The stallion stood surveying his kingdom with a mixture of grief and determination. Not long ago, this place had been his home, his place of rest. He had been assigned, along with his wife, to guard and protect this ancient stronghold.
Now it was desolate, a charred skeleton of what it had once been. The fires had burned themselves out day ago, but their paths were marked by clearly visible black trails that ran across the once-great city. Buildings were torn and split like simple children’s toys, or crushed by falling debris. Walls that had once stood as defense for the city were cracked or had fallen, mere shells of what they had been only two weeks ago. Even the Crystal Palace, shining beacon for hope and love for the entire nation, was gone, having fallen and shattered during the great disaster.
How are we going to endure this? Shining Armor asked himself. These Crystal Ponies have endured so much… can I ask them to endure another tragedy?
It had been little over a year since Sombra had been defeated that the earthquake had struck. The great Crystal Empire had been looking forward to an era of peace and prosperity not known since its most ancient days, but had instead been overwhelmed by a violent catastrophe that had nearly destroyed the entire Empire. In a single instant, hundreds of ponies’ lives had been lost, either swallowed by the depths of the earth or crushed by debris. It had struck so suddenly, so violently, Shining Armor hadn’t been able to commence a proper evacuation, and had been forced to merely hunker down and wait for it to be over.
He remembered the moment so vividly he doubted it would ever fade from his mind: He was arguing with his sister, having just arrested her for treason. The stallion she had been with, the one who was marked for death, had begun to say a warning, and then the earth began to shake.
Shining Armor had tried to follow, but his legs failed him. The earth was too strong, too powerful for him to overcome. Not even his unicorn magic had been enough to help. He simply sat there and hoped he would survive, not even daring to think about what was happening to his wife and sister.
Cadance had been in the Crystal Palace when it fell. Somehow, amazingly, she had survived through a combination of sheer luck and quick thinking. Her starboard wing had been broken in the midst of it all, but no one really cared. She was alive.
It had taken Shining much longer to determine the fate of his younger sister, as no one had been able to find her or her traveling companions. He feared her dead until a few days later, when he learned the truth. She had been acting out of protection for another pony, that stallion she had been traveling with. She had never been a traitor, but had been trying to save somepony’s life. He still didn’t know all the details. He’d have to ask her about that story sometime.
But now? Now, Shining Armor’s mind was focused on the devastated city that stood before him, a gleaming wreck of what had once been the most beautiful Empire in Equestria.
And it was his job to bring it out from the ashes.
“Shining?” a gentle voice asked from somewhere behind him. “Shining, you OK?”
He turned and saw his beautiful wife, Princess Cadance, come walking up to him, her wing still wrapped in bandages. It would be weeks before those would come off, so she was grounded until then.
“Cadance, I thought you were resting,” Shining said, greeting her with a comforting nuzzle.
“Only my wing is injured, I can still walk,” Cadance teased. She had seen him like this before, so consumed with his duty that he would become absorbed by the moment. She wanted to stop this before it started.
The couple stood on the promontory, staring down on what was once their home. They had been so proud to help raise this city, this great empire. Now, it was grief, mixed with that very same pride that made them want to resurrect it.
Shining Armor gave a weary sigh, allowing his head to dip. “How are we going to do this?” he asked tiredly. “I’m a soldier, not an architect. I can’t fix buildings.”
“You can lead,” Cadance reminded him, “And that’s what these ponies need right now. The architects and engineers and builders can do their jobs just fine. They just need someone to bring them together.”
“That’s your job,” Shining rebutted. “You’re the Crystal Princess.”
“And you’re the Crystal Prince, and defender of the Empire,” Cadance fired back. “Don’t sell yourself short, Shining. You’re built for a crisis.”
Shining didn’t reply, merely grateful for her presence. She was his greatest encourager and supporter, always cheering him on. Even when he was relegated to the sidelines, she made sure to let him know he was valued.
“Let’s not think about it now,” he said finally, giving his wife a smile. “Morning’s still a long way away. Go back to bed.”
“Only if you come with me,” Cadance said mischievously, giving him a soft kiss on the neck. “Come on, I’d appreciate the company.”
Morning brought the worst of tasks for Shining Armor and his ragtag team of guards and random citizens: one last combing of the ravaged city for dead bodies. Most of the city had been swept clean, but the farthest north-western sector had been left untouched until now. Once checked, the entire city would have been picked apart, and time for real recovery could begin. The rebuilding process would finally be able to commence.
Shining and his crew started out, grim-faced and ill at-ease. The last sweep they had conducted had brought out the bodies of two little girls, emaciated from having been stuck underneath tons of rubble for weeks. It was a sight none of them would be able to forget, and one they prayed would not be repeated.
“How many families lived in this district?” Shining asked his lieutenant, Silver Casing.
“Two hundred,” Silver replied grimly, checking his statistics sheet. “And only fifty homes remain in somewhat stable condition.”
“How many casualties could we be looking at, Lieutenant?”
“Somewhere around six-hundred, sir,” Silver Casing replied.
Shining watched as a visible shudder went through his group, dreading the prospect of what they would most certainly find.
“Alright, everypony, you know what to do,” Shining Armor said. “Disperse, and inform me immediately if you find anything.”
The group of twenty broke out over the entire district, scanning for any signs that someone still lived. Their hopes were dim, but it beat thinking about the alternative.
Shining Armor found himself paired with a middle-aged Crystal Pony named Solar Gleam, whom Shining noticed was particularly quiet and pale. “What’s wrong, Gleam?” he asked quietly.
“We’re standing on my house,” Solar Gleam responded softly. My family was here while I was traveling back home.”
Shining Armor was a stoic pony, not one to show emotion while on duty. These simple words were enough to break him, but he settled for putting a comforting hoof on the older pony’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he managed. “Do you want me to-”
“No,” Solar Gleam replied gruffly, shaking himself. “It’s my family that’s in there, I should be the one to get them out.”
The Crystal stallion began to dig slowly into the rubble, pausing occasionally to deliver a series of rhythmic knocks on the rubble. After he did this a third time, Shining asked, “What are the knocks for?”
“It’s an old thing I taught my wife,” Gleam answered. “It was a secret knock from when we were young.” He began to unseat more debris as he went, when all of a sudden-
“Listen!” Shining Armor hissed, and the two stallions stood stock-still as they strained to hear even the slightest sound.
There, at the very edge of their hearing, was a slow, rhythmic tapping sound. Knock, knock-knock-knock, knock.
“It can’t be!” Solar Gleam gasped, beginning to dig more furiously.
“Hold on!” Shining Armor interrupted, “If you’re not careful you could bring the whole thing down on top of them.” Turning to the rest of his crewmembers, he yelled, “We got a live one! All hooves on me!”
In less than a minute, every singly pony surrounded Solar Gleam’s desecrated house, helping the stallion slowly but surely unearth the debris, praying and hoping those series’ of taps would continue.
“Almost there!” Shining puffed, throwing a heaping of rubble onto the stone streets. “Hang in there, everypony!”
“I see them! I see them!” Silver Casing roared triumphantly, his keen eyes detecting a crystalline hoof shaking itself beneath the dust.
“Seabreeze! Seabreeze, I’m coming!” Solar Gleam gasped, struggling through the wreckage to grab hold of his daughter’s hoof. “Hold on, we’re almost there!”
“And they’re free!” Shining Armor cried, freeing the ponies from the last of the rubble.
“Papa!” a pair of teenage fillies screamed, leaping onto a floored Solar Gleam, who was at a loss for words. “Papa, you’re alive!”
“Children, you’re- you’re alive!” Solar Gleam said, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as a dusty, but very much alive mare was pulled from beneath the wreckage, her mane sooty and turned gray with debris. “Verity!”
“Gleam!” Verity sobbed, stumbling into her husband’s outstretched hooves, and the family collapsed on each other in a fresh wave of grateful sobs.
“I thought I’d lost you, I thought I’d lost you,” Solar Gleam choked, his tears constricting his voice. “I was so scared…”
Shining Armor allowed a smile to lighten up his stern features as the family embraced each other, not caring a wit about the rest of the world. For them, their greatest struggle was over, and nothing would be able to rob them of their joy. No valuables, no home, no single thing to call their own would prevent them from reveling in each other.
“I don’t get it,” Silver Casing muttered under his breath to Shining Armor. “They’ve been stuck down there for weeks, how did they not starve?”
“Sir?” one of the guards piped up. “You won’t believe this, but you need to see this.”
And as Shining Armor peered down into the gaping hole that had once been a home, he saw -mostly undamaged- a refrigerator, its doors busted, but its insides stuffed full of fresh food.
Silver Casing gaped in awe. “That doesn’t happen,” he stammered. “That never happens!”
Shining Armor laughed aloud, glad to have something to be cheerful about. “Well, can’t say it never happens, now can we?” he replied.
“But- but- how could that have happened?” Silver asked.
“I don’t know,” Shining Armor replied over his shoulder as he walked away. “And I doubt I ever will. Let’s just call it a miracle.”
The news of Solar Gleam’s miraculous reunion with his family spread quickly throughout the survivors of the disaster, at Shining Armor’s insistence. He grabbed a courier and sent him to Canterlot, so that the rest of Equestria would be told of the wonderful news. The Crystal Empire needed hope, and this was something that would help them get there.
That night, as small celebrations flared across the refugee camps, Shining Armor returned to Cadance privately, wanting to tell her the story himself.
Cadance’s smile was more beautiful than any priceless jewel as Shining Armor finished his story. “Solar Gleam is a good pony,” she said, peering about at the camps as if searching for him. “I’ll have to make sure to visit him tomorrow morning and talk to his family.”
“You should be resting!” Shining Armor protested, eyeing her damaged wing. “You may be Princess, but you can take a breather-”
“Shining, my duty is to my people,” Cadance reminded him. “While you’re busy out getting work done, I’ve been visiting the refugee camps, speaking with everypony. It helps them, knowing that someone cares about them.”
“How long have you been doing this?” Shining asked warily.
“Oh, for about two weeks,” Cadance replied. “Don’t give me that look, I have to do something while you’re gone. Besides, it’s fun.”
As Shining Armor continued to scowl, Cadance merely laughed. “Shiny, you should have been with me the other day. I met the most adorable little colt, he’d been picked up by one of the guards, and all he could tell his parents was how cool the armor the guards wore was, and how he couldn’t wait to join the Crystal Guard when he got older. He even asked me for your autograph!”
Shining’s scowl finally broke under the strain, giving a small chuckle. “An autograph? That oughta be easy to find,” he remarked.
“Hopefully we can find the Crystal Heart just as easily,” Cadance added.
Shining Armor nodded, his thoughts finally reverting to the subject. “No luck detecting it with your magic?” he inquired.
Cadance shook her head. “Nothing,” she muttered frustratedly. “It’s there, I’m sure of it, but I can’t bring it out of the wreckage. My magic isn’t at its strongest, and won’t be for a while.”
The oddity of that statement was enough to throw Shining Armor off for a few seconds. “Your magic’s depleted?” he asked. “What for?”
Cadance said nothing for once, hesitating as she rubbed her belly with her right hoof.
Shining Armor’s eyes widened as he understood. “You’re sure?”
“I checked with a medic this morning,” Cadance answered. “I’m sure.”
“How long?”
“Just a week. It won’t be until late into next year.”
Shining Armor mulled his thoughts over as he considered this new development. “We should tell everyone,” he decided. “Solar Gleam’s story has them celebrating late into the night, imagine what this’ll do.”
“Wait,” Cadance urged, “Until you find the Crystal Heart. If we wait until we’ve retrieved it, their joy could restore its power. That’ll be the biggest boost we need right now.”
Shining Armor nodded slowly, a plan beginning to form in his mind. “I’ll go snooping around what remains of the Crystal Palace early in the morning. It has to be there.”
Shining Armor crept back into the city, accompanied with is usual team, as Celestia’s sun began to creepy slowly over the horizon. Dawn had only just come as they made their way through the city towards the center, towards the remnants of the Crystal Palace.
Of all the structures that had fallen in the earthquake, this had been the one with the most value for the Crystal Empire. It had been the beacon of hope and joy for the citizens of the Empire, a symbol of their endurance and strength. With it gone, all eyes were yearning for the Crystal Heart. If they found it today, it would be a sign that the Empire would be restored.
Every member of Shining Armor’s team knew the significance of this mission as they moved forward. They knew what it would mean for their friends and family, for their nation. It was critical they succeed.
“Alright, everyone, spread out!” Shining Armor ordered. “If you see anything, call out!”
Accompanied by an exuberant Solar Gleam, he and Shining Armor made their way to what had once been the base of the palace, beginning to sift through the overwhelming pile of debris and broken glass. It was rough, dirty work, work that tore at their skin and made them bleed, but they were determined.
“I promised my little girls I’d find them the Crystal Heart,” Solar Gleam muttered determinedly to Shining Armor. “I say we’ll find it, don’t you, sir?”
“That’s the spirit, Solar Gleam!” Shining Armor said encouragingly, sifting through a small pile of glass carefully. “Don’t stop, just keep looking!”
“Never will, sir, I just keep looking until I find what I’m looking for- sir!”
Shining Armor froze as he locked eyes upon it as well, noticing an unusual gleam of crystal just a few feet away from the tips of his hooves, buried beneath tons upon tons of debris.
“Sir, do you think it’s-”
“Yes, Solar Gleam, I do,” Shining Armor replied excitedly, slowly and tentatively creeping closer. “But we need to be careful, we don’t want to crush it underneath the rubble.”
“Move that larger piece to the right of your hoof, sir,” Solar Gleam said nervously, watching as the gleam of crystal began to glow brighter. “Now the one to your left, sir- easy, easy!”
“I’m being careful!” Shining Armor hissed, sweat forming across his brow as he inched ever closer. “Come one, just out of reach-”
A piece of rubble fell and revealed the full body of the Crystal Heart. It was right in front of them. Caught beneath a heavy pair of pillars, it was in hoof’s grasp.
Solar Gleam gasped and leapt to his feet. “EVERYONE, WE FOUND IT!” he screamed.
Shining Armor inched a little closer, reaching out and stretching as much as he could.
He brushed it the first time, but the second one dislodged it enough where he was able to grasp it. With a quick flash of magic from his horn, he lifted it out of the rubble and displayed it for his entire crew to see.
Silver Casing gave a roar of pure exultation, grasping his friend and giving him a shake. The rest of the crew began to celebrate amongst themselves, with many a hearty slap on the back and multiple hugs, as each pony was struck dumb with joy. “WE FOUND IT, WE FOUND IT!” Solar Gleam kept yelling at the top of his lungs, dancing up and down like a young colt.
Shining Armor, overwhelmed by the power of the moment, leapt up onto a pile of debris and cried out, “I’m going to be a Father!”
Every eye was upon him, shocked by the news, but the Prince soon found himself surrounded by a celebratory crowd of ponies, as they celebrated their reclaimed treasure and the promise of new life.
The Crystal Empire cheered as the news met them: The Crystal Heart had been reclaimed, and their Princess Cadance carried the Royal Baby. Refugee camps became party centers, as each group could barely contain their joy. They had been struck by disaster, beaten and bruised, but still they stood.
Cadance, sitting atop a bed of blankets, gave a smile as the cheers reached her. She had had a terrible morning, sickness taking hold of her. She hoped she would get used to it.
The Empire had reason to hope again, she surmised. With news of an heir on the way, and the Crystal Heart restored, the Empire would surely rise again. The last of the survivor sweeps had been completed, so the real work would now begin.
And as the aurora of colors burst forth into the sky, the Crystal Heart sending its light out into the world once more, it was only a matter of time before they stood tall once more.
Author's Note
Just the first short story in the Waterverse. Hope you enjoyed it!
