Chapters ~~~{Battlefield}~~~
I threw off the helmet that I wore as I looked around the barren wasteland. The wretched helmet made a satisfying crunch noise as it embedded itself within the white crystalline landscape. I turned around and watched as the remaining troopers also rid themselves of Sombra's items. A few minutes later, we finally began to make our way back.
~~~{Crystal Empire}~~~
It's amazing what a single war does to a civilization, even if it was forced. Our great Crystal Empire's no longer a mere city-state of an "empire", but a vast, sprawling network of factories and other buildings of the sort. Even if it was originally run by Sombra, he did a pretty good job of expanding the job market.
We marched single file down the barren road, slowly approaching the Crystal Palace. Now that Sombra's gone, most of his blasted "dark crystal" has been wiped off the plane of existence. Soon enough, we saw the topmost spire of the Crystal Palace rising upon the horizon.
Along the way, we ran into a relatively small pack of timberwolves. I raised a hoof to signal the others to hold their defense. We quickly formed a defensive ring, swords and spears pointing outwards. Luckily, they didn't seem to be interested in us, and seemed very distracted. After some yelling, we dispersed the beasts, and continued on our way.
The Crystal Palace, in all it's glory, stood frozen to the ground, reclaimed by the fierce northern storms that were once held back. Now, without any protection, many of the residential quarters of the Empire were mere hills of snow, their beautiful crystal walls reduced to rubble by the howling winds. The Palace itself, however, stood the test of time, and still stands 'till today.
However, great distances mess with your vision rather easily... Upon arrival, we immediately noticed that one thing that had remained from Sombra's rule was his version of the Crystal Palace. As with most of us being Earth Ponies, I doubt that many of us will ever have the ability to cleanse the Palace entirely of Sombra's presence.
The ponies behind me, even as brave as they were on the long trek back, had other thoughts of the Palace.
"It-it's Sombra, he's returned!" stammered an older guard.
I swiftly turned around, and reassured him that Sombra was no longer here, and wherever he was now, he doesn't have any power over us.
Underneath the Palace, many of the large crystals had been broken away by force to set up a protective campsite for the night, and until tomorrow, I guess we'll just have to make-do with the shelter we have.
I slowly paced around the perimeter of the area, searching for my family. They shouldn't be that hard to find, we're one of the few unicorn families in the Empire, and it shouldn't be too hard to see a fireball spell being cast.
~~~{Crystal Empire Corporate Area}~~~
After three rounds of pacing, I noticed that there were other, smaller campsites set up around the Palace, mostly under the protection of the remaining intact buildings. After a few more hours, I finally found the rest of my family under the protection of a retaining wall from a factory. I settled down with them among other families who had gathered around, and cast my own fireball spell to add to the warmth. My marefriend, Lunar Jewel, is also one of the few unicorns in the Empire, and had contributed to the fire herself. The combined heat of the fires melted away the snow around us, leaving us all sitting in a soppy, wet puddle.
I'm guessing that at some point somepony got hungry. When I woke up this morning, I saw some hoofprints leading away from our camp, and being the curious colt that I've always been, I followed after. I traced the winding prints through the streets, where I found that they led into one of the derelict bakeries.
Inside, I found Jewel munching away on a muffin. I was just about to object to her messy eating when she stuffed a croissant into my mouth, whispering "Shhhhhh..." She pointed a hoof out the window, where a large, burly earth pony with a crowbar was pacing where I had just been seconds ago.
"I'm not sure what he's doing, but he seems to be guarding the bakery," she whispered.
I took her hoof, and began crawling towards the back. "Come with me, I see a back door."
Once we were sure that we were out of the view of the stallion, we both stood up, our minds set to race out the door, when I saw something that caught my eye.
A large, silver-plated ornament sat on top of a badly deteriorated mantle, it's intricate gearwork perfectly intermeshed. I immediately recognized it as my family's "crest" of sorts. Not that we intended to break away, but it's always nice now and then to have something pretty that represents your family. The ornament had been stolen days prior to Sombra's return, when "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza" took control. It was a relaxed couple of days, at least... until Sombra broke through the shield. It was very unfortunate that somepony had taken advantage of the peace to commit a crime, especially from a better-known family such as mine.
Jewel frantically waved her hoof towards the door, beckoning me to come outside. I suddenly realized why the bakery was guarded; not only did it have food , but it was also a loot stockpile . I silently swiped the ornament from the mantle and hurried through the doorway.
Upon returning to our camp, things were much different. Now that the blizzard had died down, our collective families had been spending the morning cleaning up the place, and stabilizing the factory walls so we could sleep indoors. A few families from a nearby camp also joined in, using their earth pony strength to hold up the walls as unicorns sealed them in place.
We entered the factory using a nearby door that had been unboarded, and we were fascinated by the intricate patchwork of stone that had been put in place to strengthen the wall. I navigated the winding corridors, Jewel trailing behind me, until I found the room that my own family had taken up residence in.
I opened up the door to find my mother tearing down the rotting ceiling tiles, and replacing them with a smooth piece of granite from a locally operated mine. She told me that my father was outside, helping with the walls. Upon presenting to her our family's ornament, she gasped in delight. Immediately, she grabbed it with her magic, and placed it in the center of the room on a pedestal.
Jewel finally caught up to me, her face turning red with exhaustion. "Oh... hello... Mrs. Gear..." she panted, still trying to catch her breath.
My mother quickly responded. When it comes to building bonds with others, she's always happy to talk. "Oh, Lunar Jewel! How nice to see you today! Did you find anything to eat yet? Our group's earth ponies still haven't been able to get anything to grow yet in the frozen ground."
Jewel hoofed the floor as she spoke. "Well, we found a bakery, but it was already taken up by a different group that apparently had also been using it to store stolen goods..."
We stood in the silence of the room for a couple moments until I finally broke the silence. "Well then."
As we left the room, my mom shouted behind me, "And be sure to find some firewood, too! It'll be useful for keeping warm in the night!"
Author's Note
If you don't get what's going on, then I recommend that you should read Chapter 9 of Spacebound Equestria . Chapter 9 was just a short, summarize chapter that gave a brief story of what happened to the Crystal Ponies, and I'm retelling the story in greater detail in the fic that you're reading.
On the side note, Rusty Gear and Lunar Jewel get along pretty well together, but It's not like they're gonna end up being recruited to trace and follow the Equestrian Pride's path, right?
I accidentally deleted this entire chapter about an hour or two before this was published, so I tried my best to remember the scenes and cobble together the best that I could come up with, but either way, I like how it turned out.
It's been about half a week now since we set up camp. A few days ago, the leaders of all the groups got together, and they agreed that today, we'd start our journey to Canterlot. When we were packing, my mother protested against it, since she had just finished decorating the place. Eventually, we were able to get her to take it down and pack it up, with me bringing our family "crest" in my own saddlebag.
After we finished packing, we started off towards the destroyed train station. Not that it was really all that destroyed, it was just a bit knocked up by the war. The trains, on the other hoof... they needed work. A lot of work. The endless string of storms caused the steel bodies to rust over within days, and luckily, we were able to find an engine that looked to be in a repairable condition.
Given my family's mechanical skills, we were able to fix the thing up within a few hours, and not too long after, we packed about fifty or so into the cars, our belongings being stacked in a massive heap in the last one. I was put in charge of the train's controls while the rest of my family repaired other engines for the rest of the groups. Soon enough, I had a nice, toasty fire blazing within the engine.
As I was checking the steam pressure gauge, Jewel walked in on me, and questionably pointed at the gauge.
"What's that?" she asked, inquisitively tapping on the glass face.
"It's a pressure gauge," I replied, "Given how rusted the boiler is, I have to keep a close eye on the pressure, or else the steam could burst the engine itself, and blow this bucking thing sky-high ."
Jewel sat dumbfounded in front of the gauge, her eyes closely following the needle as it silently flicked between pressure levels. Eventually, she broke from her trance, a sly smile forming on her face.
"Do you think..." she asked, "that we could build a rocket train ?"
Again with questions like that. "No," I replied, "even if I had the knowledge to, I suspect that there isn't any rocket fuel around here, let alone the proper controls.
Her smile receded, and she quickly fell into a saddening mood. "Ok then..." she said, the slightest hints of disappointment showing in her eyes.
That mare has a thing for getting what she wants. She can be sassy at times, which seems more like all the time, but if she has to, she often resorts to true-to-heart emotions, something that to this day, nopony I know can resist.
"Fine, fine," I sighed audibly, "Once we get to Canterlot, if I find the correct documentation, then I'll build that rocket-train of yours."
Jewel squealed in delight, and promptly left the room. I stoked the fire a bit more, and then laid back. Soon enough, I slipped deep into thought.
Canterlot... I wonder what's changed in the last thousand years... I know that technology likely has improved, hay, maybe there's automatic farms even... no, they'd be too simple for something from the future... jetpacks, maybe. With only pegasi being able to really fly, jetpacks are likely a quick and easy way that earth ponies and unicorns of this time got around... perhaps faster flying machines have been built, something that would far surpass the speed of our own airships back in the Empire...
My train of thought was quickly cut off by the annoyingly wet feeling on my mane. Sheesh, just a few minutes of relaxation and the water injector pipe bursts. I promptly took out my now-soggy saddlebag to retrieve some scrap metal. Due to my skill with metal and various complex mechanisms, not only did I fix the leak in the water injector, but I practically retrofit the entire piping with a stronger support pipe with an automated water-backup system in case of an overflow. I really underestimate my own skills sometimes.
Anyways, not too long after, the heat of the fire began to bring the strength of the steam into check. The pressure gauge slowly crept up towards the higher range, unlike where it was minutes ago in the passive range, matching the surrounding air pressure. I disengaged the brakes, causing the engine to immediately jolt forwards, surprising both myself and the passengers. slowly but steadily, the rusty wheels of the cars began to roll out of their positions that they had become cemented in, and we began to gain speed. I waved to the rest of my family as I passed by their train in the repair yard, and we then went on our way towards Canterlot.
Along the way, I saw the nearly snowed-over path that I had blazed a week or so back to lead the "troops" back to the Empire. By now, the snow had become so thick that the path was just a mere dent in the drifts. Luckily for us however, I thought ahead. I knew that here, the drifts would be much thicker, so I also spent the time to install a wedge plow on the front of the engine, and that allowed us to easily slip through the blanketing layers.
~~~{Canterlot/Crystal Empire Border}~~~
I feel pretty disappointed in what I'm seeing right now. I at first thought that our "enemies" as Sombra called them, had won, since we were obviously freed from his grasp. Apparently, he either took down Canterlot as a whole with him, or everypony kinda just... upped and left. All around, the only thing that we could see for miles were derelict buildings, many of them sagging just the way that the factories in the Empire were. By the time we arrived at the main Canterlot Train Station, the scenery was nearly unrecognizable. I mean, yeah, a thousand years is plenty of time for change, but I know for a fact that Canterlot Castle does NOT have several blast holes shot cleanly through the entire structure. I also know that those "skyscrapers" in the city below were definitely not designed to be leaning on each other in such dangerous ways.
All I know is this: Canterlot is no more.
Author's Note
Next stop: Ponyville
I really can't stop thinking about how dangerously unstable these buildings are. I mean, we just set up our new camp in the most intact building we could find- Canterlot Castle, but still, it's scary just thinking about it. I feel like I should go a bit further down the track, maybe we'd find a better kept town, anything that seems like it could support daily life. I'm tired of having to be this all-important "leader" of our group, all I want is to live a normal life, or at least as close to one as possible.
~~~{Canterlot Train Station}~~~
It is now morning. I took Jewel with me, since I likely may need some help. Unlike the trip to here, Canterlot, this time, it's only the two of us. Earlier today, I had fixed another engine for the use of the rest of my group, and so that I could take a train to the closest town to here; Ponyville.
~~~
Once again, I went through the usual routine. I started the fire, being sure that there was enough fuel, of course. I then made sure that the water injector was at an acceptable pressure, and started up the steam pressure monitoring system I had installed. Within a few minutes, we were off and running, the hulking boiler happily steaming away.
Since I had packed light, and with only Jewel and I on board, we only had to take the main engine itself, but just in case, I also brought a single car with me. You never know what you may find yourself sleeping in when you're in the apocalypse .
Looking outside, I could tell that this particular area fared far better than any other settlements that I had been to so far. In the distance, I saw a large apple orchard, it's fruit gleaming a bright red that stood out against the leaves of each tree. My mouth watered at the thought of being able to eat something that was actually fresh , and I could tell that Jewel could also see what I saw, as she was practically drooling a waterfall.
~~~{Ponyville}~~~
I can't believe what I'm seeing here.
Ponyville, while being one of the smallest towns I've ever seen, seemed to have once bustled with activity. There were all sorts of shops lining the streets, boutiques, restaurants, you name it. In the middle of it all stood a large oak tree. Now, this wasn't a normal oak tree, it was pretty apparent that the thing had once been used as a library. As I entered, I also noticed that it had a second floor, seemingly used as a bedroom of sorts.
Personally, I think that whoever owned the library back then was probably well liked in the town. As I lay on the scruffy old mattress by the window, I heard a knocking on the door. Jewel had been reading some "comic books" that she found in a bin nearby, so I knew that it couldn't be her. I opened the door, expecting to face some sort of monster. This place is a border town of the Everfree Forest, anyways.
To my surprise, I opened the door to find... nothing. I was just about to close the door when I saw something in the corner of my eye, a "splash of color" if I had to describe it. It only appeared briefly, and at first I thought it had been something blowing in the wind. Instead, somehow, moments after I first saw it, it happened again.
"Jewel?" I shouted back inside, "can you come over here for a second?"
Jewel stumbled down the stairs, still holding the book.
"Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" I asked. Jewel put down the comic and looked where I was looking.
"No, why? Did you see something?" she said after looking around.
I hesitated for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I saw this - this... thing in the corner of my eye. I have absolutely no idea what it could be, but it seemed to be part of the surroundings..."
Jewel blinked a few times as she processed what I was saying. "So..." she replied, "you're saying that you saw some sort of "scenery modification" ?"
I nodded. Jewel looked back outside. "Oh," she exclaimed in awe, "Oh... wow..."
I quickly stuck my head back out the door to see what she was looking at. For some reason, all of a sudden, the entire place was... different... There were ponies everywhere, bakeries, flower shops, and pretty much everything else seemed to burst with activity. Suddenly, the library around us disintegrated, leaving nothing but a simple fountain in it's place. In the distance, above all of the rooftops, tall crystalline spires rose above the town. A pink earth pony with an incredibly poofy mane and tail skipped past, evidently happy about something.
I reached out to ask her about what was going on, only to have her pass straight through me .
Jewel continued to look around, dazzled by absolutely everything. "So this was what you were talking about..." she said, "that flash of color, that... that utter feeling of just being there , it was this ..."
Somehow, though the ponies themselves didn't seem to physically exist, everything else seemed 100% real. I smelled fresh pastries from a nearby bakery, heard the various mumbles of ponies walking by, felt the ground tremble with the sheer energy that this... "vision" had been projecting.
Finally, I decided to go see the "palace" for myself. I took Jewel's hoof, and headed towards the building.
~~~
I... I have no words for what I'm seeing here. This place, this beautiful palace of crystal, it was all real... I could literally walk straight up the stairs, open the doors, and go inside. I figured that I should do just that , since nopony else seemed to actually notice us nor see us. We quickly slipped inside the palace, and found one of the biggest rooms of the entire place.
This room was evidently some sort of throne room, so obviously, this town was some sort of kingdom , possibly even separate from the rest of Equestria. Six thrones circled a round central table, with one of them having a smaller throne next to it. Apparently, whoever ruled from here had a lot of advisers. I jumped back in surprise as I heard the door open once more. For some reason, a mare and a young dragon entered the room. That's when I realized something: the mare was an alicorn.
Suddenly, I heard the mare and dragon gasp in surprise. I quickly ran and hid behind one of the thrones in fear that it was me that they saw. Luckily, Jewel pointed out that it had been another mare that I somehow hadn't noticed, who was sitting on one of the thrones. They had what seemed to be some sort of passive-aggressive conversation, when the one on the throne lifted up some sort of scroll, and hit it with a beam from her horn.
I could literally feel the action going on around me, the weird bubble thing was creating what seemed like a miniature whirlwind around the table, when suddenly, the mare on the throne, who had been cackling wickedly, got sucked in. Evidently, the alicorn and the dragon seemed to be rather confused, at least, until the dragon touched the scroll that was left behind. The two suddenly were pulled into the exact same "bubble" that had sucked in the other mare and then all went quiet. All around us, the scenery began to fade back to it's original, dull tone. The entire palace vanished from sight, leaving us strangely, with just the table.
After all that had just happened within the past hour, I personally think that I need a nice, long , break. I mean, seriously, I just saw some sort of alternate universe back there, of which even with Jewel and I together, could only barely make sense of. Apparently, somewhere out there, there's supposedly some other universe where instead of all this... stuff happening, everything seems perfectly fine, and the very place that I had stood in had apparently been the site of a friggin' castle .
At least now that I have that out of the way, I could maybe take some time to really relax for once. It's been so long now since I've actually laid down and slept all day, and that's exactly what I intend to do.
~~~{Everfree Forest Border Line}~~~
Well, another day, another adventure. At least this time, I'll be able to experience it in full, since Jewel and I practically slept off the rest of the day yesterday. Ponyville is likely one of the strangest places that I know of as of now, and considering it's proximity to the Everfree Forest, I don't blame it. This place is probably full of monsters.
...And that's exactly why we're entering it now... When we first woke up this morning in the tree-library-house-thingy, I had originally planned to return to Canterlot. However, Jewel had other ideas. She wanted to explore and map the Everfree Forest, as well as scouting for special types of crystals that could be enchanted with very powerful spells. After considering it for a moment, I agreed to join her. Besides, who wouldn't refuse such a grand adventure? And frankly, enchantable crystals hidden in forests had quickly taken the focus of my curiosity, and so off we went into the sprawling forest of the Everfree.
Strangely, in the area that we entered in, the signs of civilization hadn't immediately vanished as I thought it would... it was as if somepony had been here , set up a camp of sorts. Perhaps during our trip we may meet them at some point. Judging by the carvings in the trees, and the littered ground, I could tell that they had been here recently, maybe even just a few days ago.
Nearby, I noticed a strange metal box laying inside a tent. Jewel watched with great curiosity as I began to inspect the object. When I opened it, my eyes were met with various trinkets that I couldn't recognize. There was this cylindrical object that appeared to cast light by pushing a button on the other side, and I have come to call it the "toggle-torch", since you could turn the flame on and off. There was also some sort of... "board", etched with fine, intricate patterns. In the very center was a small dark slab, surrounded by several small objects that appear to be mounted onto the board itself. The only way that I could identify it was by the text in the bottom right corner, "StellerCommunications Module, Rev. 1.2". Of course, I had absolutely no idea what that meant, but just in case of if it somehow becomes useful, I packed the board into my saddlebag.
I also took a first-aid kit with me, as well as some shiny cylinders that appear to be some sort of food container. Just as I was about to leave, I heard a loud, masculine yelp from above. Before I could even look up, Jewel and I found ourselves caught in a net, and surrounded by several frantic looking ponies. The amount of mares and stallions appeared to be equal, but I couldn't be entirely sure. Also, they were covered by grime and filth, and under all that dirt, I spotted what appeared to be some sort of white coat.
I trust that the stallion wearing the glasses was in a way their "leader" of sorts. Immediately after they caught us, he ordered a small group of four ponies to bring us to the "holding pit", and that he'd "examine us closer" after he washed himself off.
~~~
It's been nearly half an hour since we were brought here. Though we were cut from the nets, the "holding pit" still cut us off from escape. After all, this wasn't necessarily an actual "pit", but more of a vertical hole in the ground, surrounded by reinforced steel beams. I already tried to climb out, but whoever designed this thing made the walls waaaaaaaay too slick to ever scale.
Soon enough, the stallion returned, this time wearing a fresh new white coat. Strangely, he appeared to be more of a scientist than the raging stallion that he had been earlier on. After a few rounds of intense staring, we finally began to speak.
Sooo... are you going to release us?
Perhaps, but first, you answer me. Why were you looting our camp?
Wait, this is your camp?
Well of course it is, ya bucking moron! Have you had your head under a rock for the past year?!
Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I just didn't know. You see, we came here from the Crystal Empire to scout for supplies, and after we found practically nothing in Ponyville, we decided to go into the Everfree.
So you're saying that you're a survivor of the war, and that the same goes for the mare next to ya.
I tried to sound as impressive as possible.
Eyup, we sure are, and ever since Sombra mysteriously disappeared, we've been scouring all of Equestria, looking for a new place to call home.
Interesting... and... wait, is that our spare communications module you've got there in your saddlebag?
I suddenly realized that the "board" that was in my saddlebag was some sort of long-distance communications device, far outpacing any technology I've ever seen.
Uh... yeah! Sorry, I was planning on taking it with me to try to figure out what it was for.
It's a communications module that plugs into our mainframe in the treehouse over there. The spare isn't all that important, and we've got many more in storage. You can keep it for your own studies. Also, here, lemme get you out of this place.
The stallion pressed a button on a small box that he pulled from a pocket, and suddenly, we began rising upwards towards the surface.
Also, you're free to stay as long as you like here. Just don't bother me while I try to contact Celestia.
Author's Note
What? If you're going to "leave forever", you still gotta leave some staff behind to operate ground base in case of emergencies.
Also, Rusty has no idea that practically all of Equestria left on a freakin' spaceship .
Super-Futuristic-Techno-Thingies
Well then... we've been here for only a matter of hours , and yet there's so much to see around us. Once we walked past the original campsite, we encountered vast, sprawling networks of various buildings, each one camouflaged with foliage. I had many, many questions to ask, and soon enough, we ran right back into the stallion that had let us free from the hole.
Uh, excuse me, but I don't believe that we ever caught your name back there, did we?
My name? Ah, yes. I'm Dr. Glider, head of the Flight and Aerospace Division of Equestria.
...That's a pretty long title.
Yes, indeed it is. Is there anything else you'd like to ask? I have to hurry to the communications building.
Yes, I have many questions, such as--
Is there any food? I'm starving.
I shot a quick glare at Jewel. If only she'd stay quiet during times like this...
The cafeteria is over to your left. Now back to you, uh...
Rusty. Rust Gears. I was a mechanic back at the Crystal Empire before Sombra's rule.
Ok, Rusty. Anything you'd like to ask me before I leave? I mustn't be late, y'know.
I took a quick moment to decide what would lead to more answers to my question. I eventually came to a single question that would answer nearly all of them.
May we follow you?
Considering the fact that you're technically refugees, and that you don't seem to pose any threat to society, i don't see why not. Follow me, and just try to stay out of the way.
We followed Dr. Glider as he made his way towards a large tower with many strange dishes on top.
And here we are, the communications building.
Right after he said that, all of us quickly trotted inside. The second that I stepped hoof into that building, I knew for a fact that I had missed a rather large portion of Equestrian history, since the Empire had been cursed for nearly a thousand years, give of take a few. All around us were various devices, all blinking and beeping. One of them spat what seemed like an endless stack of paper out of itself, on it, a single, jagged line. Lights lined the ceiling, casting a brightness that could only be rivaled by the Sun itself. As we made our way towards wherever the Doctor was going, I had to repeatedly pull Jewel's hoof away from the machinery around us.
At last, we arrived at our destination: A single, lonely table sitting in the corner of a large room. On it was an intricate patchwork of the devices that we had seen earlier, all whirring, blinking, and chirping in unison. The Doctor pushed a series of buttons on the device, evidently sweating under some sort of stress or another. After a few minutes, he got up, and looked around the room. His gaze focused on a blandly colored box just outside of the room, sticking out hazardously from a storage closet. He made a quick dash to the box, and promptly returned with a board not too different from the one I had discovered at the campsite.
After he inserted the board into a small slot on the top of the machine, several lights began blinking at once, and the Doctor's face lit up with a sort of joy that would put a foal's to shame. Immediately, he began tapping away at a separate board filled with buttons, and soon enough a very large light blasted from the top of the console.
We all looked up. Upon seeing who it was, Jewel and I immediately gasped.
Princess Celestia... I whispered, trying to keep my awe from spilling everywhere.
Author's Note
This came out better than I expected it to.
Relics of a Time Long Past
Wow. Just... wow... It's only been about maybe half an hour since we got back to our original base, and the second that I was out of the snow, I immediately recognized what the shards were of...
The Princess is back.
Well, not the Princess, Celestia, but our Princess, Amore . Many years ago, when Sombra first rose to power, Princess Amore desperately tried to change his course, turn him to the better path . Unfortunately for her, Sombra already had other plans. Immediately, she was crystallized, and her fragments were then scattered about. But somehow, somehow, I just managed to stumble upon a rather large amount of those shards. It was as if it was simply set there, as a lure, a trap of some sort... but , I'm probably overthinking it. It's probably just a coincidence to find so many shards in one place. I'll get with the local caravans tomorrow to see if they found anything.
This morning, Jewel and I left for the caravan shack that was set up near the base. Upon arrival, I could instantly tell that there was some sort of fuss over something. I trotted up to a stallion who was sitting on a bench, and quickly asked, "Hey you, what's going on here?"
The stallion shrugged. "I really have no clue, kid, all I've heard is that some shards of the Princess have been found."
My eyes lit up. "So I'm not the only one who's found shards???"
Once again, the stallion shrugged. "Perhaps," he said, "perhaps..."
I rushed to the largest group in the room, pulling Jewel along with me. In the center of the group was a table, with various shards of all shapes and sizes. Many ponies were frantically attempting to put the shards together, like as the Princess were some sort of giant puzzle.
Suddenly, once my presence was realized, ponies began swarming all about me and Jewel, begging us to help them with the assembly. It is, after all, quite a lot easier to assemble small pieces when you can use levitation spells. I silently agreed to their request, and set to work using both the shards I found, and the shards that were already on the table.
After what seemed like hours of painstakingly assembling the pieces, and many times having to disassemble the entire Princess just to add a piece, I finally added the last piece that we had. Amazingly, the Princess looked to be near completion. She looked just like she did the moment she was petrified by Sombra, and aside from minor scratches in the crystal, looked very lifelike. Obviously, since the statue is her, it must be lifelike, anyways. But really, there's only a few small pieces left that are pissing, and hopefully, with the proper tracking spell, we could find them. Otherwise, I could always use a regeneration spell, but I've been staying my distance from those since the last time I've used them. Long story short, I ended up destroying instead of regenerating. The last option that I have is to create a mechanical counterpart to the missing pieces, but once again, it could end up going horribly wrong.
I could tell that the ponies in the room were devastated by the fact that I was so close to fully reassembling the Princess, and yet I was held back by mere inches worth of pieces. All around the room, a long, collective sigh rose from the ponies, both young and old. It's been years since we've last seen our Princess, and many of us feel like we can't take it any longer.
All I hope is that I can now find the last of the pieces.
Author's Note
Here comes a new story arc!!!
Author's Note
Just felt like making a sadder chapter for once...
Nods to Skittle Sky for writing a portion of this for me.
The Pain of Failure
As Jewel and I traveled back towards the base camp, I glanced out the window, expecting to see the typical flurry of snow. A stray gust of wind tossed a large stone off the mountains above, and nearly threw me off the engine when it collided with the train.
"Rusty!" Jewel cried, reaching a hoof out to me.
I pulled myself back up. "I'm fine, really. Just not too sure about the train though..."
While Jewel and I were fine, I couldn't say the same about the train itself. The boulder had utterly demolished the boiler, and was now sitting just above the mangled remains of the axles.
Turning to continue walking the rest of the distance, I muttered under my breath, "Well, that happened."
Jewel trailed me as I trudged my way back to the camp, hauling the Princess behind me.
At last, home again.
Sometimes I wonder what life would've been like if none of this had happened, if we had just given Sombra the love he needed as a foal... I still remember, too...
Though I wasn't in the care of the foster home myself , I would occasionally stroll past it with my mother. Sombra... he always seemed to be the last to be picked for anything , and typically, he was either by himself, or with this one other filly. They seemed to always have so much fun with each other, but then one day, for some reason or another, Sombra decided to go all evil and everything, and the rest is pretty much history.
Jewel caught up to me, patting my back after noticing my obvious tension.
"C'mon," she said soothingly, "we tried."
I shook my head slowly. "I know we did, Jewel, but... try isn't as good as did ."
Around us, ponies began to gather. They hadn't expected us to return so quickly, let alone by hoof.
A few of them began to ask us questions, too. Things about what happened, why we turned back, things like that.
I replied to those questions with answers such as, "The wind pushed a boulder over," "We couldn't go any further," and plenty other stuff.
For now though, I think I need a nice long period of slumber.
Failure.
It's the one thing that will be forever feared.
Though many may say that fear is the only thing to be truly feared, there will always be the fear of failure.
To let down your friends.
Your family.
It's the feeling that always follows you around, relentlessly bashing your soul.
Many succumb to the pain of failure every day.
That pain often comes with a sense of hopelessness.
Of being useless to the world.
It often feels like there's a voice inside your head, repeating the same phrases indefinitely;
You're a failure.
No-one loves you.
You're worthless.
Kill yourself.
It often goes by a much more common name that many may know of:
Depression.
There are also many ways to interpret the pain.
Some may say it's a swirling pit of despair, others, well...
It could range from spikes through the heart, to even your body shriveling around you, trapping you within your own thoughts and emotions.
The truth is, feelings like those are universal, something any intelligent being may feel.
Failure, just like feelings, is also universal.
A chilly breeze rolled across my face as I woke. I turned to the side, watching Jewel's gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. My eyes diverted towards the open window; the source of the wind.
I lit my horn, and shut the window as I settled down to continue my rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow.
I awoke once again, but this time, to the warmth of the morning sun that bathed my body. Jewel had already woken up earlier on, and had already packed our stuff for the return journey to Canterlot.
"What about food?" I asked, pointing at the bulging saddlebags.
Jewel shook her head.
"There's none left. The last of the rations were handed out last night. We're taking the rest of the Empire with us to Canterlot. At least they still have food there ."
I sighed deeply, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. My stomach grumbled as I stood up, folding the blankets neatly as I did so.
"Do we at least have scraps?" I asked, putting the blankets into my bag.
Jewel shrugged.
"Look for yourself. I'll keep packing."
Luckily, there were indeed a few leftovers sitting out. Ignoring the fact that most have been out for the entire night, I ate. Once I finished, I wrapped the remaining scraps in a cloth, and brought it along with me.
Jewel and I met up at the train station, just like before. There were now several trains in an operational state, thanks to the few engineers that lived in the Empire. One by one, the trains departed, trailing each other end-to-end as they began their winding journey towards Canterlot.
Our own train, which held only us and our families, as well as the statue, departed last. Jewel sat in the passenger car this time, while I tended the controls. In the corner of my eye, I noticed a small object up in the sky, but I paid little attention to it. For now, the only thing that matters is getting these ponies to their new home. The Crystal Empire won't be able to stand much longer with the fierce winter storms beating relentlessly upon it.
Luckily, unlike yesterday, the ride was rather smooth. There was the occasional time where I had to add some coal, or readjust the pressure, but aside from those, I spent the majority of the time gazing out the window, watching as the barren landscape of ice transitioned to beautiful forests and fields. It felt truly painful to remember that those fields were once what the Crystal Empire looked like.
We arrived back in Canterlot, with plenty of time to spare. The city was bustling once more with activity, though most of said activity was in reality, ponies shuffling into temporary quarters that were assembled in the ruins.
I gazed skyward, enjoying the warm sunlight on my face. It was only then when I noticed that the object I had seen earlier appeared much larger now. In fact, it looked almost like a small airship!
The scientist ponies from the camp in the Everfree Forest were also here. Apparently, while we were absent, they had come on their own to Canterlot, supposedly to access their much larger, proper labs. They were here now, watching the object in the sky closely with a small telescope.
"I-I think they're here! " One of them exclaimed excitedly.
I turned to face the stallion.
"Who's here?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Celestia, Luna, Equestria! They've returned!"
I glanced skyward once more. The object in the sky was now much more visible, and I could clearly see the outline of the supposed "starship" against the pale-blue sky.
Welcome home, Equestria...
Author's Note
Well then.
It sure took a while for this to come out, and I've pretty much compressed the rest of my plans for this fic into this single chapter.
Throughout the writing of this story, you probably have noticed the varying styles of writing that were used. At the time of the publishing of my first chapter, I still had very little experience in writing, and I didn't know very much about how to write out stories such as this. All I knew was various tech stuff, and a few writing-related things.
After many months of reading many books, I've finally returned to complete this story. I've since finally crafted my own, personal writing style, which, in contrast to the writing styles I once imitated from other authors in earlier chapters of this story, one would be able to easily differentiate many aspects of the story.
I've had a very nice time writing this, and sooner or later, the long-awaited sequel will come...
Thank you for reading.
Return to the Crystal Empire
The bright image of the Princess only stayed on for about a second, before in the background, the strange looking fog overtook the image. I blinked, still trying to make myself believe what I was seeing. The Princess was being attacked in front of my very eyes .
Suddenly, an earsplitting 'crackle' noise of sorts broke the silence in the room. Immediately, the image on the wall faded into static. I turned to Dr. Glider, my eyes pleading for an answer to what just happened.
The Doctor simply shrugged. "I really don't know." he said calmly, "All I know about what just happened there is that the Princess was apparently attacked by Sombra as she was answering our call. And not only that--" -I waited in anticipation as he took a deep breath, and continued. "--but it seems as if the communications module got busted right after."
I facehoofed, and shouted, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER THAT I HAVE THE SPARE?!"
Dr. Glider flinched back from my sudden outburst. "Yes, yes, I know that," he stammered, "but this time, it's not the card, it's the entire system . And as for the system itself, we don't have any spares, we only have the basic schematics for the individual parts, and we don't have the necessary resources to build them."
Jewel stamped her hoof. "Well if you don't have the resources ," she began fiercely, "then why don't you get some resources?!"
I could tell that Jewel was visibly irritated by the lack of communication that occurred immediately after we witnessed an attack on the Sun Princess. Even with her already calming down, her glare would easily burn a hole in the Doctor if she had the ability to.
The Doctor squeaked at the sight of Jewel's immense anger, and fled the room. Up until now, I had absolutely no idea that he could be so timid .
Jewel stood in front of the console, her sides still heaving from her outburst. Within a few minutes, she was back to normal. Though she was no longer as irritated as before, she was still visibly trembling from what she had seen earlier.
I slowly crept up to her, and threw both my forehooves around around her in a tight embrace. Immediately, she melted in my embrace, her muscles finally loosening up. It's been a long day, and for the both of us, the embrace was the first hint of relaxtation that we've had all day.
Finally, we parted, and began heading back towards the main camp outside. That's when I suddenly remembered.
"Jewel," I began, "How long have we been here again?"
Jewel shrugged. "Counting yesterday, we've been here for nearly two whole days."
I quickly began to panic. "Two days?!" I yelled, "TWO, BUCKIN' DAYS?!"
Jewel shrunk back. "Yes?" she replied, "Give or take a few hours..."
Well then. I originally took us here to scout out a possible new camp, but instead, we find a sprawling community of rocket scientists who personally know Princess Celestia . Talk about a change in expectations.
We quickly trotted through the camp in attempt to find Dr. Glider. Soon enough, we found him sulking near a small building that appeared to be a testing facility.
I walked up to him. "What's up?" I asked.
He simply turned his face towards the wall, still whimpering from the earlier outburst.
"Uh... ok... see you around... heh..." I stammered, quietly taking Jewel to the camp's exit.
Once we were truly outside, I quickly turned to Jewel. "You know," I began, "originally, when we came to this place, or at least when we got onto the train, I was planning on trying to find a better settlement area, or at least some resources." I waved a hoof over at the camp that we just left. "And instead, we found this . But still, we need to find some resources, or else it'd be pretty hard to rebuild Equestria."
Jewel nodded. "Yeah," she replied enthusiastically, "so let's go then!"
We broke into a dash as we raced each other back to the train station. Ponyville obviously didn't have anything to salvage, because everything was already salvaged by the camp in the Everfree. Instead, I decided that we'd head back to the Crystal Empire. Besides, there's still more groups there, and I could easily take them over to Canterlot when we come back.
A short trot later, we arrived at the station. The two of us quickly boarded the train, and I fired up the boiler. Then, I remembered just how slow it often takes for the thing to actually heat up so I quickly cast a small heat spell to quicken the process. Soon enough, we were off and going, heading past the towering derelict buildings of Canterlot, and into the frigid landscape of the Crystal Empire. Though along the way, as I was melting some snow for water to boil, I did find some shards of some sort of apparent statue. Honestly, until I get into someplace warm, I really won't be able to take a closer look at it.
Author's Note
What could it be??? Pottery? Busts of Discord? Find out in the next chapter, coming soon!
Quest for a Heart - Failure in the North
Though many ponies around the room seemed utterly hopeless, I knew that there was still one chance that could ultimately save our princess: the Crystal Heart.
And so, with that, I set off on my new quest with Jewel; the quest for a heart.
As we boarded the train once more, I waved goodbye to my family, who watched teary-eyed as the train departed from the run-down station. I felt the surroundings transform from the gentle, rolling hills, to the fierce, biting snow. I squinted as larger and larger flakes of snow began changing to shards of ice, literally raining down upon the engine.
"Jewel!" I shouted through the snow, "How's Amore doing?"
Jewel, of whom I had told to bring the Princess with us, simply waved a hoof to tell that the Princess was perfectly fine. As I looked back, I could see that Jewel had blanketed the Princess with a small tarp, protecting her from the ice shards that tore through the steel.
Suddenly, a horrible shrieking filled the air. I winced as my reflexes took my hooves to my ears, pinning them down as if they were the only thing keeping me alive. All around, the train seemed to disintegrate before my very eyes. I knew that without the protection of the Empire, we'd only have so long before something such as this would doom us all.
The train screeched to a halt as a large boulder of ice damaged the left wheels. The sudden stop sent both Jewel and I lurching forwards, while the Princess simply dropped to the floor.
As we recovered from the impact, I quickly hopped outside to inspect the damage.
It was much worse than I thought it to be. Not only had the boulder damaged the wheels, but it had practically destroyed them. The remaining scraps of the wheels hung uselessly from the bent axles, suspended only by the piston box. The entire left side of the train had been utterly shredded, leaving us with no choice but to turn back.
Slowly but surely, the train inched it's way along the rickety track, supported by makeshift wheels fashioned out of scavenged shreds on the tracks.
Soon enough, we found ourselves back at the station, unloading the Princess. Our search of the north had failed miserably, and we still weren't any closer to possibly bringing back the Princess.
Author's Note
It would've made sense that Sombra could've hidden the Crystal Heart further north, but then, it wouldn't be able to protect the city from being blanketed over.