Morning had come relatively fast for Dominic and Maria, they had slept through the worst of the blizzard and were awoken to the sound of Melissa entering the shack. After that they had had a quick breakfast, at which Melissa had seemed withdrawn. Maria had signaled Dominic to leave it be and so he did, for everyone in the CNG camp it was very much a normal morning, plus a little extra snow shoveling. It also turned out that it was Maria’s turn to go out on patrol, and it was for that reason that she and Dominic were walking through the woods outside of the CNG’s gates.

Dominic wore his helmet and gasmask, his AK was in his grasp as Maria lead him through the trees with her cloak on and mosin at the ready. The wind blew dustings of sand past their legs as they trudged through the knee high snowfall, they past by a couple abandoned and shredded tents. Maria didn’t comment on them, and so Dominic didn’t ask, but it looked like at one point they had been home to survivors. Wisps of steam floated away from his mask, the device was actually far better at keeping his face warm than the cloth bandanna he was so used to.

Maria was a bit glad to have some company on her trip out into the wastes, especially since it was Dominic. Most of the time she wandered for hours with nothing to do or say, and while she liked the solitude on some occasions, on others she would always wish for some sort of company. She adjusted her cloak, keeping one of her wool gloved hands firmly clasped on her mother’s rifle. The woods around her were home to the ruins of many survivor camps, they had either been killed by wolves or taken by the EOL, but that was many years ago. All that remained were shredded remains of tents and the occasional flutter of a long abandoned plastic bag.

Four cold winters, three warm summers, Maria didn’t dare to think where those poor people were after all that time. As she continued walking through the woods she realized she was getting close to another familiar landmark, the destroyed wreckage of a chinook helicopter. It had crashed during the early days of the outbreak, thankfully the crew had managed to escape with minor injuries. Dominic caught sight of the wreckage soon enough, she heard him stop to stare at it.

“Hey, Maria?” She heard him ask, his voice muffled by his gasmask. She turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he pointed one of his fingers at the wreckage, the leather of his black glove squeaked in the cold. “Wanna check it out?”

“If you want.” Maria said with a shrug as she began walking towards the wreckage, Dominic followed behind her with his rifle at the ready. The aircraft was in relatively good condition all things considered, the glass of the windows was shattered and the rear cargo door was open while shards of the rotors were scattered about the area. Dominic peered through the wreckage for a few seconds before he took a step inside. “Be careful in there.”

“Alright…” Dominic said as he walked through the wrecked airframe towards the cockpit, the seats along the sides were ruined from years of sitting in the elements. The man entered the cockpit and looked around, he silently adjusted the backpack slung over his shoulder as he walked forwards and took note of the destroyed instrument panel. The sunlight streamed through the shattered canopy, and Dominic tapped a couple of the glass gauges with a finger before stepping back.

The man paused to leave, but stopped as he caught sight of something rather interesting. It seemed that the crew had abandoned their flight helmets years ago, somehow they still were laying around in rather good condition. Dominic knelt down and picked one up, then slipped it into his backpack, taking yet another relic of a dead world to one day wear as his own. He didn’t find it odd that he was collecting hats, they were a great way to represent changing times. Dominic sighed quietly and walked out of the cockpit, adjusting his grip on his rifle as he stepped back out into the snow.

“See everything you wanted to see?” Maria asked, Dominic nodded as he walked closer to her. The two of them began walking through the snow once again, overhead the two of them could hear the cry of an eagle. They couldn’t deny that despite all of the destruction that surrounded them the landscape itself was still home to numerous natural and beautiful elements. Maria sighed quietly as she thought of all those animals, she wondered if they were aware of what was truly happening in the world around them. Did their children know of humanity as a mighty hunting race or just another species that roamed around them.

The two of them continued walking through the woods, occasionally walking over an abandoned dirt road or snow covered railroad tracks. It was peaceful and calm, much to both their happiness. Maria took note of some signs on the trees, they were simple ‘X’s spray painted onto the wood in red. They had most likely been slated for demolition, but obviously they remained standing. The woman turned around and looked at Dominic, the gas mask wearing man was looking around and humming to himself.

“Hey, Dominic?” Maria asked, Dominic looked at her. “Do your Pyro impression for me.” Dominic chuckled for a moment before holding his rifle up over his head and laughing loudly.

“Mmmmph Mmmmm!” Dominic mumbled loudly, Maria giggled. “Pretty good, eh? I was wondering when you’d ask for my impressions.” The woman patted him on the shoulder and the man reached up to his gasmask, he removed his impromptu face warmer and slipped it into his backpack.

“Oh! Oh! Do Soldier!” Maria said giddily as she fell in step beside Dominic, the man smiled and took his helmet off, momentarily removing the liner so that the helmet came down and covered his eyes.

“This is my world, you are not welcome in my world!” Dominic said in a gruff voice, it didn’t take much effort to imitate the Soldier, as he was already rather spot on. “You are all weak! You are all bleeders!” Maria chuckled again as Dominic put the liner back in his helmet and straightened it on his head. “Happy?”

“Yeah.” Maria replied as she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, Dominic blushed faintly. “I’m glad I convinced the Colonel to let you come along, it gets so lonely out here and I worry that I’ll get lost or worse.”

“I doubt that you could get lost, you’re practically part homing pigeon.” Dominic adjusted his grip on his rifle, relaxing a tad and slinging the weapon over his shoulder. “Speaking of being lost, do you happen to have any special destination in mind or are we just wandering around? Either’s fine with me, I’m just curious.”

“You’ll just have to see.” Maria said with a slight smirk as she paused and took note of where they were, as it turned out they were actually on the outskirts of CNG territory, she could tell by several blue lines sprayed on numerous trees. “We’re just about done with our patrol, afterwards I was thinking I’d take you to see that bar we passed when we went to Costco, they make pretty good deer steak and eggs if you get there soon enough.”

“Alright then.” Dominic replied as he adjusted his gloves, his legs were starting to get cold from the deep snow, and yet his feet were comfortably warm. Maria stopped and looked around, sighing quietly as it seemed it was all quiet on the Eastern front. She smiled and patted Dominic on the shoulder as she started walking off in a seemingly random direction. “We going for breakfast?”

“Yeah, if I can find my way there, we should be about a half hour hike from a road, and from there it’s smooth sailing.” Maria said with a grin as she adjusted her cloak, she gripped a small handheld radio on her belt and turned it on, flipping through a couple channels until Dominic heard a familiar sound. “Oh, cool, it’s not techno anymore!”

“That’s Sabaton!” Dominic said with a smile as he started walking alongside her, his feet seeming to fall in time with the music. “Carolean’s Prayer, I think.” Maria shrugged, she’d never been big into Swedish Metal, she was more of a Five Finger Death Punch type of girl. “Man, this day is going great.” The man paused to knock his knuckles on a passing tree, on cue several clumps of snow fell on his head. “Fricken’ cold!”

Maria giggled as she watched the man flail around, some snow had obviously slipped down his back. She also noticed that the man seemed to be using a lot more tame language, which was a bit odd for her. Not that she minded, but it certainly was something she wasn’t used to. Dominic smiled sheepishly after flailing for a few moments more, the two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, well, for the most part. As they walked along Maria found it increasingly difficult to ignore the sound of Dominic singing along with the radio behind her, and failing miserably at trying to hide his voice. Every song that came on seemed to be one he knew by heart.

The woman contemplated turning off the radio, but she couldn’t help but admit she enjoyed hearing his voice, it was a constant reminder that she was no longer alone in the world. They eventually reached the dirt road Maria had mentioned, it was lined with a couple abandoned cars and trucks. The two of them walked past the destroyed vehicles, Dominic’s singing quieted down to moderate hums as he caught sight of a couple frozen forms a couple of the cars. In the end they just let the natural beauty of the landscape take their minds off the frozen and most likely infected corpses in the cars.

“So, tell me a bit more about this place we’re going.” Dominic said as he looked around once again, adjusting his rifle strap on his shoulder and listening to the radio. Maria shrugged quietly, her boots quietly crunching through the snow as they walked along. “Jen said it’s kind of the local watering hole for survivors in the area.”

“Well, it sort of is.” Maria replied, she turned down the radio so that she could hear herself think. “The owner and the CNG have an arrangement, he provides us a place to relax and we keep the EOL off his back.”

“Ah, that makes sense I guess.” Dominic shrugged, the trees began to thin out and ahead of them they could see the familiar bar that Dominic had seen on his first night through the portal, as well as the place he had purchased his kalashnikov. “Anything special that I should know?”

“Not really, just try not to get upset.” Maria said cryptically, Dominic raised an eyebrow at her. “A lot of the guys there have been trying to get with me for the past four years, you’re probably gonna hear some stuff.”

“I’ll keep the ass kicking to a minimum.” Dominic said with a grunt, Maria turned off the radio on her belt as they crossed the road and got closer to the bar. There were a couple guys outside the dilapidated mechanic-shop-turned-tavern smoking cigarettes, one of them was leaning on an old looking shotgun while the other had a glock holstered at his side. The two of them didn’t notice Dominic and Maria at first, but when they did Dominic could hear a couple whistles. He subconsciously stepped in front of Maria, puffing out his chest and scowling.

“Down, boy.” Maria said in a joking tone, it was obvious she was trying to calm him down. Dominic sighed, he supposed he would have to get used to people harassing Maria, that didn’t mean he had to like it. “Those two are just the normal guards around here, don’t worry about them.” The two of them finally reached the bar, and Dominic took advantage of his forwards position by opening the door for Maria. “Thank you.”

“Bark bark.” Dominic replied with a somewhat snarky tone, he closed the door behind him and followed Maria into the bar. The man straightened his helmet, followed by his jacket, then looked around the room. It was just what he’d expected, a mix between a mechanic shop and an old fashioned saloon. There were at least twenty or so people, most of them looked like civilians while two bore the fatigues of the CNG. Maria approached a rather flimsy looking counter at the center of the room, there were several wooden stools set up along it, most of which were unoccupied.

Maria lead Dominic to the stools and took a seat, she pulled down the hood on her cloak and Dominic took the hint to remove his helmet. He set it, as well as his backpack, onto the floor. An odd latino looking gentleman poked his head out from a doorway marked office, then smiled faintly at Maria.

“Ah, the Mosin Maiden! She returns!” He said cheerfully as he stepped out behind the counter, his angular features and greasy jumpsuit indicated to Dominic that at one point this man had been a mechanic. “And what’s this? With her comes a tall dark stranger… With that sword, methinks he looks like Ex EOL?” The room went quiet, all eyes turning to Dominic.

“Do not associate me with those brash and idiotic thugs.” Dominic said calmly as he removed his scabbard from his belt and set it on the counter, his tone was smooth, yet authoritative. It seemed to Maria he was attempting to establish some form of dominance. “I am Commander Dominic Occisor, commanding officer of the New American Expeditionary Force.”

“Oh, I see, a commander. Well, excuse me big bad bandito.” The mechanic said with a chuckle as he looked at the scabbard on the counter.

“It’s no shit, Jose.” Maria said as she adjusted her rifle, letting it rest against the counter. “This is my ol’ pal Dom, he’s in charge of those tanks you’ve been seeing lately.” Jose looked at Dominic with a bit of surprise, narrowing his eyes for a moment and muttering something in spanish. “He’s also… Kinda my boyfriend.” Dominic had thought it was quiet before, but now he would swear it was so silent he could hear the rats humping in the walls.

“Boyfriend, eh?” Jose mused, chuckling for a moment before he smiled and leaned forwards, patting Dominic on the cheek a couple times. “He’s so serious, Maria, does he have that stoic face in bed too?” Maria caught sight of Dominic’s fist clenching and unclenching, perhaps taking him to the land of sex jokes was a bad idea, especially since she was involved in most of those jokes. “I kid, I kid… It’s good to see you with someone, amiga. Besides, now I finally get to close out that pool we’ve been running for three years!”

“That’s right, what’s it up to anyway?” Maria asked, Jose chuckled and shook his head.

“I’d tell you, but it seems the commander is trying to make my had explode with his mind.” Jose gestured to the scowl on Dominic’s face. Maria sighed and patted her boyfriend, it still felt weird thinking of him like that, on the shoulder. “I’ll get two of your usuals.”

“Thanks, Jose.” Maria said and the latino walked off into the back room, she looked over at Dominic with a somewhat even expression. “Chill, alright?” The man looked at her quietly, he sighed and nodded. Maria could see he was trying, but she knew just how much of an old fashioned guy he was. Dominic gripped his sword and slipped it back onto his belt, sighing quietly and removing his helmet to rub his head. “What’s with the mohawk anyway? I thought you hated stuff like that.”

“Part of the sword training.” Dominic replied as he set his helmet on the counter and yawned. “Besides, it’s kinda growing on me.” Maria nodded, then she noticed that the man was giggling to himself. “Get it? Growing on me? Because it’s hair?” Maria rolled her eyes and smiled before she reached over and pinched his cheek.

“Silly. Willy.” She said with a cheer to her voice, Dominic smiled blushed faintly and looked off to the side. Maria figured now that he was in a more relaxed mood, maybe she could get a bit more information about the ‘Battle Plans’ he’d told her about. “Can you tell me more about that meeting you had with Baxter? I’m kind of curious what had him so nervous as to let me take you with on my patrol.” The man looked at her for a few seconds, then around the room, then back at Maria.

“I would love to, but you know I can’t.” Dominic solemnly said, his tone indicated that there was a true wish to tell her everything. Maria just nodded, she understood Dominic was under the burden of command, and what a burden it was. Not only an entire military, but an entire world, was looking at him, scrutinizing every move he made. “Don’t worry about it though, it’s nothing to get concerned over.”

“Alright…” Maria said as she looked back to the counter, she reached over and picked up Dominic’s helmet, noting that it seemed to have numerous scratches and dents in it that she recognized. It had been Dominic’s grandfather’s helmet World War Two, she recalled many times he had worn while riding bikes or playing in the backyards as kids. “I’m surprised this thing is still in such good shape.”

“American steel, man.” Dominic said with a smirk, Maria rolled her eyes again and put the helmet atop her head. It slipped down past her eyes, obviously too large for her head, she giggled and looked over at Dominic.

“You will help me cap this point!” She said, doing her best to imitate Dominic’s impression of the Soldier. The man chuckled and took the helmet off of her head, then set it on the counter once more.

“Just fuck already!” Shouted a voice from across the room, Maria and Dominic looked over to the source and spotted a couple of guys working on various tasks. One was playing solitaire, another was smoking a cigarette and playing with a paddle ball.

“Eat me, Jeb!” Maria replied before she turned back to the counter, Dominic kept his eyes locked on the two men for a moment before he too returned his attention to the counter in front of him. “We’re probably going to hear a lot of that soon, just so you know.”

“I’ll do my best to stay calm.” Dominic said quietly, the smell of eggs and cooking meat wafted through the the open door to the backroom and moments later Jose came out with two plates. They had scrambled eggs and strips of deer meat, steam billowed up in the somewhat cold air of the building. Maria smiled as Jose set down the plates in front of them, then reached into her cloak and withdrew a couple grey briquettes, afterwards she pulled two more and slid them forwards. They were made of old paper that had been shredded up and pressed together and held some significant value in winter trade due to their heating properties.

“Thank’s for the tip.” Jose said as he set out a couple forks and knives, he took the briquettes and slipped them into his stained coveralls. Dominic waited for Maria to start eating her eggs, pausing out of habit to sift through his eggs for any sign of Poison Joke. It had been a habit he’d formed a year ago, just after his arrival in Equestria, and one he had no interest in breaking. “It’s eggs.”

“I know, I’m just used to checking my food for drugs.” Dominic replied before he took a bite, Jose looked over at Maria with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a long story.” The woman explained simply as she removed her radio from her belt and set it on the counter, tuning it to the normal radio channel just in case any calls came up for her. “Thanks for the food, we’ve been out there for a while.”

“Lookin’ for anything special?” The latino asked, Maria shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I’ll let you know if anything big comes up, but so far aside from those EOL punks we killed a couple days ago we haven’t had anything going on here.” Dominic paid brief attention to Jose and Maria as he was too engrossed in his meal, he’d had little to eat lately due to the ration restrictions he’d placed on himself.

He hoped that when the portal opened in six months they’d be able to rig up a way to keep it open, that way rations wouldn’t be that much of an issue. It would be the perfect way to wage war, as all of his industry and important infrastructure would be in an entirely unattackable position. He doubted that after toppling the EOL’s forces near the CNG that he would be able to follow up with any big attack, but hopefully they would capture enough supplies to aid them through the remains of winter.

The man paused as he saw his plate faintly shaking, the chatter around him gradually faded away as he leaned towards the plate and watched it vibrate up and down. In the distance outside he could hear a rumbling noise, the sound of a very large and stressed engine. It was too low in pitch to be one of his tanks, but too large to be any sort of truck or jeep.

A few moments later he was shaken from his thoughts as two men burst in the door, all eyes snapped to them. They were pale fear, and Dominic recognized them as the guards from outside. One of them opened his mouth to speak as he pointed towards the door, but a sudden loud burst of machinegun fire outside cut him off. Dominic dove to the floor with Maria beside him as bullets tore through the plywood barricade and perforated the two men in front of it.

“Fuck!” Dominic yelled, he looked over his shoulder at the counter, then groaned as he saw the radio had been shot up as well. Maria’s eyes were locked beyond the radio on a rather shocked looking Jose, the man brought a hand up to his chest where a splotch of red was forming before he collapsed with a thud.

“Jose!” Maria shouted as she crawled across the floor and around the corner, Dominic grabbed his helmet and tightened the straps before readying his AK and combat crawling towards the door where he heard the rumble of the engine. He peeked through one of the bullet holes and let out a surprised curse.

“That’s a goddamn tank!” He called out as he watched ten or so heavily armed and armored EOL troops step out from behind the EOL’s ‘Tank’, in actuality it was a bulldozer that had numerous steel plates welded to it and a minigun mounted to the top on a crude looking turret. Unlike the other EOL soldiers he had seen, these men looked organized, well trained, and most importantly, armored. “Maria!” Dominic turned around and scuttled across the floor to the counter, meanwhile the other people in the room were arming themselves as best they could.

Maria was crouched over Jose with her hand pressed firmly on the wound in his chest, still Dominic could see blood spurting through her fingers as the latino man gasped for breath.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Maria stammered as she tried her best to stop the bleeding, Dominic was tempted to help her, but even he knew that it was no use.

“Maria!” Dominic shouted again, the woman didn’t seem to respond. Dominic heard a familiar sound of a death rattle, still Maria continued to help her friend. The blood had stopped spurting through her fingers, in fact it had stopped flowing altogether. “Major Valova!” He yelled, Maria looked at him with surprise. “He’s done! Get your head in the game!”

“Attention Mundane Cowards!” A snide voice echoed from outside, it sounded as though it came through a bullhorn. ”This is the superior army of the Empire of Light speaking to you! Surrender now and you will not be harmed!” Maria took a deep breath, as much as she hated to admit it, Jose was dead. She looked at Dominic with a serious expression, knowing full well that she needed to fight too. It was either fight or be turned into one of the EOL’s playthings, and she would rather die than have that happen.

“What do you need me to do?” Maria asked, Dominic looked around for a moment.

“Get on the roof, see if you can get a line on their turret gunner.” Dominic said as he stood up and looked around the room, several of the other patrons to the bar had gathered up their rifles and pistols, most of them were meant for hunting and wouldn’t do much good against an enemy force armed with assault rifles. “You folks, do your best to hold them off, I’ll see about destroying that tank.”

“You’re going to take on a tank alone!?” Maria asked as she stood up and grabbed her rifle, Dominic shook his head.

“‘Course not. I’ve got a guardian angel.” He patted her on the shoulder before moving towards the door, Maria stared at him for a few moments before she bit her lip and ran into the backroom towards a ladder that would take her to the roof. Dominic peeked out of the door and spotted the ten troops were forming a line to try and surround the front of the building, the man took cover behind the concrete brick wall and readied his weapon to the automatic setting.

”Hiding will only make your suffering last longer! Give up now and I will spare some of your precious females!”

“Maybe we should listen…” One of the men across the room said.

“Coward!” Dominic shouted, he turned and stuck his rifle out the door and fired several shots. “We’re committed now! Fight or die!” The sound of a gun spinning up outside signaled the coming fire of the minigun, once again bullets tore through the air near Dominic. They kicked up concrete and splinters of wood as streams of light appeared through the bullet holes. “Keep them occupied!” The others stared at him as he ran through the shredded storefront towards a side entrance, they gulped and began firing through gaps in the barricades before taking cover behind concrete pillars.

Dominic pushed open the side entrance and stepped out into the snow, gritting his teeth as he took deep breaths. He snuck around the side of the building towards the front, then caught sight of one of the enemy soldiers. Dominic raised his rifle just as Maria had shown him and fired a short burst, the first round caught the enemy in the chest armor while the other two turned his face to bloody mush. Gunshots rang out from inside as well as outside as the EOL troops dropped to prone positions and began firing as well. Dominic took several more breaths as he watched his foe collapse in the snow, then peeked around the side to catch a glimpse of the turret gunner.

The man leaned out and took several shots at the gunner, the enemy appeared surprised and rapidly wheeled around to spin up his gun in Dominic’s direction. Before he could fire there was a thunderous bang from the roof and the gunner fell from his perch onto the ground.

“They’re trying to flank us!” He heard someone shout out in the open, Dominic leaned out and let off another burst. One of the rounds tore into an EOL troopers unarmored leg while another hit a second troop in the knee.

Maria took a deep breath as she watched two more soldiers fall wounded in the snow, her heart was racing in her chest even as she did her best to keep it low and slow. She readied another round in her sniper rifle and scanned over the enemies lying prone in the snow, her crosshairs settled on one that was starting to crawl towards the building. The woman took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she squeezed the trigger, her Mosin boomed once more and kicked against her shoulder. Blood splattered the snow as her target ceased to be.

The woman didn’t stop there as she saw several of the EOL troopers trying to aid their growing number of wounded comrades, she racked another round in her weapon and laid her crosshairs on an enemy that was trying to pull his wounded friend to safety. Another bang echoed over the area, yet another life had been taken.

“The Mosin Maiden! She’s on the roof!” One of the EOL troopers shouted from behind the tank. Maria actually smirked as she heard the fearful cry, she hadn’t earned the nickname ‘Mosin Maiden’ for nothing, she had grown up with her rifle, she knew it like she knew her own soul.

“Get on the gun you fool!” Another man shouted, a nervous looking soldier began to climb up to take the position of the minigun operator. Maria lined up her crosshairs, but stopped when she heard a burst of gunfire to her left. Dominic was moving forward with his rifle raised as the would-be-gunner toppled to his death. She’d been subconsciously counting his shots, and she realized something unnerving.

“Reload!” She bellowed, Dominic did just that before firing two short bursts at one of the enemy troops that had poked out from behind the tank. He ignored the foes behind the tank and instead focused on hoisting himself up one of the armored plates, he could see a very nervous looking man in the cab of the bulldozer turned armored vehicle. It seemed they had neglected to armor the front portion of the tank with anything more than some scrap metal. There was a large gap that Dominic assumed was used to look out, it also gave him an excellent line of sight on the driver. He raised his rifle and depressed the trigger, he held it down and peppered the driver with twenty rounds from his AK.

Dominic ran forwards and grabbed the top of the cab, with another grunt he pulled himself up to where the Minigun was located. He momentarily debated taking it as his own, but shook his head and raised his AK once again. This time he bashed the weapon mount with the rifle butt. After several hard hits the minigun toppled down onto the front of the tank with a heavy thud, Dominic turned and watched several armored figures running away from the tank. The man raised his rifle and took aim at one of the stragglers, he switched it into semi-automatic as he tracked the trooper further and further along. However, he didn’t pull the trigger. As much as he wanted to, Luna would be very upset with him if he shot someone in the back.

Of course, that didn’t stop Maria from firing three rapid and well placed shots. The Mosin Maiden had claimed three more unlucky victims, two with headshots and one to the chest. Dominic lowered his weapon and turned to look at her, the woman was standing up with her rifle resting over her shoulder. She briefly looked around before gesturing for Dominic to get down off the tank and come inside. The man watched her disappear down a ladder before he too climbed down from the top of the cab. The engine of the bulldozer tank continued to rumble away, even as the driver lay dead and bloody inside.

Dominic knocked out some of the shattered glass with the end of his rifle before reaching in and turning off the engine, once that was done he hopped down off the tank and walked towards the bullet riddled remains of the bar’s front door. Blood stained the snow from the numerous dead bodies that littered the ground, as Dominic reached the door at least ten or so people flooded out and began sprinting towards the woods, many of them looking shaken and scared. Dominic stepped through the door and looked around, it was now that he could see the aftermath of the battle fully.

Several people had been killed in the gunfight, they lay in crumpled heaps near the damaged barricades. The two guards that had rushed in first were also there on the floor, each lying in a pool of blood and staring blankly up at the ceiling with fear in their dead eyes. Maria was standing behind the counter, and Dominic noticed she was no longer wearing her brown cloak. It was draped over the body of Jose, and Dominic could tell that she was doing her best to hold back tears.

The man walked around behind the counter, respectfully stepping around Jose and coming up beside Maria.

“He was probably the closest thing I had to a friend here…” The woman said quietly as she dabbed her eyes, Dominic wordlessly removed his jacket and placed it on her shoulders. The woman grabbed it and pulled it tight, the momentarily looked down at her hands, they were still red with blood. “I… I always thought he’d make it…” Dominic didn’t know what to say, he quietly put his arm around Maria’s shoulder and began walking her to the door. The other people still in the bar began to file out as well, a couple eyed the now open EOL tank, but none dared to claim it as their own.

Dominic and Maria sat down outside the building, and eventually the man went inside to salvage some of the food, as well as grab their bags. An hour or so passed before the first sound of engines graced their ears, an hour that was spent in tired and uneasy silence. Finally four familiar dark grey tanks rolled into view, each of them loaded down with soldiers ready for a fight. However, as the tanks came to a stop and the soldiers disembarked, it was clear to them that the battle had already ended.

“Secure their weapons for transport! Set up a defensive perimeter! Go! Go! Go!” A lieutenant shouted as the soldiers fanned out over the area, Dominic stood up quietly, then helped Maria to her feet. Jen popped out of her tank as she saw her friends approaching, she was followed by numerous other ponies. Dominic noticed that Scribs had climbed out of the lead tank, his pen and notebook simply floating in front of him, as if he couldn’t comprehend the carnage that surrounded him.

Twilight Sparkle was also among those on the ground, though she had arrived in the last tank in the column. She was walking through the snow towards one of the dead EOL soldiers, she stopped a foot or so away from the corpse, staring at it with somewhat haunted eyes. Many times she had thought back to the time she had witnessed Dominic’s nightmares, she thought that she would be prepared to see such a thing first hand, especially after the battle of New Liberty. Yet again she felt her stomach knotting up, the face of the trooper at her hooves was unrecognizable, as two bullets had turned his face to paste.

“Get a tanker down here! We’ll siphon some of the fuel from this fat bastard!” One of the other CNG officers bellowed as he patted the side of the tank, Dominic and Maria passed by him silently until they finally reached Jen.

“You guy’s hurt?!” She called down from her tank, Maria wordlessly shook her head. Jen looked to Dominic, the man also shook his head and gestured for the captain to move along. Jen shrugged and signalled to her driver to keep moving, the four tanks fanned out over the area to secure it while the ground forces moved to clear the surrounding area. Dominic and Maria stopped on the edge of the perimeter and watched the soldiers move about, down the road they could hear a truck engine and could see an old tanker truck rolling down the highway.

Dominic pulled Maria close, the two of them sharing a tight embrace as the soldiers continued to secure the area. Dominic could feel Maria shudder, and then begin to weep against him as a cold wind blew over the area. It was more than Dominic could stand to see her in such a state, all he could do was hold her close and comfort her. She was a sniper and used to fighting from a distance, when someone she knew died it generally happened while she was far away, she hadn’t been prepared to watch the life drain away from her friend’s eyes.

The man narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, his apprehension about killing was rapidly fading. The EOL had to be destroyed, one way or another, it just had to die. He would be the one to kill it.

[♠]

A pair of leather shoes walked briskly down a dimly lit windowless hallway, they belonged to a tall and imposing man with a stoic expression. Adorned in a black suit and tie, he held a briefcase in one hand and wore an earpiece. As he continued down the grey walkway the fluorescent lights flickered and buzzed, illuminating his destination ahead of him. A metal doorway, flanked on both sides by uniformed men with rifles, their helmets were painted sky blue and depicted the letters ‘UN’ at the front. They snapped to attention as the man drew closer, one of them leaning over and unlocking the door.

The man nodded and pushed the door open, the room he entered housed a large meeting table. Seated around it were men in varying uniforms and suits, and at the head of it all was a figure hidden by shadows. The suited man adjusted his tie and walked to an open seat at the opposite head of the table, there he set down his briefcase and silently looked around the room. All eyes had focussed on him.

“Agent Hinkman.” The hidden figure said in a rather slow tone, his voice laced with an unmistakable Russian accent. “So good of you to join us, we were worried we would have to begin without you.” The agent nodded in response as he opened his briefcase.

“I wouldn’t miss a meeting with you, sir. You sign my pay stub, after all.” Hinkman said, running a hand over his black crew cut hair. The figure at the end of the table chuckled quietly.

“You Americans… Always quick with a joke…” The figure said, steepling his fingers and tapping them together. “Perhaps your quickness is why you’ve fared so well these past years, eh?” The figure trailed off and sighed, then turned to look at one of the larger walls in the room. “Turn it on, let’s begin.” The wall began brightly, revealing a map of the globe that fizzed and buzzed.

“As all of you know, North Korea has been making moves in Asia. Thirteen hours ago they attempted to launch ICBMs at the west coast of the United States, Australia, and India.” Hinkman said as he pulled several documents from his briefcase and set them on the table, many of the others in the room mumbled amongst themselves. “Of course, as we all know, they’re missile program is laughable at best. As such, all thirty ICBMs impacted what’s left of Beijing, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and even Pyongyang, among other targets along those lines.”

More mumbling went up through the room, meanwhile the figure in the shadows was clenching his fist tightly. Hinkman waited until the commotion had died down before clearing his throat and speaking once more.

“Needless to say, North Korea has ceased to exist as of eleven hours ago.” The Agent flipped through his files. “That being said, unfortunately most of China and Russia are also void of life. More so than they had been. I don’t need to tell you what this means.”

“We’re all that’s left.” The shadowy figure said quietly, Hinkman nodded. “And you came here late for what purpose? Why was this information not brought to our attention sooner!?”

“It only came in an hour ago, sir, and despite my skills, I am one man.” Hinman defended sternly, the room became quiet as the two figures at the heads of the table glared at each other before a sigh emanated from the shadowy man.

“And so our only hope of defeating that trollop in Denver, the Cartels to the south, and the Mafia’s to the east lies with the remnants of the Colorado National Guard.” The figure mumbled, quietly rubbing at his temples as the others began to grow restless. Many of them began to speak loudly, arguing for dominance in the conversation much as they had before society had fallen. The shadowy man pounded his hand on the desk several times. “Enough! All of you settle down, they aren't incompetent, they're simply under supplied."

“That’s my next topic, sir.” Hinkman spoke up, all eyes turned to him once more and he gestured to the screen. The image shimmered and shifted to an aerial photograph of the CNG compound, immediately more mumbles filled the room. “A week or so ago there was a mysterious energy anomaly near their compound, now it appears they have amassed a force of five Stuart tanks.” The image shifted to one that had obviously been taken at a long distance, better displaying the grey vehicles parked outside the gates.

“Are you suggesting they somehow developed some sort of time travel?” Asked a British officer, Hinkman looked at him with a deadpanned expression.

“I’m suggesting that perhaps there is a force far greater than any of us assumed possible at play here.” Hinkman said simply, he looked to the shadowy figure who simply gestured for him to continue. The image shifted to a photograph of a young muscled man wearing a long leather coat, olive drab fatigues, and wearing what appeared to be a West German officer’s cap. “With the tanks came this man, radio chatter we’ve intercepted indicates he’s referred to as Commander or Night Eagle. We assume that’s some sort of code.”

“Son of a bitch.” An older American General said, pointing at the picture with slight shock. The man wore a faded Marine uniform with numerous campaign pins and medals pinned to the breast. “I know him!” Hinkman and the others stared at the General with wide eyes. “That’s Tom’s boy!”

“Who?” The shadowy figure inquired, the General took a moment to compose himself before speaking once again.

“Thomas Occisor, he was one of the best damn operators I ever had under my command.” The General said, Hinkman and the other continued to stare. “He was also a really macabre son of a bitch, had this weird thing about warrior bloodlines, tried to get me to admit his son into an experimental pre-military training program when he was two or three.” The shadowy figure cleared their throat, the General nodded and got back to the point. “Dominic Occisor, that’s his name.”

“What can you tell us about him?” Hinkman asked, the General hummed.

“A couple things. Firstly, he didn’t get take part in the program, it got quashed before it could get off the ground.” The General sat up in his seat as every man in the room listened carefully. “Secondly, Tom was trying to recreate the program on his own. Had his son watch all sorts of documentaries about war and weapons, taught him how to shoot and clean a weapon and so on.” The General paused, as he could see some faces were skeptical. “We had all of our ex-operators under tabs back in the day, knew everything about their families, but… That’s not important right now. What is important is that this guy could be serious bad news if he’s in charge of these tanks.”

“Why do you say that?” The shadowy figure said, sitting up straight and leaning forwards. “Did the training turn him into some sort of warmonger? Do we have another ‘Empress’ to worry about?” The general shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

“One of the things about this kid was he was very resourceful, very ambitious, and cunning as hell. The thing was he didn’t seem to be aware of any of that.” The General adjusted his jacket as he continued to speak. “If he came here from the past or the future or wherever he was with five tanks, you can be damn sure he’s probably got at least twenty more wherever they came from.” The General stood up and pointed to the picture. “Gentlemen, if we’re not careful, he could be the very architect of a new blitzkrieg.”

“We noticed a second energy spike a couple days later, afterwards it looked like the entire civilian populace in the CNG vanished. Is it possible they’re wherever the tanks came from?” The British officer said as he was looking over one of Hinkman’s reports. The mumbles began to go around the room once more, this time the shadowy figure pounded his fist.

“It appears to me that Commander Occisor is working with the CNG, that indicates to me he is an ally until proven otherwise.” The figure declared, the room went silent. “General Hillard is correct, this young man could very well be the author of our destruction, but I put forth that he may also be the one to topple the Empire of Light. As it stands, he is closer to them than he is to us.”

“I concur.” Hinkman added, many of the others nodded. The remainder of the briefing was spent discussing everything they could about the latest developments, most prominent was the new and unknown man that continued to be displayed on the screens. Over time the room emptied until finally it was only Hinkman and the shadowy figure that remained.

“Hinkman.” The figure said slowly, the agent nodded as he packed his papers into his briefcase. “Find out everything you can about Occisor.” The agent nodded silently and stood up. The shadowy figure watched the agent leave the room, then turned in his seat to look at the screen that depicted the man. The figure stood and walked towards the screens, he ran a hand over his balding head as his light blue eyes took in the young face. A smirk passed over his face as he clasped his hands behind his back.

The figure could see the confidence in the young man’s face, the resolve and strength that he gave off was commendable. It reminded him of himself as a much younger member of the Soviet Union, and even if Occisor turned out to be an enemy, the figure was certain that dealing with the man would be a rare pleasure in the relative tedium that had settled in over the past four years.

With a final adjustment of his tie, Vladimir Putin turned off the screen and walked out of the room.

Author's Notes:

*passes out on his keyboard, haphazardly pushing forward the clip of the day*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEGbC1GHNk4