Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto


Thear

"Nothing in there either," the soldiers reported, "we checked the whole building. Couldn't find them anywhere."
The heavily armoured unicorn paced back and forth in the street. Suddenly she turned towards a nearby group. "Any results on communications?" she barked at them.
"None, Ma'am," a unicorn there replied. "It looks like we're completely cut off from the other side. I'm not even sure they still have a laboratory there after that blast." Even through the helmet on her head he could feel the mare's glare on him. "We'll keep trying," he said, then he got himself back to work.
The mare turned to look around. Her eyes settled on the crystal tower hanging broken in mid air in the distance. She'd seen the blast that had been fired downwards from its top too. But surely that didn't mean things were over. "Let's get back," she said after some pondering, "no point wasting our time here any longer."
Soldiers around her nodded, and together they all began to head back the way they'd come from, circling around the building that Applejack had caused to fall in the middle of the road. Some occasionally threw worried glances towards the tower too, but nopony asked any questions about that situation.
The questions that were asked were mostly concerning their missing comrade, or the accident that had caused the portal they'd used to disappear. Getting in contact with the other remaining group they had found the issue had apparently originated there, but not much more. They had together chosen to hold their respective positions for a time, and eventually group together if no connection to their world managed to be established. Their queen was still on that side with them after all, so they were far from being considerable MIA even in their conditions. Ponies on the other side would be doing anything in their power to reestablish a connection, and as for them they would simply proceed to conquer the city as planned under Nightmare Moon's direct leadership.
Suddenly, as they were about to reach the outpost they'd been stationed at, they heard a sound. It was like an animal screech, but impossibly loud. The ground began to shake and buildings started to show cracks on their walls, and violent winds began to blow carrying along sickly black and purple air. The mare was about to yell to catch her soldiers' attention, but something caught hers first.
Barely visible as it slithered on the ground, there was something like a shadow stretching from the centre of the city and spreading out towards each and every one of the ponies there. It reached a little farther, extending another tendril to arrive beneath the hooves of yet another pony. The mare noticed it was under her as well. It looked like some sort of ghostly, malformed tree with irregular branches at odd angles.
It stayed there for a moment, connected to all of them and connecting them all to whatever it originated from. Then it felt like something snapped. Long thin black crystal spears rose from the shadows to strike each pony there, and the mare's mind was seized by horror as she felt hers pour its magic inside her.