Two months into the fall of Canterlot...
The winds kicked hard against the small airship as it came to a halt. Two ponies walked over the edge and looked upon their destination. Below that was a massive crater where a majestic mountain once stood. It held the crown jewel of the country, a beautiful city named Canterlot. Known for its incredible towers, immaculate white walls, and mesmerizing golden edges.
But now, the mountain was just gone, and Canterlot...
"So this is the place, Captain Flash." The brown earth pony trained his bow at the sight of a giant black crystal floating above the crater. "Ironic, this will be my first time in such a big city." He tried to cut the tension with a laugh, but his captain wasn't smiling.
"We're not tourists, Lieutenant Timber." The yellow pegasus held up his spear. and poked the surface. Despite the seemingly solid appearance, the walls of the crystal shimmered like a pool before shooting off small magic surges from the touch. Flash backed off and narrowed his eyes.
"Not from outside anyway." The pilot laughed with Timber. He pulled a lever and the anchor shot through the crystal walls. The sounds of crushing wood echoed back and surprised them. "I'll keep it as steady as possible, but these high winds are a constant problem."
"Fine, if you don't hear from us in an hour, leave." Flash jumped off the edge and landed on the massive chains of the anchor. Yanking on it with all his strength, he smiled. "At least the dock is still here."
"So it's as Cadance assumed." Timber jumped down softer and landed on the chain a bit more roughly.
"The Princess Cadance could sense pieces of the Canterlot within the crystal, but she wasn't sure how much of it was left." Flash corrected the naming and walked into the crystal walls, slowly. Just as it did with his spear, the pegasus passed through the solid-looking surface with ease.
"Well, any air on the other side." Timber was a bit more hesitant.
"Yes. But I can't see much." Flash's voice came through perfectly as if there was no wall at all. The surface of the crystal was actually extremely thin to the point that it felt more like moving through the surface of water. He waved his spear left and right as he made his way to the dock. "Turn on a torch."
"Why not just shoot a flare?--"
"No, any strong sources of magic would activate a violent reaction from the crystal!" Flash shouted. Checking his wings, he made another note. "Also, I can't fly in here."
"What?!" Timber flicked the mechanical torch and followed after him. As soon as he passed beyond the veil, his armor felt heavier, throwing him off guard to the point that he nearly fell off the chain.
"What happened?" Flash caught him.
"I don't know..." Timber adjusted himself. "It's like half my strength is gone."
"My flight and your strength." Flash took the torch and held it up to see where the dock was. Arriving at the edge, he was surprised to see it was in mildly perfect shape. The paint was faded and there was wear and tear but otherwise, it would be able to hold the airship with no problem. "Okay, tighten the anchor--" He was stopped as Timber shouted and cursed.
Turning around to Timber with the torch revealed the corpse of a pegasus. It had been impaled through the signpost. "How did that happen?"
"So... My assumption was right." Flash approached the corpse with a wide stance and poked the wings with his spear. "He wasn't killed by the impaling."
"What are you talking about--" He was stopped as the wings broke off so easily.
"The fall killed him." Flash dropped his wide stance and turned to the path of the dock.
"How could a pegasus die from falling?"
"Because they had no magic to catch them." Flash clapped his wings loudly at Timber. "Just as we have no magic."
"Impossible!" Timber flipped back around to the crystal walls they walked through. "Are you saying?"
"Yes, the entire crystal prevents magic." He gestured for Timber to catch up as they reached the front of the Guard Station.
There was dried blood over the walls and edges, putting both soldiers on guard when they spotted two pegasus dead, fallen the same way as the previous one. The uneasiness of each sight only assured that Flash's assumptions were real. And yet the lack of attention toward the bodies showed a greater concern. They were old and left to rot and decay as if ponies never noticed them or were too scared to go near them.
Flash pointed toward the chains holding up the gate. Timber aimed and shot them. The smell was the first thing that hit them upon opening the gate. It was so horrible and yet they couldn’t quite place why. There was fresh mud across the ground sticking to their feet. This meant that the realm inside the crystal wasn't completely separated from the outside. "So, rain still gets in here."
"Yeah, but what is the cause of the smell? Those bodies are too old." Timber walked over to some candles and flicked them on.
Moving quietly through the gateway, the two ponies made their way to another guard station. This one was much taller and had a lighthouse design. Flash hoped they would get a better sight of the city from there. However, it seems somepony else had a similar idea. They stopped at another corpse in front of the lighthouse station door.
"This one is an earth pony." Timber flipped the body over. He was relieved to see it wasn't somepony he recognized but it was still disheartening to see one of his species dead as well.
"This one is fresh." Flash poked it with his spear, showing the air was still escaping the body. "It looks like..." He leaned his torch over the corpse and pulled Timber away without warning. "It’s been ripped apart!!"
"What--" Timber stopped at the grizzly wounds that the darkness hid before. "How? Why?" He shivered at the broken arms and shredded legs.
"I have no idea..." He trained his spear at the sound of a trash can falling. "Come on, let's get inside and turn on the signal."
Opening the door revealed two more corpses. These were even fresher and seemed to be blocking the door. Turning back around Flash noted the holes and the spears nearby. "Wait, were they trying to stab him?"
"No, why would they?!" Timber's eyes trembled at the scene.
Moving further ahead they found some vents from other nearby buildings. They stopped as the vent shook loudly. Poking them only made blood seep through. A corner popped loose and dropped a unicorn horn down to their feet. It appeared as if it had been broken off and held in a bloody hand.
Flash kicked the horn out of the way. "What is going on here?"
Soon enough they reached the top, despite finding more gruesome scenes at every turn. At the top, they found a gathering of food around the giant lamp. "Looks like a refuse."
"Or a last stand." Flash pulled open the boxes. "It's fresh. Grab what we can carry." Leaning his spear against the wall, he took a bite of some bread and admired the large assortment of weapons.
"Okay, but first let's get this lighthouse up and going." Timber pulled out his tools and jumped under the thing. Luckily, he had some spare batteries. It wouldn't be enough to make a permanent light post, but enough to signal to the airship and the rest of the fleet beyond the mountain range.
"Afterwards, we can scan the city for the six and the princesses--" They were both stopped as a loud explosion shook the entire building. Flash rushed over to the window and turned toward the source of a bright light. His eyes widened as it came from the direction of the airship. "No!!" He pulled out his scope.
"What happened?!" Timber screamed from under the machine.
"Something blew up the airship!!"
Timber's heart stopped at the words. "Did Cole Stand escape?!"
"Don't know?!" Flash narrowed his eyes.
"What do you think happened?" Timber tried to rush out from under the giant lamp.
"The crystal! It must have reacted to something." Flash moved back as his mind raced on possibilities. "But there was nothing magical aboard the airship. It didn't react when we arrived, why now?!" He was stopped upon feeling something icy cold against his back.
Turning around to it, he froze at the sight of a pale mare. Flash felt so very cold in her presence that he could see his breath and even ice forming around her. She looked so familiar to him, but he couldn't get any details of her species or face as her appearance was covered in static like that of a TV screen.
"Who are you?" Flash whispered.
The pale mare didn't answer, instead, she pointed toward the doorway they came through. Her eyes turned toward him and for a moment, he thought she would attack, but she didn't. She smiled at him and opened her mouth, but no words came out. Seemingly realizing this she stopped and lowered her head. She turned her attention back to pointing at the doorway.
Flash stepped closer to her, but she backed off and pointed harder at the door. "What are you trying to show us?" Before he could get any more information, she vanished like a ghost.
"Is somepony else here?" Timber shouted from under the machine. He didn't see any of it.
"I don't know--" Flash put up his guard at the sounds of moans beyond the door. "Timber, something is outside." He slowly approached the door and leaned it open. His eyes widened to see the corpses twitching and crackling loudly. After a few moments, they sprang upward and shifted toward them. "Lieutenant, forget the light! We're leaving now!" He held up his spear as one of the bodies raced toward the door with jaws open.
******