Salvation | Rebirth

As the day turned to evening, the Crystal Empire had grown quieter. However, not all ponies were turning to rest - rescuing trapped diggers from the underground was proceeding without a pause. As workers got tired, more replaced them, working in enough shifts that the transition from one to another was seamless, keeping the same steady pace. The more stable areas of the center of the Crystal Empire were used as extraction points, more and more crystal ponies emerging from the underground back into the light. Medical assistance was rendered, food and water was provided, and then they were guided away to reunite with their friends and family left aboveground. A number of cave-ins and collapses was prevented by timely magical intervention of unicorns specializing in earth magic, thankfully preventing possible tragedies. So far, there were no deaths, and everyone hoped the trend would continue.

Princess Luna, however, was not present alongside the rescue efforts. She had grown tired throughout the day despite her alicorn stamina and so was forced to recuse herself from the more delicate things lest her actions result in a disaster due to her lessened levels of attention. As much as it grated her to stay away from where she was needed most, she recognized the need for rest. However, she had enough strength left to carry various things around in the temporary camps at the edge of the Crystal Empire. Assembling more tents, moving around boxes of emergency rations, even something as simple as digging latrines. She would not shy from any work that she could do so that the burden is lessened on everyone else.

Thankfully, volunteers were already trickling into the Crystal Empire, bolstering DARO’s own professionals. There were the cooks, the tailors, the builders, the engineers, the artists, the musicians, and a number of other ponies providing relief directly and indirectly, mingling with crystal ponies, lessening the tension in the air. Food was brought in and cooked, and when properly cooked meals were shared, spirits were raised. It was a newly-building camaraderie, one that would in the future strengthen the relationship between the Crystal Empire and Equestria, reigniting the friendship that had existed before.

Thankfully, there were no fights breaking out and no serious arguments, which Luna was thankful for. She had been to various camps, and sometimes a lot of people cramped together just didn’t mesh well for one reason or another. She had no time or desire to moderate petty arguments and steer them away from growing out of proportion and resulting in some kind of a riot. Fortunately, more often than not riots only broke out if people were, in one way or another, lacking in something, be it food and water, basic hygiene items, or simple shelter. Equestria was sparing no expense, and so everyone was properly provided for. It was, naturally, nothing glamorous, but everyone had what they needed to survive, and all of them knew the only way forward was up. They were not abandoned, left to build their lives anew all by themselves, but were surrounded by allies willing to lend help.

While Princess Luna was working, visibly present together with the rest, not shying away from things many would consider to be beneath her, Princess Cadance was bolstering the spirits in her own way, talking to as many crystal ponies as she could, being as visible to them as possible, listening to their concerns and trying her best to assuage them the best she could. She was a reminder that the Crystal Empire was not yet dead, that it would rise again and live on. In truth, what she was focusing on was the public relations side of being a ruler - she needed to build a relationship with her future subjects, to show herself as caring, benevolent, and just, to prove that she was a worthy successor to Princess Amore.

Princess Luna knew she didn’t excel at the public relations side of things herself, unlike her sister, but she certainly understood the need for it, the importance that it had. It was precisely why she was working more or less in the background, doing her best to appear as just another Equestrian who arrived to help the Crystal Empire, as much as it was possible when she was who she was. Allowing Cadance the spotlight would hopefully divert attention from the fact that, in factual truth, Equestria was absorbing the Crystal Empire. Luna held no delusions when it came to this matter - Princess Cadance grew up in Equestria and spent her entire life in Equestria, had nearly all her friends in Equestria, and had never actually been outside Equestria until the Crystal Empire’s return. For all intents and purposes, she was an Equestrian, body and soul. Her distant relation to the Crystal Empire’s Princess Amore was, essentially, nothing more than useful trivia.

However, Luna also knew that there was a difference between what was true and what appeared to be true. While the Crystal Empire was going to become a de-facto part of Equestria, it would still retain its independence on paper, and Princess Cadance’s ancestry would mean more to crystal ponies than the truth of her upbringing and the fact that every single relative of hers for the past thousand years had never even seen the Crystal Empire.

While Crystal Empire’s independence would essentially be an illusion, it would still prove to be useful at least short-term. Luna also knew that Cadance didn’t have much experience with ruling, but that was what advisors were for. They would also act as a layer between her and Celestia and Luna, further building up the fiction of Crystal Empire’s independence. It would not do if Princess Cadance was publicly seen to be receiving directions from Equestrian rulers. As much as Equestria and the Crystal Empire had been close in the past, there was always some form of separation between the two, and the appearance of the said separation had to be maintained if peace was to be had. The Crystal Empire was, in truth, on the brink of collapse, and disorder would follow collapse, and it was likely that someone would arise and present themselves as people who held all the simple solutions to complex problems. That sort of populism could easily transform uncertainty and fear into anger and action, quite possibly turning the country into a war zone.

The quicker the sense of normality returned, the better off everyone would be, and so Luna would do her best to make sure it happened. The Crystal Empire could not afford a total collapse, and neither could Equestria allow it to happen.

Princess Luna, aptly, named the whole situation ‘a clusterfuck’ when no one was watching. It was unbecoming of a princess to swear openly, after all. Sombra, without a single doubt, introduced a lot of long-term problems to the Crystal Empire through his thoughtless and cruel actions. Luna did consider that perhaps his actions were not thoughtless - instead, it could very well be that the chaos he sowed was deliberate, a part of some kind of a plan. He didn’t strike her as a planning type, however - more like a mad type that deeply enjoyed his power trip. Still, there was a possibility, however small, that he was smarter than he appeared, and Luna needed to treat that possibility seriously. And yet, a few questions arose - did he mean for his curse to fail or was it supposed to last forever? Did he intend to erase the Crystal Empire from existence as revenge or was it a last-ditch attempt at reversing his downfall?

Princess Luna distracted herself from those grim thoughts by going over the list of volunteers, looking to see if there were any familiar names. She had already spotted a couple of psychiatrists and psychologists that she had heard of and talked to in the past, and it was no surprise that they were coming. When the Crystal Empire disappeared, there wasn’t even an idea of psychology and psychiatry as fields of healthcare, certainly not anywhere close to their modern forms. Mind healers were known, of course, but the practices used were, more often than not, purely spiritual in nature, based more on feelings than facts, oftentimes coming to wrong and harmful conclusions. Crystal ponies would benefit a lot from having access to new and improved healthcare that had seen centuries of development, where proven methods have shown their worth. Princess Luna was also aware that there was already a list of crystal ponies with various disabilities that could be cured in one way or the other. The recent success of body replacement alone would be a major help to many of them should they wish to take advantage of it.

In the corner of her eye, Luna saw Shining Armor marching alongside a surviving and more or less battle-ready contingent of Crystal Guards. He was discussing something with the leader of the group, too far away for Luna to understand, but it seemed that the crystal ponies were listening attentively. Battlefield tactics and various guard-related policies and duties had also changed since the last time the Crystal Empire was around, and it appeared Shining Armor took it upon himself to introduce those changes. While he technically held the title of prince now, his experience as the Captain of the Royal Guard was certainly invaluable even if its biggest battle was largely a failure. After all, thorough infiltration was completely unexpected, and the Royal Guard was left entirely unprepared for when those that looked like their friends and comrades started attacking them out of nowhere without any warning whatsoever. Luna had no doubts that Shining Armor took that failure to heart and worked hard at figuring out how to prevent the same thing happening again in the future despite the fact that he no longer held the official duty of the Captain.

Of course, there was another reason for Shining Armor’s presence in the Crystal Empire aside from his marriage to Cadance - should someone attack, be it Sombra or someone else, Shining Armor would be able to shield the entirety of the Crystal Empire from harm for long enough for reinforcements to arrive and provide relief.

Luna continued down the list and found a very familiar name - Wild. While she would like for him to stay out of it until it was certain Sombra was gone, she could understand his motivation to help the Crystal Empire. It was likely that he wished to return the favor, to provide help now that he had received his own. Luna could certainly not fault him for this line of thought, and there was no doubt that his help would be greatly appreciated. His magical power alone would help tremendously with moving debris and keeping buildings intact as support structures were built underneath. Perhaps he would also be able to lend his power to Shining Armor, strengthening his shield against damage. A powerful unicorn, in truth, was largely versatile, and Luna would be a fool to turn down the assistance of one.

Luna was aware of Wild’s progress and was quite happy for him, glad to see that he had come out of his shell and gained friendships and now had a lover. While she was not at all in the habit of spying on people’s love lives, she still knew that the two of them had been intimate, which was no doubt a large step for Wild. She, however, decided to keep any congratulations to herself - Wild, to her, was not someone who shared those moments with others easily of at all. The culture he came from, judging by what Luna had managed to glimpse of it, was far more restricted and restrained than Equestria’s own. However, he seemed to be integrating really well, embracing what Equestria had to offer, and Luna would do nothing to jeopardize it.

Luna was looking forward to his arrival to the Crystal Empire, and she took a mental note to see where his abilities would serve the best.

Later that evening, as the sun slipped below the horizon and Luna raised the moon, Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor, alongside a squad of elite Royal Guards and Crystal Guards, approached the Crystal Palace. Crooked and tilted as it was, it still stood tall and strong. The palace needed to be secured for Shining Armor’s shield to be covering the entirety of the Crystal Empire, and Cadance also needed to be seen in the palace itself, for it was the seat of power. The group cautiously approached the entrance, which was slightly ajar. Slowly and carefully, they entered.

The Crystal Palace seemed to be covered in a layer of fine black dust, piles of rubble and dirt here and there. It appeared that Sombra decided to use the spacious halls as dumping grounds for the dug up earth and stone from beneath. The Crystal Guards muttered angrily at the sight, at the desecration of the most beautiful building of the city.

Sombra had taken the palace for himself as well, and the upper levels were thus clear of debris, yet the grime and dirt was replaced by Sombra’s black crystals. Portraits were torn, crystal mosaics were smashed, nearly all the priceless artifacts either damaged or destroyed.

“This fucker!” one of the guards cursed aloud.

“I concur,” Luna agreed, surveying the damage.

Hundreds of years of history, destroyed. Of course, plenty of it could be recovered and repaired, but there was no way to tell if anything was outright missing and gone. The staff of the palace was still partially underground and partially aboveground, and the latter’s memories of the palace were jumbled and uncertain. None of them, to Luna’s knowledge, had entered the palace since Sombra took over.

The black crystal outgrowths, to Luna’s mind, resembled cancer. Crystals were not supposed to be this shade of black, certainly not among the formerly pristine and bright Crystal Palace. Something was just wrong with them, but at least they seemed entirely inert as far as Luna could see. If they could spread by themselves... that was not something she wanted to deal with.

The task of her group was simple - explore the palace and, if possible, locate the Crystal Heart. It would take someone far stronger than Sombra to destroy it, so there was a good chance that it was still there somewhere, locked away and, at least for now, forgotten. Wherever it was, its energy was somehow blocked or restricted, so Luna couldn’t simply locate it with magic. She knew the feeling of the Heart being active, and it was quite clear that it was not. Hopefully, they would manage to find it soon.

As they ventured deeper into the palace, a bad feeling permeated the air, and Luna wondered just what else Sombra could have left for them to stumble on, possibly with fatal results. It was her hope that he didn’t have time to set something like that up, certainly not if he had taken the Crystal Palace for himself and slept and ate within its walls. For all that he was mad with power, he still needed somewhere to rest and recuperate unless he was foolish enough to rely entirely on magic to keep himself going, which, unfortunately, was not something Luna was willing to disregard. He certainly seemed unhinged enough for it to be the case.

Hopefully, soon enough Sombra would be nothing but a shared bad memory.