At the End of the Tunnel

Fluttershy and I stood on the platform of the Ponyville Train Depot. We were waiting for the afternoon train to Canterlot. Pinkie and Rarity had also come to see us off.

"Oh, I'm so jealous of you two," Rarity half-whined, "what I wouldn't give for a three-day weekend staying in Canterlot Castle."

"Maybe this was a little much," Fluttershy said, "I'm going to miss my animal friends, especially Angel."

"Didn't you tell me that most of your friends go away for winter," I asked.

"That's true, I suppose."

"Aww, cheer up Fluttershy," Pinkie interjected, "going to Canterlot is a lot of fun, fun, fun."

"Pinkie's right, darling," Rarity agreed, "I mean, think of the shopping you could do, or perhaps the Canterlot Philarmonic Orchestra is having a performance, or perhaps..."

"Easy, Rarity," I scolded, "remember, it's not you going on this trip.

The porcelain unicorn pouted.

"Besides," I continued, holding a hand up to my ear, "I think I hear our train coming."

My hearing turned out to be precise, as it was indeed the Canterlot train coming into the station. Quickly, I picked up my suitcase and specially-made suitbag and moved towards the boarding platform, with Fluttershy right behind me, pulling her suitcase. When the train came in, nopony was getting off, so the two or three other ponies getting on, along with the two of us, stowed our luggage and hopped aboard.

"Buh-bye," Pinkie called, twirling a noisemaker in the air.

"Bon voyage," Rarity said, waving her white handkerchief.

Our tickets gave us passage in the first-class cabin of the train. When Fluttershy and I reached that car, we noticed only two other ponies there, and they seemed to be traveling together. They were two white unicorns, a stallion and a mare. The stallion was wearing what I believed to be a smoking jacket, as well as a golden monocle. The mare had a distinct pointed muzzle, and a long, flowing, pink mane. As there weren't many options, we decided to sit across the aisle from the pair.

As soon as we sat down, I could hear the two of them start whispering. At first, I ignored it, presuming that they were just going about their business. That was, until the stallion spoke up.

"Excuse me," he said, "but, are you the human we've heard about."

"That I would be," I said, turning to face him, "Guy the human, at your service."

"Oh, splendid. You know I've been dying to meet you since I first caught wind of you. My name is Fancy Pants, and this is my marefriend, Fleur de Lis. Now, I also seem to recall your accompaniment from somewhere, but I can't place it." Fleur whispered something in his ear. "Oh yes, Fluttershy, Rarity's dear friend from the Canterlot Garden Party, of course. So nice to see you again, miss."

I could tell Fluttershy was a little nervous, so I took the liberty of speaking again.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet both of you as well," I said.

"If you don't mind me asking," Fancy Pants said, "where are you two traveling to?"

"We're on our way to Canterlot for the weekend as special guests of the princesses." Fancy Pants seemed shocked by this revelation.

"And how do you know the princesses so well?"

"We've met before, in fact this isn't my first special invitation. And," I leaned in and whispered this so that only Fancy could hear me, "it doesn't hurt when your marefriend was one of the Elements of Harmony."

"Your marefriend?" he said, completely aloud.

"What? Does that bother you?" I asked, planting a kiss right on Fluttershy's cheek.

"Not in the slightest, my good sir. I suppose what's good for the stallion is good for the human, am I right?"

"Not exactly, but I know what you mean."

"Are you two free for dinner tomorrow night? We should all go out." I'll admit that I was a little shocked by this invitation, having only known the two for five minutes. I turned to Fluttershy.

"What do you think, honey?"

"We'd love to," she answered with all confidence.

"Excellent," Fancy beamed, "it's settled then."

************************************************

Fluttershy and I spent the rest of the relatively short train ride talking with our new-found friends. However, when the train reached the capital city, we quickly lost track of Fancy and Fleur. This was mostly due to the fact that as soon as we debarked, we came face-to-face with a member of the Royal Guard.

"Guy and Fluttershy, correct?" the unicorn guard greeted.

"That would be us," I answered.

"Right this way."

The guard led us a short ways to a white-and-gold carriage, which was manned by another guard. The first guard levitated our luggage up to the rack on the top of the vehicle, while the second, also a unicorn, used his magic to open the door. Once Fluttershy and I were safely inside, sitting across from each other, they were off.

"Oh my," my marefriend said quietly once we were under way, "I didn't expect Princess Celestia to go through so much trouble."

"Well you know how the princesses are," I answered, taking her hooves in my hands, "Besides, we are two very important guests."

"I suppose so. Oh, I do so hope everything goes well this weekend."

"C'mon, what's the worst--," I stopped myself before I could finish the cliched phrase and worry the pegasus, "Everything will be great. I promise."

Fluttershy sighed and smiled, put at ease by my words. I leaned over and stole a kiss from my lover before sitting back to enjoy the rest of the ride through town.

It wasn't long before our carriage stopped in front of the still awe-inspiring Canterlot Castle. Once Fluttershy and I were out, I noticed a younger-looking orange unicorn stallion, wearing an outfit more befitting of a bellhop come up and put our luggage on his back and go inside. I wondered why a unicorn wouldn't use his magic to do the work, but didn't have much time to ponder the question.

"Princess Celestia has requested your presence immediately," one of the unicorn guards informed us, "I will take you to the throne room now."

The guard led the two of us through the same corridor with all the stained glass windows which I had marveled at during my first visit. The throne room sat on almost a straight shot down this hallway, on the other side of a massive golden double-door. Once there, the guard stepped aside, allowing us to be alone with the princess.

The throne room was almost staggeringly simple. Two thrones sat on the far side, up a few steps from the white marble floor. Princess Celestia sat in one, above which sat a tapestry emblazoned with a picture of the sun. The other chair, presumably Princess Luna's given the similar moon-based tapestry, was empty. Upon seeing us enter, Celestia rose out of her chair and came to greet us.

"It is good to see that you both have arrived safely," Celestia said, ending her descent right in front of us. Fluttershy and I both bowed.

"A pleasure to see you again, princess," I greeted.

"And this time it isn't in a hospital," my marefriend joked, surprisingly calm. Guess it comes from dealing with royalty all the time.

"That is true, Fluttershy," Celestia smiled.

"Will Luna be joining us soon," I inquired.

"Well, she was sleeping. It is daytime, after all. However, she asked to be awoken as soon as you got here, so it shouldn't be long before--"

"Huzzah! Thou hast arrived!" Luna's voice rang out from the doorway. The princess of the night wasted little time crossing the room and throwing her forehooves around my neck in a hug which I had little choice but to return.

"Luna," I laughed, still enveloped, "your manners."

"Be not so formal, good Guy. We are just so happy to see thou upright and in good spirits." Luna let go of me and proceeded to pick up Fluttershy by the forehooves and pull her into a sitting hug. "And we are happy to see thou as well, fair Fluttershy. Oh, thou two are so adorable together."

"Th-thank you, Luna," Fluttershy said, just a tad nervous now.

"Well now that everypony is present," Celestia said, her regal tone intact despite her sister's antics, "I believe dinner should be served."

The four of us walked out of the throne room, Celestia and Luna flanking Fluttershy and I respectively. Fortunately, the great dining hall was not far from the throne room. However, when we reached the eating room, I noticed something peculiar. Celestia and Luna's chairs, which were far larger than the others at the table, were set not at the head, but in the middle.

"Uh...," I stuttered, "should I be aware of something here?"

"Tis nothing," Luna replied, making her way to her seat, "We, as in my sister and myself, thought it would be easier for us to talk this way. Thou knows how hard it is to converse with somepony if they are sitting too far away."

"And we also assumed that you and Fluttershy would prefer to sit next to each other," Celestia continued, "who knows, we may decide to always be placed in the middle of the table from now on."

"Well, you won't hear any argument from me," I quipped, shrugging my shoulders, "let's eat."

The four of us took our respective seats. Soon, the various waitstaff was on the move, bringing out the first course.

"So," Celestia asked nonchalantly, "how was your trip?"

"Same as it always is," I answered, "though we did pick up a dinner invitation for tomorrow night."

"Is that so? Well, it's good to know in advance."

"Yes. Oh, and before I forget, there's a favor that I would like to ask."

"And what is that?"

"How would I go about acquiring an alicorn-size bed."

The two royal sisters exchanged glances.

"Pray tell why," Luna spoke, "We do not think a bed that size would fit in the library."

I smiled, "Well that's fine, since I'm not living with Twilight anymore."

"Oh?"

"I moved in with Fluttershy," I put my hand over her hoof on the table, "and we don't exactly fit comfortably in the same bed."

"Wait...thou two are...," Fluttershy blushed, Celestia simply closed her eyes and smiled.

"Yes Luna," I nodded slowly, almost sarcastically, "we're sleeping together. And if you think we look cute together normally, wait until you eavesdrop on our dreams when we're sleeping, this one all curled up in my arms. It's actually quite adorable."

Fluttershy blushed harder, Celestia's smile got a little bigger, and Luna got a bit of a flummoxed look on her face.

"How dare thou imply that we watch ponies sleeping for no reason!"

"I wasn't implying anything, Luna," I said, causing the moon princess to give a little huff, "So, Celestia, about the bed?"

"I'll put in a special order for you," she answered, "expect it delivered to the cottage in about a week."

"Thank you, princess."

The rest of our meal went by relatively quickly and without me almost angering Luna.

When we were finished, the four of us bid each other adieu as Luna had night court and the rest of us were going to bed. However, before we did so, I caught Luna whispering something in Fluttershy's ear which made the pegasus blush again.

"And what was that all about," I asked as Fluttershy and I walked toward our shared chamber, "Something about me, I presume?"

She didn't answer directly, but the way her wings ruffled meant that I was right.

As soon as we were inside the bedroom, a yawn escaped from Fluttershy. This caused me to smirk a bit, at least until it was broken by a yawn of my own.

"Guess we're both tired then," she said with a little smile.

"I guess so," I replied, immediately doffing my shirt.

As I dealt with my clothes, Fluttershy dealt with the bed. The large beds of the castle were basically the same as California King-size beds on Earth. While it was exactly the size that I was looking for, I wondered whether or not it would fit in Fluttershy's cottage. Then again, if I had learned anything in Equestria, it's that, where there's a will, there's magic.

I climbed into bed, and Fluttershy wasn't far behind. My pegasus soon curled up next to me like she always does, giving me the opportunity to hold her like I always did.

"Guy?"

"Hmm?"

"You really think this is adorable?"

"Of course," I chuckled, "what's more adorable than the most beautiful pony curled up against her love? Not much, if you ask me."

Fluttershy tried to snuggle closer to me, though I think the effort was in vain, since I didn't think that was possible.

"I love you, Guy," she said with a sigh.

"I love you too, honey."

***************************************************

In the morning, I awoke to an interesting, and actually kind of hilarious, sight. While I was in the same position I had been in when I fell asleep, Fluttershy was on the total opposite side of the bed. Given how my arms were flailed out to the sides, I could only assume that my arms had let go of their grasp and Fluttershy's body had taken the opportunity to toss about a little. The consequence of this was now Fluttershy was on her back, resting comfortably on the other pillow. The unintended consequence was that she had kicked most of the sheets away, leaving herself fully exposed. It took all of my willpower to not let my eyes venture too low, lest I get some ideas. But then I got a better one.

Quietly as I could, I shuffled over toward her. Very gently, I rested my head on her chest, laying the hoof closest to me over my neck, while I wrapped my free arm around the rest of her barrel.

However, I must have not been quiet enough, as she stirred moments later to find herself actually holding me in a kind of role-reversal.

"Um...Guy...are you awake?"

"Yep."

"Did you wake up like this?"

"Nope."

"Oh...OK. Um...if you don't mind, this isn't the most comfortable position."

"Agreed," and with that, I pulled her over, rolling over onto my back with her on top of me, "Better?"

"Much," she replied, punctuating the sentiment with a kiss.

"Breakfast?"

She smiled, extending her wings and giving a single flap to get off of me and the bed in one motion. I guess she was hungry.

We both freshened up a bit, and put on clothes in my case, and headed for breakfast. We found the royal sisters already there, their chairs in the same place at the table. As before when I had partaken in breakfast at the castle, the food was plentiful. However, I was perplexed to see how little Fluttershy was eating.

"Honey, no offense, but you eat like a bird."

She paid me no mind at all, continuing to delicately eat her fruit while I gorged myself on what they called "Prench Toast"

.

"So what are your plans for today," Celestia asked.

"Well," I said, making sure not to talk with my mouth full, "other than the dinner invitation, we don't have any plans in particular."

"Canterlot is a large city, I'm sure you can find some way to spend your time. I'll even lend you the royal--"

"No," I interrupted, "No royal nothing. No royal guards, no royal carriages, no royal nothing."

Celestia was a little taken aback by my statement, so Luna took her chance to speak.

"Pray tell why?"

"I've never been in Canterlot proper before. I can imagine there have been rumors of a strange creature in Ponyville, just like there always seems to be. It'll be hard enough going around Canterlot without a royal entourage."

"Suit yourself," Celestia replied, "just don't get lost."

After breakfast was over, Fluttershy and I returned to our room for a brief spell to put on some warmer clothes. It was winter, after all, and while it wasn't that cold outside, it was still chilly enough to require more clothing, even for Fluttershy. I donned the navy blue sweatshirt Rarity had made me and wrapped the white scarf Fluttershy had knitted around my neck. She threw on a pink turtleneck, which had holes for her wings to fit through.

Once properly prepared for the weather, we made our way out of the castle and down the road which led from it to the actual town.

It didn't take long once we reached Cantelot proper that I noticed everypony we passed gawking and rubbernecking as we passed. It didn't matter to me, so long as none of them freaked out like had happened when I first set foot in Ponyville. But with Fluttershy by my side, I didn't have much to worry about. Soon we reached the main street of the city, which was just packed with ponies. Fortunately, being nearly three feet taller than all of them, I was able to still see what was going on.

After a few seconds of scanning, I saw a slightly taller white unicorn who I recognized, if only for her pink mane. As soon as she saw me, she reached for somepony I couldn't see and pointed back to me. The two ponies, who I could now tell for certain were Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, slowly made their way over to where Fluttershy and I were standing.

"Ah, a pleasure seeing you again so soon, old sport," Fancy said to me, reaching a forehoof up for a hoofshake.

"It's a good thing we ran into you," I replied, returning the shake, "I wasn't sure how we were going to find you for dinner."

"Oh, I have my ways. Besides, I've already picked out a place, a lovely Prench restaurant, it's Fleur's favorite."

"Prench," I said, rolling the words around on my tongue, "that's the second time I've heard that word, what does it mean?"

"It refers to anything that is from Prance," Fleur said, the first time I had ever heard her voice, which had a distinct accent, "I myself am from that part of Equestria."

"Is Prance, by chance, a home to a lot of art and cultural influences?"

"Oui," she said, which sealed the comparison for me.

"That means, 'yes'," Fancy explained.

"So," I continued, "since we're all here, I wouldn't mind just spending the whole day with you two. I don't exactly know the city. That is, unless Fluttershy has something she'd rather do instead."

The pegasus opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a new voice.

"I say, Fancy, who is this creature you're conversing with," the masculine voice had all the trademark smugness of a Canterlot snob.

The four of us turned to see two new ponies, a gray unicorn stallion who wore a small set of glasses right on his nose, and a muted yellow unicorn mare wearing an oversized blue necklace. I had taken note that Canterlot ponies seemed to wear clothes much more often than ponies anywhere else, though given the weather I couldn't really blame them.

"Ah, Jet Set, Upper Crust," Fancy said. He probably would have said more, but I beat him to it.

"Creature?" I said, staring down at the two new unicorns.

"I beg your pardon," the stallion coughed, "I've just never seen anything like you before, I didn't know what to call you."

"You can call me Guy. I happen to be the only human in Equestria. Perhaps you've heard rumors about me?"

"Can't say we have," the mare said, taking a step back, "Well, it's been grand seeing you Fancy, Fleur."

"Same to you, Upper Crust," Fancy said nodding first in the mare's direction, then the stallion's, "Jet Set."

The two of them couldn't have gotten out of their faster if they tried.

"Um...Guy," Fluttershy said, "I think you scared them."

"That's what they get for calling me a creature. As if they thought I'm not an intelligent being or something."

"Calm down, sweetie," she said, rubbing my thigh with her hoof.

"Sorry, honey," I replied, kneeling down and giving her a peck on the cheek, "Guess I got a little heated."

"No harm done," Fancy said as he and Fleur began to walk off in some direction, "Come on, you two. You said you wanted to see some of the city, and I intend to show you."

And so, for the next couple of hours, Fancy and Fleur showed us various sights around Canterlot. Really, it didn't seem much different than any other major city I had visited, either in my home world or Equestria.

"And here we are," Fancy said, stopping in front of a restaurant, "dinner is served."

The four of us walked in. I didn't even have to duck my head under the doorway, as I had noticed that all the doors in Canterlot were built to where Celestia herself could walk through it unabated. Ah, wishful thinking. The unicorn waitress at the front immediately recognized Fancy.

"The usual, Mr. Fancy Pants?"

"No, four instead of two."

"Right this way."

As we walked to our table, I noticed that, as before on the street, everypony turned their head in my direction. I was actually kind of getting sick of it. In Ponyville, just being in the presence of Twilight made me something not to be feared. But here, it seemed, even in the presence of a Canterlot society player, his supermodel marefriend, and an Element of Harmony, these ponies still viewed me as something to be gawked at.

"Don't mind them," Fancy said, seeing the frustrated look on my face, "Some ponies here are just wary of anything that isn't a pony."

"Changeling invasion," Twilight had told me that story.

"Changeling invasion."

Eventually we reached our table and everypony got back to their meals and conversations. Fancy ordered a bottle of wine for the table, leaving us to pour over our menus.

It was at this point that I almost regretted swearing off meat. When Fluttershy and I officially became a couple, one of the things I did was promise to never eat meat again. So far I hadn't had any medical problems from the decision. However, looking over this Prench menu, with its many fish, steak, and chicken dishes, made my mouth water a little bit.

When the waitress returned to take our orders, I settled for a double-order of the vegetarian lasagna. When Fancy joked about my eating, I said that I was as tall as Celestia, and had the appetite to match.

Dinner went by pleasantly enough. I asked Fleur many questions about Prance, even going so far as to say that I would like to visit there someday. As per the usual, Fluttershy didn't say much, but it wasn't from a lack of trying on my part. That was, until a Fleur brought up a curious topic.

"Mr. Guy," she started, though I insisted I preferred just my name, "has Ms. Fluttershy ever told you about the time she was a supermodel?"

This piqued my interest, "No," I said, glancing over to my date, "it never got brought up."

"Oh my, you should have seen her. She was on the cover of so many fashion magazines, it was incredible. I have never seen one skyrocket in popularity so fast."

"Oh...my," Fluttershy squeaked.

"Well it doesn't surprise me," I continued, placing an arm around her, "she is the most beautiful pony I've met."

As Fluttershy blushed so hard her entire face became the color of a tomato, Fleur just smiled a little smile.

"I really do wish she would get back into it," the Prench model contemplated, "but the business isn't for everyone."

"Well...well I was just doing it because Rarity was so adamant about it."

"It's OK, honey," I said, planting a kiss on her cheek, "we're just kidding with you. I wouldn't want you to go back to that, anyway."

"Really?"

"No way. All that traveling you would have to do, plus having to know that every colt and stallion in Equestria would probably be thinking about you at night would not help my sleep, right Fancy?"

"Right."

Fluttershy blushed harder. Fleur giggled.

***************************************************

By the time Fluttershy and I got back to the castle, we were bone-tired. We had walked around half of the city and then eaten way too much at dinner. I couldn't get out of my clothes fast enough. Not to mention the wine I had had was starting to get to me.

"Hey, Fluttershy," I mumbled, half out of it already.

"Yes."

"What was it that Luna whispered to you the other night?"

"Oh...nothing."

"Oh come on, honey, you don't need to hide from me. No matter how potentially embarrassing it is."

"Well...um...she told me that...um...she was going to put a spell on this room. Something about making it soundproof."

"Oh...that's nice," I replied, flopping into the bed before my brain finished processing the sentence, which made me sit straight up again, "She did what!?"

"She soundproofed the room. I don't know why, though."

I smiled and shook my head, "Honey, remember the night before we came here, and I mentioned it was a good thing your cottage is so far out of town so you can be as loud as you want?"

"Oh, yeah...OH! That's what she meant!?"

"Afraid so," I said, my smile getting bigger, "though, I'm sorry to say, I don't think I'm up to the task tonight."

"Good, because I'm not either," she punctuated this sentiment by flying into bed and cuddling up to me.

"Goodnight."

**************************************************

I found myself in a field of flowers that seemed to go on forever. I was alone, just sitting there, propping myself up with both my arms.

"Well," I thought aloud, "this is nice."

"Isn't it though?"

The voice, though familiar, shocked me a little. I turned to my left to see Fluttershy laying there, sniffing a flower.

"Wait, are you real Fluttershy or dream Fluttershy?"

"What's the difference?"

"Not much," I admitted, "Real Fluttershy is the mare of my dreams, after all, only makes sense that both are similar."

My companion giggled, "That's sweet. But to tell you the truth, I am only a figment of your dream."

"That's a shame. I'm hoping one day Fluttershy and I will be able to appear in each other's dreams. If that's possible, that is."

"Well, you're kind of already doing it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You realize you're dreaming, right?"

"Of course."

"You misunderstand. Even when you think you're awake, you're dreaming."

"Huh?"

"You're dead, Alan. This whole world, Equestria, Fluttershy, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, all of them, are just figments of your dead mind."

"No it's not. It's as real as I am."

"I'm sorry I have to tell you like this. But you know it's true. Think about it. Prance instead of France, Manehattan instead of Manhattan, Canterlot instead of Camelot, you're brain has simply created a delusional dream world in death. Or maybe you're just in a coma, who knows, I certainly don't."

"I don't need to listen to this," I said, rising to my feet, "It doesn't matter whether it is real or not, it feels real to me."

"But one day, you might wake up. Or maybe even shut off. And then there won't be anything. You won't even have the memories."

"God, if you didn't look like Fluttershy, I would be yelling at you right now."

"Don't fight the truth. The longer you fight it, the worse you'll feel. If you accept it now, you can get out without getting hurt."

"Shut up!" I snapped, turning around and picking the dream Fluttershy out of the flowers, "Dead or alive, who gives a damn! All that matters is that I am happy. Is that you, Kirsten, is that you inside this body?"

"No, I'm not Kirsten. I'm you. This is your own conscience talking to you, taking on the form that you would be most comfortable around. It's your brains way of making the news more bearable."

"Go away," I was starting to crack, "Please go away, leave me be. I'd rather be ignorant and happy then know what's going on and be miserable."

"That's not you, Alan, that's not us. You've always known what's really going on, whether you like it or not. This is no different. I'm sorry, Alan, but Fluttershy doesn't love you, she's just a figment of your imagination."

At this point, I didn't care if it looked and sounded like Fluttershy, this wasn't Fluttershy. I spun a bit and tossed the dream image as far as I could. When it landed a good 20 feet away, the entire scene shattered. The flowers went away, and I was left in a blank room. Then, suddenly, All four walls, the ceiling, and the floor began projecting pictures. They were all from my point of view, all memories I recognized, whether it was working at Sweet Apple Acres, hanging with Time Turner, being with Fluttershy, all of it. And all the while, a voice was droning in the background.

"It's not real...It's a dream...I'm sorry..."

I tried to escape, running bodily into all the walls, trying to break them down, but it was like they were built from brick. But that wasn't stopping me, I had to make it stop. This dream had turned into a nightmare. However, eventually, even I had had enough, collapsing onto the floor in exhaustion.

The ceiling picture just happened to be playing my memory from after the Apple Family Harvest Festival, when Fluttershy first told me she loved me. Seeing it again made me start to tear up.

"No...," I muttered, almost incoherently, "it can't be true...this has to be real..."

"BE AT PEACE!" Princess Luna shouted, causing all the faces of the room to shatter into little pieces. I was still on my back, but now it felt as if I was laying on a cloud. I turned this way and that, trying to find Luna, until she finally appeared, sitting right beside me.

I sat up to be at her eye level, but I couldn't say anything. It was difficult to even breath, let alone form a full sentence. Luna, seeing my distraught appearance, decided to do something about it. She scooched forward, placing her head over my shoulder, causing my head to fall similarly. She then wrapped her wings around the rest of my body, completing what I called a "wing hug".

"Tell me it's not true," I sobbed violently into her ethereal mane, "Tell me it's not a dream. Tell me everything is real."

"There, there," using her wing to pat my back, "Everything will be fine."

"But, my head..."

"It matters not. It matters not what reason or logic tell you, it only matters what your heart tells you."

"But it's right. Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Vanhoover, it's all too similar."

"Guy, look at me," I did what she asked, "Do We seem fake to you? We know we are in your dream now, but when We hug you when you are awake, does it feel real?"

"Yes."

"When Fluttershy hugs and kisses you, and curls herself up against you at night, does that feel real?"

"Yes."

"Whenever you eat or drink something that quenches your hunger or thirst, does that feel real?"

"Yes."

"When you are kicking a tree at Sweet Apple Acres and your shin thumps in pain, does that feel real?"

"Yes."

"Then that's all that matters. You are as real as me, who is as real as you. Do you understand?"

"But what if I wake up? What if this whole thing is a dream?"

"We know a thing or two about dreams. You are living no dream. You are simply living."

"OK," I said, slowly pulling my head away, but not the rest of me, "OK. Thanks, Luna. Do you think you could wake me up?"

"Certainly," Luna said, before her ears twitched, "but We think somepony else is going to beat us to it."

"Guy? Guy, wake up!" It was Fluttershy's voice.

"Go on," Luna said, it is the morning.

A white light began to fill my vision, soon replaced by that bleary look you get when you first open your eyes in the morning.

"Guy?" Fluttershy asked to a now waking me, "Guy, wake up!"

"Morning, Fluttershy," I greeted as if nothing was wrong, "Is something wrong?"

"You...you were crying in your sleep."

I touched a hand to my eyes to find that they were indeed wet with salty tears.

"I was having a nightmare."

"Oh no," she squeaked, "you didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Not physically. It was more mental."

"Are you OK?"

"Better now that I'm awake," I wrapped my arms around the pegasus and dropped back down on the pillows, "Fluttershy, please never leave me."

"Why would I do that? I love you."

"I know, honey. I love you too."