> Coming out of it...
>  by The Boss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The town of Evergreen was almost completely empty, devoid of life, abandoned. The only sign that anything was still alive there was the building sitting on the river that ran through the center of town, just before a small bridge that had once been the cause of many a traffic jam. Though the structure was nearly dead silent the lights inside were still on thanks to a small generator that chugged along, it had been pushed to the back of the building for ventilation reasons. The saloon had once been a place of merriment and good times, as it was now, it stood as the last bastion of life in the small Colorado town. The wooden structure was simple, nothing flashy, but the windows had been covered by plywood. Inside the walls that had been decorated with posters for bands were now adorned with trinkets and pictures of those that were lost, pictures of families that the on living there had managed to salvage from the ruins of civilization.

The figure that sat at the bar now stared at the empty space around him for a few moments before he hunched back over with a scowl. The darkened atmosphere made it difficult to see his face, but a pair of piercing green eyes stared down into his mug of beer. His mane of thick, dirty black hair was now covered by an old steel pot helmet. A cold wind from outside filled the room, prompting him to tighten the long leather jacket for warmth, stitched to the shoulder was a small patch depicted a purple six pointed star, surrounded by five others. It was one of the few reminders he had that there used to be actual people, and not the things that roamed around outside that wailed and barked like animals.

His face was hidden by a black bandana worn like the desperados in old western movies, but it served a purpose other than to hide his identity, for outside it became a shield against the blistering cold winds. Across his chest were two bandoleers that he could only manage to stalk half way, they were crude items he'd pulled from a ruined gun shop, but they did their job and that was all that mattered. Whatever ammunition he couldn't or wouldn't put in the bandoleers was stuffed safely in an old backpack sitting by his feet. 

He sighed after taking another sip of his beer, it was bitter but it was better than the water that flowed in the river. The lake that fed it had become so clogged with bodies he didn't dare go near the water. Three years ago he was sitting with his mom and dad in that very seat, talking about how he had gotten his permit to drive. They had been so proud that day. That memory brought a tear to the man's eye, he was quick to wipe it away as if he was in front of someone and didn’t want them to see it. Feeling nostalgic, and a bit lonely, he pulled his wallet wallet from his jacket pocket and leafed through the contents. Old and made of duct tape, the wallet had served him since he had made it all the way back in first grade.

“Dominic Occisor.” He read his name aloud of the ID card with a shake of the head, he wasn't sure if that name really fit him anymore, not after all he'd seen and done. Dominic sighed before reading the information to himself. He always wanted to remember that despite everything that had happened, no matter who he'd killed or way, he still had his humanity. The same guy that had taught his sister how to ride a bike, or watched TV shows with his goof off best friend. With these happy memories also came bitter ones, memories that had haunted him since the fateful day that Evergreen feel into the unmerciful clutches of the undead. He remembered the screams, the terror on his mother's face when his sister had been bitten and died, only to come back as some horribly deformed monster. How his mother, the nurse that she was, tried to help the sick. How his family was torn asunder only hours after the first of the infected had arrived in town.

Dominic looked at his weapons for a moment, a semi-automatic shotgun and a revolver that had been chambered to fire different rounds. That was his personal favorite as it had been a gift from his father. The steel was hard, cold and black and the words ‘Overkill Is Underrated’ were proudly inscribed along in the barrel, and the textured grip was more than comfortable after many a year of use.

Dominic sighed as he looked about the room, eyeing his revolver for a moment. How easy would it be for him to stick the barrel in his mouth and pull the trigger, how soon could he be reunited with his family. He was sure god would understand why he'd done it. After several moments he tore his eyes away and shook his head vigrously. Instead he stood from his seat and slowly walked over to the door, he leaned to a slit in the plywood and looked outside. There they stood, unmoving, snapping their jaws as if trying to speak. Dominic turned back to the bar and picked up his guns, then slung his bag over his shoulder. He needed to get more supplies, as he knew that soon winter would be coming and his dwindling supply wouldn't last long. The only place not touched by looters was the Little Bear tavern down the street, mainly because that was where the most infected were. It was a risky idea, but it was either that or starve and freeze to death. The man found it a tad Ironic the business rival of his favorite saloon was also going to be his salvation. 

Between him and his supplies stood at least one hundred infected, maybe more. He had a plan for that though, as it seemed that the undead were very particular hunters. They liked loud noises, banging pots and pans, gun fire, anything that sounded like people. Dominic took a breath before he went back into the darkness of the saloon, rifling through a couple cabinets before withdrawing a string of firecrackers and a lighter. He hoped like hell the plan worked, Colorado was very anti-firework in its day, and that meant finding more of them would be damn near impossible. He silently ran to the back deck of the bar, overlooking the rushing water in the river, before he lit the fuse on the fire crackers and tossed them as hard as he could. They landed on the other side of the river near several abandoned cars before the began to crack off loudly.

The loud noise caught the attention of the infected, all of whom let out a shriek as they looked where the firecrackers had started to go off. They charged like a wall of meat, ignoring everything else but the loud popping noise. Meanwhile Dominic took off towards his destination at immense speeds of his own, he had taped a large kitchen knife to his shotgun and was using it to slash any of the ugly monsters that got in his way. He didn’t call these creatures zombies, as technically the disease they carried kept them alive some how. A knife to the chest was as lethal as any bullet to the head, and that helped in times like this where Dominic had to be as quiet as possible. He dodged as many of the creatures as possible while he ran in a dead sprint like a bat outta hell, occasionally one of the creatures would reach out after him but ultimately they were to busy going after the firecrackers that had woken them from their slumber.

After several tense minutes of running past ruined shops and abandoned vehicles he made it to the Little Bear and kicked in the front door. To his surprise he found the building wasn't empty as he'd hoped, there were at least five of the foul creatures there waiting for him. Slowly one of them turned and pointed a grotesque finger at Dominic before shrieking loudly, gaining the attention of its fellow ghouls. Dominic readied his shotgun and took aim at the creature's chest before pulling the trigger and sending a spray of bird shot into its chest, the shot broke the kitchen knife at the end, leaving it a jagged piece of metal that was just as dangerous as its predecessor.

“Come on!” Dominic shouted angrily as the infected ran at him, one leaped from the bar that was about five feet in front of him and was about to pounce when time seemed to slow down for the man. Dominic raised his shotgun and the creature impaled itself on the jagged blade before the man pulled the trigger and blasted the monster in the gut, as what felt like seconds ticked by Dominic had taken another shot at one of infected. He pulled the trigger sending more lead flying through the air and into several of its companions, sending at least two more to the ground in crumpled heaps. Dominic let out a battle cry before unleashing the anger that dwelled within him. Fed by the rage that had built up over the past three years he moved as fast as lightning, slicing and shooting his way through the infected until all of them lay on the ground, his shoulders heaved up and down as blood dripped from his coat. Cautiously he looked outside and saw that none of the others had heard the noise, perhaps they just had a thing for firecrackers, he didn't know for sure, but he didn't want to stick around and find out either.

Dominic breathed a sigh of relief before walking through the trashed dining room until he'd gotten to the kitchen, he had tried to make a run like this a week before, but he'd stupidly forgotten his backpack, all the stuff he'd come for was right where he'd left it. As he stepped over several of his twitching victims he made sure to look at their faces, they deserved to be remembered by someone. After doing that he began to look at all the canned ingredients and food left in the old bar. Quickly he began to toss it all into the empty part of the backpack, looking over his shoulder every thirty seconds or so to see if any of the infected had wandered in behind him. When he had finished he reloaded his weapons and prepared to exit the kitchen, he was all set to go, but a rustling noise caught his attention. 

Carefully he approached the source of the noise with his shotgun at the ready. The noise came again, this time from a large metallic refrigerator in the very back of the kitchen. He got closer nervously and stowed his shotgun, preferring to draw his revolver and pull back the hammer. With his free hand he grasped the handle of the fridge and quickly he yanked it before leaping back.


A massive wave of energy blasted Dominic off his feet and sent him flying through the air, he slammed into a wall behind him and his his head before the wave seemed to reverse and pulled Dominic towards a bright glowing light inside the fridge. It was so bright he was forced to cover his eyes with his hands, only that didn't help, it continued to get brighter and brighter. He knew it was reaching out for him, he could feel tendrils of energy grabbing him. His vision became white as his body pulled into a viscous warm energy that made his hair stand on end.

Dominic tried to scream, he prayed to whatever deity would listen, he tried to beg for forgiveness for everything that he'd done and then some, but no matter how hard he struggled he was still pulled closer to the glowing light. The sound of him shouting in protest was deafened by some unseen force and soon the edges of his vision began to turn dark, was it the blow to his head or something else, he wasn't sure. All he knew was this was the end. He was furious that this would be the way he went, without a last stand or no final battle, he was going to be killed by a magical glowing refrigerator, as he mused on that his vision went dark and he fell unconscious.

{♠}

Twilight Sparkle was still getting used to living in Canterlot again, being a princess was far from what she thought it would be. Ponies with magic problems came to her for help, which she was happy to lend, and occasionally ponies with questions would ask for her advice. In layman's terms she was BUSY. To pass the time when she wasn’t signing off on papers, giving advice or studying, she often looked through the Starswirl The Bearded wing of the archives. That evening was no exception, her eyes read over the ancient equestrian scripts with large interest.

“Hmmm.” She would occasionally hum when she read something especially interesting, her eyes widened as she set her eyes on on spell in particular. “Transdimensional Teleportation, A spell to use when one requires something otherworldly to study.” She read aloud before looking over the spells parameters, to her it would be foals play. She was a smart alicorn, she realized that casting a spell like this inside the most important archive was dangerous and so she memorized the spell in her head before walking off to her room. 

As she walked through the palace her mind shifted to how exciting it would be to study some other worldly artifact. Perhaps it would be a piece of literature she could translate, perhaps it would be a statue of an otherworldly creature. Oh, how proud Celestia would be! Twilight made her way to her room with a massive smile on her face, she couldn’t wait to see what wonders other dimensions held. She nodded to her guards and entered the room before closing the door and bolting it shut.

“Okay, lets see how did it go again? Oh yes!” Twilight’s horn ignited brightly, the room instantly bathed in bright purple light. “From a world not our own, whether it be flesh or stone, bring to me what I request, So I may see the universes guest.” Her horn exploded in a massive blast of magic, she flew into a wall and groaned before getting to her hooves. In front of her was a milky white portal, it pulsed and hummed loudly. Its surface shimmered before it began to part, Twilight gasped as a strange creature  began to emerge from the portal and immediately ran to the door. The second she unbolted it a dozen guards rushed in, armed and ready for battle.

“Princess! What is that thing!” One of her guards asked gesturing to the unconscious creature, its clothes were stained with blood and the sickly sweet scent of death seemed to permeate the air around it.

“I don’t know... Princess Celestia must though! She’ll know what to do!” Twilight replied, the guard saluted and rushed out of the room. Twilight took several tentative steps towards the creature and poked it with her hoof, it didn’t move in the slightest, it only response seemed to be laying there on her floor as if it were dead. For a moment she thought it was until she saw its chest rising and falling in a steady, if not rapid, pace. Whatever this thing was, it was in for a surprise when it woke up.

{♠}

Dominic moaned in discomfort as his senses began to come back to him, he instinctively tried to move his arms to rub his eyes only to find them bound. One word ran through his mind at that moment. ‘Raiders.’ He angrily thought, his thoughts went back to what had happened. Was that a dream, had he been drugged?

“It’s waking up!” A feminine voice called from his right, his eyes slowly opened only to be assaulted by bright light. He snapped his eyes shut and waited a moment before trying again, the second his eyes stayed open and he could see the ceiling of a room. “Oh Celestia this is so exciting!” Dominic didn’t know what to make of that statement, perhaps this raider was a member of the fandom before the outbreak. Dominic took a second to try and take stock of his situation, he knew was dressed in his regular clothes, save for his jacket and helmet which had most likely been taken with his weaponry.

“Should we tell the Princesses?” A more masculine voice interjected, Dominic could swear that they were entirely serious. These Raiders’ leader must have referred to themselves as ‘Princesses’, a prospect that annoyed him more than he thought it should. “I mean this is the strangest thing in Equestria I’ve ever seen.” At this point to Dominic the joke was over and it was no longer funny.

“No it hasn’t, Princess Luna and Celestia will want to hear about this. Would you mind getting them, Azure Gear?” The first feminine voice asked.

“Yes ma’am!” Another voice replied before what sounded like a double pair of footsteps left whatever room he was in. 

“Okay lets see if its eyes are responsive.” The Masculine voice said, Dominic felt something round press down on his chest before a bright light was shone into his eyes causing him to wince.

“Gah, knock it off you goddamn raider scum!” Dominic shouted angrily, the light immediately died and whatever had been on Dominic’s chest disappeared just as quickly.

“It...IT SPOKE!” Said the female voice, Dominic growled angrily.

“Of course I spoke, what you think just because I'm tied to a bed I'm some sort of dumb animal, you stupid piece of shit!” Dominic turned his head to look at the speaker and for the second time in his life he had nothing to say. Rather than seeing a human raider, he saw a small white horse with a soft pink mane and a little hat atop its head. On its rear was a red cross with four hearts surrounding it, its eyes were massive and its snout was shorter than a normal horse. What made the situation even more unbelievable was the fact that he KNEW who this pony was. It had been years since he’d seen her but there was no doubt in his mind. Finally his mind found the right words. “What the fuck...?”

{♠}

Celestia was pacing back and forth, what was she to do with this creature. She could destroy it and cast a memory spell on all who had seen it, but that wouldn’t be right. It wasn’t his fault that he was brought here, she couldn’t destroy an innocent being, even if he'd been covered in blood when he'd arrived, how was she to know the context of what its situation was before it came to her world. She could keep it prisoner, that would only prompt it to be angry with her and what if its fellows had the ability to come to her world and demand him back. She could unveil him to the world, but that would lead to dozens of political problems, not to mention the social problems that the creature would face. The princess put a hoof to her forehead and sighed, why had Twilight gone and cast that spell?

All of these thoughts were clattering around Celestia’s head like a million bouncing bowling balls, but at the center of it all was the what the being had with him. Specifically his jacket and the patch that had been sewn into it. It was the same as of Twilight Sparkles cutie mark. How the creature knew what it was was a mystery to her, but it made her shudder to think what it could possibly mean to its culture. The strange metal objects seemed to be weapons of some sort, was he a soldier? Was it part of his culture to carry such weapons? Why was his clothing covered in blood? Even more shocking thoughts echoed through her head to the point she could barely think straight, her stupor was shaken away when the sound of soft knocking on her door drew her attention.

“Enter.” Celestia said, her motherly tone all but completely subdued. The door slowly opened and a guard poked his head in. “Yes?”

“It’s awake your, highness.” The guard stated, Celestia rose to her hooves and walked to the door.

“How long ago did it wake up?” Celestia asked, her eyes facing ahead as the guard lagged slightly behind her.

“Ten minutes ago, your highness, it seemed quite agitated.” The guard stated, the rest of the walk was silent until the two ponies arrived at a door.

“....No, this has gotta be a god damn nightmare!" There was a loud crash, followed by a couple screams. "Get the fuck away from me! None of you are fucking real, I'm laying in a ditch somewhere with a head wound or something!” A very young, deep, masculine voice shouted.

“How did he get out of the restraints!” A more frantic male voice shouted from within as yet another loud crash echoed through the door, Celestia cringed at the sound of all that property damage. The guard beside her tensed up and was about to buck the door open when the princess shook her head to him, she instead opted to just pushed the door open. Seconds later she was met with a large metal pan that had been hurled by the strange creature, it was caught mere inches from her face by the yellow glow of her magic.

“Get! The! Fuck! Away! From! Me!” The creature shouted, punctuating each word with a thrown piece of medical equipment. Several nurses and doctors rushed out the open door, Celestia dropped the pan to the ground and saw the creature glaring at the only nurse left in the room. She coughed and his gaze turned to her, she winced as she saw the emotions in his eyes, confusion, anger, hatred, misery...fear. “You!” He pointed at her with a trembling finger, sweat was staining his already stained shirt. “You aren't real, none of you are!” He turned his attention back to the nurse, Nurse Redheart stared at him with wide eyes. “It's all a fuckin' dream!” He turned back to Celestia and stormed over to her until he was only inches away from her face. 

“I could kill you if I wanted and it wouldn't make a lick of goddamn difference! I would wake up right as rain and there wouldn't be a hint of regre-” There was a very loud clang, and Celestia could see the creature's face contort into a mix of pain and surprised. He swayed on his feet for a few moments before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Celestia looked wide eyed at Nurse Redheart, who was holding an Oxygen tank in her hooves. She was panting through gritted teeth and glaring at the now unconscious creature, she saw the massive bump forming on the back of his head.

“Nopony... Messes... With My…. Staff!...” Redheart grunted out with a huff between each word, she looked up and realized the Princess was staring at her. She dropped the O2 tank and into a bow, Celestia looked at her still shocked.

“Rise my little pony.” Celestia said, still a bit shaken by the events that had unfolded, Redheart did as she was told and stood up. Celestia eyed the now unconscious creature laying on the floor, he looked younger than she remembered. Maybe the fact he wasn’t wearing his jacket and helmet made him look more innocent. Celestia turned to the guard that was standing behind her, he too looked stunned. “Guard, take him to my quarters. Seal it off from everypony save for my sister and myself. Even Twilight Sparkle. If he should wake and we are not there do not let him out, if he becomes violent....subdue him.” The guard looked at her for a moment before nodding. The guard hoisted the creature onto his back and began to trot off. “And Guard....return his jacket and helmet.” Celestia frowned a bit as she saw the guard handle the creature roughly but said nothing.

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic stood in his boxers and white under shirt, in his hand was a plate that was piled high with chocolate chip pancakes. He walked to the living room and plopped down on the large leather couch. The remote grasped in his free hand he began to flip through the channels, he sighed as he saw commercial after commercial.

“Hundreds of channels and nothing but shit.” He sighed, finally the remote clicked onto the news. Fox 31 was covering a story about his town which interested him, considering that his town had nothing of interest save for the blue ribbon school that he attended. He turned up the volume while taking a bite from one of his pancakes, what he saw rocked him to his core.

“.....And it appears that this latest outbreak of the Pestilentia Immortuorum Virus has struck the small town of Evergreen. Though most outbreaks have been contained this one appears to be getting out of control.” A newscaster commented from the parking lot of the Shell gas station, Dominic saw people in the background running from others that seemed to be shambling or sprinting in inhuman ways. Dominic was a paranoid young man, everything was the end of the world to him. The Fukushima disaster in Japan had pushed him over the edge and on that day he had begun stockpiling survival equipment. His obsession with all things radioactive had not helped either, his teachers seemed to think he would be a good candidate for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dominic set down his plate and sprinted to his room, he popped the lid to an old Civil Defense barrel he used as a bed stand.

Inside he found his ‘Bug Out’ gear, his long leather jacket with its iconic Twilight Sparkle cutie mark patch on the shoulder, his black combat boots, his knee and shin guards, black bandanna and his personal favorite an old M1 steel pot helmet that his grandfather had given him in his will. It had been a while since he had pulled these things out of storage, they still smelled brand new save for the helmet. Dominic pulled a pair of socks on his feet before sliding his jeans on, as he did this the phone rang. He picked it up and put it on speaker.

“Dad?” He said as he pulled the first boot on. “Little busy.”

“Dom, I take it you saw the news. Listen very carefully, your mom and Joanna are safe at the lifecare. Get whatever you need to get and be ready to go when I get there.” His father's voice came through phone, Dominic double knotted the lace of his boot before speaking.

“What’s your ETA?” He asked as he slid the other boot on, he looked around his room for anything else he could use. Geiger counters would be useless unless the government decided to drop the bomb in which case he would have bigger problems, gas mask’s though tempting would only bring down his endurance. From what he had read, Pestilentia Immortuorum Virus wasn’t airborne so the masks would also stay behind. One thing that should have been there was his backpack, loaded with his compass, map, utility knife and other assorted supplies. He had no time to dwell on that however.

“I’ll be there in around twenty minutes.” His father replied. “Be careful son.” The phone hung up and Dominic double knotted his other boot, he then fastened the knee and shin guards. Then he through on one of his many olive T-Shirts. With everything else on he put on his jacket and helmet, as he walked out of his room he put on his bandanna in case one of the infected got blood on his face. In the living room the Emergency Broadcast System had replaced the news, Dominic picked up one of the pancakes he had set down and ate it. His attention then shifted to the garage where the family sports equipment was, he walked to the door that lead to the garage and opened it. Inside sat his emergency weapon, he had taken a name from Fallout 3 and dubbed it, Excalibat. Picking up the aluminum bat he gave it a few practice swings before taking it out of the garage and closing the door.

Dominic heard the sound of gunfire in the distance, sirens blared from all over the small town. A shrill shriek filled the air outside, Dominic peered out the window and saw one of the infected chasing a young child. Dominic rushed to the door and threw it open.

“HEY! UGLY FUCK! OVER HERE!” He shouted, then he realised just how stupid what he had just done had been. The Infected snapped its head in his direction, then it let out a loud howl of primal rage. It broke into a dead sprint. Dominic readied Excalibat and when the Infected was within striking distance he let his weapon fly, the resulting impact created a loud *CRACKSSH* as the bat connected with its target’s head. The Infected fell to the ground with a massive chunk of its head missing, blood spatter covered Dominic. The semi-warm liquid was now all over him, he didn’t know what to say. He felt a rush of adrenaline rush over him and he was ready to charge out and take on the entire horde himself but a dull ache started to radiated from the back of his head, his world began to spin and he began to hear whispers in his ears. The pain began to grow as the unintelligible whispers grew louder, he collapsed to his knees and his bat rolled to the side. His hands clutched his head, it felt like it was going to explode in the same way the infected’s had. Then the lights went out....

“Tia, It is awakening.” A regal voice pierced the feeling of darkness.

“Good, now make sure that the doors and windows are locked. We don’t want him to get out of here.”

That last sentance sent shivers down Dominic’s spine, much more important however was that there were people talking. There shouldn’t be any people around him, there should only be him, waking up in his bed, with no one but himself. He had a hell of a dream, he hadn’t dreamed of ponies in months. The strangest part was how real it felt, there wasn’t any fuzziness to his vision during the ordeal, it was crystal clear. The air smelled sweet yet sterile, the floor was solid under his feet. He groaned as he moved the blankets he was covered in to- Blankets? He didn’t need no stinking blankets. He didn’t have any in his stronghold, just his lumpy mattress. The bed he was in was softer than a cloud, the blankets were warm. It felt alien to him, he felt a wave of nervousness wash over him.

With every ounce of strength and willpower he shot his eyes open, they were met by a high ceiling. It had an eight pointed star painted upon it, it was surrounded by clouds and rainbows. It immediately reminded him of the large building that he and his dad had gone to to pick up the license plates for his truck only lacking the very stoic assholes from the DMV. Had someone found him and taken care of him? It seemed so odd, most people would have slit his throat while he was unconscious and taken his things.

“Wha...where am I?” Dominic asked in a weak voice, he heard footsteps around him. He didn’t have the energy or the pain tolerance to move his head to either side.

“You are in my bedchambers, you were hurt rather severly before you came here.” A warm motherly voice replied, Dominic felt a smile cross his face. Something about that voice, it just seemed so familiar, so calming. It made him feel something he hadn’t felt in years, it made him feel....safe.

“How long have I been out?” Dominic asked, still not moving his head.

“A week or so, the impact to your head was quite severe.” Another voice chimed in, though less motherly it held an air of regality to it. Like it came from a woman in charge of her life. “While you were unconcious we noticed you were having some rather, fearful dreams.”

“Who hasn’t lately? Are you going to tell me that the Apocalypse hasn’t given you some nightmares?” Dominic asked, still staring at the ceiling. He was currently counting the clouds, he had counted 37 before the whole act of counting got old and he stopped. He noticed that the two voices had stopped talking. “Was it something I said?” He asked, he finally had the strength to turn his head. When he did he was staring at two very shocked Alicorns, this in turn made him roll out of the bed and get into a defensive stance. “What this fuck is this! You aren’t real! You’re just me still being druged!” His stance faltered as he felt a wave of pain wash over him. “FUCK!” He collapsed onto one knee which in turn made him groan from the impact on the cold marble floor. He noticed he was only in his undershirt, his boxars and his socks. All of which were surprisingly clean.

“Please, be careful.” Finally the white Alicorn, Celestia if he remembered correctly, broke the silence. “You could rip the stitches.” She seemed slightly shaken by something, she started to approach him but he pushed himself away.

“D-Don’t touch me! You’re a....a cartoon! You’re a creation of graphite and pastels! I won’t believe you’re real! SO JUST GET AWAY!” Dominic kept sliding away, he pulled himself back to his feet. Celestia raised an Eyebrow, he still didn’t believe he was really here. Almost like reading her mind, Luna stepped forwards.

“If we art nothing but fictitious creations, explain to us the pain in thine head.” She said with a smile, she had this creature on the ropes. “Being the Princess of the night and dreams, we can most certainly tell thou art not dreaming.” Dominic opened his mouth to retort but in truth he had nothing, he had never in all his 18 years of life had he felt pain during a dream. Pleasure definitely, but pain? No, never. Luna smiled when she saw him close his mouth, it was replaced as she watched Dominic scan the room. His eyes fell on a candelabrum, he lunged at it and grabbed it with both hands. It would have been comical if it weren’t for the look of sheer terror plastered on Dominic’s face.

“S-S-Stay back, tell me where I really am!” Dominic shouted, his eyes were scanning the room. “A-And h-how did my clothes get clean?!”

“First of all, you are in Canterlot, in the kingdom of Equestria. Secondly, we washed them and you. You smelled fairly unpleasant as well.”

“You what!? You took my clothes and washed me while I was unconscious!” Dominic shouted even louder, it was starting to rival the Royal Canterlot Voice. “What exactly did you see!”

“Well we determined that you were a male, quite a male.” Celestia said casually, Dominic’s hand hit his forehead with such force the resounding smack caused both princesses to wonder how he had survived the impact. “We saw that many of your muscles are similar to ours, and then there was the rather strange scars.”

“Shit, shit shit. Why did you redress me, you don’t seem to upset that you’re naked!” Luna stepped forwards for this question.

“You are mostly hairless, it would be understandable that the clothes kept you warm.” She said plainly, Dominic looked around and found his clothes sitting on a desk in the middle of the room. He cautiosly walked over still holding his makeshift weapon and keepign his eyes on the Princesses. He quickly redressed, from his boots to his Helmet and Bandanna. But things were missing, his backpack, bandoliers, shotgun and revolver all were missing. 

“Where are my guns, my ammo, my backpack, my bandoliers!?” Dominic asked as he eyed the Princesses with narrowed eyes. “If you scratched my benelli I’ll...”

“We cannot have a dangerous creature running about with powerful weapons of unknown power can we?” Celestia interrupted. “So, tell us about you and you will receive your belongings.” Luna snapped her head to look at Celestia. 

Tia! You would give this creature his weapons! He tried to harm several medical staff! Luna thought to her sister through the telepathic link they shared.

For all we know his weapons could be a part of his culture, and judging by the looks of them they are more than likely clubs than anything else. The only thing I saw of Interest was the bloodied kitchen knife on the end of the large one. Replied Celestia, it was at this point they noticed Dominic looking at them with a raised eyebrow and his candlestick weapon.

“What do you want to know?” He asked warily, Celestia looked at him for a moment. So many questions, what to ask first was difficult to chose but she chose an easy one. She wanted to test this creature before her.

“What are you called?” She asked.

“My name is Dominic. I am a human.” Dominic stated, this was very similar to a fan fic he had read. He could barely believe that the story was accurate. There were many questions that followed the first that are not worth mentioning. The questions flowed comfortably for several minutes until Celestia ask the one of the big questions on her mind, at this point Dominic had lowered his weapon.

“Dominic, you mentioned the apocalypse. What did you mean by that.” Celestia seemed to strike a nerve with that question.

“Pestilentia Immortuorum.” Dominic replied with a hatefilled tone, she had never seen that look of hatred on the human before but she knew it must have been something terrible. “Litterally translated it means something like, the plague of the Undead.” Celestia had heard of necromancy but never had she heard of a plague, she suddenly feared that she had exposed her and her ponies to a disease. “I know what you're thinking, and I don’t have it. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, this disease is spread by the bite of the Infected. You get bit you maybe have a minute to chop off your bitten limb or just off yourself.”

Dominic slammed his bat into one of the Infected, he was pulling it out of the creatures ruined skull when he heard the sound of his fathers truck pulling up. Dominic grabbed what he needed and ran through the horde, leaving a trail of bloodied corpses in his wake.

“The symptoms for the first patients came slowly, nausea, heartburn, indigestion. Running noses, cough and fever were also pretty common.” Dominic continued. “Then the skin would turn grey or completely white, the eyes would become clouded with cataracts. In the final stages, the heart stopped beating if only for a minute. When it came back, the person was gone and all that remained was a mindless creature that’s sole purpose was to make your life as miserable as humanly possible.”

”DOMINIC! WHAT WERE YOU DOING!” His father shouted, Dominic didn’t answer and just climbed into the back of the truck. As he did he felt one of the infected tug at his leg, instinctively he slammed his bat down on the creatures head.

“Th-Thats horrible!” Luna and Celestia cried out at the same time.

“It gets worse, the disease didn’t just target a specific age group. It targeted the old, the young. Men, women.....children.”

 Dominic looked at the now bloodied and destroyed body of the very girl he had rushed out to save, his heart wrenched and he felt tears form in his eyes.

“I-I’m Sorry.”

On that note, Celestia sighed. “It is late,” she said noting that the moon had risen thanks to Luna. “We can continue tomorrow, please follow my sister to the quarters we’ve set up for you.” Luna got up and as did Dominic, they walked to the door and Luna’s horn glowed. It opened with a creak, the two of them began walking. Guards stiffened at the sight of the masked biped, the staff made sure to stand clear of him. They had heard about what had happened in the infirmary. It was because of this that the walk was mostly silent, occasionally Princess Luna would ask him something about his world but it was mainly quiet. 

Luna could see that there was a frown underneath his mask fairly well, her wing unfurled and she draped it over his shoulders. To Dominic it felt nice, but strange. “What are you doing?”

“We are trying to comfort you, we speak from experience on how loneliness can be hard on one’s soul.” Luna replied, the rest of the walk was silent, they reached the door to the room that Dominic would be staying in.”Here we are, is there anything we can give you that would make you more comfortable.”

“I....It would be nice to have some company.” Dominic replied, Luna looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Not like that. Just someone to talk to.” Luna smiled and nodded.

“We think we can help thee.”
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna and Dominic had talked for many hours about various things, from how humans had advanced without magic to the internet memes that had come with the rise of the internet. Eventually he had gotten tired and fallen asleep, Luna watched him for a few minutes. He had no magical aura so she would be able to sense if he was having a nightmare much faster than anypony else, she sighed finally and turned to leave the room. A soft noise caught her attention, she looked at Dominic and slowly crept over to his sleeping form.

“.....Luna is best pony.......” She smiled at that and then turned and left again, her hooves clip clopped on the marble floors. As she walked she heard a rather loud BANG eminate from the door she had just passed. The door to Twilight Sparkle’s room had been sealed by the young alicorn as she wanted no interruptions while studying Dominic’s weaponry and other possessions. Luna placed her ear on the door to listen to what happened next.

“grrrrrr pony feathers! Motherbucking Celestia condemn it to Tartarus!” She heard the small Alicorn cursing, Luna giggled slightly. “At least that time I didn't burn off my eyebrows. *sigh* How does he manage to use this thing!?” Luna, interest piqued, knocked on the door.

“Twilight, we wish to speak with thee.” Luna said calmly, the door flew open with a pulse of lavender energy. A very disheveled looking Twilight Sparkle sat in front of a large table with the many odd possessions of the human, currently Twilight was fiddling with a small device that had a blank screen and several buttons. “We see thou art taking care of our guest’s belongings.”

“Yes Princess Luna.” Twilight replied as if on autopilot “Maybe this is some sort of charm? No too advanced. A weapon? No too small.” Twilight muttered to herself.

“May we inquire into what caused the noise several seconds ago?” Luna asked, she trotted over to the table. She noticed that Twilight had separated multiple objects by color and size, a large amount of Red cylinder’s with brass bases were sitting in a pile alongside a large pile of brass casings that held a copper tip.

“I’m currently trying to figure out the purpose of this.” Twilight said holding the strange device in her hooves. “And more importantly I’m trying to figure out how to pick up these objects! My magic is useless on them.” Twilight sighed. “The noise was me trying to activate it with an electricity spell.”

“From what Dominic has told us of his technology, that device is referred to as an ‘MP3 Player’.” Luna stated, Twilight’s eyes widened. “Odd, he didn’t mention having one.”

“You spoke with him?” She asked, Luna nodded. “Without me?”

“What we spoke of would have been....traumatizing to thee. Tia is also still upset with thou, though less now.” Luna retorted, her current attention was on the large wood and metal club-like weapon. The bloodied kitchen knife had been removed and destroyed because of its  Bio-hazardous properties, Twilight sighed as she attempted to get the MP3 player to work once again. “Have thee made any progress on determining what these....” Luna paused, a shudder ran down her spine. Her ethereal mane changed direction and began pointing in the direction of Dominic’s room. “We must leave, he requires our help.”

“Please Princess, may I come?” Twilight asked with a glimmer of hope in her eye’s, Luna sighed and nodded. 

“Yes Twilight, but after this thou must sleep. I sense many answers will be given tomorrow.” Luna replied, she began walking towards the door and opened it with her magic. Twilight was close behind, they began to trot swiftly towards the room of the visitor.

{♠}

Dominic slipped into the cab of his father’s truck, he was looking at his once peaceful town as they drove past. Dozens of infected were pouring all over the small community, sheriffs officer’s were being over run. The highway was packed on both sides and the only way that Dominic and his father were making progress was by driving on the side of the road dangerously close to the edge of a steep hill. 

“We’re almost there, once we get Mom and Joanna we can get out of here.” His father stated as they drove, fires were raging in the dry woods where the pine beetles had killed the trees and left them as dry wooden trunks. In the dry heat and chaos they began to ignite like matchsticks, not a single firefighter was present however. They were all too busy trying to escape just like everyone else. Finally a break in the traffic on the road allowed for them to get across to the exit that would take them to the Lifecare where Dominic’s mother and sister were located.

“What do you want me to do dad?” Dominic asked, his father pulled out his revolver. Not just any revolver, HIS revolver. The revolver that he never let Dominic fire more than once a year. He quickly checked the cylinder to see it was loaded, he then handed it to Dominic as well as handing him the other cylinder that would allow him to fire 9mm rounds.

“Kill anything that gets in our way, and if one of us gets bit, do what you have to do....” His father said coldly, Dominic was still realing over killing the girl he had tried to save and now his father was trying to get him to kill his own family!? 

“Dad, I can-”

“I know it’s gonna be hard but you’ll be granting mercy, Dominic. No one should have to live like one of those....things.” His father said in the same cold voice as before, Dominic gulped. He had been preparing for the end of the world since he was thirteen, he always knew that if something like this happened it may be up to him. No amount of preparing can make one not feel guilt, not feel sorrow at taking the life of another sentient being let alone one of his own family members. “Promise me son.” Dominic looked at his father, gaping. “PROMISE ME!” Dominic gulped and nodded. “Good boy, get ready. We’re here.” 

The truck pulled up to the lifecare center, one of the last places where the sheriffs department was fending off the hordes. Dominic and his father got out of the truck and pushed through the dozens of people taking refuge in the retirement home.

“Jennifer!” Dominic’s father called out his mother’s name. “Jenny! Where are you!”

“Over here Tom!” A strained voice called out over the bedlam that had ensued, Dominic and his father pushed through the crowd until they happened upon his mother and his sister. They were both administering medicine in the parking lot of the building, people old and young, rich and poor. All of them were being treated by his mother and the many other nurses and volunteers.

“Jenny we have to go NOW!” Dominic’s father shouted over the noise, his mother shouted something at him and Dominic’s father shouted back at her. She wasn’t leaving and neither was his sister, Dominic felt all his hope of escape begin to fade. The roar of jets overhead signalled that the military had arrived. The gunfire from the Sheriff’s officers began to pick up, Dominic’s father looked at him. “Dom go and see if you can help the police, I’ll try and get mom to come with.” He ordered, Dominic nodded without hesitation and took off towards the Police cars. His father’s revolver in his grip, he finally reached the officers.

“Do you need any help officer?” He asked the sheriff, he nodded to him.

“Get the shotgun out of my car and grab as much ammunition as you can carry. Once you do that start unloading into those ugly fuckers! Evacuation choppers get here in half an hour.” The sheriff shouted over the noise of gunfire and the moans of the Infected. Dominic rushed over to the car and pulled the benelli from the gun rack, next he took off his helmet and used it to carry ammunition. He quickly ran over to the police line, dozens of uniformed officers and civilians with firearms were creating a wall of lead. The legions of Infected monsters continued to march unwavering towards their own demise, what they lacked in tactics, firepower or speed they made up for in overwhelming numbers and tenacity. Dominic took aim at their advancing line and began to unload with the shotgun.

One of the rabid creatures once called people jumped onto the hood of the car and then prepared to leap towards Dominic, he took aim and prepared to squeeze the trigger when a blast of lavender energy vaporised the creature mid flight. Dominic whirled around but saw no one, perhaps it had been divine intervention? He went back to firing and reloading and fireing and reloading. In the mean time he didn’t know he was being watch by not one but two alicorn Princesses, Luna looked at Twilight with a stern but not angry gaze.

“We must first watch how the dream troubles him before we intervene, he obviously could have handled that....beast on his own.” Luna explained, they were currently invisible and watching the entire scene unfold. “Though it does shed light on his weapons, not simple clubs. Ranged weapons, those red and brass cylinder’s must be what creates the power of them.” 

“Perhaps we should keep them for ourselves?” Twilight asked, she nearly lost her stomach contents shortly afterwards as she saw Dominic blow the head of one of the Infected apart.

“DOMINIC!” A female voice screamed, Dominic turned on a dime and sprinted towards the voice with his weapon in his hands. Twilight and Luna watched as he dumped whatever remaining ammunition out of his helmet before putting back on his head, he finally made it to the location of his sister, father and mother. His sister was holding her arm and rocking back and forth, Dominic’s heart began to beat faster than any time in his short life. His father looked at him with a somber expression, a tear forming in his eye.

“Son....” His father began, Dominic did something he would regret to the day he died. He hesitated. For as his father began to explain what he had to do his sister’s eyes glossed over and her teeth snapped together. She leaped forwards and landed on his father, tearing at his neck with her teeth. His mother instinctively charged forwards, Dominic stuck out his hand and his eyes widened as he saw her leap straight towards her death. By this point anarchy had ensued, the defensive line had broken. Dominic saw his entire family turn against him in under ten minutes. A tear rolled down his cheek but was absorbed by his bandanna, he leveled his shotgun at his once loving sister.

“I’m.....I’m sorry!” He cried as he squeezed the trigger, Luna and Twilight stood stock still as they watched him shoot his own sister. His mother was the next to charge at him, her face bitten by her once loving husband. Another blast of buckshot flew from the barrel of his shotgun, and when his father stood up and shrieked with a beastial cry the third blast of buckshot tore his head clean open. Dominic stood there, time was frozen. Blood stopped in mid air, people being tackled frozen in place. The only thing moving was Dominic and two Alicorns. He looked around and finally he saw Princess Luna and his favorite pony Twilight Sparkle, had they just seen what had happened?

Twilight certainly looked like she was ready to lose her stomach contents, Luna had a more concerned look on her face.

“Dominic.” She started, he held up his hand.

“How much....” He asked her, looking into her eyes. She didn’t answer quick enough. “HOW MUCH!”

“Enough.” Luna finally replied, Dominic looked at Twilight. 

“And her? How did she get here?” He asked suspiciously.

“A joined mind spell, its very complicated to explain.” Dominic walked over to the Princess of the night and looked her in the eyes, he was only inches away from her face.

“I’m okay with you asking me questions, I’m okay with having every inch of me scrutinised by you and your sister, But! DO NOT FUCK WITH MY HEAD! This isn’t the first time I’ve had this dream and it won’t be the last! SO GET THE FUCK OUT! Let me face my demons alone!” Luna felt genuinely hurt by his words, she nodded slowly with a frown on her muzzle and in a flash of light both Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were gone from his dream. Time sped back up and Dominic felt the immense boulder of guilt come slamming down on his shoulders as he looked at his dead family. At this point everyone had abandoned the evacuation, he said a quick prayer and turned away from his loved ones. The world began to fade to black.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic sat across from Celestia with a scowl though it had been hidden by his bandana, it had been his dream to come to this place at one point. Now, however, it was bittersweet. He was here but only after so much violence and bloodshed. Everything he touched seemed to be destroyed in a grotesque way, that made him shudder. So many things could be destroyed by his hands. Celestia noticed the look of deep thought on Dominic’s face and coughed lightly, he looked at her. Neither of them had spoken since she had come to check on him aside from her general greeting.

“My student has told me what she saw….” Celestia finally said, Dominic’s gaze fell on the floor and his fists clenched tightly. His eyes moved about glancing at every inch of the floor, not a single dust particle could escape his gaze. “What I heard was-” She paused as if to think of the proper word. “Disturbing. I wanted to give you a chance to explain your side of the story.” Dominic looked at her, his eyes had turned to steel.

“I hesitated, my family turned, I had to deal with the consequences.” He said flatly, the words held a type of darkness that could rival the power of Sombra. Celestia looked into his eyes, she saw the cracks in the walls he had built were starting to grow. If she pushed him too far she could cause those walls to become impenetrable but if she didn’t push enough he would only distance himself from anyone trying to help him. She decided that she would have to push later on, for now there were still questions to be answered. Dominic answered most of the ones he understood, he left out tidbits like Einstein's theory of relatively. The dark ages were a ‘fun’ subject as well, talking about that really put him in a cheery mood. He and the princess continued to converse, albeit slightly less. Dominic was starting to ease out of his hardened state and beginning to return to the slightly vulnerable teen he should have been, if only for a few sentences at a time

Finally Celestia was comfortable moving on to one of her larger questions. She had asked him more about his technology, Dominic finished his answer to her question about Television. Now was the perfect time to ask him.

“Dominic?” She asked in a more serious tone, this caused Dominic freeze up. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” She could practically feel his eyes narrow on her.

“What?” He asked, his tone was still semi relaxed though his body language said that he probably knew what would be her next question.

“You’re patch.” Celestia pointed a hoof at Dominic’s shoulder, there sat Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark. “How do you know that symbol.” Dominic was quiet for a moment as he mulled the question over in his head

“Well….I guess I ca-” *BANG* Dominic was about to answer when the unmistakable sound of his revolver firing. The bang was followed by a loud cry of pain, Dominic was on his feet within a heartbeat while Celestia was stunned. “Where are my weapons?!” He shouted, Celestia could only mutter one word. 

“Twilight.” Dominic threw his hands into the air before delivering a massive kick to the door that lead to the hallway, it flew open and he rushed out.

{♠}

Twilight rocked back and forth, her hoof was burning like nothing she had ever felt before. Dominic’s revolver sat on the floor far away from her, a trail of blood indicated she had scooted away from the death dealing device. She cried out in pain for a second time, for several seconds she stopped moaning in pain to listen for any approaching ponies. Her room was in the new wing of the castle that still had a low guard compliment, to her relief she heard something. Heavy noises against the floor, too heavy to be hoofsteps. She also heard regular hoofsteps and somepony shouting orders, that voice sounded familiar. Her thoughts were cut short as the pain in her leg began to burn even worse, she cried out again. The door was booted open by a large steel toed boot, to her surprise and sheer horror she saw Dominic rush in. His eyes settled on her instantly, his face was hidden by his bandana but she could tell he had a worried look.

He almost looked as if he were on the verge of tears, Twilight could see him blinking the moisture away. He rushed to her side and  looked at her wound, he grunted as he looked at the bleeding entrance wound and sighed as he saw the exit wound. He stood up and moved to Twilight’s bed. Several guards rushed in after him, they saw Twilight and immediately began to form a perimeter around her. Dominic pulled several pillowcases from the soft pillows they contained, his head whipped around trying to find something else. It settled on the liquor cabinet, he looked slightly miffed by the prospect of her having a liquor cabinet but shrugged it off.

At this point Celestia galloped in, she saw the perimeter of guards around Twilight and then Dominic rooting through her liquor cabinet with several pillowcases. She didn’t know what he was doing but she didn’t like it, he was still a wild card in her eyes. She used her magic to grab the items in his hands. He let out a surprised growl before turning to look at Celestia, his eyes weren’t angry as she had been expecting however. They were urgent, surprised and in a state of shock.

“What the fuck was that for!?” He shouted in a panicked voice. “I’m trying to help her!” He brought his hands up to the back of his neck and began to untie his bandana. Celestia looked at him for a few seconds, Dominic didn’t wait for her response and took another bottle of alcohol. He Quickly popped the top from it and dumped its contents onto his Bandana, Celestia’s eyes widened as she saw what he was doing.

“Let me help you.” She said walking towards Twilight, Dominic brought his soaked bandana over as well as the bottle of alcohol. It was the first time Twilight had seen the humans face, if it was anything similar to a ponies she thought it looked extremely young. Perhaps eighteen or nineteen. It was hard to believe that he had been through so much more than her even though they were almost the same age.

“Can you cauterize the wound?” Dominic asked, his voice was flat. The guards parted as he and the Princess passed them. Celestia nodded to him before looking at Twilight, she lit her horn but Dominic stopped her for a second. “Hold on.” He walked over to Twilight’s bed stand and ripped one of the legs off before coming back over and sitting next to Twilight. “Bite down on this.” He instructed, Twilight looked at Celestia who was just as confused as she was. “It’s gonna hurt a lot and I don’t want you biting your fucking tongue off, so bite the fucking thing.” Twilight opened her mouth and Dominic put it in. She bit down on the wood, his attention turned to her wounded for leg. He raised the bottle of Alcohol and poured it onto the wound, Twilight gasped and her jaw tightened on the table leg. Tears came to her eyes as Dominic rubbed the alcohol around her leg. “Shh Shh its okay.” He said in an oddly calming voice. Celestia looked at her prised student with sad eyes

“Okay Princess, I need you to stay focused!” Dominic said loudly, at this point the guards were watching in awe. “Cauterize it now.” Small flames danced across Twilight’s fur as the alcohol ignited, to her surprise however it didn’t burn her skin but only her fur. Dominic was also surprised but shrugged it off again, the bleeding stopped and Dominic took his bandana and wrapped it around the wound. “She still needs a real doctor but it should hold for now. At least I think. Been awhile since I last got shot, my skills may be a bit rusty.” Both princesses said nothing, just staring at eachother. “Hey fuckers! Wake the fuck up and help me!” Dominic said in an annoyed, the panic that was there earlier was more suppressed but Twilight could hear it perfectly. The human stood up before hoisting Twilight over his shoulder. The sudden movement made the table leg fall from Twilight's mouth. She suddenly felt tired as the adrenaline began to wear off, her eyes started to close as she felt Dominic begin to carry her.

{♠}

Twilight awoke to the feeling of soft blankets over her and a soft bed beneath her, she could barely make out the sound of a beeping heart moniter and something deeper. A voice, very deep and very tired sounding. Twilight tried to open her eyes but couldn’t, she felt to tired to do anything aside from listen.

“....this is difficult for me to say, I don’t know how you’ll react…” That was Dominic’s voice, who was he talking to? Why did he sound so nervous?

“You have my word, no matter what you say no harm will come to you.” That was Celestia’s voice. “If it weren’t for you Twilight might be in far worse shape than she is now.”

“Okay, here I go.” Dominic’s voice was slightly nervous, as it had been earlier. What had happened earlier? Twilight couldn’t remember much. “I know who all of you are, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, you, and many more. I know about the Element’s of harmony, the invasion on the royal wedding, the reason Twilight is an alicorn and not a unicorn.” One could hear a pin drop, Twilight could imagine the look of shock on Celestia’s face and if she could she would have one as well. For whatever reason she couldn’t seem to move, just breath and listen. “Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Discord.” Dominic paused for a moment as if thinking. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen him yet, he’s been reformed if I remember correctly.” He said to himself. “I know a lot of things, that’s why I thought that this was a dream at first. That’s why I kicked Luna out of my head, that’s why I decided to keep the truth hidden.”

“H-How do you know this?” Celestia’s voice was softer, Twilight could understand why. She had the same feeling, trying to take the information in.

“Do you remember what I said about Television?” Dominic asked, Twilight had know Idea what it was but she had a feeling it was a type of advanced technology. She heard Celestia’s regala move indicating she was nodding. Dominic sighed and remained silent for a few moments before speaking again.

“In my world, Everyone here, even this universe, is fictional. A story created to entertain people and teach valuable lessons. The targeted audience of the TV show that depicts you was directed at younger girls. However, it was so well done that it reached more than that. The Animation was fantastic, the storylines and character development were extremely well done, and it all focused on something that my species loved.” Dominic explained, he still sounded hesitant but was getting more confident.

“What was that?” Celestia asked, the information was starting to sink in. The shock was wearing off and now she began to take the news in stride. Twilight wished she could see the look on her face, she desperately wanted to see that motherly face.

“Despite what you’ve seen, most humans had a primal urge to love things that were deemed ‘cute’ or ‘Adorable’.” Dominic explained. “And honestly, being here in person. I can say without any doubt that you ponies are the most fucking adorable things I’ve ever seen.” Dominic tried to lighten the mood. “The thing is, while some humans were relatively nice and some were downright awesome, most of them were Assholes. The people like me saw the message in the show, treat people fairly, respect other people’s opinions. We also saw the cute things about the show, references to things we understood.”

“I sense a but coming?” Celestia asked, Twilight could tell that Dominic nodded. His helmet clanked ever so slightly.

“But as I said, most humans were assholes. A lot of them hated you, a lot of them hated me, hated the entire thing. The internet became a war zone, pictures, videos, stories. It was total bedlam! Some websites were for our cause, others against us. We began to branch out into the real world. Art and music, conventions, interviews. The world was beginning to understand we were here to stay and that we were not going to be quiet.” Dominic paused, Twilight heard him sigh. “Then Hasbro, the company in charge of the series decided to fuck with us. They created the *gag* Equestria Girls. A feature length film about Twilight getting sent to the world of humans. It was okay but it made it harder for some of us to be a part of the fandom.” Twilight felt she could open her eyes again but she wanted to hear more, she wanted to know more about Dominic’s world.

“All of those things are the tame side of the fandom, there was however, a darker side.” Dominic stated with a dark voice. “It is better that I don’t go into it, it would only cause bad things.” Twilight opened her eyes as he finished, the bright light caused her to cover her eyes.

“Twilight!” Celestia beamed, she rushed over to the side of Twilight’s bed. It was at this point Twilight noticed the pain in her hoof, she looked at her hurt leg and saw that it had been bandaged. “My faithful student!” Celestia hugged Twilight in her forehooves.

“Princess!” Twilight hugged her mentor, losing her shock from what she had heard for only a few seconds. As she hugged Celestia she saw Dominic standing in the shadows with hands behind his back, he stood there with a stoic look though she thought she could see his eyes glistening a bit. His eyes met hers for a brief second, he looked down at the floor afterwards. Celestia let go of her student and sat down on her haunches next to the hospital bed. The lights in the room were out except for the lamp on the table, Luna’s night was out in all of its beauty. Twilight looked back at Dominic, he was still looking at the floor.

“Twilight? Is something wrong?” Celestia asked when she saw Twilight’s gaze was elsewhere, she turned to see Dominic was standing and looking at the floor. “You heard him didn’t you?” Celestia asked looking back at Twilight, her tone a sort of worried intrigue. Dominic shifted slightly and tensed up, at this point Twilight noticed he was wearing his ‘Bandoliers’ and had his weapons.

“Yes Princess.” Twilight said, she had learned long ago lying to the Princess was a bad idea. “I’m confused, I don’t know how to react. I feel somewhat flattered but….”

“Violated?” Celestia finished the sentence for her, Dominic tensed even more. His lack of a bandana made it easy to see his face had gone from stoic to something on the border of nervous and defensive. His gaze was still firmly on the floor, what was he thinking?

“I wouldn’t say that, just…..odd.” Twilight said trying to get the proper words to form on her tongue. “It’s odd having pon- people watch you, even if they are doing it because they like you.” Dominic visibly relaxed though he still remained silent, it was as if he were deep in thought.

“I guess so, be that as it may…. I would recommend we keep this information to ourselves, I’ll tell Luna myself but Twilight. You cannot under any circumstances breath a word of this to anyone, not your friends not you family. NOT even Cadence.” Twilight tensed at this which made Dominic look up from the floor and at Celestia. “At least, not yet.”

The door to the room was knocked on several times causing everyone to look at it, Celestia used her magic and the door swung open. A blur of Pink shot in at immense speeds, Dominic instinctively reached for his sidearm but stopped when he saw who was responsible for the sudden movement. Pinkie Pie, the lord of motor mouths, the bane of all sane beings in the universe.

“TWILIGHT! MY PINKIE SENSE TOLD ME YOU WERE HURT SO I GOT ALL THE GIRLS AND SPIKE AND WE CAME TO SEE YOU BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT YOU TO BE SAD BECAUSE BEING IN THE HOSPITAL ALONE CAN BE SAD! I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT I WOULD DO IF I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL ALL ALONE WITHOUT MY FRIENDS OR PRINCESS CELESTIA. HI PRINCESS! ANY WAY THAT WOULD BE A MEGA BUMMER!” 

“SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Dominic roared, it took all of his willpower not to pull his revolver on the Pink mare.Immediately Pinkie stopped and turned to look at the source of the voice, a loud gasp escaped her mouth.

“WOW! I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE YOU BEFORE! WHAT ARE YOU! ARE YOU A MONST- mmmphhmmmm” Celestia put her hoof over Pinkies mouth before Dominic could pull his revolver.

“Where did Pinkie go?” A voice with a tomboyish tone to it spoke from the hall, Dominic knew that voice. “Wait, lets just follow the trail of confetti.”

“Umm….how do we um...know if Twilight is hurt?” A softer voice asked, Dominic facepalmed. His patients had dropped to zero when Pinkie had burst in, he took in a massive breath.

“IN HERE!” He shouted, all noise in the room and hallway stopped. A pin could be heard hitting the floor, Dominic looked at Celestia and Twilight before shrugging. “I can’t stand anymore annoyances today.” He stated plainly, four sets of hooves were heard outside the door before four ponies walked in. The first was Fluttershy, upon seeing Dominic she bolted right back out the door with an Eep. “Fuck.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack trotted in looking surprised at Fluttershy before looking at Dominic.

“What the hay is that thing?” Applejack asked out loud, Dominic sighed and his hand and had it’s second date with his face.

“Fuck my life.” He groaned, he had just divulged all he knew about the ponies to Celestia, Twilight had been shot with his gun after witnessing him using it to slaughter dozens of infected, and now the rest of the mane six were here to fuck him over.  “Why did I open that fucking refrigerator.”

“You sure use funny words? What does fuck mean? I bet it means a really nice thing! I love saying Fuck! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!” Pinkie pulled her mouth off of Celestia’s hoof and began to spout the word ‘Fuck’ so much it would have made the saltiest sailor blush. 

“Pinkie! Thats a bad word.” Twilight reprimanded, Pinkie immediately froze and pulled her tongue out of her mouth. Staring at it with a shocked expression, she gasped. Her hair deflated and she lost a shade of pink. Applejack shot Dominic a glare but at this point he didn’t care. Rarity walked through the door pulling Fluttershy along with her magic before closing the door to the small hospital room. Dominic waited for the surprised gasp.

*Gasp*

He sighed, this was starting to turn into one of those fanfics he had read. Celestia sensed his distress and sudden annoyance. She cleared her throat and every pony looked at her.

“Girls, I’m sure you’ve noticed our guest here. His name is Dominic, he was brought into our world by Twilight. You’ve also most likely picked up on his rather crude language.” Celestia began, Dominic sighed again. Celestia went on to explain who Dominic was, where her came from and how he would be permanent addition to Equestria. She left out sensitive subjects such as the apocalypse  and by association Dominic’s combat history. Dominic sat down in a chair and waited for the explanation to end, Luna arrived during the middle of the lecture and discretely made her way over to Dominic. All of the girls asked several questions which were either answered or passed up.

Finally Celestia finished explaining, for the girls it was exciting and interesting. Dominic and those who already knew the story were relieved that it was over.

“Twilight will be able to leave tomorrow, I suggest we all have breakfast and discuss things further tomorrow.” Celestia stated, Dominic went from bored to alert in under a second.

“Are you fucking nuts? Twilight took a .357 round to the leg! She’s lucky she still has a leg, how is she going to be able to leave tomorrow?” Dominic facepalmed when Celestia, Luna and Twilight stated.

“Magic” in unison. He growled and the day came to an end, the girls went to their individual rooms while Luna and Celestia retired as well. Dominic was left sitting in Twilight’s hospital room. Someone had to stay and make sure she was taken care of. He and Twilight spoke for a few hours about  the fandom before she fell asleep, Dominic’s heart would have exploded if it hadn’t been turned to stone by nearly three years of loneliness and violence.

“So fuckin’ cute.” Dominic stated, before he too sucamb to sleep.

> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic stared at the wall, his eyes were bloodshot and ached painfully. Everything here was calm, too calm. If he let his guard down he could be jumped, he could be killed. His sleep had been fitful and he had awoken thinking that someone was trying to suffocate him. Since then had hadn’t close his eyes and he held his shotgun close to his chest. This type of calm wasn't normal, even before the outbreak there had been something. A siren in the distance, a bugling elk, somthing! His stomach growled angrily, he hadn’t eaten in a week. Slowly he moved his gaze from the wall to the bag, the food contained within was calling his name. But he stopped as movement in his peripheral vision caused him to instinctively whip out his revolver and take aim.

“Get a hold of yourself man!” He growled to himself, trying to calm his frayed nerves. He took several deep breaths before reaching out and grabbing the bag, to his relief nothing reached out to kill him. Still his hypervigilance refused to allow him a moment of peace. As he sat there in the hospital room he continued to see shadows in his peripherals, he needed to get his mind off of everything. His gaze fell on the sleeping mare in the bed, she had a soft smile on her muzzle as she made cute little snores. His mind began to wander to how he had once been a normal person, how he had always been a bit of a cynic but used his sense of humor to cancel it out.

Dominic looked down at the floor again. Another shadow moved in his peripherals again, he whipped around and still nothing. He felt his body starting to betray his mind, a cold sweat swept over his him. This always seemed to happen when he was alone, he always felt more on edge than ever when he was by himself. Sure Twilight was sitting right there but she was sleeping, he didn’t feel right waking her up. 

He started hearing a squeaking wheel in the hallway, it caused him to start staring at the door intently. Again in just out of his peripherals he started to see movement, he forced himself to not spin around. Continuing to stare at the door and focus on the squeaking wheel, every few minutes it would pause for a while before starting up again. It was getting closer each time until it was finally outside the door to the room, It stopped and the door handle began to turn. A soft humming came through the opening door, a white unicorn mare wearing a nurses hat and carrying a tray of what looked like jello and greens stepped in. The second she laid eyes on him she gasped and almost dropped the tray, Dominic just stared at her.

“What time is it.” He asked, breaking the silence. The mare simply stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.

“T-t-twenty after s-six.” She stammered, Dominic nodded and looked to the bag he still held in his hand. Slowly he undid the zipper and reached inside. The nurse, he guessed she was a nurse, tensed slightly but relaxed as he pulled out a can. It had odd writing on it, similar to pony text but less elaborate. Like something a foal might write, simple but eloquent. She silently tried to translate what it said, Dominic coughed and she quickly blushed. She had been staring at the can intently for an amount of time that made it awkward. “S-Sorry.”

“Mhmm.” Was Dominic’s reply, inside however he was grateful for the distraction. He would have started shooting at the shadows if she hadn’t come when she did.

“I just need to give Princess Sparkle her medicine and I was told to bring her guest some food. Can you tell me where they went?” Dominic gave her a deadpanned stare, realisation dawned on her and she blushed again. Dominic sighed inwardly and nodded, the nurse trotted over and let Dominic pick up the tray. He took a sniff of the mashed up greens and recoiled with a disgusted look on his face. He set the tray aside, ignoring the offended look he received from the nurse, and looked back at the can he held. He rooted in his bag for a moment and pulled out an old can opener.

The nurse moved towards the sleeping form of Twilight Sparkle and gently nudged her with her hoof. Twilight mumbled something about avocados being the work of discord but did not wake, the nurse nudged her again. Slightly harder this time, this time Twilight moaned and pulled the blankets over herself in an absolutely adorable move. The nurse nudged her a third time, this time far more forcefully. Twilight jolted awake and looked about the room confusedly before noting a pain in her hoof. It was a soft ache, bearable but annoying. She remembered what had happened in a blur, Dominic busting into her room and dressing her wound, hearing him discussing his knowledge with Celestia.

“Your highness, It’s good to see you awake. I’m Nurse Namaste. Doctor Von Crop instructed me to wake you and give you these.” The nurse said in a cheery tone, the sound of metal on metal was in the background as Dominic began opening his canned food. Her gaze fully on the can and nothing else, Twilight looked at him for a moment before responding to the nurse. She let out a small yawn.

“Thank you, may I ask what they are?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Painkillers, Princess Celestia said that you could leave today but it would be extremely painful without these.” Namaste replied with a cheery smile, Dominic looked at her for a moment. She was missing a cutie mark, from what Dominic knew that was more than unusual. He coughed loudly getting her attention away from Twilight and simply pointed at her flank. She looked at him quizzically before a look of realisation passed over her face. “The hats we wear are enchanted to make us completely uniform. That means it hides our cutie marks.” She explained, removing her hat for a brief moment. Her coat changed to a deep brown but her mane remained white. An image of an elephant appeared on her flanks.

“Oh.” Was all that Dominic replied with, Namaste returned her hat to her head before returning her attention to Twilight. The alicorn smiled and brought the pills up to her lips, quickly downing the pills and drinking all of the water. Immediately the slight ache in her hoof subsided.

“Now you’re going to need to take two of these every four hours for the next week or so.” Namaste instructed. “Doctor Von Crop will be by later to give you your prescription. In the meantime I would suggest remaining awake, the pills work better when the patient is cognitive.” Namaste turned and moved towards the door.

“Thank you nurse, have a good morning.” Twilight said, Namaste simply nodded and left. Closing the door softly. The sound of the squeaky wheel soon followed, an awkward silence fell in the room. Twilight was staring at Dominic, his eyes were flicking all over the place. “Dominic?” His head snapped to her in a heartbeat, the bloodshot eyes were accented by several bags under his eyes. “I just wanted to say, thank you, for helping I mean.”

“Don’t mention it.” He stated. “Seriously, don’t mention it.” Dominic saw one of the shadows in his peripherals but didn’t move on it, Twilight would warn him if someone was going to attack him. Right? The minor amount that he had relaxed the day had disappeared, he looked even more tense than ever. Even when he was looking at her, Twilight saw his eyes constantly scanning the room.

“Are you okay, Dominic?” She asked, immediately realising how stupid the question was. Dominic however shook his head, his eyes still scanning the room as he did. “What’s troubling you?” Dominic stopped looking around and then at Twilight, his emotions and his thoughts racing. What was troubling him? Was it that he was in a supposedly fictional world that had no war or conflict that couldn’t be solved with friendship? Was it because he was expecting an attack that he knew would never come but couldn’t stop preparing for? Was it because so many other people in the world deserved to be here instead of him? He thought about it so hard that his right eye twitched several times. Then it came to him, he was troubled by all of it! The Outbreak, losing his family, losing his entire race, coming to a place he didn’t deserve to come to, all of it! But worst of all, he couldn’t put it into words. That one question had too many answers. Twilight must have noticed the twitching eye and clenched fists because she quickly changed the subject.

“Nevermind, lets talk about something else.” She eyed Dominic nervously, he seemed to have changed drastically. What had caused him to go from somewhat relaxed to completely on edge. “I noticed while I was going through your belongings…” Dominic tensed again. “That you had a strange device, Princess Luna identified it as a ‘MP3 Player’.”

“Really?” Dominic asked, genuinely surprised by the declaration. He remembered the can in his hand and finished opening it, the sight and smell of honey smoked beans greeted him like an old friend. “Where was it?” He asked, taking the spoon from the tray that had been brought and using it to eat directly from the can.

“The main pocket.” Twilight answered, Dominic’s head whipped to the side as another shadow moved. He shook his head vigorously in an attempt to stop the shadows, thankfully it worked. Twilight noted his behavior, but said nothing. Dominic hummed in response, his head was starting to clear.

“Odd, I always use that pocket for food. It’s impossible I could have missed it.” He reopened the bag and began to sift through the foodstuffs and ammunition but came up with nothing. “Huh, it’s not here now.” He simply shrugged and went back to eating his beans in silence with Twilight watching him.

“Aren’t you going to ask where it is?” She asked, he shook his head without a word. He was to focussed on his long overdue meal. He ate with a ravenous speed, it was amazing that he hadn’t choked from the sheer amount of beans he was shoveling into his mouth. He didn’t seem to have very good manners either but it was like watching a carriage crash. She knew she shouldn’t stare at it but she just couldn’t look away either. Finally after several minutes he had emptied the can, he tossed it into a garbage pail next to him and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket.

“So, what now?” Dominic asked, looking at Twilight. She shrugged, she didn’t know what to say. It was just starting to settle in her mind that she had pulled him from an entirely different world, and she had seen what it had been like through his dreams. His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, it wasn’t even six in the morning yet. “You know, you’re very lucky. Very fuckin’ lucky. That round normally would have ripped your leg in half.” Twilight paled at the thought of losing her leg, how would she be able to serve her nation without her leg? She then noticed the neutral look on Dominic’s face, he was holding his revolver in his hand and looking it over. He pushed the cylinder out and examined the casings, one had been struck by the firing pin while the other five were intact.

Dominic popped the spent casing out of the cylinder and placed it on the table next to him, being careful to avoid the mashed greens and jello on the tray. His hand reached into his jacket’s inner pocket and came back out with a single round, it slid into the cylinder with ease before he returned the weapon to it’s fire ready status and slid it back into his holster. Dominic picked up the shell casing he had set down and stood from his seat, his boots clicked against the floor as he walked over to Twilight.

“Here, this is yours.” Dominic said neutrally, holding out the casing to Twilight. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow before taking it in her hooves.

“What’s this for?” She asked, Dominic shrugged before walking back to his chair and slumping back into the seat.

“I don’t know, just seemed right to give it to you.” He looked out the window, the sun was starting to crest the horizon. The early morning light lit up Dominic’s face and Twilight could see a frown was still being worn by the young man.

“Dominic, can I ask you something personal?” Twilight blurted out, she didn’t know why she said it. To her surprise though, Dominic nodded without taking his attention away from the window. “Did you mean what you said? About your race? They couldn’t have been all that bad, right?” Dominic looked at her for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

“Not all of them, but most of them. At least where I grew up.” He said with a sigh. “Most of the adults were smart, I could carry on an intelligent conversation with them. The kids my age though, they were as dumb as a post.” Dominic pinched his nose before speaking again “Oh did you hear that Cuba is an island? I guess I can’t take my road trip there!” He said in an annoyed, nasal voice. Obviously mocking someone. He let go of his nose and growled. “Fucking morons.”

“Dominic, I have no idea what the geography looks like on your planet.” Twilight deadpanned, Dominic looked at her for a moment before chuckling. “But come on, that couldn’t have been everything, right?” Dominic paused and his face lost the look of mirth that it had seconds before, a look of ire replaced it.

“My classmates, they weren’t the nicest people.” He said with venom in his voice. “I always took care of my friends, when they were in a jam and I could help them I would. But what do they do when I need something? When I beg for help?” Twilight wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but Dominic continued to speak. “They turn their backs!” Dominic changed his voice for a moment. “Oh hey Dominic, I need money for lunch.” Then he changed his voice back to normal. “Sure, pal! and then a few days later I ask for my money cause I need to get gas for my car and they just laugh at me!” he changed his voice again. “What money?” Twilight was slightly nervous around the now fuming human, it was frightening how angry he could get in such a short amount of time. She could see his hands were moving as if he was trying to choke something. “And then! When I needed them most, the ugly fuckers decided to leave me for dead!”

“Dominic, calm down…” Twilight said, trying to calm Dominic. He had started pacing back and forth, it looked as if he was going to blow a fuse. Suddenly, however, his face softened.

“Sorry. I...I don’t know what came over me there.” said Dominic, he took several deep breaths which he released through his nose. “I just haven’t thought about…” Her rubbed his temples. “Them. For a long time.” His hands fell to his side before he walked back to his chair and sat down.

“Them? Your friends?” Twilight asked, Dominic only nodded. He was currently staring at the floor, taking more deep breaths. “What did they do?” Dominic looked at her for a second, she could again see the rage in his eyes. However it was subdued, like embers from a fire about to die.

“I don’t want to talk about it, lets just say I have a lot more scars than I should because of them.” Twilight looked at the clock, hoping that the breakfast with her friends and the princesses would come quickly. It was just passing five fifty-eight, there was still ten minutes until the Princesses normally ate breakfast. It was also when most of her friends would wake up normally, either to go to work ,or in Rainbow Dash’s case, train. Hopefully they would come to get them before then, it wasn’t that she didn’t like Dominic. He seemed nice enough, despite his rough edges and anger issues. What made her nervous was the fact that certain things seemed to set him off more than others, and she didn’t know what subjects to avoid.

There was also his constant whipping around, as if he thought something was trying to sneak up just out of his vision. The look of terror that flashed in his face for a moment as he whipped around was starting to become engraved in Twilight’s mind. Even with his temper that seemed so unpredictable, she couldn’t help but feel heartfelt sympathy. No one should have to constantly feel like they were about to be attacked, but still Dominic did. Her feelings were beyond mixed, he had the potential to be a great friend but at the same time a death dealing, unstoppable monster. She really hoped it was former. 

Dominic was about to open his mouth to speak when another knock came to the door.

{♠}

2 Minutes Earlier…

Rainbow Dash and Rarity trotted down the hallway to the palace’s hospital, their objective was simple. Collect Twilight and the…. Thing for breakfast. So far the trip had been silent, but it was getting hard to ignore the elephant in the room. To them the creature ,Dominic, was simply a disaster waiting to happen. He was crude, rude and Rainbow could pick up easily how dangerous he could be. She was one of many ponies in the group of friends that didn’t like the notion of an alien that wasn’t from this universe. Her companion, however, didn’t share that sentiment.

No, Rarity had always prefered to give ponies the benefit of the doubt since the Zecora incident. That belief also translated over to interdimensional aliens, she and Fluttershy were the only ones to share this belief in the group of friends though. She couldn’t blame the other girls, most of the time their foes had been strange creatures from the unknown. It was only their nature to not trust the young ‘human’ ,as she had been told was his species name, but it would make befriending him and even more difficult chore. Something else was tugging at her mind however, in the short amount of time she had been near him she had caught a whiff of something on, no in his jacket. A scent that had been practically hammered into the rough and weathered leather. It smelled of copper and rotten meat. She had only smelled rotten meat once, when she had visited the griffon kingdom and passed by a rotting animal carcass on the side of the road. The scent was nearly impossible to forget.

The pair of ponies was getting closer to their destination, room 45B. Within a few minutes they would be with their friend. The silence however could not last and someone had to break it.

“Rares, what do you think of this thing.” Dash asked, Rarity didn’t answer immediately as she thought. He seemed like a very nervous, interesting pon- Person.

“Darling, I am still rather shocked at meeting a new life form.” Rarity replied. “As for what I think? I haven’t really gotten to know him yet, but from what I’ve heard he’s a little rough around the edges. I truly wish you would show him a bit of open mindedness. He helped Twilight after all.”

“Maybe he’s trying to lull us into a false sense of trust, maybe he’s really not some interdimensional alien and actually a regular alien that was sent to scout ahead for an invasion!” Rainbow Dash retorted, Rarity facehooved so hard that it was surprising she didn’t get a concussion.

“Rainbow Dash, please! Try to think rationally? Why is it you always assume that something different is a threat?” said Rarity with an exasperated huff. Rainbow Dash’s voice adopted a tone of stone cold malice.

“Because I care about my friends, I’m not gonna let some hairless ape hurt you or anyone else of I can help it.” She stated determinedly, visions of what had happened during Discord’s brief reign flashed in her mind for the briefest of seconds. The pair realised they were finally at their destination.

“We will finish this later.” Rarity said in a whisper as she raised her hoof and knocked, there was movement withing the room. A set of heavy footsteps echoed from behind the door before the handle turned and the door opened inwards. Rarity was hit with the smell of copper and rotting meat as she looked up into the face of Dominic. She thought she saw the faintest tug at the corner of his lips before he stepped back and allowed the two ponies to enter without a word.

“Hey Twilight!” Rainbow called, shooting Dominic a glare. Any normal pony would have flinched, but Dominic simply looked at her with his usual neutral, stoic expression. “We just came to take you to Breakfast.” Twilight smiled at her friend, not seeing the glare that had been dealt.

“Thank you Rainbow Dash, I’m starving.” She said with a grin, she was more than relieved that her friends had arrived when they did. It was hard to hold a conversation with a six foot tall, zombie slaying, nineteen year old, human. She looked at Dominic, still standing by the door with his hands held behind his back. “I’m sure Dominic is also a tad bit peckish?” Dominic simply pointed to the empty can in the trash. 

“I’m fine.” He said, seconds later however his stomach growled. He groaned when  grin spread across Twilight’s face. Despite her reservations, her inner scholar wanted to know more about Dominic. Observing how he acted with more than one pony around would be an interesting concept, he seemed to pick up on that. Of course he would, he knew a lot about her after all.

Rarity was currently sizing up the young man that stood by the door, his clothing looked utilitarian in nature which would make up for the lack of fashion if not for the strange mix of smells coming from it. The style of it was new to her, as was most of the materials. She had never seen the strange blue fabric that made up the young man’s pants before. It looked strong and durable, which would explain why he wore it. His jacket was battered leather, black with a dark grey hue. She would love to try and recreate a similar outfit for a pony, maybe the cowponies out west or the Stalliongradis in the north.

“Something you need?” Dominic asked, looking at Rarity with a raised eyebrow. The white unicorn blushed slightly and looked away, shaking her head as she did. Dominic shrugged and looked back at Twilight. “So, how are we getting you out of that bed?” He asked, Twilight opened her mouth to speak but stopped. How were they going to get her out of bed? She couldn’t walk on her hoof for another day, she would have to be carried. Rainbow Dash was able to do so in the past, but the new Princess had developed a small cake addiction. Before Twilight’s transformation Rarity was also able to accomplish the task with levitation, but Alicorns were more resistant to magic now. It would be far more draining on her friends, she guessed she would have to stay in the bed while Dominic went with them.

“Nevermind, I got it.” Dominic stated, breaking her train of thought. He began to move towards her, but Rainbow Dash stepped in his path. Dominic didn’t let this stop him however, as he simply stepped around her.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow Dash started hovering in his face, Dominic’s face adopted a fierce glare.

“Firstly, get the fuck out of my face. Secondly, I’m going to carry her to breakfast.” He said in a cold tone. Rainbow Dash stared at him for a moment, her muzzle inches from his nose. She huffed and backed up, allowing him to move.

“I got my eye on you, monkey.” Rainbow snapped, Rarity sighed. Why did she have to be so hostile? If Dominic were offended by the remark, he didn’t show it. In fact Twilight could swear she heard a soft chuckle at the comment. Twilight looked at the shell casing in her hooves and tried to levitate it, only it seemed her magic was only absorbed by the strange metal. It seemed to shine a bit more than it had a minute ago. Dominic took the casing in his hand and examined it, then he put in his pants pocket.

“I’ll hand it back to you when we get wherever the fuck we’re going.” Dominic stated as he began to remove the wires attached to Twilight, he knew to turn off the heart monitor so that the nurses and doctors wouldn’t think that Twilight’s heart had stopped. Rainbow Dash watched the entire time, glaring daggers at the human.  Dominic ignored her, it didn’t bother him that she was so distrustful. What bothered him was her constantly declaring it, like he hadn’t heard her the first time. When he finished undoing the wires he looked at Twilight. “You ready?” She nodded, Dominic scooped her up in his arms. To her surprise, he was actually quite gentle. She curled her legs up under her as he held her like a person would hold a dog.

Dominic felt her wings flutter a bit as he shifted her weight to be more focussed on his right arm, Twilight sighed while Dominic grunted. She was heavier than she looked, but he could handle it. It wasn’t like he had to carry her all the way across the castle right?
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“That wasn’t that bad of a walk.” Dominic stated as he approached the doors to the dining room with Twilight and the other ponies. The walk had here had been relatively silent, only Twilight and her friends would speak to each other about things that had changed since she had left ponyville. Most of it had been uninteresting to Dominic and so he zoned out, now he stood in front of a pair of massive doors with Twilight in his arms. Two guards stood at attention near the door, they looked at the group of four and wordlessly pushed the door open. The group stepped into the dining room and the doors closed behind them.

The room was large with white marble walls and gold trim, the dining table was made from cherry wood as were the chairs. Most of the chairs were empty, the others were occupied by ponies. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor. The last two were surprised by Dominic but the young man wasn’t surprised by them. If he had heard his sister had been shot he would have come to visit her as well. Despite the positive energy and the slight joy at being close to an actual meal, Dominic was still exhausted and in a foul mood.

“Good morning, Dominic” Celestia said to him, he muttered something under his breath. Her voice sounded similar to his mother’s, it took all of his strength to keep from flashing back. Dominic walked Twilight over to a seat next to her brother and Cadence. As he passed by the Princess of Love she shivered. Being the princess of love, she could pick up on emotions in a way not too dissimilar from a changeling. Love was a warm emotion, it gave off a radiant heat that spread to all those around. Dominic had no such heat, he was colder than the frozen north. Love, in his heart, had been replaced by anger, depression, pain, and longing.

Dominic set Twilight down wordlessly and made his way over to the seat next to Luna. Rainbow Dash and Rarity had taken the other seats that were away from the Princess of the night, forcing him to sit next to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, he really did, but she had seen one of his many nightmarish memories. Only one of several dozen. He didn’t know what to say to her, he didn’t know what to say to anyone. He removed his shotgun and hung it from the back of his chair, his helmet was placed on the floor and he tossed his gloves into it casually.

“So…” He stated, looking at the group of ponies. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were looking at him with glares that normally would have made any regular pony cringe. Dominic just returned it and actually got Applejack to turn away. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Well, for us we ordered pancakes and hay bacon.” Celestia gestured to herself and Luna. “The girls ordered their own respective meals and I took the liberty of ordering something lite for Twilight. For you, well I ordered something that should be to your tastes.” Dominic sighed.

“Better than fuckin’ nothing.” He grunted out, Shining Armor’s guard training kicked in. No one talked to the Princess like that.

“Watch your tongue, creature.” Shining shouted, Dominic’s gaze snapped to him. “You’re in the presence of the Princesses!” Dominic felt anger rise in him, but it was quickly suppressed. He was just like the others, he didn’t need his approval. Dominic let out a breath and calmed himself more.

“Shining, tone it back a bit honey. I’m sure that Dominic is just adjusting to being around royalty.” Cadence chastised her husband, Dominic sighed and looked at the table sullenly. “I’m sure he comes from an entirely different culture.” Dominic felt the crushing guilt from before, his thoughts drifting back to his dream.

“Um…” A soft voice spoke up. “Mister Dominic, are you okay?” It was fluttershy, looking at him with a concerned face. He sighed, those eyes seemed to be filled with a desire to help. He didn’t need help, he had done it himself for the past few years. He could keep his feelings in check alone, couldn’t he? The images that played in his head gave him the answer, sooner or later he was going to snap and if it happened near the ponies… He didn’t want to know what would happen.

“I’m just thinking about home.” Dominic stated, the images stopped flashing in his mind. Still he could see the faces of the people being tackled and killed by the infected. Those images were burned into his mind like old photographs.

“Do you miss it?” Rarity asked, oblivious to what she had asked. Dominic shook his head and simply glared at the table.

“No.” He muttered, his anger flaring at the thought of seeing the hordes again. Like locusts they would swarm and destroy with the liquidity of water. Flooding the streets in a tidal wave of flesh and blood, taking the lives of almost anyone they touched. “I’d rather die before I go back to that shit hole.” This got the attention of the ponies, all of them except for the three Canterlot Princesses had shocked looks on their faces. How could he not want to go home? It was his home!? Didn’t he have family? Didn’t he have friends?

“Why wouldn’t you want to go home?” Pinkie Pie asked, eyeing him suspiciously. “It’s where all your friends are! And the other stuff that makes you happy! Don’t you have things you really really REALLY miss!?”

“Oh I have plenty of those.” Dominic said darkly, his face became like stone. “I miss a lot of things.” He wanted to desperately get out of the room, he didn’t want to think about anything. He just wanted to eat and go hide away somewhere.

“Girls, Dominic isn’t very keen on talking about his home.” Twilight interjected.

“Why?” Asked Rainbow Dash, looking even more suspicious.

“Ah reckon we’re entitled to some answers.” Applejack said looking at Dominic, he glared at her. “Ah can tell y’all is hidin’ somethin’.” Dominic looked at the Luna and Celestia, trying to figure out what to do. He didn’t want to talk about his life anymore, hopefully the Princesses could change the subject. They didn’t.

“You’re not entitled to jack shit.” Dominic hissed at Applejack. Rainbow Dash didn’t like his tone one bit. Her already short temper was getting shorter and shorter. “I don’t need to explain myself to you.” The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, it had been a total shit storm the entire time.

“Dominic, thou dost not have to tell them.” Luna interjected, Dominic took several more deep breaths. “What Dominic says is truth, he doth not need to explain himself to thee. When he wishes to tell thou, he will make thee aware of it.” She had a no nonsense tone, which caused Applejack to back down. 

“Okay, Princess.” Applejack said submissively, Luna looked at the other bearers.

“We know thou have many questions, but the answers Dominic would give would be difficult to comprehend.” She said in a more relaxed tone, Twilight and Celestia nodded. There were several loud bangs on the door, the tension in the room lightened a bit as Celestia smiled and used her magic on the door.

“Enter!” She called, eleven ponies entered the room carrying platters of different shapes and sizes. The tensed slightly at the sight of Dominic but had the common courtesy not to stare. The covered platters were set in front of the ponies and the human, an unfamiliar smell leaked from the platter in front of him. “Now, please don’t wait any longer. Dig in.” The way Celestia said, the last two words made Dominic freeze. A memory desperately tried to push itself into his mind but he toughened up and kicked it to the curb. Dominic lifted the lid and looked at his meal, a plate of scrambled eggs covered in cheese. A smile flashed on Dominc’s face for a moment or so, he didn’t LOVE eggs but he did like them and they were hot. Not hot from being cooked over a space heater but from an actual stove, a truly hot meal. Dominic picked up his fork and sunk it into the eggs.

With the most care and precision he could muster, Dominic took a piece of the egg and moved it to his mouth. He took a bite and felt the warm eggs on his tongue, a wave of warmth spread through his body and mind. His emotions became less intense for that moment, and for just a moment, a smile graced his lips. Luna caught a glimpse of it before it faded away, as did Celestia, Twilight and Cadence. To Dominic, it felt as if he had just been within the mind of god. The texture of the eggs was perfect, the temperature wasn’t unbearable and the flavor of the eggs mixing with the melted cheddar cheese was near indescribable. After he had eaten just the small morsel, he decided that rather than ravage the plate as he would his normal food he would savor it.

“So, Dominic.” Cadence said as she sensed his sudden spike in emotions. “What kind of foods did you eat on your world.” She asked, Dominic stopped eating and looked at her before picking up his bag and unzipping the main compartment. From within he brought out two cans of beans and placed them on the table before putting the bag back.

“Beans, lots of beans.” He said eyeing the cans, this got the love princess’ attention.

“Why only beans? And why are they in those cans?” She asked, looked at the top of the can and found the expiration date.

“This one doesn’t go bad for another two years, no need to refrigerate it, easy to carry. The perfect kind of food.” Dominic explained simply, he looked at his food and pointed to it with his fork. “This…” He said before taking another bite. “Is the first hot meal I’ve had in two or three years.” Dominic’s eyes widened, why did he just say that? He didn’t want to say that. He looked at the eggs again, a single blue pedal could barely be seen hiding under them. “Oh fuck.”
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic stared at the petal for several terse seconds, then he picked it up with his fork and held it up. The ponies gasped and checked under their own food, all but Celestia. She just continued to eat as if nothing had happened, an action which brought the attention of a now irate human upon her. He could feel the spores from the plant start to affect him, and not in a joking way. His asthma, which hadn’t attacked him in years, was coming back with a fiery vengeance. 

“Wh-What did you do!?” He shouted, he began to find breathing harder. Celestia, who had only expected to loosen his tongue, looked in horror as Dominic began to cough roughly. He braced himself on the table and coughed out of control. One particularly harsh cough yielded a red spray that stained the table cloth, the ponies backed up as he coughed. Luna moved to brace him but he held up his hand. He pounded on his chest a few times before wiping his mouth on his sleeve, it left a red streak on the leather jacket. He jerked towards Celestia, his eyes had become covered in blue spots. His lips were also spotted, though a bit of the blood he had coughed up still dribbled down his chin.

“Dominic, are you okay?” Celestia asked, Luna would have face hooved if she wasn't preoccupied with watching the young man.

“I’m gonna gouge out your eyes and piss in your dead skull!” Dominic shouted, he pulled his revolver from his holster and pointed it directly at Celestia’s head. The hammer clicked back, one squeeze on the trigger would be the end of it. “One more dead infected, it won’t make a fucking difference!” Dominic’s world was swirling, he was no longer in the dining hall. He was in Evergreen’s main street, staring at ten infected creatures. Whatever they had been before, they were as good as dead now. Luna shoved his arm before he pulled the trigger and the round discharged into one of the windows. “GET OFF OF ME! YOU'RE NOT GONNA MAKE ME ONE OF YOU!” Dominic pointed his revolver at the creature that had shoved him, the hammer came back. Again he missed as he felt a searing pain in his side, one of the creatures had hit him with something hot.

“Everyone needs to get out of here! NOW!” Shining shouted as he saw the round punch a hole into the wall. The element bearers left with great haste, though Twilight couldn’t help but watch the young, crazed human. Shining had hurled a pot of scalding hot tea just in time to save Princess Luna, though it looked as if it had only phazed the human for moment. Cadence remained however. “Cadence! Come on!”

“They need my help Shiny! I’ll be okay!” Cadence replied, she used her magic to push him outside the door and seal it shut.

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME!” Dominic screamed at the creature who had locked the other seven in one of the buildings. He charged towards it, his breathing heavy and pained. He jumped up on a burned out car before tackling it and placing the barrel of his revolver to it’s temple. Before he could fire however, he was hit by something heavy. The other creature had hurled a manhole cover into his side.

Luna stood there, slightly shocked by her previous action. She had thrown a serving tray at Dominic before he could fire, now he looked at her with his spotted blue eyes. Whatever he saw her as, it wasn’t what she truly looked like. Dominic got to his feet, having been knocked a considerable distance from Cadence. She too was getting to her hooves, feeling slightly shaken by the near death experience. Celestia charged her horn and levitated a pot of plants, Dominic saw this and dodged it. It missed his shoulder by inches, he was losing steam. His breathing was ragged and he was coughing again, Luna felt emotional pain as she looked at his face. Where ever he was, he was certain it was the end.

“Dominic! Calm thyself! We wish not to harm thee! We art thou’s friends!” Luna called out, he looked at her for a moment. Almost as if he were thinking. Dominic stared at the creature, his thumb cocked back the hammer on his revolver. He had fired three times now, only three more shots. This cerature, this infected abomination had claimed to be his friend, it had the audacity to call him friend!

Luna, Celestia and Cadence shuddered as they watched a manic, rage induced, grin spread across his face. Cadence could sense his emotions, outrage, hatred, fury, and the urge to kill.

“M-My friends!?” He said in an insane sort of tone, he started walking towards them. “MY FRIENDS!?” Dominic’s face was one of twisted fury now. “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! MY FAMILY! MY LIFE! MY SOUL! EVERYTHING! YOU UGLY INFECTED GUT SACKS, WHO SHOULD BE PUT DOWN, HAVE THE BALLS TO CALL ME YOUR FRIEND!?” He pointed the revolver at Luna. “YOU KILLED MY ENTIRE RACE! YOU SLAUGHTERED BILLIONS OF LIVES! AND NOW YOU’RE MY FRIENDS!?” Cadence looked at Dominic, sympathy starting to grow. “DOES A FRIEND FORCE ME TO KILL MY FAMILY! DOES A FRIEND MAKE MY FRIENDS ABANDON ME! DOES A FRIEND RIP THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE LEFT APART LIKE SOME SORT OF DELICACY!” Dominic was trembling now, the weapon was inches from Luna’s muzzle. “ANSWER ME GOD DAMN IT!” 

Cadence had to end it here and now, she ignited her horn as quickly as possible and poured the most love she could muster into Dominic. He cried out in agony and the revolver clattered to the floor, causing it to discharge. The spots on Dominic’s eyes and on his lips disappeared, it was in fact only effecting the spores and not Dominic himself. He fell to his knees, coughing violently as his lungs began to function correctly. The spores no longer cut into his lungs and throat and so the blood ceased to come as he coughed, Dominic looked up at Luna and then at the weapon laying on the floor.

“Oh….oh god…” He said to himself before falling to the floor, fresh images began to flash in his mind. A memory from the fateful day, it was starting to creep up on him. He got to his feet and picked up his revolver. Celestia started to aproach but the hammer was drawn back again. “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” He shouted, backing up and aiming at Celestia’s forehead. “ALL OF YOU! STAY THE FUCK BACK!” While Celestia and Cadence complied, Luna took a step forwards. The revolver shifted to her. “GOD DAMN IT! LUNA! STAY THE FUCK BACK! DON’T MAKE ME DO IT!” 

“It will be okay, Dominic. We- I want to help you.” Luna said slowly, Dominic was still trembling. ”Don’t hesitate! NEVER HESITATE!” his father’s voice echoed through his head, Dominic’s finger was alternating between the trigger and the trigger guard. 

“DON’T MAKE ME KILL YOU!” Dominic shouted again, Luna stopped in her tracks. She could see the determination in his eyes. He didn’t want anyone near him, and after what had happened Luna could understand why. Deep down she was furious at her sister, she had told her everything that Dominic had told her. He had told Celestia so much, and all of it had brought the memories back to life in his head. She still wanted him to talk more!? Talking didn’t always solve everything!

“We understand Dominic, we know thou art angry with our sister.” Luna said slowly, Cadence now stood dumbstruck by the display. Not only by the fact she had stopped his mental torment for a moment, but by the fact that her aunt, who prided privacy over all, had attempted to get him to speak more loosely with deception.

“Angry? ANGRY!?” Dominic roared, his resolve hardening. “I POURED MY HEART AND SOUL OUT FOR YOU BASTARDS! I TRUSTED YOU! THE LEAST YOU COULD HAVE DONE WAS LET ME EAT SOMETHING WITHOUT ANSWERING YOUR FUCKING QUESTIONS!”

“It’s okay, Dominic. It’s over now.” Luna said, Dominic looked at her for a moment, hearing the sincerity in her voice, before he lowered the hammer on his weapon. His resolve was gone, he didn’t have the energy to continue the stand off. He dropped the gun to the floor and looked at it for a moment. All of the anger he had in him in that moment changed, it was replaced by a wave of anguish and sadness. His back slid down against the wall he had backed up to and he just sat there for a few moments, staring into the distance. After three years of fighting to survive, after watching so much death and grief, after seeing his entire race devastated, it was only now, in a foreign dimension that he began to openly weep. Luna moved next to him and draped a wing over his back, he buried his face in his hands as he sobbed.

Celestia made a move to join her but stopped when she saw the glare she received from Cadence.

“You’ve done enough damage, aunt Celestia. Leave him alone.” The words were cold, they cut deep into Celestia’s heart. Cadence trotted over to Dominic and placed her wing around him as well. Neither alicorn spoke, they just let him weep and sob. For several minutes that was the only sound in the room, before Celestia turned away from the scene and walked to the doors. She pushed them open and closed them immediately, the guards that had been ready to charge in looked at her for instructions.

“We have no need for your service, the situation has been resolved.” She said in an almost distant tone, the element bearers and shining armor looked at her for news. “Cadence and Luna are okay, as is Dominic. However they may be in there for a while, I suggest you all return to your rooms.” Without any more words, Celestia disappeared in a flash of light. The ponies stared at the spot she had been in for a moment before looking at eachother. Rainbow Dash moved towards the door and put her ear up to it, but heard nothing because of the thick wood that it was made of.

“I bet they kicked his flank!” Rainbow Dash stated, Twilight shook her head slowly and looked at her still bandaged hoof.

“What did he mean? Who are the infected?” Rarity asked, rubbing her chin with a hoof. She looked at Twilight. “Do you know?”

“Yeah, you’ve been talking with him a lot. Any idea what he was talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning away from the door and looking at Twilight. Shining Armor looked at her as well, he wasn’t going to ask but she could tell he wanted to know. Twilight sighed and looked at the door for a moment, then motioned down the hallway.

“I’ll tell you in my room, it’s not necessarily a happy story.”

{♠}
(3 Hours later)

Celestia stared out the window, she had been doing so for the past three hours. The words echoed through her head like bells that would not cease to ring. Never had Cadence spoken to her with such venom, she never thought that it was within her to even have venom. The true severity of Dominic’s story had also come to light. She had heard that many of his kind had been killed, but she had never guessed the number was in the billions. These thoughts made way for different thoughts, ones directed at herself. What had she done wrong? The poison joke she had used was magically altered to only affect his speech, not cause him to nearly choke to death before hallucinating. Whatever he had seen, it had convinced him he had to defend himself.

If Cadence hadn’t been present, Dominic may have killed Luna. That was another thing that was bothering Celestia, she had frozen up and barely contributed to the fight. Maybe it was shock, maybe it was horror, maybe she just went brain dead for a moment, she didn’t know. It was starting to drive her crazy, her sister had been inches away from death and she had done nothing. Dominic had threatened to kill her once he had been brought out of his hallucination, again it was someone else who had saved her. Luna had been the one who brought Dominic back from the edge, she had been the one to comfort him, Celestia had been cast out by her own family.

Celestia’s thoughts interrupted by several solid knocks on the door, without getting up she opened them with her magic. Luna entered the room, a look of disappointment and rage on her face. Her coat was stained slightly, no doubt it was the remnants of Dominic’s tears. She closed the door behind her and cast a sound proofing spell, Celestia continued to stare out the window. Luna sat in front of her, glaring at her. For several minutes they remained silent before Luna spoke.

“Dominic is asleep now.” She said, looking into Celestia’s eyes. “He sobbed for nearly two hours, Celestia.” Celestia said nothing in rebuttle, just stared at her sister. Her emotions were sapped, and there was nothing to say. Luna flared her horn again, this time it was a spell she used to let her speak in modern terms. It helped when on public relations trips and so forth. “What were you thinking, Celestia? What master plan crossed your mind when you put that petal in his food?”

“I was attempting to help him open up more.” Celestia replied, Luna glared at her more. Celestia had a habit of trying to force ponies to open up to her, even if she didn’t know it.

“Oh? Well mission accomplished! He has successfully fired four rounds from his weapon, he nearly killed you and myself and he cried himself to sleep! At least we learned valuable information from him!” Luna shouted, not nearing the royal canterlot voice but still shaking the window. “What else did we learn!? His families dead, his race is dead, he has no one left. Oh wait! We already knew that!”

“He needed to talk more, talking about things helps ponies-” Celestia began to rebute.

“Ponies! Not HUMANS! He put his faith in us! He told us his secrets! What right did you have to try and milk more out of him!” Luna cut her off, she began to pace back and forth. “Talking doesn’t always make things better Celestia, you have to realise that some secrets are okay to keep!”

“I don’t know, Luna. I just thought, maybe if we had talked more you wouldn’t have-”

“NO! YOU ARE NOT PUTTING THE BLAME ON ME!” Bellowed Luna, her face going scarlet with rage. “ I admit it! I’ve done some horrible things! But forcing someone to relive that kind of HORROR!” She paused, letting the word sink in. “I would never wish it on anyone! Maybe if you saw what he saw, felt what he felt you would realise that. Stop trying to be a benevolent ruler and just try to be someone’s friend!”

“What would you have me do now, Luna? What’s done is done, it cannot be undone. Neither you or I have that power.” Celestia finally snapped back, Luna looked at her sister for a few moments. “He is still unpredictable, that makes him dangerous.” Luna started to fume, this was Celestia’s answer to any problem.

“I should have seen this coming.” She hissed, Celestia looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “If anything pops up that you don’t want to spend time fixing, you banish it. Sombra, Discord… even me.” Luna lowered her voice at the last part, her gaze hardened. “Dominic will not fall into this category, not if I have anything to do with it.”

“Luna! He nearly killed you.” Retorted the Solar diarch, Luna glared at her even more. How could she deny what she had done, it wasn’t Dominic who had put the petals in his food.

“That’s bullshit and you know it!” Luna roared, normally she would have gasped at the use of the word but it was the only thing to describe what Celestia was saying. “He didn’t put the petals in his food, YOU did! His outburst was our fault, if Cadence hadn’t eliminated the spores he ingested when she did he could have DIED! You could have KILLED HIM! Take some responsibility for your actions.” Celestia looked at Luna for a moment, her words ringing in her head.

“When was it, Luna?” Celestia asked, pausing to look out the window. “That you grew more than I?” Luna was slightly taken aback by the statement, but took the compliment nonetheless. “You’re right, I need to responsible. I guess I just thought that I knew what was best for him.”

“He has been on his own for nearly three years, I am sure he know’s what is best for him better than you or I.” Luna said, trying to calm down from the argument. “Unfortunately you won’t be able to tell him of your revelation.”

“Why not?” Asked Celestia, Luna laughed at that. Did she really have to answer this question? She saw the genuine curiosity on her sister’s face and sighed.

“Isn’t it obvious, sister. You have angered him in ways you can’t possibly fathom, he made sure to tell me about it when I said I was coming to see you.” Luna sighed. “He wants nothing to do with you, and I cannot blame him for that. Though he didn’t say that in so many words.” Luna looked out the window, watching a flock of birds take off in the distance.

“Perhaps I should apologize.” Celestia suggested, Luna sighed and shook her head.

“You don’t understand, Celestia. He doesn’t watch an apology, he just doesn’t want to see you again. Ever.” The lunar princess turned back to her sister. “In time he may think differently, but until then…” Luna’s mane changed direction rapidly. “I must go, think about what I have said.” Celestia just nodded, dazed for the second time that day. She had angered ponies in the past, but had always apologised. They had always been willing to listen, but not Dominic. No one had outright denied her a chance to right wrongs. Luna walked out of the room and closed the door, following her hair to Dominic’s room.

{♠}

Halfway to his room Luna’s hair stopped pulling her, it hadn’t been gradual that came with the traditional waking up from a nightmare. The lunar princess picked up her pace until she came to the room she sought. The guards standing near the door looked rather uncomfortable, what had happened couldn’t have been good.

“Princess Luna, thank faust you’ve arrived!” One of the guards said, he began the process of unlocking the door with his compatriot. “That thing has been screaming its lungs out for the past twenty minutes!” Luna glared at the Solar guard, he wilted under her gaze and continued to unlock the door.

“Awaiting final authorisation, your highness.” Said the other guard, Luna nodded and touched her horn to the door. It swung inwards and she trotted in.

“Not a soul is to enter until we are finished.” She commanded, the guards nodded. “Especially Celestia.” Before the guards could think about the last bit Luna closed the door and locked it, she turned to look at the room. It had been changed slightly to accommodate their guest better. The chairs had been reinforced and the bathroom that had been meant for ponies had been modified into a minotaur model. That was the only source of light in the room, the door was opened just a crack and Luna could hear running water. As quietly as she could she crept over to the door and perked up her ears. She could hear Dominic breathing heavily, like he had just run a mile non-stop.

“Dominic?” Luna called out, she heard something fall to the floor and the breathing became more panicked. Several terse seconds passed by before the door opened and Dominic walked out, his face was dripping with water. Luna noticed that without his helmet, jacket and other equipment he was less intimidating. His eyes were still red from his breakdown earlier, they held a look of longing in them.

“Hello, Princess.” He said, his voice hoarse from the screaming he had done during the fight. His shirt was off revealing the spot where he had been hit with the scalding tea had been bandaged, as well as the numerous other scars that adorned his torso. “Is there something I can help you with?” Dominic walked over to the window and looked out at the vast, green land that surrounded the city.

“I just came to see if you were okay.” Luna said sincerely, Dominic paused for a moment. “I understand you are used to the royal we, I cast a spell to make it easier to speak with Celes-”

“Don’t even say her name.” Dominic growled, stopping Luna in her tracks. The Lunar princess trotted over to the human and followed his gaze across the horizon, though she didn’t see anything. “Not now, not ever around me.” Luna nodded again, trying to keep him calm.

“She said that she wanted to apologize.” Luna stated, now just taking in the view as she assumed Dominic was doing. The human growled in response, thinking about her royal highness trying to apologize.

“She doesn’t get it.” He muttered, Luna looked at him. “There’s no magical fucking button, there’s no little switch. You just don’t turn it off.” His face contorted into anger for a moment. “YOU JUST DON’T TURN IT OFF!” He looked at Luna and his gaze softened. “It hasn’t even been two weeks, and she expects me to just spill my guts to her.”

“She thought she was helping Dominic, I agree her methods were poor-”

“Her methods were underhanded, backstabbing and downright infuriating. I would expect something like this from the fucking Soviet Union or Nazi Germany!” Dominic growled, Luna looked thoughtful at that. Dominic had used underhanded tricks, Luna didn’t want to say it but she agreed. Celestia had done something that the Nazi’s or the Soviets would have done. “Not Equestria.”

“She still had good intentions, don’t hate her for trying to help you.”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Replied Dominic, he turned away from the window and walked over to the bed. “When she’s seen what she made me relive, and understands that I don’t want her god damned help. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll hear an apology from her. Until then she can go fuck herself.” He sat down on the bed and winced as he aggravated the burned patch of skin on his side.

“I- We will tell her this.” Luna started to revert to the royal we as the spell wore off. “M- Our spell is wearing off. But thou’s words hath had their desired effect, we hope ours have done the same.”

“Not really, Luna.” Dominic sighed out. “I haven’t said this to a anyone in a while, but thank you.”

“For what?”

“Trying to help me, I know I must seem like a big fucking asshole but it really means a lot to me.” Luna nodded and looked at him for a few moments, she trotted over to the bed and sat on her haunches in front of him

“Dominic. Celestia has told us everything.” Dominic stopped and looked at her. “Know that we are not upset with thou, but it does raise questions.”

“I’m not answering anymore god damned questions, Luna.” Dominic said sternly.

“We know, but the questions still remain. When thou art ready, not a second earlier.” Luna said, trying to sound sincere. Dominic sighed and nodded slowly.

“When I’m ready…” He looked out the window and noticed the sky darkening, a single white fleck passed the window and then another. “What season is it?”

“We are about to begin winter, Hearths Warming Eve is about a month away.” Luna turned and looked at the snow begin to fall, Dominic struggled to his feet and walked back to the window. His hand came up and he pressed it against the glass, it was cold. Luna trotted back over to him and watched the snow fall. “Dominic, did you have any winter holidays on your world?”

“I thought I said no more questions.” Dominic grunted, removing his hand from the window. Luna nodded, she was about to apologize when Dominic spoke again. “But, I’ll give you this one. Before the outbreak we used to have this holiday called Christmas.”

“Explain this… christmas. If you don’t mind.”

“You want the long version or the short version?” Luna shrugged. “Short. Basically my family would get together and we’d spend time with each other.” Dominic got a nostalgic look in his eye. “I would normally help my grandma in the kitchen, my dad and my sister would entertain the little kids, mom would catch up with her family. They lived all over the country, so christmas was the only time she could see them.” Dominic stopped for a moment, Luna could see he was struggling. “We’d normally have this huge meal, and after words we’d sit down around our christmas tree.”

“Smiliar to our traditions, we assume thou gave each other gifts?” Luna asked, Dominic nodded.

“I remember I gave my sister a bottle of hot sauce, as a gag. I actually got her a book about drawing tigers. My dad gave me a movie I’d been looking for, Trinity and Beyond: The atomic bomb movie.” Dominic sighed. “And that’s how it went. After that most of the family would leave and it’d just be my mom, my dad and my sister.” Dominic stopped again, wiping his eyes.

“Thou hath said enough, Dominic. We need not hear any more.” Luna said, putting a hoof on his shoulder.

“We would sit on the couch and just stare out the window until it got dark, watching the snow fall. My dad would start humming a song, the same song he did every year. We’d listen for a bit and then start singing to it.” Dominic looked down at the floor and then at Luna. His eyes were red and wet. “I memorized the lyrics, in latin and english. just in case we changed it up one year.” Dominic walked back to the bed and laid down,  Luna walked over to the bedside and looked at him. “I think… I think I’ll just go back to sleep now.” He said, sounding distant.

“Okay, Dominic.” Luna turned and left the room. “Sweet dreams.” Dominic closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber almost immediately, Luna watched from the door for a moment before stepping out and closing the door. The guards saluted and went to lock the door but Luna raised a hoof. “That won’t be necessary, if he should wake send him to us.”

“Yes Princess.”
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

”There is no escape…” The voice echoed through Dominic’s head. “Try as you might, you are a monster…” Dominic found himself running in an upside down world, everything in it was intact. The buildings on mainstreet, the cars, the people. He felt compelled to look up, but fought it at the same time. “Don’t fight it…” All sound was muted save for that voice. “Embrace me, EMBRACE ME AS YOUR SAVIOR!” Dominic looked up, he found himself staring into his own eyes. A reflection of everything loomed above him, but it was far more sinister. “Embrace your rage!” The reflection hissed.

The reflection was in flames, carbonized corpses lined the streets and the cars burned like torches. Dominic could see his counterpart smiling at him, a fiendish smile. Suddenly, the reflection became Dominic’s world. Clouds of smoke blocked out the sun, screams echoed in the distance, and the other Dominic stood in front of him.

“S-Stay away from me!” Dominic shouted, pointing at his counterpart.

“How…?” The voice echoed for what felt like an eternity. “I am you.” Dominic blinked and the other was gone. The entire world was gone. Dominic found himself in a massive black void, four figures appeared. Each was shrouded in darkness.

“You killed us, Dominic.” His father’s voice echoed through his head. One of the figures lit up, it was his father before a muzzle flash lit his face and the body fell to the floor. Dominic wanted to scream, he wanted to run and hide.

“You’re a failure, I can’t believe I bore you.” His mother’s voice now, another muzzle flash and then a corpse. Dominic fought with everything in his being, just to shout, just to move, but nothing happened.

“You did this… Dominic.” The third voice was his sisters. “You did it all…” She was joined by hundreds of other voices as the bodies of all the infected he had killed became visible. A third muzzle flash and all of them fell away.

“I can’t believe I trusted you…” That voice, he hadn’t heard that voice in years. The final figure revealed itself. A girl his age stood before him, raven black hair hung past her shoulders. “You were never strong enough.” She spat, there was no flash of light, she simply fell into the darkness. Dominic clenched his eyes shut, then opened them.

He stood in a desert, massive dunes of sand stretched out as far as the eye could see. The wind came up again, it pushed him down one of the dunes. He rolled multiple times before coming to a stop, Dominic lifted his head and spat sand from his mouth. Sitting in front of him was a word, it had been drawn in the sand. It read ‘Lost.’. He was suddenly grabbed from beneath and dragged kicking and screaming into the sand.

{♠}

Dominic jerked awake, taking in deep breaths and clearing his mind. His body was drenched in sweat and his bandaged side ached, it was one of the worst dreams he had ever had. Slowly he swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his head in his hands. The eerie silence of his room hung like a shroud, the only light available was the dim moonlight from the window. Dominic let out a sigh and stood up, his joints popped loudly. He quickly dressed himself, from his helmet to his boots.

Dominic slid his revolver into its holster before donning his bandoleers. He then grabbed his shotgun and slung the strap over his shoulder. This had been his ritual for the past few years, he didn’t intend on changing it. When he had everything he walked to the door. He gave it a shove and the heavy door opened. Bright light from the hallway poured in, blinding him for a moment. When his eyes had adjusted he looked at the two guards, they returned to look expectantly.

“Sir.” One of them said, Dominic blinked a few times. “Princess Luna has ordered us to bring you to her. Would you please come with me?” It took a moment for the words to go through Dominic’s head before he nodded.

“Yeah… Yeah sure. Let’s go.” He replied before shaking himself awake. “Fuck I need a cup of coffee.”

“Private Straight Arrow can get you a cup while I escort you.” The guard stated, the other guard nodded and started off down the hall. “Right this way.” The guard began to walk down the opposite hallway. Dominic watched him for a moment before following, his hand discretely slipping to the grip of his revolver. For several minutes the only sound between them was the clicking of Dominic’s boots and the guards clinking armor.

“What did she want to see me about?” Dominic asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.

“I don’t know, she simply ordered us to bring you to her if you woke.” The guard replied in a stoic tone. They walked on for several more minutes before he took in a deep breath. “What’s it like.”

“Excuse me?” Dominic asked, not sure what the question was. He didn’t intend to answer it, but he liked to know what he was refusing.

“You’ve killed before right? What’s it like.” Dominic looked at the guard with a shocked expression, he had expected a question like this from one of the element bearers. The bluntness of the question was dumbfounding to him, did these ponies think he killed for fun? His hand tightened on the grip of his revolver before he decided against killing the guard, instead he answered the question.

“It leaves you hollow inside.” Dominic said in a cold voice. “Every night you hear the screams, see the faces. It tears away at your soul like a wild animal and leaves you empty.” The guard was silent for the rest of the trip, which Dominic was fine with. He had given him the answer that he wanted to hear, not the actual truth. If he had, the guard would have probably thought he was a monster. When the pair reached their destination the guard silently left and pointed at the large doors.

“Fucking asshole…” Dominic muttered under his breath. The door he stood in front of was massive, the great mahogany wood was decorated with golden insets that depicted both the sun and the moon. He wasn’t sure he had the strength to even try pushing them open, but that didn’t stop him from doing so. 

Slowly the doors began to open inward before swinging free, he stumbled a few steps and looked up. The sound of swords being drawn caught his attention before he himself drew his weapon. He stood up straight and whirled around on his assailant, the hammer of his revolver drew back as the barrel came face to face with a lunar guard. Another guard tried to sneak up from the left but found Dominic’s shotgun barrel in his path.

“Enough!” Luna’s voice rang through the room, the guards flinched slightly. “Guards, stow thine weapons.” Reluctantly the guards complied, dominic followed suit and let his shotgun hang free on its strap before the revolver was replaced in its holster. Luna was sitting at the top of a massive set of stairs, her regalla was shined far more than Dominic remembered and she had an air of seriousness about her. Slowly she descended the steps with all the grace and elegance of the night itself. “Leave us.” The guards saluted and left, Dominic heard the door close before speaking.

“What the fuck was that shit?”

“Our guards are over zealous when protecting the throne. We apologize for their behavior.” Luna said in a calm voice, Dominic sighed.

“What’s up?” He asked, looking the princess in the eyes.

“We wanted to check on thee, we predicted thou would have a nightmare after the incident. However, we wanted to honor your request to abstain from directly interloping.”

“But you want to talk to me about it, huh?” Dominic asked, Luna nodded. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t remember, and that’s just fucking fine with me.” He lied, shivering slightly as the image of the final figure’s face popped into his mind. Luna gave him a sad smile and shook her head.

“Dominic, we have been alive for thousands of years. We can tell thou art fibbing to us.” Dominic looked away from her and sighed. “We will not force thee, but if thou doth let emotions build for too long…” Luna looked down for a moment. Dominic didn’t need her to continue, he knew what she meant.

“I don’t need help.” Dominic muttered, more to himself than Luna. “Is that everything?” The princess shook her head.

“No. Twilight Sparkle wished to speak with thou, her friends also seemed interested when we spoke with her.” Luna walked over to Dominic and put her hoof on his shoulder. He turned back and looked at her. “If thou ever wish to speak, do not hesitate to find us.” Dominic sighed and the pair left the throne room for Twilight's.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk to the room seemed to take an eternity to Dominic, each step echoed in his mind as he thought about the dream. Normally he would have a bottle of Dewars to climb into, the dream would fade away into the back of his mind as the alcohol numbed the pain. Now, he was faced with the dream and had no bottle to crawl into. To him, it felt like the first time he had ventured out for supplies. The world seemed much larger, and things were scarily clear.

Luna looked at Dominic, she could see the distance in his eyes. She still couldn’t comprehend how much he hurt, despite her own sordid past. She had tried to willing harm her sister, but Dominic. He had no choice. He could never undo what had to be done, he couldn’t un-pull the trigger. As the pair silently approached the door to Twilight’s room Luna’s hopes rose, maybe they would be able to help him. Maybe they could break through the walls that she couldn’t.

“They’re all in there?” Dominic asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes.” Luna replied.

“Are you coming with me?” The lunar princess shook her head. Dominic took a few deep breaths, he had faced unspeakable odds before. Surely he could handle six ponies. Right? Dominic steeled his nerves, his eyes narrowed and his face became stoic.

“We will collect thou in one hour.” Luna said, Dominic raised his hand to the door and knocked. For several seconds nothing happened, then the door was encased in a lavender glow. It opened inwards, Dominic looked at Luna one final time before stepping through the door. His gaze fell on the ponies in the room. The door closed behind him and Luna lost sight of the man.

“Princess Luna.” A guard said, catching the princess by surprise. “We have a problem.”

{♠}

Dominic and the girls sat in a circle, which reminded Dominic a little too much of an AA meeting. In that sense, it was ironic that he was holding a half empty bottle of whiskey. His jacket hung off the back of his chair with his shotgun and back pack.  Thankfully, the other ponies hadn’t noticed the patch on the shoulder. Dominic had hung his helmet over it, hiding it effectively. At the moment they were discussing mundane things, trying and failing to create a sense of normalcy.

Finding out that Twilight had told the girls about his world had made the begining of the meeting very tense, many angry words were exchanged, no the conversation was pretty one sided. At one point, Dominic had come close to drawing his weapon. After he had been reassured that none of the ‘personal’ information had been shared, he calmed down a bit. This effect was compounded by the addition of alcohol.

Dominic had zoned out for the most part, staring off into space as memories played over and over in his head. He felt numb, unlike earlier, and he embraced the feeling. Even though he was sitting in a room with six possible conversation mates he felt like he was miles away. Their speech was nothing but a whisper compared to the screams and the shouts that rattled around in his head.

He could see the face of the final figure from his dream, she was in every thought that he had. A phantom of the past, a constant reminder that Dominic was weak. If he had been stronger, if he had fought harder, she would still be alive. Dominic took another swig from the bottle of whiskey and looked at the ponies again. They were covering the topic of what they were going to do for hearths warming eve, which didn’t help the lone human’s feelings in the least.

“-And after that, my dad and I are gonna race. I’m finally gonna beat him this year, I just know it.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to sound prideful. She and the others were all well aware of the elephant in the room. The six foot tall, bipedal, death dealing, alcohol guzzling elephant. She looked at the human, his features were sunken and his eyes were red. Rarity had been right earlier, when they had been discussing Dominic’s appearance, if his face was clean shaven and his hair was cut, he would look rather handsome in his own right. Not that she was interested in the first place, zombie slayers just weren’t her type.

“What about you, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking to the timid pegasus. The yellow mare ‘eeped’ and shrunk into her mane.

“I’m just going to tend to my animals…” She said, before gesturing to Applejack. “Um, what about you…. Applejack?” Before the orange mare could answer, Dominic held up his hand.

“Let’s cut the bullshit here, stop pussy footing around what’s really going on in your heads.” He said, getting guilty looks from the others.

“We’re not really sure what to say, Dominic.” Rainbow Dash said, looking at the man. “Your world, it’s just… just…”

“Incomprehensible.” Interjected Twilight.

“Yeah, that.” Dash nodded.

“Why don’t we talk about the world before that mean old infection?” Asked Pinkie in a scary, serious tone. “What was it like?” Dominic thought for a few minutes, then looked at the mares.

“You really want to know?” The mares nodded, Dominic sighed. “Fine, if it’ll end this damned chit chat I’ll do it.” He took a swig of whiskey and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Lets start with my home, the greatest nation on the face of the earth. The United States of America.” Twilight floated a notepad over and began to write a few things down. “Now, I’ve already talked to Twilight about a few things, so forgive me if I skip a few things.”

“Okay, what did the United States of America do that made it so awesome?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning forwards.

“Where do I start? Back to back world war champions, first to put a man on the moon, first to create sustained flight, take your pick.” The ponies eyed him strangely.

“World War?” Applejack asked, Dominic realised what he had said and sighed. No backing out of it, he had to answer the question. Twilight subconsciously picked up a notepad and quill

“First world war was in the early nineteen hundreds, started when some archduke got shot by Serbians. Austria-Hungary got pissed and declared war on serbia, Russia got mad at them, they were allies with the french and the english, The austrians called in Germany and their allies.” Twilight raised her hoof.

“So, the alliance system they had actually did more harm than good?” Twilight asked, Dominic nodded.

“This is all just going off what I can remember from my World History Class, but basically yeah. The war raged for a few years, then America entered the picture at the end. At first, we didn’t do so well, but once we got into it there was no stopping us. That lead to the treaty of versailles, which was pretty much a big ‘Fuck you’ to the Germans.”

“How bad did the fighting get?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “Was it like a giant brawl, or with swords?”

“The first world war brought many efficient ways of killing. For starters the plane, then the machine gun, then the tank. Flamethrowers, poison gas, artillery, just to name a few off the top of my head.” The ponies stared at him with morbid curiosity. “The thing that made it the worst though, were the trenches.” Dominic was about to begin when Twilight shook her head frantically, Fluttershy looked as if she were going to vomit.

“I-I think that’s enough on that subject…” Twilight said, closing the notebook  “Why don’t we talk about the moon?”

“To talk about the moon, I have to talk about world war two…” Dominic responded, he was going to start again when there was a knock on the door. Twilight lit up her horn and opened it, Princess Luna stepped through and looked at the group.

“Hello Princess Luna, how are you?” She asked, trying to forget what Dominic had said.

“We are not well, Twilight Sparkle. We must speak with thou and Dominic immediately.” Dominic was on his feet in seconds, he slipped his jacket on and planted his helmet firmly on his head. Dominic’s shotgun found itself slung over his shoulder, ready for use. The ponies stared for a moment, it was scary how fast he had readied himself. They noticed the stained, frayed patch on his shoulder, but didn’t have time to ask questions.

“Let’s go then.” He said, walking towards the door, eager to get out of the room. Twilight started to get up but winced as she remembered that the wound in her leg still hadn’t fully healed. Dominic stopped and walked back to her, then kneeled down. She blushed slightly as he picked her up, Dominic didn’t pay it any mind though. He would be embarrassed if he had to be carried around because he had shot himself in the foot.

When they had exited the room, Luna hoped there would be a small bit of silence. There was not.

“What the fuck is going on?” Dominic said flatly, Luna sighed and rubbed her temples for a moment. She ignited her horn, casting the familiar speech spell.

“To put it bluntly, ponies know about you. They want answers, and they want them now.” Dominic stopped walking, Twilight could feel his body heat rise as an almost angry look came to his face.

“No. Fuck no.” Dominic growled. “I’m not gonna be paraded around in front of a bunch of shallow, snot nosed, noble ponies like I’m the eighth fucking wonder of the world.” His voice echoed through the hallways, lending more weight to the statement. The princess sighed, she had known he would react like this. She could see it in his eyes, even if he did sleep he didn’t rest. His eyes were still sunken and bloodshot, but beneath all of the anger and rage that boiled within she could see something. She could see fear.

“Dominic, I know you don’t want this. If there were any other option I would pursue it, but there isn’t.” Luna said in a sincere voice, Dominic put Twilight on the floor and turned away. “Dominic, wait!” He walked away, he didn’t know where he was going, but he didn’t care. He would pack up, he would get out of the castle. No place was home forever, he knew that better than anyone else here. Luna picked up Twilight and put her on her back before following the silent man, he was surprisingly fast for a biped. “Dominic, please be reasonable!” He stopped walking and turned around, a burning ire present in his eyes.

“No, Luna. You be reasonable!” His words were filled with rage. “I’m done being reasonable, I’m done sitting in my room like some caged animal, and I’m fucking done.” Dominic was positively fuming. “I’m done sacrificing! Haven’t I done that enough!?” Luna frowned, knowing he was right. “You think I give a damn if some of your ponies get angry? FUCK THEM! FUCK ALL OF THEM!”

“Dominic, we can still figure something out. There are options!” Twilight said, trying to calm the human down. “Right…?” She looked at Luna who nodded.

“We can convene a press conference.” Luna said, she raised her hoof to stop Dominic from interrupting her and to her surprise he didn’t. “Only professional reporters, you can choose what questions you want to answer.” She could see Dominic still wasn’t going for it. “You can choose where we hold the conference.” He shook his head. 

“If you don’t do it yourself, someone else will. And if they do, you won’t be able to defend yourself.” Twilight urged, realizing the importance of what was happening.

“Dominic, this could be the only opportunity to control what is revealed and what is not. Would you rather have everything leaked with no way of disputing it?” Luna added, Dominic turned his head towards them, a sigh escaping his lips.

“Fine.” He muttered. “But I swear to god, Luna, if this goes down the shitter…” The princess nodded, well aware of the reckoning Dominic could bestow.
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic took deep breaths as he walked back and forth in his room, not two days since the incident had the conference been set up. Now there were only minutes until his presence on this world would become official, he wasn’t sure he wanted that. Dominic was combing through his memory for anything that would help him, he even delved into his memory of the few fanfictions he had read. That brought up a dark prospect. Dominic picked up his revolver and checked that it was loaded, he wouldn’t have his shotgun but the revolver would do just fine with Luna and Twilight backing him up.

The princesses had gathered a list of reporters that they would allow in the conference, as well as several emissaries from the dragons, zebras, griffons and minotaurs. Then there were the nobles, who were complete snobs if the few ponies he had actually talked to were reputable. The only one that didn’t seem to suffer from snobbish tendencies was ironically, Fancypants. Odd that someone with a name like that in a world like this would be the exact opposite. 

Dominic heard the trumpets in the courtyard, they were heralding another guest, another set of eyes that would be judging him today. He looked around his room, knowing that soon it could very well be the last time he left it. The thought of almost a dozen various creatures chasing after him with pitchforks ran through his head again. He rushed to the restroom and vomited in the sink. He stood there for a few minutes, washing his mouth out.

“Dominic?” Asked a voice from his bedroom. “Art thou well?” Dominic sighed and turned off the sink, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and walked out of the bathroom to see Luna sitting by the table where Dominic’s helmet rested. The young man walked over and took a seat in front of her, looking down at the floor.

“No.” Dominic muttered. “But it’s a little late to get cold feet now, isn’t it?” He asked, looking at the helmet that sat on the table. The young man let out a sigh and grabbed the metal headgear, he looked it over thoroughly.

“Thou seems rather attached to that helmet, would thee mind elaborating as to its origin?” Luna asked, looking at the helmet with interest. Perhaps the discussion would ease Dominic’s nerves. The human nodded and placed the helmet down again.

“It was my grandfather’s.” He said, Luna noted many dents and scratches as well as a faded symbol painted on the back. “He fought in the Atlantic theatre during the second world war. He wore this helmet from D-Day until the end of the war-” Dominic was going to continue when another trumpet sounded from the courtyard. He growled at the interruption.

“Thou will need to explain further this ‘D-Day’ in the future, for now we fear the time has come.” Luna said, rising from her seat. Dominic did the same and place the helmet on his head. Luna noticed the revolver that sat in its holster. “Dominic, doth thou not trust us to protect thee?” She asked, slightly uncomfortable with the prospect of the weapon near the ponies.

“I have implicit trust in your ability.” Dominic replied, walking towards the door. Luna followed behind him. “But, at the same time, there’s no such thing as too much firepower.” There was a knock at the door, which struck the man as odd but not surprising. He opened it to find Twilight Sparkle standing outside, the wound in her hoof had healed but a patch of missing fur and a large scar remained.

“Hello, Dominic.” She said with a small smile, when Luna trotted up beside him she smiled a bit more. “Hello, Luna.”

“Greetings, Twilight. Is everything been prepared?” Luna asked, walking out into the hallway with Dominic close behind her. Twilight nodded as she too followed the princess.

“Yes, I’ve limited the audience to twelve. Six of which are the emissaries from the other nations.” Twilight explained, Dominic felt a bit of relaxation rush over him. Politicians at least knew to keep themselves under control. “Three are reporters and three are noble ponies who demanded access.” A sigh exited Twilight’s lips. “Of course you know that our ever so ‘noble’ prince is waiting for us.” Dominic stopped walking for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Blueblood?” He asked with mild hope that he would be wrong. To his dismay, Twilight nodded. “Oh, fucking wonderful.” Dominic started walking again, albeit slightly slower. “Can’t you get rid of him, you’re his superiors right?” Luna shook her head.

“We wish we could, but Blueblood cannot be bargained or reasoned with once he hath made a demand.” The annoyance in her voice was clear. “Never fear, however. He is not invited to the reception area after the conference. Your time with him shall be brief.” Dominic nodded slowly at the news.

“Alright. Thanks for that.” He said, patting Luna on the side. They continued in silence for the rest of the walk, Dominic could feel the nerves from before building in his shoulders and back. They tingled to the point where they almost caused him pain. When the three of them turned the final corner and the door to the conference room became visible he froze for a moment.

“It’s okay Dominic.” Twilight said, urging him forwards with her wing. “You have nothing to fear.” The young man looked down at her for a moment, and then looked at Luna. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. With his right foot he took a step forwards, shaking the nerves from his body. The princesses walked ahead of him, they would be the first to enter the conference room. Luna cast her modern speech spell before opening the door.

“You’ll know when to enter.” She said to Twilight and Dominic, with that she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. The two stood in silence for few moments, Dominic looked at the floor while Twilight looked at the wall. The silence continued for a few minutes before Twilight heard a soft noise, she looked over at Dominic who had drawn his revolver from its holster. He was staring at it, rubbing his thumb over the barrel.

“Dominic?” Twilight asked, the young man looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you okay, or… better than usual?” He shook his head and went back to staring at the weapon.

“No.” He said, closing his eyes and sighing through his nose. “What about you?” Twilight was slightly surprised by the question.

“I’m okay, I guess.” She answered, getting a nod from the young man. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Dominic said. He let out a somber chuckle, which made Twilight uncomfortable. “Isn’t it fuckin’ strange? Us trying to make small talk, like we’re good pals…” He sighed again and shook his head. “Meanwhile, behind that door, your world is finding out that it’s not alone in the universe, or multiverse, or whatever it’s fucking called.” Twilight trotted over to him, she sat in front of him and looked him in the eyes. They were bloodshot, a side effect of his lack of sleep.

“Dominic. It’s not too late to back out.” She said. “You’ve told me enough, I could answer the questions for you. I don’t care what Princess Luna said, if you don’t think you can do this, you don’t have to.” Dominic was silent for a few moments, then shook his head.

“No, I’ll do it.” He slid his weapon back into its holster. The young man patted Twilight on the head. “But thanks for the offer.” Twilight was sure how she felt about the pat on the head, but assumed it was a good thing. Dominic took a deep breath and redirected the conversation. “So, what can I expect from these delegates.”

“Well, I’m not sure. I’ve only met a few of them.” Twilight explained. “Ambassador Remea is representing the Griffons, I heard he brought his wife with him. Then there’s Ambassador Sundia, of the Zebra’s. She’s attending with her husband, who’s the minister of external affairs. Aside from them, the only other one I know personally is Princess Dunai. She’s representing the Saddle Arabians, she seems stern on the outside, but when you get to know her, she’s extremely nice.” Dominic noted the names in his mind and nodded. “We’ll have time to talk with them at the reception.”

“Right…” He replied, they sat in silence for a few minutes before the door to the conference room opened. Twilight and Dominic stood up and approached it slowly. The alicorn trotted in front of the man, but only by a little.

“Princess Twilight, would you kindly bring our guest in.” Luna said through the open door way, Twilight picked up her pace and entered the room. Dominic paused just outside the room and looked through the open door way. From what he could see, it was an immaculate white room with gold trim on the walls. He hadn’t expected different. Luna was sitting at a mahogany table in front of a blue curtain, the table sat on a short wooden stage. The setup reminded him slightly of what the President would have when giving a press conference.

Dominic took a deep breath, straightened his helmet, and dusted off his jacket. Then, he put his right foot forwards and stepped into the room. The worn combat boot clicked on the marble, and it was followed by its counterpart seconds later. Gasps greeted his ears as he entered the room, his eyes wandered over the audience while he walked towards the table. In the first row of chairs there were two griffons, two zebras, a minotaur, and a pony that was built more like a horse. The second row was all ponies, three of them were obviously ‘nobles’ while the other three were most likely reporters.

“Is that beast wearing skin?” Asked one of the nobles to the others, Dominic instantly identified the blonde unicorn as Prince Blueblood.

“My word…” Said another one of the nobles, Fleur de lis if Dominic remembered correctly. She sat next to Fancypants, both of them bore surprised expressions. The reporters stared at him for  moment before writing in their notebooks. Aside from the first few reactions, the room was silent. Dominic sat beside Luna and Twilight, looking at the group of delegates. The minotaur and the male looking griffon wore armor, while the remaining delegates wore expensive looking robes. Though Dominic didn’t understand why. From what Dominic remembered, most of the species were fine with being naked.

“Um… Hello?” Dominic asked, more than said. He wasn’t sure what to say, they had briefly touched on what and wasn’t to be said. The urgent speed at which the conference had been convened left barely any time to mentally prepare. He looked at Luna for a moment, she just smiled and gestured for him to continue. “I’m Dominic, uh, as you’ve guessed. I’m not from around here…”

“Where are you from?” Asked a reporter in the back, Dominic looked at the table for a moment.

“I’m from Earth.” He said. “A small town called Evergreen.”

“There have been confirmed reports of Princess Twilight being injured in the past week, did you have anything to do with it?” Asked another reporter, several glares were leveled at Dominic. While normally he would have shrugged them off, they held a venom that he had hardly ever experienced.

“I’ll field this question.” Stated Twilight, the reporters turned their attention to her. “At the time of the accident, Dominic was speaking with Princess Celestia. I was examining his belongings and accidentally activated one of his devices.” The glares on Dominic continued. “Thankfully, he managed to reach me and aid my recovery.” Dominic let out a silent sigh as the glares disappeared.

“Mister Dominic?” Asked the third reporter. “The device that injured the princess, was it a weapon, or something else.”

“It’s a weapon.” Dominic answered plainly, not wanting to give away too much. The reporter did not look satisfied.

“How can we trust you if you don’t elaborate further on the power of these weapons?” The pony demanded.

“He has proven that he is responsible with his weapons.” Luna stated, the nobles and the delegates shifted slightly while the reporters jotted things down.

“A weapon and a helmet, I do see. You are a soldier, possibly?” Asked the female zebra in the front row. Dominic shook his head. The zebra frowned slightly. “Could it be, you’re a mercenary?” Again Dominic shook his head.

“No, not a soldier. I never got my chance.” Dominic replied with a sigh.

“If you’re not a soldier, or a mercenary, why do you carry these weapons? Is it customary in your world?” Asked the pony Dominic assumed was the Saddle Arabian princess. The accent was very slight, but still noticeable. The young man sighed and shook his head.

“No comment.” He answered, the group frowned, save for the zebras.

“Answer the question, beast!” Shouted Blueblood from the back. Dominic’s blood boiled in a second. Still, he tried to hold his composure.

“Blueblood, you will not refer to him in such a manner.” Luna scolded angrily. “If you do so again, I will have you removed from the room.” The prince blanched as the words left her mouth, she had never threatened to remove him from any function before.

“Why do you wear Princess Twilight’s cutie mark on your shoulder?” The male griffon asked, Dominic took a moment to look at the patch. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself before answering.

“It was a gift from a friend. On my world it’s a charm to bring luck to its wearer.” What he said was truth, even if it was a lie. He believed the patch had brought him luck in the past, which made stating his lie so much easier.

“Now that you are making yourself known to the world, do you plan on staying in the palace or will you be moving to a different city?” The first reporter inquired. Dominic sat for a moment, unsure of what to say. He hadn’t thought of what he was going to do, but before he could answer Luna spoke for him.

“That has yet to be determined. Once a decision has been made, the public will be made aware.” The reporters nodded.

“What class did you hold on your world before you left your world?” Inquired the female griffon, Dominic raised an eyebrow. “Were you a noble or a commoner?”

“Neither.” The young man said firmly.

“Explain, strange one.” Interjected the Minotaur, his deep voice reminded Dominic of Sylvester Stallone. “How is it you had no class?”

“My people didn’t believe in classes, per say. We were a democracy.” The man explained, gaining a raised eyebrow from the male zebra.

“You speak in ‘Were’, for what cause? Why do you say it as if it was?” He asked, Dominic took a moment to decipher what had been said.

“No comment.” Dominic stated firmly, thoughts of his family dying and his hometown burning flooded his head. The screams, the heat from the flames, the blood on his hands. It all felt real to him again. Luna put her hoof on his shoulder, the delegates were confused by the gesture. Dominic leaned over to Luna and whispered into her ear. “I don’t think I can do much more of this.” Luna nodded in understanding before taking her hoof from his shoulder.

“We have time for a few more questions, then we’ll proceed to the reception area.” She declared, the reporters groaned.

“Your species… How advanced is it?” The Saddle Arabian asked. Dominic looked at her for a moment. He could practically see everything in front of him. The smell of the bodies, the cries and pleas for help, and all he could do was sit there.

“We were advanced.” Dominic said in almost a whisper. “We built great cities, great machines, great cultures. We went to the moon, we split the atom, we made our dreams reality.” He paused for a second, recomposing himself. “There were wars, and diseases and famines, but from it came hope. From it came understanding. Humanity learned from its mistakes and strived to rectify the wrongs.”

“Again, you speak in past tense.” The minotaur said, leaning forwards. “Tell us, why?” Dominic looked at the group, then Luna, and then back at the group. He sighed and shook his head.

“No…” Dominic looked down at the table. “Let’s make this last one the final question.” He expected it to come from one of the delegates or a reporter. He was unpleasantly surprised.

“Are you grateful towards Celestia for giving you a place to rest here inside the castle?” Blueblood asked smugly. “After all, she did save you from your horrid world. War? Famine? Disease? What was your species, a group of neighanderthals.” Dominic stared at the prince for a moment, the words echoed through his head. “Well? Answer the question, Beast!” He felt something during that sentence. Rage. Pure, undiluted, burning fury. For the first time in a long time, Dominic let go. He didn’t try to control his rage, he didn’t try to direct it, he would let it flow wherever it wanted, and it wanted to be heard.

“Bluebl-!” Luna began.

“No.” Dominic said plainly, getting a shocked look from the assembled group. “No, I’m not grateful towards sun cunt. I’m quite the opposite.” He paused for a moment. “I hate her, for poisoning me, for how she invaded my privacy, for how she can’t seem to keep her own sister safe. I absolutely loathe her. In fact, that’s why she’s not fucking here. I know you’ve all be wondering, and now you fucking know.” Luna gave him a glare, but held her tongue. She understood that he was angry, but it was still her sister he was talking about.

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF THE PRINCESS IN SUCH A WAY!” Shouted Blueblood, getting several affirming harrumphs.

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF MY SPECIES IN SUCH A WAY!” Dominic countered, loudly. “YOU POMPOUS! RACIST! SON OF A TWO DOLLAR WHORE! WHEN YOU WERE EATING DIRT, WE WERE BUILDING THE COLOSSEUM!” Blueblood, blinded by his own rage, cast the most powerful combat spell he knew. The arc of magic slammed into Dominic’s chest, the force of the impact flung the young man into the wall behind the table. He groaned, but to everyone’s surprise, got up and brushed himself off. He took several steps towards Blueblood, cracking his knuckles. Luna blocked him with her wing, giving Blueblood time to make a hasty exit.

“Dominic, he isn’t worth it.” Twilight interjected, the man glared at the room for a moment before his face softened and his posture relaxed. Luna pulled her wing out of his way, and the young man walked back to his chair. He picked it up and slid it back under the table, as if nothing had happened. 

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He said before turning to the crowd. “Sorry folks…” The delegates, the reporters and the remaining nobles all looked at each other. The ponies glared at him, while the griffons, the minotaur and the Saddle Arabian gave him strange looks of respect. He could tell the zebra’s were not pleased, but at the same time he didn’t care. He walked to the door, Twilight following close behind. Luna addressed the group.

“As… Eventful as this has been, I still invite you to the reception. Perhaps things can be more civil in an actual conversation.” With that the Lunar Princess exited the room. The delegates weren’t going to pass up a chance to speak with a creature that could give them a technological edge. That was the motivation for most of them, for some, it was far different.

Princess Dunai, of Saddle Arabia, was the first delegate out the door.
> Chapter 11: End of Act 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The reception area was near the gardens, it had large windows that rose from the floor to the ceiling and several tables for the delegates. A buffet had been set up near the windows, obstructing the view of the snow covered gardens. Dominic didn’t mind though, he was busy devouring the food he had piled onto his plate. The delegates had resigned themselves to discussing matters that didn’t concern him, and he was happy not to deal with them. Even Twilight and Luna had been roped into a few conversations, leaving Dominic to his thoughts.

Mainly, he was thinking about how wonderful the meal tasted. He normally would have turned down the buffet, considering his history with the castle’s cooking, but if the delegates were eating it then it had to be safe. Dominic was glad that Luna had gotten rid of Blueblood, he had come far too close to loosing it at the conference. That raised another question to Dominic, what was he supposed to do now? There was no place for a man with his skillset, and he doubted they had need of an automotive student. He was dead weight and he hated it.

“Excuse me?” A voice snapped him from his internal debate, Dominic recognised it as Remea, the male griffon. The young man looked up from his plate and swallowed his food. “May I sit here.” Remea gestured to the seat across from Dominic, he received a shrug as an answer.

“Why not?” Dominic replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin. The griffon took a seat, his armor clinking as he moved. Dominic went back to his meal, making an effort to use better table manners. Remea was silent for several minutes, just watching Dominic with his hawk like gaze. “Can I help you with something?”

“You eat as a warrior eats, yet you deny that is what you are.” Remea commented, Dominic stopped eating and looked at the griffon again. “I noticed earlier, you said you never got your chance. Chance for what?” Dominic put his fork on the table and rubbed his hands together.

“I never had the chance to enlist.” Dominic said flatly. “My family had a man in the military every generation, even before we came to America. All the way back to the Roman Empire.” Remea thought for a moment.

“What stopped you from joining this line of warriors?” He asked, Dominic’s face lost all expression.

“I’d rather not discuss the past, it clouds the view of the future.” He replied, Remea was going to persist but saw the finality in Dominic’s eyes. He wasn’t out to anger the man, he had displayed a distinct hatred for people who angered him. It took a lot of courage to openly state a hatred of a noble, but to denounce the princess of the world’s strongest superpower, it took nerves of steel. Nerves that had to be forged in the fires of conflict.

“Very well.” Remea nodded. “I hope we will be able to speak more in the future.” He stood from his seat and went back to the group, Dominic went back to eating in silence. His mind drifted back to the problem at hand, finding a purpose. He wasn’t willing to give them weapons, he had no way of training them, and he wasn’t willing to join their guard. There was nothing for him. Sighing for the umpteeth time, Dominic looked up at the delegates again, Twilight and Luna were discussing something with the zebras while the griffons spoke with the minotaur. That left one of them unaccounted for.

“Looking for me?” Asked a female voice from behind. Dominic whipped around, his hand flying to the revolver in its holster. When he saw that it was Princess Dunai he relaxed slightly, taking his hand off the handle of the weapon and turning to face her. “I’m sorry if I startled you, but I wanted to see your reaction.”

“My reaction? My reaction is shoot first, ask questions later. Your lucky I didn’t take your fucking head off!” Dominic snapped back, the Princess looked hurt for a moment before she concealed it under false condescension.

“Right.” Dunai said, walking in front of the young man and taking a seat across from him. “Tell me, what set you in such a heightened state, hmm?” Dominic glared at her and went back to eating his food. “Why do you brood so much? Why not share with us, if your species is so advanced…”

“Would you like the short, or the long version?” Dominic growled, Dunai hummed for a moment.

“Short.”

“Global Thermonuclear War.” The princess blinked several times, Dominic ignored her.

“W-What?”

“Global, as in the globe, Thermonuclear, a weapon of my species, war, a conflict between two or more nations.” Dominic said slowly, the princess blinked several more times.

“What’s that?”

“Total destruction of every habitable piece of land on the surface of the planet.” Dominic said it as if it was no big deal. “And the lucky ones will be the ones who die in the war, they won’t have to endure hell on earth.” Dunai shuddered and silently rose from her seat, Dominic paid her no mind as she walked away. Instead, his mind went back to what he was going to do with so much time on his hands. He went to take another bite, but his fork made contact with only the plate. Dominic sighed and stood up, then started walking towards the buffet. 

Princess Luna excused herself from the conversation she had been dragged into and trotted over to the young man. He was perusing the buffet table, staying away from the vegetarian meals.

“Tried it… Tried it… Don’t wanna try it…” He mumbled, when he noticed Luna he stopped and turned to face her. “What’s up?”

“I dislike the zebra delegates.” Luna huffed, Dominic raised an eyebrow. “They continue to call for you imprisonment, for disrespecting my sister.”

“Fuck ‘em.” The young man commented, turning back to the table. “If they want to fight over it, I’ll be glad to fight.” He took several scoops of mashed potatoes before moving to a pan that hadn’t been opened yet. “What are you hiding?” He asked the pan.

“The zebras are traditional ponies, they would most likely take you up on your offer.” Luna said, watching Dominic lift the lid off of the heating pan. His face brightened and a smile came across his face.

“They’re…They’re beautiful…” He used his fork and stabbed it into the pan, then pulled out a large, juicy steak. He placed it on his plate and turned to leave the table, then paused to motion for Luna to follow. She wasn’t going to miss this, she had yet to see a genuine smile on his face. Dominic sat down and cut a piece of steak, Luna sat across from him.

“What did you want to talk about?” She asked, Dominic chewed his food before speaking. His smile faded for a moment, knowing that the question wouldn’t ask itself.

“They asked earlier, but you didn’t have an answer.” Dominic began, leaning his elbows on the table. “What am I going to do?” Luna blinked, a thoughtful expression crossed her muzzle.

“What would you like to do?” She finally asked, Dominic shrugged. “I assume that before the… problem, you had some sort of skill set?”

“Nothing that would come in handy here. I was learning to work on cars, after that… Well, the marines looked good. But, there stopped being a marine corps before I could enlist, so…” Dominic sighed. “No marketable skills, whatsoever.” Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m not joining the guard, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The princess sighed.

“May I ask why?” Dominic nodded.

“For all I know, I’m the last American alive. I won’t forsake my nation, ever.” He said firmly, looking at the princess with determined eyes. Luna nodded, Dominic could rival Rainbow Dash for the Element of Loyalty. “Doesn’t leave many options open, but I don’t intend to sit in my room all day.”

“We will think of something, together.” The princess said, nodding as she did so. “I only wish there was time for us to do so. Tonight, I must return to my night court. That will leave me quite exhausted, ruling out a meeting during the day.” Dominic shrugged and leaned back in his seat.

“Well fuck…” He muttered. “Maybe Twilight has something for me.”

“As much as I like Twilight, I believe you would go mad within fifteen minutes of working with her.” Dominic chuckled, getting a chuckle from the princess. “It is strange seeing you this relaxed.” The young man looked down at his plate, then back at her.

“It’s the first time I’ve been able to really relax, I guess. Gotta enjoy the little things.” He said, shrugging. “Before everything went to hell, a meal like this would be common. But, after eating beans cooked over a space heater, perspective changes I guess.” Dominic removed his helmet, then scratched his head. He paused and ran a hand through his hair. “Speaking of little things, I’m gonna need a haircut.”

“I’m sure that we’ll be able to arrange for a stylist to have it done.” Luna said, Dominic shook his head.

“This is my first haircut in a long time, I don’t want a stylist, I want a barber.” He said, Luna raised her eyebrow.

“What’s the difference?” She asked. Dominic took a bite of his steak and nodded at its flavor before answering.

“Don’t know, call it nostalgia.” The young man looked around, noting the delegates were still speaking to eachother. The zebras were getting rather loud with the minotaur, while the griffons and Princess Dunai seemed to be placing bets on who would win. Twilight looked like she was about to have a stroke, her mane was becoming frazzled and frayed. Luna looked over as well, then brought a hoof to her forehead with a sigh. “What?”

“They’re fighting over Twin Island again.” Luna muttered, Dominic motioned for her to continue. “Twin Island is an island on the border between Minotaur and Zebra waters, each has laid claim to it but neither will accept the other’s claim.” The young man nodded, things really didn’t change over the borders of space and time.

“Wonderful…” Dominic groaned, he finished the food on his plate. “Well, is there anything else that has to be done?” Luna shook her head.

“No, you can return to your room if you wish. I will remain here and deal with them.” She said with a sigh, Dominic stood up and walked to the doors. Luna trotted over to the argument, letting Twilight make a hasty escape.

“Dominic!” She called, the young man paused as he was about to close the door behind him. “Hold the door!” Twilight skidded out the door as Dominic closed it. He looked at her, surprised. “I hate it when they fight like that…”

“Yeah, politicians are like that sometimes.” The young man replied, he started walking down the hall. Then stopped. “Hey Twilight?”

“Yes, that’s the wrong way.”  The alicorn deadpanned, she began trotting in the opposite direction with Dominic tagging along behind her. “We’re going to have to get you a map.”

“You think so?” Dominic asked.

“Yeah, now that the world knows about you I don’t have to worry about you being spotted in the halls. I’ll be able to run some more studies.” Twilight said cheerfully, Dominic paused for a moment.

“You’re not going to leave me alone if I don’t help you, are you?” He asked in a mock annoyed tone.

“Nope.”

“Fuck.” Dominic sighed a content sigh, it felt nice to be able to joke around, if only for a bit. He was full of good food, he didn’t have to worry about lynch mobs, and he loved every minute of it. For several minutes he went on in silence, letting the worries about what he would do fall onto the almost unused back burner. A he began to hum a soft melody, catching Twilight’s attention.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“Just a song from home.” Dominic replied, his steps fell into a beat as he continued walking.

“Does it have lyrics?”

“You want to hear ‘em?” Twilight nodded to the human, who cleared his throat. “Okay I’m a little rusty at this, so bear with me.” He paused and began the song in his head again. “And I heard as it were, the noise of thunder. One of the four beasts sang, come and see, and I saw, and behold a white horse...” Dominic and Twilight continued down the hallway, and though he was unsure of the future, he knew he would survive. He always survived...

> Chapter 12: Intermission: Merry Late Christmas!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hearths Warming Eve...

Dominic stared out the window as he had done for the past month or so, the snow fell quietly in the night. He looked down at the city that bustled with activity on this night, rubbing his stubbly chin. There were families rushing about, going to places only they knew. Despite the distance, he could see foals running around their parents, staring at everything as if it was some sort of wonder. It took him a moment to realize that a tear was rolling down his cheek, it was quickly wiped away.

The lights in his room gave it a sort of warmth, illuminating the table where his weapons sat. Disassembled in the process of being cleaned. His jacket and helmet sat on the bed, laid haphazardly like a teenager would leave dirty clothes. The bookshelf was new, it had works of the world translated into English by his now friend, Twilight Sparkle. She had learned the language better than he had, it was scary to him how fast she learned. Of course, there were other new things that were far less happy. The pile of newspapers that slammed him as a dissident and a monster sat next to his new fireplace, ready to be burned at a moments notice.

He had yet to get a haircut, no barber in the country would entertain the idea of cutting his hair and he refused to have a stylist. Stylists talked about how wonderful he would look when it was over, barbers talked about current events and debatable subjects. That problem was negotiable though, he could cut his own hair if worst came to worst. Dominic stepped away from the window and over to the latest edition of decor to his room, a christmas tree. It was skimpy, and the needles were falling whenever someone closed a door, but it was a christmas tree nonetheless. He had used his bandoleers as garland, and spent shotgun shells as ornaments, rather than a star he had an empty bean can from his food reserve.

“Perfect…” He said with a ghost of a smile, his attention was brought back to the window as a bright flash of light illuminated the outside. He rushed over and saw strobing indigo light from a familiar tower in the distance. “Oh fuck! Luna!” He rushed to the table and hastily reassembled his shotgun, thankfully he hadn’t started cleaning it yet. He then ran to the tree and grabbed several shells of buckshot. He loaded them into his benelli and charged at the door, only to find it locked from the outside. “WHAT THE FUCK! LET ME OUT!”

“We’re under orders from the princess to keep you in there!” Shouted the guards from the other side.

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” Dominic roared, he delivered a kick to the door. His combat boot jarred it outwards a bit. “OPEN!” He kicked it again. “THIS!” A third time. “DOOR!” With all his might, the door burst outwards. The guards went sprawling out on the floor and a bloodthirsty Dominic rushed out into the hall. “I’ll deal with you later!” He shouted at the guards, rushing towards Luna’s room. At first he had been lost, but now he knew every path to her room. Often times he would discuss things about his future, and face the demons of his past. For that, Luna had also become a close companion of his.

Guards were blocking every path, for what reason he didn’t know, but he didn’t care. Luna could be hurt, and if she was he would do everything within his power to bring a reckoning upon who ever harmed her. He took an alternate route as several guards built a phalanx, bobbing and weaving around as many of the golden clad soldiers as possible. He was surprised there were so many, shouldn’t they have gone home to be with their families? Dominic took a right down another hallway, this time he stopped running. Standing in front of him were no guards, only a single pony.

Celestia didn’t glare at him as he had expected, she just held up a hoof and opened her mouth to speak.

“Dominic, calm down. Luna is fine, trust me…” Dominic shouldered his shotgun.

“I trust you about as far as I can throw you, bitch.” He growled, Celestia looked hurt by the comment. “Move. Now.”

“No, Dominic. Luna has told me not to let you pass, she’s going to-.” The solar diarch was cut off when Dominic flipped the safety off.

“I will lay you out, Celestia. Don’t think I won’t.” Celestia looked genuinely frightened.

“Fine… Fine…” She said, backing up a bit. “You can go see her, but if you do I’ll come with you.” Dominic flipped the safety back on and lowered his weapon.

“Deal.” He muttered, running past her without waiting for her to follow. The mare had trouble keeping up with the sprinting human, she was surprised by how fast he was with only two legs. Dominic turned down the final hallway, skidding slightly on the polished floor. His eyes were set on Luna’s door, nothing else mattered at that point. The young man slid to a stop just short of the large wooden barrier. He could hear pained grunting inside, and flashes of light were vissible through the crack under the door. He tried pushing his way in, the door didn’t budge. He tried kicking it, but the door didn’t budge. Dominic shouldered his shotgun and took aim at the hinges of the door.

“Dominic wait! I’ll unlock it!” Celestia called from behind him, the door was encompassed in a golden glow. When the glow subsided, Dominic reared back and booted the door open. It swung fast on its hinges, banging against the wall inside. He rushed in, prepared to kill anyone he had to. To his confusion, it was only Luna and Twilight. They looked at him with wide eyes, noting the shotgun before anything else.

“What…?” Dominic stammered, looking at the two alicorns with a dumb expression. “What the fuck?” He slowly walked forwards, his shotgun hanging loose on its strap. Luna was the first to recover from the shock, she watched the human slowly make his way to her. She and Twilight were sitting at the table, two small wrapped objects sat in front of them. One was a square, while the other was a flat triangle. Dominic stared at the packages for several minutes, Luna, Twilight and Celestia sat down in front of him.

“Merry Christmas, Dominic.” Luna finally said, Dominic sniffed for a moment. The princesses could see his eyes watering. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. “Go ahead, Dominic. Open them.” The young man picked up the square package first, he looked at the tag. It was written in very poor english.

To: Dominic
From: Your friend, Twilight

He ripped the wrapping paper off, leaving a white box. Dominic looked at Twilight, she nodded and he gripped the lid. He lifted it off and placed it aside,a few tears rolled down his cheeks as he reached into the box and pulled a cap from within. It was an olive drab utility cap, a globe and anchor were embroidered on the front.

“H-How…?” He stammered, looking at the cap in disbelief.

“Remea and Luna told me about how you wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps, but couldn’t. I made a few adjustments to the spell that brought you here, and was able to pull this through. That’s what caused all the flashes that I’m sure you saw, otherwise you wouldn’t have come with such speed. It was actually-” Twilight was cut off as Dominic wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug, she returned the gesture as best she could. When Dominic pulled away, tears were streaming down his face. “D-Did I do something wrong?” Twilight asked momentarily worried.

“N-No! No no no no no!” Dominic replied. “I just… Wow… Thank you, so much Twi. It’s perfect.” He used his shirt to wipe his face. “You didn’t have to do this…” He hugged Twilight again before turning to Luna. She smiled and pushed her gift towards him, Dominic looked at her for a moment and then eyed the triangle shaped package. It was an eerily familiar shape, he squeezed it and felt cloth within. “Luna, don’t tell me…”

“Just open it, Dominic.” Luna said, smiling even wider. Dominic began to unwrap the package, Celestia watched with great interest. She hardly knew him compared to her sister and her student, what she was seeing was completely alien to her.

“Luna if you…” Dominic froze as his eyes fell upon part of the gift. A white star, sewn into a blue background. “Luna…” He opened the gift fully. “Luna… This is…” He held up a flag, it had thirteen stripes and fifty stars. It was crisp and clean, red, white and blue. A small tag slipped out of the package and onto the table. It read Proudly made in the USA. “Luna… This is m-my flag… This is…” He placed the flag back on the table with as much care as he could. His hands were trembling, fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. He grabbed the Lunar princess in a hug ten times as strong as the one administered to Twilight. “My flag…” He cried tears of joy, Luna returned the hug, soon they were joined by Twilight. Celestia looked at the flag for a moment, it had an odd look to it. One that made it seem unique.

“Celestia…” She was snapped from her gaze by Dominic’s voice. “In the first world war, Christmas brought peace to the soldiers on the front lines. For a few days, there were no enemies, only men sharing a holiday far from home.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I don’t forgive you for what you did, Celestia. But, for one day, I’m willing to forget.” The young man gestured for her to join the group hug, the solar princess smiled slightly. She used her magic to close the door to the room, shutting out any unwanted visitors before she trotted over to the group. She joined the hug, and they all stared out the window as the snow fell. Not a sound could be heard for the first few minutes, but a soft humming broke the silence. Twilight felt a rush of deja vu.

“Dominic, does that song have any lyrics…?” She asked, Dominic nodded. “Can you sing for us?” He cleared his throat.

“Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild.” Dominic’s baritone voice instilled a strange sort of calm as the group broke the embrace. “Sleep in heavenly peace… Sleep in heavenly peace…”
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Months Later…

The snow was melting, the sky was blue and pegasi moved clouds about for the spring showers that were soon to come. The market bustled in Canterlot’s economic center, with stallions and mares buying food and fashionable clothes from the many purveyors of goods. At the gates of the royal castle, dozens of ponies lined up to watch the changing of the guards. They oohed and awed at the discipline that the soldiers of their country possessed. Within the palace walls, several dozen ponies sat waiting outside the throne room. They had scheduled sessions with both Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight, some hoped to cram an agenda while others hoped for true assistance.

Two guards carried a sign into the waiting area with a sigh and hung it up next to the main doors. Half of the petitioners got up and left as they read the words.

NO HUMAN BANISHMENT PETITIONS! NO EXCEPTIONS!

“Can’t believe we actually had to buy a sign for this…” One of the guards muttered to his comrade as they trotted away from the room. The other nodded in agreement. They had met the human, he seemed like a decent fellow. Aside from his hatred of Celestia, there really wasn’t anything that rubbed them the wrong way. Several ponies in the waiting room that had not been paying attention when the sign went up read its message and also opted to leave. Leaving only four petitioners in the area.

The human who had been the target of so many petitions was in his room, as usual. Grunting and growling as he completed his ninetieth push up. His near shaved head glistened with sweat, as did his back and chest. The muscle and weight loss that had come with his time alone was all but gone, the new muscle mass had actually called for a new wardrobe. His old ratty T-Shirt had given up the ghost, as did his jeans, and though he was sad to see them go he knew that he had to. He couldn’t move forwards if he held on to the past with such a fervor. The nightmares offered enough input to remind him.

His boots had also been replaced, the new ones were tightly laced to his feet with the bottoms his olive drab cargo pants tucked into them. On the wall by the window, old glory hung proudly. He wished he had a pole to hang her on, just to see the wind unfurl her once more would give him an unbridled sense of joy. Dominic occasionally looked up at her as he continued his push ups, each time he did he felt motivated to keep going. When he reached one hundred, he stopped. His arms were sore, but he felt excellent.

Dominic stood up and walked to the bathroom, he grabbed a towel and wiped his head. There was a knock on the door.

“It’s open!” He shouted, walking to his dresser and pulling out a black T-shirt. The door was pushed open by a familiar lavender Alicorn. “Hey Twilight, what’s up?” Twilight sparkle smiled and closed the door behind her.

“It turns out most of my petitioners left early, so I have nothing else to do. I thought I’d come and see how you were doing.” She replied, trotting in and taking a seat at the table. Dominic’s revolver sat in the open, obviously he had been examining it, but she couldn’t find his shotgun. Her eyes wandered over to Dominic, he was pulling his shirt over his head. She noted all of the large scars on his back, as well as the new muscle. It was the first time she had noticed just how much he had changed, her eyes wandered over to his bed. His shotgun was leaned against the bedside table, several shells sat on top of several books.

“Well I’m doing fine, I guess. Still trying to figure out what I’m going to be doing.” He said, pulling his shirt down and smoothing out a few wrinkles. “That’s proving difficult, considering I pretty much called Sunny out. But, shit could be worse, much worse.” Dominic walked over to the fireplace and grabbed one of the many newspapers, a very offensive caricature sat on the front page under a headline in Equestrian. It wasn’t that hard to decipher, he could tell what was being said. “Hell, even school newspapers are taking shots at me.”

“What?” Twilight asked, Dominic chuckled and cleared his throat.

“The Canterlot High School Inquirer says, and I quote! ‘The presence of the beast who calls itself ‘Dominic’ has only served to cause more trouble in our great city.’.” Dominic tossed the paper on the table. “Oh, and according to the Canterlot Chronicle, I contributed to the minotaur invasion of Twin Island.” Twilight gaped, she used her magic to levitated several more papers to her eye level.

“You’re shitting me.” She said, dumbfounded.

“Whoa, look at the mouth on this one!” Dominic joked, walking to his liquor cabinet.

“Dominic! This is unacceptable! I would expect as much yellow journalism from a high school, but the Canterlot Chronicle always checks its facts!” Twilight crumpled up the papers with her magic and tossed them into the fireplace before setting them alight. Dominic walked over to the table with two glasses and a bottle of scotch, he poured the alcohol and slid a glass to Twilight.

“The media is always overblowing things, contorting things to their own agendas. That’s modern society for you.” Dominic said, swirling the liquid in his glass for a moment. He held it up high. “To the media, may they never reproduce.” Twilight levitated her glass close to his, but stopped before she touched it. She know what would happen if her magic came into contact with his hand, she didn’t want to be cleaning up broken glass and spilled scotch.

“Clink.” She said before bringing the glass to her lips and drinking. So what if it was barely past one, she didn’t have anything better to do. Dominic took a sip of his own glass, savoring the flavor. He noticed Twilight was staring at him, she didn’t look away when he looked at her.

“What? Something in my teeth?”

“No, I just noticed something about you.” Dominic raised an eyebrow. “You have a very odd sense of humor.”

“I suffer from a common human disease, Cynicism.” He replied with a laugh. “Damn, that still feels great… Laughing, I mean.” The young man’s smile faded for a moment and he placed his glass back on the table. There was a silence that followed that statement.

“Are you still having that… problem?” Twilight asked, hoping the answer was a negative.

“Only when I don’t sleep enough. I think I figured it out though…” Twilight perked up. “Acording to that Psychology book over there, I’m seeing the subconscious movements of my own eyes. Or something like that.”

“Subconscious Hypervigilance?” Twilight asked, Dominic took another sip from his glass.

“No, like normally my brain would filter out the natural movement of my eye but since I was… you know, it perceives it as a threat. It’s… weird. But, I’m getting better. I’ve stopped shooting at it, if you haven’t noticed.” The silence returned. “So, redirecting… What do you think caused the drop in petitioners? National holiday or something?”

“No, I think it was the new sign.” Twilight sighed. “The one about ‘those’ petitions.” She became angry for a moment. “I mean, what the fuck is wrong with these ponies! It’s been two months and they’re still attacking you!”

“Twilight-”

“No Dominic! It’s every fucking day! More than half of the ponies I meet do nothing but insult you! They don’t know you, and they say horrible things about you like they do! It pisses me off!” Dominic leaned forwards.

“Okay, Twi. You gotta breathe here.” He said, the alicorn complied. “I think I’m starting to rub off on you a bit…” Twilight chuckled. “Not entirely sure that’s a good thing.”

“I don’t let it show too much, but it’s nice to have someone I can just explode in front of.” She said, finishing her drink. Dominic nodded in affirmation. “I think I understand why you do it so much… It feels… really good to just let it go.” The young man chuckled and pointed to her glass. “Yeah, I’ll take another.” He poured her another drink.

“Okay, Twilight.” Dominic said, topping off his glass. “Explode. Figuratively, please. I know you can do the physical thing…” The mare took a drink from her glass and nodded.

“Well, aside from all those petitions against you, I have to deal with all the pretentious nobles of the city. Including your favorite.”

“Blueballs is such a treat, isn’t he?” Dominic mused.

“Oh you have no fucking idea! The other day he came in shouting about how someone was ‘Keeping him up all hours of the night.’. It turns out, that the ponies responsible were the ones he hired to build his SECOND FUCKING SWIMMING POOL! More importantly, he had told them to do so!”

“Blueblood swims?” Dominic asked, Twilight took another sip of her drink.

“No! He doesn’t even own a bathing suit!” Dominic was about to ask another question. “I DON’T KNOW WHY HE NEEDS ANOTHER FUCKING SWIMMING POOL! LET ALONE THE ONE HE HAS ALREADY!” Twilight panted for several seconds before collecting herself. “Moving on… Aside from him, I had several complaints about the ‘unfair tax burden’ that the nobles are ‘suffering’ under. Heaven forbid! They already pay far less than anyone else! WE NEED TO HELP THEM!”

“Have you tried bullshiting them?” The young man who sat across from her inquired, pouring himself another drink. “I mean, if they’re selling bullshit, why don’t you sell it back?”

“I don’t think I could bullshit better than them.” Twilight said, deflated. Dominic hummed for a moment.

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. For instance, say that if you gave them a tax break you’d have to give everyone a tax break. That would mean commoners would have more money and could rival them. They may be stupid, but they’re smart enough to figure at least THAT out.” He sipped his glass. “Well, most of them.”

“Yeah… Well on top of all that, I’m going to be tasked with evaluating the armed services.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at this, Twilight sighed. “Apparently, I have to learn ALL aspects of being a princess, even the ones involving the military. But I don’t know where to begin, all of the books I’ve read are irrelevant or pointless propaganda.” She looked downtrodden, then peered around his room. Her eyes fell on his helmet. Dominic watched a figurative light bulb go on above her head and she looked at him.

“No.”

“Please!”

“No!”

“Why!?”

“Because!” Dominic began to count on his fingers. “I have no FUCKING idea what I would look for!”

“What you would look for in your ‘American Military’.” Twilight interrupted, Dominic continued.

“Ponies hate me!”

“It could be a test of discipline!”

“I barely know anything about strategies or tactics.”

“Dominic, I translated the books on your shelf. There are at least SEVEN different books on griffon tactics you could glance at, even if they are irrelevant they could offer SOME understanding.”

“Why are you insisting on me doing this!”

“Because I don’t want you sitting up here all day!” Twilight blurted out. The room fell silent, Dominic shifted in his chair. “It’s not healthy.” Dominic looked at the floor for several minutes. The gears in his head were turning. While he would love to be out of his room with true purpose, he didn’t feel comfortable overseeing the fitness of a nation's ENTIRE military. What if he made a mistake and that led to an invasion, what if he didn’t catch a problem that he should have? On top of that, this was Twilight’s job. She had to learn this aspect of being a princess eventually, why not now?

Dominic sighed and looked around his room. His eyes fell on his helmet and the utility cap that sat next to it. His family had been fighting wars since the Julio-Cluadian Dynasty. He had watched his first war movies when he was six, his father would tell him constantly about what a good soldiers was. Honorable, Loyal to the people of the nation and its constitution, and most importantly, human. Not human in body, but in conscience. A soldier he was had no conscience may as well be a killing machine. Ultimately that’s what swayed the young man, he had a conscience. Dominic sighed and looked at Twilight.

“Alright, fine. I’ll do it. But if I do this, you’re there with me. You’re paying attention to what’s happening and why. Consider it a field trip or something. Secondly, we’re having Luna AND Sunny go over our findings. Thirdly, don’t question my methods, no matter how extreme they may be.” The lavender alicorn nodded with a smile. “And MOST IMPORTANTLY! I am only acting as a… What’s the Euphemism? Ah, Foreign Military Consultant.”

“Thank you so much, Dominic!” She said. “We start tomorrow!” Dominic blinked several times.

“Huh?”

“Let’s start reading these books, I bet we’ll be up all night! I’ll have someone bring us some coffee.” Dominic blinked again.

“Huh?”

“I wonder where we should begin…”

“Fuck my life…” Dominic groaned.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snores filled Dominic’s room, a lavender alicorn lay tucked under the blankets on his bed while the young man sat in front of the window. The sun was starting to come up over the horizon, casting light on the sleeping city below. The young man was deep in thought, as sleep had eluded him the night before. Today he would be going out into the world for the first time, the world that he was sure thoroughly hated him. He had already taken the newspaper that had been left outside his door and was looking at it with disdain. It called him lazy, hostile, and repugnant.

That was how it had been for the past few months, and how it most likely would be in the future. Contrary to what the papers said, he wasn’t ‘lazing about’. He had actively looked into possible trades and purpose, he was willing to go to school and learn new things, but no school would accept him. No trade suited him. He understood basic mechanics, but that knowledge was old, and of no use to him here. These thoughts were not the source of the scowl on his face, however. No, the cause was the pile of books on the table.

Each of them was a reference for military strategy, ranks, logistics, and pretty much anything else Twilight could get her hooves on. He had never read so many books in a single night, and the new information rattled around in his head like loose nuts and bolts. Dominic wouldn’t normally put himself through such extremes, but his motives were driven by something more than normal. He looked at the alicorn sleeping under blankets on his bed, cuddled up and snoring as adorable as ever. She was his friend, and friends were a rare thing in his experience. They were worth sacrificing sleep over.

There had been rough patches, especially in the beginning. But Twilight was able to push past his hostile exterior. She had given him a shoulder to cry on when he needed it, and he had responded in kind. Dominic smiled silently at her and walked to the bed, she had pushed the covers off of her and was shivering ever so slightly. The man pulled the covers up over her and walked to his dresser. He began to change clothes, pulling on a pair of black cargo pants as well as a slate T-shirt.  As usual, he tucked the bottoms of the pant legs into his boots before trying the double knots.

Dominic let out a sigh, stretching and letting his neck pop. He grabbed his jacket and slid it on, noting the different fit with the new muscle. He didn’t care though, he wouldn’t give this jacket up for anything. Even if it was a bit snug now. The young man walked to the table and sifted through the books and notes, searching for something important. His hand brushed against the metal of his revolver and he quickly grabbed the weapon. Silently he brought the weapon into the light, checking the cylinder. It was fully loaded. He nodded to himself and slid the weapon into its proper place.

Dominic looked back at the sleeping mare, she still smiled in her sleep. Out of his peripherals he saw movement, despite his best efforts he still flinched. Sleep deprivation was going to make the day’s activities difficult. He grabbed his utility cap from the table and sat it squarely on his head, the familiar comfort greeted him like an old friend.

“Dominic?” Asked Twilight, the young man turned to face her.

“Morning, Twi.” He said quietly.

“Wha… Why am I in your bed?” She asked, confused. Dominic pointed to the pile of books on the table.

“You fell asleep in your chair, so I moved you to my bed.” He said, picking up one of the books and leafing through it.

“Where did you sleep?” Twilight asked, still confused. Dominic pointed to his ‘thinking chair’ as he had dubbed it. It overlooked the outside, which gave him clarity to think.

“Now, enough about sleep. We have work to do.” Twilight nodded, remembering the discussion she had had the day prior. She was honestly surprised he had decided to ‘Consult’. Perhaps if he did well, the other nations would ask him to consult their militaries. That would give him some sort of purpose. But the media would most likely call him a war monger, not that Dominic cared. “What’s the first thing on the agenda?”

“Well, the armor sets the guards have now are starting to get old. Several months ago, Celestia put out a call for new armor and today we’re going to see the results. After that, we have to evaluate the current armaments of the military.” Twilight explained, rolling out of bed and using her magic to fix her hair. Dominic grabbed his backpack, which had sat empty in the past months, and tossed a few books into it. As well as his helmet, just in case something went wrong.

“Let’s get moving then…” Without further adieu, the pair left the room. The guards stiffened when they saw him, word had traveled fast. “Make sure no one gets in there.” Dominic said, half seriously. The guards nodded, letting the alicorn and the new Military Consultant walk down the hallway.

[♦]

The walk had been relatively silent, Dominic was getting used to a new part of the castle. The part that was frequented by tourists. The part with the doors that lead outside. He shook with excitement at the thought of being outside again, at seeing civilization again. Groups of school children made way for Twilight, bowing respectfully.

“Look, the royal pet is going for a walk…” Commented one of the mares, Dominic’s glare fell on her like a ton of bricks. She shuddered under the almost predatory gaze and didn’t dare make eye contact. The ponies in this part of the castle were spiteful, unlike the ones Dominic had dealt with. Did that scare him? No, they could all burn for all he cared. He and Twilight came to a halt near the main doorway, the guards there saluted without looking at either of them.

“Open the main door!” Commanded the one on the right.

“Sir.” Replied the other guard, a unicorn. He used his magic to push the doors open, immediately a warm breeze blew through the slowly opening passage. Dominic closed his eyes and leaned his head back, letting the outside air run over him. He inhaled deeply, the scent of dirt, grass, trees, and flowers greeted his nostrils. When he opened his eyes, he was blinded by the midday sun light. The warmth it offered him was incredible, as if he had been wrapped in the arms of god.

“Dominic? Are you okay?” asked Twilight, noticing the smile that was slowly spreading across Dominic’s face. He inhaled through his nose again, then took a step out the open doors. The sun’s warmth was even greater outside, warming him to his core. He had to give Sunny credit, it was a beautiful day. “Dominic?”

“Just give me a moment…” He replied to her, taking another step outside. Back home, the ash from the burning cities had blotted the sky with grey clouds. Now, there were no clouds, only the beautiful blue sky above. “I…” He paused and turned to Twilight. “I haven’t seen a sky like this in a long time. Shame we’re gonna have to spend the day in an office.”

“I’m sure we can arrange for the inspection to be moved outside.” Twilight said with a grin, she trotted ahead of him. “Now come on.” He quickly followed after her, taking in the sights of the outside world. They walked down a wide pathway towards the front gates, to their left and right were wide expanses of green grass. It was pocked with blooming cherry trees, the white blossoms fluttered in the breeze. Birds soared above them, singing their songs with great volume. Dominic snapped out of his daze in time to move out of the way of an approaching band of students. Unlike the foals he had seen before, these ponies were most likely adolescents. They were headed by a blue unicorn with a green mane.

“Look at that thing…” He heard one of the students mutter.

“It’s worse than I imagined…”

“Dominic, don’t pay them any attention.” Twilight said, noting that he had gone from smiling to his old stoic mask.

“Not planning on it.” He replied sourly. “Just can’t believe I can’t even go outside without dealing with these pricks… What ever happened to Love and Tolerate?”

“Canterlot never officially embraced that as it’s city motto, so…” Twilight answered, getting a nod in response. As the adolescents passed them, one of them pulled a note pad and a pen from his saddle bag.

“Oh joy, another reporter.” Dominic spat on the ground and glared at the young stallion. As they were about to pass each other, the student opened his mouth. “No comment.”

“Surely you-”

“No comment.”

“Why would-

“No fucking comment.” Dominic hissed, passing the stallion. He turned and extended only his middle finger at him before looking at Twilight. “I can tell already, this is going to be fun.” With that, the exited the palace grounds and were on their way to the research labs where the new armor would be unveiled.

[♦]

Twilight and Dominic sighed as the finally reached their destination, it had been a hellish ten minute walk from the palace to the research facility. Twilight was ashamed of her home city, whose citizens had hurled insult after insult at Dominic along the walk. They weren’t the only thing that had been hurled at him though, Dominic’s helmet had several new scratches from rocks that had been hurled at his head. His arm would most likely be bruised, and he would have to sew a patch onto a new hole that had formed in his jacket. It had taken the combined efforts of Dominic and Twilight to keep his temper from boiling over, but thankfully no shots were fired.

Dominic sighed and removed his helmet, rubbing his temples afterwards. He had gotten his bell rung pretty well by one of the larger rocks, and he could tell he would have a large bump for the next few days. He had quelled his anger for the most part, now he only felt snappy. The pair quickly entered the research facility and closed the doors behind them, the receptionist looked at them wide eyed. She quickly bowed to Twilight, obviously not expecting to see a princess or a human at the same time. The mare pushed a button on her desk and thirty seconds later a stallion in a lab coat burst forth from one of the lobby’s doors. He dropped into a bow as well.

“P-Princess, what an honor it is to meet you!” The stallion said, standing tall again. “I’m sorry, I thought you would be bringing a foreign consultant with you…”

“And I did.” Twilight said, pointing to Dominic. He had placed his utility cap back on his head, opting to hang the helmet from one of his backpack straps. “Doctor Ballista, this is Dominic Occisor. He is the American Military Consultant you were informed of.” The doctor blinked for a moment, Dominic extended his hand. Ballista shook it tentatively.

“Me name, Ballista. You, Dominic.” The doctor said loudly. Dominic scowled.

“If your vernacular is that limited, I believe we will have very few subjects to speak on in the future.” Dominic stated sourly, the doctor blushed with embarrassment. “Let’s cut the formalities and get on with the evaluation, doctor.”

“Uh… yes.” Ballista muttered. “This way.” He lead the pair through the door he had burst from, revealing the inner workings of the building. While the reception area had been nothing of note, the labs were completely different. Ponies wore clean suits and masks as they went about their jobs, some occasionally looked at Dominic and the princess but the others were far too busy to notice or care. “Welcome to Merkwuerdigichliebe Labs.” Dominic paused, he had heard that name somewhere before. “This is where most of the new toys the kids are playing with comes from, from those new arcade machines to subwoofers.”

“Is that so?” asked Dominic. “What pushed you towards building armor then?” Ballista snorted.

“Well… I did.” The unicorn stallion explained. “I proposed we enter a design in the contest to see what armor would replace the current issue.” The three of them came upon a sealed blast door, Ballista ignited his horn and the door unlocked before swinging inwards. “We took some features from the current armor, but it’s mainly new technology.” He started to see the armor on its display stand, when he saw the full picture he brought a hand to his face. Sitting in the center of a bland workshop was one of the worst suits of armor Dominic had ever seen. Even with his poor knowledge of armor, he knew it wouldn’t work.

It was gold, no surprise, the helmet was bulky and needlessly large, the armor on other vital areas was extremely thin, to the point Dominic though he would be able to punch through it, and it only extended down half of the body. Twilight and the Doctor took note of this motion.

“Tell me this is a joke…” Dominic groaned, Ballista’s face fell.

“L-Let me show you how it works!” He said, almost defensively. He hurried over to the armor and picked up a sword from a rack on the wall. He took a swing at the armor and hit it with the flat of his blade. “See!” Dominic scowled and looked at Twilight, even she knew how to properly swing a sword. Twilight ignited her horn and took the sword from the doctor, she passed it on to Dominic.

The young man walked over to the armor and casually made a pass of the blade over the armor, it sliced through the metal as if it was made of paper. Silently he gave the sword back to Ballista and moved on to the helmet, even with his new found strength he found it heavy. Too heavy. He had to set it back down on the stand.

“This is the only armor set you have?” Twilight asked, not amused. The pair had trudged through the hate filled streets of Canterlot for nothing. What was worse, she hadn’t mentioned that the doctor was the only one to submit a design. She had been floored when she heard it, but now she was absolutely horrified. They would have to adopt this ABOMINATION.

“Y-Yes… You like it?”

“It’s so bad, I actually feel I might have to administer human engineering.” Dominic said flatly. “If this is what we’re outfitting the army with, I might not have any choice.” He sighed and looked at Twilight, she shrugged with uncertainty. Thankfully, fate decided to intervene. From the open door behind them, an intern stuck her head in.

“Um, doctor Ballista, I hope it’s not too late to submit a design…?” She started, when she saw Dominic and the Princess she drooped a bit. “Oh, you’re already here… Nevermind…” The mare, an earth pony with white mane and peach fur started to leave.

“No, stay for a moment.” Dominic said, walking towards her. “Do you have a model?” She sighed and shook her head. “How long would it take you to make one?” She shrugged.

“Um, well, I made based it off of existing materials, maybe three or four hours… maybe five… Something like that.” Dominic and Twilight looked at each other and then at the mare. In unison they spoke.

“We’ll wait.”

[♦]

They had learned her name was Logical Thought, and it showed. Doctor Ballista’s armor had no positive qualities, but Logical Thought’s was different. The mare had been working feverishly since she had met them, and so far it was looking good. 

It was based on chain mail, with metal plates magically welded to critical points of the body. The chest plate was angled outwards slightly, and the mail ran from the back of the body all the way to the head. It was tight, so that it would hug the wearers body and give them better range of motion. It had a helmet similar to Dominic’s, which made sense. He had seen them in the show, so they were probably common. The actual build had taken under an hour, the other time had been spent collecting the parts from all over the facility.

When Logical finished, she turned and looked nervously at Dominic and Twilight. The armor looked professional and intimidating.

“I like this, but what is it going to cost to get these to all of our soldiers?” Twilight asked, slipping into Princess mode. Dominic found it interesting to watch her in princess mode, she always seemed to have a calm air to her even if he could tell she was stressed.

“A single set would most likely cost two thousand bits.” Logical replied. “I tried to use existing material, but I had to infuse the plates with gold for the magical dampening, and the chain mail wasn’t cheap…” Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof, two thousand bits was far less than she expected. Normal guard armor was coated in gold, that brought the price up to four thousand a set. With the extra money, they could give the soldiers a pay raise or better weaponry. That would lead to a boost in morale, as well as recruitment.

“I don’t know…” Twilight said with false indecision. She wanted to get Dominic’s opinion. “Dominic? What do you think?” The young man walked over and looked at the armor, it would need to be painted a matte color, and some rank symbols wouldn’t hurt. “What would we do with all the old armor?” Dominic hummed.

“Surplus auction, sell it to collectors and reenactors, maybe keep some for ceremonial purposes.” He said. “But this armor, this looks like something America would come up with if it needed medieval armor. I like it. But, perhaps make it out of steel instead of iron. Steel is stronger.”

“That would bring the price up to twenty five hundred…” Logical commented from the side.

“I’d wear it, if I had to.” Dominic said, inspecting it closer. “But maybe we put it through some tests before we make any decisions. I’d definitely say to keep an eye on it.”

“Alright. Then that’s what we’ll do.” Twilight said, turning to Logical Thought. “Do you think you could have a set made with steel by the end of the month?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Excellent! We’ll schedule the tests whenever you’re ready. I’ll personally see to it you are paid for your service.” Twilight said, smiling. She shook whooves with Logical, the mare smiled as the weight of what was happening settled on her. Dominic nodded to her and shot a look at the clock on the wall.

“Didn’t we have to see the armaments?” He asked, Twilight shook her head.

“While we were waiting I sent them a letter, we can just head back to the palace now.” She said, then looked at Logical. “We’ll be in touch.” The mare nodded and watched as both Twilight and Dominic left the workshop. The labs were empty now, most of the workers had gone home for the night. When the pair reached the front doors, they could tell the sun had set.

“Oh joy, we get to go out into a big city at night.” Dominic muttered, pulling the door open and holding it for Twilight.

“Don’t worry Dominic, I’m sure the streets are clear by now.” Twilight said reassuringly, Dominic grumbled a few choice words at that statement.

“Tomorrow we should have guards with us.” Dominic said flatly, his boots clicking on the sidewalk as they walked down the street towards the large castle in the distance.

“Don’t. Worry.” Twilight said again. “Besides, I have my big strong human friend with me, I’m sure we’ll be okay.” Dominic didn’t laugh at the joke, like Twilight hoped.

“May god have mercy upon my enemy, because I sure as hell won’t.” The two of them walked in silence for the next few minutes, Dominic would jump whenever he heard a nosie from an alley or the roofs. He began to move with as much stealth as possible, and his hand was constantly on the handle of his revolver. Twilight watched him closely, he was acting on instinct now.

“Calm down, Dominic. It’s nothing to worry about.” She soothingly spoke, putting a wing on his shoulder. He relaxed at the familiar comforting gesture, but his eyes still darted around. “We’re only a few minutes away, nothing’s going to-”

“THAT’S IT!” Shouted a voice from a house to her left, Dominic had his revolver drawn in seconds. The voice laughed loudly. “Do it again! You tell the story the best!”

“Calm down, Dominic. It’s just someone laughing, nothing to be afraid of.” Dominic nodded and took several deep breaths, before sliding his revolver back into it’s proper location. The rest of the trip passed without incident, Dominic and Twilight went their separate ways at the main door. The young man entered his room silently and began to undress until he was down to his boxers and his T-shirt. He was so tired he didn’t notice that Luna was watching him from the corner.

“Hello, Dominic.” She said, the young man reached for his revolver again. “We are sorry to have startled thou, we just wanted to check in on how your new… job… is going.” Dominic placed the weapon down and turned to face Luna. She noticed the bump forming on his head as well as several bruises that had formed on his chest and arms. “By our mother…” She quickly trotted over to him. “Dominic, who did this to thee.”

“Your loving subjects…” Dominic replied, wincing as the lunar princess examined the bump on his head. “Rocks really fucking hurt, you know that?”

“Dominic, we may not be a medical expert, but we fear a bump of this size may lead to a concussion. We must insist thou remain awake tonight.” She said, ignoring his comment about the rocks.

“Look, I just want to go to bed, I’ve had worse head injuries than this.” Dominic insisted, trying to go to his bed. Luna wouldn’t let him. “Damn it, Luna. I haven’t slept since last night, let me sleep in peace now.”

“No, Dominic. we’re sorry, but we worry for thou.” Luna said sternly. “Now sit, we will have coffee brought to us and we will make sure thou art okay.” Dominic sighed and walked over to his thinking chair, slipping his socks and pants back on as he did. “We will also make sure that our citizens are made aware of how we feel about this incident.” The young man grunted and watched the stars, Luna went and put in the order for coffee, and thus began another sleepless night.

> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dominic shook himself awake as he, Luna and Twilight began the day. Dominic had been silent for most of the night, cleaning his shotgun with almost robotic movements. She could swear that he was sleeping with his eyes open, and using the shotgun as a cover. Whatever he had been doing, he had at least appeared awake for the night. Now, he and the princesses walked towards through the city of Canterlot towards an armory. His shotgun hung on its strap, loaded with buckshot. On top of that, he had his bandoleers which bulged with extra shells.

“Is all of that really necessary?” Luna asked, nervously eying the immense amount of firepower that the young man possessed. “We understand thou art nervous, but there are two of us now. And we hath dispatched our guards to patrol above us.”

“Do you honestly want to walk all the way back to the castle?” Asked Dominic, not taking his eyes off of the crowd that had formed on the other side of the street. They were shouting at him again, but he didn’t seem to let it bother him. His only focus was movement, quick, possibly hostile movement. Luna shook her head as she heard his response. “That’s what I thought…” The sun was beating down on them with great intensity, and the young man was sweating in the heat. Still he refused to remove his jacket or his helmet.

“Get out of our country!” Shouted a voice from the crowd. “You don’t belong here, go live in the jungle with the rest of the apes!” Dominic tuned the shouting voices out, internally shaking as he walked. Though he would never admit it, he was scared. The infected were dumb, mindless creatures, they could be tricked into going away from him. Even running past him. But these ponies, they were smart enough to know they could take him down. It seemed like there were even more of them on that day then the day before.

Even with the guards above, pegasi circled in the air like vultures. Dominic could feel their glares bearing down on him, he was getting closer to the point where he was going to try his hand at duck hunting. Somehow, Luna could sense his ever growing hostility.

“Remember, deep breaths. No one shall harm thee under our watch.” She said to him, Dominic responded with a deep breath. He didn’t relax, but his growing trigger ich became slightly less strong.

“I ever tell you about Alfred Hitchcock?” Dominic asked, finding the situation scarily similiar to what had been one of his favorite movies.

“Yes, you’ve spoken of his film ‘The Birds’.” She responded, Dominic nodded.

“This remind you of anything?” He asked, pointing to the crowd and the pegasi. Twilight looked slightly puzzled by the discussion.

“What birds?” She asked, Dominic took a breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“It was one of those movies I told you about. There was this town where crows would gather around people and kill them.” Twilight shuddered at the thought, then took note of all the ponies gathered around them and circling above.

“Oh…”

“Yeah.” Dominic deadpanned, they walked on in silence for a few more minutes. “Why didn’t we take a chariot or something?”

“Because that would require us hiring a pony who isn’t too keen to like you.” Twilight replied, Dominic gave a short ‘Oh’. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong…”

“Nah… Nah... It’s fine.” Dominic said, looking at her and then to the crowd.”It’s not your fault that this city IS FULL OF PRETENTIOUS PRICKS!” He shouted at them, causing them to jump back. The shouting ponies stopped, all of them stared at the sleep deprived human. “Not your fault their heads are shoved so far up their asses either!” He snarled, scowling and turning his gaze forwards. “I mean, it’s not like I’m a sentient being with thoughts and opinions! No I’m just some faceless, monstrous, war monger who takes pleasure in the pain of others!”

Luna didn’t say anything, knowing it would be best to let him vent verbally rather than violently. The ponies were looking at eachother, almost unsure of how to respond to the verbal lashing that Dominic had handed them.

“I guess everything the papers say is true, right? Everyone should trust the media which would NEVER embellish or LIE about anything! Yes! Take everything they say as the truth.” Luna and Twilight were grateful to see the armory approaching ahead of them. “Heaven forbid they’re wrong about something! Oh what would we do if they were WRONG AND HAD TO FORM” Dominic did a fake gasp. “OUR OWN OPINIONS! And let’s not forget-”

“Dominic. We’re here.” Luna said quickly before he could continue further, once she had let him rant for as long as he wanted and ended up having to eat lunch and dinner while he did so.

“Oh! Wonderful! More ponies!” Dominic said bitterly, glaring at the ponies that lined the streets. The guards were the only ones who didn’t begin to shout at him after his rant, they simply opened the gates to the armory and went about dispersing the mob of ponies. within the external walls of the Amory was a courtyard and a two story building. Dominic sighed and rubbed his temples, then looked at Twilight and Luna. “Sorry about that…” He said, gesturing to the door “I hate yellow journalism.”

“As do I.” Said a voice, snapping all of their attention to a stallion standing in the doorway to the stone building. He was burly with a scar running over his left eye, and his olive drab fur was stained with grime. For a cutie mark, he had a sledge hammer. “Princesses, Mister Occisor…” He said with a bow. “Allow me to welcome you to our fine little armory, I’m lieutenant Hammer.”

“Hello Lieutenant.” Said Luna with a genuine smile, the group walked towards him. Dominic took a moment to size up the stallion before extending his hand. The two shook before the lieutenant spoke again.

“Let’s not stand around out here, eh? I got a bunch of new toys in the shop.” He said, allowing the group to enter the dingy building. It was lit by the windows, and to Dominic’s surprise had a conveyor belt with weapons being assembled by various ponies. They didn’t stop to look at him, but it was clear they weren’t expecting a visit from a human. The lieutenant lead the princesses and Dominic past them, the human lagging behind to inspect the weapons in production. Again he was surprised, the quality of the weapons was far better than what he had thought it would be. But still, they would need newer armaments.

“What’ve you got for us?” He asked as they entered the back room, it was two stories tall with large industrial shelves reaching up to the ceiling. They were loaded with crates of swords and crossbows. The lights were industrial and bright, lighting illuminating a work bench with various different weapons on it.

“Well, take a look.” The lieutenant said, picking up one of the weapons. It was a crossbow lined with black steel “Here’s our first little gadget, the C-37 Mark three.” The princesses ‘oohed at it, while Dominic held a straight face.

“Looks like a regular crossbow.” He said, the Lieutenant shook his head.

“Well, it’s not.” He replied, setting the weapon down on the bench. “This weapon originally fired iron bolts, after a few simple modifications it fires magically charged crystal and gem shards. The steel surrounds a strip of gold that neutralizes the back blast effect. An ingenious idea by one of our recruits.”

“Magic shards? That means with the proper enchantments it could be used for non lethal combat!” Twilight chimed. “I mean, the energy field mechanics would take time but it could be done with the proper channel markings.” Dominic and the Lieutenant blinked several times, while Luna nodded at Twilight’s statement.

“We could use the shard remnants to create wards, but that too would take time, as thou hath said.”

“Okay! Luna, Twilight, for a moment assume I know NOTHING about magic.” Dominic interrupted. “Now, repeat what you said in words I can understand.” Twilight and Luna looked at each other before Twilight spoke.

“This weapon wouldn’t be restricted to military service, it could be modified for police and civilian use.” She explained, Dominic and the Lieutenant ‘oh'd. “And the shard remnants would most likely give off enough energy to be used to power protective wards.” Again, both the stallion and the young man ‘oh’d.

“Now it makes sense.” Commented the lieutenant.

“It made sense the first time I said it too.” Twilight said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof. “What other weapons do you have to show us?” She asked, trying to move the evaluation along. The lieutenant moved to a different weapon on the bench, it was a steel sword with a simple handle. From the books Dominic had read, he could tell that the blade had been made for all around combat. 

“Here’s the new sword we came up with.” The lieutenant said, picking up the sword and giving it a few swings. “When we heard we were going for versatility rather than fashion we had this little number ready in a jiffy.” Twilight and Luna seemed interested in the blade, again Dominic held his stoic gaze. “Made from steel, it’s zinc coated to resist rust. The blade can get through standard armor easy enough, might be a bit difficult when it comes to the heavier mails though.” Dominic took the sword, it had a good balance as he gave it a few swings of his own. 

“Feels alright, but I’m no expert on this.” He said, turning to Luna. “You know anything about swords?”

“Yes, we do.” Replied the lunar diarch, Dominic gave her the sword. She held it in her magic for a moment before holding it in her hoof. What followed was a dance of death that could only be viewed as beautiful. It was as if Luna and the blade were a pair of dancing partners, elegantly performing for a roaring crowd. She stopped moving the blade and looked at Dominic with a smile. “This sword is most excellent.”

“Okay…” Dominic said, slightly stunned. He then looked at the lieutenant. “Well then, anything else we should see?” The stallion shook his head.

“Not yet, but we will soon. Some new plans came in from a town out west.” He said, taking the blade and placing back on the workbench with the other weapon. “It’s a big one, but I think we can make it work.”

“Good, look forward to it.” Dominic said, looking at the clock on the wall. The evaluation had barely taken an hour. “What about you, anything else you want to see?” He asked Luna and Twilight.

“Not really.” Twilight said, getting a nod from Luna. “We can get going, I guess.”

“Alright. Let’s go.” Dominic adjusted his helmet and shotgun strap, then gestured for the princesses to go ahead. He was behind them when he felt a tap on his side, the young man turned to see the lieutenant. “Yeah?” He asked.

“Word of advice, take the back alleys to the castle. The ‘noble’ lynch mobs won’t want to get dirty.” We his answer, he then trotted off to inspect more things. Dominic shrugged and caught up with the princesses, when they exited the armory they could hear the angry shouts of the crowd from beyond the wall. Above, the sky was thick with circling pegasi. They hurled slurs and insults to the point where they would make a sailor blush. The young man flipped the safety off his shotgun, lagging behind as the three approached the gate to the outside. It looked like there were hundreds of angry ponies, all there to berate Dominic.

“God damn…” The man muttered, feeling the heat of the sun begin to take affect. “You’d think in this heat they’d all go home.”

“We think that’s what our sister had planned on.” Luna commented as they gate slowly slid open. “These ponies know not how offensive they are.” They stepped out the gate, immediately the shouting intensified. A few rocks landed short of the group. Dominic instinctively stepped in front of the princesses, his finger poised over the trigger of his shotgun.

“This is insane.” He growled. “Let’s move, fast. You three!” He shouted at a group of guards that were standing by the gate. “On me, guard the princesses!” They looked at him like he was crazy, but when a rock fell inches from Luna, they moved. “Luna, Twi, stay in the center.” He said to them, ignoring a rock that pinged off his helmet. The princesses didn’t feel inclined to argue, casting spells to add protection to themselves. What unnerved them the most though, was Dominic’s actions. They both recognized the behavior, barely. They had seen it once, in his nightmare many months ago. “Let’s go.” They began the tedious trip back to the castle.

“How can they be this hateful?” Twilight thought out loud, Dominic didn’t reply. His gaze was narrowed on the crowd, all of them shouted slurs. A unicorn ignited his horn and raised a rock, he dropped it seconds later when he was face to face with a shotgun barrel. They continued to move, more guards began to join the protective detail around the group.

“This is some bullshit.” Commented one of the guards, he got a grunt of affirmation from his comrades. They walked in quietly for the next ten minutes, only speaking when an order was being given. The sea of angry ponies never seemed to end, even as the castle came into view. Outside, six chariots acted as barricades. What looked like a battalion of guards were cordoning off the area, marching with shield walls and pushing the ponies back.

“We don’t get there fast we could have a citywide riot on our hands.” Dominic commented, scanning the crowd for any more threats. “Twilight, Luna, teleport ahead.” He ordered the alicorns, then looked at the guards. “You guys, I wouldn’t mind if you stuck with me.”

“Yes, sir!” They replied, even though he wasn’t a superior officer. They felt he deserved respect, they had heard of the hell he had faced. Luna and Twilight were reluctant.

“Dominic-” Luna began.

“If this goes to hell, I don’t want you in the crossfire.” Dominic said sternly. “Now go!” The alicorns looked at each other and sighed. Then flashed out of sight. “This is where shit gets real!” The ponies that were on the streets noticed a distinct lack of princesses, and only the creature that had openly stated a hatred of Celestia. Without the alicorns, he was vulnerable. The ping of metal signaled open season as a rock impacted Dominic’s helmet. “This is gonna hurt.” The man muttered. “BOOK IT!” He and the guards began sprinting towards the castle, cringing as debris slammed into them. An angry mob of ponies descended upon them, Dominic was in a tight spot. He didn’t want to kill any of them, it would only worsen things, but at the same time he didn’t feel like dying either.

Things didn’t get much better as they got closer to the castle, the more fanatical ponies began to assault them. There was a cry of pain from Dominic’s right, he stopped and saw one of the guards fall. His leg was twisted, he couldn’t move. A vision of the horde flashed through Dominic’s mind, the monsters would rip the guard apart if he didn’t help him. The young man charged towards the fallen guard, decking several ponies and bashing several others with the butt of his shotgun before grabbing the guard and flinging him over his shoulder. The mob of ponies were shouting, screaming, throwing rocks like never before. Dominic gritted his teeth and pushed onwards, he could see the gleaming shield wall ahead of him.

“Come on… Come on!” He spat, pushing onwards, grunting under the weight of the guards armor.

“I’ll be fine! Drop me!” The guard shouted, Dominic shook his head.

“NO ONE GET’S LEFT BEHIND.” He shouted, hip checking a unicorn out of his way. The shield wall was closer now, he could practically touch it. Thrown objects clattered against it, they also began to hit Dominic in the back. A rock smashed his nose, and blood began to trickle down his face, but he was so close. When he managed to get within a few feet of it he used as much strength as possible to hurl the wounded guard over the shield wall. Dominic could see Luna on the other side, she was holding a hoof over her mouth at the sight of the bleeding human.

“MEDIC!” Shouted a guard on the other side, Dominic smiled knowing the guard was safe. Then something struck him in the back of the head, extremely hard. The helmet had shifted, leaving him open for attack. Princess Luna watched in horror as Dominic staggered for a moment before collapsing forwards onto the guards shield walls. She also stared at the stallion who had delivered the blow, her blood boiled as she saw the smug grin.

“WE NEED A DOCTOR! GET HIM TO THE INFIRMARY!” A male voice shouted. Everything around him was fuzzy, the light, the noise, everything. The ground was hot from the sun, it burned his face as he laid there. Something began to grab at him. Dominic feared for his life, he reached for his revolver and took aim at what he thought was attacking him. “HOLY FUCK! CALM DOWN!” Dominic felt his weapon knocked from his grasp. “Stabilize his neck, lift him onto the stretcher on three. One. Two. Three. Lift.” Dominic groaned as he was picked up, something was clamped around his neck. “GO! GO!”

Dominic was moving, he stared at the sights around him.

“Break out the stun spells, begin pushing the cordon out to thirteen blocks…” Another voice ordered.

“ATTENTION CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT! DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY OR SUFFER PROSECUTION!” The voice was mechanical and authoritative.

“Princess, calm down!”

“LET US SEE HIM!” That voice was familiar, Dominic’s fuzzy vision was filled with a dark blue shape. “Dominic, Dominic can thou hear us?” Something wet dropped on his face. “Dominic…”

“S’okay… Maria… I’m okay…” Dominic muttered. Her name was Maria, right? Katy? She was his friend, right? Or was she his sister? He couldn’t remember.

“Prince Blueblood, you are under arrest for assaulting a foreign dignitary and instigating a riot. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” Dominic tried to move his head to see what was happening, but it was caught by something. Everything began to haze over, darkness began to creep up on the corners of his vision.

“Dominic, stay awake! Thou needeth to stay awake!” The blue blob shouted, Dominic blinked for several moments. He was tired. A few seconds wouldn’t matter. Would it? Just to rest his eyes?

“Sleepy…” Dominic sighed out, he was shaken by the blue blob.

“STAY AWAKE!”

“Stop shaking him, we don’t know what will happen!” Dominic blinked a final time before closing his eyes.

“Dominic…”

> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside the castle, guards struggled to control the ever brewing hostility. It was a powder keg that could easily escalate into full on anarchy. Reservists were being called to active duty and flown to the city to help contain the growing amount of protestors. Rumors that even Shining Armor was being called in were circulating, false as they may have been. The nation watched nervously, waiting for something to happen. All of it had been caused by one creature, an alien who disliked their princess for wronging him. An alien, who at the moment, was unconscious in the castle infirmary.

Luna looked over Dominic’s unmoving form, holding back tears and silently begging fate to help him recover. His weapons had been sealed in her room, but she had insisted his clothes remain in the room. She knew if- no WHEN he woke up, he wouldn’t appreciate being in only a hospital gown. The doctors barely knew anything about his anatomy, and had been working with their knowledge of minotaur anatomy instead. From that knowledge, they were quite impressed with his durability. Blueblood had hit Dominic with enough force to crush a minotaur skull into powder, yet he was still alive. Unconscious, but alive.

The lunar princess didn’t understand why she had reacted the way she did, crying was not something she did on a regular basis. So why did she cry now? She had seen many of her friends die in the past, that was one of the curses of being eternal. Some had been killed, others had grown old, but she hadn’t cried for centuries. Could it be that he had been one of her best friends since her return, or was it because he was devoted to her. Not in a romantic sense, but to a point where he was willing to kill for her. To die for her. 

Perhaps it was seeing all the wires and tubes hooked into his body, his chest slowly rising and falling. Occasionally his hand would twitch, clenching into a fist. It was normally accompanied by panicked breathing and whimpers. Once or twice, she made out a name. When he had been struck, he had called her by that name. Was that why she was crying? He said it with a strange calmness, as if comforting someone. Despite the fact that it was actually him in need of medical care.

“Dominic.” Luna said, placing her hoof near his hand. “Please, get better.” Her voice cracked. She yelped as she felt his fingers grab onto her, but didn’t pull away. His grip tightened as he was hit with another wave of nightmares. A few tears slid down her cheeks when she heard the whimpers. She figured out her reason for crying as her eyes scanned over his face. He was essentially a boy, a teenager who had been on the cusp of adulthood. Yet, he looked so old.

“Princess?” Asked a voice from the door, Luna didn’t look to see who it was.

“Yes, nurse Namaste?” She asked.

“I heard  a spike in his heart rate, I assume he’s having another nightmare?” Luna nodded. “Alright then, let someone know if you need anything.” Luna heard the door close, not once taking her eyes off of her friend.

“N-No…” He grunted, shifting a bit. “S-Stay away  from her…” Luna hung her head and draped her wing over him. It was becoming increasingly difficult to not interfere, each time he cried out it was like a knife plunging into her heart. To think, hours ago he was walking beside her, and now… Anger. Anger was the new emotion that came to her mind. Unruly, unbridled, unadulterated, raging fury. He hadn’t done anything wrong, if anything he had tried to help, and the ponies of the city had the gall to assault him, accost him, slander his name, spit on him, treat him like a dog!

Luna clenched her eyes shut, trying to curb her emotion.

“H-Help…” Rasped the unconscious man, his voice pleading with anyone that would listen within his mind. Luna stood up, her muscles tense with anger. She was ready to go out into the city and unleash an onslaught of devastation, there was one problem however. Dominic’s grip. She tugged her hoof, but his fingers were wrapped tightly around it. “N-No… N-NO!” Luna let out a yell and leaned on to the bed sobbing, she could hold the tears back no longer. Seeing the terror on his face was devastating, all she could do was comfort him. She put her head on Dominic’s chest, hearing his heart beat gave her some calmness.

“It’s okay…” She said, hoping her words reached him in his subconscious. “It’s okay… You’re safe…” All her anger dissipated. Yelling and shouting wouldn’t help him heal, it would only fuel the anger of the crowd. Luna felt Dominic shaking, his grip on her hoof was tighter than ever. Sweat was starting to make itself known. “Shhh, shhh, shhh…” Luna wiped her eyes on the sheet. “I’m here, I’ve got you.” Luna felt sleep begin its march against her. The alicorn leaned back into the seat next to the bed. She closed her eyes for a moment and fell into a deep slumber, Dominic’s hand still clutched her hoof.

[♦]

The dungeon of Canterlot was rarely used for anyone other than a petty thief or two, it was almost unheard of to have a member of nobility within its walls, and even more rare to have them as one of the inmates. Such was the case with a white unicorn stallion, he was being tended to by several Lunar guards. His face was bruised, and almost every inch of his body ached.

“You ugly mother fucker.” Hissed one of the thestrals, round house kicking the stallion in the head. Teeth and spit went flying across the room. “You think it’s funny to fuck with someone's head? How do you like it mother fucker?!”

“Don’t punish him too much.” Said the officer of the group. “After all, I hear Celestia is going to let his victim choose what happens.” Blueblood shuddered at the devilish grins that spread across the guards faces. “What do you think Globe an’ Anchor’s gonna do to the stallion who didn’t have the balls to attack him face to face?”

“I don’t know sir…” Said a female thestral, spitting on the floor. “I hear he has a weapon powerful enough to blow the head off of a manticore, one shot and bam!” She slapped Blueblood across the face with the back of her hoof. “You’re dead.”

“Maybe he’ll take that horn of his.” Said a more cryptic guard in the darkest corner. “Hear tell that back on his world it granted immortality.” Blueblood shivered at the thought. “But, it only works if the unicorns alive.”

“You’re all wrong.” Said a passing solar guard, smiling smugly as he looked at Blueblood. “My money’s on him getting a good old fashioned hanging.” He continued on his rounds, smiling even wider as one of the thestrals kicked Blueblood.

“Oh! Here’s a good one.” Said the female thestral with a cheer. “Globe an’ Anchor got pulled into our world by a spell, right? And, I heard through the grapevine that his world isn’t the friendliest of places. What if they send this fucktard there and let him rot?” The other thestrals shrugged, save for one who had sat silently by the cell door. The officer looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What about you? Wadda you think should happen to him?”
> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Darkness. Darkness surrounded Dominic. He could feel the inky emptiness at his very center, no matter how hard he tried to find the light. Only black nothingness. In the distance, a pair of laughs pierced the silence. One was light whimsical and airy, while the other was a deep baritone. Each passing moment felt like an eternity.

Dominic closed his eyes, when he opened them the world had transformed. He was sitting on the steps outside the couch in his friend’s living room with a raven haired girl sitting next to him. Together they were settling in to watch a movie, as they often did on mondays. They leaned against each other in a completely platonic manner, watching the opening credits to ‘Blazing Saddles’ appear on the screen. The girl, who was almost the same age as Dominic, hummed the theme. Dominic chuckled and looked at her.

“Don’t judge me, I love this song!” The girl said.

“Maria, you love every song.” Dominic replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Nuh uh! I dislike some songs!”

“Name five, not including blood on the dance floor or rap.” Dominic said flatly, looking at his friend for a moment. Maria pursed her lips in thought.

“Damn it!” She finally muttered, Dominic let out a laugh. Though he passed it off as laughing at the movie, watching as the cowboys on the screen began to sing ‘The camp town ladies’. Maria was quiet for a few moments, shifting her weight and leaning her head on Dominic’s shoulder. The young man looked at her with his eyes, not turning his head in the slightest.

“Maria?” Dominic asked, the girl hummed in response. “What are you doing?” He got a reply when she brushed her leg up against his. “M-Maria…” Suddenly the girl burst out laughing, she leaned away from Dominic and pointed at him.

“You should have seen the look on your face!” She said. “You looked like an altar boy!” Dominic picked up a pillow and threw it at her. “Fine! Fine! No priest jokes!” Dominic frowned.

“Let’s just watch the movie.” He muttered, turning his attention back to the movie.

“You need to lighten up, it’s not like the world going to end if you relax for a few hours!” Maria said, leaning over and patting Dominic on the shoulder. The young man nodded.

“Yeah… Right.” He said, then stood up. “I’m gonna grab a drink, want anything?” Maria shook her head, and instead settled in to watch the movie. Dominic walked towards the kitchen and paused, he cast a glance back at the girl on the couch and sighed. Then continued to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of soda, then walked to the window over the sink and stared out at the countryside. “She’s right…” He mumbled. “The world won’t end if I relaxed a bit”

Dominic closed his eyes and let out a pent up breath. The air soured into an acrid mix of chemical smoke and cordite. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the charred remains of the kitchen. Small fires blazed in some spots, illuminating the night that had settled on the area. He looked down at the floor, noting a small object. He leaned down and brushed some of the ashes off, revealing a charred soda can.

“Dominic.” A voice said behind him. He turned around, recognizing the voice as Maria’s. His eyes widened as he saw a burned young woman, her face was a visage of scars. He took a step back, his hand reaching for his revolver. “Dominic. Why didn’t you save me?” Dominic closed his eyes again.

“DOMINIC!” Maria screamed as Dominic kicked the door to her house in, he didn’t have much time before the infected arrived. His bandana helped block some of the smoke, but he still found it hard to breath.

“MARIA! WHERE ARE YOU!” Dominic shouted, looking around the burning home nervously.

“MY ROOM! HURRY!” Dominic started towards the door to her room, but out of nowhere he was attacked. An infected monster rushed at him, burning and giving off a pungent odor of death. It tried to bite Dominic, but he shoved it into a particularly large ball of fire. It screamed, Dominic didn’t notice though as he walked down a smoke and fire filled hallway. The house above him creaked and groaned. “DOMINIC *cough cough* I CAN’T BREATHE!”

“I’m coming! Don’t worry!” Dominic shouted, before he reached her a flaming bema came down in front of it. “Fuck!” He shouted, he couldn't move it. “Maria! Can you get out of your room! The door’s blocked!”

“No! No…” Maria trailed off. “Dominic. I can’t get out.” Dominic felt his eyes water, the house groaned even louder. “Dominic! I don’t want to die!” He couldn’t let that happen. Biting his lip he moved to the flaming beam and grabbed it. His gloves shielded some of the heat, but it hurt him greatly. He lifted it and threw it aside, biting back the pain. Dominic booted the door open, what he saw made his heart sink. Maria lay on the ground, passed out. He rushed to her side, then picked her up in a firemans carry.

“You’re gonna be okay.” He said, moving back to the door. “I promise! You’ll be okay! You’ll get to a shelter! You’ll meet a nice guy and have a wonderful life and tell all your kids about their Uncle Dom. I WON’T LET YOU DIE!” He trudged through the house, towards the door. Feeling the smoke start to effect him.

“I met a nice guy…” Maria mumbled, Dominic needed to keep her talking. If she was talking she was alive.

“Yeah!?” Dominic said, trying to hide the crack in his voice. “Who?” He was feet away from the door.

“Y-You…” Dominic pushed himself towards the door, praying above all else for Maria to survive. “I… I should have told you sooner, but I’m glad I said it before I…”

“Don’t you talk like that!” Dominic said, a few tears slid down his cheek. Only a few more feet. The house groaned, the heat was nearly unbearable. “Maria! Say something!” There was no reply. He made it. The sun had never felt so good. Dominic staggered out onto the front lawn and set his friend down. She wasn’t moving. He took off his helmet and set it aside, adreniline coursed through his veins. He opened her mouth and pinched her nose shut, then breathed into her. Then the young man began chest compressions. “Come on, Maria! Fight! WAKE UP!” He shouted, counting the compressions before administering another breath. “PLEASE! PLEASE! WAKE UP!” The house behind him collapsed, but he didn’t stop even as flaming debris was scattered around him.

In the distance he could hear the infected, they would be upon him soon. Still he continued the compressions.

“Please! PLEASE! DON’T LEAVE ME!” Tears streamed down his face, she couldn’t be dead. She had to live. He had promised her! “PLEASE! PLEASE! GOD PLEASE! SAVE HER! DON’T LET HER DIE!” The infected were closer than ever, Dominic pulled his revolver from its holster and fired into them. Picking them off. “STAY AWAY FROM HER!” He roared. “I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HER! YOU HEAR ME! YOU WON’T TAKE HER FROM ME!” Dominic looked down at his friend, her eyes opened for a brief moment. Before he could say anything, she mouthed a single word.

“Go…” Dominic looked at her, then the infected. If he didn’t leave, he would die as well. The young man stood up and pulled the hammer back. Then aimed the weapon at his friend’s head. He wouldn’t let them turn her.

“I’m sorry…” He said, pulling the trigger. Dominic stood for a moment, he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw the burned visage standing before him. “I’M SORRY!” He shouted at it. “I’M SORRY I COULDN’T SAVE YOU!” It just looked at him silently. “PLEASE!” He said, faling to his knees. “PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” It stood wordlessly, he reached out for its hand, but it backed away. Everything faded away, Dominic looked at his hand. A small pile of ashes sat in his burned palm. “Maria…” He said, hanging his head. “Why?” He looked up into the nothingness that surrounded him. “WHY!? WHY DID YOU TAKE HER FROM ME YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH! WHAT KIND OF GOD ARE YOU! HUH!?!” He rose to his feet. “WHAT SICK FUCK LET’S THIS HAPPEN! HOW IS THIS PART OF YOUR PLAN!” There was only silence. “ANSWER ME DAMN IT! ANSWER ME!” Dominic sat down, the floor of the nothingness was cold.

“I know I didn’t do everything right, but, why?” He took his revolver in his other hand and looked at it, one shot and it would be over. Dominic pulled the hammer back and placed the barrel against his temple. Then closed his eyes. “Why?” Dominic pulled the trigger.

[♦]

Dominic opened his eyes, groaning as pain ripped through his head. He felt his hand clenched around something soft, and looked to see Luna standing there with a box of tissues. He noticed his face was wet with tears. Then the memory of the dream hit him. Luna looked at him, Dominic was speechless but she could see the pain. She nelt down and nuzzled him, Dominic wrapped his arms around the midnight alicorn and cried into her neck.

“Shh… Shh…” Luna said softly. “There is nothing to fear anymore.” Dominic looked past her and saw two alicorns sitting in the far corner of the room. Twilight was staring at him with a numb expression, as if she had seen his dream first hand. Celestia, however, was hanging her head. “You’re safe, now Dominic. I will let NOTHING harm you again.” Luna murmured. Dominic returned to embracing the alicorn, trying to push the memory back into the deepest, darkest recess of his mind. He had never experienced a dream of such strength, never had he awoken with tears streaming down his face, never had he felt heart wrenching despair, or burning pain.

The door to the hospital room opened and a one eyed guard walked in, quietly looking at the young man before moving to Celestia.

“Princess.” He said. “The elites are in place, all we need is the order and we can put an end to this.” Celestia sighed, the protests were out of control. She took a moment to look at her sister and her student.

“Twilight.” The lavender mare looked at her. “Let it be known, that today marks the first issuance of the Alicorn Protocol in one thousand years.” Twilight’s eyes bulged for a moment, and she nodded. “Captain Shield Dasher, as Princess of Equestria I authorize you to implement the Alicorn Protocol, on the condition that lethal force only be applied in extreme circumstances.”

“Yes, your highness.” The guard said solemnly turning and walking out the door. Dominic looked at Celestia and then Luna.

“Alicorn Protocol?” He asked, wiping his eyes and composing himself. Luna sighed and sat back on her haunches.

“You would phrase it as ‘Martial Law’.”
> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hundreds of guards stood shoulder to shoulder, wearing black chainmail and helmets. The words ‘MILITARY POLICE’ were emblazoned in strac white lettering on their chest plates. Their faces were protected by black gasmasks, and they would defend themselves with their round crystal shields. The unicorns were drinking augmentation potions, giving them the magic boost they would need to fire a large amount of stun spells.

In the sky, grey chariots circled above the rioting mob. Acting as landing platforms for the pegasi that were clearing the sky of civilians and gathering clouds to feed the firehoses with. Earth ponies that weren’t getting ready to charge the protesters with batons were rolling large carriages out of the hangars that sat next to the castle. The carriages had been armored on the front and sides, with ports for unicorns and fire hoses. They were crewed by any regular guards that could be spared before they went out onto the line.

Standing in a makeshift tower, a single stallion looked through a telescope at the rioters with a scowl. Any moment now, and he would be given the go ahead to break them up once and for all. His attention was drawn to a small puff of smoke that wafted in through the window. It formed a ball of energy before turning into a scroll. Two words were written very clearly on the parchment.

“Sol Vult.” He said aloud, his comrades heard him and fired a flare into the sky. It was blue, indicating that the guards were only supposed to kill if necessary. That was fine with the Elites, as long as they got to beat the rowdy protesters back. Simultaneously the line of black clad figures began advancing on the crowd. They twirled their batons, creating a loud and intimidating wind. From the chariots in the sky, and the carriages on the ground, canisters of tear gas was magically hurled into the midst of everything.

There were loud screams from mares and foals that had come to observe the spectacle, coughing as the gas began to take effect. The guards smashed into the line of protester, their batons making contact with the heads of anyone foolish enough to be standing there. The carriages began advancing with the line, stun spells and jets of water slamming into the protesters. Some of the more militant ones chose to fight back, hurling molotov cocktails at the rolling fortresses. The bottles broke on the hulls, but were extinguished by one of the ponies on a fire hose. Elite sharpshooters in the chariots above took the militants down with tranquilizing crossbow bolts.

At the edge of the city, the gates were closing. Sealing the ponies in, and keeping the rest of the world out. Some barely made it through the gates before they were sealed, loudspeakers on the walls ordered everyone to their homes. Any of the pegasi who tried to fly over the wall were tackled and arrested, and magic wards blocked teleportation.

As the carriages rolled out from the castle, the militants began to become desperate. They were about to be smashed against the walls of the city that they thought they were protecting. There was no hope for them to win, and soon the elites beat the last of the rioters into submission.

[♦]

The hospital room was dark, the only light came from the hallway and Luna’s mane. Celestia had departed to fill out several papers and decrees, as well as prepare a press conference. She had come to the decision that the public needed to be made aware of what had really happened. If only to change the target of their hatred. Dominic was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. He took deep breaths as he tried to repress the dream back into his mind, he had come so far in the past months. He wouldn’t go back to brooding all the time because of one nightmare, no matter how bad it was. Cowards did that, and he was no coward. Twilight was mulling over many polls with the small amount of light.

Reports from around the country gave mixed messages, ponies in the urban centers were outraged by the riots but did not find them unfounded. Rural areas were more prone to being accepting, odd as it may have been. That was good information to have, as it would help in placing Dominic.

He couldn’t stay in Canterlot, not with the possibility of another riot. Luna was still working out how her leave of absence would take place. It would have to be several months after Dominic’s move, meaning he would be where ever they put him with only the guards to keep him company. She was certain Dominic could handle it, but she feared for the guards, and secretly herself.

“What’s the most accepting place out there?” Dominic asked, shifting to look at Twilight. His voice was slightly raspy, so he took a sip of water from a cup on his bedside table. His lavender friend shrugged.

“It’ll take time to sort through them all, but at the moment it’s looking like this small town in the the Unicorn Range.” Twilight replied, sifting through some papers. Dominic nodded, then went back to looking at the ceiling. For several minutes silence reigned, Luna and Twilight twiddled their hooves. Twilight was having trouble staying strong, she knew that it was her fault that it had happened. If she hadn’t pestered him, if she hadn’t left him, he wouldn’t have been hurt. She lowered her head to hide the tears that had started to form. Dominic noted the movement and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Twi, what’s wrong?” He asked, Twilight sniffed for a moment.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight replied, Dominic was confused. What did she have to apologize for?

“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have made you go out, I should have known what was going to happen.” Twilight looked at Dominic with teary eyes.

“Thou cannot blame thyself!” Interjected Luna, getting the lavender mare’s attention. “Thou couldst no hath known what perils would be faced.” Twilight shook her head, then trotted over to Dominic. He sat up in the bed, feeling an ache in his bandaged cranium.

“Dominic…” Twilight hugged the young man’s hand. “Can you forgive me?” Dominic looked at her, then let a breath out through his nose.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Twilight. You’re like a sister to me, and I always forgive my family.” He patted her on the head, Twilight smiled and backed away from him. Dominic couldn’t stand the look of sadness on his two friend’s faces. There would have to be a reckoning for this. “Come on Twi, relax. Why don’t you go get something from the cafeteria, ah? I’m starving.”

“O-Okay, Dominic.” Twilight said shakily, her friend smiled at her and she quickly left the room. Luna looked at Dominic, when the door closed his smile faded. It was replaced by a vengeful scowl, one Luna hadn’t wished to see for a long time.

“Do we have the son of a bitch?” He asked, looking at Luna with ice cold eyes. Luna nodded slowly. “Who is it?”

“I’m not sure you want to-”

“JUST GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER!” Dominic shouted, causing Luna to flinch. He took a deep breath, pinching his nose. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It is alright, thou art in a strange situation.” Replied the lunar diarch, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Prince Blueblood is the one.” Dominic closed his eyes and let out a hateful sigh. “He’s been incarcerated for the past few days, and Equestrian law dictates that since he’s a member of the royal family he doesn’t have to go through the normal courts.”

“So you're letting him go.” Dominic deadpanned, Luna shook her head. “Then what’s going to happen to him.” The princess shrugged.

“Our sister hath left that decision up to you.” Dominic blinked, bringing a hand to his head and rubbing his already sore temples. “We were hoping that thou would hath been given time to rest before we told thee.” Dominic was tempted to hop out of the bed and hunt the son of a bitch down. He felt an unending urge to castrate the prince and hang his bleeding, still alive body on a pike. He wanted to paint a wall red with the stallion’s grey matter,then feed his corpse to rabid dogs.

“How long do I have to answer?” Asked Dominic.

“As long as thou desire.”

“Good, we’ll settle that business before I leave for wherever this town is.” The young man sighed and slid his legs over the edge of the bed. “For starters though, I want his assets. All of them. Bank accounts, properties, even the spare change in between his couch cushions.” Luna nodded, even though she feared what would happen when Dominic came to his final decision. “I want the funds placed in an account only I and my affiliates can access.”

“Affiliates?”

“Twilight and you.” Luna again nodded, understanding what he meant. “You guys, you’re the only real friends I’ve got now.” The human stood from the bed, his feet met the cold hospital floor and he let out a slight grunt.

“What art thou doing?” inquired Luna, the human walked to where his clothes had been placed. Dominic dressed slightly slower than usual, and Luna blushed when she saw that the hospital staff had neglected to leave his boxers on.  She looked away until she heard the tell tale sound of her friend zipping his pants. Dominic pulled his shirt over his head and picked up his jacket. He paused, taking a look at the leather with interest. He squared his jaw and let out a breath through his nostrils. Then closed his eyes and hung his head. “What is the matter?”

“Nothing, just thinking.” Dominic placed the jacket down, patting the patch on the shoulder with his hand. Luna watched curiously, Dominic had never looked at the clothing like that. The young man walked to the chair across from Luna and sat down, interlocking his fingers and hanging his head for a moment. The lunar princess was going to say something when he looked her dead in the eyes. “Luna, I trust you implicitly. You’ve been my friend for as long as I’ve been here.”

“We thank thee, Dominic. We art happy to be considered a friend.” Luna replied, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Dominic’s eyes seemed different, colder and darker, more calculating. “What is it that troubles thou? Let us help thee.”

“What troubles me the most…” Dominic paused, looking around for a moment. There was no one else in the room, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “What troubles me the most is this move you’re sending me on.”

“We realize that it is difficult, but it is for thine own good.”

“I can handle the move, I did it a lot back in the day.” Dominic explained. “What I’m worried about is the guards. Can they be trusted?” Luna opened her mouth to speak, then thought about it. Could they be trusted? Sure, they were loyal to her and her sister, but even some of the guards had to have SOME negative feelings towards Dominic. Could she risk one of them informing the media, or assassinating him.

“We will hoof pick your guards.” Luna said, Dominic nodded and leaned back in his seat. “What else concerns thou?”

“Twilight.” Dominic said, looking at the door.  “She’s just a kid, I don’t want her getting all caught up in this. I can’t let another friend suffer on my behalf.” Luna smiled sadly.

“We shall see to it that she be left out of the papers.”

“Excellent.” Dominic sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, Luna watched him breathe slowly for a few minutes. “Just ask already.” He didn’t look at her, he didn’t have to.

“Hmmm?”

“You’re contemplating on asking me what happened. In the dream, I mean.” Dominic looked at her this time, when Luna nodded he sighed and stood up from the chair. Then walked to the door and flipped the lock shut, the princess eyed him nervously. “This story starts with a little backstory. From the age of three, I had the best friend a guy could ask for. Maria Valova.” The man cast a look to the jacket on the table.

“Thou referred to us with that name.”

“I know…” Dominic hung his head for a moment. “I remember it all started when my mom started taking yoga classes, she met Maria’s mom and set up a play date.” He paused for a moment. “So we went to this park in our neighborhood, ended up loving every moment of it.” Dominic sniffled for a moment, he grabbed a tissue from the box that Luna had been holding and blew his nose.

“So began the lifelong friendship, we went to school together, played together, helped each other…” Dominic clenched his fists for a moment. “There was this one mother fucker that she dated, a real sports freak. The bastard hit her once.” Luna heard the knuckles in Dominic’s hand pop. “So I confronted him.” Dominic let out a dark chuckle. “Maria ended up driving me to the hospital.” He lifted his shirt and gestured to one of his scars. “Coward pulled a knife on me, thirteen stitches. Nothing too bad.”

“We take it that something happened?” Luna asked, Dominic sighed and nodded.

“A day after I lost my parents, I had been trekking to her house. I knew if anyone would be left in town, it would be her and her parents. They had enough guns to stock an armory, even if they had left I would have been able to hunker down there.” Dominic’s voice became cold. “And then I smelled it.”

“Smelled what?”

“The cordite, the sulfur… There was no way they could have used that much ammunition, coupled with the smell of burning wood.” Luna slowly began to realize what had happened. “I ran as fast as I could, it felt like it took forever and when I got there…” Dominic wiped a few tears from his eyes. “I kicked the door in and ran to save her, if I hadn’t been so slow, if I hadn’t been such a-”

“Dominic, stop.” Luna said firmly. “Thou art not at fault, never believe that. Thou didst not light the flames.” Dominic didn’t hear her though, as he lost his resolve.

“She trusted me to save her… She trusted me to save her, and I… I… She was alive! I could have taken her with me! But I… Oh god.” Dominic put his head into his hands, Luna stood from her seat and trotted over to him. Wrapping him in another hug. “I shot her, just like the rest…” For several minutes they sat, before there was a knock on the door. Dominic swiftly collected himself, wiping his eyes and putting on a brave face. Twilight entered with several trays of food in her magic, looking slightly worried when she saw her friend’s red eyes.

“Dominic, are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Lied the man, wiping his eyes again. “Just something got in my eyes.” Twilight looked skeptical, and Luna had a pokerface that rivaled her sister’s. “What’d ya get?”

“Just some salad, it’s all they had available at the moment.”

“Great, let’s dig in.” Dominic and the two alicorns began to eat, making idle conversation and trying to avoid the elephant in the room. Hours passed, and small talk dwindled. Eventually, Twilight retired to her room. Leaving Luna and Dominic by themselves. The young man prepared himself for sleep, fearing the coming nightmares. Luna tucked him in, smiling slightly. Dominic stared at her for a moment. She held the key to his salvation, she could stave off the dreams. On that day, Dominic could tell that was something he desperately needed. When she started to turn away, Dominic grabbed her hoof.

“Yes?”

“Luna can you…” Dominic started, he was unsure. Ultimately though, he knew it had to be done. “Can you help me sleep?” His friend smiled and nodded.

“Of course, Dominic.” She charged her horn with dream magic. “Close thine eyes, and think of something that brings great joy to thee. Leave the rest to us.” Dominic sighed and closed his eyes, he thought of a memory. He and Maria were sitting on a dock by a small lake, completely barefoot. The sun was shining in the sky, and their shoes sat on the dock behind them. In this thought, though. He and Maria were just as they had always been, and that brought joy to Dominic’s heart. 

Before the darkness could roll in and destroy the precious thought, Luna lowered her horn to Dominic’s head. The thought became a dream. Luna felt ultimate power in Dominic’s mind, his imagination was so vast that she could conjure any number of things to help fend off the nightmares. And conjure she did. She lead armies of marines, robots, tanks and helicopters to fight the dark thoughts. Meanwhile,for the first time in a long time, Dominic slept in peace.

[♦]

The Next Morning…

“The actions exhibited by the ponies of this city are abhorrent, unfounded, and inexcusable.” Celestia decreed from the balcony of the castle, half of the courtyard below was filled with ponies who had been arrested, while the other half was filled with citizens who had evaded the elite guards or hid inside their homes. “This was a possibility for us to display the best of Equestria to a being that has suffered far greater than any pony to date. But, rather than aid him in healing, and understanding that his views may be different, we shunned and slandered him.”

The crowd was silent, hanging their heads in collective shame.

“I am shocked that during the two months that this grave injustice reigned over us, not a single pony asked for his side of the story. Not that it should have mattered, as ALL living things have the right to express their beliefs.” Celestia sighed. “The riots have caused thousands of bits in damage, the overflow of criminals has strained our legal system, and members of the nobility attempt to kill dignitaries of other nations. The situation is unacceptable.”

“Since none of you asked, I will tell you his side of the story.” The solar princess took a deep breath, fearing the outcome of what she was about to say. “It is true that mistakes were made, errors in judgement that cannot be glossed over.” The crowd was hanging on every word. “On my orders, magically modified poison joke was slipped into the food of our human guest. This decision led to an allergic reaction, which caused the young man to hallucinate a hell that cannot begin to be quantified.” The princess looked around the courtyard, ponies were shocked. She could see the shear mortification in their eyes. “I realise, and have realised, that that course of action was wrong. I can never forgive myself for what has been done.”

“I ask, that if you still feel the need to hate, to fume and curse, to curse MY name, to hate ME. For it is I who is at fault.” The crowd didn’t budge, it did not make Celestia feel very comfortable. Now came the political part of her message. “As Princess of Equestria, I wish to formally apologize to you, my ponies. To Dominic Occisor, and to the sovereign nation of the United States of America. Especially after graciously offering to assist in the modernization of the Equestrian military. To our allies, and our comrades. Please do not let my actions reflect on Equestria as a whole. Thank you for your time.”

The crowds erupted into a chorus of shouts and angry cries. Many ponies were confused, how could their princess do something so horrid? They thought that the human had brainwashed her, or that he had replaced her, anything to cast the blame away from their beloved princess. Celestia was practically a goddess, how could she have such a breach in judgement?

From his room overlooking the courtyard, Dominic looked down at the ponies stoically. His meager belongings had been packed into several trunks. Today he wore a black suit and tie, crafted by Rarity. He hadn’t had a chance to wear it until today. He felt a bit of formality would be in order when he arrived at his the safe house. With a sigh, the man flicked his wrists, adjusting the cuffs of his white dress shirt. Dominic watched the ponies in prison uniforms start to rattle their chains, but elite guards subdued any who tried to start another uproar.

He thought back to when he would watch the show, they always seemed to have a panicked response to new things. Never had he imagined that the ponies would riot, he obviously had thought to highly of them. A mistake he would not make in the future. The ponies Canterlot were racist, bigoted creatures. Hopefully the inhabitants of the new town would be different.

Dominic turned away from the window and spotted the last item to be packed, his flag. It had been folded into a triangle and set atop his clothes, the trunk was waiting to be closed. The United States was a sovereign nation now, and he was its sole citizen. The most powerful American. A bittersweet title. The bandage on Dominic’s head had been removed, and only a moderate bump remained to remind him of the incident. Dominic walked to the trunk and closed it, sealing the flag within. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Dominic said, he kneeled down and locked the trunk. The door to his room was pushed open and a lunar guard stepped in.

“Mister Occisor, they’re waiting for you.” Said the Lunar Guard, who tried to hide a yawn.

“Has my benelli been secured?” Dominic asked, looking at the guard, who nodded. “Good, and the funds?”

“We have teams searching every nook and cranny of Bluebloods house for anything that could have been missed.”

“Excellent.” Dominic stood up and smoothed out his jacket. “Take me to him.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard led Dominic out of the room, several guards entered the room to retrieve the trunks. The pair walked in silence for fifteen minutes, until finally they reached the door to the dungeons. “I will tell the princesses you’ll be with them shortly.” The guard walked away, his armor clanking ever so slightly. Dominic pushed the door open and stepped inside, the dark hallway beyond it sent shivers down his spine. He shrugged them off however, striding into the darkness. Again he walked silently, listening to the sound of prisoners rattling their chains, shouting their innocence, and cursing his name. The guards in the main room looked at him with respect, then pointed down another hallway.

Dominic followed the hallway, passing cells with silent contempt building within him. Ponies shouted at him, screamed at him. He ignored them, they weren’t important. When Dominic reached the final cell, he knew what he had to do. The guards within spotted him and opened the metal door.

“Mister Occisor.” One of them said respectfully, they stepped out of the way when Dominic approached the battered and beaten prince. Blueblood looked up from the floor and saw the human, fear was present in his eyes. The man crouched down beside him, stoically looking over the bruises and cuts.

“Leave us.” Dominic said to the guards, they nodded and exited the cell. Blueblood nearly wet himself when Dominic’s eyes met his. “I could do whatever I want to you, I have that power.” Said the man darkly. “I could cover you in pitch and set you on fire, I could bash your face into the floor, I could even kill you.” Dominic grabbed the prince’s face and forced him to look into his eyes. “So many different ways of punishing traitors and fiends, so little time.”

“W-What are you going to do to me?!” Blueblood asked in a panicked voice. Dominic let out a chuckled and let go of the prince, he stood up and walked to the far edge of the cell.

“In the second world war, japanese soldiers would take captured prisoners and tie them down. They would get a mason jar, a rat, and a hammer. And they would put the rat in the jar and place it on the prisoner’s chest. Then, they’d tap the jar with the hammer and scare the rat.” Dominic paced back over to Blueblood. “The rat would try to get out through the glass, but when that failed. Well, they decided to dig down.” Dominic watched Blueblood squirm.

“Yes, the japs were crafty motherfuckers. But, not as crafty as the Romans.” Dominic knelt down by the prince again. “So you’re asking, how creative were the Romans? There was one punishment where the convicted was to be whipped till bleeding, then sewn in a sack with a dog, a rooster, a viper, and and an ape, and then thrown into the sea. Pretty neat, huh?”

“No, no you wouldn’t! It wouldn’t be right!” Blueblood pleaded.

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG!” Dominic roared, punching the prince in a particularly large bruise. “I thought I was just some mindless monster! Some freak, responsible for the problems of EVERYONE! Am I mistaken?” Blueblood groaned loudly, rubbing the injury. “You think I even made a decision to come to this world? To be ridiculed and mocked? NO! I was dragged here, pulled out of a hell you cannot possibly FATHOM!”

Dominic grabbed Blueblood’s face in a crushing grip, again he was forced to stare into the eyes of the enraged human. “I relived everything because of you, I felt it all, and I lost a bit of myself…” Dominic squeezed harder. “So I will do the same to you.” The prince closed his eyes, fearing unimaginable pain. Dominic grabbed the prince’s horn, slowly he began to bend it. Agonizing pain shot through Blueblood’s head, every second was drawn out. He began to scream, writing in Dominic’s firm grasp. Ten minutes passed before his horn finally snapped off, the pain only grew. Blueblood struggled to open his eyes, he saw Dominic standing over him with his horn clenched firmly in his grasp. If the horn remained intact, it could be reattached.

Stoically, Dominic clenched his fist. The horn shattered, along with the hopes of the prince.

“NOOOOO!” Blueblood cried, watching the fragments clatter to the floor. Dominic kicked him in the gut.

“Actually, I think you took more than just one thing from me.” Said the human before kicking the prince in the teeth. His dress shoes became stained with blood and spit, which he wiped off on the prince’s fur. Dominic knelt down next to the prince again, his cold calculating eyes glaring into Bluelblood’s soul. “Such an unfortunate thing to happen to a pony, one of your cell mates must have done this.” He feigned disgust before snapping. “Right?” Blueblood nodded quickly, fearing what would happen if he refused. “Good. Now whenever you’re eating your dinner through a straw, whenever you want to levitate something, I want you to remember this bit of advice.” Blueblood looked at him with contempt. “NEVER fuck with me again, or I’ll take more than your horn.” With one parting kick Dominic walked to the door, which the guards happily opened.

“What do you want us to do with him?”

“Cut him loose.” The guards looked at him with shocked expressions. “He’s nobody now, he’s not a prince, he’s not a millionaire, he owns no property. He’s nothing. Why waste money and a cell?” The guards nodded, looking at the ex-prince. “Drop him somewhere out of the way, far from Canterlot.”

“Yes, sir.” The guards went to take Blueblood, meanwhile Dominic began the walk out of the dungeon. He swiped a rag from a cleaning bucket and wiped off his shoe, leaving the rag where he left it. The ponies that had jeered and shouted earlier said nothing, instead backing into their cells when he passed by. He ran a hand over his head, feeling where the bump was. It ached, but felt smaller than it had before. It was probably some sort of backlash from crushing Blueblood’s horn, it had caused a small amount of discomfort when the magic discharged into his palm. The nerves probably needed to shake it off.

[♦]

Luna and Twilight stood next to a carriage, loaded with Dominic’s belongings and the guards that would accompany him. The secondary courtyard was one of the few quiet places where they could say goodbye, as it had a large enough gate to accommodate the carriage. Celestia would have also been present, but she had to deal with the backlash that was sure to come. It wasn’t everyday that she recognised a dead alien civilization as a sovereign nation, and the press was having a field day with everything she had said. Half believed what she said was honest, while the other half believed Dominic had influenced her entire confession with some sort of magic.

This was what had prompted the need to move him in the first place, why Luna and Twilight would soon be saying farewell to their friend. The door to the courtyard opened and he stepped out, adjusting his tie and giving a sad smile.

“Thank you for coming.” He said, giving them both hugs.

“We wouldn’t miss it for anything.” Twilight replied, looking up at the man. She couldn’t believe she would be saying goodbye. Even if it only was for a while, she wouldn’t be able to visit him. He had helped build her confidence as a princess. He had warped her sense of humor for the better, and even helped her develop a taste for scotch. In a way, she felt that what he had said the day before was true. She was like a sister to him, in a sense. That made it even harder for her to let go.

“We shall send letters whenever we can.” Luna proclaimed, hugging the man tightly. “Thou can count upon it.” She would miss him far more than he knew, considering how lonely she had been before his arrival. He was the only true friend she had now, aside from Twilight. She liked Twilight greatly, but there was something more to Dominic. She couldn’t place her hoof on the feeling, but she knew it was different. As she stood there hugging him, she was reminded of something else. He could take care of himself. The metal bulge in his jacket proved that. He didn’t need her to take care of him anymore, despite what she thought. He was his own man.

“I’m going to miss both of you very VERY much.” Dominic told them with a sincere voice, it cracked at the end of the sentence. “But, this is only temporary. You know that, and I know that. When we’re all together again, we’ll see this as nothing more than a… a detour.” He hugged them once more, and for several minutes they stood like that. The guards that were present but not leaving would all hug their children and wives a little tighter that night.

“I’m truly sorry to interrupt…” Said one of the guards that would be leaving. “But, we must be going.” It was noon already, if they waited any longer they wouldn’t arrive at the safe house on time. Dominic looked at his friends, sadly pulling away from them. He walked to the carriage and climbed inside. He was followed by two Lunar Guards.

“Goodbye…” He said to them.

“Goodbye, Dominic. Good luck.” Twilight said, wiping her eyes. Luna said nothing, for fear of breaking down completely. The man understood. He closed the door and the guards at the front began pulling the carriage. As the carriage pulled away, Dominic looked back at the two princesses and waved. When they were out of site, he turned to the two guards that had entered the carriage with him.

“They’ll be alright, sir. They’re strong.” One tried to reassure the man.

“I know they are…” Replied Dominic, unbuttoning his suit coat. “Doesn’t mean I don’t worry.” The guards noted the holster that held his weapon, they wouldn’t pick any fights with him anytime soon. Dominic hated leaving them behind, it felt like all the times before when he had left the bodies of loved ones behind. He stared out the window of the carriage, watching the city begin to rebuild itself. Twilight and Luna had ponies to protect them, they were safe. 

“Can’t relax anymore…” Dominic murmured to himself.
> Chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna sat in the Canterlot gardens, her head was on the shoulder of her friend Dominic as she read a few nondescript reports. The young man was leaning against a tall tree with his eyes closed, the birds sang and the flowers bloomed brightly. It was a soothing sensation for the princess, feeling that he was relaxed and content. Luna looked at him for a moment, his face wasn’t plagued by stress or emotion, he seemed so… Happy. She felt joy in her own heart for him and shifted so that she was more comfortable.

She let the hours pass by, occasionally shifting her place when she was uncomfortable. Luna then felt the tug on her senses, it was time to wake up.

[♦]

With a content sigh the lunar princess opened her eyes. Over the past week she had found her dreams shifting towards her friend, at first she was confused. What reason would she have to dream about him, unless it was a nightmare like in the beginning. But she was a master of her craft, and she quickly deciphered why she was having such dreams. She just missed her friend, that was all. There could be no other conclusion.

She stretched and a flapped her wings a few times, a soft ache made itself known in one of the joints. Most likely from sleeping on it wrong, or maybe it was just in need of a massage. She shrugged the pain off for the moment and walked to the glass doors on the right wall. Luna stepped out onto her balcony in time to see that the sun was starting to set. The lunar princess rolled her neck and groaned, she had slept too long. Quickly she ignited her horn, the connection to her moon was quick and it sent a wave of chills over her body.

The wind around her began to pick up and she closed her eyes, in her mind she pictured the most beautiful things she could think of. Flowers in a meadow, puppies and foals playing together, Dominic and her in the gardens… The last one confused her. Luna managed to keep her focus though, and with the will of all the thoughts in her head, the moon rose into a beautiful sky.

Luna opened her eyes and her mouth dropped, the night sky was lit up with more beautiful stars than she had ever seen before. Even with the light pollution from the city the stars gleamed like massive gemstones, the princess could see ponies coming out of their homes to look up at them. Even though the smoke and the tear gas was still clearing, even though many homes had been damaged, they still looked in awe.

Luna had barely any time to prepare herself to craft such a tapestry, and yet mere minutes after waking up it was above her. It was such a sight she wished she could look at it for the rest of the night, but duty called her to night court. Her sister handled the political debacles that had followed the riots during the day, and that meant all legal proceedings were shifted to her night court. Princess Luna looked to the west, seeing the lights of a small town in the Unicorn Range. She wondered if the thought about him had caused such a beautiful sky, but that would be absurd. With a sigh she left her room to carry out her nightly duties.

[♦]

Meanwhile…

The basement of the safehouse was rather large, larger than Dominic had expected. It reminded him more of a bomb shelter than anything. There were large crates of food, water, a work bench sat in the corner. The bright light given off by the magic lamps gave off a feeling of sterility, at least for the most part. It was clear that the area didn’t see much use, the numerous cobwebs stuck to Dominic’s shirt were evidence of that. Aside from that, the basement was perfect for his uses.

“I still think that you're full of crap.” Commented Rolling Thunder, one of the lunar guards that had been assigned to guard the young man. “There’s no way your club can take out a target at a distance.” In one hand was Dominic’s backpack, loaded with dozens of shotgun rounds, the other hand held his Benelli.

“Rolling, this isn’t a club.” Dominic said for the umpteenth time, he had yet to convince the guard that his shotgun was more than a blunt instrument. It was mainly to keep the stallion from staring directly down the barrel. The pair was being followed by the other guards, Dominic hadn’t really spent much time with them though. He barely knew their names. “Do you have anything you don’t want?”

“That box of canned pinto beans, no one eats them.” Said one of the guards. Dominic set his bag down and grabbed a couple cans of beans from the box. He then walked to a crate and placed the cans along the top. “I’m putting my bits on it not doing anything.”

“Me too.” Said another guard, Dominic didn’t pay them much mind. He idly hummed the theme to Team America’ as he adjusted the cans.

“I bet he’s gonna kill all those beans.” Said the lone mare of the group. Dominic walked over to the bag he had set on the floor and withdrew seven shells. The man loaded them one by one into the tube, then slid one into the breach and readied the weapon.

“Guys, stand behind me.” He said, the guards shrugged and complied. Dominic shouldered his shotgun and took aim at the cans of pinto beans, the Lunar guards watched with rapt attention. The man let out a breath and pulled the trigger, the firing pin struck the primer and milliseconds later a hail of bird shot was propelled down range. The guards covered their ears and flinched, the first can became nothing more than a mixture of twisted metal and pasted beans.

“Sweet Night Mistress…” Said the female thestral, wiping some beans off of her face. Dominic fired again and again, splattering pinto beans across the back wall of the basement. The young man was aware of the risk of ricochet, but he really didn’t care. The shells bounced when they hit the floor, sulfur and cordite filled the basement with their acrid stench. When it was empty Dominic safetied his weapon and set it on a nearby crate. Begrudgingly the other guards handed their bits to the mare.

“That was cool.” The mare said, looking at the beans. Dominic rubbed his shoulder, it’d been a while since he’d fired the weapon in such quick succession. “Hey Rolling, what was that about a club?” The mare gained a shit eating grin.

“Shut up, Errant.” Rolling Thunder muttered, wiping several stray beans from his muzzle.

“Hey, someone’s gotta clean this up.” Said the other guard, Dominic and the mare looked at eachother, then at the two skeptics. “Damn it.” Dominic packed up his weapon and the shells that he’d fired, then he and the mare ascended from the basement while two annoyed guards scrubbed the remnants of birdshot and pinto beans from every surface.

The ground floor of the safehouse was the only floor, it was a small ranch style house with scuffed wood flooring and tacky wall paper. There was a hallway that lead to the bedrooms and the bathroom, as well as the steps to the basement. Dominic and the thestral quickly grabbed some towels from the bathroom and made their  way to the sparsely decorated living room.

“So, you’re Errant?” Dominic asked after he wiped his head with his towel, some of the bean debris had gotten in his hair. The mare nodded, removing her helmet to scrub it clean. Her coat shifted to a light brown with a blazing orange mane. Her flank remained blank. She noticed that Dominic was staring, scratching his head subconsciously.

“Thestrals don’t get cutie marks.” Errant explained, causing Dominic to nod and go back to cleaning himself up. “What about humans? Do they have them?” The man shook his head.

“Nah, used to be able to get tattoos though.” He explained, using the towel to get rid of some of the cobwebs stuck to his shirt. “Then things got complicated, can’t get a lot of things anymore.” Dominic felt at home with military personnel, they knew when and when not to press an issue. He was glad that Errant didn’t inquire further about what he’d said.

“So, what’s that thing called?” Asked Errant, looking at the shotgun Dominic was wiping down.

“It’s my boomstick.” He replied, looking the weapon over a few times. He came to the conclusion that the weapon didn’t need to be cleaned. “Capable of dishing out hate and discontent at a maximum distance of fifty five yards.” The thestral eyed the firearm with greater respect than before.

“Where’d you get it?”

“That’s a can of worms I don’t intend to open.” The man replied briskly, tossing the now soiled towel over his shoulder and into a pile of dirty laundry. “Speaking of cans, what’s on the menu tonight?”

“Well, we have protein paste, protein paste and protein paste.” Errant said, looking slightly annoyed by the selection.

“So pasted beans again?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck.” Dominic took his shotgun and his backpack and started walking towards his room. “Set me a place, I think I might eat with you guys tonight.” Errant nodded and went to the dining room. The young man tossed his bag into the closet and locked the shotgun in a footlocker at the end of his ratty old bed. The light from the night outside shown through the cracked window like a spotlight, Dominic smiled a bit at that. “Luna’s putting on a real show tonight.” The light seemed warmer than usual. “She must have really put her all into it.”

The man tossed his dirty shirt onto the floor and donned a white wife beater, he walked out of his room and into the hallway. Rolling Thunder and his counterpart were trudging up stairs with sour expressions.

“Where have you two bean?” Dominic asked, Rolling Thunder scowled.

“Fuck you.”

[♦]

Back in Canterlot…

Luna sighed as she brought the gavel down several times, her patience for whining nobles was running extremely thin. She had only been on the bench for half an hour and already she wanted to introduce the ponies to the punishments of old.

“You two have argued this case five times in the previous months, what makes you think the court’s ruling will change now?” Luna asked, looking at the mare and stallion with a stern glare. Jet Set and Upper Crust scoffed for a moment.

“Because we told you to?” Jet Set said smugly. “After all, we wouldn’t want the papers to publish something about you and the ape? Would we?” That tore it for Luna, Dominic had been absolutely right. Nobles were quote ‘glorified idiots unfit to reproduce’. The princess brought her gavel down hard, nearly cracking the desk she sat behind.

“This is for the record.” She said firmly. “How thou ever passed through the educational system is beyond me, but I will be sure to look into it. As for your previous statement, please note you will be recieving a fine of twenty thousand bits, I deny your petition to remove funds from the armed services retirement funds to build a country club and revoke your right to refile. NEXT CASE.” The two ponies gaped, two guards escorted them away to pay their fine.

The guards announced the next case, a unicorn mare was suing a noble pony for damages. The mare looked nervous, but Luna could see she would ‘Stick to her guns’. Humans had such strange sayings. The noble looked smug, as they always did. Luna missed Dominic, he would at least be able to offer some sort of distraction. She sighed and began to preside over the case.

It was rather straight forwards, the noble had destroyed her fruit stand while ranting about something trivial. When he refused to compensate her for the damages she threatened a suit, more and more ponies were realizing that was possible. The pretentiousness of the noble was palpable, he didn’t doubt for a moment that Luna would rule in his favor. For nearly an ten minutes he ranted, certain he made a case by stating his status. The unicorn mare instead offered photographic evidence, witnesses and statements.

“The court rules in favor of the plaintiff.” Luna said decisively, slamming the gavel down. The noble was stunned, Luna wished Dominic could see the shock plastered across his face. The princess was glad that finally more and more nobles were getting their just desserts. With a bit of happiness she proudly said. “Next case.”
> Chapter 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner was silent for the most part, as the guards were unsure of what to talk about with Dominic. The pasted beans they’d been given to sustain them were just as bad as they had always been, so there was no complaining. They’d all noted the night sky outside, but aside from the acknowledgement there was no further discussion. To Dominic, it felt hollow. The emptiness of being surrounded by people, yet all of them were silent, it gave him chills. The man looked at the thestrals, the three of them seemed to get along well enough. Errant and Rolling Thunder were always helping the third guard, Chipped Blade. He was the youngest of the group.

Dominic ate a bit of his food and continued watching the group, they didn’t look at each other, they didn’t even acknowledge that others were in the room. Everything about it felt wrong. With a sigh the man placed his fork down and cleared his throat.

“So how was your day, Errant? Aside from, you know, guard stuff.” He asked, the mare looked up from her meal.

“It was alright, I guess.” She said, the other two Thestrals looked up from their meals as well. “I got to take perimeter patrol today, which is nice. Just walking through the trees and the sun, it’s nice.” Dominic nodded, slightly envious of her. The few day’s he’d been able to go outside, it had never been enjoyable. “Of course, I had to deal with the ever so curious locals.”

“Oh?” Asked Rolling Thunder. “Who was it today? The concerned parent, the curious foal, the ever annoying hometown snob?” Chipped held up a hoof.

“Wait wait, this could be an opportunity to get my money back.” He stated, he started to pull his coin bag from its place on his belt.

“I think you’re good.” Dominic stated, stopping the young stallion in his tracks. “Who was it?” He turned his attention back to Errant. The mare cleared her throat.

“Duchess Luxury Class of Unicorn Falls!” She said in a snobbish voice, it quickly turned to a growl. “I swear, she’s worse than the mayor of this hick town. Spouting all sorts of nonsense and demanding we let her in, else she’ll ‘Resort to other methods’.” This got the attention of Dominic.

“What other methods?” He asked, picking up his fork and eating some more of his dinner.

“Probably hire some fool to come spy on us, she doesn’t realize we shoot to kill yet.” Chipped Blade pitched in, looking relieved he hadn’t bet on the curious foal. Errant and Rolling nodded in response, remembering how they’d accidentally almost shot a farmer who’d gotten lost in the woods near the house. “I think we should close up the shutters for a few days, keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”

“In the scheduled heat, the house’d turn into an oven!” Rolling complained, however Errant and Dominic seemed to like the idea. As much as they could, at least. Dinner continued on with small talk, a few laughs were had, and finally it came to an end. Dominic stood from his place at the table and gathered the plates, then brought them into the kitchen and excused himself for the night. When he was in his room, the thestrals began to chat amongst themselves.

“I like him, he’s not like the other Principles we normally get saddled with.” Chipped commented as he sat himself down on one of the couches in the living room.

“I know right, he’s not all ‘This food is atrocious!’ or ‘I want my silk bed sheets!’.” Rolling added with a chuckle, sitting down on the opposite couch. “Even if he is a bit jumpy at times.” Errant took the lounge chair in the center of the room and sighed in comfort. She watched the two thestrals chat intently.

“Jumpy?” Chipped asked, Rolling nodded and gestured down the hall to Dominic’s room.

“Yesterday, I walked into his room to get the shutters, the guy was sound asleep. I casually stepped on a creaky floorboard, a few seconds later I heard that revolver thing of his click.” said Rolling as he got comfortable on the couch. “The man is wound tighter than a Griffon war veteran.”

“Nah, he’s just getting stir crazy.” Chipped stated. “I mean, how would you feel if you were penned in like he is?” He asked, at this Errant felt it was time to speak up.

“He’s something alright, and the grape vine says Globe and Anchor was some sort of war hero before he came here.” The others shook their heads and the conversation continued from there, they didn’t realize that their voices were carrying through the vents. In Dominic’s room, their voices were keeping him from sleeping. He wouldn’t bother them though, it was nice hearing genuine conversation.

The man sighed and sat down at his desk, Luna had been nice enough to provide him with ‘Official United States’ stationary before he left. The paper was just like any other paper, only the symbol of the Marine Corps was printed in the center with ‘Official Ink’. The man didn’t understand why he needed stationary, especially since he was the only American citizen on the entire planet, perhaps she’d thought it would do him good. Dominic didn’t care though, instead he just went about writing a letter.

To my dearest friends,

I’m bored out of my fucking skull here. The guards are okay to talk to every now and then, but I miss you guys. Maybe an early visit wouldn’t be too bad? Please? Also, as your military consultant I should advise you that the rations being distributed to soldiers on a protein diet are atrocious and should be made palatable at least. I should also inform you that Duchess Luxury Class is hindering the operations of your guards with threats of action from a third party. I recommend a discussion.

How are things on your end, good I hope. Write me some time soon. God bless you both.

Your ever faithful friend, Dominic.

P.S. Excellent night sky, Luna. Really, it’s beautiful.

With that he folded the letter and sealed the envelope. It was odd sealing envelopes with wax, but something that Dominic actually enjoyed. He’d always preferred the old fashioned way of doing things, in most regards. The man took the letter and placed it outside his room, then closed the door and went back to his bed. The voices had quieted down, and finally he could get to sleep. He hoped that Luna was having a good night court.

[♦]

Luna was grinding her teeth as she was forced to listen to another petitioner, this one demanding that the United States of America be billed for all the damage. The lunar princess had never heard such droll and boring things in her life, she longed for the days when ponies rarely showed up to night court. Ever since her sister had taken on smoothing out the political problems of the world the only rest Luna received was when she called for a recess. Even those were too short for her liking.

While normally Twilight would be taking some of the weight off of her shoulders, the lavender alicorn had her own problems to deal with. The modernization of the military was taking priority over other matters, arms factories were being built and contracts were being signed. Entire units of guards were being retrained, and the weapons that were being developed had to be closely regulated and monitored.

“Princess, are you listening?” The voice of the petitioner snapped Luna from her thoughts, she blinked and looked at the snobbish mare. “I was just stating that since the ape had-”

“I don’t care.” Luna said tiredly. “I honestly do not care. You have made no impact on me whatsoever.” The mare looked offended. “The position of the government on this issue stands as it was yesterday and the day before. The United States is absolved from blame, seeing as it was the citizens of the city who rioted and assaulted their head of state, the blame and the cost falls on them.”

“But the ape-”

“Furthermore, I would like to remind you that using derogatory slurs in this courtroom puts you in contempt of court. Five minute recess, then we will have the next case.” Luna slammed the gavel down and the mare was escorted out, the thestrals in the room looked relieved and somewhat impressed at their princess. More so than usual. “What?” She asked one of them.

“Nothing ma’am.” He said, immediately returning to his stoic expression.

“You should know that I am not made of stone, if you have something to say then say it.” Luna insisted, the guard looked at the others for a moment.

“Well ma’am, it’s nice to see a princess that doesn’t brown nose the nobles as much as they brown nose her… Ma’am.” He stated nervously. “It’s nice to see a princess stand up for the little ponies now and then.” Luna nodded.

“I see.” She looked at the other guards. “You feel this way as well?” They nodded respectfully. “Well, I thank your for the praise. It means a lot to me.” There was a knock on the door. “I realize that this must be painful to watch for the most part, but know that I appreciate your service.” There was another knock. “Damn it, give us two fucking minutes!” The princess roared at the door. The guards blinked in surprise as the princess composed herself. “I’m… sorry about that, guards. But as I was saying, thank you.” She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. “Would one of you mind retrieving some painkillers from the infirmary

“Of course, your highness.” One of the guards stated before heading to the door, Luna took several deep breaths. When the guard opened the door, another pony entered. This one was a noble like the others, and he was practically fuming with anger. The guard closest to Luna read over a list of names until he found the proper one.

“Duke Fine Taste of the Easter Sector, Lord of-” Luna shot the guard a soft glare and he ceased reading the numerous titles. “Here to petition for the whereabouts of the Former Prince Blueblood.”

“Former Prince!?” Shouted the unicorn. “How dare you strip him of title, what grounds were you given!? HMM?!” Luna let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples. “I was still under the impression he was being imprisoned, then I learn he has been removed from his cell. Not released, but there is no record of him ever being transferred. I DEMAND ANSWERS!”

“Do you have the proper paperwork?” Luna asked, looking down at the stallion with a flat glare. The stallion gave what was supposed to be a sinister smile and floated a sheet full of signatures up into Luna’s face. “Yes, I can see them, get them out of my face.” The princess muttered flatly, the Duke dropped the papers onto Luna’s desk with a smug smile. Luna looked through them for a moment and hummed. “These appear to be in order.”

“Now hold on one minute- Wait… what?” The stallion asked, confused.

“Yes, they seem to be in order, the signatures look very authentic even.” Luna used her magic to float a large file up from under her desk, she’d taken to keeping it there since the question was being raised often and she didn’t feel like trekking all the way back to her room to get it. The folder was manilla, the Marine Corps symbol was emblazoned on it. Beneath it were the words…


OFFICIAL CIVILIAN REPORT
PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT



“What is that?” The stallion asked as the report was set down in front of him.

“The report on Mister Blueblood’s transfer.” Luna stated, knowing what was inside the folder. The stallion opened it greedily, only to frown and blink. The document was thirty seven pages long, and almost every word of it had been blacked out with sharpie. Luna felt a shit eating grin cross her muzzle. “Unfortunately, the United States has classified most of the report, I can submit a formal request if you’d like.” The guards struggled to keep from laughing as the stallion started sputtering out half finished sentences. “Alright, I’ll take that as a no. Very well then, have a wonderful night and thank you for coming.” Luna took the report back as the guards escorted the stallion out. The guard that had gone for painkillers was rather confused when he passed the noble, but he could tell he missed something. “So, that’s what it feels like.”

“What?” Asked one of guards.

“My sister often likes to ‘Troll’ her subjects, I never understood why… until now.” She looked slightly pleased with herself, meanwhile her guards paled at the thought of a trolling Luna. Considering the princess’ somewhat macabre sense of humor, it was understandable. “Huzzah! The trolling has been doubled! I think I have thirty more petitions in me now.” The guards let out a collective, somewhat low groan. “Kidding, we’re adjourned. I’ll see all your smiling faces tomorrow.” With that, Luna teleported out of the room and to her bed. The guards looked at each other.

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” One asked.

“You have no idea.” Said another.
> Chapter 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The birds outside were singing as happily as ever, the trees were covered in dew and the sun shined brightly in the sky above the safe house. In the trees, a young thestral guard was making his way down a dirt path to a nearby town. Another guard sat on one of the sparse clouds, watching for anything in the sky. WIthin the house, rations were being warmed and tea was being brewed on the stove by the highest ranking officer. She was slightly annoyed by the state they were in, but had little choice otherwise.

Alone in his room, still asleep, a young man snored loudly as his arm dangled over the edge of his cot. All was peaceful in the world, he was having one of his better night sleeps and was fighting to keep it from ending. Within his mind there was nothing, no nightmares, no terrors, it was a completely empty void of nothingness. Just as he liked it. Then, in the distance, a noise caught his attention. It was rather loud and caused the birds to take flight. It reminded him of a muffler back firing, and it was accompanied by a heavy rumble.

“God, sometimes I hate this place.” Dominic muttered before getting up and rubbing his eyes, he slipped on his clothes and tied his boots. When he opened his door, he found his letter had been taken and most likely sent. “Hey, Errant!?” He called as he walked down the hallway to the living room. “What the fuck is making that noise?”

“How the fuck should I know!?” The mare called from the kitchen.

“Send Rolling to find out, I want to know…” He trailed off as the noise in the distance was joined by another. Singing. “What on god’s green earth?” Dominic asked rhetorically, he walked to the window and peered out towards the town in the distance. Unicorn Falls ,as he’d come to know it, was about as close to Canterlot Lite one could get. In the sense that the population of Unicorns considered themselves above others, that often meant they were too uptight to sing. Past the trees, down the road to the town, smoke was rising in puffs. “What the fuck are they so fuckin’ happy about at…” He looked at the clock. “… six in the fuckin’ morning.”

“Let it go, man. You know you can’t go out there.” Errant said from the kitchen, looking out at the man sternly. Dominic sighed and sat down.

“Fine…” The man muttered, Errant came out a few moments later with the rations in a pot. She sat down and loaded two plates with the same paste they’d eaten for dinner. Then she slid one to Dominic, who began to eat it slowly.

“I noticed you used that new paper the princess sent you.” Errant said, taking a bite of her own food. Dominic nodded and picked at his meal quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did.” Dominic stated, looking at her for a moment. She glowered at him. “Alright, what do you want to ask?” The mare took a moment to gather her thoughts, Dominic took that moment to eat more of his breakfast.

“What’s with the flag, the one on the wall in your room.” She asked, Dominic chewed the last of his bite and shrugged. 

“It’s an American flag, what about it?” He countered, Errant raised her hooves defensively.

“I just want to know why you care about it so much, whenever I go in there you’re always staring at it.” Dominic lowered his fork to his plate and let out a sigh. “Sorry, too personal?” The man was about to nod, but stopped himself. He didn’t really understand why, but he felt like he could talk to the Thestral. She was the only one of the three guards that didn’t act like a frat boy in her spare time.

“Nah, I’ll tell you.” Dominic said, looking at the plate. His voice became serious and intense, Errant noticed that he had slouched his shoulders a bit and interlocked his fingers. “Back where I’m from, there was this… virus. It changed people, turned them into monsters.” Errant had stopped eating, her attention was now completely on the man. “The virus, it took pretty much everything from me. My family, my friends, my life in general. It came close to destroying me. I got to the point where I almost offed myself.”

“As I sat there with the shotgun barrel in my mouth, I was saying a final prayer. From the place where I sat, I noticed a shadow moving outside.” The man had leaned back in his chair and stared at the table intently. “I was going to die, so I didn’t pay it much mind. Then I saw it again, and against my better judgement I put the gun down. I went to investigate the movement, assuming it was one of the infected, but… it wasn’t.” 

Dominic gestured to his room. “I looked up and I saw a flag in the wind, flying high on a bent pole. It was tattered and slightly burned, stained and ragged, still it waved.” He leaned forwards and put his elbows on the table. “After all of that had happened, it was still waving, still fighting. In that flag I saw everything, two hundred plus years of history within a second. All the struggles the country had gone through, it always came out stronger. In that moment, looking at that flag, I found my strength again. If I died, I’d die fighting like an American, not whimpering and crying like a coward. And after that, things were different. I came close a few times, but I’m still alive now so…”

When Dominic finished Errant was silent, she simply nodded for a few seconds. The man went back to his breakfast, but he kept a careful eye on the mare. She was eating as well, but an expression of deep thought had wormed its way onto her muzzle. She looked at the man and was about to speak when the ground rumbled again, this time it was much more harsh.

“What the fuck?” Dominic asked, noting that the lamp above them began to sway. The man stood from his seat and went to the window, in the distance he could see the puffing smoke was more billowy. His blood ran cold as the singing from early had turned to screams. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph…” He mumbled as he heard a deafening roar. Chipped Blade came bolting out of the trees and towards the house, looking like he’d run nearly a mile and a half.

“R-R-REDWOOD WOLF!” He shouted, pointing towards the town. “IT’S REALLY FUCKIN’ PISSED!” Dominic opened the door and let the terrified guard into the house. The comotion stopped Errant from calling the man back to the table, instead she went to the window “THANK YOU! OH FAUST THANK YOU! I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO-” Errant slapped Chipped heavily.

“Snap out of it! Tell me what happened!” She ordered, looking out the window.

“I went into town to deliver the letter, while I was there I saw this magician pony! She was doing these really neat tricks, and everyone was singing, and ponies were yelling it like crazy! Then, out of fucking nowhere a big ass Redwood shows up and starts tearing into her carriage, destroying the entire town! Naturally I tried to distract it…” The ground shook, this time Dominic stumbled a bit. Rolling Thunder scrambled past the door and bolted it shut.

“Shit! SHIT!” He spluttered, heading for the basement. Dominic noted that the sun had disappeared, a shadow loomed over the house. He turned very slowly and found that the window was foggy.

“Errant?” He asked.

“Y-Yeah…”

“How big are Redwood wolves?” He received his answer when a deafening roar shook the house. The man blinked and shuddered, then he grabbed the two remaining guards and rushed to the hallway. When he was there he tossed the two of them down into the basement before bolting to his bedroom. He grabbed his weapons and bug out bag, as well as the flag from his wall. When he passed the window he caught a glimpse of the monstrosity that stood outside the home.

It was nearly the size of the house, massive trees were amalgamated into its body, and the needles on the branches were brown from dryness. It was glaring angrilly at the door, giving Dominic enough time to grab his weapons and his helmet. He rushed to the basement, stuffing his flag into the bug out bag as he went. When he reached the door he opened it and tossed the bag into the waiting hooves of Rolling Thunder, the stallion was careful to set it down gently. Dominic put on his helmet and buttoned his jacket.

“Now what?” He asked from the top of the steps, the thestrals shrugged.

“Maybe it’ll get bored?” Chipped stated. “I mean, if we don’t make any noise it shouldn’t be smart enough to know we’re in here.” Dominic nodded and started coming down the steps, he tossed his shotgun down as well. Errant held up a hoof.

“Wait! The tea! I left it on the stove, in one of those old fashioned pots. You know the ones that whistle…” Dominic sighed and started back up the steps. “Hurry!” The man waved a dismissive hand towards her and quietly rushed to the kitchen, he was able to hear the wolf’s heavy breathing against the house. It caused the windows to shudder, the house swayed ever so slightly. He ignored it though and came upon the teapot. Before he could think about grabbing it he could see steam bursting out of the nozzle.

“Shit.” Dominic was unable to stop the pot from letting out an extremely loud whistle before he slapped it off of the stove and sent it flying across the room. It landed with a clang on the floor, adding to the noise that had shook the house. The heavy breathing had stopped and the house no longer swayed, Dominic didn’t stop to question it and started back to the basement. Then the roof splintered above him and a massive paw came crashing to the ground. Shattered roof shingles and woods bounced off of the helmet on his head.

Ever so slowly Dominic looked up, his eyes caught sight of the wolf’s head. It’s teeth were massive and sap dripped off of them like drool. Its glowing red eyes glared daggers at him, and steam puffed from its nostrils. Dominic did the only sensible thing he could. He bolted towards the back door. The paw followed him through the house, ripping through the building as if it was wet tissue paper.

“Oh shit! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!” Dominic shouted, running in a random direction. For ten minutes he ran, but it wasn’t enough. He could hear the lumbering steps of the massive beast behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened. The man rolled to the side, dodging a paw swipe. The claw still shredded through his jacket, but that was a worry for another time. Dominic looked ahead of him and saw that the woods were thinning, beyond them was a town. He briefly considered running away from the town, but a bellowing roar shot that idea out of the air.

He jumped over a fallen tree and burst out of the forest, the ponies that were just now starting to come out of hiding caught sight of him instantly.

“RUN! FOR GOD’S SAKE, RUN!” He shouted, moments later the trees behind him exploded and the Redwood was back in the town. Ponies panicked and ran for cover, but the wolf was more interested in the strange bipedal morsel to focus on them. Dominic hadn’t run like this in months, his legs were sore and pain rocketed up his legs with every stride, but he had no time to complain. Looking around he spotted an open door and made for it, the two story building was made of stone and he hoped it would stop the beast from gutting him.

The man thundered up the porch steps and slammed the door behind him, panting and sweating from his brush with the beast. He heard a gasp and looked up, the building was empty save for a single pony sitting in the far corner. He didn’t pay them much mind though, as the wall next to him shattered into stone debris and a wooden paw reached into the room.

“Stay there!” Dominic said loudly before opening the door and bolting outside again, he could see the wolf still digging around in the building. “This is a bad idea…” He muttered before drawing his revolver and firing a shot at the wolf’s head. The round burrowed into the wood and caused the wolf to yelp. It turned its gaze towards Dominic and let out a window shattering howl, Dominic took off running again. This time his eyes settled on the destroyed remains of a stage and a carriage. Maybe camouflage was the best answer.

He took refuge under a the chassis of the wrecked carriage, the wolf came lumbering towards the pile and sniffed the air. It let out a snarl and moved off towards another part of town, most likely to search for him. Dominic looked around further, he noted several items of interest. One was a hat, it was covered in decorative stars. The second was a cape, similarly adorned in the stars. The third was a package of peanut butter crackers. Dominic shrugged and picked up the package, then opened it and popped one of the snacks into his mouth.

“This is fucking brilliant…” He muttered, leaning out of his cover to get a better look around. The wolf was staying away from the burning buildings, which was understandable consiering its make up. Something else about the wolf caught his attention though. It was alone, not with a pack. He’d never heard of Redwood Wolves before, but he assumed that it had a pack. Then again, maybe it was so large it didn’t need a pack. Or maybe they were circling around the town, waiting for the moment to strike.

“H-Help…” A voice groaned, getting his attention. The man set the crackers down and looked around. “P-P-Please…” Dominic found its owner rather quickly, a blue unicorn mare with a ragged light blue mane was buried under several pieces of wood out in the open. He sighed and looked at the wolf in the distance, it was busy sniffing houses.

“Hang on.” Dominic said, he crouched and quickly made his way to the trapped pony. “Hey, don’t move. You could have a spinal injury.” He grunted and pushed one of the wood fragments off of her, it landed with a thud that echoed through the streets. “Shit…” He looked up, but the wolf still seemed to be sniffing around. The man continued moving the wood, and finally the last one came free. He caught site of the mare’s cutie mark and recognised it as familiar, a moon and a wand. He could think on it later though, as he had more urgent matters. “Stop squirming, you could paralyze yourself.”

“Everything hurts…” The mare groaned, Dominic sighed and looked around for something to use as a back board. He spotted a piece of plywood and dragged it over, looking at the wolf every couple of seconds. Normally it would take to people to get someone on a stretcher, Dominic was glad that ponies were so small. It made it easier for him to do it himself. He looked at the wolf and his heart started beating faster, it had spotted him.

“Shit.” He growled, pulling the stretcher bound mare back into the cover of the destroyed chassis. The wolf howled and stalked towards the area, it brought its paw down just shy of the chassis, barely missing the two that had taken refuge. “Shhh.” Dominic said, clamping his hand over the unicorn’s muzzle. The wolf must not have been smart, because it quickly forgot where they had hidden and went back to sniffing the air. Dominic let go of the mare’s mouth and looked her over. There were several cuts and bruises over her body, but she didn’t look like she had anything broken. “What happened?”

“I… I was trying a new spell, I was going to make a big flower grow in the center of town…” The mare stated through gritted teeth. “I think I got it wrong…” Dominic nodded.

“Well, it’s not leaving.” He said, watching the wolf lay down. “How do I kill it?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen a Redwood before.” The mare replied, trying to turn her head. “Ow.”

“Don’t. Move.” Dominic said sternly, rubbing his chin. “Okay, think Dominic… It’s made of wood, it’s a big mother fucker… It’s dry.” He looked around for a moment. “It’s dry wood, so logically I need fire.” Dominic patted himself down, praying that he had some form of combustion on him. He didn’t. “You, can you do fire?” She shook her head slightly. “Fuck…” He looked around for some form of fire. There were burning pieces of wreckage, but they were out in the open. “Another bad idea…” He looked at the mare. “Stay here.”

With that he took off sprinting towards the flames, the wolf spotted him instantly and stood up. It went after him like a bat out of hell, it’s massive paws digging into the dirt like massive shovels. Dominic skidded around a building to try and lose the massive beast, it simply tore through the structure with a roar. Debris landed around the man, some bounced off of his helmet. He was close to one of the fires and grabbed a piece of burning wood, thankfully he was able to take a piece that was only half burning. The wolf paused and looked at him angrilly.

“BACK THE FUCK UP!” Dominic shouted at it, the wolf tilted its head and raised a paw. Then it brought the paw over to the burning wood and closed two of its claws over the burning wood. The fire died within seconds of being smothered. “BULLSHIT!.” 

The man let go of the wood and took off running again, the wolf chasing with much more speed and fury. Dominic’s thoughts turned to Luna. She would probably be destroyed, he could practically see the tears streaming down her face. The same could be said for Twilight. They’d be the only ones to shed a tear, the rest of the country would most likely rejoice.

Dominic was snapped from his thoughts as his tattered jacket was caught by the paw of the wolf, he was yanked into the air and flung towards the maw of the beast. Thankfully he was able to dodge the sharp teeth of the beast before being swallowed. It was painful being swallowed by a piece of wood, if he survived he would most likely be pulling splinters from every inch of skin for weeks to come. He landed in an empty leafy chamber, he assumed it was the beasts stomach. A heavy thumping was coming from above, and he could see a large pulsing orb outside of the leaves. A green gas started to filter into the chamber, and Dominic could tell he’d be overcome if he didn’t do something.

“Here goes nothing.” He said with a cough, the man drew his revolver and fired the remaining five shots at the pulsing orb.

[♦]

Errant, Chipped Blade, and Rolling Thunder pushed the wreckage off of them and crawled up the steps. Errant had taken to carrying the bag of Dominic’s belongings and his shotgun, seeing as Rolling had a piece of wood lodged in his side and Chipped was concussed. When they reached the surface they found the house completely leveled, a silence fell over the group as they thought of the fate that befell the human.

Then a single voice echoed through the forest.

“BULLSHIT!”

Errant’s ears perked up, she looked at her comrades. 

“Stay here.” She ordered, handing them Dominic’s belongings and taking to the sky. She beat her wings as fast as she could, and soon she came upon the town. She watched as the wolf caught Dominic by his jacket and ate him. She let out a shriek and dove down at the beast, fury welling up in her. The man had confided in her just before all of this had happened, he had trusted her with his life and she had failed. Errant was going to level the beast as it had leveled her home. Then she heard five loud bangs from within the beast, the wolf shuddered and shook. It fell forwards with a groan and landed on the ground with a tremendous thud.

Errant corrected her course and landed in front of it, the beast let out a final groan before its eyes faded into nothingness. The thestral looked it over, confused.

“Goddamn, motherfucking, piece of shit, bastard…” A voice shouted before a fist punched its way through the wolf’s stomach. The wood shattered and broke apart, green gas billowed from the hole and a bipedal figure limped out into the light. “See what happens when you fuck with me? Huh!?” Dominic shouted angrily at the wolf. “YOU GET DEAD! MOTHERFUCKING FIREWOOD PIECE OF SHIT! TRYING TO EAT ME! FUCK YOU!” He kicked the wooden corpse out of anger, causing the dry piece of wood to break. Before Errant could get to the man, he had picked up a piece of flaming debris and tossed it into the body. It caught on fire in moments. “NOT SO FUNNY NOW! IS IT!?”

“Dominic!” Errant shouted, getting his attention. The man looked at her, his face covered in grim and tiny cuts. She noticed his jacket had seen better days, as had his helmet. “You alright?” The man nodded.

“That was fucking bullshit!” He yelled before turning back to the burning carcass. “FUCK YOU!” Errant rushed to the man and looked him over. He looked around for a moment. “There’s a wounded mare over by that carriage.” He stated. “Possible spinal injury.”

“We’ll get to her, for now let’s just get you some rest.” Errant stated, a few Royal guard chariots appeared on the horizon. “Fuckin’ Canterlot boys, they’re gonna show up and take all the credit.”

“Like hell they are.” Dominic muttered, standing up straight. “I was nearly digested, this kill is mine.” Errant just nodded and sat the man down on a bench that had survived the destruction. She noticed the man start to shiver. “Fuckin’ adrenaline…” Errant extended her wing and put it over his shoulder, it wasn’t the best blanket but it would do.

“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!” Shouted one of the Royal Guards as the chariot landed, thirty or so guards started securing homes and gathering any wounded. Thankfully it was confined to the single mare, Dominic watched as they loaded her onto a chariot and took off for Canterlot. A few guards came and looked him over, thankfully he was wrong about the splinters. After they had finished checking him over, they were greeted by reporters.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag.” Errant muttered as photos were snapped. Dominic nodded and stood up.

“Guess so.” He said before looking at the reporters, they started shouting questions faster than he could process words. In the end he ignored them and sat back down. “Where do you think they’ll send me now?”

“Hopefully somewhere sunny, and not teeming with plant matter that wants to kill us.” Errant replied, she reached into her armor and pulled out a box of cigarettes as well as a box of matches. “Smoke?” She asked, Dominic shook his head.

“Luna already says I drink too much, she’d kill us both if I started smoking.” He watched the guards push the reporters away and let out a sigh. Errant puffed on her cigarette and leaned back.

“Hey, about what you said earlier, the flag stuff.” She said, looking at the now blazing pile of wood. “I’ll keep it to myself, so don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks.” Dominic was watching the billowing smoke. “I still haven’t told Luna yet. She doesn’t like the idea of me offing myself.” Errant let out a chuckle.

“You think?” She asked, for a few moments she was silent. “That mare really cares about you.”

“Yeah, she’s a good friend.” Dominic stated, looking back at Errant. The thestral looked like she had something else to say, but shook her head.

“A good friend.” She repeated.
> Chapter 22
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna landed with as much grace as she could, with her was a contingent of Lunar Guards and a transport chariot. The group had landed on the far side of the smoke, their wings folded against their sides. Luna looked around, praying to find Dominic in the smoke. The reports had been vague, too vague for the princess. She had left in such of hurry she hadn’t had time to think of what needed to be done. Then came the voice she’d hoped for, prayed for.

“Hey! We got wounded over here!” Dominic shouted coming through the smoke, he was carrying a wounded thestral in his arms. The royal guard had been in such a hustle to grab the glory that they’d forgotten to grab the two wounded thestrals in the remains of the safe house. The Lunar Guards pulled a stretcher off of the chariot and rushed to aide their wounded comrades, the princess watched as Dominic slowly lowered the bleeding thestral onto the stretcher and patted him on the shoulder.

“Move! Move! Move!” The lead guard shouted, rushing the wounded thestral towards the chariot. Dominic ran close beside him, giving him words of encouragement. Meanwhile, Errant was assisting the other guard into the chariot. Luna could see something in Dominic’s eyes, behind the confidence he gave off, there was something she’d become extremely familiar with. Fear. For all of his confidence gained, he still doubted himself. Only when the wounded guard had been secured did Dominic look around, his eyes landed on Luna and a smile crossed his lips.

The man walked towards her, letting his shotgun hang on its sling. Several strips of gauze covered minor cuts on his face and hands, and his jacket would more than likely need to be replaced. Not that that would stop him from wearing it, if Luna knew him. His belongings, what few there were, had already been packed into his bag. A trait that Luna found odd, but efficient given the day’s events.

Luna didn’t give him a moment to speak, she found herself overcome by emotion. The mare grabbed the man in a hug, she could feel him shaking despite his calm demeanor. Dominic patted Luna on the back as she squeezed him tighter into her barrel.

“Thou art okay!” The mare stated, letting go of him and looking him over from head to toe. “We had feared something horrid had happened!”

“I’m fine Luna, just a little banged up is all.” He stated, Luna could pick up on the false confidence right away. The man flinched as he heard the burning wood let out a loud pop, the princess used her magic to create a dome over the flames. Within a few moments the flames had burned up all the oxygen and extinguished themselves. When the embers had died, Luna dropped the spell. “That’s a neat trick…” Dominic said, watching the smoke rise into the sky.

“Yes, yes it is.” Luna draped a wing over the mans shoulder, she could feel the shuddering even more now. “Thou art shaking.”

“It’s just adrenaline.” Dominic retorted. “I’ll be fine once I get some sleep.” He brushed the mare’s wing from his shoulder and looked at the chariot. “I take it this is going to be our ride?”

“Yes.” Luna replied, she started walking to the chariot with Dominic behind her. “Never fear, there is only magic in the wheels.”

“Where are we going?” The man asked, cautiously stepping onto the vehicle. He looked out at the town, ponies were milling around the now extinguished wooden corpse. All of them were looking towards the chariot. Pictures were being snapped, and Dominic knew he would soon be the subject of media scrutiny, again. Luna stood beside, taking the scene for herself.

“Normally, that would be a mystery.” She answered, turning to the man. “Thanks to thine suggestion of a ‘Contingency Plan’ in your consultation report, we have put a secondary shelter in place.” Luna’s expression changed. “Though, thou may find it less than pleasant.” She looked at the guards that pulled the chariot. “After we offload the wounded, make haste for Castle November.”

“Yes ma’am.” The guard answered, preparing to take off.

“Castle November?” Dominic inquired, crossing his arms.

“Castle Nightmare, that is the official designation of the sight where we… I returned.” Luna answered, looking down for a moment. You know it better as…”

“The castle of the two sisters.” Dominic finished for her, the chariot began moving forwards. “In the Everfree Forest. Shit.”

“We are sorry, Dominic. It’s location is ideal for our purposes.” Luna stated, looking at the man with an apologetic expression. Rather than the anger she’d expected, the man nodded and let out a sigh. He had to admit, if he’d been given the option to hide in a fortress he would have taken it in a heart beat. The castle was defendable, even if it was in poor condition. There was most likely a place to grow food, and if he was correct, ponies rarely went into the forest.

“You’re right.” He muttered, bringing a hand to his chin and rubbing the stubble that had formed over the past few days. The man looked at the guards in the chariot and then back at Luna. “And I’m not going it alone, right?”

“Right.” Luna answered, the chariot began to rise into the air. It shuddered for a moment, causing its human passenger to stumble for a moment. Upon regaining his composure, Dominic looked back at the group of ponies by the debris. One of them he recognized, the mare that had been trapped in the building. He’d shot the beast to distract it away from her. Oddly enough, he thought he saw a smile on her face. When the chariot started flying away, he saw her begin to wave.

“Huh...” He said to himself before turning his gaze over the two wounded ponies in the chariot, they were chatting with the other guards. Chipped Blade looked at him and gave a weak salute before laying back down on his stretcher. Unsure of what to do, Dominic awkwardly returned the salute. He then looked at Luna. “I think… I think I made positive progress with ponies today. Not much, but some.”

“That is most excellent news.” Luna retorted, taking a seat. 

“Quick question, how’s Twilight?” Dominic sat on the bench across from her, his tattered coat fluttering in the wind as the chariot rose into the air. 

“She is doing well, during the past week or so she hath approved several new doctrines for the military. She commissioned plans for more new arms, and oversaw the groundbreaking ceremony for the new armory in Ponyville.” Luna answered, watching the man closely. He nodded to her answer, but his eyes had become somewhat distant. “Thou seem calm, is this not the first time thou hath ridden in a chariot?”

“I was nearly eaten today.” Dominic said in a surprised tone, as if he himself had trouble believing he was still living. The man leaned back in his seat. “Actually, I was.” Luna quirked an eyebrow. “Literally eaten by that thing, that’s how I shot its heart.” He let out a chuckle. “If Equestria had a lottery, I would buy a ton of tickets!”

“Dominic, art thou feeling… alright?” Luna asked, concern seeping into her voice.

“No!” Dominic replied, still chuckling nervously. “I almost died. Why am I not more upset about this? No fucking idea!” The man stood up from his seat and sat next to Luna. “I think I need some sleep, do you mind…?” He gestured to her wing.

“Of course not.” Luna answered, she opened her wing and the man leaned against her side before she draped the wing over his body. When he had closed his eyes, Luna touched her horn to his head. The magical drain pinched her for a moment, but it was enough time to inject a calming spell into his subconscious. “Sleep tight… We…” She was going to say more, but paused. The words she’d wanted to say echoed through her own mind, a revelation unlike any she had ever felt before hit her like a freight train. The words, the taunting words. Three words that she had not uttered in millennia to anyone but her sister. ‘I love you.’ She thought in her head.

“Princess?” Asked one of her guards, snapping her out of her daze. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yes!” Luna decreed somewhat loudly. “Just fine!” Her eyes shifted to the man beneath her wing. The dreams were making new kinds of sense, the thoughts, the fears, all of them were cast in new light. It terrified her. She’d only known him for a handful of months, and yet she had these feelings. No. There had to be something wrong, maybe she was sick? What sickness would cause those thoughts? What would-

“Princess? Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”

“WE ARE FINE!” She shouted, causing Dominic to jump for a moment. Thankfully her calming magic put him back to sleep within moments. The guard blinked and scooted away from her. “Sorry.”

“It is okay, your highness.” The guard replied, she knew he wouldn’t say anything else. Luna’s thoughts went back to the raging torrent that had been unleashed, the feelings baffled her and in her current state of energy, she could not handle them all by herself. With a sigh, she focused her thoughts and closed her eyes. She searched for a moment and eventually found a familiar link. She rarely spoke with Cadence over their mental link, but this was a matter of crisis for the princess of the moon.

”Cadence! It is your aunt, Luna!”

”Aunt Luna? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Cadence replied over the link.

”I require your…. expertise. Come to Canterlot, I will inform you upon your arrival! With that, the princess cut the link and opened her eyes. She looked down at Dominic once more, feeling his rhythmic breathing against the softness of her feathers and her body.

“Shit.” She muttered under her breath.

[♦]

In the town of Unicorn Falls, ponies were starting to rebuild what had been damaged. What remained of the wolf would be distributed as firewood to the residents, and the rest was to be stored for winter. In the town square, ponies were rallying around a mare standing on a crate marked ‘Sudzy’s Soap’. The mare was the duchess of the land, Luxury Class. Her golden locks had been ruined by several twigs, her milky fur was stained with soot. A scowl was planted firmly on her face.

“That ape! Look what it has brought to our town!” She cried, gesturing to the destruction. “Destruction and fear! It brings only those things where it treads!” Some ponies nodded, most of them were unicorns. As the slander and cries of outrage continued, a mare shook her head. She’d seen the desperation on the human’s face, it had saved her when the beast had crashed into her home. “Poor Tiger Lily is out of a home because of it!” Luxury cried, gesturing to the mare. “What do you say! Is that ape not the true villain! A creature that denounces our princess, surely you agree!” To the crowd’s shock, the unicorn mare didn’t nod.

“No, I don’t agree.” She stated, a silence fell over the group. “I may not agree with what he has said, but I don’t think he is to blame for this destruction!” Luxury Class gaped at the normally submissive unicorn.

“How can you say this?! It lead the wolf to your home!”

“No, HE did not.” Lily exclaimed. “The wolf cornered him, when the wolf attacked he ran outside-”

“COWARD!”

“The human distracted it! He wounded it and led it away from me!” The mare retorted. Several ponies confirmed it, having watched the scene from the safety of their homes.

“I saw him rescue a mare from a pile of rubble!” Declared another stallion. “The wolf would have crushed her if he hadn’t been there!” All the anger in the group started to dissipate.

“H-How can you support such a garish and vile monster?!” Luxury Class stammered.

“The damage to my home is minor, it can be repaired with a few spells.” Lily continued, she looked at the destruction and noted the only building that had been truly leveled. “The only reason you’re spouting these words is because you’re precious mansion was destroyed!” The other ponies began nodding in agreement. “You would have us hate a being because of your own greed!?”

“SHE’S CORRUPT!”

“WE NEED A NEW DUCHESS!”

“GRAB YOUR TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS!”

“Wait!” Lily shouted, the forest green mare addressed the crowd once more. “There’s a better solution, we can just stop printing such mean things about the Human. We can spread the word of his deeds.”

“But what about the duchess?” Asked a stallion, he’d somehow already grabbed a torch. Lily looked at the mare that was supposed to lead them.

“She’ll just have to listen to us from now on.” Said the green unicorn. “Right?”

“R-Right! Absolutely!” Luxury Class said in a nervous tone, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. “Y-You just decide amongst yourselves, and tell me what you want!” The ponies seemed satisfied and dispersed to continue rebuilding. Lily looked at Luxury Class and smiled.

“I guess you work for us now.” Lily said, Luxury gulped and nodded. The duchess couldn’t believe it. Tiger Lily barely spoke two words to anyone but her few friends, she mainly watched from the sidelines. Luxury had pegged her for an obvious submissive, one who would agree to anything she was told. How wrong had she been. Now, she would have to listen to the wants of her subjects, or face their ire.
> Chapter 23: Happy Birthday America
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The chariot touched down in the castle without so much as a bump, considering the state of the structure it was quite the achievement. The two wounded thestrals as well as Errant had been left in the care of the Canterlot medical staff, the remaining space in the chariot had been taken up by ten more Lunar Guards. These guards rushed off of the chariot and began sweeping through the castle ruins, Luna shook Dominic awake. The man hadn’t woken up since they’d left Unicorn Falls, and it was a chore for the princess to wake him.

Finally, she managed to rouse the human from his slumber, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. The castle was certainly larger than he’d expected. Vines and overgrowth covered the dark stone towers, the intact walls towered at thirty feet high. He could see the windows of the old throne room, they were old and cracked. Some had been shattered in the uncounted years of disuse.

Dominic brushed himself off and stood up, Luna looked at him for a moment before looking away. She instead set her eyes on a destroyed wall, in all the centuries since she’d truly visited, she still remembered that it was her who had caused such damage. It broke her heart to think about what she’d done, but that was how she would get stronger. 

“This place doesn’t look that bad.” Dominic said approvingly, snapping her out of her thoughts. The mare coughed and nodded, unable to make eye contact with the human. The man could understand, this was most likely a place she would rather not be. He understood that it was hard to face a failure, he’d done so many times. He patted the mare on her neck a few times. “Hey, you know this place better than I do. Where do you think I can find a good room?” He asked, trying to break her thoughts from the castle. 

“Huh… Oh, yes. Of course. Follow us.” Luna said, still not making eye contact. She started trotting towards a decrepit doorway, Dominic followed behind her closely. He noticed that the door was one of the few still intact in the square courtyard, Luna pushed it open with her magic. A loud creak echoed through the yard, getting the attention of a few Thestrals that had finished their sweep. “This way…”

Luna stepped through the doorway and into a dark hallway, her horn ignited to provide some light. She heard Dominic flick the safety off of his shotgun, moments later he was standing next to her. His eyes scanned the darkness before them, a few paintings had fallen from the walls, tapestries depicting Luna’s cutiemark hung on the walls. They were surprisingly undamaged.

“Behold, the passage to our old chambers.” Luna said, trotting forwards. She didn’t look at the paintings, but Dominic found them interesting. One of them depicted Luna standing triumphantly over a hydra, she held a sword in her magic and her armor was slightly battered.

“You killed a hydra?” Dominic inquired, Luna nodded.

“Yes, though the artist took some liberties with that painting.” Luna added, looking at the painting in question. “We did not have a long mane such as this…” She gestured to her flowing mane. “We were being ‘rebellious’, as our sister would say, and our mane was done in a more… Contemporary fashion.” The two started walking again, Dominic continued scanning the area. After a thousand years, anything could be lurking in the darkened hallway before him.

“Wait… You were a goth?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of his surroundings. “That’s actually something I could envision.” They walked on in silence for several minutes before the man looked at another painting, it was of Luna standing on a balcony. Above her the night sky was out in all it’s glory. “These are pretty good, who painted them?”

“Their name is lost to history.” Luna replied, looking at a few tapestries. The two of them came upon a staircase, it spiraled upwards into the unknown. “We shall go before you.” Without another word she began ascending the steps, Dominic looked back down the hallway where he could see the light of the doorway still shining in from the courtyard. “Dominic, art thou coming.”

“Yeah, just looking around.” The man bounded up the steps behind Luna, for several more minutes they walked in silence until they came to a door at the top of the steps.

“This is the door to our bedchamber.” Luna said, looking at the old wood with nostalgia. Dominic was unsure of the room would be viable to live in, after all there must have been some sort of mold growth or water damage. As if Luna sensed his thoughts, she cleared her throat and spoke. “We remember we placed a spell of perseverance upon it after Discord painted our walls with vanilla pudding.” She turned the knob with her hoof and pushed the door inward.

The door was surprisingly silent on its hinges, and Dominic found himself bathed in a cool bluish light. He blinked as his eyes adjusted, Luna had already stepped into the room. The man followed behind her, the floor groaned beneath his boots. The room was a half circle, and took up most of the top of the tower it resided within. Large, blue tinted windows went around half of the spacious place, and two doors led to a balcony on the westernmost side. Against the flat wall, a large bed sat. It was made up with blue and indigo blankets, and Luna’s cutiemark was at the center.

The rest of the wall had a dresser and a desk, the latter had several ancient scrolls scattered about. Dominic couldn’t find a speck of dust, it was as if the room had only been cleaned a day before. Luna trotted towards a large standing mirror that stood by one of the windows, there were several small notes plastered to it. All of them expressed anger towards her sister.

The lunar princess let out a sigh as she read them, her own rage was what had written those notes. She couldn’t help but think how childish she was. She flinched when she felt a hand on her side, then looked at Dominic. He had a small smile across his face.

“Hey, I know that look.” He said. “That’s the ‘I blame myself for everything’ look.” Luna turned away from the mirror and sat on her haunches in front of him. “I’m very familiar with that look, Luna.”

“It was our fault…” Luna replied. “We caused all of the-”

“Stop.” Dominic said sternly, Luna looked at the floor and sighed. “We’re all angsty teens once in our lives, it just turned out that you were an extremely powerful angsty teen. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” Dominic took off his backpack and tossed it on the bed, it was followed by his shotgun. “Feel better?”

“Not really.” Luna replied with a sigh, looking back at the mirror. “We… I appreciate you trying.” The princess let out a yawn, and wobbled for a moment. “We were awoken from our slumber early today. The exhaustion is catching up with us.” Dominic immediately moved his things and gestured for Luna to lay in the bed. “We are fine, really.”

“No, you’re already feeling shitty enough.” Dominic insisted, Luna could tell arguing was useless. Slowly she trotted over to the bed, for a moment she stared at it.

“We have not slept in this bed in nearly a thousand years.” She stated before taking a breath and crawling under the ancient blankets. They were just as soft as she remembered them, this bed had always been her favorite one of all her beds. It fit the contours of her body perfectly, even after all the years. Thanks to her spell it had been preserved. Dominic pulled the covers up over her and she snuggled down into the warmth. “Thank thou, Dominic. Promise us thou shalt wake us upon the sunset?”

“Of course, Luna.” Dominic answered, he turned to leave her in peace.

“Dominic.” Luna said, the man paused and looked back at her. “If we remember correctly, there is a flag pole in the courtyard. We feel it would be acceptable for thy flag to unfurl once more.”

“Luna, I could kiss you right now.” Dominic said, a smile spreading across his face. He grabbed his folded flag from his backpack and left the room. “Sleep tight, Luna.” Luna nodded and let out a sigh, then slowly drifted off to sleep.

Dominic descended the steps into the hallway, one of the guards had come and was placing torches in the sconces on the walls. Dominic nodded to him as he passed, holding his flag firmly in his hands. The man stepped out into the courtyard, he found several guards pulling a dead manticore out into the open.

“What happened?” Dominic asked as he approached, the CO stepped forwards to answer.

“We found this beastie sleeping in the library, put it down before it could so much as growl.” The CO stated before extending his hoof. “I’m Night Owl, by the way.” Dominic shook the stallions hoof. 

“I’m Dominic.” The man said courteously, Night Owl seemed satisfied before noticing something.

“Where’s Princess Luna?” He asked, looking behind the human for a moment. Meanwhile, the other guards busy setting up their tents, save for the few with the Manticore. They were preparing to skin it, and most likely harvest meat from it.

“She’s taking a nap, I think the days events have really cut into her sleeping time.” Dominic answered the guard, his eyes scanned the rest of the courtyard and found the flagpole at the center. Night Owl nodded in acceptance, he looked at the flag in Dominic’s hands.

“What’s that?”

“This is my flag.” Dominic answered proudly. “I’m gonna put it on that flag pole over there.” Night Owl looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Need any help?” He asked, Dominic shrugged and started walking. Night Owl followed behind, glancing at the flag from time to time. “Hey, what are the stars for?”

“They represent a state in my country, fifty in all.” Dominic answered, looking back at the guard. “The stripes, which are at the moment, folded up, represent the thirteen original colonies.” Night Owl let out a ‘huh’ and continued following until the reached the pole. Surprisingly the halyard was still intact, and the clips were already lowered. “Could you hold this while I hook this up?”

“Sure.” The lunar guard took the flag in his hooves, Dominic secured the flag to the rope and began raising it into the sky. The fabric unfurled as it caught a gust of wind, the man continued raising the flag until it was at the top of the pole. He tied off the rope and stood back. A small smile spread across his lips and he snapped into a salute. Watching the flag wave made a part of him feel stronger, the pain and nightmares that haunted him were much easier to bare.

“What’s so important about this flag?” Night Owl asked, scratching his head. Dominic turned and looked at him. The stallion didn’t get it, of course he cared about his countries flag. He didn’t share the same feeling that he saw on Dominic’s face though, and that confused him.

“Walk with me, allow me to explain what exactly is so important about that flag.” The man started walking in a random direction, Night Owl followed behind him. His interest piqued. For a few moments there was silence between the two of them. “That flag is one of the greatest testaments to how the will of the people can change anything. You see, in my world, my country started out as a bunch of colonies.”

“England, our parent nation, started taxing everything without asking the opinion of the colonies.” Dominic began talking with his hands, his boots fell in step with Night Owl’s hooves. “Now, we Americans aren’t ones to take things laying down. So we started fighting, going up against the biggest, baddest country in the world at the time. All in the name of a nation where the power was held by the people, and where all men were created equal.”

“I take it you won?” Night Owl asked, Dominic nodded and kicked a rock out of his path.

“Yes, and for two hundred years she’s flown. Through the fires of the Civil War, the World Wars, Vietnam, September Eleventh, Iraq and Afghanistan, and even the end of all things, Old Glory has come through.”

“You’re gonna have to explain to me all that stuff.” Night Owl stated, looking back at the flag. Dominic smiled.

“I’d love to, it’ll give me something to do. Not now though, now I think I’m gonna go and unpack a few things, see if I can scrounge up some supplies.”

“Alright.” With that the two parted ways, Dominic cast another look at the flag as it fluttered in the wind. He couldn’t help but think of a poem, one of his favorites. Not the Star Spangled Banner, though that was what he had expected. Instead, the immortal words of Johnny Cash were uttered from his lips.

"I walked through a county courthouse square..."

As the guards and the man went about their day, the flag waved onwards. For more than two hundred years she had flown, and she would continue to fly, so long as one person loved her. So long as one person supported her, she would go on. No matter what others said, no matter what others did, the union would always survive. Thanks to those who served and protected her, she was unbreakable. Yes, the flag would wave on, from now until the end of history.

And so, in a foreign land, without ceremony or pomp and circumstance, the eagle became a phoenix for a short time. From the ashes, America was reborn.
> Chapter 24
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The princess of the night stood in a massive field of grass, wind was blowing down from the mountains in the distance. Large waves passed over the grass as she started walking forwards, in the sky she could see more than one moon. One was far off in the distance, while one was practically on top of the planet. In the distance she could see a mountain range, the sun was locked in a permanent twilight. It’s rays painted the sky with beautiful streaks of purples and pinks.

This was her favorite time of day, it was the time that both her moon and her sister’s sun shared the sky. Normally this was the place she would meditate in, a dream that she could access at anytime, tailored to be as relaxing as she wanted it to be. The soothingness of it allowed her to think over the difficult decisions that came with being a princess. She could think of no better place to go to deliberate over her recent revelation.

The alicorn trotted onwards until she came to a site that she was familiar with. A small pond, where a tree sprouted from the ground and hung over the calm water. Small cherry blossoms fluttered down into the cool pool of liquid, sending miniscule ripples across the mirrored surface. Luna sat down on the bank of the pond and leaned against the cherry tree, a sigh passed through her lips.

“Oh, what am I to do…” She asked herself, looking up at the two moons. “I have not felt this way before. How can I be so certain?” Memories of her visits with Dominic played out in front of her over the calm waters of the pond. When she saw him weep, she too felt the urge to weep, and when he smiled she couldn’t help but smile back. Luna shook her head, causing the memories to evaporate. In their place, swirling cherry blossoms were carried off by a breeze. “I must speak with Cadence, she is the expert after all.” Luna said resolutely, her thoughts turned to where she was currently asleep. The old castle.

She had not been in her old bed in a thousand years, and she had never dreamed of returning to the decrepit structure. Luna looked out over the pond, this time the memories were dark and unkind. She winced as she saw the days before her banishment, the notes and the letters, the burning hatred she had felt for her sister. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, she dispelled the memories with the same magic. They floated away on the same breeze as the before, off into obscurity. All but one of them. Luna froze as the blossoms whirled around, forming a funnel and touching down on the opposite side of the pond. Slowly the cherry blossoms became black, like locusts they swirled into a black cloud. Then she saw it, the beginnings of black hooves. Her worst nightmare was appearing before her eyes.

As the black alicorn took shape, Luna tried to use her magic to destroy the demon. She knew it was futile, for there was one thing that came with taming nightmares. She could tame the worst nightmare of a traumatized soldier, a victim of a violent crime was a walk in the park. However, she could not vanquish her own fears, her own doubts in herself. Luna did the only thing she could do, she turned and began running. The Nightmare gave chase, gnashing her teeth and trying to catch the frightened princess. For what felt like an eternity, the two went on in an unending chase. Luna was certain The Nightmare was getting closer with each passing second. She could hear thousands of voices whispering, telling her she was a failure, a nothing, a waste of space.

As Luna ran, she begged the dream scape to do something to save her. It obliged, and before her eyes the blossoms of the cherry tree began swirling into a massive vortex. The Nightmare paused to look at the sight, as did Luna. It soared high into the sky, the princess could swear it touched the very fabric of the stars. The vortex began moving towards The Nightmare, its powerful gusts pulling at her mane and tail. She could not escape, and with a powerful scream she was pulled into the vortex and sent out into the void where all nightmares went to die.

Luna watched the cherry blossoms dissipate, they fell like snow onto the landscape. At the center, she could swear she saw something. Before she could approach it however, she felt a gentle, spectral hand on her side.

“Luna… Wake up.” Said a baritone voice, a smile spread across her face. The princess took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

[♦]

Luna awoke to Dominic standing over her with a concerned expression, when he saw she was awake he visibly relaxed. Luna looked out the window and noted that the sun was setting, sending beautiful pinks streaks across the sky. It sent a smile to her face, she was never able to witness the coming of night in Canterlot. At least not in the same way she did now. Dominic followed her gaze and couldn’t help but smile as well. He’d seen sunsets like that on Earth, before the suffering.

“We thank thee for waking us, Dominic.” Luna said, snapping out of her trance. “We trust thine day went well?” Dominic nodded and looked back at her.

“Yeah.” Dominic stated, looking down for a moment. “The guards killed a Manticore in the library, they managed to get some pretty good meat off of it.”

“Thou didst not help them?” Luna inquired curiously, Dominic nodded.

“Too much blood.” He said quietly before shaking his head and looking at Luna. “How’d you sleep?” The man asked, discretely changing the subject. “Looked like you were having a bit of a scare.”

“All was fine, Dominic.” Luna replied, pushing the blankets off of her and stretching. Her regalia jangled a bit. “Remind us to remove our jewelry before we sleep…”

“Of course.” Dominic said with a grin, he cast a look out the window. “Shit.” He muttered under his breath. Luna raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask what was wrong Dominic had bolted down the steps. The princess looked in the direction where he had been looking and spotted his concern. The flag of The United States of America was waving in the breeze, the sun was setting. Luna stepped out onto the balcony and watched as Dominic got the attention of three guards. One of whom held a bugle.

Luna opened her wings and glided down towards them, she landed as the group of four started briskly walking towards the flag pole.

“I think I got them both right.” Said the guard with the bugle.

“Sorry I couldn’t do more than hum them, my dad never really taught me the notes.” Dominic replied before looking at Luna. He didn’t say anything, but nodded for her to follow. “I watched him do it enough times, I can probably get the commands right.”

“Don’t worry about it, the Equestrian ceremony is very similar.” Said the first guard, Luna recognized him as Major Night Owl, the stallion that would be in charge of the guard detail.

“I don’t get why we just don’t let it fly all night? It’s not a big deal.” Said the second guard. The glare he received shut him up within seconds.

“What, pray tell, art thou doing?” Luna asked in a somewhat serious tone, trotting up next to Dominic.

“Lowering the colors.” Dominic replied. “My dad always told me that we had to do it before sundown, otherwise it’s considered disgraceful. It could be total BS for all I know, but I’d rather not take chances.” As the group got closer to the flagpole within moments, Luna was going to stand next to Dominic. The man just gestured for her stand away, she nodded and complied. 

The movements of the group became stiff, three ponies and a human marched up to the flag pole. Luna watched as Dominic gave several orders, she was too far away to hear them clearly but the effects were immediate. Night Owl and the other guard turned and faced each other, the flagpole was just beside them. The stallion with the bugle marched over and stood next to Dominic, a few moments later Dominic gave another order and Night Owl took the halyard from the pole. Silence reigned for a while before Dominic gave a subtle nod. The bugler raised his instrument to his lips and began playing a song Luna hadn’t heard before.

The princess watched as her guards stood in silence, her thoughts drifted to the flag that hung on the pole. It still whipped in the wind, but she could see that soon the sun would leave it. Luna had seen his love for his country first hand, she understood how important the flag was to him. At least, she believed she did. The mare hadn’t actually asked what it meant to him, but she figured it was something that he would tell her in time. The princess stopped her rambling as she saw the same subtle nod. Like before, the bugler played a song she’d never heard before.

“Present arms!” She was able to hear Dominic’s voice, for it was louder than the bugle. It commanded the attention and compliance of all those present. Night Owl began lowering the flag while the bugle played on, Dominic and the second guard stood silently saluting the flag as it descended the pole. When it reached the bottom Night Owl grabbed it, denying the fabric the opportunity to touch the ground. Dominic gave several more commands and the guards followed them flawlessly. Though Night Owl did have to correct him a few times, it still turned out well in the end.

Dominic took his folded flag into his arms and nodded to the guards, they nodded back and went to busy themselves with other tasks. Luna took this as the moment to step in, she trotted over to the man who was holding the flag and saw a smile on his face. 

“Well, now that that’s done, I suppose you’re going to have to go back to Canterlot?” Dominic asked, looking at her. Luna nodded, letting a sigh escape her lips. “I can say that I understand, doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“We share the same sentiment, alas that is how things must be for now.” The lunar diarch stated, patting Dominic on the shoulder.

“You’re a good friend, Luna. With all that’s happened today, I’m glad to know I have you there for me.” The man pulled her into a hug. “You have know idea how much I would have given up in order to have a friend that’s half as good as you.” Luna nodded, though in her head Dominic’s words stung her heart like a million angered wasps. When Dominic let go of her, she put on a brave smile.

“We guess this is goodbye, for the moment.” Luna said, looking at the man. “Thank thou, for being such a good… friend.” With that, the alicorn took to the air. Dominic waved goodbye as she became nothing more than a dot in the distance.

The last rays of sunshine began to dwindle, and as the sun went down the night sky came out into light. It as dimmer than most nights, but Dominic, like most ponies, assumed it was because Luna had used so much power the previous night to create a wonderful spectacle. The man was certain that the next night would be brighter. He went to his room and placed his flag on the old desk, then went down to meet with the guards. They ate the meat, swapped a few jokes, and Dominic told them about his brush with the Redwood Wolf. The man cast a brief look at Canterlot in the distance, and as always, he hoped Luna was having a good night.

He had no idea how wrong he was.
> Chapter 25: Interlude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh as she walked through one of the many new arms factories that were being constructed. She had chose this one because it was being constructed on the outskirts of her old home. Construction had been accelerated thanks to funding from the town treasury, one section was already producing weaponized gems. Royal Guards stood vigilant in watch towers that had been erected with the walls around the compound, workers shouted at each other as concrete and steel were set in place. A guard walked up to her and saluted.

“Princess, there are some mares at the front gate here to see you.” He stated, Twilight brightened. Even in the darkness that came with watching the march of progress, she still had her friends to depend on.

“Alright, take me to them.” She replied, hoping they wouldn’t be too angry. It was the first time she’d come to town and not seen them before getting to work, but duty called. The guard led her to the front gate, she passed several stallions loading crates of weaponized gems onto a dolly to be sent to armories around the country. They would be ammunition for the new crossbows that were going to become standard issue, they were joined by larger crystals that would power the larger weapons. Twilight let out another sigh. That was how her life was looking lately, kill ratios and statistics, it had brought out her cynical side.

“There she is!” Pinkie cheered happily, trying to push past the gates. Two stone faced guards were keeping her back, scowling in distaste at her antics.

“Princess, can I get you to sign for these?” Asked one of the stallions loading the ammunition, Twilight scanned over the shipment and nodded before levitating a quill and signing an all too familiar form. “Thank you, your highness.” Twilight nodded and continued to the gate, her friends smiled widely at her. The alicorn returned the smile, though not as widely.

“Hey girls!” She said cheerfully, exiting the gates. Her friends wrapped her in a hug and brought her smile out completely. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see any of you when I got here, but they needed someone to look over the designs for the other parts of the plant.”

“Of course, darling. We understand.” Rarity said as the group let go of her. “Duty calls, right?”

“Yeah… Duty calls.” Twilight looked them over for a moment. “How are you all doing? It’s been so long.” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in place.

“We’re going to take you to the library and have a big ‘Catching up’ party! Spike’s been working really hard on a cake and I’ve got streamers!” She said loudly, Twilight’s smile faltered for a moment. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, just give me a moment.” The alicorn said before she turned towards the gates and whistled, a guard came out and saluted. “Major Iron Side, I need you to push the meeting with the mayor back until tomorrow.”

“She won’t like that, ma’am.” The guard stated, Twilight scowled. “I mean, I’ll tell her right away, ma’am.” Her smile returned and the guard went off to perform his duties. The lavender mare looked back to her friends and gestured for them to lead on, they were all too happy to do so.

“So, how’s tall, psycho and brooding?” Asked Rainbow Dash, Twilight sighed and shrugged.

“I can’t say, mainly because I wasn’t told. I know they moved him, and that’s it.” She said, looking around the town and noting several changes. A guard recruiting station had been set up in what had once been Quills and Sofas, she saw some teens checking out pamphlets. “Quills and Sofas closed? When?”

“Two weeks ago, the guards were in there faster than dragons to a gem mine. They’ve practically recruited half the colts in Ponyville.” Rarity said, slightly upset by the appearance of the recruiting center. “The other half are going to that new factory…”

“They’re gettin government jobs.” Applejack interjected. “The benefits are great, the hours are okay, ah don’t see why it’s a bad thing, Rares.” Twilight sighed, of course this would spark another argument.

“Come on girls, let’s not fight on the day we have Twilight back!” Pinkie said, grabbing both mares in a tight hug. They both nodded and appologised. “What is that factory anyway? I heard Mr Cake talking about maybe taking a second job there.”

“I’d rather not discuss work while we’re together.” Twilight tentatively said. “I really just want to get to the library and see Spike. I can’t wait to see how much he’s grown!” That took the mares’ thoughts from the looming complex on the outskirts of their small town. They continued on to the library, Twilight was impressed by how well kept it looked. The smell of baked goods wafted out of one of the windows.

Pinkie Pie bounded up to the door and pushed it open.

“Spike! She’s here! Act surprised!” She called into the building extremely loudly.

“Huh? What’re you talking about…” The drake said coming to the door, his eyes settled on Twilight and a large smiled wormed its way onto his face. “Twilight!” He exclaimed rushing out and wrapping the lavender mare in a hug.

“Spike!” Twilight replied, returning the hug. “It’s so good to see you! I’ve missed you so much!” She noticed that in her months in Canterlot, he’d grown to eye level with her and his voice had deepened. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop by when I got here, but…”

“It’s fine, Twilight.” Spike said, looking at her with a grin. Pinkie Pie came up and wrapped the both into a massive embrace.

“Isn’t this so great!?” She asked, looking at all of her friends. “I made cake and punch, invited everypony in town! It’s gonna be awesome now that Twilight’s back!” At this, Twilight frowned. She looked off at the factory, it was only one of dozens around the country, all of which would need to be inspected. “You are staying, right?” Pinkie looked at her with a quivering lip.

“I’ll see…” Twilight said, sighing. “Let’s get the party started, eh?” She gave a small smile, and the others smiled in response. They began entering the building, Twilight paused. Casting a look at the looming factory, she shook her head and entered the library. The inside was just as she’d remembered, save for a few minor changes. A large desk had replaced the table in the center of the room, pamphlets regarding enlistment, as well as other career paths sat spread out over it.

“Sorry about the mess.” Spike said, quickly grabbing the pamphlets and tidying them up.

“It’s okay, Spike.” Twilight replied, looking at the books on the shelves. The all seemed to be more worn than when she used the library, as if they’d seen far more use since she’d been gone. She had been very strict with books, and as such, few ponies ever visited the library. A thought popped into her head, had she been the one responsible for the lack of business?

“Hey, let’s all hear a cheer for Twilight!” She wasn’t sure who had shouted it, but it snapped her from her thoughts. She smiled and looked at her friends, they all cheered before delving deeper into the festivities. Rainbow Dash spent most of her time bragging about how she’d been promoted to chief weather manager for the area, which was practically ‘Just below Wonderbolt’. Pinkie talked constantly about how Mr. Cake would be giving her more responsibility in the store, mainly so he could take up his second job at the factory.

Rarity had been inundated with orders for uniforms, and was complaining about how garish it was to make the same thing over and over again. She was interrupted by Applejack, who was happy to say that orders for apples had skyrocketed. For a change, Fluttershy was quite loud with her news, mainly because it was all she could do to keep calm. Many of the woodland critters were in an uproar at the construction of the factory.

“I’ve tried talking to the guards and the construction ponies, but they don’t seem to listen!” Fluttershy said, extremely upset. “I’m afraid a lot of my animal friends will leave if the factory opens… Oh, Twilight. Can’t you do something?” Twilight frowned and looked at the floor, then shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I can’t.” She said, sighing loudly. “This is progress, unfortunately. If this is what it will take to make Equestria safer, I can’t in good conscience close the factory.” Fluttershy was going to say more, but Pinkie quickly interjected with a joke. Twilight could tell the pink mare was upset, she was far more erratic in her volume. The lavender alicorn looked over at Spike, who she noticed was holding one of the pamphlets. He seemed very interested in the guard pamphlet, that concerned her. She’d have to talk to him about it later.

She zoned out for the rest of the festivities, only speaking when spoken to. The thoughts of the day ricocheted like bullets in her mind. She wanted to help her friends, she wanted to say ‘I’ll stop the factory’. That wasn’t possible, however, as she was forced to accept something she hadn’t wished to. As an alicorn, she’d outlive her friends, the decisions in the now would later be past. She couldn’t make decisions for the now, to be looked on in the past as a mistake.

As the sun set, her friends slowly left one by one. Twilight looked out the window and noted the sky was far darker than normal, for what reason? She had no idea. When the last of her friends left, she found herself standing alone with only Spike for company. She could tell he had something to ask her, and she feared for what it was. Rather than ask her though, he simply let out a sigh, said goodnight to her, and ascended the steps to his room. The room that’d once been hers.

Twilight sighed and sat down, looking around the empty room. Her eyes settled on a design burned into the wooden floor, it was an image of her cutiemark. The image marked her ascension, as well as the end of her ‘normal’ life. Each day took her farther away from her normal life, farther away from her roots. The mare went to the kitchen and brewed a small pot of coffee, she sipped at a cup and looked out at the incomplete factory in the distance.
> Chapter 26
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna sighed as she looked over the papers on her desk, she was barely able to focus on the task at hand. Night court had ended exceptionally quickly, mainly due to her denial to field any petitions. It wasn’t something she did regularly, but she didn’t have the stamina to deal with nobles for the night. Her chest felt empty and all of the words on the papers seemed to blur together. Not even a day after she had realized her feelings for the lone human, and already her hopes seemed to be dashed.

The lunar diarch let out another sigh and rested her head in her hooves, her eyes falling on the door. The colors were muted in the darkness of the bedchambers, the flickering light of the candle on her desk was the only thing that seemed to give off warmth. Luna looked at it for a moment, watching as the flames danced and twirled from the wick. A burning performance of ballet, between the flames and the darkness. Luna found it oddly beautiful, and was thankful that it had drawn her thoughts from the cause of her woes. With a groan she stretched and cracked her back.

This brought her thoughts to her age, and in turn, how long she had been without someone to truly care for, and this brought her thoughts back to Dominic. The human had called her a friend, which was something the princess cherished more than anything, but she wanted more. Why? She didn’t know, and jumbled into the confusion as to why, was the thought as to how it was improbable. At that moment, the mixture of emotion and confusion was all but one step away from detonating into a full fledged emotional crisis. The catalyst that held this detonation at arms length was the knowledge that Luna’s niece would arrive the next morning.

Remembering this brought the lunar diarch back from the brink, and once more she found herself lost in the paperwork that had followed the days events. Transfers of supplies, troop movement, disaster funds, the normally mundane and boring papers only served to remind her. Again the emotions swelled, threatening to push the princess over the precipice. This time, she was pulled back by three swift knocks. With a relieved sigh, the Lunar princess looked up and used her magic to pull the large wooden doors open. Unsurprisingly, her sister was standing there with a neutral smile.

“Hello, Tia.” Luna said in a tired voice, straightening up in her seat.

“Hello, Lulu.” Replied Celestia, stepping into the room and closing the doors behind her. “I take it that Dominic took his relocation well?” Luna nodded.

“Yes, though we feel that perhaps from henceforth, we should accompany him. To ensure that if anything similar should occur, we can deal with it forthwith.” Said the night princess, rolling her neck several times. It popped loudly, causing Celestia to wince.

“While I won’t deny that perhaps one of us should be keeping an eye on him, that’s not necessarily why I came to speak with you…” The solar princess sat across from Luna, a slightly worried look passed over her features. “Cadence is going to be visiting us tomorrow… At your request.” 

“Can we not wish to see our niece?” Asked Luna, sounding slightly defensive. Celestia frowned at this and leaned forwards.

“Luna.” Celestia said flatly. “You and I both know that something else is going on here.” Luna sighed and hung her head a bit. For a few moments there was silence. “Tell me, what’s bothering you? Let me help you.” Celestia said, concern lacing her tone.

“We… I am not sure how I feel…” Luna said, she looked up at her sister. “In all of our years, we’ve never felt something like this. All we can gather tells us that Cadence holds the answers…”

“Cadence…?” Celestia both said and asked, a look or realization crossed her muzzle. “Luna are you saying…?”

“We do not know, sister! Please, let us drop this subject.” Celestia stared at Luna for a moment, her sisters tone had been panicked and fearful. The solar diarch wanted to push for more answers, but at the same time she knew what could happen if she pushed too hard.

“Very well then, Luna.” She said, standing from her seat. “If you wish to speak with me further, don’t hesitate to do so.” Luna nodded as Celestia started walking towards. The white alicorn stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She felt a similar sense of uncertainty as her sister felt. It was mainly directed at the object of her sister’s affection, however. Dominic was far from the ‘Romantic’ type, he probably wouldn’t know what to do with a relationship.

Meanwhile, Luna had stood from her desk and made her way to her bed. She laid down and looked out her window. The moon hung in the dimly lit night sky. The Princesses mind shifted towards the dream that she’d had earlier. The first time she’d slept in her old bed and she had seen Nightmare Moon. That was more terrifying than her new found feelings, as she could recall the feelings of doubt and fear that had driven her to such a state. The Nightmare was perhaps the most foul demon imaginable, a demon of the mind. Created and molded by self doubt. She wished she could say that she felt differently now, but she was far more scared than she had ever been before.

With a sigh, Luna rolled onto her side and pulled up the covers. Then she snuggled into the plush, soft mattress. It didn’t feel right to her, now that she’d slept in her old bed. It felt alien, as if she was in someone elses bed. It was extremely surreal how in the span of an afternoon, everything seemed to change. The mare closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep with a spell.

[♦]

The sun was shining brightly through the windows of the classroom, the desks were arranged in rows of four. The walls bleached white walls were adorned in numerous motivational posters and maps, the smell of fresh dry erase marker hung in the air like the scent of a cuban cigar. Standing at the front of the room was the teacher, a stout man with a scraggly beard and glasses. He wore his normal hooded sweatshirt and jeans, and his trademarked smile was spread across his face.

Dominic found himself standing in the doorway of the classroom, looking in at all the happy students as the lesson got under way. In the farthest row, near the back. He could see himself sitting next to a familiar girl. His other self and Maria were diligently taking notes, Dominic remembered this day well. He remembered the clothes he’d been wearing, he remembered the unusual amount of makeup that Maria had worn. How she’d flinched when he’d tapped her shoulder to ask a question. The man looked down at his chest and lifted up his shirt, sure enough, a familiar scar greeted his eyes.

The man looked back at the image before him, noting himself. His younger self was far less muscular, his eyes were less sunken, he could see brightness in those eyes. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn he was looking at a completely different, oblivious teenager. As the time went on, the class came to an end. Dominic watched himself and Maria stand from their seats. The girl made her way to the door and passed right through him, Dominic was sure to follow behind her. As he did this, he felt as if he’d slipped back into the day. Everything seemed so real, and when he looked behind him he didn’t see the other version of himself.

“Maria.” Dominic said, walking faster to catch up with his friend. “What’s the matter?” He asked, coming up along side her. “Come on, Maria, what’s wrong.”

“It’s nothing, I’m fine. Really.” Maria tried to walk faster, the two of them ended up going down one of the unused hallways as they always did. It helped bypass the crowded main hall, running past the weight room in the lower levels. “Tyler said I shouldn’t talk with you anymore…”

“Why?” Dominic asked, coming to a stop. Maria kept walking, leaving Dominic to stew in his own worry. After several tense seconds she came to a stop and turned around. Her hair was done differently, only now did Dominic notice the sweater she was wearing. While some people wore theirs for school spirit, such as their previous teacher, Maria hardly ever wore them. Especially in the warm months. Seeing as it was April, and the temperature that morning had been up above fifty degrees, Dominic became suspicious. He walked towards her and noticed she’d combed her hair over the left part of her face. Red flags began to rise, and alarms began to blare within his mind.

“He’ll… He get’s really angry…” Maria tried looking down, but winced at the movement. Dominic reached out his hand and brushed away the hair from her face. He immediately bit his knuckle as he saw the black and blue mark just right of her eye. Even with added makeup, he could see it well. “Dom, it was my fault! I started-”

“Listen to yourself for a moment.” Dominic cut her off, beating back a boiling rage. “You’re smart, Maria. You know how this plays out.” As his friend nodded, the bell rang. “Let’s get to class, then we’ll get this all sorted out.” Maria nodded and the two of them went off down the hall. For the next several hours, Dominic sat in his classes with an ever deepening scowl. When the final bell rang he was one of the first people out the door. His fists clenched, his eyes narrowed. In the main hall he saw the target of his rage. Tyler, Maria’s ‘Boyfriend’. He was standing by Maria’s locker, glowering down at her as she got her things.

Dominic walked through the crowd until he came out on the other side, he reached into his pocket and felt around. He had a roll of quarters he had left over from buying lunch, his car keys, and his phone. He could offer to drive Maria home, get her away from Tyler. That is if he could even get to her, as Tyler turned his head and spotted Dominic within moments.

“What do you want, shit head?” He asked venomously, Dominic ignored him and started walking towards Maria. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Dominic replied, his tone becoming one of icy fury. He looked at Maria and pulled his keys from his pocket. “Hey, need a ride home?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Maria replied, stepping away from Tyler. The sports jock made to put a hand on her shoulder, but wasn’t fast enough as both she and Dominic were already walking towards the door. As they exited the building, the noon sun beat down on the asphalt of the parking lot. Students made their way to their respective cars, Juniors like Dominic often had to park far away from the school. “You’re right, Dominic. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Don’t sweat it.” Dominic replied, putting a friendly arm around her shoulder. “Pricks like him have a tendency of fooling smart individuals such as yourself.” The parking lot was becoming increasingly empty as they neared the edge. “And don’t start with that ‘I never could of done it without you’ crap. I mean, realizing that took a grand total of what…. thirty seconds?”

“I guess I just needed a push is all. It’s so hard finding good guys around here.” Maria replied, looking at the ground.

“When the right one comes along, you’ll know it. Or end up forever alone like me…” Dominic felt himself come out of the dream for moment, a pang of sadness running through his heart, before he was plunged back into the memories. Maria let out a small humorlous chuckle, by this point they were the only ones left in the parking lot. A beat up old subaru sat in the baking sun.

“Why do you have to be so damn negative all the time?” Maria asked, looking at her friend with a far happier demeanor. “Hell, half the girls I eat lunch with talk about you.”

“You only sit with one person.” Dominic deadpanned.

“Don’t be difficult. I’m trying to pay you a compliment.” Maria gave him a light punch, the two of them reached the car. Dominic unlocked the passenger side first, but before he could go around the other side, a hand grabbed his shoulder and sent the keys flying. Tyler stood there, seething with rage. Dominic had just enough time to register this before he was thrown to the ground.

“SHE’S MINE!” The jock roared, sounding as if he were a belligerent animal. Maria quickly picked up the keys and rushed to the other side of the car to unlock the drivers side. Dominic groaned and stood to his feet, brushing himself off. As he looked at his attacker, he could tell that something was off. It was as if he was under some sort of rage inducing spell, Dominic assumed steroids.

“Start the car Maria!” Dominic yelled, the girl nodded and got into the driver seat. She dropped the keys and quickly picked them up, Dominic jumped back as Tyler tried to lay down a beating. From across the parking lot, a teacher started yelling. No one paid it much mind. Tyler reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a knife, the blade flicked open and he slashed at Dominic’s chest.

“Shit!” Dominic growled as he felt a gash open up, he reached into his own pocket and grasped the roll of quarters. His father had told him about this trick, he’d never thought he’d have to use it. Maria started the car and got out, she gasped when she saw the cut on Dominic’s chest. She watched nervously as Dominic pulled his fist from his pocket and dodged another swipe with the knife, then he delivered an uppercut to Tyler’s chin. The added weight of quarters sent Tyler flying back, a throbbing pain made itself apparent in Dominic’s hand.

By this point, several teachers were rushing towards the scene. The fight wasn’t over yet, though. Dominic grabbed Tyler with his free hand, the jock was still dazed from the impact. Dominic had to dodge another knife attack, but quickly dealt with that by pressing Tyler’s face into the hot metal of the car. The pain caused him to drop the knife, as well as slam his foot back into Dominic’s legs.

With a pained groan, Dominic went down. He still clutched the roll of quarters, and as Tyler loomed over him he saw no alternative but to bean him in the head. The roll dazed Tyler once again, but before Dominic could do anything he saw Maria’s fore arm go across Tyler’s throat. Confused and bleeding from a wound in his mouth, Tyler feebly attempted to get loose. Dominic rolled out of the way just as the behemoth fell.

[♦]

Dominic woke up with a start, urgently searching for Tyler and Maria for a moment before he realized where he was. Luna’s old bedroom, in her old bed, alone. With a sigh, he rolled out of the bed and made his way to the bag filled with clothes. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a white sleeveless undershirt, then tied his boots. He went to grab his jacket but sighed as he saw it’s sorry state. The dream was already fading, even if the scars weren’t.

“Fuck…” He muttered, leaving the jacket and instead grabbing his flag. The man walked down the steps and into the hallway that lead to the courtyard, then made his way to the flag pole and raised the stars and stripes himself. He stared at it for a few moments before turning and walking towards the tents that belonged to the guards. Light snoring could be heard from some, while the two members of the night watch were still awake. They all sat beside a campfire, eating cooked manticore. “Hey guys, what’s goin’ on?”

“Not much.” Responded one of them before taking a bite. “Sleep alright?”

“Yeah, like a log.” Dominic replied, sitting down beside them. The warmth of the campfire was nice, it reminded him of the times he and his dad would go camping. He looked around at the castle further, it was covered in green vines and overgrowth. The stone was still clear though, and with the dew in the morning light, it actually looked somewhat nice. “This place isn’t so bad once you get past the history.”

“Most ponies can’t though.” Said the second guard, poking the fire with a stick. “They’re more interested in protesting the new arms factories and such.”

“I can see where they’re coming from.” Said the first guard. “They’re kind of noisy, and somewhat polluting.” He took another bite of manticore meat. “Then again, they’re gonna use those ‘Pollution Control’ spells they use on trains, so…” Dominic watched the two of them quietly, grabbing a piece of manticore meat for himself.

“I’m more interested in those new Spell-Bows.” Stated the second, he looked up at Dominic. “You saw those, right? They look like anything good?”

“I never saw one fired, but from what I saw you should be in good shape.” Dominic replied, taking a bite of the manticore meat. “Damn, this shit is tough.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Said the first guard. “I’m United Front, and that dipshit over there is Gear Grinder.” Dominic was going to shake their hooves, but opted instead for a fist bump. That seemed to be the modus operandi of the Lunar Guards.

“Fuck you, Front.” Gear stated with a scowl.

“Not my type, sorry.” United replied with a shit eating grin, Dominic sighed and relaxed. He turned around and pulled a small supply crate over, then leaned against it. “So, what’s the deal with that flag anyway? Night Owl never really explained it.” Dominic smiled at the question.

“Well, two hundred years ago in a little town called Philadelphia…”

> Chapter 27
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The city of Canterlot was far different from how Cadence had left it, the once pristine white walls were now marred by various burn marks, some of the cobblestone was still scorched, and the golden armor of the Royal Guards had been replaced with matte black ‘Composite Armor’. The Princess of Love sighed, the remnants of the riot were still fresh. That, however, was not her main concern, nor the reason for her arrival. As her train pulled into the station, Cadence looked to the platform. Standing there, sure enough, was her Aunt Luna. She was flanked by two Lunar guards.

Cadence gathered her things and stood up, then made her way to door of her private carriage. As she did, she noticed the train had stopped in the secluded station close to the castle, rather than the one that most regular ponies used. This struck her as odd, as most of the time her aunts would have made sure the populace knew she was coming. For what purpose, she was unsure, perhaps it helped boost the economy of small shops.

“Cadence, it is good to see you.” Luna said, snapping the younger alicorn out of her thoughts. “I apologize for the abrupt call, but I feel you are the best pony to discuss my dilemma with.” Luna spoke with all the eloquence as she normally did, but Cadence could sense something was amiss. She could detect worry within her aunt, Cadence wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“I’d be happy to help you with whatever problem you have, aunty.” Said the love princess, stepping onto the platform. The two Lunar guards quickly stepped forwards and retrieved her belongings, then began walking towards the castle.

“Come along then, we have much to discuss. I’d prefer to do so in private...” Luna and Cadence began walking side by side, both of them were silent. Cadence took a chance to see more of the changes to guards. Many of them wore black composite armor, at their hips were swords rather than spears. Each of them held an intimidating looking crossbow, and in the guard’s courtyard, there were numerous armored carriages. When they entered the castle, the guard armor went from black to silver, though she assumed it was only paint.

“I see the modernization effort is going well…” Cadence mentioned, looking closer still at the guards. Their faces were hidden from view, which made her nervous. Then again, maybe that was the point. Discouraging criminal activity was always a good goal.

“Yes, we have your sister in law and Dominic to thank for that.” Luna replied, Cadence noticed she seemed to perk up at the mention of the human. “Some may view it as unnecessary, but our military was woefully ill equipped, decades ago, before this effort was made it was completely useless.”

“Isn’t that good?” Asked Cadence as they continued down the hallway.

“Si vis pacem, para bellum.” Said Luna, again Cadence sensed a bit of a perk in Luna’s emotions. “A human saying. If one wishes for peace, they must prepare for war.” She let out a minor chuckle. “Or as Dominic puts it, the best defense is a good offense.” At the very mention of his name, Cadence felt the perk increase again. Mixed into the happiness, however, was worry and nervousness.

“With the Twin Island crisis mounting, I can see what you mean.” Cadence stated, she’d read about the crisis on the train. The Minotaurs and the Zebras were on the brink of an all out war over the tiny strip of land, and as much as Celestia had been attempting to calm the situation, nothing seemed to be working.

“At times I envy our subjects ignorance, they do not have to fret over more than trivial things.” As Luna and Cadence got closer to the lunar princess’ quarters, the princess in question gave a low sigh. “The reason I have called you here is of a… Private matter.” The two stopped before the grand doorway to Luna’s bedroom. The guards outside of it snapped into a salute and pushed the door open for the two of them.

“I am always glad to help you, aunt Luna.” Cadence stated, the two of them walked into the bedroom and the doors closed behind them. Luna silently trotted towards a pair of seats by the window. She’d spent many a day discussing things with Dominic in them, it seemed fitting to use them now. “What seems to be the matter?” Asked Cadence, sitting in one of them while Luna took the other.

“I don’t know…” Luna said somewhat uncertainly. “It stems from Dominic, when I am around him I feel strange. Happy doesn’t seem to describe it.” Cadence looked at her aunt with caring eyes, some semblance of understanding forming in her mind. “When the Red Wood attacked, I feared he’d perished… To me that fear was worse than any I have ever felt in my life.”

“You spend a lot of time with him, don’t you?” Cadence asked, to which Luna nodded.

“Yes, often times we sit here and discuss things.” Luna gestured to the seats. “About his world, about ours. What we care about, what we look forwards to.” The princess smiled slightly at the thought.

“The answer to your problem is obvious to me, as I’m sure it’s obvious to you too.” Cadence said while ruffling her feathers. “I can sense it in you.” Luna looked at the floor, the words rattled around in her brain. Three words, words she’d never imagined she would say. Yet they seemed to define how she felt. Unbridled happiness when she was around him, extreme worry at the thought of losing him. She’d stopped herself from saying it earlier, but there was no point in doing so now.

“I love him.” Luna said, and as she did she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. Only for it to come back down. “But he does not love me…” Cadence looked at her aunt with a sympathetic expression, she had had a similar problem with Shining Armor. Stallions, and she surmised human males, could be extremely blind at times. Especially young ones.

“He views you as his friend, all things considered, it’s not a bad thing.” Cadence said, smiling slightly. “But, you will never be more than that if you don’t try.”

“How?” Luna asked, she looked at her niece with uncertainty. “I’ve never been ‘In love’ before. Cadence, what must I do?”

“I don’t know.” Cadence responded, looking at the floor. “Every heart is different, I don’t know enough about Dominic to say for certain.” A silence fell over them, it didn’t last long however. “Tell me about him. What make him special to you?” Luna hummed in response.

“He’s relatively smart, at least when it comes to basic things.” Luna began. “At least, he’s smarter than he gives himself credit for.” She adjusted herself in her seat, then looked out the window towards the Everfree. “Over the past few months we’ve talked about our different worlds. When he speaks about the world before the infection, he does so with such a passion I cannot help but find myself enthralled.” Cadence nodded along to what Luna was saying. “Speaking of passion, he’s absolutely devoted to his flag. For what reason I don’t know, but I can see the loyalty in him.”

“I see.” Cadence said, smiling slightly. “What faults do you see in him?” Luna sighed and took a breath.

“He’s rather angry at the world, even if he can be nice.” She explained. “He hates things to extremes, and he seems to be apathetic towards anyone but me and the few he let’s in.” The lunar diarch looked at the floor. “He’s put up so many barriers, he rarely let’s anyone get to know him. I wish I could take them down and show the ponies the real him…”

“Aunty Tia tried that, and we both know how that turned out.” Cadence responded, she shivered at the memory. “I think it would be best to try and reintroduce him to the populace, after the backlash has died down. As for your problem, I can only offer advice.”

“Anything would help.” Luna said, relaxing back into her seat.

“First of all, spend more time with him.” Cadence began. “Secondly, try giving him hints towards how you feel. Maybe do something he cares about, let him put the pieces together.”

“And if that fails?”

“Tell him the truth.” Cadence said firmly. “If he doesn’t get it, you have to make him get it. Only you will know when the time is right, I can’t tell you more beyond that.” Luna nodded and stood up from her seat. 

“I think that’s all for today, maybe we should speak more tomorrow?” Luna asked, she felt a familiar tingle as her modern speech spell wore off. “We hath not the time to cast another spell, and we must have some margin of sleep before night court.”

“Of course, Aunt Luna.” Cadence said, walking towards the door. “I think I may visit a few shops, I want to make sure I have Shining's and my anniversary covered.”

“Do not forget to say hello to our sister, she misses you.” Luna said, opening the door to the hallway with her magic. Cadence stepped out and gave her a small wave.

“I’ll be sure to stop by.” Said the pink alicorn before she started trotting off, Luna closed the doors to her room and made her way to the bed. Then laid down to digest the information that had just been imparted on her. It seemed she would have to take her leave of absence earlier than expected, not that she minded. She hated dealing with snobbish nobles, she’d rather be seeing the world and how it had changed since she’d returned. Her thoughts drifted to her room in the old castle again, how many years she’d spent stewing in her own angst and self doubt. Now she would have to be confident, it seemed to be the only way to sate the feeling of want within her.

As Luna closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she smiled slightly. There was a plan, she could do what had to be done.

[♦]

The halls of the Castle of the Twin Sisters were dark, as to be expected by a thousand years of disuse. The light from the sun still filtered in enough for Dominic to see, but it wasn’t much. Having grown bored of sitting around he’d decided to explore the old ruins, so far he’d found old suits of armor, and what he assumed had once been a kitchen. The man let out a sigh and stopped walking, his hand fell to the holster on his hip. It was an old instinct he’d carry with him until he died. The hallway was long and grew darker as it went along, if he went further he’d most likely end up lost.

Rather than take his chances, he decided to instead focus on where he currently was. The tapestries that hung on the stone walls were tattered, but in surprisingly good condition for a thousand years of sitting in an old, empty castle. The one he focused on most of all was one depicting Luna and Celestia, the two of them seemed to be standing on a tall hill. The Sun and the Moon were both setting and rising, and both alicorns seemed to be smiling. The image seemed to be sewn in gold and other precious metals, a true masterpiece.

There were many tapestries similar to this one throughout the castle, all of which seemed to lack information about who’d created them. It was almost like visiting a museum without any curator, and so he had to make up histories for himself. If it was like a museum, he had no doubt he would be turning to someone next to him and saying ‘I don’t get it.’ To which, she would most likely reply. ‘It’s art, you don’t have to get it.’

“Oh, Maria…” Dominic said to himself, his voice somewhat hollow. “What I wouldn’t give to have you here…” The man reached for his shoulder, expecting to feel the patch on his jacket. He then remembered the sorry state of his jacket, and how he’d have to fix it soon. The man lowered his arm and steeled his gaze on the tapestry. “It’s a lonely road, but it’s my road.” He said to himself. “Ain’t no one gonna walk it with me but me.”

Dominic turned on his heel and walked away from the tapestry, the only noise to accompany his foot steps was his breathing.
> Chapter 28
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia looked at the delegates from both the Zebra Coalition and the Federal Republic of Minotaurs, both of whom had been arguing relentlessly over a strip of land the size of a large cornfield. The meeting room was a rather dark place, with its muted colored walls and the lack of large windows. Fitting, considering that a war between the ZC and the FRM was almost inevitable. The fighting had really heated up at the announcement that the United States of America was considered a sovereign nation. For some reason, the Zebras and Minotaurs thought it meant that Twin Island would be given to the US, and even after it had been cleared up the arguing only escalated

.”That land is sovereign territory of the Zebra Coalition!” Shouted the Zebra delegate while the minotaur was glaring daggers into her. Celestia was surprised that the mare hadn’t lost her voice after all the yelling she’d done.

“Why can’t your nation’s split this land, again?” Celestia asked, looking at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. “As I’ve been suggesting for the past…” The alicorn paused and looked thoughtfful. “Well, since this argument started!”

“BECAUSE IT IS OURS!” Shouted both delagates at the same time before they looked at eachother. “NO IT’S NOT YOURS!” Again in unison, Celestia’s patience was slowly waning with each syllable that they uttered. Sometimes she felt like the entire situation could be solved by taking Twin Island for Equestria and end the whole discussion. Of course, she quickly dismissed that thought as she knew that Equestria had no right to interfere.

“NO YOU!” Shouted one of the delegates, snapping her from her thoughts.

“NO YOU!” Shouted the other, it continued going back and forth. Immediately Celestia tuned them out again and her thoughts turned to another growing dilemma. Unicorn Falls, the city that had housed Dominic and fallen victim to a Redwood attack. The Duchess had sent the princess a letter begging for assistance in ‘quashing a rebellion’. This letter coincided with others, she’d received numerous notes and messages from citizens of the town requesting the dutchess be ousted and replaced by a mayor or another leader chosen by the ponies. Of course, not all of the letters had been civil. Some were nearly as colorful as the one’s that she’d received regarding the United States and its sole citizen. Nearly.

“NO YOU TIMES A BILLION!” Shouted the zebra, that tore Celestia from her thoughts and broke the last bit of restraint she had. Her eye twitched and the room gradually began to rise in temperature. The combined stress of running a country, dealing with riots, debating whether or not to oust a noble from office had all been held back up until the point when two arguing delegates began to bicker and argue like petulant children. Both ambassadors stopped their arguing when they noticed the loud exhales the princess was making through her nose. It was time to end the debate once and for all.

“Thou hast been trying mine patience with your petulant squabbling for nearly a decade over this putrid strip of land.” Celestia roared, shocking both of the delegates. They understood that Celestia rarely, if ever, dabbled in the ‘Royal We’. “We will take a break from this discussion, when we return it will be the final discussion. If you cannot reach a compromise by then, it is clear that no amount of mediation will solve anything.”

“O-O course, Princess Celestia!” Said the minotaur, both delegates exited the room in a hurry. The alicorn stood from her seat and rubbed her temples with her wings, the princess left the room and started trotting down the hallway towards the throne room. She was in no mood to deal with nobles, but she had responsibilities bigger than herself. Absentmindedly the alabaster diarch passed several hallways and saluting guards.

“Aunt Celestia.” Said a young voice, causing the mare to stop and turn. Standing in one of the hallway’s was Cadence, the young mare was wearing a small smile. “I was hoping to find you.”

“Well, you’ve found me.” Celestia replied, a bit of her frustration dissipating at the sight of her niece. The two mares hugged each other, Celestia relished every moment of it. Ever since the incident, Cadence had been slightly cross with her. It seemed now that her niece was forgiving her, or perhaps she was just in a better mood than usual. “I take it you’ve spoken with Luna?”

“Yes.” Cadence replied, breaking the hug and looking up at her aunt. “She and I had a very good discussion. We’ve come up with a sort of… plan. I suppose that’s the right word.” Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, to which Cadence gestured down the hallway. “We can discuss it on the way to lunch.”

“Alright.” Celestia said with a nod, the two alicorns began trotting in the direction of the caffeteria. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Luna is in love, at least she thinks she is.” Cadence said, trotting at an even pace with her aunt. They passed several guards, and again the princess of love felt uneasy at the sight of their new armor. “Providing she can arrange for it, I think she intends to go bond with Dominic.”

“When you say bond…” Celestia trailed off.

“No!” Cadence replied, blushing slightly. “At least, I hope she doesn’t rush into THAT sort of bonding.” The princess quickly shook her head, but no before adding. “Not that a healthy sex life isn’t beneficial…” under her breath. “No, Aunt Luna is going to try and gain his attention.”

“And if that fails?” Celestia asked, they were nearing the caffeteria now. The smell of food permeated the air in the hallways.

“If it fails, she will have to be blunt…” Cadence trailed off. “If Dominic doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, well we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The alicorn’s were silent for a few minutes. “What do you think of all this?” Celestia was slightly surprised by the question, but it made sense that Cadence would ask.

“I don’t know if it’s the right choice for her.” Celestia said with a sigh, she looked at the ground. “We’re eternal beings, Cadence. I doubt Dominic share’s the same fate as us, if what he’s told us of his world is anything to go by.” The solar diarch looked at the younger alicorn with somber eyes. “He cannot be given the same magic that keeps Shining as he is...  I worry for how Luna would react, watching him grow old…”

“We don’t know that that is the case, aunty. Perhaps there is a way to transmute the spell into a potion form.” Cadence countered, Celestia let out a pent up sigh.

“Let us just see where this all leads, and as you said, cross that bridge when we come to it.” The two alicorns stopped in front of the cafeteria doors. “Well, after you.”

[♦]

The mood in the Castle of the two sisters was a dull one, as there was not much for the guards to do aside from patrol or sit around the campfire in the courtyard. The clouds had been merciful, and were doing a decent job of blocking the sun. Two thestrals and a young man were reclined against supply crates, one of the thestrals was poking the fire out of sheer boredom.

“I’m bored…” Said Gear Grinder, letting out a sigh and poking the fire some more. United Front didn’t even bother to look at him, instead opting to chuck a rock at his compatriot.

“We know, Gear. You’ve been saying that for the past three fuckin’ hours.” His voice was extremely annoyed. “Complaining ain’t gonna change jack shit, if you’re bored go do something productive.”

“Yeah, it could be worse, you could be locked inside a building for an extended period of time with nothing to do but eat, sleep, pray, shoot and masturbate.” Dominic muttered, in his lap he had his tattered coat and a sewing needle. He’d made some progress repairing it, but it was slow going considering he didn’t have a leather needle. “Sometimes not in that order.”

“Wow, Dominic. Don’t hold back ANY information.” United Front said, tossing another rock at Gear Grinder.

“The fuck was that for?” The thestral protested.

“Bored.” Was Front’s reply, picking up another rock. A soft breeze blew through the courtyard, causing the flag to wave on it’s pole with a small amount of energy. “I wonder if this is what it’s like for the Solar Guards when they’re off duty…”

“Doubt it, Solar Guards are fucking pussies.” Gear Grinder shot back, pausing his poking of the fire. “They probably spend their down time in their mommies’ sewing circle or some shit. The ones I suspect to be remotely like us are those Elite fuckers.” He stopped poking the fire all together and leaned back. “If we’d had ten of those guys during that Changeling invasion, fucking TEN of them, we would’ve wiped the floor with the bugs.”

“Damn straight.” United said, he threw another rock. It sailed through the air and pinged off of one of the patrolling guard’s helmets. The guard in question whipped around, looking for an attacker, before shrugging it off and going back to his patrol. “I got an idea…” Dominic and Gear Grinder looked up. “Nevermind… I lost it.”

“Fuck.” The two said in unison, slumping back against their collective seats.

“Could always explore the castle or something.” Suggested Gear Grinder, Dominic and United Front shook their heads. “Well, Dominic. Tell us a story.” The man raised an eyebrow, pausing his repairs on his coat.

“Yeah, Dominic. Tell us a story.” United said with a shit eating grin.

“You two are like fucking children.” The man muttered, continuing his work on his coat. “Okay, once upon a time there was a cute cow. It was taken from its family on a magical adventure!” The two thestrals raised their eyebrows. “One day, a nice man came over to the cow and killed it with a bolt gun! Then it’s body was ground up, formed into a beef patty, cooked to medium rare, topped with bacon and then served to me!”

“That was a shitty story.” United Front said, scowling. “And now I’m hungry.”

“Manticore burgers anyone?” Gear Grinder suggested, looking at several crates that stored the remaining meat on ice. Dominic shook his head with United Front. “You guys are no fun.”

“Cry me a fucking river.” Said the lone human, finishing another stitch in his jacket. The three of them descended back into boring silence. The fire crackled loudly, and occasionally Dominic would swear under his breath, having stabbed his finger with the needle. The man found himself humming a few bars of ‘Dixie’, remembering the Union version to be far superior to that of the CSA.

“Dominic, I swear if you start singing that song again…” Gear Grinder said with a scowl, he tossed another log onto the fire. The group lapsed into silence once more, much to their annoyance. Dominic continued to mend his jacket, now he was nearing the halfway point on the work. “What’s the deal with that jacket anyway?”

“Personal.” Dominic replied without missing a beat, his eyes didn’t leave his work. “Lotta stuff I got is personal.” Neither Gear Grinder or United Front said more after that. Dominic stopped sewing, taking a minute to look at the flames of the campfire. They were small, but dangerous and scorchingly hot none the less. In them, the man could see something that he could barely stand. The images flooded towards him, the sights and sounds. A phantom pain ran through his hands, causing him to tense and stop his work. Gear Grinder and United Front noticed this almost immediately. 

”Dominic! Help me! I can’t breathe..!” In his mind the voice was pleading with him, begging him to save her. The man slowly looked down at his hands, and for a breif moment the jacket in his lap appeared as a teenaged girl. Burned and scarred, he’d blocked her wounds from his mind, but now he saw them once more. Anguish was on her face, the flesh looked as if it would melt off of her. ”Dominic…”

“Dominic, you in there?” Gear Grinder’s voice snapped him out of the dream like state, he blinked a few times. The jacket was as it truly appeared, and so Dominic let out a low sigh. The man looked up and saw Gear Grinder looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Y’alright?”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine.” Dominic said, rising to his feet and putting his jacket over his shoulder. “I’m gonna go to my room for a bit, see you later.” Without another word, he turned and walked off towards the door that would take him to his room. His steps were slower and the world seemed to be spinning around him. Eventually he reached the door and went into the hallway. Dominic paused and looked back at the two thestrals before closing the door behind him.

The sound of hooves against the stone drew both Gear Grinder and United Front’s attention away from the human, they turned their heads towards the source of the noise. Major Night Owl was approaching them, they quickly realized it was their turn to take guard duty and stood up from their seats.

“Keep an eye on Globe an’ Anchor, he didn’t look so good.” United Front told the thestral, trotting off with Gear Grinder. The Major looked at the tower that acted as the human’s quarters. Rather than sit by the fire as his subordinates had been doing, he decided to check on the human. With a stern expression he trotted to the door that lead to the hallway, however he found it hardly budged. It was clearly barricaded on the other side. Despite this, the stallion wordlessly resolved he would get in. He started bashing the door with his shoulder, a terrible thudding noise echoed through the courtyard. After several minutes he managed to burst in, he rushed into the hallway and found that the door had been blocked by several rocks.

“Dominic…” He called out, not receiving an answer. The thestral closed the door behind him, the only light that remained was filtering down from the steps at the end of the hallway. Night Owl trotted slowly towards them, he could hear noises upstairs. Dominic was talking, but to whom the thestral had no idea. Silently he walked up the steps, but paused as the conversation became clear.

“...fucking failure. She fucking trusted you and you let her die.” He heard Dominic’s voice. “If you hadn’t hesitated. If you were a better warrior, you could have saved her.” Night Owl was about to continue up the steps, but stopped when the man spoke again. “But then you’d be dead too, asshole.” He heard a small thud, as if the man had slumped against something. “Maybe it would be better if I was. She wouldn’t have gone alone...”

Night Owl cleared his throat and finished ascending the stairs, he found Dominic sitting on the floor with his jacket next to him. Rather than look angry, the man just stared at the thestral. For several moments they stared at each other.

“Can I help you?” Asked Dominic, standing up and brushing himself off. Night Owl blinked before shaking his head.

“No, I just came to keep an eye on you. Some of the guards said you seemed… Off.” He replied, sitting on the floor. Dominic scowled and walked to the desk by the window, there he set his jacket before he pulled out the chair and sat down.  He looked down at the desk for a moment, his expression something the thestral hadn’t seen before. It was the expression of a man who’d aged before his time.

“How much did you hear?” He asked abruptly. 

“After you called yourself a failure.” Replied Night Owl with an honest tone.

“Well, it’s true. I failed.” Dominic said with ice in his voice, his eyes were fixated on the patch to his jacket. Night Owl said nothing. “Maybe if I’d succeeded you’d be talking to someone else, someone who actually deserves this.”

“Stop.” Night Owl said sternly, as if addressing one of his soldiers. “Dominic, I don’t know you well enough to tell you whether you’re right or not. I don’t know what you’ve done or what you’ve gone through.” The stallion didn’t move from his spot, instead adopting a stern expression. “That doesn’t matter, you feel like you don’t deserve to be here. Well, here’s an idea for you then.”

“And what’s that?” Dominic asked, looking at the thestral with an almost blank expression.

“Earn it.” The stallion stood up. “Earn it for yourself.” Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but the thestral held up a hoof. “You’ve gotta find out how on your own, find your own reasons for justifying your stay here. Something to think about while you’re up here, eh?” The man nodded, getting a smile from the thestral. “Great, don’t brood too much, you’re the only one who knows how to cook that manticore meat right…”

“Yeah yeah…” Dominic muttered, preparing to get to work on his jacket further. “Thanks, Night.” The Thestral nodded and started trotting away. “And Night, for future reference, if the door is blocked leave it blocked.” The man was now looking over his revolver. “Just in case I’m ‘Venting’, ricochet’s and such could do a pony like you harm.”

“Got it.” Night Owl said, trotting out of the room. Dominic rolled his shoulders, then set his gun down and began to work further on repairing his jacket. A song popped into his head, and he couldn’t help but hum a few bars to himself. A few mumbled lyrics passed his lips while he tapped his foot.

“There is no peace here, war is never cheap dear… Love will never need it, it just get's sold for parts…” The man stitched another part of his jacket back together. "You cannot fight it, all the world denies it, open up your eyelids... Let your demons run..."
> Chapter 29
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three Weeks Later...

Luna trotted down the hallway towards the chariot depot with a small smile on her face, today was the day she would leave to ‘Oversee the refortification of Castle November’. At least, that was the official story. The truth was she was going to the Castle of the Two Sisters to see Dominic and viy for his affection, with turning the castle into a fortress as a second but equally important task. As she got closer to her destination, the hallway became packed with more Lunar guards and other personnel.

Many of them were carrying large boxes of supplies and equipment, while a few held clipboards and were checking off numerous boxes. As the princess passed them, they would salute or nod to her if their hooves were full. Luna responded with the same respect that they showed her, she realized how hard they were working to get the job done.

“Hey, hey hey hey!” Shouted one of two stallions holding a particularly heavy looking crate. “We’re gonna lose it!” They were close to dropping it, Luna could tell by the franticness in his voice. She lit her magic and caught it just as they lost their grip. “The fuck?” The two backed away from the now glowing crate, and Luna set it down gently. As her magic faded, the two guards turned and snapped into salutes. She recognized them as Chipped Blade and Rolling Thunder, two of the guards that’d been dispatched to Dominic’s first safe house.

“PRINCESS LUNA, MA’AM!” They both shouted in unison, then snapped into salutes. Luna could see the scar on Rolling’s side from the Redwood attack. Luna returned the salute, then looked them over. “Sorry, your highness. We didn’t realize it would be so heavy. Thank you for the assist.”

“Think nothing of it, we saw thou required assistance and we provided it.” Luna said with a small smile. “Allow us to further assist thee.” The princess began levitating the box again. “We shall take this crate to it’s appropriate location, thou may proceed to continue thine next task.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The guards replied, they turned and started walking off to retrieve another crate from the supply depot. Luna trotted down the hallway with the crate in her grasp, she passed several more guards and workers who noted her cargo but said nothing. When she reached the Chariot Depot she had to set the crate down, what she saw was nothing short of incredible. The depot normally was only actively filled with two or three chariots on a given day, today however, it was filled to the gunnels with nearly thirty chariots in various stages of loading.

“Princess Luna!” Said a guard with a clipboard, he noted the crate and whistled. Two earth ponies came over and lifted it up. “You’re a tad early, but we should be ready to leave by noon as scheduled.” Luna nodded, still somewhat awed by the sheer amount of activity in the depot. It was one of the few parts of the castle that was built into the mountain, with an exit cut out of the rock on the otherside. That was the only source of natural light with magic lamps providing the rest, and honestly it reminded Luna more what an ‘Aircraft Carrier Hangar Deck’ might look like than it did a depot. At least, from Dominic’s description of a Hangar Deck, sans the gaping hole in the side of the mountain.

”All Personnel, initial departure is in T-minus Fifteen Minutes.” Announced a voice over a loudspeaker. ”Departure Group Alpha, be prepared. If you do not finish loading your chariot, leave any non loaded cargo and depart immediately.

“We’ll be leaving shortly, your highness. Is there anything you require of me?” asked the officer, Luna shook her head.

“Nay, we simply wish to be of assistance. If thou require our help to load the chariots, you needn’t hesitate to ask.” The Lunar officer looked somewhat stunned by her statement, but jotted a few things down on his clipboard.

“Of course, your majesty.” He said. “I may have something for you in a moment, but until then please feel free to examine our work.” With that the officer trotted off, adjusting his uniform slightly. Luna decided to try and find something to do, but as time wore on she felt that there was little to help with that was already being done. Numerous earth ponies and unicorns, all Lunar guards, began to file into the ten large chariots nearest to the mouth of the depot. Luna knew that it was time to get going, and she too made her way there. The mare took up a spot in one of the less crowded chariots and waited as the guards that would pull the chariot hooked themselves in.

”Attention! Attention! All personnel in the Alpha Departure Group report to your assigned chariot.” more guards rushed into the depot, some hooking themselves into the cargo laden vehicles in the back while others entered the troop transports at the front. The nonessential guards exited the area. An officer went towards the mouth of the exit and held his hoof up. The guards pulling the first line of chariots spread their wings. ”Alpha Group is cleared for departure.”

“Go!” Shouted the officer, the first chariot was yanked out of the depot by its team. It dipped below the horizon for a moment before gathering the speed needed to gain altitude. “Go!” The second chariot launched out of the depot with the same effect. “Go!” The third chariot was out, Luna found she was in the fourth chariot. “Go!” The chariot lurched out of the depot and began to sink. Luna could feel her stomach rise in her throat.

“WING POWER! WE NEED MORE WING POWER! WE’RE TOO HEAVY!” Shouted one of the guards at the front as the chariot struggled to climb. Luna, who realized she weighed more than most ponies, quickly opened her wings and flapped out of the chariot. “There we are, we’re leveling out!” Luna glided next to the chariot, giving a small glance back towards the depot to see the other chariots launching in an orderly fashion. The chariot that was next to her began to bank, she banked with it. Soon both she and the chariot loaded with guards came around the mountain and began the flight towards the Everfree Forest.

[♦]

Dominic and the small contingent of guards in the castle were far from busy, as they’d been notified ahead of time of what would happen. There were small things that needed to be taken care of, like an airpatrol and maintaining a clear landing zone, but for the most part the residents of the decrepit fortress were playing the waiting game. Dominic, for his part, was standing atop the tallest turret with a spyglass. Though he wasn’t a part of the guards, he was technically still a military liaison, and as such justified taking a few simple commands from Night Owl.

“Ya see ‘em yet?!” Shouted Gear Grinder from the courtyard, he was near the flag pole with the stars and stripes still waving. It would act as the marker for the landing and cargo drops. Dominic scanned the skies for a moment, he could barely make out the grey shimmer of the Lunar chariots.

“I got eyes on one… two…” Dominic trailed off. “Ten chariots.” The man adjusted his grip on the spyglass and noticed an indigo and navy blue shape flying beside one of them. “And Luna.”

“Princess Luna is with them?” Asked United Front, Dominic nodded. “Well, shit. Not like we have time to pull out all the bells and whistles for her arrival.”

“Don’t worry about it, she’s probably more concerned about getting the fortress back together at the moment.” Dominic retorted, he watched ten more chariots appear behind the first group. “Okay, the count now is twenty. First group should be here in a few minutes.”

“Alright ladies!” Shouted Night Owl from the courtyard, having heard the discussion rather well. “It’s game time, I want this done fast but not at the cost of safety. We all know the proper protocol, no need to go over it again! You colts ready?” There was a loud chorus of affirmatives, the group readied itself to receive the incoming chariots. In the minutes it took for the first chariot to start circling the castle the group of guards already on the ground had taken up positions to direct them in for a landing. Dominic climbed off the turret and down to the courtyard, his repaired jacket billowed up behind him from the wind the chariots were putting out. 

The first chariot landed in front of United Front, the guards on board quickly jumped over the side and rushed to the outskirts of the courtyard.

“GO! GO! GO!” Shouted United, waving the chariot upwards. “NEXT ONE’S COMIN’ TO YOU, DOM!” Dominic looked up and held his arms up in an ‘X’, just as he’d practiced when the news had come. The chariot paused to hover, and so Dominic gestured for it to start descending. When it’s wheels touched down, the man made a sweeping motion with his arms.

“DISEMBARK!” Shouted one of the guards on the chariot, they followed the same example as their compatriots. “CLEAR!”

“GO! GO! GO!” Dominic bellowed, waving his arms up. The chariot took to the sky just as the third chariot began to descend, again it moved towards Dominic until he guided it to the ground. The guards leaped off the chariot and it left just as the others had, the man barely noticed the alicorn that had landed behind him. “GEAR! TAKE OVER!” The thestral in question rushed over and took Dominic’s place, allowing him to turn and walk towards the Lunar princess. 

“Dominic! Tis good to see you again! We missed thou!” Luna shouted over the noise of more chariots touching down. Dominic nodded and smiled, not wanting to overtax his voice more than he needed to. At the moment the first of the cargo chariots were arriving and circling over head, waiting for the last of the first group to break off.

“Dom! Ya good?!” Shouted Night Owl over the noise, Dominic looked over at the thestral and flashed five fingers. “Got it!” Dominic gestured for Luna to move away from the landing area, when the two of them were out of harms way Dominic wrapped the mare in an immense hug.

“Luna, it’s good to see you again!” He said, Luna returned the hug with her wings  “Agh, I wish I could chat but I’ve got chariots to land…” The princess looked somewhat depressed. “It’s only this first group.”

“Alright, we shall wait to smother thee in affection.” Luna blurted out, she imediatly regretted it but was thankful for all the noise of the chariots above.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Dominic shrugged and rushed back towards the landing chariots. Luna sighed and sat down on her haunches, she watched the man work. A few times he would make the wrong hand gesture, but he always caught himself. He was trying his best, another thing that Luna couldn’t help but admire. She watched as he and the others directed the cargo chariots down. The guards that had already landed were either preparing to takeover landing operations or moving to secure their assigned parts of the castle.

For nearly half an hour all she did was watch, the guards were extremely efficient with unloading the supplies from the chariots almost as soon as they landed. This was made possible by the unicorns and earth ponies that had landed first. Soon, the last of the first group had arrived, allowing Dominic to leave the them to the rest of the landing. He walked over to Luna and gave her another hug.

“Man, you have no idea how fucking much I missed you.” He said as he let go. “This place is fuckin’ BORING at times, you would not believe it.” Luna smiled and the man gestured towards an area of the courtyard that’d been converted into an impromptu command center. “So, tell me, how are things on the global stage? Any more calls for my deportation?” Luna shook her head with a sigh, the two reached the command center.

“We can discuss such things later, for now let us take the task at hand.” Dominic nodded and the two began looking over the papers. It was mostly greek to the young man, but he assumed that as long as he put in an effort he could get something done. Night Owl’s words had resonated with him, and he felt that he should do whatever he could to make Luna’s work a little easier.

[♦]

Hours later, the last of the crates had been unloaded and the new garrison had set to preparing the castle for active service once more. From the balcony in his room, Dominic and Luna looked down at the courtyard. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them, and a sense of accomplishment that came with a day of hard work. Dominic had missed this feeling, he’d need to find a way to get it more often. Maybe the stallions working on the new forge would need help, but that was a thought for another time.

“So, about those international politics?” Dominic asked, looking over at Luna. The mare let out a sigh through her nose, the sun was setting in the distance and Dominic had already taken his flag in. She had nothing to focus on but the man’s question.

“Things are far from well…” Luna finally spoke, her modern speech spell still acting even after the orders for the work had been given. “Though, I’m glad to say most of it has nothing to do with you.”

“Twin Island?”

“Yes…” Luna admitted, a bit of venom in her tone. “Equestria finds itself in a precarious position. We’re allied with both parties… If we side with one or the other, it could come back to bite us… Alternatively, remaining neutral could have the same effect.”

“It’s a tough situation, I can’t claim to know the answer…” Dominic replied, putting a hand on Luna’s side. He didn’t notice how she tensed for a moment when he did so. “What I can do is draw conclusions from history, forgive me if my facts are flawed. The apocalypse happened before I could get to the advanced course…” The man let out a small chuckle, though it thinly veiled the heaviness in his voice.

“I’d accept your input…”

“Well, it seems to me that the Zebras and the Minotaurs are fighting over something small and insignificant.” Dominic paused. “Relatively speaking, that is. Like two kids fighting over a ball.”

“Their diplomats have been rather childish.” Luna giggled.

“Well, if you're the mom and you see two kids coming to blows over a ball. What do you do?” The man didn’t take his eyes off the working ponies below them. Luna answered the question honestly, then froze.

“Take away the ball.” She looked at him. “Dominic, we can’t do that. We’d alienate BOTH of them!” The man raised his arms defensively.

“Hey, it’s your decision. Not mine.” He went back to the railing. “I’m probably a bit biased, myself. Being a ‘no good, gun totin’, god fearin’, interlopin’ knee jerk reactionary’ conservative and all.” He laughed to himself for a moment. “God, to think how low some people would go with insults because others disagreed with them. Not that I’m innocent in the slightest…”

“You’re rambling again.” Luna noted, getting the man to blush a bit. She smiled inwardly at the small amount of embarrassment that she saw. “That’s okay, I like it when you ramble.” She was surprised when she felt the man pull her into a tight hug.

“Thank you.” He said with a heavy sounding tone, Dominic let go of her and looked back off the railing. “I know, I’m not the most likable guy. I can be a real asshole sometimes…”He let out a sigh. “Just, thanks for putting up with my shit.”

“Think nothing of it, you put up with me.” Luna replied, she barely suppressed a yawn. “Oh, as much as I am loathe to do so, I think it is time to sleep for the night.”

“Take the bed, I’ll find somewhere else for the night.” Dominic began walking towards the door, he felt a wing catch him.

“Nay, stay with us.” Luna said, slipping into the royal we. “We hath been without your company for many weeks…” Dominic looked puzzled, but nodded nonetheless.

“I’ll take the flo-”

“Next to me, please…” Dominic raised an eyebrow, upon seeing the look on Luna’s face he nodded. “I apologize if this makes you uncomfortable…” The man shook his head and gave a small smile.

“No, not one bit.” He walked towards the bed and gestured for Luna to enter first. “My friend Maria used to have horrible night terrors, whenever she spent the night she’d share my bed. Somethin’’ about ‘having a warm body’ or something.” Luna crawled into the bed and pulled the blankets up over her, Dominic took the other side and faced the opposite direction. He left most of his clothes on, sans his jacket and boots. He didn’t want Luna to feel uncomfortable. The light in the room dwindled with the setting sun, and the only noise that remained was the campfires in the courtyard outside and the breath of two separate bodies.

As Dominic began his nightly ritual of staring at the ceiling, he felt Luna roll over and place a wing over him. It was warm, and he could smell the blueberry perfume that she wore on most days. The feathers tickled against his chest, but eventually became soothing. To his surprise, the added warmth and feeling of security was enough to get his eyelids to grow heavy.

“Hey, Luna?” The man asked, getting a hum in response. “Thanks… For everything…” He hugged the wing and slowly drifted to sleep. Luna opened her eyes and watched him for a moment, then she lowered her horn to his head and cast a small spell. Even with the magical siphon that he seemed to be, the direct application of dream magic was just enough to keep his subconscious in an un nightmare inducing state. Slowly, nervously, Luna placed a small, unnoticeable kiss on the top Dominic’s head.

“You’re welcome…”
> Chapter 30
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic opened his eyes and blinked away the sleep, he found himself curled up beside Luna in a compromising position. From the window the early light of dawn could be seen cresting the horizon, chilly morning air made his breath visible even within the room. The door to the balcony had been left ajar, and that had lead to both him and the mare next to him curling close together for warmth in the night. Her wings and the heavy blanket over him gave him an odd sensation, something he’d grown familiar with many years ago.

He could remember one of the many times he and Maria had shared a bed, how every morning he woke up with her arms around him and her head against his shoulder. He couldn’t remember how many time’s he’d thought it a coincidence or something platonic, but thinking back and hearing her final declaration in his head…

Luna felt a warm liquid begin dripping on one of her wings, she felt Dominic pulling it closer to his chest. She shifted her position, still maintain a facade of sleep as she did so. The man was quiet, and just as quickly as it had started she felt the tears subside. Luna saw him wipe his eyes and slowly relinquish his grip on her wing.

“Dominic?” She finally asked, she felt him tense for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just something in my eye…” Dominic said in a distant tone, he cleared his throat and pushed Luna’s wing off of him. “I’m fine.” The man swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his boots, as he began slipping them on he felt Luna sit up behind him. “Really…” With his boots secure, he grabbed his jacket from the floor and pulled it on. “Now, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Well, first we must make the castle safe to work in, best left to the engineers.” Luna said, getting out of the bed and trotting in front of Dominic. The man was fumbling with some of the buttons on his jacket and checking the fresh repairs. “Thou wilst no doubt search for something to do, correct?” Dominic nodded, earning a hum from the lunar princess.

“We recommend speaking with Hammered Steel, he may have something.” She said, smiling slightly. “Thou may be able to pick up a thing or two from him, he will be the chief smith of the installation in the future.”

“Well, I guess I could use all the friends I can get.” Dominic said, he stood up and stretched his arms wide. Several loud pops resonated through the room, they were followed by a relieved sigh. “I don’t know how good I’ll be at blacksmithing, but I’ll give it a shot.” Luna smiled, for more than one reason. One, she was happy to see Dominic branching out and trying new things, and two, she would be able to work without worrying about him sulking and getting depressed. He had a tendency to overthink when he was alone, she just hoped Hammered Steel wouldn’t be bothered by the sudden arrangement.

“We cannot wait to see what thou create.” Luna said, smiling further. “Perhaps one day we may even wield a blade crafted by thine hands.”

“I doubt I’ll ever get that good…” Dominic trailed off, he picked up his revolver and slipped it into the holster on his belt. “You ready?” Luna nodded and stood up, the two of them began walking to the door and then down the steps. The sun rose above the horizon as they exited out into the courtyard, and already the Lunar guards were preparing for the day’s work. Many of them sat in small groups, conversing as they ate a breakfast of MREs. A few of the veterans that had arrived with Dominic were chowing down on Manticore jerky. 

“That thing lasted a long fuckin’ time…” Commented the man, he walked up to a crate of supplies and grabbed two MREs. “Let’s see, we have egg shaped paste or burrito shaped paste. Which one do you want, Lu?” He looked at Luna, she was unsure what he meant. “Burrito is probably better.” He handed her the burrito packet and began opening his own. “Hope this day isn’t as bad as this breakfast is going to be.

[♦]

Twilight Sparkle watched as the factory was finally completed, after weeks of work the complex was ready to begin producing at full capacity. The smoke stacks began to chug out smoke and steam, all of which was partially cleaned by spells designed to minimize smog. Loud hammering noises and other sounds began to form a symphony of machinery from within the factory. From her seat atop her home she could see a small crowd outside the gates with signs. They looked almost like ants to her from a distance, but she knew very well that at least one of her friends was among them.

Lately there had been strong opposition to the military’s modernization efforts in Ponyville, that opposition had only grown when numerous ponies had spotted a swarm of black, unmarked, chariots landing in the Everfree forest. With a sigh, Twilight got out of her seat and walked inside. She spotted Spike still asleep in his bed, a smile graced her lips and she made sure to use her magic to tuck him in a bit tighter. Afterwards she made her way down into the kitchen to start breakfast, she decided on pancakes. She would be sure to include gem shards in Spike’s, he explained they were like chocolate chips to him.

While the pan began to heat up, Twilight walked to her front door and pulled it open. Sitting on her doorstep was a newspaper, most likely printed only an hour before. She levitated it up to eyelevel and closed the door behind her. That was as far as she got from the door, as she felt her legs lock up. Written in large letters across the top of the first page, the cause of her distress was one of the few things that Twilight was loathe to read.




WAR LOOMS OVER TWIN ISLAND!


After numerous attempts to resolve the dispute peacefully, and with mediation only prolonging the inevitable, the Zebra Coalition and the Federal Republic of Minotaurs are close engaging in open hostilities over the small Atoll known as Twin Island. Only time will tell if the conflict will spark into a full on war, but experts say the news is grim. When questioned on the subject, Princess Celestia said that she was ‘sad that it had come to this’, but believes that 'after numerous years of arguing, there is likely no alternative’. More on Pg. 7



With a sigh, the mare set the paper down on her couch and entered the kitchen. She took a box of pancake mix from her pantry and began mixing it, at the same time she levitated some smaller emeralds from Spike’s ‘Secret’ hiding space in the fiction portion of the library. Slowly her thoughts turned towards the newspaper, she smiled at the silver lining within it’s title. The war hadn’t started yet, there was still hope for stopping it. Twilight poured the first pancake in the heated pan, being sure to give it a liberal coating of butter before doing so.

“And this is the first time in months the headline isn’t about Dominic, so that’s a plus I guess…” She added under her breath, absentmindedly floating a mallet over the emeralds she’d procured and smashing them to bits. It took her a moment to realize that as she was hammering, someone was knocking on her door. “It’s open!” She called. “and it’s a public library…”

“Twilight? Where are you?” Called the voice of Rarity.

“Kitchen.” Twilight replied, not taking her attention away from her current task. A few moments later Rarity entered the small kitchen with the newspaper floating in her magic.

“Can you believe it?” She asked almost rhetorically. “Zebra and Minotaur going to war with each other over an island.” The mare shook her head, then set the paper down. “Sorry, that’s not why I came to visit.”

“Oh?” Asked Twilight, recieving a nod from her friend. She flipped the first pancake over, then looked over at Rarity.

“I’ve received a rather large order, and I need a bit of help gathering the gems.” Twilight let out an ‘oh’ before nodding.

“I’ll wake up Spike for breakfast, then you two can go.” Rarity shook her head and smiled a bit.

“Well, I was hoping you’d go with me.” She said, Twilight looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Me?”

“Yes, darling.” Rarity replied with a sincere smile. “You’ve been so busy lately, and I don’t have the time to go to the spa with all the new orders, I thought this might be a good chance to spend some time together.” Twilight paused, looking down at the now cooked pancake. She placed it on a waiting plate before answering.

“I’d love to.” The smile on her face was small, but it was genuine. It was growing ever more rare that she and her friends got to spend time together. Even digging in the dirt for gems would be a nice time to get together. “I’ll just finish up here, okay?” Rarity nodded with a smile.

“It’s good to see you not so… tense.” Rarity commented. “I remember a year or two ago you would be tripping over yourself trying to find some sort of special rock or over packing…” Twilight nodded as she began cooking another pancake. “I suppose that would be me too.”

“Hello pot, I’m kettle.” Twilight said with a chuckle, Rarity looked confused. “Sorry, human saying.” It was Rarity’s turn to ‘oh’.

“What’s it mean?” She asked, Twilight looked around. Thankfully there was both a pot and a kettle out in the open of the kitchen.

“Well, the saying is like ‘The pot calling the kettle black’ as an insult.” Twilight explained, flipping the pancake.

“But they’re both black.” Rarity stated, looking at the pot and the kettle.

“That’s the point.” Twilight chirped in a cheery tone. “Dominic had a lot of ways of insulting people without directly doing so…” She trailed off. “I think we spent an entire hour talking about his varying use of the word fuck.” Rarity gasped. “Oh, it’s not like you’ve never heard it before.”

“I’ve never heard it from you, I don’t think.” Rarity replied, sitting down to wait. For a few minutes there was silence before she decided to speak again. “Tell me about them…”

“Well, he said it’s a sort of emotional thing… It can mean different things if it’s said differently. For instance when he’s angry he shouts it furiously. Same goes for sad or happy.” Twilight stopped herself. “I shouldn’t talk about him behind his back…” Rarity nodded in understanding.

“You miss him?” She asked, Twilight nodded with a sad smile.

“He was nice, reminded me a lot of Shining.” The mare took the now cooked pancake and put it on the plate, then poured a third one. Her thoughts began to drift to the days she’d watched in the hospital, the screaming and the crying. With a sigh she wiped her eyes. “I shouldn’t have pushed him to help me…”

“Twilight, where is this coming from?” Rarity asked, standing up and moving to her friend’s side.

“After the riots, after he woke up, he seemed different.” The mare flipped the pancake, then looked over to Rarity. “He was angrier, and before he left, after he’d dealt with Blueblood… I thought I could smell blood on his shoes.” Rarity looked unsure how to respond, nonetheless she gave Twilight a pat on the back.

“It’s not your fault, Twilight. I’m sure he’s told you this himself.” The alabaster mare lifted Twilight’s chin with a hoof. “Buck up, okay? We’re going to have a fun day away from all this… angst.” The alicorn smiled as she put the last pancake on the plate and turned off the stove, with a brief flash of magic she placed a freshness spell on the flapjacks and set them on the table, the put a note next to them for spike.

“He’ll get them when he wakes up, let’s go!” She and Rarity exited the library with smiles on their faces. They trotted through the waking town, occasionally they’d stop to say hello to one of their friends or to look at the changing shops on mainstreet. When they were out of town, they still saw many ponies. They carried picket signs and were too busy parading around in front of the arms factory to notice the national heroes wandering by and staring at them. Among the crowd they could see Mrs. Cake, Cheerilee, and Fluttershy. The latter of the three was also joined by numerous annoyed looking animals.

On the other side of the picket line were numerous stone faced guards in black composite armor, they held familiar looking crystal shields and billy clubs. Within the complex, it was business as usual, and soon the first shipment of the day would be leaving for an armory somewhere in Equestria. Twilight sighed as she watched, but kept on going with Rarity. The sound of the picketers eventually died out, replaced by the sounds of wild animals within the Everfree Forest. For half an hour they walked in silence, Twilight found it actually soothing to hear the sounds of the forest. Still, there was a question on her mind.

“Where are we going?” Asked Twilight, looking around the forest. As an Alicorn, she felt confident she could handle the threats of the trees and darkness. “The gem field? if so we should check if there are diamond dog tracks, you know? Just incase?”

“We’re not going to the gem field, at least not first.” Rarity replied as they came up on a familiar fork in the road. “My client informed me that she wanted a specific gem, one that appears near limestone.”

“The castle of the two sisters is on a limestone deposit…” Twilight said to herself. “Okay, so we’re going to the Castle of Nightmare Moon. Normally not a problem…” The two had turned down the fork in the road and had started to immediately see the familiar path.

“Normally?” Rarity asked. “The castle is abandoned, not a soul will miss what we take.” Twilight coughed awkwardly, but Rarity didn’t seem to notice. The alicorn rationalized that because she was a princess, she could order whatever guards were present to allow her entry. As far as she knew, they were only a security force with a maximum of twenty Lunar Guards at most. Silently they walked on, passing by the trees and being sure to stop to say hello to Lev the water serpent. 

When they reached the rope bridge, both became speechless. Not only by the amount of activity in the castle, not only by the sheer number of guards, but the red white and blue flag that was waving in the wind. It was visible over the wall on a pole in the courtyard, and though it was below the Equestrian banner it was bigger and prouder than anything the two mares had ever seen.

“Is that…?” Rarity asked.

“It is…” Twilight replied, she looked at the bridge that crossed the chasm. On the other side were two Lunar guards that were staring at them with blank expressions. “Should we…?”

“We should…” And with that, the two of them began to cross the bridge.
> Chapter 31
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic let out a pent up breath as he carried a large, heavy crate from one of the supply drops to where the blacksmiths were setting up their forge. It had been nothing but back breaking work for the past hour and a half, and the man found that nearly every part of him ached or was close to having a cramp of some kind. In all honesty, it reminded him of a time where he’d barely managed to escape the horde, minus the part where he was surround by flesh eating freaks.

In the process of carrying his cargo he spotted United Front and Gear Grinder working together with a group of the fresh troops to clear a pile of refuse and junk that had accumulated over the centuries. Luna was busy coordinating the guards in the lower levels of the castle..

When he finally reached the site he was quick to set down his crate, Hammered Steel and his compatriots were busy laying brick and mortar, while some were chopping wood into small pieces and chucking it into a large metal drum. Hammered had explained they would be using it to make charcoal for the forge, and that the night would be good and warm because of it. With a groan Dominic started walking back towards the supply drop.

“Dominic!” Shouted Hammered Steel, the man stopped and looked over to the group of working smiths. “Get over here, I’ve got a new job for ya.” The man ran a hand over his head and walked over to the group. Hammered Steel separated from the group, in his possession was a small wooden box. “You want to work with blades, kid?”

“I’d like something to do, I guess…” Dominic trailed off, Hammered Steel handed the box to him. “What’s this?”

“Kind of a tradition we have for the new recruits.” Hammered explained. “In there is all the stuff you’ll need to make a simple knife, aside from the forge and the wood. We’ll take care of that later though.” Dominic went to open the box, but Hammered stopped him with a hoof. “Work on it later, that’s not what I called you over here for. My mind just wanders... “ The stallion shook his head. “Anyway, I need you to go find the bellows. It’s in one of the crates, but some dumbass forgot to mark it.”

“No problem.” Dominic replied, putting the box under his arm. “Lemme just drop this off in my room, okay?” Hammered nodded.

“Take your time, not like these guys are getting anything done.” He gestured to the currently working smiths, who had taken the brief time of conversation to sit down. “Get back to work!” Hammered growled, turned away from Dominic. The man decided that was the best point to take his leave and started walking towards the castle tower that held his, and by proxy Luna’s, room. He passed by a group of guards working on a ballista that would be mounted on the ramparts. The man gave them a nod, the responded with nods of their own.

Dominic trudged up to his room, quickly placing the box on the desk. He ran a hand over his head, sending a spray of sweat into the air. He muttered a quick ‘Fuck.’ before wiping his hand on his pants. The man took off his jacket and tossed it onto the bed, then left the room. He passed by the group of guards, pausing only to pick up a crowbar that sat next to an open crate. The guards didn’t seem to mind, and so he made his way over to the crates.

The first few crates he opened were filled with MREs, cots, and swords in that order. Dominic took a sword from the third crate and gave it a few swings before setting it back in with its brothers. At that time, a guard came up to him. The thestral gave him a salute that Dominic returned, as a liaison he had grown accustomed to the salutes and the use of ‘sir’ when he was speaking with regulars, sans a few odd cases.

“Sir, your presence is requested at the gate.” The thestral said, lowering his hoof.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Dominic replied, setting his crowbar next to the crates. “What’s going on…” He observed the guard’s uniform for a sign of rank. “Corporal.”

“No idea, sir.” The corporal replied.

“Alright, dismissed.” The guard nodded and went off to perform some other task. Dominic started walking to the gate, noting that Luna was also walking towards it. She gave him an odd look which he returned with an equally odd look. It as if both of them were non verbally asking ‘Do you know something I don’t?’. It was clear that their paths would eventually become one, and after a minute of walking the two were side by side.

“What doth thou think is going on?” Asked Luna, Dominic shrugged and rolled his sore shoulders.

“Beats the hell out of me.” Was his reply. “Something that should be fixed, sharing information I mean.” Luna nodded, not taking her eyes off the gate. “How’s everything on your end?”

“Good, for the most part.” Luna answered. “Some of the guards in the lower levels believe they hath found Diamond Dog tunnels. Abandoned tunnels, but tunnels nonetheless.” She let out a sigh.

“Something else?” Dominic asked, noting that they were getting closer to the gate.

“Yes, they found bones.” Luna looked at the ground. “Lunar guards from our years past. They hath lain forgotten for far too long…” Dominic was silent for a moment, then patted Luna on the side.

“You gonna bury them properly?” Luna nodded. “You’re going to honor their memory?” Another nod. “Then don’t worry. Let’s just deal with whatever the hell is going on.” The two came up on the main gate, noting that several guards were arguing with someone outside. Standing by the gate on the insider was Major Night Owl, an annoyed scowl on his muzzle. “What’s the story?”

“Possible changeling spies.” Night Owl said sourly. Luna and Dominic looked at each other for a moment, the human’s hand sliding down to his sidearm. “We’ve been stringing them along until you got here, figured you’d know how to tell if they’re legitimate or not.”

“Take us to them.” Luna said, the major nodded and signaled a guard to open the gate. Slowly it screeched upwards, until it was high enough for both Dominic and Luna to walk through. As they exited, the gate fell behind them with a massive thud. The noise, however, didn’t seem to faze the ponies who were arguing. Two thestrals and what appeared to be Twilight Sparkle and Rarity.

“ … I am a PRINCESS of Equestria! How many times must I say that for you to listen and let me in!?” Shouted ‘Twilight’ while ‘Rarity’ simply stared down at the ground with an embarrassed expression.

“Ma’am, I do not have the authority to allow you access. Until I have written authorization from the base commander you don’t get in!” Retorted one of the guards, the other was having a similar reaction to Rarity’s. He nervously looked at his sword, twirling it a few times in his hoof.

“Twilight, it’s okay. We can find another gem field.” Said Rarity.

“NO! We came all this way for your gem and to have a nice relaxing day!” Twilight bellowed, again not noticing that Luna and Dominic were standing by the gate. The man sighed and drew the hammer back on his revolver. “NOW, LET US IN OR I WILL-” The raging alicorn was cut off by a loud bang. A bang she was familiar with. The ponies around the gate dove to the ground, covering their ears. The guards readied their weapons, then noticed the smoke trailing from the end of Dominic’s weapon which he’d pointed into the sky.

“Shut! The fuck! Up!” Dominic yelled, lowering his weapon and glaring at ‘Rarity’ and ‘Twilight’. Both of whom stared at him in complete shock. “Now, I don’t know what the fuck kind of bullshit is going on here, but I do know that NOTHING is getting fucking done!” He looked over at Luna. “If you would kindly tell me if I should shoot these two?”

“SHOOT US!?” Luna ignored them, her horn glowing brightly for a moment. There was a loud pop and a sphere of energy expanded outwards around the alicorn. Seemingly nothing happened.

“They are who they claim to be.” Luna said to Dominic, the man nodded and slipped his sidearm back into its holster.

“Of course we are!” Twilight shouted.

“Really, Twilight? Cause you’re not ACTING like you.” Dominic said, looking the mare up and down.

“Excuse me if I’m a little on edge! I just found out one of my best friends is LITERALLY a couple hour’s walk from my house and he told me nothing about it!” Twilight shot back, Dominic sighed and held a hand up.

“Forget it.” He said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s stop ourselves, okay? Talk civil?”

“Yes, that would be wise.” Luna added, nodding to the guards by the gate. It began to rise again, screeching just as loud as it had the first time. “Please, come in.” Rarity couldn’t get inside fast enough while Twilight and Luna entered after her. Dominic entered last, nodding to the guards on the outside before the gate slammed down once more. He quickly caught up to the group, taking steps to try and avoid angering Twilight further. She had every right to be pissed, he probably could have told her he was at least close to Ponyville without compromising the secrecy of the castle.

“What are you doing out here?” Twilight asked, still sounding somewhat angry. Rarity and Luna had started their own conversation that Dominic decided to tune out for that moment.

“Refitting the castle to act as a sort of military headquarters.” Dominic replied, ignoring some of the stares he and the others were getting from the working personnel. “At least, that’s the official story. Unofficially… Well you know why that is.” He rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat, noting that the group seemed to be heading towards the mess hall. “What about you? What brings you out to this part of the woods?”

“One of Rarity’s clients needs a special gem that forms in limestone, the castle sits on one of the largest deposits in the area.” Twilight explained, eying some of the guards that were busy working on the castle.

“Ah, so people don’t know we’re here. Good…” Dominic stated, he ran a hand over his head and wiped the resulting sweat on his pants once again. “Speaking of people, how is it on the outside?”

“There’s strong opposition to modernizing and industrializing the Equestrian military, Twin Island is still a hot topic, and there’s questions about what happened to Blueblood…” Twilight trailed off, looking up at Dominic. “On the bright side you’re starting to be in less and less of the papers.” The two arrived at the entrance to the mess tent, Luna and Rarity having stopped to wait for the two of them to catch up. The group entered the mess, leaving many of the guards outside confused. Nonetheless, they went back to their tasks, some noted that the clouds in the area were beginning to roll in.

[♦]

Salty mist blew over the sandy shores of Twin Island, the once pristine shoreline had become a network of entrenchments and defenses. One side’s defenses were more bulky, larger and cruder, more like mimics of their counterparts which had a certain finesse to them. Within the smaller, more thought out trenches, the mohawks of numerous zebras could be seen peeking up over the dirt. This did not go unnoticed by the minotaurs that called the eastern side of the island theirs. Despite the movement, all seemed calm. Silence reigned over the field, not even the sound of a sharpening weapon seemed to penetrate the land between the two factions.

One zebra, a young recruit if his uniform was anything to go by, peaked his eyes up to look at the other side. He immediately ducked back into the trench upon seeing that the minotaurs were gathering en masse.

“What are we even doing here?” He asked one of his fellows in a shaking voice.

“No idea, brother…” Replied the other recruit. “We would be better off retreating to the main encampment, there we would survive…” Further down the line, a young officer poked his head up to get a glimpse of the minotaurs. He was rewarded with his own sight of two bulls, each glaring daggers at his position. The tension in the air was palpable, the nearly desert climate of the island only added to the stress on both sides.

The minotaurs, for their part, held their weapons firm. Years of military discipline had trained them to withstand the greatest of tasks, yet even they were beginning to question the point of simply standing around. That uncertainty and anger translated into a young bull picking up a rock, he tossed it in his hand a few times before chucking it out into No Man’s land. Unfortunately, his sizable muscles sent the stone sailing over the field and into the trench of the zebra. It made a loud ping as it bounced off the helmet of a recruit.

“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” He immediately shouted, within moments thirty zebras had popped up over the entrenchment and began firing slingshots and bows at the minotaurs. Most of the shots went wide, missing entirely. One arrow, however, flew true.

“CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!” Shouted an officer, but it was too late. Across the field, the zebra’s could hear what sounded like choking, accompanied by cries for doctors and shouts of anger at the Zebras. One of them, a recruit, poked his head up and froze. He could see an arrow lodged in the throat of a rapidly dying minotaur bull, an arrow marked as his. The minotaurs, to their credit, did return fire. Although only one life was lost, the tension of the situation grew ten fold. The soldiers in the trenches prepared for the inevitable, for them, war was figuratively and literally just over the horizon.
> Chapter 32
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within hours, the entire castle had gone onto heightened alert. The order had come directly from Luna, who had been nearly overcome by frustration. She was thankful that the high profile of the Twin Island situation had lead to much faster diplomatic communication between the Zebras, Minotaurs, and Ponies. At that point, Luna had dropped all of her previous tasks and began preparing to return to Canterlot. She and Celestia would be holding an emergency meeting with the delegates.

Twilight, for her part, had nearly suffered a nervous breakdown at the news. Rarity and Dominic had managed to keep her anxiety from boiling over, though it was clear that they too were having feelings about the situation. Rarity had taken Twilight home after that, though she recieved much protest from the lavender alicorn along the way. Thoughts of the Cuban Missile Crisis passed through Dominic’s head as he walked with Luna towards the waiting chariot in the courtyard. He’d prepared himself for the worst case scenario, already having packed his backpack and strapping on his bandoliers.

The two arrived at the chariot in a time that seemed to take to long, already the lunar guards were preparing to take off. Luna looked at Dominic as she stepped onto the chariot, a hidden pleading look could be seen behind the man’s stoic expression.

“You’re sure you don’t want me there?” He asked, looking off towards Canterlot.

“We would love for thou to be there, however… officially the United States has no business in this.” Luna retorted.

“Like that’s stopped us before?” He asked, chuckling to himself. Luna shared the small laugh, but again shook her head. “Alright, just… be careful. I know things work differently here, but god forbid if someone snuck a weapon in and… Sorry.” Luna patted the man on the shoulder and gave him a small smile.

“Th- You have my word. I’ll be careful.” Luna said slowly, Dominic nodded and stepped away from the chariot.

“That’s all I need…” He said, giving a small smile. “If you can’t make it back though, at least send a letter…” Luna nodded, Dominic gave her a small wave and started walking away from the chariot. There was a shout from the guards and moments later the chariot had risen into the air, dust and dirt were thrown up by the speed of the ascent. Dominic was forced to turn away until the dust had settled, by the time it had the chariot was already nearly out of sight. The sun was hanging lower in the sky, though it seemed to have been like that for a while. Dominic chocked it up to Celestia putting minimal effort into moving the sun and instead focussing on the diplomatic problem.

“I hate politics…” Dominic muttered, pulling his jacket tighter around his chest. For some reason he felt a deep emptiness, something that he hadn’t felt for a long while. Despite being surrounded by ponies he felt alone. Slowly he began meandering towards the blacksmiths, only casting a slight glance at the tower where he was quartered.

Silently, Dominic came upon the smiths and slumped down onto a log that was about the right height. The stallions gave him intrigued looks, noting that he’d gone from a T-shirt and jeans to what he considered full combat gear. They shrugged and went back to their work, at the moment that was building a large pyre around the metal drum that had been loaded with wood. Dominic silently watched as they began dousing the wood with kerosine, when they’d finished Hammered Steel took a wood match from a crate that was acting as a table. He struck it against the box and tossed it onto the wood.

The flames grew quickly, and soon the pyre was burning on its own. Dominic felt the heat against the exposed skin of his hands and his face, the man closed his eyes and took a deep breath as images of Maria’s home flashed through his head.

“Hey, kid.” Hammered Steel said, getting his attention away from the fire. “Y’alright? You looked a bit spaced out for a minute.” Dominic didn’t respond as the other smiths gathered around the now raging bonfire to toss wood from empty crates and debris piles onto flames. His thoughts were drifting to what was certain to be a World War. The moment those two words had entered his head, he could feel chills up and down his spine. Millions dead, countries left in ruins, and if history was anything to go by, a breeding ground for fascism. “Kid. Are you in there?”

Dominic blinked and looked over to Hammered Steel. “Huh?”

“Ya look like ya have something on your mind.” The smith stated as he tossed more wood onto the fire. Dominic just shook his head and stood up from his seat, then grabbed some of the wood and tossed it to the flames. 

“Just thinking about what I’m gonna make first is all.” Dominic said sincerely, looking at the fire and tossing more wood onto it. Hammered Steel nodded and let out a small chuckle. “Think I could try making a sword?”

“Oh, you could try.” The stallion said with a grin. “But trying and doing are two separate things, kid. I think I’ll start ya off on hooks and such, just so ya can get some of the basic techniques and hammer discipline down. Ya know, start from the bottom and such.”

“I get it.” Dominic replied, grunting as he tossed a particularly large piece of wood onto the fire, Hammered Steel looked at the flames and waved off the rest of the smiths to let what was already burning burn. “At least we’ll have plenty of places to put tools or whatever.”

“That’s the spirit.” Hammered said as he settled in to watch the fire burn. The other smiths stood and watched as well, but Dominic found himself looking away. The heat and the crackling of wood was much louder than any campfire he’d had before. The man chanced a glance at the flames, his eyes locked onto the center of the blaze. In the flames he could swear he saw the outline of a familiar young woman, behind her he could see even more people. When Dominic blinked the apparitions had disappeared.

“I’ll be back…” Dominic said to Hammered before he turned away from the blaze and began walking off towards the tower that held his room. The heat of the fire was replaced by the rapidly cooling air of the evening, causing Dominic to stuff his hands into his pockets. He passed by numerous guards, all of whom were wearing their armor and holding their weapons tightly.

Dominic found himself breathing faster and faster by the time he’d reached the tower, he staggered up the steps and collapsed onto his bed. The man took several deep breaths and looked down at his hands, they were shaking and drenched in sweat. The weight of the day’s events had fallen on his shoulders like a ton of bricks. War was on the horizon, once again Dominic would be watching an entire world descend into conflict.

Silently the man rose from his seat and slowly walked to the window. He watched the sun dip below the horizon, as it did he gave himself the sign of the cross and lowered his head.

“I know you and I haven’t talked in a while…” He said. “But I figure I have your attention now, considering how few of us there are now…” The man took a small breath and let it out slowly, for several minutes he stood in silence. “I don’t understand why you’ve kept me alive while others have died, you know there were people who deserved to live more… I figure it’s for something important, though. So I’m asking you this… No… I’m begging…” Dominic looked up to the horizon and swallowed a lump in his throat. “Don’t let it happen here.” 

The man stood in silence until the moon had risen into the sky before he turned away and walked to his bed. He untied his boots to allow his feet some circulation before laying down on top of his blankets. He folded his hands neatly over his chest and stared up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before he fell into the inky blackness of sleep.

[♦]

Luna and Celestia sat in a windowless conference room on the long side of a large mahogany table, delegates from both the Zebras and the Minotaurs sat on the ends of the table glaring at each other. Several pony guards stood in each corner of the room, they wore fatigues rather than armor and were armed with only swords. It was, for all intents and purposes, a powder keg. The minotaurs had demanded reparations in the form of Twin island, the zebras had accused the minotaurs of espionage within their borders. A mess of accusations and declarations, all seeming to skirt around the elephant in the room.

“Your nations have been feuding over this island for longer than I care to remember.” Luna said in a flat tone. “Lives on both sides have been lost and there is nothing for either of you to show for it.”

“That island is the rightful property of the Zebra, it may be small but it is the principal of the matter!” Declared the zebra delegate, the female shaman shot a venomous glare at the princess. “If we give up our claim we open ourselves up to more demands from their criminal regime.”

“Criminal regime?” Replied the minotaur, his muscles bulging beneath his armor. “Because our government refuses to allow tribals turn a colonizable piece of land into a nature preserve we have become criminals!?” The minotaur stood from his seat, only to hear the cough of a guard behind him. Slowly the delegate sat down and steepled his fingers.

“You wish to colonize the island?” Asked Celestia with a raised eyebrow, the minotaur nodded. “Why did you not state that was your position in the first place.”

“Because the Equestrian government has a notorious habit of being anti-colonization in the global community.” The minotaur replied. “The land is fertile, it could produce much needed food for our population…” His glare shifted to the zebra. “If these reprobates would stop worshiping their shrub god-”

“That island is still in condition to be saved.” The zebra cut him off. “Colonizing would only destroy its environment and any natural wildlife-!”

“CRY ME A RIVER, GRASS EATER!” Shouted the minotaur, standing once more and preparing to flip the table.

“Sit down, mister representative..” Celestia said in a chillingly cold voice, the room fell into silence as the Minotaur sat back down. “For so many years I’ve heard your arguments over this piece of land, from pride to principal, to colonization and conservation, there is not a single excuse that hasn’t grated against my ears.” She sighed and looked at her sister, Luna was sitting with her eyes straight ahead. Celestia looked back to the delegates with a neutral expression. “Let’s cut to the chase.”

“What chase?” Asked the Zebra, it was Luna who answered.

“This cannot go on any longer.” She said sternly. “In fact the only reason we’ve allowed it to go on for so long is because your countries are friends of Equestria. We didn’t want to get involved, but this display has shown me you two are incapable of coming to a peaceful resolution.” Her mind drifted back to Dominic’s analogy for a moment, she hadn’t discussed it with Celestia but it seemed like a good idea. Then again, it could backfire massively.

“So, we’re asking. Are you two willing to come to a peaceful agreement that we can supervise or should we allow you to settle it yourselves.” Celestia continued, both delegates looked at each other. The minotaur spoke first.

“We require your permission to settle this ourselves?” He asked, his gaze locking with Celestia’s. “Your supervision?” The room grew silent once more. “We are sovereign nations, it was Equestria who interfered in the first place.”

“Only because you were on the brink of war.” Celestia retorted, trying to uphold her poker face.

“We’ve BEEN on the brink of war for decades!” Declared the minotaur, he stood up from his chair. “Perhaps all you’ve done is postpone the inevitable.” His gaze fell upon the Zebra ambassador and he pointed a finger towards her. “Expect a formal declaration soon-”

“Wait-” Celestia began to protest.

“We’ll be expecting it.” Stated the Zebra, a cold tone entering her voice.

“Please! There must be another way!” Celestia cried out, both delegates looked at her and shook their heads.

“We’ve been preparing for this conflict for years.” Stated the zebra with a neutral tone, one could hear a pin drop in the room. Her eyes narrowed and she glared daggers at the minotaur, a feeling of dread and worry began to well up in the princesses’. “We cannot simply stand down…” The Zebra stood up and walked out of the room, the minotaur sat silently for a few moments before he too departed. Luna was uncertain if she heard Celestia begging them to stop, her thoughts were instead focussed on what was happening.

Two global powers were about to have an all out war over a strip of sand in the ocean, and Equestria would be dragged along for the ride. Being allied with both nations, they would have to choose sides. Remaining neutral would arguably be just as devastating on the stage of global politics. For the first time in a long time Luna felt overwhelmed, she imagined all the horrors of war befalling Equestria. A pat on her side drew her out of the maelstrom of thoughts and turned her attention to her sister who was giving her a worried expression.

“What happens now?” Asked Luna in a numb tone. “We’re allied with both of them, if either come to us with an ultimatum…” Celestia nodded with a stoic expression.

“We cross that bridge when we come to it. For now we prepare and hope against hope that they come to their senses before too many die…” The princess said, her tone was monotone. Obviously she was restraining her own emotions, and that made Luna worry more. “Guard.” One of the guards stepped forwards and saluted.

“At your command, your highness!” The guard declared.

“Notify General Keg and the rest of the joint chiefs that there will be a mandatory meeting tomorrow morning, immediately following first light.” Celestia stated firmly, her horn ignited and she summoned a piece of paper and a quill from her office. She began scribbling the orders on it and finished by signing it and imprinting her magic seal at the bottom. “Tell General Keg to bring our forces to alert status.” She handed the paper to the guard who took it and nodded. “Dismissed.” The guard bolted out of the room without a word.

Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts, then stood up straight and began trotting to the door.

“I am going to clear mine head, sister…” Luna said, igniting her horn and dispelling her modern speech spell. “Thou mustn't feel compelled to wait for us, we shall return on the morrow.” She didn’t wait for a response from Celestia as she entered the hallway. She didn’t want to wait for a chariot, instead she ignited her horn and in a massive flash of light she’d teleported back to courtyard of the castle of the two sisters. The guards there looked at her for several seconds before going back to their patrols, she was proud of them for being able to keep their mind on their work. 

Silently the mare trotted towards a familiar tower and climbed the steps up to a familiar room, she heard soft snoring from the bed. In the gloom of the room, she could still make out the figure of Dominic laying on top of the blankets, his weapons and helmet had fallen to the floor in his sleep. Luna sighed and trotted over to the man, she looked him over before she softly spoke.

“Dominic?” She said quietly.

“Hmmm?” The man replied, opening his eyes slightly. “Luna, I thought you were in Canterlot…” The mare nodded silently, she looked at the floor silently. “You alright?” Silently Luna shook her head, Dominic patted the bed and scooched over a bit. Even in his sleepy tone, she could pick up concern in his voice. Luna laid down next to him and smiled as he gave her a brief hug. He opened his eyes further and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

“We failed…” Luna replied solemnly, Dominic was quiet. “The zebras and minotaurs are going to war… Equestria could be dragged into it…” She shivered slightly at the thought. “We… I’m scared…” Her fears faded slightly as the man draped an arm over her.

“War and violence are scary things, Luna…” The man said sleepily. “I know from experience… I also understand that some people handle fear differently…” He gave a humorless chuckle. “So if cuddling up next to me helps, by all means stay…” Luna smiled at that, even if his statement was bittersweet to her. For a few minutes there was silence, and Luna was certain that Dominic had slipped back into sleep. At this point she curled up further and closed her eyes in an attempt to banish her fears. A tender squeeze from Dominic was what pushed her over the edge into unconsciousness.
> Chapter 33
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna found herself standing in the streets of Canterlot, at least what was left of it. Buildings were bombed out and burning, mountains of debris marred the streets. Faded posters hung that clung to the remaining walls depicted numerous slogans ranging from ‘BUY WAR BONDS’ to ‘FIGHT THE STRIPED MENACE! ENLIST TODAY!’. In the distance the constant droning of an air raid siren echoed over the city, a somber whining dirge for what was soon to come. Overhead Luna could hear the sound of flapping wings and cries of pain, though whatever caused them was masked by a layer of thick smoky clouds.

Luna looked around the skyline further, her eyes landed on the battered towers of the castle.

“Is this…?” She asked herself, looking down at her hooves and noting that they were coated in ash. “No… This is our dream…” She said to herself, unsure of what the dream meant she was unsure whether she should have dispelled it or not. She took a few steps down the street, her hooves clipping against the debris covered cobblestone. She neared an intersection, and that was when she heard the first sound of other hoofsteps. “Hello?” She called out, she took a step forwards into the street.

“CONTACT LEFT!” Shouted a voice from her right, she instinctively ducked down. Moments later a spell bolt flew over her head. She turned her vision towards where the shot had come from and was shocked to see a battered and bruised guard peeking out from around a corner from an alley, his composite armor covered in dents and scratches. He quickly ducked back behind the corner as an arrow flew over Luna’s head. Her head snapped to the left and spotted the source, a zebra archer and several warriors had stormed out of a building and were moving down the street. “SUPPRESSING FIRE!” Shouted the guard, Luna watched as he and two other stallions poked their weapons around the corner and began to fire towards the enemy while three guards rushed across the street to an identical alley. Several bolts crossed too close to Luna for comfort, and so she ran out of the line of fire.

She shook off her shock at the sight and left the battle to play out, she felt drawn towards the castle. She began trotting faster as it appeared to get closer, her speed quickly came to a halt as her hoof made contact with something round and metal. Luna’s ears began to ring as she stumbled and ended up collapsing against a building. Her leg hurt, she looked down and saw that it was fine. Her gaze shifted to where the object had been, a smoldering crater was all that remained.

Luna’s eyes widened as she realize what the object was, and her vision settled on several bodies that littered the street. Why she hadn’t seen them earlier was beyond her, but she attributed it to her subconscious. Several guards lay dead on the ground, limbs missing and bodies marred with shrapnel rounds. Also among the dead were several zebras, and perhaps most disturbing, a foal. Luna wiped her eyes at the sight, her emotions were becoming harder to quell. There was only so many times she could tell herself ‘It’s just a nightmare’.

Slowly, cautiously, she continued on. She opened her wings and glided just a few feet above the street, not wanting to risk coming into contact with another mine. She landed when her subconscious hinted she was safe.

“Please… Just stop…” She pleaded to her own mind, but her mind was not content to listen. At that moment there was a yell of pain from above, she looked up just in time to see a pegasus guardsmare plummeting from the sky. The pegasus was flapping her remaining wing frantically, but it wasn’t enough. Luna ignited her horn in an attempt to catch her, only to fail as the falling guard passed through her magic and slammed into the ground with a force that horrified the princess. She looked down at where the guard had crashed, not a few feet from her. What was left of the pony was barely recognizable, blood and bone fragments were spattered around the ground like spilled paint.

It was when something warm and red dripped past Luna’s eyes did she realize that she too was coated in blood, frantically the mare tried wiping it off but all she did was smear it further into her fur. Tears welled up in her eyes and she let out a choked sob.

“W-What is thine purpose, foul nightmare…?” She asked herself, her body felt compelled to keep moving past the corpse and towards the castle. Her breaths were shaky as tears streamed down her face and mixed with the ashes under her hooves. Before she knew it, she’d arrived at the gates of the castle. A heavy force of guards stood vigilant outside, as well as a familiar human. Rather than his normal attire, she saw that he wore what he’d called ‘ODs’. Olive Drab pants and a shirt, which seemed to fit with his combat boots and helmet. His face was stoic as he looked out at the large area that surrounded the castle. When his eyes met with Luna’s, he started walking towards her. Off to her left, Luna thought she heard something. Dominic’s eyes widened and he went from a walk to a full on sprint. Time seemed to slow down.

“GET DOWN!” He bellowed as he closed the gap, Luna turned her head to see what was causing him such distress. Her eyes locked with a Zebra archer that had appeared out of one of the cities streets, an arrow had already left his bow. Time got slower and slower as the arrow got closer, her view of the projectile was disrupted as she felt a heavy shove against her shoulder. She clenched her eyes and fell to the ground with a groan, something heavy had landed on her.

Luna felt a chill run down her spine as she felt the limp weight roll off of her and onto the ground. She begged her mind not to force her eyes open, but open them her mind did. Her heart lodged itself in her throat as she found herself staring at a bleeding, spasming body.

“No…” Luna said to herself as she got to her feet, the world around her began to fade. She started shaking when she saw the arrow had passed entirely through Dominic’s throat. Luna bolted up and put her hooves on him, her eyes locking with his. The once brilliant green orbs she’d grown to love were now filled with fear and pain. Blood poured out past his lips and stained her hooves. “No… NO!” Within seconds his eyes had become dead and his face had gone pale, Luna broke down into a fit of sobs. “Oh cruel nightmare, oh foul vision, why must thou torment me!” She cried out, holding the corpse close to her chest and nuzzling his short hair. “Don’t go… Please don’t go…”

“Luna…?” Dominic’s voice pierced through her heart. “Luna!”

[♦]

“LUNA! WAKE UP!” Shouted a panicking voice, the princess felt herself being shaken by her shoulders. “I’m right here! I’m alright!” She opened her eyes and found herself staring into the worried eyes of Dominic, she could feel herself trembling in his grasp. Upon seeing her eyes, the man let out a sigh of relief.

“D-Dominic?” She asked in a shaking voice, Dominic gave her a nod and pulled her into a hug. Luna quickly returned it, burying her face into his shoulder and beginning to cry. He patted the back of her head and shushed her quietly. “We-We’re s-s-sorry… We had such a terrible nightmare, so many awful things happened…”

“It’s okay…” Dominic replied. “You’re okay, you’re okay...” For nearly ten minutes the two sat like that in silence, the man quietly rocking back and forth as she sobbed into his shoulder. Luna broke the embrace and laid back down. Dominic went back to his side of the bed, his face still a picture of worry. “What happened, Luna?”

“We just wish to banish it from our thoughts…” Luna replied, scooching over on the bed and leaning next to Dominic. The man gave a small sigh and put his arm around her, he could still feel her shaking. “Normally, such dreams do not have such an adverse effect on us…” Her eyes went to the window and she could see that the early morning sun was already beginning its rise. “Morning already…” She sighed.

“Yes, morning.” Dominic repeated, patting her on the shoulder. He couldn’t stand to see his friend in such a state, all he wanted to do was help her. Silently he raised his hand to the back of her head and gave her a small scratch behind the ear, Luna paused for a moment before leaning against him and accepting the gesture.

“Dominic… We art still afraid…” Luna said quietly, her eyes scanned the room and fell on her crown. It had fallen off of her during the night, as had most of her regalia and slippers. “There is to be a meeting this morning, we will need to attend… It will be to discuss strategy…” She didn’t take her eyes off of the crown, even as she felt Dominic’s fingers against her ear.

Dominic looked at the mare he held, a strange feeling welling up in his chest. It was a feeling he’d felt years ago, a feeling that had driven him to run into a burning building, a feeling that had made a knife wound far more bearable. He’d never really determined what it was, but he was certain that it would never steer him wrong.

“What can I do?” He asked in a somewhat shaking voice, Luna looked at him from her position beside him. A conflicted expression danced across her face, with a small sigh she opened her mouth to speak. Words seemed to stop in her throat, and after another moment she looked towards the crown on the floor.

“We doubt thou can aid us…” The alicorn mumbled. “The task of leadership is ours to bear.” Her horn ignited and an aura formed around the crown, it floated upwards and hovered in front of Dominic. He slowly took it out of the air, to his surprise the crown was extremely light. “It weighs nearly nothing, yet we fear we will be crushed under its’ burden.” Luna sighed defeatedly.

Dominic couldn’t believe it, looking between the crown and the mare beside him, he found it impossible. A piece of metal that weighed less than his helmet had nearly crushed one of the strongest people he knew in under a day. The man stood up and walked towards the window, his grip on the crown loosened and he let it clatter to the floor.

“Luna.” He said in an almost numb tone. “There are often times I wonder why god saw fit to bring me here, and it is at this point in time I realize that he brought me here because this nation lacks something my world did.” He turned to face Luna, a deadly serious expression across his face. “Backbone. One minor setback, one defeat, and look what happens…” Luna looked at him, a confused look in her eyes. “You are the strongest woman I’ve met in a long time, but when I see you allow this destroy you, I cannot help but be disappointed.”

“This is no setback. This is war.” Luna retorted.

“I have seen war.” Dominic said firmly. “I have seen what man is capable of, I’ve seen what they will do to survive. I’ve DONE some of those things. This is not war.” The man walked over to Luna and grabbed her by the shoulders, with all of his strength he pulled her into a standing position. “You are strong. You showing this fear shows just how much you care, but you have to push through it.” Luna looked at him with even more confusion, she watched as the man picked up the crown. “Fear is a liar. It will beat you down and destroy you if you don’t destroy it.” He set the crown upon Luna’s head. “I cannot believe that the strongest woman I know is succumbing to fear.

“We are not scared.” Luna said, using her magic to adjust the crown. “We… I am Luna, Princess of the night… Defender and finder of lost children!” Dominic smiled as she stood up, he could see the fire in her eyes was burning again.

“What are you going to do?” He asked, taking a step back from her. She cleared her throat, and without using her modern speech spell, she spoke clearly and confidently.

“I am going to go to Canterlot, I am going to face this obstacle, and afterwards I will return here to collect you.” Luna said strongly, Dominic smiled even if he was a bit surprised by her last declaration. “Reporters be damned, you have been forced to hide long enough. It is time for you to come home.” The man was even more surprised as the mare pulled him into a strong hug, but he returned it nonetheless. When they broke the hug, Luna used her magic to quickly attach her ragalia and slip her slippers onto her hooves.

Dominic noticed that her mane seemed to be whipping around a bit more than usual, the stars seemed to be brighter and more plentiful. When she had finished donning her royal wear, she smiled at him and her horn began to glow brighter.

“I shall return soon.” She said, Dominic nodded. He was forced to cover his eyes as a blinding flash of light filled the room, when he opened them he found that Luna had disappeared. The man let out a small sigh and straightened himself up, then walked back to the window and looked towards Canterlot. He smiled as he saw a second flash of light, before walking away from the window and towards his desk. There he looked at the wooden box that he’d been given, an odd feeling came over him.

Silently he opened it and found himself staring at several pieces of metal and other supplies. His hands reached into the box and pulled the steel until he held it at eye level. He stared at it for a moment, in his mind a shape took form. He didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to turn the metal into that shape. It was as if his ancestors as far back as Rome were telling him that was the blade to make, with that thought in his heart he set about drawing the design upon the metal.

[♦]

Luna trotted through the halls of the castle, her head held high. The fear she’d felt the night before was a far cry from her mind, and as she came upon the door that led to the meeting room she let out a small sigh of relief. Her horn glowed and with her magic she yanked the door wide open, revealing the somewhat stunned chiefs of staff as well as her sister.

“Luna.” Celestia began. “I thought you’d gone to think…”

“Not today, sister.” Luna retorted, trotting into the room and closing the door behind her. “Today is a day for action.” She looked about the dimly lit space, noting just how dreary everything seemed to be. Sitting in a line along a large mahogany meeting table were five stallions. Two of which she recognized. General Powder Keg, the chief of the Equestrian Army. The other was Field Marshal Eventide, her commander of the Lunar Corps. The others were familiar to her, but she had neglected to learn their names.

“Princess.” Eventide said dutifully, standing and adjusting his black uniform.

“Your highness.” Added Powder Keg, he was the second to stand. He straightened the black tie that accompanied his olive green uniform. His eyes roved over the other chiefs before he cleared his throat. “Your princess has just entered the room.” He said sourly, the chiefs quickly stood to attention.

“Be seated.” Luna said calmly, Eventide and Powder Keg were the last of the joint chiefs to sit. The princess sat herself beside Celestia and the guards standing by the door sealed it shut with a quick spell. The lights dimmed and on the far wall a spell illuminated to display a map of a relatively small island.

“You may begin your briefing, general.” Celestia said, Powder Keg nodded and stood up. He walked to the screen and picked up a stick that was leaned against the wall. He gestured to the island.

“Gentlecolts, your highness.” The general began. “This is Twin Island, as I’m sure you all know.” He tapped the screen with the stick, causing it to change to an image of two lines. One was red while the other was blue, each seemed to run parallel to each other. “These are the Zebra and Minotaur defensive lines as of yesterday morning.” He tapped the screen once again, now showing the lines were almost twice as thick. “Our naval and aerial observers report that each side has moved previously concealed units to the line. It’s likely that this first battle will go to the minotaurs, if that’s the case we will be forced to withdraw our observation forces from the area.”

“If the Zebra’s are victorious?” Luna asked.

“If they’re victorious, we’ll be able to continue monitoring the island, but it’s likely the bruised pride for the minotaurs would have global repercussions. Especially bad ones if we get involved.” The general gestured to Field Marshal Eventide, who took it as his cue to head up to the screen. He took the pointer and tapped it once more, shifting the image to several concentrations of soldiers on the minotaur side.

“These are Minotaur supply caches, they’re what allow them to field such a massive force at one time.” He would begin explaining while the two princesses looked on, as did the rest of the staff. “It’s a delicate balancing act between guarding them and the border, with the mounting tensions they’ve been left nearly exposed.”

“Are you proposing what I think you’re proposing?” Celestia asked, gaining the attention of every pony in the room. Eventide and Powder Keg nodded. “Absolutely not. This meeting is to assess our options, not start a war!”

“Princess, with all due respect, this is no longer a minute squabble.” Retorted Eventide. “The world is on the brink of war, we need a strategy not more politics!” Celestia looked at the other joint chiefs, all of whom seemed to be scrutinizing the screen in their own way. Her gaze flitted over to Luna, she was surprised to see an intrigued expression on her sister’s face. Luna had always been a tactician at heart, and now was no exception.

“No. Just, tell me what we can and cannot do. I’ll decide what to do.” Celestia stated, Luna as well as the other joint chiefs all looked at her again, there intrigued expressions turned to ones of shock. “I mean we will. Luna, Twilight, and I.” The silence broke after several tense seconds with Eventide tapping the screen once again. Several numbers and graphs popped up.

“Our overall military readiness, excluding town militias.” The Field Marshal said firmly. For nearly an hour the joint chiefs shared their assessments of the armed forces and their recommended courses of action. Almost all of them, with the exception of the chief of the Navy, agreed that land and air forces should take priority in modernization efforts. They covered defensive strategies, made recommendations, until eventually there was nothing left to discuss.

Celestia’s staunch opposition to action was noted by all those in the room over the course of the hour. That was why when the meeting came to an end and Celestia had excused herself the joint chiefs remained, as did Luna. Luna could see the implications of a Minotaur victory, the zebras had flimsy defenses within their homeland and would easily be over run. If that happened, the minotaurs would have reign over almost a quarter of the world. Equestria would then be nearly alone and faced with the minotaurs, whom they had notoriously chilly relations with.

On the flip side, if they attempted something and failed, Equestria would be in the same position. The country would need to be completely neutral, which seemed impossible considering the circumstances. Luna hated going over her sister’s head, but she knew it was for the best. Celestia was an excellent leader in peacetime, but Equestria was faced with war, and so a warrior’s mind was needed. Luna’s thought’s quickly turned to Dominic, he would most likely be able to offer some insight. Coming from the United States, a nation he described as ‘Back to back world war champions’... Her thoughts trailed off as a sudden realization hit her.

“Seal the room.” Luna ordered, the guards nodded again and the doors were shut. The princess cleared her throat and looked to Field Marshal Eventide. “You proposed a strike at their supply caches, correct?” The Field Marshal gestured to Powder Keg.

“It was the General’s idea, your excellency.” 

Luna nodded again. “What I am about to propose will seem unorthodox, I expect you will listen nonetheless.”

[♦]

Dominic stood by the blacksmith’s work area, they had finished construction on their equipment and had begun making tools for the guards working on mending the castle’s fortifications. The man, for his part, was making use of a leg vice and a hacksaw. He had been working on the metal since Luna had left nearly two hours before. The soon-to-be blade was nine inches long, including the handle. It had an angular point, while the rest of its edge was reminiscent of a straight razor. Or it would be, once Dominic finished cutting the metal away.

He couldn’t explain why, but he felt more driven than he’d ever felt. Each cut he made, each breath he took, every motion was careful but swift. He hadn’t said a two words to any of the other smiths, and he didn’t notice that whenever they were taking a break or waiting for a bar to heat that they would watch him. Hammered Steel was among them, though he seemed far more stoic than the others. He didn’t notice that several chariots were flying towards the castle, but the other guards did.

The chariots were completely black with no markings whatsoever, even the stallion’s pulling them lacked any true definitive marks on their armor. There were three in total, two of which were loaded down with Lunar guards. The third had none other than Princess Luna on it, as well as two stallions in high ranking uniforms. The chariots circled around the castle a few times as several stallions rushed to the courtyard to guide them down.

The commotion was what broke Dominic from his work, he raised an eyebrow as he saw the guards and the uniformed ponies. Quietly he picked up his jacket and buttoned up, then placed his helmet square on his head. The man looked to Hammered Steel and gestured to his work, the stallion nodded and began walking over. Dominic didn’t wait and immediately began walking towards the chariots. The Lunar guards that had arrived all had something that Dominic noticed, their uniforms lacked any markings.

“President Occisor.” Luna said in a stern tone, this got the man’s attention. He noted the two stallions beside her.

“Not president.” Dominic corrected. “I wasn’t voted into office. Just acting head of state.” Luna nodded. The man was confused to say the least, considering that the alicorn had never referred to his office, and rarely used his last name.

“We can debate the merits of your office later, for now we must discuss something of extreme importance.” Luna continued, she and her two uniformed compatriots stopped a few feet ahead of Dominic. “This is General Powder Keg and Field Marshal Eventide, we have something we’d like to discuss with you.” The man paused for a moment, then nodded and pointed towards the tower that housed his room.

“Let’s get to it then.” He did his best to sound official, he was no politician. The group of four quickly left the courtyard in silence, and Dominic got the uncomfortable feeling in his gut that normally came from new experiences. They walked into the hallway and then up the steps to the tower that served as his room, and once they’d arrived Luna used her magic to seal the door shut. Dominic walked to his desk and sat down in his chair. “What seems to be the problem?”

“There’s no problem, sir.” Said Powder Keg, Dominic regarded him with a somewhat skeptical eye. “At least we’re trying not to have one. We require the United State’s assistance.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at Luna as her horn began to glow, a screen of magic appeared on the ceiling.

“We’re calling it Operation: Rosemoon.” Eventide stated as an image of Twin Island appeared, two points behind a red line were circled. “These are Minotaur supply caches, if we destroy them we’ll cripple their offensive strength and hopefully force a surrender. What we need from the United States, however… Is…”

“We need you to carry out the operation.” Luna said.

“Are you high?” Was Dominic’s swift response, appearing extremely miffed by the statement. He straightened up to speak. “I’m one man, and though it may seem like it, I’m not exactly a juggernaut!” Luna nodded and gestured to the lunar guards out in the courtyard that had arrived on the chariot.

“We understand that, that’s why you won’t be going.” She looked back to the man. “That is the new United State’s Army.” Dominic raised another eyebrow as the two commanders silently watched. The screen on the ceiling faded as he stood up and walked to the window. “Twenty lunar stallions and mares volunteered to shift over from Equestria to the United States, that is, if you let them.”

“You know as well as I do that the United States is just a title…” Dominic said, he turned and looked at Luna with a somewhat solemn expression. “No land, no industry, no imports or exports, no goddamn government!” Luna began to open her mouth, but was cut off. “I don’t count, Luna…” Dominic’s eye went to the generals in the room. “Now you want to use it as a front to attack another country?”

“Dominic, please listen to me.” Luna said, when no retort came she spoke again. “You’re right, the United States is a country in name only… Right now.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at her. “Aid us and we will help rebuild America.” It took a few moments, but Dominic replied.

“Can… Can I have some time to think?” He asked, Luna nodded and gestured for Powder Keg and Eventide to leave. “Perhaps you should go with them as well…” Luna paused, noting the strain that seemed to be on Dominic’s voice, she silently nodded again and left with the two generals.

Once he heard the door close, Dominic let out a pent up breath. He quietly sat back at his desk and looked at the stationery that had been provided to him. He closed his eyes and began to think. He was no world leader, he wasn’t a tactician, if it had been like this on earth he would be the youngest head of state in the world. Still, he found himself in this position, a position that while risky could also breathe new life into a nation he loved so dearly. For nearly an hour he sat there, not opening his eyes.

His thoughts turned to the words of President Reagan, he remembered his words concerning the Soviet Union.

“Should the patriots at Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard 'round the world?” He spoke to himself, opening his eyes. He blinked away the brightness of the light and looked out the window at the flagpole, the American flag flew beneath the Equestrian one, still it seemed to dominate the wind. “Should I let this opportunity to bring America back from the brink slip through my fingers…?”

The man straightened up and clicked his pen, then he began to silently write on a piece of his official stationery.

’The U.S. will aid in securing peace over Twin Island in anyway it can. The United States of America is devoted entirely to maintaining peace in the world. We stand against tyranny, and all those who would use fear and violence to gain control. Our resolve in putting an end to such transgressions is unbreakable. We will work hard and endure through all obstacles, for it is our duty to carry on the morals and beliefs of our great nation. We will not falter, nor will we surrender, now or ever. We are Americans.’

Dominic quickly signed the document, then stood up and grabbed it. He quietly readjusted his clothing, straightening his jacket and helmet before walking towards the door. He opened it and descended the steps to the lower hallway. Luna and her generals straightened up at the sight of him and the paper in his hand.

“I’ve come to a decision…” Dominic said, sounding as stoic as he could. He put forth the paper to Luna who took it and read it over. She looked it over whilst the man walked towards the doors. “I want to take a look at them before it becomes official.” Luna stood up, the paper clutched in her magic, and she and her generals followed the man into the courtyard. The work on the fortress came to a halt, the workers seemed to understand that something big was going to happen.

Dominic walked towards the assembled volunteers, upon seeing him they quickly snapped to attention. The man stopped in front of each of them, looking them up and down with a stoic expression. He stopped in front of one thestral mare and raised an eyebrow.

“Errant. You volunteered?” He asked, the mare nodded.

“As did Rolling and Chipped, sir.” She replied, Dominic looked behind her and noted the two thestral stallions were spread out among the other faces. The man let out a small breath, then nodded to Errant and moved on to examine the rest of them. Upon finishing his inspection he walked to the head of the formation and cleared his throat.

“You’ve all volunteered to give up your loyalty to your home, is that correct?” He said loudly.

“Yes, sir!” Replied the formation.

“This is your last chance to back out. If you choose to leave, you can go home an Equestrian…” He would pause for effect, and also to think of more things to say. He was never really good with speeches, after all. “If you stay, you will become Americans! Not just any Americans, but American soldiers! You will fight for AMERICA! You may die for America! I want you to think about that.” He was quiet again, watching the group closely.

The entire fortress watched with rapt attention, Luna couldn’t help but smile inwardly as she watched Dominic. Not because of her feelings, but because of what she was seeing. The makings of a politician were apparent, hidden behind the mask of a youthful wayward warrior.

“Raise your right hooves and repeat after me.” Dominic said loudly, the stallions and mares did as they were told. “I, state your name.” The guards echoed what he’d said, adding their names. “Do solemnly swear.” Dominic heard them repeat him again. “To uphold and defend the constitution and the laws of the United States.” He was repeated once again. “Against all threats, foreign and domestic, so help me god.” With his impromptu oath completed, he let out a light breath. He was no longer staring at a group of Equestrian guards, he was looking at American soldiers.

The weight of it all began to settle on his shoulders. He’d just sworn in soldiers, he had an Army… America had an Army.

“Report to the Equestrian generals for your briefing… Dismissed.” The group saluted before breaking off to go and speak with the two generals. Dominic remained rooted to the spot, a sudden feeling of lightheadedness coming over him. His chest felt as if it was imploding, the world around him was spinning, it was almost impossible to stand.

It all came to a screeching halt as he felt a warm wing wrap itself over his shoulder. He didn’t look away from the spot where the soldiers had been standing, but he could tell from the softness of it that it was Luna.

“What have I done…?” He asked.

“You’ve made your first big decision as a politician.” Luna replied, he could tell from her voice she was attempting to dissuade his fears.

“I never wanted to be a politician, Luna. I was going to be a soldier.” Dominic replied, he felt Luna shift slightly. “I feel like I could have been a great soldier, so why would god put me in a position as a politician? I hate politicians.” Luna was silent for a few moments, she  used her wing to turn him towards her. Dominic looked into her eyes, they held a comforting gleam to them.

“What was it you told me?” She asked. “When we spoke about your presidents, you said there was a quote you particularly identified with.” Dominic paused in thought, a small smile crossing his lips.

“Some men are born great...” He spoke with a bit more confidence, gaining a smile from the lunar princess.

“Others have greatness thrust upon them.” Luna finished for him, she pulled him into a tight hug. “I have no doubt that you are capable of great things, Dominic. If you set aside your fears and doubts, I am certain that you too shall see that.” Upon breaking the hug, Luna could see that Dominic’s resolve had be hardened. He smiled a bit and patted Luna on the side. The princess looked off towards Canterlot, noting that as the sun reached the midday point of its rise it gleamed brightly. “Do you want to go back to Canterlot?”

“Maybe for a bit.” Dominic replied, looking over towards the newest American citizens. They stood by a wall as the Field Marshal and General explained the operation to them. He frowned, suddenly realizing that he would need a barracks and a way of supplying his ‘country’. Again the tightness in his chest returned, but a comforting nuzzle from Luna stopped it dead in its tracks.

“You should know that because the United States is aiding us, we will be more than happy to aide the United States should it need anything…” Luna added, almost as if she’d read his mind. Dominic nodded, his mind silently racing. He had an Army, not a big one, not even a division’s worth, but still an army. He had no aspirations of world domination, but he couldn’t help but smile. Both Luna and Dominic began walking towards one of the Chariots that sat parked in the courtyard.

“Sir!” The stallions in charge of pulling it snapped into a salute, now saluting Dominic rather than Luna. It appeared that more than just the twenty had taken the oath. Dominic gave them a quick salute back as they stepped onto the chariot.

“Take us to Canterlot.” Dominic said, sitting down and gripping his seat, Luna took a seat beside him.

“Yes, sir.” The guards opened their wings and began flapping them, the chariot rose into the air and Dominic felt Luna settle herself against him. His mind unconsciously moved his arm around over her shoulder. The man closed his eyes and sighed, again the great speeches of America’s presidents ran through his mind. Eisenhower’s D-Day letter was chief among them.

”The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing other than full victory...!”
> Chapter 34
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There wasn’t much to do when stationed on an extremely small island, even less so when assigned to guard duty. It was for this reason that several minotaurs were huddled around a small table with cards out in front of them. The night air was soft and warm, prompting many of them to remove their armored chest pieces. They had one lantern amongst the three of them, it was currently illuminating their card game.

Twenty feet away there fourth comrade in arms was patrolling near a large grey building, he carried with him a simple spear whilst his armor had been exchanged for a more comfortable tunic. His hooves kicked up small clouds of dust as he walked along the side of the supply building, though he didn’t really pay attention. His thoughts were directed towards the battle that would inevitably take place, and how he was stuck on guard duty.

As he passed by the end of the long building, he thought he spotted something. A glint of metal where there should have been none. He gripped his spear tightly and began moving to the odd bit of metal. He knelt down and picked up, recognizing the metal as a Minotaur Dime. He looked around, noting several bushes that dotted the sandy landscape. Not seeing another minotaur, or anything for that matter, he picked up the dime. He moved to stand, but stopped as he felt something metal against the back of his head.

“Don’t. Move.” A voice said, the minotaur gulped. “Your arms, up.” He raised his hands, one still gripping the dime. Another hand quickly reached out and grabbed it. “Thanks, dummy.” The minotaur groaned and stood up, turning to see that one of his comrades had come with a spear. “Here to relieve you.”

“Well, at least it’s you and not-” He was cut off, in the distance there were two extremely quiet ‘zap’ noises. Two extremely dim bolts of red energy impacted him and his fellow minotaur, killing them and sending them to the ground in crumpled heaps.

The bushes seemed to come alive, as eight thestrals clad in black fatigues stepped out into the open. Their faces were hidden by black balaclavas, and their uniforms lacked any markings, but the leathery wings would have been enough of a hint to anyone standing around. They held spell-bows, painted black to match with the uniforms. Each of them had had its serial number filed off, any record of them every being built had been erased. On their backs were saddlebags, filled with explosive crystals and other destructive devices.

“Move up.” One of the thestrals, a mare, ordered. She and her team move towards the building, four of them breaking off to hide the bodies in the bushes. After only a few minutes all of them had regrouped at the side of the building. One of them peaked around the corner, noting that two minotaurs still sat at their table.

“Two tangos. Looks like they’re playing cards.” He announced in a hushed whisper.

“Hold position.” The mare ordered, she came up next to him and looked at the table. The minotaurs were looking around, most likely wondering where their comrades had gone. From her fatigue pocket she pulled a small, red tinted flashlight. She held it up and flashed it three times. Moments later, two flashes of red energy were spotted and the minotaurs had slumped forwards onto their table, dead. “Let’s go…”

The group of eight moved along the side of the building until they came upon a metal door, two of them quickly took up positions on either side of the doorway. The mare moved up and slowly inched the door open, then gestured for the rest of the thestrals to enter. Inside they found stacks of crates and boxes of every side, all with minotaur markings. They filled nearly every portion of the aircraft hangar sized building.

“Spread out, set the charges and meet at hilltop alpha…” The mare ordered, there were a few nods before the group of eight split up. Each of them began moving down the narrow isles that crisscrossed the warehouse, each taking an explosive crystal and setting them every ten feet. The crystals were accompanied by small jugs of kerosine.

The mare in charge of the group stopped as she heard voices, not her team’s voices, most likely warehouse workers. She finished placing her charges as she came the opposite end of the warehouse. She peeked around a corner and was glad to see that her fellow thestrals had also heard the voices and were holding their positions. They slinked into the shadows just as a pair of workers walked past.

“I tell you, the zebs won’t last a day. We’ve got enough stashed here to keep our guys fighting for a month if need be.” Said one of the minotaurs to his co worker. “Seventy Dracks says we don’t even here the fighting here. It’ll be that quick.”

“I’ll take that bet.” Replied the other worker, then stopped in front of a wall of crates that separated two isles. “Alright, they requisitioned fifty units of bandages, that’s isle F, right?”

“Right.” Replied the first minotaur, the two of them started down one of the isles. Imediately they noted the crystals. “What the…” The rest of the words trailed off as he spotted the spell bow that was trained on his chest, and the entirely black covered thestral that held it. His compatriot also noticed this, both of them raised their arms shakily. Neither of them wore armor, only tunics, and they didn’t feel like testing the power of their assailant’s weapon. A click from behind them signified they were surrounded.

“Shit…” They both muttered at the same time.

“Orders, ma’am?” Asked a voice from behind them, the thestral in front of them looked behind them. “We can’t take them with us…”

“No witnesses.” The mare said somewhat coldly before squeezing the trigger of her weapon, there was a second series of zaps before both of the minotaurs lay dead on the concrete floor. “Everyone squared up?”

“Yes, ma’am. Initiating charges set for three minutes, we should go.” One of the thestrals said, the mare nodded and the group quickly moved out the back door. The moon above them gave them some comfort as they stealthily moved through the bushes and sand and towards the hill that overlooked the building. As they got closer they heard a familiar click.

“Star.” A voice called out.

“Night.” The mare replied, two thestrals stood up from the under brush. Their fatigues were different, having several pieces of fake foliage attached to them. An innovation provided by the president himself. “Chipped, Rolling, excellent shooting.” The mare complimented as the group got closer.

“Thank you,.ma’am.” Replied the thestrals, slinging their own spell bows over their shoulders.

“We set?” Asked Rolling thunder, the mare nodded and the group turned to look down at the building. “Spade two flashed that they’d set theres seven minutes ago, we should be seeing it soon.”

“They’ll be seeing ours as well.” The mare replied, watching the building.

“Thirty seconds to detonation.” Said one of the thestrals, the group got down on the ground and made sure to leave their mouths open. They weren’t sure how powerful the shockwave would be, but they figured it would be better safe than sorry. “Fifteen seconds.”

In the distance, a brilliant flash of light filled the sky. A thunderous boom followed, and they could see that something was burning brightly.

“There’s Spade two…” The mare commented.

“Five… Four… Three…” The thestrals all watched the building closest to them with rapt attention. “Two… ONE! Detonate!”

It was as if a wave of flame had spawned within the building, the nearly deafening explosions spread through the warehouse as if they were demons from the deepest pits of hell. The thestrals watched in silent awe as the heavy metal doors were tossed aside like toys. The shockwave kicked up massive amounts of dust. Pieces of tin roofing rained down on the surrounding area, as well as flaming remnants of crates and boxes. Among some of the debris were playing cards, Rolling Thunder picked one out of the air and looked at it. An ace of spades was emblazoned on the slightly charred card.

“That was… Beautiful…” One of the thestrals murmured. A few of them chuckled, mainly at the insane amount of fire that seemed to be pouring out of the roof. Thick black smoke blocked out the night sky, a testament to a job well done. Rolling thunder took the card and stuffed it into his pocket.

“Alright, that’s enough gawking.” The mare ordered, she gestured to the south. “We’ve got to move if we want to make the extraction on time.” With those words, the team quietly moved off the hill and towards the southern shore of the island.

[♦]

Dominic enjoyed being able to live back in Canterlot, mainly because he liked the view that his room afforded him. It was also his official office, as of a week ago, when it had been deemed safe for him to return. He sat by his new, extremely large mahogany desk, slightly uncomfortable in his suit and tie. Still, he was an American politician now, Luna said he had to look the part. He had several desk toys that he fiddled with as he sat there, and his knife had been doubling as a letter opener, much to his annoyance.

The man leaned forwards on his desk, he put his head in his hands and sighed. He’d been losing sleep again, doubt about his decision was running rampant through his mind. It was as if a massive sword now dangled over him by nothing more than a piece of twine. Thoughts about how the United States would be different, how it would be the same, and what to do for it, all jumbled together and mixed with the memories of home.

He’d refounded the United States, ordered an attack on another country, been given an office and all in under a week. It must have been some sort of record. He turned away from his desk with another groan of anxiety and looked towards the window.

The sun outside was warm, but he was more concerned about the moon shining over Twin Island. He would no doubt be receiving a telegram about how the operation had fared, and depending on how it went, possibly an extremely irate minotaur. The man adjusted his tie and leaned back in his seat, his thumb tapping idly against the grip of his revolver that sat on his desk. He nearly bolted out of his seat when he heard the knock on his door.

“Enter.” He said, recomposing himself. The door opened and one of his aids stepped in, this aid happened to be one of the unknown few who had taken the oath without warning Luna that they were taking it. A thestral mare, she was one of the chariot pilots that had remained behind. She wore a uniform, similar to that of an American Army Officer, and held a sheet of paper in her hooves.

“Mister President.” She saluted, Dominic motioned for her to relax. “Message from the Equestrian Ship ‘Speeding Wind’.” He gestured for her to read it aloud. “All targets destroyed, mission accomplished. Second team took enemy fire and suffered minor injury. End of message.” Dominic leaned back in his seat, a stoic expression crossing his features.

“Could you send for Princess Luna?” Dominic asked, the mare nodded. He turned in his chair and looked out the window. “Please send her in when she arrives. Dismissed.” He didn’t watch her leave, he just heard the door close. His eyes looked over the city below, filled with ponies that most likely hated him. Dominic closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair once again, his thoughts going where they had been going for the past few days.

Had he made the correct choice? Was going this route the proper way to bring America back from the brink, was there another way? He quietly clenched and relaxed his fists on the armrests of the chair. There was no changing what had been done, but he knew for certain that he’d rushed into things. Still, he had a responsibility that he intended to uphold. Dominic’s musings were stopped once more as he heard the door to his office open.

“Sir, Princess Luna is here.” The mare’s voice called out, Dominic raised a hand and gestured for her to see the Princess in. His thoughts turned to Luna, he couldn’t help but feel as if she’d used him somehow. She had used his patriotism and his love for his country against him, though he suspected she didn’t know just to what extent he loved his country. He opened his eyes when he heard Luna’s metal shoes clicking against the marble floor, and he only turned his chair when he heard the door close once again.

Luna stood in her regalia, she looked around the room and gave a small smile to Dominic. The man, however, remained stoic. He saw that the mare had placed the message on his desk, he picked it up and looked it over.

“We assume this is not a social call?” Luna asked, Dominic nodded and gestured to a seat that was placed before his desk. The princess took the seat and adjusted herself until she became comfortable.

“The mission was a success, only a few minor injuries.” Dominic said, sliding the paper towards Luna in an almost emotionless state. Luna lifted the paper with her magic and looked it over as Dominic steepled his fingers. “Luna, you know I don’t like bullshit so I’ll cut to the chase. We need to talk.” Luna set the paper down and looked at him, her expression morphing into something between worried and alarmed. He’d never used such a serious tone with her, even when talking about the infected.

“What about?” Luna asked, Dominic quietly sighed.

“I understand your position as a princess, I understand that you needed my help.” Dominic began, he paused for a moment. “I just wish that you’d been straight with me.” Luna raised an eyebrow. Her heart was racing, she had never seen such a cold version of the man. Fears for her future with him sprouted up into a maelstrom of uncertainty. Still, she felt compelled to stand her ground.

“What doth thou mean, we were honest with thee.” Luna replied, straightening up and fighting down her own emotion.

“You showed up at the castle with a strike force ready to go, two generals with you, a plan already laid out.” Dominic said evenly. “You assumed my answer would be yes before you even arrived, and you used a promise to aid my country to persuade me.”

“We had to-”

“Bullshit.” Dominic cut her off, the sharpness of his response cut into her soul. “You could have come to me and said ‘Dominic, I really need your help, I need such and such from you.’ and I would have said ‘Okay!’.” The man took on an even scarier look, one that sent shivers down Luna’s spine. A look of disappointment. “Instead you call your strike force ‘The New American Army’, you offer to make America beautiful again…” His voice was now filled with hurt. “You used me.”

“Dominic, no!” Luna said loudly, the man shook his head. “We would never dream of doing such a thing! We said those things because we wanted to-”

“Out.” Again she was cut off.

“What?” She asked.

“Get. Out. Before I say something we’ll both regret.” Dominic looked at his desk, Luna practically felt her heart ripping in half. Silently she stood up, struggling to hold back tears, before making her way out of the office. When Dominic heard the door close he looked up, his own eyes watering. With a slight sniffle he stood up from his chair and walked across the room towards his liquor cabinet. He reached for the door, but stopped and instead rested his head on the top of the cabinet. He wiped his eyes and stood up tall, he straightened his tie before reaching into the cabinet and retrieving a bottle of scotch. The man poured himself a glass, then turned and raised it in a mock toast.

He downed the scotch and walked back to his office chair then reclined into it and turned to face the window. The man poured himself another glass and looked out over Canterlot, his expression a stoic mask. He watched the city in silence, contemplating what was to be done next.

He supposed that the first thing to do would be locating a place for his ‘citizen’s to live. That wouldn’t be too hard, Equestria owed him a favor after all. The man turned away from the window and set his glass on the desk next to his revolver. Dominic opened the lowest drawer in the desk and fished around, he pulled a map of Equestria from the bottom and laid it out on his desk. The man tapped his finger on his chin, thinking of possible ways to find a place that could house his people. He had lived in an abandoned town for years, it was the first thought that popped into his mind. Dominic opened his mouth and was about to call for the Thestral aid.

“Sonar, could you-” He began, however the door to the room opened and already the thestral was walking in with several different maps.

“Here are the map’s of Equestrian ghost towns, sir.” She said as she set them on the desk, Dominic looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“How did you do that?” He asked, she shrugged in response.

“I don’t know sir, sometimes I just know things before they happen.” She turned, Dominic opened his mouth to speak. “I’ll be sure to put a fresh pot of coffee on for you, sir.”

“Thank you, Sonar.” Dominic said as she closed the door, he unfolded one of the maps with ghost towns on it and laid it over the regular map with a hum. At first, none of the towns seemed to call out to him. Of the fifty or so ghost towns many were inland, or nigh inhospitable, he took a red pen from his drawer and put X’s over them. That left a number that was more manageable, fifteen. Of course, he would need to inspect the towns, but at least it was a step in the right direction.

Dominic let out a sigh as his mind wandered back to Luna, but he soldiered on and began circling the ghost towns to determine the order that he’d inspect them. It was surprisingly calming for him to lay out the map, and it helped take his mind off of his fight with his friend. It was in no way shape or form even close to the animosity he had towards Celestia, but Luna had shaken his trust somewhat. With another sigh he began drumming his fingers against his desk and humming ‘When Johnny comes marching home’, it was clear to him that today would be a difficult day. That was alright though, he’d had difficult days before.
> Chapter 35
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pre dawn air over Twin Island was thick with acrid black smoke, the Zebra watched the Minotaur lines with their weapons at the ready. All was calm and quiet, and behind their lines the Zebra prepared their artillery to fire the first shots of a war that had been building up for over a decade. The minotaur seemed less confident in their victory than the day before, perhaps it was the rationed food or the loss of medical supplies that had disheartened them.

Of the coast, Equestrian ships sat and watched. Their crew’s were as silent as the island, watching and waiting for the first shots. These crucial moments would be the ones recorded in history books, the first major conflict in the world since the Griffon revolution thirty years past. The stallions on the ships had front row seats to something incredible, and more than enough were writing in their journal as they waited.

Back on the island, the Zebra’s ballistas and catapults are primed and ready for the first strike. As the sun crested the horizon a Zebra artillery officer raised his hoof into the air, the weapons crews readied themselves for action. When the sun rose a tad higher, he dropped his hoof down. Moments later, the first ballista was fired. A chain reaction of artillery fire started down the line, and soon the Minotaur line was being hammered mercilessly.

Rocks and flaming projectiles rained down on the enemy positions with frightening accuracy, some impacted the trenches while others kicked up sand and dirt. The minotaurs had no choice but to hunker down, some of them screaming in fear or pain. The flaming liquids in the balls of fire spread through the trenches, burning some or forcing soldiers to flee for their lives. The zebra watched in awe of the destruction, not expecting the amount of damage that was being inflicted.

Even on the ships, the Equestrian observers were stunned silent. Clouds of dust and smoke rose high and blotted out the rising morning sun, some screams could even be heard out at sea. What most of the journal keepers would note that day, however, was the thunderous booms and the horrifying bursts of flame. For ten minutes the bombardment continued, and all that could be done was wait and watch. Then, it came to a sudden stop. The silence that reigned afterwards was short lived, broken by screaming for doctors.

“DRAW YOUR WEAPONS!” Shouted one of the Zebra officers, the soldiers did as ordered and looked over the edge of the trench. The Minotaurs were too busy dealing with their casualties to see or even hear the order. “PREPARE TO CHARGE!”

“AHOOH!” Shouted the soldiers, preparing to pull themselves out of the trenches. They kept their eyes on the enemy, who were frantically trying to get wounded out of flame filled trenches. Some would later comment that it looked as if the very depths of tartarus had opened up.

“CHARGE!” Shouted the officer, and with a mighty roar the Zebra’s surged forwards. Angry war cries bellowed from their throats, their swords and spears lowered and hungering for blood. The minotaurs looked up as they heard the thundering of hooves against the sandy soil. They began to reach for their weapons, fear etched on their features, only for the tide of weaponry to slam into them.

The fighting became savage, zebras and minotaurs hammering away at each other in duels to the death. One zebra would stab a minotaur in the gut, only to be felled by a battle axe, or some other manner of weaponry. For ten minutes the trench was a battlezone, but soon after, it was only a grave. The zebra’s push continued on, a relentless attack that had come too fast for the minotaur to respond to.

By the time the minotaur could muster a defense, they had already been pushed back towards the shore. Their morale had been shaken by the previous night’s supply loss, and nearly decimated by the artillery barrage. Within the course of an hour, they were finding themselves pushed into the sea. They had prepared for a war for nearly a decade, but they had not faced it. Even their most battle hardened veterans had never seen bloodshed on such a scale. 

As the minotaur navy came to evacuate what forces they could, the Equestrians were struck silent. Even the journal keepers stopped their writing, they had a perfect view of the trenches. On the Zebra side, almost everything was pristine. The minotaur side, however, was something that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. Even from their position on the sea, they could make out the twisted and mangled corpses of minotaur and zebra alike.

One captain that watched through his spy glass lowered it, his hooves shaking. He had seen burning bodies, and even some wounded attempting to crawl to safety. A photographer used his telephoto lense to zoom in on the scene, with it he would capture one of the most iconic pictures that would come from the battle. A zebra dragging a minotaur with burns out of the flaming trenches.

The observers began filling out reports, some more descriptive than others. All of them described one thing consistently.

[♦]

“...because of an overwhelming assault and artillery barrage, combined with the sabotage of two key supply facilities, minotaur forces suffered an unprecedented total defeat at the Battle of Twin Island.” Celestia read aloud as she sat upon her throne, she blinked a few times at the report that had been transmitted by magic signal. 

The signal was reserved only for news of grave importance, and this was a fitting example of it being used well. What was unfitting, however, was that Celestia had read the report aloud out of sheer shock. Not only had her guards heard it, but so to had a group of petitioning nobles. They gaped at her with looks of concern. “Seal the room.” The guards nodded and closed the doors, her mind raced as she processed what she’d just read. Two supply depots that had been potential targets, somehow sabotaged, and without her knowledge.

“Princess?” Asked one of the petitioners. “What does this mean?”

“It means I need to have a talk with someone.” Celestia said, annoyance creeping into her voice. “Guards, see to it they’re shown to temporary quarters.” The guards nodded as Celestia stood to her hooves and her horn glowed. She closed her eyes for a moment and gave a surge of energy, there was a flash of light and she popped from her throne room to a seemingly random hallway. In actuality it was the hallway that lead to Luna’s bedroom, and she quickly took to trotting towards the doors at the end of the hall.

Her mind was aflame with questions and anger, she had been very clear about not interfering with the Twin Island situation and yet it seemed Luna had gone ahead with the operation anyway. She was so astonished at the prospect of someone going over her head that she was unsure of whether to be completely or slightly impressed. That was until she remembered that because of it, the Minotaurs had died like cows in a slaughterhouse. The thestral guard’s outside Luna’s room tensed up as they saw Celestia approaching, then crossed their spears over the door.

“Allow me passage.” She said sternly.

“We’re under direct orders not to allow anyone in.” The guards replied in unison, Celestia let out a sigh.

“Well, I’m telling you to allow me in.” She said, as if disciplining her own Solar guards. The thestrals stood their ground. “Move, I’ve ordered you.”

“Are you implying you have more authority than Princess Luna?” Asked one of them.

“I think she is.” Said the other, Celestia let out a frustrated snort and attempted to push past them. Surprisingly, they shoved her back. “I apologize, your highness. But unless you’re saying you’re superior to our commander in chief, I can’t let you through. And if that IS the case, I have a duty to report your misconduct to the media.”

“You wouldn’t.” Celestia said, the guard glared at her.

“Try me.” The guard and Celestia stared at each other intensely for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of them blinked, and the guard’s partner began to fidget a bit. Finally, Celestia couldn’t take the dry feeling and blinked. She sighed and turned away, as she trotted away she could barely make out the sound of the two guards bumping hooves. Celestia had more to worry about than a loss of authority over guards, however, she needed someone with insight into Luna’s head. She needed someone who could tell her what may have been running through her sister’s mind. She needed…

“Son of a bitch…” She said to herself, glad there was no one around to hear her swear.

[♦]

Dominic glowered at the map he’d drawn of possible new settlements, racking his brain for any historical knowledge on how to start a new country. He knew he’d need trade, so that reduced his choices to ghost towns with access to railway, roads, or the sea. That lowered the number from twenty to fifteen. He crossed out a few more locations on the map, then sighed and rubbed his temples. He regretted having the scotch earlier, but in truth he hadn’t planned on picking a new home immediately afterwards. It was at that moment that he heard the door open.

“Mister President, Princess Celestia here to see you.” Sonar’s voice called.

“Tell her I’m busy.” He replied, he sighed as he heard hooves push past Sonar and looked up from his work. Sure enough Princess Celestia had stormed past the poor, specticalled Sonar without much care. “Oh, I can tell you myself. I’m busy.” Celestia stared at him, surprised firstly that he was wearing a suit but also that he seemed to be drawing up invasion plans. His eyes shifted to Sonar. “Sonar, could you-”

“I’ll have the infirmary send up a bottle of aspirin right away, sir.” Sonar cut him off.

“Thank you, Sonar.” The thestral rushed off leaving Dominic and Celestia to stare at eachother in tense silence. The man set his pen down and leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers and nodding towards the white alicorn. “So… I take it barging into my office isn’t a social call… Mainly because I hate you.”

“It’s about Luna.” Celestia said, she was surprised to see Dominic’s face remain unfazed. Not even a hint of concern crossed his stoic mask. “She’s locked herself in her room and I need to talk to her about something.” Dominic sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Way to go, Dom…” He said to himself, just loud enough for Celestia to hear.

“What did you say to her?” She asked, the man gave her a glare.

“None of your goddamn business.” He hissed, the man cleared away the map on his desk and pulled his chair in closer. “What’s so important you come see me about Luna?” Celestia quietly used her magic to teleport the report into the room, she straightened out the documents before placing them daintily on his desk. Dominic picked it up and blinked, he was impressed by the Zebra’s somewhat. They had pulled a textbook blitzkrieg. What also struck him was the statement about the two supply depots that had been leveled before the actual assault. He let out a small hum as they were described as ‘acts of unknown saboteurs’.

“I told her specifically not to do anything with these depots, then suddenly they end up wiped out in exactly the way that had been planned.” Celestia said, annoyance in her tone. “This is very bad, if they find out about Equestrian involvement we’ll be in extreme trouble.”

“I don’t see how you could have been involved.” Dominic said flatly, sliding the paper back across his desk. “Considering you pussyfoot around every important issue that pop’s up, I doubt the global community would believe for a second Equestria was involved.” The door to the room opened and Sonar raushed in with a bottle of aspirin. “Sonar…” Dominic trailed off, waiting for his sentence to be finished.

“Yes, sir?” He looked at her surprised, before shrugging it off.

“Could you bring-”

“A steak, cooked to medium with potatoes and garlic butter?” Sonar finished for him, Dominic opened again. “I’ll be sure they send extra potatoes.” The man throw his arms up in the air whilst Celestia gawked at the spectacled Thestral.

“Thank you, Sonar.” Dominic said, the mare turned to leave only for Celestia to speak up.

“Don’t get him anything until he’s given me answers.” She ordered, the thestral turned and looked at her, then Dominic. The man leaned back in his seat and watched the two for a moment, unsure of what exactly would happen.

“Uh, I’m sorry ma’am but I can’t really do that.” Sonar said, Celestia blinked.

“Why not!? You could be courtmartialed for disobeying an order from me!” The solar princess bellowed, she would not have her authority challenged twice in one day. Sonar blinked for a moment, then let out an ‘Oh!’.

“Uh, ya see, Princess Celestia… You’re not my leader anymore.” She sounded shaky at first, but confident as she continued. Dominic sat up in his chair and watched the scene unfold, he couldn’t help but feel a little pride for his aid. Celestia was floored by the declaration, and Dominic could see the vein’s begin to bulge on her neck. “He is.” Sonar pointed a hoof at Dominic, Celestia blinked and looked at him. The man gave a small smile, a feeling of schadenfreude welling up inside him. “Mister President, may I go now?”

“Of course, Sonar. Get yourself something to eat while you’re at it, put it on my bill.” Dominic watched the mare nod and leave, closing the door behind her. Celestia blinked and slowly turned her head to face the man behind the sturdy mahogany desk. Her eye twitched, her authority had been usurped and now all she could see was red. The thought of her ponies being more loyal to Dominic than her hit her like a kick to the balls. Her horn began to glow, causing Dominic to grab his revolver and scowl.

“What did you do!?” Celestia demanded. “First I can’t get in to talk to my sister, now my soldiers follow your orders over mine!?” She stormed over to the man and glared at him with all the anger she could muster, but he just glared back. While hers was emotional and passionate, his was dead calm and hate filled. The click of a revolver drew Celestia’s attention.

“Very slowly lower the weapon.” Dominic said in a calm tone, his eyes flicked over to his knife turned letter opener that was floating in the mare’s magical field. She hadn’t even realized that she’d grabbed it, and that frightened her more than the prospect of a new hole in her head. Celestia’s magic died out and Dominic quickly grabbed the blade’s handle, then stuffed it into his desk drawer. With a small sigh he closed the drawer and lowered the hammer on his revolver. “Two times… That’s two times you’ve tried to kill me.”

“Dominic, I didn’t even realize…” Celestia began, her anger replaced by fear in herself. “I’m sorry… It’s just, with the zebra’s and minotaur at war, Luna looking herself in her room… Now for some reason my sister’s guards won’t listen to me…”

“Who? Sonar?” Asked Dominic, Celestia shrugged.

“No, the ones stationed outside her door. And Sonar, I guess…” She sat down while Dominic looked her over.

“Sonar is my aid, she doesn’t take orders from Equestria any more.” The man said flatly, the solar princess looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Her and a little over twenty more swore an oath of loyalty to the United States.” Celestia started laughing, Dominic just glared at her and waited for her to stop.

“You mean that twenty of my little ponies would rather be a part of your dead nation than in Equestria?” Celestia noticed that Dominic wasn't laughing, a sudden realization hit her. “By my mother, you’re serious…”

“As a heart attack.” Dominic said in an even tone. “It was Luna’s idea, we had a bit of a disagreement about it. Now, why she’s hold up in her room is beyond me.” The man looked back at his desk and adjusted his tie while Celestia blinked a few times. She then noticed a paper sitting on the mahogany and quickly snatched it up in her magic, Dominic didn’t even attempt to stop her.

Celestia read over the report, her eyes widening as they flicked over the page. They went from the paper to Dominic, then back to the paper. Her magic began to heat the paper, smoke started to rise and the paper began shifting from white to a slightly creamy color while the corners began to char black. The words ‘Mission Accomplished’ rattled around in her head until finally she could stand them no more and the page burst into billowing flames. Dominic silently watched her stew, almost as if he enjoyed seeing her so upset.

“You AND Luna did this?!” Celestia bellowed, Dominic nodded. “You… You… You realize how many minotaurs died because of this?”

“No, but I don’t really care either.” Was the response that echoed through Celestia’s mind. “Now, I assume all of your questions are answered?” Celestia could only open and close her mouth as she attempted to think of something to say. She’d known Dominic to be cold, he came from a cold place, but he didn’t seem to care that he’d lead to the decimation of Minotaur forces. The door to the office opened as Sonar entered with a plate guarded by a metal cover. She set it on Dominic’s desk and stopped to stare at the wordless Celestia.

“Sonar, would you show-”

“I’ll show the princess out, sir.” The thestral took Celestia’s hoof and pulled the stunned Alicorn out of the office. She walked on auto pilot as her brain tried to wrap her head around how one could be so callous with life. Dominic opened his mouth to speak again. “I’ll check on Princess Luna myself.”

“Thank you, Sonar.” Dominic reclined in his seat as the door closed. The man looked down at his desk and picked up the map, noting the locations that he’d marked. Some of them were in the badlands, away from sources of water. Others were located in the far north near the Griffin border, he could see why they’d been abandoned. Numerous times Luna had told him of how criminals would raid the towns, despite efforts by both governments to stop them. The final four were located on the the eastern and western coasts. From what he could tell they lacked any farmland, which he assumed would be necessary for a growing population.

It was a true puzzle, deciding which would be not only the new capital of the United States, but the home of all of its citizens. With another grunt he began mulling them over in his mind, he turned his seat towards the window and steepled his fingers in thought. More and more, however, his thoughts turned towards Luna. The indigo mare of the night that had helped him through so much. He let out a sigh and lowered his head.

“God damn it, Luna... “ He muttered. “Why can’t I get you out of my head?” Unbeknownst to him, a certain thestral was pressing her ear up against a slightly cracked door.

[♦]

Sonar slowly approached the door to Princess Luna’s chambers, the spectacled thestral was nervously adjusting her uniform and making sure that her mane was properly combed. The two guards outside the door noticed her almost immediately and crossed their spears over her path.

“Sorry, we can’t let you in.” One of them said, Sonar nodded.

“I know, but could you atleast ask her if she’s okay? The President was concerned.” She looked at the two of them with big, adorable eyes. One of them sighed and turned to the door, then pulled it open.

“We specifically said NOT to be disturbed!” A voice boomed from within, the guard rubbed his ears before poking his head through the door.

“Your highness, it’s a messenger from the President. Miss Sonar. She wished to check on you.” The guard stood there, waiting for a response. Sonar couldn’t see in the room, but she could hear something moving around.

“Send her in.” Luna’s voice echoed, the guard pulled his head back and shrugged at his comrade. He pushed the door open and gestured for Sonar to step inside, the thestral mare nervously did so. Her hooves clopped softly against the marble floor until the guard pulled the door shut behind her. She blinked her eyes, they quickly adapted to the darkened aspect of the room. She could see that the shades had been shut and that the lunar princess was laying on her bed with her head down.

“Princess Luna…?” Sonar asked, uncertain of what else to say. “Uh… President Occisor sent me to check on you, he, uh, he seemed really concerned…” Luna looked at the mare with a mildly sad expression, causing Sonar to fidget with her glasses.

“Fair Sonar, thou need not fear reprisal from us.” Luna said, her voice sounded horse. “We art thankful thou hast come to ensure we are well, but thou doth not need lie. We understand Dominic is far from happy with us.” Sonar slowly approached the bed and sat on the floor, her head tilting towards the ground.

“Well, I’m not lying. Ah gee, I’ve lied once or twice in my life, but I’m not a liar… I mean, the President really did send me to check on you.” Sonar nervously scuffed at the floor with her hoof. “So… How are you?”

“We are not well…” Luna replied with a sigh. “We fear we hath ruined our chances with Dominic, he most likely will shun us now.” Sonar looked at the princess with a raised eyebrow.

“Chances?” She asked, Luna nodded. “For what?”

“Do not lose your naive outlook, Sonar.” Luna said with a grim chuckle. “We wish to court him, we would have figured thou wouldst have noticed. Thou art ever observant…” Sonar’s eyes widened and she leaned back.

“Wow… Court? As in…?” She asked in a stunned tone, Luna nodded. The poor thestral nearly fell over, her eyes bugging behind her glasses. “Wow! Why are you telling me!?”

“Tis not as if it matters, he shall shun us as he shuns our sister.” Luna let out a pitiful sounding groan. “At least now we may share our feelings openly…”

“Princess Luna, uh… I don’t think he’s really that mad at you.” Sonar confessed, looking around. Luna looked at the mare with a hopeful expression. “Don’t ask how I heard, but apparently he can’t stop thinking about you…”

“Truthfully?” She asked, Sonar nodded. “Huzzah! There is hope after all!” The thestral found herself grabbed into a powerful hug, she flailed around as Luna squeezed her into her barrel. “Oh, we may find happiness yet! Thank thee, fair Sonar! If we may do anything to assist you, do not hesitate to ask!” Sonar continued to flail helplessly. “Sonar?” Luna looked down and realized that she was smothering the poor mare. She let go of her, letting Sonar fall to her hooves. Her glasses were askew and her mane was mussed up, but otherwise she was fine. “Refrain from speaking to Dominic about what we hath said.”

“Oh, sure! You can count on me, Princess Luna!” She gave a small smile as she watched the princess of the night get off of her bed and gallop out the door. That smile quickly turned to an expression of confusion. She suddenly felt compelled to go to the infirmary again and retrieve another bottle of aspirin, as well as copies of a report regarding a few ghost towns. In triplicate. With this odd feeling, she made her way out of the room and down the hallway to the infirmary.
> Chapter 36
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A sigh resonated through Dominic’s office as he looked over the map again, he’d crossed out eleven of the possible locations after getting a look at the reports behind them. Some had turned out to be abandoned after fires, others were simply too old to be viable. That left him with four. A manageable number, something that would be easy enough to inspect in person. The man let out groan and leaned back in his seat, only then noticing just how dark the room had become. He looked towards the window, his face remained pensive as he saw the sun setting in the distance.

“Sonar.” He said in a normal voice, the door opened before he’d even finished speaking. “What time is it?”

“Seven-thirty, mister president.” Replied the spectacled mare. Dominic let out a quiet sigh and turned back to face her.

“Tell me, Sonar. Do you have any family?” He asked, the mare nodded and smiled.

“Oh, of course I do! A husband and a son.” She said happily, Dominic hummed in response. “One of the stallions you sent on the mission, Direct Route, is my husband.” The man behind the desk raised an eyebrow.

“You seemed relatively calm today, despite what could have happened.” He stated, Sonar smiled slightly.

“Oh, if something happened, I’d know… I always know when he’s upset.” Her smiled faded slightly. “Is that all, mister president?” Dominic looked at his desk for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, I need you to do one more thing for me.” He stood up and walked towards the door, he held it open and gestured to the hallway. “Go home.” Sonar nodded and walked out into the hall.

“Goodnight, mister president!” She said with a cheery tone, Dominic nodded and began closing the door.

“Goodnight, Sonar!” He said before finally sealing himself within his solitary sanctuary. With another sigh, he turned and walked to the window. He didn’t bother to turn on the lights or attempt to start a fire, he never really felt he needed them. The man looked down at the city of Canterlot, noting that numerous ponies were out on the streets as the lamplighters went about their duties. The twilight of the day illuminated the sky in beautiful hues of pink and red, it was the perfect harald to what would be a beautiful night sky.

Dominic stood there for nearly half an hour, watching the night overtake the day. It was in this time that he found his body feeling as if he’d aged a day short of eighty. His bones ached and he felt as if lead weights had been strapped to his limbs. His mind wandered back to the times he’d watched the sunsets on the grass outside of his home. It felt as if a lifetime had passed between then and now, when he closed his eyes he could almost envision the night sky on a crisp summer evening.

Dominic felt a tear roll down his cheek when he remembered that many times he hadn’t watched the sky alone, and in fact, more often than not had to be convinced by someone close to him. He didn’t dare think her name, fearing that he would break down in that moment. Once the final rays of light had faded from the horizon, the man turned and began dressing down. He tossed his shirt, tie, and jacket onto the floor. Left with only his suit pants, shoes, and a white undershirt, he felt more relaxed. The man grabbed his knife from the drawer in his desk and made his way to his bed. He set it down on his bedside table. The man knew he didn’t need to be armed, but it helped him sleep at night.

The bed creaked as he sat on the edge and kicked off his shoes, there was a groan from the wooden frame as he laid back and placed his hands over his stomach. Dominic stared up at the ceiling and contemplated the day’s events. He’d had a fight with Luna, yet he couldn’t bring himself to be furious with her. He’d contributed to starting a war, and though he felt mildly responsible for it, he also knew that it was an inevitability. His mind had become so cold to the thought of distant death, it barely weighed on him as much as it should have.

His final thoughts were of where he would bring his people. Four places, all equally viable, spread about Equestria. One on a river in the east, one by a lake in the west, one down south in the badlands, and one on the border of the griffon kingdom. Each had it’s flaws, each had it’s merits.

With a small yawn he undid his pants and kicked them off as well, with only his boxers and his undershirt he crawled under the blanket. Dominic didn’t mind going to bed early, he figured the nightmares would do enough to wake him for a more appropriate time. With a final sigh, he closed his eyes and dozed off. It was still odd sleeping in the fancy bed, and deep down his body seemed to long for the ratty mattress he’d once slept on.

[♦]

Dominic felt himself floating weightlessly through an inky blackness, there was no noise around him and he was certain the blackness went on forever. Suddenly, the inky blackness began to fade into a grey color. Dominic found himself deposited onto what felt like grass, he straightened up as the world began to fade into existence. He found himself drawing his revolver and aiming it at something at the ground. At that moment he became frozen in place, the world coming to full view.

He stood on the lawn of Maria’s home, the smell of burning timber reached his nose. He took stock of the world around him. It was frozen as he was. He could see the infected rushing towards him, frozen in place. Leaves falling from nearby trees were dropping to the earth, on the grass there was still dew. Laying at his feet was a beautiful young woman, her eyes were open and staring up at him. His revolver near her head. Dominic felt his heart catch in his throat.

On it’s own, the world began to move. Dominic found his thumb drawing the hammer back on the revolver, and all he could do was try to stop it. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t scream, all he could do was watch. At the last moment, he saw the weapon change its aim. It moved away from Maria’s head and moved towards the ground next to it. The weapon discharged and a burst of blood erupted from her cheek, Dominic closed his eyes and stood before running off. In his gut he felt a lead weight begin to form.

Realization of what he was seeing in the dream hit him hard. Had he missed? Point blank, one of the most important shots of his life, could he still have missed? Could he have doomed his friend, and quite probably the only girl he actually cared about, to infection by chickening out at the last possible second?

“Coward!” A voice shouted from somewhere.

“WEAK!”

“Wasted oxygen!”

Dominic began to hyperventilate as the insults came faster and harsher, coupled with the doubt in his mind and the fear that he would be unable to stop more death, it was too much to comprehend. He started screaming.

[♦]

Luna had recognized the familiar tug on her mane almost immediately, it was rare that ponies had nightmares of such magnitude and often difficult for her to tell exactly who it was. Dominic’s nightmares, however, were different. Having implanted herself numerous times into his subconscious to fend of the specters of his dreams, she could tell exactly how troubled he was. Judging by the immense discomfort that was spreading through her scalp, she could tell it was a doozy.

All her previous feelings fearing an angry reprimand or hateful send off were flung aside as she raced towards his bedroom doors. She needed only turn the corner to hear just how bad it was. Guttural, fear filled screams of terror echoed through the hallway. Lunar guards and the small number of American soldiers in the palace were working on getting the door open. They thundered into the wood with groans, attempting to bust it open and save the no doubt dying person within.

Luna flapped her wings and lowered her head, her horn leveled directly at the door. It began to glow as she gathered speed, her hooves left the floor as she continued flapping her wings. Thankfully, the guards spotted her in time to leap out of the way. Her spell connected with the door, nearly ripping it off the hinges. The sound was enough to jolt the screaming man from his bed, unfortunately that did nothing to stop the screaming.

The princess watched as Dominic scrambled out of his bed and grabbed a razor sharp blade from his bedside table.

“Get away from me! Get away!” He yelled, slashing out in front of him. It took him a few moments to realize that he was safe from harm, he then tossed the blade aside and looked at Luna. The mare saw that he was covered in sweat, his eye movement’s were rapid and his breathing was haggard.

“Mister President?” Asked one of the soldiers from outside. “Are you alright?”

“He is fine.” Luna answered, looking over her shoulder. “Please, close the door.” The soldier looked at Dominic who gave a nod. With that, the guards and soldiers pulled the door shut. Dominic slumped back onto his bed as Luna began lighting the room, he let out a groan and rubbed his eyes. “We assume thou wish to know the time, correct?”

“Sure.” Dominic answered in a tired voice.

“Nine o’clock.” Luna said, she finished lighting the room and trotted over to Dominic’s bed. “Doth thou mind if we join you?” The man sat up and looked at her. He could feel himself shaking. In that moment he truly thought about his answer. He was still mad at her, but he knew he had to look past it for the time being.

“I’d like that.” Dominic scooched over and patted the bed next to him. Luna nodded and sat beside him, her wing moved to a familiar position draped over his shoulders. He leaned against her and put his head on her shoulder. “Thank you…”

“Tis nothing, Dominic.” Luna replied with a squeeze of her wing. “Wouldst thou wish to tell us what put you in such a state?” Dominic sighed and nodded.

“Remember Maria?” He asked, Luna nodded. “I was standing over her with the gun in my hand, I couldn’t look away… I had it leveled at her head, but at the last second I moved my aim…” Dominic began trembling, but another squeeze from Luna’s wing stifled the feelings welling up within his mind. “I hit her cheek instead of her head. I missed.” The man rubbed his eyes again, Luna could feel him shudder against her side. “I lost my nerve! Again!” The sudden boost in volume startled the princess.

“Thou doth not know that, twas but a nightmare. The very nature of which is to terrify.” Luna said, Dominic shook his head.

“Does it matter?” He asked, the man looked at the princess with bloodshot eyes. “Everyone I tried to save, everyone I cared about, I failed them. I hear it over and over again, every night.” Luna couldn’t stand the look of sadness in his eyes. “Their voices cry out at me… Failure, coward, waste of life…” Dominic paused and looked back to the floor. “Maybe they’re right.”

“Do not dare venture upon such thoughts!” Luna said, she used her hoof to turn his head to see her. She stared into his eyes, almost as if staring into the depths of a bottomless well. The sadness, the misery, all of it was there. What she saw more than anything, however, was doubt. Doubt in himself, doubt of his abilities, a paralyzing fear she was all too familiar with. “Thou art not a failure, nor a coward…” She continued staring into his eyes. “And thou shalt never, EVER, be a waste of life…”

Dominic’s eyes watered for a moment before he found Luna pulling him closer to her chest. She laid him back in his bed, then set herself beside him. Her horn ignited, a burst of wind went throughout the room. The candles and other lights went out, leaving only the light of the moon to stream through the window. Luna pulled the covers up over herself and Dominic, and once again ignited her horn. She touched the glowing end to Dominic’s forehead.

“Rest now, let thine mind be at peace…”

She felt his arms wrap around her as the spell fell over him. She found it odd that physical contact of the horn was the only way to aid him with her magic, but it gave her an excuse to remain close to him. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being held, her mind took her from the world. She knew fairly well where she was going. The side of a small pond with falling cherry blossoms from a tree beside it. More importantly, she knew that she would not be there alone. As the last of her conscious feelings faded away, she found herself standing next to Dominic.

> Chapter 37
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna opened her eyes as the morning sun pierced her sleep, the ray of light had shone through the window and put itself directly over her eye. The mare turned slightly, but already her faculties were starting to assail her. She could feel the morning aches in her bones, the heaviness in her eyelids. She could also feel a pair of arms around her torso, and something against her back. She froze and peeked over at Dominic, he had his knee pressed firmly against her back as he snored loudly. Luna let out a small sigh and adjusted her position, then murmured happily in the man’s arms.

This was what she’d longed for, to wake up in the strong arms of someone who cared about her. Of course, she knew it was far from what she actually sought, but it was close enough for her to smile. As she closed her eyes again, she imagined that it was never going to end. The aches and heavy eyelids faded into the background, replaced by a feeling of warm happiness. The mare smiled and rolled over to face Dominic, she pushed his mouth shut with her hoof and his snoring dissipated.

Slowly she felt him shift and she opened her eyes, she could see his eyes beginning to open. The man looked at her with a blank face, as if he was too tired to comprehend exactly what was happening. Luna didn’t say a word and instead leaned her head against his chest, to her surprise Dominic didn’t protest.

“Luna…” He said, looking around the room. “I’m still upset with you…, but thanks…” Luna nodded and wrapped one of her wings over him. She noticed that his eyes had settled on the blade he’d cast aside the night before. She flinched as he reached over and picked it up, but relaxed as she saw him silently look it over. He set it down once more and took his remaining arm from Luna, he folded his hands on his chest and stared up at the ceiling once more. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“What doth thou mean?” Luna asked, adjusting her postion. She was mildly saddened by the loss of his arms around her, but didn’t think it really mattered at the moment. Dominic looked at her with a stoic expression.

“I’ve made saying ‘No’ something I do often, but I can never say it to you…” He rubbed his eyes and went back to staring at the ceiling. “One way or another, you talk me into things. Why can’t I just say ‘No’ to you?”

“Because, Dominic, thou art not as cold as thyself would have thee believe.” Luna replied, she patted his chest with her hoof. “Thou wish for something serene in thine life, something pure, in here you yearn for a small measure of peace.”

“How can you tell that?” Dominic asked, not taking his eyes off the ceiling.

“We see into thine nightmares. We see pain and suffering, blood and gore, flames and brimstone. What we do not see is lightness or serenity.” Luna explained, sitting up in the bed and looking at Dominic with a sincere tone. “If a nightmare is what we do not wish, then the conclusion is obvious.” Dominic was quiet as he felt her words begin to sink in, he remained that way for several minutes. Luna watched his eyes flick about, almost as if each move ferried one thought from one part of his mind to another.

“What do you think my ‘small measure of peace’ is.” Dominic finally asked, his eyes not moving from the ceiling above. Luna wanted to say so many things, but she knew she had to tell the truth. That truth, as much as she hated to say it, was that what he wanted was his own choosing.

“Thou must decide for thyself, only from within thine soul can thou reach it.” She looked at him further, his eyes moved with his thoughts once more. She could see them begin to grow wet, the man sniffed and rubbed them. “Take time to think, whatever thou choose, we will do all we can to make it so.”

“I’ll think about it.” Dominic said in an almost determined tone, his face became one of pensive thought. “Now, however, I have to get up. I have some things to look over.” Luna raised an eyebrow as she watched the man roll out of bed and stand up. “You said you would help my people, right…?”

“Of course.” Luna responded, Dominic silently took the map from his desk and held it up. Luna levitated the map over, her expression became one of confusion. “What is this?”

“My people deserve a home, Luna.” Dominic said with a serious tone, his tiredness was nearly faded even after such a short time. “Select two of the remaining four and dispatch teams to inspect them, the rest I shall deal with personally.”

“We… We cannot simply give away land.” Luna said quietly. “The nobles would-”

“Then I will buy it, conquer it if I have to.” Dominic interrupted her. “The concerns of your nobles are not the concerns of my people. Make a decision, I’ll be back.” The man turned away from the princess and made his way into the room’s bathroom. Luna heard the sound of the shower turning on, afterwhich she looked to the map.

He’d narrowed down over fifty choices to four, four otherwise abandoned strips of land with basic structures. Luna wasn’t against his choices, but she had to contend with both the media and her sister. Already she had gone over Celestia’s head once, she was certain Celestia would be livid if it happened again. At the same time, Luna was no longer to one sit idly by, she had just as much authority as her sister did.

The princess examined the map closer before magically levitating a quill from the desk and circling the southern and eastern options. Afterwards she quietly stood up and straightened her mane, she assumed that Dominic would want to speak with her after he was done with his morning rituals. She quietly looked around the room, noting numerous items of his world were spread about.

His leather jacket was what intrigued her most of all. She hadn’t understood the need for a jacket of such length, but seeing the numerous fixed rips and patched holes, she was starting to get an idea. Her eyes wandered to the patch on the shoulder, faded and threadbare, she still found it odd that he knew of Twilight Sparkle, even if it was entirely by coincidence. The patch, he’d said, was a gift from Maria. It was no wonder why Dominic wore the jacket, even in its state. It was likely the only thing he had connecting him to her. Luna couldn’t help but frown at the thought, a lifetime friendship commemorated only by a bit of embroidery.

Luna looked away from the jacket and back to his other items, the next most interesting was his helmet. A family heirloom, he’d told her, used by his grandfather during the Second World War. The princess lifted the helmet with a hoof and looked it over, it was dented and the paint was chipped or rusted. This time she understood why Dominic continued to wear it, he was proud of his heritage. Luna had never truly examined the items in detail before, but now certain aspects about Dominic that she’d been missing were falling into place.

With a small sigh, Luna set the items back where they’d been and made her way over to Dominic’s desk. She could see that his revolver sat out in the open, the sinister looking item sent chills down her spine. Thoughts of how it had come to Dominic’s possession flooded her mind and she was forced to close her eyes and shove them out of her mind. He had every reason to doubt himself, but Luna knew he was stronger than even himself imagined. She could see it in his eyes. Beyond the doubt and self loathing, beyond the pain and despair, she could see a ray of light within him.

The mare turned away from the desk and trotted towards the window, she could still hear Dominic’s shower running and assumed she still had time. The view she took in was less stellar than her own, she had a wonderful view of the sky without the city. Luna noted, however, that she could see ponies in the streets below. She stood and watched them go about their daily lives, at one point she imagined what they may be doing or saying.

The door to the bathroom opened with a creek, causing Luna to turn and look in its direction. To her utter shock, Dominic wasn’t wearing a towel. He also appeared to not be expecting her, as he quickly shut himself back in the bathroom.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What the hell Luna!?” He yelled from within, Luna blinked a few times as she attempted to forget what she’d just seen.

“We art sorry, we believed that thou still wished to speak!” Luna called through the door.

“Yes, just not when I’m naked! I thought you’d go, you’re normally busy on petition days!” Dominic yelled back, Luna suddenly became quiet as she thought. “You forgot it was petition day, didn’t you…”

“No!” Luna retorted, though she was surprised to learn she’d lost track of the days. “We simply loathe nobles.” There was a sigh from behind the door. “We could wait for thee in the cafeteria?”

“That’d be great.” Dominic replied quickly in an annoyed tone, Luna quickly began trotting to the door. Once she’d reached it, she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door loud enough for Dominic to hear. After a moment the man emerged and made his way to his dresser, quietly muttering under his breath. He was halfway through pulling on his second sock when the door opened once more.

“Good morning, Mister President-” Sonar began, only to stop. “I’ll just go.”

“Thank you, Sonar.” Dominic deadpanned with a sigh, he heard the door close once again and wasted no time in finishing dressing himself. “It’s gonna be all day with this shit, I can just tell…” He muttered to himself. With a final tug, he’d donned his usual attire, sans his jacket. He still had to fix a few tears and didn’t want to risk making them worse. With his boots laced and knotted, his holster on his waist, and his grey t-shirt tucked into his jeans, he grabbed the map from his desk before walked to the door and exited.

“Oh, Mister President! I’m sorry! I didn’t see anything, honest!” Began a very concerned looking Sonar, Dominic just held a hand up as he walked.

“It’s alright sonar, just knock next time?” The man stated, Sonar nodded and went back to standing next to the door. Dominic’s boots echoed through the halls, alerting all those within his general vicinity to his presence. He rarely walked to the cafeteria, but he assumed that Luna had said it because she needed some place to go. The man scowled slightly, thinking back to the incident that had happened not fifteen minutes ago. He couldn’t believe she’d seen him naked, more importantly, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t assumed she was still in the room. The man smacked himself in the face and ran a hand over his still damp hair.

His echoing boots were soon drowned out by the sound of ponies yammering away in an unintelligible cacophony of brain cell killing blither. The man braced himself, as he realized he was walking past the petitioners waiting area, which would no doubt be filled with ponies waiting to see Luna. Dominic nodded to one of the guards that stood at the threshold of the area and received a nod in return, then continued on without pause. The noise died down as the ponies all turned their stares on him. He ignored them and continued on his way, the whispers and statements were all ones he’d heard before.

With a quiet sigh the man walked on by and entered the far more trafficked portion of the castle, there were a few ponies looking at the art and what Dominic assumed was a high school field trip group. The students all looked at him and began whispering more than the others, but again he ignored them. His gaze remained locked forwards and his grip on the map in his hand was firm. That was until he felt something hit one of his feet, the man stumbled and hit the floor with a thud. He heard giggling behind him.

“Fuckin’ kids…” Dominic muttered as several guards moved to help him up, the man waved them off and stood to his full height. He brushed himself off and looked at the group, the teacher had since noticed that something had happened.

“You okay, sir?” Asked one of the guards, Dominic nodded and sighed. He turned and started on his way back down the hallway while the guards looked at the student responsible. “You’re outta here.” They proceeded to haul the student to the front door, his fellow classmates and teacher protesting all the way, before tossing him out onto his ass. “And stay out!”

Dominic entered the cafeteria rubbing elbow that was now somewhat sore from his fall, he normally would have said something more but he was too annoyed to give a damn. He also knew that the palace guards really hated high schoolers for some odd reason, Luna had told him that students regularly tried to get together in the supply closets on a regular basis. The man just shook his head and looked around the room, it was lined with uniform looking tables and plain walls. The windows lended it some light, but they could do nothing for the deserted look the room held.

Truly, aside from a few guards and palace staff, and Luna sitting in the far off corner, the room was empty. Dominic didn’t have to wait in line at the food station, he ordered a burger off the griffon menu and grabbed a can of what the ponies called ‘Cherry Fizz’, in fact it was just cherry soda. The man took a tray with his food and put the meal on his tab before walking over and sitting down across from Luna.

She herself was eating oatmeal with little blueberries on the side.

“Thou art eating that so early in the day?” She asked, looking at his food.

“Yup.” Dominic replied, he winced as he put his elbow on the table, something Luna noticed immediately. She said nothing, however, as she saw the man lay the map out on the table. He noted that she’d already marked two places. “Huh, thought it’d be harder to convince you.” Luna shrugged and took a bite of her oatmeal. “Can you tell me anything about these two that isn’t in the reports?”

Luna hummed for a moment, then nodded.

“The eastern location is rather overgrown.” She said, tapping the map. “We know because Celestia often sends her guards there for jungle training.” The man looked at the northern location next. “As far as we know, they simply stopped checking in when trade dwindled. The region rather extreme, you see? The rail line cuts short, then there is a bridge that must be crossed.”

“I see…” Dominic shrugged. “Well, I won’t know for sure until I actually get some on the ground information. Today seems like a good day to do that.” He folded the map and tucked it into his pants pocket. “I’ll send Sonar and a few others to inspect the northern site, I’ll take a team to the eastern site.”

“These will be difficult places to live, we urge thee to reconsider.” Luna began, Dominic shook his head. Luna saw the look in his eyes, the look that said there was no discussion to be had. “Very well, we too shall dispatch survey teams to the other sites.”

“Good. If we get this done right, we’ll have a place to call home before the Spade teams get back.” Dominic replied with a slight grin before he picked up his burger and took a bite. “Mind passing the ketchup?” Luna levitated the bottle and floated it over to Dominic, he nodded to her and opened it. In another portion of the castle, a certain spectacled thestral got the sudden compulsion to begin packing an overnight bag.

[♦]

It was nearing ten o’clock in the morning by the time the teams had prepared, Dominic and all eight extra thestrals stood in the castle’s motor pool as the two American chariots were outfitted with supplies for a two day journey. The president had to say he was proud of his people, they’d certainly mobilized fast when they heard how important the task at hand was. Sonar had already packed her duffle bag, oddly enough.

“When you get there, I want you to examine the structures and the surrounding area.” Dominic informed her as the other soldiers loaded the chariots. “We’re going to need some form of trade route, but most importantly, the buildings have to be at least repairable.”

“Oh, I’ll be real careful about looking ‘em over.” Sonar replied, she cast a look over to one of the soldiers loading her chariot. “He says he used to work construction, so I’m gonna have him help me.”

“Good.” Dominic said with a nod, he patted himself down and felt a pair of objects in his pocket. The man quickly remembered what they were and removed one. It was a milky white crystal which pulsed a light blue energy. That was, until he picked it up, at which point it was just a milky white crystal. “This was a gift from Princess Luna, it’s an emergency beacon. If anything happens, crush it under your hoof and state the emergency.” Sonar took the crystal and stuffed it into the fatigue jacket that had replaced her dress uniform.

“I’ll try not to need it.” She replied.

“I hope no one does, but better safe than sorry.” Dominic said, he looked over his shoulder and watched the soldiers begin loading the last of the supplies. “Looks like it’s time to get a move on. Good luck, Sonar.”

“You too, sir!” The thestral replied happily. Dominic walked towards one of the last crates where his jacket, helmet, and other items had been placed. The man rapidly dressed himself proper, first came the jacket, then the bandoliers, topped off by the helmet and backpack. Dominic slung his shotgun’s strap over his shoulder and made his way towards the chariot. Sonar watched as he stepped on before she too took her spot on her own transport. They would each need to rely on two pilots each, while two would wait in the back as relief.

Dominic paused and looked towards the main entrance to the motor pool, as if waiting for someone. After a minute he sighed and raised his arm then moved his hand in a circular motion. The thestrals at the front of the chariots opened their wings and began moving forwards, after a few tense seconds the two transports lumbered into the air. Sonar could see two more chariots begin to roll out into the motor pool as they left, accompanied by Princess Luna and her own teams.

For the first few minutes of flight, the chariots flew next to eachother. Sonar could see Dominic chatting with his two relief pilots, occasionally laughing or nodded as they spoke. The rushing wind made it difficult for even her to hear what was being said, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t like she needed to spy on her superiors to know what they wanted, she just had a stethoscope in her desk because she liked to hear her own heart at times.

Sonar watched the chariot begin to bank off, Dominic shot her a quick wave as it began flying east. Sonar turned away from the chariot and sighed, then looked at her own travelling companion. He was rather muscled with an expression of concentration across his muzzle, his hooves were busy cleaning the gem chamber of his spellbow. Sonar gave him a small smile, one he returned silently before going back to his work.

The world beneath them rapidly had shifted from bustling city to grassy fields, the whipping wind had drowned out any real possibility of conversation. That left Sonar to wander her own mind, and it quickly went the thought of her family. She smiled as she thought about her son, lovingly named Wavelength, and how he’d always seemed to operate differently from his classmates. She sighed, as she knew she wouldn’t be there to tuck him in, but took solace in knowing that she would be looking for a better place for him. Better than the ‘apartment’ she and her family shared in Canterlot, an actual home. Her salary as a guard wasn’t much, at least, not compared to the raise she’d received upon becoming an American.

The next five hours went by slowly for Sonar and her fellows, the flight was smooth and boring, enough for her fellow relief pilot to fall asleep. Sonar wasn’t as lucky, an odd feeling was welling up in her gut as they flew further towards the northern site. The air was colder, the green fields beneath the chariot were rapidly browning, a small voice in the back of her head began yelling at her to turn back. She ignored it, she had to be brave.

Even on the ground when she and the other relief pilot took over, the dirt didn’t crunch right. As the sun began setting and she finally caught site of the ghost town she felt the odd feeling morph into something more. Dread.

“There it is.” Said the stallion beside her, Bolt Cutter if she remembered his name correctly. “We should set her down here for the night, hoof it the rest of the way.” Sonar nodded and the two of them slowly lowered the chariot’s altitude until they’d touched down on the dusty soil. Sonar shivered as she felt the dirt on her hooves. “Cold?”

“No, just nervous I guess.” She replied as she undid her harness and began unloading the supplies from the back with the original pilots. They made a small campfire, then set their sleeping bags out. All the while, Sonar’s gut screamed at her, pleaded with her to just run away. To not crest the next hill and enter the town. She beat this feelings down, however When the camp was finally set up, they quietly cooked their rations over the fire and began to converse.

“So, we should probably introduce ourselves…” Recomended one of the original pilots, the thestral adjusted his fatigue jacket as he felt the cold night air rush over his fur. “I’m Dawn Chaser.” Sonar waved at him quietly as she took a bite from one of her rations.

“My name’s Bolt Cutter.” Bolt Cutter said, he’d wolfed down his rations when they had finished cooking, and was once again meticulously working on his weapon. Dawn Chaser and the other thestral nodded towards him while Sonar quietly pondered his name. The other thestal cleared his throat and smiled. She recognised him as the stallion that would be aiding her examination of the buildings.

“I’m Flint, just Flint.” He said, the others smiled then all eyes turned to Sonar. She blinked owlishly at them and adjusted her glasses.

“Uh… I’m Sonar.” She tightened her jacket around her shoulders as she felt a mildly chilly breeze run against her fur.

“We all know who you are.” Said Bolt Cutter with a smirk, Sonar felt somewhat uncomfortable about it. “You work with the big guy, don’t you?” Sonar nodded quickly, unsure of what the stallions wanted. “What’s he like?”

“He’s a nice guy, I guess.” Sonar said, her nerves relaxed a tad and she was able to smile. “I know he’s been working really hard to find us a place of our own.” The stallions gave her a ‘No, really?’ look. “He also doesn’t really listen to Celestia, he’s very calm about it too.”

“Really?” Asked Dawn Chaser, Sonar nodded.

“Yesterday she barged into his office and started yelling at him, he didn’t seem to care.” Sonar responded, she ate a bit more of her rations and sighed. “I’m glad I made the change, I feel less intimidated by him than the princesses.” The other Thestrals nodded.

“Is it true he and the princess have a thing?” Flint cut in, Sonar froze up at the question. The others looked at her expectantly, she nervously tugged at the collar of her jacket. “Well? Come on, I’ve got twenty bits riding on it.”

“I can’t say…” Sonar said.

“Come on!”

“I’ll take it as a yes.” Said Flint with a smile, Sonar sighed and finished her rations. The fire began to die down, indicating they’d burned through their wood for the night. “Alright looks like we should hit the sack, who wants first watch?” Bolt Cutter raised his hoof, prompting Sonar and the others to climb into their sleeping bags. The fire gradually died down to burning embers, Sonar had trouble falling asleep. The feeling of dread in her stomach continued to torment her. The sound of Bolt Cutter checking his weapon put her at ease enough for her to drift off into a fitful slumber.

[♦]

Sonar was awoken by a prodding at her side, she groaned and rolled over to see Dawn Chaser standing over her with tired eyes. The sun was starting to glow in the distance, but the air was still crisp. The spectacled mare sighed.

“My turn?” She asked, Dawn Chaser nodded tiredly. Sonar pushed her way out of the warm sleeping bag, her bones popping as she adjusted to the cold air. Dawn silently made his way to his own sleeping bag as Sonar walked to the chariot that was parked a few feet from the sleeping area. From within she pulled her spellbow. She checked that it was loaded before making her way to sit beside the now barely glowing embers of the fire.

It seemed her dread from the night before had left her like a bad dream, Sonar smiled slightly as she watched the sunrise. For an hour there was nothing but her and the silent land that seemed to stretch forever. The warmth of the light on her face was rather pleasant, even if she still preferred the chill of the night. Bolt Cutter was the first to wake up, followed by Flint and Dawn Chaser. Breakfast was quiet, as they were all tired beyond belief.

“I suppose it’s time we move down into the town.” Suggested Dawn Chaser, Sonar and the others nodded and quickly packed up their camp site. While Flint and Bolt Cutter put the supplies back on the chariot, Sonar took an opportunity to look over the hill at the town while Dawn Chaser answered nature’s call. Sonar rubbed her eyes as she looked down at the town, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing was real.

It was something she’d never imagined she would ever see, a ghost town that was alive and well. There was only one street, uniform cottages lined each side with a single building standing at the end of the street. Ponies of muted colors trotted about, some wore odd clothing. The sight was something to make her drop onto her stomach with her weapon close to her chest. She didn’t know why, but just staring at the town made her feel wrong. Her sudden drop didn’t go unnoticed by her compatriots, and very soon they had taken up positions beside her, Dawn Chaser included..

“What the buck…?” Asked the stallion. “This is supposed to be a ghost town…”

“Well obviously it isn’t.” Bolt Cutter said, he sounded somewhat annoyed. “This was a wasted trip.”

“But I delivered the report on this site personally, no one’s checked with Canterlot for over two years now.” Sonar stated, her fellows remained quiet.

“We should go down there and see what’s up.” Flint suggested, the others looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Well, if it is an actual town we can resupply. If it’s some criminals, we run them off and we’ve got a well maintained place to live.” Bolt Cutter and Dawn Chaser appeared thoughtful before nodding. All eyes fell on Sonar, she gulped before sighing.

“Alright, but I think it’s kind of scary, you know? We should be careful.” She finally said, the others nodded and secured their weapons on their straps.

“We’ll leave the chariot here for now until we know what we’re dealing with.” Dawn Chaser said, another round of agreement passed over the group. They stood up and opened their wings, then glided down the hill towards the town. The ground beneath them was even dustier and browner than it had been on the hill, as if even the dirt in the town had something wrong with it. Their fatigues rustled on their bodies as the wind passed over them, the air sent chills down all of their spines.

They landed carefully just before the first pair of buildings, the ponies there all turned and looked at them. Bolt Cutter was the only one who didn’t seem to shiver at the sight of their wide, creepy smiles. Most notably, and bizarrely, they all shared the same grey equal sign as a cutie mark. He stepped ahead of Sonar and the others with seemingly as much confidence as the commander in chief himself.

“Welcome!” Said one of the ponies.

“Welcome!” Immediately echoed another, then another, and another. Even the foals seemed to be welcoming them. Sonar and the others followed behind their brave comrade, their ears swiveling around for any possible threat.

“This has got to be the creepiest place on the planet…” Flint whispered to Sonar who only nodded. Moments later another pony ‘Welcomed’ them from seemingly out of no where. Sonar practically dove to the ground at that. She could tell something bad was going to happen, her entire body had been screaming it at her since she’d left Canterlot. Her hoof almost reached for the emergency beacon in her jacket, but she realized she would only be able to use it once.

“Welcome!” Said a particularly close unicorn stallion, his fur was a dull blue while his mane was a darker navy color. “Pardon my forwardness, but are you a-”

“We’ll ask the questions.” Bolt Cutter interrupted him sharply, an all white earth pony slowly came up from the side.

“At least let me ask what brings you to our town?” He asked, Bolt Cutter turned to him with a stern expression.

“We’re here on orders to inspect the town for refounding.” He informed the earth pony. “Officially, your town has been labeled Abandoned.” The earth pony never lost his smile at the notification, considering that all those in the town could be ousted, it was unsettling. Still, Bolt Cutter kept up his front of an intimidating military muscle head. “I’m Sergeant Bolt Cutter, these are my subordinates. Corporals Sonar and Dawn Chaser and Private Flint.” His statement was correct in the order of rank, but he left out that Sonar had been put in charge for the mission.

“None of you have cutie marks!” Stated the earth pony.

“Thestrals don’t get cutie marks.” Bolt Cutter mentioned. “We don’t want to make trouble for you folks, but we have to do our jobs.”

“Trouble? I don’t think we’ve ever had trouble here.” The white pony said with a smile. “Maybe we should introduce you to our founder Starlight Glimmer!” Bolt Cutter simply nodded and gestured for the pony to lead the way.

“Keep on eye on them, this is spooky as hell.” He said quietly to Sonar and the others, she nodded and kept looking over the citizens of the town. The walked for a  short time past other ponies that welcomed them until they reached the house at the end of the street. It loomed over the thestrals, as if its mere existence would squash them. The earth pony approached the door and knocked several times.

“Starlight! Some visitors have arrived!” The pony said cheerfully, the door opened widely to reveal a colorful unicorn mare with light magenta fur and a styled mane of similar color.

“Welcome! I’m so glad to have you here.” She said happily, the white earth pony gestured to them with a wide smile.

“This is-”

“We can introduce ourselves.” Bolt Cutter interrupted, his annoyance seeping into his tone. “Our names aren’t important, our purpose here is.” Starlight Glimmer looked them over, it seemed she was the only one to notice they were armed and wearing uniforms. Sonar noticed for a brief moment that she seemed to frown.

“Oh, of course!” She turned to the white earth pony. “Double Diamond, feel free to see yourself off.” The earth pony nodded and gave a happy wave, then trotted away. “What can I do for Equestria’s finest?”

“It would be best if we spoke inside.” Bolt Cutter said, Starlight smiled and stepped aside. The four thestrals entered her home carefully. The mare closed the door behind them, in that instant Sonar knew that whatever was happening would happen soon. She discretely placed her hoof near her spellbow’s trigger and steeled her nerves, she thought about her husband and her son, when it came down to it she would fight so she could see them again. “Thank you, the matter is extremely serious.”

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Asked Starlight as they entered her living room, it was bland with a couch and a chair positioned before a fire place. A painting of the grey equal sign was hung crookedly on the wall.

“I wouldn’t mind.” Bolt Cutter replied as he sat down on the couch while Flint and Dawn Chaser took up positions on the wall. Sonar stood nervously for a moment before sitting down beside Bolt Cutter. Starlight nodded and smiled, then stepped out of the room.

“I don’t like this…” Sonar said with a shiver. “I can tell when something’s wrong, you know? And this has bad written all over it.” Flint and Dawn Chaser nodded in agreement.

“We’ll see what’s what, if I think it’s anything we can’t handle we’ll bug out.” Bolt Cutter said, he looked towards the kitchen where Starlight Glimmer had entered. “As it stands, they haven’t threatened us, but I agree there’s something wrong here.” All conversation stopped as Starlight returned to the room with five tea cups in her magic.

“You’re in luck, I was just making some tea before you arrived!” She levitated a cup to each of them. Sonar looked at the tea for a moment before taking a sip, her comrades also began to slowly sip their drinks. “Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“Your town is listed as abandoned on the Equestrian registry. The princesses are considering selling this land to a private party so that they may re found the town.” Bolt Cutter explained, he’d made up half of what he was saying just so he didn’t give too much away. “We represent that private party.” Starlight raised an eyebrow.

“But you’re uniforms…”

“We work for a private military contractor.” Sonar quickly added, Starlight raised her eyebrow at the term. “It’s a company that deals in security matters that aren’t exactly government related.” Sonar was extremely glad that she’d paid some attention to the random ramblings of the president. Starlight hummed, still not fully understanding, but not caring. She had been watching closely as the thestrals drank their tea. Sonar was the slowest of the group, having only taken the first few sips.

“So, if the land is sold…?”

“You get the boot.” Bolt Cutter said coldly. “But that doesn’t happen until after we’ve looked over the buildings to see if they’re structurally sound. Which they appear to be, so our work is done.” Starlight scowled at the stallion who took another sip of tea. “Very nice tea, by the way.”

“I’m glad you like it, it’s Dream Pedal tea.” Starlight replied coldly, all four guards stopped and looked at their tea cups. Dream Pedal had been made illegal in Equestria after numerous industrial accidents occurred as a result of its quality’s as a sleeping aid. Not so much an aid, really, as an intense sedative that could make a pony near comatose for hours. Bolt Cutter didn’t even get a chance to say anything as he slumped forwards, next went Dawn Chaser. Flint tried to raise his weapon, only to fall forwards with a groan. Sonar forced herself awake as she slammed her hoof against her jacket pocket.

“Go to sleep…” Glimmer said sweetly, she was taken aback as a massive burst of blue energy exploded from the pocket. It washed over her and everyone in the room just as Sonar collapsed to the floor.

“H-Help…” Sonar said weakly, Starlight Glimmer blinked her eyes and approached the downed mare.

“No one can help you now.” There were several frantic knocks on the door moments later, the town’s folk had obviously seen the blast of energy. She trotted away from the four collapsed thestrals and to the door. Sonar lost consciousness moments later as she felt herself begin to be dragged away.
> Chapter 38
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic sighed as he looked through the overgrown stone buildings, the heat of the area was already near unbearable in the early morning hours. Coupled with the intense humidity and the absolutely toxic smelling jungle growth, it was no wonder the man was shirtless. Of course, this came with it’s own problems. The thorns of numerous plants had given him numerous cuts and nicks across his body. All in all, it looked the like the trip had been a complete waste of time.

His four subordinates were busy carrying out their own inspections, but the consensus was that the entire site was a write off. Salt water from the ocean had turned nearly every bit of land not overgrown into muddy marshland. One soldier had lost his sleeping bag the night before, sucked into the muck before he’d even had a chance to lay down. Afterwards, the team had slept in the chariot that had thankfully been parked on a rocky surface.

Chirping insects and cawing birds seemed to taunt the five explorers, and Dominic got the constant sensation that he was being watched. Not by an intelligent being, no, it was similar to the feeling of having the infected staring at him. As if the intelligence behind the prying eyes had only a few functions. Eat, sleep, eat again. It had truly been a miserable trip, but thankfully it was nearly over. He had no doubt that Sonar or one of Luna’s teams would provide a place of residence. If they couldn’t, he’d go over the list again.

The man gave up on trying to find anything good in the crumbling remains of the town and instead turned back to the chariot. His boots made disgusting sucking noises as he trudged his way through the muddy soil and tangled plantlife. He sighed, but told himself that this certainly wasn’t the worst thing he’d been through in his life. The day was just getting started, plenty more could go wrong. He could lose his boot or fall face first into the mud.

There was a sudden blast of blue light from the sky, at first he thought it was just a bolt of lightning. The sky was unusually cloudy for the heat that seemed to be permeating the area. Another flash of light got his attention, he watched a beam of energy punch through the cloud cover and straight into the chariot. Dominic abandoned thought of what else could go wrong, it had already happened.

He pushed himself through the mud and plants until he was able to sprint across the rocky surface. It seemed that the other soldiers had seen it and were making their way towards the chariot as well. Dominic was the first to arrive, panting and covered in a mix of sweat and blood from the scratches in his skin, he picked up his jacket and dug through the pockets until he pulled his emergency beacon from within. As soon as he touched it the top portion of it began to glow. He dropped it, fearing he would damage the magic. It bounced on the rocky surface for a moment before standing up straight.

Beads of light were projected from the end, forming three dimensional shapes. As the four soldiers arrived, the image was just about finished. There wasn’t any real detail, only three dimensional shapes made up by little balls of light. Dominic blinked as he saw what looked like Sonar standing in a room with a unicorn. Three thestrals appeared passed out around the room, and Sonar soon hit the floor.

“H-Help…” Sonar’s voice was distorted, but the actions of the unicorn werent. The unicorn lowered her head towards Sonar.

“No one can help you now.” It was a mare, obviously a mare. The image cut out moments later, leaving all five of them in silence. Dominic’s hand slowly clenched as his eyes looked where Sonar had stood. Her voice rattled around in his brain like a pin ball, something about her tone or how she’d fallen like a sack of potatoes, it hit him like a ton of bricks. A maelstrom of emotions, kept sealed away for over three years, exploded forth into his mind.

”Dominic! Help me!” He heard the haunting voice of Maria, it was all he could stand. In his mind a red hot fuse finally blew. He looked at one of the soldiers with a deadly serious expression.

“Fly back to Canterlot, bring me everyone.” He ordered.

“What do you mean everyone?” Asked the soldier.

“EVERYONE!” Dominic shouted loudly, causing the stallion to flinch. “There is an American squad being held in god knows where, get EVERYONE! You get in contact with our boys on the open sea, tell them to book it.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldier saluted and took off in the direction of Canterlot, Dominic looked to his remaining subordinates. He gestured for one of them to stomp on the crystal, as ordered the one closest to him did just that. The wave of light passed over Dominic, he spoke slowly.

“Luna, Sonar’s team been captured at the Northern Site. We’re going to get them.” The man looked at the chariot. Flying with only three pilots would be difficult at it’s current load, and so Dominic grabbed a crate of sample bottles and tossed it over the side. “Toss everything we don’t need and let’s get in the air.” The soldiers nodded and began tossing practically everything from survey equipment to spare toilet paper.

The entire task took less than ten minutes, when it was finished the first two pilots hooked themselves into the harness of the chariot and began pulling the craft into the sky. Dominic wasted no time slipping his equipment on as the wind whipped over his body. He slowly slipped several rounds of buckshot into his shotgun, then loaded his revolver with .357 rounds. Finally he checked over the knife he’d forged, he slid the sheath on the belt that held his belt. 

The other soldier that sat with him, Iron Sight, was checking his own equipment. Covered in mud, sweat, and grime, the stallion looked as if he’d crawled straight out of a war picture. Dominic supposed they all had the same look, and he was sure that would work in their favor when they went up against who ever was responsible. Dominic looked over the edge of the chariot at the rushing ground beneath them. He closed his eyes and steeled his nerves as thoughts of what he would do ran through his mind. He’d made it his mission not to kill ponies if he didn’t have too, but at the same time, he was willing to take any excuse. With these thoughts, he and his soldiers went forth.

What they didn’t understand, however, was that the emergency beacon had been corrupted by extended close proximity to Earth-native materials. It would take nearly eight hours for the thestral messenger to reach Canterlot, and even longer for the the guard forces to mobilize arrive.

[♦]

Sonar let out a groan as she came to, her head was aching as were her wings and hooves. Like a bolt of lightning, the day’s previous events flooded into her mind. Her eyes snapped open and her ears moved around nervously. She could hear a female voice, similar to that of Starlight Glimmer’s, echoing in the background. Panic creeped into her mind as she realized she was bound and laying on the floor of a musty smelling building. The poor mare began the hyperventilate as she looked around. With her glasses seemingly missing, all she could make out were blurs.

“Corporal.” Bolt Cutter’s voice cut through the panic. “Deep breaths.” Sonar slowly started to take larger breaths. “That’s it, just breathe…” Slowly, Sonar was able to make out the other noise in the room. It was obviously a recording of Starlight Glimmer, instructing whomever was listening that individuality and differing opinions were akin to high treason.

“Where are we?” Sonar asked nervously, looking for the source of Bolt Cutter’s voice.

“Working on that. I do know the windows are too small and the walls are reinforced.” The blur that was Bolt Cutter said, he didn’t seem to be bound. “If I had to guess, this is their tiny piece of indoctrination.” Sonar struggled against the ropes, hoping that Bolt Cutter would help her loose. “I’ve tried untying you, they just come in and redo it. That beacon has them freaking out over you.” Sonar began to breathe heavily again at the thought of being unable to move, unable to fight. Bolt Cutter trotted towards her and sat her up straight, then leaned her against him.

“What about the others?” She looked towards the other blurs on the floor that she assumed were Flint and Dawn Chaser. Bolt Cutter shifted and looked towards his fallen subordinates with a sigh.

“You’re the only one to wake up so far, probably because you drank less.” He explained as Sonar looked around the blurry mess of a room. “I woke up because I’m big and my body absorbed that Dream Pedal shit faster.” Sonar sighed as she couldn’t make out any more of the room, only for Bolt Cutter to let out a surprised tone. “I almost forgot.” Sonar felt her glasses slide on, bringing the world into crispness once more. “Better?”

“Better.” Sonar replied. Now that she could see the room, she could also see that there truly was no means of escape. The only other noise was the loudspeaker on the wall, it was doing a number on her hearing. “Can you do something about that?”

“No. I’ve tried bucking it, ripping it down, beating it, all that stuff.” The sergeant replied in a frustrated tone. “We’re stuck listening to that shit for the foreseeable future.” Sonar struggled against her restraints again, prompting Bolt Cutter to look at her again. “I assume you’ll be harder to restrain when you’re awake…” He laid Sonar on her stomach and undid the knots in her ropes, she quickly sprang up and flexed her wings. The mare began buzzing around the room like a humming bird, kicking up dust with each flap of her leathery appendages.

After a few minutes she settled down, her breaths haggard and her wings aching. Bolt Cutter just sat there, watching her pant and struggle to stand. His expression was one of pensive thought which made Sonar uncomfortable, it was almost as if he was gauging how difficult of an opponent she would be. The mare sat down opposite from him and took on her own thoughtful expression. Her mind wandered from her predicament to her family, the thought of being separated from them by the ponies that called the town home infuriated her. Her son needed her there to tuck him in, her husband needed her there to help with stress. 

At the height of these thoughts, the door to the single roomed building clicked unlocked and opened inward. Sonar bared her teeth and spread her wings wide, appearing more intimidating than the meek clerk she normally was. Bolt Cutter seemed impressed, which made her feel better. The pony that entered the room was none other than ‘Double Diamond’, the earth pony that had brought them to the doorstep of Starlight Glimmer.

“Oh, she’s gotten free again…” He commented as he saw the ropes on the floor. Bolt Cutter said nothing and pointed to Sonar. The earth pony turned and froze. The sight of a positively furious thestral was one that often shook the hearts of even the toughest pony, the sight of a furious thestral mother was enough to send even the most hardened warriors into retreat. “Uh… Could you please let me-” He didn’t finish as he was pounced upon by one hundred and fifty pounds of undiluted, indiscriminate fury. Sonar was no gentlemare when it came to her attacks either, her teeth clamped down on his hoof while she mercilessly punched at his face.

Her assault only lasted around thirty seconds as she was hit by a blast of blue magic and sent flying across the room. The damage, however, was severe. Double Diamond groaned loudly, he had blood pouring from his nose, one of his eyes had swollen shut, and his leg was swelling from the force of the bite. Starlight Glimmer quickly pulled him out and slammed the door shut before Sonar could make a second move.

“Holy shit…” Bolt Cutter said, obviously stunned by the display. Sonar wiped her mouth with her hoof, seeming somewhat dazed. She blinked a few times and looked at the sergeant.

“What… What just happened?” She asked, Bolt Cutter pointed to a small pool of blood that had formed on the floor. “Oh wow! Did I…?” The sergeant nodded. “Gee, I don’t know what happened.” Sonar winced as pain lanced up her side, a small burnt portion of her fatigue jacket gave her the cause. “Shoot, this hurts…”

“Lemme see.” Bolt Cutter trotted over and looked at the wound, he prodded it with his hoof causing Sonar to wince and flinch away. “That’s a nasty burn, but it’s not life threatening.” The spectacled mare sighed and sat back down against the wall. She felt extremely tired after her episode, and almost nodded off to sleep again. That was until the door to the building opened again. Before she or Bolt Cutter could react Starlight Glimmer entered the room and blasted the mare with a bolt of paralyzing energy. Two stallions entered after her and grabbed Sonar by the forelegs.

“Hey! What’re you doing?!” Bolt Cutter bellowed, standing up only to be hit by a bolt of magic. The stallions began binding Sonar’s legs and wings, the thestral was powerless to stop them. All she could do was feebly twitch. The stallions didn’t stop there, however, the hefted her onto their backs and carried her out of the building.

“Perhaps some time in the sun will help her relax.” Starlight said, Bolt Cutter’s eyes widened and he attempted to stand.

“You’ll kill her!” He shouted, only to be shoved back down.

“Kill her? No, I won’t let it go that far. Just enough to keep her from becoming a threat.” The unicorn stepped out of the building, locking the door behind her. Bolt Cutter struggled to his hooves and limped towards one of the windows, his heart began to race with worry as he saw the two stallions plop Sonar down out in the middle of a shadeless sunny field.

There was a reason Thestral’s didn’t bask in the sun, a very serious reason. Thestrals were creatures of the night, not to say they couldn’t go out in the day, but generally sunlight was not healthy for their body heat. Leaving a thestral bound out in the sun for too long was akin to a death sentence, and a painful one at that. Their bodies couldn’t adapt to the extreme heat, it felt as if they were roasting in their own fur.

It was at this point that Bolt Cutter decided enough was enough, he would not sit idly by anymore. The stallion turned to his two unconscious subordinates and gave them each a swift kick to the stomach. He was still weak from the spell, but he had enough force to rouse them from their chemically induced slumber. Flint and Dawn Chaser quickly became aware that there were only three thestrals in the room.

“We need to get out of here.” Bolt Cutter said, gritting his teeth.

“Where’s Sonar?” Asked Flint, Bolt Cutter pointed to a window. Both Dawn and Flint’s mouths dropped open at the sight, already they could see the effects. They could see Sonar panting and trying to roll in the dirt, a display that rocked them to their cores.

“Cavalries coming thanks to her, but I doubt it’ll get here fast enough.” Bolt Cutter said in a serious tone. “We’ve got to help her before it’s too late.” Flint and Dawn Chaser simply nodded. “Flint, you were in construction before right?” The thestral in question nodded again. “Can you find any weak points in here?”

“I’ll do my damndest, sir.”

“That’s all we can do, Private…” Bolt Cutter said. “That’s all we can do.”

[♦]

It was dark by the time Dominic and his force arrived at the sight, they landed just outside of the town near what looked like an abandoned campsite on a hill. The chilly air coupled with the dry landscape almost reminded Dominic of the night’s he’d spend camping near the Colorado sand dunes. As quietly as the man and four thestrals could, they disembarked their chariot and looked around. Each held their weapons at the ready, uncertain of what awaited them in the town below.

“Okay, take a look around. See if we can find any sign of them…” Dominic said quietly, the others nodded. Iron Sight checked around the dead fire circle, noting several wrappers marked as ‘Protein Rations’. The two other guards, Waking Dawn and Blue Torch, checked around for themselves. Waking Dawn took note of numerous hoof tracks, whilst Blue Torch spotted wheel tracks in the dry soil. Dominic, for his part, had ascended the hill and was prone on his stomach.

“Sir, it looks like this is where they stayed last night.” Iron Sight said quietly, he and the other thestrals slowly crawled up beside Dominic and looked down at the town. To their surprise, it seemed the lights were on in several uniformed, well maintained cottages. “What the-”

“Shh.” Dominic hissed before silently pointing to a grey earth pony slowly walking up the town’s main street.

“He’s probably going home.” Blue Torch said as he saw the stallion stop in front of a building.

“He’s retracing his steps. He’s checked the door two times already.” Dominic said in a whisper, sure enough the earth pony rotated the door handle before turning and walking back down the street. “Blue.”

“Sir?”

“Get the binoculars from the chariot.” Dominic said, watching the town further. Blue nodded and made his way back down the hill towards the chariot. The three remaining prone figures watched the sentry reach the end of the street, he briefly turned towards a building at the end of the street. A light green unicorn stepped out the door and met the pony in the street. The two chatted for a moment before the earth pony made for the building.

“Changing of the guard…” Iron Sight quietly commented, he noted that the horn of the unicorn projected a small searchlight. It shifted over the outskirts of the town a few times before dying down and the guard slowly began his own marching down the street. “Think they know we’re coming?”

“They’re expecting something for sure.” Waking Dawn said as he watched the new sentry cast his light on a space between two houses. “He’s looking for anything that moves.” There was an almost inaudible shifting sound as Blue Torch crawled back up on the ridge. Dominic looked at him expectantly, but the stallion was empty handed.

“We musta tossed them in the rush…” He said in an annoyed tone. “Now what?” Dominic looked between his thestrals and the town below, the cogs in his mind slowly began to turn. Admittedly, moving into the town was risky. The sentry had a searchlight and was most likely looking at anything that made a sound he didn’t expect. Dominic began to see a pattern to the movement, as he did, he realized he had something the unicorn didn’t have. Verticality.

“Iron Sight. Waking Dawn.” He said quietly, the two soldiers looked at him. “We’re going in for a closer look.” He pointed to the far side of the town, closest to a group of hills and caves. “Fly over to that side, in two minutes make a noise. Nothing big, just enough to get someone’s attention.”

“What if he comes to check?” Asked Dawn.

“That’s the point.” Dominic explained. “If he’s looking over there, he won’t be looking over here.” The man pointed to the other side of town and the shadows behind the row of houses. “It’ll give Blue and I time to get over there. Once we’re in, alternate making noise so the other group can move.”

“Wouldn’t be easier to take him out?” Asked Blue Torch.

“What if one of his buddies comes out to check on him?” Asked Iron Sight, silencing Blue’s idea. The thestral looked to Dominic and spoke quietly. “I think I see what you’re trying to do here, but we can’t do it too often. He’ll catch wise.”

“Agreed.” Waking said.

“Alright then.” Dominic whispered, he pointed to the house that the guard was now checking the door on. “That seems to be our primary target, but keep an eye out for anything important.” He adjusted his helmet, then paused. The man quietly removed the clunky metal object and set it in the dirt, followed by his backpack and other unnecessary gear. “If it clinks, clanks or rattles leave it here.”

The soldiers complied, removing their dogtags and other items.

“Sir, if something goes wrong?” Asked Waking Dawn.

“Improvise.” Dominic said quietly. “Hopefully the cavalry will turn up soon, but we can’t count on that.” The soldiers nodded before Iron Sight and Waking dawn spread their wings. The first flaps were somewhat loud up close, but once they were high enough Dominic and Blue watched them simply begin to glide.

“Sir, while we wait, can I ask a question?” Asked Blue Torch.

“Make it quick.” Dominic replied, watching the sentry with his shotgun clutched firmly in his grasp.

“You seem to know a lot about sneaking.” Blue said quietly, watching his compatriots continue gliding. “How?” Dominic shrugged.

“Goes with my territory, I guess.” The man mumbled. “Back on earth, there were times where big and loud weren’t the best choice. A lot of times I found myself crawling through dirt at night, or misleading the infected.”

“Infected?” Asked Blue, Dominic was quiet after that.

“I’ll tell all of you when all of us are together.” He stated, almost as much to himself as to Blue Torch. The thestral nodded silently and the pair continued watching the sentry shine his beam of light in the various portions of the town. The stallion’s beam of light shone steadily for several more minutes, then it rapidly shifted to one side of the town. “That’s us. Let’s go.” Blue nodded and the two began making their way down the hill.

In the dark it was difficult to make out and holes, at least for Dominic. Blue Torch, being a thestral, was easily traversing the landscape. That lead to the man following almost directly behind the thestral for most of the way, he barely had time to register that his thestral guide had come to a stop. He nearly toppled over him, but caught himself in time.

“Hold up.” Blue said quietly. “I don’t know if you can see, but there’s a line of tin cans here.” Dominic looked around for a sign that they were being watched. He heard a soft tink tinking noise. “Okay.” Dominic took a step forwards and stopped as he felt his boot land on something squishy. “Don’t- ngh stand there. Just keep going.” Dominic complied, and stepped forwards once again until he felt his boot hit dirt. The tink tinking noise came again as he heard Blue step ahead of him.

After a few more minutes of nervous movement they reached the relative safety of the buildings. No sooner had they reached cover did a beam of light cut through the area they’d traversed, illuminating the line of cans extremely well. Dominic let out a sigh as the light slowly panned away and out of sight. The light from the cottage windows gave Dominic and his compatriot just enough light to move. Even though they couldn’t see the town, they could feel something wrong in the back of their necks. Each step was made with the hesitation that it could be right onto a landmine, or straight into the oncoming light of the sentry.

The pair stopped at an open window, Dominic moved up beside it and slowly leaned his head towards the opening, hoping to hear some sort of discussion.

“...can’t believe Starlight would do such a thing.” A feminine voice said quietly. “That poor mare looked so sick.”

“She’s lucky to be alive.” Said a more hushed masculine tone. “Starlight’s playing god here, for all she knew the mare could have died after only an hour.” Dominic leaned closer while Blue Torch watched the area around them for the sentry’s light. “For the sake of whoever sent them, I hope they don’t come.”

“Why?” Asked the feminine voice.

“Because if they do, they’ll end up with the rest of them.” Said the male voice. “Starlight has weapons now, advanced weapons. If she get’s more of them, faust help us.” Dominic would have listened more if it weren’t for a frantic tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Blue Torch nervously pointing at the corner of the row of houses. The beam of light was getting closer, soon the sentry would turn the corner and be right on top of them. Dominic silently cursed before climbing through the open window, thankfully unnoticed by the occupants of the house. Blue Torch didn’t have time to argue, he too slipped into the building. Dominic clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him into the shadows.

“Hmm…” Said a voice from outside, the sound of hooves approaching the window became apparent. “Hey, Sugarbelle! Party Favor!” Shouted a voice through the window, the two voices grow quiet. Both Dominic and Blue Torch felt their blood run cold as they heard hooves against the wooden floor, it turned out they seemed to be in some sort of alcove of the house. Easily spotted from within, hidden on the outside. A unicorn mare slowly came into view, her eyes were first fixed on the window but they quickly caught sight of both Dominic and Blue Torch. Dominic slowly placed a single finger of his lips and mouthed the words ‘Please don’t.’.

“Hello, Highbeam.” The unicorn said, looking back to the window. “What’s the matter?”

“Starlight wants all windows closed tonight, she thinks some bad ponies might be coming into town.” The sentry said from outside. “They could sneak in and hurt someone.”

“Oh?” The unicorn said in a shaking tone. “I’m sorry, I was just baking some muffins and it got a bit hot is all.” There was a hum from outside. “Thanks for the warning.” Her horn glowed softly and the window slid closed, she rapidly locked it and slid a pair of curtains over it. Her breathing rapidly increased as she realized just what she’d done. Slowly her eyes turned towards the two figures in the alcove.

“Sugarbelle? You alright?” Called the male voice from out of sight.

“P-P-Party Favor!” She said a little too loudly, the sound of rushing hooves greeted the ears of both Dominic and Blue Torch. The man let go of Blue’s muzzle and stood up, then slowly raised his hands. At that moment another unicorn came into view, his eyes widened at the sight before him and he almost screamed. It died in his throat as he noted the uniform Blue Torch was wearing.

“Shh…” Dominic hissed. “We’re Americans, we’re here to help.”

“It… It talks…?” The male unicorn said.

“Yes, I talk.” Dominic said flatly. “Not important. I assume you know why we’re here.” Both ponies nodded numbly, gulping at the thought. “We assume they’re in that building at the end of the street?” Both ponies nodded again. “I assume that something isn’t right here.” Another nod.

“Sir, we’re on the clock.” Blue Torch reminded the man, Dominic sighed and nodded.

“Can you help us?” He asked, the ponies shook their heads. “Why not?”

“If Starlight finds out, she’ll toss us in too. For re-education.” The female unicorn said with a shiver, Dominic and Blue Torch looked at each other with equally solemn expressions. “If we speak, if we tell you anything and they find out…” She shuddered again.

“If you help us, we’ll get you out of here.” Dominic said, both unicorns looked at each other for a moment. “You live in constant fear, we can protect you.” As if having a mute conversation with their eyes, the ponies stared for a minutes before turning to face Dominic and Blue.

“What do you want to know?” The stallion asked as the mare led them into a dimly lit, blandly furnished dining room. It was at this point that they noticed the mark’s on the ponies backs, equal signs. It also struck them as odd that in place of wall art there were simply poorly painted, framed pictures of the same equal sign.

“You mentioned re education.” Blue Torch began, getting a silent nod from Dominic. The pair sat down in two equally creaky chairs across from their impromptu hosts. “What do you mean? Re Education for what?”

“Equality.” The ponies said in unison, displaying their flanks. “Our town is all equal, no special talents. Just ponies living together.”

“No different ideas.” Said the mare.

“No arguments.” Stated the stallion.

“Just friends.” They finished in unison, almost as if the statement had been drilled into them.

“What do you mean?” Asked Blue Torch, he and Dominic watched them again.

“Well our founder, Starlight Glimmer, says that cutiemarks lead to arguments and sadness.” Stated the mare with a sigh. “In fact, most of us were outcasts before we came here, but Starlight made us equal, so we can all get along.”

“She used the staff of sameness to remove our cutiemarks and give us these.” The stallion cut in, wiggling his rump slightly. Dominic and Blue quietly listened in, uncertain of what would happen next. “She keeps them in a vault on the edge of town. She wants to use her staff to make all of Equestria equal, like us.”

“Great Reagan’s ghost…” Dominic muttered, all eyes fell on him. “Let me guess, anyone who wants to leave or dissents is locked up for ‘re education’?” the ponies nodded, causing him to look at Blue Torch. “I thought I’d seen it all, but stereotypical communist ponies with aggressive expansionist ideology nearly tops my list of weird shit only found in Equestria.” He stood up and walked to a window, taking a brief moment to peek out at the guarded building.

“What do we do, sir?” Asked Blue, Dominic walked away from the window and looked at the two ponies. The man quickly pulled away as he saw the the sentry marching his rounds.

“Our priority is get our people out of here.” Dominic said as he looked at the two ponies. “As of now, they don’t know we’ve talked. Tomorrow the cavalry will show up, all you need to do is sit tight.” The man looked around before spotting a notepad and a pen, he ripped two pieces of paper off and began scribbling down words. He handed them to the unicorns after signing them. “When they show up give these to them. Tell them you’ve been sent by the president.”

He walked towards the back window quietly, Blue gave the two unicorns a quiet nod as they slipped out into the night. The window closed rapidly behind them at that point. The air seemed to have gotten chillier and the sliver of a moon seemed to have been blocked out by clouds. A soft rumble in the distance caught their attention, the wind started to pick up.

“Shit.” Blue muttered a flash of lightning lit up the area ahead of them. The two of them continued forwards, doing their best to ignore the worsening conditions. They made their way along the rows of houses towards the end, a flash of lightning lit up the sky and the area around him. Dominic froze for a moment as he saw a young woman appear in the distance during the flash, half her face was covered in blood and her clothes were burned. “Sir? You alright?” Asked Blue.

“F-Fine.” Dominic replied as thunder crashed around them, he shrugged off what he’d seen and continued onwards. The pair reached the final house as the rain began to fall to the ground, the two of them had enough adrenaline in their bodies to help them ignore the blisteringly freezing water for the time being. Dominic leaned out first, looking towards the house at the end of the street. He watched the door open and a unicorn mare stepped out, her horn glowing and creating a bubble around her to halt the rain. The lightning flashed around them, illuminating her somewhat. She was looking around, the mare paused when the flash revealed an odd biped staring at her. Another flash, however, revealed that what she had seen wasn’t there. The shock had forced her to drop her magic, however, and now she quickly rushed inside.

Dominic looked again, he caught a glimpse of her going through the door. Her soaking wet fur revealed a damning image. He couldn’t make out the details of what the mark was as she closed the door, but he’d seen enough to know that her equal mark had melted.

“Starlight Glimmer, I presume…” Dominic said quietly, the sound of the rain masking his voice quite well. He pulled back into the shadows as the sentry came into view and his beam of light passed over the end of the building. “I Hope Iron and Waking are doing okay…”

“Let’s find out.” Blue quietly said, the two stepped out of the shadows as the Sentry moved on. Their hooves and boots squelching in the rapidly forming mud. They moved along the other end of the building before reaching the end of the street. Another flash of lightning illuminated the opposite side, revealing two mud covered Thestrals looking at them with their weapons at the ready. Blue Torch took note of that and readied his own spellbow, which he’d nearly forgotten about in the rush to sneak. The booming thunder that came after offered Blue and Dominic a good opportunity to book it across the street. They directed themselves to the other side of the building on the other side of the street. A small alcove between it and another cottage.

Their footfalls made relatively loud noises, but the thunder lasted just long enough for them to pass safely. Unfortunately, the mud in their wake was less forgiving. Dominic and Blue turned after reaching the other side to see that there were boot and hoof prints in their wake. The sentry was rapidly approaching, prompting Blue Torch to ready his spellbow. Dominic was about to say something, but the guard’s beam of light landed directly on the path they’d trod. Lightning flashed and the sentry rapidly spotted the figure leaning around the corner. He opened his mouth to yell, but thunder drowned out his cry. A bolt of red energy impacted the stallion’s chest, putting an end to the beam of light and the sentry’s life. He fell forwards into the mud, prompting Blue Torch and Dominic rushed into the street and dragged the body into their shadowy hiding place.

Dominic heard the sounds of hooves rushing towards them from behind, he turned to see that both Iron Sight and Waking Dawn had moved to join them.

“We’ve gotta make our move fast.” Said Iron Sight. “We managed to listen in on their guard house, next shift change is in ten minutes.”

“We got some answers from a few locals.” Dominic responded, pointing to the house down the street. “They say that the founder is planning to take her show on the road. Wants to make everyone in Equestria equal.” Iron Sight and Waking Dawn looked down at the body and noted the cutiemark was an equal sign. “Thing is, she’s not with the program. His didn’t wash off in the rain, hers did.”

“So what’s the plan?” Asked Waking Dawn, helping to move the body out of sight. Dominic patted the building they stood beside.

“Our folks are in here.” He said in a hushed tone. “We bust ‘em out, if we can we’ll snag the defectors and make our way to the ridge. Wait for Luna and the others to show.”

“How do we know she’s coming?” Asked Waking Dawn. “We aren’t her soldiers any-” Dominic gave him a look.

“She. Is. Coming.” He said firmly. “If she doesn’t, we do what American’s do best.” The stallions raised an eyebrow. “Improvise.” After a few moments they nodded and prepared to move for the door, only to hear squelching hooves in the distance. “Shh!” All four of them snapped to the most shadowed cover as the rain continued to pour, it was accompanied by the sound of chiming magic.

“Highbeam?” Called a female voice. “Where are you?” Blue Torch cleared his throat and tried to remember what the sentry had sounded like when he’d nearly caught them. Dominic looked at him with a stern expression, shaking his head. The stallion ignored him and opened his mouth. “Highbeam?”

“I’m taking a leak!” Blue Torch said loudly, his voice was a poor imitation of the sentry’s.

“Oh, sorry to disturb you then. I’m just coming to check on our guests.” There was the sound of a door opening and then closing, all eyes fell on Blue Torch who shrugged slowly.

“You said improvise.” He quietly defended.

“Remind me to give you a medal… But first come on, we’ve got two birds to kill. Iron Sight, Waking Dawn I want you to secure the barracks. Blue and I will deal with this.” Dominic responded before moving out into the street, his soldiers nodded and split off to carry out their tasks. His boots squelched the mud as he neared the door, then he pressed his ear up against the wood.

“...you should reconsider your position here.” Said the mare’s voice from earlier. “I can leave her out in the sun until she’s too weak to even eat. You would be wise in listening to my demands.”

“Go to hell.” Came a voice Dominic recognised as one of his soldiers, Sergeant Bolt Cutter if he remembered correctly. “You don’t understand your own position, idiot.” Dominic motioned for his Blue to position himself near the door.

“Oh this should be rich.” The mare’s voice said. “Fine, enlighten me.”

“We lied to you about being mercenaries.” Bolt Cutter said. “We’re actually soldiers. Soldiers of another country.” There was loud laughter that followed that. “By doing this, and by torturing the corporal, you’ve set yourself up as a war criminal. Not to mention plotting a coup, which is… Treason, if I remember correctly.” Dominic felt his blood run hot with rage at the mention that one of his soldiers had been tortured.

“Oh, we’ll see. Once you’ve had a few more days in here, and her out there, you’ll be begging to join us.” Dominic wanted to boot the door open, to rip the head off the mare he assumed was Starlight Glimmer. He knew, however, that one of his soldiers was in poor condition. It occurred to him that only one member of the survey team had been female. Sonar. If he went in, the unicorn could do something drastic. As much as it killed him to wait, he had to worry about his people first. “I should get going, you need time to think. I hear tomorrow is going to exceptionally hot.”

Dominic gestured for Blue to step back into the shadows, the stallion looked confused but nodded and moved nonetheless. The door opened just as they disappeared into the muddy alley, the rain covering their rushed movements. There was the chime of magic that Dominic had heard before.

“I’m heading in, Highbeam! Try not to catch a cold!” The mare called out as her hooves grew distant, Dominic slipped up to the corner and peeked out. He watched the mare arrive at the doorstep of her home and look around as another flash of lightning claimed the sky. Dominic and Blue were out of sight, but unfortunately Iron Sight and Waking weren’t. “What the-”

“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!” Dominic bellowed loudly for both the ponies in the building to hear, as well as his soldiers down the street.

“Guards!” Bellowed Starlight Glimmer, down the street Dominic could hear the door to the barracks fling open. “Kill them!” Dominic wasted no time moving to the door and shoving his shoulder against it while Blue Torch took up a defensive position and Iron Sight and Waking Dawn began firing their spellbows at the guards in the barracks.

“Stand away from the door!” Dominic shouted loudly, he waited only a few moments before shouldering his shotgun and firing two rapid shots at the hinges. He kicked the door inwards, sending it falling to the floor and revealing the shocked thestrals within. Bolt Cutter and Flint were tending to Sonar while Dawn Chaser seemed to have been filing something against the wall. “Get your asses in gear, come on!”

“She’s heat stroked! Sudden change from warm to cold could kill her!” Bolt Cutter bellowed, Dominic cursed under his breath.

“Alright, you help her. The rest of you, find your weapons and help us deal with the guards!” He ordered, Flint and Dawn Chaser rushed out of the building with a nod towards Starlight Glimmer’s house. “Be careful!” Dominic turned his shotgun on a group of guards firing arrows from the windows of the barracks, then pulled the trigger. Steam poured off the weapon as he pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession. Buckshot pelted the wall, forcing the ponies behind the windows to duck down. Dominic pulled a few rounds of birdshot from his pocket, it was all he had left since he’d left his supplies on the hill. He slipped them into the magazine and moved towards the building while Blue Torch remained to guard the door.

“Cover me!” He shouted to Iron Sight and Waking Dawn as he ran past them, the nodded and began firing their spellbows at the windows. The ruined remains of the energy crystal ammunition began to pile up at their hooves, radiating an almost pleasing warmth in the process. Dominic slid in the mud as the arrow fire shifted from his soldiers to him, but he was already close enough to gain cover near the front door. It was open from when some of the guards had attempted to rush out, but two bodies indicated that their plan had failed. Dominic took a breath and pointed his weapon through the door, then began firing blindly.

He nearly froze as he began to hear pained screams from within, accompanied by gurgling noises and terrified howling. Dominic pulled the trigger on his shotgun until it clicked empty, it steamed from the heat in the pouring rain. The man let it hang slack on its strap and drew his revolver. One of the guards bolted out the door, panicking and looking around in fear. Dominic pointed the weapon at him and drew back the hammer, immediately the stallion turned around and looked at him with pleading eyes.

Dominic felt himself begin to hesitate, he clenched his eyes shut and squeezed the trigger. There was a resounding bang followed by a thud as the stallion crumpled to the ground in a heap. The man didn’t bother checking inside the barracks, if anyone was still alive they weren’t firing anymore. He didn’t want to have to end killing someone else. The man numbly turned away from the gruesome scene, ignoring the pained groans of agony that echoed from within the barracks.

He could hear yelling in the distance behind him, angry and rage filled. He didn’t have time to turn around, but a bolt of red light sailed not two inches over his head from the top floor of Starlight Glimmer’s home. Dominic heard a thud behind him, he didn’t turn to look. The man holstered his sidearm and quickly made his way back to the building where Iron Sight, Waking Dawn, and Blue Torch had set up a perimeter.

He quietly sighed and leaned against the building, his mind firing as if it were an engine which had been injected with nitrous oxide. He didn’t realize it, but he was breathing heavily and his chest felt tight. His subordinates looked at him with worry, but he held up a single finger and gradually brought his breath under control.

“Everyone okay?” He asked, he got a few quick ‘Yes, sirs’ from the others, save for Sonar of course. He slowly walked into the building and spotted the mare on her side, he knelt down beside her while using his shotgun for support. The mare’s eyes were closed and she was panting heavily. A deep feeling of guilt spread over Dominic’s body. He’d sent her here, she was in this state because-

“Don’t do that.” Bolt Cutter cut him off, the man looked at him. “I know that look, sir. I’ve had it a few times.” The stallion sighed. “You had no way of knowing this’d happen, hell we were caught off guard ourselves.”

“Still feels like my fault.” Dominic said quietly. “She’s got a kid-”

“A kid she’s gonna see again.” The sergeant cut him off. “If you want someone to be at fault, go snag that Starlight bitch. This is on her.” Dominic began to reach for his revolver. “That’s not it either.”

“What would you have me do then?” The man asked, the stallion hummed in thought for a moment.

“I reckon we kill her, some other clown is gonna take over.” The sergeant took a damp rag of water from a bucket beside him and dabbed it along Sonar’s side. “Let the world decide.”

“Thank you, sergeant.” Dominic said quietly as he looked over the downed thestral. “There may be a promotion in this for all of you when this is over.”

“Nothing higher than general, sir.” Bolt Cutter said with a slight chuckle, still seriously dabbing the mare. Upon closer inspection, Dominic could see that her skin was an unhealthy red. He was about to reach for a rag to help the sergeant, but hurried steps from outside caught his attention.

“M-Mister President!” Flint said loudly, Dominic turned and looked at him.

“What is it?” He asked.

“I… I don’t know sir… I chased that unicorn through some tunnel while Dawn Chaser grabbed our gear…” The thestral panted for a moment before continuing. She come out in some weird cave, and then run smack dab into another one. It had this big glowing wall of… well…” He trailed off. “I’ve got her tied up in the house, but… you outta come see it.”

“Alright…” Dominic stood up and began walking towards the house. “Blue Torch, grab our gear from the ridge. It could be a long night…” The other thestral nodded and took flight while the man and Flint entered the home. There was nothing of note, aside from the drab furniture, that is until he reached the gaping hole in the bedroom. The man followed flint down through the tunnel in silence, he could barely make out any details. They briefly came out into the rain, only to enter another cave just as fast. To Dominic’s surprise, the cave was brighter as he got deeper into it.

“What the fuck…?” He mumbled at the sight of the giant glowing collection of boxes. Before it stood a wooden staff that seemed to float on its own. Within the boxes, Dominic could see cutiemarks. Hundreds of them. More than seemed possible for a town so small, even if all of them had been given up.

“Sir? What is this? Have you ever seen something…”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever seen something like this.” Dominic said quietly, he slowly approached one of the boxes and noted it had a date and a name. “Open Heart… Removed two years ago…” He stopped as he noted another line of text. “Died one year ago.”

“Maybe she was old?” Asked Flint, looking at the staff in the center of the room.

“Says she was twenty when she went…” The man turned to his soldier. “You… You don’t think…” The man trailed off as Flint began reading more names, all of whom had died not long after their marks had been removed. Dominic looked at the mark of ‘Open Heart’ and sighed, he then turned and started walking out of the cave and into the rainy night.

[♦]

The sun was beginning to rise in the distance when the trumpets sounded, the sight that greeted Princess Luna and her numerous guards was sobering. There was a large amount of white sheets laid out in a straight line on the outskirts of town, guarded by two thestrals who appeared extremely tired. That wasn’t the most horrifying, however. What was horrifying was that two more guards, as well as a pair of unicorns were walking through a field off the side of the town. Each of them had slipped a pole with a ribbon in certain places eerily reminiscent of graves.

Luna’s chariot landed first, she could see that the town had had a rough night. The thestrals standing in front of the sheets were keeping the nosy townspeople away, some of the ponies seemed to be crying. What struck the princess as odd, however, was that they all shared the same cutiemark. The night princess stepped off the chariot, drawing the attention of the two soldiers for a brief moment. One of them silently pointed down the street towards another building, she could see Dominic leaned against the wall.

As her soldiers began landing and securing the town, she galloped towards him. As she got closer, she could see a look of quiet pensive thought on his face. She also saw that he held a white paper tube, a cigarette if she recalled what young people called them. His hand was shaking, he seemed to be staring off into space. The alicorn slowed her pace and cleared her throat as she got closer. She nearly flinched when Dominic turned towards her.

“Dominic… What happened?” She asked.

“I don’t know…” He replied numbly, dropping the cigarette, which had nearly burned his fingers, to the ground. “I was hoping you could tell me…” He stood up straight before pounding on the wall. “Move Sonar to the medics, collect the defectors while you’re at it.” he ordered through the door. Luna watched with a sinking feeling as the soldiers she recognised as Flint and Dawn Chaser carried Sonar out on an impromptu stretcher. “Come with me.”

Dominic began walking towards the edge of town, Luna followed. Fear and concern began to well up in her throat as they passed by a seemingly innocent cottage. She could see he was tired, that he was covered in mud, but most of all, she could see a familiar weakness to his steps. A weakness that he’d had months ago, when he was new to Equestria. The somber shuffle carried them to the mouth of a cave, sergeant Bolt Cutter stood there dutifully. He silently moved as Luna and Dominic entered the mouth of rock. Luna noticed an eerie glow to the cavern, the source was soon revealed.

“Are those…?” She said, her voice catching in her throat as she saw the vault. Dominic silently nodded. “W-We must return them to their owners!” She could sense Dominic’s eyes on her. “The cutiemark is a piece of a pony’s soul… It… Removing it... “ She struggled for the right words. “There were cases… Not long after the pony… The pony…”

“Died.” Dominic finished for her, Luna nodded as she looked at the vault. “We’ve already found some of them outside of town…” Dominic blinked as he saw Luna’s eyes glow white, her horn became engulfed in sparking energy. The man was forced to shield his eyes as a massive blast of energy exploded through the cave. The glowing boxes shattered, causing the marks inside to ping around the cavern for a few moments before flying out the mouth. Dominic turned and watched as they flew out, many of them went towards the town. A large amount went for the field. They plunged through the ground near the poles that danced with ribbon, as well as numerous places the soldiers hadn’t marked yet.

He turned back towards Luna who stood with her wings hanging low, her horn touched the ground as she bowed her head. Dominic slowly walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, he could feel her shaking. At first it was out of sadness, but he could make out the subtle shift to anger, then the rapid change to rage. The man watched as she raised her head, he’d never seen such an expression on her muzzle before.

“There will be a reckoning…” She said in a voice that sent chills down Dominic’s spine. “We shall rend who is responsible from the fabric of time itself! Limb by limb! ATOM BY ATOM!” Dominic slowly backed away as Luna began to float in the air, her wings now wide and intimidating. Her eyes glowed bright blue, her hooves were outstretched. Dominic felt the ground shake as sparks of energy began to spring up around him. “To carry out such heinous acts of magic is TREASON IN THE HIGHEST ORDER!” The wind blew Dominic’s jacket wildly as she spoke. “Who is RESPONSIBLE!”

“Starlight Glimmer.” Dominic said, worrying that Luna’s rage would collapse the cave. “We have her ready for transport.”

“Transport!?”

“For her trial…” Dominic said, he watched as the cave walls began to crack. “You know? So you can legally… rip her ‘atom from atom’?” Luna looked at him, her eyes began to slowly dim and the wind and sparks died down. “Come on, you know due process is important… Right?” Slowly Luna’s hooves touched the floor of the cave and her wings snapped to her side, she was panting. Dominic was more thankful that the cave hadn’t collapsed in on itself than anything else.

“There shall be a tribunal.” Luna said in a shaking voice as she looked around the cave. Dominic slowly reached out and began to lead her out of the cave, praying she didn’t topple the cave with magic before they both were out. Bolt Cutter looked at the princess nervously as they passed him and descended into the town, it was utter bedlam as ponies ran around screaming. They weren’t used to having special talents, and most of them were attempting to run for the hills.

Through the sea of chaos Luna and Dominic walked until they reached the building that had housed Sonar. Dominic stepped through first and waited by the door.

“What do you want, monk-” Starlight Glimmer, who sat tied up on the floor, spat. Her words died in her throat as an imposing, yet regal, hoof stepped through the front door. Her eyes drifted slowly upwards until they landed on Princess Luna. “-ey…”

“Is this her?” Asked Luna.

“Yes.” Dominic replied, Starlight gulped as Luna cleared her throat. “Before we begin, I have a grievance.” The princess looked at him. “She left one of my soldiers, Sonar, out in the sun. She knew full well of the effect it would have, in fact that is why she did it.”

“Noted.” Luna said, her face remained calm even though Dominic and Starlight both knew there was a boiling cauldron of fury beneath her demeanor.“Starlight Glimmer.” The princess began. “Thou stand’th accused of treason in the highest order, crimes against equinity, assaulting members of a foreign military, and knowingly endangering the life of another.”

“P-P-P-”

“SILENCE!” Luna bellowed, shocking the unicorn into submission. “Thine tribunal will begin one week from today, thou shalt be provided an attorney and called to answer for thine actions. If found guilty thou may face the maximum sentence for thine crimes, in this case…” She trailed off. “The death penalty.” The unicorn made to speak again, a large amount of fear in her eyes. “Guards!” Two thestrals entered moments later. “Take this prisoner to Canterlot, post haste. Notify Celestia to gather our niece and Twilight Sparkle. I shall explain further upon our return.”

“As you command.” The guards said in unison before moving into the room, Starlight Glimmer struggled against the bonds she was held in as the two guards carried her out. Luna and Dominic stepped outside and watched as guards held back ponies, who watched them drag her towards the waiting chariots. Luna let out a sigh as she watched numerous chariots begin to take off.

“Now what?” Dominic asked quietly. “We can’t just leave these people here.”

“It will take time for us to undo whatever it is she hath told them, but hopefully, they will return to society.” Luna responded. “As for this… place.” She gestured to the uniform buildings. “I’m ordering it be burned. I doubt you wish to make this your home.” Dominic nodded.

“It reminds me of the pictures of work camps I used to see in history class.” He said quietly. “Too much death here…” The man watched as Lunar guards began digging graves for the covered bodies of the town guards. He briefly contemplated bumming a cigarette off one of the passing guards, but he didn’t want one anymore. He put his arm over Luna’s shoulder, she pressed her head up against his chest. The man felt her begin to shake again, he could feel wet spots forming on his shirt and rapidly pulled her into a tight hug.

Dominic walked her towards the chariots and gave a quiet nod towards her guards, they nodded in return and began dumping kerosine in one of the houses. The burn began as Dominic helped Luna onto her chariot, he sat down on one of the benches and she sat beside him.

“It’s going to be okay…” He said to her, watching as the second house began to burn. Guards continued digging the graves while he watched his own soldiers marking the sights in the fields. He closed his eyes as the smell of burning house and death reached his nose.
> Chapter 39
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

”...it is believed that the number of dead has reached over three thousand, President Putin has declared martial law.” The television’s glow was all that illuminated the dim living room of the Valova Family, some newscaster was reporting that St. Petersburg was being overrun by numerous infected individuals. Dominic sat beside Maria on the floor, watching the fires burning in the streets as people fled for their lives. “More resistance from citizens of Las Angeles, many refusing to open their homes for refugees from asia and europe.”

“We don’t want to sound unreasonable, but these folk are floodin’ in without any screening! It’s like trying to catch water with a sieve!” Declared one of the citizens on the screen, his face blurred on the screen. As the news continued, Dominic felt Maria lean against him. Her parents had gone out for the evening, leaving the two high schoolers alone. As the news continued pouring in, it was more and more difficult to shut out the fear.

“Dominic.” Maria’s voice drew the man’s attention to her. “You’re not even shaking… Aren’t you scared?” The teen looked at her for a few moments, then sighed and nodded.

“Terrified.” He said, turning his head back to face the television. “At the moment, though, I know I’m strong enough to take care of myself and my loved ones.” The man watched as russian police officers fired into a crowd that was swarming towards them on the screen. “Besides, when’s the last time anything bad happened in Evergreen? I mean, we’re the place people come to when shit get’s bad.”

“I know, still… I worry.” Maria muttered. “They’ve started posting cops in the school parking lot, Dom. Armed cops. I’ve seen that damned black helicopter fly over town three times this week!” She sighed and leaned her head on Dominic’s shoulder. “Promise me, if it does get bad… You’ll come get me, if mom and dad don’t blow anything within a five mile radius to pieces that is.”

“Are you kidding? I should be making you promise you won’t blow my head off if we come here, you’re scary accurate with your mom’s mosin.” The girl looked at Dominic with a serious tone. “I promise, if shit hits the fan, I’ll come get you.” He paused and went back to watching the TV, for a few more minutes they watched. “Why me?”

“Huh?” responded Maria.

“Why have me come get you? You’ve got plenty of other people closer.” Dominic turned down the volume and looked at his friend.

“First of all, I’ve known you since we were kids.” She began in a serious tone. “Second, as much as I try, I know you’re a paranoid motherfucker. You’ve probably got a kit all set up, ideas on where to go, stuff like that.”

“What gave you that idea?” Asked Dominic.

“Dom.” Maria deadpanned. “When they had that wild fire near your house, I know damn well how you and your family evacuated so fast. Hell, you gave me a list of things to stock a bug out bag with for my birthday!”

“And didn’t that go over well with your parents…” Dominic said with a humorless chuckle, Maria socked him in the arm. “I mean it though, Maria… I’ll come get you, on my honor.”

“Thanks…”

Dominic blinked his eyes as he found himself standing in a familiar looking desert, it stretched out for who knew how long in each direction. The only things of note were the mountains in the distance, he assumed that was west. He could feel the ground beneath his feet shift, it began to tilt to one direction. Sand began running past his boots, and soon he ended up slipping and sliding along the ground. His eyes bugged out as he realized that the desert was being tilted by a giant infected person, it’s jaws were snapping wildly as Dominic got closer. He scrambled and started climbing against the sliding landscape until the angle grew to great and he began falling towards the gnashing jaws. He flailed helplessly, screaming as he fell. Ringing bells and whistles drowned out his cries before everything went black.

[♦]

The ringing of the alarm clock near his Dominic’s bed was what roused the man, he panted heavily and he could feel he was covered in sweat. With a few grunts he’d kicked his blankets off and swung his legs over the side of the bed, Dominic sat up and rubbed his face quietly. His alarm clock continued ringing as he did so, rapidly testing his already short patience. The clock found itself captured in a crushing vice-like grip before being hurled at a wall where it proceeded to shatter into numerous bits of metal.

Dominic hated the clock, and what it stood for. Normally, he would be able to sleep until seven. Normally. As it turned out, he’d set the clock to wake him at six. The sun was only just beginning to glow on the horizon out his window. The days since the incident had been a flurry of confusion and aggravation. Luna and her guards had investigated, interrogated, questioned, examined and inquired as deeply as they could in seven days. All the while she had sequestered herself, as had the other princesses, in preparation for the tribunal.

The man had no idea what they knew, how deep they’d gone, or if the evidence was lost to time. Dominic had more important things to worry about, however. Sonar had been seriously injured by both magic and the ordeal she endured soon after. The doctors had said she would have permanent trouble breathing for the rest of her life, and soon after the president had been forced to write and prepare his first set of ‘Honorable Discharge’ papers, as well as have one of the palace jewelers come up with medals.

The man realized that they were most likely meaningless to the world, but the soldiers under him deserved recognition. There had been a slew of promotions as well, meaning new rank insignia had been made. Sonar had been bumped up from Corporal to Sergeant before her discharge, while Bolt Cutter had been upped to Second Lieutenant, among numerous other upgrades. With them, however, came problems. Dominic had enough funds to pay his people, including the two defectors from the town, for seven years. That is, if he didn’t buy anything else. Factoring the expenses of not only purchassing the southern site, as well as repairing the run down buildings and other such items, he still only had enough funds for two years.

It wasn’t urgent, but the numbers worried him.

The more pressing issue, however, was the tribunal. An event that was set to begin that very day. After only one week, public intrigue had swelled to massive proportions. They were so interested that some news sources were coming from as far as Manehattan to cover the trial. Seven days Dominic had been waiting, separated from most of the people he cared about. It was with these thoughts in his mind that he showered, shaved, and combed his hair. His face became an impassive mask of stoney resolve.

The man slipped into his black suit, adjusting his tie and tying the laces on his shoes. With those finished, he walked slowly to the window that looked out over Canterlot. The sun was cresting the horizon, meanwhile he could make out an eerily familiar mob of ponies massed around the gates. Dominic sighed as he spotted Solar and Lunar guards standing in a line separating the gates of the palace from the city. They’d been issued riot equipment out of fear.

There was a quiet knock on his door, prompting yet another sigh. He turned and walked away from the window, each step seemed to take longer than the last. Dominic pulled the door to the room open with a silent stoic look and was faced by a thestral he recognized.

“Lieutenant Colonel Errant.” He said firmly as the mare saluted him, he gave one in return. In that moment he was surprised to see her wearing her full dress uniform. A shining medal was pinned proudly upon the left breast that depicted a nighthawk perched upon a horizontal sword. The mare’s mane was pulled back into a bun and she held an air of authority to her that reminded him of his old English teacher.

“Mister President.” Errant replied in the same firm tone. “They requested your presence, I see you’ve already readied yourself.” Dominic nodded quietly. “They requested you come unarmed.” The man quietly opened his suit jacket and revealed he was holsterless, then pulled up his pant legs to reveal his blade was also not on him.

“Shall we?” He asked, the Lieutenant Colonel nodded and began leading him down the hall away from the room. For several tense minutes they went in silence, then the gradual sound of murmuring and meandering became present. They rounded a final corner, one that Dominic could recall only rounding ten times during his entire stay. He and Errant didn’t pause as they became visible to the crowd of reporters and journalists. Many of them flashed pictures, some bellowed questions. Both Dominic and Errant pushed through the crowd and towards the room that would hold the tribunal.

The two royal guards that stood outside snapped to attention at the sight and pushed the doors inwards, they fought hard to keep the reporters out as Dominic and Errant entered the room. Dominic took a moment to examine his surroundings as the doors closed behind him. The walls were a drab blue and most of the room was taken up by sixty chairs set up into rows of five. The right side of the room was full of thestrals in American uniforms, as well as the two defectors from the incident. All in all, the entirety of the American population was fit into a single room. On the other side of the room were reporters and journalists, as well as some members of nobility.

At the front of the room seated behind a wall of mahogany, as it was the superior wood, were four alicorns. The bench, as it were, was freshly shined. The Equestrian seal was inset with gold at it’s center while a large Equestrian banner was hung on the wall behind it. The bench overlooked the whole of the room, including the most important seat in the house. A simple table of oak, decorated with a smaller Equestrian flag and a small American flag. Two seats were behind the table, directly facing the tribunal of alicorns.

Twilight and Cadence appeared somewhat uncomfortable with their situations, at least, as far as Dominic could tell. Luna seemed to have the most composure out of all of them, even more than Celestia. Her eyes were closed, as if she were in a state of meditation, even with the loud noise of the courtroom. Dominic noticed, however, that as he began making his way to his seat in the front of the right row the room gradually got quieter. It was dead silent by the time he and Errant sat down. He looked around and spotted Sonar and her family among the crowd, she still wore her uniform despite it all.

“Attention.” Celestia’s voice called all gazes away from him and onto the tribunal board. “We are about to begin.” There was a wave of clicking and scratching as the journalists prepared their pens and began recording with their tape recorders. “Before we do, however, we wish to make it clear. There will be no outbursts, and anything said in this room will not leave this room until our business is concluded.” As she spoke, two royal guards at the back of the room locked the doors shut. Some of the reporters began to speak but one glare from Luna shut them up.

“Bring in the accused.” Luna said firmly, a door on the side of the room opened and two lunar guards escorted a unicorn in chains and an orange jumpsuit in. Behind her tagged along a nervous looking pegasus with a gavel as his cutiemark. The guards plopped the mare down at the table that faced the tribunal, her attorney took a nervous seat beside her. “Please rise.” Both of them stood up.

“Starlight Glimmer, you stand accused of assaulting members of a foreign military, torture, treason of the highest order and crimes against equinity.” Celestia said in a firm voice, Starlight Glimmer seemed to take the words in stride. “How do you plead?”

“Not guilty.” The pegasus said before his client could speak, his voice was shaking.

“Be seated.” He and Starlight Glimmer sat down, all the while the entire room watched. Luna let out a quiet sigh as she looked down at the unicorn, hiding her contempt as best she could. Celestia, Twilight, and Cadence were all well aware of how angry she was. Considering the evidence they’d figuratively and in some gruesome cases literally dug up, they were hard pressed to blame her.

“Let us address the first charge.” Cadence said, getting several nods from the other alicorns. “We would like Sergeant Sonar Net to come before the tribunal.” From the crowd, Luna watched the poor thestral struggle out of her seat. She could see Dominic was watching her as well. The thestral limped slowly from her seat in the back of the room to the front, her breathing labored. Still her head was held high, her uniform jacket displaying both her stripes and the two medals she’d been awarded after the incident. Pictures snapped of her would later be described as eerily regal.

Sonar passed the table that seated the unicorn responsible for her condition with an almost nervous demeanor. She stood at at ease and looked towards the tribunal, breathing heavily and coughing. After a minute she stood straight.

“Miss Net.” Celestia said with a slight nod. “Evidence reports you were the victim of assault, as well as torture.” Sonar nodded quietly, Luna could feel her respect for the mare rise as she saw her wobbling legs and twitching wings. “Would you explain, for the record, what happened?”

“President Occisor ordered me and some others to survey a ghost town, we were looking for a new home, you see?” Sonar began, she coughed a bit. “We arrived at the northern site and spent the night there, I felt a real bad feeling in my gut. Next morning we look o’er the hill and there’s a bunch of ponies prancing around down there, so we went to see what was happening…” The mare trailed off and took a few breaths.

“Is this where you were captured?” Asked Twilight, Sonar shook her head.

“No, you see, there was this pony who took us to meet the mare in charge.” Sonar continued speaking, Luna watched between the mare and Dominic. The man, for his part, was quietly steepling his fingers and watching Sonar. “So, she took us into her home and offered us tea. We started talking about why we were there, then things got weird.”

“Weird how?” Cadence asked, Sonar coughed a few times. “Please, take your time.”

“Thank you.” Sonar spoke. “Well, everything got all fuzzy. Then the lady said the tea was ‘Dream Pedal’, I managed to get my emergency beacon out in time or else we’d be gonners.” The alicorns looked between each other before Luna leaned forwards.

“The lady of the house, could you point her out to us?” She asked, Sonar nodded and turned around. Her hoof shakily landed on Starlight Glimmer. “Let the record reflect the witness has indicated the defendant.”

“Ob-Objection!” The lawyer called out, sending a hush over the crowd. “Goes to the witness’ credibility. She wears glasses, she could have-”

“You’re mane, while well worked, still doesn’t cover your bald spot. Your briefcase is stuffed with blank paper and your wedding ring is hidden inside.” Sonar blurted out, the pegasus blinked a few times. “I’m… Really good at seeing stuff. Even if I don’t have my glasses I can tell.” Sonar turned towards the tribunal. “Is it alright if I go now, ma’ams?”

“Not quite.” Celestia said softly. “After the Dream Pedal what happened?” Luna watched the thestral look off into space for a moment, she could also see that Dominic’s hands were now clenched together. He was glaring daggers into the back of the attorney’s head, the alicorn internally sighed.

“That’s where it gets kind of scary…”

Sonar’s testimony went relatively smoothly afterwards, as she described what had happened from her point of view more and more of the audience seemed to be blinking disbelief. Those journalists who weren’t filling their notebooks were staring slack jawed at the unicorn in the orange jumpsuit. After nearly an hour of questions, Sonar made a somewhat slow retreat to her seat.

“The Tribunal calls Miss Sugarbelle to testify.” Twilight said as she looked over the list of names. Meanwhile, Starlight seemed to become nervous. She shot a desperate hasty glare at the unicorn who went to take a seat before the tribunal. “Miss Sugarbelle, you lived under the defendant for…”

“Almost a year.” Sugarbelle said with confidence.

“What was your opinion of the defendant?” Asked Cadence.

“Well, to be honest…” Sugarbelle looked over her shoulder at Starlight before turning back to face the board. “I hated her.” A lot of pent up emotion seeped into her voice.

“What prompted this hatred?” Celestia asked, again she saw Sugarbelle turn and face Starlight Glimmer.

“Every day I lived in constant fear that I didn’t live up to her standards, we all did! She forced us to smile a certain way, to wave a certain way, to eat, sleep, even use the bathroom a certain way!” The unicorn began to rant, but a quick clearing of the throat by Dominic in the audience calmed her down.

“When you didn’t follow her rules?”

“She sent you to the clubhouse.” Sugarbelle said grimly, all those present raised an eyebrow. “Basically a one room cottage, outfitted with loudspeakers that screamed at you.” The mare shuddered. “Sometimes it drove ponies crazy, she’d have her thugs escort them out of town.” Sugarbelle sighed. “That’s what she said, anyway… We always had our doubts.”

“Thank you, you’re excused.” Celestia said, she then called for the second defector to take the stand. His statements were almost identical to those of Sugarbelle, though they shed more light on the actual locations of those who had been ‘escorted’ away. Two more hours passed, each moment seemed was accented by the quiet scratching of pencils and pens in the background. Luna couldn’t believe they hadn’t even gotten to the big charge in the lineup. Already they’d heard testimony and seen evidence that were enough to damn Starlight Glimmer. Second Lieutenant Bolt Cutter’s statements only put an extra nail in the coffin. All in all, after viewing numerous pictures and reviewing numerous testimonies, and after nearly seven additional hours, the tribunal was ready for the final charge. The reporters had resorted to bartering for pens and paper, so extensive were their notes.

“The final matter of the tribunal is as follows.” Celestia declared, she stood with a flourish of her wings. “Crimes against Equnity, in the form of tampering with cutiemarks, the use of dark, and mass murder.” Luna rubbed her eyes as she looked out over the room, the reporters and other visitors were now on the edges of their seats. She could see the hateful expression on Dominic’s face, as if he could strike Starlight Glimmer down with a single thought.

“We have reviewed the evidence pertinent to this case, and have added the new testimony to our findings. We will retreat to solitude to make our final decision.” Cadence said, obviously disturbed by the nature of the crimes. Luna sighed as she and her fellow alicorns stood and made their way into a room off to the side. This left Dominic and his people locked in a room with reporters. It took no less than five seconds for the room to descend into chaos.

Reporters bellowed questions and clammered over eachother for a chance to speak to the American populace, those that tried to reach Sonar or her family were nearly busted over the head with chairs while the royal guards attempted to re instill order. There was a sudden high pitched whistle, causing the ponies to cringe and turn towards the source. Dominic stood there, wiping his lips with a sigh.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” He said loudly. “I understand, you all want the big scoop and wish to ask questions of miss Sonar.” The man put his hands on his hips in a manner that almost seemed to be that of a scolding grandfather. “But if any of you dunderheaded idiots dare to bother her again, I WILL SHOVE MY BOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS I’LL NEED TO PRY YOUR JAW OPEN TO DO MY LACES!” The man panted for a moment before straightening his tie.

“Mister President!” Shouted one reporter, it quickly transformed into an avalanche of ponies trying to ask him questions. The man sighed and gestured with his hands for them to calm down, sure enough, after a long enough while they did. He quietly prayed in his head for the strength to deal with the coming onslaught of questions.

[♦]

Twilight sighed loudly as she looked over the evidence on the table before her. The room the four princesses had retired to was far from fancy, it’s walls were drab and windowless. All four were seated around a square table, looking at eachother as they mulled over the decision for a verdict. Luna had already cast her vote for guilty, Cadence had also made a similar decision. Twilight was soon approaching the same conclusion, meanwhile Celestia stared down at the evidence. She could feel herself trembling with each passing moment, knowing that her mind was going against her heart was a scary experience. She knew the facts were irrefutable, yet still she refused to believe one of her beloved ponies could have strayed so far from the path of love and tolerance.

Celestia watched as Twilight scribbled down her vote on a piece of paper, then slid it forwards. She looked at the table as Celestia and the others read the word, a third vote of guilty. It would take a unanimous vote to allow for maximum punishment, and Celestia was well aware of what the maximum punishment was.

“Aunty.” Cadence said, Celestia looked up to see all three other alicorns were looking at her expectantly.

“I… I’m sorry, I just don’t know.” Celestia stammered.

“You do know.” Luna said firmly, looking her in the eyes. “You don’t want to send one of your precious ponies to the gallows, it is understandable…” Celestia nodded and looked down at the paper that lay before her. “Sister, imprisonment is not safe. You and I both know our prisons are woefully ill equipped as it is, a high powered unicorn would-”

“I know.” Celestia cut the mare of sharply, her horn glowed brightly as she levitated a quill to her paper and scribbled down her final verdict. Slowly she slid it forwards and looked at the table, the others just stared at her.

[♦]

“The United States is committed to justice, it was at the behest of myself that this tribunal be convened.” Dominic said to one of the reporters that had crowded around him, he figured that answering their questions would draw them away from Sonar until the princesses had finished their debating. “I can tell you, as I witnessed first hand, the crimes the defendant is accused of are not only abhorrent, but also capital offenses in my country.”

“Capital offenses?” Asked one of the reporters.

“A crime punishable by capital punishment.” Dominic answered. “The death penalty.” He paused and looked towards Starlight Glimmer who was discussing things with her attorney. “Though I can’t say I support the taking of a life, there were numerous people on earth who heartily deserved their sentences, while other cases were unjustified-” Dominic was cut off as the door to the off room was pushed open and the four alicorns filed out. All those asking questions rapidly returned to their seats, Starlight Glimmer and her attorney turned their attention to the tribunal. The unicorn appeared smug as she looked at Celestia, something that annoyed almost everyone in the room.

“We will now read our verdicts.” Luna began, using her magic to levitate her paper before her. “It is my opinion, after reviewing the evidence, that the defendant is guilty of all charges. I recommend the highest punishment.” A hush fell over the room as all eyes shifted to Cadence.

“I as well find the defendant guilty, and recommend the maximum sentence.” All eyes shifted towards Twilight Sparkle, the mare cleared her throat and lifted her own paper. Starlight Glimmer looked between her and Celestia, as if preparing to gloat.

“I find the defendant guilty of all charges, and recommend the maximum sentence.” The room became quiet, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Starlight Looked at Celestia, a smug grin crossing her face. She could tell just from looking at her, she was going to fold. Her grin faltered, however, as Celestia’s expression became one of stone.

“Before I read my verdict, I wish to make a statement.” She said, the alicorn stood to her full height and her wings bristled. The mare glared directly down at Starlight Glimmer, nearly causing the unicorn to cower on her knees. “Looking over the evidence here today, I have become aware of a growing problem within our nation. Uprising and violence in our society have become more and more prevalent of late. Starlight Glimmer is one of many key players in this dangerous problem!”

Her voice boomed through the room as Starlight Glimmer shook on the floor.

“I am going to make an example of you, miss glimmer. Your hate and violence are a blight on our country, a blight I intend to stomp out. Right here! Right now!” Celestia’s mane whipped back and forth as the room grew warmer and warmer. “I find you guilty of all charges, and share my fellows recommendations.” Starlight Glimmer, who had been relying on Celestia’s pacifism to save her neck, was too stunned to speak. “It is the opinion of this tribunal that you are guilty of all crimes, the maximum penalty of which is death. Therefore, by the power vested in me by my post, I sentence you, Starlight Glimmer, to be hanged by the neck until dead.”

The entire audience was silent.

“The sentence will be carried out within the hour.” Celestia continued, her voice becoming more menacing. “May Faust have mercy on your soul.”

“No!” Starlight Glimmer bellowed as a pair of guards stepped forwards and grabbed her chains. “This isn’t fair! You can’t do this! You’re not supposed to do this-!” The guards dragged the thrashing mare from the room while the guards at the main doors unlocked them. Dominic quietly stood up and began walking out, his mind was numb. He hadn’t expected anything Celestia had said, he’d expected the opposite.

The man and numerous soldiers pushed their way through the crowd of reporters, but the man was lost in his own thoughts. He walked on autopilot with the rest of the crowd, he didn’t even notice that the execution was going to be a public one. He couldn’t believe how fast they’d readied a noose, for peaceful ponies they certainly were quick to tie a device of death. As Dominic transitioned from the halls of the palace to the courtyard, he could also spot the gallows. Numerous guards stood around it, holding nails and hammers, had they really constructed it so fast?

He stood in the crowd, looking over the heads of the ponies, waiting for the condemned. After forty minutes of just staring blankly, he saw a set of doors on the other end of the courtyard open. The mare being escorted by guards was sobbing, the four princesses tagged along behind her. They slowly ascended the gallows, there Dominic saw one of the guards slip a black bag over Starlight Glimmer’s head. The noose came next, Dominic could feel his heart rate in his ears. There was some speaking from the executioner, even Luna and Celestia, before finally Dominic watched the executioner yank the handle.

There was a sickening crack as Starlight Glimmer’s neck snapped, the mare swayed back and forth at the end of the rope. Dominic could hear clicking in his mind as he watched the body swing from side to side, ticking and tocking came next. He could feel his breathing growing heavier. The clocks were joined by marching drums and manic laughter, Dominic could feel the world spinning around him. Gunshots, marching boots, artillery shells, bombs and screaming joined the cacophony. He felt himself shaking, the man wasn’t sure where he was anymore.

[♦]

Princess Luna sighed as she looked out over crowd, they had been far too eager to see the death of another pony. Even if she’d wanted it, she hadn’t expected her subjects to support the effort. The mare scanned the crowd for Dominic, hoping to find strength in his face. When she saw him, however, there was no strength. He appeared ill, drenched in sweat and swaying on his feet. The clincher that told her something was wrong was when he clamped his hands over his ears and began screaming.

“Stop it! Stop it! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP IT!” He started shouting before falling over and curling up on the ground. The crowd swarmed to try and get pictures, but they were held back by numerous concerned American soldiers. Luna opened her wings and took flight from the gallows, her fellow alicorns following behind her. The landed with grace in a small area that had been cleared around the downed man who hadn’t stopped screaming.

“Dominic!” Luna called out as she kneeled down beside him, she tried to restrain him as he began thrashing around. “Dominic, what’s wrong!?”

“It doesn’t end!” Dominic said as he stopped thrashing and instead curled up beside Luna. “It doesn’t ever end!” She could feel him shaking and looked down at him, the man obviously wasn’t himself. “Years and years, no matter where I run, it doesn’t end!”

“It’s okay…” Luna said softly as the palace guards began clearing the square and doctors ran out towards the man. “You’re okay… sweetie. Please… Stop crying.”

“Aunt Luna.” The princess heard Cadence say from the side. “I think I know what’s wrong with him…” Luna turned to look at her niece, the mare had a solemn expression. “We need to get him someplace where he’s comfortable.” Luna nodded rapidly as the doctors lifted the man onto a stretcher. The following minutes were a blur for all those involved as they ran inside and made their way for Luna’s bedroom. It was the closest.

[♦]

Once the doctors had cleared the room, Cadence locked the door. Celestia, Twilight, and Luna all looked at the now heavily sedated man on the bed. The alicorns could hear numerous reporters clamoring outside, but thankfully both the palace guards and American soldiers were holding them back. The room was dark, the curtains closed, and all that served for noise was the nervous crying of Dominic. All eyes turned to Cadence as she approached the bed, her expression calm and collected.

“What’s wrong with him?” Asked Twilight, Cadence sighed.

“He’s snapped.” she said. “To put it bluntly.” The others stared at her with raised eyebrows. “I’ve seen it before in crystal ponies who remember Sombra’s rule and end up witnessing similar events.” Luna slowly rubbed the man’s side. “Dominic is a special case.”

“How so?” Luna quickly inquired.

“He’s young, and he has witnessed immense death and suffering both on his home planet and here.” Cadence explained. “The execution today must have been too much to handle…” The mares stared at Dominic with uncertainty. “If my theory is correct, he’s retreated into his own mind.”

“How do we get him out?” Asked Celestia, Cadence let out a small sigh.

“I… Don’t know.”

“We have to try something!” Luna said, holding back tears in her eyes. She looked at the man on the bed, for the first time however, she didn’t see him as a man. She saw him as a kid, beneath the doom and gloom, beneath the scars and wounds. He was someone who should have been trying to figure out his life, worrying about dates and going to parties. “What if I went in and guided him out?”

“It could be risky.” Twilight said, looking between her fellow alicorns and the man on the bed. “I’ve only scratched the surface of mind magic, and if you run into something you can’t handle…”

“Do it.” Celestia said quietly. “I’ll help you.” All of them looked at her and Luna, then back at Dominic. Luna gave a slow nod and ignited her horn, she closed her eyes and slowly touched her horn to Dominic’s forehead. Celestia copied the action, and just like that the world around them began to fade.
> Chapter 40
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia and Luna felt as if they were floating in an empty abyss, they could neither see nor feel their own bodies. Their linked magic was all the had to let them know the other was nearby. Very slowly the darkness began to fade, shapes and walls began to form. Soon enough the two alicorns found themselves standing in a small room. There was a couch on one side and a desk with numerous trinkets on the other. At the center of the third wall was a wooden door, and above that was a clock that ticked and tocked loudly. The walls were a drab green, similar to that of Dominic’s helmet while the carpet was a dark blue.

“Luna?” Celestia asked as she felt her body form in the room, her sister stood right beside her. “Where are we?” She looked around at all the objects as soft violin music began to play from a phonograph on the desk. It was somewhat joyful, each crackle in the recording only seemed to deepen the emotion. She assumed it was a human song, as she’d never heard such an odd melody in all her life. “Luna?”

“This is our way out.” Luna said as she looked around, noting the music. “Odd... “

“What?” Celestia asked as Luna trotted towards the phonograph and looked at the spinning record. “Is it human?”

“Of course it’s human.” Luna replied, she let out a soft hum as she heard it continue playing. “Beethoven. ninth symphony, fourth movement.” The mare turned away from the record and looked to her sister with a calm expression. “This is our link between reality and his mind, it has been many years since I’ve used such a spell, so he may have influenced it somewhat.” The mare turned her gaze to the door that was placed below the ticking clock. “Beyond that door is his mind…”

“What can we expect, sister?” Celestia asked as she listened to the music for herself. It was actually rather catchy, despite it’s odd tempo. “You’ve seen into his dreams.”

“Dreams are not the same as minds.” Luna replied as she stepped towards the door, Celestia followed behind her with mild trepidation. “Though, I fear I may expect something frightful…” Just as she spoke, the music became rather imposing, then it slowly became cheerful again.

“I’m coming with you.” Celestia said sternly, Luna shook her head.

“This much I remember sister, if this room should be left unattended for too long it will disappear.” She stated. “You must remain here.” Celestia opened her mouth to protest. “What is in his mind is for me and me alone to see. I am as close to a confidant as he has.” Luna gave her sister a brief hug before turning towards the door. “I’ll be okay…” With that she turned the doorknob and pushed the door inwards, afterwards she stepped into a shining bright horizon.

The princess blinked her eyes as she passed through the light, the sight that greeted her relieved the mare slightly. She stood at the edge of a grassy area, a playground was laid out and Luna could see two human children running around. There was also a house with a back porch, on which Luna saw two human women sharing glasses of iced tea. None of them seemed to notice the alicorn, Luna supposed that was a good thing. The princess of dreams looked around, uncertain of what to look for. She decided that perhaps watching for the time being would be a good idea.

“You can’t catch me!” Shouted one of the children, a young girl with bobbed raven black hair. She wore odd clothes, mainly consisting of pink. Luna supposed that was the custom of human parents.

“Yeah I can!” The boy shouted back, he had dark black hair and familiar green eyes. He was dressed far more conservatively, at least, as far as Luna was concerned. The boy started chasing the girl. “Everyone knows girls aren’t as fast as boys!” The lunar princess smiled a bit as she watched them play, a bit of warmth filled her when she realized just who the boy was. The two adults on the porch seemed to perk up at something, they turned to face a screen door that lead into a blue and white house. Luna watched with mild interest as a man stepped through it. He wore odd clothing with stripes on the shoulders of his light brown shirt. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the young boy, despite his age. “Dad!”

Luna watched as Dominic gave up on chasing the girl, she guessed the girl was Maria, and instead bolted towards the man. The man smiled and knelt down just as Dominic reached him, he picked up the boy and held him in one of his arms. Luna watched the scene for a few moments before she felt the world around her change, she still stood in the yard but something felt different. The playground had disappeared, replaced now simply by green grass. Luna saw two older children on the porch, again the boy and the girl.

“Come on, Dom.” Said Maria, Luna blinked her eyes as she saw the girl seemed to hold a rifle. “They’re just BBs, no one ever killed anything with BBs.” The princess slowly approached the two of them, she could see mild concern on Dominic’s face.

“Aw, come on Maria.” He said, looking at the rifle nervously. “Can’t you just shoot at the tin cans like last time?” Luna felt a lump form in her throat as she saw Maria give the boy a slight shove.

“Come on, my dad says I’m a great shot. I bet I can put the BB right next to your head!” She said. “Don’t be a baby.” Luna wanted to say something as she saw Dominic sigh and nod, the boy walked towards the end of the lawn and nervously exhaled. The princess clenched her eyes shut when she saw Maria raise the rifle and take aim. Moments later she heard a soft pop, followed immediately by cries of pain. “Oh no!” The cries faded out, only once they’d gone completely did Luna open her eyes again.

“Now, son.” She could see Dominic sitting on the porch next to the man from before, though he was older now. Dominic’s eyes were red and he had a bandage beneath his right eye. “You know you can tell me what happened, I won’t get mad if you tell the truth. I’ll only get mad if you lie.” Dominic looked at the porch in silence. “Now, did the gun accidentally go off like you told me before?” Luna felt compelled to get closer to the porch, she trotted up until she could see the tear streaks on Dominic’s face.

“Promise you won’t get mad at Maria?” The boy asked, Luna saw his father nod and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Okay... “ Dominic sniffed a bit. “She said she was a really good shot, and we didn’t have any cans to shoot at, so…” He trailed off. “I’m sorry…”

“Sorry?” Dominic’s father asked, Luna watched with slight awe at the conversation. “For what, son? What did you do?”

“I don’t know…” Dominic replied. “It just seems it’s always my fault.” He sniffed again. “First I let myself get hurt, then you and mom had a big fight-”

“Back it up there, Dominic.” His father cut him off. “What happened between me and your mother isn’t your fault.” Dominic looked at the man with questioning eyes. “We just had a disagreement, is all…”

“She said she was going to take us to grandmas…” Dominic said, Luna could see his father sigh.

“You heard that?” The man asked, Dominic nodded. “You’re my son, Dominic. You’re my flesh and blood. The only reason I got so angry was because you were hurt, understand?” Dominic nodded again, Luna saw the man pull his son into a hug, she could hear his voice crack. “I don’t ever want you to get hurt, is all...  I love you too much.”

“I love you too, dad.” Luna gave a small smile at the sight, she watched the two of them stand up and enter the house through a familiar screen door. To the princess’ surprise, it stayed open and was filled with a brilliant white light. Luna took that as her cue to walk through, and walk through she did.

The other side was far less encouraging, the area was a dark grey abyss save for odd floating screens that seemed to line a pathway. The first few displayed grisly black and white photographs and paintings of soldiers in blue and grey uniforms clashing against each other. Luna slowly trotted down the odd pathway, noting that as she went the images became more and more disturbing. Some were moving, displaying muddy fields filled with dead bodies and craters as far as the eye could see.

“...Hitler’s war machine was formidable to say the least.” An odd voice announced as Luna continued walking, she saw through one of the screens that the young boy from earlier was seated in front of an odd machine that displayed similar images of soldiers in grey uniforms marching through a large arch. “The fall of Paris was but one step towards the establishment of Fortress Europe.”

Luna closed her eyes and sighed, then continued walking onwards. She could hear more and more announcing voices as she went.

“...And so the Korean Police Action began, launching the United States into one of many conflicts of the Cold War.”

“...it reached the point where we could turn a knob and change the yield of a blast from ten kilotons to ten megatons.” Luna blinked as she passed that particular screen, a massive flash like a thousand suns blinded her momentarily. She could see the boy from earlier, slightly older now, watching the screen through the image. She wasn’t sure how old he was, but Luna was certain that he probably wasn’t old enough to be learning about whatever she was hearing.

“... A few of us laughed, some of us cried… Most of us were silent.” Said a man that appeared on the screen next, he appeared distraught. Luna stared for a few moments. “I remembered the Hindu scripture…” The princess saw the screen cut to a large mushroom cloud. “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds…”

Luna continued walking down the odd pathway until she reached another door, this one she was hesitant to step through. With a deep breath she took the plunge, she clamped her eyes shut as she felt herself pass through the doorway. When she opened her eyes she saw that a more familiar Dominic stood before her, he was walking down a street next to a familiar girl. The two of them were quietly talking, they had backpacks over their shoulders. It was early in the morning, judging by the light of the sun.

“I don’t know, Maria. That stuff seems pretty… weird.” Dominic said, he looked at the girl with a serious tone. “What makes you think I’d like it?”

“You’re always talking about how you love horses.” Maria replied.

“Cavalry.” Dominic corrected. “I love the cavalry, and by proxy, horses.”

“Whatever. It’s cute, and you need something cute in your life, something to keep the doom gloom in check.” Maria said, giving the teen a smack on the arm. "Like me, for instance." Her tone was joking, prompting the boy to ignore her statement.

“I am not gloomy.” Dominic said as he crossed his arms.

“Maybe, but you’re definitely doom-y.” Maria said, Luna followed behind the two of them with mild interest. “Remember in science class when they replayed that footage of that hydrogen explosion at the power plant in Japan and you started freaking out.”

“Radiation-”

“Is not going to get us here, so relax.” Maria cut him off. “Point is, you worry too much. Nothing bad’s gonna happen if you relax, Dominic. How many times do I need to tell you that?” Luna raised an eyebrow as she heard what was being said, Dominic shrugged and gave a small chuckle.

“At least one more time.” He said as they continued walking. “Look, it’s not nuclear accidents I worry about. It’s the stuff that we can control.” He sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Nuclear bombs, invasion, biological weapons and all that other fun stuff.” Luna took mental notes of what was being said. Her mind was racing, she’d never thought Dominic was one to be afraid of things, at least before the infection.

“Whatever.” Maria said with an annoyed groan. “You’re watching the show, end of discussion. Who knows, it might give you some nice dreams for once.”

“I have plenty of nice dreams.” Dominic retorted.

“Of course you do, I bet I’m in most of them.” Maria said with a snarky smile, Dominic blushed and looked at the ground. Luna watched the two of them walk further on, she felt compelled to stop. It seemed there was more to Dominic and Maria’s relationship than she’d originally thought, perhaps he’d never worked up the courage to bring it up or maybe he was just oblivious. The princess sighed and looked around further. A familiar glowing door appeared in the middle of the street, Luna shrugged and silently made her way towards it.

She stepped through into a familiar scene, Dominic’s backyard. The sun was intense with heat, Luna felt as if she’d pass out just by standing there. To her surprise, she saw Maria and Dominic sitting in lawn chairs on the porch. Both of them wore tank tops and shorts, each was drenched in sweat. Both of them seemed to be looking up at the sky, beside Dominic Luna could hear a small radio playing a static laced tune.

“Dom…” Maria said in a distant voice.

“Yeah?” Was the reply.

“You ever wonder why we’re here?” Maria asked, Dominic nodded and didn’t take his eyes off the sky.

“Because some idiot dropped a tree branch on a power line and the AC went out?” Was the young man’s response, Luna watched with mild amusement at just how relaxed the two of them seemed.

“No, I mean why are we here?” Maria asked, Dominic shrugged. Luna trotted towards the young man and noted something around his neck. A golden chain, on it was a cross that depicted a smaller human seemingly affixed to it. Luna backed up as Dominic picked up the odd necklace and showed it in the direction of Maria.

“I assume it’s ‘cause god has plans for us.” The man replied, setting his cross necklace down. “I don’t spend time thinking about that stuff, I have bigger things to worry about… Like two years from now, when the clock runs down on childhood and I enlist.” Luna raised an eyebrow as she realized that the discussion was most likely taking place at the age of sixteen.

“I thought you were eighteen in three years.” Maria asked, looking up from her chair.

“I am, but if I get parent permission I can enlist a year early.” Luna looked at Dominic more closely, his muscles were relatively toned for his age, and his hair was shorter than she would have expected. If what she’d learned of teenagers was correct, this was the age where he should have been growing his hair out and rebelling against society.

“Am I that bad?” Maria asked, Dominic sat up at these words. “I mean, I know I’m not always nice to you… But running away to get killed?”

“It has nothing to do with you, Maria.” Dominic said in a serious tone, he was now looking at his friend with a concerned expression. “Don’t even think like that, it’s just… a family tradition. My dad’s told me all my life our family has had a son in the military, ever since Rome.” Maria turned to the young man with a questioning look.

“Why keep the tradition alive? What about love and tolerance?” She asked, Luna was now looking at her. “You really want to go into the business of taking lives? Isn’t there enough senseless destruction in the world?”

“Yeah, but if I can do my part to lessen that destruction I think it’s worth it.” Dominic sighed as Luna watched the two teens. “I hate killing, Maria. I just want to try and do the right thing for my country.“ The two of them lapsed into silence after that, for a few more minutes Luna watched before contemplating backtracking. “So, did you hear about Vladivostok?”

“Vladivostok?” Replied Maria.

“City in Russia, apparently they’re having a ton of riots there. I heard my dad talking to his buddies about it, says it’s getting pretty gruesome.”

“Well, if your dad said it it must be true…” Maria said under her breath, Luna sighed as she saw another door open at the edge of the yard. It gave off a different feeling than the others had, almost as if it was leading to something important. Luna quietly stepped towards it and then through the door before looking around. She found herself in the familiar grey plain, ahead of her she could see another door. It was far off in the distance, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Slowly she began trotting through the plain.

“It feels like all my life I’ve felt death looming over my shoulder…” Luna heard Dominic’s tired voice echo through the plain as she walked. “Three years of senseless killing, I never broke…” Luna could see the images flicker beside her, depicting images of Dominic slicing into infected or blasting them apart. “Months of struggle in a new world, I never gave in…” The princess saw images of the Canterlot riots appear, followed by Dominic’s encounter with the diplomats, his run in with a redwood wolf, and many more moments where he’d been tested. “I’ve killed people and ponies, I’ve sparked a war between nations… More senseless destruction…” Luna was close to the door now, she could see more and more images flickering around her. They were closing in on her, suffocating her. “Now I see it’s not just me, it’s everyone killing each other, cheering over it…” Luna saw the execution of Starlight Glimmer, the enthused crowd.

The world for her began spinning, she could hear clocks ticking away, marching boots and exploding artillery.

“The killing doesn’t stop…” Dominic’s voice echoed through the plain as Luna got even closer to the door. “It won’t stop... Ever. I’m not going to watch anymore.” The princess gripped the doorknob and gave it a twist, then pushed inwards. She stepped through the doorway, around her the world shifted into a grassy field. Ahead of her she saw a figure seated beside a pond, a cherry tree loomed above him and cast shade over the area.

All was silent, not even the wind blew. Luna took several steps forwards, as she did, she could better make out what she was seeing. Dominic was seated on the right, he wore his normal clothing. His helmet was set beside him, glinting in the sunlight. The princess came up beside him, she could see he was staring directly at the pond. His eyes appeared heavy and the way his shoulders hunched alerted Luna to more evidence that he was exhausted.

“Dominic?” Asked Luna when she came up beside him, he didn’t look at her. “Dominic, hello?” She patted him on the shoulder, with sluggish speed he turned and faced Luna with a raised eyebrow.

“Who…?” He simply asked, Luna gulped. She had read many years ago about the state of the mind, and she feared that such a slow response was a sign that things were not well.

“Your name is Dominic.” The princess said.

“Dominic… My name is Dominic…” Dominic repeated, nodding slowly. “I’m sorry, I’m really tired… Who are you again?”

“Luna, I’m your friend.” The princess continued, the man’s face seemed to brighten when he heard that.

“Of course you are, Maria told me all about you. That was a really long time ago, though…” Dominic quietly rubbed his chin and turned back to face the pond, his expression seemingly one of intense contemplation. “Did Maria send you? I’d like to see her, it feels like forever since we just talked…”

“N-No, not exactly.” Luna sat down beside the man, watching him blearily rub his eyes. “You need to remember who you are, Dominic… Please?” Dominic yawned and looked around at the pond, then stretched and popped his joints.

“Maybe after I get some sleep… I’d really like that.” He started to lay down, but Luna stopped him. “Please, let me rest. I’m so tired, I don’t know why…”

“You can’t, Dominic. You need to wake up, come back to reality…” Luna pleaded, she shook him a few times. All around them the ground began to crack, Luna could see numerous chunks of dirt and rock falling into a black abyss. A soft pounding noise echoed across the plain, to Luna it sounded like a steadily slowing heartbeat.

“Just… So tired…” Dominic began to nod off in Luna’s hooves, she continued shaking him. “Five minutes… That’s all…”

“No! Fight it, Dominic!” Luna shouted as the falling earth got closer and closer to them. “Think about Maria, how she died! If you go to sleep, she’s forgotten forever!”

“Maria…?” Dominic asked, Luna nodded. His eyes seemed to begin clearing, still the beating grew slower and the crumbling earth came closer. “I… I missed…” Out on the pond, Luna could see Dominic standing over a prone form on the ground. He was holding his revolver towards the figures head, when Luna saw the weapon discharge she saw dirt kick up instead of blood. “Failed… I failed…” The princess could see his eyes grow clearer and clearer. “I wasn’t strong enough.” He slowly closed his eyes, the heartbeat grew dangerously slow. Luna prepared her magic, fearing that if worst came to worst she would be killed. Luna felt the earth beneath her tremble heavily, she instinctively released Dominic from her grip. He flopped onto his back and stared at the sky.

Off in the distance, Luna thought she could hear yelling. There was a sudden flash of light, an arc of lightning shot straight down into Dominic’s chest. Princess Luna flinched as she saw him spasm on the ground, he remained motionless. The beating was nearly stopped now, the crumbling soil was closing in. Another flash of lightning struck Dominic in the chest, he convulsed a bit more but remained motionless. The yelling was louder now, frantic and unintelligible.

A final bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking Dominic in the heart. His eyes snapped open as he gasped for breath, the beating began to speed up and the earth stopped falling away. Luna could swear that everything froze for a brief moment before there was another massive flash of light, this one was far off in the distance. Luna watched Dominic slowly stand up as an eerie orange glow settled over the land, the man affixed his helmet to his head and turned towards the light. Luna followed his gaze and laid her eyes on a rising mushroom cloud, it glowed with the intensity of a thousand suns.

In the flames she could see dozens of faces forming, all of them screaming along with a massive boom that made Luna’s ears ring. The princess saw the water in the pond begin to boil, the grass beneath her began to burn and she could feel blistering heat on her skin. It occurred to her that what she was witnessing was something she’d seen before, though not in such a raw form. She watched the screaming faces transform into deformed visions that were consumed by the still flaming cloud.

Dominic just stared at the blast, his eyes watered as his mouth hung slightly open. Even though the earth had seemingly faded away, the shock wave was visible across the plain. It shot towards him and Luna with lightning speed, the sound around them faded away as it got closer and closer. The princess moved next to Dominic, unsure of what would happen. She braced herself while Dominic remained as he was, transfixed on the rising mushroom cloud and coming wave.

When it hit, Luna found herself struggling to stand. The sound returned with it, but it was not the sound of an explosion, rather it was a collection of voices and howling wind.

“Failure!”

“Coward!”

“Weakling!”

“I hate you!”

Luna clamped her hooves over her ears in an attempt to shut out the shrieking voices, but all Dominic could do was stand there and listen. Surprisingly he seemed to be standing better, despite the emotional expression he held.

“Give in!”

“Surrender!”

“Just die!”

The blast wave seemed to last for an eternity, the screaming voices never ceasing. Dominic looked at the pond, it was rapidly evaporating. The cherry tree was on fire, its blossoms blowing away as nothing but embers. All of it was starting to become too much for him to take, he started to falter in his stance. Luna could see the blast waning, but it appeared Dominic was losing the struggle against the screaming voices. The mushroom cloud was just as bright as before, even as it rose higher and higher into the air.

“Don’t give up, Dominic! You’re strong!” Luna shouted to the man, she feared that if he fell he would fall for the last time. His mind was a literal battleground and he was losing the war. In the flaming cloud she could see every failure, every shortcoming, everything that Dominic felt responsible for. She could see each one of them push Dominic further and further down, breaking him more and more. Dust and debris began to obscure Luna’s view of the man, but the voices persisted in their harassment.

Luna felt a chill run down her spine, she knew there was no external force that was assaulting him. Everything she was seeing and hearing was being inflicted by none other than the man she’d come to save, it brought tears to her eyes when she thought about her own experiences with such emotions. When the wave of dust and wind passed and the mushroom cloud lost its glow Luna took a few steps forwards, she was slightly disoriented and couldn't tell where Dominic had gone. Her hoof landed on something squishy, the mare looked down and realized that Dominic had fallen to the ground and was curled up in a ball. She could feel him shaking more than he’d ever shaken before.

“Dominic…?” Luna asked, the man didn’t respond and so the princess nudged him. “Dominic, please, you need to get up.”

“Why…?” The man asked in a familiar tired voice. There was no emotion behind it, as if he had nothing left to express himself. “I’m so tired, Luna…” Dominic looked at her, his faced seemed much older than Luna remembered it. “I don’t have anything else to keep me going… No family, no real home, even my country is gone…” He looked back at the ground. “I kidded myself into thinking someday it would be over. Even in Equestria death tests me…” Luna opened her mouth to speak, but something told her Dominic wouldn’t listen. “What’s the point in getting up anymore? I just get knocked down harder and harder.”

“Who are you?” Luna asked in quiet disbelief. “You aren’t Dominic, you can’t be. The Dominic I know doesn’t give in, he’s as stubborn as a mule...”

“Maybe I’m nobody…” The man before her replied distantly in a tired voice. “Maybe I’ve always been nobody.”

“No.” Luna said, she stomped her hoof. She never thought she could get angry so fast, but seeing someone she cared about in such a state had driven her over the edge. “No!” The man looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t get to be nobody, you don’t get to give up! You’ve survived three years in hell, fought tooth and nail for every inch you’ve come!” She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to sit up. “You’re Dominic FUCKING Occisor, do you hear me?! YOU DON’T GET TO GIVE UP!”

“I can’t-”

“BULLSHIT YOU CAN’T!” Luna shouted angrily, she forced him to rise to his feet. “You’re right, Dominic. The killing probably won’t end and, heaven forbid, you may end up having to fight again… But if this is the end I want you to look me in the eye, Dominic! Look me in the eye and tell me you can’t do anything!” The man looked towards the ground. “LOOK AT ME DAMN IT!” Slowly he turned to look her in the eyes. “Tell me you’re giving up.” Dominic remained quiet. “Say it!”

“No…” He finally spoke, his expression becoming one of pensive contemplation. His features seemed to become lighter, his eyes gained more color.

“Why not?” Luna asked, not taking her eyes away from his.

“Because…” He trailed off, slowly around him Luna could see the landscape reforming. The soil yielded lush green grass, the pond began to fill with shimmering clear water, and the tree began to regain the blossoms that had been blown away. “Because I’ve come too far to fail…” Luna felt tears form again, she pulled the man into an intense embrace.

“You’re god damn right…” Luna said with a small choked back sob. She could feel the connection to his mind begin to weaken, something she was thankful for. It seemed his psyche was trying to force her out, meaning it didn’t need her intervention any further. The mare broke the embrace with the young man and looked him in the eyes “I will see you when you wake up, Dominic…”

With that, Luna found herself floating away. Dominic seemed to watch her for a few moments before she saw him turn and begin walking in a seemingly random direction, his shotgun and other weaponry in hand. It was then Luna noticed that the man was walking towards the lingering mushroom cloud, she could see a sort of determination in his steps.

Luna found herself quickly deposited in the waiting room that she’d created, it was noticeably brighter and the music in the background had been silenced. The ticking clock was surprisingly quiet, Celestia was seated on one of the couches, her eyes glued straight ahead at a strange contraption that hadn’t been there before. It was an odd screened device, Luna recalled it seemed to be an old television.

“What is this?” She asked as she was set down, Celestia broke her gaze from the device and blinked. “Sister, were you… Did you…?”

“It just appeared a while ago, I've been watching since then... “ Celestia replied quietly. “I assumed it had something to do with Dominic’s influence.” The solar princess looked at the screen once again before looking back at Luna. “You really do love him… Don’t you?” Luna nodded, Celestia stood from her seat and stretched. “We should probably go then, I assume he’ll be waking up shortly.”

“Yes, let’s go…” Luna began to charge her horn, as she did she could hear the record player begin to play once again. It was a solemn guitar, more upbeat than somber. Just as she began to hear singing her spell completed and the two alicorns found themselves flung out of the room. What was waiting for them in the realm of reality was unknown, time had a funny way of passing faster in the real world than it did in the world of dreams or the mind.

Even if it’d been a month in Dominic’s head, she knew it would be worth it to see the man stand tall again. With this final thought, she saw a bright light filling her vision. The mare closed her eyes and waited, preparing for the world to come.
> Chapter 41
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A sudden gasp echoed through Princess Luna’s bedroom, moments later Dominic sat upright and began looking around. The room was brighter than he last remembered, forcing him to cover his eyes. With the curtains open, it was clear with his adjusting vision, that something about Luna’s bedroom was different. The normal order if it all was gone, replaced by disorganized looking machinary and two very stunned ponies. Dominic slowly blinked his eyes, running a hand over his face and feeling he had accumulated at least a month’s worth of stubble.

He felt the aching in his muscles a few moments later, most likely due to a month or so of disuse. The ponies seemed to be staring at him, one of them seemed to say something. A rush of thoughts and emotions drowned out whatever it was that they were saying, he found himself panting for breath. One of the ponies came towards him but he weakly held up a shaking hand, the other hand moving to run over his hair. After a few more blinks he saw a grey bespectacled unicorn in a labcoat, the one that had made a move towards him was a white mare in nurses garb.

“M-Mister President?” Asked the nurse in a concerned voice, Dominic continued looking at her. “A-Are you alright?” The man held up a single finger, his gaze shifting to the floor. For the first time in a long time, it felt as if he’d woken up in his own bed. The familiar warmth of sleep had settled over him like a cape on his shoulders rather than a shroud. There were worries and concerns, but they all seemed miles away. It was at this moment he noticed that he was wearing a hospital gown, not that he minded. Instead, he let out a slight chuckle.

“Never been better…” He said in a rather raspy voice, he looked around the room for a moment. He took in the odd color the wallpaper was with the sun on it, the odd haze that seemed to linger in the air, and an odd smell of disinfectant.

“You’ve been unconscious for forty days.” The doctor said in an accented voice, Dominic looked towards him. He recognized the unicorn from other dealings, Doctor Von Crop, he’d been the one that helped Twilight Sparkle after her gunshot wound and his riot injuries. “Good to see you haven’t atrophied much.”

“Uh huh…” Dominic waved him off and looked towards the bed, he heard an echoing voice in his mind as he did so. It sounded familiar, but far away. ’You really love him… Don’t you?’. He shrugged and plopped down on the bed between two sleeping alicorns, he scooted up a bit and laid back. Luna rolled over and wrapped a leg over him, cuddling up against him. Dominic smiled at this, unsure of why, but again, not really caring.

“Perhaps you should try walking-” The doctor began.

“I’ll stay right here for now, thanks…” Dominic cut him off, the doctor and nurse seemed surprised by his statement. “Could you have someone bring in some real food, my stomach feels like I ate a cinder block.”

“Right… Nurse, would you mind retrieving something from the cafeteria?” The doctor asked as Dominic put his own arm under Luna’s neck, the man let out a content sigh. The nurse looked a bit miffed at the request before nodding and walking to the door, after she’d left Doctor Von Crop adjusted his glasses and silently levitated up a clipboard. He took a pen from the same clipboard and began jotting down notes, Dominic just let out a sigh as he prepared for the inevitable barrage of questions. Thankfully salvation came in the form of a surprised gasp, followed by another as the two alicorns suddenly woke up.

They each sat up, flapping their wings and looking around with wide eyes. Doctor Von Crop let his pen drop out of his magical grasp, his brow furrowing as the two ponies flailed about. Dominic continued leaning back on the bed watching the two of them and putting his hands behind his head.

“Huh! What!? Ah!?” Luna sputtered for a moment before realizing where she was, both princesses blinked and looked between Dominic and Doctor Von Crop. The unicorn in question gave a somewhat sheepish wave, his horn still levitating the clipboard.

“Take it easy, your highness. You’ve been unconscious for a little over a month.” The doctor said, getting the attention of the two princesses. Luna and Celesita looked towards him with somewhat surprised expressions.

“A m-month?” Celestia asked in a groggy voice, the Doctor simply nodded. “The country must be in anarchy! Without us-”

“You’re panicking, your highness.” Von Crop cut her off as he watched her vitals, the solar princess’ let out a soft sigh as she was scolded. “Your highness, please, you must rest a bit. We don’t know what the effects of the spell could be if you move around too much.” Celestia slowly nodded and leaned back down in the bed, noticing that at that point Dominic seemed to be taking up the majority of the middle of the bed.

Luna had a similar reaction, leaning back in the bed herself. Dominic adjusted his position so that she could lay down comfortably while the Doctor took down a few more notes. He appeared to be fascinated by all of this, then again, Von Crop was always looking for the next big thing. Mind Magic was probably just another stepping stone on his path to full fledged mad scientist.

“Now, I’ll get out of your manes. I’m sure you wish to have privacy.” The Doctor smiled and left his clipboard on a nearby medical machine, then turned and trotted towards the door. He opened it and left, for a moment it sounded as if there was hushed whispering before silence returned. Dominic sighed and looked at the two mares, they in turn looked at him.

“I had a dream like this once.” He said in a deadpanned tone, turning his gaze up to the ceiling. “Long time ago.” Luna and Celestia looked a bit confused by the revelation, each continuing to stare at the man. Luna was most worried, she feared that her tampering had somehow messed with his mind. For some odd reason he seemed happier than usual, it was honestly a bit odd.

“How art thou feeling, Dominic?” Luna asked, Dominic shrugged and gave a slight smile. He looked over to her and gave a sincere grin.

“I feel great. Better than I have in a long time…” He trailed off and gave a yawn, Celestia shot Luna a hopeful smile from the other side of the bed. “What did you do in there? I’m remembering flashes, but it’s all kinda fuzzy.” 

Luna paused for a moment, she wasn’t sure how to explain what she’d done. Honestly she’d just gone in and talked to him, but there was something more to it. Seeing what she’d seen, the screaming faces and horribly mean voices, it was as if she’d seen his emotions in their rawest form.

“We… Went into thine mind.” Luna began. “Thou had a breakdown in the courtyard and we couldn’t snap thou out of it… When we were inside we had to work our way around to find thou, but when we did thou and us just… talked.” Luna felt Dominic’s arm come up and wrap around her in a hug, she returned it in kind.

“Thank’s, Luna…” The man said in a somewhat tired tone. “Not a lot of people would go to bat like that for me.” Celestia looked at the two of them with an inquiring expression, internally she was torn by what she was seeing. On one hoof, she didn’t think Luna could handle losing Dominic to the seas of time, on the other she saw just how much her sister cared for the man. She could also see inklings in Dominic that he felt similarly, though perhaps he didn’t realize it.

“We would do it again if need be.” Luna said quietly, nuzzling up against Dominic’s side. “We saw things in your mind that scared us, were thou really exposed to such things at a young age?” Dominic shrugged in response, not really minding the nuzzle.

“It’s not important now, it’s not like you use nuclear weapons here.” The man replied, he began to scratch behind Luna’s ear. The mare smiled at the odd sensation and pushed her head closer to his hand, meanwhile, Celestia was curious about what was happening. She watched from her side of the bed, surprised that such a small action could reduce her sister to practically a housecat.

“Dominic, that feels divine.” Luna said with a sigh, the man shrugged in response. After a few more minutes he stopped, causing the Lunar princess to let out an annoyed groan. “Why’d you stop?”

“What if someone comes in and sees that, do you really want that to be in the news?” Dominic asked, Luna gave him a quizzical expression. “Headline today. Princess and President spotted cuddling in bed. Sign of romance or corruption?” Luna thought for a moment, then sighed and pouted. Not moments later the door to the room did open and a familiar Nurse pony entered with a covered tray. “Thanks for this.”

“No problem.” The mare replied simply, setting the tray down on a nearby table. She gave a slight bow to the princesses and left, Dominic began to stand to go for his food but a golden aura enveloped it and floated it towards him. The man looked surprised and turned to face Celestia, her horn was glowing and she seemed to have a concentrated expression. The man took his tray of food and removed the cover, it wasn’t anything special, but to his empty stomach it may as well have been. He began eating almost as soon as he’d removed the cover, barely restraining himself to use the fork and knife that’d come with the meal.

“Dominic, I helped Luna go into your mind.” Celestia said quietly, the man paused and looked at her. “I didn’t venture far, Luna made sure of that… That’s not to say I didn’t see things.” Celestia was referring the screen that had appeared in the gateway between his mind and theirs. She’d seen what Luna had seen for the most part, as well as other things she hadn’t mentioned to Luna. Fields of dead bodies shrouded by clouds of flies, scorched and burnt out houses. Things she doubted she would ever forget and would most likely haunt her dreams for eons to come. “I’m sorry I made you relive those things when you first came here…”

Dominic set down his fork, his hand trembling somewhat.

“Y-You saw?” He asked, Celestia nodded. The man moved his tray somewhat, Luna put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “I…” He knew what images she’d spoke of only because they’d come from his own mind, at that moment they flashed before him in vivid detail. After a few moments they faded into the background, it felt as if the weight had been lifted once again. Dominic found it easier to move past them as he looked at Celestia. “I forgive you.”

Celestia looked at him in surprise, she hadn’t expected him to forgive her so easily. Perhaps it was what he’d just gone through or maybe it was something else, nonetheless she was happy that she’d earned his forgiveness. Dominic quietly went back to his meal as the room lapsed into an awkward silence. Dominic stared down at his plate in deep thought. He’d been unconscious for forty days, who’d been running things while he was gone? Had anyone stepped in? Had he let down his people? These thoughts rattled around for a few moments before he took a deep breath. With that they seemed to vanish, something his thoughts rarely did.

There was a knock on the door and before anyone could answer it was nearly kicked off it’s hinges. Dominic gripped the knife that’d come with his meal tightly in anticipation, however, it was quickly dropped as he spotted the reason behind the sudden entrance. It seemed a small crowd of familiar ponies had pushed their way past the doctors and guards and were now flooding into the room. 

Dominic watched as Twilight entered, accompanied by her Ponyville friends, all of whom looked extremely excited. Sonar entered next, she was clothed in a professional looking suit. Last to enter was Cadence, she appeared more stressed than ever, but nonetheless happy to see her aunts were awake. All those in the bed sat up at the sight, somewhat surprised by the sudden entrance of their visitors. The newcomers were all yammering away at the same time, obviously voicing how concerned they’d been over the past month. Pinkie Pie commenced jumping up and down on the bed, somehow bouncing the food tray off of it without a single broken item.

“Girls.” Celestia tried to cut through the chaotic cacophony, but it seemed that it had no effect. “Girls!” Dominic quietly began reaching to cover his ears, he was glad he did moments later. A loud whistle drowned out all the other noise, all eyes turned to the source which happened to be Sonar. The thestral awkwardly coughed, adjusting the tie on her suit.

“Thank you, Sonar.” Dominic said as he took his hands away from his ears, the mare simply nodded and smiled widely. Celestia and Luna looked to the other ponies with wide eyes, deep down they wished that they’d tell them what had happened in their absence.

“Twilight, Cadence, all of you…” Celestia began. “We are very glad to see you again, but, perhaps not all at once? I, for one, am very tired.”

“We’re sorry, Princess.” Applejack chimed in, now that Celestia looked at her she could see that something was a bit different. Her mane was shorter and her hat looked worse for wear.

“It’s just, since you’ve been gone things haven’t been going as well as we’d like.” Cadence said, she looked towards the floor. All three bedmates sat up as they heard this, the ponies behind them also looked somewhat tired.

“What happened?” Dominic asked, he looked directly towards Sonar. She was his go to intelligence mare, if it was worth knowing she knew it. The thestral took a few deep breaths before speaking.

“For the first ten days after the incident things were going fine, but after that…” The mare looked somewhat torn. “It’s a long story…”

[♦]

Thirty Days Earlier.
New Liberty, U.S.A.
Formerly known as The Badlands...

The first ten days of reconstruction had gone according to plan, even without the President there the new American’s worked hard to set up their future lives. When they had first arrived in New Liberty it had been less than stellar, the buildings were old and outdated. Some had been torn down for use as firewood or in tools. The thestrals were quick to adapt, however. In the first four days they’d sured up the buildings and made them look presentable, the rest of that time was spent digging an expansive tunnel network beneath the buildings.

One of the defectors had come up with the idea and pitched it to Sonar, she’d been put in charge due to her closeness to Dominic. They’d decided that an underground system would be good because underground had a constant temperature that was ideal for Thestrals. After ten days it was starting to look like New Liberty would be up and running in no time. The western styled buildings were repainted and freshened up, a new well had been dug, a teacher for the schoolhouse had been found.

The main street was still dirt, but it would work for what was needed. Each side was lined with four buildings from it’s heyday as a mining town, a saloon, a general store, a doctor's office and a few others. On the outskirts were ranch style homes that had been rapidly converted into barracks for the military element stationed in New Liberty. A small American town was starting to take shape, something that filled the hearts of the American people with pride.

On the eleventh day, however, problems made themselves known. Tremors could be felt in the tunnels, nothing major or dangerous, but enough to get the attention of ponies there. They would continue on and off for the next few days, until they faded into the background. There was still much work to be done after all, so the thestrals added supports to their tunnels to keep them stable and went back to work.

On the twentieth day, ponies noticed stolen supplies and missing tools, as well as odd tracks in the dirt floors of the tunnels. This lead to more guards being posted, and thus, slowed the work on the town. Still, Sonar and the rest maintained their course, the town was well ahead of schedule at this point. On the surface, classes for the foals that’d come with their parents started, it was a nice distraction to a growing nuisance.

On the twenty ninth day, Twilight Sparkle and her entourage had arrived to look over the town and see how everyone was doing. They planned on staying a couple days to relax, as they had been running the country in the absence of Celestia and Luna. Cadence had taken the reigns for their time off as she knew just worked up Twilight had been getting over the work load and the fact that her mentor was seemingly brain dead.

On the thirtieth day, all hell broke loose.

“Move! Move! Move!” Shouted one of the soldiers on the surface as he and his squad ran towards outskirts of New Liberty, columns of dust and rock had suddenly exploded up from the ground. The tremors had returned in full force and it had been reported that things were attempting to dig through the now fully reinforced walls of the tunnels. It was an attack if ever there had been one.

Sonar watched from the tallest building as she sent forth the American military to deal with the situation, her heart was pounding heavily as she, Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of the elements of harmony watched in awe. Twilight had no idea what she was looking at, animals of the badlands were a subject she rarely studied.

“What do you think is going on over there?” Asked Rarity as she watched the soldiers disappear into the dust, the jingle of their armor was all that told her that they were still out there. “Could it be diamond dogs?”

“I doubt it.” Applejack chimed in, she ignored the hairs that were starting to stand up on the back of her neck. “Diamond dogs are dumb, but they’re not stupid. They wouldn’t attack an entire town, especially without gems to steal. Right, Twi?”

“Right…” Twilight echoed back, a few moments passed in silence. Then suddenly they heard more yelling, this time from within the dust shroud that seemed to be rolling towards New Liberty. Pinkie Pie, being Pinkie Pie, leaned out and held up her ear. It somehow grew larger as she listened. Her eyes widened and she started to shake, bouncing up and down. Sonar looked at her with mild horror while the others recognized the shaking as just her Pinkie Sense.

“What is it, Pinkie...?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know! I’ve never felt it before! But I’ll tell you one thing!” Pinkie said as the convulsions came to an end, moments later the distant shouting became even louder.

“OPEN FIRE!”

“It’s a doozy…”
> Chapter 42
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dust was thick, thicker than anything Lieutenant Colonel Errant had ever seen. It nearly blotted out the sun from the sky, the thestral and the thestrals under her command could feel the ground trembling beneath them as they made their way towards the source of the dust spouts. There was surprisingly very little noise save for the constant rumble of dirt, sand and rock being tossed into the air. Each soldier held their spell bow tightly as they trekked through the dusty plain, it was hard for the Lieutenant Colonel to even spot her own soldiers.

“Sound off!” She hollered, from her left and right she could hear her soldiers calling out. That gave her some relief, everyone was where they needed to be. After a few minutes the thestrals came to a stop, the trembling in the earth becoming nearly too much for them to take. “Stand fast!” Again the mare received a resounding chorus of positive responses, they each could see the columns of dust rising into the air. For what felt like an eternity they stood and watched them. Dust attached itself to their sweaty fur as some licked their dry lips, each held their weapon at the ready. They knew that something would come out of the dust eventually, that was just how things worked.

The rumbling began to get louder and louder, the ground shook harder and harder, it was clear whatever was coming would be coming soon. Errant could barely stand, her helmet rattled around on her head and she was forced to use her wings for stabilization. She grit her teeth, but they chattered heavily, she could taste dust in her mouth and was having a hard time keeping it out of her eyes.

“Stand fast!” She called out over the noise, again she heard the resounding responses. She readied her weapon and stood her ground, knowing full well that her new home and the homes of everyone she cared about were not more than a mile away. Suddenly there was a tremendous boom, it nearly knocked her off of her hooves but she again stabilized herself. A gust of air from the source of the dust blew enough of it away for her and the other soldiers to see the source of it all. Each of them blinked in surprise at what they saw, the more seasoned soldiers instantly flipped the safeties off their weapons.

In place of the massive dust cloud a new form had arisen, a black column of stone. It was as big as two buildings, gnarled and looked as if it had been constructed from the very darkest nights in history. Carved figures of insect like creatures looked out from around the top of the pillar, each more disturbing than the last. At the top was a rapidly fading green dome, beneath it the soldiers could see at least forty beady eyed changelings. Seated at the center of them all was an almost regal looking one, her sickly green mane was tied back with a piece of black fabric while she was adorned in ornate ebony black chitinous battle armor.

“Take aim!” Shouted Errant, by now she could see her soldiers in the fading dust, though it was likely all of this was obscured to any outside observers. As the bubble faded into nothingness the changeling queen stood from her throne and daintaly made her way towards the edge of the column. Her children stepped aside for her as the weapons of the American’s continued to follow her movements, a wicked looking staircase descended from the column and onto the dusty desert sand. Directly in front of Errant.

“Equestrian!” Bellowed the changeling queen as she stepped onto the dirt, now only twenty feet away from Errant. The two narrowed their eyes at eachother. “What fools are you to return to this land?”

“We’re not Equestrian.” Errant replied quickly, ignoring the buzzing sound that accompanied the arrival of so many changelings. “We’re American. We’ve come to build our country here.” The Queen raised an eyebrow and walked closer to the Lieutenant Colonel.

“So you are on your own then?” The Queen asked, Errant didn’t reply. The Queen quietly inspected the thestral, noting the weapon she possessed. “Interesting…” Errant kept her weapon raised directly at the nose of the Queen. “What say you lower your weapons and we discuss the terms of your surrender?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Errant replied coldly, the Queen appeared somewhat annoyed by the statement. “You’re currently invading American soil.”

“Not for long.” The Queen opened her wings wide and lifted her head to the sky, took a breath as she steadied her weapon on the Queen. “Fly my children! Crush this puny nation!” The changelings on the pillar took to the air, each American shifted their aim to each of them.

“OPEN FIRE!” Errant bellowed, depressing the trigger on her weapon. A bolt of red energy went straight towards Chrysalis’ chest, the Queen cried out in pain as she fell and clutched a brand new wound. Errant was surprised it hadn’t killed her outright, but the thestral could see there was a melted hole in the armor. All around them her soldiers were firing, doing their best to fend off the invaders. “Fall back!”

The soldiers nodded, and quickly began rushing back to New Liberty. Occasionally they would stop and fire while other would move ahead, then they would switch off. On and off they fought their way back home, bolts of changeling magic whizzed in every direction. The bolts would hit the soldier’s armor and ricochet off as the changelings were aiming to be nonlethal in their attacks. The American’s were not as sparing, the bodies of changelings fell to the floor in droves. Errant watched as Chrysalis rose back into the air, her face was awash with emotion as she watched her children die.

“Wh-What are you doing!?” She yelled at the top of her lungs, the response was a bolt of energy whizzing past her head. “FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES, MY CHILDREN!” She cried, her earlier tone of menace replaced by one of great pain. By this point the soldiers had returned to New Liberty.

“Take cover!” Errant bellowed, she looked to a group of soldiers that had been holding the town. “Get some other fresh troops and clear the sky! We must establish-” She ducked as a bolt of lethal changeling magic soared over her head. “Air superiority! MOVE DAMN IT!” Errant looked to the group she’d brought with her. “Every third soldier break off and see about moving some of the extra trench plate up, we can use it as cover!”

“Yes, ma’am!” The soldiers saluted and rushed off towards the piles of construction supplies, their sights set on heavy metal plates that they’d used on the floors of the lower tunnels. Errant took cover in a prone position, it was clear the Changelings were firing to kill now.

“Does anyone have eyes on Sonar or the Princess?!” She called out, she didn’t like the chorus of negative answers she received. “Damn it!” The mare rolled rapidly towards the closest building and rapidly entered.

“Man down!” Someone shouted outside, Errant pushed it out of her mind as she looked around the building. It was the general store and it seemed most of the civilian population had taken refuge there. The families of the soldiers fighting out in the streets, ponies of all races.

“Any of you know shield magic?” Errant asked loudly over the sound of the raging battle outside, the ponies all huddled in one corner as several bolts of changeling magic impacted the side of the building. “Come on, anyone at all!? Any form of combat magic!?”

A few unicorns raised their hooves, Errant nodded in response as she looked around. There was little in the way of weaponry aside from farm equipment, and armor was completely out of the question. The Lieutenant Colonel hummed for a moment.

“Arm yourselves as best you can! If you can get a shield up I need you to head out there and support are boys. If you know offensive spells, any at all, do them.” Errant bellowed, the unicorns looked at her uncertainly. “MOVE!” Her sudden yell seemed to jumpstart them into gathering up the farm tools, a few of them slipped pots or pants on their heads to use as makeshift helmets. Errant turned and looked out the door and up to the sky, she smiled as she saw her soldiers dropping the Changelings left and right. Errant hoisted her weapon up again and rushed outside, the civilian defenders following not long after.

Errant ran past bodies in the street, mainly changelings, but not all. Some of her soldiers had fallen, but again, she had to push it out of her mind. Her next stop was the town hall, hopefully she would find Sonar and the Princess there. She dodged past bolts of energy and leaped over dead bodies until finally she reached the building, as fast as she could the mare ran in.

“Flash!” Shouted a familiar voice as she found herself face to face with two spell bows.

“Thunder!” She replied, the owners of the spell bows lowered the weapons. Errant instantly recognized her old friends. “Rolling Thunder, Chipped Blade.”

“Lieutenant Colonel.” The two replied in unison, Errant could see the two of them were doing fine. Their armor had been traded for more mobile desert fatigues, the scoped spell bows they held had been painted a similar color.

“I’m looking for the VIPs.” Errant said, the two snipers nodded and gestured behind them to a staircase.

“Head up with her, Chipped. See if you can do some good.” Rolling ordered as he went back to guarding the door, Chipped nodded and began running up the steps. Errant followed closely behind him, trying not to listen to the screaming and yelling from outside. Finally she found herself in the Presidential office. The Lieutenant Colonel sighed in relief as she saw them, meanwhile Chipped Blade made his way to a window and began searching for a target. The shade’s had been drawn, thankfully, and so it seemed the changelings didn’t know the VIPs were there.

“Everyone okay?” She asked, Twilight Sparkle and Sonar looked at eachother before gesturing across the room. Errant noticed that the yellow one, Fluttershy if she remembered correctly, was huddled up with the Rarity and Pinkie Pie. It seemed they were doing their best to calm the poor mare down, meanwhile it seemed that Applejack was doing her best to keep Rainbow Dash from running out into the fray.

“Physically, we’re fine.” Twilight said as she adjusted her mane.

“I can see.” Errant replied, she looked at Sonar. “So far we’ve managed to hold our own, I’ve got some of the unicorns supporting us as best they can… But I doubt it’s gonna help much.”

“The walls in the tunnels are holding, I’m glad we had them enchanted when we secured them.” Sonar replied, she adjusted her glasses as she looked around. “I can’t really think of what to do, Lieutenant Colonel… We need to fortify, but it’s hard to do that when we’re under fire…” The spectacled mare looked to Twilight Sparkle. “Can you cast some sort of shield dome, like in Canterlot?”

“I can try, but I don’t think I could keep it up for more than eight hours… Twelve if it doesn’t come under attack.” The mare looked at the two American’s with a determined expression. “Is there anything else we can do?” Errant was about to speak before the discharge of a spell bow caught the ponies attention. They shot a brief look over to Chipped Blade who was rapidly reloading.

“We can’t let you-”

“Pony feathers!” Shouted Rainbow Dash from across the room, finally breaking loose from Applejack’s attempts to restrain her. “We can help, just tell us what you need us to do.” Lieutenant Colonel Errant looked at the prismatic pegasus with a somewhat impressed expression.

“Can you figure this shit out when we have time!” Shouted Chipped Blade from across the room. “I got eyes on five fast moving behemoth changelings.” The stallion squeezed the trigger of his weapon, resulting in another soft popping noise. “Make that four.”

“He’s right…” Sonar said quietly, she looked at Twilight with a serious expression. “Do it. Fast.” The Alicorn nodded and opened her wings, her horn began to glow as did her eyes. Errant covered her eyes as did most of the other ponies in the room, the sound around them seemed to be drowned out. With forelegs outstretched Twilight cast the spell, a massive beam of energy shot through the roof of the building.

Over the town of New Liberty a lavender dome began to form, forces on the ground and in the air all paused to watch as it began to encircle the town. Chrysalis, who had been doing her best to bolster the morale of her weakened forces, cursed under her breath as she saw the dome beginning to form. Her own horn began to glow but with very little reserves of love energy she knew it would do nothing.

“Flee!” She shouted to her children, knowing that if any were to get caught under the dome they would most certainly be killed. Her soldiers obeyed readily and began withdrawing as fast as they could, nearly all of them escaped. Chrysalis watched in horror as a group of five were trapped within the dome. They desperately pounded on the magical barrier, through the hivemind they shared Chrysalis could feel their fear.

That feeling didn’t last long however, she could see the black clad American warriors closing in on them for the kill. Perhaps they would show mercy if her children surrendered, but she knew they never would. The trapped changelings were unable to fire a single shot before they were cut down in a hail of red energy bolts. The Queen looked to her remaining children, only a third of the force she’d come with remained.

On the inside of the dome, Lieutenant Colonel Errant and the other ponies carefully exited the town hall. The sight that greeted them was a sobering one. Bodies were strewn about the street, both changeling and thestral alike. All in all, it seemed like the American’s had held their own against the enemy, and though the losses were far less than what could have been, it still sent a chill down the spines of all those present. Chipped Blade and Rolling Thunder rapidly made their way away from the group and off to aid their fellow soldiers in clearing away the dead.

“I… I should go see how bad it is…” Errant said quietly, she looked at Sonar, Twilight, and the others. “Ma’am…” She nodded to the acting president before trotting off to find someone, already the other soldiers were beginning to gather the dead and clear out the streets. Sonar looked to the six mares from Equestria with a somber expression.

“Please… If you can think of anything to help…” Sonar began, Twilight and the others nodded quietly. Sonar sighed and rubbed her eyes and went out to aid the ponies in the street, Twilight looked to her friends. They all appeared shaken by what they were seeing, and in a way, Twilight was just as shaken. Perhaps it was because she’d seen such destruction in Dominic’s dream she had a better way of hiding it, but her friends were entirely different.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both had subtle quivers to their lips, and perhaps they didn’t notice, but Twilight could see tears forming in their eyes. Rarity was struggling to hold back what Twilight could only assume was an urge to retch and vomit most likely for Fluttershy’s sake. The yellow mare in question seemed to be taking it the hardest, her sobs were audible as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Pinkie Pie was really quiet, quieter than Twilight had ever seen. Her mane and tail had lost their puffy curls as she watched the American soldiers begin tossing changeling bodies into a big pile.

“What can we do, Twilight?” Applejack’s voice cut through the silence, the alicorn turned her head to look at her friend. The earth pony had a determined expression despite the tears in her eyes. “How do we help them?”

“I… I don’t know…” Twilight replied, her head was aching from the amount of magic she’d put into the shield. It would hold for eight hours, maybe twelve if there wasn’t any sort of bombardment or assault. “I can’t think straight…”

“Are you all crazy?” Pinkie suddenly asked, all eyes turned to her. “We can’t help these ponies. We’re way out of our league.” The seriousness of the mare’s tone resonated with her friends, in the background the sound of bodies being piled up set the mood very well. This was soon coupled by grunting as soldiers and civilians began moving metal trench plates into place, they seemed to be propping them up at angles to act as cover against whatever enemy attack would come next. “Face it, there’s no hope here…”

The friends lapsed into silence and simply watched the citizens of New Liberty work, it was odd the way that they went at it. They worked as if there was nothing wrong, of course, there were exceptions, but the most of them seemed to be focussed on building up the defenses and clearing away the dead. While the Changelings were piled up, the eleven American casualties had been lined up on the street and covered in tarps. Their armor and weapons had been taken to be used by the living, but still they’d been treated with the greatest respect. It did seem hopeless, and it confused the six friends as to why they seemed so willing to keep going.

The soft sound of metal on metal above them drew their attention upwards, there they spotted a flag pole. On it they spotted the stars and stripes, it had holes in it and the edges were frayed, still it waved on. The mares looked back to the working ponies and noticed that every now and then they’d look around at the town before giving a slight nod and going back to work. It occurred to Twilight that perhaps they carried on because they had built this place with their own two hooves, perhaps it was pride in what they’d done that drove them onwards.

“Maybe we can give them a little hope…” Twilight said, she looked to her friends. “Help them build this place up again.” Her friends looked at her with uncertainty. “If we don’t and they lose, we lose with them. And if we’re captured or worse…” Fluttershy eeped at that bit. “There’s no one to warn Equestria, and then what?” Realization began to set in among the five mares. “Yes, this isn’t our home, but it may as well be.”

“You’re right, Twi.” Rainbow Dash said strongly, perhaps to bolster her own resolve. “I’m gonna go see if that Errant mare can find anything for me to do.” Twilight smiled a bit at her statement, Applejack adjusted her hat and rubbed the back of her neck.

“I’m gonna go with her.” She said as the two of them began trotting away, Twilight looked to Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy. It seemed Pinkie was starting to perk up a bit more and Fluttershy had stopped her crying. Rarity held a stern, yet dainty, stance.

“I think Fluttershy and I will go seek out Miss Sonar, I’m sure there’s something she may need our help with, right Fluttershy?”

“...Right…” Fluttershy replied quietly, still a bit shaken up by the day's events.

“I’ll go too, see if I can find anypony to make smile!” Pinkie said with a bit more excitement. “I’m sure that’ll help, right?” Twilight nodded and the pink mare shot off like a bullet. The Alicorn was struck by just how sudden she’d gone from dismal to upbeat, she made a note to maybe have Pinkie examined by a mental health professional after they got home. With that settled, Twilight felt it was okay to collapse on the steps of the Town Hall and rub her throbbing head. She’d never used so much energy before, her horn was aching. Silently she wished that Celestia, Luna or Dominic was there, they’d know what to do.

[♦]

Rainbow Dash and Applejack searched for a while before they entered the town’s Saloon, the armed guards on the roof gave away that there was more inside than they would be lead to believe.  Quietly they attempted to enter the old wooden structure through the main doors, but found two guards standing beside it as well.

“Hey, buster! Let us through!” Rainbow Dash shouted at one of the guards, she tried to push past but was met with the barrel of a spellbow right between her eyes. The mare stammered for a moment and backed up beside Applejack, the guard lowered his weapon and went back to standing there. The orange earth mare looked to Rainbow Dash for a moment before she adjusted her hat and walked up to the guard.

“‘Scuse me, sir?” Applejack asked, the guard looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “We’re here to see Lieutenant Colonel Errant.” The guard looked to the other soldier and then poked his head through the door of the saloon. He seemed to be having a discussion with someone while Applejack and Rainbow Dash waited.

“So, Chrysalis, huh?” Applejack suddenly asked, Rainbow Dash looked over at her. “Never thought we’d see her again.” Her prismatic compatriot looked out of the dome that surrounded the town, in the distance she could see the Changeling encampment.

“This was the kinda stuff I used to dream about.” Rainbow Dash muttered quietly. “In canterlot I heard things got bad, but, they never had to pile up bodies… Maybe a few dead changelings, but they were buried.”

“There’s no time to bury their dead, kid.” An authoritative tone responded as the doors to the saloon opened. Lieutenant Colonel Errant in all her fearsome glory strode through the swinging doors and out in front of them. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt intimidated by the imposing thestral, even if their bodies didn’t show it. “We have seven hours to get this place into fighting shape.”

“But Twilight said we’d have at least eight-”

“Eight hours of shield, that means that if it takes seven hours of work to get this place into the best shape it can be we have to have an hour to rest and calm down, otherwise we may as well quit now.” Errant explained like she would to one of her subordinates, her leathery wings rustled as she paced back and forth. “You two wanna help, be my guest. Either pick up a weapon or get digging.”

“I think we’ll stick to digging.” Applejack said, Errant nodded in response and whistled.

“Corporal Grey.” The lieutenant colonel called out, a rather buff looking thestral responded with an obviously western ‘Mhmmm?’. “Escort these two to Major Elbow Grease.” The soldier responded with the ‘Mhmmm.’ and began walking out of the saloon, wordlessly he started trotting towards a distant part of the town. Applejack began following him outright while Rainbow Dash hesitated a bit.

“I’ll… Catch up, AJ.” She said, Applejack looked at her for a moment as if trying to figure out why. “Just go, I won’t be too long.”

“Alright, RD.” The cowmare said cautiously before turning on her hooves and rushing to catch up to the stallion that’d been sent to escort her along. Rainbow Dash sighed and rubbed her head, then took a few deep breaths and turned to face the Lieutenant Colonel. The thestral was looking at her with an appraising gaze.

“Lemme guess. You want to fight.” Errant said coldly, Rainbow Dash flinched but nodded. “You realize this isn’t going to be a cakewalk? Ponies will die.” The thestral leaned forwards, just inches from Rainbow Dash’s face. “You could die.”

“I… I Know.” Rainbow Dash replied, mustering up enough courage to look the Lieutenant Colonel directly in the eyes. “My friends don’t really know this… But before I met them I was considering joining the guards…”

“We aren’t guards, girly.” Errant said as she leaned back. “You got the mettle in you? I don’t see it.” Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth at the thestral and was about to retort. “I’m not in the position to turn you down.” The prismatic pegasus began to relax, this was halted when Errant wrapped her wings around Rainbow Dash and pulled her forwards. Their heads bumped together as Rainbow Dash came face to face with the slitted eyes of the fearsome American commander. “If you endanger my soldiers, I don’t give a rat’s ass if you single hoofedly defeated Discord and Nightmare Moon with one hoof behind your back, I will bury you out there. Do you read me?”

“Loud and clear.” Rainbow Dash responded as she gritted her teeth again, Errant released her from her hold and whistled again.

“Rolling Thunder!”

“Yo!” A voice boomed from across the street.

“Get your ass over here and take this mare through basic recon and weapon’s handling, get her outfitted with some fatigues and out on the line!” Errant turned away from Rainbow Dash and started back inside the saloon, she paused and briefly looked over her shoulder. “Don’t fuck up.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she heard those words and turned to face the pony that she heard coming across the street. The thestral didn’t wear armors like the others and his spellbow was far different from the one’s she’d seen the others use.

“Alright, kid. Let’s get started by securing you a weapon to use in the first place.” Rolling Thunder said as he walked past her into the saloon, Rainbow Dash followed behind him. What she expected to find inside the saloon was far from what she actually saw, there was little in the way of alcohol or other spirits. It’d rapidly been converted into a war room, but from what Rainbow could see it almost looked as if at one point the place looked like something she’d find in Ponyville. She caught up to Rolling Thunder as he was looking through several spellbows that’d been laid out on a table. “Pick one and we’ll get to work.”

Rainbow Dash stepped up to the table and looked the weapons over, they appeared as if they’d been used before and some were covered in dust. She picked one up and rapidly put it down as she realized there was a red liquid on the grip. She quickly wiped it off on the floor and gripped a cleaner weapon, Rolling Thunder nodded at her choice and lead her out the saloon’s back door.

[♦]

Applejack grunted as she used all her might to drag a heavy piece of trench plate towards the main defensive line. Hours after she’d seen Rainbow Dash last and already the fortifications were starting to shape up. Some of the heavy metal was being angled in the ground and supported by sandbags while others were being used as floors in the rapidly dug trenches, the work was going extremely fast all things considered. Across the sandy plain the workers could see the Changeling encampment through the shield.

The insectoid ponies were hard at work as well, though it seemed they were more focussed on something else rather than on fortifications. As Applejack finished dragging the trench plate over she took a moment to wipe her forehead and survey the work, it was clear that it was no Canterlot Castle but she thought it’d do against a changeling attack. The mare and a few of the other workers picked up sledgehammers and rapidly began hammering the trench plate down into the ground, it was backbreaking work but they did it nonetheless.

“Sure is starting to shape up.” She commented as they finished using their sledgehammers and set them aside, the other workers simply nodded and started on their way back to the supply dump to get more trench plates. Applejack followed behind them and found their silence odd, but she supposed they had more important things to do than chat. The supply dump was next to the very last building on the main street just before the road that stretched out into an endless strip back to Equestria.

The mare noticed that it seemed there were several wagons just sitting around, why they hadn’t been used she had no idea. The mare lasso'd one of heavy trench plates and began dragging it over to one of the wagons, from the looks of the wagon it’d be able to take more than a few due to its rugged design. In fact, that's probably how most of the supplies had been transported to the town in the first place.

“Hey! Don’t touch those!” A pony shouted, Applejack paused her dragging and looked to the source. A rather young looking stallion, perhaps just out of highschool, was walking towards her.

“Why?” Applejack asked, she was somewhat confused as to why the ponies of New Liberty wouldn’t use a wagon if it could make their life easier.

“Because those are evacuation wagons.” The young stallion said briskly, he took a rope he was carrying and tied it off around the plate Applejack had been pulling. “Come on, ma’am. I’ll help y’all with this.” Applejack was slightly surprised by how quickly the pony had tied himself off, she was also surprised that he knew so much about the dealings around here.

“Thanks…” She trailed off as if dropping the question for his name, the young stallion began pulling the trench plate beside Applejack before answering.

“I’m Fortress Wall.” The young stallion introduced himself in between grunting, Applejack nodded her head towards him. “My folks are in charge of the supply dump, but they’re busy fortifying, so I’m in charge for now.” The orange mare had to say she was certainly impressed by how well he was doing considering the chaos that had reigned hours before.

“Pleased to meetcha, I’m-”

“Applejack.” The stallion cut her off as they continued dragging the trench plate to the next location. “I see ya in papers, miss. You’re a certified badass to me.” Applejack was somewhat touched by his statement, she didn’t think she had fans. That was fine with her, but she secretly was glad that this young pony had complimented her. “I’m sure you guys handle stuff like this all the time, right?”

“Not really.” Applejack replied as the two of them passed the pile of dead changelings, she shuddered as she caught a glimpse of their dead eyes staring at her. Fortress Wall didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he was putting on a brave face considering his hero was standing right next to him. “We’ve been in pretty tight spots though, that’s for sure.” The mare trailed off as she realized that with Twilight becoming a princess they’d hardly done anything together, she put a pin in that thought as she and Fortress Wall finished dragging the trench plate to its proper location.

“Alright, that’s another one down.” Fortress said as he slipped the rope off the trench plate and coiled it up over her shoulder. The stallion paused and looked out over the defensive line towards the Changeling encampment, meanwhile ponies began to hammer the trench plate down into the dirt. “What do you think they’re doing over there?” Applejack came up beside the young stallion and looked at the encampment for herself.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s nothing good.” Applejack responded, she adjusted her hat as she looked towards Fortress Wall and noted just how young he seemed. He appeared to be just over nineteen if she was being generous, his short mane indicated he probably came from a military family. “Come on, let’s get back to work.”

“Yeah.” Fortress Wall turned away and the two of them began walking back towards the supply dump.

[♦]

Hour passed as the ponies continued their work, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had been given the task of keeping the foals and other civilians calm while Rarity had put her sewing skills to use in repairing fatigues and sewing sandbags closed. It was a little before sunrise when all of them had the time to rest. Twilight had been spending her time recuperating from the spell she’d cast for the shield, there had thankfully been no shelling during the ten hours that the shield had been up but it was clearly visible that it was starting to weaken.

From the guest room the six element bearers had been given it was possible to see the changelings were readying for another assault. The six friends had all come in at different times, first Applejack, followed by Pinkie and Fluttershy, and last was Rarity. All of them seemed alright, even if Rarity was a bit sandier than usual. All of them watched out the window, too on edge to sleep as they waited for Rainbow Dash.

“How long do you think they’ll wait?” Rarity asked, watching smoke from the changeling’s camp fires rise into the sky.

“I reckon they’ll hold off until the shield goes down on its own…” Applejack commented as she adjusted her place on her rather creaky old bed. She cast a look towards the defensive lines and noted a familiar face, Fortress Wall was checking over the trenches. She had had quite the pleasant chat with him as they’d worked, he reminded her of her father in an ‘Ol’ southern gentleman’ type of way. At that thought Applejack frowned, she didn’t like to think about her parents. Instead she thought about the young stallion, he seemed decent enough, and if there weren’t a war on she’d dare say she found him kind of cute.

“Why can’t we just talk this out?” Fluttershy asked as she watched the soldiers begin setting up crudely built ballistas, they’d been made from just about anything left over from the supply depot. “I realize that the changelings started it, and they probably want to take over or something, but doesn’t Chrysalis realize that all this death…”

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” Twilight chimed in as she stared directly at the ceiling, all eye turned to her. “Dominic said he’d read it in some book called ‘The Art of War’...” She sighed as she looked out the window towards the Changeling encampment. “I wish he were here… He’d know what to do…”

“How?” Asked Rarity, somewhat surprised that humanity had a book that viewed warfare as an art form. That wasn’t what she was asking for, however. “All due respect for the man, but he never finished high school. How could he possibly know what to do here?”

“Can we talk about something happy?” Asked Pinkie Pie who had been silently listening to their discussion. She’d been paying more attention to the room than anything else, the faded paint and the smell of old wood reminded her of her room on her family’s farm. Before anyone could say something happy the door to the room swung open. The mare that entered surprised them all.

Dressed in desert fatigues and carrying a spellbow, Rainbow Dash was covered in dirt and grime. She sighed and pulled a drab tan cap from her head, then undid her mane which had been tied up in a bun. The prismatic pegasus let out a tired sigh and wordlessly made her way to her bed, then flopped down face first.

“I’m okay.” She said into the bed, holding up a hoof as if to indicate her point. She seemed so nonchalant about it that her friends weren’t sure what to say. They lapsed into an awkward silence as they watched Rainbow Dash lay on her bed, her spellbow resting on the floor a few inches from her hooves that dangled off the side of the bed.

“Uh… Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity began, she began to reach to poke the spellbow. Before she could the pegasus smacked her hoof away without even looking.

“Don’t touch that.” Rainbow Dash said into the bed, Rarity was surprised at just how fast the mare had realized what she was doing. The prismatic mare rolled onto her back and let out a loud sigh. “Just ask your questions already.”

“We’re just… Surprised is all.” Twilight said as she sat up on her bed, wincing slightly at the loud creaking noise it made as she did so. The others nodded in agreement, still it seemed Rainbow Dash was more focussed on staring at the ceiling to care.

“Shouldn’t be.” Rainbow Dash responded. “You said it yourself Twilight, it’s not just about America, it’s about Equestria too.” She moved her forehooves as she spoke. “You have your ways of helping, and I have mine. I can’t do manual labor and I suck at boosting morale.”

“You don’t need to risk your life to help!” Pinkie Pie cut in, she appeared to be the one most on edge by this latest turn of events. “Dashie, what if something happens to you! What if we can’t play pranks anymore, or go on swell adventures, or even just hang out!?”

“What about the elements of harmony?” Asked Applejack. “If you die we may never be able to use them again!”

“I agree with Applejack, it’s too risky!” Added Twilight, the alicorn now sitting completely straight up in her bed. All eyes were on Rainbow Dash as Pinkie and Rarity nodded their agreement. “You’ve gotta talk to the lieutenant colonel! Have her put you someplace out of danger with the rest of us.” Silence fell over the room as Rainbow Dash rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Why?” Fluttershy’s voice broke in, now it was everyone’s turn to look at her. She shuddered for a moment before straightening up and asking again. “Why does she have to hide? She’s a grown mare, she can make her own decisions... “ Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, looking her right in the eyes. “It’s a noble thing you’re doing, Rainbow Dash…”

“Thanks, Shy…” Rainbow responded with a small smile as she laid her head back down on the bed.

“That being said…” Fluttershy added, she gained an oddly passive-aggressive tone. “Don’t get hurt out there, please... “ After those words had been said there was little else discussed, only a few awkward coughs and some small talk. Twilight kept an eye on the shield outside the window, watching it get thinner and thinner with each passing hour. Rainbow Dash had dozed off for a few hours, as had the others, but the prospect of what was coming had kept the alicorn from sleeping. It was fine, alicorns needed less sleep than most ponies. There was almost a calmness to the morning, as if both sides had decided to call it quits. She was well aware that wasn’t the case, however.

The calm was shattered when outside a loud bugle began blaring, it was loud enough to stir all of those in the room. Rainbow Dash was quick to grab her spellbow and tie her mane back into a bun.

“I’ve gotta go, you guys.” The mare said quickly as she went to the door. “Stay safe!”

“You too!” They all responded as a nervous silence fell over the group. They quickly gathered their things and got ready to go to the roof.

[♦]

Rainbow Dash joined the ranks of the armored American soldiers and armed civilians in the trenches and fox holes that had been dug during the interim. She was lucky enough to be paired up with a rather nice young stallion, a civilian wearing blue clothing and holding a regular crossbow. It looked as if it had been made in Equestria a long time ago. The stallion seemed a bit nervous, but who wouldn’t be. The magical dome was paper thin now, it was clear as ever that the changelings had amassed for an attack. Rainbow Dash could see rows of them, even if they were a shadow of their earlier force it was clear it would be a hard fought battle.

Lieutenant Colonel Errant stepped out into the scene with several soldiers behind her, one held a pole with the American flag waving on it. It had been intended for ceremonial functions and not as a battle flag, but Errant hoped that a show of force would perhaps convince Chrysalis that surrender was the better alternative. The other ponies were equipped with fifes and a drums, again they had been meant for ceremonial purposes but it seemed that perhaps some music would help with morale.

“Fix bayonets!” Ordered Lieutenant Colonel as she too readied her weapon for the fight, the soldiers with bayonets did so rapidly. By now the dome was nearly done, a pebble could probably shatter it. The mare turned to the ponies with instruments and nodded, the drums began to beat and the fifes began to drone out ‘Dixie’, this was because it seemed to be the song the President hummed the most.

The sound carried easily over the wide expanse of land between the two opposing forces, undoubtedly reaching the ears of the changelings. Meanwhile the ponies manning the two makeshift ballistas began loading them with rocks and jugs of flaming grease. Rainbow Dash remembered what she’d been taught about her weapon and that she should remember that the changelings were going to kill her if she didn’t kill them first. All along the lines the American’s prepared, a gust of wind caught the flag just as the dome fell and it began waving loudly in the wind.

For a minute or so there was only the sound of the drums and the fifes, the ballistas turned towards their targets in preparation for the battle’s commencement. On the Changeling side of the field it seemed the music was having some sort of effect, some clutched their heads while others flinched. It appeared they’d never heard music in battle before. As the music came to an end Rainbow Dash said a quiet word to her maker.

“MAKE READY!” Shouted Errant, the Americans responded by setting their weapons in ready position or drawing sabres, those armed with makeshift weapons pointed the pointed weapons forwards. The shield evaporated moments later, silence reigned for a short time. “ARTILLERY! OPEN FIRE!” The Ballistas began flinging the heavy stones and flaming jugs towards the changeling force.

“Forwards, my children! Make them pay!” Chyrsalis shouted from across the field as her forces began charging forwards. Some took to the air but were rapidly shot down by the few unicorns in the line, Rainbow Dash could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she heard the thundering hooves of the Changelings.

“Steady…!” Errant ordered, watching the enemy force charge headlong across the dusty field whilst firing off bursts of green magic. Some of the civilians in the lines began to back up, but their hardened trench mates pulled the back to the fight. “STEADY!” Errant raised her own weapon as the wind blew across the field, the flag behind her flapping wildly. “These are our homes now! STAND YOUR GROUND!” Magic began getting closer to the mark, deflecting off some of the trench plates or melting a good way through them. By this point it was possible to see the green eyes of the changelings. “OPEN FIRE!”

Rainbow Dash was the first to pull her trigger, not on purpose however. The sudden command had caused her to tense unintentionally. Nonetheless, the Changelings were packed so close together that she managed to strike one. Moments later the rest of the line began firing, mowing down the insect ponies with almost sickening efficiency. Still the changelings charged ever onwards, fully intent on taking the trench no matter what.

“Gentlecolts!” Errant shouted as she planted yet another changeling, she let her weapon hang slack on its strap before taking her own sabre from its sheath on the side of her armor. “Prepare to defend yourselves!” Rainbow Dash took another shot with the spellbow before the changelings were too close to fire. The soldiers in the trench were soon inundated with the swarm of enemies, many of them fighting off the creatures with their swords or their bare hooves. Rainbow Dash put years of athletic sparring to good use, clobbering several changelings with the butt of her weapon or simply her speed.

One changeling jumped down into the trench in front of her and lowered its horn, no doubt in a bid to gore her with it. All other things in the world faded from her mind as she focussed on that sole warrior. It and she charged each other and met with a loud clash, Rainbow Dash grunted heavily as the bug hissed and spat at her. She used her weapon to press the bug up against the trench wall by the throat but it responded with a kick to her stomach. With the wind knocked out of her she fell back, the changeling opened its mouth and aimed for her throat with its sharpened teeth.

There was a roar from the side as the stallion Rainbow Dash had been standing beside tackled the changeling to the ground, the mare watched as the two rolled in the dirt. Despite all the chaos raging around them she could only focus on that one changeling. It appeared the stallion had the upper hoof at first, raining down punches with great fury. The Changeling rolled again and pinned the stallion to the ground, then began to choke the life out of the young stallion. Rainbow Dash straightened her stance and came up behind the changeling, without thinking she hooked one forehoof around its throat and began pulling it tighter with the other.

“Get… the fuck… off of him!” She roared in anger whilst the changeling struggled and tugged at her forehoof. She didn’t relent, baring her teeth as she put all her strength into pulling. There was a loud snap and the struggle stopped, the panting prismatic pegasus dropped the corpse to the dirt as the young stallion scrambled to his hooves. Without much time to contemplate what she’d done she looked at him. “Come on, kid! Let’s get back into it!”

Meanwhile, Chrysalis had landed in the center of town. All other forces were busy fighting each other, and that left only Errant to face the mad Queen. The two circled around each other, occasionally Errant could see Twilight and the others on the roof of the capital building watching the fighting.

“Foul night demon!” Chrysalis bellowed as she held her horn towards the Lieutenant Colonel. “What gives you the right to steal the lives of my children!” Errant twirled her sabre as she matched the Queen’s movements, her slitted eyes tracking every step Chrysalis made. “I shall see you die for it!” Chrysalis charged forwards and swung her horn as if it were a sword, Errant brought up her sabre and blocked it before kicking the Queen back.

“You think we will lay down and let you invade our homes?” Errant asked coldly as she herself took several aggressive swings at the Queen. Each one was parried or blocked with the Queen’s horn, Chrysalis’ took a few steps backwards as the two began to circle again. “We are not Equestrian, not anymore.”

“Nationalism is unbecoming of a welp like you!” Chrysalis took a stab forwards, her horn impacted Errant’s armor and left a dent before Errant slashed at the Queen’s side with her sabre. The chitinous armor she wore was left with a deep gouge before Chrysalis backed off. Errant charged forwards, yelling as she made broad swings. Chrysalis easily dodged and blocked her attacks, Errant took another swing towards the Queen’s unarmored neck. Sparks flew as Sabre met horn and the two of them struggled to hold the other one back.

“The way I see it you have two choices!” Errant said through gritted teeth as the two of them held up the block against the other. The thestral gave a hard shove and sent the Queen back a few steps, she leveled her blade at her foe with narrowed eyes. “Surrender or die.” Chrysalis responded by charging straight forwards with a snort. Errant parried the assault and moved to the side, then gripped her sword and prepared to slice off the head of her foe. Time began to slow down for Errant as she focussed on her attack, the Queen’s attack had been sloppy at best. In those few moments she spotted something, a slight glow on the queen’s horn. Her attack connected just as there was a flash of green light. By the brightness of it, there was no doubt it was a teleportation spell. It wouldn’t have taken the user far considering how small it was. Maybe only a few feet.

“Fool.” Errant heard from behind her, moments later she felt searing pain in her back and her chest. A twisted horn emerged through her chest plate, drenched in red. Errant began screaming in pain as she felt herself lifted off the ground and tossed across the dirt road, her sabre clattering to the ground a few yards away. She could see Chrysalis stocking towards her with only a slight cut on her neck, Errant’s screams had turned to weak whimpers and coughs. “With your death, my children shall be avenged!” The Queen leveled her horn at Errant’s already gushing chest wound, a few inches higher, directly at her heart.

Errant just stared at the Queen as blood dripped past her lips, slowly Chrysallis began pushing through the armor. Suddenly she stopped, a pained expression coming across her face. Without a word the Queen collapsed backwards, a smoking hole becoming visible on the right flank of her armor. Errant could see Chipped Blade on the roof of the capital building, slowly lowering his weapon.

The thestral opened his wings and rapidly glided down towards Errant, panic coming across his features.

“MEDIC!” He called out, but it seemed that the rest of the town was still fighting off the Changeling forces. “I need a medic! Mare down!” Chipped tried to put pressure on the wound, but Errant was beyond pale and beyond help. She weakly put a hoof on his, prompting him to look at her. “Don’t worry, ma’am! We’ll get you fixed up!”

“G-Go… They n-need you.” Errant said  before coughing up several spurts of blood.

“No, ma’am! I-”

“T-That’s an order… Soldier.” Errant said again, Chipped Blade’s eyes began to water as he looked at her, his fatigues and hooves now drenched in blood. “I-I’m so p-proud of you… Ch-Chipped… Y-You are like a so-...” She was cut off by another spat of coughing. “S-Son…” Chipped quietly stood up, looking down at Errant with tear stained eyes. After those words came the death rattle, a sickeningly quiet gurgle that would stick with the young soldier for the rest of his life.

The rest of the battle passed in a blur for most of those present, eventually the beleaguered Americans wiped out or captured the rest of the Changeling force, but not without heavy cost. In the fighting another five soldiers and three civilians lost their lives. As it turned out, Chrysalis was only wounded by the bolt of energy, her armor absorbing most of the lethal effects. She'd been captured and imprisoned in a freshly built POW camp, leaving the town of New Liberty to mourn and bury their dead.

[♦]

As Sonar finished telling her story, cobbled together from numerous reports and accounts, Dominic sat silently between Luna and Celestia. His expression almost completely blank, fearing the worst Luna prepared for another mind walking spell. Dominic wiped his eyes with a shaking hand, he hadn’t even realized he’d started crying. After a few moments his tears stopped and he closed his eyes, after several deep breaths he opened them and looked around the room.

“I…” He began, only to look down at the bed again. All those present watched him carefully, fearing another incident. “Need a drink…”
> Chapter 43
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic sat on the edge of Luna’s bed, now fully dressed despite doctor’s protests. Celestia and Luna sat on either side of the man as he downed a quick shot of whiskey. Their visitors had been escorted out into the hallway, save for Sonar, Twilight, and Cadence, who were all sitting across from them. The mood in the room was palpably negative, still, Dominic seemed the least gloomy out of all of them.

Hearing how Errant had died was something that the princesses and Sonar had thought would destroy the man, and though it was obvious he was mourning in some way, he seemed more subdued than before. There were no tears after the ones he’d shed earlier, no curling up in a ball or seeking comfort from Luna. Instead he held a somber pensive expression as he adjusted his t-shirt, his gaze shifting from pony to another.

“Debrief me on what happened after the fighting ended…” The man said as he looked at Sonar, those in the room could hear just how hard it was for him to control himself simply by hearing his voice. It was gravely and somewhat restrained, more so than normal. The ponies couldn’t place what had brought about such an odd show of solidarity. Sonar, nonetheless, answered as best she could.

“We’ve taken twenty Changeling POWs, including their Queen… We lost about an eighth of our forces.” Sonar said in a quiet tone. “The insist there are more of them and that we should let them go, but I figured you wouldn’t want that.”

“Correct.” Dominic said before waving her on to continue, Luna and Celestia watched how he seemed to be handling himself. His words and movements had conviction to them, conviction they hadn’t realized he’d possessed.

“Two of the buildings we planned to use as tunnel entrances sustained heavy damage, they were closest to the fighting, thankfully no one was in them. Our food and water stores are holding fine, but… Morale is low.” The mare reached into her suit jacket and removed a slip of folded paper, it was adorned with the new United States seal and held more information that she could give in a simple conversation.

“Thank you, Sonar…” Dominic said, he looked over to the two princesses as he slipped the paper into his pants pocket. “Do you want to debrief as well?” Luna and Celestia looked to Cadence and Twilight.

“Aside from what we’ve heard… What else has been happening?” Celestia asked, Cadence cleared her throat as she prepared to speak.

“Well, the Zebra’s have forced the Minotaurs to surrender Twin Island to them, as well as a few of their colonies. I doubt this is going to be a lasting peace, however. The minotaurs will probably retaliate when they get the chance.” Cadence began, her tone just as serious as Sonar’s had been. Twilight nodded along as she spoke while Luna and Celestia listened intently.

“So far rumors about Chrysalis’ return have been confined to the southern settlements, but it’s only a matter of time before they begin to spread. Ponies are going to want us to do something about it, and seeing that the death penalty is still fresh in everyponies’ mind…”

“No.” Dominic said sternly, cutting in at the mention of capital punishment. “Chrysalis is in the custody of the United States Military, what is done with her is an American matter.” Luna looked at the man, the conviction once again running deep in his voice. She could see in his eyes alone that fighting him on extradition would be a brutal and long argument that he would most likely win. While Celestia had the will to fight him on it, she had only an hour ago gotten off of his bad side, she didn’t intend to go back so soon.

“Very well… It’s up to you.” Celestia said, gaining surprised looks from Cadence and Twilight. “Please, continue.” Cadence cleared her throat and began speaking again.

“We’ve been receiving reports from some towns bordering the Everfree, Ponyville included. They seem to be being spied on by what they say are diamond dogs.” This got the attention of all those present, earning Cadence a raised eyebrow from Celestia, Luna and even Dominic.

“I thought Diamond Dogs were dumb.” Dominic said bluntly. “Advanced reconnaissance doesn’t seem like something they could handle.”

“That’s just it, we’ve investigated the claims…” Cadence said, her horn glowed for a moment before there was a flash of light and several papers appeared in front of her. She plucked them out of the air and floated them towards Celestia and Luna. Dominic caught a small glimpse and noted they seemed to be pictures of something. “Do those look like Diamond Dog tracks to you?”

“What the fuck…?” Celestia and Luna said at the same time, each in equal surprise. Celestia had never said such a word in the company of her sister before, but it seemed appropriate considering what she saw in the photo.

“Perhaps minotaurs?” Luna asked, Celestia looked to Dominic for a moment then back to the photo, before handing him the photo. It was relatively boring as photos go, just a picture of the muddy ground. However, as he turned the photo his expression began to shift.

“Not minotaur…” Dominic said quietly, he noted the pattern in the print that seemed to be left in the mud. As a student he’d often walked home, and as he did, he found himself taking note of all sorts of things on the ground. Shoe prints being one of the most common, and what he was looking at was undoubtedly the print of some sort of combat boot. He’d seen them plenty of times when he walked home with Maria. Wordlessly he took the next image and examined it, his already strained nerves feeling more strain. “Holy fuck.”

“What?” Celestia asked, noting that his hands were ever so subtly shaking.

“This is a boot print, I used to see them all the time when I walked home…” Dominic pointed to the first picture, then looked to the second then at Luna with a pale complexion. “This is a sneaker.” Dominic tapped the sneaker picture, there seemed to be an anomaly in the mud. 

“Dominic, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Celestia spoke with a very concerned tone, the man nodded and set the pictures down. “We must find them, then! Find out how they got here! If they got here from your world-”

“So could the Infected. I know.” Dominic cut her off, taking several deep breaths. Ever since he’d woken up he found things that would normally put him through a wall were easier to cope with. He didn’t know why, but whenever he was on the brink of freaking out he would feel a calming emotion. Similar to if Luna had wrapped her wing around him. “If it’s not one thing it’s another…”

“Dispatch guards to these border towns, there orders are to observe and follow if they can. Do NOT engage.” Celestia said, looking to Cadence with a stern expression. The mare nodded and stood up. “Sorry we can’t sit around and chat longer, but this is a problem. We’ll try to operate with discretion.” Dominic just nodded at her.

“Understandable.” The man said simply as he too stood up, he looked at Sonar with a calm expression. “How soon can we leave for New Liberty?” The mare blinked for a moment, surprised. Considering he had essentially been comatose for a month she figured the President would take a day to rest. Nonetheless she answered.

“We can leave immediately.” Sonar said quickly, Dominic nodded and looked to the princesses that inhabited the room with him.

“I would love to stay, but I want to deal with Chrysalis as soon as possible.” He then looked to Luna and Celestia with a somewhat defensive posture. “Afterwards, I’d like to look into this new… development. Please…” He simply received another nod, with that the man looked to Sonar and nodded. “Let me get packed real quick.”

“I’ll have the chariot ready, Mister President.” Sonar said in response as the man began to gather his things. Luna gave him a look that seemed to say ‘Be careful’, he just nodded to her again and silently went about packing. Luna and Celestia turned their attention back to Cadence and Twilight, they had gone quiet as they’d heard the revelation. Twilight had had her suspicions, but Dominic had simply confirmed them. As the man made his way out of the bedroom, Cadence and Twilight waited to her Celestia’s strategy for the next trial in Equestria’s story.

[♦]

The ride to New Liberty was spent in near silence after the first half hour, Sonar had run out of things to report upon and it seemed that Dominic was actually quite tired. He’d slipped into a rather peaceful sleep for the rest of the flight, meanwhile Sonar had remained awake and had watched the colorful grassy plains of Equestria gently shift to the tan sands of the San Polimino desert and then into the wicked brown clay that made up the badlands.

New Liberty was lucky to have been built over a rather large Aquifer and to have tillable soil, but the desert was a constant reminder of just how far away they were from other civilization. On top of that, Sonar found with her medical condition it was hard for her to really do much in the way of building and helping with construction. No one complained thankfully, but she felt guilty that she was unable to truly make the town her’s.

The sun was setting as the chariot came upon New Liberty, she sighed as she saw the battle scarred landscape that surrounded the town. Scorch marks and craters marred the plains while the trenches remained in place, and soldiers patrolled regularly. It was unclear if there was anymore to the Changeling forces and so the defenses had remained in place. Most notable of all, however, were the two large buildings on the outskirts that were surrounded by barbed wire fences.

They had been made from the wood from the damaged buildings as well as spare material, unpainted and raw they appeared almost as ugly as the creatures that inhabited them. At least in Sonar’s mind. She wasn’t a hateful mare, but that didn’t mean she forgave the Changelings. Considering how soon ago the battle had been, it was acceptable. The mare sighed as the chariot began descending, then looked to the ponies pulling the vehicle.

“Set us down near the POW camp.” She said over the wind, the ponies nodded and changed direction. The Thestral adjusted her spectacles and looked to Dominic, the sleeping man was dressed in his normal attire. His helmet was pulled down over his eyes as he used his jacket for a blanket. “Mister President.” She said, quietly reaching over and giving him a small shove. “Mister President, wake up.”

“Huh? What?” The man bolted up in his seat, looking around in a slight confusion before realizing what was happening. He quickly sat up straight and slipped his jacket back on, despite the heat he buttoned it up and straightened his helmet.

“We’re about to land near the POW camp, sir.” Sonar said, she took note of his change in attire and raised an eyebrow. “Are you cold, sir?”

“No. It’s for appearances.” Dominic said as he finished buttoning the leather coat, it appeared rather dapper on him if Sonar was being honest. Double breasted jackets had always been a style she liked. The man stood up and gripped the side of the chariot with a white knuckled hand as the vehicle got closer to the ground. The Changelings behind the fence in the camp all flocked to see him. His stony expression was an excellent display of martial strength, which was exactly what he wanted. If what he knew of Chrysalis was true, she would only attack an enemy she was sure of victory with. Appearing unconquerable would probably put her out of her comfort zone.

“Right. Allow me to help then.” Sonar gave a small smile as the chariot came a stop near the front gate. The guards looking on in surprise as they saw the President in his full glory, Sonar cleared her throat before speaking loudly. “Atten-hut!” The soldiers snapped to attention in unison, saluting in a brilliant display of military prowess. The Changeling prisoners could sense the feelings of the new comer. These feelings demanded their respect.

Dominic stepped off the chariot, his boot crunching the clay soil beneath him. He began walking towards the front gate, Sonar following behind him. The soldiers there lowered their salutes but remained at attention.

“Miss Chrysalis. Where is she?” Dominic asked, casting a brief look over to the changelings. They backed away from the fence when he did so, obviously unsure of what to make of the new comer, their feelings were being fed back to their Queen through their hivemind.

“Barrack number two, sir!” The soldiers announced in unison, Dominic nodded and gestured for them to open the gate. They did so rapidly, earning a squeal from the hinges as they did so, before closing them behind the President. His boots continued their crunching march past the first barracks, he’d waved off the guard escort before they’d even had a chance to step forwards. Sonar followed close behind him with equal confidence, though it was more due to the bulge of a revolver hidden beneath Dominic’s jacket.

The changelings parted like the Red Sea as Dominic walked through the camp towards the second barracks, displaying a look of predatory confidence, when in his mind he wondered exactly what would need to be done. Most importantly he would need to ensure his people were not attacked further, but at what cost was what worried him. He was not willing to execute anyone this time, even Chrysalis. The loss of Errant weighed heavily on his heart, but he realized he had a job to do, and emotions only clouded his judgement.

As he approached the door to the barracks he heard movement inside, without missing a beat he opened the door. A loud thud echoed through the inside of the long wooden house. The sudden outside light caused several changelings to flinch away. They all stared at the imposing commander in chief from the bunks that had been built for them, further in Dominic could see the Queen staring at him as she sat at a wooden table.

As the man stepped through the door one of the changelings reached out from his bunk to try and snatch his helmet, only to receive a withering glare. The changeling could sense a lot of emotion in that one instance, so much that almost all the changelings around him shuddered. Like a beaten dog the changeling hid in his bunk, leaving Dominic and Sonar to march forwards unopposed. The room was lit by magical lamps, giving it an eerie feeling. Chrysalis didn’t do so much as blink as she watched the man come to a stop in front of her table.

“Who is this, Miss Sonar? You’re latest guard dog?” Chrysalis asked in a snide tone, she had some idea of what Dominic was, not so much as to who he was. The man responded by gripping a nearby stool and pulling it over, then sitting down in front of the Queen. He set his helmet down on the table as well and left his jacket buttoned.

“I’m the President.” He said simply, technically acting president, but he hadn’t had time to set up a proper election. Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at his declaration, the human that sat before her looked more like a brute than he did a politician. The changelings around the room began to flutter their wings as tension seemed to fill the air. “Queen Chrysalis, would you kindly ask your drones to leave.”

“They are my children.” Chrysalis corrected, her tone shifting to one of indignance. Dominic was not moved in the slightest. “Very well... Leave us, my sons and daughters.” The drones quietly obeyed, shuffling out of the barracks in an orderly fashion. Dominic and Sonar waited until they heard the door close behind them before doing anything else. When they heard the rather loud clack of wood banging on wood they knew they were alone. “What is it I can do for you, ‘Mister President’.”

Dominic quietly eyed the Queen, causing a sense of unease to pass over the Changeling monarch. She flinched when the man put both of his hands palm down on the table, obviously a display of dominance.

“The full unconditional surrender of any remaining forces you may have would be a nice start.” Dominic said in an even tone, Chrysalis couldn’t help but giggle. Sure he was an imposing firgure, but even he couldn’t intimidate Chrysalis, the Queen of intimidation. “What’s so funny?


“You are, Mister President.” Chyrsalis responded. “You honestly think I would surrender the remainder of my forces to the likes of you, an overbearing monkey with less than a regiment of delusional bat ponies?”

“Well, I may be an overbearing monkey… But I’m the overbearing monkey that decides if you walk of this camp…” The man paused for effect, leaning forwards and lending extra gravel to his tone. “Or if you’re carried out.” Chrysalis appeared unmoved by his statement. “I also happen to know just how desperate you are. I’m sure morale is low in your hive after you had your ass handed to you by a bunch of candy colored ponies that couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag.”

Those words cut through Chrysalis like a knife, she’d never admit it, but confidence in her ability to lead was lacking in her hive. Drones were repopulating less and less, bringing in less victims to feed on, and as such, her hive was on the verge of collapse. Losing her as a leader would probably be the final nail in her children’s coffin.

“That’s what I thought…” The man leaned back in his seat and cast a look to Sonar, the spectacled mare surprised at how everything was playing out. “Sonar, would you-”

“I’ll see if anyone has cigars to spare.” She finished for him, somewhat surprised at how well she was at percieving what he wanted, also surprised that he wanted cigars. They were rare in Equestria, most ponies never smoked and when they did it was either a cigarette or some sort of herbs.

“Thanks.” Dominic didn’t look away from the Queen as Sonar left, the thestral casting a final look over her shoulder at the two meeting leaders, before stepping out into the camp. Meanwhile Dominic began to unbutton his jacket, still not taking his eyes off of Chrysalis. “That should keep her busy for a while. Now it’s just you and me, your highness.” The Queen became aware that she was shaking, she had assumed Sonar was actually some how a handler for the President. Now the leash was off the dog, and by the looks of it, it was an angry Rottweiler ready to bite.

“So it is.” Chrysalis said with false bravado, hoping not to come off as weak. Again reality set in, the overbearing monkey held all the power here.

“Now, most people back in Equestria want you to take a long fall with a short rope around your neck.” Dominic said, he adjusted his seat once again and appeared to be relaxing. Chrysalis was shocked to hear Equestria of all places wanted her dead, she’d only heard rumors about the hanging of an enemy of the state. “Lucky for you, you’re in America. America abides by the Geneva code.” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Now, I’ll be honest, I’m not well versed on it, but it basically says we gotta treat prisoners of war humanely. Officers are treated as officers and soldiers as soldiers, etcetera etcetera. That means no hangings.”

Chrysalis found herself breathing a sigh of releif at that, until Dominic held up a finger.

“Unless we’re issued a request to extradite you to face some sort of court.” Dominic continued despite the worried look creeping across Chrysalis’ face. “Now, we can refuse of course, but we’d need a reason, and if that reason happened to be because you were seeking political asylum…”

“Asylum? As in, throwing me into a looney bin! Are you-” Chrysalis was cut off Dominic shot her a stern look.

“Meaning, you are made an American citizen because you are fleeing persecution that could lead to your demise. For example, you’re a changeling therefore you must die.” The President steepled his fingers as his words began to sink into Chrysalis’ head.

“You want me to defect?” She asked, preparing to become angry again.

“No, your highness. I want you and your nation to surrender to the United States of America.” Chrysalis flinched as if she’d been struck, the emotionless delivery of the President’s demands had sent chills down her spine. She couldn’t allow the hairless ape to take her nation, who knew what he would do. Slaughter her children, burn her villages, any number of things could happen. She began panting heavily, her nostrils flaring. Dominic idly shifted his hand into his jacket before slipping it under the table.

“You… You… You insolent welp! You think I will bend knee because you’ve captured me here! My swarm will come and when they do you will be down on your knees!” Chrysalis bellowed loudly, Dominic remained quiet for a few moments before leaning forwards.

“Your swarm won’t do jack shit, your highness.” Dominic said coldly, he steepled his fingers an adjusted his seat. The light hanging above the table cast shadows across his features, Chrysalis could saw the mad dog sitting across from her gain an almost demonic look to him. “This nation may be small now, but small seeds grow large trees.”

“What do you want with my nation?” Chrysalis asked, she was genuinely curious as to what a nation would want with miles of empty desert and wilderness.

“That’s for us to know and you to find out, but rest assured, your people will be treated fairly.” Dominic unbuttoned his jacket and leaned back in his seat, relaxing as the shadows shifted off of him. “There are three scenarios that can play out here, your highness. Number one, you stay here until inevitably we’re asked to release you for trial and the war between us and your people continues. Two, you surrender to the United States and stop the bloodshed, your people maintain their independance and you get to live on as their governor. Number three. You some how escape here and we just take the land by force, your people are outcast even further and your species may even face extinction.”

Chrysalis stared at the man, he was extremely callous in the way he brought up the loss of an entire species. The choices she had certainly were slim, even worse, she worried that she was actually considering capitulating to a force that was so inferior to her own. Then it hit her, the President didn’t need to have might in his own country, she was certain he had clout with Equestria and who knew who else.

“I don’t come here intending to scare you, your highness. Believe it or not, I am not the selfish brute the tabloids make me out to be.” Dominic stated in a sincere tone, it was one hundred percent sincere. “I may not have mentioned it earlier, but I’ve been through a bit of a journey this past month, I’ve mellowed considerably… If you’d pulled this stunt a month or so ago, you’d be staring down the barrel of a shotgun right now... “

“From what I’ve gathered that’s a weapon I should fear, but how can I fear a weapon wielded by a child?” Chrysalis shot back, hoping to get some form of jab in at the man. He simply nodded and rubbed his chin.

“Well, I see your point, you probably don’t know that kids shouldn’t play with guns.” Dominic leaned forwards and scratched his head. “As for your child jab, I can see that point too. I’m nineteen years old and I’m in charge of a country, do you know how insane that is? It’s like… Well, it’s like a kid playing with a loaded gun. I hate using that metaphor more than once, but if the boot fits…”

“Most nineteen year olds I know don’t have the confidence you have, Mister President. I’m impressed.” Chrysalis replied, she knew he was young but certainly not that young. “I take it you were some great warrior in your homeland, weren’t you?”

“No I was not, and you’re not changing the subject.” The man spoke in a serious tone, Chrysalis sighed as it seemed her fishing expedition had given her no information she could use. “Now I realize that decisions of this magnitude take time to think over, so you’re welcome to take as much time as you need to think things through.” At that moment the door opened and Sonar entered with a box of cigars in her teeth, looking like she’d really put her all into finding them. She quietly walked to the table and set them down, Dominic smiled at her.

“Thanks, Sonar. Expect something extra in your pay this week.” He said before quickly pausing, Chrysalis found it odd. “Out of my own pocket, of course.” Sonar smiled and nodded while the man took a cigar from the box and bit off the cap, he spat the bit of tobacco to the floor and looked around for a moment. “Shit.”

“I figured you’d forget that, sir.” Sonar said before gesturing to a box of matches she’d added to the somewhat empty box of cigars. She received another nod from Dominic as he picked up a match and struck it against the wood, then lit the cigar. Chrysalis coughed quietly and looked away as thick white smoke wafted up from the end of the cigar. He puffed on it a few times, being sure not to inhale, before blowing the smoke past his lips.

“Think it over, your highness. Governess Chrysalis isn’t such a bad title.” Dominic picked up the box of cigars under his arm and put his helmet atop his head, then looked to Sonar. “I think we’re done here, Miss Sonar. Do you think it would be possible to visit the cemetery at this hour?” Chrysalis noticed an odd sadness seeping from the president. “I’d like to pay my respects to Lieutenant Colonel Errant and the other boys we lost.”

“Of course, sir.” Sonar said quietly as the two began walking out of the room, Chrysalis flinched at the smell of the smoke and remained silent as she watched the two leaving. Time slowed down for her as she saw the president peek over his shoulder at her, his eyes narrowed whilst smoke drifted up past his nostrils. In that moment Chrysalis could sense the most intense feeling of malice she’d ever felt before, so strong she could tell even her children had flinched.

“Y’all have a nice night now, your highness.” Dominic called over his shoulder before stepping out the door, it closed with a light slam and left Chrysalis there alone. For a few moments she quietly stared at the door as the smell of cigar smoke lingered in the air, the scent may have smelled somewhat sweet to anyone else, but to the Queen of the Changelings all she could smell was Brimstone. The breath of a sleeping dragon that she’d awakened, and it was in that moment she knew how much trouble she and her people truly were in.

“Fuck…” Was the only word the Queen could utter that did the scenario any justice.

[♦]

The hills outside of Ponyville were the subject of many a myth and legend, overlapping with the Everfree forest they were one of the few places that anyone dared not enter. From the legend of Nightmare Moon to the mysterious diamond dog tribes and nasty wildlife, there was little these hills offered that made them worth braving. Of course there were exceptions, such as Zecora the town chemist and other introverts.

However, all of this information was lost on the figure lying prone on the top of the hill, staring down at the town through a rather dirty old set of binoculars. A pair of tired eyes watched the pony settlement carefully, the cold night that had settled in seemed to lessen the ponies wandering around at that hour of night. There was a soft coughing fit from behind the figure, alerting him to why he was doing what he was doing. The man set his binoculars aside and looked over his shoulder, his faded hawaiian shirt and undershirt covered in muck.

He could see the other figure shrouded by leaves he’d put over them to conceal them, after a few moments of looking at the figure he stood to his full height of six feet, brushing some of the dirt off of his jeans and boots. He knelt down and picked up an old looking hunting rifle, then quietly began walking down the hill. It was a moonless night, his only guide was the street lights from the town. Thankfully he passed through the underbrush without incident and came out into the open near the town.

It didn’t take him long to reach the first house before stealthily hiding in the shadows and peaking around the corner. The street of the strange alien town was empty and so the hulking figure made his move, rapidly rushing up the street with agility not normally afforded a man on of his size. His goal was several streets over, a building that was obviously a hospital, he hoped. The red cross outside seemed to be indicative of that. The man stopped just short of an intersection, hiding next to an odd house that smelled as if it were made of gingerbread.

“...can’t believe they’ve got us out on extra patrols for this.” A voice gradually became audible and the man rapidly tightened up into as small a signature he could.

“I can believe it, with the zebra’s kicking the minotaur’s asses and now some ‘communist death camp’ out east, the nobles up on the hill must be shitting themselves.” Replied another voice, the man in the shadows raised an eyebrow at the last remark. “Speaking of politics, I heard a rumor that the President woke up.”

“No shit?” The man watched as two ponies in black armor and carrying odd crossbows walked past his hiding spot, their leathery wings and dark coloring made them look akin to bats. He hoped that wasn’t the case, otherwise they’d certainly hear him. “Well, good for him. Seems the bastard can’t go five months without ending up in the hospital or something lately.”

“Scuttlebutt says he and the Princess are knocking boots…”

“You need to stop listening to her, she fills your head with bullshit….” The voices faded off into the distance and the man let out a quiet sigh, his grip on his hunting rifle relaxing somewhat before he stepped back out onto the street. He rolled on his feet to minimize his noise, the oil light from the lanterns proving him just enough shadow to skirt along for most of the way. After passing several houses and an odd carousel he found himself looking out of the bushes at the hospital, most of the lights were dark.

“Must not have an emergency room…” The man muttered to himself, before quietly taking a step out of the bushes. He quickly sprinted across the gap, not wanting to chance being caught out in the open. This certainly wasn’t where he’d seen himself being three years ago, running along in an alien world that was worse than dodging infected. Infected could be fooled in mass, but these ponies were capable of rational thought from what he could see so far.

The man leaned up against the sign and peeked around it at the hospital, he could see a security guard pony, a beam of light extending from his horn roved around as he patrolled along. The hospital itself was nothing special, white with windows facing the east and a simple entrance. The guard seemed more interested in completing his patrol than actually looking for trouble makers as he rapidly rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

Seizing the moment the man quickly ran to the entrance and peeked in, then rapidly drew his head back. It appeared there was a nurse leaning back in her seat at a rather drab looking nurses station. The man looked around for a moment before noting a rock on the ground, he grabbed it and backed it from the building, then he chucked it as hard as he could at a window on the first floor. There was a loud shatter and the man just caught a glimpse of the nurse bolting down a hallway to investigate.

“I still got it.” The man said to himself as he slipped through the front doors and ran past the nurses station, searching for some sort of supply room or other medical items as he did so. His open hawaiian shirt flapped at the speed he held while his undershirt was plastered against his body. “Okay… I really hope these aliens have invented penicillin.” The man paused outside a room that was marked with odd lettering he couldn’t understand, however there seemed to be a picture of a mortar and pestle above it. That prompted a swift kick to the door which opened inwards while the man scanned the room for anyone or anything. It was empty, but there were certainly enough bottles and vials to indicate this was the right place to be. The man didn’t get time to celebrate though, as not two seconds later an alarm began to blare.

“SHIT!” The man yelled as he bolted away from the door, he easily dodged several rushing nurses and guards and pushed towards the same way he’d come in. None of the alien ponies seemed to try and stop him, all probably surprised by just what they were seeing. They’d probably never seen a human before and he hoped the shock alone would pave his way to freedom. The man burst out the front door in a dead sprint, panting heavily as he ran towards the forested hills. The alarms were clearly audible outside the hospital and the ponies in armor were now rushing towards him. If he could make it to the hills he’d be able to hide him and his companion easily.

The man fired a shot from his rifle into the air, the loud noise echoing through the town and causing the bat pony aliens to cover their ears. It gave him just enough time to push past them and sprint down the street. They turned and gave chase, a few taking to the air, he didn’t care though. He could see the forest now, see the hill he’d been on not an hour before. He rapidly disappeared into the underbrush and hoped that would keep the aliens off of him, thankfully the tactic seemed to work.

Panting heavily the man ascended the hill and found the figure that had been shrouded by leaves, they’d sat up and moved towards the edge of the hill.

“What happened, Johnny?” The woman called out to the man. “You didn’t kill one of them, did you?”

“No, but we need to run. Now!” He called back as he ascended the hill, the woman nodded and brushed her long dirty brunette hair back behind her ears as she gathered a small backpack and an old looking revolver. The man didn’t stop running as he grabbed his own bag and the two began running into the forest. “How’s the cough?” He asked as they ran.

“Better. If it keeps improving the way it has been I don’t think I’ll even need the meds.” The woman said back as they went deeper into the forest.

“Wish you’d told me that an hour ago…” The man muttered, little did they know, their escape was not as clean a get away as they’d thought.
> Chapter 44
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The forest was a place that Johnny hated being, before he’d come here he was accustomed to the vast urban jungles of New Jersey. The muck and grime of this foul place was one of the many things he’d grown to hate over the past few months skulking around, and now that the heat was on, he found himself dropping down into the foul stinking earth more and more. His normal routine of scavenging and hunting for food had only increased in difficulty since his escapade the night before, patrols of alien ponies in black armor had started patrolling his normal routes to and from the dark dank cave that he and his compatriot had been holed up in.

His mind shifted from how much he hated hiding in the mud and muck to making sure he stayed hidden, as a patrol was currently no more than five feet from the bushes he’d hidden in. He could see they carried crossbows, and judging by the armor they wore, Johnny knew that even if he managed to drop one of them with his hunting rifle, he’d not be able to duplicate the feat before being riddled with holes, or worse. Not that he wanted to attack them, either, but his mind was filled with worst case scenarios at the moment.

“Company! Halt!” He heard one of the aliens bellow from ahead of the group he was watching now, Johnny tensed as he watched them all stop in their tracks. “Five minute break gentlecolts! Take this time to get some water and rest your hooves. Heat’s only expected to increase anyway!” Johnny sighed as quietly as he could as he watched the group begin to disperse through the bushes, some of them moved over to sit on some rocks in the distance whilst others began to chat amongst themselves. The man hiding in the bushes froze entirely as he saw a set of hooves approach his bush.

They were about to be close enough to see him before they veered off and went another way, Johnny remained completely still nonetheless. Years of hiding and staying quiet had made him relatively hard to find, but that was in an urban environment with creatures that were half blind and attacked anything that made noise, as well as drug addled maniacs with more guns than brains. The chatter of the group was too far off to hear anything important, Johnny wouldn’t have been able to remember any of it anyway, he was too focused on hiding. Each second to him felt like an eternity, he could see that some of the ponies had set helmets on the ground, they looked oddly human in design. Two alien letters were painted on the front of some of them in white, he could only assume that identified their rank or something.

“Drop your cocks and grab your socks, gents! Five minutes are up!” Shouted the same voice from before, the soldiers grumbled to themselves and pulled on their helmets again. Johnny watched them begin marching by, their hooves creating an eerie rhythm against the muddy ground. He waited nearly ten minute before finally standing up and moving forwards, doing the best to cover his tracks in the mud as he did so. The branches of the trees around him left small scratches on his already scarred up arms, tearing small holes in his threadbare hawaiian shirt and the shirt he wore beneath it.

Johnny was thankful that he was in the home stretch now, he could see the cave entrance in the distance, but there was still a lot of open ground between him and safety. He held his rifle at the ready as he bit through the pain in his feet, wearing female combat boots the night before had managed to keep him from tripping, but it had also left him in great discomfort. The haggard old sneakers he wore now were barely held together by duct tape and string that had been made out of vines. Every step he took was measured, one snapped twig or loud tumble could call all the patrolling forces upon him.

The man relaxed only after he reached the last five feet to the cave, it was well hidden, and his friend had made a makeshift net of camouflage out of twigs, vines, and leaves to conceal it even more. Johnny stepped under the net and into the dark dank cave, the sounds of the forest faded into the background, replaced by the silent echoes of the underground.

“Jen…?” He called quietly as he continued into the cave.

“Shh.” Was the swift reply he received from the darkness, Johnny smiled and walked forwards towards the voice. He unslung the backpack he had over his shoulder, loaded with apples he’d taken from a local orchard and other fruits and vegetables raided from the unguarded farms of the area. He took a few more steps before rounding a corner and entering a dimly lit cavern, it was naturally lit by a small hole in the rock and luminescent flowers that had sprouted up in the corners. 

Seated on a makeshift bed of dry grass and leaves was the black haired maiden that had helped Johnny over the past few months, her warm green eyes shifted to look at him and a smile spread across her lips. She had her boots off and was working on fixing her socks with a small needle and thread she’d pilfered from an odd hut out in the forest. She wore army fatigues covered in dirt and faded, though currently the blouse was set aside leaving her in a rather ratty looking tank top, Johnny winced as he noted several scars along her skin, nothing he hadn’t seen before though.

“Honey, I’m home!” He said in a joking tone before setting his bag down on the floor of the cave, Johnny sat down on the stoney surface across from Jen. The woman set down the sock she was working on and picked up the bag, then grabbed an apple from within.

“You got real fruit this time? How?” She asked, Johnny gained a confident smile.

“Well, all their soldiers seem focused on searching the forest for us, so getting the stuff was easy. Getting back was the tricky part.” He responded, Jen quietly took a bite of the apple and let out a very pleased moan. “I figured you’d like something more than mushrooms and those natural potatoes.”

“Honey, you have no idea.” Jen replied before taking another bite of the apple. “I would kiss you but then I’d have to stop eating the apple.” Johnny just smirked before feigning a sad slump.

“Woe is me, she betrays my love for an apple.” He said, earning a giggle from Jen who was already half way through the delicious red fruit. The two lapsed into a comfortable silence as Johnny leaned back against the wall of the cave, Jen quietly went back to working on her socks, only pausing to finish off the apple. For a few minutes the silence carried on. “You have any idea where we are?”

“I’ve been working on a theory.” Jen replied quietly as she continued her work. “I’m not one hundred percent certain on it yet though, and I’m worried you’ll think I’m crazy when I tell you.”

“You think after zombies, weird portals, wandering in the woods alone, and meeting some hot military chick that saved my ass, I can find anything crazy then you’re the one that needs your head examined.” Johnny replied, counting off each of his points on his fingers, Jen smiled a small smile and paused her work.

“You remind me of my friend Mark.” She said in a small, almost sad, voice. Johnny shifted his position and scooched around to sit next to Jen, he rested a hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off. “I’m… Sorry. I’ve just been thinking a lot lately, being cooped up in here isn’t doing me any favors.”

“It’s alright. Talk about what you want, I’m here for you.” Johnny responded, Jen looked to the floor and quickly wiped her eyes. Now the silence was uncomfortable, Jen had stopped her work on the sock and Johnny couldn’t help but kick himself. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that, but it still ate away at him to see Jen in such a state.

“Tell me about New Jersey again…” Jen said quietly, looking over at him with a small smile. “It always cheers me up.” Johnny returned the smile and cleared his throat as he thought of something to say.

“I ever tell you about the time I had to write an essay in spanish?” Johnny asked, the woman beside him shook her head as a smile began to form. “Okay, well, it was my last year of highschool in the final weeks before graduation. My teacher wanted us to write farewell letters and essays in spanish to read to the class.”

“Is this the ‘Empress’ teacher?” Jen asked, Johnny shook his head.

“No, Miss Ramsey was English. This was Miss Petrov.” Johnny responded, he began laughing as he thought back, remembering the stout Russian woman speaking spanish was enough to make anyone giggle. “Anyway, I write mine in English because I am a shit spanish speaker. I figure I’ll go and run it through a translator or something.”

“How was your essay?” The woman beside him interrupted again. “Was it happy? Sad?”

“It was essentially a big fuck you to the class. Not Miss Petrov, but everyone else.” Was the simple reply, Johnny reached for the bag of fruits and veggies he’d captured and removed a carrot, then he took a big bite off the end. “So anyway, I run it through the translator, but as I’m looking through the languages I clicked Russian instead of Spanish. Normally you’d notice because they’ve got that weird alphabet, but the translator was set to phonetic.” Jen began giggling right then and there, falling back on the bed as she held her stomach and began laughing harder.

“Oh god! I bet you made the list of worst students ever!” The woman said in between snorts and giggles, Johnny shook his head and smiled.

“The best part was when I started reading it to the class, not one person understood what I was saying except Miss Petrov, and she started laughing her ass off halfway through!” Johnny began to chuckle himself as Jen’s laughing became contagious. “I mean, think about it, she probably got a lot of shit being a Russian Spanish teacher.”

“Stop! Stop! I can’t breathe!” Pleaded Jen, Johnny smiled to himself as he leaned back on the makeshift bed next to the laughing woman and put his hands behind his head. Her laughter trailed off after a few minutes and she rolled over to put an arm over Johnny’s chest. The man shifted his look to her and smiled wider when she leaned in and gave him a bop on the nose.

“Better now?” Johnny asked, Jen nodded silently and rested her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “Gonna sleep?” He got another nod, prompting him to grab Jen’s bag and reach into it. From within he pulled a beat up long leather jacket, the black material marred with scratches and rips, he draped the jacket over her and himself like a blanket, taking note of a small patch on the shoulder. Jen had never really explained what it meant, an odd blue crescent moon with latin text beneath it.

John began to stare up at the ceiling, the dim light of the cave making it a bit harder for him to really relax. He began to think about how all of this had started, how he’d gone from a low level scavenger to falling for one of the greatest people he’d ever know. As his eyelids began to grow heavy, he could swear he could smell asphalt and car exhaust.

[♦]

The streets of Newark were worse than they’d ever been, the city had been almost completely overrun by infected. The only people who survived here were the groups that had once been so viciously hunted, the organized rings of criminals. In the weeks since the fall of civilization they’d armed enough people and built enough barricades to claim small portions of the city as their own. Still, they required supplies to function, and so the unsung heroes of these new city-states were dispatched.

One of these scavengers was a man who’d earned the name ‘Jackknife Johnny’, originally he’d started out boosting cars and robbing electronics stores, now he stole just about anything useful. The devices and money he’d stolen in the past went untouched now, his targets were grocery stores or food banks. The young man was easy to spot, considering he was the only one that wore a hawaiian shirt. Most scavengers preferred some form of armor, but Jackknife was one for doing things the old way.

As it stood, Johnny found himself skulking through the aisles of one of the more avoided supermarkets in the area. It had been taken over by a small faction of street gangs, thugs that had somehow survived long enough to start thinking about expanding. Johnny didn’t particularly like street gangs to begin with, they gave honest hardworking thieves like him a bad reputation, but now that food was the new currency of the world, it felt even sweeter to steal from the bastards.

As he went along, Johnny was grabbing cans of whatever he could and slipping them into his backpack. The old item had been gained as a result of a raid he’d carried out on an army surplus store, that was where he’d also come into possession of his hunting rifle, which was slung over his shoulder. Each step he took was quiet and measured, his ears took in any sound he could from around him. A few aisles over he could hear chit chat between two members of the street gang, they sounded like they were drunk off their asses, which made them even more dangerous.

So far Johnny had filled up half his bag without incident, his ammunition only took up about a quarter, meaning he could fit five more big cans if he really stuffed the pack full. He rounded a corner and peeked down the next aisle before going down that. So far all he was finding were canned beans and spam, all well and good, but he’d heard rumors that this store had something far better than those. Something that was worth more than its weight in gold. Then he spotted it, a wide smile crossed his face as he slowly approached his prize.

“Ramen noodles…” Johnny whispered to himself as he grabbed a big bundle of the beef flavored delicacies and attempted to put it in his bag. It took so doing but he was able to slip it in, he was about to leave, but looking at the rack of noodles again, he began to remove the cans of food he’d grabbed and instead loaded the bag with the noodles. He’d be able to buy plenty of spam and beans with all the noodles he’d be carrying home. Furthermore, if he could mark this spot, his bosses would certainly give him a bonus. Against his better judgement he loaded his bag with ramen noodles and took off down the aisle.

The drunk voices were still talking away, so Johnny felt safe enough to do some more exploring, mainly hunting for some means of marking the building so that his bosses could send some real muscle to take it over. He passed numerous racks of knick knacks, cheap toys, and dog food before coming to what he was looking for. A rack that had been devoted to the fourth of July, at the time of the city’s fall this rack would have been relevant, but now it was just a memory of a nation long past.

“Motherfucker!” A voice shouted from his right side, he turned and saw that someone had spotted him. A black man in what was left of an orange jumpsuit and a bandanna, he had a policeman’s glock pointed towards him, with the weapon sideways. Johnny quickly grabbed one of the flags from the rack and bolted, the man with the gun began firing, but being an idiot with his gun turned sideways, the bullets missed by miles. It seemed there were more than two guards in the building as he heard a lot more yelling, he caught a glimpse of several others coming to chase him before he spotted a door that seemed to lead to a stairway. From what he’d seen before he’d entered the store there seemed to be enough space for him to hop from roof to roof if need be.

He kicked the door open and started up the stairs, holding the folded flag tightly in his grip. Behind him he heard the sound of an kalashnikov before the door he’d kicked was riddled with holes. Johnny ascended the steps like lightning, his sneakers squeaking with each step. The man burst out onto the roof with a loud yell, his persuers not far behind him. He looked around for somewhere to jump from the roof of the supermarket to someplace else. Maybe a fire escape or another roof. Seeing a possible route he sprinted towards the east edge of the roof, his shoes kicked up small stones and rocks as he did so.

He hadn’t let go of the flag the entire time, too focused on running to realize he probably wouldn’t get a chance to use it. Ahead of him he saw an air conditioner stack, the large machine was close enough to jump behind just before a swarm of bullets flew over his head.

“End of the line, white boy!” He heard someone shout from behind him, Johnny ignored it and looked to the closest route off the roof. He saw a fire escape, if he prayed and got a good running start he could make the leap, but he then saw another problem in the form of a torso on the fire escape, a torso that was grey and thrashing around at all the loud noise. It was either risk being bitten in an attempt to escape that may not even work, or face certain death at the hands of a group of knuckle dragging wannabe gangsters.

“Put the bag down and come out here. We promise we won’t hurt you…. Much.” Called another voice, Johnny quietly shook his head and slipped the flag under his arm, then took hold of his hunting rifle. If this was the end he’d go out fighting, there was no way he’d be able to take out the zombie’s torso, but maybe he could take out one of the muscle headed idiots. With his rifle in hand and the American flag beneath his arm, he prepared himself for the end. He felt charged with energy, almost glowing even.

Quietly he straightened his hawaiian shirt and wiped sweat from his brow, time seemed to slow down as he began stepping out of his cover, raising his rifle towards the enemy. He could see their faces now, a mix of all different races, all with guns pointed at him. He lined up his shot on his target, a smug looking son of a bitch with sagging pants and his hat turned sideways. Without remorse Johnny pulled the trigger, moments later he expected to be riddled with holes and gasping for air. Instead he found that he was being pulled into some sort of vortex, time really had decided to slow down now, he could see the muzzle flashes off of his attackers, the bullets slowly making their way towards him, and a spray of blood coming from the head of the man he’d intended to kill.

The vortex swallowed him up after that, and he blacked out, when he woke up he found himself lying face down in a pile of cold, white snow. It was dark out and he was in a forest with nothing but a hawaiian shirt, ramen noodles, and a hunting rifle. It was a miricle he managed to survive a week on his own before he’d run into Jen…

[♦]

Johnny opened his eyes quietly, something wasn’t right about the cave. His dreams and memories quickly faded from his mind as he looked around. Jen was still lying her head on his chest, she was still asleep and snoring cutely, but something about the cave felt off. Johnny’s hand slowly began sliding down towards Jen’s revolver, something told him that he and Jen weren’t alone in this cave anymore.

“That wouldst be unwise, human.” A female voice cut through the darkness, Johnny’s hand froze just inches from the weapon. “Thou hast made quite a stir, and we understand why… We are not thine enemy…”

“Jen…” Johnny whisper yelled to the woman next to him. “Wake up… Now… Please?” His efforts roused the woman from her slumber.

“Huh? What is it, hon?” She asked, Johnny silently pointed towards the darkness where he’d heard the voice from.

“We did not mean to disturb thine slumber, humans. Only to deliver a message.” The voice began again, a pair of eyes appeared in the darkness, accompanied by an ethereal glowing, almost like stars. Jen’s eyes widened as she began to reach for her revolver just as Johnny had before. “Please… We wish thou no harm, only to help thee. If you wish to take our offer, surrender to the next patrol thou encounter. You have our word no harm will come to you.”

“Wh-Who are you?” Johnny asked in a shaking tone, his fingers just barely making contact with the grip of the revolver.

“A very powerful friend…” The voice replied, there was a gust of wind before the owner of the voice and the eyes vanished in a flash of indigo light. Johnny looked at Jen who was staring doe eyed at the spot where the creature had stood.

“J-J-Johnny…?” She stammered.

“Y-Yeah?”

“W-Wanna hear that theory now?” Jen asked, Johnny looked at her and gave a simple silent nod.
> Chapter 45
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic’s boots crunched some dirt under foot as he quietly walked through the freshly dug graves in New Liberty cemetery. His helmet had been removed from his head as he passed numerous markers that’d been made with wood. They weren’t crosses or stars of david, instead most of them were well carved crescent moons or the occasional eight pointed sun. The night before he’d only been able to really look at the graves from a distance, he hadn’t had time to visit them personally as he’d spent most of his time with Chrysalis. Now that morning had come he was out in the field, crouching down in front of the graves to pay his respects.

A crowd had gathered but had respectfully kept its distance, Dominic was glad they had, he was finding it harder and harder to suppress the feelings in him. They were feelings he’d felt before, but never in such magnitude. The chief among them was guilt, he was fairly certain that these ponies would be home with their families if he hadn’t made the choice to rewrite this worlds fate, if he’d told Luna ‘No’. These thoughts haunted him as he came upon the last grave and knelt down, noting several medals had been affixed to the wood, they were medals he recognised as Errant’s.

Dominic bowed his head and rested a hand on the dirt mound, subtly wiping his eyes with his free hand. The man did a sign of the cross over himself and murmured a soft prayer, he closed his eyes as he thought about the mare buried beneath the dirt. She’d been one of his closer friends, even if he hadn’t seen her as often as he saw Luna or Twilight, and now she was dead. Dominic found himself cursing at himself in his own mind, if only he had done something different, chosen a different place to settle or even forgetting about the whole thing.

At the same time he knew it was too late, too many had died to make America live again for him to give up. Dominic opened his eyes and sniffled quietly, grasping the dirt under his hand and lifting the small amount of soil to look at. After a few moments he scattered the dust to the wind and watched it blew westward. The man stood up, silently nodding to Errant before walking towards the exit of the cemetery. The crowd that had gathered watched him closely as he pulled on his helmet and took a cigar from his jacket pocket, he had to admit they were starting to grow on him.

“Sonar.” He called, the spectacled mare began pushing her way through the crowd as she pulled out a pad and pen. “Get me a copy of every railway map in Equestria.” Sonar was gobsmacked, she had thought that the president would ask for some sort of letter detailing how America had failed to be composed, but for once she’d predicted wrong. The other ponies raised eyebrows and murmured amongst each other as they too had heard the order.

“Yes, Mister President.” Sonar ran off to find a way to get every map she could.

“My fellow Americans.” Dominic began speaking, looking to the murmuring crowd, they quickly quieted down. “I have no doubt in my mind you think that we’ve failed in some capacity, is that correct?” There were a couple nods and affirmative responses from the crowd. “You are mistaken, we have not failed in any capacity! The United States has weathered the storm, and yes we are less in numbers, but we are still here and free!” The man adjusted his helmet as he lit his cigar with a wood match, puffing quietly before speaking again.

“We have come too far and sacrificed too much to consider quitting now. Quitting now would be a disgrace to all the brave souls buried here.” Dominic began walking away from the cemetery and into the town, looking directly at the capitol building. He could see the flag flapping upon its flagpole, he exhaled a puff of smoke as he paused to take in the sight. From his spot in town he could see the POW camp, Chrysalis was looking towards him from her bunk house. The man simply tipped his helmet with the faintest of frowns before puffing on his cigar again and walking into the capitol building.

A gust of wind caused the rather battered flag to fully unfurl, Chrysalis could see it clearly, and in those moments she knew that whatever she did those fifty stars would not be too far away. The Queen looked to one of her children, a female drone she’d named Distortion. Distortion was a normal changeling for the most part, the only difference being she seemed to have a knack for observation.

“What’ve you seen, daughter?” Chrysalis asked, Distortion cleared her throat and looked towards the floor.

“Their guards have set up bowls of water outside the fence, we can’t tunnel without tipping them off with the vibrations. As for flying, none of the others have the courage to try and fly out.” She reported, obviously she felt like she’d failed in finding a possible escape route. “Their guards have been nice enough to provide us with enough emotion to survive, even if it isn’t love.”

“It’s not them being nice, daughter. They are bound by the ‘Geneva code’ to treat us as their equals.” Chrysalis replied, continuing to watch the town from her window and through the barbed wire fence. “I have no doubt they will keep us here until either I capitulate or they’re forced to extradite us.” Distortion became quiet at that statement, then moved to look out the window beside her mother. She’d always felt a special connection to the Queen, even when she made boneheaded moves in Canterlot. “You should defect, daughter… Your siblings as well…”

“W-What? Why?” Distortion asked in shock, Chrysalis looked towards the floor quietly.

“Because I must atone for my actions alone…” The Queen muttered.

“Why do you not call the rest of the swarm! We could easily-” Distortion was interrupted as she was pulled into a hug by the Queen, she could feel her mother shaking. “M-Mother… Why are you not fighting them! We can escape here, I’m sure of it!”

“I’ve told you, they will take our lands by force if we escape, we may lose more than land then.” Chrysalis trailed off. “He said we could face extinction, but I do not believe he meant by America’s hooves.” The queen released Distortion from her embrace and looked back to the window. “We changelings have been steadily burning our bridges with the outside world, I’ve only sped up the process…”

“No, mother! You’ve led us to victory and strength! Sure we may have lost once, but we can still come back!” The female changeling tried to cheer up her mother, but it was starting to settle in how right the Queen sounded. 

“The Americans are the only ones even vaguely mentioning an olive branch at this point.” Chrysalis looked to Distortion with a small smile. “You’ve served well, daughter. Even in Canterlot when I was blinded by arrogance you stood by me. That is why I give you permission to go. The consequences of these actions are mine and mine alone.”

“Mother…” Distortion began, then the changeling looked to the floor. “If we defect, the war will still rage, the rest of the swarm will come eventually.” Chrysalis nodded silently as she looked back to the window, staring once again at the star spangled banner. “Perhaps… Perhaps we should capitulate?”

“Perhaps…” Chrysalis said quietly, still watching the flag flutter in the breeze. “Please, leave me to meditate, Distortion.” The drone quietly stood from her seat and made to walk for the door. “Tell your siblings they are not to incite the wrath of the Americans, no escape attempts.”

“As you wish, Mother.” Distortion continued walking to the door of the compound and out into the hot daylight. Chrysalis quietly hummed to herself as she watched the town of ponies begin going about a normal day. She’d thankfully convinced a few of them to bury her childrens’ remains properly, it seemed that not all of these ‘Americans’ hated her race, despite her attack. She closed her eyes to think further, the soft sound of the flag flapping seemed to be all she heard after that.

Dominic, for his part, was quietly looking down from the window in his new office at the POW camp with a small scowl across his face. One hand held a smoldering cigar, the smoke wafted up to his nose and around his face. Quietly he puffed on the cigar and turned away from the window, removing his jacket and revealing he seemed to be wearing a sweat stained t-shirt beneath it. Without much care he plopped down into his creaky old wooden office chair and leaned back, then put his boots up on the hardwood of his desk.

[♦]

Luna quietly ruffled her wings as she came back up beside Celestia, the pair of Alicorns had been looking through the forest along with the guards, mainly to keep the guards from going overboard. Solar Elites had a reputation of excessive force complaints and lawsuits, and in all honesty, that was Celestia’s fault. They were her attempt to keep overzealous guards in the service, she’d felt awful about removing them and their pensions and as such she’d created a place for them. A bad company of ruthless jackbooted thugs.

Celestia shrugged her thoughts on the morality of such a military force away, then turned her attention to Luna. It was clear that she’d been off doing something, she didn’t know what, but she was certain that it had to do with the humans they were searching for now. On any other day that may not have annoyed her, after all Luna had a knack for solving problems with cunning rather than force, but the combined heat, mud, and constant bug bites made Celestia an easily annoyed pony.

“Where’d you run off to?” She asked, looking over at her sister with a raised eyebrow. Luna shrugged her wings quietly as the two of them continued walking on.

“We were checking up on a hunch, as it turned out we were wrong.” Luna replied simply, Celestia continued giving her a less than pleased look. “What is it, sister?”

“You were conversing with the humans, weren’t you…” Celestia said in a deadpanned tone, Luna shook her head and ran a hoof through her mane. She herself was adapting much better to the sunlight, as well as the dirt. The bugs didn’t bother her either, as she’d thought ahead and had covered herself in bug spray. The lunar princess didn’t make eye contact with her sister, prompting another question. “Were you talking with them? I saw your mane twitch before you took off, so I assume one of them was having a bad dream.”

“Doth thou not trust our methods?” Luna asked in an even tone, Celestia groaned loudly at the statement. “Fine. Yes. We were speaking with one of the humans. Art thou happy now?”

“No! No I’m not!” Celestia replied, her face gained an annoyed expression as she looked around the forest. “If you know where they are why don’t you tell me or the guards?” Luna sighed and looked towards the ground.

“We promised Dominic we would use discretion.” Luna said quietly, before Celestia could retort she added. “One of them is similar to Dominic, sister. At least… We believe so. Perhaps what we hath said will convince them to surrender peacefully.” The princess looked over at her sister with a hopeful expression. “Would it not be better for them to choose to come to us rather than be brought by force?” Celestia’s gaze shifted from the ground to the trees around them, then back to Luna.

“Once again, your reason is sound…” Stated the solar diarch, Luna smiled. “I suppose that being connected to the sun has a tendency to make my blood run hotter than it should, and with everything that’s happened… I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”

“Fear not, sister. Thou art only equine.” Luna gave Celestia a pat on the side, though the alabaster alicorn was trying to make sense of what Luna had meant. Seeing the confusion on her sister’s face, Luna clarified. “Our take on a human saying. Thou art only human. Meaning thou hath flaws like all other humans… Or equines in this case.”

“I see…” Celestia mumbled before looking up to the sky and noting just how high the sun was, her stomach rumbled briefly before she looked to Luna. “Perhaps we can return to Ponyville for a short while? Have a small meal before returning to the search.”

“We agree, that would be prudent.” Luna said with a slight nod, the two of them stopped walking and opened their wings to prepare for flight. Luna gained a happy smile as she looked between her wings and Celestia’s. “Tia, doth thou remember our first flight together?” Celestia smiled a bit at the thought.

“Yeah… You raced me and ‘won’.” She giggled, Luna snorted at the way she’d said the final word.

“We did win! Mother and Father said so!” She said indignantly, Celestia just shook her head and began flapping her wings, Luna followed suit. “Perhaps if our victory is in question a rematch is in order?” Celestia snorted as the two hovered over the forest canopy, then looked to the town in the distance.

“Fine. First to Twilight’s library is the victor?” Her request was reasonable, and so Luna nodded. “Alright then, let’s go!” Without any further discussion the two alicorns zoomed off, flapping their wings like mad and giggling to themselves. The trees beneath them blended together into a beautiful tapestry of greens and browns, the air pushed the fur on their muzzles flat against their skin.

Luna smiled to herself as she beat her wings, gradually pulling ahead of her sister. For the first time in a long time she was having fun for the sake of fun and it felt so good, letting go of the stress of being a head of state made her practically feel like a filly again. The sound of the wind in her ears was something she’d always enjoyed, and mixed into it now was the laughter of her sister that she’d left far behind her.

She took a moment to look around her, time seemed to slow down in that instant. She could see the sunlight reflecting off the buildings in the distance, soft white mist rose up from the forest and birds flapped their wings peacefully in the air. In that moment the fun she felt began to melt its way into something more. As she looked to the mountains in the distance and saw the gleaming towers of Canterlot, she realized just how far she’d come. As time began to speed up for her she let out a quiet content sigh, her mind completely relaxed as she felt a small measure of peace wash over her.

Her wing beats grew faster and more measured, she could hear Celestia’s wings flapping just behind her, her sister was starting to gain on her. Luna didn’t care though, she closed her eyes for a few moments, only opening them when she heard the wing beats right next to her. She turned her head and looked at her sister, her face broke out into a large smile.

“Giving up, lulu?” Celestia asked over the wind, Luna shook her head and turned her face back towards the town.

“Nay, sister… Simply taking in the view.” Luna added an extra burst of speed after speaking, pulling out ahead of Celestia. She tilted her wings ever so slightly and eased into a slight roll, the feeling of her mane whipping back in the wind filled her with a feeling of exhilaration she rarely felt anymore. In those rare moments she was unshackled from her past, unburdened in her present, and undeterred from her future. With her eyes closed once again she continued the roll for a few moments, then leveled off.

Luna could see the town was closer than ever now, she could see ponies going about their daily lives, the guard perimeter around the hospital, the brand new munitions factory that was chugging out small clouds of purple tinted smoke. No doubt a byproduct of the magically designed clean burning coal that powered it. The princess shook her head as those thoughts entered her mind, now wasn’t the time for her to think about factories and fuels, now was time for her to relax.

With the library in sight, Luna angled her nose down and aimed straight for the door. She could hear Celestia flapping her wings faster behind her, Luna needed more speed if she wanted to defeat her sister’s larger wingspan. She flapped harder and to her joy she found herself picking up speed, finally she landed with all the grace of a dainty swan before tapping her wings on the library’s side. She smirked up towards Celestia who had just landed a few feet from her.

“Is our victory in any doubt now, sister?” Luna asked, Celestia shook her head with a small smile. The princess felt a rumble in her stomach and blushed as her sister tilted her head with a smarmy smile. “We suggest that we no longer dilly dally and acquire nourishment before we return to the search.”

“Sugarcube Corner?” Celestia suggested, to her surprise Luna shook her head and looked around.

“I suggest we pay patronage to another establishment, lest we appear to show favoritism.” Luna pointed to an interesting looking restaurant that appeared to have just opened down the street, it was oddly enough located right next to the munitions plant. Celestia shrugged and was about to begin walking, before she took note that they were standing outside of Twilight Sparkle’s home. The mare herself was in Canterlot with Cadence, still running the country so Luna and Celestia could search for the humans in person. However, they knew that a certain young dragon had been left in charge of the building.

“We should at least invite Spike.” Celestia suggested, Luna looked at the building and hummed. She’d heard from Twilight that since Spike had been given more responsibility he’d been growing bigger, perhaps to better protect himself. Apparently he was almost as tall as Dominic, something that had led to less and less ponies frequenting the library. Luna assumed the dragon was no doubt missing some form of contact, and so she nodded to Celestia before raising a hoof to the door and giving three swift knocks. What they heard next was astounding.

There was the sound of something heavy smacking against the floor, most likely on the second story of the tree house, followed by a brief silence. Luna and Celestia picked up on heavy thudding footsteps coming down a set of steps, all the while they were able to make out an annoyed deep voice muttering.

“Why do they always knock? The sign says Public Library… If they can’t read that why are they even coming here in the first place?” The voice grew a bit louder as it got closer to the door, Celestia and Luna straightened up a bit and put on a big pair of smiles, moments later the door opened revealing a rather tall and lanky purple dragon. “Oh, hey, it’s you guys.” Spike said in a rather groggy voice. “Twilight need something?”

“Nay, Spike. We were in the neighborhood and wished to invite thee to lunch.” Luna replied, still keeping up her genuine warm smile. The dragon looked between the two of them for a moment, rubbing his eyes as if he’d been sleeping. Luna picked up faint traces of the dream realm around him, and suddenly she felt a bit guilty.

“Uh… Sure, I guess?” Spike scratched at his belly in a very teenage fashion. “Lemme just take care of a few things, come on in.” He stepped back for the two princesses to answer, then began walking back to the steps in the library. His scaly feet were certainly taking a toll on the stairs, Celestia could see that his growing claws were scratching up the wood. Luna was more focussed on the state of the library as a whole, if Twilight was with them she might have had a conniption. Not because the books were unorganized, they were in fact better organized than ever before, but that wasn’t what stood out to the lunar mare.

The library in its entirety was  spick and span, so much so it could pass a military inspection. On the table at the center of the room were numerous papers and newspaper clippings. The princess quietly approached the table and began examining the clippings, all of them seemed to involve Twilight in some way. Her eyes locked on the papers, they looked like documents and such, as well as a brochure. Celestia came up beside her just as Luna used her magic to pick up the pamphlet.

“Be all you can be.” Luna read aloud as she examined the very familiar insignia of her Lunar Guard, she set the pamphlet down and looked over to Celestia. “Sister, tell me these documents aren’t…”

“They are.” Celestia replied, she and Luna heard a soft cough from the stairs to the right. The princesses  turned their gaze up to the dragon who was looking at them with a rather even expression, his tale idly sweeping back and forth behind him. “Spike, we were just…”

“Don’t worry about it.” The dragon muttered and began walking down the steps. “Let’s go.” He gestured towards the door, Celestia and Luna nodded and set the papers back down, instead going to walk out. Spike, ever the gentleman, held the door open for them before putting up a ‘Sorry, we’re closed sign’. He closed the door behind them and began walking with them towards the restaurant near the munitions plant. “So aside from inviting me to lunch, what brings you to Ponyville? I assume that commotion at the hospital, right?”

“Yes, certain parties are involved that-” Luna began.

“It’s the human, isn’t it.” Spike cut her off, the princess nodded faintly. “Figures.” Celestia was shocked at how the drake had interrupted her sister, absolutely flabbergasted. Such a thing was extremely out of character, even if he was going through the normal irritation and angst that came from the normal life cycle of dragon growth.

“Twilight’s been well, if you’ve been wondering.” Celestia said, the dragon didn’t respond at first as the group continued walking towards the restaurant.

“I assumed she was, lately she only ever visits when something’s wrong.” The tone the dragon used was quite bitter. Celestia and Luna didn’t really have a response for his statement prepared, they couldn’t believe they were hearing words like that from such a young drake. The group stopped outside the restaurant with a small crowd of ponies looking at them, the guards near the munitions plant seemed slightly on edge.

“Let’s… Go inside.” Celestia coughed into her hoof, trying to shift the topic away from things that may make Spike even more upset. The group entered the restaurant and looked around, it was empty at the moment, most likely because most of its patrons were at work. The building outside had looked like an old train car which had been converted into a restaurant. Those suspicions were confirmed when they caught sight of the seating on one half of the room. Benches from the old railcar took the place of real seats, with sturdy looking wooden tables between them. The other half was taken up by a small bar with red stools and a counter top behind that, as well as a window into a kitchen that had been built on the outside of the existing car. The walls were adorned with numerous pictures and a couple documents.

Standing behind the bar was a burly looking pegasus with coffee brown fur and a shaved mane, in his hooves was a glass that he was scrubbing with a rag. He momentarily looked up from his work at the Princesses and the dragon, blinking for a moment before setting the glass down and walking over to the bar.

“Hey, Spike.” The stallion said in a gruff voice, Spike sat down at one of the stools by the bar and nodded back to the stallion. Luna and Celestia had planned on one of the booths, but instead opted to sit on the stools next to Spike on either side.

“Hey, Bubba.” Spike replied, he grunted and adjusted his positioning before looking at both Celestia and Luna. “I assume you know who these two are.” The stallion looked back to the princesses again before shrugging and going to pour some hazelnut coffee into a white mug.

“Princess Celestia from the Gold Bit, and Princess Luna from the Silver Bit.” Bubba responded, he set the steaming mug down in front of Spike before pulling a notepad from a slightly stained apron. “What can I get my favorite two symbols of currency?” Celestia and Luna blinked a couple times at the odd stallion, somewhat surprised he hadn’t dropped into some sort of over zealous bowing fest. Spike sipped at his mug of coffee as he watched the princesses.

The princesses took note of a big board on the wall that they’d missed on their initial entrance, it was black with food names written on in yellow chalk. Celestia noted a couple different things that called out to her, but one thing was certainly clear to Luna.

“May we inquire, is all thine food either smothered in cheese or deep fried?” She asked, Bubba chuckled and turned to look up at the board himself, revealing his flank to the princesses. They took note of a wrapped piece of bubble gum as his cutiemark.

“Yeah, ‘cept maybe the deep fried nachos. That’s both deep fried and smothered in cheese.” Bubba remarked before turning back to look at the princesses. Spike continued drinking his coffee, for the moment just enjoying the brief moment of quiet. It kind of reminded him of when Twilight used to live in Ponyville. 

“We shall have a plate of those nachos then.” Luna said with a smirk, Bubba blinked for a few moments.

“Y’all sure? I always thought you princesses were all into keeping up your figures and such, I could maybe whip up something else.” He spoke, Luna chuckled and shook her head.

“Nay, we are quite certain this is what we want.” Her response caused Bubba to smile widely, Celestia smirked herself as she realized what she was doing. A lot of ponies were nervous around the night princess, yet here she was conversing with somepony as if they were just friends. Well, for the most part, the royal we probably didn’t help. Bubba looked over into the kitchen and cleared his throat.

“Hey! Wake your ass up! The floor ain’t a bed, numbnuts!” The shout caused both Luna and Celestia’s eyes as they watched the stallion go around into the kitchen and pick up a ladle, then begin banging on several pots and pans. “What do I pay you for? If I wanted a floormat I would’a bought one!” Spike chuckled slightly as he set his coffee mug down, both princesses looked at him while the yelling and banging continued in the background. Luna could see that a lanky stallion had stood up and was rubbing his head before quickly going to work on the order.

“Bubba Gum and his cousin Chewy.” Spike said before downing the rest of his coffee and leaning back on his stool. “They’re good guys if you get around all the yelling and fighting.” He let out a small sigh and slid his mug forwards on the bar. Now that it was just Celestia and Luna alone with the dragon, the silence began to reign once again. Thoughts back to what they’d seen in the library creeped forwards once again.

“Spike, can I ask about the papers we saw at the library?” Celestia asked, the teen looking dragon was silent for a few moments before nodding.

“Figured you’d find out eventually, though not this soon.” The dragon sighed and straightened up in his seat. “Look, I know, I’m not the same little Spike you guys remember… I know that because when you have a library to yourself there’s only so much you can do aside from read.” Spike cleared his throat and looked both princesses dead in the eyes. “I found out what kind of dragon I am. I’m nocturnal, I’m growing fast, and I know for sure that I’m not the same naive little lizard you used to know.”

“But… Spike, those papers still need to go through the chain of command, how can you think we would let you make a choice like this?” Celestia asked in a subdued tone, Spike silently looked down at his empty coffee mug for a moment before looking to them both.

“I assumed you would respect my wishes…” He quietly muttered and looked back to the coffee cup. “It seems that the only way I will get to see Twilight on a regular basis will be if I’m wearing a uniform.” Celestia began to open her mouth to speak but Spike held up a silent claw. “Don’t tell me you’ll have her visit more, don’t tell me that I’m not being rational.”

“But you aren’t!” Celestia said in a raised voice, there was a brief pause in the noise from the kitchen before it began again, Celestia didn’t even stop to look back at the two stallions that had peeked through the window to see what was going on. “You’re barely fifteen! You don’t know what you want!”

“Of course… I am young and therefore stupid…” Spike mumbled again as he tapped the coffee mug with one of his claws. “I’ve been told all my life ‘It’s too dangerous’ and ‘You’re not old enough’. Every time I’ve tried to help I end up getting tossed aside, I get left behind to care for a library that nopony visits! My thoughts on what I want are very clear. What I WANT is to be treated like an actual dragon with actual goals and ambitions, not some stupid kid that can’t think for himself.”

Luna and Celestia quietly blinked at the dragon, his position on his stool had shifted from one of a relaxed drake to that of one on the brink of an outburst, the puffed out chest and twitching spines were more than enough evidence of that. The dragon cleared his throat before calling back through the window to the kitchen.

“Hey, Bubba, put the coffee and their food on my tab. I’ve got book stuff or whatever…” Spike stood up from his seat as he got a confirmatory grunt from the kitchen.

“Spike wait-” Celestia began.

“No.” Spike cut her off as he began walking towards the door. “I am young by your standards, but by dragon standards I am more than old enough to know what I want…” He pointed to both Celestia and Luna with a steely expression. “And what I want is not to speak with either of you further on this subject. Good day.” Before Celestia could form her next words the drake had stepped through the door, letting it slam with a loud thud.

Silence reigned over the room for several minutes afterwards, Celestia and Luna both shocked into silence. The silence was only broken momentarily as Bubba stepped out of the kitchen with the food that Luna had ordered. He silently set it down in front of the two princesses and picked up the empty coffee mug, then began washing it with a rag. The stallion looked over the two princesses carefully for a few moments before leaning forwards and sliding the plate closer to them.

“Eat.” He said quietly, both princesses shot him cold glares, to which he did not flinch. “This is comfort food, so eat.” Luna quietly lifted one of the deep fried cheese smothered pieces of goodness off the plate and ate it, then another, then another. Celestia followed suit soon after, a faint smile formed on their server’s face. “Yo Chewy!” He called over his shoulder. “Open a bottle of whiskey an’ get out here.”

Celestia silently looked at Luna as if asking for some form of help in her thoughts, all she received was a similar glance. They couldn’t believe that things had gotten so bad, they couldn’t figure out how it had gotten that way either. In all the years they’d spent ruling together and apart they had never faced so many trials and troubles, it was as if the entire planet was coming apart at the seams. War, disease, cults, destruction and riots. It was easy to trace it all back to the time when Dominic had first come to their world, but both knew that what had happened had been a long time coming… Perhaps Dominic was simply the first in a long chain of dominos that had lead both princesses to be gorging themselves on greasy cheese covered food in a dive diner next to a munitions plant in what had once been one of the safest towns in Equestria.

“We’re fucked…” Seemed to be the only thing Luna and Celestia could say with any certainty at that point.

[♦]

Johnny and Jen sat across from each other in the cave, the soft dripping of water was the only sound present at that moment. Jen had pulled her knees up to her chest into a fetal position while Johnny sat cross legged with his eyes closed and head leaned back against the rocky wall. It had been hours since the mysterious figure had intruded into the cave, since then Jen had pitched her theory on what was truly going on. Needless to say, Johnny had not taken it well.

The screaming match had nearly resulted in their location being found, and so they’d relegated themselves to sitting in silence. Jen’s eyes were red with tears, some of which were still flowing down her cheeks. She couldn’t help but shake silently as she internalized her emotions, the damned dripping noise constantly nagging at her mind. She could only imagine what it was Johnny was thinking of in his current state.

The man had just heard that he had probably been pulled from the jaws of death and tossed into a candy pony cartoon world for reasons totally unknown to him or anyone else. As he sat with his eyes closed he couldn’t help but think of the world he’d left behind, the people that he’d harmed and the people that he’d helped. All of it seemed so pointless now that he sat where he did and had seen what he’d seen. Johnny had always cared about Johnny and very rarely anyone else, he’d been brought here because of selfishness, he’d gotten so good at his job because of selfishness, and now it seemed he would continue hiding and do harm to the one person that had shown him any kindness… All out of selfishness.

“Jen…?” He asked quietly in a shaking tone, his eyes remaining closed. When he heard a surprised gasp from in front of him he began speaking again. “What would you say if I told you that I was scared to go to these… ponies.”

“I’d say that’s understandable…” Jen’s voice was just as shaky as his, Johnny could practically see the tear streaks down her cheeks.

“It just seems that every time someone offers to make the pain go away they give more than they take…” Johnny whispered, he maintained his position seated in front of Jen and opened his eyes, looking at her with red eyes of his own. “I don’t want that to happen to me again, and I don’t want to see it happen to you…”

Jen silently wiped her eyes and crawled across the cave, she sat down beside Johnny and looked him in the eyes. The tired green orbs stared into him, in those eyes he could see all the pain and exhaustion she felt now.

“You won’t be alone this time…” Jen said as she pulled the man into a hug, Johnny was surprised at first, before he returned the embrace and rested his head on hers. “You and I are in this together, and if it turns out that what you think will happen happens… We’ll get out together, or neither of us will.”

Seeing the tiredness in her eyes, hearing the tone of her voice, Johnny could tell she was finished running. In all honesty, so was he, it felt like he’d spent a lifetime running. From running out of fear of prison to running out of fear of death. His eyes turned to the hunting rifle that leaned against the far wall of the cave, he doubted that he’d get more than another month's use out of it without proper care. Without it they’d have no way of feeding themselves aside from whatever they scavenged, and from the looks of it, that too would soon become nearly impossible.

Jen cleared her throat, Johnny could see her confidence coming back, still the look he’d seen earlier was ingrained in his mind. He watched as Jen sat up straight beside him and reached for her bag, the sleeve of the leather jacket hanging limply from the open zipper. Johnny raised an eyebrow as she reached into the bag and rooted around for something, when he realized that she was pulling something from the bottom he realized what she was retrieving. He reached into the breast pocket of his hawaiian shirt and withdrew a small and battered box, then flipped it open to look inside. There were five cigarettes remaining in the pack, he and Jen had been rationing them more than food.

“Ugh… This is heavy.” Jen muttered as she retrieved a small metal lighter from her pack, she paused for a moment to look it over, the scratched metal surface still managed to show her her reflection. “Why don’t we come up with a plan? Just something to help us think things through…” She took one of the cigarettes and put it up to her lips, Johnny followed soon after. With practiced ease Jen lit both cigarettes and the two of them had leaned back against the wall.

“Alright…” Johnny mumbled as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. “We have about five days worth of food left… Seven if we stretch it…” Jen nodded quietly as she looked over to where they had stockpiled their food. “Just... Walk me through your theory one more time… So I’m sure what you’re saying.”

“Okay.” Jen tapped a bit of ash off onto the ground beside her. “We were pulled through some sort of magical portal into a world known as Equestria, which is the setting of a TV show called ‘My Little Pony’. Now the leaders of that country are looking for us, most likely because they want to help us.” Johnny rubbed the back of his neck as he heard the explanation one more time, even after hearing it once before he found it sounded insane. On the other hand, it was hard to deny the presence of small alien horses that magically did things.

“Okay, I buy it.” He said with a nod to himself. He wasn’t totally convinced that Jen’s theory was correct, but it made a hell of a lot more sense than anything he could come up with. “So, assuming these ponies are as nice as you say they are, they’re going to help us if we come out.”

“According to fanfiction... Yes.” Jen sheepishly looked at the floor as she took another drag on her cigarette, Johnny leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments. “Look, I know… I sound crazy. Honestly though, with all that’s happened so far, are magical talking ponies really that much of a stretch for the imagination?”

“Nope. I don’t suppose they are.” Johnny sighed as he looked back over to Jen, his cigarette smoke wafting up through the small hole in the roof of the cave that provided light. The dark haired woman looked at him and noted a small smile on his face. “How about we stick it out for another five days and try learn as much as possible about where we are in that time? If all seems well we’ll go out and talk to the ponies.”

“Okay.” Jen returned the smile as she finished off her cigarette and tossed it aside, Johnny let his fall to the floor as he brought his hand forwards and set it on Jen’s shoulder. “You know we should probably wait until tonight, it’ll be easier for us to sneak around.” Johnny gave a slight squeeze on her shoulder.

“What should we do while we wait?” He asked with a knowing smirk, Jen gave him a smack on the nose.

“Down, boy.” Her tone was accented by a slight chuckle while Johnny leaned back and rubbed his nose. “We’ve got work to do, like getting supplies together, figuring out where we’re going to look for answers, and tons of other reconnaissance stuff.”

“Right… Right…” Johnny looked to his own bag and pulled it towards him, it wasn’t nearly as full as Jen’s, mainly because they had steadily been supplementing their diet with the ramen he’d taken. He pushed a few of his personal effects around. “Do you have the binoculars?”

“No, I thought you had them.” Jen replied, Johnny quietly pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an annoyed sigh. “John, take a breath.”

“All the fuckin’ time, if it’s not one fuckin’ thing it’s another. Fucks sake. How the fuck do you fucking spy on people without fucking binoculars…” Johnny muttered to himself for a few seconds before heeding Jen’s words and taking a long deep breath through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. “I’m okay…”

“Good.” Jen smiled as she stood up and pulled her hair back behind her head, she tied it up in a bun before kneeling down to begin going through her own supplies. “We’re going to need to make some camouflage nets like the ones over the cave entrance so we can sneak beyond the tree line, start grabbing vines and such from near the front of the cave.”

“You got it.” Johnny forced a smile as he reached into his bag, from within he pulled a folding knife with a wooden handle and bronze accents. He stood up and gave Jen a pat on the shoulder before walking to the entrance of the cave in complete silence, a scowl formed on his face as he went along. It had been hard to steal those binoculars in the first place, replacing them was impossible.

The man did his best to force his thoughts onto something else, that something else being Jen’s theory once more. Aliens that very well may have been characters from a children’s show were combing the forest looking for them after they’d surived months together after being pulled from a dying world filled with undead monsters. He gave a small cynical chuckle as he reached the end of the cave and peeked through the nets of camouflage that hid the entrance from prying eyes.

“Mom always said I knew how to pick ‘em…” With that Johnny carefully ventured past the nets, unfolding his knife with caution as he looked for the materials Jen had asked for. It seemed there were still more than five hours until dusk, but thankfully it seemed the guard presence in this portion of the forest had died down considerably. Johnny briefly thought that perhaps their luck was beginning to take a turn for the better.
> Chapter 46
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night was completely dark, the moon was out of sight and only the stars remained to illuminate the landscape. The Everfree Forest was dead silent, not a single creature chirped and roared as they normally did in the night. The recent guard activity had driven most of them into hiding, but that didn’t dissuade to of the forest’s latest hunters. They crawled on their bellies through the muck and dirt, faces covered in charcoal to better conceal them. As Johnny and Jen reached the ridge that overlooked Ponyville it became clear that their mission would be difficult.

“Heads up… Looks like there’s a lot of activity down there.” Jen whispered as she pointed down to the fields surrounding the towns. Patrols roved around with beams of light that undoubtly came from unicorns and both Jen and Johnny could hear the occasional bark of dogs.

“Maybe we can slip up through the orchard to the west.” Johnny replied, pointing off at the apple farm in the distance with minor difficulty. He had switched his hawaiian shirt for Jen’s camouflage jacket, as a result he found his movements slightly restricted, but that didn’t seem to affect him much. “It seemed lightly guarded when I was there.” Jen took the hunting rifle and aimed towards the farm, she could barely make out the shapes of the trees in the darkness. Something stood out amongst them, a very dim light, like a candle or a lantern.

“We’d need to be careful then… It looks like they’re hiding in the shadows.” She looked over to Johnny who gave her a slight nod, the two of them carefully and slowly began making their way down the embankment of the ridge. “Hey, Johnny?” Jen’s quiet question caught the man’s tone as he continued down the hill. “If… If this turns out to be real… What do you think will happen to us?”

“I don’t know…” Johnny whispered back, his shoe squelching the muddy soil beneath him. He nearly slipped but managed to grab a nearby tree branch, the experience leaving him with an elevated heart rate. “We’ll worry about that after we figure out if this is a place to be trusted or feared though, right?” Jen just hummed in response. “Come on now, you’re always telling me to cut the chatter. We can talk later…”

“Right…” Jen sighed as she and Johnny reached the bottom of the hill and started to skirt around the fields of Ponyville, the underbrush and trees proved to be great barricades against the piercing light of the occasional beam of light that passed over the area. The woman quietly closed her eyes for a few moments and took some deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Afterwards she shoved the worries and fears for the future behind her and instead focused on the task at hand.

“What do we do once we’re in?” Johnny quietly asked as he started following a white painted fence, on the other side Jen could see apple trees with their fruit hanging freely over the fence.

“Obtain some sort of news paper or other books and pray we find someone who can read them…” Jen replied, Johnny paused and looked at her over his shoulder. “What? It’s a better plan than kidnapping a guard and forcing him to talk.” Johnny just let out a soft huff as he continued following the fence, his hand running along the old wood as if searching for some sort of secret button. “Failing that objective, we’ll just have to wing it. We might have to go dangerously close to the village.”

“Fun…” Johnny mumbled as he stopped and looked at the fence, he patted the wood softly for a moment before peeking up and over to get a glimpse into the orchard. “Looks clear…” He whispered before kneeling down and grabbing a rock from the ground, he then stood up and chucked it hard at a tree. There was a loud thud as it made contact, a few seconds later a light appeared in the distance. “Down.” Johnny and Jen dropped to their bellies, the man crawled closer to the fence and dug out a small portion of the dirt beneath it. Through it he was able to get a good view of the area in front of him.

What he saw was nothing short of what he’d expected, at least five ponies were approaching the tree he’d tossed the rock at. It was difficult to make out what they looked like other than they all seemed to be mares, the light was obviously generating from a unicorn’s horn, but he couldn’t place the race of the other alien horses. He quietly slid over a bit so that Jen could come up and get a look of her own.

“... confound it, all them guards around and still them darn apple thieves come here…” He heard one of them mutter, the distance from them made it difficult to really hear the fullness of their sentences. “... Spot anythin’, Rares?”

“No… I’m afraid there’s nothing here.” A second voice replied, unlike the earlier one it was a bit more refined. Jen’s eyes widened as she heard that voice, Johnny took that to prove that her theory was at least in part correct. He wasn’t sure if it was the cold nip of the moonless night or the realization that he would most likely spend the rest of his life in a cartoon world that caused the chills to run up and down his spine. “Perhaps it was something in the Everfree forest?”

“Whatever… I can tell they ain’t took nothin’. Let’s head back, I think we scared ‘em off.” The first voice said, Jen and Johnny watched whoever they were turn around and begin walking away from the fence. Minutes passed until finally the light was in the distance near the farmhouse that had been spotted earlier. Jen looked at Johnny with an annoyed expression, as if chiding him for endangering their mission so early on.

“They think they’ve run us off… Their guard is down…” Johnny muttered as he stood up and pulled himself over the fence with a grunt. “Come on, let’s move.” Jen sighed and tossed the hunting rifle over the fence, Johnny caught it and waited for her to pull herself over into the orchard.

“Take point. Stick close to the trees… Don’t take anything.” Jen said quietly, Johnny nodded and the two of them began moving with him at the front. He handed the rifle back to Jen as he moved, instead opting to stick to the Revolver she’d loaned him. With years of hiding and sneaking under his belt, he was as silent as the wind and as agile as a cat. This was why he’d always taken point, it was easier for Jen to follow his footsteps rather than risk stepping on a twig or something of that nature.

Jen’s thoughts were cut short as Johnny held up a hand and dropped to one knee, she looked around in the pitch darkness as if searching for the reason. Johnny for his part, had stopped them simply because his gut had told him to. Something about the area ahead of him felt off, it was too open for an orchard of this size to be natural. He quietly inched forwards, running his hands up and down the tree trunks of every tree he passed.

“Booby trap.” He muttered as his hand rested on a piece of rope, he followed it with his hand and saw that it seemed to lead to some sort of trap in the clearing ahead of him. “Divert right, keep your wits about you…”

“Roger…” Jen and Johnny began moving to the right past the trap into the orchard again, it seemed they were halfway to the flashlight from the ponies that had been around earlier, the beam of light giving a good indication of where the patrol was. Each step for Johnny was careful and measured in a way that seemed unnatural for a man of his stature, Jen couldn’t help but think that the man would be an excellent infiltrator, perhaps even a CIA operative.

Johnny, for his part, was more focused on the ground in front of him. The darkness of the night made it difficult for him to see much of the ground, the only way he was really able to navigate was by using the trees. That would do him no good in finding any traps that may have been laid on the ground that didn’t rely on trees or open space. Ahead of him he could see the beam of light had gone out, that most likely meant that the ponies had entered a building of some kind. Still, Johnny was a paranoid man by nature, and so he didn’t let his guard down.

For several tense minutes the two of them navigated the dark orchard, on one occasion Jen nearly ended up setting off a booby trap that would have caught her in a net. Johnny had thankfully pulled her back just before she stepped past the trip wire. They eventually reached the tree line and dropped to their stomachs to observe the farmhouse and barn several yards away. Johnny was about to start crawling towards the house only for Jen to put a hand on his shoulder and point off in the distance.

“Look.” She whispered, Johnny followed her gaze and slowly crawled back into the shadows. What he saw certainly threw a wrench into their plans, and that was at least two patrols marching down the road, they were only visible by the dimly lit lanterns they carried and by the somewhat loud marching orders. “What the hell are they doing here?”

“I don’t know…” Johnny muttered as the patrols got closer, the stomping of their hooves creating an eerie rhythm as they marched. The two humans held their breath as Jen reached into her backpack, she pulled a net of foliage that she and Johnny had made earlier from within and covered the two of them as quickly as she could. Through the thin weave both she and Johnny watched the patrols get closer.

“Company! Halt!” One of the officers shouted as the guards stopped outside the farmhouse, Johnny and Jen were frozen completely as they watched the guards begin dispersing and covering certain parts of the house.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” A melodic voice echoed over the open ground, Jen and Johnny then spotted two ponies with horns and wings, once again Jen tensed up as she held her breath.

“P-Princesses…” She whispered, Johnny couldn’t help but internally groan. He could handle sneaking past guards and civilians, but it seemed that these were Princesses. If that was the case, he had no doubt that the guards that had just arrived were this world’s equivalent of SEAL Team Six of The Secret Service.

“I think we may need to abort…” He whispered as the guards began roving around, to his surprise he saw Jen shake her head. Part of him wanted to bolt then and there, dragging Jen with him, but the other part trusted the woman beside him.

“Follow my lead.” Jen quietly tossed off the camouflage net and stood up, still hidden by the trees. Johnny did the same and let her take point, she began quietly skirting around the house and barn using the trees as cover until finally they came to a stop. Johnny could see that they were on the dark side of the barn and house, there was more shadow to hide in and it was easier to see the guard’s lanterns. “Do you want to take the farmhouse or the barn?”

“Breaking and entering was my specialty…” Johnny replied as he looked at the house, Jen nodded silently.

“We’ll move on my mark…” Jen began speaking before looking at Johnny. “John… We’ll meet in two hours on the ridge. If one of us isn’t home by morning… We’ll just have to assume something went wrong…”

“We’ll be fine…” Johnny whispered and gave the woman a slight hug before going back to watching the guards patrolling around the house. Jen smiled slightly and gave him a slight peck on the cheek. “Once you clear the barn maybe you can provide some over watch for me, fire a shot off in the air if you see them running, okay? It fucks with their ears.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jen’s voice was shaking slightly, after a few more deep breaths she’d psyched herself up enough to start watching the guards marching by. It took a few minutes for her to get their pattern down before she stood up and patted Johnny on the shoulder. “Five seconds…” The man nodded and slipped his revolver into the waistband of his jeans, he counted it down in his head before feeling Jen’s hand pat him on the back. “Go.”

Johnny took off into the open, running as silently as possible. He kept his breathing as quiet as he could as he saw the farmhouse getting closer, noting that there were two guards on the roof. Thankfully they were looking away, but he knew that climbing up would be an issue. The two storied house was nothing special otherwise, he’d have no problem busting in with his old tricks, but considering that the ponies inside were still very much awake, it was going to be difficult hiding his presence. He just hoped none of them paid much attention to damaged windows.

The man stopped in the shadows of the house, pressing his back up against the wooden siding and taking a few moments to breathe. The man slid left along the wall towards the beginnings of a porch, his point of entry was just above that. There was a corrugated tin roof that he intended to pull himself up onto, afterwards he’d slip in through a window just above that. With a quiet grunt he hopped up and gripped the edge of the roof, then pulled himself up onto the platform. He could have sworn he felt something grabbing the back of his jacket and hoisting him up, but shrugged it off as nothing.

The man prepared to begin breaking into the house through the window, but paused and simply reached out. To his utter shock the window was unlocked, he thanked his lucky stars that these ponies were complete and utter idiots before lifting the window open and slithering through. He landed with a slight bump and looked around, he’d landed in a hallway. It was dimly lit via light from the downstairs and Johnny could hear chatter from whoever lived there and the other ponies. Normally he would have gone off to find something of value, but considering there seemed to be government officials here he figured it wouldn’t hurt to eavesdrop a tad.

Quietly the man moved to the end of hallway, his shoes leaving rather muddy tracks behind him on the soft carpet. Johnny stopped at the top of a set of wooden stairs that lead to the first floor, he could see that part of the house seemed to be illuminated by oil lanterns.

“... -cess Luna, can you please tell us what happened at the hospital? We’ve all been concerned about it, considering all that’s been happening in the world lately.” A female voice asked, Johnny remembered its owner as the unicorn that had been casting the light beam earlier that night.

“Nay, I’m sorry to say that information is classified for the moment.” A regal voice replied, Johnny remembered it as the one that had belonged to the mysterious visitor he and Jen had had earlier that day.

“Come now, Luna. They have a right to know.” Another voice responded, Johnny paused at that voice. It reminded him of his old english teacher if she was a pornstar, not that she was. Johnny had just had a very active imagination when he was in school. Johnny leaned closer to the stairway to better listen. “You all know Dominic, correct?” Johnny assumed that the owner of sexy english teacher voice had received nods. “Well, all I can say is that he has a very particular interest in the hospital incident. Specifically who perpetrated it.”

“Princess… Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Asked a raspy tomboyish voice, Johnny leaned forwards to get an even better position to eavesdrop from. It would have worked if it weren’t for the floorboard creaking under his foot. The voices downstairs stopped, prompting Johnny to begin backing up towards the window.

“Applebloom! Go back to bed!” He heard someone call up to him, Johnny simply went to the window and peeked out for a moment. When he slipped out he was sure to close the window behind him, but it didn’t seem like it would matter, he’d tracked dirt and mud all over the hallway. The man took a moment to check beneath him before he dropped down to the porch and began skirting along the outside of the house towards the barn.

“Hey, wanna hear a joke?” Asked a voice from around the corner of the house, Johnny froze and flattened himself as much as he could against the side just as a pair of guards came into view. “What’s green and has four wheels?” Asked the first one, a skinny looking stallion.

“I don’t know… A cart?” Replied his annoyed female companion, the stallion shook his head with a big smile.

“Wrong! Grass! I lied about the wheels!” Johnny nearly broke out laughing as he watched the annoyed mare stop and look at the stallion, then smack him in the back of the head. “Worth it.” The man was just happy they hadn’t noticed him, and once he’d seen them go out of sight, he took off towards the barn. The thirty feet of open ground between him and the barn were some of the scariest steps he’d ever taken in his life. Thankfully he wasn’t out in the open for too long, and soon enough he’d slipped through the front door.

“Jen?” He called out in a quiet whisper yell, there was a soft whistle from upstairs in the barn’s hayloft. Johnny quickly spotted a ladder up and climbed his way there, peeking around the open space and taking note of how much hay was stored there. It was practically packed to the gunnels with the stuff, with just enough space near the hayloft door for a certain woman to be hiding behind to stood up bales. She signaled for him to crawl towards her, most likely due to the two snipers that seemed to be perched on the roof of the house.

“Learn anything good?” She asked when he finally reached her, Johnny nodded quietly.

“I think I did. Something about a guy named ‘Dominic’, I heard them talking about his interest in what went down in the hospital…” Jen looked confused at the name, signalling Johnny that they seemed to be on the right path. “They heard me eavesdropping though, I had to get out of there before they said anything good. What about you, anything good?”

“Not really.” Jen replied as she peeked out the open doorway at the guards patrolling the outside again. “I’ve been trying to figure out these guys though. The armor is all different from what I remember, and so are those crossbow type thingies…” The woman sighed quietly and crouched back down behind the hay bale she’d taken for cover. “I’ve got a feeling we’re going to need to hide here until those guards are gone, otherwise I doubt we’ll be getting out of here at all.”

Johnny just nodded and reached into his waistband to withdraw the revolver, the man handed it to Jen while Jen handed him back his hunting rifle. He took the weapon and rested it on the hay bales, rising to look through the scope. He panned his vision over the area in front of the barn, pausing on the two snipers on the farmhouse roof. After he’d taken in the view for himself he hid behind the bale with Jen, subtly cuddling up next to her.

The silence they shared was out of necessity, but Johnny didn’t mind. He enjoyed just sitting next to Jen, having someone else's warm body close to him helped calm him down. It was a luxury that he had been enjoying for the past several months, and deep down he knew that Jen liked it just as much as he did. With so many cold lifeless bodies walking around, it helped knowing there was still someone alive. In their current position Johnny normally would have been stressed beyond measure as if he were surrounded by infected, but Jen was his port in the storm that eased the waves of fear.

Jen quietly put her arm over Johnny’s shoulder and held him close, her eyes focussing on the ladder that led up to the hayloft. She couldn’t help but smile as she felt him nuzzle into her chest, sighing and patting him on the head as if to non-verbally admonish him for it. Outside she could hear the rhythmic clop of the guards hooves on the earth, in her mind that was good. It meant that for the time being she and Johnny were safe. She did her best to focus on that rhythmic sound, but eventually she felt her eyelids grow heavy. Before she could shake herself awake she found herself drifting off.

Jen found herself standing on a beach, staring out at the ocean as a beautiful sunset painted the sky. She could feel the sand between her bare toes as the wind blew against her face, in that moment she closed her eyes and felt someone gently take hold of her hand.

“Jen.” Johnny’s voice echoed through her mind. “Wake up!”

Her eyes shot open to the sight of Johnny training his rifle towards the ladder that lead up to the hayloft, she felt her heart beating heavily in her chest as fear rushed into her system. Jen could hear someone in the barn down below, that must have been what had alerted Johnny to their presence.

“Hmm… We could have sworn we felt something…” A female voice mumbled downstairs, Jen recognized that voice. It was one of the princesses, Princess Luna if she wasn’t mistaken. It had been so long since she’d seen the show that she’d somewhat forgotten how the characters actually sounded, only what she thought they should sound like. Jen almost chuckled to herself as she realized just how odd her situation was, but seeing just how serious Johnny was taking it brought her back to earth.

After several minutes the door to the barn door opened and closed, only then did Johnny dare venture near the edge of the Hayloft. Jen meanwhile slid over towards the hay bales that guarded the window. To her surprise there was a fair amount of activity in the area outside, the guards were roving around much more aggressively. The woman caught a glimpse of the flowing mane that belonged to Princess Luna before she ducked back down to avoid being spotted by the snipers on the roof of the farm house.

“We’ve gotta get out of here.” She said quietly as she stood up and made her way over to the ladder, Johnny followed her with a concerned expression crossing his blacked out face. The charcoal dust was beginning to fall away, giving both of them a ghostly look. “That was too close, we’ve gotta run for the trees.”

“It’s twenty yards to the trees, then another two hundred or so through the orchard. Even if we make it there, there’s a likelihood we’ll end up stumbling on one of those little presents they left behind.” Johnny replied as he slid down the ladder, Jen was already on her way over to the rear barn door. She slipped her revolver into her own waistband and turned to look at her companion with a no nonsense expression.

“It’s either we get caught now or we get caught later.” She said in her normal tactful tone, Johnny could see she was doing her best to put up a front of toughness. The man sighed and looked down at his rifle, then held it out for her to take.

“You’re a faster runner, I’d rather you carry this.” Johnny said quietly, Jen gazed at his eyes for a few moments before taking the weapon. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she neared the rear barn door. Johnny would have offered to go out first, but knowing Jen, she’d just push him back and charge out anyway. The two stopped and peeked out the door at the dark orchard just twenty yards away, and seemingly there were no guards patrolling around there.

“John…” Jen took Johnny’s hand in her own and looked deep into his eyes. “I love you.” Johnny felt himself tearing up as he squeezed her fingers.

“I love you too… Be careful.” His voice caught in his throat, Jen nodded silently and turned to the doorway. After a minute of waiting she pushed out of the door and took off sprinting towards the orchard. Johnny leaned out the door, watching the area around her for any coming patrols. To his dismay he spotted a ray of light from a unicorn’s horn, Jen would run right into it. He was certain she was so focussed on the trees she’d completely forget to dodge the beam.

In a split second Johnny was out the door and charging towards the unicorn, his heart racing as he panted. His shoes made loud noise against the dirt, drawing the guard’s attention just in time to miss Jen. The unicorn’s beam of light nearly blinded him as it shined brightly in his eyes, Johnny let out a loud yell to further get the guard’s attention. He lowered his shoulder and held his arms out wide in preparation for a tackle, the guard let out a loud yell of his own before the two of them collided. Johnny used his momentum to pin the guard to the ground, he briefly looked towards the tree line to see Jen staring at him in shock.

“RUN!” He yelled loudly. “DON’T LOOK BACK!” Jen stared for a few more seconds before disappearing into the dark. Johnny focussed on his current problem, the guard that he had beneath him. He pulled back his arm and delivered a punch to the stallion’s jaw, then another and another. With the guard sufficiently knocked out Johnny armed himself with the sabre on its belt, oddly enough it seemed as if it were designed for humans.

Already the other guards were converging on his position as he took up a ready stance, holding the sabre in imitation of the Civil War movies he’d seen. He was certain he wouldn’t be able to stand up in a fight if they came at him all at once, but maybe he’d be able to get one or two of them before he went down. He briefly closed his eyes as he felt tears running down his cheeks, images of Jen and the rest of his family running through his mind. All infected aside, he was certain he’d lived a good life.

When he opened his eyes he found himself staring at at least a dozen guards, all of whom had their odd crossbows trained on him. Furthermore there were the same five ponies he’d seen at the beginning of the night, as well as the two ‘Princesses’. He ground the ball of his foot in the dirt as he bit his cheek, holding the sabre behind him.

“Lay down your weapon!” Shouted one of the guards, Johnny responded with a solo fingered salute.

“Eat me, you fuck!” He was speaking in true Jersey fashion now, if only to buy Jen that much more time. One guard responded by firing a bolt of blue energy from one of their crossbows, it impacted Johnny’s shoulder and forced him to lean forwards. The pain wasn’t much more than the fact that it felt as if he’d been punched. Oddly enough he felt tingly and filled with energy, everything seemed to move a tad slower.

“Hold your fire, damn it!” Shouted another guard.

“Please! We don’t mean you any harm!” Shouted the white Princess, Johnny didn’t buy it for a second. He readied the sword in his hand and quietly began humming a song to himself, ‘’, it was one of the many songs he had sung along to in the car before the world had been fucked over. Slowly Johnny brought the sabre forwards and pointed it towards the Princesses, his tongue briefly passed over his chapped and dry lips as he prepared himself for the end. At least Jen would get away, she’d maybe be able to find herself someplace safe to hide, maybe live a relatively normal life.

“DROP! YOUR! WEAPON!” Shouted the first guard, Johnny quietly sighed and was about to charge forwards when he heard a distant gunshot. Judging by the time that had passed, Jen was in the trees by now, that was her way of letting him know she was safe. At least, he hoped it was. Slowly Johnny’s fingers unwrapped themselves from the sabre, the blade clattered to the ground moments later.

In an instant Johnny felt himself tackled to the ground by at least three of the guards, his arms were forced behind his back in a fashion he was familiar with. He didn’t resist, not wanting to take a chance with the ponies playing cops. He was then pulled up on his knees, the five ponies that he’d seen earlier and the princesses were now approaching him. They stared at him for a few moments, so he shot them a confident smile. In truth he was terrified, but he’d be damned if he gave them the satisfaction.

“Where is your friend?” Asked the white princess, Johnny continued that smile of his.

“I have the right to remain silent.” He replied, expecting some form of rebuttal or angry reply from the princess. Instead she simply nodded to the guards behind him and he felt himself hoisted back to his feet, he was now on eye level with the white mare.

“You do… But something tells me you have questions you want answered.” She looked to her navy colored counterpart for a moment as if communicating her thoughts to the other, afterwards the white pony turned and began walking away. Johnny watched the navy colored one step closer, he could see her eyes staring directly into him.

“We art Luna. Thou shalt be coming with us.” Luna looked to the guards behind Johnny for a moment. “The cuffs will not be necessary, he did, after all, surrender as asked…. More or less.” The guards looked miffed, but Johnny couldn’t help but smile as he felt the metal binders be removed, he rubbed at his wrists for a few moments. “We assume thou recognizes us, or at least, our voice?”

“You’re the weird cave lady.” Johnny said bluntly, occasionally looking over his shoulder towards the tree line, something that was not lost on Luna.

“Aye, we art ‘The weird cave lady’.” Luna giggled slightly and looked over her own shoulder at the five ponies that seemingly lived at the house, then she turned back to look at him with a soft smile. “Who, may we ask, art thou, human?” Johnny blinked several times as he heard his own species uttered from an alien’s lips, his body tensed up and the confident facade he’d projected quickly began to falter.

“J-John… Friends call me Johnny…” He stammered. “How did you know I was…” Johnny trailed off, Luna gave him an odd look before turning to look at the five ponies again. The were all whispering amongst themselves, occasionally looking at him, and then going back to their whispering. “A-Are they pressing charges?”

“What?” Luna asked in surprise. “No, they shall not press charges. Why would they… Unless thou happened to track mud all over their upstairs hallway.” Johnny remained quiet for a few minutes. “Listen, John. We understand thou art confused and fearful, who would not be? However, we ask that you kindly keep yourself composed until such time as we art in private, once there we shall answer any question thou may have. Okay?”

“O-Okay…” Johnny said in quiet confusion as Luna began walking him away from the group, in his mind he was contemplating his escape. Part of him knew that sticking with the ponies for a bit would give him a chance to really learn about them, but flight was still foremost in his mind. He was just glad he had the fortitude to keep his still relatively calm composure.

[♦]

Jen watched through the scope of the hunting rifle as Johnny was led away, she briefly considered opening fire on the ponies and giving him an opportunity to run, but she knew that doing that would likely lead to Johnny’s death sooner than his escape. Currently she was laying on her stomach on the ridge the two of them had started out on, Johnny had marked it by leaving his own backpack behind while she’d carried hers. Jen tracked both Johnny and Princess Luna as far as she could, her breath becoming more frantic as he got further and further away from her. She was forced to pull her eye away from the scope to wipe away another tear, by then Johnny was out of sight.

Her sight drifted over to the five mares that she recognized, they were now chatting with some of the guards while the other guards began clearing out. Watching them from a distance made her think of all the times she’d sat down to watch them when the world was still a relatively safe place to live. In that moment she had a moment of clarity, she was honestly surprised a lightbulb didn’t come on over her head. She knew these ponies, more importantly, she knew about these ponies. What they did, where they hung out, who their family was.

The gears in her head began turning as she hatched a plan to not only learn more about what strange place she was in, but also to free Johnny and take him off with her to someplace where they would both be safe. She would use her knowledge of this world to her advantage and wage a one woman war of sabotage and subterfuge until she got what she wanted. Jen watched the ponies further, the guards were slowly filtering away from the farm now, and it appeared the ponies would be going their separate ways soon enough.

Jen quietly stood up and looked to one of the bags that had been left there, she felt a soft shiver pass over her body, the air was rather chilly for her liking. She remembered that Johnny had her camouflage jacket, but that didn’t matter, she still had the long jacket she’d carried with her. With a sigh Jen unzipped her bag and pulled the double breasted trench coat from within, she held it out in front of her and stared at it as she remembered how she’d gotten it.

Her childhood friend Mark had given it to her as a gift when she’d first joined the National Guard, the patch on the shoulder she had added herself after attending a convention. She’d dubbed it her Judgement Day Jacket as a joke, considering it seemed like something that a doomsday romanticist would wear. The irony that she was wearing it post doomsday was not lost on her, but she decided not to dwell on it.

Jen first slipped her arms into the jacket with a shudder, unused to the feeling of the jacket liner at first. Once she’d pulled it on and buttoned it up tight she pulled her hair back so that it wasn’t caught in the jacket. She gathered up her belongings, then looked at Johnny’s bag. Jen could see the fabric of his Hawaiian shirt hanging from the mouth of the bag, a feeling of grief ran through her.

“He’s still alive…” Jen whispered to herself as she picked up the bag. “He’s still alive.” Quietly the woman began skulking through the dark, following the path that she had memorized back to the cave. It was eerie just hearing her boots in the dark, she was so used to Johnny’s coming up right behind her. A sad smile crossed her face as she recalled the time she’d nearly shot him when he’d come out of the dark and given her an awful scare, something that he thought was hilarious.

The rest of her journey continued in that hollow silence, it was almost as hollow as the feeling she felt rising in her chest. The loss of Johnny had hit her like a punch to the stomach, no amount of positive thinking could shut out what she imagined he would be going through. By the time she’d reached the cave she was a shaking nervous wreck, thoughts of Johnny enduring the worst tortures she could imagine had her biting her nails like she never had before. Her composure only lasted as long as it took her to get deep into the cave and not a moment more, Jen found herself sitting in the fetal position and rested her head on her knees.

After an hour or so the stress from the day caught up with her, the surge of adrenaline she’d been surfing came to a crashing halt and before Jen knew it she was struggling to remain awake. Her eyelids felt as if they had weights attached to them, finally she let out a quiet sigh and let go of consciousness.

”Whisky Five Five. Whiskey Five Five. What is your ETA on Civilian Evac Point Echo, over?” The radio squawk jerked the sergeant up in her seat, she adjusted the helmet on her head and looked out one of the windows of the Chinook she was currently in. Below her she could see pine trees and vast meadows, mountains off in the distance, and an eerie clear morning sky took up the rest of her vision.

“Uh… Roger that Crystal Palace. ETA is two mikes, over.” Jen could hear the pilot reply in the cockpit, she looked around the inside of the helicopter and found that aside from her and another Guardsman it was empty. The guardsman she recognized as one of her few friends, a rather pasty looking corporal with thick rimmed glasses and a bad case of acne. “Sarge! We’re two minutes out! Get ready!”

“Roger that!” Jen shouted back, she stood up and gripped the M4 assault rifle strapped over her chest. Her vision turned to the corporal who seemed a little too nervous to have heard the notification. “Smalls! Ready up! When we set down we can’t let any more than fifty three people on, try not to break up families!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Smalls replied, he readied his own rifle and stood up. Jen and he walked towards the end of the helicopter as the rear door began opening.

“Gas masks!” Jen shouted over the wind, Smalls nodded and the two quickly pulled on the gas masks that had been issued to them. They already were wearing thick welders gloves beneath the rather thick jackets that they’d also been given, Jen honestly wondered what the point of that was. It was almost as if they were gearing up to fight rabid dogs rather than evacuate people.

With the masks on, Jen and Smalls looked out the now open cargo door. Beneath them they could see houses on fire, an old sounding air raid siren echoed in the distance, and swarms of people were fleeing from other swarms of people. Some were firing into the second swarm, but to Jen’s surprise, it didn’t seem to be having much of an effect. Behind their Chinook, the two soldiers could see the other helicopters that had been assigned to the other evacuation points in the small town below them.

“Holy fuck! Evac Point Delta is compromised!” Someone shouted over the radio, Jen watched the helicopters for that point begin circling over what had once been their evacuation point. She could see it almost looked like an old folks home, below she could see police and private citizens firing away at the incoming swarm of seemingly invincible people. “Open up on ‘em!” Chaos was breaking out, and Jen felt a lump form in her throat as she caught sight of something. Even at the distance and altitude she was at, she could still see it happening. A young girl tackling her mother and father, before all three turned on what looked like the son of the family, who was then forced to lay waste to them with a shotgun.

“Jesus Christ… What fresh hell is this…?” Smalls muttered as the flaming building and compromised evacuation sight was left in the distance. Jen looked over to her fellow guardsman, then back down at the earth below. She felt a pit growing in her stomach, prompting her to pat her right breast pocket. Within was her father’s old marine cover, something she carried with her for good luck. Feeling it there gave her mild courage for the things to come, something told her she would need it.

“Thirty seconds!” The pilot announced, Jen and Smalls gripped the cargo hooks on the either side of the Chinook as it began angling itself for a landing. She could see below them was a large football field, most likely for the high school located right next to it. Hundreds of people were swarming the school, police and national guard forces were already setting up a perimeter. Jen briefly looked over at Smalls, the young man looked unsteady on his feet.

“Smalls. You with me?” Jen asked loudly over the noise of the engine, the young man looked at her for a few moments. She could see the fear in his eyes, it was obvious that he could see the fear in hers. “Come on! Head in the game! These people are depending on us! Are you gonna let them down?”

“No, ma’am!” The man, more a kid than a man, replied loudly with false courage. That was all Jen could ask for out of the kid, she focussed her attention instead on the ground growing ever closer.

“Sarge! Be advised! Check them for any bite marks! Those are command’s orders, not mine!” The pilot shouted loudly, Jen just nodded in response.

“What if they have bite marks?” Smalls asked in reply.

“Keep them away from the chopper, if they resist…. Shoot ‘em.” Was the pilot’s final word, Jen and Smalls felt knots twist in their stomachs as they grew ever closer to the ground. The pilot had said it with an equally melancholy tone, as if somehow that would make it less of a sickening command. When the helicopter finally touched down Jen and Smalls rushed out the back and began motioning the people towards them.

“Come on! Come on! Get in!” Jen shouted at the first group of people, meanwhile other helicopters were touching down nearby. Overhead she could see Apaches patrolling off in the distance, occasionally opening up on anything trying to get near the evacuation center. Jen came to the horrible conclusion that that included people that needed to be evacuated, but hadn’t arrived in time.

The first group of evacuees rushed towards the Chinook, some of them looked like they’d been through hell. Many of them were armed with blunt instruments of privately owned guns, something that made Jen uneasy. She and Smalls began checking them as the passed by, thankfully at first none had bite marks, though some had head wounds or burns, and others were limping along with sprained ankles. Preppy looking teens and their rich parents, poor looking broken families, all of them made equal by the horrors of whatever god had deemed fit to unleash upon earth.

“Sarge!” Smalls yelled, catching Jen’s attention. She looked over to Smalls and saw him nervously rubbing the back of his neck, in front of him was a family that looked absolutely devastated. The sergeant pushed through the oncoming crowd of people, prompting one of the already present guardsman on the ground to take up her position. She approached the family and felt her heart sink as she spotted a young boy, no older than ten, with a bite on his forearm. The mother was in hysterics, the father trembling as he tried to contain the emotion that Jen knew was eating him up inside.

“H-He says you won’t let my son on the helicopter! Why won’t you let him on! His sister bit him when they were having a silly fight, nothing else! Please!” The mother wailed loudly, Jen felt as if a knife was being plunged deep into her chest. She reached up to her ear and activated her radio.

“Crystal Palace, this is Sergeant Poplawski on Whiskey Five Five. I’ve got someone here who sustained a bite wound, but they claim it wasn’t inflicted today. Can we let them on, over?” Jen asked desperately, her eyes shifting towards the frightened looking ten year old.

“Negative, Sergeant. Do not let them on.” Was the sharp and harsh reply she received.

“But he’s only ten years old-!”

“Negative, Five Five. The order comes from the President’s office. No exceptions. Out.” The radio cut out, Jen felt as if she could vomit right there. Quietly she looked at the dismayed family, she could feel her entire body shaking.

“I… I… There’s nothing I can do…” Jen felt her voice crack, the family looked absolutely shattered. It was all she could do to internalize the emotion and look at Smalls, he was looking at her with an equally dumbfounded look in his eyes. Even with the gasmask on, she could see just how confused he was. “We… We got a job to do still… Get back to it…”

Jen did her best to drown out the sobs of the mother and father as she walked back to her post, but it was no use, it was a sound that would follow her for the rest of her life. The looks she received as she continued her work were just as haunting, some of them were hateful. She could understand those, and in a way she knew she deserved them, but the ones that seemed understanding were what really struck her. 

“Fifty-one… Fifty-two… Fifty-three!” Smalls yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts. The people began yelling angrily as Jen and her companion stepped back onto the cargo ramp. Jen looked out over the crowd at the family, all of whom were huddled together. The boy looked at her with a confused expression, as if asking her why he wasn’t worth saving. Jen could have stepped off the chopper, she could have offered him her place. It would have been the human thing to do… But she didn’t step off the helicopter, she didn’t offer the boy her place, all she could do was continue staring at the boy as the cargo door began closing and the helicopter lifted off.

Once the helicopter had gotten into the air the crowded chinook was dead silent, an hour after take off the radio exclaimed that the site was successfully evacuated, save for those that had bite marks or other injuries that prevented them from leaving. They had been left behind to fend off the tide of destruction alone. It was only at that point that Jen pulled off her gas mask. In front of fifty four people and over the radio she openly began to weep, in her mind she began imagining the worst fate possible for the little boy she’d been forced to leave behind.

Officially the ‘Weeping woman’ that had been heard over the radio was a distraught civilian, but those aboard Whiskey Five Five knew the truth.

Jen awoke to the sound of chirping birds, laying down alone in the cave with tear’s on her face. Normally Johnny would be there to hold her close, to ease her fears and tell her what she’d done was all she could do. Normally… But Johnny wasn’t there, her fears weren’t eased, and no amount of talking to herself could convince her that what she’d done was ‘All she could do’. For the first time in a long time Jen felt overcome with emotion. She began to cry, the size and shape of the cave only serving to amplify the sound.

To the residents of Ponyville, that morning the call of the mourning dove was drown out by weeping that lasted for well over an hour. All that was known was that it came from the Everfree forest, and from that day forward the legend of the Weeping Woods began to circulate. This sudden development was not lost on a group of three small fillies with oddly lenient fight or flight reflexes, and though their elders warned them explicitly against searching from the source, it was obvious to them there was only one thing to do. Investigate, and maybe gain something each of them had sought after for so long.

It was certain to go down as one of the oddest, and perhaps depressing, chapters in Ponyville’s history.
> Chapter 47
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a new day in New Liberty, the ponies living there were gradually easing back into their normal lives. The sun was already heating up the sand, the sky was clear blue as usual, and the POWs were going about their normal routine of sitting around and chatting. The President hadn’t left his office in the last day, not even to retire to the room that had been set aside for him. Little did many know, the man had not had any good nights sleep since he’d awoken in Luna’s bedroom.

Dominic quietly looked over the maps stretched out over his desk, following the lines on them with great care. The windows to his office were all open and his t-shirt was drenched in sweat, he had to make a note to somehow reinvent Air Conditioning. Even so early in the morning Despite all the heat and several reports of Changeling scouts on the horizon, Dominic was in an alright mood. The more he looked at the maps the more he felt his inner capitalist swell with excitement.

It wasn’t what he saw on the map that was building this excitement, it was what wasn’t on the map. The United States would need a flow of currency to survive as all countries do, and it seemed that he’d stumbled upon the solution to his problem. Equestria had no standardized track gauge, furthermore, numerous nature preserves made it nearly impossible to build anything more than a curving railroad from east to west. That meant more fuel and longer travel times, something that the man was sure business ponies would love to cut down on. Dominic saw that if the Changeling’s capitulated the United States would inherit territory stretching from East to West, and that gave him a truly American idea.

His attention shifted from the map to the window, staring out at the POW camp with quiet contempt. It was eating him up that the person responsible for the death of not only a fine military officer but also someone he considered a friend was sitting there in a cushy barracks. Part of him wanted to march out there and drag the Queen in front of the capitol building to shoot her, but the rest of him cried out that he should show restraint. That wasn’t what he was about, and furthermore, that wasn’t what the fledgling United States was about either.

Dominic quietly sighed and stood up, his back letting out several loud pops and prompting him to groan. He cleared his throat as he looked over the map, then reached for a pen that was seated on his desk.

“Sonar-” The man began, his door burst open and the spectacled mare entered with numerous papers gripped in her wings.

“One moment, Mister President.” She laid the numerous papers on the desk. “Could you sign these, sir?” Dominic picked up one of the papers and read it over, they all seemed to be forums for different things.

“What am I signing?” He looked at the spectacled mare, she gestured to a few papers and adjusted her glasses.

“This is a forum requesting a license to begin construction on the school, this is authorizing a survey team to search for mineral deposits, and that one there is the daily duty roster for POW guard patrols.” As Sonar read off the papers Dominic signed the papers and handed them back to her.

“Alright… Could you do me a favor and-” The president found himself once again cut off by the thestral, Dominic didn’t mind though, as Sonar was rather adorable in her mannerisms. He thought this in a completely platonic way of course, how could he not, the ponies were supposed to be adorable after all.

“Why do you want me to send for railway engineers?” Sonar asked, the President looked down at the map and the mare followed his gaze. “Oh! Right! I’ll spread the news around to a couple of my friends back in Equestria. Should have someone here soon enough!”

“Excellent, I’d also appreciate-”

“I’ll see about compiling a list of our current assets as well, sir.”

“Thank you, Sonar.” Dominic chuckled to himself and walked around his desk towards the window again. Sonar nodded and began trotting out of the room. “Sonar, after you’ve filed that why don’t you head down to the tunnels for a bit, alright? It’s hot up here, and with your condition…”

“I’ll think about it, Mister President.” Sonar said with a small smile before exiting out the door and closing it behind her. Dominic quietly looked down at the camp from the window again, staring at the POW camp for what felt like the hundredth time that day. His eyes were aching and his limbs felt oddly distant from his body, signs that he needed to sleep. The man shrugged them off, no matter how hard he tried to relax there was no respite, uneasiness and doubt constantly plagued his mind. It was a strange empty feeling in his heart, as if he’d left part of himself far away.

Dominic closed his eyes and leaned on the window sill as he leaned his head forward, his thoughts were a jumbled and stressful mess. All that seemed to be clear in the maelstrom was Luna’s face, the man took several deep breaths and shook his head. Thinking of Luna only seemed to make the stress worse, knowing that he had no one to truly confide in.Twilight was just as far away, and Dominic didn’t feel right burdening Sonar with his problems when she had so many of her own. The only other pony he could have talked to was Errant, and Dominic bitterly remembered why she wasn’t available.

After a few minutes of silent contemplation Dominic stood up straight and opened his eyes, he looked at the POW camp once more. To his surprise he could see Chrysalis staring at him from inside her barrack, he couldn’t quite place the look she had on her face due to the distance. The two of them quietly stared at eachother for what felt like an eternity, each of them sizing the other up. Dominic finally turned away from the window and walked towards his desk, he sat in his chair with a quiet grunt and began looking over the maps again.

One thing was certain in his mind, building what he envisioned in his mind would take a fair amount of money. Furthermore, it would require him to make several choices about how he wanted to act towards Equestria. From what he could see, the land he stood to gain from the Changeling Capitulation would give him a relative straight shot from east to west, but there was one kink in the plan. Dominic picked up a pen from his desk and circled the small Equestrian town of Appleloosa in red ink before leaning back in his chair and steepling his fingers.

He hoped there was a way to build around the town, even though it appeared that the ponies had built inside Changeling territory. Dominic was certain there would be an army on his doorstep faster than he could say filibuster if he didn’t have sort of plan to address the town, but first he had to deal with drawing up plans for the railway in the first place. Dominic felt a twinge of stress in his neck that prompted him to reach towards a wooden box on his desk and withdraw a rather long cigar. It would have been unwise for a president to drink, so cigars had replaced booze as Dominic’s means of coping with stress.

He bit the cap off the cigar and lit up, his eyes still glued to the map as he continued debating what to do next. The smoke wafted up to the ceiling, thick and heavy like an acrid fog. Feeling restless, Dominic stood up once again and walked towards the door. He left the office and descended to the first floor of the capitol building, passing by several thestrals that were working on minor repairs. The man stepped out onto the dirt street of New Liberty a minute later, puffing on his cigar and looking around for something to do.

He honestly had no idea what to do, in all his time in Equestria he’d had Canterlot Castle to explore or nobles to piss off whenever he ran out of things to do in his room. Now that he was in charge of a country he couldn’t piss of nobles and he certainly didn’t have a castle to explore. His gaze shifted from the town to the hills off in the distance, a sad smile passed onto his lips as he remembered all the times he’d gone hiking with his dad.

Dominic felt his feet carrying him towards those hills and he went along willingly, the sound of his boots crushing dirt beneath them was all the sound the reached his ears. As he walked down the main street of New Liberty he felt the weight on his shoulders begin to lift away, Dominic would momentarily look at the buildings around him before he continued moving along. His boots stopped just short of one of the defensive lines that had been built during the battle, the man looked up and down the line for a moment. The trench had been left empty and was oddly orderly, all things considered.

Dominic let out a quiet sigh and turned around to look at the town once again, puffing on his cigar once again. Most of the thestrals were going about their business as usual, occasionally a few would stop and look at him. The American flag fluttered atop the capitol building, in the distance Dominic could hear foals laughing. The man turned around and jumped over the trench, then began walking up towards the hills in silence. The sun beat down on him whilst he trudged up the first incline, occasionally his boots would slip on the sandy dirt but he never once fell.

Each passing moment he felt himself moving higher and higher until finally he had reached the top of the sandy hill, there were desert shrubs and a few cacti spread about there. Dominic took another puff on his cigar before exhaling the smoke through his nose, the sand easily spread out under foot as he turned to face the town. It was below the hill and a moderate distance away, Dominic could still see the flag fluttering away. He silently sat himself down on the ground and closed his eyes, then laid down flat on the hot soil. His cigar met an early end as it was snuffed out by the sand, not that he minded. Dominic let out a soft sigh as he laid there staring at the back of his eyelids, the warmth of the sand made him feel at peace.

As he continued to lay there, Dominic thought back to his life before he’d come to Equestria, before the outbreak. There was once a time where he’d gone to a pretty dark place, he hadn’t let his family see it. At least, he’d tried. There wasn’t much he could hide from his mother though, and without acknowledging that she knew, she helped him. Dominic let out a slow breath through his mouth before inhaling through his nose, mentally he began counting back from ten. He felt the ground begin to melt away from him, his outer extremities felt comfortably numb.

Dominic felt odd that he had to come to the literal edge of nowhere to finally feel a comfortable solitude. It had been so long since he’d relaxed like this that he was surprised he remembered the exercise his mom had taught him, as he continued breathing through his nose Dominic began to lose track of time. For him it felt like an hour or so of complete and utter peace and quiet, but in actuality it only lasted for ten minutes. His absence from town had not gone unnoticed and his security detail had grown concerned, Dominic felt himself slip back into the waking world when he heard the flapping of their leathery wings.

“Mister President?” Asked the familiar voice of Rolling Thunder. “You alright, sir?” Dominic held up his right hand to give them a thumbs up, still not opening his eyes or sitting up just yet.

“Yup, never better. Just communing with nature.” The President chose that moment to sit up and rub his eyes, the brightness of the desert hurt them for a brief moment before they adjusted properly. Dominic looked over to Rolling Thunder and his companion Chipped Blade, both of whom were looking around the area. “What’s the word, gentlemen?”

“A flash message from Equestria came in a few minutes ago, sir. It was sent last night, but for some reason their mages didn’t pop it over until now.” Chipped Blade said in a dutiful tone as he reached into his bag and withdrew what should have been a sealed envelope. Due to the heat however, the wax seal had been heated enough for it to mush and deform. Dominic gestured for Chipped to bring the message over as he scooched back towards a rock that looked particularly comfy. He leaned against it just as Chipped handed him the paper.

“You wouldn’t have happened to have opened it, would you?” Dominic asked in a snarky tone, both stallions shook their heads quietly. “Did Sonar?”

“It’s safe to assume she reads all of your mail, sir.” Rolling Thunder replied in his own snarky tone, Dominic gave him a slightly amused smirk before looking down at the paper. He poked his thumb under the lip of the envelope and slid it along the length, effectively breaking the seal before he withdrew the official looking parchment from within. Chipped Blade and Rolling Thunder discretely moved a bit further away from Dominic, not wanting to appear nosy.

“Acting President Dominic Occisor, this letter is to inform you that…” Dominic quietly read to himself, stopping himself cold as he reached a certain point in the letter. He sighed and rubbed his temples for a moment, then slipped the letter into his pocket and stood up. “Chipped, Rolling, head on back to the capitol building. I’ve got to take care of something…” Both thestrals nodded and took off without a question, Dominic bowed his head and rubbed his neck.

Part of him wanted to take off and go back to Equestria, to deal with the latest development in the human situation himself, but the current hostility between the United States and the changelings made leaving impossible. Dominic looked down at the sandy ground and picked up his dead cigar before slipping it into his pocket, he then looked back at New Liberty. The POWs were out and about as far as he could see from this distance, he was thankful that at least he hadn’t had to deal with any escape attempts.

Dominic sighed and began walking back towards the town, feeling the familiar twinge of stress return to his shoulders. The man’s footsteps became measured and slow, his relaxed self gone and replaced by a mildly miserable leader of micro-nation. There was a soft wind blowing from the south, sand and dust blew harshly against Dominic’s exposed skin. He ignored it as he continued onwards, in what seemed like no time he’d reached the defensive line that he’d first stopped at. Thestrals went about their business as he stepped over the trench and continued on down the main drag.

He stopped just outside a store that had been gutted, there wasn’t much to the building other than it housed one of the entryways into the tunnel system the thestrals had built. Dominic briefly contemplated heading down there, but shook his head and instead started walking again. He slipped his hands into his pockets and walked towards the POW camp next, the guards saluted as he walked past. Finally Dominic came to a halt outside the fence, numerous changelings began crowding around to get a look at him. He took the same time as an opportunity to get a good look at them as well.

He took a few moments to examine the insectoids, some looked as if they were frightened by his presence while others seemed to have looks of anger. That drove home the point that if the Changelings capitulated it would not be an easy transition, there was likely to be animosity between the surface dwelling ponies and their changeling counterparts. After a few silent minutes of staring at eachother the door to one of the barracks opened and a familiar Queen poked her head out.

Dominic put his hands on his hips and tilted his head to the side whilst Chrysalis maintained an almost regal look of contempt, the two leaders staring eachother down in their own silent manner. Though Dominic’s was honest, Chrysalis was actually putting up a front. Deep down she knew that showing weakness in conviction would be the final death knell for her reign. So long as she acted as a Queen, her children would see her as a queen.

“Mister President. What an unexpected surprise! What brings you to my humble abode?” Chrysalis asked in a snarky tone, Dominic responded by clearing his throat and walking towards the fence.

“I’m just checking to see how you’re all being treated.” Dominic said quietly as he rubbed his chin, the changelings looked amongst each other. “Anything I can get for you? More blankets, perhaps?”

“No, we are quite alright.” Chrysalis replied, Dominic hummed and looked her in the eyes for a few moments before nodding. The silence reigned for a few a minute or so before the man finally turned on his heel and began walking back towards the capitol building, his steps slow and measured like those of a predator. Chrysalis sighed as she dropped her mask of resolve and turned to enter her quarters once again, the drone Distortion eventually made her way through the crowd. She too entered the barracks and closed the door behind her, turning her attention to her mother.

“Something about him is different.” Chrysalis said as she sat at her favorite spot near the window and watched the capitol building. Distortion walked closer to the fallen queen and was surprised to see her mother scooch over. “Sit with me, Distortion.” The changeling drone quietly nodded and sat beside her mother, looking out the same window as her mother. “Did you sense the change, daughter? There is something off about him.”

“I did… I can’t quite place my hoof on what it is.” Distortion replied, still somewhat surprised she was sitting beside the Queen, that was something that was usually reserved only for the princess of the hive.

“It was a strong loathing… Some directed at us, but the rest directed at something beyond his control. Couple that with his visit to check on us… I fear Equestria has demanded my extradition.” Chrysalis did not look away from the window, nor did the tone of her voice change. Distortion felt a pit grow in her stomach as she looked upon her mother’s face, fear crept into her mind at what could possibly happen. “There is a chance that is not the case. Speaking from experience I can say a lot is out of one’s control when they run a country.”

“If it is as you fear… What becomes of us? Our hive will not survive without a Queen.” Distortion said as she felt her heart beat begin to rise, she felt Chrysalis’ hoof perched on her shoulder a few moments later.

“I have plans in motion, my child. Smart ones this time, I hope.” The genuine smile on Chrysalis’ face gave Distortion a reason to relax, her fears seemed to ease away knowing that her Queen truly cared for her. “Speaking of which, I want you to begin notifying your brothers and sisters they are permitted to defect without fear of punishment.” Distortion began to open her mouth. “It is noble of you to be so loyal, but your loyalty is also a fault. You must learn to let go every once in awhile.”

“I… I’ll try, mother.” Distortion looked to the floor and let out a small yelp of surprise as Chrysalis pulled her up to her side. She’d not been so close to the Queen since she was but a nymph, it triggered feelings of lost joy in her, as if she were wearing a comfortable old pair of slippers. “M-Mother, why are you… I mean… Not that I’m not grateful, but…”

Chrysalis smiled a serene smile and closed her eyes. “Because you’re my daughter, Distortion. I care for your brothers and sisters just as much, but you… You are my daughter.” The Queen leaned her head back and let out a slow breath. Distortion hesitantly closed her own eyes and returned the embrace, not wanting to let go for she feared she would lose her mother forever. “It is now that I sit here, realizing that my life may soon come to an end, that I see just how foolish I was in the past. I suppose that is only because before I hadn’t faced consequences so dire…”

Distortion didn’t know how to respond to the statement and instead remained silent, assuming that perhaps Chrysalis was speaking to herself. The changeling mare looked through the window and out past the fence, up to the window sill of the capitol building. She could see the human pacing back and forth, his body language indicated he truly was frustrated with something. Distortion found that odd, she’d never really been good at reading body language, but now it felt more natural. She attributed it to the down time she’d had in the POW camp, giving her more time to practice her skills. That seemed to be the most logical solution. With those thoughts she sat with her mother, contemplating the future not only for herself but for her race as a whole.

[♦]

Luna’s bedroom was lit with warm candles, it had been quickly returned to its former glory after Dominic and the princesses had woken up. The tapestries were straightened, the curtains were closed, and Luna’s star charts were organized alphabetically once again. Near the only window with open curtains was a well made oak table. On one side of the rectangular table sat Princess Luna with a dainty plate of greens in front of her, across from her was a freshly showered and shaved man. He wore an ill fitting t-shirt and jeans, coupled with combat boots that were a size too big. Not that he was complaining, fresh clothing was fresh clothing. Luna knew Dominic wouldn’t mind if Johnny took some of his clothes.

He was quietly staring out the window with several empty plates in front of him, all that remained after the malnourished survivor had devoured a breakfast that could have fed a family of four. Luna had tasted each dish herself to prove to him they weren’t poisoned, knowing from personal experience just how damaging that could be. The two hadn’t talked much after he’d been brought in, the media circus was already beginning to form once again, and the royal guards were preparing for what could be a repeat of the Canterlot Riot. What was worse was that now that the news was out there were ponies from all around the country making their way to Ponyville, and mixing curious ponies with what was essentially a predator with a high powered rifle was not a good mix.

Luna adjusted her seat and quietly cleared her throat, but Johnny didn’t seem to notice. His gaze was locked on the horizon as the morning grew older and older. Luna cleared her throat once more, louder this time. She saw his eyes flick around for a moment before he rubbed them and turned his head towards her, the princess gave him a slight smile that the man hesitantly returned.

“So… John. Do you think we could talk a bit? I’m sure you’re very confused.” Luna asked politely, Johnny put his hand to his chin as he looked her over. He chewed on his lip for a moment before quietly shrugging and leaning forwards on the table, the way he did so made it clear to see just how thin he was.

“What’d you want to talk about?” Johnny asked, he watched the princess for any sign of dishonesty or secrecy. He had been a little confused that she had gone from speaking what she called ‘The royal we’ to just normal talking, but he wasn’t about to question a magical talking alicorn princess. Some things were beyond questioning.

“Well, for starters, I’d like to say that we’re not out to hurt you or your friend. I’m sorry you were treated so roughly, my sister’s guards are a tad aggressive.” Luna said sincerely, she was surprised when Johnny leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms as he chuckled lightly.

“Sister, those guys don’t even compare to Newark PD.” Johnny had a slight levity to his voice, but it was clear to Luna he was rather concerned. “As for you not wanting to hurt my friend and I, I guess I can buy it. Hell, I was close to buying it a day ago anyway, if I hadn’t made a rookie mistake when I busted into that house I’d be home free, so that’s my fault too.” The man’s tone shifted to a more serious one and his face became a bit harder to read. “But, can I be honest with you?” Luna nodded. “My concern right now ain’t police brutality, my concern is what Jen is going to think is happening to me, and how she will respond.”

“Jen… I assume she is your mate?” Luna asked, Johnny’s eyes widened and he fumbled over his words, that gave Luna her answer. “What about her response has you concerned?” The man composed himself for a moment and pointed off into the distant forest.

“Jen is a small town girl from bumble fuck Colorado, place called Calahan or something.” Johnny began to explain, Luna sat up straighter at the mention of the state. “Anyway, she spent most of her young years growing up learning to hunt, fish, track, and all manner of other woods stuff that city guys like me couldn’t dream of doing.” Luna nodded and gestured for him to continue, starting worry a tad more about the remaining human. “As you so brilliantly figured out, she and I are close… In the biblical sense. Knowing her, she probably thinks I’m being waterboarded and god knows what else, she’s also most likely very angry.”

“Good to know, but what concerns you about her response?” Luna asked, hoping to get to the point so she could begin taking action, Johnny took her hint and nodded.

“Point is. Jen is out there in the woods alone with a high powered hunting rifle, a grudge, and a bountiful pool of brightly colored targets. It’s unlikely she’ll respond to a pony trying to talk her down.” It was Johnny’s turn to drop a hint, Luna picked up on it and silently lowered her head a bit before sighing and shaking her head. “I’m gonna take that as a no…”

“I’m sorry, but already our guard forces are straining to stop ponies from going after her on their own. If they even get a whisper that there are two humans out there… I shudder to think what may happen. Nearly a year ago there were riots in the streets in Canterlot over the same issue.” Johnny frowned at her answer, but didn’t let it go unquestioned. He’d been wondering for some time how the Princess knew what he and Jen were, and more importantly, why she seemed to be so understanding of his actions.

“That brings me to my next concern.” Johnny leaned forwards and interlaced his fingers on the table, he looked the princess in the eyes and cleared his throat. “You obviously know what me and Jen are, that raises the question as to how. I assume that something I overheard regarding someone named ‘Dominic’ will answer my question.”

Luna quietly eased back into her seat and rubbed a hoof at the back of her neck, she looked around the room for a moment before her horn ignited and she levitated a box from beneath her bed. She felt a slight drain on her magic due to what was inside the cardboard container before she set it down on the table with a thud. Johnny stared at it for a few moments before he reached for the lid and carefully removed it. Inside he found a stack of newspapers, and on the very first page he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

He was staring at a black and white photo of a behemoth of a man, wearing a black suit and tie, standing in a crowded room that looked oddly enough like the supreme court. Behind him were rows of chairs, one half had what looked like normal ponies while the others seemed to be in uniform. Before he could get a better look at him the princess’ horn glowed once more and the papers lifted out of the box rearranging in the air before settling back down.

“I apologize, I assume you’d want to see them chronologically.” She quickly explained, Johnny looked at the first picture and blinked in confusion. There was the same man, decked out in a ratty looking leather trench coat, jeans, combat boots and an old looking helmet. He was skinnier, Johnny could practically see the clothes hanging off of him, and there was a tired look to his eyes. Next to him was Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, as well as another pony he hadn’t seen before. It looked similar to a press conference, in fact, Johnny was sure that was exactly what it was. The headline was indecipherable though, as it seemed the ponies wrote in a bastardization version of Russian for some reason.

“What does this say?” Johnny asked quietly as he picked up the paper and looked it over, Luna’s horn glowed once more the paper was illuminated. To Johnny’s shock the first words became highlighted before he heard a voice speak.

“‘Human’ revealed to world. Denounces Equestrian Government.” The voice was oddly slow and even toned in its reading, Johnny scratched his head and looked at Luna.

“For the visually impaired, our newspapers are equipped with an auditory aid spell.” She explained simply, Johnny mumbled something about ‘Or the illiterate’ before turning his attention back to the newspaper.

“In a fiery and shocking press conference, the Princesses announced the existence of an extra-dimensional creature calling itself a ‘Human’. The brutish ape-like being is pictured above, moments before it savagely tore into the great Equestrian kingdom.” The voice went on, Johnny noted that talking about a picture when you’re creating something for blind people is a bit of a dick thing to do, but that was the publisher's fault. More importantly he noted the language in the article and compared it to the man in the picture, more of a kid than a man really.

“Brutish ape-like being…? He’s a kid, I could sneeze on him and he’d fall over…” Johnny commented aloud, Luna nodded silently.

“Yellow journalism, as he calls it.” She simply stated.

“The creature launched into an angry tirade that proclaimed his species was superior to pony kind after being provoked by the noble Prince Blueblood.” The newspaper flipped to another page on its own, much to Johnny’s surprise. “Little else is known of the incident other than the Prince proceeded to fire a stun spell at the human. To the shock of all those present, this only served to anger the human, who responded with the retrieval of a weapon referred to as a ‘Firearm’. Thankfully, the Princesses defused the situation before any counter attack was made.”

Johnny set the paper down and looked over at the Princess with a disbelieving expression, Luna’s horn stopped it’s glow as she waited for him to ask a question.

“According to this one of you guys tried to shoot him?”

“The former Prince Blueblood did, yes. He was barred from the conference and any matters involving Dominic from then on.” Luna explained before sighing and looking at the table. “Perhaps we were too hasty in that punishment, it may have stopped him from seeking vengeance.” Luna removed a few more papers before coming to one that depicted the glistening city outside, only it was in shambles. A haze of tear gas loomed over it like a shroud, riot police were marching down the street, and in the foreground Johnny saw ‘Dominic’ being carried off in a stretcher while a unicorn was being dragged off in cuffs.

“Jesus… You guys are nucking futs.”

“In a way I suppose we are.” Luna replied in an honest tone, Johnny put the paper back in the box and sighed, briefly scratching at his chin before speaking once again.

“So where is he? Dead? In a coma? Hiding in a cave somewhere?” He asked, Luna shook her head and the man gained a slightly annoyed expression. “Well, where is he then? I want to meet him.” Luna paused for a moment before her horn glowed again, a moment later one of the guards from outside pushed the door open and stuck his head in.

“Yes, Princess?” He asked.

“Do you have the current whereabouts of Dom-” Luna caught herself. “President Occisor?” The title made Johnny’s head spin, the guard at the door nodded and replied promptly, but Johnny didn’t hear a word he said. With his jaw hanging slack and his mind racing a minute, he almost looked like he was brain dead. Luna put a gentle hoof on his shoulder and gave it a nudge, that brought him back. The guard had already excused himself and closed the door, and he was sure that at least a few minutes had gone by.

“P-P-President…?” He asked in a shaky tone, Luna nodded once again.

“Technically Acting President, he hasn’t had the time to arrange an official election yet.” The princess’ clarification did nothing to help Johnny’s thoughts. “I am sure you’re very surprised, in time it will be made clear. I have a feeling you’ll be meeting him sooner than you think, providing we cannot get… Jen was it?... To surrender herself… As you pointed out, she’s more likely to trust a fellow survivor.”

“I hope you’re right….” Johnny mumbled as he rubbed the side of his head, the conversation ended at that point for the moment, and once again the two of them were plunged into uncomfortable silence.

[♦]

Jen and Smalls silently made their way through the ruined town, weapons at the ready and their nerves on edge. Most of it was burned down or boarded up, the lake and the waterfall nearby that lead to a river gave it an oddly serene feeling. There had been reports of a lone survivor in the town, and the orders from above were now focussed on getting the people out that they couldn’t get out before. Her thought’s briefly went back to the boy she’d left behind all those months ago, but she forced his innocent face out of her head and refocused on the mission.

What surprised her was that there seemed to be no sign of the infected in the area, at least, not as heavily as it had originally been reported. She was worried that perhaps the survivor had drawn the infected away from town for the time being, that meant he was probably skulking about looking for supplies, it also meant she and Smalls could potentially have targets on their backs. Jen quietly took another step before a twig snapped underfoot, she froze as her heart started beating faster.

Jen shook herself awake, she’d only fallen asleep for a second or two, but she couldn’t be too careful. The guards she’d been fearing before were now keeping their distance from the forest, and whenever she saw some random pony coming towards the forest, they were quick to turn them around. That didn’t stop ponies from getting in though. Thrill seekers and poachers no doubt. To the first group she was an oddity, she could probably give a little show and they’d move along if they found her. The second group was what scared her, and that was why she held her rifle so close. She stopped herself. It wasn’t her rifle, it was Johnny’s rifle, and she’d give it back to him when he was with her once more.

Jen sighed and adjusted her hiding place in the underbrush choosing to hide both day and night, she would be able to last two weeks by herself since Johnny… The woman shook her head and went back to watching through the leaves at the plains around Ponyville, a place that she’d once wanted to visit, but now she feared and even somewhat reviled. Her mind focussed on the mission, and that was somehow getting Johnny back.

First she’d need to find a pony or ponies she could trust, and depending on what type of crazy universe this was, that would be a difficult feat.  If it was a universe where everything was normal she’d maybe just go into town and wait for someone to talk to her. This Equestria wasn’t normal however. The guards looked tactical, like the kind of soldiers that would ride around in black helicopters and carry out secret missions.

That narrowed down Jen’s options quite a bit, according to the fanfictions she’d read. The woman sighed as she remembered that part of her plan. She was basing all of her planning on fanfiction and other fan based information, and given the varying opinions that accompanied those things, she had to take everything she did with a grain of salt.

“Okay… Think… What normally happens…” She closed her eyes and thought back to try and remember something. “Human ends up in Equestria, in the Everfree forest…” She looked around and nod. “So far good.” Her thoughts went back to the stories. “Human either goes into town and is assaulted and or welcomed, or human saves CMC from early demise and gets their trust… And then goes into town and is assaulted and or welcomed.” Jen sighed and facepalmed. “Fucking wonderful…”

Her quiet mutterings were cut short as she heard something off in the distance, she somewhat prayed it was the three cute, if somewhat stupid, fillies. Unsurprisingly, it was someone who had gotten past the security perimeter. Jen looked off into the distance and saw the bright fur from fifty yards away. Two full grown ponies by the looks of things, one was cream colored and the other was bright turquoise.

“Fuck.” Jen whispered, she recognized those two fur colors together. A simple fake show wouldn’t appease these thrill seekers, she’d need to hide from them. The woman pulled up her camouflage netting and got really small beneath it, quietly doing her best to spread leaves over the disguise. She’d encountered these ponies before, the last time had ended in her running for her life as one of them had tried to catch her in a net. Jen slowed her breathing as she watched the two of them moving closer, from fifty to forty to thirty yards and so on. Her grip on the rifle tightened slowly as she could clearly see the ponies looking around. One of them, the cream colored one, looked annoyed.

“I’m close, I can practically smell them!” Jen heard the turquoise one comment, she closed her eyes and sighed quietly before pushing her rifle out from under the camouflage net. She opened her eyes and looked through the scope, lining up the crosshairs between the two searching ponies. She caught sight of their cutiemarks and her breath hitched in her throat, how had she not put it together sooner? A lyre and a piece of candy. Jen would have facepalmed for having missed that, but now was not the time. Carefully Jen pulled the weapon back into her hiding hole and watched as the two ponies passed her by. For ten minutes she waited before she quickly gathered up her belongings and booked it in the opposite direction.

Jen panted as she continued on, wanting to put as much space between her and the ponies. In her haste however, she failed to notice the oddly clear area ahead of her, nor did she notice a rather oddly bent tree. She let out a scream of surprise as she felt something snap closed around her ankle, that changed to one of extreme agony as she was yanked off the ground and into the air, losing her grip on her rifle and sending it clattering to the ground. Her entire leg was on fire and she was biting back tears as she realized it had been dislocated, hanging upside down she only could make one conclusion. She’d stepped into a snare trap.

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” She swore loudly as she reached for the knife she kept around her ankle, she could hear movement in the trees off to the distance. Her panic grew, she could hear her heart beat in her ears as she grasped the handle of the knife and started trying to cut the rope around her ankle. Her efforts were in vain however, as the rope was too tough for her feeble movements to make any indent. All hope of escaped vanished when the knife fell from her grip and to the ground, just out of her grasp. That left her only one option, she reached to the revolver in the holster as she let the tears run, they ran up her forehead and into her hair, blurring her vision as she started pointing the weapon in the direction she heard the pony coming.

There was a surprised gasp as the bushes parted, Jen pointed her weapon off in that direction. Before she could get a shot off she felt a stone hit the weapon and send it clattering to the ground, with her free hand she wiped her eyes and found herself staring at a very surprised zebra with worn looking saddle bags. Panic and fear began to rise higher in her mind, she was quickly conjuring the worst scenario imaginable, one where she ended up being eaten by the zebra, or worse…

“N-No…” Jen whispered. “P-Please… N-Not like this…” She closed her eyes and thrashed around trying to get free, only leading to her screaming in even more agony. 

“What is this that I see? Is there a human in that tree?” The Zebra asked in an oddly calm tone, however when she saw the absolute terror written across Jen’s face her tone changed. “Please! Fear not! I won’t harm a hair, now stop moving so I may get you down from there.” Jen reluctantly stopped as she watched the Zebra approach, she knew very well that this zebra’s name was Zecora, but that didn’t dissuade her fears any. 

The Zebra picked up Jen’s knife from the ground and with practiced ease she flung it up at the rope. Jen landed on her back with a loud cry of pain as Zecora moved around to her side and examined the leg. Without much warning she gave it a hard push and Jen screamed as if she were being murdered violently when the leg was popped back into the joint. Jen felt like she would black out from pain, meanwhile Zecora was looking off into the distance as if she’d heard something. Jen tried to move, reaching for her revolver, only for Zecora to look at her and shake her head. The woman opened her mouth to speak but before she could she saw the Zebra give a sad frown and take a bottle from her saddlebag and forced Jen’s mouth open.

“Please, just drink. I must have time to think.” Zecora said in a calm tone, Jen coughed on the oddly sweet tasting liquid before feeling her faculties leaving her. She weakly reached a hand out towards Zecora’s throat and felt the warm fur just before everything began to slow down, the colors of the world around her began to shimmer, it felt like she could taste the colors of the rainbows.

Jen blinked a few times as she felt the world around her beginning to change, she looked down and found herself floating up off the ground. It almost felt like there was no up or down as she levitated into the sky, which was now a neon yellow for some reason. The fear of death faded away as Jen floated higher and higher up towards the sun. She held out a hand to shield her eyes and was surprised to see that her arm now had small cities sprouting up.

“Whoa…” She murmured as she stared at the growing cities, they seemed to turn into countries, and soon enough they were launching space ships to explore her eyebrows. Jen looked at her other arm and was shocked to see other cities, they started launching missiles at her right arm and the right fired back at the left. Jen shook the cities from her arms as she continued floating upwards, reaching a hand out to touch the sun. It was beginning to set, just out of her reach, and as it disappeared from sight she let out a sigh. Jen suddenly gained the sensation she was falling, she looked down and found she was now falling into a constantly changing colorful vortex.

As she swirled around it she saw Johnny as well, he was sitting calmly in a recliner with a newspaper in front of him. Jen reached out to tap him on the shoulder but he was whisked away before she could, moments later Princess Luna and Celestia came into view, they were oddly enough playing chess with pieces that looked like something out of a science fiction movie. As Jen got closer to the bottom of the vortex, all she saw was out of her reach. The woman let out a loud yell as she passed through the event horizon and out into what seemed like time and space.

Jen blinked several times more as she sat up in a desert, in the distance she saw a cruise liner half buried in the sand as well as a crashed helicopter just ahead of her. There was a giant chess piece to her left, contrasting with the colorful blue sky. To her right she saw an odd creature, yet at the same time it seemed oddly familiar. An amalgamation of different animals was reclining in a lawnchair, it had a pair of earbuds plugged in and was tanning itself in the sun with a tanning mirror in its talons and sunglasses over its eyes.

Jen quietly stood up and rubbed the back of her neck, this seemed to catch the creature’s attention. She racked her brain for a few moments, trying to think of its name, in the meantime it lowered the tanning mirror and lifted the sunglasses to reveal a pair of yellow and red eyes.

“My my… It seems they’re everywhere nowadays!” It said in a cheerful tone, Jen scratched the back of her head. “I must say I applaud your work! Plunging the world into chaos and not being turned to stone. Kudos.” Jen blinked a few more times as the creature adjusted his seat.

“Wh-What do you mean?” She asked quietly, the creature snapped his fingers and a newspaper popped up beside him. The name clicked in that instant, it was Discord, a person that Jen was not sure she wanted to meet. Discord looked through the paper for a moment before humming.

“Huh… Guess I had you mistaken for someone else.” The draconequus turned the paper to face her, Jen gawked at the sight of a very muscular looking man in a suit talking to reporters. “Nonetheless, I’m sure you’ll be meeting him very soon. When you do tell him I send my thanks, it’s been eons since I was able to take a holiday!” Discord stretched in the chair, his back eliciting hundreds of loud pops that were followed by him letting out a loud sigh and scratching his stomach with a pleased smile. Jen felt like she was being pulled down into the sand as she watched. “Oh, darn, before we could even chat. Oh well.” Discord took the earbuds from his mouth and wrapped them around what looked to Jen like an iPod, then tossed the bundle to her. “Make sure ol’ sour puss get’s those as well, I ‘borrowed’ that from him when he first got here, been meaning to give them back.”

“Huh?” Was all Jen could say as she clutched the bundle, Discord put his sunglasses back on and reclined back into his seat with a friendly wave.

“Ta ta, my homosapien heroine!” With those final parting words Jen felt herself sucked into the sand and then into darkness.

When Jen could see again, she was laying on her back, and aching pain was running through her entire body. A cold breeze blew over her bare stomach and legs, leading her to realize that she’d been stripped of her clothes save for her undergarments. She then realized that even those had been removed, replaced by white strips of cloth. Jen was laying on a cot in a room decorated with tribal overtones, masks on the walls and odd charms hanging from the ceiling. To her right she heard a pot boiling water and the crackle of a wood fire, the air reeked of something foul.

Jen felt something clasped in her hand, as she looked at what it was she was shocked to see that it was the bundle of wire that the draconequus had tossed her. She had already written that off as some sort of drug trip, but seeing the device in her hand removed that doubt. Jen clenched her hand around the device and sat up, looking around to get a better idea of her surroundings. The hut was small, she’d barely be able to fully stand, all around were bottles and flasks that rested atop furniture that seemed to be constructed from anything that had been laying around.

Jen saw no sign of her clothes or her weapons, nor any sign of the zebra that had brought her here. The woman stood up and gasped as her bare feet met the cold, oddly smooth dirt floor. She remained as quiet as a mouse, adjusting the oddly fitting undergarments and trying to suppress the feeling of unease at knowing someone she didn’t trust had seen her naked. Carefully she stalked over to the boiling cauldron and sniffed the steam coming off of it, to her surprise it smelled fine, so that wasn’t the source of the odor.

It was only when she lifted her arm that she realized that the source of the odor was, infact, herself. That was to be expected though, she’d not had access to a real bath or shower or even soap in months. She quickly put the odor out of her mind as she stalked over towards the wood door of the hut and peered out through a crack. To her surprise she didn’t see much of anything, just trees and the dim light from an obviously setting sun, that gave her an opportunity to sneak over to the various cupboards in the room. She began rifling through them in search of her clothes or some means to defend herself, to her annoyance all she found were bottles and bowls. Some were filled with odd liquids that she dared not try, fearing another strange experience like the one she’d had before.

Eventually Jen resigned herself to go back to where she’d woken up and sit, perhaps waiting would yield better results. Briefly she looked at the device she’d been given by Discord, a rather normal looking MP3 player with some earbuds. It had seen better days, but all in all, it looked like it worked. With a tentative shrug she put in one of the earbuds and tried turning on the device, the screen lit up and there was a menu of songs. There were a lot of songs that didn’t seem to mesh. Opera next to power metal, classical next to pop music. It was quite…

“Chaotic…” She mumbled before leaning back and sighing, she was about to push random before she heard something outside. Jen quickly tossed the item on the bed and stood up, getting into a defensive stance. The door to the hut was pushed open with a slight grunt, unsurprisingly it was Zecora. What was surprising was the basket on her back that had very neatly folded clothes. Clothes Jen barely recognized as hers, mainly because they were so clean. The zebra smiled at Jen and set the basket down on the floor, she took the clothes from within and set them down, beneath them Jen could see there was something else covered with a checkered cloth.

“It is good to see you only slept long, I feared my potion had been too strong.” Zecora mused, she approached the woman with a serene expression. “I was worried I’d given you a terrible fate, after all, the elixir is based on body weight.” Jen felt oddly calm around the zebra, perhaps it was just the adrenaline coursing through her veins, or maybe a lingering effect of the potion. Jen began to feel an ache in her leg as she was able to vaguely recall what had happened before. “I am Zecora, I tend to roam. I welcome you to my humble home.”

“J-Jenna… My friends call me Jen.” The woman mumbled as she extended a trembling hand towards the zebra. Zecora looked at the appendage for a moment before extending her own hoof, Jen hesitantly shook it and let out a pent up sigh of relief. If Zecora had wanted to hurt her she’d had plenty of time to do so, so for now Jen could trust the zebra, if only for a little while. The woman took a few deep breaths, calming herself further and easing herself back into a stable mindset.

“Such a strange name you’ve got, though I’m sure you hear that a lot.” Zecora quipped, Jen was about to point out that for humans it wasn’t that strange, but Zecora had a point in context. The zebra looked between Jen and then the pot of water. The fire had died down and the boiling had stopped. “Not to be rude or mean, but I’ve got to ask you to please get clean.” Jen nodded and looked at the pot closely before dipping a finger into the water. It was a tad warm, but she was sure it would be cooler in time.

“Do you have a tub or something?” Jen asked, Zecora nodded and pointed out the hut door. Jen stood up and walked towards the door, meanwhile the zebra took a bucket from the wall and filled it with warm water. She and the human exited the hut and found the tub outside behind the hut, it was in an oddly pretty setting compared to the rest of the forest. Jen was out of her odd undergarments and soaking in warm water in no time. The tub was large, not like a wash basin or even a regular bathtub. It was more like someone had cut a storage tank in half and stuck it in the ground, the amount of water needed to fill it was something Jen couldn’t believe.

She let out a sigh as she continued sitting there, leaning her head back and closing her eyes she felt like she could relax for the first time. The warm water and soap was something so simple, and yet, it made her feel like she was in the old world. That was, until she heard a twig snap to her right. She opened her eyes and saw Zecora trotting around the hut once more, this time with a towel and a comb. Jen covered herself quickly as Zecora placed the items down.

“Once you’re finished with the tub, come inside and get some grub.” Zecora said in a cheerful tone before turning away, Jen sighed and pinched her nose before dunking herself completely underwater. When she emerged her hair, now clean, was soaking wet. She stood up, pausing as she felt a breeze over her body, before wrapping the towel around herself and grabbing the comb. The woman began combing her hair while she walked towards the hut, for the first time in a long time it started curl. She paused as she saw her reflection in one of the hut’s windows, feeling her eyes tear up as she looked at herself.

The infection had forced her to keep her hair straight and short to minimize the threat of getting grabbed, but now that she had had a real bath and really cleaned it, it was returning to it’s original curlyness. Her mother had always called it one of her best features, but Jen couldn’t dwell too long. With a swift wipe of her eyes she continued walking around the hut and then back inside, the smell of something cooking graced her nostrils. Zecora had already set out two bowls of what looked like meat and steamed rice with some sort of sauce. Jen quickly sat down at the table across from Zecora.

“Thank you for taking a seat, now with gusto we may eat.” Zecora said before she began eating her food, Jen began eating hers as well, the silence that settled was broken only by the sound of Jens’s fork against the wooden plate. The meat was tender, the sauce was spicy with just the right amount of sweetness, and the rice tied it all together. After Jen finished her plate she realized that Zecora was only a quarter of the way done with her own. The zebra was staring at her with a curious expression.

“What?” Jen asked.

“I do not wish to cause you unrest, but I must ask, what are you doing alone in this forest?” Zecora said, Jen was slightly surprised by the question, something Zecora must have picked up on. “The human I have heard of lives far away, imagine my surprise when I found you today.”

“Well, I don’t know how I got here. As for me being alone… The Princesses took the man I was with, I don’t know what they’re doing to him.” Jen replied, then she paused and ran through what Zecora had said through her mind once more. “Wait, what human have you heard of?” Zecora hummed for a moment, as if deciding how to word what she was going to say.

“A human of great stature, some call him a pillar of strength. For him, the Lunar Princess gone to many lengths.” Zecora rhymed, she leaned forwards on the table as she saw Jen’s attention was fully on her. “He’s faced my ridicule and anger, the one they call Globe and Anchor.” Jen’s eyes widened at the mention of those two objects. “I’m unsure of his current fate, though his new title seems to be… Acting President of the United States.”

Jen would have spat out her food if she had any left, a look of shock running over her face. Zecora picked up on that and continued. “He has numerous followers, if papers are to be believed. Though, I take it with a grain of salt, as to not be deceived.” A million thoughts ran through Jen’s mind at that moment. This other human had followers, he had a title, but most importantly he had clout with one of the Princesses of Equestria. Even if his title wasn’t legitimate, his standing was. She could perhaps convince him to help her free Johnny.

There was a slight wrinkle in that plan in the form of not knowing where he was or how she would get there.

“Zecora, do you know where I could find him?” Jen asked in an unsure tone, Zecora paused for a moment to think.

“Somewhere in the desert if news is to be believed, but again, I hate to be deceived.” The zebra said, she raised an eyebrow at the woman. “You are going to try and find him I assume. I warn you not to, you may meet your doom.” Jen sighed and looked around quietly, her expression shifting to one of determination.

“He may be the only one that can help me.” She looked at the table, staring at her empty plate. “I don’t think I can trust the princesses, but maybe I can trust him.” Zecora quietly sighed and looked between the woman and the door to the hut, she briefly considered going to get the guards, but part of her worried that doing so would only make Jen more desperate.

“Think before you take this quest, for your survival skills it will surely test.” Zecora finished off her plate as Jen watched her carefully. “Dying in the desert won’t suit a spirit like you, so training you for the journey is what I must do.”

“Why are you so willing to help me?” Jen suddenly asked, Zecora smirked and twirled her fork in her empty plate.

“Though it may be difficult to see, I too am a traveler and can tell you are like me.” Zecora stood up and gathered the plates together, as she did Jen stood up to help her. “No no, you should rest your legs for the best, tomorrow begins the training for your quest.” Jen awkwardly sat down again, rubbing the back of her neck. She worried perhaps she was rushing into things, but at the same time, the fear of what could be happening to Johnny outweighed those thoughts. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back once again, she heard something set down on the table in front of her.

When she opened her eyes again she found a wooden cup had been set in front of her with an odd orange liquid within, Zecora didn’t seem to have one though. The amount of liquid was small compared to the cup, leading her to assume this was some form of shot.

“Drink that to unwind, I find it helps to free the mind…” Zecora said, Jen carefully looked at the liquid and then the zebra. She slowly picked up the cup and knocked it back, the liquid was sweet and almost as soon as it hit her tongue Jen felt things begin to change. 

The world around her began to shimmer and shift, for the second time that day she felt like she was floating. This was different though, she felt as if everything was floating with her. She looked down at her hands and flexed them, watching the digits open and close, on the third opening she saw glowing symbols in the palms of her hands, they snaked up her arms in a very serpentine fashion, odd symbols and shapes.

“Whoa…” She mumbled once again, the neon colors of the world around her beginning to shift around and around. She could see Zecora sitting across from her, the zebra was looking at her with a smile as Jen reached out to touch her nose. To her surprise her hand passed right through the zebra, as if she wasn’t even there. That didn’t deter Jen though, she felt very good in that moment, as if once again she was a person with normal problems. It felt exquisite, almost ecstatic, to just feel normal. “I’m higher than sputnik right now… Aren’t I?”

“I don’t know who that would be, but yes, you are ‘higher’ than he.” Zecora’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere. “Now close your eyes and open your mind, you’re emoties will come in kind.” Jen felt something pushing her back onto the floor, she didn’t resist and instead closed her eyes. The world exploded into colors and shapes she didn’t know existed, as if she were flying through time and space once more. Though this time she actually felt like she was. With the incredible sensations and feeling of euphoria, Jen had no trouble at all just going along for the ride.

Zecora watched the woman relax on the floor, smiling slightly. The Everfree was a perfect place to gather materials for regular potions, but unknown to most, it was also the perfect place to gather the ingredients for substances not necessarily viewed as ‘legal’ by the Equestrian government. The zebra was certain that nothing she made was like anything the human had experienced, the concoction that had been administered was her own special brew. It was something she herself took to take the edge off, but considering how stressed the human had seemed, she’d figured giving it to Jen was the right thing to do.

She left Jen there and went off to begin gathering items that she would need in order to start teaching the woman to survive the journey, she only hoped that the guards would come on their own. Trust was something she regarded highly, and for that reason alone, she would not turn in her new human companion.
> Chapter 48
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hills overlooking New Liberty were generally peaceful at night, no growls or howling coyotes broke the moonless silence, and the crisp desert air made it the perfect weather for thestrals to go about their normal business. The hills, from a distance, were small and one would think it would be easy to see something hiding in them with no issue. Up close, however, was an entirely different subject. From the ridge looking down upon the fledgling American town a pair of beady green eyes glared with malice and anger.

The changeling had his gaze focussed on the P.O.W. camp, watching as one of the thestrals guarding it opened the gate and a pair of nervous looking changelings stepped out of the camp. Another thestral was taking down information on a clipboard before the two changelings were escorted out of view. The changeling on the hill grumbled before he slowly shimmied his way backwards into the bushes that surrounded the area. From there it was easy for him to turn on his hooves and trot towards the rest of his comrades.

Shrouded in the blackness of night, the changelings looked to their scout with expectant eyes. The scout, for his part, held just as serious an expression. He began drawing a sketch in the sand with his hoof, circling the POW camp first, followed by the Capital.

“The building with the flag is their main headquarters. The strange creature, a human if the tabloids we’ve read are correct, resides there.” The scout gestured to the POW camp with his hoof. “It has direct line of sight to the place they’re holding the Queen and our surviving brothers and sisters.” The scout drew several lines around the town itself. “These are their defenses, they’ve entrenched themselves well. We must have at least freed the queen by the time the alarm is raised, otherwise I have no doubt we’ll have a massacre on our hooves.”

“Fine by me…” Commented one of the changelings, the scout sighed and rubbed his temples. “What, you want to show these flying rodents reprieve? After what they’ve done?”

“The massacre would be on our side, idiot.” The scout said flatly. “These ponies are far different from anything we’ve faced, it’s not just unicorns we have to worry about now.” The scout pounded his hoof on the capitol building. “During the first attack reports state that two ponies from this building were able to wipe out half of our brutes.”

“Those were regular brutes.” Said another voice, this once far more deep. All eyes turned to the owner of it, he stalked forwards with his armor clicking on each step. Stripes indicating his decorations and commendations adorned every inch of it. Commander Gigant, the Queen’s former high general, a feared and revered soldier in the hive’s legions. “We will be advancing with something quite different, scout… But I admire your attention to detail. Truly commendable.”

“Th-Thank you, sir.” The scout replied, receiving only a nod from the commander before he stopped and looked down at the map.

“There is one factor we haven’t taken into account. I’m sure you’ve noticed, the flag atop this building is not Equestrian.” The commander looked to all those present, his most trusted officers that would be leading the coming attack. “We must assume the enemy will fight differently than an Equestrian. So far we’ve seen just that. They do not shy away from killing, nor do they lack ingenuity. This leads me to believe we are trifling with a force far more dangerous than the Equestrians. An unknown force.”

“What are your orders, commander?” Asked one of the officers, Gigant turned to him with a very cold expression.

“Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best… We’ll make our move soon. Get your soldiers ready.” The commander began walking away, then he paused. “Wait to ready the assault group… I want them good and cranky when we go in.” With that he began walking off into the blackness, leaving his officers to go off and ready the attack force. Nearly one hundred and fifty changelings would be going into battle, and many of the officers began to worry just how many would be coming back.

In the town not five miles away, Dominic sat in his office with the lights dimmed and a cigar smoldering in an ashtray. On his desk was laid a series of maps and plans which he stared at with growing contempt, beside his hand rested a half empty glass of scotch. His expression, unbeknownst to him, was growing angrier and angrier. There was little he could do to combat what he was dealing with, other than just waiting it out. Dominic hated waiting with a passion, for three years he’d been waiting for death or salvation, only pausing his wait to search for food and water.

Even after all Luna had done to put some of his demons to rest, every time he closed his eyes he could see it unfolding before him, as if he were practically there. The smell of fresh cut grass mixing with burning wood and the copper scent of blood, the warm sunny sky blotted out by thick black smoke, and the screaming that never seemed to stop. He nearly jumped out of his seat when his trembling hand knocked the glass to the floor, thankfully not shattering it, but spilling the rest of the alcohol.

“Fuck…” Dominic mumbled quietly before he reached down and picked up the glass, then set it aside. There was a knock on the door a few moments later before Sonar pushed it open, Dominic gawked at her attire. She was in a nightgown and sleeping hat, her spectacles resting crookedly on her muzzle. “Sonar? What’re you doing up so-”

“-I was just tidying up the office because I worried I’d missed a few forms, but then I figured you were about to need something, so here I am.” Sonar cut in before letting out a small adorable yawn, Dominic gave her a sad smile and shook his head.

“I’m fine, Sonar… Just, thinking on some stuff.” The man looked at the empty glass sitting on his desk, Sonar didn’t seem to notice.

“Human stuff, sir?” She asked, Dominic nodded silently. “Bad human stuff?” The man looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t drink that unless it’s really bad. I’ve seen you drink, sir. Normally it’s something smooth. That’s bathtub scotch.” Dominic looked at the bottle he’d taken the scotch from, then looked back at Sonar.

“Well… I know you’ll figure it out, you always do… I’ll see you tomorrow, Sonar…” The president watched as the mare turned and walked out of the office completely, closing the door behind her with a mild thud. Dominic remove the cork from the top and took a gulp of the alcohol, afterwards patting his chest and standing up. He wiped his lips with his forearm, his boots carried him to the window where he stopped to stare up at the moon and stars. Seeing so many of them reminded him of the moonless nights in Colorado during the winter, back when his biggest worry was figuring out how to try and talk to girls.

“I want to go home…” He whispered to himself in an extremely tired and defeated tone, staring at his own reflection in the glass. He didn’t turn his gaze to the POW camp as he usually did, instead closing his eyes and trying to remember the last time he’d stared up into such a beautiful night sky before the infection. Whatever Luna had done to ease his suffering all that time ago was undoubtedly just a minor repair on a much larger broken machine. As Dominic stood there, he could swear he felt a hand on his shoulder, and yet, he knew it wasn’t. That soft grip, one he recognized as Maria’s, was a figment of his own imagination.

Sure enough, when he opened his eyes and turned to look over his shoulder there wasn’t a soul in the room with him. Dominic quietly walked back to his desk and looked at all of the plans he’d laid out, all the maps and charts and estimates, and promptly picked them up and threw them across the room with a grunt. He reached for the revolver hanging slack in the holster he’d hung from the back of the chair, when he had it in hand he drew back the hammer and placed the barrel against his temple. He forced his eyes closed and tried to squeeze the trigger, but in the end he couldn’t do it. More of him wanted to live than wanted to die, though if that was purely out of guilt was unknown to him.

Dominic lowered the hammer on the revolver and set it down on his desk, he laid his head down on the wood next to it and sighed. He could understand part of why he hadn’t just ended his life, and that was because he was alone. For some reason, that resonated with him more than anything else. More paralyzing than the fear of the infected or the rage of battle was the fear of dying alone, and more importantly, unloved. It shook him to his core.

The man sighed and felt himself dozing off, hoping against hope that his dreams would grant him a moment of rest. He knew very well that was not going to be the case, but he could at least hope. The hard wood of the desk and odd angle he sat at would certainly do a number on his back, but he’d had much worse in the past, and with that, he fell into a miserable, dismal slumber.

[♦]

Johnny scowled as he sat in his bedroom overlooking Canterlot, the lights of the city sparkled like glowing stars in the night, his clothes were slept in and his hair was a mess. The tank top he wore was stained and there were bags beneath his bloodshot eyes, his eyes focussed on the Everfree Forest. He knew she was out there somewhere, alone probably, and thinking he was probably being held prisoner. In a way he was, the Princesses had placed him under ‘protection’, a fancy way of saying ‘house arrest’. The man adjusting his position in his arm chair, finding it a tad uncomfortable as it had been designed for a pony.

Johnny was always one of the colder guys in his old crew, more concerned about getting the job done than anything else. This had made his bosses take notice and he was often handsomely rewarded for what he did. As Johnny rubbed his eyes he thought back to his time before the world had ended, this caused him to scowl further. If he could do it again, he’d have never gotten into the habit of killing his problems. Jen had made him realize there were still good people out in the world, even among the walking corpses.

“This is bullshit.” He muttered as he gritted his teeth, he rose to his feet and walked towards the dresser. With a yank he’d pulled an entire drawer free, he began dressing himself in the clothes he found. Again, they didn’t really fit him, but the application of a belt helped solve some of his problems. With a fresh pair of boots on his feet and a grey t-shirt tucked into his jeans he looked around his still dark room. He needed something heavy.

Some would argue what he was planning was rash and unplanned, but that was the story of his life. Johnny was at his best when he was improvising. He picked up a candlestick and looked it over, then gave it a couple test swings. He shrugged and walked towards the door, doing his best to draw up a mental map of where he was in the castle. He knew he was on a top floor, meaning he’d need to get down a lot of floors, truly this would be his greatest heist.

As Johnny approached the door he narrowed his eyes and set his jaw, then turned the handle and tugged. He backed into the shadows while the door swung inwards.

“The hell?” He heard a voice mutter outside, the shadow of a pony guard appeared in the light cast on the floor from the open doorway. Johnny tightened his grip on the candlestick as the guard’s shadow began moving further into the room. Johnny watched as a guard pony in gold armor entered his field of view. Unlike him, the pony’s eyes hadn’t adjusted to the light yet. Johnny made a note that the guard had some sort of crossbow across his back, he found it odd since most of the other guards didn’t seem to have anything. Then again, most other guards weren’t guarding him.

The guard paused and looked around slowly from side to side, Johnny raised the candlestick silently as he psyched himself up. The guard’s head turned in his direction, after a few minutes he saw the guard’s eyes go wide. At that moment Johnny leaped forwards, swinging the candlestick directly for the guard’s gut. He collided with great force, using his greater size to easily knock the guard to the floor. The clatter of armor gained the attention of the other guard outside, Johnny turned on his heel and went to swing the now bent candlestick at the second one. The guard grunted as he stuck out a hoof, his armor clanging as the candlestick deflected to the side, forcing Johnny to toss it away.

Johnny opted to tackle the guard instead, launching himself forwards and connecting with the guard’s torso. The guard fell like a house of cards, struggling like mad and delivering several jabs to Johnny’s gut. The man felt around for some form of weapon as he held the guard down, as his hand rested on the candlestick from earlier he felt someone grab him from behind across his windpipe. Johnny delivered an elbow to the gut of the first guard, then another, and another, until the guard had let go. Johnny gasped and staggered to his feet, looking around he caught sight of the crossbow from earlier, still strapped across his first opponents back. Johnny decided he wanted it, and with that, he delivered several punches to the first guard’s face, his knuckles became bloody as he pummeled the guard.

Behind him he heard the scrape of armor that indicated the second guard was getting to his feet, Johnny wasted no time in yanking the crossbow free, essentially ripping it from the straps and turning to face the second guard with his newly acquired weapon. The guard collided with him just as he brought the weapon to bare, tackling him to the floor. Johnny was met with several blows to the face and his nose began to bleed, as did his mouth. The man growled and brought his knee up between the guard’s legs with as much force as he could. The guard howled in pain, giving Johnny ample time to toss him off and get to his feet. The crossbow from the first guard was in his grasp within seconds before turned and delivered a kick to the second guard’s stomach.

“F-Fuckin’ pig…” He muttered as he spat on the floor, a glob of blood flying with it. He reached down and relieved the second guard of his weapon, slinging that one over his shoulder. “Don’t get up…” Johnny grunted and walked out into the hallway, looking around for a moment before he began to jog down a hallway. Stealth was his only option, but dripping blood would make it hard for him to hide. As it stood, he’d need to wait for his nose and mouth to stop bleeding on their own. That meant he was in for plenty of other fights, he was sure, but that didn’t matter in his head. He was tired of high society and princesses, he wanted Jen, and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do to stop him.

“STOP HIM!” Shouted a voice behind him, Johnny turned and saw at least three guards with spears charging towards him. The man turned on his heel, knowing that he’d never outrun the quadrupeds, and instead dropped to a knee with the crossbow in his hand. He closed his eyes for a moment.

”Loosen up a bit, not too much… Good.” Jen’s voice ran through his head as he brought the weapon to a firing position. ”Alright, exhale slowly as you take aim…” Johnny’s breath slowly left his nostrils, he could practically feel Jen’s hands on his arms, guiding him into proper position. The guards took note of his new stance and were already starting to fan out, Johnny kept his eyes deadlocked on the center guard. ”And… Squeeze. Hey! The trigger! Not me!” Johnny’s finger began depressing the trigger on the crossbow, it was far different from the one on a rifle, but it still worked like a trigger should.

The bolt of blue energy flew forth from the bow with more recoil than Johnny expected, he was nearly knocked onto his back as he watched the projectile fly towards the center guard in slow motion. The guard’s face was cringing and he was starting to turn to the side, then, in a flash of blue, the guard cried out in pain and crumpled to the floor, writhing back and forth, as if he’d been hit with a taser. The guards were more concerned about their comrade as Johnny had hoped they’d be, giving him the opportunity to take off running. He dropped the crossbow to the ground, sending it skittering across the floor in the process.

All the golden garnished halls started to look the same as his feet thundered over the marble floor, Johnny could taste the blood in his mouth as he panted and ran. Occasionally he’d pass by an intersection where he’d hear the hooves of guards rushing to find him. For three minutes he evaded their searches as best he could, sweat was formed on his forehead as he made his way towards a stairwell that would begin leading him down to the lower levels. Inside was a spiral staircase of stone, leaving enough room in the center for someone to look down to the bottom.

Johnny could see a least a dozen guards rushing up the steps, yelling orders at each other as they came up. Johnny turned on his foot once more and took off running towards Luna’s bedroom, figuring that’d be the last place they’d look for him. The man heard voices behind him now, he could tell they were starting to close in and he had doubts that his one crossbow would do much to get rid of them now. The intersection ahead of him suddenly exploded with life as twelve heavily armored Lunar thestrals rushed into position with crossbows at the ready. Johnny skidded to a stop, gritting his teeth and looking over his shoulder, a mix of Lunar and Solar guards were coming at him from behind. To his left and right there were alcoves for artifacts and vases as well as a couple stain glass paintings. Johnny looked at the crossbow in his hands and turned to face one of the windows.

He quickly depressed the trigger, sending a bolt of blue light at the glass and shattering it. Johnny could see there was a roof or some sort of ledge outside.

“Don’t move!” Shouted one of the lunar guards ahead, Johnny looked at them for a moment then the window. He gave them a quick one fingered salute before bolting towards the window. Several bolts of energy flew past him as he vaulted out onto the balcony and took off running along the side of the castle. “Go! Go! Go! Detain him!” Johnny looked over his shoulder and growled as he saw the thestrals were now taking to the air and flying through the window. Bolts of energy rained down next to him, growing ever closer as he neared a ledge. Without much thought the man took a turn that led him out of the thestrals direct line of sight. On his right the lights of Canterlot were enough to illuminate the way ahead, it was only now that Johnny remembered he still had the crossbow that he’d fired earlier.

That crossbow found itself discarded on the roof balcony as Johnny kept running, the man had an odd smile on his face, this was the first time he’d actually been outside in a city that wouldn’t try to eat him. His smile faded as he saw several guards round a corner in front of him with their crossbows brought to bear. Johnny growled loudly in annoyance and frustration, lowering his stance and charging forwards as the bolts whizzed past him. The guard’s eyes widened as they saw him getting closer and prepared for some form of close combat. Johnny had a much simpler idea.

He put his hands on the helmets of two guards and used them as a foundation to jump over the short pony guards. With them behind him Johnny turned down the balcony again. This one he saw brought him close to a domed roof on the castle like an observatory, easily in jumping distance. It was relatively easy getting there as well, even as the guards behind him continued firing. The firing began to taper off as he got closer, and Johnny noticed as he reached the ledge the shooting stopped, he turned and looked towards the guards against his better judgement. They all had their weapons ready and pointed towards him, by all rights they could’ve opened fire. Johnny turned back to the dome as he heard the flapping of wings around him, leathery and feathered alike.

There was an odd moment of silence as Johnny looked between the circling guards overhead and the domed roof in front of him. He took a breath and prepared to make the leap, the cold night air was starting to make him shiver and his face was beginning to ache through the adrenaline. There was a swoosh of wings from his right and he turned to see a familiar indigo alicorn folding her wings, then to his left he heard another, when he turned he saw Celestia was also folding her wings as they started walking towards him.

“What are you doing?!” Celestia asked loudly, Johnny inched closer to the ledge, looking between the alabaster alicorn and the domed roof.

“I’m getting out of here! I’m going to find her!” Johnny shouted back, he did his best to suppress the growing pain in his nose, it was obvious there was probably something out of place there, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. Celestia’s expression remained upset, though Johnny could see a minute change in her stance. “I don’t deserve to sit here while she’s out there!”

“So you beat up our guards and run out onto a rooftop?” Luna asked, forcing Johnny to turn and look at her.

“It’s not like you’d let me go if I asked you nicely.” The man’s tone was cold and bitter, his boots ever closer to the ledge. Luna’s expression began to fall as his words sunk in, she didn’t have the words to rebuke what he’d said. “That’s what I thought. I know when I’m in a cage, Princess, you can’t pull the wool up over my eyes. I’m going to find her, there’s not a DAMN thing you can do about it.”

“Wait!” Celestia yelled from his left, her voice was much closer than before. Johnny didn’t waste another second, he leaped off the ledge towards the domed roof. To his surprise the roof fractured when he landed, moments later it fell inwards with him on it. He landed with a groan on something soft, when he looked around he found he was in some sort of bedroom. Covered in dust and debris it was difficult for him to tell whose it was, but the surprised group of six ponies in front of the door made it relatively obvious.

Johnny bolted out of the bed as fast as he could, sprinting towards the bed as a pain began to run up his left leg. The six ponies, unsure of what was happening, got out of his way and allowed him to barrel through the door. He slammed the door behind him just as Luna and Celestia flew through the hole in the roof and landed to look around.

“Where did he go!?” Celestia demanded, looking extremely upset. Twilight Sparkle, the pony to whom the room belonged, pointed at the door. The other alicorns didn’t waste any time rushing through the door afterwards, leaving Twilight and company very confused. Beyond the door Luna and Celestia were running down the large hallway that would take them towards the front of the castle, they passed by the numerous pieces of art without a second glance. Vases and statues in alcoves were left unquestioned. Johnny peeked out around one such statue, and upon seeing the coast was clear, he stepped out into the hallway and began looking for a way out. He limped towards the door he’d just come out of, then looked to one of the paintings on the wall. With a grunt he pulled it free and set it on the floor, wedging it into the door to keep it from opening.

The man turned around and began limping down the hallway that the princesses had sprinted down, the castle was eerily quiet, the guards were all outside looking for him. Occasionally he’d duck into an alcove or hug the wall as a maid went past, but his trip through the halls of Canterlot Castle went pretty much unobstructed. He still had no idea of where he was going, but at least he had the guards and Princesses off his back for the moment.

He closed his eyes and rubbed at them for a moment, feeling exhausted from the ordeal so far. His limping steps started to slow down for a few brief moments as he came to an intersection of the the halls. He looked up and down the halls for some form of identifying mark, one seemed to begin to lose its illustrious look. Perhaps it was a service hall. Johnny turned right down that hallway, limping along as drips of blood continued leaving a trail behind him. He froze as he heard clip-clopping hooves echoing off the marble floors before he quickly ducked into another alcove and hid behind a fancy looking pot.

“...can’t believe he’d try and keep us locked in your room, Twilight. Doesn’t he understand we’re trying to help him?” A posh sounding voice joined the echoing hoofsteps, Johnny recognized it as belonging to that white pony that he couldn’t remember the name of, if he’d even learned her name. “It’s not like it worked, with teleportation I mean…”

“He’s probably flashing back or something. The princesses didn’t really explain why they were chasing him, or why he crashed through my ceiling.” The voice of the lavender alicorn responded. Johnny tensed up as he hid behind the large pot, hearing the clip-clopping starting to slow down as they got closer to the pot. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“H-Here I am.” A voice called from down the hall, very quietly. The hooves had stopped now, Johnny looked around him for anything he could use if the ponies decided to check out the pot. As it stood there was very little in the way of a weapon in the dark dusty alcove, as he heard hoofsteps getting closer and quiet whispering he realized there was something very wrong.

“I guess we’ll never find him. We should just turn around now.” Said a very obviously faking Twilight.

“We shou-? Oh! Yes! We should!” The posh voice remarked, Johnny’s fists clenched as he stood to his full height while the hooves clip clopped away from the pot. Johnny stalked out of the alcove and looked around, his first pan over the area revealed nothing, the second revealed a shimmer in the air, like something out of the Predator films. Johnny wiped some of the dripping blood from his nose and flicked it at the shimmer. As soon as it hit it there was a shattering noise as the shimmer disappeared and revealed three very surprised ponies standing in its place.

“Fluttershy! Go!” Twilight Sparkle yelled, the butter yellow mare Johnny assumed was Fluttershy hesitantly opened her wings and flew towards him. Johnny readied himself for a fight, fists clenching as he got into a proper stance. To his surprise the mare stopped and just hovered in front of him, her eyes got very intense look to them. Johnny stared her directly in the eyes, he could feel the world around him beginning to shift, something wasn’t right with those eyes.

Flashes between the pony’s face and the face of an infected woman’s began to clash, the eyes were the same. Intense, almost lifeless. Those eyes were the first infected he’d ever seen, the one that he’d run from instead of fought. The flashes grew more intense, pain began to grow in his head, the pegasus opened her mouth to speak, the infected woman opened her mouth to bite. Johnny let out a panicked scream and started to back up, pounding on his head furiously to try and get the images to stop.

The pegasus’ face shifted away from the intense glare and morphed into one of fear, the flashes tapered off leaving Johnny soaking in sweat with a headache to add to his growing list of injuries. The other ponies were staring at him with uncertainty, Fluttershy was shaking as she hovered in front of him. Johnny turned around and began running down the hallway as fast as he could with a limp, his heart pounding in his chest. He took a few more deep breaths as he ran, like Jen had taught him, it helped him focus on the task at hand.

The hallway gradually shifted into what looked like a service hallway, leading to a spiral stairway that went down very far. Johnny didn’t have time to debate what could happen and instead began going down the steps as fast as he could, he could hear hoofsteps from behind him once again. Down the center of the stairway he saw a yellow blur fly down past him, and after a few more steps he realized that the pegasus had cut him off.

“Get out of my way.” Johnny said coldly.

“I-I can’t d-do that.” Fluttershy responded shakily, Johnny’s fist clenched and he took another step towards her.

“I’m getting out of here one way or another.” Johnny growled as he got closer to the pegasus, she flinched and began to back away. “They won’t keep me caged.” Johnny continued past her and down the steps. Unlike Johnny, Twilight and her friends knew that these steps would lead out into the gardens, and from there, Johnny would have open ground to run and hide, it would only make finding him that much more difficult.

Johnny continued down the steps for ten more minutes, the ponies still hot on his heels, until finally he reached a door at the bottom. With a grunt he forced it open and looked around, he was surrounded by plants and grass on all sides. There was a wooden cart filled with what looked like weeds parked off to the side near a large wooden gate. Johnny wasted no time in running to that cart and jumping in, he quickly covered himself in the weeds. Hurried hoofsteps came soon after he’d hidden in the cart, with it came hurried talking.

“Where’d he go!?” Shouted the posh white pony, Johnny carefully maneuvered so that he could see out through a crack in the wood. The ponies were looking around in vain.

“Fan out! We’ll find him!” Twilight commanded, the three ponies split off, with the two horned ponies rushing off in random directions. Fluttershy stayed put, looking at the ground, noting the blood trail that lead to the cart. She quietly approached the cart, looking it up and down, before pressing her eye up to a crack in the wood. She froze as she saw an eye staring back at her.

“I have to get out of here. I have to find someone I care about.” Johnny said through the wood, figuring the game was over. Fluttershy watched him for a few more moments before backing away from the cart.

“I hope you do…” She said quietly, her tone seeming very understanding, before trotting off in a random direction. Johnny waited there for twenty minutes before a donkey emerged from the service door and began trotting towards the cart. He was whistling a little tune and Johnny felt the cart shift as the donkey hooked himself up to it. The cart gave a lurch as it began moving, the donkey pulling it towards the gate.

“Darn, weighs a lot more than it looks. Heh.” The donkey said to himself before he knocked on the gate, Johnny heard the heavy doors open and the cart moved outside. “Evenin’ boys, what’s with the armor?”

“Hey, ol’ timer. We just had a security alert go up, not sure why though.” A voice replied, Johnny saw through the crack that there was at least one guard on his side of the cart, inspecting the weeds he hid beneath. “They want us to search everything comin’ out of the castle thoroughly.”

“Ah, shoot. I was hopin’ to get on the road as soon as possible, wanted to be in Ponyville by morning.” The donkey replied, there was a shrug from the guard that Johnny could see.

“It’s weeds. Do we really need to dig around in weeds?”

“Normally yeah, but I doubt our friend is gonna be smuggling anything illegal out of here… Alright, you’re clear. Give my regards to the misses.” The guard Johnny couldn’t see said, there was a chuckle from Donkey before the cart began moving again. Johnny did his best to get comfortable in the weeds, they were somewhat prickly and smelled awful but they were also soft and his body heat had warmed them up to the perfect temperature. The adrenaline gradually began to wear off as the cart moved through the city and Johnny eventually fell into an uneasy light sleep. His mind was racing with what could happen in the next few days and worries about what could be happening to Jen.
> Chapter 49
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jen and Zecora sat atop the hills overlooking Ponyville, staring down at the town quietly. Zecora hadn’t told Jen the purpose of what they were doing and that was starting to annoy her, she adjusted her freshly cleaned camouflage jacket and gripped her hunting rifle tightly. She had to admit, there had certainly been some interesting sights from Canterlot. There had been searchlights and more than once Jen and Zecora had had to hide from the ever increasing amounts of aerial patrols. In the hours since that had happened though, the patrols had been gradually coming further and further apart, as if they were flying out further and further each time.

The smell of the grass was an intense reminder for Jen, more than once she’d looked over her shoulder, checking for any infected that could be sneaking up behind her. Of course there were none but that didn’t eliminate the subconscious need to check. Zecora would always look at her with the same neutral expression as she did that, but she’d ignore it. If she wanted to know she could ask, Jen wasn’t about to open up on her own. Jen’s eyes focussed on the roads going into and out of the the town, tired as they were, she could make out the forms of night guards roaming the streets, again she turned her head over her shoulder, then back to the town.

“Is there a reason or rhyme to you looking over your shoulder all the time?” She asked in a quiet tone, Jen nodded silently as she continued watching the town. The sound of crickets and chirping birds around her and Zecora indicated that it was nearing morning. “I know it is a task, but you know what I must ask.”

“I picked it up in my world… It pays to be vigilant. Never know when the mulchers are coming up behind you…” Jen adjusted her hunting rifle and looked through the scope towards the town, from what she could see there was even more activity now that the morning was starting to come. “Hold that thought. Eyes on… Holy shit…” Jen’s voice trailed off as she rubbed her eyes. “It… It looks like an entire battalion is rolling down the mountain, and…” There was a distant loud whistle, undoubtedly from a train that was trundling down the tracks. “Looks like there’s a load of equipment with them on the train.”

“Perhaps there response, though it is a lot, is to whatever happened in Canterlot?” Zecora offered, Jen just hummed as she watched the train begin to slow down, it was nearing a station in the town. “The guards draw near, it is time for us to move, I fear…”

“Negative.” Jen said quietly. “The birds have settled in the trees, any sudden moves or loud noises will spook them… We’ll move when they blow the whistle again.” Zecora hadn’t taken into account the birds around them, she hadn’t even noticed them, perhaps Jen’s hearing was tuned to listen for things in the background more than in the foreground. The woman panned over the town as she spotted a group of local guards was  marching around with spears, prodding at bushes and carts filled with produce. “Looks like they’re searching for something- Holy shit.”

“What?” Zecora asked, barely keeping herself from moving over to look through the scope. What Jen saw through the scope was chilling her to the bone. From the first car of the train emerged two alicorns, one white and one blue. They were followed by a lavender alicorn and five other ponies. Jen reached up and adjusted the scope on her rifle, zooming in to get a look at the ponies closer. The crosshair gradually found itself lined up on Celestia’s head.

“Princesses… I’ve got a line on Celestia.” Jen whispered, already beginning to slow her breathing. Before the infection a shot at that range would be made by a crack team of snipers, but since the end of conventional warfare, the American Army had focussed on making each shot count from a distance. Jen was no White Death, but she could certainly make a shot at this distance, even with the rifle she held.

“Put those thoughts to bed, your anger is clouding your head.” Zecora said in an even tone, Jen took a few deep breaths and nodded, keeping the sights square on Celestia’s crown. The woman paused as she noticed more movement in the scope, there appeared to be a donkey trotting into town with a cart of weeds behind him. Her aim shifted towards him as the guards approached him with the spears, pointing at his cart. The donkey seemed to shrug before the nodding, Jen watched silently as the guards approached the cart and prepared to prod the contents with the spears.

Hundreds of yards down range, far from the hill that Jen and Zecora occupied, as the sun began to shine, a guard was preparing to jab into a cart of weeds. His name wasn’t truly important, neither was his rank, he’d only enlisted in the guard to pay for college. As he drove the spear towards the weeds he didn’t notice anything, but after it had disappeared into the green, it seemed to be stuck. The guard looked over to one of his comrades and pointed to the cart.

“Uh, Sarge? It seems to be stuck.” He said, his voice cracking a bit.

“Well pull it out, ya dirtbag!” His sergeant shouted back, the guard gave another yank and again the spear refused to budge. “Idiot. Here, let me show you how it’s done.” The aging tan stallion began trotting over to the cart, seeing this the guard let go of the spear. As soon as he did the spear vanished into the cart, the guard took several steps back and pointed at the cart nervously.

“S-Sarge!” Several seconds later a green monster began clawing its way out of the cart with a spear in hand, a towering biped in tattered rags. Upon closer inspection it was clear it was actually a human, a wounded human, that had been stained green from hiding under the weeds for hours on end. He wasted no time in thrusting the spear at the guard closest to him, there was the clash of metal as it impacted the antiquated gold plating that had yet to be replaced. Still, the guard was quick on his feet and backed away.

Johnny hadn’t expected a battalion to be waiting for him when he made his emergence, but they were.

“OPEN FIRE, YA DIRTBAGS!” The sergeant bellowed, moments later every spellbow in the vicinity was leveled at the man. Johnny wasn’t about to go down without a fight though, as the guards began opening fire he jabbed at the first guard again, catching him in the shin with the spear and drawing blood. The guard, surprised and scared, scurried back. Johnny was struck by the first of the magical bolts, wincing in pain as the impacts shook his body. “KEEP FIRING!” Despite the pain, which felt more like being shot with airsoft pellets or paintballs, Johnny turned with the spear and began running straight for the sergeant. He let out a beastial, primal yell, one that harkened back to the stone age. His eyes were wide and wild, his heart pounding, ever muscle was firing as hard as it could. Through the pain in his body he had one thing running through his mind.

Fight.

The sergeant spotted Johnny coming relatively quickly and drew his sabre from its sheath, he brought back the blade to make a slash at Johnny’s legs, and he would have connected, if his right forehoof didn’t explode into a mist of bone, blood, and pulp. This was preceded by a slight whistling noise that had barely even registered in any of the ponies ears. A bang echoed in the distance as the sergeant began screaming and staring at his stump of an arm, the birds scattered for miles around.

Johnny saw the sergeant wouldn’t be a threat now that he’d been disarmed, instead adjusting his charge and preparing to slam into a guard standing next to the sergeant that was staring dumbfounded at his commanding officer.

A flash of light appeared in front of him as Luna appeared, without pausing she thrust her horn towards the spear, parrying it before using her magic to pick up the sergeants dropped sabre. There was another whistle in the air before the guard Luna had appeared in front of was on the ground with a hole in his cutiemark.

“COVER! GET TO COVER!” Shouted one of the guards, the soldiers scattered for cover, leaving Luna and Johnny circling around each other. The two wounded ponies were dragged off and Celestia had cast a shield spell over her sister and Johnny. She doubted it would do much to stop the bullets, but it was all she could do.

“John, put the spear down. Now!” Luna demanded angrily, Johnny shook his head and thrust his spear forwards, it was easily parried by Luna. She didn’t intend to harm him, even after all he’d done. Doing that would make getting his friend to stop shooting even more difficult, and she didn’t want to harm one of the three humans she’d met. Every time she looked at the man she saw glimpses of who he had been and how he’d changed into something completely twisted.

“You’re only make it harder for you and Jen! Do you honestly think this is helping your opportunities here?” Luna said, her tone shifting as the two combatants circled around each other. “You’re only hurting her by doing this.”

“No! You’re… You’re trying to manipulate me! It may have worked on that other idiot, but it won’t work on me!” There was another thrust and a jab at Luna’s chest, again she deflected it easily with her sabre. Honestly she was less concerned with the man with the spear right in front of her as she was about the woman with the gun far away. She’d had centuries to perfect her swordsmareship, but no time to perfect dodging hot lead.

“Perhaps I am, but that doesn’t change the truth! You have a chance to live a relatively normal life here, each moment you spend fighting us is making it that much harder to have!” Luna continued circling around the bubble shield. “You’re right… I manipulated Dominic, but I promised him I’d help him… I’ve done that as best I can.” There was another whistle and a bang, the shield shattered around them. “I always keep my promises… I promise, I won’t hurt you, or your friend.” Luna’s magic vanished from the hilt of the sabre, sending it clattering to the ground.

Johnny stared for a moment, maintaining a tight grip on the spear and looking around him. From cover the guards had all taken aim again, their spellbows all primed and ready to begin the onslaught. Tired and aching from the night before, and now covered from head to toe in painful impact marks, he knew there was little chance that he would win the fight. He silently looked down at his spear.

Back on the hill, Jen was grunting loudly as she pinned Zecora to the ground, blood dripping from her nose onto the zebra’s fur. Not long after the shooting had started Zecora had tried to take the rifle from her, every shot she’d made had gone wide because of it, she’d only be able to pause and take a passable shot before being forced to combat Zecora again. As it stood, she was using the rifle as a bar to keep the zebra pinned.

“I won’t let them kill him!” She kept repeating over and over again through clenched teeth, Zecora staring and gasping as the gun was pressed against her windpipe. “I won’t lose another!” The zebra used all of her remaining might to push the human off of her, no easy feat considering she was at a severe height and weight disadvantage.

“You must stop inflicting such pain! I cannot stand idly by, that would be insane!” Zecora said between gasps as she prepared to fight the human once more. “You must stop your fighting, don’t you understand? It will only bring death to the land!” Jen had had enough, her rifle rising to a firing stance that faced the zebra. She drew back the bolt, ejecting a spent shell, before chambering the next round.

“I don’t want to kill you!” Jen said loudly, the zebra stared down the barrel of the weapon and closed her eyes.

“Do what you must, if I should die, it is because my cause is just…” Zecora replied in a calm tone, Jen’s finger trembled as she tried to move it towards the trigger.

”What’s the most important rule?” Johnny’s voice echoed through her head. ”Never, EVER aim at something you don’t intend to destroy.” The word ‘Destroy’ began repeating over and over in her head, her eyes began to tear up and her vision became blurry. She turned back towards the town and looked through the scope at where Johnny and Luna had been fighting. Both of them were looking towards her on the hill now, the morning sunlight reflecting off the scope of her rifle. She saw Johnny say something to Luna, there was a nod, and then…

“Are they… Are they letting him go?” Jen’s voice caught in her throat, her arms going slack as she let the rifle point towards the ground. Zecora by this point had stood up and trotted to the ridge, looking at Jen with extreme uncertainty. She kept a good distance, looking between the raven haired woman and the man walking across the fields towards them. The silence that settled racked Zecora’s nerves, she could see a lot of activity from the guards in the town, but surprisingly, none of it was directed at the humans.

Jen slowly began walking towards Johnny, her steps were shaky from stress and the uneven ground. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, with the morning light shining brightly upon them, Jen and Johnny were standing no less than five feet from each other. Wordlessly Johnny stepped forwards and put his hands on Jen’s shoulders, she could tell he was shaking. His clothes were worse for wear and he was covered in green, there was dried blood all down his face and he seemed to have a limp.

“Hey there…” Johnny said in a quiet voice, smirking a familiar smirk. Jen’s voice caught in her throat.

“H-Hey? That’s all you have to say?” She replied, feigning annoyance before she put her arms around Johnny and pulled him close. The rifle hung loose on its strap as the two shared an embrace that both had missed for some time. When the embrace was over, Johnny was about to speak, but he saw Jen’s eyes go wide. He looked over his shoulder as she started grabbing for her rifle, Princess Luna was approaching, completely alone. Johnny looked at Jen and put his hand on her rifle. “Wh-What? She’s going to-”

“Calm down…” Johnny continued holding the rifle in his hand. “I know you think she’s coming to hurt us, but she isn’t. She’s promised to help us, and I believe her.” Jen looked between Johnny and the Princess, her eyes still wide with concern. “She brought up a good point… We can’t keep running anymore.”

“What if she’s lying? What if she sends us to some government facility where they’ll do experiments on us?” Jen asked, again trying to raise her rifle, and again Johnny kept his grip firmly on the barrel.

“She won’t…” Johnny gestured to his face. “All this was my fault, not hers. Even after I fucked up her castle she still wants to help… I believe it’s genuine… Even if I don’t trust her completely.” Jen continued looking between Johnny and the princess. “If she’s lying, you know we could beat the crap out of their guards and escape again. If she’s telling the truth… We can settle down, put away the rifles… We can be normal people again.” Jen’s eyes continued watering as she took more glances between Johnny and Luna, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, and when she felt a soft squeeze from it, she closed her eyes.

Jen relinquished her grip on the rifle, letting Johnny take it and sling it over his shoulder. The man gave her another hug, using that moment to take the revolver off her as well. Jen looked at Luna quietly, trying to think of anything to say. Years ago she’d have squealed in excitement to meet her, but now Jen was too tired and too paranoid to even consider a mild cheer.

“Hello.” Luna said, looking Jen up and down quietly. She’d never seen a human female before, and there certainly were a few differences that she hadn’t expected. What was more, she could tell from looking at Jen that she was suffering from some of the same problems that Dominic had. “I… I realize you’re probably very afraid of me, but, I wanted to come and see that you were okay…”

Overhead some guards flew towards the top of the hill, landing to check on Zecora, who had taken to laying on the ground and recuperating after the ordeal. Luna and Jen ignored them, just staring at each other, sizing the other one up.

“I… I… I don’t know what to say…” Jen said quietly, looking at Johnny again. The man walked over and put his arm around her.

“You don’t have to say anything, let’s just get someplace warm and dry?” Johnny replied, looking at Luna who nodded silently. Johnny and Jen began walking back towards the town with Luna behind them, it was a quiet walk, there wasn’t a word uttered, as if all those involved were still coming to terms with what was happening. Luna worried about how all of this would affect how Equestria saw humans, and to a lesser extent, how Dominic perceived her way of dealing with humans. That was a bridge she’d have to cross later, in the present, she had two very dirty, jumpy, dangerous survivors to take care of. She didn’t trust Celestia to do it, not yet anyway.

The group continued walking as the sun continued to rise, closing another bloody chapter for the beleaguered human race.

[♦]

As the morning sun rose over New Liberty a hush had fallen across the town. Numerous changelings had been defecting from the POWs and it seemed soon the war with their hive would come to an end. That was what most of them thought anyway. The morning hush was quickly broken however, as a panicked Queen Chrysalis bolted out of her bunk house and ran towards the gate of the POW camp.

The surprised guards turned and looked at her, weapons at the ready. Her mane was matted and bedraggled as if she’d just woken up from a nightmare, the nervousness in her eyes made the Americans stand on edge as she spluttered and tried to speak. In her panic however, she’d forgotten that ponies generally couldn’t speak Changlinese. The guards only grew more suspicious of her as more and more of the changelings emerged from their bunk houses. Finally, Chrysalis calmed herself down enough to speak Equish.

“I must see the president! It’s an emergency!” The soldiers looked between each other, one of them nodded and readied his rifle, keeping it trained on Chrysalis as the other unlocked the gate. Sure, it was possible the Queen was trying to escape, but if she really wanted to, she could have easily flown out of the camp ages ago. It was a risk the guards were willing to take, and it paid off. The Queen rushed out of the camp and the second guard closed the gate behind her, then the first began escorting her towards the capitol building.

Chrysalis pushed her way into the building, moving with lightning speed up the steps as the building’s guards started to go after her as well. The panic on her face made them refrain from outright opening fire, they’d learned to read facial cues pretty well over the course of dealing with changelings.

Chrysalis didn’t really care that she had at least five heavily armed thestrals following her, she had to warn the President of what she’d sensed. Her normal sleep had been interrupted by the hivemind, a distant buzzing that she’d not felt in a long time. The being she’d sensed on the other end was none other than her former head of the military Commander Gigant, knowing that somehow he was still alive was enough to put her into a frenzy, but knowing that he was close by put her into an outright terror.

Chrysalis burst into the President’s office, startling him from his sleep in his chair. He blinked a few times but quickly realised there was someone in his office. When he saw it was Chrysalis his hand began reaching for his holster.

“Stay your hand, I have sensed a great danger!” She cried out, Dominic’s hand nonetheless came to rest on the revolver. Chrysalis supposed that as long as it wasn’t pointed at her she was okay.

“What danger would that be?” Dominic asked in a groggy tone, standing up with revolver in hand and wiping his eyes. Chrysalis noticed that there was a decent amount of papers on the floor as well as a half empty bottle on his desk. “Come on, I’ve got a bitch of a hangover, I can handle a little more bad news…”

“I have sensed a changeling in the hivemind, someone that I fear will bring great harm to your citizens.” Chrysalis said, ignoring the fact that now the guards that had followed her were watching her through the doorway. Dominic blinked a couple times, then waved a hand at the guards, dismissing them. He stretched, his back popping loudly as he did so.

“Go on, don’t mind me.” He said as he continued adjusting himself.

“Commander Gigant, my former head of the military.” Chrysalis began, Dominic paused and rubbed his chin, then shrugged and mumbled to himself.

“Gigant… Gigant… Sounds like a ruskie.” Chrysalis ignored the comment, chocking it up to Dominic being too tired to care about censoring himself. “Alright, what’s so bad about Gigant, did he sell nuclear secrets on the black market? Swat a fly in your presence?”

“No, he was the one that recommended the attack on Canterlot, filled my head with delusions of glory…” Chrysalis explained, ignoring Dominic’s crude manner of speaking once again. “He’s a Changeling supremacist who would see anyone not a changeling subjugated by our race.” This got Dominic’s attention, he set his revolver on his desk and walked over to look the Queen in the eyes. “He is also my child, as all Changelings are… He did not seem to think that mattered, and attempted to… what’s the word? Woo me? Needless to say, something like that would be highly taboo.”

“So you guys have Oedipal complexes too…” Dominic muttered to himself, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes again. “Well, what’s the big worry? If you just sensed him he should be easy to find, especially if he’s alone.”

“Gigant has a legion of followers in the hive, they’ve been growing in numbers since we lost in Canterlot, and now that I’ve been captured, I’m certain he has used it as a rally call to defend the hive, and eventually, invade Equestria.” Chrysalis’ look of worry finally set Dominic’s mind into full on red alert, the look on his face became hard as stone. “I fear he has come here with an army in an attempt to free me.”

“So why not order him to stand down? You’re still his boss, aren’t you?” Dominic asked, already reaching for his jacket and helmet.

“I said he was the former head of the army for a reason.” Chrysalis said. “I fired him after he made rather forceful advances on me.” Dominic sighed quietly and looked around his office, he turned around and took his shotgun off the wall, then set it on the desk.

“How much shit would you say we’re in?” Dominic asked as he pulled a threadbare backpack from beneath his desk and unzipped it.

“Gigant is likely preparing to attack as we speak… His tactic will undoubtedly be to engulf you on all sides and basically devour his way in.” Chrysalis explained, Dominic began slipping shotgun shells into his weapon, then pulled two bandoliers from within the bag. He hadn’t worn them in months, but he had a feeling he’d need them soon. “It is very likely that even with your defenses he will win the battle.”

“I always knew this day would come, I prayed it wouldn’t but I knew it would.” Dominic said quietly, looking at Chrysalis with a somber expression. “There is a reason my race was so advanced, conflict breeds innovation… I had hoped I would never have to employ our ways of warfare here…” The man buttoned his jacket and sat his helmet atop his head, then slung shotgun over his shoulder and slipped his revolver into his holster. “I’m sorry, but a lot more of your children are going to die…”

“I… I…” Chrysalis was at a loss for words.

“I have to look out for my people, don’t you understand?” Dominic’s voice was welling with emotion, as he himself was uncertain that what he was planning to do was the right thing. “I will dispatch a pair of soldiers to accompany you, you can try and talk Gigant out of what he is planning… Other than that, there’s nothing I can do…”

“I… I understand…” Chrysalis said in a hoarse whisper, meanwhile Dominic walked out of the room.

“Sonar! Get me all the grease, oil, booze, ammonia and bleach you can find! Put us on red alert, I want fighter cover twenty four seven, and find a way to identify the changeling defectors so we know they’re ours!” He ordered, Chrysalis couldn’t bring herself to move, she shakily sat down on the floor in the office and began to feel an overwhelming numbness through her body. Part of her hated herself for what she’d just done, undoubtedly she was condemning any of her children that fought for Gigant to death. The other part of her knew that peace between her people and America would never exist if America was destroyed, and if she couldn’t have peace with them, there was no chance that she would ever have peace with Equestria or any other nation for that matter.

There was a quiet cough from behind her, prompting her to turn and spot two thestrals wearing desert fatigues and holding spellbows. The older one wore something she believed was called a boonie cap while the other wore an olive drab knit cap. She found that odd, considering there was a desert surrounding them, but didn’t comment.

“Queen Chrysalis. I’m Rolling Thunder, this is Chipped Blade, we’ve been told to escort you.” The older stallion said in an obviously bitter tone, the second stallion just seemed to be glaring daggers at her. She could sense a strong hatred emanating off of him, it seemed that Dominic had picked the two guards that hated her the most to accompany her. The queen quietly stood and bowed to the two soldiers, they appeared surprised, but their emotions remained the same.

“Please, follow swiftly, we haven’t any time to lose.” The Queen quickly trotted out of the room with the two soldiers following close behind her. The capitol building was abuzz with activity as ponies ran around shouting and demanding things. Already  two carts had been dispatched to gather up as many bottles of bleach and ammonia as possible, as the president had explained what could happen if the two mixed. It wasn’t long before Chrysalis and the two soldiers had emerged onto the street.

“Let’s move.” Rolling said sternly, earning another nod from Chipped Blade. Chrysalis closed her eyes and took a breath before opening her wings and taking to the air, she flew at a decent clip, but not too fast that her escort would think she was trying to escape. The Queen was following her senses, she turned as she felt the hivemind calling from the hills. Rolling Thunder and Chipped Blade kept very close eyes on her, ever since Errant’s death they’d harbored a grudge towards the Queen, they supposed that was what made them so well suited for the job of keeping her on a very short leash.

For half an hour the group flew in silence over the desert, mile after mile passed beneath them until finally they had flown nearly ten miles. Chipped looked over at Rolling and shook his head silently, the older stallion shook his head back, the cut off was twenty miles. Chrysalis sensed that her companions were growing antsy, she could understand why, but she knew that Gigant was close.

“I can sense him… And his army… They’re very close.” Chrysalis said over her shoulder, the two soldiers nodded. With a nervous shudder Chrysalis angled herself towards the ground, reducing her speed and gliding down to the sand. She came touched down and trotted to a stop, Chipped Blade and Rolling stopped just behind her. A hawk circled overhead, cawing loudly. The desert brush swayed in a slow blowing breeze.

“Alright… Where is what we’re looking for again?” Rolling asked, Chrysalis held up a hoof and closed her eyes. The silence settled and she could hear the hivemind calling to her from over a ridge, her hoof drifted in that direction and she opened her eyes. She began walking towards the ridge with her escorts trudging along behind her, after ten minutes of more silent movement they had reached the summit. Chrysalis gasped as she looked over the other side, and when they reached the top, Rolling and Chipped immediately dropped to their stomachs with their spellbows at the ready.

“Mother of Luna…” Chipped said quietly as the wind picked up, sending sand and dust flying across the ground. Chrysalis was surprised to have heard him talk, he’d been silent the entire time. The three of them were looking down upon a large encampment of changelings. The camp was made up of mud huts covered in sand to help hide them aerially, there were changelings moving large crates and sharpening weapons or preparing armor. It seemed they hadn’t noticed that they were being watched yet. Rolling and Chipped wasted no time scanning the area for targets.

“Call the building on the edge of the encampment…. two-hundred and fifty yards.” Rolling whispered, Chipped nodded once again. Chrysalis looked at the two of them, each had attached a long range scope to their weapons. “I’ve got a lot of activity… Shit… I think they made us.”

Indeed, the changelings in the encampment had made a note of their Queen on the ridge, but not the two snipers on either side of her.

“I doubt they have seen you, I can sense confusion, but not fear or anger… Wait here… I will try to talk to Gigant.” Both soldiers turned and looked at her with upset expressions. “The longer I stand here the more they get suspicious and the more likely they are to see you. I give you my word, I will return…”

“Go.” Chipped said quietly once more, Chrysalis nodded and began walking down the hill. Rolling looked over at Chipped with a raised eyebrow. “That rat bastard is probably on his way outside now, the two of them will talk in the open… We’ll know who the target is.”

“Just hope it doesn’t backfire.” Rolling replied. “The big man doesn’t want us to take the shot if the Queen’s still here, remember that…”

“Copy…”

Chrysalis wasn’t able to hear the details of what the two snipers were discussing as she walked down the hill, but she sensed that very soon something would happen. It upset her to think she was probably being used as bait, and that in a few moments she would probably be covered in the remains of Gigant’s head, but she kept telling herself that the death of one of her children, the black sheep, would somehow be for the greater good.

Her hoofs left their marks in the sand as dozens of changelings poured out of their huts to get a look at the Queen. She flashed a bit of magic, straightening her hair out and allowing the wind to catch it. The mare came to a halt just in front of the first hut and a crowd began to form around her, the changelings began mumbling amongst each other as the Queen silently looked them over. They were thin, thinner than any changeling should be, as if they had been denied the very taste of food, emotional or otherwise.

Eventually the crowd began to part in the back, Chrysalis adjusted her stance as she watched the part grow closer and closer, until finally it parted all the way to reveal a changeling that Chrysalis was all too familiar with. Commander Gigant, in his full battle armor that still bore the sigil of the Hive Legion, armor that Chrysalis had taken from him when she’d dismissed him.

“Your highness!” The changeling said with a cheery smile. “I can sense it truly is you! I am so glad that you’ve escaped!” Chrysalis’ expression remained as stoic as ever, her eyes never once breaking contact with the armor. She had stored it in her bedroom in the hive for safe keeping, meaning that Gigant had had to go into her bedroom to get it. “Our counter attack will be even more meaningful now that you are here.”

“Gigant…” Chrysalis’ tone was laced with venom, venom she’d thought she’d left behind, but seeing one of her sons blatantly advertising that he had entered her chamber was bringing back old feelings of disdain. “What are you doing?”

“I’m greeting you-”

“In that armor.” Chrysalis’ tone was ice cold as she cut him off. “The armor I stripped you of when I stripped you of rank.” Gigant froze, it was the first time that she’d ever seen him visibly gulp. Murmurs ran through the crowd that had formed. “If there was to be a counter attack, you are the last of my warrior sons I would pick to lead it.”

“M-Mother, surely you don’t mean that.” Gigant stammered, Chrysalis remained impassive. Still, seeing the look on his face, one of emotional destruction, was something it took a lot of strength to overcome. She hated seeing her children suffer, especially when it was by her own hoof, but seeing how all the other changelings had been treated made it easier on her. “They must have done unspeakable things to you that would make you say that!”

“Children, heed my words.” Chrysalis said in an authoritative voice, the crowd of changelings looked at her with wide eyes. “This boy you see before you is no real commander, following him is foolish. Only death and misery await you if you with him, death and misery I will be unable to prevent.” Gigant went from shocked and upset to outraged with the speed of a whip, pointing an accusing hoof at the Queen.

“You are weak! You are so weak you cannot see what true strength is!” He turned to the crowd and pointed at himself. “Brothers and Sisters, you know what I can do, what I can promise! Disregard her lies!” Chrysalis looked over the faces of the crowd once more, there was a lot of confusion and murmuring.

“Those of you that follow me shall be safe from harm, that is my vow. Those that refuse… I cannot promise the same.” Chrysalis began to turn around, trotting back up the ridgeline towards the two snipers. Behind her she heard hoofsteps.

“What are you doing!? Are you weak minded!?” Gigant yelled loudly, Chrysalis continued walking as did her followers, until Gigant’s yells were far in the background. The Queen stopped at the top of the ridge and looked around in surprise, as her two sniper escorts were no longer there. She looked around for a moment before she spotted a very thready cloud high in the sky, she could faintly make out two outlines. The Queen nodded quietly and began walking back in  the direction of New Liberty.

In the end, it appeared that at least half of Gigant’s forces had decided to follow her, perhaps even more, leaving Gigant with an even smaller force than before. In the air above, Rolling and Chipped watched in awe as the exodus unfell before their eyes. The cloud they’d hidden behind was barely strong enough to support them touching it, they had quickly flown up there earlier to get a better look of the encampment, and to not be there when they saw Chrysalis leaving with the other changelings.

“Rolling… You handle the escort from here. I’ll wait until they’re further away and complete the mission.” Chipped said in a hushed voice, Rolling looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll be okay…”

“You sure?” Rolling asked, his own tone serious, Chipped nodded silently once more. “You come back in one piece, you hear me?” Another nod. Rolling let go of the cloud and silently began falling back towards the ground, after a few seconds his wings snapped open and he began gliding towards the evacuating changelings. Chipped sighed quietly and adjusted the knit cap he wore, peering down on the changeling camp through his scope once more.

This was something he rather enjoyed, being alone with his weapon and a target in mind. The gentle wind pushed against the thin excuse for a cloud, but not too hard, just enough to waft through Chipped Blade’s short mane. Through his scope he could see that Gigant, their target, was doing damage control with his remaining forces.

“Arrogant son of a bitch, aren’t ya…?” Chipped mumbled to himself as he rested the crosshairs on the changeling’s chest plate. Occasionally he’d take his eye off the scope and check around him, in the distance now he could see the changelings that had left the camp. He could easily turn and drop their bitch of Queen if he wanted, but that wouldn’t be right. Errant had taught him that the mission always came first, even in the end. It took him a moment to realize that he was shaking with anger before he turned back to his scope.

It felt like hours passed, the cloud continued to drift lazily above the encampment. Just Chipped, his weapon, and his target below. Occasionally he could hear Errant’s voice run through his head, the mare that had basically taken care of him since basic training, really the only mother figure he’d ever had. Perhaps that was what allowed him to tolerate Chrysalis’ continuing existence, she was a mother figure to more than just one person, and he didn’t want to hurt anyone the way he had been hurt.

Chipped took a moment to exhale as the desert wind continued to blow, Gigant’s speech had ended with him and his forces continuing their preparations. Chipped kept his vision on the commander, watching him strut around the encampment like a rooster. Chipped was sure to mentally count the enemies that he saw, as well as their equipment, figuring that it would be good intelligence for the coming battle. As time went on and the wind began to pick up Chipped realized he had to make his move soon. He’d do his best to eliminate as many enemy soldiers he could before he bugged out.

Gigant was focussed on looking over his plans for the coming battle, at least, that’s what it looked like through the scope of the spellbow. Chipped could see him conversing with other changelings, judging by the marks on their armor he figured they were officers. He quietly adjusted the knob on his scope, zooming in on Gigant’s head. Normally he’d go for a center mass shot, but he wanted to be sure there was no armor in the way.

Chipped had the crosshairs right on Gigant’s face, he relaxed his grip on the rifle and began taking deep slow breaths. The commander turned his head towards the weapon, Chipped saw his eyes squinting. As Chipped saw his mouth begin to open and his hoof begin to rise the sniper squeezed the trigger. A second later Gigant’s face was blasted apart by a bolt of red energy and the officers were staring at his corpse in shock. Chipped wasted no time in readying the next crystal round, shifting his aim to one of the officers. This time he went for the leg, squeezing the trigger once more and downing the officer. A wounding shot that would make it difficult for him to move. His reload was just as quick as the first.

Chipped shifted his aim to an officer that was beginning to help his wounded comrade, he squeezed the trigger again and killed him with a shot to the back of the neck. His wounded target pushed his dead friend off of him and began crawling away, now it appeared that a regular changeling wanted to play hero. Chipped Blade coldly shifted his aim to that hero and squeezed the trigger once more, downing yet another enemy.

On the ground it was absolute chaos, the remaining forces that had been loyal to Gigant were being decimated by some unseen foe. Buzzle was one such changeling, a changeling that had grown disenfranchised with the Queen and wanted a change in leadership. Now he was watching as a good portion of their army’s commanding officers were being killed off. He frantically looked for the source of the red blasts of energy, thinking there was a unicorn on the ground somewhere. He was currently hiding behind a large boulder, but occasionally risked a peek over the edge at his running comrades.

After a few moments he deemed it safe to run to aid one of his other fallen comrades, there were at least three now that couldn’t move on their own. Buzzle took a breath and ran out into the open, running in a serpentine pattern towards his downed Commanding Officer. Then a bolt of energy whizzed past his head, forcing him to stop in place and turn around, the bolt halted him in that direction. Every way he turned he was cut off, as if he was being toyed with, with a yell he started screaming at the sky.

Chipped took another shot, killing the screaming changeling that he’d missed the last couple times. With ten confirmed kills, not including the target, he decided it was time to get going. Three more shots put his wounded victims out of their misery, Chipped hopped off his disappearing cloud and began flying back towards New Liberty. He’d have to share the little trick he’d come up with with the President, shooting to wound seemed to be a much more efficient way of killing the enemy.

Those thoughts were cut short as a bolt of green energy flew past his head, it appeared that some of the changelings had spotted him flying away. Chipped slung his rifle over his back and tilted his wings, slicing through the air like a knife as he dropped to the deck, he could feel the heat of the hot sand against his belly as he flew close to the ground. The changelings were still in hot pursuit, but descending had given Chipped a rather speedy advantage.

He weaved through the hills and dunes, occasionally looking over his shoulder at his pursuers. Chipped counted at least three, maybe four, they appeared to be unarmored and unarmed, aside from their horns. They also appeared to be struggling to keep up. Chipped began to climb, losing airspeed, but considering it a necessary loss. He turned towards the sun, pulling his knit cap down over his eyes to better shield them.

The Changelings looked around for the thestral, but they’d lost him in the sun, they still kept flying onwards. Despite the pain in their stomachs and the drain in their horns, they knew that they had to catch the enemy before he escaped. In the sky above them Chipped was looking down at them, drawing his combat knife from its’ sheath before he dropped into a dive and aimed at the trailing member of the changeling flight.

Chipped Blade grit his teeth as the wind whipped past his face, his wings against his body to increase his airspeed to near lethal levels. He’d heard Dominic speak of a bird on his world that used a similar tactic, and figured he’d need all the help he could get in a four to one fight. The Changeling was getting even closer now, Chipped readied his knife for the kill. He opened his wings at the last second, giving him time to plant his hooves on the changelings back and jam the knife into it’s head.

He pushed off it’s falling corpse and took back to the sky before the changeling’s comrades had any idea what had happened. When they spotted their dead companion falling to the ground they scrambled and spread out, frantically searching for the source of the gruesomely efficient kill. They were flying slower than they normally would, but with the rationing of food, they had no choice if they wanted to keep flying.

Above them Chipped was looking down as he continued his flight towards New Liberty, he could see it in the distance now, he doubted the changelings could tell how close they were considering how low they were flying. Chipped decided that rather than risk another attack as he had before, he’d lead the changelings into the teeth of the American defenses. He dropped down to the changeling’s altitude behind them, then poured on an extra burst of speed. He flew just over them, undoubtedly getting their attention. A couple bolts of energy flew past him, one managing to singe the hair on his left leg.

They were chasing him now, forming up on his tail as he crested the final hill overlooking New Liberty. As he checked over his shoulder he saw the changeling’s eyes go wide and their speed decrease significantly. Pointed in their direction were numerous ballistas, unicorns, spell bows, and even changelings with green strips of cloth around their forearms. Chipped dropped low to the ground, as to give the defenders a better shot. His pursuers began to turn around, but it was too late.

“ENEMY FIGHTERS ON THE HORIZON! OPEN FIRE!” Chipped heard a voice yell in the distance, moments later the defensive line became ablaze with bolts of energy ranging from green red and blue. The bolts flew over Chipped Blade’s head in beautiful streaks that would’ve been even better to see at night. The changeling pursuers were caught running, the withering fire tearing into them as if they were wet tissue paper. Only after their bodies had hit the sand did the fire come to an end.

Chipped Blade continued flying and landed just short of the trench, numerous spell bows were pointed towards him.

“Star!” A soldier shouted from the group.

“Night!” Chipped shouted back, the weapons lowered and the soldiers allowed Chipped to pass through the line. As he reached the main street of New Liberty he was greeted by the sight of his bipedal Commander in Chief, the sniper saluted.

“At ease.” Dominic said in a neutral tone, Chipped nodded and relaxed his stance. “Report on Operation Badger.”

“Target eliminated, sir. Also reporting thirteen EKIAs at their encampment and one on the way here, plus those three back there…” Chipped pointed over his shoulder at the corpses in the desert. Dominic looked out at the dead bodies, then back at Chipped Blade.

“Your mission was to eliminate Gigant, and only Gigant… How did you manage to kill thirteen other enemy soldiers?” Dominic asked, his tone was still neutral. Chipped could see that the Queen of the Changelings was standing a few feet off in the distance, watching the two of them with what looked like concern.

“I wounded one, sir. When one would come to his aid I would take them out…” Chipped replied, the stallion didn’t notice a change in the President’s expression, but he definitely saw his fist clench and unclench.

“Understood, very good Chipped… Dismissed.” Dominic’s tone was lower than before as he turned back towards Chrysalis and began walking away. Chipped nodded, feeling slightly odd about the reaction he’d gotten. He trotted off towards the town cemetery, hoping a little time sitting by Errant would help him clear up the thoughts in his head.

Dominic sighed quietly, looking over his shoulder at Chipped before shaking his head. He walked up to Chrysalis with a solemn expression, he didn’t even need to open his mouth, he could see she had tears starting to form in her eyes. Dominic frowned and began walking towards the capitol building, he passed by numerous thestrals without a word until finally he found himself in his office. He’d forgotten he had his shotgun slung over his shoulder, but by the time he’d reached his office he was ready to lean it against the wall.

The man walked to his desk and sat down, then rested his head on the desk. He closed his eyes and laid there for a few minutes, thinking about all that had happened. In some ways he wished he was back in Evergreen, back where the only thing to worry about was finding food and killing infected. He loathed himself even more for thinking that, he knew there were more survivors out there, survivors that deserved the chance he’d had more than he did. He’d squandered his chance at a semi-normal life and dragged god only knew how many ponies down with him.

The faint knock on his door went unanswered for a few moments before finally whoever was knocking pushed the door open and came in on their own.

“Mister President?” Sonar’s voice called.

“Dominic… Call me Dominic…” Dominic responded in a tired voice, he lifted his head off the desk and looked at the mare. “What’s wrong, Sonar?”

“Message from Equestria, sir. They’ve detained the other humans…” Sonar trailed off, causing Dominic to gesture for her to continue. She’d never trailed off like that before. “They’re concerned about the changeling threat to their border, so… They’re sending a battalion down here.”

“They’re what!?” Dominic boomed, standing up straight and pounding his desk. Sonar flinched for a moment, seeing his face twisted into one of genuine rage. “Sonar. Take a message.” The mare nodded nervously and pulled a pad and pen from her business like attire. “Equestrian Armed Forces. Stop. Do not require your assistance. Stop. Remain at your border. Stop. This is not a suggestion. Stop.”

“...not a suggeeeestion…” Sonar mumbled before nodding, Dominic turned and she assumed that was her cue to leave to send the flash magic message. The president turned to the window and glared towards the north, in the distance he could see thunder clouds and the sky was beginning to darken. Dominic stood for a few moments, watching his soldiers prepare the battlements for the coming fight.

There was a yell from downstairs and he could hear the alarm going up outside, Dominic’s eyes narrowed as he walked to the wall where he’d leaned his shotgun and picked it up. As he reached for the door handle he stopped, then looked around quietly. The black fabric of an old curtain caught his eye and he was quick to snatch it up, then tear a moderately sized square. He folded it in half diagonally, making a triangle. Slowly Dominic brought the fabric up to his face and tied the crude bandanna. In that moment he felt himself flashing back to Evergreen, back to the blood and violence. Dominic, having spent so much time lamenting the lives he’d taken in Equestria, could never go into battle as himself. He would never be able to live with himself. So he would hide himself from the world. He would become the efficient killer of Evergreen once more.

Dominic turned back to the door and opened it, then slowly stepped down the stairs, checking that his weapon was ready for battle. He began sprinting towards the battlements to the south as that was where most of the soldiers were flocking.

“General Quarters! General Quarters!” Shouted a quartermaster to the side as thestrals emerged from their tunnels. “Man your stations! Go! Go! Go!” Dominic’s boots thundered against the ground, his breathing heavy and his heart pounding. After what felt like a minute or so he was there, the soldiers were getting into the trenches, until eventually he was the only one standing above ground.

The wind was picking up, whipping Dominic’s coat behind him. The clouds were taking their places. On the hills in the distance were the banners of the enemy, there were more than he’d expected. Perhaps there had been more hiding than just one encampment, but from the looks of it, it was at least a fair fight. The changelings that had defected had joined the fight, Chrysalis had made it clear that they would need to if they wanted peace with America.

The Queen, for her part, had taken up her battle armor. She was commanding the changelings, it was only fitting. Dominic had been skeptical of it at first, but he knew just how ineffective that armor was against his weapons. She too was in the trench, near the left flank, watching the President that was staring off at the hills.

The ballistas were rotated and set, their operators preparing to launch bundles of bottles. Some filled with alcohol and grease, others filled with chemicals. The civilians were taking to cover underground in a sealed tunnel, Sonar was among them. Dominic readied his shotgun, holding it tightly as the silence was broken by yells on the other side of the field. It was a war chant, no doubt about that. The changelings would shout something loudly in their native tongue, then stomp their hooves.

Not to be outdone, Dominic heard someone off in the distance respond with a loud yell of their own. It wasn’t disciplined or measured like the enemy’s but it eventually spread throughout the ranks. Dominic stood up straight and narrowed his eyes as he spotted the enemy’s formation shifting, large brutish creatures moved into the forefront. They were covered from head to hoof in armor, they were easily the size of a car.

Thunder crashed in the distance, silencing both armies’ yells. A bolt of lightning shot down between the two forces, a deafening boom of thunder echoed for miles around. The changelings took this as their cue to attack, the brutish creatures surged forwards in a wave of destruction. Dominic counted at least five of them. Behind them came the infantry, a new thunder entered the air. The thunder of hooves.

“Artillery! Open fire! Put it in front of them!” Dominic yelled, he was hoping that it would create some sort of shield between the enemy’s brutes and his defensive line. Granted, there was a trench and the creatures would most likely hurtle over it, but they could still do a lot of damage if left unchecked. The Ballistas responded by raining down bottles of flaming liquid in front of the charging brutes, the flames produced thick black smoke as they spread out over the sand.

“We must fight, children! For the good of the hive!” Dominic heard Chrysalis yell, her wings buzzing as she rose into the sky. The changelings that had chosen to fight with her rose out of the trenches as well, filling the air with a fearsome buzzing.

“FOR THE HIVE!” Shouted her loyal children, readying the weapons that they’d been given. They wore the armor that had been confiscated from them when they had first attacked New Liberty, decorated with a stripe of green painted on their gauntlets and chest plates. They surged forwards towards the charging brutes, swords drawn and horns aglow.

“Open fire!” Dominic heard an officer order, moments later the American soldiers had let fly with shots from their spell bows. Dominic readied his shotgun as the enemy infantry got closer and closer, he could see their eyes now. After a few moments their faces melted away, replaced by distorted visions of the infected. The horde came closer and closer, the ground rumbling and shaking beneath his boots. The oddest thing happened in that split second. Dominic could hear music in his head. Not violent or angry, infact quite the opposite.

The shotgun barked loudly, sending a flurry of buckshot out towards the enemy. The boom seemed to catch the infantry by surprise, even as one body toppled to the ground dead and another wounded. Dominic bellowed loudly like a man possessed, in a way he was… Driven back to a state where he had needed to fight and slaughter for every day of survival, it was quite possible he’d finally snapped.

The man ran forwards, screaming and yelling, firing wildly into the changeling infantry. Like the Red Sea the enemy parted, corpses littering the ground as the President cut a swath of death through their charge. When the shot gun clicked empty Dominic slipped it over his back and drew his revolver from its holster. By now the shock had worn off and the changelings were attempting to surround him, meanwhile the American defenders were hammering away at the enemy’s forces.

A changeling charged forwards with its horn lowered to impale, another shot rang out and the foe slid into the dirt. Dominic heard a crunch of dirt from behind and whirled around, discharging two more rounds into a pair of changelings that had intended to double team him with swords. Green blood was oozing on the ground now and the surrounding changelings were beginning to back away. The man heard the music growing slower and twisted, two more shots rang out and two bodies fell dead. The final shot ended up placed between the eyes of a fearful changeling that had the misfortune of being in Dominic’s direct line of sight.

With his revolver and shotgun empty, Dominic was left unarmed. This was quickly remedied as he picked up a discarded sword and looked it over, twirling it a couple times and creating a whooshing noise. A changeling rushed forwards with its own sword raised and poised for a swing, Dominic adjusted his stance to dodge the assault. He felt the breeze on the blade as it whizzed past his arm, Dominic thrust his blade forwards at the attacker and catching a bit of the changeling’s shoulder.

Green blood oozed from the freshly cut wound and the infantry changeling let out a pained grunt, in an angry frenzy he swung swiftly at Dominic’s shoulder. Sparks flew as steel met steel, Dominic barring his teeth as he caught his foe’s blade. The man growled and gave a shove, quickly overpowering the magic and bringing the blade down on the changeling’s helmet. A large dent formed and the changeling staggered backwards.

Meanwhile the battle raged on around the two combatants, Chrysalis and her forces were busy eliminating the armored brutes. It was not an easy task as the armor had covered many of the weaknesses she knew of, held together by cruel straps of rope and leather. The ballistas were raining down a hail of fire and chemicals on the remaining changeling formations and thick black smoke began rising higher and higher into the darkening sky.

Dominic yelled in rage as he kicked the changeling in the gut and sent him to the ground in a heap, he raised the sword and began swinging it fast at the changeling’s throat. He could see the changelings eyes now, the vision of an infected zombie fading in milliseconds. The fear, the resignation in those eyes, proved to be too much. The changeling clenched its eyes in preparation for the end, but the end never came.

It opened its eyes and stared up at Dominic, the man was staring down with wide eyes, the changeling could see the sword trembling inches from his neck. A yell from behind drew the human’s attention away as another Changeling charged forwards with a sword lowered, flicks of red flew through the air as the blade made contact with Dominic’s left shoulder. Blood pulsed through the shredded leather of his jacket as pain erupted up his side, in a few seconds the changeling that had attacked him found himself impaled.

The changeling that had been spared watched as the human withdrew the blade from his comrade’s chest, green and red blood mixing on the ground. The human turned and looked down at him, then pointed a trembling bloody finger at him. The changeling gulped until he saw the man pointed off in a random direction.

“Go…” The human said, obviously speaking through great pain. With that the human turned and began making his way back behind the lines.

The sound of a bowstrings joined the fray as the Changeling sent forwards their next wave of attack. Arrows impaling themselves in American soldiers and Changeling Defectors alike. One such arrow flew towards the human, it connected with his right leg and sent him toppling to the ground.

“Medic!” An american shouted, the thestral crawled out of the trench and bit down on the man’s jacket collar, then dragged him back to cover. The changeling that had been spared blinked several times before discarding his damaged helmet. Wincing in pain he began limping towards the American lines, specifically towards another helmet. The human’s helmet, that had fallen as he’d been struck by the arrow. He picked it up in his teeth and chucked it towards the american lines, even as the battle continued to rage.

Dominic hissed in pain as he was propped up against the wall of a trench with a Medical thestral tending to his wounds. The mare had a needle and thread at the ready, preparing to sew up the flesh wound Dominic had sustained on his shoulder. She was fumbling about trying to determine how much pain killer to the man considering his body weight.

“Screw the pain killer, Doc… I can handle it.” Dominic said as he clenched his teeth and leaned his head back. “I deserve it… That was a fucking stupid idea…” The thestral nodded and tied off a knot in the thread, Dominic reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a nine millimeter round before he bit down on it. The thestral began sewing up the wound and the man bit down even harder, clenching his eyes shut and growling but remaining as still as possible. After a gruelling ten minutes, during which it seemed more and more soldiers were calling for a medic, Dominic’s wound was sewn shut and bandaged up. As for the arrow in his leg.

He snapped the shaft off, leaving six inches or so exposed. It had pierced his calf muscle through his pants.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He growled again as he let the bullet fall from his teeth, the thestral was staring at him with wide eyes. “Push it through!” The medic hesitated and opened her mouth to speak. “PUSH! IT! THROUGH!” It was clear Dominic was in a lot of pain and his toughness was starting to wear thin, the medic wasted no time applying great force to the arrow. Dominic yelled and screamed as the barbed weapon of war pushed through his leg and emerged on the other side through his jeans. He gripped it and pulled it through, hissing in pain and staring at the arrow head. “Fuck!”

The medic gawked for a moment and quickly went to work on repairing his leg as best she could. Not having any real information on human biology she was flying by the seat of her pants, especially since using magical remedies wouldn’t be effective. She knew enough to know that magic only seemed to affect humans when applied by direct contact of the horn to their bodies. The man meanwhile was busy reloading his revolver as the battle drew closer and closer, the dark clouds still looming overhead.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” The thestral medic mumbled as she continued working, Dominic looked at her and did his best to subdue the pain in his leg.

“Hey… HEY! Calm down!” He said as he readied his weapon, he could hear the fighting was even closer to the trench now. Then he saw several enemy changelings drop down into the defensive line behind the thestral. “Down!” The medic dropped to the dirt, Dominic leveled his revolver and fired three shots at the enemy. When they were dead he patted the medic on the shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah!” The medic wiped her forehead of sweat and finished off her work on the leg. “Don’t move on it too much, it may not have screwed with a bone but I don’t like the way the muscle looked.” Dominic grunted and hobbled onto his feet. “Get to the back of the lines, I’ve got other patients waiting!”

“You got it!” Dominic replied as he weakly climbed out of the trench and began crawling across the dirt towards the ballistas. After what felt like an eternity he reached the sandbags and crawled behind them, the ballista crew closest to him paused their firing momentarily and started moving towards him. “Get back on your weapon!”

“The enemy is pulling back! It looks like they’re retreating!” Shouted an officer off in the distance, Dominic caught sight of one in particular and waved him over. He was a thestral, as were most of the soldiers in the American army. With a flat top and bulging muscles it was easy to recognize him as one of the artillery officers. Dominic had met him once before, his name was Bulwark if he remembered correctly. “Sir, you’ve been wounded!”

“I’m aware.” Dominic replied flatly. “You say the enemy is retreating, correct?” The stallion nodded, Dominic looked around at the soldiers around him. “How are we holding up?”

“We’re doing better than expected, sir, but we’re still getting hurt.” Bulwark said in a somber tone as the ballista crews continued raining down fire on the enemy that was clearly retreating.

“This is top priority… The enemy must not escape!” Dominic said, it was getting difficult to ignore the growing pain in his leg. “Kill or capture them, I don’t care which… But we cannot let them escape.”

“Yes, sir!” Bulwark said with a salute, Dominic leaned his head back against the sandbag and stared up at the sky. Gradually the roar of battle began to fade out, he could hear his heart beating in his chest and his breath began to grow short. He could hear muffled shouting and a few moments later he felt his shoulders being shaken. His eyelids grew heavy and he felt himself leaning over to one side, then there was nothing but an inky blackness.
> Chapter 50
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chipped Blade yelled loudly as he slashed his sword through the gut of an enemy changeling, green blood soaked his fatigues and he could tell that the liquid would be staining his fur as well. He had moved to the left flank with his spellbow in hand, but as the changeling forces had tried to close in rapidly he’d been forced to charge straight into the fray. His heart was pumping at an alarming rate, he could practically feel everything around him. Every sword slash, every magical blast, each cry of pain, it all drove him back to the day his world had been shattered.

There was no remorse in any of the slaughter, he wanted every single Changeling to suffer the pain of his blade. As it stood he was out in the open, panting and slashing at any changeling that dared get close to him. The clouds were thundering overhead but the rain had yet to start falling, perhaps it was waiting to unleash its torrents after the battle had concluded, but only time would tell.

Two changelings charged Chipped at once from opposite sides, with their swords pointed and ready to impale him. The stallion readied his sabre, which was nearly dull after so much use, and watched them charge. He readied himself, at the last second he flapped his wings and took to the air. One changeling ran into the other, impaling his comrade on his sword. Before he had time to react Chipped had dropped from the air and skewered the remaining changeling’s skull to the ground.

Chipped stood there panting as he looked around him, the changelings were backing away with great speed. He picked up one of the swords that had been dropped by the changelings and twirled it, flicks of blood flew from the blade and stained the remaining foes armor. The thestral could taste the changeling blood in his mouth, there was so much of it around, it was hard not to be exposed to it. Chipped had never felt so angry before, nor had he ever felt a thirst for blood as he did now. Occasionally he’d tear into a rare bit of meat when he could, but never to such an extreme that he wanted to rend his foes to ribbons.

Chipped glared at one changeling in particular, there were four or five of them that were backing away from him in a circle. His eyes shrank to pin pricks as the twirling of the sword became faster and faster, before he knew what was happening he’d launched himself forwards at his target, teeth bared. The sword connected first, punching through the armor and shredding the changeling’s insides like wet tissue paper. If that wasn’t enough to kill him, and it was, Chipped felt his canines sink deep into the changeling’s neck. With great force he closed his mouth and tore the flesh away, resulting in a fountain spray of green blood.

After a few seconds Chipped spat the flesh from his lips and looked around at the remaining changelings, they were scrambling away after watching their comrade ripped open like a blood bag. Chipped Blade’s eye twitched as he looked at all of them, the blade fell from his hoof, it would only slow him down. With lightning speed he’d lunged at the next changeling, teeth bared and letting a ferocious roar escape his throat. The changeling slashed like mad at the oncoming thestral in a vain attempt to save himself, moments later he’d been tackled by the crazed bat pony. His armor did little to protect him as Chipped Blade sank his teeth down between the plating.

“FALL BACK!” Shouted one of the changelings that had remained, his wings buzzing as he took to the air, the remaining changelings followed suit. Chipped would have none of that, after thoroughly ripping the changeling apart he opened his wings and took to the air like a demon out of hell. The neck changeling to fall was ripped from the sky and pummeled into the ground, it’s throat ripped out, and its corpse left mangled.

By this point the changelings were falling back in droves, partially due to the actions of Chipped Blade, but mostly because they were being torn apart by sustained chemical and molotov bombardment. Chipped Blade roared into the sky as he watched the changelings begin fleeing, behind him he heard hooves and a mighty yell as the American army charged out of its trenches in pursuit of the enemy.

Chipped Took of flying faster than he’d ever flown before, zeroing in on a changeling that was lagging behind with a wound in its side. The thestral could smell the blood, he could practically taste it. The blood soaking his fur began flicking away in the breeze as he moved even faster and faster. The changeling looked over his shoulder at the oncoming enemy, panic rising in his heart as he recognized the green liquid and the bloodthirsty look. His wings buzzed faster and faster but the thestral drew ever closer, he had no recourse but to scream as loud as he could, hoping that his comrades would come to his aid.

Chipped Blade extended his hooves to their full length before snatching the changeling in a crushing grip and baring down on his neck. All the while the changeling shrieked in pain and horror, Chipped was so absorbed by the act that he had no time to recognize the sound of a spell bow. Moments later he was on the ground, wheezing as his body ached and spasmed.

“Secure him tightly! Move! Move! Move!” Shouted the familiar voice of Rolling Thunder, Chipped had just enough time to look up at the stallion as two other Americans hogtied the sniper. “Keep going after them, I’ll deal with him.” The others nodded and rushed off after the fleeing enemy, Chipped Blade stared at Rolling Thunder with wide angry eyes, the older stallion just shook his head slowly. “Son… You might not think it now, but you’re gonna thank me for this.” The stallion readied his spellbow with a blue crystal and shot Chipped in the stomach, stunning the thestral into unconsciousness. 

[♦]

”Dominic…” A voice called out through the milky whiteness that surrounded the young man, he was standing alone on a plane that seemed to stretch into an infinite white abyss. Dominic looked around for the source of the calling voice, his hand reaching for his holster. There was no revolver to be found. “Dominic Occisor… The man! The legend!” The source of the voice was right next to him now, he backed up and turned to look.

“John De Lancie?” Dominic asked in disbelief, there in his full glory was the King of Chaos himself. Dressed in a smart business suit with a pin on the collar that Dominic recognized from the Warhammer series, the figure of De Lancie was standing in a lax position with his hands in his pockets.

“Not quite.” Moments later the human figure shifted to that of a more familiar creature, a creature by the name of discord, still adorned in the suit which had stretched and changed to accommodate its new occupant. Dominic blinked for a few moments and began backing away, not really trusting the ‘former’ villain yet.

“Discord?” Dominic asked, just trying to confirm what he was seeing.

“In the flesh.” Discord replied, in the background Dominic could hear Pink Floyd playing. The song, of course, was ‘In the flesh’. The god of chaos snapped his fingers and a pair of chairs appeared facing each other, one was high backed and made of stone. Discord promptly took that one for himself, leaving the other for Dominic. The chair was leather with brass rivets in the front, it looked oddly familiar. “Have a seat, I wanted to have chat with my latest rookie of the year.”

Dominic slowly sat in the seat and reached up to his face, pulling down the black bandanna he still wore. He was oddly calm about all of this, but perhaps it was just because he was used to crazy shit happening lately.

“It was a toss up between you, that sniper lady, and a teenage colt in Canterlot that published pictures of his teacher having an affair with his mom.” Discord said with a wave of his hand, another snap and a wooden box appeared in front of Dominic. “Have a cigar, they’re Cuban.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at the box, then looked at Discord. “I stole them from Castro’s office, that’s how Cuban they are!”

Dominic reached out and took a cigar, Discord’s eyes widened and there was another snap of the finger. The cigar exploded in Dominic’s hand, leaving him surprisingly unscathed.

“The fuck!?” Dominic yelled.

“The CIA…” Discord said simply, Dominic paused in thought as he recalled how the CIA had tried to assassinate Castro with a cigar. He took another one, when it didn’t explode he put it to his lips and bit the cap off, then reached into his jacket for a book of matches. “Allow me.” Another snap and the cigar was lit. “It’s the least I could do for my new favorite person in the world!” Again, Dominic was silent, unsure of what to say. “You know, you’re not very talkative.”

“I’ll let you know when I have something to say, I’m just taking this all in right now.” Dominic replied as he puffed on the cigar, it was just as great as he’d imagined it to be. Discord hummed and shrugged as he leaned back in his seat.

“Anyway, you’re probably wondering why you’re here, eh?” Discord asked, there was another nod. “It’s quite simple, really. I want to congratulate you for all the chaos you’ve brought to this world, and on top of it, you haven’t been turned to stone!” Discord pressed a button on his chair and applause echoed through the background. “I’ve never had this much time to spend to myself, I’ve been taking a vacation across the multiverse and I haven’t gotten one call from work!”

“Uh huh…” Dominic said simply, Discord let out a slow chuckle.

“You see, my job is quite difficult lately. So many rules and regulations these days makes it hard for me to fill my quota of chaos. Believe it or not I have a quota, it’s so the proper amount of progression can happen in this timeline.” Discord explained as he floated himself a cigar and lit it with his thumb, he puffed on it and exhaled before going on. “You’ve filled my quota three times so far, nearly four, I’m set for the next thousand years at least.”

“Riiight.” Dominic mumbled again, looking around slowly. “So, other than congratulations, why am I here?” Discord hummed and snapped his fingers, a scroll of paper appearing in front of him as he cleared his throat.

“For giving me a right good amount of vacation time, I’m giving you a reward. A couple actually, since you filled a couple quotas.” Discord explained as he looked over the paper, crumpled it up, and ate it. “Reward number one!” Discord snapped his fingers, Dominic felt his body tingling as his jacket stitched itself back together, the slashes and cuts fading as the leather went back to a near pristine shine.

“The fuck…? I thought… And… What?” Dominic stammered as he looked down at himself, patting down his jacket in surprise.

“Oh, right, magic doesn’t normally work on you… Well it does, in a way, but I won’t spoil the surprise!” Discord clapped his claws together for a moment before relaxing in his chair. “Relax, friendo. Reward number two is one you get to choose.” Dominic opened his mouth to speak. “I can’t bring people back from the dead. It gets weird very fast, and that’s coming from me.”

“So… Seeing Maria again…?” Dominic asked rehtorrically, Discord shook his head. “Is that a ‘No, out of the question.’ shake of the head?” Another shake of the head nearly made Dominic jump out of his seat. “You mean she’s…!? But, how!?”

“Well, as it turns out, gunshots are very loud. Loud enough to get the attention of a passing National Guard Convoy.” Discord said in a matter of fact tone, Dominic felt tears welling up in his eyes as he heard those words. “Not to say that was for the best though…”

“Why?” Dominic asked, his voice catching in his throat. Discord frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Look, you don’t want to know… It’s just gonna make you all depressed, well, more depressed than usual.” Discord explained, Dominic stood up and glared deeply into Discord’s eyes. The chaos god stared back for a few moments, then shuddered as if he’d had ice poured down his back. “Wow… Fluttershy has nothing on you. Okay… Fine…” Discord snapped his fingers and an image appeared in the air like a holographic projection.

There stood Maria, looking sadder than Dominic had ever seen her from the top of a large concrete structure. It almost reminded Dominic of the top of Pikes Peak back in Colorado, the view at least, he remembered going there as a child and looking in the direction of his home town. Maria had never looked so sad, her long hair had been shaved down to a shadow of its former self, there was a scare over her eye and she wore blood stained army fatigues.

“She’s been waiting for you for three years.” Discord said in a neutral tone, Dominic gulped down the lump in his throat as he walked towards the image. He could feel himself hyperventilating and pain was shooting through his chest, he clutched at his heart as he steadied himself on Discord’s chair. “She takes every mission to your town she can, but they always get cancelled. They’ve all but given up on looking for you, in fact, one of the humans in Equestria was on the same task when she came here.”

“How many rewards do I have left…?” Dominic asked, barely choking the words out. Discord remained silent. “How many?!”

“One.” Discord said in a solemn tone. “Bringing her here will be a bad idea, for reasons beyond your current understanding!” Dominic turned on his heel and looked at Discord with the same dead expression. “Don’t you understand what could happen? Luna would have a conniption!”

“Why?!” Dominic yelled, Discord face clawed and snapped his fingers again. The image shifted to one of Luna cozying up next to Dominic with a content smile, putting a wing over him, almost nuzzling him.

“Are you blind or just stupid?” Discord asked, Dominic stared, dumbfounded beyond belief. He slowly sat down on the ground and clutched his gut.

“Oh man… I don’t feel so good…” He said in a shaky voice. “This is all so… So… I… Why am I not freaking out more…?” He asked, looking at Discord nervously. “Is it bad that I feel sick after seeing this? I mean, I like Luna a lot, I’d never be made ill by this…”

“It’s the poison from the changeling arrow that you caught in the leg.” Discord replied, the image split between Maria and Luna. “But it does sort of beg the question here, doesn’t it? Which one is more important to you? Choosing one will inevitably doom the other to loneliness and grief.” All mirth was lost from Discord’s tone. “This is the part of chaos I hate…”

Dominic stared at the two images, tears streaming down his face as an internal conflict raged. For what felt like an eternity he stared at the faces, each time more and more pain crossed his mind. He cared deeply for Luna, he’d even risk saying he loved her. On the other hand, Maria had been his friend since childhood, he’d grown up with her, taken care of her, she’d taken care of him, they’d joked and watched movies, cried on each others shoulders. Luna had done that too, though not to such an extent. He’d never known that either of them cared about him in such a way for the most part.

“If I may interject here?” Discord said, sitting down on the ground next to Dominic. “There’s no one pointing a gun at your head and saying that you have to fall in love with either of them. If your heart is set on bringing your friend here, do it, bring your FRIEND here.” The man looked at the chaos god with a neutral expression. “Unfortunately, we’re running low on time… I have a feeling the poison is going to wear off and you’re going to wake up.”

Dominic stood up slowly, adjusting his jacket and looking at the sleeve of his jacket, on the shoulder was still the patch that Maria had given him all those years ago. He wiped his eyes and took a breath, then looked at Discord with the face of a man grown old before his time.

“Let me think about it...”

With that he pulled the bandanna up over his face, Discord stood up himself and adjusted his suit.

“You know, you’re an interesting case… Most people would’ve jumped at the chance for a supply of unlimited gold or a massive stockpile of weapons… You’re more concerned about other people than yourself...” Discord said with a shrug, a top hat appeared atop his head which he promptly tipped in Dominic’s direction. “I think that deserves a little something special as well.” Discord snapped his fingers once again, Dominic felt something appear on his head. He reached up and removed a blue peaked cap with gold fringe, his eyes widened at the insignia on the front.

“West Germany, seriously?”

“Gotta be a little chaotic, you know how it is.” Discord said, Dominic hesitantly put the cap on his head. “Figured you’d want something democratic.” Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden weight on his chest forced his eyes shut as he gasped loudly.

Dominic gasped loudly as he bolted up right, shocking several ponies that had been tending to his wounds. In an instant there had been a flash of light over the wounded president, and now he looked almost like a new man. The wound in his leg was still present, as was the one on his arm, but his jacket had been repaired and there was a new cap atop his head. He could feel the sandy ground beneath him, rain was starting to fall, and in the distance he could see a line of changelings with hooves raised as best they could over their heads being marched towards the POW camp.

He was still laying by the battlements of the ballista, but it seemed it had stopped firing some time ago. Shakily Dominic staggered to his feet, steadying himself on the artillery piece and looking around with wide eyes. All around him he saw fields of destruction, corpses littered the ground as the fires started by the molotovs smoldered in the rain. The pain in Dominic’s leg was quite real, but he couldn’t sit down, not yet, he had to wait and see what would happen. The man managed to stand for a few moments before falling to the ground on one knee and groaning.

“Mister President!” He heard the voice of Bulwark off behind him, moments later a pair of ponies had pulled him back onto his back and he was staring up at the sky. “What happened, sir!? Are you alright!?”

“D-Discord…” Dominic stammered as he tried to get back to his feet but fell on his face, the thestrals blinked in surprise at the name. Slowly he got back up onto his knees and looked around again. “How bad is it? How bad are we hurt?” Bulwark took a moment to realize the subject had been rapidly changed.

“We took some damage in the trenches, casualties are just about as high as predicted…” Bulwark explained, Dominic remained quiet for a few moments before removing the cap from his head and leaning back against the battlements. “The enemy casualties were higher, sir. We’ve  also captured at least three quarters of their remaining force.”

“And the rest?” Dominic asked as he looked at Bulwark, the stallion paused and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Eliminated…” The stallion said, Dominic nodded slowly as he felt a wave of pain run up his leg. The man looked to the closest trench and spotted the numerous bodies that lay at the bottom, mangled together were Americans, Changeling Defectors, and enemy Changelings alike. “Air cover reports activity to the north, it’s a large force…”

“That would be the Equestrian’s…” Dominic muttered under his breath, he struggled to his feet once more and began limping towards the capitol building. “I want a casualty list… I want the names, not the serial numbers… When the Equestrian’s show up they will undoubtedly want to help us… Let them.”

“Right, sir… Might I ask where you’re going?” Bulwark said as the rain continued to fall, there was a flash of lightning as Dominic put the new cap back on his head.

“I’ve had… Call it a vision… If it is to come to pass, there’s a lot of things that need to be done…” Dominic’s tone was laced with emotion that seemed to come from somewhere deep down. “Firstly… I must ensure that a massacre of this scale NEVER happens again… The American military must become second to none if we are to survive…” The man turned and looked towards the flapping flag atop the capitol building. “Meet me in my office in three hours, General Bulwark.”

“Sir, I’m a Colonel- Oh…” Bulwark trailed off as he watched Dominic limp towards the building. The man had a much scarier look to him than normal, perhaps it was the bedraggled look, or maybe the new hat and coat, or the look of icy cold determination in his eyes.

Once he’d walked away, Dominic’s face shifted to one of intense worry. He couldn’t let his subordinates see it, not at the moment anyway. Discord had revealed to him something that he’d been too stupid to see, and what was worse, he’d already been as stupid three years earlier. He’d had no idea how Maria had felt for him before what he thought was the end, he’d had no idea how Luna felt either. Each time he thought about either of them he could feel his stomach knotting up.

He didn’t want to hurt either of them, he didn’t want to chose one over the other. What was worse was that deep down he knew that he felt the same way about each of them, Luna and Maria had been sources of comfort and companionship for him in the past. They had held him close, chased away the fear and doubt no matter how many times it came back. Dominic almost walked into the door of the capitol building without opening it, but thankfully he was shaken from his thoughts just in time.

He entered the building and looked around, it was quiet, too quiet.

“Sonar?” He called out, there was no response. Dominic closed the door behind him and walked forward, his boots causing the old wooden floor to creak. Slowly he climbed the steps to his office, pain lancing up his leg with each step, until finally he pushed his door open. The spectacled mare was sitting in the window, staring out it as the rain plinked against the glass. “Sonar, you alright?” The mare didn’t answer, but the man heard a sniffle. He slowly hobbled his way over to her and knelt down, wincing as he did so.

There were tear stains on her face as she stared down at the POW camp, and Dominic could see that she was trembling. The changelings were being marched in one by one, and she seemed to be watching every one of them with a close eye. Dominic reached out and tapped her on the shoulder, she flinched and looked over at him, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“M-My husband…” Sonar started to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Dominic reached out and pulled the mare into his chest, he could feel her sobbing against him as he closed his eyes and shook his head, tears were forming in his own eyes. Never again would he let such harm befall his friends, never again would he allow such a loss of life. His reservations against using human technology had been chipped away over time, and in that moment, they had vanished.

Sonar continued crying for half an hour, all Dominic could do was hold her close and rock her back and forth. The pain in his leg and arm were beaten down as best he could, Sonar was more important than his own comfort.

“I-I saw it happen… Wh-What do I tell my son?” She asked between sobs. “H-How do I tell him…?” Dominic patted her mane and opened his eyes, slowly he backed away and looked at the spectacled mare.

“Tell him the truth… Tell him his father was a hero… Just like his mom.” Dominic said in a shaking voice, he could feel pain growing in his back. It was psychosomatic, he was certain of it. Nonetheless, Dominic felt it was his duty to make things right, no matter the cost to his personal happiness. Sonar stared at Dominic for a few moments, then slowly nodded as she wiped at her eye with a wing. Outside there was commotion, undoubtedly the Equestrian’s were arriving. “Go and be with your son…”

Sonar nodded and stood up straight, Dominic stood on his wounded leg and nearly hissed in pain. Nearly. He contained the anguish as best he could, Sonar didn’t need to know just how much pain he was in. She was in far worse pain, Dominic knew from personal experience. Once Sonar had left the room Dominic began muttering curses under his breath, he leaned against the wall and waited for the pain to subside before he began limping down the steps and outside.

Sure enough, as predicted, the golden chariots and carriages of the Equestrian Royal Guard were on the horizon. The antsy American soldiers watched them carefully, but maintained a relaxed posture. Leading the formation over the sandy plains was Luna and Celestia. Dominic felt his gut wrench when he saw the flowing mane of the night princess, the meeting with Discord was still fresh in his mind. To add to his growing stress level, Chrysalis was trotting over, still in her battle regalia.

“You do not realize it, but your heightened stress level is actually helping you.” The Queen said as she stood next to the President. “The poison on the arrows gets weaker with adrenaline.” Dominic looked at her silently, adjusting his new cap before turning back towards the approaching Equestrian forces. “I can still sense your emotions, Mister President. I know just how close you are to losing control of your anger.”

“And how do you know that?” Dominic asked, sounding rather testy, as if to prove the Queen’s point.

“You smell angry.” Chrysalis said simply. “Changelings detect emotion through more than just magic, you know.” The Queen sighed and looked down at her bloodstained armor, then at the bandage around Dominic’s leg. “I myself am upset… For obvious reasons.”

“Killing your own children would do that, I suspect…” Dominic said in a tone that was far more harsh than he intended it to be. “I’m… Sorry.” Chrysalis frowned and looked at the sand, the Equestrian’s were getting even closer now.

“That is only part of it… The other reason is that I have failed them as a mother. If I had done a better job, perhaps they would not have been so easily fooled into following Gigant…” Chrysalis sighed and looked at Dominic, she could see he was close to fracturing under the pressure. She’d heard that he’d done so before and somehow he’d come back from it, but perhaps it had taken something out of him. Chrysalis worried for the man’s sake that the next fracture would take all the fight out of him, and then all hope of peace for her children would be off the table.

By now the fresh faced recruits of the Equestrian Royal Guard were in view, compared to the battered and tired American forces, they looked more like toy soldiers than an actual military force. Dominic reached to his jacket pocket and withdrew a cigar, bit the cap off, and lit it with a wood match. Luna and Celestia began walking towards him and Chrysalis while the guards split off to aid the Americans, behind the princesses came a sturdy looking chariot flanked by guards on either side.

“This could be the end for me.” Chrysalis said quietly, Dominic glanced at her. “Distortion will take my place as Queen should anything happen… I’ve instructed her to surrender our forces to you…”

“I am tired, I am hurt, half the ponies I know are dead or mourning, and I’ve just found out someone on my homeworld that I care about deeply is alive and I can’t get to her, on top of that, seems Luna and I have things that need talking about…” Dominic said as he exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression becoming a grim frown. “I am absolutely done taking bullshit today. They can take you with them when they pry you from my cold dead hands.”

Chrysalis stared at the President with rather surprised eyes, not expecting that much fire in the belly from him. She could see it in his eyes though, he was tired and he wasn’t going to yield one more inch.

“Dominic!” Luna called happily, she was smiling until she spotted the bandage on Dominic’s leg and the way he held his arm. Dominic looked over at Chrysalis and nodded, then began limping forwards towards Luna. The Princess trotted up to him and put her hooves over his shoulders, not really questioning the new cap or the repaired jacket. Hesitantly Dominic returned the hug, part of his anger melting away as he felt a familiar warmth from Luna’s body. The gut wrenching feeling followed shortly after Luna had broken the hug, and Luna could tell there was something more wrong with the man than just his physical injuries.

“Hey, Luna…” Dominic said, trying to sound casual, but just coming off as tired. He puffed on his cigar and looked at Celestia, she received a simple nod. The man’s gaze shifted over to the chariot that was being flanked by guards. “What’s with the box?”

“We take it thou received our letter, considering the response we received in reply?” Luna asked, Dominic nodded as he continued looking at the box. Celestia was meanwhile staring at Chrysalis, Chrysalis was staring right back. The solar princess turned and looked at Dominic, alarm bells began to go off as she sensed a familiar magical aura. Discord had been in contact with the man recently, judging by the hat and coat. She began trotting over, and before Dominic could reply to Luna’s words, she’d tackled him to the ground.

“Sister!” Luna said in shock, meanwhile the American’s had taken note of what was happening. Shocked and not in the mood for anymore bullshit, they took aim at the Equestrian Royal Guards that had started filtering through the town. The standoff was dangerously similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis, one false move would lead to an outright slaughter.

“FUCKING COCKSUCKING SON OF A BITCH!” Dominic screamed in pain as the pain in his leg exploded through his body, it didn’t help that Celestia was pinning him in the sand. “The fuck is WRONG with you!?”

“Wrong with me!? What’s wrong with YOU!? Have you lost your mind!? Why would you make contact with Discord!?” Celestia yelled at him, her muzzle inches from his face.

“I didn’t you idiotic bitch, he made contact with me while I was unconscious!” Dominic yelled back, Luna gave a hard shove that knocked Celestia off of Dominic and gave the man time to get back to his feet. “And people say I go off half cocked!?” Celestia and he stared eachother down. “You think I’d willingly make contact with a chaos god when I’ve got plenty of chaos going on already!?”

Celestia blinked for a few moments, meanwhile Dominic was leaning heavily against Luna for support as his leg throbbed and blood began to soak through the bandage. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, once again, she was making great strides in completely destroying her already tenuous relationship with Dominic. The man looked at Luna and took a few breaths before sighing.

“There is some stuff we need to talk about though… But that’s for later.” His tone was sincere, if not pained. Luna nodded and watched him look at his soldiers. “Stand down!” Slowly the American’s lowered their weapons, leaving many of the Equestrian Royal Guards shaking in their golden boots. “I’ll ask again… What’s in the box?” Dominic adjusted the hat on his head, which thankfully hadn’t been tossed off in the small fight. He’d need to find his helmet later, but for now, the officer cap worked nicely.

“Thou shalt see…” Luna said before turning to the chariot and nodding to the guards, the guards turned and opened a door on the side of the closed vehicle, a pair of steps descended down into the sand as the rain continued to fall. Dominic watched with baited breath, after a few seconds of waiting he saw something he hadn’t seen in a long time. Another actual human being.

She descended the steps and looked around curiously, and she was followed by a man that looked like he’d been tossed in a bag of yard trimmings. Dominic felt short of breath, leaning even more on Luna’s side for support. After a few moments he was back on his own two feet, his mouth moved but no words came out. They were right in front of him, real actual living breathing people! A sight he’d hoped and prayed for for so long, something he thought he’d never see for the rest of his life as long as he lived.

They were right there!

The two people spotted him relatively quickly, he was the only biped in sight after all. Dominic reached up and pulled the Bandanna down from his face, letting them get the full look. They stared at eachother for what felt like an eternity until Dominic began slowly limping towards them, not a soul dared move as the President approached the man and woman. Dominic stopped a foot or so in front of them, looking at both of them carefully. Slowly he reached out and poked both of them, he had to be sure they were real.

The people raised eyebrows at the poke, but again remained silent. The woman cleared her throat as she took note of the hat on Dominic’s head, her German wasn’t the best, but maybe she could communicate.

“Um… Sprechen Sie Englisch?” She asked, Dominic paused and then looked up to his hat. He reached up and removed it, then nodded at the woman.

“I… I… I do… Yes.” His voice quivered as he held the hat in one hand at his side, Dominic felt tears welling up in his eyes once more. Somehow a glimmer of happiness had punched through the misery and despair, hearing the voice of another human being, seeing them walking and talking, after such a long time. He was overcome with emotion, and much to both the other’s surprise, he pulled both of them into a hug.

Jen and Johnny were certainly surprised at just how big the man was, and how strong he was. The man, Dominic if what they had been told was correct, was absolutely sobbing the entire time, even after he’d let go of them. Luna and Celestia approached, the Lunar Princess began escorting Dominic away while Celestia cleared her throat.

“I apologize about that… He’s just… He’s been on his own for the past three or four years, I don’t think he was ready to see you quite yet.” She explained, Jen and Johnny nodded slowly, still feeling surprised at just how strong the man had been. Johnny fancied himself a pretty tough guy, but even he knew his limitations. Back in Newark, the man named ‘Dominic’ would be classified as a tank. “I also apologize about what you see around you… We weren’t expecting something this bad when we set out…”

Jen and Johnny looked around once more, it became apparent just how much death and destruction surrounded them.

“Perhaps we should get you someplace out of the rain…” Celestia suggested, the two humans nodded and she began walking towards the town. Of course, never having been there, she had no idea where anything was. The American’s guarding the town gave her dirty looks, she figured tackling their head of state had given them that right. Looks of surprise and intrigue washed over them as they spotted the humans, but they were busy processing POWs, providing medical aid, and gathering the dead.

Eventually they came to a building with the stars and stripes flying above it, Celestia concluded this was the capital building. Two heavily armored changelings with green stripes on their armor stood on either side of the door at attention, when they spotted the two humans and Celestia they didn’t flinch or change posture. Celestia on the other hand ignited her horn.

“Stand down.” Said a voice behind them, a thestral was walking towards the building with a scowl on his face and filthy fatigues. Celestia slowly lowered the magic in her horn, she could tell that it was no changeling. “These are defectors, they aided in the defense of our country.” The thestral looked at the Changelings. “Gentlecolts, please stand at ease and allow the group through.”

“Yes, sir!” The changelings responded in unison, they opened the doors and waited for Celestia and her human followers to enter, the thestral followed soon after and the doors closed behind him. Jen and Johnny were absolutely gobsmacked by what had just happened, meanwhile the thestral had marched out in front of the group. He was gruff looking and his eyes held a tough gleam.

“My name is Rolling Thunder, I’ve been assigned to assist you as the President and his aid are both indisposed.” The stallion said, he adjusted his fatigues and took note of the camouflage jacket that Jen was wearing, then shrugged and looked at Celestia. “As it stands housing has yet to be set aside from you, it may not be allocated for some time, I assume you understand why?” The two humans nodded. “Good.” The stallion turned and looked at Celestia. “Is there anything further I can assist you with?”

“Not necessarily, I would like a chance to meet with Queen Chrysalis if that’s possible?” The Princess asked, the thestral shook his head.

“That will need to be arranged at a later date, we have enough going on as it is.” Rolling said sternly, Celestia nodded and let out a sigh.

“Princess, we’d like to get the run down of the place, if you don’t mind?” Johnny suddenly spoke up, Celestia looked at them and nodded.

“Of course, I shall be overseeing the guards if you need me…” The princess turned and walked outside, as soon as the door was closed both humans let out a sigh, then looked at Rolling Thunder. The stallion certainly had the face of a soldier, Jen could tell just by looking at him he’d seen some serious action.

“Please, follow me.” Rolling Thunder began trotting up the steps of the building, the two humans following him carefully. Jen was having a bit of a hard time understanding what was going on, she had thought that the ponies would be carting them off to some sort of special building in Equestria. Instead it seemed they were dumping them out in the boonies. Johnny was contemplating how he would escape the town if things turned out to be a trap. Rolling Thunder opened the door to the office at the top of the stairs and ushered the two people inside.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything find me, I have some repairs to oversee.” Rolling Thunder commented as he turned and closed the door, there was no click of a lock, that was a good sign. Jen and Johnny sighed as they approached the window that allowed light to enter the room, both of them could see a steady stream of changelings being marched into a camp while other changelings patrolled around outside.

“Where the hell are we?” Asked Johnny, not taking his eyes off the POW camp outside. Jen had her eyes focussed on a couple carts that seemed to be filled with bodies that were being wheeled down the street. The ones in American looking armor were being treated well, even as the armor and weapons were taken from them. Even the changeling defectors were given respect, unlike the ones that Jen believed were the enemy.

“This is all so weird…” Jen said quietly, she stepped away from the window and looked around the room. Then she spotted something hanging on a hook behind the desk, an olive drab cap with the Marine Corps emblem on it. Slowly she approached it and picked it up, there was a familiar stain on the brim. “This… This was mine… How did this guy get a hold of it?” Johnny approached the desk and and noted that there seemed to be documents spread out in the ponies’ strange language, but there seemed to be notes in english.

“Look, let’s give this guy a chance, eh? We got burned for paranoia last time.” Johnny suggested, Jen looked at him as she put the hat on her head, then nodded slowly. The man paused as he heard someone coming out the steps outside, he assumed it was Rolling Thunder again, as did Jen. The door swung inward and the hulking form of Dominic entered the office, limping along with Princess Luna following behind him. He appeared a lot calmer now, which was saying quite a bit considering the day he’d had. In his hand was an old looking metal helmet, his metal helmet that he’d left on the field, which he promptly set on his bed.

The man limped over to the desk and grabbed his chair from behind it, then sat down in it with a sigh. He wheeled back a bit and leaned back in the seat, staring at Jen and Johnny quietly while Luna walked over and sat next to him.

“Let me say I’m sorry for doing that thing earlier… It’s been a rather long day and my inhibitions got the better of me.” Dominic said in a voice that almost sounded like he’d just woken up. “I’m sure you’ve both got a lot of questions for me, as I have a lot for you. First of all, I’m sure you’ve heard by now, yes, my name is Dominic.” Jen and Johnny stared at him for a few moments before Jen stepped forwards, she’d always been a bit more outgoing anyway.

“I’m Jennifer, but my friend’s call me Jen.” She smiled faintly, to be honest, it was nice to be having a semi-normal conversation again. “And this handsome man next to me is Johnny.” Dominic nodded slowly as he removed his cap.

“Okay, good to meet you. First question. Why are you wearing my hat?” He gestured to Jen and the hat, Jen frowned and removed it.

“It’s my hat. I lost it a while ago…” Jen replied, Dominic paused and looked at Luna with a raised eyebrow.

“How long ago?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the princess.

“A couple months or so, as long as I’ve been in Equestria. There was snow on the ground then.” Jen explained, Dominic let out a simple ‘Huh’ and leaned back in his seat with a shrug. “What was that?”

“Nothing, keep the hat if it’s yours. It was a christmas present, but if it’s yours, who am I to take it from you?” Dominic seemed a lot more mellow that he’d been before, perhaps it had something to do with the new headache that Luna seemed to have. She’d given him a good shot of happy thoughts, but since he was awake when she’d done so, it had taken a lot more magic to make them stick.

“That’s… Really nice of you… Thanks!” Jen was somewhat surprised, as was Johnny. They had expected Dominic to be a bit more aggressive and angry, his build just denoted someone that solved his problems with brute force. In a way that was true, but Dominic had been doing his best to curb that attitude lately. “And here I thought all the nice people in the world had gotten munched.” The comment didn’t really seem to have an effect on Dominic, he just let out a sigh, as if he were calming himself down.

“Well, there’s still a few of us out there.” The man shrugged, he adjusted his coat and rubbed at the patch on the shoulder. This caused Jen to pause, she recalled meeting a woman in the Pikes Peak Refuge that had described a jacket with that patch. It could’ve been a coincidence though. “Now, enough formality, you’ve got questions and hopefully I’ve got answers.”

“That’s right.” Johnny said, the first thing he did was point out the window in the direction of the POW camp. “Mind explaining what all this is about?” Dominic nodded slowly, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sat up.

“It seems we set up our little town in a place that was abandoned, only it wasn’t, because the Changeling’s wanted it. I assume you know what those are, right?” A pair of nods was all Dominic needed to continue his story, Luna was watching with rapt attention. She’d never seen humans interact before, she didn’t dare interrupt. “Well, the first attack we beat the shit out of them, then we negotiated, and we were about to sign an armistice until these guys-” Dominic pointed out the window. “-rolled in trying to be bad and shit. Run by some nut job that was basically a milk toast Hitler, but a quick shot to the face fixed that, and so now we’re mopping up…”

The man paused and shook his head, looking out the window once again. “It’s not as easy as that though, a lot of ponies died, just… A lot of death in general… And some other stuff that isn’t important happened to me.” He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair once more. “Basically those guys are POWs, the ones with green stripes on the armor are defectors, and so on and so on…” Johnny nodded as Dominic finished his recounting of the tale, Luna’s attention was now fully focussed on Jen.

The group continued talking for a bit, and everything seemed to be running smoothly. They laughed, the cried, they shared jokes that Luna didn’t understand. Through it all, however, Luna could see there was something gnawing away at Dominic. As a couple hours passed and the business of running a rebuilding city got in the way Johnny and Jen were assigned a place to live and escorted there while Dominic continued working. Luna stayed, just watching him, his mood was all over the place.

By nightfall he’d practically worked himself to sleep, the wound on his leg was a dull ache, and the street was protected by the supplemented force of guards. Dominic leaned back in his seat and looked over at Luna, she could see the facade of toughness slip away. The man removed the jacket that had been repaired and set it aside, she could still detect the aura of Discord on it. She assumed that his emotional distress had something to do with that meeting more than the fight that had just ended. Luna stood from her seat on the floor and trotted over to Dominic, he looked at her for a few moments as she sat down in front of him.

“Dominic, tell us what ails thee…” Luna said warmly, her tone struck a chord with Dominic, reminding him of all the times she’d been there to listen. “T’was the act of Discord, correct?” Dominic nodded slowly as he looked her in the eyes.

“He showed me things…” Dominic said quietly, Luna’s face softened. “What it boils down to is he offered me something free of charge, and I don’t know if I should take it, because of what he showed me.” The man reached out and put a hand on Luna’s shoulder, staring into her eyes with a shimmer to his own. “You care about me more than a normal friend… Don’t you?”

Luna’s face became very surprised, and then slowly she nodded and closed her eyes. She fully expected a slap or a vocal rejection, but that rejection never came.

“We… I care very deeply for you…” Luna admitted as she opened her eyes and looked at Dominic, the man’s face didn’t seem to change. “I… I love you, Dominic.” The man didn’t say anything, just staring at her with that same shimmer in his eyes, as if he were doing his best to hold back tears. “What could Discord do that would make you worry about that?”

“Maria is alive…” Dominic said in a serious tone, Luna paused, the nodded slowly. “He can bring her here, but, I still care very deeply for her…” Tears began to form in the Princess’ eyes. “Wait, please, don’t cry…” Dominic got out of the chair and sat on the floor so that he was eye level with the princess. “I care a lot about you too… I care about both of you… I… I love both of you…”

“And thou worry that by saving thine friend thou will fall for her… And...” Luna seemed to understand, Dominic nodded slowly as he looked the mare in the eyes.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Luna…” He said in a voice barely over a whisper, Luna opened her wings and wrapped them around the young man. She pulled him tight against her, hugging him tightly as she held back her own tears.

“It would upset me… But, thou know better than to think we would hold such a thing against you.” Luna’s tone was soothing, but Dominic could hear there was mixed emotion behind it. “Dominic, thou art barely an adult… I do not expect you to know how to handle such a situation, especially since I assume thou hath never been in a relationship before…” Dominic looked up at the mare, finding her warm fur and soothing voice a comfort. “It touches my heart to know that thou care so much, but we both know what you must do… If thou are ever to live with thine self…”

“W-What are you saying?” Dominic asked, Luna looked at him quietly.

“Save Maria.” She said simply, her tone was even and calm. The worry in her voice had vanished. “Cast off thine fears, trust in fate…”

“O-Okay…” Dominic replied, he returned his head to Luna’s chest as she continued holding him. He returned the hug eventually, the two of them cuddling close to one another. Luna’s heart was racing as she held Dominic in her wings, she realized now more than ever that part of him was still a boy, the more she thought about how scared and confused he must have been the more she wanted to hold him and make it all better.

She recognized that Maria could very well take Dominic’s heart, and though it would hurt her to see it happen, she knew deep down that as long as Dominic was happy she would be able to survive. Her sister often forgot that Luna was not a filly anymore, she was capable of controlling herself a lot better, and she was at peace with the world around her. She had learned that from Dominic, not to let the little things bother her, and everything was a little thing.

“Luna…” Dominic’s voice took her from her thoughts, Luna looked down at the man quietly. “Thank you…” He hugged her tightly. “No matter what happens… I love you.” Those words that Luna had longed to hear, she couldn’t help but admit that hearing them filled her with a great amount of joy. That joy was mixed with an aching sadness, because she knew that those words came from the heart of a very sad man. It wasn’t the warm happy moment she had imagined it to be, but she could deal with it, just knowing that he cared about her was enough to keep her happy.

In Dominic’s mind there was a little joy, but most of it was clouded by worry. It had been decided, he would have Discord open a portal to his old world and save someone he cared about deeply. As he thought more about it though, he realized that he could be pulling Maria away from people she cared about as well. That wouldn’t do. In that moment he resolved that he would do more than save Maria, he would save every person he could. With a plan set in his head it was easier for him to relax, and holding Luna close helped even more.

What happened next was almost an accident, or perhaps it was fate stepping in, Luna’s muzzle brushed against Dominic’s lips. For just a few seconds their lips touched, neither of them acknowledged it verbally, but both of them smiled inwardly afterwards. In the wake of such violence and destruction, a new hope was beginning to grow.
> Chapter 51
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jen and Johnny quietly looked around the house they’d been given, it wasn’t much compared to some of the houses that had been on earth, but it was better than a hole in the ground. Honestly, it was more of a storefront than a house. At least the bottom portion was, it had a counter and shelves and such, the top floor was more of a studio apartment that overlooked the town’s main street. It had a Queen sized bed and a couple old looking pieces of furniture, as well as indoor plumbing.

Jen removed her boots and jacket and hung the item up on a nail that had been hammered into the wall to act as a hook. Honestly she was a bit surprised about how much she liked Dominic, she had worried he’d be some sort of macho last man standing jerk. In some ways he sort of was, but, something about the way he carried himself. The way he talked, the way he looked around, Jen got the impression he was often times off in his own world at times. She adjusted her clothes and looked at Johnny, the man was looking down out the window at the town.

“They’re not staring at us… That’s nice to see.” He said quietly as he turned away from the window to look at Jen. “I sort of think they put us with this Dominic guy so we’d be far away from their own population.”

“Maybe, but lay off him, will ya?” Jen examined her hat as she spoke, she moved over to the bed and sat down on the edge. “He’s still got that elmo look to him, you know…” Johnny just grunted in response and continued looking out the window. “I’m serious, John.”

“I know… I just… I guess I’m not used to using the kid gloves lately. I’ll try to keep from pissing him off. The last thing we need is a pissed off elmo with a private army.” Johnny pulled off his tattered shirt that had been stained green, leaving him in his tank top. The man walked over to the bed and sat down next to Jen, leaning on her playfully. “I’m so fuckin’ glad you’re safe and we’re together again.” The woman put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Yeah, I kinda missed you too…” She trailed off as her stomach grumbled, Johnny giggled for a moment until his stomach grumbled as well. “Guess we should get something to eat before we settle in for the night, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Johnny replied as he stood up and helped Jen stand like the gentleman he was, the woman was quick to put her boots and jacket on again before the pair of them began walking down the steps to the empty storefront below. “You know, I think I could really do something with this place?” Jen gave him a look as they strolled past the empty store shelves. “How’s about a bar?”

“They already have a bar.” Jen responded as the two humans stepped out onto the street, again the ponies were too busy to notice them. The woman pointed to the saloon, which happened to be the only place to go for food in town.

“Yeah, but I bet I could do better.” Johnny said as if issued a challenge. “We’re in America now, aren’t we? Who says I can’t open a bar of my own?” Jen just chuckled as the two of them continued approaching the saloon, those chuckles faded as they heard pained groans from inside. A pair of guards by the door raised their eyebrows at them, and one actually stuck a hoof out to stop their entry.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you in.” Said one of the soldiers, an American with a dented helmet and chest plate. “This is a field hospital, and we need it as clean as possible.” The other pony there nodded, he was an Equestrian Royal Guard, his armor was a stark contrast to that of his American counterpart. Johnny opened his mouth to protest, but as he heard a loud groan from inside, he clammed up.

“Would it be possible for us to get some food out here then?” Jen asked, the American nodded and looked at his Royal Guard counterpart expectantly. The stallion let out a quick ‘Oh!’ and went inside, leaving the guard to shake his head and sigh. “Looks like you guys got hit pretty hard.”

“No shit…” The American replied. “Hell, we wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for those Changelings. However the Pres got Chrysalis to work on our side I’ll never know, but it really saved our asses.” He removed his helmet and held it to the side before extending a hoof. “Fortress Wall.” Jen shook the stallion’s hoof, finding it a bit awkward, Johnny opted just to bump it with his fist.

“I’m Jen, this is Johnny… We’re kind of new.” Jen explained, the stallion just nodded as he continued standing there. He looked young, and reminded Jen a little bit of her old subordinate Smalls. “Say, what rank are you?”

“Sergeant, got promoted when our squad leader bought it earlier.” Fortress replied, Jen scowled slightly at the mention of the dead officer.

“I was a Sergeant myself, it’s a pretty tough job.” Jen said, Fortress Wall nodded and looked over his shoulder into the saloon turned field hospital.

“So far all I’ve had problems with is this Canterlot Kiddo they saddled me with…” Fortress said, he poked his head inside and then pulled it out. “He’s on his way out, he just gets a little squeamish around blood like that…” There was another groan from inside, that one seemed to get Fortress to flinch. “You ever see shit like this?” Jen slowly shook her head.

“All the enemies we fought were more like animals than anything else, they never shot back, and they never left wounded.” Jen explained, Fortress just continued to nod as he leaned against the wall and pulled his helmet on.

“Ya know, a while back I met this mare from Equestria. Element of Honesty, if you know what that is…” Jen just nodded. “Used to think she was some sort of hero, and I still think to an extent she’s a nice mare, but… I dunno…” Johnny watched quietly, he’d never really taken into account the human or pony suffering before. For him the biggest worry in the apocalypse was getting shot at by street gangs, the infected were just a nuisance. There was a flash to the right of the group and Fortress began reaching for his spellbow, it turned out just to be an Equestrian War Correspondent.

“Hey there, care to answer a few questions?” Asked the reporter, Fortress Wall gave the pony equivalent of a one fingered salute. “Come on, you were right there in the thick of it! I’m sure the ponies back in-”

“Fuck off before I use that camera of yours to give you a colonoscopy.” Johnny suddenly spat, the reporter blinked and backed away. Jen and Fortress Wall looked at him for a few moments, the New Jerseyite cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck. “I can’t stand people hastlin’ GIs.” He said simply, before they could respond the Royal Guard returned with several tins of food floating in a magical aura. He looked green around the gills as the two people took the tins from him.

“Hang loose, Sarge.” Jen said as Fortress Wall pulled on his helmet and strapped it tight, the stallion gave a mock salute before Jen and Johnny began walking away. They made their way back to the house in relative silence as the sun set in the distance. “You know, this isn’t anything like what I thought this place would be…”

“Well, give it a chance, you’ve only seen a couple parts of this massive alien world, I’m sure there’s gotta be SOME decent places out there.” Johnny replied as he opened the door and held it for Jen to enter the store front, the two of them walked up the steps back to the studio apartment and set the food tins down on the small wooden table they’d been given.

“I know, but still, it all seems so grim here…” Jen pulled her combat knife from its sheath and began using it to open the can. It turned out to be canned beans, from the looks of them, they were military surplus. Johnny’s was also beans, so they ended up just eating them without heating them. The meal was accompanied by a comfortable silence, occasionally Jen or Johnny would pause as if thinking of something to say before going back to their beans.

There was a knock on the door, the two of them looked at each other for a moment.

“Who is it?” Asked Johnny.

“Princess Celestia.” The white alicorn replied through the wood, Johnny and Jen glanced at each other. A few seconds of silence passed before Jen stood up and walked to the door, she opened it and looked at the mare curiously. “Hello, do you mind if I come in?”

“Not at all, come in.” Jen stepped out of the way and walked back towards the table, she pulled her hair back and let it fall behind her shoulders before sitting down in her chair. She and Johnny turned in their seats and looked at the white alicorn who was examining the room, after a few moments she sat down.

“I trust you’re settling in alright? I wanted to make sure everything was okay after we parted ways earlier.” Celestia said, Jen and Johnny looked at her with a pair of shrugs.

“We’re settling in okay, we met with Dominic, he seems… Alright.” Jen said, Johnny nodded as he continued eating his beans, Celestia nodded and smiled faintly. “As it stands though we’re just sort of waiting for this whole conflict to settle down, maybe then we’ll be able to relax a bit.”

“I’m hoping to open a bar or something after this is all said and done.” Johnny added, he smiled and leaned back in his seat. “A little food, some booze, maybe some good music-” That word sent Jen’s palm to her face.

“Agh! Fuck!” She muttered as she reached for her pant’s pocket, Johnny and Celestia immediately raised their eyebrows as she withdrew a simple looking device. “I forgot to give this to him, Discord said this was Dominic’s and I totally forgot to return it.”

“The fuck… Is that one of them micro-something things?” Asked Johnny as he reached over and grabbed the device out of Jen’s hands, he turned on the device and flipped through the songs that were available. “He’s got every fuckin’ Tarantino soundtrack on here.” Celestia found her eyes focused on the device, she was vaguely familiar with it. The device had been taken off of Dominic when he’d first appeared in Equestria and had somehow disappeared, it seemed that mystery had been solved. “As for the whole returning it, just give it back to him tomorrow. He’s probably in bed or something by now anyway.”

“I doubt that…” Celestia mumbled, Jen glanced at her for a moment. Celestia froze, she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. The woman just shrugged it off and took the device back from her grabby companion.

“I’ll get it to him tomorrow for sure.” Jen set the device down on the table and looked back at Celestia. “So, now that we’re sure you aren’t some sort of evil dictator, can I ask you a couple questions?” Jen’s fangirl side was making a rapid comeback, it had been years since she had watched the show, but now that she was right in front of Celestia and she knew that she wasn’t in danger, well, she was about ready to squeal. Johnny could see it coming, he’d never seen her like that before, at least, not in the current context.

“I don’t see why not.” Celestia said, a slight smile spreading across her muzzle. Jen adjusted her seat, it was borderline fidgeting as she tried to think of the first thing to ask. Johnny would’ve normally rolled his eyes, but considering that Jen seemed genuinely happy, he just crossed his arms and wordlessly observed.

“Okay! I hope this doesn’t make you all weirded out, but I assume that judging by Dominic’s patch you know about things?” Jen asked, Celestia nodded good naturedly. “Great! I was just sort of curious about a few things, like your mane. How does it do that?” Celestia paused and looked at her mane, noting that it was flowing. She’d grown so used to it that she forgot it was a bit odd.

“Well, it sort of comes with age. As an alicorn I naturally produce more magic than I normally use, that magic needs an outlet or else things get messy.” The alicorn explained, running a hoof through her mane and humming. “I thought it was kind of odd myself, but magic has to have a way out, one way or another.” Jen was rocking back in her seat, this was honestly helping to put the thoughts about what was going on out of her head.

“Why doesn’t Twilight Sparkle have one like that yet?” She asked, Celestia paused and gave shrug.

“Perhaps she just hasn’t reached her full potential yet, I’m certain in the coming years there will be plenty of opportunities for her to supercharge her magic output.” Celestia rubbed at her chin, smiling faintly at the woman. She would of course have to deal with the fallout of a sniper attack back in Equestria, but Jen seemed like a genuinely nice woman, and Celestia knew that the woman wouldn’t have opened fire if the situation with Johnny and her had been handled better. “You seem to have a lot of questions about me, that’s kind of refreshing…”

“Well, yeah, you were the best Princess…” Jen said with a smile, leaning forwards. “At least I thought you were back when you weren’t really in front of me…” She paused. “That came out weird, I mean… Well, it’s kind of hard to say.” Celestia chuckled and shook her head, Johnny was downright shocked. There was happy Jen and then there was giddy as a schoolgirl Jen, he’d never seen the latter. “Do you still control the moon?”

“When I have to.” Celestia replied with a bit more quiet in her voice. “Luna’s night’s are far more beautiful than anything I ever could do though.” There was as slight pause as Celestia gained a thoughtful expression. “For instance, tonight I raised the moon so that Luna could comfort Dominic…”

“Is he normally like that?” Johnny cut in, Celestia looked at the man and slowly shook her head.

“He’s been very mellow for the past couple months, all things considered…” Celestia trailed off again, she sighed and rubbed at her eyes. “He hasn’t had it easy here, and mother knows I haven’t done much to help him. I suppose that’s why we’re at each other’s throats so often, figuratively and otherwise.” Jen raised an eyebrow, not quite sure how Princess Celestia couldn’t make it easy for someone, especially someone that seemed as damaged as Dominic. “I won’t go into detail, be he recently had a bit of… Let’s call it an outburst… I suspect he’s still bouncing back from that.”

“And Luna helps him?” Jen asked, Celestia nodded again.

“You have to remember when he came here he was a bit of an outcast, Luna could relate, and they just sort of hit it off.” Celestia explained before looking at Johnny. “As you’ve read, riots and political outcry can really do a number on someone’s mental faculties.” Jen briefly looked over at the music device she’d been given, then back at Celestia. “But I think that’s enough about him, if you have more questions you should ask him yourself, just, you know, be careful.”

“Right…” Johnny replied as he uncrossed his arms and leaned forwards.

“Back to my questions I guess?” Jen asked, from that point on the night went rather well. The woman asked her questions, Celestia answered them as best as she could. Johnny just continued watching, occasionally speaking up but letting Jen have as much time as she wanted. As the hours ticked by it was clear that the day’s events had taken a toll on both Jen and Johnny, this was made clear when Jen was practically yawning in between sentences.

Celestia smiled and raised a hoof to stop Jen before she could ask another question.

“I would love to continue our conversation, but it seems you’re quite tired. I should let you get some rest.” The princess said, Jen paused and then slowly smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” She stood up and walked over to Celestia, then gave the mare a big hug. The princess returned it before she stood up and wished the both of them a fond goodnight. That left the room with a bit of an awkward silence, the candles that had been lighting it were practically burned down by now. “That was nice…”

“Yup.” Johnny replied as he stood up and undid his boots, then the belt on his pants, before he stepped out into nothing but his undershirt and boxers. Jen undid her own boots and belt, then stripped down to her own undergarments. Of course she left on her own undershirt. “You know you’re gorgeous, right?”

“I’m also very sleepy.” Jen replied as she crawled into the queen sized bed and pulled the covers up over her, she peeked over them at Johnny. The man chuckled, he’d never seen her act so cute before, he guessed it perhaps had to do with their previous visitor. Slowly he walked around and blew out the candles, then made his way to the bed and crawled in next to Jen. “This bed is so soft…”

“I know, right?” Johnny replied, having been used to sleeping on the floor of a cave, and even the floor of his room in the castle, it was nice to be sharing something soft with Jen for the first time. “It’s even better because it’s got you in it.” Jen blushed and gave him a peck on the cheek, Johnny put his arms around her and pulled her close. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Jen responded tiredly, it didn’t take long for the two of them to close their eyes and drift off to sleep. For the first time in a while they were both asleep together, not worrying about keeping an eye out for anything that could get them in their sleep.

[♦]

Chrysalis sighed as she walked through the rain outside the POW camp that had formerly been her residence. The Changelings held within all gawked at her as the American’s patrolled around them, interspersed with Changeling defectors and Royal Guards. She had shed her battle armor hours ago but her mane was still tied back behind her head. At her side was Distortion, the young Changeling had neglected to change out of her under armor which still bore the green armband she’d been given to identify her.

The Queen paused at the gate of the POW camp, the two guards there eyeing her up carefully. She politely bowed, as did Distortion, before clearing her throat in preparation to speak with the guards. By now the rain was coming down hard, the guards wore dark grey rain coats over their armor and the occasionally flash of thunder made it clear there faces were impassive.

“I would like to address the prisoners, if that would be alright?” Chrysalis asked, the two guards looked at eachother for a moment as if holding a conversation in their silent glances. Distortion could pick up on the emotions they were giving off, they didn’t seem good.

“We can’t let you inside until morning, it will help us better keep track of prisoners.” The first guard said, Chrysalis nodded in understanding. At that moment there was a commotion within the camp, the buzzing of wings muffled by rain water. Slowly it looked like a few changelings were attempting to take flight over a barbed wire fence, but the rainfall was slowing them considerably.

“No! No! Stop, children, plea-” Chrysalis began to scream as she watched the guards take aim.

“OPEN FIRE!” The order cut her off, three bolts of energy surged through the changelings and sent them falling into the mud. They twitched for several moments, afterwards it appeared they were still breathing. Chrysalis felt her heart pounding in her chest, she thanked whatever deity she could think of that the American guards had shifted to using stun bolts instead of lethal ones.

Distortion was just as shocked and just as appalled, but it wasn’t because of the American’s efficiency in stopping her brethren. It was that she’d seen that two of the three shooters were changeling defectors, they hadn’t even batted an eye at shooting their own kin.

“That will teach you, treasonous scum!” Shouted another from across the compound. “That’s what you get when you betray your Queen!” A chorus of agreeing grunts and yells followed that statement, Chrysalis cleared her throat and spoke loudly.

“Children, please… Calm your tempers. There is no need for such anger now, the battle has ended.” Her voice was calm and steady, she even appeared serene, but Distortion could tell that her beloved mother was trembling. The defectors nodded to their mother’s command and went back to standing sentry. “Come, Distortion… Let us away from this place…”

“Of course, mother.” Distortion replied as the Queen began walking towards the entrance to the underground tunnels, the changelings had made good progress in clearing out and suring up their own part of underground complex. Chrysalis had dug her own little alcove for her and one next to it for Distortion. As the two of them descended into the underground they passed by several other defectors that stopped to give them a correct bow. The Queen and her daughter returned the gestures before moving along quietly.

“I know you can sense my emotion’s, Distortion.” Chrysalis commented as they continued down the dimly lit tunnel. “I appreciate that you did not mention it while we were above ground.”

“I would never do that, Mother.” Distortion replied warmly. “Everyone is allowed to be afraid once in awhile.” Chrysalis nodded slowly as they turned a corner that would lead them to their alcoves.

“I was afraid of my own children… That’s never happened to me before.” Chrysalis admitted, Distortion shook her head as the two arrived at the Queen’s room. The alcove was more comparable to a walk in closet, large enough for the Queen and one changeling to enter comfortably. Distortion sat down across from her mother, her back against the dirt wall behind her.

“You want change and peace, yet you wish your children didn’t change… I understand that wish, but you can’t have it both ways.” Distortion said as she began to remove her under armor. “You will soon have to accept that our hive will need to make changes, and then the others as well.”

Chrysalis sighed as she thought of the other two hives that made up her kingdom, each run by a Queen that was normally weaker than her. Normally. In her current state she would have quite the time taking on her daughters if they refused to come back into the fold. She supposed she had the aid of the United States, but in its weakened position, she doubted it could do much to help her.

“Have faith, Mother. Not all of your children are like Gigant…” Distortion added, Chrysalis felt a ghost of a smile creep onto her lips as she looked down at her daughter. She’d come so far and learned so much, the Queen could sense that sooner or later certain changes would begin to become apparent. “What of the new humans? Have you sensed them yet?”

“I have.” Chrysalis replied, glad to have changed the subject. “The one that most reminds me of our host is the male, John I believe his name was…” The Queen adjusted the way she sat and looked out of the door of the alcove for a second. A couple thestrals walked past in armor, most likely on a patrol as they didn’t seem to acknowledge the Queen was there. “He’s quite the hot head, deep down.”

“And the female?” Distortion asked, Chrysalis chuckled quietly at the thought of the female human, she had sensed great sadness in her, but there was also some sort of childlike joy to be found.

“I feel I like her a bit more, she has the capacity for joy that I have yet to see from either of the males.” Chrysalis stated, she looked at the dirt floor of the alcove as she thought more about the new arrivals. “Then again, I sense she carries a guilt that is all too familiar to me…” The Queen sighed as thoughts of her own dying children flashed through her mind.

Distortion watched her mother quietly, trying to think of something to say. Eventually she scooted across the floor and sat next to the larger changeling, the Queen looked down at her with a questioning expression.

“You feeling guilt proves that you are not some monster…” Distortion said quietly, she hugged Chrysalis quietly. The Queen was a tad surprised by the forwardness, but after a few moments she returned the embrace. “You’re our mother, and sometimes we place weight on your shoulders that would normally be too much, still you carry on…” Chrysalis felt a strange feeling then, a feeling so familiar and yet so alien. Distortion seemed to be the source. After a few moments the changeling let go of her mother and scooted back across the room.

“Thank you, Distortion…” Chrysalis said in a faint whisper, her daughter only nodded. “It is time that I do something I’ve intended to do for some time.” The Queen’s horn began to glow, a bit of dirt floated from the floor. She closed her eyes and focused on the rain above them, after a few moments several drops of water pushed their way through the dirt surrounded by the glow of the Queen’s horn. Distortion watched in awe as the dirt and the water began to swirl around each other.

“Emotions can be fluid and solid…” Chrysalis began, not opening her eyes as she manipulated the items. “A schoolyard crush is fluid, it comes and goes like the tide… A lifelong love is solid and immovable. As changelings we have survived on both of these.” The water and dirt pushed together to form a ball of mud that quickly flattened into a disc. Chrysalis’ horn glowed a bit brighter and the ball turned to clay. “Come closer, Distortion.” Her daughter did as told, sliding closer to her mother and the floating ball of clay. “Close your eyes.” Once again her daughter obeyed.

Chrysalis reached out into the magical field and let her hoof run through the clay, still a tad moist, but that was how she wanted it. With her hoof dabbed in it she began to trace lines over Distortion’s face, elegant and smooth, runes of their native tongue. Distortion didn’t move, she knew what was happening, for the most part.

Face marking was a ritual that marked a changeling’s promotion, and to have it carried out by the Queen herself was an honor all of its own. She had no idea what the runes on her face would read, not yet anyway. Chrysalis knew however, to finish her work she drew two lines next to Distortion’s eyes. The clay hardened into a chalky white color, and Distortion could feel an odd change in her body.

“Open your eyes, daughter.” The Queen said calmly, Distortion did as she was told and opened her eyes. She saw that her mother appeared quite tired, that was to be expected after such a ritual and with no added food rations. Distortion knew that it must have been important if the Queen was willing to go to such a length. “You have been known as Distortion for your entire life, my child, and more importantly, my daughter. I give you a new name, if you will accept it.”

“Of course, mother.” Distortion said, still not certain of what had been written upon her face. The Queen’s horn glowed once more and more water pushed its way through the ceiling, not one drop hitting the floor. It spun around and around until it was as flat and as calm as a mirror. It was then that Distortion could see her face.

“From henceforth, you shall be known as Mizu… My daughter, my apprentice, and my heir. As you know, in our tongue, Mizu means water. An adaptable force that is powerful beyond measure… It suits you very well.” Chrysalis said quietly, her daughter gawked at the images on her face for several moments, it was obvious she hadn’t expected this. Distortion, now Mizu, blinked for a few moments as she brought a hoof up to touch the lines. She felt the clay, she knew that what was happening was really real, the Queen would never joke with such a title.

“M-Mother… I… When you asked me to take your place should something happen, I had been flattered, but… But this?” Mizu said quietly, she felt herself tearing up. “I had never expected such an honor…”

“If I had told you it may have gone to your head, you wouldn’t have acted honestly, you’d try to impress me by becoming something you were not.” Chrysalis explained calmly, her daughter couldn’t contain herself any longer. She stood and rushed her mother, hugging her once again. Chrysalis smiled faintly and returned it just as tightly. “You will notice changes very soon, daughter… Sense things you haven’t before, and become more connected to your brothers and sisters than you ever thought possible.”

“I am ready for them, mother…” Mizu said as she broke the hug and sat down dutifully, Chrysalis smiled at her.


“I know you are.” The Queen used the still floating disc of magic to wash the clay from Mizu’s face, thus completing the ceremony. Normally such a thing would have been done with a witness, but that was more for tradition’s sake than anything. The hive mind already knew of Mizu’s change in name and status. Chrysalis preferred administering the clay by herself anyway, it gave much more weight to the event. “Return to your chamber, Mizu… We shall have much more to discuss in the morning.”

“Yes, mother.” The changelings said, she stood from her place on the floor and made her way out of the room. Then she went down the tunnel to her alcove where she curled up to sleep for the night. Chrysalis smiled faintly as she sat in her own alcove, her eyes closed in silent meditation. It had been a rough day, but now that she had done what she’d intended to for some time, it felt as if she was the closest to peace she could be. She barely noticed the sound of hooves against the tunnel floor, but assumed it was just a guard on a patrol. That was, until they stopped at the entrance to her alcove. She had her back to the wall, she couldn’t see who it was, but she could sense their emotions. Uncertainty, a hint of fear, and an overwhelming amount of hope.

“Celestia…” Chrysalis said, not opening her eyes or turning her head. “Please, come in, I don’t bite.” The hooves against the dirt came into the room, Chrysalis smiled as she sensed the fear fade away.

“You’re oddly calm…” Celestia’s voice sounded off from Chrysalis’ right.

“And you aren’t.” Chrysalis replied, she opened her eyes slowly and turned to view her one time foe. The solar princess was sitting hunched over in the rather cramped quarters, watching Chrysalis carefully. “I had wondered when you would arrive… I’m glad that you waited until now, it’s quiet here, we can speak freely.”

“I had thought you would be worried, considering how our last encounter went…” Celestia commented, Chrysalis shook her head with a slight laugh. “What’s so funny? I could order my soldiers down here to get you.”

“You won’t.” Chrysalis said, continuing to smile. “You’ve come because you want answers from me. Why I attacked Canterlot. Why I attacked here. What my intentions are once this is over…” The Queen’s smile was serene, not malicious in anyway, as if she was the one in charge but not through force. “To answer those in order… Because my children were starving and my general filled my head with delusions… Because I feared that you had sent soldiers to take more of my children’s land… And I intend to make peace with the world once this conflict has ended, which will be soon, hopefully.”

Celestia blinked for a few moments, having been disarmed by the sincerity and calmness with which the answers had been given.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were starving? We could have helped you.” Celestia asked, Chrysalis shook her head and gave a grim smile.

“No, you could not. While you may have been willing, your ponies would not have been.” The Queen countered, she sighed sadly as she continued to sit there. “With good reason. Our race, by definition, is a parasitic one.” Celestia frowned as she realized what she was hearing was quite true, evidenced by the riot that had broken out in Canterlot shortly after Dominic’s arrival. “When we fought I was blinded by arrogance, for that I must apologize. Desperation will do crazy things to a pony’s mind, as I’m sure you’ve seen by now.”

“I… I accept your apology.” Celestia responded, feeling odd at how cordial Chrysalis was being. “May I ask a question you haven’t already answered for me?” The Queen nodded. “Why did you side with Dominic’s forces? You could have easily turned on him and taken over.”

“It would have been easy, this is true…” Chrysalis said with a hum. “My children have suffered enough, however… Ensuring America’s survival ensures their survival as well.” The Queen looked thoughtful, and Celestia couldn’t help but be surprised at the sincerity in her voice. “The United States is small, but it has connections to larger players… I know that Dominic would be willing to mediate things between my kingdom and the rest of the world. My children would finally have peace.”

“I see…” Celestia said, honestly touched by just how much Chrysalis seemed to care about her children, and a little sad that it seemed that she couldn’t have that sort of connection to her own subjects.

“I sense it will be a long time until peace is achieved fully, but at least we will be taking steps in the right direction for once.” Chrysalis smiled at the solar princess for a moment before she noticed a bit of a pain growing in her head, using her magic had drained her considerably, but she ignored it in order to continue the discussion with Celestia. “I hope that this discussion will be the first of many… You are certainly an interesting pony to talk to.”

“Thank you… I think?” Celestia responded, Chrysalis nodded with a slight giggle before she winced and rubbed at her forehead. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I just over exerted my magic today.” Chrysalis responded, Celestia nodded and began to stand up.

“I’ll let you rest then, I’ve already kept a couple from sleeping on time tonight as it is.” Celestia said, Chrysalis was about to protest but decided against it. Instead she simply nodded to the solar princess, giving a slight bow. Celestia returned the bow and trotted out of the room, she felt much better leaving than she had going in. Chrysalis on the other hand was exhausted now, she laid down on the floor of her alcove and let out a sigh before she drifted off to her own land of dreams.

Above the ground the rain continued to fall, baptising the land and cleansing it of the blood that had been spilled. A new chapter in world history was beginning, one that would undoubtedly be filled with hardship, but also filled with joy and good tidings. As the Equestrian forces continued their vigilant duty alongside the American’s and Changeling Defectors a calm fell over the town of New Liberty. In the morning there would be funerals, tears would be shed and bodies laid to rest, but for the night before it would be calm. The rain lulled the town’s inhabitants to sleep, the fresh smell of the water overpowering the stench of burnt grease and blood. The day had been difficult and bloody, but the night was calm.

For once in a long while, the world was at peace.
> Chapter 52
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rainfall had stopped in the night and the sun had already dried the remaining water on the ground, the soldiers and citizens of New Liberty had gathered on the edge of town where a line of graves had been dug by Changeling defectors. Among those attending were the Princesses of Equestria and a battalion of Equestrian Royal Guards, all of whom were respectfully wearing their dress uniforms with their hats removed. The families of the dead ponies were seated at the front, and their comrades in arms stood just behind them.

Dominic stood to the side, refusing to sit in the presence of the dead. Jen and Johnny were next to him, wearing the cleanest clothing they could find. A detail of seven uniformed soldiers stood with their spell bows in their grasp, each one looking like a stone statue. The American flag had been lowered to half mast and flew slowly in the breeze. The eulogy was given by the families of the dead, and the names of those who had fallen were read one by one in a moment of silence.

Dominic watched the tearful face of Sonar from his place, his own expression one of hardened sorrow. Seeing the look of anguish spread across her face when she heard her husband’s name called sparked anger in him, but he knew that all that could be done was already done. After the changelings had their ceremony that day, he and Chrysalis would sign the peace papers. Any changeling still loyal enough to Gigant and his government to fight would be dealt with.

For now though, Dominic stayed his rage. Jen, who happened to be standing to his right, could see him clenching and unclenching his fist. She herself had been surprised at just how high the death toll had been, it brought tears to her eyes as she watched one of the foals try to run towards one of the graves, only to be pulled back as it cried for its lost parent. That was where she heard a sniffle beside her, she looked to see that Johnny had tears running down his cheeks. She’d never seen him cry, ever, but perhaps the cries of a child were what had finally gotten to him.

“Detail!” Shouted the uniformed stallion in charge of the stallions out by the graves. “Present arms!” The twenty one soldiers presented their spellbows, the time of silence had ended. “Take aim!” The weapons were pointed at an angle towards the sky, away from the group of onlookers. “Fire!” The soldiers pulled the triggers, firing a simultaneous volley. “Fire!” Another volley. “Fire!” And another, on an on until a volley for each dead soldier had been carried out.

“Company!” Shouted another officer among the onlookers. “Present arms!” A wave of salutes washed over the group, Americans, Changelings and Equestrians alike. “Dismissed!” Gradually the group began to filter away, soldiers putting their hats back on as they did so. The families made their way to the graves of the dead to offer their own final farewells, Dominic lingered where he stood, watching the scene unfold. It was a scene he was far too familiar with. In the distance he could see Chipped Blade and Rolling Thunder sitting by the grave of Errant, he could understand why that was. Word had spread quickly that Chipped had gone off the deep end, something the thestrals called a ‘Bloodlust’. Dominic wouldn’t hold it against him, not at the moment.

On the other side of town near the POW camp a different ceremony was beginning, the Changeling defectors had all arrived as fast as they could while the POWs waited where they stood. The bodies of the defectors and the enemy soldiers alike had been set in a funeral pyre, and the gathered changelings all stood as silently as they could. Chrysalis and Mizu emerged from their tunnel, each of them had their faces coated in dry white clay. They wore the closest they could get to Changeling ceremonial attire, which amounted to little more than a pair of silk robes.

As they passed by their fellow changelings the defectors and a good portion of the POWs dropped into bows, those that continued to stand were an uncomfortable minority. Eventually mother and daughter reached their destination, front of the crowd overlooking the pyre. A camp fire had been lit and a pair of torches rested next to it. Chrysalis handled the sight of her dead children with as much grace as she could, Mizu did the best she could as well, though it was still difficult to look at. Chrysalis cleared her throat before she turned and addressed the crowd, her voice caught in her throat for only a moment before she spoke out in the Changeling’s native tongue.

”Sons and daughters, we are gathered here to bid farewell to our family.” The Queen began, the gathered changelings didn’t speak. ”I am heartbroken that we have done this to ourselves… That brother has turned on brother… Such a loss of life, inflicted by our own hooves.” Mizu bowed her head quietly, nonetheless she kept her eyes on the pyre. The bodies had been arranged respectfully and doused in ceremonial oil that had been recovered from the Changeling’s encampment. They had been covered as best they could with sheets.

”We must now make sure that such a tragedy does not happen again.” Chrysalis continued as she looked towards the pyre, a solitary tear running down her cheek and leaving a line in the clay. ”I wish my children a safe journey to the great beyond, may the light of flame guide you and protect you.” The Queen looked to one of the torches and lifted it with her magic, Mizu did the same and both touched them to the fire to set them ablaze. Chrysalis began to hum a loud tone, occasionally speaking an ancient tongue, until finally they had reached the pyre. “In unison, Mizu.” She said quietly, her daughter nodded. “Now.” The two of them dropped the torches to the oil soaked sheets, the flames spread rapidly as the two of them backed away and watched. The oil gave off a white smoke as it burned with the sheets, the heat of the flames was intense enough to be felt near the POW camp, but the changeling royals stood closer nonetheless.

Among the dead were the soldiers that had been killed in the encampment, including Gigant. Not matter how bad he had been, Chrysalis would not stand to see him have any less than a true Changeling funeral. At this point it was acceptable for the Queen to openly mourn, and mourn she did. Her sobs were quiet, drown out by the flaming roar, and Mizu was the only one present to comfort her.

Among the other changelings, a chant had begun within the defectors ranks. It was gradually spreading to members of the POW crowd as well. Over the flames Chrysalis could hear it, and it sparked a small amount of joy, even if it was overshadowed by the immense grief she faced. It was in the changeling tongue, something spoken very rarely. The changelings had taken to using the common language regularly to help them blend in, and so it was very rare that such a chant was heard.

”Long live the hive! Long live the hive!” Echoed in the background, a fitting accompaniment to the funeral of so many of its members. An assurance to those going to the afterlife that their home would stand even without them there. By now the American guards were returning to their posts and watching the fire burn, the defectors began to return to their own duties, until eventually only Mizu and Chrysalis remained to watch the fire. The POWs watched as best they could, but most of them had been confined to their bunk houses after the previous night's escape attempt.

Chrysalis eventually heard footsteps off behind her, as did Mizu, neither of them turned to look however. Both could sense the familiar emotions of self loathing and depression. Dominic eventually silently came to stand beside them, watching the flames despite the heat. After an hour or so of standing in silence the fire began to die down, still going strong, but it was clear that the ceremonial oil had been burned off. Only now did Chrysalis turn to face the man, his face still impassive as he continued to watch the flames.

“I came to pay my respects…” He said, not looking away for a few moments before he turned to face the Queen. “I’m sorry for your loss, your highness.”

“And I for yours, Mister President.” Chrysalis replied, she tiredly stood up and brushed herself off. “Let’s sign the papers quickly so that our war may end…” Dominic nodded and gestured towards the capitol building in the distance. Mizu stood and followed the two heads of state as they began the silent walk, outside of the building Dominic could see Luna and Celestia standing there. No doubt they would want to act as mediators, but the terms of surrender had already been discussed. He occasionally glanced at Mizu but said nothing, she didn’t seem like she would cause trouble. “This is my heir, Mizu, formerly known as Distortion.” Chrysalis said as she noticed Dominic’s curiosity.

“Ah, I see.” The man said simply, as they reached the front of the capitol building they saw that a table had been set outside and several American’s with black armbands stood at attention on one side. On the other were defectors in their marked green armor, also wearing black armbands. Equestrian Royal Guards watched from around them, as did the rest of the town's occupants.

Dominic made his way to his side of the table while Chrysalis and Mizu took their spot on theirs, General Bulwark approached and stood beside the president in his dress uniform at attention.

“The papers, please.” Dominic said, the general saluted and looked to the soldiers standing at attention. A hush fell over the town as numerous documents were produced from one of the soldier’s saddlebags and handed to the general. The general took them and dutifully handed them to Dominic who approached the table and laid them out flat. Chrysalis approached and looked them over.

They would mean the end of her nation’s war with the United States and establish an alliance between the two countries, reparations would be paid in land and money, but the changelings had amassed a large amount of money over the years and had nothing to spend it on. All of it seemed in order and all of it agreeable, Dominic’s change in terms was much appreciated by the changeling Queen. From an inkwell on the table Chrysalis lifted a quill and lowered it to the paper, there was scribble and a scratch, then another and another before the papers were slid over to Mizu. She signed with her new name before turning the papers to face the president and his commanding general.

Bulwark signed the papers dutifully before handing the quill to Dominic, the man paused and took a deep breath before committing his name to the papers. Just like that, in less than a minute, the war was over. A sigh of relief ran through the town, but there were no cheers or bands, the day’s prior events didn’t justify that. They would have their celebration when the scars weren’t fresh. The smoke from the funeral pyre continued to rise in the background as the papers were collected and handed back to the general. Chrysalis used her magic to summon an item from her robe, her sword. She laid it flat and bowed her head before offering the blade to Dominic.

The man took it and handed it to Bulwark, the general sheathing it in his own belt. The changeling defectors and the American soldiers saluted each other wordlessly. Dominic sighed quietly and walked around the table to Chrysalis and Mizu, he extended his hand to the Queen first and she shook it. There was the flash of a flashbulb from several Equestrian correspondents, both heads of state ignored it. Dominic then offered his hand to Mizu, the mare shook it as best she could.

“Thank you all for standing by and watching this moment.” Dominic said as he turned to address the crowd. “This marks the end of our first bloody struggle in the name of freedom and peace. With our new allies we will work together to make the world a better place for all of us, no matter the cost.” There was applause at the end of his words, even from those who were grieving. “The Queen and I will address any questions the press may have at a later date, today is a day of mourning and we should all be with our loved ones. Thank you.”

Dominic turned and walked into the capitol building while Mizu and Chrysalis turned to return to their tunnels with their fellow Changelings. They would depart for the hive on the next day, for now they wanted to rest and reflect on what had happened. General Bulwark entered the capitol behind Dominic with the sword and papers in his grasp, he quickly filed the papers before following the President up into his officer.

“Close the door, General.” Dominic said as he took a seat in his office chair, the General nodded and closed the door before standing at attention. “Sit, please.” The stallion nodded and sat down. “What is our defensive readiness?”

“As it stands… Not good.” Bulwark said quietly. “Even with the defectors that chose to stay our forces our down, hell, the population is down as well.” Dominic sighed and rubbed his temples. “I’m sure we’ll get plenty of defectors from the hive, but that still won’t help much. We need new blood.”

“I’m aware of that…” Dominic said with a sigh, he leaned back in his seat. “Did Sonar say if there were any Diamond Dog packs operating in this area?” Bulwark raised his eyebrow at the question but nodded nonetheless.

“From what I heard there were quite a few, now that the changelings are going the peaceful route I’m sure we’ll have to deal with them sooner or later.” Dominic nodded and looked down at his desk.

“I want to get into contact with them, why fight them when we can make them our friends?” Dominic mused, Bulwark paused and raised an eyebrow again.

“How would we get them to work for us? They’re pretty self centered.” He asked, Dominic reached to his desk and opened the drawer that contained his revolver. He examined it for a moment before closing it and leaning forwards in his chair.

“A show of force.” Dominic replied simply. “They will inevitably attack us, when they do and when we crush them, they will see us as the alpha. Assuming they’re like normal dogs of course.” Bulwark nodded again, Dominic slid forwards and steepled his fingers. “Once the reparations have been paid I want you to make a rather odd purchase for our military.”

“What would that be, sir?” Asked Bulwark.

“I assume that your world has bulldozers, correct?” Dominic asked, the stallion nodded again. “I want you to buy five of them and have them shipped here, as well as more trench plate and welding equipment. Some steel piping as well.” Bulwark raised an eyebrow at the request.

“Forgive my asking, sir, but… Why?” The general inquired, Dominic waved a hand as if there was no need to apologize before he pulled a piece of paper from his desk, followed by a pen and made a quick sketch.

“In my world, they were called Tanks.” He explained as he went on. “They had tracks that allowed them to move over most terrain, heavy armor that protected against enemy fire, and large weapons called cannons that could dish out damage.” Dominic turned the paper to face the general, revealing he’d drawn a rough sketch of what he was looking to build. “No other nation in this world has one, do they?”

“No, sir…” Bulwark responded as he looked at the image on the paper.

“We have used human weaponry in combat, we cannot turn back now.” Dominic stood up and walked towards the window to watch the flames from the funeral pyre outside. “I am generally a peaceful man, Bulwark… I don’t do this lightly. I have a plan that will help a lot of people on my home world, a plan that requires these weapons…”

“I understand, Mister President. It will be done.” Bulwark said as he stood up and saluted, Dominic turned and returned the salute. “I’ll be sure to order plenty of fuel too.” Dominic nodded.

“We’ll experiment with designs on these five, once we have one we like we’ll order more bulldozers and begin mass production.” Dominic reached into the cigar box on his desk and withdrew one, bit off the cap, and lit it quietly. “Hopefully by then we’ll have a facility where we can build them here.” He puffed on his cigar as the general nodded again. “Oh, please, send Jen and John up when you get the chance… I’ll need to have a word with them. You’re dismissed.

“Yes, sir.” Bulwark responded once again, Dominic nodded to him and took a seat as the stallion exited the office. The man sighed quietly as he frowned, in all honesty his previous confidence had been a show. He had no plan, just a vague idea of how he would make his dream of helping his race a reality. It involved armored vehicles, that was for sure. He wouldn’t send his people into his world without some form of mechanical protection other than their armor. He knew that he’d have to train his forces to evade and function without direct commands, that was where Jen came in. From what he’d heard she was a Sergeant in the National Guard, that meant she had command experience, she’d be able to aid in the training.

Johnny, well, he seemed to be good at improvising. That was a quality Dominic wanted to instill his armed forces as well. He’d make the announcement about what he was planning once things with the Diamond Dogs had been sorted out and the reparation funds had been delivered. This was the sort of operation that would normally need to be voted on, but this time he was going to issue an executive order. His thoughts on the matter were cut short, however, as he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.” He responded, the door opened inwards and Dominic expected to see the two humans. Instead he saw Luna, a faint smile crossed his lips, but he quickly hid it away. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her and her feelings towards him, he didn’t want to give her false hope. The mare trotted in and sat down, she appeared very tired. “Hey…”

“Hello.” She responded in a neutral tone as she looked over Dominic’s desk, pausing as she saw the drawing he’d made. Dominic picked up the drawing and looked it over himself before setting it back down. “We came by to see how thou were feeling, thou tend to get a bit testy after events such as this…”

“I’m fine… Just working on the plan…” Dominic replied as he tapped the picture on the desk. “Zombie proof, you see? In case we have to go out and get people in the middle of nowhere.” Luna nodded slowly as she saw the image.

“They also appear to be arrow proof, and magic proof, if thou art planning on gold lining them…” Luna added, Dominic looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “We assume thou can understand our concern when we see things like this? Thou were adamant that human weaponry would not be used here.”

“I said I wouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary, and as it turns out, it was absolutely necessary.” Dominic countered, Luna frowned. “I don’t have much choice, Luna. We’re on our own out here, I won’t let us face another pyrrhic victory.” The princess sighed quietly and stood up, she trotted forwards and put a hoof on Dominic’s chest just above his heart.

“We...I am so sorry…” Luna said quietly, Dominic raised an eyebrow. “Look around thee, Dominic. Thou art changing into something that thou should not be. If we… If I had never come to you and manipulated thou…”

“We’ve been over this before, Luna… It’s okay-”

“No it is not!” Luna interrupted the man. “Thou are not a general, nor a politician, but I have made thee into one!” She pulled him into a hug, he was a bit surprised at first, but eventually returned it. Dominic held her for a few moments before she pulled away, honestly looking more upset than he’d ever seen her. “Doth thou not see?” Dominic slowly felt himself trembling, he sat back in his seat as the weight of it all came crashing down around him.

“I see…” He said quietly, quickly wiping at his eye. “But what can I do? These ponies rely on me now, I can’t stop…” Luna stared at him for a few moments, then nodded slowly. “What should I do?”

“We cannot say…” Luna said quietly. “All we can do is help thou, this is our mess after all.” She sighed and stood up. “For now, do what thou must, once we have helped your race, perhaps then we will be able to find a solution…” She turned to trot away, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Dominic looking at her with a caring expression.

“Don’t beat yourself up, Lu… Leave the self beating to me.” He said calmly, adding a little smile at the end. He was trying to cheer her up with a joke, and Luna genuinely smiled at the effort. “It’s going to get better…” Luna nodded again before she stood up and began trotting out of the office, when she was gone all he could do was sigh. “I just hope it gets better soon…” He mumbled to himself before picking up his cigar and puffing on it a few times.

An hour or so passed with him sitting alone with his cigar and his thoughts, the glow of the pyre outside cast its light through the window, eerie shadows sprung to life as a result. The smoke of the cigar hung in the air like a fog as Dominic leaned back in his seat, he could swear he felt hands start to grab at him, but he knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He was just staring off into space now, trying to ease the turmoil of his thoughts.

There was a knock on his door that brought him back to the world of the sane, he set his smoldering cigar into his ashtray and cleared his throat.

“Come in.” He said, sitting up straight and flattening his suit jacket. The door was opened by Bulwark, the thestral nodded to the President as Jen and Johnny entered the room. The general closed the door behind the two of them, each looking at Dominic with curious expressions. The man cleared his throat once more and gestured to a pair of seats off in the corner. “Please, have a seat.” The two of them shrugged and walked over, then dragged their seats back over to the desk where they sat down.

“I’m sorry I had Bulwark come and grab you…” Dominic said quietly as he looked at the two of them. “I’ve been a bit busy lately, otherwise I would’ve come to you myself.” The man sighed and tossed his finished cigar into an ashtray. “I’ll be frank, you folks deserve that much.” He picked up a fresh cigar and bit off the cap, then spit the bit of tobacco aside before lighting up. “I’m putting together a special task force, this task force will be crossing into our world and evacuating whatever survivors we can possibly find. I need your help in training them.”

“Whoa, slow down there…” Johnny said, sitting up straight as he watched the president puff on his cigar. “You want to go BACK to our world? You really are a crazy fuckin’ elmo-”

“John.” Jen cut him off with a glare, Dominic wordlessly exhaled a puff of smoke as if he hadn’t heard the outburst. “He does have a point, as much as I hate to admit it, going back there does seem unwise…”

“Letting our species die is wise?!” Dominic said, almost pounding his desk. “Leaving behind everyone and everything we care about behind is wise!?” The man bit down on his cigar for a moment before sighing and calming himself down. “You two are living proof there’s more people out there. I know, you haven’t had it easy here, lord knows I’ve been in the hospital at least three times, but you gotta admit it is a helluva lot better than what they’re going through.”

“Forgive me for saying this, because, it’s going to sound very cruel… But… Who do you have left back on earth?” Jen asked slowly, Dominic stared at her for a few moments. “You said ‘We’, that means you too, doesn’t it?” Slowly the man lowered his cigar to the ashtray and turned in his seat, then stood up and walked towards the liquor cabinet. He poured himself a glass of scotch and quickly drank it before returning to his desk.

“I remember last night we were talking, for a moment you mentioned you were with the Colorado National Guard…” Dominic said slowly, Jen nodded and watched him carefully. She noted that his jacket was hanging behind him, the patch on the shoulder in full display, on the hat rack was a metal steel pot helmet, and there was a shotgun hanging on the wall. “Does the word ‘Evergreen’ mean anything to you?”

“Holy fuck! Evac Point Delta is compromised!”

“Open up on ‘em!”

“What fresh hell is this…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Jen…?” Johnny asked quietly, giving the woman a shake on the shoulder, she jumped a moment later. Dominic was staring at her intensely, she could still hear the sound of helicopter blades in her head.

“Y-Yes… Yes, it does…” Jen said in a whisper, she took a few deep breaths, Dominic let her take her time and instead continued to watch her closely. “I was on an evacuation helicopter bound for the high school there the first time… But I was there again recently, right before I ended up here.”

“I’m from Evergreen…” Dominic said softly, he drummed his fingers on the desk quietly. “Used to camp out in the bar down town, you know, right by the dam?” Jen nodded rapidly, her eyes going wider. “Well, I used to have a friend… Her name was Maria. All these years I thought I’d been forced killed her, only recently I found out that-”

“She got picked up by a national guard convoy…” Jen finished for him, her tone becoming very shocked. Dominic’s eyes widened, she could see that the gears in his head were starting to grind. “Holy shit… You’re the guy?”

“What guy?” Dominic asked out of instinct, still trying to process what was happening. Johnny had no idea what was going on himself, but he didn’t want to run the risk of derailing the conversation and thus kept his mouth shut.

“The guy she kept talking about, you’re THE guy. I never bothered to get your name, she just kept talking about you like you were some sort of Roman god or whatever. I’m not kidding, she was specific about you being Roman…” Dominic felt a genuine smile cross his lips and he wiped his eyes for a moment before the smile faded away.

“Well… She’s the one that I’m starting this for, but I intend to save everyone I can…” Dominic said, trying to get the conversation back onto his original topic. “I’ve got a dog in this fight, I’m sure you guys do too.” The man picked up his cigar and puffed on it to calm his nerves, internally screaming with joy to hear that this woman had met Jen. He could say with certainty that Discord wasn’t lying about her being alive. “We have the resources, the manpower, and the goddamn guts to make this work. I admit that I don’t have a real plan yet, but I’m working on one, and it’ll be a lot fuckin’ easier if I have help.”

“I’m in.” Jen said quickly, Johnny looked at her with a surprised expression. Dominic shared the expression, honestly he hadn’t expected either of them to say yes right away, let alone that fast. The woman looked at Johnny quietly. “This is the universe giving me a chance to balance things out…” The man looked her in the eyes for a few moments, then his face softened.

“What the hell, I’m in too… Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you.” He said, Jen smiled and the both of them looked to Dominic. He leaned back slowly in his seat and puffed on his cigar, a thoughtful expression on his face. Jen suddenly sat up and began reaching into her pocket, digging around for something before finally…

“Here!” She withdrew the mp3 player and showed it to Dominic, the man stared at it for a few moments before reaching out and taking it from her. “Discord gave this to me, don’t ask me how, because I really don’t know… He said to give it to you.”

“Alright…” Dominic said, setting the device on his desk. “I’m sure we’re all a little tired, so, let’s take today to relax. The first planning session for the task force will be held a week or two from now, get your thoughts together…” Jen and Johnny nodded and began to stand up. “Oh, hey… Jen?”

“Yeah?” The woman asked.

“Can… Can I…” Dominic paused mid question, he wanted to ask about Maria, about everything that had happened, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, he wanted to hear what had happened from Maria’s own lips. “Never mind…” Jen just shrugged and turned, she and her boyfriend Johnny left Dominic’s office. The President puffed on his cigar and looked down at the music player, he unwound the headphones and turned it on, selecting a random song. With the earbuds in and the player in his breast pocket he walked towards the window and stared once again at the giant pyre. David Bowie’s ‘Cat People’ played through the earbuds as he puffed on his cigar, watching the flame and smoke continue to climb into the sky.

[♦]

Chrysalis and Mizu sat in their alcove, stripped of their robes and with their faces cleaned of the dry clay. It was here in the silent underground that Mizu would begin her first true lessons on her road to one day take her mother’s throne. Chrysalis remained silent as she watched her daughter’s horn begin to glow.

“Close your eyes…” Chrysalis said, Mizu nodded and closed her eyes. “Use your magic to draw the water from the earth, Mizu. Concentrate on the water…” The Queen watched as her daughter’s horn began to glow brighter. “Slow and steady, Mizu… Water is powerful over time…” Mizu nodded, gradually her horn began to glow less and less. The princess, as was her title now, could feel the drops of water around her. Slowly they pushed their way through the soil with her help, glowing a light green all the way.

Eventually a few drops pushed past the dirt and flew to the center of the room where they hovered in Mizu’s magic. It was a small amount, no more than a teaspoon, but eventually Chrysalis knew that her daughter would be able to move buckets if she wanted to.

“Very good, Mizu… Open your eyes.” Chrysalis finally commented, Mizu opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the floating water before her. “It’s a very good start, far better than I did on my first try.” The Queen levitated a small wooden cup she had taken from the changeling encampment beneath the water. “Drink, Mizu.” The princess lowered the water into the cup before she took it and swigged the small amount. “Nature provides us with the things we need, water chief among them… The world is more than willing to give to us if we are willing to be patient. Meditate on that.”

“Yes, mother.” Mizu said with a bow of her head as she lowered the cup to the floor, Chrysalis returned the bow respectfully. “Mother, may I ask a question?”

“You just did, Mizu…” Chrysalis noted with a slight chuckle. “I kid, of course you may, what is your question?” Her daughter looked up at her quietly, blinking for a moment or two. Her eyes had begun to change to indicate her promotion to royalty and as such she was having trouble seeing.

“The war with America has ended, and we have lost a portion of our territory to them, as well as a sizable amount of money…” Mizu began, she paused as she heard the sound of marching hooves overhead but they eventually shifted away. “What will we do now?”

“In the future we will work with the Americans for peace with Equestria and the world… I have no doubt that some of our hive will come to their ranks, Gigant is sure to have frightened some away.” Chrysalis began to speak, she trailed off and appeared to think on something. “For now though, we will need to find some form of food… The American’s have been feeding us, but that will end when we depart tomorrow.”

“A good choice…” Mizu said, she sighed as she contemplated her mother’s words. It occurred to her that though she had fought in the town and even been near it for some time, she’d never actually explored it. “Mother, I would like to see the town… Before we go. These ponies are fascinating.” Chrysalis nodded and gestured to the door.

“Go, then. I shall be waiting here when you return, don’t worry.” Chrysalis said with a slight smile, Mizu stood and bowed once more before leaving the alcove and making her way to the entrance to the tunnel. She stepped out onto the desert sand as the fire continued to burn off to her right, a couple of the American guards watched her from their posts at the POW camp but shrugged and left her alone. Mizu walked towards the town with a bit more confidence than she normally had, knowing that the war was over gave her a bit more relief.

She passed by a couple store fronts that were being converted into various places of business, as well as the saloon which had now been decorated with a white sheet over the sign, there was a large red cross painted on the sheet. She recognized that symbol, it was a hospital of some sorts. Feeling obligated to visit some of her wounded brother and sisters, she began trotting towards the building.

The American standing outside the door looked tired and in all honestly like he belonged in the hospital himself, his eyes had bags beneath them and he was practically falling over. Still he straightened up when he saw her approaching, smiling as best he could beneath his helmet.

“E-Evening, miss…” He stammered.

“It’s midday…” Mizu responded, examining the stallion closer. She could tell that he was sweating heavily, more importantly, his emotions told her that he really wasn’t doing well. “Are you okay?” The stallion nodded.

“Y-Yeah, just got a bit of a headache is all… Caught a bit of a hit to the head yesterday and they’ve had me out here all night… But I’m probably just tired, I was fine last night...” The stallion waved a hoof as if to say he was fine, only to stumble for a bit. He blinked a couple times and shook his head, then straightened up again. “F-Fortress Wall, pleased to meetcha…” He tried to extend a hoof but nearly fell forwards.

“Maybe I should help you inside?” Mizu offered, the stallion shook his head again.

“I gotta stand guard until they relieve me, it’s my… My duty…” With that Fortress Wall stood up straighter, and immediatly fell forwards onto Mizu. She gasped and quickly caught the stallion in her hooves, his helmet rolling to the floor. She could see there seemed to be blood trickling from a wound on his head that perhaps he hadn’t noticed or shrugged off.

“I need a doctor!” Mizu yelled as she lowered the stallion to the ground and looked him over, a couple ponies rushed out and took a look at him. “He was all tired and he slurred and he just passed out.” One of the doctors crouched down and examined his eyes.

“Get a stretcher!” The doctor shouted, but before anyone could get one two Americans came out and lifted him up to carry him inside.

“Is he going to be okay?” Mizu asked, the doctor looked at her for a moment, as if he couldn’t come up with an answer, before he rushed inside after the two other stallions. Mizu paused and looked down at the helmet that had fallen to the dirt before she picked it up and examined it, noting there seemed to be a couple items in the liner. For instance a pack of cigarettes, a picture, and some gum. She decided that rather than leave the helmet outside she would give it to one of the doctors.

Cautiously she entered the hospital and looked around, tables were covered with linens that were clean or bloody depending on how fresh they were. Thestrals and changelings alike were laid out, some groaning in pain while others seemed to be sleeping. There was a cough to the left of her and she spotted an Equestrian Royal Guard that was watching her.

“The stallion who just came in, he dropped his helmet… Could you give it to him?” Mizu asked politely, the unicorn eyed the helmet for a moment then nodded and used his magic to float the helmet over. She noted that the unicorn paused to pull a cigarette from the helmet and light it, his hoof shaking as he did so. Mizu didn’t say anything though, the stallion just lit his smoke as if he was trying to calm down.

Off to a not so great start, Mizu left the hospital in search of something that would perhaps be a bit more jovial. Not too much, considering there had been two mass funerals that day, but at least something. It didn’t take her long to come across a familiar pair of bipeds, the two humans that she had heard of through her mother. The male, John if she remembered correctly, was hard at work in the storefront of the building he’d been given. Specifically he was removing the shelves from the premises. The female, Mizu didn’t know her name yet, was sitting outside the building in an old looking chair next to a simple patio table. She had her hair tied back and she wore a tank top, she wore a pair of fatigue pants like the Americans did and heavy leather boots.

It took a moment for the female to notice Mizu, as she had her head leaned back against the building and her eyes closed. When Mizu stepped on a small stone the woman opened her eyes and looked around, then spotted Mizu. The changeling gave a timid wave, the woman returned it and then made a gesture for her to come over. Being ever curious, Mizu approached and gave a respectful bow.

“Hello.” The human said with a slight smile, offering her hand to the changeling. Familiar with the greeting, Mizu extended her own hoof and expected a shake. Instead the woman bumped her hoof lightly with a fist. Mizu assumed that was some other form of greeting in the human world, made more clear when she saw the woman’s face light up. “I’m Jen, nice to meet you.”

“I am Mizu, though I used to be called Distortion.” Mizu replied, Jen nodded and gave another smile. John could be heard swearing inside as he tried to move a particularly heavy shelf. “May I ask, what is he doing?” Jen glanced over her shoulder and gave a slight chuckle.

“He’s starting a bar, at least, that’s what he’s trying to do. My money is he’ll get tired of it by dinner.” The woman explained as she looked back to Mizu. “Mizu… That sounds Japanese…” Jen seemed to commenting to herself, tapping at her chin. “Son of a gun, guess Sarah was right…”

“I’m sorry?” Mizu asked, Jen shook her head and looked back at Mizu with a sheepish expression.

“I was just rambling about one of my friends back home, we had this bet going about aliens and stuff.” The woman trailed off again and sighed as she leaned back in her seat. “You know, you’re a lot cuter than I thought you’d be? Like, when I first heard of you guys I thought you’d be all scary, but you’re really adorable. I just wanna hug you.” The woman rambled for a moment, Mizu perked up as she heard the last part. A hug was essentially an invitation to feed, and if the woman knew that she was a changeling… Mizu decided just to be on the safe side this time.

“If you hugged me I’d be able to absorb your emotion, would that be okay with you?” She asked, Jen paused for a moment and shrugged, then opened her arms wide.

“I’ve always wanted to hug one of you guys.” She said warmly, Mizu smiled and approached the woman he gave her a very tight hug. The emotion that Mizu felt was joy and happiness, certainly filling emotions, the hug lasted for a few moments and already Mizu felt ten times better. “That didn’t seem that bad, I don’t even feel different.”

“Interesting.” Mizu commented as she patted herself down. “You are an oddly happy person, especially on a day like this…”

“I’ve just got a lot to be thankful for, I guess… I’m alive, I have my health, the person I love is close by… Gotta enjoy the little things, you know?” Jen smiled good naturedly and gestured to the spot beside her, as if she wanted Mizu to sit. The Changeling obliged, genuinely intrigued by the human’s actions. “I come from a place very different to this… Where this amount of death is common… It doesn’t get to me like it used to… Or at least, it’s different…” The woman’s voice seemed on a knife's edge between sorrow and neutral musings.

“I hear tell from my mother that your world is filled with monsters.” Mizu said, Jen nodded once again. There was crash from inside the store, followed by more cursing, but Jen ignored it in favor of paying attention to her new conversation partner. “Is that why the one they call Dominic hates himself so much?”

“He hates himself?” Jen asked, looking at the changeling with a raised eyebrow. Mizu nodded and looked towards the capitol building.

“I can sense it now… He’s a very sad soul, I’m honestly surprised at how long he’s gone on… Most creatures as sad as he is tend to commit suicide…” Mizu’s tone was a bit sad, as if she pitied the six foot behemoth of a man. Jen’s eyes looked towards the capitol building as well, wondering just what was going on in the head of the man upstairs. “Yet there is a hope in him, perhaps that’s what keeps him going…”

“I hope so…” Jen said quietly, looking at the floor. “He deserves to be happy for once, if what I think about him is true…” Mizu raised an eyebrow at the woman, sensing the rapid shift in emotion.

“You’re an odd creature, Jen. Your emotions change on rapidly.” The changeling noted, by some miracle it was loud enough to be heard over all the noise inside.

“That’s because she’s a woman!” Johnny shouted from inside, he began laughing loudly until Jen glared at him through the window. “Okay, jeez, sorry…” Mizu chuckled quietly and looked back forwards, again Jen’s interest was piqued.

“What now?” She asked, Mizu just smiled wider and shook her head. “Come on, tell me, is he thinkin’ nasty thoughts about me?”

“They could be perceived that way.” Mizu giggled, a sudden blush spread across Jen’s face. A comfortable silence settled over the two of them as they just sort of sat there, occasionally watching the soldiers on patrol march by. They had been American’s for the last couple turns, but as it reached the top of the hour they saw that the patrol shifted to those of the Equestrians. They carried themselves differently, especially around Jen. “Odd…”

“What?” The woman asked again. “You just say one thing and that’s it, it’s kind of hard to gauge what’s odd…”

“They seem to dislike you and your companion…” Mizu said, staring at a couple of the guards. Her eyes really were starting to go now, she’d be left to see only with her sense of emotion in a couple days, that would be for a week or so until her new eyes opened. “And me.”

“That’s to be expected, I did try to kill a few of them, so did Johnny…” Jen said with a slight sigh, she reached down and began to fiddle with the laces on her boots. “To be honest though, they were being jerks… If I was in the same situation again I’d still take the shots…”

“Conviction is an admirable quality.” Mizu commented again, Jen smiled as she sat back up. “I am sure it will be tested, they are coming over here.” Jen took note of four of the patrolling Equestrian’s approaching her and Mizu. “I would recommend going inside… I have sensed stallion’s like this before. My vision is hazy, but I assume they have a red star emblem on their armor, correct?”

“Yes.” Jen said as she spotted the emblem easily.

“Solar Elite…” Mizu muttered bitterly, following it up with a few swear words that had no real english translation from the changeling language. “Hurry inside, these stallions are not to be trifled with…”

“I won’t be intimidated.” Jen said coolly as she sat up straight and took a deep breath. “If they want a fight I’ll give them one…” Mizu shook her head and held out a hoof as if to block Jen.

“Patience…” The changeling said simply, repeating it over and over again in her head, remembering the words of her mother. Jen watched the changeling for a few moments, honestly a bit freaked out now that the mare’s eyes were starting to get kind of white. “Jen, do you happen to have a strip of fabric, I sense my eyes make you uncomfortable.” Jen wordlessly nodded and removed what she’d used to tie back her hair, Mizu tied it over her eyes and took a deep breath, now relying solely on the emotion of those around her.

All she could see was blackness, but eventually the group of guards appeared as hazy read figures. Jen gave off an orange aura herself, and the rest of the town was varying between purple and black.

“Look what we have here.” Said one of the Solar Elites, a unicorn with a light brown mane, Jen sighed and leaned back in her seat.

“Really?” The woman asked sarcastically. “That’s the most cliched starting line for intimidation I’ve ever heard. You may as well just scream ‘Am I intimidating you yet?’.” Mizu could sense  change in the emotions of the guards, at first confusion, then more anger.

“Stupid cow…” Muttered one of the guards. “Think you’re real hot stuff because you can do a fancy trick, eh? Well because of you are sarge is gonna get kicked out on medical.” Mizu could sense Jen’s emotions, a bit of fear was creeping in, not that she’d let it show. “Well, we saw you sitting over here and thought why not return the favor, eh? And look at that, a bug, even better…” Jen got ready for a fight as Mizu sensed one of the guards going for a club on his belt.

“That would be unwise.” Mizu warned, the guards turned their attention to her. “Here is why. One, you’re in American territory. Two, Celestia is close by. Three, I could easily incapacitate you, and I’m blind.” The guards stared at the changeling for a few moments before starting to laugh, Mizu only smiled as she felt reason number four come into play. “Four. You’ll be angering someone with an axe to grind.”

“And who’s that, huh? You?” Asked another one of the guards.

“Afternoon, officers.” Came the snarky voice of Johnny, Mizu had sensed him come to the door of the store moments ago. The guards turned and looked at the man, Mizu could sense their disgust. “I’d normally love to invite you in… But we’re a tad busy… So scram.” Mizu couldn’t tell what it was, but she could tell that the man had something in his hands.

“Put that pipe away, monkey. That could be viewed as a weapon.” Said the fourth guard, Mizu’s smirk grew as she felt reason One stepping up to bat. Meanwhile, Jen just seemed to be sitting there patiently.

“And you could be viewed as a nuisance, you fuckin’ Canterlot Creeps outta get away from them before we toss you in the stockade.” A pair of American’s had rounded the corner and were approaching the Solar Elites, the Equestrians knew that they’d been out matched. With a few parting insults they turned and walked off, Johnny flipped them off before going back inside and the Americans went about their normal routine. Mizu smiled and turned towards Jen, eyes still hidden by the fabric.

“Patience…” She could see the woman’s aura shift to blue, a hand reached through the void and landed on Mizu’s head. The changeling tensed for a moment but ended up letting out a purr as she felt the fingers give her a scratch behind the ears.

“Thank’s, Meez.” Jen said, Mizu would’ve raised an eyebrow. “Okay, Mizu, no nicknames.” Mizu just chuckled and shook her head. So far it seemed that her tour through the town was shaping up well, even if her vision had practically gone on her already. “Do you mind if I ask what’s up with your eyes?”

“Not at all.” Mizu said with a smirk, she could sense that Jen grew a little happier at the prospect of more conversation. “I am Mizu, but as I said before, I was known as Distortion. I only acquired my new name last night, when my mother, the Queen, named me her heir.” Mizu found herself suddenly picked up in a hug as Jen let out a fangirl squeal, not that Mizu minded, she enjoyed another dose of happiness.

“Sorry! I just, I can’t believe I’m talking to another princess… Still, doesn’t explain the eyes.” Jen said, Mizu chuckled and put a hoof to her face to feel the fabric.

“As you’ve noticed, normal changelings don’t have pupils, but royalty does. “ Mizu began to explain, she sat back and relaxed as she did so. Even though it didn’t really matter, the changeling closed her eyes. “As I am now royalty, my body is changing so that I can better perform my duties. My sight will return, but for now I must use my sense of emotion as a guide.”

“Some sort of spirit quest type of thing?” Jen asked, Mizu chuckled and gave another slight nod.

“Perhaps.” The changeling turned and looked at Jen, she could practically see everything about her. There was a bubbly happiness on the outside, but inside she sensed a familiar despair, it seemed that all of the humans had a similar emotional make up in that regard. “I’ve got a lot to learn, but my mother has started to teach me. I suspect allowing me to wander is one of those methods.”

“She sounds like a nice lady… Mare… Mareling? What’s the word?” Jen asked, Mizu just shook her head with that same smile of hers.

“Changeling is fine.” The Changeling Princess paused once more, she could sense emotion over head. A mixture of anger and sadness, no doubt from the day’s earlier events. She looked up to try and better sense who or what it was. As it turned out it was another familiar thestral, Chipped Blade if she recalled, and he was currently practicing aerial combat moves by the look and feel of it. Mizu moved her head back down and looked back to Jen.

“Well, you know, Johnny and I were going to have a nice little dinner here tonight, but if you and your mom want to come, I’d be happy to set a place for you.” Jen said, Mizu raised an eyebrow at the proposition. She’d been invited to dinner parties before, but again, she had been in disguise those times.

“I… I would like that, I would need to ask my mother though.” Mizu responded, she sensed Jen’s nod and sighed in relief.

“I get it, well, I’ll leave a place for you guys anyway, just come when you can.” Jen’s voice was sincere, and Mizu could sense a bit of excitement in the tone. Seeing the world through emotion was far different from what she’d expected, but it made things seem so much more honest. There was a crash from inside, followed by a stream of curse words, Jen sighed and stood up. “He’s gonna hurt himself… I’ll talk to you later, Meez- Mizu.” The woman began walking towards the door, Mizu just nodded with a smile.

“For you I’ll make an exception.” The changeling waved goodbye to her new friend and began walking away from the store front. For half an hour she wandered through the town, using her senses like she had never used them before. She could sense ponies and changelings long before they saw her, she could practically see them through walls. That was what made avoiding the Equestrian patrols so much easier, especially the elites. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them, but earlier had just been proof that they didn’t like her.

Mizu sighed quietly as she came upon a bench that was seated across the street from the saloon turned hospital, occasionally she’d sense a couple changelings walk past, when she did she was able to see a bit more due to their connection to the hivemind. She felt a soft breeze flow past her, the loose fabric behind her head fluttered in the breeze. After a few more minutes she sensed a particularly burly group of Equestrian Solar Elites rounding a corner to her left, she sighed and began to get up, but they had already spotted her.

Mizu sat back down and waited for them, she knew they’d come over to hassle her, she wasn’t in armor and she had a strip of fabric over her eyes. The changeling never could understand how Celestia could allow such boorish stallions in her guards, let alone her ‘Elites’, but Mizu wasn’t about to ask.

“Hey, is that a blind roach?” Mizu heard one of the Equestrian’s say a bit too loudly, she ignored it of course, sitting there quietly and patiently. The guards got closer still, it was apparent these were the same guards from before. It was likely, considering New Liberty was relatively small, that she’d have to deal with them again. She didn’t want to, but she knew she might. “Hey, it’s that one from before, the monkey’s friend.”

“Aw, what happened? Your friend get bored of you?” Asked another, the group approached her and seemed to crowd around her. Mizu could only sense their auras, they were angry and they had quite the superiority complex, something she desperately wanted to destroy. Her mother’s words echoed through her mind though, and so she chose patience once again. She continued to sit there wordlessly, unmoving and uncompromising. “Makes sense, who want’s a broken toy anyway?”

“There’s nothing wrong with me.” Mizu replied flatly, the guards chuckled and Mizu felt one of them push her a bit. She scowled but once again chose patience over violence, so what if she could destroy the guards like tissue paper? The war had just ended, she didn’t want to fight anymore.

“At least the cow is only ugly, you’re ugly and blind.” Said the third guard, Mizu smirked quietly and gave a slight giggle.

“That’s to my benefit.” She said simply, her smile widening. “I am spared the view of your own ugliness. After all, it would take an ugly creature to know an ugly creature.” Mizu’s words stunned the guards, a couple even giggled at the expense of their comrade who seemed to be getting angrier and angrier.

“Why you… You… You little bitch.” The guard said through gritted teeth, Mizu didn’t seem to care how angry she’d made him. She continued sitting there calmly, the breeze still blowing through the fabric that covered her eyes. His aura was a deep crimson, she could tell he was close to blowing his stack. “Do you think just because we’re in this stupid village we aren’t the law?!”

“Considering this ‘Stupid Village’ is outside your jurisdiction… Yes, yes I do.” Mizu said simply, the changeling could practically see the vein pulsing on the stallion’s forehead as he snorted and stamped at the ground. His comrades were starting to become a tad concerned, Mizu chose patience once more, waiting for the stallion to either make a move or to back off. She wouldn’t be the one to cast the first stone, that was for sure. Once again she was relieved to sense more emotions, a pair of American’s on their own patrol, and they were just around the corner.

“Well, just in case you’re in Canterlot, lemme give you somethin’.” The Elite began reaching for his billy club, and it seemed the American’s were being held up by something, the time for patience was over. Using the energy she had absorbed earlier from Jen, her horn began to glow. She focused for a moment on the club she sensed on another one of their belts and quickly levitated it in front of her like a sword.

“Go away, this is the only warning you’ll-” The elite swung his club at her before she could finish, cutting her off as she moved her own club to stop the blow. Being that she was apparently blind, her sudden movement had shocked the guards. The elite shook it off and went to try for another blow, again it was parried and Mizu offered a whack of her own, a ringing tone echoed through the street when her helmet smacked the guard’s golden helmet. He took a few steps back and held this head, groaning loudly. Meanwhile Mizu had the club waving back and forth slowly, as if showing the other guards that she was not to be trifled with. “You I have no physical malice towards, please leave… This is between him and I.” The guards decided to back off, Mizu nodded and set the club on the bench beside her.

“The fuck… You fuckers again!?” The American’s had arrived, the three guards that hadn’t been involved took off.

“Shit, it’s the MPs!” Mizu heard one of them yell as they took off, the guard that had taken a swing at her had finally recovered from the ringing in his ears only to see the two very annoyed American’s trotting towards him.

“That’s it, you’re coming with us, creep. No sudden moves.” Said the other American, the Solar Elite growled and started towards the soldiers, not slowly, but barreling towards them in a charge. Mizu flared her magic one last time, sending the club by her side hurtling towards the elite’s head. There was a loud clang and he ended up skidding through the dirt.

“Guh… Did anyone get the number on that carriage?” The guard said dazedly, the two Americans were quick to secure his hooves and pick up the tossed club.

“Damn, she really smacked him silly.” She heard one of them remark, the other nodded and began trotting towards her. Mizu sighed and prepared for some sort of reprimand, but to her surprise she sensed more concern from the American than anything.

“You alright, ma’am?” He asked, Mizu nodded in response. “Sorry about that, these cretons think they’re still the law around here. It’ll quiet down once they’ve shipped back where they belong.”

“I hope so…” The changeling commented quietly. “I would like to file a report, if that’s possible?”

“Don’t worry about it, miss. This one’s goin’ straight to the stockade, you can have a chat with Celestia if you want though.” The MP replied, his compatriot was already hefting the unconscious guard onto his back. “Heck, I might join you if you do, that’s not the first time I’ve had to cart one of these mooks off.”

“Thank you, I think I will, if you don’t mind setting it up?” Mizu asked, the American just nodded again and gave a wave. He turned around and went back to his comrade who was carrying the Equestrian off towards the POW camp, they had had to clear one of the bunkhouses to act as a holding cell because of how rowdy the Solar Elite’s had been. Mizu just sighed and went back to her sitting, staring occasionally at the hospital across the street. She could sense misery over there, some of it she was sure she had inflicted.

Concern for the stallion she’d run into earlier rose into her mind, so she resolved to stand up and make her way across the street. She stumbled once or twice, using emotion to navigate was still relatively new to her after all. Until finally she had arrived at the front door once again, carefully she pushed through and looked around.

The aura of the wounded made it clear where she was to go and look, but she worried that the doctors and guards on duty would stop her. Nonetheless she pressed on, trotting passed a couple wounded changelings in the process. It occurred to her that she had no idea what Fortress Wall’s aura really looked like, she hadn’t thought to get an actual read on him, just what he was feeling in the moment. With a weary sigh she turned to one of the doctors and cleared her throat.

“Excuse me?” The pony turned and looked at her, she could sense worry at the sight of her covered eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m okay… I was actually looking for someone.” The doctor let out a sigh of relief.

“Who’re you looking for?” Asked the stallion a pegasus, most likely an Equestrian.

“A thestral, Fortress Wall… He came in earlier today?” Mizu asked, the stallion paused for a moment in thought before she saw his aura point off towards the other side of the room. Without waiting for another word the changeling turned and began trotting towards the cot that had been indicated, she could sense a very sleepy presence in front of her as she sat down next to the cot.

“H-Huh?” Asked the tired voice of the soldier, Mizu could detect more confusion in the stallion’s aura. She rested a comforting hoof on his shoulder, getting his attention. He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “I remember you… What happened…?”

“My eyes are changing.” Mizu explained simply. “As for you, you passed out on me a while ago, I wanted to come and check on you.” She detected a slight shift in his aura, she could’ve sworn it almost seemed like a blush.

“Aw, shucks ma’am, you didn’t need to do that… I just got a little bump on the head…” Fortress’ voice was still a bit tired and slurred, Mizu smiled faintly. “I appreciate it though.”

“I’m glad you do.” Mizu said, adjusting her place on her seat. “I’ve got a bit of time before I must return to my Queen, would you perhaps want to chat a bit? I find you American’s quite interesting.”

“Been called a lot of things before, ma’am, not one of them is interestin’.” Fortress said, trying to add a bit of mirth to his voice. “Shoot, I won’t say no to company.”

“Great!” Mizu smiled even wider as she and Fortress Began to chat, mainly about things like the weather at first. Family was another topic, both of them were a little worried to bring it up at first. Mizu was the Queen’s heir, and she was worried that would get her in some hot water with the stallion. Fortress was just shy, in a way his name seemed to fit him well. Mizu found it difficult getting him to open up, perhaps because he’d built a few walls around himself, but eventually she got through.

Mizu had detected a warrior’s heart in him, but as she continued to chat with him over the hours, she learned he was far from a warrior’s mind. He enjoyed music and tinkering, he worked well with machines and other items. Fortress, for his part, learned that the Princess of the Hive had started out as a simple drone, and that she was worried that she would be unable to fill her mother’s place. In any other circumstance, perhaps they wouldn’t have even glanced at each other, but by the end of it both were glad to have had the discussion.

By then the sun had started to set and Fortress was tired, Mizu wished him a speedy recovery and left, feeling a bit warmer than she had before. Maybe it was his manners, or maybe his aura was just a more soothing glow, whatever the reason, Mizu was happy. As she returned to the tunnel to speak with her mother she could hear voices, both of whom she recognized.

Mizu paused as she trotted down the hallway, the thickness of the dirt and earth limiting her ability to scan the aura’s of those present. The voices sounded familiar, eventually Mizu recognized one as her mother’s. As she got closer she could hear the other’s was Celestia’s, from the tones they used they were speaking cordially. Finally the changeling stopped just outside her mother’s alcove, she could hear the conversation inside.

“I apologize for my soldier’s behavior towards your daughter.” Celestia said, Mizu leaned against the wall to listen closer. “The Solar Elites have been getting more and more rowdy lately.”

“They lack discipline.” Chrysalis responded, pausing for a moment. There was a sipping sound followed by a soft sigh. “I know that you care for your ponies very much, and I can sense your hesitance to punish them, but sparing the rod will spoil the child.”

“I know…” Celestia replied tiredly. “I appreciate you taking time to chat with me again, I’m sure you’re busy preparing for the return to your hive tomorrow.” There was a slight giggle from Chrysalis, Mizu smiled faintly. The prospect of peace with Equestria seemed to be coming along as well, the day was shaping up to be a better day than it had started out as.

“I’ve been prepared for a long while, I’m more concerned lately about my heir.” Chrysalis said, Mizu could tell the Queen was looking towards the door. “Mizu, there’s no sense in you standing there, come in.” The changeling blushed nervously and walked forwards, there was a gasp from Celestia, most likely due to the eyes. Chrysalis was as calm as ever. “I see your eyes have changed, I’m surprised you didn’t come back when they did.”

“I adapted as best I could, Mother.” Mizu said with a bit of pride, she could sense her mother’s own pride swell for a moment before it fell. Understandable, the Queen had to beware of her ego, it was one of her most prominent flaws. Celestia blinked a couple times, glad to see that the damage to the changeling’s eyes hadn’t been inflicted by her guards. “I was coming to tell you we’ve been invited to dinner by the two new humans, but I see you have company.”

“I was actually just about to leave.” Celestia said, Chrysalis gave a wave of her hoof before lifting something. The aura’s outlines made it difficult to tell what everything was, but as she saw her mother take a sip she realized that it was a cup of tea.

“I hope we speak again soon, Princess.” Chrysalis said, bowing respectfully. Celestia returned the bow and turned to walk out quietly, Mizu entered the alcove and looked around for a moment. “Things with the princesses are progressing well, but I doubt we are close to anything yet… They are wary of me still.” The Queen poured a cup of tea and offered it to Mizu, her magic grasped it and brought it to her lips. “I sense… Daughter, did you feed today?”

“The woman, Jen, offered a hug willingly.” Mizu responded, there was a slight pause from Chrysalis as if she was unsure. “I made her aware of what I would do, she still consented, I would not force such an act.”

“I know, Mizu, but you know we must be careful now.” Chrysalis’ tone was slightly concerned, but still in relative high spirits. Mizu drank her tea quietly, enjoying the feeling of the warm liquid running down her throat. “You mentioned dinner with the humans, correct?” Mizu nodded. “Did they say it was a formal affair?”

“Jen seemed relatively relaxed about it, I’d say she doesn’t care about our attire.” Mizu replied, Chrysalis hummed for a moment.

“We have a journey ahead of us tomorrow, we cannot stay very long if we’re to get proper sleep…” The Queen began, she could sense a bit of disappointment from her daughter. “Very well, I suppose it would be alright. We know so little about them.” Chrysalis stood up and walked out of the alcove, Mizu following close behind her. “You seem to have taken a shine to the humans.” Chrysalis emerged onto the surface with Mizu, the younger changeling following her mother’s aura as a guide now.

“They’re strange… I can sense a capacity in them for so many different emotions, both liquid and solid.” Mizu explained, Chrysalis nodded as she contemplated the words. “I meditated on patience today, I found that my patience is boundless when not physically threatened, and when it is…”

“You have the power to dispel your problems with as little force necessary.” Chrysalis finished for her. “Celestia mentioned the number you did on her elite, I found it quite humorous. You should know, at your age, were I in your position, I would have acted a lot sooner.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Mizu said with a slight bow, by now they were just down the street from Jen and Johnny’s place of residence. She detected two pinkish aura’s from the top floor, a slight giggle coming to her throat. “On second thought…”

“Are you kidding?” Chrysalis asked, looking at her curiously. “They’ve had plenty of time together today, I’m sure they’re just snuggling or something.” Mizu just nodded and the two of them continued to the storefront, Chrysalis raised her leg and knocked on the door loudly. A few moments later she saw the familiar aura of Jen coming down the steps, still glowing a bit pink.

Chrysalis regarded the human for a moment, suppressing a chuckle. The woman’s hair was a bit disheveled, but aside from that she seemed fine. Dressed in a tank top, her fatigues, and her boots, she was just as normal as ever. Jen smiled widely as she saw the two changelings at her door and quickly moved to let them in, it was obvious she hadn’t expected them to come.

“Hello!” She said warmly, watching the two of them enter the storefront. Chrysalis was shocked to see that there seemed to be a big pile of wood in the corner, but didn’t bring it up, perhaps it was a human thing. “Sorry about the mess, my boyfriend’s been renovating lately, he wants to put in a bar down here.” The room was still relatively dark, lit only by a candle that Jen had brought down with her.

“It’s quite alright.” Chrysalis replied as Jen lead them towards the stairs in back that would lead them to the top floor, the candle light made it an oddly eerie experience for Chrysalis. Not so much fo Mizu, since she couldn’t see the candle light. Eventually the group emerged into the top floor of the building, there was a decent spread set out on the old table. The Johnny was reclining on the bed, wearing a fresh t-shirt. Thankfully the Princesses had thought to pack extra clothes before the trip.

“Johnny, get up and say hello to our guests.” Jen chided, the man gave a grunt as he got up and approached them. His jeans were cleaned as well, even if his boots were still a mess from his escape attempt. He approached Chrysalis and Mizu carefully, uncertain of what to say to them.

“Uh… Hello?” He said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck before offering them his hand, Chrysalis and Mizu shook it daintily before offering their own bow. “As she said, I’m Johnny, nice to meet you.”

“I am Chrysalis, this is my heir Mizu, it’s nice to meet you as well.” Chrysalis responded, Mizu nodded. Meanwhile Jen had gone to a cupboard near the wood stove that heated the room and withdrew four glasses, as well as a bottle of liquor that she’d acquired from one of the American soldiers. Alcohol in New Liberty was running a bit short as a good portion of it had been used in the battle, but Jen used a few of the trading methods she’d heard Johnny talk about to procure some.

“It’s nice to have some company.” She said as she walked back to the table and set the glasses out, by now Johnny and the others had sat down. The food on the table was a mix of canned rations and an odd type of noodle in meat broth. Chrysalis and Mizu eyed the mixture curiously, as Changeling’s rarely took part in meat eating. At least, those that dealt mostly with equines didn’t. “I was just saying how much I missed eating with more than myself and Johnny, back home we all used to eat real close.”

“Yeah, bet you never got the good stuff.” Johnny said as he poured himself a glass of the booze and eyed the ramen noodles that he’d been hoarding since he’d first arrived in Equestria. “In Newark, what we’re eating amounts to a week’s pay. Here though, it’s pretty worthless.”

“Your economy is run on food? Was it always that way?” Asked Mizu, Johnny shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

“The yankee dollar, the greenback, the dead presidents. Money. That’s what our economy ran on, then it all got fucked up, so all that paper get’s used as fire starter.” Johnny explained as he began to eat his noodles, Chrysalis had taken a taste of hers and found it oddly satisfying.

“Where I’m from we used to just trade stuff, no real currency, since we’d get supply drops from Colorado Springs every month or so.” Jen added, Mizu raised an eyebrow at the mention of all the different towns, she assumed they must have been human cities.

“Our hive collects numerous currencies from around the world, since we have agents around the globe.” Chrysalis explained, beginning to enjoy her noodles a bit more. “That’s how we were able to pay off the reparations, we’ve stockpiled for so many years and had nothing to spend it on.” Jen took a sip of her own drink, watching the changelings curiously. Mizu could detect her curiosity and turned to look at her, even if she couldn’t really see.

“Did you have a question, Jen?” She asked, the woman paused and looked off to the side. Jen shook her head after a moment.

“No, I was just thinking about something…” The woman replied, Mizu could sense a bit of trepidation in the woman now, as if she were contemplating asking something that could be a bit touchy. Mizu could understand that, she herself had some reservations about asking certain questions to the human. Specifically she wondered more about what had made the human’s world so awful, she’d read that there had been a great outbreak of disease, but beyond that she had no real idea.

The dinner continued peacefully and without incident after that, Miz and Chrysalis found that sharing the company of humans was similar to a mixture of ponies and griffons. Occasionally the Jen and Johnny would fire off barbs at one another, but they always laughed as if it was some sort of joke. The positive emotions and the physical food helped to fill both Mizu and Chrysalis’ and both of them felt a lot better at the end of it.

It was dark out when they departed for their alcove, leaving the two humans to clean up and do whatever it was humans did. For Jen, that was quickly washing the dishes before getting comfy in bed. For Johnny it was a bit different, as he had hatched the perfect plan. There was a real shortage of alcohol in the town, and Johnny was a man of the people at heart. He knew how to fill that shortage, and he’d do it, as long as he got something for his trouble.

He sat at the dinner table with a pen and paper, scribbling away at a list of things he would need. Thirty pounds of brown sugar, a pound of yeast, thirty gallons of pure apple juice, a large tank, a hole in the ground, and a big fire, as well as a couple odds and ends that he’d need to scrounge. Johnny had seen his bosses get rich on the same mixture, and for a time he’d worked in the trade, but it wasn’t profitable unless he was the one on top. Now that he was the one in charge it was worth his while.

Of course, this was just the first step in his plan, the rest he hadn’t planned out yet, but he was on his way to something.

“Johnny…” He heard Jen call from across the room, he paused his scribbling and looked over at her. “Come to bed, sweetie… You look tired.” Johnny was about to protest, but he could never say no to those eyes. With a slight sigh he stood up and walked over to the bed, stripping down to his sleeping attire as he did the previous night before crawling under the covers. Jen snuggled up next to him and gave him a kiss on the lips, when she pulled away she could see that Johnny was smiling faintly. “What’re you working on?”

“Just the bar thing…” Johnny replied quietly, looking towards the ceiling. “It’s kind of been a dream of mine for a while.” Jen raised an eyebrow at him. “Ever since I was a kid and I’d watch those old spaghetti westerns, the heroes would always hang out in some bar before the big action. I wanted to meet Clint Eastwood, so I figured if I opened a bar he’d breeze in or something…”

“That’s kind of cute.” Jen commented as she laid her head on his shoulder, Johnny just nodded with a sigh.

“Yeah, but now it seems kind of stupid.” He said, the candle on the other side of the room burned out, leaving the moonlight through the window as the only source of illumination. “I’ve still got the dream, but maybe it’s for different reasons.”

“A dream’s a dream, John.” Jen said as she turned his head to face hers. “The reason behind it doesn’t really matter, as long as it makes you happy.” Johnny smiled and kissed her on the nose, leaning his head back once again.

“Well I guess I’m living the dream then, because you’re in it.” He said, suddenly he heard a giggle from Jen and looked at her. “What?”

“That was so cheesy…” Jen said between her giggles, pulling the covers up a bit more over herself.

“I happen to know you like it when I’m cheesy.” Johnny retorted in a good natured tone. “I saw that novel you hide in your jacket.” A fierce blush went across Jen’s face as Johnny cleared his throat and spoke in a scholarly voice. “His broad shoulders and long dark hair marked him as the man of her dreams, and he spoke in such a-”

“Stoooop!” Jen whined, giving him a light smack. “I only read parts of it…” She crossed her arms and pouted, Johnny leaned over to give her a hug but she pushed him away. “No, I’m mad at you now.” The man only smiled and cracked his knuckles, then started to tickle her side. “Stooop! I’m seeerious!”

“Say uncle.” Johnny replied in a childish tone.

“Uncle!” Jen replied, Johnny halted his tickling and instead wrapped his arms around Jen’s waist to pull her closer, he sighed quietly and closed his eyes. Eventually he fell asleep, leaving Jen to the land of the waking world. She herself was a bit flustered by the previous events, but let it slide, she knew it was only teasing. She instead began to think of ways she could get back and Johnny, a couple sprang to mind. A smile crept across her lips as she too fell asleep, safe and secure next to the man she loved.
> Chapter 53
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING: The top section of this chapter contains some more raunchy material than usual, it does NOT go into full on stuff, but still I know that can be a bit off putting to some people. If that's not your bag, you can go ahead and skip over it to the next '[♦]' mark, you won't really miss much, just some dialogue and character stuff.





Jen let out a quiet sigh as she awoke to the sound of marching soldiers, undoubtedly it meant that the changelings were leaving. The morning light shined through the open window across the bed, she could feel Johnny’s hand around her waist still, as well as something else pressing up against her. She didn’t move, just enjoying the grip as it was, she didn’t want to wake up Johnny yet, considering how much physical work he’d done the day before.

Instead she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds outside, the soft banging of metal against the ground, occasional shouts from officers, it all reminded her of life before the outbreak. Slowly she turned so that the front of her body was facing Johnny’s and put her arms around him, just as he’d put his around her. The woman snuggled up closer to him, letting out a slight moan of contentment.

A few minutes passed before she felt Johnny stir from his slumber, he blearily opened his eyes and looked at her with a tired smile.

“Hey…” He said in a groggy voice.

“Hey.” She replied, she leaned forwards and kissed him on the cheek. “How’d you sleep?” The man smiled and gave her a tender squeeze.

“I slept pretty good…” He replied, Jen smiled at that and started to lay her head back on the pillow. She felt his hands move down her body, stopping at her rear and giving it a slight squeeze. She let out a slight yelp of surprise, not expecting such an act quite so early on, not that she minded. “You’re really soft, kind of like a big sexy teddy bear, really helped me relax.”

“Are you saying I’m fat?” Jen asked in a joking tone, Johnny shook his head and gave her rear another squeeze.

“Nah… You’re just perfectly squeezable.” The man leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips, the two of them held it for a moment before he pulled away. Jen giggled as her eyes took on a sultry look, her hand slipped down between the two of them and she gave a little squeeze to the thing that had been poking her earlier, eliciting a slight groan from Johnny.

“You’re pretty squeezable yourself.” She said with a smirk, then she gave another squeeze. “So, mister squeezable, want to have a bit of fun before we get out of bed?” Johnny answered that by bringing his lips to hers once again, holding the kiss for as long as he could. Their tongues battled for dominance, but as usual, Jen’s won out. Beneath all her bubbliness was a dominant woman, Johnny couldn’t help but respect that, in fact, he found it quite attractive.

He rolled over on top of her, trying to pin her to the bed, it was all part of the game they played. Jen continued kissing him as she rolled him back to his side of the bed, coming out on top of him. When she pulled back her dark hair was even more of a mess than it had been when she woke up, John brought his hand towards the bottom of her tank top but she put a hand up to stop him.

“Ah ah ah…” Her tone was dominant, just past the point of playful. So this was how it would be, Johnny couldn’t help but admit he liked when she took the reigns for a change. “You made me flustered last night… You know I can’t let that go.”

“I suppose you can’t.” Johnny replied, Jen was about to begin speaking, but there was a knock on the door downstairs.

“God damn it!” She yelled louder than she meant to, Johnny appeared rather annoyed himself. The knocking came again and Jen begrudgingly got out of the bed. She pulled on her freshest pair of fatigue pants before trudging down the steps, muttering to herself as she did so, leaving Johnny in bed with a slight frown. When Jen got downstairs she spotted a familiar looking thestral at the door, the star on the collar of his fatigues made it clear. General Bulwark wore a pair of aviator sunglasses and a mahogany pipe hung from his lips on top of his normal fatigues, it appeared that he’d settled into his role as general with ease. Jen opened the door and looked at him, not sure what to say, as she hadn’t expected that it was him that had interrupted.

“Mornin’, ma’am.” Bulwark said as he removed his pipe from his mouth in a fashion that would’ve made MacArthur proud. “The President has sent me to check in on you, he’s received some reports that you were accosted yesterday.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine, really.” Jen said quickly, occasionally glancing back over her shoulder towards the stairs. “I was actually just doing something with my boyfriend, is all, so…” The general slowly pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and looked at her for a moment, then chuckled, then put his pipe back in his mouth and pushed the glasses back up.

“Alrighty then…” The general gave a salute and turned to walk away, as Jen was closing the door she heard him say something over his shoulder. “Just remember we ain’t gotten around to soundproofing’ the houses yet.” Jen blushed furiously at that and closed the door before she turned on her heel and ran back up the stairs.

Johnny was standing up and was starting to get dressed when he saw her, still blushing redder than a tomato. She sat down on a chair and put her head in her hands.

“Oh my gosh…” She said with a groan, Johnny raised an eyebrow and finished pulling on his pants before walking over.

“What? What’s wrong?” He asked, Jen just groaned again as she pulled her hands down her face.

“I basically just told Bulwark what we were doing…” She said, obviously very embarrassed. Johnny raised an eyebrow at that, thinking it certainly wasn’t something to get totally upset about, but then again, Johnny could be an idiot at times. “If he mentions it to anyone they’re gonna know and then I’ll have a helluva time trying to train troops…”

“Don’t worry about it… Bulwark’s a general, after all, he probably knows to keep that sort of stuff to himself.” Johnny walked over to the stove and grabbed a can of spam, followed by a frying pan. “I know what’ll cheer you up, I’ll make breakfast.” Jen just sighed and leaned on the table, still groaning quietly. “Do you spam and eggs? Spam, spam, spam and eggs?”

“Go away, Monty Python.” Jen said, sounding more upset with herself than anything else. Certainly not angry, just upset. Johnny chuckled slightly as he began making the spam, humming as he thought of something else to do.

“You know, if we had some eggs we could have eggs and ham if we had any ham.” He said, doing his best impression of Laurel and Hardy. Jen groaned again and banged her head on the table. “Come on, I’m trying here, not even a giggle?”

“No.”

“Tough room.” Johnny tugged at his shirt collar for a moment. “Well, maybe a story? How about some Shakespeare? Green eggs and Hamlet?”

“Boooo.” Jen said, lifting her head off the table, Johnny giggled to himself as he continued cooking the spam in the pan.

“Come on, where’s that smile of yours, you know I can’t start my day without it.” Johnny flipped one of the slices of spam over, pausing to listen to it sizzle. “Alright…” Johnny pursed his lips in thought, then he smirked as a joke came to mind. “Hey, Jen?”

“No.” The woman said.

“Jeeeeen.” Johnny pushed again, the woman groaned in response. “Jen!”

“What?” The woman finally snapped back.

“Why shouldn’t you play Uno with mexicans?” Johnny asked, his rather crude sense of humor coming up with one of his favorite off color jokes, better yet, it was one that Jen hadn’t heard yet. The woman sighed as she looked at him, before finally speaking.

“I don’t know…”

“Because they take all the green cards.” Johnny said, chuckling loudly and eventually laughing heartily. Jen smirked and began to giggle herself, though she tried to hide it. “Come on, you wanna laugh, I can tell.”

“That’s awful.” She said in between snorts and snickers. “Funny, but awful.” Johnny just waved her off as he finished cooking the spam slices, he quickly grabbed them out of the pan, cursing as he did so without the aid of a spatula. He set them out on a pair of plates before setting the pan aside to be washed, he walked back over to the table and set the plates down. Jen had a smile on her face once again, even if it was smaller than usual. “Thanks, chuckles.”

Johnny just gave a shrug and a goofy grin before he picked up a fork from the table and began eating his meal. The two of them ate in comfortable silence, occasionally shooting each other amorous glances.

“Tarantino was right…” Johnny finally commented, Jen raised an eyebrow. “In Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman and John Travolta are sitting down like this and Uma starts talkin’ about comfortable silences.” The man ate another bite of his spam, then cleared his throat.

“No, no Uma Thurman imitations at the breakfast table.” Jen stated, Johnny deflated for a moment before shrugging. The comfortable silence settled in again, the two people just enjoying their meal. “You know… I like this. Just you and me, sitting like this, kinda what I was used to back when the world wasn’t shit.”

“Well, enjoy it while you can, because I’m sure we won’t get a lot of time like this once we start work on that task force thing…” Johnny looked down at his almost finished plate, the silence that followed was uncomfortable, and Johnny noticed a little twinge in Jen’s eye. “I’m sorry… I just… I know that it’s important to you, but…”

“You’re scared?” Jen said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. It wasn’t an angry look, more of a curious one. Johnny would’ve normally sworn up and down that nothing scared him, hell, he’d been willing to get captured in order for Jen to escape. Jen wasn’t a normal person though, she was Jen, someone he loved and trusted.

“Yeah…” Johnny looked at the table, feeling a bit ashamed. “I shouldn’t be, it’s the right thing to do, the elmo’s right…” The man felt a soft hand clasp his own, prompting him to look up into the eyes of the woman he loved. “I’m scared, Jen…”

“I’d be worried if you weren’t, John… It’s like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, it’s not a rational act.” She said in a soothing tone. “You’re a good man, that’s why you said yes, even if you’re scared… No matter how much you try to play that ex con card, you’re still good in here.” Jen tapped his chest before sitting back down, and once again the comfortable silence settled again.

“Thanks, Jen…” The man stood up after the meal had been completed and went to wash the dishes, when he was done he turned and walked over to Jen, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m gonna go see about putting my plans to action, be back soon.”

“Alright, I might go chat with some of the other ponies.” Jen said, Johnny nodded and started to pull on his boots. When he’d finished he started down the steps, leaving Jen to sit alone in the one room living space. After a few moments she sighed and stood up, walking towards the window to look down at the world.

[♦]

Chrysalis and Mizu marched over the sandy plains, their destination was just in sight. Thirty miles South of New Liberty, they had walked for several hours and occasionally flew when possible. The changelings that had remained loyal to the hive marched behind them in their armor, still painted with the green stripes. Behind those changelings were the Prisoners of War, they were being escorted by their own group of American’s. While the changelings were content to march in silence, the American’s weren’t.

The sound of drums and fifes echoed over the wide expanse, easily audible to whomever would be watching them from the Hive, which was built into a mountain that was just in front of them. The looming structure that emerged from the mountain was black and tan, built in such a way that it would be relatively difficult to spot from the air. Chrysalis would’ve reflected on how that had happened, but her musings were cut short when she heard the tune of fifes and drums change.

It was a tune that the American’s seemed to enjoy playing as much as they could, perhaps it was because it came from the lands of the thestrals. The song was starting to become engrained in the Queen’s mind, and not entirely in a good way. The American’s carried with them one of their flags which fluttered along as they marched the Prisoners forwards, every now and then Mizu could hear one of them shout an order or chastise a prisoner that had tried to step out of line.

Dominic’s insistence on sending an armed force to escort the prisoners hadn’t been what Chrysalis wanted, but she figured arguing with him would lead to a bit more hostility than she liked. The Queen quietly looked down at her heir, handling the walk with all the dignity and grace that she could. She opened her mouth to speak, but paused as she saw the stallion in charge of the American’s walking up on her right. Rolling Thunder was a familiar face, in his desert fatigues and new Major’s oak leaves he came off as an almost imposing figure. That is, if Chrysalis wasn’t taller than him.

“Looks like we’re coming up on your hive, your highness.” The stallion commented, adjusting his helmet as he did so. Chrysalis nodded and looked back to the hive, it seemed to be bustling with activity. “If you like, we can stop the column here, you can go ahead and let them know what’s what.”

“Thank you…” Chrysalis replied, looking to the sky for a moment. “But they’re already on their way here, they should land any moment now. Halt the column anyway, and no matter what happens, please show restraint.”

“I’ll do what I can, most of these boys are still on edge.” The major said before her turned towards the column and cleared his throat. “Company! Halt march!” The Americans responded by stopping, as did the POWs and other changelings. “Maintain readiness, but hold your fire unless ordered otherwise!”

“Yes, sir!” Replied the soldiers as they relaxed, the music was stopped as those playing it traded their instruments for weapons. In total it was thirty soldiers, fifteen thestrals and fifteen changeling defectors. A hush settled over the land as Chrysalis and Mizu waited for their brethren to appear. In the air there was a soft buzzing noise, but it eventually grew louder. With their eyes skywards, the soldiers could see at least thirty changelings in heavy armor coming down to land around them.

Heavy thuds and clouds of dust went up around them, the breeze quickly dispersing them to reveal the changelings that had landed. Each held a spear or a sword, eying the column warily, the American’s returned the glare with their hooves ready on their spellbows. At the front of the column there was another thud, and from the cloud of dust emerged a tall male changeling, his armor decorated with a symbol that Chrysalis didn’t recognize.

“My eyes must deceive me.” The changeling said, wiping his eyes as he spotted Chrysalis and Mizu. “Could it be that our Queen has returned to us?” Hushed mumbles went up through the changelings that surrounded the group. “Lord Gigant said you had been captured…”

“Gigant was no lord.” Chrysalis corrected sternly. “And yes, I was captured, but as you can see, I have been released.” The changeling eyed the American soldiers that held the POWs, somewhat confused by what he was seeing. “Our war with the United States has ended, Gigant’s insurrection is over.”

“Insurrection?” The changeling asked, seeming confused. “But he said that he’d been named heir when you were-”

“He lied.” Mizu cut in, the wind blowing through the fabric that still covered her eyes. “I am the heir, Gigant was a traitor.” The changeling blinked for a few moments before he quickly dropped into a deep bow.

“My Queen, I am so sorry! I had no idea I served a false king!” He said, the changelings in heavy armor quickly followed suit. Chrysalis waved her hoof as if to dismiss their cries for mercy, they had already been forgiven.

“Rise, children… I am not angry at you.” She said soothingly, slowly the changelings rose from their bows with their weapon’s lowered. “The thestrals that come with me are Americans, they escort the soldiers of Gigant’s rebellion that attacked their home as Prisoners of War. We have yet to decide what will be done with them.” The changeling in the odd armor nodded respectfully, still appearing frightened that he’d anger his mother. “Take us to the front gates, it is time we return home.” The changeling blanched nervously and tugged at the collar of his armor.

“The guards there will not like that…” He said in a shaky voice, Chrysalis and Mizu raised an eyebrow. “Gigant has guarded them with his most loyal soldiers, they will open to no one but him.”

“Let us at ‘em!” Shouted one of the Americans from the background.

“Those pricks will open up when we cut ‘em apart!”

“Stand down, that’s an order!” Rolling Thunder ordered loudly, the soldiers began to quiet down after that. Chrysalis and Mizu were shocked at how fast Gigant had been prepared his defenses, even in death he proved to be a thorn in their sides. It seemed that he’d planned for such an event in advance, but hadn’t counted on losing his head in the final stages.

“It may come to that.” Chrysalis said bleakly as she looked at the changelings around her, each of them standing at attention now, she was confident in all of their loyalty. “What is your name, child?” The changeling with the odd armor straightened up as he spoke.

“Illusion, my queen!”

“Illusion… My son… We will march on the gates, and if they refuse to open for us, we will open them ourselves. Gigant’s betrayal ends today.” Chrysalis’ tone was dark, darker than Mizu had ever heard. She could sense the anger welling up in her mother, it was almost blinding, almost. “Major Thunder.”

“Yes, your highness?” Asked the thestral, already readying his spell bow.

“I know I am not your commanding officer, I request your help anyway.” Chrysalis requested, Mizu could sense that the anger her mother felt was much greater than the calm contempt she displayed to the rest of the world.

“The President thought something like this would happen, that’s why he sent us along.” Rolling Thunder admitted before he turned towards his group of soldiers. “You heard the lady, let’s move! Alpha one and alpha two, you’re on recon! The rest of you stick with me!” The group set out over the sand, leaving the POWs to be guarded by the rest of the changelings. Chrysalis sighed, part of her anger turning to sadness. Another sign of her failure as a leader and a mother was glaring her in the eyes now. When she felt a hoof on her side she looked to see Mizu was looking at her and shaking her head.

“Don’t feel that way.” The changeling said simply, she looked to Illusion and the other heavily armored changeling soldiers. They were all putting off a sense of worry, not just for themselves, but now for their hive and their mother. Chrysalis sat down and looked out towards the group of Americans advancing on her home. She couldn’t let what was happening stand any longer.

“I will go to aid them.” She said firmly, standing up straight as her wings opened wide. She lacked armor and physical weaponry, but she didn’t care. It was more than her kingdom, it was her children’s kingdom. Mizu began to protest, but she by the time she opened her mouth Chrysalis had taken to the air with her wings buzzing like mad.

Up ahead of her the American’s were flying rapidly towards the hive’s entrance, the element of surprise was lost, so this would be a definite fire fight. Rolling Thunder straightened his helmet before coming in for a landing behind a sand dune just outside the imposing gates of the hive. The gothic structure reminded him somewhat of Thestral architecture, tall and imposing with two guard towers and walls off to the side that ran into the mountain.

The others took up similar positions, save for two thestrals that flew closer to the gate at a high altitude. Bolts of energy flew past them, missing by a few feet, the thestrals continued flying until they had gotten a good head count of the guards at the gate. Forty in all, the were outnumbered. The thestrals quickly circled back to Rolling Thunder and landed to give their report, the major sighed and cleared his throat before yelling over the sand dune at the gate.

“This is Major Rolling Thunder of the United State’s Army, surrender yourselves and open the gates or we will open fire!” He shouted.

“You and what army!” Shouted a voice from the battlements.

“I just fucking told you!” Rolling Thunder shouted back, to this the changelings responded by firing a volley of spells at the americans that had taken quick cover behind the knolls and rocks that surrounded the gates. “Alright boys, waste the motherfuckers!” The major peeked his sniper spellbow over the sandy dune and took aim at the battlements, firing a bolt at one of the Gigant supporters and painting his comrade’s head with green goo.

“Medic!” Shouted one of the thestrals off to his right, he was behind a rock that had been overgrown by shrubs. To Rolling’s left he saw one of the two medics begin to emerge behind his own cover.

“Suppressing fire!” Rolling ordered, the soldiers complied and began firing at the enemy with much more ferocity. The medic quickly sprinted across the open ground, dodging enemy fire until he slid across the sand and behind the overgrown rock. “Runner!”

“Yo!” Shouted a changeling defector to his left, hidden behind the same cover that the medic had come from.

“Head back to the column, see if you can get any of those big motherfuckers to contribute! We need heavy weapons if we wanna blast through that gate!” Rolling ordered, the runner nodded for a moment before a bolt of magic impacted near Rolling’s head. “HEY! SHOOT THAT MOTHER FUCKER!”

“Bounding!” Shouted the runner before the thestrals began pounding the enemy position again, the runner took off in the air and back towards the column, only to drop to the ground as he saw a glow forming in the sky. “INCOMING! INCOMING! GET DOWN!”

“Wha-” Rolling began to say, moments later a beam of energy impacted the gate. There was an immense boom and the gates buckled inwards. “HOLY SHIT!” Chrysalis flew over head, wings buzzing furiously as smoke wafted off of her horn. Fully charged from the meal she’d had the night before, she was absolutely furious and not about to let anyone else get between her and her children, even her own children. The Queen circled around, getting a good look at the shocked faces of the Gigant supporters before coming to land next to Rolling Thunder.

The Major just about had a heart attack as he saw her, but calmed down when she took cover behind the knoll.

“Hell of a show, ma’am!” He shouted over the noise of the intense fire between the two forces. “Would it hurt to warn us next time, or better yet, we could tell you where to hit!” Chrysalis only nodded before ducking as more bolts of magic flew over her head. “That son of a bitch in the left tower, someone fuck him up!”

“Wounded!” Shouted another voice. “I need a medic!” This time the second medic, another changeling, popped his head up. The call had come from a rock just a few feet right of his position.

“Suppressing fire!” Rolling ordered again, once again the changelings and thestrals began working together to suppress the enemy as the medic made his way to the wounded thestral. Chrysalis blinked at how organized everything seemed, despite the chaos of battle. “I got a target for you. The left tower, they got some crack shots in there, I need ‘em eighty-sixed!”

“I’ll do my best.” Chrysalis said as her horn began to glow brightly again, she had never felt so charged with energy before, perhaps human emotion was more potent than she thought. Rolling popped up and snapped off another round at the targeted tower before dropping to cover.

“Incoming heavy weapons! Take cover!” He bellowed, the American forces dropped to the ground as Chrysalis’ horn flared and an arc of energy flew towards the tower. A tower she had once helped build many years ago to defend her hive, it was a shame to destroy it, especially since it was doing its job so well. Heavy stone and dust rained down on the surrounding area as the tower was reduced to rubble, screams of fear and agony rang from the collapsing structure and a cloud of dust washed over the American positions.

When it had passed they could see that the tower, as well as a portion of the wall, had been absolutely leveled, razed to the ground, limbs of the dead defenders could be seen, some still twitching under the rubble.

“Moon above…” Rolling Thunder said in shock before shaking his head and taking aim at the other tower. The fire from the building stopped even as the American’s continued firing away, screams could be heard behind the battlements, until finally, a white strip of fabric tied to a stick began waving from the tower.

“Cease fire!” Rolling ordered loudly, gradually the firing began to taper off. “Cease fire on the firing line!” The last bolts were fired, and after a few tense moments, Rolling risked poking his head up over the dune. A few moments later a bolt flew down and landed inches from his nose, causing him to duck back behind cover. “Son of a bitch! Light ‘em up!” The fighting began once again, much to Chrysalis’ horror and dismay. “Alpha squad!”

“Sir!” Responded the group of thestrals closest to the hole in the wall.

“Advance through the hole on my mark!” Rolling shouted before looking back at Chrysalis with a dire expression. “Your highness, point your horn towards the tower.” Chrysalis blinked in confusion but did so. “Alright, give it a bit of juice.” The Queen complied once again, Rolling rubbed his hooves together and moved behind her, grabbing her tail. “I saw this tried out with unicorns back in the Canterlot battle, hope it works…”

“Alpha squad ready!” Shouted the squad near the hole.

“GO! GO! GO!” Rolling shouted before he started to turn Chrysalis' tail like a crank, her eyes widened as her horn glowed brighter. To her surprise a continuing stream of bolts flew from her horn, peppering the tower with rapid fire, the noise of the bursts was immense. “GET SOME! COME ON AND GET SOME!” Rolling tore into the tower like a stallion possessed, using the queen’s horn as a makeshift gatling gun and forcing the defenders to take cover.

“Set!” He heard the leader of Alpha squad yell, prompting him to let go of Chrysalis’ tail and fall back in cover behind the dune. The Queen sat down and rubbed at her horn, which was smoking once again, as her ears rang. She sat for several moments while Rolling and his remaining forces kept up the fire.

Beyond the wall, the squad of thestrals moved carefully over the rubble with their spellbows at the ready, thankfully it seemed that no reinforcements were being called, and so they would only have to deal with the remaining tower. The distant spell shots echoed behind the wall, as well as the screams from the wounded still trapped beneath the debris. It seemed no one had spotted the five thestrals as they entered the hole in the wall, as all focus seemed to be on the American’s outside.

Slowly they made their way up a stone staircase that lead to the right tower and remaining wall battlements. They made a tactical advance up the steps, careful to avoid the dead bodies that littered the wall, until finally they reached the top. The squad leader halted the group as he peeked over the last step, watching the defenders carefully. There were ten of them, all had their horns fixed towards the outside of the wall. One of them suddenly screamed as a bolt of magic struck him in the chest, he fell forwards out of the wall and to the ground outside.

“Keep fighting! No surrender!” Shouted the changeling that seemed in charge. “For the glory of the father-hive!” The Squad leader looked to his five compatriots and nodded, then slowly they advanced up the steps with their weapons raised. Each of them fired once, each hit their mark. Three killed, two wounded. The changeling commander turned in shock to see he’d been outflanked.

“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” The squad leader yelled loudly, one of the changelings turned but was promptly shot. “I SAID DROP ‘EM!”

“FORWARD!” Ordered the changeling commander, reaching for his sword.

“WASTE ‘EM!” Shouted the squad leader, in a hail of magic bolts the last of the Gigant defenders fell. The squad leader rushed to the ledge and waved his spellbow towards Rolling Thunder. “Clear!”

“Roger that!” Rolling shouted back, he stood up and looked at Chrysalis. She shook her head for a couple seconds as she contemplated what had just happened before she too stood up, the American’s carefully advanced on the gates. They had been so damaged that they easily were forced inwards, Chrysalis sensed that the rest of her children were close. Soon the column appeared, the heavily armored Changeling guards leading the way. In shock, the changeling known as Illusion approached the ruins of the formidable defenses, now reduced to a shambles.

“Are there any other Gigant loyalists that will oppose us, Illusion?” Chrysalis asked, the changeling rapidly turned and shook her head quickly, in awe of the destruction his mother had inflicted. The Americans were in their own state of shock, as they realized just how lucky they had been in the battle with Chrysalis. If she’d been at full power they would’ve been screwed. With a regal flip of her mane, she turned to walk into the hive. Mizu was soon at her side, she could sense that her mother was calm now, at peace with what had just happened.

“Major Thunder.” The Queen said, looking to Rolling with a neutral expression. “I would appreciate if you and your soldiers accompanied us, in case there are more surprises inside.” Rolling nodded and turned to his soldiers.

“Status report!”

“Looks like we were lucky, no KIAs sir.” Said one of his squad leaders. “Only a couple wounded, we can leave a doc to tend to them while we head inside.” Rolling Thunder nodded again.

“Alright, one doc stay here with the wounded, the rest of you on me. Let’s move ‘em out!” He ordered, the soldiers readied their weapons and began pressing on into the caves of the hive. A dim green light made itself known, the glow of odd green crystals growing out of the walls. The thestrals had more than enough light to see with their night vision, and the changelings knew the hive like the back of their hooves.

The light of the outside world gradually disappeared as the column moved in relative silence, occasionally one of the thestrals would take aim at a noise, but it would always turn out to be nothing. Eventually the group made it to the center of the hive, much larger than any of the thestrals had suspected. It was there that they saw a large mass of changelings, civilians and soldiers alike, nervously eying the force that had invaded the hive.

“I don’t like this…” Rolling heard one of his soldiers comment. “They could have snipers in here, it’s so big…”

“We’d have more problems than snipers, sonny.” Rolling replied, noting that they were hilariously outnumbered. “Company halt.” He ordered, the group came to a stop. Mizu and Chrysalis walked past them towards the changelings that had assembled, in one wave they all bowed deeply.

“Children, I have returned!” Chrysalis said loudly, the assembled changelings gradually began to stand up and view their Queen once again. “Be not afraid, the war has ended, Gigant’s insurrection is at an end.” Gradually the group began to cheer, this put Rolling and his troops at ease. “Behold, the true heir to the throne!” Chrysalis stepped aside and pointed to Mizu. “Mizu!” There was another cheer, this one echoing through the chambers of the hive so that all could hear it. “And these are our allies, the soldiers of the United States, who have just now purged the last of Gigant’s treachery from our home!” There was another cheer.

“An event like this calls for a celebration!” The Queen decreed, yet another cheer. Rolling Thunder and his troops became a bit uncertain of what was going to happen, the Queen turned and looked at him. “You and your soldiers are invited of course, we can provide better aid to your wounded soldiers as well.”

“What’a ya say, Major? Can we stay a bit? Huh? Huh? Can we?” Asked one of the thestrals.

“I’d like to see my family, sir!” Added one of the changeling defectors, Rolling thunder sighed and rolled his shoulders.

“What the hell, we can stay a bit, you colts have earned it, we were set to stay the night anyway.” The major relented, Chrysalis nodded happily and looked to Illusion and his soldiers.

“Please, help bring their wounded to the infirmary.” She said, the changeling nodded and turned to walk out. Rolling nodded to a couple of his soldiers to accompany them, just so the wounded knew that it wasn’t some sort of trick. From then on the celebration continued, it was a bit odd and impromptu, but it was a nice change of pace considering all that had happened in the passed couple days.

[♦]

Jen wandered through the town, this was the first time she’d actually gone exploring, and so far New Liberty reminded her of a normal town, only with defensive lines and a POW camp. It was quite refreshing, truth be told. Most of the stores were still closed for mourning families, but occasionally she’d see one or two of them open. The American’s on patrol were generally cordial with her when they walked passed, another thing that Jen liked. She stopped just outside the field hospital, noting that a couple of the wounded were on their way out.

Jen just shrugged, somewhat happy that they were being released. She continued her walk through the town, her boots sending up little puffs of dust as she went. Occasionally she’d think about Johnny, what he’d said earlier about Bulwark keeping quiet seemed to be true, she hadn’t heard any comments or laughter. She somewhat wondered why she couldn’t think as rationally as he could some time, then paused. If she’d said that outloud in front of Johnny she was sure there would be some sort of joking response.

Undoubtedly he was probably off trying to haggle for the supplies he’d put down on his list the other night, she’d taken the liberty of peeking at it when she was at the breakfast table earlier. The thought of him trading with ponies made her giggle, she was sure he’d find it a lot more challenging since ponies were relatively naive when it came shady business dealings. By now Jen was walking past a couple buildings that had been damaged in the battle, wood and glass littered the alleys outside of them.

Slowly she approached them, feeling an odd bit of uneasiness in her stomach. They reminded her of the bombed out buildings she would see in documentaries about Hiroshima, or more recently, the buildings that littered the Colorado landscape. Jen slowly approached the building, stopping just outside the front door to peer inside. Splintered wood and rubble littered the inside, she could see the remains of a few tables, vases were shattered on the floor with other bits of porcelain. Upon closer inspection it seemed that the damage wasn’t recent, the building had just been sitting like this since before the American’s had arrived.

Jen walked inside, her boots leaving marks in the dried mud that had formed on the floor. The wind howled through the old structure, causing the shredded curtains in the windows that ran along the sides of the building to flutter. Jen stopped just short of a hole in the roof, staring up into the sky through it for a few moments. She closed her eyes as she felt a breeze across her cheeks, in that breeze she could hear the sound of helicopter blades.

”Move! Move! Move!”

“It’s an executive order.”

“Whiskey Five Five. Whiskey Five Five.”

Jen shook her head rapidly, the memories were dispelled just as quickly, after a few moments of silently standing there she heard a creak of wood behind her, she jumped and turned around rapidly. Dominic was standing in the doorway, a cigar hanging from his lips. His jacket was open, revealing he was wearing a t shirt and jeans. Atop his head was the West German cap he’d acquired recently. His expression didn’t change when Jen turned around, he silently straightened up and crossed his arms.

“You alright?” He finally asked, Jen blinked for a few moments in confusion before nodding quickly.

“Yeah! Yeah, just… Exploring, I guess.” She replied, the man nodded slowly and walked into the destroyed building, looking around quietly as he puffed on his cigar. “You scared me.”

“Sorry… I guess an elmo like me just pops out of nowhere.” The tone he used veiled a bit of annoyance, obviously he’d had a run in with Johnny recently. Jen sighed and shook her head. “That boyfriend of yours is certainly a charmer…”

“Johnny’s just a little rough around the edges, but once you get to know him he’s sweet.” Jen replied, the Dominic just grunted as he walked towards one of the chairs that still survived in the destroyed building.

“Translated… He’s an asshole but you get used to it.” He put his foot up on the chair, causing it to groan, before he knelt down and began tying his shoe. Jen frowned, she was certain that Dominic and Johnny were going to be at odds for a while. “That’s alright, I’m an asshole too…” He finished tying off his boot and then sat down in the chair, Jen watched him for a few more moments, wondering what to say next. A pained look crossed his face, it was clear from the way he rubbed his leg that it was still quite sore, but Jen could see more to it than that. “You said you met Maria… I’ve just been… Something’s been eating at me for a bit.”

“What’s wrong?” Jen asked, she turned and walked a bit closer to the man, then leaned against one of the fallen rafters.

“Does she hate me, for… What I did?” His tone was quiet, almost like that of a child. “I saw she was still alive, the mulchers were nearly on top of us, I didn’t want her to suffer… But I missed.”

“She doesn’t hate you, in fact as I said she speaks fondly of you.” Jen watched the man take another puff of his cigar, it was clear that there was a lot of something going on inside. “There’s something else, isn’t there…?”

“Before it happened… I had her in my arms, trying to keep her awake, and she said…” Dominic trailed off as his voice caught in his throat, after a moment he continued. “She said that she loved me…” Jen’s eyes widened for a moment. “I… I thought she was dead, and now I know she isn’t… I care about her a lot, but… There’s someone else I care about too, and I know they care about me.”

“Luna?” Jen asked, Dominic nodded quietly. “I see…”

“I don’t know what to do, Jen… And I know I don’t know you well, but, you’re the only other human that I can really talk to about this.” The man sighed and leaned back in his seat, letting his cigar hang from his lips once again. Jen looked at him for a few moments, then took a deep breath.

“It may come as a comfort to know you’re not alone in that regard.” Jen said, Dominic looked at her with a bit of surprise. “Back on earth it’s actually happened a lot, someone thinks they’ve lost their wife or their husband, moves on and finds another, and out of the wastes their lover comes strolling in.” Jen pulled up her own chair and sat down in front of Dominic so she could better look him in the eye. “It’s lead to some pretty weird scenarios, but, generally people are easy going about it. Pretty hard to be mad over that stuff when the world’s come to an end.”

Dominic continued looking at her, a bit surprised by what she seemed to be implying.

“Look, from what I heard from Maria about you, you’re a pretty old fashioned guy. In all honesty you sound a bit more like my father than I care to admit.” Jen continued, she hoped that she was making it a bit easier for Dominic. “It’s not a bad thing to feel conflicted, it’s actually kind of sweet, but with changing times, you may find it’s not necessary. Be concerned, but don’t keep yourself up over it, let the chips fall where they may.”

“You think so?” Dominic asked, Jen nodded with a slight smile. “Alright… I’ll try.” The man stood up and adjusted the cap on his head. “Thanks for the talk…”

“Wait, you’re just gonna go?” Jen asked, the man tilted his head in a bit of surprise. “You don’t wanna talk about your thing with Luna?” Dominic scratched his head at that.

“What thing? Why is it your business?” He asked.

“You know what thing, and you just made it my business! Come on, gimme details!” Jen stood up and poked him a couple times, he looked more surprised than anything. Jen hoped that acting a little silly would put a smile on his face, and it seemed to work after a few more prods.

“Alright… Well, I didn’t really know how she felt until recently, when I had my little chat with Discord.” Dominic began, he sat back in his chair and Jen did the same. Occasionally a gust of wind would put a bit of chill on Jen’s bare arms, but the desert heat still made her glad to have chosen just her tank top. The ruins of the building occasionally creaked, but it didn’t really seem dangerous. “That was the same time I heard there was a chance I could help Maria and the rest of mankind.”

“So you’re just like Johnny…” Jen said with a giggle, Dominic raised an eyebrow. “He was completely oblivious to everything I did to try and get him to notice me, until finally I just had to straight up kiss him for him to get the message.” Jen looked around for a moment. “Maybe it’s just something all you guys have. Like refrigerator blindness.”

“I guess?” Dominic replied, Jen could tell that he wasn’t very well versed in relationship talk, she realized that the situation he was in was probably his first relationship ever, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit bad that he was getting such a bad first time. “I always just thought we were really good friends.”

“Well, hopefully it all works out in the end.” Jen said with a bit of a cheer. “Did you and Luna kiss yet?” Dominic’s eyes widened and he quickly looked at the floor, doing his best to hide his cheeks. “Oh my gosh, you did!”

“Shut up…” He said in an annoyed tone as he crossed his arms. “It just sort of happened.”

“But it happened!” Jen beamed, she swayed back and forth in her seat with a giddy smile. “Tell me about it!”

“What? No! What are you, some sort of clopper?” Dominic said, still trying to hide his face. Jen was just about ready to break out laughing, it was certainly entertaining watching the big muscled guy reduced to some sort of blushing school boy.

“Alright alright… I’ll stop.” Jen relented, Dominic sat up a bit straighter after that. “But since you brought up the word clopper…”

“Nope. I’m not having this discussion.” Dominic said with a decisive wave of his hand.

“Come on!”

“No! I swear, you’re worse than Maria sometimes.” Dominic crossed his arms again and leaned back in his seat. “Why are you so interested in that, anyway? I can get the Luna thing, but why anything else?”

“Because I’m bored, and for all intents and purposes, you’ve made me your ‘Romance Advisor’.” Jen replied in a snarky tone. “Oh, do I get business cards?” Dominic scowled at that. “Fine, we’ll talk about it later then, but we are gonna talk about it. I’m pretty good with romance stuff.”

“Reading one novel doesn’t make you an expert.” Dominic said, a smirk crossing his face. Jen’s face flushed red as she stammered, the look she gave seemed to ask ‘How did you know!?’. “Johnny tends to let his mouth run when he's upset, you should talk to him about that, it gets annoying after a while.” Jen continued stammering as Dominic stood up and tipped his hat. “Oh, and Bulwark reminded me to put your house on the top of the list for thicker walls.”

“Th-That… That… That little fink!” Jen fumed, it was Dominic’s turn to contain his giggles. The blushing woman quickly stood up and stormed out of the destroyed building, Dominic guessed she was looking for her boyfriend and his general. Feeling a bit better than he had before, the man took a puff of his cigar and walked out of the building on his own, limping along towards the capitol building. He put in his earbuds and flipped through his songs, settling on a bit of classical.

Dominic hoped that the days would get better as time went on, at least he had some tunes to help make it bearable. It was a good trade for the hat that he’d given to Jen. The man continued walking, looking around for a few moments before he entered the capitol building. After that he’d go on to do some work, make a couple orders for different items, and try to lay a basic plan out for Operation: Terra Nova. At least the plan had a name now, that was a good start.

Dominic still didn’t know how he’d get certain things to work, like communications. He’d need radios at least, but Equestria lacked radios, and he lacked the knowledge to build them. It seemed he’d have to get his hands on one and reverse engineer it, but he hadn’t thought of how to do that yet. There was a lot of things he needed that Equestria just lacked technologically, but Dominic was resourceful, he’d figure it out one way or another. He reached his office and removed his hat, then sat down in his chair and listened to the last bit of classical music.

He was about to reach up to remove the earbuds when he heard a song come on, slowly his hand dropped to the desk. It was a song that had annoyed Dominic before the outbreak, a parody of ‘California Girls’ titled ‘Equestria Girls’. Slowly a smile began to spread across his lips, a chuckle began to rise from his throat. That chuckle began to grow into a laugh, deep and hearty, which then turned nearly maniacal. Dominic calmed himself down and straightened up in his seat, then picked up a piece of paper and began to scribble on it.

When he was younger he had spent a good portion of his free time playing Risk with his dad, that was where he’d grown to love the 1812 overture. It had been years since he’d played the game, but he still remembered the rush he would get when the perfect strategy presented itself. That same rush was running through him again, a smile crossing his lips, in his mind he’d solved a piece of the puzzle. He’d have to wait until the meeting with Johnny and Jen before he could share it with them, but at least he had more than a start.
> Chapter 54
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks passed by, Rolling Thunder and his detachment returned with carts loaded down with the reparations as well as sixty or so Changelings that had been disenfranchised by the rule of Gigant. The Equestrian battalion gradually began being sent home as the town’s defensive posture relaxed. Dominic had pitched Operation: Terra Nova to the Princesses, knowing that he would need at least some of their help in order to make it work. At first, Celestia had had her doubts, but eventually she and Luna agreed to assist.

Dominic’s plan to acquire human technology was a different story, dubbed Operation: Static, the Princesses had been far more critical of it. The man knew that there was a world similar to the human world beyond a portal in the Crystal Empire, something confirmed by Jen, and had proposed going through in order to retrieve the equipment he needed. By the second week of waiting Dominic was starting to get antsy, but he had other matters to attend to, chief among them was the first meeting of the heads of Task Force Grey, the part of America’s military that would carry out Terra Nova.

The sun was just rising over the hills of New Liberty, the chill of morning still hung in the air, most of the town’s occupants were asleep or just waking up. A couple changelings patrolled the streets, on the outskirts a number of new recruits were being trained. In the office of the President, three humans, a thestral, and two alicorns were seated around a table with papers laid out in front of them. Dominic with with his hat resting on the table, Jen with her camouflage jacket over her shoulders, and Johnny with his eyes narrowed as he rubbed the sleep from them.

General Bulwark and the princesses sat across from each other at the round meeting table, both sides eyeing the other up.

“This is the first meeting of Task Force Grey, I think it would be prudent if we all went about sharing our thoughts on our task.” Dominic began, looking at the assembled group. “We already have armored vehicles in the works, and a proposal for a means of getting the other equipment we need.”

“Stealth should be our top priority when dealing with urban areas, sound echoes with all those buildings.” Jen spoke up, straightening up as she did so. “The changelings have demonstrated an ability to walk on ceilings and walls, they would be ideal to hand tasks like that.”

“We won’t be able to rely on magic when we’re in our world.” Dominic stated, Jen nodded.

“It’s a biological function of theirs, it shouldn’t be an issue.” She added, Dominic and Bulwark nodded at that, Johnny seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all, but figured it was a good opportunity to learn. 

“Of course, all the stealth in the world won’t matter if we can’t communicate quietly, which brings the discussion to Operation: Static.” Bulwark said as he took his pipe from his uniform’s breast pocket. All eyes shifted from him to the princesses, specifically Celestia, as she’d shown the most hesitance with the operation. The Princess sat quietly for a few moments before letting out a tentative sigh.

“Taking into account what you’ve told us about what happens in the alternate world, and how it could adversely affect our own…” She began, with another sigh she looked at Luna who gave a simple nod. “We agree, Operation: Static is our best course of action for acquiring the resources we need.”

“Excellent.” Bulwark said, turning to look at Dominic and Jen. “We’ll go into further detail on that later, for now though, let’s get back to the armored vehicles and their armaments. You had me order thick pipes and ball bearings, as well as some other chemicals, I’m a little confused by that.”

“Grapeshot.” Dominic said simply, he turned his gaze towards the shotgun hanging on his wall. “The infected won’t go down with normal fire unless you shred them or take out the head, grapeshot should accomplish both of those on a large scale.” Jen nodded at the assessment, as many times she’d found herself thinking a giant shotgun would be the best defense against the zombies.

The meeting continued on as planned, for a meeting about going to another dimension it was actually rather boring. It was decided that Jen, Johnny and Dominic would handle training and equipment as they had the most experience with the infected, General Bulwark would handle organization in the new United States and Equestria would handle logistics and supplies. Task Force Grey was starting to take shape, and Dominic couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at the prospect.

Normally he would’ve taken a moment to speak with Luna about things between them, he was a bit worried that she was avoiding him. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. As the Princesses left the room, it was clear that it was time to discuss Operation: Static. Dominic wanted it secure, very secure, to the point that he had the building sealed off and the windows covered. With snipers on the roof and guards on the entrance, the capitol would’ve been very difficult to even get close to.

With an oil lamp as the only source of light in the room now that the window was covered, General Bulwark and the humans looked at eachother with trepidation. This wasn’t something that could be handled by regular forces alone, they would need some sort of guide with them. Jen and Dominic were the only ones qualified with that sort of knowledge, so it was clear it would be one of them.

“Alright.” Jen spoke up in a tone neither Johnny or Dominic had heard from her, it had been a while since she’d exercised her command chops, it felt good to stretch the old military muscle. “We know that this is going to require a list of items we’ll need, but we’ll also need to keep in mind that we could come off as suspicious if we buy anything odd.”

“How will we even pay for it?” Dominic asked before holding up a finger. “And what if they want ID?” Jen and the others paused, Johnny slowly began to raise his hand until Dominic pointed at him.

“Well, here’s a thought. You’re not looking to spend a long time there, right? You’re just going to get the stuff and leave, so, I dunno, why not just lift the stuff?” He suggested, Dominic and Jen looked at eachother for a moment, the woman looked about ready to tell Johnny to drop that idea, but Dominic beat her to it.

“That’s plan b.” He explained, much to Jen’s annoyance. “Though, you seem like quite the trader, if the notice I received about our ‘Desperately needed apple juice’ coming is any indication.” There was a slight pause as the strike of a match drew their attention to General Bulwark, he puffed on his pipe a few times before clearing his throat and leaning forwards.

“Y’all mentioned something about transformation, right? A pony form our world turns into a human in the other one and a dragon to a dog and so on.” The general said, Jen and Dominic nodded. “So, why not just take some of our money and IDs with you, if what you said is true with everything they should just convert magically.” Dominic would’ve promoted Bulwark to a five star right then and there if he could, the answer seemed like a pretty simple one.

“That… Actually makes sense.” Jen said, humming and rubbing her chin. “Alright, we’ll give that a shot too.” Dominic picked up a piece of paper and began writing the supplies they would need down with a pen. Handheld radios, CB radios, antennas, and so on.

“We’ll need a way of moving this stuff, a cart or something.” Dominic said, another nod all around. Bulwark was taking notes as he prepared to type up the mission briefs. “But let’s step back from logistics for a moment, we’re going to need some good troops supporting us, and they’re gonna need to blend in.”

“Major Rolling Thunder is the first one I’d suggest, he’s one of our best operators, cool headed and sharp as a tack.” Bulwark commented, Dominic nodded in agreement. “Number two I’d say go with Fortress Wall, that colt’s tough as nails and should blend well with a civilian crowd.”

“What about Chipped Blade?” Asked Jen, she’d been made familiar with the sniper, as she herself was a bit of a markswoman. When she’d met him he almost reminded her of a normal survivor and not a thestral, the way he pulled off shots as efficiently as possible seemed off coming from such a cute pony.

“Chipped is a good operator…” Dominic said quietly. “Hell, I’ve known him a pretty long time, but… His old commander Errant, another good friend of mine, bought the farm in the war with Chrysalis.” Jen seemed a bit surprised by this, but then again, Chipped Blade hadn’t talked much to her.

“She was more like his mom than a CO, he’s still a bit shaken up by it.” Bulwark added, Dominic contributed another nod. “Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall should do pretty well, sending anymore than that could be risky.”

“And who’s acting as trailblazer here?” Jen spoke up, once again the room went quiet. “It’s me or Dominic, I’m willing to do it if-”

“I’ll go.” Dominic said, cutting her off quickly as he adjusted his coat. Bulwark began to object, but stopped as he saw the look on the president’s face. “It won’t be a dangerous mission, and I need someone qualified training our forces here while I’m off playing stranger in a strange land.”

“Who’s gonna be in charge while you’re away?” Bulwark asked, Dominic pointed at him rather quickly. “Me!?”

“You’ll have Sonar with you, she practically runs the place anyway.” Dominic’s tone was the kind that basically told Bulwark to stop talking. “She’s been alright, I’m surprised how well she’s been handling it, all things considered… Just don’t put too much on her shoulders.”

“Of course not, sir.” Bulwark said, by now there was a pretty long list of things to get from the other world. Most of them related to radio equipment, but some seemed odd. Clothing and other items, Dominic drew a line over them and wrote ‘To be traded’. In case they needed to trade with survivors during Operation: Terra Nova, they’d have something to actually trade with. Once again, the meeting was relatively boring after that, they discussed how they would handle things if they should run into anyone the knew in the other world, and eventually the topic of dealing with Sunset Shimmer. That was what they had promised Celestia and Luna to deal with, after all.

By the end of the meeting it was midday, and all of them were hungry, tired, or both. Dominic gave the order to unseal the building and gradually the group filtered out of his office, Bulwark was first to go, as he had to brief and prepare the soldiers for the coming mission. Johnny left next, stating that he wanted to scope out a site for his own little operation.

That left Jen and Dominic, the latter was already limping towards his desk to blow out the oil lamp. He expected the door to his office to close, but instead he heard the sound of a chair being dragged towards his desk.

“Something up?” He asked over his shoulder as he made his way to the window and pulled open the curtains that had blocked it out. Jen sat down in front of his desk and shook her head as she crossed her arms.

“No, I just wanted to check on the Luna situation.” Jen replied, Dominic sighed and limped back towards his desk. When he sat down he saw that the woman was watching him with a bit of concern.

“I haven’t seen her a lot lately, and I’m kind of worried I drove a wedge between us.” Dominic said honestly, his expression became worried. “I don’t know if I should make a move, stand down, or… I don’t know.”

“She’s probably distancing herself because she knows we’re getting closer to Terra Nova, and if it turns out you love Maria more than her, she doesn’t want to be hurt as much.” Jen replied, she took off her camouflage jacket and set it in her lap, reduced to her normal attire of a tank top. She’d had a couple imported from a minotaur store, child sizes seemed to fit her alright. “I’d recommend going to talk with her, maybe inviting her to a meal or stargazing.”

“But what about Maria?” Dominic asked a bit nervously.

“I’m not saying you have to fuck her, Dominic, just spend time with her. Like that Billy Joel song says, tell her about how you feel.” Said Jen with a bit of a snarky voice, Dominic did his best to hide the red that crossed his cheeks, even thinking about that in a joking way seemed to be his kryptonite. “Last couple weeks I’ve seen you’re a pretty decent guy, a little on the idiot side when it comes to romance, but still a decent guy. If the world hadn’t gone to shit I’ve got no doubt you’d be beating girls back with a stick. Have a little confidence in yourself.”

“Yeah… Confidence…” Dominic said, looking towards the desk quietly. “That’s not something I’ve ever really been good with, at least, not with people. On the battlefield I charge right in, but… I’m terrified of people.”

“Luna isn’t some random stranger, she’s your friend, she wants to be more than your friend. She’s not gonna slap you if you fuck up at first.” Jen continued, Dominic nodded again and straightened up in his seat.

“You’re right…” He said with a bit more confidence, Jen smiled at that and saw the perfect opportunity for some silliness, she knew that always seemed to get the young man in front of her to lighten up.

“If you do end up fucking her though, be sure to tell me all about it!” Jen’s statement was followed by a shit eating grin. Dominic stared at her, stammering for words as his face grew gradually redder and redder. “Come on, you know I’m messing with you.”

“Yeah, but… It’s just, weird talking about it so… casually.” Was the hurried response, Jen chuckled again and stood up from her chair.

“Look, I’m gonna find moonbutt and send her up here, so you’ve got until then to think of something to do.” Jen said, Dominic’s eyes widened as he stood up.

“Wait!” He started, by then Jen was already running out the door and down the steps. With a groan Dominic sat down in his seat, muttering several italian swear words he’d picked up from his grandmother. Either way he knew he was in trouble, on the one hand if he told Luna that Jen had put him up to it he could hurt her feelings. On the other, he had no fucking idea what to do or say, but something Jen had said stood out in his mind. “That… Cunningly brilliant little... She just leaves a little seed in your head and boom.”

Dominic was referring to the suggestion of stargazing, which by all counts, was a brilliant idea. It brought back a few memories that the man had forgotten, the nights when he’d lay out in his backyard and look up at the night sky, staring up at the moon and just thinking about how beautiful it had to be up there. Dominic had been brought up to dream of being a soldier, but deep down he’d always wanted to be an astronaut. It took him a few moments to realize that he’d teared up, but he was quick to wipe his eyes.

He’d ask Luna to go stargazing with him, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it earlier, but then again, he didn’t have a ‘Romantic Advisor’ earlier. Gradually he fell back into the routine of his normal work, occasionally pausing to think about the latest risk he would take. He’d have to tell Luna about it sooner or later, but he knew she’d understand, she always understood. He’d mistaken her for Maria a few times, when he’d been injured or out of his mind, perhaps because he felt the same way about her.

There was a knock on the door, causing him to freeze up, he peeked at the clock and saw it had been nearly half an hour. He hadn’t made any progress on his work, he’d just been reading the same line of text over and over again.

“Come in.” He said in a bit of a shaking tone, the door opened inwards and sure enough he saw Luna. She appeared a tad surprised, and a little concerned.

“Dominic, Jen said thou needed to see us urgently. What’s wrong?” She asked, Dominic paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second.

“Nothing’s wrong, Luna, she’s just overreacting…” He said, Luna seemed to relax after that. Dominic could feel his heart pounding in his chest, he couldn’t believe he was going to ask her to go stargazing, he was essentially flying by the seat of his pants. “I… Did want to talk to you though.”

“Oh?” Luna perked up, Dominic nodded and said a silent prayer to himself. He was psyching himself up, the man was willing to go to war but he couldn’t ask a simple question, that wouldn’t do. He internally gritted his teeth, his mind going to red alert with one hand on the launch key and the other on the abort button.

“I… Uh… I was kind of wondering if maybe you’d want to… There’s this hill outside of town that I go to to relax and…” Dominic sighed as he tried to think of what he wanted to say, Luna was watching him closely, a bit perplexed. “I wanted to ask if maybe you’d want to go there with me tonight… And just sort of, look at the stars?”

“Dominic…” Luna said, appearing a little hopeful. “Art thou asking us out?” Dominic nodded quickly and nervously. He knew that Luna wouldn’t say anything hurtful, but he still prepared for the sting of rejection. “Thou… Wisheth to gaze upon our night?” Dominic nodded again. “That… We would love to!” The princess practically ran around the desk to give the man a very tight hug, so tight that Dominic began to flail around in need of air. “Sorry…”

“It’s alright.” Dominic said, internally cheering, and then questioning if that was the right thing to do. “I’ll uh… I’ll see you tonight then?” Luna nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course! We shall be here around twelve, our night is at it’s brightest then!” Luna gave the man another hug before she happily trotted out of the room, Dominic blinked a couple times before he stood up. Deciding to say ‘fuck it’ to the confliction he felt for once, he triumphantly pumped his fist.

“‘MURICA! FUCK YEAH!” He said loudly.

[♦]

Jen quietly adjusted her jacket as she leaned against the building just outside the capitol, she’d seen Luna rush in a few minutes earlier and she was eager to see if anything happened. Sure enough, after awhile, she saw the lunar princess leave the building. The wide smile and bound in her step was enough for Jen to see that Dominic had come up with something, she knew that he would. Jen had figured out that the man worked best when he was on the fly, so by presenting him with a sudden challenge, she’d given him the best opportunity he could have.

The woman was honestly happy for the young man, she enjoyed being able to help him with something that was relatively personal. As she thought about it, she guessed she was a bit of a den mother. Slowly her smile began to fade as she thought more about all the people she’d taken care of in the past. At least half of them were dead now. Jen didn’t know why she continued to get attached to people, she knew that it was only setting herself up to get hurt in the end. At least now it looked like that would change.

With a faint sigh Jen stopped leaning against the building and began walking down the street towards her home. She tucked her hands into her pockets as she went, contemplating the day’s events a bit further. The were a couple steps closer to returning to Earth, and for the first time it seemed what they were doing was a real possibility. Jen knew she might have to return to the planet that had been ravaged by disease, but that was something she could deal with if it meant saving lives.

As she passed by the field hospital once again she saw the familiar smiling face of Fortress Wall standing guard at the door, there was a bandage around his head but otherwise he was unharmed. The stallion gave Jen a wave that she returned with a bit of a smile before continuing on with her walk. After a few minutes she felt a familiar creeping sensation in the back of her neck, she quickly looked over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone.

Jen quietly sighed again as she was very close to the house, but part of her didn’t want to go inside just yet. The woman continued on past her home, down the mainstreet, until she came to the defensive trench. She looked up and down the strip of moved earth before she quietly sat down and dangled her legs over the edge. A silent wind blew over the area, kicking up a bit of the desert sand and sending a few tumbleweeds along the dirt. Jen closed her eyes as she looked out over that landscape, just trying to relax her mind for a bit. She didn’t let anyone see, but the woman had a tendency to take on more stress than she needed to.

Just as she was getting ready to open her eyes she heard hooves marching along the trench, she’d almost forgotten it was part of an actual military installation. Jen opened her eyes and looked for the source, to her surprise she recognized the stallion coming down the trench with his weapon over his shoulder. Chipped Blade hadn’t noticed her yet, he had a cigarette hanging from his lips and looked like he was off in his own world. Slowly Jen lowered herself into the trench, feeling a bit concerned for the young stallion after what she’d heard in the meeting earlier.

Eventually Chipped caught sight of the woman, slowing down and eventually stopping, appearing a bit surprised by the woman in the trench. The two of them stared for a moment or two before the stallion cleared his throat.

“I need to get by.” He said, gesturing to Jen. The trench was designed with ponies in mind, so while it was deep enough for a human, it wasn’t wide enough for one without blocking the path.

“Oh, right, sorry I forgot.” Jen replied as she pulled herself up the side for a moment. Chipped Blade just nodded and walked past her, once he’d done so Jen lowered herself back down and began to follow behind him. At first she could see him tense up, then after a few minutes he relaxed.

“Help you with something?” He asked over his shoulder.

“I just wanted to check on you, you weren’t very talkative when we first met.” Jen replied, Chipped shrugged and continued walking along the trench.

“I didn’t know what to say to an alien sniper lady then, and I don’t know what to say to one now.” He said with a grim tone, by now they were coming to the end of the first leg of the trench. “What’s your angle here? Why’re you talking to me all of a sudden?”

“I dunno, I just think you’re interesting, from what I’ve seen not a lot of ponies can do what you with such efficiency.” Jen replied, it wasn’t a lie, she really did find that aspect of the stallion interesting.

“I had a good teacher.” Chipped said, pausing mid step before starting again.

“Lieutenant Colonel Errant, right?” Jen asked, Chipped Blade froze and turned around to glare at the woman.

“Don’t talk about her, you didn’t know her.” He said harshly, Jen crouched down as she saw he was starting to get emotional. Now on his level she could see in his eyes that he was still very upset about the death of Errant, and the others had been right, he was close to snapping. “Why do you even care?”

“Because it seems like you’ve shut everyone out, soldier.” Jen said, adding a bit of her command tone. “I may not have the bars to show it, but I’m gonna be your CO very soon, and the mission you’re being chosen for is very important.” That got Chipped Blades attention, the tone she used was hauntingly familiar, as if he was hearing the voice of a ghost. “I don’t know how it is here, but in my world the COs look after their troops. So if you’re feeling upset or just want to talk, I’m all ears, but don’t think I’ll let you sulk all day like you’ve been doing.”

“I… I… I just miss her…” Chipped finally admitted as he sat down on the floor of the trench. “If I’d been a little faster maybe I could’ve saved her, and… That’s why I got so efficient.” The stallion found himself suddenly pulled forwards by a pair of arms into a gentle hug, it was a bit awkward at first, but eventually he returned it. It was alien, and yet familiar, and it made him feel safe for the first time in a long time.

“You did all you could…” Jen told him as she patted his back softly. “It’s going to be okay, Chipped…” She let go of him and looked at the stallion warmly, he seemed to have lightened up a bit.

“Thanks… I don’t know why, but… I needed that.” The stallion straightened up and gave a light salute. “I’m gonna finish up my patrol now.” Jen nodded and stood up, as the stallion marched off she climbed out of the trench and began walking back towards the town. Overhead she heard the flap of leathery wings, sure enough when she looked up she saw five thestrals flying east in a combat formation. She assumed they were training or on a scouting flight, as it seemed the rest of the town was calm.

Eventually she reached the main street after a few twists and turns, doing her best to avoid the Equestrian guards that still seemed to give her trouble. In the weeks since the funerals the town had livened up quite a bit, a few shops had been opened, and more ponies were out and about than before, some of them avoided the changelings that were out, but for the most part it was peaceful.

Jen stopped as she reached her front door, she could hear a child’s laugh off in the distance. Her hand quickly gripped the door handle and entered the storefront, she shook her head quickly as she closed the door and shrugged off the memories. As she looked around she could see that Johnny had made some progress in clearing out the shelves, the debris of which was most likely off being traded as firewood somewhere. Jen walked up the stairs to their living space and looked around, sure enough Johnny wasn’t there.

The woman approached the bed and picked up her pillow, from beneath it she withdrew an old paperback novel. The cover depicted a handsome man with flowing black hair that was standing between a woman and a sword, the title read ‘The Knight in No Armor’. Jen quietly looked around, checking to make sure she was alone, before she took off her boots and relaxed on the bed with the book. She bit her lip as she opened it to where she’d last left off, a rather hot scene between the book’s main character and the black haired knight. To her shock a slip of paper fell from the page, she quickly picked it up as it looked like there was writing on it.

“I didn’t know you were into that… Love Johnny…” She read aloud, the red in her face returned, half of it embarrassment, the other half anger. “Oh, I’ll show him just how into that I am!” She declared, with a sigh she set the piece of paper aside and went back to her reading.

[♦]

Dominic paced back and forth nervously in his office, the day had gone by so fast and he hadn’t had time to think of anything else besides the stargazing. He didn’t know if he needed to even come up with anything else or not, but then again, he supposed this was all part of Jen’s sick mind games. The sun had set hours before, and now that he looked at the clock he was shocked to see that already it was eleven thirty.

Outside he could see the night was beautiful, he knew that Luna must’ve put a lot of work into it to make it such a sight. That added a bit to the man’s stress level, momentarily his eyes shifted over to the liquor cabinet, but he rapidly shook his head. Luna deserved better than that, he’d stick it out clean sober. Dominic had considered wearing his suit, but then decided against it, as they were going to be laying out in the sand and it probably would be a bad idea.

Dominic’s heart froze as he heard a knock on his door, his eyes flicked to the clock, now reading eleven thirty five. She was early, not that he minded, he was just hoping he’d have more time to prepare himself mentally. With a deep breath the man walked towards the door, his hand rested on the handle for a few moments. When he heard another set of knocks he opened the door, when he did he felt his jaw drop.

Luna stood there with her mane done in a style that Dominic had to admit was very pretty, she’d added a bit of makeup, and all in all Dominic couldn’t believe how different it made her appear. She gave him a warm smile, appearing a bit nervous herself, Dominic now felt like he was both under dressed and out of his league. For a few moments he stared before he quickly shook himself out of it.

“Hey!” He said, sounding more nervous than he intended.

“Hello.” Luna replied, smiling a bit more. “I’m sorry I came earlier than expected.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Dominic replied, he paused as he realized she wasn’t using the royal we. He’d heard her speak without it under the use of a spell, but, he kind of liked it. Luna noticed he seemed nervous and cleared her throat. “Uh, right…. So, anyway, the hills on the outskirts of town, which is kind of a good thing you came early. We should be able to get there by twelve.”

“Excellent!” Luna said, Dominic nodded and ran a hand through his hair. The man adjusted his coat and nodded, unsure of what to say next.

“Shall we?” He finally decided, Luna nodded with another smile and the two of them descended the steps of the capitol building. Once outside Dominic began walking towards the edge of town, being sure to stay close to Luna as he did so. “So… How’ve you been lately? I haven’t seen you.”

“I’ve been busy, this plan you have is quite an undertaking.” Luna replied, Dominic frowned a bit at that, now feeling guilty for taking up her time. Luna seemed to pick up on that relatively quickly, she was quick to follow up to try and reduce the damage “It’s not all bad though, I’ve gotten to spend a lot more time with my sister, she’s starting to warm up to you.”

“That’s good… I think?” Dominic asked, looking over at her and receiving a nod. By now the two of them had walked out past the last building and were just coming up on the defensive trench that surrounded the town. “I’ve been talking with Jen about things, she says I shouldn’t worry as much about us.”

“She’s right.” Luna said as she daintily hopped the trench, Dominic jumped himself and landed with a light thud before continuing to walk. “Dominic, you and I have been friends for a while, and no matter what happens, nothing will change how I feel about you in that regard.” Dominic quietly sighed as he looked at the princess, still a bit nervous about what was happening. “I’m very glad you asked me out though.” Luna smiled faintly and twirled her mane with her magic. The two of them walked for a while longer, just chatting about things that had happened recently, until finally the two of them crested the top of the hill.

Dominic removed his coat and set it on the ground flat, then sat down beside it and patted it with his hand.

“Here, I don’t want you to get all sandy.” He said, Luna smiled and laid down on the coat beside him. Silently the two of them stared up at the stars above, the moon was in its full glory and everything about it just seemed perfect. The lack of light pollution made each of the stars seem to pop out like little beacons against the inky background of space. “It’s beautiful…”

“Thank you.” Luna murmured, looking over at him with that same warm smile. “It wasn’t that hard to do, I just had to think about something I cared about, and that was pretty easy to think of.” Dominic tried his best to hide the grin that spread across his face, something about this just seemed so nice. The worry and stress melted away and Dominic found himself feeling genuinely happy.

“I always wanted to be an astronaut…” Dominic admitted quietly. “That’s kind of how I got the idea for this, you know?” Luna nodded and stared back at her night sky, the moonlight illuminating the landscape for miles around.

“You told me once, I think.” Luna replied, Dominic shrugged at that. “I’m a bit curious about why you’d choose that though, I thought everyone in your family was a soldier at one point.” Dominic nodded and pointed at the moon.

“That’s why.” He said simply. “When I was a kid I used to watch all kinds of space movies with my old man, and it always fascinated me… It always looked so beautiful.” There was some real emotion in his voice now, Luna could tell this was something that he cared deeply about, perhaps on a primal level even. “I always wanted to go up there and walk on the moon, look down on the earth…”

“I can understand why, during my banishment, gazing upon our world was the only thing that really kept me sane.” Luna’s voice held that same sort of emotion to it. “Technically, the stories say I was banished in the moon, not on the moon, but that’s more of a typo…” Her joking tone got a little laugh out of Dominic, but eventually the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

“Would you go back?” Dominic asked suddenly, Luna looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “If you could go back up there again, just to look around, would you?” The mare paused and slowly she nodded her head as she continued to think.

“I’d go, but only if I could bring you with me.” The princess admitted. “I can sense just how much you love my night and my moon, I know… When I see that look on your face you’re thinking of a time that was a lot simpler.”

“That’s not all I think about.” Dominic turned his head to look at Luna with a sad smile, he felt a lot better about everything that was happening now. Sharing his feelings with her felt natural, it felt right, and it filled him with a warm feeling he’d only felt when he was with Maria. He hadn’t known what that feeling was before, but now he was starting to figure it out. “I… I think about you, too…” Luna smiled once again, and Dominic couldn’t help smile as well, after a few moments he scooted closer to her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Do you want to see something special?” Luna asked, Dominic raised an eyebrow at her. “The night sky is my tapestry, I can add to it as I see fit… Would you like to watch?”

“I’d love to, Luna…” Dominic replied, the princess smiled and her horn began to glow. It lit up the area around them, and gradually a wind began to form that picked up dust and sand. The princess gradually rose off jacket beneath her, floating upwards as her wings opened wide and her eyes began to shine brightly. Dominic watched her in awe, in the sky she could see stars moving around and clearing away. Slowly an image began to form, one that Dominic quickly recognized.

A constellation formed into the shape of a Roman soldier, armed with a gladius and a shield, the blade was held triumphantly outwards while the shield was at rest. Dominic looked back to Luna, the mare had her hooves spread wider as her horn glowed almost blindingly. Then, there was a sudden pulsing noise and gradually she floated back to the ground, panting and rubbing at her eyes.

“That was beautiful.” Dominic said as he looked between her and the new constellation, it was far more detailed than any of the other ones he’d seen in the sky, far larger as well. “Are you alright?” He put a hand on her foreleg in concern, Luna only nodded as she caught her breath before relaxing back onto his jacket.

“I’m fine, just a little winded.” She said, after a few more pants she was back to her normal relaxed state. “I’d been planning on doing that for a special occasion, but… Now felt like as good a time as any.” The princess was suddenly grabbed in a tight hug, she was surprised at how rapid it had been and how tight Dominic was holding her, but she didn’t shy away. After a few more minutes Dominic let go and went back to laying next to her.

“Certainly not what I was expecting from tonight…” He said, it was only now starting to sink in that Luna had made a constellation just for him. “I… All I can say is thank you, and…” The mare looked at him with hopeful eyes. “I… Think I love you…” Luna smiled widely as she heard him say that, Dominic was a little nervous about it himself. The princess knew it wasn’t a definite, but it was certainly a start. She wanted to just kiss him right then and there, but she had feeling he wasn’t ready for that yet. “Now I don’t know what to do, it’s gonna be kinda hard for me to top that.” He nervously joked, Luna laughed a bit and scooted closer to him.

“Don’t worry about it, Dominic… Just relax and enjoy…” She said in a comforting tone. “I’ll do my best to enjoy this myself, I’m sure Celestia is going to have a fit when we get back.” Dominic and her began to giggle, from then on the comfortable silence reigned, the two of them contemplating just how far they’d come. Dominic eventually fell asleep, not on purpose, he’d just gotten so comfortable that it had happened. Luna watched over him as he slept, occasionally intervening when she sensed the nightmares in his mind.

She didn’t know what the future held, but this was a moment she could hold onto, even if things didn’t work out well. Eventually as the sun began to rise she was forced to hide her tapestry from the world, but for the first time in a while, she didn’t sigh in remorse. She knew there was someone who loved her night sky just as much as her, and he was right next to her. The hours of the night had passed so calmly after the two had gazed at the stars, as if the world around them was granting them a happy memory.

Eventually Luna was forced to nudge Dominic awake, as people would be looking for the both of them soon. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Luna groggily.

“Good morning, Dominic.” The princess said in a warm tone, Dominic just groaned and tried to close his eyes again.

“Five more minutes…” He mumbled.

“You’re sleeping on the sandy ground, why would you want to go back to sleep?” Luna asked as she gave him another nudge, the man begrudgingly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Because I don’t want to do paperwork, and I don’t want to walk all the way back to town.” Dominic responded as he stood up and stretched, groaning loudly as his back emitted numerous pops and cracks. Luna stood up herself and picked up his jacket, after a quick dusting she handed it to Dominic. He slipped on coat and dusted off the shoulders, then turned to face the town of New Liberty, which was at least half a half an hours walk away.

“You’re in luck, then, in one regards.” Luna said with a bit of a smile, Dominic turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The princess lowered one of her wings and crouched down. “Hop on.”

“Are you sure…? I mean, won’t I suck the flight magic out of you or something?” Dominic asked as he approached her, Luna shook her head and prepared for the man to climb on. “Alright…” He remembered watching a couple documentaries about the cavalry and attempted to imitate the way they mounted their horses. To his surprise it was easier than he thought it was, and once he was seated on Luna’s back, he felt a good deal taller. He made sure that his legs didn’t interfere with her wings. “I’m not too heavy, am I?”

“I’m a thousand year old alicorn that can move the stars, of course your not to heavy.” Luna replied with a bit of a snarky tone, Dominic was a bit surprised by that. He guessed he’d really made an impression on her the night before, that was a good thing, probably. “Hold on tight.” Dominic just nodded and took loose grip of her mane, not wanting to pull it too hard, he didn’t need to hold on that tight.

“You know, this is going to probably look badass from the ground. Wish I had a camera or something.” Dominic commented as Luna gave a mighty flap of her wings, the man continued his relaxed posture as they rose higher into the sky, until he decided to look down and realized they were a hundred feet up. “Shit…”

“Remember to hold on!” Luna called over her shoulder, Dominic was about to say something else but the Princess took off at high speed. Dominic let out a yell that turned into a panicked laugh, leaning forwards once again to try and imitate the cavalry documentaries he’d seen. Luna’s mane fluttered in his face as she flew through the air, making it a bit difficult for him to see, eventually he was able to get a clear view and see that they were getting closer to the town.

“This is fucking metal!” Dominic yelled as he saw just how fast they were going, normally he’d be afraid of heights, but the awesomeness of riding a midnight alicorn through the air like some sort of cavalry soldier outweighed the fear. Luna smiled as she heard him enjoying himself, angling her wings to fly a bit lower. It was odd having someone on her back, but not a bad feeling, she actually enjoyed it a little bit, she’d have to do this more often.

It truly was a sight to behold on the ground, more than a few ponies were staring at the spectacle with dropped jaws. Jen, who had gotten up early to see if the date had gone well, had already gotten her answer. She wished she had a camera, because what she was seeing was probably the coolest thing she’d seen in awhile. Dominic was riding on Luna’s back like a badass, his face a mixture of fear and excitement, all he was missing was a sword and one of his hats and he would have looked like something off the cover of a Meatloaf album.

Celestia, who had just finished raising the sun on the roof of the hotel she and Luna were staying in, was completely aghast. She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle, her horn glowing as she summoned a bottle of painkillers from her room, already she had a massive headache. First a brand new massive constellation in the sky, now Luna was flying around with Dominic on her back like some sort of battle animal, and to top it all off, the war correspondents were snapping off picture after picture.

Celestia took a few pills as she watched her sister coming in for a landing, sighing as she thought of how it could be worse. Really, there wasn’t anything wrong with what was being done, but Celestia worried more lately about her public image now that she’d appeared soft on numerous issues. Finally, the solar princess concluded that she’d let whatever happened happen, as there was no sense in getting upset of something she couldn’t control.

All in all, in Dominic and Luna’s minds, it shaped up to be a pretty good first night out. Something they’d be able to look back on and smile about in the upcoming months.
> Chapter 55
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next couple days were filled with some backlash on the Equestrian front, but all in all, nothing really big happened in New Liberty. Luna and Dominic spent a few more nights stargazing and talking, all the while Jen prodded the young man for details about what had happened the night that the stars had moved. She thought there had been some real fireworks, but Dominic assured her that she needed to get her mind out of the gutter.

As it stood, Dominic was preparing for his mission through the portal. He’d gathered a good amount of gold from the reparations paid by the Changelings and had put it aside for Operation: Static. The man stood in his office, contemplating what items he should bring with him through the portal. He hadn’t told Luna yet, but he suspected she’d already figured it out, considering Bulwark had asked for Equestrian Identification Cards for two thestrals and a human.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t told her himself yet, even if she knew already, perhaps he was afraid of what she’d say. Dominic gently set his shotgun off to the side, deciding it wasn’t necessary for the mission, but he kept his knife and revolver on the table. He’d take his jacket and some extra clothes, and maybe even his helmet. Part of him wished he could bring Luna with him, but that would make things too complicated.

Slowy Dominic packed his gear into his backpack and buckled it shut, minus the gold of course. That would get its own bag, just in case. The mission was getting closer and closer, so close in fact that he would be departing for the Crystal Empire tomorrow. He had the list of what he’d need, he had his best troops coming with him, and he knew that it would all lead to a better future, but still… He worried about what would happen when he went through the portal. Would it even work? Would he end up exploding or something?

“Better me than Jen…” Dominic muttered to himself as he briefly turned his head to glance out the window, contemplating what would happen to Luna and Maria and everyone else he cared about if that happened. After a few moments he shook his head and went back to looking over his gear, thinking negatively about it wouldn’t do any good. The man nodded quietly as he finished packing what he thought he’d need, then picked up his music player and put in his earbuds. Quietly he walked to his chair and sat down, leaning back and closing his eyes as he turned on the player. It was a soft melody at first, the beginning of a song titled ‘The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight’ by a group called ‘Blind Guardian’.

Dominic hadn’t remembered putting that band on any music player he’d ever owned ever, but he figured that Discord had added a couple songs of his own when he’d had custody of the device. The man didn’t fault the chaos god’s choice of music either, it was actually some of the better music he’d heard in his time. Then again, going three years without music tends to make one biased when they hear it once again.

There was a knock on the door, one that Dominic barely heard over his music, he removed one earbud and sat up before calling out.

“Come in!” The door opened inward, revealing the familiar face of Luna. She had taken to combing her mane a bit differently lately, a way that Dominic thought looked far better than just letting it wave on its own. The mare had her horn glowing and a couple items were floating beside her, once was a manilla envelope that Dominic was sure held the ID cards that had been requested. The other was long and rather thin, wrapped in plain brown paper, Dominic didn’t know what that one was. “Hey, Luna! I was actually just about to come looking for you!” The man paused his music as the mare entered his office and set the items down on his desk.

“I assume there’s something you want to tell us?” Luna asked, she didn’t sound upset, just curious. Nonetheless, Dominic tugged at his collar nervously.

“Yeah… I wanted to tell you about the Crystal Empire thing…” Dominic began, Luna shook her head and gave a slight chuckle before she used her magic to open the envelope, then levitated three cards out of it. Two she let sit on the desk, she continued holding one up, Dominic gulped as he spotted the picture of him on the front. It wasn’t his worst picture, but it certainly wasn’t his best.

“You needn’t worry, Dominic.” Luna said as she looked at the document. “I understand, I just wish you’d told me sooner.” The man began to speak, but figured he should keep his mouth shut, Luna didn’t sound angry, but she didn’t sound happy either. “I hope you don’t mind the image we chose for your cutie mark?” She levitated the card over to Dominic and he took a look at it, next to his information and picture was the black outline of a hand clutching an arrow and an olive branch.

“It’s… Very nice, Luna. Thank you.” Dominic said nervously, Luna picked up on it and shook her head quietly.

“If I were mad at you you would know, it takes a little more than this to ruffle my feathers.” Luna smiled at him, that disarmed Dominic’s worry pretty quickly. “Actually it gave me a chance to get something shipped here with the cards.” Dominic’s eyes shifted to the box that was seated on his desk, wrapped in paper, he began reaching for it. “Ah ah, not yet… You’ll have to wait to see what’s in it, I haven’t had time to properly prepare it.”

“Why’d you bring it with you then?” Dominic asked.

“Because we only just now recieved them and have yet to bring them to our room…” Luna paused as she heard herself slip into the royal we, she began to ignite her horn but Dominic held up a hand.

“Please, you don’t have to do that…” He said, Luna smiled a little more as she looked back to the box.

“Thou art sweet…” She picked it up with her magic and floated it back over to her. “We shall let thee prepare for thine journey.” Dominic held up his hand again, causing the mare to stop and tilt her head at him. The man had just remembered he had his earbuds, and he had yet to let lunar princess listen to any of his human music.

“Come here, I want you to listen to something.” Dominic said in a warm tone, Luna smiled and set the box down on the desk once again. She trotted around the desk and sat down, allowing Dominic to put his earbuds on her, it was a bit awkward considering how her ears were different from a human's, but eventually he got it set up. The man flicked through a few different songs before smiling as he recognized the title on one, then he hit play..

Luna’s eyes widened as the music began to play, she moved one of her hooves up to her ears to hold the earbud a little tighter. Dominic smiled as he saw the princess contemplating what she was hearing.

“Sorry, it’s not in english.” The man began, Luna shook her head rapidly.

“Tis… Beautiful.” Luna admitted, swaying back and forth as she continued to listen to the song. “We hath not heard music like this in many years… This style seems to have gone out of fashion…”

“I always had a soft spot for opera.” Dominic admitted, going quiet once again so that Luna could continued listening to the music. She was amazed that such a small device like Dominic’s could produce such beautiful music, and more importantly, she hadn’t expected humanity’s music to sound so similar to older Equestrian styles. It brought Luna back to a time before her banishment, when she and her sister hadn’t been at odds. She froze when she felt Dominic wipe her eyes with a tissue, she hadn’t realized she’d teared up. Eventually the song came to an end and Luna removed the earbuds. “I take it you liked it?”

“Yes, we did, very much so.” Luna replied, sniffling for a moment as she composed herself. “We only wish we could’ve heard it without those little things…” She pointed to Dominic’s earbuds, the man paused and hummed to himself.

“Well, tell ya what, if I happen across any records or speakers or anything like that while I’m on the other side I’ll pick one or two up for you.” Dominic smiled at Luna, the mare returned it with a bit of a blush. The man supposed it could be viewed that he was making moves on her, in a subconscious way he was. He cared deeply about her, even if he wasn’t ready to come out and fully say it.

“Thank you, Dominic.” The princess said, she leaned forwards and nuzzled against the man before leaning back and adjusting her seat. “We must go though, there is work for us to do for tomorrow, and we art sure thou will want to deliver the identification cards.” Luna stood up, much to Dominic’s dismay, he knew he’d get to see her tomorrow though, if not again that night.

“Alright, I’ll see you around Lu.” The man said as he watched the Princess levitate the box she’d entered with under her wing, then walk to the door.

“Farewell, Dominic.” Their two stares lingered for a few moments before the princess left, Dominic sighed quietly and looked at the Identity cards that had been left on his desk. He picked up his card and looked it over again, he’d been given a false name and a birthdate that corresponded with its Equestrian counterpart.

“Honey Pop… Huh...” He read his alias aloud before shrugging and clearing his throat. “Hey, Sonar?” He called, a few seconds later the door opened and the spectacled mare poked her head in. Dominic suppressed an urge to go over and give the mare a hug, she looked like she was an absolute wreck, and yet at the same time, as professional as ever. Losing her husband had hit her harder than Dominic had thought, but it hadn’t stopped her from doing her work.

“Yes, Mister President?” She asked.

“Would you please send for General Bulwark, Major Thunder, and Corporal Walls?” Dominic asked politely, the mare nodded and gave a slight hollow smile before she closed the door. The President sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, part of him knew that going through the portal could put more ponies at risk, but the other part knew of the suffering beyond that portal, and that was kept him on his current mission to secure their safety.

He decided to just light a cigar and forget about it for now, instead musing on what was in that box that Luna had. It was rather long and small, not short enough to be a tie but definitely shorter than a rifle. He’d have to think about it a bit more, but as his thoughts went back to Operation: Terra Nova Dominic realized that he would have more than an opportunity to acquire music and radio equipment. He could acquire better armor, things that would be more suited to fighting the infected as opposed to an armed opponent. The man added that to his list of mental objectives.

The door to his office without a knock, causing him to sit up straight. Three thestrals entered the room, the three thestrals that he’d asked to see. They snapped to attention and saluted after they closed the door behind them.

“At ease, gentlemen.” Dominic said as he rose to his feet, the soldiers stood at ease. “I have just received our identification cards from the Equestrians, as of now the mission is a go.” Dominic picked up the cards and his desk and handed one to both Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall. “As it is very likely we will have counterparts on the other side, we have all been issued aliases. Mine is Honey Pop, Major Thunder’s is Passing Lightning and Corporal Walls is Sheet Rock.”

“Understood, sir.” The soldiers said with nods that thinly hid the smirks that had formed at the mention of the president’s alias, Dominic nodded to General Bulwark and puffed on his cigar before sitting back down.

“Get comfortable, boys. We’re going to be going over the briefing again.” Dominic adjusted his position in his seat as the Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder sat down. General Bulwark cleared his throat as he pulled a few documents from his uniform jacket.

“Operation: Static will have you in country for at least two days, at most two weeks. During that time your main objectives are as follows. Acquire items on the list by any means necessary, acquire items of opportunity, and gain information on the other world as a whole.” Bulwark began walking back and forth as he read over the documents while Dominic and the others nodded along. “Secondary Objectives are as follows. Capture or Neutralize Equestrian fugitive Sunset Shimmer before she can inflict any harm upon the people of the other world or ours. Any questions so far?”

“I have one, sir.” Fortress Wall spoke up, Bulwark nodded. “This other world is supposed to have folks like the President and Miss Jen, and I know there’s supposed to be some sort of magic that’ll fix it so we look like them, but… What if it doesn’t work on thestrals?”

“I’ll carry out the mission alone, or have a team Equestrians sent through.” Dominic said in a neutral tone, Fortress Wall nodded and went back to sitting silently. Bulwark cleared his throat once again and continued on down the list of items that would be needed, that was honestly the part that made it boring. All those going on the mission knew what they were looking to get by heart, they’d only read it a hundred times after all.

Eventually the Mission Briefing came to an end, when it did Dominic stood up and addressed the two stallions that would be coming with him through the portal.

“You all remember what you’ve been told about military secrecy, correct?” He asked, the soldiers nodded dutifully.

“If we wouldn’t tell it to Sombra we shouldn’t tell it to anyone.” They replied in unison, Dominic nodded.

“Dismissed.” The two soldiers promptly snapped to salutes, salutes that were returned just as quickly by the president. With that the two of them turned and walked out, leaving Dominic and Bulwark as the only occupants of the room. The president sighed and and puffed on his cigar again, his expression becoming rather cold. “Any word from the Diamond Dogs or the Buffalo, I’ve been waiting on the Buffalo for a while…”

“No, sir. We’ve been sending and receiving messages between us and the Hive though, so far they’ve managed to set up a bit more of a peaceful government, but they haven’t gotten into contact with their other hives yet…” Bulwark explained, Dominic let out a long groan as he tapped the ash off the end of his cigar into an ash tray.

“So as far as the other hives know they’re still at war… Which means we could be in some deep shit if they decide to make a move.” Dominic muttered, he looked towards the ground quietly. “I don’t like having that thought if I’m going away for a while, Bulwark. We have no tactical information on them other than they’re out there… Somewhere.”

“I can increase our aerial patrols, sir, it’ll give us at least a better chance at early warning.” Bulwark suggested, Dominic nodded as he took another puff of his shortening cigar.

“Alright… See if we can get some sort of Changeling Ambassador here as well, that way if one of these guys shows up we’ll have some form of diplomatic option.” The President ordered, Bulwark nodded and mentally added that to his list of things to do. “What’s the word on the supplies we ordered?”

“It should be here within the next month, we aren’t really close to a main rail line yet, so they have to build one to us.” Bulwark commented, Dominic raised an eyebrow at that. “They’re paying out of pocket for it, sir. They’re guarantee is that they’ll ship it anywhere no matter the cost.”

“What a bunch of idiots…” Dominic muttered before he exhaled a cloud of smoke. “Good though, I’ll have something to look forwards to when I get back.” The man walked over to the window and peeked out it for a brief moment, the night sky was above and he could see the constellation that Luna had made him. “Anything you had concerns about, Bulwark?”

“No, sir.” The general replied, Dominic gave a nod.

“You’re dismissed.” The President’s tone was a bit tired, the general nodded and left the room without another word. Dominic sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, hoping that at least the mission would go by easily.

[♦]

Jen quietly flipped through her novel in full view of Johnny, not really caring that he could see that she was reading it. She had a devilish smile across her face, one that promised mischief among other things. She was laying on her bed while the man was sitting at the dinner table working on making a couple different things out of scrap metal and wire. Normally this time would be used for things like dinner or dessert, but put simply, they were both a little stressed out.

Johnny would occasionally glance over at Jen, every time he would she’d glance at him and smirk, then wave. He’d quickly go back to his work at the table, scowling as he did so. He’d had this boredom coming, he shouldn’t have messed with Jen’s novel. Normally the two of them would be doing something to alleviate the boredom and stress together, but she’d said they couldn’t do that for at least a couple days because he’d been an idiot and read her book.

So far Johnny had used his innate skills at making things from nothing to create a little pair of tongs from an old wire coat hanger, a miniature seesaw from his some scrap wood and some screws, and a nail in a baseball. They couldn’t all be successful or special.

“Hey, Jen?” Johnny asked, looking over at the woman with a hopeful tone of voice.

“Mmm?” She hummed, not looking away from her book.

“I’m sorry I read your novel.” Johnny said, Jen just nodded quietly as she continued to smirk her little smirk. “Can I come read it with you?”

“Nope.” Jen said in a sing song voice, flipping to another page. “You wouldn’t like it anyway, I’m at the part where they climb out of the freezing water on the shore of the island so they have to take off their clothes, you wouldn’t be interested in something like that.”

“Oh, yes, I would!” Johnny said quickly, Jen just shook her head with that same smile of hers. The man sighed and looked around for a moment, then stood up and cleared his throat. “Alright… I’m gonna go take a shower then… A very cold shower.”

“Okay, hon!” Jen replied, her eyes followed Johnny as he went into the bathroom. Once the door was closed her smile faded and she let out a slight groan. Punishing Johnny was proving harder than she thought it would be, especially now that she was reading her novel so often and her imagination had time to wander. She was sure that she’d need to take a cold shower after Johnny had finished with his. Jen scowled as she thought of that, she could just imagine him in the bathroom, soaking wet in cold water… Just like the knight in her novel.

“No no no… Bad Jen…” She said to herself, she decided to put her novel down for a second or two. Just to give herself a chance to calm down. “Just stick it out until tomorrow, then I’ll really give it to him…” Or vice versa. “Damn it.” Jen stood up off the bed and began pacing back and forth, biting at her nails as she did so, occasionally pausing to look at the window down on the street, hoping to see a pony coming up to her door or something, anything to keep her mind off the man in the shower.

She decided that to take her mind off of him she’d go to the stove and make herself something to eat, that would do it, at least she hoped it would. She looked over the items they had in their pantry, most of it was canned, but she was used to that back on earth. She grabbed a can of spam and prepared to open it, only to pause and put it back. Cooking wouldn’t help her take her mind off Johnny or the handsome knight in her novel.

“I’m gonna go out for a walk!” She called to Johnny through the bathroom door.

“Alright!” The man replied over the sound of running water, Jen quickly put on her boots and pulled on her jacket before going downstairs. She paused once again to admire just how far along it had come, there were some tables and chairs, made will some skill and sporting an oak finish. The walls had a dark burgundy paint job and the store counter was being converted into a classy looking bar. With a slight sigh she walked past them and out onto the street, closing the door behind her.

The nightlife of New Liberty was far more busy than it was back on earth, Jen had picked up on this over the past couple weeks. There seemed to be more than a few ponies and changelings wandering around, some were chatting, others were sharing a small glass of alcohol or coffee. Jen smiled when she saw that it seemed there wouldn’t be much civil unrest between the two new allies or their citizens.

At least there weren’t any infected to gum up the works. Jen sighed and tucked her hands into her pockets, walking along the streets as she normally did until she found herself back at the destroyed building that she and Dominic had met in weeks ago. She’d always found herself drawn to that spot, particularly the hole in the roof. She’d sit in the old chairs and think, lay down among the rubble and nap, and basically do what she’d done before she came to Equestria. It was familiar to her, and it made her feel at ease. Ironic, considering that often times she would do the same acts while dodging monsters that wanted to eat her.

Jen decided that tonight she’d lay down amongst the rubble again, just to stare at the old ceiling of the building and contemplate who had built it. She wondered when it had been destroyed, and what had happened to whoever had built it afterwards. She laid on her back and stared up through the collapsed roof, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes in thought. Part of her sensed that there was something different about her little place of solitude, for one, she could hear breathing off in a dark corner.

Slowly she opened her eyes and turned to look towards that corner, to her surprise she saw a figure hanging from the ceiling. As quietly and calmly as she could she stood up, unsure of who or what it was.

“Hey, Jen…” The voice of Chipped Blade said as the figure shifted, the leathery wings folded back and the thestral landed on his hooves with expert ease. Jen was a little surprised, but calmed down. She knew Chipped was a bit eccentric, and for that reason she didn’t freak out that he hadn’t said anything. “Sorry to scare you like that, I was actually taking a nap.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I was going to take a nap myself… Sorry I woke you.” Jen replied as she sat back down on the floor cross legged and looking at the stallion that sat in the corner. “You alright?”

“Yeah… Yeah… Just, kinda thinking about that mission Rolling’s going on tomorrow.” The thestral replied with a sigh, he gradually inched out of the dark and sat down in front of Jen. He looked like he was upset, and it took all of Jen’s will power not to hug and cuddle him like some sort of stuffed animal. “He’s really the only one that likes me around here…”

“That’s not true.” Jen replied, Chipped nodded quickly.

“Yeah, it is. The other guys are scared of me, that or they think I’m some sort of freak.” Chipped said with a bit of a scowl. “So, when Rolling goes on missions, I’m kinda on my own.” Jen scooted over to him and put an arm over his shoulder, causing him to look at her with a bit of surprise.

“Well, don’t worry, because I like you.” She said with a smile, pausing to hold up a finger. “Not in a like like way, but, you know what I mean.” Chipped chuckled a bit, then nodded slowly. “You kind of remind me of one of my old friends from earth, he was more like a little brother than a friend really.”

“Oh really?” Chipped asked after Jen removed her arm from around his shoulder, the woman nodded and leaned back against a pile of destroyed wood.

“Yeah, his name was Smalls. Kind of a dork, but he had a good heart…” Jen trailed off as the smile ran away from her face. “Don’t know what happened to him though… I like to think he’s okay.”

“Your world was pretty screwy from what I heard, a lot worse than things here…” Chipped said, Jen nodded again.

“A lot of people died in a small amount of time, the folks that survived, like me and the other people here, had to go through some serious shit to make it here.” Jen sighed quietly as she looked back through the collapsed hole in the roof. Chipped nodded quietly and looked at the floor, unsure of what to say. “You don’t have to worry about walking on eggshells around me, I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.”

“Is that why you come to this building?” Chipped asked, Jen paused before she slowly began to nod. “It’s why I nap here too…” Jen ruffled the stallion’s mane and looked down at the floor with another sigh.

“Well, I don’t mind sharing.” She smiled briefly and stood up from the floor, Chipped returned the smile faintly. “Stick we me, kid, it’s nice to have someone on your six.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Chipped replied, Jen began walking towards the door.

“I’d stay a bit more, but it’s about time I got home and messed with my boyfriend some more. I’ll talk to you later, Chipped.” She said over her shoulder, Chipped smiled and nodded as he watched her go. With a sigh flapped his wings and went back to his normal roost.

[♦]

Luna sighed quietly as she looked over the box she’d received earlier that day, the light of the hotel room wasn’t the best, but then again, it wasn’t necessarily a five star suite like she was used to. She was seated in front of a table with the box set on top of it, slowly she unwrapped the package and tossed the paper aside. Beneath the paper was a fine cherry red wood box, in fact, it was Red Wood Wolf wood. The same Red Wood Wolf that Dominic had killed many months ago, most of it had been burned, but some had survived.

Luna wasn’t really concerned about the wood box as much as she was concerned about what was inside, with a flash of magic she undid the brass latches and pushed the box open to look upon the contents. The princess let out a gasp as she saw it, it was perfect, just as she’d hoped it would look. Momentarily she began to reach into the box, but the sound of the door to the room opening forced her to quickly close the lid.

“You would not believe the letters I’ve been receiving…” Celestia said with a groan as she trotted in and collapsed on one of the two beds. “‘Are the humans summoning star demons to invade us?’, ‘Is it a sign of the apocalypse?’” The Princess laid her head on the pillow and looked over at her sister. “Have I really let my subjects become so paranoid that at the first sign of change they panic and hunker down in a bunker?”

“Perhaps.” Luna replied honestly as she ran a hoof over the polished wood of the box. “Again, we apologize about that, but in the heat of the moment we forgot-”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Celestia cut her off as she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “We agreed the night sky was your domain, it’s my ponies that need to learn to grow a pair and stop complaining… Pardon my Humanism.”

“Still, we should have thought it would add more fuel to the controversy over the humans. Our subjects were already riled up by the attack executed by Jen against our forces.” Luna turned in her chair and looked at her sister with a bit of a sympathetic expression. “We both need to work on our communication skills, Tia. Hopefully some of the technology gained from Dominic’s mission will help in that regard.”

“Hopefully…” Celestia replied, she caught sight of the box on the table and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?” Luna looked between her sister and the box, then sighed quietly.

“A gift we had commissioned for Dominic some time ago, it was only just finished.” Luna said as she levitated the box and set it on the bed for Celestia to see. The solar princess examined it for a few moments before spotting an emblem that had been engraved on top of the box, the emblem had gold leaf shining in it. The emblem depicted a pair of crossed swords, the family crest of one of the oldest blacksmith families in Equestria. Curiously Celestia opened the box, her eyes widened as she saw what was inside before she closed it.

“Luna… You haven’t permitted something like this since before your banishment.” The solar princess said with a bit of shock, Luna nodded and turned to look out the window at the Capitol building in the distance. “I won’t stop you, sister… But, are you sure he will accept such an item?”

“Yes…” Luna said firmly, she turned back to face her sister with a look of resolve upon her face, it was a resolve that Celestia rarely saw in her younger sister. “He has the heart of a warrior with a fair and just soul. We are certain of our choice. Even if it should be that his heart is not ours…” Celestia watched her sister a for a few moments, looking for any sort of change in her face, but there was none. Luna floated the box back to her and latched it shut, taking a moment to close her eyes as she set the item back on the table.

“I hope things turn out well between the two of you, Lulu… I’ve never seen you this happy in a long time and I want it to stay that way.” Celestia’s tone was a bit more positive than Luna had expected, maybe her sister was starting to lighten up a bit, the lunar princess couldn’t quite pinpoint it yet.

“We should get some sleep, Tia… We have a big day tomorrow.” Luna suggested as she stood up from her seat and trotted towards her own bed. Celestia nodded and laid back on her bed as one normally would. “Good night, sister.”

“Good night.” Celestia replied as she leaned over and turned off the light. The moonlight was all that shone through the window, and it cast a bit of an eerie glow across everything it touched. The two princesses twisted and turned for a couple moments before both of them seemed to sigh at once.

Luna closed her eyes and began to hum the song she’d heard from Dominic’s music player, the soft tones echoing through the room. Celestia had to admit they had a haunting beauty to them, and she soon found herself drifting off to sleep. In Luna’s mind she could see the dream realm was a tad busy, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Still humming that song she would go from dream to dream, beating back the nightmares as she usually did. Occasionally she would summon a dream image to aid her, and that night she only had one in mind. Dominic. Images of him would appear and help to slay a nightmarish beast or to calm a restless mind. Luna normally wouldn’t have done such a thing, but she couldn’t get the man out of her head. Needless to say, her night of protecting Equestria’s dreams was a lot easier than it usually was, and she felt a lot better while doing it.

It was as close to the perfect ending of a day she could get, her and Dominic side by side.
> Chapter 56
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic sighed quietly as he sat in his office chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly. The birds outside chirped and the sun was starting to light up the landscape, that meant that his mission would begin soon. Very soon. The man took a few seconds to look over what he’d packed the night before, extra clothes, his revolver and knife, the ID card, his old duct tape wallet, and his music player. He picked up the revolver and slipped it into his shoulder holster, afterwards he picked up the music player and slid it into his pocket.

The man quietly stood up and grabbed his backpack, slinging one strap over his shoulder as he heard a ruckus outside. The Equestrian soldiers were getting ready to leave, that meant it would be time for him to go as well. With practiced ease Dominic buttoned his coat, then grabbed his bandanna and tied it around his neck. He didn’t pull it up over his face, he opted to use it more as a dust guard. Finally he grabbed his steel pot and set it straight upon his head, only pausing to turn and look over his office once again. After a few seconds he walked to his desk and grabbed three cigars, tucking them safely into his pocket before he turned and walked back to the door.

The gold that he’d set aside the night before had been moved to the princesses’ chariot and had been held under armed guard for the duration, it was a bit of relief not to have to carry the big bag by himself, considering gold and other metals were heavy. With a slight nod the man pulled open his door and began descending the steps to the first floor, his boots thudding quietly against the wood all the way down. When he reached the bottom he could see that Sonar was already at her desk, filling out paperwork and seeming not to notice Dominic.

The man walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped for a moment and turned to look at Dominic after a few seconds. She blinked, not sure why he’d tapped her on the shoulder, then she became even more confused when the man crouched down to her eye level.

“Something I can help with, Mister President?” She asked, Dominic shook his head and ruffled her mane.

“Just take care of yourself, Sonar.” He said before standing up and walking towards the door. “I’ll be back in a couple weeks, but I don’t want to hear you worked yourself to death while I was gone, you know?” Sonar nodded at him, still a little confused about what was happening. Dominic gave a wave and a sad smile before he stepped outside and closed the door, the sun was just cresting the horizon and casting its light across the town.

Equestrian Royal Guards moved back and forth, carrying equipment and other gear towards the carriages and chariots they’d used to get to New Liberty on the first day. Dominic weaved his way through them, looking for the two stallions that would be coming with him on the mission as he did so. He knew they would probably meet him at the princesses’ chariot with Bulwark, but that didn’t mean he’d not look for them all together.

Occasionally he caught sight of a few ponies watching him go along through the crowd, he ignored them for the most part. They thought he was going on a trade mission to the Crystal Empire, which, technically he was. He spotted Jen sitting outside of her home, watching the soldiers go by with Chipped Blade sitting next to her. Dominic briefly contemplated heading over and talking, but he figured that he should get going as fast as he could. The man gave a friendly wave as he went, Jen responded with a wave of her own before going back to talking with Chipped.

Finally Dominic caught sight of the chariot on the outskirts of town, sure enough Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder were waiting outside with Bulwark and the princesses. Dominic felt a bit late to the party, but he could be fashionably late, he was the president afterall. The winds were starting to pick up, sand and dust blew lazily past Dominic’s boots and the hooves of his compatriots as he stood next to his two future companions. Luna and Celestia brightened as they saw him, it seemed they were both eager to get moving.

“So… This is it…” Fortress Wall commented as he looked back towards New Liberty, then at his two fellows.

“It appears so…” Rolling Thunder said, adjusting his fatigues. “We all got our cards?” Dominic and Fortress Wall nodded. “Alright then, I’m set…” Luna and Celestia cleared their throats to get the attention of the assembled group.

“In a couple minutes we’re going to be leaving, so head into the chariot and get comfortable, it’ll take an hour or so to get back to Equestrian air space and then another six to get to Canterlot.” Celestia began to explain as she approached the chariot and opened the door for the group of mission goers. “From there Luna will accompany you on the train to the Crystal Empire, and so on from there.”

Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder were the first to enter the chariot, leaving Dominic, Bulwark and the Princesses outside. The president looked towards his general and gave him a salute.

“Hold down the fort, Bulwark. I’m counting on you.” He said, Bulwark returned the salute.

“It will be done, sir!” The General responded, Dominic nodded and turned to enter the chariot. He removed his backpack and helmet when he took a seat in the enclosed chariot, placing both of them on the floor between his legs. The bag containing the gold was seated on the floor in front of him,  with Rolling and Fortress seated on the opposite side. Dominic paused and reached into his pocket, withdrawing the three cigars from his desk.

“Gentlemen.” He offered the cigars to the two stallions, each took one and looked it over quietly. “Save ‘em for when we’re on the other side. Sort of a human victory tradition.”

“Ah.” Rolling said as he tucked his cigar into the breast pocket of his fatigues, Fortress looked his over for a few more moments before doing the same. “So, you seem to know a lot about this other world we’re going to… Not saying I won’t go, but I’m curious about how you know so much.”

“Humanity had a thing called Television, an entertainment device that let us view programs broadcasted from long distance, there was one such program about a world identical to yours in which there was a portal identical to the one we’d be going through. I happened to be a fan.” Dominic explained in a rather casual manner, Rolling Thunder hummed for a moment and shrugged.

“Alright then…” He said, Dominic was a bit surprised. “I mean, I’ve seen weirder than that in Equestria as is, not really that big of a pill to swallow.” Fortress Wall nodded and leaned back in his seat.

“Shoulda told us sooner, we would’ve had more to talk about.” Fortress Wall added, Dominic shrugged and looked around the chariot once more, still waiting on the Princesses outside. He noticed that there was a wood box on the seat beside him, oddly as long as the package Luna had carried with her the day before. Momentarily he began to reach towards it, but that was the moment that Luna decided to peek her head in. Dominic was quick to take his hand back and set it in his lap, watching the Princess enter the vehicle and take a seat beside him. Celestia came in next and opted to sit beside the two stallions on the opposite side of the chariot.

“Alright, is everyone ready for the trip?” Celestia asked, Dominic and the others nodded. “Good, because we’re just about to take off.” The man leaned back in his seat and stretched his arms, groaning as his back popped loudly. The chariot gave a bit of a lurch as it began to roll out of town, obviously the stallions pulling it were working a bit hard now that it was so heavy.

“Hey, Lu, can’t you give me a hint about what’s in the box?” Dominic asked as he looked at the box again, Luna shook her head with a bit of a smile. “Just one?”

“Tis very special.” Luna said simply, Dominic crossed his arms as he tried to gain anything from that information. “Thou art just going to have to wait, as we’ve explained, we have yet to prepare you for such a gift.” Dominic was about to speak, but spotted Fortress Wall leaning over to whisper something into Rolling Thunder’s ear. The older stallion’s eyes widened before he began giggling.

“What’s so funny, Private Thunder?” Dominic said with a bit of an annoyed tone, the stallion quickly stopped giggling as mention of his rank came into play. “I’m kidding, Rolling, you know that right?”

“Yes, sir. Totally know that, sir.” Fortress Wall said hastily, Dominic just shook his head and leaned back in his seat once again. The chariot was in the air now so he reached for his pocket and withdrew his music player, with a bit of work he untangled the earbud wires and put them in before he looked to Luna.

“Hey, I’m gonna take a nap, wake me if we crash…” He said, Luna just giggled and nodded. Dominic went back to his music player and flicked through the music to try and find a song that he liked. Once he’d picked one he closed his eyes and leaned his head against Luna’s shoulder, the song playing softly as he did so.

The Princess smiled as she moved her wing to wrap it around his shoulder, cradling him a little closer and noticing a small smile that spread over his lips. The other stallions fell into an odd game that Luna had never heard of before, she supposed it was something that they had come up with on their own.

“Okay… Fleur De Lis, Rarity Belle, and Countess Coloratura.” Fortress Wall prompted, Rolling thunder put a hoof to his chin in thought. Meanwhile Luna and Celestia watched with mild fascination, unsure of what their game entailed.

“Alright… Marry Fleur De Lis because I’m old…. Fuck the Countess, and off Rarity.” Rolling thunder replied, Fortress Wall raised an eyebrow while the princesses stared in a mixture of shock and surprise.

“Really? Because I’d totally flip the first two.” The younger stallion commented.

“That’s because you’re young.” Rolling Thunder countered, Fortress Wall shrugged and leaned back in his seat. “My turn-”

“May we ask what thou art playing?” Luna cut in, the two stallions looked at eachother for a moment as if gulping before looking back at the princess.

“Uh… Fuck Marry Kill...” Fortress Wall said, Rolling Thunder gave him a smack on the shoulder as the two princesses’ eyes continued to widen. “You name three ponies and you have to chose which one you’d-” Rolling Thunder quickly jammed his hoof into Fortress’ mouth, smiling awkwardly.

“Nothing, nothing, he’s just kidding, aren’t you Fortress?” Rolling said, giving Fortress a bit of a glare, the corporal quickly nodded with his commanders hoof still in his mouth. Rolling removed his hoof after the stallion had stopped nodding, the two princesses still staring at them with a bit of shock. Both of them awkwardly stared at the floor after words, not saying much of anything else. Celestia looked at Luna with a raised eyebrow, the lunar princess just shrugged and turned her attention back to the slumbering man on her shoulder. She could faintly hear the music playing in his earbuds and leaned, partially to listen to it, but also so that she could nuzzle the man’s soft hair.

The music she heard sounded a bit more fast paced than what she’d heard the night before, she left her head there for a few moments, trying to get a read on what the lyrics were, but she couldn’t quite hear them clearly. After several more moments she sat up straight and leaned back in her seat, tightening her wing around Dominic as the flight continued.

The rest of the trip was rather slow and uneventful, occasionally the princesses would strike up conversation with the two uniformed Thestrals, but they all ended just as quickly as they began. The hours ticked by as the landscape beneath the chariot shifted from vast sandy plains to soft green mountains and fields, all the while Dominic slept, and eventually so to did his companions. Luna could sense that the man’s slumber was restless, but she could do nothing to aid him, as much as it pained her.

Luna’s vision shifted over to the box beside her, she used her magic to shift it out of sight and sighed. It was the reason that she could not aid Dominic in his dreams, at least, not now… She had to prepare the man for what was inside that box, and unfortunately, that meant she couldn’t intervene in his nightmares. When he returned from his mission she would be able to tell him, teach him, but not until then.

The sun was hanging lower in the sky when they finally began to descend near Canterlot, Luna leaned over and nudged Dominic quietly. He groaned and pushed against her, but she nudged him again and he rapidly sat up. The man rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked out the window in the door of the chariot, sighing as he saw the familiar pillars of the Equestrian capital.

“Thanks for that…” He said groggily as he reached down between his legs and picked up his helmet, he was quick to slip it on and tighten the strap.

“Is that truly necessary?” Luna asked, Dominic nodded and patted the steel pot a couple times.

“I don’t feel like ending up on the wrong end of a riot again…” The man said, watching the chariot get closer and closer to the ground. It would be landing outside the castle, and already a crowd of ponies was starting to form while guards did their best to keep the peace. Luna sighed as she looked to her sister, the solar princess shrugged nervously. “Rolling, Fortress, wake up.”

The two thestrals stirred from their own naps as the chariot touched down, looking around with confused expressions. They quickly realized that they’d arrived in Equestria and grabbed their own belongings.

“I want you to keep on your guard with this.” Dominic said, reaching forwards and patting the bag of gold coinage. “I don’t know what’s going to happen out there, but if things get ugly, you know what to do.”

“We shall do our best to protect thee as well.” Luna said as she stood up with Celestia, two guards outside stepped forwards and opened the door to the chariot. The thunderous noise of a crowd filled the enclosed chariot quickly, putting Dominic on a bit of an edge before he calmed himself down. Celestia stepped out of the chariot to the sound of applause, however, when Luna stepped out that applause got quieter, her horn glowed for a moment and she quickly floated the box out of the chariot and over to an armored carriage parked just outside. The noise of the crowd outside put a bit of a scowl on Dominic’s face as he watched Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall heft the bag of gold out as best they could to a pair of royal guards, they inturn put it in the armored carriage.

“Alright, show time…” Dominic said to his two compatriots before he stood up and gathered his belongings, with his backpack slung over his shoulder and his music player in his pocket he was ready to go. Dominic walked to the door and peeked out, a mixed response of applause and boos was what greeted him, as well as the heat of the late afternoon sun. Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall flanked him on either side, they seemed more upset by the crowd’s response than Dominic did. “Relax boys, these are the clay of the earth, the salt of the land simple folk… You know… Morons.” He said quietly, the two of them chuckled as he raised a hand and waved at the crowd, sporting the biggest shit eating grin Luna had ever seen him have.

“Celestia will address the crowd, then we will make our way to the train station.” Luna said as she leaned over, Dominic nodded, still sporting that grin of his. “Thou looketh happier than we expected, a lot happier…”

“I’ve got some people applauding, that’s enough for me.” Dominic replied quietly, he paused and looked Luna in the eyes. “Should I go and meet with them?”

“We wouldn’t…” Luna replied, Dominic shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “We hope thou realizes that upon thy return thou will be receiving numerous requests for an interview.” The man scratched his chin before chuckling quietly. “They do not know of the true nature of thine mission, but thou hath bested the Changelings in combat and signed a treaty with them, something we have failed to do for some time…”

“It’s better than death threats, who knows, I might even humor a few of them.” Dominic replied, he quieted down as he watched Celestia approach the crowd and clear her throat.

“My little ponies, it is good to see you all here!” She declared loudly, using the royal canterlot voice to reach the ponies in the back of the crowd. “We have returned from our expedition to the American front, and as I’m sure many of you know, peace between the United States and Chrysalis has been brokered!” The crowd applauded loudly at that, many of them understanding that the United States was the buffer between them and Chrysalis, those that didn’t understand that simply applauded because they liked the sound of peace with the changelings.

“It wasn’t cheap…” Rolling Thunder muttered under his breath.

“With me today is President Occisor of the United States, it was through him that peace was achieved, and while I would love to have him speak to you today, he is on a rather tight schedule.” Dominic sighed and patiently tapped his foot, wanting desperately to get out of the limelight now. The novelty of having applause was starting to wear off, as he realized that he might have to formulate some sort of speech if the crowd cheered loud enough. The man took a breath before he began loosely putting together what he would say in his head if it came to that.

Sure enough, the ponies continued to cheer and applaud, but thankfully none of them called for him to speak. Aside from the reporters, of course, but Dominic hated reporters. Luna noticed that the man was sweating and his smile seemed a bit more forced than genuine, but she didn’t say anything, he was handling his first political outing much better than she had. Then again, anything was better than setting the the Griffon Emperor’s feathers on fire… Celestia finished her address of the ponies and turned to Luna with a nod.

“You should get going, the train’s already been waiting a while…” Celestia said in a hurried tone, Luna returned the nod and looked to Dominic.

“We should go.” Said Luna as she began walking to the armored carriage, Dominic and his thestral subordinates followed her as the crowd continued to watch and chatter. Being a gentlemen, Dominic stepped ahead of the princess and opened the door for her. Luna smiled at him and stepped inside, followed by Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall. Dominic turned towards the crowd and gave a wave before he entered the carriage himself and closed the door, then locked it securely.

The ride to the train station went by in silence as all those present in the dingy armored vehicle listened to the hustle and bustle of the city around them. Occasionally they’d hear the guards pulling the instructing pedestrians to move or step away, Dominic’s eyes would shift towards the box that Luna continued to hold by her side. It seemed she wouldn’t part with it as long as he was around, making any further attempts at finding out what was inside impossible.

When the carriage came to a stop outside the train station Dominic was the first to open the door and step out, he had to hand it to the Equestrians, they sure knew how to run a railroad. The building wasn’t so grand as to be gaudy, but not so simple as to be boring. The stone arches were carved with images of flowers and vines while brightly painted signs did a good job of indicating where the platforms and tracks were.

Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall emerged behind him, carrying the bag between them, neither one of them letting on just how heavy it was. Dominic turned back to the carriage and offered his hand to Luna as she stepped out, she set her hoof in it and gracefully walked out. Once that was done Dominic was quick to close the door and look back to the station, it was time to get down to business.

“We’re on the clock, boys. Let’s move.” He said in an even tone as he began walking towards the front door of the station, already guards had been dispatched to clear a path for him and his soldiers. Luna used her magic to lift the bag of gold, allowing Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder to catch up with their President. Once again they flanked him on both sides, falling instep with the clicks of his boots against the stone floors.

Ponies on either side of them watched with a bit of surprise, the black fatigues the thestrals wore were different from anything the ponies had seen in Equestria. Adorned with different patches that bore some resemblance to the one on Dominic’s shoulder, Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall were both intriguing and intimidating to the pony onlookers. Luna followed along behind the group, carrying the bag in her magic with great dignity, not a soul would dare question her motives as they saw the seriousness on her face.

The group descended a flight of stairs, Dominic’s hand gliding lazily atop the brass railing in the center. When they reached the bottom of the steps Dominic could see the train that had been halted for them. A row of Equestrian and Crystal guards kept nosy ponies out of the last car in the train, which had been set aside for Dominic and his fellows. The clicking of Dominic’s boots slowed as he approached the car, he let Rolling and Fortress walk ahead of him as he turned to look back at Luna.

Dominic reached out and took the bag from her grasp, grunting under its weight but not letting it show. He stepped aside to allow her access to the car first just as he had done earlier, she smiled at him briefly before entering the car. When she was inside Dominic turned and walked in himself, stopping to set the bag down on the floor of the normal looking car. Fortress and Rolling were already settling in, and Luna was looking for the perfect seat. Dominic turned and looked behind him at the ponies on the station platform that were starting to inch closer, with a neutral expression he reached for the door and pulled it shut.

This was the point of no return. Once this train left the station he was committed to take the mission to its end, the determination made itself apparent on his face as he walked to an open seat next to Luna and plopped down. The seat itself was sturdy and made of oak with red velvet pillows built into it, it was a bit softer than what Dominic would’ve cared for, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. The wood matched the wood that decorated the interior, the style was very Victorian and Dominic would have sworn he was sitting in some form of British rail car if he didn’t know otherwise.

Dominic smiled faintly as he looked over at Luna, feeling a bit more at ease with what was happening between the two of them lately. The Princess returned the smile, each of them sharing a fond moment of silence as the train began to pull out of the station. The whistle blew and the bell rang, then there was forward lurch. Dominic found his face considerably closer to Luna’s than before as he hadn’t been expecting the lurch. Both of them blushed and leaned back, bashfully looking to the side. Dominic noticed the wooden box once again, resting beside Luna out of his reach. He wouldn’t try to find out what was in it, it was clear that the surprise was very important to Luna and he didn’t want to ruin that.

“Dominic, we hath been thinking lately about thine crusade to aid thy people.” Luna said, breaking the odd silence that had settled between the two of them. “It is apparent to us that an understanding of a bladed weapon would better suit thou, considering the nature of thine foe.”

“I know how to use a machete, just hack and slash, what else is there to know?” Dominic replied, Luna shook her head and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Thou art correct, a machete is a simple weapon to use, but we speak of something more suited to thy physical build.” Luna explained, Dominic raised an eyebrow at her as he looked down at himself. “Thou art a warrior at heart, Dominic. We are both aware of this. Thou were bred and raised to be one.” The man nodded slowly and looked down at the hoof on his shoulder. “We wish to train thee to use a sword, so that thou may better defend thyself and those around thee.”

“You… You think I could do it?” Dominic asked, it was clear he was self conscious about his skills. He’d always been more of a brawler, a hard charger, he wasn’t sure if he had what it took to be skilled with a sword. Luna’s reassuring smile and nod helped to dissuade some of those fears, but still the thoughts clung onto the back of his mind.

“Thou art failing to give thyself credit again, Dominic, tis something unbecoming a man of your stature.” Luna said with a comforting voice. “Thou hath taken on a monster large enough to destroy buildings, charged headlong into the fray of battle, and yet thou doubts thine abilities to learn as a warrior.” The princess extended her wing and placed it over Dominic’s shoulders. “We shall teach and train thee, Dominic, we would not have brought it up if we thought thou were not ready.”

“Thanks, Lu… That means a lot…” Dominic replied with a faint smile as he turned to look out the window, the train was just passing through a tunnel, already he could see the snow in the distance. “When’s my first lesson? I’ll need to make room in my schedule…”

“We can begin now, at least with thy mental training.” Luna spoke in a soothing voice, Dominic looked her in the eyes. After a few moments the princess could see the determination she knew and loved in the green eyes that she stared back into. He gave the slightest of nods, and Luna smiled warmly. “The first thing any warrior must learn is restraint, something thou occasionally have problems with… Anger is a powerful force, but thou must not let it take control. Thou art the master of thine emotions.”

“How can I get better at restraint?” Dominic asked nervously, he was already worried he’d fail Luna on top of the rest of the mission.

“Deep breaths.” Luna explained as the train continued to click clack along. “The method is to make anger work for thou… To spread it thinly so that it is no longer uncontrollable. Thinking of joyful things will help to do this.” Dominic nodded as he removed his helmet and set it beside him, feeling that out of respect for his new teacher he should remove it. “This is something thou shalt inevitably practice on thine mission.”

“I shall not fail you, Luna…” Dominic said dutifully, the princess nodded and patted the man on the shoulder once more.

“We know thou shall not. For now though, relax and prepare for the journey ahead.” Luna’s voice was soothing, something Dominic wished he could listen to for hours on end. As he thought of her like that, he found it more and more difficult to hide the feelings that were starting to become ever stronger. The man turned back to the window, seeking to cleanse his mind of the stress that was to come. In the process he began to hum a soft tune, this drew Luna’s attention. “May we ask, what song is that?”

“Oh, it’s just something from a game I used to play, it was about dragons and this warrior that could steal their souls to kill them.” Dominic explained, Luna nodded and waited, a few moments later Dominic was humming again.

“Would thou… Sing it for us?” Luna asked timidly, Dominic looked at her and faintly smiled as he gave a nervous laugh.

“My school choir did a rendition of it once… I’m a little rusty though…” He explained, Luna just smiled wider and nudged him. With a nervous cough he cleared his throat and sat up straight in his seat, just as his music teacher had taught him all those years ago. By now Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall, who had been sitting across the car and chatting, were paying attention. Dominic closed his eyes and thought of Luna, that smiling face of hers made the nerves relax, when he opened his eyes he began to sing. His voice was nervous at first, but eventually his confidence grew.

The train continued to speed along through the mountains, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake on its trek into the north. The temperature gradually began to decrease as the sun began to set, in the sky the constellation of the Roman warrior sparkled brighter than the others, as if the night itself was yielding to its size and scope.
> Chapter 57
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The whistle of the train howled loudly as it approached the Crystal Empire, snow and wind stretched out for miles around on either side of the tracks and foreboding clouds filled the sky off in the distance. Dominic was fully prepared to brave the cold, but suddenly the train passed through some sort of barrier and everything turned green with a clear night sky. The man sighed quietly, somewhat yearning for the cold embrace of winter.

Luna had fallen asleep in an adorable fashion beside the man, her head rested comfortably on his thigh. Fortress Wall had also gone to sleep, he’d retrieved his helmet from his pack and pulled it down over his eyes. That left Rolling Thunder and Dominic as the only ones awake for the moment, the Major was quietly running through the list of objectives again, as he had been for hours after Dominic had sung for the Princess.

“Sunset Shimmer is best known for wearing a leather jacket with red and yellow hair…” Rolling read aloud, scratching his head for a moment before looking at Dominic. “Between you and me, sir, what’re we doing with her?”

“Normally I’d say a quick snatch and grab…” Dominic said before he looked down at Luna, the man looked back to Rolling Thunder and shook his head. “I’m going to try and talk her down, maybe convince her over to our side… A unicorn of her strength would be invaluable to our cause.” Rolling Thunder nodded and shifted his gaze to the slumbering Princess.

“And you don’t want to fail her…” He mused.

“There’s that too…” Dominic mumbled, patting the mare on the head softly. Rolling Thunder leaned back, his brow furrowing in thought as he went back over the objectives once again. The train’s whistle sounded as it got closer to the station, droning out low and slow like a somber cry. It was enough to stir Fortress Wall from his slumber, he quickly pushed his helmet back on his head and looked around.

“We here?” He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes as his spotted the Princess sleeping beside Dominic.

“Yup, look alive.” Rolling Thunder replied as he began to gather his gear into his pack, a pack that he’d worn with him since leaving New Liberty. Fortress Wall was quick to follow his lead while Dominic instead opted to set his helmet on his head, the man paused and looked down at Luna. Part of him didn’t want to wake her, but he knew it would happen eventually. Dominic reached down and gave her a gently nudge, the princess opened her eyes and looked up at him.

“Come on, Lu. Time to wake up.” Dominic said in a soft voice, the Princess stretched her legs and yawned an adorable yawn that almost made Dominic’s heart melt. She sat up and adjusted her flowing mane, looking around as the train began to slow down. “We’re just about there, I figured you’d want to be awake.”

“Thank thou, Dominic…” Luna said as she rubbed her eyes, once again the whistle let out its droning call. Dominic stood up and pulled his backpack on, walking towards one of the windows and peering at the approaching station. He could see Shining Armor standing there with a group of crystal pony guards and a couple Equestrians mixed in.

“Looks like they rolled out the welcoming committee.” He commented, as the train continued to coast along the tracks he reached to the door handle and pulled it open. A blast of colder air entered the train car as he leaned out to get a better look. Luna and the others would’ve commented on how dangerous that was, but they all seemed to know that they’d be met with something like a shrug in response.

The train continued slowing down until finally it had stopped at the platform, Dominic stepped off and adjusted his helmet before turning to wait for his companions. Luna was next to step out, and once again Dominic offered his assistance as a gentleman. The princess was followed by the two thestrals, each of whom was wearing their helmets now, the black metal matched the black fatigues well. Dominic winced internally as he noticed that the attire made them almost look more like German storm troopers than anything else. Between them they were carrying the bag of gold coins.

The three American’s followed Luna as she approached Shining Armor and his guards, the alabaster stallion eyed up Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder curiously. It made sense to Dominic, Shining had probably never seen an American soldier before. The man caught glimpses of Shining’s contingent trying to steal glances at his soldiers, it filled him with a small amount of pride.

“Prince Shining Armor, tis good to see thou again.” Luna said warmly, Shining Armor nodded and smiled at the princess.

“Princess Luna, the pleasure is all mine.” He replied, the stallion looked over toward the American’s that had set their bag down on the platform. “I see that you’ve brought guests.”

“Were thou not informed? We sent word some days ago.” Luna asked, Shining Armor shrugged and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve got more than enough rooms.” The stallion said with a smile, Dominic tugged nervously at his collar, hoping Luna would explain why they had actually come.

“I am afraid the three of them will not be staying in the castle.” Luna began to explain, catching Shining Armor with a bit of surprise. “A threat to Equestria and thine Empire has been discovered, they art here to carry out a mission to eliminate that threat, among other things.” The stallion’s eyes widened and his eyes flicked back over to Dominic and his soldiers. “The letter we had sent would have made this clear.”

“I don’t know of any threat…” Shining Armor said as he rubbed his chin and walked towards Dominic.

“That’s because it hasn’t happened yet.” Dominic said as he looked down towards the stallion, pausing to adjust his jacket. “We’re here to make sure it doesn’t happen.” Shining Armor narrowed his eyes and looked towards Rolling Thunder, slowly he trotted over and looked him in the eyes. Luna sighed quietly as she watched this unfolding, she liked Shining Armor, but sometimes he could be a bit of a hassle when it came to the military. “Ten-hut!” Rolling and Fortress Wall snapped to attention, causing Shining Armor to back away for a second.

Dominic knew that Shining Armor would find something wrong, he’d dealt with people like him before. Not that he disliked the stallion, but he seemed like he was going to be more of a hindrance than an ally in this mission.

“Where’s their armor…?” He asked.

“Major Thunder.” Dominic said in an even tone.

“Sir!” Rolling replied in a military manner.

“Explain your lack of armor.”

“Sir! The armor has been discarded for this mission as it will involve stealth and precision and the likelihood of combat is minimal, sir!” Rolling replied, Shining blinked a couple times and backed away.

“Alright… It seems like you know what you’re doing… But I want to come with you, on whatever this mission is.” Shining Armor decreed, Dominic internally face palmed, as did Luna and Rolling Thunder. Externally Dominic’s expression remained unchanged.

“Shining, who will run the Empire in your absence? Cadence has yet to return from Equestria.” Luna asked, hoping to change his mind, Shining Armor turned and pointed at Luna. “Us?”

“Yes, you’re the most qualified.” He said, Luna internally sighed but instead returned the gesture with a smile.

“Very well, it is thine nation after all.” Luna said, giving Dominic an apologetic look. The man just gave her a warm smile, as if to say he knew she tried and that was all that mattered. “We will require thine assistance in getting to the mission start, as it is located within your castle.”

“What are we looking for?” Shining Armor asked, his soldiers were still standing ready, though it appeared they were a bit antsy.

“A mirror.” Dominic said bluntly, the alabaster stallion nearly froze at the word, something that Luna and Dominic picked up on. “A big fancy mirror.”

“I… Don’t know what sort of mirror you’re looking for.” Shining said nervously, his guards were starting to shuffle back and forth on their hooves. Dominic crouched down to Shining Armor’s eye level and spoke in a voice quiet enough for only him and the stallion to hear.

“Yes. You do.” Dominic said slowly.

“The mirror is a relic of King Sombra, we don’t know what it could do…” Shining Armor replied, looking over his shoulder at his guards.

“I know what it does.” Dominic said bluntly again. “I assume you know by now of how I came to be familiar with your world, correct?” Shining Armor nodded again. “It’s how I know there is a threat beyond it, keeping me and my soldiers from going through is only going to make it that much harder for us to prevent.”

“Alright… But I’m coming with… I won’t interfere, but I want to see for myself.” Shining said, Dominic nodded and stood up straight. He could respect the stallion’s curiosity, and he had to admit that Luna had a point, Shining was the man in charge around the Empire. “Let’s get going then. Guards, you’re dismissed. I shall escort them myself.” The guards nodded and quickly began to march away, leaving the group near the train, save for the few that went into the train to retrieve any bags. All they found was the box that had been sealed shut, they were sure to handle it carefully for the Princess’ sake.

“At ease.” Dominic said, causing his two soldiers to stand at ease while he knelt down and lifted the bag of gold with a grunt. “Let’s get a move on. Operation: Static is in effect.” His soldiers nodded and they began to walk towards the castle, Luna walked beside Dominic as Shining lead them onward. The princess looked to the man, his expression was just as determined as it had been on the train.

Eventually they reached the crystal palace, in silence Shining Armor lead them through the grand glinting halls. Their hooves and boots seemed to echo across the floor for a good distance, until eventually they began to descend a staircase deeper into the bowels of the empire above. This section of the palace was lit by torches that revealed just how far down the stairs went. Dominic would’ve sworn it went all the way to the planet’s core, but thankfully they wouldn’t have to find out first hand. Shining Armor stopped on one of the platforms for the steps, standing just outside a large gothic door.

“It has been contained here for some time, we had feared it was a tool that Sombra could use to spy on us.” Shining Armor said as he approached the door, his head turned to look over his shoulder at Dominic, Luna, and the others. “We had contemplated moving to the surface in the past, perhaps near the Equestrian games, but now that you’ve told us of a threat… I am glad we kept it here.”

“Let’s not keep it waiting any longer…” Dominic said, getting a nod from the stallion at the door. His horn glowed and the locks in the door undid themselves, with a screech the door opened inward. The torch light illuminated the room and the mirror that sat in the furthest corner, it seemed everything but its surface was covered in dust. The group carefully entered the room as the torches within were lit, Shining Armor closed the door behind them and approached the mirror. Dominic approached with him and paused to look around, he noted a small pebble on the floor and picked it up.

“Wait, sir.” Rolling Thunder spoke up, Dominic looked at him. “The cart. We’ll need some form of transportation on the other side.” The man nodded and looked around, sure enough his eyes settled on a wooden cart that had been left beside the mirror.

“We’d used that to move it down here, but it proved too unruly to bring back up the steps.” Shining Armor admitted.

“It’ll have to do.” Dominic said with a shrug before he tossed the pebble lightly at the mirror’s surface, to the shock of everyone but him, it passed through. “Portal’s open… If the math we did is correct it’ll be like that for the next three months, plenty of time for us to move through. Mount up, boys.”

Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall walked over to the cart and began to strap themselves in, meanwhile Dominic turned to face Luna. He could see concern was present on her face, so close to the mission start, how could she not be concerned? The man approached her and put a tender hand on her cheek, smiling softly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.” He said calmly, the Princess nodded rapidly, as if trying to reassure herself.

“We… I know, but we still worry.” Luna’s voice was soft, thinly veiling the concern that had made itself known. “We will be counting the days until your return.” Dominic brought his hand away from her cheek and gave her a very strong hug, one that Luna was quick to return. She hesitated to let go, but eventually she knew she had to. “We wish we could come with thou…” Luna perked up for a moment. “Perhaps there is a way we can.” Dominic was about to speak before Luna opened one of her wings and used her teeth to pluck a feather from it. She winced before giving it to Dominic with a small smile.

“Thank you…” Dominic said as he closed his hand around the feather, Luna nodded quietly before she heard the sound of Rolling Thunder and Fortress wall finishing their straps on the cart. Dominic turned to see that Shining Armor had already climbed into the back of the cart with the rest of the packs. Dominic took the feather and tucked it into his pocket, then turned back to look at Luna. Deciding that he could very likely die going through the portal and he might not have another chance, the man took hold of the mare’s muzzle and planted a kiss on her lips. “I’ll be back.” He said as he pulled away, Luna was at a loss for words as the man walked to the cart. 

With a grunt he loaded the sack of gold coinage and removed his backpack, then climbed in back with Shining Armor. The stallion was staring at him with a bit of shock, meanwhile Dominic had a bit of a smile on his face.

“Let’s move!” He said with a twirl of his arm, turning to wave at Luna as Rolling and Fortress began to pull the cart towards the mirror. The princess waved back, he could see tears forming in her eyes as she mouthed a few words that Dominic couldn’t read. With a sigh he turned back to Shining, clearing his throat before speaking. “When this baby goes through that mirror, you’re gonna see some serious shit.”

When they went through the portal it was a sensation that Dominic was all too familiar with, warmth around his body as if he was floating in some sort of hot tub, he’d felt it before when he’d first come to Equestria. That warmth was where the similarities ended, as suddenly everything began to spin widely and quickly. Dominic was vaguely aware of Shining and the others yelling, but it sounded so distant that he thought he’d popped an eardrum or something.

In all honesty, what he saw around him belonged in a Pink Floyd video, floating clocks, and swirling spirals as far as he could see, not to mention the odd objects that seemed to be off in the distance, he was absolutely certain he could see the Starship Enterprise and the Death star floating far off in the distance. Just as soon as it started it ended, and the warm feeling was gone in a flash. Replaced by harsh cold wind as the group as a whole emerged from the portal.

The cart had changed as predicted, to a vehicle that reminded Dominic of a deuce and a half truck. He and a now humanized Shining Armor were sitting in the back, and he could hear Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder freaking out up front. Dominic quickly stood up and looked around, wobbling for a moment as he examined the landscape. There was snow all over the ground, it was night time, and no one seemed to have noticed the truck that had just suddenly appeared.

“Everyone calm down!” Dominic yelled, glad to hear his baritone voice once more. He’d worried that going through the portal would have swapped his gender or something, but a quick check revealed that everything was where it was supposed to be. The only thing that had changed was now there seemed to be a button on his jacket that depicted the cutie mark he’d seen on his ID card. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the ID card, sure enough that too had changed, just as planned.

Dominic turned and looked at Shining Armor, the newly transformed man was struggling to stand up. Dominic shook his head and walked to the back of the truck, passing by the bag of gold that had now transformed into a bag nearly bursting at the seams with twenties and fifties. He turned towards Shining and pointed at him for a moment.

“Just stay there.” He commanded before hopping down off the back of the truck and walking around the side until he’d reached the drivers side. In the driver’s seat he could see Rolling Thunder had changed into a middle aged man with yellow slitted eyes and grey hair, nervously gripping the steering wheel in front of him. He wore tactical gear, it looked similar to what SWAT officer’s wore, save for the patches on the shoulder that still indicated he was an American.

Dominic grabbed the side of the truck and climbed up to the window, knocking on it for a moment before he pulled the handle on the door and opened it outward. Rolling turned and looked at Dominic wide eyed, he was still sort of freaked out about having a new body. He’d known it would happen, but it was still intense. Dominic leaned to the side and could see a young man, similar in age to himself, sitting next to Rolling with the same freaked out expression.

“We’re here, gents.” Dominic said calmly, the two of them nodded with a gulp as the wind picked up, flakes of white snow began to fall from the sky around them. “It’s better you hop out and get used to your legs now.”

“Y-Yes, sir.” Rolling and Fortress said in unison, shakily they shimmied out of the drivers side door and landed on the ground. At first they tried to walk on all fours, but the cold snow convinced them quickly to stand up before their hands froze. Shining Armor dropped out of the back of the truck next, wobbling on his own feet as he adjusted his new attire. A simple blue suit and overcoat with a button of his cutiemark pinned to the lapel, Dominic looked down at his own button and groaned.

“You fellas get used to those legs, in the meantime… I’ll drive.” Dominic explained as he looked inside the cab of the truck. It had been years since he’d been behind the wheel, and even then he hadn’t had his full license. He was glad that at least the truck had a manual transmission, he had learned on a manual, and figured it was like riding a bike. Dominic closed the door to the truck and dropped back to the snow, dusting off his pants as he watched his three compatriots stumble around like drunks who’d just gotten off a roller coaster.

Each passing second made Dominic worry they’d be detected, as they were in full view of the roads that ran around the high school. The building itself wasn’t as exciting as Dominic had imagined it to be, but in a way, everything about the world felt eerie, alien even. In a way it was, but, that wasn’t it. It was a world that wasn’t ravaged by the infected, and what was more, it reminded him of home. Dominic reached to the top of his jacket where he still had his bandanna tied, silently he pulled it up over his face before he straightened his helmet and looked to his comrades.

By now they’d gotten the hang of walking and even a little bit of running, each of them remaining quiet, as they didn’t want to alert the local populace.

“Alright, let’s move. I don’t think we can all squeeze in the cab, but I want someone in back with our gear anyway.” Dominic said, Rolling and Shining Armor raised their hands. “Alright, get in back and make sure nothing flies out… Fortress, you’re upfront with me.” Rolling and Shining walked towards the back of the truck and climbed in before closing the tailgate and pulling their jackets tighter. Dominic slipped into the driver’s seat while Fortress climbed into the passenger side, both of them closed their doors with a thud.

Dominic reached forwards and gripped the key in the ignition, then turned it, the vehicle rumbled to life and the headlights brightly illuminated the front windows of the schools. Dominic pressed down on the clutch and shifted into first, then gave the vehicle some gas. Soon enough he was rolling forwards, the black exhaust smoke of the engine quickly leaving the exhaust pipe and being carried away by the wind. After a few seconds Dominic shifted into second just as he had the first and the truck began rolling across the lawn of the school until its tires hit the asphalt, leaving large tire tracks in the snow that had formed on the lawn.

“So… This is what your world used to look like?” Fortress asked as they began driving down the street, Dominic wasn’t sure where he was going, but he figured it was a good idea to get out of sight before doing anything else.

“Sort of… My world was a lot less brightly colored…” Dominic replied as he looked out the windows, the truck unfortunately seemed to lack a heater, so he and Fortress were just as cold as their compatriots in the bed of the large vehicle. “Kinda does remind me of home though…” The man sighed quietly as he turned down a street, then slowed down as it appeared to be residential. “Less houses where I’m from though…” The man paused and looked at Fortress. “Say, check the glove compartment and see if there’s a map or something…” The thestral trooper stared at Dominic like he had three heads. “The little compartment in front of you.”

“Oh!” Fortress replied before reaching forwards and opening the compartment, a couple papers spilled out and he quickly picked up the one that looked the most like a map. “Alright… Let’s see… What street are we on?”

“I dunno…” Dominic replied as he continued looking at the houses, then back to the road, a couple of them still had lights on but most of them were dark as the snow continued to fall. The rumble of the engine comforted Dominic, he’d always liked working with vehicles back home, and now he felt like he was back in the saddle again. “Looks like there’s a sign coming up, I’d read it but I’m driving… Try to get us someplace secluded.”

“Yes, sir.” Fortress replied as he looked at the sign, then went back to the map, after a few moments of humming he set the map down. “Just keep going on this for a bit, we should hit farm country soon.”

“Good.” Dominic replied, staring at a couple of the houses that he went past. Some of them reminded him of his old home, he could practically see himself and Maria playing out in the lawn. The man quickly shook his head and focused on the road once again, noting that there seemed to be another car up ahead, going in the same direction. It was going a bit slow, forcing Dominic to shift down into second gear once again with a slight groan. The vehicle was dark grey, the model reminded him a bit of a Camaro. “Ugh… Even across dimensions people still drive like jackasses…”

“I know what you mean, I hate when ponies would fly slow as fuck around Canterlot…” Fortress said in a quiet tone. “It’s not like they have the whole sky to ourselves, they have very strict air corridors because of all the buildings.”

“Gas pedal is the one on the right, dumbass!” Dominic said loudly as the vehicle in front of him continued along at its slow pace. “Unless of course they’re going the speed limit…”

“They aren’t, I don’t think. We just passed a sign that said twenty five or something…” Fortress commented, Dominic looked down at his speedometer and groaned as he saw that the car was forcing him to drive fifteen miles an hour.

“Normally I’d be swearing at them full on if they did this back home, but… It’s been so long… I don’t mind being stuck behind them all that much, I’m happy to take in the sights. On the other hand... Fifteen miles an hour in a fucking Camaro... Really, man?” Dominic commented. “We just have a job to do, and the less time we spend in traffic the better.” The man took a few deep breaths and thought of Luna and Maria’s smiling face, that helped put his temper at ease. There wasn’t any need to get upset, they still had plenty of time, hell they’d only just gotten through the portal less than an hour ago.

Dominic sighed and scratched his nose, continuing to drive a decent distance behind the car, just as he’d been taught years ago. It was very much like riding a bike, and Dominic thanked god for that small mercy. Finally, Fortress pointed to a road ahead.

“See that one?” He asked, Dominic nodded. “Turn left there, then right at the next road…” The man nodded and turned on the blinker, it clicked on and off as the orange lights indicated he was making a turn. The car ahead of him also turned on its blinker, it seemed they’d be stuck behind it for a bit longer. “These vehicles are amazing, did humans have a lot of these?” He asked as he fiddled with the buttons on the console.

“Yup.” Dominic replied as he turned the wheel and tapped the brakes, without the aid of power steering it was a bit of a tight turn but at least he made it. “Not all of us drove big trucks like this, more like that guy there…” Dominic gestured to the slow driver in front of them, Fortress nodded again and leaned back in his seat. Dominic flicked on his right blinker, but Fortress didn’t see the turn yet. He was about to speak up until Dominic shifted gears and picked up, the thestral trooper  panicked as Dominic pulled out onto the other side of the road and sped up. Fortress looked out the passenger window at the other vehicle, noting that the driver was staring at the truck.

“That guy’s staring at us.” Fortress commented, Dominic shrugged and pulled ahead further until he was ahead of the other car and could speed up. Even with the snow on the ground Dominic trusted the big tires and massive weight of the truck to help him stay on the road. The snow was coming down hard now, and Dominic wanted to get his crew someplace warm before they all froze to death.

“Check the map and see if there’s a hotel or something nearby.” Dominic ordered, Fortress nodded again as the man checked his mirror to see that the lights of the car from earlier were getting closer. There was a knock on the cab's rear window, Dominic could see that Rolling had leaned forward to get his attention. The man was quick turn and slide the glass to the side. “What’s up?”

“The guy behind us is getting awful close.” Rolling said over the freezing wind. “It’s got Shining spooked, what should I do?” Dominic sighed and shook his head.

“Tell Shining to grow a pair. If this guy gives us any actual trouble we’ll be able to lay him out pretty quick.” Dominic replied, Rolling nodded and made his way back to his seat. The man sighed quietly and took a few more deep breaths, soon enough the turn came into view and Dominic flicked on his blinker. The man tapped the brakes once again, then there was a bang from behind and the truck lurched. “Son of a bitch!”

The man took a couple breaths and pulled over, the car that had been riding his bumper pulling over behind him. Dominic turned and looked at Fortress wall, the thestral soldier had wide eyes and was gritting his teeth.

“Stay here.” Dominic said simply before he turned and opened the driver’s side door, with an annoyed grunt the bandanna wearing man stepped out into the snow and adjusted his helmet before closing the door.

“The fuck happened?” Rolling asked, standing up in the back of the truck and looking at Dominic.

“That fucker’s gonna try and take us for some insurance money.” Dominic replied as he continued walking. “Seen this shit before, just sit tight, I’ll handle this.” Rolling nodded and walked towards the edge of the truck bed, standing there and adding a bit of intimidation factor. At least, as best as he could with his frazzled nerves. The driver of the other car opened their door and raised his hands as he saw Dominic’s unhappy glare. “The fuck’s the matter with you, huh!? Riding my ass like an idiot in this weather!?”

The man froze as he noticed the design on the front of the Camaro, which had suffered a bit of damage to its bumper. The driver still had his hands up in a nervous fashion, leading Dominic to suspect that whatever this guy was planning, it didn’t involve a confrontation. The design on the car was one Dominic had seen in the movie that had started the mission in the first place, the little punk with blue hair that had rammed his rear bumper was none other than the waifu stealer himself, Flash Sentry.

“I’m sorry!” The kid driver said in a nervous tone. “I was on the phone with my girlfriend and I got frustrated and...” He stammered, looking nervously between Dominic and the uniformed fellow in the back of the very large truck. Flash didn’t recognize the patches from any ROTC training manual he’d ever seen, but that man was definitely military. “Look, let’s just trade information and call the cops-”

“You have any idea what the penalty is for interfering with a military operation, son?” Rolling said loudly, cutting him off. Flash Sentry nervously nodded his head. “Then you know what kind of shit you’ll be in if you call the fuzz, my advice would be to shut up about this. You hit a patch of ice and slid into a ditch. End of story. Comprende?”

“Yes, sir!” Flash said, instinctively saluting. Dominic looked at Rolling for a moment and nodded to him before he walked back to the front of the truck and climbed in. The truck, being a truck, didn’t have a scratch on it. Dominic was able to easily start her rolling again and made the turn down the road, leaving behind a petrified Flash Sentry.

“I hope we didn’t just fuck up part of the mission…” Dominic muttered under his breath, worrying that any move made on Sunset Shimmer could be hindered by that incident. With a shrug the man continued down the road as the snow continued to fall.

“It looks like there’s a secluded road coming up on the right in a couple miles.” Fortress said, having shrugged off his nerves.

“What about hotels? I don’t mind sleeping in the cold, but it would be nice to not wake up feeling numb all over.” Dominic asked, the rumble of the engine calming his nerves. Gradually the houses began to space out, giving way to snowy trees and fields.

“Not really, but it looks like there’s something called a ‘Motel’ up ahead just past that road I told you about.” Fortress responded, Dominic nodded, not mentioning that a Motel and a Hotel were essentially the same thing, for the most part, one was cleaner than the other. The rest of the drive went on in silence, allowing Dominic to fully focus on the road ahead, even as his hands began to go numb from the cold. Eventually the lights of the Motel came into view, some shady looking place that probably hadn’t been cleaned since the seventies, but any port in a storm. 

Dominic brought the truck to a halt outside the two story building, next to a pool that had been closed for the season. Quietly he and Fortress got out of the cab and walked around the sides.

“Let’s get our gear inside, but the money has priority, we can’t get more of that here.” Dominic commanded as the tailgate came down, Rolling Thunder and Shining Armor handed him the bag of money while Fortress gathered the packs and other supplies. “Once we’re inside I’ll grab the map, maybe it’ll have some useful stuff on it… Like where to buy a pair of gloves.”

The cold dry air made Dominic want to cough as he watched the mist escape from his nostrils. Once all four of them had gathered their equipment they wandered towards the Motel office, Dominic quickly pulling down his bandanna as to not spook the desk clerk. Inside wasn’t much warmer than outside, as made clear by the clerk wearing three winter coats and a toboggan cap.

“Welcome to the Warm Soul Motel, are you looking for a room?” He asked, though it was hardly understandable considering how much his teeth chattered.

“I’m looking for two.” Dominic said, he wasn’t really fazed by the cold like the others, he had grown up in the mountains and spent three winters alone with barely any food, water, or heat. The clerk frowned faintly and looked behind him where he saw only one room key hanging on the wall. Dominic noticed it as well and sighed, but he didn’t get angry, he was just tired of all that had happened that night. “But one’s fine…” The clerk quickly grabbed the key and set it on the desk, only now taking note of the two soldiers in tactical gear and the fact that Dominic was wearing a helmet.

“You guys some sort of cops?” The clerk asked through chattering teeth, Dominic shook his head as he began filling out a form. With all the practice he’d had in his office as President, it was relatively easy.

“Security detail.” Shining Armor spoke up, the clerk took note that he seemed to be the only one not wearing some sort of helmet.

“You guy’s got any weapons on you?” The clerk asked nervously. “I’m not supposed to let folks with guns take them inside.” Dominic opened the bag of money, the massive amount causing the clerk’s eyes to go wide. From the bag Dominic pulled three fifties and set them on counter, then he slid them to the clerk with a disarming smile.

“We’re completely and totally unarmed, as far as you know.” He said, the clerk took the money and nodded.

“As far as I know you guy’s are pacifists.” The clerk responded, Dominic nodded and closed the bag before taking the room key. The others looked at him with a bit of surprise but said nothing as he walked back out into the cold with the bag of money. They followed him as he lead them to their room, it was at the very end of the complex on the first floor. Once they had gone inside and set unpacked their gear they all went to relax after their rather long day until eventually they fell asleep, all save for Dominic.

For hours after the lights went out, Dominic sat in one of the provided wooden chairs, staring at the door. Shining armor had taken one of the beds in the room while Rolling had taken the other, Fortress was in his sleeping bag on the floor. The television, which had fascinated the ponies turned humans for a while, was turned off. The only noise in the room was Dominic’s foot tapping against the floor and the howl of the wind and snow outside.

For the others, this was a bit of a tough experience because of how alien it all was. For Dominic, it was all too familiar. The look of the schools and houses, the cars and roads, the snow and wind. It all brought him back to those lonesome nights in Evergreen. Every now and then headlights would light up the window to the outside, the pale cloth curtains made it look more like lightning. Sometimes Dominic could see a figure at the window, a deformed figure that wanted to get inside.

When the clock on the nightstand reached one in the morning, Dominic took a deep breath and got out of his chair. He set his helmet aside before laying down on the floor, there he let out a sigh and folded his hands on his chest. He stared for several minutes at the ceiling above, then closed his eyes and thought of Luna and Maria, the two people he cared for more than anything. Their smiling faces, the way they walked, the way they talked… It was all very soothing. Somehow he managed to fall asleep, the fitful sort that he would easily stir from at the first sign of a threat. The more he dreamed of those he loved, the more his squirming subsided, until finally he was in a deep sleep.
> Chapter 58
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic looked around him, quietly taking in the beauty of the landscape around him. Blue skies and grassy hilly plains as far as the eye could see. A single sakura tree rose on the horizon, beside it was a simple looking house. The man didn’t know why, but he knew he had to get there. Adorned in his jacket, helmet, and other attire, he began walking through the grass. Each step he took was cautious, not knowing if the infected could be lurking in the fields of green around him.

When he finally reached the house he stopped to look at the cherry blossoms on the tree, he’d never really been one for Japan, but he had to admit it was rather beautiful. A pit of sadness formed in his stomach and he looked towards the ground, quietly he knelt down and picked up a fallen blossom. With a faint smile he looked it over before tucking the beautiful flower into one of the buttonholes on his jacket. When he stood up he turned to look at the house, the siding was light pink and there was a simple deck with a chair on the porch.

Slowly he approached it, cautious as ever, his boots caused the wood of the deck to creak under his weight. Slowly he reached for the handle, until he froze and knocked loudly, knowing the noise would stir any infected hiding inside. To his surprise he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

“Come in!”

“Maria…?” Dominic asked himself before he pushed the door open, sure enough when he stepped inside the house he saw her. Her long hair and cocky smile were just as he remembered, the home was decorated with antique furniture. Pictures hung on the wall, pictures of the two of them.

“There you are.” She said with a smile as she walked forwards and began to remove his jacket. “Why do you keep wearing this stuff when you go out there?”

“Because they could be out there.” Dominic replied, a bit confused. Maria gave him a sad frown and removed his helmet before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek.

“They aren’t out there, not anymore… You must be so tired from work…” The woman took his hand and walked him to the couch in front of the window. She sat down with him beside her and pulled him close. “Come rest your head… It’s alright…” Dominic didn’t resist as she held his head to her bosom, running a hand through his hair and sighing softly. “You’re home… Mister President.”

“What…?”

“Mister President.” Rolling Thunder said loudly, Dominic’s eyes shot open and he sat up straight. His back ached from sleeping on the floor, but aside from that, he felt better than he had in long awhile. “Sorry to wake you, sir, but it’s eight o’clock.”

“Oh… Right, sorry…” Dominic stood up tiredly and put his helmet on, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them. “What’s the word?” He asked with a yawn, looking around the room he saw that Fortress Wall and Shining Armor were sitting at a simple table situated by the window, looking outside at something Dominic couldn’t see.

“Nothing much to report, sir. Everything’s been pretty quiet so far.” Rolling said as he gestured to his two compatriots at the window. “We’ve retrieved the map as you suggested, we’re trying to make sense of some of the things on it.” Dominic quietly walked towards the map and looked it over, taking note of a couple items that had been circled. “We’ve circled things that could be of use to us or are otherwise important, so far we’ve found a fuel depot, a food store, this Motel, and the high school.” The Major gestured to the spots on the map, tapping the last one for emphasis. Dominic spotted something right off the bat as well, and quickly tapped it with his finger.

“Mall.” He said simply. “This is a place where we’ll be able to find a good deal of what we need.” The others nodded and quickly circled it on the map. “It also turns out that human teenagers love to hang out at the mall, meaning it will most likely be the best place for us to contact or capture Sunset Shimmer.”

“Who?” Shining Armor asked, adjusting the collared shirt that he was wearing.

“The threat we told you about, remember?” Dominic replied, Shining nodded quickly and looked back at the mall. “Only thing is if we go in there looking like a tactical team, they’re gonna know something’s up, did anyone pack civies?”

“No sir, we don’t generally wear clothes aside from our uniforms.” Fortress Wall replied, Dominic nodded and facepalmed at his carelessness.

“No worries, I packed some extra clothes you can borrow until we get you some that actually fit.” Dominic pointed to his backpack, the others looked to the pack and marveled for a moment. “I’m gonna step outside and get some air while you guys change.”

“Understood.” Rolling said as he and the others walked towards the pack, Dominic tightened his coat and removed his helmet before stepping outside. With that he opened the door and quickly stepped out in order to preserve the heat in the room, when the door was closed he rubbed his hands together and looked at the freshly fallen snow that glinted in the morning light. Quietly he walked towards the truck in the parking lot, it was hard to miss the hulking olive drab machine next to all the smaller cars.

Now that Dominic saw it in the light he could see that the doors had something painted on them, pictures that he recognized easily. The false cutie-mark he’d been given, a fist clenching an arrow and an olive branch, with writing beneath them in latin. ‘Si vis pacem, para bellum.’. It looked more like the kind of vehicle a Private Security Contractor would drive than a legitimate military vehicle, then again, it wasn’t really a legitimate military vehicle in this world’s eyes.

The man approached the vehicle and ran his fingers over the lettering before he opened the passenger door and climbed up into the cab. Leaving the door open he began to look through the papers that had spilled out of the glove box the night before, honestly curious about how they had gotten there. A registration paper and an insurance card belonging to a company named ‘Chaos and Chaos’ with a smiling picture of a familiar draconequus at the bottom.

“Of course…” He mumbled to himself with a slight chuckle, he froze as he heard snow crunching outside. It was slow, moving as if whoever was there didn’t want to be detected, Dominic’s hand slipped into his jacket and grasped the grip of his revolver. The man paused and took a deep breath, thinking of Luna and Maria once again, and his hand left his revolver. Instead he turned in the seat and cleared his throat. “You out there, you can stop sneaking around, I don’t bite.”

The person moving stopped, a few moments later the source of the noise came into view. Dominic recognized the badge, blue clothes, and hat immediately. He was very glad he’d chosen to leave his weapon holstered.

“Morning, officer.” Dominic said in a cordial tone. The police officer, a woman with orange skin and fiery hair, stared at him for a few moments. “Something wrong? I don’t think I was speeding…”

“I got a report last night about a vehicle that had driven all over the local school’s property, this seems to be it, mind explaining yourself?” The officer asked, Dominic leaned forwards and caught a glimpse of her name tag. ‘S. Fire’.

“Ah, well, you see there was a bit of an incident last night, between us and a young teen driver.” Dominic began, leaning back in his seat quietly. He didn’t want to lie to the officer, that wouldn’t be the right thing to do, but there was no real way to describe what had actually happened without being arrested or carted off to the Canterlot Laughing Academy. “That forced us off the road. The car was dark grey-”

“With lightning bolts on the side?” The police officer asked, Dominic nodded. “Flash… That little fink…”

“It wasn’t his fault, officer, he hit a patch of ice.” Dominic added, the officer looked at him for another moment before sighing and shaking her head.

“I have too much of a headache for this… Just… Next time stay on the curb, okay? I’ll let you off with a warning.” The officer said, Dominic nodded again and the woman rubbed her temples before walking away. Dominic went back to looking through the papers like the incident hadn’t happened, until all of them had been put back into the glove compartment. He briefly looked up as the cop car pulled out of the parking lot, it felt like watching a ghost. He couldn’t help but wonder how would these people fair against the tide of the infected, that thought forced him to shake his head.

The man hopped out of the cab and closed the door, sighing and putting his hands in his pockets before he began walking back towards the Motel room. He only stopped when he heard laughter across the street, slowly he turned and watched a couple high schoolers walking down the road with bags over their shoulders. A sad smile crossed his lips before he turned back to the door and knocked.

“You all set in there?” He asked, pushing the door open a tad.

“We’re set.” Fortress replied, Dominic pushed the door open and got a look at his companions. Rolling Thunder had taken to wearing some jeans and a grey t-shirt, using his black fatigue shirt as a sort of jacket. Fortress had gone with a similar look, only his shirt was more of an olive brown. Shining Armor was still in his suit, figuring it would be alright.

“Alright, let’s roll then, the sooner we get this done the sooner we go home.” Dominic clapped his hands together, getting a couple more nods from his fellows. “Rolling, I’m gonna need you to hold down the fort on this one. You’d stand out at a mall anyway.”

“You got it, chief. I want to see what’s on this TV thing anyway.” Rolling replied, reclining on one of the beds. Dominic walked in and began going through the bag of money they’d carried with them all this way. From within he counted out three thousand dollars and divided it up into fifteen hundred each, then handed one stack to Fortress and keeping the other half for himself.

“We’ll split up at the mall, so you’ll need some currency.” Dominic explained, Fortress nodded and tucked it into his breast pocket on his fatigues. Shining felt a tad left out, looking at Dominic with a small frown. “Hey, these are government funds, to be used to aid in our mission only.”

“Oh…” Shining said with a bit of a sigh, Dominic looked at him for a moment before plucking a couple hundreds from the bag and handing them to Shining.

“This is from my presidential salary, so it’s out of my pocket, technically.” Dominic explained, the stallion took it and put it in his pocket. “That’s it though. This isn’t a sightseeing trip. Remember?”

“Right… I’m sorry. I just thought it’d get something for Cadence is all, I guess I kinda forgot for a second.” Shining explained, Dominic patted him on the shoulder before turning to walk to the door.

“Don’t worry about it, we all get stupid sometimes.” He said over his shoulder, Fortress and Shining followed behind him as they closed the door, leaving Rolling Thunder to sit and watch television. Their boots crunched the snow as they walked to the truck, Dominic was quick to climb up into the driver’s seat and turn the key.

“I’ll ride in back, sir.” Fortress said, Dominic nodded and let Shining climb into the passenger side. When Dominic heard Fortress knock on the window he knew he was secure, the man put the vehicle into reverse and carefully backed up as best he could. It took him a while since the truck was so large, but once it was clear of the smaller cars Dominic found it quite easy. Feeling a bit daring the man reached forwards and turned on the radio, some weird comercial began playing and he quickly changed it to something that was playing electronic music. It wasn’t perfect, but music was music.

Dominic shifted into first and soon enough they’d pulled out of the motel and onto the road, Shining was staring at the radio with a bit of surprise.

“That’s TV before there was TV.” Dominic explained as he continued down the snowy road, passing by more kids on their way to school along the side of the road. “Radio’s pretty cool, actually that’s one of the reason’s we’re taking this trip to the mall, gonna get a bunch of them.”

“Why?” Shining asked, Dominic chuckled and turned down the music.

“Battlefield knowledge in real time.” He said simply, Shining’s eyes widened. “The United States is in a bit of a spot right now, we need all the edge we can get, especially with what we’ll be doing in the next year or so…”

“Why don’t we have this technology in our world?” He asked, Dominic shrugged as he kept on driving down the road. “There’s so much we could do.”

“Slow down there.” Dominic said sternly, looking at Shining with a serious expression. “This is serious hush hush information, do you know the kind of shit storm we’d see if ponies found out about where we are now? That’s why that letter Luna sent you ‘disappeared’, I had my agents burn it before the ink was dry.” The Prince adjusted his tie nervously as Dominic continued his driving, he took a few deep breaths and shook his head. “Sorry I got so intense on you there…”

“I understand.” Shining replied, leaning back in his seat and watching the scenery go by. “I guess I never really saw you as the ‘Leader’ type, I certainly never saw you as the espionage type.”

“Yeah… I’m a regular Jason Bourne…” Dominic said sarcastically, Shining raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. The president messed with the radio again, groaning a bit. “Do all of you only ever listen to electronic music? There’s no rock or metal here…”

“Hey, I happen to like Countess Coloratura.” Dominic heard Fortress comment from the back of the truck, the man shrugged as he took another turn. He slowed to a stop as he saw there was a bit of traffic, most likely parents dropping off their kids to school. Dominic felt a pang of grief run through him, visibly wincing for a moment before he shook his head.

“Does make me wonder though… What it’s gonna be like…” He mumbled to himself, Shining looked at the man, not sure if he was addressing anyone in particular. Dominic thought of Luna and Maria again, his eyes glancing down at his pocket where he had tucked Luna’s feather. “Hey, Shining…?”

“Yeah?” The stallion-turned-human replied.

“You and Cadence… How did you know she was… Well, you know…” The man asked quietly, not taking his eyes off the road as the engine rumbled and the dark clouds began to close in on the sky once more. The truck inched forward with the traffic, it seemed that some parents were taking their sweet time, not that Dominic minded.

“We knew each other a very long time. Practically grew up together.” Shining said wistfully before he looked at Dominic with a sympathetic expression. “Is this about you and Luna?”

“It’s more than that…” Dominic admitted, Shining noted the traffic jam and Dominic figured he didn’t have much choice. “There’s a girl back on Earth that I’ve known my whole life, and she loves me… But she thinks I’m dead. I have a chance to save her, and I want to, because I love her too… But…”

“But you love Luna too.” Shining finished for him, Dominic nodded.

“I think so… I don’t really know… I only felt this way about someone once before, and that time I didn’t know what it meant…” The man said, Shining Armor remained quiet for a few minutes, occasionally humming in thought, meanwhile the traffic was starting to move along and the radio continued to play.

“Ask yourself this…” Shining finally said, looking over at Dominic with his own serious expression. “Who are you willing to hurt?” The man nearly stomped on the brakes as he looked at Shining, his eyes wide with anger. “Love isn’t just about being happy all the time… There are times where you’ll have to say something or do something that hurts the one you love, but it’s for their own good…” Shining sighed as he looked out the window. “Cadence wanted to have foals a while ago… And we tried and tried and tried, but it didn’t happen… I went to a doctor, and it turns out there’s a one in a million chance that we wouldn’t be able to conceive.”

Dominic was giving as much attention as he could to Shining Armor now, as the traffic had stopped completely.

“It turns out I’m that one in a million chance… And… It hurt her when I told her…” Shining’s voice veiled a bit of self loathing, an emotion that Dominic was all too familiar with. “The odds, well, they’re one in a million… If it wasn’t Cadence though… I might not have told her the truth, I would’ve made something up about not being ready and preserved her happiness… But she had a right to know, even if it hurt her.”

Dominic remained quiet, letting the story sink in as he continued to sit in the traffic jam. The radio played quietly in the background, and Shining Armor was sitting with a look of mild aggravation on his face.

“You should wait until you see this girl on earth again… If the feeling is still there, it’s probably meant to be.” Shining added, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “That’s how I knew what it was with Cadence.”

“Thanks, Shining…” Dominic finally spoke, his passenger only nodded. Finally the traffic began to move and they were driving past the high school in no time, Dominic briefly looked over and spotted a couple familiar faces in the crowd, not that he said anything. That was until he spotted the woman standing by the front door, then he looked at Shining and let out a groan. “Uh oh…”

“What?” Shining asked, Dominic shook his head and continued driving.

“Don’t worry about it, it probably won’t matter…” Dominic replied, the stallion gave him a slight glare. “So, there’s mirror images of ponies in this universe. Like Princess Luna is now Vice Principal Luna.” Dominic gestured to Shining Armor. “We’d planned the mission with us in mind, because I’m not a pony and the others aren’t really big in the public eye we figured we could get by…” Shining Armor nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry about it though, anything happens we’ll take care of it.”

The man hit the brakes once again as traffic stopped up ahead, he could see that there seemed some sort of commotion. Dominic rolled down the window and leaned out to get a better look, what he saw was that someone had hit a patch of ice, for real this time, and their car had slid into a tree. Dominic shook his head and hit the blinker, there was a turn coming up on the left anyway, it’d be easier just to go around the accident. As he waited for an opening in the traffic to turn he saw Shining turn up the radio.

“So… I have a question.” Dominic asked, Shining nodded again. “How does a pony get famous as a pop star if Equestria doesn’t have radio…?” Shining Armor shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. “I mean… I’m not the only one that finds that weird, right?”

“Nope.” Shining replied. “It’s actually a very good question… I think it had something to do with records, but, I don’t know. I don’t really listen to music that much, it sort of sounds the same.” Dominic shrugged and tapped his hands on the steering wheel as he waited for the traffic to move so he could at least shift into first gear.

“I’ve got another one for you.” Dominic said, Shining nodded again and looked at him. “You’re in charge of the Crystal Empire, right? So why not take the title Emperor as the name would imply?” Shining chuckled and leaned his head back against the wall of the truck cab.

“Cadence thought it sounded too martial.” He adjusted his tie as he spoke, Dominic only nodding at his answer. “And King would make our subjects uncomfortable, since, you know what their last king did.”

“What about Luna and Celestia though?” Dominic added, groaning as now it seemed everyone had stopped to stare at the accident up ahead. “They’re both in charge of Equestria, why aren’t they both Queens? Is it like a comfort thing or…”

“Equestrian law says there can only be one Queen, for whatever reason… So one of them would have to get married in order for them to become Queen.” Shining explained, Dominic nodded again, now sort of listening to the radio as well. Feeling a bit annoyed he pulled the cord hanging by his head that would activate the horn, sure enough the air horns on the roof blared to life and people around the truck stared at it in surprise. Dominic was a bit surprised himself, but not at how loud it was. The horn had played ‘Dixie’ like some weird homage to the Dukes of Hazzard.

It seemed to have an effect though, as the vehicle in front of Dominic pulled up a couple feet, giving the man more than enough room to pull out of the traffic jam before he turned down the street on the left, leaving the other cars behind as his truck trundled through another residential area. Dominic found himself smiling faintly as he looked around again, taking another breath as he thought of all the times he and Maria had played in the old neighborhood. Eventually he turned right and the vehicle was running parallel to the road that had been stopped up by traffic. After a few minutes he turned right once again and drove on until he’d reached the main road.

“Judging by the map I saw, the mall should be coming up ahead of us soon…” Dominic mused, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, occasionally letting his arm hang out the still open window. “I hope they’re open this early, otherwise we might end up having to kill time.” Shining Armor just shrugged at the prospect, looking out his own window at the houses and buildings. There was nothing like them in Equestria or the Crystal Empire, they all looked so strange and yet so normal. “Hey, do you know how to use a sword?”

“Yup.” Shining replied lazily, he looked over at Dominic with a raised eyebrow. “Why?”

“Luna said she wanted to train me to use a sword, but I don’t know the first thing about it.” Dominic replied, Shining Armor blinked for a few moments before he cleared his throat.

“If Luna wants to teach you how to use a sword she must really see something you, and I don’t mean in a lovey dovey way, she hasn’t trained anyone with a sword… In… Since before either of us were born, at least.” Shining said with a bit of a squeak in his voice, Dominic gulped once again, he was certain he didn’t want to fail Luna now, even more than he had been before. “It’s not like using that weapon of yours, you need to be a lot more fluid with your movements, that’s about all the help I can give, since I’m a unicorn. You’d be better off asking a minotaur.”

“Alright…” Dominic replied before he perked up as they passed a sign for the mall, he flicked the blinker on and quickly turned the truck into the large parking lot. There were certainly a good amount of cars, and the massive truck stood out among them with its sheer size alone. “Looks like we might be in luck.” Dominic pulled the truck into a parking space near the front door, he was very glad to have found it in the first place. It was a rather tight fit to get the truck between the two smaller cars on either side, but Dominic managed to do it. “Alright… So, if you see yourself in there, don’t say anything. If they ask about you say you just have one of those faces that get’s recognized… Or, you know, book it the hell out of there.”

“Good plan.” Shining said with a hint of sarcasm.

“You got a better one?” Dominic asked, Shining didn’t reply. “That’s what I thought…” The man killed the engine and put the keys in his breast pocket, he paused as he felt the softness of Luna’s feather, sighing for a moment before he opened his door and climbed out. “Fortress, you still with me?”

“Yo!” Fortress yelled from the back of the truck before he opened the tailgate and jumped down with a grunt. Shining Armor meanwhile walked around the side of the truck and looked at the mall with a bit of surprise.

“Remember, stick to the list as best you can.” Dominic instructed, Fortress nodded dutifully before he pulled said list from his pocket and looked it over. “Shining, remember, if you see yourself or someone you know, turn your ass around and walk away. And try not to spend all your cash in one place.” Shining just nodded and Dominic began leading them towards the front door of the mall. “We’re going to be entering a world of teenage angst and insanity, gentlemen… Keep your wits about you.”

Dominic gripped the front door and gave a tug, it opened outward and the sound of crowds bustling inside greeted the ears of all three of them. Fortress Wall was first to enter the mall, followed by Shining, and lastly Dominic. They stared for a moment at all the shops that seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see, the crowds walking around, including at least a dozen teens that were skipping school.

“Let’s move.” Dominic ordered, walking forwards. “Meet back here in two hours, don’t bring anything to the truck until we’re all together. Don’t want some fucker stealing it out of the back, you know?”

“Yes, sir.” Fortress Wall replied before he gave a nod and began walking off towards the shops on the left, Dominic looked at Shining for a moment before he began walking to the shops on the right. Shining quickly moved to catch up, walking beside the man with a casual stride, or at best as he could, he was still getting used to two legs. The floor was a deep blue carpet and aside from the skylights in the roof there were also fluorescent lights that hung from the ceiling. The walls were white and decorated with ads for stores and posters for upcoming events.

“I hate malls…” Dominic mumbled as he looked at the stores on either side, most of them were clothing stores, some sold shoes, others sold holistic remedies and so on. Shining was staring at most of it, half of the things he was seeing for the first time, it took all his will power not to start freaking out and continue his casual stride. Dominic reached into his pocket and withdrew his own list opening it to get a look at what he’d need. “Alright, let’s see if we can find a Radio Shack or something…”

“Right…” Shining Armor replied, subduing his excitement at all the wonders he was seeing. He hadn’t totally believed how advanced Dominic had said his species was, but now that he was seeing something that was similar, not even an exact copy, and how advanced it was… He was a true believer in that moment. The two of the walked around in relative silence, passing by couples and adults wandering through the area until finally they happened upon a shop called ‘Transistor Temple’. It appeared that it was the place to go for radios and other communication equipment, and so Dominic and Shining entered the store with a bit of trepidation.

“Let’s see… Thirty handheld radios, ten large CB radios, ten CB antennas, power adapters…” Dominic read aloud as he walked through one of the aisles. This monologue caught the attention of the shop clerk, a girl that looked like she’d just graduated high school with piercings and thick gothic make up. She stood up and quickly walked towards the man, meanwhile Shining was gawking at all the radios and other items on display.

“Hello, sir! Welcome to Transistor Temple!” The teen said, honestly trying to sound interested. Dominic nearly punched her out of reflex, the goth look made her almost look infected, but he played off the reflexive move as him running a hand over his head. “Anything I can help you find today?”

“Yup.” Dominic replied before he showed her the list, the teen took a moment to read the header at the top of the page before anything else, noting that most of the words were followed by the word ‘CLASSIFIED’. “I need a couple handhelds, some CBs and antennas, and so on.”

“You some sort of spy?” The teen asked bluntly, Dominic shook his head.

“Nope, my buddies and I are starting up a trucking business.” He replied with an honest tone. “Very hush hush, though, since we aren’t Union… So… You know…”

“Whatever, man…” The teen replied as she put her hands on her hips. “We’ve got most of this stuff in stock, but it’s like, in the warehouse or something…” Dominic nodded quietly and reached into his jacket for the money he’d taken that morning, the teen’s eyes widened at the sight. “I can have them bring it up here if you want.”

“We’re not ready to head out just yet, but we’ve got a truck out in the parking lot. Mind if we pay now and come back when we’re ready? That way your guys can get it all together.” Dominic asked, the teen just nodded quickly. “Great, what would all this come to?” The teen quickly went to the register and typed in the numbers, after a few minutes of calculating the total came out to a surprisingly low number.

“Nine hundred and fifty seven dollars and eighty cents with tax…” The teen said, Dominic smiled faintly and counted out nine hundred and sixty dollars, then set it on the counter. Faster than he’d ever seen the teen counted out the money and processed the order, then printed a receipt and handed him his change. “Just come on in when you’re ready.”

“Yup.” Dominic said with a nod before he turned and walked towards the doors, he paused only to grab Shining by the shoulder. “Let’s go.” The man in the suit turned away from the display he was looking at and followed Dominic out of the store, once they were outside they took a look around. “Well, we’re ahead of schedule… I’m glad that girl didn’t ask too many questions…” Shining Armor only nodded, still taken in by all the shops around him. “Guess we’ve got time to look for that thing you wanted for Cadence, huh?”

“Yeah, but, I don’t really know what to get her.” Shining replied, the two of them began to walk along the other shops. Dominic shrugged quietly and looked over the area, their shoes and boots fell in step almost like a march. Shining Armor paused as he saw a couple shops that seemed to sell knick knacks. “How about one of those little statues?” Dominic stopped and looked at the shop in question. It looked like it sold things of the orient, or the closest resemblance to the orient that that universe had.

“Alright, we can take a look.” Dominic said with a shrug, the men walked into the store. While Shining examined the little figurines Dominic walked around to get a better look at everything else. It reminded him of a store in a mall back in Colorado that had sold swords and airsoft rifles like they were candy, that was probably the only store he really liked. As Dominic checked out the potted bamboo plants and imported snacks he noticed that this store seemed to be somewhat similar, as he could see an assortment of blades hanging on the wall. He was sure they were all poorly made, but still, it didn’t hurt to look.

Staring at the swords made him really think about what Luna had said, that perhaps he didn’t give himself enough credit, and maybe he could become something more than a user of brute force on the battlefield. There was a slight cough from behind the counter, and Dominic looked to see an older gentleman of what appeared to be asian descent.

“Oh… Hello.” Dominic said. “Sorry, just looking at the swords.” The older man nodded and looked up at the blades on the wall.

“Looking to add a bit of flare to your room?” The older man asked, Dominic shook his head as he continued examining the blades.

“A friend of mine is a professional swordswoman, she’s going to teach me.” Dominic replied in an honest tone, the older man raised an eyebrow for a moment before gesturing for Dominic to come closer. Curious, Dominic did just that.

“There aren’t a lot of people that do that these days, most of them come in looking for something to hang on their wall or to impress their friends.” The man said with a bit of a sigh as he ducked down behind the counter and grabbed a plastic case. “You don’t look like that sort.” The man set the case on the counter and began to open it, Dominic noticed that it seemed to be the same length and size of the box Luna carried with her. The man opened the case and turned it to face Dominic, to his surprise, Dominic saw the glint of steel. “This is an antique, very high quality, has been in my family for ten generations.”

“I’m not looking to buy…” Dominic said with a wave of the hand, the man nodded understandingly.

“I was not looking to sell.” The man replied, he picked up the sword within and looked it over. “I know that this blade will be here long after I am gone, that’s the quality of the workmanship. What I sell here cannot compare to this.” The man gave it a few test swings before he put it back in the case and closed it. “If you are serious about swords, invest in a quality blade, that’s all I can say.”

“Thank you for the advice…” Dominic replied, the man just smiled and returned the case below the counter. Shining Armor came over to the counter at that point with a few small statues of knights and what looked like samurai. “All set?”

“Yeah.” Shining replied before he turned to the man behind the counter, the shopkeeper was quick to ring up the items and Shining paid for them as fast as he could. He fumbled once or twice as he wasn’t used to using paper currency, but soon enough the transaction was done and the two of them departed the store. Dominic quietly sighed as he looked around, noticing that occasionally women would stop and stare at him, some guys too. It was weird, he didn't know why they all seemed to look away when he looked at them.

"Wanna get a bite?" Dominic asked, Shining shrugged and looked down at the bag he had with him. "Don't worry, I'll buy."

"Alright then." Shining said, the two of them continued walking for a few minutes, it seemed that this mall had the hardest to find food court in the history of mall food courts. Of course when they found it Dominic was stunned to realized that most of the restaurants sold mainly vegetarian meals. Shining paused as he recognized the name of a restaurant from Equestria, McClopClop's Hay Burgers. "Hey, how about some McClopClops?"

"Alright, we'll stop there first, then I'll try to find some place with meat." Dominic replied as the two of them walked over and got in the line, it was here that Dominic noticed that he was the tallest one among the folks there, by a lot. So much so that occasionally women would turn and give him that same look. For a moment he thought it was because he had the patch on his shoulder as well as the button on his jacket, so he opted to try and hide the patch as best he could by tying his bandanna over it. That didn't seem to stop the stares, and now it seemed the men in the line were glaring at him. "Am I missing something here?" Dominic muttered to Shining. "These women are all staring at me, and the guys look pissed..."

"My guess is they haven't seen a guy like you before." Shining replied as he looked at the menu. "I mean, you're taller, bigger, tougher looking, than any of these guys." A couple guys glared at him, but then turned away when they realized that Dominic had spotted it. "They think you're exotic."

"Of course they do..." Dominic muttered grimly as they finally got up to the front of the line, Dominic stood off to the side and let Shining order his food. Of course, Shining had to say it three times because the teen behind the counter kept staring at Dominic, the second time Dominic had turned around so his back was to her, that didn't seem to help. "Man, I hope Fortress is doing alright, he's got some guns on him to."

Meanwhile...

"He doesn't know what he's missing, any guy would be lucky to meet a girl like you!" Fortress wall said with a smile as he helped a nice young lady, she'd asked him for help with some clothes and being a gentleman and a soldier who was he to say no? Of course, he'd learned that she had recently broken up with her boyfriend of five years, and that could be hard on anybody.

"Thank's, Sheet Rock. You're such a good listener!" The girl replied as she twirled a bit of her hair around her finger and blushed, Fortress couldn't figure out why though.

Meanwhile... Again.

Shining Armor had gone and sat down to eat his food, meanwhile Dominic was walking towards a shop that looked like it sold steak. There were a couple people hanging out in line there as well, but most of them looked like thestrals judging by they eyes, the others had oddly white hair and wore brown bomber jackets, all of them, it was weird. Their faces and pants were different, but the hair color and jacket were essentially the same. Even with this tougher looking crowd, Dominic still stood a head taller than most of them and he still seemed to get lingering glances from women, and some men too. He shrugged them off, it wasn't like he'd have to deal with it forever. The line was mercifully quick and soon enough it was Dominic's turn to order. He'd decided to just get the cheese steak sandwich since it had literally been years since he'd had one, he'd get some water to drink because oddly enough soda didn't seem to be there. He blamed an overly health and wellness conscious society for that one.

Dominic walked up to the counter and cleared his throat, looking down at one of the odd white haired woman standing at the register. She was staring at him for a few moments.

"Hi." Dominic said simply, trying to get her to snap back to reality. It seemed to work and she rapidly shook her head. "Uh, can I just get a cheese steak sandwich and some water?"

"Oh! Right! Uh, sure!" The woman responded as she put in his order, Dominic smiled warmly and stepped aside to let the next person in line come up next. He turned away from the counter and sighed before dragging the palm of his hand down his face, it couldn't be that all of these women found him that attractive, could it? In his mind he wasn't much to look at, though apparently some seemed to think he was, even a pony did apparently. As he mused over why people thought he was attractive he heard his order number get called and he quickly paid for the meal before taking his food.

He made his way over to Shining armor and sat down to eat, sighing and just going to eat his sandwich. Shining Armor was in that state of mind where there was just him and his food, so he wasn't much of a conversation partner. Dominic finished his sandwich relatively quickly while Shining Armor took his time eating a very large salad and other things that the president couldn't quite name. He leaned back in his seat and put his earbuds in, opting to listen to something a little different. The song he chose to listen to seemed oddly fitting with the mission that he and his comrades were on, and he nodded his head along with the beat.

The stares seemed to continue all the while as Dominic sat there, and figuring that he could get something done while Shining ate, he stood up and looked at his companion.

"I'm gonna go have a look around some more, be back soon." He said, Shining just nodded and went back to his meal.  Dominic turned and walked off, still listening to the music as he strolled along. He paused as he spotted a familiar face in the crowd, Flash Sentry, apparently he was ditching school. Beside him was a girl his age with light blue hair, it looked like Trixie, and they were certainly enjoying one another's company if the kissing was any indication. Did that mean that Sunset Shimmer and he had broken up? Dominic shrugged and continued walking past the two of them, for a few minutes he didn't see anything of note. A couple kiosks, some shoe stores, but nothing interesting. After a while though he realized there was someone following him, the footsteps were consistent with his, whenever he'd stop to look at something the footsteps would stop. Red flags went up almost instantly, had he been discovered?

Dominic spotted a music store ahead of him, it seemed to be selling speakers among other things. Dominic realized it would be a good place to hide as well as make good on his promise to Luna. He picked up his pace until he'd entered the store and looked around, there was a girl behind the counter with electric blue hair and purple colored glasses. It was another humanized character, and by now the novelty had worn off, so all Dominic did was give a slight wave before looking around.

"You got any small speakers?" He asked, turning to look at the girl behind the counter, she silently pointed to a corner in the room. "I don't suppose you guy's have turntables... Like, actual turntables, not one of those DJ things." The girl shook her head. "Damn... Alright, thanks anyway..." The man quietly walked off over to the corner where the speakers were kept, pausing only when he heard some conversation off at the front of the store. Dominic crouched down, examining the speakers to try and determine what sort of sound quality they'd have, there was a nice pair that had a bit of a warm sound to them when he used the demo, and they had knobs to adjust the bass and treble, which he liked considering his diverse music library.

He started to reach out to pick on up, but froze when he sensed a presence behind him. His hand relaxed and left the box where it was and calmly he stood to his full height, and with methodical slowness he turned on his heel to face the person behind him. Unsurprisingly he was looking down, however, he was surprised to see he was looking down at a woman with black hair and rather tan skin. For a brief instant he thought it was Maria, but soon he recognized the rather weathered features despite the clothes she was wearing to conceal her identity from the public. It was Daring Do, or whatever her real name was, he'd heard rumblings it was something different before the fall.

"Something I can help you with, ma'am?" He asked in a genuine tone, doing his best to make the situation as painless as possible. The woman shook her head and smiled at him.

"I just wanted to examine up close is all, it's not every day I see a specimen such as yourself." She said, Dominic backed away and put up his hands, as soon as he did Daring grabbed one of them and looked it over. "Such large hands, much stronger than a normal persons..." Dominic pulled his hand away nervously, he really didn't like where this was going. "I'm a biologist in my spare time, I'm sure you've recognized me by now though." Dominic nodded silently, his eyes a bit wide. Normally he would've told her to back off loudly, maybe even administered a shove, but here he was expected to follow social norms or risk failing the mission, and as much as it killed him he just let her go on with it.

"Look, I just want to-" Dominic began, but the woman put a finger on his lips to shush him, prompting him to reach out and grab her wrist like his hand was a vice. Her face contorted into one of surprise as he slowly moved her finger away. "I just want to get my speakers and leave."

"Of course you do..." Daring said as Dominic released her hand. "The eyes, the muscles, that molded rump of yours, you're not from around here, are you?" Dominic reached behind him and grabbed a couple boxes not taking his eyes off the woman. "I've seen this type of thing before in my line of work, you know..."

"Good for you." Dominic replied as he began walking to the counter as fast as he could, all the while Daring was following him. He set the boxes down on the counter and pulled out the remaining money in his pocket as he waited for the seemingly mute clerk to ring up the items. Daring walked over to his shoulder and noticed the bandanna covering the patch, discreetly she tried to untie it. "Don't." Dominic said evenly. "I don't want any trouble." He handed his money to the girl and she bagged his items, soon enough he was on his way out into the mall once again with Daring Do hot on his heels. "Jesus Christ, woman. What do you want from me?" He very rarely took that name in vain, but she had pushed him a bit too hard.

"I want to know about you!" Daring said as she skipped along beside him, the man was now looking for a sports store or something, to see if he could get some better infected resistant armor. He doubted it would retain its humanoid shape through the portal and probably transform into something for a pony, but at least the armorers would get an idea of what to make. "Where you come from, what it's like there, what you do."

"How are you so certain I am what you think I am?" Dominic replied, looking over his shoulder at the woman with an exasperated expression.

"Because you haven't outright denied it yet." She replied cheekily, Dominic groaned quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come on, your secret's safe with me." The man was about to wheel around and unleash a tirade so foul a sailor would cover his ears at the scandal of it all, but instead he thought better of it, he was sure that when he returned through the portal there would be plenty of interviews, and perhaps it would be good practice. Besides, Daring Do was most likely a fiction writer, who'd believe her.

"Fine." Dominic said flatly as he spotted a sporting goods store and walked towards it. "My name is Dominic Occisor, I'm the President of the re-founded United States America." He passed through the doors with Daring right next to him, her eyes wide at the information. Dominic wasted little time in finding the football and other sports armor. "I come from a world almost exactly like this, except everyone is a multicolored talking pony."

"Come on."

"No really." Dominic replied, looking her in the eyes to demonstrate how serious he was. "Even then I'm an alien, because my actual home world was almost identical to this one, except we didn't suck at evolution, as you've already pointed out." Daring had pulled a notepad from her pocket and was taking down his story. "It was a nice place, green grass, white snow... Then it went to shit, which is why I'm here." 

The man examined some of the armor and decided football armor was too bulky, instead he walked over to the dirt bike gear and that was where he found what he was looking for. Plastic arm and chest guards that would resist against biting, and they could be replaced with metal if need be, he began to try one on, first removing his jacket. Daring's eyes widened at how defined his muscles were, a fact made more evident by the tight t-shirt he wore. That hadn't been his idea, apparently the fabric had changed when he went through the portal.

"What happened?" Daring asked as she watched him pull on the armor and tighten it until it was snug, then brought his arm out in front of him so the plastic was facing Daring. Of course, it wasn't perfect, considering his rather large build compared to the normal sizes, but he could work with it. He knew basic blacksmithing and metalworking from three years of high school shop class.

"Not too sure on that myself, really." Dominic replied as he took off the armor and looked it over, then began looking at another set, this one focused a bit more on rounding out the arm guards and added a couple to whole arm as opposed to just the forearm. "Some disease turned people into crazy flesh eating monsters and that spread more of the disease and our border control was shitty and a lot of people died." The man said it quickly, but still talking about it stung. "So three years I trudged through alone, then get pulled into another world by some magic bullshit, and now I'm armoring up ponies with semi-human gear so they have some sort of chance." It actually felt a little good to talk about it, as some of it was a tad bit annoying.

"So, I take it you re-founded your country in this pony world and those are the ponies that are going to go and liberate what's left of your people?" Daring asked, Dominic just nodded as he tried on his coat over the armor, it felt nice and good, a keeper if he'd ever seen one. He stripped out of the armor and set it down, then began looking at leg armor and helmets. He liked his old steel pot, but perhaps something that covered the full head would be a better way to go.

"Yup, but only after surviving a riot, an assassination attempt, exile, a giant tree monster, a commie death camp, a total psychotic break and just about two wars." Dominic rambled on as he pulled on a large helmet, only for it to be too tight. He opted for the extra large and that seemed to work alright, all the while Daring was writing down what had happened in her notebook. "Oh, on top of that there's a girl on my home world that I care about that I thought was dead and a pony princess in the pony world that that I thought was just a friend, and I also care about her, and I only just learned about this stuff a couple weeks ago, at the same time."

"Someone should write a book about you." Daring said, momentarily looking towards the ceiling at nothing in particular.

"Eh, I bet it wouldn't do to well, there's no real plot in my life up until recently..." Dominic replied as he set the helmet down by the armor he'd chosen. "Besides, you're an author right, you saying you aren't going to write a book about me?" Daring shrugged and watched as he walked over to a bin containing a couple baseball bats, but shook his head as he saw they all looked cheaply made. "Welp, I'm just about done." He walked back to the armor and picked it up, then began to look around for a hunting section. Sure enough he found one, and sure enough they sold guns. He wasn't interested in that though, he was more interested in the ammunition for those guns. There was a burly looking man behind the counter, but once again, Dominic dwarfed him in size. "Hey, looking for some shotgun shells and .357 rounds, you carry those here?"

"Nope, don't even know what them calibers are." Dominic paused for a moment and reached into his jacket pocket, then withdrew a .357 round and set it on the counter. "Huh, never seen something like that, we only carry these." The man set a jar of airsoft BBs on the counter, prompting Dominic to roll his eyes up towards the sky as he put the bullet back in his jacket.

"Really?" He asked rhetorically before sighing and waving at the guy, Daring following close behind him once again as he walked to the front of the store and paid for the new armor and helmet, adding them to the bag of speakers he'd purchased already. "So anyway, that's about all I can discuss right now."

"Awe, come on, you've gotta give me more than that!" Daring said with a whine as she flipped through her notebook.

"Sorry, I can't." Dominic paused. "Oh, by the way, why the hell were you here in the first place, seems like you'd be off in some fancy house with all your fame and fortune."

"You'd be surprised the crazy stories I heard about this town, it's a goldmine for the crazy and unworldly, any fiction author would dream of a town like this." Daring replied as they continued walking back to the food court. "By far you're the most interesting of the ones I've met, and I've met a few."

"Yeah, but I also have a tenancy to be a bit of an ass." Dominic mused as he saw Shining was waiting for him at the table. "It's been a pleasure, but I've got to go."

"What's to keep me from following you?" Daring asked as he began walking towards Shining, Dominic turned with a bit of a smile and pointed at her. "Me?" He nodded before he took a big breath. "Don't you dare-"

"Hey! Is that Daring Do!" Dominic yelled as loudly as he could, getting the attention of at least thirty or so people around him, including Shining Armor. After a moment they realized, it was in fact their story book hero, and like a mass of locust they swarmed the hapless writer who barely had time to stuff her notepad into safety. Dominic turned and began walking back to Shining Armor who was staring in a mix of surprise and envy. "Come on, they won't hold her off forever."

"Dominic! You jerk!" Daring shouted over the rabble of noise, the man ignored her and adjusted the bags in his grasp. He and Shining made their way back to the doors that lead to the parking lot and waited in silence for Fortress Wall to return. It had been nearly two hours since they'd parted, and yet they didn’t see him anywhere.  Dominic was starting to get uneasy and a pit had begun to grow in his stomach, had Fortress done something and gotten himself arrested? Had he been captured? Was he going to be questioned? Dominic knew that Fortress wouldn’t say a word, but that didn’t put the fears at ease, on top of that he didn't know how long Daring Do would be held at bay by her swarms of adoring fans.

“The heck…?” Shining said aloud, that got Dominic’s attention. He turned to see Shining was pointing at a group of women, all of whom were crowded around someone, all of whom carried shopping bags and all of whom were dressed stunningly. When the group got closer to the doors Dominic could see the very bashful face of Fortress Wall in the center, carrying his own bags and looking as if he were surrounded by a group of vicious lions. His eyes pleaded with Dominic, practically screaming ‘Help me!’.

Acting quickly, Dominic walked forwards and relieved Fortress of his bags, adding them to his own assortment of purchases for the day.

“Hey, there you are, we've been looking all over for ya, command wants us back at HQ fast.” He said sternly, Fortress caught on immediately.

“Yeah, sorry, I got a little sidetracked.” The thestral trooper replied, trying to sound as miltary as possible.

“Well, regardless of what happened, we gotta go.” The girls around them all seemed to focus their attention on Dominic now, his rugged predatory looks, his wide shoulders and towering height, the bulging well defined muscles, in many ways he became a lightning rod for Fortress to escape. “When we get out of here you’re explaining this.” He whispered to his subordinate as Fortress made his way to the door.

“So you’re his big tough commander?” Asked one of the women, Dominic nodded as he backed towards the door.

“Yes, ma'am.” Dominic said quickly, his steps growing a bit more hasty. “Shining, go tell that nice lady to send the stuff out…” He said over his shoulder, Shining nodded and took off like a bullet while Dominic and Fortress tried to get further away. “We’d love to stay and chat, but we’ve got some work to do…”

“Security Detail work?” Asked one of the women, Dominic looked at Fortress with a raised eyebrow.

“I panicked!” Fortress quickly defended, the president sighed and rolled his eyes before looking back at the women.

“I love a man in uniform.” Said another one, Dominic decided that this had gone on long enough, even if these women were stunningly gorgeous. Outrageously, unfathomably, inescapably beautiful. He silently wished that his personal code of honor wasn't so strict, if it weren't for that he'd be licking his chops like a fox in a hen house.

“Come on, corporal. We’ve got places to be and people to shoot.” Dominic turned towards the door and put his hand on his subordinate’s shoulder. “As they say in my country. Auf wiedersehen, frauleins.” Dominic hoped a little exotic language would take their attention further off of Fortress, there was a chorus of whines from the group but by then the both of them had dashed out of the mall and back into the parking lot towards the truck. Of course, this wasn't before at least two of three of them gave their phone numbers to Fortress, who had accepted them with a look of confusion. When the two of them reached the vehicle they were panting and looking back at the building, the mist from their breath was carried away by a breeze.

“Okay… What the fuck happened?” Dominic asked as he put the bags of items into the back of the truck. “How the fuck did you do that?”

“Well, I was looking for the last thing on my list, pantyhose or something, so I went into this store and there were all these girls there…” Rolling paused. “Girls is the right term, right?” Dominic gave him an annoyed look. “Anyway, they asked what I was looking for and I pointed to the list and they showed me, right?” Dominic nodded for him to go on. “Next thing you know one of them asks if she looks good in something, in all honesty it didn’t seem like it did, so I pointed out what I thought would work more and she was so surprised I was right…”

“And then a bunch of them started asking me for advice about it, and it seemed like the right thing to do, so I helped them all…” Fortress Wall went on as Dominic spotted Shining Armor leaving the mall with several guys carrying boxes. “And then one was upset about her boyfriend leaving her, so I talked to her, you know, like I normally do when a mare is sad and she felt better… And next thing I know they’re all dragging me around like some sort of toy and showing me to all these stores! I thought they were gonna try to take me home with them!”

“Of course… The most bashful guy in the army also happens to be the best ladies’ man since Hugh Hefner…” Dominic said with a bit of a cynical chuckle, Shining Armor arrived at that moment with the guys carrying the boxes. “Mornin’, gents. Appreciate the help.” Dominic said to the fellows with the boxes, they just grunted in response as the loaded them into the back of the truck and began to run back for the doors out of the cold. “Alright, we’re all set. Fortress, climb in back and make sure everything stays secure.”

“Yes, sir!” Fortress replied before he walked around back and climbed into the truck bed. With the boxes, thankfully the people loading the boxes had thought to clear out the snow that had accumulated there before putting the items in. Fortress made sure to secure the boxes tightly before he took a seat on one of the benches that lined the sides. “All set, sir!”

Dominic walked to the driver's seat while Shining Armor climbed in the passenger side, soon enough the key was in the ignition and the engine was rattling away. The president gave the engine a bit of gas to help it warm up, meanwhile Shining was messing with the radio, it seemed all that was playing was still techno, dubstep, or the occasionally big musical number.

“Fortress, go into one of my bags and get the blue and white box!” Dominic called out the rear window as he spotted a tape deck in the console, a few minutes later Fortress had handed the described box through the window. Dominic tore it open and withdrew what looked like a tape with a cord coming off of it, then slipped the tape into the tape deck. The next thing he did was take his music player from his pocket and plug the cord into the headphone jack. “Wanna hear some real human music?”

“Yeah.” Shining replied, Dominic could hear a ‘Yes’ from Fortress outside as well. The man smiled and flipped through a couple of his songs until he reached one that seemed alright, with a bit of finality he pressed play. The soft sound of a guitar began to play through the speakers of the truck as Dominic set his music player down and shifted into first gear. Dominic knew the song pretty well, ‘Gimme shelter’ by the Rolling Stones. It seemed relatively fitting considering the mood of the mission.

The vehicle trundled out of the parking lot and back onto the main roads, Dominic was being sure to take the turns as best he could to avoid the cargo sliding in the back. It was still very cold and the clouds above seemed to say there would be more snow to come, meaning the equipment would have to be brought inside when they arrived at the motel. In the back of the truck Fortress Wall was sitting near the end of the bench, staring out at the houses that they passed quietly and enjoying a bit of quiet. He could hear the music, but it wasn’t too loud, just how he liked it. He had to admit it sounded pretty good compared to what was on earlier, but his mind was more on the world he was in.

It made him truly feel far from home, more so than he had in a long time. Not away from the United States or even Equestria, but his family in general. Things had changed after the war with Chrysalis, but, he wasn’t bitter towards the changelings or even his own country, for he felt like he was the one that was responsible. He hadn’t been arrogant, but he had certainly been more cocky than he was now. That change had humbled him and torn him straight into his new reality.

Sitting in the back of the truck gave Fortress time to reflect on that, and the more he thought about it the more he wanted to stop thinking about it. He wished that Mizu was there with him, oddly enough. The changeling had been easy to talk to, trusting and warm, and Fortress missed that kind of contact. The headlights of a car behind the truck tore the thestral trooper from his thoughts and he turned to look on instinct. It took a few moments for his slitted eyes to adjust to the light, and even then the beams were too bright to see anything about the car except that it was red.

The driver honked a few times before suddenly pulling off to the side and starting to pass, Fortress watched the vehicle closely, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the driver. Red and yellow hair, an almost nervous expression, a black leather jacket. The thestral trooper stood up rapidly and looked out over the side of the truck, watching the car drive off down the road. The horn of the truck blared out its little jingle before Fortress could make it to the window.

“Sir!” He called into the cab. “That was her!”

“We can’t go after her now, we’ve got a truck load of cargo, but good job spotting her car, that could be useful.” Dominic called back through the window, by now Fortress could hear a different song playing up front, but he didn’t stay long enough to listen. Instead he stood up and walked back to the bench. The rest of the drive went on without incident and they arrived at the motel just after two in the afternoon. Upon entering their room they found that Rolling Thunder had taken to watching Soap Operas, and they had to pry him away from the TV so he could help them bring the boxes in.

Another three hundred dollars made sure that the desk clerk continued to play dumb about what was going on in their room, it wasn’t like it was a huge loss. After all, fifty or so pounds of gold coins converted into an almost comical amount of dollar bills. The rest of the day was spent familiarizing themselves with the radios, each of them took a headset and a handheld radio to clip on their pants. Each radio was set to a relatively random frequency, one that didn’t seem to have any traffic on it, for added security the radios had an encryption function. Shining Armor found his to be the most fascinating, but then again, he hadn’t been briefed on everything they would encounter like the others had. By nightfall, the group was settling in, and Dominic was already brainstorming ideas on how to deal with Sunset Shimmer.

Preferably ideas where no one died.

[♦]

Queen Chrysalis let out an annoyed sigh as she sat in her throne room, reading over a scroll that had just arrived regarding one of her more eccentric hives. Mizu sat beside her mother, looking over her shoulder at the scroll for herself. Her eyes had changed to be like her mothers, holding a light pink tint to them while she’d started to grow an elegant mane of blue. The Queen’s sigh echoed through the throne room for a few moments, the large cavernous hall was dark, lit dimly by the glowing green crystals in the walls, Illusion and the rest of her honor guards stood at attention along the walls, ready to defend their mother at a moment’s notice.

“What has happened, mother?” Mizu asked in a curious tone, Chrysalis set the scroll down and took a moment to think.

“The Hive of Wasp refuses to accept our defeat to the American’s unless I or one of the royal family personally are the one to tell them.” Chrysalis explained with a sigh. “They seem to think our messengers are the American’s trying to play tricks… In fact they’re holding three of them hostage.” The Queen straightened up in her seat and closed her eyes, her horn glowing for a moment before several drops of water floated down from the ceiling and directly into her mouth. “Mizu.”

“Yes, mother.” Mizu replied dutifully.

“I have a task for you.” Chrysalis said in a calm tone, not opening her eyes as she relaxed back into her throne. Mizu sat up straight in preparation for her orders, the Queen smiled as she sensed her daughter’s determination. “The reason there is peace now is because our hives are united after one banner, should one refuse to yield there can be peace for none of them.” Mizu looked upwards to where the Changeling banner hung from the ceiling, the simple forest green fabric, decorated only by a dark grey circle in the very center, swayed aimlessly in one of the underground air currents. “You will go to the Hive of Wasp and force them to accept our defeat.”

“It will be done, mother.” Mizu said with a bow.

“If they should refuse to listen to you, warn them of the punishment for betrayal of the Queen, and if they still refuse…” Chrysalis opened her eyes and looked to Mizu with an impassive expression. “You will have no choice but to make them listen.”

“Mother… Wouldn’t it be easier for you to go in my stead should they refuse?” Mizu asked, Chrysalis shook her head.

“You are my heir. You are my voice. To refuse you is to refuse me.” Chrysalis explained, her tone was serious but not overbearing. Mizu bowed once again. “You cannot allow your authority to be questioned, not at this stage of your training. If you must use force… So be it.”

“I understand, mother.” Mizu said, not lifting her head from her bow. Chrysalis smiled faintly at her daughter, gesturing for her to rise from her bow.

“Illusion.” Chrysalis said to the honor guards in her room, the changeling in question stepped forwards and bowed. “You and your platoon will accompany Mizu on her mission, gather your belongings, you leave at once.”

“As you command, my Queen!” The soldier replied before standing from his bow and marching out of the room, Mizu stood from her place beside the Queen.

“You may go as well, Mizu. Go and bring honor to our Hive.” Chrysalis said in a soft tone, Mizu bowed deeply, speaking in changeling for a moment or two before she began trot out of the throne room through the royal doors. She trotted through the many hallways of the underground, following the ones she knew lead to her room. She arrived just when she’d expected to, not taking a moment longer than she needed.

The room was larger than any other Changeling’s, though not by much. She had a desk and wardrobe against the far wall, as well as a bed that had been placed on the floor at the center of the room. Mizu approached the wardrobe and opened it, from within she acquired her travel attire. Made from burlap and cotton, it would protect her from the harsh sandy winds and heat of the desert above. It was hooded cloak, for all intents and purposes, with the only noteworthy thing about it being the changeling runes stitched at the front of the hood. Runes that indicated she was royal blood.

After Mizu had put on her cloak she walked to the wall closest to the door, it was there she picked up her sword that was mounted on a rack that had been built out of the rock. The sword was elegant in design, as were most changeling swords, and on the hilt was the strip of fabric Jen the human had given her to shield her eyes when they had changed, it was a reminder of the friend she'd made and from that she could draw strength. She withdrew the blade from its scabbard and closed her eyes, her horn glowed and drops of water levitated out of the ground above. She directed these drops over the blade, chanting quietly as she did so, before she slid the blade back into the scabbard. Moments later she had affixed the blade to the belt of her cloak, fully ready to depart.

It took several minutes before she sensed the presence of Illusion nearing her room, she knew he was there before he’d even stepped in.

“Your excellency, we are ready to depart at your discretion.” Illusion said dutifully, Mizu nodded and turned to walk out the door. He bowed as she passed him, and only followed once she had fully left the room. In silence the pair walked through the tunnels, other changelings were quick to get out of their way as soon as they saw them. Those that couldn’t got as small as possible against the wall. The minutes ticked by, and Mizu wished she could just sprint to the exit, she desperately wanted to prove her worth to her mother. More importantly, she knew that every second she wasted could be the difference between peace and destruction for another hive.

Hive of Wasp was a very determined, hive of changelings that very closely resembled wasps, what they had in speed they lacked in intelligence or impulse control. They had a tendency to go overboard, which was why Chrysalis had not called upon them in the war with America. At the time, she had wanted to take prisoners. Mizu was surprised that Hive of Wasp was holding changelings prisoner in the first place, especially if they believed them to be spies, as that hive was known for its extremely high rate of execution.

Finally the pair arrived at the entrance to the hive, just before the gates that had been under repair since the battle to retake the throne. The platoon of changeling soldiers were armored moderately, the reticulated metal plates matching the movements of the soldiers that wore them. The helmets they wore depicted faces from changeling mythology, and the hive’s flag had been painted in a band around the top. It was very clear, these soldiers were the honor guard of royalty, to question their authenticity would be nigh treasonous.

Upon seeing Mizu the soldiers bowed, their armor clanking as they did so. When they arose Mizu had started to buzz her wings.

“We will go to the Hive of Wasp, if they refuse to believe that there is peace, we shall bring their hostility to the attention of the Americans.” Mizu said, her face wrought with determination. “I am certain the Americans will not appreciate such hostility, they will bring their full military might.” Mizu took to the air, the soldiers following behind her with their wings buzzing away. “Come, we will bring honor to our hive and the treaty of peace.”

Away they flew into the setting sun, leaving behind their hive in the hopes of preventing another war. Mizu knew that it was possible the entire Hive of Wasp would have to be exterminated if they refused to yield to Chrysalis’ rule, for that reason she prayed that her aura of authority was strong enough to convince the Hive of Wasp’s Queen to stand down.
> Chapter 59
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jen adjusted her new fatigues quietly, her father’s Marine cover placed straight upon her head, it clashed with the black fabric of the fatigues but General Bulwark had let it slide, she was glad they had a competent seamstress in town that could get her some actual clothes. A pair of captain’s bars was pinned proudly to her collar of her blouse. Beside her was Chipped Blade, also in his fatigues, yawning and wiping the sleep from his eyes still.

It was morning, five in the morning to be precise, the sun hadn’t even started to rise yet. Chipped was a bit surprised at the items that Jen had given him, a trash can and a piece of wood, but she had insisted they were very much important. At the moment the two of them were marching towards the barracks that had been constructed next to the POW camp, this was where the latest recruits and volunteers for Task Force Grey were sleeping. Not walking. Marching. Chipped had never seen the woman in action, but she’d assured him she would be going all the way up to ‘Full on bitch’ mode.

“When the door opens I want you to bang on that barrel really loud.” She said in an even tone, Chipped Blade nodded as the two of them walked up the steps. She didn’t stop to turn the doorknob, instead she delivered a hearty kick and walked in. Chipped began banging on the barrel with the piece of wood, rousing those sleeping in their bunks inside.

“It’s five in the blessed MORNING! WHAT ARE YOU MAGGOTS STILL DOING IN BED!?” Jen practically screamed to the scrambling stallions. “ATTEN-HUT!” The stallions quickly stood at attention at the foot of their bunks, some still half asleep, some half dressed, all looking confused. Chipped set the barrel down, figuring it was no longer necessary. Silence descended upon the barracks as Jen began a slow walk down the center aisle, passing the stallions at attention and looking them up and down. “I am Captain Jennifer Poplawski, your new best friend and senior survival instructor!”

Chipped stood at attention by the door as Jen turned around and began walking back towards him, look of malice on her face almost made him think she was a different person. A couple of stallions turned their heads to follow her as she walked past, but a quick glare from Chipped warned them to just look straight ahead.

“I have been sent here because you all seem to think you have what it takes to survive hell!” Jen continued, her face a stony mask of contempt. “I myself was a resident of hell before I came here, which is why they have chosen me to weed the weak out of you!” All was going well until she walked  in front of a larger changeling defector, a borderline brute, that towered over the woman by a few inches.

“Says the meal cow…” He said with a grin. Chipped had no idea that humans could change color, the shade of red that filled the captain’s face was comparable to blood. She stopped and turned slowly, finger trembling as she pointed at the large changeling.

“You.” The sing song voice Jen said it in unnerved the large one, she stepped closer to him and leaned a few inches from his muzzle. “You must be the company clown…” The changeling was sweating nervously, all the others watched in mild fear. “If there’s one thing I hate in life more than the infected it’s a CLOWN! AND A BAD ONE AT THAT!” The changeling cowered down, until the woman was looking down on him. “ATTENTION, NUMB NUTS! I’M TALKING TO YOU!” The changeling stood up straight once more. “What’s your name?”

“W-W-Wire T-T-ap…” The changeling said in a strangely high pitched scared voice.

“WIRETAP WHAT!?”

“Wiretap, Ma’am!” The changeling quickly corrected, Jen took a step back from the changeling and pointed a finger at him.

“Because of Wiretap’s funny joke, I feel like getting some air. SO FILL YOUR PACKS WITH ROCKS, BOYS! WE’RE GOING FOR A WALK!” Jen walked to the door, her boots thudding against the wood floor as she went. “Be outside and ready to go in two mikes or we hike!” The stallions went scrambling as Chipped Blade followed Jen outside. Once they were far enough away Jen let out a sigh and rubbed her temples, Chipped stared at her for a few moments. “Sorry about that…”

“It’s your job, ma’am.” Chipped replied respectfully. “I heard about what happened last night, you know with you and your boyfriend being heard all over town, these guys love to talk and it’s good you whip it out of them now.” Jen nodded and folded her arms as she counted the seconds off in her head. “You remind me of my old CO, she didn’t take shit like that either.”

“You’ll have to tell me more about her sometime, I know you were close.” Jen’s tone trailed off as she saw the soldiers in the barracks rush out and into formation. Somehow they’d all gotten ready and dressed in full gear, and their packs were filled with rocks as well. How that had happened Jen didn’t know, but she was impressed needless to say. Not that she’d let them see it. “It looks like you made it! I think I was too easy on you!”

“Yes, Ma’am!” The group responded.

“I DIDN’T ASK YOUR GODDAMN OPINION!” Jen screamed, Chipped could see what she meant earlier about becoming a ‘Full on bitch’. If he was on the other side of her tirade he’d be thinking exactly that. “Right face!” The soldiers did as they were told, turning right in unison. “Forward march!” She and Chipped began walking along side the marching soldiers as they began to march past the capitol building, once they reached the main street she called out again. “Right face!”

They began marching down main street, ponies and changelings in their shops and storefronts watched in surprise at the impromptu parade. For several minutes they continued marching, Jen occasionally would spot one lagging along and quickly scare them back into line with a good loud yelling. She marched them left and right with seemingly no rhyme or reason, for hours and hours on end, it became a bit of a spectacle for the entire town to watch.

“We all enjoying our little walk!?” Jen asked as she examined them, the sun was high in the sky now and bearing down on them all.

“Yes, ma’am!” Responded the marching group in tired unison.

“Do you want to stop!?” She yelled.

“No, ma’am!” The chorus replied, she had asked them at least five times already, the first time they had said yes she’d shouted their heads off and made them add more to rocks to their packs.

“I’m glad you enjoy it, you’ll be doing a lot of walking where you’re going!” Jen bellowed as she walked in front of them. “Too bad we have to stop! Company halt!” The marchers came to a halt just in the middle of the main street, this time the capital building was right in front of them. “I feel like you and I got off on the wrong foot.” She marched back and forth in front of them, Chipped Blade was doing his best to keep up at this point. Even Errant hadn’t run him this ragged. “I’ll give you an hour to get chow, drop off your packs, and report back to the barracks. Go ahead and eat up!” Chipped looked confused, as did the rest of the group, so much so that they sort of hung around. “I SAID MOVE!” That got them running, it practically gave Chipped Blade a heart attack.

“Ma’am?” Chipped asked nervously, Jen turned and looked at him, he could tell she wasn’t in her training mode anymore. “C-Can I ask why you just… Let them go have an hour? The normal time is thirty minutes…”

“You’ll see, Chipped… I would advise you don’t eat too much, because you’re absolutely right, the normal time is half an hour… I’m giving them fifteen.” Chipped’s eyes widened and he quickly took off towards the Saloon, which had now been converted from a field hospital into a mess hall. Jen sighed and adjusted her cap before pulling her hair back and tucking it up. Her intention was to drag them out mid meal and make them run, as if their lives depended on it, very similar to what would happen if the infected decided to make a surprise visit. In the meantime though, she began walking towards her home, Johnny was sitting outside with a bit of a smirk on his face.

“Hey there, Cap.” He said with a grin, Jen put her hands on her hips and leaned to one side. “You know that uniform makes you look sexy, really accentuates the muscles, and the yelling… That’s pretty hot too.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it.” Jen said as she walked forwards, prompting Johnny to sit up straight. “Because there’s gonna be a lot of it in your future after what happened…” She smiled faintly. “Even if what happened afterwards was sweet.” Johnny was about to speak but she had started walking away just as soon as she’d finished, he wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or excited.

[♦]

Dominic quietly adjusted his helmet as he looked over the map of the town once again, the room was completely stocked with their newly made purchases and the man had some Pink Floyd playing in the background off one of the new speakers. He was trying to figure out where would be the best place to deal with Sunset Shimmer, the school would be the easiest to find her, but it was a school. Things could get messy. On the road would be better, but they’d have to know everything about her driving habits, which they didn’t.

The man sighed and found his hand going to his pocket, his fingers running up and down the soft feather that Luna had given him. Shining Armor and Fortress Wall were playing poker and Rolling Thunder was watching the soap operas once again, they’d given up on trying to figure out a way for the night.

“It would be easiest if we knew where the hell she lived…” Dominic mumbled to himself, briefly looking outside at the truck. “It’s not like that’s an inconspicuous vehicle though, and we can’t buy or rent a car, because our papers aren’t that legitimate… So how the hell do we find her house…? Does she even have a house?” The man paced back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back as he pondered and puzzled.

“Why not steal her wallet?” Rolling Thunder said, not taking his eyes off the TV. Dominic looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “According to this show on the TV her address would be on her ID card, if she has a car she has to have a license… Right?” The president briefly checked his ID and sure enough there was a place for an address, his was blank though.

“Right… So, how do we get her wallet?” Dominic asked himself, going back to pacing. “I mean, we could be sneaky, but she might get suspicious if she realizes it’s gone…”

“Could fake a purse snatching.” Shining Armor spoke up, looking away from his cards for a moment. “Happened all the time back when I was just a guard, some mare would chat with a handsome stallion, meanwhile his buddy comes along and snatches the purse.” The suited man turned in his seat to address Dominic better. “The handsome stallion ‘chases’ the thief around a corner, they write down her information, and he gallantly returns it. Then boom! Their house gets busted into a few weeks later.”

“Who could we get to chat her up though?” Dominic mumbled, going back to the map on the table. “Rolling’s too old, I’m the fastest runner, and she’d recognize you in a heartbeat… It would have to be Fortress.”

“This sounds risky though, sir. Too many variables, what if another bystander chases you, or worse, calls the cops.” Fortress spoke up, Dominic nodded again as he continued walking back and forth.

“Another point…” The president muttered before he turned back to the map, the man walked to the window and peeked outside. To his surprise it was snowing again, the dark clouds concealed the night sky and he’d realized just how early the sun had set. “We’re in winter, the event was supposed to happen in fall… Meaning we’re either very early or… Something’s changed.”

“Like what?” Fortress Wall asked, Dominic shook his head quietly.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out before we proceed.” Dominic said with firm conviction. “What if she’s turned her life around? We’d be doing more harm than good by taking her from here…” The man turned back to the room and cleared his throat. “Fortress. Shining. Watch the fort. Rolling, you’re coming with me.”

“Where are we going?” Rolling replied as he turned off the TV and stood up, Dominic removed his helmet and set it on the table by the map before he pointed to three spots on the map.

“These are three bars that are closest to the school, odds are there’s a teacher or two there.” Dominic began walking towards the door, pausing only to grab two hundred dollars or so from the bag, Rolling followed behind him with a bit of confusion. “With any luck we’ll find someone soused enough to answer some questions.” Dominic stopped to pick up a handheld radio and turn it on, then tuned it to a random empty channel. Afterwards he picked up a larger radio and carried it under his arm. “If we need you guys we’ll call.”

With that the two of them walked out of the room, closing the door behind them as quick as they could for their comrades’ sake. Dominic carried the radio box with him to the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat, he quickly set up the radio and tuned it to the same frequency as the handheld. Meanwhile Rolling was getting settled into his seat, once it was all set Dominic started the truck and the pair of them set out onto the road. The two of them sat quietly, neither was certain what to talk about lately. Rolling was rather curious about his commander’s relationship with Princess Luna, but that didn’t seem appropriate to talk about.

Dominic for his part was rather content to remain in silence himself, as he too was thinking about his relationship with Luna. He was reflecting on what Shining had said, but it only seemed to make his predicament worse. Dominic would be willing to tell or do something hurtful if it was for either Luna or Maria’s own good. He’d nearly shot Maria in the head in order to spare her a death at the hands of the infected, in a way perhaps he’d succeeded. He wished somehow he could make it work with both of them.

The man knew that Equestria had herds, it was in the newspapers all the time in the wedding sections. Jen had alluded to something that seemed to be similar on earth as well, but he didn’t know if Maria subscribed to that sort of belief. The prospect wasn’t something he had qualms with  if it meant that both Luna and Maria could be happy. As Dominic took a turn he briefly began to hum to himself, nothing in particular, just something to try and ease his nerves. They were passing by houses and buildings now, it wouldn’t be long until they saw one of the bars.

Dominic’s thoughts turned back to what Luna had told him on the train, that she thought he was ready to become a better warrior. A while ago he would’ve said he didn’t want anything to do with war, but now that he knew the lives of not just Maria but countless others hung in the balance… The best warrior was all he could hope to be. It was in his blood after all, it had been and would be his destiny. From the ruins of Rome to the ruins of society itself, the last son of the Occisor family would carry the banner of humanity with him. If Dominic were any good at writing, perhaps he would’ve made a poem out of it.

At the moment though, Dominic was more focussed on the lights ahead that indicated there was a bar. It was a little hole in the wall, much like the ones Dominic had hidden in in Evergreen, with more than a couple cheap looking cars outside. The red bricks and neon sign proudly proclaiming it’s name ‘Berry’s Bar’ were more than enough to tell him it was a dive, that was fine by him. Dominic pulled into the parking lot, a rather tight fit with the truck, but he pulled it off nonetheless.

“Alright… Let’s go.” Dominic said as he looked over at Rolling Thunder, the stallion seemed to snap out of a trance and nodded.

“Right, let’s.” He said as he opened his door and climbed out, Dominic exited on his side and shimmied his way out from between the truck and the car he’d parked next to until he was able to walk freely. He and Rolling walked into the bar silently, trying to blend in as best they could. It seemed the patrons of the bar were intent on not letting that happen, as they all turned to see who had opened the door and let in the cold outside chill.

Most of them were older women, with some men interspersed about the place. Dominic and Rolling ignored their looks, as the glances were brief, before they made their way to the bar. They sat on a pair of stools, and Rolling took a moment to note the decor. It was dingy, using some hearth's warming lights to spruce up the place, with a couple arcade games off to the side and a large pool table in the center. The pool table was surrounded by other tables that all lead up to the bar.

Dominic was a lot less comfortable now than he had been outside, the bar reminded him far too much of Cactus Jack’s back on earth. He did his best not to show it, as the inhabitants of this world surely wouldn’t understand. He took a deep breath and shook his head before a woman approached the two of them from behind the bar. She was a pretty young thing with light blue skin and a cobalt  hair, and when she spoke her voice sounded like the tone of a bell.

“Welcome to Berry’s bar!” She said cheerfully. “I haven’t seen you fellas around here before. New in town?”

“You could say that…” Rolling replied as he looked around. “I’m Quick Lightning, this guy’s Honey Pop.” The woman giggled, prompting Dominic to smack him in the arm.

“Nice to meetcha! I’m Gipsy Breeze!” The woman replied, Dominic just noded silently while Rolling shook the woman’s hand. “You’re friend doesn’t seem like much of a talker.” She looked at Dominic with a tilted head, prompting him to rub his eyes tiredly.

“I’m thinking is all.” Dominic said quietly, throwing in a bit of his old western accent for effect, he rubbed the back of his neck and sat up straight. “We came here ‘cause we done heard about some crazy things goin’ down in your neck of the woods. Things like demons in high schools and the like.” That got the woman’s attention, she paused for a moment too long before she shook her head with a smile.

“I haven’t heard of anything like that here, but it would sure be cool, maybe… Can I get you somethin’ to drink?” Gipsy Breeze asked, Dominic shook his head.

“I’m driving, I’ll just take cherry soda if you have it…”

“I’ll take a beer.” Rolling said, the woman nodded and walked off to get their drinks, meanwhile Dominic could feel eyes on him and Rolling. “So… You notice that pause or was it just me?” Dominic nodded faintly. “Sounds like you were right about something going down before we got here…”

“Question is what…” Dominic mumbled before he sat up straight and smiled as the bartender returned with their drinks. “Thank ya kindly, ma’am.” The woman just smiled and gave a dismissive wave.

“Awe, don’t worry about it. Anything I can get you to eat?” She asked, Dominic hummed in thought before nodding quietly.

“Y’all sell burgers here?” He asked, the woman nodded. “I’ll take one of them, and my friend here will take one as well.” Rolling nodded, just going along with it, even if he wasn’t hungry. The woman nodded and wrote down their orders.

“I’ll be back with those as soon as I can.” Gipsy Breeze replied before she walked away, Dominic sighed and took a sip of his soda. He had to pull away and blink a couple times, it had been years since he’d had a soda, and it was so sweet it took a bit of getting used to.

“So… You hungry?” Rolling asked, Dominic nodded.

“There’s more to it than that though…” The man explained as he took another sip of his soda, meanwhile Rolling took a swig from his beer. “We can’t just come in and start asking about demons and shit and vamoose right after, it’s logical to assume that’s a sure fire way of getting people on our tail.” Rolling paused for a moment, then gave a slight hum of appreciation. “We’ll eat, you can use those bat ears of yours to eavesdrop, and we’ll be on our way in an hour or so…”

“Most thestrals would get offended by that, ya guinea bastard.” Rolling replied with a bit of a chuckle, Dominic raised an eyebrow at him, more interested about where he’d learned that word. As if reading his facial expression, Rolling explained. “That Johnny guy likes to talk.”

“Whatever, as long as you aren’t spouting off about ‘Workers uniting’ and ‘Communes’ I’m fine.” Dominic replied as he took a long drink of his soda, his eyes shifting over the faces in the bar once again. When he set the glass down he wiped his face. “So, eagle ears, hear anything?” Rolling shook his head and took another sip of his beer.

“There’s a couple girls talking about how cute you are…” The trooper replied, this caused Dominic to hunch over a bit more. “Sounds like they’re high schoolers or something, which is weird. Why would they be in a bar this late on a school night?”

“Because the young adults of the modern age are obsessed with partying and drinking and all other forms of debauchery.” Dominic said with a bit of venom, it was Rolling’s turn to be confused now. “Jesus… Jen’s right, I sound like an old man.” The man sighed and looked down at his glass. “Maybe if they come over we can get some information out of them.”

“Doubt they will, they’re talking about how weird you look now…” Rolling replied, Dominic sighed and put his head on the bar. In the background of the bar was music, instrumental blues music that fit the decor rather well. Dominic was thankful for that, at least it wasn’t techno or pop. “And now weird has turned to exotic.” Dominic sat up and looked around for a moment, briefly spotting the group of girls off in a corner, giggling to themselves. The man would have said something, but the door opened and a rush of cold air hit him in the back.

The patrons let out a little cheer, they obviously knew who the new arrival was, Dominic didn’t turn to look though. Rolling on the other hand did, and he quickly turned back and looked directly at the bar.

“At the door, we might have a problem.” He said quietly, Dominic waited for him to continue. “Lady that looks an awful lot like Princess Cadence came in… If she knows you in this realm…” Dominic pulled some cash from his pocket, more than enough to cover the bill, just in case they had to make a run for it.

“Play it cool for now…” Dominic instructed, Rolling nodded and the two men continued drinking their drinks. Dominic could sense motion behind them, and sure enough, a woman took a seat on the stool beside him. He didn’t dare look over, he just stared directly at his drink in silence. The woman, it seemed, had other plans in mind.

“Hello!” The woman’s cheerful voice rang out, Dominic looked over and nearly had a heart attack, it was definitely Cadence. The hair, the makeup, even the outfit screamed ‘Cadence’.

“Uh… Hi.” Dominic replied nervously, playing it off as shyness to evade detection. There was a slight giggle from the woman while Rolling Thunder was looking over in a bit of surprise.

“You’re new.” She said simply, that helped lift some weight off of of both men’s shoulders. It seemed she didn’t recognize them, which would make getting information a little easier. “I would know, I’m in here every night. Just passing through, or are you moving here?”

“Passing through.” Dominic said, turning to look at the woman full on. “We’re a couple of thrill seekers, and we heard there’s some pretty strange stuff going down this way.” The woman raised an eyebrow at that. “Sounded pretty metal, if’n you ask me, demons and such.”

“Aliens.” Rolling spoke up, Dominic gave him a quick glance but only received a cheeky smile. “What, that’s what I came to look for.” Dominic just shrugged and looked back at the Cadence of the alternate world, she was staring at the two of them with thinly veiled suspicion.

“Eh, not everyone believes in that stuff anyway.” Dominic trailed off, taking a sip of his drink. The bartender returned at that moment with their food, Dominic was glad to see it had come with french fries, as he hadn’t had them in a while. “Thanks.” He said to the bartender, she just smiled and walked off. Dominic took the top off of the burger, partially to check for any nasty surprises, for all he knew there could have been a doomsday cult in the town and he’d somehow gotten their attention with the mention of demons. Upon seeing it was clear he transitioned to the second reason he’d removed the bun, and began putting french fries on the burger.

“You know I have a friend that does that?” Cadence suddenly said, looking at Dominic’s burger before he could take a bite of it. “Come to think of it, you remind me of him a bit… Weird.” Dominic nodded and began to eat his burger, internally freaking out and hoping that the woman just got plastered and left him alone before she figured anything out.

“We’ve been looking for a teacher, truth be told. We had some questions that they could answer, since my buddy here never finished high school.” Rolling said, pointing at Dominic. The man swallowed before setting down his burger and turning to shake his head at Rolling.

“Really?” Cadence asked, appearing a bit surprised. “Why not?” Dominic turned and looked at the woman with a mix between nervousness and annoyance, seeing that she shook her head. “Nevermind… But, it turns out I’m a teacher, sort of. What’s your question?”

“We were wondering who get’s into more trouble in high school, boys or girls?” Dominic asked, Cadence hummed and looked off in the distance for a moment. Rolling Thunder’s ears picked up a couple hushed whispers, but again it seemed like they were more concerned about Dominic’s looks than anything else.

“I’d say it’s definitely girls, at least at Crystal Prep.” Cadence replied, Dominic gave a nod and looked at Rolling with fake triumph. Internally he was rather upset, as he hadn’t planned on there being more than one school.

“Ten bucks.” He said, holding out his hand, Rolling could see what Dominic was doing.

“Hold on there, bud.” Rolling said before he looked at cadence. “Are more of them red heads than others?” Cadence shook her head, looking a bit upset for a moment.

“No, the latest incident involved a blue haired girl…” The woman looked at the bar just as the bartender returned and set a beer down in front of Cadence. The woman hadn’t even ordered it, but Dominic supposed she came in often enough that she didn’t have to anymore. “But I can’t really go into detail. I suggest you look into some adult education courses, you’ll be glad you did.”

“I’ll take it under advisement.” Dominic replied before he continued eating his food, Rolling was eating his own as well, and the rest of their time went by without any real incident. The trooper and his commander didn’t talk to many people after that, as they figured they’d drawn enough attention as it was. Dominic drifted off into his thoughts again, until soon enough an hour had passed and it was time for them to depart. Dominic left some money behind, more than enough for the meal and the tip.

The two of them began walking towards the door, Dominic took the keys for the truck from his pocket and stepped outside. He and Rolling Thunder walked to the truck, their boots crunching the snow beneath them.

“Well, it seems something went down, but what I don’t know…” Dominic said as he climbed into the cab of the truck and started the engine, Rolling Thunder nodded and adjusted his place in his seat. “Alright… I think the next bar is east of here, if I’m remembering the map correctly.”

“What’s it called?” Rolling asked as Dominic put the truck into reverse and very carefully extracted the vehicle from its parking spot. Once they’d turned out onto the main road Dominic tapped the side of his head in thought, then shook his head.

“I can’t remember…” The man reached forwards and picked up the microphone on the truck’s new radio. “This is Honey Badger calling the Fort, you guy’s copy?” He spoke, Rolling looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “It’s a helluva lot cooler than Honey Pop…”

”That you, sir?” Replied the static laced voice of Fortress Wall.

“Yeah, it’s me. I need you to do be a favor. Take a look at the map and see which bar is closest to ‘Berry’s Bar’.” Dominic said, setting the microphone down as he took a right turn down a random street. It was something he’d read about in books many years ago, a way to determine if his vehicle was being followed.

”The Warehouse, that’s an odd name… But it’s pretty big on the map, near something called an ‘industrial park’. You shouldn’t miss it.” Fortress replied, Dominic nodded and looked around for a sign. Rolling Thunder looked thoughtful, as if he were trying to figure out what was going on for himself. Dominic could understand that, he was a bit confused all things considered, if something had happened why wasn’t there any sign of it? Had someone else stepped up and defeated Sunset Shimmer? I looked that way, but he wouldn’t call it just yet.

After twenty minutes of searching they caught sight of the neon lights outside of a large old warehouse, the name instantly made more sense. Dominic noticed something about the bar as he got closer to it, and that was all the patrons in a line outside and were dressed very oddly. Their hair looked died, even on top of the insane colors they already sported. They looked like people who’d dressed up as characters for a convention, then been tossed through a jet engine, in the sense that their clothes looked absolutely tattered.

Dominic parked across the street from the building, and rolled down the window, then he could hear the music playing inside. It was loud, so loud he would’ve called in a noise complaint if he lived near that monstrosity. Electronic music that just seemed to be nothing but bass. Upon closer inspection he saw that most of the people going in were kids, that didn’t make sense if it was a bar. The man quickly picked up the radio.

“Fortress… What sort of bar did that map say this was?” He asked.

”A juice bar.” Fortress replied over the radio, Dominic groaned and rubbed his temples, then took a deep breath and curtailed his anger.

“Roger that, thanks fortress.” He replied over the radio before looking over at Rolling. “Do you think we’ll find anything here? I mean, there’s got to be a couple kids in there that know something.” Rolling shrugged for a moment.

“I probably wouldn’t be able to get in, and there’s a line there.” Rolling pointed out, Dominic nodded and was about to pull back onto the road, but he stopped as he noticed something in his rear view mirror. A light blue car with a peculiar rainbow design on the front, it had parked behind the truck with its lights off, and Dominic could see more than one person sitting in it, even in the dark.

“Looks like we’ve got company…” Dominic said quietly as he turned on his blinker and pulled out onto the road, leaving the building behind. Sure enough, he saw the headlights flicker on and the car pulled out into the road a few moments later. “Amateurs…”

“What should we do? Lose ‘em?” Rolling asked, Dominic shook his head and continued to drive along.

“We’ll lead ‘em around a bit, if they’re inexperienced at this they may make a move, if they’ve done it before they’ll be patient. It’s what I would do if I was them…” The man replied as he turned right down a street and drove for a while, watching the car in his driver’s side mirror. Rolling just nodded and looked out his own window at his own mirror. After a few more minutes Dominic took another right, sure enough the car turned as well. “Think they know who we are?”

“Doubt it… If they did they wouldn’t be following us.” Rolling replied, Dominic nodded and took yet another right. He’d essentially made a U turn, but to mix it up he made a left into an industrial park. After a few moments more he saw an empty lot up ahead and pulled off onto the snow covered dirt, he put the vehicle in park and let the engine idle. The car stopped just behind them, in an attempt to perhaps block their escape, but Dominic knew that truck always beat car when it came to pushing things out of the way. The man picked up the radio mic and spoke into it.

“We’re dealing with something real quick, just to let you guys know.” He said, there was a quick affirmative response before Dominic turned off the engine and opened the door. “Let’s see what they want.” Rolling nodded as he too climbed out of the truck, the two of them began walking towards the road where they saw the car parked. Dominic figured they’d get scared and drive away, but no, they just sat there.

Dominic stood there silently, staring into the car, ready to go for his gun at a moment’s notice. His eyes narrowed as he tried to get a look at the driver, somehow it looked like there were six people crammed into the car, despite its small size. Rolling and Dominic stared silently, the latter widening his stance. Dominic mused on just how cinematic it must have looked, almost like a scene out of an old western. The snow covered ground and a bit of moonlight above provided an eerie feel of uncertainty.

Finally the car’s engine turned off and all four doors opened, to Dominic’s mild surprise he saw six familiar people step out. Some struggling considering the small size of the car, but eventually they were all there. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and oddly enough, Sunset Shimmer. Rolling started to walk forwards, but Dominic held up an arm and shook his head silently, causing the other man to stop and go back to his silent stance. Dominic could see the looks of confusion on their faces, and on Sunset Shimmer, he could see a hint of fear.

Dominic cleared his throat before he took a single step forwards, he walked to the middle ground between the two sides and waiting silently for them to make their move. After a moment or so the girls looked at each other, and then Applejack stepped forwards as well.

“Ah reckon y’all know our names…” She asked, Dominic nodded silently. “When we got the phone call from our friend Cadence, we had an inkling you would…” The girl turned and looked briefly over at Sunset Shimmer, then back to Dominic. “What should I call you?”

“Dominic.” Dominic replied evenly, Applejack nodded with a bit of hesitation. “I assume you know why we’re here.” The girl nodded quietly as Dominic looked over towards Sunset Shimmer, the girl nervously looked at the ground. “We had reason to believe something would be happening soon that would affect our world, but it appears whatever that was has already happened…”

“That’s right.” Applejack replied, Dominic saw her straighten up to make herself look a bit tougher. “It’s all taken care of though, Sunset Shimmer isn’t a bad person anymore, ain’t no reason to take her from us.”

“I’m afraid I need more evidence than your word, the Equestrians will be very unhappy if I haven’t investigated.” Dominic replied, crossing his arms quietly, Applejack backed off for a moment. “May I speak with Miss Shimmer?”

“Ah… Suppose.” Applejack said before she looked over her shoulder at Sunset and gestured for her to come over, the other girl nervously stepped forwards, until she was standing very close to Applejack and not making eye contact. “Go on, hon, it’s alright…” Sunset looked up at Dominic, the man did his best to look non-threatening.

“Um… Hello.” Sunset said, wringing her hands nervously. “Did… Did Celestia send you?” Dominic shook his head. “Who did?”

“I did.” Dominic replied simply. “It’s very complicated, but this world contains some things that I needed to acquire for my country. Dealing with you was what convinced the Equestrian’s to aid me.” He explained, putting his hands on his hips as he did so. This caused his jacket to part just enough for Sunset to catch a glimpse of the revolver holstered by his side. “I’d prefer not to pull people out of here if I don’t have to, and it seems like you’ve got some significant ties here now, but… I’ve gotta ask. What happened?”

“I… Uh… I had a fight with a girl from another school, and she went completely crazy, I thought she was going to really hurt me.” Sunset began to explain, Dominic nodded and continued to listen. Meanwhile Rolling was continuing to watch the area around them for any sign of a trick or attack. “But, Applejack saw it happening and she helped me… It took a while to earn her trust, but we became good friends, and then we made things right with them…” Sunset pointed at the others that were standing silently. “The girl turned into a big monster, she was from Crystal Prep oddly enough, and she showed up at our school. I fought it, and everything seemed to turn out fine…”

Dominic nodded quietly and adjusted his coat, this time buttoning it up and effectively cutting himself off from his weapon, that put Sunset and the others at ease.

“Alright…” Dominic said quietly, he looked at the ground for a few moments before speaking again. “You sound like you’ve got everything going for you, it’d be a shame to fuck that up, but you know I can’t just leave without doing something.” Sunset Shimmer nodded nervously, closing her eyes as if not wanting to see him speak. “If I recall, there’s a book somewhere that could communicate between this world and Equestria, correct?” Sunset Shimmer’s eyes widened and she nodded. “Here’s what you do, give me one of them. In the other one you’re gonna start writing friendship letters to Princess Celestia. Tell her how you’re learning and whatnot, yada yada.” Sunset Shimmer seemed to perk up at that, feeling a bit happier that the punishment hadn’t been harsh in the slightest.

“Also.” Dominic added, Sunset froze. “Sounds like there’s more to this place than I thought… Meaning it could still be dangerous. So, on top of the friendship letters, I want you to send paranormal incident reports.” Dominic went on, Sunset nodded again. “I don’t care how small the incident, we’ve got to be informed.”

“Alright, I promise I’ll do it!” Sunset said in a bit of an excited tone, Dominic just nodded and looked back to Applejack who was a bit surprised by what had just happened.

“Y’all got that book on you?” Dominic asked, the girl looked over at Rainbow Dash who was already rummaging through the car. In a flash she’d grabbed it and sprinted over, quickly pushing it into Dominic’s hands without saying a word. “Thank ya, kindly. Guess that’s all sorted then…” The man turned on his heel and started to walk back towards the truck. “Y’all take care now… Let’s go, Rolling.”

“Yes, sir.” Rolling replied as he began to walk towards the truck as well, the six girls all hugged one another tightly, watching the two men walk back to their truck. Applejack could hear the mysterious gunslinger named Dominic whistling something, it sounded rather nice to her ears. The man climbed up onto the truck and gave a gesture similar to the tip of a hat before disappearing into the cab, moments later the engine rumbled to life.

Rainbow Dash once again moved as quick as she could, backing her car out of the way so that the truck could exit the vacant lot. The group of friends watched silently as the large vehicle drove down the street and turned down a corner.

Dominic sighed quietly and looked at the book sitting beside him, then at Rolling Thunder, then back to the road. He was one step closer to going back to Luna. It was something that he wanted very much, but at the same time he dreaded it, dreaded how she made him feel. He feared speaking to her because he didn’t know what to do, if the feelings he had were genuine, or maybe he was just in some sort of puppy dog state where he thought they were. Whatever the reason though, Dominic wanted to get home.

“When we get there start loading the truck.” Dominic said, breaking the silence and getting Rolling’s attention. “Our job here is done, it’s night time, and I just want to go home…” The trooper nodded quietly before Dominic picked up the radio microphone from the dashboard. “Hey guys, get your gear together and get ready to move, when we get there we’re loading up and leaving.”

“Roger that, sir.” Fortress replied quickly over the radio, Dominic sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat, again he looked down at the book beside him, then back at the truck around them.

“I’m gonna miss this thing…” Dominic mused as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, sighing as he thought of the truck transforming back into a lowly cart, it didn’t really seem right. Dominic had once been on track to be a mechanic in school, he’d learned the basics of welding and metalworking and he could change a tire with his eyes closed. Seeing human vehicles again had been a bit of a treat, but all good things had to end, he supposed. Eventually they arrived at the motel, Dominic backed the truck up as close as he could to the door to their motel and left the engine running while he got out and walked around to open the tailgate.

Rolling Thunder meanwhile entered the motel room and a few minutes later emerged with the others, all of them carrying boxes towards the back of the truck. Dominic entered the room himself and gathered up his things, slipping his music player into his pocket before he grabbed a couple boxes of his own and walked them out to the truck. Fortress Wall was up in the back, waiting to lift the containers up and set them down.

It took a total of twenty minutes for them to load the truck, between the four of them it was a much easier task. The last items on the truck were Dominic’s personal items for Luna and the bag of money, from which Dominic had taken three hundreds and returned the rest. He walked towards the main office of the Motel with the key in hand and entered, checking both his right and left for onlookers before approaching the clerk.

“Heading out pretty fast, eh?” The clerk asked, Dominic nodded and counted out the three hundred dollars, then set the key on the counter. “You’re undoubtedly the best guest we’ve ever had.”

“I just tip well.” Dominic replied over his shoulder as he exited and made his way to the truck, once he’d climbed into the cab he realized that Shining Armor was sitting up front. That was alright, he didn’t mind. What was more, Rolling and Fortress had changed back into their regular fatigues, Dominic guessed that made sense. Shining held up Dominic’s old helmet and the man gratefully put it atop his head before shifting into first and taking off out of the parking lot.

He picked up speed on the road, driving as fast as he dared on the snowy surface, once again it had started falling and Dominic realized that was something else he would miss. The cold of winter was something he’d always loved, but again, he supposed it had to end eventually. The school came into sight sooner than he’d expected and he disregarded the curb, opting to hop up onto the sidewalk and drive across the lawn until he’d stopped the truck directly in front of the portal. He shifted into neutral and put on the parking brake before looking at Shining.

“Get out and tell them to come up here, then get in back.” Dominic said, Shining nodded and hopped out, walking around the back of the truck and calling out to the thestral troopers. Meanwhile Dominic picked up the book from the seat and climbed out of the idling truck, when his two subordinates arrived up front he cleared his throat. “This lever here controls the brakes, when I give you the word I want you to push it, the gravity will pull the truck through the portal. Don’t touch anything else.”

“Yes, sir!” The two of them replied as they climbed in, Dominic walked around the back of the truck and climbed in, sighing briefly as he felt Luna’s feather in his pocket. He took a moment to look around, staring at a couple of the buildings around them for a minute or so. It could very well have been the last time he saw anything resembling humanity before the fall, and he wanted to at least have a good mental image. After a couple more moments he turned and solemnly made his way to a bench.

“Let’s move, fellas.” He called out. Rolling Thunder, who was now sitting in the passenger seat, nodded and pushed down the brake lever. The truck rolled forwards , the gravity pulling it along, until it began to disappear through the portal. Eventually the portal sucked it through, and Dominic could only catch a last glimpse of humanity before the disturbing warmth of the portal surrounded him. He closed his eyes, trying to revel in the strange sensation for as long as he could, knowing fully well that soon he would be back in the Equestrian universe, his home away from home.
> Chapter 60
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna paced back and forth for what felt like the millionth time in front of the mirror portal, at her side were at least a half dozen crystal pony guards, all of whom were surprised she hadn’t worn a groove into the stone floor by now. It had been three days since Dominic had gone through the portal, and since then she had been a nervous wreck. She couldn’t sense him as she had before, his dream signature had just vanished, and even though it had been weak she still longed for its presence, to know that he was somewhere in the world.

The room was much brighter now, thanks to more torches that had been mounted on the walls. Luna didn’t care about the lighting however, she wanted Dominic to return, she wanted him to emerge victorious from that portal, but she knew that it was very likely she wouldn’t see him for some time. Still she could hope for something of his to come through, a message or maybe a gift, anything that told her he was okay.

She could still remember the feeling of his lips against hers, the tight hold of his arms, the wave before he’d passed through the mirror. It took all of Luna’s force of will not to run through that portal to find him, not to help him and bring him home. That was why when she heard a bit of noise from the mirror she let out one of the happiest yelps of her life, both in surprise but also in joy. Through the portal the cart emerged, loaded down with odd boxes and other items that Luna had never seen before. Pulling it were Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall, both of whom appeared very relieved to be on the other side, at least they did right before they tumbled forwards and slid across the floor.

Her gaze shifted to the back of the cart where she saw Shining Armor rubbing his head quietly, her heart began to pick up in pace. At first she couldn’t see Dominic, she didn’t know what happened, but then.

“Son of a cussing cuss word, my head!” Dominic’s familiar gravel baritone echoed through the room, she saw the man sit up and rub the side of his forehead. Apparently the landing had caused him to fall forwards and bump his forehead on the wood of the cart, with a groan he’d stepped out of the cart and looked around. “Everyone in one piece?” A couple groans answered that question. Luna noticed that he had a book under his arm, and no Sunset Shimmer, she supposed the book had something to do with that. “We’ll get someone else to get the gear loaded on a train…”

Dominic spotted Luna standing across the room as the six crystal guards approached the cart to aid the Americans and Shining Armor. Dominic walked past them and straight up to Luna, seeing as she looked like she was rather nervous. The mare quickly walked up to him and wrapped her wings around him in a tight hug, Dominic felt like all the air would be squeezed out of his lungs, but despite this he returned the hug. When he was finally able to breathe he took a step back and smiled, patting himself down to show her he was in one piece.

“Told you I’d be back soon.” Dominic said, Luna smiled and teared up a bit, just happy to see that he was okay. He held out the book in his arm to Luna. “This is the solution to Sunset Shimmer, it seems she’s not the only thing over there that could be dangerous, so she’s gonna send us messages through this… And be Celestia’s newest pen pal.” The lunar mare took the book in her magic and looked it over carefully, then nodded. “Figured you’d wanna hear about that, since she isn’t here with us.”

“We’re more concerned about thou.” Luna said as she looked at the bump on his head, his helmet seemed to have spared him most of the blow. “Didst thou see what was predicted?” Dominic shook his head quietly and pointed back at the portal.

“It wasn’t spot on, and that means it's unpredictable… That thing needs to be guarded.” Dominic’s words caught the ear of Shining Armor. “With Shining Armor’s prediction… I think it would be best if I took it with me. We’re out in a desert, if anything comes through it’ll do less damage and you’ll have more time to contain it…” The unicorn stood up and began trotting towards the man, a look of surprise on his face.

“Perhaps this should be discussed later…” Luna suggested, Dominic nodded without taking his eyes off of the mirror. He straightened his helmet and looked down at Shining Armor, he could tell that the answer was already going to be yes. Shining was afraid of what was on the other side of the mirror, and Dominic understood why. Meanwhile several crystal guards were carrying the various items from the cart out of the room, Fortress Wall and Rolling Thunder were helping them. Luna walked to the exit with Dominic and Shining behind her, pausing to look over her shoulder at the mirror for a moment before continuing out into the large cavernous stairway.

The trip back up the stairway was a silent one, the only noise being the sound of hooves and boots on the sturdy stone floors, until finally the three of them had emerged on the main floor of the Crystal Palace. The others were still a fair bit down the steps, giving them ample time to talk as they waited. Luna quickly looked at Dominic and Shining expectantly, she was unsure of what to say herself.

“It’s not dangerous now, in fact, that’s what the book is for… Sunset Shimmer is going to keep an eye out for paranormal stuff and we’ll be able to get it through there.” Dominic explained again, Luna nodded and looked at the book questioningly. “What she described that helped her reform herself is what has me concerned, a demon girl... Apparently Sunset defeated her and earned the trust of the element bearers on the other side, they all corroborated it in person.”

“Hearing that, I have to agree with Dominic’s proposal.” Shining said, looking at the president with a nod. “He’s located relatively far from large Equestrian populations and has a more than ready defense force, if anything were to happen it would best happen with him.” Luna nodded quietly, somewhat agreeing with what was being said, then she looked at the book in her grasp.

“Perhaps it is better left in thine care as well…” She said, Dominic looked at the book for a few moments. “From what we have heard, our sister would love to hear from Sunset, but that is what couriers are for…” Hesitantly the man reached out and took the book into his hands once more, running his fingers over the cover. “Shining, please, see to it his items and soldiers are made ready to depart on the next train… We must have a word with our new student.” Shining nodded and went off back down the steps to help the upcoming guards, and to somehow figure out how to get the mirror up the stairs. Dominic looked to Luna and removed his helmet, earning a small smirk from the mare as she made her way off down a random hallway. “Thou solved the situation with Sunset Shimmer very well, better than we had hoped.”

“Thank you…” Dominic replied, trailing off a bit, he wasn’t sure what to call Luna at this point. Just Luna? Master Luna? Just Master? The princess giggled at the look on his face, she knew all to well what he was puzzling over, she’d seen it before. She cleared her throat before becoming serious once again.

“An appropriate title for us would normally be Master, but as you are a head of state, that could look very bad…” Luna explained, thankfully ending the argument in Dominic’s head. “Teacher, or any variation on that thou chose, will suffice.”

“Insegnante…” Dominic said, Luna looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Teacher in Italian, but it sounds more noble.” Luna nodded with another smile as they continued to stroll through the crystal hallways, Dominic taking a few seconds to observe the designs in the walls.

“As we had said, thou hath exceeded our expectations.” Luna went on as they walked. “We had thought thou would return battered, and somehow reformed Sunset Shimmer yourself.” Luna paused to examine a bit of artwork that had been carved into the crystal walls, a pair of ponies hugging and forming the shape of a heart, something about it was rather haunting. “We sense thou hath used words rather than violence when it was very much an option….”

“I did not want to fail you, Insegnante…” Dominic replied as he too looked upon the art, Luna only hummed in response. “I have a question.” Luna looked at Dominic silently. “How will you train me if we’re in separate countries?”

“We shall not be in separate countries, Celestia knows we have chosen thee as our student, she has made preparations already.” Luna explained as she looked back to the artwork. “Twilight will take our place temporarily, we shall return to New Liberty with thou.” Dominic would have protested for her sake, but instead held his tongue, he could see Luna was serious about it. The two of them remained in silence for minutes after that, the both of them staring at the odd piece of art, finally Luna spoke again. “Doth thou know why we hath chosen thee as our apprentice, Dominic?” Dominic was about to speak up, she’d said something to him, but he suspected were entirely different in this context.

“No, Insegnante.” Dominic replied.

“Thou art the only one with the will to kill, but the heart to spare.” Luna said quietly. “Our sister has made it so our subjects have lost their fight, something that is good in a way, but it is not perfect…” The mare sighed quietly. “We are not immortal, Dominic, despite what many will say, neither is our sister.” Dominic continued to listen to her. “For this reason we have guards, but they have proved to be inadequate in recent times…” Luna touched her hoof to the artwork and ran it over the crystal. “Our bodies use magic in many ways, with alicorns it is to prolong our life indefinitely. We can be killed, but we cannot age… For this reason we must choose a warrior to personify our values… Incase a risk should arise that is too great for us... We hath chosen thou.”

Luna quietly brought her hoof back to rest beside her, meanwhile Dominic was contemplating what Luna was saying. Was she selecting him as some sort of champion? He was flattered, but he wasn’t sure he was ready. The mare looked at Dominic quietly, she had been thinking lately about his ‘immunity’ to magic, she feared that perhaps it was something more than ‘immunity’. For that reason she would not speak of it, not in front of him, and not in front of the other humans.

“We were here when these walls were nothing but crystal, before Sombra… Seeing them now, after so many years…” Luna trailed off and cleared her throat. “It has only made my decision that much clearer, when we return to New Liberty, we shall train thee to be our warrior.”

“Thank you, Insegnante.” Dominic said, bowing his head forwards as he did so. Luna turned around and began to walk back to the main hall of the Crystal palace, Dominic following beside her quietly as she did. “The box you refuse to open… It contains a sword, does it not?”

“It does.” Luna replied, not taking her eyes off the hall ahead as her hooves echoed through the hallways. “A sword we hath forbidden from use for centuries, one thou shalt receive once thou hath been prepared properly…” Dominic nodded once again, his face becoming stoic as he walked along beside Luna. “For now, let us make our return to New Liberty, we can discuss this further when we’ve arrived.”

“As you wish, Insegnante.” Dominic replied quietly, eventually the two of them returned to the large main hall where both of them could see that Shining Armor was directing his guards to carefully handle the boxes of radios and other items to the train. “Perhaps I should go and help them.” Luna nodded once again, prompting Dominic to walk off.

Watching him go, Luna felt the joy in her heart spring forth and she couldn’t help but smile, but the smile began to fade from her face as she contemplated her theory. She’d seen Dominic take on extraordinary odds, he hadn’t come out unscathed, but he’d come out nonetheless. Luna wasn’t sure how she should have felt about her theory, only that she feared how a man like Dominic would take it.

She watched him carry a couple boxes with him outside, when he did Luna began to follow once again. She hoped that it would all turn out well in the end, she just wanted Dominic to be happy.

[♦]

Mizu and her guards crested the plateau that overlooked the jungles of The Mysterious South and stopped to look down. The architecture of the ‘Hive of Wasp’ was easily visible, yellow and black hexagonal spires that rose from the misty jungle underbrush, and banners that flew in the wind. These banners were black and yellow as well, with three horizontal stripes dividing them. Illusion stepped forwards and brought a spyglass to his eye, peering down at the city in the distance.

“I do not think we have been spotted yet.” He commented as he watched the workers and warriors of the hive in the distance go about their daily lives. “Do you wish for us to scout the area first, your highness?”

“No…” Mizu replied thoughtfully. “They will undoubtedly think it is a trick, perhaps even a prelude to American invasion…” Illusion nodded quietly as the Queen’s heir adjusted the sword on her belt before pointing down at the hive’s gates. “Let us make haste, our brothers and sisters are counting on our success.”

“It shall be done.” Illusion said with a bow, the other honor guards bowed as well before their wings began to buzz. They had flown most of the way from the northern hive, but the changelings in the Queen’s honor guard were trained to ignore just about everything, including pain. The group took flight and dropped low, flying just above the treetops of the misty jungle below. Mizu narrowed her eyes at the approaching gate, she could see there were several Wasp guards standing at the ready, at least ten or so.

When Mizu and her guards landed the wasps immediately readied themselves for combat, Mizu’s soldiers put up their own defensive stance and a breeze began to blow between the two groups. Silently Mizu pulled her hood up, revealing the runes upon the front, the wasp soldiers spotted them but nonetheless continued to prepare for battle. Mizu walked forwards, past her guards, all of whom were prepared to die for her.

She stopped twenty feet in front of the large wooden gate, it had been decorated with spikes and even a few animal skulls. The wasps had all of their weapons trained on her, but her faith in her commanding presence held firm. She was the heir to the entire kingdom, they would not dare fire on the heir. Silently she stood there, glaring upwards at the massive door, after several minutes there was a thud and the gate opened outwards.

From within emerged a large waspling, his armor was painted and striped, and he towered over Mizu by a head or so. Mizu’s glared did not waver as he stopped in front of her and tried to deliver his own, the massive sword on his side still remained in its scabbard.

“Who are you?” He asked in a two toned rasping voice, Mizu used her magic to push her hood back. Her mane had grown considerably and was now blowing in the breeze, her eyes became intense, and she could sense fear from the massive creature in front of her.

“I am Mizu, heir of Chrysalis, her voice and her ears.” Mizu said sternly, the massive waspling paused for a moment before dropping into a respectful bow. The soldiers on the walls lowered their weapons and stopped their magic before some of them dropped to their own bows, a fact that was not lost on Mizu. “I have come to speak with your queen.”

“Of course, your majesty.” The large waspling replied as he rose from his bow, he turned and began to walk back inside the gates with Mizu and her guards behind him. The honor guard fell into a sort of parade formation on either side of Mizu as they passed through the wasp city, on either side workers would stop and stare. Mizu could see a few ponies among them, they looked tired and beaten, some of the mares looked like they’d been treated horribly. It made Mizu sick, and she was glad that the peace treaty forbade slavery of any kind. It was the sign of a weak hive in the eyes of Chrysalis anyway, and she’d been set to implement a ban on it just before the war.

The larger architecture up close was surprisingly ornate, each hexagon had some form of picture carved within it, and all of them seemed to depict an elegant scene of the jungle around them. The stone was as gold as honey, save for the places where green vines creeped up the sides. The houses were far less advanced, mainly comprised of wood and thatch. As the group walked along Mizu kept her head held high, this allowed her mane to flutter in the breeze and give off an air of authority.

Eventually the large waspling stopped outside of a tall pyramid structure with the same honey gold stone construction, a large staircase lead straight to a small structure. Four banners fluttered atop the building and there were large glass windows built into the stone room. The large waspling bowed silently and gestured up the steps.

“The Queen is there, your majesty. I cannot escort you further, she has forbidden commoners from ascending into her temple.” He said apologetically, Mizu was surprised by that, especially since forbidding subjects from one’s throne room was against changeling law, and had been for nearly three centuries.

“Thank you for your assistance.” Mizu said as she began to climb the steps, her honor guard marching behind her. The climb was methodical and slow, granting Mizu time to reflect upon what she would do. It seemed that this Queen lacked the discipline that Chrysalis expected from her daughters in command, something that Mizu knew she would have to correct, lest she return to Chrysalis a failure. Mizu stopped just short of the top and turned to her guards, all of whom kneeled in anticipation of her commands. “If I need you I shall call, for now I shall continue alone.”

“As you command.” They said quietly before Mizu turned around and pulled up her hood, she ascended the steps and stopped just outside a pair of wooden doors that had been carved to depict the city as a whole. Silently Mizu pushed them open, allowing the sunlight to better fill the room and to reveal the Queen of the Hive of Wasp.

She was tall with a flowing mane of black and yellow, faint stripes covered her body, her eyes were a brilliant green and a stinger had taken the place of her tail. Silently the two of them stared at each other as the moments continued to pass. The Queen was resting upon a soft looking bed with numerous papers scattered about, when she finally stood Mizu could see her wings unfold. Most changelings had two wings, but she had four, a sign of her status as a Queen. In the corner of the room was a fountain that depicted the Queen in some regal pose.

“So… You are the Queen’s heir…” The queen said, her two tone voice barely hid the arrogance in her tone, something that was made evident by her lack of a bow. She may have been a Queen, but she still had to differ to Chrysalis, the Queen of Queens, and by extension Mizu. “I had expected some-ling older…”

“Mother has sent me to warn you of your disobedience and your refusal to accept the war has ended.” Mizu said firmly as she walked further into the stone structure.

“I had hoped that it was but a ruse, but now I hear that our kingdom has been bested by an ape...” The Wasp Queen replied with a bit of scorn in her tone, she closed her eyes before she turned to glare at Mizu. “She may have lost her fight, but we will not lose ours!” The heir’s eyes widened at the declaration. “The Legion of Wasp will defeat the American’s once and for all!”

“Do you realize what you will doom your hive to!?” Mizu roared, her magic flaring to life as she drew her sword from her sheath and pointed it towards the queen. “The American’s will retaliate with the totality of their strength, as will the rest of our kingdom! Your city will burn!”

“Do not try to scare me, child…” The Wasp Queen replied as she looked at the sword. “You’ve been taken in by the enemy, it’s clear to see… You have neither the mettle or the-” The Queen was cut off, quite literally, as Mizu took a swing with her sword and lopped off a good portion of her mane.

“Do not test me.” Mizu said coldly as the Queen stared at her fallen mane in horror, the blade was floating inches from her head now, the horror on her face quickly shifted to anger and her horn glowed a bright yellow. With a blast of magic she’d jumped back from Mizu’s blade, from beneath her bed a sword of her own emerged.

“I will do more than test you.” The Queen said bitterly, Mizu briefly contemplated calling for her guards, but decided against it. Defeating the treasonous Queen would cement her power in the hivemind. She was going to contemplate how that would feel, but she was called back to the fight as the two of them circled around each other, their swords floating in their respective fields of magic.

Mizu charged forwards first, using her magic to wield the blade into a swipe at the Queen’s throat. The Queen brought up her own blade and parried the blow, then brought her hoof out to try and punch Mizu aside. When she connected she sent the heir hurtling into a wall, but even after such a hard impact, Mizu stood to her hooves with her blade at the ready, green blood dripping down from her lips as she spat out a tooth. She let out a yell and walked forwards, blade at the ready as the Queen charged towards her. The Queen’s wings buzzed, boosting her speed while she prepared to slice through Mizu’s chest.

The younger changeling brought her sword up just as the Queen’s sword came down, a massive cloud of dust formed and Mizu felt herself pushed back across the floor. She was panting heavily, and as the dust cleared she could see the smiling face of her foe, it infuriated her to see such smugness, such disobedience to the Queen of Queens, to her mother! Mizu wanted nothing more than to slice that grin off of the traitorous snake!

With a mighty roar her magic flared to life and she blasted the Wasp Queen back across the room, this time it was her turn to slam into the wall. Groggily the Queen looked up and stood to her full height, glaring at Mizu with burning malice and bringing her sword out in front of her. Mizu responded with another blast of magic, forcing the Queen to jump to the side. The spell hit the wall and caused it to explode outwards, scattering debris down the side of the building and filling the room with thick dust. Mizu couldn’t see through it, but she knew her foe remained, somewhere.

The heir looked to her sword, tied around the handle was the strip of cloth that her friend Jen had given her in New Liberty when her eyes had changed. Quickly she untied the fabric and blindfolded herself, only then could she see clearly where the Queen was, the aura of the traitors emotions guided her blade. The red aura of anger and disgust was in front of her near the wall, just to her right. With her magic she propelled her sword outwards, there was a hiss of pain, she could see fear form in the aura.

With another yell Mizu began taking swings at the Queen, some of them were blocked, others caught her foe and drew blood. The Queen was on the defensive now, Mizu could see her fear growing with each passing moment, until it changed to relief. There was another blast of magic and a tremendous wind, Mizu felt herself flying through the air before she landed on the stoney floor. Weakly she pulled up her blindfold, to her shock she saw the entire top of the structure had been obliterated, the dust cloud had been carried away by the wind, and the Queen was floating angrily in the air.

Mizu tightened her blindfold turned head band, the fabric fluttering in the wind as she saw for the first time the damage she had done to the Queen. Her sides and part of her face were bleeding, undiluted rage was displayed upon her features and her horn was beginning to glow brightly. Mizu could feel drops of water falling around her, she looked to the side and spotted what remained of the fountain, she wasn’t sure she had the time to take control of the spraying liquid in that moment. Her attention was drawn back to the Queen, whose sword now lay on the ground, as her horn glowed brighter and brighter.

Mizu dropped her own sword and prepared her magic, closing her eyes tightly as she built up the most powerful spell she’d ever conjured. The Queen let out a shrieking roar as she let loose her spell, one she was certain would splatter Mizu into paste, but Mizu cast her own magic. The two beams of energy met in the middle with a tremendous boom that shook the building, Mizu opened her eyes and glared at her foe, she could feel her spell was slipping. Her entire body ached, her horn burned, but she wouldn’t fail her mother, not after all that had happened. Thoughts of Chrysalis ran through her head, all the times she had cared for Mizu, all the times Mizu had cared for her, from Canterlot to the war with America. All the love that had been shared.

Mizu narrowed her eyes and let out a determined yell, her light blue aura of magic glowing brighter and brighter, to the point where onlookers around the city had to shield their eyes or look away. The Queen stared in shock as her spell was pushed back further and further, until she could feel the burning heat of Mizu’s magic against her skin. A scream of fear left her throat seconds before the wave of magic hit her, another tremendous boom shook the area and a shockwave of energy expanded out over the city, clearing away clouds and the mist from the surrounding jungle in a massive circle.

The Queen fell to the floor, burned and bleeding, barely able to stand. Her horn was fractured, her mane completely gone, her wings bent and torn like tissue paper. Mizu panted heavily as her nose began to bleed heavily, every part of her body felt like it had been beaten with a baseball bat, she could barely move. The two of them glared at eachother, until weakly the Queen began to rush at Mizu, her horn lowered to impale. Mizu’s horn flared to life as she used the last of her strength to interact with the spraying water beside her. A stream of it appeared and she quickly formed it into a flat pane, then she thought of something cold, the coldest thing she could think of. Rapidly the water turned to Ice and she let it fall to the ground, it shattered into numerous pieces like glass.

The Queen didn’t notice, all she could see was red, all she wanted to do was destroy her enemy. Mizu weakly picked up a chunk of ice and shot it forwards with her magic, like an arrow it flew straight and true. With a sickening noise it impaled itself into the Queen’s chest, causing her to shriek loudly and blood to spray from the wound like a fire hose. Mizu barely reacted when she felt the green liquid coat her face and what remained of her robes, the headband still fluttering in the breeze.

Moments later Illusion and the rest of Mizu’s guards charged up the steps, weapons at the ready, but they were surprised to see Mizu was still somehow standing. Illusion walked towards her and said something that she couldn’t understand, all she did was blink and weakly turn to look at him. Several seconds later she fell unconscious into his hooves.
> Chapter 61
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several days passed, and at the start of a new morning Dominic found himself waking up in his familiar uncomfortable cot with his desk just a few feet away from him. Outside he could hear Jen yelling at her troops as the sunlight peeked through his window. The man tiredly stood up and stretched, several seconds later he extended his hand to his right, there was a loud thwack and he winced in pain as his fist closed around a wooden training sword.

“Good morning to you too, Insegnante.” Dominic said with a tired sigh as he turned and looked at the door, it opened and the princess walked in with her horn glowing. “Why do you always come from the right?”

“So thou will not be expecting something from the left.” Luna replied, several seconds later Dominic felt a book hit him in the side. Not hard enough to really hurt him, just enough to sting. It took him a few deep breaths, but he didn’t explode, instead he let go of Luna’s training sword and started walking towards the window. 

His eyes were drawn to the latest addition to New Liberty, the first ever actual vault, compliments of the Crystal Empire. Dominic had played it off as the Crystal Empire wanting to show it was serious about trading with the United States, and while it certainly did store the gold taken in reparations, there was something else being kept there. Something that he’d put his top stallions in charge of. The mirror. It had been set up in one of the old POW bunkhouses, as the camp was the most secure area in New Liberty. The other two bunk houses had been converted into a communications building and an R and D lab.

“Thou hath a clear schedule today, we hath checked with Sonar.” Luna said, Dominic nodded and ran a hand over his head. “We will expect thee at the training grounds, after you’ve woken up properly.” Dominic nodded silently once again, once he heard Luna walk out the man stretched and made his to the bathroom, once he’d finished there he walked back to his office and looked around.

He’d set up the speakers from the other world  on his desk, and oddly enough, they’d changed somewhat on their way through the portal. Now it seemed they drew power from ambient magical fields, which was nice considering there was ambient magic all over the place. He would’ve loved to put on a song or two before going out to the training field, especially since it looked like today would be a day where he’d be getting smacked with a training sword for extended periods of time. Briefly he looked at his jacket and contemplated putting it on, it would lessen the pain of the impacts, but after a second he shook his head and just stuck to his t-shirt, boots and jeans.

The man descended the steps once again, this time passing by Sonar’s desk and out onto the street. At that moment it seemed Jen was marching her troops along in formation, once again Dominic got a distinct feeling that they looked more like Germans than Americans, but it didn’t really matter to him. The man was about to walk towards the training grounds when he heard a gunshot from across town, he dropped to the ground out of instinct, only to see Jen give one of her soldiers a smack in the chest.

“Bang! A sniper just killed your company commander! What do you do!?” She screamed at the stallion next to her, the stallion blinked a few moments and then there was another gunshot. “Bang! He hesitated! He’s dead! What do you do!”

“Get out of the open!” Shouted the third soldier, this one was a changeling, and quickly the formation dispersed and took cover behind a building. Jen just turned and looked towards a building, then gave a wave. Dominic stood up and spotted Johnny sitting up there with the hunting rifle that the princesses had returned when they’d left.

“Do not get used to routines, boys!” Jen said as she looked at the two ‘Dead’ soldiers, whom she’d just made stand still. “You get sloppy and soldiers die. Back in formation!” The soldiers quickly came out from cover and got back into marching order, Dominic sighed quietly as it seemed that Johnny hadn’t been taking any real shots. 

The man began walking towards the training grounds once again, pausing for another moment as he walked past the former POW camp. He could see that Fortress Wall was tinkering with a couple radios, Dominic didn’t mind, he knew the stallion had a thing for technology, and he wasn’t about to squash that. Besides, any damage done to the gear came out of Fortress’ paycheck, which was something Dominic didn’t want to do, but it was a good insurance policy.

Finally Dominic reached the training grounds on the outskirts of town, already Luna had set up a table and drawn a circle in the desert sand. On the table Dominic could see a couple canteens of water and two training swords, the man stopped on the edge of the circle and cleared his throat. The mare turned away from the table and looked at him with a faint smile, then nodded silently, only then did Dominic set foot in the circle. He’d learned the hard way to wait for her nod on the first day of training.

“Good morning, Dominic.” Luna said with a slight nod, Dominic returned it once again. “We’ll begin with our usual warm up.” The man nodded and sat on the ground, Luna walked towards him before she too sat down. The hot sand was a bit uncomfortable, but Dominic didn’t really mind, he was willing to do whatever it took for the people he cared about. The two of them closed their eyes, Dominic relaxed his muscles and did his best to clear his mind. The sound of the windy desert was all heard, the sand was all he felt, there was nothing else to worry about. Once he’d fully relaxed he opened his eyes, Luna was staring at him once again.

“I’m ready, Insegnante.” He said quietly, the mare nodded and the two of them stood up. Luna’s horn glowed and the two training swords floated over, Dominic reached out and took one while Luna’s remained in her magic. He gripped the hilt with both hands, and took up the stance that the princess had gone over in the days before.

“Good. Let us begin.” Luna said before she move her sword forwards in a jab, Dominic stepped to the side and took a swipe at the wooden blade. It connected and sent Luna’s training blade to into the ground, Dominic then attempted to kick at Luna’s face. His boot stopping just short of her muzzle. “Thou must stop holding back.” Luna said as she used her magic to pull the training sword from the sand and then took a swipe at Dominic’s leg. Off balance as he was already, he quickly fell onto his rear. “Thou shall not harm us, we art over two thousand years old.”

“I’m sorry…” Dominic said as he got to his feet and brushed himself off.

“Then next time thou shalt not hold back.” Luna said sternly. “Now… Again!” Dominic readied his training sword once more as Luna readied her own, this time she came at him with a swipe from the right. He brought the training sword up and caught the blow, then gave a hard shove against Luna’s magical force. “Good! Again!” This time it was an overhead slice, Dominic stepped to the left and caught the blade, this time Luna drew back the training sword and slashed at Dominic’s right side. Once again there was the thud of wood as Dominic once again defended against the blow. “See, thine skills are improving already. Again!”

There was a swipe to the left, once again Dominic caught the training sword with his own. He grunted at the force Luna had put behind it, it was clear she wasn’t holding back. The man narrowed his eyes and pushed hard against the blade, getting within a foot of Luna’s muzzle, Luna pushed hard with her magic but the man dug his feet into the sand and refused to budge. With a mighty yell he reached out and grabbed the alicorn’s horn, her blade fell to the sand and Dominic’s training sword found itself resting against her neck.

“D-Dominic! Let go!” Luna said as a blush formed on her face, the man released her horn and stepped back.

“You said not to hold back.” He replied, Luna nodded quickly as she touched her horn nervously.

“We know, but… An alicorn’s horn is very sensitive to certain things…” Luna explained, Dominic’s eyes widened and a blush spread across his own cheeks as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “We are fine, just… Please, refrain from doing that. Remember, your opponents will likely not have a horn.” It seemed that Luna had shaken herself of any embarrassment she’d had pretty fast, as already the training sword was floating again. “Again!”

From then on the training went well, much better than Dominic had imagined it would go in the beginning. He wasn’t being smacked as often as he expected he would, and Luna kept giving it her all, forcing Dominic to do the same. He’d never known he could move as fast or as agile as before, perhaps it was because he’d never needed to be. Hours passed, and the only breaks they ever took were for water. 

The heat grew to a point where Dominic tossed off his shirt, the sand clung to his sweaty skin as his hair became matted against his head. It was safe to say that the both of them were fairly warmed up, and as Luna watched the way his muscles moved she found herself lose focus for several seconds. A hard stinging pain lanced across the side of her neck as Dominic’s training blade made contact with a smack.

The two of them would move back and forth in the sand circle, and yet neither one seemed to step out no matter how close they would come. It came to a point where the townsfolk came out around the late afternoon to gather around and watch, Luna didn’t bother to disperse them, and Dominic was far too busy dodging her attacks to care. Johnny soon made his way to the front of the crowd with a little black notebook, it seemed he was taking bets on who would leave the circle, who’d get the most hits, and so on.

Luna and Dominic backed away from one another for a moment and a hush fell over the crowd, the president and the princess were panting heavily, and sweat was pouring off the man’s body. By now Jen had even gathered to see what was what, when she saw Dominic with his shirt off and holding a sword, she nearly fainted. Not because she wanted to get with him or anything, but because he looked just as she’d imagined the knight in her book to look.

Dominic brought his sword out in front of him and took up an aggressive stance, his eyes narrowing as he watched the princess’ horn. Luna’s magic seemed to sway from side to side on her horn, generally swaying the opposite way she was swinging the sword. He’d noticed it a while ago, but now that he wasn’t on the defensive he planned to exploit it.

“Hath thou had enough?” Luna asked as she twirled her sword, Dominic shook his head. “Very well! Have at ye!” Luna surged forwards, her magic swayed to the right and Dominic brought his blade up to the left. He caught her attack with a grunt and pushed her back, the same with the next and the next. Gradually he began to become more aggressive with his counter attacks. His boots kicked up sand as he gradually fought forwards against Luna’s magic, until finally he was pushing his sword with all his might and their faces were inches apart, their teeth bared at each other.

Dominic gave one final shove, pushing Luna back to the edge of the circle as she staggered, the man followed up with a frontward kick and sent the alicorn face first into the sand. The two of them stared at eachother for a few moments as the crowd watched in awe, Dominic slowly walked forwards and knelt down to offer his hand to Luna. She accepted it and was pulled back to her hooves with a grunt, meanwhile it seemed that Johnny was paying off whoever had bet on the president.

“Thou hast done well, Dominic.” Luna said, Dominic nodded and bowed his head.

“Thank you, Insegnante.” The man turned to walk towards the table where the canteens were set, freezing when he heard a voice from behind him.

“Again!” Dominic spun on his heels and ducked just as Luna’s training sword flew over his head, the man quickly brought up his own weapon into a defensive stance. Meanwhile the crowd was watching with mild awe, Dominic wiped his nose as he and his teacher circled each other once again. Luna was much faster now, and Dominic struggled to keep up with her swipes as he had done before.

The man growled as he felt more pain lancing up his sides, in his legs, on his shoulders. His muscles burned more than he’d ever thought possible, still he went on fighting, even as Luna directed a blow to his face. It was an accident and the adrenaline masked the pain, but still blood began to drip down his face from his nose. Luna could tell he was running out of steam, and she would’ve stopped when she’d struck his nose if he hadn’t kept up the pressure. She had to admit she was surprised at how well he was following her attacks, her eyes met his, and as they did she saw them moving in tandem with her movements. He was calling her movements based on her magic, she had to admit it was pretty clever.

Luna delivered a blow to Dominic’s side, causing him to stagger and clutch at it in pain. He jammed his training sword into the sand and propped himself up on it, he refused to fall to his knees. Luna halted her attacks as she watched him slowly stagger to his feet, he swayed from side to side as he brought the sword forwards once again. Luna shook her head, they’d done enough for one day, and with that she used her magic to pull his training sword from his hands.

“That is enough for today.” Luna said as she floated both of the wooden items over to the table and set them down. Dominic opened his mouth to speak as if he were going to protest, but he paused and just nodded his head. The crowd began to disperse, Dominic could hear Jen yelling at her troops again in the distance. The man tiredly walked to the table and grabbed one of the canteen, then poured the entire contents of it over his head. “Thou hath done well, Dominic, we art impressed.”

“‘Well’ isn’t good enough…” Dominic said to himself as he wiped his forehead. “I’ve got to be the best if I want this plan to work, Insegnante. I don’t care what we have to do, take the training into my dreams if we have to, but-”

“Dreams are a refuge from the world, Dominic.” Luna cut him off as she levitated a canteen to her lips, after she took a sip she looked the man in the eyes, her expression was one of warm caring that “Thou shalt learn in time, do not worry. As thou hath said, thy plan will take many more months to put into action, that is more than enough time to train thee.” Dominic just sighed quietly and leaned against the table. “Thou didst not let thyself fall to thine knees, that brings you further along than many of my previous students.”

“Not far enough…” The man looked at the training swords, then back at the circle in the sand where he could some of his blood had dripped into the sand. “I can go longer…” The man started to reach for one of the swords, but Luna was quick to push his hand away.

“Thou hast yet to learn the importance of rest…” Luna said with a shake of her head. “We hath finished for the day, thou art free to go.” The princess watched her student quietly, the man took several moments before he nodded. “We are certain thou wishes to work on something else, correct?”

“The armor…” Dominic said quietly as he picked up his shirt and pulled it on, the water had washed the sand from his body and quickly soaked through the fabric. “I’ve been working on the armor plating, it’s a bit difficult without an angle grinder…” The man sighed and stretched, wincing slightly as he felt the the bruises on his side. Luna could see the familiar look of thought on his face, and she had a good idea what he was thinking about. It seemed that how the two of them felt about each other was what clouded his mind lately, Luna had hoped that training him would help her to see him a different way. In a way it had, she saw him more and more as a boy, a student, maybe even a son, perhaps because that was what he really was.

Luna feared perhaps she had mistaken a maternal instinct to protect him as something more, she had never truly been in a relationship before. She’d had many suitors over her long life, but she never before had felt such closeness to someone. The more she thought about it though, the more she wondered if she should perhaps put an end to it. Dominic seemed to the snap out of his thoughts and straightened up, that was enough to catch Luna’s attention.

“Alright… Until next time, Insegnante.” Dominic said with a nod before he turned and walked away, Luna watched him for a few moments before she looked back to the circle that seemed to be fading from the sand with a howling wind. Her heart was filled with uncertainty, and she seemed to know that no matter what she did, it would remain for some time. There was more to it than just her personal feelings, there was also that pesky theory of hers, one that she feared would perhaps do more harm than good if she voiced it.

As she was about to walk away herself, she heard a noise to her left. She turned and saw something rising from the sand, her horn glowed as at first she thought it was a diamond dog of some kind. However she soon recognized it wasn’t a Diamond Dog, that didn’t dispel her fears though. It was Discord, wearing a pith helmet and safari gear, he wasn’t nearly as tall as he normally was.

“Hello, Moonbutt.” Discord said as he stretched and scratched his belly.

“Discord? What art thou doing here?” Luna asked, the chaos god shrugged and wandered towards the table. With a snap of his fingers he was sitting in a chair that floated above the ground.

“You don’t think I’d keep an eye on my rookie of the year?” Discord replied simply as he leaned back in the floating seat. “Actually I decided to pop in so I could have a chat with you.” Luna raised an eyebrow and sat down on the sand, she looked at the draconequus with a questioning gaze that only prompted him to giggle. “That look on your face is priceless, but, that’s not why I’m here. It’s about this little thing your so worried about.”

“How did you…?” Luna asked nervously, Discord just chuckled again as he shook his head.

“I’m a chaos god.” Discord replied plainly. “Believe it or not, there’s more than physical chaos, like, for instance, mental chaos.” The chair continued floating in front of Luna, even as it dropped a little in height. “I’ll just come right out and say that theory of yours is spot on, but it extends to more than just him, it’s his whole species.”

“You mean…?” Luna asked, looking back to the town where she could see Dominic walking away.

“Yes, it’s the reason he doesn’t get drunk anymore, why he smokes those cigars and doesn’t get sick. He’s got a healing factor like yours or Celestias, well… It’s actually a little weaker. For instance, you could take a bullet to the chest and be alright a month or so later. He’d just be dead.” Discord mimicked firing a gun at Luna’s chest, an action she didn’t like. “I suggest making peace with whatever issues you have with him, because the two of you are gonna have to deal with each other for a very very very very very…” Discord seemed to stretch out with each utterance of the word. “...very very very long time.”  Luna took a few deep breaths and looked at the sand quietly, Discord snapped his chair away and returned to his non-stretchy self. 

“Look, I know Celly seems to think I’m some sort of jerk that doesn’t care about emotions, but that was because I used to be the big bad chaos bringer the world needed.” Discord explained in an honest voice, Luna couldn’t help but think he was being genuine. “That guy has done my job at least five times over by now, it’s freed up a lot of time for me not to be a jerk. Now I can afford to take a moment to be a good guy.” Discord’s safari attire vanished, replaced by a pinstriped suit. “I can’t tell you how to handle it, but I can say that agonizing over it isn’t gonna help.”

“But… An eternity of nightmares…” Luna said quietly, Discord put a claw on the mare’s shoulder, prompting her to look into his eyes. “How… How do we tell him he will live with those memories for uncountable years?

“Give the guy some credit, Luna. He hasn’t eaten his gun yet, and I know for sure he’s tried.” Discord’s revelation added a whole new layer of guilt to Luna’s shoulders, but she closed her eyes and nodded firmly. No matter what happened she’d be there for Dominic every step of the way, he deserved that much. “I just came by to tell you you’re right and that you shouldn’t worry about it, you’ll figure it out, you always do.” Discord took a bit of gum from his pocket and began to chew it quietly. “Now, I’ve got some errands to run, opening a big hole in space and time surprisingly takes a bit more effort than just pulling people out randomly. Ta ta!”

“Wait! How do we-” Luna began, only for Discord to snap himself away in a flash of light. “What did sister ever see in him…?” The mare muttered to herself before she rubbed her temples and watched the wind blow the circle in the sand into nothingness. At least she knew she was right, now at least she could think of ways to tell Dominic and the others. How could she, though? How could she tell them that the scars and pain they bore would remain. “If only mother were here… She would know what to do.”

[♦]

Chrysalis exhaled slowly as she walked through the Hive of Wasp, behind her marched the army of her hive. They hadn’t met any resistance entering the city, something that surprised Chrysalis greatly. She had grown concerned when Mizu had failed to return from Hive of Wasp on time, and that concern was growing even more as she saw the remains of the Queen’s palace. The wasplings that lived within the city seemed to cower away from their windows and doors as Chrysalis and her soldiers walked past.

The Queen of Queens stopped at the foot of the once regal building, a large chunk of stone debris now rested on what remained of the stairs that lead to the top. It was now that she was there she could see the flag of her Hive flying on the top of the structure, Chrysalis was unsure of what had happened, but she could sense that Mizu had succeeded in her mission in a way Chrysalis hadn’t thought possible.

After several tense moments of silence there was a noise to the left of Chrysalis, the soldiers closest to her prepared for combat, but that all stopped as they saw Illusion and Mizu step out into view. Chrysalis’ eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her daughter, her mane had grown to the point where Mizu had styled it into a very simple, yet regal, bun. She was taller and a second pair of wings seemed to be growing off of her back, and a headband was tied around her head. The army behind Chrysalis dropped into a bow at the sight, and as Mizu approached, Chrysalis’ expression became one of joy.

The heir to the throne dropped to her own bow, her wings twitching as she did so.

“Mother.” Mizu said quietly. “I discovered a traitorous Queen and was forced to destroy her.”

“Arise, Mizu.” Chrysalis said with a smile, Mizu did as she was commanded. “You have brought honor to yourself and all of the Hive.” Her attention turned to Illusion, the changeling soldier quickly snapped into his own bow. The Queen of Queen’s could sense ponies nearby, ponies that had been treated horribly. “There were slaves here, I sense them…”

“Yes, your highness! We have freed them as the treaty has dictated!” Declared the soldier, not rising from his bow. Chrysalis nodded and looked back to Mizu, her daughter staring straight ahead and waiting for her mother’s word.

“You will take the freed slaves to the American’s, they will be better off there.” Chrysalis said, Mizu nodded rapidly. “I will pick a new Queen to take the rule of this hive.” There was another nod. “Once you have reached the American’s and delivered to them the freed slaves, I want you to take several weeks to relax and meditate in New Liberty, return when your wings have fully grown.”

“As you command, mother.” Mizu said dutifully, she and Illusion turned and began to walk off towards the corner they had emerged from, Chrysalis turned back to face her army and cleared her throat as her wings began to buzz. Eventually she levitated off the ground and extended her hooves out in front of her.

“Route out any traitors that remain, for the hive!” She commanded, her army responded with a rousing chorus of yells before it descended upon the rest of the city. Chrysalis sighed quietly as she returned to the ground and looked up towards the flag that continued to flutter atop the remains of the palace. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, partially in shame and partially in sadness. Once again she had failed her children, once again she had let brutes rise to power, all she could hope for now was that she would somehow teach Mizu to become a better Queen.
> Chapter 62
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been six months since Luna and Dominic had started training, during that time his skills grew faster and firmer. The small town began to expand outwards into a bustling city, wells were dug, and the Equestrian Railroad finally laid the track that would allow trains to carry supplies into town. The first train had brought metal plates and the heavy equipment that had been ordered, as well as numerous other items that had been sent for by the town’s folk.

The Changelings had released numerous slaves from the varying hives, and many of them returned to Equestria on the newly extended railroad while some stayed in New Liberty. With the railroad came many more ponies, some of whom looking to trade, others looking to move to another country. The United States was beginning to Prosper, something that made Dominic very happy.

The radios brought back from beyond the mirror proved to be a massive boost in the American economy, thanks to the efforts of tinkerers like Fortress Wall and other researchers, they were able to reverse engineer them. With backing from the government and private citizens, the first American factory was constructed. The bulldozers that had been ordered were quickly outfitted with armor, and cannons were fashioned from thick steel pipe.

From across the ocean came griffon immigrants looking for a better life, their own country having been rendered impoverished by failing economy. Many of them had been soldiers, and they quickly found a home in the United States Armed Forces. The same could be said for the diamond dogs of the area, who had come forwards peacefully at the sight of such a prosperous country. The American population was growing into the hundreds, farmers, soldiers, factory workers, teachers and so on. All of them enjoying the brighter future that the new nation seemed to hold.

Johnny had his hands full as well, with the influx of ponies came an influx of criminals, and Johnny made it his business to make sure that all of them knew who was in charge of the New Liberty territory. His alcohol gamble had played out well, and he was shipping gallons of a spirit he’d lovingly named ‘American Hard Apple’, which was basically a high proof fermented apple wine. Jen had been skeptical at first of all the success as well as Johnny’s criminal activity, but it seemed more like the man was acting as a Police Force than anything else. She knew that was the only reason that Dominic put up with it.

Jen had her own hands full, as she was training not only thestrals and changelings, but also griffons, diamond dogs, and numerous varying races of ponies. All of whom seemed to think she could be pushed around, and all of whom soon realized that she had the loyalty of many of the toughest soldiers in the American Army. Task Force Grey, or ‘The Globe Corps’ as it had come to be known by its members.

Dominic looked out from his office at the growing city, adjusting his new clothing quietly as he did so. They were a set of fatigue shirts and pants in a light olive color, his shirt collar was coffee brown, and his combat boots were shined up well. Over his left pocket were two ribbons that marked him as an American, as well as a ranking officer. These clothes were what he would wear through the portal, beneath his jacket and the armor that he’d put together for himself. Through his window he could see the training ground had grown in size since all those months had passed, the armored bulldozers that could be called ‘Tanks’ were running drills in the desert and kicking up a lot of dust.

“Dominic.” Jen’s voice brought him back from the window and he turned to face her, she wore a uniform almost identical to his. He was in a meeting with his top officers, as well as several from out of the country, these officers were there to partake in Operation: Terra Nova. Three Changelings, a pair of crystal ponies, and of course several Equestrians. “We were just about to go over the threats we’ll be facing on the other side, now that we’re all here it’s time we talk about them.”

“Right, sorry… My head was somewhere else…” Dominic replied as he walked over to his desk and sat down. Jen nodded and gestured to a white board she’d had her second in command Chipped Blade set up. He was absent from the meeting in order to continue training the rest of Task Force Grey. The woman gestured to several flags that had been crudely drawn on the board, one was obviously an American one, the second was a pair of crossed yellow swords on a white background, and the final one was a simple arrowhead on a grey backdrop.

“There are three groups we’ll have to worry about besides the infected, first of those is the remnants of the Colorado National Guard. They’ve laid claim to Pikes Peak and the surrounding area.” Jen tapped the image of the American flag with her finger. “At first they’re gonna be wary of us, but I know them pretty well, they’ll let us explain ourselves. They’ll be the easiest to deal with.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at this information, he’d always thought that there were more survivors out there in Colorado, but entire factions was something he’d never dreamed of. He was just glad he hadn’t run into any of them during his three years there.

“The second group…” Jen went on before she pointed to the arrowhead. “Is the Native Confederacy…” The woman quietly adjusted her shirt and tugged at her collar, she was still getting used to the new uniform. She could understand why the President had decided to change it though, as wearing all black tend to give the American Army more of a ‘Wehrmacht’ look. “They’re made up Native American tribes that survived the initial outbreak on their reservations, they roam all over the place but they’re mainly on the west side of the continental divide.” The officers were taking notes, and Dominic seemed a bit intrigued by the latest bit of news.

“They’re mainly in the business of peaceful trade, and the CNG is on good terms with them.” Jen continued to explain. “They rarely ever shoot first, so if you see them keep your distance unless you’re looking to talk.” The woman sighed quietly as her hand gestured to the final flag on the board, Dominic and the other officers took note of this and quickly sat up to get a better look. “The last one we’ll have to worry about is the ‘Empire of Light’...” The woman said it bitterly, causing Dominic to raise his hand. “Yes, Dominic?”

“I take it they’re not the best people out there?” He asked, the woman nodded. “Can you put it into words?”

“Imagine a bunch of overzealous cosplayers, otherkin, and all manner of other internet nut jobs made a country.” Jen said simply, Dominic cringed and shuddered at the thought. “They’re the edgiest motherfuckers out there, and they’re fucking nuts as well. They like to preach equality, yet they take people prisoner and force them to work for them.”

“Slaving bastards…” Hissed one of the Crystal Ponies, a couple eyes fell on him but he didn’t care.

“They raid NC and CNG supply trains, and they have three camps set up all over the state. One in Denver, one just outside of CNG territory to the East, and one in the foothills near Golden. You can identify some of them pretty easily, as they've made modifications to their bodies to help them 'become their true self'. Things like pointed ears are the most common.” Jen continued onwards, standing to the side so the officers could sketch down the images of the flags. “The Empire of Light is more dangerous than the infected, to the point where we’re more concerned about them than anything else. Or, we were when I was last on earth. This information is rather old, but it’s the best we have.”

“It’s better than nothing.” Commented one of the thestral officers seated among the group. “We’ve been training with the swords and regular crossbows, since it’s unlikely our spellbows will have much effect on the other side.”

“R&D is working on getting some rifles and other ballistic weapons made, but they’re working out a trigger mechanism still.” Dominic spoke up, a few nods went through the crowd. “I’ll take the first wave through, Discord will open the portal just south of Pikes Peak. It’s going to be a mechanized only operation until we make contact with the CNG, once we’ve established a base camp we’ll be able to call for boots on the ground.”

“Fuel shouldn’t be an issue, the new distillery has been making plenty of ethanol, and the tanks run on just about anything that burns.” Bulwark added, once again there were several nods among the group. “Remember, gentleman. T-Day is less than three weeks away, so let’s get all the training we can in now.”

“Yes, sir.” Was the reply from the officers as they all began to stand up, Dominic remained seated and watched them file out of the room, until it was just him and Jen that remained. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments before the woman walked to the door and closed it, then walked back and took a seat in front of Dominic’s desk.

“So… How have things been with Luna?” She asked, the man shrugged quietly and rubbed his temples.

“When she’s training me she’s all there, she’s alert, she’s funny… When she isn’t… It’s still weird, like it has been, she doesn’t want to talk to me.” Dominic took a cigar from the box on his desk before biting off the cap and lighting it with a match, after a couple puffs he exhaled and let out a sigh. “Do you think maybe she’s distancing herself from me because of T-Day?”

“I can’t say…” Jen admitted sadly as she watched Dominic puff on his cigar again, she’d known him long enough to know that he took things with Luna very seriously, and she knew that if his mind was clouded by worry there could be serious problems in the field.

“Sometimes she starts to say things about telling me something important, then she just trails off.” Dominic rubbed the back of his neck and let out a pent up groan. “Maybe… Maybe she doesn’t like me in that way anymore, and she doesn’t know what to say?” Jen frowned quietly, then the man turned in his chair and looked out the window. “In a way I’d be relieved… I’d know what’s wrong, I could focus on the mission better…” He briefly looked at Jen. “Is that insane of me to say? ‘I wish she’d just say she didn’t love me?’?”

“T-Day is more than the day you go back to Earth, Dominic… It’s the day you see Maria again, and from what you’ve told me about her, she holds a special place in your heart.” Jen replied, Dominic nodded as he took another puff on his cigar. “You’re conflicted because you want to honor that code I know you live by, but you don’t want to ruin your friendships.” The woman leaned forwards, catching the man’s attention as she did so. “Not to sound harsh here, Dominic, but… You need to grow a pair and make a decision already. Normally I’d be content to let you think it through some more, but you’re in command now, your head needs to be clear.”

“You’re right…” Dominic said tiredly as he rotated in his seat and leaned forwards so that he was looking Jen in the eyes. “Either way I’m going to hurt someone… I should just get it over with already. For the good of the mission.” He set the cigar down in an ashtray and leaned back in his seat, steepling his fingers quietly. “Send Luna in on your way out, please…”

“Alright.” Jen replied quietly as she stood from her seat and walked to the door, Dominic sighed and rubbed his eyes when he heard the door close behind her. He couldn’t believe what he was going to do, what he was going to say. He cared about Luna deeply, he knew he loved her and he loved spending time with her, but he wasn’t IN love with her. He wasn’t ready for that, not yet, and as much as it hurt him to think about it that way he had to do what was best for him in this situation.

Luna had cared for him, taught him, protected him, guided him, and for that he loved her like family. He wished he could make her happy, but he felt that doing that would leave him and someone else he cared about miserable for the rest of their lives. Luna was an eternal being, she’d find someone eventually, Dominic was sure of it. Yet, no matter how many times he told himself he was sure of it, the thought of telling her what he needed to tell her was one of the most fear inducing experiences of his entire life.

The minutes ticked by far too fast for his liking, his foot continually tapped against the floor and his fingers continued to drum upon the wood surface of his desk. A tenseness grew in his back, and his eyes flicked back and forth between the door and his cigar. After several minutes he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he shut out everything but the smell and taste of the cigar, the wood of the chair beneath him. The method had worked for him well over the past six months, but for the first time in a while he was unable to fully relax. He knew what he had to do, he knew why he had to do it, there wasn’t any point in holding back. Luna deserved that much.

Then came the knock on his door that he’d been dreading, he didn’t even respond with a word, just a solemn grunt. The door opened inwards and the familiar sound of Luna’s hooves against the wood reached Dominic’s ears. 

Luna looked at her student with mild concern as she closed the door behind her, his eyes were closed and a cigar rested by his hand. She worried that perhaps he’d found out the truth. Had Discord told him? Luna wasn’t sure, but what she could tell was that whatever it was that bothered Dominic, it was weighing heavily on his shoulders. Then another thought wormed its way into her mind, one that months ago she would have feared immensely. Now that their relationship had gone from friends to student and teacher things had changed. She no longer saw him as just a boy that she wanted to hold and cherish at night, he was also her student, her apprentice.

“Luna…” Dominic said quietly as he opened his eyes and took a breath, she could see his eyes were watering. It had been months since she’d such a look on his face, her training had helped considerably to keep his emotions in check. “I… I… You’ve been there since the beginning, everything I have I owe to you…” She could hear his voice catch in his throat. “I love you, Luna… But… Not in the way you want me to… And, I know, it’s been weird between us when we aren’t training…”

“Dominic-”

“Please… Let me finish…” Dominic said somberly, Luna nodded silently. Her face remained calm, she had been expecting something like this to happen soon, but still it hurt to hear those words leave his lips. “You’ll always be special to me… If it weren’t for you… I would’ve killed myself a long time ago.” Their eyes met, and in that moment the two of them saw the pain they both were in. “I know this won’t affect you teaching me, you’re a woman of honor, and I’ll do all I can to respect that. Even if you don’t want to see me as a friend anymore… I’ll always see you as one.”

“Dominic…” Luna quietly approached his desk and sat down in front of the man. “We had suspected this would happen.” Her own voice cracked, but nonetheless her face remained calm as she continued to look Dominic in the eyes. “Thou art human, and as much as thou may say it doesn’t matter, there are certain realities we both must face.” The mare reached out across to him, and hesitantly he too reached out to take her hoof in his hand. “We will always love thee, Dominic, but thou art correct… It would be inappropriate of us to continue to pursue such a relationship…”

The man let go of her hoof and stood up, he walked around the desk and over to Luna. Before she could react he’d wrapped her into a hug, one that she returned just as tightly and for just as long. She could feel him relax, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The princess smiled proudly, even as the man let go of her. She straightened his uniform with her magic and adjusted his posture with her hooves.

“Thou art shaping up to be a fine warrior, Dominic… Some of the toughest battles are fought within our own minds.” Luna said as she stepped back from him, the man slowly smiled as well, even as both of their eyes were tearing up. “Thy family would be proud.”

“Th-Thank you, Insegnante…” The man quietly bowed his head, this time used her hoof to lift his chin so that he was looking forwards.

“No more of that… Not now.” Luna said quietly, she saw his eyes glimmer as he stood there. For the first time ever, she could see joy in those eyes. Joy untainted and untouched by sadness or longing, Dominic was genuinely happy. Even after their previous conversation, the smile was real, because he knew that he still had Luna, and soon he would have Maria too. “Thank thee for calling us here now, rather than waiting to say something at the last moment.”

“You deserved to know, Luna.” Dominic said warmly. “I respect you too much not to tell you straight away, I just needed Jen to give me the push.” Luna smiled for a moment, then frowned, as if she were thinking of something herself. “Something up?”

“Nay… We art just thinking of something.” Luna said, her smile quickly returning to her face. Dominic shrugged, he didn’t want to push her too far, he’d already done enough for one day. In all honesty he was surprised he still had any teeth left, or function in his body whatsoever. He paused once again, pondering if this was what an amicable break up felt like. “We must go and speak with Sonar, she is still preparing to take thine place whilst thou return to earth.” Dominic nodded and began walking back to his desk. “Art thou sure she is ready?”

“She runs this place better than I do, I should just give her a rubber stamp with my signature on it, I’d be able to take a month’s vacation at least.” Dominic replied as he sat down in his chair. “Come to think of it, that sort of is what I’m doing…” The man picked up his cigar and puffed on it once or twice. “I trust her more than anyone else on my staff to keep this place from running into the ground, and with you here to help her, this place will probably run better than I could hope.”

“We are glad to still have thine vote of confidence…” Luna said with a smile, the man just nodded. “Until we meet again, Dominic.” That took the smile off of his face, and a small frown replaced it as he nodded for a final time.

“We… We should stop by Johnny’s bar some time… Just as friends…” He said faintly, Luna nodded quietly as the awkwardness began to set in. “I’ll… I’ll let you get back to it then.”

“Right…” Luna said as she turned and walked out, Dominic watched the door for a minute or so after it had closed. He stood up and walked to the window once again, then looked out to the training grounds once more as he heard cannon fire. They were running another live fire exercise, and from where he stood, it looked like the shots were falling accurately.

The man walked to his hat rack and grabbed his West German officer’s cap and put it on before putting out his cigar and walking to the door. From there he began descending the steps to the street level. He passed by Luna and Sonar, both of whom were busy going over documents and papers, until he was out on the main street of New Liberty. A couple ponies stopped to stare at him for a moment, but then went along their way as if it was nothing.

He walked along towards the training grounds, getting several salutes along the way, all of which he returned. They’d installed sidewalks now, they were just wooden boards in the sand, but they were certainly better than just hot desert sand. Eventually he passed by the old POW camp, now turned into a command center, and then on wards to the training grounds. It had gone from a large field to a large field with several buildings that ranged from a firing range to a parade ground and a brig. He passed by numerous marching formations until he reached the edge of the large field, where all the tanks had been parked.

He stopped for a moment to admire them, they were a far cry from what they had once been, thanks to several upgrades made by Fortress Wall. The stallion had really come through on the R&D front, and Dominic had been sure to let him know with a promotion and a raise. The gears had been changed out so that the engine actually had some speed, the hydraulics had been repurposed to add a small turret, and what had once only had space for one small pony now had space for a three pony crew and a human if necessary. Dominic likened them to the Stuart from the second world war, though the gun was much bigger and they had been painted grey.

“Fire!” An officer shouted, from the sounds of it it was Rolling Thunder. The first tank in the line fired, Dominic could feel the boom in his chest as the large cannon let fly a ball that landed several hundred yards away near a rock with a big ‘X’ on it. “Adjust rotation three degrees right!” The turret rotated a small bit. “Fire!” There was another boom, and seconds later the rock was turned to rubble. Dominic clapped his hands at the display, after a few moments it caught the attention of the tank crews. “Turn out!”

The hatches on the tank opened outwards and the crews poked their heads out of the vehicles to see their commander in chief applauding them.

“Very good, Major Thunder!” Dominic said with a smile, even though his previous conversation was still in his mind, seeing the tanks up close and talking with his troops helped to relax him. “I’m glad to see our guns can hit their mark.”

“Thank you, sir!” Rolling Thunder said with a salute, Dominic nodded and walked towards the first tank where Rolling Thunder had popped out of the command hatch. “Does the commander wish to take the con, sir?”

“Not at the moment, I’ll get my fill when we roll through my homeland.” Dominic said wistfully before climbing up onto the side of the tank. “Besides, your tank is the command tank, and you seem to be working very well in that regard, I wouldn’t want to ruin a good thing.”

“Thank you, sir.” Rolling Thunder responded as Dominic hung off the side of the tank and looked out down range, the man stood there for a few minutes before hopping down again.

“My question is can you hit a target while moving.” Dominic said as he put his hands on his hips, Rolling Thunder nodded firmly.

“We can hit anything in range, sir, even some stuff that isn’t.” The stallion said with a smile, Dominic nodded once again and let out a whistle.

“Good, then we should be perfectly fine.” The man hummed quietly, he looked at Rolling and gestured for him to climb down out of the tank. The stallion complied quickly and Dominic walked a bit of a distance away from the tank so the rest of the crew couldn’t hear him. “Level with me, Rolling. How ready are we?”

“I’d say we’re as ready as we can get, why?” Rolling asked, Dominic leaned in and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Because there’s a very good chance there’s gonna be people on the other side of the portal that’re gonna be shooting at us.” He explained, Rolling nodded quietly, then he firmly set his jaw.

“Go ahead and let ‘em, that armor is probably thick enough to handle the normal small arms. It stopped your shotgun slug, the captain’s revolver, and Johnny’s rifle just fine when we were doing tests.” Rolling said proudly, Dominic smiled again and stood up straight.

“Glad to hear the enthusiasm.” Dominic said with nod, Rolling returned it with a salute. “Get back to it then, Major.” Rolling nodded and turned to climb back into the tank, Dominic stood there for a few more minutes, watching while the tanks began rolling across the field as they fired away at several more targets. The man sighed quietly and began walking back towards the main part of town, to the south of it was where the refugee camp was being set up. Dominic wanted it to be ready as soon as possible, and already the first two housing buildings had been completed. It wasn’t a taj mahal, but it was warm and had fresh beds.

Dominic briefly contemplated walking over that way and having a look, but he knew that would probably put them behind schedule. Instead he decided to go have a look at the train station that the Equestrian rail company had so graciously offered to build. Of course, that was before Dominic reminded them that they’d need to pay rent on that land, but they’d still built it, they knew they didn’t have much choice. It was a simple structure, made from brick, mortar and wood. The daily train had already arrived with numerous tourists, all of them wanting to get a look at the new City-State that was taken the Southwest of the continent by storm.

The man stopped just outside the building and put his hands on his hips before he adjusted the brim of his cap, several ponies were walking out of it with cameras and awfully tacky looking clothes, which was weird considering the United States was in a bit of a hot area. He relaxed his posture and reached to his pocket to withdraw a cigar, he froze for a moment as he felt Luna’s feather, but shook his head and withdrew the cigar anyway. He bit off the cap and lit it, watching the tacky group continue down the steps, occasionally they would snap a picture.

Dominic exhaled a puff of smoke and started to turn, hopefully they hadn’t spotted him and he could continue on his walk unbothered. But of course, that was not to be, as it always seemed to happen just as he’d started to take his first step. There was a gasp, Dominic sighed and waited for the other ones. Sure enough they came a few seconds later, the man counted down from three on his fingers and then he heard the familiar sound of camera shutters, and then the scuttle of hooves. Dominic began walking away, hoping to outrun them, but as always they managed to get out in front of him.

“Hi there!” One of them, a mare with cream colored fur and a grey mane said. Dominic puffed on his cigar for a moment before nodding and responding.

“Hello.” He said simply, this was the part of New Liberty’s new prosperity that he didn’t like. “Is there something I can help you with?” Dominic noted there seemed to be a colt with them that kept staring at him, he never blinked, ever.

“Oh, we were just wonderin’ if you’re that human fella from the newspapers.” The stallion of the group said, there were four in total, including the colt with the staring eyes. Dominic just nodded and puffed on his cigar again, again noting that the fourth member of the group seemed to be a teenage filly, if the angsty annoyed look was anything to go by.

“Yeah, I’m the guy.” Dominic replied with a fake smile, it faltered only for a moment when the stallion took another picture of him. “You folks must be from out of town, correct?” The mare and stallion nodded, the teen just shrugged, and the colt stared. “Well, main street’s a pretty nice place to go if you’re looking for shops and such, there’s some nice stores in the surrounding area as well.”

“I wanna see the metal beasts.” The staring colt finally spoke up, that got Dominic’s attention. The stallion and the mare quickly went to grab their kid, but Dominic just shrugged it off and bit down on his cigar.

“Don’t be silly, Iron, there’s no such thi-”

“Okay.” Dominic said with a shrug, catching the entire family off guard. “No cameras though, that area is generally restricted.” The colt blinked for the first time after that, Dominic shrugged that off again. He’d had this kind of thing happen before, and he didn’t mind showing his tanks off, they’d be in the newspapers soon enough anyway. “Follow me.”

“Alrighty then!” Said the mare, still a bit surprised that the ‘Metal beasts’ they’d heard of in the news were real. The group began following Dominic as he walked back towards the training ground, right on cue he heard the marching hooves and feet of Jen’s soldiers and paused at an intersection. The family was confused for a moment, until they heard the sound as well.

“Present arms!” Jen called loudly as she came into view with a pair of companies behind her, each one turned their head in unison and saluted Dominic. A salute Dominic returned just as strictly, much to the amazement of the tourists. “I don’t know but it’s been said!”

“The only good zombie is a one that’s dead!” The companies replied in unison as they continued marching by, the loud shouts seemed to jolt the teen out of her angsty stupor. The family had never seen such a mixed bag of soldiers before, griffons, changelings, diamond dogs, ponies and thestrals. They were a tad bit intimidating, a far cry from the gold armored guards that they were used to in their small town. Dominic dropped his salute when they’d passed before he began walking once again, it took the family of tourists a moment to notice but they began following him once again.

“Ya see, we’ve got one of the most diverse armed forces in the world.” Dominic said over his shoulder as he continued walking. “That’s what makes us so adept at addressing threats on the ground and in the air, and those ‘metal beasts’ you heard about are just the start for our mechanized units.” The group got closer to the training fields, and Dominic snapped his fingers in the air. 

“Lieutenant Blade!” He called out to a group of officers, Chipped Blade turned on his hooves and saluted before marching over. “Would you kindly take possession of these folks cameras for the time being, they want to see the ‘metal beasts’.”

“Yes, sir.” Chipped Blade said with a nod before he turned to the family, each of them handed over their cameras. Even the ones they would’ve tried to sneak past, as Chipped was sure to frisk them. “Clear, sir.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Hold on to those until we get back.” Dominic said, the lieutenant nodded and once again they were on the move until finally they had reached the edge of the field where the tanks were carrying out their exercises. The family stood beside Dominic as he crossed his arms and watched the tanks charge across the field towards them, the rumble of their engines could be heard clear across the distance. Once they were closer they turned and faced down range once again, Rolling Thunder popped the hatch and looked at Dominic. When he saw the family he nodded.

“Prepare to fire!” He ordered using the radio headset over his ears, Dominic looked at the family and cleared his throat before puffing on his cigar again.

“I’d cover your ears.” He said, they quickly covered their ears in anticipation. Dominic hated to admit it, but he loved the sound of cannon shot, and hearing it some more was taking his mind of the growing feelings of uncertainty in his heart.

Ironclad, a young colt on a day trip with his family, had never been so excited before in his entire life. The metal beasts were right there in front of him, and the big monkey guy was going to make them work. His mom and dad looked uncertain, and he’d never seen his sister appear so nervous, but he couldn’t understand why.

“Fire!” Rolling ordered, seconds later there were several loud booms from the metal sticks that stuck out of the metal beasts, the sticks move backwards for a second before sliding forwards. The bat pony in the round thing put a pair of binoculars up to his eyes and looked down the field, so Ironclad did that as well. There were five or six big bursts of sand very far away.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Dominic said, looking down at the colt for a moment. The colt nodded rapidly while his parents and sister stared at the tanks with slack jaws. “Major Thunder!”

“Sir?”

“Excellent shooting, you keep that up and we’ll send all the dirty mulchers back where they belong!” Dominic yelled before giving a thumbs up, Rolling Thunder responded with his own salute before slipping back down into his tank. It was time for them to head back to the motor pool, and so they quickly backed up and drove off the field, passing by Dominic and the nice tourist family. “Anyway, that’s all for today…” Dominic said as he gestured for the family to follow him again, today actually didn’t seem to turn out so bad, in fact he enjoyed dealing with the tourists. It took his mind of what he’d said to Luna earlier that day, and he was very thankful for all of her teachings on self control of the emotions, else he would probably not have left his office at all.

“So… Those are, like, real?” The teen asked, Dominic only nodded and took another puff on his cigar. “And they, like, do what?”

“Win wars.” Dominic said simply as he walked back towards Chipped Blade. “The United States is one of the most battle tested nations out there today, we’ve got the best weapons and the best equipment, even if we’re small.” The man tapped the ash off his cigar before taking another puff and letting the smoke float away on the wind. “As my people say, ‘Walk softly, but carry a big stick.’.”

“They were very… eh… Interesting?” Said the mare with a bit of a nervous smile, Dominic just shrugged.

“You could say that, these are actually pretty crude compared to actual human tech, this is something like Second World War gear at best.” Dominic wiped his nose as they got closer to the talking officers, Chipped Blade was looking over the cameras quietly with his fellows, occasionally chuckling as he did so. “Most tourists like to know the quickest route to the train station after they see those, if you’re curious, it’s just straight down main street and then take a right.”

“I think we’ll stay a bit longer.” The stallion said, trying to smile a bit. Dominic shrugged and whistled for Chipped to come over again, soon the tourists had their cameras returned and all of them were on their merry way. That left Dominic alone once more, without the roar of artillery in the background it felt oddly quiet, and so he decided that perhaps it was time to return to his office. His walk was quick and fast paced, he didn’t stop for anything, until finally he’d raced up the stairs to his office and locked himself in.

The man sat in his chair and turned on his speakers, then picked up his music player and quietly looked through his songs. With a sigh he settled on some Pink Floyd, ‘Comfortably Numb’ from their album ‘The Wall’. As the music began to play, Dominic leaned back in his chair and set his cigar in the ashtray. He closed his eyes and thought back to the events of the past several hours, he’d had a meeting with his officers, met with tourists, and also broken up with his kind-of-not-really marefriend. The man quietly sat up in his chair and grabbed a piece of cardboard on his desk. It was a sign he’d made as a goof a while ago, but it seemed appropriate now. The man walked to his door and opened it, then hunt it on the outside and closed the door.

The sign read ‘Do not disturb unless city is burning’.

Dominic returned to his desk and sat down, he moved his hands behind his head and leaned back in the stair, closing his eyes once more. This time he exhaled and inhaled slow and steady, until before he knew it, he’d drifted off into a fitful nap.

[♦]

Chrysalis sat quietly in her throne room, her daughter Mizu right beside her, as she looked over the latest reports from the other hives in her kingdom. Hive of Wasp had been doing exceptionally in recent months, and the Queen supposed it had to do with her daughter’s display of power. She was glad to see that they’d mellowed as well, and that their armed forces were standing down. There had been some activity in America, while they were still at peace with them, Chrysalis tended to like to keep tabs on her ally.

She’d lost several agents already, some had been discovered, others had legitimately fallen for America. The reports she’d received so far indicated that they were preparing for ‘T-Day’, a date at which point the United States would open a gateway between Earth and the rest of the world. She’d been made aware of it some time ago, in fact, she was going to be contributing her support in building housing for refugees should the need arise.

Nonetheless, Chrysalis and Mizu both wanted more information, especially since it seemed the American’s were outpacing nearly every other military in the world when it came to technology. Some countries, like Saddle Arabia and the Crystal Empire, were embracing new devices like the radio and working on their own armored vehicles. Others, like the minotaurs and the zebras, were set in their old ways of fighting, and Equestria was trying to mix new with the old. Chrysalis could respect that.

“What word have we received from Hive of Shadow?” Mizu asked, snapping Chrysalis out of her thoughts. The Queen hummed and leafed through the reports with her magic. “They’ve been late three times this month.”

“Patience, Mizu.” Chrysalis said softly, her daughter nodded as her wings twitched against her back. “Hive of Shadow is in a far more precarious spot than most, as you know.” Once again Mizu nodded, she was well aware of what her mother meant. Hive of Shadow was a rather mysterious, somewhat small, group of changelings with an interesting trait. 

When standing still, they could disguise themselves in the background using special cells in their chitton. Effectively hiding in the shadows, as the name would imply. Chrysalis had used this to her full advantage and based the group deep in the heart of Equestria, and as such, receiving their reports sometimes took longer.

“Mother… I have noticed that I seem to be more abrasive than I had been…” Mizu spoke up, catching Chrysalis’ attention. The Queen turned to her daughter and gave a slight hum, Mizu had certainly come a long way since she had been made heir so many months ago. Chrysalis recognized the stage she was in was that of the combat ready Queen, she knew that Mizu would eventually grow out of it into the next stage of her transformation, but for now she would say nothing.

“You must learn to keep yourself in check, Mizu… Through meditation or training, it is up to you.” Chrysalis said simply, Mizu nodded silently and looked to the floor. “You’ve gotten much stronger these past few months, with that strength comes power, a power you must live in harmony with.”

“I understand, mother. I have been trying…” Mizu quietly responded, she looked at her mother with a bit of a hopeful expression. “My transformations have gotten better, I can hold a disguise much longer now.” Chrysalis nodded and leaned back in her seat.

“Disguise is a path to control, it is wise of you devote time to it.” The Queen spoke. “Show me.” Mizu nodded and stood up with a bow, her horn glowed momentarily before she was enveloped in green fire. Chrysalis watched with a critical gaze, so far it seemed that Mizu was doing well. When the fire subsided Mizu had disappeared, in her place was a female thestral. The only indication she wasn’t a thestral was that her fangs appeared a little too long. “Very good, but there is still room for improvement.”

“Yes, mother.” Thestral Mizu replied before she was engulfed in a burst of green flames and her disguise faded away. Once she had finished her transformation the changeling heir rested quietly beside her mother’s throne once again. It was quiet for the first time in a while, nothing had happened in six months that was threatening to the hive. Even the diamond dogs had seemingly shifted their focus off of the Changelings, and the Equestrians were occupied with their own endeavors.

Chrysalis sensed the spell of tedium and monotony would end soon enough, on T-Day, when the world would forever be changed.
> Chapter 63
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic let out a grunt as he brought his training sword up against Luna’s, his body was coated in sweat and his eyes were narrowed. The two of them stood in an empty building on the training grounds, it was dark outside, the morning light was just beginning to peek through the windows. They had been going at it for several hours, since the man had been awoken by Luna attempting to deliver a surprise attack.

He had been a tad awkward at first, but it was clear that Luna wasn’t letting her personal feelings get in the way of things. She was just as professional as always, and Dominic appreciated that to no end. He let out a yell as he went on the offensive, taking several swipes at the princess with his sword and forcing her to step back a couple feet. The mare responded with a quick pulse of magic that wrenched the blade from his hands and tossed it aside.

“Improvise!” She commanded, Dominic didn’t verbally respond as he brought his hands up in front of him. Luna took a swipe at him, forcing him to take several steps back and look around. There wasn’t much in the way of weaponry around him, just a stool and a small table Luna had set up when they’d entered. The canteens of water were still there, he hadn’t opened them yet. With a grunt the man dashed to the table, rolling across the floor as Luna took another jab at his chest. He sprung up from the roll and grabbed a canteen by the strap, then spun it round once or twice before whipping it out at Luna.

The mare brought up her sword to guard herself out of instinct, but just as the canteen reached her Dominic gave it a hard tug and the centrifugal force caused it to wrap around Luna’s training blade. With a mighty yell he pulled hard and ripped the sword from her grasp, her eyes went wide as Dominic commandeered her own blade and pointed the end directly at her. Both of them stared at eachother for a few moments, each of them panting heavily, before Dominic slowly lowered the training sword to his side.

“That is the fastest thou hath bested us.” Luna said as the man spun the sword a few times before he slipped it into his belt as if it were a sheath. “Was our affection that much of burden on thy mind?” The man quietly looked to the floor before he nodded.

“It was, Insegnante…” He said, almost sounding ashamed of himself.

“We art glad we hath resolved it then, thou hath been much more focused this past week than the previous six months.” Luna replied, her calm tone seemed to lift the shameful look off of the man’s features. “Hast thine armor been fully prepared, Dominic?” This caught the man’s attention and he looked up so he could meet his teacher’s eyes.

“It has, Insegnante.” He said firmly, Dominic thought about the armor in question. It was based of the dirt bike armor he had gotten through the mirror. Of course, as predicted, it had changed to an equine style after he’d gone through, but he’d had the resources to put together something from scratch that would fit him. Rather than plastic, the chest and arm guards were made from aluminum and steel. Where the old armor had been held together by nylon straps, Dominic had made the straps on his leather. He was certain it would do more than enough to protect him from the infected, at least as far as his upper body was concerned.

Luna quietly walked forwards and examined Dominic from head to toe, his hair had grown much longer in recent months, as he hadn’t had time to get it cut. It had gotten to the point where he did his best to hide it because of how shaggy it made him feel. The mare used her hooves to straighten it before she stepped back and nodded quietly.

“Thy training is nearing completion.” Luna said as she looked out the window at the rising sun, Dominic stood still as he adjusted his uniform. “It soon will be time for thee to receive our gift, and then, take a new title.” The man bowed his head quietly and ran a hand over his head, pausing as he felt the length of his hair once more. “We sense uncertainty in thee…”

“I’m uncertain if I should maintain my current title as it is, Insegnante… I… I don’t feel I am fit to continue serving as the President.” Dominic admitted quietly as he turned to walk towards one of the windows, he paused and looked at himself in the reflection pausing to feel his uniform. “I feel more at home in this uniform than I do in that office…” The man looked over his shoulder at Luna, then back to his own reflection. “I was born and raised to be a soldier, to maintain my family’s tradition of service…” He sighed quietly. “In my world, notions like honor and patriotism were disappearing… That was what made me so proud… Or… Perhaps arrogant.”

“As President thou serves thy country, doth thou not?” Luna asked as she approached him, Dominic nodded silently.

“I never wanted to be President.” Dominic replied, his eyes turned skywards. “You know what I’ve always wanted to be, but that’s impossible now…” The man rubbed his eyes quietly before he put his hand on the window, the chill of the glass sending goosebumps up his arm. “The only other thing I know that I’ve ever been more sure of is that I was destined to be a soldier, no more, no less. And, when I wear this… I feel more complete. You know?”

“Perhaps… Perhaps thou art correct… Perhaps thou shouldst step down.” Luna’s voice was soft, yet powerful. “But not before thou hath carried out thine mission. The people of thine world and ours will need a bridge if they are ever to merge peacefully. Thou art that bridge.” Dominic let out a grim chuckle as he quietly shook his head.

“No pressure, right?” He asked before he turned around and didn’t look Luna in the eyes. “I should go… I’ve got several drills I need to run with Rolling and Jen.” The mare was about to speak, but instead she nodded quietly. Dominic put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he walked to the door, Luna followed momentarily behind him, watching as he began to walk towards the motor pool. The princess closed her eyes and sighed before she walked back to the table where she had set the canteens.

The mare sat down and closed her eyes, relaxing her body and trying to focus on as little as possible. Dominic’s words seemed to weigh heavily on her shoulders, more than she knew they could. He had only recently turned twenty, already he had the weight of two world stacked upon his shoulders in a somewhat literal sense. She had seen many times during the last six months that he rarely slept proper hours, he only seemed to eat two times a day, and his shoulders always had a hunch to them. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought he was a sad old man.

She’d only seen joy return to him recently, when he and her had decided it would perhaps be best if they changed how they saw each other. Knowing that Luna still cared for him seemed to be the source, and had she lost control of herself and gotten angry, if she’d told him everything she knew about him to make him feel hurt, it was very likely the man would be a far cry from the calm focused fellow he was now. In fact, she was very sure he would’ve blown his brains out. Luna could see he was walking a tightrope, and so as she sat there relaxing and clearing her mind, she did something she hadn’t done in centuries. 

She prayed. Luna prayed that Dominic would find peace and happiness, prayed that saving the rest of mankind wouldn’t destroy the man, and she prayed for forgiveness for the position she felt responsible for putting him in.

The mare didn’t know who she was praying to, whether it was her mother, Dominic’s god, some unseen force that moved the fabric of existence itself, just whoever was listening. She hadn’t been a mare of faith for a long time, but she felt there was no where else to turn in the coming weeks. It was truly out of her hooves, all she could do was hope that somehow her thoughts would make a difference.

Luna quietly opened her eyes and stood up, the sunlight was shining brightly through the windows and illuminating the room in a warm glow. She stood to her hooves and moved to one of the glass panes, then let out a sigh as she watched her sister’s day come into existence. It was a beautiful sky, the light cast a pink glow over the clouds in the distance, and for some reason Luna felt like it was a good omen. With that in mind she used her magic to gather her items and begin trotting out of the building, in the distance she could hear an engine begin to rumble and smiled quietly. Without a word she began trotting towards the city, looking to go to the hotel where she’d been staying. She was so focused on getting home that she didn’t notice the unicorn in front of her, and bumped into him rather clumsily.

“Oh, we art terribly sorry!” She said as she looked down at the coffee brown stallion, he was gathering some things that had spilled from his saddle bags while at the same time trying to adjust his long black mane.

“It’s alright, we all make…” The stallion trailed off as he noticed it was Princess Luna. “Princess Luna! I didn’t see you!” He gave a slight bow, but Luna quickly stopped him. “I was just looking for the ‘motor pool’, actually, that’s why I didn’t see you. The American Lieutenant said I was supposed to go there.”

“American Lieutenant…?” Luna asked quietly, noticing that this stallion didn’t seem to have a uniform. “May we ask who art thou?”

“Oh, right, sorry! I’m Scribble Pen, most ponies call me Scribs.” The stallion offered his hoof, Luna shook it genuinely. “I’m the foreign correspondent for the Canterlot Press, I’m gonna be riding along with the Americans in one of their metal things.” Luna briefly thought back to a conversation she’d had with Dominic a month or so ago.

”Dominic, the Canterlot Press want to send a reporter along in your tank.”

“Absolutely not.” Dominic replied casually as he stepped back to dodge a swipe that Luna made at him with her training sword.

Luna then remembered she’d signed the papers before she’d told Dominic, and had never heard back from the Canterlot Press about canceling them. She suppressed a sigh and figured this would be a perfect way to test how far her student had come with anger management, and she didn’t want to deal with the fallout of kicking a reporter of an American military base.

“Right, the motor pool…” Luna paused as she heard the rumbling some more. “Follow the rumbling noise that way.” She pointed off towards the motor pool which was located behind a barracks, Scribs nodded with a smile and began to open his mouth. “We can’t do any interviews, sorry.”

“Aw, alright then.” The reporter said, Luna smiled at him as he began to trot off, once he was out of earshot she shook her head and muttered under her breath.

“He doth not stand a chance…”

Scribs continued trotting along, brimming with excitement at the prospect of getting to see one of the American’s newest devices up close. He followed the sound of the rumbling noise, occasionally adjusting his heavy saddle bags, until finally he rounded a corner and stopped in his tracks. There they were, ten or so large metal contraptions lined up across from each other. There were a couple thestrals sitting on one, as well as a changeling wearing an oil stained bandanna. They briefly paused to look at him, then shrugged and went back to their chat.

“Excuse me?” He called, the changeling turned and looked at him with a raised brow. “Uh… I was looking for Commander Occisor?”

“He’s off down by the end, tall motherfucker, can’t miss ‘im.” The changeling said as he pointed off towards the last vehicle in the row, Scribs nodded slowly, a bit off put by the foul language but he figured it was a changeling thing. As he got closer to the end he used his magic to levitate his pad and pen from his saddle bag, getting ready for his first ever interview with a world leader. He could barely keep himself from skipping along, but it was a military base, so he figured he should at least maintain some look of professional conduct.

“You know you almost look like Rommel when you’re wearing that hat.” A female voice said as he got closer, there was a slight chuckle from beyond the tank.

“Meh, Rommel tried to kill Hitler, so he couldn’t be all bad.” Replied a gruff baritone voice, Scribs could tell that was the man he was looking for. He took a few deep breaths before he rounded the corner of the last metal device, sure enough he saw two bipeds and a thestral standing there. One of them was shorter with feminine features, the other one was taller than any pony Scribs had seen and wore a peaked cap. All three of them wore the same colored uniform that the other soldiers had been wearing. “Did Chipped let a Civie wander back here?”

“I doubt it, nothing get’s on this base without him knowing.” The female replied as she looked Scribs up and down questioningly. “Can we help you with something?”

“Oh, uh, I’m the reporter!” Scribs replied with a smile, he saw the tall human put his hand on his face and heard a tired groan. Meanwhile the others were staring at Scribs with a bit of surprise, before they looked at the tall man who was pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Luna sent the papers anyway…” He mumbled, getting a couple nods from the others. The man turned and walked towards Scribs, then extended his hand. “Anyway, you know me from the funny pages, I’m Dominic.” Scribs hesitantly shook the man’s hand. “This is Captain Poplawski and Major Thunder.” The others waved at him with a bit of confusion before Dominic cleared his throat. “I assume you’re from the Canterlot Press and they told you you’d be riding with me, correct?” Scribs nodded.

“I can take him if you don’t want him, sir.” Major Thunder spoke up, Dominic shook his head as Scribs felt a slight frown on his face.

“Nah, I’ll take him.” Dominic took a few moments to compose himself before he looked at the other human and the thestral. “As for you two, let’s hold off on the drill now that this guy is here. I wanna show him the ropes.”

“Yes, sir.” The others replied, Dominic gave them a salute which they returned before walking away. That left Scribs alone with the man who was now looking down at him with his hands on his hips, the reporter gulped as he realized just how muscular the commander was.

“So, what do I call you, eh? Can’t just call you ‘reporter’, then again, I might end up doing that anyway.” Dominic said as he crossed his arms and leaned back, Scribs took a moment to realize he wasn’t being screamed at before he spoke.

“Scribble Pen, but most ponies call me Scribs.” The stallion replied, Dominic shrugged quietly and took note of the pad and pen that were floating in the unicorn’s magic. Scribs remembered he still had them floating and quickly lowered them so that they weren’t so obvious.

“Alright then, Scribs.” Dominic patted the vehicle beside him before he grunted and hoisted himself up so he was sitting on the side. “Climb on up and I’ll show you the internals, then we’ll meet the rest of the guys that run this thing.” Scribs slipped his pad and pen back into his saddle bag before he struggled to climb up beside the man. Once he was up Dominic pulled open the hatch and gestured to it, Scribs carefully made his way over to the opening and peeked in.

The inside was painted white and there were numerous gauges and other devices he couldn’t quite place. He didn’t climb in at that moment, instead opting to just examine it from the perspective of the open hatch. When he’d had his fill he stepped back and watched as Dominic closed the metal slab.

“You’ll get to know it a bit better once you’re inside.” Dominic said as he adjusted himself so that he was sitting on the metal thing that looked like a castle, either leg straddled the large metal pipe that Scribs assumed was the vehicle’s main weapon. “While we’re waiting for the others I figure you have some questions for me?” The reporter straightened up at the mention of questions, his horn glowed and a couple notes floated out of his bag, as well as his notepad.

“Yes, actually! My editor gave me several questions!” Scribs replied, Dominic just nodded and waited for him to get the questions together. After a few seconds the stallion had them together, he read over the first one and paused. “What the… That can’t be right…” Dominic reached out and plucked it from the air, then looked it over himself.

“My Equestrian still isn’t one hundred percent… Does this really say ‘Justify the recent push to aid humans after they’ve proven to be so dangerous.’?” Dominic asked, Scribs just nodded and got a glare from the man. “Did you write this shit?”

“No, I swear! It was my editor! I haven’t seen them until now!” Scribs said in a panicked tone, Dominic grabbed the rest of his questions and looked them over. Once he had he balled them all up and withdrew two cigars from his pocket.

“You smoke, Scribs?” He asked as he offered one to the reporter, and not wanting to look like even more of a jerk, Scribs nodded and took the cigar. Dominic bit the cap off of his, and Scribs mimicked him. He’d never seen a cigar up close, it smelled a tad funny. “Remember, don’t inhale or you’ll get real sick, just puff.” Dominic pulled a match from his pocket and lit the ball of questions on fire, before lighting his cigar. He stomped the papers out after they’d burned for a bit, letting the ashes scatter in the breeze. Scribs accepted the commander’s match and puffed on his own, coughing a bit but eventually getting the hang of it. “If there’s one thing I can’t abide it’s yellow journalism.”

“What?” Scribs asked.

“When the news media sucks at its job and makes shit up.” Dominic clarified as he puffed on his cigar. “You want to ride along and ask questions, go ahead, but make them your own damn questions. We clear on that?” Scribs nodded and looked back to his notepad. “So come on, ask away, I’m an interdimensional alien that commands the most advanced, most diverse army in the world, there’s gotta be some question there.”

“Well… I’m a little curious about why you decided to go on this charge so early in your political career…” Scribs asked, Dominic chuckled for a moment before the smile ran away from his face.

“I’m not a politician.” Dominic said simply and quietly. “I care about my homeland, and the people that still live there… They’re suffering, you know?” Scribs began to jot down several words on his note pad. “There’s one girl there that I’m doing this for the most… She deserves a better world. I was blessed with a second chance, if I deserve one, I’m sure she and a bunch of others deserve one too.”

“So I’ve heard there was some sort of outbreak, but it hasn’t really been explained in other interviews.” Scribs continued, Dominic nodded as he exhaled a puff of smoke and looked off towards New Liberty. After a few moments Scribs followed his gaze, but he didn’t see anything of note.

“Imagine the entire city on fire.” Dominic said quietly, Scribs was a bit stunned by that. “Imagine that over half the population was suddenly turned into ravenous wolves, and everyone they bite turns into another ravenous wolf.” The reporter began jotting down what he was hearing. “Now imagine they all look like people you used to know, teachers, doctors and so on… Your friends now want to rip your face off…” Scribs could see Dominic’s hand tremble for a moment before he took another pull on his cigar.

“It sounds like it’s an awful place…” Scribs commented as he finished jotting down the rather stunning visual on paper.

“Words can’t do it justice.” Dominic said with a sigh before he shook his head. “But, you can see why I’m so hell bent on getting this done. On top of that I’ve recently learned there’s groups out there that take slaves, maraud around the country side, and generally want to make life hell for survivors.” Dominic pounded his fist down on the tank. “That’s what these are for.”

“I see…” Scribs said, he was a bit nervous about riding along in the vehicle now. He’d heard there would be monsters, but he had expected something along the lines of a hydra or timberwolves, not diseased former humans and pillaging raiders. Yet, something about what was happening got his attention. Almost all the other news outlets were talking about how helping humanity would be bad, but Scribs could see the sincerity in Dominic’s eyes. He’d ride along with him nonetheless, it sounded like that would yield a much better story.

“But enough about the sad stuff, I’m sure you’ve got all that gossip stuff you wanna talk about.” Dominic said as he looked back to Scribs with a slight smile. “You wanna hear about me and the Princess, right? That’s all I seem to hear about lately.”

“My editor wanted to hear about it, I really could care less.” Scribs replied with a shrug, Dominic’s eyes brightened as he smiled before patting the stallion on the shoulder.

“What I like to hear.” The man said before he looked off to the side and paused, then stood up and started waving. “Get over here, got someone you need to meet.” Scribs turned and saw a thestral trotting over, a stallion with a muscled physique and a cocky grin. “Scribs, this is our driver. Gear Grinder, this is a Scribs.”

“Good to meetcha, now who are ya?” Asked the thestral as he used his powerful wings to flap himself up onto the tank.

“I’m the reporter that’s going to ride along with you.” Scribs said simply, Gear Grinder raised an eyebrow for a moment before he looked at Dominic.

“You serious, we’re takin’ a fuckin’ civie?” The driver asked, Dominic puffed on his cigar and nodded.

“We’ve got room for one more since I’m commanding, and besides, he’s an alright guy. Not like the rest of the Canterlot Creeps we get around town.” Dominic replied, Gear Grinder looked back at Scribs and gave a slight shrug.

“Alright, man. Just remember who does what in there, you know?” Gear Grinder walked to the hatch and pulled it open. “I’m gonna start going over those cold weather manuals, like you say, you never know what we’re gonna run into on the other side.”

“Roger that, Gear.” Dominic replied as he watched the driver climb down into the vehicle and close the hatch, the man puffed on his cigar once more before tapping away the ashes. Scribs awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground. “Don’t worry about Gear, him and I have known eachother for a while. He’ll warm up to you once he gets used to you.”

“I hope so.” Scribs said quietly, he seemed to take note that the tank was short one crew member. “Hey, isn’t there supposed to be somepony else?” Dominic nodded quietly as he looked around the motor pool.

“Yeah, probably should warn you about her.” Dominic said as he puffed on his cigar once again. Scribs felt a bit out of place and so he hesitantly puffed on his cigar as well. “Our gunner is a bit…. Shall we say… Intense?” Scribs began writing without even looking at the pad and pen, far too busy paying attention to the man in front of him. “She’s actually a griffon.”

“A griffon?” Scribs asked, he sounded a tad worried. Dominic just nodded and paused once more as he looked to the sky, the unicorn followed his gaze and spotted what he was looking at quickly. A griffon was quickly coming in to land beside the tank, when she did she kicked up a cloud of dust. As it cleared Scribs saw Dominic stand up straight and clasp his hands behind his back, taking up a very commanding stance. The reporter turned to look at the griffon, he gulped and adjusted his saddle bags in case he had to run.

She was lean and muscled, with black fur and grey feathers, her tail waved back and forth in an almost menacing pattern. When she saw Dominic she snapped to attention, but the man quickly waved a dismissive hand.

“Sergeant Avos.” Dominic said simply, Scribs watched the griffon relax her posture and roll her neck. “This is Scribble Pen, he’s going to be riding along with us through the portal.”

“Understood, sir.” The griffon said as she hopped up on the tank and leaned forwards, Scribs blinked nervously as she leaned forwards and sniffed him, when she’d finished she sat down on the metal.

“Hey, is that Eggy?” Gear Grinder yelled from inside, Scribs saw the griffon’s eyes go wide at the name. Suddenly there was a loud tirade of angry words and screaming that Scribs couldn’t understand, as the griffon was speaking in her native tongue. Dominic clicked his heels together and cleared his throat, and she quickly quieted down.

“Avos, Gear’s inside going over the cold weather manuals, I suggest you go and join him.” Dominic said calmly, the griffon nodded with a slight look of shame on her face before she opened the hatch and dropped down. “And Avos…”

“Sir?” She replied as she poked her head out out of the turret.

“Don’t kill him, please? We need him to drive the tank, remember?” Dominic’s tone was a lot less commanding now, Avos just nodded before she dropped down and closed the hatch behind her. Dominic sighed quietly and puffed once more on his cigar.

“I take it she doesn’t like being called ‘Eggy’, but, I’m curious where it came from.” Scribs said, Dominic chuckled and sat down on the turret once again, relaxing a bit more now that it seemed the gang was all there.

“I was talking about languages on my world, how Thestrals sound like Germans and the griffons sound like the ruskies.” Dominic began to explain, meanwhile Scribs was writing it down as best as he could. “In Spanish the word ‘Huevos’ means ‘egg’, or something similar to it. Huevos and Avos sounded similar enough for Gear to start calling her Eggy.”

“And griffon’s are very particular about their names, I take it?” Scribs asked, Dominic nodded. The reporter had already filled up half of his first notebook, he was glad he’d practically stuffed his saddle bags with more of them. That reminded him of something. “Say, is there a place I can put my stuff?”

“You can leave it with the gate MPs until we roll out, afterwards you’re gonna have to find space for it in or on the tank.” Dominic explained as he noted the saddlebags on his newest acquaintance. He hadn’t placed him yet, but so far Scribs seemed like an alright guy, all things considered. “We can drive you over there if you don’t want to walk.”

“Nah, I’m alright…” Scribs replied with a smile as he hopped down from the tank, his cigar falling to the ground as he did so. “Thanks for letting me stick around.”

“Just don’t make me regret it when we go through.” Dominic said in a serious tone, Scribs nodded firmly and turned to walk away. The president sighed and dropped his cigar, then stepped on it before he turned and opened the hatch. He climbed inside and removed his hat, then pulled the hatch shut with a ringing thud.

[♦]

Jen sat quietly in the apartment, performing a bit of maintenance on her revolver at her dining room table. Her hair was let down past her shoulders, she’d been growing it out recently, as she wanted to enjoy long hair as much as she could before she shaved it away in preparation for T-Day. Below her she could hear the hustle and bustle of Johnny’s bar, and she could hear him occasionally shouting to one of his employees.

She’d grown used to that noise over the past couple months, to the feel of Johnny’s arms around her at night, to the smiles and greetings she’d get from the regulars. Despite all that, Jen knew that she would go through the portal. Dominic’s reasons for going through resonated with her, in a way she agreed that there were people more deserving of a second chance than her, but there was more to it than that. Jen wanted to prove to herself that she could go back to earth, that she hadn’t been made soft by Equestria and her new life.

The woman paused and looked to her handheld radio, she’d set it down nearby in case she ended up being called. So far all she was hearing was idle chit chat between the command center and the long range sentries, and hearing that, she decided it would be alright to change the channel. She reached over and hit a couple buttons until the radio chatter was replaced by the sound of music, she smiled faintly as she recognized the song. It wasn’t perfect, but at least there was some way of listening to human music once again. Dominic had loaned his music player to the boys in the radio center and all of the sudden they had the first ever music station.

Jen hummed along to the tune of ‘Fear of the Dark’, she had to hand it to the young president, he had a pretty good ear for music. Meanwhile she was paying particular attention to a pesky bit of dirt that had taken up residence on the outside of her revolver’s chamber, it was very peaceful to her just to focus on a simple task and she would have been content to just let it stay that way. As the music on the radio faded out she couldn’t believe her ears at what came on next, mainly because she couldn’t believe a guy like Dominic would have something like that on his playlist.

Her most secret favorite song ever that she couldn’t help but get up and dance to, it was by a Swedish group and always put a smile on her face. Jen stood up with that same smile she’d had years ago when she would listen to it before the fall, then she started dancing like some dumb girl just out of high school. The song’s name was ‘Caramelldansen’, a song that she never openly admitted to loving for fear of ridicule. She supposed that if the President of the United States listened to it from time to time, she could listen to it as well.

Things were going fine as she danced there in the privacy of her apartment, flailing her arms and legs around in an absurd fashion. In fact, it got to a point where she was starting to sing along to the song, though perhaps her volume got a bit louder than she wanted it to. She shrugged it off though, she was having fun for once and she didn’t have to worry about looking silly in front of her troops, as much as she wished she could. Then the song came to an end, and the apartment was silent for several seconds.

“You are absolutely fuckin’ adorable.” Johnny’s voice said from behind her, she blushed and turned to look at him nervously, he was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and yet he looked very open. He had a smile that was warm and inviting, bolstered by the honest clothes he wore. A suit and a tie that had been specially tailored for him, Jen had to admit it certainly made him look handsome, even as she blushed and nervously brushed hair out of her eyes. “Oh… Sorry, is this one of those things where you didn’t want me here while you geeked out or whatever?”

“No!” Jen said quickly as she walked towards him. “I… I just wasn’t expecting you to come up here. I don’t mind that  you saw…” She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“I don’t mind that I saw either, all that jumping around was pretty nice.” Johnny’s smile grew a bit more cocky as Jen felt him pull her close, she smiled a bit and gave him a squeeze of her own.

“Well you’ll have to wait until tonight to see anymore of it, I’m still technically on duty, you know?” Jen replied, Johnny just smiled as he let go of her. “What brought you up here anyway?”

“We heard you singing downstairs.” Johnny said simply, Jen blushed again. “Worried there was an axe murderer up here or something.”

“Shut up, you!” Jen gave him a smack on the arm before she turned and walked back to the table. “I’m mad at you now, so nyah.” She stuck her tongue out at him before sitting down, Johnny chuckled quietly and waved goodbye.

“Well… Even if you’re mad, I love you… Actually, I love it when you’re mad! That’s when you’re the most fun!” Johnny started laughing only to duck as Jen picked up a spoon from the table and threw it at him. “Jeez, okay! Sorry!” The man sighed contently and closed the door, then adjusted his tie and started walking down the steps to his bar. He reached to his pocket and withdrew a cigarette, then lit it with an old metal lighter he’d picked up off a traveling merchant. More specifically, he’d beaten the crap out of a wanna be drug smuggler and taken the lighter off his twitching carcass.

Johnny didn’t like drugs in his town, and as much as Dominic laid claim to it, so too did Johnny. The man ran a clean operation, that was the only reason the government hadn’t cracked down on him yet, as technically all of his ventures were legal. In the United States and only the United States, that was alright, the US didn’t have any extradition treaties.

As Johnny stepped into his bar he heard the normal dull roar of his customers, he could see the changeling he’d hired to work the bar was watering down the drinks just enough, and the diamond dogs acting as bouncers were keeping kids and thugs outside where they belonged. The entire room reminded him of an old bar in his neighborhood, right down to the pictures on the walls that depicted some of the more interesting adventures of his clientele.

“Hey, boss.” Came the familiar voice of Ball Peen, Johnny’s second in command. He was a big grey earth pony, a former Solar Elite that had been kicked out for excessive force complaints. He wore a suit of his own, navy blue unlike Johnny’s black suit. Johnny looked to the stallion with a raised eyebrow and saw he was standing off in a corner behind the bar, the man walked over to him and leaned next to him before taking a drag on his cigarette. “So, I talked with those stallions from Manehattan about our little venture…”

“What did they say?” Johnny asked, not taking his eyes off the room. Ball Peen cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Come on, Peen. The fuck did they say?”

“Okay, just so you know, I’m quoting here…” Ball Peen said in a calm tone, Johnny’s eyes narrowed at him. “‘We’ll let him ship up here if we can use his mare for a week.’.” The man snapped his cigarette in half as his fist trembled, Ball Peen backed away quietly.

“Those goddamn cocksucking motherfuckers…” Johnny said in a low tone, the thought of those manehattan slimeballs going anywhere NEAR Jen was enough to get his blood boiling. As he thought of her though he took a few deep breaths and shook his head. “They don’t want to be ahead of the curve? Fine. Send Anton to tell ‘em to go fuck themselves.” Ball Peen nodded quietly, he was surprised his boss hadn’t gone totally ballistic. The hustle and bustle of the bar was doing a good job of disguising their conversation from prying ears, another thing that Johnny enjoyed about his dream-come-true. “Peen… You still know that jeweler in Equestria? The one that fenced the goods last month.”

“Two Tone? Yeah, why?” Ball Peen replied, Johnny looked around for a moment before he knelt down.

“I need a ring for Jen.” He said in a hushed voice, Ball Peen raised an eyebrow at him before realizing the human custom was to put rings on their fingers rather than a horn. “Thing is, T-Day is a two weeks away now, you know?”

“Shit! Right! We’ve gotta get ready for that concert thing they’re doing.” Ball Peen remarked, Johnny sighed and facepalmed. “I hear they got Countess Coloratura to appear, part of some ‘USO’ thing or whatever before they go through.”

“No, Peen, it doesn’t have anything to do with the concert.” Johnny said slowly, the stallion paused and tilted his head. “I want to propose to Jen.” Ball Peen’s eyebrows rose, the thick black things normally hid the stallion’s eyes, but they rose to such a height Johnny could see the light grey orbs as clear as day.

“Don’t worry about it, boss. I’ll have him get it done before then.” Ball Peen said dutifully, Johnny smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

“Jen hates diamonds, says they’re part of some conspiracy or something, so ask for emerald if you can get it, otherwise anything else will do… And she loves rose gold.” Johnny commented, smiling faintly as he thought more of the adorable, sexy, tender woman upstairs. Ball Peen nodded once again, he could see just how important the ring was to his boss. He had to admit he could see why the tough guy loved the woman so much, she always made cookies when they had their private ‘Poker’ sessions between the stallions that made up Johnny’s Equestrian and Crystal Empire connections. On top of that, she had on more than one occasion helped with a tough business decision.

“You can count on me, Johnny. I won’t let you down. I’ll go get it myself if you want.” Ball Peen offered, Johnny shook his head and stood up straight as he reached to his pocket for another smoke.

“Nah, I need you here to run things at the concert. Send the new guy… He has incentive not to fuck up.” Johnny explained as he lit his cigarette and took a drag, he reached to his suit pocket and withdrew a small folded up slip of paper. “These are the measurements on her finger, I took them while she was asleep, so she’ll be surprised.” Ball Peen took the paper and stuffed it into one of his suit pockets.

“I got it covered, chief.” Ball Peen said with a smirk, he paused and looked around for anything odd, a few moments passed as the two of them just silently observed the bar. After a minute or so they spotted a pegasus walking in, she had light blue fur and a white mane and the a tornado for a cutiemark. The mare walked directly to the two of them and cleared her throat, then in a very deep very male voice she spoke.

“Hey, boss.” The pegasus said. “Some fuckin’ Canterlot mooks are messing around near the train station, over by our latest batch.” That got Johnny’s attention, as well as Ball Peen. “Wants me and the guys to go fuck ‘em up?”

“I’ll go take care of it myself, send Anton and that new guy over there as well.” Johnny said as he took a drag on his cigarette and began walking out of the bar, the ‘mare’ nodded before she burst into a small flash of flame, revealing she was actually a very buff changeling male. Ball Peen just shrugged at that and went back to watching the bar, saying a small prayer for the poor folks that were about to get their asses handed to them.

Johnny unbuttoned his suit jacket and hung it up on a hook by the door before he stepped outside, he adjusted the suspenders over his shoulder before rolling up his sleeves and scowling. As he walked down the street he ignored the stares he received from some of the tourists, he only stopped to grab an axe handle from a display outside of a hardware store. Of course he dropped several bits near the display as he walked away. After a minute or so Johnny realized he had a large darkly colored griffon walking behind him with a length of chain in one of his talons, his name was Anton. He rarely talked and had a mean streak a mile wide. Beside him was a younger looking earth pony stallion by the name of Oregano with a length of steel pipe slung over his shoulder.

The trio came upon the train station soon enough, the MPs standing there caught sight of them almost immediately. They didn’t stand up or say anything, they just pointed off to the right on the other side of the train that was parked there. Johnny nodded as he and his crew walked around the side of the train and started heading right, sure enough they saw a pair of box cars that weren’t supposed to be open, as well as a pair of unicorns floating boxes out onto a carriage.

“Anton.” Johnny said over his shoulder. “Sick ‘em.” The griffon nodded and quickly took to the sky, several seconds later he came crashing down in front of the unicorns with a scowl on his beak. The two ponies eyes widened and they started to back away, they suddenly stopped as they backed into something very tall. Johnny. “Hey there, fellas.” The two of them turned around nervously, Johnny realized they both seemed to be dressed up like carnies.

“Hello there, sir!” One said.

“We were just collecting an order we placed, no need to worry!” Said the other.

“May we ask who you are?” Said the first.

“Or what you are?” Finished the second.

“We’re the owners of this fuckin’ train.” Johnny said as he tapped his axe handle against the boxcar.

“Actually that would be the Equestrian Rail Ser-” The first one began to speak.

“Did he say you could fuckin’ talk?” Oregano cut in, the two unicorns gulped and shook their heads. “Then shut the fuck up.” Johnny smirked quietly, that was the sort of loyalty and fire he liked to see in his guys.

“Now you said you placed an order, thing is, we don’t do things like that unless it’s done in person.” Johnny said as he nonchalantly gave his axe handle a couple test swings. “So that makes me think you’re lyin’ to me… But you wouldn’t do that, would you?”

“N-No, sir!” They said in unison.

“Good, then you won’t mind paying for your order now then, because I know we haven’t gotten paid yet.” Johnny smirked at the two of them.

“O-On second thought, we’d like to return-”

“Sorry. No fuckin’ returns. Pay up.” Johnny leaned forwards and looked the two of them in the eyes. “Don’t make me lose my cherub like demeanor.” The two unicorns nervously looked at each other, their horns began to glow, but both of them let out a choked gasp as two very large talons grabbed them.

“Well, ya see… We, uh… We’re a little short right now…?” The first one said, the second one nodded hastily. Johnny looked at Anton, the griffon slowly lifted both of them up and gave them a good shaking, causing numerous bits of lint, dust, and two gold watches to fall into the sand. The man knelt down and picked up the watches, then looked them over appraisingly.

“Don’t worry… These will do just fine to cover the first month’s interest.” He slipped the watches into his pocket and leaned on his axe handle like it was a cane. The two unicorns were shaking out of fear now, as Anton had set them back on the ground. “You got a month to send eight thousand bits, or I send my two associates here to beat it out of you, you read me?” The unicorns nodded rapidly. “And you send it in the mail and pray it doesn’t get lost, because I swear I ever see you fucks in my town again they won’t find all the goddamn pieces.”

“Wh-What about the-” The second unicorn started pointing to the carriage filled with stolen American Hard Apple, Johnny responded by giving him a swift whack in the gut with the axe handle.

“When you pay you’ll get your order, until then, shut it.” Johnny muttered, the two unicorns nodded nervously. “Anton, toss these two fucks on the train, make sure they stay there until it leaves. Once that’s taken care of head to Manehattan and tell those cocksuckers to go fuck themselves.” Anton nodded quietly and hoisted the two stallions onto his back like they were children, that left Johnny and Oregano standing by the side of the two open box cars. “Oregano, right?”

“Yes, Don Giovanni.” The stallion replied, Johnny raised an eyebrow at him. “Your, uh, your… Marefriend? She calls you that sometimes, when you’re not around…” Johnny smiled and rubbed his chin.

“Don Giovanni...I like the sound of that.” He hummed before he shook his head and looked back at Oregano. “I need you to do something very special for me, this task is very important.” Oregano nodded silently, Johnny began taking the crates out of the carriage and loading them back into the boxcar. “I want you to head to Canterlot and meet with a guy named Two Tone, he’s a jeweler and a good one at that. Tell him I want a ring made, nothing too flashy, something elegant. It’s for my ‘Marefriend’, I’m looking to propose to her, you can see why this is so important.”

“Of course, Don… I’m honored you would pick me for such a task.” Oregano replied, Johnny just chuckled as he loaded yet another box.

“You’re a good kid, I can see you going a long way in this business of ours.” He said, now Oregano was helping him load the boxes as well. The olive colored stallion grunted under the weight, but he didn’t complain, even as his parted black mane got mussed up. “Now, as I was saying, talk to Ball Peen, he’ll give you the rest of the details and the money. The money has to come from the bar, nothing else… I won’t buy something for Jen with blood money.”

“I understand, Don Giovanni. I won’t let you down.” Oregano said with a dutiful nod, Johnny loaded the last crate into the boxcars and closed the doors.

“You’ll probably leave on the same train as those other fucks, so make sure they get out of here when you go.” Johnny added, Oregano nodded and the two of them began walking back towards town. Johnny was thinking about how he would ask Jen, when he would ask her, would he do it in public or in private. Oregano on the other hand was thinking about his new boss, he was a lot different from the other crews the stallion had run with. Violent and loud, and yet he seemed to do somethings with a noble purpose beyond getting rich. Oregano could respect a boss like that.

The sun was beginning to set in the distance, marking one less day until the beginning of an entirely new world. It seemed that already the town was starting to bustle with visitors and newcomers, and that was sure to increase as they got closer and closer to T Day.
> Chapter 64
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic stood on a platform that had been erected along main street, beside him stood Princess Luna, Chrysalis and Shining Armor. Overhead in the clear blue sky were several balloons, some were owned by News outlets while others were privately owned by foreign nobility. Along the sidewalks the citizens of New Liberty, as well has hundreds of tourists and thrill seekers, were watching the road from behind wooden barricades. The time until T-Day was less than two days, and it was finally time for Jen’s Globe Corps to graduate.

The customary speeches had already been given, and in the crowds Dominic could see Johnny’s crew was on the lookout for trouble makers. Meanwhile the Equestrian’s had several solar guards for ‘The Princess’ Protection’. Meanwhile an American band had started playing as the click of hooves and boots echoed through the town. The band was playing an old thestral marching tune, one that sounded oddly familiar to Dominic, and not in a necessarily good way.

Dominic saluted the soldiers that were marching by in their freshly cleaned uniforms, each of them looking towards Dominic and returning the salute. Leading the first company of soldiers was none other than Jen, it was clear she was a bit surprised by the choice of music as well, but continued marching nonetheless. Dominic knew the song wasn’t written by the Nazis, it was Prussian, but it was associated with the Nazis. It was a very grim reminder of just how much power Dominic held, the army of freedom marching past him could very easily be used for evil, and that was a weight he knew he would have to bare for the foreseeable future.

The pride in the faces of his citizens helped to put him at ease, he would catch glimpses of foals in the crowd sitting up on their parents heads and watching the diverse armed force march past with slight awe. Their boots and hooves continued to echo in Dominic’s ears well after they had passed, until it was replaced by the rumble of engines. Dominic turned on the platform and watched as the tanks came rolling by, their crews all poking their heads out and saluting as they drove past.

Luna and Chrysalis watched Dominic closely, both of them were very impressed with how he had progressed over the past six months. For Luna she was proud to see her student being hailed as a true leader, it was exciting for her to see the soldiers saluting Dominic as they marched and rode past to the sound of a military band. For Chrysalis, she was surprised at how much stronger the man’s emotions felt. They were much more sure, much more focused. She could sense in him that he had transitioned from a semi-undisciplined chaotic spirit to one that was measured and reserved, she could only wish for such emotional control from her own generals.

Shining Armor was absolutely scared out of his mind. Not just at the tanks that were rolling past, though they certainly were horrifying, but also at the sheer determination he saw on each soldier’s face. Compared to his Crystal Guard and even Equestria’s Solar Guard, the American’s made them look like uncertain recruits. Shining Armor trusted Dominic enough to know that this army would only be used for good purposes, but that didn’t dissuade the fears that had started to grow in his gut. Already the rest of the world was modernizing, mechanizing, advancing far faster than Equestria or his own nation.

Meanwhile across town a young man was sitting in the latest item of decor to enter his home. Johnny looked out the window silently, letting out a sigh as he enjoyed the feel of his new armchair, it was large and upholstered in leather. A throne fit for a king that he’d taken as payment from a pair of griffon’s that had had some trouble slipping past the Equestrian border. It was in this chair that he could hear the march of boots and hooves outside, every time he did he would stand up and walk to the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jen.

The woman that Johnny would kill for, that he would die for, the woman he hoped would be mother to his children. The recent weeks had forced him to face a difficult reality, that she may very well get hurt or worse on the other side of the portal and there would be nothing he could do. He couldn’t go with her, he had to stay and be sure she would never want for anything when she returned, but he would trade all his wealth and influence for the assurance that she would come home safely. That was what made him so sure of what he planned to do that very night, and he was thankful that Oregano had gotten the ring on time.

It was perfect, and he would be sure to send Two Tone a bonus in the coming months, in a way it reminded him of the rings his grandmother had shown him from before she’d immigrated to the United States from Italy. The ring was elegant enough to be offered to a Queen, engraved with small leaves and flowers in the rose gold, with vines that conjoined around a moderately sized Emerald. Johnny pulled the case from his pocket and looked it over nervous before he stood up and began to pace back and forth. There came a knock at his door, and his heart caught in his throat. He then realized that if it had been Jen she wouldn’t have knocked.

“Boss.” Ball Peen’s voice came through the wood, Johnny cleared his throat and adjusted his tie before he walked to the door and opened it. “We got a problem with that creep running the big show.” The man raised an eyebrow at his second in command and gestured for him to go on. “He’s got a lot of the workers pissed off, and he’s threatening to pull the plug on the whole thing if we don’t do what he wants.”

“Fucking Canterlot Creeps…” Johnny muttered, he shook his head and sighed. “Is he here now?” Ball Peen nodded his head down the steps. “Send him up with Oregano.”

“Alright.” Ball Peen responded, Johnny watched him go down the steps and closed the door before he returned to his seat and turned it to face the door, then relaxed into the soft leather and steepled his fingers. Several minutes later the door opened and Oregano stepped in, the stallion was adorned in his own suit and Johnny had to admit it made him look like a real made man. 

Oregano stood near the door as another stallion walked in, he too wore a suit but it only made him look like something out of a comedy movie. The coke bottle glasses and fancy hair told Johnny this was a stallion that cared far too much about himself than anyone else. Johnny could understand that to an extent, being a capitalist himself, but there was a cut off where honor stepped in. There was no honor in this stallion’s appearance.

The trend continued as he watched the stallion look around and grimace at the appearance of his home, Oregano closed the door behind him with a rather loud thud. The stallion stopped looking around as he spotted Johnny, the look of disgust never left his face. Johnny’s expression remained neutral as he pulled a cigar from his pocket and bit off the cap, Oregano quickly walked over and lit it with a wood match.

“So, you’re the ‘big head honcho’ that’s in charge of setting up my stage?” The stallion asked in a snide tone, Oregano’s eyes widened but Johnny extended a hand that seemed to quell his rage.

“You could say that.” Johnny said as he puffed on his cigar, exhaling a cloud directly at the stallion’s muzzle. The man stood from his chair and walked forwards, extending his hand. “I am Don Giovanni.” The stallion stared at the extended hand for several moments before responding, never once lifting his hoof. “I’ve been told you’re having problems, what can I do to fix them?” Johnny lowered his hand quietly.

“Your workers aren’t listening to me.” The stallion said bluntly. “I’ve told them many times what I want them to do, but they won’t pay attention.” Johnny seemed genuinely surprised by this, something that got the stallion’s attention.

“Are they not building the stage?” He asked with honest curiousity.

“They’ve already built the stage, but now that they’re done-”

“They can go home.” Johnny finished for him, his smile fading from his face as he leaned down to look the stallion in the eyes. “They were hired to build a stage and tear down a stage, so far they’ve built the stage, their job is done until the show is over.” The stallion’s eyes went wide as Johnny spoke, he snorted and pounded his hooves on the floor like an impatient child, prompting Oregano to step forwards again, only for Johnny to wave him off.

“I want my premium oats, or-”

“Or what?!” Johnny suddenly yelled, causing the stallion to take a few steps back. “You’ll pull the show? Ruin your client’s image? Ruin your job?” Johnny walked forwards, never once breaking eye contact with the manager. “Do you have the balls to shoot your career in the head over a couple pounds of oats? If you do I don’t see ‘em.” After a few seconds the stallion looked at the floor. “That’s what I thought.” Johnny stood up straight and puffed on his cigar as the manager continued to look at the floor in defeat. “You’re not going to treat anyone else like garbage again, because I have ways of finding out, and you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-Yes, Don Giovanni.” The stallion said quietly, Johnny smiled faintly and offered his hand once again, this time the stallion was quick to shake it.

“Oregano, please escort our guest downstairs, first few drinks are on me.” Johnny said, Oregano nodded and walked to silently escort the stallion out of the room. The man meanwhile puffed once or twice more on his cigar before he walked to the window and watched another company march by. This time he caught a glimpse of that beautiful raven hair, those gleaming lovely eyes, all the anger seemed to fade in that moment as he laid his gaze upon the most beautiful woman god had ever seen fit to bestow upon Earth.

The man paused and shook his head, fearing his thoughts were getting a bit too sappy, but paying it no mind. He wished he could be out there watching for himself, but as his previous conversation had just proven, his work never seemed to be done.

The marching eventually tapered off after an hour or so, and eventually everyone was on their way to the stage that had been constructed on the large training grounds of New Liberty’s military installation. In the very field where they had been firing cannon balls the day before, there was now a large metal structure that left more than enough room for the entire town to come and see the show. Johnny knew that soon Jen would come home and try to convince him to go with her, that’s when he’d ask her.

His palms started to get sweaty as the minutes ticked by more and more, he momentarily reached into his pocket and withdrew the box, just to look at it one more time and build up his confidence. As he ran his fingers over the shined gold he smiled faintly and closed his eyes, nodding to himself as he started to slip the box back into his pocket. Momentarily he paused to set his cigar in an ashtray, but the distraction proved to be a problem as he dropped the case and sent the ring skittering across the floor.

“Shit…” Johnny muttered as he turned to face the direction it had gone, to his shock it had come to rest just by the door, and to his horror, Jen had just opened the door and was staring down at it with her head tilted to the side. Johnny quickly walked over and bent down to pick it up.

“That’s a beautiful ring…” Jen said as she watched the man that had frozen mid bend, the ring was held firmly between his fingers. “You okay? You hurt your back or something?” Johnny shook his head and just decided to go with the punches, he bent his knees as he kept the ring in his grasp. “Johnny…”

“Jen.” Johnny said as he looked up at her, smiling a slight smile. “I had a big romantic night planned out, but… I guess it wasn’t in the cards.” The man slowly raised the ring so that Jen could see it better. “I had this big speech about how you saved my ass more than I care to remember, and helped keep me safe, and sane, and gave me a reason to give a damn…” Jen’s eyes were starting to water as she brought a hand to her mouth. “And… How much I love you.” He looked her in the eyes, she could see that he was giving her the opportunity to say whatever she felt, even if it utterly destroyed him. “Jen… Will you do me the highest honor and privilege can think of… Will you marry me?”

“Y-You’re serious?” She asked in a choked voice, Johnny nodded slowly. “Yes! Yes, of course I will!” The man slipped the ring on her finger as he stood up and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her as he did so. The two of them stood their quietly, just enjoying each other’s embrace for what felt like an eternity before the woman pulled away and looked at her finger. “I… I never thought you’d… That I’d…”

“Are you kidding?” Johnny asked as he put his hands on her waist. “Where would I be without you, goofball?” She kissed him for several seconds after that.

“Probably dead in a ditch somewhere…” Both of them had tears in their eyes as once again the two held each other closely. After a few minutes Jen began crying openly into Johnny’s shoulder, the man grew a tad bit concerned at this. “I’m… I’m sorry… I just was thinking about my dad… He always wanted to give me away at the altar…”

“It’s alright, Jen…” Johnny said as he rubbed her up and down her back. “My mom would want to be there too… We’ll just leave them some seats at the ceremony, I’m sure they’ll drop in from up above…” The two of them began crying again, standing there in the doorway as they shared feelings of joy and sadness, a bittersweet moment that neither of them would trade for anything in the world.

Downstairs, Oregano kept the clients as quiet as possible, fully intending not to let anything interrupt his boss up stairs. After several minutes he saw Jen and Don Gio come down the steps, both of them looked like they’d been crying, and Oregano could see the ring on the woman’s finger. It wasn’t a surprise to the bar folk, that was what had kept them quiet in the first place, and when they saw the couple they started cheering loudly. Needless to say, the drinks were on the house that night.

[♦]

Dominic and Luna sat across from each other on the floor of the training room, the sun was beginning to set in the distance, and Dominic wore nothing but his boxers, his long hair hung freely to his shoulders. His head was bowed, as was Luna’s, it was time for his training to reach completion. Seated before him was a hair trimmer, a safety razor and shaving cream, and the wooden box Luna had kept from his sight for so many months.

“Dominic Occisor…” Luna said as she raised her head from her bow and looked upon her student. “Thou hath taken many steps during thine training, this shall be the last one, art thou ready to become a Warrior of the Night?” Her voice was hauntingly smooth, like that of the fathoms of space itself. Dominic nodded firmly.

“I am.” He said quietly.

“Will thou carry out thy duty with honor and courage, to protect the weak, shield the innocent, and destroy that which is evil?” Luna asked, Dominic nodded firmly again, the last rays of sunlight were beginning to disappear from the sky, and soon the large concert would begin. Dominic didn’t plan on attending though, he had much more serious matters to attend to.

“I will.”

“On thy honor and soul, doth thou swear that so long as thou draws breath, no foul darkness shall make our night impure and unclean? That thou shalt seek out evil in all its forms, physical or otherwise, and defend the sacred sanctuary of our realm.” Luna continued her haunting tone as she watched Dominic’s breath rise and fall.

“So help me god.” Dominic said with a conviction Luna had not heard from him before, the Princess smiled faintly as she sat up straight and closed her eyes.

“Then arise, Dominic, Son of the Night, as the warrior thou art destined to be.” Luna’s tone was soft and warm, something that Dominic had missed from her. The man slowly sat up straight as he exhaled a pent up breath. He reached out for the hair trimmer and flicked it on, Luna watched in silence as the man brought it to his head and began to shave off portions of his hair. When he’d finished he had left a strip down the center of his head longer than the rest, a mohawk if Luna recalled, a fashion of hair favored by many of the warriors on Dominic’s world. He shaved the sides of his head as close as possible, and then set the razor and trimmer aside. His hair was scattered around him on the floor, marking his transformation once and for all.

Luna’s horn glowed and the latches upon the case popped open before she slid the box forwards, Dominic reached out and ran his hand along the smooth red wood, hesitating slightly to see the blade he knew laid within. Finally he narrowed his eyes and pushed the wood open, revealing the sword within once and for all.

The blade was dark grey, though the edge gleamed like silver, the handle looked as if it could be used with one hand or both. It looked like a mixture between a Roman gladius and a Japanese katana, all along the length Dominic could see a pattern similar to a wave had been engraved. The pommel had an image of Luna’s cutie mark facing outwards, and the handle was wrapped expertly in black leather.

Dominic reached into the box and gripped the handle, squeezing it firmly before he stood to his full height and held the sword in his hand for the first time. The weight was well balanced, he could move it quickly, but it didn’t feel like it was made of tinfoil either. After testing swings he sat back on the floor and set the blade back in its box.

“Anoint thy blade, then thine training shall be complete.” Luna said, Dominic nodded and brought the tip of his finger to the point of the blade. With a bit of pressure and a slight wince he had broken the skin and a drop of blood formed, he removed his finger from the point and smeared his own blood down the blade. The crimson liquid filled the engravings as it passed over them, when Dominic had finished he put pressure on his finger and soon enough the bleeding stopped. “It is done.”

The two of them stood up and bowed to each other, Dominic picked up his sword once more and reached for a canteen that had been left out on the training room table. He opened it and poured it along the blade, just to cleanse it of visible blood, the water ran down onto the wooden floor and through the cracks into the sand below. Once he had finished he quickly dressed himself back into his uniform and fitted a scabbard that had been left in the box to his belt, he carefully slipped the blade into the scabbard and looked at Luna once more.

“We remember many months ago when thou thought that there was no hope for thee to become a better warrior.” Luna commented with a proud smile, Dominic did his best to return it, but his mind was fixated on other things. T-Day was closer than ever, and soon Dominic would return to the harsh wastelands of his homeworld, but after a moment or so he knuckled down and calmed his thoughts.

“Yeah… I did alright, I guess.” Dominic said quietly as he adjusted his sword on his belt, then put his peaked cap atop his head. “I… I’m worried, Insegnante.” Luna looked at him with a raised eyebrow, her expression becoming a serious one. “What if after all these years… Maria doesn’t recognize me?”

“Thy lack of confidence in thyself is unnecessary.” Luna brought her hoof up to him and touched it to his chest. “And if things have changed, thou shalt have us in thine corner.” The man looked her in the eyes, after several moments he leaned forwards and gave her a hug. After several moments the two of them broke the embrace and looked eachother in the eyes. Dominic’s smile faded somewhat, after a while he looked to the ground.

“The, uh… The show is starting soon.” Dominic said as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck and looked out a window towards the stage. “Did you want to go maybe?” Luna faintly smiled and nodded. “Honestly, it’s gonna be my first concert… So, I don’t know what to expect.”

“We’ll find out together then, it is our first concert as well.” Luna replied, Dominic nodded and the two of them turned to walk out of the training room. Luna would return later to clean up and gather the things that had been left behind, right now they were more concerned about getting to the concert. It wasn’t too far away, just a brisk walk and they’d reach the tail end of the crowd. It seemed like everyone in town was there.

[♦]

Scribs was annoyed, very annoyed. The reporter was sitting in the tank with Avos and Gear Grinder and looking over a letter he’d received from his editor, the mare had always been able to get under his skin. She’d rejected his previously sent story because it wasn’t ‘real news’, that was a new low, even for her. The Canterlot snob seemed to be more concerned about maintaining the status quo rather than anything else.

The stallion grunted and crumpled up the letter, then tossed it aside before picking one of his notepads and beginning to write some more. He’d held onto all his original notes, if he couldn’t get his editor to run his story he’d find someone else who would. Now that T-Day was so close though, he didn’t know if he would be able to  find one in time. For now though, he just leaned back in the ‘Command’ seat that he’d been assigned. Outside he could hear ponies climbing on top of the vehicle, as it had been parked near the concert so the crew could get a good look.

Of course, a lot of ponies had also taken to climbing on the piece of hardware so they could get a better view of the stage. Avos was looking through the sight of the cannon at the stage where currently an opening act was going on, it was an odd sight for sure, an earth pony with a cello and a DJ unicorn. The sergeant couldn’t understand how such odd matches were made, but she didn’t really care either.

“Has it dawned on anyone just how easily we could destroy that structure?” She asked, not taking her eye away from the gunsight. Scribs and Gear looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, I mean, you have a point, but the question is why?” Scribs said as he began writing again, the griffon cleared her throat and leaned back in her own seat.

“‘Cause Eggy got dumped by some jerk DJ.” Gear Grinder said from his place in the driver’s seat, the light in the tank was being provided by a pair of small white light bulbs that illuminated the vehicle just enough to see. The griffon grunted at the mention of her nickname, as well as her love life. “Hey, that guy didn’t know what he was missing, you are just… Oodles of fun.”

“I do not appreciate your sarcasm…” Avos replied harshly, Gear Grinder opened his mouth to make a remark, but decided against it. “Besides, like you, that ‘Jerk DJ’ happened to be lacking in more than his character, I’m glad he’s gone.” Scribs was a bit shocked by the implication, he couldn’t help but smile and mouth the word ‘Wow!’ to himself as he continued writing.

“Yeesh, put the claws away, Sarge…” Gear Grinder said as he peeked out his driver’s hatch. Avos grunted again and put her eye back up to the gunsight. The tank became silent once again as the crew listened to the sound of ponies milling around them and the muffled music from outside. Scribs put his writing pad away and started going through the saddle bags he’d tucked behind his seat several days prior, at the advice of Gear Grinder. “Hey, Reporter, you like modern music?”

“Not really…” Scribs replied. “Honestly I like that stuff they play over that ‘radio’ thing around here.”

“Told you.” Avos said with a smirk as she extended her talon out towards Gear Grinder, the stallion groaned and pulled a couple bits from his pocket before handing them to her. “Turn that on instead.”

“We have a live concert with some of the most famous musicians in the world literally right outside, but you want to listen to the radio?” Gear Grinder asked with a bit of a raised eyebrow, Avos nodded. “Fuck that.” The stallion leaned forwards and pushed open his driver’s hatch, just enough so that the music was no longer muffled. “I’m enjoying myself.” There was a grunt from the sergeant, but aside from that she didn’t seem to say anything.

Scribs picked up his pad and pen once again, then began humming quietly as he started write some more notes. Tomorrow would be a very big day, he doubted he would have much time to write then. The show outside continued onward until around eleven at night, at that point the units that would be going through the portal were supposed to go to their beds and rest up, most of them did just that.

The rest of the ponies that had gone to the show were dispersed off the base, filling New Liberty with a brimming new night life. The three tank dwellers suddenly heard a knock on the hatch, out of curiosity Sergeant Avos opened the heavy piece of metal.

“What’s this tank still doing here?” Asked the familiar voice of Dominic, Sergeant Avos paused and opened her beak to speak. “Just… Get it back to motor pool, and get to bed.” They could tell the man had a headache, none of them wanted to question his choice of haircut either. Gear Grinder leaned forwards started the engine as Dominic closed the hatch and hopped off the side, as the tank began to back out of the field Scribs looked through the command window. He could see Dominic standing in the field with his hands clasped behind his back, beside him was Princess Luna, the two of them were looking up at the stars. Scribs decided to let it go, he was more focussed on the adventure that would come the next day.

T-Day.
> Chapter 65
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dominic walked quietly through the woods behind his old home in Evergreen, snow had covered the ground and he could see his misty breath in the freezing cold air. The sun had just started to rise, the birds hadn’t started to chirp yet, and everything seemed calm. The man didn’t know why, but part of him felt uneasy. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets for warmth and continued walking along until he stopped just short of a large pine tree, silently he looked up to the top of the tree, then he reached out to touch it.

“It’s getting close to that time.” Discord’s voice said before his hand made contact with the bark, Dominic turned and looked to his left. There was discord, dressed up like an eskimo. “We’ve already gone over what I’m going to do, but I figured I should pop in and check on you before you go.”

“I’ve made peace with myself…” Dominic said simply as he looked back to the large tree in front of him, his hand was still hovering inches away from it. “I assume you’ve seen my world… Be straight with me… How bad is it?”

“The scariest environment imaginable.” Discord said in a serious tone. “That much chaos… If I had been in charge, it never would’ve gotten that bad.” Dominic nodded quietly as he lowered his hand to his side and closed his eyes. “In case we don’t see each other again… For whatever it’s worth, I hope you find who you’re looking for on the other side.”

“Come hell or high water, I will…” Dominic replied quietly as he leaned his head back. “Goodbye, Discord. Tell me when you need some more vacation time, we’ll see if we can work something out.” The man chuckled, Discord started laughing himself.

Dominic found himself staring at the ceiling of his office on his cot, quietly he let out a sigh and swung his legs over the side until his feet landed in his boots. The man stood up and stretched, his back popping as it usually did, before he walked downstairs to the bathroom to do his morning routine. After his shower he stopped to stare at himself in the mirror, he combed what remained of his hair back before bowing his head and doing the sign of the cross.

“Lord… I ask for your blessings and protection as I undertake this mission that I believe to be right and just…” Dominic said quietly, his eyes closed as he continued to stand there in front of the mirror. “Keep my soldiers safe… And my blade sharp. Amen…” The man turned on his heel and walked out of the bathroom with his towel around his waist until he made it back to his room. Once he was there, he dressed himself in his uniform and pulled on a pair of black leather gloves, followed by his jacket and peaked cap. The man had already loaded his shotgun and other items in his tank, save for his revolver and sword, which were present upon his belt.

The man silently walked to the window and looked out over New Liberty, the sun wasn’t even rising yet, already he could see activity out by the tanks. Dominic turned away from the window and back to face his office, it seemed so bare now that he’d cleared it of his items. The man’s hand rested quietly on the hilt of his sword, and after a minutes or so, he’d pulled it from its scabbard and held it out in front of him. It made a whooshing noise as he twirled it through the air, and when he was certain that he’d gotten used to the weight, he slipped it back into its scabbard.

Several minutes later the door to the office opened, Dominic could already tell it was Luna, and sure enough he was right. She entered the room with silent dignity and grace that Dominic normally didn’t associate with her, she acted as an actual princess would, rather than the relaxed posture she seemed to hold on a normal day. The two of them stared at each other silently for what felt like an eternity, neither one of them was sure what to say.

Finally Dominic cleared his throat and looked to the floor awkwardly, his gloved hands moving so that he could clasp them behind his back.

“I… I suppose this is… It.” He said as he brought his gaze up to meet her once again. “I’ll have to go get in the tank soon, make sure everything is all squared away, and-” He was cut off as Luna just walked forwards and hugged him tightly, after a few moments he returned the embrace and rested his head against her neck.

“I didn’t want to use the spell, but… I wouldn’t be able to tell you what I must as it’s meant to be heard…” Luna said as she held him against her, refusing to let go, as if it was the last time she ever would see him again. For all she knew, it very well could have been, no matter how much she told herself that wouldn’t happen. “I still care about you… More than you know, and no matter what happens, that won’t change…” Dominic could feel her trembling, could feel her holding back tears, until finally the dam burst and he felt her crying against him. “You’ve been there for me, I’ve been there for you, and that bond can never be broken… And… I have so much I want to, no, need to tell you… But I can’t. Not now.”

“It’s okay, Luna…” Dominic said as he leaned back and put his hands on her shoulders so he could look her in the eyes. “You… You just tell me when I get back, after you meet Maria…” He tried to put on a smile, but it quickly faltered. “I’m coming back.” It wasn’t just a statement, Luna could see in his eyes, it was a promise. Not once had Dominic ever broken a promise to her.

“O-Okay…” Luna said as she nodded her head and wiped her eyes, she was doing her best to recompose herself. The mare put her hooves on Dominic’s shoulders and straightened his jacket, then his hat, before she smiled sadly and relaxed. “There… You look much better now.”

“I just needed a haircut.” Dominic mused as he ran a hand over his head, it earned a bit of a chuckle out of the mare before the two of them lapsed into an awkward silence. The mare paused for a moment, then her eyes widened.

“I almost forgot.” Luna’s horn began to glow as she spoke, several seconds later there was a flash of light that forced Dominic to shield his eyes. When he looked he could see Luna had a needle and thread, as well as an embroidered patch floating in her magic. “I had this made for you, so you can carry a reminder of your friends here with you.” Dominic smiled for a moment before he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the feather he kept there, just enough to show her. “You… Kept it?” Dominic nodded. “May I?” Luna asked as she looked to the patch, the man slipped out of his jacket and held it in place for her.

“I’m sure they’re all going to be very surprised when we come through…” Dominic said as he watched the mare sew the patch to the free shoulder. It took a few moments since it was leather, but eventually Luna had finished her work and Dominic had slipped the jacket back on.

“You’re ready.” Luna said simply as the man admired his jacket’s new bit of flare. The sun began to rise in the distance, just little rays of light at first, but enough for both of them to notice. “You… You should go.” Dominic turned to look out the window, then back at Luna one last time, he grabbed her tightly in his arms and held her for as long as he could before letting go.

“G-Goodbye, Luna…” He said quietly, he wiped his eyes and walked to the door, doing his best to straighten up and appear professional for his troops. Luna watched him descend the steps and out of sight, then she rushed to the window and watched as he went up the street. As soon as he turned a corner and disappeared from view she felt a lump form in her throat, her stomach was tied up in knots.

“Goodbye, Dominic…”

Dominic straightened his cap as he marched towards the motorpool, his boots clicked against the wooden sidewalk and rapidly drew the attention of the early rising media and other onlookers. Gradually they were following him as he got closer and closer to the training ground, he could see the gate ahead. Chipped Blade and numerous other MPs stood there, and upon seeing him they opened the gate.

“Morning, Chipped. Anything to report?” Dominic asked, trying to sound as upbeat as he could. The thestral shook his head as he closed the gate behind Dominic.

“Nothing yet, sir.” The stallion said, Dominic smiled faintly and gave him a nod before he began walking towards the motor pool. “Oh! Sir!” Dominic turned and looked at Chipped, as well as the other MPs. “Give ‘em hell, sir.” The MPs snapped into salutes, salutes that Dominic returned just as respectfully. The man turned on his heel once again and continued walking to the lines of tanks that were being prepared by their crews.

The first tank in the line was his, and already he could see Avos and Gear Grinder were securing their gear and other supplies while Scribs was jotting down notes like a madman. The second tank seemed to be down a crew member, specifically a woman. Dominic put off greeting his crew to find out where she was, and walked over to the driver.

“Where’s Captain Poplawski?” Dominic asked. The driver, an earth pony mare with banana yellow fur and a white mane, shrugged.

“Probably still saying goodbye to her fiance.” The driver said, Dominic raised an eyebrow at that. “We’re all set, sir, we don’t mind if she get’s some extra time to say goodbye.” The president was about to say something, but shook his head and shrugged.

“Alright… Have her check in with me when she gets here.” Dominic said as he walked back to his tank to begin going over his own duties, all the while he did his best to try and remember the sensation he had felt when he hugged Luna, the warmth of her body, the softness of her fur. It was all he could do to keep himself calm. The man removed his jacket and opened a rucksack that had been stashed inside the tank, from within he pulled his armor. The man quickly slipped it on and tightened the straps before he pulled his jacket on over it, then he went back to getting the vehicle ready.

[♦]

Jen sighed quietly as she looked at herself in the mirror, she’d just had Johnny cut off her hair, leaving only a short crop of the one long luxurious black locks. She wore her uniform pants and boots, but aside from that her skin was bare, this was so none of her hair would get caught in her shirt and make her itchy. Now that the deed had been done, Johnny offered her her tank top and she quickly pulled it on over her chest.

“Don’t worry, Jenny Bean.” Johnny said as he knelt down and picked up a bit of the hair, he discreetly set it aside, just so he’d have a piece of her while she was away. “You’d be beautiful even if you were bald.” Jen sighed quietly as she stood up and turned to face Johnny, her eyes watering a bit. “Come on… Don’t cry…”

“I just… I’m going to miss you so much…” Jen spoke in a rather melancholy voice as she reached out and hugged him tightly, the man returned the hug just as tightly, holding her close against him and resting his head against hers. “We can still write letters to each other, you know? It won’t be the same, but…”

“I’ll write you every chance I get.” Johnny replied quietly as he ran a hand over her head and rubbed it up and down, the woman let out a little whine.

“Don’t do that… It makes my head feel all funny…” She said as she stepped away from him, her eyes were still glistening with tears as she suddenly gave him a smile. “I guess it’s alright though, I won’t have to put up with your antics for a while…”

“Yeah… And I won’t have to worry about you walking in on me when I read those novels you keep ‘trading’ for.” Johnny replied with his own smile, meanwhile tears streamed down both their cheeks. The man reached out and took Jen’s hand in his own, giving it a firm squeeze as he did so. “I love you, Jen… Even if you can be a goofball from time to time...”

“I love you too, you may be a jerk, but you’re my jerk…”  Jen’s voice caught in her throat as she leaned up and kissed Johnny. The bathroom was hardly a normal place to say goodbye, but Jen supposed their relationship was hardly normal. The two of them broke the kiss and stepped out into their living room where Jen picked up her uniform jacket and buttoned it up. Johnny watched her fingers move, the shimmer of the rosegold not once leaving his eyes. “I’m already late…”

“Please, just a little longer…?” Johnny begged, Jen frowned and looked at the floor.

“I have to go…” She said quietly as she came forwards once more and let Johnny hug her tightly. The man could feel her revolver holster against his thigh, in that moment he knew there was one thing he could do to protect her.

“One second…” Johnny said as he walked to his dresser and pulled open the bottom shelf, from within he took his hunting rifle and a box of ammunition, before he walked back over to Jen. “Take this, think of it as me being there and protecting you…” The woman was about to protest, what if Johnny needed it here, what if the town came under attack once again. After looking into his eyes, however, she reached out and grabbed the rifle confidently. Jen leaned forwards and kissed Johnny one last time, it was long and passionate, and both of them wished it could last forever.

“I love you…” Jen said one more time as she pulled back, she felt like she couldn’t say it enough. “When I get back I want your help, we’re gonna have the biggest wedding ever.” Johnny smiled weakly at her enthusiasm, nodding and walking with her towards the door, then down the steps into the empty bar.

“Yeah, with a big band and cake and all sorts of other things…” Johnny added, Jen nodded again as both of them teared up once more. “Just, we’ve gotta wait a while is all, when you come back.” The two of them stared at eachother for a minute or two. “G-Good-” Jen put up a hand and rested it on his shoulder, she looked him lovingly in the eye.

“No need to say goodbye… I’m coming back.” She said, Johnny stared at her for a few moments before silently nodding. Jen slung the rifle over her shoulder and pulled her father’s cap from her jacket pocket, the woman went to put it on, then stopped and reached out. It ended up looking a bit lopsided on Johnny’s head. “K-Keep that warm for me…” With that she turned and started walking down the street, leaving Johnny to quietly watch her disappear around a corner, stopping only once to look over her shoulder and give a slight wave.

Once she’d disappeared from sight the woman let herself begin to cry, she hadn’t wanted to break down in front of Johnny, he didn’t want that to be his last memory of her before she left. After a minute or so she’d composed herself, she had to be on the ball now, she had soldiers to lead. When she reached the gate to the base there was a crowd of reporters and onlookers, the MPs were quick to clear a path for her and she ignored the photos that were snapped off.

When she’d passed the gates she stopped in front of Chipped Blade, the stallion smiled sadly at her as she knelt down in front of him. He began to salute her, but she leaned forwards and wrapped him in a tight hug. The stallion was a bit surprised, but he returned the hug nonetheless. When she broke the hug she stood to her full height and cleared her throat.

“You take care of yourself, Lieutenant… Don’t let any civies get on the base, or I’ll have to come and kick your ass…” She said, Chipped chuckled quietly.

“Yes, ma’am…” Chipped replied before giving her the salute he’d intended earlier, Jen returned it with a sad smile before she adjusted the rifle over her shoulder. “Good luck…” Jen nodded and started walking again, the echo of her boots was soon drowned out by the rumble of engines. Her heart filled with determination as she rounded the corner and caught sight of the tanks, all of them were idling and their crews were getting ready to depart.

“Commander!” She called out over the noise of the engines, getting the attention of Dominic, the man stopped looking over the tank tracks and turned. When he spotted her he walked away from the tracks and got over to her. “Sorry I’m late, sir!”

“Don’t worry about it, just saddle up! We’re getting ready to roll out!” Dominic replied as he adjusted his hat. “Oh, and congratulations!” He patted her on the shoulder before he turned around and walked back to his tank, she nodded and made her way over to her own vehicle and climbed up into the turret, slipping the rifle and ammunition down by her feet. She pulled on her headset, which thankfully doubled as ear protection, and could hear the normal chatter.

Dominic took his own position in his tank’s turret, once again looking like General Rommel as he adjusted his hat and put on his own headset. The man cleared his throat before activating the radio.

“Radio check. This is Night Eagle checking in.” He said.

”Mirage checking in.” The final tank in the column of five that would be going through the portal, crewed entirely by changelings responded.

”Visigoth checking in.” Came the response of the second to last tank, that one was crewed by mainly thestrals.

”Steel Rain is checking in.” Came the middle tank, commanded by Rolling Thunder, it was a mix of changelings and thestrals that crewed the armored vehicle.

”Midnight Special checking in.” Dominic recognized that voice as Jens, he was confident everyone could hear him now, and that meant there was nothing to stop them from carrying out their mission.

“Take us to the portal site, Gear.” Dominic ordered through the tank’s intercom, there was a lurch and the tank began rolling forwards. “All units, we’re Oscar Mike.” There was chorus of affirmatives from the other tanks as they began rolling out behind Dominic, they turned out of the motor pool and started driving towards the gates where the crowd had formed. Chipped Blade and his MPs were already opening the gate for them as numerous soldiers ran from their barracks to cheer their comrades onwards.

The crowd parted as the column got closer, Dominic could see Luna was among them now, he reached up and tipped his hat to her as he drove past before turning his gaze forwards. The feeling of the wind against his face was something he’d missed, the inhabitants of New Liberty began to look out their windows and line the streets as the tanks drove past. Eventually the five armored vehicles left the streets of New Liberty and made their way over to the refugee area that had been constructed.

Many of the Globe Corps troops were already there setting up tents and other facilities ranging from hospitals to clothing and food distribution in preparation for the refugees that would soon arrive. As the tank got closer they paused and saluted when they saw their commander in chief riding in the first vehicle.

“All units halt.” Dominic ordered as the tanks reached a strip of sand that had been left intentionally empty. “Hold position, the portal should be opening any second now…” The man watched patiently as he waited for the portal to open, wishing that Discord would get on with it already. He yearned to go through, he knew Maria was waiting for him. After several seconds that felt like an eternity there were sparks, then loud boom shook the area and a blinding white light forced many onlookers to turn away.

When it had faded Dominic could see a large glowing circle, a spiral swirled around and around inside of it, and Dominic could see odd things like toy boats and baseballs floating past, they almost looked like eye floaters, except in a portal. Dominic took a deep breath and closed his eyes, doing his best to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do. For a moment he turned around and looked back at New Liberty, then to the portal.

In that moment he came to the conclusion that the only way he’d be able to push through that portal was if he did it screaming like a madman, because he had to be utterly mad to ever consider what he was doing. Quietly he reached down to his sword and grabbed the hilt, then pulled the blade from its scabbard and pointed it at the portal.

“All units! Through that portal!” Dominic ordered, the tank lurched forwards and began rolling full speed at the portal. Behind him he could hear the other tanks revving forwards, as well as the cheers of the bystanders. The man sheathed his blade just before the tank reached the portal, he closed his eyes as he felt the familiar warmth around him. After a few moments he found the strength to pull the hatch closed and sit in the tank.

Jen bit her lip and tapped her foot against the metal floor as her tank rolled forwards, she’d seen Dominic’s tank go through moments ago, and she was doing her best to keep her cool. He’d charged headlong into it, she supposed that was the only way to do it. With a grunt she tapped her driver on the shoulder.

“Full speed.” She said calmly, though she was terrified inside. The driver nodded and put the pedal to the metal, quickly the tank approached the portal and then Jen found herself surrounded by a viscous warmth. Time felt like it was slowing down around her, as it felt for everyone else that drove through the portal. Eventually they all lost consciousness, save for Rolling and Dominic, who had grown rather used to portal travel.

What lay ahead of them was a mystery, and all any of them could hope for was that they were prepared. It had been a difficult task coming out of hell, it would be even more difficult to march back in.