//------------------------------//
// Control and Peace 
// Story: Metal Gear Spark: Peace Zero 
// by GreenS21 
//------------------------------//

Twilight blinked as she sat back slightly on the bench and tried to process what she had just been told. She looked to her left at Paz, wondering if it was registering any better with her. She saw the girl staring at Miller with a look on her face that indicated she was just as befuddled as the alicorn, if not more so. She faced forward again and looked at Miller as she began, “Let’s go over this one more time, just to make sure that we both understand.”

Paz softly nodded in agreement with what Twilight had said and asked the question, “You want us, the both of us… to sing at the Peace Day celebration?”

Miller eagerly nodded and excitedly said, “Yes, exactly! I had a feeling you two would be eager to take the chance!”

Twilight spoke, “Um, I don’t think ‘eager’ is the right word, Miller. I think ‘confused’ would fit a lot better.”

Paz nodded, “I must agree! I do not understand why you are proposing we sing, especially Twilight. You already put her in charge of getting everything organized for the celebration; now you want her to sing in addition to that?”

Miller calmed down a little and said, “I know I already asked her to do that, Paz, and I don’t think it’s asking too much. She’s been doing a great job helping everyone get Mother Base ready for the big day and she’s still managed to find time to burst into song.”

Twilight blushed at that. “Oh, you saw and heard…? I guess you would have,” she muttered sheepishly.

Miller then turned to Paz and said, “And Paz, you… I know for a fact that you’re perfect for this kind of thing! I could have just one of you sing, but you two have gotten along so great since you came here. I was right when I suspected you would, and what better way to cement it than by having you two on stage singing together!”

Twilight and Paz glanced at each other unsurely at that for a moment before looking back at Miller. “Let’s say this does happen like you expect it to, Miller. What exactly would we sing? I mean, it’s true we both like to sing, but… well, I guess writing a song…”

Miller interrupted her, “Ah, I’ve already taken care of the song, Twilight. I got it all figured out. I’m calling it ‘Love Deterrence’.”

Paz and Twilight both looked up at him oddly, the former asking, “‘Love… Deterrence’? I do not understand.”

Miller replied, “It’s not that hard to understand, Paz. It has an overall message of peace to it.”

Twilight crossed her forelegs on the table as she glanced off to the side unsurely. “I don’t know…”

Miller pleaded, “Aw, come on, girls! Twilight, you’ve been studying about friendship ever since you met your best friends. That’s gotta be your royal title now: The Princess of Friendship. Learning about others and helping them get along with each other… By helping to forge friendships, you’re basically professing ways of peace and helping others learn and grow.”

Twilight made a face, “I guess that’s one way to look at it…”

Miller turned to Paz again, “And Paz, we both have ‘peace’ in our names! And Zadornov, that old Russkie… his name has something to do with peace too, right?” His eyes lit up behind his sunglasses, “Hey, as long as we’re having a day of peace, we could put an act together! We’ll call it ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle and Her Three Peace Band’!”

Both Twilight and Paz laughed a little before they realized he was probably serious. “You’re… joking, right Miller?” Twilight asked.

The man simply replied, “I think this is the best idea I’ve ever had! I’ve been wanting to put together a band for a while now, but I think this could be even bigger! Which means I’ve got more work to do!” He stood up and said, “I gotta go, girls, but don’t worry; I’ll spread the word!” As he stepped away from the table, he held his hands up and called, “Hey, everyone! Paz and Twilight are going to be singing at our first official Peace Day celebration here at Mother Base! It’ll be the premiere performance for Princess Twilight Sparkle and Her Three Peace Band! Don’t miss it!”

As he excused himself from the Mess Hall and the room erupted with cheers and applause from the soldiers and staff that had heard Miller’s announcement, both Twilight and Paz stared straight ahead with flabbergasted looks on their faces. They slowly glanced at each other, both wondering the same thing: what just happened?

________________________________________

“Well, that’s one way ta rope somepony into somethin’,” Applejack commented before she sampled a bite of an apple fritter that had been prepared by the castle staff, almost immediately making a face and setting it down afterwards. It didn’t have a bad taste to it, but it did taste a bit too posh for her liking and it lacked that bit of love that the Apple family put into their products. She looked up at Twilight and asked, “So did y’all end up formin’ a band with that Zadornov guy? ‘Cause I kinda can’t picture all four o’ ya singin’ together.”

Twilight replied, “You would be right, Applejack. Zadornov obviously wasn’t convinced, and it was meant to just be me and Paz doing the singing. Good thing, too; I learned how bad a singer Miller w- IS when he went to cheer up Paz when she caught a cold. Yeah, it was his eagerness to show her how suppositories worked that made her shoo him out, but everyone who heard him sing before that agreed that his singing career wasn’t going anywhere.”

Shining had an odd look on his face as Twilight finished talking. “Suppositories…?” he muttered.

“Hope he was able to write better than he sang,” Rainbow remarked before taking a bite of her cake.

“Oh, definitely. For all he lacked when it came to singing, he did write good lyrics and he was a great guitar player. And I suppose he had his own ability for identifying talent as well. He really wanted to put a band together and have us sing for everyone ever since he heard me and Paz singing,” Twilight replied.

“That must’ve been a pretty enjoyable experience. Getting up on stage in front of so many soldiers and singing a song of peace… That had to be exciting, right Twilight?” Mrs. Sparkle asked.

Her husband quickly added, “But at the time, it must’ve been nerve-wracking, and I bet it didn’t get any better as the celebration got closer.”

Twilight glanced between them for a moment before answering them both with a simple, “Yeah.” She then looked down at the daffodil and daisy salad in front of her. She hadn’t touched it since it had been brought out to her and she had a feeling if she didn’t eat it all soon, it was going to remain untouched. She knew this and yet she just kept staring at it, the side of her head leaning against her right hoof.

Spike finished chewing the bit of topaz in his mouth and swallowed it before he looked up at Twilight and asked, “You gonna eat that salad, Twilight, or does it need to be savored too?”

Twilight curtly replied, “Trying to force myself to eat it. It’s not working.”

Shining looked at her and asked, “Is it because we stopped at Donut Joe’s for something to eat earlier, Twily? Is that why you’re not hungry?”

Twilight answered, “That’s a small part of it, yes.” She continued to stared down at the dish, her eyes roving over it as she admired its intricacies.

A moment of silence fell over the dining hall. Cadance broke it by saying, “So Twilight, you said Miller called the song for the celebration ‘Love Deterrence’, right? Deterrence is… In that world, that’s what it’s called when the presence of nuclear weapons is used to prevent war, right? How does love fit in with that?”

Twilight looked up from her salad at the pink alicorn as she started, “Well… the song itself is about a girl who cannot express how she really feels about someone. The song’s lyrics describe how she feels and how she wishes to catch the other person’s attention while at the same time trying to suppress and forget the feeling to escape the pain that comes from being unable to express her true feelings. I guess that could be called deterrence in a way.”

Rainbow asked, “So… it’s kind of a mushy song, basically?”

Twilight held her hooves out in front of her as she explained, “At the start, it opens with a sorrowful opening, but that part doesn’t last long. The real beat soon kicks in and the song goes into a crescendo. From there, it becomes stimulating, revitalizing until the end where the sorrowful tune returns while still sounding hopeful.” She looked at Rainbow, “The song’s matter might sound mushy, but it’s anything but.”

Celestia smiled, “Perhaps you should sing it for us then, Twilight, and give us a sample of what a Peace Day celebration is like.”

Luna nodded, “Yes, indeed! That would be most wonderful, and I am interested in learning more about this ‘love deterrence’ thing.” Spike and the other ponies looked at her a bit eagerly, also interested in hearing the song Miller had come up with.

To their surprise, Twilight looked away from the princesses and simply said, “Nah.”

Everyone stared at her for a moment before Rainbow asked, “What do you mean, ‘nah’?”

Twilight replied, a slight hitch in her voice, “I… I haven’t sung that song in quite some time and… I’d really be forcing myself to do it.”

Rainbow asked, “What, you forgot the lyrics to it?”

Twilight rested her head against her right hoof as she sighed, “Oh no. I memorized every single line in the song. That’s another thing; Miller wrote the song in his native language: Japanese. So, if I did sing the song, you’d probably be asking me afterwards what it all meant.”

Applejack gave her a stern look, “So what’s the real reason ya don’t wanna sing it?”

Twilight sighed again before shaking her head and saying afterwards, “This part is really hard to talk about…” Still, she steeled herself and took a deep breath before she began, “Once Miller was finished with the lyrics for the song, Paz and I met up every day to practice while still dealing with our other responsibilities around Mother Base. It wasn’t easy; sometimes we barely had a chance to practice more than a few lines and talk before we had to get back to work, but it seemed like we were making progress all the while. We helped each other memorize the lyrics and we were matching up with the rhythm of Miller’s guitar pretty well, I thought. Then, with just three days left before Peace Day, so many things just spiraled out of control…”

________________________________________

Twilight gritted her teeth as the sound of gunfire once again sounded to her right, several bullets each hitting their target over the course of a few seconds. “Damn, she’s so good…! But maybe I’m not too far behind her! Maybe if I hit a few more, I can catch up!” she thought to herself as she tensed up and looked through the scope of her M16, waiting for the next targets to pop up. Amanda stood in the firing lane beside her, the woman smirking as it looked like she was going to win again.

Two targets rose up from the floor of the Shooting Range and a third came down from the ceiling. Immediately Twilight and Amanda aimed for the one on the ceiling and shot for the center of it. It turned sideways and went back up into the ceiling less than a second later; if their scores came close, they’d have to take a closer look afterwards, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Amanda immediately lowered her M16 and shot at the moving target that was under where the ceiling target had been. Twilight predicted this, though, and managed to land a headshot on the stationary target to the right before Amanda could turn to it.

Twilight used her left hoof to wipe the sweat off her forehead and wiped it on the white T-shirt she was wearing as the next five targets came up. Two of them had their arms raised, indicating they were innocents. Ignoring them, Amanda aimed for the target to the right while Twilight took the one on the left, both of them landing a chest shot. Twilight then raised her rifle and shot at the target hanging from the ceiling, but she didn’t manage to hit it in the center. The two innocent targets dropped down while they were shooting.

Several more ‘waves’ of targets popped up afterwards, both girls needing to reload once during this time and giving the other a chance to either move further ahead or close the gap. After about fifteen seconds, a ringing noise sounded in the Shooting Range, indicating that time was up. Twilight’s head fell against the divider afterwards, knowing full well that she hadn’t managed to catch up to Amanda, and she groaned, “Damn it…”

Amanda overheard her and smirked, “Well, that’s that. Nice try, Twilight.” She then took her M16 in both hands as she turned and stepped out of her firing lane. Twilight lifted her head with a sigh a moment later and secured her rifle in the holder on her belt next to her right flank before she did the same, both of them going out through entrance to the Shooting Range and following the hallway to the right when it turned a few seconds later.

As they walked, Twilight sighed, “I thought I could beat you this time, Amanda, or at least hit the same number of targets as you.”

Amanda glanced down at the alicorn, “Well, you’re not there yet, Twilight, but you were closer than ever this time. You’re getting better at predicting where a moving target is going and adjusting your aim accordingly. That’s very important; in a fight, that can mean the difference between life and death.”

Twilight let out a light chuckle and said, “That sounds like something Snake would say.”

Amanda replied, “Well, it only makes sense; don’t forget I’ve been fighting for most of my life.”

Twilight nodded, “Right, and you still are. Thanks to Peace Walker, you’ve made it to Nicaragua, but it’s going to take time before the change you’re hoping for comes about.”

Amanda faced forward as she said, “Exactly. That’s the dream we’ve had. To change things so we don’t have to be fighting and struggling just to survive. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy indulging in a little peace now. That’s why I’m looking forward to Peace Day.” She looked down at Twilight, “You and Paz are still going to be singing, right?”

Twilight replied, “Yeah. Paz seemed really nervous at first, but now she seems like she’s really looking forward to it.”

Amanda muttered absently, “Yeah, she’s quite the interesting one. Very interesting…” She noticed the four-way junction they were approaching and pointed to their right, “Uh, let’s head right here to get back to the entrance.” They both turned and began following the hallway before she asked, “How are you feeling about it?”

Twilight considered her words for a few moments before answering, “Well, MSF is certainly getting bigger, and Mother Base is probably going to be crowded for Peace Day but considering some of the things I’ve had to be front and center for in Equestria since I became a princess, I’m not nervous about it. …Not too much, anyway. I mean, it’ll be fun since it’s something I’m used to. And I’m sure everyone will-” She stopped mid-sentence and came to a halt, her ears perking up.

Amanda noticed after a few seconds and stopped to look back at her. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Twilight turned her head to look back down the hallway as she quietly said, “I think I heard something.” She turned and slowly walked back to the junction, stopping and placing her left hoof on the wall before she quickly poked her head around the corner. She saw nothing down the hallway leading to the Shooting Range. But she was sure…

“Hey!” Amanda called, causing her to blink and look at the woman. “Will you knock it off? If anyone was sneaking around in these hallways, I’m pretty sure we’d both hear them. Now come on!” She shook her head as Twilight made her way back over, “So much for not being nervous.”

Twilight smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, Amanda. I just could’ve sworn I heard… I guess I have been a little nervous since Zadornov escaped again and we don’t know where he went this time.”

Amanda crossed her arms and said, “I don’t know how he managed to get off Mother Base before, but if it’s true that Miller can’t track his location this time, that would be the best for him. If he’s still here, someone’s going to find him. It’s just a matter of time.” With that, the two continued walking, though Twilight still glanced back a few times, sure she had heard something but deciding to take Amanda’s words to heart.

It didn’t take long for the two to reach the entrance of the Training Facility, specifically where it was split between the Shooting Range and the Kill House. Amanda stepped towards the latter side and looked back at Twilight as she spoke, “I’m gonna head to the Kill House to get a little more practice in. What are you going to do, Twilight?”

The lavender alicorn replied, “I think I’m gonna go find Paz and see if she wants to do any rehearsing before she has to report to the Mess Hall. We should be able to sync up our voices just right during the song or we’re gonna go on stage and no one’s going to like it.”

Amanda made a small smile; once again, Twilight’s nervousness was easy to see, but she decided not to comment on it. “All right. I’ll catch up with you later.” She then started making her way to the Kill House while Twilight headed for the strut exit.

As she stepped out onto the connecting bridge, she closed her eyes, spread her wings to their full length, and stood tall on her legs as she breathed in the ocean air, doing a small stretch of sorts. She held this pose for a few seconds before she began to open her eyes, seeing someone approaching her as she did. Opening her eyes all the way, she realized it was Snake, the man dressed in his usual jungle fatigues and carrying an M16 in his hands. She quickly closed her wings and stood up straight, saluting him as he got closer. “Boss!” she quickly said, having gotten into the habit of addressing him as such.

Snake came to a stop in front and slightly to the side of her and said, “Morning, Twilight. At ease.” The lavender alicorn lowered her hoof and relaxed slightly at that.

She eyed his rifle and looked up at him, “Going to get some practice in?”

Snake shrugged slightly, “Might as well. We still don’t have any leads on Zadornov and no new job offers have come in. It’s a good chance to check Mother Base’s facilities and make sure Zadornov isn’t hiding anywhere.”

Twilight nodded and after a moment, her face became apprehensive and she said, “I thought I heard someone heading down the hall towards the Shooting Range, but I didn’t see anyone when I looked. Maybe it’s nothing, but…” Snake caught onto what she was hinting at and gave her a nod before he headed into the strut. Twilight watched him walk until the door slid shut behind him, at which point she faced forward again. She thought for a moment and decided flying would be the fastest way to the Living Quarters. She spread her wings and flapped them, lifting off the bridge. She then flew towards the Living Quarters, though she did so at a relaxed, leisurely speed.

She soon reached the Living Quarters and made her way up to Paz’s room, which was just a couple doors down from hers. While she walked, she went over what she had managed to piece together of the girl’s usual daily schedule. “It’s still early in the morning. The Mess Hall opens before the Sun is even up, but Paz typically isn’t required to show up until later, at a time that would be considered more normal. Even when they’re short-staffed, the men typically don’t bother her. She should still be somewhere in the Living Quarters if she’s not in her room,” she thought.

She soon arrived outside of Paz’s room and raised her right hoof to it, tapping on it lightly a few times. After a few seconds of waiting with no sound coming from the other side, she raised her hoof and tapped again, a little harder this time. Once again, no sound came from the room behind it and Twilight’s smile eased off slightly after a couple of seconds. “Paz? It’s me, Twilight. Are you in there?” she called. Still no response. Twilight looked confused, “Hm. I guess she’s not in there.” She started to turn back the way she came, “Maybe she’s in the shower, or walking around the Living Quarters, or…” Her thoughts came to a halt as she noticed something she’d missed earlier.

Paz’s door didn’t seem to be closed all the way. On closer inspection, it looked like there was a small opening between the door and its frame. Curious, Twilight raised her right hoof and pushed it against the edge of the door. Sure enough, the door slowly swung inwards, revealing Paz’s room. Peering inside at the mostly sparse room, she saw that it was indeed empty. “That’s strange. Why didn’t Paz close her door all the way when she left? That’s not like…”

Her thoughts were cut off again, this time due to her hearing a familiar voice cry, “Twilight!” She let out a gasp and spun around just outside the doorway, almost hitting her head against the doorframe as she turned around. She saw Chico running towards her from down the hallway.

“Chico? What’s wrong? Why are you…?” Her question was cut off when Chico reached her, the boy just barely stopping without bumping into her and grabbing her by the shoulders.

“You gotta help! It’s Paz, Twilight! She… She’s… ZEKE! The hanger!” he cried, unable to get out the words he was searching for. Despite the shortage of words, however, Twilight thought she knew what he was getting at based on how panicked he seemed, his breaths coming and going in short spurts and his eyes wide, likely from shock.

She carefully raised her hooves and pushed his arms away as she said, “I understand, Chico. I’ll get over there right away!” She moved around him and ran down the hall. As she was running, she heard Chico yell after her “Don’t kill her!”, but she just filed it away. “What, does he think I’m going to freak out and shoot her by accident? She’s in trouble; I’m not going to make a mistake like that!” she thought.

As soon as she made it outside, she spread her wings and took off, flying straight for ZEKE’s hanger. When she got closer, she saw that the entrance didn’t appear to be guarded. She was a bit confused by that; she had never been assigned to work on ZEKE when she was in R&D, so she didn’t know how they kept the hanger guarded aside from knowing that they posted guards outside at night. As she landed outside the entrance, her mind slowed down a bit and she realized she probably should’ve called for backup, but decided it was too late now. “I’m already here, and it’ll take time to call the soldiers and have the hanger sealed off. Paz needs help now! …Once I get inside and see what’s going on, I can contact Snake or Miller and give them a better SITREP,” she thought as she drew her M1911A1 from the holster strapped on her left hind leg and held it low as she carefully walked through the sliding door in front of her.

After going straight down a hallway and following it to the right for several seconds, Twilight stepped through another sliding door and found herself in ZEKE’s hanger. She raised her handgun and pointed it straight ahead as she scanned the area. She’d only been in the hanger a few times, but the layout wasn’t hard to learn. There were two walkway levels on both sides of ZEKE, with the left side having an additional third walkway designed to make it easy to reach its AI pod. ZEKE itself didn’t seem to have been touched, the large mecha, which was mostly white with yellow places on the legs, sides of the head, and front of the AI pod, still suspended from the ceiling over the platform that would carry it to the deck it was deployed from.

While still looking around and keeping her gun pointed ahead of her, Twilight began to slowly make her way to the left towards the set of stairs leading up to the first walkway. She looked ZEKE up and down as best she could from its right side as she crept, but she didn’t see anything that seemed amiss. She tried to keep her breathing steady as she made her way up the stairs and slowly walked along the walkway. Still she saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was unnerving, but she tried to remind herself that the hanger didn’t offer a lot of cover, so it didn’t seem likely they would try to hide in the in the middle of the room. That only left…

She came to a stop as she reached the wall at the end of the walkway, where she could faintly hear what sounded like Paz crying above her. She looked up; she was underneath the hanger’s control room, the most obvious spot for someone to hide. Her ears perked up, trying to listen for the voice of whoever was holding her captive. After a few seconds, the crying stopped and she heard a voice that sounded very much like Paz’s say, slightly shakily, “…It is time, ZEKE. Metal Gear ZEKE, activate!” Moments later, there was the sound of rapid footsteps, which quickly became fainter and fainter.

Twilight couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She spread her wings and leapt over the railing, turning around and angling herself up towards the second walkway. She squeezed through the railing rather than climbing over it and ran towards the control room door, holding her handgun out in front of her as the door slid open. She quickly turned to the left as she entered and stopped just inside, her eyes sweeping to the right as she looked the room over. There was no one inside; they must’ve gone through the door in the right wall, which led up to the third walkway.

Twilight carefully made her way over to the door, still looking out of the corner of her vision to see if she could spot anything. When she was about halfway across the room, something caught her attention. She looked towards the long computer terminal underneath the control room’s windows. On the floor in front of it was Paz’s blue dress, and there was something resting on top of it. Twilight made her way past the two rows of shorter computer terminals and put her gun away as she leaned forward to take a closer look at it. It seemed to be a cassette tape. She picked it up with her left hoof and looked at the white spot near the top. There was writing there, though it appeared to have been quickly scrawled. “‘E… Entry 10’?” she muttered to herself. She then thought she heard a clattering noise coming from the hanger and she let the tape drop from her hoof as she moved back towards the door.

At the same time, Snake had arrived at the Shooting Range and was walking up the stairs to the second level to investigate a noise he had heard. Even with his one eye, he could see Zadornov to his right on the walkway ahead of him, the man currently standing behind one of the support girders with a pistol in his left hand. “Big Boss!” he said, causing Snake to come to a stop. The man then stepped out and fired at Snake twice, though he only managed to hit the walkway behind him. He then raised his prosthetic hand underneath his left hand to steady his aim, but Snake raised his M16 with a grunt and shot first, hitting Zadornov in the upper body. The man let out a pained groan before he fell onto his back. He turned his head to look up at Snake after a few seconds and managed to say, “My work is done…”

Snake looked confused, “What are you talking about?”

Zadornov raised his prosthetic hand, his index and middle fingers raised to form the peace sign. “‘V for victory’,” he grunted. He then pointed his fingers at Snake, his hand making a metallic click, “Rocket Peace!” He managed to raise himself up off the walkway slightly and, with a smirk, launched the hand at Snake. Snake remembered Twilight’s report from when she was captured and ducked behind the girder next to him, the hand following his movement but hitting and bouncing off the other side of the girder instead of him. Zadornov let out a choking gasp as his hand landed on its end near him, the back of it pointing in Snake’s direction. He then fell back onto the walkway with one final groan.

Snake moved out from behind the girder and pointed his M16 at Zadornov as he ran past the hand. Snake leaned over the man and observed him for a few seconds to confirm that he was dead. Once he was sure, he lowered his rifle and turned on his radio to contact Miller. Once the connection was established, he reported, “Kaz, I found Zadornov. I had to kill him.”

Miller responded, “Huh… So much for our fugitive…”

As he crouched over Zadornov, Snake said, “Something’s not right here. I’m thinking he had a friend.”

Miller muttered, “Someone inside MSF…”

Suddenly another call came through, both Snake and Miller hearing Twilight’s panicked voice saying over the sound of alarms ringing, “Miller, Snake! Come in!”

Miller asked, surprised, “Twilight?!”

Snake, however, noticed the alarms in the background and looked up, hearing alarms sounding from nearby as well. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Twilight hurriedly answered, “I-I’m in ZEKE’s hanger! Chico said something about Paz and the hanger and… ZEKE’s been activated!”

Snake stood up as he asked, “What?!”

Twilight said, “There was somebody in the control room… Wait, there’s someone on top of ZEKE! It’s… What?! No, that can’t be…” She let out a cry as Snake and Miller heard the sound of a handgun firing, hearing it several times before there was a crackle and then nothing.

“Twilight! What happened?! …Come in! Twilight!” Snake yelled.

“Twilight, respond! Twilight! …It’s no good! I can’t raise her! Her radio must’ve been taken out!” Miller said.

Snake grunted and asked, “Kaz?”

He heard the sound of computer keys clacking as Miller replied, “I’m checking… She’s right! It is moving! And there’s somebody inside, I can see them… Snake, get up to the deck, pronto!” Snake turned and took a few steps away from Zadornov, looking back over his left shoulder at him one last time before he started running for the exit, leaving the dead man and his prosthetic hand behind.

Back in the hanger, meanwhile, Twilight leaned up against the wall next to the door, breathing heavily. After a few seconds, she leaned over to peer out through the door, seeing her radio lying on the walkway with a bullet hole in the casing. She pulled back around and leaned against the wall, sure that she would be shot at again if she tried to go back out on the walkway. She looked over at the center terminal and thought, “Maybe I can stop it from here.” She dropped back onto her front hooves and ran over to the keyboard in the center, seeing a window for giving ZEKE commands still open on the monitor. “Metal Gear ZEKE, shut down… Disengage… Disregard… Power down… Just stop!” she muttered as she ran through all the possible commands she could give it, each one being denied with a buzz and a window saying a connection error was the reason.

She looked up when she heard a loud thudding noise and saw that ZEKE had been lowered onto the platform. Moments later, the platform began to slide back towards the large doors in the back of the hanger, which were slowly starting to open. Twilight let out a gasp at this and ran towards the door, stepping out onto the walkway with a little hesitation. She put her forehooves on the railing as she watched the platform, now a quarter of the way to the doors, continue sliding without stopping. As she stared with an open mouth, she thought to herself, “How do I stop it? More importantly… how do I stop HER?!”

________________________________________

Twilight paused and placed her right hoof above her nose in front of her closed eyes. She had a grief-stricken look on her face, but her friends interpreted it as something else. “Who was it, Twilight? Who took Paz and was trying to steal ZEKE?” Rainbow asked.

“A female spy? Someone who was already there? Surely it wasn’t Dr. Strangelove?” Rarity murmured, Fluttershy looking nervous at each of the possibilities.

Pinkie started, “It sure sounds like someone who was a big, mean, awful meanie pants! Why, if I was there, I would…”

Twilight cut her off by slamming her hoof down on the table and loudly saying, “It was Paz.”

That statement caused everyone in the room to go silent as they looked at her. “Come again, Twilight?” Spike asked after a few moments.

Shining began, “Yeah, Twily. It sounded like you said…”

Twilight interjected, “Paz. It was Paz. She kept letting Zadornov out. She altered ZEKE to carry out her mission. She was the one who deployed it. It was all her.”

Silence ruled the dining room for a couple of seconds before Rainbow Dash and Discord both suddenly burst out laughing, Spike, Applejack, and even Luna joining in after a few seconds as they seemed to figure out what the two found hilarious. The others simply glanced at them in confusion before they looked back at Twilight and saw she now had a deadpan expression on her face. This confused them further; surely Twilight realized what she said made no sense… right?

“Ah, ha, ha, ha! That’s a good one, Twilight! You really got me with that!” Rainbow laughed.

Applejack began to calm down, wiping some tears from her eyes as she said, “Hoo-wee! Ah sure didn’t expect that! Ah didn’t know you were so good at tellin’ jokes, Twilight!” She soon opened her eyes and saw Twilight turn to her with the same deadpan expression. Applejack started to look concerned at this. “That… was a joke, right?” she asked. Twilight didn’t say anything; she just continued to give her that look. Spike, Luna, and eventually Rainbow calmed down when they realized no one else had joined in on the laughter.

Discord was not bothered by the sudden silence in the dining hall and kept laughing, even as he slid under the table and came up on the other side and wrapped part of his long body around Twilight. He then calmed himself enough to look down at her and say, “Oh, you really must learn to not be such a tease, Twilight. Don’t get me wrong, I do love hearing something so wonderfully absurd, but to be honest, it almost feels like it’s meant to be at my expense. So why don’t you get back to your boring storyteller mode and tell us what really happened?”

Twilight’s only response was to lift her head to look up at him. After a few moments, Discord asked, “Oh, I’m sorry, Twilight, did I hurt your feelings? Come now, fun is fun, but I know you’re all about the boring stuff, so get back to it.” Twilight continued to stare up at him, causing him to become a bit annoyed. “You know, I really don’t enjoy being made a fool of, Twilight,” he nearly snapped. Still she didn’t let up on her gaze or give any indication that it was part of an act. Discord, now thoroughly annoyed by her silence, said, “Fine! Since you seem to enjoy this so much, why don’t we all have a look at what actually happened and bring an end to YOUR fun now!”

He brought his lion paw down and placed the first digit directly on the end of her horn. At this, Shining started to get up as he started, “Hey, what are you…” He didn’t get a chance to finish before they all seemingly disappeared from the dining hall.

________________________________________

With a pop, everyone suddenly found themselves standing on one of the decks of Mother Base. Twilight recognized the blue outlines around everyone and their somewhat ghostly appearances. It was very similar to what Discord had done back when he’d first been freed, when he used the memory of what he’d told them about the Elements of Harmony to taunt her. “He must be using my memories to do this,” she thought as he removed his lion paw from her horn.

Everyone soon noticed Snake and Miller standing nearby, both of them standing at opposite ends of what appeared to be the cardboard tank that Twilight had shown them a picture of. Miller spoke first, “Snake. The R&D team came up with something new.”

Snake glanced down at the box with his eye and asked, “What’s this?”

Miller explained, “It’s a cardboard tank. It’s got enough room for two people, same as any other cardboard box. Apparently, the guy in front drives and the guy in back is the gunner.”

Snake started to look suspicious, “Hold on, Kaz. Who the hell came up with this thing?”

Miller started with an apologetic tone, “I’m sorry, Boss. He meant well, I swear. I know it’s nowhere as good as a real tank, but still…”

He was stopped when Snake, who suddenly had an unusually happy look on his face, interrupted, “It’s… BRILLIANT!”

Miller’s mouth fell open, “Huh?!”

Snake spoke, “The perfect synthesis of stealth and attack power, compact, elegant design… the finest example of a weapon I’ve ever seen! Seriously Kaz, I need to meet the guy who made this! I wanna shake his hand!”

Miller could only stare at him in disbelief. “You serious?! Snake, look at it! It’s…”

Snake spoke, his arms crossed and his eye closed, “It’s a MASTERPIECE, in every sense of the word.” He opened his eye to look at Miller, “You don’t agree?”

Miller stammered, “No, I…”

Suddenly, Paz and Twilight came up behind Miller and saw the cardboard tank for themselves, the former gasping and asking, “What is that? A tank?”

Twilight nodded as she walked over to the tank and sat on her haunches next to it, “It is, Paz, and it’s amazing!”

Paz smiled, “I like it!”

Miller looked stunned even further by their comments. “Twilight? Paz?!”

Paz had her eyes closed as she said, “I HATE tanks, but this one I think I could get used to!” She opened her eyes, “I love that it’s a zero emissions vehicle. It will not hurt the forests of Costa Rica!”

Miller noticed Twilight was touching the side of the cardboard tank with a hoof in wonder, further prompting him to exclaim, “What?!”

Snake nodded, “Nice work, Kaz! I see I made the right choice making you second-in-command.”

Miller could only stutter, “But I… I-Is there something wrong with me?!”

In their unseen corner of the deck, everyone was amused by what they had witnessed, but they were also confused. This scene did not match up at all with what Twilight had been talking about. Turning to look at her, they saw that Discord was still wrapped around her, the draconequus twisting himself around and cheekily getting in her face as he spoke, “Well, well. It seems you and Paz really were quite close, Twilight. She hardly seems like someone who would do anything you were talking about. Do you remember what actually happened now?”

Twilight glanced at him and asked, “You picked the wrong point in time on purpose, didn’t you?”

Discord brought his head back a bit and gave her his own deadpan expression as he replied, “Well, excuse me, princess! First of all, you’ve never let me in your mind before, so I’m not as familiar with how you organize things in there, and second, as long as we’re talking about points in time, you’ve never made it clear just how long you were at Mother Base before this supposed ‘hijacking’ occurred. Much as I hate to admit it, I’m going to need a little cooperation from you, Twilight.”

With a sigh, the lavender alicorn gathered her thoughts and said, “Okay, let’s try it again.” Discord placed his lion paw digit on her horn again at that and suddenly what appeared to be a white ring appeared around everyone, seemingly spinning. Outside the ring, the deck didn’t seem to change, but if they looked up, they could see the sky overhead becoming bright and dark as if day and night were coming and going.

A couple of seconds later, the ring began to vanished and they all heard the sound of an alarm going off. Looking to their left, they all saw Snake in his fatigues running across the deck towards a large square-shaped opening at the other end. As they stared, something began to rise up out of the opening, past Twilight flying up out of the opening and landing on the surface of the deck a second later, turning around to face the thing and backing up towards Snake. They all stared in shock as they realized it was Metal Gear ZEKE rising up out of the opening. Twilight’s description of the white and yellow walking tank had been spot-on, but actually seeing it with their own eyes, standing at its full height as it rose up really made them realize just how big these things were, even if ZEKE’s size wasn’t the limit of how big they could get.

Before it was all the way out, as Snake and past Twilight stood next to each other staring at it, they heard a familiar voice come from the AI pod, “Took you long enough… Big Boss.” The platform soon slid into place with a loud thud, revealing ZEKE’s full height as it seemed content for the moment to remain motionless.

“Paz…?!” Snake uttered, a light yet sinister chuckle coming from the AI pod in response. Shaking off the surprise, Snake said, “Get down from there before you hurt somebody.”

Paz replied, “Maybe I want to hurt somebody…”

They all heard Miller ask over the radio, “What’s going on? She’s not herself…”

Paz spoke up, “Oh, I am myself, all right… my TRUE self.” ZEKE finally moved after a moment, shifting its legs to the sides so they were further away from each other.

“Kaz, shut that thing down,” Snake ordered.

There was a clacking of computer keys and a buzz before Miller reported, “I can’t. The controls aren’t responding.”

Snake asked, “Then how’s it moving?!”

Paz spoke, “I made some… modifications. This machine was meant to have a human pilot.” As if to demonstrate, ZEKE took a step forward with both legs.

Snake started, “Modifications? Paz, what are you…”

Paz interjected, “Never thought I’d be into machines, huh?”

Miller realized, “Then… Zadornov’s escape… was a diversion!”

Snake asked, “Paz, what are you doing…?!”

Paz replied, “I’m taking it back.”

Miller almost frantically asked, “Taking it back? Where?!”

Paz answered, “To our leaders… To Cipher.”

Snake questioned, “Cipher…?!”

Up in the pod, Paz stood up as she explained, “This weapon is Cipher’s creation…”

Snake ordered, “Paz! Get down from there!”

Paz banged her hands on the control panel as she angrily said, “Do not call me that! I am Pacifica Ocean!” She sat down and brought her controls down, causing ZEKE to rear up and let out what sounded like a howl before it brought its head down to look at Snake and past Twilight again. “My name, my age, my mission… Cipher gave them all to me. My entire life has but one purpose: to carry out Cipher’s plan.” They heard her spit before she went on, “The nasty tobacco… the ‘angel of peace’ crap… the whole ‘teen with a dream’ routine… I am through with all of it!”

Everyone was really starting to get the unnerving feeling that this really wasn’t just an act. Discord found himself uncurling from around Twilight and standing up straight as Snake started, “Paz, you can’t…”

ZEKE shifted as Paz yelled, “I told you not to call me that! It makes me want to puke!” There was silence for a moment and then she calmly said, “Everything has gone exactly as we planned. Now the real Peace Walker Project is finally about to reach its goal.”

Snake questioned, “The… real project?!”

Paz began, “Once upon a time, there were two young men who idolized a hero called The Boss. One day, they suddenly lost the point of origin – the cipher – that was like a mother to them. Unable to come to terms with their sorrow, they each decided to carry on the will of their hero. But they could not agree on what that meant. In the end, they became bitter enemies, and the zero from which they both started was split into two.”

Snake grunted, “Huh?”

Paz finished, “…And you have been on the wrong path ever since. There is no ‘happily ever after’ waiting for you in the end, unless… you obey the will of Cipher!”

Past Twilight murmured to herself, “What kind of will is that…?”

Paz continued, not hearing the alicorn’s murmur, “Where does an army without borders call home? A state without borders, of course… a world without borders.”

Snake asked, “A world without borders…?”

Paz went on, “The Cold War order is about to collapse. The age of electronic intelligence is about to begin. The NSA, CSS, NRO, DIA, et cetera, et cetera… The intelligence community that has long bickered amongst itself will be united in a world governed by electrons. Cipher will gather all information, watching over the world and guiding the will of its people, all while they remain blissfully unaware. There will be no one to oppose them! For the first time, the world will be ruled by a single will! Until the new order is in place, you and your army will be the force that protects it. You will be Cipher’s deterrent, pulling the wool over the eyes of the old order with your charisma and military prowess. Accept our offer, and we will allow you to retain control over MSF, Twilight, and ZEKE.”

Everyone glanced at Twilight while Snake asked, “That’s… an offer?”

They looked back as Paz said, “The Boss threw down her gun, and with it her life’s calling. You, her disciple, have never been able to do that. You are too afraid to let go.”

Past Twilight looked up at Snake as he stated, “I was made to fight. I AM a gun.”

Paz retorted, “Is that so?! Then what do you call this? Is it a gun too? You are a lousy liar! Admit it – this thing is a monstrosity, a product of your own fear!” She then said, “But not Cipher! Cipher thought of something different. Cipher’s going to control guns.”

Snake asked, “Control guns?”

Paz answered, “That is right. Not deter, control. It is the ultimate approach to the illusion of peace…”

Snake grunted, “Control power? You’re gonna be disappointed.”

Paz replied in a mocking tone, “Then we are done! Thank you for playing! Better luck next time.” She settled back into her seat, “The offer is rescinded! And now, the ultimatum. ZEKE is already in nuclear strike mode.”

Snake and past Twilight both asked, “What…?”

Paz said, “I’m taking the weapon you built and using it to launch a nuclear strike on the east coast of the United States!”

Snake yelled, “You’re insane! What are you after?!”

Paz ignored him and said as the pod began to fill with water, “But wait, here is your consolation prize: we are about to show the world just how dangerous a gang of outlaws – an army without borders – can be! You and your men will become pariahs, and you will be wiped off the face of the earth. Rather than heroes, you will be seen as a well-armed extremist cult prone to indiscriminate outbursts of nuclear aggression. You will give rise to a new world order, an age of deterrence defined by its fear of extremist cult influence. Do you like the picture I am painting, Big Boss?!”

Past Twilight looked to have tears threatening to leave her eyes as she muttered, “Paz, no…”

Paz went on, “When all is said and done, peace is nothing but a fantasy! A game’s a game! You either win or you lose! All you can do is fight! Stop me if you can! The peace sign is the ‘V’ of victory!” She mockingly finished with “Say… peace!” before she put the end of her scuba tank hose in her mouth as the water filling ZEKE’s pod rose to her chest level.

ZEKE took a step forward and Snake pointed his M16 up at it while past Twilight looked up at it fearfully. Everyone heard Miller say, “She’s gonna launch the nuke! Snake, we’ve got to stop her, whatever it takes. Awaiting your orders!”

ZEKE took a step forward with its right leg and stared down at Snake and Twilight as Paz said, “Stop me if you can!” Off on the side, everyone could only stare at the calm before the storm. At this point, it was very clear there was only one option for how this was going to turn out, and while it seemed like they already knew what was going to happen, they couldn’t help but wonder if there was a chance it was going to end the other way…