The screams of terror and pain followed Midnight Guardian as he sprinted down one of the corners of the Saddle Arabian palace. The demons that had been summoned by the mad unicorn had torn through his squadron, leaving most of them as nothing more than a mess on the carpet. Still sprinting, he opened a door ahead of him, his magical radar informing him of the tentacle monstrosities turning the corner behind him. Diving through the open doorway, he slammed the door shut behind him and shoved his pike through the handles, barring it from opening. Next he glanced around the room, his trained eyes finding pieces of heavy furniture with which to barricade the door further.
A few short seconds later, he was through the opposite door, his magic erasing his trail behind him, even as one of the demons began to batter at the firmly closed door. Soon enough Midnight was out of the wing containing the demons and into the main area of the palace. They had already been through here. The air smelled like a charnel house, the floor was strewn with- Midnight! -pieces of- Midnight! -the fourth squad- MIDNIGHT!
He jerked awake, his blood running cold, his whole body drenched with cold sweat, tears running down his cheeks at the memory of his past. Ponies had never known war, but only because of black operations groups. Groups like the one that Midnight had belonged to. He had seen some shit. He had lost friends, saved lives and-
"Midnight, are you okay?"
"Of course he's not okay, look at him."
"We should kill that nurse. What she said to him was-"
"Don't say that, remember his reaction to what she said. You'll make him worse."
"Midnight, can you hear me? Can you understand me."
The effects of the dream were still heavy on his conscience. His last mission had ended in disaster, with only one pony walking out alive. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking at the two mares who could make or break him. He couldn't manage a smile. He could barely manage a whimper before he closed his eyes, buried his face in their chests and cried. They didn't react at first, simply surprised at his reaction. Evidently they had no idea what he had been through. Slowly, they looked at each other. Octavia looked over to Luna.
"Did you take that look into his dreams?"
Luna's face turned from her usual indigo to an almost sky blue as the colour drained from her face.
"I did." she replied in a flat voice, her eyes turning from concern over Midnight to a deep fear and sadness. Octavia looked at her "friend", their actual relationship still hazy. She could understand that she didn't want to know what had come from Midnight's mind. She could see that Luna herself didn't want to. Her own mind reeling from the thought of what it could be, she turned her attention to Midnight, putting a hoof around his shoulders and pulling him in close.
It took Midnight hours to calm down. Luna and Octavia stayed by him as he sat their, tears constantly rolling down his cheeks at the bottled up emotion. He hadn't resigned from Celestia's service, even after the incident with the demons. Instead, he had volunteered for the royal palace guard, eventually being reassigned to look after Luna shortly after she arrived back from the moon. It had been a little rocky since then. Things had happened, he had sorted out security for her during Nightmare Night. Interestingly enough, he had been improving over the years, the stress of looking after Celestia's troublesome sister relieving some of his survivor's guilt, Celestia's own magic, numbing any PTSD that he might have gotten, even accounting for his incredible constitution.
Midnight had only lost it once during the music picking incident, but Octavia's intervention prevented it from developing. Now though.
Octavia and Luna sat with Midnight, alternately hugging him or softly kissing him, singing, crooning, comforting and watching. They loved him too much to leave him. Eventually, his breakdown began to stop, his eyes out of tears, his lungs weak from the sobbing. Eventually, he dropped into an uneasy dreamless sleep. Luna wrapped him with her magic, settled him onto her back, then she and Octavia carried him to her room. Settling his form on her bed, Luna drew the covers around him and laid down beside him, Octavia resting herself on his other side. Together, the three of them slept, their restlessness during the past few days carrying them for two complete days of sleep.
Octavia and Luna woke almost at the same time. It was light outside, the clock on the dresser in Luna's room reading noon. Silently, Octavia slid away from Midnight, signing with her hooves for her to keep Midnight asleep for another hour. Luna looked at her quizzically, but then she shrugged and cast the spell. Quietly, the two crept out of the door and into the hallway.
"We should make him a breakfast," said Octavia, her eyes virtually sparking with love for Midnight and an insistence to heal him.
"Can we cook?" asked Luna skeptically.
"Ummmm...I don't know."
"Well, we could try I suppose."
"To the kitchens then."
"Right!"
Enthusiastically, Luna and Octavia made their way to the kitchens. As they walked they optimistically began planning all the foods that they would make. They arrived at the kitchens and looked around. The midday meal was underway, and there was almost no food left in the larder. All of the stoves and ovens were being used. There wasn't enough material to make a slice of toast. Luna turned to Octavia who had sat down and was rubbing her hoof on her chin.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Luna looking towards Octavia.
"How deep is the royal treasury?" said Octavia, still rubbing her chin.
"Very, why?"
"Lets go buy the supplies. We can have a shopping trip."
"But what if Midnight wakes up?"
"Keep him asleep. Set it so that it will remind you every fifteen minutes. It wakes him up if you respond with a certain kind of magic or code."
"How do you know about that kind of magic?"
"I hung around with Midnight for a full day after he used it on me. I asked him. I figured that as princess of the night who can go into people's dreams, you might know a thing or two more."
"Logic dictates that such an explanation makes sense."
Octavia looked up at Luna then, her eyes searching for any expression on Luna's suddenly deadpan face. Luna managed to hold it for five complete seconds before bursting out laughing. Octavia joined her.
"Come on then," said Octavia after they had both calmed down a bit. "Lets go to the treasury."
"Right!"