//------------------------------//
// A Walk Back Home 
// Story: Remnants of Glory 
// by TheMajorTechie 
//------------------------------//


~~~{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!"