Luna could barely believe her eyes, but sure enough, a large crystalline city was slowly fading into view before her eyes. It brought back immediate memories of hovering over the central spires with Celestia.
"Sombra…" she whispered. "Did Celestia really break his curse?"
"Princess?" asked Sunset. "What should we do?"
Luna looked back down to Celestia before looking back to the city. It was close, just a few hundred yards to the first structures, which in turn were growing more solid by the moment. She frowned and looked back to Sunset.
"Have you enough magic to project a shield around the three of us, Sunset Shimmer?" asked Luna. "We do not yet know what the spell has released and we are closer than I would like to be."
"What about Princess Celestia?" asked Sunset.
"Give her to me. It would be safer to be prepared. I will monitor her and instruct you to discontinue the spell if she starts to absorb too much of your magic."
Sunset nodded and supported Celestia while Luna placed her hooves under the elder's neck. Sunset then stepped back and lit her horn. A moment later a bubble of magic appeared around the three of them, sunk halfway into the ground. Luna inspected the spell for a moment and then nodded.
"Well done," she commented. "This should do."
"What are you expecting?" asked Sunset.
Luna looked towards the city, estimating that it was more than half restored. "I do not know," she responded. "Perhaps nothing. But there may be a magical flux once the city is fully restored. It depends on the nature of the curse that hid it, which we did not understand."
Sunset nodded while she adjusted her stance to a wider, more stable one.
Luna looked at Celestia once more before turning her focus back to the city. It was nearly solid now, and she could see the moon reflected off some of the buildings. The city sparkled in the moonlight and it cast sharp shadows behind the buildings. She smiled for a moment, and then her gaze fell again as she remembered the last moments of this city.
"What of the crystal ponies?" she wondered. "What will they think of me once they learn what I have done? What of further back? Perhaps they blame the both of us for their own exile? What will they do?"
She watched carefully as the city continued to sharpen and grow more defined.
"Any moment now, Sunset Shimmer," she warned. She sensed Sunset tensing in preparation without needing to turn her head.
They didn't wait very long. The city shimmered slightly as it solidified, and then there was a rush of wind and a blast of magic emanated from the city, spraying a thin glowing disc of energy in all directions. Sunset's shield glowed brightly and rocked as it was struck by the blast, but a second later the wave had passed and the shield had held.
Luna let out a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding, and then nodded towards Sunset. "Well done, Sunset Shimmer. You may release the shield now." She took a deep breath and looked at the city, then back to Sunset. "The Crystal Empire is restored."
Sunset hesitated a moment before releasing the magic. Her shield melted down from the top of the bubble to the ground as she, too, looked at the city. "What do we do now?"
Luna's eyes darted from structure to structure, but she could see nothing beyond the gleaming streets and crystalline buildings. "It looks very quiet," she offered with some caution. "We should take shelter. It will be warmer out of the wind and better for Celestia's recovery."
Sunset couldn't hold back a smile. "It will also give us a chance to investigate. This is unprecedented! An entire city that I knew nothing about!"
Luan frowned. "Do not be reckless, Sunset Shimmer. There may well be a great deal of danger involved as well. But now that the spell is apparently complete, the winds will increase and the snow will fill this area once again. Even at my best I would not be able to hold back the weather of the Frozen North for long."
"How will we move Celestia?" asked Sunset. "If we can't use magic to carry her, I don't know what to do. I can't see anything to build a stretcher from…?"
Luna smiled at that. "With how long you managed to elude me, I am surprised that you are not more creative. Here, come hold Celestia for me."
Sunset stepped forward to support Celestia, and Luna stepped back. Her horn lit and the snow in front of her began to swirl tightly. After a moment, it compacted together and then with a flash it formed the shape of a solid ice sledge. Luna smirked back towards Sunset as Sunset let out a surprised ‘oh!'
"The ice will allow it to hold its shape without additional magic and the rails will make it move more easily across the snow and even the crystal streets," explained Luna. She pointed with a hoof towards a nearby guard tower. "We will take her to that structure and set up in there."
"What about the castle?" asked Sunset, looking towards the fantastic structure in the center of the town. "Wouldn't that be more comfortable?"
"It is the most dangerous building," replied Luna. "We shall not approach it until we are certain that the city is as quiet as it appears. Now, assist me."
Luna brought the sledge closer and Sunset began to carefully help lift Celestia onto it.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Sunset in surprise. "She's heavy, but, for her size I expected so much more! I mean, I noticed she seemed a bit light when she leaned on me a few days ago but I thought she was using her magic to support her own weight."
Luna grunted and continued to lift manually, carefully watching Celestia's neck and wings as she did. "We are part pegasus," she explained. "We would not be able to fly with the mass of a unicorn or earth pony."
At last Celestia was resting on the sledge. Luna fashioned a simple harness and stepped into it to pull the sled, while Sunset prepared to push from behind. "Princess?" asked Sunset.
"Hmm?" responded Luna. They began to move towards the guard structure.
"Is the Crystal Empire dangerous? Princess Celestia didn't describe it like it was a hostile place."
Luna didn't respond for a moment. When she did, her voice was edged with hardness. "We do not know the nature of the curse that lost the Empire nor the nature of the magic that restored it. We do not know whether Sombra left other traps for us, nor what may have returned with it. We are at a disadvantage. Any rash action could end in disaster."
"Sombra…" mused Sunset. "You've said that name twice now: who was it?"
"Celestia did not tell you?" asked Luna curiously.
"No," replied Sunset, shaking her head. "She barely mentioned anything about this."
"Hmm," considered Luna. "Sombra was an evil unicorn who had taken over the Crystal Empire with his dark magic. Celestia and I came here to unseat him. Although we defeated him, he cursed the empire and it was lost to us."
"Lost?" echoed Sunset.
Luna only nodded. "Celestia did not know any way to undo the curse and we were forced to abandon this land. But it would appear that Celestia has at last found a way to bring the Empire back."
They reached the guard structure and Luna pushed on the door with her hoof. It swung open quietly, the heavy crystal door swinging effortlessly as if the hinges hadn't seen a thousand years of idle. She listened for a moment and then, hearing nothing, she pulled the sledge forward.
The room was large enough to hold a dozen ponies easily, though it was largely empty. There was a chalkboard at one end of the room containing a simple weekly schedule with a set of five names and a few chairs scattered around. A set of stairs led to a second level where Luna presumed weapons and supplies would be stored, as well as a likely second set of stairs to the roof. The room was clean and besides being a little disorganized, could have been used as recently as yesterday.
Once Sunset entered the room, she closed the door. Although the room darkened, it was still lit by several large windows which let the moonlight in. What was much more obvious was how much warmer it immediately felt without the cold wind.
"I thought I'd never be warm again," exclaimed Sunset. "After so long in that wind, this is just glorious!"
Luna smiled, but she spoke sternly. "Check upstairs, Sunset Shimmer. I would expect there to be supplies. Attempt to locate blankets and bring them back down here."
Sunset nodded and headed for the stairs. She moved quickly at first, but slowed after a few steps as she remembered to show caution. Luna nodded to herself and turned her attention back to Celestia.
"Now to remove you from that ice, sister," she mused. Her back was sore from the effort already expended and she hesitated a moment at the thought of trying to lift Celestia down again. At last she frowned to herself and then lit her horn. The ice sledge melted slowly away underneath Celestia, gently settling her on the floor while Luna directed the water away from her.
"You got a little of my magic there, didn't you, sister?" she considered. "But you should be okay. Hopefully being in contact with the floor will allow the land to aid your recovery."
Sunset returned a moment later, dragging several heavy padded blankets down the stairs behind her. "I never realized just how frustrating it is to not be able to levitate things," she grumbled.
Luna ignored the complaint and directed Sunset to Celestia, helping her to create a warmer nest for the sleeping Princess. Finally, she draped a piece of one last blanket across Celestia's back. "That is probably the best that we can do for now," she commented.
Sunset watched Celestia for a moment. "She looks like she's sleeping," Sunset said at last. "Look how you can see her breathing more deeply. That wasn't so obvious before."
Luna watched for a moment and found herself agreeing. "That is probably a good sign." She lifted her head and looked around the sparse room. "Did you find anything else upstairs?"
Sunset shrugged. "Kind of," she replied. "There were some lockers and a couple of helmets and spears, typical guard stuff. Did you want something specific?"
Luna shook her head. "No," she answered. "I was only checking whether you had seen something unusual."
"Nothing that caught my eye, anyway," explained Sunset.
"Very well then," commented Luna. "Celestia should be safe to sleep here whilst we inspect the rest of the city."
Luna walked directly to the door, opening it with her hoof and then stepping through. She started down the street, staying near the building, and then paused when she noticed that Sunset Shimmer hadn't followed her. She was about to call out when Sunset came around the corner.
"Stay close, Sunset Shimmer," warned Luna.
-----
"Stratosphere!" shouted Sergeant Impulse. He was frustrated, but he was also worried. The Captain had vanished into the woods to take care of his business too long ago. The earth ponies and unicorns were making good progress on clearing the tracks, but it was clear that the tracks were damaged and he needed to report this.
A moment later the sky blue pegasus was hovering in front of him, giving a sloppy salute. Impulse grimaced.
"Stratosphere," he began. "Take those supposedly remarkable eyes of yours and go find the Captain. He went into those woods there and it's too dark for me to see a blasted thing."
Stratosphere landed and looked over the Sergeant's shoulder towards the wood. "But dude," he said. "I can't fly in there!"
Sergeant Impulse leaned close and spoke very deliberately. "If you call me ‘dude' one more time, Corporal," he warned, "you will never fly again." He paused for effect, then raised his voice to a roar. "NOW GET IN THERE!"
Stratosphere leapt back and snapped to attention. "Yes, Sergeant!" he replied obediently, and then darted off towards the woods. He landed just before reaching the tree line and continued to trot as he vanished into the dark. Impulse shook his head and rolled his eyes as he went back to supervise the work.
Stratosphere returned about twenty minutes later. He landed in front of Impulse and snapped to attention, offering a much better presentation than earlier. "Corporal Stratosphere reporting on reconnaissance of the woods, Sergeant!"
Impulse smiled. "Better, Corporal," he observed. "Report. Where is the Captain?"
Stratosphere frowned. "Bad news, d… Sarge. Sergeant! Um… anyway. He's not there. There was a scuffle in the snow, but I couldn't find any tracks leading away from it. It had to be magic."
Impulse stomped a hoof. "Blessed magic!" he cursed. "The Captain is a unicorn," he growled. "And a soldier! What could have taken him?"
Stratosphere shook his head and was careful to watch how he phrased his sentences. "I don't know… er… Sergeant. But I could go up high and try to see anything."
Impulse sighed. "Do it," he ordered, and then he had to raise a hoof to shield his face from the blast of snow as Stratosphere launched straight up. "I didn't bloody well dismiss you yet!" he shouted. But the pegasus was already just a dot in the sky.
"Oh, good riddance," he grumbled, and went back to work.
-----
Stratosphere soared straight upwards as quick as his wings would carry him. "I'm always getting yelled at," he grumbled to himself. "Then they're all like, ‘go find the Queen, Stratosphere'. ‘Go find the Captain, Stratosphere'. ‘Don't call me dude, Stratosphere.' Dude, it's like a compliment! Dude is a good thing!"
His mood improved as the ground fell away beneath him, and soon he took to scanning the area beneath him. He was high enough to be able to see for several miles in every direction, and his sharp eyes started to take in details.
"All right," he mused. "There's the tracks… and the station's way up there. If I follow the mountain ridge… there's the rendezvous. Looks like the pegasi are there already… chilling. Dude, I wish I was with them. Anyway, whatever… I should look back near the slide."
His eyes caught a sparkle miles to the north, just out of his sight.
"What's that?" he asked himself. "I never saw anything up there before…?"
He turned his nose upwards and climbed higher still, watching the curve of the ground far below increase even as the distance he could see grew larger. As the sparkle came into his line of sight his eyes grew wider.
"Dude!! It's a city! That was never there before! There's some kind of shadow around it…"
He looked back down to where Impulse was still working on the slide, and wondered whether to report it. Finally, he shook his head.
"Ah, heck. Could be a mirage, right? I better go check it out before I report it."