Shining and Cadence, both holding on to Luna's body, watched as ponies around them began to be swept away. Shining managed to put up a shield around the three of them and some of the closest ponies there, but most of the others were carried away before Cadence had a chance to catch them with her magic. And as for the group containing Starlight and Sunburst, who were also managing to hold their ground, they suddenly disappeared as the entire portion of land they'd been standing on seemed to teleport away, replaced by a different one.
When the ground ceased its shaking and the winds died down a little, Shining released his shield and began to take proper stock of the situation. Celestia was nowhere in sight, neither was anyone else that hadn't been in their immediate vicinity and they hadn't managed to catch. Aside from the two of them and Luna, six other ponies were there, all guards. He silently cursed as he looked around, and felt a shiver up his spine as he noticed the darkness spreading out beneath their hooves.
Once he'd looked at the group once more and ensured everyone was physically alright, if understandably not mentally so, he cleared his throat and spoke up. "Everypony, please stay close together and try to remain calm." He attempted a basic orientation spell, and found that, predictably, the magical energies around them messed with it to the point of it being useless. "We need to find the others and regroup." He gave his wife a look, and she understood him without the need for words.
Cadence let go of Luna's body and flew to the other end of the group of ponies. "Form a line of three pairs and keep your eyes open," said Shining as he took Luna's stretcher fully onto his back, aided by magic. Though some spells gave them problems, the fact that they hadn't actually moved meant he still knew which direction was where. The winds had been chaotic, but predominantly they'd seemed to push ponies further away from the centre of town, so they'd generally be heading that way while trying to cover as much ground as they could. Once he'd made sure the other ponies were all lined up and none were about to freak out, he turned and began to walk forward, followed by the others and with Cadence at the end, guarding the rear.
They marched on at a steady but gentle pace, shifting direction when Shining felt they had likely gone far enough one way. At all times, he, Cadence, and the only other unicorn with them would send out magical pings to sense if someone was close by. Occasionally, when the wind slowed sufficiently, they'd call out so any nearby ponies might hear them. They had not yet found anyone, though they'd only been going for a few minutes, when Cadence sensed something. "Stop," she said, some nervousness in her tone.
Shining did, and a moment later he sensed it too. Then so did the remaining unicorn. They turned their attention towards the source of it, and watched as a tall, horrifyingly warped creature limped into view.