Chapter 3: When words fail...

Celestia continued to watch from the chest of the Princess of the night. She slowly stopped crying and had eyes fixated on the mirror.

"It was looking like it was going to end so well. I was hoping to leave without further bloodshed. I was foalish to think so."

"Tia what happened?"

"You will know soon enough Luna. This is where I made up my mind to not save them. I just didn't know what really happened."

The group had settled down inside the building. Few of the guns were put aside, bullet proof jackets were removed. Well Specks and Snake kept theirs on. They knew from experience that you are most vulnerable when you felt safest. Jacob introduced himself properly this time. He had a fake leather jacket, at least that's what he told Celestia, dark green jeans, a holster on his belt holding a revolver, and blue shirt to counter the tanned Jacket. He had a withered face and hazel eyes.

He used to work alongside Snake before he moved to the S.A.S. Thick as thieves they were, one would not leave without the other. They toured the final years of the second Afghan war, rescued hostages from pirates out at sea, and destroyed enemy weapons. They were 2 peas in a pod. Jacob saw that others were suffering and needed his guidance, whilst Snake decided to move on to become Special Forces and aid around the world. Much like Specks he had his own reasons.

Celestia was starting to see that this was a dark world. She understood that in order to be good you must do the bad. I don't think even the elements of harmony could restore this world. Pity, I'm starting to like these humans. Her thought echoes through the mirror, as Jacob explained that they steal from the gluttonous rich and the power hungry drug Lords to feed the few seeking refuge.

The settlement had big food storages at the back, alongside an improvised water purification plant. There were trucks similar to those that were destroyed days ago. The entire place was composed of recycled parts, even the over watches that sunk where they weren't reinforced. The sun was setting as they ate a vegan meal, just so they don't upset their guest. The men, Ursa mainly, were not too pleased but complied and ate most of the protein supplement.

Snake had an idea. He wanted to give Celestia a going away present. He left dinner and gathered as much paper he could. He whispered into the headset to each of his team members individually. One by one they were asked to contribute to the book. Each one had their on space one each page, and even had 2 pages of their own. They wrote about the world and their lives at home before they started being soldiers adding more joyful stories and memories. The twins wrote about how they used to be thieves and could confuse security guards. They would often steal food and give it to the poor. They mostly stuck to the pranks they pulled pretending to be each other. Dead eye wrote about being in scouts. He wrote about all the badges to commend his time when he assisted the needy. Ursa wrote about his homeland and all the treats he found travelling on holiday once.

Specks wrote about how he managed to create artificial joints to move in synch with the nervous system. From ball and socket joint's in the arm to the finer well-crafted replacement hands, he always listed who he had helped. He first; Dennis, a 7 year old boy who lost his hand during an attack on Buckingham palace. He was able to paint again and sent Specks a picture of him with comically large glasses. He added it to the book. He wrote of Shannon a 28 year old mother, still able to run with her kids through the park thanks to a new knee.

Snake entered his life before his enlistment. Mentioning all his friends and the parties from when he was 6-9. He wrote what was traditional and what was sometimes added for fun. He wrote about bouncy castles and playhouses, his favourite cake, and games he played. He also wrote about the UK and England and about the queen. He wrote about his sister. Who she was and how they were the best of friends. He didn't mention her death but instead mentioned the time they broke out of primary school to get ice cream. Despite it being her idea he still took the blame. The story of when she was walking across a bridge. The sign clearly said no jumping, even Snake pointed it out, and she fell right through after a giant leap. She was thrashing and screaming as she drifted down the river. Snake didn't hesitate and leapt in after her. It took both of them to stay afloat. Eventually they reached land, after Snake grabbed a tree branch and pulled them in, then they had to hike to the nearest house to get help and heat.

Snake was hiding the book in Jacobs’s truck so that it wouldn't be seen. "Hey, I bet you ain't seen the stars since you were a kid." Jacob asked Snake.

Snake and the squad pondered over this statement. The guys each took turns remembering the last time they appreciated the celestial objects.

The Russian broke the silence.To Ursa he last recalled the stars when his grandfather died. He was always protective of the weak; he was the strongest in his town. One time, as Ursa claimed, his granddad single handily defeated 8 teens who were mugging a woman, who later became his girlfriend at the hospital. Soon after became his wife. Ursa was so upset and so young he ran outside into the cold. He wept under a tree and looked up to see a bright glowing star. Not the North Star, but a star under a certain constellation. During his Army life he would always see that constellation, it never shined like the first time but it stuck with him. "That vis vwhy I am Ursa Major, I am great bear like grandfather." he concluded.

"My story begins when I lost a part of me too." Snake added. The group turned to face him. He retold events to the group, at the time they could only imagine. He told them that he lost his friends securing a nuclear power station that was taken over by terrorists. When he got out, the first thing he saw was the night sky with all its glittering glory. Celestia and Luna got to watch the real reason he never looked to the sky again.

"Hey mummy, I want to be an Astronanaught when I'm older. I'll be the first man to travel to the end of the universe and protect earth from aliens!"

The scene shifted and displayed the image of a much younger Snake. He was in blue pyjama bottoms and green shirt and was eagerly rushing towards a telescope in his blue room. The 7 year old scanned the stars, for about 3 minutes before a black cloud blocked out the sky.

"MARK! How many times have I told you! You can't be a space man. The world can't afford to send people to space." growled a taller male. He looked exactly like Snake, but had longer hair.

"Honey, don't say that." A more soothing voice added. "Please stay quiet, Sarah is finally sleeping." In entered his mother, blonde with long hair. About 5 foot 6 and had a smile that could melt any cold heart.

"Is that his mother?" Luna asked.

"Yes. He got his father’s looks, but his mother’s heart." Celestia replied.

"Mark. Look. I know you really, really want to be a space man." she said hugging her son. She eased back out, still holding his shoulders. "But you have to know that the world can't afford another space man."

"Why not?" Snake sniffled.

"The planet is sick, people have been hurting it. They didn't know they would hurt themselves too. We get the petrol for rockets from the planet, and soon we won't be able to find it."

"Well why don't we stop hurting it?" Snake spoke as if he had the answer.

She sighed and paused. The sisters could see she was about to do something she never wanted to do. "We need it to live. Look. Without these lights we can't see, this television, without it we cannot watch the news. You see the buses? They need petrol to get mummy and daddy to work. I'm sorry but you can't be an astronaut Mark. The world won’t let you choose to be. Don't dream to be an astronaut."

Luna was stunned that she just blatantly said those words. She killed his dream. "I see. They both made hard choices. How can a mother tell her son to not have ambitions?" It was a rhetorical question.

"No! I can be whatever I choose to be and I want to be a hero!" he yelled at his mother.

She scooped him up and tucked him in. "You still can Mark. The world always needs heroes." She kissed him on his forehead and left. He turned over to face the window. He could only see the clouds that would block his stars for a long time.

The image turned to a dark sombre outside. It was raining and ill lit. The girls could see a figure standing by 2 stone tablets. Later it became apparent that it was Snake in graveyard, wearing his old S.A.S gear. It was before the updated version of the wing suit. He had stitches in his cheek and a fat lip. He was speaking to someone, or someone who once was.

"Hi mum. Hi Sarah. I did it. I go the job and a few broken bones but hey I can help now. Dads not to happy and he has kicked me out, but Jacob will look after me for a while. I wanted to say so much at the funeral, but I couldn't. I just sat there and cried. I’d only do it for you mum and little sis." He chuckled then started sniffing. "I'll swear I'll get the bastards," he winced and his eyes leaked a single drop. "sorry mum I know you don't like swearing. I'll get them. They killed too many that day. We were supposed to go to Buckingham palace weren't we? Dad was so happy, and you too. Remember when Sarah dropped her Ice cream on the guard’s uniform. We posted the picture straight away and nearly got arrested for harassment. Dad was about to lamp the guard...then the bus came and... I'm so sorry!" He sobbed. "I wish they found you Sarah. I could have at least seen you one last time." He rested his hand one Sarah's gravestone, hoping to find a way to feel her warmth again. The cold marble greeted his touch instead.

After five minutes he got up and whispered. "If this is what I should do then give me a sign. I know this is what I'm good at, so try to prove me wrong."

He turned to the clouds in the sky, tears still streaming.

" Is this the way I can still be a hero!?"

Shortly after the clouds parted and revealed the stars. He had missed them. They sparkled in such a warm soothing way. He was no longer angry. He smiled. He felt the same way he did when he was seven. He was getting ready to save the world.

"Thanks mum." He wiped his tears and looked at them "Only for you two. Say hi to nan for me."

Celestia wept into her hooves, even Luna started tearing up.

The scene shifted back to Snake who was marching uphill with his squad. The group were heading out to find the best spot to stay the night and watch the stars. He was looking at the ground, no taking notice of Celestia walking alongside.

"Are you okay Snake?"

"Yeah, just sad memories you know?"

"Yes. I have lost many friends." She was remembering her only true friend from her school years. "It has been a long time since I lost them to battle though."

Snake reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver flask. Unscrewing the cap and quickly took big gulp before putting it back. “I envy you for that. You get to have happy days. The ones that left here are full of battles for me so that others can have theirs." He was feeling the warmth of the gin push him forwards.

"It must be a hard life." Celestia felt the need to change subject. "What is in that container? I noticed the others don't approve of it."

He whipped it back out "I doubt they don't approve of it, just when, and how frequently, I choose to drink from it. Besides you said you were magical. I thought you'd be able to figure this out." he added smirking.

"I can't use my magic here. Otherwise I would not need your help to escape. With my magic I would fly away" she remarked fluttering her wings.

"True, but I am still waiting for you to prove it. Anyway think of it as liquid fire. It warms you up and gives me a bit more courage. Wanna try some?" he asked shaking it in front of her.

"Is it safe?" she asked wondering about the biological aspects of consumption.

“There’s only one way to find out."

She was tempted. She saw how it did not affect him, and it did seem to induce confidence. Eventually she gave in. He had offered nothing but safety and the wonders of his world. Could he be so wrong?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What later transpired was 2 drunken British girls, a tipsy Russian, a staggering American, a slightly intoxicated Aussi and finally a wobbly 5'10 pony. Celestia had become infatuated with the liquid branded 'Old Raj gin' and her cheeks turned red. Jacob had to go back for more beer. Specks and Snake watched on amused. He may have a partnership with alcohol, be even he paced himself. Snake took pictures to pester her with the next morning. The real Celestia still had no idea about the additional function of the iPod.

The group wondered about, ignoring the stars they went to see. They came to a hill side and parked for the night.

Celestia side winded towards Snake. "I can’t believe we don't have alcohol! This stuff is amazing!" she toppled over and giggled on her back. Snake took another picture and sat next to her.

"I can't imagine why your kind have never invented it Sunny. More importantly why Princesses don't drink it." he remarked sarcastically. Bloody light weight. The real Celestia smirked as if to say 'I'll do better next time just you watch.'

"We can think of a couple good reasons." Luna said slyly smirking at Celestia.

She face hoofed. "This is not my finest moment sister. Please turn away as it is irrelevant."

"Oh we don't think so Sunny."

"I know right *hic I think I will get somebody-pony to fix that. You know it's weird."

"What is?"

"How we say somepony but not somebody. You humans don't say somehuman but somebody which makes more sense."

"It does?" both Snake and Luna asked.

"Yes I mean we all have bodies and sometimes I don't talk to ponies. I told you about the griffins you...you... oh what's that word you use." she lazily rotated her hoof and mumbled something.

"Fucking!"

Snake spat out his beer

"Oh filly" The real Celestia grumbled.

"CELESTIA!" both the indigo Alicorn and the black armoured man responded.

"Did you just say one of those bad human words?"

"What? Did I say something wrong? I heard you call it the girls before and Dead eye say it when he talked about females."

"You don't know what it means and you say it?" he said raising an eyebrow whilst wiping his gob.

"Well," she lowered her ears.”I just want to fit in." she pouted. It was obviously fake because she smiled afterwards.

"Yeah the giant horse...” she glared at him. “Pony... walking around humans is going to blend in perfectly. If that was the case I would have been a gentleman and walked you home."

She still glared at him "What?" he asked raising his hands.

"I am not a giant!" she barked from the ground, inches away.

“Your right, you’re the perfect Equine. It's a shame you’re a pony or I'd be tempted to take you out for a night to remember." This was his attempt to remain on her good side.

"Oh...well your kind of cute...Hey! Don't change the subject! You just insulted royalty" she tried to reach around for her tiara that fell off but remembered she was defending her honour.

“I meant it in proportion to our ponies."

She edged closer and stared into his eyes, he really wanted to reach for a gun right now. Unluckily, he left them back at the settlement. "You better not be lying. I can tell if you’re lying, and you won't like me to know if you’re lying. Are you lying? And don't try to lie about lying!"

"I'm not sugar coat, calm down. Let’s drink a bit more, come on, I sneaked out some vino ." He revealed a bottle of red wine.

"Yeah!” the mare chirped. “I have a favourite *hic  human now!" She exclaimed hugging him, similarly to how she did back in the truck.

"Aaaw look at this, the gentlecolt still treats his lady." Luna teased.

"We did nothing Luna. Keep watching." the solar Princess spoke through grinding teeth.

The night went with both the mirror image of Celestia and Luna learning the meaning a lot of swear words. Luna eventually covered her ears as did replica Celestia to which point Snake stopped explaining what fucking meant and could mean. Celestia laughed at how Luna had reacted similarly. The night was still young and the group were lying there appreciating the stars. Jacob had left to get more supplies to stay warm.

"Hey cel-cle-est- Princess sunny." The American eventually said.

"Yeah?" she said rotating her head, in the grass, to answer to her nickname.

"Do you have star signs?"

"What are those?"

"There meant to be able to determine the destiny of us humans, I was just wondering what you ponies had and if you had one." Dead eye added.

"How can the stars do that?"

"Well they're meant to be able to decide what type of person a human is going to be." A sober Speck added.

“Intershting, no we do not. Do you have star signs?"

"Yepsh. Me an' Amber are Gemini; twins quite fittshing ain't it?" Abbiegale slurred

"I am Leo, Strong lion, but not bear." Ursa commented.

"Scorpio." Dead Eye added.

"Cancer" Specks inserted.

“I am Libra." Snake finalised

"Wow. Luna would love to learn about your stars. Can you tell me what I am?"

"Sure. When were you born?"

"Oh I know this one! The erm,”She paused as she searched the sky for the answer. “,he first day of summer; during the beginning of Discord’s rule."

The humans thought it meant something similar to a Chinese calendar. After explaining that they had different months they couldn't tell her exactly what her star sign was. Snake picked up on the fact she had been separated from her sister. She looked miserable. She was about to tell them about her evil deed, when he promised to give her the chance to see Luna again. Dead Eye revealed he was married, 25 years and still going strong, they met in the hospital and took off. Specks said he had a brother who was 5 and wanted to be just like him. The rest were sibling less, besides the twins of course. One had a sister removed from him, so Snake was more than determined to get her back to her sister.

Yet another reason to get her back home. Don't worry Sunny. You’re in good hands. Echoed Snake’s thought. Luna was hugging her sister.

"He is very determined Sister, I can see why he was your friend." She said looking up to here sister.

"Yes, he was...till the end." Celestia gripped her sister even tighter.

The group slowly drifted off to sleep under blankets Jacob had provided. Only Snake and Jacob remained awake for hours discussing the past. It was starting to turn to morning.

"It's all downhill from here." Celestia said towards her sister. She took in a deep breath. "I was now considering helping them. I was going to forgive them, after seeing how desperate they were. Then this happened."

"What do you mean?"

Celestia just kept watching. "These are the parts I did not know."

"So where are you taking it?" Jacob asked leaning against the truck. The morning light was starting to blind him a bit, and he could barely see Snake. He was perched on a rock between Specks and Amber.

"We are taking her home so that she can seal the pathway to her world. The general want's to invade and conquer rather than seek diplomacy, and I'll be damned if I just let him kill thousands of innocents."

"I see you have grown attached to it."

"She has a name you know. She is sentient after all and ruler of her world. They need her back, safe and unharmed."

"Why are you talking like this creature is your friend?"

"Because she sort of is. I could have just gagged her and transported her there but that would be too much hassle. I was actually curios about her world too so that's more or less the reason for walking freely."

"You are not trying to convince her too save earth? That does not seem like you Mr Hero."

"How do you convince someone that another group are worth saving after they tortured you for 2 weeks? Back in training it took me 2 years just to talk to the people who put me through interrogation training for 36 hours. I don't think she will forgive us, but at least I can show her were not all bad."

"Oh yeah. You’re a fantastic ambassador for our species, to prove were not always evil you had to kill to get her out. To prove humans are charitable you bring her to the place the hopeless wonder to when no one helps them." He began to chuckle. "You then teach it swear words and get it pissed off its tits!"

"Okay maybe that last one was a bad idea. I still want to get her home safely." Snake turned to see Celestia sleeping peacefully with the empty wine in her hooves, tiara covering her eyes.

There was a sharp click of a walky-talky. “Send 'em in."

"What?"

"I'm sorry Mark; if it is the only way to save our world then it has to stay."

"Jacob what are you do... you struck a deal didn't you?" It was more of statement than a question.

“I’m truly sorry, but how can you choose them over your own kind? It's just a stupid horse!"

Specks awoke to the shout but pretended to be asleep. He reached for his knives he kept hidden behind his wrist pads.

“How can you think killing her will solve anything at all? What happens when they gut her huh? We get a key? A new weapon? There is no need for this bloodshed. We come in contact with an alien species and we decided to invade their planet? What does that say about us? We don't need this and if we are going to kill our planet then so be it!"

"That's dangerous talk Mark. Why do you hate humans?"

Specks got ready to fling his knives at either of them. The stranger was threatening to ruin the mission and kill royalty, and his leader; his partner, his friend who was talking about treason.

"I don't hate humans, just the stupid ones who need to be scrubbed out of the gene pool. Like: the lazy, the violent, the racist, the cruel and the radicals. I would gladly spend my remaining days with my family."

"That can be arranged. You have 5 minutes. You and only you can walk free. The rest need to go, we can't trust them."

"Why would I agree to that? Jacob, they may have promised you everything, but if their cleaning house, how can you be sure you’re safe?"

“You’re words are meaningless. I am one of their own Mark."

Snake digested the information. “Since the beginning?"

"Yes."

"Since we parted years back?"

"After a while yes. We didn't steal because we had to. We were following orders; the people who joined were a nice bonus. Don't worry. I convinced the HQ they weren't expendable."

"So you’re still human after all."

"At least I can still tell. You’re going to return it and condemn us all just because you see fit. You know we can change."

"It's too late. We had a good run, but we fucked up. I am not saying the good deserve it, and it is not necessarily anyone's fault. We just made a mistake and refused to fix it until it was too late. We have the technology to start a new and keep the world clean, but it was too late. We have about 10 years before we burn to death in less than a split second." He made an aggressive stance causing Jacob to pull out his revolver. “If your leader was not stupid enough to think war would solve this then we would be okay. Hell the Princess may have made space for civilians whilst we cleaned up, but no your boss had to fuck it up. I will stand between you and them to stop two worlds from being destroyed!"

"Is that your final answer?"

"No." He raised his middle finger.

"I see, can't say the words because they would be a poor choice. I always liked the way you worked around problems." He cocked his gun and took aim.

"Good bye Mark."

"Only my friends call me that."

"Is he going to kill him?" Luna asked leaning away from the mirror.

"Then goodbye Sna... blargh...glglgllargh!" he gurgled, grasping his chest and throat. He slumped down with the knife in his chest and the one that landed beside him, after slitting his throat and bouncing of the truck. He gazed up at Snake.

“Tell dad I'll see him soon."

Surprisingly, Jacob nodded and cracked a smile revealing blood stained teeth. Specks got up and watched as the life slowly drained from his eyes. Snake looked away as the head fell forwards.

"Get everybody into the truck."

Specks collected his knife that cut his throat and the gun on Jacobs lap. "Sir, what is happening?" Snake was already in the driver’s seat. "We gotta move; they've found us!" He started banging on the horn, which awoke everyone. Ursa rolled onto his front, ready to pounce; Dead eye quickly searched for his mask and rose to his feet. The twins leapt into the air, landing side by side. Celestia had a less active awakening, she was about to complain when Ursa picked her up and carried her to the back of the truck.

"Put me down....Jacob?" She saw him lying there, blood on his jacket, and Specks claiming his knife from his lungs.

"What's going on?"

Nobody would answer as they all got into the truck.

"Why is Jacob dead?" she asked with the haunting memory in her mind.

"He made the wrong choice to piss me off." Snake quickly ignited the engine and took off at blinding speeds. He knew where to go: Ground zero.

Celestia looked mortified. There it was again. That side of humans she hated. If he was willing to kill his lifelong friend then what could she possibly mean to him? What about her ponies? He does not want to save Equestria. He wants to lead an army in. His leader’s army! Oh goodness an army of...Snakes would wipe out all ponies! She glared at the back of his head. Snake...how fitting.

The real Celestia was now crying. "I didn't know why he did that until it was too late. It was not even him."

Luna was speechless. She could understand why Celestia got the wrong impression. The group refused to comment on Jacobs’s death, due to the respect of Snake. They knew he wasn't handling it well as he carelessly turned dusty corners and sped down the small straight paths. She heard each of their thoughts.

Damn... I'm sorry Snake. It was him or you, in which case it was them or us.

Fuck. Jacob what did you do?

I hope he had a good reason. Jacob must have threatened Celestia or something big for him to die. I think me and Amber have his blood in our hair.

He killed Comrade from youth to save pony's world. Impressive, I could not do that. He needs to be alone, not easy decision for such a man. More than soldier of orders, more like Warrior of burden.

"Tia. I am so sorry."

"It gets worse." Celestia said morbidly. She wiped her nose in such an un-Princess like fashion. Her eyes were now bloodshot from all the tears that stained both hers and Luna's coat.

"Oh no." Luna whispered. How could it get worse? "Is it when they...die?" She didn't want to ask but she had too.

"No, it’s the bit before."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The guy practically brought a mini armoury." Dead eye said inspecting the weapons hidden in a trunk just behind the driving pit of the truck. It blocked the little pathway between the front and the back and contained a lot of weapons. AK's, MP-5s, an RPD even an RPG. There was a draganov and 2 pistols and a few frag grenades. Dead eye took notice of the book, hidden away.

"Hey look, it's our gear. Well we ain't got most of the weapons but we got the gadgets." Specks chirped being reunited with his electronics. He passed some C4 to Ursa.

Celestia was not taking well to the hangover, the bumps in the path and the death of Jacob, which was still unanswered.

The squad suited up. Specks put the revolver into Snake's holster and rested a hand on his shoulder. Snake rested his hand on his for a bit before nodding and removing it. They just had a silent conversation; Specks had explained what needed to be done, and that he was sorry. Snake gave him forgiveness and understood.

Snake kept the pace up, and darted towards his goal. Celestia stopped asking questions and just gave a disgusted look toward Snake. Amber and Abbiegale pulled up a blind to see the outside. They wished they hadn't.

Celestia's eyes widened and so did Luna's. The image showed them heading towards a tower off in the distance along the road. However to the right they saw...

"It’s a wasteland. Is this what your world has become?" Celestia asked.

There were stumps amongst the sand that was once soil. There were patches of yellow grass blotted around. The entire ground looked like vomit, justifying the term 'a sick planet'. There was fire burning and old machines rusting, one had a claw and was grasping a tree trunk like a twig. Nearby water had turned a brownish yellow, littered with corpses and skeletons of the animals that drank from it. The land was in this state for what appeared to be miles and miles.

"YOU DID THIS?" Celestia yelled.

"No. We tried to," Amber protested.

"Silence I will hear no more." Celestia ordered.

"She was trying to tell you that they were trying to clean up the mess! You fool they were trying to help the animals! It was a natural disaster!" The real Princess insulted her own image.

Luna was deeply disturbed by the land she had saw. Compared to the beautiful landscape of the book this was a nightmare.

Snake was still hurdling towards his destination, he was about to arrive when something went wrong. He turned too fast and wound up trying to correct himself. He veered slightly of track and, again, tried to correct himself. The walls to the tower were tipped with thin spears to stop people from climbing over not to stop them ploughing through.

Crash

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mirror went dark. Slowly a light appeared. It illuminated a man lying in bandages. Half his face was covered up, mostly over the left eye, and he had a bandage wrapped around his arm. He turned his head and the mirror followed too. The room was grey and stripped of any colour and life it once held. There were beds, but the mattresses had become spring carcasses.

"Good your awake, we thought we lost you." Dead eye and Ursa walked in.

"Da, took damage to eye and a spike through arm. Cuts on face will slowly heal, but will continue to bleed. No nerves in eye, but around will be hurting. Lucky small amount went through, head would split like melon otherwise."

"Thanks guys." He inhaled slowly at the slowly building pain. "I feel like shit. Will my eye heal?"

Dead eye was about to answer but closed his mouth. How do we tell him?

"No, you will be blind now in left eye."

I suppose that is one way to go ahead.

"So I see." Snake chuckled; the 2 slowly joined in and shook heads until Snake started wheezing.

"How can he laugh after such an accident?" Luna asked bamboozled by the injured humans response.

"I think I'll change my alias to Dead eye."

"Can't. If there are two dead eyes we'll be blind."

"Right then. Let's get Celestia out of here before Jacob’s goons turns up, you got weapons?"

"Yeah, Specks also got Ursa to line the Valley entrance up with explosives."

"Good lad. How's Celestia?" He leant forward and clutched his gut. "Is she hurt? Can she get home? Her people need her, I want her safe you hear me!"

"You see, Luna, He still believes he has a mission to do." Celestia looked like she was about to cry again. "He didn't care that he was hurt, he just wanted me safe and returned to my subjects."

"Relax she is fine. She is working on a way back with Specks. Apparently they’re close to finishing." The American reassured from under his mask.

"Phew. Thank god. when this is over I'll by you all a pint of Carlsberg."

"I think after last night we can wait."

"Da, my face still hurts."

Snake and Dead eye looked at him.

"Sorry. I meant head."

"No problem bro. you got damn good English on you."

"Guys, Giz a hand getting me out, If we were being followed you’re going to need every man you have."

The pair supported Snake until he could walk on his feet.  He wobbled for a bit whilst getting used to his new type of depth perception but eventually got the hang of it. "Has he told you about Jacob?" Snake asked leaning against a desk.

"Yes. Hey man we're sorry."

"For what?"

"That he had to die."

"That's nothing to be sorry for. My best friend was a traitor and succumbs to his urges of survival, much like his General. I would not allow him to let more civilians die." He turned and faced the Medic and the Sniper. "What about you guys? I'll give you one chance to leave."

"We know what we’re doing. I hate condemning our planet, but you’re right. We made a mistake and it's time to own up to it like men. Do you think Celestia might save us?"

"Yes, Yes, YES!" screamed Celestia at the image.

"No." Snake answered flatly. "Not since Jacob. He smiled at me you know, right before he died. I think he knew we lost any chance of redeeming earth through Celestia. It was always his way or the hard way. He hated it when I chose the hard way, which was a lot."

"Do you think we can live?" The Russian asked

"I don't see why not. We have survived a lot."

"What about a weak atmosphere, flash floods and lethal sunburns?"

Snake shrugged. "A bit of factor 50 and some armbands and we'll be set. Now lets focus on the near future."

There was a bemused snort about how they could tackle the apocalypse. Then Snake had to ask one last question.

"Does Celestia understand the situation?"

There was an awkward silence.

"We did try to explain it but she would never listen. In fact Celestia only talks to Specks she needs something, even then it's just for food or water."

“I’ll go talk to her. Did you get that book?"

"Da, we went back to truck for it. Is with goggled boy."

"Right, thanks pal."

"Not a problem."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia was inspecting her entrance to the world. It was exactly how she left it. The room was slightly burned and charred, there was a single door leading to the corridor towards the exit. She remembers the path between Equestria and Earth closing. She could now remember wondering through the forest, away from the desolate wasteland. For a whole day she wondered before collapsing and waking up in a prison. She could barely remember the spell that brought her there. It was a written incantation with archaic wording. Very old magic, the kind ancient earth ponies practised to fight unicorns. It can be said to not be magic at all but still does not stop it's effects.

Monsters. Every last one of them. Why would they choose to do this? They cannot be trusted. Celestia's thought echoed.

Luna hugged her sister. She didn't know what to say.

Celestia welcomed the hug.

Specks strolled in. "Hey I got you more of those flowers. I even got seeds for you to take home." He said hoping to elevate her mood. He moved over and put the flowers and seeds on a nearby table, full of his tools. The engineer could see her still unfazed and inspecting a burnt wall, with only a circle large enough to fit her through.

"Look I don't know what to do. If you want to know why Jacob had to be killed I'll tell you. If you don't want to know, then you won't understand."

She turned to face him. "I understand perfectly. Is Snake still sore? It was quite an injury his sustained." Celestia said, loving every sound of the syllables.

What were those words? Oh yes. That fucking prick deserves it if he thinks he can kill his old friend, and invade my world. He is the worst of these creatures.

"TIA!" Luna was shocked to hear such foul language, especially since she learnt their meanings.

"I...I...didn't mean it. I didn't know what had happened." She said weeping shamefully.

"T'is just a flesh wound love. A couple of plasters will fix it." A shadowy figure stumbled in, drinking from a trade mark flask. Snake looked up and saw the two looking back. Specks was happy, Celestia had a small frown.

Guess it takes more than a couple of fatal gashes to slay the beast.

A new image played out. From Celestia's perspective she woke up on top of Ursa. The group stumbled up to their feet. The twins got up off the middle of the road, and Dead eye and Specks staggered out of the bushes. Ursa helped Celestia out of the ditch and they all searched for the missing one.

"Where's Snake?" Ursa asked.

Nobody could see him, until Dead eye got the revelation.

"Check the front. Ursa we might need a medical kit!"

The group made their way to the compacted front. It was quite a sight.

"Oh God!" Amber exclaimed covering her mouth.

There was a body in the blood stained, makeshift, coffin. The window was smashed and there was a railing through the window. The evenly spaced spikes had in bedded in Snakes arm and left a spike in his eye. His face was oozing with blood. The group was silent, both Luna and mirror Celestia vomited. There was a silence as they were paying their respects.

Until a long, pained, breathe was heard. This was shortly followed by rapid breathing.

"Snake your alive!"

Luna wiped her maw and looked up surprised. She and mirror Celestia was amazed by the fact he was still alive.

"Pain... Need..."

"Don't worry, URSA GET YOUR ASS HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"No need...got gin...hehehe...prefer a cuppa' tea..." he chuckled slightly agitating the spikes that had just punctured his eye and arm.

"He is insane to laugh at such a lethal problem!" Luna yelled in annoyance.

“Maybe. He thinks he is trying to lighten the mood my changing subject. He does not want them to panic otherwise they can't help him."

"When you get out you can drink till your liver gives up. Specks! Help me get this door open!" The pair tried to open the door, it eventually gave. They were able to see the glass that shattered. Most of it was embedded in his jacket but there were scratches on his face.

Back in the room Specks was ecstatic to see him. "SNAKE! Ya tough bastard." His smile dropped a touch when he inspected the damage. "How bad is the damage?"

"I'm half blind. My arm will be out, but I still got a shooting arm. How are you?"

"I fell into nettles. Nothing quite as serious." The act of rubbing the back of his head revealed the shame in those words.

"And you my dear?"

"Fine." The Princess spoke flatly. "I will need something to mark the walls and floor."

"I see. Specks go find something that will fulfil her wishes. I need to talk to her."

"Yes sir." Specks left to give her and Snake private time.

"Did you visit whilst I was out?"

"I had work to do. I was busy."

"I see. Have you made any process?" He said slightly disheartened.

"Yes I will need time to prepare my leave." She turned away. “Thank you for saving me." She said through her teeth whilst looking away.

“I just did what I had to do ma'am." And what every other person should have volunteered for. Selfish arseholes.

Celestia sniffled at this part. She was not informed of how people volunteered to save her, or the lack of because they secretly sided with the general.

"Of course. Just another soldier who is his following orders. I require time to prepare."

"How long?"

"Between 20 to 40 minutes."

"You got it." Snake edged forward and also inspected the wall. They both turned and faced each other at equal height. "Now about Jacob."

"Save your breath, I do not wish to know."

"You mean you do not wish to know about how he was going to betray us?"

You mean how he was going to betray your leaders plan to claim my world as his own? Then Yes I already know. "So I cannot trust any human? Especially those who are hospitable?"

"What about..."

"Snake we need to talk." Specks interjected. He strolled over and gave Celestia some chalk.

"This will suffice, go. Leave. I need time."

"This is not over."

Actually human it will be soon enough.

"I wish it wasn’t” Celestia wept to the sound of her reflections voice.

Specks and snake walked out towards a large room. On the left was another room with all the weapons and ammo. The girls were doing weapon checks. To the right was a smaller room with a Dead eye polishing the sniper.

"What is it Specks?"

"Sir I did a fly over with the drone and found something." He showed him the picture on his wrist. "They’re coming with an entire battalion and 2 tanks." Everyone turned and focused on Snake. He had to give a life changing order. Leave or stay.

"We set up fortifications and give Celestia enough time to leave. Then we get the fuck out of here." He turned to see Ursa walking down the stairs. "Thanks for patching me up, do you still have the charges on you?"

"I have detonator. Who are we attacking?"

"Defending. Specks how long?"

"30 minutes ago I took this picture, we have about 20 minutes."

Snake sighed. "Get us the book."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia had finished place the marking against a burnt black wall. The taste of chalk reminded her of her school days, when she was punished and had to write with her mouth using chalk. Earth ponies and pegasi are immune to the taste, amongst over things, of chalk. She was remembering her time there. It was her first day of being the new filly. Being a Princess made others quite nervous around her, except one. He was just like Snake; tried to make the situation better, tried to minimise fights but was too good at fighting. He joked about the fire that Discord caused in the canteen one evening.

Later on in her high school years they became good friends. He was really nervous around the castle. He often got glared at by guards and studied by the staff. He just joked that they were jealous of his looks. Reflection Celestia smirked.

He stood by Celestia, even during her hardest time. When she had a crush on a Pegasus stallion everypony else said was a jerk. Of course he dated her. He saw a way into the royal family. Her best friend kept a beady eye on him, eventually they scrapped and he left the couple alone. Celestia screamed that he was being stupid and was trying to destroy everything, but he wasn't. She soon learnt of her colt friend's antics without her protector. She was mortified and he changed. He stopped pretending to be nice and started playing the ' If you leave me you will have nopony else to go to.' She didn't cope with that; she couldn't, not after losing her only friend.

In the final days of high school, after Celestia gave a speech to commemorate everypony’s achievements, the thug thought it would be a good Idea to follow an old tradition all the other couples did. He took her behind the high school where no pony could see them. He tried convincing her, didn't work so it didn't sit well with. She would have blasted him to the sun but she was still scared of being lonely. If he had realised they were being followed he would of stopped.

A fight broke out between two stallions. This time the thug lost and scampered away, badly beaten. He had broken his wings and hoof. His career as a wonder bolt stopped there and then. Celestia tried to look at her hero, but he too was badly hurt. She remembers gasping when she recognised who it was.

"Hey sunny... I would say I told you so but it's really bad taste."

“Hard hoof! Are you okay?"

Hard hoof gave a dead panned look, and chuckled afterwards.

"Okay maybe not the best question." She made circles with her hoof. "Why did you come back? Why did you hurt him so badly?"

He turned to meet her gaze. "Why should I let the villain have a dream when he takes them away from the good ponies?"

He stood up, and wobbled. "As for you my friend, you were always trouble. I wanted one last adventure before I left. I understood why you were mad. I couldn't explain in time, you probably thought I was jealous. Now somepony does think highly of herself."

Celestia arched an eyebrow and smirked.

"Not to say you’re not attractive, heck that's a nice flank you got, but you’re not my type. Think you can give me a hoof sunny?"

"Always." she cast a spell and restored him to fit condition.

"That's better. Now I'll be ready for tomorrow." They started walking back towards the high school.

"Why what happens tomorrow?"

"I've joined your army to fight Discord."

Celestia stopped dead in her tracks. She argued about the stupidity in it, he said it needed to be done. She couldn't understand why he wanted to kill; he said it was because it was the only option. They eventually agreed to put it aside. They spent the night in the castle and were welcomed by the guards and staff. He was missed considering the last friend Celestia brought back.

After a night of fun and games Celestia fell asleep on him, hugging him tightly. In the morning he was gone. He left a note saying how whenever the sun rose it would remind him when of her. Not just as the Princess, but his best friend. She still keeps that note to this day. He was never seen again but a decade later he had a message to be delivered by another guard.

'Hey, don’t forget me. Don't blame yourself. Remember it took me time to find a way back to you. I finally forgave you for what you said and we had a great night after I saved you, even if you did cheat. If you could, I know you would have saved me too. In fact you already did. Goodbye Sunny. From the damn best Stallion you were ever lucky enough to ever meet:

       Hard Hoof.'

It had a small blood splatter in the corner.

This was when the Elements of harmony were to be discovered.

Her memory was interrupted by Snake walking in.

"Are you nearly done?"

"Yes."

She started talking in incantations. The lines lit up and a portal opened. Her room was visible and spotless. It was still daylight in her world. Perhaps time is faster here. Otherwise it has been day for almost 3 weeks. That or the maids broke in to clean my room, but leave the teapot by the bed.

"Okay I'll bite maybe magic is possible, but there's still no way you move the sun."

Celestia didn't answer. She no longer cared about what he thought.

"I brought you something. It’s a little going away present." He handed her a tome, along with small trinkets and devices.

"What is it?"

"Read it and you will find out."

"Later, for now I must work on getting across."

"It is open though."

"My body is not ready."

"Fair enough, you know magic better than I do."

"Indeed."

"I want to talk to you about Jacob..."

There was a crackle from the headset. "Snake we have Five minutes their picking up the pace!"

"Get ready for the assault; I'll be with you shortly."

"What is happening?" Celestia asked.

"The army is approaching. They want to get through. They think you have the portal open."

You mean your Army. I can see your plan creature. You wanted me to open the portal so your army could enter and secure a foothold. A clever plan.

"Look Celestia you know we are good people and I don't want my men to die." He took a deep breath.

Go ahead human ask me.

"No you don't understand! He does not want to hurt us!"

Luna was shocked by her sisters past actions and thoughts.

"If you can...could you please save us?" his voice pleaded. This time though, Luna was well aware of the situation. For a brief moment of complete silence this time. It was not as quick as the first time she heard this part, a deathly silence for a man about to die.

"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!" Celestia barked.

Snake just stood there. He wanted to persuade her but he didn't know how. He eventually decided to leave it and focus on the upcoming battle.

"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." He turned and left for his squad. He thought Celestia would leave soon, he was unaware the portal was already closed. He sealed her in, so that the soldiers wouldn't get her if they got in.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia was now sobbing whilst Luna just watched the same battle take place. It all clicked into place. Who they were, why they were fighting. It got to the point where they were struggling to hold ground and retreated into the building. Snake asked Specks for an air strike and got one better: a missile strike. They realised they were trapped, so they could only take the building, and therefore the pathway to Equestria with them. Everybody agreed.

Luna started tearing up at how they all in unison chose to give their lives for the safety of ponies, who would never knew of them. Celestia couldn't watch this time she felt the shame of another seeing her actions. Her sins and secret were exposed, to her family no less and she just sobbed to herself.

The squad was moving higher and higher when the tanks arrived. Ursa decided it would be best to remove it properly: with an RPG. They made a small fort on the top floor. They were thinning out the battalion. They were opposite the side the tanks were on when Specks started beeping.

"Snake!" yelled Specks with glowing squares on his body. They were all trapped on the top floor when he revealed the bad news from behind a flipped table.

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

“Missile inbound. Sir orders?" He asked launching another grenade towards the door. Between explosions Snake was heard.

"HOW LONG!"

"5 minutes sir!"

"All right 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 Amber. "Don't hold out on us." demanded Abbiegale who was reloading her MP-5.

Luna knew where this was going and charged at the Mirror, she landed a heavy back hoof on it.

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...wait what the heck was that?"

Celestia's head shot up, her ears twitched. He had never said that in the past 300 times he repeated this scenario.

Unfortunately, he was distracted and took a bullet to the right shoulder. Again that never happened before. Neither did the moment when Ursa turned and fired all his bullets down the stair case, ripping apart the soldier down the hall and the rest on the staircase. He had given enough time for Snake to roll out of the way, and looked towards a glowing crack in the wall.

"What to fuck is that!" Specks yelled blind firing down another corridor.

“AAAAARGH! I have no FUCKING clue." Snake said clutching his wound.

"Luna? WHAT THE HAVE YOU DONE ?" Celestia yelled in the royal Canterlot voice, which had not been used by her in centuries. The Princess of the night had changed history and broke through to the other side.

"2 minutes!" Specks yelled.

Celestia stood up. "Move out of the way! We don't have time!"

Next Chapter: Chapter 4: So I take it you're not busy if your here. Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 52 Minutes