> Days Gone By.
>  by The Boss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Circum Mundum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Far to the west of the Crystal Empire, located somewhere on the Equator in the South Luna Sea, was a solitary string of islands. They were beautiful, covered with green plants and tall trees that bore coconuts, pristine white sand made up the beaches. To the untrained observer, these islands were completely uninhabited. The largest of them barely covered five acres in total, there wasn’t much room for any sort of structures. It was this small stature that made these Islands, known only as ‘ The Sierra Alpha Seven Chain’, into the perfect place for someone to hide.

For Celestia, that was all she needed. The alicorn was reclined in a beach chair on the largest island, two dozen books piled up next to her while she levitated one of them in her magic. The island had been her home for the past couple years, every now and then a ship would stop by to drop off supplies, but aside from that she spent her days in solitude. Her usual routine consisted of watching the waves on the ocean, reading, and making her own fun by use of her magic. Celestia had also taken an interest in all the various plants and animals that called the island home, they had gotten used to her presence and she had gotten used to occasionally dealing with them. All in all, the island wasn’t a bad place to spend her exile…

The mare flipped one of the pages in her book, her expression remaining neutral as her eyes scanned over the words on the page. She had read this particular story half a dozen times, but she wouldn’t get a new shipment of books for another week or so. Personally, she almost felt like the occasional check ups on her were more annoying than anything else. They disrupted her routine and made her feel like her privacy was being encroached on, something that she found rather ironic considering how she had come to be exiled in the first place. As Celestia began to turn to the next page she stopped, off to her right she heard footsteps. Slowly the mare lowered her book and looked over, to her surprise she saw a human. He wore a black suit and tie, with a rather large gut and a large nose, his short black hair was combed back in a regimented fashion.

“Dawnguard.” The man said simply in a very rough, raspy voice while he adjusted a pair of mirrored sunglasses that were perched on his nose.

“Agent Adams.” Celestia replied in a similar tone, the two of them seemed to be sizing one another up. “To what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting my humble island? It can’t be time for my yearly evaluation, can it?”

“No.” Adams said as he walked towards Celestia’s beach chair, his open jacket fluttered slightly as a soft breeze blew in from the ocean. “I’m here because of our agreement, Dawnguard. The Agency needs information, information about arcane artifacts.” Celestia stared at the man for a couple seconds, then sighed and looked back to her book. She set it to the side and turned her full attention back to Adams.

“Mmm… What can I tell you that you can’t learn from my sister?” Celestia asked, Adams adjusted his tie and maintained a stoic scowl.

“The Farlands.” Adams said simply, Celestia stared at him quietly. “We know that during your time in control of Equestria you sent dozens of expeditions, mysteriously all their findings were destroyed as Equestrian forces were withdrawing from Canterlot during the war.”

“Surely the Onorussian Government has the resources to launch their own expeditions.” Celestia said flatly. “What makes you think that I know anything about the Farlands? They weren’t of much importance to me.”

“Everybody lies, Dawnguard. Even you.” Agent Adams flatly reminded her. “It makes sense that you would hold back information, that’s the only way you can cut time off of your exile, by sharing it with us.” Adams looked around the island for a couple moments, then back at Celestia. “We’ve found more than a few artifacts that point to ancient experiments with the intention of creating portals to inhabited worlds. As you know, transdimensional warfare is something the high command is very interested in.”

“I’m aware, yes…” Celestia replied with a slight huff, she leaned her head back in her seat and looked up at the clear blue sky. “You could’ve asked me about this at one of my evaluations, but you chose to make a personal visit instead…” Celestia trailed off for a couple seconds, then looked at Adams with a worried expression. “You found something… Didn’t you?” Adams remained quiet, his expression stoic as before. Celestia felt a pit forming in her stomach, nothing good had ever come out of the Farlands, many a villain had called it home in a time long ago.

“What do you know about a glowing orb.” Adams asked flatly, Celestia felt the pit growing even more than it was before. “Our scientists have been examining it and the area where it was found, we’ve found remains… Alicorn remains, as well as the remains of two sets of bones from a species that we haven’t seen before.” Celestia swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, Adams could see she appeared to be uncomfortable. “What do you know?”

“All I can tell you is what I remember from when I was very young…” Celestia admitted quietly, she looked towards the sand and sighed. “Luna was too young to remember any of this, but I can still see bits and pieces.” Adams stood their patiently as Celestia gathered her thoughts, images of what had happened flashed through her mind. “Our parents were scientists, they were part of a project to ‘build a bridge’ between worlds… I had no idea what they meant at the time, only that they were very excited.”

“What does this have to do with the orb and the remains?” Adams asked in his usual stoic raspy voice, Celestia closed her eyes tightly to think.

“I believe the Orb you discovered is their life’s work, or part of it at least… An artificial trans-dimensional portal, one created through more science than magic…” Celestia explained quietly, the pit in her stomach had yet to go away. “The portals you use to go between Terra and Equis are mere toys compared to that orb…” Adams continued to look at her quietly, the only sound between them was the lapping of the waves against the shore. “All the evidence that was destroyed during our retreat, every scrap of paper, every artifact, every single log entry… I had been searching for that orb, but not to use it. The Farlands were created because of that orb, an entire continent turned to ruin, my entire species reduced to my sister and I.”

“So you’re telling me that we should destroy it?” Adams asked, Celestia shook her head.

“Destroying it would do even more damage… No, you must contain it, build an entire fortress devoted to never letting it see the light of day.” The Alicorn replied firmly. “You found remains that you can’t identify next to a doorway between worlds, a doorway to a world you don’t know anything about…” Celestia was sitting fully upright at this point, looking directly at Adam’s eyes, even with his sunglasses on. “Some doors… Are never meant to be opened.”

“I’m sure my superiors will take your suggestion under advisement. We’ve scheduled an expedition deeper into the Farlands in a couple years, who knows, maybe you’ll be out of exile by then… If not, don’t worry, I’ll bring you a souvenir” Agent Adams said in his usual raspy voice, Celestia sighed as she could tell that he likely wasn’t taking her seriously. “Go ahead and enjoy your book, Dawnguard. I’ll be seeing you.” With that Adams turned and began walking along the beach, Celestia looked towards her book for a couple moments. When she looked back in the direction of Adams she had found the large young man had seemingly vanished, as usual. The former princess sighed and leaned back in her seat, trying to think of a way to get her point across. If only she had more time…

[♠]

Blueblood smirked to himself as he sat in his study, a fire blazing in the fireplace while the stallion looked over the latest blueprints for his newest bomb. The room was adorned with trinkets and other trophies, parts of exploded prototypes, scale models of bombers and fighters, and even a bear skin rug. The walls were covered mostly with book cases, though there were also classical paintings from the glory days of the Crystal Empire. Blueblood had worked hard to get where he was, designing weapons for both the Crystal Empire and the other nations of the world that feared the Onorussians. This had earned him a spot at the top of the Onorussian’s Most Wanted List, but Blueblood wasn’t concerned.

At the moment he was at his vacation home on a small island off the coast of the Minotaur Republic, the Minotaurs were one of his best customers, almost as good as the Crystal Empire. Tensions between the Minotaurs and Onorus were at an all time high after evidence of Onorussian involvement in espionage was revealed to the public, that meant that the Onorussians wouldn’t dare send someone after Blueblood for fear of starting another international incident. The stallion reached a hoof up to where his horn had been broken off all those years ago, he would’ve loved to see more harm come to the apes that had taken over Equestria, but at the moment he had to think of a much larger picture.

The blueprints that he had in his possession were part of a new bomb that would’ve been effective against Onorussian tanks and other armored targets. To Blueblood, the destruction of that super power had become his life’s work, his constant struggle for vengeance against the one that had left him hornless and homeless in a desert. He wanted to take every chance he could to ensure the maximum amount of pain was inflicted on the enemy, even at the cost of lethality. The stallion felt untouchable, like a god of death preparing himself to reap the souls of the guilty. With all the money he had made, he could begin putting his plan for revenge into motion.

Blueblood stopped mid thought as he heard the door to his study swing open with a slight creak, the stallion slowly turned towards the door to see if who it was. He assumed it was one of his staff, but that thought was quickly dashed as he found himself staring at a squad of tall bipedal figures in black fatigues and ski-masks. Each of them was holding an assault rifle, and each was pointed directly at Blueblood. The stallion grinned to himself, these apes would capture him and take him to their country, thus creating an international incident… There could even been a war. That was the last thought to run through the stallion’s head as the Onorussian hit squad pulled the triggers on their weapons, bullets tore through the office and books, as well as Blueblood.

The stallion gasped loudly for breath as he looked down at himself, bullet holes were scattered all over his body and blood was seeping out of each one. Blueblood collapsed to the floor as the hit squad began scouring the room for documents and information. While the stallion lay on the floor, he saw one of the assailants walk up to him, standing over him with his rifle pointed at Blueblood’s head.

“The Imperator warned you, all those years ago…” The masked figure said, Blueblood’s eyes went wide. He knew that voice, the voice of the man that had taken his horn and his dignity. “He told you that if you went against us he would end you.” The stallion could see the hate in those intense blue eyes that stared down at him, Blueblood hadn’t seen that much hate since he had had his horn snapped off.

“Sir, we’ve gathered the intel.” One of the other figures announced, the man standing over Blueblood looked at them and nodded.

“Rig the charges.” The man ordered, the other figures began going about different tasks, leaving Blueblood with the leader of the group. The man placed a large boot on the stallion’s throat, then kicked downwards, crushing Blueblood’s windpipe. The stallion writhed around for a couple moments before he went still, the blood stopped oozing from his wounds. The man removed his boot from the throat of Blueblood and walked over to one of the tables, resting on it was a humidor filled with numerous cigars. “It’d be a sin to leave these behind.” The man said as he picked up the humidor and tucked it under his arm. “Let’s wrap it up here, boys.” The others nodded, they had been planting explosives around numerous points in the house, especially in the study. After a couple minutes the charges were set and the Onorussian hit squad had slipped out the back door, making their way towards a group of Zodiac boats on the beach.

The sound of explosions ripped through the quiet night air, massive plumes of fire and smoke arose in the sky as Blueblood’s vacation home became splinters and rubble. Burning papers and books landed on the ground around the destroyed structure, illuminating the area while the booming blasts covered the sound of the zodiacs as they made their way out to see. Faintly visible from the coast was the outline of an Onorussian submarine, but the minotaurs that lived there were too focused on the exploding house to notice the Sub as it slipped beneath the waves.

[♠]

The sound of air raid sirens running their usual test pattern was something Altair had gotten used to over the years, it happened with such efficiency that he could set his watch by it if he wanted to. The Twelve year old sat at his new desk, it was very big, but his dad had said he’d ‘Grow into it’ eventually. It was made of sturdy cherry wood, and Altair liked that it had so many drawers for him to hide things in. Normally he would’ve slid away from his desk to go and get some dinner, but it was one of those nights where all the members of his family had been called away on business of varying types. Altair didn’t feel like going to eat yet, especially since he didn’t want to talk with the castle staff.

The boy instead picked up his ball point pen and looked at one of the things that had come with his desk, a very large leather bound book with hundreds of blank pages. He had already written on the first page ‘This Journal is Altair Occisor’s’, though his handwriting was atrocious. It felt nice to have a place to jot down his thoughts and to occasionally doodle in, his very own fortress of solitude, condensed down into the pages of a book. With his pen in hand, Altair flipped to one of the blank pages and began to write, it wasn’t much of anything, just what had happened to him that day. How he had spent time in the garden with his Mother, how he’d watched TV with his Mom, and how his dad had introduced him to some sort of music called ‘Blues’, something that Altair liked a lot more than he thought he would.

Of course, every word he wrote was illegible to anyone but him, but no one else would be reading the journal but him. The sirens outside died down while his pen scratched against the paper, it became the only noise that seemed to fill the room, which helped to sooth Altair’s mood. He would’ve felt better if he could listen to more of ‘The Blues’, but for the moment he didn’t have access to his father’s Blues albums. That annoyance was jotted down on the paper, and that seemed to make him feel better, letting his thoughts out into his journal seemed to be relaxing. The boy paused his writing and put a hand to his cheek, sighing as he felt the scar that had resulted from a disease he had had when he was younger… People always seemed to stare. These thoughts too were added to the journal. All in all, Altair figured he’d be jotting down his thoughts about the days gone by for the rest of his life, there certainly seemed to be enough pages... 
> Primum Laterem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spring in Canterlot was something Altair had always loved, growing up in the castle had given him an appreciation for nature in all its forms. The birds chirped loudly in the distance, overhead the sky was a crisp blue and almost devoid of clouds. The thirteen year old stood in the gardens, dressed in a tunic that he had grown used to over the past six months of training. His thick black hair was combed back, his piercing brown eyes glancing all around him at the trees and bushes that blew in the soft Spring wind. Grasped in his hand was a wooden training sword, an item that he had become very familiar with since he had come of age. The boy paused as he heard a soft rustle from his right, on instinct he jumped back. A wooden training sword swung past his head at considerable speed, levitated by an indigo glow.

Altair felt his heart pounding as the sword floated in front of him, swaying from side to side, as if testing his reactions. The boy readied his grip on his own training sword, gritting his teeth as he noted a soft increase in the glow around the grip of the other sword. He swung his sword outward, the wood clacking as the two weapons collided. He grunted and growled as he parried blow after blow, all without any visual cues but the glow of the handle. He felt himself being pushed backwards, the boy didn’t like being on the defensive. With renewed enthusiasm, Altair began pushing back, slowly the levitating sword was pushed back through the gardens. With a particularly strong blow, the levitating sword broke in half and clattered to the ground.

Altair panted for a couple moments as he looked at the destroyed weapon, he heard the rustle of branches again and whirled around, raising the training sword to strike. An indigo glow surrounded it just as he was slashing downwards, his Mother was smiling at him as her horn glowed. The boy loosened his grip on the training sword, letting Luna take it and set it aside. The alicorn’s astral mane was tied back neatly, and she had sweat on her brow from concentration.

“Well done, Altair.” The mare said as she came up to Altair and wrapped her wings around him, the boy hugged her back. When they let go the mare was continuing to beam, something that filled her son with pride. “You’re improving with each training session, but you could still use a bit of practice with your parries.”

“You think? I thought they were okay.” Altair replied, Luna nodded gestured to a nearby bench. The two of them moved to the bench and sat down, Altair pausing to look up at the sky as the wind blew his hair to the side. He had let his hair grow long, much to his father’s annoyance, but Luna supposed that was just Altair starting to rebel as a teenager.

“You asked me to train you, and when I train someone, I train them to be the best.” Luna said in a firm but caring tone, Altair looked over at her quietly. “You’re right, your parries were okay, but in combat ‘Okay’ isn’t good enough… Especially since you’re my son, and I want you to be able to protect yourself.” Altair paused and looked at the ground, Luna watched as he quietly brought a hand to his cheek. The scar that had been left by his childhood illness was still very much there, she knew that it bothered him that it was still there. “The more you train, the more you practice, the more you throw yourself into every lesson… The better and stronger you will become.”

“I know…” Altair replied, still rubbing his cheek and leaning against Luna’s side. The mare extended a wing and draped it over the boy’s shoulder. “Mother, do you think I’m ugly?” Luna froze and quickly tightened her wing around him.

“Of course not, who said that?” Luna asked firmly, appearing quite concerned at the suddenness of the question. Altair looked up at her and rested his hand on his knee, the scar was certainly apparent, a jagged looking thing that ran from the base of his chin to the bottom of his eye. Despite all that, Luna still saw him as the sweet, charming, handsome boy that she and her herd had raised since he was a child.

“No one… But…” Altair trailed off and looked at the training sword in Luna’s grasp. “I just feel… Different. None of the other kids have a face like this, not even the griffons.” Luna loosened her grip on him, her feathers ruffled slightly as she thought about how much it really had to be bothering her poor boy.

“You are different, Altair. You’re my son, and your mother’s son, and your father’s son.” Luna said as she leaned down and kissed his forehead, she then pointed a hoof towards the sky. “You cannot see it now, but there… Right there… That is the constellation Aquila.” Altair followed her hoof towards the sky. “The brightest star in it, known as the Alpha, is named Altair.” Luna turned her attention back to her son, lowering her hoof to her side. “I gave you that name, because I knew that you were strong, from the first time I saw you, even with a scar.” Luna stood up quietly and looked Altair in the eyes. “Your scar tells others that you have endured something they haven’t, bear it with distinction…”

“I… I will, Mother.” Altair said as he too stood up, Luna could see the look of determination in his eyes. “I promise… I will do my best not to be ashamed of my appearance.” Luna smiled widely and proudly, she turned towards the castle.

“Come along then, I don’t want to spend all morning out here training. It’s Spring Break, after all, I don’t want take up one of your days off with nothing but drills.” Luna said with a slight chuckle, the two of them began walking towards Canterlot Castle. Altair walked right beside Luna, holding his head high. Luna could see that her words had reached him on some level, as when they passed one of the gardeners he made no attempt to shield his face.

“Want to go to the Rockport? I wouldn’t mind a milkshake.” Altair asked, Luna hummed for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay, but only after we walk Wolfy and Mars.” Luna said, Altair smiled and leaned against his Mother. Luna knew to enjoy moments like these, as Altair was growing up. She hated to admit it, but soon he would be going off to high school, and her little baby wouldn’t be a baby anymore. “Hop on my back, we can get their faster and get to those milkshakes all the sooner.” Altair smirked and climbed up onto his mother’s back, wrapping his arms around her neck loosely to hold on. “And after that, I want a rematch on ‘Combat Zone! My controller was all sticky last night!”

“Fine.” Altair said with a smirk. “It’ll give me another chance to beat you again, old mare.” Luna turned her head to look at him with a flat expression.

“Well, maybe you can just buy the milkshakes this time, if you’re gonna be like that.” She said with a fake huff, Altair blanched and quickly began to apologize, prompting Luna to laugh even more while she trotted towards the castle. It was a perfect day so far, part of a year that had also seemed to be going well… She only hoped it would stay that way.

[♠]

The heat of the Summer sun was intense, even with the high grade air conditioners mounted on the roof of North Canterlot Junior High. The windows were opened and teachers had placed box fans in them to try and get even better circulation. Thankfully, the Air Conditioning in the gymnasium was very much effective. The bleachers were packed with parents while a sea of folding chairs at the center of the gym was occupied by the Eighth Grade Class. The teachers had set up a small stage in front of everyone, lined with the school flag and the Onorussian flag along the back. A podium was set up at the front center of the stage, and the Principal stood there adjusting the pages of her speech.

Altair sighed quietly as he adjusted his shirt, he, like many of his classmates, had opted to simply wear dress shirts and black slacks as opposed to suits like some of the more eccentric ones. The girls wore various dresses, but Altair was really only interested in his friend Sofia, who was sitting a couple rows ahead of him. The diplomas were being issued by order of last name, and since ‘G’ came before ‘O’ she had been seated ahead of him… Something that he thought was stupid, but it wasn’t like he could change it. The boy quietly looked around, noting that he was mainly seeing the heads of his fellow classmates. He was one of the tallest kids of his class, well, the tallest when he didn’t slouch. The upside was that he could see his parents sitting in the bleachers, flanked on either side by two men in black suits, their security detail.

“Welcome, parents and students of North Canterlot Junior High, to our annual Eighth Grade continuation ceremony.” The Principal said with a smile, the crowd applauded happily at the announcement, except for Altair. He wasn’t in a clapping sort of mood, what he wanted more than anything was for the ceremony to be over so that he could get out of that blasted school before he died of boredom. He had developed a bit of an authority complex, at least when it came to most of his teachers. This wasn’t because he had a problem with what they were teaching, but in the way that they taught it. He felt like he was being pandered to, talked down to, and he couldn’t wait to get to highschool where maybe he would feel a bit better…

Altair ignored the principal’s blathering boring speech as best he could, focussing instead on his own internal thoughts. Truth be told, ever since he had been moved out of Miss Ramsey’s class in sixth grade things had become progressively more difficult for Altair, both academically and socially. Teachers that learned his identity were generally hard on him, thinking that he would be some sort of problem child because of where he came from, leading to the boy defying authority figures like teachers more often. The few friends he had made during elementary school were all but gone, save for Sofia, but Altair could feel their friendship drifting apart…

The boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked around as the teachers began to give out awards to all the kids that had kissed up enough, Altair rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the short hairs against his neck. He had decided to get a haircut for the ceremony, and had gotten a military style flattop.

“For exceptional progress in Physical Education, we would like to award Altair Occisor with this plaque.” The Principal’s voice caught Altair’s attention instantly, the boy looked around and tried to slouch down, but the Principal could still see the tall boy easily. “Come on up! Don’t be shy.” Reluctantly Altair stood up, slouching his shoulders and sighing while he listened to the crowd applauding. He looked over to his parents and was surprised to see his father standing up and actually cheering, the look of pride in his eyes made Altair smile… He could grin and bear it for his family, especially his Dad.

Altair walked towards the stage, standing as tall as he could and puffing out his chest. There were surprised faces in the crowd, no one had ever guessed that his last name was Occisor, as Altair had become a rather common name in Onorus. The boy ascended the steps of the stage as photographers and parents snapped photos, Altair hated that more than anything, he just wanted to be left alone. The boy stopped in front of his Principal, he had sat in her office more than once for the occasional verbal barb towards one of his teachers or for the time he had punched a boy nearly unconscious for slapping Sofia’s behind. This was the first time Altair had ever seen the Principal smile up close, it was almost like she was capable of emotion… He had had her pegged as some sort of secret government robot.

“Here, Altair. You’ve earned this.” The woman said as she handed him the plaque, Altair looked it over for a couple seconds and shrugged.

“So… Is that it? Do I just go back to my seat now?” Altair asked, he had never been one for awards. The Principal shook her head and gestured to all the recipients that were standing on the stage. “Great…” The Principal looked a little disappointed in his response as he made his way over to the other group. Altair scowled for a couple seconds as he stood next to one of the more academic students, towering over the others in both height and muscle mass… Even at nearly fourteen he looked like a sophomore high schooler. The Principal announced a couple more awards before finally shutting up and moving the ceremony along. Altair made no effort to hide the fact that he was checking his watch.

He retreated back into his internal thoughts, resenting the fact that he had to continue standing there just because some old bag had said so. The school system had always seemed to fail him when he needed it, and punished him when he was understandably peeved. When kids teased him about his looks he tried to go to the school, and what did they do? Nothing, nothing but tell him and the others to talk it out? But did that happen? Ha, of course not. It wasn’t until the kids teasing him had the wind knocked out of them that anything changed.

He knew that he should’ve felt wrong about using force, after all, the schools constantly preached peace and friendship, but Altair had his theories about that. He believed it was left over by the defunct Equestrian system, considering how much time he spent around military personnel and equipment seemed to prove contrary. Force was a much louder, much more easy to understand language. Might made right. As the ceremony continued along, Altair found himself looking towards his family. He could see his mom smiling at him and gesturing for him to smile as well, but that only made him want to scowl more.

Altair quickly shook his head and looked at the floor, rubbing his neck once again. He didn’t understand why he was so angry inside, or why he just… hated everything. This was Continuation, it was supposed to be a celebration, and everyone else was smiling wide and laughing and clapping like they were having a good time. Then again, it was a mandatory event that he had to come to… Were the others just faking it? Thinking that he was the only one that felt so enraged wasn’t doing anything to make him feel better either… The boy paused as he spotted a face in the crowd, his father’s face.

The two made eye contact and it was like a lightbulb clicked on in his Dad’s head, the man leaned over to Altair’s mothers and said a couple words. They nodded, and Altair was surprised to see his father stand up. He watched as his Dad started walking through the crowd, then down the bleachers and towards the stage, one of the security officers walking along behind him. The Principal seemed a bit surprised, but didn’t say anything to stop him as she continued her speech. Altair watched his Dad walk up the steps to the stage with his head held high, a confident look on his face. Altair smiled slightly, glad to see his Dad was just as defiant of the Principal’s rules as he was.

Altair straightened up a bit as his Dad stopped behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder, the boy looked up at the tall man’s face and saw that his eyes were filled with an understanding glint. He was wearing his military uniform, decorated with the numerous medals that he had won in his campaigns, something that Altair hoped to emulate when he was older.

“Hey, kid.” The man said in a hushed voice as he gave his son a squeeze on the shoulder. “Once they finish up here, what’s say you and I take a walk?” Altair nodded silently, looking back out to the crowd. There were humans, ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, and all manner of other races among them, all of them seemed to be happy in their own way. He let out a slow sigh, his father’s hand moving from his shoulder. The rest of the ceremony went on without a hitch, with the added bonus that the people who had been given plaques got their diplomas early. With the pointless piece of parchment in his hand, Altair walked of the stage with his Dad. The two walked to the exit that took them outside behind the building, his Dad gesturing for the security officer to hold his position.

The air felt a lot warmer outside, but Altair didn’t mind as he began unbuttoning his shirt to take the stuffy garment off. He began walking alongside his Dad, the two of them strolling towards a couple trees planted on the edge of campus.

“So, you looked like you were upset on stage.” His Dad said simply, Altair looked over at him and nodded as he rolled his shirt up into a ball, along with his diploma. He wore a t-shirt beneath it, which was a lot more comfortable than the dress shirt. “What’s on your mind? I’ve never seen that look before.”

“I’m just… Annoyed.” Altair said in a huffed tone. “This whole thing is stupid, this ceremony, this school, this everything…” The two stopped at the trees, and Altair was surprised to see his Dad lean against one of the trunks with a very relaxed posture. “I don’t want to go to Canterlot Prep like mom says I have too… Especially with those stupid uniforms they have to wear.”

“I thought you liked uniforms.” His Dad said simply, Altair crossed his arms and sat on the grass in front of his Dad.

“Yeah, cool uniforms, like yours! The ones that are badass, the ones that you have to earn… I don’t just want to HAVE to wear a uniform, I want to WANT to wear a uniform… If that makes any sense…” Altair said with another huff, once again he was surprised to see his Dad change posture. He slid down the tree and sat on the ground across from his boy, oddly enough his hand began to mess with the grass as he sat there. “Plus, there’s all those snotty rich kids there, you know, the kind that made fun of my scar…”

“Yeah… Believe me, kid. I know.” His Dad said with a bit of a sigh. “I was a teenager once too, you know. Hell, I had a lot of the same feelings you have.” Altair raised an eyebrow at his father, who was looking at him with a mix of pride and understanding. “You wanna say ‘Fuck the system’, right?” Altair rarely heard his Dad swear, but nonetheless, his Dad had a point. Altair nodded, earning a chuckle from his old man. “Yeah, I had a bit of an anti-authority streak myself, still do, but I guess I’ve mellowed with age.” Altair sighed as his Dad scooched over to him and put an arm around his shoulder. “You wanna say ‘Fuck the system’, go ahead and say it. I’ve been trying to fix the damn thing for over a decade, but believe me, it’s always going to be fucked to people like you and me.”

“Why?” Altair asked, his Dad sighed and looked up at the sky, watching a couple birds fly overhead.

“Because, we’re too smart for our own good.” His Dad said simply. “We’re smart most of the time, so we end up thinking we know everything, so everything else appears fucked to us. I’m not saying that we’re smarter than everyone, but we feel like we are, and that’s the annoying thing.” His Dad leaned back in the grass, actually laying down and putting his hands behind his head, another thing Altair had never seen his Dad do. “Altair, I spent a long time getting pissed at shit I couldn’t control, it was exhausting… As your Dad, I’m trying to save you from about ten years of feeling like shit, so pay attention.” Altair leaned back in the grass as well, watching the clouds. “Some things we can control, some things we can’t… But in the end, none of it really matters…” Altair raised an eyebrow. “Our species lives a long time, you know? We have centuries and centuries ahead of us. In the end, all that time being angry at stuff you can’t control is meaningless. So… I know it sounds kinda ‘Hippy’ to say this, but, go with the flow. Don’t let people push you around, obviously, but aside from that… Just let things be, knowing that in a decade or so, all this shit about school will be a distant memory.”

Altair looked over at his Dad as the man sighed, then looked back to the sky. He hummed for a couple moments, closing his eyes as he tried to think of something to say.

“Why can’t I get a GED like you?” Altair finally asked, his Dad looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“No one said you can’t, but you’re a bit young to make a decision like that…” The man said with a shrug, Altair sighed and crossed his arms. “Tell you what, when you’re seventeen, if you still wanna get a GED instead, I’ll sign the papers myself.” Altair looked at his Dad with a raised eyebrow. “You’re my son, I want you to be happy, but I also want what’s best for you… Sometimes one has to come before the other.”

“Can I at least go to a different school?” Altair asked, his Dad paused again.

“Let me talk to your Moms about it, okay kiddo? I can’t make any promises, but I’ll go to bat for you, alright?” The man said with an honest tone, Altair nodded as the two continued looking up at the sky. “Where do you wanna go, so I have a bit more to work with.”

“I want to go to Don Bosco Tech, I liked the look of their mechanics course… And they have a boxing club.” Altair said with a shrug. “I just thought that maybe it would make me feel better…”

“I get it, kid.” His dad said in an understanding voice. “You know, when you’re a little older, if you ever feel like you need to blow off some steam, you and me can lace up the gloves, go a few rounds.” Altair smiled a bit and sat up, his t-shirt had a couple grass stains on it. His Dad followed suit.

“Sure, old man.” Altair said as he stood up and brushed himself off, his dad stood up as well and straightened out his uniform. The boy felt a little better, but his emotions still felt conflicted… The fact that he was hitting puberty probably wasn’t helping.

“Come on, your Moms are probably worrying about us, we’ve got that reservation to get to…” His Dad said as he patted him on the back, Altair sighed and picked up his shirt before walking along with his Dad. “Don’t worry, if the food sucks at this fancy place we’ll stop at Rockports for some burgers on the way home. Sound good?” Altair nodded, but remained quiet. “Come on, just give a little smile, otherwise your Mother’s gonna bring out Taffington.”

“I don’t know… I miss Taffington, might put on an extra frown…” Altair said jokingly as the two of them walked along, his dad chuckled rhythmically as the Summer heat persisted in the air. For Dominic, it was one of the most surreal things that had ever happened to him. Here he was, walking with his son, giving fatherly advice… Advice that he had never gotten from his own father. He could only hope he wasn’t fucking up his son’s life, he’d never forgive himself if that was the case. The two stepped back into the school, by now the ceremony was ending and the crowd was milling about the room… It looked like getting out would be a hassle. Oh well, Altair thought. More time to spend with his old man.

[♠]

The smell of rotting leaves and soil flooded Altair’s nose with every breath he took, the trees of the Everfree Forest were nearly barren of their brown and gold leaves and the underbrush was in the process of dying as well. The boy wore a pair of jeans and a heavy brown jacket to shield himself from the cold, his boots crunching the fallen leaves of Autumn that lined the floor. He gripped his rifle tightly in his gloved hands, watching his breath turn to fog as he exhaled. The boy adjusted the black wool cap atop his head as he walked silently. Ahead of him he could see his Mom wearing similar clothing and carrying her Mosin Nagant.

The two of them were enjoying one last day of hunting before the season ended, a sort of celebration. Altair had just turned fourteen and had recently started going to Don Bosco Technical High School, and spending a day in the woods with his Mom was always a nice way to unwind on the weekends. He didn’t expect to find any prey, but just getting some time outside the castle was worth the hike. Altair stopped when he saw his Mom raise her hand and signal him to drop. The boy complied and dropped to a crouch, he scooted over beside his Mom before fully going prone.

“Look over there… Twenty yards to our front.” His Mom whispered as she pointed forward, Altair looked ahead and raised an eyebrow. There wasn’t anything there, at least, not at first… That was until he spotted what looked like the trunk of a tree. He soon realized that it was in fact a large rusted piece of metal, what looked like a fuselage. In fact, now that Altair knew what to look for, he could see four engines scattered about, pieces of airplane wings, even a wheel from the landing gear. “Looks like an old B-17…”

“Why’d we stop? It’s been here for over ten years…” Altair asked, Maria gestured around them to a couple game trails that seemed to intersect with the wreckage. Altair caught her meaning rather quickly, but in all honesty, he didn’t want to do any actual hunting now that they had happened upon the wrecked plane. He wanted to go and explore, to see what secrets it held. The boy watched as his mother stood up and started slowly walking towards the wreck, gesturing for him to wait behind. The woman held her Mosin at the ready the entire time, each step careful and methodical.

The woman stopped after examining the wreck for any possible predators, then gestured that it was safe for Altair to move on over. The boy pushed himself up and walked towards the destroyed plane, slinging his rifle up and over his shoulder. The Aircraft bore the faded markings of the old New American Air Force, as well as numerous burned patches that had been melted by spells. Altair had never seen the effects of war up close, it was something that struck home with him.

“I don’t see any skeletons… The crew likely survived.” His Mom said as she examined the fuselage more closely. “I’m surprised no one’s ever happened on this before, shows just how much we come out here, huh?”

“Yeah…” Altair said as he ran his fingers across the rusted metal, he walked towards a large hole in the fuselage and poked his head in. Rusted machine guns were visible in one of the intact waist gunner positions and the rear gunner seat. Dry rotted rubber hoses connected to oxygen masks dangled along with wires and cables from the roof of the aircraft. Altair stepped through the hole before his Mom could stop him.

“Honey! Don’t go in there! It’s dangerous.” She said nervously as she tried to go through the hole to get him, but it was too small for an adult.

“Just give me a second, mom. I promise I won’t touch anything.” Altair replied as he walked along through the fuselage, his boots echoing against the rusted floor. The boy stopped at the end of the aircraft, sunlight shining through the shattered glass of the rear gunner’s window, some vines had started growing up through the holes as well. The boy paused as he spotted something hanging from a bit of broken metal, a pair of mirrored sunglasses with hooked tips on the arms to hold them on the back of the wearers ears… To his surprise, they looked almost pristine, as if by some miracle they had survived the crash. The boy took them and looked them over, then put them in his jacket pocket quickly.

“Get out of there right now!” His mom shouted, Altair sighed and walked to the hole. He stepped out and saw that his Mom looked very annoyed. “You could’ve gotten a cut, then you’d need a tetanus shot.” Altair rolled his eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, young man.”

“Alright… I’m sorry, Mom.” Altair said with a slight huff as he looked back at the wrecked plane. “Hey, let’s not tell anyone about this place… We can just come here on our own.” His Mom looked like she was about to say no, but something about having a secret meeting place seemed to appeal to her. It reminded her of the days that she and her husband had spent as children.

“Fine…” The woman said with a sigh, she looked towards the sky and saw that the sun was starting to go down beyond the overcast clouds. “Now let’s start heading back, it’s gonna be dark soon.” Altair nodded and the two of them began walking away from the fuselage, the boy occasionally looked over his shoulder at the destroyed plane. The realization that it had been shot down was something that stuck with him, reminding him that there were people in the world that still would try to do something like that again, if given the chance. When they were far enough away, Altair reached into his jacket and felt the glasses. He wouldn’t put them on yet, he had to get home first, in case his Mom wanted to put them back. He felt like it was a badge of honor, his dad has a leather jacket with patches from both his wives, and now Altair would have his own ‘signature’ attire.

[♠]

The sound of crowds cheering echoed through the halls of Don Bosco Tech, outside it was snowing like mad with a heavy winter storm, but inside it was warm, hot even. Altair stood in the locker room, clad in only boxing shorts and standing in front of a mirror. He was moving around, adjusting his stances, practicing his dodges, all while biting down on his mouth guard. His hair was short as possible, he could see his scalp easily but didn’t much care. It was the day of the regional championship between Don Bosco Tech and North Canterlot Prep, whoever won this set of matches would be crowned regional champions of the year.

As it stood, North Canterlot Prep had edged out a lead of one match over Don Bosco, but from the sound of the crowd, Altair guessed that the scores would once again be tied by the end of the current fight. He had been practicing and training for the past couple weeks for his opponent, the heavyweight fighter of North Canterlot Prep. As Altair was the Heavyweight for Don Bosco, he knew that their victory rested squarely on his shoulders. His opponent was an old classmate of his, a minotaur by the name of Lars. His former bully. In Elementary school it had come to blows but once, Lars had one the fight because he had numbers on his side… But this time. This time, it would be a one on one fight… A bout to determine who the victor of the final battle of a long held grudge would finally be.

The boy rolled his neck as one of his teammates walked up with a pair of red boxing gloves in hand, Altair knew that it was just about time. He sat down on the bench and took the gloves.

“So, we got a look at their heavy. He’s huge, at least as tall as you are.” His Classmate, a boy by the name of Rogers said. “He’s slow though, so I got no doubt you can lay his ass out.”

“Lars was always a little slow.” Altair said with a slight grin, Rogers picked up on the bitterness in his tone. It was no secret that Lars and Altair had a grudge, in fact, it had been a major selling point for most of the students that had bought tickets to the event. ‘Come see the Nova-Imperator face off in the ultimate Grudge Match with North Canterlot Prep!’. The posters were all over the halls, from the electronics lab to the woodshop, the Monks that ran the school seemed just as interested as the students.

“You’re really going to lay into him out there, huh?” Rogers asked, Altair nodded as he laced up his glove. “The others and I know you’ve been holding back, we’ve seen what you can do against the bag. I feel bad for that guy…”

“I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies.” Altair said quietly as he finished lacing his gloves, moving his wrists a couple times to test how well they fit.

“Charles the Twelfth… Someone's been paying attention in Brother Isaac's class.” Rogers said with an impressed grin, Altair shrugged and stood up, rolling his shoulders and his neck once more.

“Not just Brother Isaac, my Dad’s a big history buff too. He could probably teach a class here if he wanted too…” Altair said with a slight shrug, his voice slightly muffled by his mouth guard. “Lars and I have had an uneasy ceasefire since the day we had it out, but I don’t think either of us can let this slide any longer.”

“Occisor!” The coach shouted from the hallway, interrupting their conversation. “You’re up!” Altair pulled on his robe and began walking out, giving a nod to Rogers as thanks for helping him with the gloves. The cheering of the crowd got louder as Altair walked along the hallway, passing by numerous posters for school events.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Introducing, a fighter we all know and love, Don Bosco’s very own Heavyweight champion! Altair ‘Scarface’ Occisor!” Announced one of the students from the AV club that was filming and hosting the event. He stepped out into the school’s gymnasium, hearing uproarious applause from the bleachers. Normally he wasn’t one for showboating, but this felt like an appropriate time. He raised his hands in the air as the applause continued, after a couple seconds he walked to the ring that had been set up on the basketball court and climbed up into his corner. Lars was already in his own corner, strutting back and forth like a caged bull. Altair removed his robe and set it aside, his Coach taking it and waiting as the announcer entered the ring.

“Before we begin, a few notes!” The announcer, who also happened to be the student body president, said into the microphone. He was a scrawny kid, a bit of a nerd, but Altair liked him well enough. “We’ll be having complimentary drinks in the lobby after the event, for anyone who’s thirst.” He had a bit of a nasally voice, not nearly as interesting as the other announcer had been. However, on a turn of a dime, he straightened up and took a deep breath. “And now! This is the moment boxing fans around the campus have been waiting for!” He sounded like Bruce Buffer all of a sudden. “Live! From the sold out Gymnasium in Don Bosco!” The crowd was really getting pumped up, Altair narrowed his eyes as they met Lars’. “Iiiiiiit’s time! Five rounds for the undisputed regional heavyweight championship of the world!”

“Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner! The challenger! Standing at six feet, three inches tall! Weighing in at a whopping one hundred and eighty pounds! Fighting out of North Canterlot Preparatory School! Lars ‘The Matador’ Strongplow!” A chorus of boos erupted from the cloud, mixed with cheering from the students of the other school that had made the journey to see the event.

“And now! Fighting out of the red corner! Weighing in at a whopping one hundred and ninety pounds, all of it muscle! Fighting out of our very own Don Bosco Technical High School! He is the reigning! The pending! The ultimate Don Bosco Heavyweight Champion of the World!” The announcer pointed to Altair’s corner, prompting him to raise a gloved hand into the air. “Altair ‘Scarface’ Occisooooor!” The crowd began to cheer, chanting his nickname loudly, but Altair was more focused on the faces in the crowd. His Mom and Mother didn’t like watching his fights, but his Father… He was in the front row, though his identity was hidden by a clever handkerchief.

“Fighters, center ring.” The Referee said as he walked to the center, Altair and Lars walked towards one another, stopping with the referee keeping them separate. “I want a nice clean fight, no dirty stuff, no below the belt.” Both fighters nodded silently as they sized one another up. “Touch gloves.” Altair and Lars both extended their fists roughly, their gloves thudding together, as if two caged bulls were prepared to fight each other. “Back to your corners.” The two of them walked to the corners and stood there, Altair bit his mouth guard a bit tighter and rolled his shoulders. “Ready?” Both fighters nodded, their eyes locked on to the other. “Fight!”

Altair and Lars rushed each other like dogs let off their leashes, Altair could see that Lars was indeed slower on the draw, but what he lacked in speed he would certainly make up for in endurance. Altair caught sight of Lars muscles twitching on his left arm, a skill he had learned by training for the use of a sword with nothing but a floating sabre as his opponent. The body language was all there, and judging by the look of determination in Lars’ eyes, the blow would be directed at Altair’s face. All of this, of course, happened within fractions of seconds within the confines of Altair’s brain.

All the crowd saw was Altair leaning back to dodge a sweeping strike that would’ve connected right with the boy’s head. He followed up his dodge with a haymaker to Lar’s gut, the Minotaur grunted but didn’t grip his gut in pain. This was only the beginning of what would be a brutal war of attrition in the ring, blow after blow landed on both fighters. Minutes ticked by, the two behemoths going at one another like the ancient warriors of Terra. Bullets of sweat formed on Altair’s body as he controlled his breathing, his mind blotting out the pain of each strike that landed while Lars did the same. The bell rang, but the Ref was forced to break the two of them up as they had been so focussed on their opponent.

Round after brutal round passed, each one leaving both contenders bloodied and sore, and the crowd chanting and screaming for more. Just before the start of the fourth round Altair was swaying on his feet, his body aching from the numerous strikes he had absorbed. Some small part of his mind felt like bowing out, like the pain couldn’t be tolerated, but as he looked to the crowd he could see his Dad watching with rapt attention. Altair knew that his father wouldn’t think less of him… He had to know his limits… The boy then spotted a face in the crowd, and for some reason he felt differently. It was the face of a girl, one of the Freshman Class like him. She had blonde hair, bright grey eyes, and she wore a Don Bosco sweatshirt. She was watching nervously, biting her lower lip. She was… Beautiful.

“Altair!” His coach shouted, snapping his mind back to the fight. “Get your head in there, son! He’s almost done, look at him?” Altair looked at Lars, the minotaur was panting and wiping his brow while talking to his own Coach. “I know you’ve got it in you, kid. Reach deep, it’s all down to you!” His Coach pointed to the school’s flag, a red banner with the helmet of a knight at the center. “See that? That’s what you’re fighting for. What are you?”

“A Paladin.” Altair said plainly, the name of the sports teams from Don Bosco.

“What are you!?” His Coach asked louder.

“A Paladin!” Altair shouted above the noise.

“And what do Paladin’s do?!”

“Kill!” Altair shouted again, his coach patted him on the shoulder. Altair could see his Father was sitting up straight, his handkerchief lowered ever so slightly to reveal that he looked surprised, impressed, but mostly surprised. The bell rang, and like that Altair found his second wind. Lars lumbered forwards, but Altair moved with the speed and force of a freight train. He was gonna lay Lars out, win for his school, himself, and maybe even impress that girl… Wait, what? Altair nearly took a blow from Lars for becoming so distracted, he recovered and got back into his rythym. Each breath was careful and precise, each movement calculated. Lars was getting sloppy, the minotaur began to pull his arm back, leaving his chin exposed. Altair capitalized on the opening, putting as much strength as he could muster into an uppercut. His glove whizzed through the air, and when it connected, Altair felt like his entire arm was being crushed by a car.

The force transferred quickly into Lars’ chin, the Minotaur staggered back and groaned in pain, his feet shuffling as he clearly was rattled. Altair would’ve capitalized on that as well, until Lars lashed out and missed him by nearly a foot. The boy looked at his oponent, Lars did not look well… Altair worried that he’d hit the minotaur too hard, he often forgot his own strength half the time. Lars collapsed to the mat with a heavy thud, the Ref moving over and counting him out. Altair stood there, watching as the kid that had bullied him for so many years was laying at his feet, obviously knocked out from the hit. The Ref counted ten, meaning Altair had won… The odd thing was that in all his previous fights he’d never knocked someone out completely before, they would just lay there or try to get up, but they were still conscious.

“Is he okay, Ref?” Altair asked as the Ref and the other coach rolled Lars onto his back, the Doctor joined them and examined him.

“He’s fine, just got his bell rung.” The Doctor said reassuringly, Altair sighed in relief before the Ref stood up and stood next to him. He gripped his wrist and raised Altair’s hand into the air, declaring him the winner of the fight. Altair looked around him, ignoring the announcer as he began talking. The boy looked at the crowd and spotted his father, the man was standing and clapping, his face still covered by the handkerchief which he had tied in place. Altair’s attention was drawn to the bleachers once again, his eyes meeting those of the blonde that he had seen during the fight.

Altair was about to walk towards her, but he was swarmed by his peers and Coach, all of them cheering and patting him on the back. In all the confusion, he lost her face in the crowd. He felt a bit odd about that, but he couldn’t get upset about it, he turned back to his peers as they continued to chatter. There would be time to go looking during school hours, Altair wanted to get home as soon as possible. He would meet up with his dad after he was finished changing out of his boxing gloves and doing all the other things that he needed to do after the match. As he exited the ring, Altair couldn’t help but think back on the year. As Christmas drew closer, he knew that he would spend more time remembering what had happened… All in all, it felt like it had gone well.

> Aedifices Murum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Altair and his dog Wolfy stood on the edge of Canterlot’s Fort Spartan, watching from beyond the fence as the soldiers there practiced in their Power Armor. Jumping from windows, testing heavy weapons, using the immense strength of their suits to dominate the battlefield. The Spring air was heavy with pollen while flowers blossomed all around the city, the sky above was clear and blue as usual. All the fourteen year old could think about was wearing one of those suits of armor, being able to jump out of an airplane into the teeth of an enemy position, the rush that he could get from those thoughts alone was immense. The boy patted his dog’s head as he began walking along the fence, watching as a couple cars drove past on the road.

“Come on, Wolfy.” Altair said as they walked, Altair’s boots crushing the fresh Spring grass under its treads while his dog sniffed around and trotted ahead a couple feet. The boy’s attention shifted to the other side of the street, more specifically he was interested in the dog park there. Most kids didn’t go there on their own, which Altair supposed was fine by him, he liked spending his afternoons with Wolfy more than anything else. Altair looked both ways before he crossed the road with his dog, he was soon passing by the main gate that lead into the dog park. There were more than a few other dog owners there, small dogs and large dogs alike. Altair recognized a couple of the other people there, there was a man with a big slobbery bloodhound that was there pretty much every day. His name was Butch, while he called his dog Roscoe.

“Hey, Butch!” Altair said with a smile and a wave, Butch looked over and waved back. “What’s the word?”

“Oh, you know, government’s spying on us, there’s aliens in the farlands, usual stuff!” Butch shouted back, Altair knew that his tone was only half joking.  Butch was a survivor of the Infection, a rather paranoid fellow according to their conversations. Altair had heard Butch referred to as an ‘Elmo’, which he knew was slang for the acronym ‘LMOE’, which was short for Last Man On Earth. Generally Elmoes were mentally unstable in one way or another, Butch’s dog seemed to help counteract that instability. “I’m serious about the spies too, Al! There’s a new person here, and she doesn’t have a dog! Coincidence?! I think not!”

“Wait, there’s a new person?” Altair asked as he and Wolfy walked towards Butch, the older man wore a faded denim jacket, jeans, work boots, and a tank top. “Who?” Butch pointed off in the distance at a couple of the Soccer Moms that brought their dogs to the park, they usually had poodles or smaller dogs. Altair was pretty familiar with them, but he did notice a new face among the crowd, a girl from school. Altair recognized her as the adopted daughter of a couple ponies, the blonde girl that he had seen during his title fight at the end of the last year. “Ah, I know her, she goes to my school with me.”

“But does she have a dog?” Butch asked, Altair shook his head. “See, I told you! She’s a government spy!” Roscoe let out a low bark as if to back up his owner’s statement, his jowels dripped with drool as he laid his head back down onto the grass.

“Wouldn’t I be a better choice for a government spy?” Altair asked, Butch shook his head matter-o-factly while crossing his arms.

“A pro-government stiff like you? Too obvious.” Butch said simply, Altair wasn’t sure whether or not he should take the statement as a compliment. “You and Wolfy should go check her out, see what she really wants.” Altair shrugged and looked at Wolfy, the dog barked excitedly while her tail wagged back and forth.

“Alright, I’ll let you know how it goes.” Altair said with a simple shrug, Butch nodded and gave him a thumbs up. Altair and Wolfy began walking towards the soccer moms, they were all chatting up the new girl like a bunch of women in a sewing circle. Generally Altair stayed away from them, he didn’t like their little dogs, and neither did Wolfy. The feeling was pretty much mutual, as the Soccer Moms tended to see Altair as a delinquent of some kind… If only they knew the truth. “Wolfy. Zu meiner Rechten.” Altair said in a commanding voice, Wolfy barked and moved to Altair’s right side, neither walking ahead of him or behind him.

The Soccer Moms looked up as Altair and his German Shepherd got closer, each of them whispering to one another and looking towards the blonde girl from Altair’s school. Altair cleared his throat as politely as he could when he came to a stop, Wolfy set her rump on the ground and waited patiently. Altair almost didn’t notice it, but the blonde girl seemed to have a little bit of a blush on her cheeks.

“Um, hello.” Altair said with a slight wave to the girl. “I just wanted to say hello, introduce myself and such. I haven’t seen you around here before.” Wolfy sat there quietly while the smaller dogs crowded around her, nipping at her occasionally, but she was too well trained to let such inferior creatures stop her from sitting at attention.

“Oh, uh, hi!” The Blonde said with a smile as she looked at Altair, then Wolfy. “My name’s Amanda, I’ve seen you around School… You’re Altair, right?” Altair nodded simply, still smiling. “I’m actually thinking about getting a dog, but I wanted to see what kind of parks were around here first.” She pointed to Wolfy. “Is she yours?”

“Yes, I’ve had her since she was a puppy.” Altair said proudly, the Soccer Moms sat there with their usual disapproving glances. There were times where Altair wanted to sick Wolfy on them, but he would never treat his closest friend like some sort of weapon. “Wolfy. Pfote.” Wolfy quietly offered her paw to Amanda, prompting the girl to giggle as she shook the dog’s paw. “If you’re looking for a good dog park, I recommend the one near the Castle. Not that this one isn’t nice, but the one near Castle is a bit easier to find.”

“I’ll be sure to check it out!” Amanda said with a slight smile.

“Just make sure when you get a dog to keep it away from that… Beast of his.” One of the Soccer Moms piped up, Altair hid his annoyed expression as he looked down at Wolfy. As usual, she was showing extreme restraint in the face of so many small dogs that she could easily turn into a snack. He could tell that Wolfy needed a break, so he reached into his pocket and withdrew a red rubber ball. Wolfy’s eyes locked onto it almost instantly, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she tilted her head.

“Wolfy! Holen!” Altair said loudly before throwing the ball as far as he could, Wolfy took off after it like a bullet. Four a six year old dog, she still had all the pep of a puppy. Altair watched her as she continued chasing the ball, then turned his attention back to Amanda. “Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were talking about. Nice meeting you!” Altair began walking towards Wolfy, waving at the girl a couple times.

“Oh, we were just finishing up!” Amanda replied as she started walking after Altair. “Maybe you could give me some tips for someone getting their first dogs? You seem to be really good at… Um… Whatever it is you do.” Wolfy rushed back over with the ball in her teeth, Altair smiled widely at her and patted her on the head. The dog dropped the the ball, which was now covered in slobber.

“Alright… Well, first things first. If you’re gonna have a dog, gotta get used to slobber.” Altair said as he and Amanda walked away from the dissaproving Soccer Moms. The boy picked up the ball and offered it to Amanda, she recoiled for a second before taking the ball hesitantly. “It takes some getting used to, but eventually you won’t even notice.” Wolfy watched Amanda closely, she had the ball now. Altair never let anyone else hold the ball, Wolfy didn’t know how to feel about this new human, not one bit. “Now, Wolfy and I have a good rapport… It’s likely that if you throw that she won’t go after it.”

“But don’t all dogs like balls?” Amanda asked, to test her theory she chucked the ball. Wolfy followed it with her eyes, but stayed rooted to the spot.

“Yeah, but… Wolfy is a bit of a special dog. She and I have eachother’s backs, y’know?” Altair said simply, he was referring to the fact that Wolfy was a very aggressive protector. She had been since she was a puppy, in many ways she viewed Altair as her own pup. “Now… Wolfy. Holen!” The command to fetch registered in her brain, sending Wolfy off after the ball once more. “It’s all repetition, so you’re gonna need a lot of patience, and treats.” Altair reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of dried venison. When Wolfy returned she dropped the ball and Altair knelt beside her, showing her the dried meat before holding it out for her to take. Amanda knelt down and offered her hand to Wolfy as she had heard from television, Wolfy sniffed the human a couple times before whining.

“May I…?” Amanda asked.

“Wolfy. Ruhig.” Altair said simply, Wolfy’s posture relaxed as the command to stand down registered.  The dog’s tongue lolled out of her mouth as she whined and moved her head towards Altair’s hands, he patted her a couple times before gesturing for Amanda to try and pat the German Shepherd’s head. Amanda giggled and ran her hand over Wolfy’s ears, the dog very much liked this and moved closer to sniff the new human. “Geh spielen, Wolfy.” The dog barked for a moment before she stopped sniffing and trotted off in a random direction to begin rolling around in the grass. “As I said, it takes lots of practice. If you get a dog, you have to remember that.”

“Hmm, maybe you can help me? We could hang out at your place?” Amanda asked as she watched Wolfy, though her attention quickly turned back to Altair. He was a big buff jock, but seeing him with his dog told Amanda that he had a sensitive side. To her surprise, he seemed to get nervous at the mention of helping her with her dog.

“I wouldn’t mind helping, but maybe we do it at the dog park near the Castle instead?” Altair said with a slight cough. “My parents are kinda weird about inviting people over, at least right after meeting them.” Amanda shrugged, she didn’t mind meeting outside again. Altair reached into his back pocket and withdrew a small business card. “I don’t have a cellphone, so here’s my contact information. I know, business cards, must seem kinda… weird, but it works.” Amanda took the card and smiled, adjusting her white blouse before tucking the card into her bra… Not that Altair was looking or anything.

“It’s fine, I get it, my parents are kinda weird like that too.” Amanda said with a shrug, she and Altair lapsed into a quiet silence as the two of them watched Wolfy continuing to play off in the distance. Amanda paused for a moment and looked over at Altair, she noticed he was nodding his head to something. “What song’s playing in your head?”

“Huh?” Altair replied as he looked over.

“You were nodding your head like you were listening to music, I was just curious what it was…” Amanda said with a shrug, Altair hummed for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

“Oh, um… It’s this song my Mother used to sing for me when I was a kid. You wouldn’t like it, I don’t think… It’s opera.” Altair admitted quietly, Amanda raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I know, ‘Opera’s lame’ and all that other stuff...” Altair actually seemed a bit embarrassed by that, he stood up quickly and brushed himself off. “Um, anyway, I should probably get going.” Before Amanda could respond, Altair had whistled loudly. Wolfy was already rushing off towards the Castle in the distance, with Altair not far behind. “Nice meeting you! Bye!” Amanda stood up with a bit of surprise, waving awkwardly as the late day sun began to set in the distance.

“Yeah… See you.” She said as she lowered her hand.

[♠]

The sound of trumpeting fanfare echoed through the courtyard of Don Bosco Tech, the school band was out in force. The seniors of the school would be having their graduation ceremony in a day or so, but for the Freshman like Altair, it was their time to shine. Altair stood beside two dozen of his fellow male students, all of them wore brand new uniforms. Freshmen weren’t allowed to enlist in the Onorus Prima Cadets, which had formerly been known as The Young Bloods. Now that the school year was completed, Altair and his fellow patriots had been able to sign up and still get their uniforms in time for the continuation ceremony.

Their uniforms were tan, decorated with a leather strap across the shoulder that went down to their black belts, shined black boots glistened in the sun while each teen wore a tan garrison cap. Each boy also wore a purple armband that bore the Onorussian coat of arms, something that Altair and the others took with great pride. The Cadets were all standing closest to the stage that had been set up in the courtyard, the rest of the students stood behind them, each wearing their own sunday best. Though they lacked the uniformity of the Cadets, they still looked dapper. Altair glanced around the courtyard, there were soldiers in full uniform and secret service agents mingling in the crowd, and he knew exactly why.

“Students and parents of this year’s Freshman Class! Welcome to our annual continuation ceremony!” Announced the dean of the school as he stood at the podium on the stage, there was loud clapping from the other students and parents, but not the Cadets. “I’d first like to take a moment to congratulate all the students that have been issued letters of merit, as well as our various sports stars!” Once again there was applause from the other students, but the Cadets remained stone faced. “Last, but certainly not least, I would like to congratulate our newest members of the Don Bosco chapter of the Onorus Prima Cadets.” Altair and the other Cadets thrust their fists into the air.

“Victory is life!” They bellowed loudly, their voices echoing through the courtyard. The Cadets lowered their hands and returned to their stance of attention, this time the applause that came was mixed. Altair took it with a grain of salt, Canterlot was still a very much peace mongering city, despite all the progress that had been made.

“Now that we’ve taken care of those details, let’s all have a seat and hear some of the exploits of our various clubs during the year.” The dean continued, Altair and the others sat down in their seats, as did the other students and parents. What followed was basically what Altair had come to expect from school ceremonies, lots of talking and speech giving. The school was patting the students and itself on the back, Altair viewed it as a means to an end towards what his ultimate goal had been since childhood. The teen reached a hand up towards his cheek, gritting his teeth as he felt the scar that had haunted him since his ailment as a boy. It had earned him the nickname ‘Scarface’, and as intimidating as that name sounded, Altair wanted to be known for his actions more than his looks.

Altair watched as a couple of the pony teachers began addressing the crowd, though Don Bosco was a mostly human school there were still plenty of thestrals and ponies that attended. There were a good amount of colts that had enlisted in the Cadets, they were seated at the front of the group because of their comparatively short stature. Canterlot had certainly changed since the founding of Onorus, Altair felt proud to finally be able to do his part to ensure that Onorus would continue to prosper. The teachers went on talking for nearly half an hour, Altair found himself almost falling asleep in the warm summer air, but finally the Dean returned to the podium.

“Thank you all for your patience, I am glad to say that we have a very special guest here with us today.” The Dean said in a proud voice, Altair knew exactly what they were talking about. “You may have noticed that we have a bit more security than usual, I can tell you that it’s all very much necessary.” The Dean turned towards one of the doors that lead out into the courtyard. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the stage… The Imperator of the Onorussian Military Republic. Dominic Occisor!” The Cadets snapped to attention from their seats while the other students and parents clapped loudly, though they also appeared surprised.

The doors opened, and sure enough Altair saw his father walking into the courtyard in full dress uniform. He was unaccompanied as he waved to the crowd and smiled, many surprised parents were snapping pictures. His father ascended the steps to the stage, stopping to shake hands with the numerous surprised teachers and school staff. The Dean stood tall and shook the Imperator’s hand, allowing enough time for more than a few photographs to be taken, no doubt he would put them up on his wall sooner or later. Altair had never stood at attention or worn a uniform in his father’s presence, it filled the teen with a great sense of pride. His father moved to the podium and stood there, waiting for the clapping to quiet down. Once things had settled, he cleared his throat.

“Hello, to all of you.” Dominic said with a smile as he stood at the podium, leaning against it. Altair and his fellow Cadets felt like they were in the presence of some ancient Greek hero, his father had a certain magnetism. He didn’t need to say much to get people listening. “I’m glad to be here today, on what is very much a momentous occasion for these fine young men and stallions in the front row.” Altair felt like his father was talking right to him, many of the Cadets felt the same way, though they wouldn’t ever admit it. “Today they will begin their lives in the service of the Republic! They will answer the call that all soldiers of our great nation answer.” His Father leaned a bit more on the podium, appearing a bit bigger than usual. “It’s for that reason that I decided to come here today, to see the future of our nation, and to welcome them personally into the brotherhood of warriors that makes up the backbone of our great society!”

“Many of you have likely been looking forward to this day since you were very young, I know that at least one of you has wanted this since he was a young boy.” The Imperator said as he addressed the cadets. “The road to adulthood is a difficult one, but I want you all to look around you.” The Cadets did as instructed, looking at each other before looking back to the stage. “Those around you will be your brothers in arms, and though you are far from setting foot on the field of battle, you will grow and learn together. You will never be alone, so long as you remember to trust one another and your commanding officers.” Altair puffed out his chest as his father looked at him, directly at him. “Now… I think I’ve taken up enough of your time, I’m sure you’re all eager to go show off those new uniforms of yours, I can speak from experience that ladies love a man in uniform.” The man laughed, as well as a couple other Cadets. “Let’s get down to business. All of you, raise your right hands.”

Altair and the cadets raised their right hands in unison, each of them standing up straight and looking towards their Imperator.

“Repeat after me.” Dominic said in a serious voice. “I, state your name.” The Cadets responded, stating their names as instructed. “Do solemnly swear to uphold and defend the Constitution, Laws, and Territory.” Once again the Cadets repeated what was said. “And to do my duty as if the entire struggle rested on myself alone, with no mental reservations or deceptions.” Altair’s tongue tingled with each syllable he uttered, his heart felt like it would burst from his chest. “And that I will faithfully execute the responsibilities and duties of an Onorussian Soldier. For the Glory and Honor of the Military Republic of Onorus, and all her citizens. So help me God.”

“...So help me God…” Altair repeated, he watched as a large smile spread across his father’s face.

“It is my great honor to pronounce you all members of the Onorussian Auxiliary Defense Force designated as ‘The Onorus Prima Cadets’, with all the honors and privileges that come with that title.” Dominic said with a proud look in his eyes, Altair could tell that it was for him, he had had to beg his father to swear him in with the rest of his unit. His father would’ve sworn him in right on the spot if Altair hadn’t asked for no special treatment. Altair had never felt so good in all his life, here he was, a full fledged member of the Cadets, well on his way to a career in the Military. “Congratulations.”

“Company! Present arms!” Ordered a sophomore by the name of Arthur Potter, the commander of the new Cadets. Altair and the others snapped to attention and saluted their Imperator for the first time as full members of the Cadets, Dominic returned the salute from his position on the stage. There was more applause from the crowd, it was far more enthusiastic now that the Imperator had given his speech, Altair had no doubts that there would be more cadets enlisting next year as a result.

“That’s all I have to say, I’ll turn the proceedings back over to your very capable Dean. Thank you all for having me.” Dominic said before he stepped away from the podium, Altair and the others were given the nod to sit down. The rest of the ceremony seemed to fly by, soon the students and Cadets were being dismissed. Altair finally got a chance to stand up, he looked around as his fellow Cadets began to disperse into the crowd, likely to go and see their parents. Altair made his own way towards the stage, pushing through the crowd until he was stopped by one of the uniformed guards.

“This area’s restricted.” The soldier said.

“Authorization Code Zeta Seven X-Ray.” Altair replied, the soldier paused for a moment before using his radio to check with his superior. He stepped aside, allowing Altair to go up onto the stage where he could see his father speaking with the teachers and Dean. Altair removed his garrison cap as he got closer, stopping behind his father and listening as the man laughed at one of the teacher’s jokes. One of the teachers gestured to Altair, which got his father’s attention. Altair straightened up when his father turned to face him, then offered his hand to his Dad, expecting a handshake.

“There he is!” His father said in a cheerful voice before he wrapped Altair in a bear hug, the boy felt like he was having his lungs crushed before his dad let go. “You have no idea how proud I am, son… You stuck with it all these years, I knew you could do it.” Altair needed a moment to get his bearings before he could respond, he couldn’t believe how strong his dad actually was… He’d been hugged before, but never to the point he worried he’d pass out. His Dad put a fatherly hand on his shoulder as the two of them turned towards the teachers.

“I didn’t think Altair was actually related to you, Mister Imperator. His name became rather common after he was born…” One of the teachers, a pegasus stallion, said. “But looking at the two of you side by side, I can definitely see the resemblance.”

“Yeah, he’s like a mini me.” Altair’s dad said with a grin, Altair felt like he was ten feet tall standing next to his old man like that. “Anyway, I’d like to spend a bit of time with my boy, I’m sure you understand.” The teachers nodded and bid their farewells, allowing Altair and his dad to walk off the stage and to a more quiet portion of the courtyard. “So, how’s it feel, wearing a real uniform now?”

“It’s… Intense. In a good way.” Altair replied with a smile as he walked alongside his dad. “I’m glad you were the one to give the oath, it really means a lot.”

“Hey, for you? Anything.” His dad said with his own grin, the two of them stopped near the doors that lead into the school. “Your moms wanted to come, but you know how Putin can be about security.”

“I figured as much.” Altair said with a slight huff, he put his garrison cap back on his head and adjusted it until he was happy with its position. “So, what should we do now?”

“I dunno, I figured you’d want to rush home and change, then go out to the dog park with Wolfy.” Altair’s Dad said with a bit of a smirk as he walked along, as if he knew something that he wasn’t quite letting on. “I’m sure that girl you like will be just dying to see you, now that it’s summer time.”

“How did you…?” Altair began to ask.

“Predator Drone.” His Dad said simply, Altair crossed his arms and huffed slightly. “Look, kid. I don’t like messing with your life, you know that, but I’ve still gotta make sure that you’re safe…” Altair sighed, then nodded, he’d learned to get used to the OBFI running background checks on his friends and their families. It really didn’t matter in regards to Amanda, things hadn’t really worked out well between the two of them.

“Whatever… As for seeing her, no… Amanda and I aren’t speaking anymore…” Altair said with a sigh, he saw his dad raise an eyebrow. “She flipped when I told her I was joining Onorus Prima, started ranting about how it was some sort of brainwashing scheme. Then she started saying a bunch of stuff that sounded like it was Pro-EOL.”

“Ah…” Was all his dad said, Altair looked at him, as if discerning that his father had known about Amanda’s ideology.

“You were spying on her… Did you know?” Altair asked.

“I told you, I don’t like interfering with your life. You need to learn from mistakes, I can’t just give you all the answers.” His dad responded quietly as he opened the door that lead into the school and waited for Altair to go in first. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you two, if that’s any consolation.”

“It is…” Altair said, huffing and hunching his shoulders as the two of them walked by a couple lockers and display cases that lined the halls of the school. “A couple of the other guys were going to go to some restaurant, it’s supposed to be modelled after an old Terran style of bar. A ‘supper club’. Maybe I’ll go with them?”

“Hey, sounds like fun. Wish I could go, but it’s your day.” His dad said simply as the two of them were joined by a pair of secret service agents. “You go ahead and have fun, I’ll head back home to help your moms get your ‘Surprise party’ together.” Altair nodded simply, he knew ahead of time that there would be a surprise party, his dad wasn’t the best at keeping secrets when it came to that sort of thing. “If you need anything, you know what to do.”

“Yeah, Dad. I know.” Altair said with a nod, he was about to walk away but felt his dad grab him and pull him into another hug, this one was a lot longer and firmer, and Altair felt his old man pat him on the back several times.

“I am so proud of you. Don’t forget that.” His dad said as he let go of Altair, the boy was practically eye level with his old man by now, and he wasn’t even done growing yet. The fact that he father was getting so emotional in public was more than enough evidence to Altair that he was indeed very proud, and Altair was determined not to let him down. “Alright, kid. I’ll let you go have some fun, just be back before curfew, you know how they worry…”

“Later, old man.” Altair said with a grin, his dad gave him an annoyed look, but smirked nonetheless. Altair began walking back towards the courtyard while his Dad and the guards made their way through the rest of the building. Altair pushed the door to the courtyard open and stepped back into the sun, he adjusted his garrison cap as he walked towards a group of his fellow Cadets. His boots echoed against the bricks that made up the grounds, his steps were measured, his head was held high… And then he caught a glimpse of blonde hair. Within a couple seconds Altair’s path was blocked by Amanda, she was wearing a rather flowery dress, not that Altair cared.

“Altair!” She called out. “Wait!” The boy stopped silently and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I… I wanted to apologize for… some of the things I said.” Altair just continued to look at her quietly, his face remaining rather stoic. “I didn’t know you were the Imperator’s son.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Altair asked with a raised eyebrow, he quietly brought his arms up and crossed them across his chest.

“Well, he’s the one that wanted you to join Onorus Prima? Right?” Amanda said presumptuously. “I understand, my mom and dad are just like that, always trying to tell me what to do with my life.”

“He didn’t want me to join Onorus Prima.” Altair said flatly, Amanda seemed a bit surprised by that. “I wanted to sooner, and he could’ve gotten me in, but… He made me wait.” Altair continued, he stood up a bit taller. “You don’t like Onorus Prima? Fine, that’s your right, but do not for a second ever make an assumption about my father.” Amanda took a step back when she heard the intensity in the teen’s voice. “Now, if there’s nothing else…” Altair uncrossed his arms and walked past Amanda towards his fellow Cadets, still holding his head high as he left her behind. He felt a bit torn up inside, but he had grown accustomed to the sting of loss, his friends from his old school were all far away, losing Amanda was no different. At least, that’s what he told himself. He had the rest of the day to relax and have fun with his comrades, he didn’t need to worry about useless things like ‘friends’.

[♠]

The cold winds of late Autumn blew harshly through the streets of Canterlot, the sky was overcast and it was rather late in the day. The trees and bushes were all but completely barren of leaves, and the once green grass was drying out into a dying brown with the onset of the colder seasons. The streets were relatively quiet, most of the city was hunkering down for the coming chill of winter, whether it was at home or with friends in one of the city’s numerous attractions. For most people, it was just another chilly fall day, but for Altair… It was a bit more special, not that he wanted anyone to know.

He sat by himself in a booth in the rather quiet, almost empty ballroom of ‘The Fair Weather Club’. It was the usual hang out for most of the students from Don Bosco, as it served good food at reasonable prices, and it was within walking distance of the school. When it was packed, it reminded Altair of the club in ‘Goodfellas’, but right now the place was dead quiet. That was just the way that Altair wanted it, especially on a day like that day. For those in the know, which were a seldom few, it was the young man’s birthday. Altair usually would be home with his family, but this year felt different… Altair wanted to be alone.

He leaned his elbows on the table as he sipped his ginger ale, dressed in his Onorus Prima fatigues. He had just finished an exercise, in case his unit ever needed to be called upon to act as auxiliary police officers in the event of an emergency. The exercise had gone well, Altair was proud of his fellow Cadets, but now they had all gone home. The teen was used to being alone when he wasn’t at home, finding people he could trust was difficult, and actually engaging them in conversation was something else entirely. Altair looked up as he heard the speakers buzz to life, his eyes turned to the stage. Since it was slow, the owner generally let one of the guitar students play background music. Sure enough, Altair spotted some of the kids from his school setting up their gear on the stage.

There were a couple kids from the music class that Altair had seen around school, as well as a transfer student from Canterlot Prep. The transfer was a girl with skin like rich milk chocolate, silky black hair, and a nice figure. She wore jeans, old work boots, a sweater, and a comfy looking shawl draped over her shoulders. For all intents and purposes, she reminded Altair of some sort of blues singer from the old Terran movies he’d seen as a kid. Unlike the other kids, she was setting up a microphone. That was something new, usually the owner of the club didn’t let students sing.

Altair leaned back in his seat and adjusted his position so that he could watch the band perform while he sipped his ginger ale, occasionally he would catch a glimpse of an older man in a suit peeking his head out from around the corner. That was Altair’s reminder that he wasn’t on his own, he had a security detail following him. The teen closed his eyes as he heard the piano begin to play as well as the bass players and the drummer. It seemed they weren’t starting off with guitars.

“This one goes out to those lonesome guys and gals in the club tonight…” The singer said, Altair opened his eyes and looked around. To his surprise, it seemed he was one of the only ones there, aside from a couple of teachers that were grading papers off in a corner. “Especially those of you in uniform.” Altair assumed she was talking about the security detail and closed his eyes, leaning his head back once again while he tapped his foot along with the music. The song that the girl began to sing was something that Altair found himself getting into, he loved this kind of music, on some level he kind of wished he could sing the blues like the others. For now, all he could do was listen.

Whoever she was, she certainly had a nice set of pipes on her, her voice carried through the club like the scent of one of Altair’s father’s cigars. Smokey and heavy and beautiful, with his eyes closed Altair could take in all the sound that he could without being distracted by the rest of the world. The teen felt around for his glass, when he found it he brought it to his lips and took a slow sip of his ginger ale. The sweet flavor, coupled with the bubbles, danced across his tongue in their usual way, only this time they seemed to be serenaded by the mysterious girl singing on the stage.

The strum of the bass strings, the drone of the trombone, and the chiming of the piano’s keys, all of it helped to carry that soft tune to Altair’s ears. For whatever reason he felt bad on his birthday, that music seemed to make things feel better. The feeling of his uniform seemed to fade away, he could see glimpses of better days in black and white running through his head. All of it reminded him of why he hated Autumn. The cold weather, the constant overcast and freezing rain, and reminders of a very unhappy part of Altair’s childhood. It was the time of year when people talked about the Caribou War, something that still gave Altair nightmares… Spending his birthday by himself spared him that discussion when he was at home, whether it was in the halls of the castle or in his own living quarters… In the club, he could just… Be. As the song gently came to an end Altair almost forgot to open his eyes, but eventually he let himself return to the world of the living.

The boy leaned his head up and looked at the stage, he could see the students were setting up to play some more music, but there was a boy at the microphone this time. Altair sipped his glass once again and idly wondered where the girl had gone, the students began to play more blues, it was more of a Chicago style, which Altair always enjoyed. The songs they played and the lyrics faded into the background as Altair went back to looking at his table. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of his security officers wave at him, Altair looked over with a raised eyebrow. When he saw that the girl that had been singing was trying to come over, Altair only nodded to the officer. The officer stepped aside, allowing the singer to pass by and approach Altair’s booth. The boy sat up and straightened his uniform, doing his best to look presentable.

“Hey there, soldier boy.” The singer said with a smile as she stopped next to his table. “Is this seat taken?” Altair paused for a moment, then shook his head. “Not much of a talker, are you?” The girl asked as she sat down across from Altair, adjusting her shawl and looking at the half empty glass of ginger ale on the table. “My name’s Cassidy, my grandfather owns the club. Says you’re one of the regulars I should talk to.”

“Talk to about what?” Altair asked with a raised eyebrow, Cassidy shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

“Whatever you wanna talk about?” Cassidy replied simply, Altair detected a couple parallels between this girl and Amanda, as such he found himself feeling like he was already on the defensive. “How about… What’s your name?”

“Altair… Friends call me Alley Cat.” Altair replied with a hint of caution in his voice, his eyes narrowed as he watched Cassidy’s face for any signs of deception. Cassidy smiled faintly and leaned on the table, she was used to defensive kids, most of the kids at Canterlot Prep had some form of paranoia or another.

“Alley Cat, huh? That’s a cute nickname.” Cassidy replied with a giggle. “Your one of those Optimus Prime guys, right?” She gestured to Altair’s uniform, the boy looked down at himself for a moment before nodding.

“Onorus Prima… Yeah.” Altair replied, he leaned against the table, still watching Cassidy’s features for variation. He was used to reading people, most of the time they ended up trying to deceive him in one way or another, most likely to try and get access to his position as the son of the Imperator.

“I’m still new, so I guess I’ve gotta learn the local lingo all over again.” Cassidy said with a slight smile, Altair shrugged and took another sip of his ginger ale. “What did you think of my song earlier?” The boy lowered his glass and cleared his throat.

“I liked it, you’ve got a lovely singing voice.” Altair replied, it was an honest compliment, even though he said it in a still cautious tone. Cassidy could tell that this kid had some serious walls up between himself and the people around him, but she liked a challenge, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. “I’m more of a fan of the deeper voiced stuff, but… Yours was very good.” Cassidy was about to respond, but she paused as she saw one of the odd guys in the suits peek around the corner at the booth. He only looked for a couple seconds, then disappeared from sight.

“What’s with those guys in the suits? They’ve been watching you as long as I’ve been here.” Cassidy blurted out, she saw Altair move back from the table slightly and mentally cursed at herself. Another brick seemed to have been slipped into those walls of his.

“Oh, um… They’re my ride home, yeah…” Altair replied in a voice that was a mix of caution and fake confidence. Cassidy could tell that Altair was only telling half the truth, in her mind she began to put pieces together. She could see the gnarly scar on the boy’s cheek, the uniform, the strange suited guys constantly checking up on him… Altair saw Cassidy’s face morph into one of surprised realization. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, um, nothing.” Cassidy replied, Altair picked up on her deception rather quickly. Of course, he thought, it was just another person trying to get close to him to use him. He began trying to distance himself from the conversation, starting by quickly finishing off his ginger ale. He wouldn’t order another one, he’d just pay his check and leave when the waiter came over. “You’re the Imperator’s son, aren’t you?” Altair’s mind froze mid thought… No one had ever just come out and said it before.

“Yes… Yes, I am.” Altair replied, leaning closer to the table. It seemed that both of them were adept at reading facial features, each of them were engaged in a cold war of expressions, watching to see which one would literally flinch. “You didn’t know that already?” Cassidy shook her head, her face looked genuinely honest. Altair found himself lowering his defenses somewhat, knowing that she hadn’t come over just because of who he was was a huge comfort.

“What are you doing in a place like this? Shouldn’t you be off in the castle or something?” Cassidy asked with honest interest, Altair chuckled faintly and shook his head.

“Nah, my family and I like to just go out and do stuff, we each have our own way of doing it.” Altair said, he leaned against the table on his elbows. Cassidy could see he was starting to open up to her, something that filled her with a sense of pride. “I like to come here, especially on days like today.” The boy looked around, then towards the stage. “It’s just the right level of loud, and just the right level of public.”

“Huh, I always thought you would be some sort of stuck up guy.” Cassidy said, she paused and looked at the floor. “That came out wrong, I meant to say you seem very down to earth for the kid of the most powerful man on the planet.”

“Well, I try.” Altair said with a shrug, he felt the faintest of a smile begin to creep onto his face. “Sorry if I seem a little distant… Most of the time people come over already knowing who I am, and usually they want something.”

“I imagine that could get pretty annoying.” Cassidy said with a note of sympathy in her voice, Altair felt himself opening up a bit more… Finally, someone who seemed to get it. “Is that why I didn’t see you at lunch today? I mean, I know I’m still new, but you seem like the kind of guy that would stand out in a crowd.”

“Huh? Oh, no, I eat lunch in the metalworking shop.” Altair replied as he looked down at his now empty glass. “Most kids don’t like the smell in there, so they leave me alone.” Cassidy felt a bit of pity run through her, she knew what it was like to eat alone most of the time, there weren’t a lot of black students at North Canterlot Prep. “You’re welcome to come though, if you don’t mind the smell of spray paint, that is.”

“Maybe I will.” Cassidy said with a warm smile, Altair smiled back, but part of his mind told him to slow things down. He had gotten like this with Amanda, and he had seen where that had gotten him, for all he knew this could turn out even worse… But part of him shrugged that fear off, part of him was tired of being alone all the time. “So, do they just call you ‘Son of the Imperator’ or do you have some fancy title like ‘Duke of Wellington’ or something?”

“Officially, my title is Nova-Imperator.” Altair replied, Cassidy hummed for a moment, then smirked widely. “What?”

“Just thinking of a new nickname for you… How does Casanova sound?” Cassidy asked, Altair paused for a moment, then rubbed his chin.

“Are you referring to the Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova or the more common phrase meaning someone that’s good with women?” Altair asked, Cassidy blinked at him with a bit of surprise. She hadn’t ever even heard of Giacomo Casanova in her life up to that point, but that was something that she found enthralling about Altair. He seemed to be a lot smarter than he let on, or even gave himself credit for. “I read a lot of books growing up… Sue me.”

“Okay, okay… New Nickname idea.” Cassidy said with a hum. “Wizard? Doesn’t sound as cool as ‘Scarface’, but…” She trailed off when she noticed Altair look away at the mention of the word ‘Scarface’. “Sorry… I guess that might not seem as cool to you.” Altair only nodded and rubbed the scar on his cheek. “So… Wizard it is then?” Altair shrugged. “Alright then, Wizard. Can you tell me a bit more about what it’s like living in the Castle?”

“Sure.” Altair said with a smile, from that point on the two of them began talking. Cassidy was enthralled with what Altair had to say about life as the son of the Imperator, and Altair was mindful not to share any information that could be considered sensitive or dangerous. As time went on, Altair’s fears that Cassidy would turn out like Amanda were quickly dashed. She turned out to be very Pro-Onorus and Pro-Onorus Prima, it felt nice not having to worry about saying the wrong thing. Occasionally Cassidy would be pulled away to sing on stage again, every time Altair would hang on her every word. Hours passed by, and eventually it was nearing Curfew, seven o’clock for kids not out stargazing or on Onorus Prima business.

Altair adjusted his uniform overcoat as he prepared to leave the club, the other patrons were already gone, but Altair was waiting as long as he could for a chance to speak with Cassidy once more. She stepped off the stage while the other students packed up their instruments, then quickly walked over to Altair.

“Well, guess this is goodbye for now.” Cassidy said with a sad look in her eyes. “We can talk more at school tomorrow though, right?”

“Of course!” Altair replied as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, do you need a ride home? I don’t mind making a detour.” Cassidy smiled but shook her head.

“Nah, I’m fine, but thanks for the offer.” She replied warmly, Altair nodded and began to turn. “Hey, Wizard?” The boy stopped and turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. “Do you maybe want to go see a movie this weekend? I know they’re showing something called ‘The Blob’ down the street, supposed to be one of those old Terran movies.”

“That sounds like fun! Sure, I’d love to do that!” Altair replied, he and Cassidy awkwardly rubbed the backs of their necks and looked at the floor. Each of them was faintly blushing, though it was much easier to see on Altair’s pale cheeks. “Well, I should get going… See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah… See you.” Cassidy replied, Altair turned away and began walking towards the door again. He was surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Altair, wait.” He turned around again, to his surprise Cassidy leaned up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. The two of them stood there, staring at one another, each one a bit slack jawed and surprised by what had just happened. “I-I I’m sorry… I don’t know why I did that… I just thought there was a connection…”

“I-It’s okay…” Altair said, his face going all sorts of shades of red. “I… I liked it.” He said simply. “I… I really think I should go though, otherwise we’ll be here forever…” Cassidy only nodded, too surprised by her actions to really speak. “Goodbye for now…” Altair turned and walked towards the door, his face still a mix of surprise accented by a deep red blush. His security officers stepped outside first, the car was already waiting. Altair put his hand on the door handle and was about to push it open, he paused however, then slowly turned to look over his shoulder. Cassidy was still watching him, she waved awkwardly. Altair waved back, then let out a deep breath and pushed the door open. The biting cold blew against his cheeks as soon as he was out the door, but that one spot on his face… It still felt warm.

[♠]

Harsh Winter winds howled as they weaved their way through Canterlot, carrying flurries of snow and ice along with them. The lamplights were lit fully, but hardly a soul was out on the roads save for Police officers and plow trucks. The entire city was in complete lockdown for one of the most intense snow storms in recorded history. The storm had come with such speed that many people had been stranded at work or in other public places. It was for that reason that units of Onorus Prima had been activated, they would be sent out with the Military Police to deliver blankets and other supplies to anyone that might’ve been in need.

Altair gritted his teeth as he tightened the strap on his kevlar helmet, his face was thankfully covered by a heavy wool balaclava, and his white winter uniform was just warm enough to make going outside tolerable. He and four other Cadets were seated in the back of a Police APC, as well as several boxes of wool blankets and chemical heating packs. There were two MPs driving the APC, as well as one Lunar Marine serving as their chaperone in the field. Altair looked over at the Lunar Marine, a thestral mare that bore the rank of Sergeant. She adjusted her mane and made sure that her own uniform was tightly secured, for thestrals the cold was certainly no joke.

“Our first stop is going to be the subway station on Lincolnshire Avenue, from what they’ve radioed in one of their heating ducts is blocked.” The mare announced over the noise of the engine, Altair and the other Cadets looked at her silently, listening to each detail she gave them. “Our mission is to remove the blockage if possible, and failing that, deliver blankets and heat packs to those stranded there. Understood?”

“Yes, Sergeant!” The Cadets replied in unison, the mare nodded and leaned back in her seat. Altair checked his gloves once more, ensuring that they were as tight and as warm as he could get them. They were being outfitted like it was an actual mission, and they were expected to treat it as an actual mission, Altair could tell that this was definitely no exercise. He could feel the treads of the APC occasionally slip on the ice, but all in all, it was a lot quicker and a lot safer than taking a truck.

“Hey, Wizard.” One of the cadets, a boy named Finn, spoke up. Altair looked over with a raised eyebrow. “You think you’ll be able to get that duct unblocked with that big brain of yours?”

“I’ll certainly try…” Altair replied with a nod of his head. “And if that doesn’t work, we can always just try hitting it with something heavy.” The boy leaned his head back, occasionally his helmet would knock against the metal behind him. “All in all, it might be a simple matter of air pressure. Some duct tape to patch a hole or some lubricant to open a valve should do the trick.” Altair looked around at the other Cadets again. “Who knows, maybe all we’ll need to do is change the filter.”

“Hopefully, then we can all get home before the storm gets any worse.” Another Cadet said while rubbing his hands together for warmth. The dark confined interior of the APC made their voices carry, which made many of them hesitant to speak, as the echo bothered their ears. Altair watched the Sergeant as she spoke with the drivers of the APC, after a couple words the mare turned her attention back to the five cadets under her charge.

“Alright squad, cut the chatter.” She ordered, the Cadets nodded and quieted down while the APC began to slow down. Eventually the vehicle came to a halt and the rear ramp began to lower, gusting wind and snow flooded the compartment almost as soon as the seal was broken. “Let’s get to work, gentlemen!” The ramp of the APC touched down on the ground, Altair and the others stood up and stepped out into cold. 

Three of the Cadets picked up the boxes of supplies while Finn and Altair grabbed snow shovels off the side of the APC, they grunted as they began clearing a path towards the entrance to the Subway station. The surrounding buildings were dark, it seemed that the power had gone out. Altair grunted as he moved a particularly heavy load of snow to the side, with him and Finn working together they had made a workable path to the front doors from the APC within a couple minutes, stretching a total of ten feet. The snow was up to Altair’s knees and bitingly cold, he did his best to ignore the discomfort as he set his shovel down and pulled one of the doors to the station open so that the Cadets with the supplies could enter.

“Alright, squad leader! You take command, I’ll keep an eye on you.” The Sergeant announced now that they had entered the building and were out of the cold, seeing as Finn had been designated the squad leader, the Cadets looked to him for instructions.

“Deliver the supplies to the people in the lower levels, Wizard and I will move to the machine room and see what we can do about getting the heat back on.” Finn ordered, the other cadets nodded and began moving down the stairs towards the tracks of the station. Finn looked to the sergeant and cleared his throat. “Sergeant, if you could act as our go between with the Station Staff, I would appreciate it.” The mare nodded quietly, she seemed to be one of the chaperones that wanted to let the Squad function without interference. “Altair, let’s go.”

Altair and Finn descended the steps of the station, the emergency lighting gave them enough room to see where they were going, but not much else. There were posters on the walls that usually were lit up, but since the power was out they were dim. The two Cadets made their way down a pair of stopped escalators in search of the machine room, eventually they made their way onto the station platform where the stranded civilians were receiving blankets and heat packs from the other Cadets.

“Wonder why they picked us for this.” Finn said aloud as they walked past a couple benches where people had set up makeshift beds. Altair shrugged as he looked above them at the air ducts, for the most part he couldn’t see any bulges or other reasons that they wouldn’t be able to vent hot air into the station. “Maybe because we’re from a technical school, I bet those Canterlot Prep kids wouldn’t know an impact gun from their left ass cheek.”

“Or they don’t wanna get their hands dirty.” Altair replied with a smirk as the two Cadets reached the end of the station platform, they stopped in front of a large metal door with a sign that told them it was the machine room. Altair reached out and jiggled the handle, sure enough it was locked. “Should we get the keys?”

“Nah, that’ll take too long. We need the heat on sooner rather than later.” Finn replied as he crossed his arms, Altair looked at his squad leader with a bit of an uncertain expression. “Come on, Wizard… I know you’ve been dying to do some door kicking…” Altair paused, then looked at the door once more, then he looked back at Finn. “We’re clear to get in there any way we deem fit, go ahead…” Altair looked at the door and adjusted his posture, after a couple seconds he delivered a hard kick to the door. Altair wound up staggering back, hopping on one foot and grunting in pain.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I forgot it’s a metal door!” Altair blurted out, Finn let out a slow whistle as he looked at the door. “What’s got you so impressed, we’re still stuck out here.” Finn simply pointed to the door, specifically a sizable dent the shape of Altair’s boot.

“What the fuck do you do to get your legs that strong, man?” Finn asked, Altair began walking in a circle, walking off the pain from trying to boot open a metal door. “Alright, maybe you loosened it?”

“Nah… It’s still there, I just dented a layer of lighter metal.” Altair said as he finished walking off the pain, the fifteen year old looked around for a couple seconds. “I have a feeling the Staff here won’t open the door for us, since we’re only Cadets… We’re gonna need something with more weight.” The boy looked around while Finn rubbed his chin in deep thought, Altair’s eyes eventually settled on a food cart near a pillar at the edge of the station. Finn looked at his comrade when he heard him start laughing to himself, it was the kind of laugh Altair made when he had figured something out. “Oh… I love kinetic energy.”

“Huh?” Finn asked, Altair simply pointed at the food cart. “What, you want a pretzel?”

“No…” Altair looked at Finn, then back at the food cart. “Think… Terran Crusades, castles and knights and stuff! Big metal thing on wheels!” Altair said in a rather excited tone, Finn seemed to put the pieces together just as Altair finished his explanation. “God, I’ve always wanted to use a battering ram!” Altair moved over to the food cart and gestured for Finn to follow him. “Here, grab the other side and help me! Our combined weight, plus the weight of the cart and the kinetic energy we build up from a running start should be enough to bust the door off its hinges.”

“Alright…” Finn said with a shrug, he moved to the opposite side of the food cart and helped aim it at the door to the machine room. “It’s your crazy plan, Wizard. On your go.” Altair rubbed his hands together, grinning widely beneath his balaclava as he set his hands on the cart.

“Groovy…” Altair said under his breath before the two of them grunted and began pushing the food cart towards the door. THey picked up a considerable amount of speed before the cart slammed into the door, and sure enough the metal door busted off its hinges. Altair and Finn dragged the dented food cart out of the way and pushed the door open. Altair and Finn stepped into the machine room, ignoring the crowd of onlookers that had formed to see just what they were doing. Most of the equipment in the room was marked with warning signs, Altair could tell it was mainly used for the subway and the tracks. He did however spot where several of the air ducts met up with one another, all of them seemed to be linked to a large blower of some kind.

Upon closer inspection of the blower, Altair could see that something had been jammed into one of the control boxes. It seemed to be some sort of sabotage, but he wasn’t there to figure out who did it so much as to get the heat back online. The teen grabbed the metal bar that had been jammed into the box, then grunted as he yanked it free. There were numerous wires that had been disconnected, but thankfully they seemed to be color coded. For Altair it felt as simple as putting together a potato clock, at least, for the most part. His gloves occasionally got in the way, but eventually, after twenty minutes or so, he had jury rigged the control box to function again. The vents slammed open as warm air began to blow freely through the station, Altair stood up straight and adjusted his uniform, it seemed that he had done a good job… It was moments like these that he liked to remember.
> Destruam Parietem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canterlot Castle was usually a bustling center of Government, since the Occisor Regime had taken power most of the spare rooms had been converted to office spaces for the various government agencies headquartered in Canterlot. Ponies and people walked the halls with packets of documents, some were there for their driver’s licenses, others were lodging complaints against their neighbors, it was a hub of bureaucracy that only a master could navigate. Luckily for Altair, he didn’t live in the public section of the castle. He lived in the far more secure portion of the section, the part set aside for military and intelligence use. Entrance to this area was extremely restricted, which made it such a big deal when the Nova-Imperator had insisted on admitting a guest.

Altair and Cassidy stood next to one another at one of the entrance checkpoints into the Military sector, three MPs stood behind the desk, one was on the phone with his superiors while the others were running a background check on Cassidy with their computers. Altair could’ve ordered them to let him and Cassidy through, but he knew that wouldn’t reflect well on him or his father.

“I’m sorry about this…” Altair said to Cassidy sheepishly. “I should’ve called ahead. I’ve never, y’know, had someone visit before.” Cassidy shook her head with an understanding smile while she looked around the hallway at a couple of the paintings that hung on the wall.

“It’s fine, Alley Cat.” She replied while examining a painting of the Battle of New Liberty during the Changeling-American war. “I’ve never been this far in the Castle, I had no idea there were so many paintings here.” Altair walked up beside her and looked at the painting, humming to himself as he recognized the signature. His Mother had painted this one, the mare was quite adept at painting since she had started cataloging the constellations. “Just coming to look at the art would’ve been enough.”

“My parents want to meet you.” Altair replied as he briefly glanced over at the MPs, Cassidy kept looking at the painting. The swirls of the brushes were very precise, but they had a sort of deep soul to them, at least that’s what she remembered from Art Class. “I’m glad you’re coming, too. I haven’t ever had someone over, especially someone like you.” Cassidy looked over at Altair with a raised eyebrow.

“Someone like me?” She asked.

“Someone that… Y’know... I like…” Altair said with a blush while rubbing the back of his neck, he could hear quiet snickering from two of the MPs, though when he looked over they had slipped back into their stoic demeanor. Cassidy smiled and hugged Altair, at first the boy was a bit surprised, but he returned the hug a couple seconds later. They had been seeing each other since fall of the previous year, and considering that it was now the middle of summer, it could be said that their relationship was a bit on the serious side.

“Gentlemen, why are you keeping the Nova-Imperator and his guest from entering?” A voice with a heavy Russian accent spoke from the checkpoint, Altair and Cassidy broke off the hug and looked over to see who it was. The boy smiled as he saw a familiar man standing in a suit, he had an ID tag pinned to his jacket, but Altair didn’t need that to know who it was. “I’ve already cleared the young miss for entry, please issue her a Level Four Visitor’s Card.” The MPs nodded as Altair and Cassidy walked closer.

“Uncle Putin?” Altair asked, Vladimir Putin looked at Altair with a faint smile. The head of the Onorussian intelligence agency, known as Providentia, was none other than the former leader of Russia. Altair had always found that tremendously impressive, and though they weren’t related, Putin was Altair’s godfather.

“In the flesh, Altair.” Putin said as the MPs snapped a quick photo of Cassidy to be put on her access card. “I’m sorry I didn’t get her clearance to the checkpoint sooner, I didn’t expect you to be home so soon.” Putin looked at Cassidy and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Miss Cassidy.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Cassidy replied with a bit of surprise, she had read about Putin, but she’d never thought she’d meet him.

“I’d love to talk more, but I have duties to attend to. I just wanted to make sure I cleared this up before anything else.” Putin said to Altair before giving a slight nod, Altair waved as he watched the older man make his way down the hall. It seemed that he had just been passing by and noticed the hold up, Putin was a good guy to take time out of his schedule for Altair, that was something the teen would remember. The MPs handed Altair an ID tag with a clip on the top, the boy turned to Cassidy and showed it to her.

“Here, don’t lose this, otherwise the guards might freak out.” Altair said, Cassidy took the card and clipped it to the fabric of her raspberry colored sweater, she then made sure that her jeans were pulled up all the way, then finally straightened out her hair. “Oh, and when you meet my Mom don’t let her scare you… She’s just very protective.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Cassidy replied with a slight grin as the two of them were finally able to walk past the checkpoint. It was like flipping a switch, the environment felt a lot more private and homely than the public section of the castle. Cassidy felt like she was seeing an entirely different world, there were paintings she had never seen before, even statues of various ponies and people. “I can’t believe you live here…”

“Well, I don’t, really.” Altair said with a shrug as they kept walking, Cassidy caught sight of a couple thestrals in military uniforms walking along the hallway. There were stars pinned to their collars, meaning that they were Generals. Each of them was talking to one another, they didn’t even seem to notice the two teenagers walking past them. “This is the Military Section… It’s kind of like the Pentagon on Terra, you know? Lots of secret stuff goes on here.” The Generals walked past without so much as looking at Cassidy and Altair, Altair didn’t seem to notice them either. Cassidy also began to notice soldiers in uniform standing outside a couple doors, she could only imagine what sort of stuff was going on in those rooms. “Go ahead and ask any questions, I’ll be your personal tour guide!”

“Alright…” Cassidy said as she rubbed her chin in thought. “Is this the place where they store all the aliens? You know, the ones that crash in the desert?” She pointed to one of the doors, her tone a joking one. She was surprised to see Altair’s face become stoic.

“That’s classified.” He said flatly, Cassidy looked a little surprised by that, then he broke into a smile. “I’m kidding, nah, that’s just a conference room. Though, it’s likely the Generals are having their weekly poker game in there.” Altair said with a shrug, Cassidy nodded and walked a bit closer to the boy. He looked over at her and smiled, his hand cautiously moving closer to hers, Cassidy returned the smile and took his hand. The two of them continued walking through the castle, Altair occasionally pointed out pieces of art or the occasional historic item. For Cassidy it was like having the run of a Private museum. Altair knew every inch of the place, Cassidy never saw him so confident, she supposed that being home had something to do with that.

The two of them eventually came to a stairwell that lead up several floors, it was next to an elevator that went to the same floors. Altair wanted to take the elevator, but Cassidy convinced him to take the stairs. It was an excuse for them to spend a bit more time by themselves, truth be told, Altair made Cassidy feel an odd mix of feelings. Not bad, just… Odd. The fact that he was a snappy dresser was just a bonus. Altair would’ve said the same thing about Cassidy, but he was too nervous to speak his mind. As they walked up the steps the atmosphere became even more like a home, there were windows in the winding spiral stairwell that let Cassidy get a look at the city from a new perspective. Green trees blew in the wind while cars and people looked like ants below, she could see a couple pegasus guards flying around the perimeter of the castle, but they only added to the beauty of the scene.

“We’re almost there.” Altair said as they neared the final floor in the staircase, he looked over his shoulder at Cassidy and smiled nervously. “Now… Just remember what I said about my Mom, she can be really protective… My Mother can be like that too, but not as bad as my Mom.”

“You make it sound like she might shoot me.” Cassidy said jokingly, to her surprise Altair seemed a little unsure about how to respond.

“You know who my mom is, right?” Altair asked, Cassidy shook her head. “Before she was the Imperatrix she was a sniper in the Army. They gave her the nickname ‘Queen of Death’, but don’t bring it up, she doesn’t like to talk about it.” Cassidy thought back to her history classes, she had never really paid attention to them, but something about the nickname clicked. It was from an anime that she had used to watch as she grew up, which as she recalled, was based on a real person. “She has over three hundred confirmed kills.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior, don’t worry.” Cassidy said as she moved up closer to Altair, holding his hand a bit tighter. “What about your Dad? Is there anything special I should know about him? I mean, I’ve heard so much in books that I’m not sure what to expect.”

“He’s just a guy.” Altair said with a shrug, Cassidy raised an eyebrow at him. “No, really, when he isn’t doing government stuff he does guy stuff. Reads, watches TV, takes naps on the couch.” The two of them came out onto the top floor of the staircase, which wasn’t nearly as big as the lower ones. It reminded Cassidy of her own house, though the walls and floors were marble and had much more paintings. There were also two thestrals standing guard near the end of the hallway, Altair waved to them as he and Cassidy walked closer. “Hey Sven. Hey Marv. How’s it goin’?”

“Boring, just how we like it.” Marv, the thestral on the left said with a slight smirk, he turned his attention to Cassidy and raised an eyebrow. “Who’s this?”

“This is Cassidy, she’s um… She’s my…” Altair rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of a word, he wasn’t sure what Cassidy was comfortable with being called.

“I’m his girlfriend.” Cassidy said, Altair mentally sighed in relief while nodding. Sven and Marv looked at one another with a bit of surprise, then back at Altair with shit eating grins.

“Cassidy and Altair! Sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” The two of them began to sing, Altair blushed fiercly and looked at the floor. The two guards began chuckling before one of them opened his wing and patted Altair on the shoulder.

“We’re just screwing with you, kid.” Sven said before retracting his wing, he looked at Cassidy and smirked. “Sorry about that, we’ve been with the family since Altair was in diapers, we just kinda screw with him from time to time.”

“Sven! Don’t talk about him as a baby in front of his girlfriend! You know Misses O already pulled out the photo albums!” Marv said in a hushed voice, Sven smirked a bit wider but nodded. Cassidy.

“Oh god… Not the photo albums.” Altair said, still blushing bright red. Cassidy giggled and hugged Altair tightly, then she planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Relax, Alley Cat. I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” She said as she let go, Altair quietly sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Besides, I bet you were cute as a baby.” Sven and Marv began snickering to themselves.

“Oh, he was. We could tell you tons of stories, but I don’t think he can get any redder than that.” Marv said with a smile, Altair straightened up and did his best to hide the blush on his cheeks. “Anyway, we’ve given you a long enough stay of execution. Your Mom’s waiting for you.”

“Alright…” Altair said as the red began to fade from his cheeks, he looked at Cassidy for a moment before he walked towards the door that lead to the family room. He paused as he heard the sound of music playing in the room, cautiously he turned the knob and pushed the door open a crack to peek in. To his surprise he saw his Dad and his Mom dancing in the center of the room, Altair recognized the song now, it was his parent’s wedding song. ‘Little things mean a lot’. Altair pushed the door open further, allowing Cassidy a chance to look at the dancing couple, Altair signalled to her to be quiet. She nodded as the two of them stood in the doorway, watching the couple swaying to their song. Altair knew better to interrupt, this was likely one of his parent’s spontaneous moments, and he hated ruining them by accident.

Eventually the song came to an end, Altair’s Mom and Dad let go of one another and giggled. They stopped when they noticed that the door was open and that their son and his girlfriend had just watched them, Cassidy waved awkwardly at the two of them. They both seemed to be in high spirits, smiling widely.

“There he is!” Altair’s Dad said with a wide grin, he looked over at Cassidy and smiled wider. “And you finally brought your girlfriend to visit!” Cassidy gulped as the Imperator, the most powerful man in the country, walked over to her and Altair. The man wrapped his son in a massive hug, Cassidy couldn’t help but giggle as she saw the boy flail his arms about. The Imperator let go of his son and looked at Cassidy, then offered his hand to her. “I’m Dominic, Altair’s dad! Nice to finally meet you! Altair has told us so much about you.” Cassidy extended her hand to the man and was surprised by how big his hand was compared to hers, and yet he shook hers without crushing it.

“Nice to meet you too, Mister Occisor!” Cassidy replied with a slight crack in her voice, it was now only dawning on her that she was meeting with the most powerful people in the country, possibly the planet. What was more, Altair seemed to be spot on. Dominic Occisor, the mighty Imperator that had built a super state from nothing, was… Just a guy.

“Mister Occisor was my father. Please, call me Dominic.” Altair’s dad said with a grin as he finished shaking her hand, he gestured over to his wife who was now rushing over to give her son her own very powerful hug. “This is my first wife, Maria. Luna will be along later, she’s speaking with her team. We may be close to a moon shot, but don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t.” Cassidy said with a bit of surprise when Altair’s mom finished hugging her boy, the woman looked at her as if inspecting her, but despite that she still had a warm expression and gave off an air of friendliness. Cassidy could hardly believe such a nice looking lady was also the most deadly sniper in Onorussian History.

“Oh, Altair! Why didn’t you invite her sooner?” His Mom asked as she suddenly hugged Cassidy, the girl blinked in surprise as she looked at Altair. The boy and his father both gave her quick thumbs up, which she took to mean that Maria liked her. “Hi! I’m Altair’s Mom, but you knew that.” Cassidy nodded when the woman let go of her, feeling like she had just gotten a hug from her own Mother.

“I didn’t know how to ask…” Altair said sheepishly while he rubbed the back of his neck again, Cassidy could tell that he felt a lot better now that he was in the company of his family. She caught glimpses of that when they were together, but now he practically looked like he was over the moon. “Anyway… Yes, this is Cassidy… And yes… She’s my girlfriend.” Saying it himself made Altair feel all the better inside, he felt like he was on top of the world when he was spending time with Cassidy and it felt so good to let those thoughts out.

“We were expecting you a little later, the cookies haven’t finished cooking yet.” Altair’s Mom said with a slight frown. “That’s okay, I can go start up a pot of tea or coffee while we wait! You two go ahead and sit down, I’m sure there’s tons you want to talk about! Don’t wait on my account!” Maria began walking towards a doorway that lead to the kitchen.

“Don’t take too long, Sweetie.” Altair’s Dad said as he gave the woman a kiss on the cheek, the woman only smiled back as she kept walking. Once she was in the kitchen Altair and Cassidy moved to the family area and took a seat on one of the couches, the loveseat to be more exact. Meanwhile Altair’s father sat on the regular couch and reached over to a record player that had been playing the song earlier, he lifted the needle and moved it off the still spinning record before turning off the machine altogether. “So Cassidy, Altair tells me you’re a singer?”

“Oh, um, only as a hobby. I can’t really sing much else than the blues, it always ends up sounding wrong.” Cassidy replied as she leaned against Altair, the boy paused and faked a yawn, raising his arms into the air and casually draping one over Cassidy’s shoulders. His Dad began chuckling as he watched that, but he didn’t bring it up.

“Sometimes hobbies can turn out to be your career, you’re looking at living proof.” Altair’s Dad said with a grin, he gestured to a stack of books on the table, history books about ancient Rome and other Terran states. “You should keep working at it if you enjoy it, it might just work out.”

“I will.” Cassidy replied with a bit of a smile while she snuggled up against Altair some more, as if making a display of her affections would solidify her place in Dominic’s mind. She wasn’t wrong, Dominic certainly knew about her. As it turned out, he hoped that Cassidy and Altair worked out, but he also knew that Teenagers were Teenagers… As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn’t giving the relationship very good odds. Altair looked over at Cassidy, their eyes met for a couple moments. Altair stared into Cassidy’s beautiful brown eyes while Cassidy returned the favor, after a couple seconds they looked away from one another, Cassidy looked back to Altair’s dad. “So, I’m a little curious… You’re the Imperator, right?” Dominic nodded. “So that probably means you have a lot of money, why did you send Altair to a place like Don Bosco Tech? Not that I mind, it’s just something I’ve wondered about.”

“Well, put simply, he asked.” Dominic replied, Cassidy seemed honestly surprised by that. “He was originally going to go to North Canterlot Prep, but he asked and I worked it out so that he could go to Don Bosco.” Cassidy looked at Altair for a couple seconds, though he didn’t seem to notice. The thought that if things had been different she might not have never met him entered her mind, but she quickly pushed it away, as she had obviously met him so she didn’t need to worry about it. “I went to public school, and it taught me a lot more than history and science. It got me out in the world, helped shape me into the man I am today… I’d be remiss if I didn’t give my son the same opportunity I had.”

“Better people in Public School too.” Altair added as he looked over at Cassidy. “I tried going to private school once, but I just didn’t like the kids there. They were all very arrogant… I’ve always hated that.” He leaned a bit closer to Cassidy and got more comfortable on the couch. “I like down to earth people, y’know? I just want to be a normal guy, I’d say so far it’s worked out pretty well.”

“Aw…. Alley Cat. That’s sweet of you.” Cassidy said while bringing a hand to her chest, she leaned up and planted a big kiss on Altair’s cheek. Altair’s Dad smiled faintly at the display, mentally he gave their chances of working out a reevaluation… He was still skeptical, of course, but things seemed to be working out. “You know, Altair hasn’t told me much about his hobbies… I always thought it was because he was shy about them.”

“Oh, um… Actually…” Altair began, Dominic cut him off.

“He has a hobby alright, a very energetic hobby.” The man said, Altair’s eyes went wide as he quickly shook his head towards his dad. “What, you didn’t tell her about her?”

“Her?” Cassidy suddenly asked, Altair went white and sighed.

“I didn’t tell you because… Well, remember that time we were talking about what we’re scared of?” Altair said nervously, Cassidy sat up and looked at him with a skeptical expression. He looked at the floor and scowled. “Look… Just, don’t freak out, okay? I was gonna tell you eventually.” The boy looked towards the kitchen and spoke with a raised voice. “Wolfy! Kommen sie!” The sound of a bark echoed through the room, this time Cassidy was the one to look nervous as she scooted closer to Altair. From the kitchen emerged Altair’s trusty dog, the German Shepherd stopped in front of the loveseat and sat down, panting eagerly after being called.

“Y-You have a dog?” Cassidy asked in a nervous voice, Altair nodded quietly, Dominic just watched quietly.

“She’s very well trained, you don’t have to worry about her doing anything.” Altair said reassuringly, Cassidy sighed and cautiously adjusted her place on the couch to look at Wolfy. The dog tilted her head at the new comer, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she sniffed a couple times. “As I said… I wasn’t sure how to tell you, since, y’know… You’re afraid of dogs.”

“I-I can see why…” Cassidy mumbled as the dog stared at her with its big brown eyes, Wolfy let out a quiet whine before scooting over to Altair. The boy reached down and rubbed the dog’s head affectionately, causing Wolfy to sigh and lean her head closer. “S-So… You’re sure she’s safe?”

“I’ve been training her and working with her since she was a puppy.” Altair said reassuringly as he continued to pet Wolfy. “She’s a great big ball of love, she’ll try and curl up on your lap if you let her.” Cassidy watched as Altair moved both his hands to Wolfy’s head, he began rubbing behind her ears with vigor, causing the dog’s tail to begin tapping against the floor in delight. Eventually Wolfy rolled onto her back, exposing her belly as her legs flailed in the air, this gave Altair ample opportunity to lean down and start rubbing Wolfy’s tummy. “I can send her out if you want, I don’t want you to be scared.”

“No… No, it’s fine…” Cassidy said as she adjusted her sweater and looked at Wolfy, she had been afraid of dogs since childhood, her neighbor had had a very nasty poodle that had chased her almost every day when she was a little girl. She had heard that facing one’s fears was the only way to overcome them, and she considered this little hiccup in her meeting with Altair’s parent’s to be a sign that she should keep trying. “C-Can I pet her too?”

“You sure?” Altair asked, Cassidy nodded quietly, all the while Altair’s father continued to watch. He was like some sort of scientist observing animals in the wild, forming theories and ideas in his mind, taking in all the facts. “Go ahead, just let her sniff your hand first.” Altair stopped rubbing Wolfy’s belly and snapped his fingers, the dog instantly scrambled back into a sitting position. Cassidy took a deep breath and extended her hand towards Wolfy, the dog sniffed her hand for several seconds before licking it playfully. Cassidy almost recoiled, but forced herself to endure the slobbery kiss. She reached forward and began to slowly rub Wolfy’s head, the dog whined and scooted closer to her. “See?”

“Yeah…” Cassidy said with a surprised smile as she continued petting Wolfy, the dog’s tail began to tap against the floor again.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you sooner…” Altair said as he watched Cassidy pet his dog, Cassidy gave him a look that said she was still a little annoyed, but that she’d eventually get over it. It was at this point that Altair’s Mom emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray with a pot of coffee and several mugs, as well as two little containers for cream and sugar. Her warm smile seemed to lighten the mood as she set the tray down on a wooden coffee table between the couch and the love seat. The smell was unlike anything Cassidy had experienced before, she normally didn’t drink coffee, but something about the smell of that brew made her feel at ease.

“I didn’t miss too much, did I?” Maria asked as she poured a cup for herself, then poured a cup and gave it to Dominic. Cassidy watched as the woman poured a good bit of cream and sugar into her own cup while her husband seemed to take his coffee black.

“No, Cassidy just met Wolfy is all.” Dominic said in a calm voice, acting as if the bit of tension from earlier hadn’t happened. Cassidy was feeling better with each moment that passed of petting the dog in question, even though she was still very much afraid of most dogs, she could tell that Wolfy was different. Well trained, even tempered… If she had to pick a dog to be the first she trusted, it would be Wolfy. Cassidy looked over at Altair, the boy still looked upset that he had kept a secret from her, but he also looked proud... The girl could tell he was very fond of his dog, and that he was glad to see both Cassidy and Wolfy getting along.

“Oh? She met Wolfy? That’s good!” Maria said cheerfully as she drank a sip of her coffee, the woman looked at Cassidy and Altair with that same warm look she had had when they’d first entered the room. “Would you like some coffee, Cassidy?”

“Oh, um, yes please. With just cream.” Cassidy said, looking at Wolfy once again, the dog seemed to be smiling widely while she had her eyes closed. Maria meanwhile poured a cup of coffee, which was then joined by a shot of cream. The woman handed it to the girl, which forced Cassidy to stop petting Wolfy. The dog whined for a moment before moving to the side of the couch and laying down. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, deary.” Maria replied as she set the cream back on the tray, the woman smiled and looked towards an old cardboard box that was beneath the table. “I was just thinking about how fast it seems that Altair grew up… I mean, he has a girlfriend now, but it feels like just yesterday he was a little boy…” She seemed to be a little misty eyed as she pulled the box out, Altair looked a bit nervous as he saw it.

“Honey, do we really need to look at those now?” Altair’s asked quickly, Maria wiped her eyes and nodded sternly as she took out a faded photo album from the box.

“I wanna see what Alley Cat looked like as a baby.” Cassidy said in a joking but teasing tone, looking at Altair to see him squirm a bit. It seemed this was his punishment for not telling Cassidy about Wolfy. Maria set the photo album on the table while Altair and his father looked at one another, it was as if they were trying to devise a plan to keep the viewing of those pictures from happening without using any words.

“You’re in luck! Here’s one!” Maria said cheerfully as she opened the album and turned to the first page, there was a little lock of black hair taped next to a picture of a baby wrapped up in a sky blue blanket, the baby was sleeping. “Oh… He was so small… It’s hard to believe he would grow up to be so big and still be so cute.” Cassidy and Maria let out coos of adoration while Altair sat there in mortified horror, all his father could do was sit there and watch. He rationalized in his head that this was something every mother had to do to their child at one point, embarrassing them in front of their girlfriend was normal… At least, that’s what he told himself. “Back then he had the cutest little toes, they were like little corn nibblets.”

“I’m… Uh… I’m gonna go get a soda! Yeah!” Altair said quickly as he stood up and walked at a brisk pace into the kitchen, his face as red as it had been before. Once he was in the kitchen he moved to the sink and turned the water to cold, then he ran his hands under it and rubbed them on his face. He could hear his Mother and Cassidy cooing in the other room, it seemed there was nothing he could do to get out of the humiliation of having his baby pictures shared with the girl he was trying to impress on a regular basis. Then again, he thought, maybe that was part of being a man… Dealing with annoyances for the benefit of the person he cared about… Altair sighed and walked to the fridge, he pulled the handle and opened the door. From within he pulled a can of cherry cola, the boy closed the door and began walking back towards the living room.

He stopped in the doorway as he saw that his mother and Cassidy were now sitting next to each other, smiling as they continued pointing at pictures in the album. Altair opened his soda and took a sip while he stood there, taking in the sight of his mom and his girlfriend bonding at his expense. As long as they were happy… He caught sight of his father on the couch, the man was looking at him with an expression of proud, as if he could tell the realization that Altair had reached in his head. The teen made his way to the couch and sat down, then got comfortable. After a couple more minutes his Mom had gone through the entirety of the baby album with Cassidy, so at least the torture was mercifully short. Altair sipped his soda once again while leaning back in his seat.

“Thanks for showing me those, Miss Maria.” Cassidy said with a smirk as she looked at Altair, the boy was drinking his soda with a semi-uncomfortable expression. She decided that perhaps she’d gone a bit too far, but it wasn’t like she could change that now. “I was wondering if I could take a look around Altair’s room? You said your other herd mate wouldn’t be home for a while…”

“His room? Alone?” Dominic said with a raised eyebrow. “I assume you mean with the door closed?” Cassidy paused and looked to the side, as if trying to think of a way to explain that she had simply made a slip of the tongue. Maria gave her husband a light smack on the arm.

“Don’t be like that.” The woman said with a slightly annoyed tone. “Altair, you go ahead and show her your room… But leave the door open, just so your Dad doesn’t worry.” Altair nodded and stood from his seat, Cassidy stood up as well. “Show her around the rest of the house if you want, I’m sure you can find something to keep you busy! Your father and I have cookies to bake!”

“Alright, Mom.” Altair said before gulping down the rest of his soda, he and Cassidy walked towards the door out into the main hall, leaving his parents behind. Once they had stepped out into the hall where Sven and Marv were Altair looked over to Cassidy, smiling faintly. “So, did you have fun with my Mom so far?”

“She’s really nice.” Cassidy replied with a smile, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry about that, but… You had it coming.” Altair shrugged as the two of them walked down the hall towards the door that lead to his room, the boy paused and pushed it open. “You were right about your Mom and Dad, by the way… They seem like, well, normal people.” 

“I’m glad you feel that way, that’s more of a compliment than you might think.” The boy smiled at her statement and stepped into his room, it had changed quite a bit over the years. Posters for cartoons had been replaced by posters for bands, toys had been replaced by trinkets and souvenirs. The only thing that had really stayed the same was the large Cherry wood desk near Altair’s desk, Cassidy spotted a large leather bound book resting on it, but it was closed. She also noticed several pieces of loose paper scattered on the desk and a record player beside it.

“Whoa… And here I was thinking there would be all sorts of high tech gaming stuff in here.” Cassidy said with a bit of surprise as she looked at the trinkets on Altair’s shelf, there were a couple picture frames as well as several spent shell casings and a model of a tank.

“Yeah, we have a room for that.” Altair said as he walked to his desk and took the leather bound book from the top, he quickly slipped it into one of the drawers. “It’s got all our internet stuff hooked through a Military cypher, so we can’t get hacked if I play an online match.” Cassidy hummed in appreciation of the security as she looked at the bands listed on the posters, to her surprise some of them were old Terran bands, as well as a couple newer metal groups. Most shocking of them all was that most weren’t for bands at all, but instead for singers that Cassidy had never heard of.

“Who’s Luciano Pavarotti?” Cassidy asked as she looked at one of the posters, it displayed a fat man in a tuxedo smiling at the camera. Altair walked over and crossed his arms as he looked at the poster.

“He was an Opera singer. One of the Three Tenors, at least before he died.” The boy said simply, Cassidy looked at him with surprise. “I’m a normal guy for the most part, but… When I was a kid my Mother, the pony one, took me to the Opera all the time.” Altair smiled as he looked at the poster, a nostalgic smile that Cassidy rarely saw on his face. “I always wanted to be able to sing like Pavarotti, but I don’t want people to think I’m weird. That’s kinda why I didn’t tell you about this either.”

“I don’t think it’s weird.” Cassidy said with a smile, Altair raised an eyebrow at her in uncertainty. “I really don’t, I think it’s actually kinda sweet.” The girl walked over and took his hand in hers, then she looked him in the eyes. “Look, you don’t have to worry about coming off as weird to me, okay? You’re the son of the Imperator, that pretty much tops the weird scale.” Altair stared at the girl for a couple moments, processing her words. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide yourself from me, you know?”

“I… I know, it’s just… I’m so used to people trying to use me, or lying… I’m not used to opening up.” Altair replied as he walked towards his desk, his shoulder’s slumping slightly. “It’s hard for me to trust people… But… I trust you.” Cassidy watched him as he picked up the loose papers on his desk and straightened them out, she could make out writing on them, but Altair’s handwriting was so bad she had no idea what they said. “Let’s not get all sentimental alright, this is supposed to be a fun day.”

“Alright, Alley Cat.” Cassidy replied as she walked over to the desk and looked out the window which offered a view of the city. She looked at his desk quietly, noting that there were other trinkets there as well. For instance she could see that there were pens and a couple blank pages of paper in a stack to the right, as well as what looked like a couple toy soldiers. “You have dolls on your desk?”

“They aren’t dolls.” Altair said defensively as he looked at the soldiers, they were twelve inch ‘Major Murderous’ figures with cloth uniforms, Altair had posed them meticulously. “They’re action figures.” Cassidy looked at the action figures more closely, they seemed to be posed like something she’d seen before. She soon recognized it as the New Axis War Memorial in downtown Canterlot. He looked over at Cassidy and crossed his arms as he smiled, she knew that smile meant he’d just thought of something. “Completely unrelated… But I just realized, now I get to meet your parents.”

“O-Oh, no, that isn’t necessary!” Cassidy said quickly, Altair raised an eyebrow at her. “Look, I love you, but… My parents, they’re…” The girl sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “They’re a little… Weird… About who I date.” Altair gave her a deadpanned expression, as if to ask what could be weirder than being the son of the Imperator. “Look, let’s just say they aren’t as open minded as your parents are?”

“What do you mean?” Altair asked, Cassidy sighed and looked at the floor. It was her turn to feel bad for not telling the truth, she supposed, and her’s was a doozy compared to Altair not telling her he had a dog.

“I… I haven’t told them you’re, y’know… White?” Cassidy asked, Altair just continued to stare at her, as if he didn’t understand. “They don’t like white people. They’re racist.”

“Ooooh.” Altair said, he sounded more like he was watching someone solve a rubik's cube than learning his black girlfriend’s parents didn’t like white people. “Well, I mean, you like me, obviously… So what’s the big deal what they think?”

“Wait, you aren’t upset?” Cassidy asked, Altair shrugged and leaned against his desk.

“I’ve learned to face that sort of stuff with a sense of apathy… Now, if someone were to start saying bad things about you, then I’d be upset, but honestly I don’t care what other people think about me as long as we’re happy.” Altair explained, Cassidy smiled and breathed a slight sigh of relief. “That said, I wouldn’t mind meeting them… It’d be worth whatever trouble it was to see the look on their face.”

“You’re the type of guy that would watch a car fire, huh?” Cassidy asked rhetorically, Altair chuckled for a moment.

“You could say that, if it was an interesting car fire.” Altair shook his head and looked around. “Let’s not discuss stressful relationship stuff though, remember?” Cassidy nodded, prompting Altair to walk over to his record player. “I know, everyone uses digital nowadays, but vinyl really sounds better. Let’s see… What do we have here?”

“Why don’t you play me you’re favorite record? I mean, I know you like Opera and Blues, but we never got a chance to talk about what other kinds of music you listen to… It’ll help clear my head after what we just talked about, I still feel kinda bad.” Cassidy asked, Altair looked over at her with a big grin. “And if you say your favorite record is anything by me I’m gonna smack you! Those cheesy lines don’t work on me.” She saw the boy’s grin get even wider, as if he was trying not to laugh. After a couple seconds he shook his head and looked back to the collection of records in a milk crate on the floor next to the record player.

“Alright… Alright…” Altair said simply as he pulled an album from the crate and held it up for Cassidy to see. It lacked any text on the front, it appeared to just be white bricks. “The Wall, by Pink Floyd. My old man used to play this all the time… I’m normally not a ‘Theme Album’ guy, but I dunno, this one speaks to me.” Cassidy raised an eyebrow at the album as Altair removed the first record, he looked it over for a moment before setting it on the turntable and turning on the record player. “Normally I just sort of chill on my bed when I listen to this, but you’re here, so… That might be weird.” Altair proceeded to move the needle onto the record, there was a brief pop before the record began to play.

The first song of ‘The Wall’ began to play through the speakers of the record player, Altair sat down in his desk chair while Cassidy took the chance to sit on his bed. This was something that both of them enjoyed doing when they were together at the club, sitting together and shutting up for a while, just listening to the music. Cassidy watched Altair close his eyes and lean his head back, as if he was soaking in the sound. The girl leaned back on the bed and closed her eyes as well, listening to the lyrics as she continued to watch Altair. The words and sound effects that began to play were… Oddly accurate to what she imagined Altair’s feelings to be.

He had confided in her that he was used to putting on a sort of mask, much like the song described. Being the son of a world leader wasn’t easy, there were times when Altair would have to meet with other leaders families, he was constantly forced to dodge the paparazzi, and perhaps the worst part was the lack of trust… Cassidy had managed to get through many of Altair’s emotional walls, but she knew that she was far from getting him to lower his guard to the rest of the world.

The two of them sat there quietly, enjoying the album as it played. Whenever the record needed to be turned over or changed it would be done quietly, and as the album continued playing Cassidy got a better insight into Altair’s mind. When the last song of the album began to play, she could see Altair shift in his seat. The song, which seemed to be about letting people in, seemed to make him look uncertain. When the album was finally finished Cassidy and Altair sat in silence, after a minute or so both of them sat up and looked around.

“So, yeah...” Altair said with a slight shrug. “That was my favorite album.” Cassidy could see that the boy still wasn’t used to sharing things, there was still the faint look of vulnerability in Altair’s eyes. “I didn’t think you’d want to listen to the whole thing, you could’ve said something…”

“No, no… I liked it.” Cassidy replied with a warm smile, Altair smiled back at her and sat up straighter in his seat. “Hey, do you think your Mother is here yet? I was hoping to meet her, but…” The girl looked at a clock that was hanging on the wall. “I’ve gotta get home soon, my parents will start to worry, you know?”

“She would’ve come in if she was back, I guess she’s just a bit busier at the lab than usual.” Altair said with a thoughtful expression, he looked at the clock as well. “My Mom and Dad probably didn’t want to come in either, since we probably looked like we were having a moment or something… They’re sweet like that.” Cassidy smiled at him and looked at the floor. “Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer? I’m sure you could stay for dinner if you wanted, maybe if you call your folks they’d understand?”

“I really wish I could, but it took a lot of convincing just to get my Dad to not freak out when I told him I was going to visit your house, and we’ve been going out since last fall.” Cassidy said in an exasperated tone. “Sometimes parents are so annoying… I would’ve come visit sooner if I didn’t think my Dad would flip out. I wish we could meet somewhere else that wasn’t at the club…”

“Well, if you wanted to do that, why didn’t you ask?” Altair asked with a raised eyebrow, Cassidy seemed confused. “I know plenty of places we could go, your Dad would never know. There’s this diner that my Mother and I go to all the time, they’re super discreet too, and I have a security detail on top of that!”

“I’d love to do that, but when would we get a chance? We barely have time to see each other at the club.” Cassidy replied while she clasped her hands together. “My grandfather doesn’t say anything about us, but… I think that’s only because he can keep tabs on us at the club. If we went out on our own, I’m worried he’d tell my parents the truth…”

“So?” Altair asked as he looked Cassidy in the eyes. “We’re practically sixteen, that’s old enough for to drive, get a GED… Or to transfer into the Junior MPs! Two years from being able to smoke, drink, and join the army… And other things too!” The boy scooted closer to her and held his hand out for her to take. “Look… Cass, no one has ever made me feel the way you do… And I know we’re young, and that most of the time teens break up, but… I don’t think that’s gonna happen with us.” Altair put his other hand over his heart. “I promise you, that no matter what your parents say, no matter what they do, even if they try and pull us apart… As long as you want to be with me, I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.”

“Oh… Altair, I… I…” Cassidy’s eyes watered as she looked at his hand, then her gaze shifted to his face. She could see the seriousness in his jaw, and as she looked in his eyes she felt like she was seeing further into Altair than she ever had before, as if he had lowered every defense for her. “Two years… Huh?” Altair nodded, Cassidy let out a slow breath and took Altair’s hand in hers. “Okay…” Both of them heard a sniffle from the doorway, but they didn’t think much of it. They instead wrapped their arms around one another, holding on tightly as they pulled themselves closer together.

“T-That was beautiful!” Sven the Guard said quietly as he and Marv peeked around the doorway, they’d been tasked with making sure nothing unsanctioned was happening. Sven suddenly turned and hugged his comrade tightly, crying like he had just finished watching one of his soap operas. Marv patted his friend on the side while he rolled his eyes. “Love truly conquers all!”

“Sure it does, big guy… Sure it does.” Marv replied in a half annoyed tone. “Go get a tissue or something. Jesus! I’ll keep an eye on them…” Sven nodded quietly and continued to wipe his eyes while walking away, that left Marv to observe the two young lovebirds. Only once Sven was out of hearing range did Marv get a little misty eyed. “I-It was kinda nice though…” He said to himself.
> Interlude: Sea of Heartbreak
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Crystal Empire was far different from what it had been during the years after the fall of Equestria and the rise of Onorus, massive factory complexes had sprung up on the outskirts as the protective shield had been expanding outwards. Smokestacks churned out clouds of smog which were quickly carried out of the dome and into the atmosphere. The Empire, once small and weak, had since grown into a true rival of Onorus to the south. Under the command of Shining Armor, their military had annexed Yakyakistan, Maretonia, and dozens of other smaller states overseas. Unlike the Caribou and Zebra, the Empire was at least fair to its new territories. The factories in the capital city were built to equip the Crystal Empire’s rapidly growing military, uniforms, tanks, trucks, guns, and all manner of other war machines passed through their doors on a daily basis.

For Princess Cadence, this was the antithesis of what she had set out to accomplish when she’d taken control of the Empire. Her husband had gradually become more and more powerful, each time he took over a new territory his popularity grew and Cadence lost more and more control of what was supposed to be her kingdom. Everything from the massive factories to the conquest was fed by a powerful motivator. Fear. Shining Armor had become paranoid of the Onorussians to the south, a sentiment shared by a majority of the Crystal Empire’s citizens, even those that had been annexed.

The nations of the world not under the control of the Crystal Empire or Onorus were either allied with the two superpowers or bought weapons from them. Though tensions were elevated, Cadence was sure that things would turn out alright. Shining Armor would still need her approval if he wanted to go to war with Onorus or one of their allies, as long as she could maintain what little power she had left she could ensure the peace. The alicorn had been having an increasingly difficult time assuring Dominic Occisor of that, however, and she had to admit that he had a good reason to be skeptical. There had been numerous times where border guards had nearly come to blows, not to mention the rapid growth of Anti-Onorus sentiment in the Empire.

The Princess of Love stood in her room in the Crystal Castle, staring down out her once peace loving city through the window. She and Shining had started sleeping in separate rooms four years prior, she couldn’t handle living with him any longer, despite her feelings for him. She loved him, deep down she knew the fun loving stallion she married was still in there, somewhere… He wasn’t home at the moment, he was speaking with the Minotaur Ambassador. Apparently Blueblood, their chief weapon’s designer, had been killed by the Onorussians… 

That, coupled with the existing tension between the Minotaurs and Onorus, had driven their government to want to join ‘The Empire Pact’. The Pact was a union of nations that had allied together to stand against the Onorussian Republic and their own defensive pact. Cadence stared down at numerous factories with a growing pain in her heart, she didn’t know what she could do but keep trying to passively resist the growing amount of hate she sensed in her city.

The mare turned away from the window and walked over to the couch that had been set up near the center of her room, it was in front of her television. That was really her only way of seeing the world outside of the Crystal Empire, she didn’t dare leave the capital for a second, for fear of what damage could be done if she did. Cadence hopped up onto the couch and levitated the remote, she powered on the screen and punched in the channel that she wanted to watch. The screen began to display an anchor from the Onorussian News Channel.

”...In other news, Minotaur naval vessels attempted to sail close to Kirk Naval Base on Twin Island. This marks the third incursion into the area in the past year.” The anchor said in his usual droning voice. ”Twin Island was once a hotly contested location between the Minotaurs and the Zebras, leading many to worry the strip of land will become a point of contention in the coming days.” Cadence changed the channel again, she didn’t want to hear more bad news about the Minotaurs. The channel she’d shifted to was also Onorussian in origin, though it was displaying a movie that had come out the year prior.

The film was one of Cadence’s favorites, and the best part was that she had tuned in just as it was beginning. It was a drama about a group of ponies from back in ancient times that helped to hide Thestral Refugees during the Nightmare War, even despite the historical inaccuracies, the movie depicted the ponies as compassionate and caring, just the way they had been in real life. Cadence leaned back in her seat and sighed, her wings ruffling against her side. The mare looked to a picture frame that rested on a table beside the couch, it depicted her in Onorus, standing in a church with the Imperator, his wife, and her Aunt Luna... As well as their son, though he was just a baby. Shining had told her to get rid of it, but she wasn’t about to… It reminded her of when times were better.

Not many people knew, but all those years ago Cadence had been selected to be the godmother of the Imperator’s son. She had taken a shine to the role, and during the early years things had seemed fine, but as tensions grew, Cadence found herself getting less and less time to see her godson. She doubted if he’d even remember her at this point, and that was something she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forgive Shining for. After all, it wasn’t like she could have children of her own… Not with Shining, at least. Altair had been the closest thing she’d had to a child, and now she suspected he wouldn’t recognize her other than ‘The leader of the Crystal Empire’.

The mare looked back to the TV and leaned her head back, she let the dialogue and music fade into the background as she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. There had been so much that had happened, sometimes she felt like just using her immense power to retake control of the Empire, but that would make her look like a tyrant to the citizens of the Empire, and what little sway she had over them would be lost if they decided to rebel. No… What she would need to do would be to sway opinion away from her husband’s way of thinking, but she had no idea how to accomplish that.

Cadence noticed that the movie seemed to have become silent, the mare lifted her head and looked at the television. She was surprised to see that none other than Shining Armor had entered the room, his horn was glowing as he muted the television. Cadence looked at the stallion quietly, wondering just what it was that he wanted from her.

“I’ve completed my negotiations with the Minotaurs.” Shining said in an even voice, his once long mane was now high and tight. “They’ve agreed to join the Empire Pact, with them on our side, we’ll stand a good chance against the Onorussians if they should try to test us.” Cadence only nodded and looked back to the muted television, she watched as some of the characters had taken shelter under a bridge while Royal Guards marched overhead. “This is a good thing, Cadence! Finally, we won’t have to worry about them wiping us out like they did the Equestrians.”

“We never had to worry about that, Shining…” Cadence said quietly, she looked over at her husband with tired eyes. “But… I’m too tired to have this argument with you again.” The mare leaned her head back once more. “Go… Celebrate with your Generals, I know that’s what you’re going to do after this anyway.” Shining Armor scowled and looked at the TV, of course his wife was watching an Onorussian Movie, and of course she still hadn’t gotten rid of the photograph of her and the Onorussian Imperator.

“Very well…” Shining said curtly, his horn lowered the remote next to Cadence. “Please… Refrain from watching any more of those… Films. The maids are starting to think you’re feeding information to the Onorussians.” Cadence kept her eyes closed, ignoring the stallion’s request as best she could. “I’ll have someone along to ensure that photograph is also taken care of properly, we can’t afford to look like we’re sympathizing with them either…”

“You can certainly try to take it.” Cadence replied flatly, not opening her eyes. Shining Armor was about to issue a retort, but stopped himself and simply turned to the door. He walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind him, leaving Cadence by herself in the quiet room. The mare looked over to the photograph and levitated it closer, quietly she held it against her chest and hugged it tightly. She told herself that eventually she would get that life back, she just needed to carry on a little longer, then she’d have a chance to show the Onorussians how she really felt, then she’d finally have the chance to be the godmother she wanted to be…

[♠]

The sun was setting on the horizon, casting a pinkish orange glow across the ocean that stretched onwards into the distance. Despite heavy cloud cover, there was still sufficient light to make the sunset a beautiful sight. It gave the sea an eerie feeling of calm, the waves were surprisingly small, and a thin fog had started to settle in. For the crew of an Onorussian Destroyer, the ONV Banshee, it had been a day of smooth sailing. Their patrol of the waters in the South Luna Sea had gone well, with no sightings of ships other than the occasional cargo vessel.

The Banshee was an Arkon Class Patrol Destroyer, crewed by a less than two hundred and captained by a Thestral named Steuerrad. With a length of three hundred and fifty feet, a beam of forty feet, and a draft of twenty feet, the Banshee was one of the smaller vessels in the Onorussian Navy. Painted a bluish grey, to match the color of the sea, she displayed her national colors with pride, the numbers ‘621’ were largely painted on her bow. Her armaments consisted of eight eight inch guns, five twenty millimeter cannons, four forty millimeter auto cannons, four torpedo tubes, and two stern mounted depth charge racks. 

For Captain Steuerrad, the Banshee was his home away from home, the stallion was just barely thirty years old and had studied under Admiral Eugene. Though Eugene had been a submarine skipper, he had taught Steuerrad everything he needed to know about hunting subs. Even though there wasn’t much action in this part of the South Luna Sea, Steuerrad and his crew didn’t seem to mind. As the thestral stood on the bridge, watching the sunset on the horizon, he took comfort in the sound of the Banshee’s twin diesel engines pushing her along through the waves. The bridge was quiet, it didn’t take many to staff, which gave it a peaceful feeling.

Most of the crew was below deck in the galley, eating dinner and conversing. Others were on the deck, some where mopping up, a few had taken up painting, and one diamond dog was even fishing. Officially it was to help the cook, but the Captain knew better. He also knew that if need be, his men would drop what they were doing and snap to action, but that didn’t seem likely in this peaceful sector of the ocean.

“Radar Contact!” One of the bridge officers shouted, Steuerrad looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “Bearing Zero Five Zero. Range Eleven Miles. Speed… Zero Knots.” The captain walked to the Radar station and looked at the screen, watching as the radar lit up a large blip to the North East. “It’s big, sir, and it isn’t moving.”

“Civ Traffic, any container ships scheduled to pass through this area?” Steuerrad Asked one of the other officers, a griffon female who had just reached the rank of ensign. She quickly picked up a clipboard and flipped through a couple pages.

“Negative, sir. No civilian traffic in this area for another four hours.” The griffon replied, Steuerrad hummed for a moment before looking to a young man who was manning the helm.

“Adjust your heading to intercept the vessel, ahead full.” The captain ordered, he looked to the Radar operator. “Alert the forward guns, this may be a Minotaur spy vessel.” The officers nodded, one of them picked up a microphone that was routed into the ship’s PA system.

”Achtung! Achtung! All hands be advised, we are investigating an unidentified vessel. Forward battery personnel are to report to action stations, all others are to remain on alert.” The officer announced as the Banshee began to increase in speed, her bow slicing through the water like a knife. The crew on the deck quickly began putting away their various other activities, within two minutes of the announcement they had donned their helmets and flack jackets. The gun crews for the bow, port, and starboard forward batteries meanwhile had also taken their positions.

“Forward weapon’s crews reporting ready, captain!” The griffon officer announced as she looked at a panel of green lights beside the radio. Steuerrad nodded and raised his binoculars to his eyes, the light was beginning to fade and the fog was thickening, he couldn’t see the ship in the distance. A sense of tension settled on the bridge as the minutes ticked by, no one spoke unless they were reported a change in status, all Steuerrad could rely on was the droning sound of the Banshee’s engines. Eventually binoculars became useless, so the captain set them aside and instead looked to the Radar operator. The sun had set by the time they were approaching the vessel, the clouds obscured the moon and the stars, and the water was dead calm.

“The vessel is still stationary, sir. Two hundred yards, dead ahead.” The Radar Operator announced.

“Searchlights. All stop, bring us up alongside the vessel.” Steuerrad ordered, the searchlights were switched on as the ship began to turn. The lights cut through the fog, the men operating them combed the water with them until finally one of them landed on the hull of the ship. To the surprise of the crew and the captain, the ship’s hull was heavily rusted, but it depicted grey paint… Military paint. The lights roved over the ship a bit more, revealing that by the looks of it, it was in fact a military vessel… Of some kind. The fog obscured a good deal, but the presence of a forward gun turret couldn’t be overlooked. “Gott im himmel…”

“Sir, this doesn’t look like a minotaur ship…” One of the bridge officers said quietly as the Banshee came up alongside the mysterious ship. The other ship was dark and seemed to be listing slightly, what was more, there was battle damage. “We’ve had no reports of any of our ships going missing either…”

“Radio this in… Send Major Sweets and a squad of MACOs over to secure the vessel. Something tells me they won’t respond to a radio transmission.” Steuerrad ordered, once again the officers answered in the affirmative. The captain hoped that the MACOs would live up to their reputation… Once called ‘The Globe Corps’ AKA ‘The Onorussian Global Expeditionary Corps’ AKA ‘OGEC’, their branch had been renamed ‘Marine Assault Command of Onorus’, and they had been assigned to every ship in the South Luna Sea. Major Sweets was a capable officer, if a bit on the dramatic side, and Captain Steuerrad had every confidence that he would get to the bottom of whatever had happened on that strange dark vessel.

Sweets and his men stepped out onto the deck in full combat armor, each holding an Arcane Assault Rifle, and each looked at the other ship with uncertainty. The Major was a tall man, with tanned skin and well defined muscles, he had half a face of stubble as the call to action had come mid shave. His eyes were intense and cold, much like those of the soldier’s under his command, for all intents and purposes he was the exact opposite of his last name. The team of MACOs made their way to a Zodiac that was being prepped to be lowered into the water.

“Alright, we’re going to do a compartment by compartment sweep of the vessel. No one goes off on their own.” Sweets said as they climbed into the Zodiac. “Thermals showed no signs that they’ve operated their engines recently, and we’ve got no signs of crew on the deck. All we know is that something shot at whoever they are and it did a helluva job.” The boat began to lower into the water with one of the soldiers taking a position at the controls. “The vessel isn’t marked with any flag, so unless otherwise provoked we’re to assume they’re friendly, do not engage anyone onboard unless ordered. If there is anyone onboard...”

The boat touched down in the water, the driver started the engine and began driving towards the other ship. By now the entire crew of the Banshee had come up to see what was going on, and searchlights illuminated most of the visible side of the ship. It looked like it was also a destroyer, though it had what looked like missile launchers in place of torpedo tubes. It also looked like it had been floating the seas for at least two years, judging by the rust on the hull. Sweets and his men pulled up alongside the derelict ship at the point it was riding lowest in the water, which happened to be the bow. They could see there were numerous holes in the metal, and they hadn’t been caused by rust.

“Looks like some sort Arcane weapon, seen burns kinda like these from unicorns… But never this big.” One of the soldiers commented as they tossed a pair of grappling hooks up onto the side of the vessel, Major Sweets tugged the ropes a couple times. The MACOs used the ropes to climb up onto the ship, leaving the Zodiac tied to the side of the vessel. Once on the deck, the squad began to move towards what appeared to be the bridge.

“Let’s see what they have on the bridge, it might give us some idea of what happened here.” Sweets ordered, the soldiers flicked on their flashlights as they began to ascend a set of dark stairs that the searchlights weren’t able to illuminate. As Sweets and the squad stepped into the bridge they were presented with dozens of computer monitors and screens, some of them had been smashed out, but all of them were dark. What was more, there were skeletons laying around the floor. Not many, but some… Ponies from the looks of it. They didn’t look like they’d died suddenly, or even violently. They were slumped against the walls, as if they’d just… given up.

“Sir… Those are Equestrian Naval Uniforms…” One of the MACOs said as they approached one of the skeletons, the tattered remains of a uniform were indeed present, and the cloth bore unmistakable evidence of being Equestrian. Patches, medals, even nametags… What was more, the writing on the bridge was also in Equestrian. “This is Spooky… If the Queasies had tech like this before us, why didn’t they use it in the war?”

“I don’t know…” Sweets replied quietly as he approached one of the consoles, his Equestrian was rusty, but he could make out that had belonged to the captain. He briefly rubbed the dust from the screen and pushed some random buttons, after several seconds of nothing, the screen let out a hum as it turned on. It only displayed an image of a map, a map of an area that was supposed to be restricted. “This ship… Seems to have come from the Farlands…”

“That explains it…” One of the others said, Sweets looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “You know what they say about the Farlands, all sorts of weird things happen there…” The soldier walked over to the console. “SEDI does all sorts of experiments there, what if this ship isn’t from here… Our world.” Sweets was about to tell his subordinate that he was crazy, but the man stopped himself and looked at the screen again. The evidence was rather compelling.

“We should inform Captain Steuerrad, then radio the Nocturne Agency… Let them decide if this is SEDI related.” Sweets said as the screen became a little more fuzzy. “Let’s continue to clear the ship before we jump to any conclusions, alright?” The man paused and looked at his rifle. “Just to be safe… If this did come from the Farlands… Set your weapons to maximum, never know what might have killed the crew…” He didn’t need to give the order twice, the MACOs quickly switched their weapons to their highest output setting, known only as ‘Vaporize Mode’, it was intended to be used to shoot open locks, use on a living target was against the Onorussian Rules of War unless it was an extreme emergency. With a new sense of urgency, the squad proceeded to continue clearing the ship, not knowing for a second what mysteries they would find.

After all was said and done, the results of the search were deemed Classified… A call was placed to the Nocturne Agency in Canterlot, and two agents would eventually be dispatched to deal with the vessel. The official report was that it was simply a prototype Crystal Empire vessel that hadn’t been reported missing due to it’s secrecy… It may have been good enough for people in mainland Onorus, but the crew of the ONV Banshee knew better… Whatever they saw that night wasn’t from the Crystal Empire… But what else could it have been?
> Ad Aquilam Expergiscatur
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The atmosphere of Altair’s favorite diner was something the teen had loved since the first time he’d come with his mother, there were pictures and other memorabilia from Terra on the walls, including some old paintings. There weren’t many people in the Diner as it turned out, as it was only the middle of the afternoon. In fact, there were only two patrons seated at a booth near one of the windows. A pair of empty plates were set in front of them, the remnants of their respective meals still visible against the white porcelain. Altair took a sip of his ginger ale while Cassidy let out a satisfied sigh.

“I’m glad you convinced me to come here.” Cassidy said as she leaned against the table, Altair smiled at her and reached across to hold her hand. “I think it’s about time that you came home with me… You know… Meet my parents?”

“You sure that’s what you want?” Altair asked with a concerned tone, Cassidy nodded and squeezed his hand a bit tighter. “Alright then, your wish is my command.” The teen yawned suddenly, then shook his head slightly. “Sorry… I’ve been studying for the Junior MP exams, if I pass I can get a jumpstart on my military career. Start making some money as well…” Cassidy seemed to giggle at the last part.

“You’re the son of the Imperator, do you really need to make money?” She asked, Altair nodded.

“Yeah, I mean, I can’t just use taxpayer money… My Dad would have a conniption.” Altair replied, he smiled briefly and looked at their hands. “Besides, I like the idea of earning money to buy you a gift.”

“You don’t need to do that.” Cassidy said softly as they let go of one another’s hands hesitantly. “I get how important it is to you now, though… I know you’ll pass your exams.” Altair scoffed quietly and looked at the table. “What was that?”

“I just… I wish I shared your optimism.” Altair admitted as he looked out the window at the cars driving by on the street. “I’m not as smart as everyone thinks I am, just because I know random facts doesn’t mean I’m some sort of genius.” Cassidy shook her head and hummed her disapproval of that statement.

“You need to have some confidence in yourself.” Cassidy said firmly, she brushed a bit of hair out of her eyes. “It’s not rocket science, so you don’t need to be a genius, and you’re more than smart enough to take this test.” Altair shrugged quietly and took another sip of his drink, their waitress meanwhile walked over and dropped off the check. Altair picked up the paper and looked it over quietly. “If anyone needs help with a test it’s me, you have a month or so until you’re old enough to take the exams, but I have an algebra test that’s gonna kill my GPA if I don’t get a good grade.”

“We could study together.” Altair suggested as he set the appropriate amount of money on the table to cover the check and the tip. He adjusted his Onorus Prima uniform afterwards, the boy had worn it since he’d left school that day. He just hoped that now that he was going to meet Cassidy’s parents it would help to impress them.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Cassidy said in a teasing voice as the two of them stood up from the booth, the couple walked to the front door. Cassidy was still getting used to having men in suits following her around when she was with Altair, but she had to admit that when she saw a couple of the security officers outside she felt a little special. Altair held the door open for her before following her outside, there was a black Crown Vic parked next to the curb and the two security agents in suits made sure to protect the couple as they walked to the door.

“I most certainly would.” Altair replied, he held the back door open for Cassidy before he sat next to her. The two security agents got in the front, Cassidy chuckled slightly and leaned against Altair’s shoulder. “Agent Scott, we’d like to go to Miss Cassidy’s house.” Altair said to the man in the driver’s seat, the man nodded silently and started the engine. They’d dropped her off at her house before, but never with Altair still in the car. As the car began to drive away Altair watched the buildings they passed. “So, anything I should know before we get there?”

“Well, you know most of the stuff… I should warn you, a lot of the local kids hang out near our house, and they aren’t really friendly.” Cassidy replied, Altair shrugged quietly and looked back at his girlfriend. “They’ve seen this car a couple times before, but I don’t know how they’ll respond if they see someone wearing an Onorus Prima uniform… The area has a lot of Ex-EOL people living there…”

“Oh, wonderful…” Altair mumbled as the car drove through the city, he heard the telltale click of a handgun from the passenger seat. The boy watched one of his body guards slip a handgun back into his jacket. “Well, if they try anything, they’ll have a very bad time.” Cassidy only nodded and let out a rather uncertain breath, the minutes ticked by quietly as the car passed through a couple more neighborhoods. Altair noticed that eventually the neighborhoods got a little more rundown, until finally the Crown Vic came to a stop outside a brick apartment building. Altair opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, he could hear the heavy beat of bass heavy music blasting from speakers.

To his right were a couple of other people sitting on the steps for the neighboring building, they were dressed in clothes that seemed to baggy for them. Each looked at Altair suspiciously and menacingly, as if trying to intimidate him. The boy ignored them and turned to the car, he offered his hand to Cassidy and helped her as she climbed out of the car. She adjusted her hair once again as she looked around the neighborhood, when she spotted the boys on the steps she moved a bit closer to Altair and grabbed his arm tighter.

“Maybe this was a bad idea…” Cassidy said quietly, Altair shook his head and stood up to his full height, his chest puffed out and his eyes stern.

“Hey, Cass! Who’s the toy soldier, huh!?” One of the boys on the steps shouted, Cassidy quietly sighed and began walking towards the building. Altair walked with her, his boots clicking against the concrete as they ascended the steps. The boy knew that his bodyguards were close, but he wasn’t much scared of the folks in this neighborhood. As they reached the door, Cassidy pushed the button for one of the apartments and the two waited for whoever it was to buzz them in. After a couple seconds the door buzzed and once again Altair held it open for Cassidy.

The two of them entered the apartment building, it was dingy and smelled like it hadn’t been properly maintained in some time. Altair was shocked to see that the owner hadn’t been keeping up with government standards, as a member of Onorus Prima he’d be sure to submit a report. That wasn’t important at the moment though, what was important to him was that this was where Cassidy lived… It didn’t seem right to him.

“Anyway, when we get there, just let me do the talking at first. Okay?” Cassidy asked, Altair nodded as the two of them walked up a set of stairs. “My Dad is going to flip out, are you sure you don’t want your guards?”

“I’m sure, Cassidy.” Altair said simply, in his mind he was trying to think of ways that he might have to defend himself. He didn’t want to hurt Cassidy’s mom or dad, but if they came at him, he wasn’t sure he’d have much other choice. From how they’d been described, Altair half expected to catch them in the middle of burning an Onorussian flag… Still, they were her parents, and that meant he had to respect them. The two of them stopped outside of an apartment, Altair watched as Cassidy pulled some keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. She pushed it open and stepped in first, Altair following behind her and closing the door.

“Cass! That you!?” A woman shouted from what smelled like the kitchen, the apartment was about as large as the apartments that Altair had seen in the castle. The wood floors were clean, the wallpaper was floral in nature, and the furniture looked like it had certainly seen some use. There were photos all over the walls, as well a couple odd looking statues Altair had never seen before that seemed to rest on the floor.

“Uh… Yeah, Mom.” Cassidy replied, Altair waited behind Cassidy as she walked forward a couple steps. He watched as a black woman who looked very much like Cassidy, but older, poked her head out of the kitchen to look down the hall. She wore an apron and a green dress, her eyes went wide as she caught site of Altair.

“Cassidy, did you let that soldier boy in here?! You know you don’t have to, ‘less they got a warrant!” The woman shouted in an angry voice, Altair watched her come out of the kitchen wielding a rolling pin.

“No, Mom… He’s not here to get us in trouble.” Cassidy said as Altair walked up and stood next to her, he was taller than her by a head, but that never seemed to bother her. “You know how I’ve been seeing a someone from school… Right?” Cassidy looked over at Altair. “Well… Mom, I’d like you to meet Altair… My boyfriend.”

“Hello.” Altair said with a small wave, Cassidy’s mom stared at him for a couple seconds, as if processing what she was seeing. The boy looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember where she’d seen him. It was mainly the large scar on his cheek that stuck out to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am. Cassidy has told me a lot about you.”

“What? Oh, um, yes. I’m sure she has.” Cassidy’s mother said with a forced smile, the woman looked over at her daughter. “Cass, can I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?” Cassidy sighed but nodded and walked towards her mother. “We’ll just be a moment.” Altair nodded and watched the two of them disappear into the kitchen, that left him to examine some of the pictures on the wall. They mostly were black and white, that told him they were most likely Terran in origin. There were some from ‘The Civil Rights Movement’ it seemed, as well as a couple that seemed to have been taken after the plague. Altair saw a black man in tattered clothes standing with a group of soldiers next to a T-34 in a field somewhere. They were holding an EOL flag upside-down.

Altair stopped looking at the photo when he heard barely hushed voices arguing in the kitchen, he walked towards the doorway and leaned against the wall. He couldn’t help overhearing Cassidy and her mother fighting, and from the sound of things, they were fighting about him. The boy was about to step in, but he could practically hear his father’s voice telling him that would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. He stopped himself just in time to hear the sound of the door handle turning, Altair looked towards the front door of the apartment just as it swung open.

“Cass! Izzy! I’m…” A large black man started to say before he spotted Altair standing there. The man was as tall as Altair’s dad and wore navy blue coveralls, the name patch read ‘Curtis’ and the company was apparently something to do with plumbing. “Motherfucker.” The man muttered as he spotted Altair’s uniform. Cassidy and her mother both stepped out of the kitchen when they heard him speak, Cassidy looked upset, as did her mother. “What’s this cracka’ doing here?”

“This is Altair-” Cassidy began to say.

“Your daughter’s been dating a white boy.” Cassidy’s mother cut in, Cassidy’s father looked at Altair for a couple seconds before he threw a punch. Altair had been practicing hand to hand techniques in preparation for his Junior MP exams, as a result he caught the fist with ease and twisted the man’s arm behind his back in one fluid motion. Cassidy’s father grunted in pain as Altair held his arm tightly.

“Altair!” Cassidy yelled.

“I’m sorry, Cassidy.” Altair replied in a genuinely apologetic voice before he looked at her father. “I’m going to let go of your arm now, sir.” The teen released his grip on the arm, allowing Cassidy’s father to move freely. The man turned and was about to start raise his fist again, but Cassidy quickly jumped between Altair and her Dad.

“Dad! Mom! Stop!” She shouted at both of them, her expression becoming one of desperation. “What’s wrong with you? I love him!”

“You what?!” Her father shouted at her, Cassidy stood her ground. “He’s white, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s one of those Onorus Prima stooges!” Altair wasn’t accustomed to letting people shout at Cassidy, especially when it involved him, but these were Cassidy’s parents. As difficult as it was, he restrained himself. It’s what his father would have done if he were in the same position. “Go to your room! You’re never seeing this boy again!”

“No!” Cassidy shouted back defiantly, she moved closer to Altair. “I’m tired of you shouting me down everytime I find a friend and they aren’t black, and now you want me to just let you break me up from my first real boyfriend?!” Cassidy’s parents both appeared shocked by their daughter’s insolence. “Just because you had a bad experience with them doesn’t mean I have!”

“Cassidy Isabella Franklin! You will go to your room right now, or I will make you!” Cassidy’s father shouted, Cassidy silently stood there and put her hands on her hips. Altair watched her father began raising a hand to grab her arm, that was when he could no longer restrain himself. He reached out and grabbed her father’s wrist as his hand was inches from Cassidy’s arms, squeezing it tightly.

“Do not lay a finger on her.” Altair growled as he glared her father in the eyes, his knuckles becoming white as he continued to squeeze, her father began to wince.

“Altair… It’s okay…” Cassidy said quietly, he continued holding the man’s wrist for several more seconds before letting go.

“You either stop seeing him or you stop living here.” Cassidy’s father said sternly as he glared at her. “No daughter of mine is going to end up dating some white boy.” Cassidy looked genuinely hurt by that, Altair could hardly stand it. The boy puffed out his chest and stepped forwards, standing between Cassidy and her father now.

“Altair, please… Don’t hurt him.” Cassidy said quietly, she sounded on the verge of tears.

“You have some nerve…” Altair said to Cassidy’s father, his fists clenching and unclenching as he reined in his anger. “You may have gotten away with talking to her like that in the past, but it stops now.” Altair glared into her father’s eyes. “You want to toss her out? Fine. She can come live with me, my family will welcome her with open arms and an open heart.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Her father growled back.

“I’m Altair motherfucking Occisor!” Altair said venomously. “I’m the motherfucking Nova-Imperator. I’m the heir to the entire Onorussian Republic! That’s who the fuck I am!” Cassidy’s father and mother looked stunned at the revelation, but as those words tumbled around their minds, they remembered numerous photos of the Nova-Imperator in the news papers… Specifically the scar that adorned his cheek… Almost simultaneously they came to the conclusion that Altair was, indeed, who he claimed to be. Cassidy was surprised by the outburst as well, Altair almost never declared who he was. He hated the publicity and the grovelling that came from that, but here… To defend Cassidy from her father… He had said it with all the pride of a lion, his tone was very Carolean…

Cassidy’s father took a step back, as did Cassidy’s mother, both of them appearing horrified with the way they had acted in front of what was essentially the Crown Prince. Cassidy scooted closer to Altair and held onto his arm, she was whirling in a sea of emotions… Her father, her own father, had tried to make her choose between family and love, and there was Altair. Her stalwart protector, living up to every expectation she had ever had about the Occisor family.

“I don’t think there’s anything else that needs to be said.” Altair said as he looked at the two parents, using his free hand to adjust the collar of his uniform. He turned his glare to Cassidy’s father. “Be glad I don’t have you charged with assaulting a member of the Imperatorial Family.” The teen was much more like a man than he realized, the way he carried himself felt different, and he felt much more confident. He looked to Cassidy’s mother next. “I will send someone to collect Cassidy’s belongings.” Altair looked to Cassidy and put his arm around her as he began walking towards the door, the girl looked over her shoulder at her parents, then back to Altair as he opened the door and held it open for her. Without a word he slammed the door behind them as they began walking back towards the steps, and in silence they continued until they were outside and walking towards the car.

“Cass! What happened, huh? Daddy make you two break up!?” One of the teens on the stoop outside shouted in a teasing voice, Altair glared at him. For some reason the teen felt compelled to raise his hands and back away while Altair held the door open for Cassidy. Once the two of them were seated in the car, the bodyguards began driving towards the castle. It was only now that the adrenaline of what had happened was wearing off that Cassidy began to tremble, Altair held her tightly. He knew that his parents would understand, they had to… This is what his father would have done… Right? Even if they didn’t, Altair would find a way…

The rush of being involved in something so tense was still fresh in Altair’s mind, the thrill of power rushing through his veins. It had awoken something in him, something that had lain dormant since he was born. Altair knew he came from a warrior’s bloodline, but had been the first time that he felt like he belonged to that bloodline. This had been the first time he understood what it meant to be an Occisor, what it meant to command respect… He finally understood what it meant to be ‘Born to Rule’. In that instant, as he held Cassidy against his chest, a spark of ambition grew into a raging bonfire.
> Mutata Ad Tempora
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassidy looked on in awe as she sat beside Altair, the smell of the ocean was strong in her nostrils. The two of them, as well as Altair’s parents, were seated on a stage with nearly a dozen Naval officers. The stage was located on a large concrete pier, and docked at that pier was the largest ship Cassidy had ever seen in her life. The ONV Enterprise, Onorus’ first ever Arcane Fission Powered Naval Vessel. This vessel was the first of her class. Cassidy had been living with the Occisors for nearly a month, she’d gone to numerous functions with them, but this was the first one where she was in the public eye.

They were officially christening the Enterprise, named in honor of the carriers that had come before her, and Cassidy had a front row seat. She had seen many interesting things in her time living with Altair, but nothing as impressive as the steel leviathan that sat at anchor in front of her. Enterprise eclipsed all carriers that had come before, she was just over two thousand feet long and wider than her predecessors. With eight reactors, she could outrun any ship on the planet, and she carried enough firepower to level the Caribou Empire five times over.

Cassidy and Altair had more than enough time to go over the specifications of the ship, at least, that they were allowed to know. It had been a long flight from Canterlot to Chrysalista, formerly known as Applewood, in the Changeling Autonomous Region. Now all Cassidy could do was look on in wonder at the massive vessel, it was as if it had come right out of science fiction. She, as well as Altair, seemed to be having trouble looking interested in the numerous speeches being given by the naval officers at the podium. Cassidy had no idea how boring it could be to sit in front of a crowd of seven thousand people, even when she was nervous out of her mind.

Most of the crowd was comprised of changelings, griffons, and thestrals, as well as a smattering of humans. These were the lucky sailors that would crew the Enterprise, as most ponies in this part of Onorus still weren’t keen on serving in the armed forces. Cassidy felt Altair’s hand move to hers, he gave her a couple short squeezes, causing her to glance over at him. He was smirking at her, as if to assure her she had nothing to worry about. Occasionally she’d see the flash of a photographer, but it didn’t phase her much. Oddly enough, she felt like she belonged when she was next to Altair, no matter how outlandish and strange the situation was.

The two stopped holding hands when they both noticed Altair’s father get up from his seat, he was in his full dress uniform. Unlike Altair’s Onorus Prima uniform, his father’s Olive Drab uniform was adorned with medals and ribbons of all sizes and colors. Cassidy could see the look of pride in Altair’s eyes, the longing to have that same amount of ribbons on his own chest one day. Cassidy didn’t understand why, at least, for the most part. Altair’s father was a great man, there was no denying that, but she didn’t understand why Altair didn’t want to make a name for himself by being himself… She didn’t know why he wanted to be like his father.

Cassidy didn’t listen to the speech that the Imperator gave, she just kept watching Altair, he seemed to hang on every word his father said. From his opening remarks, all the way up to when he personally gave command of the Enterprise to her new captain, Altair seemed enthralled. Then came the moment to actually stand up and watch as a bottle of champagne  was smashed against the hull of the carrier, marking its official registration with the Onorussian Navy. There had been some concern about whether the vessel was necessary, but considering that the Crystal Empire was still capable of striking the Onorussian mainland with Thermo-Arcane weapons, those concerns were quickly forgotten.

The girl kept an eye on Altair as he and the others watched the ship while its crew began to file on board, she could see a smile starting to form on the boys face as he straightened up and puffed out his chest. Cassidy had taken to calling this posture ‘The Alpha Male’ posture, one that she had been seeing more and more as Altair grew more confident in himself. It was a sign that her presence seemed to be helping him come out of his shell, she just hoped that he wasn’t building himself up too much. The girl slowly looked to his hip where she noted something new, Altair had taken to carrying a sword recently. Though not as ornate as his father’s, it was still clearly a well made blade.

Cassidy scooted closer to him as they stood there, watching the crew marching aboard the vessel, slipping her hand into his. Altair smiled a bit more and looked over at his girlfriend, then looked back to the massive warship that stood ahead of him.

“This is history in the making…” Altair said just loud enough so that only Cassidy could hear him over the sound of cheering and marching music, the girl turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “The Enterprise is more than a warship… Did you know she is also equipped with hydroponics farms, air and water filtration systems, even mineral refinery capabilities… I only just found out recently.” The teen looked over at his mother, the alicorn was talking with her herdmates quietly, then Altair looked back to the ship. “This is what my mother has been working on over the years.”

“I thought Luna worked with the Space Agency.” Cassidy said with a curious tone.

“She does.” Altair said as he continued to smile. “I’ve finally figured it out…” He pointed to the ship ahead of them. “This is more than an Aircraft Carrier, Cassidy. This is a prototype… At least five hundred of her crew are scientists.” Cassidy was certainly smart enough to understand where Altair was going with his train of thought. The Enterprise was capable of going out to sea and never returning to port… Fully self sufficient. Capable of refueling itself, feeding itself, even repairing itself…

“It’s a colony.” Cassidy said with a bit of surprise, Altair nodded simply, the smile never once leaving his face as he watched the metal behemoth. “They’ve been talking about a Colony Shot for years, but… I never thought it would actually happen.”

“A pseudo-spaceship at the very least… As I said, this is likely the prototype.” Altair said as he grasped Cassidy’s hand gently in his own. “If it succeeds… Who knows, perhaps we may find ourselves walking on the soil of another planet sooner rather than later.” The boy smiled widely as the wind picked up a bit, causing the flags on the stage to wave and flap loudly. Altair quietly turned his head towards Cassidy, his smile fading ever so slightly. “I need to tell you something, Cassidy… Not here. Just, know that it isn’t anything bad. Okay?”

“Alright.” Cassidy said, she trusted Altair’s words, so she didn’t let herself worry. She, like the others on the stage, just stood there and took in the view.

[♠]

Cassidy and Altair entered their hotel room as the sun was setting on the horizon, the party that had come after the christening was still going on in the ballroom of the high end hotel, but the two teens had grown tired of the rather old fashioned style of celebration. Cassidy didn’t take long to let her hair down out of its stylized bun while Altair undid his tie and tossed it onto one of the tables near the door. There were two beds in the room, as well as a large TV and a mini fridge. Cassidy kicked off her shoes and hopped onto her bed, the one furthest from the window that looked out over the harbor at the naval yard.

Altair pulled off his boots and undid his uniform shirt, leaving him in just his tan uniform pants and a white undershirt. The teen walked to his bed near the window and sat on the end, running a hand over his head. Cassidy had to admit his newest haircut was rather stylish, it was rapidly becoming a popular style among young soldiers. It was an undercut, combed to the right and buzzed very short on the sides and back, though it was more well known as the Prima Cut due to its popularity with Onorus Prima Cadets like Altair. The girl watched as her boyfriend quietly rubbed his feet, it seemed his boots weren’t meant for parties on extremely flat ballroom floors.

“Remind me next time to wear my normal combat boots instead of the dress boots.” Altair grunted as he pulled off his socks and continued to squeeze his feet. The boy looked over at Cassidy quietly. “So, your first public party, what did you think?”

“Too many men with odd facial hair, I felt like I was in a history book about Terra’s first world war.” Cassidy replied with a slight chuckle. “I liked the music though, even if it was predominantly military marches.”

“Yeah, you get used to all that.” Altair said as he looked out the window at the horizon, clouds were rolling in and he could see snowflakes beginning to fall from the sky. Cassidy watched as he seemed to freeze up for a couple seconds, staring off into the distance as if remembering something from long ago… After a moment or two he shook his head and went back to looking at Cassidy. He must’ve noticed the look of concern on her face, because he let out a soft sigh and turned his body to face her. “Sorry if I seemed a little distracted, I just haven’t been to the West Coast during Autumn since…. I was a boy.”

“You okay?” Cassidy asked, Altair began to nod, but after a couple seconds he came to a stop.

“I… No…” Altair admitted as he looked back to the window. “Look, don’t tell my parents… They’ll worry.”

“So will I.” Cassidy said firmly as she sat up on her own bed and turned to face Altair fully. “Come on, spill it… What’s going on in that big handsome head of yours?” The boy chuckled for a second before his expression shifted, she could see he was remembering something. After a couple seconds she saw him rubb his head, as if trying to push something out of it.

“I haven’t been here in Autumn since the Caribou War, I didn’t think it would bug me, but…” Altair admitted while looking at the floor. Cassidy could see Altair was dealing with some primal emotions, judging by his demeanor he was really off his game. “Look, back then my Mom and I were pretty much inseparable…” Cassidy stood up and walked to Altair’s bed, she sat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “We were visiting the coast when the Deers started shelling, the marines came to get us out, but my mom couldn’t get in the truck fast enough… So, she told them to go on without her.”

“Oh, Altair… I had no idea.” Cassidy said in a soft voice while she gave his shoulder a squeeze. “But, we both know that she’s okay, right?” Altair nodded, but he still looked troubled as he wrung his hands.

“Up until then I’d never been so scared, and when I learned who was responsible, I’d never been so angry…” Altair looked over at Cassidy with a vulnerable expression. “The fact is, I started hating the Caribou when I was a kid… Now that I’m older, I’m worried about what that says about me.” The boy looked back at the floor. “Your parents can’t stand me, but me hating the Caribou… Isn’t that just as bad? I’m just worried that you… You’ll think less of me…”

“I don’t.” Cassidy said as she put an arm around Altair and kissed him on the cheek. “My parents never once were self aware, they never questioned their hate.” She leaned against him and rubbed his shoulder. “We all have things that we think shouldn’t be a part of us, it’s how we handle those things that determines the kind of person we are… And you, Altair… You’re a good man.”

“You mean that?” Altair asked, Cassidy nodded. She was surprised as Altair turned and hugged her tightly, the girl put her arms around him and hugged right back. After a couple moments the two of them let go, though both of them continued to hold hands. “You know how I needed to talk to you earlier, right?” Cassidy nodded as she recalled what had been said at the christening ceremony.

“What did you want to tell me?” She asked as the two of them sat together, side by side as the snow continued to fall outside.

“Well, I’m turning sixteen soon, which means I’ll be able to get my GED.” Altair said as he adjusted his seat on the bed. “Now, I know that would mean me not going to school with you anymore,  but… I’d be able to get an actual job, y’know? I know you aren’t really at home in the Castle, so, it would start going towards us getting a place of our own when we turn eighteen.” Cassidy seemed a bit surprised by the statement, after all, they were still teenagers and here they were discussing moving in together… Then again, Cassidy had already sort of done that when her parents had forced her out. The thought of taking things a little further sounded reasonable, and it was two years down the road, she’d have plenty of time to change her mind.

“What would you do? Once you got your GED, I mean… Junior MPs?” Cassidy asked, Altair paused for a couple seconds before looking at the floor.

“That’s a possibility, but… I’ve spoken with my father. There’s a law that would allow me to enlist in the Army two years early if I get consent of a parent and authorization of at least a Colonel.” Altair said before looking back at Cassidy, she was staring at him with a bit of a surprised expression. “I’ve spoken to the school recruiter, with my aptitude scores and Onorus Prima training, they said I could be assigned to a Wanderpanzer Battalion.”

“A Wanderpanzer Battalion?” Cassidy said in a bit of shock. “You mean Power Armor? Isn’t that dangerous?” Altair opened his mouth, then paused, as if trying to think of something to say. “C-Couldn’t you just be a Fallschirmjäger instead? I’d rather you jump out of planes than go up against anti-tank rifles and missile launchers!” She rubbed the back of her neck for a couple seconds. “You don’t even need to enlist in the Army! You could go to the Junior MPs for two years! Think things over more!”

“I could.” Altair said quietly as he looked back at her. “It’s just, ever since I was a kid, all I ever wanted to be was a soldier. It’s all I’ve ever worked towards… All I ever thought about… At least, until I met you.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “If you don’t want me to enlist, I won’t. Hell, you could say you wanted to be pig farmers together and I’d say yes.” 

Cassidy took a deep breath and looked at the floor. In the old world, on Terra before the Plague, such an idea of joining the army at sixteen was outlandish… But in the wake of the Plague those social values had transformed, it wasn’t unusual for sixteen year olds to enlist or to get their GEDs, their generation had been raised differently it seemed… Maturing earlier, embracing older values of patriotism and sacrifice. Cassidy had always known that one day Altair would join the military, the only question was whether that day was two years or two months away.

“I had to think about this for a while, so don’t think you have to answer right away-” Altair began to say.

“Do it.” Cassidy said, cutting him off. Altair looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You and I always knew you’d end up joining… Best we just get it over with now, rip it off like a bandaid.” The girl put her arms behind his neck to hold him closer. “Besides… Now I might have something new to add when I write songs with the rest of the band…” Altair smiled as the two of them continued to sit close to one another, neither one wanting to be apart from the other for some time… Eventually Cassidy returned to her own bed and got comfy under the blankets while Altair put on the Television, an old Terran film was playing. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which happened to be one of Cassidy’s favorites. The two of them sat there quietly, each thinking about what the future would hold for them, each hoping that things would turn out... Eventually Altair got up from his bed and slipped his boots back on.

“I’m gonna go get some chips, want some?” He asked, Cassidy nodded as she watched him walk to the door. He stepped out in the hallway, closing the door behind him. Altair sighed as he stood outside the door, looking up and down the hallway before tucking his hands into his pocket and making his way towards a balcony that lead out to an area where guests could look out over the city. He stepped outside, shivering slightly as the cold air hit his skin. The door closed on its own behind him as he approached the railing that looked out over the city, Altair placed both hands on the railing and took a deep breath.

The teen reached into his back pocket and withdrew a red pack of cigarettes, he had lifted them off of one of the more drunk Naval officers at the party, as well as a lighter. He sighed heavily as he took one of the cigarettes from the pack and stuck it in his mouth, then lit the end and took in another deep breath. Altair leaned against the railing, exhaling smoke through his nostrils as he looked down from the balcony at the city streets so far below. He nudged a couple pebbles of gravel off the ledge of the roof, watching as they tumbled out of sight on their way to the ground. The teen frowned and closed his eyes as he took another drag on his cigarette, he wasn’t one for breaking the law, but smoking felt like the only way he could cope with the stress he felt.

Even in the wake of such happy news, even when he and Cassidy were thinking about the future, Altair had a cloud that hung over his head. He never told anyone about it, not his parents, not Cassidy, no one. It was like he was viewing life through a filter of melancholy grey, like there was a weight on his shoulders that never went away. Altair had never felt so happy in his life, knowing that he and Cassidy would have some sort of life together… And yet, this cloud colored it all a dark shade of grey. He found himself wondering if maybe that cloud would never go away… If that was the case, he didn’t know if life was really worth living… Wasn’t that the point of life? To find happiness?

Altair tossed his cigarette over the railing and straightened up, for the briefest of moments he felt an urge to follow the orange embers of the cancer stick on their journey to the pavement… But only for a moment. The urge passed as quickly as it came, with a brief shake of his head Altair stuffed his pack of cigarettes back into his pocket and and ran a hand over his head. He walked back to the doors, thinking of ways to explain why he now smelled like smoke when he eventually returned to the room with the chips. With every step he took the dark cloud continued to follow behind him, making him wish for some way out from under the cloak of sadness.

> Odium Manet In Aeternum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ground looked far different from the air, something that had always fascinated Altair when he was younger. The fields and farms were like patches of light and dark green that came with the early months of spring, crisscrossed by roads and occasionally disrupted by winding rivers or streams. Of course, Altair was used to riding in an airliner, he had no idea just how cold the air at such an altitude was. At least, not at first. The teen adjusted his jump smock as he looked out the window of the C-130 Hercules while his fellow soldiers conversed, his parachute was fastened tightly to his back, while his reserve was equally secured to his front. His equipment was in his leg bag or stored within the jump smock. Both the smock and his uniform were colored in the pattern of the Fallschirmjager if the second world war, even the helmets were similar, though made of kevlar rather than steel.

Altair had done this all four times before, this would be his fifth and final jump afterwhich he would become a certified Onorussian Fallschirmjager. The altitude had become progressively higher with each jump, and this jump would take place at no less than five thousand feet. There were nearly fifty men in the aircraft, not including the pilot and crew. Most of Altair’s fellow soldiers were off in their own groups, the teen was no exception. He wasn’t the only sixteen year old to enlist, there were two others. They had been dubbed ‘The Peach Fuzz Trio’ by the older members of the unit.

“Fish!” Altair shouted over the noise of the engines as he looked over to his friend Finn from high school, though the others had given him the nickname Fish… They weren’t the most creative bunch. “One more jump!”

“Rock the fuck on, Wizard!” Finn shouted back as he continued checking over his equipment. “Those last four jumps were intense, and the one at three thousand feet made the harness so tight I felt like my balls were in a vice! I’ll be glad to get back on the ground.”

“Don’t worry, Fish! We’re gonna take the express elevator down!” Chimed in another member of their little group, a thestral by the name of Sound Wire, though the others had taken to calling him ‘Static’. He had gotten the name when he had accidentally dropped the platoon’s radio in a puddle after a particularly hard march through the swamps of the Changeling Autonomous Region.

“What the fuck are you even doing here again, Static!? You got your badge two days ago! You don’t even need a chute!?” Altair asked in a heckling voice, Static looked over at him with a smug expression.

“Practice! Besides, I gotta be there in case one of you humans didn’t pack your chutes right!” The thestral replied. “Though you never know, I might just not get to you in time if you keep talking to me like that.”

“Cut the chatter!” Shouted the company commander, a major by the name of Anton Adler. He was the son of an Air Force General, tall and grisled from experience, Altair and the rest of the trio looked up to him for guidance. “Get ready!” The order silenced all conversation in the aircraft as Altair reached behind him and grabbed the hook connected to his main chute. The others did so almost simultaneously, each of them appearing for more at ease than they originally had on their first jump. “Stand up!” They all stood up, each standing next to a wire that ran along the length of the aircraft. “Hook up!”

Altair took a moment to look out the window at the beautiful sight one last time, though he knew he’d get a chance to look again, he also liked to savor every moment in the air. The rush of jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft made him feel alive, more so than he had for a long time, like that cloud of darkness that normally hung over him evaporated. He snapped back to reality and clipped his hook to the wire beside him, standing in front of him was Finn, while behind him was Static.

“Check equipment!” Adler ordered, Altair felt the thestral looking over his equipment while the boy looked over Finns. They quite literally were watching each other's backs. “Sound off if you’re ready!” Altair could hear the other soldiers behind him shouting, each time their voices grew closer and closer.

“Nine okay!” Static shouted.

“Eight okay!” Altair added as loudly as he could, Finn continued the countdown until finally every man in the aircraft had sounded off as ready.

“Line up at the door!” Adler ordered as the side door of the C-130 was pulled inwards, sucking out what little warm air there was and filling the aircraft with the sound of rushing wind. Altair watched as Adler stood next to the door, a red light glowing beside him while the first man made his way to the doorway. “Remember gentlemen! This is the last jump! Don’t chicken out now!” Altair quietly looked out the window one final time, that was when the red light turned green. “Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” Each yell was accompanied by a man jumping out of the aircraft, each time Altair took a step closer to the door. His heart was racing, his blood was pumping, his eyes were wide with excitement. It felt like an eternity, but finally Altair was the next one at the door. “Go!”

Altair jumped out the door and crossed his arms over his chest as he let gravity take over, he could feel the strap cable on his main shoot pulling free as he got further and further from the plane. He felt the strap go taught seconds before it pulled his main chute open, or, it was supposed to… As it turned out, the main chute failed to open. Altair felt his heart beating faster in his chest as he reached for the reserve, he gripped the metal release pin and counted off in his head, each passing second was filled with adrenaline.

He yanked the pin, this time the reserve opened without a flaw, quickly slowing his descent. Altair gripped the control straps as he started floating down to the ground. He knew he’d be hanging in the air for a while, but that just meant that he’d get a chance to look at the scenery. After a minute or two Altair saw Static fly up to him, he looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, at least until he saw that Altair was fully awake.

“Holy fucking shit! Your main didn’t open!” The thestral shouted as he hovered next to Altair, the teen shrugged and gestured to the reserve that was holding him aloft.

“I’m fine, that was fucking intense though! Let’s do it again!” Altair shouted back, flashing a cocky grin and giving Static the ‘Devil Horns’ gesture with his left hand. The thestral shook his head and let out a relieved sigh. “Think they’ll make me go again since I didn’t do it with my main?!” Static shrugged as he noticed Altair was getting closer to the ground. He gripped the control straps and steered himself away from a patch of trees in the field where he was landing, eventually he touched down, rolling as he hit the ground so he wouldn’t break his legs. As soon as he’d come to a stop he had stood up and was wrangling his parachute.

Static landed behind him, watching as Altair pulled his chute closer and balled it up before unstrapping his parachute harness. He looked around and spotted several other members of his unit were doing the same. Altair unstrapped his leg back and pulled his assault rifle from within before adding the bag to the pile of discarded equipment. Altair grabbed the bundle of cloth and canopy and dragged it out of view, hiding it near the patch of trees under some fallen branches. The teen reached up to his helmet and felt the microphone for the radio, he pulled it down so that it was in front of his mouth before he switched on his comms. Of course, no one had broken radio silence yet.

With his equipment stashed and his weapon in hand Altair and Static both made their way over to the rendezvous point, their camouflage helped hide their movements in the green grass of the field that they’d landed in. Now that they were on the ground the orders were to only speak Thestralese for tactical reasons, though it was prefered they didn’t talk at all during missions. The two of them reached the others, who had set up a perimeter. Altair saw Major Adler, the man gestured for him to move to the left perimeter while Static was ordered to the right. Both soldiers compiled and moved to their respective positions, they would only wait here for another two minutes for any stragglers to find them before they would have to move on. At least, if this was a real mission. In actuality, in two minutes the training exercise would come to an end and finally Altair would receive his jump badge

Sure enough, during those two minutes the last of the unit rushed into position. Adler seemed to be pleased with their time, as the man stood up and pulled a whistle from his pocket. He blew into it, which signaled the end of the training jump. Altair and the others stood up, adjusting their helmets as they let their weapons hang on their straps.

“Gentlemen!” Adler said. “You’ve just completed your fifth training jump. You are all now certified Fallschirmjager!” The Major announced as he looked at all the soldiers under his command, he had a look of pride in his eyes and a smile on his face. “As soon as we’re back at the base, all of you will be receiving your jump wings and jump gloves, as well as a forty eight hour pass to celebrate!” There was excited chattering amongst the soldiers as Altair rubbed the back of his neck, he didn’t notice at first, but the major was walking over to him. “Corporal Occisor.”

“Sir!” Altair replied as he turned to face the Major, snapping to attention.

“At ease.” Adler ordered, the Corporal relaxed his posture as he stood there. “I saw from the plane that your main parachute didn’t open, I wanted to ensure that you’re in good health.”

“I am, sir. I feel on top of the world.” Altair replied as he pushed his helmet back a bit so that he could see a little better. Adler hummed, the Corporal was only sixteen, but he was nearly as tall as half the men in the company, standing at just over six feet tall. Despite his size, Adler knew that Altair was still a kid in some ways.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy having two days off to play video games or go to raves or whatever it is you kids do these days.” Adler said, trying to sound hip, and failing.

“I’m actually going to spend some time working with my dog, sir.” Altair replied, Adler nodded at the explanation. Meanwhile, the sound of truck engines in the distance told the group that their rides would soon be arriving.

“Alright then, Corporal. Carry on.” Adler said, Altair nodded and watched as the Major walked off to talk to some more of the men. Altair slung his rifle over his shoulder as several troop trucks came into view along one of the roads that ran next to the field. He and the others gathered their discarded equipment before walking towards the trucks, each of them seemed to have a new spring in their step. Altair tossed his gear into the back of the first truck with the other bundles of equipment, then made his way towards one of the other trucks where he pulled himself up into the back.

[♠]

The smell of cigarettes and beer permeated the air of the local bar, known as ‘The Ravenwing’, it was a bar that many of the paratroopers training at Fort W.C. Lee frequented. Music played from the jukebox as the latest graduating class of Fallschirmjager celebrated their final training jump. Of course, they weren’t the only ones there, as many of the soldiers had gotten dates for their party. For the peach fuzz trio there wasn’t much they could do, they were too young to drink, too young to legally smoke, and in the case of Static and Finn too bashful to talk to girls. Each of the soldiers in the bar wore their Olive Drab dress uniforms with their newly acquired jump wings pinned to their breast.

The three of them sat at a table off in the corner, Finn was drinking a cola while Static was more focused on his fruit juice. He was part Fruit Thestral, after all. Altair meanwhile was having no trouble drinking a chocolate milkshake, it wasn’t nearly as good as the ones he had in Canterlot, but it reminded him of home. He wished that he could return home now, but two days was hardly enough time to see his family, besides… He had brought Wolfy with him, and she would be thrilled to spend two days with him after four months of rigorous training.

“So, it’s official!” Finn chimed up as he looked at the two other guys at his table. “We’re Fallschirmjager!” The teen patted his chest a couple times. “I can’t wait until the Moon Flower pins get here, then people will know even when we aren’t in uniform.”

“I’m thinking about getting a tattoo.” Altair said before taking another sip of his shake. “Our unit patch or something, but they haven’t issued them yet.” Finn chuckled at the thought of the Imperator’s son getting a tattoo, but then again, the idea wasn’t a bad one. “Or maybe we could all get one, a couple peaches on our arms. Y’know? An inside gag.”

“Why not both?” Static asked with a raised eyebrow, the others smirked slightly. They all knew that they wouldn’t get tattoos, but it was still an interesting prospect. “Did you hear about that school in Canterlot? Wants to let Caribou refugees go to class with regular students?”

“Bullshit.” Altair and Finn said in unison.

“It’s true! They had some big rally about it, sounded like some Pro-EOL shit was going on.” Static added, Altair leaned back in his seat with a slight scowl.

“God damn it, this is just how it started on Terra.” He said as he looked at the others. “They start letting refugees in, and you know those damn pussy school boards are gonna fold if the refugee’s parents start complaining.”

“I say ship them all back where they came from.” Finn grunted as he too got more comfortable in his seat. “Oh, I know, it sounds racist but I don’t give a shit. It needs to be said. We’re better off without them, fuck that ‘We’re all the same.’ bullshit.”

“You know people used to say that about Thestrals, right?” Static chimed in with a smarmy expression, Altair looked at him and crossed his arms.

“Did Thestrals kidnap people into slavery, mistreat women, and behead people they didn’t like?” Altair asked, Static paused, then shook his head. “You see? Apples and oranges. Thestral society was superior back then, just like Onorussian society is superior now.”

“Never understood why some people’s assholes got all clenched whenever you say that one society of people is superior to another… That’s just how nature works.” Finn added before he finished off his cola. “Boohoo, it hurt someone’s feelings. So what? I say keep the Caribou out of our schools.”

“I agree, I’m just trying to play devil's advocate.” Static said with a shrug, Altair sighed before he too finished off his drink. The three of them turned their attention out to the crowd of dancing soldiers and happy people. “We shouldn’t talk politics though, you know how the Major gets when he hears that stuff.”

“‘You kids barely have peach fuzz on your cheeks! How do you know anything about politics? Blah blah blah!’.” Finn said in his best impression of the Major, luckily the man in question was a good thirty or so feet away. “Say, don’t you need to call that girlfriend of yours?” The teen looked at Altair with a raised eyebrow. “I bet she wants to know how your test went.”

“I know, but how the hell am I gonna mention that my main chute failed on the last jump?” Altair asked while he adjusted his tie. “She’s already worried as it is, I don’t want her to think that worry is justified… Well, anymore than it already is.”

“Just call her and leave out the part about almost dying.” Static said simply, Altair sighed… He really didn’t have much choice at this point, the longer he put it off the more likely it was that Cassidy was going to start worrying. Altair stood from his seat and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Alright, I’ll be back.” He said simply as he began walking towards the door, he walked through the crowd, ignoring most of the other people before he eventually reached the exit. He pushed the door open and stepped outside into the cool humid air of a spring evening. It smelled like fresh rain, and the road was damp. The area around the base was pretty much a small town, so there weren’t many buildings other than the bar in the general area. Altair walked around the side of the building, into the parking lot. There were a couple trucks and cars parked there, but aside from that it was empty. Altair stopped under a streetlamp and pulled his phone from his back pocket, then punched in the security code. He put in Cassidy’s number, then put the phone to his ear. It rang two times before it picked up.

”Hello?” Cassidy’s voice came from the other end.

“Hey, Cass!” Altair replied cheerfully. “I just wanted to call and let you know I finally got my wings!”

”That’s great! I knew you could do it!” Cassidy replied, Altair leaned against the bar as he continued to hold the phone. ”I passed my finals as well, so we both have something to celebrate!”

“Really? Well, that makes this two times better!” Altair smiled as he spoke, the cool air and Cassidy’s voice helped to quell some of the more passionate emotions that had started to simmer inside the bar. “How was your show at the club?”

”It went alright, a little different than what I was expecting though. I guess headlining is different than just singing for fun.” Cassidy replied, Altair sighed softly and looked at the ground for a couple seconds.

“Sorry I couldn’t be there.” Altair said with a bit of a guilt ridden tone. “I would’ve brought flowers and all that stuff, you know?”

”I know, don’t worry about it Alley Cat.” Cassidy replied, the warmness in her voice transferred all those miles and made Altair feel at ease. ”Hey, do you want to talk to your parents? I bet they want to hear about this too!”

“No… I’ll tell them later.” Altair admitted quietly while he kicked his foot against the ground. “I… I, uh, I should get going…” He said, he heard a slight hum on the other end. “I’ll call you tomorrow, alright?”

“You better!” Cassidy replied in a joking tone. ”Don’t make me come out there and get you!” Altair smirked for a couple seconds.

“Love you…” Altair said.

“I love you too, Alley Cat. Now go have fun, I can hear music in the background.” Altair could practically hear Cassidy smiling through the phone line. His smile was even fainter this time, as he hung up the phone he felt that smile fade away. He slipped his phone into his pocket and looked up at the sky, then sighed through his nose. Now that he thought about it, he hated being away from Cassidy more than he cared to admit. There was that cloud of negativity again, reforming over his head. The teen shook his head and took a deep breath. He looked over to the parking lot when he heard the sound of a car pulling in. It didn’t pull into a spot, rather it stopped in the middle. 

It looked like it was nearly twenty years old, an OMC Spidermonkey. It was a cheap car produced by the Onorussian Motor Company, small and easy on fuel. From the looks of this one though, it had seen much better days. The original paint, which was powder blue, was dotted with rust spots. The windshield was cracked and it sounded like a belt needed to be replaced in the engine. Altair watched as the driver rolled down the window with a window crank, because the Spidermonkey didn’t come with power windows. There was a pegasus mare sitting in the driver's seat.

“Excuse me!” She called out, Altair walked towards the window and stood there. “Can you help me? I’m a little lost.”

“Sure, where are you heading?” Altair asked, he noticed that the passengers in the back of the coup like car shied away from the window.

“To make history, hopefully!” The mare said cheerfully, Altair raised an eyebrow at her. “My group and I are trying to make a difference, you see? I’m driving these passengers to Canterlot for a very special reason!” The mare looked over her shoulder at the passengers, Altair peeked at the window again. He thought he spotted a horn, so he assumed there were unicorns in the car. “We need to get to the highway, but I need to take a route that’s really fast!”

“Got a map?” Altair asked as he leaned against the car window, the mare nodded and reached over into the passenger seat. She spoke to whoever was sitting there, then Altair spotted something that didn’t make sense. A cloven hoof. Ponies didn’t have cloven hooves, nor did Changelings, and a Minotaur had no hope of fitting into a Spidermonkey. Altair leaned a bit lower, sure enough his suspicions were confirmed. “What the fuck?” The pegasus turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, there were three Caribou in the car. One looked like the mother, as well as two kids in the back seat. “Get them out of here.” Altair said as he took a step back from the car.

“I don’t understand, you said you’d help!” The mare said with surprise.

“Holen Sie sich diese Kreaturen weg von mir!” Altair shouted as he pointed at the back seat, the pegasus apparently spoke Thestralese because her face went pale before she put the car in drive and sped off. “Verdammtes Ungeziefer!” Altair bellowed as the car peeled around a corner, he panted as he listened to tires screeching in the distance. Images of his mother being left behind ran through his head, stories and footage of the war soon joined it as he stood there, stewing in anger and hate.

Altair looked at the ground as he felt the emotions begin to fade, he reached for his phone and was about to call Cassidy… He needed someone to talk to, but he stopped halfway through dialing her number. The boy stared at her picture on his phone for what felt like an eternity before he turned it off and put it back in his pocket, instead standing there in the parking lot by himself. This had been the first time he’d encountered a Caribou outside of Canterlot, his anger and hatred had overcome his rational thoughts that not all caribou were bad. For whatever reason that had happened, Altair wasn’t sure how to process his actions. He made a mental note to himself to reflect more on it at a later date. For now, he turned back towards the door and began walking that way, intending to meet up with his friends once more.
> De Ea Amico
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of waves crashing against the beach was something Altair had become accustomed to, the sun was shining brightly while palm trees swayed overhead. He was sitting outside the barracks near the tarmac of Wayne Air Force Base on the island of Mizuki Atoll, a strip of sand no longer than twenty miles and no wider than ten, surrounded by numerous reefs. Though it was too small to serve as a full naval base, it was perfect for refueling vessels and launching aircraft. Named after the Changeling word for Goddess of the Moon, it was located near the equator in the middle of the South Luna Sea.

It’s strategic location near Minotaur waters was what made it such a vital location, but despite all that, things on the island were calm. It had been months since the last sighting of a Minotaur vessel anywhere near the island, which was something Altair had come to appreciate. There was a lot of downtime for paratroopers on this island, but given its position, they needed some presence there. Altair understood this rather well, but despite that, he couldn’t help but miss home. He was reclining in his beach chair, under an awning that had been made out of a ripped training parachute.

His fellow paratroopers were playing cards a couple feet away, using munitions crates as chairs while they made use of an old cable spool as a table. The soft breeze blowing was making things a little difficult for them, but they were making due. Finn was off by the docks, most likely fishing. It wasn’t often that the Fallschirmjager got called into action, so they were pretty much left to their own devices. That didn’t mean they let their skills rust, they spent whatever time they weren’t relaxing in rigorous training. For the moment though, Altair was just watching the planes taxi on and off the runway while a radio played music from inside the barracks.

It had been almost a year since he had enlisted, now that he was seventeen he had been thinking more and more about his future. Not in the military, but in his personal life. He couldn’t quite describe the feelings he was experiencing, he missed home, but more importantly he missed the people there. His parents, obviously… But almost just as much, he found himself missing Cassidy. Every night he would call her, though for her it was midday, and when there was a communications blackout he would write letters to send once the blackout was lifted.

Her first care package had included a locket with her picture in it, something that Altair had worn around his neck since he’d received it. Even when the heat became unbearable, when the gold got so warm in the sun that it left a burn, Altair didn’t once consider removing it. As he thought more about her he reached up to his neck and held it gently, then closed his eyes and leaned his head back. His fellow soldiers were chattering among themselves, Altair did his best to drown out their voices and focus on the radio.

“...good evening, or for our boys overseas, good afternoon. The Canterlot Broadcasting System is happy to present ‘The People’s Voice’...” The announcer on the radio exclaimed in an excited voice, Altair opened his eyes for the sole purpose of rolling them. Usually the singers on that show weren’t that good, or they played music that got on his nerves. “...for those of you who don’t tune in regularly, it’s a show of ours where our talent scouts find some of the best singers in Canterlot and around the country! We invite them to sing their hearts out on the radio, to give you, our listeners, a taste of what our people have to offer!”

“Oh, hey! Is that People’s Voice?” One of the soldiers playing cards asked. “Static, turn that shit up!” Altair looked to the door of the barracks, he knew that Static and the other thestrals of their unit were inside. The heat wasn’t good for them, so they stayed inside where it was nice and air conditioned. The music got louder a couple seconds later. “I heard my sister was gonna go to this one as part of the studio audience.”

“Our first guest comes right from Canterlot’s Castle District. Why don’t you tell us your name and something about yourself?” The announcer said in a warm voice.

“Oh, well, my name is Cassidy Lanier.” The girl on the radio said, Altair sat bolt upright and blinked a couple times. It was Cassidy’s voice, and her name, why was it she always seemed to pop up whenever he was thinking about her. Maybe he was just thinking about her so often that it was inevitable. “I’m a junior at Don Bosco Tech, and I mainly sing at the Warm Weather Club… This is actually my first time singing somewhere else.”

“Static! Turn it up!” Altair shouted, the thestral inside turned the knob even more.

”Well, I’m sure you’ll do great. Is there anyone you want to say hello to?” The announcer asked.

”Yes. My boyfriend. He’s a Corporal in the Army, and he’s deployed overseas. I love you, honey!” Altair quietly gripped the locket tighter as he turned his chair to listen to the radio better, meanwhile the others had noticed his sudden interest. It was no secret that Altair pretty much hated ‘People’s Voice’, so to see him suddenly request it be turned up was something as rare as a blue moon.

”Aw… That’s sweet. Well, let’s hope he’s listening! What are you going to be singing for us?” The announcer continued, Altair stood up and walked towards the window closest to the radio to get an even better place to listen.

”Oh, it’s nothing special… Just something to let him know how much I love him.” Cassidy said in a warm voice, Major Adler looked up from his cards at one of the younger members of his unit. He could see the look of strain on Altair’s face, he’d seen it plenty of times before. ”It’s called ‘I’ll be seeing you’.” The announcer said a couple other things that Altair wasn’t much paying attention to, he only cared when he heard the sound of a piano beginning to play.

Altair let out a dreamy sigh as Cassidy’s voice began to come through the radio, it had felt like forever since he had listened to her sing, and now she was singing for him and telling the world just how much she cared. Of course, Altair wasn’t the only one listening. Adler could see the look of longing on the young man’s face, but the major knew that eventually his subordinate would get more used to being away from the people he cared about. Altair closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the wall of the barracks and continued to listen to that smokey warm voice he knew so well.

There was little more for Altair to do but stand and listen to Cassidy sing, his eyes still closed as he thought about the last time they had been together. The way that she had hugged him so tightly, the smell of her hair, the taste of her lips… Altair sighed and let the music sooth his ailing heart, his comrades watched with a bit of surprise. Most of the unit didn’t spend time with Altair since he was so young, but that didn’t mean they didn’t care. He and the other young bloods were like the unit’s kid brothers. It didn’t hurt that the girl singing had the voice of an angel. As the music began to fade out and the singing came to an end Altair let out a sigh through his nose.

”That was for you, Alley Cat. I love you, wherever you are.” Cassidy said before the announcer came on and Altair lost all interest in the rest of the show. He opened his eyes and walked back to his chair to sit down, once again his mind was racing with thoughts about Cassidy.

[♠]

For years the Nocturne Agency had worked in the shadows, collecting artifacts and strange items from places where they had no business being. These artifacts had all been catalogued and hidden away from the world without so much as a whisper, they were kept in a secure facility in the middle of the San Polimino Desert. Some as big as ships, some as small as buttons, they all were there because… Put simply… They didn’t belong. For A.K. Yearling, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Dozens of alien artifacts for her to examine and analyze, without the risk of being set on fire or tied into some sort of death trap.

At the moment, Agent Yearling was standing next to one of the facility’s most interesting items, an actual alien ship. The vessel was set up in an aircraft hangar, along with all the items that had been on board. It had been in the possession of the agency for several years, but despite that time there was little that could be told about the mysterious destroyer. The battle damage told Yearling that whatever had disabled the vessel hadn’t been an accident, and judging by the skeletons and the lack of any food or potable water on board, it was likely the crew had starved to death.

The skeletons had been examined, and as expected, they were different than those of normal ponies. Though originally they had looked like regular equine skeletons, close inspection had revealed that these creatures were actually similar to bones that had been found in the Farlands. Bipedal Equine hybrids. Despite that, their uniforms were almost identical to those of the old Equestrian Navy. Yearling had also found their ship to bear many markings that tied it to Equestria, somehow.

It was a puzzle, a very big puzzle, and Agent Yearling intended to solve it. The mare quietly walked up a gangplank that lead to the deck of the rusted hulk, she had examined the vessel many times, but each time she felt like she was missing something. The computers were encrypted heavily, in the years it had been under Nocturne control not once had they come close to cracking the code. All that Yearling knew was that this ship was from Dimension Zeta-Zero-One, better known as ‘The Battery Dimension’. It was a reality with enough arcane energy to power portals between Terra and Equus, and also the biggest threat to the world since the development of the Thermo-Arcane Bomb.

Yearling stepped into the bridge of the ship, she had become familiar with it over the time they had had it in their custody. Floodlights illuminated the area, allowing the agent to see every piece of broken hardware in the control panels. It also allowed the mare to see someone she hadn’t been expecting, a thestral in a black suit holding a folder in one of his wings. He had an ID tag pinned to his jacket, and from the eye of providence that Yearling saw she knew that he was with Providentia.

“Agent Yearling.” The thestral said as he set the folder on one of the control panels, Yearling stared at the stallion with a raised eyebrow. He had warm eyes, but a raspy voice that sounded like he’d been forced to gargle some sort of chemical weapon. The scars near his lips supported this theory. “I’ve been expecting you…”

“And you are?” Yearling asked, the stallion adjusted his suit and walked towards one of the still functioning consoles of the ship, though the encryption caused it to only display an image of the old Equestrian seal. He brought the folder with him, this time setting it in front of Yearling.

“I’m the stallion who’s going to help you crack this pesky encryption of theirs.” The thestral said simply, Yearling caught sight of yet another unique item on the stallion’s ID tag. It displayed a grey swirling line above the eye of providence, which meant that this thestral was part of Providentia’s Interdimensional Security Task Force. “Time for slow examination has run out, Agent Yearling. My superiors want the system cracked, and cracked soon. I aim to make that happen.”

“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?” Yearling asked, the stallion quietly opened the folder. Yearling glanced at it for a moment, her eyes drawn to an image of one of the odd alien skulls that had been found on the ship. Next to it was the face of a unicorn stallion with grey fur and a dark grey mane.

“We ran facial reconstructions of the crew through our military’s database, it was a longshot, but we were hoping that perhaps there would be some overlap in personnel…” The thestral allowed Yearling to pick up the picture and examine it closer. “Meet Ensign Grey Skies of the ONV Trotzig.”

“The Trotzig? But… She was lost with all hands. How does this help us?” Yearling asked, the mare paused and hummed. “Wait… Wait wait… If there’s overlap in crew members… Then that means there may be an overlap in security phrases. We’ve been so focussed on trying to crack an alien code that we didn’t think…”

“I can see why you’re one of our leads on this case.” The thestral said as he approached the console and adjusted his tie. “So, let’s see if Trotzig’s security access code can get us in.” Yearling watched as the stallion pushed a couple buttons on the keyboard, he then proceeded to enter the eighteen digit code, as if from memory. Both he and Yearling stood there, watching as the computer processed the numbers. Yearling looked around as the numerous other screens began to light up, displaying various lines of code before they showed different stations.

“It’s… It’s working.” Yearling mumbled, all throughout the ship its damaged systems were coming online. The mare looked at the numerous screens, some displayed data and weapons status, others seemed to be navigation or communication’s stations.

“This is bad…” The thestral said quietly as he examined the screen that he had entered the code on, typing on the keyboard as if he knew exactly what it was he was looking for. “This confirms the ship originates from Zeta-Zero-One, and from the looks of it… It didn’t come here entirely on accident.” Agent Yearling approached the screen and looked at what it held, her expression gradually shifted to one of shock. The image she saw was of the apparent crew… This confirmed the theory that the inhabitants of Zeta-Zero-One were bipedal anthropomorphics cousins of their Equestrian cousins. “There’s a sea of information to comb through.”

“I’ll have my team get started right away.” Agent Yearling said, the Thestral nodded quietly as he picked up his folder.

“And I will be watching.” He said simply, the stallion adjusted his tie once more. “Miss Yearling, look at the console for a moment… I think there’s something you should see.” Yearling raised an eyebrow and looked to the console in question, but to her confusion there was nothing new.

“I don’t see any-” She stopped mid sentence when she turned to look at the Thestral, only to find that he had vanished.
> Omnis Gemini Lapsu
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of chattering voices echoed through the massive underground warehouse, ponies, changelings, and all other manner of creatures were pouring over the vessel that had been housed there for the past couple years. Now that it’s computer had been unlocked, the ship was getting a second look over. With the addition of the computer, it had been determined just what the vessel was called. The ENS Harbinger. More importantly, the scientists had been able to determine how the ship had been armed. The technology was on par with that of Onorus, but it relied more heavily on arcane circuitry as opposed to regular wiring.

Most worrying of all the finds was the captain’s log, which had been deemed classified as soon as it was uncovered. Three men from Providentia had come and removed it from the ship in a briefcase handcuffed to one of their wrists. Agent Yearling hadn’t even had time to listen to the digital recordings before they had been taken, and all trace of them had been wiped from the vessel’s mainframe. All she knew was that the mysterious Thestral was involved, he had been one of the Providentia Agents that helped secure the files. Normally the Nocturne Agency handled every bit of information that possibly came from another dimension, so to have Providentia take custody of those files was extremely out of the ordinary.

The thestral in question, a stallion known as Schwarze, was sitting with his superiors in a darkened conference room. They were all turned towards a screen on the wall which displayed the footage recovered from the ship’s data logs and captain’s logs. The first half dozen or so had been normal, speaking of ship troubles and personal notes… Something changed around the eighth log entry, the captain in the footage seemed more nervous and spoke less and less about the status of the ship.

”...We’ve just confirmed that we are indeed at war, though command didn’t get a chance to tell us who. Something about this region of the sea is jamming our transmissions. I’ll have Sparks take a look at our comm system tomorrow… That’s all for now.” The captain said before the screen went dark, Schwarze looked at his superiors, all of whom were now very much interested in what was going on. A technician quietly pushed a couple buttons on a remote, this brought up the next log.

”Captain’s log, screw the date and time… We engaged an enemy ship earlier today, though for the life of me I don’t know how the Griffon’s managed to create such a powerful vessel when all their other ships are little more than tin cans.” The captain of the alien ship said into the camera from within his cabin. ”Oddest thing was it wasn’t flying Griffon Colors, but there were definitely griffon crew members… But there were also other ponies and what looked like a couple minotaurs. We would’ve interrogated some of them, but they scuttled their vessel… We managed to get hold of their flag though.”

A collective gasp went up through the conference room as the alien captain displayed the flag they’d captured to the camera, Schwarze leaned forward in slight awe. The flag in question was a purple-ish blue, with an elongated hexagon in the center. The hexagon bore the Onorussian Coat of Arms. The flag was Onorussian, meaning the scuttled ship had likely been Onorussian as well…

”Whoever they were, they did a lot of damage to our hull. We’re stopping to repair the damage, hopefully we’ll be on our way again tomorrow.” The Captain continued, Schwarze noted that he was a unicorn with white fur and a red mane, though the footage was too grainy to make out any other details. ”Things are certainly getting strange around here…” The screen went blank again, the technician quickly hit play, everyone in the room wanted to know more about the mystery ship at this point.

The next log came on, though this time it appeared to have been taken from the bridge of the ship. The footage showed that the ship was deep in a fog bank, but it was still possible to make out the outline of a massive ship in the background.

”Captain’s log… We’ve been using the fog of the sea around us to hide our movements, it seems that there are more of these unknown ships here than we thought.” The captain said before turning the camera to view the ship in question, it looked to be a Nimitz Class Carrier. ”We haven’t gotten close enough for them to see us, our mages are working double time to hide us from their sensors.” The stallion turned the camera back towards him. ”We haven’t been able to reach command, the stars are all wrong, and we’re running low on supplies… Something's very wrong here.” The screen went dark.

“That’s the last one we’ve decoded for now.” The technician announced as the lights came back up, Schwarze and the others turned back towards the table and one another. Some of those in the room wore uniforms of generals, and now that the lights were up, the thestral could see the familiar scowling old face of Vladimir Putin at the head of the table. He had his fingers steepled while his intense eyes roved over the room.

“Gentlemen, there can be no denying it further.” Putin said in his usual rough voice, his accent haunting each syllable of his sentence. “This vessel comes from Zeta-Zero-One, we’ve been hoping that isn’t the case, but our scientists have confirmed Discord’s initial conclusion.” There was hushed mumbling around the table. “We all know that this puts us in a dangerous position. If we continue to use Zeta-Zero-One to go between Equus and Terra, we risk opening a rift between our worlds.”

“If we stop using Zeta-Zero-One, we will lose contact with our forces on the other side! Humanity will be left in the cold all over again! All those lives we lost will have been for nothing!” A griffon general said gruffly while pounding the table, Putin shot him a quick glare.

“I agree. We cannot afford to stop using portals between Terra and Equus at this time, not until we have figured a way to colonize our solar system.” Putin said while looking at the group of ponies, humans, changelings, griffons, and other assorted races. “However, we cannot ignore Zeta-Zero-One as a threat.”

“Director Putin, I appologize, but I haven’t been fully read in on ‘Zeta-Zero-One’.” A diamond dog wearing a suit said while sniffing the air, his paws were crossed across his chest. Putin nodded quietly and looked at the table.

“Zeta-Zero-One is the dimension we draw arcane energy from to power our portals between Equus and Terra.” Putin explained while leaning against the table. “As such, occasionally small rifts open, allowing objects from our world to pass through into theirs, and visa versa.” The older man looked at the table with an intense expression. “The problem is that Zeta-Zero-One is home to an Equestria equally advanced to our own. Unlike us, there is only one human there. Unlike the Imperator, he sided with Celestia. We know he’s lead missions that wiped out the entire changeling species in his dimension. Not to mention missions that put their Discord out of comission for good.”

“So the fear is that since we have Changelings among us, he will go to war? I’m sure he’d be understanding.” The diamond dog said, Putin shook his head.

“It’s not just the Changelings. If he were to find out we work with Discord regularly…” Putin trailed off and leaned back in his chair. “It would be the bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.” The diamond dog nodded his head and looked to the dark screen. “Now, can we discuss what happened in the logs?”

“It seems the ship was operating within our waters for some time, but there’s no mention of any portal phenomenon…” A scientist said with an intrigued expression. “Somehow the transition to our dimension was seamless.” The other scientists in the room all gained rather concerned expression. “It may not be a matter of if a rift opens, but where and when…”

“That’s not acceptable.” Putin said firmly. “If a rift is inevitable, we must know when and where so we can evacuate any civilians!”

“Mister Director!” A voice called out over the chaos, it was an accented voice that forced everyone in the room to quiet down. Schwarze, Putin and the others turned to see a grey unicorn sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a pair of round black sunglasses. One of his hooves was covered by a black leather sleeve and his blonde mane was parted to the right. His name was Doctor Merkwürdigliebe, a unicorn raised by Thestrals. He specialized in ‘Dark Arcane Science’, especially portals.

“Yes, Doctor?” Putin said as he looked to the unicorn, the unicorn’s horn glowed as he used his magic to push himself along.

“If we could construct a platform of sorts, using the orb recovered by our teams in the Farlands, we could theoretically force the rift to open wherever we choose!” Doctor Merkwürdigliebe announced, Putin raised an eyebrow at him.

“But is it possible to even consider constructing such a thing?” One of the generals asked.

“The technology required is easily within the means of even the smallest Thermo-Arcane power… It requires only the will to do so.” Doctor Merkwürdigliebe stated, Schwarze quietly adjusted his files and flipped through them. “Because of it’s simplicity, this machine is terrifying? Yes? Simple to understand? Especially if our friends in Zeta-Zero-One should decide to do the same thing?”

“What do you recommend, herr Doctor?” Schwarze asked, the unicorn turned to look at him.

“We must construct this device and ensure we are prepared! That, combined with a sense of bold curiosity for what lies ahead! Ahaaaa!” As if on its own, the Doctor’s gloved hoof lept into a Celestial Salute. He quickly beat it back down to his wheelchair and ended up sitting on it. “As I was saying! With the device, we will be able to not only determine when the rift may open, but also choose our battlefield!”

“Well then… I shall want proposals from all department heads by the end of the day.” Putin said firmly as he stood from his chair. “We have to get ahead of this, gentlemen.” There were various nods and grunts from the others in the room as they too stood up and began filing out. Doctor Merkwürdigliebe seemed to linger for a couple minutes before he too rolled himself through the door. That left only Schwarze and Putin. “Agent Schwarze, I’m putting you in charge of Interdimensional Operations for the time being… Zeta-Zero-One isn’t our only concern at this point.”

“Let me guess… The Crystal Empire is our other concern?” Schwarze asked, Putin nodded. “Understood, sir. I’ll keep you informed.”

“See that you do.” Putin said in a serious voice, the two of them gathered up their files and exited the conference room.

[♠]

Altair quietly stood on the beach of Mizuki Atoll, the waves rolling against the sand quietly while a wind blew gently in from the sea. He wore only his undershirt, fatigue pants, and boots. A navy blue strip of fabric was tied around his forehead, catching his sweat. Clenched in his hands was a stick of bamboo that had been shaped to match the size and weight of a sword. His mother had sent it to him with express instructions to practice, as she would be coming to test him soon enough. Altair had spent every free moment that he had to himself training with the bamboo, each movement could’ve been lethal with a real blade.

His muscles had become intensely defined and sculpted, sweat formed on his brow with each move he made, all the while the sun shined down on him. Further up the beach, his comrades watched with quiet interest. Some had started taking bets on who could possibly defeat Altair in combat, Finn had even spent some time fashioning swords out of the bamboo that grew around the island. Despite this, none of the other Fallschirmjager had worked up the courage to face Altair in sword combat. At least, all except one.

Major Adler looked over at Finn and cleared his throat, silently he held out his hand. Finn looked uncertain, but he wordlessly gave his commander one of the bamboo training swords. Adler removed his fatigue jacket and handed it to Finn before he strolled out onto the beach, the sound of his boots crunching the sand seemed to catch Altair’s attention as he lowered the training sword and looked for the source. He saw the Major approaching with a training sword, as well as the crowd in the treeline.

“Corporal.” The Major said, he stopped ten feet in front of Altair with his sword in one hand. “All the boys have seen you training, but none of them have seen you actually fight an opponent.”

“Major, if you are here to challenge me, I cannot accept… You are my commanding officer.” Altair replied as he lowered the training sword, Adler smirked and crossed his arms quietly.

“I don’t see any insignia on my collar now, Corporal. Do you?” Adler asked, Altair noticed that the major wasn’t wearing his insignia or fatigue jacket. “I’ve been thinking of adding a sword training regimen to our daily routine, think of this as aiding your Commanding Officer in research. For the good of the unit.”

“Very well… For the good of the unit, I accept your challenge.” Altair replied as he adjusted his stance and gripped his sword with both hands. “You should know, I have been training since I was thirteen. I will not go easy on you.”

“I didn’t expect you too.” Adler replied as he too gripped his sword with both hands and took up his own stance, Altair recognized it almost instantly.

“Du warst im Nachtkorps?” Altair asked quietly, Major Adler nodded while he continued to grip his sword. Altair adjusted his stance once again. “This shall be interesting indeed.” Altair lunged forward, swinging the blade towards the Major’s head. Adler raised his own training sword, there was a loud thud as both sticks of bamboo clattered together. The two of them traded blows over and over again, though Adler found himself on the defensive more and more. The Corporal hadn’t been kidding, he really was proving tough to beat.

For Altair, it was all a matter of keeping Adler on the defensive. He had worked hard to put endurance on his side, matching that with his strength and his ability to see the minute muscle movements that telegraphed an opponent’s move, he had become deadly with even a training blade. Finn and Static watched with the rest of the unit as the two swordsmen dueled on the beach, it was like watching two wolves fighting over a kill. Eventually Altair caught on to a pattern of Adler’s movements, every third move the major left his gun exposed, if only for a moment. Altair planned his next move in his head, and when the third move came around, he put his plan into motion. One hand let go of his sword, clenched into a fist, and flew into the Major’s gut.

Adler staggered back, clutching his gut. Altair capitalized on his moment of weakness by raising his training sword and bring it down, he stopped an inch from Adler’s neck and tapped him with it.

“Victory is mine.” Altair said simply before lowering his sword, he took a step forward and offered the Major his hand. “Are you okay, sir?” Adler accepted his hand and used it to help him stand up to his full height. “It wasn’t my intention to cause you any real harm, sir. Though I fear I may have cracked a rib or two.”

“Are you kidding?” Adler said with a chuckle while he rubbed his side. “I haven’t had a bout like that in years, I think I’ll add that to our training regimen after all. Maybe even submit a suggestion to have it instated across the board for special ops units.” Altair sighed in relief, he had worried that his duel with the Major would’ve ended with him in the brig. “I’ve noticed how much you’ve been training, Corporal. Got me thinking I should shake the rust off my own skills.” The two of them began walking back towards the group. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“My Mother is coming to administer a test to me…” Altair admitted as they walked along. “I’ve worked hard since I was thirteen to follow her example, I want to be in the Nachtkorps like my Father and Mom.” Adler hummed in thought while he rubbed his chin. “What do you think, sir?”

“Not my place to say, Corporal… But your sword skill is rather incredible for a seventeen year old.” Adler said with a nod.

“I just turned eighteen, sir.” Altair corrected the Major.

“Really? We’ve been stationed on this island two years?” Adler asked, Altair nodded simply. “Well, I really need to pay more attention. Why didn’t any of you guys say something? You must be awfully bored.”

“We are, sir. We just didn’t want you to think we were upset with you.” Altair replied simply, Adler smiled for a moment before he shook his head.

“Well, regardless of that. I’m going to put in for us to be transferred to the mainland.” Adler announced simply. “That way you boys will get a chance to see your families for more than a couple weeks at a time.”

“I’ll keep this between us until you’re sure you can pull it off, sir.” Altair said in a reserved tone, Adler smirked and put a hand on the Corporal’s shoulder. He hoped it came off as ‘fatherly’, though in actuality it was because his ribs really felt like they had taken some damage and he needed a little help standing.

“I know you will, Corporal.” The Major said simply, he grimaced a couple seconds later. “Say, you think you could call a jeep to take me to the infirmary. You hit like a mule, boy.”

“Of course, sir.” Altair said with another nod, by then they were approaching the group on the beach. “Wonder who won the bet.” Adler shrugged, there was a new bit of understanding between the two of them. Altair felt like he could trust his Commander completely now, something he hadn’t been able to do before. He knew that they were equally matched for strength and skill, if they ever were forced into battle he knew he could rely on the Major to have his back. That was more than most people could say…
> Sigillum Sextus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of water running into a small pond echoed through the warm air of Luna’s greenhouse, her numerous plants had been moved aside to make room for the training area she had set up for Altair. Since his unit had returned to the mainland she and him had been spending a good deal of time together, working on his skills as a warrior with the intensity of a thousand stars. The mare was pushing her son harder than she had pushed his father, mainly because she wanted to know that he had the skills to keep himself safe. The boy didn’t complain once, taking each new challenge head on.

Soon, however, all that hard work would come to an end. Altair was nearing the end of his training, and that day in the greenhouse would be his last as a student. Seated at the center of the room was Altair, he sat on his knees and wore his training robe. His head was bowed in meditation, his shoulders hunched forward while he let his hands rest on his thighs. As Luna entered the greenhouse she had to force herself to hide the pride she felt, beside her was a wooden box made of mahogany, it floated in her magic field. The mare stopped in front of Altair and set the box down, she wore her own navy blue robes and gave off an aura of maternal strength.

“You have trained hard and well for many years, my son.” Luna said in an authoritative tone, Altair remained quiet. “What is your purpose?”

“To serve the Republic.” Altair replied quietly, his head still bowed in respect.

“Who is the master of the Night?” Luna asked firmly.

“None but you, Mother.” Altair replied just as firmly, Luna smiled softly as she continued to look him over. He had started out so small, and yet here he was, a man… He had trained and worked so hard to get to this point, Luna wanted to hug him so tightly, to tell him just how proud she really was of her boy. She would have to wait until after the ceremony before she could let him know just how much she loved him.

“This is your final chance to back out.” Luna said as she opened the wooden box to reveal a blade of Lunar Steel inside. “Altair Occisor, son of the Imperator, child of the Night, will you be baptised into the Lunar Order? Will you serve the Night, in all its glory?”

“Until my last breath.” Altair replied in a voice that was overflowing with conviction, Luna quietly levitated the sword from the box in front of her and moved it closer to Altair. The blade, like all other Lunar Corps blades, was made of Lunar Steel, which had a navy blue tint due to the process used to create it. Unlike most other Lunar Corps swords, this one was customized. The cross guard was shaped like an eagle’s wings, the pommel was an eagle’s head. The handle was black with gold bands around the center. Along the length of the blade words had been engraved… ‘Semper In Lumine Lunari’.

“Anoint thy blade, my son.” Luna commanded, this was her least favorite part of the ceremony, but it was necessary. She watched as Altair picked up the sword and drew the blade across his palm, blood oozed from the cut, which he proceeded to smear along the blade. “We become who we are through the pain we endure. Let your scar serve to remind you that your blood should not be spilled needlessly.” Altair nodded quietly and watched as his mother stood up. “Now… Arise Altair Occisor, Child of the Night.” The man stood up, his hand dripping blood still, but he didn’t seem to mind considering this was one of the greatest moments of his life. “Your training is complete.”

“Thank you, Moth-” Altair began to speak, but he was cut off as Luna wrapped her hooves and wings around him tightly. His eyes went wide as she squeezed him immensely hard, so much so that Altair felt the pressure stop the bleeding on his hand.

“I’m so so so so so proud of you, Altair!” Luna said with a squee while she continued to hug him, Altair had never seen his Mother so… Expressive before. It told him just how much that this milestone meant to her. The mare let go of him after a couple seconds before her horn glowed, a bandage floated up out of the wooden box, his mother used her magic to wrap his hand after she had put it in proper place. “I’ve waited so long to be able to give you a blade you can wield with pride, and now… Now you have it.”

“It’s beautiful, Mother.” Altair said as he looked at the sword, it’s design was based off of a katana’s while it had the length and weight of a sabre. “Thank you… For teaching me like you taught Father. I feel… Better. Like I can better control my emotions.” Altair walked to the water feature in the greenhouse and knelt down, then used the water to wash the blade and his hand of the blood. Luna moved up beside him and sat down, her horn once again glowing. She levitated two final item’s out of the box, the first was a headband that matched her fur color, the center bore a white circle that symbolized the moon. Luna tied the band around Altair’s forehead, surprising him at first.

“I merely showed you a few meditation techniques, it was you that used them to understand yourself better.” Luna said as she finished tying the headband, she levitated the second item into view. It was a silver pin, a crescent moon. Members of the Lunar Corps wore them on their uniforms to display their fealty to the night… Altair had seen knockoffs for sale in Army Surplus Stores, but this… This was the real deal. “Take it, you’ve earned it.” Altair reached out and grabbed the pin from his the field of Magic. “Now, would you care to do one more session of meditation before we head in, or are you more anxious to see Cassidy?” Altair paused, unsure of how he should answer. “I’m kidding… Let’s go.” Luna stood up and began walking towards the door, Altair stood and followed her, gripping the pin in his hand tightly.

[♠]

Deep beneath Canterlot Mountain, hidden under tons of rock, and protected by even more concrete, was a massive complex of tunnels and rooms. A massive bunker which contained the nerve center of the entire Onorussian Military. It made NORAD look like a pillbox. The main room housed a massive map of the world, displaying the various countries of the world in different colors. Onorus was marked with purple while the Crystal Empire and their allies were marked with white. Neutral countries were marked in green. Below the map sat row after row of computers and desks, each manned by an AIr Force officer.

This facility was so highly secret that hardly anyone that didn’t work there knew where the entrance was. It had been dubbed ‘The Crystal Palace’, due to the fact that it had been built to protect against the Crystal Empire. So far, the facility hadn’t been put to the use it had been built for, thankfully. It existed for the sole purpose of surviving a Thermo-Arcane exchange, though it also doubled as a global command center. The commander of this massive complex was Field Marshal Eventide, an old Thestral general that had served with the Imperator and Imperatrix during the wars.

Eventide currently sat behind his desk, watching the large map as usual. There wasn’t much going on at the moment, save for a couple military engagements in the lands south of the border. To be honest, the Field Marshal hadn’t been one to think the Crystal Empire would ever try something so destructive as a war with Onorus, but he had thought the same thing about the Caribou all those years ago. He had been busying himself lately with paperwork, his guard was lowered more than it should have. Meanwhile, a young changeling officer was watching his screen when a sudden blip appeared on the screen. It was a partial teleportation signature, it looked one associated with the Crystal Empire’s weapon systems.

“Field Marshal! I have a blip- make that three blips, sir!” The officer announced over the PA system, an alarm began to drone through the room as the officer’s screen was brought up on the main map.

“Sensors are confirming partial signatures, sir!” Another officer shouted, Eventide sat up in his seat and looked at the board in surprise.

“Run a check with the magic academies, find out if any of them have long range teleportation classes today!” Eventide ordered, he stood from his desk and continued to look at the map. “Take us to DEFCON Four, get the subs into launch positions and alert the Imperator.” There was a chorus of affirmatives as the officers in the room began going about their numerous tasks, as they did so more blips appeared on the screen.

“Sir! I have the Crystal Empire on the line! They’re saying they’ve detected the signatures as well!” An officer shouted from a desk marked ‘Foreign Intel’. “I don’t know what to think sir, but this guy sounds scared as hell we’re going to drop a fireball on his ass!”

“Get local Police to investigate the area! I want eyes on these signatures, anything that big has to at least be visible by now!” Eventide ordered as sweat formed on his brow. “Tell them it’s a matter of National Security! Really kick their asses into gear!”

“Yes, sir!” The officer replied before he put the Crystal Empire on hold and began dialing every police station within range of the affected areas. “This is Crystal Palace! Verification Code Delta Two Niner Seven Foxtrot Zulu! This is a matter of national security. Dispatch units to the following coordinates!”

[♠]

The marble floor of Canterlot Castle was lit only by the glow of a fireplace and a large magic screen, the air was warm and smelled of vanilla. A bird cage was nestled near the window, sleeping within was a pheonix. The sun had set in the distance, leaving the streets of Canterlot rather empty. No one went out at night, it just wasn’t as fun as the day time. At least, according to most of the polls. The screen that hung in the air gave off a warm golden glow, like that of an old incandescent light bulb. It displayed a rather odd sight, a white room filled with men and women in lab coats. Occasionally a changeling would poke his head in the doorway and talk to one of the workers, then disappear just as quickly.

Standing next to one another, staring at the screen, were two figures. One of them had seen this strange footage before, the other was seeing it for the first time. The figure on the right was a tall human, he wore a pressed white uniform with a gold fringe and a yellow eight pointed star patch on the shoulder. The other was an alicorn, the owner of the room, and the one who had never seen so many humans in one place before. Queen Celestia of The Kingdom of Equestria, lover of the man that stood beside her.

“You were right, Celly…” The man said as he crossed his arms and stared at the screen. “The fluctuations you sensed in the arcane fields were because of the inhabitants of this other realm…”

“What have you learned about them, Simon?” Celestia asked as she continued to watch the humans work. She was a bit surprised when she saw a unicorn in a wheelchair roll into view, the stallion went right towards the source of the video and stared at it, then shrugged and rolled out of sight.

“Not much…” Simon replied with a sigh. “Our attempts to send agents through have been less than successful…” The man trailed off when he saw a red light begin flashing on the wall of the facility. “Hold on…” Simon stepped forward and ran his hand through the screen, causing sound to start eminating from the light. The alarm in the background was joined by garbled announcments.

”Achtung! Achtung! Wir sind jetzt in Verteidigung Zustand drei!” The voice announced in a droning tone, the workers looked around nervously before two humans in black uniforms stepped into the room. Each carried an assault rifle and wore body armor, the two of them walked past the scientists and approached the source of the video. It gave Simon and Celestia a chance to see the strange flags on their shoulder patches, but something else caught Celestia’s eye. One of them had his sleeves rolled up, revealing a tattoo of an eagle perched upon a wreath, at the center of the wreath was a distinct crescent moon.

”What do you think’s going on?” One of the soldiers asked as they stood guard near the source of the video.

”I heard Shining Armor is finally pushing the button! They’ve got partial teleportation signals all over the country! It’s gonna be a full on Thermo-Arcane war!” The other replied in a hushed tone, Celestia and Simon froze at that. Celestia because she had never worried about such a thing, and Simon because he realized he had made a very big mistake. The man rushed to a desk on the other side of the room and picked up a phone, he quickly punched in a phone number and gave some hushed orders, then returned to the screen… His wife was staring at him, but she didn’t ask any questions.

”Great… The whole world is going to hell again, and what do we get to do? Stand next to the stupid Farland’s Orb.” The soldier with the tattoo said with a bit of an annoyed tone. ”Wonder if it will go down faster than the war with Equestria did… I mean, it only took two days to conquer an entire country with conventional weapons… Imagine how short this is gonna be.”

”I bet you twenty bucks it lasts two hours.” The other soldier said, the tattooed soldier chuckled before Simon turned off the audio, he appeared shaken and nervous as he continued to watch the screen, as if waiting for something to go wrong.

“I hope I stopped them in time…” Simon said quietly as he rubbed the back of his neck, Celestia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I was trying to send some scouting parties through, I thought sending them all at once would’ve made it easier… Apparently all I did was nearly start a global war.” The man scowled and looked at the floor. “These people, whoever they are… I don’t like them. There’s something… Off…”

“I think I know what.” Celestia replied as she pointed to the tattoo on the man’s arm. “That’s a symbol from the era of Nightmare Moon…” Simon stared at the tattoo for a couple seconds, then looked back at Celestia. “They work with changelings, and now apparently nightmare moon? I fear we have stumbled upon a very wicked empire indeed…” The mare looked at Simon quietly. “My love… I’m afraid I may need to ask something of you.”

“Anything for you.” Simon replied with a slight smile.

“Find out more about these strange people, and when the time is right, we will free that land of the darkness.” Celestia said with a quiet voice, Simon nodded as he gave a slight bow. “You will restore the glory of light, with our army you can hold back the night.” Simon nodded quietly and turned to look back at the screen. Ever since he had been brought to Equestria things had gone better and better, now would be his chance to give back to the ponies that had saved him, helping them free an entire country from an evil empire… What could be more noble?

[♠]

Field Marshal Eventide sighed in relief as the blips began fading from the screen, for whatever reason the unknown signatures had vanished as soon as they had shown up. There was no sign of Thermo-Arcane weapons on Onorussian soil, no evidence that the Crystal Empire had fired any shots, gradually the mood in the command room was starting to relax. That was, at least, until thirty men in black suits and sunglasses walked through the main entrance. Their badges identified half of them as Providentia while the others wore badges belonging to the Nocturne Agency.

“Attention everyone! My name is Agent Schwarze of Providentia!” A voice rang out over the PA system. “These fine gentlemen here will be visiting each of your work stations and downloading the data you took during this little ‘exercise’, afterwards they will wipe any evidence from the hard drive. Please, don’t interfere. Thank you, on behalf of Director Putin.” The PA went silent, Eventide appeared rather annoyed as one of the men began pouring over his computer. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do, and now that the Nocturne Agency was involved, he found himself wanting to know less and less about whatever was going on.

Schwarze let out an annoyed sigh as he stood in his office, staring out the window after his announcement to the people of Crystal Palace. The report had come in, the signatures weren’t Crystal Empire at all. They were old Equestrian Long Range Teleportation spells, modified to open portals in key cities all over Onorus… There were two conclusions Schwarze could draw from that information that seemed plausible. Firstly, the people of Zeta-Zero-One had been trying to instigate a Thermo-Arcane conflict between Onorus and the Crystal Empire… Or, more likely, Zeta-Zero-One had been trying to send troops through into Onorus, but had failed for some unknown reason… Whatever the cause, the effect had been felt worldwide.

Recruitment was up twelve percent, arms manufacturers were gearing up for a war time economy… All around the world, it was as if people could taste the copper of blood in the air. It was a feeling that Schwarze thoroughly despised…
> Dies De Sanguine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassidy awoke to the feeling of two very strong arms wrapped around her waist, she smirked quietly as she leaned her head back and felt Altair’s breath on her neck. They had been sleeping together since both of them had turned eighteen, so far nothing physical had really happened, but Cassidy still enjoyed being in the same bed as Altair. The young woman closed her eyes and rolled over so that she was facing Altair, his eyes were still closed and she could tell that he was very much asleep. He had been issued duties patrolling the castle grounds, they kept him out late… But Cassidy didn’t mind waiting up to see Altair when he got home.

Birds chirped cheerily outside while the morning sun shined in through the window of their shared bedroom. Cassidy leaned her head against Altair’s muscled chest, she could hear his heart beating while his chest rose up and down. Unlike his father, Altair shaved his chest regularly so it was thankfully smooth. The woman move her arms around Altair’s waist as the two of them slept closer to one another, even if he was asleep Cassidy knew that Altair was enjoying the contact. Altair wore only his boxers to bed, while Cassidy chose to wear a nightgown, the soft fabric was something Altair could recognize in his sleep.

Cassidy let out a little yelp when she felt Altair’s hands shift to her rear and give it a squeeze, the man then smirked quietly and opened his eyes. He moved his hands back to Cassidy’s waist before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead.

“Morning…” He said in a warm voice, Cassidy hummed and nuzzled up against his chest.

“Morning.” She replied, the woman had really grown into her body since she had been a teenager. Her hips were perfect, as were her breasts, at least as far as Altair thought. In truth, she was a little on the short side, but that didn’t bother Altair. Now that they were both eighteen, Altair had been thinking more and more about what he wanted to do with Cassidy… In a romantic sense, not a physical one. They had been together for two years, most of the time they had been living together, in a way it felt like they were meant for eachother… Altair just wasn’t sure where else to go with the relationship. “Altair, Earth to Altair!”

“Huh?” Altair asked as his thoughts snapped back into the present. “Sorry, was just thinking about something…”

“Oh? What was it?” Cassidy asked.

“Just how beautiful you are.” Altair said with a slight smirk, Cassidy rolled her eyes and gave him a smack on the side.

“Your mom was right, the cheesy lines must be a genetic thing.” Cassidy said with a look of mirth on her face, Altair smiled and leaned in again, this time kissing her right on the lips. “Mmm, I wish we could just stay here all day.”

“I do too…” Altair said with a hum while he ran a hand over his head, Cassidy ran her hands along his chest up his neck and onto his cheeks. She paused as she felt the familiar scar on his cheek, but that didn’t stop her from pulling her boyfriend into yet another kiss. He hummed softly and put a hand behind her head, closing his eyes as he kissed her back passionately. It lasted a good twenty seconds before the two of them pulled away from one another. “I really need to get up or else I might just stay here with those beautiful lips of yours.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Cassidy asked as she watched Altair swing his legs out from under the blanket and stand up. He stretched quietly, giving Cassidy a show of the muscles on his back.

“No, unless I don’t want to get in trouble with my CO.” Altair replied simply as he walked to his dresser and pulled the top drawer out. He had already showered the night before, so it was only a matter of pulling on his socks and fatigues. “You get me all the other mornings, but I have to go in early today… The orders came from my Mother, it would have to be very important for her to drag me in early.” Altair pulled on his socks, followed by his grey undershirt. Cassidy sat up in bed and watched the man getting dressed, frowning faintly. “Look, with any luck I’ll be done early, then we might actually get a chance to see each other during daylight hours.”

“Fine…” Cassidy said with a slight huff, Altair pulled on his fatigues next. The camouflage pattern was a new design. A mix of old Russian Pixel camo and German Flecktarn, it had replaced the old flat grey fatigues that had been the standard for twenty years. Altair walked quietly to the window as he finished buttoning his jacket, he sighed quietly as he looked down on Canterlot. The streets were being cleared of the final bits of snow, the pegasi were ushering in the beginning of spring.

Altair turned around and paused as he saw Cassidy getting out of bed, only she had removed her nightgown and was walking to the dresser completely naked. She looked over at Altair and smirked when she saw how red his face had gotten, he quickly looked at the floor, but occasionally she caught his eyes glancing at her. There was a tradition that had formed in the wake of the plague, the family of a couple in love would talk about how they had made their relationship work in all details. Altair’s mom had been very, VERY, open about what she did to help keep things fresh. Altair coughed a couple times and went to put on his boots, still glowing red.

“Don’t worry, Alley Cat. I’ll be here when you get back.” Cassidy called over her shoulder as she pulled on her own clothes. Altair double knotted his boots and tucked his pant legs into them, then stood up and looked at the now fully clothed woman.

“O-Okay…” Altair stammered as he walked towards the door, she could tell he was still in a state of uncertainty. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He said, Altair paused as he reached for the handle. The man stopped and looked over his shoulder at Cassidy. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Cassidy replied with a smile, Altair smiled back at her, the red on his cheeks starting to recede as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. He closed the door behind him and began walking through the halls towards the military wing of Canterlot Castle.

[♠]

The labs built beneath Canterlot Castle had never been so quiet as they were now, every technician and scientist had gathered in the main hangar sized area to see the result of all they had worked for. The room was massive, grey walls of concrete supported by thick steel beams, and at the very center was the device that had been consuming the resources of every scientist for the past several months. It was a large platform with two large antennas reaching up and forming a horseshoe shaped arch. Wires ran all along the insides and outside of the arch, control panels were set up all around it. The platform had four armed guards standing on it, though they had been instructed to be more focused on the arch than on the crowd.

At the very center of the arch, contained within a glass container, was the glowing orb that had been recovered in the Farlands, something that the staff had started to call ‘The Seed’. A seed that could open a portal to an entirely different dimension, something that could change the future of the world forever. Once the device was activated, the Onorussians would be able to keep the residents of the other dimension from opening portals anywhere but through the arch. It would be a moment of triumph, Onorus would be able to put its full attention back on the Crystal Empire. It was for that reason that the military was anxious to have the device activated as soon as possible.

Of course the scientists wanted to celebrate before they turned it on, and they were entitled to celebrate, but the military just wished they would do so after they actually turned it on. The generals in attendance were getting antsy, the longer they waited the more they worried something would go wrong. After all, the people of the other dimension had nearly started a Thermo-Arcane War several months prior, and it was theorized they had also tried to send an invasion force of some kind. Needless to say, opinions were divided on when the machine needed to be activated.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” A woman announced from the platform, getting the attention of everyone in room. Her name was Doctor Laverne Mason, she had been the lead researcher on the project to build the Portal interceptor. “I’m so glad to say we’ve finally done it! You’ve all worked so hard to make our nation a safer place! I thought it would be best if all of you had the chance to see our hard work come online, so please stand by as we power up the interceptor.” There was a cheer that went up through the crowd as Doctor Mason moved to one of the control panels, technicians manned the others.

“Doctor Mason, I have a question…” One of them called out as he looked at his screen, there were strange readings coming from the arch and The Seed. Mason flipped a couple switches on her console before she approached the technician and looked at his screen. “The numbers, Mason. What do they mean?” Mason looked a bit puzzled at first, her eyes running over the screen as the crowd continued to chatter. There was cake and snacks for everyone, so no one was too worried about what was going on with the machine. The four guards moved closer to the device, each of them holding their rifles as they looked over the orb.

“That doesn’t make any sense… According to these numbers, the machine is already on, but… Running inverted…?” Mason said allowed  as she rubbed her neck, her eyes moved back and forth between the screen and the device itself.

“Doc, is it me, or is that orb getting… Bigger?” One of the soldiers asked, Mason looked over at the orb. It had started out around the size of an apple, but now it was pushing up against the glass canister, at least as big as a cantaloupe. Something was very bad… THe field seemed to be inverted, as if energy was coming through the orb, and it was getting bigger… So much so that she heard the glass crack. It was growing larger with every second that passed.

“Oh god… We need to activate the machine! Now!” Mason shouted as she rushed to the control panel, her panicked shout put the guards on alert. They readied their AK-47s and leveled them at the orb, by now the crowd of people had noticed. Other guards had started to escort them out, picking up on the danger of whatever it was that was happening. As if that wasn’t enough to start a panic, alarms began to blare through the entire castle.

Attention! Attention! Evacuation protocols are in effect! All nonessential personnel are to vacate immediately! This is not a drill!” The PA announced, meanwhile the soldier’s radios began to go wild with radio traffic. Mason frantically pushed several buttons, but the orb continued to expand, now it was nearly as tall as the guards and just as wide. The guards did their best to keep their aim on the orb as it grew brighter, wisps of purple energy began to swirl in its center.

“Get it online! Now!” One of them shouted at Mason, the doctor pushed a final button. Seconds later the orb shrank dramatically to a pinprick of light. Everyone on the platform quietly exhaled and stared at the speck of light, several tense seconds passed… Just when each of them thought it was safe, the consoles and panels began to spark and smoke, alarms blared from the monitors. The orb expanded to its previous size, then grew larger still, until it was a foot wider and taller than any of the guards. What was more, the wisps were swirling even faster, the air was charged with energy as the orb began to flatten out. In an instant the orb had transformed into a swirling portal. The four soldiers raised their rifles, meanwhile more soldiers rushed into the room while the civilians rushed out in panicked droves.

Through the vortex came a metal cylinder, it clattered to the ground at the feet of the four soldiers on the platform.

“Flashbang!” One of them shouted before the grenade went off, two of them staggered backwards and ended up falling over the railing, landing with hard thuds, while the other two were blinded and deafened. The reinforcements took aim at the portal, some of them flipping over tables and chairs for cover. A ghostly silhouette appeared on the other side of the portal, shimmering and wavering like it was under water. Doctor Mason and the technicians stared in stunned shock, unable to leave the platform as the fear had rooted them to the spot. Then, much to the horror of the civilians, a single man stepped through the portal.

“Get on the ground!” The soldiers began shouted as they leveled their weapons, the man looked around simply, ignoring the orders to get down. He was dressed in a white uniform, with numerous odd medals pinned to his chest and an eight pointed sun on his shoulder. The figure began walking towards Doctor Mason. “Light ‘im up!” The soldiers began firing at the man, but to their surprise, the bullets passed through him. He flickered and fluctuated, revealing that this was actually some form of advanced Arcane puppet. “We need energy weapons!”

The puppet stopped and turned back to the soldiers who were clamoring to pull energy grenades from their belts, it looked at them as if they were disgusting creatures. It cleared its throat and approached the railing, as if it was going to make a speech.

“I am Simon Belfold, Commander of the Equestrian Armed Forces! On behalf of Queen Celestia, I order you to surrender your weapons!” The puppet shouted, the soldiers quietly stood up at the mention of ‘Queen Celestia’.

“Onorussians don’t surrender, you cowardly fuck!” One of the soldiers shouted, he happened to be from Brooklyn, and he punctuated his sentence by raising his middle finger to the arcane puppet. This sentiment was shared by the other soldiers in the room, prompting the puppet to scowl.

“I warned you.” The figure said simply before he vanished in a cloud of light, the cloud glided over the soldiers and up into an air vent.

[♠]

Altair stood in the war room with his Father and his Mother, alarms were going off all through the castle while he could hear the air raid sirens going off outside. He could see numerous soldiers and officers rushing around the room, though he had no idea what was going on. Before everything had gone crazy his Mother Luna and his Father were telling him about the race that had come before ponies… About how they could send visions of what could be the future through dreams and meditation. Apparently, his father had had one of these visions the night before, and was just going to tell him about it before all hell broke loose.

“What’s going on?” Altair asked as he watched other soldiers rushing past, this time they were carrying weapons and putting on flak jackets. His Father looked at him, adjusting his uniform before he put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “This vision… Do you need to leave again?”

“No, my son…” His father said in an emotionally strained voice, his eyes conveying a look of great concern. “I must stay here, I must stay at the wheel and guide our country through this storm.” Altair could see his mother tearing up, the alicorn wiped at her eyes with her wings, but it was no use. “I must deploy you and your unit immediately, the mission you will have is a very dangerous one.”

“Will it keep Cassidy and everyone else safe?” Altair asked in a stoic tone, his father nodded. Altair snapped to attention, his eyes filling with determination. “When do I deploy, sir!” His father gained a look of pride before he hugged his son as tightly as he could, Altair dropped from attention and slowly put his arms around his dad, returning the hug. The two men stopped after a couple seconds, his father gained a more serious expression.

“First you will help defend Canterlot, afterwards you will receive your mission…” Dominic said in a serious voice. Altair nodded, his father was about to say something else but stopped as a glowing cloud of light exited an air vent. Several soldiers, including Altair, reached to their belts for their side arms when they saw the light form into a figure. Dominic turned towards the figure quietly, his expression becoming cold and stoic as he heard several explosions echo from outside. “So… I assume you’re the one behind all this.”

“I could say the same thing to you.” The arcane puppet replied in a bitter tone. “I am here to free this world from your tyranny, to put the Equestrian flag back where it rightfully belongs!”

“Tyranny? Last I checked, you’re the one sending soldiers to invade my country.” Dominic replied coldly and calmly.

“I won’t need to send them… If you surrender.” The puppet replied as it crossed its arms, Dominic narrowed his eyes at the puppet and stood to his full height.

“I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” He said firmly, the puppet looked at him for a couple seconds in confusion. “Mean’s no.”

“Fine, if you want a war, so be it! We’ll see how funny you are when-” The figure was suddenly struck by a bolt of blue magic, it vaporized into nothingness. All eyes turned to Luna, the Alicorn was practically snorting with anger. Dominic sighed and rubbed his temples, then looked at Altair again.

“Go, now. Your mother and I will get Cassidy before we evacuate.” Dominic ordered, Altair nodded quietly and turned. He gritted his teeth and ran out the door with two destinations in mind, first and foremost would be the armory, and afterwards he would report to his CO. He would do as his father had ordered him, he would help defend Canterlot, at any cost. As he ran he occasionally could see the city through windows. There was smoke rising from all over, fighter planes were dueling in the sky, portals were forming everywhere, it was utter chaos. Helicopters flew by, gunships and troop transports, as well as chinooks bearing red crosses that were evacuating civilians.

Altair stopped in front of one window and stared out at the enemy forces rolling through the streets in tanks while Onorussian tanks rolled out to fight them in return. For nearly ten years the world had been at peace, not since Altair was a boy had he seen smoke on the horizon or heard the sound of guns fired in anger. Not since that fateful day, when his mom had been forced to flee, not since he had first tasted hate… Altair gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, these ‘Equestrians’, whoever they were, wherever they’d come from… They had threatened his country, threatened his father, threatened Cassidy... They had earned his wrath.

“By the end of this day… I swear… My blade will taste their blood…” Altair said through gritted teeth before he turned away from the window to continue on to the armory.