Days passed, during that time the majority of the American and UN assault force had withdrawn through the portal, leaving a sizable occupation force in Denver. General Hillard was placed in charge of the occupation, Dominic, Luna and Maria were finally able to go through the portal. The first day back had been filled with speeches, the commemoration of a memorial for those that had been killed, and generally other political duties that they were bound to take care of. It had all blurred together for Maria, she hadn’t really taken a moment to think that she was in another dimension entirely.

Now, after all the speeches had been said and the ceremonies held, she reclined in an armchair located in the living room of Dominic’s house. Discord had brought it over as he’d said he would, placing it on a hill that looked out over the desert and gave a good view of the sunset. Maria was finally letting herself relax, for the first time in four years she felt like there was no need to keep her rifle close at hand. Dominic, meanwhile, was laying on couch beside her. Unlike her, however, he was asleep. Snoring softly as he lay on his side, dressed only in his fatigue pants and a t-shirt.

Maria had taken to dressing in a more punk fashion, after all, she pulled it off quite well with her very short hair. Jeans and t-shirts had replaced her sniper fatigues, her fingers drummed against the arm of the chair as she listened to Dominic resting. A soft smile crossed her lips as she looked over at him, she supposed that it had been the first real sleep he had had in some time. Maria quietly stood up and walked towards the window, looking out over the desert landscape with a discerning eye. It was certainly a nice view, and it provided plenty of angles to defend the house if need arose. The woman shook her head at that thought, there would be no need for that kind of thinking, New Liberty was safe.

Maria walked away from the window, making her way to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. Thankfully Discord had been nice enough to hook up a gas, water, and power supply to the house. How he had done it was a bit of a magical mystery that Dominic had determined was a common practice in Equestria, it accounted for the lack of power lines that would be needed to run many of the technologies Equestria employed. Maria shook her thoughts of the infrastructure away, she just wanted to make a simple sandwich. The woman began making her sandwich as many people begin, looking in the fringe for lunch meat. She sighed, however, when she realized that there wasn’t any lunch meat to speak of.

“Fuck…” She muttered quietly before closing the fridge, she quietly thought for a moment. It would be a chance for her to go into town and really meet some of the people there, of course she didn’t really know where she would find a deli, as Luna or Dominic mainly did the shopping. She figured the best course of action would be to ask, but seeing as Dominic was asleep, Maria would need to ask Luna. The woman walked out of the kitchen and to the stairs, she quietly ascended them and stopped at the top. Dominic’s sister’s room had been converted to Luna’s, something that held a bit of significance to Maria. It showed her that Dominic had finally moved on, and she was glad to see that.

Maria wandered up to Luna’s door and knocked on it quietly, not wanting to interrupt the alicorn mid meditation or something else that was private. There was a soft hum from the other side of the door and Maria pushed the door open, as she entered she took a moment to examine the room closer. The walls were navy blue, the shades were drawn, and numerous stellar diagrams were pinned or taped to the ceiling and walls. The bed rarely saw use, as Luna often joined Maria and Dominic in bed over the past couple days. Luna was seated at her desk, looking over numerous papers by the light of her mane.

“Hey, Luna?” Maria asked quietly, the mare looked over with a slight smile.

“Maria, what can I do for you?” Luna replied, her horn briefly glowing and shifting the papers around her desk.

“I was going to go into town and get some sandwich stuff, but I don’t know where the deli is. I just need a vague idea, I’ll find it from there.” Maria explained, Luna nodded quietly and hummed, putting her hoof up to her chin to think of a way to explain where the deli was.

“It’s closer to the southern hills, in the griffon district.” Luna said quietly, Maria nodded and closed the door. She quickly descended the steps and entered the garage, part of her knew it would probably be better to take the Crown Vic, but her eyes quickly drifted over to Dominic’s dirt bike. She smirked and took his helmet from its hook on the wall before opening the garage door and rolling the bike outside. On the couch inside Dominic rolled over, he had sensed a disturbance in the force. Maria grabbed a weathered denim jacket off the wall, decorated with numerous patches from her old uniform. She pulled it on, then the helmet, before closing the garage door and looking down at the town in the distance.

With a smile Maria tossed her leg over the bike, turned the key, and hit the kickstarter. The engine roared to life, she was no stranger to Dominic’s dirt bike, she had practically taught him how to ride it. With a grin she tore off down the hill, kicking up dust and sand as she made her way towards the growing town. Within a couple minutes she was coasting past a couple buildings being erected on the outskirts, the construction crews were varied and diverse, working together to build new homes for those who had come from Earth.

Maria slowed down as she approached an intersection further up ahead, the smell of new paint and fresh lumber still lingered as she looked at the buildings that had been completed. Small shops, apartments, even a playground with children playing and laughing. The woman found herself becoming a bit misty eyed, to see and hear children playing so innocently was something she had dreamed of since the infection had ravaged the world. Maria wiped her eyes and continued slowly riding along through the streets, she weaved from side to side to avoid hitting the numerous carriages and shop carts out in the road.

The woman came to a stop at a stop sign, checking both directions quietly. She was glad that she had, as a column of vehicles rolled past. Many of them were former UN vehicles that had been repainted with American colors, that was how many of the civilian vehicles that had been captured were being treated as well. Their engines were steadily being replaced with ‘Hearty’ engines that could run off the extremely available ethanol, something that was becoming even cheaper with the aid of UN scientistific help. Maria sighed quietly as she watched the vehicles pass, finally able to pull out onto the street and get back to her search for the deli.

Part of her felt out of her element, she was a skilled scout sniper with over three hundred confirmed kills and the adoration of most of the male, and some of the female, populace. Yet as she was searching through a peaceful town with plenty of people for a deli to make herself a sandwich, she couldn’t help but feel that perhaps she had reached her peak in life. With no more targets to prosecute or recon missions to run what really was there for Maria to occupy herself with? She supposed there was Dominic and Luna, she really did care about them, but she couldn’t very well sit at home all day. That wasn’t fair to them, especially with all the work they were still putting in.

Maria looked around quietly as she continued rolling down the streets, she could tell by the architecture and increase in Griffon’s that she had entered the Griffon district. More than a few heads turned to look towards the woman on the motorbike, many of the soldiers and former soldiers among them recognized her right off the bat, if the waves were anything to go by. The woman smiled faintly before her eyes locked onto a sign that she roughly translated from Griffish as ‘Delicatessen’. Maria pulled over and flicked the kickstand down, then pulled her helmet off and let it hang from the handlebars.

With a grunt Maria swung her leg over the bike and turned off the engine, then put the keys into her jacket pocket. The woman walked towards the deli with her hands tucked into her jacket pockets, noting that there was a nice display of meat hanging in the store window. It was clear that this place took it’s work very seriously. Maria wandered in and placed her order, once it was finished she returned to the dirt bike and took off again. She drove around for an hour or so, just taking in the numerous sights and familiarizing herself with the city that was now her home. When she did return home she found Luna sitting downstairs in the armchair with one of Dominic’s ‘private’ magazines in her grasp, the two of them had taken to reading them out in the open, just to mess with Dominic a bit. They cared about him deeply, but Luna had to admit it was rather adorable to see him squirm embarrassedly.

[♠]

Fortress Wall quietly adjusted his lab coat as he examined the latest group of scientists to enter his lab. Unlike his normal colleagues, who were only mere students of science, he now had some of the top human minds in the world at his disposal, courtesy of the UN. Many of their qualifications boggled his minds, they were in fields that he had never even heard of before. Of course, some of them had abstained from weapons development, but that was an acceptable loss. Fortress wasn’t out to build weapons at any cost, he himself pondered if what he was doing was really ethical. He’d started out as a tinkerer after all, but then again, the current Commander of the entire United States Military had never finished High School and that seemed to be working out alright.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for lending your services to the New American Government.” Fortress said with a genuine smile as he stopped in front of his three original assistants. “These three have assisted me since we built our first real tank, our first airplane, and our first rifles. They know where everything is, they know how everything works, and even if they aren’t as well educated as you are I expect you’ll treat them with the respect they deserve.” There was a collective nod from the group of eight scientists, who seemed far more interested in the laboratory that they had been brought to.

Fortress himself was a bit awed by it, clean and sterile, located fifty feet underneath the American military base. It had been dug out by diamond dogs and constructed from a mix of changeling and human based plans. There were all sorts of gadgets and tools, but Fortress still held onto his original drafting board.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.” Fortress continued, pausing in front of a man in a wheelchair before continuing back to his normal pacing. Thankfully the lab had a freight elevator strong enough to lift two T-34s thanks to magic reinforcement. “Forgive my pacing, it helps me keep a clear head… Now, please, do as you will. The government has given us the first month as a time to brainstorm, so test whatever pet projects you want. We will try to accommodate your needs, but remember we don’t have access to a particle collider or a ‘Nuclear Reactor’.”

“Fascinating.” Was a rather common response as the group of scientists dispersed to numerous tables and devices, Fortress Wall smiled quietly as he leaned against his drafting table with his three assistants. The first government think tank in the New American universe had been born.

“What do you think of them so far, sir?” One of Fortress’ assistants asked, a tall blonde haired blue eyed fellow with a mustache. Fortress winced as he watched one of the new scientists fumbling with one of his best inventions, a contraption of tubes and glass that was crucial to the operation of the entire department. A coffee machine.

“For geniuses they seem-” There was a shatter, Fortress sighed quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose. The person speaking was another one of the assistants, an equally tall man with black hair so thick Fortress was surprised he could get a comb through it. “Incompetent.”

“Lars… Get the schnapps.” Fortress said, the blonde man nodded and made his way towards a counter on the far side of the room. “We’re going to be here a while, if you need me I’ll be working on that special project.” The others nodded as Fortress walked away from his drafting table towards an object on a counter that was covered with a white cloth, two of the new scientists were examining it with their hands on their chins. Fortress silently pulled the cloth back, revealing the item beneath without any real flare. It looked like a rifle, save for the barrels. There were three of them on a spinning axis, connected to a small rather powerful motor, the scientists gawked at it with a bit of surprise.

“Is that a gatling assault rifle?” One of them, an asian woman with grey hair asked. Fortress looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Gatling what? No…” Fortress replied, momentarily pressing down on the trigger lightly. The barrels span rapidly into a blur. “It’s a project of mine… I’ve combined the immense power of charged crystals with the accuracy and range of ballistic weaponry, simply to see if it can be done.” The scientists nodded quietly, still looking over the weapon with a bit of intrigue. “Of course it’s not very practical, but it’s getting somewhere. I’m thinking perhaps of scaling it up and creating some sort of air and ground defense platform. That’s only after I finish my work on petroleum free tires, because people are starting to complain about all the tracked vehicles.” Fortress paused as Lars came over and gave him a glass of schnapps, the stallion quickly drank it down. The scientists raised an eyebrow at him. “What? Do you have some sort of miracle solution that’s renewable?”

[♠]

Celestia inwardly groaned as she found herself sitting in a boring meeting with her heads of the military, she had forgotten all about the event, but she supposed that it had to happen if she was going to increase the size of Equestria’s military. As it stood, they were still going over the basics of what the average soldier in Equestria was trained in, how he was equipped, and how much it cost to equip him. Indiscreetly, they were being compared to what the average American soldier was equipped with.

“Our forces cost more money to equip and train than theirs.” Said General Powder Keg of the Equestrian Army. “Even with composite armor and spell bows it costs us twenty times what it costs for an American infantryman.” Celestia watched a slide appear on the wall of the dingy meeting room, quietly sipping her cup of tea. The slide displayed a picture of an Equestrian Soldier next to an American soldier. For best comparison, both of them were Pegasi.

“They’re fighting without armor, of course it costs less to equip one of their soldiers.” Added one of the generals seated around the meeting table. “Look at our soldier, he’s covered from head to hoof in light plate and chainmail. All they have are those silly green shirts and pants, what next? Frilly green berets?.”

“Actually…” Powder Keg said with a slight scowl, clicking a button and causing another slide to appear. The American pony depicted wore a green beret, the Equestrian wore armor of the Solar Elites. “Their special forces wear green berets, they’re called the Globe Corps.” There was a mix of quiet rumbling amongst the generals, but Celestia had sat up to pay attention. “They’re trained to deploy anywhere on the globe, hence the name. We don’t know how much it costs to train them, but we assume it’s about equal to our Solar Elites.”

“And still no armor? I fail to see how they’re at threat.” Chimed the General in charge of Pegasi. Powder Keg silently clicked the clicker again, a new image appeared on the screen, one that quieted every voice in the room. It was big, green, angular and intimidating. Beside it was an Equestrian armored carriage.

“The American built T-34-85 tank.” Powder Keg said forebodingly. “This is the armor that really matters, with the American military it’s about speed. During their mission on earth the keywords to success were ‘Tempo. Tempo. Tempo.’.” Celestia leaned forwards as she stared at the monstrosity on the screen, it would easily destroy the carriage next to it simply by running it over. “This… Thing… Is only one of their ways of waging rapid warfare. If we went to war with them at this moment, using these tanks and other weaponry they would penetrate as far as Ponyville by the end of the first forty eight hours, and most likely be marching into Canterlot by the end of the day.” Celestia gulped quietly, she had seen the T-34 in action, albeit briefly. She knew that if her subjects went up against them unprepared they would certainly be destroyed.

“We have mages working on making spells powerful enough to penetrate and destroy their armor, but at the moment it’s not looking good.” Powder Keg said with a sigh, he clicked the button once again. “The next item on the agenda is their aerial combat, Colonel Swift Wind, if you wouldn’t mind coming up here.” He left the area to sit down, allowing the true leader of the Wonderbolts to take up her position beside the slide projector. She clicked the button once again, displaying one of the human flying machines next to an average pegasus soldier. The picture of the aircraft had been drawn by hoof, as it had been difficult to get a clear photo of the machine.

“What you are seeing here is the American’s latest aerial weapon, our observations in the field show us just what sort of predator this thing is.” Swift Wind said in a stern tone, Celestia watched her closely. “During a recon mission we saw these aircraft outfly and outlast a squad of American thestral troopers, and I needn’t tell you of their biological superiority in the air.” The mare gestured to General Powder Keg. “He wasn’t kidding about the American’s obsession with speed in battle, with squadrons of these things in the air even the wonderbolts would have a problem staving them off. If we allow them to build these… Contraptions… We’ll be in an arms gap that we just can’t hope to close, even with increased military airship numbers.”

“Enough fear mongering.” Celestia said, all eyes turned to her. “Perhaps we should be asking ourselves why we used the word ‘allow’.” Swift Wind looked at Celestia with a curious expression, Celestia adjusted her crown for a moment. “The New Americans have just completed a bloody campaign on the human’s home planet, before that they were at war with the Changelings. I would think that building up our military would be something important to us if we had survived those to situations.”

“True, but our military is already large enough. We outnumber the American’s ten to one, if we wish to maintain military superiority in the world we have to put an end to their production of arms.” Countered Swift Wind, Celestia narrowed her eyes quietly. “You aren’t suggesting that we just let them become a bigger threat? May I remind you that’s how Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Sombra occurred.”

“Unlike them, the New American’s aren’t lead by a power hungry dictator.” Celestia said with a scowl, leaning back in her seat as her generals continued to watch the discussion in silence. “At every step, President Occisor has tried to limit his own power, it’s not his fault that his citizens continue to vote him more. Even with our personal differences, I would sooner see Yakyakistan as an instigator than New America.”

“Instigator? No. Retaliator? There’s a different story.” Powder Keg spoke up, Celestia turned her gaze to the earth pony general. “I’ve studied their retaliation on the Changelings, it was absolutely brutal. They cut down enemy soldiers in droves before the battle ended.” Celestia sighed at the mention of the Changeling-American war, it was because of that that she was having to try and convince ponies not to settle in the southern desert where previously it had been okay. “We have to face facts here, there are forces beyond our control at play on the border. Just this week we’ve captured three groups of ponies with firebombs and crossbows trying to cross the border.”

“If they manage to slip past the Royal Guard and the American border patrol, they could easily be to New Liberty within hours.” Spoke up a familiar accented voice, Celestia inwardly scowled as she laid eyes on Field Marshal Eventide, flanked on both sides by a pair of Lunar Guards with extremely short manes. There was a quiet murmuring among the Generals in the room, none of them had invited Eventide, and neither had Celestia. “Given the average Equestrian’s quickness to form an angry mob, it wouldn’t be long until they used their firebombs and crossbows on the civilian populace.”

Celestia found herself scowling even more as she watched the thestral pull a cigar from his uniform jacket, bite off the cap, and light it. More and more murmuring went up from the generals, but Celestia remained silent. Eventide had somehow known of the meeting, how else would he have been able to know it was being held. It was clear from looking at the young Field Marshal’s eyes he was determined, though Celestia could only guess what his final goal was.

“Just something you might want to consider when you are holding your secret meetings.” Eventide added, puffing quietly on his cigar. “I would say I was surprised you didn’t send for me, but I suppose ‘we’ can’t be trusted, after all… We don’t serve the solar crown.” The stallion turned and spoke in Thestralese to his two colleagues, the nodded and followed him as he walked out of the room. Celestia sighed as the lingering smell of his cigar remained in the air, a constant reminder that she had alienated a massive portion of the Equestrian military. Even if they technically only served Luna, most of the time that meant Equestria at large, but now Celestia was fearful that status quo had changed.

The rest of the meeting carried on as well as it could be expected, orders were to continue construction of the airships while at the same time increasing education efforts for the ponies on the borders. Celestia hoped that perhaps showing them that New America wasn’t out to get them would keep them from doing something horrific, as the meeting came to a close two hours later she could still smell the smoke from Eventide’s cigar. She knew that she had to do something to counteract whatever it was he was doing, but she wasn’t sure what. Her confidence in her military was shaken, nearly every operation they had tried to take part in ended in failure.

She supposed the best thing to do would be to let him make a slip up rather than anything else, with that Celestia left the meeting room to return to her office. The mare passed numerous ponies waving petitions and demands in her face, but she was far too annoyed to field any of their questions or concerned. On top of that, she had promised to listen to Equestria’s first radio show, and it would be featuring Twilight Sparkle talking about her book. Celestia was glad to admit that she was proud of her former student, having read one of the copies that had already been printed.

Celestia made her way over to her desk and sat down, then flicked on the radio that had been set up in her office. They were becoming more and more available in houses around the country, as it stood there was likely two thousand households that had one, as well as numerous small towns that would play the radio over loudspeakers for ponies that couldn’t afford a radio. At the moment the radio was just playing music, Celestia had to admit that that was a nice touch on top of being used to communicate over great distances.

She reclined in her seat, sighing and turning to look out the window at the city of Canterlot below. Part of her wondered just how many of the ponies in that city were for a war against the New United States, she doubted many of them could fathom just how destructive a war of that magnitude would be. Hopefully Twilight’s book and interview would help lessen that number of ponies before the Grand Galloping Gala, she feared there would be protests even if the President didn’t come. There was a reason that the guard garrison in the city had invested in more riot gear, it was rumored that some of them were even considering building a bulldozer tank.

Celestia’s thoughts were stopped as she heard the music trail off, replaced by much more succinct music that seemed to be the prelude to something.

”Good evening, Equestria! This is our first broadcast tonight, I’m your host Shortwave and I will be interviewing one of the Princesses about her new book.” An oddly high pitched male voice spoke over the crackling radio, he sounded a bit nervously, but then again no one had ever really done what he had done before, at least not in Equestria. Music and interviews were commonplace in New America. ”Princess Twilight Sparkle is here to tell us about her book ‘No Hesitation: A deeper look into human history from an outsider’s perspective.’. It’s rather clear what the book is about, I’ve read the first couple chapters today.”

”Actually the first couple chapters don’t really go into what the book is about.” Twilight Sparkle’s voice joined the host’s, Celestia smiled and leaned back in her seat again, looking out the window at the distant southern horizon. ”It’s all a sort of basis for what the book is about, we get to see what human civilization evolved from. The first two chapters only cover up to the human’s ‘Digital Era’.”

”Oh? Well, please, tell me what the book is about.” The announcer spoke up, Celestia could hear the glow of magic as she assumed her student was levitating a copy of her book.

”The book is more about how they’ve been portrayed by Equestrian media. When the first human came to Equestria there were riots in the streets, he was nearly killed at least three times.” Twilight explained in her normal calm, but firm, lecturing tone. ”All over remarks he made about the Equestrian government, remarks that would’ve simply been shrugged off if a pony had said them. What’s more… The outright lies that have been told about the human race are dangerous!”

”You’re referring to the previous tension on the border, correct?” The host, Shortwave, asked.

”Yes, a lot of ponies in Equestria didn’t even know why it had escalated.” Twilight explained in an even tone, Celestia looked over to her radio and turned up the volume. ”An Equestrian protest on the American border grew so out of hand that an American border enforcement agent was killed by a thrown rock.

”Are you sure that’s how it happened?” Asked the host, there was a quiet pause.

”I would think so, considering I’m one of the princesses and a matter of national security like that wouldn’t just be passed along the grapevine.” Twilight said in a somewhat flat tone, there was an awkward silence that followed after that. ”I appologize for my tone, but you have to understand that the entire New American country is made up of species that are viewed unfavorably in our society, and as such they’re treated rather poorly. Even in their own borders Equestrian tourists harass them ceaselessly.”

”I guess we’d never really been told about things like that…” Replied the radio host, Celestia smiled even wider. There was hope for her subjects after all. ”It seems you have really strong feelings for the New United States, the humans in particular. Is that covered further in your book?”

”Yes, I spent a while with the New American Expeditionary Force when they went through the portal to Earth.” Twilight’s tone was extremely serious, Celestia could practically see the look on Twilight’s face even through the radio. ”What many Equestrians fail to understand is just… Just how immense the cataclysm of their world was. That’s where the book gets its title. On Earth, a single moment of hesitation could lead to a family literally being torn apart.” Celestia paused as she heard Twilight blow her nose, it was clear that talking about what she had seen on Earth was rather difficult for her. ”They’ve suffered so much over the past four years, they shouldn’t have to suffer here too.”

”I’m sorry if I touched on something a little too sensitive there, let’s move on to the other chapters…” Celestia sighed quietly and leaned back in her seat, looking up at the ceiling and stretching. Things were going better, it seemed, but still she could make out the scent of Eventide’s cigar lingering in her nose, another reminder that she may very well have enemies in her own country.

[♠]

Dominic quietly sat up on the couch, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly and looking around the room. It was starting to get dark and there weren’t any lights on or candles lit, however Dominic didn’t mind that. The view of the sunset was incredible, like watching the entire sky on fire in a beautiful glow of pinks and reds. The man stood up and walked towards the window, sighing happily as he saw that somewhat familiar view. It was a nice reminder that he was home, where he belonged, where he could do the most good for his people. He froze as he spotted a glow in the window reflection, then turned around to see Luna sitting in an armchair with a magazine in her hooves.

“Is that one of my…?” Dominic asked quietly, a bit embarrassed by what Luna was reading. “I completely forgot I had any of those!” He started walking towards her, reaching out to try and take the magazine from her, but she smirked and moved it away from his grip. “You’re how old?” Luna smiled faintly, giggling as she turned the magazine at an odd angle, as if trying to see something more clearly.

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Maria’s voice called from the kitchen, Dominic turned and looked towards the doorway as Maria emerged. With the way she had spoken he would’ve thought she would be dressed in something risque.

“How many of these did you find?” Dominic asked as he tried, and failed, to take the magazine from Luna’s magic again. “This is the third one!” Maria chuckled quietly and walked over to the couch.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” She sat down and adjusted her t-shirt, smirking over at Luna who was still holding the magazine out of Dominic’s reach. “Come on, I think looking into what makes you happy is very healthy for a relationship.”

“You just get off on making me blush.” Dominic said with a sigh before walking back over to the couch and sitting down next to Maria, the woman shrugged and made a gesture that equated to ‘a little of both’. “I expect this kind of stuff from you, Maria, but e tu Luna?”

“I’m simply curious what sort of things human couples do.” Luna said simply before she went back to browsing through the magazine. “Unless I’m truly making you uncomfortable, I wouldn’t want to harm your opinion of me.” Dominic sighed quietly and rubbed his temples, then looked out the window again.

“It’s… Fine. I guess… I mean, as Maria is so fond of saying, it was bound to happen eventually.” He mumbled, the blush still present on his face. “I just kinda worry you’ll think less of me, is all.” Maria leaned over and put an arm around him, pulling him over into a hug in an odd display of strength. He paused as Luna stood up from the arm chair and then moved over to the couch, leaving Dominic sandwiched between the two of them awkwardly.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Luna said with a warm, non-judging tone. “I’m over a thousand years old, do you honestly think I’m going to be surprised by anything?” Maria and Dominic both looked at her with somewhat uncertain blushes. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll teach you all my secrets.”

“W-Wow, Luna… I’ve never seen this side of you before.” Dominic said quietly, Luna smirked softly and nuzzled against him.

“Well how would you feel if you’d been banished to the moon for a thousand years?” Luna countered, she opened her wings and hugged the two humans with them. “Now that I’ve finally found a herd, I can let my mane down, so to speak.” Dominic gulped quietly at the mention of a herd, he’d accepted the idea, but it was still something he was trying to ease himself into. “Speaking of… Maria, isn’t there something you wanted to do?” Maria gasped quietly, then Dominic let out a surprised yelp as he was pushed out of the way so Maria could scooch over.

“Really!?” Maria asked in an excited tone, Dominic stood up and rubbed the back of his head. Luna nodded with a smile before her horn glowed, seconds later a brush floated down from Luna’s room upstairs.

“What the…?” Dominic asked in shock, Maria giddily took the brush from Luna’s magic and quietly began to brush Luna’s mane. “Uh… Okay… I’m going to go make something to eat…” Dominic awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and walked out of the room, appearing rather confused and somewhat uncertain as to what was going on. A couple seconds after he’d left Maria and Luna stopped, then looked at each other quietly.

“I think maybe we took the whole ‘We’re getting along’ thing too far.” Maria said quietly, Luna nodded and rubbed her temples. “I mean, I’m glad you let me brush your mane, but… He’s always been sort of slow to accept things on a relationship level.”

“Perhaps we should talk to him…” Luna said, Maria nodded quietly and set the brush down on the couch. The mare and the woman stood up, walking quietly towards the kitchen where they heard Dominic moving around. They peeked in and saw him rummaging through the refrigerator, his eyes roved over the contents before he sighed and simply stood back. He crossed his arms in deep thought, unaware that he was being watched as he stared into the fridge. “Dominic?”

“Huh?” The man looked over at Maria and Luna with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, hey, what’s up?”

“We were worried maybe we came off a little too strong.” Maria said as she leaned against the wall. “I know you’re still kind of getting used to relationships, especially one like this… We were just trying to show you we were getting along.”

“Oh? Good, that’s good…” Dominic said quietly before he closed the refrigerator, looking a bit awkward as he leaned against the kitchen counter and glanced to the floor. “I mean, it was kind of a weird experience, but I appreciate what you were doing.” Maria and Luna smiled faintly and walked forwards, taking up places on either side of Dominic. “Something else you wanted to talk about?”

“Well, we were hoping maybe after dinner, you’d like to go upstairs for a bit?” Maria said, fluttering her eyelashes. Dominic gulped quietly, glancing between Luna and Maria, unsure of what to do. Ever since that first night Maria had been insatiable, not that he minded, but it would certainly be the first time that Luna was added into the mix. “It’s okay, if you’re uncomfortable it can wait.” Dominic looked at the two of them quietly, a blush rising up through his face, before he silently resolved to himself that it was time to man up and stop worrying.

“No… I’m alright…” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe we should just skip dinner?” Maria and Luna found themselves in a rather embarrassed position as Dominic suddenly put an arm around both of them. The man smirked and began walking towards the stairs, somewhat happy that he’d evened up the score and made them squirm a bit. Luna and Maria shook off their surprise and quickly went to follow the man, the Princess of the night was glad that she’d finally get to spend a night with her herd that was more than just snuggling. She’d finally get to delve into a well of knowledge that had been untapped for a thousand years.

Author's Notes:

It's finally happening! The herd is forming, hopefully it's forming well. That's about all I can say here, except I'm really enjoying getting back into the character portion of the story. I'm thinking about what Maria can do now that she doesn't have to shoot at EOL troops anymore.

Here's your clip of the day! Not funny, just cool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7CbZoyzOm0