//------------------------------//
// Weekly Visits 
// Story: Luna's Daughter 
// by KayeStar 
//------------------------------//

As promised, Luna returned the next week to visit Selene in her dreams. She walked in on Selene dressed in a pirate costume, rummaging through a chest with her blanket carried in hoof. She waited, charmed at Selene's imaginative dream, until the little filly took notice of her.

"Luna!"

"Good evening, dear Selene," Luna greeted her. "Now..." She set herself down next to Selene. "...do you have something special to tell me?"

"Yeah! My friends and I became pirates! Argh!"

"Pirates?" Luna asked, amused. "Hath thou sailed the rough skies?"

"We took back our treasure!" Selene declared. "From the evil blankie-stealer pirates! They walked the plank!"

"What is the treasure?" Luna asked.

Selene flipped up the chest's top. "Blankies!"

"A fine treasure indeed," Luna joked. "Where are you and your friends headed next?"

"To Mount Chocolate to save the chocolate fillies!" Selene declared.

"From evil pirates?"

"No. From their veggies."

The following week...

"Luna! Don't move!" Selene cried. "I'll save you!"

Luna looked down to see they were standing on pads of rock and floating down a river of "hot lava". Selene hopped from rock to rock until she was atop Luna's back.

"Jump, Luna! The waterfall is coming!"

Luna hopped from where she stood to a rocky bit of land. Just as she made it to safety, all of the rock pads fell down the "lava" waterfall.

"That was close!" Selene exclaimed. "We were almost goners!"

Luna couldn't help laughing. She lied down to let Selene off her back. "An adventurer, are we?"

"Me and Blankie used to have lots of adventures!" Selene explained. "And I didn't forget! I have something special this week."

"And what might it be?" Luna asked.

"My friend's name is Cinnamon Sweets and she likes cinnamon! And she knows a game called The Cinnamon Test!"

"The Cinnamon Test?"

"Yeah. When we had dinner, she ate two big spoonfuls at once and blew it out her nose because it tasted hot, hot, hot!"

"Hot like lava?" Luna asked jokingly.

"Yeah! I tried one spoonful. I thought cinnamon was sweet, but I was on fire!" She briefly exploded into flames as she said this. "Don't play The Cinnamon Test!"

"I'll take that warning to heart," Luna laughed.

And the week after...

Luna entered into what was clearly a nightmare. The environment was dark except for a small amount of light and Selene was cowering again. Fillies bigger than her with evil eyes were taunting her.

"Look at the big baby and her blanket! Where's your bottle, baby?"

"Go back to preschool, baby!"

"Watch out! Babies like to cry!"

"Babies are supposed to be cute! She's so ugly!"

Luna brightened the surroundings, making the bullies fade away. Selene looked up and relaxed when she saw Luna. "You saved me again!"

"No adventure tonight, I see," Luna said. "What brings you this nightmare?"

"Melodía and Ivory got my papers and stuff, so I can go to school again," Selene explained. "But I'm... I'm scared. I don't want to go back!"

"I can imagine why. Did this happen often?"

"Yeah. Every day. We're supposed to tell the grown-ups at school, but that never works."

"Yes, I know," Luna agreed sadly. "I've worked with many a filly in their nightmares to learn that. But I think I can help."

"You can come to school with me?" Selene asked, smiling.

"No, but I can teach you how to stand up to bullies like that. Copy what I do."

For the next several minutes, Luna gave Selene a little lesson in standing up for herself. She taught her how to stand firm, how to keep calm, and how to make her voice sound serious. Luna threw in some scowling faces for her to mimic to make her laugh too.

"Now, let's see what you have!" Luna said.

Selene took a breath, planted her hooves firmly on the floor, and made a serious face. "It's my blankie and I love my blankie and I didn't ask you!"

"That's good, Selene," Luna praised her. "And next?"

Selene huffed and trotted a few steps with her nose high in the air.

"Does this really work?" Selene asked.

"For the fillies I've taught it to, they've told me so," Luna answered. "Though, it can take a few tries. Just remember to never turn into the bully. Stand up for yourself, but don't do what they do."

"Okay. I'll try it when I go to school, Luna."

And another week later...

"How was your first week of school?" Luna asked as she and Selene bounced a ball between each other.

"It was really fun! There were no bullies!" Selene replied excitedly. "Some of my friends at the house go to school with me. I think they made the bullies go away."

"Yes, some bullies pick on people who seem lonely," Luna explained. "What else happened?"

"I got my old teacher and my old class back. She said she missed me. My friends and I played pirates at recess. We had fun the whole time! Melodía and Ivory packed lunches for us too! Oh! That's my special thing to tell you this week."

"I guessed so. I am happy you enjoyed returning to school, dear Selene."

"I'm glad I can tell you everything!" Selene beamed.

And that's how it continued every week. Luna would visit Selene and they would play a game or have an "adventure" together while Selene told her something special, or Luna would help Selene with a small problem she had. Most of Selene's dreams were happy ones and even the few nightmares took merely moments for Luna to fix. Like her nightly visits for tea with Sweetie Belle, visiting Selene became a break from the usual difficulty of governing the dream realm on her own.

Then, one week, Selene had a bittersweet special something to tell Luna: some of her friends were gone.