Tears of Harmony

"Know Twilight, know Unity! No Twilight, no Unity."

"Let's see the gems" I said, and Tim'mrak was unmoved. He jerked his head and one of the Griffons stepped forward, lifting a small metal case out from under his barrel. He popped it open and I gazed upon the soul gem within, a glistening shard of purple-pink, shrouded by black velvet. The Griffon closed the case and stepped back.

"The bits" Tim'mrak commented.

I nodded to Sixfour, and he slid forward the first case of bits. We'd managed to fit the coins into relatively small crates, but they still required being carted around. The ancient wheels, grease long dry, squealed in the cavernous warehouse. Sixfour released the clasps on the case and lifted the lid, the neat stacks of coins gleaming in the buzzing light from the ceiling bulbs.

"It's all in order. 100,000 bits in total, for the two gems" I said as Sixfour closed the lid on the case. "The gems?"

Tim'mrak quietly stared at my group and I, his eyes regarding the three of us, plus mercenary escort. A Griffon, a pony, and Starborn. I could see the curiosity in his eyes, the questions forming.

"What will you do with the gems?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No questions asked. That's the best way to operate in this business, no?" I replied.

Tim'mrak scoffed. "An Equestrian does not take company with a Star except for a good reason, and a Griffon does not play toady to an Equestrian unless they're from the Empire. Is that who you swear fealty to? Is that where these gems are going?"

"I loathe the Empire" I said for what felt like the thousandth time.

Tim'mrak seemed to ponder it for a while before he jerked his head again, and the Griffon at his side once again stepped forward and set the case with the soul gem in it down. He was given another case by Tim'mrak, and I gently took them in my magical grasp. Sixfour pushed forward the carts with the cases of bits, and Tim'mrak's mercs took them. After a quick check of the cases to make sure everything was in order we all turned to leave, the Sons of Gilda mercs falling in behind us as we went.

"Stay your hooves!" I heard Tim'mrak thunder from behind me, and we all turned around. The Griffons went on edge, both ours and his, and he stepped forward, alone. Koss seemed to tense up, and I could feel that familiar knot of nerves building in my stomach.

"Your cloak..." Tim'mrak said, and I looked over my shoulder. The fabric seemed oddly furled over where it concealed my wings, and I could see how from behind it would look odd. The first of the adrenaline seeped into my blood as I turned my head back to look at Tim'mrak. "You are an Alicorn, aren't you?"

I looked around, uncertain of how to proceed. "I am" I responded simply.

"It is said that no more of you exist... Except in the Empire. Certain parties would pay great sums to know of your existence."

"Surely you don't mean the Empire you all hate so deeply? Even more deeply than I do?" I replied.

Tim'mrak snorted. "Of course not. But there are others who would give all they ever had to lay their talons on you. This sum you paid for the soul gems would not even amount to a fraction of what they would pay for you. Alive" Tim'mrak explained.

A silence befell the warehouse, the two sides uneasy as I looked Tim'mrak in the eye, and contemplated what he'd said. I stuck my tongue in my cheek and thought about it for a moment before turning to look at Koss and Sixfour, who stared back with a mix of uncertainty and unreadability.

"Kill them" I said.

All Tartarus broke loose.

One hour earlier.

I'd had another episode.

I'd been sitting, alone, in the cockpit of the corvette, staring out the viewport and down the hangar tunnel out onto the surface of Draconequus. I'd been there, physically, but as usual, my mind was elsewhere. i'd thought back to the day I'd been been made the Royal Hunter, and that had turned to thinking about my mother.

Princess Cadence.

She'd been a truly beautiful mare. There was a reason she was the Princess of Love. In the end, she had pledged loyalty to Empress Twilight, and she'd changed. She'd been one of the few ponies Twilight trusted to have a position in her cabinet, alongside a mare named Starlight. My mother had been an adviser to Twilight, and was usually by her side. When I'd challenged Empress Twilight over the nature of her rule and the truth behind the death of the Princesses, Cadence had been caught in the crossfire. Twilight had taken to the air and lit a shield around her, and I'd charged about the throne room, the two of us exchanging fire. I fired a spell that glanced off of Twilight's shield, and had hit the floor near where my mother had been hiding. I remember seeing her body sail across the room and hit one of the windows, severely crumpling and denting the glass but not, thankfully, passing through. She'd fallen to the floor, dead, and in the moment I paused to look at her smoldering form Twilight had fired the spell that banished me to Tartarus. Fluttershy and the others had been present, too, and Twilight had banished them all.

I spent so long, sitting in the cockpit, reliving that day over and over and over. It'd been quick, but even in the frantic fray time had seemed to slow. There was always such chaos, such confusion, during battle. Shouting, magical fire, explosions, it was a miracle that soldiers anywhere ever managed to make it through such intensity.

Sixfour had knocked me from my musings by stepping into the cockpit, though at first I hadn't noticed him enter. I'd still been lost in my thoughts, my mind realizing after a few moments that something had happened, something had changed. I looked around and found Sixfour standing beside me, unreadable as ever. "Should we go see Koss today, Princess?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's been a few days. No harm in going to see if he's found a seller" I said. We left the corvette and made our way back into the city, having the SoG mercs take us to Koss' apartment. Their old skyboat had been a military model, and so there were no windows to look out of on the trip. We sat in silence, listening to the hum of the engine and the idle chatter of the Griffon escort, who always seemed to eye us from the corner by the ramp.

As we went, I stared at the floor, my mother's face burned into my vision, never leaving. She smiled at me, and I wished for nothing more than to forget her features. To forget the pride I'd seen in her eyes when I'd been made the Royal Hunter. To forget the way her body lied crooked on the scorched and shattered marble.

After a moment, I got my wish. Her face faded from my mind, replaced by that of of my father's. I'd no idea what had happened to Shining Armor. He hadn't been present in the throne room when I challenged Empress Twilight, and so I supposed that I'd never know what became of him. He surely died of old age long before I escaped Tartarus, but still I thought of him. His stern but loving gaze, his quiet nature. He'd been made one of Twilight's advisers, teaching her the ways of warfare as she took the reins of our world. Last I'd heard of him, he'd been assigned to study artificial intelligence and robotics by Twilight on the planet Tirek. He'd always had such a fascination with the Starborn, I wondered how much of his research made it into their designs. Would I ever see part of my father reflected in Sixfour?

Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. It all came back to her. My mother's death, my father's research, the Starborn. That we were able to travel to other planets, Twilight's doing. The scientific outpost that gave way to The Dome? Thanks to Twilight. The average lifespan doubled from that of the years of the Princesses? Twilight Sparkle. The means for the flightless to fly? Twilight. Terraforming? Twilight. A world and its denizens changed forever. To Twilight, all the credit.

And all the blame.

I promised myself that, if given the choice, I'd trade everything my species had achieved since her Ascension for Harmony. I'd happily reset us all to the time of Commander Hurricane and Starswirl the Bearded if it meant Harmony's return. Star travel and greatly lengthened lifespans, traded for the peace and tranquility we were meant to have? Traded to elevate the other races onto a level equal with us? Oh yes, I'd do it with a smile.

The skyboat shuddered and I looked up from my trance, realized that we were descending to land, and stood. Sixfour joined me, and it wasn't long before the ramp dropped and the Griffons walked out, the two of us behind them. They led us out of the lot and into the streets to Koss's apartment, told us to wait outside as we did the last time, and disappeared into the building.

After a few minutes they came back out and told us to follow them, which we did. They pushed open the door to Koss's apartment and allowed us to enter first. Once we were all inside the Griffons closed the door and I saw Koss standing by one of the windows, staring side-eyed at the picture of Empress Twilight.

"You'll be pleased to hear I've found a dealer in possession of some soul gems" Koss commented, and turned away from the photo to look at me. He stepped away from the picture and walked to the kitchen, his side to us. As I watched him walk I took in his lithe form. He was graceful, for a mercenary-turned-smuggler.

"I'm guessing there'll be a catch?" I asked, though it was more of a statement than a question. Koss grinned, and I could only imagine(and wait to see) what kind of catch it'd be.

"You're a clever one. There is, indeed, a catch. The seller is a Minotaur by the name of Tim'mrak, with quite a reputation preceding him. He'll not be happy to see he's selling to an Equestrian, but with how much you seem to hate the Empire, and with how much you'll be paying, I'm sure he'll only grumble a little" Koss explained. "Oh, there is one other thing. He has only two soul gems. The rest we'll have to find elsewhere."

I shrugged. "Coin is coin, and there's more than two soul gems in The Dome, I'm sure of it" I responded.

Koss smiled again and approached, passed me as he went for the door, and gestured for us to trot out. "As am I" he commented as we left the apartment.

Everything in The Dome tended to kind of blend together, so I was glad to have Koss and the Sons of Gilda mercenaries to guide us to where the deal would be taking place. It'd taken a short ride on the skyboat, and a long trot down neon-lit streets and steamy alleys to a secluded warehouse, not unlike the SoG warehouse that served as a waypoint between the corvette dock and Koss's apartment. The warehouse had been down a winding alley, erected in a lot surrounded on all sides by various buildings and blockhouses. If one didn't know the warehouse was there, it was likely that one would never find it. It was the perfect place for this sort of transaction to take place.

It was also, as Sixfour had pointed out, the perfect place for an ambush. I'd acknowledged his concerns but directed Koss to take us into the warehouse, willing to take the risk. A SoG Griffon pulled the door open, revealed the room beyond was some manner of lobby or office, and we all filed in. There was a door immediately opposite the main entrance, and the merc pulled it open, revealing the warehouse proper. It was a typical affair: buzzing florescent lights, metal shelves in the back forming rows for organizing, and an open floor space devoid of any furniture or features, save for an assortment of crates stacked on pallets and even a metal desk near the shelf rows. What space was available was currently occupied by Griffon mercenaries from another group, and the large Minotaur standing amidst them.

As we all entered the warehouse I watched as all the other mercenaries turned to face us, all their eyes falling on me. The minotaur, Tim'mrak, was standing with his arms folded, staring at me with evident contempt. I realized I was something of a spectacle, but tried to pay it no mind as I approached the Minotaur. At just over seven feet tall, he towered over everything else in the room, taller than me by at least a foot, and taller than the Griffons by at least two. I stopped a respectable distance away from him, the only sounds in the room that of Sixfour pushing the wheeled carts we had the crates of bits on.

"A pony" Tim'mrak commented, his voice deep and raspy, like that of sandpaper. Sixfour took his place by my side, my attention briefly on him before turning back to face Tim'mrak, craning my head back to look him in the eye. He had a few scars on his face, and his mane was cut very short in the front and on top, but I saw that in the back it turned into a braided ponytail that stretched down to his mid-back. On his right hip was a truly large handgun, riding in a thick leather holster, and he was wearing a heavy, sleeveless jacket and canvas pants, his feet clad in mammoth boots. He was an impressive specimen, one that radiated a palpable air of violence. "And a Starborn."

"A pony with an eye to buy, and a Minotaur with an eye to sell" I replied.

Tim'mrak snorted and unfolded his arms, and took a step towards me, his heavy boots thumping loudly in the mostly-empty warehouse. He cast Sixfour a contemptuous glance before fixing his eyes on me, quietly regarding me. "And what is your name, little pony? Something immature and flowery, I'm sure of it."

"Flurry Heart."

Tim'mrak produced a low, throaty chuckle, and some of the Griffons on his side also snickered. He plodded back towards the center of the warehouse, bending to sit down on an old metal chair I'd failed to notice before. "A pony named Flurry Heart, and a Starborn" Tim'mrak uttered, turning his attention to Sixfour. "And what of it? I thought they were all destroyed" he said, nodding to my companion.

"Few survived. Most were hunted down by the Empire" I answered. At the mention of the Empire Tim'mrak's eyes turned to meet mine, boring into them with such intensity it made me uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything further.

"Let's see the gems" I said.

A few minutes later, all Tartarus broke loose.

The warehouse had quickly devolved into a maelstrom of gunfire and magical energy that drowned out all other noise and even made one unable to hear themselves think. At my command I'd thrown up a magical shield and quickly retreated behind a stack of crates, and almost immediately I'd lost track of Koss and Sixfour, though I'd had a good idea they'd still been alive. My shield allowed me a bit more time exposed to fire, and allowed me to survey the warehouse even as the bullets whizzed by. The Griffons, ours and theirs, nearest to Tim'mrak and I had died first, caught drawing their weapons while the others scattered. I spotted Tim'mrak across from me, diagonally, by a row of shelves, crouched behind an overturned steel desk. One of his subordinates was behind him just a few feet, sporting a semi-automatic rifle and dropping rounds on a few Sons of Gilda mercs behind some cover of their own.

On the left side of the warehouse, directly across from me, were the rest of Tim'mrak's mercenaries, the ones still breathing, in various positions, making moves to flank me and the rest of my compatriots while their buddies kept on the suppressing fire. A Griffon ducked out to line up a shot and I lanced him through the barrel with a burst of magic, the sound lost to the din of battle.

I turned my attention back to Tim'mrak, and watched as he flung a grenade across the concrete floor, the tremendous *WHUMP!* momentarily drowning out the gunfire and leaving a ringing in my ears that, thankfully, soon dissipated. When the smoke cleared I saw that three SoG mercs had been killed, their remains too grim to describe. Counting the two that had been killed right at the start of the battle, we were down to about three Sons of Gilda mercs, plus Koss, Sixfour, and myself. Enemy strength had been about eight, plus Tim'mrak.

I peeked over the top of the crates and watched as Tim'mrak directed some of his forces, waving his arm to get them to move up. I'd just fired a magical beam at him when the Griffon that had been behind him had vaulted over his cover, taking my blast and inadvertently saving Tim'mrak. With a line of sight on my position Tim'mrak had directed his forces to shift fire onto me, forcing me to pull back behind the crates. The crack of his magnum could be felt in the tight confines of the warehouse, powerful as it was.

"Princess, are you receiving this communique? Respond" I heard in my ear as my radio crackled to life, the voice on the other end that of Sixfour's. I looked up and around, but couldn't find my robotic friend among the clutter of the warehouse. I could only surmise he'd managed to make it outside, as unlikely that had seemed.

"I hear you! What is your position and status! Respond!" I shouted back into the transceiver, pressing the earpiece deeper in with a hoof. I peeked to check on Tim'mrak and the battle and watched as two of his fighters were cut down by a SoG Griffon with an automatic weapon, the crate he was behind splintering and cracking as it was hit by two slugs from Tim'mrak's gun.

"Koss and I have exited the warehouse, and are en route to the skyboat. We will return when we are able. Have you received this communique?"

"What the fu-- YES! How in blazes did you two manage to get out so quickly!?" I yelled.

"FIGHTERS, TAKE THE GEMS AND BITS. WE WILL LEAVE AT ONCE!" I heard TIm'mrak's voice boom out. I looked over the crate. The Minotaur had taken to standing by the desk, gun in hand. Most of the Sons of Gilda had fallen, leaving just myself and the one Griffon with the automatic rifle, the two of us pinned down.

"That information is not relevant to your current situation. I would be happy to explain the details at a later time, but, in short, we used the door" Sixfour replied.

"SHUT UP and get the fucking boat back here quick, that's an order!" I shot back. I powered my shield back up to full and stood, siphoning off a little magical energy to fire a quick beam that speared out across the warehouse and lanced one of the enemy Griffon's across the cheek, the bird falling to the floor and not getting back up. With their attention turned to me the SoG Griffon opened fire, dropping another two of the enemy mercs. Tim'mrak pulled back and flung another grenade across the floor, the device detonating near enough to warp my shield, the bubble bending before bouncing back into place with a *POP!* that made one's fur stand on end. "COVER ME!" I shouted and charged forward, my shield pushing the debris on the floor aside as I passed. I heard the Griffon's rifle bark, a staccato of fire that sent bullets sailing overhead as I reached the center of the floor, dropping the shield to pick up the cases that contained the soul gems.

As I slid the cases into an interior pocket of my cloak I became aware of Tim'mrak approaching, and I turned to face the threat. He thrust his gun hand forward and I ducked closer to throw off his shot, stabbing forward with my horn, which glanced off his holster. Now underneath Tim'mrak's arm I felt as he brought his gun down to smack my back, the force of the heavy blow buckling my knees and definitely leaving a nasty bruise. I threw up my shield again and Tim'mrak was violently shoved away from me, staggering into the wall of the warehouse. He took aim at me and fired, the heavy slugs shattering against my shield, shards and chips of lead and copper skittering across the warehouse floor. His gun empty he raised his hand as I backed away and once again delivered a backhanded blow to the shield, causing it to flicker. As I turned tail to run he was hit a few times by the SoG Griffon's rifle and he pulled back, reloading as he went. "RUN!" I screamed as I galloped for the door of the warehouse.

As I burst out into the alley I heard the skyboat hovering overhead, and I turned my head to look up, catching a glimpse of Sixfour on the ramp, staring down at the warehouse. I hoofed the soul gem cases over to the Griffon and strained to open my wings, the clasps on the cloak giving way around my barrel even as the clasps around my neck held true. With my wings unrestrained I shot into the sky and flew up into the skyboat, the Griffon right behind me. The ramp closed and we turned to accelerate away from the warehouse. Koss and Sixfour nodded at me as we got underway, and I gave the gem cases over to Koss.

"We've got a dancing partner!" the driver shouted from the back of the skyboat, and I felt the vehicle dip as we descended. The SoG riflebuck that had left the warehouse with me approached the center of the skyboat and slid back a hatch on the ceiling, exposing a bubble turret that rode on the top of the old dropship, a pair of ancient machine guns mounted in a twin bracket and jutting out of the turret. In addition to the top gunner position, there was a position to the left of the ramp that housed a small cannon in a sponson mount, allowing for light explosive fire in a roughly 60-degree radius along the front and left side of the vessel. Unless we turned around(and slowed down to do so) the sponson cannon would be useless, but the dual MG bubble turret had a full 360-degree range of motion covering everything on the same height or above the skyboat, and would be our best bet for surviving.

"Might want to hold onto something!" the pilot called as the skyboat banked and turned. It really did fly like a brick, but I could tell the pilot was fairly skilled. Really there was nothing for the rest of us to do, so I used my magic to root my hooves to the deck and prayed the SoG was as good a shot with those old singers as he was with his regular rifle.

With a rack of the charging toggle on both guns the bird let the guns rip, most of the sound lost to the skies of The Dome as we flew above the streets. With a one-second press of the triggers the floor already had three dozen empty brass cases rolling around on it, with more to come. I did my best to watch through the plexiglass dome of the bubble turret, but most of what I saw was a blur of streetlights and neon signs as our boat roared across the sky. The dim interior of the skyboat's troop bay danced in the light of the twin guns' muzzle flashes as the Gryph let loose on our pursuer, likely another skyboat.

"Got a good bird on the sticks in that boat" our pilot groused, his expression tense but his movements swift and sure as he did his best to throw the enemy's gunners off before they could draw a bead on us, while simultaneously trying to give our gunner the best angles. "Hang on, gonna try to duck between these highrises!"

The shadows in the skyboat darkened as we passed alongside and in between a few buildings, the strobe light effect from the guns amplified. I heard a rapid series of thumps as a number of bullets stuttered across our hull, the damage negligible. It was a terrible feeling, to do nothing but simply stand by, my life in the claws of another, who I'd have to trust to keep us all safe. I wanted to do something, anything, to shake our pursuer, to kill them, to disable them, anything. Instead, all I could do was watch the shadows dance.

I looked back up through the thick plexiglass of the bubble turret and caught a glimpse of the skyboat pursuing us, a model in the same general shape as ours, but sporting a dual assortment of quad MGs in its own bubble turrets, one on each side of the vehicle, affording a 180-degree field of view on each side. Worse still, there was a much larger cannon in a sponson mount, identical to ours. Our boat bucked as the enemy cannon fired, the shell striking a building as we passed, painting part of the boat in soot and embers. The pilot banked us left, sharply, and the enemy boat disappeared behind a building. As we cleared the edge of the tower we were cast in the pursuer's shadow as it passed over us, and the gunner swung the turret around to bear. He let the MGs sing once more, riding the triggers until the guns began to slow from the heat buildup, and I heard as much as felt a *thump!* as the enemy skyboat was hit in a vital place and went down, the gunner letting out a triumphant cry and releasing the triggers, the last of the empty cases clattering and bouncing to the faded steel floor.

It was quiet then, but the adrenaline still pumped. It continued to pump for another several minutes, as we began to fly back to Koss's apartment.