Chapter 1: Sister you were friends with these monsters?

"We bid thee farewell; we have been requested by our sister and must leave. It has been most pleasant to meet you again, Star Strike," Luna bellowed out using her Royal Canterlot voice. She was pleased with how a young earth pony was taking interest in the stars. It was a nice excuse to use the Royal Canterlot voice given that he was already half deaf, and he could hear her perfectly when she spoke in such a way.

"Good bye, Princess Luna, I hope my designs have given you inspiration," he replied in a normal tone. All of his friends in the royal guards all thought he was the only pony able to withstand the sonic blast of the Princess’ Royal Canterlot voice.

"Farewell, and know that thou has permission to call us Luna." She trotted away happily. Ever since Nightmare Night, with thanks to Twilight sparkle, she found it easier to make friends with more ponies. However, she was struggling to get past 14 at the moment, 8 if you didn’t count the Elements of Harmony.

She had reached Celestia's chambers and was hoping to see her getting ready for bed or sitting happily. Instead, she found a weeping angel staring at a mirror. She was sobbing uncontrollably, placing her hoof onto the reflective plane. Luna was downright stunned by what she saw. Her sister was pouring her heart out to this mirror. Is she so upset about her age? But there is not a single wrinkle on her. She was about to ask her sister what on Equestria was going on, when a voice interrupted her process.

"If you can...could you please save us?" a young voice pleaded, in such a way it could be considered for the sound to be everywhere at once.

Celestia launched herself at the mirror, pressing her face against it.

"Yes, I would! Yes, I would! Yes, I would!" she began thumping against the wall each time, slowly choking on her tears until she could only squeak, "I just need more time."

Luna approached until another voice spoke. It sent shivers down her spine as she realised who was speaking.

"No, your kind brought this upon itself and shall suffer the consequence! I shall keep these memoirs in the name of this world you destroy, but remove you from all of its history!"

It was Celestia; she turned to see her sister seething in the mirror and walking off into the light. She turned back to see the real one curling up and crying beneath the large mirror. She returned the mirror to see another creature. It stood in black torn armour on two legs, held a strange long object. It appeared to be of a military background but she could not tell. Its face was bloodied and dripping with sanguine. It had cuts and a bandage on its arm and another across its eye.

She was shocked to hear it speak. "I don't blame you. You don't know the whole story; there was never enough time to explain. It's too much. Goodbye, but please know this. It is never too late to forgive and save a life. Good bye, Princess Celestia." The being turned and advanced towards a burnt doorway merging with the shadows.

The image became hazy and shifted scenes. A new world emerged and more of these creatures appeared in formation. Luna watched as they hid behind debris of a shattered building. The place was surrounded by fire and the sound of small cracks of thunder.

"They’re going to fight," Celestia finally spoke, still shaking.

"Tia... I don't understand. What's going on? What are they? Why do you know them but I have never heard of them?"

"Neither did I Luna. They are creatures so complex. They contain the spirit of chaos and the elements of harmony inside them simultaneously." She sniffled pulling Luna closer. "They can perform amazing feats; they lack magic but are more advanced than what we could possibly hope to be. Now watch they are going to battle. These 6 humans are fighting against an entire army."

"Why are they fighting?" She was watching an eerie sight. She could not see them appearing to be attacking or defending. Only in positions that signalled preparation for a final stand. It was completely silent, as the six things hid behind solid barriers. "Tia, what did this have to do with you?" her worry for her sister was starting to take its toll.

"They are going to fight and... And..." She couldn't finish, and began sobbing again.

Luna looked back and grabbed her sister, tightly, as if her life depended on it.

"They’re going to kill... to save us...They thought they were going to buy me enough time stop the army from invading," she wailed. "I didn't tell them I could close the path before the army arrived.”

"Tia... what happened? Please, tell me what's going on..." She was cut off by more thunderous sounds. She looked and saw each one had a device that created rapid outbursts. Some humans had larger ones than others; some had ones that crackled faster than others. One had a long barrel with a small telescope on it, another had a black object slightly bigger than its black claw.

The one from before appeared to be shouting, whilst having its device blazing off past the side of the mirror. They were all aiming at the same side of the mirror. Luna and Celestia watched as fire burned and mounds of dirty was tossed into the air. Eventually the mirror turned to show what they were 'attacking'. It was an entire battalion of more of these things.

One of the humans by the building crouched down, It was very big, and cradled a small green box. It had something sticking out and when pressed resulted in an explosion along the horizon, decimating those on the offence.

Luna gasped. Never had she seen so much carnage.

The mirror changed images, again, to show darkened rooms overlooking the battlefield. A small human with a mask spoke to the bandaged one.

"Snake. You may be younger than me, but it's good to meet someone with decent taste in music. It's been an honour to serve, even if you’re a Brit," he chuckled.

"Same 'ere. You yanks aren't so bad. Thanks for getting me out back there, wanna swig?" He extended a small flask.

"I don't normally drink on the job." He declined moving his gloved hand side to side.

"Ever? 30 years of service and never a single drink. Fucking hell." He took a final taste before neatly tucking it away.

The big one from before was busy setting up another large device at the window.

"So vwat happens now?"

"Keep shooting till we have to throw cases at them." the one called Snake ordered the others.

"Why do they want to kill each other? Why do they want to invade us?" Luna asked, still in shell shock.

"Their planet was dying; remember when I told you I left for around 3 days about a century ago?" Celestia responded, still gazing into the image.

"Yes, you came back covered in injuries. You wouldn't say why though." Her mind made the connections. "You went to there! With those monsters?"

Celestia stood up and glared at her sister. "THEY ARE NOT ALL MONSTERS! THEY JUST MADE MISTAKES!" She collapsed immediately. "I MADE MISTAKES! I'M STILL PAYING FOR IT, WITH THESE MEMORIES THAT TAUNT ME YEAR AFTER YEAR!" she sobbed into her sister’s shoulders. "They’re not only my memories, but theirs as well.

They looked back into the memory that played out. It would only get worse.

Soldiers encased the building as the five made way to the final floor. They had made quite a dent until 2 strange machines approached. They looked like desert beetles, without legs and a long straight trunk. Each one looked at the building and fire exploded out. It was a measly fire, but the effects on the building were devastating. Entire walls were removed. One of the 6 returned fire with a long pipe that shot a firework out. One of the beetles ceased to move shortly after a second shot.

"It will happen soon," Celestia said morbidly.

"Wh-wh-what will?" Luna asked now afraid.

"They all die," She answered.

The image was now refocusing. Many dead humans and blazing machine beetles remained still, in the funnelled valley. The image then focused on the six. They were all injured if not extremely tired. One of them started beeping.

"Snake!" yelled a human with glowing squares on his body. They were all holed, trapped on the top floor, when he revealed the bad news from behind a flipped table. Down the hall 2 staircases spewed out slowly creeping soldiers, only for them to be cut down. Those who advanced returned fire creating a stalemate between both parties. Neither one gained the land or lost it.

"What is it Specks?" He replied still firing his device down the hall.

“Missile inbound. Sir! Orders?" He asked launching another green ball towards the door. Between explosions Snake was heard.

"HOW LONG!"

"5 minutes sir!"

"Alright listen up. We are S.A.S, Marines, MI6 and Spetsnaz, protectors of the innocent from the highest threat, each other.  We got five minutes left. We saved one world from those sick bastards back at their HQ, now we go for one thing and one thing only."

"What's that?" asked a woman. "Don't hold out on us." demanded another who looked exactly like the previous. Both fired out of a window by a nearby wall.

Snake smiled. "We go for Glory, we go for pride, and we determine the best. We go for a high score. Unless a way out shows up we kill every last fucking bastard that lines up in sight. Are you with me?"

"Fuck yeah!"

"OORAH!"

"It's abvout time."

"4 minutes."

"Fuck, I get a penalty of 10, not that it matters."

What soon followed was carnage and pain. The group stayed strong, some taking to the windows, others taking to the doorway.  In the end it did not matter. Snake watched as a missile hurtled towards them. He said one last thing beneath the sound of battle.

"I am not sorry for what I am; only what I have done. I do not regret the cost I paid for those I have saved, but those who I have lost. Celestia...I hope you can see the beauty of what this planet once was. Please, just look at the book."

Luna watched as the missile struck the building, bringing it down. It was engulfed in flame and smoke. When the dust settled there was only the sight of a clenched fist, holding a small sheet of metal attached to a chain. The inscription wrote ' Captain Mark Jones - Secret Air Service, air school Id 101994 Alliance uniform.

The image returned to normal reflecting a pair of shivering alicorns.

Celestia broke the silence. "I could have saved them. I didn't know that they were willing to sacrifice themselves for Equestria. I didn't think they could give up everything for a world they did not know existed." She lowered her head. “I didn't know Snake would save me."

They stayed there huddling and talking. Celestia retold her accounts of the history that refused to let go. She talked about how it played annually in any mirror, and repeated for 3 days. She talked about the guilt she still has for leaving them. She tried to convince Luna about how there world was once a nice place, and why these humans were her friends. Luna could not believe her.

So she showed her the book.

It was thick, full of information, and was stored in a hidden safe under Celestia's portrait. She wiped a tear from her eye as she presented her younger sister with a profile of Earth.

"I didn't ask for that picture because I was being vain," she mused, still maintaining a slightly morbid tone.

"Tia... what is this?" she asked, opening the cover page titled ‘Earth’. The first page was an unusual planet, similar to Equestria but with different pieces of land. It had lush blue oceans and seas, orange patched lands, signifying great deserts. It was white tipped at each pole, meaning huge landscaped of pure snow and ice. There was, thankfully more green than the last 2, but significantly less than the seas.

"That is their world. It is called Earth, just a humble name. It does look beautiful, doesn't it? I doubt ours could measure up to such a majestic sight," she sniffed.

As an hour passed, the book revealed all their culture. From likes to dislikes, beliefs and theories, to facts about the solar system to fictional stories, many a subject filled each page. Whenever there was an opinion to be written, there were always six. Luna figured that each one of the humans wrote about the planet. There was a list of social taboos and rules to never break.

The next interesting sights were the pictures of the humans. All together, separately, and with other friends Celestia did not know.  The funny sounding one with the small green box was standing amongst knee-high snow. It had a woolly jacket covering his large arms. This time it had longer hair above its beady eyes. Behind him were more of these creatures, like him, holding a bottle with their gloved hands. His small smile emphasised the girth of his jaw, yet seemed so natural. Almost like an artist adding the final touch to define his work and give it life.

The nearly identical twins seemed younger as well. From both duplicate pictures she assumed they each owned this image for keepsake. Leaning head to head one had an appendage reaching out just of the side. The pony-tailed female wore a cyan shirt and her sister was engulfed by a thick hot magenta jumper. They smiled, tongues hanging out to reveal teeth. Although she took note of the incisors what struck her the most was the strange railroad tracks across said teeth. A thin wire tethered by small tinted squares. The one with the hair tied back seemed to have her in a shade of dirty gold whilst the other wore a platinum hue to her metal stamp.

Now came the one in the mask. Well she assumed it was him because she didn’t recognise this particular human or humans to be correct. Beneath an oak tree, there stood the foreign creature with his arms around another. A female; based upon the similar features of the twins and the long red hair she wore down her back. From a distance the picture had managed to make them the main focus but capture moments of nature as well. The small bird became slightly smudged due to the high speed; the glory of the sunlight almost turning them into a pure darkened silhouette, but still capturing their early aged smiles. Only a faint tone of gold was seen in his hair. She had buried her head between his shoulder and head signifying there was a strong romance between them.

Another one was alone this time, but she concluded that some human must have taken the picture.  The one with the goggles, that seemed to be added from birth. The youthful expression amongst the silver and oil stained background summarised his past time of inventing. The pigment of sky in his eyes remained focused on his new creation whilst the lock of his frizzy hair stretched towards whatever they pleased. A few black smears across his cheeks and forehead showed the hours of effort put into the object he cradled. He held what appeared to be replica arm of his species. Only more skeletal, pipes and wires seemed to form an elaborate web inside a half uncovered exterior. One end was another claw like finishing, only it appeared not as sharp as a claw but rather blunt instead. The grin on his face caused Luna to think this was a monumental achievement for the creature. On the underside it read the following.

2020-October 19.

At 2250 hours, my software and hardware merged with the mechanical properties and allows a natural movement of the arm. It requires stimulus matching that of the nerve impulse to configure each tendon and ‘cyber fibre’. We have done it! I did it. An artificial limb that is capable of merging with the central nervous system of the human and acting accordingly. I did it! We can restore normality to so many lives now. We can save so many dreams.

Celestia levitated the last picture of the one called Snake, before Luna could, and looked at it tearing up. He was standing there, out of uniform, on a hill. His brown eyes didn’t seem as dark as the mirror made them out to be. However, he seemed to still have a similar smile he gave her once, joyful. He was underneath a tree with a smaller female; blonde hair with a black streak, blue bottoms and a grey jacket with a hood flung over. Anything above the wide laughing mouth was not seen, but a small speck of her nose. On the back it wrote.

'Celestia, meet Sarah my little sister. She was 16 when this picture was taken, and I was 22. Still looking good huh? She would have liked to meet you. She loved hor...ponies.' The word horse had been scribbled out. It brought back memories of how she had to convince them not to call her that.

Eventually they came to the last page. It was the planet...but dead. Little patches of green against a grey and orange background, more dark clouds over the planet. The final statement was written by Snake.

' This is what became of our world. It is now a former shell of a planet that once teemed with life. Now it is a husk of what it once was. Our leaders were desperate. They wanted to save the human race, but mostly, the people they ruled. When you arrived, you let a way through to another world, filled with life and resources we have not seen in 5 years. One leader wanted to invade and conquer your planet. He was quickly dismissed and we were going to opt for a more peaceful solution. He already had you, however, and was collecting data to use against your species. Our leaders opted for a search and rescue of you, which many declined. I was not going to let something suffer by his hands and let another world burn because of him. As you know, a small band of us volunteered and we set off to rescue you. After getting you out and running to the hills, I will say you know the rest. Remember us not for our sins, but because we had a misunderstanding. If you have read this far, you can see we are not all bad humans. We just made the wrong choices.

Luna didn't know what to say. She had seen killers and murderers slaughtering each other moments ago, and yet here was proof that they were good on the inside. Celestia broke the silence.

"You’re lucky you came when you did, Luna. Now you can see what I went through those many decades ago. The events will replay the important parts each night, and I want you to see them." said Celestia, finally composed.

"But why, Tia? Sister, why would you want me to see this?" she replied fearfully.

"Because for 100 years, I have watched them die. Almost 300 times, I have heard him say ‘if you can...could you please save us?' Well, now with you by my side, we can."

"Celestia, you surely don't mean?" Luna responded wide eyed.

"Yes, sister. Soon, we will save them and bring them here, somehow."

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: History repeats itself Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 3 Minutes