“Do you think it will ever end?” she asked, receiving a curious look.

“I don’t know…” was the response, as she gazed up to the lonely night sky of eternity. The stars and moon gazed back, as bright and defiant as ever of the darkness.

“Are we forever?” once again she asked. “Are we infinite, or finite?”

“I ask myself that question every day, sister…”

Once again, they both looked back to the sky, examining and wondering.

“Where does it end?” she muttered. “Is there anything beyond the stars?”

“...”

“I often think about that… That there are things beyond what we can see… Are we really meant to comprehend all this?"

“One day, Luna… One day we will find out.”

What happened? She groggily opened her eyes, feeling something heavy pressing her down. The calm of darkness was violently interrupted by a reality in chaos. Fire, explosions, twisted metal, corpses. Sighing, she relaxed, breathing slowly and steadily, falling into the limbo once again, all senses growing numb.

“... up!” someone called out. Her eyes shot open, darting from side to side in an attempt to find the source of the call. “Get the hell up!” the voice yelled again. She looked up, only to find an all observing guardsman moving with urgency as he pried off the metallic beams that formed a twisted rift between them. An explosion rocked the ground beneath her, her eyes locked onto the human as a stray rail shot pierced him from the back. Without another word, he fell without dignity onto the rubble. The world around her began to warp itself again. Tunnel vision was setting in anew. Her senses began to shut down, unwilling to cope with the world she was unceremoniously tossed back into.

An eternity is a fickle thing for one who does not age. Yet as she lay there, helpless in the games of destiny, time seemed to pass at a crawl. At last her eyes willed themselves back to function, and they were met with a storm of anger as the soldiers of the modern era, of all species, darted by towards that unseen objective still. From her position, she looked on as some of the guardsmen fell down due to enemy fire. She then tried to move, the weight of the wreckage still too much for her to rise again.

Luna felt, more than heard, the thumping steps of something large coming closer; each step grew in volume as they drew nearer to her position. As quickly as the miniature tremors had started, they stopped. Luna could see two huge feet of a soldier that were much bigger than any she had seen before. The wreckage groaned as it was forcefully ripped up from the half-buried position it was in, allowing what little light there was to burst through, the occasional explosion briefly lighting up the figure in front of her that had managed to lift up the downed drop-ship she was in. The Leviathan before her stood dumbfounded by his discovery.

“What’re you doing here…?” he asked as he looked down upon her through his orange visor. A torrent of memories, of raw emotion, of feelings long since extinguished, bombarded her very being upon seeing the familiar giant. “You came with the dropship, didn’t ya?” He heaved the last part of the wreckage, throwing it to the side. “Shouldn’t you be on the Vector, Princess?”

Luna coughed, slowly and groggily standing up with the help of the man, who crouched down and ensured she didn’t lose balance. She then smirked, her eyes meeting with his visor. “I fight for my people.”

“Fair enough,” the man replied, standing upright once again and looking in another direction.

“I have…” Luna muttered, “seen you before, have I not?” Her gaze traveled up and down his titanic form as she finished speaking.

“Name’s Atlas,” he replied. “Fought with your sister once, years ago.” A distant explosion made the ground tremble beneath them, briefly interrupting his train of thought. He glanced up and around at the battlefield that surrounded them. “We should keep moving, Princess,” said Atlas. “We’ve only got a few minutes before the assault on Apex.”

With that, Luna brushed some of the dust off of her chestplate and began following the man. All around her were tents, pods, and mobile command centers that had been promptly set up as the frontlines moved. They stood in stark contrast to the military buildings amongst those of old Ponyville, or rather, Ponyville district. Luna could recognize some of them still. It pained Luna's heart to see Ponyville district in such a state of destruction as she gazed across the many buildings and structures that had recently been filled with members of all species. She thought of the elements' homes, how they must have been destroyed by the invading fleet.

She observed as the wounded were carried to and fro, some silent, some screaming in agony, and some simply incapable of doing so. Her eyes looked towards the sky and observed as arcs of lightning struck the ground. Its thunderous roar merged with the sound of the rain. As she pulled away from that peaceful moment, she sighed and followed the giant. Water splashed against her hooves and she walked through the streets. As a bolt of lightning, illuminated the sky, she saw something, or rather, somepony in the corner of her eye. She recognized the mare's soft, pink mane and tail along with her yellow coat. An old friend.

Luna then split off from Atlas’ side, following the pony as she walked through the flap and inside one of the many tents, this particular one bearing a medical, red cross on its sides. Once there, she was met with the sight of wounded Guardsman of all species, some armored, some not, along with a few civilians. The stale, humid air lay thick with the stench of war: blood, sweat, tears, and fire. It stood in contrast to the rain as it covered the moans of pain and the sounds of medical staff going around inside.

“Excuse me…” Luna muttered as she positioned herself at the side of the pony she had been following, who was startled upon hearing the Princess. They both stared into each other’s eyes, looking right past that grimy facade, and into the fire and emotions that hit behind it. They muttered each other’s names.

“Luna…”

“Fluttershy…”

The yellow mare turned back to the wounded changeling that was lying on the nearest bed. “Gosh… Is it really you? How long has it been?” Fluttershy asked as she picked up the patient’s infopad with her wing. “Many of us thought you had died back when Silverback detonated the bomb behind the moon.”

Luna sighed. “Believe me, I’ve been on the verge of limbo too many times during these last few years.” She observed as Fluttershy nodded, her eyes still locked on the infopad. The realization that the kind mare’s innocence had almost been drained from her brought a pang of guilt to the Princess, even if there was nothing she could have done to prevent such a thing. Sighing once more, she spoke up, “How have the years treated you, Fluttershy?”

The mare froze up, eyes staring into infinity. It only after a couple of agonizingly long seconds that she shook her head and slowly turned her eyes, only to find Luna's unreadable gaze waiting. “I’ve been… leading a cause; to keep Apex from swallowing all of the planet’s woods and natural habitats. Every year the small animals are driven further back into woods and other places that get smaller every time.” She sighed, placing the infopad back onto the changeling’s bed. “My friends and I… We get together every week, remembering when everything was far more simple. But now… Well, we’re each doing what it takes to keep us all from dying.” Fluttershy brushed past Luna, leading the Princess deeper into the tent. “I know Rainbow is part of the Raider Corps now. Applejack is acting as a food supplier. Pinkie is, well, trying her best to keep people happy.” She stopped walking, taking in a deep breath. “And I’m providing medical care, as you can see, but I don’t know about Twilight or Rarity.”

“Attention,” a voice boomed across the camp. “All assets, prepare for Apex insertion.”

Fluttershy realized their precious brief moment to catch up was suddenly at an end. She looked up to Luna. “You better go… I must tend to the wounded.” She could no longer bare to look back as this brief moment had been nearly overwhelming.

Her hooves dug into the muddy ground of the forward encampment as she made her way through it, the noise of thunder and flash of lightning providing the moment with a sense of twisted calmness. All around her did the guardsmen run, preparing themselves and their souls for the battle to come, which for many of them, the last it would be. Each of them knew this, the fact that they could die within the next few hours, but strict training and mental preparation gave them an edge when dealing with such situations.

Thoughts flitted through Luna’s mind as she walked slowly past the waves of soldiers, though that did not detract from her awareness. She noticed in the corner of her eye a rather odd couple, consisting of a changeling and a woman, who both embraced each other, for perhaps the last time. Then, the thumping sounds of heavy footsteps combined with those of moving hydraulics forced her to turn to her right, in time to see a single figure, clad in silver armor, approaching her. As the figure got closer, she was able to discern that it was no human, nor organic. The stark blue visor of the being was the last detail she needed in order to realize who that was. They both walked over to each other, the android staring down at her whilst holding his rifle, and Luna grimacing as she craned her neck upwards.

“... Mac?” Luna asked.

“Negatory,” was the response. “My designation is ‘Prometheus’.” He looked around, then back down at the Alicorn. “And you are Princess Luna of the former Equestria, correct?”

“Correct,” Luna replied with a sigh. She frowned, mouthing out, “Do you need anything? Otherwise, this chat will have to end. I have a war to win, and so do you.”

Prometheus nodded, kneeling down and facing Luna. “Currently, I am processing a strain of code that could be used against the Ubor, which will dwindle their combat capabilities.” He placed his rifle over his back, the maglocks keeping it in place. “And I need to get to the Apex citadel in order to upload it. But, I need help getting there in the first place, and with your help, I may just achieve that.”

Luna huffed, looking around the camp. “Then let us join the assault on Apex. A friend and I will make our best efforts to get you to the Citadel and let you upload this code you are speaking off.”

Sirens began to boom across the camp. “Third Mechanized Infantry Legion, ready to deploy. All units, prepare for tactical insertion!”

Prometheus stood up, looking at the distant figure that was the Apex citadel.

“Let us go get your friend, Princess.”