Luna of the Dead: Eclipse

Black clouds of smoke flew into the sky as the wheels clanged along the tracks. It was the middle of spring, but a blizzard engulfed the small train. Snow had always surrounded the Crystal Empire, but this was different. They were barely into the mountains when the unnatural storm struck. Everypony on-board was shivering, despite the winter suits Rarity had made them during their stay in the train house. She was never one to leave unprepared. Despite the blizzard, the were making good time: Luna would need to lower the moon in a few hours, and then they should arrive at the Empire not long after that. They were all excited, and every nervous. "What if the Empire as fallen?" Apple Bloom couldn't help herself from asking. "Then we'll make a new plan," said Rarity. This answer didn't exactly satisfy the filly, and she looked at the floor. Spike was starring out the train car window, watching the large snowflakes slam into the glass. Through his gazing, he caught glimpse of a shadow moving outside. 'Huh...,' he thought, 'that kinda looks like a pony. Too tall to be any normal pony though'. The shadow disappeared, and he shrugged it off as a trick of the light, or maybe he was just getting sleepy. He decided to rest for a bit.

The freezing wind whipped her ears and numbed her cheeks, but she refused to go inside. She had to keep the fire burning, and she had to be ready to hit the brakes at any second, in case there was an obstacle on the track. Ember wished she could use her magic and warm herself up, maybe make a bigger and stronger fire, but a sharp pain from her forehead reminded her that that was impossible. Ember sighed, but got over her sorrow. She was back amongst ponies again, something she thought might never happen. She was accepted and even depended upon for her skills with machinery. A happy tear filled her eye, quickly freezing in the blizzard's icy winds. She refocused her attention on the tracks, but her mind began to wander when her sight caught glimpse of something red in the corner of her eye.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn had brought an end to the harsh blizzard, and everypony was relieved, except Luna. While she was glad the snow storm was over, its absence only reveled the grey sun sulking in the sky. That sight only pounded the knowledge that her sister had turned even harder into her mind. Luna returned her focus from the sky to the little dragon in the "Over-Night" car. He had been the only one to enter the end-car, beds lining the wall, and sleep during their trip. She needed to rouse him from slumber. They would be entering the valley where the Crystal Empire stood soon, and everyone needed to be ready for anything.

The princess and the dragon entered the first-car, a standard train car where benches were in rows along the walls, and they sat down near Rarity and Apple Bloom. Everypony begun starring out the windows, waiting to catch a glimpse of the rumored safe-zone; everypony except Apple Bloom. Her attention was focused on the white unicorn, Rarity. Apple Bloom's mind was filled with what the letter in the club house contained. The words came back to her, flooding her head with the truth. The train rattled as it moved along the track, and this snapped Apple Bloom out of her trance. A pale light filled the room when they rounded the turn, and then they saw it. Through the windows, they could see the cliff side the tracks were built on, they could see the fields of the valley just beyond the cliff, and they could see the Crystal Empire.

The three ponies and the dragon had their jaws dropped when they saw the ruins. The once pure and mirror-like streets were cracked and crumbling. Many of the crystal buildings that surrounded the castle were cracking and boarded up, while others had simply collapsed. The ground was littered with debris, over-turned carts and wagons, and more corpses than they could count. Much of the landscape was scarred black, and craters and debris covered the area, signs of the bombs and hellfire that had attempted to stop the plague. The only sound to be heard was Luna whispering, "No..." when she saw the Crystal Castle. The large tower that stood as a marker for the kingdom and a transmitter of love lay shattered in the streets. Nothing in the empire resembled what it had once been. The kingdom appeared worse-off than Ponyville had been, and it was questionable if even a single pony remained. The Crystal Empire, the final hope for Equestria, sat in complete and total ruin. So it goes...