Tears of Harmony

"The idea that a lesser could strike at my Empire with any meaning is, frankly put, insulting. My experiences all those decades ago showed me the true nature of the other species. Gilda, Iron Will, Chrysalis, they were not the exceptions, they were the rule. it is with that knowledge, and the influence and guidance of that wise stallion, Manifest Destiny, that I have shaped the world into what it is today. It is by my hoof that the nation of Equestria has risen above all others, and it will be my hoof that ensures no other will rise to meet us."

A few days, a minor surgery, and some restorative potions later I was back to 100%(at least, I insisted as much to Koss), and so we were on a skyboat headed for Tim'mrak's tower. This was it. The final assault. It was here I'd take back my soul gems, kill Tim'mrak, and leave The Dome forever. The plan called for an aerial offensive on Tim'mrak's tower, which required the AA batteries to be out of action beforehoof. I was to infiltrate the tower through the sewer tunnels and make my way to the tenth floor, where the middle AA batteries would be. Sons of Gilda mercs would then arrive via skyboats in two waves to storm the tower. The roof AA guns wouldn't be able to depress low enough to fire on the SoG skyboats, and so they weren't considered a threat.

I pulled back from the open side door of the skyboat and turned back to face Koss. "Get in, knock out the batteries, then signal the assault. In and out" I said, and Koss nodded.

"Indeed, Flurry Heart. Tim'mrak will likely be in or near the top floor, where his penthouse should be. I will arrive on the first wave and join up with you, and we'll take him down together. It'll be done in a day" he explained.

"'Likely', 'should be', we're leaving a lot to chance, don't you think?"

"You're an Alicorn, and you've survived thus far in this pit. We'll be OK. I know I don't exactly inspire confidence, but as much as I value getting paid, I value living more."

"Uh-huh" I said. The truth of the matter was that Koss and his band were likely going to strip Tim'mrak's tower bare once I left, but their time would come. Once I'd succeeded in returning Harmony to the galaxy I'd make sure to clean up these mercenary and marauder gangs. There would be no need of them once Harmony returned.

"We're near your drop-off. Good luck" Koss said, and I turned back to the open door. The skyboat was slowing, a few miles out from the tower, and descending. I hopped out and the vehicle ascended and took off. I'd been dropped in what appeared to be a scrapyard, with a sewer porthole cover a few feet away. A quick pull with my magic and the cover slid off. I took a look around the scrapyard for anyone watching me and, not seeing anything, eased myself into the hole. This ladder wasn't nearly as much of a challenge as the last one had been, and I dropped down into a modestly sized tunnel. Lights every twenty feet lit the way, each one swarmed by groups of little gnats and flies. Koss had provided me with a utility map, which I would use to find my way to the tower.

I set out down the tunnel, doing my best to stay quiet as I went. There was no water in the tunnel, thankfully, but hooves could still be fairly loud against cobble and brick. Being that it was a few miles to the tower I had a ways to go, but I kept alert. This is for you, Sixfour I thought. I wished he could've been here with me, to help me, to see all our struggles finally pay off. He wasn't here, though, and nothing I could do would ever change that. All I could do was make sure his death was not in vain, and remember to always keep him in my heart.

And not fail, once this was over. I couldn't fail, ever. Not here, not on Etherea, not back home on Equus. I swore to myself that this will all have been worth it, I just had to succeed.

It was close to half an hour before reached the access stairwell marked on the map, and I peeked through the window on the door. The room beyond was a nondescript stairway landing, with some boxes tucked in the corner. I tried the handle, and naturally it was locked. A quick burst of my horn solved that problem, and I pulled the door open. The stairwell was clear, and I began to trot up. Each floor was marked, thankfully, which made keeping track of my progress easy. I was just about to hit the fifth floor when I heard the door to it open, and a few Minotaurs stepped in. I scurried back down the steps before they could see me, and prayed to Celestia and Luna that they didn't come down. They didn't, and I waited several minutes before I got moving again.

"Koss to Flurry Heart, progress check."

"I'm in the tower stairwell, making my way up now" I whispered back into the radio, the sound gently echoing. I prayed again that no one had heard me, and continued on. There were no further surprises and before long I was at the door to the tenth floor, the door unlocked. I opened it a hair, peered through the gap to make sure it was clear, and squeezed through. I pushed the door shut with a hind leg and crouched low. I was in a dimly lit hall, the floor layout resembling an office building. At each corner of the floor would be an AA battery, aimed at the sky. So long as I wasn't spotted, it'd be easy to knock them all out.

Moving down the hall I made my way towards the side of the building that faced out towards the rest of The Dome, the hall splitting in a T shape at the end. The floor was walled by large bay windows, though most of them were covered in sheet steel to provide cover against attackers. A few were uncovered, however, and the view was breathtaking, in a way. The Dome could've been a beautiful city, had it been managed by civilized creatures. Instead, it was Tartarus in our dimension.

I sound like Twilight when I think like that I mused, but I don't think anyone would've disagreed with my assessment of The Dome. It was a horrible place, and I was looking forward to soon being able to leave it. I hoped I would never have to return to it, for anything.

I reached the end of the hall and peeked around the corners of the T-junction, finding the way clear in each direction. There was a surprising lack of guards around, a fact that made me nervous. I could see the AA guns at each corner of the floor, both fully attended to by a squad of Minotaurs. Moving right I headed towards the first gun, keeping low and quiet to avoid detection. The corners of this floor were set up to have a small platform on each, on which the AA guns were placed. The openings in each corner were hemmed by thick steel plates and sandbags, and the platforms had sandbags built up to about chest height for me, to keep the guns protected from small arms fire. There was nothing to keep the crews protected from snipers or explosives, but being so high up it'd be impossible to hit them from the ground, and the nearest building tall enough to make a shot from was over a mile away. The only true risk to the guns was from sabotuers like myself.

So it was that I eased up to the first gun emplacement and shot each of the Minotaurs tending to it in the back of the head, their bodies slumping over. With gun one out of the picture I turned back the way I'd come and headed for the second gun, making sure to check each hall before I passed by them. I trotted up to the emplacement and the Minotaurs there met the same fate as the ones before.

Two down, two to go. Guns clear, signal the attack. It's almost over! I thought. Gun number three was up ahead, the Minotaurs in its seats idly chatting among themselves. I paid no mind to their banter and quickly snuffed them out, leaving just one AA gun to go. I rounded the corner and made my way down the hall to the final gun. As I approached, though, a patrolling Minotaur came up to the gun to talk to its tenders, and my pace quickened into a canter. There was a hall some twenty feet ahead, and I intended to slide into it before the Minotaur saw me. Before I could, however, he turned and saw me, and I shot him in the head. The Minotaurs on the AA gun scrambled and went for their rifles, and I opened fire, blasting their position relentlessly with magic. I caught one of the Minotaurs in the arm and the limb vanished. With the other Minotaur firmly in cover I grabbed the platform in my magic and tore it from its mounting, sending him and the AA gun plumetting to the surface below.

"Tower clear!" I shouted into my radio. "Again, tenth floor AA guns are clear! Begin your attack now!"

"Understood, we're on our way! I heard Koss call back, and I raced over to the windows to watch. In the distance, the Sons of Gilda skyboats began to rise into the sky and turn towards the tower. They sailed in low to avoid the rooftop AA guns, and I could see Minotaurs on the ground as they all scrambled for cover and opened fire with their small arms. With the AA guns on this floor knocked out, however, there'd be nothing to stop the SoG from making their way into the building. I shot out several windows as the dropships approached, and stepped back to give them space. The ramps dropped and out thundered squad after squad of SoG mercs from the boats, Koss among them. The skyboats pulled back and began to circle the tower, the birds in the ball turrets peppering the floors above and below us with machine gun fire.

"Rally up on ME! We're heading up to the top floor to kill the scumbag in charge! Don't stop until they're all dead!" I shouted, and with Koss at my side we all made for the stairwells. I took him and half the SoG to the stairwell I'd come up, and the other half split off for the other stairwell at the other end of the floor. There were a few Minotaurs in our stairwell, and the SoG made quick work of them. The sounds of battle echoed across the building, dampened by the walls of the stairwell. We made our way up to the top of the stairwell and I blasted the door open, wrapped myself in a thin shield, and we poured out onto the floor. Tim'mrak's Reavers were ready for us, and more than a few SoG mercs fell as we spread out and slid into cover.

From there, the battle devolved into the usual pandemonium that accompanied such close range skirmishes. The floor was some manner of club or bar, with tables for both pool and dining spread throughout. A grenade went off near the bar, sending shrapnel of both steel and wood across the room. A rather sharp hunk of oak glanced off my shield, but I paid it little mind. I lost track of Koss and opted to focus in one what targets I could, boosting power to my shield as I peeked out from behind an overturned pool table. There were about nine Minotaurs throughout the room, including some that appeared to have come down from the rooftop AA guns, being that they were wearing the same uniforms that the Minotaurs from downstairs had been. I had an angle on a Minotaur crouching behind a knocked over piano of all things, and I shot him, the beam spearing through his leg at the knee. He fell forward, exposing the rest of himself to me, and I finished the job.

As I edged back behind the pool table I bumped into one of the SoG mercs, and I told him I would count on him to watch my back. He nodded and I ducked back out, a bullet hitting my left foreleg as I did, the slug shattering against my shield. It was odd to watch the lead and copper fragment just a few millimeters from my bare limb, knowing that if I didn't know the shield spell(or if I didn't have a horn) I'd have taken that bullet just the same as the Minotaurs and Griffons were. I poked my head out and watched as a Minotaur opened fire on me, the bullets shattering as if they'd struck steel. I shot the Minotaur through the chest and down he went.

"Moving up!" I called out, and darted ahead to the piano. As I edged around it I came face to stomach with a Minotaur, and he swung the butt of his rifle, striking me in the head. My shield, as magnificent as it was at dissippating the impact of bullets, was sadly less effective at mitigating blunt force. My best guess was that since the bullets shattered, none of their force could be transferred through, but an entire firearm swung like a bat was an order of magnitude slower, and so I felt the full force of the impact as I stumbled back. The shield saved me from any physical damage, but it was still quite the knock. I gritted my teeth and fired my magic blindly as I scurried back to the other side of the piano, my shield catching a few stray bullets.

I pressed back forward and, before I could assess what had happened to the Minotaur, I heard a bark of automatic fire and he fell to the floor, staining the wood with his blood. I looked back and saw Koss back by the pool table, and he nodded at me. I returned the gesture and moved around the backside of the piano. It was near the wall directly opposite the bar, and thus gave me a good position to see the rest of the room. Our positions relative to that of the Minotaurs' had shifted, with most of their remaining number hunkered near the bar itself, and what few SoG mercs remained crouching behind the tables across from it. About four Minotaurs remained, versus our seven, plus me.

"I'm moving left!" I shouted to Koss, and dashed out towards a few booths clustered around a jukebox. I slid into place behind the jukebox and Koss took my old position behind the piano. With him there, the SoGs across the way near the stairway door, and me by the jukebox we had set up across the entire room, boxing the Minotaurs in. Another grenade went off and a few of the SoG mercs were caught in the blast, but at least one Minotaur fell to Koss's assault rifle. I caught one as he ducked out to return fire on Koss, leaving just two Minotaurs remaining. One of them vaulted over the bar and scrambled towards the center of the room, and I boosted my shield to full strength as the SoG cut him down, some of their bullets striking the jukebox and wall around me. With just one Minotaur left it was a quick affair to put him down, which one of the Sons of Gilda did as he attempted to retreat to a back room.

"We are clear! Let's move up to the penthouse!" Koss called out, and we all regrouped. It was just him and a couple mercs now, but that would be sufficient to finish off Tim'mrak.

"Find the staircase, now. We'll all move up in pairs; Koss and I first, you two second. Tim'mrak will know we're coming, so I want to blitz him, prevent him from escaping or calling in reinforcements. He may have some of his soldiers with him, so be vigilant. I don't care who kills him, just get me to my fucking gems" I hissed. A brief check of the other doors in the room quickly led us to the next staircase, a wide spiral affair going straight up. I bumped my shield up and stormed up the steps, bucked open the door at the top, and galloped out into Tim'mrak's penthouse.

It was empty.

More accurately, it was empty of anyone except myself and Koss. The entire penthouse was half-moon shaped, with a breathtaking panoramic window making up the entire far wall. There were numerous pieces of furniture spread about, as well as some statues and sculptures. It reminded me of Koss' apartment, and I said as much as we fanned out.

"Would you believe me if I said I once worked together with Tim'mrak? It's where he got his tastes in art from" Koss said, and my fur stood on end, fearing a sudden betrayal. I turned to face him, but he was standing alert with his weapon ready, scanning the room. The other SoGs were still searching the rest of the penthouse, were nowhere near the still-open door, and my fear passed. I went back to searching the far left side of the room, approaching a collection of couches and odd knick-knacks on glass tables. The whole room was rather lavish, but there was no sign of Tim'mrak. There was a wetbar on the far right, and there was a large bed and modest library on the far left wall, near where I was. Near the left side of the panoramic window Tim'mrak had one of those chairs that came down from the ceiling, and there was a strange decoration behind it. I moved to inspect it, and froze in place as I saw just what it was. My heart skipped a beat, and I gasped. It just couldn't be possible.

It was Sixfour.

"Six...? Sixfour? It's Flurry Heart. Hey..." I said, waving my hoof. He didn't respond. He was still missing a few of his plates, and his lower jaw had been clearly replaced or repaired, but it was clearly him. He was utterly immobile, standing upright on all fours. I pressed a hoof to his head, and it tilted back, as if he was looking up, but still there was no response. It was like that night I first met him in that stallion's house, and I felt so...scared. I had no idea how he'd come into Tim'mrak's possession, but I was determined to get him out of there and back to Etherea. I moved around to his backside to inspect him, and nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. I went back around to his front, crouched down, and that's when I saw it: directly behind his right foreleg, mounted to his barrel, was a switch. I flicked it, and a bright blue light beamed out from his eyes, bathing the ceiling in its soothing glow. I flicked the switch again and the light went off.

Sixfour had been turned into a lamp.

I staggered back and sat on my haunches, my eyes wide and breathing deep as I stared at Sixfour's cold hull. Everything he'd been, everything he'd come to represent as the first Starborn to be awakened, was gone. My support in this fucking HELLHOLE, my backup against the oppressive waves of scum and lowlives that INFESTED every corner of The Dome, the AI robot that was more equine than Empress Twilight and had become as much a friend as Moondancer, Sunburst, and the Pie Sisters, who had pushed and sacrificed himself all for me, was now a novelty lamp.

He was a lamp.

An all-encompassing inferno of fury and despair consumed me, and I nearly collapsed as I grabbed Sixfour by the shoulders and shook him, his head stiffly rocking back and forth. It wasn't right, it wasn't right it wasn't FUCKING RIGHT!! What the FUCK WAS THIS?! I struggled to comprehend the cruelty and sadism that could drive a creature to take another being's dead body and just...violate it like this! It was clear that Tim'mrak had pushed to find Sixfour's body, so he could do this sick, twisted thing to him, and then put him ON DISPLAY like some fancy bauble. I could only assume that after I'd left the sewer tunnel that Tim'mrak had made it through the bulkhead, had realized Sixfour's body had fallen down that runoff pipe, and had used his extensive knowledge of The Dome's sewer network to find out where Sixfour's body had ended up. It was also clear that he WANTED me to come here, so that I could see what he'd done to Sixfour, to laugh at my despair and suffering.

Which meant...

I turned to look back out across the room and heard three gunshots from right next to me, but not directed at me. I was vaguely aware that the Sons of Gilda mercs were hit when I felt my upper horn gripped by what felt like an industrial vice, blocking the flow of magic and leaving me defenseless. I was roughly pulled around and had my head pulled back, finding myself staring up at Tim'mrak's gleeful face. I had no idea where Koss was, and I began to think I truly had been betrayed. That, or he was dead, and I was next.

"Enjoy your reunion? Don't worry, you'll be with your robot friend very shortly" Tim'mrak growled. He wrenched my head forward and grabbed me by the back of the neck with his free hand, and I flailed and scrabbled at his arms, but it was no use. He may as well have been a robot himself, as strong and steel-like his muscles were. I yelled out in fear and pain as he jerked on my horn, feeling a great pressure building in my skull. He pushed down harder with his other hand and forced me against the floor, and I screamed and shrieked as he pushed on my horn again. I felt like my head was going to implode, every part of it from my horn to my ears to my teeth throbbing as the blood raced through my veins. There was another jerk, Tim'mrak grunted hard, and the last thing I heard was a horrifying crack as he snapped my horn in half, and I my world turned black.

When I woke up, I realized something was wrong. My head ached like it'd been run over, but I was still alive. What's more, I wasn't tied up or restrained in any way. The entire room spun and spun and spun, like I was drunk, and my limbs felt heavy, but I could move. I weakly lifted my head, the floor smeared with blood and some unknown fluid that had leaked from my shattered horn. The upper half of my horn lied a few feet away, and I desperately snatched at it. I was really fucked and I knew it; trapped in hostile territory, my best line of defense utterly useless, and I was in no shape to fight any other way. I stood, my legs trembling as I did, and I heard an explosion. I screamed in pain and protest as the sound hammered my pulsing skull, and hung my head as I struggled to recover. This was worse than the radiation poisoning, there was no doubt about it. I stumbled, leaned against the window, and vomited. I needed to get out, NOW.

There was another explosion, and after I finished screaming I realized there were other, duller thumps and stacatto barks. I looked up, my vision blurring, and as I blinked and cleared it I realized that Tim'mrak and Koss were locked in a fight. The Minotaur had his back to me, with Koss in cover behind the wetbar. He had Tim'mrak pinned, but there was no way he'd be able to hold him forever.

"You will be put through the most rigorous training programs imaginable. You will train, you will practice, and you will study. You will come to understand the Will of Empress Twilight, and you will take this understanding to our enemies, wherever they lie, and help them to understand why they are wrong."

"As the Royal Hunter, I expect nothing but the best from you, Flurry Heart."

"You've been misled! We have proof!"

I was losing it again. Just get to Tim'mrak and kill him. Just kill him and finish this. It'll be OK, just kill him I thought. I pushed away from the window and began to stagger across the room, my vision blurring and flashing white and black as I did, but I never took my eyes off of him.

"Put the Bearers in Cryo, I can't deal with the distractions."

"Of course, Great One."

I hit one of Tim'mrak's couches and stumbled to the side, falling to the floor. I blacked out for a few seconds but got back to my hooves, my breathing erratic and shallow. Just get to Tim'mrak, Flurry Heart. It'll all be over when he's dead. You'll have won, and all your suffering will end!

I listened to the voice in my head and pressed on. The brute was still in cover, taking blind shots at Koss across the way from him. Koss had undoubtedly seen me and adjusted his fire to keep Tim'mrak in cover while also taking care not to hit me, all I had to do was cross another few feet and I could finish this. My vision still pulsed white and I was seeing stars, but I could see Tim'mrak clear as the day. I paused by one of his tables to steady myself, and I felt warm liquid trickling down what remained of my horn. I stumbled forward and advanced on Tim'mrak. I gritted my teeth and felt my horn, my hoof brushing against the jagged and sharp shaft, and I lowered my head. Mustering what strength I could I dashed forward and stabbed Tim'mrak in the back between his ribs. His body jerked, but I pushed in harder until my broken horn was buried in him up to my forehead. I twisted my head, slashing open his organs as I did, and I cried out in anger as my horn raked his insides. I was about to stab him again when Tim'mrak stood, and I cried out again in pain as my horn lodged between his ribs. He pushed me off and flung me to the floor, and as I turned to look up at him I realized I was going to die.

This is it. Moondancer, Sunburst, Maud and Limestone...I'm sorry. I tried so hard, I was almost there. It's over now, and it was all for nothing.

The shot never came. Instead, I watched as Koss tried to tackle Tim'mrak, causing the mammoth Minotaur to stagger. I watched Koss use his claws to cut Tim'mrak across his exposed midriff, doing little more than giving him what would eventually be new scars, but it distracted the Minotaur. He dropped his gun and it hit me in the head, and I croaked and squeezed my eyes shut, cursing whoever had decided today was the day to knock my head around. I opened my eyes in time to see Tim'mrak swung his giant fist, hitting Koss in the side and breaking one of his wings. The Griffon fell to the floor and Tim'mrak crouched down, intent on finishing him off. I darted forward and stabbed Tim'mrak again, and he barked in pain. He hit me in the back and my legs gave out, but mercifully he hadn't broken anything.

"You really are too much trouble to let live. If there was time I'd pluck you apart piece by piece, but I guess I'll just have to make it quick!" Tim'mrak thundered, and he stood. I scrambled back as he tried to bring his boot down on me, feeling some of my strength coming back.

"You're a monst... Monster... I once felt pity for you, for having to live the way you do. Now... Now I see that you relish in it. You enjoy the killing, the raiding. When I bring down Twilight, I'll make sure all you raiders and marauders are exterminated to the last. The galaxy has no place for heartless demons such as you" I uttered.

Before Tim'mrak could reply Koss grabbed him again, produced a knife, and stabbed the Minotaur in the chest from behind. Tim'mrak hit Koss in the face with his elbow and plucked the knife out, kicking Koss and sending him sprawling across the floor. Tim'mrak growled and turned back to face me. "This is hardly a challenge. I can't wait to kill you both and lay your skins out LIKE RUGS!" he thundered.

"I won't let you. Even if I die here, I'm making sure you come with me. I won't let you hurt anyone else the way you hurt Sixfour" I vowed.

Tim'mrak laughed. "Did you know it took weeks to track that fucking bot down? Now THAT was a challenge! It made it all the more satisying to strip him hollow and put him up like a trophy."

"Sixfour died in the tunnel. If it was such a challenge to find a dead Star then it's a wonder how I haven't killed you already" I said.

"Hehehehmm, in the tunnel? Hardly. I don't know what has happened to you these past few weeks after you escaped my radiation trap, but I assure you Sixfour did not die in that tunnel. It's a shame you'll never get to talk to him again; I'm sure it'd make quite a tale!"

"You're lying to me." He had to be. There was no way Sixfour had survived getting shot and falling down the runoff pipe, was there? But if he had... "Well, even if you're not, I'm glad he made it so hard for you. I hope he got a few good knocks in before you killed him."

"You don't know half of it. HE was a real threat. You? You're just a scared pony on the run, without a friend in the universe. Spurned by your Empress, betrayed by your family, forgotten by all those you ever knew. Sixfour told me quite a bit about you, how you've been on the run for years. I can only imagine what you wanted the soul gems for, but Sixfour's little hint told me one thing: you and I, we're not so different" Tim'mrak taunted.

"You're wrong. I'll never be the same as you!" I said. I lowered my head and charged at Tim'mrak, who raised the knife. Before he could deflect my attack Koss grabbed him from behind, distracting him. Koss grabbed Tim'mrak's arm and I reared up onto my hindlegs and stabbed Tim'mrak in the chest. He punched me in the stomach and I stumbled back, and he flung Koss off him. He stumbled a bit and dropped the knife as he did, but otherwise seemed unaffected by our attacks. Koss came down near Tim'mrak's pistol and he snatched at it with his good wing. As he tried to drag it towards him Tim'mrak stepped on the wing, crushing its thin bones and breaking it as well. He grabbed the gun and Koss clawed at his wrist, holding it as they struggled over the weapon.

I was about to stab Tim'mrak with my horn again when my hoof bumped against the knife, and I awkwardly picked it up in my left hoof. I came up behind Tim'mrak and used both forehooves to bring the knife down into his neck. He growled and accidentally fired the gun, and Koss used his free talon to claw at the Minotaur's neck. "Y-You'll never leave my tower alive, you little shits. Even if you do, you won't survive for much longer in The Dome. This place consumes little ponies such as yourself; nameless ponies far from your flowery paradises. It will eat you alive, and you'll never be safe." I drove the knife deeper into Tim'mrak's throat, and his speech became thick as blood leaked out of his mouth. "You'll always be on the run, always hiding, and when you are f-found, you'll live the rest of your mis-- MISERABLE life as a sex slave, l-living only to s-serve the whims and d-- DESIRES of your M-Minotaur and G-G-Griffon owners, the way y-your KIND D-DOES TO US!! ARGH! M-My only wi-- Wish, is to b-be there t.... To... SEE IT!"

I pushed the knife deeper and deeper, and leaned in closer to Tim'mrak as I did. "My name is Princess Flurry Heart, and in the name of Harmony, I command you to shut your fucking mouth" I growled into his ear as the knife sank further and further into his throat. It stabbed out through the front of his neck and with one last shove it sawed out and forward, taking the entire right half of his neck with it. His limp body fell forward and hit the floor with a heavy *thump*, and I staggered back and let the knife fall to the floor with him.

It was over. It was finally over. "F-Find me my soul gems, Koss" I whispered, and Koss slowly crawled upright. He grabbed his knife and returned it to his sheathe, and took Tim'mrak's gun. I took a moment to stare at Tim'mrak's corpse as the last of his blood slowly poured out onto the floor, and joined Koss in the search. There was a safe near Tim'mrak's bed, and a quick search of his body produced the key. The safe swung open to reveal five small cases, a single soul gem in each. With the gem I'd taken from the necromantic temple I now had the six I needed.

"Con... *Phew* Congratulations, Flurry. We won."

I nodded, and we slowly went back across the room. There was a narrow door near the wetbar, which likely went up to the roof, which is where we were supposed to signal for our evac from. We paused near the shattered part of the panoramic window to catch our breath, and Koss looked out across The Dome. "With Tim'mrak dead, his Reavers will scatter or fall to our forces. We'll take a few days to loot his tower, and you'll be welcome to take anything you like or need."

"I don't want anything but to leave this place, and never return. It's disgusted me from the moment I arrived, and I meant what I said to Tim'mrak, that one day all these marauder and mercenary gangs will cease to be."

Koss shook his head. "I hope you realize we won't just give it all up. You could just leave us alone, if we agreed to leave you alone once you come in to power."

"Oh please, you and I both know you'll take advantage of the shift in power to expand your operations. All of the raider and mercenary gangs will do that. I'm not nearly as naive as some of the creatures in The Dome thought I was" I said.

"So...that's it, then? As much as you don't want to ever return here, one day you and I will see each other again, and it won't be as friends. The Sons of Gilda are rather tame compared to most of the other groups; you could even offer us to join your army, as much as you spout your Harmony and coexistence lines. Otherwise, it'll be a long road to stamp out every last marauder, raider, and mercenary gang in the system."

I considered what he was saying for a moment before I realized he was right. It would certainly be a tough ordeal, once Twilight's empire had been knocked down, to then deal with eliminating all the lawless groups that infested the Serpent system. What I told him was also true, that during the chaos and turmoil of the shift in power, that his group and groups like his would seize the opportunity to expand, and become an even greater threat. It would all be worth it, though, I was convinced of that. Nothing would change my mind. There was also the matter of Koss himself, being that he was the only living creature in The Dome left that knew of my true nature as an Alicorn. He'd come to be a true asset during my time in The Dome, even after his betrayal a few days prior. I realized then that it wasn't really his fault; I had been away for weeks, effectively disappeared, and we'd been quite a problem to Tim'mrak before then. It made sense, in a way, for Koss to offer up my soul gems and ship as a bribe to make Tim'mrak leave him and his organization alone. It didn't change the fact that he'd done it, but it put it into perspective.

With all that in mind I got to all fours and put my hoof to Koss' back. "I'll worry about all that another day. For now, though, I would like to get a headstart." Before Koss could respond, I yanked him off his talons and threw him out the window; he screamed all the way down as he careened towards the ground, his body contorting horrifically as it collided with a telephone pole before he hit a metal awning with a distant *clang.* No one had seen, and if any of the SoG asked all I'd have to tell them was that Tim'mrak did it. I waited another ten minutes, quietly appreciating the view from Tim'mrak's penthouse, before I drew my cloak tight against my body and headed up to the roof.

My time in The Dome was over, but there was still more work to do.

The SoG merc that picked me up took me all the way back to the warehouse near Koss' apartment, and I made my way through the streets back to the spaceport. After I'd taken my ship back I'd docked it in the same spaceport, to make it easier to find if for whatever reason I ended up separated from the Sons of Gilda during the battle. I made sure all the soul gems were tucked away in my pockets and took one last look around. I'd spent over a month in this horrible place, but it was hard to believe that it was all over, that I was about to head back home to Etherea. It made me anxious, and I decided not to wait any longer. I stepped out into the tunnel that led back down to my ship, passing the door guard who'd been the first creature I'd seen in The Dome. He stopped me when he saw who I was.

"Hey, I've got a message for you. About a week ago this pony came by, one of those winged types, with a package. He didn't say who he was, but he paid me a fuckton of money to get this package to you" the guard said, and reached into one of his pouches. He produced a small black case, and my heart skipped a beat as I realized what was in it.

"This Pegasus, he paid you to give me this?"

"Yeah, yeah. He said 'when she next passes through here, give this to the tall pink mare with azure eyes.' Didn't give me his name or anything, and he sure as shit wasn't wearing any markings. The fuck is it?"

I slid the case into one of my pockets. "A creature such as yourself ought to know better than to ask that, but maybe one day you'll find out, and you'll realize the small part you played in changing our galaxy for the better."

He huffed. "Won't do me any favors, I'm sure."

I turned away and headed to my ship, cycled through the airlock, and sat down in the pilot's chair on the bridge. I lit the engines and slowly pulled away from the docking cradle. I eased the ship to a stop in the airlock at the end of the tunnel, and the outer door opened to the surface of Draconequus. I lifted up into the sky and fed more power to the engines. Within a few minutes I left the planet's atmosphere and was up in the cosmos. I set a course for the Siren system and pulled the small black case out of my pocket. I popped it open and sure enough, there was another soul gem inside, bringing my final count up to seven.

There was also a note.

I am short of time, but I feel compelled to write this missive. I will make every effort to give you the contents of this case in person, but should I fail in this task, then I want to make sure you read the words I would prefer to say. It was quite a shock when I awoke, and not in the tunnels. Instead, I was in the care of a rather eccentric Unicorn stallion. What has followed in the two weeks since then would take hours to describe, and the notion that I'll be able to tell you in person grows less believable by the minute.

I don't know what has become of you, but I am certain that you are still alive. It's what makes you, you. Your will to go on, to survive, to endure all that you have endured and face more. You will need that determination when you face Empress Twilight.

In my endeavor to find you, I found myself among a group of ponies who have lived all their lives in The Dome. They were not heartless, conniving backstabbers as previously thought, but rather the desperate and lost. Having been born here, they had no choice but to live as the Griffons and Minotaurs here do, in order to survive. Any one of them would give anything to get away from The Dome, and live on one of the garden worlds they've so often dreamt about. When I told them of your mission(being very careful to hide your true identity) they were enamored, they wanted to help. It is through them that I got a lead on another soul gem, and it is through this trial that I came under the attention of Tim'mrak.

The past two weeks were a stuggle unlike anything you and I experienced together, and being alone amongst ponies I did not recognize or felt I could trust made it harder. In time, I have come to trust them, though not all of them have survived our fights against Tim'mrak. It is being among them that I have learned a great deal about what it means to be truly alive, to appreciate truly having a sense of self, and to possess that nebulous concept that organics have termed a 'soul.' I do not know if an AI could ever truly have a soul, or even be considered alive, but I do know that I possess a sense of self. I want, I feel, and I think. Therefore, I am. It is my final hope that you help the rest of the Starborn come to understand this as well.

I don't need to hope that you'll succeed against Twilight. I know you will. My only regret is that I may never again hear your voice, see your face. You are much more than the liberator of my species, much more than my Princess, you are my friend, and it was a true treasure to know you as such. Even if I may die, with this soul gem I pass to you I feel that I can die content in the knowledge that my death won't be in vain, and that in the end, my sacrifice will mean something.

Star TS-614. 'Sixfour.'

I'm glad he'd had the foresight to write the note with water-proof ink.