Celestia blinked quietly as she shakily stood up on the other side of the portal, her eyes darting around to try and give her an idea of where she was. Before she knew it she was grabbed and pulled away from the portal just as her sister came through. As she finally regained full control of her faculties she found herself standing in an odd large room with more than a few humans and other American soldiers moving around. The building was bustling with activity and reeked of exhaust smoke, more than a few of the soldiers were riding on new tanks that Celestia could only guess were the new ‘T-34s’.

She looked towards the portal and spotted her sister stepping regally away from the portal, she seemed almost unphased by the disorienting trip. As her sister approached her she saw two of her golden armored guards tumble through the portal, a pair of Americans moved them out of the way just as another tank rolled through the portal. The Americans had set up a well oiled machine of portal warfare, yet another thing for Celestia to worry about. They had only been on earth for just over a month and already they had established themselves.

They got a couple stares from the more curious human soldiers around them, but most of them seemed far too busy to pay attention to the new ponies on the block. Luna approached Celestia, escorting the two disoriented solar guards along with her wings. The Lunar Princess was looking around with a curious expression of her own, though it was a partial mask for worry. She had yet to tell Celestia that Rainbow Dash had just defected to America, as she was sure the Equestrian soldiers on the border hadn’t told her yet either. Whoever told her that would just as well kiss their military career goodbye.

“Certainly a hive of activity, sister… These humans could teach the changelings a thing or two.” Luna commented as yet another tank rolled past, the ground trembling as the engine belched out black smoke. The smoke was quickly sucked upwards where large industrial fans were mounted in the roof, the smell lingered however. “Celestia, you haven’t spoken more than three words since you arrived in New Liberty… Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, Luna… I’m fine. I’m just nervous is all, we are the second Equestrian princesses to venture to Earth.” Celestia replied quietly as she looked to her two guards, the two of them were standing at attention, though they looked disgusted by the smell of the engines and the loud noise. “There was supposed to be someone waiting for us here, right?” Luna nodded as she continued looking around, she paused as she spotted a young man in digital camouflage fatigues approaching with two more soldiers behind him.

“I thought there was only one coming…” He said quietly, most likely to himself before he snapped to attention. “You must be the princesses, yes?” Celestia nodded, as did Luna. The man turned and saluted Luna, as she was a bit of a figure in the American military. “Ma’am. We had not heard you would be coming.”

“I’m her plus one.” Luna said in a joking tone, a couple of the soldiers behind the young man chuckled. “I was hoping to see the commander as well, if that’s alright.”

“It can be arranged.” The soldiers said before he stood at ease and pushed back a pair of glasses that were perched on his nose. “I am Sergeant Smalls, my men and I have been assigned as your security detail.” The man looked over at the two ponies in golden armor, they remained at attention, then back at Celestia. He then snapped his fingers and the two soldiers behind him stepped forwards, each holding an odd looking vest and a helmet. “These are kevlar vests and helmets, we had two ready in case one was too big. We had to make some adjustments obviously, they aren’t designed for ponies yet. Please put them on.”

“Why?” One of the guards suddenly asked, Smalls cleared his throat for a moment before speaking.

“In case people start shooting at us.” He said simply, the guard raised an eyebrow at him. “We’re going into a warzone, what do you expect us to be fighting with? Pie? Pumpkins fired from catapults?” The man looked back at Celestia who was eying the vest, reluctantly she slipped it on, one of the soldiers put the odd helmet on her head. Luna had a much easier time with hers, as hers was smaller and fit her slender frame better. The two guards were out of luck, and both of them knew it. “Thank you, please come with us, we’re on a rather tight schedule.”

Celestia and the group followed the sergeant and his men towards one of the new tanks, the mare blinked in surprise at a rather odd image on the front. A scantily clad human female wearing nothing more than red ribbons and holding an odd rifle to cover her modesty.

“Come on! Get the lead out! We’ve gotta get this tank to the commander on the double!” Shouted a soldier in a blue boiler suit that climbed into the tank, Luna and Celestia climbed up onto the side while the two guards took sat behind them. Smalls stopped and looked at them, waving for a moment.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Celestia asked, the man nodded and gestured to a large four wheeled vehicle that was moving up behind the tank. She thought it was called a truck. “Oh good, our security man is riding in that thing while we ride on this… Thing.”

“You’re the one that wanted to come into an active warzone.” Luna said flatly as the engine started to rumble beneath them, a second person in a blue boilersuit appeared in the turret and pulled the hatch closed. That was the only warning the ponies got before the tank lurched forwards and began rolling towards the front of the building, Celestia watched as it rolled past aisles filled with soldiers and supplies. She was forced to shield her eyes as the tank rolled out the front door into an oddly large expanse.

The sight that greeted her reminded her of a Saddle Arabian bazaar, numerous shacks and stalls were set up while hundreds of people milled about to sell their wares. Some were selling odd bits of clothing, others had random mechanical devices. The tanks, painted olive drab to match the surrounding flora, continued rolling through the odd bazaar until they reached the gate at the edge of the lot which was being guarded by two smaller tanks.

Luna was fascinated by everything she was seeing, the wide open blue skies and trees of an entirely alien planet. The tanks rolled along down the road, the thick trees eventually beginning to thin out and giving way to a small town. Celestia watched the town carefully, there were soldiers patrolling up and down the streets while an odd flag was flying from a tall pole in the center street. It wasn’t the normal American flag, but she supposed Dominic was starting to change the banners to be more unique to his government.

As the tanks rolled through the town the two princesses could see the marks of conflict in the form of burned a out bulldozer tank that had been unceremoniously shoved aside and the bulletholes that pocked the buildings. One of the storefronts was completely burned out, and Luna thought she spotted a couple charred corpses inside. She grimaced and looked away as the tank continued rolling along, eventually coming to another crossroads where it turned onto a much larger paved road.

The other side of the road was full of abandoned vehicles of varying shapes and sizes, there were a couple soldiers moving through them while ponies and changelings picked at them for parts and other items of interest to American research and development teams. The two guards still weren’t impressed, so far all they had seen was the aftermath, for all the knew half of the things that had happened happened long ago. After all, they knew just how long Earth had been in bad shape, four years was plenty of time for things to happen.

“Look! Look!” Luna said loudly over the sound of the engine, she pointed off to the side at several human children waving at the tanks and the trucks following behind them. The soldiers were waving back as they kept driving along, yelling and cheering at their younger compatriots. “See, not all doom and gloom!” Luna couldn’t help but join the waving, the sight of happy children was something she always loved, in some ways more than her sister. Celestia was more focussed on the buildings that dotted the landscape, there were hundreds of them, more than enough to house every resident of Ponyville in their own spacious abode. The mare was humbled by the knowledge that now many of them were empty and abandoned, the letters ‘SOS’ were a common sight.

The tank jostled for a moment as it started rolling up a ramp onto an even larger road, a massive stretch of concrete and asphalt that stretched on into the horizon. There were at least four lanes, and most of them were being occupied by vehicles on their way to the front. It was amazing to think that America was able to field such a large force and still keep its presence in New Liberty known, but then again, hundreds upon hundreds of humans, thestrals, griffons, and diamond dogs were flocking to the growing nation state by the week. There were even rumors that the Griffons were making a bid to cede into the United States, but they were very hushed, and Celestia didn’t think of them as much more than that.

“It’s huge… I’ll give it that.” One of the guards mused as he looked out over the vast expanse of plains and grassland. Even with all the buildings there were still immense stretches of open spaces and clear blue sky. The group lapsed into silence as the ride carried on, miles passed before they passed the next sign of conflict. The still smoldering hulks of two bulldozer tanks had shoved off into a patch of dirt and there was a grim pile of corpses, that were being watched over by Americans in gas masks. A couple of them were dousing the pile in liquid kept in small red and blue jugs, Celestia and Luna were both grateful that the plume of black smoke that soon followed only started when they were a good distance away.

Luna began to grow more nervous as the trip went on, it was clear that Earth was a very grim place and she feared that Dominic had returned to his grim ways. Her heart yearned to see him again, to feel his arms around her, to hear his soft voice telling her of his world. As the column continued down the road Luna found herself watching a group of ten or so people walking down the road with their hands on their head, they wore black uniforms and had their heads looking towards the ground. There were four soldiers walking with them, Americans by the looks of the uniforms.

“Yeah! Where’s your Empress now!?” Shouted one of the soldiers in the truck behind the tank, it was accompanied by numerous other insults and downright hateful words.

“Fucking EOL pussies, go cry to your mommy about your ‘wolf self’ you Social Justice Fascists!”

“Fuck you!”

“Have fun in Four Chan, you cunts!”

Celestia shook her head quietly, there was a great amount of hate in the soldiers riding behind them directed at the ‘EOL’. The Princess knew of their atrocities through reports and memos, but she had yet to see them upfront. She couldn’t grasp how much they had done, but she could see how much hatred they had fostered. She adjusted her ill fitting helmet and looked around, blanching for a moment as she spotted four figures on the hills overlooking the road. They were mounted on large figures, Celestia knew that there were horses on Earth, but she hadn’t comprehended their size until seeing them in person. They were as large as her, perhaps larger.

The four figures continued watching without moving, Celestia grew increasingly unsettled by their presence until, with a mighty yell, the four of them rode out of sight. She looked forwards at the other vehicles on the road and was surprised to see them slowing down, until eventually they came to a stop. The ponies leaned out over the sides of the tank to get a good look at what was causing the stoppage, to their surprise it was a black and white vehicle hurtling towards the tanks with flashing red and blue lights.

“Car bomb!” One of the soldiers at the front of the column shouted as the tanks in the lead turned their guns on the vehicle. “Back up! Back up! Move move move!” The two pegasi guards pulled Celestia down, but left Luna exposed. The princess watched as machine guns began to chop away, the black and white vehicle was no match for the hail of bullets and quickly spun out of control and off of the road. A second later one of the tanks fired its main gun at it, effectively destroying the explosives inside. There were a couple more yells before the tanks began rolling along again, as if nothing had happened, leaving the burning hulk on the side of the road. Luna could see a pair of yellow swords had been painted on the side of the vehicle, she knew that was the symbol of the EOL.

Celestia sat up and sighed in relief that the danger had passed, the hatch to the tank opened and one of the men in blue boiler suits emerged. He looked at the four ponies before chuckling opting to sit in the turret with the wind blowing against his face. There was no real sense of urgency in any of the soldiers, even after having faced down a ‘car bomb’. Celestia found herself relaxing at that, if the soldiers were relaxed she could relax too. That wasn’t the case for her guards, the two pegasi stallions were watching the hills nervously.

“We’re about an hour or so from the front!” The man in the boiler suit shouted over his shoulder, he adjusted the greasy bandana that covered his hair. “So long as there aren’t any more desperate snowflakes out there we should be in good shape!”

“Great!” Celestia replied uncertainly over the gusting wind. “When do we get to ride inside of the tank where it’s really safe!?” The man in the boiler suit looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, then chuckled and picked up his radio. A couple seconds later the hatch on a T-34 next to theres opened and a man wearing a leather jacket popped up, they shared a couple words before the tank got closer.

“They said they’ll let you ride along in theirs! Hop on over!” The man in the turret shouted, Celestia gulped but nonetheless hopped over onto the other tank with the grace of a princess. She moved up and managed to shimmy down into the turret, looking quite funny with the rest of her protective armor. “Fuck, she got stuck!”

“I told her to lay off the cake before the trip!” Luna shouted back, the man laughed for a moment before he tapped her on the shoulder and gestured to the turret. “Realy? Me too?!” The man nodded before he disappeared down the hatch. Luna shrugged and climbed into the turret, fitting a bit better but keeping her upper part out in order to watch her sister. The boiler suit man offered Luna a headset, and it seemed Celestia received one as well.

“This certainly feels strange…” Luna commented, Celestia looked over at her with a small smile. Luna recognized that smile very well, but she was unsure of their human hosts would be up for what was in mind. “Hey, I think she wants to race us!” The two pegasi guards on the back grew a bit nervous as they watched their princess and her sister looking at each other.

“I don’t think the commander would object to getting his tank early!” Shouted the other man inside the tank, the tank lurched for a moment before it began to pick up speed. The vehicles ahead made way for the tank as it pulled ahead of them, Celestia’s tank followed suit and soon the two of them had left the column behind. Celestia and Luna were grinning like school fillies, there was just something special about racing military equipment through a warzone that spoke to their inner child. Luna momentarily paused and wondered if she should see someone about that, but shrugged it off and tapped the tank turret.

The tanks were evenly matched for speed as they were the same model, however every now and then one tank would edge out in front of the other. Their race lasted for half an hour before the rest of the column caught up with them at full speed, a couple of the trucks even managing to pull out ahead of the tanks. Luna looked off to the side and spotted a gated community of sorts, a couple tanks were parked outside the gates as was expected and another odd flag was fluttering over them. Many of the trucks and other vehicles were exiting there, leaving five T-34s and the troop truck as the only vehicles on the massive road.

Celestia was finally relaxing, as the tank continued to roll along she couldn’t help but think that she needed to get one of them for herself. Even if she wasn’t in charge of the vehicle it was a power trip to feel all that armor around her with such a destructive weapon at the ready, and yet she was fearful to know it belonged to someone with whom she didn’t have the best of relationships. The armored vest and helmet reminded her that there was more to humanity than just tanks, she couldn’t believe that such a light vest was considered armor, there had to be some sort of special design to it.

As the tanks drove on she began to hear what sounded like thunder over the wind and rumbling engine, however as the tanks began to thin out she realized it was too meticulous to be thunder. The tanks rolled off the road and began driving up a grassy hill with obvious tracks in it, as Celestia’s view crested the horizon she spotted five smaller tanks with their guns angled upwards, firing steadily at something in the distance. There was a tent set up behind them, and she could see piles of spent shell casings laying next to each of them.

The tanks came to a stop behind their smaller counterparts, it was then that Celestia and Luna could spot the man they’d come to see. He did not look pleased. Dominic was looking down from the hill with a pair of binoculars, his teeth bared in annoyance. Luna, Celestia, and the two guards dismounted their tanks and began approaching him. Only to stop as they spotted a soldier rushing up to him with a piece of paper.

“God damn it! We’ve been shelling that bunker for the past three hours and we haven’t put a dent in it!” They heard Dominic shout as he crumpled up the paper and tossed it at the ground. “These pea shooters aren’t gonna cut it! When the hell are the eighty-fives scheduled to get here?!”

“Sir, they just pulled up!” The soldier replied.

“‘Bout goddamn’ time!” Dominic said as he turned around to face the tanks, seemingly not noticing the ponies quite yet. “Alright! All batteries cease fire, crews assigned to T-34-85s dismount your current vehicle and take command of your new one, drivers roll these tin cans back to Camp Golf! Double time! Move it!” The guns came to a stop, and the crews quickly dismounted their vehicles, it was clear they had been practicing the maneuver as they quickly slipped into their T-34s with ease.

A couple of the tanks had new crew members surprisingly enough Dominic’s hadn’t come with any, most likely a clerical error, not that he had time to worry about that. Already Gear Grinder was rolling the tank forwards to the firing line whilst Avos readied the main gun. Scribs, being the lovable fellow that he was, took on the role of loader for the time being. Celestia and Luna walked towards Dominic as he began walking back to the front of the line with a pair of binoculars.

As they came up along side him they found themselves in awe. A massive fortification was set up ahead of them, constructed from old cars, dirt, and concrete and bristling with grenade launchers and machine guns captured from a National Guard armory. There was no way the lighter tanks would’ve been able to assault it without taking high casualties, but now the tide had changed.

“All batteries prepare to fire!” Dominic shouted, it was at that point Luna cleared her throat. “Oh, what now-” The man turned on his heel to face the source of the noise, only to freeze when he saw Luna standing there, with Celestia and her two guards standing next to her. “Luna? The fuck are you doing here?!”

“Visiting you.” Luna said quietly, Dominic paused for a moment, compartmentalizing his feelings for the time being, all of it culminating in him raising a single finger to signal her to wait a moment. The man cleared his throat and pointed at the fortification in the distance.

“Fuck it up!” With his simple orders given the tanks began firing, their cannons booming much louder than their smaller counterparts. Dominic gestured for the two princesses to follow him towards the tent, they did so quietly, though the two pony guards lagged behind a bit. Gawking at the large clouds of smoke that continued to erupt down range. The group eventually entered the tent, where the booming sound of artillery was quiet enough for normal conversation.

Luna looked around the simple canvas structure, there was a table with a couple chairs set up around it in the center, a radio set and a map, and several people Luna didn’t really recognize. However, there was one that stuck out in her mind, a face she had seen in Dominic’s dreams and nightmares. The woman was leaning against the radio table, looking down at the map and pointing to certain spots with another woman nodding beside her.

“Alright, company’s here!” Dominic announced as he approached his seat, the numerous people in the room turned to see who he was talking about. “Introductions first…” Dominic gestured to a man wearing fatigues and an oddly painted blue helmet, marked with the letters ‘UN’. “Agent Hinkman, our UN liaison.” Dominic pointed to an asian woman dressed similarly. “Agent Naomi, our other UN liaison.” The man shifted his hand over to an older man in digital fatigues. “Colonel Baxter, my head military advisor on the Terran Front.” The man nodded to Celestia and Luna as Dominic gestured to the woman Luna was most curious about. “Major Maria Valova, in charge of scouting operations, and her executive officer Lieutenant Melissa… Just Melissa.”

“These people aren’t going to talk much, just a heads up. This isn’t a social visit, they have jobs to do.” Dominic said firmly as the people in the room gradually went back to their tasks, though Maria moved to stand quietly closer to Dominic. Celestia nodded quietly and took her own seat across from the man, fidgeting slightly in the rather uncomfortable metal folding chair. “So, what was so urgent you needed to visit me in an active warzone?”

“Tensions on the border are growing…” Celestia said in a serious tone, doing her best to put up a neutral poker face. “We both know a war would be costly for both of us, and Equestria is committed to trying to keep the peace.” The mare sighed quietly as she watched Dominic’s face remain just as neutral as before, he’d learned a thing or two from her sister. “We’ve already launched an investigation to find the ponies responsible for the border incident.”

“So I’ve been told.” Dominic said with a slight nod, his face remaining neutral. “However, that doesn’t mean much to my people, and it doesn’t mean much to me either.” Dominic leaned forwards and adjusted his uniform. “What you must see, Princess, is that your assurances mean little to my people, they mean even less to me.” Outside a particularly loud cannon shot caused the tent to shake for a moment, and most of the people in the room had stopped working to watch the meeting in progress.

“My word as a Princess isn’t good enough for you?” Celestia asked curiously, Dominic nodded. “I understand we’ve had our problems, Dominic.”

“I seem to recall you bursting into my office in anger and unknowingly levitating a knife off my desk.” Dominic said flatly, Celestia’s poker face broke for a moment as she winced at the memory of almost losing complete control of her temper. “However, I try not to let personal issues cloud the waters. What I’m more concerned about is under that helmet you’re wearing…” Dominic pointed at her horn quietly, the mare followed his gesture, then looked at him with rather surprised eyes. “That’s the closest thing Equestria has to a nuclear arsenal. As one zebrican ambassador mentioned in a communique, you once threatened to use it to destroy an entire Island. New Liberty is much smaller than an island.”

“I will never use the power of the sun in a war with America.” Celestia said loudly, Dominic’s face remained neutral as ever. Luna quietly looked at her sister with an unsettled expression, mainly because she knew that Celestia’s statement was very specific. There was a reason so few Thestrian ruins remained. Dominic didn’t know what Luna was thinking, but from the look on her face, he knew he’d struck upon some sort of nerve.

“I have had so many reports of the things you would never do, I’m wondering if there is anything you would do.” Dominic said as he sat up again, he quietly looked off to the side for a moment before he adjusted his uniform. “However… I try to be a reasonable man, and I try to consider things. You were willing to come into an active warzone to speak to me about peace, that says more to me than your words.” He looked at the table quietly in thought, then spoke again. “I’d be amenable to a compromise… We both withdraw the bulk of our forces from the border, on the same day at the same time. Say… A week from now?” Celestia nodded quietly.

“Acceptable. Is there anything else you wished to discuss?” Celestia asked, Dominic nodded and straightened up in his seat.

“The matter of the ongoing conflict between Equestria and the Changeling kingdom.” The man said bluntly, Celestia’s expression turned to one of a slight scowl. “It’s odd to me is all, they did far more damage to my country than they did to yours. Why persist in a war against them, especially since Equestrian and Changeling forces haven’t engaged each other in nearly a year.”

“There are deeper issues besides property damage and loss of life. As you know, they attacked on my niece’s wedding day.” Celestia replied with her normal poker face, Dominic leaned back in his seat quietly.

“Be that as it may, it’s odd to me that the nation that’s so interested in keeping the peace is still openly at war with a country that hasn’t even launched a probing attack against your borders in ages.” Dominic countered, the eyes of the room were upon him and Celestia now, Luna didn’t dare interject. “What it boils down to is my next topic of concern. Maintaining the sovereignty of the Changeling Kingdom’s borders, as dictated in the treaty of New Liberty.” There was another loud cannon burst from outside, and once again the tent shuddered and the ground shook.

“We haven’t made any moves into Changeling territory either.” Celestia replied quietly, Dominic shook his head. “You disagree?”

“The first thing I did when this border conflict started was have a survey team re-verify our borders for the sake of due diligence. As well as those of our allies, the Changelings, and at the time, Equestria.” Dominic said in an even tone as he sat up straight, exuding an aura of dominance over the table despite his stoic expression. “What it found was, surprisingly enough, there are two Equestrian towns lying either in American or Changeling territory. Appleloosa and Dodge Junction, though to be fair that last one is a bit of a grey area. The point is Equestria may not have entered these territories with force of arms, but it did, nonetheless, enter them and effectively annex them.” Celestia’s composure broke, the words of Fieldmarshal Eventide echoed through her mind.

“I’ll see to it that no more towns are founded that way.” Celestia said, her eyes looking down at the table. “I… Apologize. I’ll make arrangements for my forces to withdraw from the border.” Dominic nodded quietly before he stood up and walked towards her, skirting around the table until he was beside her. The man slowly offered his hand to the mare, Celestia placed her hand in it. She froze as she felt his grip tighten and looked at him, there was an intense predatory glint in his eyes.

“Fool me once… Poor you.” He declared simply before shaking her hoof and letting go, Celestia felt a bit offended by his statement. She hid it under her demeanor, but part of her was outraged that such a young leader was able to gain the upperhand on her. That aside, however, the atmosphere in the tent brightened considerably. “Now, that we’ve got all that boring stuff out of the way…” The man looked at his watch for a moment, the meeting had taken longer than expected. “Damn, we’re just about at the cut off point.” The man walked to the door of the tent and peeked outside, sure enough the sun was starting to set in the distance. The tank guns had slowed down in their firing. “Shall we step outside? Get some fresh air?”

Luna nodded quickly and stood up, trotting towards the door to step outside. Celestia and her guards followed, leaving Dominic to quietly look around the room at his advisors and officers. He gestured for them to go about whatever it was they had been doing, but Maria walked towards him and the pair walked outside.

“Well, all things considered, it went better than I’d predicted.” Maria mused as the two of them began walking to catch up to the ponies who were now moving to the front of the firing line. Dominic looked over at the woman with a raised eyebrow as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

“What, if I may ask, did you predict?” He said in a slightly curious tone, Maria smiled for a moment and patted him on the shoulder.

“Remember that time I accidentally slammed your fingers in the car door and the door stayed shut?” Maria asked faintly, Dominic nodded firmly and winced as he felt a phantom pain run up his right hand from the fingertips. “Worse than that.” Dominic shook his head quietly as he and Maria reached the group, looking down at the enemy fortification. Or what was left of it. Unlike the smaller guns, the new eighty five millimeter guns had ripped the once mighty bunker open like a can of sardines. The tattered remains of the EOL banner continued to flutter in the wind as shells continued to rain down at a slowing pace, the firing would stop once the sun had set, allowing enough time for the tanks to resupply and the spent casings to be collected and hauled off for recycling.

“Certainly an impressive feat… It would take a team of mages at close range to even make a dent if we were in Equestria.” Luna commented as she watched a destroyed car hulk fly through the air like a toy. She had never seen the tanks in battle before, even with the car bomb earlier in their trip, it had mainly been machine guns that dealt with the threat. Of course, she hadn’t seen them in an assault yet either, but she had a feeling she would get that chance the following morning.

“Do we need to watch this?” Celestia asked quietly, Dominic shrugged and shook his head. The mare turned to walk behind the tanks, leaving the rest of the group to watch the destruction. Maria quietly placed herself between Luna and Dominic, an act of dominance that was not lost on the lunar princess.

“Perhaps my sister is right, I am rather hungry, and I’m sure you’re tired as well.” Luna suggested, Dominic nodded but continued watching the unfolding destruction. “Would you care to show me where I can get something to eat?”

“I’d love to, but I’ve got to be here to command my tank, and I won’t weaken the battery by removing a fifth of its firepower especially since we’re down at least one crewmember.” Dominic replied as he turned his attention to the mare, she could see in his eyes that she’d trained him well. The mission came before social interaction, and while she was disappointed she wouldn’t get to talk to him, she understood his position. “Major Valova can show you to the mess hall, if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Luna said as she looked to Maria, the woman was shorter than her by a couple inches, even so Luna knew that she wasn’t to be trifled with. Maria smiled faintly and looked over at Luna, there was a spark of curiosity in the sniper’s eye.

“I don’t mind showing her around.” The woman said cheerfully. “She can ride back to Golf with me and Melissa.” Luna was about to correct her grammar, but decided against it. After all, neither Dominic or Maria, or a good portion of the young folks in the American army, had finished school due to the outbreak. Granted training had made up for some of that lost education, but Luna knew there was still a considerable margin for improvement.

“Great!” Dominic said as he looked at the two solar guards that were continuing to watch the dwindling barrage. “Mind taking these two with you as well? They’re bright armor could be a bit of a problem.” Dominic’s point was made as a bullet kicked up dirt a couple inches in front of the guards. “Snipers love a shiny target.” The guards rushed back behind Dominic, and even Luna took a step back, but Maria and Dominic remained rooted to their spots. “Don’t worry, most EOL sniper’s can’t hit shit.”

“Half of them don’t know how to adjust their scopes.” Maria quipped with a slight chuckle before patting Luna on the shoulder. She paused for a moment, Luna’s fur was extremely soft, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that. “Come on, it’s about time to head back to the ranch. Melissa hate’s missing the burrito express.” Luna raised an eyebrow at the woman. “This RV that goes around and sells burritos, about the only decent thing you can buy from a non-military source.”

“Oh… Well, okay then, lead on.” Luna said, Maria nodded before she turned to Dominic and put her hands on his shoulders. The woman turned him towards her before leaning forwards and kissing him on the cheek.

“Stay safe, okay? Don’t do anything crazy like rolling a burning truck of gasoline down the hill at them.” She commanded, Dominic paused and put his hand to his chin.

“There’s an idea…” The man chuckled when he felt Maria smack his shoulder. “Alright… Nothing too crazy. Drive safe.” He hugged the woman, then turned and hugged Luna. “You be sure to buckle up, she drives like a maniac when she’s hungry.” Luna chuckled quietly and returned the long awaited hug, holding Dominic tightly against her chest for nearly a minute before letting go. “See you both tomorrow when we finally crack this nut.”

“Sounds good.” Maria said before gesturing for Luna and the guards to follow her, they began walking towards the tent again. “Where’s your sister? She was back here a minute ago.”

“I’m not sure…” Luna paused for a moment, then looked over her shoulder at Dominic who was back to surveying the bunker with his binoculars. “Excuse me for a moment, there’s something I need to talk to Dominic about. I almost forgot how important it was.” Maria shrugged and continued her search for the missing white princess, leaving Luna to wander back over to the young commander in chief. “Dominic, I have something I need to report.” Luna said quietly. “I hate to say it now that things are starting to look up, but…”

“What’s wrong?” Dominic asked as he lowered his binoculars, the cannons had all but stopped now as the sun was setting beyond the horizon and painting the sky with beautiful pinks and reds.

“I’ve received a rather troubling intelligence report from a very trusted source in Canterlot.” Luna said in a hushed tone as she looked around. “Two weeks ago Celestia is believed to have ordered a covert operation against us… To steal blueprints, to what specifically we’re still not sure.” Luna had his full attention as he was staring at her with serious, calculating eyes. “Yesterday Rainbow Dash defected because she was one of the ponies ordered to go on the mission, she only barely managed to make it to us. She said they wanted to hold her for two weeks, which leads me to believe…”

“The operation will be carried out sometime between now and two weeks from now.” Dominic finished for her in an even tone, one of the tanks roared again. “Have you alerted our forces to the threat? Of course you have, you’re smart.” Luna nodded silently. “We can only wait then, calling Celestia on it now would give her a platform to deny it and build more opposition in Equestria.”

“You’re remarkably calm about this…” Luna said, Dominic nodded and tapped the side of his head.

“Compartmentalizing.” He said simply, another one of Luna’s tricks to keeping a cool head on the battlefield. “If we can keep it quiet, I’ll let it slide… We’ve only just started making peace with Equestria, and as long as we halt the threat that won’t change.”

“And if it escalates?” Luna asked quietly, somewhat nervously in fact. She almost jumped out of her skin when another blast of cannon fire echoed from behind her. Dominic only turned to look at the eviscerated bunker that lay burning in the distance, lighting up the area around it as portions of it burned into the darkening sky.

“Civus Romanus…” Dominic said quietly, watching the smoke and flames climbing higher into the night. “During the time of Rome a citizen of the Empire could walk anywhere in the world without fear. Simply saying they were a citizen of Rome was enough, because everyone knew how fiercely the Romans protected their own. Killing a Roman was akin to an act of war.”

“I heard that in an episode of West Wing when I was growing up, it stuck with me because my dad always told me we were descended from the centurions of Rome.” Dominic continued, Luna watched him as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a cigar. “If an American is harmed grievously... If it escalates, it escalates. It’s something I’ve been preparing for for some time. Remember. Fool me once, poor you.”

“You mean it isn’t a rumor? There really is a War Plan Pink?” Luna asked, Dominic nodded and lit his cigar, puffing on it quietly as the lost shot of the barrage was fired from his own tank. Luna couldn’t help but feel unnerved at just how well she had trained Dominic, he sounded more battle hardened than her generals in the Nightmare Rebellion, some of the greatest military minds of their century. “Let’s hope we never have to use it then. I should go, your mare- girlfriend is waiting for me.”

“She likes you, I can tell, even if she hasn’t gotten to know you yet.” Dominic said, smirking quietly around his cigar as smoke drifted up into the sky. “She can be abrasive at times, but honestly, who can blame her?” Luna nodded quietly, then hugged him tightly again, even after their previous conversation he was still the man she loved, and now seeing him again, she knew that her notion of it being platonic was rapidly fading. “You really should get going though, she hates keeping Melissa from that burrito bus. I swear, the woman’s obsessed or something.”

“I’ll hurry along then.” Luna said as she broke the hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” Dominic smiled and gave a slight wave as Luna started trotting back to join the group, she fidgeted in her armored vest and did her best to stretch despite it. Celestia was standing with the group while Maria and Melissa were helping the two pegasus guards up into the bed of a matte olive drab pick up truck. Celestia managed to push herself up into the bed on her own, and was soon joined by Melissa. Maria closed the tailgate just as Luna reached the vehicle.

“You’re riding up front with me.” Maria said as she climbed into the driver’s seat, Luna shrugged and approached the passenger side. Maria opened the door for her before she started up the truck, Luna climbed into the truck and adjusted her helmet as her horn bumped against the roof. The princess pulled the door closed and put on the odd seatbelt, mimicking what Maria was doing to figure out how the odd contraption worked. “You all comfy?”

“Yes, thank you.” Luna replied, Maria nodded and shifted the truck into drive. The headlights popped on automatically and with that they were driving down the hill back towards the highway. In the back Luna and Maria could hear the ponies and Melissa chatting, but it was still relatively quiet up front. “So… You’re the one I’ve heard so much about.” Maria nodded silently as her eyes stuck to the road.

“I could say the same about you.” Maria replied, her expression remaining rather stoic. “Dominic’s told me all about what you’ve done for him, and that thing you had for him.” Luna nodded, somewhat worried about what Maria would say next. She knew that the woman had displayed a rather dominant position earlier, but she still held out a hope that perhaps there was some room for her. “I get it… I really do. He just has that aura to him, you know? Even if he doesn’t realize it.” Luna nodded quietly, still unsure of the ground she stood on with Maria. “I’ve been nervous about meeting you, I was worried you’d not like me.”

“I had the same worry about myself.” Luna replied as they continued driving down the highway, passing a couple other trucks on their way to deliver supplies to the front. “Call it silly, but I wanted to make a good impression on you.” The mare removed her helmet and set it on the seat beside her, Maria looked at her for a moment with a curious expression. “You’re the woman in Dominic’s life, but, I still want to be a part of his life too.”

“Who said you couldn’t be?” Maria asked, Luna was a tad surprised. “Did he tell you that, because I’ll kick his ass if he did.” The princess quickly shook her head, honestly a bit surprised at just how ready Maria was to defend her. “Dom before the outbreak was like being friends with a hermit crab, fun the play with and hang out with, but very reclusive and cynical.” Maria’s expression softened. “Dominic after being friends, and perhaps more, with you…? He’s starting to believe in himself. Of course you can still be in his life, I’d be sad if you weren’t.”

“That’s better than what I had hoped.” Luna said with a smile, briefly her eyes drifted out the window at a pale white orb that had floated into view in the sky. “That’s Earth’s moon?” Maria nodded. “Where are all the stars?”

“Light pollution from the convoy…” Maria said as she pointed to the passing supply trucks, the woman paused as she spotted something in the road ahead. A small service road. “Hold on.” The woman turned down the road, much to the confusion of her passengers in the truck bed, they drove for twenty minutes or so before coming to a stop. Maria turned off the engine and killed the headlights. “Come on.” Luna unbuckled herself and stepped out of the passenger side while Maria made her way out of the driver’s side.

“What’s going on?” Celestia asked with a bit of worry, Maria simply pointed to the sky. Celestia looked up at the sky, and to her surprise, was greeted by an awe inspiring sight.

“It’s… It’s breathtaking.” Luna said as she stared at the night sky, it was beautiful, elagent, and it made the Lunar princess feel very small in a way she had never felt before. In Equestria she controlled the stars and the moon, but on Earth she was but an observer. Everything she saw was at it was naturally, the laws of the universe guiding it rather than the whim of a simple pony mind. So beautiful in its simplicity, yet beyond comprehension in the distant beauties and wonders the complex cosmos held.

Celestia was having a bit of a moment herself, for a millennium she had believed that only through magic could beauty appear in the heavens. And yet, she was staring at an untampered sky, and it in and of itself was magical. The regent of the sun, arguably the most powerful pony in the entire Equestrian universe, a mare who had seen eons of progress and conflict, felt very insignificant.

“Billions of years old.” Melissa commented as she looked up at the sky quietly, she didn’t hold the same heavy feelings that the princesses held, but she couldn’t deny she too felt humbled by the grand complexity of it all. The pegasi guards, for their part in it all, were beyond words. Pegasi were so very used to flying fast, many of them never stopped to look at what they were missing. “All these dots of light, they started their journey millions of years ago. Entire civilizations have probably risen and fallen out amongst them in the time it took them to reach us here.”

The group remained there for another ten minutes, all of them silently taking in the sight of the brilliant stars. There were too many to count, but Luna was trying to anyway. Part of her felt like there was so much more she could do to make her own sky even a fraction of as nice as Earth’s, and that started with one of the hardest lessons she had tried to abide by. Learning to let go of control. Eventually it became time to leave, and so they all piled back into the pick up truck and made their way back to the highway.

“Thank you…” Luna said quietly, Maria only nodded in response. The silence persisted for a couple minutes, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, but Luna was unsure again of how to proceed. “Can I ask you some questions?” Maria shrugged as she continued driving along the highway, her eyes scanning the distant road ahead for possible threats. “I happen to know you were a fan of that TV show, could you tell me… Between you and I… Were you a fan of me or my sister?” Maria snorted and started chuckling, Luna remained quiet as the woman settled down.

“You, by far, were the most interesting.” Maria said with a grin. “Mainly because you had cooler back story, Celestia just seemed too ‘perfect’. Dominic always said ‘It’s because she’s secretly plotting to take over the world!’, but I think that was just him being paranoid.” Luna chuckled faintly at Maria’s imitation of the normally serious man, her voice had slipped into an octave that more resembled an opera singer than the normal measured baritone.

“I see…” Luna said quietly, her mind drifting back to the conversation she had had with Dominic less than an hour before. “My sister’s methods are questionable, but she means well.” Maria shrugged and continued watching the road ahead of her, occasionally moving the wheel to drive around abandoned cars that hadn’t been hauled off for repairs or salvage. “However, I must be honest with you, Maria. There are storm clouds on the horizon that are far closer to us than you think.” The woman looked at the Princess with an unsure expression. “Dominic may need us both much more very soon, in fact our entire country may be in such need.”

“War Plan Pink?” The woman asked quietly, Luna only nodded and the woman scowled. “How soon? We’re so close to victory here in the EOL?” Luna quietly ignited her magic, something she found much more difficult to do in Earth’s natural anti-magic atmosphere. With it she displayed the words ‘Two Weeks’. It was to minimize the possibility of Celestia overhearing their discussion in the back of the truck. Maria sighed and looked to the road once more, the two of them sitting in contemplative silence. “Our country, eh?” The question caught Luna off guard, but the mare nodded nonetheless. “Does your sister know you’ve… Changed your view?”

“No… Not yet, but I suspect she won’t be surprised.” Luna admitted quietly, she looked at the floor of the truck silently. “This will be the second time I’ve been against her, so soon after my return, so soon after I learned to control my anger.”

“Sometimes families fight… In some cases it can be worse than others…” Maria shivered as she thought of her own parents attempting to marry her off to someone she thoroughly loathed and the ensuing gun battle that followed her refusal. “This time you’re going into it with a clear head though, right? It’s all you, not so much your emotions.” Luna nodded quietly, in some way it was her loyalty to Dominic, but most notably it was her loyalty to her subjects. The thestrals and other creatures of the night that were so readily persecuted and mistreated in Equestria even after a thousand years.

“Thank you, Maria… I can see why Dominic cares about you so much.” Luna said, Maria just smiled quietly as she turned the wheel and pulled off the highway towards the gated Community Luna had seen earlier. A sign had been painted and hung on the guard house that controlled the gate reading ‘Camp Golf’, with a golf club painted above it.

“Don’t worry about it…” Maria said simply, she parked the truck in front of a rather normal looking house. “Okay, everyone out.”

[♠]

Empress Night Raven paced nervously back and forth in her office, for the first time in a long time there was a threat to everything she and her inner circle had worked for. Her ring of steel was buckling, even her most hopeful of estimates put the enemy at the gates of Denver within the week. Nearly a third of her forces had been wiped out or captured, and she couldn’t spare to send any more without risking an uprising in Golden. The city of thralls would surely succumb to anarchy and violence if she pulled troops from it in order to combat the threat, and yet it was very likely that would be the case anyway.

They could always get more thralls, one way or another, whether by capturing them or breeding their own. Night Raven looked out her window at the laboring retches that wandered the streets, they were at least contributing to the war effort. The city of Golden was little more than a glorified holding pen, containing the unneeded and untrained thralls for later use. A twisted thought entered her mind, they were expendable, undesirable, a drain on society. No one in the EOL would bat an eye if they simply ceased to be.

Somewhere deep in Night Raven’s mind she heard a voice screaming at her, telling her that it was wrong, that she had already taken things too far. The woman stopped in front of the window of her office and stared out over the city, watching plumes of smoke from the foundries rising into the sky. The woman, in a brief moment of clarity, felt utterly despicable. However, it passed just as quickly as it came. The nation was in despair, she couldn’t ignore her subjects, she had to stay the course. In her moment of desperation Night Raven approached her desk and picked up a pen, if her forces in Golden didn’t have to guard the thralls they could defend Denver.

Her pen scrawled over the page a ghastly order, a solution to their problems that would finally put an end to the war. The Empress’ heart pounded heavily in her chest, yet her hand remained firm as she detailed every despicable, deplorable act that would transpire. The death warrant of untold numbers went on for nearly two pages before she stopped and looked at the bottom, staring at the place where her signature would be placed, where she would forever condemn herself to the deepest of hatred.

“The American’s brought this about.” She said to herself, trying to force her hand to scrawl her name. “If they weren’t so close… I wouldn’t have to… To…” Night Raven closed her eyes tightly, trying with all her might to will her hand to sign the orders. “What… What am I doing?” A spark of humanity entered the Empress’ eyes, her heart pounding even harder than before. The woman stood up, wobbling around on her feet as she felt her left arm go numb. “I’ve… I’ve got to stop this… This…” Before she could finish her sentence the Empress collapsed to the floor, spilling a bowl of pretzels all over her in the process.

It was ten minutes before an aide discovered her on the floor, any hope of reason or diplomacy died with her. An emergency session of the inner circle was called to establish the new leader of the failing Empire, a task that had once been the ultimate goal of many of them was now treated as a suicide mission. Hours of deliberation passed, fingers were pointed, votes were cast, and names were called. In the end, it was all about a fall guy, someone to brave the fires of an infuriated enemy army. For that reason a relatively unknown member of the inner circle was chosen, a short woman that was only identified by her old fur suit. Her name was Ingrid, an aspiring inner circle member who didn’t care that the war seemed hopeless.

Before Night Raven’s body had even cooled down, Ingrid entered her office. Such was the cold political machine that was the Empire of Light. Ingrid, of course, had very little experience leading anything more than protests for furry rights. Figuring there was something to be learned from whatever papers lay on the desk, she began to look through them. It was there that tragedy was found, if Ingrid’s fursuit had had slightly smaller eyeholes. If Night Raven had lived just five more minutes. What came next could’ve very well been avoided.

“It seems she had plans even to the end.” Ingrid mumbled as she looked over the orders that lacked a signature, without a second thought the woman picked up a pen and scrawled her signature across the bottom. “Hail Raven.” She said to herself before walking to the door with her first act as Empress in hand, it would take only an hour for the orders to be relayed by encrypted radio, and then the defense of Denver and the future of nearly a thousand people would be set in stone.

[♠]

Smoke drifted lazily up into the sky through a small hole in a rather large teepee situated at the base of the Rocky mountains. The quaint structure was surrounded by four pickup trucks, painted black with machine guns mounted in the back. White arrowheads had been painted on the hoods and doors, indicating just who they belonged to. Within the teepee were four old men, one from each tribe that made up the Native Confederacy. For a long time they had abstained from war with the EOL, fearing that their forces would easily be defeated by the better equipped Empire.

Families had been torn apart, trade had been disrupted, and confidence in the confederacy was teetering on an ever steepening cliff. So it was now that all four of them had seen the tide of battle turn with their own eyes that they sat to discuss their next move.

“The strange ones come from a place that is not of this earth, or perhaps even this plain of existence… We have no idea of their true capabilities.” Chief Deer Swiftly Running of the Shoshone tribe said as he looked at the fire, his expression was one of grim concern that managed to push through the wrinkles in his old skin, his white hair swayed in a light breeze that continued to feed the fire. “Even their leader is a mystery to us… From what my scouts have observed, he is a conqueror, and we all know how that could end for us.”

“I disagree…” Replied Chief Red Sparrow of the Apache nation, he was the youngest of the group, only fifty seven, and he still had a good portion of his thick black hair. “He is aggressive, this is true, but we would be as well if in his place.” The man straightened up as he continued to feel the warmth of the fire against his skin. “He is not the white man who comes to steal our people and take our land. That title has belonged to the Empire for as long as I have sat on this council.”

“You have only sat on this council for two years, Chief Sparrow.” Countered Broken Antlers of the Cheyenne nation, the two men looked at each other quietly, as if sizing one another up. “I concur with Chief Running Swiftly, these strange creatures are unknown to us. For all we know they are here to wipe out our entire race. If we are to go to war it should be with these strange ones that have taken over the CNG.” The three men began to bicker and argue amongst one another, their voices starting to grow in volume as minutes ticked by.

“Enough.” A quiet rasping voice pierced the conversation, bringing all arguments to a screeching halt. All eyes turned to the fourth man seated beside the fire, his skin was wrinkled and leathery, dark from exposure to the sun. His eyes squinted heavily and his hair was grey and well kept, the man looked over his compatriots as they stared back at him. And then, in the same rasping tone, ninety five year old Watchful Bear of the Ute nation spoke. “We have come here because our policy of neutrality is no longer effective… We can no longer allow factions to operate without becoming involved.”

All those present watched him quietly as he began to scrawl things in the dirt with a stick, at first they didn’t seem like much of anything.

“What we have seen is something I had not thought I would live to see.” Watchful Bear said as he continued to draw in the soil. “He is called an eagle, but they are wrong… This man is no eagle, he is the wolf.” Watchful Bear finished his drawing, depicting a figure of a man cloaked in the pelt of a wolf. “The hero of the Ute tribe.”

“Hero?” Broken Antlers asked incredulously, Watchful Bear nodded. “This ‘hero’ is barely old enough to be considered a man. I do agree with you on one point, however. He is a wolf, a ruthless hunter that will rip our tribes apart.”

“Yee of such little faith.” Watchful Bear said with a shake of his head. “In the battle we witnessed where he dismounted his tank, did you see how he fought the elf commander?” Once again all eyes were focussed on Watchful Bear, true to his name he was better at paying attention than most, even at his age he had eyes like a hawk. “He spared his opponent out of respect, and it is that same respect that will protect us from his armies.”

“Respect, for an elf?!” Running Swiftly said with a bit of shock, Watchful Bear shook his head slowly and took in a deep breath of the smoky air.

“The soldiers of the EOL carry swords, very seldom are they skilled.” Watchful Bear continued, he pointed to the figure he had sketched in the dirt. “The Elf earned his respect through skill, and that is the same way we will earn the respect of the wolf. The time for isolation is over, the wolf has come to deliver us from this world into a better one. Let us show him respect by meeting him as friends, not as fearful children.”

“I hear word he is involved with the maiden of the woods…” Red Sparrow said quietly, Watchful Bear smiled faintly and raised an eyebrow.

“Maria trusts him? What other proof do you need… Such a nice girl.” Watchful Bear said with a nod, reluctantly the others nodded. The maiden of the woods was the popular name in the NC’s territory in Wyoming and Utah for the woman known in Colorado as ‘The Mosin Maiden’. She was a bit of a hero in the Native Confederacy, as the story went, she protected a caravan with numerous pregnant women from a horde of ruthless EOL slavers with nothing but her aging rifle. Of course, the story had been embellished, but many of the tribal leaders had to admit they respected the normally reclusive sniper.

“It seems we’ve come to a decision then…” Broken Antlers said reluctantly, there were several nods from around the room. “We will make contact with this… Wolf. Hopefully he is as respectful as Chief Watchful Bear says he is.” The men nodded quietly and added a bit more wood to the fire, the rest of the night was filled with talk of internal affairs in the confederacy, some of which pertaining to the radio station that they protected. Ghost Peak Radio was probably their best asset, and so far things seemed to be working well enough, even if the original hosts had seemingly vanished into thin air.

[♠]

Putin sat quietly in his chair, watching a satellite feed of the city of Golden with his fingers interlocked. There had been a frightening uptick in activity from the EOL forces there, and rumors were already being picked up that Empress Night Raven had died. The more Putin heard the more he believed them, and the more he believed them the more he began to feel uncertain of the new Empress, whoever she was. So far his opinion was being shaped by the events unfolding before his aging eyes, that opinion was rapidly becoming one of fear.

As he sipped from a cup of coffee an aide would occasionally enter and set a scouting report on the table beside him. Each one relayed a more grisly and disturbing message than the last, it seemed the first act of the new Empress had been to purge the slaves being kept in Golden. It was a number estimated to be near eight hundred at its smallest, and as the large bonfires continued to grow in size Putin couldn’t help but wonder where the promising commander was. He silently pushed a switch on his table and another screen turned on, depicting the aerial image of T-34s parked on a hill overlooking a burning, but still functioning, bunker.

There was no way Occisor would be able to make it to Golden in time to do anything, even if he found out. That put Putin in a rather odd spot, contrary to popular belief he truly had turned over a new leaf. All the power in Russia doesn’t mean as much when the majority of Russians are eating each other's faces off, and with his humbled heart he had grown to want to do the right thing. The UN in boulder had remained isolated out of desperation, they lacked the forces to carry on a war against the EOL on their own, but with the aid of an ally… Putin looked at the growing bonfires, the echoing, nightmare inducing screams of the day Moscow fell ran through his mind.

“Summon the generals.” Putin said as he heard his aide enter the room, the aide nodded and left silently, leaving the Russian to sip his coffee and continue to watch the fires burn. In his mind he knew the war was rapidly coming to an end, and afterwards there would still be struggle on earth. His ultimate goal was to preserve humanity’s culture and accumulated knowledge, so far he had safeguarded it in the form of the best scientists and researches he could evacuate, and in the form of books and documents. Still, books and documents meant very little, he hadn’t been able to save actual artifacts. They were deep in EOL territory, and most likely had been destroyed or desecrated.

He would have to give the matter further thought, as it was likely that staying on Earth would be a viable option. As he sipped his coffee the door to the room opened and four generals entered, one from France, one from Japan, one from America, and one from England. They confusedly looked at the screen, unsure of why they had been summoned.

“Gentlemen.” Putin said quietly before pointing to the screen. “The Empress has died, her replacement is purging the slaves in Golden.” The generals looked at each other quietly, unsure of what that had to do with them. “We have sat here for too long, our fear has made us complacent of the atrocities that are happening just to the south of us.” Putin stood up and looked at them with a determined expression. “The time for that has ended! Ready the APCs and other vehicles at once! The time for waiting has ended.”

“Yes, sir!” The generals shouted, one of them left to issue the orders while two pulled a map up from beneath the table and rolled it out. They had been waiting a very long time to use such a map, their tactical minds going to work as they determined how they would take the city. The final General, General Hillard of the United States, approached Putin to await his next order.

“Advise me of what we know so far about Commander Occisor and his nation.” Putin said as he continued watching the screen, meanwhile he could hear an alarm echoing overhead, the ball was in motion.

“The New United States is a Martial Democracy, at least, that’s the name our PollySci boys have given their government.” Hillard said dutifully, he had been working rather close to the research being put into the New United States. “Power is held mainly by the Commander and the military. The people vote on a bill and he can either veto it or pass it, if he vetoes it the bill is voted on again, three times. If it passes two out of three times it’s put into law regardless of the veto. Of course, the Commander has the power to issue an executive order.”

“Interesting. No congress or senate?” Putin asked, Hillard nodded.

“It’s still a city state, there’s no need for a congress or senate. At least, according to the information we’ve been given. We estimate their population to be near ten thousand and growing rapidly through immigration.” Hillard continued as he watched the fires on the screen, he was rather unsure why Putin was asking about the nation, and feared perhaps the leader was going to go to war with the New United States. “There’s no term limit either, and we’re hearing rumors there’s a bill making the rounds that could put Occisor into power permanently.”

“I take it he’s been supporting it?” Putin asked, Hillard shook his head.

“I think he’s rather busy with the task at hand, from what I hear about him though, he’ll most likely veto it. Our psycho analysts think he has a problem with being an authority figure.” Hillard said as he stood at ease beside Putin, Putin quietly rubbed his chin in thought and looked back to the video feed of Occisor’s forces. “Of course, given how popular he is, it’s likely to pass in the rebuttal phase.”

“A Martial Democracy… Would you live there?” Putin asked quietly, turning his seat to face the general with a bit of a raised eyebrow. “If given the opportunity?”

“If I wasn’t busy here I would’ve already left, sir.” Hillard said with an equally curious expression. “We’re not as young as we used to be, it’d be nice to retire some place that wasn’t crawling with nutjobs or flesh eating monsters.” Putin nodded quietly and looked back at the screens, a third image appeared, this one of the UN forces getting ready in white APCs and other vehicles, with no tanks to speak of it would be a nerve racking approach. “Why do you ask, sir?”

“The war is in its closing days, General. I too am ready to retire, the question is where.” Putin stood up quietly and adjusted his tie as he continued looking at the pictures on the screen. “Since the Soviet Union I have seen pictures like this, been in situation rooms like this. The time has come for a new breed to take up the leadership positions in the world, and I believe this… Commander may be that new breed.”

“Then let’s get to work on bringing the end even closer, sir. It’s about time we pick up our gold watches.” Hillard said with a bit of a grim chuckle, Putin nodded and turned to join the other generals at the table that were planning out their advance on the EOL city of Golden. “We should start by notifying Occisor of what’s going on, psych profile on him says it’ll get his blood in a boil. What he needs right now is aggression, there’s very little between him and Denver right now, but he doesn’t know that.”

“I’ll get our liaison’s on it right away.” Putin said as he looked over the map on the table, already the generals were carrying out calculations on how many wounded or dead there could be on either side. The satellites had shown a consistent number of EOL forces in the town of Golden holding at around four hundred, fluctuating by a hundred or so every month. The UN was evenly matched in that regard, but they held the upper hand in training and actionable intelligence while the EOL held the defender’s advantage. Putin had a rather cunning thought in his mind, in all the confusion of battle the enraged slaves of Golden would become his allies against a common enemy.

The next day was bound to be an interesting one.

[♠]

Fortress Wall looked out over the field that had been set aside for Operation Sky Sabre, the stars shined in the sky overhead, and the moon faintly illuminated what he had been spending the majority of his time constructing. Five airplanes had rapidly turned to twenty now that they had worked out the bugs, and already there were promising cadets entering the pilot training program. The soldier turned scientist looked away from his window and went back to his papers, he had taken a break from the aviation sector to instead focus on something a bit more personal.

He loved tanks, they were his favorite thing to build and study, and with the added knowledge of human armor he had been formulating a new design, one that was completely his own. It was a pet project, something that he would fund himself. He was more interested in seeing if it could work rather than seeing it put into action. The current tanks fired shells using chemical propellants, which was essential on a world like Earth where magic was muted heavily. Fortress had a different idea, however, one that was more at home in his own universe. Magic charged crystals held an immense amount of energy, in some ways more than gunpowder.

Small scale tests had exceeded expectations, but scaling it up had been a problem. The recoil given off by the larger the reactions would violently shear the gun mount on even the strongest of tank turrets. On top of that, the projectiles moved at such speed that it grew increasingly hard to study them, as they shattered on impact or flew too far away after punching through the target. The heat was also too much, the barrel tended to melt down after consistent firing. Fortress Wall sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to figure out a way to incorporate his new design into something that could work. A smaller gun would be able to not damage the gun mount, but it wouldn’t do much good in battle.

Fortress Wall began to swivel around in his office chair, sighing and trying to think of something to help his plans along. His hooves pushed him along as he watched the ceiling fan spin slowly above him, if it had been going a little faster it might have offered a cool breeze, but as it stood it was going slow to keep from blowing his papers around the room. The design area was filled with easels and drafting tables often used by his human coworkers, Fortress recalled how they sometimes needed to rotate between positions in order to get anything done, due to the height difference.

“Whoa!” Fortress cried out as the centrifugal force of his swiveling chair grew too much and hurled him out of his seat, the stallion groaned quietly as he clocked his head against his desk. “Fucking cheaply made stupid spinning piece of…” Fortress stopped and stared at the chair that was spinning slowly to a stop. “Light bulb.” He said quietly as he smiled at the chair, chuckling as he got up and rubbed his head. The stallion quickly wrote down his notes on his research paper, contemplating the implications it could have for his pet project with glee.

The stallion stopped when he’d finished his note taking, then looked back outside at the airplanes that had been spaced out and were being guarded by numerous roving guard patrols. Security had been rather high lately, but then again, they were working on technology that could dramatically shift the balance of power in the world. Fortress sighed tiredly and folded up his papers for what he would be doing the next day. The stallion slipped them into a leather briefcase and locked it before slipping it over his shoulder and walking towards the door.

He briefly paused to look over the room, then trotted out to make his way home. His head ached, but at least he had made some progress on a subject he was quite interested in. The physics of armor and projectile were interesting in their own right, they just so happened to coincide with the interests of the military as well, which was fine in Fortress’ book. Things were starting to look up, hopefully.

Author's Notes:

So! Here's a little bit of stuff that I do from time to time, just to change things up a bit I add a new mechanic to my process every now and then, this time it was dice rolls! I'm not so sure the results were exactly what I wanted, but hopefully they turn out alright in the long run, I may or may not continue to do dice rolls depending on how this chapter goes over... Leaning towards not doing them, because I like being in control... Also, I do occasionally pull suggestions from the comments, they help to break things up too.

Anyway, that's all I've gotta say about this one, now onto the thing I know you all really come here for. Clip of the day! Hopefully I didn't post this one already. If I did I'll post another one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPk5mCYKCtU