The Cloudwall. The last great accomplishment of Commander Hurricane before her resignation in the wake of the united Equestrian government. A creation of unparalleled scale, a thing so immense that even the most talented cloudgineers of the modern day hadn’t even a hint of its inner workings.

The textbooks said that it was created in the final days of the Golden Age of Equestria, back when its borders stretched to every end of the Known World. Commander Hurricane ordered its construction to defend against any potential threats from beyond the Endless Ocean. A gigantic hurricane which had maintained itself for a thousand years, a wall of vicious weather that nothing could hope to cross alive. Since then the Equestrian borders had shrunk drastically, with many of the other races of the Known World rising up to seize or otherwise being granted independence. Now, only the dry and lifeless northeastern wastes of Equestria were within sight of the Cloudwall at all, and the great construct had faded from the mind of the Equestrian populace, reduced to little more than a question on a history test.

What a thing to see.

Dissero and his crew, minus Silver Feather, stood on the deck with their eyes set anxiously forwards. Their tails and manes flapped wildly in the strong wind which blew in from the east, from beyond the mountain range ahead of them.

“We should be able to see it once we cross this ridge!” Dissero called, speaking loudly to ensure he could be heard over the wind.

“Here we go!” Silver yelled from within the cockpit. Dissero could see him through the open hatch set in the deck, piloting the ship with practiced ease. He pulled a lever, and the ship began to rise, gradually ascending towards the mountain ridge.

These mountains marked the border between Equestria and the independent city-state of Harmony. They carried on north for some distance, tracing the eastern coast until they dissipated into the hills of the Equestrian wastes. To the south, the mountains curved west, forming the northern border of the Kingdom of Gryphos.

Dissero had never crossed these mountains before. He had a fresh pot of Canterlot ink in his quarters, as well as a set of new quills, just waiting for him to go down and add to his map.

“Almost there!” Silver exclaimed.

The ship rose still, the tops of the propellers brushing with the cloud layer above. Dissero suppressed a shiver at the cold, crisp mountain air, condensation forming on the deck as it grazed the bottoms of the clouds. The mountain tops were nearly at eye level now. As they came closer, the ship floated up into the center of the clouds, the wetness clinging to the crew’s coats as they waited. After an immeasurable moment amidst the swirling white, where all seemed to be still, the ship began to descend once more. The mountains were behind them now.

The white mist cleared away as they lost altitude, and Dissero’s jaw dropped as he was treated to the first new sight in over a year.

A series of waterfalls poured down from the mountains, pooling in the wet plains below before rushing forth in a collection of narrow streams. They wound across the landscape like crazed snakes, all feeding into one great river which curved south, into Gryphos. On the eastern side of the river was Harmony City, a collection of cold grey constructs surrounded by a myriad of colorful merchant tents. A flotilla of ships navigated its docks, all with the strange pointed prows and curving masts which marked them as of griffon origin. The city was massive, and seemed almost as if it was being forcibly contained by the two rivers which curved around it, as if it was threatening to burst free and spread across the horizon. It’s horizontal size was impressive, but that was nothing to its vertical aspects.

For spread across the city like scattered seeds which had since grown tall were a series of towering skyports, each one made of a central spire with several layers of sturdy steel skypiers branching off, almost every pier with an airship moored. In the center of the city were seven great towers which dwarfed every other, set in a circle, each connected to eachother by a network of arching bridges, and all surrounded by a thick wall which divided them from the rest of the city.

And in the center of those towers was still another, a true beast of architecture which rose higher than anything Dissero had seen before in all his travels. It was massive, the seven other towers coming only to half its height. Piers thicker than even the mightiest in Canterlot stretched out from its lower portions, and moored to these piers was a fleet of airships which literally engulfed the city below in an impenetrable shadow. Dissero had seen many airships in his life, but these were foreign to him, with strange designs and structure from where he couldn’t even guess. Many of the ships were scattered across the breadth of the city, either coming or going from other parts of the Known World, but the largest of them were coming from the east. But how could they come from the east? There was nowhere more east than here, to the east there was nothing but… the Cloudwall.

And there it was, a sight which threatened to take Dissero’s breath away. A great black wall of rumbling thunderclouds which stretched from horizon to horizon, the blackness interrupted only by the occasional bolt of lightning. Smaller thunderclouds radiated from the Cloudwall’s edge, engulfing Harmony City in an ever-present rain before dissipating further inland. Craning his head, Dissero could just barely make out the top of the gargantuan hurricane, far higher than any airship or pegasus could ever hope to fly.

What a thing to see.

“Wow,” Ember said, eyes wide. She fell back onto her haunches, left speechless by the sheer size of it all.

“Hey, Storm!” Silver called, his goggles now raised above his eyes, nestled firmly in his mane. “How’d they make that thing?”

“I have… no idea…” Stormslider mumbled, shaking her head slowly.

Silver looked back to the great storm, mouth open. “Crazy…”

Cleaver, for his part, took a sip of vodka.

“Alright guys, let’s get ready to dock,” Dissero said, finally managing to regain control of his jaw. “We should be there by sunset.”

The crew hesitated briefly, their eyes lingering on the landscape before them, before climbing down the stairs and heading back into the depths of the ship. Dissero remained there for several minutes more, quietly staring, lost in thought.

“Hey Dissy, you alright?”

The unicorn blinked, looking down to see Silver gazing up at him curiously from within the cockpit. Taking one last breath of the cool air, Dissero climbed down the stairs. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… been awhile.”

Silver broke out into a wide grin, sliding his goggles back over his eyes. “It sure has! Pretty sweet, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know, Silver.” Dissero frowned. “We stopped for a reason, you know.”

Silver’s grin faltered briefly before coming back in full force. “Hey, c’mon Dissy. This is totally different, nothing illegal or anything!”

“How can we be sure?” Dissero asked. He sat back on his haunches, running a hoof through his mane. “Those crates are locked, so we don’t know what’s inside, and Harmony is known as a smuggler’s haven. And there’s no way those ponies were Equestrian. You heard them talk.”

“Look, Dissy.” Silver sighed, stepping up to his friend and laying a hoof on his shoulder. “Not everyone from outside Equestria is a bad guy.”

“It’s just suspicious, that’s all.”

For a few moments the stallions stood in thoughtful silence. Silver stepped back, pulling his hoof back and holding it up in front of him with another grin. “Hey, whatever happens, we’ve got each other’s back. Worked pretty well before, right?”

Dissero looked up, meeting his friend’s confident gaze. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but let a small smirk onto his face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He raised his own hoof, bumping it against Silver’s.

“Right. So now we know I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine, how about you go and get me a sandwich? I haven’t eaten since—hey, where’re you going!?”

Dissero rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the cockpit. “Whatever, Silver.” Ignoring the pilot’s protests, he made his way to his quarters and began preparing for their quickly approaching arrival.

Dissero was laying on his bunk some hours later, a world history book cradled in his hooves, when he heard Ember’s scratchy voice out in the hall. “Hey, we’re almost there.”

“I’ll be right up, thanks,” he replied, not even looking up from the book. He was trying to find some information on Harmony, on how it had been created, it’s laws, anything, but the independent city was strangely missing. All the book said was that the city was granted independence in the aftermath of the second Equu-Gryphon War, and no further mention of it anywhere else. Either the author had intentionally kept the city’s presence in the book sparse, or Harmony had simply stayed out of international politics for the last four hundred years. Dissero wasn’t sure which of those possibilities he found less appealing.

But he didn’t have anymore time to look into it. He shut the book closed, levitating it back into place on his bookshelf, and stepped out into the hall. After a moment’s hesitation, he ducked back into his room and fastened the knife sheath around his chest, sliding the knife into place. A pony could never be too careful when outside the Equestrian borders.

Before long Dissero had joined his crew in the cockpit, watching as the city passed by underneath. It was certainly a populous city, and by no means limited to ponykind. Even from his ship he could recognize griffons, zebras, and even a few minotaurs in the streets, all going about their business.

Silver glanced back as Dissero entered, his eyes alighting on the sheathed knife at his neck. He cocked a brow. “Really?”

“What, you didn’t bring yours?” Dissero asked.

Silver scoffed, turning back to face the front. Still, he didn’t bother to hide the pair of short daggers sheathed under his wings.

Stormslider looked between the two stallions. “Are you expecting trouble, Captain?”

Ember tossed her mane with a quiet nicker, scratching at the floor. “Not like we couldn’t handle it.”

Dissero shook his head. “Expecting isn’t quite right, but preparing for? Yes.”

“Do not worry, Kaptain,” Cleaver rumbled, bottle in hoof. “We are hardly helpless babes in thunderstorm.”

The crew fell silent once again as Silver eased the ship into place next to an empty pier. A pegasus wearing the orange legband of a dock worker hovered momentarily by the cockpit, motioning upwards before flying up out of view.

Dissero climbed up onto the dock, squinting against the rain. Now that he was outside, he could hear the constant roll of thunder in the distance, an ever-present noise in the background which never completely faded away. He waved at the dock worker, who landed on the deck.

“Your business?”

“We’re carrying cargo for a certain… Baron?” Dissero said uncertainly, following the instructions the captain of the crashed ship had given him.

The worker flicked his tail curiously. “For the Baron, huh? Alright, show me what you’ve got.”

Dissero nodded, beckoning with his head before leading the dock worker down into the ship. He led the way to the cargo hold, the sound of several other worker’s hooves against the hull echoing through the corridors as they tied it off to the pier.

Upon arrival in the cargo room, the dock worker made a beeline for the crates they’d picked up at the crash, giving them a thorough inspection. Nodding to himself, the worker started back towards the deck. “Wait here for a bit,” he said.

He left without another word, leaving Dissero even more suspicious than before. Then again, maybe he just had to deal with some customs business. It was a new city, after all, and an independent one, at that. No reason to get worked up, right?

The worker didn’t return quite as quickly as Dissero had been expecting. As a matter of fact, Dissero even began to suspect that he wouldn’t return at all. The crew had long since retired to the lounge, passing a loaf of bread and some apple jam over a game of cards, when they heard a sudden, loud bang which sounded distinctly like it was coming from the cockpit.

They all perked up, their ears angling as they strained to pick up the noise again. “What was that?” Silver asked.

Dissero could hear hooves approaching, and not only that but also… talons, several sets of talons. His pulse quickened at the dreadfully familiar sound, and he raised a hoof to his neck, feeling for the comforting presence of the sheathed knife even as the rhythmic ring of hoof on metal drew ever closer.

The dock worker appeared in the doorway, flanked by six burly and scarred griffons. “Hey, can you guys come with me real quick?”

Stormslider quirked a brow, eyeing the griffons cautiously. “Why?”

“And why’d you bring those birds in here?” Ember added, rising from her seat. “What’re you trying?”

The dock worker groaned in exasperation. He cleared his throat, exchanging a few glances with the griffons before reluctantly speaking. “By order of the President of Harmony... elected voice of the citizens, yadda yadda... you’re all under arrest.”

“What?” Ember blurted, her teeth clenching as she began to advance. Dissero raised a hoof, signaling for her to stay put. After a moment she backed off, eyes staring daggers at the griffons. Cleaver, meanwhile, took another sip of vodka before carefully setting his bottle down on the table.

“On what charges?” Dissero asked.

“Charges of—oh, y’know what, it doesn’t even matter,” the dock worker said. He gestured at the griffons, “C’mon, get em you featherbrained fucks.”

And with that, the griffons lunged.

Dissero barely had time to be surprised before one of the griffons was upon him, fierce battle cries echoing throughout the ship. Eyes wide with shock, he ducked under the swiping talons and scrambled between the griffon’s hind legs. It squawked as it flapped its wings in an attempt to keep its balance, instinctively gaining altitude, only to hit its head hard against the low ceiling of the cramped room. It fell to the floor, dazed, and Dissero delivered a swift buck to its head, knocking it unconscious.

Before he could regain his bearings, he felt something heavy slamming into his flank. He fell onto his side with a loud “oof,” the air escaping his lungs as the weight landed on top of him. He twisted his neck around to see Cleaver sprawled over him, two griffons wrestling to hold the big stallion down. Gritting his teeth, Dissero yanked his knife from its sheath with his magic, stabbing wildly towards the closest griffon. It ducked away, and Cleaver took the opportunity to headbutt the other, leaping back to his hooves as it reared back.

Dissero rolled onto his hooves, immediately coming face to face with the dock worker. Seeming almost bored, the pegasus snapped a wing out and snatched the knife out of his magic. “None of that, now,” he said, slamming a hoof into Dissero’s chin.

Stars popped into view as Dissero fell backwards, his fore hooves nursing the fresh cut on his muzzle even as his hind legs kicked out wildly. He relished the sensation of his hoof connecting, raining blows down upon what he could only hope was an enemy. All around him he heard hooves stomping, wings beating, the griffons squawking and his crew yelling. His heart was racing, the blood rushing in his ears as adrenaline flooded his body. Survival instincts and barely remembered training kicked into gear. He had to get out of this little room, get some distance, some time to see things and space to maneuver.

His vision cleared, and Dissero didn’t even bother to look around before diving for the doorway, his shoulder banging against the opposite wall as he galloped away. He sprinted down the halls, not even sure where he was going, knowing only that he had to get away even as the sound of the fight began to fade. It wasn’t until he came to a stop in his quarters, slamming the door shut behind him, that he finally had some time to think.

It was a trap. He should’ve known, he had known, if only he’d listened to himself and just stuck to the routine, idiot! That crashed crew were no Equestrians, they’d lured his crew into a trap and Celestia knew what might happen now. And then he realized that he’d just left his own crew to fend for themselves, ran away like a scared foal as they fought. Fuck!

He rushed to open his door, and it was only as he turned the latch that he realized he couldn’t hear any fighting anymore.

The door slammed open, and Dissero just barely pulled his head back in time to avoid the hard edge of the cold steel. Standing out in the hall was the pegasus dock worker, a bloody grimace on his face. Behind him were two of the griffons, each of them looking equally angry.

“Fuckin’ Equestrian!” the pegasus yelled, throwing Dissero’s own knife at him. Dissero dove to the side, his ears flicking at the sound of the knife hitting glass. Looking up, he saw his gas lamp had shattered, the flames licking at the corner of his old map, already starting to spread.

Then he felt harsh talons grabbing him from behind, and a hard hoof connecting with his head, and his world went dark.

Author's Notes:

And believe me when I say that we'll be spending more than a mere twenty thousand words in Harmony this time around.