A True Hero

"We can tell other people about - having faith. What we had faith in. What we found important enough to fight for. It's not whether you were right or wrong, but how much faith you were willing to have, that decides the future."--------

It was a quiet evening in Caterlot city, the sun was setting and people were heading home, or doing some last minute shopping. The city was at peace. There were no demons to be fought, no Sirens to be dealt with. The city was truly, at peace. Unbeknownst to the people of the city, heck, maybe the entire world, an old looking man, that was only in his forties, a man who had done it all, a man who had saved the world from nuclear threats, and total devastation. That man, was walking through the crowded streets of the town.

This man, this one man, was a true soldier, he had served his country, until the bitter end. But this man decided, to live his life like a man, and not as a soldier, not as a seed of war. He walked through the streets, people were looking at him, probably because of the large scar on the left side of his face, just below his eye, covering his left cheek. The man didn't care about them staring at him, he was used to getting these stares from people. Finally, the man reached a beach. It was a nice beach, he had been to several others, only difference was that he was on missions back then. That's when he saw it, a little place called: Sugarcuce Corner.

The man walked towards Sugarcube Corner, entering it, he spotted a table at the end of the bar. The man was wearing a suit, the same suit he had also worn, when he attempted to shoot himself in front of his "father's" grave. Sitting down on the only chair at the table, he looked around and saw several teens, all wearing colorful outfits. Some were looking at Snake with expressions of confusion and curiosity planted on their faces.

Suddenly, a girl came up to him, she had pink, fluffy hair and was wearing a short skirt and a fitting, white sweater.

"Hello, what would you like to drink sir?" The girl asked politely, but still in a happy tone.

"Some water will do." The man, mostly known as: Solid Snake, replied.

"Alright, water it is, it'll be right up!" The girl said while walking to the bar.

"What did he want sweetie?" A man behind the bar, asked.

"Just some water." The girl replied. "Did you see what he's wearing?" She asked him.

"Pinkie, some people like to be dressed like that, if the man wants to dress like that, let him." The man, mostly known as: Carrot Cake, replied, handing her the glass of water. "Now go bring this to him."

Pinkie nodded and brought the man his water.

"Here you go mister, enjoy, and if you need anything else, just shout: Pinkie, and I'll be right there." She said with a smile.

"Thank you, but one glass will do, might be my last for all I know." Snake replied while grabbing the glass.

"What was that?" Pinkie asked.

"Nothing, just.. Nothing, it's fine." Snake replied while looking at his glass.

"Okay?" Pinkie replied while walking away from the man.

Snake looked at his water, it reminded him of his past missions. Zanzibar land, Shadow Moses, the fight on Outer Heaven.. Outer Heaven, that's were it all ended.. He had done it that day. He had stopped Liquid from firing Rex's rail gun, he had saved the world once again. Taking a sip from the water, feeling the cold substance entering his mouth, he chucked to himself and shook his head.

"I still can't get the taste of Sunny's eggs out of my mouth." He said to himself. Drifting off reminiscing about the past, he thought back at the many people he had saved, and lost, the many missions... Missions, that only he could accomplish. FOXDIE, the virus that had killed so many of his friends and enemies, the virus, he was going to commit suicide about, because he was informed, that if he died, millions of people would also die with him, due to the nanomachines and The Patriot's AI's. The Patriots... He didn't even want to think about them anymore, but nonetheless, he still did. Not because he wanted to, but because he needed to.

About a half an hour had passed. Snake still had half of his glass filled with water. More people were now at the bar, talking and laughing with each other. Laughing, something Snake had barely anytime to do.. Talking, the only talks he had, were with Otacon, and those mostly consisted of Codec calls. Snake shook his head and got up from his spot, he took his glass with him and walked towards the bar. He grabbed ten dollars from his pocket and handed it to the barkeeper.

"Here, you can keep the change." Snake said. The barkeeper looked at him and shook his head. "It's just water, there's plenty of that, you don't need to pay for it."

"I know, but money is of no value to me." Snake said while turning around, walking away from the bar. 'Besides, I'll be dead soon.' He thought while walking out of the bar.

Snake walked across the city, his shoes made loud noises, as eash footfall made contact with the hardened concrete. A soft wind brushed against his face, he sighed and saw a building in the distance. There was a huge horse statue in the middle of the parade ground, Snake headed towards the building. Standing in front of The statue, he looked up into the sun. It was setting, just as it was doing back then, back when he and his father: Big Boss, had their final moment together, before Big Boss passed away at The Boss' grave. "The last ember of this fruitless war dies out, and with me, those old evils, will be gone." That was what Big Boss said to him, he told Snake many things, things about his past, how he had killed The Boss with his own hands.

Snake looked at the setting sun and couldn't help but give a sad smile. He knew that his time was almost at an end, he knew he was going to die soon. But he would spend these days, living as a man, not as a Snake. Not wanting to waste his time, he sat down on the top step of the horse statue. Letting out a sigh of relief, he looked up at the sky as he watched the setting sun, disappear into the horizon. Snake.. Hadn't felt this good in years, sure he was going to die soon, but at least he could die, in a world, he helped create.

"Come on girls, I want to show you something." A feminine voice shouted.

Snake turned his head, and saw six teenage girls walking towards the statue he was sitting on. He recognized one of the girls, she was the one that had given the glass of water to him earlier. Snake was about to get up, but stopped, knowing that he shouldn't care about these girls. The girls came closer and closer, until they were in front of him. They didn't seem to notice him, that was, until the pink girl spotted him.

"Hey! You're that man who just wanted a water, guy!" She said.

Snake looked up at her, seeing her goofy smile made him feel.. Uncomfortable, like that time Johnny had diarrhea in front of him. Not a pleasant sight.. nor smell.

"Hey, you know this old dude?  Another girl asked, this one had... rainbow color dyed hair? Well, Snake had seen some pretty weird things in his life, like Psycho Mantis, how he was able to make objects fly, by using the power of his will alone.

"Yeah, thanks to him, Mr. Cake gave me the ten dollars I needed for my new drums, now I can finally afford it!" Pinkie exclaimed in joy.

"Sound like that fella really helped ya out Pinkie." Another girl, this one was wearing, what appeared to be a cowboy hat.

"Yes, and that suit looks absolutely marvelous!" Another girl said. This girl had purple hair and appeared to be wearing make-up. Perhaps a fashonista of some sort? Snake didn't know, and quite frankly, he didn't care.

"Well, he's kinda in our spot, so if he would move, perhaps we could.. You know, contact Twilight and stuff like that." The girl with the rainbow dyed hair said.

"We can't just tell him to leave, besides, he was here first." A girl with the light pink hair color said. Snake looked up at the girls, he grunted and got up.

"I was about to leave anyway, go ahead." Snake said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The rainbow dyed girl said while gently pushing Snake back onto the stone steps. "Is your voice always so.. Awesome?" She asked.

Snake shrugged. "It's my voice, if you think it's awesome, well, that's your opinion."

"Well, since we're here, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"I'm Rainbow Dash!"

"Hiya, my name is Pinkie Pie!"

"Rarity, a pleasure."

"Howdy, names Applejack."

"M-My name is Fluttershy."

Snake nodded, but didn't reply, nor said his name.

"Uhh, you're supposed to tell us your name." Sunset said awkwardly.

"I'm just an ordinary man, nothing special about that. My name is... Snake." Snake said.

Snake, but that's the name of an animal. Rainbow Dash said confused.

Snake said nothing and looked at his hands. Getting lost in thought, he didn't notice the girls staring at him.

"Hay mister, you don't look very happy." Pinkie said while sitting down beside him. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, you look kinda sad." Rainbow Dash added while slightly bending over.

"It's nothing, just an old dog, thinking about his past." Snake replied.

"Well, you know what usually cheers me up? No? Parties! Or cake! Or even party cakes!" Pinkie said with delight.

Snake said nothing and looked up at the sky, still getting lost in his thoughts.

'What's with this man?' Sunset thought to herself. 'He looks so sad, like something terrible has happened to him. Maybe I could-- no I couldn't, right? Ah you know what, I might as well give it a shot.'

"Hey girls." Sunset said, to which everyone, except Snake, looked at her.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help." Sunset replied.

Everyone, except for Snake, gathered in a circle and started whispering to each other. Snake could hear what they were saying, if he wanted to know, he would have listened closely. For now, he didn't care. He just wanted to live his life, he promised Big Boss he would. Even though he and Big Boss were once enemies, Big Boss told him everything, about how he too was a pawn of The Patriots, a "seed of war". Big Boss and Snake.. Had much in common. Father and Son, that is what they were, what they still are. Even though Snake was cloned from Big Boss' DNA, he was still, technically his son. Big Boss said it himself, when they spent their final minutes together. "I never thought of you as a son, but I always respected you as a soldier, and as a man."

Suddenly, the girls all nodded and turned their attention back to Snake.

"Alright sir, would you mind getting up, turning around, and closing your eyes?" Sunset asked him.

Snake sighed and got up from his spot. He turned around, just as they asked him to. He closed his eyes, he knew these girls couldn't hurt him, he was skilled in CQC, so they were no match for him, if they tried anything funny that is.

Suddenly, Snake felt a tingly feeling, like a soft hand touching his face, or something soft brushing against his skin. Snake tried opening his eyes, but something told him not to.

Sunset, on the other hand, had put a sound barrier spell on Snake, and Sunset decided to perform a quick memory spell on Snake. She wanted to help him, and this was, in her opinion, the best methode. Luckily she had learned these kinds of spells, before she decided to take refuge in the Human world.

That's when they saw it, they saw how Snake lived his life. They saw how he looked so many years ago, young. They saw how he was first assigned to the mission on taking out Big Boss and his Metal Gear. How he defeated him and saved the world from devastation. They saw how he encountered Big Boss again, this time in Zanzibar Land, where they fought once more, and where Big Boss revealed that he was Snake's father. They saw how Snake killed him that day. Then they saw Shadow Moses, how he met Otacon and finally discovered he had a brother: Liquid Snake. They watched as Snake battled so many enemies, Vulcan Raven, Sniper Wolf, Psycho Mantis, Revolver Ocelot, the cyborg ninja Gray Fox. How he encountered Meryl, how he and Liquid, two brothers fought on top of Metal Gear Rex. How Liquid died of FOXDIE. They witnessed how he and Raiden met, how Liquid's spirit took over Revolver Ocelot. They saw how Raiden fought against Solidus Snake, who was Snake's other brother. Then they witnessed something else, something so sad. They saw Snake, but he wasn't the young Snake from before, no, he was old.

They saw how he was standing in a graveyard, a chopper landing in the graveyard and Otacon stepping out of it. That's when they learned more of the FOXDIE virus, how it was implanted in Snake. They saw how Snake found Liquid Ocelot, then, something very strange happened to Snake, his body seized up and he dropped on the ground. Later on, they learned that the cause of that, were The Patriot's AI's. Snake also met a gun launderer named Drebin, who helped him through his missions to take out Liquid. They saw how Snake met Big Mama, his "mother". The woman who carried him for nine months. They saw how much power Liquid had gained,when they encountered him on the Volta river. How he used the "Guns of The Patriots" on every soldier unlucky enough to be there. Big Mama died in Snake's arms. Snake also met up with Meryl, but she seemed to have no interest in him. That's when they saw when Snake went back to Shadow Moses, to stop Liquid from gaining control over Metal Gear Rex's rail gun. He failed, but was saved by -the now- cyborg ninja Raiden. It was then that they witnessed the final fight between Snake and Liquid. It was the same situation. They were face to face, ready to fight each other, again on a weapon of mass destruction. They watched as Snake and Liquid fought to their last breath. Eventually, Snake had won. And Ocelot revealed that he was not really Liquid, but his doppelganger. Then, Ocelot made his famous hand gesture, while saying "You're pretty good." Ocelot died due to FOXDIE, leaving Snake thinking about all that had happened over the past couple of years. Finally, they saw Snake, at the same graveyard where he was before. Only this time, he had a gun with him. They watched as Snake put the barrel in his mouth. But were relieved when Snake dropped to his knees, not able to go through with it.

Big Boss then appeared, returning the Patriot to the grave of The Boss and explained the full history of the Patriots from his point of view, and euthanized the now-vegetative Zero himself. He also revealed to Snake that Revolver Ocelot was never truly possessed by Liquid, but had put himself through hypnotherapy and implanted himself with nanomachines in order to make himself "believe" that he was Liquid Snake. This was done to throw off the Patriots who, being a computer program, could only repeat the same processes and would send Snake in to take down Liquid if they thought he was alive. Big Boss also revealed that when Drebin injected Snake with modern nanomachines in order to make him compatible with SOP weaponry, he also injected him with a second strain of FOXDIE, which was programmed to kill Big Mama, Liquid Ocelot, and Big Boss himself, but also cancelled out the original mutating FOXDIE; thus, Snake was no longer in danger of becoming a biological weapon. Snake and his father, who calmly accepted the fact that he was dying, finally made amends, and Big Boss, before dying, made Snake promise to live, however much time he had left "not as a snake, but as a man." Determined to fulfill this promise, they saw how Snake decided to quit smoking and retreated with Otacon and Sunny, this time for good, to live out the remainder of his life in peace, resolving to live long enough to see what the future held for the new world he helped create.

The girls didn't see glimpses from Snake's past, no, they saw everything, everything that happened. The spell finally stopped and they were back in front of the statue, it was like nothing happened.

"That was.. I don't even know where to begin." Sunset said, shock being the only thing that she felt.

"This man, Snake, he.. Saved the world. Girls, if it weren't for him, Earth would have been a wasteland and we would have never met"  Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Yeah, and I thought we had faced tough enemies, but his are on a completely different level."  Rarity added.

"I can't believe one man has gone through so much." Applejack said while looking at Snake, who was currently staring at the sky again.

"All those machines, all that he has lost. And the fact that he's only forty two and he knows he's only got a few more months to live." Fluttershy said, sadness filling her voice.

"The poor man." Pinkie said while pressing her hand to her chest.

"Snake." Sunset said while placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, I saw everything, I opened my eyes, I heard and saw everything." Snake said.

"We're.. So sorry, the things that you have been through, the people you have lost. I can't imagine what you're going through right now." Sunset said, wiping a tear from her eye. Soon, every girl started to tear up. Never in their lives had they seen something so.. Sad, a life, that only consisted of war and death. Sadness and pain. Sorrow and loss. Snake had felt and experienced it all too often.

"Snake!" A voice exclaimed from behind the girls.

Everyone, including Snake, turned around and saw a familiar man running towards him.

"Otacon." Fluttershy whispered.

"Excuse me ladies." Otacon said while moving through the girls, standing in front of Snake. "I'd figure you would have been here, you really are something Snake, if only more people knew. But that's why I'm here, to pass on your legacy, I'll stick with you until the end."

"Otacon." Snake said.

"Come on Snake, Sunny is waiting for us inside the car." Otacon said while turning around.

"I'll be right there, I just.. Have some things to take care of." Snake said.

"Sure Snake, whenever you're ready." Otacon said while walking back to the car. Just then, Rarity grabbed his wrist and whispered something into his ear.

"You're a great friend Otacon, stay with him until the end."  Rarity whispered. She gave him a peck on his cheek and smiled at him.

"I will, I promised him." Otacon replied.

Snake looked at the sky again it had become dark, and he didn't even notice. Snake nodded to himself and saluted. Raiden, Gray Fox, Meryl, and even Big Boss, he respected them. Snake let his hands dangle from his sides and he gave a sigh. He turned around and faced the girls. They all gave him small smiles and nods of appreciation.

"You're a hero Snake, even if you won't admit it, and I think, I speak for all of us when I say this: I think you are the greatest hero to have ever existed. You are truly a great man, Snake. So thank you, for everything." Sunset said while holding her hand out. Snake returned the gesture and shook her hand. He walked past them and started towards the city.

Snake had been walking from a few minutes now, he finally reached a cafe, were Otacon had parked his car. Otacon waved at Snake. Snake smiled and walked over to his best friend. He stepped inside the car and they drove away. Sunny was telling him all sorts of things, about how she and Otacon visited a flowershop and how a nice lady gave her a rose.

Finally leaving the city, Snake looked out the window, and saw the familiar face, the face of his father.. Big Boss. Snake had fulfilled his promise, he wasn't going to live long, but quite frankly, he didn't care. He wasn't scared of death, he wasn't scared of anything. But he was glad, glad that finally someone, understood what he had been through.

"This is good, isn't it?"