Mike lay quietly on his back, staring up at the ceiling with an annoyed expression. The former Colorado Kid now turned gunshot wound victim had run out of things to do aside from lay there and listen to the radio that constantly played through the building. He didn’t mind though, his mind was reeling from a rather intense blow. His longtime friend and companion Mark had left without even so much as a goodbye, as did Andie, the owner of Ghost Peak radio.

Mike could withstand physical wounds and loss easily, he had been doing so long before the outbreak, but emotional wounds were another matter entirely. He played himself off as being fine, but that was anything but the truth. On top of that, he had heard of some news involving the EOL and the war in general. That had offset his internal conflict, as it seemed that for once something was going right in the wastes.

”Good evening, and thank you for tuning in to Ghost Peak radio. For those of you just joining us, we’re continuing our coverage on the latest from the war with the EOL.” A familiar polish accented voice echoed over the radio, Wiktoria had proven to be quite the radio spokeswoman, even for an ex-EOL trooper.

”As many of you, a strange new faction working in tandem with the Colorado National Guard has ousted the enemy from their largest base to the west. Wiktoria continued, sounding confident as ever. “Reports on this new faction are spotty at best, but their leader is believed to go by the moniker ‘Night Eagle’. Witnesses claim to have seen him lead the attack himself, with a sword leveled at the enemy position.”

Mike sighed quietly and rolled over onto his good side, wincing slightly as he felt his healing shoulder jostle from the movement. He’d heard everything in the report before, about the battle and the strange commander as well as the mysterious hidden tank crews. He continued lying there, silently staring at the wall for what felt like half an hour. There was a knock on the wall beside the door, since he didn’t have an actual door.

“Go away.” Mike said flatly.

“Sure, after you lay down on your back.” The familiar voice of Doctor Patterson echoed in his ear, while normally her voice would be considered possibly seductive, Mike found it absolutely unbearable. Like a mother hen she always seemed to come in and bother him when he just wanted to be alone, he was getting rather sick of it, and his patience was running thin.

“Fuck off.” Mike said flatly once more, glaring at the wall as he heard footsteps coming closer to his cot. “Lay one hand on me and I’ll break your arm.” The steps stopped, after a couple seconds he felt a hand on his shoulder and he started to turn angrily. “I said fuck off!” To his surprise, the Doctor was looking down at him with an almost sad smile. “What the fuck do you want? Huh!? Leave me alone!” The Canadian-Asian woman gave his shoulder a tender squeeze, then sighed and stood up to walk away.

“I’m sorry… I just want you to heal right.” Patterson said in a slight whisper, as if something was bothering her. Mike reached out on instinct, he had been raised and taught to care about family, and Patterson was one of the only people he had left that cared. “What? Is something hurting?”

“No, I wanted to apologize.” Mike mumbled before letting go. “I’m sorry I give you so much shit, Doc.” Patterson smiled faintly at him and nodded, before she quickly turned her head and wiped at her eye. “You alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah… Just something in my eye.” Patterson said, she cleared her throat and patted down her white doctor’s coat. “I was originally coming to tell you that the NC is serving bison burgers tonight, and if you wanted, you’re far enough along that you could walk there if you wanted.”

“Alright, thanks for letting me know.” Mike said with a bit of an awkward tone, Patterson nodded and walked out of the cubicle like room. Mike took a couple seconds to gather his thoughts before he sat up and slid off of the cot. With a grunt he was standing straight, his arm still in a sling. The man took a couple steps towards the door and peeked outside, Patterson was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear her.

With some curiosity Mike followed the sound of her voice, she sounded a lot happier than a few moments before. The man hobbled close to the door to another room and peeked in, there were some stuffed animals inside and Patterson was sitting beside a cot with a smiling little boy. Mike immediately noticed that the boy had bandages covering part of his shoulder and there was a distinct lack of an arm. There was also a distinct lack of parents.

“How have you been feeling lately, Sebastian?” Patterson asked, neither she or the boy realized they were being watched.

“Tired. My shoulder really hurts, but I feel good otherwise!” Sebastian replied, looking down at his shoulder for a moment. “Do you think I can get a cool new arm like Robocop?” Patterson smiled, but Mike noticed her rub the back of her neck.

“We’ll see, I hear Robocop is pretty busy these days.” Patterson leaned forwards and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, then kissed him on the forehead. “For now though, you should get some rest, I hear the broccoli cart is making its rounds around here, and if you're awake you’re sure to get a lot.” Sebastian made an exaggerated disgusted face and rolled over to pretend he was asleep, Mike watched as Doctor Patterson pulled the covers up over the boy. The man quickly stepped away from the door before Patterson left the room, the bed had been set up in an actual room with a door, one that the doctor closed quietly.

After a couple seconds, Mike watched in shock as Patterson put her head in her hands and started silently sobbing. The man watched her for what felt like an eternity, unsure of what to do or say, until finally he decided to turn and make his way towards the building’s makeshift cafeteria. Mike quietly thought about what he had seen, it mixed into all the turmoil in his mind that only continued to make him angry. He couldn’t do anything about it, his arm was still in a sling, but he wished there was a way he could. The EOL needed to pay for everything it had done, but that had already been established.

The man continued walking until he reached the door to a stairwell that would take him down to the lobby where they had set up the food and other common amenities. The man pushed the door open and descended the dimly lit steps, occasionally he would wince at a rather sharp pain in his arm caused by the jostling movement. Mike pushed open the door at the bottom, outside he found an equally dimly lit lobby. It seemed that the building had been some sort of news station, or some other large building, as it had enough room for a bizarre to open up in its lobby.

Mike adjusted his arm sling and began walking through the area with a bit of uncertainty, there were numerous stalls set up with vendors mainly from the Native Confederacy. Mike didn’t pay them much mind, he was mainly hungry for a bison burger. The man adjusted his jeans before patting down his t-shirt and walking onwards, he occasionally heard people talking off to the side, sometimes in hushed whispers.

He finally came upon the place where they were serving food, the Native Confederacy had set up a makeshift food line that Mike quickly joined. He grabbed a plastic tray that had once belonged to a fast food restaurant and stood in line, his eyes scanned over the numerous people eating off on gathered chairs and tables. Many of them were Native Americans of some kind, with a few latinos and even a couple people from the middle east. Mike felt a tad outnumbered, and with his bum arm, out gunned. The man shook his head as he was served a couple different canned vegetables, then one of the bison burgers he had heard so much about.

With only one arm he found himself struggling to lift the tray, it wobbled back and forth as he gritted his teeth. Just as it was about to fall to the floor a hand reached out and took hold of it, Mike turned his head to see the face of a familiar Polish woman. It seemed that the newly crowned radio hostess had taken some time to get a meal herself, and Mike was glad that she’d come along when she did.

“Thank you…” Mike said, Wiktoria smiled faintly.

“It’s not a problem, I’m surprised no one stepped in sooner.” The woman said as she turned and looked around the room, after a couple seconds she set Mike’s tray down on a nearby table. “I’m going to get something to eat, perhaps you want to join me? We can eat up in the station room if you want.”

“Uh… Sure?” Mike replied as he watched the woman walk to the back of the line and get her own tray, the man rubbed the back of his neck in confusion, at least he’d get to talk to someone new, even if she was an ex-EOL trooper. The man waited for a couple minutes before Wiktoria returned and the two of them went up to the station room. Along the way they didn’t talk, Wiktoria carried both trays on one of her muscled forearms. When they entered the room Mike could hear the music that had been put on to cover his companion’s momentary move to get something to eat.

“Is that Tchaikovsky?” Mike asked as he heard the familiar sound of violins playing the soft beginning of the 1812 Overture, Wiktora smiled faintly as she set the trays down on a desk in the station room.

“Yes. It was outlawed in the EOL, since they thought it was too ‘Traumatizing’.” Wiktoria replied, she sat down and gestured for Mike to do the same. As the man did so he noticed a rather imposing M60 machine gun had been moved off to the side. Wiktoria caught his glance and quietly rubbed the back of her neck. “I apologize for the mess, but Miss Andreina left so abruptly I’ve been having trouble keeping pace.”

“It’s alright…” Mike said quietly as he stared down at his plate, then he looked at Wiktoria with a thoughtful expression. “You ever notice that every time we seem to have a serious discussion it’s over food?” Wiktoria paused, then hummed and nodded.

“It’s almost as if god really likes dinner scenes.” The woman added, Mike chuckled quietly and leaned back in his seat. “Anyway, yes, I’ve been having some trouble keeping pace with all the things Miss Andreina did.”

“Like the sex contracts?” Mike asked bluntly, Wiktoria’s eyes went wide and she nearly spat out her food. “I’m sorry, but Mark told me that Andie did that, and I assumed-”

“No! No no no!” Wiktoria said quickly as she blushed, it was a rather odd sight seeing such a burly muscled woman reduced to a blushing schoolgirl. “I’m committed to destroying the EOL, but not that kind of committed.” Mike did his best to hide his own embarrassment, he wasn’t sure why he had said such a thing to Wiktoria. “Believe me, I have had plenty of people offer their services, but I can’t foresee myself doing that. Which is actually kinda bad, since the NC only guards this place, they don’t supply it.” Wiktoria sighed and leaned forwards on the table, listening once again to the music in the background. “I wasn’t a whore for the EOL, I’m not about to be one for this station, but I need someone to help me.”

“Why not me?” Mike said as he leaned back in his seat, a sudden bitterness rising up in his throat. Mark and Andie had left him and Wiktoria high and dry with the bill, his best friend and Wiktoria’s best friend just left them flat. The uncertainty and grief from earlier had shifted to vengeful anger, Mike felt betrayed, and he figured the best way to get back at Mark was to show him he could get along on his own.

“Have you forgotten your busted wing?” Wiktoria asked as she pointed to Mike’s arm in a sling, the man looked down himself and clenched his fingers a couple times. Honestly the pain had abated since the initial injury, as soon as the stitches were out he’d be able to put up with the pain just fine.

“I don’t intend to let this stop me, just tell me what you need and I’ll see what I can scrape together.” Mike said with a shrug, Wiktoria raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“What do you want in return?” She asked hesitantly.

“A spot on the show? I dunno, something.” Mike said with a shrug, Wiktoria was a bit surprised by how simple his request was. As the music began to pick up in the background Wiktoria nodded and extended her hand across the desk, Mike smirked and shook it with his good hand. Like that a new partnership had been forged. The rest of the night went on well, occasionally Wiktoria and Mike would talk with each other when she put an extra long song on, but for the most part it was quiet.

[♠]

Luna bolted upright in her bed as she heard a siren blaring in the distance, the mare rubbed her forehead and walked towards the window of her hotel room. In the sky she could see searchlights scanning the clouds while thestrals and pegasi darted to and fro. On the ground numerous tank crews were getting their weapons loaded and ready, many of the human members of the American Army had come out onto the streets with rifles and side arms. Luna sighed quietly, she was watching a drill that she hoped would never need to be real.

The Princess hoped beyond hope that Celestia wouldn’t be the one to trigger such a response, and that such measures were simply unneeded. However, support for the United States in Equestria was waning, and many ponies questioned Luna’s loyalty. Luna herself was among them. She very much cared for her sister and Equestria, but the country had never fully accepted her after her return. In America she was treated with respect, her honor was defended, and she didn’t need to look far for a friendly face.

As the drill began to subside Luna ran a hoof over her mane, straightening the starry flowing hairs. Once again she felt herself at odds with her sister, and undoubtedly Celestia was having to assure everyone that she wasn’t turning into Nightmare Moon again. To that thought Luna scowled, she would always be suspected by the public no matter what she did. As the soldiers and tanks continued to patrol in the street Luna could feel a shift in the breeze that wafted through her mane. The familiar tug of nightmares told her there were many in the refugee center that hadn’t taken the drill well, many of whom were children.

Luna pushed open her window and flapped her wings, she was in the air in no time and made sure to fly low so that the anti-aircraft gunners could determine she was friendly. The mare passed over the heads of numerous soldiers and tanks, weaving through the numerous buildings in the growing city. Eventually she made her way to the refugee camp, there she landed and tucked her wings to her side. The guards, a mix of American soldiers and well armed volunteers, nodded or tipped their hats. They knew very well that Luna came when children were in need, and that put her on their list of ‘Good people’.

“Evening, Miss Luna.” One of the men said in a familiar German accent, Stephan Adler adjusted an old leather pilots cap that was seated on his head. The Princess looked at him and noted he also seemed to be wearing a weathered leather jacket, a pair of wings were present on the left breast.

“Hey, Miss Luna!” Said another, his voice was far more of a Southern accent. Dusty, if Luna remembered correctly, he was dressed similarly. Luna then noticed there were a couple others with similar outfits, she recalled that Dusty and Adler had been pilots before the outbreak and before joining the CNG, perhaps there were others with similar backgrounds. Either way, Luna had important people to take care of. Silently Luna assumed a regal posture, her horn gaining a soft glow as she neared one of the buildings in the camp.

The guards standing at the door opened it for her, nodding as she passed by her. She could sense the terror in many of the young minds that lived in the building, and during her time in the New United States, she had seen many of the things they feared. The first one she would visit was on the first floor, a rather familiar teenaged boy by the name of Jacob Running Bear. He was one of many Native Confederacy orphans that had been taken in by other survivors, his parents had been killed in front of him by the EOL during a particularly bloody convoy raid.

Luna stopped outside the boys door and sighed as she heard an all too familiar sound of squeals and groans through the thin wood, the mare’s horn glowed and the door was pushed open. The human’s natural resistance to magic made accessing their nightmares impossible without direct contact of the horn, that meant that Luna was forced to watch them twist and turn in their sleep up close every time she came to help. She momentarily stood there, thinking about how all of their nightmares had increased with the tension on the border. Her sister’s stubbornness, and the stubbornness of her subjects, was having a drastic effect on the children of America.

The Princess approached Running Bear’s bed, his pseudo-parents had already okayed her visits to quell his nightmares. Luna watched the teens face contort into ones of fear and anger, her horn glowed softly once again and she lowered her horn to the boy’s head. A familiar sting ran through her as the magic was practically ripped out of her, another side effect of human magic immunity. The teen’s face shifted to one of calm neutrality and Luna lifted her horn, she levitated the blankets further up over Running Bear and turned to walk away. As she did she felt another nightmare tug at her mane, it was starting to tax her magic and her sanity to see so much suffering so regularly.

Luna walked out of the room and closed the door, silently she resolved to herself that she would put an end to the tension on the border, one way or another. It was easier said than done, undoubtedly there would be more vigilantes and border spats, but the Princess was determined to protect the children of America from any more horrors that could befall them.

[♠]

Dominic quietly watched the transfer from afar, the white UN Humvee had arrived right on time at the designated place, and only after a truck had delivered the agreed upon supplies to the CNG compound near Pikes Peak. The truck had also dropped off two ‘Ambassadors’ for the UN, though Dominic had yet to meet them. The commander stood atop one of the captured warehouses with Maria standing beside him, she had her sniper rifle in hand just in case something happened. She’d never seen Dominic so tense before, or aggressive, part of her supposed that to survive in the wasteland his values had shifted. Even if he didn’t realize it. A warm spring breeze blew across the land as the sun began to set, Maria could see Dominic’s hands clenching and unclenching.

“Dominic…” Maria said as she took a step towards him, the woman placed a hand on his shoulder. “You need to calm down, honey. You’re starting to worry me…” Dominic looked at her with a raised eyebrow, the woman gave him a tender squeeze and she saw him visibly relax.

“I… I’m sorry…” Dominic said quietly as he looked back out towards the white humvee, he sighed and ran a hand over his head. “What the hell am I doing, Maria? It’s absolute insanity, negotiating deals with the UN, worrying about two wars on two separate planes of existence…” The President sat down on the roof of the warehouse and leaned against a railing that ran along the side, Maria looked at him quietly. “I look in the mirror and I see a stranger.” Maria sat down beside him, prompting him to look over at her. “I’m sorry… My problems are probably kind of trivial to you.”

“Trivial? Trivial would be if you were complaining that we didn’t have coffee or bagels.” Maria replied, she leaned her rifle against the railing and looked over at Dominic. The man had removed his peaked cap and set it in his lap, he was looking it over quietly. “I don’t think anyone on this planet has problems like yours.”

“I shouldn’t burden you with them. I need to be stronger.” Dominic said firmly, once again Maria shook her head and leaned against his shoulder.

“You’re thinking like a commander, not a person.” Maria said, the man looked at her quietly before he looked back at the hat in his hands. “I know it may be hard, but you need to lighten up a bit, alright?”

“I’ll… I’ll try…” Dominic said faintly as he enjoyed the warmth of Maria leaning against him, it gave him a familiar feeling of calm. A year ago it had been as simple as looking at an old document to tell himself he was still a human being, that he wasn’t some sort of killing machine. It was far from that simple now, he couldn’t deny the blood on his hands as easily. A year ago he had believed that being compassionate and easygoing would be the secret to success, but that belief had been shattered by the vicious battles in Equestria and on Earth. For Maria’s sake he was trying to force himself to believe that pacified democracy could work in the wasteland. “When this is all over I think I’m going to resign…”

“What?” Maria asked, she looked at him with a bit of concern.

“I… I can’t handle this much responsibility, Maria. I’m a soldier, not a politician, and deluding myself into thinking I can be a politician will only hurt the people I care about…” Dominic leaned his head back and let out a sigh, Maria continued to watch him. “I want to know the man in the mirror again, Maria. I… I just want to be me again, I’m tired of this bullshit ‘strong leader’ charade.”

“Well, I hate to say it, but you’ll still be in this position for a long time. There’s more to the world than the EOL, there’s the Cartels down in South America, the Mafia to the east, the Native Confederacy to the west, and countless bands of heavily armed ex-soldiers.” Maria stated, Dominic looked a bit saddened by her words, mainly because he knew that she was right. There was no end in sight, a small voice in the back of his head screamed at him to eat his gun and just put himself out of his misery, but it was quickly quashed like a bug.

“I’ll take them all on if I have to.” Dominic said quietly as he set his cap atop his head, the man reached to his jacket pocket and withdrew several papers he’d recently acquired. Very important papers that he only trusted himself and Discord to carry. “Hopefully these will at least make it easier to relax about things on the homefront.” Maria eyed the papers quietly, a bit surprised to see they looked like some sort of blueprints. “Hey, Discord?”

A couple seconds past before a pop of light appeared in front of the two of them, Maria jumped a little when she saw the odd, foreboding form of the chaos god. The draconequus was wearing what looked like a western union outfit, complete with courier bag and hat.

“At your service, Mister President.” Discord said with a flourishing bow, Dominic just sighed and handed the papers to the chaos god.

“These papers go directly to General Bulwark.” Dominic said simply, Discord nodded and began to snap his fingers. “Wait…” The chaos god paused and looked at the human with a raised eyebrow. “The portal, any change in the waiting time?”

“I’ve been shooting the breeze with a couple of my colleagues, they said we might be able to speed things along if we connect to a proxy universe with a lot of similar energy as Equestria’s.” Discord said as he tucked the blueprints and orders into his courier bag. “Most likely another Equestria, but that has a couple risks. Don’t worry though, I’m working on it. Faust knows I’m tired of having to pop back and forth like this. Speaking of.” Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light, Dominic sighed quietly and stood up. He turned and offered his hand to Maria, the woman took his hand and stood up.

“Whatever happens, Dominic, I’ll do my best to help.” Maria said, Dominic gave her a light hug before he began walking towards a door that would take him down into the warehouse. Maria grabbed her rifle and followed him, occasionally watching as the man clenched and unclenched his hands some more.

“I’m hungry, want to grab a couple rations and eat in?” Dominic asked as he opened the door and started down the steps, Maria hummed for a moment before a faint smile crossed her lips.

“How about we go to that little kitchen they set up outside? I hear they’ve got some decent music there, and some actual food.” Maria replied, she closed the door behind her and followed Dominic down the steps into the warehouse. “You and I can dance for a bit maybe? It’s been awhile since I last went dancing.”

“Alright, we can do that.” Dominic replied as he rubbed the back of his neck, in actuality he was extremely nervous about going out in general, let alone dancing. He didn’t have a lot of experience in social settings, and when he did end up in a social setting, he was often too surly or angry looking for other people’s liking. “Don’t expect me to dance well…”

“Just use some of your fancy sword fighting moves, that’s kind of like dancing.” Maria said, Dominic shrugged to himself as he continued down the steps and eventually reached the ground floor. The commander briefly looked over his shoulder at Maria, she was looking at the floor intently for what felt like ten seconds before she looked up and met his eyes. “Hey, Dominic, I just wanted to say thanks… For listening this morning. A lot of old stuff has been stirred up lately, you know?”

“Yeah…” Dominic replied faintly as he walked towards one of the doors to the outside, he pulled it open and gestured for Maria to step out first. “After you, please.” Maria smiled and stepped out into the rather warm air once again, Dominic followed her and began walking beside her as she lead him to one of the gates in the captured base. There were more than a few people, and even a couple ponies, heading that way. The sound of spanish guitar music echoed through the air and Dominic could see a warm glow of lights ahead.

The pair passed by a tank that had been parked to keep the gate secure, the turret decorated with three big red sixes. Dominic briefly looked at it for a couple seconds before Maria took hold of his arm, he looked to the woman who was giving him a bit of a smile. Beyond the gate Dominic could see a large RV had been parked, and it seemed to have been turned into some sort of rolling bar and grill. A crowd had formed around it, many of them were drinking or eating or just having a generally good time. Dominic became a bit more rattled as he got closer, but Maria squeezed his hand and gave him the boost in courage to continue.

As several people noticed Dominic walking over the atmosphere generally changed, he could already hear hushed whispers in the background. Dominic did his best to ignore them as he felt Maria tugging him along towards the RV, he could smell something cooking that practically called out for him. Part of his mind told him to put his head on a swivel, the last time he had gone out for something to eat with Maria it had ended in a very bloody gunfight. The pair eventually reached the vehicle where he found a couple people standing by a grill, cooking up ground meat, what kind of meat it was Dominic didn’t dare ask.

“Hello!” Maria said cheerfully, Dominic did his best to fake a smile as the people running the RV grill returned the smile. “What’s on the menu here?”

“Burritos!” A woman behind the counter said with a smile, it seemed she was hispanic, another reminder of the previous gunfight. “There’s a reason we’re so stereotyped for them, you know? We make the best this side of the divide!”

“How much?” Dominic asked, the hispanic woman began to speak before a man beside her leaned over and whispered into her ear. The woman’s eyes widened and she smiled faintly.

“For you, Commander? No charge.” She said, Dominic opened his mouth to protest but Maria gave his arm another squeeze. “So, is that two for here or to go?”

“For here, please.” Maria said, the hispanic woman nodded and began putting the order together. Dominic meanwhile had his head scanning over the crowd, he could see several of his soldiers sitting with Melissa and Twilight Sparkle. Both of whom were blind drunk. “Go find us a seat, sweetie. I’ll be right along.”

“Alright…” Dominic replied as he felt Maria let go of his arm, the man hesitantly walked away and into the crowd of people until he found an oddly empty table for two. Numerous people brushed past him, either too drunk or too happy to care. Occasionally he’d catch sight of a couple surprised New American troops, but they quickly vanished into the crowd. For many of the people it was a celebration to commemorate the first victory against the EOL in a long time, and for many others it was to celebrate their liberation from the grip of tyranny.

Dominic took a seat at the table and set his hat down, he leaned back in the seat and listened to the music that was playing from somewhere in the crowd. He occasionally picked up on hushed whispers around him, but brushed them off as his mind playing tricks on him. The sun had set in the distance and the stars were beginning to twinkle above the landscape, Dominic sighed and hunched his shoulders as he felt a familiar dreaded weight come down on him. As he looked at all the smiling faces he couldn’t help himself from thinking about how many people had died to get there, and how many more would die along the way.

He closed his eyes and sighed, the dread and dismay were bearing down on him in full force. The more Dominic fought it off the more he felt himself slipping further and further down a path of darkness, from peaceful democracy to authoritarianism. The man shook his head and forced those thoughts away, he could see Maria’s smiling face in the crowd. He genuinely felt a little warmth come up in his chest, the man did his best to disguise the depression from her. She had a couple silvery objects in her hands, as well as some paper plates and what looked like two beers.

“Glad to see you got an open table!” She said as she sat down, Dominic nodded and forced a smile. Maria set the paper plates down on the table, then the two objects that Dominic recognized as burritos wrapped in tinfoil. Maria set the two bottles down next, they were actually bottles of Rootbeer. Dominic smiled a bit more genuinely at that, he wasn’t much of a beer guy anyway. “This is nice, and… Kinda feels like our first real ‘Date’.”

“Well, technically isn’t it?” Dominic inquired as he reached for his food and began to unwrap it, once he’d done so he looked at it for a couple seconds, as if deciding whether he wanted to eat or not. Maria was already tearing into her burrito though, and after a couple seconds noticed Dominic’s hesitation.

“What’s up?” She asked, Dominic looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not touching your food.”

“I’m… Not hungry.” Dominic replied, looking off to the side at a couple of the other people. Maria didn’t buy his excuse for a second, she knew very well that he had been so busy he hadn’t eaten since lunch of the previous day. “Look… I’m fine, just… Working some things out in my head.” To try and assuage Maria’s worries he reached out and opened the burrito, then took a bite out of it. Maria watched him for a couple seconds before sighing and setting her food down. “What? I’m eating.”

“You’re doing that thing again.” Maria said as she crossed her arms under her breasts. “You used to do it all the time whenever something was really bugging you, remember?” Dominic shook his head, staring at Maria with a bit of a surprise. “Well I do. So what’s up, aside from the obvious?” The man looked around for a couple seconds, then looked at the table.

“I want this…” Dominic said as he pointed at Maria, then himself. “I want to be able to sit down and eat like a normal jackoff, I want to live life without worrying about the fucking Equestrians or the fucking EOL or whatever fucking asshole faction is gonna pop up next in this stupid fucking game of whack a dictator.” Anger laced the words as he took another bite out of his burrito.

“Well, here you are, eating like a normal jackoff.” Maria replied evenly, Dominic sighed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry… Guess I fucked up date night…” The commander mumbled tiredly. “I’m trying my best.” Maria reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tighter than he thought possible and forcing him to look up at her.

“Hey, the dinner part may be a little rocky, but there’s still the dancing part, and walking me home, and relaxing together.” Maria said in a warm tone, for the first time that night Dominic’s smile was completely real. “Who knows? You might even get lucky tonight.”

“Maybe.” Dominic said with a shrug, this time it seemed that he had turned the tables. Maria blushed faintly at the confidence in his tone, even if he himself was actually barely keeping his cool. The man eventually finished his food and drink, the couple sat there in comfortable silence as the celebration went on around them. Then suddenly Dominic stood up and removed his coat, the man hung it over his chair and walked towards Maria. The woman was a bit surprised to see him offer her his hand, and even more surprised by the look of confidence on his face.

“Shall we dance?” He asked, Maria felt her heart flutter as she reached out and took hold of his hand. He could’ve been the worst dancer out there, but to Maria that moment was something she had been waiting for since she was a little girl. She stood up and let her rifle lean against the table, as she did she could hear whoever was playing the music start something a little fast paced. Maria thought perhaps Dominic would wait for a slower song, but the fast sounding latin guitar seemed to be calling out to him.

With all the finesse of a skilled swordsman Dominic began to dance with Maria, it was quick and intense, and several times Maria felt her head spinning. Of course, Dominic wasn’t sure what he was doing. In fact his dancing was based on the combat moves Luna had taught him to use against Diamond dogs, only he wasn’t following it to completion. The several times he twirled Maria, and several times the crowd parted to allow him the space to do so. As the song came to an end Dominic decided to try and end with a dip, and thankfully succeeded. He and Maria ended up looking eachother in the eyes, panting and smiling with uncertainty.

After a couple seconds Dominic stood Maria up, their moment completely unnoticed by the sea of people. The man brushed himself off awkwardly as Maria adjusted her hair, which had become a little mussed up.

“Um… That went better than I expected.” Dominic admitted, Maria smiled and hugged him. As the music around them turned into a slower song, Dominic could see more than a few couples were in similar positions. “Want to do some more?”

“I would love-” Maria began.

“Commander Occisor!” A private interupted her mid sentence, Dominic turned around as the CNG trooper gave the man a salute. “Sir, it’s Colonel Baxter!”

“Can’t it wait?” Dominic asked, the soldier shook his head urgently and then leaned up and whispered something into Dominic’s ear. Maria watched the man’s eyes go wide and his face go pale, it only lasted for a couple seconds before he cleared his throat. “Take me to him.” Dominic looked at Maria and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll have to do it another time… Duty calls.”

“Alright… Be careful.” Maria replied, she watched as the man walked away with the young private. He grabbed his coat and hat from the table, letting the cap rest at an angle as he marched off into the former EOL base. Dominic’s chest was pounding as he continued walking, the news that had been delivered to him was far beyond shocking. The trip to Pikes Peak went by in a flash, as did the slow ascent to the top of the mountain on the cog train. Not a word was spoken between Dominic or the private that had come to get him, until finally they were atop the mountain.

Dominic followed the Private into the CNG command center, past several guards that were talking amongst themselves. The door to the war room was closed and two guards stood outside of it with light machine guns, when they saw Dominic they snapped to attention and stood aside for him to enter. The Private leading him stayed outside, watching as the commander entered the war room and closed the door behind him.

Inside the room were two medics that stood by the large map, on the floor there was a third tending to Colonel Baxter. The Colonel looked like he’d been hit by a freight train, his eyes were bloodshot and he had an oxygen mask over his face. When he caught sight of Dominic the Colonel gave the medic an annoyed shooing wave, then gestured for Dominic come over to him.

“What happened?” Dominic asked as he knelt down and looked over the older man.

“Nothing, these doctors overreacted.” The Colonel said with a somewhat annoyed expression though it didn’t seem like he was okay to take the oxygen mask off yet.

“He almost had a heart attack, Commander.” The medic that had been tending to the Colonel said, Dominic raised an eyebrow at the medic before turning to the Colonel.

“You realize that if you croak we’re up shit’s creek, right?” Dominic said flatly. “You and I both know there’s no one in the CNG that can replace you, and without a leader it’s gonna fold like a deck of cards.” Colonel Baxter shook his head and patted Dominic on the shoulder, he certainly seemed a lot weaker than someone who was ‘fine’.

“Why the hell do you think I had you brought here?” Baxter said before he coughed and sat up against the nearby wall. “You’re right, we need someone that can hold a military unit together. And again, you’re right there’s no one in the CNG that can replace me.” The Colonel relaxed and adjusted his oxygen mask. “The National Guard was meant to serve the United States, for the past couple years we had to serve ourselves. Now I know you’ve got a New United States, I don’t see why the National Guard couldn’t serve that country.”

“What are you saying, herr Colonel?” Dominic asked, though part of him knew what the Colonel was saying.

“The past four years we’ve been on the ropes, but now here we are, kicking the EOL’s ass again. A lot of people believe in you, and your leadership.” Baxter said with another cough, he pounded on his chest for a couple seconds before relaxing. “That’s why I’m going to fold the CNG into the New United States.”

“.....What?” Dominic asked in sudden shock, he’d been expecting the words but actually hearing them was still beyond his comprehension. “Y-You want me to just… Take the CNG?”

“Sir, you’re ill, perhaps you shouldn’t-” One of the medics began to speak, but Baxter shook his head.

“I’m damn sure of what I’m doing. This thing has outgrown me.” Baxter said firmly, he coughed a couple times as the lights flickered overhead. “So, what do you say, Mister President? Got room for a few more recruits?” Dominic looked at Baxter for a couple seconds, he rubbed the back of his neck a couple times. Perhaps it was blind ambition, perhaps it was his confidence in himself as a commander, or perhaps even god and Dominic’s warrior ancestors were reaching out and bestowing a blessing upon his shoulders. For whatever reason it was, Dominic felt himself swelling with courage. Gone were the fears of future wars, gone was the uncertainty. Dominic stood up straight, straightened his cap, and nodded.

“Welcome to the New United States Army, herr General Baxter.” The Commander said firmly, he looked around the room at the Medics. All of them stared blankly for a couple seconds before they snapped into salutes for their new Commander in Chief. Dominic felt a weight lift from his shoulders, outside one of the windows he caught a glimpse of a full moon. For the first time in his life, Dominic felt fulfilled. He was what he’d been bred and raised for, what he had always been destined to be. He was a soldier, a commander, a conquering hero.

“I will arrange a meeting with our new UN delegates, and see if we can get in touch with the Native Confederacy.” Dominic said as he looked towards the map, glaring squarely at the enemy city of Denver. Between him and Denver were numerous small towns controlled by the EOL and over one hundred miles of open country. “The time for being on the defensive has come to an end. The EOL is a rabid dog, and we will be the ones to put it down. And after that… Any faction that dares threaten the New United States.”

The man paused for a moment then looked at the medics and Colonel, now General, Baxter. They were looking at him with mixture of awe and respect, the new General stood to his feet and adjusted the oxygen mask.

“Before any of that though, I believe our nation needs something…” Dominic mumbled to himself as he looked back to the table, then back to the men in the room. “A new flag. Old glory is wonderful as a celebratory banner, but we must differentiate ourselves from the other National Guard groups that may be spread around the country.” Dominic turned back to the map. “All in due time though… General Baxter, I order you to return to your quarters and accept treatment.”

“Yes, sir…” Baxter said with a bit of hesitation, perhaps he wasn’t used to being given orders, especially by such a young man. He and the medics left the room, leaving Dominic to contemplate his new position in the world. The commander in him told him to continue with no mercy, but the leader in him told him to be discrete. On the Equestrian front he would need to show such discretion, be just intimidating enough to dissuade attack without being scary enough to warrant a preemptive strike. On Earth, Dominic intended fully to topple the EOL to rubble and crush it under his boot treads. If they stood for the EOL, they died for the EOL.

“Savor what time you have left, Fraulein Empress…” Dominic said as he looked at Denver, the man reached into his pocket for one of his newly arrived cigars. He paused when he felt the soft feather from Luna, a faint smile crossed his lip as he grabbed his cigar and bit off the cap, then lit it with a wood match. After a couple puffs he looked at the closest EOL outpost now that they had toppled the threatening base, it was twenty miles away. Dominic knew that his tanks could travel fifty miles without dipping into their reserve fuel, but that was in a straight line.

Dominic leaned down and examined the map closer, there were little buildings set up on it, most likely the result of reconnaissance work. One building caught his attention, a liquor store. The tanks had been designed to run on just about anything, as gasoline wasn’t widely used in Equestria. The commander momentarily considered an attack on the town to capture the liquor store and any other fuel assets that might be there, but it seemed far too risky. Waiting would give the enemy time to build up their defenses, but he too needed to dig in until reinforcements arrived.

Part of him was glad that perhaps it would take a while to get the portal open, it would give his soldiers time to enact his newest ambition. Operation Sky Sabre.

Author's Notes:

Well, here's another one, it's getting kinda hard to put these out quickly. Work is really a bear, but I've got a couple days off this week, so hopefully more can get done. I'm doing my best to try and focus on everyone, but it's kind of gotten away from me, I'm still in control though.

And now, here's your clip of the day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJfPV7HU1IM