Maria and Luna sat quietly in one of the castle’s greenhouses, eyes closed and breath steady as they cleared their minds. It had been several months since the news had become official, and despite the cold weather that had settled in, the greenhouse was still warm enough for the two of them to spend time meditating. Maria found it comforting, especially now that there was no real way of hiding her expanding abdomen. She wasn’t ashamed or anything, but she did often worry about how her child would be treated upon their birth. Especially since he would essentially be a prince, according to Thestral customs anyway.

The revelation of humanity’s special attributes when it came to magic had gone about as well as could’ve been expected, with at least a couple riots breaking out. Thankfully the unrest had been quelled peacefully and quickly, and in the wake of it there had been numerous bills put forward to congress in regards to the power of the Imperator. Some, like Dominic, asked for more restrictions on power. However, many people seemed to think that the attributes were his doing, despite him constantly telling them that wasn’t the case. The Congress had the power to override his vetoes if enough people voted on them, and as a result they had essentially made Dominic ‘Leader for Life’. The man was not pleased by this, especially since he had no way of vetoing their overruling of his vetoes. Even an executive order would be useless.

Maria quietly hummed as she tried to clear her thoughts of the worries that seemed to plague the people closest to her. She had to keep herself calm and collected, as any stress she felt could be translated to her growing child. Meanwhile Luna was quietly doing her best to channel some of her inner worries away from herself, the mare was focussing on the sound of running water from a nearby indoor koi pond that she had had installed. She had found much of human oriental and even changeling culture to fit rather well with her teachings of the warrior, she had been doing her best to better implement them into her training of Maria and Dominic. Even if Maria couldn’t take part in swordplay, she could still meditate.

The woman was dressed simply in attire very similar to that worn by the women of rome, it was a style that was becoming rather popular among humans that were migrating up from New Liberty into Canterlot, though many of them still preferred their utilitarian attire. Luna had found herself brought back to the golden age of Thestra, as such apparel had been commonplace in that time period as well. To the Queen of Dreams, Onorus had become a second chance, filled with far more people and ponies that she cared about. As she thought of those she cared for, she almost felt jarred out of her meditation. Once again she was made aware of the pain in her heart at the loss of her sister, she wanted desperately for her to return so that they could become a family again.

Despite that wish, she knew it was unlikely with how quickly the war had ended. What was more, Luna had a much more important family to worry about. Her herd had finally been made official, it had been a quiet ceremony, there hadn’t been more than a few people and it was announced quietly in a newspaper. It had mainly been for security reasons, but Luna also suspected that Maria wasn’t a big fan of large gatherings. As the sound of a helicopter in the distance became apparent, Luna was forced to open her eyes. She sighed softly as she caught sight of Maria sitting across from her, carrying a young life within her, someone that they all looked forward to meeting.

Luna had never seen Dominic more happy, save for when they had had the ceremony that created the ‘Occisor Herd’. There was a spring in his step that hadn’t been there since the war with the EOL, he laughed more warmly, smiled wider, and was much calmer in the face of adversity. Despite that, Luna could tell he was terrified. Mathematics and English textbooks had been replaced by books about what to expect as a first time parent, but then again, they had all taken to reading that material. The Queen of Dreams smiled softly as she saw Maria’s hand resting on her abdomen, as if protecting it from the unseen threats of the world.

The Alicorn closed her eyes as her face became stoic, she cleared her mind and began to set a new goal for herself. She wanted it to be crystal clear in her mind, in her deepest thoughts at night, when she was at her weakest points. She would not let any harm come to Maria’s child, to HER child. She would slay whatever foe dared even point a weapon in its direction, anyone that dared to use the child for their own gain. That was the mentality of many citizens of Onorus when they had heard the news that what was essentially one of the Queens of the country had become pregnant. It was a lot harder to keep that news quiet and under wraps, and as such Canterlot Castle had become a fortress.

The threat of the Zebras had not passed, it was still very possible for them to get a small team into the country. To most Onorussians the Zebras were viewed with disdain and mistrust, especially since their failed invasion attempt that had left so many of them dead. Maria didn’t really comprehend her importance to the nation, to many she was viewed as the mother of the nation, as none of what had happened would’ve come about if Dominic hadn’t been so driven to save her from Earth. Luna shared in being viewed in such a way, but not nearly as strongly among the humans and griffons.

Luna opened her eyes once again as the sound of helicopters became slightly louder, Maria heard it as well and opened her eyes. The two of them looked at each other quietly, both of them smiled faintly before Luna stood up and offered her hoof to help Maria to her feet.

“I wish they wouldn’t fly so low…” Luna said with a huff, Maria shook her head and gestured to the pond as she began making her way to the exit.

“It’s not them, it’s that pond thingy… I’m so glad you picked a green house close to a bathroom.” Maria replied as she quickly exited the greenhouse, Luna blinked in surprise for a couple seconds before shaking her head. The alicorn wandered out of the greenhouse, a pair of Lunar Marines stood at the ready near the door and simply pointed to a hallway that Luna knew contained a restroom. She sighed and made her way over, waiting for Maria as she thought about what Dominic was likely doing. When he wasn’t in meetings or seeing groups of petitioners, he was focussing on the Zebras, The Crystal Empire, and three other nation states still loyal to Celestia. On their own, none of them really stood a chance, but together they could cause problems. What was more, he had become increasingly worried about Celestia’s powers.

Luna knew she would likely defeat her sister in a battle if it ever came to that, and he sincerly hoped it didn’t. Still, knowing the full story of what had happened to Thestra hadn’t helped with Dominic’s sleeping habits.

[♠]

Celestia quietly looked out from the edge of the Crystal Empire, her wings hidden beneath a grey cloak whilst a pair of crystal guards stood beside her. Cadence hadn’t expressly said she couldn’t leave, but she hadn’t said she could leave either. Though the air was filled with only the sound of the wind, she could tell there was something out there, higher than she could see or hear. Undoubtedly it was an Onorussian aircraft, as she could sense the magic used to augment its technology as it flew overhead, but she couldn’t see or hear it, and she had no idea what it was doing there alone.

Cadence had already scrambled a pair of crystal pegasi to try and intercept the aircraft, but it was moving far too fast and far too high for them to even get close. Celestia had taken to standing on the edge of the Empire, looking southward at her former homeland and regretting everything that she had done. More and more she felt like leaving the Empire, it wasn’t like they had the power to stop her, but she knew it would torpedo the only half decent relationship she had left with Cadence. News had spread that Luna had made her herd official, and what was more, that Dominic’s human mate was pregnant.

Any attempt to reconcile with them would be viewed with suspicion that Celestia knew she rightfully deserved. Part of her was still angry that so much control had been taken from her, and as much as she wanted to leave she also wanted to fight. She wanted her kingdom back, she wanted her student back, she wanted her sister back… Though she knew that much of the blame rested on her shoulder, she also blamed Dominic. If Luna hadn’t become so enamored with him his nation never would’ve gotten off the ground, he’d likely still be sulking in his room, but hundreds of thousands of lives wouldn’t have been destroyed.

As the wind whipped past her fur Celestia closed her eyes, she sighed before she looked over to her escorts. Her wounds had healed, she had access to her wings, more importantly she could use her magic to the fullest of her capability. She could return to Equestria and attempt to reclaim her throne by force, but she wouldn’t, she couldn’t bear to dig the hole any deeper. The mare quietly looked up in the sky, towards where she could sense the dim arcane presence that was obviously some sort of advanced Onorussian aircraft. It obviously wasn’t on an attack run, so she could only wonder what it was doing up there. There had been a lot of them up there lately.

For Captain Mason it was just another normal flight over the Crystal Empire, the curvature of the planet laid out in front of him as he snapped pictures of the nation far below. The Onorussian government had become concerned when Saddle Arabia, one of the few nations still loyal to Celestia, had acquired tanks. Nothing too powerful, simple tanks that were barely as strong as the first bulldozer tanks employed by the former NUS. The thing was that Saddle Arabia was nowhere near developed enough to have produced fifty tanks in such a short period of time, the only nations capable of that sort of output were Onorus and the Crystal Empire. Even with their limited technology they still had an advantage that other nations didn’t, one of their leaders had spent time in the Human Equestria Timeline.

Mason’s pictures were certainly startling to him, as he assumed they were to military commanders in Canterlot. Rows and rows of tanks were parked far on the outskirts of the city, safe from the prying eyes of a spy on the ground, but not from the eye in the sky. Such a staggering output of weaponry either meant they were trying to make a quick buck on the arms market or they were preparing for war, and given their affiliation with Celestia, the latter was a very real possibility. The man quietly adjusted a couple dials, sighing as the sound of soothing music played through his flight helmet.

He wasn’t too worried about being over enemy territory, as he was so high up the ponies below couldn’t see him with the naked eye. Their magic could only go so high as well, so really the only threat came in the form of Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia who had enough power to reach such an altitude. For such an emergency, Mason could look to a red light on his control panel that had been labeled ‘Arcane Warning’. If the alarms began blaring and the light began flashing he knew he had five seconds to react and change course, as that was the travel time a spell would have before reaching him. He also had a missile warning system installed, just in case.

”Dragon Lady, this is Dojo. Got reports here of some shady stuff going down on the outskirts of that dome of theirs. Any chance there’s clear skies to the… South east?” A female’s voice echoed over his radio, the man briefly peeked out the window to the southeast, which was thankfully visible through his cockpit window. There was sparse cloud cover in that area, he could swing a few quick snapshots there.

“Roger, Dojo.” Mason replied as he turned the aircraft to the South East, he leaned forwards and flicked on the camera lenses. The man flipped a couple more switches before the camera began snapping pictures. The area was so small he really didn’t need a heading to find it, he could see more than a few odd sights in the snow below, but he didn’t know what they were for the life of him. He paused as he heard a soft alarm beeping to his left, the fuel indicator light was flashing. “Dojo, Dragon Lady is bingo on fuel. Capped the area like you requested. RTB. Over.”

”Copy Dragon Lady.” The female voice replied as Mason turned the aircraft to the south, leaning back in his seat as he turned up his music and began nodding his head along to the beat.

[♠]

Dominic stood in front of one of the mirrors in the throne room, looking out over the rebuilding Canterlot with his hands held behind his back. The sun was starting to sink in the sky, indicating the end of another stressful day as Imperator of a nation that revered him far more than they should’ve. He’d almost hoped to mess up something small, just so they would see he wasn’t the perfect, but at the same time he knew that Onorus was a young nation. It needed a stable government in such a crucial state, so he would play his part as best as he could, doing his best to fall into the traps that Celestia had fallen into during her rule.

Thankfully his workload in regards to the domestic portion of his job was light and he had finished rather early, still he figured it would be best to stay in the throne room in case any last minute petitioners came along. Some of them had genuine reasons, and he was willing to indulge them, even if it meant spending a bit less time with his wives Maria and Luna. The man had set up a radio near his throne, it was playing just loud enough for him to hear without it being too obvious to anyone waiting outside.

The first flakes of snow were beginning to fall outside, even despite the thick cloud cover he could still see the sun setting. He brought his hands around from his back and adjusted his uniform, thinking quietly about what he would do when he returned to Luna and Maria. He would stop in the castle kitchen on his way to the room, cook a meal for the three of them as he usually did, then take it back and hope that Maria could manage to stand it. Given her odd cravings he wasn’t sure anything he made would really sate her appetite, but he didn’t mind, she was eating for two. That sent a big smile across the man’s face as he walked back towards the throne, his boots echoing against the marble floor of the large room.

He didn’t care if it was a boy or a girl, though he secretly hoped it was a boy. He wasn’t sure he could stand being outnumbered three to one. As he took a seat in his throne he leaned his head back, listening as a new bit of music came on the radio. Dominic scowled quietly as he recognized the tune as ‘Cat’s In The Cradle’, it filled him with a good deal of worry. He was far more busy than the man in the song, what if he wasn’t able to be there for his kid? What if he ended up putting the nation over his family? The man looked to the floor, feeling a bit of fatigue tugging at his eyes.

“Nah…” Dominic said to himself as he looked at the radio. “I’ll be there… Hell or high water, I’ll be there…” The man kept repeating it to himself as the song continued playing. “I’ll teach ‘em how to play ball… If they want to play ball.” The man stopped and looked at himself quietly. “I’m not gonna teach them to talk to themselves… Because that’s just weird.” The man paused and rubbed his chin, chuckling softly. He trailed off, his expression becoming worried once again as the song continued playing. Without looking the man reached over and turned off the radio before he ran a hand over his head. His hair was growing back in again, thankfully just in time for winter. It still had the occasional grey speck or two, but for the most part it was back to its normal thick black color.

Dominic continued watching the window as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky before it finally passed below the horizon. That was enough for him, Dominic stood out of his throne and began walking towards the large main doors. He straightened his peaked cap before he pushed the door to the hallway open, his expression molding into one of stoicism. The Lunar Marines standing near the door snapped to attention as he walked past them, for Dominic it still felt like everything was in slow motion.

Dominic quietly sighed as he continued walking towards the kitchen, for the most part the halls were empty save for the soldiers and other politicians that occasionally wandered them. The man occasionally glanced at the walls, he couldn’t help but feel like Charles Foster Kane, chuckling grimly before shook his head. He was better off than Kane, even if he wasn’t Imperator he would be happy. The man stopped as he reached the door to the kitchen, he removed his cap before stepping through the door. The palace staff had gotten used to the Imperator’s odd habits and had left some ingredients out for him.

For half an hour he silently put ingredients together, boiling water and chopping basil. The man had made sure that all the ingredients in the castle were fresh, free of any chemicals or other pollutants. Once he’d finished he had made several plates of rigatoni with marinara sauce, he’d become proficient at cooking to the point where he even added a little garnish of parsley on the sides of the plates. It took him another fifteen minutes to clean up before once again he was walking back to the room, carrying the food on a tray.

The two thestrals standing outside the room pushed the door open for him before saluting, he nodded back to them as be stepped through and pushed the door closed with his foot. Luna and Maria appeared to have been meditating once again, but they were looking up from their seats on the floor as they heard Dominic enter the room. The man walked to a coffee table near a couple sofas that had been brought into the large room, there he set the pasta down.

“Food’s ready!” Dominic said as he plopped down on the couch, Luna and Maria had already stood and were making their way over. They took their own seats on the couch, picking up their plates of food. “How was your day today?”

“It was okay, we mainly did meditation today, I think the little one likes it…” Maria replied with a smile as she patted her baby belly. She took a small bite of her pasta while reclining in the seat, Luna smirked as she too began to enjoy the dinner. “How about you? Anything interesting happen in the world?”

“Not really, I had a couple people petition me, but with the Congress most of the smaller tasks have been delegated.” Dominic replied as he ate his own food, he paused after a couple seconds and looked at Luna. “Oh, by the way, I got a letter today from some company called ‘Splinter and Splinter’? Some sort of woodworking company.”

“Oh, yes, that was for me.” Luna admitted as she looked at Maria’s belly. “I commissioned a couple items for the little one’s arrival. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I was hoping it would be a surprise…”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Maria said with a smile as she leaned over and gave Luna a kiss on the cheek. “I was actually going to say we need to start looking into things for them… I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow, she s” Dominic nodded and took another bite of his pasta.

“I’ve already made preparations tomorrow, so I can come with you guys.” The man said with a bit of a smile. Maria paused as she felt an odd sensation in her belly, the woman put a hand on it and gasped softly.

“I can feel them kicking!” She said happily, Dominic and Luna set their plates down and scooched closer to Maria. The man rested his hand gently on the woman’s belly, it was an odd feeling when he felt the light kick against his hand. “Five weeks early…” Maria hummed, Dominic chuckled as Luna felt for herself. For Dominic it was a sign that all was well, and that Maria likely was going to have a very strong child. The man smiled and looked towards one of the nearby windows, watching the light of the moon piercing through the clouds.

The rest of the meal went by swimmingly, and eventually Maria and Luna retired to bed, leaving Dominic by himself once again. The man walked towards the window, staring out at the moon through the cloud as the snow continued to fall. He watched the city lights below, patrol cars and civilian cars alike were making their way through the rebuilding city. In a couple months it would be Hearthswarming Eve, or as most Onorussians had taken to calling it, Christmas. Dominic turned away from the window and walked to the side of the room, he pulled open the door to a closet and peeked inside. It contained numerous odds and ends, Luna’s star charts, Maria’s uniforms and rifles, and an old looking guitar case.

It had been a gift from Colonel Baxter on earth and held something that was ‘a bit more Dominic’s speed’. The man hadn’t been keeping up with his lessons, as so much had happened, but he hoped that perhaps he could become proficient by the time his kid was born. He wanted to be a ‘Cool dad’, one that could shred on a guitar and rode motorcycles, on top of other things. The man quietly closed the door to the closet behind him, thankfully Luna had cast a spell to keep the closet quiet just in case she wanted to surprise Dominic with something without alerting him to her presence. Why she would hide in there was a mystery to Dominic, but he supposed it had rather lewd implications at the time.

Dominic shrugged to himself as he pulled a nearby ammunition crate out, he sat on it and opened the guitar case. Inside was a black electric guitar, Dominic withdrew it from the case and looked around. He spotted an amplifier that had been stashed in the corner and quickly put it to use, plugging in the cord before cautiously adjusting the guitar strings. He had a guitar pick stashed in the case and slowly began to use it, it was far from perfect, but at least he’d learned how to play a basic chord.

“Kid’s gonna have the coolest dad ever…” Dominic said to himself. “Within reason… If they stay out late there’s gonna be an ass kicking…” With a nod the man resumed his practice, it was better than roaming the halls and worrying his soldiers with his insomnia.

[♠]

Rainbow Dash quietly sighed as she walked down the streets of Ponyville once again, unlike her last walk she was in uniform. She wore the uniform of the recently founded Ponyville Police Department, it was navy blue with a gold badge on the chest and a peaked cap. Rainbow had decided that she was done with war and the military, Gilda had been glad to sign her transfer orders into the civilian police force. The mare adjusted her wool coat as she walked through the snowy streets, her breath was visible in front of her as she kept a close eye on the area around her.

She and her friends were still on uncertain ground, with the exception of Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo. In fact, Scootaloo had taken to staying at Rainbow Dash’s house as opposed to her own. The mare wasn’t sure why, but she could guess. Scootaloo’s parents were a bit more intense than most others, mainly because of their daughter’s smaller wings. Far too restrictive by Rainbow Dash’s measurement, the only reason the parents put up with their daughter staying at another ponies house was because that pony was Rainbow Dash.

As the prismatic policemare walked past an alley with a bit of suspicion, then shrugged and turned her eyes towards the police station ahead of her. It had numerous Onorussian built Crown Victorias parked outside, marked clearly as Police cars. For Rainbow Dash that was her goal, she hated foot patrols when she could instead be riding around in a warm car, but she supposed they still hadn’t gotten the control modifications for quadrupeds installed yet. Thankfully her shift was over for the night, it had been a quiet patrol without much to worry about. All she had to do was go inside and clock out. Nothing could go wrong.

That was until a pegasus zoomed past overhead at nearly fifty miles an hour, considering the city's location near an active runway that was a big problem. Rainbow Dash scowled and pulled down a pair of goggles mounted to her peaked cap, the mare then pushed a switch on her coat that caused blue and red LED lights to begin flashing on the tips of her wings as she took to the air. It didn’t take her long to catch up to the pegasus, but she was not a happy camper, especially since she had been so close to clocking out. The pegasus was a stallion with grey fur and a white mane, he looked over his shoulder as he noticed the flashing lights.

“Come on and land, pal! I’m not in the mood for a flight through this soup!” Rainbow Dash shouted loudly over the wind, the stallion heard her clearly, he just wasn’t in the mood to be stopped by so called ‘Police’. He didn’t recognize their authority. What was more, he was drunker than a skunk. The stallion gave a rapid push of his wings, Rainbow Dash scowled. “God damn it…” The pegasus gritted her teeth and zoomed after the stallion, he had no idea who he was up against. The stallion, in his inebriated state, thought he was in the clear. “I told you to get your ass on the ground!”

The stallion was blindsided by a hundred and eighty pounds of discontented pegasus mare, before he could react she had dragged him to the ground. Once on the solid snowy soil Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate to slap a pair of cuffs on the stallion’s hooves. She read him his rights and dragged his carcass back to the Police Station, grumbling annoyedly under her breath the entire time. The mare pushed open the door to the station and looked at the pony sitting at the desk front.

“Hey, Big Mac. Everything alright?” Rainbow Dash asked as she dragged the drunk stallion towards the cells.

“Eeyup.” The big red stallion replied before picking up a donut from a box next to him and dunking it in a cup of coffee, Rainbow Dash grunted as she passed by numerous empty desks and the occasional detective working a late night until finally she reached the jail cells. The stallion made a couple feeble attempts to beg his way out of it, but Rainbow Dash ignored him. She hated going home late, as most of the time that meant Scootaloo was there alone. Angrilly she sat at a desk and typed up a quick arrest report, just as quickly she had clocked out and rushed out the door.

The mare landed on the steps of her cloud home and walked up to the door, sighing as she noticed that a couple lights were on inside. Rainbow Dash pushed the door open and removed her coat before closing it behind her, on cue she heard excited hooves scampering across the floor.

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said excitedly as she rounded the corner from the living room, Rainbow smiled at the filly and knelt down to give her a little hug.

“Hey, squirt! Sorry I’m late, had to chase down one last bad guy…” Rainbow explained, Scootaloo smiled widely as the two of them began walking towards the living room. “You ate already, right?”

“Yup!” Scootaloo replied, Rainbow Dash nodded as she moved to the couch and sat down. Scootaloo hopped up next to her. “I was watching that TV thing earlier, I hope you don’t mind.” Rainbow Dash looked to the television that she had purchased and hung on her wall, at the moment all that she could use it for was watching old Human shows on DVD and VHS.

“No worries, kiddo. I was actually gonna suggest we watch some stuff, I’m kinda tired.” Rainbow said, Scootaloo nodded and curled up next to the cyan cop. The older mare smiled and picked up the remote, flicking the TV on and revealing that Scootaloo had been watching an old Noir film in black and white. “Heh… Cop show’s huh?”

“Yup!” Scootaloo replied, nuzzling in against Rainbow Dash’s side. The policemare smiled faintly and put her wing over the little filly, watching the TV with a rather tired smile. “Hey, Rainbow Dash?” The mare looked at Scootaloo with a raised eyebrow. “Can I… Can I stay with you all the time?”

“Why? Because I have a TV?” Rainbow asked, assuming that was the answer. Scootaloo shook her head and sighed.

“No… I just… I don’t want to live at home anymore.” Scootaloo said nervously, Rainbow Dash quietly used her wing so she could move Scootaloo’s face. She could see the filly looked genuinely upset, prompting the mare to turn down the volume on the television.

“Mom and dad are getting on you again?” Rainbow Dash asked, the filly nodded quietly. “What is it this time? Not studying enough?” Scootaloo shook her head.

“They want to get rid of me…” Scootaloo said quietly, appearing sadder than Rainbow Dash had ever seen her. Given their history together, that was saying a lot. “They said that since those human people came it’s not safe in Ponyville anymore, they want to send me to some place in the Crystal Empire…” Rainbow Dash was rather surprised by that, especially since travel to the Crystal Empire was expressly forbidden. That told Rainbow Dash there was something foul in the air, and that Scootaloo’s parents were in for a lot of trouble. The only way to get Scootaloo to the Crystal Empire would be to smuggle her, and Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to have any of that.

“Sure, kid… If they try to get rid of you you can stay with me…” Rainbow Dash said calmingly as she looked back at the TV, Scootaloo curled up closer to Rainbow Dash and watched the movie. Rainbow couldn’t pay attention, she was thinking on what she needed to do to protect the filly that she cared so much about.

Author's Notes:

Filly trafficking is bad, m'kay? You shouldn't traffic fillies.

Here's your clip of the day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghlQt-DABYQ