Within hours, the entire castle had gone onto heightened alert. The order had come directly from Luna, who had been nearly overcome by frustration. She was thankful that the high profile of the Twin Island situation had lead to much faster diplomatic communication between the Zebras, Minotaurs, and Ponies. At that point, Luna had dropped all of her previous tasks and began preparing to return to Canterlot. She and Celestia would be holding an emergency meeting with the delegates.

Twilight, for her part, had nearly suffered a nervous breakdown at the news. Rarity and Dominic had managed to keep her anxiety from boiling over, though it was clear that they too were having feelings about the situation. Rarity had taken Twilight home after that, though she recieved much protest from the lavender alicorn along the way. Thoughts of the Cuban Missile Crisis passed through Dominic’s head as he walked with Luna towards the waiting chariot in the courtyard. He’d prepared himself for the worst case scenario, already having packed his backpack and strapping on his bandoliers.

The two arrived at the chariot in a time that seemed to take to long, already the lunar guards were preparing to take off. Luna looked at Dominic as she stepped onto the chariot, a hidden pleading look could be seen behind the man’s stoic expression.

“You’re sure you don’t want me there?” He asked, looking off towards Canterlot.

“We would love for thou to be there, however… officially the United States has no business in this.” Luna retorted.

“Like that’s stopped us before?” He asked, chuckling to himself. Luna shared the small laugh, but again shook her head. “Alright, just… be careful. I know things work differently here, but god forbid if someone snuck a weapon in and… Sorry.” Luna patted the man on the shoulder and gave him a small smile.

“Th- You have my word. I’ll be careful.” Luna said slowly, Dominic nodded and stepped away from the chariot.

“That’s all I need…” He said, giving a small smile. “If you can’t make it back though, at least send a letter…” Luna nodded, Dominic gave her a small wave and started walking away from the chariot. There was a shout from the guards and moments later the chariot had risen into the air, dust and dirt were thrown up by the speed of the ascent. Dominic was forced to turn away until the dust had settled, by the time it had the chariot was already nearly out of sight. The sun was hanging lower in the sky, though it seemed to have been like that for a while. Dominic chocked it up to Celestia putting minimal effort into moving the sun and instead focussing on the diplomatic problem.

“I hate politics…” Dominic muttered, pulling his jacket tighter around his chest. For some reason he felt a deep emptiness, something that he hadn’t felt for a long while. Despite being surrounded by ponies he felt alone. Slowly he began meandering towards the blacksmiths, only casting a slight glance at the tower where he was quartered.

Silently, Dominic came upon the smiths and slumped down onto a log that was about the right height. The stallions gave him intrigued looks, noting that he’d gone from a T-shirt and jeans to what he considered full combat gear. They shrugged and went back to their work, at the moment that was building a large pyre around the metal drum that had been loaded with wood. Dominic silently watched as they began dousing the wood with kerosine, when they’d finished Hammered Steel took a wood match from a crate that was acting as a table. He struck it against the box and tossed it onto the wood.

The flames grew quickly, and soon the pyre was burning on its own. Dominic felt the heat against the exposed skin of his hands and his face, the man closed his eyes and took a deep breath as images of Maria’s home flashed through his head.

“Hey, kid.” Hammered Steel said, getting his attention away from the fire. “Y’alright? You looked a bit spaced out for a minute.” Dominic didn’t respond as the other smiths gathered around the now raging bonfire to toss wood from empty crates and debris piles onto flames. His thoughts were drifting to what was certain to be a World War. The moment those two words had entered his head, he could feel chills up and down his spine. Millions dead, countries left in ruins, and if history was anything to go by, a breeding ground for fascism. “Kid. Are you in there?”

Dominic blinked and looked over to Hammered Steel. “Huh?”

“Ya look like ya have something on your mind.” The smith stated as he tossed more wood onto the fire. Dominic just shook his head and stood up from his seat, then grabbed some of the wood and tossed it to the flames.

“Just thinking about what I’m gonna make first is all.” Dominic said sincerely, looking at the fire and tossing more wood onto it. Hammered Steel nodded and let out a small chuckle. “Think I could try making a sword?”

“Oh, you could try.” The stallion said with a grin. “But trying and doing are two separate things, kid. I think I’ll start ya off on hooks and such, just so ya can get some of the basic techniques and hammer discipline down. Ya know, start from the bottom and such.”

“I get it.” Dominic replied, grunting as he tossed a particularly large piece of wood onto the fire, Hammered Steel looked at the flames and waved off the rest of the smiths to let what was already burning burn. “At least we’ll have plenty of places to put tools or whatever.”

“That’s the spirit.” Hammered said as he settled in to watch the fire burn. The other smiths stood and watched as well, but Dominic found himself looking away. The heat and the crackling of wood was much louder than any campfire he’d had before. The man chanced a glance at the flames, his eyes locked onto the center of the blaze. In the flames he could swear he saw the outline of a familiar young woman, behind her he could see even more people. When Dominic blinked the apparitions had disappeared.

“I’ll be back…” Dominic said to Hammered before he turned away from the blaze and began walking off towards the tower that held his room. The heat of the fire was replaced by the rapidly cooling air of the evening, causing Dominic to stuff his hands into his pockets. He passed by numerous guards, all of whom were wearing their armor and holding their weapons tightly.

Dominic found himself breathing faster and faster by the time he’d reached the tower, he staggered up the steps and collapsed onto his bed. The man took several deep breaths and looked down at his hands, they were shaking and drenched in sweat. The weight of the day’s events had fallen on his shoulders like a ton of bricks. War was on the horizon, once again Dominic would be watching an entire world descend into conflict.

Silently the man rose from his seat and slowly walked to the window. He watched the sun dip below the horizon, as it did he gave himself the sign of the cross and lowered his head.

“I know you and I haven’t talked in a while…” He said. “But I figure I have your attention now, considering how few of us there are now…” The man took a small breath and let it out slowly, for several minutes he stood in silence. “I don’t understand why you’ve kept me alive while others have died, you know there were people who deserved to live more… I figure it’s for something important, though. So I’m asking you this… No… I’m begging…” Dominic looked up to the horizon and swallowed a lump in his throat. “Don’t let it happen here.”

The man stood in silence until the moon had risen into the sky before he turned away and walked to his bed. He untied his boots to allow his feet some circulation before laying down on top of his blankets. He folded his hands neatly over his chest and stared up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before he fell into the inky blackness of sleep.

[♦]

Luna and Celestia sat in a windowless conference room on the long side of a large mahogany table, delegates from both the Zebras and the Minotaurs sat on the ends of the table glaring at each other. Several pony guards stood in each corner of the room, they wore fatigues rather than armor and were armed with only swords. It was, for all intents and purposes, a powder keg. The minotaurs had demanded reparations in the form of Twin island, the zebras had accused the minotaurs of espionage within their borders. A mess of accusations and declarations, all seeming to skirt around the elephant in the room.

“Your nations have been feuding over this island for longer than I care to remember.” Luna said in a flat tone. “Lives on both sides have been lost and there is nothing for either of you to show for it.”

“That island is the rightful property of the Zebra, it may be small but it is the principal of the matter!” Declared the zebra delegate, the female shaman shot a venomous glare at the princess. “If we give up our claim we open ourselves up to more demands from their criminal regime.”

“Criminal regime?” Replied the minotaur, his muscles bulging beneath his armor. “Because our government refuses to allow tribals turn a colonizable piece of land into a nature preserve we have become criminals!?” The minotaur stood from his seat, only to hear the cough of a guard behind him. Slowly the delegate sat down and steepled his fingers.

“You wish to colonize the island?” Asked Celestia with a raised eyebrow, the minotaur nodded. “Why did you not state that was your position in the first place.”

“Because the Equestrian government has a notorious habit of being anti-colonization in the global community.” The minotaur replied. “The land is fertile, it could produce much needed food for our population…” His glare shifted to the zebra. “If these reprobates would stop worshiping their shrub god-”

“That island is still in condition to be saved.” The zebra cut him off. “Colonizing would only destroy its environment and any natural wildlife-!”

“CRY ME A RIVER, GRASS EATER!” Shouted the minotaur, standing once more and preparing to flip the table.

“Sit down, mister representative..” Celestia said in a chillingly cold voice, the room fell into silence as the Minotaur sat back down. “For so many years I’ve heard your arguments over this piece of land, from pride to principal, to colonization and conservation, there is not a single excuse that hasn’t grated against my ears.” She sighed and looked at her sister, Luna was sitting with her eyes straight ahead. Celestia looked back to the delegates with a neutral expression. “Let’s cut to the chase.”

“What chase?” Asked the Zebra, it was Luna who answered.

“This cannot go on any longer.” She said sternly. “In fact the only reason we’ve allowed it to go on for so long is because your countries are friends of Equestria. We didn’t want to get involved, but this display has shown me you two are incapable of coming to a peaceful resolution.” Her mind drifted back to Dominic’s analogy for a moment, she hadn’t discussed it with Celestia but it seemed like a good idea. Then again, it could backfire massively.

“So, we’re asking. Are you two willing to come to a peaceful agreement that we can supervise or should we allow you to settle it yourselves.” Celestia continued, both delegates looked at each other. The minotaur spoke first.

“We require your permission to settle this ourselves?” He asked, his gaze locking with Celestia’s. “Your supervision?” The room grew silent once more. “We are sovereign nations, it was Equestria who interfered in the first place.”

“Only because you were on the brink of war.” Celestia retorted, trying to uphold her poker face.

“We’ve BEEN on the brink of war for decades!” Declared the minotaur, he stood up from his chair. “Perhaps all you’ve done is postpone the inevitable.” His gaze fell upon the Zebra ambassador and he pointed a finger towards her. “Expect a formal declaration soon-”

“Wait-” Celestia began to protest.

“We’ll be expecting it.” Stated the Zebra, a cold tone entering her voice.

“Please! There must be another way!” Celestia cried out, both delegates looked at her and shook their heads.

“We’ve been preparing for this conflict for years.” Stated the zebra with a neutral tone, one could hear a pin drop in the room. Her eyes narrowed and she glared daggers at the minotaur, a feeling of dread and worry began to well up in the princesses’. “We cannot simply stand down…” The Zebra stood up and walked out of the room, the minotaur sat silently for a few moments before he too departed. Luna was uncertain if she heard Celestia begging them to stop, her thoughts were instead focussed on what was happening.

Two global powers were about to have an all out war over a strip of sand in the ocean, and Equestria would be dragged along for the ride. Being allied with both nations, they would have to choose sides. Remaining neutral would arguably be just as devastating on the stage of global politics. For the first time in a long time Luna felt overwhelmed, she imagined all the horrors of war befalling Equestria. A pat on her side drew her out of the maelstrom of thoughts and turned her attention to her sister who was giving her a worried expression.

“What happens now?” Asked Luna in a numb tone. “We’re allied with both of them, if either come to us with an ultimatum…” Celestia nodded with a stoic expression.

“We cross that bridge when we come to it. For now we prepare and hope against hope that they come to their senses before too many die…” The princess said, her tone was monotone. Obviously she was restraining her own emotions, and that made Luna worry more. “Guard.” One of the guards stepped forwards and saluted.

“At your command, your highness!” The guard declared.

“Notify General Keg and the rest of the joint chiefs that there will be a mandatory meeting tomorrow morning, immediately following first light.” Celestia stated firmly, her horn ignited and she summoned a piece of paper and a quill from her office. She began scribbling the orders on it and finished by signing it and imprinting her magic seal at the bottom. “Tell General Keg to bring our forces to alert status.” She handed the paper to the guard who took it and nodded. “Dismissed.” The guard bolted out of the room without a word.

Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts, then stood up straight and began trotting to the door.

“I am going to clear mine head, sister…” Luna said, igniting her horn and dispelling her modern speech spell. “Thou mustn't feel compelled to wait for us, we shall return on the morrow.” She didn’t wait for a response from Celestia as she entered the hallway. She didn’t want to wait for a chariot, instead she ignited her horn and in a massive flash of light she’d teleported back to courtyard of the castle of the two sisters. The guards there looked at her for several seconds before going back to their patrols, she was proud of them for being able to keep their mind on their work.

Silently the mare trotted towards a familiar tower and climbed the steps up to a familiar room, she heard soft snoring from the bed. In the gloom of the room, she could still make out the figure of Dominic laying on top of the blankets, his weapons and helmet had fallen to the floor in his sleep. Luna sighed and trotted over to the man, she looked him over before she softly spoke.

“Dominic?” She said quietly.

“Hmmm?” The man replied, opening his eyes slightly. “Luna, I thought you were in Canterlot…” The mare nodded silently, she looked at the floor silently. “You alright?” Silently Luna shook her head, Dominic patted the bed and scooched over a bit. Even in his sleepy tone, she could pick up concern in his voice. Luna laid down next to him and smiled as he gave her a brief hug. He opened his eyes further and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

“We failed…” Luna replied solemnly, Dominic was quiet. “The zebras and minotaurs are going to war… Equestria could be dragged into it…” She shivered slightly at the thought. “We… I’m scared…” Her fears faded slightly as the man draped an arm over her.

“War and violence are scary things, Luna…” The man said sleepily. “I know from experience… I also understand that some people handle fear differently…” He gave a humorless chuckle. “So if cuddling up next to me helps, by all means stay…” Luna smiled at that, even if his statement was bittersweet to her. For a few minutes there was silence, and Luna was certain that Dominic had slipped back into sleep. At this point she curled up further and closed her eyes in an attempt to banish her fears. A tender squeeze from Dominic was what pushed her over the edge into unconsciousness.

Author's Notes:

I wasn't sure how to go with this one, I had two different paths in mind... Aw well, what's done is done.

Again, please leave any thoughts you may have about pacing in the comments. I'm figuratively trying to feather the throttle here until I can get it down to a science.

Alright, that's all from me, your friendly name changing person.

Rate, comment, and fave if you want.