A sigh resonated through Dominic’s office as he looked over the map again, he’d crossed out eleven of the possible locations after getting a look at the reports behind them. Some had turned out to be abandoned after fires, others were simply too old to be viable. That left him with four. A manageable number, something that would be easy enough to inspect in person. The man let out groan and leaned back in his seat, only then noticing just how dark the room had become. He looked towards the window, his face remained pensive as he saw the sun setting in the distance.

“Sonar.” He said in a normal voice, the door opened before he’d even finished speaking. “What time is it?”

“Seven-thirty, mister president.” Replied the spectacled mare. Dominic let out a quiet sigh and turned back to face her.

“Tell me, Sonar. Do you have any family?” He asked, the mare nodded and smiled.

“Oh, of course I do! A husband and a son.” She said happily, Dominic hummed in response. “One of the stallions you sent on the mission, Direct Route, is my husband.” The man behind the desk raised an eyebrow.

“You seemed relatively calm today, despite what could have happened.” He stated, Sonar smiled slightly.

“Oh, if something happened, I’d know… I always know when he’s upset.” Her smiled faded slightly. “Is that all, mister president?” Dominic looked at his desk for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, I need you to do one more thing for me.” He stood up and walked towards the door, he held it open and gestured to the hallway. “Go home.” Sonar nodded and walked out into the hall.

“Goodnight, mister president!” She said with a cheery tone, Dominic nodded and began closing the door.

“Goodnight, Sonar!” He said before finally sealing himself within his solitary sanctuary. With another sigh, he turned and walked to the window. He didn’t bother to turn on the lights or attempt to start a fire, he never really felt he needed them. The man looked down at the city of Canterlot, noting that numerous ponies were out on the streets as the lamplighters went about their duties. The twilight of the day illuminated the sky in beautiful hues of pink and red, it was the perfect harald to what would be a beautiful night sky.

Dominic stood there for nearly half an hour, watching the night overtake the day. It was in this time that he found his body feeling as if he’d aged a day short of eighty. His bones ached and he felt as if lead weights had been strapped to his limbs. His mind wandered back to the times he’d watched the sunsets on the grass outside of his home. It felt as if a lifetime had passed between then and now, when he closed his eyes he could almost envision the night sky on a crisp summer evening.

Dominic felt a tear roll down his cheek when he remembered that many times he hadn’t watched the sky alone, and in fact, more often than not had to be convinced by someone close to him. He didn’t dare think her name, fearing that he would break down in that moment. Once the final rays of light had faded from the horizon, the man turned and began dressing down. He tossed his shirt, tie, and jacket onto the floor. Left with only his suit pants, shoes, and a white undershirt, he felt more relaxed. The man grabbed his knife from the drawer in his desk and made his way to his bed. He set it down on his bedside table. The man knew he didn’t need to be armed, but it helped him sleep at night.

The bed creaked as he sat on the edge and kicked off his shoes, there was a groan from the wooden frame as he laid back and placed his hands over his stomach. Dominic stared up at the ceiling and contemplated the day’s events. He’d had a fight with Luna, yet he couldn’t bring himself to be furious with her. He’d contributed to starting a war, and though he felt mildly responsible for it, he also knew that it was an inevitability. His mind had become so cold to the thought of distant death, it barely weighed on him as much as it should have.

His final thoughts were of where he would bring his people. Four places, all equally viable, spread about Equestria. One on a river in the east, one by a lake in the west, one down south in the badlands, and one on the border of the griffon kingdom. Each had it’s flaws, each had it’s merits.

With a small yawn he undid his pants and kicked them off as well, with only his boxers and his undershirt he crawled under the blanket. Dominic didn’t mind going to bed early, he figured the nightmares would do enough to wake him for a more appropriate time. With a final sigh, he closed his eyes and dozed off. It was still odd sleeping in the fancy bed, and deep down his body seemed to long for the ratty mattress he’d once slept on.

[♦]

Dominic felt himself floating weightlessly through an inky blackness, there was no noise around him and he was certain the blackness went on forever. Suddenly, the inky blackness began to fade into a grey color. Dominic found himself deposited onto what felt like grass, he straightened up as the world began to fade into existence. He found himself drawing his revolver and aiming it at something at the ground. At that moment he became frozen in place, the world coming to full view.

He stood on the lawn of Maria’s home, the smell of burning timber reached his nose. He took stock of the world around him. It was frozen as he was. He could see the infected rushing towards him, frozen in place. Leaves falling from nearby trees were dropping to the earth, on the grass there was still dew. Laying at his feet was a beautiful young woman, her eyes were open and staring up at him. His revolver near her head. Dominic felt his heart catch in his throat.

On it’s own, the world began to move. Dominic found his thumb drawing the hammer back on the revolver, and all he could do was try to stop it. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t scream, all he could do was watch. At the last moment, he saw the weapon change its aim. It moved away from Maria’s head and moved towards the ground next to it. The weapon discharged and a burst of blood erupted from her cheek, Dominic closed his eyes and stood before running off. In his gut he felt a lead weight begin to form.

Realization of what he was seeing in the dream hit him hard. Had he missed? Point blank, one of the most important shots of his life, could he still have missed? Could he have doomed his friend, and quite probably the only girl he actually cared about, to infection by chickening out at the last possible second?

“Coward!” A voice shouted from somewhere.

“WEAK!”

“Wasted oxygen!”

Dominic began to hyperventilate as the insults came faster and harsher, coupled with the doubt in his mind and the fear that he would be unable to stop more death, it was too much to comprehend. He started screaming.

[♦]

Luna had recognized the familiar tug on her mane almost immediately, it was rare that ponies had nightmares of such magnitude and often difficult for her to tell exactly who it was. Dominic’s nightmares, however, were different. Having implanted herself numerous times into his subconscious to fend of the specters of his dreams, she could tell exactly how troubled he was. Judging by the immense discomfort that was spreading through her scalp, she could tell it was a doozy.

All her previous feelings fearing an angry reprimand or hateful send off were flung aside as she raced towards his bedroom doors. She needed only turn the corner to hear just how bad it was. Guttural, fear filled screams of terror echoed through the hallway. Lunar guards and the small number of American soldiers in the palace were working on getting the door open. They thundered into the wood with groans, attempting to bust it open and save the no doubt dying person within.

Luna flapped her wings and lowered her head, her horn leveled directly at the door. It began to glow as she gathered speed, her hooves left the floor as she continued flapping her wings. Thankfully, the guards spotted her in time to leap out of the way. Her spell connected with the door, nearly ripping it off the hinges. The sound was enough to jolt the screaming man from his bed, unfortunately that did nothing to stop the screaming.

The princess watched as Dominic scrambled out of his bed and grabbed a razor sharp blade from his bedside table.

“Get away from me! Get away!” He yelled, slashing out in front of him. It took him a few moments to realize that he was safe from harm, he then tossed the blade aside and looked at Luna. The mare saw that he was covered in sweat, his eye movement’s were rapid and his breathing was haggard.

“Mister President?” Asked one of the soldiers from outside. “Are you alright?”

“He is fine.” Luna answered, looking over her shoulder. “Please, close the door.” The soldier looked at Dominic who gave a nod. With that, the guards and soldiers pulled the door shut. Dominic slumped back onto his bed as Luna began lighting the room, he let out a groan and rubbed his eyes. “We assume thou wish to know the time, correct?”

“Sure.” Dominic answered in a tired voice.

“Nine o’clock.” Luna said, she finished lighting the room and trotted over to Dominic’s bed. “Doth thou mind if we join you?” The man sat up and looked at her. He could feel himself shaking. In that moment he truly thought about his answer. He was still mad at her, but he knew he had to look past it for the time being.

“I’d like that.” Dominic scooched over and patted the bed next to him. Luna nodded and sat beside him, her wing moved to a familiar position draped over his shoulders. He leaned against her and put his head on her shoulder. “Thank you…”

“Tis nothing, Dominic.” Luna replied with a squeeze of her wing. “Wouldst thou wish to tell us what put you in such a state?” Dominic sighed and nodded.

“Remember Maria?” He asked, Luna nodded. “I was standing over her with the gun in my hand, I couldn’t look away… I had it leveled at her head, but at the last second I moved my aim…” Dominic began trembling, but another squeeze from Luna’s wing stifled the feelings welling up within his mind. “I hit her cheek instead of her head. I missed.” The man rubbed his eyes again, Luna could feel him shudder against her side. “I lost my nerve! Again!” The sudden boost in volume startled the princess.

“Thou doth not know that, twas but a nightmare. The very nature of which is to terrify.” Luna said, Dominic shook his head.

“Does it matter?” He asked, the man looked at the princess with bloodshot eyes. “Everyone I tried to save, everyone I cared about, I failed them. I hear it over and over again, every night.” Luna couldn’t stand the look of sadness in his eyes. “Their voices cry out at me… Failure, coward, waste of life…” Dominic paused and looked back to the floor. “Maybe they’re right.”

“Do not dare venture upon such thoughts!” Luna said, she used her hoof to turn his head to see her. She stared into his eyes, almost as if staring into the depths of a bottomless well. The sadness, the misery, all of it was there. What she saw more than anything, however, was doubt. Doubt in himself, doubt of his abilities, a paralyzing fear she was all too familiar with. “Thou art not a failure, nor a coward…” She continued staring into his eyes. “And thou shalt never, EVER, be a waste of life…”

Dominic’s eyes watered for a moment before he found Luna pulling him closer to her chest. She laid him back in his bed, then set herself beside him. Her horn ignited, a burst of wind went throughout the room. The candles and other lights went out, leaving only the light of the moon to stream through the window. Luna pulled the covers up over herself and Dominic, and once again ignited her horn. She touched the glowing end to Dominic’s forehead.

“Rest now, let thine mind be at peace…”

She felt his arms wrap around her as the spell fell over him. She found it odd that physical contact of the horn was the only way to aid him with her magic, but it gave her an excuse to remain close to him. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being held, her mind took her from the world. She knew fairly well where she was going. The side of a small pond with falling cherry blossoms from a tree beside it. More importantly, she knew that she would not be there alone. As the last of her conscious feelings faded away, she found herself standing next to Dominic.

Author's Notes:

Here's another one for all you wonderful people out there, after this I'm going to try and make the chapters a lot longer. It may take more time, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

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