Luna landed with as much grace as she could, with her was a contingent of Lunar Guards and a transport chariot. The group had landed on the far side of the smoke, their wings folded against their sides. Luna looked around, praying to find Dominic in the smoke. The reports had been vague, too vague for the princess. She had left in such of hurry she hadn’t had time to think of what needed to be done. Then came the voice she’d hoped for, prayed for.

“Hey! We got wounded over here!” Dominic shouted coming through the smoke, he was carrying a wounded thestral in his arms. The royal guard had been in such a hustle to grab the glory that they’d forgotten to grab the two wounded thestrals in the remains of the safe house. The Lunar Guards pulled a stretcher off of the chariot and rushed to aide their wounded comrades, the princess watched as Dominic slowly lowered the bleeding thestral onto the stretcher and patted him on the shoulder.

“Move! Move! Move!” The lead guard shouted, rushing the wounded thestral towards the chariot. Dominic ran close beside him, giving him words of encouragement. Meanwhile, Errant was assisting the other guard into the chariot. Luna could see something in Dominic’s eyes, behind the confidence he gave off, there was something she’d become extremely familiar with. Fear. For all of his confidence gained, he still doubted himself. Only when the wounded guard had been secured did Dominic look around, his eyes landed on Luna and a smile crossed his lips.

The man walked towards her, letting his shotgun hang on its sling. Several strips of gauze covered minor cuts on his face and hands, and his jacket would more than likely need to be replaced. Not that that would stop him from wearing it, if Luna knew him. His belongings, what few there were, had already been packed into his bag. A trait that Luna found odd, but efficient given the day’s events.

Luna didn’t give him a moment to speak, she found herself overcome by emotion. The mare grabbed the man in a hug, she could feel him shaking despite his calm demeanor. Dominic patted Luna on the back as she squeezed him tighter into her barrel.

“Thou art okay!” The mare stated, letting go of him and looking him over from head to toe. “We had feared something horrid had happened!”

“I’m fine Luna, just a little banged up is all.” He stated, Luna could pick up on the false confidence right away. The man flinched as he heard the burning wood let out a loud pop, the princess used her magic to create a dome over the flames. Within a few moments the flames had burned up all the oxygen and extinguished themselves. When the embers had died, Luna dropped the spell. “That’s a neat trick…” Dominic said, watching the smoke rise into the sky.

“Yes, yes it is.” Luna draped a wing over the mans shoulder, she could feel the shuddering even more now. “Thou art shaking.”

“It’s just adrenaline.” Dominic retorted. “I’ll be fine once I get some sleep.” He brushed the mare’s wing from his shoulder and looked at the chariot. “I take it this is going to be our ride?”

“Yes.” Luna replied, she started walking to the chariot with Dominic behind her. “Never fear, there is only magic in the wheels.”

“Where are we going?” The man asked, cautiously stepping onto the vehicle. He looked out at the town, ponies were milling around the now extinguished wooden corpse. All of them were looking towards the chariot. Pictures were being snapped, and Dominic knew he would soon be the subject of media scrutiny, again. Luna stood beside, taking the scene for herself.

“Normally, that would be a mystery.” She answered, turning to the man. “Thanks to thine suggestion of a ‘Contingency Plan’ in your consultation report, we have put a secondary shelter in place.” Luna’s expression changed. “Though, thou may find it less than pleasant.” She looked at the guards that pulled the chariot. “After we offload the wounded, make haste for Castle November.”

“Yes ma’am.” The guard answered, preparing to take off.

“Castle November?” Dominic inquired, crossing his arms.

“Castle Nightmare, that is the official designation of the sight where we… I returned.” Luna answered, looking down for a moment. You know it better as…”

“The castle of the two sisters.” Dominic finished for her, the chariot began moving forwards. “In the Everfree Forest. Shit.”

“We are sorry, Dominic. It’s location is ideal for our purposes.” Luna stated, looking at the man with an apologetic expression. Rather than the anger she’d expected, the man nodded and let out a sigh. He had to admit, if he’d been given the option to hide in a fortress he would have taken it in a heart beat. The castle was defendable, even if it was in poor condition. There was most likely a place to grow food, and if he was correct, ponies rarely went into the forest.

“You’re right.” He muttered, bringing a hand to his chin and rubbing the stubble that had formed over the past few days. The man looked at the guards in the chariot and then back at Luna. “And I’m not going it alone, right?”

“Right.” Luna answered, the chariot began to rise into the air. It shuddered for a moment, causing its human passenger to stumble for a moment. Upon regaining his composure, Dominic looked back at the group of ponies by the debris. One of them he recognized, the mare that had been trapped in the building. He’d shot the beast to distract it away from her. Oddly enough, he thought he saw a smile on her face. When the chariot started flying away, he saw her begin to wave.

“Huh...” He said to himself before turning his gaze over the two wounded ponies in the chariot, they were chatting with the other guards. Chipped Blade looked at him and gave a weak salute before laying back down on his stretcher. Unsure of what to do, Dominic awkwardly returned the salute. He then looked at Luna. “I think… I think I made positive progress with ponies today. Not much, but some.”

“That is most excellent news.” Luna retorted, taking a seat.

“Quick question, how’s Twilight?” Dominic sat on the bench across from her, his tattered coat fluttering in the wind as the chariot rose into the air.

“She is doing well, during the past week or so she hath approved several new doctrines for the military. She commissioned plans for more new arms, and oversaw the groundbreaking ceremony for the new armory in Ponyville.” Luna answered, watching the man closely. He nodded to her answer, but his eyes had become somewhat distant. “Thou seem calm, is this not the first time thou hath ridden in a chariot?”

“I was nearly eaten today.” Dominic said in a surprised tone, as if he himself had trouble believing he was still living. The man leaned back in his seat. “Actually, I was.” Luna quirked an eyebrow. “Literally eaten by that thing, that’s how I shot its heart.” He let out a chuckle. “If Equestria had a lottery, I would buy a ton of tickets!”

“Dominic, art thou feeling… alright?” Luna asked, concern seeping into her voice.

“No!” Dominic replied, still chuckling nervously. “I almost died. Why am I not more upset about this? No fucking idea!” The man stood up from his seat and sat next to Luna. “I think I need some sleep, do you mind…?” He gestured to her wing.

“Of course not.” Luna answered, she opened her wing and the man leaned against her side before she draped the wing over his body. When he had closed his eyes, Luna touched her horn to his head. The magical drain pinched her for a moment, but it was enough time to inject a calming spell into his subconscious. “Sleep tight… We…” She was going to say more, but paused. The words she’d wanted to say echoed through her own mind, a revelation unlike any she had ever felt before hit her like a freight train. The words, the taunting words. Three words that she had not uttered in millennia to anyone but her sister. ‘I love you.’ She thought in her head.

“Princess?” Asked one of her guards, snapping her out of her daze. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yes!” Luna decreed somewhat loudly. “Just fine!” Her eyes shifted to the man beneath her wing. The dreams were making new kinds of sense, the thoughts, the fears, all of them were cast in new light. It terrified her. She’d only known him for a handful of months, and yet she had these feelings. No. There had to be something wrong, maybe she was sick? What sickness would cause those thoughts? What would-

“Princess? Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”

“WE ARE FINE!” She shouted, causing Dominic to jump for a moment. Thankfully her calming magic put him back to sleep within moments. The guard blinked and scooted away from her. “Sorry.”

“It is okay, your highness.” The guard replied, she knew he wouldn’t say anything else. Luna’s thoughts went back to the raging torrent that had been unleashed, the feelings baffled her and in her current state of energy, she could not handle them all by herself. With a sigh, she focused her thoughts and closed her eyes. She searched for a moment and eventually found a familiar link. She rarely spoke with Cadence over their mental link, but this was a matter of crisis for the princess of the moon.

”Cadence! It is your aunt, Luna!”

”Aunt Luna? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Cadence replied over the link.

”I require your…. expertise. Come to Canterlot, I will inform you upon your arrival! With that, the princess cut the link and opened her eyes. She looked down at Dominic once more, feeling his rhythmic breathing against the softness of her feathers and her body.

“Shit.” She muttered under her breath.

[♦]

In the town of Unicorn Falls, ponies were starting to rebuild what had been damaged. What remained of the wolf would be distributed as firewood to the residents, and the rest was to be stored for winter. In the town square, ponies were rallying around a mare standing on a crate marked ‘Sudzy’s Soap’. The mare was the duchess of the land, Luxury Class. Her golden locks had been ruined by several twigs, her milky fur was stained with soot. A scowl was planted firmly on her face.

“That ape! Look what it has brought to our town!” She cried, gesturing to the destruction. “Destruction and fear! It brings only those things where it treads!” Some ponies nodded, most of them were unicorns. As the slander and cries of outrage continued, a mare shook her head. She’d seen the desperation on the human’s face, it had saved her when the beast had crashed into her home. “Poor Tiger Lily is out of a home because of it!” Luxury cried, gesturing to the mare. “What do you say! Is that ape not the true villain! A creature that denounces our princess, surely you agree!” To the crowd’s shock, the unicorn mare didn’t nod.

“No, I don’t agree.” She stated, a silence fell over the group. “I may not agree with what he has said, but I don’t think he is to blame for this destruction!” Luxury Class gaped at the normally submissive unicorn.

“How can you say this?! It lead the wolf to your home!”

“No, HE did not.” Lily exclaimed. “The wolf cornered him, when the wolf attacked he ran outside-”

“COWARD!”

“The human distracted it! He wounded it and led it away from me!” The mare retorted. Several ponies confirmed it, having watched the scene from the safety of their homes.

“I saw him rescue a mare from a pile of rubble!” Declared another stallion. “The wolf would have crushed her if he hadn’t been there!” All the anger in the group started to dissipate.

“H-How can you support such a garish and vile monster?!” Luxury Class stammered.

“The damage to my home is minor, it can be repaired with a few spells.” Lily continued, she looked at the destruction and noted the only building that had been truly leveled. “The only reason you’re spouting these words is because you’re precious mansion was destroyed!” The other ponies began nodding in agreement. “You would have us hate a being because of your own greed!?”

“SHE’S CORRUPT!”

“WE NEED A NEW DUCHESS!”

“GRAB YOUR TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS!”

“Wait!” Lily shouted, the forest green mare addressed the crowd once more. “There’s a better solution, we can just stop printing such mean things about the Human. We can spread the word of his deeds.”

“But what about the duchess?” Asked a stallion, he’d somehow already grabbed a torch. Lily looked at the mare that was supposed to lead them.

“She’ll just have to listen to us from now on.” Said the green unicorn. “Right?”

“R-Right! Absolutely!” Luxury Class said in a nervous tone, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. “Y-You just decide amongst yourselves, and tell me what you want!” The ponies seemed satisfied and dispersed to continue rebuilding. Lily looked at Luxury Class and smiled.

“I guess you work for us now.” Lily said, Luxury gulped and nodded. The duchess couldn’t believe it. Tiger Lily barely spoke two words to anyone but her few friends, she mainly watched from the sidelines. Luxury had pegged her for an obvious submissive, one who would agree to anything she was told. How wrong had she been. Now, she would have to listen to the wants of her subjects, or face their ire.

Author's Notes:

Here's another one, I hope it's to your liking. As I said in the previous chapter, I'm working on my pacing. Comments on how I'm doing would really help. Also! It's summer, and the Fourth of July is just around the corner, I may or may not post a chapter to commemorate this day. Whether it will be canon to the story or not is also up in the air. Again, tell me what you'd like to see in the comments. Thirdly, how is your summer going? Good, I hope! Tell me about it, I really am interested.

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