//------------------------------//
// The Darkness Inside 
// Story: Metal Gear Spark: Peace Zero 
// by GreenS21 
//------------------------------//

Twilight was lowered softly onto her bed, the yellow glow of Celestia’s magic vanishing from around her when her head was atop the pillow and her back was against the covers. The princess ran the tip of her right hoof softly beneath the burn on her right cheek for a moment before pulling it away and turning to everyone gathered in the room, her gaze stopping on Luna. The two sisters shared a gaze before Celestia closed her eyes and simply said, “She’s all yours, Luna.” The Night Princess nodded and took a few steps back away from everyone, preparing her magic.

Before she could lay down, however, Rainbow Dash suddenly leapt up and landed in front of her, saying, “Whoa, hold up, Princess Luna! You are not going alone; we’re coming with!” As she said this, she was flanked by the other girls, Shining, and Spike, who all looked like they agreed with her.

Luna couldn't deny the warm feeling she felt at seeing how devoted Twilight's friends and family were to her, but aside from a small, momentary smile, she didn't show it, and she couldn't let it sway her. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I can't allow that," she said simply.

"What?! Why not?!" the pegasus demanded.

Luna explained, "This is why. You are too much of a, as they say, hothead. Dream walking is delicate work that requires impartiality. If we were going to fight something, I would say yes without question, but I am going into Twilight's dreams to learn, and it will be very difficult to do that and maintain the spell if I have to rein in any pony who gets caught up in what they see."

Rainbow protested, "But…"

She was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder and turned to see it was Cadance. "She's right, Rainbow. I want to know what happened to Twilight too, but Luna has more experience with this. We should respect her wishes."

Discord suddenly popped up next to Luna and eagerly asked, "Can I come?"

Shining spoke up, "No, you definitely can't! You shouldn't even be here! You haven't done anything but make Twilight feel worse!"

Discord gave him an unamused look, "Excuse me, is your name Princess Luna now? Because I believe that's who I was asking." He looked back at Luna expectantly.

The princess met his gaze for a moment before closing her eyes and saying, "I concur with Captain Armor in this case, Discord. You have quite a bit of gall to be asking such a question."

Fluttershy looked worried while the draconequus reeled back, as if he was offended. "What?! I…"

Luna cut him off, "You have been neutral in this ordeal at best. At all other times, you have paid little heed to what Twilight says. I do not think it's wise for you to get any more inside her head. You’ve already proven you can make her feel worse without even trying.”

Discord asked, "Well, how was I supposed to know how she was feeling?! She didn't say anything!"

Celestia spoke, "She didn't have to, Discord. The signs that she was suffering have been there all this time, but I failed to see them. We all did. Big Boss clearly had good psychological counselors in his army that helped her learn to cope with any other traumas she's been through, but not for this. Whatever happened the night she returned is too much for her to handle and she's been suffering more and more with each passing day as a result. We have to intervene now before she actually goes past the point of no return."

Discord replied, "And I can help, really! I can help Luna!"

The Night Princess spoke, "Your ability to actually help anypony has been questionable since you aided Tirek, and you treating this as a game has not helped in the slightest. So, if you would kindly leave the room, please…"

Discord felt the request was unreasonable and raised his voice, "Oh, is that what we're playing now? Really, Luna! You talk about games and now…"

Celestia noticed that Twilight seemed to be stirring and calmly yet sharply cut the draconequus off, "Discord." The quiet tone in her voice caused him to stop and look at her. "If you care about Twilight at all and desire to keep your freedom, you will respect Luna's wishes. Now please leave the room," she said, leaving no room for argument.

Luna noticed that Discord looked like he was going to try to argue anyway, so she flew up in front of him and told him, “I do know what you like to dream about, Discord. You have the same amount of magic control in your dreams as you do when you’re awake, but how do you think you’d feel if you had no control there at all? Such a thing is possible, you know, and I imagine it’d affect you when you’re awake as well. If you don’t want to find out for yourself, then I’d better not see you at all after I begin.” She narrowed her eyes, “Being turned to stone can seem preferable, you know.” Discord looked surprised at this, the draconequus feeling a little intimidated by her words.

Fluttershy gasped and started, “Princess Luna…!” Before she could say any more, Discord shut his eyes, raised his head, let out a huff, and turned on his heel, stiffly walking to the bedroom doors, opening and slamming them shut behind him. After waiting a few seconds, Luna landed on the floor and turned her attention back to Twilight. What she and everyone else didn’t notice was Discord appearing faintly on the wall around the doors, the draconequus having merged with the wall in order to watch without them noticing. Luna lowered herself onto the floor and closed her eyes before she summoned her magic into her horn, reaching out to Twilight with it.

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Luna opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by blackness. No matter where she looked, she saw nothing but black, but this didn’t bother her. “Just as I expected. Now I just have to find her and get her away from those… apparitions,” she thought to herself as she spread her wings. She then flew off into the seemingly eternal blackness, searching.

With the aid of her magic, it didn’t take long for Luna to locate Twilight. She was in the same dreamscape as before, having already walked past the silhouettes of metalwork, coffins, and cages and standing at the front of the cemetery where the dream ended last time. As she got closer, she began to see the ghosts of the MSF soldiers from before appear in the darkness, six in total, but they seemed to be different. Rather than crowding around her and reaching for her, they were lined up at her sides, all of them facing the cemetery.  She could also hear that song about Nicola and Bart, whoever they were, and it seemed to be coming from the soldiers. “Twilight doesn’t seem to be singing, though. She’s not lost yet!” Luna realized and quickened her flight speed, aiming for Twilight.

Twilight had had her head tilted down as she stood in line with the soldiers, listening. For all the memories that the song brought up, the soldiers’ singing was beautiful. It almost felt like they were inviting her, encouraging her to join in, and the more she listened, the more she felt like it was the right thing to do.

She had just started to think about raising her head up when she felt a pair of hooves grab her sides and lift her up off the ground. She looked up in surprise to see that it was Luna, the Princess of the Night looking back as she flew up and forward. Twilight looked back as well to see that, while they did turn to look at where she’d been and where she was now, the soldiers didn’t move or stop singing. Luna lowered her down and let her go when she could make out the ground beneath, Twilight standing on the slightly slanted surface while Luna fluttered over and landed next to her.

Twilight looked up at Luna and asked, “Why did you do that, Luna?”

Luna turned to her, “Why…? To get you away from those specters, Twilight! They attacked you before, remember?”

Twilight replied, “They were welcoming me.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed a bit, “They were attempting to drag you away, Twilight! You’re not one of them; you do not belong with them!”

Twilight looked down, “No, I don’t… I don’t belong anywhere or with anyone anymore…” She looked up at the soldiers, who still hadn’t budged an inch, “I should be with them, but I can’t because I lived… I can be with them, have a place to belong, if I…”

She was cut off when Luna grabbed her with her hooves and turned her around to look at her. “Get these thoughts out of your head, Twilight! I understand you’ve been raised with high performance standards in mind, but you’ve never intentionally been self-destructive!” Her gaze softened, “Why are you thinking this way? What atrocities have you been a witness to? What happened, Twilight?”

Before anything more could be said between the two alicorns, it suddenly began to rain, starting slowly and then quickly becoming a downpour. They both then heard another voice, a low male voice, say, “Sad… So sad…” They both turned their heads to look towards the hill to see the human that Luna had seen before hovering above the ground, still with the hood on his jacket up over his head though he looked less transparent now. He glanced back at the two mares over his shoulder for a moment before swinging his body around to face them completely.

Luna immediately glared at him, “Who are you?! What are you doing here?!” While she was speaking, the man raised a hand to his hood and pushed it down, further revealing his smile, glasses, and blue eyes with red scleras as well as his silver-gray hair.

He looked at the two for a moment before answering, “I am The Sorrow.”

Twilight blinked at this, recognizing his name from one of the stories Snake had told her. “The Sorrow? The medium from the Cobra Unit?” she asked, causing Luna to glance over at her in surprise.

The Sorrow looked over at Twilight and said, “You. You are as filled with sadness as I am. Your sadness follows you no matter where you go. A host of sorrows, unable to bear the burden, unfit to go on living.” Twilight looked down, placing her right forehoof on her left foreleg. She felt he saw through her all too easily.

Luna, however, did not agree with his assessment and voiced her disagreement, “Still your tongue, man! What is it that you claim to know?”

The Sorrow answered, “I have witnessed many things, heard many voices on the battlefield. Battle brings death. Death brings sadness. I was born in a world of sadness, and now it has made its way to your world… through her.” As he was speaking, the coat he was wearing faded away to reveal the gray sweater, straps, belt, and pouches he had on underneath. Luna tensed up when she saw a handgun in the holster on his chest, but she wasn’t ready to give up.

“I know she’s been through things nopony should have to go through. We all do. But it’s clear she’s been through something that she’s afraid of sharing. So, if you would, kindly, release whatever influence you have over her and allow me to do my learning in peace,” she said, standing up and taking an aggressive stance as she spoke.

Despite this, the smile on The Sorrow’s face didn’t waver. “She has no control over what she is experiencing. The dead are drawn to her regardless. I, too, was drawn to her sorrow. Do not discount the will and the voices of the dead,” he said calmly.

Luna asked, “The dead? That can’t be. The dead don’t… there’s no…” She trailed off, suddenly finding herself stuck on how to continue.

The Sorrow spoke, “The truth is there. Follow the path of the dead and you’ll find the answers you seek. You may have your doubts, you may try to explain what you’ve seen as the work of nightmares, but make no mistake, Princess.” Luna gasped softly as she saw a bloody tear leak from his left eye and run down his cheek. His eyes narrowed slightly, “The dead are not silent.” Both Luna and Twilight heard a gunshot and the lens over The Sorrow’s left eye cracked.

As soon as it did, the ground beneath Twilight suddenly gave way and she screamed as she fell into blackness back first. Luna quickly turned and cried out “Twilight!” before diving into the hole after her. She spread her wings and tried to catch up, but she never seemed to get any closer. Suddenly, Twilight disappeared completely and Luna soon lost all sense of direction, the blackness swirling around her.

When she finally became aware of her surroundings again, she found herself lying on her side with what felt like a mattress beneath her. She rolled onto her front and looked around a little; she was indeed on a bed, the top of a bunk bed given how high up she was, and there were a number of beds like it in the room she was in. She didn’t recognize the room, but given what Twilight had talked about before, she guessed it was a barracks in Mother Base.

She soon spotted the door, or rather the man in front of the door. The Sorrow was floating there, still with his glasses cracked, a blood trail going down his cheek, and that ever present smile. A moment after she saw him, he raised a sign above his head that had the words ‘FOLLOW ME’ printed on it. Luna glared at him; was he toying with her? Was this a game to him? Still, she couldn’t just lie around and wait for something to happen, so after he floated out of the room, she jumped down off of the bed and made her way to the door.

As she exited the room and headed to her right down the hallway outside, seeing The Sorrow floating at the end of the hall, Luna really got the sense that he was making light of the situation. The hallway itself was normal and it even had signs on the walls to help direct anyone, but rather than signs that pointed out where the Mess Hall or the Shooting Range were, the signs were all replaced with ones like the one The Sorrow had been holding. ‘DO NOT GO THIS WAY’ one said, another read ‘YES, THAT’S IT’, and another had the words ‘I FEEL ASLEEP’ printed on it for some reason. She saw quite a few more signs that had other strange messages on them and they were really starting to get on her nerves as she searched for the man.

She soon turned a corner and saw The Sorrow floating near another left turn a short distance away. He floated down it as soon as she saw him and she gave chase, rounding the corner to see that they had seemingly come to a dead end. After a few moments of Luna looking at him with a questioning gaze, The Sorrow floated to his left and passed through the wall next to him. Luna would’ve gotten angry had she not noticed the sign on the wall behind where he’d been. It simply read ‘THIS WAY’. She walked over to where The Sorrow had been and turned to the wall. Raising a hoof to the wall, she found she was able to pass right through it, so she stepped forward after a moment to see what was on the other side.

She found herself standing in a corridor elsewhere on Mother Base. It had the same look as the hallways she’d been running through moments ago, but she could instantly tell something was different about it. The air seemed stagnant and she felt an oppressive, crushing sensation coming from this part of the dreamscape. Hopelessness? She tried not to dwell on it as she started walking forward. After a few steps, she noticed something off to her left ahead of her: steel bars coming down from the ceiling. Was she in Mother Base’s prison, or the Brig as Twilight had called it? She moved closer to the bars and peered inside. She let out a gasp at what she saw.

Twilight was sitting in the cell, her back turned to Luna. Her mane and tail were both frizzy messes and she was sitting hunched over, her right foreleg moving constantly in front of her. The floor and walls of the cell were covered with black scribblings. It all seemed to be done with the usual grace and care Twilight usually put into her writing, but there was so much of it on the walls and floor that it all seemed to be running together, making it illegible. But that didn’t matter to Luna; all that mattered was Twilight. She moved to the door of the cell and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge an inch. She looked back at her friend and called, “Twilight!”

Twilight raised her head a bit, but she didn’t turn to look at Luna. Instead, she stared at the wall in front of her for a moment before raising her right hoof to her forehead, dropping the piece of charcoal she was holding as she did, and groaned, “Come on… Think, dammit, think!” Her head turned to the left suddenly and Luna followed her gaze a moment later to see something she hadn’t noticed before: there was some writing on the wall that she could read. The words read ‘WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?’, however they weren’t as neat as Twilight’s, instead looking like they were messily scrawled, and were written in red. Twilight stared at the words for a few moments before she placed both hooves on the side of her head and turned away, saying, “Okay, um… I know the answer. I really do! I can figure it out, I can handle this. I just… Dammit, I need to think!”

Luna watched Twilight return to her charcoal scribbling after several moments. She had an idea of what she was looking at, but she didn’t want to jump to that conclusion yet. She shook the cell door again and yelled, “Twilight!” There was no reaction from the mare this time, however.

Before she could call to her again, she heard her voice… coming from her right. “They’re dead… They’re all dead… Because of me…” Luna looked to the right, glancing back at the jailed mare in front of her for a moment before moving towards where she heard the voice coming from, passing by two empty cells before she found an occupied one containing another Twilight sprawled out on the floor of the cell. Her mane and tail were a mess as well, though her simply looked like she hadn’t been taking care of it. “I ran when they needed me the most… I came back to find them all dead… I’m sorry… I’m sorry!” she cried. Luna noticed that the cell lacked the scribblings that the other cell had, but there was another message scrawled on the back wall that read ‘EVERYONE YOU TOUCH DIES’.

Now Luna was certain she was looking at different parts of Twilight’s personality. “But why are they locked up like this? That’s not normal, and neither are these messages,” she thought to herself. Hoping to find an answer, she continued on down the hall, expecting to see another Twilight as she noticed a cell to her left up ahead.

Sure enough, as she got closer, she heard Twilight saying, presumably, to herself, “I’m going to get him, the one who did this. He’s going to regret this! I will punish him, make him suffer worse than he ever has, beat him to a pulp! I will leave him begging for death to save him.” Luna reached the cell as the talking stopped and saw the Twilight in the cell sitting on the edge of the bed against the back wall, her mane and tail slightly unkempt as she glared at the wall to her left. Looking there, she saw written in black the simple yet difficult to answer question, ‘Why are we here?’, and underneath it in that red writing was the apparent answer, ‘JUST TO SUFFER’.

Moving on, Luna found one more cell on her right containing one last Twilight, this one looking like she normally did before she disappeared. “Strange… For a moment, I… forgot who I was. I… Did I always look like this? Was I always this way? I thought I was a student, I thought I was a princess, I thought I was a soldier, I… who am I, really? I thought I knew…” she muttered, looking around uncertainly as she stood in the middle of the cell. Luna noticed the floor under her had the red writing spelling out ‘THERE’S NO ESCAPE’. She glanced up and noticed the words ‘Destruction? Madness? Freedom?’ written on the ceiling in the normal black style. She then heard a noise and looked forward to see the door at the end of the hall slowly sliding open. She looked at it for a moment before moving towards it to investigate.

Luna stepped through the door and found herself out on the deck. She walked over to the edge of the deck and looked around; she could see sea water far below her, but she couldn’t see very far into the distance due to some sort of yellow distortion that seemed to be surrounding the entire base. Whatever it was, it made the air near it wavy and difficult to see beyond. Turning back towards the base, she noticed that she had two options for where to go next. She could either follow a connecting bridge that looked like it went straight into the distortion, or there was another door not far from the one she’d come out of. Not trusting the bridge, she headed for the door, which slid open as she approached it. She stepped into a small reception area and moved towards the door at the back of it, stepping into the room beyond.

Luna almost immediately realized she was in the Sick Bay due to all the beds and medical equipment she could see around the room. Many of the beds she could see were occupied, though most of the occupants didn’t seem to be moving. But Luna didn’t have time to dwell on that; her thoughts were soon redirected when she heard a loud bloodcurdling scream come from the back of the room.

After a moment, she realized it was a girl who was screaming. She immediately assumed it was Twilight, especially since it sounded familiar, but after a few seconds, she realized who the screams belonged to. “Paz?” Confused and a little frightened by how it sounded like the girl was screaming bloody murder, she made her way to the back, towards a spot in the Sick Bay that had curtains set up around it, preventing the rest of the room from seeing what was happening.

When she almost reached the curtains, she came to a stop and stared warily. The shadows on the curtains hadn’t moved in the time she had been walking across the room, but she suddenly noticed a flash of movement, a distinct pony shadow taking a step away from the gathering of shadows behind the curtain. For several moments, it remained motionless, but then it took another step and came through the curtain to its right, revealing that it was Twilight. Luna reeled back slightly at the sight of her. Her Sneaking Suit was soaked in blood, but that wasn’t all; her mane, tail, and face were almost completely covered with dried blood as well. Luna quietly hoped that it came from helping with a particularly messy surgical procedure and not something else. Her horn was longer and twisted and, when she turned to look at Luna, her eyes were red instead of violet.

For a few moments, silence ruled the air between them, Twilight seeming as surprised at seeing Luna as she was by her appearance. That all changed when Twilight’s eyes narrowed and her horn lit up, dark magic swirling around it and the handgun she pulled from her holster. Luna gasped when she pointed it at her and stumbled to the side, blind luck being all that kept her from getting hit by any of the three shots that rang through the air.

Regaining her footing, Luna stood up straight and used her magic to put a force field in front of herself while Twilight spread her legs out to make her stance more stable and focused, taking aim. Luna moved her body slightly out of reflex to get out of the way of the shot, but she was surprised when the bullet not only cracked but actually came through the force field, a small hole marking its entry point. Realizing how dangerous this Twilight really was, she began backing away and recasting the force field spell over and over to reinforce the first one as Twilight followed and kept shooting at her. When she had to stop and reload, Luna dropped the force field entirely and turned, spreading her wings as she shot towards the door, managing to get out of the Sick Bay as Twilight finished reloading and took a shot at her, the bullet hitting the closing door.

Luna ran out to the deck and spun around, panting softly and backing up slowly as she waited for Twilight to come out. She’d barricaded the door with everything in the reception room, but there was no doubt in her mind that it wouldn’t be enough to stop the twisted version of her friend. She began to hear the sound of objects smashing inside as her steps carried her onto the start of the bridge she’d passed before, stopping before she stepped back over the edge. She stood, her legs bent and tensed up. The sounds had stopped, but Twilight had not come out yet.

She turned to her left when she heard the sound of someone exhaling, the resonance immediately sounding familiar to her, and saw The Sorrow appear from the distortion, floating towards her. He still had that smile, but when he spoke, he almost sounded urgent, “You should not be here!” Before Luna could manage a reply, he stopped and brought his arms and legs up in front of him for a moment. He then brought his legs down and held his hands out, unleashing a strange, twisting beam at Luna as he said, “Leave!” Luna was too shocked to react and was hit by the beam, a scream sounding afterwards. When the twisted Twilight made it outside, the only thing she found was a human corpse on the bridge, specifically its skeletal upper half. She looked at it for a moment before grunting and putting her gun away before she turned and walked off.

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Spike and the ponies became worried when Luna suddenly let out a loud gasp and flopped over onto her side. They thought she might wake up, but she remained on the floor, magic still flowing from her horn to Twilight. Spike looked at Celestia and asked, “What happened?”

Celestia turned to look at Twilight, who was still lying still, and shook her head after a moment, “I don’t know…”

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Luna could feel a soft sea breeze wafting past her as she regained consciousness, a low moan escaping her mouth as a hoof went to her forehead. She used her other hoof to push herself up off the ground into a sitting position and opened her eyes to look around a few moments. She was still on Mother Base, but now she could clearly see the blue skies above and all the way to the horizon. She knew she wasn’t in the same place she was moments ago, but she wasn’t sure where exactly she was yet.

She soon got an answer when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to look. She saw Miller making his way across the deck with a gathering of MSF soldiers including Twilight following him while carrying caskets with Snake bringing up the rear. Luna noticed that four soldiers were assigned to carry each casket. Twilight was using her magic to help hold up one of the caskets as she walked next to its left side. Luna noticed the expression on her face. She was sad like the other soldiers, but the look in her eye indicated to Luna that she’d witnessed the deaths of at least some of these soldiers. Wanting to know for sure, she reached out towards Twilight with her magic…

As her magic reached Twilight, the scene before her flickered for a few seconds before it was replaced with a new one. Suddenly, she found herself standing on one side of noisy barren wasteland. Looking around, she could see MSF troops and vehicles fighting around her and the enemy troops fighting on the other side. She could hear gunshots and explosions ringing out across the battlefield and, as she looked at all the destruction and carnage, she saw Twilight in the fighting alongside the MSF troops, looking scared and uncertain about what she was involved in but still trying to protect her human friends as best she could.

Luna glowered as she cut off her magic, causing her surroundings to revert. “That was a war zone, and Twilight did not look like she wanted to be there. Did Big Boss give her permission to go… or did he make her go?” She looked up and saw that the line was almost finished, most of the MSF staff standing near one of the platform’s edges. She looked at Snake as he walked past her and briefly wondered how much he had changed, but she pushed it out of her mind since she knew she wouldn’t find an answer in Twilight’s mind. Now that she was in her memories, though, she could hopefully uncover what was troubling Twilight so. She glanced around as she thought, “This can’t be the only moment. There must be more to it.” While she was thinking, she noticed the scene was starting to fade away and waited.

It wasn’t long before Luna found herself standing in a fairly big room. Metal walls, metal floor, metal ceiling… it seemed familiar, though, so she guessed she was somewhere in Mother Base. She heard grunts of exertion behind her and turned to look. Snake and Twilight were in the middle of the room, both punching and kicking at each other and doing their best to block the other’s blows. Twilight had no clothing on while Snake was fully dressed in fatigues. It took Luna a few moments to notice Snake wasn’t wearing his bandanna, yet she was certain he had it on in the other memory. Was he just not wearing it at this point in time? Or had he stopped wearing it altogether?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Snake speak, “Hm. You’re starting to show some improvement.”

Twilight replied, “Turns out I can learn and get better like everyone else here.”

Snake said, “You’re not as easy to knock down as you used to be.” He then suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her before she could react. Luna winced as she watched him grab and pull her foreleg out to the side and then flip her over onto her back. “Still easy to throw around, though,” he remarked, Luna noticing he didn’t have a hint of a smile on his face or warmth in his voice as he said that.

Twilight looked up at him after recovering from her landing and said, “Well, that’s why you have training sessions like this.” She leaned back a bit and then rolled her body forward, getting back up onto her hooves in one swift motion. She then quickly spun around to face Snake again.

They continued talking while they practiced. “How long did it take you to become so proficient in CQC, Boss?” Twilight asked while she moved back from Snake’s advance.

“A long time. Even now, it’s a technique few know about,” Snake replied before he lunged forward, Twilight leaping to the side to avoid him.

“Right. You and The Boss came up with it, right?” she asked. Snake didn’t answer as he turned to face her. He drew his knife after a minute and, after a few moments of Twilight staring at him, gestured for her to do the same. Luna noticed that Twilight seemed a bit hesitant to bring her own knife over from where she’d left her things, but she complied and they began practicing with the knives. Twilight soon spoke, “Being able to be with The Boss as you were… It was really special, wasn’t it?”

Snake answered, “You have no idea.”

Twilight asked, “I wonder what she’d say if she was here today?”

Snake grunted, “She’d know we were doing the right thing. This is what she would’ve wanted if she were alive today.”

Twilight blinked, “What? No, I meant, like, if she could see you now, if she could see all the things that you do here.”

Snake just grunted, “She wouldn’t care about that. She never let anything distract her or get in the way of the mission.”

Twilight replied, “I would think she did care, even if she didn’t show it. I don’t think she’d want to see you hurting yourself by doing things you don’t believe in or pushing yourself too far. I would think she’d care about how you and your men are doing, what you’re doing, and whether or not it’s really what she would’ve wanted…” She might’ve had more to say, but it was apparent she never got a chance because the tone of what Luna was seeing changed suddenly.

In a swift blur of movement, Snake suddenly put his own knife away and grabbed Twilight’s right foreleg, pushing it back and forcing it out to the side, her pained gasp causing Luna to realize he was pushing harder than he needed to. Her knife fell from her grip and he snatched it up when it hit the floor while she took an unsteady step back. Before she could recover, he swung the knife diagonally downwards. Luna gasped as he saw the tip of the knife cut across her chest, a splatter of blood landing on the floor before she did.

Twilight let out a cry of pain as she landed on her left side, her hoof immediately moving to the cut on her chest. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it was still leaking since Luna could see some drops of blood drip out onto the floor in front of her. Twilight didn’t move until Snake moved in front of her, casting his shadow over her. Luna could feel the fear in the memory rise when the shadow covered her and it became worse when she looked up at him, a stony expression on his face and her knife in his right hand, its tip still lightly coated with her blood.

There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence that was broken when Snake spoke, “You don’t know what she was really like, what she really wanted. No one does… except me.” His voice had little emotion in it, and it made Luna wonder if it was all he could do to keep himself from revealing to Twilight how he was feeling or what he really thought. He threw her knife down in front of her a moment later and told her, “That’s it for this lesson. Go get that cleaned up. And not a word about this to anyone.”

Twilight shakily nodded, “Y-Yes, Boss. I’m sorry, Boss…” Snake didn’t respond; he just turned and walked out of the room, leaving Twilight alone. She reached over and grabbed her knife with her free hoof after he was gone, holding its tip up in front of her and looking at it intently, seemingly forgetting about her injury. Luna stared at her sadly for a few moments before turning away and closing her eyes. She didn’t need to sense with her magic to know Twilight was feeling conflicted over what had just happened. Accident or no, Snake had attacked her in anger over her just being herself without trying to stop her beforehand. Had she been conditioned to be afraid of being herself as a result?

When she opened her eyes, she found that her surroundings had changed to a somewhat lit wooded area and Twilight was sitting in front of her, holding her knife over her head. Alarmed, Luna moved around to her side and saw her bring the tip down into a piece of fruit. Luna let out a sigh of relief and watched her cut up the fruit and put the pieces in her saddlebags next to her.

While she worked, Luna noticed that Twilight's left wing was fully extended, but was restrained against her side by a bandage wrap. Twilight soon finished her task and stood up, grabbing her saddlebags and putting them on her back somewhat clumsily before she began walking through the woods. Luna followed her and noticed she was favoring her right hind leg. She looked at the left leg and saw that her Sneaking Suit was bulging there, suggesting that she had it wrapped in bandages.

After a short walk, they reached their destination: a crashed MSF chopper in a groove it made when it landed, some fallen trees and pieces of debris surrounding it. The rotors on top were mangled and the tail had broken off the back of it.

Twilight used her magic to pull the door open and walked up the ramp she had made. Luna followed her in and looked around. The inside had held up pretty good, but the chopper was clearly beyond repair. Luna looked towards the front and could make out Twilight checking the instruments before looking to her right and raising her hoof to softly pat something a few times, which Luna realized must've been the pilot. She then stepped back and walked over to the right side of the chopper, where she took off the glove on her right hoof and raised it to the wall above the seat, etching a tally mark there. Luna took a closer look at the wall and could make out nine other marks lined up next to it.

Looking back at Twilight, she saw her sitting on the door quietly eating her food and looking around every few seconds like she was surveying the area. She continued to sit and look after she finished eating, even as the area began to get darker. It was only when it started raining that she came in and closed the door. Using her horn to light her way, she walked over to a tarp on the right side and picked it up, bringing it over to the other side. She then laid down on the seat, being careful not to lay on her wing, and draped the tarp over herself like a blanket.

About a minute passed with Luna watching Twilight trying to sleep before she began to hear a whirring noise somewhere in the distance. Twilight heard it as well and looked towards the front of the chopper. She let the tarp fall to the floor as she stood up, Luna following her. They both peered out through the cracked glass, seeing a light shining from above through the trees off in the distance. Twilight detached herself and made her way to the door, getting it open and stepping out onto it by the time Luna reached her. Peering outside, Luna could see lights moving around in the darkness. She knew the lights were being held by humans, but she couldn't tell who they were, seeing only dark silhouettes. The scene came to an end when a light shined brightly in Twilight's face, causing Luna to look away.

When Luna looked back, she saw that the scene had changed again, but the light still seemed to be a bit intense, though she soon noticed it was coming from above her. She was standing in a room that was shrouded in darkness beyond the range of the light from above, but based on the similarities she could see, she guessed it was another room in Mother Base. She was so caught up in her looking that she forgot about Twilight for a moment, but when her eyes passed over the other alicorn, she did a double-take and quickly walked over to get a better look at what she was seeing.

Twilight’s wing was healed in this memory as it was folded against her side, but that was where the good seemed to end here. She had a nervous and uncertain look on her face as she hung from the ceiling, her forelegs held above her head with a pair of handcuffs near her hooves, the chain between the cuffs held up by a hook underneath. There didn’t seem to be anything else restraining her, so Luna wondered why she was in this situation.

She followed Twilight’s gaze and saw a wooden table she hadn’t noticed before a short distance away with a metal box with a crank and some cables sitting on top of it. A human stepped out of the darkness a few moments later, a man if Luna had to guess, garbed in an MSF uniform complete with balaclava. He walked over to the table and put one hand on the box, using the other to turn the crank. He did this for a few moments before he stopped and turned to look at Twilight. “Are you ready to begin this special training session, Twilight?” he asked.

Twilight responded, “Remind me again why we’re even doing this.”

The soldier turned back to the table and began messing with the cables and box as he replied, “It’s an important part of your training. All of us need to undergo this training in case anything happens, and it’s about time you underwent it too. The Boss clearly expects great things out of you, Twilight; why else would he mark you the way he did?”

Luna glanced at the scar on Twilight’s chest while the alicorn stammered, “N-No, that’s… that’s not what happened. The Boss didn’t do that. I cut myself. That was my fault.”

The soldier remained focused on what he was doing as he replied, “Don’t lie to me, Twilight. No one in their right mind willingly cuts themselves.”

Twilight insisted, “The Boss didn’t do anything! It was an accident! …On my part.”

The soldier looked up at her, “It’s good to know you can put up a guise like the Boss in a situation like this, but it’s not always going to be enough. That’s why you need this training.” He looked back at the table and picked up two rods that were connected to the cables, which were now plugged into the box, holding them up in front of himself as he approached Twilight. “All right, we’re all set. Let’s begin.” He struck the rods against each other, causing a jolt of electricity to run through both of them. Luna’s eyes widened at this and she could audibly hear Twilight gulp, the younger alicorn’s body suddenly rigid at this.

________________________________________

Twilight’s friends and family stared at her as she began convulsing on the bed, her body shaking and twitching sporadically as if she had no control over it. “What’s happening to her?” Shining asked Celestia, trying to keep his voice steady.

Celestia said, “I don’t know! I don’t think this is Luna’s doing.”

As she looked back at Twilight, Fluttershy noticed that Rainbow seemed to be staring intently at their alicorn friend and turned to look at her. She had a dire look on her face, her mouth hanging open slightly as she watched Twilight convulse. “Rainbow, what’s wrong?” she asked meekly, catching everyone else’s attention.

Rainbow licked her suddenly dry lips and spoke, her voice shaking more than most of her friends had ever heard, “She’s… The way she’s… She’s like one of those ponies who hooks themselves up to a thunderhead and…” She suddenly felt sick to her stomach and couldn’t muster up the strength to say any more.

________________________________________

Luna didn’t know what to do other than stare wide-eyed at what Twilight had been through as it played out right before her eyes. She had already been through three rounds of continuously having the tips of the electric rods pressed up against her chest and was finishing a fourth. Some white smoke was rising off of Twilight as the rods were pulled away, her body tingling slightly as she hung with her head drooped and her mouth hanging open as she breathed heavily.

The soldier stepped back and remarked, “You’re pretty good at holding up against these shocks, Twilight. Must have something to do with being a horse.” He turned and walked over to the table, setting the rods on it before reaching for the box. “Let’s go another round, with a little more voltage,” he said as he began to turn the crank again.

That caused Twilight to wake up somewhat, her head shooting up at his words. “What?! No! No more! I give up! We’ve done enough for one training session! Please, just stop, Mosquito!” she cried out. Luna was shocked further at this revelation. This man was one of the soldiers she’d said she bonded with?

She looked back at Mosquito as he said while still turning the crank, “You can handle one more, Twilight. You’ve come this far already; don’t you want to know how special you are?” Luna picked up on an underlying tone of pleasure in his voice, which made her see that this actually was what she feared it was. Mosquito wasn’t trying to help Twilight; he was enjoying what he was doing to her.

“No, I don’t! I don’t care about that!” Twilight cried. Mosquito didn’t respond; instead, he finished with the crank and grabbed the rods again. As he walked back over to Twilight, she shook her head rapidly and uttered, “No, no, nonononono, please…!” Mosquito simply responded by thrusting the rods back into her chest without warning and Twilight began screaming again as soon as they made contact and all Luna could do was watch. Like the other times, it lasted under a minute, but it felt like it lasted much longer. Luna could swear she even saw Twilight’s skeleton at times.

Eventually Mosquito pulled the rods away, but he didn’t back off. He looked her over, seeing more smoke rising from her and her breathing even heavier now. After a few moments, he said, “I think you can manage one more. Let’s use up the rest of this charge.”

Twilight, now feeling extremely weak and unable to move much, could only muster up the strength to whimper as tears leaked from her eyes, “Please… please, no…!” It didn’t seem to register since Mosquito began to bring the rods closer to her again, both of them sparking at the tips.

Before they could reach her, there was suddenly a slamming sound, followed moments later by a shout of, “Hey!” Luna leapt in surprise at the shout while Mosquito backed away from Twilight, staring. The rest of the room lights turned on a second later, revealing the owner of the shout to be Miller. “What the hell’s going on in here?!” he demanded as he marched straight towards Mosquito.

“C-Commander Miller…!” Mosquito stammered, the rods falling from his grip.

Miller glanced over at Twilight for a moment before looking back at Mosquito, asking as he reached him, “What have you been doing to her?!”

Mosquito stuttered, “I…”

He didn’t answer fast enough for Miller’s liking as he grabbed him by the top of his uniform and brought him close as he asked again, “What have you been doing?!”

Mosquito managed, “I was just… trying to help Twilight with some advanced training…” Before he could say any more, Miller roughly pushed him away, causing him to fall on his back.

As he marched over to the table, Miller said, “You know, we have rules around here that we all have to follow, soldier. One of them is that these things don’t get taken out without getting clearance.” He began to rip the cables out of the box as he went on, “Another is that these sorts of training sessions are not done in private unless the Boss is present. And finally, we NEVER turn the voltage up this high!” Mosquito could only stare at him from the floor as he berated him.

Miller then turned and walked over to Twilight. He reached for his knife and used it to cut the suspended chain, moving forward and catching her once she was free, her forelegs laying on his shoulders, shaking as she breathed heavily. “Twilight…? Twilight, talk to me. Say something,” Miller whispered.

In between her breaths, Twilight managed to utter, “M… M-M-Miller…”

Miller held her close in a hug, rubbing up and down her back with his left hand as he murmured, “It’s okay, Twilight. Just breathe. In, out, in, out… Nice and steady.” Twilight did as he said and, as her shaking slowed, she moved her forelegs a little bit to return the hug. Feeling this, Miller said, “I’m going to take you to the Sick Bay right now. I don’t know what they’re going to say about this, but you’re going to be all right, Twilight.”

He started to walk out of the room, but before he left, he stopped and looked back at Mosquito over his shoulder, the man standing and looking down at the floor. “Don’t think I’m just going to let this go, Mosquito. Be prepared for the Boss to call for you when he gets back from his mission, because he is going to hear about this.” He then left without another word, making Luna wonder if he heard Mosquito’s quiet affirmation. She turned to look at him, wondering what possessed him to do such a thing. She looked away after a few moments and headed for the door, expecting to enter another memory through it.

Sure enough, she stepped through the door to find Twilight sitting at a desk with Snake standing next to her, both of them looking at Miller, who was standing in front of Snake. Twilight wasn’t wearing anything, the burn marks clearly visible to Luna as she stood in the doorway. Miller was the first to speak, “Snake, yesterday we received official communication from the IAEA. It says, ‘It has come to our attention that your organization recently purchased nuclear fuel from Uzbekistan authorities. We request permission to inspect your facilities’.”

Snake looked off to the side as he uttered, “What a load of bullshit.”

Miller replied, “Yeah. They’re after Metal Gear ZEKE’s nuclear warhead. I’m betting this is payback from Cipher after Paz’s leak.”

Snake looked back at him, “Using the UN?”

Miller said, “There’s no telling how much influence they have. But the IAEA can only do inspections in countries that are party to the NPT.”

Snake finished, “And we’re not a country.”

Miller nodded, “Exactly. We haven’t signed a safeguards agreement with the IAEA over peaceful nuclear use, and we’re not obligated to report any nuclear material we have, nor information about any nuclear facilities. The IAEA has no authority to inspect us.”

Snake shook his head, “But despite all that…”

Miller said, “That nuke’s our last line of defense. We don’t want to announce we have it until the world is preparing to wipe us off the map. Until then, we let everyone think we’re just a private army with conventional firepower.”

Snake asked, “What’s Huey’s take?”

Miller answered, “That the problem’s how to hide the nuke and Metal Gear. But I gotta tell you, he was all for it.”

Snake replied, “I see… But there’s no way we can have the IAEA poking around here.”

Twilight finally spoke up, “So… what’s the plan, then?”

Snake and Miller looked at her, the former telling her, “The plan is you’re going to write them an official letter of refusal. Say that we’re a private organization and we’ve done nothing to attract this suspicion.”

Twilight turned around to the desk, saying, “I’ll take care of it right away, Boss.”

As Luna watched the scene began to change. The desk disappeared as did Twilight’s chair. She went from sitting to standing up as Snake and Miller moved to her right, Snake standing slightly in front of both of them. The room changed from an office to something more akin to a laboratory with lots of tables and electronics all around. And a familiar face appeared, sitting in a wheelchair turned away from the three of them, looking at a computer instead. “Huey,” Luna thought to herself as she stepped around to stand off to the side of the gathering, wondering what was about to happen.

“We finished ZEKE’s waterproofing reinforcement yesterday. The day after tomorrow we’ll be done installing the main depth control tank, the compressed air tank, and the attitude control propeller pod,” the man said while still looking at the computer screen.

Miller spoke up, “Huey.”

Huey went on as if he didn’t hear him, “If the underwater test goes well, next week we’ll try the 300-foot seabed depth.”

Miller cut him off, “Drop the act, Huey. How did we end up agreeing to the nuclear inspection?”

Huey finally turned his head away from the screen and looked up at him and Snake. “…Because after you sent that letter, I told them, ‘After careful reconsideration, we agree to your request’. …And frankly, we should be inspected. This is our chance. If they come and go without discovering the nuke, we can tell the world we’re clean. Of course, it’s risky, and we’ll have to make sure everything’s perfect. But it’ll be worth it.” As he spoke, he turned his wheelchair around so he was fully facing the three.

Snake asked, “Huey, can they do an inspection without going through the Board of Governors?”

Miller explained, “We contacted the IAEA’s admin branch, and they said there’s no record of us being brought up at any of the Board’s meetings.”

Huey held a hand to his chin, “I’d say… probably a preliminary inspection to determine if we should be referred to the Board. So, it’s bound to be a small inspection team, and they won’t be here that long.” He lowered his hand and smiled, “Don’t worry, leave everything to me.”

Snake raised an eyebrow, “Has the media gotten wind of this?”

Huey nodded, “Yeah. Two major Western networks want to do stories on us. I’d planned on saying yes.”

Twilight asked, “So the entire world will be able to see this place?”

Huey replied, “That’s why I agreed to the inspection. This is a golden opportunity. We can use the media to prove to the world we don’t have a nuke. Besides, even if we said no, we’d just be delaying the inevitable.”

Snake let out a frustrated grunt and turned to look at Miller and Twilight, “Kaz, Twilight, our hands are tied now. Start getting the place ready.”

Huey nodded, “Thanks, Boss.”

Snake turned his head to look back at him, “Don’t get the wrong idea. You’ve set it up so that any more ‘changes of heart’ will arouse suspicion, that’s all.” He then turned and walked out with Twilight and Miller flanking him, and Luna walked after them.

As they walked, Miller said, “ZEKE stays, but we’ll have to move all other AFVs to shore.” He looked over at Twilight, “We’re also going to have to find a place for you to stay until the inspection’s over. Can’t have your existence being found out either.”

Twilight suggested, “Maybe I could go with the AFVs, and so can anyone who might cause trouble.” Miller nodded in reply.

He then looked at Snake, “How’s that sound, Boss?”

Snake just waved his hand and said, “Just do it.” After he spoke, the three of them faded away and Luna found herself walking alone through the hallway.

As she walked, she kept hearing Snake and Miller’s voices at points. She heard them talking about the soldiers keeping ZEKE’s nuke a secret, staff members that had to leave and had already left, and, most surprisingly, word that Paz was alive and being held at a prison camp in Cuba. Luna could hardly believe what she heard. “She not only survived that fall, but Cipher thought she might have turned on them? This might explain some of the things Twilight was saying,” she thought to herself before noticing a door up ahead. It opened as she got closer and she stepped through it.

She found herself back in the office again. Twilight was sitting at the desk alone, looking up at some cassette tapes she was holding up in her magic. “These should be the last of the tapes we have,” she said after a moment. She brought them down and put them inside what appeared to be a book. Luna walked over to the desk for a closer look. It was indeed a book, but the inside was hollowed out, leaving a space that was already almost filled to the brim with other cassette tapes. As Twilight flipped it closed, Luna recognized the blank, brown leather cover. It was the same book that had fallen out of her bags back at the hospital.

Twilight picked up the book with her hooves and looked at it, “I don’t know how thorough the inspection is going to be, but we should probably be ready in case they start digging around. Just have to finish up with this and we can hide all these in plain sight.”

Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang, startling both Twilight and Luna. They both looked over at it and, when it rang a second time, Twilight set the book down and reached for the receiver. She brought it over to her head and asked, “Hello?” She smiled after a moment, “Oh, hi Amanda! What’s going on?” Her smiled changed to a frown a few seconds later, a confused look on her face as she said, “Yes, I was there. …Yeah, I saw him on the boat.” Luna heard footsteps behind her and turned to see that Miller and Snake had entered the room and were walking over to Twilight. “What?! No way,” Twilight said after a moment.

“What’s going on?” Snake asked. Twilight looked up to see him and Miller standing right behind her.

She returned her attention to the phone and asked, “Uh, can you hold on a second? It’s the Boss. …Okay.” She looked up again and put a hoof over the end she had been speaking into as she said, “It’s Amanda. She says the resupply package arrived in Cuba, but Chico wasn’t with it.”

Miller held his hand out, “Give me that.” She passed him the phone and he held it up to his ear, “Amanda? Miller here. …Yeah, she just told me. Relax, Amanda. He’s probably just… exploring Havana or something. First time in the big city, he could’ve gotten carried away. …Yeah, we’ll let you know if we hear anything, but I’m sure he’s fine.” He then reached over and set the receiver back in its cradle. He then looked over at Twilight and said, “Well, that’s about all I’ve got. I’m not sure what else he could be doing.”

Snake spoke, “Kaz, wait.” Both Miller and Twilight looked at him, “The boat Chico was on – did it stop anywhere before it got to Havana?”

Miller nodded, “Yeah, it had to refuel at Santiago de Cuba… You don’t think…” He stopped as he considered what Snake was getting at.

“Oh no…” Twilight uttered, having picked up on it as well.

A flash of anger appeared on Miller’s brow, “Aw shit, you gotta be kidding me! He does this NOW?!”

Snake said, “It’s 60 miles from Santiago to the prison camp. Chico used to cross the mountains with the older Sandinistas like it was nothing. He’ll make that in three days.”

Miller started, “Still, even if he does find his way there…”

Snake replied, “You know how reckless he can be. Chico thinks we’ve abandoned Paz. That’s why he’s doing this.”

Miller let out a sigh before turning to Twilight and saying, “Contact the Intel detachment in Cuba and tell them to start looking for him. I’ll go over and talk to the guys still left here at Mother Base. We can’t let him be captured.” Twilight nodded and grabbed a pencil on the desk, using it to dial the numbers while Miller left the room and Snake watched her. She tapped the side of the phone with her free hoof as she held the receiver up to her ear, listening.

Luna suddenly heard a voice say, “There are some cages to the east of a big building.” She looked around and realized the room and everything in it was fading away, leaving her flapping her wings to stay afloat in the cloudy, star-filled space she found herself in. “It’s an old, grassy facility. That’s where we are. …Help me, Snake…” At that, she realized it must’ve been Chico who was speaking.

She heard a click followed by Miller saying, “It’s a setup.”

She then heard Snake’s voice, “We have no choice.”

Miller replied, “Yeah. If Chico talks, he could blow the nuke cover-up. We can’t hold off until the inspection’s over.”

Snake asked, “When can we be ready?”

Miller responded, “It’ll take some time to confirm a flight path and prep a bird. The Intel Unit has started reconning the area. Since Twilight’s heading out there to join them, the flight path might not take as long to confirm.”

Snake asked, “You sent her out to Cuba? Kaz…”

Kaz said, “Don’t worry. I gave her very strict orders. She’s to stay close to the Intel Unit out there and not go anywhere near the base for any reason. She’ll be the only one who’s still on-site when the chopper arrives, and she’s to get onboard and stay there when it does. I made it clear to her to stay put and not try to be a hero.”

Snake responded, “I see. Sounds like I’ll have to miss the inspection too.”

Miller said, “Boss, we’ll just have to send someone else to get them out.”

Snake replied, “No, I’ll go.”

There was a moment of silence before Miller said, “Yeah. Chico and Paz would only take orders from you anyway. And we can’t go taking on those Marines at the base head-on. It’s gotta be off-the-radar… And it’s gotta be you.”

Snake spoke, “Hold down the fort, Kaz.”

Luna could hear them talk more about the mission and the weather conditions, but she wasn’t focused on what they were saying. A bright opening had appeared floating in space a short distance away from her. As she looked at it, she could feel it; she was almost to the end of her journey through Twilight’s memories. She flew towards the opening, hoping she was prepared for whatever awaited her on the other side.