//------------------------------//
// Infiltrate the Crater Base 
// Story: Metal Gear Spark: Peace Zero 
// by GreenS21 
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Shining Armor made a face, “‘Snake’? Was that really his name, Twilight?”

While taking a bite out of the cupcake she was given, Twilight nodded, “Mm-hmm.” She swallowed and balanced the pastry on her right hoof as she said, “That’s the name he preferred at the time. It was part of his codename; his full codename was Naked Snake.”

Rainbow let out a laugh and asked, “‘NAKED Snake’? No wonder he didn’t give you his full name! Snake by itself is a cool name, but ‘Naked’? How’d he get that for a first name?”

Twilight replied, “I asked him about it one time after Miller teased him about the name. He told me he used to be a mainly on-site procurement expert. Back then, when he was out on a mission, most of what he ate and used he’d have to find in enemy territory. He’d usually have help over the radio and get something to defend himself with, but for the most part, he was on his own.”

Luna commented, “That sounds… hazardous, to say the least.”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, but he was good at what he did. His skills had made him pretty famous.”

Cadance spoke, “Snake was his codename. So, he must’ve had a real name, right Twilight?”

The lavender alicorn shrugged, “I think so. I never really learned what it was, though. What did he tell me once? ‘After a week on the battlefield, no one has a name’…?” She shook her head, “It was something along those lines…”  She set her cupcake down on the nightstand.

Celestia asked, “Who is this ‘Miller’ you mentioned, Twilight?”

Twilight answered, “Snake’s second-in-command, Kazuhira Miller, or just Kaz. Since Snake was often away on missions, he was in charge of keeping his private army and the rest of Mother Base running smoothly. He really loved his sunglasses… and women.” She rolled her eyes as she lay back against her pillow, “I was one of the few female staff members at Mother Base he didn’t try to hit on. Obviously, he had his standards, but his womanizing still got him in trouble with Snake on a couple of occasions.”

Applejack asked, “So there was a bunch o’ y’all and ya actually worked for him?”

Twilight replied, “I didn’t really start working for him until later, but yeah. There were lots of humans that worked for Snake, all of them with different backgrounds. Hang on.” She grabbed her saddlebags with her hooves and set them on her lap. “I know I have a picture or two in here somewhere…” she murmured as she began digging through the center bag. As she was searching, a thick brown leather-bound book suddenly slipped out and fell onto the sheets. Twilight’s eyes widened a bit when she saw it, a bit of panic in her voice as she uttered, “Ah!”

Spike reached over and grabbed the book with his claws, lifting it up to look at it. As he looked at the cover, he noticed that it was blank and the book’s weight felt off; it didn’t seem as heavy as it looked. “What’s this, Twilight? A photo album?” he asked.

Twilight quickly snatched the book out of his claws with her hooves and said, “No! I-I mean, there are no pictures in it. I didn’t have time to make a photo album…”

Pinkie piped up, “Ooh! Is it for research then? Did Snaky assign you an important job and now you have to find more information for him?!”

Twilight glanced down at the book in her hooves for a moment before looking up and smiling as she said, as straight as she could, “Yes, Pinkie, that’s exactly why I have this book. Boss wanted me to do some research for him, but it doesn’t look like I’ll need to do that now.”

Pinkie raised an eyebrow and suspiciously asked, “Why not?”

Twilight gave her a perplexed stare, “…Because I’m back in Equestria? If I was going to do research for Snake, it would be done in his world?”

Pinkie immediately lightened up at that, “Oh, duh, of course! Ha ha, silly me!” Twilight quietly breathed out a sigh of relief, glad to have alleviated her friend’s suspicions and avoided a barrage of questions that would no doubt turn this reunion into a Pinkie-styled interrogation session. She kept the book tucked securely under her forelegs as she went back to sifting through her things, knowing everyone was waiting.

She soon pulled her forehooves out of the center bag, now holding a 5x7 photograph between them. She brought it closer to get a better look at it, the picture bringing back memories. “This was one of the few group pictures we were all together for,” she said softly, staring at it for a moment longer before giving it to Spike.

The baby dragon looked at it. It was indeed a group picture and Twilight was in it, but she was standing off to the left with people standing around her. The man standing behind her on the far left he guessed was Snake based on Twilight’s description, and he guessed the man standing in the back on the far right in the olive-green uniform with the yellow ascot was Miller based on his tan sunglasses. He had no idea who the rest were. To the left of Twilight in the photo and in front of Snake, there was a young boy in a drab green uniform with a similarly colored hat and yellow ascot saluting with a brown-haired woman in a black tank top with a yellow scarf standing behind him. A blonde-haired girl that looked the same age as the boy wearing a school uniform was standing next to Twilight on her right. A woman with silver-colored hair wearing a pair of black sunglasses, a white long-sleeved shirt, red and blue striped tie, and a black vest and pants stood to the girl’s right and a brown-haired man with glasses and a white shirt sat in a wheelchair in front of her. A blonde woman wearing tan clothing and a brown bandanna stood behind Twilight, her right hand on her chest and the tips of the fingers on her left hand on the lavender alicorn’s back. There seemed to be more people in the background, but they were wearing masks that hid everything except their eyes.

Spike turned the picture towards Twilight and pointed to the two he thought he recognized as he asked, “That’s Snake, right? And that’s that Miller guy?”

Twilight nodded. “That’s right. And that’s Chico, Amanda, Paz, Dr. Strangelove, Huey, and Cécile,” she said, pointing to the boy, brown-haired woman, blonde girl, silver-haired woman, man in the wheelchair, and bandanna-wearing woman as she said their names.

Spike turned to Princess Celestia and let her take the photo, pointing out who was who before he let it go. As it continued on to everypony, Spike turned back to Twilight, “They really do look like the, uh, humans from the world on the other side of the mirror. Just not, uh, so varied or bright in color.”

The lavender alicorn nodded, “Yeah, I noticed that too. I’m not sure if there’s a reason for that.”

By this time, the picture had made its way around to Shining Armor and Cadance, Celestia and Luna and the rest of Twilight’s friends looking at it together. As he levitated the picture back over to Twilight, Shining asked, “So all these, uh, people were there when you were taken in, Twily?”

Twilight took the picture back in her hooves and replied, “Well, not all of them. Snake’s group, the Militaires Sans Frontières or MSF for short, was just beginning to expand at the time. Amanda and Chico are the only ones in this picture who had joined at that point along with their fellow FSLN revolutionaries.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow, “‘Revolutionaries’?”

Twilight replied, “They were fighting to take back Nicaragua. Their home. The people from Snake’s old country and their plans only added to their problems.”

Spike asked, “And that’s why he and the MSF were there? To help them?”

Twilight answered, “No. Snake was after something more personal. But I think I’ve wandered off a bit.” She took one more look down at the photo before continuing.

________________________________________

“‘Snake’? That’s the name you go by?” Twilight carefully asked.

“It’s the only name that has meaning to me these days. I’m a… hippologist,” the man replied, ending a bit uncertainly.

Twilight noticed the pause before he finished and asked, “A hippologist? So… you knock people out and send them away on balloons? That’s the kind of research you do?”

Snake answered while trying to keep an even tone, “You have to have protection in a place like this. I actually study horses. I’m here doing research on, uh, your kind.”

Twilight’s scholarly side had already picked up on the fact that Snake was lying when he claimed he was a hippologist, and his attempt to explain himself only further convinced her that he was probably almost as bad a liar as Applejack was. It made her feel more at ease with him, but she wasn’t sure if she could trust him yet. “Hmm, that’s interesting. The last time I encountered anyone like you, they’d never heard of an alicorn princess before,” she stated.

Snake tilted his head up a bit, “Alicorn princess?”

Twilight nodded, “That’s right. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the newest princess of Equestria.”

Snake grunted, “Never heard of it. So how did you end up here?”

Twilight felt some of her confidence slip when she heard the question. “Um… I’m not sure, exactly. There was a centaur, Lord Tirek, who was stealing all the magic in Equestria. My friends and I were able to get the power to defeat him, but… something happened because I suddenly felt pain and then…”

Snake suddenly heard a ringing in his right ear and knew it was coming from his radio. “Hang on a minute,” he said, cutting off Twilight’s stammering. She looked up at him as he turned to his left and held his right two fingers up to his ear as he asked, “Kaz?”

On the other end, a man responded, “Snake? What’s going on? What happened to the truck?”

Snake replied, “It headed into the tunnel, but I can’t follow it. The tank sealed off the entrance. And I encountered something while I was dealing with it. It’s not Chico’s basilisco, but he’d probably react in a similar way to it.”

Kaz asked, “What is it? Is it dangerous?”

Snake answered, “I don’t think so. She’s a unicorn with wings. Calls herself an alicorn.”

Kaz exclaimed, “What?! Snake…”

The man cut him off, “Do I sound like I’m lying, Kaz?”

Kaz asked after a moment, “How did you come across something like that?!”

Snake answered, “From the sound of things, she’s not too sure either. All I know is that the CIA got real interested in trying to capture her. And considering what we heard from the ‘professor’ about Paz…”

Kaz replied, “…You’re right. There’s no telling what they would’ve done if they’d grabbed something that unusual. So, are we going to offer her sanctuary then? Do you think it’s safe to bring her back to Mother Base?”

Snake answered, “That’s what I’m going to find out. I have to hurry after those nukes anyway.”

Kaz said, “Right. The tunnel connects to a road that goes up the mountain. That’s where their main base is. But… you’re not really going to take her with you, are you?”

Snake grunted, “Kaz, if I don’t get moving now, it’ll be too late!”

Kaz replied, “…All right. I guess you never let dangerous assignments or risk aversion get in your way. Since you’re going to need an alternate route, why don’t I let a local expert take over?”

While Snake continued talking to the person on the other end, Twilight continued to look up at him curiously. She could only hear what he was saying; she couldn’t hear what Kaz or the one he called Chico were saying to him. She wasn’t too bothered by this though, having witnessed the humans in the world that Sunset Shimmer called home doing the same with the devices they called cellphones. Still, she didn’t know what the ‘nukes’ or ‘basilisco’ he had mentioned were, and she certainly had no idea what was going on in this world. She hoped he would tell her once he was done with his conversation.

After about a minute, Snake lowered his hand from his ear and stared straight ahead for a moment before turning to look at Twilight with his good eye. The lavender alicorn flinched a little at his gaze. He seemed to have an uncertain look in his eye, but it wasn’t uncertainty in the sense that it didn’t seem like he could trust her. It was something else that she couldn’t put her hoof on. She cleared her throat and began, “So uh, Snake… seeing as I have no idea how I got here, I’m not exactly sure where I am.”

Snake replied curtly, “You’re in Costa Rica. Sound familiar?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, “Uh, no…”

Snake grunted, “Didn’t think so.” He turned to his right to look at the tank, “Sure picked a hell of a place to drop into. This country’s one big hot spot right now. The Sandinistas are fighting to get back into Nicaragua and my former country is bringing nuclear missiles here for something, and now you show up out of nowhere. I had a feeling this job wasn’t going to be simple, but I never expected at least one of those.”

Twilight tilted her head, “Wait, your ‘former country’? What does that mean?”

Snake looked back down at her, “My unit. We are our own army. We’ve left our countries behind. We gave up our homes, but that’s all.”

Twilight asked, “So you’re an army that answers to no one?”

Snake replied, “We are an army without borders. We go where we’re needed, to fight the fights that others can’t.”

Twilight spoke, “But what about the rulers of Costa Rica? Surely, they have some sort of army to deal with revolutions and, uh… nukes?”

Snake answered, “It’s not allowed under their Constitution. The government here can’t bear arms. Officially, we’re not here, but unofficially, we’re acting as their deterrent to drive the CIA out. That’s our job here.”

Twilight shook her head. It wasn’t so much the fact that Snake and his unit were being allowed to operate under the radar; in a way, she supposed that she and her friends acted in a similar way when they had had the Elements of Harmony. Snake seemed like a good person, though, so what she couldn’t wrap her head around was the fact that he agreed to fight for someone else’s country when he apparently left his own behind. “Why did you agree to this? Why fight like this?” she asked as she looked back up at him.

Snake was silent for a moment before he answered, “There’s always another reason to keep living, to keep fighting. And the reason I agreed to this… is peace.”

Twilight tilted her head, “Peace?”

Snake nodded, “There’s a girl. You’re a lot like her in some ways. We were told they did terrible things to her, yet she still believes in her namesake and will do anything to protect it. You may come from a land that knows nothing but peace, but as a new princess, it’s safe to say you would do anything to protect your own country, right?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Why do you think I know nothing but peace?”

Snake didn’t answer right away, but when he did, he sounded unsure as he said, “Well, your coat for one thing. It’s bright, like… candy. And your bangs… You must have lots of time to yourself to be able to do that with your mane.”

Twilight rolled her eyes a bit as she listened to his response, saying when he finished, “Yeah, um… if you’re guessing what Equestria is like based on how I look, then you couldn’t be more wrong. Maybe things have been peaceful for the last one thousand years, I don’t know that for sure, but my friends and I have certainly had to fight to protect Equestria in recent times. And I’m not a princess because I was born into royalty or anything like that. I think it’s more because I have these.” She spread her wings out at her sides to show what she meant.

Snake looked at the wings for a moment before asking, “So you didn’t always have those?”

Twilight brought her wings back down against her side as she said, “I was born a unicorn, and ever since I moved to Ponyville and learned the magic of friendship, one of the most important things my friends and I do is protect Equestria from threats that the Royal Guard can’t handle.”

Snake grunted, “Like what?”

Twilight explained, “Like the changelings. They’re shape-shifters whose queen tried to bring down Canterlot from the inside while her followers broke through the force field protecting the city. Maybe we didn’t specifically stop them, but we didn’t sit idly by and let war engulf Equestria. A king of shadows that dominated the Crystal Empire returned after a thousand-year imprisonment and tried to reclaim it. We were able to protect the empire and send him packing. And the last thing my friends and I did before I woke up here was, hopefully, stop a centaur who was stealing magic from everyone who lived in Equestria.”

Snake stared at her for a few moments before asking, “And those wings have nothing to do with any of that?”

Twilight glanced back at her wings before looking back up at him, “Well, being an alicorn did help when it came to the centaur, Lord Tirek, but the rest all occurred when I was still a unicorn. I only got these wings when I completed a long-unfinished spell.” She looked down at the ground, “I guess I’m like a princess of friendship, but… I haven’t done much as a princess. I’ve had obligations of course, but that’s about it. I don’t really know why I’m a princess…”

Snake uttered, “So you did something that others might consider extraordinary and bestowed you with a new title to celebrate it, yet deep down you don’t feel like you deserve it… I know that feeling.” When Twilight looked up at him curiously, he said, “Maybe you’ll learn the story someday, but for now, we have to go.”

Twilight turned her head to watch him as he turned and started walking towards the shed. “What? Where are we going?” she asked.

Snake came to a stop at that, silence ruling the air for a moment. He then asked back, “You said you have friends, right? That means you trust others with things, even your life.”

Twilight was a bit surprised by his statement and answered unsurely, “Well, yes…”

Snake turned around to face her again as he said, “So, you can consider this a test.”

Twilight winced, “Please don’t say that word. I get really nervous when I hear it.”

Snake nodded, “You should be nervous. The patrols that tried to capture you earlier were a part of the CIA unit here, and they’re not the only ones. They have many more in the surrounding area. They may not be as heavily armed as the ones who guarded this tank, but they’ll surely try to capture you as well if they see you. Probably the safest place for you in this world right now is our place, ‘Outer Heaven’.”

Twilight mouthed, “‘Outer Heaven’…?” She then asked, “Is that where we’re going?”

Snake replied, “No. We’re going up the mountain to find the truck that’s transporting the nukes I’m looking for.”

Twilight started, “Then why…”

Snake cut her off, “My unit is very diverse. It’s not just made up of people from my country; others, even former members of the CIA, make it up. But you have a difference that goes beyond race and language. They may be wary of you if you go now; they may not trust you. But they trust me and my judgement. That’s why I say this is a test. Follow me up into the mountains. Help me find the nukes. Let me know you’re willing to trust me with your life. You do that and everyone will know that they can trust you too.”

Twilight glanced down, thinking about his words. “He does have a good point. I mean, he probably didn’t have much of a reason to rescue me in the first place. He still did it though, and now he’s asking me to trust him not to be like the CIA. I might as well. He seems friendly enough, and a safe place would be nice after everything that’s happened today, especially if they’ll let me stay while I try to figure out how to get home to Equestria. At this point, what do I have to lose?” She looked up at Snake, “All right, I’ll do it. I’m ready for this test!”

Snake nodded, “Good.” As he turned around again, he said, “Let me worry about clearing a path. I’ll let you know when it’s safe for you to move up.” Twilight trotted after him, staying close behind as he headed for a gate along the side of the shed.

Once they got on the other side of the gate, Twilight hurried to keep up with Snake as he ran towards what looked like an old factory. When they reached it, they made their way up a staircase on the side that led to an opening into the factory. Snake pressed against the wall next to it and, a few steps down, Twilight did the same. He looked back at her and asked, in a lower tone, “Remember what I said before we got here?”

Twilight spoke in a similarly lower tone, “You said… to let you worry about clearing a path and that you would let me know when it’s safe?”

Snake nodded and said, “Stay here. I’ll check for sentries.” He then faced forward and got down on his knees, drawing his tranquilizer pistol as he crept inside. Twilight did what he said and remained pressed up against the wall as she looked down and over the staircase’s yellow railing for anyone coming from behind while she listened. After a few seconds, she heard a faint groan followed by a thud, and soon afterwards she could hear Snake grunt a few times followed by what sounded like a body hitting a wall. It was enough to make her nervous, but she then heard him call, “It’s clear! Move up!”

Twilight carefully made her way into the dirty interior of the factory, looking around for Snake as she entered. She spotted a guard that he had taken down, hearing his faint snoring, before she found Snake on the ground below her, looking down at a guard that he had knocked out with some sort of scope. “What are you doing?” she asked as she put her forehooves on the railing she was peering over.

“Checking to see if any of these guys would be worth sending back to Mother Base. …Hmm, this one might be useful,” he replied while still looking down. He knelt down and picked up the guard, draping him over his shoulders. He then turned towards the door across from him and said, “Come on.” He then crouch-walked over to the door, disappearing through it. Twilight looked over and spotted a ladder to her right, though it looked like she would have to go around the long way to reach it. Deciding to save time, she climbed on top of the railing and leapt off, spreading her wings and gliding down towards the door.

Once she was on the ground, she went down the short hallway through the doorway and got outside in time to see Snake fire his gun at a guard on a catwalk above, the guard he’d knocked out still on his back. Twilight glanced between him and the catwalk the guard was now sleeping on. It wasn’t too far away, but it wasn’t exactly on top of them either, yet he’d gotten a headshot while still carrying someone on his back. While she stared in awe at his skills, Snake set down the guard on his back and strapped a balloon to him to send him on his way, once again moving while crouched once he was in the air.

Twilight watched as he made his way to an open gate at the other side of the factory and moved after him when he waved her forward. He did the same thing after making sure the road outside was clear as well and left her near a sign while he went further up to check. She watched as he took down another guard and evidently took down another due to the way he raised his gun again. He then waved to her again and she hurried to catch up while he sent the two guards back to Mother Base. He then stood up, indicating the area was clear, and she followed him through another gate, at which pointed they headed west.

After a short while, they came across what looked like a small village, the path ending with a wooden crate and a stone fence. When they reached the fence, Snake turned to Twilight and said, “Stay here. Since this is a prison camp, it’s going to be more guarded than that factory was. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.” Twilight nodded and watched as he climbed on top of the crate and vaulted over the top of the fence. She sat down after a moment, wondering how long it was going to take.

It may have been only a minute later, but Twilight had evidently let her mind wander since she was surprised when she heard Snake suddenly call, “Twilight! Come over! It’s clear!” She quickly scrambled onto the crate and leapt over the fence, but her left hind leg caught part of the top and she ended up falling on her face. Snake looked down at her in concern for a moment, but she soon looked up at him and gave him a nervous look and giggle, causing him to shake his head with an annoyed sigh. He then turned and started walking down one of the alleyways expecting her to follow, which she did once she got to her hooves.

After a minute, they came to a stop in front of a roadblock: four stone slabs with words and yellow marks on the top placed close together. Two of the slabs had cracks on them, but despite that, it was clear that they were solid and were placed in such a way that they couldn’t be easily pushed. “Um, what now?” Twilight asked after a moment.

“This barricade is the only thing standing between us and the path leading up to the mountains. Some explosive force should be enough to take it out. Hang on while I call for some,” Snake said. He turned and walked a couple of feet away before stopping and raising his right hand to his ear. “Kaz, it’s me. We’re at the barricade. Is the C4 ready?”

On the other end, the man answered, “You bet, Snake. We’ve finished developing the charges. We’ll send a chopper out to drop some off. You’ll need them to…”

Snake glanced back over his left shoulder when he heard a pulsing sound and noticed that Twilight’s horn was glowing. “Hold on, Kaz…” he said, cutting Miller off. After a moment of gathering magic, Twilight fired a beam at the barricade, causing an explosion that raised a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, they could both see that only pieces of the barricade remained.

“What the hell was that, Snake?!” Miller asked, having heard the explosion on his end.

“Cancel the chopper,” Snake grunted.

“What?! Why?!” Miller asked.

Snake smirked, “Our new little friend opened the way her way.” He then clicked off his radio and started towards the now open path. As he passed Twilight, he looked down at her and nodded, “Nice work.” Twilight felt pleased at that and followed him up the path into the mountains.

After a short while, Snake spotted a brown chain link fence up ahead and ducked behind a nearby crate. He looked back after a moment and saw Twilight coming up behind him, the alicorn panting from exhaustion. Snake felt a bit bad for pushing her so, but there was no time to waste. “Catch your breath while I check for sentries,” he told her, Twilight nodding and slumping down against the crate while he went ahead. She wasn’t quite a hundred percent when he called for her about a minute later, but she stood up and hurried towards him, passing through the opening in the fence and leaping over the hole in the bridge beyond to join him near the fence on the other side.

Despite Twilight still being a bit winded, it didn’t take them long to reach one of the truck routes, both of them spotting a small building in front of them that blended in with the rock. As they got close to it, they heard what sounded like a woman groaning and they both came to a stop. “What was that?” Twilight whispered.

“Someone’s in there. Might be a prisoner,” Snake murmured as he looked up at the building, noticing that the opening in the side was just a little too high for him to reach. He suddenly felt a tug on his left arm and looked down to see a magenta aura around it. Looking back at Twilight, he saw that the same aura was around her horn and guessed she was using her magic.

“I can give you a boost up there,” she said. Snake nodded after a moment and moved up against the rock. Twilight then shifted her magic to under Snake’s feet and lifted him up enough for him to reach up and grab onto the ledge above with his hands, pulling himself up and into the building. He tossed someone wearing a yellow prison uniform out through the opening a second later and Twilight gasped as she used her magic to catch the person before they could fall on top of her. While the prisoner was hanging in the air, Snake attached a balloon to her back and she let out a happy shout as she was sent up towards the helicopter.

Twilight glared up at Snake for surprising her like that, but he ignored her and pulled his head back into the building, once again scouting the area. Twilight sighed and leaned up against the rock, her breathing becoming more manageable as she waited. He soon called for her, but as she hurried up to him, she noticed he was looking down at his gun with an annoyed look. As she got closer, she looked at it and noticed that it seemed different now. “Damn! The suppressor broke,” he grunted.

Twilight heard him and, as she reached him, asked, “What’s a suppressor?”

Snake answered, “Noise suppressor. It lets me shoot at things without anyone hearing me.”

Twilight realized he probably had to use it more now that he was protecting her and felt guilty. “I’m sorry…” she uttered, looking down.

Snake looked down at her and said, “It’s okay. We just got our new base, so the R&D team hasn’t had time to put together blueprints for everything and start making improvements yet.” He faced forward, “We should be close to their base. I’ll just have to be extra careful. Come on.” He started moving up the road and Twilight followed him.

They soon reached a stone fort that had a closed front gate and guards patrolling the top and front of it. Snake and Twilight ducked behind a broken piece of wall nearby and peered out from cover at the fort. “The base is on the other side of that fort,” Snake told Twilight after receiving a call from Miller.

“How are we going to get there? I can see at least three guards from here,” Twilight whispered back.

Snake thought about this for a moment before saying, “Let’s see if we can sneak around to the right. There might be a side entrance.” They slowly crept out from cover, moving to the left as there was more cover available. It was tense (for Twilight at least) as they moved towards the fort while trying to make as little sound as possible, but Snake kept his eye on the guards above while Twilight watched the guard patrolling in the front. They soon made it to the front of the fort and crept towards the right while watching the guard on the ground, hurrying to the right when he was turned away from them.

On the right side of the fort, they found a small trench that ran along the side of it. There wasn’t an entrance, but they did find a hole in part of the wall above their heads which Twilight used her magic to give Snake a boost up to before using her wings to get up to it herself. They found another prisoner inside the small room they entered, this one a male. Snake thought for a moment before turning to Twilight with a smirk, causing her to look confused. He gestured towards the prisoner and then towards the hole, Twilight needing to think about it for a moment before she let out a sigh at what he was thinking. She did comply however, lifting the prisoner up with her magic and holding him on the outside of the hole, allowing Snake to attach a balloon to his back. The balloon and the prisoner’s joyous shout caught the attention of the guards in the area and while they stared and started shouting at each other in confusion, Snake and Twilight took advantage of the situation and ran towards the entrance to the base.

Inside, they found part of a tunnel that had donkeys and crates on their left and a bunch of supply trucks parked on their right. Snake’s attention went to the trucks, looking at them as he reported, “Kaz, we’ve reached the facility. There’s rows and rows of trucks here.”

Miller responded, “If that’s where they brought the nukes, then the truck we’re after should be there. Snake, can you tell which one of the trucks brought the nukes? One of them must have the same license plate as the one from the terminal.” Snake moved over to the trucks and went to the back of them, walking forward and examining their license plates while Twilight followed.

“What are we looking for?” she asked as she walked behind and to the side of him.

“I’m looking for a specific truck. It’s the one that was carrying the nukes. What was the plate number…?” he muttered absently as he checked each plate. After a minute, he went back to the third truck from the entrance, which had a license plate that read ‘64779’. He looked at it for a moment before bending down and placing his right hand over its exhaust pipe. He then suddenly stood up and used his hand to push part of its canopy to the right to look inside. He let out a grunt upon seeing its empty interior and said, “This is the one. The exhaust’s still warm. ...But the cargo’s already been offloaded.” He moved the canopy covering back into place before he took off running deeper into the base, Twilight standing still for a moment before she ran after him.

Ahead, she saw him exit the tunnel and run down a short set of stairs. She was about to follow him out into the open when she saw him raise himself up so he could be seen over the stairs and signal for her to stay where she was. She was confused by this, but she got her answer when she heard a man say, “Just a minute! This isn’t what we agreed on!”

Snake crouched down and pressed his back against the raised section of floor next to him, turning his head up in the direction the voice had come from as he and Twilight both heard another man reply, “It’s too late. The changes have already been finalized.”

Twilight raised herself up on her forelegs and pressed her back against the wall of the tunnel as the first man argued, “You told me it was going to be a deterrent – that we wouldn’t have to launch!”

The second man said, “I am not arguing with you, Doctor. Our goal is to create the perfect deterrent.”

The first man, the doctor, started, “That’s why I agreed to help develop it…”

The second man replied, “Mm-hmm. However, in order to achieve that perfect deterrent, we must show the world our strength. Three key principles ensure effective nuclear deterrence. First, you must have nuclear weapons; second, you must never use them first; and third, and most important… if someone attacks you, you MUST strike back. Unless we prove beyond a doubt that these three principles work in practice, the world will not accept our new deterrent. And the only way to do that is to show them we’re capable of actually launching a nuke.”

The doctor stammered, “But… isn’t deterrence supposed to stop nukes from being used…!”

The man replied, “Exactly. And so, the one we launch will be the last one EVER!”

The doctor agitatedly said, “I won’t let you use my creation like that!”

Twilight wasn’t able to see what was going on like Snake was, but she was able to hear a sudden squeaking sound that stopped after a second. “YOUR creation?” the man asked, followed by a short laugh, “That thing wasn’t even your idea to begin with. You stole it, didn’t you?”

Twilight began to hear a whirring sound as well as the doctor letting out short cries. “…S-Stole it? You’re one to talk! You got the idea for bipedal locomotion from the Communists in the first place!” he countered after a few seconds.

The whirring tapered off to a quick squeak as the man said, “You listen to me, Doc! Keep quiet, do as I say, and not another word about stolen ideas. Should we succeed here, you’ll be the toast of the scientific community, and your name will go down in history as champion of both progress and national security!”

The doctor grunted, “The hell with that!”

The man said, “Doctor! Unless we prove we’re capable of launching, Peace Walker is useless as a deterrent.” There were a few squeaks as well as a few more stammers from the doctor as the man finished speaking.

“You used me…” the doctor blurted out weakly.

The man said, “We used each other. I’ll get my old director’s job back at headquarters, and you’ll finally be able to ‘walk tall’ among your colleagues.”

The doctor grunted, “Rgh… I won’t let you get away with this!”

The man replied, “How unfortunate. Guess I’ll just have to take your ‘legs’ for myself!” Twilight heard the doctor let out a cry followed by a series of metallic thuds and grunts before, judging by the doctor’s grunt of pain, he hit the ground. “Peace won’t just come to us, Doc. We are going to have to meet it halfway. ‘V’ for ‘victory’,” the man finished before he began to walk away.

“W-Wait!” the doctor cried, shuddering.

Snake suddenly stood up and ran up the stairs to where the doctor had fallen. Twilight guessed that the other man was gone and dropped to all fours as she came out of the tunnel, finally getting a look at the doctor as Snake ran over to him. He had brown hair and wore a white long-sleeve shirt, tan pants, brown shoes, and a pair of round glasses. She saw a wheelchair lying on its side next to him and knew right away where the squeaking and whirring noises had come from. While she was taking all this in, Snake knelt down next to the man and put his right hand on his shoulder as he asked, “Hey, you okay?”

The doctor struggled, seemingly trying to stand up as he said, “Don’t do it…!”

Snake pushed him a little, “Snap out of it! Where are the nukes?”

The doctor insisted, “He’s gonna do it! He’s gonna launch a nuke!”

A loud chopping noise filled the air and a strong wind swept through the area. Twilight and Snake both looked up in the direction the doctor was looking, the latter looking over at the former after a few seconds and saying while pointing down at the doctor, “Stay with him!” He then stood up and ran towards where the source of the wind was coming from.

Twilight looked over at the doctor and realized his wheelchair was still overturned. She used her magic to get it back on its wheels and then to help him back into it while he stared in amazement at what should’ve been impossible. The doctor stared at Twilight in disbelief for a moment before a whirring sound over the chopping noise caught their attention. Coming back to the moment, the doctor drove his wheelchair over to the nearby staircase and Twilight watched as, via assemblies on the front of the sides, it began to climb the stairs. She watched him for a few moments, making sure he was going to safely make it to the top before she ran up after him.

She followed the doctor to what appeared to be a large viewing window overlooking a hanger of sorts. Below they could see Snake looking up at whatever was being carried out by choppers, but they soon heard the man from earlier say over a loudspeaker, “Take him out.” In response, something suddenly dropped down from the opening, something large.

Twilight could only stare in shock at the thing as it came close to flattening Snake while it skidded across the ground, followed by it suddenly driving up on the sloped walls of the hanger while showing off its weaponry and ending with it coming down and stopping in front of Snake while some sort of weapon on the bottom of its front sparked with electricity. Twilight wanted to call it a tank, but with its weaponry, its two arm-like treads on the front, the big cylinder on top of its ‘head’, and its ability to drive up on the walls, it was a hard label to make stick.

“What in… this world is that?!” she exclaimed as she continued to look down at it.

The doctor switched on a nearby loudspeaker and called to Snake, “Look out! It’s one of the unmanneds! …Heads up!” He and Twilight could only watch as Snake pointed his rifle up at the thing, preparing to go up against it…