The Equestrian Navy’s old wooden ships had been rapidly replaced by metal vessels, cruisers, destroyers, and any other ship that could be thought of were being churned out by griffon and equestrian shipyards. The Onorussian military was expanding its reach over the world’s oceans, creeping outward like an octopus, there was nowhere for pirates and smugglers to hide. Ships bound for the Crystal Empire had nothing to fear, as the navy had wiped out almost every pirate that had made the North Luna sea their hunting ground. Now that the domestic threats had been addressed, the navy had turned its attention outwards.

There were reports of unauthorized ships that would constantly violate American waters without hesitation, and the navy would be quick to drive them off. However, they couldn’t be everywhere, and so from time to time an illegal fishing vessel or undocumented cargo vessel would get through. They weren’t the main concern of the Onorussian Navy, no, that honor fell upon the unidentified Warships that would often cross into Onorusian waters. Vessels bearing the flag of the Caribou Empire or the Zebra Tribes were considered hostile, and regularly they were greeted with warning shots.

For Dominic, it was a sign that another conflict was inevitable. Even as the tension with the Crystal Empire had receded somewhat in the past month, there were still plenty of things to worry about. Maria was getting closer to her due date, and the Imperator had to juggle the tasks of helping her and planning with his generals on top of all his normal duties. Once again he had taken to shaving his head, as the grey hair had returned with a vengeance. The Caribou and the Zebras presented a unique problem, as both of them were very much tribal and had inherently violent cultures.

Knowing how the Soviets and even the Americans had become bogged down in places like Afghanistan, Dominic was not fond of the prospect of an invasion of such a desolate landscape. The EOL had been at least civil enough that their former citizens had been able to assimilate with minor hiccups, their will to fight had been broken quickly. The Caribou and Zebras, however, were absolutely never going to surrender. Blinded by pride and arrogance, they’d rather see their cities burn than give up. As Dominic looked out his office window to the west, he sighed softly through his nose and shook his head.

He hated them… He never thought it would be possible, but he hated them, more than he hated Celestia. A pair of nations that enslaved, raped, pillaged, and slaughtered anyone in their path, he knew that Celestia had only let them exist because she faced the same dilemma he faced now. His fists clenched and unclenched as he did his best to reign in the worry weighing heavily on his shoulders, he felt almost as cold as the snow that fluttered past the window on its way to the rebuilding city below. Spy planes and agents had effectively identified all the military threats in the nation’s across the sea, as well as in the Crystal Empire.

Even with Celestia’s unpredictable nature, he was confident that she wouldn’t be much of a threat in regards to her Thermo-Arcane possibilities. Still, the construction of Thermo-Arcane weaponry had begun, and was set to finish when the Onorussian military had ten warheads in their possession. No more than that. It hadn’t been so hard to create them, they worked almost exactly like a regular atomic bomb. That had opened up new avenues of industry, electricity was becoming more and more available, and that was how Dominic justified it to himself.

After a couple more seconds of looking out over that distant foreboding horizon, Dominic turned away and adjusted his uniform jacket. He walked to the door of his office and outside, the sun was setting, and it was shaping up to be another cold night in the castle. Despite having minor repairs done to stop snow from piling up, it was still relatively cold due to the blown out windows and holes in the roofs. The marines standing outside the door to his office snapped to attention as he walked past them, he gave them a salute as he passed before continuing on his silent lonely walk.

He had resolved that when his son was old enough he wouldn’t let him go into the ‘Family business’, he wouldn’t let his child suffer the same fate that he had created for himself. With a global empire came a great deal of stress, and despite the pride Dominic took in his work, he also knew that it was going to be a difficult century of dealing with political tension on a planet that either loved or hated humanity. As Dominic’s boots echoed through the vast halls of Canterlot Castle he found himself looking at an Onorussian flag that was hanging from the rafters, the way it swayed on its mount filled him with determination.

Dominic tucked his hands into his pockets as he hunched over a bit, he could feel a familiar ache in his back. He knew it was psychosomatic, but that didn’t diminish the dull pain that radiated like a knife slowly, agonizingly, twisting round and round. He ascended the steps of the castle’s many stairways, leading him to the floor where Luna’s room resided. He nodded to a few more soldiers as he passed them, straightening up to give off his usual strong look, but even they could tell that there was less bravado in the way he moved. His only real reprieve was the thought of all the stuff he would do when he was a father, it would be rough at first, but it would all be worth it. He’d have one more reason to come home.

The man smiled at the thought of Luna and Maria waiting for him beyond the door at the end of the hallway, most likely meditating once again, as it was all Maria could do to keep from being bored. Thankfully Luna’s schedule was far looser than Dominic’s, and so Maria wasn’t alone if she didn’t want to be. The man adjusted his tie as he reached the door before quietly pushing it open and looking inside. To his surprise the room was empty, but he caught sight of a note next to the bed. Dominic approached the note and picked it up, his eyes flicked over the words that were clearly in Maria’s handwriting.

According to the note, Luna had taken Maria to see a play since they had assumed Dominic would be working late. Something about the note put a hollow feeling in the man’s chest, as he realized just how much time his job was taking away from his family. Quietly he set the note back down and closed the door, in the dark of the room he moved to the closet. The man stepped in and changed out of his uniform into a pair of olive drab mechanic’s coveralls. He needed something to take his mind off the day he had had, and he knew just the place to go for that.

Quietly he made his way out of the room, walking through the castle without much care for how he looked, wandering down the steps and the winding hallways until finally he happened upon what had once been the ballroom. It had been converted into a garage and motor pool, and Dominic kept a few of his personal projects in there. He entered the motor pool which was bustling with activity from other mechanics, in there he was just another guy, no salutes or demands for attention. He could pretend he was an average joe. The man walked past a line of tanks to a work bench with a roster of jobs that needed to be done, he was in luck and saw that a patrol vehicle had been brought in for a brake change.

Dominic filled out the work slip before walking through the smelly garage to the car that was to get the brake job, it was a Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. An o’six model from the looks of it, painted olive drab with Onorussian markings on the hood and a light bar on the top. Very much like the car that Dominic kept in New Liberty. He scowled for a moment, thinking about the home he’d rather be in. With a shake of the head the man tucked the work slip into his coveralls and got in the driver’s seat, the keys had been left on the dashboard and the engine started with a familiar rumble. Just a simple brake job, that was probably the most relaxing thing Dominic could think of at the time.

[♠]

Daring Do quietly looked around her as she moved through the thick trees and plants of the Everfree Forest, her wings helped carry her over the twigs that would normally snap or catch her off guard. The forest was not natural, not by her standards anyway. It was quiet, too quiet, prey tend to get quiet when there are predators afoot, and Daring Do was one of those prey animals. Out ahead of her she could make out beams of light occasionally criss crossing through the trees, most likely mounted to the castle of the Two Sisters, a secretive Onorussian military facility that contained the information that the adventurer sought.

The mare adjusted her pith helmet as she came upon a clearing between the trees, more accurately, it seemed to be a road heading into the base. Their guards couldn’t see her through all the thick trees, even with their night vision goggles. The mare leaned her head out of the tree line and peeked towards the facility in the distance, the lights of the guardhouse indicated that there were seven heavily armed humans standing there and beyond them was a massive gate that likely had tons of other soldiers behind it.

Before the war Daring hadn’t had to worry about exploring the old castle of the two sisters, but with the new owners came new obstacles. The mare ducked down into the bushes as a searchlight past by her, then felt her ears perk up as she heard footsteps and voices, as well as the panting of a dog.

“Thermal picked up an anomoly out here…” She heard one of the voices say as they got closer, the dog was sniffing loudly. “Odds are it’s just one of those damn bug bear things.”

“Wouldn’t be too sure.” Said another voice as the footsteps got closer to Daring. “They took down an insurrectionist cell in Ponyville a couple weeks ago, could be one of their lot trying to make trouble for us.” Daring gulped as she heard the two distinct sounds of assault rifles being readied, she peeked through the bushes quietly as she heard the dog sniffing around, much closer now. She gulped when a cold nose bumped up against her muzzle, there was a snarl and loud barking as she jumped back. “Someone’s out here!”

Daring Do knew she had wings and she put them to use, flapping her way up into the tree canopy, then climbing from branch to branch until she burst through the top. She could hear a siren begin blaring in the distance as search lights panned across the area, the mare breathed heavily as she bobbed and weaved to avoid the lights, but the sound of leathery wings replaced the fear of the lights with fear of the night itself. It seemed they were just shadowing her at the moment, as she got closer and closer to the edge of the forest. The mare ducked down through the canopy of the trees again, hoping to lose them, but they split up like a pack of wolves and began searching for her while one of them watched from above the canopy.

Daring came to a complete stop, hiding among the trees as the thestrals began searching through the area. She hadn’t expected to go into combat, and she had no idea how she would fair against Lunar Marines, but she knew that was her only chance at survival. As she looked to her right she spotted the silhouette of a thestral against the lights of Ponyville in the distance. As she had seen him, so too had the thestral seen her with its natural night vision. He wore the usual navy blue fatigues of Lunar Marines, with a command and combat helmet and a black rifle strapped to his side. Daring winced as the rifle cracked, several rounds whizzing past her wing as she leaped towards the Lunar Marine.

To her shock he caught her and slammed her to the ground, pointing the end of the rifle at her cheek, she could feel the heat radiating from the end of the barrel from his previous shots.

“Nicht bewegen!” He ordered, Daring scowled as she looked around for some sort of means of escaping. “Ich habe den Verdächtigen.” The thestral said into his radio, pushing the warm metal against Daring’s cheek, not giving her any real means of escaping. The radio replied softly, too softly for Daring to hear. “On your hooves.” The thestral ordered as more thestrals, now carrying flashlights arrived on the scene, Daring got up and the thestrals began nudging her back through the woods towards the road she had just run from.

She walked in silence as the thestral’s radios continued to buzz quietly, passing over bushes and snapping twigs until finally she had emerged in full view of a glaring white spotlight. Onorussian military vehicles were parked by the road, blocking her chance at escape. To her shock she saw a familiar face among the stallions and humans that made up the cadre of soldiers. There, wearing the black uniform of the Onorussian intelligence service Providentia, was none other than Doctor Caballeron.

“Daring Do… And here I had thought you had been swallowed up by a jungle somewhere.” He said with genuine surprise, Daring Do scowled at him before pausing when she saw him gesture to the Marine’s holding her at gunpoint. “Those will not be necessary, Miss Do will not be a problem.” The marines nodded and lowered their weapons, their helmets hiding their expressions.

“What are you doing here?” Daring spat in confusion and annoyance. “In that uniform?” Caballeron chuckled quietly as he removed his peaked cap to wipe a bit of sweat from his brow, revealing his once slicked back mane had been shaved almost completely away.

“I am good at finding things, just like you…” Caballeron said with a smirk. “However, I have put that skill into finding rebels.” The stallion sighed softly. “Adventurers are a dying breed, Miss Do. The Onorussians are taking anything that could be of danger to them, including artifacts like those you sought in the castle.” Daring was surprised at the bit of sadness that leaked into one of her greatest foe’s voices, his normally confident demeanor was dampened for that brief instant. “However, I know you weren’t here for state secrets, so there’s no real reason to hold you. Even though I could if I wanted to.”

“I just have one question, if the artifacts aren’t here then where are they?” Daring asked, Caballeron quietly shook his head.

“No monologue this time, Miss Do. You will have to find out for yourself, if you can, that is.” Caballaron gestured to the soldiers to get back into the trucks and seated his cap upon his head again. “I am letting you go this time, hopefully you can find something better to do with your life now that artifact hunting is a thing of the past. Who knows! Perhaps the Onorussians will pay you, Miss Do!” The stallion quietly began to climb up into the cab of one of the trucks. “Or maybe focus on a new hobby? Have you ever thought about taking up writing?”

“This isn’t over!” Daring shouted angrilly, the stallion simply shook his head and tipped his cap.

“For me it is!” Caballaron replied out the window, waving lazily. “Driver, schnell!” With a growl the engine sent the truck down the road towards the Castle of the Two Sisters, kicking back dirt and gravel into Daring’s face. She knew she had to find out where the artifacts had been taken, they belonged in a museum, not in some dusty warehouse…

“What happened next?” Scootaloo asked excitedly, stifling a tired yawn that had attempted to push the filly to sleep. Rainbow Dash quietly set the book in her hoof down, shaking her head and pushing the covers up over her little dare devil. The book had oddly been able to recount the raid that had lead to Scootaloo’s parents being arrested, and as such, had put the filly under Rainbow Dash’s care.

“You have school tomorrow, squirt.” Rainbow Dash said with a gently tone, Scootaloo huffed quietly and crossed her hooves over her chest. “Come on, kiddo… You gotta go to bed, or else the tickle monster might come to get you.”

“Not the tickle monster!” Scootaloo said jokingly, she smiled for a couple seconds before sighing and looking to the side. Rainbow Dash recognized that look of sadness spreading across Scootaloo’s face and put her hooves around the filly. “Can you sing me the show me song?” Rainbow Dash nodded quietly as she broke the hug and reached over to shut the light next to Scootaloo’s bed, then she quietly cleared her throat. Scootaloo was referring to a human song that Rainbow Dash had learned during her time in the Military, a rather awesome song that made for a good lullaby for the daring young filly.

“Close your eyes, squirt.” Rainbow Dash said softly, Scootaloo nodded and closed her eyes. “Show me how to lie, you’re getting better all the time…” Rainbow Dash began singing, running a hoof over Scootaloo’s mane to brush some of it out of her mane. The filly curled up a bit more and hugged a wonderbolt plushy of Spitfire, her trouble expression starting to dissipate. As the prismatic mare continued to sing, she could tell that Scootaloo was going to have a rough night, as she usually did lately, and she would be sure to leave the door to her room open as usual. Within a couple minutes Rainbow Dash stopped singing, as Scootaloo had lapsed into the land of dreams.

The mare stood up from beside Scootaloo’s bed and made her way out of the room, pausing and looking back in on the filly before quietly closing the door and walking through her house towards the living room. The TV was on, she could hear the familiar sound of phasers and torpedoes and the occasional soft gasp from a male voice, Rainbow Dash emerged into the living room and found Quibble Pants sitting on her couch. They had become friends, or a bit more than friends. The stallion was watching a human movie that had come out in two-thousand and nine about humans and aliens trekking through the stars.

“Thank’s for waiting for me.” Rainbow Dash said in a fake flat tone, the stallion looked over at her as she climbed up onto the couch next to him. “What’s going on?”

“Big ship came out of a space storm and is destroying that human spaceship.” Quibble said as he pointed to the screen, watching as tons of shuttle craft flew away from the ship whilst torpedoes flew at the larger ship. “How’s she doing?”

“Sleeping for now…” Rainbow replied as she cuddled up next to Quibble, watching the scene play out further. The human captain was talking with a human woman, apparently sacrificing himself to save her and the rest of the crew. Rainbow Dash was surprised to feel Quibble put his hoof around her shoulder as they watched the scene, not that she minded the contact.

[♠]

Jack smiled as he slammed his beer glass down on the bar of Ponyville’s local watering hole, the atmosphere was jovial as usual, and a band was playing Celtic Punk Rock on stage. Somewhere in the bar he knew there was Sarah, she and her friend Tally had been enjoying themselves in the sea of patrons, leaving Jack to his own devices. His nickname ‘Ghoul’ was gradually being replaced by a more acceptable monicker, he was simply known as Captain Jack. Chavez, his RIO was passed out on the bar beside him, the latino had drunk more than his fair share of booze for the night, but a night off duty was a rare thing.

Jack had only just finished his first beer, his eyes roving over the crowd in search of any familiar faces. Soon enough he was overjoyed to see one, a mare’s face. Tig pushed her way through the swaying mob, appearing to have a bit of a flush to her cheeks from her own intake of alcohol. This was made more evident by the fact that she hopped up onto Jack’s lap even when there was an open stool beside him, much to his surprise and mild discomfort.

“Jackie boy!” She shouted over the loud blasting music before nuzzling into Jack’s leather flight jacket. “It’s been so long since I saw ya!” Jack was about to point out that they had just talked before their shift had ended at the base, but Tig had a habit of refusing to accept things when she was impaired. “How’ve you been?!”

“Fine.” Jack replied evenly as he helped the mare sit in his lap, smiling when he felt her warm muzzle nuzzling up against his chest. “You look like you’ve had a good time too.” Tig laughed loudly and patted him on the shoulder a bit harder than she had intended. It wasn’t painful, as ponies were adorably cute when they were drunk, and Jack couldn’t help but give the mare a hug.

“Oh yeah! I had lots of fun trying to find you!” Tig replied as she finally rested her head on Jack’s shoulder. “You humans are really tall, did you know that?” Jack quietly chuckled as he held the Earth Pony like a small child in his arms, grunting at her slight muscular weight. “Can you take me home? I can’t walk…”

“Sure.” Jack said as he used his free hand to pull some money from his pocket and place it on the bar near his glass, he stood up and began carrying Tig through the partying crowd to the front door. The cold air of the outside washed over him and Tig, causing the pony to nuzzle more into his chest. It wasn’t that long of a walk to the air base and the gate guards were quick to open the gates as the silent pair passed by them, for Jack it was just another stroll, just with the added warmth of his marefriend’s fur. Once they were through the gate Jack looked down at Tig. “So, what’s the real reason you’re like this?”

“Oh, you know, a little of this… Little of that…” Tig said softly, trying to skirt the issue as they walked past the aircraft that sat silently on the tarmac. Jack shook his head quietly as he approached the barracks that Tig lived in, his boots crunching the fallen snow. “Got a letter from my mom today…” She was just coherent enough to hold a somewhat normal conversation, the cold air had managed to sober her up a bit. “Told her about you, she wasn’t happy…” Jack was a bit surprised, and felt guilty when he thought that it was his fault. “Fuck her… She’s a snob.”

“She’s still your mom.” Jack said quietly, Tig just nodded as they got closer to her barracks.

“Doesn’t mean I have to take her shit… Especially about you.” The mare said softly as they reached the door to her room, the man used his key to open it and carried the mare inside. The room was dark and smelled of ozone and burnt metal, Jack flicked the wall on and illuminated the area. It was like a small studio apartment, on the table there was a bunch of newspaper laid out while a model F4 was sitting on a stand with paint brushes next to it. “Thanks for the lift.” Jack chuckled quietly and set her on the floor, she wobbled for a bit before staggering towards her bed. Jack couldn’t say it aloud, but drunk ponies were some of the cutest things out there. “You’re welcome to stay the night, you know?” Jack looked over his shoulder, then shook his head.

“I can’t, they weren’t too happy about there being a relationship on the same base, and I doubt they’d be even happier if they found us together in the morning…” Jack said quietly, he walked to her bed and helped pull the blankets up over her. “That being said, you know I would if I could… So, just pretend I’m here instead.” Tig nodded and nuzzled Jack’s cheek before giving him a kiss.

“Nighty night.” She said with a smile after he returned the kiss, Jack waved as he walked to the door and flicked off the light, then closed the door and began walking to his own barracks with his hands tucked into his pockets. The chilly winter air made him him shiver, and despite knowing Tig was so close, he felt lonelier than ever.

[♠]

The wind blew harshly across the sandy beaches on the coast of the Caribou Empire, tall waves splashed against the shore and the moon cast a haunting white light down onto the nearly barren snowy planes that lead up to the water’s edge. Trees, laden heavily with snow, creaked and groaned under the strain of the wind. Nocturnal animals howled and growled in the chilling forest while a distant lighthouse rotated round and round, though there was no ships for it to signal, as seaborne trade had come to a stand still. It was this sight that greeted an aging caribou, his entorage looking at him quietly from behind. Emperor White Tuft, the leader that would take his people to global domination, was trembling from rage more than the cold.

He had come to the beach to watch the ships, as it often helped him fall asleep at night, but since the arms embargo there had been no outward or incoming trade. No nation would dare buy slaves from him, for fear of the Onorussian bear that lay just over the horizon. Such a peaceful night, too peaceful for the warrior king. The reindeer stood on the Donner straight, the shortest possible ocean crossing point between the Caribou Empire and the Crystal Empire and, by extension. the Onorussian’s.

He could see the distant beam of a lighthouse across the channel. White Tuft scowled, his antlers began to be covered in snow as he continued staring at his newest foe with contempt. The Onorussian’s were ‘Liberators’, and undoubtedly they would come for his nation and demand that he free their slaves, but he would do no such thing. Caribou were, after all, the most superior race on the planet. All others were meant to serve them, even the filthy humans that had come through from their disgusting planet. His alliance with the Zebras and Saddle Arabia were simply a means to an end, once he had destroyed Onorus he would set his sights on them, and then the rest of the world.

“Your highness.” A voice said from White Tuft’s side, the buck turned and glowered at the speaker, a younger buck with a smaller rack. Despite that glower, the buck stood firm and cleared his throat. “We must return to the palace, sir. There have been reports of the Onorussian’s odd metal ships on the sea.”

“I do not fear those beasts…” White Tuft said sternly in his gruff voice, looking back across the ocean. “Let them come, they will break against the horns of the caribou.” Across the sea, as if responding to his challenge, there was the sound of a mighty whistle. It’s scream put fear into many a young caribou, and sea faring bucks often spoke of it as ‘The Wail of the Damned’. In actuality, White Tuft knew it to be the USS Leviathan. A frighteningly large battleship that could supposedly hit targets from miles away, but White Tuft didn’t buy it. “It is chilly, however… For that reason we shall return to the palace.”

“Yes, your eminence.” The young buck replied as the two returned to the entourage and began walking back towards the tree line. Little did they know, that across the vast channel of water, they were being scrutinized and studied by minds far superior to theirs, as one would examine creatures under a microscope so too were they scrutinized through binoculars. Not a single caribou would suspect that their country was being watched with hateful eyes, eyes that searched for any weakness. Slowly, and surely, they drew their plans for invasion.

Author's Notes:

So here's another chapter for you lovely guys and girls... I assume some of you are girls. Aaaaanyway, I've been back to working on one chapter at a time, and I've also been doing some work with a friend of mine now that she's back to her full writing ability. As always, I'm open to your guys' ideas, whether you wanna leave 'em in the comments or send 'em to me is up to you!

As always, here's your clip of the day. I don't know what the hell it is, or where it came from, but I have a feeling that if you wanted to show someone what the internet was like in a nutshell, this would probably be it. Oddly enough, if anyone has any idea WHAT the hell this is, let me know... It's kinda catchy, in a cosmic sort of way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQmEERvqq70