It had been six months since Luna and Dominic had started training, during that time his skills grew faster and firmer. The small town began to expand outwards into a bustling city, wells were dug, and the Equestrian Railroad finally laid the track that would allow trains to carry supplies into town. The first train had brought metal plates and the heavy equipment that had been ordered, as well as numerous other items that had been sent for by the town’s folk.

The Changelings had released numerous slaves from the varying hives, and many of them returned to Equestria on the newly extended railroad while some stayed in New Liberty. With the railroad came many more ponies, some of whom looking to trade, others looking to move to another country. The United States was beginning to Prosper, something that made Dominic very happy.

The radios brought back from beyond the mirror proved to be a massive boost in the American economy, thanks to the efforts of tinkerers like Fortress Wall and other researchers, they were able to reverse engineer them. With backing from the government and private citizens, the first American factory was constructed. The bulldozers that had been ordered were quickly outfitted with armor, and cannons were fashioned from thick steel pipe.

From across the ocean came griffon immigrants looking for a better life, their own country having been rendered impoverished by failing economy. Many of them had been soldiers, and they quickly found a home in the United States Armed Forces. The same could be said for the diamond dogs of the area, who had come forwards peacefully at the sight of such a prosperous country. The American population was growing into the hundreds, farmers, soldiers, factory workers, teachers and so on. All of them enjoying the brighter future that the new nation seemed to hold.

Johnny had his hands full as well, with the influx of ponies came an influx of criminals, and Johnny made it his business to make sure that all of them knew who was in charge of the New Liberty territory. His alcohol gamble had played out well, and he was shipping gallons of a spirit he’d lovingly named ‘American Hard Apple’, which was basically a high proof fermented apple wine. Jen had been skeptical at first of all the success as well as Johnny’s criminal activity, but it seemed more like the man was acting as a Police Force than anything else. She knew that was the only reason that Dominic put up with it.

Jen had her own hands full, as she was training not only thestrals and changelings, but also griffons, diamond dogs, and numerous varying races of ponies. All of whom seemed to think she could be pushed around, and all of whom soon realized that she had the loyalty of many of the toughest soldiers in the American Army. Task Force Grey, or ‘The Globe Corps’ as it had come to be known by its members.

Dominic looked out from his office at the growing city, adjusting his new clothing quietly as he did so. They were a set of fatigue shirts and pants in a light olive color, his shirt collar was coffee brown, and his combat boots were shined up well. Over his left pocket were two ribbons that marked him as an American, as well as a ranking officer. These clothes were what he would wear through the portal, beneath his jacket and the armor that he’d put together for himself. Through his window he could see the training ground had grown in size since all those months had passed, the armored bulldozers that could be called ‘Tanks’ were running drills in the desert and kicking up a lot of dust.

“Dominic.” Jen’s voice brought him back from the window and he turned to face her, she wore a uniform almost identical to his. He was in a meeting with his top officers, as well as several from out of the country, these officers were there to partake in Operation: Terra Nova. Three Changelings, a pair of crystal ponies, and of course several Equestrians. “We were just about to go over the threats we’ll be facing on the other side, now that we’re all here it’s time we talk about them.”

“Right, sorry… My head was somewhere else…” Dominic replied as he walked over to his desk and sat down. Jen nodded and gestured to a white board she’d had her second in command Chipped Blade set up. He was absent from the meeting in order to continue training the rest of Task Force Grey. The woman gestured to several flags that had been crudely drawn on the board, one was obviously an American one, the second was a pair of crossed yellow swords on a white background, and the final one was a simple arrowhead on a grey backdrop.

“There are three groups we’ll have to worry about besides the infected, first of those is the remnants of the Colorado National Guard. They’ve laid claim to Pikes Peak and the surrounding area.” Jen tapped the image of the American flag with her finger. “At first they’re gonna be wary of us, but I know them pretty well, they’ll let us explain ourselves. They’ll be the easiest to deal with.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at this information, he’d always thought that there were more survivors out there in Colorado, but entire factions was something he’d never dreamed of. He was just glad he hadn’t run into any of them during his three years there.

“The second group…” Jen went on before she pointed to the arrowhead. “Is the Native Confederacy…” The woman quietly adjusted her shirt and tugged at her collar, she was still getting used to the new uniform. She could understand why the President had decided to change it though, as wearing all black tend to give the American Army more of a ‘Wehrmacht’ look. “They’re made up Native American tribes that survived the initial outbreak on their reservations, they roam all over the place but they’re mainly on the west side of the continental divide.” The officers were taking notes, and Dominic seemed a bit intrigued by the latest bit of news.

“They’re mainly in the business of peaceful trade, and the CNG is on good terms with them.” Jen continued to explain. “They rarely ever shoot first, so if you see them keep your distance unless you’re looking to talk.” The woman sighed quietly as her hand gestured to the final flag on the board, Dominic and the other officers took note of this and quickly sat up to get a better look. “The last one we’ll have to worry about is the ‘Empire of Light’...” The woman said it bitterly, causing Dominic to raise his hand. “Yes, Dominic?”

“I take it they’re not the best people out there?” He asked, the woman nodded. “Can you put it into words?”

“Imagine a bunch of overzealous cosplayers, otherkin, and all manner of other internet nut jobs made a country.” Jen said simply, Dominic cringed and shuddered at the thought. “They’re the edgiest motherfuckers out there, and they’re fucking nuts as well. They like to preach equality, yet they take people prisoner and force them to work for them.”

“Slaving bastards…” Hissed one of the Crystal Ponies, a couple eyes fell on him but he didn’t care.

“They raid NC and CNG supply trains, and they have three camps set up all over the state. One in Denver, one just outside of CNG territory to the East, and one in the foothills near Golden. You can identify some of them pretty easily, as they've made modifications to their bodies to help them 'become their true self'. Things like pointed ears are the most common.” Jen continued onwards, standing to the side so the officers could sketch down the images of the flags. “The Empire of Light is more dangerous than the infected, to the point where we’re more concerned about them than anything else. Or, we were when I was last on earth. This information is rather old, but it’s the best we have.”

“It’s better than nothing.” Commented one of the thestral officers seated among the group. “We’ve been training with the swords and regular crossbows, since it’s unlikely our spellbows will have much effect on the other side.”

“R&D is working on getting some rifles and other ballistic weapons made, but they’re working out a trigger mechanism still.” Dominic spoke up, a few nods went through the crowd. “I’ll take the first wave through, Discord will open the portal just south of Pikes Peak. It’s going to be a mechanized only operation until we make contact with the CNG, once we’ve established a base camp we’ll be able to call for boots on the ground.”

“Fuel shouldn’t be an issue, the new distillery has been making plenty of ethanol, and the tanks run on just about anything that burns.” Bulwark added, once again there were several nods among the group. “Remember, gentleman. T-Day is less than three weeks away, so let’s get all the training we can in now.”

“Yes, sir.” Was the reply from the officers as they all began to stand up, Dominic remained seated and watched them file out of the room, until it was just him and Jen that remained. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments before the woman walked to the door and closed it, then walked back and took a seat in front of Dominic’s desk.

“So… How have things been with Luna?” She asked, the man shrugged quietly and rubbed his temples.

“When she’s training me she’s all there, she’s alert, she’s funny… When she isn’t… It’s still weird, like it has been, she doesn’t want to talk to me.” Dominic took a cigar from the box on his desk before biting off the cap and lighting it with a match, after a couple puffs he exhaled and let out a sigh. “Do you think maybe she’s distancing herself from me because of T-Day?”

“I can’t say…” Jen admitted sadly as she watched Dominic puff on his cigar again, she’d known him long enough to know that he took things with Luna very seriously, and she knew that if his mind was clouded by worry there could be serious problems in the field.

“Sometimes she starts to say things about telling me something important, then she just trails off.” Dominic rubbed the back of his neck and let out a pent up groan. “Maybe… Maybe she doesn’t like me in that way anymore, and she doesn’t know what to say?” Jen frowned quietly, then the man turned in his chair and looked out the window. “In a way I’d be relieved… I’d know what’s wrong, I could focus on the mission better…” He briefly looked at Jen. “Is that insane of me to say? ‘I wish she’d just say she didn’t love me?’?”

“T-Day is more than the day you go back to Earth, Dominic… It’s the day you see Maria again, and from what you’ve told me about her, she holds a special place in your heart.” Jen replied, Dominic nodded as he took another puff on his cigar. “You’re conflicted because you want to honor that code I know you live by, but you don’t want to ruin your friendships.” The woman leaned forwards, catching the man’s attention as she did so. “Not to sound harsh here, Dominic, but… You need to grow a pair and make a decision already. Normally I’d be content to let you think it through some more, but you’re in command now, your head needs to be clear.”

“You’re right…” Dominic said tiredly as he rotated in his seat and leaned forwards so that he was looking Jen in the eyes. “Either way I’m going to hurt someone… I should just get it over with already. For the good of the mission.” He set the cigar down in an ashtray and leaned back in his seat, steepling his fingers quietly. “Send Luna in on your way out, please…”

“Alright.” Jen replied quietly as she stood from her seat and walked to the door, Dominic sighed and rubbed his eyes when he heard the door close behind her. He couldn’t believe what he was going to do, what he was going to say. He cared about Luna deeply, he knew he loved her and he loved spending time with her, but he wasn’t IN love with her. He wasn’t ready for that, not yet, and as much as it hurt him to think about it that way he had to do what was best for him in this situation.

Luna had cared for him, taught him, protected him, guided him, and for that he loved her like family. He wished he could make her happy, but he felt that doing that would leave him and someone else he cared about miserable for the rest of their lives. Luna was an eternal being, she’d find someone eventually, Dominic was sure of it. Yet, no matter how many times he told himself he was sure of it, the thought of telling her what he needed to tell her was one of the most fear inducing experiences of his entire life.

The minutes ticked by far too fast for his liking, his foot continually tapped against the floor and his fingers continued to drum upon the wood surface of his desk. A tenseness grew in his back, and his eyes flicked back and forth between the door and his cigar. After several minutes he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he shut out everything but the smell and taste of the cigar, the wood of the chair beneath him. The method had worked for him well over the past six months, but for the first time in a while he was unable to fully relax. He knew what he had to do, he knew why he had to do it, there wasn’t any point in holding back. Luna deserved that much.

Then came the knock on his door that he’d been dreading, he didn’t even respond with a word, just a solemn grunt. The door opened inwards and the familiar sound of Luna’s hooves against the wood reached Dominic’s ears.

Luna looked at her student with mild concern as she closed the door behind her, his eyes were closed and a cigar rested by his hand. She worried that perhaps he’d found out the truth. Had Discord told him? Luna wasn’t sure, but what she could tell was that whatever it was that bothered Dominic, it was weighing heavily on his shoulders. Then another thought wormed its way into her mind, one that months ago she would have feared immensely. Now that their relationship had gone from friends to student and teacher things had changed. She no longer saw him as just a boy that she wanted to hold and cherish at night, he was also her student, her apprentice.

“Luna…” Dominic said quietly as he opened his eyes and took a breath, she could see his eyes were watering. It had been months since she’d such a look on his face, her training had helped considerably to keep his emotions in check. “I… I… You’ve been there since the beginning, everything I have I owe to you…” She could hear his voice catch in his throat. “I love you, Luna… But… Not in the way you want me to… And, I know, it’s been weird between us when we aren’t training…”

“Dominic-”

“Please… Let me finish…” Dominic said somberly, Luna nodded silently. Her face remained calm, she had been expecting something like this to happen soon, but still it hurt to hear those words leave his lips. “You’ll always be special to me… If it weren’t for you… I would’ve killed myself a long time ago.” Their eyes met, and in that moment the two of them saw the pain they both were in. “I know this won’t affect you teaching me, you’re a woman of honor, and I’ll do all I can to respect that. Even if you don’t want to see me as a friend anymore… I’ll always see you as one.”

“Dominic…” Luna quietly approached his desk and sat down in front of the man. “We had suspected this would happen.” Her own voice cracked, but nonetheless her face remained calm as she continued to look Dominic in the eyes. “Thou art human, and as much as thou may say it doesn’t matter, there are certain realities we both must face.” The mare reached out across to him, and hesitantly he too reached out to take her hoof in his hand. “We will always love thee, Dominic, but thou art correct… It would be inappropriate of us to continue to pursue such a relationship…”

The man let go of her hoof and stood up, he walked around the desk and over to Luna. Before she could react he’d wrapped her into a hug, one that she returned just as tightly and for just as long. She could feel him relax, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The princess smiled proudly, even as the man let go of her. She straightened his uniform with her magic and adjusted his posture with her hooves.

“Thou art shaping up to be a fine warrior, Dominic… Some of the toughest battles are fought within our own minds.” Luna said as she stepped back from him, the man slowly smiled as well, even as both of their eyes were tearing up. “Thy family would be proud.”

“Th-Thank you, Insegnante…” The man quietly bowed his head, this time used her hoof to lift his chin so that he was looking forwards.

“No more of that… Not now.” Luna said quietly, she saw his eyes glimmer as he stood there. For the first time ever, she could see joy in those eyes. Joy untainted and untouched by sadness or longing, Dominic was genuinely happy. Even after their previous conversation, the smile was real, because he knew that he still had Luna, and soon he would have Maria too. “Thank thee for calling us here now, rather than waiting to say something at the last moment.”

“You deserved to know, Luna.” Dominic said warmly. “I respect you too much not to tell you straight away, I just needed Jen to give me the push.” Luna smiled for a moment, then frowned, as if she were thinking of something herself. “Something up?”

“Nay… We art just thinking of something.” Luna said, her smile quickly returning to her face. Dominic shrugged, he didn’t want to push her too far, he’d already done enough for one day. In all honesty he was surprised he still had any teeth left, or function in his body whatsoever. He paused once again, pondering if this was what an amicable break up felt like. “We must go and speak with Sonar, she is still preparing to take thine place whilst thou return to earth.” Dominic nodded and began walking back to his desk. “Art thou sure she is ready?”

“She runs this place better than I do, I should just give her a rubber stamp with my signature on it, I’d be able to take a month’s vacation at least.” Dominic replied as he sat down in his chair. “Come to think of it, that sort of is what I’m doing…” The man picked up his cigar and puffed on it once or twice. “I trust her more than anyone else on my staff to keep this place from running into the ground, and with you here to help her, this place will probably run better than I could hope.”

“We are glad to still have thine vote of confidence…” Luna said with a smile, the man just nodded. “Until we meet again, Dominic.” That took the smile off of his face, and a small frown replaced it as he nodded for a final time.

“We… We should stop by Johnny’s bar some time… Just as friends…” He said faintly, Luna nodded quietly as the awkwardness began to set in. “I’ll… I’ll let you get back to it then.”

“Right…” Luna said as she turned and walked out, Dominic watched the door for a minute or so after it had closed. He stood up and walked to the window once again, then looked out to the training grounds once more as he heard cannon fire. They were running another live fire exercise, and from where he stood, it looked like the shots were falling accurately.

The man walked to his hat rack and grabbed his West German officer’s cap and put it on before putting out his cigar and walking to the door. From there he began descending the steps to the street level. He passed by Luna and Sonar, both of whom were busy going over documents and papers, until he was out on the main street of New Liberty. A couple ponies stopped to stare at him for a moment, but then went along their way as if it was nothing.

He walked along towards the training grounds, getting several salutes along the way, all of which he returned. They’d installed sidewalks now, they were just wooden boards in the sand, but they were certainly better than just hot desert sand. Eventually he passed by the old POW camp, now turned into a command center, and then on wards to the training grounds. It had gone from a large field to a large field with several buildings that ranged from a firing range to a parade ground and a brig. He passed by numerous marching formations until he reached the edge of the large field, where all the tanks had been parked.

He stopped for a moment to admire them, they were a far cry from what they had once been, thanks to several upgrades made by Fortress Wall. The stallion had really come through on the R&D front, and Dominic had been sure to let him know with a promotion and a raise. The gears had been changed out so that the engine actually had some speed, the hydraulics had been repurposed to add a small turret, and what had once only had space for one small pony now had space for a three pony crew and a human if necessary. Dominic likened them to the Stuart from the second world war, though the gun was much bigger and they had been painted grey.

“Fire!” An officer shouted, from the sounds of it it was Rolling Thunder. The first tank in the line fired, Dominic could feel the boom in his chest as the large cannon let fly a ball that landed several hundred yards away near a rock with a big ‘X’ on it. “Adjust rotation three degrees right!” The turret rotated a small bit. “Fire!” There was another boom, and seconds later the rock was turned to rubble. Dominic clapped his hands at the display, after a few moments it caught the attention of the tank crews. “Turn out!”

The hatches on the tank opened outwards and the crews poked their heads out of the vehicles to see their commander in chief applauding them.

“Very good, Major Thunder!” Dominic said with a smile, even though his previous conversation was still in his mind, seeing the tanks up close and talking with his troops helped to relax him. “I’m glad to see our guns can hit their mark.”

“Thank you, sir!” Rolling Thunder said with a salute, Dominic nodded and walked towards the first tank where Rolling Thunder had popped out of the command hatch. “Does the commander wish to take the con, sir?”

“Not at the moment, I’ll get my fill when we roll through my homeland.” Dominic said wistfully before climbing up onto the side of the tank. “Besides, your tank is the command tank, and you seem to be working very well in that regard, I wouldn’t want to ruin a good thing.”

“Thank you, sir.” Rolling Thunder responded as Dominic hung off the side of the tank and looked out down range, the man stood there for a few minutes before hopping down again.

“My question is can you hit a target while moving.” Dominic said as he put his hands on his hips, Rolling Thunder nodded firmly.

“We can hit anything in range, sir, even some stuff that isn’t.” The stallion said with a smile, Dominic nodded once again and let out a whistle.

“Good, then we should be perfectly fine.” The man hummed quietly, he looked at Rolling and gestured for him to climb down out of the tank. The stallion complied quickly and Dominic walked a bit of a distance away from the tank so the rest of the crew couldn’t hear him. “Level with me, Rolling. How ready are we?”

“I’d say we’re as ready as we can get, why?” Rolling asked, Dominic leaned in and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Because there’s a very good chance there’s gonna be people on the other side of the portal that’re gonna be shooting at us.” He explained, Rolling nodded quietly, then he firmly set his jaw.

“Go ahead and let ‘em, that armor is probably thick enough to handle the normal small arms. It stopped your shotgun slug, the captain’s revolver, and Johnny’s rifle just fine when we were doing tests.” Rolling said proudly, Dominic smiled again and stood up straight.

“Glad to hear the enthusiasm.” Dominic said with nod, Rolling returned it with a salute. “Get back to it then, Major.” Rolling nodded and turned to climb back into the tank, Dominic stood there for a few more minutes, watching while the tanks began rolling across the field as they fired away at several more targets. The man sighed quietly and began walking back towards the main part of town, to the south of it was where the refugee camp was being set up. Dominic wanted it to be ready as soon as possible, and already the first two housing buildings had been completed. It wasn’t a taj mahal, but it was warm and had fresh beds.

Dominic briefly contemplated walking over that way and having a look, but he knew that would probably put them behind schedule. Instead he decided to go have a look at the train station that the Equestrian rail company had so graciously offered to build. Of course, that was before Dominic reminded them that they’d need to pay rent on that land, but they’d still built it, they knew they didn’t have much choice. It was a simple structure, made from brick, mortar and wood. The daily train had already arrived with numerous tourists, all of them wanting to get a look at the new City-State that was taken the Southwest of the continent by storm.

The man stopped just outside the building and put his hands on his hips before he adjusted the brim of his cap, several ponies were walking out of it with cameras and awfully tacky looking clothes, which was weird considering the United States was in a bit of a hot area. He relaxed his posture and reached to his pocket to withdraw a cigar, he froze for a moment as he felt Luna’s feather, but shook his head and withdrew the cigar anyway. He bit off the cap and lit it, watching the tacky group continue down the steps, occasionally they would snap a picture.

Dominic exhaled a puff of smoke and started to turn, hopefully they hadn’t spotted him and he could continue on his walk unbothered. But of course, that was not to be, as it always seemed to happen just as he’d started to take his first step. There was a gasp, Dominic sighed and waited for the other ones. Sure enough they came a few seconds later, the man counted down from three on his fingers and then he heard the familiar sound of camera shutters, and then the scuttle of hooves. Dominic began walking away, hoping to outrun them, but as always they managed to get out in front of him.

“Hi there!” One of them, a mare with cream colored fur and a grey mane said. Dominic puffed on his cigar for a moment before nodding and responding.

“Hello.” He said simply, this was the part of New Liberty’s new prosperity that he didn’t like. “Is there something I can help you with?” Dominic noted there seemed to be a colt with them that kept staring at him, he never blinked, ever.

“Oh, we were just wonderin’ if you’re that human fella from the newspapers.” The stallion of the group said, there were four in total, including the colt with the staring eyes. Dominic just nodded and puffed on his cigar again, again noting that the fourth member of the group seemed to be a teenage filly, if the angsty annoyed look was anything to go by.

“Yeah, I’m the guy.” Dominic replied with a fake smile, it faltered only for a moment when the stallion took another picture of him. “You folks must be from out of town, correct?” The mare and stallion nodded, the teen just shrugged, and the colt stared. “Well, main street’s a pretty nice place to go if you’re looking for shops and such, there’s some nice stores in the surrounding area as well.”

“I wanna see the metal beasts.” The staring colt finally spoke up, that got Dominic’s attention. The stallion and the mare quickly went to grab their kid, but Dominic just shrugged it off and bit down on his cigar.

“Don’t be silly, Iron, there’s no such thi-”

“Okay.” Dominic said with a shrug, catching the entire family off guard. “No cameras though, that area is generally restricted.” The colt blinked for the first time after that, Dominic shrugged that off again. He’d had this kind of thing happen before, and he didn’t mind showing his tanks off, they’d be in the newspapers soon enough anyway. “Follow me.”

“Alrighty then!” Said the mare, still a bit surprised that the ‘Metal beasts’ they’d heard of in the news were real. The group began following Dominic as he walked back towards the training ground, right on cue he heard the marching hooves and feet of Jen’s soldiers and paused at an intersection. The family was confused for a moment, until they heard the sound as well.

“Present arms!” Jen called loudly as she came into view with a pair of companies behind her, each one turned their head in unison and saluted Dominic. A salute Dominic returned just as strictly, much to the amazement of the tourists. “I don’t know but it’s been said!”

“The only good zombie is a one that’s dead!” The companies replied in unison as they continued marching by, the loud shouts seemed to jolt the teen out of her angsty stupor. The family had never seen such a mixed bag of soldiers before, griffons, changelings, diamond dogs, ponies and thestrals. They were a tad bit intimidating, a far cry from the gold armored guards that they were used to in their small town. Dominic dropped his salute when they’d passed before he began walking once again, it took the family of tourists a moment to notice but they began following him once again.

“Ya see, we’ve got one of the most diverse armed forces in the world.” Dominic said over his shoulder as he continued walking. “That’s what makes us so adept at addressing threats on the ground and in the air, and those ‘metal beasts’ you heard about are just the start for our mechanized units.” The group got closer to the training fields, and Dominic snapped his fingers in the air.

“Lieutenant Blade!” He called out to a group of officers, Chipped Blade turned on his hooves and saluted before marching over. “Would you kindly take possession of these folks cameras for the time being, they want to see the ‘metal beasts’.”

“Yes, sir.” Chipped Blade said with a nod before he turned to the family, each of them handed over their cameras. Even the ones they would’ve tried to sneak past, as Chipped was sure to frisk them. “Clear, sir.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Hold on to those until we get back.” Dominic said, the lieutenant nodded and once again they were on the move until finally they had reached the edge of the field where the tanks were carrying out their exercises. The family stood beside Dominic as he crossed his arms and watched the tanks charge across the field towards them, the rumble of their engines could be heard clear across the distance. Once they were closer they turned and faced down range once again, Rolling Thunder popped the hatch and looked at Dominic. When he saw the family he nodded.

“Prepare to fire!” He ordered using the radio headset over his ears, Dominic looked at the family and cleared his throat before puffing on his cigar again.

“I’d cover your ears.” He said, they quickly covered their ears in anticipation. Dominic hated to admit it, but he loved the sound of cannon shot, and hearing it some more was taking his mind of the growing feelings of uncertainty in his heart.

Ironclad, a young colt on a day trip with his family, had never been so excited before in his entire life. The metal beasts were right there in front of him, and the big monkey guy was going to make them work. His mom and dad looked uncertain, and he’d never seen his sister appear so nervous, but he couldn’t understand why.

“Fire!” Rolling ordered, seconds later there were several loud booms from the metal sticks that stuck out of the metal beasts, the sticks move backwards for a second before sliding forwards. The bat pony in the round thing put a pair of binoculars up to his eyes and looked down the field, so Ironclad did that as well. There were five or six big bursts of sand very far away.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Dominic said, looking down at the colt for a moment. The colt nodded rapidly while his parents and sister stared at the tanks with slack jaws. “Major Thunder!”

“Sir?”

“Excellent shooting, you keep that up and we’ll send all the dirty mulchers back where they belong!” Dominic yelled before giving a thumbs up, Rolling Thunder responded with his own salute before slipping back down into his tank. It was time for them to head back to the motor pool, and so they quickly backed up and drove off the field, passing by Dominic and the nice tourist family. “Anyway, that’s all for today…” Dominic said as he gestured for the family to follow him again, today actually didn’t seem to turn out so bad, in fact he enjoyed dealing with the tourists. It took his mind of what he’d said to Luna earlier that day, and he was very thankful for all of her teachings on self control of the emotions, else he would probably not have left his office at all.

“So… Those are, like, real?” The teen asked, Dominic only nodded and took another puff on his cigar. “And they, like, do what?”

“Win wars.” Dominic said simply as he walked back towards Chipped Blade. “The United States is one of the most battle tested nations out there today, we’ve got the best weapons and the best equipment, even if we’re small.” The man tapped the ash off his cigar before taking another puff and letting the smoke float away on the wind. “As my people say, ‘Walk softly, but carry a big stick.’.”

“They were very… eh… Interesting?” Said the mare with a bit of a nervous smile, Dominic just shrugged.

“You could say that, these are actually pretty crude compared to actual human tech, this is something like Second World War gear at best.” Dominic wiped his nose as they got closer to the talking officers, Chipped Blade was looking over the cameras quietly with his fellows, occasionally chuckling as he did so. “Most tourists like to know the quickest route to the train station after they see those, if you’re curious, it’s just straight down main street and then take a right.”

“I think we’ll stay a bit longer.” The stallion said, trying to smile a bit. Dominic shrugged and whistled for Chipped to come over again, soon the tourists had their cameras returned and all of them were on their merry way. That left Dominic alone once more, without the roar of artillery in the background it felt oddly quiet, and so he decided that perhaps it was time to return to his office. His walk was quick and fast paced, he didn’t stop for anything, until finally he’d raced up the stairs to his office and locked himself in.

The man sat in his chair and turned on his speakers, then picked up his music player and quietly looked through his songs. With a sigh he settled on some Pink Floyd, ‘Comfortably Numb’ from their album ‘The Wall’. As the music began to play, Dominic leaned back in his chair and set his cigar in the ashtray. He closed his eyes and thought back to the events of the past several hours, he’d had a meeting with his officers, met with tourists, and also broken up with his kind-of-not-really marefriend. The man quietly sat up in his chair and grabbed a piece of cardboard on his desk. It was a sign he’d made as a goof a while ago, but it seemed appropriate now. The man walked to his door and opened it, then hunt it on the outside and closed the door.

The sign read ‘Do not disturb unless city is burning’.

Dominic returned to his desk and sat down, he moved his hands behind his head and leaned back in the stair, closing his eyes once more. This time he exhaled and inhaled slow and steady, until before he knew it, he’d drifted off into a fitful nap.

[♦]

Chrysalis sat quietly in her throne room, her daughter Mizu right beside her, as she looked over the latest reports from the other hives in her kingdom. Hive of Wasp had been doing exceptionally in recent months, and the Queen supposed it had to do with her daughter’s display of power. She was glad to see that they’d mellowed as well, and that their armed forces were standing down. There had been some activity in America, while they were still at peace with them, Chrysalis tended to like to keep tabs on her ally.

She’d lost several agents already, some had been discovered, others had legitimately fallen for America. The reports she’d received so far indicated that they were preparing for ‘T-Day’, a date at which point the United States would open a gateway between Earth and the rest of the world. She’d been made aware of it some time ago, in fact, she was going to be contributing her support in building housing for refugees should the need arise.

Nonetheless, Chrysalis and Mizu both wanted more information, especially since it seemed the American’s were outpacing nearly every other military in the world when it came to technology. Some countries, like Saddle Arabia and the Crystal Empire, were embracing new devices like the radio and working on their own armored vehicles. Others, like the minotaurs and the zebras, were set in their old ways of fighting, and Equestria was trying to mix new with the old. Chrysalis could respect that.

“What word have we received from Hive of Shadow?” Mizu asked, snapping Chrysalis out of her thoughts. The Queen hummed and leafed through the reports with her magic. “They’ve been late three times this month.”

“Patience, Mizu.” Chrysalis said softly, her daughter nodded as her wings twitched against her back. “Hive of Shadow is in a far more precarious spot than most, as you know.” Once again Mizu nodded, she was well aware of what her mother meant. Hive of Shadow was a rather mysterious, somewhat small, group of changelings with an interesting trait.

When standing still, they could disguise themselves in the background using special cells in their chitton. Effectively hiding in the shadows, as the name would imply. Chrysalis had used this to her full advantage and based the group deep in the heart of Equestria, and as such, receiving their reports sometimes took longer.

“Mother… I have noticed that I seem to be more abrasive than I had been…” Mizu spoke up, catching Chrysalis’ attention. The Queen turned to her daughter and gave a slight hum, Mizu had certainly come a long way since she had been made heir so many months ago. Chrysalis recognized the stage she was in was that of the combat ready Queen, she knew that Mizu would eventually grow out of it into the next stage of her transformation, but for now she would say nothing.

“You must learn to keep yourself in check, Mizu… Through meditation or training, it is up to you.” Chrysalis said simply, Mizu nodded silently and looked to the floor. “You’ve gotten much stronger these past few months, with that strength comes power, a power you must live in harmony with.”

“I understand, mother. I have been trying…” Mizu quietly responded, she looked at her mother with a bit of a hopeful expression. “My transformations have gotten better, I can hold a disguise much longer now.” Chrysalis nodded and leaned back in her seat.

“Disguise is a path to control, it is wise of you devote time to it.” The Queen spoke. “Show me.” Mizu nodded and stood up with a bow, her horn glowed momentarily before she was enveloped in green fire. Chrysalis watched with a critical gaze, so far it seemed that Mizu was doing well. When the fire subsided Mizu had disappeared, in her place was a female thestral. The only indication she wasn’t a thestral was that her fangs appeared a little too long. “Very good, but there is still room for improvement.”

“Yes, mother.” Thestral Mizu replied before she was engulfed in a burst of green flames and her disguise faded away. Once she had finished her transformation the changeling heir rested quietly beside her mother’s throne once again. It was quiet for the first time in a while, nothing had happened in six months that was threatening to the hive. Even the diamond dogs had seemingly shifted their focus off of the Changelings, and the Equestrians were occupied with their own endeavors.

Chrysalis sensed the spell of tedium and monotony would end soon enough, on T-Day, when the world would forever be changed.

Author's Notes:

Here it is, please keep the rioting down to a dull roar... *continues to hide under his desk as he tosses out the clip of the day.*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxT_dXStGnQ

Off to my job interview now! Wish meh luck!