Big Boss did not respond to the terrified guard with words. Instead, he gave him a cold stare with his one good eye, looking as menacing and angry as he could. The guard only became more nervous and started stammering and slipping up. His body was shaking with fear. As he freed the mercenary who successfully tricked him, the foolish guard led him directly to where his items were being held.
After reacquiring all of his gear, Snake proceeded to tranquilize the guard with a dart. His CQC would have been far to risky to use, as it would have been loud and noisy, thus it would attract the attention of nearby guards until eventually the whole castle would be on high alert. From the guard's office where Snake's equipment was taken, Big Boss found a map of the whole Castle both inside and out. He proceeded to take a picture of it with his i-Droid and quickly put said map back where he found it. He was still trying his best to make it seem as though he was never here, even though one of the staircases was already gone.
While in the guard's office, he made sure to steal the keys to Luna's cell, so he could quickly and quietly free her without notifying anyone. Snake made his swift return to the deteriorated prison cell that contained the weak and faint princess and he began his escape. When observing the map, he realized that the original information he got from one of the guards was wrong and he was in fact nowhere close to where he originally was. Though, he did find a shortcut to get to the opposite end of the castle than which he entered through, to be close to the most optimal extraction point. There was one catch though. The shortcut went straight through Queen Chrysalis' chamber. However, it was the only route he could take, since the stairs on the other method had collapsed on his last attempt. It was do or die for Snake, and dying was not an acceptable option, so he proceeded to follow the map closely, and eventually, he arrived at the chamber.
Things quickly took a turn for the worse for the mercenary and the one he was sent to rescue. Queen Chrysalis herself had entered the room, and had the potential to spot Big Boss and Luna. He quickly went into the nearest dark corner, and kept his breathing at a minimal. He made himself be as quiet as possible, to avoid unintentionally making the threatening Queen aware of their presence.
However, the weak, fatigued, and faint Luna could not be as silent as her rescuer. Her breathing slowly got heavier and heavier, as it became harder to breathe overtime. Big Boss did his best to keep her quiet as well, by putting his hand over her mouth. Chrysalis began to speak to herself, unaware of the potential escapee's presence. "Ah, how wonderful it is. I have Princess Luna within my grasp, and she will soon starve and waste away! And once she does, I can change myself into her, just like I did with Celestia once before, and I will convince everyone that I am the real Princess Luna, and that I escaped from that prison. They will never know the difference, and soon, Equestria will be all mine!" The diabolical queen began to cackle, as if she were a witch.
Chrysalis seemed like the average, over-confident and vain villain with a quest for world domination. Big Boss was disappointed with her, on the inside, thinking she would be more of a serious threat.
Soon, Chrysalis got up and started to walk away, but what she said as she walked away had exposed Snake and Luna's presence. "Oh, I know just how I'll take over to! I'll pretend Luna changed into Nightmare Moon again! The plan is genius! Not only do I kill a princess, but I further tarnish her name!" Those words made Princess Luna begin to weep uncontrollably. The memories of being Nightmare Moon overwhelmed her, and broke her heart. She feared for the safety of the kingdom, and especially, Celestia and Twilight, her Sister and closest friend.
Luna's mental stability was at an all time low. Her mental health was poor due to the extensive time that she was kidnapped. She was deprived of everything she would need to keep her sanity, and keep her health. She was deprived of nutrients, such as water and food. She was also deprived of social contact. Her current imprisonment drew parallels to the time she spent on the moon, for she was in solitary confinement, with no one but herself to talk to, slowly growing mad, losing her sanity, her stability, her composure.
Luna's mind was weak and growing weaker by the minute. The health of her mind deteriorated over the time of her capture. It had been one long month since the controller of the night had been kidnapped. Eventually, she ran out of strength, and reverted back to a smaller, powered-down form, and was unable to provide the magic energy needed to raise the moon and make the stars twinkle. Due to her poor conditions, the alicorn was a ticking time bomb of insanity, and was easily manipulable. The proverbial bomb had exploded the moment Chrysalis mentioned Nightmare Moon. And just like the sound of an explosion would, the uncontrollable weeping caught the Changeling Queen's attention.
The evil monarch of the crippled kingdom of the changelings had, in an instant, cast an illumination spell to determine the source of Luna's impossible to silence crying. Chrysalis then noticed Snake, a man she had never seen before, but knew all about, who was holding the weeping pony in his arms. "So you are the special forces that Celestia was rumored to have called in, I suppose? The legendary Snake of the human world? Pah, you look nothing like a professional. You look like a homeless bum with an eye patch and a suit!"
These petty insults did little to muster a response from Big Boss, and instead, he simply ignored her words, making it seem as if he deflected said words.
Even though Snake did not react to the Queen's words, he was curious as to how she knew about him. He had only been in Equestria once, and according to Princess Luna, it was a thousand years ago. He did not bother to speak with the changeling responsible for the kidnapping, however. He remained silent throughout the entire conversation, not revealing a single thing.
"So, you're a quiet one, aren't you? They say that the quiet ones are the most fun to break. It seems you are stealing something that belongs to me, Snake. I demand that you put it back, and should you put it back where you received it, I will let you go home free. You will have your freedom, and will be able to go back home. Oh wait, you don't have a home, do you? No, of course you don't, or at least, you won't in due time." Chrysalis was acting as if Luna was her property and slave.
Finally, Big Boss decided to speak. He would not let her boss him around like he was her servant. "Chrysalis, is it? You really think I care about going back home? I only care about my mission. If I fail my mission, there is no point in going back home. I live by a code, you see. I believe in service before self, and excellence in all I do. Returning this prisoner, this victim, to where you had held her, will result in her death. Her life is worth far much more than mine. Now, get out of the way, or I will force you out of my way. I'm sure we both don't want this to get ugly, but wait, you already are." Snake decided to brighten up his situation by returning an insult to the Queen. His mind could not be swayed from completing his mission. He had one simple task, rescue the princess. He would either succeed in this task, or die trying.
"Petty insults will not get you anywhere, you buffoon. If you really think you are a threat to me, then you are sadly mistaken. I have the power of magic, and you only have your bare fists. I think it is easy to see who will come out on top."
"Heh, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get." The mercenary replied.
"Are you really that foolish as to challenge someone with a prowess in magic? I can easily do with you as I please!" The changeling had began to grow frustrated with the iron will of the legendary soldier.
Snake did not respond to her statement. He simply put Princess Luna down, and braced himself. He went into a fighting stance, facing his enemy, with his eye completely focused on her and her movements. The Queen accepted the fight, and quickly began to engage the soldier. She severely underestimated not only his skill, but his strength, as he charged at her, to counter her attack, and flipped her. "Pah! That was merely a warm up. Wipe that look off your face and prepare yourself for the real fight!" The queen angrily stated.
Snake nodded his head, and again went into his fighting stance. This time, however, instead of flipping her when she charged at him, the soldier of great skill decided to push back, creating a dead lock of both sides trying to push the other. They were at a stalemate. Their strengths matched, their bodies exerting all the force outward that they physically could.
Chrysalis then decided to stop fooling around with physical contact and took a step back. In the next instant, she fired a mind weakening spell. She intended to knock him out and give him a concussion. But her plan, had failed. Big Boss merely shrugged off the spell. The arrogant queen was shocked to see this, but quickly regained her composure. She proceeded to fire a stronger, more continuous spell at the seemingly unstoppable force. She soon noticed the same thing that Princess Luna did, and that was his mind was locked down tight. It was hard to penetrate his thick skull and enter and manipulate the man's thoughts.
She increased the power one more time, as Big Boss started to sprint at her, preparing to concuss the foolish Queen.
This time, however, the Queen used all of her might, and finally penetrated the mind of Big Boss. She then began to weaken and cripple him from the inside and out, until he was slowly losing control of his own body. Big Boss fought against her magic force, and kept moving towards her no matter how little he actually traveled. Even when reduced to nothing but a mere crawl, his iron will kept him fighting.
The Queen was impressed with the man's level of persistence. She never thought anyone could be so resistant to a spell as powerful as the one she was casting. Most victims of the spell would drop to the ground instantly, having been concussed, yet Snake kept fighting and pushing on. In her mind, she commended him for this, but never spoke a word about it.
Soon enough, despite his efforts, Snake could not overcome the over powering force of Chrysalis' magic. He soon passed out as he reached out to grab her leg. Princess Luna was witnessing the entire thing go down. She began to cry, thinking that her rescuer had met his demise. That he was defeated, and that she would waste away, and never see her dear sister or friend ever again.
A fire began to burn in the faint Princess' heart. A fire of fury. She mustered up the last of her strength out of a combination of the emotions of rage, sorrow, and regret. She stood tall, facing head to head against the diabolical Queen. "Oh how amusing! You actually think that whatever little strength you have left can save you now? You were better off saving that strength to quickly run off while I was distracted by this man. Oh well, you have sealed your own fate, Princess Luna. Fight me if you wish, but it will get you nowhere."
"I will not... let... you... get away with this... I... will...nay... I...I MUST defeat you for not only my sake, but for the... sake of those dear to me!" Luna said faintly. She was having trouble even standing. Her legs were shaking, her voice was frail, and her mane no longer flowed.
Chrysalis simply scoffed at the sight of the weak Princess actually trying to put up a fight. She noticed that love was the force that powered her to do this among other things. It was her love for her friends and family that kept her going. That gave her a will to live, a will to survive, and a will to escape. However, sheer will can only do so much. Sheer will allowed Luna to have enough strength to live and fight, but she did not have the power itself it would take to fight against Chrysalis.
The evil Queen simply preformed a knock out spell on the frail Princess' mind, and she too, was concussed. Her body lay next to Snake's on the cold floor. The Queen had taken this time to dive into the unconscious mercenary's heart, knowing that there had to be someone he loved. However, the man's heart was just as locked up and imprisoned as his mind. It was nearly impossible to break the locks. However, with one quick spell, she managed to discover new information about the legendary mercenary, and that information was about his mentor, the legendary soldier before him, that he succeeded.
After some time had passed, she ordered the guards to imprison both the mercenary and the Princess in the maximum security cells again. She demanded that every guard be concentrated on the area, just in case the mercenary attempted to escape with Luna. She would not allow him to escape the Changeling kingdom alive. However, she had a trick up her sleeve in case he should somehow manage to break out of his cell.
A few hours had passed, Kaz Miller became worried about the Boss' status after not reporting in since his infiltration began. He knew Snake would never take such a long time on an infiltration mission such as this, even with the given circumstances. He decided it was time to try to phone the mercenary who was supposed to be rescuing the Princess of the Night.
Big Boss woke up to the sound of his communicator violently ringing. It echoed through the empty halls from the caste. Again, he discovered that he had been stripped of his gear and that Princess Luna was again in a cell. The mercenary was surprised to discover that there was no guard keeping watch at his cell. As he curiously reached towards the door, it simply fell down on the dusty ground, creating a loud noise as the metal came into contact with said ground.
He found it all too easy that he was captured but yet there was no one guarding neither his cell or Luna's, and the guard station was also deserted. He was also surprised to see how desolate the place really was. It was as if no one had been there in a thousand years. He procured his equipment with utmost ease and located the key to Luna's cell. Everything was all to strange for the mercenary. It was unusual that no one was in sight and he was left unattended, when he managed to escape mere hours ago. Little did he know that it was all a part of the Queen's plan. He had tried to phone Kaz to tell him of his planned rendezvous point, but no one had picked up.
Regardless, he proceeded free Luna from her cell. She seemed much more bold and strong this time around. Her mane once again flowed, her body no longer shaky. As the soldier unlocked the cell, the captive Princess immediately stood up and walked out. "Why thank you Snake. It took long enough for thou to awaken. I had been sitting in that cell, recuperating after Chrysalis had defeated me. Now let us go, I do believe you know the way." Something was off about the way the Princess spoke. Something was unnatural and unusual, but Snake could not put his finger on it.
He simply nodded in response to Luna's words, and carried her with him through the castle, reattempting his previous route, hoping for some luck, as it was the only possible way to get out.
As he made it into Chrysalis' chambers, Luna started to become more talkative. "Oh I really do owe you the greatest gratitude, Snake. I must commend you for your unstoppable efforts. I, Princess Luna, thank you for coming in my time of need. I know this is your first time in Equestria, and it must have been hard to get here in the first place, but without you, I would have simply withered away to nothing."
That was when Big Boss had finally had it. He put the puzzle pieces together, and finally realized what was going on. He had his suspicions about the Princess Luna he was rescuing once he had again found himself imprisoned in his cell, but now, they were confirmed. He proceeded to throw the Princess Luna on his back forcefully onto the ground.
The princess had screamed in pain, and the look in her eyes was the look of one who had just been betrayed. "Snake, why did you do that? Are you trying to kill me?" She began to sob.
"Give it up, Chrysalis. I know it's you. You really thought you could fool me? How stupid do you think I am?" The mercenary was becoming enraged that such a shallow attempt of deceiving him was the changeling Queen's master plan. Suddenly, the pony stopped crying, and green and black fire engulfed her as she shed the look of Princess Luna and revealed herself to be Chrysalis.
"But how did you know it was me?! My plan was perfect!" Chrysalis argued, angry that she didn't succeed in deceiving the soldier.
"It's simple, really. You made yourself instantly suspicious when you made yourself look like the Luna I remembered. The Luna I was rescuing was weak, frail, and seemed to be slowly withering away. You looked strong, mighty, and seemed to be in good health. That was strike one. Strike two came around when you spoke to me the first time, not only acting portentous, but also calling me Snake. Princess Luna knows me as Jack, not Snake. And you just committed the third strike."
"Oh, I did? Pray tell, since you pointed out the flaws in the other strikes, what did I do wrong to cause this third strike?" The Queen curiously questioned.
"It's a real simple mistake, really. I'm not surprised you made it, but it was a mistake that Luna would never make. You said that this was my first time in Equestria, when in fact, this is my second. My first time was a mission quite like this one, except I wasn't the main soldier on the mission. I was with my old mentor on that mission, The Boss. Our goal was the same as this mission's, rescue Princess Luna. Except, things weren't as dire as they are now. Now tell me where Princess Luna is, and stop wasting my time!"
Chrysalis simply let out a laugh. Again, she was engulfed by the black and green flames. However, this time, she did not change into just another pony, no. This time, she changed into The Boss herself. "Oh? By "The Boss" do you mean this woman?" She devilishly smiled as she played her trump card against the mercenary.
Snake was shocked and dumb founded to see that Chrysalis had changed into and sounded just like The Boss. He knew of her changing abilities, but he had no idea that she was capable of such a complete transformation, especially a transformation into a human. "Boss..." He uttered.
Chrysalis, pretending to be The Boss herself responded, "Hello, Jack. It's been a while, hasn't it? I missed you." Snake was starting to become like putty in her new hands. She had finally found his one and true weakness. It was his memory of The Boss and the mixed emotions in his heart that would lead him to his downfall.
However, this ruse would not go long until it was interrupted, at least in Snake's eyes. Luna was contacting him through his communicator. She learned how to alter her spell so he would receive it through there instead. Luna spoke to the mercenary with a heart filled with discord in a very small voice. Her strength was only further diminishing by the moment.
"Jack, you must not allow her to play with your emotions. I recall the discord within your heart when I brought up your old mentor, when I saw her in your dream. I know how much she still means to you, but I am afraid that you must fight her again. She is merely stealing the face of the one you love to try to render you powerless. You must show her that you can prevail, not only for my good, but for your own good." Those were her last words to Snake before the transmission was lost.