Author's Notes:

Here's another one! Just for you! After weeks of rewrites writers block, another chapter! I think this might be the longest chapter yet, I have to check. Any who...

Here's where the story will for a bit. One perspective of Dominic at his safe house, the other in the castle. Though, that's next chapter. Please don't hate me.

Be advised, there are a few questionably dark themes here. Only for one section. But, hell this is a zombie fic, you can handle that.

Rate, Comment, Fave. Do whatever you want.

Now, OFF TO BED!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[♦]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have made you go out, I should have known what was going to happen.” Twilight looked at Dominic with teary eyes.

“Thou cannot blame thyself!” Interjected Luna, getting the lavender mare’s attention. “Thou couldst no hath known what perils would be faced.” Twilight shook her head, then trotted over to Dominic. He sat up in the bed, feeling an ache in his bandaged cranium.

“Dominic…” Twilight hugged the young man’s hand. “Can you forgive me?” Dominic looked at her, then let a breath out through his nose.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Twilight. You’re like a sister to me, and I always forgive my family.” He patted her on the head, Twilight smiled and backed away from him. Dominic couldn’t stand the look of sadness on his two friend’s faces. There would have to be a reckoning for this. “Come on Twi, relax. Why don’t you go get something from the cafeteria, ah? I’m starving.”

“O-Okay, Dominic.” Twilight said shakily, her friend smiled at her and she quickly left the room. Luna looked at Dominic, when the door closed his smile faded. It was replaced by a vengeful scowl, one Luna hadn’t wished to see for a long time.

“Do we have the son of a bitch?” He asked, looking at Luna with ice cold eyes. Luna nodded slowly. “Who is it?”

“I’m not sure you want to-”

“JUST GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER!” Dominic shouted, causing Luna to flinch. He took a deep breath, pinching his nose. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It is alright, thou art in a strange situation.” Replied the lunar diarch, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Prince Blueblood is the one.” Dominic closed his eyes and let out a hateful sigh. “He’s been incarcerated for the past few days, and Equestrian law dictates that since he’s a member of the royal family he doesn’t have to go through the normal courts.”

“So you're letting him go.” Dominic deadpanned, Luna shook her head. “Then what’s going to happen to him.” The princess shrugged.

“Our sister hath left that decision up to you.” Dominic blinked, bringing a hand to his head and rubbing his already sore temples. “We were hoping that thou would hath been given time to rest before we told thee.” Dominic was tempted to hop out of the bed and hunt the son of a bitch down. He felt an unending urge to castrate the prince and hang his bleeding, still alive body on a pike. He wanted to paint a wall red with the stallion’s grey matter,then feed his corpse to rabid dogs.

“How long do I have to answer?” Asked Dominic.

“As long as thou desire.”

“Good, we’ll settle that business before I leave for wherever this town is.” The young man sighed and slid his legs over the edge of the bed. “For starters though, I want his assets. All of them. Bank accounts, properties, even the spare change in between his couch cushions.” Luna nodded, even though she feared what would happen when Dominic came to his final decision. “I want the funds placed in an account only I and my affiliates can access.”

“Affiliates?”

“Twilight and you.” Luna again nodded, understanding what he meant. “You guys, you’re the only real friends I’ve got now.” The human stood from the bed, his feet met the cold hospital floor and he let out a slight grunt.

“What art thou doing?” inquired Luna, the human walked to where his clothes had been placed. Dominic dressed slightly slower than usual, and Luna blushed when she saw that the hospital staff had neglected to leave his boxers on. She looked away until she heard the tell tale sound of her friend zipping his pants. Dominic pulled his shirt over his head and picked up his jacket. He paused, taking a look at the leather with interest. He squared his jaw and let out a breath through his nostrils. Then closed his eyes and hung his head. “What is the matter?”

“Nothing, just thinking.” Dominic placed the jacket down, patting the patch on the shoulder with his hand. Luna watched curiously, Dominic had never looked at the clothing like that. The young man walked to the chair across from Luna and sat down, interlocking his fingers and hanging his head for a moment. The lunar princess was going to say something when he looked her dead in the eyes. “Luna, I trust you implicitly. You’ve been my friend for as long as I’ve been here.”

“We thank thee, Dominic. We art happy to be considered a friend.” Luna replied, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Dominic’s eyes seemed different, colder and darker, more calculating. “What is it that troubles thou? Let us help thee.”

“What troubles me the most…” Dominic paused, looking around for a moment. There was no one else in the room, but it was better to be safe than sorry. “What troubles me the most is this move you’re sending me on.”

“We realize that it is difficult, but it is for thine own good.”

“I can handle the move, I did it a lot back in the day.” Dominic explained. “What I’m worried about is the guards. Can they be trusted?” Luna opened her mouth to speak, then thought about it. Could they be trusted? Sure, they were loyal to her and her sister, but even some of the guards had to have SOME negative feelings towards Dominic. Could she risk one of them informing the media, or assassinating him.

“We will hoof pick your guards.” Luna said, Dominic nodded and leaned back in his seat. “What else concerns thou?”

“Twilight.” Dominic said, looking at the door. “She’s just a kid, I don’t want her getting all caught up in this. I can’t let another friend suffer on my behalf.” Luna smiled sadly.

“We shall see to it that she be left out of the papers.”

“Excellent.” Dominic sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, Luna watched him breathe slowly for a few minutes. “Just ask already.” He didn’t look at her, he didn’t have to.

“Hmmm?”

“You’re contemplating on asking me what happened. In the dream, I mean.” Dominic looked at her this time, when Luna nodded he sighed and stood up from the chair. Then walked to the door and flipped the lock shut, the princess eyed him nervously. “This story starts with a little backstory. From the age of three, I had the best friend a guy could ask for. Maria Valova.” The man cast a look to the jacket on the table.

“Thou referred to us with that name.”

“I know…” Dominic hung his head for a moment. “I remember it all started when my mom started taking yoga classes, she met Maria’s mom and set up a play date.” He paused for a moment. “So we went to this park in our neighborhood, ended up loving every moment of it.” Dominic sniffled for a moment, he grabbed a tissue from the box that Luna had been holding and blew his nose.

“So began the lifelong friendship, we went to school together, played together, helped each other…” Dominic clenched his fists for a moment. “There was this one mother fucker that she dated, a real sports freak. The bastard hit her once.” Luna heard the knuckles in Dominic’s hand pop. “So I confronted him.” Dominic let out a dark chuckle. “Maria ended up driving me to the hospital.” He lifted his shirt and gestured to one of his scars. “Coward pulled a knife on me, thirteen stitches. Nothing too bad.”

“We take it that something happened?” Luna asked, Dominic sighed and nodded.

“A day after I lost my parents, I had been trekking to her house. I knew if anyone would be left in town, it would be her and her parents. They had enough guns to stock an armory, even if they had left I would have been able to hunker down there.” Dominic’s voice became cold. “And then I smelled it.”

“Smelled what?”

“The cordite, the sulfur… There was no way they could have used that much ammunition, coupled with the smell of burning wood.” Luna slowly began to realize what had happened. “I ran as fast as I could, it felt like it took forever and when I got there…” Dominic wiped a few tears from his eyes. “I kicked the door in and ran to save her, if I hadn’t been so slow, if I hadn’t been such a-”

“Dominic, stop.” Luna said firmly. “Thou art not at fault, never believe that. Thou didst not light the flames.” Dominic didn’t hear her though, as he lost his resolve.

“She trusted me to save her… She trusted me to save her, and I… I… She was alive! I could have taken her with me! But I… Oh god.” Dominic put his head into his hands, Luna stood from her seat and trotted over to him. Wrapping him in another hug. “I shot her, just like the rest…” For several minutes they sat, before there was a knock on the door. Dominic swiftly collected himself, wiping his eyes and putting on a brave face. Twilight entered with several trays of food in her magic, looking slightly worried when she saw her friend’s red eyes.

“Dominic, are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Lied the man, wiping his eyes again. “Just something got in my eyes.” Twilight looked skeptical, and Luna had a pokerface that rivaled her sister’s. “What’d ya get?”

“Just some salad, it’s all they had available at the moment.”

“Great, let’s dig in.” Dominic and the two alicorns began to eat, making idle conversation and trying to avoid the elephant in the room. Hours passed, and small talk dwindled. Eventually, Twilight retired to her room. Leaving Luna and Dominic by themselves. The young man prepared himself for sleep, fearing the coming nightmares. Luna tucked him in, smiling slightly. Dominic stared at her for a moment. She held the key to his salvation, she could stave off the dreams. On that day, Dominic could tell that was something he desperately needed. When she started to turn away, Dominic grabbed her hoof.

“Yes?”

“Luna can you…” Dominic started, he was unsure. Ultimately though, he knew it had to be done. “Can you help me sleep?” His friend smiled and nodded.

“Of course, Dominic.” She charged her horn with dream magic. “Close thine eyes, and think of something that brings great joy to thee. Leave the rest to us.” Dominic sighed and closed his eyes, he thought of a memory. He and Maria were sitting on a dock by a small lake, completely barefoot. The sun was shining in the sky, and their shoes sat on the dock behind them. In this thought, though. He and Maria were just as they had always been, and that brought joy to Dominic’s heart.

Before the darkness could roll in and destroy the precious thought, Luna lowered her horn to Dominic’s head. The thought became a dream. Luna felt ultimate power in Dominic’s mind, his imagination was so vast that she could conjure any number of things to help fend off the nightmares. And conjure she did. She lead armies of marines, robots, tanks and helicopters to fight the dark thoughts. Meanwhile,for the first time in a long time, Dominic slept in peace.

[♦]

The Next Morning…

“The actions exhibited by the ponies of this city are abhorrent, unfounded, and inexcusable.” Celestia decreed from the balcony of the castle, half of the courtyard below was filled with ponies who had been arrested, while the other half was filled with citizens who had evaded the elite guards or hid inside their homes. “This was a possibility for us to display the best of Equestria to a being that has suffered far greater than any pony to date. But, rather than aid him in healing, and understanding that his views may be different, we shunned and slandered him.”

The crowd was silent, hanging their heads in collective shame.

“I am shocked that during the two months that this grave injustice reigned over us, not a single pony asked for his side of the story. Not that it should have mattered, as ALL living things have the right to express their beliefs.” Celestia sighed. “The riots have caused thousands of bits in damage, the overflow of criminals has strained our legal system, and members of the nobility attempt to kill dignitaries of other nations. The situation is unacceptable.”

“Since none of you asked, I will tell you his side of the story.” The solar princess took a deep breath, fearing the outcome of what she was about to say. “It is true that mistakes were made, errors in judgement that cannot be glossed over.” The crowd was hanging on every word. “On my orders, magically modified poison joke was slipped into the food of our human guest. This decision led to an allergic reaction, which caused the young man to hallucinate a hell that cannot begin to be quantified.” The princess looked around the courtyard, ponies were shocked. She could see the shear mortification in their eyes. “I realise, and have realised, that that course of action was wrong. I can never forgive myself for what has been done.”

“I ask, that if you still feel the need to hate, to fume and curse, to curse MY name, to hate ME. For it is I who is at fault.” The crowd didn’t budge, it did not make Celestia feel very comfortable. Now came the political part of her message. “As Princess of Equestria, I wish to formally apologize to you, my ponies. To Dominic Occisor, and to the sovereign nation of the United States of America. Especially after graciously offering to assist in the modernization of the Equestrian military. To our allies, and our comrades. Please do not let my actions reflect on Equestria as a whole. Thank you for your time.”

The crowds erupted into a chorus of shouts and angry cries. Many ponies were confused, how could their princess do something so horrid? They thought that the human had brainwashed her, or that he had replaced her, anything to cast the blame away from their beloved princess. Celestia was practically a goddess, how could she have such a breach in judgement?

From his room overlooking the courtyard, Dominic looked down at the ponies stoically. His meager belongings had been packed into several trunks. Today he wore a black suit and tie, crafted by Rarity. He hadn’t had a chance to wear it until today. He felt a bit of formality would be in order when he arrived at his the safe house. With a sigh, the man flicked his wrists, adjusting the cuffs of his white dress shirt. Dominic watched the ponies in prison uniforms start to rattle their chains, but elite guards subdued any who tried to start another uproar.

He thought back to when he would watch the show, they always seemed to have a panicked response to new things. Never had he imagined that the ponies would riot, he obviously had thought to highly of them. A mistake he would not make in the future. The ponies Canterlot were racist, bigoted creatures. Hopefully the inhabitants of the new town would be different.

Dominic turned away from the window and spotted the last item to be packed, his flag. It had been folded into a triangle and set atop his clothes, the trunk was waiting to be closed. The United States was a sovereign nation now, and he was its sole citizen. The most powerful American. A bittersweet title. The bandage on Dominic’s head had been removed, and only a moderate bump remained to remind him of the incident. Dominic walked to the trunk and closed it, sealing the flag within. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Dominic said, he kneeled down and locked the trunk. The door to his room was pushed open and a lunar guard stepped in.

“Mister Occisor, they’re waiting for you.” Said the Lunar Guard, who tried to hide a yawn.

“Has my benelli been secured?” Dominic asked, looking at the guard, who nodded. “Good, and the funds?”

“We have teams searching every nook and cranny of Bluebloods house for anything that could have been missed.”

“Excellent.” Dominic stood up and smoothed out his jacket. “Take me to him.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard led Dominic out of the room, several guards entered the room to retrieve the trunks. The pair walked in silence for fifteen minutes, until finally they reached the door to the dungeons. “I will tell the princesses you’ll be with them shortly.” The guard walked away, his armor clanking ever so slightly. Dominic pushed the door open and stepped inside, the dark hallway beyond it sent shivers down his spine. He shrugged them off however, striding into the darkness. Again he walked silently, listening to the sound of prisoners rattling their chains, shouting their innocence, and cursing his name. The guards in the main room looked at him with respect, then pointed down another hallway.

Dominic followed the hallway, passing cells with silent contempt building within him. Ponies shouted at him, screamed at him. He ignored them, they weren’t important. When Dominic reached the final cell, he knew what he had to do. The guards within spotted him and opened the metal door.

“Mister Occisor.” One of them said respectfully, they stepped out of the way when Dominic approached the battered and beaten prince. Blueblood looked up from the floor and saw the human, fear was present in his eyes. The man crouched down beside him, stoically looking over the bruises and cuts.

“Leave us.” Dominic said to the guards, they nodded and exited the cell. Blueblood nearly wet himself when Dominic’s eyes met his. “I could do whatever I want to you, I have that power.” Said the man darkly. “I could cover you in pitch and set you on fire, I could bash your face into the floor, I could even kill you.” Dominic grabbed the prince’s face and forced him to look into his eyes. “So many different ways of punishing traitors and fiends, so little time.”

“W-What are you going to do to me?!” Blueblood asked in a panicked voice. Dominic let out a chuckled and let go of the prince, he stood up and walked to the far edge of the cell.

“In the second world war, japanese soldiers would take captured prisoners and tie them down. They would get a mason jar, a rat, and a hammer. And they would put the rat in the jar and place it on the prisoner’s chest. Then, they’d tap the jar with the hammer and scare the rat.” Dominic paced back over to Blueblood. “The rat would try to get out through the glass, but when that failed. Well, they decided to dig down.” Dominic watched Blueblood squirm.

“Yes, the japs were crafty motherfuckers. But, not as crafty as the Romans.” Dominic knelt down by the prince again. “So you’re asking, how creative were the Romans? There was one punishment where the convicted was to be whipped till bleeding, then sewn in a sack with a dog, a rooster, a viper, and and an ape, and then thrown into the sea. Pretty neat, huh?”

“No, no you wouldn’t! It wouldn’t be right!” Blueblood pleaded.

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG!” Dominic roared, punching the prince in a particularly large bruise. “I thought I was just some mindless monster! Some freak, responsible for the problems of EVERYONE! Am I mistaken?” Blueblood groaned loudly, rubbing the injury. “You think I even made a decision to come to this world? To be ridiculed and mocked? NO! I was dragged here, pulled out of a hell you cannot possibly FATHOM!”

Dominic grabbed Blueblood’s face in a crushing grip, again he was forced to stare into the eyes of the enraged human. “I relived everything because of you, I felt it all, and I lost a bit of myself…” Dominic squeezed harder. “So I will do the same to you.” The prince closed his eyes, fearing unimaginable pain. Dominic grabbed the prince’s horn, slowly he began to bend it. Agonizing pain shot through Blueblood’s head, every second was drawn out. He began to scream, writing in Dominic’s firm grasp. Ten minutes passed before his horn finally snapped off, the pain only grew. Blueblood struggled to open his eyes, he saw Dominic standing over him with his horn clenched firmly in his grasp. If the horn remained intact, it could be reattached.

Stoically, Dominic clenched his fist. The horn shattered, along with the hopes of the prince.

“NOOOOO!” Blueblood cried, watching the fragments clatter to the floor. Dominic kicked him in the gut.

“Actually, I think you took more than just one thing from me.” Said the human before kicking the prince in the teeth. His dress shoes became stained with blood and spit, which he wiped off on the prince’s fur. Dominic knelt down next to the prince again, his cold calculating eyes glaring into Bluelblood’s soul. “Such an unfortunate thing to happen to a pony, one of your cell mates must have done this.” He feigned disgust before snapping. “Right?” Blueblood nodded quickly, fearing what would happen if he refused. “Good. Now whenever you’re eating your dinner through a straw, whenever you want to levitate something, I want you to remember this bit of advice.” Blueblood looked at him with contempt. “NEVER fuck with me again, or I’ll take more than your horn.” With one parting kick Dominic walked to the door, which the guards happily opened.

“What do you want us to do with him?”

“Cut him loose.” The guards looked at him with shocked expressions. “He’s nobody now, he’s not a prince, he’s not a millionaire, he owns no property. He’s nothing. Why waste money and a cell?” The guards nodded, looking at the ex-prince. “Drop him somewhere out of the way, far from Canterlot.”

“Yes, sir.” The guards went to take Blueblood, meanwhile Dominic began the walk out of the dungeon. He swiped a rag from a cleaning bucket and wiped off his shoe, leaving the rag where he left it. The ponies that had jeered and shouted earlier said nothing, instead backing into their cells when he passed by. He ran a hand over his head, feeling where the bump was. It ached, but felt smaller than it had before. It was probably some sort of backlash from crushing Blueblood’s horn, it had caused a small amount of discomfort when the magic discharged into his palm. The nerves probably needed to shake it off.

[♦]

Luna and Twilight stood next to a carriage, loaded with Dominic’s belongings and the guards that would accompany him. The secondary courtyard was one of the few quiet places where they could say goodbye, as it had a large enough gate to accommodate the carriage. Celestia would have also been present, but she had to deal with the backlash that was sure to come. It wasn’t everyday that she recognised a dead alien civilization as a sovereign nation, and the press was having a field day with everything she had said. Half believed what she said was honest, while the other half believed Dominic had influenced her entire confession with some sort of magic.

This was what had prompted the need to move him in the first place, why Luna and Twilight would soon be saying farewell to their friend. The door to the courtyard opened and he stepped out, adjusting his tie and giving a sad smile.

“Thank you for coming.” He said, giving them both hugs.

“We wouldn’t miss it for anything.” Twilight replied, looking up at the man. She couldn’t believe she would be saying goodbye. Even if it only was for a while, she wouldn’t be able to visit him. He had helped build her confidence as a princess. He had warped her sense of humor for the better, and even helped her develop a taste for scotch. In a way, she felt that what he had said the day before was true. She was like a sister to him, in a sense. That made it even harder for her to let go.

“We shall send letters whenever we can.” Luna proclaimed, hugging the man tightly. “Thou can count upon it.” She would miss him far more than he knew, considering how lonely she had been before his arrival. He was the only true friend she had now, aside from Twilight. She liked Twilight greatly, but there was something more to Dominic. She couldn’t place her hoof on the feeling, but she knew it was different. As she stood there hugging him, she was reminded of something else. He could take care of himself. The metal bulge in his jacket proved that. He didn’t need her to take care of him anymore, despite what she thought. He was his own man.

“I’m going to miss both of you very VERY much.” Dominic told them with a sincere voice, it cracked at the end of the sentence. “But, this is only temporary. You know that, and I know that. When we’re all together again, we’ll see this as nothing more than a… a detour.” He hugged them once more, and for several minutes they stood like that. The guards that were present but not leaving would all hug their children and wives a little tighter that night.

“I’m truly sorry to interrupt…” Said one of the guards that would be leaving. “But, we must be going.” It was noon already, if they waited any longer they wouldn’t arrive at the safe house on time. Dominic looked at his friends, sadly pulling away from them. He walked to the carriage and climbed inside. He was followed by two Lunar Guards.

“Goodbye…” He said to them.

“Goodbye, Dominic. Good luck.” Twilight said, wiping her eyes. Luna said nothing, for fear of breaking down completely. The man understood. He closed the door and the guards at the front began pulling the carriage. As the carriage pulled away, Dominic looked back at the two princesses and waved. When they were out of site, he turned to the two guards that had entered the carriage with him.

“They’ll be alright, sir. They’re strong.” One tried to reassure the man.

“I know they are…” Replied Dominic, unbuttoning his suit coat. “Doesn’t mean I don’t worry.” The guards noted the holster that held his weapon, they wouldn’t pick any fights with him anytime soon. Dominic hated leaving them behind, it felt like all the times before when he had left the bodies of loved ones behind. He stared out the window of the carriage, watching the city begin to rebuild itself. Twilight and Luna had ponies to protect them, they were safe.

“Can’t relax anymore…” Dominic murmured to himself.