Luna found herself giggling as she watched Altair digging into his breakfast, or more accurately, lunch. He was just like his father in that regard, it was only nine in the morning and the young boy had ordered a cheeseburger of all things. It was alright, he ate healthy for the most part, one burger wouldn’t hurt. What was really intriguing was that the boy put french fries on his burger, another quirk of his father, but something Altair had actually seen his dad do. Luna adjusted her own plate, which had been full of leafy greens and a nice Onorussian Dressing.

The diner they sat in was nothing special, a little mom and pop restaurant that had caught the eye of the young boy. The food had been good, the server had been nice, and the atmosphere was very warm. There were pictures on the walls, some were paintings, others were photo’s of the owners and their family. Luna also took note that there was a small red flag with three white stars at its center hung on the wall behind the counter. It was a ‘Service Flag’ meaning the owner’s had three sons or daughters serving in the armed forces.

“Mother, can I ask a question?” Altair asked, Luna looked back to him and gave him a very… motherly look. The kind that said ‘Why do you keep asking to ask a question?’. Altair caught on and cleared his throat, then wiped his lips with his napkin. “Can… Can I learn to use a sword?”

“A sword?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow, Altair nodded. “Honey, swords aren’t toys. They’re like guns, they can hurt you really bad if you aren’t careful.”

“I know, but I promise I’d be really careful! I wouldn’t run with it or anything! Promise!” Altair said incessantly, Luna sighed and leaned against the table. The disguised alicorn rubbed her temples in a bit of annoyance, but only displayed an expression of thoughtfulness.

“Altair…” Luna said quietly. “I know you think you’re grown up, and in some ways you are, but… You’re still a little too young for sword training.” Altair began to frown, but Luna cut him off. “However… You’re almost nine. I’ll tell you what… If you are willing to wait until you’re thirteen, I’ll teach you to use a sword myself.” Altair was about to respond, but slowly his frown began to decrease.

“Alright…” He said in a low voice, the boy leaned forward and sipped on his straw, drinking some of his soda. Luna mentally sighed, she hated having to tell her son ‘No’, but she knew that was one of the burdens of being a parent. The door to the diner opened, prompting Luna to look up again. It wasn’t anything eventful, just a pony coming to deliver packages, at least from the looks of it. The mare looked back to Altair, who still looked crestfallen after their last conversation.

“Come on… Don’t frown. You know what I have to do if you frown.” Luna said, smirking quietly. Altair looked at her, but continued to have that frown on his face. “Fine… Time to call in the big guns.” Luna’s horn glowed, and suddenly a little figure glowed into existence. It was an arcane puppet, the magical equivalent of making a sock puppet. This puppet in particular looked like a human, dressed in a suit and a bowler hat. Luna cleared her throat and did her best to speak like a ventriloquist as she made the puppet ‘walk’ over to Altair’s plate.

“What’s all this then?” ‘Said’ the Puppet in an astonishingly bad, almost racist, English accent. “A frowny face? On your day out? That won’t do! What say ol’ Taffington take’s care o’ that for ya, gov’!” Altair did his best to hide the smirk forming on his face, but no smirk could hide from Luna, or the puppet. Taffington. Luna’s horn continued to glow as the arcane puppet leaned against Altair’s soda like it was a lamp post. “‘Ow’s about a joke, huh? What does a duck eat when it’s got a load of cheese?”

“I don’t know… What?” Altair asked, unable to hide his grin now.

“Quackers!” Taffington ‘said’, once again in that terribly done accent. Luna snickered at her own admittedly terrible joke, but it got Altair to giggle. “There’s that smile! Alright, gov! Got to be off! Pip pip, cheerio, all that jazz!” With that the puppet tipped it’s hat, Luna’s horn stopped glowing and it vanished into a puff of sparkles. It was something she did every now and then, whenever she felt like she needed ‘Back up’ to cheer her son up.

“See? All better.” Luna said, Altair continued smiling and leaned back in his seat.

“Yeah… Thanks, Mom.” Altair said warmly, Luna raised an eyebrow at him. Normally it was ‘Mother’, but… ‘Mom’ made her feel a bit more warm and fuzzy inside. As Altair went back to eating his food, Luna leaned against the window that was beside their table, her disguise was still in full effect. The mare looked off to the south, at Ponyville in the distance. That was where she had spent most of her time working lately, consulting with the manufacturers that were fabricating the parts for the space agency. Nothing was official yet, but it looked like they were close to a working prototype…

Luna looked back to Altair, he had finished off the food on his plate and was also finishing off his soda. Luna signaled for the check while she levitated her purse onto the table, the server brought the bill over and began taking the plates, smiling as she did so. Luna levitated thirty-five Onorussian dollars out of her purse and left them on the table. Enough to cover the meal and the tip. She secured her purse once more afterwards.

“Alright, let’s head out.” Luna said as she slid out of the booth, Altair slid out of the seat as well and the two of them began walking to the front door. Luna felt compelled to open her wing to put over his shoulders, but she remembered that she was disguised, and doing that would certainly ruin her attempt at a normal day. “Now we just need to make our way to your surprise, let’s see if I can find a cab…”

“Why not fly, Mom?” Altair asked with a tilted head, Luna turned her head to look at him. “I mean… You could hide your horn and stop hiding your wings…? Maybe? I dunno…” Luna smiled and leaned down, nuzzling him while she giggled.

“When did you get so smart?” She said before her horn glowed, it faded from view as her wings dropped their cloak. “Alright, hop on up, and hold on tight… And don’t tell your Mom about this…” Altair nodded before climbing up onto Luna’s back and hugging her neck tightly. Not so tight as to cut off air, but enough that she was sure he wouldn’t fall off. Luna’s wings unfurled, and she gave them a couple test flaps before taking to the air. Altair smiled widely and giggled a bit, he had always loved flying with his mother, even if his other mother didn’t like the idea. As they flew along, Altair caught sight of several fighter jets in the distance, they were doing various maneuvers.

The feeling of the wind through his hair, the thrill of being so high in the sky, it was something that he could never get enough of. The boy leaned closer to Luna’s neck and rested his face against her mane, the flight never seemed to last long enough, so he wanted to enjoy it as much as he could. Luna was flying as level as she could, keeping an eye on the streets below, as well as the occasional markers that signaled safe air corridors above the city. She knew most of the city like the back of her hoof, as she had helped to set up the new police precincts that dotted the map.

Luna tilted her wings to begin her descent when she saw the destination below, a building that looked like a warehouse with a large fenced grass yard off to the side. There were a couple griffons and diamond dogs in military uniforms in the yard, as well as a man wearing a dark grey, thick padded suit. Altair looked down with curious eyes, watching as a black dog charged at the man wearing the padded suit and latched onto his arm. Luna’s horn glowed softly as she got lower in the sky, a wave of magic washing over her. Her disguise disappeared, and her astral mane returned as she landed gracefully on the grass. One of the griffons whistled, calling the black dog away from the man in the bite proof suit.

The soldiers stared in surprise as Imperatrix Luna trotted towards them with a boy on her back, most troops outside of the palace didn’t know what Altair looked like, much like the press, once again so the boy would be allowed to lead a semi-normal childhood. They saluted quickly, Luna nodded to them while Altair continued to ride along on her back.

“I made an appointment with Major Hugo, through the Governmental Provisioner’s Office.” Luna said simply and regally, one of the diamond dogs, an older fellow that looked like a doberman and Major’s oak leaves on his collar, blinked and shook his head rapidly before stepping forward.

“R-Right, your eminence. I had just expected you would arrive through the front door.” The Major said, he took a breath and almost instantly regained his composure. He turned to the other soldiers and cleared his throat. “Silver Beak, take your dog back to the kennel. The rest of you return to the instruction room, use the time I’m away to work on your command tone and hand signals. Dismissed.” The soldiers saluted before turning to walk towards the building, Altair watched with awe as the dog seemed to march along as well. “Lenny! Get out of that ridiculous thing.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” The man in the padded suit replied as he too began walking towards the building.

“Now… To what do I owe this odd, but not unwanted, visit?” Major Hugo asked as he looked back to Luna and the boy, his paws gently coming to rest against one another. Luna lowered herself a bit, allowing Altair to climb down from her back. He looked up at the Major quietly while Luna’s wings twitched, her feathers settling back to their normal positions.

“Firstly… If anyone asks who my boy is, you don’t know.” Luna said flatly and commandingly, the Major nodded. “Now… That said. This is my son, Nova-Imperator Altair.” The major seemed to lighten up a bit, he adjusted his fatigues and smiled at Altair. “Now, he and I are having a day out, and I wanted to surprise him… I recently saw that one of your dogs had puppies.”

“Yes, ma’am. A german shepherd had a rather large litter, I should mention most of them are slated for military service, they’re handlers have already imprinted on them.” Hugo said, meanwhile Altair had picked up on what they were talking about, and what it likely meant for him. Was he getting to join the dog handlers? Not his dream, but he’d take anything if it meant he could serve like his dad. “However, since it was such a large litter, we have a couple pups that are going to be put up for adoption… I assume that’s why you’re here?”

“It is.” Luna said with a smile, she looked over to Altair and gave him a pat on the head. “We decided we’d get you a dog when you were old enough, and now seems like as good a time as any.” Altair felt his heart skip a beat, this was almost better than being a dog handler, he was going to get his own puppy, and not just any puppy, a tough puppy from a cool military base!

“Awesome!” Altair said cheerfully, he looked at Major Hugo. “Can you give me a list of the stuff I need to do to take care of it? I want to do it right!” The Major nodded, smiling a bit more. The kid was certainly different from the other children that came in to adopt with their families, most of the time it would end up being the parents that would care for the dog, but here this little guy was asking for a list. He knew either way the puppy would be well taken care of, but if the Nova-Imperator wanted to take an active role, more power to him.

“I’ll have a binder readied, don’t worry.” Hugo said before gesturing for Luna and Altair to follow him, they walked across the grassy yard until they reached the metal door that served as the side entrance to the dog training facility. The Major held the door open while Luna and Altair passed him, then began walking alongside the alicorn in measured steps. There was muffled barking from the main kennel, the hallway they were currently walked through was comprised mainly of wooden doors that lead to various offices and lecture rooms. The walls were white, the standard color for military base interior walls, and as usual decorated with posters or the occasional bulletin board.

Eventually the three of them came upon another door, a thick wooden slab with a window that was obviously constructed from bullet resistant material. Hugo pushed a couple numbers into a keypad beside the door, the magnetic locks buzzed and the door swung outward. The three stepped into the new room, which was far less utilitarian than the rest of the facility. It was more open, and the floor was scattered with little chew toys, as well as a couple bowls of water and food. Altair’s eyes went wide as he saw half a dozen or so fuzzy little puppies running around, nipping at one another and playing with the toys.

“These are the puppies we’re going to be putting up for adoption, the other five have already been assigned handlers.” Hugo said, by this point the puppies had noticed the new comers and were curiously trotting over, some of them clumsily stumbling over one another. Luna smiled as she saw Altair’s face light up like a christmas tree, the excitement in his eyes was almost contagious. “Feel free to spend some time with them, see which one feels right.”

“Oh… I like all of them!” Altair said as the puppies crowded around him, their little tails wagging rapidly as they panted or let out little excited barks. Altair sat on the floor, and almost immediatly one of the pups hopped up into his lap, then stood on its hind legs and began licking his face. Altair giggled and tried to turn his head away, but the pup was persistent. Altair fell back as the pup continued trying to get at his face, still giggling as he began petting the persistent fuzzball. “I like this one especially!”

“She likes you too, it seems.” Hugo said, smirking at the sight, it wasn’t everyday that he had the pleasure of helping families adopt puppies. Luna looked around the room and noted that one of the little puppies hadn’t flocked to her son, it was quietly standing next to her, staring up at her with its head tilted to one side curiously. Luna felt like her heart was going to melt as the little puppy walked up to her and nuzzled her leg. She was normally able to keep her composure, but in the face of such cuteness, she was unable to let out a soft squee. Surely it wouldn’t hurt if she brought two puppies home instead of one, then they’d have someone to play with when Altair was at school… With that justification in mind, Luna turned to Hugo.

“I think I’ll take two home, actually… This little one here, and which ever one my son chooses.” Luna said as she sat and began petting the puppy that had started nuzzling her leg, Hugo was honestly shocked. Imperatrix Luna was the face of Onorussian Law, the highest judge in the entire country, she ruled resolutely and soundly… And here she was, petting a puppy and making soft cooing noises. Altair ended up spending half an hour with the pups, all the while his persistent friend kept hounding him. Ultimately, when it came time to choose, he chose the one that had made him giggle the most.

Luna, Major Hugo, and Altair all made their way to the front office with two very excited puppies in tow. Once they had arrived at the office, Luna and Hugo went to fill out some paperwork, leaving Altair and an aid to look after the pups. In actuality, Luna also needed to arrange a ride back to the castle, as well as see to it that the puppies had bowls, dog beds, and other necessities waiting for them when they arrived at the castle. Altair had already thought of a name for his puppy, dubbing her ‘Wolfy’. Luna also had a name for the puppy that had melted her heart, one that she had always liked. The pup would be named ‘Mars’.

While Altair waited for his mother to return, he found himself enjoying the time he was spending with his fluffy new companion. She had the usual coloring of a German Shepherd, but there was a tiny spot of white fur on the center of her forehead. Wolfy would occasionally try to lick his face again, but for the most part she was enjoying sitting in Altair’s lap as he rubbed her belly or scratched behind her ears. Mars, on the other hand, or paw, was curled up on the chair next to Altair, snoozing. Altair was pretty much happy, he had every reason to be, but something was nagging at him… Something deep down in his mind, in a place he didn’t even know existed, that let in a sliver of doubt and sadness… He couldn’t understand why though. So he decided to instead focus on Wolfy, who was loving the attention she was getting.

[♠]

Dominic could see by the way the sun hung in the sky that it was around three in the afternoon, he and Mizu had been riding almost nonstop since the morning, with the exception of stopping for gas or to use the bathroom. By now they were deep in the heart of the Onorussian desert territory, further south than New Liberty, in the very boondocks of Onorussian society. Buildings and towns here were few and far between, the once massive highway had gradually shrunk to a two lane stretch of road that barely passed as ‘paved’. Telephone poles ran along its length, their cables swaying in a soft breeze that went unnoticed as Dominic tore down the road, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

Mizu could sense… Something. As she flew along beside the Imperator on his motorcycle, it felt as if there were eyes on her. Down this far south, towns were so small and scattered that they didn’t have police departments, everything here was covered by the military police stationed at the outposts that lined the southern border. Mizu could tell that if anything happened here, they would be on their own, they were at least an hour or so from the nearest outpost. It was around this point in time that Mizu began noticing signs on the side of the road, the most notable read ‘End of Road: 5 Miles’.

Dominic began slowing down as he noticed the signs, his eyes narrowing as he could see the end of the road up ahead. Mizu nervously moved closer as they gradually rolled to a stop, the asphalt gradually ceasing, coalescing to a final sign that read ‘Mile Marker: 0’. Dominic’s engine idled for a couple minutes, echoing over the landscape before he turned the key. Just like that, the air became dead quiet. An eerie silence that sent shivers down Mizu’s spine, she watched Dominic swing his leg over the bike and walk forward a couple steps.

“This is the end of the road… I suppose we just… Walk out into the desert then, right?” He said, turning to face Mizu. The changeling blinked a couple times, then cleared her throat. Her mother had given her instructions, somehow the guardians of the garden would know when their journey had ended.

“I think we’re supposed to… Wait. For something.” Mizu replied, Dominic shrugged and began walking back towards the bike. He paused for a moment, Mizu saw his eyes dart towards a sand dune. Quietly, with more measured steps, Dominic approached the bike.

“Mizu.” He said quietly. “Stay calm. Act natural…” Mizu looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I know it sounds crazy, but I… I just feel like something is watching us from that hill. Don’t ask how I know, it’s something I picked up over the years.” Mizu gulped but nodded, the Imperator had survived in far worse conditions, at least that’s what she told herself. Dominic, on the other hand, was far more on edge than he let on. His gut told him something was wrong, very wrong, there was something out in the sandy wastes. Quietly he slipped a hand into his pocket, running his fingers along Luna’s feather to try and gather strength. When he felt sufficiently psyched up, the man withdrew his hand from his pocket and slid it to the leather holster on his hip.

In a flash of movement, the Imperator drew his revolver and turned towards the hill. The fluid motion ensured that the weapon was cocked and ready by the time it came to bear on whoever was watching them. There was a flash of light, Dominic began to squeeze the trigger, but something… Some unseen, unnatural force, halted his finger. Halted every move in his body, he felt paralyzed, a living statue, he had no control over his body.

Mizu could feel the same crippling paralysis, she could see the Imperator’s eyes, wide with fear, something she had never seen in the man’s eyes since the day she had first met him. The two of them could only watch as there was another flash of light, this one blinding them, making them unable to see the world around them, save for the ever present bleached white glow that stole their vision. In a matter of seconds, both of them felt weightless, and then…

Dominic let out a loud gasp as he clenched his stomach, his knees going weak before he thudded down onto the ground. To his surprise, however, his face was not greeted by hot searing sand. Cool, almost comforting, grass brushed against his cheek. The man opened his eyes, the feeling of strangeness in his stomach had passed. With a racing heart he looked around for his revolver, but for the life of him he couldn’t find it. The man stood up and rolled his shoulders, looking around him for any sign of attackers, and Mizu for that matter. To his shock, he was no longer standing in the desert. He was surrounded by massive plants of different types, fountains, and stepping stones laid in the ground.

“Hello, Dominic.” A voice said from… Everywhere. A woman’s voice, it was as if she was everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. “I see you have many questions for me, well… Ask them, and then we will decide what to do with you.”

“Where is Mizu?” Dominic asked in an authoritative voice, glaring around him.

“She is where she needs to be.” The voice said simply. “Never fear, she is unharmed. She is having a similar meeting. The one she foresaw in her vision.” Dominic looked around for the source of the voice again, doing his best to keep his calm.

“Who are you? Where’s my father and the other’s I’m supposed to see?” Dominic asked, he walked towards a towering tree, thinking maybe there would be some clue there. Or maybe it was just for the shade, he couldn’t tell, and that scared him.

“Unfortunately they will not be appearing. They were a ruse, a tactic of ours to bring you here. We calculated that you would not come unless it had some chance of resolving the unfinished issues you had with your father.” The voice said, sounding apologetic, Dominic glared at a random bush, it was the only thing he could think to do, since he couldn’t find the speaker. “As for who we are… Who I am…” Dominic heard a rustle from the bush he was glaring at, to his shock, a woman emerged wearing a white gown and a crown. But not just any woman.

“M-Mom…?” Dominic asked in a stunned voice, the woman shook her head.

“I chose this form based on your thoughts.” The woman said, walking towards him. “You may call me Arc Whet.” Dominic glared at the imposter, and just like that, his mother’s form was replaced by a shimmering ball of light, a second later it reformed as his old English Teacher. The blonde woman still wore the white gown as she stopped a couple feet in front of the man, a serene smile on her face.

“Get out of my head.” Dominic growled, there couldn’t be a coincidence that a brief thought of how this ‘Arc Whet’ reminded him of his english teacher suddenly caused her to take that form, if it even was a ‘her’. “You lied to me, you poked around my head, you got me to come all this way… Why?”

“We are the result of a failed experiment from eons passed, when our race lived on this planet alone.” Arc Whet said quietly, adjusting her hair as she continued to stand before Dominic. “We had grown to such technological strength that we became bored with just ourselves, and so we began to create others. You know them as the griffons, the minotaurs, and so on. In your world they are myth, or simply animals, much like they were in ours before our meddling.”

“That hasn’t answered my question.” Dominic said flatly, the woman nodded quietly.

“Our civilization began searching for life outside of our world, and in order to do it, we crafted an arcane blueprint, or a spell as you would call it.” Arc Whet said as she got closer to Dominic, the man took a cautious step back. “It failed, and fractured our species into three, with magical power like the ones that we had created… Only two infants survived without being changed., those of us in the experiment gained almost limitless power… Those who were not became what you call unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi.”

“You were alicorns…?” Dominic asked, anger and annoyance rapidly began to morph into curiousity. Arc Whet nodded quietly. “Then that means… Luna and Celestia… But, what about Cadence and Twilight?”

“Cadence was our first attempt to try and break free, but we soon learned that doing so had dire consequences. Not at first, at least, not for the inhabitants of the world.” Arc Whet said with a bit of a sigh, she held out her hand and a vision of a black mist swirled in her palm. “Years after our attempt, the unicorn warlock known as Sombra was released from his prison… It was our fault. We learned there is no escape, and so we had to adjust our methods, to try and recreate our species… At least in some small way, so that they could continue our work. To search for a world other than our own… To make all of this worthwhile.”

“So… Me coming here…” Dominic said with a bit of shock.

“Was no accident.” Arc Whet said plainly. “Of course, you were meant to be the catalyst, the one that would convince Celestia and the others to search for other worlds. However, your desire to help your people was not a part of our calculations.” The woman seemed a bit pleased to be wrong in that regard. “You have exceeded our expectations at every turn… We have no words to describe how gratifying it has been to see our cultures interact, in good times and bad. In war and in peace, it has fascinated us… We wished to meet the one responsible.”

“That’s why?” Dominic asked, sounding annoyed again. “I thought coming all this way would give me answers, that I could find some form of peace, but you just wanted a fucking meet and greet?!” Arc Whet stared at him for a couple seconds, then sighed and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You have overcome your fears time and time again, fought against uncountable odds, and yet you still do not feel at peace?” She asked, Dominic looked at her hand, the annoyed look on his face slowly shifting to a tired one before he nodded. “Your species is odd, to say the least. Resilient, and yet… So fragile.”

“I’m… I’m sorry I yelled, I just… Just thought that by coming here, I could finally feel… You know… Normal.” Dominic said quietly, he brought his hand to his pocket and felt Luna’s feather once again. “And… If I could find out how, then maybe my son… He wouldn’t have to go through this when he grows older.” The man looked at his hands. “I don’t want my boy to suffer on account of my rotten genes.” Arc Whet’s hand glowed, Dominic felt an odd sense of warmth spread through his shoulder.

“I see now…” She said as she moved her hand back to her side. “You have a chemical imbalance in your brain… A genetic disposition to depression and anxiety.” The woman looked him in the eyes. “Your father had this gene, as did his father, and his father… And yes, your son has it as well.” Dominic sighed and looked at the ground. “I am sorry to say, these diseases were far less common in our species, our technology and arcane abilities allowed us to fix the imbalance… But your species is resistant to magic, it takes a great deal more to have an affect on you.” The woman put both hands on Dominic’s cheeks, much to the man’s surprise, he was unable to move to stop her. “Close your eyes.”

The man hesitantly complied, he could feel a warmth spreading through his head, it gradually began to move through his body. Flashes of images moved through his mind, memories of times before the infection, times he was with his family, and the day that his son was born. All these images made him feel a sense of happiness, a sense of pride… He had lead a good life, as good as it could be, at least. There had been problems, certainly, but over all his life had turned out almost as he had expected to it before the infection. He served his country, he was married, and had a son… In that instant, it was like a switch had been flipped.

“M-My god…” Dominic said in a quiet whisper as he opened his eyes. “W-What… What did you do to me…?” His head felt clearer, as if a fog that had hung there for as long as he could remember had suddenly vanished.

“I have adjusted your brain chemistry to proper balance…” Arc Whet said simply, she brought her hands to her side. “It is temporary, but with proper medication, near identical effects can be achieved.” Dominic put a hand to his chest, rolling his shoulders as he tried to adjust to the strange new sensation that had suddenly covered his body. “The same can be said for your son, so do not fear for his future as you have.”

“T-Thanks… I think.” Dominic said quietly, it was such an alien feeling, but it wasn’t a bad one. It reminded him of when he had found Maria, but much crisper, concrete. “So… What happens now? I have a feeling you didn’t summon me simply to fix my head and say hello…”

“You are correct.” Arc Whet replied, she gestured for him to follow her as she began walking through the gardens. “The vision we showed you was meant to catch the attention of Chrysalis, and it seemed the easiest solution, since the template already existed, it was easier for us to project into your mind.” The garden seemed to stop suddenly, a cliff with a wooden railing sat at its edge. Arc Whet stopped at this railing, and Dominic stood beside her, looking out into a strange sight. There was no real horizon, nor was there any sign of the sun that lit the garden, it was instead a massive tapestry of stars and planets that stretched as far as Dominic could see.

“You’ve taken the first steps towards colonization of your home system, and even towards colonizing uninhabited dimensions.” Arc Whet said quietly, Dominic looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

“With the issue of overpopulation, they seemed like logical solutions.” Dominic said, quietly leaning against the railing and looking back out at the stars. “I assume your are going to tell me ‘It’s too dangerous’?”

“Considering the alternatives, no.” Arc Whet said simply, her eyes looking out into that vast black sea of sparkling lights. “We summoned you here because our powers are waning after all this time, countless years of monitoring and influencing events on the world has left our collective consciousness fatigued and weakened.” The woman sighed and looked over at Dominic. “Soon, relatively, we will be able to nothing more than watch. This means that should you encounter a hostile dimension, we will not be able to offer direct aid… Only our messenger, the one you know as Discord, will be able to directly influence the realm.”

“So in other words… The training wheels are coming off.” Dominic said flatly, Arc Whet nodded. “I take it you’re the one that’s been helping us not blow each other to pieces in an all out nuclear conflict… And you’re going tell me now that you can’t help with that either, meaning the world just got a whole lot more dangerous.”

“Your powers of perception are impressive.” Arc Whet said, she sighed and adjusted her hair so that it flowed in a soft breeze that seemed ever present. “From now on we will need to ration our power, meaning we will only be able to make slight adjustments to the realm. Since your nation is the largest, we calculated it would be best to contact you directly.” The woman turned to him with a tired expression. “Neither of our civilizations ever reached this point, not yours, not ours, and certainly not the remnants that inherited the world. We hope that you can keep it all from annihilation.”

“Trust me, I feel the same way.” Dominic said, gaining his own tired expression. “Lemme just add ‘Prevent total nuclear armageddon’ to my todo list…” Arc Whet let out a slight chuckle at the grim bit of humor. “I have a feeling there’s more to this.”

“There is.” Arc Whet said with a nod. “This will be our only meeting in person, the energy it took to bring you here was considerable, even with you standing atop the largest concentration of arcane material on the continent.” Dominic paused and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Do not get any ideas, the vein of arcane crystal I speak of is hundreds of miles beneath the surface, your miners would die from the extreme pressure before they ever saw it.” The woman sighed. “But I digress… Any further communication you receive will be brought by our mutual friend, however infrequent that may be.”

“I see...” Dominic said quietly, he looked back out into the vast void of stars laid out in front of him. The man stared out into that dark abyss, and it seemed that the abyss stared back at him, with an almost shaking voice he spoke once more. “And… You’re sure I can’t see my Dad… Or, my Mom…? My real mom.” Arc Whet could see his eyes watering. “I-I just thought… Y’know… I could tell them about what had happened… T-That they had a grandson… I w-was hoping to ask i-if they were proud of me…”

“I… We are sorry to have gotten your hopes up with our deception, but it was the only way to ensure you would come in person.” Arc Whet said, Dominic shook his head and leaned more against the railing.

“I should’ve expected it… Ever since I first came to this world, the powers that be have manipulated me in one way or another…” Dominic said in a quiet and bitter tone, one tear rolling down his cheek as he ran a hand over his head. “I had thought that now that I was the powers that be, that sort of thing was behind me…” The man turned his head towards Arc Whet. “I… I’d like to be alone.” Arc Whet opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. There was a flash of light, an instant later she had vanished. Dominic quietly slid down onto his knees and leaned against the railing, this time making no effort to hide the tears running down his cheeks.

Since its inception, the Garden of Creation had known many sounds, from trees creaking and birds chirping, to soft wind and the rustle of branches. For the first time in its history, an alien sound echoed through the peaceful plains. It was here, far from the eyes of society, from the masses of people looking to him to be strong, in a space that no one could penetrate, that Dominic reached his breaking point. He had sobbed before, cried before, even wailed… But none could compare to the sadness and despair that filled his mournful cries, cries that would go unheard and unanswered, as if they had never existed. Even with the aid that Arc Whet had given him, the gift that had lifted the fog of depression, he felt his heart being clamped down on tightly. It was here, in this place of peace and light, that Dominic truly felt… Alone.

Author's Notes:

Whoa, that was a little heavy at the end... Here's some good ol' Al Bundy to lift the mood a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1srAHbBrpw

Next chapter is likely going to be clop between Luna and Maria, and it'll likely be kinky. Just a heads up. Don't worry, I'll tag it like I usually do.