Celestia looked at the delegates from both the Zebra Coalition and the Federal Republic of Minotaurs, both of whom had been arguing relentlessly over a strip of land the size of a large cornfield. The meeting room was a rather dark place, with its muted colored walls and the lack of large windows. Fitting, considering that a war between the ZC and the FRM was almost inevitable. The fighting had really heated up at the announcement that the United States of America was considered a sovereign nation. For some reason, the Zebras and Minotaurs thought it meant that Twin Island would be given to the US, and even after it had been cleared up the arguing only escalated

.”That land is sovereign territory of the Zebra Coalition!” Shouted the Zebra delegate while the minotaur was glaring daggers into her. Celestia was surprised that the mare hadn’t lost her voice after all the yelling she’d done.

“Why can’t your nation’s split this land, again?” Celestia asked, looking at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. “As I’ve been suggesting for the past…” The alicorn paused and looked thoughtfful. “Well, since this argument started!”

“BECAUSE IT IS OURS!” Shouted both delagates at the same time before they looked at eachother. “NO IT’S NOT YOURS!” Again in unison, Celestia’s patience was slowly waning with each syllable that they uttered. Sometimes she felt like the entire situation could be solved by taking Twin Island for Equestria and end the whole discussion. Of course, she quickly dismissed that thought as she knew that Equestria had no right to interfere.

“NO YOU!” Shouted one of the delegates, snapping her from her thoughts.

“NO YOU!” Shouted the other, it continued going back and forth. Immediately Celestia tuned them out again and her thoughts turned to another growing dilemma. Unicorn Falls, the city that had housed Dominic and fallen victim to a Redwood attack. The Duchess had sent the princess a letter begging for assistance in ‘quashing a rebellion’. This letter coincided with others, she’d received numerous notes and messages from citizens of the town requesting the dutchess be ousted and replaced by a mayor or another leader chosen by the ponies. Of course, not all of the letters had been civil. Some were nearly as colorful as the one’s that she’d received regarding the United States and its sole citizen. Nearly.

“NO YOU TIMES A BILLION!” Shouted the zebra, that tore Celestia from her thoughts and broke the last bit of restraint she had. Her eye twitched and the room gradually began to rise in temperature. The combined stress of running a country, dealing with riots, debating whether or not to oust a noble from office had all been held back up until the point when two arguing delegates began to bicker and argue like petulant children. Both ambassadors stopped their arguing when they noticed the loud exhales the princess was making through her nose. It was time to end the debate once and for all.

“Thou hast been trying mine patience with your petulant squabbling for nearly a decade over this putrid strip of land.” Celestia roared, shocking both of the delegates. They understood that Celestia rarely, if ever, dabbled in the ‘Royal We’. “We will take a break from this discussion, when we return it will be the final discussion. If you cannot reach a compromise by then, it is clear that no amount of mediation will solve anything.”

“O-O course, Princess Celestia!” Said the minotaur, both delegates exited the room in a hurry. The alicorn stood from her seat and rubbed her temples with her wings, the princess left the room and started trotting down the hallway towards the throne room. She was in no mood to deal with nobles, but she had responsibilities bigger than herself. Absentmindedly the alabaster diarch passed several hallways and saluting guards.

“Aunt Celestia.” Said a young voice, causing the mare to stop and turn. Standing in one of the hallway’s was Cadence, the young mare was wearing a small smile. “I was hoping to find you.”

“Well, you’ve found me.” Celestia replied, a bit of her frustration dissipating at the sight of her niece. The two mares hugged each other, Celestia relished every moment of it. Ever since the incident, Cadence had been slightly cross with her. It seemed now that her niece was forgiving her, or perhaps she was just in a better mood than usual. “I take it you’ve spoken with Luna?”

“Yes.” Cadence replied, breaking the hug and looking up at her aunt. “She and I had a very good discussion. We’ve come up with a sort of… plan. I suppose that’s the right word.” Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, to which Cadence gestured down the hallway. “We can discuss it on the way to lunch.”

“Alright.” Celestia said with a nod, the two alicorns began trotting in the direction of the caffeteria. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Luna is in love, at least she thinks she is.” Cadence said, trotting at an even pace with her aunt. They passed several guards, and again the princess of love felt uneasy at the sight of their new armor. “Providing she can arrange for it, I think she intends to go bond with Dominic.”

“When you say bond…” Celestia trailed off.

“No!” Cadence replied, blushing slightly. “At least, I hope she doesn’t rush into THAT sort of bonding.” The princess quickly shook her head, but no before adding. “Not that a healthy sex life isn’t beneficial…” under her breath. “No, Aunt Luna is going to try and gain his attention.”

“And if that fails?” Celestia asked, they were nearing the caffeteria now. The smell of food permeated the air in the hallways.

“If it fails, she will have to be blunt…” Cadence trailed off. “If Dominic doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, well we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The alicorn’s were silent for a few minutes. “What do you think of all this?” Celestia was slightly surprised by the question, but it made sense that Cadence would ask.

“I don’t know if it’s the right choice for her.” Celestia said with a sigh, she looked at the ground. “We’re eternal beings, Cadence. I doubt Dominic share’s the same fate as us, if what he’s told us of his world is anything to go by.” The solar diarch looked at the younger alicorn with somber eyes. “He cannot be given the same magic that keeps Shining as he is... I worry for how Luna would react, watching him grow old…”

“We don’t know that that is the case, aunty. Perhaps there is a way to transmute the spell into a potion form.” Cadence countered, Celestia let out a pent up sigh.

“Let us just see where this all leads, and as you said, cross that bridge when we come to it.” The two alicorns stopped in front of the cafeteria doors. “Well, after you.”

[♦]

The mood in the Castle of the two sisters was a dull one, as there was not much for the guards to do aside from patrol or sit around the campfire in the courtyard. The clouds had been merciful, and were doing a decent job of blocking the sun. Two thestrals and a young man were reclined against supply crates, one of the thestrals was poking the fire out of sheer boredom.

“I’m bored…” Said Gear Grinder, letting out a sigh and poking the fire some more. United Front didn’t even bother to look at him, instead opting to chuck a rock at his compatriot.

“We know, Gear. You’ve been saying that for the past three fuckin’ hours.” His voice was extremely annoyed. “Complaining ain’t gonna change jack shit, if you’re bored go do something productive.”

“Yeah, it could be worse, you could be locked inside a building for an extended period of time with nothing to do but eat, sleep, pray, shoot and masturbate.” Dominic muttered, in his lap he had his tattered coat and a sewing needle. He’d made some progress repairing it, but it was slow going considering he didn’t have a leather needle. “Sometimes not in that order.”

“Wow, Dominic. Don’t hold back ANY information.” United Front said, tossing another rock at Gear Grinder.

“The fuck was that for?” The thestral protested.

“Bored.” Was Front’s reply, picking up another rock. A soft breeze blew through the courtyard, causing the flag to wave on it’s pole with a small amount of energy. “I wonder if this is what it’s like for the Solar Guards when they’re off duty…”

“Doubt it, Solar Guards are fucking pussies.” Gear Grinder shot back, pausing his poking of the fire. “They probably spend their down time in their mommies’ sewing circle or some shit. The ones I suspect to be remotely like us are those Elite fuckers.” He stopped poking the fire all together and leaned back. “If we’d had ten of those guys during that Changeling invasion, fucking TEN of them, we would’ve wiped the floor with the bugs.”

“Damn straight.” United said, he threw another rock. It sailed through the air and pinged off of one of the patrolling guard’s helmets. The guard in question whipped around, looking for an attacker, before shrugging it off and going back to his patrol. “I got an idea…” Dominic and Gear Grinder looked up. “Nevermind… I lost it.”

“Fuck.” The two said in unison, slumping back against their collective seats.

“Could always explore the castle or something.” Suggested Gear Grinder, Dominic and United Front shook their heads. “Well, Dominic. Tell us a story.” The man raised an eyebrow, pausing his repairs on his coat.

“Yeah, Dominic. Tell us a story.” United said with a shit eating grin.

“You two are like fucking children.” The man muttered, continuing his work on his coat. “Okay, once upon a time there was a cute cow. It was taken from its family on a magical adventure!” The two thestrals raised their eyebrows. “One day, a nice man came over to the cow and killed it with a bolt gun! Then it’s body was ground up, formed into a beef patty, cooked to medium rare, topped with bacon and then served to me!”

“That was a shitty story.” United Front said, scowling. “And now I’m hungry.”

“Manticore burgers anyone?” Gear Grinder suggested, looking at several crates that stored the remaining meat on ice. Dominic shook his head with United Front. “You guys are no fun.”

“Cry me a fucking river.” Said the lone human, finishing another stitch in his jacket. The three of them descended back into boring silence. The fire crackled loudly, and occasionally Dominic would swear under his breath, having stabbed his finger with the needle. The man found himself humming a few bars of ‘Dixie’, remembering the Union version to be far superior to that of the CSA.

“Dominic, I swear if you start singing that song again…” Gear Grinder said with a scowl, he tossed another log onto the fire. The group lapsed into silence once more, much to their annoyance. Dominic continued to mend his jacket, now he was nearing the halfway point on the work. “What’s the deal with that jacket anyway?”

“Personal.” Dominic replied without missing a beat, his eyes didn’t leave his work. “Lotta stuff I got is personal.” Neither Gear Grinder or United Front said more after that. Dominic stopped sewing, taking a minute to look at the flames of the campfire. They were small, but dangerous and scorchingly hot none the less. In them, the man could see something that he could barely stand. The images flooded towards him, the sights and sounds. A phantom pain ran through his hands, causing him to tense and stop his work. Gear Grinder and United Front noticed this almost immediately.

”Dominic! Help me! I can’t breathe..!” In his mind the voice was pleading with him, begging him to save her. The man slowly looked down at his hands, and for a breif moment the jacket in his lap appeared as a teenaged girl. Burned and scarred, he’d blocked her wounds from his mind, but now he saw them once more. Anguish was on her face, the flesh looked as if it would melt off of her. ”Dominic…”

“Dominic, you in there?” Gear Grinder’s voice snapped him out of the dream like state, he blinked a few times. The jacket was as it truly appeared, and so Dominic let out a low sigh. The man looked up and saw Gear Grinder looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Y’alright?”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine.” Dominic said, rising to his feet and putting his jacket over his shoulder. “I’m gonna go to my room for a bit, see you later.” Without another word, he turned and walked off towards the door that would take him to his room. His steps were slower and the world seemed to be spinning around him. Eventually he reached the door and went into the hallway. Dominic paused and looked back at the two thestrals before closing the door behind him.

The sound of hooves against the stone drew both Gear Grinder and United Front’s attention away from the human, they turned their heads towards the source of the noise. Major Night Owl was approaching them, they quickly realized it was their turn to take guard duty and stood up from their seats.

“Keep an eye on Globe an’ Anchor, he didn’t look so good.” United Front told the thestral, trotting off with Gear Grinder. The Major looked at the tower that acted as the human’s quarters. Rather than sit by the fire as his subordinates had been doing, he decided to check on the human. With a stern expression he trotted to the door that lead to the hallway, however he found it hardly budged. It was clearly barricaded on the other side. Despite this, the stallion wordlessly resolved he would get in. He started bashing the door with his shoulder, a terrible thudding noise echoed through the courtyard. After several minutes he managed to burst in, he rushed into the hallway and found that the door had been blocked by several rocks.

“Dominic…” He called out, not receiving an answer. The thestral closed the door behind him, the only light that remained was filtering down from the steps at the end of the hallway. Night Owl trotted slowly towards them, he could hear noises upstairs. Dominic was talking, but to whom the thestral had no idea. Silently he walked up the steps, but paused as the conversation became clear.

“...fucking failure. She fucking trusted you and you let her die.” He heard Dominic’s voice. “If you hadn’t hesitated. If you were a better warrior, you could have saved her.” Night Owl was about to continue up the steps, but stopped when the man spoke again. “But then you’d be dead too, asshole.” He heard a small thud, as if the man had slumped against something. “Maybe it would be better if I was. She wouldn’t have gone alone...”

Night Owl cleared his throat and finished ascending the stairs, he found Dominic sitting on the floor with his jacket next to him. Rather than look angry, the man just stared at the thestral. For several moments they stared at each other.

“Can I help you?” Asked Dominic, standing up and brushing himself off. Night Owl blinked before shaking his head.

“No, I just came to keep an eye on you. Some of the guards said you seemed… Off.” He replied, sitting on the floor. Dominic scowled and walked to the desk by the window, there he set his jacket before he pulled out the chair and sat down. He looked down at the desk for a moment, his expression something the thestral hadn’t seen before. It was the expression of a man who’d aged before his time.

“How much did you hear?” He asked abruptly.

“After you called yourself a failure.” Replied Night Owl with an honest tone.

“Well, it’s true. I failed.” Dominic said with ice in his voice, his eyes were fixated on the patch to his jacket. Night Owl said nothing. “Maybe if I’d succeeded you’d be talking to someone else, someone who actually deserves this.”

“Stop.” Night Owl said sternly, as if addressing one of his soldiers. “Dominic, I don’t know you well enough to tell you whether you’re right or not. I don’t know what you’ve done or what you’ve gone through.” The stallion didn’t move from his spot, instead adopting a stern expression. “That doesn’t matter, you feel like you don’t deserve to be here. Well, here’s an idea for you then.”

“And what’s that?” Dominic asked, looking at the thestral with an almost blank expression.

“Earn it.” The stallion stood up. “Earn it for yourself.” Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but the thestral held up a hoof. “You’ve gotta find out how on your own, find your own reasons for justifying your stay here. Something to think about while you’re up here, eh?” The man nodded, getting a smile from the thestral. “Great, don’t brood too much, you’re the only one who knows how to cook that manticore meat right…”

“Yeah yeah…” Dominic muttered, preparing to get to work on his jacket further. “Thanks, Night.” The Thestral nodded and started trotting away. “And Night, for future reference, if the door is blocked leave it blocked.” The man was now looking over his revolver. “Just in case I’m ‘Venting’, ricochet’s and such could do a pony like you harm.”

“Got it.” Night Owl said, trotting out of the room. Dominic rolled his shoulders, then set his gun down and began to work further on repairing his jacket. A song popped into his head, and he couldn’t help but hum a few bars to himself. A few mumbled lyrics passed his lips while he tapped his foot.

“There is no peace here, war is never cheap dear… Love will never need it, it just get's sold for parts…” The man stitched another part of his jacket back together. "You cannot fight it, all the world denies it, open up your eyelids... Let your demons run..."

Author's Notes:

So, here's another chapter. Hooray! For those of you interested in the next chapter of 'Home'.... good for you! It's coming along at a snails pace, but it's coming along. But this isn't a blog post, this is an author's note, so I should stop typing things about other stories and let you dear readers get back to your busy lives.

Rate, comment, and fave if you want.

ALSO, before I forget. Thank you guys, for everything. Really, I never thought this story would make it past ten likes, but that's my low self esteem talking. I don't know if I've properly thanked you guys before, so I'm doing it now. If I've done it already, well, consider this EVEN MORE thanks. Okay, it's 4:30 in the morning, my eyes are heavy, I'm rambling in this author's note. Gonna hit the sack.

Have a good one.