Author's Notes:

Who wants a new chapter? That's right, you do!

It is currently 4 AM while I post this, but I wanted to double check for grammar and spelling before posting this for all to enjoy over the weekend. A little darker, but something I wanted addressed after a few hints being dropped.

As always, a big ol' hearty thanks to the editor and proofreader himself, Regreme. It really does help to have that second opinion on the sections that I'm never quite happy enough with.

Sam strode through the city streets of Canterlot without a care in the world. Sure, there were the odd looks here and there from the ponies passing him by, but he wasn’t about to let their hushed whispers dampen his mood. All he really wanted to do was wander around a bit and take in the sights after having snuck out of the castle, again. It would probably still be at least another thirty minutes before his guards noticed he was gone, or the rumors of the lone human roaming about would reach the ears of the princesses. However, he would let future Sam deal with that problem when it came about later. For now, Sam was content to just walk among the regular citizens of Equestria and do a bit of window shopping, even if most of the stuff was pony oriented.

Sam drew in a deep breath of the crisp mid-morning air and smiled, “Man, if only the others were here to see all this.”

It all felt a little too perfect, which was probably why the universe saw fit to rain on Sam’s parade by having the telltale whistling noise of impending doom heading straight for him. With lightning fast reflexes, Sam shot a set of wires from both arms to slingshot away from the spot he was just standing upon, where a concrete grenade detonated. Luckily, none of the bystanders were close enough to get hit by the whizzing shrapnel that spewed forth and ran in any direction that was away from the impending fight. Sam’s head jerked up in the direction that the initial attack came from to find three silhouettes atop a roof on the opposite street against the sun in the back. Sam only had to squint for a little bit as more of the silhouettes’ features became more defined, which in turn made him smirk.

He chuckled to himself before calling out, “So, the wonder triplets are back for another ass-kicking?”

The two unicorns broke off to either sides while scaling the the sides of the adjacent buildings down on concrete platforms. One of the them was even brandishing another assault rifle in his magic and leveled it on the conduit as they both hit the ground across from Sam. The griffon took to the air and hovered just above the entire scene in preparation to swoop in for his own attacks. By now, the streets were devoid of the rest of civilians, which left only the four figures to stand off against each other. Sam tensed as he readied for the fight, the familiar feeling of giddiness before entering a brawl making him even more happy.

“Or did you that there was a special discount here on Market Street for B-rate henchmen. ‘Cause, seriously, the whole cobbled-together-armor look only worked in the ‘Mad Max’ movies.”

Sam thought that they either hated him for questioning their fashion sense, or they just hated him in general as he heard the safety on the assault rifle disengage and the unicorn opened fire. Sam was at least glad that the unicorn was a terrible shot, as he only caught two of the bullets on his roll out of the way to the left. The pain from the shots hardly even registered as he was used to the feeling already and them being only glancing hits. So, Sam dove further off to the side and shot a few wire bolts to throw the rifle wielding pony off balance.

His next action would have been to sweep the unicorn off his hooves with a wire whip, were it not for the griffon’s sudden dive bomb from above. Sam was sent flying toward the other side of the street again, where the other unicorn suddenly appeared and was charging up a blast of concrete to send toward the incoming conduit. Sam braced as the the cone of concrete shrapnel tore at him and sent him skidding back the other way along the ground. Sam ignored the disorienting induced tumble and jumped back to his feet to avoid another hail of gunfire from the first unicorn.

Gritting his teeth, Sam tried to come up with a plan to gain the upperhand against the more coordinated trio. Though at the rate the fight was going, he doubted he could even mount a counterattack against the onslaught. So, he took to the rooftops to put some much needed distance between him and the DUP wannabes. However, the griffon was waiting for him on the opposite end of the roof, tail swishing back and forth in a hypnotic fashion. This didn’t make much sense, since Sam could have sworn that the griffon was on the ground next to the second unicorn before he took to the roof.

“Alright, Houdini. You gonna pull a rabbit out of your ass next?” Sam nervously quipped.

The griffon did not answer, but crouched before pouncing at the wire conduit and making him retreat back over the side of the roof into the street below. There, the two unicorns awaited at the bottom, charging up for another volley of concrete shots up toward the falling conduit. Luckily, Sam was able to slingshot out of the way to the opposite side of the street with only a few of the concrete shards clipping his side. Sam sprang to his feet and held his ground across from the two unicorns that stared him down. The griffon came swooping down from above to join the unicorns, and they spread out into a tight semicircle around Sam.

Sam’s eyes darted between the three with his arms outstretched and palms facing out to fire at the first to make a move. The assailant trio carefully closed in on their target, barely twitching while they stalked ever closer. In Sam’s mind, he continued to try and find a way out of being cornered, but each idea was either too overly complicated to work or would need something that he just didn’t have within reach at the moment. Maybe if he could stall them, it would give the time he needed for a the right plan.

Sam took a step back and did the only thing left he could think of, whip out a sarcastic remark, “I don’t suppose we can just call this a draw and get back to this next week, right?”

The three assailants continued to remain silent as they drew less than a dozen feet away. Shards of concrete hovered around each of the creatures, and the one unicorn with the assault rifle racked the slide on the gun loudly and pointed the firearm at him.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”

Sam, being thoroughly boxed in by the oncoming assailants, and with no real plan to escape, poured all of his energy and reserves of wire to the surface of his being. He was just going to have to wing it and hope for the best. Though, before he could unleash his power, his left leg suddenly wouldn’t move. He looked down to see the lower part of his appendage completely encased in concrete. Before he had any real time to react, more shards of the offending material sprang from the ground to latch onto his other leg, anchoring him firmly to the ground. Sam tried to break away from concrete holding him in place, but the more he struggled, the more the material seemed to grow from the source around his legs and slowly crept up the rest of his body.

“Hello, Samuel,” a voice that sent chills down Sam’s spine called out.

It was a voice that also made him wonder how its owner was even physically here, but the fear that it instilled in him overrode any part of him that questioned it. When Sam raised his head away from the encroaching concrete to find the source of the voice, his blood ran cold. Before him, along with the unicorns and the griffon, was a squad of D.U.P. troopers from Earth and a woman that he hoped to never meet again in his lifetime. The ‘Concrete Queen’ herself, Brooke Augustine, the Director of the Department of Unified Protection. Her navy blue D.U.P. uniform was crisp and only enhanced her air of superiority. Her trench coat flowed and rustled behind her with every step she took toward the trapped conduit. Her fiery red hair was drawn up into a tight bun per her agency’s regulations, which only drew more focus to the smug, leering smile on her face. She stopped only a few feet away from Sam as the concrete cocoon encasing his body reached just below his chest.

Augustine looked the trapped conduit up and down before giving a little wider smile, “It’s been a long time, don’t you think?”

Even in the face of impending doom, Sam swallowed the hard lump in his throat before retorting, “Not long enough, I’d say. You still haven’t found a cream to fix that ugly spot just above your chin. Oh wait, that’s just your face.”

“As rebellious as the other three, as always,” Augustine said without letting her unnatural smile falter, “Oh well. It’s time for you to come home, Samuel.”

Sam struggled once more, and even raised one of his hands to fire off a few wire bolts at the ‘Concrete Queen’, “You can’t make me go back to Curdan Cay, you bitch!”

Augustine waved her right arm and a flurry of concrete shards flew up to encase Sam’s outstretched hand, halting his strike in its tracks. Before he even had a chance to raise his other hand up, that too found itself enveloped in another flurry of concrete and stopped any further attacks by the wire conduit. Having been incapacitated made Sam panic. The shell of concrete crept up the rest of his body, leaving only his head and face for all to see his hysteric expression.

Augustine gave Sam a sickly sweet smile, “Actually, Samuel. I most certainly can.”

He tried calling out, but the only ones to come were more D.U.P. troopers in one of their heavy-duty armored transport vehicles. Augustine raised her right hand again, and with it, the shell that contained the trapped wire conduit cracked at the base of the street and rose into the air. She guided the captured conduit up and toward the back of the armored transport, where two of the troopers opened the back doors as if they it were the maw of a hungry beast. Sam frantically searched for a way out, but the shell of concrete held firm against his struggles. It felt like death himself had Sam in his cold, vice-like grip with no chance of letting go. It was suffocating.

Just as he was levitated into the into the transport, Sam’s panicked gaze fell on the two unicorns and griffon. They stood side by side with the other D.U.P. troopers and stared motionlessly back at him from behind their featureless face shields. Just seeing them among the ranks of the D.U.P. just made Sam feel even more alienated than he once did back on Earth.

The doors to the transport slammed shut in front of Sam and plunge him into absolute darkness. He couldn’t tell which way was up or down or if Augustine had even dropped him to the floor of the armored transport. For all he knew, he was bound in a perpetual darkness, where he could not even hear the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

However, Augustine’s voice pierced the veil and echoed through the air and into his mind all at once, “Welcome home, Samuel.”

The chilling voice was punctuated by a harsh, incandescent light suddenly blinding Sam from in front of him. The fluorescent tube lights hummed overhead, giving Sam vertigo as he tried to reestablish his orientation. He squinted past the illumination to see where he was now, but the sights around him only redoubled his fear. He recognized the room he was in. An ‘examination lab’ within the walls of Curdan Cay Station.

The gray, concrete walls seemed to close in even closer every time Sam looked at them. The cold, familiar feeling of the slab like steel table that he was strapped to pressed against his back uncomfortably. With what little movement he was allowed, he tilted his head forward to see the was now wearing a set of orange D.U.P. detainee uniform. The same uniform he was forced to wear for four years of his life. He couldn’t quite see the spot above his left breast, but he knew the stenciled characters were not his name; they were his number: ‘0527’.

Within these depressing walls, he was no longer a human or a conduit. He was just another bioterrorist with a number, and that is all the world would ever know him to be.

Sam’s mind raced with questions of how he had gotten here, how the D.U.P. found him and more importantly, were his friends safe? Augustine’s words from Canterlot made his guts tie up in knots. His friends were as strong and clever as he was, if not moreso. They couldn’t have been captured, could they?

Sam wasn’t left much time to ponder on this as echoing footsteps came from the shadows of the room. The shadows congealed into hazy figures. Once the figures were close enough to step into the light from overhead, they were revealed to be human scientists in sterile, white scrubs and medical masks to obscure their faces. Even with the light pouring down on them, the rest of the their faces remained in hazy shadows. Incoherent whispers emanated from the collective mass of surrounding scientists.

“S-stay back!” Sam futilely shouted, “Get away from me!”

The scientists just ignored the conduit’s cries as they busied themselves with setting up trays to side of Sam’s table. All manner of sinister equipment and medical devices exchanged hands in front of Sam, and there were far more needles and sharp objects than Sam was personally comfortable with at present.

“Please, just stop! Let me go!” Sam cried out.

His hands were still encased in special cuffs and mitts that were meant to inhibit a conduit’s powers. So no matter how hard Sam tried, he was utterly powerless.

“Samuel, you need to calm down and relax.”

Sam recognized this voice as a flicker of hope burned like a candle light inside him. That faint glimmer of hope was swiftly extinguished when he turned his head to face his perceived savior.

Twilight Sparkle’s hooves clacked noisily against the linoleum floor of the examination lab. As she walked into the light, she was revealed to be wearing the same sterile, white scrubs as the rest of the scientists around her. The only difference was that her medical mask hung loosely from her neck, which let Sam see the serene, innocent smile she wore as she stared back from the edge of the table.

“Sparks, what are you doing here? Please, we have to get out of here!” Sam desperately pleaded.

Twilight’s smile faded and was replaced with a confused frown and a questioning tilt of her head.

“Go? Why would we do that?” Twilight asked as if it were the craziest thing she heard Sam suggest, “Besides, if we leave now. We won’t get to continue with your exam.”

Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He thought that the purple unicorn was his friend. He had thought that they had promised never to hurt each other again, and yet, here he was. The pony he called ‘friend’ was now helping to organize the equipment that would soon be used to cut him open.

He had had this happen to him before. Test after test he was put through, like all the other conduits in Curdan Cay. All for the sick curiosity of the scientists to see what made them tick. The incoherent whispers died out, and Sam was brought back to focus on the unicorn as she brandished a syringe that had no business in having a needle as long as it did in her magic.

“If you would, could you hold him still?” Twilight asked one of the faceless scientists beside Sam’s table.

Cold, latex covered hands cupped the sides of his head, and no matter how much thrashing he did, Sam couldn’t move an inch. Twilight levitated her medical mask up to cover the serene smile she still sported.

She leaned over the table to look Sam in the eye, “Don’t worry, Samuel. This won’t hurt all that much.”

Sam’s panicky breathing evolved into hyperventilation as the unicorn leaned back ever so slightly to allow the needle she held to point down directly into Sam’s face. Sam tried to scream, cry out, or just try to speak, but every sound died out before they could even pass his lips. He was in too much shock.

Then, the needle slowly started to dive down toward the conduit’s left eye. The scientist behind him was far stronger than he appeared, as he kept Sam’s head in place without so much as a twitch. Closer and closer the needle came, and the last thing Sam saw was Twilight’s sparkling violet eyes staring back at him without a single shred of remorse.

--o0o--

Sam awoke, screaming at the top of his lungs. His covers entangling him, and the confinement only made Sam panic more. He tore through the sheets with a few hectic swipes of wire, but he did not stop there. In the darkness of the castle suite, he could still see the shadows of the scientists hiding in them. So, he lashed out at them too, tearing apart anything that got in the way. Objects exploded into piles of debris under the ferocity of Sam’s attacks. Anything else that was caught up in the reaction crashed to ground with audible bangs and clatter.

Sam was on his feet and backed himself up against the wall, for fear of something that might sneak up on him. At the same time, his suite’s door slammed open to let cones of light pour in from the portal. The window shattered inward as two more figures entered the chaos. Sam instinctively lashed out at the intruders that barged into the room to defend himself. Though, in his drowsy, delirious state, the group of five figures easily sidestepped the incoming attacks.

“Mr. Reed, calm yourself! We’re here to help!” one of the shadowy figures called out from the group.

Sam halted his arm that had another wire whip just above his head after the shout. The voice was familiar, and after his eyes had time to adjust to the spotlights coming from the two unicorns’ horns of his escort guards, he looked to each of the guards faces that he recognized. Each of them looked from the crazed looking conduit to the destruction about the room. A full spectrum ranging from fear to confusion flashed across each of the guards. The unicorn that had first spoke approached the conduit with heavy trepidation, careful not to step on any of the haphazardly strewn debris.

“Mr. Reed, what happened in here?” the unicorn asked with obvious concern.

Now that Sam was no longer in any immediate danger, his focus was drawn to his own condition. The clothes he wore were thankfully no longer orange in any way, but a set of bark-blue shorts and red t-shirt that was given as pajamas. However, they and his entire body were drenched in a cold sweat that clung to his skin like a cloak and made his body shiver in the cold night air. His heart felt like it was trying to explode out of his chest, even when he tried to will it to slow down. His throat felt sore and raw from his screams of terror. Then, there were the memories of the nightmare. It all slowly came back to him in painstaking detail. This was the first time in a long time that he had a nightmare this bad. The last time he could think of that this happened was back at, ‘That Place’.

“Mr. Reed?” The unicorn tried to get the conduit’s attention.

Being too consumed by his own thoughts, Sam had neglected to answer the guard that was talking to him. Even so, he couldn’t come up with a viable excuse for his actions. All around him, he could hear the guards whispering among themselves while they never took their eyes off of him.

Sam clenched his fists and looked to an empty corner of the room, “It was nothing. I’m fine.”

The hushed tones from the guards grew steadily in volume. Though the unicorn guard in front of him didn’t seem to really accept that answer.

“With all due respect, Mr. Reed, but this,” The guard gestured to the room in general, “this is not ‘fine’.”

“Whatever,” Sam dryly replied, not even looking at the unicorn, “I just need to go for a walk.”

The unicorn guard blocked Sam’s path, which just drew a frustrated, yet tired, look from Sam. The guard didn’t seem to look to be scared, like some of the other guards, but neither did he look angry like the others. His expression was something between an empathetic frown and a concerned look.

Sam mustered what little energy he could put into an angry scowl to scare the guard, “Move out of the way.”

“I can’t do that, Mr. Reed,” the unicorn said.

“Why not?” Sam asked, now starting to feel some true anger boil beneath the surface.

“Because I have ordered him to.”

Everyone turned to the doorway, where the princess of the night stood regally against what pale moonlight spilled in from the halls. Beside her was one of Sam’s usual escort guards, and determined must have been sent to fetch her. Her gaze wandered around the room. The wanton destruction spread throughout the room made her lips press tightly into a thin, neutral line. When her studious eye came upon the conduit, she found a mix of roiling anger and restrained unease. Princess Luna motioned for the guards to leave them, to which they all gave a bow and left. This left only the princess and Sam alone in the royal suite, where they stood alone and stared at each other.

When the last echoes of hoofsteps signalled that the guards were clearly out of earshot, Luna’s posture sagged visibly. She took one more look around the room and every destroyed object she saw made her grimace. Sam was unsure of what she was doing, but this was a far cry from her usual distant scowl that she would grace him with. Then, Luna looked to Sam, and her expression turned to one of pity and sorrow.

“I am so sorry, Samuel,” she solemnly, but before Sam could ask what she was talking about, she continued, “I should have confronted this sooner.”

“I-wait, what?” Sam asked nervously, unsure of where this was leading. If it turned ugly, he was unsure if he was up for a fight.

However, Luna surprised him with her next words, “As the princess of the night, I have many tasks. Ensuring the safe passage of the moon through the heavens, presiding over the night court, and protecting the kingdom by moonlight alongside the royal guard. But, there is one task that I take the most pride in every night. To watch over the citizens of Equestria’s dreams and help them overcome their nightmares. Though tonight, like many nights before, I failed one such individual in that regard; you.”

Luna’s head dipped low to the floor in shame. Sam looked even more confused by the princess’ words. Some of it made sense, but the final task she mentioned taxed his fevered mind to a dangerous point.

“I know you do not understand this, but let me explain,” Princess Luna rose her head, and tried to appear less upset than before.

“Look, Loony. You sound really upset and all about this, but I’m fine. So, I don’t see how you ‘failed me’. I’ll even put a five on your feedback questionnaire, ‘kay?” Sam tried to say with a smirk, but the expression came out looking pained and lopsided.

“You need not put on a brave face, Sam,” Luna said, “not for me. I am a dreamwalker, and it is my solemn duty as the princess of the night to guard the realm of dreams for all who reside in Equestria, as it has been my solemn duty ever since I was crowned the sovereign of the night. I have faced night terrors and cleansed the dreamscape of the wicked banshees that haunt my subjects minds while they rest. I do not know exactly how it is that humans deal with these aberrations, but so long as anyone should sets hoof, claw, or paw in Equestria, I will be there if their dreams turn to darkness.

“Yet, there is one mind that has gone without my aiding presence, and it has plagued my conscious to know that they must suffer alone. I speak of you, Sam. For even if you do not admit it, I have watched you, and it saddens me deeply that I can do nothing to help you within your dreams when I see so much pain.”

This was all so much for Sam to take in. He had seen some weird shit in the land of magical, talking ponies, but this? Princess was implying about something that should be physically impossible. Sam wanted to make a joke about how she should join the NSA with that kind of skill, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it in his troubled state. So, he just leaned back against the wall that was next to him to steady himself.

“Even if you do not believe me, please, let me help you,” Princess Luna took a cautious step toward the conduit, “Nightmares are never meant to be faced alone.”

“I’m-,” Sam couldn’t get the next word out of his mouth, because he knew that he certainly was not ‘fine’.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see flashes of the nightmare. Every time he saw Twilight’s wicked smile, it made him shudder. He hated that even when so far away, the D.U.P. had so much control over him. Yet, that hatred was buried under a suffocating pile of fear of the organization that stole what semblance of a normal life he had from him. His whole body shook out of unconscious fear, and Luna took this as her cue to step a little closer.

“I know it must be hard, but will you tell me what it is that torments your dreams?” Luna asked in the most gentle tone that Sam had ever heard her use, “I have tried many times in your slumber, but whether it be because of your species or some other factor, I cannot help you in your dreams. But... I want to help you through this.”

The words were so sincere, so honest. It reminded Sam of his friend, Isabelle. No matter what the issue, she was always there to listen and help him and the others. A solid lump formed in Sam’s throat as he choked up at the memories. Luna stayed quiet and motionless as she waited patiently for Sam’s reply. She did not judge Sam for when his shoulders slumped tiredly, or when his head hung lower than she had seen of the proud conduit. Nor did she judge him when he slid down the wall into a seated position with his arms wrapped around his body like they were a blanket of reassurance. Luna waited as she watched the conduit debate in his mind on what he would decide to do next. She was glad she did, as Sam took a slow, steadying breath to calm his nerves before talking.

He told her of his nightmare, and throughout it all, Luna’s heart sank at hearing what Sam’s nightmares were doing to him. From the fight with the three assailants, to his capture by the ones that had first imprisoned him on his homeworld, then on to his helplessness in the ‘examination lab’. Finally, there was the part that disturbed Princess Luna the most. Sam told her of Twilight Sparkle being one of the scientists that wanted to ‘cut him open like a turkey’. By the end of it, Princess Luna couldn’t even tell where to begin.

She had seen many nightmares that would put a bloodthirsty hydra to shame, and born of fears of things that only the shadows could create. Sam hugged himself tighter, having recounted the nightmare in every grueling detail. He wanted to be angry, spiteful, or even just plain annoyed, but his mind emotional reserves was burnt out. All that was left was a cold, empty feeling embedded deeply in the pit of his stomach. That is, until a blanket of warm feathers curled around his body. At first, Sam tensed up, as if he was being ensnared once more, but looking up into the princess’ melancholy eyes looking down on him put that feeling to rest.

“It is alright. You are safe now,” Luna whispered, her wings curling up around Sam in a cocoon of protective warmth.

Sam had no idea of what to say or even do. No one had comforted him like this, except for his family before his imprisonment and only once by his Memphis city friends. Luna gently nuzzled the top of the stunned conduit’s head while quietly hushing him of any protests he tried to voice.

After a minute of this, Sam accepted the gesture, and even returned it in kind by wrapping his arms around the princess through her outstretched wings. The feel of his fingers running through her feathers and fur was soothing to the touch. There was an aroma of fresh lavender on the princess’ coat that put Sam further at ease.

“You are never alone, Sam,” Luna quietly reassured, “And nopony here would ever do such horrible things to you as this D.U.P. have done. You’ve shown that you are strong, driven, yet caring and gentle when those are in need. You are no monster that deserves to be locked away in a cage, and by what you’ve told us of your friends on earth, neither do they. When you do return to your home, I’m sure your friends will be there waiting with open arms to welcome you back.”

Sam hugged the princess tighter as he felt a few tears run down the sides of his cheeks, some even wetting the front of the princess’ fur. The tears did not come with racking sobs or hiccuping cries, but he was not trying to stay strong or look tough. No, they were just the only things that Sam had to give in his state of distress. Yet, as each tear fell, Sam could feel his racing mind finally start to slow down. The tension in his body left just the same, until he was left with a sense of ease and security within the Lunar Princess’ embrace.

“I am still so sorry that I cannot help you through the dreamscape, but I will always be here if you need somepony to talk to,” Luna said as she gradually released her embrace, “Are you feeling better?”

Sam wiped the wet streaks from his face with the collar of his shirt before looking up to the princess. His eyes still stung with fatigue and the aftermath of his tears, but he had to admit that the hug and Luna’s reassuring words were definitely something that he needed at the moment. It was like a massive weight was lifted from his being and cast to the side. He still knew it was there beside him, but he no longer needed to carry it all on his own. With a tired smile, Sam nodded and received a warming smile in return.

Luna stood up and offered a hoof for the conduit to stand as well, “Good. If you wish, we may have you retire to another set of quarters. This suite is a bit unsuitable for the rest you need.”

Sam looked around the room and winced at the state it was in because of him. He was about to say that it was fine and that he could sleep just about anywhere, including the destroyed suite, but Princess Luna was already guiding him out into the hallway and away from the disaster zone.

They only moved to another set of doors about three rooms down, and the Lunar Princess opened the door with a burst of magic. Inside, the whole thing looked like his suite before he laid waste to it. If it wasn’t for the fact that he glanced down the hall to the open doors to his old suite, he would have easily mistaken this one as the one he was using all along. It made him feel a pang of regret for destroying such a carefully furnished room and made him wish that he could refuse this offering.

“Come, Sam. There is still a few hours left in the night for you to find your slumber,” Luna guided the bleary-eyed conduit to the bed.

Sam obeyed her without question and settled in under the fresh linens with the help of the princess. His eyes were already having a hard time staying open the moment his head touched the pillow. Luna busied herself with drawing the curtains on the opposite side of the room, blocking out the ambient light of the moon and stars. With that done, she returned to Sam’s bedside and ignited her horn. The four poster bed’s top railing glowed in the same magical hue as the princess’ magic. The magic flared briefly, and in its place were clusters of flowers hanging along the railings. The sweet scent of lavender wafted down from above, and Sam drew a deep breath of it in.

“Lavender is known for its therapeutic qualities and helps those troubled by restless nights, Sam,” Luna said as she stared at the bundles of flowers overhead, “They are one of my favorites.”

“Thank you, princess… for everything,” Sam yawned, “I guess we’re on some good terms if you’re calling me ‘Sam’.”

“Do not lean too heavily on thy insinuations, Samuel,” Luna huffed, but she still smiled to match Sam’s mischievous remark, “May pleasent dreams find you this night.”

“Goodnight, Luna,” Sam replied as he watched her walk to the door and close it behind her with the chiming echo of her magic.

When Sam finally did fall asleep, it may have been dreamless, but at least there were no more nightmares.