Dominic sighed as he looked through the overgrown stone buildings, the heat of the area was already near unbearable in the early morning hours. Coupled with the intense humidity and the absolutely toxic smelling jungle growth, it was no wonder the man was shirtless. Of course, this came with it’s own problems. The thorns of numerous plants had given him numerous cuts and nicks across his body. All in all, it looked the like the trip had been a complete waste of time.

His four subordinates were busy carrying out their own inspections, but the consensus was that the entire site was a write off. Salt water from the ocean had turned nearly every bit of land not overgrown into muddy marshland. One soldier had lost his sleeping bag the night before, sucked into the muck before he’d even had a chance to lay down. Afterwards, the team had slept in the chariot that had thankfully been parked on a rocky surface.

Chirping insects and cawing birds seemed to taunt the five explorers, and Dominic got the constant sensation that he was being watched. Not by an intelligent being, no, it was similar to the feeling of having the infected staring at him. As if the intelligence behind the prying eyes had only a few functions. Eat, sleep, eat again. It had truly been a miserable trip, but thankfully it was nearly over. He had no doubt that Sonar or one of Luna’s teams would provide a place of residence. If they couldn’t, he’d go over the list again.

The man gave up on trying to find anything good in the crumbling remains of the town and instead turned back to the chariot. His boots made disgusting sucking noises as he trudged his way through the muddy soil and tangled plantlife. He sighed, but told himself that this certainly wasn’t the worst thing he’d been through in his life. The day was just getting started, plenty more could go wrong. He could lose his boot or fall face first into the mud.

There was a sudden blast of blue light from the sky, at first he thought it was just a bolt of lightning. The sky was unusually cloudy for the heat that seemed to be permeating the area. Another flash of light got his attention, he watched a beam of energy punch through the cloud cover and straight into the chariot. Dominic abandoned thought of what else could go wrong, it had already happened.

He pushed himself through the mud and plants until he was able to sprint across the rocky surface. It seemed that the other soldiers had seen it and were making their way towards the chariot as well. Dominic was the first to arrive, panting and covered in a mix of sweat and blood from the scratches in his skin, he picked up his jacket and dug through the pockets until he pulled his emergency beacon from within. As soon as he touched it the top portion of it began to glow. He dropped it, fearing he would damage the magic. It bounced on the rocky surface for a moment before standing up straight.

Beads of light were projected from the end, forming three dimensional shapes. As the four soldiers arrived, the image was just about finished. There wasn’t any real detail, only three dimensional shapes made up by little balls of light. Dominic blinked as he saw what looked like Sonar standing in a room with a unicorn. Three thestrals appeared passed out around the room, and Sonar soon hit the floor.

“H-Help…” Sonar’s voice was distorted, but the actions of the unicorn werent. The unicorn lowered her head towards Sonar.

“No one can help you now.” It was a mare, obviously a mare. The image cut out moments later, leaving all five of them in silence. Dominic’s hand slowly clenched as his eyes looked where Sonar had stood. Her voice rattled around in his brain like a pin ball, something about her tone or how she’d fallen like a sack of potatoes, it hit him like a ton of bricks. A maelstrom of emotions, kept sealed away for over three years, exploded forth into his mind.

”Dominic! Help me!” He heard the haunting voice of Maria, it was all he could stand. In his mind a red hot fuse finally blew. He looked at one of the soldiers with a deadly serious expression.

“Fly back to Canterlot, bring me everyone.” He ordered.

“What do you mean everyone?” Asked the soldier.

“EVERYONE!” Dominic shouted loudly, causing the stallion to flinch. “There is an American squad being held in god knows where, get EVERYONE! You get in contact with our boys on the open sea, tell them to book it.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldier saluted and took off in the direction of Canterlot, Dominic looked to his remaining subordinates. He gestured for one of them to stomp on the crystal, as ordered the one closest to him did just that. The wave of light passed over Dominic, he spoke slowly.

“Luna, Sonar’s team been captured at the Northern Site. We’re going to get them.” The man looked at the chariot. Flying with only three pilots would be difficult at it’s current load, and so Dominic grabbed a crate of sample bottles and tossed it over the side. “Toss everything we don’t need and let’s get in the air.” The soldiers nodded and began tossing practically everything from survey equipment to spare toilet paper.

The entire task took less than ten minutes, when it was finished the first two pilots hooked themselves into the harness of the chariot and began pulling the craft into the sky. Dominic wasted no time slipping his equipment on as the wind whipped over his body. He slowly slipped several rounds of buckshot into his shotgun, then loaded his revolver with .357 rounds. Finally he checked over the knife he’d forged, he slid the sheath on the belt that held his belt.

The other soldier that sat with him, Iron Sight, was checking his own equipment. Covered in mud, sweat, and grime, the stallion looked as if he’d crawled straight out of a war picture. Dominic supposed they all had the same look, and he was sure that would work in their favor when they went up against who ever was responsible. Dominic looked over the edge of the chariot at the rushing ground beneath them. He closed his eyes and steeled his nerves as thoughts of what he would do ran through his mind. He’d made it his mission not to kill ponies if he didn’t have too, but at the same time, he was willing to take any excuse. With these thoughts, he and his soldiers went forth.

What they didn’t understand, however, was that the emergency beacon had been corrupted by extended close proximity to Earth-native materials. It would take nearly eight hours for the thestral messenger to reach Canterlot, and even longer for the the guard forces to mobilize arrive.

[♦]

Sonar let out a groan as she came to, her head was aching as were her wings and hooves. Like a bolt of lightning, the day’s previous events flooded into her mind. Her eyes snapped open and her ears moved around nervously. She could hear a female voice, similar to that of Starlight Glimmer’s, echoing in the background. Panic creeped into her mind as she realized she was bound and laying on the floor of a musty smelling building. The poor mare began the hyperventilate as she looked around. With her glasses seemingly missing, all she could make out were blurs.

“Corporal.” Bolt Cutter’s voice cut through the panic. “Deep breaths.” Sonar slowly started to take larger breaths. “That’s it, just breathe…” Slowly, Sonar was able to make out the other noise in the room. It was obviously a recording of Starlight Glimmer, instructing whomever was listening that individuality and differing opinions were akin to high treason.

“Where are we?” Sonar asked nervously, looking for the source of Bolt Cutter’s voice.

“Working on that. I do know the windows are too small and the walls are reinforced.” The blur that was Bolt Cutter said, he didn’t seem to be bound. “If I had to guess, this is their tiny piece of indoctrination.” Sonar struggled against the ropes, hoping that Bolt Cutter would help her loose. “I’ve tried untying you, they just come in and redo it. That beacon has them freaking out over you.” Sonar began to breathe heavily again at the thought of being unable to move, unable to fight. Bolt Cutter trotted towards her and sat her up straight, then leaned her against him.

“What about the others?” She looked towards the other blurs on the floor that she assumed were Flint and Dawn Chaser. Bolt Cutter shifted and looked towards his fallen subordinates with a sigh.

“You’re the only one to wake up so far, probably because you drank less.” He explained as Sonar looked around the blurry mess of a room. “I woke up because I’m big and my body absorbed that Dream Pedal shit faster.” Sonar sighed as she couldn’t make out any more of the room, only for Bolt Cutter to let out a surprised tone. “I almost forgot.” Sonar felt her glasses slide on, bringing the world into crispness once more. “Better?”

“Better.” Sonar replied. Now that she could see the room, she could also see that there truly was no means of escape. The only other noise was the loudspeaker on the wall, it was doing a number on her hearing. “Can you do something about that?”

“No. I’ve tried bucking it, ripping it down, beating it, all that stuff.” The sergeant replied in a frustrated tone. “We’re stuck listening to that shit for the foreseeable future.” Sonar struggled against her restraints again, prompting Bolt Cutter to look at her again. “I assume you’ll be harder to restrain when you’re awake…” He laid Sonar on her stomach and undid the knots in her ropes, she quickly sprang up and flexed her wings. The mare began buzzing around the room like a humming bird, kicking up dust with each flap of her leathery appendages.

After a few minutes she settled down, her breaths haggard and her wings aching. Bolt Cutter just sat there, watching her pant and struggle to stand. His expression was one of pensive thought which made Sonar uncomfortable, it was almost as if he was gauging how difficult of an opponent she would be. The mare sat down opposite from him and took on her own thoughtful expression. Her mind wandered from her predicament to her family, the thought of being separated from them by the ponies that called the town home infuriated her. Her son needed her there to tuck him in, her husband needed her there to help with stress.

At the height of these thoughts, the door to the single roomed building clicked unlocked and opened inward. Sonar bared her teeth and spread her wings wide, appearing more intimidating than the meek clerk she normally was. Bolt Cutter seemed impressed, which made her feel better. The pony that entered the room was none other than ‘Double Diamond’, the earth pony that had brought them to the doorstep of Starlight Glimmer.

“Oh, she’s gotten free again…” He commented as he saw the ropes on the floor. Bolt Cutter said nothing and pointed to Sonar. The earth pony turned and froze. The sight of a positively furious thestral was one that often shook the hearts of even the toughest pony, the sight of a furious thestral mother was enough to send even the most hardened warriors into retreat. “Uh… Could you please let me-” He didn’t finish as he was pounced upon by one hundred and fifty pounds of undiluted, indiscriminate fury. Sonar was no gentlemare when it came to her attacks either, her teeth clamped down on his hoof while she mercilessly punched at his face.

Her assault only lasted around thirty seconds as she was hit by a blast of blue magic and sent flying across the room. The damage, however, was severe. Double Diamond groaned loudly, he had blood pouring from his nose, one of his eyes had swollen shut, and his leg was swelling from the force of the bite. Starlight Glimmer quickly pulled him out and slammed the door shut before Sonar could make a second move.

“Holy shit…” Bolt Cutter said, obviously stunned by the display. Sonar wiped her mouth with her hoof, seeming somewhat dazed. She blinked a few times and looked at the sergeant.

“What… What just happened?” She asked, Bolt Cutter pointed to a small pool of blood that had formed on the floor. “Oh wow! Did I…?” The sergeant nodded. “Gee, I don’t know what happened.” Sonar winced as pain lanced up her side, a small burnt portion of her fatigue jacket gave her the cause. “Shoot, this hurts…”

“Lemme see.” Bolt Cutter trotted over and looked at the wound, he prodded it with his hoof causing Sonar to wince and flinch away. “That’s a nasty burn, but it’s not life threatening.” The spectacled mare sighed and sat back down against the wall. She felt extremely tired after her episode, and almost nodded off to sleep again. That was until the door to the building opened again. Before she or Bolt Cutter could react Starlight Glimmer entered the room and blasted the mare with a bolt of paralyzing energy. Two stallions entered after her and grabbed Sonar by the forelegs.

“Hey! What’re you doing?!” Bolt Cutter bellowed, standing up only to be hit by a bolt of magic. The stallions began binding Sonar’s legs and wings, the thestral was powerless to stop them. All she could do was feebly twitch. The stallions didn’t stop there, however, the hefted her onto their backs and carried her out of the building.

“Perhaps some time in the sun will help her relax.” Starlight said, Bolt Cutter’s eyes widened and he attempted to stand.

“You’ll kill her!” He shouted, only to be shoved back down.

“Kill her? No, I won’t let it go that far. Just enough to keep her from becoming a threat.” The unicorn stepped out of the building, locking the door behind her. Bolt Cutter struggled to his hooves and limped towards one of the windows, his heart began to race with worry as he saw the two stallions plop Sonar down out in the middle of a shadeless sunny field.

There was a reason Thestral’s didn’t bask in the sun, a very serious reason. Thestrals were creatures of the night, not to say they couldn’t go out in the day, but generally sunlight was not healthy for their body heat. Leaving a thestral bound out in the sun for too long was akin to a death sentence, and a painful one at that. Their bodies couldn’t adapt to the extreme heat, it felt as if they were roasting in their own fur.

It was at this point that Bolt Cutter decided enough was enough, he would not sit idly by anymore. The stallion turned to his two unconscious subordinates and gave them each a swift kick to the stomach. He was still weak from the spell, but he had enough force to rouse them from their chemically induced slumber. Flint and Dawn Chaser quickly became aware that there were only three thestrals in the room.

“We need to get out of here.” Bolt Cutter said, gritting his teeth.

“Where’s Sonar?” Asked Flint, Bolt Cutter pointed to a window. Both Dawn and Flint’s mouths dropped open at the sight, already they could see the effects. They could see Sonar panting and trying to roll in the dirt, a display that rocked them to their cores.

“Cavalries coming thanks to her, but I doubt it’ll get here fast enough.” Bolt Cutter said in a serious tone. “We’ve got to help her before it’s too late.” Flint and Dawn Chaser simply nodded. “Flint, you were in construction before right?” The thestral in question nodded again. “Can you find any weak points in here?”

“I’ll do my damndest, sir.”

“That’s all we can do, Private…” Bolt Cutter said. “That’s all we can do.”

[♦]

It was dark by the time Dominic and his force arrived at the sight, they landed just outside of the town near what looked like an abandoned campsite on a hill. The chilly air coupled with the dry landscape almost reminded Dominic of the night’s he’d spend camping near the Colorado sand dunes. As quietly as the man and four thestrals could, they disembarked their chariot and looked around. Each held their weapons at the ready, uncertain of what awaited them in the town below.

“Okay, take a look around. See if we can find any sign of them…” Dominic said quietly, the others nodded. Iron Sight checked around the dead fire circle, noting several wrappers marked as ‘Protein Rations’. The two other guards, Waking Dawn and Blue Torch, checked around for themselves. Waking Dawn took note of numerous hoof tracks, whilst Blue Torch spotted wheel tracks in the dry soil. Dominic, for his part, had ascended the hill and was prone on his stomach.

“Sir, it looks like this is where they stayed last night.” Iron Sight said quietly, he and the other thestrals slowly crawled up beside Dominic and looked down at the town. To their surprise, it seemed the lights were on in several uniformed, well maintained cottages. “What the-”

“Shh.” Dominic hissed before silently pointing to a grey earth pony slowly walking up the town’s main street.

“He’s probably going home.” Blue Torch said as he saw the stallion stop in front of a building.

“He’s retracing his steps. He’s checked the door two times already.” Dominic said in a whisper, sure enough the earth pony rotated the door handle before turning and walking back down the street. “Blue.”

“Sir?”

“Get the binoculars from the chariot.” Dominic said, watching the town further. Blue nodded and made his way back down the hill towards the chariot. The three remaining prone figures watched the sentry reach the end of the street, he briefly turned towards a building at the end of the street. A light green unicorn stepped out the door and met the pony in the street. The two chatted for a moment before the earth pony made for the building.

“Changing of the guard…” Iron Sight quietly commented, he noted that the horn of the unicorn projected a small searchlight. It shifted over the outskirts of the town a few times before dying down and the guard slowly began his own marching down the street. “Think they know we’re coming?”

“They’re expecting something for sure.” Waking Dawn said as he watched the new sentry cast his light on a space between two houses. “He’s looking for anything that moves.” There was an almost inaudible shifting sound as Blue Torch crawled back up on the ridge. Dominic looked at him expectantly, but the stallion was empty handed.

“We musta tossed them in the rush…” He said in an annoyed tone. “Now what?” Dominic looked between his thestrals and the town below, the cogs in his mind slowly began to turn. Admittedly, moving into the town was risky. The sentry had a searchlight and was most likely looking at anything that made a sound he didn’t expect. Dominic began to see a pattern to the movement, as he did, he realized he had something the unicorn didn’t have. Verticality.

“Iron Sight. Waking Dawn.” He said quietly, the two soldiers looked at him. “We’re going in for a closer look.” He pointed to the far side of the town, closest to a group of hills and caves. “Fly over to that side, in two minutes make a noise. Nothing big, just enough to get someone’s attention.”

“What if he comes to check?” Asked Dawn.

“That’s the point.” Dominic explained. “If he’s looking over there, he won’t be looking over here.” The man pointed to the other side of town and the shadows behind the row of houses. “It’ll give Blue and I time to get over there. Once we’re in, alternate making noise so the other group can move.”

“Wouldn’t be easier to take him out?” Asked Blue Torch.

“What if one of his buddies comes out to check on him?” Asked Iron Sight, silencing Blue’s idea. The thestral looked to Dominic and spoke quietly. “I think I see what you’re trying to do here, but we can’t do it too often. He’ll catch wise.”

“Agreed.” Waking said.

“Alright then.” Dominic whispered, he pointed to the house that the guard was now checking the door on. “That seems to be our primary target, but keep an eye out for anything important.” He adjusted his helmet, then paused. The man quietly removed the clunky metal object and set it in the dirt, followed by his backpack and other unnecessary gear. “If it clinks, clanks or rattles leave it here.”

The soldiers complied, removing their dogtags and other items.

“Sir, if something goes wrong?” Asked Waking Dawn.

“Improvise.” Dominic said quietly. “Hopefully the cavalry will turn up soon, but we can’t count on that.” The soldiers nodded before Iron Sight and Waking dawn spread their wings. The first flaps were somewhat loud up close, but once they were high enough Dominic and Blue watched them simply begin to glide.

“Sir, while we wait, can I ask a question?” Asked Blue Torch.

“Make it quick.” Dominic replied, watching the sentry with his shotgun clutched firmly in his grasp.

“You seem to know a lot about sneaking.” Blue said quietly, watching his compatriots continue gliding. “How?” Dominic shrugged.

“Goes with my territory, I guess.” The man mumbled. “Back on earth, there were times where big and loud weren’t the best choice. A lot of times I found myself crawling through dirt at night, or misleading the infected.”

“Infected?” Asked Blue, Dominic was quiet after that.

“I’ll tell all of you when all of us are together.” He stated, almost as much to himself as to Blue Torch. The thestral nodded silently and the pair continued watching the sentry shine his beam of light in the various portions of the town. The stallion’s beam of light shone steadily for several more minutes, then it rapidly shifted to one side of the town. “That’s us. Let’s go.” Blue nodded and the two began making their way down the hill.

In the dark it was difficult to make out and holes, at least for Dominic. Blue Torch, being a thestral, was easily traversing the landscape. That lead to the man following almost directly behind the thestral for most of the way, he barely had time to register that his thestral guide had come to a stop. He nearly toppled over him, but caught himself in time.

“Hold up.” Blue said quietly. “I don’t know if you can see, but there’s a line of tin cans here.” Dominic looked around for a sign that they were being watched. He heard a soft tink tinking noise. “Okay.” Dominic took a step forwards and stopped as he felt his boot land on something squishy. “Don’t- ngh stand there. Just keep going.” Dominic complied, and stepped forwards once again until he felt his boot hit dirt. The tink tinking noise came again as he heard Blue step ahead of him.

After a few more minutes of nervous movement they reached the relative safety of the buildings. No sooner had they reached cover did a beam of light cut through the area they’d traversed, illuminating the line of cans extremely well. Dominic let out a sigh as the light slowly panned away and out of sight. The light from the cottage windows gave Dominic and his compatriot just enough light to move. Even though they couldn’t see the town, they could feel something wrong in the back of their necks. Each step was made with the hesitation that it could be right onto a landmine, or straight into the oncoming light of the sentry.

The pair stopped at an open window, Dominic moved up beside it and slowly leaned his head towards the opening, hoping to hear some sort of discussion.

“...can’t believe Starlight would do such a thing.” A feminine voice said quietly. “That poor mare looked so sick.”

“She’s lucky to be alive.” Said a more hushed masculine tone. “Starlight’s playing god here, for all she knew the mare could have died after only an hour.” Dominic leaned closer while Blue Torch watched the area around them for the sentry’s light. “For the sake of whoever sent them, I hope they don’t come.”

“Why?” Asked the feminine voice.

“Because if they do, they’ll end up with the rest of them.” Said the male voice. “Starlight has weapons now, advanced weapons. If she get’s more of them, faust help us.” Dominic would have listened more if it weren’t for a frantic tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Blue Torch nervously pointing at the corner of the row of houses. The beam of light was getting closer, soon the sentry would turn the corner and be right on top of them. Dominic silently cursed before climbing through the open window, thankfully unnoticed by the occupants of the house. Blue Torch didn’t have time to argue, he too slipped into the building. Dominic clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him into the shadows.

“Hmm…” Said a voice from outside, the sound of hooves approaching the window became apparent. “Hey, Sugarbelle! Party Favor!” Shouted a voice through the window, the two voices grow quiet. Both Dominic and Blue Torch felt their blood run cold as they heard hooves against the wooden floor, it turned out they seemed to be in some sort of alcove of the house. Easily spotted from within, hidden on the outside. A unicorn mare slowly came into view, her eyes were first fixed on the window but they quickly caught sight of both Dominic and Blue Torch. Dominic slowly placed a single finger of his lips and mouthed the words ‘Please don’t.’.

“Hello, Highbeam.” The unicorn said, looking back to the window. “What’s the matter?”

“Starlight wants all windows closed tonight, she thinks some bad ponies might be coming into town.” The sentry said from outside. “They could sneak in and hurt someone.”

“Oh?” The unicorn said in a shaking tone. “I’m sorry, I was just baking some muffins and it got a bit hot is all.” There was a hum from outside. “Thanks for the warning.” Her horn glowed softly and the window slid closed, she rapidly locked it and slid a pair of curtains over it. Her breathing rapidly increased as she realized just what she’d done. Slowly her eyes turned towards the two figures in the alcove.

“Sugarbelle? You alright?” Called the male voice from out of sight.

“P-P-Party Favor!” She said a little too loudly, the sound of rushing hooves greeted the ears of both Dominic and Blue Torch. The man let go of Blue’s muzzle and stood up, then slowly raised his hands. At that moment another unicorn came into view, his eyes widened at the sight before him and he almost screamed. It died in his throat as he noted the uniform Blue Torch was wearing.

“Shh…” Dominic hissed. “We’re Americans, we’re here to help.”

“It… It talks…?” The male unicorn said.

“Yes, I talk.” Dominic said flatly. “Not important. I assume you know why we’re here.” Both ponies nodded numbly, gulping at the thought. “We assume they’re in that building at the end of the street?” Both ponies nodded again. “I assume that something isn’t right here.” Another nod.

“Sir, we’re on the clock.” Blue Torch reminded the man, Dominic sighed and nodded.

“Can you help us?” He asked, the ponies shook their heads. “Why not?”

“If Starlight finds out, she’ll toss us in too. For re-education.” The female unicorn said with a shiver, Dominic and Blue Torch looked at each other with equally solemn expressions. “If we speak, if we tell you anything and they find out…” She shuddered again.

“If you help us, we’ll get you out of here.” Dominic said, both unicorns looked at each other for a moment. “You live in constant fear, we can protect you.” As if having a mute conversation with their eyes, the ponies stared for a minutes before turning to face Dominic and Blue.

“What do you want to know?” The stallion asked as the mare led them into a dimly lit, blandly furnished dining room. It was at this point that they noticed the mark’s on the ponies backs, equal signs. It also struck them as odd that in place of wall art there were simply poorly painted, framed pictures of the same equal sign.

“You mentioned re education.” Blue Torch began, getting a silent nod from Dominic. The pair sat down in two equally creaky chairs across from their impromptu hosts. “What do you mean? Re Education for what?”

“Equality.” The ponies said in unison, displaying their flanks. “Our town is all equal, no special talents. Just ponies living together.”

“No different ideas.” Said the mare.

“No arguments.” Stated the stallion.

“Just friends.” They finished in unison, almost as if the statement had been drilled into them.

“What do you mean?” Asked Blue Torch, he and Dominic watched them again.

“Well our founder, Starlight Glimmer, says that cutiemarks lead to arguments and sadness.” Stated the mare with a sigh. “In fact, most of us were outcasts before we came here, but Starlight made us equal, so we can all get along.”

“She used the staff of sameness to remove our cutiemarks and give us these.” The stallion cut in, wiggling his rump slightly. Dominic and Blue quietly listened in, uncertain of what would happen next. “She keeps them in a vault on the edge of town. She wants to use her staff to make all of Equestria equal, like us.”

“Great Reagan’s ghost…” Dominic muttered, all eyes fell on him. “Let me guess, anyone who wants to leave or dissents is locked up for ‘re education’?” the ponies nodded, causing him to look at Blue Torch. “I thought I’d seen it all, but stereotypical communist ponies with aggressive expansionist ideology nearly tops my list of weird shit only found in Equestria.” He stood up and walked to a window, taking a brief moment to peek out at the guarded building.

“What do we do, sir?” Asked Blue, Dominic walked away from the window and looked at the two ponies. The man quickly pulled away as he saw the the sentry marching his rounds.

“Our priority is get our people out of here.” Dominic said as he looked at the two ponies. “As of now, they don’t know we’ve talked. Tomorrow the cavalry will show up, all you need to do is sit tight.” The man looked around before spotting a notepad and a pen, he ripped two pieces of paper off and began scribbling down words. He handed them to the unicorns after signing them. “When they show up give these to them. Tell them you’ve been sent by the president.”

He walked towards the back window quietly, Blue gave the two unicorns a quiet nod as they slipped out into the night. The window closed rapidly behind them at that point. The air seemed to have gotten chillier and the sliver of a moon seemed to have been blocked out by clouds. A soft rumble in the distance caught their attention, the wind started to pick up.

“Shit.” Blue muttered a flash of lightning lit up the area ahead of them. The two of them continued forwards, doing their best to ignore the worsening conditions. They made their way along the rows of houses towards the end, a flash of lightning lit up the sky and the area around him. Dominic froze for a moment as he saw a young woman appear in the distance during the flash, half her face was covered in blood and her clothes were burned. “Sir? You alright?” Asked Blue.

“F-Fine.” Dominic replied as thunder crashed around them, he shrugged off what he’d seen and continued onwards. The pair reached the final house as the rain began to fall to the ground, the two of them had enough adrenaline in their bodies to help them ignore the blisteringly freezing water for the time being. Dominic leaned out first, looking towards the house at the end of the street. He watched the door open and a unicorn mare stepped out, her horn glowing and creating a bubble around her to halt the rain. The lightning flashed around them, illuminating her somewhat. She was looking around, the mare paused when the flash revealed an odd biped staring at her. Another flash, however, revealed that what she had seen wasn’t there. The shock had forced her to drop her magic, however, and now she quickly rushed inside.

Dominic looked again, he caught a glimpse of her going through the door. Her soaking wet fur revealed a damning image. He couldn’t make out the details of what the mark was as she closed the door, but he’d seen enough to know that her equal mark had melted.

“Starlight Glimmer, I presume…” Dominic said quietly, the sound of the rain masking his voice quite well. He pulled back into the shadows as the sentry came into view and his beam of light passed over the end of the building. “I Hope Iron and Waking are doing okay…”

“Let’s find out.” Blue quietly said, the two stepped out of the shadows as the Sentry moved on. Their hooves and boots squelching in the rapidly forming mud. They moved along the other end of the building before reaching the end of the street. Another flash of lightning illuminated the opposite side, revealing two mud covered Thestrals looking at them with their weapons at the ready. Blue Torch took note of that and readied his own spellbow, which he’d nearly forgotten about in the rush to sneak. The booming thunder that came after offered Blue and Dominic a good opportunity to book it across the street. They directed themselves to the other side of the building on the other side of the street. A small alcove between it and another cottage.

Their footfalls made relatively loud noises, but the thunder lasted just long enough for them to pass safely. Unfortunately, the mud in their wake was less forgiving. Dominic and Blue turned after reaching the other side to see that there were boot and hoof prints in their wake. The sentry was rapidly approaching, prompting Blue Torch to ready his spellbow. Dominic was about to say something, but the guard’s beam of light landed directly on the path they’d trod. Lightning flashed and the sentry rapidly spotted the figure leaning around the corner. He opened his mouth to yell, but thunder drowned out his cry. A bolt of red energy impacted the stallion’s chest, putting an end to the beam of light and the sentry’s life. He fell forwards into the mud, prompting Blue Torch and Dominic rushed into the street and dragged the body into their shadowy hiding place.

Dominic heard the sounds of hooves rushing towards them from behind, he turned to see that both Iron Sight and Waking Dawn had moved to join them.

“We’ve gotta make our move fast.” Said Iron Sight. “We managed to listen in on their guard house, next shift change is in ten minutes.”

“We got some answers from a few locals.” Dominic responded, pointing to the house down the street. “They say that the founder is planning to take her show on the road. Wants to make everyone in Equestria equal.” Iron Sight and Waking Dawn looked down at the body and noted the cutiemark was an equal sign. “Thing is, she’s not with the program. His didn’t wash off in the rain, hers did.”

“So what’s the plan?” Asked Waking Dawn, helping to move the body out of sight. Dominic patted the building they stood beside.

“Our folks are in here.” He said in a hushed tone. “We bust ‘em out, if we can we’ll snag the defectors and make our way to the ridge. Wait for Luna and the others to show.”

“How do we know she’s coming?” Asked Waking Dawn. “We aren’t her soldiers any-” Dominic gave him a look.

“She. Is. Coming.” He said firmly. “If she doesn’t, we do what American’s do best.” The stallions raised an eyebrow. “Improvise.” After a few moments they nodded and prepared to move for the door, only to hear squelching hooves in the distance. “Shh!” All four of them snapped to the most shadowed cover as the rain continued to pour, it was accompanied by the sound of chiming magic.

“Highbeam?” Called a female voice. “Where are you?” Blue Torch cleared his throat and tried to remember what the sentry had sounded like when he’d nearly caught them. Dominic looked at him with a stern expression, shaking his head. The stallion ignored him and opened his mouth. “Highbeam?”

“I’m taking a leak!” Blue Torch said loudly, his voice was a poor imitation of the sentry’s.

“Oh, sorry to disturb you then. I’m just coming to check on our guests.” There was the sound of a door opening and then closing, all eyes fell on Blue Torch who shrugged slowly.

“You said improvise.” He quietly defended.

“Remind me to give you a medal… But first come on, we’ve got two birds to kill. Iron Sight, Waking Dawn I want you to secure the barracks. Blue and I will deal with this.” Dominic responded before moving out into the street, his soldiers nodded and split off to carry out their tasks. His boots squelched the mud as he neared the door, then he pressed his ear up against the wood.

“...you should reconsider your position here.” Said the mare’s voice from earlier. “I can leave her out in the sun until she’s too weak to even eat. You would be wise in listening to my demands.”

“Go to hell.” Came a voice Dominic recognised as one of his soldiers, Sergeant Bolt Cutter if he remembered correctly. “You don’t understand your own position, idiot.” Dominic motioned for his Blue to position himself near the door.

“Oh this should be rich.” The mare’s voice said. “Fine, enlighten me.”

“We lied to you about being mercenaries.” Bolt Cutter said. “We’re actually soldiers. Soldiers of another country.” There was loud laughter that followed that. “By doing this, and by torturing the corporal, you’ve set yourself up as a war criminal. Not to mention plotting a coup, which is… Treason, if I remember correctly.” Dominic felt his blood run hot with rage at the mention that one of his soldiers had been tortured.

“Oh, we’ll see. Once you’ve had a few more days in here, and her out there, you’ll be begging to join us.” Dominic wanted to boot the door open, to rip the head off the mare he assumed was Starlight Glimmer. He knew, however, that one of his soldiers was in poor condition. It occurred to him that only one member of the survey team had been female. Sonar. If he went in, the unicorn could do something drastic. As much as it killed him to wait, he had to worry about his people first. “I should get going, you need time to think. I hear tomorrow is going to exceptionally hot.”

Dominic gestured for Blue to step back into the shadows, the stallion looked confused but nodded and moved nonetheless. The door opened just as they disappeared into the muddy alley, the rain covering their rushed movements. There was the chime of magic that Dominic had heard before.

“I’m heading in, Highbeam! Try not to catch a cold!” The mare called out as her hooves grew distant, Dominic slipped up to the corner and peeked out. He watched the mare arrive at the doorstep of her home and look around as another flash of lightning claimed the sky. Dominic and Blue were out of sight, but unfortunately Iron Sight and Waking weren’t. “What the-”

“MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!” Dominic bellowed loudly for both the ponies in the building to hear, as well as his soldiers down the street.

“Guards!” Bellowed Starlight Glimmer, down the street Dominic could hear the door to the barracks fling open. “Kill them!” Dominic wasted no time moving to the door and shoving his shoulder against it while Blue Torch took up a defensive position and Iron Sight and Waking Dawn began firing their spellbows at the guards in the barracks.

“Stand away from the door!” Dominic shouted loudly, he waited only a few moments before shouldering his shotgun and firing two rapid shots at the hinges. He kicked the door inwards, sending it falling to the floor and revealing the shocked thestrals within. Bolt Cutter and Flint were tending to Sonar while Dawn Chaser seemed to have been filing something against the wall. “Get your asses in gear, come on!”

“She’s heat stroked! Sudden change from warm to cold could kill her!” Bolt Cutter bellowed, Dominic cursed under his breath.

“Alright, you help her. The rest of you, find your weapons and help us deal with the guards!” He ordered, Flint and Dawn Chaser rushed out of the building with a nod towards Starlight Glimmer’s house. “Be careful!” Dominic turned his shotgun on a group of guards firing arrows from the windows of the barracks, then pulled the trigger. Steam poured off the weapon as he pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession. Buckshot pelted the wall, forcing the ponies behind the windows to duck down. Dominic pulled a few rounds of birdshot from his pocket, it was all he had left since he’d left his supplies on the hill. He slipped them into the magazine and moved towards the building while Blue Torch remained to guard the door.

“Cover me!” He shouted to Iron Sight and Waking Dawn as he ran past them, the nodded and began firing their spellbows at the windows. The ruined remains of the energy crystal ammunition began to pile up at their hooves, radiating an almost pleasing warmth in the process. Dominic slid in the mud as the arrow fire shifted from his soldiers to him, but he was already close enough to gain cover near the front door. It was open from when some of the guards had attempted to rush out, but two bodies indicated that their plan had failed. Dominic took a breath and pointed his weapon through the door, then began firing blindly.

He nearly froze as he began to hear pained screams from within, accompanied by gurgling noises and terrified howling. Dominic pulled the trigger on his shotgun until it clicked empty, it steamed from the heat in the pouring rain. The man let it hang slack on its strap and drew his revolver. One of the guards bolted out the door, panicking and looking around in fear. Dominic pointed the weapon at him and drew back the hammer, immediately the stallion turned around and looked at him with pleading eyes.

Dominic felt himself begin to hesitate, he clenched his eyes shut and squeezed the trigger. There was a resounding bang followed by a thud as the stallion crumpled to the ground in a heap. The man didn’t bother checking inside the barracks, if anyone was still alive they weren’t firing anymore. He didn’t want to have to end killing someone else. The man numbly turned away from the gruesome scene, ignoring the pained groans of agony that echoed from within the barracks.

He could hear yelling in the distance behind him, angry and rage filled. He didn’t have time to turn around, but a bolt of red light sailed not two inches over his head from the top floor of Starlight Glimmer’s home. Dominic heard a thud behind him, he didn’t turn to look. The man holstered his sidearm and quickly made his way back to the building where Iron Sight, Waking Dawn, and Blue Torch had set up a perimeter.

He quietly sighed and leaned against the building, his mind firing as if it were an engine which had been injected with nitrous oxide. He didn’t realize it, but he was breathing heavily and his chest felt tight. His subordinates looked at him with worry, but he held up a single finger and gradually brought his breath under control.

“Everyone okay?” He asked, he got a few quick ‘Yes, sirs’ from the others, save for Sonar of course. He slowly walked into the building and spotted the mare on her side, he knelt down beside her while using his shotgun for support. The mare’s eyes were closed and she was panting heavily. A deep feeling of guilt spread over Dominic’s body. He’d sent her here, she was in this state because-

“Don’t do that.” Bolt Cutter cut him off, the man looked at him. “I know that look, sir. I’ve had it a few times.” The stallion sighed. “You had no way of knowing this’d happen, hell we were caught off guard ourselves.”

“Still feels like my fault.” Dominic said quietly. “She’s got a kid-”

“A kid she’s gonna see again.” The sergeant cut him off. “If you want someone to be at fault, go snag that Starlight bitch. This is on her.” Dominic began to reach for his revolver. “That’s not it either.”

“What would you have me do then?” The man asked, the stallion hummed in thought for a moment.

“I reckon we kill her, some other clown is gonna take over.” The sergeant took a damp rag of water from a bucket beside him and dabbed it along Sonar’s side. “Let the world decide.”

“Thank you, sergeant.” Dominic said quietly as he looked over the downed thestral. “There may be a promotion in this for all of you when this is over.”

“Nothing higher than general, sir.” Bolt Cutter said with a slight chuckle, still seriously dabbing the mare. Upon closer inspection, Dominic could see that her skin was an unhealthy red. He was about to reach for a rag to help the sergeant, but hurried steps from outside caught his attention.

“M-Mister President!” Flint said loudly, Dominic turned and looked at him.

“What is it?” He asked.

“I… I don’t know sir… I chased that unicorn through some tunnel while Dawn Chaser grabbed our gear…” The thestral panted for a moment before continuing. She come out in some weird cave, and then run smack dab into another one. It had this big glowing wall of… well…” He trailed off. “I’ve got her tied up in the house, but… you outta come see it.”

“Alright…” Dominic stood up and began walking towards the house. “Blue Torch, grab our gear from the ridge. It could be a long night…” The other thestral nodded and took flight while the man and Flint entered the home. There was nothing of note, aside from the drab furniture, that is until he reached the gaping hole in the bedroom. The man followed flint down through the tunnel in silence, he could barely make out any details. They briefly came out into the rain, only to enter another cave just as fast. To Dominic’s surprise, the cave was brighter as he got deeper into it.

“What the fuck…?” He mumbled at the sight of the giant glowing collection of boxes. Before it stood a wooden staff that seemed to float on its own. Within the boxes, Dominic could see cutiemarks. Hundreds of them. More than seemed possible for a town so small, even if all of them had been given up.

“Sir? What is this? Have you ever seen something…”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever seen something like this.” Dominic said quietly, he slowly approached one of the boxes and noted it had a date and a name. “Open Heart… Removed two years ago…” He stopped as he noted another line of text. “Died one year ago.”

“Maybe she was old?” Asked Flint, looking at the staff in the center of the room.

“Says she was twenty when she went…” The man turned to his soldier. “You… You don’t think…” The man trailed off as Flint began reading more names, all of whom had died not long after their marks had been removed. Dominic looked at the mark of ‘Open Heart’ and sighed, he then turned and started walking out of the cave and into the rainy night.

[♦]

The sun was beginning to rise in the distance when the trumpets sounded, the sight that greeted Princess Luna and her numerous guards was sobering. There was a large amount of white sheets laid out in a straight line on the outskirts of town, guarded by two thestrals who appeared extremely tired. That wasn’t the most horrifying, however. What was horrifying was that two more guards, as well as a pair of unicorns were walking through a field off the side of the town. Each of them had slipped a pole with a ribbon in certain places eerily reminiscent of graves.

Luna’s chariot landed first, she could see that the town had had a rough night. The thestrals standing in front of the sheets were keeping the nosy townspeople away, some of the ponies seemed to be crying. What struck the princess as odd, however, was that they all shared the same cutiemark. The night princess stepped off the chariot, drawing the attention of the two soldiers for a brief moment. One of them silently pointed down the street towards another building, she could see Dominic leaned against the wall.

As her soldiers began landing and securing the town, she galloped towards him. As she got closer, she could see a look of quiet pensive thought on his face. She also saw that he held a white paper tube, a cigarette if she recalled what young people called them. His hand was shaking, he seemed to be staring off into space. The alicorn slowed her pace and cleared her throat as she got closer. She nearly flinched when Dominic turned towards her.

“Dominic… What happened?” She asked.

“I don’t know…” He replied numbly, dropping the cigarette, which had nearly burned his fingers, to the ground. “I was hoping you could tell me…” He stood up straight before pounding on the wall. “Move Sonar to the medics, collect the defectors while you’re at it.” he ordered through the door. Luna watched with a sinking feeling as the soldiers she recognised as Flint and Dawn Chaser carried Sonar out on an impromptu stretcher. “Come with me.”

Dominic began walking towards the edge of town, Luna followed. Fear and concern began to well up in her throat as they passed by a seemingly innocent cottage. She could see he was tired, that he was covered in mud, but most of all, she could see a familiar weakness to his steps. A weakness that he’d had months ago, when he was new to Equestria. The somber shuffle carried them to the mouth of a cave, sergeant Bolt Cutter stood there dutifully. He silently moved as Luna and Dominic entered the mouth of rock. Luna noticed an eerie glow to the cavern, the source was soon revealed.

“Are those…?” She said, her voice catching in her throat as she saw the vault. Dominic silently nodded. “W-We must return them to their owners!” She could sense Dominic’s eyes on her. “The cutiemark is a piece of a pony’s soul… It… Removing it... “ She struggled for the right words. “There were cases… Not long after the pony… The pony…”

“Died.” Dominic finished for her, Luna nodded as she looked at the vault. “We’ve already found some of them outside of town…” Dominic blinked as he saw Luna’s eyes glow white, her horn became engulfed in sparking energy. The man was forced to shield his eyes as a massive blast of energy exploded through the cave. The glowing boxes shattered, causing the marks inside to ping around the cavern for a few moments before flying out the mouth. Dominic turned and watched as they flew out, many of them went towards the town. A large amount went for the field. They plunged through the ground near the poles that danced with ribbon, as well as numerous places the soldiers hadn’t marked yet.

He turned back towards Luna who stood with her wings hanging low, her horn touched the ground as she bowed her head. Dominic slowly walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, he could feel her shaking. At first it was out of sadness, but he could make out the subtle shift to anger, then the rapid change to rage. The man watched as she raised her head, he’d never seen such an expression on her muzzle before.

“There will be a reckoning…” She said in a voice that sent chills down Dominic’s spine. “We shall rend who is responsible from the fabric of time itself! Limb by limb! ATOM BY ATOM!” Dominic slowly backed away as Luna began to float in the air, her wings now wide and intimidating. Her eyes glowed bright blue, her hooves were outstretched. Dominic felt the ground shake as sparks of energy began to spring up around him. “To carry out such heinous acts of magic is TREASON IN THE HIGHEST ORDER!” The wind blew Dominic’s jacket wildly as she spoke. “Who is RESPONSIBLE!”

“Starlight Glimmer.” Dominic said, worrying that Luna’s rage would collapse the cave. “We have her ready for transport.”

“Transport!?”

“For her trial…” Dominic said, he watched as the cave walls began to crack. “You know? So you can legally… rip her ‘atom from atom’?” Luna looked at him, her eyes began to slowly dim and the wind and sparks died down. “Come on, you know due process is important… Right?” Slowly Luna’s hooves touched the floor of the cave and her wings snapped to her side, she was panting. Dominic was more thankful that the cave hadn’t collapsed in on itself than anything else.

“There shall be a tribunal.” Luna said in a shaking voice as she looked around the cave. Dominic slowly reached out and began to lead her out of the cave, praying she didn’t topple the cave with magic before they both were out. Bolt Cutter looked at the princess nervously as they passed him and descended into the town, it was utter bedlam as ponies ran around screaming. They weren’t used to having special talents, and most of them were attempting to run for the hills.

Through the sea of chaos Luna and Dominic walked until they reached the building that had housed Sonar. Dominic stepped through first and waited by the door.

“What do you want, monk-” Starlight Glimmer, who sat tied up on the floor, spat. Her words died in her throat as an imposing, yet regal, hoof stepped through the front door. Her eyes drifted slowly upwards until they landed on Princess Luna. “-ey…”

“Is this her?” Asked Luna.

“Yes.” Dominic replied, Starlight gulped as Luna cleared her throat. “Before we begin, I have a grievance.” The princess looked at him. “She left one of my soldiers, Sonar, out in the sun. She knew full well of the effect it would have, in fact that is why she did it.”

“Noted.” Luna said, her face remained calm even though Dominic and Starlight both knew there was a boiling cauldron of fury beneath her demeanor.“Starlight Glimmer.” The princess began. “Thou stand’th accused of treason in the highest order, crimes against equinity, assaulting members of a foreign military, and knowingly endangering the life of another.”

“P-P-P-”

“SILENCE!” Luna bellowed, shocking the unicorn into submission. “Thine tribunal will begin one week from today, thou shalt be provided an attorney and called to answer for thine actions. If found guilty thou may face the maximum sentence for thine crimes, in this case…” She trailed off. “The death penalty.” The unicorn made to speak again, a large amount of fear in her eyes. “Guards!” Two thestrals entered moments later. “Take this prisoner to Canterlot, post haste. Notify Celestia to gather our niece and Twilight Sparkle. I shall explain further upon our return.”

“As you command.” The guards said in unison before moving into the room, Starlight Glimmer struggled against the bonds she was held in as the two guards carried her out. Luna and Dominic stepped outside and watched as guards held back ponies, who watched them drag her towards the waiting chariots. Luna let out a sigh as she watched numerous chariots begin to take off.

“Now what?” Dominic asked quietly. “We can’t just leave these people here.”

“It will take time for us to undo whatever it is she hath told them, but hopefully, they will return to society.” Luna responded. “As for this… place.” She gestured to the uniform buildings. “I’m ordering it be burned. I doubt you wish to make this your home.” Dominic nodded.

“It reminds me of the pictures of work camps I used to see in history class.” He said quietly. “Too much death here…” The man watched as Lunar guards began digging graves for the covered bodies of the town guards. He briefly contemplated bumming a cigarette off one of the passing guards, but he didn’t want one anymore. He put his arm over Luna’s shoulder, she pressed her head up against his chest. The man felt her begin to shake again, he could feel wet spots forming on his shirt and rapidly pulled her into a tight hug.

Dominic walked her towards the chariots and gave a quiet nod towards her guards, they nodded in return and began dumping kerosine in one of the houses. The burn began as Dominic helped Luna onto her chariot, he sat down on one of the benches and she sat beside him.

“It’s going to be okay…” He said to her, watching as the second house began to burn. Guards continued digging the graves while he watched his own soldiers marking the sights in the fields. He closed his eyes as the smell of burning house and death reached his nose.

Author's Notes:

Here's another long one, it actually wasn't as hard as I thought. Hoped it was up to snuff, if not, I'm sorry.

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