Salvation | Rebirth

Wild could hear the wind howling outside, the windows of the bus showing nothing but the white of the snow swirling all around it. Somewhere out there, somewhere beyond the cold yet somehow still a part of it, was Sombra. Wild dared to speak not a single world, fearing it would be heard, would be known, and then the full fury of someone who could make a whole country disappear descend on him, his loved one, and all the other people on the bus. The bus would then be gone, never to be found, and they would all be as good as dead if not worse.

“Wild?” Artful asked, a worried look on his face.

“Later,” Wild replied, giving him a significant look that he hoped he would get. Judging by the nod the pegasus returned, Artful did understand that it was not something Wild could talk about out loud just yet.

Wild had no idea how fast the bus was moving, but he suspected it wasn’t exactly on par with the speed of cars on a highway. Not only did the bus have to trudge through snow piling up everywhere, it was also heavy and relatively crude as far as technology was concerned. Magic could have probably boosted it, but it would likely still not be enough to get it up to proper speed. Wild dearly would like to see a map and see the actual distance the bus would travel between the train station and the Crystal Empire itself. At least no one was forced to walk in this weather, thankfully. As much as having winter fur helped, Wild didn’t think it would stand against the outside frost and wind well at all.

Thankfully, the bus continued moving without an issue. The engine was likely made with the weather in mind, so it didn’t stall or break down, and no cold seeped into the interior, leaving it pleasantly warm. Even as the oppressive atmosphere continued to linger in the air, there was hope that everyone would make it to the Crystal Empire in one piece.

Wild focused on it. What did he know of Sombra? Evil unicorn who used Dark Magic. What did he know of Dark Magic? Essentially nothing. He only knew that it was dangerous and acted as a sort of metal poison, perhaps like a harmful addiction. Or was it something like what was inside the Alicorn Amulet, something almost sapient that slithered into the mind of its user and then twisted it from within, making the user feel as if the decisions they took were their own all the while an unseen and unheard voice continued to whisper in their ears? There were so many questions Wild could ask, yet he didn’t have a single solid answer. What mattered - and what was known for certain - was that Sombra could cast powerful and harmful spells, that he had fought both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and likely the only reason he lost was because of the Elements of Harmony, which were artifacts of tremendous power that not just tipped the scale in favorable ways but completely threw it over. Even then, his loss was not a victory for the princesses. That spoke to perhaps some forethought - or enough malice and cruelty that Sombra didn’t care one bit about the consequences of his actions as long as they hurt someone who wasn’t himself.

Wild dearly wished he could have a gun now. He couldn’t say he was a good shot, but if he got close enough, if he could teleport until he could fire essentially point-blank, then Sombra would die. It would not take much to teleport to his side, press the barrel of a gun against the side of his head, then pull the trigger. One bullet in the brain would kill him, and that would be the end of him.

But what if that wasn’t the case? What if he could survive without a body, much like Wild could? It was a possibility, however small. Wild didn’t know any spells that could deal with disembodied spirits, which was something he would need to rectify - assuming he’d get the chance to do so in the future.

In truth, his best bet in a fight with Sombra would be acting as a distraction while the princesses brought the Elements of Harmony again or figured out some other way to deal with him. Wild was under no illusion - as powerful as he technically was, his skills were still severely lacking, and it was not something he could easily fix in a week or a month or even in a year. The princesses had spent more time learning magic than the combined age of everyone Wild had ever closely known.

Wild tried to ignore the fact that the likelihood of him being more of a hindrance than help in a fight against Sombra was rather high. Still, if he could do something to help, then he would, even if it cost him.

Wild paused at that thought as his eyes almost without his say-so moved towards Artful.

Perhaps... not every cost could be justified, not anymore. Wild could admit he was past the idea of dying as a sacrifice so that nameless others could live. This was not something he could do easily anymore, not when he had more than his own life to lose. Even if it was just his own life, he now did not hold the delusion that it was worth nothing, that the only thing it was good for was the ending of it. No, now it was worth struggling for, fighting for, living for. Casting it away without a thought was, he realized, no longer possible. He had found friendship, he had found love. His life now had more pleasure than it had pain, be it physical or mental. Wild’s death no longer had the ‘benefit’ of having no one cry for him or mourn him either.

He imaged the faces of all those he had come to know, and he knew he couldn't throw his life away without disregarding each and every single one.

Wild shook those thoughts away. He didn’t plan on dying, that was the most important thing. He would hold on to his life tightly, that much was clear. As much as Sombra scared him - and he could admit that it was scary - he wouldn’t take an easy way out. Not anymore.

***

“Your majesty, the next batch of volunteers is en route and had already departed from the train station,” a Royal Guard captain reported to Princess Luna, “Unfortunately, the weather is interfering with communications, so we don’t have a direct connection to the caravan itself.”

“Understood, captain,” Luna nodded, “Report if anything happens. Dismissed.”

“Of course, ma’am,” they saluted and then left, taking off with their wings and returning to their other duties.

Standing on top of a roof of a now-abandoned house, Luna gazed at the swirling blizzard surrounding the Crystal Empire. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence in the years since the the fall of the Crystal Empire, the weather having grown chaotic and unruly in the absence of control, especially this close to the Frozen North. However, there was something more to this blizzard, something other than wild magic manifesting as a force of nature. She couldn’t say it was exactly fully controlled, but it still felt... deliberate, in some way she couldn’t properly easily describe.

Sombra, if he was still alive, had yet to resurface, and Luna didn’t believe he was an especially patient person, considering his circumstances. Frequent Dark Magic usage generally resulted in impulsivity and irritability, loss of emotional control. Aggression, loss of capacity for proper reasoning were not uncommon either. Of course, different people handled it in different ways. Some had turned cold and surprisingly collected, making up rules, a code that they unflinchingly followed. This sort of frost reflected their tight control just as much as it reflected their decreased empathy, and while they did remain a person on the surface, lust for power remained the same no matter how tightly it was held. Others simply reveled in their might, finding their own abilities amusing, and they indulged in cruelty much like a child could indulge in free ice-cream and sweets. Then there was the third category - the completely unhinged ones. They were addicted, drunk on their power, seeking nothing but more and more of it, a bottomless pit of greed and lust, thirsting for just another hit of dominion over others at the expense of everyone and everything else. Sombra struck her as a person who belonged to that last category. Of course, there was also the category of the naive, those who believed that Dark Magic could be used for good. After all, if wielded by the ‘right’ people against the ‘wrong’ people, it would be nothing more than just another tool. However, they forgot that the purpose of those tools had always been about causing harm. A torturer’s tools could not be made into a painter’s brushes. Tools that made shackles could not unmake them. Whoever Sombra was, Luna didn’t believe for a second that he had ever wielded Dark Magic with good intentions.

Who Sombra was, however, was not currently important. She resumed her gazing at the snow rushing around at a distance past the edge of the climate control bubble encompassing the Crystal Empire. What was especially unnatural about it was the fact that it surrounded the city entirely, leaving not a single gap. The bubble, Luna knew, impacted the local climate, redirecting winds and changing snowing patterns. There should have been a gap somewhere, yet there wasn’t. The blizzard had also become too strong, and she would not dare risk sending pegasi to try to reign it in. The best she could do was wait it out, as much as it pained her to think this way. This blizzard introduced delays, as only caravans were equipped with the proper navigation tools that allowed them to safely get through such bouts of weather without getting lost. The cargo carts, however, were under-equipped for such weather, and were directed to stop where they were at the first sign of bad weather so that they could later resume once it passed. Even if it didn’t let up for days, there was enough food and water and heat to last the crew for a couple of weeks, as overkill as it was at first deemed. Caravans, however, did not have a huge cargo capacity, so a compromise had to be made if work was to be done. Equipment and supplies that the cargo carts carried was non-essential, even if it was certainly needed and definitely wanted.

Princess Luna now had to deal with a sudden sickness that quickly spread through the entire crystal pony population, surprisingly leaving other ponies, as far as anyone could tell, unharmed. It was nothing but a mild flu, with some headaches and general fatigue, but it was so widespread every crystal pony seemed to be affected, and the numbers of the sick had grown exponentially since the first case was discovered, and it appeared it had started in the ponies that were found under the city. Thankfully, the prognosis was good - everyone would survive as long as there was an adequate amount of food and water, as well as warm shelter. As long as the climate control bubble was not popped, everyone was more or less in the clear.

“What is the status, director?” Luna addressed Director Cranial, the head of the healthcare department assembled from various doctors and nurses from around Equestria to be posted long-term in the Crystal Empire. Whatever doctors the Crystal Empire had, they seemed to have vanished, although some half-trained nurses were found. Luna sincerely hoped that the missing doctors would be found alive and well.

“We are managing,” Director Cranial replied with a nod, “This is nothing but an extended twelve hour shift because of unforeseen events. Happens in our line of work more often than it should, really, but we can make do.”

“Anything that requires assistance?”

“Hmm...” the earth pony tapped their chin with a hoof, “I believe a blast of healing magic won’t hurt. We got a few injured, nothing all that worse than bruises, really, but we just can’t get to them yet.”

“Understood,” Luna nodded, then walked in the direction she was told. She knew enough healing to help with bruises quite easily, so it was no big deal.

Just as she was told, a number of crystal ponies were waiting, some having already dozed off. She woke them up, inquired as to their health, and then exchanged some small talk as she analyzed their health with her magic. There was undoubtedly strain on their bodies, which was no surprise - they came from those forsaken tunnels under the city - as well as bruises from fallen rocks plus from when they fell on rocks due to exhaustion or inattentiveness. Nothing Luna couldn’t fix in less than a minute.

“Thank you, your majesty,” one of the crystal ponies bowed, nearly falling over.

“You should all rest,” she advised, “There is no sense in straining yourselves further.”

Luna looked after them as they left the tent, each going their own way, some perhaps following her advice while others would not rest until they assured that others could. Senseless self-sacrifice was not something that Luna approved much of anymore, but she could understand the sentiment, and she knew that it could not be controlled. Better to let them learn their lesson with overextending themselves, and then they would use their own experience instead of words of others as a guide, and it would definitely stick far better than mere spoken or written advice could.

A horn sounded in the distance, muffled as it was. Luna excused herself, then made her way out of the makeshift healing wing of the camp, spreading her wings and flying up when she got the chance to. The horn sounded again, a deep bass with a whistle that faded into the howling of the wind beyond the climate control bubble. Princess Luna couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief - the latest, and for now the last, caravan of volunteers had arrived. It emerged from the blizzard, plowing on and slowing down, passing through the climate control bubble and navigating itself towards the depot-slash-station. Luna flapped her wings to get herself there to meet the volunteers personally. She felt a familiar presence...

“Wild?” she muttered under her breath, then hurrying to see if she was right.

The passengers disembarked, the air between them all strangely subdued. Usually, volunteers arrived with good cheer, proclaiming to all who could hear that they were ready to work and willing to move mountains for the ponies of the Crystal Empire. Now, however, something was wrong. Not just merely subtly off, but blatantly not right, almost fundamentally so. Luna’s brows furrowed, the speech she prepared to give dying somewhere between her brain and her mouth, words disappearing into nothingness like sound disappeared into a roar of a blizzard that she could almost hear raging within a stone’s throw away. Finally, after when it seemed like everyone had disembarked, Luna spotted Wild walking out, Artful close by his side. If not for the ashen expression on his face and the worried one on Artful’s, she would’ve smiled at the sight of the two of them together. Now, however, dread pooled at the bottom of her stomach. Wild, upon seeing her, seemed to minutely relax, his sigh of relief almost audible from where she stood. He took off, rushing to her, almost dragging Artful with him.

“Sombra,” he said, and a silence seemed to swallow the world around them despite the noises that should have been there. Luna’s heart skipped a beat, “Is here.”