The Zebras had finally raised an army worthy of liberating the Equestrian mainland, fifty thousand of their finest warriors waited aboard their ships as they sailed in secret towards the Changeling Kingdom. Their forces had baited the changelings into thinking they would launch some sort of invasion with the intention of taking an Equestrian port, in actuality they would go straight through the Changeling's country towards New Liberty. They would prove their worth to Celestia and the world as the truly superior warriors.

Under the cover of darkness their ships drew closer to the coast in the distance, every warrior remained quiet as a mouse as they attempted to move to the shore without detection. The moonless night had been planned on in advance, they would surely be able to take the enemy by surprise. The water lapped against the wooden hulls of their frigates and schooners, old Equestrian vessels that had been sold to the Zebras for a fair price. They were some of the fastest out there, thanks to numerous enchantments placed on the sails and rudder. Little did they know that their fastest ships would be the downfall of their operation, as they had been detected by American Arcane Sensors aboard an Airship. The Battleship USS Cyclops to be precise.

The Airship sat in darkness over the coast, engines humming and echoing over the water as the downdraft pelted the ocean below. Floating beside the Cyclops was the USS Enterprise, USS Colossus, and the USS Washington. Their humming engines creating the sound of an angry swarm of hornets, one that was beginning to reach the ears of the eager Zebra soldiers. Their captains looked around in uncertainty, thinking perhaps that they had been discovered by the Changelings. Then came a series of rather unnerving sounds, accompanied by several flashes of light. Bright lights appeared over the zebra ships, seemingly suspended by parachutes.

Aboard the Cyclops the captain, a human with a stern expression, pushed play on a CD player hooked up to the PA system. The song that played was the signal to attack. The Zebras looked up as the song began echoing loudly over the water, before they could react the twelve inch cannons on the Cyclops roared to life. Shells from the airships rained down on the Zebra armada, accompanied by withering fire from the machine guns and anti-aircraft batteries mounted to the ship’s side. Zebras ran around on the decks of their ships as they tried to turn their ships around, shells continued raining down on them without mercy. Wood splintered into shrapnel, blood began to spill into the water of South Luna Ocean at an alarming rate. The order had been given that there was to be no doubt as to who one the engagement, it as to serve as an example to any nation intending to go to war with the NUS.

Ships caught fire, illuminating even more of the armada than the flares overhead could’ve. Shells continued raining into the water or tearing holes through the wooden hulls of several Zebra built ships, a good portion of ships began to turn back, as so far only about a third of the fleet was under fire. The cruisers Washington and Enterprise moved through the air, firing all the while, and cut off their means of escaping back to the Zebra mainland. The zebras that had jumped into the water began trying to swim towards the shore, only to be cut down by the machine gunners on the other side of the Cyclops and Colossus

It was as if the entire ocean was on fire, flaming hulks of ships began to slip beneath the waves while bits of wood and fabric floated on the surface. Survivors of the ships tried to cling to the wood for life, but they met the same fate as their swimming comrades. Search lights on the ships flicked on, scanning over the water for more targets as they had no fear of retaliation from the flightless zebras. On and on the firing went until finally there was only one ship left. Surprisingly it wasn’t blown out of the water on sight, instead the captain of the Cyclops ordered his Globe Corps soldiers to board the ship.

The thestrals and griffons landed on the deck of the airship, killing any of the crew and soldiers that dared put up a fight. Eventually they had culled those who refused to surrender, and when the few that did surrender thought they would be taken prisoner, they were instead given a written message and ordered to return to Zebrica. It was simple and short. ‘Our ships can cross the ocean too.’.

[♠]

Mike quietly adjusted his flight jacket as the wind buffeted against him, shivering as he saw his breath through his oxygen mask. He had thought it was cold at fifteen thousand feet? He wished he was at fifteen thousand feet. After he and his remaining crew had been picked up by the American army they had been given a few weeks to recoup, the ruskie that had helped them hide had gone back to his own unit.

Now they were on a mission towards the ‘Crystal Empire’ to deliver an odd type of weapon. It wasn’t a weapon that would explode, it wouldn’t kill people or start fire or anything of that sort. The bombay of his and eight hundred other B-17s was filled with bundles of leaflets. They were flying at an altitude that pegasi ponies wouldn’t be able to fly at in optimal weather, let alone the freezing cold and clouds that made their home at twenty thousand feet. Despite that he kept his eyes on the horizon, just in case an alicorn decided to make an appearance. If their mission was successful they would be one step closer to victory. The word had been spreading that the griffons would soon be ceding into the New United States, as would the Changelings, and when they did they would gain a new name.

Onorus sounded like a decent enough name, certainly was a lot easier to say than New United States of America. Mike shrugged and sighed as he rubbed his hands together, the man hadn’t even bothered to try and learn the names of his new crew. As far as he knew they’d get shot down again, and then it would just be him, Athena, and Insecta again. Below the plane he could see nothing but snow and ice, so if they went down it was likely they wouldn’t be coming back at all. He began humming to himself, just to pass the time until their target was below them. Mike couldn’t believe it was finally over, at least with Equestria. As far as most people were concerned it was over.

The Forty Eight Hour War, that’s what people were calling it. Many ponies still couldn’t believe it was over, at least the ones in the cities that had been taken over. They still believed their Princess would come to save them, which wasn’t very likely as they really didn’t need saving. They weren’t being mistreated, they were being given aid as their buildings were being repaired. Mike supposed they were still getting over the fact that their entire country had been so rapidly conquered, he knew he’d be pretty well pissed if that happened to him. As the plane continued flying along Mike could see the clouds were thinning out and things were actually starting to brighten up. The man could see what looked like a dome ahead, inside it everything was green and lush.

“Who the hell decided to settle an empire all the way out here?” He asked aloud, mainly to himself as he saw the crystal buildings start to come in view. “Like, how would someone even get out here in the first place?”

”Cut the chatter, Mike. We’re on final approach.” Athena said sternly over the intercom, Mike shrugged and quieted down. He instead looked out at the bombers in the formation, they hadn’t even been repainted, that was how fast the war had ended. They were still tan with blue underbellies, perfect camouflage for a desert theatre. Not so much for the snowy frozen north, still Mike figured it didn’t matter since they were so high up. ”Sixty seconds to target.”

The man quietly watched as a couple magic bolts arched up out of the dome, but they dissipated before they came even close the flight. Mike readied the machine gun just in case as he became a fully alert waist gunner, the bombers began spreading into a proper formation as they got closer to the city in the distance. The dome was closer than ever, the first couple planes had already passed through it.

”Opening bombay doors.” Athena said once again as Mike heard the bombay doors open, once again he saw the other planes follow suit almost simultaneously. Mike smirked quietly as he saw the dome loom closer, suddenly the plane was flying through warm air and blue skies. ”Thirty seconds.”

On the ground Celestia watched in sheer horror as the aircraft began to blot out the sun, shadows loomed over the city as she, her generals, Cadence, and Shining Armor watched in anticipation of the coming squeals and screams of bombs. The ponies in the street were running for cover in anticipation of the same punishment that befell Canterlot. To everyone’s surprise there was no screaming of bombs, now earth shattering explosions. Bursts of what looked like confetti were the only things to fall from the bellies of the horrifying aircraft. The papers floated down from the high altitude, scattering all over the city as the aircraft simply passed by without so much as a single damaged plane.

“What just happened?” Cadence asked in surprise as she watched the papers fall further and further, eventually they became close enough that she could snatch one with her hoof. The others snatched some for their own, Celestia took one and looked at what it said. It was one word, in big black letters with a period at the end. ‘BOOM.’. To her generals it made no sense, but to Celestia and Cadence the message was all too clear. It was a warning. They could’ve easily dropped just as many bombs as they had leaflets, and if the Crystal Empire didn’t back down from the fight those planes would return with something much heavier than paper.

“Aunt Celestia…” Cadence said as she looked to her aunt as she held the paper in her magic. “I can’t help you, it’s very clear to me that these Americans are willing to let us be if we return the favor.” Celestia was a bit surprised to hear her niece say that to her, but she had already lost two people close to her, she wasn’t about to lose the last one she had by arguing.

“What am I to do?” Celestia asked as she listened to the plane’s engines as they got more distant, the citizens of the Crystal Empire were meanwhile looking at the pieces of paper with confusion in the streets below. “My kingdom has been taken from me… This is what I had hoped to stop.” The Princess looked to one of her Generals who was staring at the paper with a bit of surprise. “Tell me, General Wind Breaker, how this came to pass…?” The General, a pegasus with white fur, looked at her with an uncertain expression.

“They used our tactics against us…” The General said in a bit of surprise. “Their machines don’t need to eat or sleep, all they need is fuel which the American’s have plenty of… They were too efficient for our military to hope to stop them.” The General looked out over the Crystal Empire with a grim expression, noting that the small micro nation was far behind Equestria in terms of technology and soldiers. He concurred with Princess Cadence’s decision, sending them into battle would be mindless suicide.

“You know you are welcome to stay with us, Aunt Celestia…” Cadence said, interrupting the Generals inner thoughts. “But once you are fully healed, I urge you to please try and reconcile with Aunt Luna… It’s what you would tell me and Twilight to do if we had a spat.” Celestia was about to point out that a war was a lot larger than a spat, but the point still remained. For beings like Luna and Celestia time was on their side, perhaps in a century the wounds would’ve healed enough for them to return to being at least friends, if not sisters.

[♠]

Jack sat quietly in the hangar that had been rapidly constructed in the fields outside of Ponyville, part of an airbase that was being put in place. The runway had been poured quickly and efficiently using techniques based on Changeling construction tactics, already it was capable of launching fighters and bombers. The young man didn’t give two shits about the runway though, as he had more pressing things on his mind. It had started during the beginning Forty Eight Hour War, when Sarah had called him by his nickname ‘Ghoul’. Not a lot of people knew how much that truly bothered him, and Sarah was one of them.

Unlike most normal people, he had a much stronger connection to matronly figures as he had lost his during the outbreak. Hearing a name like that from someone he genuinely loved was like a stab in the heart, and he still hadn’t gotten over the thoughts. His eyes glanced towards his P-38, the side near the cockpit was decorated with his EOL and now Equestrian kills. There had even been a special one painted to symbolize the airship he had sunk. All in all, he was a triple ace, and the ace of aces for the Forty Eight Hour War.

The aircraft’s tan paint job had been replaced by olive drab, while the underbelly was still sky blue. Jack had to admit he was glad for the change, but not nearly glad as he was to know that he wouldn’t have to be flying so many combat missions anymore. At least, he hoped. Rumors were spreading that they’d be shipped out to the west coast to harass Zebrican ships. There was a radio playing soft, calming music in the hangar that echoed through the metal building.

Jack stood from his seat on an ammunition crate and walked towards his plane, humming along to the song softly. He ran his hand along the leading edge of the left wing, the cool of the metal sent shivers up his spine. The sound of engines overhead told him that the bombers were back from their run over the Crystal Empire, Jack supposed that either meant he would get an order to scramble to bomb the city or nothing would happen as the Crystal Empire backed down. As much as he wanted some Crystal Empire victory marks, he wasn’t in the mood to take any more pegasi down.

Jack quietly walked to the ammo crates where he had been sitting and picked up his flight jacket in preparation for the call to scramble. He slipped the jacket on and looked out the hangar doors at the bombers that were coming in for a landing on the runway, in the distance he could see the city of Ponyville was bustling again. Many of the ponies that had been evacuated had returned after the country fell under American, soon to be Onorussian, occupation were returning, even some of the former nobles of Canterlot.

Jack was glad they had done away with nobility, it seemed to win a lot of hearts and minds from the common ponies who very much outnumbered the former nobles and were often treated poorly by them. There were other goodwill missions being carried out throughout the country, from dropping candy bars with parachutes from a bomber to building better schools. Jack felt a sense of pride in being one of the ‘Conquerors’, and he felt even better that as a result better things were happening around the country.

The man sighed as he heard a familiar pair of boots against the floor of the hangar, a couple moments later Sarah had walked around the plane and moved next to him. They were still on rather uncertain terms, but she was hoping that she could so something to cheer him up. In her pocket was a small felt box and a plastic bag with a couple rank insignias in it. She didn’t speak right away, joining Jack in watching the B-17s land and taxi to their respective hangars and parking area. The woman finally cleared her throat.

“Lieutenant.” Jack said quietly, Sarah sighed and turned to face him head on.The young man was hesitant to move, but eventually turned to meet her. She was, after all, his superior. He was a second lieutenant, she was a first. “Something you wanted to talk about? I thought we’d be going up again.”

“Nah, the Crysti’s are pulling back. The message got across pretty well.” Sarah replied with a faint smile, Jack stared at her with an uncertain expression, as if unsure what else there was to talk about. “I needed to find you, I’ve got to give you something.” Jack raised an eyebrow in surprise as he watched Sarah reach into her coat and withdraw a black felt box. “Now, I need you to do me a favor and stand at attention.”

Jack stood at attention as asked, he was shaping up to be a good soldier. Sarah smiled as she opened the felt box and brushed his jacket out of the way so she could see his tan pilot’s uniform. Inside the box was a medal that looked similar to a German Iron Cross, there was a pair of thestral wings suspending it from a red ribbon with a single white stripe and a silver star at the center of the cross. He recognized the medal as the ’Errant’s Cross’, one of the most coveted medals in the American armed forces. Named for Lieutenant Colonel Errant who had died during the Changeling-American war, it was for those that ‘Dealt a significant blow to the war effort of the enemy.’. Generally it was awarded posthumously.

“Second Lieutenant Jack Rossiano, for your actions on the first day of the Forty Eight Hour War, in sinking the Equestrian Airship Sunlight, you are being awarded the Errant’s Cross.” Sarah said, making no effort to hide how proud she was as she pinned the medal to his chest. Jack felt himself swelling with even more pride, part of him wished that his family could’ve been there with him. His father would’ve been so proud, his birth mother might have even hugged him. He realized he was with his family, the only family he had left. As Sarah finished pinning the medal to him he wanted to reach out and hug her, but stopped as he saw her reach into her coat again. “Command has seen fit to give you a promotion as well. May I?”

“Y-Yeah.” Jack said with a bit of surprise as the woman pulled a bag from her jacket and opened it, she reached up and removed the brass lieutenant’s bars from Jack’s collar before replacing them with silver Captain’s bars.

“I wanted to be the one to tell you finally outrank me… At least in the army air corps.” Sarah said with a bit of a smirk as Jack reached up and felt the captain’s bars. “I know it’s still not-” The woman was cut off as the man hugged her tightly, she smiled softly and returned the hug as the sound of B-17s landing began to taper off. Only about forty of them were stationed in the new Ponyville air base, the rest were spread around the country at other airbases that had been constructed or were leapfrogging back to New Liberty.

“Thanks…” Jack said before he broke the hug. “For everything you’ve done for me.” Sarah smiled and pinched his cheek.

“You’re welcome kiddo. Now come on, let’s put that medal some place safe, then we can show off those captain’s bars.” Sarah said, Jack nodded as the two began walking out of the hangar only for Jack to pause.

“Wait… I, uh… I actually have a sort of… Kinda… Date?” He said, Sarah looked at him with genuine surprise. “Otherwise you know I’d love to go, but… You know… This is kind of a first time thing for me…” Sarah put her hands on her hips and smiled knowingly.

“A date, eh? Who’s the lucky lady?” She asked, Jack rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around the hangar. He hoped for some sort of way out of talking about it, as he wasn’t sure how Sarah would react to his choice of date for that evening. The man paused, he knew Sarah wouldn’t do anything outright crazy, he could handle it.

“T-Tig…” He said nervously, Sarah raised an eyebrow as if she didn’t understand. “She’s one of the mechanics that works on the P-38s.” Sarah rubbed her neck as she thought about who she knew in the mechanics, they were primarily ponies and humans, but most of them were men. “Earth pony, green fur?”

“A pony?” Sarah said with a bit of surprise, Jack braced for some sort of reprisal. “Wait… Tig! I remember her, nice girl…” Sarah had recalled the mechanic Jack had mentioned, for a pony she seemed well rounded and kind, certainly nothing to get upset about. “Okay then, I’ll… Uh… I’ll go hang out with Dusty and Adler then. You enjoy your date.” Sarah turned and walked away, Jack just turned back to the plane and looked it over once more. The man rubbed the back of his neck and approached the plane again, patting it on the side as he did so.

[♠]

Maria quietly sighed as she walked through downtown Ponyville, she and Melissa had been sent to the town to keep an eye on the POWs that were clearing away debris. It had all been done voluntarily, and the POWs were being compensated monetarily for their time of course. It felt odd for the two snipers to so freely move about the city, especially when they had been skulking around it weeks before. Dominic and Luna were hard at work with their political meetings in Canterlot, working to establish an entirely new government from three different systems. Maria left political stuff to them, as they had a better understanding of it than her.

As they walked along the rubble strewn streets Maria caught sight of a couple familiar faces from the show, it was oddly haunting to see them after such an experience. Some of them were POWs, some of them were civilians hoping to see their businesses and homes intact. Overhead the sound of planes reigned supreme where once there had only been clear blue skies, the chill of winter was starting to set in once again. Throughout the city Maria could hear the sound of engines while occupation forces would occasionally walk by. The sound of music echoed through the streets, most likely from one of the record players that the soldiers had found in the abandoned houses.

The bodies of the dead, Equestrian and American alike, had been taken away for burial in the local cemetery. Maria was glad for that, she didn’t like thinking that some of them had been put in the ground by her hands, even though she knew it to be true. She kept telling herself once the war was really over, once the threat of Zebra or Minotaur invasion or even Dragon intervention had passed she would get out of the military. Part of her wanted to believe that was the truth, but the other part kept telling her that seemed to be all she was good at. The two snipers walked down a street lined with quaint cottages, it was so pristine that neither of them would’ve believed it had been involved in a war.

Bittersweet memories flooded Maria’s mind as she looked at the buildings, thinking back to all the time that she and Dominic had spent watching the show. Nearly five years it had been, she still remembered most of it, enough that she had been able to use her knowledge of it in combat. She sighed softly as she passed by a building that looked like a gingerbread house, it had survived the shelling unscathed, and its owners were already hard at work getting it up and running again. Maria almost felt like stopping in, as she and Melissa still had time before they had to be on duty, but she stopped herself. They likely wouldn’t have wanted a human in their store.

Maria watched as a couple foals ran out of an alley, they looked to be playing with one another until they spotted the two humans. As soon as they did they stopped playing and stared, a couple of them even appeared curious. Maria sighed and swung her rifle around to her other shoulder, out of their view. The two women just waved awkwardly and continued walking, ignoring the odd feelings that the children’s eyes brought up.

“Hey, Melissa?” Maria asked once they were out of earshot of the children, her partner looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “What would you think if I had a kid?” Melissa’s expression changed to one of surprise and curiosity. “I’m gonna leave the army soon, you know? Dominic, Luna and I have talked about it a couple times…”

“I think you can do anything you set your mind to.” Melissa said with an honest tone as she adjusted the boonie cap she wore in addition to her grey urban uniform. “You put up with me, even with all the shit I’ve done… You’ve certainly got the patience for it.” Maria smiled faintly as she heard that before she pulled her scarf up over her face to hide her nose from the chilly fall air. “Did Dominic finally pop the question?”

“Not yet, but he’s had a lot of stuff on his mind lately.” Maria said with a bit of a sigh. “Once everything is finalized tonight we’ll have time to… Discuss it further.” Melissa raised an eyebrow at her before she caught the faint blush on Maria’s face. She giggled softly and adjusted the rifle slung over her shoulder, Maria had taken to carrying her AK-47 while Melissa had taken to using the Tac-50. The pair turned down another street and walked for a couple more minutes before they finally came upon the group of POWs that had volunteered to fill in a crater in the road, two FAST troops, a pegasus and a thestral, were standing guard over them. She recognized one of them pretty quickly as Rainbow Dash, the lieutenant was chatting with one of the prisoners. Maria smiled faintly as she saw that it was Big Macintosh, she was glad to see that the stallion had survived the battle.

“Lieutenant.” Maria said as the got closer, the mare turned towards her and snapped to a salute. Maria returned it before gesturing for the mare to stand at ease. “Here to relieve you.”

“Thank you, Major Valova.” Rainbow Dash said as she read the name patch sewn to Maria’s uniform, looking at the group of stallions that had a shovels and a carriage filled with a large pile of dirt. “I was just chatting with a friend, ma’am. Turns out he saw some pretty hairy stuff before the battle.” Maria felt a bit guilty as she saw Big Macintosh nod. “Anyway, Hans and I will be off.”

“Have a good one.” Melissa said as the two FAST soldiers began walking away, Melissa leaned against a nearby cart while Maria stood closer to the group. The stallions began shoveling the dirt into the hole, from the looks of it they were already halfway done. Maria adjusted her scarf once again, this time covering most of her head and face save for her eyes. The sound of humvee engines would occasionally become audible to her and the work detail, but Maria knew they were only part of the occupation force on patrol until an appropriate police force could be put into place.

Maria wandered to one side of the hole, watching the stallions casually as she was pretty sure they wouldn’t try anything. She paused as she noticed one of them seemed to be slacking, only casually tossing dirt into the hole while the other five stallions worked hard. The woman quietly walked towards him, noting that his mane was rather long while the others had shorter manes. Maria had heard of stallions and mares letting their mane’s grow long, often times they were fanatic Equestrian loyalists. As Maria continued silently watching the group she noted that occasionally the stallion with the long mane would look at his shovel, then at her, then back to the hole.

“Zephyr, get the lead out.” One of the stallions said sternly, the stallion gulped and quickly started shoveling at a more decent pace. “Fuckin’ tries to dodge everything.” Maria quietly leaned against the carriage filled with dirt, sighing as she listened to more of the music that was echoing through the streets. The woman paused and as she looked at Melissa, figuring it would be good to get some small talk going.

“Hey, Melissa… You ever go to college?” She asked, Maria quietly pulled a bit of beef jerky from her breast pocket and took a bite before responding, chewing the jerky as she spoke.

“Yeah… Studied literature, and a couple Pro-EOL things. That was when I was young and stupid.” Melissa replied, wandering a bit and leaning against another one of the buildings.

“As opposed to now?” Maria asked with a chuckle, Melissa gave her a slight grin before flipping her the bird. “I was gonna go and be a mechanic, or maybe a teacher… Or a gunsmith.” Maria continued as she walked around the hole again, looking at the ponies for a couple seconds before settling on Big Macintosh, she was honestly curious about him. “What about you guys? Any of you go to college?” Most of them shook their head, including Big Mac, the only one who didn’t was the long haired stallion named Zephyr.

“I was gonna be a mane therapist.” He said, Maria raised an eyebrow at him as he tossed another shovel full of dirt into the hole. “I was gonna be a stylist to the stars!” Maria hummed softly as she heard the stallion’s voice fill with optimism for a brief second. “Then you people attacked us.”

“Back up a second there.” Melissa said sternly. “Your airships were the ones to cross into our borders! Without a formal declaration of war, I might add!” The stallion wheeled around with his shovel, but stopped as he heard Maria rack a round into her kalashnikov.

“Take a walk, Mel.” Maria said sternly, Melissa looked at her and began to open her mouth to speak. “Go. Take. A walk.” Melissa sighed and started walking towards another one of the buildings as silence fell over the group again. Maria’s expression turned to a slight frown as she looked down at her rifle, tensions were still high despite the war being pretty much over. She could understand why, during the conflict nearly a hundred and fifty thousand Equestrian Soldiers were killed, as well as eight hundred civilians. Compared to the United States low number of only two thousand combat deaths it was a stark realization at just how much each side had over and underestimated their foe.

A couple hours passed, eventually Melissa and the others had begun talking again, Maria had remained quiet for most of it though. Occasionally she found herself looking longingly up at Canterlot, knowing that Dominic and Luna were up there and that their future as a country was on the line. She had faith that they would prevail, but still she was fearful of what could happen. The woman quietly adjusted her grip on her rifle as she looked away from Canterlot down to the south where New Liberty was, clouds were starting to roll in again, overcasting the blue sky as the work detail finished packing down the dirt in the hole. Another crew would come along and put cobblestone in place later, for the moment it was up to Maria and Melissa to walk prisoners back to the POW camp.

As they walked Maria watched a couple flakes of snow begin to fall from the sky, she could see her breath and shivered slightly as she pulled her fatigues a bit tighter. In the distance she could hear the sound of helicopter blades, the first hueys had rolled off the assembly line a week before and were being flown by former News and Military pilots that were training the next generation. The helicopters got closer, briefly whizzing over the town in a rough formation before banking and turning back to the south. Truly, a new age had begun.

[♠]

Dominic stood from the conference table and adjusted his tie as he looked the Griffon Delegation and Chrysalis, the changeling queen had also brought her daughter Mizu with her. The conference room had survived the bombing raids intact, unlike some of the less important portions of the castle. Still there were paintings knocked askew and a couple broken lamps on tables that lined the marble walls. The deliberation and discussions had lasted nearly two weeks, the terms were now crystal clear. The Griffon Kingdom would fully dissolve and cede into the current American government while the Changelings would maintain minor autonomy in regards to local policy. On the conference table was the document that would make it all official and would officially create ‘The Military Republic of Onorus’.

The people could elect congressmen and women as they saw fit while the focus of the government would be on national defense rather than national expansion. Luna had recommended that they keep the focus on the military temporarily until everything was secure, then they could gradually reduce it to a secondary objective. It seemed like a good plan, and the delegations had certainly thought so. Much of the constitution was based off of the American constitution, with several changes made to accommodate the new species that had joined and any that would possibly join in the future.

For the most part Dominic had been quiet, choosing rather to observe the dealings of the older and more experienced Griffon and Changeling politicians. He had learned much from watching both of them. The Griffons, for instance, were eager to join a much more powerful nation as their own national ideals had been muddled by numerous weak kings and it had lead to economic ruin. Now that Dominic had the considerable coffers of Equestria within his possession, he could afford to invest in making the Griffon lands much more economically viable.

As Dominic stood near the table, listening to the two delegations speaking once more with Luna at his side, he could almost hear the new anthem of Onorus playing in his mind. Though the Star Spangled Banner held a special place in his heart, he didn’t want to exclude the people of Equis culturally. After all, culture and art were meant for sharing, not hoarding. The EOL had tried to separate art by restricting the people’s culture, and Dominic wasn’t about to do something like that. Besides, the song was almost identical to a songfrom Earth, even if it wasn’t the United States of America’s anthem.

“So we are all in agreement then?” Dominic said as he looked towards the paper sitting on the table, the griffons and changelings looked towards him quietly. “All that remains to be done is put what we have said on paper into practice.”

“Right.” The griffon’s said as they turned towards the paper, looking very sure of their decision. Chrysalis and Mizu looked equally sure, they knew from experience that Dominic was a man of his word. He had helped them reclaim their original territory, and now offered them even more protection. Luna watched proudly as she watched Dominic becoming ever more the statesman, despite his muscular bulk the suit he wore still made him appear formal. She knew how much he hated it, but certain exceptions had to be made.

Dominic quietly looked to an inkwell, within which were three quills. He picked one up and handed it to the griffons, then he handed the second to Chrysalis before taking the last for himself. The man leaned forwards and quietly signed his name to the document, dubbed ‘The Unification Treaty’. The griffons followed shortly afterwards, followed by Chrysalis and Mizu. As the ink began to dry a new experiment had begun, a brave new world lay before the newly formed nation of Onorus. There were a couple sighs of relief as Luna levitated the document and took the quill from Dominic’s hand. As Celestia had fled the country, Luna was officially the most senior head of state in Equestria. Despite that, she wasn’t signing on behalf of Equestria alone. She set the paper down, letting the others read her signature. ‘Queen Luna of Thestra’. Her title as an Equestrian was beneath that in smaller print.

“Not nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be…” Dominic said as he rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling as he felt the stress of the meeting leave his shoulders. The griffons nodded before snapping to a salute to their new commander in chief. The title ‘President’ had been altered, at request of the griffons, to something with a bit more gusto. They were, after all, birds that liked to display power. Whether it be through title or feathers, they liked to be seen, and they wanted their leader to be seen. He had convinced them to go with the word ‘Imperator’, as it referred to Republican Rome as opposed to Imperial Rome.

“The Griffon race thanks you, Imperator Occisor… We have been waiting so long for the Equestrians to help us, and they just kept saying ‘We’re working on it. We’re working on it.’” The griffon said, Dominic nodded quietly as he accepted their thanks. “I know you will send us the aid we so desperately need, da?”

“Of course, but your people must remember it is not something that will always be there. They must learn to stand on their own again.” Dominic reminded them, the griffon’s nodded. “We will be dispatching the airship Colossus with the things you have requested soon, I apologize it is a warship, but we have no civilian craft ready at this time.”

“It’s fine. It will be nice to see an airship coming INTO our airspace for once.” The griffons said, pausing for a moment as they adjusted their clothes. “We shall leave you to your work, sir. Glory to Onorus.” The griffons turned and walked out of the conference room, Dominic and Luna turned to look at Mizu and Chrysalis. The two changelings were dressed in traditional changeling robes, very similar to kimonos, and each appeared to have a faint smile on their faces.

“It’s nice to have friends again. I had forgotten the importance of allies until now.” Chrysalis said with a slight bow. “Unlike the griffons who must take your word, I can sense your honesty, even with your species resistance. I know that this is the best choice I can make for my children.” Mizu nodded quietly at that, she had been more of an observer than anything else, but Dominic supposed she had a bit more of a motive for coming to Canterlot than just political matters. A certain stallion, Fortress Wall, had asked to move his lab to Canterlot as it offered much more space than the bunker he had in New Liberty.

“It was nice having you… Now get out!” Dominic said in a joking tone, Chrysalis had to admit the man had a bit of a warped sense of humor. Then again, she had learned that most people, and ponies, did as well. Even if they weren’t aware of it. “In all seriousness I wanted to thank you for your help, I didn’t get a chance to say it before. We’d be bogged down with the Zebras and the cities on the west coast without your assistance on the ground.”

“I wanted to thank you as well… Your open borders policy and the way your citizens are so accepting of us… We’ve stopped having to scrounge for affection.” Chrysalis said, pausing as she sensed a bit of affection stemming from Luna towards Dominic. She smiled faintly, then hid a blush with her chittin as she felt that affection become borderline lust. The Queen cleared her throat and looked to Mizu, who hadn’t had the fortitude to hide her blush as her mother had. “Come along, Mizu… We have much work to do as well.”

“R-Right.” Mizu said as she and Chrysalis hastily made their way to the door. Dominic and Luna were left alone, looking at the paper that had rung the final death knell of the Equestrian Kingdom. The man quietly turned towards a window that overlooked the city and a good portion of the horizon, he walked towards it quietly as Luna walked up behind him. With a bit of a sigh he rubbed his chin.

“So… What do we do now?” He asked, both to himself and to Luna. The former Equestrian Princess quietly placed her wing over his shoulder as she stood next to him, watching the sun begin to set in the distance.

“Anything that needs to be done.” She said simply as she used her magic to push the window open, news of the treaty being signed was already moving quickly through the city. Dominic could hear cheering and even some celebratory gunfire from the city below. Mainly from the occupation force, as well as numerous Pro-Human supporters. “The future is yours, Dominic.” She tightened the grip of her wing for a moment. Already the New Flagof Onorus was being hoisted throughout the city. “The future is yours.”

Dominic smiled faintly before walking towards the window and waving to the crowd below.

Author's Notes:

Welp! Here's yet another chapter, this'll be wrapping up the war chapters for the most part and will move on to something else. The most action packed thing in the history of action packed things... Paperwork! Well, sometimes paperwork, other times actually exciting things...

Anyway, here's the clip of the day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdyvV2tqsG4