Dylan sat in his old room on his bed, staring at the door in fear of what was about to come through. Footsteps could be heard, getting louder with every step. It became unnaturally loud, as if they were coming from Dylan himself. "P-Please... not again... not again..."

The doorknob slowly turned before the door creaked open to reveal... a beautiful dark blue horse with the night sky as her flowing mane. "Dylan. We have come for thee. You shall not be afraid this night."

"Who are you?" Dylan asked. His eyes were filled with wonder at this majestic creature.

"I am Luna," she responded with a calm, but somehow powerful voice. She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed with Dylan. "I am the protector of dreams, the slayer of nightmares. Your father shall not harm you tonight."

"Am I really dreaming?" Dylan looked at his hooves. "It all seems so real."

"Dreams in ponies are more lucid than in human ones," explained Luna.

"Why didn't you help me in my other nightmares?" Dylan questioned.

Luna looked away in shame. "I could not. Any pony's dreams, I could enter easily and help them, but your human dreams were impenetrable. I needed to wait until you were a full pony. All I could do was watch."

"What do I do now?" asked Dylan. "Do I just wake up now?"

"Nay. It is not morning yet," Luna answered, draping a wing around Dylan. "May I ask you a favor?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Dylan leaned against Luna, feeling safe and calm.

"Could you tell me more about your mother if that is okay? I think it would be more comforting than you think," Luna said with a smile. "Describe her to me."

"Well," Dylan started, "my mama was pretty. She had fair skin and curly blonde hair, and her eyes were as blue as the open sky. She always knew how to make me feel safe..."

A knock on the door startled him from his trance. "Dylan," a feminine voiced called from behind the door. "May I come in?"

Dylan knew that voice. "M-Mama?"

The door opened, and a woman, just as Dylan described, walked in. It was his mother. "Hello, Dylan," she said with a warm smile on her face.

Dylan jumped out of bed and hugged her tight, tears gushing forth from his eyes. "Mama! I missed you so much!"

The hug lasted for what seemed like hours, but nopony could really tell how long it was. In the dream, time seemed nonexistent. Dylan looked back at Luna, tears in his eyes. "Th-Thank you..."

"We did not do this, Dylan, you did. It is your dream," Luna said with a knowing smile.

Dylan looked at his mother. She seemed so real to him. Was it really just a dream?

She pulled him back into another hug, somehow knowing about his uneasiness. "It's ok, sweetie. As long as this dream lasts, I'm real."

"Thanks," Dylan replied, "but... it's not the same." His mother evaporated into thin air, leaving his life once again. He then turned around to face Luna.

Luna looked back at him and smiled softly. "Most motherless ponies would have loved such a dream. You are not satisfied?"

Dylan walked to the bed and sat back down next to her. "It's not that I don't want to see her again. I just don't want it to be an illusion..."

"I know what it's like to lose a loved one," Luna consoled, wrapping a wing around Dylan and letting him lean against her. "Living for a thousand years has allowed me to experience the grief over and over again. Each loss is as painful as the last."

"How do you do it?" Dylan whispered, trying to imagine Luna's pain.

"Well," Luna answered, "some part of me keeps saying I'll see those ponies again somehow. I will eventually pass on like the rest of them, and I'll join them."

"Do you really think there's something after we die?" Dylan began to feel uncomfortable.

"I don't know," Luna replied. "I like to think there is."

There was a long silence, causing Dylan to nuzzle into Luna's wing, trying to find comfort in it all.

After a while, Dylan spoke up. "Do you think I'll see my mama again?"

"Are you determined to see her again?" Luna asked in return. Dylan nodded, and she spoke once more. "Then I believe that you shall see her again."

They spent the rest of the dream sitting together in silence, finding comfort in each other. When the dream neared its end, Luna began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Dylan asked, curious about Luna's odd behavior.

She looked at him and replied, "Because you are not like most other ponies. You seem to like quiet, simple dreams. It's appealing."

Dylan smiled, and with that, he awoke.

Author's Note

Thought I'd let Luna come into the story for a bit. Sorry if it's a depressing chapter.