainbow Dash looked around. “Nightsky, checked! Stars, checked! Ignoring the moon, checked! And a path of pure starlight, also checked! Looking good here!” She grinned. Deepening her concentration, Rainbow Dash did her best to keep herself in the imagination.
“Rainbow Dash!” Luna called her name. It took a moment until Rainbow Dash perceived the voice, but she decided to keep her eyes closed.
“What? You are breaking my concentration. Am I doing something wrong?” She stared into the distance, focusing on the stars.
“No, you are doing everything right, Rainbow Dash. Turn around.”
Rainbow Dash followed the command. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Luna? Why are you in my ima– wait. Is it working?”
Luna nodded, flying closer. “Indeed. This is the dream realm. The connection between the minds of ponies that exists as long as time itself.” She landed next to Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus mare looked down. She gasped. Ponyville had disappeared. Where it used to be, was another endless field of stars now. Rainbow Dash stared in awe.
As the surprise had worn off, Rainbow Dash looked up again and turned to face Luna. “And that's all?” she asked. “This is it? I didn't feel anything. One moment I imagined to fly around at night and now you are suddenly here and tell me it worked. Shouldn't there be some kind of transition?” She cocked her head in confusion.
“There is, this is something you got right, Rainbow Dash. But it is subtle and only experienced dreamwalkers will be able to tell the difference. That you didn't notice anything means you have to learn, but you managed the transition without complications, which is already an impressive accomplishment.” Rainbow Dash beamed at these words. “Now, let me show you something.”
Luna's horn became surrounded by her midnight-blue aura and the environment began to change. The air around them flickered and where Rainbow Dash could see the dream realm before, fragments of a different place appeared. All around them, small holes opened up in the fabric of the dream realm like windows. Soon, Rainbow Dash recognized the room she could look into now. Blue lockers lined a wall and low, green benches stood opposite of them. Posters hung on the walls, showing pegasi striking cool poses and performing daring maneuvers.
“The locker room of the Wonderbolts Headquarter?” Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open and her eyeballs grew in size.
Luna stood at her side, wordlessly and motionlessly. Her horn was emitting a subtle, dark-purple shine now, almost unnoticeable for the eye. The dream realm had disappeared.
A second later, Rainbow Dash saw herself hovering right in front of the lockers. Then her parents suddenly sat on one of the benches, looking at her with unhappy expressions. Lastly, Scootaloo appeared. She was standing at their side, blue saddlebags on her back and a huge camera hanging down her neck. She looked sad.
“D-Did we do something wrong?” Rainbow Dash heard her mom stuttering.
“Yes!” The picture of herself shouted and landed on the floor. “The fireworks, the cheerleading” – she used her wings to count demonstratively – “and how do you even compare who is better or worst at hanging up a towel?!” She pointed behind her in furious anger and gritted her teeth. Resentment radiated from her eyes as she looked at her parents.
Her dad got up and she did a step back. “We're..... just trying to be supportive.” He stretched out a hoof to underline his explanation.
The shadow of her past self slapped it away. “Well, I'm tired of it!” She came a step closer and pointed at them in an accusatory fashion. “I've had enough of you two being so proud of every little ridiculous, insignificant thing I do!” She jumped and yelled the last words into their faces.
Her parents flinched back and closed their eyes. Scootaloo's face turned horrified at the sudden outburst.
The picture of Rainbow Dash turned away from her parents. “I think you should leave,” she spoke calmer now, but in a voice that was cold.
The air flickered again before her parents could react and the picture of herself, her parents and Scootaloo disappeared. Then the entire room followed. They were back in the dream realm.
“T-These were my memories.....” Rainbow Dash stammered. “T-That's something you can do?”
Luna gave a confirming nod. “Entering ponies' dreams is only one thing I can do. Having access to the minds of ponies allows for a variety of actions.”
“A-And will I be able to do the same?” She stared at the spot where she had just seen herself.
“Yes. You will be able to directly delve into the memories of others as well as your own. This and much more.”
“T-This is awesome!” Rainbow Dash jumped up and flapped her wings. She flew a circle before she landed again. “But, I will definitely explore better memories. Why did you show me this one?” A frown built on her face.
Luna did not respond.
“I mean, it turned out fine in the end. But, they didn't really learn anything from it. They only toned it down a little and they still bring me in such embarrassing situations!” Thinking of it made her grit her teeth.
“I know. Your parents dream about you very often.” Luna closed her eyes, then opened them again and turned at Rainbow Dash. “Some ponies need more time than others. It is important to be patient with them.”
“Yeah, but you should have seen what they did last week!” Rainbow Dash shouted now. The air around them flickered in response. “We just went to the cinema and when the lights got turned on again, they praised me for it that I managed to eat an entire, large bucket of popcorn before the movie was over! They took it and flew around with it, showing it to the entire hall! All ponies in there laughed and pointed at me, even the foals!” She stomped down a hoof in anger, her face becoming slightly red.
The air around them flickered more violently, then the sky took on a crimson color. The stars vanished.
“I understand,” Luna said, calmly. “But now you need to relax, Rainbow Dash. The dream realm is getting–”
Rainbow Dash interrupted Luna before she could grasp what she was about to say. “This one is going to follow me for a while! I thought they would learn something after I told them off!” Rainbow Dash talked herself more and more into rage. “And I tried to be patient with them, but they keep messing me up and making me a laughing stock!” She was yelling now.
Her furious torrent of words only stopped as the star path suddenly dissolved under them and she and Luna started falling. Rainbow Dash yelped.
Luna flapped her wings and broke her fall. Her face looked strained. “Enough for this lesson. You need to wake up, Rainbow Dash.” She disappeared. Rainbow Dash continued her free fall in panic.
The next thing she felt, were hooves shaking her shoulders. “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash, wake up!”
The pegasus opened her eyes and shot up abruptly, a scream leaving her throat. Then Rainbow Dash erupted into coughing.
“W-What was that?!” she spoke in bewilderment after the fit had faded away.
“You did this yourself.” Luna touched her shoulders again and pushed her back down on the sofa, still gentle.
Rainbow Dash breathed heavily and she was sweating again. “What?! But how?!” Her eyes were still widened by the panic she felt.
Luna turned away from her. “The dream realm appears powerful, but it is a fragile structure. It becomes influenced by the emotions of those who walk its reaches.” She lifted the small table and pulled out the rug from under it.
“You mean..... when I got angry about my parents, I.....” Rainbow Dash looked over at Luna in disbelief.
“Yes.” Luna shook the rug and dusted it off. She turned back at the other mare. “The anger you felt changed the fabric of the dream realm and it mirrored your emotion. It will recover by itself and return to its normal state, but now you know that it is important to keep your emotions in check if you want to become a dreamwalker, Rainbow Dash.” She spread the rug over Rainbow Dash's sweaty body while she spoke those words, the side with the least amount of dust pointing down.
“Wow.....” Rainbow Dash breathed. “I didn't know I can do this.”
“Everypony who enters the dream realm can.” Luna took a corner of the rug and wiped it over Rainbow Dash's forehead before she tucked the sides of the rug under her body.
“I'm sorry,” Rainbow Dash said, her ears flattening. “I didn't know that's possible.”
“Do not worry.” Luna placed a hoof on her chest. “You received your first lesson today. You are going to learn.”
“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash breathed out strongly. “I guess I should fly home now. I still have to be in Twilight's school tomorrow.” She attempted to get up, but Luna's hoof held her down.
“Not now, Rainbow Dash. You have seen and done a lot this night and you need to rest. I can't allow that you fly anymore today.”
“But I can't stay here for the night,” Rainbow Dash protested. She squirmed under the strong hoof.
“You can, trust me. This place is not half as scary as you think.”
“Hey, I'm not afraid!” Rainbow Dash rejected the notion, narrowing her eyes. She blushed.
“I know.” Luna smiled at her warmly. “But I will stay at your side while you sleep, to make sure you will be okay after what you did tonight.” She adjusted the pillow under Rainbow Dash's head. “Now sleep, Rainbow Dash. You earned it tonight.”
It were Luna's gentle words that reminded Rainbow Dash how tired she was now. She yawned. “Fine. But if I'm being late to my lesson, you will explain this to Twilight.” Her eyelids flickered.
“Be not concerned. I will take care of this. You take care of your rest and health.” 
The pegasus did not answer. Luna sat down on the floor and looked into Rainbow Dash's face. Her eyes were closed already and her mouth emitted a low snoring.
Luna cast her eyes down. She stared at the sleeping figure of Rainbow Dash for a few seconds, observed the rising and lowering of her chest from absent eyes. A tear formed in one of them.
“Goodnight, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, quietly.
.
> Chapter 4: The Morning After
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
Waking up felt like climbing out of a deep, black hole to Rainbow Dash. She could not see. There was a sound, but she could not hear it. Only the vibrations she felt on her body indicated that it was there. She could not fly either. Her wings felt like they were tightly strapped against her body. Neither could she spread them, nor rustle a single feather. Panic began to come over her as she realized the paralysis of her wings.
Rainbow Dash tried to scream, but nothing than a dry rattle left her throat. Was she dead? Luna did say that her body went through a lot last night, didn't she? She said what she did can be dangerous. Had her body not been strong and trained enough in the end?
Rainbow Dash tried to suppress the new wave of panic that descended down on her mind. “Okay, what can I feel?” Rainbow Dash thought. There was something heavy on top of her. It seemed to press her down and, concentrating on it, she could feel that it was lying on her stomach and that parts of it extended under her back. Was this why she couldn't move her wings?
A cold breeze came from somewhere. It wafted over Rainbow Dash's head. Then another vibration followed. She was still deaf, but something just made a sound. Rainbow Dash tried to move one of her hindlegs. It was just as stiff as her wings. Heavy, like frozen in place. Wasn't there something else Luna had said? That the magic transfer could cripple her?
The increase of her heartbeat finally clarified to Rainbow Dash that she was still alive. “But what if I'm crippled forever?” Her panic increased.
Her ability to see still hadn't returned. Rainbow Dash discovered that she was able to look around but, somehow, she didn't feel her head moving. She looked up and there was a single, white spot high above her. It was tiny and looked like a star at night. And it was where she was supposed to be, Rainbow Dash felt. Where else could she go to in that blackness that surrounded her? And as she had done that thought, her body lifted itself off the ground. It was nothing her wings did. And she could not see her hooves. But she was ascending now. She could feel her hooves suddenly, they moved and they grabbed onto something. Was she climbing? The material her hooves touched was fleeting, it felt like she was merely grasping air, but there was a certain substance to it. It was like she was clawing into something and, at the same time, touching nothing.
After a few minutes of steadily ascending like this, Rainbow Dash could suddenly hear something, sounding down to her from above, where the star was. Melodic clinking, that felt like music in her ears, and a very loud sound, like somepony had just put down a heavy object. She couldn't make any sense of it, but her hearing had returned and Rainbow Dash was glad for this.
Her ascension continued. There was nothing remarkable to it, everything around her remained black and the sounds had stopped again, resulting in pure silence all around her. While climbing or floating, Rainbow Dash could not truly tell what kind of movement it was, she had come to the conclusion that she was dreaming. The star above her did not appear bigger than minutes ago, even though she knew that she had to have gotten closer to it. Illogical circumstances like that only happened in dreams. Even more so in feverish dreams and maybe that's what it was, she mused. Rainbow Dash remembered again that she was sweating last night. Maybe she had fever and this was all a fever dream. It was the only explanation that made sense.
As Rainbow Dash did another attempt at stretching her wings because she couldn't take the monotony around her anymore, she discovered that they suddenly moved again. Almost simultaneously, the pressure on her stomach disappeared. Something rough was rubbing over it. Rainbow Dash immediately knew what she had to do. She spread her wings and began to fly towards her seemingly unreachable destination. First she flapped her wings slowly, then she shot upwards at her maximum tempo. The star still didn't come any closer. But something else happened, the darkness wasn't completely dark anymore. There suddenly was a faint, red shimmer in the air. And, like in response to it, her eyes suddenly opened. Her vision was blurry, but it cleared up quickly and Rainbow Dash could see solid rock above her. An orange glow was coming from her left. Rainbow Dash turned her head towards the source, just in time to see a mug with steaming contents getting put down by a midnight-blue aura.
“I see you have awoken, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash looked up and into the face of Princess Luna. She greeted Rainbow Dash with a friendly smile. The aura around her horn vanished.
“Where am I?” was all Rainbow Dash could say. Only now she realized that she felt drowsy. Her face had to look stupid right now, she assumed.
“Do you not remember?” A slight concern appeared on Luna's face.
“I.....” Rainbow Dash looked down. A pause of several seconds followed before she spoke again. “Y-Yeah, I do. Now I do.” She shook her head. The events of last night were back in her memory. They felt surreal now.
Rainbow Dash looked back up. “What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing that would give reason to worry. You had a peaceful sleep, Rainbow Dash.” The concern in Luna's eyes had cleared up again.
“That's not how it felt,” Rainbow Dash said. She rubbed over her head.
“What did you feel?” Luna asked. Her voice had a curious tone, but something in it also sounded like she already knew the answer.
Rainbow Dash went over the experience she made before waking up. As she had finished, Luna nodded. “Sleep paralysis. This commonly happens to new dreamwalkers. They are half awake and half asleep and they have a harder time waking up as their consciousness retreats in deeper parts of the mind than it does for normal sleepers.”
“New dreamwalkers? So it won't always be like this, right?” Rainbow Dash stretched herself and groaned.
“No,” Luna confirmed. “You will get used to this just as you will get used to other aspects of dreamwalking. And once you did, you will awake normally again.”
“Good.” Rainbow Dash yawned. Then her eyes fell on the table and she finally examined what was on it.
In the middle stood the mug she had seen right after waking up. It was still steaming and now she noticed that it was filled with hot, black coffee. In front of it stood a plate with several large waffles and next to the plate was a small bowl with an assortment of fruits. Rainbow Dash didn't ask any questions. Following the signs her grumbling stomach and her watering mouth gave her, she reached for the mug and took a big sip, then lifted the plate into her lap, picked up the fork that was on it and started to feast away at the waffles.
Rainbow Dash alternated between forking a piece of the waffles and shoving it into her mouth, grabbing a bite from a fruit or swallowing one of the tinier ones as a whole and taking a sip of coffee. She sighed in satisfaction as she realized the size of the mug.
Rainbow Dash only talked again as she was more than halfway through the waffles. The bowl of fruits was already empty.
“I can't believe how hungry I am. But I probably should have expected this, after the awesome things I did last night.” Another piece wandered into her mouth and she began to chew enthusiastically.
Opposite of her, Luna smirked. “Awesome things,” she repeated. “Like almost making the entire dream realm collapse on itself with resentment and rage.” The warning undertone in her otherwise chipper voice was subtle, but piercing.
Rainbow Dash froze with one of the last remaining waffle pieces halfway to her mouth and one of her eyes shifted to look at Luna. She took the fork down. “Fine.....” she groaned. “That wasn't awesome.” She gave Luna a glare. “Least that's not something I'm going to tell in my loyalty lesson this morning.....” Her face lit up. “My lesson..... I almost forgot about it. How late is it anyway? For how long did I sleep?” She finally put the piece into her mouth, then reached for the mug and gulped down the rest of the coffee.
“It's a little past ten,” Luna informed her. “You slept for exactly nine hours, Rainbow Dash, just as you wanted.”
Rainbow Dash's pupils shrunk. She coughed and spilled the coffee on the precious old sofa, creating dark stains on it. “TEN?! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?! I already missed two of my lessons today!” Rainbow Dash flew upwards in a rush. The plate fell off her legs and shattered on the tiled floor. She wanted to zip out of the room, but felt yanked back by something. Luna held her in a magical grip.
“There's no need to rush, Rainbow Dash. I have made sure that your lessons are taken care of.” She slowly hovered Rainbow Dash back on the sofa.
Rainbow Dash let her wings slump. She gave Luna a doubtful glance. “Taken care of?”
“Indeed. I visited Twilight Sparkle in a dream tonight while you were asleep. She was very enthusiastic about your plans of becoming a dreamwalker and agreed to cover your duties at her school.” She came closer to Rainbow Dash and took position in front of her. “And I cannot leave you just like this, Rainbow Dash. At least a short health check is required.” She lifted Rainbow Dash's head with a hoof under her chin and looked into her face with stern, concentrated eyes.
“I'm not surprised she did,” Rainbow Dash commented. “And I didn't make any plans yet. I'm still deciding if I even want to do this. Remember?”
Now it were Luna's pupils that shrunk. “O-Of course,” she stammered slightly and backed away from Rainbow Dash. “I-I was just..... I mean, I-I only w-wanted to say that.....”
“It's fine,” Rainbow Dash said, getting up from the sofa. “I just wanted to remind you on it.” She narrowed her eyes at Luna, tilting her head a little. “You look nervous,” she determined. “And now that I think about it, you were acting strange last night, too..... Are you sure finding your old diary and all that isn't getting to you in some way?”
“No!” Luna blurted out. “I mean..... yes, I am sure, Rainbow Dash. T-There are indeed a lot of memories connected to this diary, but none of them are of particular concern.” She took a last, scrutinizing look at Rainbow Dash's face. “Now, I think it is best for you to leave fast. Maybe you can still make it to your next lesson in time,” she then said, having made sure that Rainbow Dash was alright.
Rainbow Dash stared into Luna's face for a few seconds longer. Then she closed her eyes and shrugged her wings. “Fine with me,” she announced. “I still want to make it there in time, I don't like it if somepony else has to cover for me.”
“Good,” Luna said, joining Rainbow Dash's side as they trotted outside of the room. “There is also something else I have taken care of, something that will be very useful for your next training sessions.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her, surprised. “Something else? What is it?”
“A surprise,” Luna said, teasingly. She winked at her. “You will find out in the coming night.”
Rainbow Dash scrunched her face a little. “Okay then. I've got to think of other things anyway.”
“Indeed.” Luna nodded.


Ten minutes later, Rainbow Dash was flying away from Canterlot Castle in a hurry. There were a mere six or seven minutes left until her lesson started. And even with flying at her highest speed, she needed fifteen minutes to make the way from Canterlot to Ponyville. A best time no other pegasus could achieve but, in this case, it would not be fast enough. She would be late for the lesson.
Rainbow Dash sighed in defeat. Suddenly, a stench drifted into her nose, reminding her of something. She looked around searchingly, until her eyes got locked on a cloud. It was gray and a few drops of water leaked out at its bottom side. Rainbow Dash changed her direction and flew towards the ripe raincloud at full speed. She pierced it and, a second later, came out at the other side soaking wet. “This has to do for a shower,” Rainbow Dash thought while the wind and the sunlight began to dry her body.


As she finally landed in front of the friendship school, Rainbow Dash wasted no time standing around and rushed into the building. She approached the classroom her lesson took place in and quickly barged in through the door. The students looked up and so did Twilight, who stood behind the teacher's desk.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said, surprised. She greeted her with a welcoming smile. “You made it!”
“Yeah, sort of.....” Rainbow Dash fidgeted around uncomfortably, feeling the eyeballs of all nine students in the classroom resting on her.
Twilight moved away from the desk and approached her eagerly. “I heard about the good news from Princess Luna!” she shouted enthusiastically.
“Uh, I'm not sure if it's a good news yet.....” Rainbow clarified.
“Are you kidding me?!” Twilight went close to her face. “This is fantastic news! Imagining that you get the chance to do something so important! And just think of all the research I, I mean, we, can do on this, a pegasus never did something like this before in all of Equestrian history, you need to tell me all about it!” The nerdy torrent of words got finished with a squeal.
“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing with her head to the left.
Twilight followed the movement, looking at the students who stared at them curiously. “Oh, right.” She grinned sheepishly, before she turned back at Rainbow Dash. “But you need to come to my office and tell me everything once your lesson is over,” she said, a little calmer. “I have to hear every single detail about this!”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “I see you in your office after I'm done here.”
“Great! I can't wait to find out!” Another squeal left Twilight's throat, then she skipped out of the room, leaving Rainbow Dash to her class.
“Alright, students,” Rainbow Dash got right down to business the moment Twilight was gone. “We have a lot to cover today, so let's not lose more time.” She approached the teacher's desk and sat down on it, facing her class.
“Professor Dash?” In the first row, Silverstream lifted a claw into the air. “What important thing are you going to do?”
Only now Rainbow Dash noticed that the students all stared at her in awe. She smirked. “That's a long story, Silverstream. And discussing the awesomeness I'm doing would keep us up for the entirety of the lesson.”
Rainbow Dash herself was surprised that she managed to keep everything under wraps. Of course she wouldn't have minded to bask in the admiration of her students for almost an entire hour. But as long as she didn't know whether or not she even wanted to have a future like this, there was too much risk of making false promises.
The answer that Rainbow Dash gave achieved the opposite. The students leaned in on each other and started to whisper. One of them, a filly with a goldenrod coat who sat in the middle of the classroom, just stared at Rainbow Dash, a huge grin plastered all over her face.
“Okay, who's ready for a lesson in loyalty?” Rainbow Dash called her class to attention one more time.
The answer came in the form of applause and excited cheers of approval. The filly in the middle was the most enthusiastic of the group, the deafening volume of her own cheers easily drowned out those of her classmates.
Rainbow Dash smirked, satisfied. As always, she had the classroom under full control.


The lesson was a cakewalk. Unlike the experiences of last night, Rainbow Dash was fully in her element here as she taught the gathered foals about the importance of loyalty for a functionable friendship. The only surprise during the otherwise typical lesson happened as Rainbow Dash asked the goldenrod filly in the middle a question without receiving an answer. She had caught Rainbow Dash's attention earlier already and even now she was still staring and grinning. It was a slight oddity, but nothing Rainbow Dash was completely unfamiliar with. She repeated her question. Once more, the filly stayed silent. Finally, Rainbow Dash locked eyes with her.
“Hyper Sonic! Didn't you hear my question?”
The guess was nothing but appropriate. Hyper Sonic was directly looking at her but, at the same time, it was like she was looking through her. The grin and the glazed stare in her eyes gave Rainbow Dash the impression that the filly was in some kind of trance.
“HYPER SONIC!” Rainbow Dash tried it louder, but it was to no avail. She slipped down from the desk and approached the filly. “Hey, you aren't sleeping with open eyes, are you?” Rainbow Dash asked the filly as she stood in front of her. She carefully poked the filly's forehead as no response came. Strands of her spiky mane bobbed back and forth at the impact. Its color reminded Rainbow Dash on prairie sand.
Rainbow Dash cocked her head and blinked. “What is with this filly?” She brought her mouth close to one of her ears. “HYPER SONIC!” she yelled into it.
Finally, a reaction happened. The glazed look in Hyper Sonic's eyes disappeared and she slowly turned her head at her teacher. 	“Yeah, Professor Dash?” Her voice sounded like her mind was far away, but she finally gave her attention.
“I asked you a question, Hyper Sonic. Why didn't you answer?”
For a moment, Rainbow Dash feared the filly would space out again, but she answered faster this time. “Oh, sorry,” she said in a relaxed tone. “What was the question?”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Nevermind.” The strange situation made her forget the question, which she wasn't going to admit. “Just pay more attention, okay, student?”
Hyper Sonic just nodded. Now that she didn't talk anymore, the grin had returned onto her face. It started to look slightly eerie for Rainbow Dash.
“Alright. Let's continue.” Rainbow Dash trotted back to the teacher's desk,where she took seat again.
The remainder of the lesson happened without any more interruptions. Yet, despite that, Rainbow Dash could not await the end of it. Hyper Sonic continued her stares and her grinning. Even the glazed look had returned into her eyes. Rainbow Dash wouldn't have been surprised if the young filly even began drooling all over her desk. It was starting to become creepy. Hyper Sonic had always been an attentive student. It was her third year at the friendship school, but never before she had acted like this. “Something is off with this filly today,” Rainbow Dash thought and shuddered.
As the school bell finally rang and announced the end of the lesson, it was of such pure relief to Rainbow Dash like it normally only was for her students. She gave them all some last homework assignments, then she jumped off the desk and trotted behind it to stash some material inside of it.
Around her, she could hear shuffling as the students packed their saddlebags and got ready to leave, then the trotting of many hooves and two pairs of claws as they headed outside into the corridor. The classroom was completely silent now. Sensing that she was alone, Rainbow Dash stopped rummaging in the desk's drawer and closed it. She looked up, expecting to see an empty classroom, and froze.
On her desk in the middle sat Hyper Sonic. She hadn't moved an inch and she was still staring at Rainbow Dash, with that increasingly creepy grin. Her saddlebags lied untouched on the floor next to her desk.
Rainbow Dash gulped. But she did her best not to show how uncomfortable the situation was for her.
“Hyper Sonic?” she asked. “Why are you still here? Is something wrong?” She gave the filly a smile.
Hyper Sonic shook her head in an agonizingly slow tempo.
The absurdity of the situation washed over Rainbow Dash completely. “It's like I'm in a horror movie all of a sudden..... or a dream.” The thought felt completely logical to Rainbow Dash. For a moment, she considered calling for Luna, thinking that this was a strange lesson in dreamwalking the princess hadn't told her about and that she was still asleep. But she realized how unlikely this was before she could shout the princess' name. After all, why would she have told her that her next training session would happen in the coming night if one were already happening?
Rainbow Dash shook her head to clear it. She trotted a few steps into Hyper Sonic's direction, but stopped in front of the first row of desks. “Well, what's it then?” she addressed the filly again. “Do you have any question about the lesson?”
Like before, Hyper Sonic slowly shook her head.
Rainbow Dash started sweating. “Well, alright. Then you should, you know, leave. Class is over. You have a lot of homework to work on today.”
To Rainbow Dash's utmost surprise, her words had an effect. Hyper Sonic slid off her chair and pulled her saddlebags from the floor. She packed them with mechanical movements, without stopping to look at Rainbow Dash, then placed them on her back. Still not taking the eyes off her teacher, she trotted past the desks and into her direction.
Rainbow Dash did a few steps to the right. She expected Hyper Sonic to come up to her, but instead, she approached the classroom door. She did it backwards, though, apparently unable to take her eyes off of Rainbow Dash. And, of course, she kept grinning the entire time.
As Hyper Sonic had finally left the classroom and was out of sight, Rainbow Dash kept standing in place and listened to the clopping of the filly's hoofsteps. They became quieter, but only as she couldn't hear them at all anymore, Rainbow Dash allowed herself to move.
“Okay, what kind of freak show was this?” she asked into the empty room. The unsettling feeling that something was very wrong with Hyper Sonic did not leave her. “I'm definitely going to bring this up when I talk to Twilight later.”
Having made this plan, Rainbow Dash hesitantly set herself into motion. She approached the classroom door slowly, then took a careful look outside. Only after confirming that the corridor was empty in both directions, she trotted outside and began to make her way to Twilight's office.
.
> Chapter 5: Two Sisters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
It was not a minute later than one thirty pm, that the bell proclaimed the end of the last lesson in Twilight's friendship school for the day. And neither did it take a minute for the doors of the classrooms to open almost simultaneously and for excited, chatting students to pour out. From a classroom at the end of the corridor, a group of students with Hyper Sonic trotting at the top was getting ready to leave for home or their dorm rooms.
Despite having left her desk as one of the last students, Hyper Sonic had it easy to make it to the top of the group and even now she was still trotting at a brisk pace, wings flared. At her side trotted a wine-red earth pony filly, noticeably smaller and younger than Hyper Sonic, yet she had no issues keeping up with the tempo. She looked up at Hyper Sonic with admiration, a bright smile on her lips.
The duo branched off from the other students, their tempo increasing. Hyper Sonic looked to her right and gave the younger filly a smirk. “I'm surprised you can still follow, Gooseberry.”
“Of course!” Gooseberry chirped in response. “How else would I stay at your side, big sis?” She giggled in delight and, coming a little closer, brushed her head against Hyper Sonic's chest.
Hyper Sonic responded by draping her right wing over Gooseberry's back and squeezing her.
“What you did today was amazing!” Gooseberry began to shower her older sister with praise.
“What?” Hyper Sonic asked her. “You mean zoning out in class?”
“Um-hm. Zoning out in class like this, in front of a teacher, I wouldn't dare. Only you can do this, Hyper Sonic!” Gooseberry's eyes were glowing.
Hyper Sonic chuckled. She blushed a little. “But that wasn't so good,” she corrected her. “I seriously creeped Professor Dash out and that's the last thing I'd ever want. I lost control.” Embarrassment and guilt crept onto her face.
“Aww, don't worry.” Gooseberry snuggled a little closer. “I'm sure you can make it up to her and she will forgive you!”
Hyper Sonic gave her sister a warm look and a smile. She tightened her squeeze, making Gooseberry giggle again.
As if she just made a prediction, a door opened not far away from them and Rainbow Dash stepped outside. Her face looked wrecked and she rubbed her head with one hoof. “Geez..... Why does Twilight always have to ask all the questions?” she muttered.
Hyper Sonic's eyes locked on Rainbow Dash and she slowed down her trot. Gooseberry noticed how the eyes of her big sister grew. She puckered her lips, then followed her intense stare to find out what Hyper Sonic was looking at. As her own eyes fell on Rainbow Dash, Gooseberry's face became clear with realization. She giggled, radiating her happiness over the sight. “There she is!” she chirped. “Hyper, you should go and talk to her right now!”
“Sssh.” Hyper Sonic held a hoof at her lips and glared down at her. “I can't talk to her right now and you know why. I can't let her find out. Come on, let's dash before she notices us!”
But it was too late for that already. Rainbow Dash heard them and looked directly into their direction now. She cringed a little over seeing Hyper Sonic, but waved at her with a hoof. “Hey, Hyper Sonic! Come over here, Headmare Twilight wants to talk with you!”
Hyper Sonic's face distorted in panic. She set herself into motion and galloped for the exit of the school before Rainbow Dash could say any more.
“Hey, wait for me, Hyper!” Gooseberry cried out behind her, then followed her swiftly.
Hyper Sonic heard the patter of the little hooves running up to her, but she did not turn around. She hasted through the corridor, eyes locked on the exit. The fleeing filly only stopped for a moment to press down on the handle of the door, then she burst through it and continued her mad run. She raced down the path towards the dorms, until she bumped hard into something and landed on her flank, dizzy and confused. Rubbing her head, she looked up and saw a massive, brown wall blocking her path.
“Hyper! Are you okay?” The high-pitched, worried voice of Gooseberry rang into her ears. The other filly ran up to her and took position in front of her. She stared at her sister with a scared expression, almost teary-eyed. “Hey, you're okay?” she asked again as Hyper Sonic didn't respond. Gooseberry lifted her right hoof and brushed it over Hyper Sonic's mane.
“Ugh.....” Hyper Sonic groaned. “I'm fine. Don't get too worried, Gooseberry.” She gave her a smirky grin.
Getting back onto her hooves, Hyper Sonic looked up at the brown wall that blocked their path. Gooseberry turned around and did the same. A face came into Hyper Sonic's view. She saw horns and a clueless expression.
“Oh! Yona sorry for knocking down little filly!” The female yak calf spoke. “Let Yona help you back on hooves.” Yona reached out, attempting to pick up Hyper Sonic, but Hyper lashed forward and slapped her hoof away.
“Don't do that, I'm getting up myself!” she spoke hastily. Now she stood upright and as her eyes fell on Yona again, a dismissive glare was in them. Gooseberry looked into Hyper Sonic's face with a cute, adoring smile.
“Oh. Well, Yona still sorry. Don't want to crush little filly with bigger body. Yona apologizes.” Yona looked at Hyper Sonic, still with the same, clueless expression.
“Yeah.....” Hyper Sonic did not tone down her glare.
“Well, Yona has to go now, forgot book in class. Maybe see you later.”
As Hyper Sonic did not respond, Yona tilted her head in confusion, but she did not say more. The yak gave a friendly wave to Gooseberry, who responded in kind with a grin on her face, then she moved past them and entered the building.
“I hope I won't see her later,” Hyper Sonic grumbled.
“Aww, come on, don't think about her anymore!” Gooseberry gave her a nuzzle on the cheek. “She's big, you can avoid her easily!” 	She grabbed one of Hyper Sonic's hooves and ran off, pulling her into the direction of the dorms. Hyper Sonic's smile returned.
Pulled by her enthusiastic sibling, Hyper Sonic found herself entering the dorm building a few seconds later. The blue walls and the gray, ornamented pillars of the corridor were barely perceived by her eyes as she got dragged over the soft carpet that covered the floor exactly in the middle of it. Gooseberry only stopped and let go of her hoof in front of the last door on the right. She reached up and opened it. Without waiting for it to swing open completely, she took Hyper Sonic's hoof again and entered the room that lied behind the door. Inside, the little filly shut it with a powerful buck by her hind legs.
The dorm room they stood in now was a double room.To their left was a bunk bed made from dark wood. Curved, pillar-like structures at each corner, that ended with a heart-shaped ornamentation at the top, connected the lower bed with the upper one. The hoofboard of the bottom bunk was adorned with a heart in a lighter shade of brown, while the hoofboard of the top bunk had a sun in the middle and a moon and a star at the sides. Both celestial bodies were accentuated with smaller stars. A tiny, but despite its size bulky-looking, nightstand sat to the right of the bed. On it was a small bedside lamp, green, with a white lampshade and a cord to turn it on and off, that was adorned with a heart, as well, and a small alarm clock.
Gooseberry marched ahead to a desk at the right wall, just opposite of the bed, the clip-clop of her hooves changing tone as she left the rectangular, blue rug and stepped on the dark, wooden floor boards. She grabbed the saddlebags she was carrying with her mouth and stashed them under the desk, then turned around swiftly, ran to her bed and climbed into it. Sighing, she laid down flat on the pink blanket and buried her face into the thick, white pillow. “I'm tired,” she moaned. “I missed my bed.”
Hyper Sonic, having watched everything, chuckled. She went to her own desk, to the right of Gooseberry's, and also placed her saddlebags under it. Then she went over to the bunk bed. Instead of climbing up to her own, she sat down at Gooseberry's side and placed her left hoof on her flank. “We still have homework today,” she reminded her.
“Aww, I know!” Gooseberry responded in a slightly annoyed tone. She sat up, abruptly. “But I wish we hadn't.” Her shoulders slumped and she yawned, eyes half-closed. Gooseberry leaned to the side, resting her head on Hyper Sonic's shoulder. She closed her eyes. “I just want to sleep a little.....” she murmured.
Hyper Sonic melted at the sight. “That should be fine. I guess it's not too much homework.”
“Um-hm,” it came in response.
“I'll go outside and grab you some lunch from the cafeteria,” Hyper Sonic announced. “Do you want anything specific?”
“Just something good.” Gooseberry lifted her head, letting Hyper Sonic stand up. She laid down flat again, spreading her hind legs apart for most comfort, and let her face disappear in the pillow. Soft, muffled groans came from her mouth.
“Okay, I'll be back with something tasty in a few minutes, sis.” Hyper Sonic looked over at her, then trotted to the door quietly.
“Um-hm,” she heard from behind before she stepped out and closed the door.
The cafeteria wasn't far away. Not in a rush, Hyper Sonic trotted down the corridor towards the exit. Her heart was filled with warmth, as it nearly always was when Gooseberry was around. The young pegasus smiled. Then, as a certain thought entered her mind, the smile on her face grew bigger. “Tonight will be the best night,” she thought to herself. “That I get a chance like this is something I never even dared to dream about!” Her smile turned into a grin and she couldn't help but laugh in delight.
The grin on her face earned her a few curious glances as she trotted over the inner courtyard of the friendship school and then through the door at the back into the cafeteria. Inside, a familiar scent from the kitchen wafted into her nose. It smelled roasted. A look on the menu for this week next to the door showed her that today's lunch was potato casserole. The longer she was exposed to the smell, the more she could differentiate the individual spices the cooks had used. Hyper Sonic's stomach grumbled. She was only here to grab a few sandwiches for her and Gooseberry to eat in their room, but now she couldn't resist. The smell drew her to the counter.
A few minutes later, she sat at a table in the middle of the cafeteria, a tray in front of her. On it was a white plate, filled to the brim with the delicious, yellow mass. It was baked over with cheese and the individual potato pieces were nice and brown at the edges. Hyper Sonic swallowed, staring at the steaming food greedily. She grabbed the fork next to the table with her wing and wanted to start, as a thought interrupted her. Hastily, she looked around in the cafeteria, until she could confirm that neither Professor Dash nor Headmare Twilight were present. Relieved, she finally began shoveling the food into her mouth.
After fifteen minutes of spoiling her tastebuds, and a trip to the counter to get a second portion of the delectable meal, Hyper Sonic sat leaned back in her chair and rubbed over her stomach. She breathed out, groaning in satisfaction. “That was the best meal I ever had.”
Hyper Sonic sat at the table only for a few moments longer, slaking her thirst with soda, then she picked up her tray and carried it back to the counter. She ordered another portion of the casserole to take with her back to the dorms, knowing that Gooseberry had to try it, then left the cafeteria, carefully carrying the bag with the hot aluminum box in her mouth.
As she entered their dorm room again, a quiet, steady breathing immediately indicated that Gooseberry had fallen asleep during her absence. She had only been gone for half an hour at most, but this was apparently enough for the tired filly. Gooseberry still laid in her bed in the same position, head turned to the left and facing the wall now, so that Hyper Sonic could only see the backside of it. Her body was completely motionless, save for a slight rising and falling of her chest.
As quiet as she could, Hyper Sonic shut the door. She trotted to Gooseberry's desk and placed the bag on it. Then she went to her own desk, picked up her saddlebags and began to take care of her homework.
It was two hours later, she was just getting finished, that Hyper Sonic heard Gooseberry stirring behind her. The blanket rustled and the bed creaked quietly as the filly moved. Hyper Sonic, busy stuffing her school supplies back into her saddlebags, did a look at the door. It was something she had done a few times while working, always expecting a knock and that either Professor Dash or Headmare Twilight would stand outside their room. But, surprisingly, neither of them showed up, which was completely in Hyper Sonic's favor. There was something she really couldn't explain now.
When a hearty yawn emerged behind her, Hyper Sonic dropped what she was holding and turned around on the blue surface of her stool. Leaning forward, she placed her forehooves on the surface between her thighs and looked at Gooseberry expectantly. “Rested up?” she asked, friendly.
Gooseberry sat at the edge of her bed and nodded. “Um-hm.” She yawned again, opening her mouth wide before she covered it with a forehoof. Then she got up. Drowsily, while still rubbing one eye, she trotted across the room. She arrived in front of Hyper Sonic and, letting go of her eye, reached up and wrapped her forehooves around the older filly for a hug. Hyper Sonic did the same and pulled her sis a little closer, nestling her face into her soft mane. Gooseberry rested her chin on Hyper Sonic's shoulder. “How late is it?” she mumbled.
“Just a little past four,” Hyper Sonic answered, smiling.
“That's good.” Gooseberry's senses awakened slowly. But a tug in her stomach made her grimace. “I'm hungry,” she moaned. Releasing the embrace, she stood tall in front of Hyper Sonic again. She rubbed over her stomach.
“I got you something from the cafeteria. It's on your desk.” Hyper Sonic pointed to the right, demonstratively.
“Oh, thank you!” Gooseberry beamed, then turned away and went to her desk.
Hyper Sonic got up and followed her. “It's cold now but, if you want, I can carry it back to the cafeteria and let the kitchen staff reheat it.”
But Gooseberry shook her head. “Um-um.” She sat down. “You already brought me something all the way from the cafeteria, that's good enough for me.” She nestled the backside of her head into Hyper Sonic's chest for a moment, then grabbed the bag and pulled out the box, a plastic fork and a tin of sparkle cola. The hungry filly opened the tin and took a sip, then she removed the lid from the box, picked up the fork and started her feast.
Hyper Sonic watched her silently, feeling satisfied over the sight of her sister munching with bulging cheeks.
Gooseberry devoured the casserole in record time. Only five minutes later, she gulped down the remaining sparkle cola from the tin, then let out a sigh. “This was so good! It didn't matter that it was cold!” Feeling energized, Gooseberry dropped the tin, the box and the plastic fork into the basket at the side of her desk, together with the bag. Having disposed of everything, she turned at Hyper Sonic. “Can you please help me with my homework, Hyper?”
Hyper Sonic nodded. “Of course! Let's get started!” She reached under the desk for Gooseberry's saddlebags. They unpacked it together and, soon, they were fully focused on the assignments.
Unlike Hyper Sonic before, Gooseberry was finished a lot faster, thanks to the help from her big sister. An hour later, the little earth pony could put the pencil away and stretched her forelegs. “Mmmmm.” She looked over at Hyper Sonic and flashed her a smile. “Finally! Thank you, Hyper!” She fell around her neck and squeezed her tightly.
“Don't mention it!” Hyper Sonic said, nonchalantly. She squeezed Gooseberry in return.
The two fillies cleaned the desk and stashed everything away.
“So, wanna head into town?” Hyper Sonic asked as they were done, ruffling her sibling's mane. They still had a couple hours left until they had to get ready for bed and, as usual, Hyper Sonic was determined to make the most of the remainder of the afternoon.
“You bet I want!” Gooseberry giggled. She jumped off her stool and galloped for the door, which she had opened in a heartbeat. “Come on, Hyper, last one is a moldy potato!” She shouted back as she ran into the corridor.
“Yes and you'll be this time!” Hyper Sonic shouted and gave chase, laughing loudly. The door stayed open behind her.
.
Three hours later, the two sisters returned. Out of breath, sweaty and, for some reason, with their manes and tails full of twigs, leaves and burdocks, they burst into their room, laughing at the top of their lungs. They drew some glances from other dorm residents before they shut the door behind them. It took them a good ten minutes before their fits began to subside. Giggling, they plucked out the stuff of their manes and tails.
“You were the best today, Hyper!” Gooseberry finally found her speech back. “I've never seen a pegasus climb a tree that high!”
“I don't know.....” Hyper Sonic responded, playfully doubting the assessment. “Hiding in a bush like that one was pretty good, too!”
The statement put Gooseberry right back into the moment. She sat down on the floor, held both forehooves at her mouth and began to giggle uncontrollably. “It was the best hideout in the woods!” she managed to say in-between the giggles.
Hyper Sonic laughed at the cute reaction. Gooseberry fell into it and the two of them erupted into another round of loud laughter. Only as it was over, they were finally able to think of something else.
Hyper Sonic trotted to the clothes rack that stood right from the door and pulled down a pink towel. She tossed it to Gooseberry, who jumped and caught it out of the air. “Let's hit the showers now, sis, before it gets too crowded!” Hyper Sonic grabbed her own towel, a blue one, and then they headed out into the corridor together.
It was close to 10 PM, as both Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry lay in their respective beds, the younger sister at the bottom, the older sister at the top. Gooseberry had set the alarm clock for six in the morning and was nestling into her pillow now, pulling up the blanket close to her chin. Despite her two-hour sleep in the afternoon, she was dead tired, the wild and rough game they were playing in the Whitetail Woods had worn her out again.
“Goodnight, big sis,” she murmured, close to falling asleep. It was merely a whisper and Hyper Sonic only heard it because it was so quiet in their room.
She flashed a smile, even though her sister couldn't see it. “Night, Gooseberry!” The sentence had barely left her lips, as calm and steady breathing, only occasionally interrupted by tiny snores, sounded up to her.
Hyper Sonic turned onto her left side. The moon was shining through the high window in the middle of their room. She looked into the silvery shine on the floor, a new smile building on her face. Watching the light intensely, Hyper Sonic awaited to fall asleep.
Miles away and deep down under the earth, Rainbow Dash did the same.
.
> Chapter 6: The Filly and the Beasts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
In Canterlot, Rainbow Dash entered the dream realm for the second time in her life. She didn't notice anything different, which did not surprise her, but what she did not know was that a surprise awaited her regardless.
Princess Luna and Rainbow Dash stood on starlight, next to each other. In awe of the sight, Rainbow Dash took in the dream realm around her. Luna said nothing. The princess waited until Rainbow Dash finally spoke after minutes of silence.
“So, what happens tonight?” the pegasus asked.
Luna nodded. She turned around at her. “Tonight, you will visit your first dream, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open. “Already?” she asked. “I thought you would wait longer before you let me into the mind of another pony.”
“There is no need to wait,” Luna said, matter of factly. “It is important to always move forward. The pony we visit would agree with this.”
“Okay.....” Rainbow Dash peered at the princess. “If you think I'm ready, then I'll trust you, I guess. So, whose dream is it?”
A mischievous flicker flashed up in Luna's eyes for the tiniest moment. The smirk she gave Rainbow Dash had something amused to it. “I have prepared something special for your lessons in dreamwalking. The pony we are going to visit has just fallen asleep and is ready to meet us.”
“How can you tell?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeling doubt over the claim that was just made. “If that pony only fell asleep now, how can they be ready?”
“Because I have talked to them. I visited their dream last night while you were asleep and arranged everything.” Luna smiled. “And because the pony we are going to meet is always ready.”
The answer did nothing to dissolve the cloud in Rainbow Dash's head. “Always ready, what does that mean?” Her thoughts circulated and she did not respond.
“Let's go.” Not acknowledging the silence, Luna turned around and trotted past Rainbow Dash, following the path of stars into the other direction. At a curve, she took flight. Rainbow Dash followed her, still silent and still pondering. They flew across the starry fields for a few seconds, then Luna's horn got clad into her magic aura. A rift of white light opened in front of them. Blinded, Rainbow Dash continued to fly with closed eyes. She regretted it a second later.
Having barely opened her eyes again, a wave of scorching-hot fire came shooting into her direction from below, in a breathtaking tempo. Rainbow Dash yelped in panic and flew upwards, bringing herself into safety.
“Up here!” Luna called, urgency in her voice. The night princess was hovering a few meters above her, surrounded by a thin sphere of milky, white light. Rainbow Dash hastily entered the sphere.
Inside, she turned around and looked down. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and her mouth fell open again. “What the..... In what kind of dream did you bring me?!”
Below her, a horde of dragons was roaming. But these dragons were nothing like Rainbow Dash had ever seen before. Their massive, ocher bodies blocked out the view of everything else and they extended into long, snake-like necks with a tiny head at the end. Their eyes were deep red and radiated pure malice. It was like staring into a snake pit, except that it wasn't filled with actual snakes, but with monsters that were a cross between hydra and dragon.
While she beheld the sight and tried to comprehend it, Rainbow Dash suddenly noticed a streak of goldenrod light shooting out of the midst of the gathered monsters. Immediately, the beasts followed it with their heads and sent their fiery blazes after it. The light was too fast for them. It dodged the fire with ease and flew to the right. One of the monsters howled in pain as the fire of a comrade hit it and burnt its neck until it was black. The malignant expression in the dragon's eye went out like the light of a candle in a gust of wind. With a heavy thud, the burnt remains of the long neck crushed down on the ground, letting the earth shake. The streak flew higher, out of reach of the monsters, and stopped there. It disappeared and now a small pony could be seen hovering.
Rainbow Dash's eyes grew even bigger. The goldenrod coat and feathers, the mane and tail resembling prairie sand, the entire sight put her right back into her lesson from this morning. “Her?!” it burst from Rainbow Dash's mouth.
In the distance, Hyper Sonic turned her head and followed the surprised shout she had just heard. She waved at Luna and Rainbow Dash, a grin flashing over her face as her eyes graced the latter, then she dove down into the pit of beasts again. She landed on the head of one of them, right between the eyes. Having learned nothing from the demise of their comrade, the dragons focused on the filly and moved into her direction again. Hyper Sonic met the incoming heat with a fiery glance. Fire from her eyes. Her entire face was one of gleeful anticipation.
“Hyper Sonic is the first pony I should help with a nightmare?!” Rainbow Dash's head shot at Luna. Her eyes were still bulging and her mouth remained open after she asked the question.
“Indeed, as you can see.” Luna chuckled. “Although, I would not call it a 'nightmare'. This is a surprise for you, Rainbow Dash. I figured that one of your greatest admirers and fans will help make your first lessons easier.”
“Yes, but.....” Rainbow Dash failed to finish the sentence. It was unbelievable to her, the surprise taking full effect, but Luna's words made sense at the same time. Her mind slowly accustomed as the pieces fell into place. “The odd behavior, the creepy stares, her panicked escape in the school corridor..... it was all because of this?”
Luna wasn't aware of what had happened in Twilight's friendship school this morning, but her face showed understanding regardless. “Seems like Hyper Sonic had a hard time keeping this secret. And she had the same look on her face as you do now when I made her this offer last night.” Another chuckle left her mouth.
“Offer?” Rainbow Dash asked, her mind not fully processing yet.
“The offer to be of assistance to you. Hyper Sonic knows everything about your attempts to become Equestria's dreamwalker. I explained her that it would be easier for you if the first foal you visit in a dream is one who admires your skills and talents. Hyper Sonic was overjoyed about the offer of assisting you with something so important and she instantly agreed.” Luna cast her eyes over the filly who played catch with the monsters below. “Of course there are other fans of yours I could have approached for this. I am sure Scootaloo would not mind to help.” She gave Rainbow Dash a knowing glance. “And then there is Alula, a filly in Ponyville who is nothing but obsessed with you. But Hyper Sonic has something neither of them has. Of all your fans, she is the most fit to be your trainer.”
“My trainer? I thought you are the one training me.”
“I am.” Luna confirmed. “And I will assist you along the way. But there are things in dreams you can only learn by experiencing them.” She pointed out of the sphere with one hoof. “Look down. See what Hyper Sonic is doing.”
Rainbow Dash did. Her eyes followed the streak Hyper Sonic was creating while flying and dodging the monsters once more. “She is pretty fast,” Rainbow Dash commented. “Almost looks like me after I did a Sonic Rainboom.”
“Yes. I assume this is not Hyper Sonic's natural tempo when she is awake, but dreams make many things that one wishes for possible, be it consciously or unconsciously. Although, her flight tempo is not the reason why her dreams are so perfect to teach you.”
“But these weird dragons are?” Rainbow Dash took a guess.
“Yes,” Luna responded. “In a sense, they are. What you see here would be a horrible nightmare for most ponies. The dragons would be manifestations of things that chase them in the waking world; insecurities, fears or maybe even some very physical threats. Challenges and events they have to face, but scare them. It's these anxieties that can manifest in many thousand different forms inside their nightmares. But Hyper Sonic is a very different filly.” She looked at Rainbow Dash intensely. “Tell me, what is it that you see in Hyper Sonic's face?”
Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes. She still could see nothing but the flying and whizzing goldenrod streak that confused the monsters and seemed to make fun of them. Finally, it stopped again at a high altitude and Rainbow Dash's eyes seized the opportunity and zeroed in on Hyper Sonic's face. “She is..... smiling?” Rainbow Dash focused on her face until the filly continued her rapid flight. Smoke rose up to them as another dragon fell, burnt like the one before. “Yeah, it's a smile. And earlier she was grinning. Hyper Sonic enjoys that fight?”
“Correct.” Luna nodded and looked back at the spectacle. “We live in a world where it is necessary for children to be prepared. Monsters roam free and though my sister and I do our best to contain them in Tartarus before they can cause harm, this is not always possible. Tyrants reach for Equestria's magical properties on a regular basis and most of them don't spare citizens or civilians. It makes the children of this world tougher, they are taught to encounter such dangers from a young age. But Hyper Sonic still transcends them. What is a nightmare for any other foal, is an exciting and joyous dream for her.” A third dragon fell as Luna finished her sentence.
“So, Hyper Sonic is completely fearless?” The tone in Rainbow Dash's voice shifted.
“No. Not quite. Even this filly has her very own fears.” She squinted at Hyper Sonic who was cheering over her victories now. “But she faces dangers in a way that other foals don't. The average foal of Equestria has the knowledge and abilities needed to encounter the most common threats and monsters and uses their abilities very effectively until they are in a safe enough space again. But no foal would seek out dangers deliberately. Hyper Sonic, however, does.”
Rainbow Dash looked like her face had been splashed with a glass of cold water. “That's crazy.”
“Hyper Sonic dreams of adventure, of danger and of risks, both in daydreams and while she is asleep,” Luna continued, not commenting on Rainbow Dash's judgement. “It's the thrill of her life being in danger that drives her and not only does she dream about such situations, Hyper Sonic is seeking them out on purpose. I know that she sneaks into the Everfree Forest when she is sure that nopony will notice. She does this ever since she became a student of the friendship school.”
“And you don't stop her?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning her head at Luna incredulously.
“No.” Luna's expression did not falter. “Hyper Sonic has chosen her path in life and her destiny. I will not intervene with dreams and ambitions that shine as strongly as hers. But even though Hyper Sonic seeks out dangers in the waking world, her nightly dreams are also filled with them. This is why we are here tonight and why we'll be here in the coming nights, if you wish to continue.”
“Explain,” Rainbow Dash said.
Luna proceeded. “A pony's nightmare can be of grave danger, for the pony who has it and the dreamwalker who enters it. All nightmares are created by issues of the mind, the fears and anxieties a pony develops while being awake, and the manifestations in these nightmares often look very similar to what you can see below us. They aren't any less dangerous than what you can encounter in Equestria while being awake and both severe damage of the mind and phsyical injuries can be the result. Including death.” She let the last word echo inside the sphere.
A cold shiver crept down Rainbow Dash's spine. Her head lowered as she took in the information.
“Hyper Sonic endangers herself every night and on many days of her young life. I check her dreams a few times each night in case the situation outgrows her abilities.”
“And did it?” Rainbow Dash held her breath.
“Intervention has not been necessary, so far.” Luna smiled and gave her a glance. There was pride in her eyes. “Hyper Sonic is a special, young filly, Rainbow Dash. Her dreams, the things she meets in them that are nightmares for others, will be your training scenarios.”
Rainbow Dash was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish inside a water tank.
Luna observed the reaction with amusement. “You should go down and join the fight. Hyper Sonic does not need your help, but her dream will help you.”
Rainbow Dash suddenly looked insulted. “I don't need help from a filly,” she clarified.
“Then go down and prove it, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, smirking. “I assure you that Hyper Sonic will feel honored to fight alongside you. Let's see who can defeat more of these dragons.” The ground was still overflowing with the monstrous beasts.
“That will be me,” Rainbow Dash shot back with all her confidence. “Better brace yourself, Hyper Sonic, it's Rainbow Dash Time!” She flew out of the magical sphere, accelerating fast as she made her way to the site of the battle. A giggle left Luna's lips as she followed Rainbow Dash with her eyes.
It took Rainbow Dash mere seconds to reach Hyper Sonic. Hovering in front of her, she addressed her with a smirky grin. “Hyper Sonic, huh? I thought you are just an average friendship student, but Luna says pretty exciting things about you. Care to prove her words?”
When she saw Rainbow Dash arriving, Hyper Sonic had worn a smile on her lips. Now her face took on the same fierce expression as her object of admiration. She came closer. “At any time!” her response came, loud and energetic and eager for this challenge.
“How about a race then?” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “You dreamt up an impressive amount of these monsters down there, but how many of them can you take out before you cry for air? Think you can beat more than I?”
A glow was behind the determination in Hyper Sonic's eyes. Her heart pounded in her chest, pumping excitement over this opportunity through all of her body. “It's on!” she shouted. “I can do just as much as you and more!”
“Then it's settled! You and I count our defeats and whoever took out more of these monsters wins!” Rainbow set the rules straight, then immediately flew to the right and headed for the first monster. “GO!” The shout sounded in her wake.
Hyper Sonic broke away to the left, not losing a second after the command to start had been given. One of the dragons was right in front of her, mouth opened wide and ready to spew. A ball of orange fire began to form at the back of its throat. Hyper Sonic hovered silently, hooves crossed in front of her chest, a grin on her lips. She observed the building fire, waiting for the right moment. A shout ringing into her ears, coming from somewhere on the battlefield, broke her concentration. “One!”
It got her moving. She zipped upwards. The fire that came a few seconds later hit nothing. She landed on one of the dragon's ears and turned around at another one that stood close. “Hey, you're big, fat and ugly, has anypony ever told you that?” she shouted at the other dragon. It turned its attention away from the rainbow-colored blur that flew in front of it and headed for Hyper Sonic.
“Yeah, that's right, good boy, come closer!” the filly continued mocking it. The fire did not just come from the dragon's mouth, it came from its eyes as well. It moved its head back, then spit at Hyper Sonic with full force, a loud, screeching scream of anger accompanying the attack. “That's all?” Hyper Sonic questioned. “You suck!” She waited for exactly one more second, then took flight again. The wave of heat engulfed her hindlegs, but she did not flinch from pain. “Come on, if I want to visit a sauna, I can find one that's so much better in Ponyville!” She laughed down at the monster.
The blaze hit the ear she just stood on. It ignited instantly and the fire quickly spread over the head of the dragon. The eyeballs of the dragon popped by the heat and with one last screech, it collapsed where it stood. Hyper Sonic watched with satisfaction. “ONE!” she let her rival know.
“Two here!” it came in response. “And now three!” The sound of two more bodies hitting the ground filled the air. Rainbow Dash was in her element.
But so was Hyper Sonic. She detracted her eyes from the corpse and zipped to the other monster. It looked at Hyper Sonic, wearing a dumbfounded expression, the realization that it had killed its own friend kicking in. A look that didn't last long. “Hey, Sucker #2!” Hyper yelled, then shot with full force into the monster's left eye. The dragon howled and began writhing in pain. But Hyper Sonic was not done yet. She brought distance between herself and the dragon, then flew with full speed and without mercy into the other eye. “Strike!” she shouted, feeling victorious already.
The dragon trashed its head around. It opened its eyelids and tried to spot the attacker, but it could only see black. Scared and with panic rising, the blind dragon spat fire while it kept trashing its head. Three of the other dragons were hit by it and they fell dead to the ground almost simultaneously. “Four!” Hyper Sonic shouted, then she whizzed away and aimed for the next opponent. She shouted insults into the monster's face, provoking it just like the others before. She flew a curve as the fire came and back at the blind dragon. The fire followed her. In the very last second, she pulled up, then watched from a secure height how the blind monster got relieved from its pain. “And you're out!” she commented the death of the monster. “Five!”
“Six!” Rainbow Dash countered, another body falling.
The race and the battle against the dragons continued as fiercely and mercilessly as it had begun. Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Dash one-upped each other, both in body counts and in creative ways of taking out their opponents. They burnt monsters, removed their sight and twisted or even broke their necks, by flying too fast for their necks to follow without snapping in the process. Their literal neckbreaking speeds were no match for the monsters with their massive and slow bodies.
Half an hour later, the battlefield had become a graveyard. It was littered with humongous corpses as one of the last dragons fell in front of Rainbow Dash, burnt bodies and lifeless, empty eyes everywhere. “Fifty-five!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “And I bet I won with that number!” she added, pumped up by the adrenaline that flooded her veins.
The same number left Hyper Sonic's lips as the very last monster went down, its head pointing into the opposite direction.
Rainbow Dash shot her head at the filly, gritting her teeth. “A tie?! Seriously?!”
Hyper Sonic flew into Rainbow Dash's direction with slow, steady wingflaps. She had her hooves crossed and was wearing a smug, triumphant expression. Rainbow Dash groaned, looking at the filly with fury in her eyes.
“I can do just as much as you,” the filly calmly repeated her words from earlier. Then her expression softened somewhat, with a portion of the smugness still remaining. “But, hey, at least I didn't beat you!” She stretched out a hoof.
Rainbow Dash glared at Hyper Sonic, her ego boiling. A snide remark was on her tongue, but then something in Hyper Sonic's eyes caught her attention and she started to feel more at ease. Her face changed. She bumped Hyper Sonic's hoof. “You have the same ambitions as I did at your age.”
Hyper Sonic's smugness disappeared fully and a broad, happy smile built up on her face as endorphines swarmed out in her body. Then she suddenly felt her hoof grabbed by the mare and pulled closer. Rainbow Dash put her in a headlock and started to torment her head with noogies. “But you still gotta learn that Rainbow Dash is always the best in everything, filly!” Rainbow Dash grinned down at her.
The smile did not vanish from Hyper Sonic's face, instead, it became even bigger and she started to laugh. Soon, Rainbow Dash fell into it.
Unnoticed by the two, Luna landed gracefully at their side. “I see that you gained more than experience in dreamwalking tonight, Rainbow Dash. This sure will help for the next part of your training tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?” Rainbow Dash asked, finally letting go of her victim. She draped her hoof across Hyper Sonic's neck and pulled the filly at her side. “What about right now? I'm sure that little champ and I can take more tonight!” Hyper Sonic confirmed with a grin that she saw eye to eye with Rainbow Dash on this.
“Unfortunately not,” Luna turned the two of them down. “The night is nearly over. Your battle against these monsters might have felt short, but time can be very twisted while dreaming. Inside a dream, many hours can pass over the course of just a few minutes and you can wake up from a dream of a few seconds length only to find out that it has become morning already. The laws of time you know don't apply to dreams.”
The two pegasi frowned at Luna, overwhelming disappointment building on their faces.
“It is a pity, I understand. But for tonight, this is all we can do. Hyper Sonic is going to wake up soon.” She turned her attention at the filly. “Your sister is already out and about, young pegasus. I am sure she awaits your awakening with eagerness.”
The strategy worked and Hyper Sonic's disappointment got blown away. She smiled again. “Yeah. I hope I'll wake up very soon then.” The sentence left her lips and Hyper Sonic wanted to turn around at Rainbow Dash to say goodbye with another hoofbump, as she suddenly disappeared. Rainbow Dash's hoof stayed in the empty air where the filly's neck was just a second ago. Hyper Sonic's dream had vanished with her. They were back in the dream realm.
“That was quick,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “How did she.....”
Luna looked at her secretively. “As I said, Hyper Sonic is a special, young filly. In more ways than one. In the coming night, you will find out everything, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash was burning to find out the meaning behind this new mystery right now. But the Princess of the Night gave her no answer on her nagging questions as they left the dream realm and returned to the waking world.
> Chapter 7: A Choking Challenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
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.
.

5 10 13 21 X 35 38 46 55

.
“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

.
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.
.

100 125 117 113 150 215 X 198 190 186 223 288 246

.
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.
.

100 125 117 113 150 215 165 198 190 186 223 288 246

.
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.
.

100 125 117 113 150 215 173 198 190 186 223 288 246

.
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.
.

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

.
“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.
.

1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 3000 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

.
Red. Rainbow Dash taxed her brain.
.

1378 2250 1230 1110 1515 1745 2300 2500 2800 4205 3185 3065 3470 3700 4255 4455 5288

.
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.
.

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

.
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.
> Chapter 8: The Skinwalker from the Everfree Forest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
On the next day, something was different in the friendship school. Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry had noticed it the moment they stepped out of their dorm room this morning. In the entire dorm building, the students stood in front of the opened doors of their rooms and discussed and whispered. None of them looked up or paid Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry any heed as they trotted past them, so invested were all of them in their intense conversations. Their faces showed varying degrees of interest for what they were talking about, from curiosity and excitement to worry and concern. A few looked frightened even, but none of them answered as the two confused fillies asked what this was all about.
The same picture offered itself to Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry in the school's courtyard and in the cafeteria during breakfast; hushed whispers, excited discussions and anxious questions from curious, worried or scared faces. The same happened in the classrooms, nopony but them seemed to be able to focus on the lessons and their teachers had to call for attention a couple times. The sisters got more and more curious by the minute, yet all they could gather were word fragments such as “dangerous”, “Everfree Forest”, “shapeshifting” or “monster”.
Only during their third lesson, as Headmare Twilight entered the room and interrupted their teacher, the mystery got solved for them, somewhat. But the information they got was still vague. After quietly talking with Professor Applejack for a few minutes, the headmare took position in front of the teacher's desk to make a statement.
“Since yesterday afternoon, there is a certain rumor making the rounds in Ponyville and, as I can see, it makes you all very anxious and distracted,” she had begun to address the class. Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry had pricked up their ears in an instant. “But I want to assure you all that there is no reason to be worried or scared. The creature that was spotted at the edges of the Everfree Forest has not left the forest so far and the Pillars of Equestria have an eye on the situation. They monitor the forest day and night and if the creature should leave it, they are more than capable to take care of it.”
She had stopped for a moment, to let her eyes glide over the students and their attentive faces, before she finished her statement. 	“Please don't be in panic over the sightings. Ponyville and the school are well-protected and we do everything to keep you all safe. Thank you for your attention. Now, please return to your studies and don't worry anymore. We have the situation under control.”
The information she gave had been as basic as possible. As she said goodbye to their teacher and left the classroom, Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry were almost as clueless as before. The behavior of the students and of the faculty was one big mystery to them and the explanation by their headmare had only increased it and raised even more questions in their minds. The feeling of having missed something very important steadily increased for them. Only as lunchtime came, they should finally receive some real answers.
When Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry entered the cafeteria again hours later, the students were talking even more passionately than before. Shrugging their shoulders, the two of them got themselves a meal each, then searched for a table. In the middle of the room, Raspberry Dazzle spotted them and waved, her cheeks bulging with food. The pink unicorn filly with the blue pigtails beckoned them to join her table and pointed at two free seats to her left. The rest of the round table was occupied by Sandbar and his friends, Headmare Twilight's six star students who saved the school and all of Equestria from Cozy Glow's plan, just a short time before summer vacation.
Hyper Sonic's eyes zeroed in on Yona almost instantly and she huffed, her look a deep frown. She was about to say something to her little sister, but Gooseberry had already dashed off for the table. Hyper Sonic closed her eyes, sighed and shook her head.
Arrived at the table herself, she was sitting down only reluctantly. Yona was sitting as far away from her as it was possible, which caused a small feeling of relief in Hyper Sonic. She made herself comfortable in her seat, but not without taking her narrowed eyes off Yona.
At the other side of Gooseberry, Raspberry Dazzle noticed the stern look she gave the yak. She swallowed to free her mouth. “So you are worried about it, too, Hyper,” she stated, matter-of-factly.
The words of the young unicorn broke Hyper Sonic's concentration on Yona. She turned at Raspberry Dazzle. “Worried about what?”
Raspberry swallowed again. “About what?” she repeated, a little shock in her voice. “About the skinwalker, of course! It's talked about in all of Ponyville since yesterday!”
Hyper Sonic looked away from Raspberry and observed the students around them. All of them, without a single exception, were talking about something in a very bewildered way. Headmare Twilight had surely planned to calm their minds by addressing and explaining the situation, but the effect her statement in front of the classes had was evidently quite the opposite. The entire school was in turmoil and on alert.
Hyper Sonic looked back at the unicorn. To her right, Gooseberry was doing the same.
“I haven't heard anything about it,” Hyper Sonic clarified. “Gooseberry and I are wondering what everypony is so agitated about for the entire morning already.”
The disbelief in Raspberry Dazzle's face grew. But before she could voice any of it, someone else began to clear up the confusion. It was the creature Hyper Sonic favored for an explanation the least.
“Skinwalker old yak legend,” Yona spoke, looking at Hyper Sonic with a reverent expression. “Though, not really legend. Yaks know they are real. Skinwalker mean bad things.”
Hyper Sonic rolled her eyes. “Of course it had to be something from a yak legend,” she growled. But the words came out muffled and only she understood them.
“Now you two know, finally.” Raspberry Dazzle nodded.
Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry didn't know anything. Once more they had gotten an answer that only created more questions for them. Only Gooseberry was interested in asking them, though. Hyper Sonic, finally starting to eat, looked grimly down at her plate. There was a clear annoyance in her face.
“And what's a skinwalker, Yona?” Gooseberry chirped, then popped a purple berry into her mouth.
“Yona will explain to late filly.” The rest of the table looked disinterested, only Gooseberry stared at Yona with fascination and curiosity.
Yona continued. “Skinwalker come from very deep and dark caves. But not normal caves. Yakyakistan many caves has, but yaks not allowed to go into all of them.”
“Why not?” Gooseberry interrupted, the suspense already captivating her. Her eyes grew a little.
“Because some caves dangerous, with evil magic at the bottom. Yaks mark these caves with rune signs. Signs not able to contain evil, because yaks not able to use magic, but signs warn from entering. And–”
“And if they do, they don't come out anymore.....” Hyper Sonic growled again, this time audible enough for everyone on the table to understand. “That's a boring and predictable story. Like all yak stories are.”
“Not right.” Yona shook her head, looking at Hyper Sonic sternly. Her face darkened. “Yaks who enter forbidden caves come back. But not as yaks.” Yona stopped, letting the sentence linger in the air.
A cold shiver crept down Gooseberry's spine. “A-As what do they come back then?” she stammered.
Yona looked at the younger of the sisters again. “Yaks come back as skinwalkers. After going into forbidden caves, yaks have magic. But don't look like yaks anymore. And magic allow yaks to transform into animals. But sometimes skinwalkers transform into yaks again and hide in tribe. When tribe has skinwalkers, more and more yaks disappear. Skinwalkers eat them.”
Gooseberry gulped. She glanced around in the cafeteria, suddenly feeling nervous and scared. “A-And can they turn into ponies, too?” She broke out in sweat and began to shiver.
“Yona not know. But possible. Skinwalkers master of deception, like changelings were.” Noticing Gooseberry's fear, Yona's face softened. “But filly not have to be worried. Skinwalkers very old and yak borders were closed for long time. No yak ever heard of skinwalkers turning into ponies.”
“B-But now a skinwalker is h-here.” Some tears appeared in Gooseberry's eyes. She turned at her big sister. “H-Hyper, I'm scared,” she whimpered.
Hyper Sonic looked over at her, now with a noticeably softer expression. “It's a yak legend, Gooseberry. You know what's to think of these legends. It will be okay, there is no reason to be scared.”
Gooseberry sniffed, the reassurance not having much effect.
Yona looked at Hyper Sonic again, with the same stern expression as before. “What wrong about yak story?”
“Like that it's all made up,” Hyper Sonic responded. “You can't seriously believe that caves with dark magic turn yaks into flesh-eating monsters. It's ridiculous!”
Yona huffed and trembled, but she did not shoot back.
Hyper Sonic turned towards Gooseberry again. “Don't be scared. These are just old stories that some yak came up with at a campfire one night.” After exchanging a glance with Raspberry Dazzle, the two fillies switched places. Hyper Sonic wrapped a wing over her shaking younger sister and pulled her close.
“Yona not making up story. Yaks good storytellers, but this story true.” There was defiance in Yona's eyes and a little hurt.
Hyper Sonic gave her a glare. “You better stop talking about your yak horror stories and scaring my sister with them, or–”
“Or what?” Gallus interferred. He had watched the scene silently for the past few minutes, with a growing anger in his face. “You better stop talking down on my friend unless you want to find out if your hooves are as strong as my claws and my beak.”
The open threat caused Hyper Sonic to shift attention over to the griffon. Aggression crept onto her face, making the tension palpable for everyone around the table.
“What, big filly?” Gallus sneered. “Can't take it if a creature challenges your rascism?” He stared into Hyper Sonic's eyes.
The remark gave Hyper Sonic the feeling like something was snapping inside of her. Slowly, while still holding Gooseberry, she placed her forehooves on the white surface of the table and got up. She looked like she was ready to launch herself at Gallus.


Outside of the cafeteria, Twilight had a different problem and a different kind of tension to deal with. Despite her speech, the student body was still on edge. Applejack and the others had reported that, in the lessons following her speech, the students were even more busy discussing the sightings than before.
The strange creature that was spotted the previous day was no real threat, not by all means, enough powerful fighters were taking care of it. But her students did not seem to understand this and were still scared. “Or worse,” she thought to herself and scrunched her face. “Maybe they do understand it and they are excited because of it.” Twilight sighed and looked to the side, at the pony who was accompanying her on the way to the cafeteria.
Since she had founded her school, she and her friends had been able to deal with everything on their own. But for this particular problem, she needed help from somepony else. A pony who could succeed with austerity where her kindness had failed. She was not above accepting help if she needed it, but contacting the EEA for it still felt like a defeat, after the struggles it had caused for her school at the very beginning. Twilight sighed again.
To her left, Chancellor Neighsay acknowledged the reaction with a glance. “Is something not right?” he asked. His voice sounded slightly condescending. A trait of the sort that never goes away, not even after a change of heart, Twilight figured. She composed herself and looked at the chancellor.
“No, everything is fine,” she spoke with confidence. “I am very glad you could come at such short notice. The students just need a stricter voice today. I'm sure it won't take long to calm them.”
“I see,” Chancellor Neighsay replied. “I suppose the trouble you are dealing with doesn't have to do with five creatures today, is it?” A smile played around his lips.
“No.....” Twilight's ears flattened. “They have never caused any trouble. The entire student body is a little difficult today.”
“Of course.” The smile left the chancellor's lips and he radiated more professionalism again. “Don't worry, princess, the EEA still approves of your school, pony students or not.”
“Good. We are almost there,” Twilight responded. She looked ahead of her, a frown on her face. “Some habits really never change, it seems. That, or the chancellor has developed a really bad sense of humor since he was here the last time.”
Twilight and Chancellor Neighsay entered the cafeteria side by side. The students did not even notice the highly esteemed guest. They talked and discussed feverishly like they had done since the early morning, not paying any attention to their surroundings.
Chancellor Neighsay looked around in the large hall, observing the situation. His eyes locked onto the table in the middle of it. A pegasus filly nearly stood on the table, giving a hateful glare to the griffon who sat opposite of her. Gallus, he recalled the name of the foreign student. The griffon was brash, that much he had heard about him, but seeing a filly as aggressive and bold as this one was new terrain. His lips curled upwards as he focused his attention on the filly. “It looks like we came just in the right moment, princess.”
Twilight followed his eyes and froze. An open hostility like this, in a school that teaches friendship..... She could not allow that the head of the EEA witnesses a fight between two students. Twilight set up a stern expression and began to march towards them.
Chancellor Neighsay lifted a hoof off the floor and held her back. “Let me handle this, princess. As you already said, this situation requires a strict voice.” He did a step forward. “Students of the Friendship School!” he bellowed.
The voice that rang so suddenly into their ears was loud and pervasive enough to stop their intense chatting and to make every pony and creature look up and into the direction it came from. Most of the students gasped as they realized who had called them.
The chancellor scrutinized the students with a stern glare. Some of them gulped. He fought back an urge to smile at the display of submission. After a few intimidating moments of silence, he continued.
“It has come to my attention that your lessons have been less effective today.” He began to trot up and down in front of the gathered students with their half-finished lunches. “All of this because you heard tales and stories of a beast that stalks the Everfree Forest. A skinwalker.” He stopped and his eyes locked onto Yona. The yak gave him a frown.
“I am here to tell you” – he continued his pacing – “that these stories are uneducated nonsense!” Chancellor Neighsay's voice rose in volume at the last word. “The Everfree Forest, as a lot of you should know, is full of wild, untamed beasts, monsters and demons. It has been like this for centuries. What you heard about yesterday is nothing but another of the forest's spawns.”
A murmur went through the cafeteria as some of the students began to ponder the explanation.
“Silence!” the chancellor roared. The murmurs died immediately. “Your disrespect for Princess Twilight Sparkle's lessons is deplorable. Phantasms of shapeshifting yaks with dark magic are more important to you than following your curriculum. As head of the EEA, I cannot allow such a disobedience to occur. Is it your intent to damage the reputation of your headmare's school?”
The students looked at him silently, with widely opened mouths and fearful faces. No one spoke a word.
“Answer my question!”
“N-No,” a short, meek response came from the end of the hall.
Chancellor Neighsay nodded. “Good. I will take this lonely answer as an answer by all of you. If it is true what you said, then you better stop listening to yak fairy tales and return your attention to your lessons. If not.....” He paused for a moment to increase the weight of his words. “I will return and shut this school down again.”
Twilight twitched at these words and her heart sunk. But the threat took effect. One by one, the students turned away from the chancellor and refocused their attention to the rest of their meals. Silently, and with a mix of shock and regret on their faces, they continued eating. None of them was looking at the other.
The only ones who still acted differently were Yona and Hyper Sonic. The former narrowed her eyes at the chancellor, which he acknowledged with a sardonic smile, the latter still glared at Gallus. Chancellor Neighsay cast another lasting glance over the aggressive filly his eyes had caught on after entering, then he turned around and trotted out of the cafeteria, with loud, menacing hoofsteps. He was sure he could feel the twitches the students made with each of his steps as he left. Twilight hurried after him.
In the middle of the cafeteria, the tense situation slowly eased. “Hyper?” Gooseberry asked and tugged at her sister's tail. The younger filly was shaking even more now, the loud, scary voice by the chancellor having startled her.
Hyper Sonic sat down and tended to her sister. Even Gallus ceased his smug, confrontational stares and continued eating. Silence had fallen over them like a large and thick blanket that suffocated their voices.
Out of all of them, only Yona still felt that she was able to say something. “Yak story true. Yona leaves.” The yak got up from her seat and trudged to the entrance of the cafeteria. All except Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry looked after Yona with bleak expressions. A trail of sniffs followed her until she was gone.
> Chapter 9: A Symphony of Threat and Terror
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
As Rainbow Dash stepped onto the grounds of the friendship school at night, the air was permeated by the presence of something that was ominous. The towering building loomed in front of her, blacker than the nightsky, the dark windows indistinguishable from the rest of the structure. Rainbow Dash sucked in air through her closed, gritted teeth as she ventured forth.
Patches of fog wavered over the inner courtyard. Howling preceded a stiff, cold breeze that blew over Rainbow Dash's body and flung her mane and tail violently to the side. Rainbow Dash shivered and it wasn't from the drop in temperature. The tiny light of a candle she was carrying with one wing was protected from the wind by a tightly shut door at the front side of the lantern that contained it. Rainbow Dash braced herself and took the path to the left.
The inside of the dorm building was pitchblack. Holding the lantern in a tight grip, Rainbow Dash moved from door to door and checked if they were closed and locked. Under a few of them, a thin line of yellow light shone out into the corridor. Startled noises and whimpering could be heard behind those doors when Rainbow Dash pulled at the handle.
As she was finished with her task and had found all of the doors locked, Rainbow Dash took up position in the middle of one of the corridors and focused on her surroundings. She stood completely still and listened into the silence. As a dull sound of something falling occurred, her head yanked around. A complaint and some bickering followed, emerging from one of the students' rooms.
“So you aren't here.” Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. At least the students who stayed at the school during the semester were safe. She left the dorms and locked the building again.
The courtyard looked the same as before. But the serenity of the moonlit place in the middle of the school grounds felt treacherous to Rainbow Dash. The moon's light did not reach into all its corners, so she decided to still check in the few remaining shadows. Behind a tree, she was sure of having found a trace of what she was searching for. But upon taking a closer look, the tiny, black shreds between the blades of grass were nothing but crumbs of a piece of chocolate, that a student who sought silence and solitude must have eaten there. Rainbow Dash picked up the crumbs and dropped them into one of the trash cans that were spread out over the courtyard.
A sharp howling let her blood freeze and caused her to turn around swiftly. “Hello?” It wasn't the wind this time. She couldn't tell where the howling had come from, but it had been very loud, so it happened close by. Rainbow Dash looked over the entire courtyard, but saw nothing. If her prey would leave one of the few spots of shadow, she would notice it immediately thanks to the moon's bright light. But in this moment, just when Rainbow Dash felt secure and advantageous, a stray cloud in the sky became a traitor and blocked the moon. Rainbow Dash let out an intense curse. And as if something was taking the advantage for itself, she heard a sound a second later.
Thin and pointy, it was clicking somewhere in the courtyard. Like the tip of a pencil had been tapped onto a hard surface. Silence followed, but it wasn't for long until the sound happened again. Closer, but still not traceable. As it happened a third time, it seemed to be farther away again. Something was playing a game with her.
“Who is there?” Rainbow Dash shouted into the darkness, even though she knew the answer. The thing responded with another clicking. This time it sounded like it was right next to her and Rainbow Dash jumped. Her instincts told her to fly for the tree she had just examined, but her body was stiff. Frozen from fear.
Click. Click. Click.
Each occurrence of the eerie sound was followed up with a few seconds of silence, but these pauses became shorter and shorter now. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Soon, the sounds came from all corners of the courtyard, combining themselves into a symphony of threat and terror. A symphony played by an orchestra of sharp claws. Rainbow Dash would never admit this but, in this moment, she felt like wetting herself.
Then the sounds were suddenly over. The orchestra had stopped playing and the courtyard lay in serene silence like before. The stray cloud moved away and gave free the light of the moon. Rainbow Dash's agitated and tormented nerves calmed down. She needed a few minutes until she could move her limbs, then another few minutes before she gathered the courage to trot across the courtyard. Shivering at the prospect of what awaited her, she entered the empty school building.
The door fell into its lock behind her and the echo that reverberated through the corridors made her twitch. The bang had been loud enough that the thing must have heard it. All of her senses were on high alert. She expected to hear something clicking, but the corridors stayed quiet. Gulping, she moved onwards, beginning her search in this all-encompassing darkness.
The orange glow from the candle inside the lantern only created a small circle of light around her. Merely a second passed between the lantern lighting up the immediate spot in front of her and her hoof stepping on it. Not enough time to react to a sudden attack once she saw claws trailing through the air or the feet of the monster she hunted right now appearing in her vision. If it was close to her, it had all it needed for a successful, preemptive strike.
The darkness worked against her in finding her way through the school corridors. A long trot through the agonizing silence that the near solitude in the building created strained the teacher's nerves. Rainbow Dash felt like she was about to burst. “Why is Twilight thinking that I'm the most qualified to hunt down this freakish monster? Why can't the Pillars or Luna do it instead? They have all the strength and powerful magic for this. I'm just a pegasus.” In her fear, Rainbow Dash had forgotten her high self-esteem and confidence. And worse than that, for the first time in her life, she didn't care about it.
After wandering through the darkness like a lost soul in search of a better place, Rainbow Dash finally braced herself and entered one of the classrooms. The silence inside was suffocating. While she at least could have heard the wind from outside when she was in the corridor, now even that was gone. The silence wrapped itself around her head like cotton, drowning out all her senses. Only her fear remained and pounded ever stronger in her chest.
The floor was littered with books. The evacuation of the school had to happen fast, that's what they were telling her. Carefully, Rainbow Dash set her hoof down between the books. She distracted herself by pondering how Twilight would react if she damaged even just one book while making her way through the room and a smile flitted across her face.
Between the desks, the floor was free. Dash increased her tempo as she moved past them to the back end of the classroom. “Getting this over and done with as fast as possible,” she uttered into the black void around her. No one was there to hear her, except for the wooden desks whose shapes menacingly towered around her in the faint light of her lantern, but it made her better to speak her thoughts out loud. “I shouldn't be here.”
Rainbow Dash took a turn after she passed the last row of desks. She gave the remainder of the room a quick check, then hurried back to the front through the other small corridor that was formed by the desks. This classroom was clean and having determined that, she left it quickly. As she closed the door behind her, the thought of locking it crossed her mind. Locking all the rooms she checked would give the monster less space to hide in. Unfortunately, none of the doors inside the school building had any locks. Rainbow Dash sighed as she proceeded.
The second classroom offered the same impression as the first one. A deafening silence and books strewn about. Twilight and Chancellor Neighsay had done their best efforts, but the panic during the evacuation was more than evident. Yona's detailed tales about the skinwalker had kept the entire student body in a tight grip. The only difference to the first classroom was that some of the desks here were tilted and broke the pattern. Rainbow Dash could not tell whether panicking students had moved them when they left or if the monster she was hunting had caused the disorganization. Neither did it matter to her, the room was empty like the first one, she had to close it and move on.
None of the other classrooms were much different. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if she felt relief or dismay over the fact that she couldn't find the monster in any of them. Her fear, the silence and the darkness became combined into a blur as she went on and checked one classroom after the other. The dull, monotonous feeling only lessened again as she opened the door to the headmare's office, the last room on this side of the building.
It was brighter than the others, as the moon shone into it through the large window behind Twilight's desk. With one glance, Rainbow Dash could tell that no one was here. Only the other side of the desk was escaping her view, but a quick look behind it confirmed that no one was there, either. Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath as she left the office again with a pounding heart, the search getting to her. She turned around and plucked the key ring off her back. Twilight's office stored files with sensitive information and even some of the school's financial assets, so it had a lock, at least one place that she definitely wouldn't have to check twice.
The other side of the first floor consisted almost solely of one large room: The cafeteria. Attached to it was the kitchen, equipped with enough capacities to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for more than fifty students, at least half of which stayed in the dorms during the ongoing school year, and as such not much smaller than the cafeteria. The only other rooms were a small lounge for the kitchen staff and a corresponding set of toilets. Rainbow Dash chose the hardest of these options as the first one.
Already as she did the first step into the cafeteria, Rainbow Dash could feel that something wasn't right. She could not see nor hear any abnormalities, but there was a palpable feeling of wrongness in the air. She wasn't alone anymore, that was something Rainbow Dash could feel as much as she could feel that the temperature was suddenly lower than normal. Her lantern trembled as she began to shiver with cold. But she forced herself to go on, the task that had been assigned to her was too important to run and flee, so she stepped inside fully. This one step brought a sense of oblation over Rainbow Dash, like she had just sacrificed herself for the greater good of the friendship school and its students. There was no doubt, what was in here was able to kill her.
The fiend she was hunting did not show itself immediately. Her eyes tried to pierce the darkness as she cautiously set one hoof in front of the other, which proved to be useless, but it also wasn't necessary to confirm what was here. The school had been evacuated and the dorms were under lockdown, so there was only one possible candidate for the presence she could feel in the massive cafeteria.
“Black. Long and scrawny legs. A head like a wolf, but without ears. Small, yellow eyes. No tail. A mouth full of sharp teeth. And a skin like a reptile,” Rainbow Dash recalled the description she had been given.
After a few minutes that were uneventful, a circumstance that only strained Rainbow Dash's nerves even more, she stepped on something and yelped in pain. The sharp intrusion she could feel in her hoof overpowered her fear and made her sit down instinctively. As she shone her lantern at the spot, she could see small, black objects of a longish shape sticking in the floor. Another one of the strange objects was sticking in her left forehoof. Blood was welling out at its sides and as she grabbed it and pulled at it, a small fountain of blood squirted from the small slash wound it left behind.
Rainbow Dash stared at it, horrified over the blood that kept leaking. If this made her slower..... She didn't get around to finish the thought. Suddenly, something heavy tackled into her back and she fell over. A screech that came from a throat of demonic property tormented her ear drums, like the sound alone was made of sharp claws that sought to incapacitate her. Rainbow Dash was being pressed onto the floor by a body that felt scrawny, but seemed to possess the strength of three stallions. An arctic-cold breath touched her neck and Rainbow Dash's heart constricted. She had stepped into a trap.
Rainbow Dash struggled and tried to kick her hindlegs to free herself, but the monster held her entire body in a tight grip and kept her pressed down on the floor so much that it was painful. Rainbow Dash stopped struggling and exhaled sharply. She could not fold out her wings, either, something that might have helped her by giving the skinwalker a surprise slap with her left wing to hopefully distract it enough that its grip becomes less tight. Her right wing was still holding the lantern.
Above her, sharp teeth came closer to her face. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and moved her head slightly to look in front of her, the only movement she could make. The cold breath of the monster chilling her face, she focused on the situation and let her thoughts race to find a solution.
She could not throw the monster off of her, it was too heavy for that. Her legs were locked in place by the otherworldly thing, even her forelegs squeezed between her chest and the floor. They began to feel numb now. Her left wing was folded in and the weight on top of her made it impossible to expand it. Her right wing was holding the lantern. She was able to move it, but she couldn't risk that the light of the candle went out. Losing the lantern would mean that she was doomed, even if she would manage to throw the monster off of her and run away. This thing could see much better in the dark than she would ever be able to, without a light, it would catch her unprepared at the next opportunity. There was only one thing left she could do. A sacrifice, but in this situation, she could afford making it.
Rainbow Dash moved her head again, as she felt the teeth of the monster almost touching the skin of her cheek. She turned it to the right and away from the monster, then lifted it as high as she could and tilted it to the left again, until her ear was near the jaws of the monster. Rainbow Dash noticed that it stopped for a moment, taken aback by the unexpected movement or maybe pondering if it should accept the “gift”.
Rainbow Dash knew the decision was made when she felt the excruciating pain of the monster digging its teeth into her left ear and starting to feast on it. Rainbow Dash clenched her mouth and eyes shut, waiting until the moment when she would become used to the pain. Losing one ear was easier to deal with than a hole in her cheek. Warm blood trickled down the remains of her ear and at the side of her head, providing some relief from the cold breath of the monster. And now it had stepped into her trap.
Rainbow Dash tensed the muscles in her forelegs and stemmed against the monster's body as soon as she felt its grip becoming looser. In the same moment, she kicked the monster's abdomen with one of her hindlegs and thrust her left ear deeply into the mouth of the skinwalker. With a painful tug, she felt the rest of her ear getting torn off as the teeth of her captor clenched down by instinct. Rainbow Dash couldn't see it, but she could imagine how a torrent of blood was gushing down the monster's throat right now. With a bit of luck, too much blood at once.....
The monster started coughing and the grip of it became even weaker. Luck was on her side. Rainbow Dash stemmed herself up once more and added another kick. Grabbing her opponent's face with her right hoof, she shoved the skinwalker off her head and finally regained full control of her body. What remained of her left ear was burning and felt hot, but Rainbow Dash ignored the pain and pressed on. Teeth clenched, she grabbed the lantern tighter and galloped for her life, towards the exit of the cafeteria. The coughing continued behind her, she was safe, for the time being. Rainbow Dash burst through the door and fled down the corridor. As her eyes caught a glimpse of the stairs that led to the second floor right next to her, she took a sharp turn to the right, bumped into the banister and continued her way up, fueled by the desire to get away from the monster as fast as she could and by imaginary teeth that were reaching for her flank.
Arrived on the second floor, Rainbow Dash forced herself to slow down. She turned around and gazed down the stairs into the impenetrable darkness that spread out below her. Her attentive ears could not hear any clicking on the wooden stairs. The silence gave her relief. The monster didn't know where she was now, it was impossible it could tell the direction she had chosen with its coughing fit. But it would search for her as soon as it had recovered. And, despite that it had no visible ears, it could hear. She had to go unnoticed, at least, until her injury was taken care of and she had calmed down.
Rainbow Dash peered up at her left ear, unable to see it, but able to detect it by its throbbing pain. She needed a mirror and some bandages. Fast. Rainbow Dash gulped, increased the grip around her lantern and ventured forth into the darkness of the second floor that surrounded her on all sides.


The infirmary was at the very end of the corridor. On the way there, Rainbow Dash had listened sharply and twitched at every single, minor sound. Now she was sitting on a table, door closed and locked and additionally barricaded with crates of unpacked medical utensils. The bleeding of her ear had nearly stopped, after her shaking hooves clad it into pressure bandages. Rainbow Dash was still shivering from head to hooves. The circulating thoughts in her head told her that she had to go out there again soon, but she hesitated. She had fought against changelings in the past, but this skinwalker monstrosity was something else. Changelings never tried to consume your flesh.....
Rainbow Dash shook the thought away, emitting a whimper as her ear started to throb again, and got down from the table. It couldn't be long anymore. This had to be over soon. She had seen and confronted the monster once already, so this entire task couldn't take too long anymore.
Pushing herself into action, Rainbow Dash removed the crates from the door and braced herself. The monster was not out there, during the entire time of nursing her wound, she hadn't heard a single, clicking step in front of the infirmary's door. She was still safe, for now, and the fact the monster hadn't been here meant it still didn't know where she was now, that it was still searching for her. It gave her an advantage, if she could find the monster first and surprise it..... Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, took a deep breath and unlocked the door.
The classrooms on the second floor delivered no results. She had been through a couple of them, all of them showing the same chaos, but all of them also empty. If the monster even was up here on the second floor, maybe it was hiding itself now, the thought crossed Rainbow Dash. If that was the case, the skinwalker would be easy prey from here on out. But was her pitiful escape really enough to leave an impression like that? The thought soothed her, but she doubted it.
Rainbow Dash was still pondering this question while entering the next classroom, as she heard something stir at the back of it. Quickly, her head yanked into the direction the sound had come from, even though she couldn't see anything. Something had moved and then suddenly froze as she entered. She heard breathing, clear and distinctive in the otherwise complete silence around her.
“W-Who's there?” Rainbow Dash asked, loudly. “Show yourself, you coward, and come to finish what you started!” The yelling made her feel brave, but Rainbow Dash didn't know if it would be enough to calm her nerves in the long run.
Something scraped over the floor. A desk moved a few inches forward, as the creature that hid in the darkness bumped into it. In her mind, Rainbow Dash saw the skinwalker suddenly cowering in fear behind that desk. A mental picture that was completely baseless, she had given the monster nothing to be afraid of her, but it gave Rainbow Dash more confidence.
“Come out right now or I'm pulling you out of there!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Anger was vibrating in her voice now, as her lost ear entered her mind again. She could hear the monster shiver in the darkness. Where the fear of the skinwalker suddenly came from was something she had no clue about, but Rainbow Dash was eager to use it to her full advantage. “OUT OF THERE NOW OR I'M GETTING YOU!” she screamed.
The monster jumped, knocking the desk over. It stood still for a few seconds, before it hesitantly scurried to the front. The face Rainbow Dash stared into as her candle lit it up was not the face of a skinwalker, though.
“Yona not needing to be pulled out. Not be mad at Yona, Professor Dash. Please no more screaming a Yona.” The entire body of the yak was shaking as she stepped towards her teacher in a slow tempo.
“Yona?!” Rainbow Dash brought a hoof on her face and slowly let it glide down over her mouth, groaning and eyes wide from disbelief. “What are you doing here?! Didn't the headmare give you clear instructions to stay inside the dorms? And how did you even get out?”
“Please not be mad at Yona,” the yak student repeated again. She ducked her head. “Yona lockpicked. Yaks good at lockpicking with their horns. Please, not be mad.”
Rainbow Dash's eyes became furious. “You gotta be..... Do you even have any idea how dangerous it is here in the school right now?!”
“Yona knows, skinwalker old yak legend. But Yona needed book from classroom. Yona forgot, not able to do her homework without it.” She gave Rainbow Dash an apologetic, sheepish smile.
“All of that for a book?! Do you think Twilight..... the headmare, cares more about some freaking book than the lives of her students? What were you thinking to make such a DUMB thing?!”
Yona twitched at the short raise of her teacher's voice. She didn't say more and stared at Rainbow Dash, frozen in place. Faint tears were in the corner of her eyes.
Rainbow Dash kept her strict expression for a few more seconds, before she sighed and shook her head. “That was a really dumb thing to do,” she repeated, calmer now. “This thing could have sliced you to pieces..... Just look at my ear!”
Yona perked up again, not from joy, though. In the dim light of the candle, her eyes fell onto the bloody bandages that were wrapped around what remained of Rainbow Dash's left ear. Her mouth opened wide as she gasped in shock. “Yona didn't know!” she shouted. “Yona sorry, should have fought skinwalker herself! Yona knows monster better than Professor Dash!” A genuine, sad look of regret built on Yona's face. “Professor Dash should be hiding and Yona take out skinwalker..... Maybe even Yona's fault why it's here.....”
Rainbow Dash sighed again. “No..... It's my task. You go back to the dorms, I'll bring you there. Do you have your book now?” The teacher rolled her eyes.
“Yona has.” The yak nodded.
“Fine. Then follow me.” Rainbow Dash turned around and motioned for the exit of the classroom. Yona trotted closely behind her, head still ducked and eyes locked onto Rainbow Dash as she closed the distance between them.
“And no lockpicking this time once you are back, the school isn't a–” Rainbow Dash started a new sentence as she stepped out onto the corridor, but couldn't finish it. The yak behind her rammed into her with the full force of her heavy, massive body, pushing her further out into the corridor. Rainbow Dash got knocked to the floor by the weight and one horn of the yak barely missed her face. She turned onto her back and tried to get up, but found herself immediately pinned down. Horrified, she watched as Yona's eyes, her mouth, her ears and even her nostrils emitted a cold, blue glow. It spread out and engulfed her entire body and as the glow had vanished, the black body of the skinwalker towered above her.
Rainbow Dash didn't waste time and gave the monster a hit into the face. It emitted a low howl as its head got yanked to the side, but there wasn't any effect beside this, the grip of the skinwalker did not become weaker. But Rainbow Dash's position worked in her favor this time. Driven by fury and by fear, she let her forehooves come down on the face of the monster over and over again, while holding the lantern in a tight grip with her wing. The skinwalker was still physically stronger than her, but Rainbow Dash's fear gave her unknown strength.
As she finally felt the grip loosening, Rainbow Dash immediately seized the advantage and knocked her opponent off of her. She grabbed the beast while it was paralyzed for a moment and dragged it towards one of the windows. “How about I give you some flying lessons?” she mocked her prey. “Let's see what you can still bite off if you land face forward on the courtyard.” Before she could push the skinwalker through the window, though, the monster regained some control. It threw its head back, hitting Rainbow Dash's injured ear. Rainbow Dash shrieked from pain and surprise and stumbled back.
While she still recovered from the pain, the skinwalker lunged at her and its fangs bit deep into her left shoulder. It immediately distracted Rainbow Dash from the throbbing pain in her ear. She felt trails of blood run down her foreleg. Rainbow Dash lashed out with her left forehoof and grabbed the monster at its throat. Her other forehoof pressed against the monster's face, she tried to force it to release the bite. When it didn't budge, Rainbow Dash started to punch the eyes of the skinwalker.
The fangs released her shoulder after three punches. Now putting both her forehooves at its throat, Rainbow Dash pushed the monster, that was now writhing in pain, away from her. As she had enough space for greater maneuvers, Rainbow Dash got up on her hindlegs. She kept holding the monster in a tight grip at its throat, jumped and slammed her back hooves into its stomach. Her lantern fell down and shattered on the floor. The light around her grew dimmer, but she could still see the monster. The attack caused it to smash against the window. Cracks appeared in the glass, but it didn't shatter. With a last concentration of her muscle strength, Rainbow Dash slammed into the monster. The window gave way. For a short moment, Rainbow Dash could see the skinwalker floating in the moonlight above the courtyard, then gravity pulled it down and she heard an impact a few seconds later.
Rainbow Dash swayed. Panting, she sat down next to her broken lantern to rest. The candle's light was still glowing weakly. Before it could go out, Rainbow Dash picked it up. Holding it protectively in her hooves, Rainbow Dash waited to regain her breath and for the pain in her body to lessen enough that she could move again. She looked over to the window. Her eyes focusing on the moon in the nightsky, she listened for sounds from below.....

The skinwalker's body lay where it was supposed to be. Aided by the moonlight and the tiny light of the candle that was left, Rainbow Dash looked upon the mangled body. One of its legs had been broken and completely turned around by the fall and a pool of blood had collected under its body. Rainbow Dash sighed in relief before she turned around and looked up to the moon.
“It's over,” she said. “I won.”
In response to her proclamation of victory, the moon flickered. A black silhouette appeared on it. It became bigger as it flew closer. At the same time, the entrance of the dorms opened and Hyper Sonic set hoof onto the courtyard. She came steadily and in a brisk tempo towards Rainbow Dash.
“Hey!” the young pegasus filly greeted her. “You really got it, didn't you?” Admiration filled her voice.
“Of course I did!” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves. “Nothing but an easy task for me.”
“An easy task, huh?” Hyper Sonic teased her, playfully. She looked up at Rainbow Dash's injured and still bandaged ear and smirked. But the expression left her face soon and was replaced with concern. Some guilt shone from her eyes.
The bandages around Rainbow Dash's ear bulged. They ripped and fell off, revealing a complete and unscathed ear. Rainbow Dash grabbed the bloody bandages from the side of her face and tossed them casually onto the ground, where they disappeared a second later. As Hyper Sonic directed her eyes onto Rainbow Dash's shoulder, the bite marks that were left there by the skinwalker disappeared, as well. The wounds healed instantly and new skin and hair grew over them. The blood vanished from her coat and it returned to its pristine condition.
Finally, Hyper Sonic looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes, now wearing an apologetic and relieved smile. “The skinwalker went a little far.....” she commented on the injuries Rainbow Dash had sustained. ”Do you feel alright?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and came closer. “D'uh! I'm Rainbow Dash, I lived through harder injuries without even flinching!” She reached out and ruffled through her young trainer's mane. The mare could still feel an afterglow of the pain, but she hid it expertly.
Hyper Sonic lowered her head slightly and laughed. Everything was okay, as far as she could observe. Giving her creation, the skinwalker, so much free will had been a risk, but everything had turned out fine in the end.
As Hyper Sonic looked up again, Luna was landing next to her and Rainbow Dash. “Congratulations, Rainbow Dash,” the night princess spoke. “This was your biggest challenge yet and you passed with flying colors.” Her lips curled up as she looked into Rainbow Dash's face. “Even though you barely used your wings for this test. Which made it all the more impressive. I am glad you decided to continue your training.”
“Yeah, very funny,” Rainbow Dash ignored the joke, her voice becoming more unsteady now. “That thing could have killed me, though. You saw what it did to my ear!”
“Oh, no,” Hyper Sonic objected. “I wasn't making the skinwalker that strong. I only gave it as much strength that an adult pegasus has a good chance of defeating it. And I was watching it the entire time, if it would have gotten anywhere close to killing you, I would have made it vanish instantly.” She gave Rainbow Dash a look of confidence and reassurance.
“Alright, kiddo,” Rainbow Dash responded. “Not like I would expect you would try to kill me. But still. The eart part wasn't funny.” She looked over at Luna and her voice rose with concern. “You said that injuries in a dream physically affect the body. So, what is this going to do to my ear?”
Luna smiled at the anxious pegasus mare. “Not much, do not worry, Rainbow Dash. Your brain told your ear that it's gone, but it takes a while for the flesh to necrotize. In the worst case, if a dream injury like this lasts for a few hours, the affected body part only starts to decay and some pieces that are already necrotized have to be scrapped off by a doctor to save the rest of it. But they usually grow back with time.”
Rainbow Dash turned white under her coat. She looked for any traces of a joke in Luna's face, but there weren't any. “S-Seriously?”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash. But there is no concern in your case. During this dream scenario, barely an hour passed in the waking world, and this was not enough time for your ear to start its decay. It will be perfect and healthy once you wake up, just like you know it. For your shoulder.....” Luna cast down her eyes and looked at it, guessing Rainbow Dash's next question. “It will hurt slightly for a little while longer and there might be tiny, internal bleedings, but nothing that would require treatment.” She looked back into her face. “You will be perfectly okay, Rainbow Dash. Remember, all of these dreams are just training scenarios. Neither I nor Hyper Sonic will ever seriously endanger you. It is important that you are prepared for the dangers of real nightmares, however, so we cannot be too gentle with you, either.” Next to Luna, Hyper Sonic nodded with a stern face.
“Okay, then.....” Rainbow Dash answered the explanation. “But I hope the next training session won't be as crazy as that one.” She gave Hyper Sonic a smirk. “You got wild ideas, kiddo.”
Feeling that the tension was gone, now that Luna had confirmed that Rainbow Dash would be fine, a determined and proud expression appeared on Hyper Sonic's face. She narrowed her eyes at the older pegasus and stuck out her tongue.
“We will see,” Luna commented enigmatically on Rainbow Dash's request. “I do not know what our young lucid dreamer has in store for you and neither have I made own plans for the next training scenario. For now, though, it is time to rest. The night is far from over, but the training today was especially exhausting for you, Rainbow Dash. You will need a much longer, peaceful sleep tonight.”
Hyper Sonic turned at Luna and frowned.
“I'm still okay,” Rainbow Dash told the princess. “I feel good enough for another scenario tonight!”
Luna closed her eyes and shook her head in a slow tempo. Her cheerful demeanor from a few minutes ago had changed. “No, Rainbow Dash. It is important not to strain the mind of a new dreamwalker too much. You are only a pegasus. You need rest.”
Rainbow Dash and Hyper Sonic gave each other puzzled looks.
“We will see each other again in the next night,” Luna continued. “Until then, sleep well and rest up. This night was a special challenge and you need to recover, Rainbow Dash.” Having said these words, Luna took off and flew upwards. She wrapped her wings around her body and disappeared in a bright flash of light. A second later, Rainbow Dash disappeared. For a split-second, she could see Hyper Sonic waving at her, then she woke up in her own bed.
Rainbow Dash sat up and rubbed over her head. It was like Luna said, she indeed felt a little pain in her left shoulder. But not enough that she would be concerned about it. Her ear was hurting a little bit, as well, but a quick check with her hoof confirmed that everything was okay with it.
Rainbow Dash lay down again and turned to the other side of her bed. She was not feeling exhausted yet, nor more tired than it was to expect during the night, yet Luna had ended this training session earlier than it would have been necessary with the time that was left. The alarm clock on her nightstand showed that it was just a little past midnight. To her own surprise, it dawned on Rainbow Dash that she would have liked to continue and do more in this night.
“Maybe there really is something about all this dreamwalker business.....” was her last thought before she fell asleep again.
> Chapter 10: Death from the Sky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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With swift agility, Rainbow Dash dove to the right as a ball of fire came down from the sky. She felt its heat for a second and sweat broke out on her body, then it soared past her. Rainbow Dash turned around and followed the meteorite with her eyes. A town lay below her and the meteorite aimed straight for it. Her heart sank, fully aware that she could do nothing to stop it.
It was early in the morning and the ponies of the town went about their business. A blue stallion at the edge of town just opened a window on the first floor of his house and stretched himself while taking a good sniff of the air. Rainbow Dash could see other ponies who did the same thing and her eyes flitted around between them.
Not far away from the center of the little town was a group of foals. They trotted towards a relatively large building. It had a playground next to it and a bell tower, though, Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if it was a school or a kindergarden. But the foals headed to the building, some of them wearing little, green sashes around their bodies. They chatted happily, with cute smiles on their faces. Some pegasi foals were flying through the air above the little crowd of young earth ponies and unicorns.
In the middle of the town were market stalls and the customers talked with the sellers and merchants or marvelled about their products. They praised their goods or hectically argued for a discount. One customer looked angry and heavily gestured at some fruits at a farmer's stall. It was a typical market scene, like it happened in all small towns of Equestria. Rainbow Dash shivered as she realized that this rural idyll would end forever very soon. The fact that it wasn't actually real changed nothing for her. It looked real and it felt real, so for her mind, it was real.
Nearby, a strong and bulky, brown earth pony stallion pulled a cart. It was filled with produce, Rainbow Dash could spot apples, pears, grapes, tomatoes, beans and many fruits and vegetables more. He seemed to be on the way to the stall with the angry, gesturing customer.
Several other ponies trotted around the town. Rainbow Dash imagined how they were on their way to work or maybe returned back home from a nightshift somewhere. Or maybe some of them were just using the nice weather for a morning trot. Her eyes caught a purple earth pony mare with sunglasses who was jogging at the edge of the town. The town was full of life. Life that, if she wasn't successful, would find a painful, burning end soon.
At the market, a younger filly who Rainbow Dash estimated to be four or five, reached for a red and white, spiral-shaped lollipop on a stall full of chocolate and sweets. The candy seller, an orange unicorn stallion with a red mane, raised a hoof to remind the filly that she has to pay first. His strict expression was softened by an understanding smile, though. The little unicorn was just about to start licking the lollipop, her appetite drowning out the reminder by the stallion, as a sound from above caught her attention and she turned around. Her mouth opened wide and her yellow eyes turned to pinpricks as she saw the fiery trail of death coming towards her. A second later, the face of the filly turned red and she started to cry and dropped the lollipop onto the ground.
Startled by the sudden reaction of fear, the candy seller followed the outstretched hoof of the filly that pointed at the sky after he asked her what's wrong. His own eyes turned to pinpricks then and his face became pale. Wasting no time, he grabbed the filly's hoof and pulled her along, attempting to flee from the approaching meteorite. Around them, more ponies took notice and a wild panic broke out.
A few other ponies pointed at the sky and shrieked in fear, causing the rest of them to look up. All the ponies at the market and the foals at the large building with the bell tower were staring at the sky now and saw the meteorite that came to destroy them. Horror and fear distorted their faces. More foals began to cry, some of them frozen in place from how scared they were, others beginning to run for their lives. A few of them fled into the large building, perhaps in the feeble hope that its sturdy walls would offer protection. Panic broke out all over the little town.
The only calm pony Rainbow Dash could spot was the jogging mare. She stood between two houses, watching the meteorite with a mix of fascination and fear. That mare thought of herself as safe and she was probably right. Rainbow Dash followed the meteorite's path with her eyes. From her position, she estimated it to go down near the town center. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a mint-green earth pony mare stand on her balcony, then rushing inside her house.
More ponies began to run and Rainbow Dash began to fly. The deadly ball of fire was flying fast, but outpacing a meteorite had to be possible if it meant to save the lives of approximately hundred ponies that formed the population of a countryside town. Young foals included.
Rainbow Dash gave her best. The meteorite was far ahead of her already. She cursed herself for having wasted so much time with observing the townsponies. Knowing the potential killcount of a town that faced an apocalyptic catastrophe was useless if she couldn't reduce it. A sonic rainboom was the only thing that could still help her to bring the mint-green mare to safety. But she was still in the process of preparing it, flying faster and faster, as the meteorite hit the mare's house. The house got pierced by it, then the meteorite exploded as it impacted on the ground and the walls of the house got blown away. Rainbow Dash bit her lower lip. She didn't see the mare leaving the house, but maybe she could seek shelter in a cellar that went down deep enough. As she was close to the house, though, Rainbow Dash had to admit that this hope had been in vain.
Rainbow Dash looked down at a deep crater, the scorched-black wooden walls of the house bordering it. It was a crater far deeper than an average pony who lives in a small town would build their cellar. Rainbow Dash landed in the crater and looked around. Above her loomed what was left of the cottage. A breeze made a piece of black wood come loose and it fell down next to her. Rainbow Dash couldn't see the body of the mare anywhere, but what she could see was that she was surrounded by ashes. Her head hanging low, Rainbow Dash dragged herself out of the crater and the ruins of the mare's home and landed next to the fountain on the town square. She sniffed and sighed. Deep inside, she was aware that everything was a dream and nothing more. But on the surface of her mind, the emotions were the same.
Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky. Her eyes found Hyper Sonic, who hovered above the houses in a high altitude. Her face showed satisfaction, the filly was clearly happy about it that she was able to think up another scenario that kept her occupied and helped her training. This was the only emotion in her face, though. Hyper Sonic was the master of her dream and she knew it. Rainbow Dash gulped.
Other ponies, ponies who were tougher than she was, would shrug everything off as just a dream scenario. Rainbow Dash had a softer core under her hard shell, though. She always felt empathy for other ponies and even though she knew that all of this was just a dream, the realism of her surroundings was more than enough to trigger her empathy. They were dream constructs, figments of imagination that acted sentient, but she had to save them. Rainbow Dash gave Hyper Sonic another look, then she turned around and looked at the sky, into the direction she had come from when she began to fly to attempt saving the mint-green mare. And she saw exactly what she expected. More meteorites were on their way. She had to act fast.
Around her, the panic continued in an untamed way. Ponies were running, she heard foals shrieking or crying for their parents. Stressed and unsure about who she should save first, Rainbow Dash's eyes darted around. She couldn't determine who the next meteorite aimed for yet. Next to her, the stallion who pulled the cart was running away fast. The cart was still attached to his body. In the next moment, Rainbow Dash could see that he stumbled as a small eruption went through his cart. He looked behind and scrunched his face in worries. One wheel of the carts was stuck in a road hole. The stallion pulled at the cart with all his might, several times, but in spite of all his muscles and his strength, it did not budge. Rainbow Dash cocked her head. It was weird. She could have sworn that the hole in the road hadn't been there a second ago. Rainbow Dash looked up at Hyper Sonic again, who smirked back. “Of course.....” she uttered, feeling enlightened, but in a dark way.
Rainbow Dash rushed at the stallion's side. Another look into the sky had confirmed her that the next meteorite was indeed aiming for the struggling stallion. He had given up trying to get the cart wheel free and was now in the process of slipping out of the harness that attached the cart to him. But even this was to no avail. The harness refused to go over his head, no matter how much he strained his neck. He was trapped.
“Sadistic,” it came over Rainbow Dash's lips as she tried to get the harness off herself. But like the stallion before, she failed. Rainbow Dash started sweating and another look into the sky made clear why. The ball of fire who came to claim another victim was almost here. In panic, Rainbow Dash pulled at the stuck wheel. She pulled with her hooves first, then used her wings, then stepped behind it and started to push. It finally moved an inch, but before she could push it over the hole's edge, it rolled back. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sighed, exhausted and hopeless. She flapped her wings and flew away into a safe distance, just in time for the meteorite to hit the brown stallion with full force. His heavy, muscular body gave in to the celestial object immediately. He got knocked down without eliciting a scream and only a second later, his body got covered by a brightly burning fire whose flames shot up high into the air. All of which Rainbow Dash had to witness while she was flying backwards into safety.
As Rainbow Dash averted her gaze from the fire and fell onto the farmer's market stall, her eyes saw something unexpected. Undeterred by all the panic around them and the apocalyptic menace that came down from the sky, the customer and the farmer were still bickering and arguing. The customer, a male unicorn, gestured at the produce furiously, while the farmer was wearing an apologetic, patient face and occasionally lifted a fruit or vegetable to hold them in front of his customer. Rainbow Dash could see stress glimmering in his eyes, though. She had no idea what the two were talking about exactly, the screams and the loud clopping of hooves drowned out their voices, but her empathy for the unicorn quickly weakened as she watched the scene unfold. The farmer began cowering down in fear as he tried to reason with his customer. But a pony was a pony. She had to save both of them.
Rainbow Dash knew they were next, without looking at the sky. She flew over to them fast and landed next to the yelling customer. “Hey, how about you go and flee, like the rest of the town?” she questioned their behavior. Her own voice was filled with stress. “Really, how can you not notice what's going on here? Your town is the target of a gigantic meteorite shower!”
None of them reacted. They kept talking and arguing and the customer continued his bickering without even looking at her. Only the farmer gave her a glance, but it was like the meaning of her words didn't reach him. Rainbow Dash stared at them, her eyes bulging.
“HELLO?!” she yelled now. “You two are about to die! Aren't your lives more important than discussing the quality standard of fruits and vegetables?!”
Nothing. No response and not even a look anymore. Rainbow Dash groaned. She grabbed the customer's ear and brought her mouth close to it. “YOU. ARE. DYING! A METEORITE WILL BURN YOU ALIVE ANY MOMENT!”
The angry customer yanked his head to the side, freeing his ear from her grasp, and continued. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in frustration. She jumped over the table of the stall, knocking down some fruits in the process, and directed her attention at the farmer. She pulled at him from behind and slowly got him to move away from the stall, his tail clenched between her teeth. Rainbow Dash felt that he fought her attempt to rescue her, but she was stronger than him and so she just kept pulling him out of the danger zone. Her eyes fell on the angry customer, who gestured the farmer to come back, but he still did not move away from the stall. There was nothing she could do for him.
For the farmer, though, her intervention didn't come too early. Just far away enough that Rainbow Dash estimated they were out of the explosion radius now, his stall got pierced by the next fireball. The impact of the meteorite flung the fruits and vegetables to all sides, some of them cooked by the sudden heat, and a banana landed in the mouth of the impossible to please customer, finally forcing him to be quiet. His pupils shrunk, then he had enough time to look angrily down at the fruit, before the wave of fire engulfed him and he collapsed, screaming loudly.
The farmer's eyes widened in terror and he ripped his tail out of Rainbow Dash's mouth. “My products!” he shouted in despair and ran for his stall.
“Wait, what are you doing?!” Rainbow Dash shouted after him, spitting out some orange hairs. But it was too late. The farmer jumped into the flames and disappeared behind the wall of fire.
Rainbow Dash stood there, dejected, and watched. A thought rose up in her mind, but she pushed it away. “Gotta try harder,” she mumbled and turned for the next target. The meteorite that should hit it was not far away anymore.
Rainbow Dash looked at the house of the blue stallion, who she had spotted as the first pony of the little town. His house stood at the edges of the town, but now the meteorites were aiming to crash down even there. The stallion was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't at the window anymore. She couldn't spot him at any of the other windows, either. The door was closed and Rainbow Dash crashed into it and burst together with the door into the little house. The stallion looked up startled, standing next to a hatch in the floor that had been covered by a rug. “What are you doing in my house?” he asked. “You should better leave and get yourself to safety!”
Rainbow Dash facehoofed. “You are the one who should bring yourself to safety! I am the rescuer here!”
The stallion looked confused, but did not respond. He turned away from Rainbow Dash and reached for the hatch. Using one of his wings, he pulled it open. “I'll be safe down there,” he said, climbing inside. “You should leave the town as fast as you can and go back where you came from.”
“No, you won't!” Rainbow Dash shot back. She ran for the hatch and tried to grab the stallion and pull him out, but the hatch closed before she could reach him. She heard a clicking sound from below it. Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof against the wood of the hatch, knocking loudly. “Come out! This is all just a dream, but I still need to save you!”
“If it's just a dream, then nothing can hurt me,” the faint voice of the stallion answered.
“Dreams can hurt you!” Rainbow Dash corrected him while she pounded against the hatch, hoping it would crack open. “Luna says dreams can hurt you!”
“Princess Luna? Well, then she should better be the one who comes and rescues me, I bet she is more competent than you are!”
“It doesn't matter how competent I am!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pounding incessantly. “You aren't even real, but I am the one who is tasked with rescuing you and I'm not going to watch how you die in here!”
“Not real? What are you even talking about?!” The voice of the stallion rose with his anger. “You are crazy, finally get out of my house!”
Rainbow Dash ignored the demand and kept going, but the hatch did not open. As the roaring sound of the approaching meteorite entered her ears, Rainbow Dash knew that it was too late. She left the house, ears hanging low, and braced herself for the impact. The meteorite hit fast and hard. Rainbow Dash stared down another crater, reaching far into the depths of the earth. She stared for a few seconds, wings shaking, then she forced herself to turn away and looked for the jogging mare.
She found her in some meters distance. The meteorites were coming down in quicker succession now and the mare was a constant target. She was running but, unlike the other ponies, dodged the meteorites with ease. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. She had nothing to do here. Having verified that the mare could take care of herself, Rainbow Dash Dash turned again and searched for the candy seller and the young filly. The situation wasn't as relaxed for the two of them.
The filly was running ahead now. Her tiny, pink hooves carried her faster than the candy seller's hooves did. He panted and had trouble to keep pace with the youthful pony. The meteorites were hitting the ground left and right of them, some coming dangerously close to the duo. As Rainbow Dash started flying, she had to witness how the candy seller got maimed by one of the deadly projectiles. She flew faster, eyes focused on the filly, who was hit by the shock wave and flung away. The filly drifted helplessly over the ground, wailing from pain as her skin got cut open by small rocks and the soil itself. She laid still after the shock wave had worn off and Rainbow Dash already feared the worst, but then she got up on her hooves and ran again, trickles of blood running down her legs. Fearful, the filly climbed up a nearby tree, perhaps hoping for protection by the thick branches. But while she still climbed, more meteorites shook the ground around her and the combined energy of the new shock waves blasted her off the tree. Rainbow Dash had to watch helplessly as her head hit a large rock and cracked open. She stopped flying and hovered on the spot, biting her lip as she looked at the outcome of the horrific accident.
“It can't be..... Why do I keep failing to save these ponies? What's going on?!” She forced herself to look away and flew back to the jogging earth pony mare. The mare was still dodging the meteorites, but more of them came down now and they came down in a faster tempo. The mare was sweating and gritted her teeth. Her sunglasses were gone, revealing green eyes that looked hectically around. And before Rainbow Dash could reach her, she too was hit. One of her attempts of dodging failed and she became the center of a massive explosion. Rainbow Dash shielded her eyes from the burning brightness. As she looked down again, all she could see was the black, burnt skeleton of the mare. She was lying on the side and her mouth was wide open. Her legs were bent like she was still running.
Only one target was left anymore now. Rainbow Dash couldn't see any more ponies running for safety and most of the houses were black ruins now. The town was littered with corpses and black skeletons. Reminders of her failure. But she knew where ponies hid, one group of foals left that she could save.....
Rainbow Dash flew straight for the large building with the bell tower, having to dodge meteorites herself now. She landed in front of the door and inside. The foals in the building gasped and turned around. “Close the door!” one filly hissed in fear.
Rainbow Dash did not listen. She ignored the filly and came towards her, then grabbed her hoof with haste. “Come with me!” she spoke nervously, almost snapping at the filly.
“Ow, you hurt me!” the filly complained and pulled back her hoof. Instantly, many young eyes rested on Rainbow Dash. They all frowned.
Rainbow Dash breathed out sharply. She turned around and glared at the foals. The filly she had just tried to drag out of the building was starting to say something, but then closed her mouth and looked at Rainbow Dash in fear.The reason for that was apparent in Rainbow Dash's eyes; they radiated impatience, nervousness and anger. She came a step closer to the foals, huffing.
“I'm only going to explain this once,” she said. “All of you are going to follow me outside, if you want to or not.” She did another step forward, her movement sharp and quick.
The foals retreated further, gasping in fear.
“That's not a request, it's a demand,” Rainbow Dash added. With her desire to save them and her fear of failing again, she did not realize how her demeanor looked for the foals. “It's scary outside, but it's not safer in here.” The thunderous roar of dozens of meteorites that destroyed the rest of the town now underlined her words. “And that's why you will come with me now. All of you. I won't say it again.” She came towards them again, not stopping anymore this time. “I am going to fly you outside now and if I have to do it with force.”
Some of the foals gulped, others just kept staring in fear. Finally, one of them found the courage to speak up. “I-It's safe in here,” a colt at the front stammered. “W-We don't need to go outside. Our s-school has strong walls.”
“NONSENSE!” Rainbow Dash yelled, still coming closer.
The foals started to whimper and huddled closer to each other. A few of them began outright crying because of the scary mare in front of them.
“All of you talk nonsense!” Rainbow Dash continued. “I've seen what these things do, your ridiculous school won't save you!”
The foals did not move anymore. Frozen in fear, they looked at Rainbow Dash. As she had reached them, she grabbed the filly's hoof again, demonstratively. She did it as sharp as before, but the filly did not pull back anymore. “All of you will follow me outside now.” As she pulled at the filly's hoof, though, the filly still did not move. And neither did any of the other foals make any attempts at leaving the building. They kept sitting in place and stared at her, wordlessly.
Rainbow Dash prepared another speech, but before she could begin to talk, a shock wave knocked her down right in front of the gathered foals. One of the meteorites had hit the entrance of the schoolhouse. A fire broke out behind Rainbow Dash and as she was back on her four hooves and checked the damage, it became clear there was no way out here anymore. Rainbow Dash stared at a wall of fire.
“Is there a backdoor?” Rainbow Dash asked the foals, turning around at them.
The foals shook their heads. “No, we're not leaving,” the filly, whose hoof she had just been holding a moment ago, said. Her voice was shivering, but conviction to stay was ringing in it.
“I don't have time for this.....” Rainbow Dash growled. “BACKDOOR OR NOT?” she bellowed at the foals.
An answer was not needed anymore. Another meteorite hit the school and destroyed the rooms at the backside of the building. Walls of fire were in front of them and behind them now. And the fire quickly spread to the sides of the building, igniting the rest of it. Soon, Rainbow Dash and the foals were completely surrounded by fire. Even the roof truss was burning. Orange sparks rained down on them. The air smelled hot.
Rainbow Dash's head shot around, as she looked for something that could still save them. There was nothing. “I told you..... I told you..... I told you that it isn't safe in here.....” her nervous voice rang out.
The foals did not respond anymore. All of them were crying now, without restraint. They hugged each other. Some of the younger foals were hiding their faces in the manes of the older foals. There were twelve foals trapped in the school with Rainbow Dash, colts and fillies, and they formed one large, weeping bundle now. There was no rescue for them in sight, no way to get out of the building and nothing to extinguish the fire with. The staccato of meteorite impacts outside had stopped, but now this didn't matter anymore. The foals were going to die.
The only rescue arrived for Rainbow Dash herself. All of a sudden, as the flames came dangerously close to her tail, Rainbow Dash found herself surrounded by a midnight-blue sphere. It was her sign that it was over, that her newest training scenario had ended. Yet, for some reason, neither the foals, nor the building around her disappeared. She was still there, as the flames came closer and closer. “That's going too far now.....” Rainbow Dash trembled.
The flames eventually passed Rainbow Dash inside the magic sphere and reached the foals. Like before, Rainbow Dash could only watch, but it was far more horrible this time. The foals retreated away from the flames, fighting for every last inch that wasn't burning. Then they reached the fire at the other side and had to stop. It was only a minute later, that the flames began to reach for their manes and tails. They set ablaze and, huddled up and hugging each other for the last comfort they would ever get in their lives, the fire dug deeply into their bodies. Rainbow Dash wanted to look away, but her guilt made her watch. She failed and so she deserved to see this. The skin of the foals peeled off from the heat, their manes and tails became eaten by the flames and the flesh of their young bodies turned brown. For five minutes, Rainbow Dash watched the whole process and listened to the agonized screams of the foals, then it was over and she could only stare at twelve little, black skeletons anymore. Twelve skeletons that were hugging each other. The sight filled Rainbow Dash's heart with fear.
Finally, the building around her disappeared. The sphere of magic dissipated and Rainbow Dash found herself floating in a black void. Only the skeletons remained. Their eye holes seemed to Rainbow Dash like they were staring at her, even though the foals had their faces turned at each other in their final moments. Behind the foals, Luna suddenly manifested in the void. A second later, Hyper Sonic appeared at her side. Rainbow Dash looked at them. Her eyes were filled with tears now. “Why?” she asked.
Luna closed her eyes for a moment, then she looked straight into Rainbow Dash's face. “You have not failed, Rainbow Dash,” her dark, majestic voice washed over the pegasus mare.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked, weakly. The question was a mere whimper. “But I did..... You saw everything.”
“What happened today was nothing but a demonstration,” Luna continued. “There was no way for you to succeed. Hyper Sonic here has made sure of it.” The filly at her side looked at Rainbow Dash with a sad frown, but stayed where she was.
“Not succeeding?” Rainbow Dash whimpered a response. “But..... how? Why? Why all this?”
Luna and Hyper Sonic came floating closer. “In dreams, you will sometimes see things that you cannot change. Once you have learned everything and become a dreamwalker as experienced as I am, you will be able to alter dreams, to let things appear or vanish, and you will resolve many situations before they escalate. But there will be moments when your intervention does not come soon enough or when a situation repeats itself. The subconscious mind of the foals and ponies you will guard has just as much power as you will have at the end of your training.”
Realization dawned on Rainbow Dash's face, but she did not say anything. Hyper Sonic floated at her side. Her face was stern and, just as wordlessly, she wrapped Rainbow Dash up in a hug. The shivers she felt going through Rainbow Dash's body confirmed Hyper Sonic that it was needed.
“Some things cannot be changed, Rainbow Dash, no matter how hard we try. Every dreamwalker needs to learn how to cope with seeing events they cannot stop. It is the most important lesson for a new dreamwalker.” Luna's eyes seemed to become misty for a moment, but through her tears, Rainbow Dash was not sure if they really did or if it was just her obstructed vision. She wiped her tears away to see more clearly.
“For tonight, we are done,” Luna concluded.
Rainbow Dash nodded. Unlike last night, she had no problems with giving her agreement.
“You have received five important lessons over the last week, Rainbow Dash. Not everything can be learned in dream scenarios like those you experienced and more lessons will follow, but I think you are ready for the next step now.”
“The next step?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeling slightly wary.
“In the coming night, you will assist your first foal with a dream. It will be something easy to start, don't worry.” Luna's lips curled up and she turned at Hyper Sonic. “Our lucid dreamer already knows. Her little sister agreed to help, as well. She is not a big fan like Hyper Sonic, but the offer of helping Equestria's new dreamwalker excited her still.”
Rainbow Dash wasn't sure what to feel. “Will it be relaxing?” was all she could say.
“Compared with tonight's scenario, how could it not?” Luna chuckled, before she became serious again. “But, yes, for it is going to be your first time, it will be something light to gain practice. The filly we are going to visit is not known for troublesome nightmares.”
“Okay. I guess that's a relief,” Rainbow Dash replied, slightly sarcastic.
Luna nodded. “The night is almost over. You and Hyper Sonic have to get ready for your day and I will get ready for a day of sleep. We can discuss any questions you might have once we meet here again.”
Rainbow Dash gave her a nod in return, silently agreeing. A second later, she disappeared and Luna and Hyper Sonic stayed behind alone.
Hyper Sonic turned at Luna. The frown was still in her face. “Is she going to be okay?”
“I assure you, young Hyper Sonic. I have chosen Rainbow Dash because of her mental strength, among other things. The horrors a dreamwalker can witness in others' dreams willl not affect her much.”
“Horrors like today?” Hyper Sonic's frown became a little deeper.
“Yes. And many, much more horrible things,” Luna explained in a dark tone, before her voice switched to a more upbeat one again. “But this is nothing you should be concerned about, young Hyper Sonic. Becoming a dreamwalker is not your path in life. Be content with the abilities you already possess.” Her voice became darker again. “Asking for too much easily leads to misery and pain. Now, excuse me. The sun is rising and it is time for me to sleep. Farewell.” Without awaiting a response, Luna disappeared.
Hyper Sonic, now alone in her dream, scrunched her face and pondered the response she had been given. She thought about it until she woke up.
.
> Chapter 11: Gooseberry's Grief
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Inside an ice cream parlor in Canterlot, on a round table in the middle of it, Gooseberry was sitting surrounded by her big sister and her mother, Candy Wave. Gooseberry was happily snacking away at a huge portion of chocolate ice cream that towered in a bowl in front of her. Time and time again, her spoon dug into the delicious, brown mass and filled her mouth with it, causing her cheeks to bulge. The happiness spread out to Hyper Sonic and Candy Wave and infected them. Content and satisfied, they smiled over at Gooseberry as she kept shoveling ice cream.
Not far in the distance, Rainbow Dash, Luna and Hyper Sonic stood on a street in front of the parlor, watching the scene through the open door. Life was bustling around them, ponies of the mountain city and Equestria's capitol going about their business. A chubby, turquoise mare looked behind her and shouted at somepony to follow her, then ran past the trio. Luna noticed with amusement how Hyper Sonic stared in disbelief at the table inside the parlor. She leaned down to her.
“How does it feel to see yourself in a dream, young Hyper Sonic?”
Hyper Sonic stammered and opened and closed her mouth like a fish. “It's..... weird,” was all she could say after a couple seconds, nearly speechless by the sight.
Luna chuckled. “Even for a natural lucid dreamer, the realm of dreams offers new experiences.” She brought her head higher again and looked at Rainbow Dash. “This is your challenge for tonight, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash observed the happy scene that played out in front of them. “A challenge?” She tilted her head. “Doesn't look like much of a challenge to me.”
“We shall see,” Luna commented simply, nodding her head once. “Go a little closer and watch them.”
Rainbow Dash did as told. As she entered the parlor, none of the ponies looked up at her. She knew that Gooseberry was the only real one, after Luna's short briefing from last night. But that was the only thing she could spot that she would describe as “strange”. Rainbow Dash took up position closer to the table, just a few wingflaps away, and observed the three ponies.
Gooseberry had a mountain of chocolate in front of her mouth, as she had already noticed before. “That's an unusually big amount of ice cream for a filly her age. I wonder if she can even eat all that,” Rainbow Dash questioned. “But foals are known for having a huge appetite, so not too unusual, I guess.”
She redirected her attention to Gooseberry's company. Hyper Sonic and Candy Wave had much more moderate amounts of ice cream in their bowls. Hyper Sonic's portion was slightly bigger than her mom's, but the amount still wasn't anything crazy. Her ice cream was red, with a tint of orange color that made it look fiery. “Strawberry ice cream,” Rainbow Dash deducted. “Definitely strawberry.”
Candy Wave's ice cream was pink, she confirmed with a short glance, then looked away from it quickly and set her focus on the entirety of the scene again.
All three of them were eating peacefully. Hyper Sonic and Candy Wave wore content smiles, like they had already done as she watched them from outside. Gooseberry's face was pure happiness, the kind of look only a filly who relished in her wildest dreams becoming true could have. There was nothing wrong with this whatsoever.
Wrinkles appeared on Rainbow Dash's forehead. She shifted attention to the table. A pink cloth covered it, slightly hanging down over the edges. In the middle was a blue, transparent vase. It was half-filled with water and a single dandelion flower was in it. The bowls from which the three ponies around the table ate their ice cream had the same color as the vase, but that was the only remarkable thing Rainbow Dash could spot in the design of the table's decoration. Everything else looked completely ordinary.
The amount of ice cream Gooseberry devoured and the matching designs of the vase and the bowls were the only two things that struck Rainbow Dash as notable. But the only thing that was actually unusual was the fact that Gooseberry was the only pony at this table who was real and alive, not imaginary. But even this was to expect in a dream..... Suddenly, it clicked in Rainbow Dash's head. Gooseberry was real. Hyper Sonic and Candy Wave weren't. She flashed a look over her shoulder at the real Hyper Sonic who still stood with Luna in front of the ice cream parlor, then looked back at the table. Hyper Sonic was with Gooseberry all the time. But her..... More lights went on in Rainbow Dash's head.
Convinced of having found the answer, Rainbow Dash stepped at Gooseberry's side and addressed the filly. “Hey, are you missing your mom?”
Gooseberry's eyes and mouth opened wide and she froze. The spoon dropped out of her hoof and landed next to her bowl, leaving a stain there. The chocolate ice cream in the bowl melted at a high speed and turned into a substance akin to chocolate milk. It was flowing onto the table, too much for the small bowl to contain it, and changed the color of the table cloth where it spread out. The dandelion in its vase withered and its petals became brown. The imaginary pictures of Hyper Sonic and Candy Wave turned grey, then flickered and slowly dissolved like their bodies had become liquid, until they suddenly disappeared. Gooseberry slumped in her seat, sat motionless for a second, then her body started to rock slightly and some tears dropped out of her eyes.
Motivated by the sight, Luna and Hyper Sonic came and joined Rainbow Dash at the table. “You figured right, “Luna confirmed. “Although, it is not the purpose of a dreamwalker to trigger the grief of a pony by being too direct, Rainbow Dash.” The princess of dreams leaned down at the dead dandelion. “A dreamwalker is not supposed to destroy a happy dream.” She gently blew at the flower and the dandelion came back to life and raised its head, the yellow color of it restored.
Both Hyper Sonic and Luna took up position at Gooseberry's side. Luna was first with reacting. She unfolded her right wing and draped it over Gooseberry's back. “I see your happy dream is about to turn into a nightmare. Is there anything that is bothering you, Gooseberry?”
Rainbow Dash watched from the sidelines and took mental notes. This was a much more diplomatic and gentle approach than her own had been.
Gooseberry lifted her head and looked at Luna with teary eyes. “There is.....” she said in a weepy voice. “I miss mom.”
The information came to nopony's surprise. Rainbow Dash had just figured it out moments ago, Luna was the one who had chosen this problem as the first one Rainbow Dash should assist with and Hyper Sonic of course knew the woes of her little sister all too well. The older filly reached out and pulled her sister closer, Luna's wing sliding off Gooseberry's back in the process. She gave her a tight hug. “We're going to see mom again during hearth's warming vacation. It's only a few months anymore and you gotta stay strong until then, Gooseberry, or else mom will be sad.”
Gooseberry sniffed at Hyper Sonic's shoulder. But the words seemed to have taken effect, as she wiped over her nose and forced herself to a smile, while nestling her face into Hyper Sonic's short mane. “I'll try, Hyper,” she whispered with her soft voice.
The two sisters maintained their embrace for a minute, then separated. Gooseberry sat down on her chair proper again and Hyper Sonic took seat on the chair her image had been sitting on. The ice cream of her own image and her mother's was still intact. Hyper Sonic grabbed a spoon and began to eat something of the ice cream in front of her, while Luna took seat next to her and Rainbow Dash was sitting down opposite of her.
In front of Gooseberry appeared a fresh portion of chocolate ice cream and the mess around her bowl got magically cleaned up, courtesy of Luna's glowing horn. Gooseberry's smile returned and she dug into the ice cream without hesitation. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, watched Hyper Sonic eat. “You're enjoying your strawberry ice cream?” she asked her, smirking.
“It's chili ice cream, actually,” Hyper Sonic corrected her.
Rainbow Dash's smirk vanished and her lips pointed down while her eyes began to radiate a strangely absent look. “Really, huh?” she asked the filly, doubt in her voice. “It's a dream, so I guess everything works.” Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders.
“I had it before, when I was awake,” Hyper Sonic spoke casually, while consuming her ice cream.
“It's true,” Gooseberry confirmed, in one of the rare moments that her mouth wasn't full. “Hyper gets this super-hot chili ice cream every time we eat here together with mom.” Her ears dropped after she spoke the last sentence and Gooseberry quickly stuffed an extra-full spoon into her mouth to quench a certain feeling that was rising in her heart.
Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open and she didn't say more, only staring at Hyper Sonic.
“A unique sweetness followed by a huge kick which only intensifies in time,” Hyper Sonic described her favourite ice cream with a smirk of her own, teasing the mare in front of her.
Luna held a hoof at her mouth, closed her eyes and broke out into lighthearted giggles. Gooseberry giggled along with her, freed from her momentary sadness again.
Rainbow Dash flashed angry glares at the night princess and the lucid-dreaming filly, red-faced.
As the amused commotion calmed down and Luna returned to her usual composure, she spoke to Rainbow Dash more seriously again. “There is a great rivalry between you and Hyper Sonic, but she is not the filly you are here for tonight. Tonight, your attention should be devoted only to Gooseberry and her little problem.”
Rainbow Dash looked into the direction from where she felt Luna's stare resting on her and raised an eyebrow. “Still?” she asked. “But isn't it, like, already solved?”
Luna shook her head, slowly. “No, Rainbow Dash. Problems like these that weigh heavy on the mind of a young foal are never solved so easily. They are persistent and require long-term care. For now, Gooseberry is merely stable, but her problem keeps haunting her.”
Rainbow Dash looked at the filly to her right and observed how she shoveled ice cream that didn't seem to become less. The skin around her eyes was still red.
“There is still a task for you to do here and this time you need to act more gentle, Rainbow Dash. Be careful not to make the same mistake again.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, without looking back at Luna. She kept watching Gooseberry instead of saying something, trying to figure out the right approach. It took her a few minutes to be ready.
“So, uh, is there anything bothering you?” The almost exact imitation of Luna's sentence from earlier was the best she could think of.
“I'm bothered by this ice cream,” Gooseberry responded. Her voice suddenly had a slightly cheeky tone to it. “It doesn't become less no matter how much I eat.”
Confused by the answer, Rainbow Dash cocked her head. “Don't you like ice cream?” she asked.
“I do.”
“And chocolate ice cream is your favourite, am I right?” Rainbow Dash kept going into this direction with the conversation.
“Um-hm.” Gooseberry nodded, her mouth full with ice cream again.
“And is this your favourite ice cream parlor?” Rainbow Dash looked around and pretended to admire the interior and the table decorations.
Gooseberry swallowed. “It is. We come here every weekend. When Hyper and I are in Canterlot and not in the friendship school.....” There was that feeling rising in her chest again and, once more, Gooseberry quenched it with a big scoop of ice cream. She let it melt on her tongue and enjoyed how it soothed her.
“How do you like it in the school? It's your third year, right?” Rainbow Dash continued.
“Yes, it is. Hyper and I attend it since the beginning.” Gooseberry scooped more chocolate ice cream into her mouth and waited until swallowing before she continued with her answer. “It's nice there and Hyper and I have a lot of fun. But not everything is great.....” She trailed off again and transported more ice cream into her mouth.
“And what's not great?” Rainbow Dash moved closer towards the sensitive point.
Gooseberry stared at her from big eyes, but did not respond. She only kept her attention to her ice cream now.
The silence felt suffocating to Rainbow Dash. Seeking help, she looked at Hyper Sonic, then at Luna. The princess wasn't saying anything, but she gave Rainbow Dash a rather stern look and shook her head in a manner that seemed almost menacing to Rainbow Dash.
The aspiring dreamwalker looked back at Gooseberry. “Uh, what could make it better?” she asked the filly.
No answer and Rainbow Dash's reward was another sight of bulging cheeks.
“Like, what could be in the school to make it greater?” Rainbow Dash did another attempt. “Is there anything we can do to make you enjoy it there more?”
The silence from Gooseberry was persistent. It finally dawned on Rainbow Dash that she was uncomfortably close to the sore spot in Gooseberry's mind. But how was she supposed to help with her problem if Gooseberry refused to talk about it?
Once more desperate for help, Rainbow Dash looked at Luna another time. The face of the princess remained stoic, though. It was a silent expression of it that she had to do this alone. And without a doubt, as somepony who was blessed with the ability to take a look into the mind of others, Luna knew exactly what she was thinking about right now.
Rainbow Dash gulped. She looked back at Gooseberry, who kept devouring her endless supply of ice cream while giving her sceptical glances. Admitting defeat had never been easy for Rainbow Dash and, despite the things she learned in the last couple years, still wasn't. But as it was, she had no choice but to get this over and done with.
“When I.....” Rainbow Dash started and stopped again. Gooseberry watched her with big eyes now. “When I..... When I was a filly..... in flight camp..... in Rainbow Falls..... I..... I missed..... my parents a lot..... It got so bad that..... that I woke up sweating and calling for them in the middle of the night.....”
Instantly after the words had left her lips, Rainbow Dash's face flushed red. She pictured Gooseberry giggling, then pointing at her and laughing, as her chosen image as the pony who was always tough crumbled away and started burning. But Gooseberry was just sitting there and listening. She still wasn't saying anything, but her eyes were glued on Rainbow Dash now and her ears perked up. They were so stiff that they even seemed to vibrate from the tension in them.
Rainbow Dash gulped again, before she pressed on. “What helped me then was talking to another filly from Dodge City. She said she misses her parents, too, and that it helps her to write down what she does every day. I followed her advice and that made missing them easier for me, because it distracted me and writing down everything made me look forward to showing them what I did every day. Maybe the same thing can help you, too.” The words had left her mouth in a long stream without interruption, caused by her desire to finally get past the embarrassing moment. Now, Rainbow Dash panted, while giving Gooseberry nervous looks.
Gooseberry pursed her lips and her eyes became even wider than before. The bowl with chocolate ice cream disappeared. After a few seconds of staring, Gooseberry herself was suddenly gone. Startled, Rainbow Dash turned at Luna. “What happened now? Did I do it wrong?”
“Gooseberry woke up,” Luna clarified. “It happens sometimes when a pony finds an answer to their problem while dreaming.”
“So, it worked? Did telling that embarrassing story do something?” Rainbow Dash's voice was agitated and some anger was carried by it.
Luna nodded. “Your approach was still a little too direct, you could have been gentler still, and there is no guarantee that this solution will help Gooseberry to effectively cope with living separated from her mother. But you gave her a different perspective and for the time being, Gooseberry's sadness has been eased.”
“After telling her about one of the most embarrassing moments in my life,” Rainbow Dash growled.
Luna remained calm and nodded again. “It is one way for a dreamwalker to help, telling about their own experiences and passing them on to other ponies. Last night, you learned the most important lesson for every new dreamwalker. But today's lesson was the most important one for you personally. Remember it well, Rainbow Dash. A dreamwalker cannot afford feelings of embarrassment, for it would hinder their attempts to help.”
Rainbow Dash huffed. Some of the blush was still in her face.
“Be not discouraged,” Luna spoke as the remains of Gooseberry's dream vanished around them. “You did well for your first time. And the future lessons you receive will shape you into the dreamwalker you need to be.”
Rainbow Dash did not reply, but she gave Luna noticeable glares. It had been a taxing night for her. As the sun in the waking world began to rise into the sky and Luna, Rainbow Dash and Hyper Sonic went separate ways until the next night, Rainbow Dash questioned again if becoming a dreamwalker was the right career choice for her.
> Chapter 12: The Wrong Filly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Rainbow Dash was sitting in the bedroom of her cloud house and peered out the window at the moon and the stars. She yawned and her lids were lowered, covering about half of her eyes. A milky vision made it necessary to occasionally reach up and rub her eyes so that she could maintain a proper sight of what was in front of her. In her lap rested an opened Daring Do book and on her nightstand stood a steaming mug of coffee, only half full anymore, next to a large pot. Her alarm clock showed exactly midnight. It had been a day filled with intense Wonderbolts training, but Rainbow Dash refused to go to sleep.
The tired mare reached for her mug and gulped down the coffee in it. She grabbed the pot, refilled, took a sip and then returned her attention to the novel. But concentrating enough to read was hard.
Ever since waking up at morning, Rainbow Dash's thoughts circled around the events of last night. Being a dreamwalker was fun. But it was also exhausting and might just force her to reveal details from her life so embarrassing that she would kill to keep them a secret. And she wasn't able to find an answer on the nagging question whether she should continue her dreamwalker training or not. So, now, she was trying to stay awake as long as possible, to escape the decision she couldn't make.
Rainbow Dash did her best to keep reading, but the words blurred in front of her eyes and her mind had bigger and bigger problems to follow the plot. A few times, she wondered why she suddenly stared at a black wall, only to realize that she had closed her eyes without noticing it. As the desire to lie down on her pillow just for a few minutes became dangerously close to actually making that mistake, Rainbow Dash shook her head, hit her cheeks with both hooves and gulped down the entirety of her mug of coffee at once. She forced herself to continue reading. Sentence by sentence, her eyes flitted over the page in a quick tempo. Halfway through one sentence, a roaring noise from behind her suddenly interrupted her flow. It sounded like something was tearing apart her entire house.
Rainbow Dash dropped the book in shock and tossed her head around to see what it was. In this moment, her bedroom wall along with the door collapsed. Behind the cloudy debris, after the dust had settled, Rainbow Dash's fearful eyes fell upon a huge alligator. The scales on his back were of a dark, green color and yellow spikes were sticking out of them, its underside was of a softer, green color. Narrow, blue eyes glistened at Rainbow Dash and its mouth was full of razor-sharp, yellow teeth. The beast opened its mouth fully and roared, causing a wave of stinking, hot air to blast over Rainbow Dash. Her mane got blown back by the disgusting, foul wind. Rainbow Dash had to suppress the urge to retch as the beast suddenly ran towards her at a frightening speed. She jumped up, ready to fly out, as the alligator suddenly stopped right in front of her bed. Rainbow Dash kept standing on alert, wings flared out, and stared into the eyes of the beast.
On top of the alligator's head, two small, goldenrod hooves appeared and Hyper Sonic pulled herself up the head. She sat down on the head of the alligator and gave Rainbow Dash a teasing, smug look, head raised high, like she was sitting on a throne.
“You?!” Rainbow Dash burst out. “How did you get into my house? Where does this alligator come from? And why do you let him destroy everything?” The questions shot out of Rainbow Dash's mouth.
Hyper Sonic did not respond. Her lips curled up and she lowered her head slightly. A dark shade appeared on her eyes and she gave Rainbow Dash a penetrating look.
Rainbow Dash's pupils constricted. Gulping, she did a step back. She couldn't explain what she was feeling all of a sudden, but a deep, primal fear was filling her heart as the filly stared at her like this. “Hyper Sonic?” she asked, her voice a weak whisper now.
To her left, the still intact wall of her bedroom flickered and a dark, purple portal appeared. Luna stepped out of it and entered Rainbow Dash's bedroom. The dark shade on Hyper Sonic's eyes disappeared and the filly presented Rainbow Dash with a more genuine smile. Underneath her, the alligator dissipated and she dropped onto the floor. Luna stepped closer and presented Rainbow Dash with a smile of her own, although hers was a lot more calming in nature.
“Fear not, Rainbow Dash, you are merely dreaming. Your house is intact and this alligator has never been real,” she explained the mare to take her fears away.
“I'm..... dreaming?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her mouth fell open and she stared at Luna and Hyper Sonic in a baffled manner.
“Indeed. You avoided sleep for a long time this night and Hyper Sonic was getting very impatient. Her assistance in your dreamwalker training is not needed at the moment, but she insisted to join your dreams again and she could hardly wait for you to finally fall asleep. You have to forgive her this little prank she played to get your attention.”
“Little” was not the word that came to Rainbow Dash's mind after this startling intrusion. But she slowly began to calm down. Her heart was already beating slower. “I fell asleep?”
“Yes. You were trying hard to stay awake, but eventually, sleep succeeded and you fell into a slumber during reading your book, Rainbow Dash. You rest lying on your side in your bed now, with the book still in your lap.”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “I didn't notice.”
Luna nodded. “Instantly slipping into a dream while falling to sleep when being deprived of it is very common. I can sense your concern, Rainbow Dash, you are conflicted between becoming a dreamwalker and accepting all the challenges and sacrifices that come with being one and giving away your new dream powers and every fun aspect of dreamwalking again.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Rainbow Dash snarled. “And that little show just now didn't make it any easier!” She huffed and glared at Hyper Sonic, who made another smug face in response.
“Maybe,” Luna spoke. “But tonight, your help is needed. A filly you care greatly for goes through dire troubles. It's important for you to be in her dream tonight.” As she had ended her sentence, Rainbow Dash's cloud house disappeared and all three of them stood in the dream realm. Another second later, Rainbow Dash found herself on a beach.
The waves of the ocean lapped against the sand, washing away some of it and bringing in new sand at the same time. Rainbow Dash turned around. Behind her, where the beach ended, was a large jungle. Exotic trees greeted her and her eyes couldn't pierce through the thick foliage to see what was behind. It was like another ocean, an ocean of green plants and towering tree giants.
“Is she in there?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Luna shook her head, standing next to Hyper Sonic. She lifted a hoof and pointed it into the other direction, at the ocean.
Rainbow Dash turned around again. She scanned the beach, until her eyes found who she was looking for. The identity of the filly was no surprise for her.
To her left and further in the distance, near a cliff that interrupted the beach, sat Scootaloo and stared out into the ocean. She was completely motionless, her forehooves placed firmly in front of herself, her tail wrapped around her hindlegs. Rainbow Dash couldn't see her face and Scootaloo didn't show any inclination to turn around at her. At this distance, Rainbow Dash figured, she probably didn't even notice her, so she decided to come closer.
As she was only a few steps away anymore, Scootaloo finally stirred. She turned her head around at Rainbow Dash and lifted her right foreleg, a sad frown on her face. “So you finally came into one of my dreams,” her voice rasped. A sadness like Rainbow Dash had only heard it in Scootaloo's darkest moments was ringing in it, with a hint of tears and a trace of accusation. Scootaloo looked away again and returned into her former pose, continuing to stare into the ocean.
Rainbow Dash crossed the last little distance between them. “Scoots?” she asked, now standing right behind her. A frown was on her face, too, now. “What's wrong? Luna said you are in trouble.”
“Am I?” Scootaloo asked, in the same tone as before, but slightly cynical now. “I am not in trouble. I am just staring at the ocean.” She paused for a moment. “Its waves are gentle.”
“Gentle?” The answer confused Rainbow Dash and she stepped at Scootaloo's side. “What's wrong, Scoots?” she asked again, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
Scootaloo shook it off. “What's wrong?” she repeated the question. “What is wrong?”
“Well, what is it?” Rainbow Dash asked again, now with more urgency. The behavior of her little sister unnerved her. “What is wrong, Scootaloo?”
“No, you don't understand.....” Scootaloo replied. She moved around now and looked at her. “I'm asking you. What is wrong, Rainbow Dash?”
An eerie feeling befell Rainbow Dash. “I..... What? What do you mean, Scoots?”
Scootaloo kept owing her a clear answer, but she turned to the jungle now and pointed with a hoof into the direction of Luna and Hyper Sonic. “What is with her?” she asked. She put her hoof down again and, without looking at Rainbow Dash, flapped her wings and flew away. On top of the cliff, she landed and sat down again. Scootaloo watched the ocean again from her new vantage point. A few tears fell out of her eyes. She let them drop onto the rock under her, then her eyes were dry again.
Rainbow Dash followed her and landed on the cliff, as well. “Scootaloo?” she asked, coming closer once more. “Why are you so upset?”
Scootaloo turned her head to the side, eyes looking down on the rock under her. “Why did you choose her, not me?” she hissed.
“Her?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head. She looked at Scootaloo for a few moments, pondering her words. Then her face cleared up. She turned around, stepped at the side of the cliff and looked all the way over to the jungle, where Hyper Sonic and Luna still stood, watching her from the distance. “You mean Hyper Sonic? That's who you're talking about?”
“Really smart,” Scootaloo sniffed. “That took you so long to figure out.” Her voice had become more tear-filled. She didn't show Rainbow Dash her face.
Rainbow Dash turned back at Scootaloo and her ears lowered. “Scootaloo, I..... I didn't choose her. I didn't choose Hyper Sonic. Luna did.”
“Yeah?” Scootaloo looked to the side again. Tears glistened in her eyes. “What's the difference? You never even suggested me, did you?” She turned her head back at the ocean and cried in silence.
Rainbow Dash stood frozen as she watched Scootaloo's body rock and tremble. She couldn't deny that it was the truth. It were Luna's words, that Scootaloo doesn't have what Hyper Sonic has. But she had believed those words, had listened to them. Luna knew what's the best for her training. And she didn't question her decision. Especially not after learning about Hyper Sonic's abilities. She had never suggested Scootaloo. She had never even asked Luna if Scootaloo could at least join and watch her training in some nights. Guilt spread out in Rainbow Dash's heart.
“Why not me?” it came from Scootaloo, sobbing now. “We are so close..... You became my big sister..... Why couldn't I be your assistant?”
“Scootaloo..... I..... I couldn't. I couldn't make this decision. Luna..... She said that I need Hyper Sonic's abilities. It was forced on me. I couldn't decide this.....” Rainbow Dash looked at her little sister, helplessly. There wasn't much she could say. The accusation was anything but unfounded, but the damage was done now.
“Luna..... Luna..... Always Luna..... What about you, Rainbow Dash? Why didn't you invite me? Did Princess Luna say no?”
Rainbow Dash looked down. “She..... She didn't.”
“Because you didn't ask her if I could come..... right?” Scootaloo's voice became more hissing again.
Another twinge of guilt constricted Rainbow Dash's heart as she listened to Scootaloo saying exactly the same things that had been in her own thoughts a moment ago. “I'm sorry,” she whispered.
“Why not?” Scootaloo asked, now sobbing again. “Is it because of her abilities?”
Silence from Rainbow Dash.
“Is she better than I am?”
There was no right answer on this question Rainbow Dash could think of.
“Is it because she can fly and I don't?”
Rainbow Dash yanked up her head. “No!” she shouted. “You know that doesn't matter!”
“It does not?” Scootaloo shot back. “Does it matter that I can't fly? She can fly..... Maybe that's why you never invited me to watch your training.”
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and watched Scootaloo with a strained look on her face as the cold words washed over her.
“That's why.....” Scootaloo continued. “That's why you never invite me, because she can fly and I can't!”
“Don't say something so ridiculous!” it finally snapped out of Rainbow Dash. “That you aren't able to fly doesn't matter, it never mattered to me!”
Another sob came from Scootaloo. “You only care about Hyper Sonic and your dreamwalking anymore and you have forgotten about me.” Then there was silence. Her tear-filled eyes focused on the ocean waves.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, inhaling sharply. She breathed out again, before she carefully approached Scootaloo.
“Listen, Scootaloo..... Luna said that Hyper Sonic is a natural-born lucid dreamer. She can make things appear in dreams like nopony else can. That's why Luna chose her as my assistant. And it's true, I am impressed by her abilities, the lucid-dreaming, her bravery..... but not because she can fly.”
Scootaloo looked to the side again, not fully showing her face. “You know I can do lucid-dreaming, too, when Princess Luna comes into one of my dreams.....” She closed her eyes. Her body glowed white for a moment, then her wings had grown four times the size of her body. “But I'm not as good at it as she is.....”
“That's okay, Scootaloo. You can't fly, you can't fight as well as she can and you aren't as good at lucid-dreaming as Hyper Sonic is.” She stepped at Scootaloo's side again and, before Scootaloo could protest, lifted Scootaloo's chin and made her look at her. “But you have your own great abilities. You know how to help a pony with a cutie mark problem. And I bet Hyper Sonic couldn't do stunts on a scooter like you can.”
Scootaloo lowered her eyes, refusing to look at Rainbow Dash.
“You are still amazing, Scootaloo. That never changed for me. I.....” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “..... probably got a little carried away with Hyper Sonic and the things she can do..... But that doesn't mean I forgot about you, Scoots. You're still amazing to me.”
Scootaloo kept looking to the side. Only after a few seconds, she looked into Rainbow Dash's face, but maintained an expression of insecurity. “Really?”
“Of course, squirt. I always believed in you.” Rainbow Dash gave her protégé a smile and her certified face of awesomeness.
“Promise?”
“A 120% promise!”
There was still a frown on Scootaloo's face. “So, can I watch your dreamwalker training from now on? At least some of your training sessions?”
“All of them!” Rainbow Dash guaranteed her. “And if Luna says no, I'll make her say yes!”
“And only I and nopony else?”
Now some nervousness returned onto Rainbow Dash's face. “I can't exactly tell Hyper Sonic to leave..... She's already used to it and it wouldn't be fair to exclude her now. But there's room for both of you in the dream realm!” Rainbow Dash started to smile again.
“Fine.....” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She frowned a little longer while getting accustomed to the idea, then her face became brighter. Her mouth formed a smile and her eyes started to sparkle. Rainbow Dash removed her hoof from under Scootaloo's chin and gave her biggest fan and little sister a noogie. Scootaloo responded with a hug and squeezed Rainbow Dash tightly.
“I see this crisis has been averted,” Luna's voice suddenly rang into their ears. The night princess landed next to them.
Hyper Sonic was at her side and watched the two of them with a smile. As Scootaloo opened her eyes again and saw the other filly, her initial reaction was a frown, but it dissolved as she recalled Rainbow Dash's words of reassurance. She didn't give Hyper Sonic a smile, however.
“This was very much needed,” Luna concluded what happened since they arrived in Scootaloo's dream.
“Yeah, but why?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her and Scootaloo had released their embrace by now and looked at the night princess together. “It wasn't just because to give me and Scootaloo a chance to fix this, right?
“You are right, Rainbow Dash. There was something more to it. I already noticed your sudden doubts about becoming Equestria's new dreamwalker last night. And I hoped, if you see how much your dreamwalker training means to Scootaloo, you will change your mind. And it was also a good lesson, for there are many foals with very similar problems.”
“I did change my mind, kind of,” Rainbow announced. “Still don't feel good about it that some foals will learn embarrassing secrets about me when I help them with their nightmares, though. That willl turn me into their laughing stock.” Rainbow Dash cringed at the thought.
“I can see that very clearly. But will it really be a problem?” Luna challenged her worries. “What about Scootaloo? Do you believe she will think lower of you for knowing a few embarrassing things about yourself?”
Scootaloo shook her head, demonstratively.
“Scoots already knows everything there is to know,” Rainbow Dash clarified.
“And has this diminished her admiration for you?”
“No..... I guess not,” Rainbow Dash admitted.
“And what about Hyper Sonic? Do you think she will laugh about you for learning something you feel embarrassed about?” She gave Hyper Sonic a prompting glance.
“Nothing has changed,” Hyper Sonic confirmed. “You are still as awesome as you always were.”
Rainbow Dash's face softened somewhat. “What about your sister? Isn't she laughing about me now?”
Hyper Sonic shook her head. “No. Gooseberry even praised you before we went to sleep today and said that your method already makes her feel better.”
“See?” Luna picked up where Hyper Sonic left off. “The admiration that the foals of Equestria feel for you is strong, Rainbow Dash. If anything, the help you give them will increase that admiration.”
Rainbow Dash looked over the encouraging smiles that Scootaloo and Hyper Sonic gave her. She sighed. “Fine..... I won't quit.”
Scootaloo at her side began to cheer, jumping up and down, then gave her another hug. Hyper Sonic flashed a grin at her.
“Very good,” Luna expressed her relief over the decision in a regal and composed way. “There are a lot of foals who await your guidance, Rainbow Dash, and we will visit many of them in the nights that lie ahead.”
“I am prepared,” Rainbow Dash said. Her eyes radiated confidence now.
.
> Chapter 13: A Distress Call from Another World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
“Who is this filly?” Rainbow Dash looked ahead of herself and stared. In a rather far distance from her, under a tree and on a picnic blanket, sat a blue earth pony filly. Her entire body was blue; coat, mane and tail alike, and although her mane and her tail were of a much darker shade than her coat, it was still a rare sight that a pony only had one color. The only exceptions were her eyes, which were purple, and her cutie mark. A yellow bow with an arrow was on her flank.
Next to the filly sat a stallion and a mare. Both of them bore a resemblance to the filly in their midst, their bodies were entirely blue, with their manes and tails being of a darker shade than their coat. The stallion was an earth pony, as well, and two musical notes formed his cutie mark. The mare was a unicorn. For some reason, she lacked a cutie mark. The mare and the stallion smiled down at the filly from yellow eyes as she lifted a sandwich and bit into it with a hearty smack, then proceeded to chew satisfiedly. These eyes and the fact that their manes and tails were a shade darker constituted the only differences between them and the filly. They were almost complete lookalikes.
It was this oddity that Rainbow Dash stared at. “I know this stallion,” she continued. “That's Noteworthy. And this” – she pointed with a hoof at the blank-flanked unicorn mare – “is Night Shade, Noteworthy's mom. I see them around town during flight training sometimes. But who is this filly?” She shifted her hoof at the smallest of the three ponies. “I've never seen her anywhere before.” Rainbow Dash wrinkled her forehead.
Luna stepped up next to her and Scootaloo, who stood at Rainbow Dash's left side. Her number one fan was also staring, but her eyes showed pure astonishment instead of confusion. At Rainbow Dash's other side was Hyper Sonic. She also looked at the filly, but blank-faced.
“I cannot tell you who this filly is, Rainbow Dash,” Luna answered the question. She looked at the blue filly incredulously.
“She..... she.....” Scootaloo began to stammer. “She looks like me..... but she is all blue. Just look at her mane!” Scootaloo pointed. Indeed, the mane of the blue filly was shaped like Scootaloo's; short at the backside of her head, slightly wavy on top, with a tip that bent inwards and a little spiky. The only difference was the blue color. “Her tail, too.....” Scootaloo deducted. “Why does she look like me, Princess Luna?” She turned at the night princess and stared at her, with curiosity radiating from her eyes.
“I don't know, young Scootaloo,” Luna responded without detracting her eyes from the lookalike filly. “I only know as much as you do, that the circumstances how we got here were most peculiar and strange.”
Luna's thoughts drifted back to a few minutes ago. All of them had entered the dream realm as usual. Rainbow Dash was in a better condition again compared to last night, Hyper Sonic was excited to participate in Rainbow Dash's dreamwalker training again and Scootaloo surpassed this excitement tenfold and was nothing but thrilled. They had started the night with a simple chat and Luna began to scan the dream realm for foals with nightmares. She had barely started and not yet found a foal, when something strange happened.
“What is doing this?!” the sound of Rainbow Dash's agitated voice rang through Luna's memory. The mare had pressed her wings on her ears and Scootaloo did likewise. Only Hyper Sonic had remained calm and was watching the scene with a blank face.
A distress call had suddenly rippled through the dream realm. A scream, filled with anguish and terror and so loud that all four of them could hear it. Normally, only Luna was able to hear such distress calls. They came from especially strong nightmares, those that haunted a pony so much that their minds started to call out for help all by themselves. Rainbow Dash's senses weren't fine enough to perceive them yet and Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo weren't dreamwalkers. But this particular distress call, this terrifying scream of fear, had so much power that it somehow found its way into the minds of dreamwalkers and ordinary sleepers alike. The scream had given her fear, it had constricted her heart for a moment in a way she had never experienced it before. Somepony was in danger and it was a big enough danger that the entire dream realm could hear it.
Luna closed her eyes and focused her entire dream magic into the direction of the scream.
“Where does it come from?!” Rainbow Dash shouted for her again.
“I-I don't know.....” Luna responded. Her face had broken out in sweat as she concentrated everything she had to find the source of the scream. “We can go into this dream, but I am not able to detect the position of the sleeper!” Luna clenched her teeth.
“And that's normal?” Rainbow Dash shouted over the scream.
“No! In rare nights, I receive calls from other lands, but until now I was always able to sense where the sleeper rests! This is completely new, I cannot make out their location!”
After this conversation, the scream had stopped. It didn't fade out, it was just gone all of a sudden, like it had never been there, and their ears got wrapped in silence.
“Do you have any idea what exactly that was?” Rainbow Dash asked as she freed her ears from her wings.
“No.....” Luna admitted. “All I can tell by this scream is that a sleeper is in mortal fear of something. It is our duty to help.”
And now they were here. The distress call had led them into this dream and what they saw wasn't like anything they had expected.
“It doesn't look dangerous here,” Rainbow Dash came straight to the point. She let her eyes glide over the tree, the happy ponies, their food, the picnic blanket, the grass, more trees, a little creek in a small distance..... She tried hard, but couldn't spot anything that looked like a threat.
Rainbow Dash turned at Luna. “What now?” The eyes of Scootaloo and Hyper Sonic followed her and they looked at the princess in anticipation.
“Go to her and see what's wrong,” Luna instructed. “There is always something wrong in a nightmare, even if it can't be seen at the first glance. Don't worry, I am here and I will step in if the need arises. Go and look for her, Rainbow Dash.”
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash turned around again and made her way towards the filly. She looked around herself while she trotted, just in case. A gentle breeze rustled her mane and her tail and there were even birds flying through the air. Everything was completely peaceful. She pondered how to start a conversation with the filly and, surprisingly, the words came to her rather easily.
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash stepped in front of the picnic blanket, eyes locked on the filly.
She looked up at her. Noteworthy and Night Shade did not pay her any heed, though.
“How's your name?” Rainbow Dash asked the filly.
“I'm Archer!” the filly piped up. “Archer Bodkin!” She got up on her hooves, placing her sandwich on a plate in front of her in the process. “And you are Rainbow Dash! I know you!”
“You know me? From where? I've never seen you around in Ponyville.” Rainbow Dash smiled at Archer, doing her best to be as welcoming as possible and not to show her confusion over the situation.
Archer seemed to be stuck for a clear answer. “Because you're Rainbow Dash! Who doesn't know you? Rainbow Dash, member of the Wonderbolts, Captain of the Ponyville Weather Team! You're always boastful and think you are the best, even though you aren't always the best!”
If she would be moving right now, she would have tripped slightly and lost her balance after this statement, but like this, Rainbow Dash just gave Archer a sheepish grin with red cheeks, trying to keep her calm.
“But you are still great!” Archer continued. “You help Scootaloo all the time and you became her big sister when she needed you!” And then, Archer said something very odd that would keep ringing in Rainbow Dash's head for a long time. “Scootaloo is my favourite pony and you are my second-favourite from your group of six friends!”
“Uuuh.....” Rainbow Dash eyed Archer with a clueless look on her face. She did a step back, subconsciously. “Say, kiddo, are you in any trouble? We heard someone screaming, was that you?”
“Uh-uh.” Archer shook her head. “I did not scream. And I am not in trouble. Why would I be? I am with my family!”
“Your family?” Rainbow Dash lifted her head and looked at Noteworthy, then at Night Shade.
“Um-hm!” Archer nodded with satisfaction, eyes closed and smiling. She opened her eyes again and pointed to the right of her. “That's Noteworthy, he's my big brother!” She leaned to the side and wrapped her hooves around his left foreleg, squeezed her brother and gave Rainbow Dash a smile. Then she let go and pointed to the left. “And that's Night Shade, she is my mom!” She placed her hooves around her mother's neck, leaned against her chest and snuggled her face into her soft, fluffy coat. Archer cooed cozily and breathed a blissful sigh. She stayed in this place of comfort for a minute, long enough that Rainbow Dash already thought the little filly had forgotten about her, then she suddenly opened her eyes again, looked at Rainbow Dash and sat up. “See?” Archer asked her. “Everything is perfectly fine! I am here with my family and I could not be happier!” Signifying this as the end of their conversation, Archer reached for her sandwich again and bit into it.
Rainbow Dash watched the filly eat, in silence. She felt there was more to say, but no more words came over her lips. A feeling of embarrassment spread out in her chest. Maybe everything was alright and this was a waste of time.....
“Did your mom or your brother scream, Archer?” Rainbow Dash gave it a different approach.
Archer swallowed. “No. They've been here with me the entire time and neither of them has screamed.” She continued her meal, sending looks of happiness and satisfaction to her mom and her brother.
The clueless expression on Rainbow Dash's face deepened. She looked over her shoulder at Luna. But the princess had the same look on her face. “If even Luna can't see what's wrong, how should I?”
Rainbow Dash was about to turn around and to return to her company to suggest leaving this dream, as everything was evidently okay, when Scootaloo suddenly gasped and pointed behind her.
“Rainbow Dash, look there!” an alerted shout left her lips.
Rainbow Dash turned back at Archer and her family. First she couldn't see anything that was worth the excitement. But then, as she looked up, there was a black, swirling manifestation in the sky. A black center was surrounded by four long, misty billows. They swirled and danced around the center and made it look like the manifestation was circling around itself. A sharp wind picked up all of a sudden and before Rainbow Dash knew it, Archer suddenly got forcefully lifted into the air and sucked towards the swirling vortex.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” a tormented scream broke free from Archer's throat. It was all too familiar to all four of them. “Not again, please, not again.....” Archer whimpered and tears began to fill up her eyes as she stared down at Rainbow Dash, her face contorted in agony. She got sucked higher, but Noteworthy and Night Shade kept sitting where they were, unaffected by the swirling monstrum. They looked up at Archer with horrified faces and tried to grab her, but she slipped away from them before they could.
Rainbow Dash jumped forward, supporting herself with her wings, and grabbed Archer's hoof. “Got you, kid!” she reassured her.
Archer looked into her eyes, tears flowing down her face. “Please don't let them take me away again,” her voice scratched and nearly broke.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and grabbed Archer harder, using both hooves now. The suction of the vortex was strong, she felt it pull at Archer with an otherworldly might. Yet nothing around them was affected by it. Only Archer was the one it seemed to desire and it didn't leave any room for doubt about this.
Archer tried to reach for Rainbow Dash with her other hoof, but the force that pulled at her made it impossible to move into the other direction.
Rainbow Dash was not able to pull the little filly closer. She was temporarily suspended in motion, then a tug suddenly ripped Archer's hoof out of her own. Rainbow Dash lunged forward and tried to grab her again, but she missed Archer just by an inch as the vortex pulled her mercilessly into its center. Rainbow Dash could do nothing but helplessly watch as Archer disappeared inside the swirling vortex. As soon as she was gone, the vortex disappeared, as well.
Rainbow Dash lowered herself on all fours again and stared at the sky where the vortex had just been and where the young filly had been swallowed. Noteworthy and Night Shade looked at Rainbow Dash with distraught, sad faces. They opened their mouths to say something, but before the words left them, the environment of the dream suddenly changed drastically. Noteworthy and Night Shade, the tree they sat under and all of their surroundings suddenly vanished. What appeared instead was something neither Rainbow Dash nor the other three ponies who stood behind her had ever seen before.
The air around them was a flawless, black void. But after a few seconds, white silhouettes appeared on it, like white crayon on a black canvas. Towering buildings, higher than the highest skyscrapers of Manehattan, erected themselves around them. Strange vehicles, not unlike carriages, but smaller and flatter, with rounder shapes, peeled themselves out of the air and instantly began to move around between the buildings, on set routes that seemed to follow a mysterious pattern. And the strangest manifestations were the creatures that suddenly sprung to life in the mysterious, black environment. Long, bipedal bodies, with gangly limbs dangling from right below their heads down to what seemed to be their legs, made up most of their appearance. Each limb had five thin appendages attached to them. The creatures flexed and moved those appendages like there was a very distinct purpose to them. But Rainbow Dash, Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo couldn't make out what they were doing with them. They looked around in bewilderment and confusion, watching the strange creatures walk around seemingly without aim, and yet, still in a way like each of them had their own destination.
And in the middle of it all was Archer. The blue filly sat on ther haunches, eyes and mouth wide open to form an expression of horror. She was sitting there without making a sound, in the middle between the monotonously-walking creatures, frozen in shock.
Rainbow Dash spotted her as the first one and was swiftly at her side. “Kid? What's happening here?”
Archer did not respond. She seemed to stare into a void, from terror-filled eyes. But upon closer observation, Rainbow Dash could see that her eyeballs were flitting around. Archer had the scary creatures in view and she did not let them out of her sight.
“Kid!” Rainbow Dash shouted louder. “Hey!” She noticed Archer's heavy breathing, but no words came out of her mouth. “Archer!” she finally used her name to address her. “What's going on here?” Although Rainbow Dash wasn't shocked like Archer was, the sight unnerved her as well.
Archer still didn't look at her, but now her lips moved to form a few, simple words. “Why are they here?” Then her face showed a sudden clarity and the shock seemed to leave her. “Why am I here? I'm not supposed to be here.” Archer stood up. Her mouth closed and her eyes took on a more relaxed expression. “I should be in Ponyville.” As soon as the words had left her lips, Archer disappeared, and the creatures, the vehicles and the buildings disappeared together with her.
Rainbow Dash stared at the empty spot where she had seen Archer last, just like she did a few moments ago. She closed her eyes, sighed and crept back to Luna, head hanging low and her own eyes flitting from side to side now. Before she could reach Luna, though, the environment changed again.
Rainbow Dash found herself in Ponyville. The transition from the black void to her hometown happened so fast that her senses only perceived her new environment with a few seconds delay. She lifted one hoof and was in the black void, she put it down again and suddenly stood in Ponyville. Chatter filled the air behind her and as Rainbow Dash turned around to trace it back to its source, she looked at the schoolhouse. Foals swarmed out of the building as the bell rang and came into her direction.
In the middle of the group was Archer, next to a yellow earth pony filly, who she engaged with in a deep conversation. Rainbow Dash hurried up to catch them.
“Archer!” she shouted. “You're alright, kid? That crazy thing in the sky sucked you up and then your nightmare brought us into that weird dimension with those freaky monsters!”
Archer stopped talking with her friend for a moment and looked at Rainbow Dash with a confused expression. Then she ignored her again and continued her conversation.
“What's wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked, not any less confused now. “Don't you remember? We just met a moment ago.” She moved backwards while they trotted to keep eye contact with Archer.
Archer looked at her again. There was an annoyed sparkle in her eyes now. “A moment ago?” she asked. “I haven't seen you a moment ago. I was at school the entire morning and now I go with Noi to her house.”
“You haven't? But what about the vortex in the sky? Your mom and your big brother? The picnic? You asked me to save you!” Rainbow Dash recalled the events of the last few minutes.
“Vortex? I don't know what you're talking about,” the blue filly clarified. “My big brother and mom are at home. We haven't been to any picnic.”
“Archer?” the filly to her left inquired. “What does Rainbow Dash want from you?” She couldn't help but sending a few admiring glances towards Rainbow Dash, but for the most part, her attention was on Archer.
“I don't know,” Archer responded. “But it's probably nothing important.” She turned at her friend. “Come, Noi, I'm sure your mom has lunch ready! And you still want to show me “The Trotting Dead” on TV and we need to hurry before the marathon of it is over!”
The sentence brightened Noi's face and she exchanged a hoofbump with Archer. “Right, dude! Let's go!” The two fillies draped a hoof over each other's neck and trotted ahead, letting Rainbow Dash stand where she was.
But Rainbow Dash ran after them. “Hey, wait!” she spoke, jumping in front of the two friends and cutting off their path. It earned her frowns from two angry faces, but Rainbow Dash paid no attention to that. “I don't know if you realize it, but something strange is going on here! Your dream is out of control, it turned into a nightmare just a minute ago! Come to Princess Luna with me, I'm sure she can fix it!” Rainbow Dash stretched a hoof behind herself and pointed into Luna's direction.
Archer took a glance over Rainbow Dash's shoulder, then looked her into the eye. “Princess Luna? But there's nopony there! And what dream? I am not dreaming!” Archer's voice became more hissing as her annoyance grew.
Surprise building on her face, Rainbow Dash looked into the direction she had just pointed at. Luna stood there, exactly as she had expected. Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo were at her side, as well. Yet, for some reason, Archer couldn't see any of them. In front of her, four pairs of hooves clopped over the earthy ground.
“Whatever, you're in danger!” Rainbow Dash spoke, shooting her head back at Archer. But Archer and Noi were already galloping far ahead. “Hey, wait up!” Rainbow Dash shouted after them and took flight. She reached Archer and wanted to grab her, to bring her to Luna by force if necessary, but before her hoof could touch her, a strong gust of wind that was tugging at her mane interrupted her.
Archer stopped and Noi did the same, turning to look at her friend. Before Archer could say a word, her hooves became detached from the ground and she started to float into the air. “Archer?” Noi asked. “What's wrong?”
Archer's condition changed completely. Her eyes widened in fear. She stared at Noi, terrified.
Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky and, like before, a black, swirling vortex had appeared there. It pulled at Archer with all its might, lifting her off the ground faster and faster. Rainbow Dash grabbed the filly with both hooves around her stomach and held her in a tight grip. In front of her, Noi was holding Archer's forehooves.
“Archer? What does this thing want from you?!” the other filly wailed, feeling the suction violently ripping at her hooves.
Archer bit her lip. “It's happening again..... It will always happen. I just can't stay here. I can't be here.” She looked into the eyes of Noi, whose face was showing desperation now. “I'm sorry, Noi..... It doesn't let me stay.....” Archer sniffed and her tears started flowing.
“What?! Who doesn't let you stay? Archer, tell me what's going on!” The eyes of the other filly became adorned with some tears, as well, now.
Archer closed her eyes and shook her head, tears trickling out from under her eyelids.
“Hang..... on..... kid.....” Rainbow Dash pressed out between her lips. But her efforts were in vain. The suction increased drastically and Rainbow Dash toppled over as Archer got ripped out of her hooves. Simultaneously, Noi's hooves lost their grip, as well.
Noi looked helplessly into the sky as her friend got pulled into the vortex. “ARCHER!” she screamed up at the merciless entity. In the same second, the vortex disappeared. Noi sank down onto her flank. Her forehooves clawed themselves into the soil while they trembled and she gritted her teeth in powerless fury. “Archer..... Who took you away?” Big tears dropped out of her eyes and soaked the ground.
Rainbow Dash wanted to say something to comfort the enraged, desperate filly, but before she could, Noi vanished into thin air. The black environment returned and filled itself with the buildings, the vehicles and the monsters again. The vehicles moved in their patterns and the monsters set themselves into motion. Archer was between them, sitting on the ground like before, her mouth and eyes wide open and her face frozen in shock. But something was different this time. Whereas before the monsters had purely minded their own business, some of them took the occasional glance at the filly now. They didn't say anything, but they looked down at her for a few seconds, before they returned their attention to where they took it away from.
As Rainbow Dash approached Archer, a voice somewhere from the crowd of bipedal monsters caused her to stop dead in her tracks. She heard the word “stranger” being whispered. Rainbow Dash looked for the source of the whisper and even asked the monsters who just said this, but none of them gave her a response, neither by voice nor by look. As even her most attentive listening did not let her hear any more voices, Rainbow Dash wasn't sure whether the whispered word had been real or just her overpowered imagination in this creepy place.
Rainbow Dash shook the thought away and brought the last distance between her and Archer. Being close to her now, she could see that Archer's eyeballs followed the monsters again. Rainbow Dash looked up at them, then back down at Archer. “Hey, do they scare you?”
Wordlessly and still with the same, shocked face, Archer nodded once.
“Yeah, I thought so, and they creep me out, too. But, hey!” She patted Archer's shoulder. “I can make them go away! That's an easy thing for Rainbow Dash! Just watch!” Rainbow Dash was about to fly at the creatures with full speed, as Archer started to speak all of a sudden.
“Why am I here? I don't belong here. I should be somewhere else.” Archer rose onto her hooves. Everything was eerily reminiscent of the first time they were here. Rainbow Dash didn't have to predict what would happen next. Archer's face relaxed, she disappeared and the strange manifestations followed suit.
Once more, Rainbow Dash found herself standing in the black void. And then she was in Ponyville again. Or, at least in one part of it, a part that she didn't often visit and therefore hardly knew.
Rainbow Dash stood next to a few, small cottages and she could look over a lake from her position. Small boats were gently rocking on the tiny waves and the slowly sinking sun cast a golden tint over the camp. For the third time in this dream, Rainbow Dash looked at a completely peaceful scenery. Her stomach twisted into a knot.
“Hey, look at this!” Archer's voice rang out behind her. Rainbow Dash turned around and there she saw Archer standing, wielding a golden bow in her hooves. She held it with her left hoof and her right hoof was clasping an arrow and she was stringing the bow with it. Noi stood at her side and flashed her an anticipatory grin.
Archer squeezed her left eye shut and stuck out her tongue. Her arrow was pointing at a round target in a distance of about ten meters. The yellow center was surrounded by a red circle and the outer edge of the target was blue. Archer tilted her head a little, waited one more second, then she released the arrow. It whizzed through the air and Noi followed it with her eyes. The arrow pierced the target right at the yellow spot in the middle.
Noi jumped into the air and erupted into loud, joyful cheering. Laughing, she reached for Archer and wrapped her into a tight hug. “I knew you would do it, you always hit the targets in the middle, you are the best at shooting arrows in all of Equestria, Archer!”
Archer lost her balance a little by the impact of the other filly's hug. A blush was on her face. “I'm not sure about all of Equestria.....” she spoke in modesty. “But at least here in Ponyville, nopony has beaten me yet.”
Noi looked up at her and she also wore a blush on her face. Their eyes met as Archer looked down at the smaller filly. Neither of them spoke a word, but they both felt the increase of each other's heartbeat. Archer leaned in and nuzzled Noi's nose, then she planted a kiss on her mouth. Closing her eyes, Noi joined into the kiss. Blushing and with an embrace that grew ever tighter, the two fillies caressed each other's lips.
While the hearts of Archer and Noi tried to outdo the tempo of the other, Rainbow Dash's heart grew tighter at the sight. She shuddered, knowing what would come. Her thoughts began to wander, should she break them apart to warn Archer or should she let them have this moment while it lasted? It was to her relief when Luna suddenly stepped forward and took this decision from her.
“This requires my help, as well,” the princess spoke taut.
“She can't see you,” Rainbow Dash told her. Her body started trembling. She suddenly sensed Scootaloo at her side. The filly wrapped her forehooves around her chest and was holding her.
“I am aware. She does not have to see me for this.” Luna ignited her horn and a midnight-blue sphere appeared around the two filly lovers. They didn't break their kiss as the sphere got built around them. “This should help,” Luna assessed. “We only need to keep Archer here until I have taken care of the vortex. Then I can get to the bottom of this nightmare.”
“Are you sure it will help?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “I felt this vortex.....”
“It needs to. If it does not, then the force we are dealing with here is stronger than even my powers.” Luna did a few steps back and observed the two fillies in their embrace.
“What force?” Rainbow Dash looked at Luna and fear crept onto her face.
“I don't know, Rainbow Dash..... I have never seen anything like the nightmare of this filly. But if this sphere works, we can find out what secrets are hidden here.”
Unfortunately, Luna's hopes set her expectations too high. The vortex teared through her protective sphere like it was pulling at a paper ball. The sphere broke up into tiny pieces and one by one they dissolved, while Archer was ripped away by the monstrous force.
Noi held on to her, face wet from tears and her body shaken by sobs. “You can't go!” she wailed.
Archer moved her right hoof over Noi's mane. Her left hoof rested on Noi's cheek. She looked at her with a longing sensation in her eyes and a tenderness that was reserved for only those ponies that one loved the most. “It's not my choice,” Archer spoke softly. “I can't stop it, Noi.....” Her hoof got drenched with Noi's everflowing tears.
“Who is taking you away?” Noi asked. “Tell me and I'll make them stop. I'll force them to leave you alone.”
But Archer shook her head. “You can't stop her..... She is too powerful for anypony who would try to challenge her. And you shouldn't, Noi. What happens is for the best. I will return to you once I have learned what I need. I love you, Noi.” Then a powerful tug happened and Archer was forcefully separated from Noi.
“ARCHER!” Noi screamed out loud and tried to reach for her fillyfriend and take her back. But the suction by the vortex was faster and all Noi could do was watching Archer's fate, unable to intervene. “ARCHER!” Noi ran towards the vortex, stretching her hindlegs as she attempted to make a jump for it. But the vortex disappeared before she could reach it and all that was left for her to do was staring at the empty sky. The tears kept drenching her coat.
The next events were familiar. Noi and the camp disappeared, Archer's dream turned into a nightmare and before they knew, Rainbow Dash, Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo stood in the scary place that Archer's mind created each time.
In some distance, the bipedal monsters stood in circles, arranged around a center that Rainbow Dash could not see. She took flight and flew above the crowd. In the center of the crowd, Archer was sitting, in the same pose and with the same deeply-shocked expression like the previous two times. Tears stood in her eyes this time and she drooled spit from her mouth. There was a diameter of free space around her, just a few hoofsteps into all directions, and the innermost circle of the bipedal monsters carried large drums that were attached to their bodies. Their long appendages held the drumsticks in a tight grip. The monsters had eyes now; spiteful, insidious and narrow eyes that rested on Archer. And all of them, save for those with the drums, were speaking this time. They intoned the same sentences as a constant chant that turned Rainbow Dash's feathers stiff and made her feel cold.


You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy. You don't belong here. You are not one of us. You deserve no friends. You can only destroy.


Every couple seconds, after the monotonous chant had been spoken three or four times, the monsters in the inner circle beat down on their drums and came a step closer, making their circle tighter. The ritual had an almost hypnotic effect on Rainbow Dash. But Archer did not react to any of it, she did not seem to perceive what was happening around her.
Rainbow Dash flew down and landed next to Archer. She placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Come on, let's get out of here before those freaks get us.”
Archer did not move and not respond. She only stared ahead of her with empty eyes.
“Come on!” Rainbow Dash pressured her. She looked up and at the monsters around them, who had just beaten their drums and gotten a step closer again. “Don't just sit here, they're coming to get us!” As there still wasn't any reaction from Archer, Rainbow Dash gripped her hoof and attempted to pull her into the air. Archer's foreleg moved slow and stringy, but the filly did not show any inclination to leave her position.
When Rainbow Dash gave up and let go of her, Archer's hoof remained suspended in the air, there was no attempt by her to put it down again. The drummers came closer once more. There wasn't much distance left anymore. Rainbow Dash lay down next to Archer and tried to put the filly onto her back. Her body felt like a wax doll under Rainbow Dash's hooves. It remained in the same, stiff position, no matter how much Rainbow Dash pulled and tugged. The drummers came another step closer and reached touching distance. Rainbow Dash was ready to fly off, but she remained at Archer's side, shielding her from the monsters the best she could by wrapping her wings around her. She finally called for Luna, not knowing a different way out of this situation anymore. But then something happened that made an intervention by the night princess unnecessary.
Archer suddenly took in a deep breath, the first conscious movement she did since they had arrived in this nightmare dimension once more. Rainbow Dash looked down at her and saw a small flame leaving Archer's chest, right where her heart was. It grew in size and rapidly expanded to all sides, creating an inferno around Archer and Rainbow Dash that burned away the monsters all at once. And the fire didn't stop there, it expanded past the circles of monsters and burnt away the buildings and the vehicles that still moved around between them. As the fire extinguished itself, everything was black again.
Rainbow Dash was unharmed by the fire from Archer's heart. Only the monsters had been killed by it. A feeling in her chest told Rainbow Dash that they deserved it. Archer remained in her catatonic state, but before Rainbow Dash could do any more attempts to get through to the filly, she suddenly vanished again.
Rainbow Dash got up and looked around. She waited, silently, and so did Luna, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo, for they all knew what would happen next. The black void disappeared and they stood in Ponyville again. Around them were a number of arcade machines. Archer sat on one of them, a purple machine with white blocks painted onto the sides. The other machines were not occupied. Archer stared onto the screen, concentrated, but also bored. She did not look up, but Rainbow Dash had a feeling that she paid attention to her as she got closer. Luna was already there, as well, and the two of them took up position at Archer's left and right side. Only Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo stayed further in the back.
“What is it that ails you?” Luna came right to the point. “You have very peculiar nightmares, Archer. A dreamwalker like me sees many things, but I have never encountered a nightmare like yours.”
“They are not from this world,” Archer responded. Her eyes were glued onto the screen and her hooves moved a tiny, blue pony, not unlike herself, from left to right. The pixel pony moved in front of large, drab buildings. The ground it trotted on was of a bright grey and the sky was full of smoke. Bipedal enemies that entered Archer's path and blocked her way got shot down with arrows. “I am not like them.”
“Who are they?” Rainbow Dash asked and she gave Archer an intense look.
Archer's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “They are my punishers. They are evil and I deserve them.”
“You are mistaken,” Luna spoke intently. “No one deserves nightmares like these.”
The next sentence Archer spoke invoked cold fear in Rainbow Dash's heart.
“They are more than nightmares. They are all around me, every day. I wake up between them and I am forced to live among them. Until I learned.....”
In the game, Archer's character had reached a black wall in the middle of the screen. It appeared to be solid, black metal and reached from the ground up into the sky. Little cottages with straw-thatched roofs and lush, green trees between them were on the other side. The sky was blue there and ponies looked out of the windows. One lonely, yellow pony sat in front of a cottage, the pixels that formed her eyes seemed to be focused at the metallic wall. Nearby, on a white bench, sat two blue ponies, one of which was a unicorn. Between them was an empty spot. The two ponies looked down at this spot.
“What is it that you try to learn, young Archer?” Luna looked at the screen, were a tiny, black vortex made of pixels appeared on the left side of the wall.
Archer moved her character to the wall. “Friendship,” she said and watched how her player character got sucked into the grey, smoke-filled sky and was swallowed by the pixel vortex. Blue pixels appeared under the eyes of the yellow filly on the other side of the wall.
Archer removed her hooves from the red joystick and the buttons and slumped down on her seat. She closed her eyes. “I need to learn friendship. Only then, I can leave those horrible monsters.....” A sharp wind picked up from the screen and Archer's face deformed and got pulled closer to the screen. “Goodbye, Noi,” she said, opening her eyes and fixating them on the crying, yellow pixel filly. Then she got sucked into the screen and disappeared from Luna's and Rainbow Dash's sight. And, instantly, the dream around them collapsed and dissolved into tiny flakes that spread out over the dream realm before they disappeared, as well.
“What happened?” Rainbow Dash turned at Luna, now floating amidst stars.
“The dream of this filly just ended.....” Luna's eyes were closed. “But I fear her nightmare continues and she is far from waking up.”
A dark cloud seemed to spread out above their heads and it was evident in their faces. Only Hyper Sonic kept her blank stare while they processed what just happened.
“And what does all of this mean?” Scootaloo voiced the question that was on their minds.
“That the dream realm keep secrets even from me.....” Luna opened her eyes and looked out into the dream realm. “No one knows how far the realm of dreams truly reaches. Millions of dreamers lay in slumber out there. Some of them seek help in vain.”
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> 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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> Chapter 15: The First Strike
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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It was late at night and the friendship school stood silently and peaceful on its place at the edge of Ponyville. The town was resting and so was the school. Headmare Twilight and Guidance Counselor Starlight were sleeping in the castle, the other teachers in their respective homes and the foreign students of the school were fast asleep in their respective dorm rooms. There was only one exception.
Hyper Sonic lay awake in the top bunk of her and Gooseberry's room, forehooves placed under her head and eyes staring at the dark ceiling. She couldn't sleep, the events of the previous night were spooking through her head. There was so much she didn't understand. Princess Luna's behavior. Rainbow Harmony's endless task. The creepy voices in the snowstorm. What did it all mean?
Her reaction to the mystery was different. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were rather frightened and concerned for the events they had witnessed. She, however, was excited. She liked mysteries. Mysteries often, although not always, came with adventure. And, thus, with danger. And Hyper Sonic loved danger. There was nothing she loved more than danger, except for her family. Dreamwalking was exciting. It offered opportunities for adventures she never thought possible. And since she knew that she was a natural lucid dreamer, thanks to Luna, a completely different world had opened its gates for her. And Rainbow Harmony's predicament was the newest adventure in this world.
Hyper Sonic focused her thoughts on this mystery. There had to be an answer to all this. Her mind was sunken deeply into the events from last night, viewing them from all angles she could think of and running through several explanations and theories, until it suddenly got distracted by something. Hyper Sonic immediatey ceased the theorizing and focused on the new impression.
There had been a sound. Everything was completely quiet in the dorms at this time of night and Hyper Sonic knew the few sounds that one could still hear, like the creaking of the bed when Gooseberry moved in her sleep or the rustling of the wind in the leaves of a tree that came in through the open window of their room, very well. But this sound was different, it didn't fit at all into the background noises of a typical night at the friendship school.
Hyper Sonic flattened her breathing and listened intently. A few seconds later, the sound reoccurred. Was there someone sneaking around in the dorm building? Hyper Sonic sat up. Her ears were strained now. It took another few seconds until the sound happened again. A few seconds intervals between each occurrence of the sound, like someone did a step, waited, then did another step. Someone was careful there.
“Why would anyone sneak around here at night?” Hyper Sonic thought.
After the next interval, the sound was a little louder. Whoever it was had just become braver. But the sounds she could hear weren't steps, Hyper Sonic realized now. It were the sounds of something shattering, like someone dropped tiny objects made of thin glass onto a stone floor.
Hyper Sonic crawled to the end of her bed as quietly as she could and climbed down the ladder. Standing on the rug, she listened some more. There were no sounds of shattering glass anymore, but for a moment, she could hear very quiet hoofsteps directly in front of the door. They came and went quickly, like a hushed whisper in the middle of the night. Hyper Sonic approached the door with soft, careful steps, to avoid waking up Gooseberry and not to alert the mysterious, nightly lurker. But only a moment later, being quiet was made unnecessary.
A scream echoed through the dorm building all of a sudden. Hyper Sonic jumped as it went through her. Gooseberry stirred in her bed, woken up by the scream. “Hyper? What's wrong?” she asked drowsily, but with a certain, startled urgency in her voice.
“I don't know,” she said. “Stay here.” Hyper Sonic rushed to the door and out onto the corridor. Now she could hear voices from the other dorm rooms, some of them upset over having been woken up, others startled and asking what the cause of the commotion was. Hyper Sonic needed a moment to identify the location of the scream, then she turned left and began to run. And it was only as she was already at full tempo, that she realized who had screamed there.
The dorm building she resided in with Gooseberry consisted of one main corridor on the front and three corridors that branched off to the back of the building, each with six dorm rooms that were arranged in rows of three. As Hyper Sonic galloped past the middle corridor, wings flared out, another scream filled the air. This one was much higher than the first one. In the corner of her vision, dorm room doors opened and tired or scared friendship school students stepped out.
As she arrived at the first corridor that branched off opposite of the dorm building's entrance, Hyper Sonic ran to the dorm room she was aiming for and smashed herself against it while turning the knob and opening it. She bolted into the room and her eyes took in the details of the scene she found in the light that shone in from the corridor.
Yona and Ocellus were shaking in their beds and clasped their blankets tightly against them, the former one in the bottom bunk, Ocellus in the top bunk. The floor was littered with broken glass and a large hole gaped in the window that was opposite of the door. The shards glistened in the light and she noticed that something red was sticking on some of them. But in the middle of the window frame, just for one second, Hyper Sonic spotted the most important detail. A shadowy figure, bulky and muscular in appearance, ran away to the right on all fours, out of the window frame and off the grounds of the friendship school.
“Hey, who are you?!” The words had barely left Hyper Sonic's lips as she already jumped onto the windowsill, leaped outside and began to chase the intruder.
Having left the short tunnel that led to the inner courtyard, Hyper Sonic stopped at the ledge of the platform above the school's main entrance and squinted her eyes. The entity she was chasing was already far ahead of her, past the castle and close to disappearing between the soft hills of the countryside. It was running away from the school with an unearthly tempo. Hyper Sonic jumped down the ledge and began to furiously flap her wings, flying into the direction where she had seen the entity last.
The full moon assisted her. It was a clear night and she could brightly see the hills, the trees and the few scattered houses of the residents who lived at the edge of Ponyville. But the intruder that had broken into the friendship school and evidently tried to attack Yona and Ocellus was nowhere to be seen. Hyper Sonic did her best to be attentive, looked closely at the shadow of every tree and every cottage she came by, but it was a bust every time. She must have been flying for half an hour, Hyper Sonic estimated, as she gave up the search and decided to return to the school.
When she arrived, the inner courtyard was filled with students. They were spread out over the entirety of it. Some sat on the sparse benches or the rim of the fountain, the rest who didn't find space there anymore was sitting in the grass and on the tiny bridges. The courtyard was lit up in an unusual way, more than the natural illumination by the moon was capable of. Brightly-glowing orbs made of magic were hovering in the air. They gave off soothing hums.
Gooseberry was running towards her as she set hoof on the courtyard. “Hyper!” Her voice sounded worried, with a slight hint that she might have been crying, but Hyper Sonic couldn't spot any indication for this in the eyes of her little sister. She lifted her forehooves as Gooseberry was about to flung herself at her, then embraced her with both of them. “Hyper.....” Gooseberry said again, burying deep into her chest fur, now slightly whimpering. She wasn't able to say more, for the time being.
Hyper Sonic squeezed her. “How are you? Are you alright?” she asked.
Gooseberry sniffed and looked up. Now there were indeed some tears forming in her eyes. “Are you alright?” she echoed the question instead of answering it. “You chased after it, why, Hyper? That was dangerous.” There was a worried kind of accusation in her voice, a reminder for Hyper Sonic not to risk her life while her little sister was anxiously waiting for her.
“I'm okay,” Hyper Sonic reassured her. “Don't worry anymore, Gooseberry.” She stroke over Gooseberry's mane, who was burying her face into her chest again. The fur muffled her whimpers.
Hyper Sonic looked around. The students were gathered in small groups, all of them conversing in excitement and bewilderment. Their faces showed a mix of emotions; scared, intrigued, worried and even angry. Snippets of conversation carried the words “skinwalker”, “not safe here” and “going home” into her ears. It reminded her on the morning when her and Gooseberry had learned about the skinwalker, barely more than a week ago. The conviction of the headmare that the school was well-protected and that she had the situation under control had turned out false. The gathering in the courtyard was more than enough indication that nopony or creature felt safe alone in their dorm rooms anymore.
Yona and Ocellus were sitting in front of the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Both of them were still shaking and Yona's eyes were red. Peppermint Goldylinks, Berry Bliss and Citrine Spark were with them. The three friends draped blankets over their backs and did their best to calm them down and comfort them.
Gooseberry pulled Hyper Sonic to her own place in the courtyard, when the door that led into the main bulding of the friendship school suddenly opened and Headmare Twilight stepped out together with Guidance Counselor Starlight. They exchanged a stern look while the door fell shut behind them, then Twilight stepped forward and addressed the students.
“Everypony and everycreature, please listen to me!”
The murmur instantly stopped and many eyes got directed at the headmare.
“We know you are all worried and scared,” the headmare continued. “But we have to ask you to stay where you are for a little longer, while the guidance counselor and I go around and ask each of you about the incident. It's important for us to know if any of you have noticed something that can help us to find the attacker. You can return to your rooms once we have talked to all of you.”
The students collectively nodded. None of them wanted to go back inside anyway, so the command by the headmare found their approval. Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry had sat down in a corner of the courtyard during the short speech and from their position, they could see that their headmare and their guidance counselor were heading towards them. Word that Hyper Sonic saw the skinwalker had, apparently, gone round during her absence.
“Hyper Sonic,” Twilight began as she and Starlight stood in front of the two siblings. “Guidance Counselor Starlight and I overheard that you saw the monster. Is this true?”
“Yeah.” Hyper Sonic added a nod to her confirmation. Gooseberry looked up at her, clinging tightly to her big sister.
“Can you tell us any details that might be important? Do you know how the monster looked?”
“Not much,” Hyper Sonic answered, some regret in her voice. “It was dark outside the window and I only saw it for a brief moment before it disappeared.” Then she scrunched her face as an obvious thought rose in her mind. “But does it matter?” she asked the headmare.
“Matter?” Starlight asked. “Why wouldn't it matter?”
Hyper Sonic hesitated for a moment. Her face took on a slightly more grim expression. “I don't believe the monster is a skinwalker, that's just a yak legend,” she clarified, choosing her words carefully. “But what if it's changeling? They are able to transform, so even if I knew how the monster looked, it could turn into something else and then what I saw would be useless.”
Twilight nodded, sternly. “You have a point, Hyper Sonic. But we can't completely confirm that the monster is a changeling or a skinwalker. There is a chance and we investigate the possibility of a shapeshifter. But in case the rumors are wrong, every detail about the monster's look could help us. So, you are sure you don't know how it looked?”
“I am sure. It was a big and strong creature and it was running on all fours. That's all I could make out. But there was something else I noticed.”
Twilight and Starlight pricked their ears. “What was it?” Twilight asked.
“The shards from the window. Something red was smeared on them.” Hyper Sonic's face darkened a little at those words.
Twilight nodded again. “Um-hm. Guidance Counselor Starlight and I have seen it already when we inspected Yona's and Ocellus' room. Don't worry, it's only red paint. Neither Yona nor Ocellus are hurt and as far as we can tell, none of the other students are.”
“That's good,” Hyper Sonic spoke, relieved. “But what does the paint mean?”
Twilight's eyelids lowered slightly. She did a sideways glance to some students who were sitting nearby before she answered. “We aren't sure yet. It's something that needs more investigation before we know how it got there. We continue with the other students now. Thank you for your help.” Before Hyper Sonic could ask more questions, Twilight and Starlight turned around and left.
The headmare and the guidance counselor began making their way through the courtyard at its edges, with the students that sat near the walls of the building. They circled around the courtyard, then interviewed the students that sat in or near the middle of it.
Unfortunately, none of the students they asked had any valuable information. It was the same each time, they were sleeping and either woke up by Yona's scream, Ocellus' scream or by the general commotion the invasion of their dorm room had created. Only one conversation of those she had after talking with Hyper Sonic remained firmly in Twilight's memory, but for a different reason than the one she had hoped for.
In another corner of the courtyard, two fillies stuck out to Twilight and Starlight from afar, mostly because of their completely ruffled and disheveled manes and tails. One of them was a student, the other one a filly who Twilight only knew from seeing her in Ponyville, something that especially caught her attention. She had approached the two and immediately come to the point.
“I know that Rainbow Harmony is a new friendship student,” she had begun and given a nod to the filly with the rainbow mane who stood on the left. “But what are you doing here, Alula?”
Alula didn't instantly respond. The yellow pegasus filly with the wisteria-colored mane and tail had cast a glance at Rainbow Harmony, who had answered with a glance of her own. The two fillies had looked at each other for a few seconds, with a blush on their faces, before Alula finally answered Twilight's question.
“I just visited Harmony in her dorm room tonight,” she explained her presence at the school as short and precise as possible.
It was only then that Twilight had noticed how the hairs of their coats stuck flat to their skins and looked slightly wet, an odd sight, as autumn nights weren't particularly warm. It had taken her a moment before it clicked.
“I see. That's fine, we have no rule against visitors in the dorms. I'm sorry for asking a lot of questions, we just need to know as much as possible about the attack. We leave you two alone now.”
Then her and Starlight had left Alula and Rainbow Harmony to continue with other students. Checking on the two fillies had turned out surprising and it had cast a smile on Twilight's face, but the information they retrieved from them wasn't what they were looking for.
At the end of their interviews of the entire body of foreign students about an hour later, Twilight and Starlight took up position next to Yona and Ocellus. It was there that Twilight addressed the students again.
“We have talked to almost all of you now. Only Yona and Ocellus are left. I will talk with them in my office. That means the rest of you is dismissed. You can return to your dorm rooms now.” Twilight beckoned Yona and Ocellus to follow her and they left the courtyard together.
Yona and Ocellus took nervous glances to the sides as they slowly followed Twilight and Starlight into the school building.


Arrived in her office, Twilight sat down behind her desk. Starlight brought two chairs for Yona and Ocellus and invited them to take seat there. The two hesitantly followed the invitation. Then Starlight took up position next to Twilight.
Twilight leaned forward in her chair. She set up a smile, although, Yona and Ocellus could still see in her face how nervous she was.
“I know you are scared,” Twilight began. “It's horrible how you were surprised in your sleep. But if we want to catch this monster, whatever it is, we need to know as much about it was we can. Please tell me what you saw once you woke up. I want you to begin, Yona.”
The yak gulped. “Y-Yona sleeping in bed. Suddenly sound that woke Yona up. Then.....” Yona stopped for a moment, gathering her courage. “Then skinwalker standing next to Yona's bed. Big monster. Like wolf. Many hairs and sharp teeth. Skinwalker come to murder Yona!” Yona began to shake.
Starlight stepped at her side and laid a hoof on her shoulder. “You are safe now,” she reassured the young yak student. “If the monster returns, Twilight and I will protect you.”
“And what happened then?” Twilight asked. “Please continue.”
“N-Not m-much,” Yona stammered. “Yona screamed. Then Ocellus screamed. Then skinwalker jumped out of window and was gone.”
“Um-hm.” Twilight nodded. She turned at Ocellus. “Now you, Ocellus. Please tell us what you saw.”
“I-I haven't seen a lot,” Ocellus whimpered. “I only woke up after Yona. Yona was screaming and that woke me up. I-I saw this monster standing in the room and t-then I screamed myself..... The monster did a step back, growled and then jumped out of the window. I-I only saw it for a moment.....” Ocellus took a deep breath. “B-But it wasn't a skinwalker, I know it wasn't one.”
Twilight and Starlight exchanged a glance, each of them reading in the eyes of the others that they were thinking the same.
“What do you think it was, Ocellus?” Twilight asked softly.
“CHRYSALIS!” it burst out of the young changeling. “I know it was her! I was always scared she would come to take me one day for betraying her and now she is here!” Ocellus covered her eyes and began to sob.
Twilight nodded, staying calm where the changeling student couldn't. “Thank you, Ocellus. There is nothing we can rule out. But if it really was Chrysalis who came after you, we will do everything to protect you.” She got up from her chair and stepped in front of her desk, next to the two students. “You can return into your room now. Starlight will join you and she will cast a spell on the door and the window to keep the monster out in case it should come back. If you want, you can leave for Yakyakistan and the changeling hive next morning and stay there for a while until we caught the monster. We can talk about this tomorrow. But for tonight, you two will be safe.”
Accompanied by Starlight, Yona and Ocellus left the office and made their way back to their dorm room. Twilight looked after them until the door of her office had closed, then she turned at the window behind her desk.
The full moon was still standing unobstructed in the sky. It was a peaceful and beautiful sight. But somewhere under it, where its light made the night brighter, a monster was hiding and getting ready for the next strike.
> Chapter 16: The Hunt for the Skinwalker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Hyper Sonic's eyes rested on the headmare, the guidance counselor, Yona and Ocellus until they had disappeared inside the school building and until the door had closed behind them. Then she turned away and gave her thoughts full reign over herself, over mind and body.
“Gooseberry, I need to do something,” she spoke to her little sister, then gently undid her tightly-clinging grasp on her and got up.
Gooseberry looked at her, face full of surprise and a little protest over the sudden, forced separation from her big sister. Hyper Sonic trotted away, letting her sit alone where she was. Her movement had something energetic to it and she looked determined into the direction she was heading into. “Hyper, what are you doing?” The slightly sobbing sound of Gooseberry's voice only grazed her mind.
Hyper Sonic aimed for the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. She flapped her wings, flew and landed on the ornament on top of it. She looked around, at the students that reluctantly rose up from their resting positions and trotted towards the entrance of the dorms. They clung together in groups of more students than could sleep in one dorm room, it was evident they had made the resolve to stay in as much as company as possible after the attack. If what her heart desired should happen tonight, she couldn't afford to lose another moment, so Hyper Sonic stuck her chest out and stood upright as much as it was possible.
“Wait a minute before you go inside, please!” she addressed her fellow students, the word “please” added for reasons of diplomacy.
The students stopped as they heard the unexpected plea and collectively turned around to look at the fountain. They raised their heads to get a good view of Hyper Sonic.
“I need your help tonight, from many of you as possible,” the young speaker continued.
Some of the students where shaking and pulled their blankets tighter around their bodies, the temperature of the autumn night wasn't high enough to sleep outside, but they stayed and listened. Something in Hyper Sonic's voice caught their attention and was binding them to her speech.
“The skinwalker is dangerous and it needs to be stopped!” Hyper Sonic came right to the point. “And we are the ones who have to do it tonight!”
The incredulity that appeared on the faces around her was strong, but it didn't overwhelm Hyper Sonic. She looked down at the other students with confidence in her eyes. And she was going to use the momentum of the surprise.
“I will follow the monster again tonight and try to catch it!” she announced. “But I'm not strong enough to do it alone. I need some of you as volunteers to come with me and fight the monster to protect the school together!”
A gasp went through the audience now. “No, Hyper, why?” Gooseberry cried out from the corner where she was still sitting. The confused look on her face became replaced with despair now.
“Why us?” Peppermint Goldylinks asked, from the middle of the crowd. “We should let Headmare Twilight and the other teachers take care of the monster.” Agreeing murmurs went through the crowd.
“We can't,” Hyper Sonic took a strong stance for her plan, answering the mare's objection and simultaneously ignoring her little sister's concern. Her mind was already on the adventure she had just proposed. She let her words linger for a bit, just long enough that she was sure no other question would be asked before she continued. “It's on all of us to do this tonight! It's our school and the headmare has made it for all of us. We could let the headmare take care of everything, but it wouldn't be grateful to let her do it.”
The students below her looked at each other. They were clearly pondering the words. Hyper Sonic smiled. And there was a tinge of guilt she felt. Hunting the skinwalker was a deep desire in her soul, the desire for adventure and heroism. More than that, the desire for risk and danger. She loved it when her life was on the line. But that was just her, she was keenly aware of that. No other ponies were like her, she was the only one who went headfirst into danger and loved it. Asking other ponies to do the same thing was selfish.
Those who decided to come with her would not do it out of their own motivation, they would join to do her a favor. Because her words convinced them that joining her is a good thing to do, something that's done for the right cause. She was good at this, convincing ponies through speeches. When her heart was into something, she could make other ponies become into it, too. Which meant that she brought all ponies who decided to join her into danger. Hyper Sonic was aware of all this. And yet, she had to.
Seeking out thrill and adventure, danger and risk, by hunting the skinwalker and fighting it was one thing. Becoming a hero by defeating it and carrying it back to the school, be it dead or unconscious, was another thing. She couldn't do this alone. She had the bravery that was needed for the task, but not the physical strength. Only teaming up with other ponies, or creatures, could bring that success, defeating the monster and becoming a hero. And of course she wouldn't be the only hero then. Everyone who helped would get the same credit. But she would be one of the heroes and that would be a start. If she wanted to make this happen, she had to find other students who would join her hunt and, despite endangering them, her thrill-seeking mind called for it. She couldn't resist it and she did not want to resist it.
“Headmare Twilight has founded this school for us, so we can learn about friendship!” she continued using her momentum. “We should give her something back for it. It's our school just as much as it is the headmare's school and if we find the skinwalker and defeat it, we can show our gratitude to her for teaching us by protecting the school she made for us!”
And it worked. The unsure expressions in the faces of the students disappeared and smiles took their places. They looked up to her, not just literally, but also figuratively now.
“Well, if that wasn't an impressive speech,” a snarky, sarcastic voice rose from the crowd. Gallus rolled his eyes. “I'm in,” he said next. “Don't think I like working together with you, but this monster has attacked two of my friends, so I won't sit here and do nothing.” The blue griffon unfolded his wings and flew over to Hyper Sonic, where he took up position next to the statue.
One student was on her side. But Gallus wasn't enough. He was strong, least he had claimed to be when he opposed her in the cafeteria a few days ago, but it would need more than two fighters to take down a beast like the skinwalker. Hyper Sonic was opening her mouth to speak more convincing words, but then she didn't have to, as another student pledged support.
“I will come and join you!” a young, scratchy voice with a cheeky undertone came from a corner of the courtyard.
Hyper Sonic followed the voice and saw who had spoken there. It wasn't one of the students.
Alula had raised a hoof, hovering in the air next to Rainbow Harmony.
That made two. But there was an obstacle that could undo Alula's decision as she wanted to fly towards Hyper Sonic. And that obstacle was Rainbow Harmony. She grabbed Alula's right hindleg and gripped it tightly. “No,” she said. “I'm not letting you go. It's dangerous and I could lose you forever.” A sob was audible in her words as she spoke them.
Alula turned around at her. “Let me go,” she demanded. “I need to join this hunt.”
“Why do you need to?” Rainbow Harmony questioned her.
“Because this monster is endangering you too. It's after the school and us students, it will attack again, and maybe you will be the next one who gets attacked and then it will be successful.” She stopped for a moment, recounting Rainbow Harmony's words. “I don't want to lose you,” she repeated them and turned them back around at their source. “What if that monster comes back and smashes your head while you sleep? I'm not going to risk that!”
“But others can go and defeat it!” Rainbow Harmony argued back. “You don't have to go with them, Alula. You don't have to do this for me. There are others who can take care of it!” She poked out her lower lip and tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
Alula stopped flapping her wings and landed on the ground. She reached up into the face of Harmony with a wing and brushed away those tears. “Because I have to do it,” she explained, in a gentler voice now. “I have to join them so I can be the one who protects you.”
In front of her, Rainbow Harmony's face fell apart. A blush appeared on it, her features became softer and new tears came out of her eyes. But a smile was building on her face, as well, indicating the nature of the new tears. She covered her mouth with both forehooves, which shivered now, and looked at Alula from widely opened eyes. “Oh, Alula.....” she said, voice slightly cracking. Rainbow Harmony reached out and wrapped her hooves around Alula's neck, pulled her close and gave her a tight hug. She held her embraced like this for a moment, then shifted her face and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Then I'm coming with you,” she announced, now zeal in her voice.
The expression in Alula's face changed again. She pushed Rainbow Harmony away, albeit gently. “No,” Alula said. “I don't want that you bring yourself in danger.”
Rainbow Harmony frowned. But it was not from anger, it was from concern. “But I will,” she announced, firmly. “I'm not letting you go alone. Maybe I'm not very strong, but neither are you, Alula. And I can still do something to protect you if the skinwalker aims for you with its claws. You go with them because you want to be the one who protects me, so let me do the same thing for you.”
Alula was attempting to respond something, but she found herself unable to. It was a logic she couldn't argue with. Who was she to deny Harmony this, after she had told her that she would go with them on the skinwalker hunt to protect her? Alula gave up. She wrapped her hooves around Harmony and pulled her in for a hug now, silently giving her agreement. They would go together, she and her, and protect each other. Rainbow Harmony understood without words being spoken.
As the two fillies had released their hug, they turned at Hyper Sonic, holding hooves now. “We're coming with you!” they said together, their voices joined like their hooves. Then they took off and flew over to Hyper Sonic. They took position at the other side of the fountain, opposite of Gallus. Their hooves remained intertwined as they stood there.
Now she had three volunteers. Hyper Sonic didn't think about if there were enough for the hunt now, instead, she looked down into the crowd to see if anyone else would sign up. She waited a whole minute, looking down at faces that had lost their earlier enthusiasm now, until it was clear that no one would join her anymore. The crowd even moved again, into the direction of the dorm rooms, many of them shivering now. It had gotten colder in the meantime, Hyper Sonic had to admit. She looked down from the fountain, at Gallus, Alula and Rainbow Harmony. Three young pegasus fillies and a teenage griffon to hunt down a monster. It had to do, she figured.
Having found her team of hunters, Hyper Sonic flew down the fountain and landed in front of the other three students. They looked attentive, waiting for instructions from the pony who had seen the skinwalker and followed it. Hyper Sonic wasted no time.
“I lost sight of the skinwalker half an hour away from the school,” she began. “I don't know where it went, but that doesn't matter, because we know where its home is.”
Gallus, Alula and Rainbow Harmony nodded. “The Everfree Forest,” Gallus voiced their thoughts. “It's only a short flight over town. It won't take long to get there.” He avoided to look at Hyper Sonic while he spoke.
“Yeah. But searching the forest will need a lot more time. I've been there often enough to navigate it, but the forest is big, so we don't have any time to lose. Get equipped for the hunt and we meet in five minutes at the school gate.”
The team of four made their way to the dorms. On the way over, Gooseberry joined Hyper Sonic's side again. Her face was already wrecked with worry, much worse than it was earlier.
“Hyper? Do you really have to go and hunt the skinwalker?” she spoke in a low voice, ears pressed flat against her head. Her eyes shimmered.
Hyper Sonic looked down at her little sister and placed her right foreleg over her back. “Yeah,” she said, simply. “I need to, Gooseberry. But we'll be back soon.”
“But why, Hyper? I'm scared.....” the younger filly wailed. Gooseberry gripped Hyper Sonic's chest and forced her to stop.
Hyper Sonic leaned down and gave her sister a hug. “Join some other students in their dorm room while I'm gone,” she said. “If you aren't alone, then you won't be scared”.
Gooseberry frowned. She squeezed her big sister back, but remained silent all of a sudden. Among the remaining concern in her face was a bit of anger now.
Four minutes later, Hyper Sonic stepped out onto the corridor of the dorm building. Saddlebags were on her back, filled with a bottle of water and a quick snack, and her right wing gripped a flashlight. Gooseberry had refused to spend the time in a dorm room that wasn't theirs, but Hyper Sonic had asked Citrine Spark to stay with her little sister and the mare had agreed. Now it was nearly time to meet with Gallus, Alula and Rainbow Harmony outside. The door of Yona's and Ocellus' room was closed, but Hyper Sonic could hear the faint voice of the guidance counselor behind it. She snuck past it, opened the door of the dorm building quietly and slipped outside. In the courtyard, she instantly took flight and disappeared over the roof of the dorm building.
Gallus, Alula and Rainbow Harmony were already waiting in front of the school. They wore saddlebags, as well, and Gallus and Rainbow Harmony had brought a flashlight. The latter was still holding hooves with her fillyfriend. She gripped Alula's hoof tighter this time and her face looked more grim than before. There was determination in it, though. For a moment, Hyper Sonic wondered how far she would go to protect the filly she loved, but she didn't pursue it.
“The guidance counselor is still in the dorms. Let's go,” she spoke, then immediately flew off. The other tree nodded, then followed her.
Quiet wingflaps brought them away from the school. They became louder as there were a fair distance away from it, out of earshot of the faculty. Their only worry was that one of the other students would betray their secret plan. But no one tried to stop them when they left the dorms and even now there wasn't a sign that they were followed. And if the headmare would find out now, they had the advantage of a headstart and would be deep inside the Everfree Forest by then, where it was easy to hide.
Ponyville lay peacefully below them. Most houses were dark, only a few of them had light shining out of their windows. Music or idle chatter was carried into their ears by the wind as they flew past those houses. When they arrived at the Everfree Forest, they dared to turn their flashlights on. The light cones pierced the darkness and revealed the gnarly trees at the entrance. Rainbow Harmony shivered and clung a little closer to Alula, who comforted her with a gentle back rub by her left wing.
Hyper Sonic stood at the top of the little group. She would be leading them through the forest, as she knew it like her feathers. They wouldn't get lost. The only unclear thing, the one uncertainty of their plan, was the lack of a strategy to fight the skinwalker once they had found it. They knew nothing about the monster, so devising a plan was impossible. Gallus was the strongest of them, so they had agreed he would charge first. But other than that, there really was no plan. They would have to improvise to take the skinwalker down, but it made none of them less determined to go and try it. Especially not herself.
After going over what tiny strategy they had again, Hyper Sonic spoke the command to enter the Everfree and they ventured inside.
It was scary. That was what all four of them agreed on, not with words, but with the expressions on their faces. Hyper Sonic was thrilled to be there, it was her first time exploring the Everfree Forest at night and that made it all the better for her. Gallus tried to disguise the fear in his face with a smug expression, but it shone through regardless. Alula and Rainbow Harmony showed their fear openly. They were holding hooves again. The light of Rainbow Harmony's flashlight shook every so often.
Hyper Sonic looked around, trying to spot possible dangers in the light of her lamp. Around them were more gnarly trees. They usually had a cockatrice or two sitting on them. On good days, they were lined with them. But cockatrices slept at night, so they would be no danger for them. Timberwolves were a different matter. These beasts knew no sleep. Hyper Sonic didn't fully understand what they were, but she knew that their bodies consisted of nothing but dead wood, which was controlled by something. What was a mystery, but she did not particularly care about figuring that mystery out. She just needed them to put up a good fight.
There was one obvious place for the skinwalker to hide in and they were heading towards it now. The Everfree Forest did not have many caves, only two, in fact. One of them was already occupied by a beast that was probably far more powerful than the skinwalker and Hyper Sonic knew that this beast wouldn't share its home. Even she avoided it, there was nothing she could do against a creature that would tower over Ponyville like one of Manehattan's skyscrapers, if one were relocated into the little town.
The other cave used to be the home of a benevolent force that was now destroyed. She had learned all about the Tree of Harmony in the friendship school, but her discovery of it happened in advance of these lessons, a long time before its destruction. And the fact it was destroyed now meant that it was possible for a dark entity like the skinwalker to hide there. Harmony couldn't get in the way anymore.
As they arrived at the cliff that separated the Castle of the Two Sisters from the rest of the Everfree Forest, thankfully without any encounters that could have distracted them from their search, their wings became of use again. Instead of balancing their way over the old, rotten rope bridge and then trotting down the craggy path at the other side, they directly flew down and towards the cave.
Inside of it, they were greeted by blinding light as the large crystal structure in the middle of the cave reflected the glow of their lamps. They instinctively shielded their eyes and aimed their flashlights at the rocky ground. Treading forward carefully, they approached the crystal structure. It filled the cave from the ground to the ceiling and disappeared in the rocks above them. Hyper Sonic knew what it was and where the crystals led to. Gallus explained it anyway, as he saw the clueless and surprised faces of Alula and Rainbow Harmony.
“That's the foundation of the treehouse of me and my friends,” he spoke, letting the light he was holding wander upwards where the crystals disappeared in the ceiling.
“You have a treehouse made of crystals?” Rainbow Harmony questioned.
“Yeah. We built a house from what was left of the Tree of Harmony. Then it grew into a large treehouse. It's a gift from the Tree, because we revived it.”
Hyper Sonic nodded, absentmindedly, while she let her light go over the walls, looking for any presence besides their own. “And if we don't found the skinwalker in this cave, we're going to check there next.”
“Where?” Alula asked.
“In the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Hyper Sonic answered. She trotted behind the structure that formed the foundation of the crystal treehouse above them. The space behind it was completely empty. They were alone in the cave.
“Going in there?” Alula asked, with disbelief. “What's with the Pony of Shadows?”
“That's just a legend,” Hyper Sonic spoke firmly, stepping out from behind the crystal at the other side of it.
“Found anything?” Gallus asked gruffly.
“No. There aren't any signs that a living creature was here.” She trotted past her fellow hunters and aimed for the exit of the cave. “Let's check the castle next.”
No objections from the others. They followed her silently. Their wings carried them out of the canyon and soon they stood in front of the castle. As they were about to enter, Gallus stopped his company. “Isn't it weird that nothing attacked us? I never heard that the Everfree Forest is so quiet.”
Hyper Sonic pointed her light at him. She shrugged. “It happens. The forest does what it wants.”
“Or something is here that scares all the other monsters.” Alula looked around cautiously, while staying close to Rainbow Harmony.
“Maybe,” Hyper Sonic agreed. “That's what we want to find out.” She turned around and stepped at the castle gate. “Come, let's go inside.”
The crystal treehouse was sitting in the middle of the courtyard that lay behind the outer walls. It sparkled as stray light of their lamps touched it. “Could the skinwalker hide in there?” Hyper Sonic asked, letting her light glide over the treehouse.
“Doubt it,” Gallus rejected the notion. “By what the Tree of Harmony told us, a monster like that couldn't get inside.”
Hyper Sonic nodded. “Let's explore the castle ruins then.” She marched ahead, followed by the others. They ventured forth into the castle's dark depths and disappeared in them.
When they returned to the crystal treehouse an hour later, their heads were hanging low. They had searched the entire castle, but found nothing but dusty, old books, ancient statues and decaying tapestries. Even a few secret rooms, which would have been a perfect hiding spot for a creature of darkness, but they had all been devoid of life. All they came back with were disappointment and, with the exception of Hyper Sonic, scares from countless sounds they couldn't explain and the occasional scurrying shadow at the borders of their vision. None of them was surprised that the castle seemed to be haunted, but the scary creature they were looking for wasn't there.
“And what now?” Gallus asked, getting annoyed. “This entire search was a waste of time. I probably should have stayed where I was. The skinwalker is obviously not here.”
Hyper Sonic ignored the remark, going over their options. Where could they search next? The only other cave was an impossible hideout, as she had already deducted. But it was also the last place of interest left. There was Zecora's hut, but it was an obvious guess that the skinwalker wasn't there, and the rest of the forest was nothing but a rough wilderness consisting of trees, bushes, rocks and swamps. Searching through the entire forest would take days, she knew, and they didn't have that much time.
Before she could come up with a solution, Hyper Sonic was thrown out of her thoughts by a loud rustling of the bush next to her. It wasn't big enough for the monster whose outline she had seen to hide between its branches, but all of them were instantly on alert and Hyper Sonic brought herself into a battle-ready pose. Before she could call for the mysterious figure to show themselves, the branches of the bush suddenly got pushed aside and somepony stepped out of it. In the light of her lamp, Hyper Sonic could see the familiar face of her little sister.
“Gooseberry?” she asked, bewildered now. “What are you doing here?” She trotted up to her sister, ready to scold.
Gooseberry didn't look well. Her mane and tail were full of dirt, leaves and little twigs. Her coat was dirty, as well, and there was a bruise on the knee of her left hindleg. Her eyes were red and wet around the edges, she had obviously been crying. And once she saw her big sister, new tears started flowing. “Hyper!” she cried out and flung herself into Hyper Sonic's arms. The gesture immediately extinguished any and all anger the older filly felt.
Alula, Rainbow Harmony and Gallus watched as Hyper Sonic stroke the mane of her little sister and tried to calm her down. “I got too scared!” they heard the young filly sob. “I told Citrine Spark I am going to the bathroom, but I went looking for you, Hyper!”
Gallus crossed his forelegs. “So, what now?” he asked. Impatience glistened in his eyes.
“Nothing”, Hyper Sonic said. “I can't stay here with Gooseberry and drag her into this. I need to return now. We can continue the search tomorrow night.”
“But without me.” Gallus huffed.
Dejected, the other two friendship students and Alula followed Hyper Sonic and Gooseberry out of the Everfree Forest. Hyper Sonic chose the quickest route out. It was still deepest, darkest night as they left the Everfree. They hadn't found the skinwalker and coming back with empty hooves was a horrible feeling in Hyper Sonic's stomach. But Gooseberry was not cut out for this type of endeavor and for no adventure in the world would she risk her little sister's life.
The group had turned their backs and marched a bit into the direction of Ponyville and the friendship school. Gallus, Alula and Rainbow Harmony were about to take off, as a frightening, loud howling came from the Everfree Forest. They stopped in their tracks, frozen by the sound.
Hyper Sonic, who was at the top of the group with Gooseberry clinging to her, turned back around at the forest. The others hesitantly followed her example. The howling happened again. Then, lit up by the moon, a monstrous figure peeled itself out of the forest's shadow in the distance. It was standing on its hindlegs. For a moment, it only watched them, then the creature lowered itself down on all fours and began to ran towards them. They couldn't yet make out what the creature was, but they had the skinwalker in front of them, there was no doubt.
Hyper Sonic pushed Gooseberry behind her and took up a protective position in front of her. “That's it!” she shouted. “It's here!”
The skinwalker came closer fast, then it suddenly lowered its tempo when it was only a few yards away from them anymore. It walked slowly, menacingly, with its eyes fixated on them. They could see it clearly now. The creature that came towards them was a large wolf, three our four times as big as an average adult pony. Its entire body was covered in thick and long, brown fur. It was massively built, with huge muscles under its fur, and yellow, evil eyes. The five of them stood completely still, observing the monster's every movement.
“Gallus, charge!” Hyper Sonic gave the griffon the command to begin the battle. But Gallus didn't move. He only stood there and stared. “Gallus!” Hyper Sonic called out to him again, but he did nothing to attack the monster.
“I can't move,” he said instead. His eyes widened in shock.
“This is not the time for being afraid!” Hyper Sonic shouted at him. “If we are frozen in fear, we're done!”
“Shut up!” Gallus shot back. “I am not afraid! I really can't move.”
“What?!” Hyper Sonic observed him and the rest of the group. Alula and Rainbow Harmony did no step backwards, even though the monster was very close to them now. As she tried to move herself, she realized that she couldn't.
“Hyper? I can't move my legs.” Gooseberry's distraught voice came from behind her.
It was the skinwalker's doing. She had underestimated its powers. Some kind of magic the beast possessed kept them in place, making them the ideal, helpless prey. Hyper Sonic gritted her teeth. The only part of her body she could still move was her head. Everything was over. Not only were they unable to defeat the skinwalker, they would also not return from this adventure at all.
The skinwalker reached Gallus. The griffon felt a strong urge to fly away, but the magic that kept him in place forced him to accept the inevitable. And, for some reason, it didn't happen. The monster paid him no heed and walked past Gallus without even attempting to dig its claws deeply into his body. Its eyes were fixated on something behind him, but Gallus couldn't turn his head far enough to see what it was. Alula closed her eyes as the wolf-like beast had reached her. Behind her, Rainbow Harmony looked away from the beast and focused her eyes on her fillyfriend.
In front of Hyper Sonic, the skinwalker stopped. He turned at the pegasus filly and looked deeply into her eyes.
“H-HYPER!” Gooseberry screamed next to her, loud and startling.
The skinwalker did not react to her scream. Its entire focus was on her sister. Hyper Sonic felt the hot breath of the monster in her face. Why it had chosen her as the first one was unfathomable for the filly, but she knew what would be happening any moment. “Gooseberry, look away,” she spoke to her little sister. But Gooseberry couldn't, her shocked eyes were glued to the scene next to her.
The skinwalker was taking its time. It brought its monstrous mouth close to Hyper Sonic's mane, fangs not yet exposed, and sniffed at it. Then its face came even closer, it practically buried itself into Hyper Sonic's mane and continued to sniff, stronger this time.
Slowly, the beast went down her entire face. It plastered it with deep, strong sniffs, from her eyes all the way down to her neck. A low growl left the skinwalker's throat. Then it opened its mouth and poked out a long, fleshy tongue. Stopping the sniffing, it let the tongue come down on Hyper Sonic's right cheek and slowly licked over it, like it was savouring the taste of her. Hyper Sonic closed her eyes and turned away in disgust as her cheek was covered in thick saliva by the wet tongue. Then the unwanted sensation was suddenly over.
Hyper Sonic opened her eyes again and she saw that the skinwalker had retreated its face. Once more, it was staring deeply into her eyes. Hyper Sonic noticed that the breath of the skinwalker was going stronger now. And there was a certain expression in its eyes..... The expression was deeper all of a sudden, almost like it was longing for something. Hyper Sonic answered the look, trying to figure out what it was that she saw in those deep eyes. They only looked at each other, the skinwalker wasn't doing any attempts to tear her young flesh apart.
“NOOOOO!” someone was suddenly screaming behind Hyper Sonic. A dark ball of magic suddenly soared over her head and hit the skinwalker with full force. The beast yowled in pain. The smell of burning flesh rose up into the air. As it did a step back, Hyper Sonic noticed that she was able to move her body again. She turned around and saw Luna hovering behind her. Her eyes were filled with hatred and fixated on the monster.
Alarmed by the sudden attack, the skinwalker turned around and began to run for the forest at a high tempo. Luna landed in front of Hyper Sonic and fired more magic at the monster. Before she could land another hit, the skinwalker suddenly dissipated, like it became one with the air. Their eyes could not detect it anymore, but they could still hear it, invisible steps that ran away in the distance.
Luna looked after it, still with the same hatred in her eyes. “STAY AWAY FROM THESE INNOCENT CREATURES, VILE, FOUL BEAST! NEVER LAY YOUR CLAWS ON THEM AGAIN OR WE WILL BRING ALL OF OUR WRATH UPON YOU!” Luna used the Royal Canterlot Voice to its full, terrifying extent as she shouted after the monster. Her breath was going unsteady after the last words had left her lips. When she finally turned around at the group of creatures she had just rescued, her eyes fell on Rainbow Harmony for a moment, before she turned at Hyper Sonic.
“Princess Luna?” Hyper Sonic asked confused. “What are you doing here?”
Alula, Rainbow Harmony and Gallus looked at Luna, as well, expecting answers. Only Gooseberry was hiding her face in Hyper Sonic's coat, sobbing again.
“This is not a nightmare, as much as I wish for it to be one,” Luna told them, like she had been reading their minds. “You will turn away now and return to your schoo!” she commanded them. Her voice was full of stress. “This is not the right night to roam around outside.”
None of them would have objected Luna's command, but before they could say something in return or do as Luna had told them, they suddenly found their bodies wrapped into a blue glow. Luna's ignited horn was the last thing they saw, then all five of them stood in the courtyard of the friendship school. The princess had teleported them back.
It took all of them a few seconds to realize what Luna did, then Gallus found his speech back. “Fine with me,” he said and shrugged his shoulders. “I had enough of this hunt anyway.” The tone in his voice couldn't hide a certain disappointment over the fact that they had failed to defeat the skinwalker, though. He left the group and stomped into the direction of the dorm building. Alula and Rainbow Harmony did likewise, hooves wrapped around each other's shaking bodies.
Hyper Sonic, staying behind with Gooseberry, was unsure what to do. A part of her still itched to challenge the monster again. But her team of hunters had enough, they wouldn't join her anymore, this was more than clear. She turned at Gooseberry, who still clung to her tightly.
“Let's go to bed, Gooseberry,” she said.
“Um-hm.”
Hyper Sonic felt the nod at her chest. She gave the full moon a look, then sighed and entered the dorms with Gooseberry.
> Chapter 17: Meditation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

.
Away from the friendship school, at the other end of Ponyville, twigs and leaves got shoved to the side as a creature moved through the thicket of the Everfree Forest. It was a restless walk, fitful and at a high tempo. The breath of the creature was going strong. A wheeze happened here and there. Pain made the creature faster, but at the same time weaker. There was a wound before, a scar from old times that had been ripped open again, but now the wound was even deeper. Guidance could maybe help with it, the creature thought. Not cure it, but make it more bearable.
Somewhere in the deepest thicket, Luna stopped to catch her breath. She gazed through the branches of the trees that obstructed the view of the night sky and searched for the moon. The sky was hardly visible through the dense canopy and only very little of the moon's light found its way into the forest. She had the ability to cast an illumination spell, but her mind was in wild turmoil, flinging from one thought to another, and she could not concentrate enough for spellcasting. So the restless night princess had to find her way in the darkness. It wasn't difficult for her trained eyes, but nonetheless, she longed for the light of the moon.
Luna continued. There was a glimmer of hope in this forest, she knew. Words that could soothe her, spoken from old lips. Words of a mentor. When she saw the orange glimmer through the branches of a bush a couple yards away, she knew she was there.
Luna edged her way ahead. She broke through the bush and stumbled forward onto the clearing with the remaining strength she had in her shaking legs. It wasn't her body that gave out, but regardless of that, she couldn't keep herself up anymore. The weary princess sat down next to the fire to rest.
She was alone. The pony she had hoped to find, and who she needed, was not here. But this did not bother her. She could recover from the encounter and from the previous night here, and once he returned from his watch, she could bring clarity into her predicament, into the prevalent question that dominated her mind, or at least find comfort and reassurance.
The fire crackled and fizzled and her eyes got drawn to it, sunk deeply into the flames. Her breath became slower while she stared, the flickering flames offered no answer, but they brought distraction for her tormented mind. Luna didn't want to look away from the fire. Her body became heavier as her perception disappeared in the campfire.
“It is a quiet night again, but not in your mind, if you seek me out.”
Suddenly, the fire was smaller. How much time had passed? Luna looked up. A piece of wood, wrapped into a white aura, landed in the flames. The fire fizzled louder, flared up, and burst to new life again. Opposite of her sat the pony she had been waiting for.
Starswirl added another piece of wood and the fire grew. “It is cold tonight,” he said.
Luna did not feel cold. Not on the outside, at least. Her heart, however, was being gripped by cold fear. “Starswirl.....” she began and stopped again. A shiver went through her body. She tried again. Nothing. The words didn't want to come. Luna looked away. Maybe this was for the best. She carried guilt and maybe talking to her mentor would only increase it. How could she predict the outcome?
“You made a mistake.” Starswirl looked at her. Instead of judgement, there was warmth in his eyes. “But it was long ago and you have learned since then, became a different pony who makes wiser decisions, so speak freely.”
His gaze seemed to drill into her, but it was not unpleasant. “Did I?” Luna shifted her eyes at him. “Have I made a wise decision, Starswirl?”
“You have an apprentice now,” Starswirl said calmly, seemingly ignoring Luna's question, but picking it up at the same time.
Luna's eyes widened, while her pupils shrunk. “How do you know?”
“It's not hard to find out,” the wizard replied, a smile playing around his lips. “A trot through town, listening to the conversations of ponies, especially to the young ones. Not everything needs a spell.”
“Was it right?” Luna looked at her mentor, seeking confirmation and fearing rejection.
“Does she have what is needed?” Starswirl answered with a question of his own.
“Yes. I think she does. She is strong, in body and in mind.” Luna lowered her eyelids and looked into the fire again.
“Good. What happened long ago was a tragedy. But the past is in the past.” Starswirl conjured two grey, metallic cups from a bag next to him.
Luna looked at him again, her head moving slightly faster now. “Really? Is it?” Luna asked, a foreboding feeling coming over her that her words passed on to the wizard.
Starswirl didn't respond. His magic hovered the two cups, now filled with a brown liquid, over the fire. Only as the liquid began to boil, he talked again. “A heavy burden is on your mind regardless. Tell me about it, Luna,” he prompted.
“I..... I might..... I might have.....” Luna shook. She took a deep breath and forced the words out of her. “I might have seen him.” As the words had left her, she was shaking stronger.
Starswirl floated one of the cups over to her. It trembled slightly, but arrived safely. Luna took it into her own magic.
“Him.....” Starswirl repeated the word that still lingered palpably in the air. His eyes were wide, as well, now. “No, impossible,” he then said, after being in thoughts for a few moments. “His powers were certainly strong, we can't deny that. But not strong enough for more than a thousand years time.” He lifted the cup he held to his lips and sipped from it before he continued to speak. “What did you see?”
“The beast..... They call it 'skinwalker', but.....” Luna trailed off and looked into the fire again, too terrified to finish the sentence.
“Transformation,” Starswirl said, taking the burden off her. “The ability to shapeshift..... It is reminding of him. He never used his powers for good. If he were still alive, I am convinced he would bring more pain. But he did not have access to a millennial life.” Starswirl's gaze deepened, thrust deeper into her skull. “He is dead, Luna. Nothing more than dust in a grave now. Or, perhaps, at a place where he faced powers bigger than his own. He won't come back.”
“Dust.....” Luna whispered. “I fear, dust has become his home now.....” Despite their nature, the words found their way into Starswirl's ears, over the quietly crackling fire. They sat in near complete silence. “I have received terrible news, Starswirl.....” Luna continued, a little louder. Her eyes kept staring at the flames, frozen and numb. Then a tear trickled out of each and slowly ran down her face.
“Your guilt is still strong,” Starswirl took note. “It haunts you again. The beast brings back the past..... but not in the way you fear, Luna. There are many wicked existences in the world. You see them yourself, Luna, in some nights. Sometimes, they create more wicked existences, by passing on their madness to others. Whatever you heard, whatever news you received, the deed is not his doing. There are many who are capable of crimes.”
“How can you be so sure.....” Luna looked warily at Starswirl now. “His own doing..... I know it is his.” Suddenly, there was new energy in Luna. She rose from her resting place, harshly putting down her cup in the process. It fell over and spilled its content. “I have all the details I need to know it's him. I must go and stop what is happening. There is no time to explain. They need me.”
Starswirl nodded, stoic and without moving his body from his seat or his eyes away from Luna. “Go and find out, Luna. Find out who is behind the crimes you discovered. Then, you will see that the past is dead.”
Luna stared at her mentor, disbelief in her cold eyes. She turned around, without saying a word, and headed back into the thicket. She traced the way she came from, without ever looking back.
The old wizard watched Luna until he could not see the glow of her horn anymore. He sighed. “I hope you won't find what you are looking for.”
Starswirl looked up at the moon and his thoughts went far away.
> Chapter 18: Darkness from the Depths of Souls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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A portal inside the dream realm opened and out stumbled Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo. Rainbow and Hyper laughed at the top of their lungs while they entered back into the dream realm, both of them coated with cake batter. The former eventually draping a hoof over the younger and nudging her face with the other one. “You are a wack filly, Hyper Sonic!” the mare shouted.
Hyper Sonic laughed louder in response. “I had no choice!” she explained, without actually sounding like she was defending herself. “If I hadn't blown up the oven, the lobster would have smashed the ceiling in half and brought the house back to the Storm King's lair!”
Inside the portal, a yellow filly with an orange mane was sitting in a lush, green landscape and looked after them. She was waving her hoof with a happy, innocent smile on her face. Her body was entirely clean.
Behind the exhilarated mare and filly, Scootaloo followed slowly. Her head was low, a sad look was on her face and her ears dropped. Her eyes weren't on Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Dash, they were directed at the infinite expanses of the dream realm below her. Though, as sad as the other pegasus filly obviously was, her expression was none that could have matched Luna's.
The princess stepped out as the last one, the portal closing behind her, and she looked weary and tired. Dark circles lined the underside of her eyes, her face looked old, her mane wasn't the tidy one that everypony knew and behind the worn look in her eyes was a hint of shock and desperation.
At the top of the group, the opposite mood continued undisturbed, Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Dash still not being able to stop laughing. “It wasn't necessary, though!” Rainbow Dash countered. “I totally could have made that lobster flash out of existence! I know how to do that now!”
Hyper Sonic looked at her, fiercely. “Sure, after Princess Luna taught you how to do that only today! Your first attempts at making anything vanish with your dreamwalker magic failed, so I had to intervene!” Hyper Sonic laughed again.
Rainbow Dash frowned at the filly and exposed her teeth. “Yeah? I didn't need your help! Besides, I'm the dreamwalker here, isn't it? It was my job to deal with that nightmare!”
Hyper Sonic ceased her laughs. She turned around at Rainbow Dash. “I guess,” she said, brought back on the proverbial ground by the statement. “I just felt I needed to do something myself. I can only control my own dreams, not the dreams of other ponies. I couldn't resist contributing something.”
Rainbow Dash's face became one of pure surprise. Then a sly grin snuck on it. “Hey, you aren't jealous, are you?” She reached out with a hoof and poked Hyper Sonic's forehead.
Hyper Sonic frowned in return.
“Looks like I'm not the only one who's excited about dreamwalking!”
Luna lifted her head and looked at Rainbow Dash and Hyper Sonic. Something snapped in her eyes as she narrowed them.
Now Hyper Sonic blushed a little, caught in her feelings. “Yeah,” she confirmed. “It's exciting to see what happens in the dreams of other ponies. But when your dreamwalker training is over, I won't be able to see it anymore.” Hyper Sonic's ears lowered slightly and her eyes became wistful. “It would be great if I could enter other ponies' dreams myself. I wouldn't mind becoming a dreamwalker, too.”
Behind them, unnoticed, horror appeared on Luna's face. She began trembling all of a sudden.
“Who says you can't?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I sure could use a partner for all this! And I bet Luna wouldn't mind training another dreamwalker, especially not one who's as experienced with dreams as you are!”
Hyper Sonic's eyes glistened now. “Should I go and ask her if she wants to turn another pegasus into a dreamwalker?”
Luna's pupils shrunk. “No.....” she whispered, quiet enough so that only she could hear it. Not far away, Scootaloo noticed her changed expression. She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.
“Totally!” Rainbow Dash answered Hyper Sonic's question. “I doubt she's going to say no to that! Go and ask her!” She flew around Hyper Sonic and nudged her into Luna's direction.
Hyper Sonic followed the prompt and stepped in front of Luna. There was a cold stare in Luna's eyes, but Hyper Sonic either didn't notice or her anticipation to ask the important question made her not care about it.
“Luna?” she addressed the princess. “I was thinking a lot about dreamwalking lately and I would like to learn it, too. Can you turn me into a dreamwalker and train me like Rainbow Dash?”
Luna's body began to tremble more. She looked down at Hyper Sonic, with her cold stare. In front of her, the filly changed. Hyper Sonic's goldenrod coat turned into a dark blue and her mane became a bright yellow. It changed form as well, the short tomcolt mane grew bigger and became voluminous. It extended far beyond her forehead as the transformation that Luna saw was finished; a long, curvy mane that took a sharp turn upwards near the tip of it. A lively and innocently happy pair of eyes looked up at her, one without eyelashes. There was a colt standing in front of her now, not a filly anymore. Only the wings stayed the same, erect from excitement.
Luna held a trembling hoof at her mouth, covering it. “Y-You.....” she stammered. “I-It's you..... H-Heat Iron.....” Tears rose into her eyes and a sob escaped her throat.
“Luna?” the colt in front of her asked in a scratchy voice, not unlike Hyper Sonic's own voice, but deeper than hers. He tilted his head, looking at Luna from big eyes that gave her a questioning look. “Can you turn me into a dreamwalker?” The colt's voice gave of an eerie echo as he spoke the words.
Luna's face distorted with despair. She gritted her teeth. As she opened her mouth, everything happened very quickly. “NOOOOOO!” Luna screamed out, her Royal Canterlot Voice filled with the same despair that was visible in her face. She lashed out with both of her forehooves, pushed them against the colt's chest and shoved him away with force.
Hyper Sonic found herself sliding a couple steps, then she toppled over by the impact.
“STAY AWAY FROM THIS FOUL WITCHCRAFT THAT I BROUGHT UPON YOU AND DOOMED YOU WITH!” Luna continued to scream.
“What's gotten into you?” Rainbow, who had witnessed Luna's sudden attack, took flight and landed before Luna, where she instinctively took up a protective position in front of her dreamwalking assistant.
Hyper Sonic lay on the floor, fallen to the side and dizzy. She shook her head, then slowly rose back onto her hooves. “Luna?” she asked, confused. The pegasus filly held a hoof at her chest. It was hurting, but not as bad that it could force her to sit down.
Luna stood there, eyes on Hyper Sonic, and stared with a shocked face from which all blood seemed to have become drained, eyes bulging. Her lips were pressed tightly shut, nothing but a thin line at the bottom of her face anymore. “I cannot make you a dreamwalker,” she spoke firmly, then collapsed. Luna sobbed, covered her eyes and began to cry and wail at an eardrum-piercing volume. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” it came from her mouth in-between her sobs and cries.
“Luna? What's wrong?” Rainbow Dash stared at the scene in front of her, incredulously. Hyper Sonic staggered closer, still holding her chest and scrunching her face in pain. Scootaloo approached the crying night princess, as well. She placed a hoof on her foreleg and looked at her with deep concern in her eyes.
“I did it..... I made him become who he is, it is my fault, it is all my fault.....” the voice of the night princess rang out quietly, almost stiffled by the tears.
“What? Your fault? Who are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion, helplessly trying to make sense of the words.
Luna did not respond. She was broken, too broken to talk any more. Only sobs left her throat. Rainbow Dash and Hyper Sonic looked at each other, cluelessly, neither of them knowing what to do, while Scootaloo's eyes kept resting on Luna. Overchallenged and helpless as they were, the three other ponies decided to wait it out, until Luna would explain the sudden change in her behavior.
That moment didn't come for a long while. Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo already thought about forsaking their hopes, as Luna suddenly stirred and sat up. She eyed the dream realm under her, breathing heavily, and her eyes were red. “It is my fault.....” she repeated her last words from earlier that she spoke before breaking down completely. “My fault, Rainbow Dash..... All my fault. And now I did it again. I made the same mistake.”
“What mistake? And what's your fault?” Rainbow Dash asked, using another chance to finally shed light on what had just transpired.
Luna gulped. “I..... I knew somepony like you once.” She hesitated to speak for a moment. “No, more a pony like Hyper Sonic.” She looked at the filly, regret in her eyes. “He was hopeful for the future and all too eager to explore.” There she stopped again, further catching her breath.
“Who?” Rainbow Dash asked. She waited for the answer.
“A dreamwalker like you,” Luna continued eventually. “He joined me in dreams just like you do now.”
“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “You told me about it. You needed help with dreamwalking when you were sick, so you transferred your magic to another pony like you did with me.”
“No.....” Luna shook her head slowly, eyes closed. More regret appeared in her face. “I was lying, Rainbow Dash. There had never been a pony who helped me with my dreamwalking duties..... It was all fun, foolish fun, not work.”
“Fun? Foolish?” Rainbow Dash's confusion deepened and it showed on her face. Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo looked the same, but they let Rainbow Dash do the talking.
“I was not always as responsible with my dreamwalking powers as I am today. Once, I was a filly myself, a foolish filly who thought that everyone could be a dreamwalker. I was mistaken.”
“What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked, hooked and intrigued now.
“More than a thousand years ago.....” Luna began to explain, obliging with the demand to hear the full story. “A thousand years ago, I had a friend. He knew that I was able to walk the dreams of ponies. We used to play together a lot, we played every day, between the lessons that Starswirl taught me and Celestia. We were always together and did nothing alone. This was at a time when my sister didn't have much regards for me, when she cared more about bullying and teasing me because Starswirl's magic lessons didn't stuck as well with me as they did with her..... I had plenty of time for my friend.” Luna smiled, but then her eyes became milky and she turned them down.
“How was his name?” Rainbow Dash asked to advance the conversation, noticing Luna becoming absent.
“Heat Iron.” Luna didn't make eye contact again. “He had realized his special talent early on in life. Heat Iron was a masterful blacksmith. He already had his cutie mark when I first met him, a glowing metal frame with a forging hammer on top. It was a talent that was never of much use for him, it couldn't.....” A new series of sobs shook Luna. Once again, Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo had to wait before the princess continued.
“Heat Iron and I spent every free minute together, except for the nights, when we were both sleeping and I was clumsily exploring the dreamscape and other ponies' dreams, without realizing what responsibility dreamwalking came with. Every day, I described him my adventures and discoveries from the previous night..... It didn't take long until Heat Iron wanted to do the same.”
Luna looked to the side, her face suddenly distorting with grief. “It was foolish, he should have never asked me..... But I was the more foolish one..... I taught him something he should have never known about.....”
“Dreamwalking.....” Rainbow Dash whispered. Her eyes became wide as the implications of Luna's words dawned on her and she could guess what happened next.
“After I..... After I injected my magic into Heat Iron's body, with the same technique I used on you, Rainbow Dash, he had to stay in the hospital for three days..... The doctors were fighting for his life and they barely succeeded with saving it. My magic went up his spine that day, the fastest way to his brain and the most dangerous one..... After he left hospital, the doctors said he might be c-crippled for the rest of his l-life. He had to stay in bed for another week and it was but a miracle that his legs and wings could move again after it. But this was by far not the worst that my decision caused to him.....” Luna averted her gaze further.
“Starswirl took my diary away from me right after and hid it, so I could never turn another pony into a dreamwalker ever again. And he forbad me to lead Heat Iron into dreams, but I ignored his command and did not listen.....”
Luna looked up again now and straight at Hyper Sonic. “He was younger than you, barely seven years old, when the dreamwalking began to change him. Not everypony is fit to be a dreamwalker, to see all the gruesome things that can be encountered in the minds of other ponies, and he wasn't.....” Luna looked down again. She smashed her forehooves onto the thin, invisible fabric of the dream realm and her face transformed with anger. Around her, the dream realm flickered slightly, as if it responded to her reaction. “Neither of you has seen the worst that can be encountered in a dream..... and I beg the stars that you never have to witness what the minds of some ponies can create when they are alone, when nopony watches them.....”
Luna remained propped up on her forelegs as she continued, her teeth gritted. “Heat Iron and I went into many dreams, with no consent from the ponies whose minds we invaded. And solely for our own benefits, not to help ponies with nightmares, just for the fun we had from it. But not everything was fun..... We saw happy dreams and dangerous dreams, sad dreams and crazy dreams and we escaped everything unscathed. Until one night, we found ourselves in a dream that showed us something we could not even imagine before that night.....”
Here, Luna started trembling again and her retelling of the past events became chopped.
“T-The mare on the table.... The leather straps that held her on it..... A stallion lying on top of her, the fear in her eyes. Sometimes, I can still see those eyes in my own nightmares..... And I know he can still see them, too.....And hear her screams when.....” Luna sobbed again. “When..... The mare we saw hadn't agreed to any of this. How could she? The force, the violence, no way to escape..... Then sharp weapons and then only blood anymore..... When everything was over, the mare on the table couldn't be identified as one anymore..... Only the stallion had been smiling the entire time.  A wicked smile..... from nightmares..... He didn't see us, or else.....”
By this point, the faces of Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo were filled with horror. But Luna continued.
“We saw more dreams like that, similar ones, and each of them was just as horrible and disgusting as the first one..... Mares, even fillies, forced to acts they hadn't agreed to, violence, torture and mutilations, murder, ponies of a different race or other creatures being slaughtered or burned alive on gigantic stakes while crowds were cheering about it, power phantasies of the worst kind born from the minds of dreamers we invaded.....
Luna sobbed. “Neither of us knew or would have guessed that there were some ponies who indulged in such phantasies. What we saw in those dreams shocked us, but at the same time, it was intriguing. We found out secrets about ponies who we saw in the streets each day, about ponies who worked in the shops of Canterlot or who were among the castle staff. Learning secrets about them that would have embarrassed them if mentioned or that might have even caused them a loss of their good reputation if word had gone round about their depravity, it fascinated us. Eventually, we sought out such dreams on purpose and revisited ponies who we knew dreamt about phantasies like those.” Luna had to retch before she continued.
“He enjoyed watching those private moments and learning such secrets about ponies more than I did. After we had seen a few of those disturbing phantasies, I suggested to leave such dreams immediately if we should find more of them. But he refused. He insisted to watch more dreams like those and I gave in. I was merely disgusted by those dreams we saw, my mind could otherwise deal with them, but it was different for him.....”
Luna closed her eyes. “Heat Iron was changing slowly, first he enjoyed those dreams more and more, then he began to express the same sentiments, until..... nopony in Canterlot was safe anymore. Heat Iron began to dreamwalk without me. Starswirl found out what he was doing, how he abused his powers, what he subjected ponies to when he visited their dreams. Nopony was safe from him, not old ones, not young ones..... When Starswirl came to intervene, Heat Iron was gone..... We never heard from him again, despite Starswirl's investigations, and we assumed him either dead or that his twisted mind somehow found peace again..... But we have both been wrong.” Finished with the tale from her past, Luna rose onto her hooves again.
The eyes of Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo followed her. “What happened then?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What did you find out?”
“Heat Iron is still alive.....” Luna answered in the most simple way. Her breath was going strong now, she looked stressed, but something seemed to give her new energy, enough to stand, at the same time.
Luna looked up, her eyes getting lost in the depths of the dream realm. She bit her lips. “He now lives in a land that's far away, hidden between the desert sands, and has crowned himself the king of it.....” A tear left her eyes. “He owns everything there, made everything his own. Nopony there is safe. He tortures them in their dreams and.....” Luna's tears started to flow stronger. “And he..... he..... he has taken all the fillies from his kingdom, stole them from their parents, and made them his own, too, hidden deep inside his palace to serve as his personal t-toys.....” Once more, Luna's body started to shake, but she managed to keep standing.
Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo looked at each other, shock and sadness over what they had just learned in their faces. 	“That's..... horrifying!” it blurted out of Rainbow Dash. “Is he doing to those fillies what I think he's doing?!”
Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo said nothing, only gulped, then looked at each other with nervous faces. Hyper Sonic was grinding her teeth, while Scootaloo had started shaking.
Luna avoided to look at Rainbow Dash and she avoided a clear answer. “The most horrible deeds are his doing..... and, yet, it is not his blame alone. The evil did not begin inside of him. Most ponies of Equestria are proper, civilized people. But in some of them, one can still find darkness that reaches deep into their souls..... They infect others with it and Heat Iron's mind was not strong enough to resist what he saw..... The darkness of those ponies corrupted him and drove him insane.”
Luna lifted her head higher, sniffing. “A-And now he is back..... I cannot tell what his plans are, but he has returned to Equestria and is not far away..... Before he left Canterlot more than a thousand years ago, he acquired dark magic from a forbidden source and it gave him the ability to change his appearance in the waking world.....”
“The skinwalker?” Hyper Sonic drew the obvious conclusion.
Luna nodded, without looking at her, tears still flowing. “I suspect it is him. It was Rainbow Harmony who told me about her 'master' when I began to investigate her nightmare and asked questions. She did not tell me his name and I could not find out why she was in Ponyville or how she could escape his clutches. It was difficult getting through the spell he had put on her and she did not tell me everything, but I have found out enough to know without a doubt that his mind could not find rest and that this dark activities continue elsewhere from here.....”
Luna turned at the three pegasi. “I must stop him. I must find out if he truly is hiding behind the tale of the skinwalker and I must free his kingdom and the fillies he is holding captive. He was a good pony once, with no dark thoughts, and he became like this because of my foolishness that made him see things his mind could not endure, so I am the one who has to end it all.”
“But not alone,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now that I know all this, I'm going to help you find out if he is the skinwalker and fight him with you!”
To the left and right of her, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo nodded their agreement.
“I'll help you, too!” Scootaloo shouted. “I don't want that these fillies suffer any longer.”
“I have a little sister and I hate the idea that young fillies like her are slaves like that.....” Hyper Sonic voiced her thoughts, as well. “And if he is really here in Ponyville, then he might go after Gooseberry and I'll do everything to protect her. I join you, Luna!”
Luna's face was stern. “Thank you. But I cannot ask for something that would lead to more ponies getting affected by his activities. He, the ponies he tortured in the past and the fillies he enslaves shall remain the only victims of my foolishness.”
And Luna let actions follow her words. Rainbow Dash, Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo awoke in their beds before either of them could voice their disagreement. For a moment, each of them stared at the ceiling, before realizing that Luna had sent them away.
It was Rainbow Dash who gave way to her disagreement as the first one. While Hyper Sonic and Scootaloo still lay in their beds, processing what they've heard, she left her own and flew through the window of her bedroom out into the cool night.
“Not without me,” Rainbow Dash spoke, eyes directed at Ponyville.
.