“Ahm not sure how much longer Ah can keep this up.” Said Applejack to herself, as more and more inquisitive crystal ponies wanted to get a look at what they thought was the Crystal Heart. High above the barrier began to flicker rapidly once again. “And Ahm not sure how much longer Candace can keep it up either.” She said to no pony in particular.

While she was busy muttering to herself a rather bold pony got a mite to close to the tarp covering the ‘Crystal Heart’.

“Whoa there partner, why don’t yawl go check out the…uh booth right over yonder? I hear they’re giving away…uh…something.” Seeming to shift his attention the pony dashed off in the direction Applejack indicated.

Wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow Applejack turned towards another pony who was to close for comfort only to have her attention drawn high above.

The barrier was flickering faster and faster until it disappeared altogether.

“Well that can’t be good.” Thought Applejack.

Looking back down Applejack could see a mass of roiling black fog rushing towards the now unprotected city. It reached the outskirts with blinding speed and without resistance, flooded into the city.

Pandemonium ensued. The ponies who weren't already panicking began to panic in earnest. Ponies caught inside the black fog could neither see nor breathe, many crashed headlong into walls or ponies, others simply collapsed from lack of air.

Applejack struggled to breathe as the fog filled her lungs, between her coughs she could hear the screams of ponies all around her along with the eerie whoosh from the fog. Falling to her knees from a massive coughing fit, Applejack heard another sound that was steadily growing louder. Unable to think long on this new sound Applejack focused all her energy on staying conscious.

Just as she was about to black out the sound which had grown even louder reached her. Applejack was blown back against a nearby wall as the ear shattering sound raged around her, unable to move she could only clenched her eyes shut and hope for the best. After several deafening seconds the sound moved on and Applejack fell to the ground with a thud knocking what little air there was from her.

Laying where she fell, Applejack gasped for air. Sucking down multiple deep breaths she finally opened her eyes and was surprised to see no fog around her. The noise was revealed to be a massive twister that was spinning in a large circle, clearing the air and holding the fog at bay.

Staggering to her hooves she looked around to see several crystal ponies struggling to do the same. Before she could move to help them she heard a voice call out her name.

“Applejack!”

Turning towards the voice Applejack saw that it was Rarity calling her name.

Skidding to a stop next to Applejack, Rarity grasped her in a vice like hug.

“Thank Celestia your all right!”

Having barely gotten her breathe back Applejack wiggled her way out of Rarities embrace.

“Yeah Ahm fine now, thanks to that twister.”

“Thank Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, they created it once the barrier went down. They’re inside controlling its direction to clear a path for the rest of us.”

“Then I reckon we better round up everypony that we can. Where’s Twilight and Pinkie?”

“Pinkies out in the fog gathering anypony she can find. Apparently her spy costume had a gas mask, and the last I saw of Twilight she was headed towards the palace.”

“Ok Ahll start getting everypony gather here and you go to the palace and get Twilight and the others.”

Rarity was about to say something when a horrendous crack was heard in the distance. A black clad figure wearing a gas mask zipped out of the fog and ran towards Applejack and Rarity.

The figure skidded to a stop inches from Rarity and began waving its hooves and breathing heavily through the filters. “Darling we can’t understand you.” Said Rarity.

The figure paused for a moment then removed the gas mask to reveal a disheveled pink mane. “I said we have a problem.”

Applejack and Rarity exchanged worried looks. “Are you talking about that loud cracking noise?” asked Rarity.

Pinkie nodded her head frantically. “Humongously gigantic black crystals are exploding out of the ground.”

Applejack opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by another large crack followed by smaller ones. “Alrighty then, Rarity can you get Rainbow and Fluttershy’s attention? We need that path through the fog.”

Rarity nodded her head and began firing multi colored beams from her horn. The twister ground to a halt before changing course and heading towards the train station in the wastes.

“Pinkie you take lead, make sure we get as many as we can to the train.”

Pinkie Pie gave a very Rainbow Dash like salute before donning her gas mask and rushing over to a group of crystal ponies who had gathered after the twister cleared the fog.

“Rarity, you and I will….” Another crack, this time accompanied by huge columns of black crystals erupting from the ground.
“Never mind let’s go!” cried Applejack.

What little order and been regain was quickly lost as groups of pones began to scatter as black crystals rose from the ground, destroying buildings and blocking roads. Applejack yelled to anypony who could hear her to follow the twister out of the city. With Pinkie at the lead, Applejack and Rarity brought up the read,desperately trying to keep everypony together. All around them the black crystals rose higher and higher, some began to grind against each other and break off large chunks that would rain down on those below.

Left and right, crystal ponies were being crushed by the falling crystals. As they ran Applejack had to force herself to keep going. Weaving left and right to miss pools of blood and screaming ponies trying to dig out a loved one.

"Just keep running...you cant help them....you cant help them.... just keep running." Applejack repeated to herself again and again like a mantra hating herself with each word.

Far ahead the twister was getting smaller and smaller as the crystal columns impended its movements until it finally broke apart sending two figures flying out into the wastes. With the twister gone, the black fog quickly returned. Applejack took one last deep breath before the fog reached her. Trying not to breath while also dodging bodies and crystal chunks in near blackness would be near impossible but if she took a breath she'd never make it out alive.

Unable to see, Applejack clipped the top of a crystal as she jumped over it and was thrown off balance causing her to hit the ground, hard. The stale air was driven from her lungs with a forceful whoosh and unable to stop herself she began gulping for air. She immediately started to choke, inhaling the fog felt like spiked cotton balls going in and out of her lungs.

Laying on the ground, wracked with painful coughs, Applejack could do nothing. As the coughs became more numerous and painful her mind became fuzzy from lack of oxygen. Just as she was about to loose consciousness something was pulled over her head and clean air filled her lungs.

Sucking down fresh air between coughs, Applejack felt herself being lifted to her hooves and dragged along. After the last cough subsided, Applejack realized she was wearing a gas mask and was being help along by a black clad figure with a similar mask.

"Pinkie?!"

The figure never looked at her but Applejack heard a slight buzz in her ear then the voice of Pinkie Pie. "Yes, I came back to get you. "

"What about the others?" asked Applejack.

"They made it out. Come on, we need to hurry."

Dragging Applejack along with her, Pinkie moved quickly through the fog, around crystals and bodies alike. Her pinkie sense kept them out of the way of falling crystals and they soon reached the edge of the city. Stepping out of the fog, they were greeted with blinding sunlight. Using her free hoof, Applejack removed her mask and took in a deep breath of unfiltered air.

After her eyes adjusted she looked over the snowing wastes to the train station to see a horrible sight. Dozens of ponies lay about, bleeding from large cuts all along their bodies, some had bloody stumps of limbs as well as the cuts. Several ponies moved among the injured tending to their wounds as best they could, among those helping were Rarity and Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie helped Applejack over to where Rarity and Fluttershy was tending to a pony with deep lacerations across his face. As they approached, Rarity looked up from her work and and glanced over Applejack. Seeing no visible injuries she returned to the task at hoof. They had little to no medical supplies to speak of, the train had two small med kits but those were not nearly enough to save many of the ponies who lay dying around them.

Pinkie Pie removed her gas mask, her perfectly straight mane fell around her face, concealing half of it. "How many made it out?"

Without looking up, Rarity replied. "At a quick count about forty, of those, many are badly hurt or dying."

"Then we need to get them to Canterlot. Get the wounded onto the train, leave the dead."

Fluttershy nodded her head and without a word set out. Pinkie Pie set Applejack on the ground, despite her not having hurt herself during her fall, the second exposure to the fog took its toll. She felt light headed and unsteady on her hooves and slumped to the ground gratefully. Glancing back in the direction of the city, Applejack saw that the crystals were growing together and forming a dome around the city. Even as she watched the dome closed itself, sealing off the Crystal City.

Turing her head back around she looked to Rarity who was getting awfully fuzzy. "Hey yawl won't be needin my help much will yah? Ah feel like ah might..." Before she could finish, Applejack passed out. Pinkie picked her up and carried her to the train. After placing her with the other wounded Pinkie turned her gaze out onto the snowy fields. As the last wounded made their way onto the train, helped by Fluttershy and Rainbow dash they left behind those who would never move again.

With a last look at the Crystal City, Pinkie Pie boarded the train. With a hiss of steam and a loud screech, the train slowly left the isolated station. Bound for the capital city of Canterlot, bearing bloody survivors and dire news.