Two weeks passed by, Rolling Thunder and his detachment returned with carts loaded down with the reparations as well as sixty or so Changelings that had been disenfranchised by the rule of Gigant. The Equestrian battalion gradually began being sent home as the town’s defensive posture relaxed. Dominic had pitched Operation: Terra Nova to the Princesses, knowing that he would need at least some of their help in order to make it work. At first, Celestia had had her doubts, but eventually she and Luna agreed to assist.

Dominic’s plan to acquire human technology was a different story, dubbed Operation: Static, the Princesses had been far more critical of it. The man knew that there was a world similar to the human world beyond a portal in the Crystal Empire, something confirmed by Jen, and had proposed going through in order to retrieve the equipment he needed. By the second week of waiting Dominic was starting to get antsy, but he had other matters to attend to, chief among them was the first meeting of the heads of Task Force Grey, the part of America’s military that would carry out Terra Nova.

The sun was just rising over the hills of New Liberty, the chill of morning still hung in the air, most of the town’s occupants were asleep or just waking up. A couple changelings patrolled the streets, on the outskirts a number of new recruits were being trained. In the office of the President, three humans, a thestral, and two alicorns were seated around a table with papers laid out in front of them. Dominic with with his hat resting on the table, Jen with her camouflage jacket over her shoulders, and Johnny with his eyes narrowed as he rubbed the sleep from them.

General Bulwark and the princesses sat across from each other at the round meeting table, both sides eyeing the other up.

“This is the first meeting of Task Force Grey, I think it would be prudent if we all went about sharing our thoughts on our task.” Dominic began, looking at the assembled group. “We already have armored vehicles in the works, and a proposal for a means of getting the other equipment we need.”

“Stealth should be our top priority when dealing with urban areas, sound echoes with all those buildings.” Jen spoke up, straightening up as she did so. “The changelings have demonstrated an ability to walk on ceilings and walls, they would be ideal to hand tasks like that.”

“We won’t be able to rely on magic when we’re in our world.” Dominic stated, Jen nodded.

“It’s a biological function of theirs, it shouldn’t be an issue.” She added, Dominic and Bulwark nodded at that, Johnny seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all, but figured it was a good opportunity to learn.

“Of course, all the stealth in the world won’t matter if we can’t communicate quietly, which brings the discussion to Operation: Static.” Bulwark said as he took his pipe from his uniform’s breast pocket. All eyes shifted from him to the princesses, specifically Celestia, as she’d shown the most hesitance with the operation. The Princess sat quietly for a few moments before letting out a tentative sigh.

“Taking into account what you’ve told us about what happens in the alternate world, and how it could adversely affect our own…” She began, with another sigh she looked at Luna who gave a simple nod. “We agree, Operation: Static is our best course of action for acquiring the resources we need.”

“Excellent.” Bulwark said, turning to look at Dominic and Jen. “We’ll go into further detail on that later, for now though, let’s get back to the armored vehicles and their armaments. You had me order thick pipes and ball bearings, as well as some other chemicals, I’m a little confused by that.”

“Grapeshot.” Dominic said simply, he turned his gaze towards the shotgun hanging on his wall. “The infected won’t go down with normal fire unless you shred them or take out the head, grapeshot should accomplish both of those on a large scale.” Jen nodded at the assessment, as many times she’d found herself thinking a giant shotgun would be the best defense against the zombies.

The meeting continued on as planned, for a meeting about going to another dimension it was actually rather boring. It was decided that Jen, Johnny and Dominic would handle training and equipment as they had the most experience with the infected, General Bulwark would handle organization in the new United States and Equestria would handle logistics and supplies. Task Force Grey was starting to take shape, and Dominic couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at the prospect.

Normally he would’ve taken a moment to speak with Luna about things between them, he was a bit worried that she was avoiding him. Unfortunately, that would have to wait. As the Princesses left the room, it was clear that it was time to discuss Operation: Static. Dominic wanted it secure, very secure, to the point that he had the building sealed off and the windows covered. With snipers on the roof and guards on the entrance, the capitol would’ve been very difficult to even get close to.

With an oil lamp as the only source of light in the room now that the window was covered, General Bulwark and the humans looked at eachother with trepidation. This wasn’t something that could be handled by regular forces alone, they would need some sort of guide with them. Jen and Dominic were the only ones qualified with that sort of knowledge, so it was clear it would be one of them.

“Alright.” Jen spoke up in a tone neither Johnny or Dominic had heard from her, it had been a while since she’d exercised her command chops, it felt good to stretch the old military muscle. “We know that this is going to require a list of items we’ll need, but we’ll also need to keep in mind that we could come off as suspicious if we buy anything odd.”

“How will we even pay for it?” Dominic asked before holding up a finger. “And what if they want ID?” Jen and the others paused, Johnny slowly began to raise his hand until Dominic pointed at him.

“Well, here’s a thought. You’re not looking to spend a long time there, right? You’re just going to get the stuff and leave, so, I dunno, why not just lift the stuff?” He suggested, Dominic and Jen looked at eachother for a moment, the woman looked about ready to tell Johnny to drop that idea, but Dominic beat her to it.

“That’s plan b.” He explained, much to Jen’s annoyance. “Though, you seem like quite the trader, if the notice I received about our ‘Desperately needed apple juice’ coming is any indication.” There was a slight pause as the strike of a match drew their attention to General Bulwark, he puffed on his pipe a few times before clearing his throat and leaning forwards.

“Y’all mentioned something about transformation, right? A pony form our world turns into a human in the other one and a dragon to a dog and so on.” The general said, Jen and Dominic nodded. “So, why not just take some of our money and IDs with you, if what you said is true with everything they should just convert magically.” Dominic would’ve promoted Bulwark to a five star right then and there if he could, the answer seemed like a pretty simple one.

“That… Actually makes sense.” Jen said, humming and rubbing her chin. “Alright, we’ll give that a shot too.” Dominic picked up a piece of paper and began writing the supplies they would need down with a pen. Handheld radios, CB radios, antennas, and so on.

“We’ll need a way of moving this stuff, a cart or something.” Dominic said, another nod all around. Bulwark was taking notes as he prepared to type up the mission briefs. “But let’s step back from logistics for a moment, we’re going to need some good troops supporting us, and they’re gonna need to blend in.”

“Major Rolling Thunder is the first one I’d suggest, he’s one of our best operators, cool headed and sharp as a tack.” Bulwark commented, Dominic nodded in agreement. “Number two I’d say go with Fortress Wall, that colt’s tough as nails and should blend well with a civilian crowd.”

“What about Chipped Blade?” Asked Jen, she’d been made familiar with the sniper, as she herself was a bit of a markswoman. When she’d met him he almost reminded her of a normal survivor and not a thestral, the way he pulled off shots as efficiently as possible seemed off coming from such a cute pony.

“Chipped is a good operator…” Dominic said quietly. “Hell, I’ve known him a pretty long time, but… His old commander Errant, another good friend of mine, bought the farm in the war with Chrysalis.” Jen seemed a bit surprised by this, but then again, Chipped Blade hadn’t talked much to her.

“She was more like his mom than a CO, he’s still a bit shaken up by it.” Bulwark added, Dominic contributed another nod. “Rolling Thunder and Fortress Wall should do pretty well, sending anymore than that could be risky.”

“And who’s acting as trailblazer here?” Jen spoke up, once again the room went quiet. “It’s me or Dominic, I’m willing to do it if-”

“I’ll go.” Dominic said, cutting her off quickly as he adjusted his coat. Bulwark began to object, but stopped as he saw the look on the president’s face. “It won’t be a dangerous mission, and I need someone qualified training our forces here while I’m off playing stranger in a strange land.”

“Who’s gonna be in charge while you’re away?” Bulwark asked, Dominic pointed at him rather quickly. “Me!?”

“You’ll have Sonar with you, she practically runs the place anyway.” Dominic’s tone was the kind that basically told Bulwark to stop talking. “She’s been alright, I’m surprised how well she’s been handling it, all things considered… Just don’t put too much on her shoulders.”

“Of course not, sir.” Bulwark said, by now there was a pretty long list of things to get from the other world. Most of them related to radio equipment, but some seemed odd. Clothing and other items, Dominic drew a line over them and wrote ‘To be traded’. In case they needed to trade with survivors during Operation: Terra Nova, they’d have something to actually trade with. Once again, the meeting was relatively boring after that, they discussed how they would handle things if they should run into anyone the knew in the other world, and eventually the topic of dealing with Sunset Shimmer. That was what they had promised Celestia and Luna to deal with, after all.

By the end of the meeting it was midday, and all of them were hungry, tired, or both. Dominic gave the order to unseal the building and gradually the group filtered out of his office, Bulwark was first to go, as he had to brief and prepare the soldiers for the coming mission. Johnny left next, stating that he wanted to scope out a site for his own little operation.

That left Jen and Dominic, the latter was already limping towards his desk to blow out the oil lamp. He expected the door to his office to close, but instead he heard the sound of a chair being dragged towards his desk.

“Something up?” He asked over his shoulder as he made his way to the window and pulled open the curtains that had blocked it out. Jen sat down in front of his desk and shook her head as she crossed her arms.

“No, I just wanted to check on the Luna situation.” Jen replied, Dominic sighed and limped back towards his desk. When he sat down he saw that the woman was watching him with a bit of concern.

“I haven’t seen her a lot lately, and I’m kind of worried I drove a wedge between us.” Dominic said honestly, his expression became worried. “I don’t know if I should make a move, stand down, or… I don’t know.”

“She’s probably distancing herself because she knows we’re getting closer to Terra Nova, and if it turns out you love Maria more than her, she doesn’t want to be hurt as much.” Jen replied, she took off her camouflage jacket and set it in her lap, reduced to her normal attire of a tank top. She’d had a couple imported from a minotaur store, child sizes seemed to fit her alright. “I’d recommend going to talk with her, maybe inviting her to a meal or stargazing.”

“But what about Maria?” Dominic asked a bit nervously.

“I’m not saying you have to fuck her, Dominic, just spend time with her. Like that Billy Joel song says, tell her about how you feel.” Said Jen with a bit of a snarky voice, Dominic did his best to hide the red that crossed his cheeks, even thinking about that in a joking way seemed to be his kryptonite. “Last couple weeks I’ve seen you’re a pretty decent guy, a little on the idiot side when it comes to romance, but still a decent guy. If the world hadn’t gone to shit I’ve got no doubt you’d be beating girls back with a stick. Have a little confidence in yourself.”

“Yeah… Confidence…” Dominic said, looking towards the desk quietly. “That’s not something I’ve ever really been good with, at least, not with people. On the battlefield I charge right in, but… I’m terrified of people.”

“Luna isn’t some random stranger, she’s your friend, she wants to be more than your friend. She’s not gonna slap you if you fuck up at first.” Jen continued, Dominic nodded again and straightened up in his seat.

“You’re right…” He said with a bit more confidence, Jen smiled at that and saw the perfect opportunity for some silliness, she knew that always seemed to get the young man in front of her to lighten up.

“If you do end up fucking her though, be sure to tell me all about it!” Jen’s statement was followed by a shit eating grin. Dominic stared at her, stammering for words as his face grew gradually redder and redder. “Come on, you know I’m messing with you.”

“Yeah, but… It’s just, weird talking about it so… casually.” Was the hurried response, Jen chuckled again and stood up from her chair.

“Look, I’m gonna find moonbutt and send her up here, so you’ve got until then to think of something to do.” Jen said, Dominic’s eyes widened as he stood up.

“Wait!” He started, by then Jen was already running out the door and down the steps. With a groan Dominic sat down in his seat, muttering several italian swear words he’d picked up from his grandmother. Either way he knew he was in trouble, on the one hand if he told Luna that Jen had put him up to it he could hurt her feelings. On the other, he had no fucking idea what to do or say, but something Jen had said stood out in his mind. “That… Cunningly brilliant little... She just leaves a little seed in your head and boom.”

Dominic was referring to the suggestion of stargazing, which by all counts, was a brilliant idea. It brought back a few memories that the man had forgotten, the nights when he’d lay out in his backyard and look up at the night sky, staring up at the moon and just thinking about how beautiful it had to be up there. Dominic had been brought up to dream of being a soldier, but deep down he’d always wanted to be an astronaut. It took him a few moments to realize that he’d teared up, but he was quick to wipe his eyes.

He’d ask Luna to go stargazing with him, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it earlier, but then again, he didn’t have a ‘Romantic Advisor’ earlier. Gradually he fell back into the routine of his normal work, occasionally pausing to think about the latest risk he would take. He’d have to tell Luna about it sooner or later, but he knew she’d understand, she always understood. He’d mistaken her for Maria a few times, when he’d been injured or out of his mind, perhaps because he felt the same way about her.

There was a knock on the door, causing him to freeze up, he peeked at the clock and saw it had been nearly half an hour. He hadn’t made any progress on his work, he’d just been reading the same line of text over and over again.

“Come in.” He said in a bit of a shaking tone, the door opened inwards and sure enough he saw Luna. She appeared a tad surprised, and a little concerned.

“Dominic, Jen said thou needed to see us urgently. What’s wrong?” She asked, Dominic paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second.

“Nothing’s wrong, Luna, she’s just overreacting…” He said, Luna seemed to relax after that. Dominic could feel his heart pounding in his chest, he couldn’t believe he was going to ask her to go stargazing, he was essentially flying by the seat of his pants. “I… Did want to talk to you though.”

“Oh?” Luna perked up, Dominic nodded and said a silent prayer to himself. He was psyching himself up, the man was willing to go to war but he couldn’t ask a simple question, that wouldn’t do. He internally gritted his teeth, his mind going to red alert with one hand on the launch key and the other on the abort button.

“I… Uh… I was kind of wondering if maybe you’d want to… There’s this hill outside of town that I go to to relax and…” Dominic sighed as he tried to think of what he wanted to say, Luna was watching him closely, a bit perplexed. “I wanted to ask if maybe you’d want to go there with me tonight… And just sort of, look at the stars?”

“Dominic…” Luna said, appearing a little hopeful. “Art thou asking us out?” Dominic nodded quickly and nervously. He knew that Luna wouldn’t say anything hurtful, but he still prepared for the sting of rejection. “Thou… Wisheth to gaze upon our night?” Dominic nodded again. “That… We would love to!” The princess practically ran around the desk to give the man a very tight hug, so tight that Dominic began to flail around in need of air. “Sorry…”

“It’s alright.” Dominic said, internally cheering, and then questioning if that was the right thing to do. “I’ll uh… I’ll see you tonight then?” Luna nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course! We shall be here around twelve, our night is at it’s brightest then!” Luna gave the man another hug before she happily trotted out of the room, Dominic blinked a couple times before he stood up. Deciding to say ‘fuck it’ to the confliction he felt for once, he triumphantly pumped his fist.

“‘MURICA! FUCK YEAH!” He said loudly.

[♦]

Jen quietly adjusted her jacket as she leaned against the building just outside the capitol, she’d seen Luna rush in a few minutes earlier and she was eager to see if anything happened. Sure enough, after awhile, she saw the lunar princess leave the building. The wide smile and bound in her step was enough for Jen to see that Dominic had come up with something, she knew that he would. Jen had figured out that the man worked best when he was on the fly, so by presenting him with a sudden challenge, she’d given him the best opportunity he could have.

The woman was honestly happy for the young man, she enjoyed being able to help him with something that was relatively personal. As she thought about it, she guessed she was a bit of a den mother. Slowly her smile began to fade as she thought more about all the people she’d taken care of in the past. At least half of them were dead now. Jen didn’t know why she continued to get attached to people, she knew that it was only setting herself up to get hurt in the end. At least now it looked like that would change.

With a faint sigh Jen stopped leaning against the building and began walking down the street towards her home. She tucked her hands into her pockets as she went, contemplating the day’s events a bit further. The were a couple steps closer to returning to Earth, and for the first time it seemed what they were doing was a real possibility. Jen knew she might have to return to the planet that had been ravaged by disease, but that was something she could deal with if it meant saving lives.

As she passed by the field hospital once again she saw the familiar smiling face of Fortress Wall standing guard at the door, there was a bandage around his head but otherwise he was unharmed. The stallion gave Jen a wave that she returned with a bit of a smile before continuing on with her walk. After a few minutes she felt a familiar creeping sensation in the back of her neck, she quickly looked over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone.

Jen quietly sighed again as she was very close to the house, but part of her didn’t want to go inside just yet. The woman continued on past her home, down the mainstreet, until she came to the defensive trench. She looked up and down the strip of moved earth before she quietly sat down and dangled her legs over the edge. A silent wind blew over the area, kicking up a bit of the desert sand and sending a few tumbleweeds along the dirt. Jen closed her eyes as she looked out over that landscape, just trying to relax her mind for a bit. She didn’t let anyone see, but the woman had a tendency to take on more stress than she needed to.

Just as she was getting ready to open her eyes she heard hooves marching along the trench, she’d almost forgotten it was part of an actual military installation. Jen opened her eyes and looked for the source, to her surprise she recognized the stallion coming down the trench with his weapon over his shoulder. Chipped Blade hadn’t noticed her yet, he had a cigarette hanging from his lips and looked like he was off in his own world. Slowly Jen lowered herself into the trench, feeling a bit concerned for the young stallion after what she’d heard in the meeting earlier.

Eventually Chipped caught sight of the woman, slowing down and eventually stopping, appearing a bit surprised by the woman in the trench. The two of them stared for a moment or two before the stallion cleared his throat.

“I need to get by.” He said, gesturing to Jen. The trench was designed with ponies in mind, so while it was deep enough for a human, it wasn’t wide enough for one without blocking the path.

“Oh, right, sorry I forgot.” Jen replied as she pulled herself up the side for a moment. Chipped Blade just nodded and walked past her, once he’d done so Jen lowered herself back down and began to follow behind him. At first she could see him tense up, then after a few minutes he relaxed.

“Help you with something?” He asked over his shoulder.

“I just wanted to check on you, you weren’t very talkative when we first met.” Jen replied, Chipped shrugged and continued walking along the trench.

“I didn’t know what to say to an alien sniper lady then, and I don’t know what to say to one now.” He said with a grim tone, by now they were coming to the end of the first leg of the trench. “What’s your angle here? Why’re you talking to me all of a sudden?”

“I dunno, I just think you’re interesting, from what I’ve seen not a lot of ponies can do what you with such efficiency.” Jen replied, it wasn’t a lie, she really did find that aspect of the stallion interesting.

“I had a good teacher.” Chipped said, pausing mid step before starting again.

“Lieutenant Colonel Errant, right?” Jen asked, Chipped Blade froze and turned around to glare at the woman.

“Don’t talk about her, you didn’t know her.” He said harshly, Jen crouched down as she saw he was starting to get emotional. Now on his level she could see in his eyes that he was still very upset about the death of Errant, and the others had been right, he was close to snapping. “Why do you even care?”

“Because it seems like you’ve shut everyone out, soldier.” Jen said, adding a bit of her command tone. “I may not have the bars to show it, but I’m gonna be your CO very soon, and the mission you’re being chosen for is very important.” That got Chipped Blades attention, the tone she used was hauntingly familiar, as if he was hearing the voice of a ghost. “I don’t know how it is here, but in my world the COs look after their troops. So if you’re feeling upset or just want to talk, I’m all ears, but don’t think I’ll let you sulk all day like you’ve been doing.”

“I… I… I just miss her…” Chipped finally admitted as he sat down on the floor of the trench. “If I’d been a little faster maybe I could’ve saved her, and… That’s why I got so efficient.” The stallion found himself suddenly pulled forwards by a pair of arms into a gentle hug, it was a bit awkward at first, but eventually he returned it. It was alien, and yet familiar, and it made him feel safe for the first time in a long time.

“You did all you could…” Jen told him as she patted his back softly. “It’s going to be okay, Chipped…” She let go of him and looked at the stallion warmly, he seemed to have lightened up a bit.

“Thanks… I don’t know why, but… I needed that.” The stallion straightened up and gave a light salute. “I’m gonna finish up my patrol now.” Jen nodded and stood up, as the stallion marched off she climbed out of the trench and began walking back towards the town. Overhead she heard the flap of leathery wings, sure enough when she looked up she saw five thestrals flying east in a combat formation. She assumed they were training or on a scouting flight, as it seemed the rest of the town was calm.

Eventually she reached the main street after a few twists and turns, doing her best to avoid the Equestrian guards that still seemed to give her trouble. In the weeks since the funerals the town had livened up quite a bit, a few shops had been opened, and more ponies were out and about than before, some of them avoided the changelings that were out, but for the most part it was peaceful.

Jen stopped as she reached her front door, she could hear a child’s laugh off in the distance. Her hand quickly gripped the door handle and entered the storefront, she shook her head quickly as she closed the door and shrugged off the memories. As she looked around she could see that Johnny had made some progress in clearing out the shelves, the debris of which was most likely off being traded as firewood somewhere. Jen walked up the stairs to their living space and looked around, sure enough Johnny wasn’t there.

The woman approached the bed and picked up her pillow, from beneath it she withdrew an old paperback novel. The cover depicted a handsome man with flowing black hair that was standing between a woman and a sword, the title read ‘The Knight in No Armor’. Jen quietly looked around, checking to make sure she was alone, before she took off her boots and relaxed on the bed with the book. She bit her lip as she opened it to where she’d last left off, a rather hot scene between the book’s main character and the black haired knight. To her shock a slip of paper fell from the page, she quickly picked it up as it looked like there was writing on it.

“I didn’t know you were into that… Love Johnny…” She read aloud, the red in her face returned, half of it embarrassment, the other half anger. “Oh, I’ll show him just how into that I am!” She declared, with a sigh she set the piece of paper aside and went back to her reading.

[♦]

Dominic paced back and forth nervously in his office, the day had gone by so fast and he hadn’t had time to think of anything else besides the stargazing. He didn’t know if he needed to even come up with anything else or not, but then again, he supposed this was all part of Jen’s sick mind games. The sun had set hours before, and now that he looked at the clock he was shocked to see that already it was eleven thirty.

Outside he could see the night was beautiful, he knew that Luna must’ve put a lot of work into it to make it such a sight. That added a bit to the man’s stress level, momentarily his eyes shifted over to the liquor cabinet, but he rapidly shook his head. Luna deserved better than that, he’d stick it out clean sober. Dominic had considered wearing his suit, but then decided against it, as they were going to be laying out in the sand and it probably would be a bad idea.

Dominic’s heart froze as he heard a knock on his door, his eyes flicked to the clock, now reading eleven thirty five. She was early, not that he minded, he was just hoping he’d have more time to prepare himself mentally. With a deep breath the man walked towards the door, his hand rested on the handle for a few moments. When he heard another set of knocks he opened the door, when he did he felt his jaw drop.

Luna stood there with her mane done in a style that Dominic had to admit was very pretty, she’d added a bit of makeup, and all in all Dominic couldn’t believe how different it made her appear. She gave him a warm smile, appearing a bit nervous herself, Dominic now felt like he was both under dressed and out of his league. For a few moments he stared before he quickly shook himself out of it.

“Hey!” He said, sounding more nervous than he intended.

“Hello.” Luna replied, smiling a bit more. “I’m sorry I came earlier than expected.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Dominic replied, he paused as he realized she wasn’t using the royal we. He’d heard her speak without it under the use of a spell, but, he kind of liked it. Luna noticed he seemed nervous and cleared her throat. “Uh, right…. So, anyway, the hills on the outskirts of town, which is kind of a good thing you came early. We should be able to get there by twelve.”

“Excellent!” Luna said, Dominic nodded and ran a hand through his hair. The man adjusted his coat and nodded, unsure of what to say next.

“Shall we?” He finally decided, Luna nodded with another smile and the two of them descended the steps of the capitol building. Once outside Dominic began walking towards the edge of town, being sure to stay close to Luna as he did so. “So… How’ve you been lately? I haven’t seen you.”

“I’ve been busy, this plan you have is quite an undertaking.” Luna replied, Dominic frowned a bit at that, now feeling guilty for taking up her time. Luna seemed to pick up on that relatively quickly, she was quick to follow up to try and reduce the damage “It’s not all bad though, I’ve gotten to spend a lot more time with my sister, she’s starting to warm up to you.”

“That’s good… I think?” Dominic asked, looking over at her and receiving a nod. By now the two of them had walked out past the last building and were just coming up on the defensive trench that surrounded the town. “I’ve been talking with Jen about things, she says I shouldn’t worry as much about us.”

“She’s right.” Luna said as she daintily hopped the trench, Dominic jumped himself and landed with a light thud before continuing to walk. “Dominic, you and I have been friends for a while, and no matter what happens, nothing will change how I feel about you in that regard.” Dominic quietly sighed as he looked at the princess, still a bit nervous about what was happening. “I’m very glad you asked me out though.” Luna smiled faintly and twirled her mane with her magic. The two of them walked for a while longer, just chatting about things that had happened recently, until finally the two of them crested the top of the hill.

Dominic removed his coat and set it on the ground flat, then sat down beside it and patted it with his hand.

“Here, I don’t want you to get all sandy.” He said, Luna smiled and laid down on the coat beside him. Silently the two of them stared up at the stars above, the moon was in its full glory and everything about it just seemed perfect. The lack of light pollution made each of the stars seem to pop out like little beacons against the inky background of space. “It’s beautiful…”

“Thank you.” Luna murmured, looking over at him with that same warm smile. “It wasn’t that hard to do, I just had to think about something I cared about, and that was pretty easy to think of.” Dominic tried his best to hide the grin that spread across his face, something about this just seemed so nice. The worry and stress melted away and Dominic found himself feeling genuinely happy.

“I always wanted to be an astronaut…” Dominic admitted quietly. “That’s kind of how I got the idea for this, you know?” Luna nodded and stared back at her night sky, the moonlight illuminating the landscape for miles around.

“You told me once, I think.” Luna replied, Dominic shrugged at that. “I’m a bit curious about why you’d choose that though, I thought everyone in your family was a soldier at one point.” Dominic nodded and pointed at the moon.

“That’s why.” He said simply. “When I was a kid I used to watch all kinds of space movies with my old man, and it always fascinated me… It always looked so beautiful.” There was some real emotion in his voice now, Luna could tell this was something that he cared deeply about, perhaps on a primal level even. “I always wanted to go up there and walk on the moon, look down on the earth…”

“I can understand why, during my banishment, gazing upon our world was the only thing that really kept me sane.” Luna’s voice held that same sort of emotion to it. “Technically, the stories say I was banished in the moon, not on the moon, but that’s more of a typo…” Her joking tone got a little laugh out of Dominic, but eventually the two of them fell into a comfortable silence.

“Would you go back?” Dominic asked suddenly, Luna looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “If you could go back up there again, just to look around, would you?” The mare paused and slowly she nodded her head as she continued to think.

“I’d go, but only if I could bring you with me.” The princess admitted. “I can sense just how much you love my night and my moon, I know… When I see that look on your face you’re thinking of a time that was a lot simpler.”

“That’s not all I think about.” Dominic turned his head to look at Luna with a sad smile, he felt a lot better about everything that was happening now. Sharing his feelings with her felt natural, it felt right, and it filled him with a warm feeling he’d only felt when he was with Maria. He hadn’t known what that feeling was before, but now he was starting to figure it out. “I… I think about you, too…” Luna smiled once again, and Dominic couldn’t help smile as well, after a few moments he scooted closer to her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Do you want to see something special?” Luna asked, Dominic raised an eyebrow at her. “The night sky is my tapestry, I can add to it as I see fit… Would you like to watch?”

“I’d love to, Luna…” Dominic replied, the princess smiled and her horn began to glow. It lit up the area around them, and gradually a wind began to form that picked up dust and sand. The princess gradually rose off jacket beneath her, floating upwards as her wings opened wide and her eyes began to shine brightly. Dominic watched her in awe, in the sky she could see stars moving around and clearing away. Slowly an image began to form, one that Dominic quickly recognized.

A constellation formed into the shape of a Roman soldier, armed with a gladius and a shield, the blade was held triumphantly outwards while the shield was at rest. Dominic looked back to Luna, the mare had her hooves spread wider as her horn glowed almost blindingly. Then, there was a sudden pulsing noise and gradually she floated back to the ground, panting and rubbing at her eyes.

“That was beautiful.” Dominic said as he looked between her and the new constellation, it was far more detailed than any of the other ones he’d seen in the sky, far larger as well. “Are you alright?” He put a hand on her foreleg in concern, Luna only nodded as she caught her breath before relaxing back onto his jacket.

“I’m fine, just a little winded.” She said, after a few more pants she was back to her normal relaxed state. “I’d been planning on doing that for a special occasion, but… Now felt like as good a time as any.” The princess was suddenly grabbed in a tight hug, she was surprised at how rapid it had been and how tight Dominic was holding her, but she didn’t shy away. After a few more minutes Dominic let go and went back to laying next to her.

“Certainly not what I was expecting from tonight…” He said, it was only now starting to sink in that Luna had made a constellation just for him. “I… All I can say is thank you, and…” The mare looked at him with hopeful eyes. “I… Think I love you…” Luna smiled widely as she heard him say that, Dominic was a little nervous about it himself. The princess knew it wasn’t a definite, but it was certainly a start. She wanted to just kiss him right then and there, but she had feeling he wasn’t ready for that yet. “Now I don’t know what to do, it’s gonna be kinda hard for me to top that.” He nervously joked, Luna laughed a bit and scooted closer to him.

“Don’t worry about it, Dominic… Just relax and enjoy…” She said in a comforting tone. “I’ll do my best to enjoy this myself, I’m sure Celestia is going to have a fit when we get back.” Dominic and her began to giggle, from then on the comfortable silence reigned, the two of them contemplating just how far they’d come. Dominic eventually fell asleep, not on purpose, he’d just gotten so comfortable that it had happened. Luna watched over him as he slept, occasionally intervening when she sensed the nightmares in his mind.

She didn’t know what the future held, but this was a moment she could hold onto, even if things didn’t work out well. Eventually as the sun began to rise she was forced to hide her tapestry from the world, but for the first time in a while, she didn’t sigh in remorse. She knew there was someone who loved her night sky just as much as her, and he was right next to her. The hours of the night had passed so calmly after the two had gazed at the stars, as if the world around them was granting them a happy memory.

Eventually Luna was forced to nudge Dominic awake, as people would be looking for the both of them soon. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Luna groggily.

“Good morning, Dominic.” The princess said in a warm tone, Dominic just groaned and tried to close his eyes again.

“Five more minutes…” He mumbled.

“You’re sleeping on the sandy ground, why would you want to go back to sleep?” Luna asked as she gave him another nudge, the man begrudgingly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Because I don’t want to do paperwork, and I don’t want to walk all the way back to town.” Dominic responded as he stood up and stretched, groaning loudly as his back emitted numerous pops and cracks. Luna stood up herself and picked up his jacket, after a quick dusting she handed it to Dominic. He slipped on coat and dusted off the shoulders, then turned to face the town of New Liberty, which was at least half a half an hours walk away.

“You’re in luck, then, in one regards.” Luna said with a bit of a smile, Dominic turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. The princess lowered one of her wings and crouched down. “Hop on.”

“Are you sure…? I mean, won’t I suck the flight magic out of you or something?” Dominic asked as he approached her, Luna shook her head and prepared for the man to climb on. “Alright…” He remembered watching a couple documentaries about the cavalry and attempted to imitate the way they mounted their horses. To his surprise it was easier than he thought it was, and once he was seated on Luna’s back, he felt a good deal taller. He made sure that his legs didn’t interfere with her wings. “I’m not too heavy, am I?”

“I’m a thousand year old alicorn that can move the stars, of course your not to heavy.” Luna replied with a bit of a snarky tone, Dominic was a bit surprised by that. He guessed he’d really made an impression on her the night before, that was a good thing, probably. “Hold on tight.” Dominic just nodded and took loose grip of her mane, not wanting to pull it too hard, he didn’t need to hold on that tight.

“You know, this is going to probably look badass from the ground. Wish I had a camera or something.” Dominic commented as Luna gave a mighty flap of her wings, the man continued his relaxed posture as they rose higher into the sky, until he decided to look down and realized they were a hundred feet up. “Shit…”

“Remember to hold on!” Luna called over her shoulder, Dominic was about to say something else but the Princess took off at high speed. Dominic let out a yell that turned into a panicked laugh, leaning forwards once again to try and imitate the cavalry documentaries he’d seen. Luna’s mane fluttered in his face as she flew through the air, making it a bit difficult for him to see, eventually he was able to get a clear view and see that they were getting closer to the town.

“This is fucking metal!” Dominic yelled as he saw just how fast they were going, normally he’d be afraid of heights, but the awesomeness of riding a midnight alicorn through the air like some sort of cavalry soldier outweighed the fear. Luna smiled as she heard him enjoying himself, angling her wings to fly a bit lower. It was odd having someone on her back, but not a bad feeling, she actually enjoyed it a little bit, she’d have to do this more often.

It truly was a sight to behold on the ground, more than a few ponies were staring at the spectacle with dropped jaws. Jen, who had gotten up early to see if the date had gone well, had already gotten her answer. She wished she had a camera, because what she was seeing was probably the coolest thing she’d seen in awhile. Dominic was riding on Luna’s back like a badass, his face a mixture of fear and excitement, all he was missing was a sword and one of his hats and he would have looked like something off the cover of a Meatloaf album.

Celestia, who had just finished raising the sun on the roof of the hotel she and Luna were staying in, was completely aghast. She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle, her horn glowing as she summoned a bottle of painkillers from her room, already she had a massive headache. First a brand new massive constellation in the sky, now Luna was flying around with Dominic on her back like some sort of battle animal, and to top it all off, the war correspondents were snapping off picture after picture.

Celestia took a few pills as she watched her sister coming in for a landing, sighing as she thought of how it could be worse. Really, there wasn’t anything wrong with what was being done, but Celestia worried more lately about her public image now that she’d appeared soft on numerous issues. Finally, the solar princess concluded that she’d let whatever happened happen, as there was no sense in getting upset of something she couldn’t control.

All in all, in Dominic and Luna’s minds, it shaped up to be a pretty good first night out. Something they’d be able to look back on and smile about in the upcoming months.

Author's Notes:

Here's another one for you, sorry I've slowed down a bit, but I've been typing up a couple extra chapters just in case I end up getting writers block or an emergency comes up, special thanks to the guy that mentioned that in the comment section.

And here's the clip of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OE8OJCRgCQ

Anyway, that's all from me for now. Please, leave a comment, a rating, and add it to any bookshelf you think it belongs in.