"It'll be OK. It'll all be OK."

I don't know how long I stared at them. Minutes, definitely. Hours, probably. It was a long trip back to the Siren system, to Etherea. To Moondancer, to the Pie sisters. To home. Well, what passed for home on that barren red rock. I almost dreaded it, in a way, being that the surface reminded me so much of The Dome and the planet it was built on. I think the only thing that saved Etherea from reminding me of The Dome was that the sky was always such a thin-blue haze. In the end, I knew the facilities the Starborn had built on Etherea, and my work, would shield me from the worst reminders of my time spent in The Dome.

As I spent several days days travelling from Draconequus back to the Siren system I planned. I knew we were not yet ready to challenge Empress Twilight, but it'd help to at least have a framework in mind by the time I touched down. That way I'd be able to talk to Moondancer and go over our options and potential timetable. I knew how to use the soul gems, and she would've been hard at work designing and theorizing over the Harmony Device. Things had finally come together, and I was back on track to returning the galaxy to the way it should've been.

I also cried. I cried hard. I cried over Sixfour, I cried from the stress and trauma. I cried over my shattered horn. My space-outs, which had already been bad from my time in Tartarus, were getting worse and longer. On day four of the trip, I'd been in the midst of one of my episodes, eyes staring blankly at nothing, my mind reliving one of the many firefights I'd been through, when one of the forks in the kitchen slid and clinked against one of the steel bowls. I flinched so hard I reflexively tried to light my shield and was rewarded by a pain in my head so sharp I blacked out. I awoke some time later to find I'd had...an accident, on the floor, and that I'd bled from my eyes. I writhed and wailed and covered my head with my hooves. I was basically broken, having experienced so much wrong, done so much worse, that it was a miracle I found the strength to carry on.

After those few days, however, I returned to the Siren system and made straight for Etherea. As I neared the planet I began to pick up Starborn patrols on my sensors, and they challenged me. We exchanged codes and I was allowed through, welcomed back, and descended into Etherea's thin atmosphere. I followed the marked coordinates back to the modestly sized facility we'd built and touched down in the cradle designed for my ship, the sealed tunnel clamping around the airlock. A few minutes later I was back inside, and my friends were all there to greet me. We all embraced and collapsed to the floor, all of us equally grateful that I was back, alive, and that my mission had succeeded. I spent that whole day recuperating; I ate, I showered, and I slept. I'd slept on the trip back, of course, but it wasn't quite the same as sleeping in a quiet room with solid ground beneath you. Wasn't quite the same as being able to look out the window and see a sunrise, as opposed to the cold vacuum of the cosmos. It wasn't quite the same.

Nothing ever was again.

When I awoke the next day I got back to work. I went to see Moondancer and Sunburst in the lab, and as I trotted in I told them everything that had happened. Koss, Tim'mrak, the monks, the gems, Sixfour. I told them how it had all went down. It was cathartic, in a way, to talk to someone else who truly understood. Who wasn't some heartless mercenary, who wasn't trying to kill me or backstab me. It was also wierd, in a way, to be back in a safe environment. I'd spent over a month in The Dome, and while it paled in comparison to the near millennium I spent in Tartarus, it was still its own tartarus in a way. To smell clean air, to live in a clean environment, to see smiling faces and the security the Starborn army provided, it was comforting beyond words. Moondancer and Sunburst understood me, understood what I'd done and why I'd done it, or why I'd been forced to do it in some cases. The Pie sisters, Harmony bless them, didn't understand, not at the time, the things we would have to do.

My Unicorn friends did, though, and it is with them that I planned. I explained how I'd been taught to use the soul gems, and I asked how their research into cleansing magic and the Harmony Device had come along. Moondancer showed me her notes, and together we spent several hours going over the rough blueprints and associated theories. I knew the magic was sound, but naturally we'd have to test it. That's when she told me we'd have to wait. I asked how long, and she told me.

Fifteen years.

I explained that the new Bearers, who were still cryogenically frozen, would need to be thawed and allowed to grow as normal. They'd need to be taught how to use the Elemental-type magic Moondancer, Sunburst, and I had studied. Without the Elements themselves, or training in their magic for ourselves, it'd be a slow process. What seemed simple in theory--cleansing magic channeled through a focusing connection that amplified its power--would be tremendously complex to pull off, and required the connection of true friendship magic imprinted on the souls of the Bearers, which could only be harnessed through true friendship. The six fillies would need to be allowed to grow, to learn, to trust us and each other, to build true friendships with one another. When the time came, and their friendships were at their strongest, we'd harvest their souls and use their shared connection, unrestrained by personal doubt or hesitation, fed purely through the Harmony Device, to cleanse Empress Twilight of her wickedness.

"What will we do in the meantime? When we're not teaching the fillies, or caring for them?" Moondancer had asked, and my reply had been simple.

"We train."

We train for the soul harvesting spell, we train for the infiltration of Castle Twilight, we train for the unexpected. I had the Starborn mine Etherea for valuable metals and resources to sell on the black market, and we'd use the money to expand our facilities. The fillies were unfrozen, and I had the Pie sisters tend to them. They'd all been about the age of three when they'd been frozen, so they still needed a tremendous amount of care. With the Pie sisters tending to the fillies Moondancer and I trained. We continued to study purification magic, we trained on combat magic, we went over what Sunburst knew about Canterlot and Castle Twilight. A surprising amount of information on Castle Twilight was public knowledge, including maps of the first, second, and third floors, as Moondancer learned when she travelled undercover to Ascension and visited the Museum of the History of the Greater Equestrian Empire in Ascension's capital city, Applejack.

There was also the matter of my horn, which I had Moondancer take a look at. Broken horns were not unheard of, it just made spells more unstable, and made harder spells impossible or extremely difficult to pull off. She had an artificial shaft fashioned with the help of the Starborn, with a thin hollow center to focus my magic and a razor-sharp tip. After some physical therapy and training she told me I'd never again be able to cast certain spells, like my full-body shield, or self-levitation(not that it mattered much, since my wings were fine). I'd be able to maintain, at most, a simple front-facing shield, and a moderately powerful beam spell for attacks, among some other minor attack spells. With some more physical therapy, however, I'd one day be able to conjure a floating thaum bomb, that I'd be able to send along during battle to knock down structures, which may be useful. I'd even be able to learn telepathy, something I'd never bothered with before.

it'd all require training, though. Training and planning. There was the matter of how to make our move on Canterlot, how to best prepare the Bearers for their harvesting, how to further refine and tweak the Harmony Device, how to help society transition from the lies of the Empire and to the peace and equality of a new system. So we spent every day we could training, studying, or practicing. It became a routine, one that I was deeply appreciative of. Finally my life had order again. It was temporary, as such respite always was, but fifteen years of routine and normalcy would be greatly welcomed after what I'd endured for so long. It did hurt, at least a bit, to know Harmony would have to wait another fifteen years, but it couldn't be helped.

And so now I settle in. Fifteen years to go. Fifteen long years that we and Harmony will have to endure, but at the end of those fifteen years our many years of working, toiling, and fighting will pay off, and Harmony will finally return to the GALAXY!

We may have suffered for nearly a millennium, but I'm certain that it is these fifteen years that will prove to be the hardest. Not because I'll be fighting, or suffering, or just struggling to survive.

But because all I'll be able to do is wait.

There's a hoof-written note scribbled at the bottom of the page.

It was all for Harmony.

And it was all worth it.

Whatever comes next will also be for Harmony.

It too will all be worth it.

Author's Note

So it ends! It is my earnest hope that you enjoyed reading this story! Some of this story was a true blast to write, the kind of fun where your fingers just dance across the keyboard and you pump out ten paragraphs in under five minutes, where you enter a fevered state of creativity. I really enjoyed experimenting with the psychological breaks Flurry was suffering towards the end, and I hope this story helped to explain some of Flurry's behavior in Midnight Rising. Below you'll find a helpful timeline and codex, should there be any confusion about the creative universe I've crafted here. As for what's next, I don't know. As always, I'll just write whatever comes to mind. Whatever it is, I hope to see you there, as well!

The Greater Equestrian Empire uses a standard 24-hour, seven-day, 12-month, 365-day calendar as defined by Empress Twilight, beginning from year zero Post-Ascension-to-Alicorn status.

Year Zero: Twilight Sparkle ascends to Alicorn status following the defeat of the mighty Centaur Tirek.

02 P.A: In her travels across Equestria, Twilight Sparkle begins to be exposed to feelings of extreme nationalism, and a belief that she is Equestria's true protector. She ignores these sentiments.

03 P.A: The cutie map in the Castle of Friendship directs Twilight to a remote mountain village, and it is here that Twilight comes to believe in the notions of nationalism and Equestrian Exceptionalism.

05 P.A: A violent civil war erupts across Equestria. Twilight Sparkle murders Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and usurps the throne of the Kingdom of Equestria, founding in its place the Greater Equestrian Empire.

27 P.A: Flurry Heart is crowned as the Royal Hunter. It is believed that she will forever be the only Hunter, due to Alicorn immortality.

30 P.A: The First Expansion War begins, aimed at the conquest and subjugation of the Minotaur species. It ends three years later with the defeat of the Minotaurs.

50 P.A: The Starborn are created from Empress Twilight's genius, to serve as manual laborers and household servants.

66 P.A: The Second Expansion War begins, aimed at the conquest and subjugation of the Griffons. It ends four years later with the defeat of the Griffons.

71 P.A: What is meant to be the third Expansion War is preempted by an alliance of the remaining free races: Dragons, Yaks, and Bison. The Changelings are excluded from the alliance, but work in the shadows to resist the Equestrian Empire. Twelve years later, all four species are rendered extinct.

84 P.A: Understanding of the fields of science, technology, engineering, and medicine grow exponentially, leading to stunning changes to everyday life. The average lifespan grows in excess of 120 years, non-Pegasus flight revolutionizes cross-continental travel, and the invention of faster-than-light travel allows the first Equine explorers to travel to the stars above. The Golden Age begins, by official decree.

86 P.A: Flurry Heart tracks down the Harmony Brigade--Fluttershy, Moondancer, Sunburst, and the Pie Sisters--and learns the truth of Equestria's past. She confronts Empress Twilight and is banished, along with the Harmony Brigade, to the realm of Tartarus.

874 P.A(a): The events of Tears of Harmony begin after Flurry Heart, Moondancer, Sunburst, Limestone Pie, Maud Pie, and Marble Pie escape from Tartarus. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie did not survive. The Starborn awaken, due to Flurry's influence.

874 P.A(b): Meteor Shower graduates top of his class from the Academy of the Royal Rangers. His actions during the war against the Starborn earn him distinguishment and accolades.

875 P.A: the Empire's war against the Starborn ends following the Starborn's retreat to the Siren system.

879 P.A, June 1st to July 17th: The events of Tears of Harmony unfold and end.

881 P.A: Meteor Shower becomes the 172nd Royal Hunter.

894 P.A, August 7th to August 19th: The events of Midnight Rising take place.

The Greater Equestrian Empire has, through a long and beautiful history, established colonies on six planets across three star systems. These worlds are deemed "Garden Worlds" for their lush, beautiful landscapes, expansive oceans, and atmospheric conditions conducive to Equine-based life forms.

Horsehead Nebula: Equus. Capital city: Canterlot(pop. 230,000).

Utopia system: Equus Prime. Capital city: Her Reign(pop. 127,000). Ascension. Capital city: Applejack(pop. 110,000).

Unity system: Destiny. Capital city: Rarity(pop. 94,000). Cadenza. Capital city: Endless Shining(pop. 70,000).

Beyond the six Garden Worlds governed and controlled by the Greater Equestrian Empire are the worlds of the lawless Serpent system. Serpent is home to numerous gangs, groups, bands, and organizations of raiders, slavers, and mercenaries, and is under a permanent travel ban to citizens of the Greater Equestrian Empire. Listed below are Serpent's charted worlds, capital cities, and populations(where applicable).

Hydra. Capital city: N/A. Pop. N/A.

Draconequus. Capital city: The Dome. Pop. 2,000,000(45% Griffon, 46% Minotaur, 9% Equine).

Tirek. Capital city: N/A. Pop. 150.*

Everfree. Capital city: Sanctuary. Pop. 1,000.**

Quaray. Capital city: N/A. Pop. N/A.

Chimera. Capital city: Rainbow. Pop. 90.***

*Tirek is home to a Griffon mining operation under the control of the Sons of Gilda.

**Everfree's only settlement is self-described as a "democratic socialist state governed according to the consensus of the people", and is the only non-Imperial Equine-majority government known to exist. The government of Sanctuary holds no allegiance, diplomatic relations, or trade with the Greater Equestrian Empire, and due to Everfree's location in the Serpent system it is under a permanent travel ban to citizens of the Greater Equestrian Empire.

***Chimera is home to a small tribe of ponies, self-described as "the ultimate anarchist commune." Chimera has no known government and its ponies hold no allegiance, diplomatic relation, or trade with the Greater Equestrian Empire, and due to Chimera's location in the Serpent system it is under a permanent travel ban to citizens of the Greater Equestrian Empire.

Live eternally, Empress Twilight, and glory be to the shining light of your Unity that guides us all to a brighter tomorrow.