Luna galloped forth with the aid of her wings. Explosions quaked the floor under her hooves and the windows of the Citadel. The holographic representation of a human appeared next to her.

“Princess Luna-”

“Who-!?” she yelled as she continued to run.

“I am Andy, Princess Sparkle’s personal VI and assistant. I am replacing the primary VI at the moment,” the hologram dictated. “I must warn you: your survival rate is next to zero percent. You must turn back and escape the Citadel before it is too late.”

The Princess grunted, ignoring the distant explosions and cries of pain. “I am not letting a simple machine tell me what to do. I am calling the humans!”

“I am afraid that it is too late for that,” Andy continued. “The offenders have already breached and destroyed the communications center. They are most likely expecting you.” He appeared in front of her, only for the alicorn to run through him, unfazed. “A neutron purge device has been set up on the facility. You will suffer an immediate death within the next five minutes if you do not escape. I am afraid that your magic is not effective in this situation.”

“What about Twilight!?” she yelled. “And everybody else in the Citadel!? I cannot leave them behind!”

“Twilight has been captured, location unknown. Celestia has suffered the same fate. The rest of the council is dead. If you fall, Luna, so will the rest of the planet.”

Luna skidded to a halt, her eyes wide. She quickly glanced around, burning corpses set along the hall and gunfire zipping past her. “I... fine! Show me to the exit!”

“At once.” Andy’s hologram began to move, Luna following it. Her mind raced as well as her body. Dodging debris, corpses, and other blockades was one thing; trying to come up with answers was another one. During her second stay at the moon, she knew her arrival was going to be a difficult process, but nothing like this.

She continued to follow Andy’s inexpressive hologram, suicidal mercenaries trailing behind her. The alicorn watched as the hologram fazed out in front of a window. She jumped through it, unfurling her wings and taking flight above the megacity of Apex.

Luna continued to fly, her eyes closed. She heard a hum as the purge commenced, not caring if it would reach her or not. She already lost everything, but if Andy was right, she was everything everyone else had.

From below, the desperate cries for help of the USC’s citizens could already be heard. Sirens coming from Colonial Guard gunships that soared through the sky and around the burning Citadel. “Civil Unrest status, confirmed. Threat level adjustment, granted. All citizens, report counter behaviour to your Colonial Guardsmen teams immediately, then route to your housing blocks.”

“I suggest you maneuver your way over to the outskirts of Apex,” came Andy’s voice from inside her head. The Princess’ eyes shot open at the voice. “Do not panic,” he continued, “I uploaded myself into your neural interface as you escaped the Citadel. I could not allow my data to fall into enemy possesion.”

The Princess grunted. “Why escape even further? The whole world seems to be in chaos.”

“We can only assume that even the Colonial Guard is somewhat corrupted... Luna, I will have you know that my programming is incapable of deception. I am afraid that you must do this alone.”

“I am not alone if I have you.”

“... Thank you.”