Lost to the Sands - Phase 5

Phase 5

Celestia awoke to the sound of hooves clopping on the floor.

"Now?? They're there now?!"

She wearily opened her eyes, yawning and stretching from her position on the floor next to the bed. She gazed with tired eyes in the direction of the sounds she was hearing.

"But…" Luna's voice was confused and frantic, "But why are- What? What do you mean?"

Celestia slowly got to her hooves, keeping her eyes on Luna. She had made to ask her sister what all the noise was about, but then she noticed the device on the side of her head had its light illuminated. She recalled that this meant Luna was conversing with somepony else.

"But why now?" Luna's face was utterly perplexed, "It's so sudden. You're sure they said 'immediately'?" Luna was pacing back and forth across the length of the room as she spoke. Celestia merely watched in silence, filled with a genuine sense of worry.

"And no reason was given? You're sure?" There was a pause as Luna listened to the response, which Celestia could not hear. "They just showed up and- Yeah…" Luna glanced up to the roof with a brief look of anxiety. Then she gave a curt sigh and said "All right. I'll be there shortly!"

Luna then used her magic to press a button on the device on her forehoof, causing the light to dim. She then proceeded to curse quite loudly.

Celestia's eyes shot open wide in surprise. "Oh my, Luna," she commented, "Such language!"

Luna started and turned to Celestia. "Oh! Tia, I didn't see you wake up!"

"What's going on?" Celestia asked worriedly, glancing at the windows behind Luna, "It's not even time for the sun to rise yet."

Luna huffed in frustration. "I don't know…" she muttered, "Some foreign dignitaries from another country have just shown up - completely unannounced - and are requesting to see me immediately." She moaned quietly. "I dunno what they want, why they're here, what's gonna happen…"

"Oh dear…" Celestia replied.

"Yeah, I've got no choice," Luna said, pacing over to her closet, opening it, and taking out her silver jumpsuit, "I've just gotta go. Immediately. It's gonna completely ruin my schedule probably, but I can't say no."

"Luna," Celestia said, rising to her hooves and trotting over to her little sister. Luna gazed at her, and Celestia found herself looking into her eyes. She saw in them much the same as she'd seen before; stress, weariness, sadness. One such as Luna could always wear a mask, but the eyes were a window into one's true soul.

"Luna, I'm scared…" Celestia said, uncensored and plain. She gazed imploringly at her sister, emotions from the previous day returning in full force.

"Scared, Tia?" Luna replied.

Celestia nodded. "I'm scared for you. I'm worried, Luna. I'm really worried."

Luna smiled, but Celestia could clearly see how forced it was. "Don't worry about me, Tia. I'm fi-" She cut herself off, frowning slightly. Instead, she said, "Just, don't worry, Tia. Try to smile."

"Smile?"

Luna's lips turned upwards again. It looked a little more genuine this time. "Yeah, Tia. Smile. I always notice that I don't smile very often these days, so any reason to smile is a good one. We should be smiling now. This is our time together."

Celestia sat there, contemplating Luna's words. She tried to smile, but honestly found that she couldn't. There were too many conflicting emotions swirling around inside of her. She was worried, she was tired and upset. Above all, though, she was very concerned about what the future held. Thinking about what would happen if, and most likely when, she fell asleep again was giving her so much stress and intense anxiety.

"Don't worry, Tia," Luna said as she stepped around Celestia, continuing to prepare for her appointment.

Celestia didn't follow her, not even with her gaze. She sat still, her thoughts swirling. This is our time together. Luna's words repeated endlessly in her head. This was their time together; a short, rare occurrence where the two could be with one another. Yet, she could not find any happiness or joy in these times. This was a period filled with stress and hopelessness for the both of them.

Is this all we have now…? she thought, Short meetings of emotional pain?

"Okay," Luna said, her rush evident in her voice, "I gotta go now. I'll be back as soon as I can. I have no idea how long I'll be, but I'll try not to keep you waiting."

Celestia absent-mindedly turned around to face her. "O-Okay…" she mumbled.

Luna gave her another smile. "I love you, Tia!"

"Luna?" Celestia gazed at her sister, worry all over her face, "Are you going to be okay?"

Luna was silent for a moment. "I will," she finally replied.

"Are you sure?"

Luna closed her eyes. "I'll be back soon, Tia." A moment later and Luna was gone.

Celestia sat still in the silent room, the dim light of the setting moon being completely engulfed by the artificial light of the odd thing on the roof. For a few moments, Celestia merely sat alone with her thoughts. So many of them assaulted her mind, further driving up her anxiety and pain.

We should be smiling now.

Celestia's frown was heavy.

I'm fi- Just don't worry…

"Luna…"

Tia…? I'm…not fine.

Celestia was on her hooves, moving quickly towards the door leading out to the hallways. She stepped up to the control console, wracking her memory frantically to remember what Luna had done to open it. She used her hooves to press a few buttons, which resulted in a loud, jarring beep and a red light illuminating. Cursing, Celestia tried again with a different set of buttons. This time, a green light illuminated and the door slid open. She quickly exited through it.

After moving through another door, she came upon two unicorn guards, who gasped and quickly bowed upon her appearance. Wasting no time, she quickly asked them, "Which way did Luna go?"

One guard stood up. "Um…She went to a meeting in the-"

"Take me to her."

"Right," the guard said with a nod, "Sure, Your Highness."

The silver-clad unicorn began leading Celestia down a few hallways at a brisk pace. Determination and worry were clashing in her mind. She shouldn't have just stayed behind like that. Her sister needed her right now, as much as possible. There was no telling at this point what the future would bring, which truly terrified her, but also pushed her forward.

The two made their way through a number of electronic doors, allowing Celestia to see more of the castle. She wasn't very focused on it, instead focusing on getting to Luna, but the architecture did manage to capture her eye at some points. One room in particular was dominated from above by a huge, wall-to-wall screen displaying a depiction of the night sky. It almost made her stop and stare in wonder.

As they entered yet another door, Celestia caught a brief glimpse of her sister's mystical tail. Gasping, she took off at a quick pace down the hallway, leaving the guard behind. This hallway in particular was very beautifully designed. It was filled with columns that appeared to be made of marble, many windows to the beautiful courtyard outside, and a minimal amount of technology.

Celestia rounded the corner and called out, "Luna!"

She saw her sister approaching a large, grandiose door. This door in particular stood out because it was a normal door, with two frames opening to allow entry through the middle, and not electronic. It was open slightly, and she briefly saw a brown tail disappear through it.

She ignored this and began trotting towards her sister, who was looking quite surprised. "Luna," she said as she approached, "I should be here."

"What?" Luna replied, "What do you mean?"

"I should be by your side, staying together with you while-"

Luna gasped. Celestia stuck her hoof out just in time to catch herself from falling. She stood awkwardly for a moment gasping, eyes wide and breath coming short. No…Please… Already her vision was getting blurred.

"Tia…?"

Her eyelids felt heavy and her limbs grew weak. "No…" she muttered softly. As her strength quickly gave out and she collapsed onto her side on the floor, she heard the clopping of Luna's hooves as she approached. Celestia's head was spinning and her eyes were blurred and tired.

As she painstakingly forced open her eyes, she saw Luna gazing down at her. There was a sad smile on her face.

"Lu…na…" Celestia gasped. She tried to move her hoof, tried to reach out to her sister, but her body did not respond.

"I'll miss you, Tia…" Luna said sadly, "Please come back to me soon…"

No, no, no! No more! Celestia struggled with all of her might to keep herself awake. She fought and fought, screaming internally against this powerful, unknown force. Not! Again! STAY AWAKE!

Luna closed her eyes as two tears ran down her cheeks and fell to the floor. "It was wonderful to see you again."

Darkness overcame Celestia and she was hit with heavy disorientation, but she pushed against it, wrenching her eyes open once more. "Luna…" It was a struggle merely to talk. "Stay…"

Her head fell to the floor, darkness and silence consuming her.



***



Celestia awoke with a loud gasp.

She heaved heavy breaths for a few moments. Once her vision adjusted, she quickly whipped her head around to all sides. Her surroundings consisted of white walls, a single, strange door, and a translucent barrier.

Her heart quickly sank into the pit of her stomach and a heavy dark cloud of despair overcame her. "Noo!!" she cried out in anguish, bringing her hooves up to cover her eyes as she began to weep. Her body shivered as tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on all too familiar red cushions. Her mind was in tatters within seconds, leaving her a hopeless, disgraceful crying mess.

She moaned and wailed for a good long while within her prison. She didn't have the strength or even the willpower to face whatever lay on the outside. How many years had passed now? How much further was she from her own time? How long had she left Luna alone this time? It was all too difficult to handle, and it left her in shambles.

"No…" she murmured, "Not again…" She put her hooves down and lay uselessly in the enclosure, not finding the strength to do much more than cry. So many tears had stained her beautiful face, and her heart ached much more than it ever had before. It was a new level of pain, a new level of sorrow; one that Celestia could not withstand.

"Luna…I…" Her voice caught in her throat, "I'm so sorry…I wish that-"

Suddenly, the room around her began to quake extremely violently, causing her to cry out in surprise. Her enclosure shifted back and forth. She held out her hooves to try to steady herself and looked around frantically.

The whole room was shaking ferociously, and the mayhem was accompanied by a loud, prevailing rumbling sound. There were occasional louder bursts of sound that reminded Celestia of thunder. The room shuddered and small amounts of dust and debris tumbled to the ground.

Only a few seconds after the chaos began, the room suddenly became a lot darker. It was still dimly-lit, but a heavy shroud of darkness had been cast all around her. Gasping, Celestia directed her view straight up. There had been some of those light-emitting objects on the roof, but they had gone dark now.

Eyes wide and her previous despair forgotten, Celestia scrambled in the confines her tight position. She quickly scanned the inside of her enclosure through the poor light and found the same button that she had used previously to free herself. Wasting no time, she reached forward and pressed it.

She waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. As the room continued to quake around her, she mashed it a few more times. Still, there was no response. Her panic began to grow. "What?" She continued to hammer at the button. "Come on! Come on!" Her efforts rewarded her with nothing.

Celestia's panic spiked. She whipped her head around, looking for a solution. She pressed her hooves against the clear barrier and pushed as hard as she could. It did not yield to her efforts. Flashbacks of her first time waking up in this chamber returned to her, and along with it came that feeling of being helplessly trapped.

Only this time, it was a lot worse.

"Help!" she cried out, though she knew it was probably useless, "Help! Get me out of here!!"

The loud, thunderous booms continued, rocking the foundation each time one was heard. More debris tumbled from the walls and roof, some of it falling against her enclosure. She winced from each impact, but nothing managed to pierce the defences that surrounded her. Her breath increased to a feverish pace and her heart pounded relentlessly in her chest. Something truly rare was happening to her right now; she was fearing for her life.

Something happened that quickly caught her attention. For a brief moment, the light in the room had increased. It had lasted less than a second and then it was gone again. Celestia had seen it. The objects on the roof had started giving off a small amount of light before growing dark again.

She stared up at the ceiling, still as a stone except for her rapidly rising and falling chest. She held her tongue and stayed silent, staring up at where the light had come from, no matter how brief it may have been.

"Gyah!!" Celestia cried out as a particularly loud thunderous noise hit, accompanied by a violent quaking of the room. She felt the pedestal that her enclosure rested upon shift precariously. She could feel that it was weakening and would not be able to hold her up much longer if this mayhem continued.

This situation continued for an agonizingly long time to Celestia. The castle continued to rumble as if being subjected to a perpetual earthquake, and the thunderous booms continued, although they slowly began to decrease in frequency. Her mind was leaping to all sorts of horrible conclusions and her anxiety continued to rise, but there was nothing she could do. She was trapped in her enclosure in the dim darkness, unable to escape. Pieces of the roof crumbled and fell all around her, as did parts of the walls. For the most part, the structure of the building held strong, but wounds continued to appear.

Time passed and things were still the same. Presently, Celestia was staring up at the roof again. The room was shaking, her enclosure was wobbling, and awful sounds were crying out all around her, but she kept her gaze focused intently. She was much calmer now, breathing slowly and evenly. She tried not to blink as she kept her gaze fixated on the same, single spot.

The lights flickered on again. Quick as a flash, Celestia shot out her hoof and rammed it into the release button. Half a second later, the lights died out again. However, Celestia was rewarded with the sound of hissing and the transparent barrier clicking upward slightly. She smiled and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…"

She had been watching the lights occasionally flicker on and off. She still didn't fully comprehend what they were or how they worked, but over time in her past experiences, she had come to understand that they ran on some sort of power. And, likewise, most devices in this futuristic world ran on the same power source, whatever it may be. It was easy for her to make the conclusion that in the brief moment that the lights had power, so would her enclosure.

Her elation ebbed away, however, when she noticed that the barrier had barely opened. There was only a sliver of freedom to the outside world, certainly not enough to get through. Celestia placed her hooves firmly on the barrier and pushed as hard as she could. The barrier barely moved, and snapped back into its previous position once she stopped pushing. It was stuck in a partially-opened state.

Celestia groaned in frustration, taking a deep breath and pushing with her hooves again. The barrier slowly lifted up, but she was being met with stiff resistance. As the opening widened, she turned her head onto its side and thrusted her horn under the edge of the barrier. She then began pushing up with it as well, using it as a sort of lever. She even lit up her horn with magic, encasing the whole barrier in a golden glow and trying to force it up into its proper open position.

The room was still shaking and things were still falling all around her. She groaned in stress as she exerted an incredible amount of strength on this barrier. Sweat poured from her hooves and face as she gritted her teeth and continued to push. She managed to raise it enough so that her hoof would fit through, but she was still far from where she needed to be.

Celestia grunted loudly, pushing hard and channelling as much magic as she could into lifting this thing off, but the resistance she was pushing against was strong. It was like trying to force a door to open the wrong way. She lifted it slightly higher. She could taste freedom. With each further inch she raised it, the more the resistance increased, but she continued pushing anyway. She cried out loud, feeling a burst of strength, and poured all of her energy into her hooves.

Finally, there was a loud crunching sound and the barrier gave way completely, sliding open. The sudden drop in resistance took Celestia by surprise and sent her tumbling to the side and collapsing to the floor.

She groaned. She was in pain. She had exerted so much strength trying to get the barrier to open that she was worn out, and the ground she had fallen onto was covered with rough debris. She slowly and carefully got to her hooves. Looking down, she saw tiny droplets of blood falling from beneath her.

Suddenly, the room was rocked with a powerful force, sending her right back onto the floor. The accompanying sound was like an explosion directly in her ears, making her wince in pain. Now that she was out of the enclosure, everything was much louder. She heard things crumbling and the room was instantly filled with a cloud of dust. She covered her head with her hooves and grimaced, waiting for the chaos to end.

Finally, she shakily got to her hooves once again, coughing profusely. She ignored all the pain and weakness she was feeling and quickly made her way over to the door.

The walls above the door had been badly damaged by the last 'quake'. Chunks of it had collapsed away, leaving large holes, though not large enough for her to fit through. The area surrounding the door was covered with a pile of ruined metal.

Her attention, however, was drawn to the door itself. The entire doorway, both the metal panels that made up the door and the doorframe itself, had been bent and warped as the walls around it had collapsed. It was slightly curved to the side now, and the metal was bent and ruptured. The two panels had split apart slightly, and sparks were coming from the doorframe. The access panel near the door had gone black long ago.

She pushed on the access panel anyway, and then pushed against the door. As expected, neither responded. She had escaped from one prison only to find herself in another, which made her groan loudly in frustration.

Chaos was continuing to occur around her, leading her to come to the conclusion that this was most likely not a natural disaster like an earthquake. Something more terrifying was happening. Though Celestia was growing more and more frightened, she was likewise growing more determined.

Without so much as a second thought, she lowered her head and jammed her horn directly into the opening between the two door panels, once again using it as a lever. It hurt quite a lot, but Celestia grit her teeth and pushed through the pain, slowly trying to force her horn and the door panel upwards.

She grunted and pushed as hard as she could. For a moment, nothing happened and the door remained shut in its damaged state. But, as the debris continued to fall around her, the metal slowly began to shift. A heap of sparks flew from the side, some landing on Celestia's torso, causing a painful stinging sensation.

Her strength was rewarded as she pushed up, sliding the panel back and even causing it to buckle even more. Sweat poured from her as she shut her eyes tight and forced her horn up as hard as she could. Slowly but surely, she began to tear a hole through the ruined doorway.

Finally, she stopped pushing, falling back and panting profusely. Thankfully, the damaged door remained open, and there was now an opening for her to get through. It was fairly small; she would have to squeeze through. It would be a tight fit. Celestia took a deep breath, stood back up, and prayed she would not get stuck.

She carefully put her forehooves through the opening and gently eased her head and torso through. She hissed in pain, but did not stop. Slowly, she wedged her hindquarters through, followed by her back legs.

Once on the other side, she let out the breath she'd been holding in. Turning her head back, she looked at the crimson stains on her normally radiant coat. The sharp edges of the warped metal had ripped apart at her body as she'd forced her way through. Tiny rivers of blood were coursing through her fur.

She only focused on it for a moment before she began galloping down the hallway before her. Similar signs of destruction and decay could be seen everywhere. She couldn't believe this was happening. This was a crisis! She came upon a few other doors, but luckily these ones were still functioning. Though all of the lights on the ceiling had gone dark from a lack of power, the doors still managed to open somehow. The access panels beside them glowed faintly, and the doors opened much more slowly than they had done the last time she had seen them. Perhaps they were running off of some sort of backup power.

Celestia paid no mind to this. She didn't have the time. As she ran through the inner labyrinths of the castle, she came across nopony else. The hallways, which were being slowly ruined piece by piece, were completely devoid of life.

She idly noticed that the layout of the castle had once again changed. She made many turns and entered many doorways, but never came across that large, impressive window that looked out across Equestria. In fact, it was ages before she came upon a window at all. It didn't offer much of a view, however. All she could see from it were gardens.

Finally, she rounded a corner and found herself in the middle of a long, wide hallway with a red carpet leading down it. Through a large doorway at the end, which was being kept open, she could see a huge gathering of ponies. There were perhaps 40 or 50 of them, all of them running around frantically.

One of these ponies was notably taller and sported a very distinct mane.

Celestia took off down the hallway at a furious pace, her hooves barely touching the ground as she ran. The ignored the pain in her sides and the stiffness in her joints as she galloped down the hallway as quickly as she could. A few of the ponies saw her approaching and turned to look at her in surprise.

"Luna!!" she exclaimed as she burst through the doorway.

The deep blue Princess of the Night, who had been in the middle of delivering an order in a powerful, commanding voice, turned and stared at her. Every head in the room followed her gaze, and Celestia quickly found herself in the spotlight. The room fell completely silent, save for the continuing rumbles.

"Celestia…" Luna spoke softly, gazing at her with soft eyes.

She had been frantically rushing a moment before, but now she found herself stopping and gazing at Luna. Here before her stood her sister, another thousand years or so displaced. Whatever insanity was occurring, she was clearly prepared for it. She was once again wearing armour, though it was much sleeker and smoother than what she'd seen before. Along the plating, she saw many glowing lights and screens. What stuck out to her the most about Luna's appearance was the device extending just beside and in front of one of her eyes. Next to it, a square image of a computer's screen was somehow floating in midair, like a semi-translucent ghostly image.

Everypony's thoughts were interrupted as an incredibly loud explosive sound rung out and the castle was rocked by a massive tremor, sending many ponies, including Celestia, to the floor.

Luna immediately shifted back into her focus. "Alpha!" she barked, "West Flank! Magic and Materials! Go!"

"Yes!" a group of stallions shouted back, quickly giving a salute with their hooves before departing from the room through one of the doors.

Luna shifted her gaze to the side slightly so that she was staring at a pillar off to the side. Celestia was confused for a moment before she noticed that the floating screen before her eye had changed to display something different. When Luna's head shifted again, the image changed accordingly.

"Status!" Luna exclaimed, staring at the little screen intently, "Phi! Sigma! Theta! Report!!"

Celestia shakily got to her hooves. Blood was still dripping from her wounds, and her strength was being sapped away slowly. There was little energy in her reserves, but she pushed through the pain. "Luna!" she shouted, quickly making her way to her sister's side, "Luna, what's happening?"

Luna whipped her head around to face Celestia, who shrank back slightly, eyes widened in surprise. Luna's gaze was fierce; her expression was fiery. There was a heavy, determined scowl on her face, like that of a drill sergeant's. She was stone-faced and unemotional, and Celestia could almost see the fire dancing in her eyes.

"You just woke up?" she asked, quick and to the point.

Celestia's mind faltered for a moment. She blinked and said, "Ah…Yes, Luna. I-"

"You're injured. Anything serious?"

"No…The door was stuck, so I had to force my way through."

Luna shifted her gaze slightly again, causing the floating screen to change. "Foxtrot Med," she spoke clearly, "Command Center." She then returned her gaze to Celestia. "The medical team will take care of you."

Celestia couldn't get over the fire she saw in her sister's eyes. She needed more answers. "But, Luna-" she began. She was interrupted once again by a loud, powerful tremor.

Luna steadied herself on the unstable floor, gritting her teeth in anger. "Alpha!!!" she shouted, looking off to the side again, "Respond immediately."

"Luna, please!" Celestia pleaded, "Tell me what's going on! What's happening?!"

"Regroup with Gamma! Phi to the east wall!" Luna continued giving orders, ignoring Celestia.

"Luna!!" Celestia cried, taking a step towards her sister.

Luna turned and gave her a cold gaze, devoid of any positive emotion. Celestia gasped slightly. Such an expression was not one she had ever seen before on her sister's face. The words that Luna spoke next only made everything worse.

"It's war, Tia. We're at war."

All of the blood drained from Celestia's body. She stood stock still, shock plastered across her face. Luna had stepped away to attend to something else, but Celestia's eyes remained locked where she had stood. She stared ahead blankly, a harsh coldness overcoming her.

"War…?" she mumbled like a frightened foal.

"Princess!" a stallion's voice cut across the room, "Enemy's flanking us on the west! Defences are failing!"

"What of Lambda and Omicron?"

"They're being slaughtered!"

"Chi! Reinforce! Go, go, go!"

Celestia felt her gaze slowly turning towards her sister. She stared in blank shock as Luna, clad in fully-equipped and fully weaponized battle gear, gave orders to, what seemed to be, the Royal Equestrian Army. The rumbling and horrible sounds from outside were clear to her now; it was the sound of artillery and weapons. The castle was under attack, and the situation was critical.

"Where is Foxtrot?!" Luna exclaimed.

Celestia stared, feeling entirely like she was in a dream. This all seemed too horrible to be real. It didn't feel real. The last war Celestia had been involved in was the War of Chaos. That had been held well before the year 1000. Unless she had missed some war while she'd been asleep, this would be the first Equestrian war in at least 4000 years.

She had lived for so long with Equestria at peace that she had truly thought war was a thing of the past.

"Celestia!"

The dazed princess blinked in surprise, finding her sister suddenly close to her and staring intently at her.

"Luna, I-"

"It's not safe here, Celestia." Luna spoke, her voice loud and clear, "You need to-"

Suddenly, the western wall of the room exploded inward, showering a torrent of cement and metal into the room, accompanied by an ear-splitting explosion. Ponies screamed and were flung to the ground. Celestia quickly found herself flattened on the floor with somepony on top of her, straddling her and protecting her with their body. Dust filled the room and cries of pain could be heard. Celestia grit her teeth and held her breath, trying to stay calm, but already panicking.

"Urgh…" she heard Luna grunt once the chaos had ended, "Damage report??"

A few ponies were coughing profusely. "Princess," one spoke up through the cacophony, "Direct hit to the main stronghold. Alef magic team holding steady, but the wall is destroyed."

Luna groaned some more. "Get Echo Med up here. Now. Find status of Foxtrot. If they're out of commission for whatever reason, call Sierra as well."

Celestia felt the pony protecting her slowly stand up. They groaned in pain as they did. Celestia slowly looked up, her face much like that of a frightened foal's, and looked at the pony above her.

Luna looked down at her. "Are you all right, Celestia?" She was still so stone-faced and hardened. Celestia found it incredibly shocking to see Luna looking not unlike a grizzled war veteran.

It was terrifying in so many ways.

"Luna…" she said in a quivering voice as her sister helped her to her feet, "Is it true? War?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, Celestia. Equestria is at war. A brutal war. This attack today came completely out of nowhere. We're sustaining heavy casualties and are just barely holding them back."

Celestia shivered uncontrollably. A horrifying chill was coursing through her body, making it difficult for her to stand or breathe. "Who, Luna?" she muttered, just barely loud enough to be heard over the chaos, "Who are you at war with…?"

Another loud explosion rocked the room, knocking both ponies off balance. They barely managed to keep their footing.

"Status!" Luna shouted, tearing her attention away from Celestia suddenly.

"Enemy weapon!" a voice called out from across the room, "Threat unknown!"

Luna took a step forward, fierce determination on her face. Celestia couldn't get over how different her sister looked than she had seen before. She could not ignore the fire she saw in Luna's eyes.

"On-screen!" Luna shouted.

Suddenly, before Celestia's astonished eyes, a huge, transparent square lit up near the front of the room. It looked like the projector screen in a movie theatre, only it was see-through and seemingly floating in the air. It was a blank, off-white for a moment, before it briefly filled with static and then showed an image.

Celestia's breath was taken away from her. It was a view of what she assumed to be the city center of Canterlot. The city was completely devastated; buildings were destroyed, multiple fires were burning strong, the ground was filled with scorch marks. There were many ponies littering the area. Only half of them were alive. Celestia shivered as she beheld the bloodshed.

Then, she saw those on the other side of the battle. There were many in the air surrounding Canterlot mountain. They wielded weapons with glowing lights and sharp attachments. Many were using them to fire brightly coloured beams that delivered destruction upon contact. In terms of living combatants, they greatly outnumbered the ponies. Celestia watched in utter horror as the majestic, winged creatures landed. Half eagle, half lion, and covered in sleek, effective armour.

In the span of ten seconds, five ponies fell as the griffons stabbed them mercilessly.

"There!" one of the stallions in the room shouted, pointing his hoof up at the top-right corner of the screen. Celestia forced herself to tear her eyes away from the carnage to look at what was being indicated. In the distance, still fairly far away, four griffons were all working together to carry a large, formidable object. It was cylindrical in shape, appeared to be made of very reflective metal, and was glowing red from the inside.

"Hold them back!" Luna barked, "Delta! Zeta! Go!"

As the ponies around her continued to busily move about, Celestia sat in the middle of it all, shivering violently. She clutched herself tightly with her forehooves, trying desperately to keep from hyperventilating. It was an uphill battle as her abject horror was slowly overcoming her.

"Princess!" she vaguely heard somepony state in a light, airy voice, "Sierra Med."

"Tend to her wounds. Now!" she heard her sister speak.

Somepony was touching her, applying something to her, and wrapping her in something. She barely noticed. She stared directly ahead as tears streamed from her eyes, clutching herself tightly and rocking slowly. Her breath was coming in quick, short bursts. Her mind was running rampant, struggling to comprehend the insanity that was occurring around her.

War. Terror. Bloodshed. Massacre.

The same horrible words repeated themselves mercilessly in her head. In her brief, limited glimpse of the chaos outside, she had seen so many dead ponies. It was terrifying. It was sickening.

And she had seen the griffons. They were attacking so ruthlessly, swinging and stabbing with the blade of their weapon, and causing destruction and carnage with the shots they fired. They were all completely outfitted for war, and there were so many of them. What had happened? Why were the griffons attacking?

"Go for go," she heard the airy voice beside her state, "You've sustained lacerations along your torso and underbelly and have lost a minor amount of blood. You possibly have a bruised rib. Nothing serious, all treated."

Celestia wasn't listening. Slowly, she tilted her head until she was gazing at her sister. Or, at least, the pony that sort of looked like her sister. This stiff, hardened, commanding pony with bruises from the past and fire in her soul was nothing like the little sister she knew. This was so terribly unlike her that it was frightening. The only time Luna had ever behaved like this was when she had been tainted by the Nightmare. During the War of Chaos, Luna had been terrified.

Luna saw her staring and took a step towards them. She addressed the medical pony beside her. "Go for go?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"No serious injuries?"

"No, Your Highness."

Celestia gazed up at Luna, still shivering. "L-Luna…"

"Celestia…" Luna spoke evenly.

"Wh-Why…?" Celestia squealed, "What happened…?"

For a moment, the fire in Luna's eyes softened slightly. She frowned and gazed down at her sister. "I wish I knew. I truly do."

"How….How could…"

Luna shook her head. "These damn griffons want to wipe us out."

"B-But…"

"Tensions had been growing for years, and then one day it all snapped and went to Tartarus."

A tear rolled down Celestia's face. She could feel a heavy darkness in her heart slowly tearing away at her. "Luna…"

The blue alicorn averted her gaze. "Sierra."

"Princess?"

"Take Omicron and return my sister to her holding chamber. Place her in secure mode."

The pony nodded. "At once, Your Highness." She then stood up and disappeared into the crowd.

Celestia gasped, not quite believing what she'd just heard. "Luna!" she cried out.

Her sister was already halfway into turning away, but stopped and returned her gaze to face her. "Yes?"

"Wh…What do you mean 'Back to the holding chamber'? You don't mean…"

"Celestia," Luna spoke plainly, gazing at her with ferocious, blazing eyes, "It is not safe here. You must be protected from harm. That capsule is the safest place for anypony to be. It is 100% impenetrable."

Celestia couldn't believe her ears. She stared at Luna incredulously for a moment. "You cannot be serious, Luna! You can't expect me to abandon you!"

"Celestia…"

"No, Luna! It's out of the question!" A moment of silence passed between the two, after which Celestia took a deep breath. "It's true…" she spoke quietly, "This is quite…shocking. It's horrifying. I was not prepared for what I have seen today." She shivered for a moment. "But sitting here crying about it isn't going to help anypony. If you're here to fight today, Luna…" She paused and locked eyes with her sister, staring at her determinedly, "Then I will fight with you."

"That is not possible, Celestia," Luna stated firmly.

"But-"

"Think clearly for a moment," Luna spoke a little louder, stepping forward and leaning her head down very close to Celestia's, "While I have no doubt that you would be an exceptional help to us on the battlefield, the fact is that you are suffering from some kind of sickness. You're going to be in incredible danger should the next sleeping spell hit you while you're engaged in warfare. You would most likely be killed."

Celestia stood still with her jaw hanging open, unable to find the words with which to respond.

For a moment, Luna's eyes softened. "And…I can't allow that to happen."

The medical pony returned, along with a group of at least ten heavily armoured soldiers. They stood on either side of Celestia, looking up to Luna and saluting her.

"Go to your chamber, Celestia," Luna ordered, "You will be safe there."

So many tears were welling up in Celestia's eyes. So many painful thoughts were going through her mind. So much was happening so quickly, it was too difficult to comprehend. "But…" she said in a rasping voice, "Luna…"

Yet another powerful explosion shook the room. Luna steadied herself as she put on a determined face. "I don't have time to argue with you, Celestia. You will stay protected there until the war is over."

Celestia was shivering profusely, tears staining her faces and falling to the floor.

Luna began to light up her horn, closing her eyes and looking down slightly. She then spoke softly. "Celestia?" She looked up at her and paused for a moment.

Then, she smiled.

"It was wonderful to see you again. I love you."

The next thing Celestia knew, she was being blinded by a bright, white flash emanating from Luna's horn. After blinking and clearing her vision, she steadied herself and looked around, finding that she was back in the room she had awoken in. Furthermore, the medical pony and the group of armoured soldiers had travelled there with her. Already, some of the soldiers were moving towards her enclosure.

Celestia gasped. "No…" She turned around and stared at the ruined door that led out of the room. "No! I won't let her!" She began to gallop towards it. "I won't abandon her!!"

"Princess!" the voice of the medical pony shot through the room, causing Celestia to stop and turn around. The pony was staring at her without a trace of emotion on her face. "Princess Celestia, we have our orders from Princess Luna. We will follow them, whether you co-operate or not."

Celestia's heart fell as a heavy cloud began to loom over her. "But…"

"She's right, y'know," one of the stallions said as he worked at the enclosure's interface, "If you go out there and fight, you're dead. It doesn't matter how good a fighter you might be; once you fall asleep, they'll slaughter you."

"But…"

"This machine," the medical pony continued, "has been designed to withstand anything and everything. Its purpose is to keep you safe. Protocols have been installed for crises such as this one."

Celestia began to shake again, unbearable emotions overtaking her. "B-but…"

"Please, Your Highness," the medic spoke, a small hint of compassion eking into her voice, "Think about your sister."

She did think of her sister. While she had no doubt in her mind that she wanted nothing more than to support her sister and her country as much as she could, she began to imagine what would happen if she were indeed killed. The mental image of Luna's crying, heartbroken form weeping atop her unmoving body was clear in her mind. Even more tears began to fall.

"So please, Princess. It's for the best."

Celestia gulped, took a deep breath, and then slowly nodded. She turned around and began trotting towards the painfully familiar enclosure that she had woken up in three times now. As she now stood, looking at it from the outside, she began to notice something eerie about it.

It looked very similar to a coffin.

"Door's fixed," one of the stallion soldiers proclaimed.

"All systems check out," another stated.

Celestia noticed that the interface on the enclosure's side was once again glowing, despite the lights on the ceiling still remaining dark. She was about to question why when she noticed one of the soldiers, who was a unicorn, sitting off to the side, his horn encased in a steady, white glow. He was clearly supplying power to the device.

One of the soldiers pushed a button on the interface with his hoof and the top of the enclosure slid upwards and open. It stood now, eerily inviting her in. She took a hesitant step towards it.

"Miss?" she said, turning to face the medical pony, "Miss Sierra, was it?"

"Oh. No, my name is Butterfly. Sierra is my division's name."

"Butterfly then," Celestia spoke softly, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice, "Isn't there…anything I can do before I put myself to sleep? Anything at all I can do to help?"

Butterfly paused for a moment. "Princess, if I may," she replied, "I think letting your sister see you again was the best thing you could have done."

The mare's words flowed through her mind, doing a little to help ease it.

"This was has been brutal. I think seeing her little sister again might have been the boost she needed to get through this."

"How long has Equestria been fighting this war?" Celestia asked.

"Not too long. Perhaps a year or so. There had been skirmishes and political instability before, but full-out war was only declared recently."

"Who declared war?"

"The Griffon Kingdom."

Celestia let out a silent sigh of relief.

"They want our land, and they want power. But more than that, they want us conquered, dominated…perhaps enslaved."

The castle rumbled powerfully. Celestia cast an anxious glance at the opaque window to her left. "I worry about her…I worry about all of you."

"Don't worry, Princess. We're in a bad spot right now, we have faith that we'll win."

"It tears me apart that I have to hide myself away like this…"

"It's the best course of action, Princess."

"I know…" Celestia gave a sad smile. "I have a request, Butterfly."

"Of course, Your Highness."

Celestia shut her eyes, letting a single tear fall. She began to slowly trot towards her resting place. "Tell my sister…" she spoke, "Tell Luna that I love her. Tell her that I will always love her, and that I will miss her dearly." She stopped once she reached the bed, opened her eyes and turned back. "But also tell her that I can't wait to see her again," she concluded with a brave smile.

Butterfly mirrored her smile. "As you command, Your Highness." Butterfly then saluted. The soldiers in the room followed suit.

Celestia felt pride swelling within her. Heaving a sigh, she turned and began to climb into the enclosure. "I have faith in you ponies…All the ponies of Equestria." She lay down on the cushions and got herself comfortable. "Please take care of my sister."

"We will," Butterfly replied.

"Oh. Before I go," Celestia said, turning to the medical pony, "Tell me…What year is it?"

Butterfly paused. "It's 4502, Your Highness."

Celestia merely closed her eyes and shivered slightly. "Th-Thank you…"

One of the soldiers then pushed a button on the enclosure's interface, causing the translucent barrier to begin closing. As it did, he spoke to Celestia. "We're putting you in 'Secure Mode', Your Highness. It's an added level of defense. Don't worry, you'll be fine. It'll just be a little dark."

And with that remark, the casing slid shut, cutting off Celestia from all outside noise. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm the claustrophobia she could feel setting in. She tried to ignore the incessant anxiety she felt about this war that was going on and how abysmal Equestria was currently faring.

She let out her breath slowly and closed her eyes. There's nothing more I can do. If I fight, I will die.

The stallion outside finished inputting a series of button commands and stepped back. Celestia gasped slightly as a second barrier began closing on top of the translucent one. This one appeared to be made of some sort of dark metal.

It'll just be a little dark.

Celestia's eyes went wide as the heavy casing continued to close around her. The light being let in continually grew smaller and smaller. 'A little dark'? You didn't say it would be pitch black!!

Then, Celestia was alone with the rapid thumping of her heart. The second casing had completely sealed her in, leaving her in complete pitch darkness. She couldn't see a thing, not even her hoof in front of her face when she lifted it up.

She channelled magic through her horn and illuminated it, but the close quarters made the light emitting from it too intense, causing her to wince in surprise. She toned down the level of her spell, casting a dimmer light. She could now clearly see the thick, black metal completely encasing her. It felt like it was closing in on her.

Celestia's breathing was deep and heavy. She wasn't sure if she preferred being able to see or not.

Sound from the outside world was almost completely cut off as well. All she could hear were vague, muffled booms every now and again. The loudest and most constant sound was that of her heavy breathing. The rumbling and vibrations could still be felt quite clearly, however. There wasn't a moment's peace from the shaking of the castle.

Everything about her tiny, cramped environment was incredibly uncomfortable and unnerving. No matter how hard she tried, Celestia could not curb her anxiety or slow her rapidly beating heart.

And so she lay, alone with her thoughts. Time maddeningly slipped by with nothing for her to do but lay and wait. Horrible thoughts of the brutal war assaulted her mind. She kept seeing images of her sister lying dead on the battlefield, killed in a bloodbath.

She saw a gruesome slideshow of slain ponies, dead ponies, tortured ponies. She saw the fields of Equestria get painted red. She saw Canterlot Castle crumble to the ground.

So many tears rolled down her cheeks. "Wh…Why…?" she cried softly.

Celestia stayed in that dark and terrifying enclosure for the longest time. She had no idea how long she was in there. It could've been a half hour or more than a day. All she knew was that it felt like eternity to her.

She spent much of the time simply crying and holding herself tightly. She wasn't able to put on a brave face anymore. Celestia was utterly terrified, and could no longer hide it nor deny it. Things had gone from bad to worse to catastrophic, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Her emotions were completely consuming her, slowly turning her into a pathetic, shivering wreck.

She could only hope and pray that whatever awaited her the next time she awoken would be better. She made a silent wish that she would be able to see her sister again. Things looked bad, but she had faith in Luna. She would prevail. She had to.

A seemingly infinitely long period of time passed, but soon, mercifully, her eyes began to drift shut and she fell into a deep sleep.



***



Celestia awoke. She quickly realized that she was soaking wet.

Gasping loudly, she shot upwards. She sat breathing heavily, her eyes wide open as the sudden shock of bitter cold hit her entire body. Her heart was threatening to beat itself out of her chest. She couldn't see what was going on. Her wet mane was obscuring her vision. Panic! Panic!

She hastily brought up her hooves to try to brush away at her slick, clingy mane. She could hear a constant droning sound, and it was very cold. Water was cascading all over her body. It briefly registered in her mind that she should have hit her head when she'd sat up.

Finally, she managed to pull the heavy strands of her mane away from her eyes. She was still breathing in harsh, ragged gasps as she stared forward with wide eyes, a flurry of panicky emotions assaulting her.

She saw a rock wall. Celestia blinked. She currently sat about a yard away from the rugged stone wall of what seemed to be a cliff. It completely filled her field vision. She panted for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

It was raining. Raindrops cascaded around her in a heavy torrent, soaking the distressed Princess to the bone. There was no other way to put it; it was pouring. The sound of the rain was surprisingly loud, threatening to drown out her thoughts. It obscured her vision slightly, coming down in such a high concentration. Celestia couldn't remember the last time she had seen rain this heavy.

She shook her head, trying to get some of the water off of her and out of her mane, but it was a futile effort. The relentless downpour kept her perpetually soaked. She was also very cold. The rain was freezing, and the water was chilling her terribly. She shivered profusely.

"Wha…?" she whispered into the cold air, leaning forward slightly. She immediately yelped in pain and drew her hoof back in surprise. She looked down at it, seeing a trail of blood course down her leg, staining her white fur. Looking forward slightly, she saw what had caused it.

She realized that she was still sitting in the same enclosure. Only now, the transparent casing had shattered like glass. She had cut her leg on one of the sharp edges that remained. Looking around slightly more, she saw that her cushions were soaked and filthy, and that the entire apparatus looked to be in a state of decay. It sat on muddied dirt and was covered in scuffs, blemishes, dents and even plant life.

"Wh…What…?" Her brain was struggling to process all of this, but already her heart was beating even faster than before. She slowly and carefully turned herself around, watching for more sharp edges. The relentless torrent of rain continued to assault her, soaking her and chilling her.

As she turned, the rock wall fell away and more of the landscape she was in was revealed to her. What sat before her underneath copious amounts of heavy, dark storm clouds made Celestia's jaw drop in horror. She couldn't even gasp. She couldn't breathe.

She could only stare at the horrifying, dying wasteland that stretched out endlessly before her, devoid of life. The endless black clouds rolled over dead, deserted earth and sickly, rotting husks that were once trees. The ground was brown or possibly even grey, and nothing broke up the land besides a few hills and rocks.

It was empty. As far as her eyes could see, the land was empty…

…and dead.