Dominic quietly sat in Luna’s greenhouse-turned-training room, it had only been a couple days since the final session for War Plan Black had been completed, and after reviewing it closer she said she had wanted to see him. Not as his wife, but as his teacher. Dominic knew well that she was never joking when she made a demand like that, it was one of the only things that still gave him a pit in his stomach. She had made him sit in that hot building, dressed in his uniform, for nearly three hours without so much as showing up. He knew, however, that she wouldn’t leave him there for no reason.

Sweat formed on his brow as fast as he could wipe it away, his clothes were practically soaked with the liquid, but he wasn’t about to give in to the exhaustion. She was testing his will, most likely, and he wasn’t going to fail her. The sound of the water in the pond near the corner was calming enough, the numerous plants that lined the walls and floor would occasionally list around, caught in some minute breeze that Dominic couldn’t feel. Aside from that, nothing seemed to move or thrive. The man would occasionally look around as he sat in the uncomfortable metal folding chair that he knew Luna had picked specifically for its lack of comfort.

The door to the greenhouse opened after what felt like an eternity more of waiting, through it stepped Luna in all her glory. She was frowning as she walked in front of Dominic, giving him cause for concern. Floating in her magic were documents that looked very familiar, copies of War Plan Black that she had been given to review. The mare set them on the dirty floor before sitting down herself, leveling a soft glare at the man. Dominic fidgeted uncomfortably as he met her glare, he was certain now that this wasn’t some sort of test. He was in the dog house, or… The greenhouse, as the case seemed to be.

“Dominic, you and I need to discuss these plans of yours.” Luna said quietly, Dominic raised an eyebrow at her, but he was too tired and too hot to do much else. “Your generals are certainly smart, these strategies would undoubtedly be successful. The nation would grow larger, with minimal loss of life on our side…” Dominic could sense a ‘But’ coming up. “However… I cannot believe you would approve of such measures.”

“Why not? Dominic asked as he tilted his head at her.

“Such tactics are cruel, they may be effective, but they will also bring a great many nightmares to the inhabitants.” Luna said solemnly as she looked over the papers, Dominic remained quiet to let her speak her piece. “As I am the protector of the dream realm, and you are Warrior of the Night… I am your superior in that regard.” The man was about to speak, but Luna would have none of it. “I love you, Dominic. I hate to pull rank on you, especially because I know how tough it is to be in your position. You know that these methods are wrong…”

“So is slavery.” Dominic replied as he looked down at the documents on the floor. “So is using rape as a weapon, selling women into bondage, slaughtering towns because they don’t worship the same god elk or whatever caribou believe in.” The man stood up quietly and adjusted his uniform, she could hear the seriousness in his voice. “Conventional tactics won’t work on that sort of evil, we’ve seen this with the EOL. They didn’t have half the will to fight that these caribou have, and still they fought to the bitter end.”

“I understand…” Luna said in her serious voice, Dominic could tell she was struggling to keep her composure. He was having a hard time himself, personally he didn’t care about the well being of the caribou, in his mind they were an enemy to be destroyed. At the same time he knew that he wasn’t perfect, that he was prone to holding a grudge. As hot and tired as he was, Luna had trained him well enough to keep his frustration in check. “Employing these tactics of scorched earth would make you no better than them.”

“What would you have me do, Luna? Risk more lives on the ground?” Dominic asked as he looked at her, the sweat pouring off his brow and dripping down his nose. “If we march in, topple their government then leave they will just install one that could possibly be worse.” Luna quietly looked to the door and ignited her horn, it swung inwards and Dominic caught sight of a thestral wearing the new uniform of a Lunar Marine officer. He recognized him as General Eventide. The stallion had been stationed in the Changeling Autonomous region during the planning, mainly because he had requested it.

“I spoke with my closest general about that, my love…” Luna said as Eventide stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He snapped to attention and saluted Dominic and Luna, Dominic returned it on instinct. “He has presented me with a solution that could minimize casualties, all I ask is that you hear him out.”

“If everyone’s thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking… Alright, General. Let’s hear it.” Dominic stated, Eventide nodded quietly and walked closer.

“I propose we used our strongest weapon against them, sir.” Eventide said simply, the man’s eyes widened and he looked at Luna with a bit of shock. “Not Thermo-Arcane Weapons, sir. Something far stronger… The true enemy that has been faced by every army to ever set foot on a battlefield.” Eventide said with a smile, Dominic’s shock turned to one of mild intrigue. “A human general, Sun Tzu I believe, said it best… To win without fighting is supreme excellence.”

“So we would use fear…?” Dominic said simply, Eventide nodded. “Are you proposing terrorism, General?” The thestral shook his head, giving the Imperator a bit more relief.

“I propose we give them a weapon’s demonstration, sir.” Eventide said dutifully as he stood at ease in front of his two commanders. “We have been working on the development of an arcane bomb based off the design of the Massive Ordnance Air Burst and Russian schematics from a prototype…” Dominic quietly watched the young general, intrigued by the plan, showing it clearly on his face. “I propose speeding along that weapon development, as well as delivery systems. Should it come to war, we would deploy three of these weapons. One in each country that declares war.”

“Why only one?” Dominic asked as he sat back down, Luna was smiling as she saw the gears turning in his head. More importantly, she was glad to see Eventide coming into his own with someone that understood his method of thinking without questioning him because he was a Thestral.

“Each would be deployed on the furthest target possible, preferably right on their opposite borders.” Eventide said with a smirk. “If we show them we can hit them in even the most remote parts of their countries, we show them we can strike them anywhere.” Dominic nodded quietly as he listened to the idea. “I suspect the Zebras and Saddle Arabians would lay down their arms shortly after, especially if they see more advanced weapons pointed at them. The caribou, however, may require more than one bomb to get the message.” The general looked towards the pond, humming softly as he watched the water flickering in the light. “After their surrender we occupy them for a time, show them just how hospitable the Republic is, to the point where they rely on us.. Then we annex those that wish to be annexed and leave those that refuse to fend for themselves, surrounded by angry nations that had just previously been conquered by them…”

“It’s… Diabolical.” Dominic said quietly as he rubbed his chin, Eventide seemed a bit put off by that statement. “Have you ever read the work of Machiavelli, General?” Eventide shook his head. “You should, I think you would find it interesting.” The man looked at Luna and chuckled lightly still sweating from the heat. “When you argue, you really argue… It’s true, this may not be the most upfront way of stabilizing a destabilized empire, but it sure as hell beats scorched earth. I’ll take it up with my staff. I expect to see you there, General.”

“Sir?” Eventide asked.

“This is your plan, you should be the one to deliver it.” Dominic said, Eventide was about to speak again, Luna could tell he was used to being put down in meetings, she had told Dominic about it when they had discussed Equestria’s military during the Forty Eight Hour War. “General, you will be listened to, you have my guarantee.” Eventide relaxed his stance a bit. “Besides, you’re being transferred to the planning staff. That idea was more creative than any of the stuff we came up with before, and we need people like you.”

“Thank you, sir.” Eventide said with a bit of surprise, he had been so used to being treated like an outside. Finally someone was giving him a chance to put his skills to use, all of the teachings Luna had given him were coming to fruition. The general saw Luna smiling a bit more as the mood in the room lightened, she always had that smile whenever she won an argument. Dominic was glad to have been proven wrong, but he knew he would still have to keep the original plan on the books in the event that the new plan failed.

“You’re dismissed, General.” Luna said, Eventide nodded quietly and left as he had been told to. Once again he closed the door behind him, leaving Dominic and Luna alone in the room and once again putting the Imperator on edge. “We’ve discussed a new plan, but there’s still something more we must talk about.” Dominic quietly sat down again, wiping his face again. The man removed his jacket and as much of his uniform as he could, granting him a bit of a reprieve from the heat. “I understood your wish to minimize casualties, however there is something I do not think you are aware of that has been driving your thoughts regarding the Caribou.”

“What would that be?” Dominic asked as he sat there, now down to simply his undershirt and fatigue pants. Luna approached him and sat right in front of his seat, with one hoof she reached out and placed a hoof on his chest.

“You are a fine warrior, Dominic.” Luna said simply, looking at her husband’s chest. “Your heart can be your greatest strength, or your greatest flaw.” The mare looked him in the eyes quietly and removed her hoof, as his wife she hated to keep him in such a warm room, but as his teacher she knew it was the only way to get him to understand. “You’ve walked a long road, and now that the world is at peace, the road has seemingly come to an end… You are afraid that without an enemy to fight you will lose what has made you so strong.”

Dominic looked to the floor, away from Luna’s eyes. The running water of the pond gave the room its soft ambience, and the young man knew there was no way he could escape without Luna’s say so. Her hoof brushed up against his cheek and turned his head back to face her, the eyes she bore were not ones of judgement, but of understanding.

“My sister ascribed to the same belief before the war, Dominic. It is a very dangerous way of thinking.” Luna said quietly, Dominic felt her words hit him like a freight train. “My dear, dear warrior. Your life is far longer than you could have imagined it would be.” The mare put both of her hooves on Dominic’s cheeks, so that all he could do was look at her. “There will be more enemies to fight in due time, it is time that you begin to understand what it means to be an eternal being.”

“I…” Dominic mumbled as he sat in the chair, sweltering in the heat. Luna had disarmed him perfectly, as he was too tired to argue, and his temper had remained calm enough for him to reason out what she was saying. “I understand, Luna… I will try.”

“Do, or do not. There is no try.” Luna said, smirking a bit. She hoped to brighten the mood a bit with a cheesy comment, and sure enough she caught sight of Dominic’s smile worming its way onto his face. She brought her hooves away from him and smiled back. “It’s going to be alright, dear. You just have to have a little faith. Now come on, I’ve got a very important meeting to get to, and you’re coming too.”

“What’s the meeting about?” Dominic asked as he stood up and grabbed his clothing. “Shouldn’t I shower first? I don’t want to go looking like this.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to do that when we get there.” Luna said with a smile, Dominic was mainly confused. “The meeting is most urgent, I never miss one.”

“What meeting, Luna?” Dominic repeated himself, he hated doing that.

“The one where Altair and I play peekaboo while Maria makes dinner!” Luna added with a smirk as she began walking back towards the castle, Dominic found himself smiling a bit as well at the prospect of seeing his son so early in the day. Usually he would be back at his desk at this point, but the day’s paperwork had been thankfully short lived. All in all, a productive day for him, he only hoped he was doing the right thing.

[♠]

Jack quietly adjusted his flight suit as he and Chavez flew along in their F4 that was being fueled in mid air over Jackson Airport in Wyoming, he was honestly looking forward to the mission for that day. Ever since he and his squadron had been deployed to the Terran Theater he had been getting the chance to fly more and more combat missions. Today was different however, as his aircraft was without a payload. The ever expanding area of Onorussian control was in need of support from the air, and that was the barnstorming ace’s specialty. However, his current mission was to fly as far as possible into Idaho and look for any possible city states that had formed.

The familiar rumble of jet engines echoed through the cockpit, Jack flicked a couple switches on the control panel. His eyes caught sight of a Polaroid stuck to the dash with a strip of tape, he smiled as he adjusted his oxygen mask. The image of a familiar loving mare gave him yearning for home, the military had reassigned Tig to a different unit when they had made their relationship known officially. It was standard procedure, since he was an officer and she was an enlisted mare. He knew she would be waiting for him when he got back, and so he focused back on the mission.

“Everything look alright back there, Chavez?” Jack asked over the intercom as he flicked his tinted visor down, there was a brief pause before he heard the familiar latino voice reply.

”All good back here, chief. Chavez replied as he looked over his head at the boom of the air tanker that was filling their aircraft with much needed fuel. Chavez could see the airport they were flying over below, it had yet to be restaffed and resupplied to support jets, hence the need for mid air refueling. Ahead of them laid the edge of Wyoming and the beginning of Idaho, uncharted territory for even the former Native Confederacy. For all they knew there could be aliens parked out there, or worse, people with Surface to Air Missiles.

Jack peeked out his starboard window and caught sight of his wingman, or woman in this case. Sarah was flying in her usual position just behind his wing, she had already been refueled and was making sure everything was going according to plan. The man looked back up at the aircraft in front of him, spotting the face of a tanker crew member waving to him to get his attention.

”Alert One, this is Leadbelly. Prepare to disengage.” The radio announced, Jack adjusted his grip on the control stick and readied himself.

“Alert One is ready to disengage on your mark.” He responded in his serious tone.

”Disengage in three. Two. One. Mark.” The tanker retracted the boom in Jack’s fuel tank and began to accelerate away once it had cleared. ”You’re good for another couple thousand, Alert One. Have fun out there.”

“Roger, wilco.” Jack responded before he flicked a switch, causing the fuel cover to close. “Alright, everyone’s topped off. In about…” He looked down at his watch. “Three minutes we will be the furthest Onorussian troops in the Terran theater.” The pilot sighed and leaned back in his seat, taking in the sights around his aircraft as it continued flying along. “Hey, Chavez?”

”Yeah?” Chavez replied as he checked the radar screen in front of him, as usual it was devoid of any contacts other than the tanker that was turning away and the jet flying along side them.

“I’ve been doing some thinking lately, because this could be a long flight, you know?” Jack replied as he looked out the window, spotting nothing unusual as they continued along. “Since we know that there are other universes out there, you think there are any where old cartoons and such are real? I mean… I guess I have my answer already, but you know what I mean?”

”I think it’s safe to assume that’s very possible, sir. Might I ask what got you thinking about it?” Chavez replied, Jack shrugged and continued scanning the horizon.

“I was watching one of those Japanese cartoon dealies, and they characters were so stupid…” Jack elaborated, looking down at the earth below, the beautiful landscape was changing as they flew further, eventually passing the three minute mark without much fanfare. “I was like ‘What the fuck is wrong with you! I could have this wrapped up in five minutes!”

”And that got you thinking what if you were actually there.” Chavez said, Jack hummed in response. ”Honestly, as long as they don’t come here or to Onorus unannounced, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“You’re probably right.” Jack said with a shrug, silence settled over the two of them for a couple moments before the pilot spoke again. “But if they really are out there… There are plenty of sexy women with giant tits that would be amenable to a herd…”

”God damn it, Jack! You left your fucking mic on!” Sarah’s voice suddenly shouted over the radio, Chavez started laughing as Jack felt his face going extremely red. The man quickly fixed the problem and began to chuckle to himself as well.

”You got a point, Cap. Exploring dimensions with slutty big titted Japanese women could be an immense recruiting tool. I’d sign on for another tour if there was a chance of that.” The two flyers chuckled a bit more before settling into their usual flight routine, below them Idaho seemed to be just as boring and bland as Wyoming. Jack adjusted the throttle, cutting off a bit of speed as small abandoned Idahoan towns passed below them. Their flight plan was to take a looping flight over areas that were likely to have survivor settlements, hence their need to refuel so recently.

Chavez wasn’t expecting to see much on his screen, but he supposed getting a free sightseeing flight wasn’t so bad. He was more focused on watching the outside of the aircraft, the abandoned towns on the ground looked interesting enough, they’d certainly seen some serious damage during the infection. He was surprised when he spotted something kicking up dust on the ground, from the looks of it it was a police car driving at high speed down a dirt road that paralleled the aircraft’s flight path. Soon enough the lights flicked on, as if trying to signal the aircraft.

”Cap, left side, looks like we found something.” Chavez announced before he looked down to his map. ”I make our position as just outside ofArco.” Jack looked over at the police vehicle that was struggling along on the road, he rapidly chopped back the power so that he could get a better look at it.

“Call it in, we’ll circle over head until they can get a team out here.” Jack ordered, he could tell it was certainly going to be an interesting day.

[♠]

Rainbow Dash grunted as she did push ups with her wings, the midday sun shined brightly outside of her cloud home as she continued her workout routine. She had the night shift, not that it was a problem, as Quibble had volunteered to babysit Scootaloo for her. He was a lifesaver, and honestly she felt like she could open up to him more than she could to her friends. The mare’s mane had fallen down in front of her eyes, short as it was she had still started letting it grow a bit more. Sweat dripped from her brow as her muscles burned, surrounded by the silence of her home. The burning sensation felt hauntingly familiar to her, and for a second she thought she had heard someone moving in her house.

Rainbow stopped her push ups and stood to her full height, looking around the quiet room as her wings began to recover from their exercise.

“Scoots?” She called out quietly as she walked towards the kitchen, leaving her open living room. Rainbow Dash peered into the kitchen, scanning her surroundings for anything out of the ordinary, her nerves were completely on edge. The sound of the refrigerator’s icebox turning on nearly made her jump out of her skin, the rumble reminded her of the distant sound of an explosion. Rainbow Dash ran her wing over her face, wiping a bit more sweat away as she backed out of the kitchen. She decided that perhaps she had done enough exercise for one day, and with that she made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. A very cold shower. Hopefully it would snap her out of whatever odd funk she found herself stuck in.

She walked down the hallway, out of the kitchen and passing by Scootaloo’s empty bedroom. The filly was off at school, something Rainbow was more than glad for, as the new Onorussian curriculum was teaching much needed physical fitness classes. Scootaloo’s flying was improving substantially, much to Rainbow’s relief. She smirked for a moment as she thought about the filly, so lost in thought was she that she accidentally bumped into the door of the bathroom.

”Thirty seconds!”

“Wolfgang! Hans! Did you see a chute?!”

“Waste the motherfuckers!”

Rainbow Dash panted heavily as she snapped out of what felt like some sort of trance, she was sweating much more heavily now. Images of the night they had dropped in near Ponyville had run through her mind, watching as Boris’ plane was shot down, thinking he had been killed, and watching Gilda take out the guards on the bridge. She couldn’t understand what had just happened to her, but she found herself trembling in front of the same door she had bumped into. Her shower was brief and quiet, her usual calm was shaken, and she preyed heavily that Quibble would get to her house before Scootaloo did. She didn’t want her daughter to see her so shaken.

She wound up waiting on the couch, watching the door quietly, the images constantly flitting through her mind. The sounds of bombers dropping their payloads, artillery pounding away, tank engines, all of it blending into a cacophony of noises that forced the normally brash and brave police mare to curl up into a quivering ball of fear. Explosions seemed to grow louder and louder, coming faster and faster, pounding away on her mind until finally it came to a crashing halt. The booms of cannons were replaced by the gentle knocking on the door.

“C-Come in…” Rainbow Dash said as she tried to regain her composure, she watched as Quibble Pants stepped through the door with his usual grin. It faded when he saw how Rainbow was sitting, and he trotted over to her after closing the door. “Hey, Quibs…” Rainbow Dash said weakly as she relaxed.

“Hey… You alright?” Quibble asked with great concern, Rainbow Dash was about to tell him a lie, that she was just tired, but once again she could hear the sound of bombs exploding through her mind.

“N-Not really…” Rainbow Dash said with a tired tone, she looked towards the floor as her coltfriend hopped up on the couch beside her. He always knew how to give her enough space without leaving her feeling alone. “I… I’ve been thinking a lot about the war today, and I don’t know why.” She looked to the stallion and could see a bit more concern cross his face. “They said I might feel… Something. You know, when it was over… But… I just…” The mare grunted with a bit of anger and scowled. “I hate not being able to, what’s the word, artichoke?”

“Articulate.” Quibble replied, he put his hoof on her shoulder and gave it a couple gentle rubs. “Maybe you should call out tonight? Take some sick days and go see someone.” The suggestion seemed reasonable enough, and Rainbow Dash had never taken a sick day in her life, even when she was on the weather team.

“M-Maybe…” Rainbow Dash said quietly as she inched closer to Quibble and rested her head against his side. “I… I think I want to be held...” The stallion obliged and put his forelegs around Rainbow Dash, letting her bury her head into his chest. He felt her start to sob, something he had never seen or heard before. She was always so strong, the stone that stood against the constant rages of the sea of life, and yet here she was crumbling in his grasp. The warmth of Quibble’s fur was what kept her away from the brink and helped to clear her mind of the memories.

“Let it out…” Quibble said, as he wasn’t sure what else there was for him to say. Rainbow Dash began to weep louder, her fur becoming stained with tears as she broke down. All the fear she had felt and suppressed during the war, the confliction of taking up arms against a country that had once been her home, every agonizing moment she spent thinking the people she cared about could be dead or dying was released in that instant. For nearly an hour she cried uncontrollably, until eventually she managed to reign the tears in. Quibble had remained quiet for most of it, only offering the occasional soothing noise or brush of her mane. She couldn’t expect him to know what to do, she didn’t know what to do herself, if there was anything to do.

“T-Thanks…” Rainbow said as she pulled away and wiped her nose, Quibble smiled at her softly and nodded. “I… I don’t know what happened to me there.” She wiped her nose again and looked at Quibble, noting that she had made quite a mess of his fur. “Oh, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.” Quibble said with a serious expression. “The war was scary just watching it happen, I can only imagine what it was like being a part of it.” He looked Rainbow Dash in the eye, staring into those beautiful orbs that were normally filled with such passion. “I have nightmares too, Dash. You aren’t alone in this.” Rainbow Dash quietly wiped her eyes as she began to tear up again, Quibble reached to the coffee table in front of the couch and retrieved a box of tissues kept there for whenever they would watch a sad human movie. “Do you want me to call out for you?”

“No… I’ll do it.” Rainbow Dash said quietly before she scooted across the couch to a phone that had recently been installed, modified for ponies larger hooves. Quietly she dialed the numbers to her police precinct and put the phone to her ear, there was a brief buzzing of the call going through before she heard the voice of the desk sergeant answer.

”Ponyville Police Department, Second Precinct, this is Sergeant Dust.”

“Hey, Dust… It’s Dash.” Rainbow Dash said quietly, she cleared her throat for a moment before speaking again. “I… Uh… I can’t come in tonight. I’m not feeling too good.”

”Yeah, you sound pretty easily! Have some chicken soup, that usually helps! Anyway, I’ll let the captain know you can’t make it. Feel better!” The sergeant responded, Rainbow Dash nodded quietly and simply hung up the phone without a farewell. She took a deep breath through her mouth and sighed it out through her nose, then scooted back over to Quibble Pants. She picked up one of the tissues and wiped his chest up, then took another to blow her nose.

“I don’t want Scootaloo to know, okay?” She said quietly, Quibble nodded quietly. “If she asks, I just… Watched a sad movie, or something.” Another nod. “Speaking of… I could really go for a distraction, care to finish watching that show about space cowboys?”

“Firefly or Cowboy Bebop?” Quibble replied, Rainbow Dash shrugged quietly.

“Firefly.” She said with a bit more energy, Quibble pants nodded and got up to put the show on the TV. They settled in and watched the characters, sighing as they knew the show would likely not get another season, what with the apocalypse and all that. Still, Rainbow Dash knew there was a movie as well, if only she could get her hooves on a copy of it. Watching the show helped put her mind off the thoughts of the war, and occasionally she found herself smiling a bit more often. Watching how free the captain of the ship seemed to be, well, it made Rainbow long for something similar. A space ship was a huge feat, but an airship would be possible. Rainbow would likely never do it, but she knew it was possible, and that was enough to give her hope. Even if she never did what she was thinking, it was a nice dream.

[♠]

Dominic quietly sat in his office, he had left Luna and Maria to their business in order to be alone. The sun was setting in the distance, and he was seated in an armchair facing the window. Below him was Canterlot, bustling as it had almost two years ago when he had first come to the strange new world that was Equestria. How many friends had he made? How many friends had he lost? How many people had he killed? He didn’t know, and what was more, he felt himself slipping away from who he used to be. Two years ago, would he have been so willing to approve a brutal strategy against an enemy? He knew the answer was yes. Would he have felt upset about it? That was a different matter.

Eventide had given him a way out, and he was grateful for that, his already heavy soul could probably not stand to bear anymore death on his conscience. Yet he knew that there was literally an eternity ahead of him, an eternity that could require him to kill again and again. Would he continue to feel as he felt, or would he become numb to it as he once was. He didn’t let Luna or Maria see how conflicted he felt, though he suspected the two of them had some notion that he wasn’t alright. There were people that claimed they had wanted to rule the world, and at one point Dominic might have been one of them, but it was dawning on him that such power came with great responsibility. Quietly he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Discord, you there?” Dominic asked the empty room, after a couple seconds Discord appeared beside him with his usual suit and tie.

“What can I do for you, my friend?” Discord asked, Dominic quietly turned to look at him with a somber expression.

“There are infinite universes, right?” Dominic asked, Discord nodded. “Can you show me one?” The draconequus stared at Dominic for a couple seconds,as if trying to get a read on him. Humans were tough to predict, and he wasn’t sure what Dominic had in mind. “Can you show me what my life would be like if the infection had never happened?”

“Can I? Yes.” Discord said, his own expression becoming serious as he poofed up a chair next to Dominic’s and took a seat. “Will I? No.” Dominic looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I could show you all the good things, all the bad things, all the changes that would occur. I could show you who you marry, who your children would be… What you end up doing with your life when the infection never happens.” The chaos god turned back to the window, looking out over the city. “But it is not your life to live, it never can be. For better or for worse, I will not show you what your life should have been because you do not need that burden weighing on your shoulders.”

“Can you at least tell me one thing?” Dominic asked, his eyes fixed on a distant part of the city. “Am I happier there than I am here?” Discord paused, then quietly shook his head.

“Not even close.” He said simply, he watched as Dominic closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Is this your original destiny? Probably not. But is it the right one? Definitely. In time you will see, it may take thousands of years, but eventually you will see.” Dominic sighed through his nose and rubbed the back of his neck, then looked down at his hands. Calloused from his training with a sword, marred with scars and wrinkles from his numerous encounters with danger. Hands that had held weapons, food, clothes, his wives, and his son. Hands that had lifted burning timber and treated bullet wounds. Hands that had signaled the volleys that killed thousands of enemy troops. All that death, and all the pleasure that had come to him in life, had passed in one way or another through his hands. What worried him was how that made him feel.

“I love it…” Dominic muttered to himself as he opened and closed his hands. “Dear god help me, I love it so…” Discord rested a claw on the man’s shoulder, prompting him to look up at the chaos god. “Thank you, Discord… I don’t say it enough, but thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Dominic.” Discord said as he stood out of his chair and made it vanish with a snap of his finger. “Go home, spend some time with your son. It will help clear your head.” Dominic nodded quietly before Discord disappeared from the room, the man looked back out over the bustling city before he quietly stood up and adjusted his uniform. The man looked to his desk where he had left his revolver, the weapon that he had carried with him since the very beginning. Without a word or any sort of ceremony, Dominic turned to the door and walked out. He hesitated for only a moment before closing the door behind him, leaving the deadly instrument within the chamber, almost as if the office had become a tomb. The man wiped his eyes and began walking back to his room.

Author's Notes:

Not much to put here, except, you know, the time skip thing coming up.

Here's the clip of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i2l98oCvmI