The relations between the New United States and Equestria had always been a tad shaky, generally good, but still shaky. At least, it had been up until the word had gotten out that Equestrian’s had taken the life of an American Border Enforcement Agent, and a human at that. A crowd had formed outside the capitol building in the day that had followed the incident, some were humans concerned about their safety while others were ponies absolutely incensed that their borders had been questioned.

Princess Luna and Sonar were honestly at a loss for what they could do, they had already demanded those responsible for the crime be turned over for trial, but of course Celestia had refused their request. What was more, it seemed that the Solar Diarch had ordered troops into the disputed territory, effectively making the issue a powder keg. It involved more than just the United State’s claim to territory, but the rights to that territory that had belonged to the Changeling kingdom.

Technically the land had never belonged to Equestria, but since the changelings lacked the force to defend it from encroaching Equestrians they had been unable to assert their claim. Still maintained it was their land, and offered it up in the peace treaty with the United States, and so Equestria was now interfering in the affairs of two foreign countries. Celestia’s go to response for such a thing had been to put some troops in the area to sure it up until interest in the issue died down, generally there was no way anyone could contest the Equestrian army.

Celestia had made one miscalculation however, and that was that the United States was essentially eclipsing them on the battlefield even despite their small numbers. Competent officers from around the world, ever advancing weaponry, and fiercely loyal soldiers easily outweighed the reservists that Celestia generally sent. On top of that there had been a surge of volunteers from the human refugees, all of whom were packing enough firepower to start World War Three.

It had finally been decided to call Celestia’s bluff and ten tanks and two rabbits rolled through the gates of Fort Errant Military Base, each tank had a couple soldiers riding on the top while the rabbits carried a couple more and supplies. Luna watched from the window of the capitol building as the tanks drove off onto the horizon, after a couple moments she turned to Sonar who was sitting in front of a radio set that was being tended to by Fortress Wall.

“We’re just about ready, Madam President.” Fortress said as he turned a couple knobs, Luna walked over as Sonar adjusted her suit and glasses. The thestral mare coughed once or twice, wincing in pain before setting her face with a stoic resolve. After a couple more seconds the radio static stopped and was replaced by near silence. “Canterlot, this is New Liberty.”

”Reading you, New Liberty. Ready for traffic.” A voice responded, Fortress Wall stepped back from the radio and offered the microphone to Sonar. Luna sat beside the acting president, she knew that very soon her sister’s voice would come through the radio. It would be the first use of a radio in a political dealing, she just wished it hadn’t had to come from such a situation.

“Princess Celestia.” Sonar said firmly, she sat up in her seat. “We had already agreed that this land would be turned over to the United States, now an American is dead and you refuse to uphold your end.”

”Things have changed, you have to understand that the ponies there are very resistant to change.” Celestia’s voice replied over the radio, static laced her transmission. ”I can’t give you the land, it would damage their economy-”

“Their economy isn’t of concern to us.” Sonar cut off the Princess, much to Luna’s surprise. “Not only did they take that land from the Changelings illegally, they now intend to kill American’s in order to hold onto it! You refuse to enforce your laws, it is just as good as endorsing this behavior!” Silence followed the outburst, Luna could tell that Celestia was attempting to gather her thoughts for a response. She knew that Celestia had never been on the receiving end of a border dispute before, she was used to playing a third party negotiator.

”I understand your concern, Madam President.”

“I don’t think you do.” Sonar said firmly. “An army is amassing on our borders, your army. It is occupying American territory. Wars have started this way, Princess.” The poniente words brought the very real possibility of conflict into view, war was staring both leaders in the face. Sonar was no stranger to war, unlike Celestia. “I will say this once and only once, Princess. We will not fold, nor will we compromise. Withdraw your forces from our territory or we will do so by force.”

“You had best listen to her, sister. They are most serious.” Luna added, the radio remained silent for a couple seconds.

”I’m sorry…” Celestia’s voice quietly spoke. ”Sister, surely you can-”

“Do not ask me for help, Celestia. This is your mess.” Luna replied. “I am here as an advisor only, I have no authority over the armed forces, if I did I would respond the same way.”

”I… I see…” Celestia’s voice came through, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife. ”Please… Give me some time to come up with an answer.”

“You have two hours and ten minutes.” Sonar said as she looked at the clock on the wall, their forces would arrive in two hours. Once they arrived they would call for orders, Celestia would see the force that had been sent against hers, she’d know that her forces would be utterly slaughtered against armor and machine guns, Luna knew she’d fold. The radio went quiet, leaving those in the room to assume that the Princess had left to think. Meanwhile other aids were receiving messages from nations around the world, the Zebras were offering their services as mediators, the Minotaurs were offering to aid the American’s in an invasion, the Griffons wanted to cede into the Union.

Celestia had opened Pandora’s box.

Discord sighed quietly as he observed everything from his pocket dimension, rubbing his forehead as he saw more and more chaos starting to rise in the world. It had been holding at safe levels for such a long time, and now it was nearing a dangerous level. The chaos god hated interfering with the affairs of the world, but he feared that if things continued to go poorly he’d have no choice. His omnipotence was constantly blurred by the changing world, and so he didn’t know just how bad things would get, but he could tell it would be on par with the Nightmare Uprising.

In the desert, riding atop one of the tanks, was a young man wearing national guard fatigues and holding an M4 carbine. He adjusted his kevlar as they drove on through the desert, he and his comrades were ready for a fight. They had come to the new world for a peaceful start, now it seemed that second chance was being threatened by a pushy, over privileged princess. Overhead the soldier could see several thestrals, changelings, and pegasi flying in formation. They were lagging slightly behind the ground column which was absolutely screaming across the flat desert with great speed

[♠]

Celestia paced back and forth in her office, she nervously bit her lip and looked towards the radio set that had been placed on her desk. Numerous officers and generals surrounded her, many of them trying to come up with plans. Outside the window she could see her subjects going about their lives, many of them barely aware of just what was unfolding to the south. She had seen the American’s handiwork on the battlefield, and she knew very well that any conflict with the small nation would be costly.

“Princess, we can’t let them win.” One of her Generals said sternly, Celestia turned to look at him. “They’ll start with the orchard, then all of Appleloosa, and then next thing you know they’ll be marching into Canterlot!” The earth pony adjusted his uniform, it was clear that he was unaware of just how costly it would be to fight the United States, even in the short term.

“I agree, they’ve had their fun, but it’s time those traitors return to the fold!” A unicorn general demanded, he pounded his hoof on the floor. “They abandoned their posts in the Equestrian Army, they should all be arrested and tried for it!”

“You are all fools.” A voice cut in from across the room, all eyes turned to the source. General Eventide, of Luna’s personal military staff. “The action was sanctioned by their commander in chief, are you forgetting that? Unless you all admit Luna is not a princess and wish to contest her, which would be an act of treason.” The generals all quieted down, Celestia’s eyes stayed locked on Eventide. He was extremely loyal to Luna and ruthless in all of his work, it was rumored there was icewater in his veins. “May I, Princess?” Celestia nodded and Eventide stepped forwards towards her desk.

“The fault lies with us here, Princess. We, or more specifically you, are to blame for the lack of discipline in Appleloosa.” Eventide declared, much to the shock of those assembled in the room. “These idiots will tell you to invade the United States, to destroy them and take over, but you won’t do that. We both know that.” Celestia stared at him even more intently, his words lancing into her. “I have visited the United States, unlike these imbeciles… Their military might is awe inspiring.” The stallion stopped and put his hoof on a map. “If they invaded us right now, they would penetrate as far as Ponyville before we could stop them.”

“So you’re saying we should give up our territory and our citizens to a nation that has only one city?!” A general shouted, Eventide nodded and looked at Celestia expectantly. “Princess, this bat pony obviously cares more about Luna than-” Before the stallion could say anymore Celestia raised her hoof.

“Order the guards to withdraw to the agreed border, but not an inch more. Track down whoever was responsible for the American’s death and have them turned over at once…” Celestia ordered, the generals looked at her with a bit of surprise before a stomp of Eventide’s hoof sent the scrambling. The room was quickly empty, save for Eventide and Celestia. “Field Marshal, it’s nice to see your loyalty extends to me as well…”

“It doesn’t.” Eventide said simply as he adjusted his black uniform, Celestia stared at him. “Princess Luna is my sole commander in chief, I only came as a courtesy to her. The Lunar Corps has become Luna’s private military, since it seems you can’t keep your own soldiers in check.” Celestia was a bit shocked at how blunt he was being, perhaps that was why Luna had made the young thestral a Field Marshal. The solar princess made her way back to the radio and cleared her throat before speaking.

“We’re pulling our forces out, those responsible will be brought to justice.” Celestia said with a pent up voice, several tense seconds passed before the response came.

”See to it they are gone by the time our forces arrive.” The acting president said, Celestia sighed and looked up to address Eventide, but the thestral had already turned and made his way out of the room.

[♠]

Dominic adjusted his binoculars as he stood in the turret of his tank, looking down on the EOL’s base from the vehicle’s place on an overlooking hill. The chill of winter seemed to be ever present, forcing him to wear his armor and jacket for maximum warmth. Today was the day of days, when the New United States Army would go up against the EOL for the first time in open combat. His tank and Jen’s were already in position, he was waiting on the others to take their places before the assault. Dominic briefly scanned over the trees, searching for any sign of Maria, but as he expected of a brilliant sniper like her, he didn’t see a thing.

Little did he know, he himself was being watched carefully from above, Colonel Baxter had decided to sit the battle out up on the top of Pikes Peak, and the CNG commander was watching his younger counterpart carefully. Dominic shrugged it off, he knew very well that the battle would be won, somehow he knew. It was as if god himself had come down and bestowed his blessing on him, for the first time in his life he wanted honor and glory. The past days had been rough, as Melissa and Maria seemed to be a bit more snippy around one another, but he’d somehow managed to keep his head down.

The stress of the coming battle had inspired many under his command to let out their tension in different ways, for Dominic it had been practicing with his rifle and sword, for Jen it had been her letters home, and for a particularly talented griffon it had been painting. However, since there had been no canvas to paint on, Sergeant Avos had resorted to using the tanks as her canvas. Dominic’s vehicle now sported a scantily clad brunette with an uncanny resemblance to his girlfriend on the front of the right side that was armed, of course, with a scoped Mosin rifle.

Dominic had allowed it because he knew how conscious the EOL were of ‘Objectification’ and he wanted to embody everything they hated. It was his mission to become the most hated man in the EOL, to be public enemy number one. Through his infamy he would gather support and recruits for his army, and with that, he would survive the remaining sixth months until the portal could open again.

Sergeant Avos hadn’t been the only one to decorate her tank, the newly trained human crew had marked up their vehicle with something far simpler, just three numbers in crimson red. 666. Dominic, being a bit of a metal head, was very familiar with the reference to Ghost Rider. He had to admit, he was jealous he hadn’t thought of it first. Furthermore, Six Six Six had been outfitted with a fifty caliber machine gun and the captured minigun in preparation for its role as a ‘Meat grinder’. Dominic sighed quietly and shook his head, he just wanted the battle to be over already. As he scanned over the enemy compound in the early morning light he could see cages along the walls, large pens of people that seemed to huddle together or mill about.

Dominic lowered his binoculars and checked a stopwatch he’d been given by Colonel Baxter, the barrage was set to begin in five minutes and still the other tanks hadn’t radioed in yet. He knew that even his and Jen’s tank would probably make a big impact, but timing would be critical in the mission to come, at least from an infantry position. Hidden in the trees behind Dominic’s tank were at least fifty soldiers, all of whom were more than ready to shed the blood of the EOL.

“Commander, radio traffic from Talon-Two.” Gear Grinder called up through the hatch, Dominic looked down and picked up his headset.

“Are you in position?” Dominic asked immediately.

”All set, sir. We just ran into a runner from Talon-Three, they’ve got some radio trouble, but they’re in position.” Replied Rolling Thunder, Dominic hummed quietly and looked off towards the fort in the distance.

“Wunderbar, carry out the orders on schedule.” Dominic said with finality, tossing a bit of German in. He was attempting to learn the language of the Thestrals, as they were a very big part of New Liberty. The minutes continued to tick by and Dominic felt a heavy weight on his shoulders as he knew what was to come, his eyes were glued to his watch, the second hand ticking by quicker and quicker and quicker. “Initiate psych warfare!” The PA speakers on his tank and the others turned on, bellowing the sound of rolling steel and an eerie siren horn. The sounds were similar to those of the Reapers, Dominic had found the sound files on his MP3 player oddly enough, most likely as a result of Discord’s tampering.

In the distant base the birds began to flee from their trees in a massive swarm of flapping terrified wings, the guards there had no idea what was going on, but the menacing sounds in the distance had put the entire base on full alert. Troopers nervously ran back and forth, it was winter after all, and that normally meant the fighting slowed down. Somehow though it sounded as if the CNG had gotten its hands on an armada of metal monstrosities. The rumors that had been spreading played through all of their minds, vicious killing machines that were commanded by an equally vicious man.

Dominic watched the panic spreading through the base, a slight smile forming on his face. All of them were out in the open, a perfect target for the coming barrage.

“Feuer frei!” Dominic ordered loudly as he adjusted his headset, moments later his tank lurched as the main gun erupted like a volcano. Seconds later he heard Jen’s tank send a similar salute, followed by other explosions from miles around. The tanks continued firing like clock work, all the while Dominic kept his eyes on the enemy base. High explosive shells detonated all throughout the compound, some of the warehouses were struck and their roof’s collapsed inwards or they suffered a blown out wall. Shattered glass and rubble became bits of shrapnel that eagerly tore into the panicking EOL troopers.

“Cease fire!” Dominic bellowed after several minutes, slowly the explosions tapered off and pillars of smoke and fire rose into the air. The man drew his sword from its scabbard and directed it towards the enemy base. “Initiate phase two! Forwards!”

”Roger that! Let’s fuck ‘em up!” Gear Grinder shouted over the radio as the tank lurched forwards, the tracks kicking up snow in its wake as it thundered through the trees like a bat out of hell. The adrenaline was pumping rapidly as Dominic’s vehicle drew closer and closer to the tree line, Jen’s tank wasn’t far behind him. Finally the vehicle burst free of the trees and Gear Grinder opened up the throttle, pushing the tank to nearly thirty miles an hour. Dominic could see the terror on the enemy’s faces, even at such a far distance.

”Tank Six Six Six is in position, radio back online! We’re ready to cut ‘em down, Commander!” The voice of the human tank’s commander cut in over the radio. Bullets pinged off the armor, Dominic ignored them and continued to point his blade at the enemy’s gate. The tank busted through a chainlink fence on the outskirts like wet tissue paper, leaving only a twisted hulk of metal in its wake. There was nothing between the gun and the EOL gate now, and so Sergeant Avos lowered the barrel of the cannon and loaded a high explosive shell.

“Feuer!” Dominic shouted, the gun belched fire and the gate exploded into shreds of steel shrapnel. Dominic sheathed his blade and ducked down into his tank, this time closing the hatch as the tank trundled over the feeble remains of the gate and whatever soldiers had been there to guard it. Jen’s tank rolled in behind him, her gun was also lowered and ready to unleash hell on anyone in sight. “Load grape shot!”

“Loading!” Sergeant Avos responded loudly as she slipped a new shell into the cannon, Dominic leaned forwards and looked through his view slit at the carnage around them. A squad of EOL soldiers were rushing towards the tanks with what looked like molotovs. “Gun ready!”

“Target at zero-eight-zero!” Dominic bellowed, the turret turned and Dominic could see fear spreading across the enemies’ faces. “Feuer!” The gun boomed and a cloud of ball bearings turned the squad of troopers into a pile of red paste. Dominic could tell that the battle was only just beginning.

[♠]

Maria adjusted her scope as she watched the battle unfolding in front of her, the explosions of the artillery still rung somewhat in her ears. The tree line she took cover in was oddly quiet compared to the rest of the area, so quiet that she almost didn’t remember she had company. Melissa was laying beside her in the snow, holding a pair of binoculars as she shivered in the cold. Tension between the two of them had been high since Melissa had revealed herself, but Maria was doing her best to look past it.

The woman turned a knob on the scope as she lined up her crosshairs on some of the EOL defenders that were standing along the defensive wall, the black lines lined up on the enemy’s center mass and Maria began to exhale. Her rifle let off a crack, kicking back into her shoulder as she squeezed the trigger. Melissa watched the trooper’s chest explode into crimson past before he toppled over the edge, Maria pulled back the bolt and sent the spent shell sprawling onto the ground before she chambered the next round.

Melissa assumed this was some sort of loyalty test, something to prove she truly was on the CNG’s side. She had to admit she found it odd watching people she had once called allies through the binoculars, and it felt like a kick to the stomach in some cases, but she knew that her decision had to be certain, she had to be committed.

“Melissa.” Maria said quietly as she lined her rifle up once again, Melissa looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Keep an eye out for enemy snipers, they like to creep around in battles like these. I’ve got a good enough fix on the wall.”

“What should I look for?” Melissa asked as she started to scan the treeline ahead of them.

“A glint of a scope, rustling bushes. I don’t care if you’re wrong, if you see something say something.” Maria said, once again she squeezed the trigger and the rifle cracked loudly. The woman briefly caught sight of Dominic’s tank, pausing as she saw a new picture painted on the side of it, one that looked an awful lot like her. “Oh… Wow…” Melissa caught a faint blush on the sniper’s cheeks, but she quickly went back to scanning the tree lines and listening to the methodical bang of Maria’s rifle.

The distant gunfire and explosions occasionally caused snow to fall from the trees, but both Maria and Melissa didn’t let it phase them. Melissa could see another tank rolling in on the third gate, armed with machine guns and cannons it was obvious its sole purpose was to kill. She forced herself to watch as her former EOL comrades pushed open the gate, only to be faced with the menacing tank six six six. There was a brief moment of surprise, she could see the horror forming on the troopers faces before the whirring minigun roared to life.

Coupled with cannon and fifty caliber fire, the throngs of fleeing EOL soldiers were cut to ribbons in the face of American lead. Maria eventually stopped firing, her own scope transfixed on the scene that was unfolding. The plan was unfolding just as it was meant to, with the enemy force being squeezed out of their base and into a merciless slaughter. Blood spewed from fallen corpses, forming a grisly river of red that stained the snow as it flowed. Maria closed her eyes to try and block out the screaming that somehow could be heard over the constant gunfire.

A battle cry arose from the forests as the CNG infantry rushed across the fields, they received no resistance from the obliterated EOL defenses. Maria quietly stood up and walked a few steps forwards so that she was standing atop the birm that they had taken cover behind, her new white cloak flapping in the wind as she stared at the carnage. Choking black smoke rose into the sky, so thick that it cast a shadow over the surrounding area as the sun could not hope to penetrate it.

“So… This is what it feels like to win…” Maria said quietly as Melissa walked up beside her, both of them watched as the infantry forces began to round up what few EOL troops remained. “Part of me is happy, but…” She paused as she could hear a faint buzz in the air. “The blood hasn’t even stopped flowing and already the flies are on their way.”

“It’ll end, Maria…” Melissa said quietly.

“I know.” The sniper replied as she started walking towards the fort. “Well, let’s get in there, they’re going to need help with all the freed slaves.” Melissa gulped and nodded before she began tagging along beside Maria, she was unsure of what to expect when they entered the newly captured base, but she knew it would most likely not be pretty.

[♠]

Dominic pushed open the hatch of his tank and looked around, the sickeningly familiar scent of smoke and blood entered his nose immediately. Momentarily he removed his peaked cap to pull on his gasmask, it at least stopped the smell. He set his cap atop his head once again and climbed out of the turret to survey the battleground, his tank was now stopped twenty yards from the third gate where a mass of dead bodies had formed. Dominic climbed down off of his tank and landed in some mud, he momentarily looked down and realized that the mud had a reddish tint to it.

Off to his left was one of the warehouses, it had been thouroughly bombed and was in flames. The ruined structure belched black smoke into the sky, the flames emitted a low rumble as they continued to consume whatever had been inside the building. Dominic took a few steps forwards towards the oncoming CNG forces that were starting to flood through the third gate, he stopped at the edge of the field of dead bodies. The bloody mud caked his boots, and he was certain the smell of it would’ve been enough to shake him. Chunks of flesh and even several limbs were scattered about like toys, adding yet another level to the hell that Dominic was witnessing.

Across the compound Dominic could hear the sound of small arms fire, most likely the EOL making a final stand in one of the undamaged warehouses. Already Dominic could see Rolling Thunder’s tank making its way in that direction, the man turned and started walking back to his own vehicle. Parked behind it was Jen’s tank, she too was climbing out and eventually down onto the muddy ground. She looked around for a moment or two before looking towards the defensive wall on the right, Dominic followed her gaze and spotted what she was staring at immediately.

“Jesus…” He mumbled to himself before pounding on the side of his tank, the driver’s hatch popped open and Gear Grinder looked at him. “Follow me in reverse, I need to get some of the chain off the back.” The driver raised an eyebrow but nodded and began to back up the tank, Dominic started walking towards the wall. More specifically he started walking towards the massive cage that ran along the wall, he could hear his heart pounding in his chest. The mist floated away from his gasmask, his boots squelching in the mud.

Dozens of people were huddled away from the edge of cage, Dominic realized many of them were women and even children. He had seen them through binoculars, he’d known that it would be bad, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the sight before his eyes. In the back of his mind he could hear the screams of ponies in Starlight Glimmer’s village, the smell of burning buildings. Before him he saw the people barely had any clothes, covered in mud and things that Dominic didn’t want to think about. He could see their ribs, their sunken eyes and scarred backs.

“Commander.” Jen’s voice called from his side, he didn’t seem to respond at first. “Commander?” The man flinched for a moment and turned to look at her, the woman adjusted her uniform and he could see she’d tied a makeshift bandanna over her face, most likely for the smell. “Radio from the CNG medicals says we can open the cages, but we have to keep them in the compound for a couple days until they can eat real food again.”

“If they stay they’re staying in one of the buildings.” Dominic said firmly, doing his best to hide the shake in his voice. Meanwhile his tank came to a halt a few feet behind him, Jen watched him turn and grab a length of hooked chain from the supply rack. He quickly hooked one end to the bars of the cage while the other was attached to the tank. “Go!” Gear Grinder must’ve heard him as the tank lurched forwards, taking the length of cage with him. It fell into the mud with a heavy clang, splattering the red tinted liquid on Dominic and Jen’s fatigue pants.

“I’ll have them set aside room for them, we’ll need a headcount though…” Jen said as she watched Dominic take a couple steps closer to the now open cage, the commander only nodded as he stopped on the very edge of the cave. With that Jen walked off to begin setting up for the coming night. Slowly the huddled people in the cage were turning to look at what was happening, by now numerous CNG troops were approaching the cage. One of the women in the cage stood up and weakly hobbled towards Dominic, she was hunched over and her black hair was ratty.

Dominic was about to say something but the woman instead grabbed him in a weak hug, crying into his chest as Dominic stood their in surprise. Up close he could see lash marks on her back, a bruised eye, and numerous burns and scars along her arms.

“I-It’s okay…” Dominic said, unsure of what else to say. He was about to rest a hand on the woman’s shoulder, but she flinched away and he withdrew it. Slowly the others in the cage began to stagger out towards the waiting CNG, as well as some of the tank crews. They were hesitant at seeing the ponies, but eventually they realized that they were there to help as well. Still, Dominic had the woman crying into his chest, she didn’t even speak, all she did was sob.

That seemed to be a lot of what was happening, many of the now free people rushing towards their rescuers in tears, some of the helping the others along. Dominic could see it all, even with his gasmask. Said mask was starting to fog up, as Dominic was breathing a lot heavier than before. The man did his best to comfort her, but he was far out of his element. Thankfully a pair of medics approached and escorted the woman away, leaving Dominic standing there like a statue. It took him nearly a minute to snap back into reality, when he did he realized he was standing in front of an empty cage.

The man slowly turned around and started walking towards the burning building, the radiating heat warmed him like nothing he’d ever felt before as the light glinted off of the lenses in his gasmask. He stared silently at the raging flames, clasping his hands behind him as he was silhouetted against the fire. Something was stirring in him he hadn’t felt before, in the years prior he had thought he’d known hate very well. As the screams continued to echo about the area, he came to a sudden realization that he had only barely scratched the surface of contempt.

“Commander.” Jen’s voice said to his right, Dominic just hummed as he continued to watch the flames. “We’ve captured the commander of the base, sir. He was attempting to commit seppuku.” The man turned towards Jen and inclined his head to the side, the woman was a bit taken aback by the intense look in the eyes beyond the gasmask.

“Bring him here.” Dominic said simply, Jen could see him clenching and unclenching his gloved hands into fists. “I want to meet the monster behind this… this… place.” Jen clicked her boots and saluted before she briskly walked away, somewhat surprised at the anger that had seeped into Dominic’s voice. Several more minutes passed, Dominic continued to somewhat enjoy the warmth of the flames. Over his shoulder he could hear shouts and hisses, undoubtedly the base commander was being walked towards him.

“Commander.” Jen said again, Dominic turned slowly to face her and the new comer. He did his best to hide his surprise, as he saw that it was in fact a woman that had been in charge of the base. It made a little sense to him, the EOL wanted to put more women into power. She was short and tubby with black hair, and she wore an absolutely guady outfit that looked like a mix something out of a japanese cartoon and an edgy video game. “The commander of the enemy forces, sir.” Dominic stared at the woman for a few seconds, his gasmask hissing menacingly.

“So… You are the purveyor of misery here…” Dominic said in a neutral tone, Jen subconsciously took a step back. The man wasn’t one to use large words unless he was beyond his boiling point, and considering that he now had access to a sword, Jen didn’t want to be too close. The enemy commander didn’t respond, it was likely she had never expected the tables to be turned on her so rapidly. “Speak!” It seemed that Dominic was perhaps channeling Luna in that moment.

“I-I am the commander! Yes!” The woman stammered, trying to take a step back.

“Here I thought I had seen it all…” Dominic said quietly as he walked towards her, the enemy commander yelped when she felt the cold leather of his gloved hand on her throat. “An entire town full of the enslaved, monsters you couldn’t possibly fathom, and yet… Here you stand, the penultimate of it all.” The man leaned in close, his mask inches away from the now terrified enemy commander. “A miserable, incompetent worm with no backbone and yet somehow she’s been the cause of so much suffering. It boggles the mind!” The enemy cowered backwards, nearly falling into the mud as Dominic loomed over her like the shadow of death itself. “I should put you to the sword.”

“No! Please! I’ll do anything!” The woman pleaded, Dominic shook his head and stood to his full height.

“Disappointing.” He said simply before he began to adjust his gloves. “Captain Poplawski, take this prisoner of war back to the others, see to it she is treated according to our standards, but absolutely no special privileges.” Jen stepped back forwards and grabbed the enemy commander by the arm, somewhat surprised no one had died.

“Yes, sir.” Jen said before pulling the woman away wit her, Dominic sighed and walked away from the burning building. His nerves were frayed, his patience all but spent, and he couldn’t help but feel a dull ache in his chest as he thought of Maria. He missed her, and he hoped she would soon return so he would atleast have some form of relief. Dominic made his way back to his tank and climbed up onto the turret, then opened the hatch.

“Gear Grinder, move the tank forwards and help secure the gates, the EOL is bound to try and take this place back soon.” Dominic ordered, Gear Grinder responded by shifting the tank into drive. The commander meanwhile sat atop the turret, taking his binoculars from inside the tank and looking towards the horizon once more.

[♠]

Empress Night Raven stared in shock at the report in her trembling hands, she was seated behind her desk with several of her inner circle members standing before her. Not a single one of them spoke, she had dismissed Eugene as she didn’t want him to be present for the tirade she was about to unleash. She could see the cloud of smoke rising in the distance, there had nearly been riots in the streets when the news had been broken over the radio.

“These past few months I have been telling you to destroy the CNG, especially when they received a new ally!” Night Raven bellowed as she threw the paper down on her desk. “Nocturne, you assured me you would destabilize their command structure, yet they coordinated an attack flawlessly!” The woman in question shrunk away from the Empress’ desk. “And you, General Swift Blade, had promised me they could never defeat your appointee!”

“Your highness, we had never anticipated the CNG would have armored support!” The General in question retorted, Night Raven stood up and furiously pounded her desk, that shut the general up very quickly.

“She folded like a house of cards! Your incompetence has left our defensive ring jeopardy!” Night Raven screamed, a lock of her blonde hair falling in front of her face. “I have had enough failures from my commanders, from this point onwards, anyone that fails me may as well die in combat, because it will be the firing squad should they return!”

“You’re high-” The general began again.

“Eugene!” Night Raven shouted, the door burst open and the quiet man entered with his AK-47 at the ready. He was more than ready to unleash lead on whoever the Empress commanded, mainly because it would make it that much easier for him to eliminate her inner circle and eventually her. Several of the inner circle members stared at him quietly, more than a few in slight fear. “As all of you know, this is my bodyguard Eugene, as of now he is also taking on the role of chief agent of a new branch. The Overseers. Do I need to explain their reason for existing to you, or is it self evident!?”

Eugene was inwardly panicking, he wanted nothing to do with the Empress, let alone to be one of her enforcers, but his mind quickly realized it could very well be the break he had been hoping for. He was in a position of power, if he could eliminate the other members of the inner circle he could seize power for himself and finally end the war with the CNG, the UN, and the NC. With that in mind he snapped his heels and saluted.

“Thank you, your eminence!” He shouted, Night Raven nodded before looking back at her gathered staff.

“I want that base back under our control in two days! Now get out of my sight!” She ordered, the inner circle nervously nodded and filed out. “Not you, Nocturne.” The vampiress stopped and watched her fellow commanders leave the room until Eugene closed the door and remained in with her and the Empress. “Why haven’t I heard anything from you about Night Eagle?”

“My agents haven’t been able to get close to him, Empress.” Nocturne admitted. “He’s too well guarded.” The Empress leveled an even expression at Nocturne, steepling her fingers and humming quietly.

“So I trust you will be going personally?” The Empress stated, Nocturne gulped and slowly nodded. “Good, I’m sure it shouldn’t be too difficult for a vampire of your talent.” Nocturne nodded once again, Eugene watched her for a couple seconds before he sighed and cleared his throat. “You had something to add, Eugene?”

“Lady Nocturne should have some sort of security escort, Empress. We sent Lady Moonbeam out alone and haven’t heard from her, for all we know she could’ve been captured.” Eugene said, the Empress looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.

“Fine, go with her.” Night Raven ordered, Eugene clicked his heels and saluted once again. Nocturne stared at him for a couple seconds surprised by his sudden offer, and more than a bit touched by it. She had been admiring him for some time, and now it seemed the chance to spend extended periods of time was arriving. “You are both dismissed.” Eugene and Nocturne nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the Empress to do her daily duties.

“Thank you for your offer, Eugene.” Nocturne said as she walked beside the man.

“Don’t think too much of it.” Eugene said sternly, looking at her as he continued walking. “You aren’t the only one with private agendas.” Nocturne raised an eyebrow at him, she’d known him to be quite the cunning one, but she had never expected him to be blunt as well.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind…” Nocturne said simply. Despite knowing he had an ulterior motive for his offer, she still was excited as ever for the possibility of spending more time with him, possibly in a sleeping bag, at night, alone. That caused her to sway back and forth happily as she walked along, much to Eugene’s annoyance.

[♠]

Mark and Andie watched the former EOL base from the woods that surrounded it with slight shock, the fire had finally burned itself out just as the sun was starting to set. Already the dead had been piled up outside the wall, stripped of anything of value by the CNG and the former slaves. Mark had never thought he’d see the day when an EOL base would be in ruins, but there it was before him. The man looked through his sniper scope while Andie looked with her binoculars, both of them were dressed in light grey fatigues and coats to better blend into the snowy ground.

They had been forced to leave their truck behind in order not to be spotted, as the two of them weren’t sure if they wanted to be caught by the newest player on the field. As the two of them looked over the compound they rested their eyes upon one of the tanks that was parked at the gates, it was far different from what they had expected. Painted on the side was a scantily clad woman, and seated on the turret was a familiar looking man.

“I’ve got eyes on the target.” Andie said as she looked closer, using her high powered binoculars to zoom in closer and get a good look at the man. He appeared tired, his boots were tinted red, and he occsionally would look over his shoulder for something. “He’s certainly a big kid.”
“Command says he’s twenty.” Mark replied as he adjusted his scope, wincing slightly at just how much glare he was getting from the setting sun. “Right now they just want us to observe him, just in case he’s a nut.” Andie hummed and kept looking through the binoculars, watching the man as he turned and talked to someone, then reached behind him. To both their surprise they saw him help a woman up onto the tank, she had two plates of steaming food with her.

“Looks like he’s got a friend.” Andie said, pausing as she watched the pair share a brief kiss. “Correction, girlfriend.” The woman watched as their target and his girlfriend seemed to have a brief chat, surprisingly the target was frowning a lot. “Wonder what’s got him so upset.”

“Probably the whole big battle that just happened?” Mark mumbled sarcastically, Andie only grunted in response and continued watching the pair. The target and the mysterious girlfriend hugged for a couple seconds and that seemed to cause the target to lighten up. “So far he seems pretty normal.”

“Mark…” Andie said as she watched one of the hatches on the tank pop up, after a couple seconds it opened fully to reveal the driver of the vehicle. “Mark, look at that.” Mark shifted his scope to the driver, his eyes widened and he quickly rubbed his eyes. “Is that…?”

“Y-Yeah…” The man replied in shock as he watched an odd pony with bat wings climb out of the driver hatch and start walking away, almost as if he was trying not to be noticed by the couple on top of the tank. “What the fuck is that?” The two of them froze as they watched the bat pony open its wings and actually take flight. “They can fly!?”

“Yes. Yes we can.” A voice said from behind them, both Andie and Mark froze. “We can also hear very well, EOL dogs.” The two of them turned onto their backs and spotted a very imposing bat pony with a sword resting at his side. “It would not be advisable to run.” Seconds later a dozen CNG troopers stepped into view and took aim at Mark and Andie.

“W-We aren’t EOL!” Andie said loudly.

“We’ll see about that, fraulein.” The bat pony said with an even tone, his wing twitched and one of the soldiers walked forwards. “Lieutenant, if you wouldn’t mind escorting these two into the base for questioning.”

“It would be a pleasure, Major Draco.” The soldier said before he snapped his fingers and the rest of the soldiers moved in to capture and cuff Andie and Mark. “Take these EOL scuzzbags to lock up until we can get them interviewed!”

“Yes, sir!” The soldiers replied, Mark and Andie did their best to not resist, they knew that sooner or later they would be exonerated as UN agents. On top of that, there wasn’t much they could do when they had so many assault rifles trained on them.

“Holy shit, sir! It looks like they were going to try and take out Commander Occisor!” One of the soldiers commented as he took note of the sniper rifle in a very compromising position. Andie and Mark looked at each other nervously, it was very likely that they had just been sent up a creek without a paddle.

“Still not EOL, eh?” The bat pony said with slight disgust. “I will inform the commander at once.”

“Roger that, we’ll bring these guys in.” The Lieutenant replied.

“Andie! Remind me never to return Hinkman’s calls ever again!” Mark said as he started struggling against his bindings, not that it did him much good. The two of them were dragged off down the slight hill as Draco flew ahead to tell his commanding officer, much to said commanding officer’s annoyance. Mark and Andie could tell, their mission was going to be anything but easy.

Author's Notes:

Here it is, the next installment of the story! Hooray! Not much to say in this AN except that, as always, I love you guys. It's nice to come home to a bunch of new comments, that's what keeps me going, and in more than some cases it gives me ideas for things to come! I like to think of you guys as my honorary co-authors/editors!

But enough ceremony, you're here for your clip of the day. Well, I won't keep it from you. Here it is!

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