War Gone Cold

Chapters

Chapter 2 Unknown enemy
Chapter 3: A new mission and old Allies
Chapter 4: Contact!
Interlude
Chapter 4: Contact! Part 2
Chapter 5 Fight as One
Chapter 6 Trouble
Chapter 7 Skull Face
Chapter 8 Friend and Foe
Chapter 10 A Quiet Exit
Chapter 11 Reunited
Chapter 1 Land without End
Chapter 9 Shining Lights, Even In Death

Chapter 2 Unknown enemy

Chapter 2: Unknown enemy

As the children opened their eyes, they found themselves on the outside of the guard post, seeing a cardboard box in the middle of the road, two soldiers in desert-colored uniforms looking at it.

“Hey, that’s dad!” Blau exclaimed as he recognized one of the soldiers, the other one had a ski mask and goggles covering the face.

“It’s a box, so what?” Konrad asked his fellow soldier, slightly surprised.

“I could swear I saw it moving….”

Suddenly, the box twitched and a red exclamation point appeared over it, causing everyone to startle slightly.

“See? Did you see that?!” The other soldier asked and reached for his radio. “CP! A cardboard box is moving! Please advise!”

“This is CP. Knock it off. Out.”

“Rrgh, it's not a joke...” The soldier protested before turning to Ford. “What should we do?”

Konrad let out a frustrated groan. “I won’t let them make a fool out of me! Watch this.” He pointed his rifle at the box and fired a grenade from an under barrel grenade launcher, destroying it and sending the occupant flying.

It happened so fast the kids couldn’t see him directly, only hearing a male scream.

“And that’s how you do it,” Konrad said satisfied, grinning.

His children and their friends could only stare in confusion. “Uh…okay…” Lily mumbled before everything went white.

Opening their eyes, they were back in the house, realizing it had been a dream. “That was strange…” Dinky mumbled as she got up.

“Yeah…” Lily nodded before the two soldiers walked in.

“Good morning.” Lovec carried some bread, giving it to the children, who took it with glee.

“Thanks.” Katja smiled. “What have you planned?”

“We thought of introducing you to our superior, he would know what to do best,” Chernov explained and pointed to two Russian Jeeps parked next to the guard post. Dinky and Lilly climbed into the backseats of the first one with Lovec, the siblings into the other with Chernov.

As they drove through the dusty roads, Blau couldn’t help himself but ask, “Why are you here in this country?”

The man sighed. “How much do you know about the cold war?”

Katja thought for a moment. “Well, I learned a little about it in school. After World War II, the Western and Eastern Allies fell out. Their views were too different, they felt threatened by the other. There wasn't any proper fighting between them but whenever a war broke out anywhere in the world, both sides fought over it...My teacher said it was like two kids fighting over toys.”

“Correct. As for why we are here, back in 1979, an insurgency against the Afghanistan government broke out that is backed up by us, so we came to help them.”

The two cars came past a few other guard posts, the soldier there just gave the kids a quick look, until a village came into sight. Several walls were on meadows around it. Inside the village were two guard towers.

“We are here. This is Da Shago Kallai, we converted it to an outpost after the locals fled.” The Sergeant-Major explained as he led the kids inside and they saw a man in a khaki uniform that made him look like a regular soldier. But noticeable was that he was wearing a red beret.

Under it was brown hair, his brown eyes were filled with slight confusion as he saw the kids. “Are those?”

“Yes, commander, those are the children we reported,” Lovec said as he and Chernov saluted.

The commander stayed silent for a moment, blinking. “Okay…And I thought I saw everything.” He started to smile. “Spetsnaz commander Sergei. Why don’t you tell about yourself inside?” The officer pointed to a house and they nodded.

After they told him everything, he had an expression of sympathy. “Sorry to hear that. But I’ll make sure you’ll be safe.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dinky smiled and he waved a hand.

“Just doing what is right. If you excuse me for a moment.” Sergei said and walked out.

“It’s very kind of him that he helps us,” Lily commented with a smile as she looked after the officer.

“Yes, he’s one of the most honorable and caring commanders I know,” Lovec replied with pride and they saw through the window how the commander spoke to some radiomen.

“Word is that the Hamid fighters at Da Smasei Laman have been annihilated. It seems there were civilians among them, too.” Sergei walked back and forth as he said this. “There are rumors within our forces that it was our handiwork. These rumors are utterly false. My comrades. The orders we receive are absolute. We stay true to the mission. If they tell us "Burn the village," we burn it. To crush the dushman, for the Motherland.” He explained stern.

“But remember this: Never does that include murdering civilians. If we drag them into this, their resentment will only worsen this conflict. If a superior told me to kill a civilian...” He paused for a moment. “I would kill him instead. For that I am prepared. And I hope you all are, too. If you agree with me, make yourself known.”

“But...why would he burn the village at all?” Dinky did not understand and the Sergeant-Major sighed.

“Well, when we arrived, the locals around here were ferocious. Our presence on their land was seen as a threat to their god as well as their people. And people will do a lot for their gods. They know the way of the land and how best to fight on it. It's a guerrilla campaign on all fronts, a bloody one.” He explained.

“A war of attrition. These fighters call themselves "Mujahideen". So we destroy the kishlaks - villages - wherever we can. We burn down homes and fields, fill in the wells. Turn pastures into minefields. But this had a big price. There’s bitter resentment among the Afghans, and they're take out their anger on us soldiers on the front lines. Among the Mujahideen are the Pashtun people.”

Now, he started to shiver slightly.

“They're fiercely devoted to their code of badal, or revenge. Soviets they've captured have had their hands, feet and noses cut off, before being left to die at the side of the road. Just to show their comrades what they're capable of. Friendlies who came across them can do nothing but put them out of their misery. Then we burn down another village in retaliation. And the cycle of vengeance goes on.” He told with regret and unease in his voice. “Ironic, we do exactly what the Germans did to us back in World War 2.”

“That’s horrible…” Lily shivered at the thought of dying like that. “I hope we won’t run into them…”

“If it comes to that, we’ll protect you, but I think it’s unlikely,” Lovec assured her with a weak smile. “We got our central base camp in this area, thus a strong presence, so they don’t dare attacking here. Plus even they have standards.”

Lily nodded, realizing he was right about the standards, taking a deep breath. “Right…Can we help you with something?”

“You could help get the supplies around.” He pointed to a truck that pulled up and the kids nodded, walling outside, just as Sergei walked back in.

“We have to get them out of this county, fast, it’s not safe for them here.” Chernov looked at the four friends with worry and the Spetsnaz member laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I can arrange that, just give me time. They may are not from our world, but are still kids and civilians. And you know me, I won’t let any civilian come to harm. We should get them to the supply outpost, it would be a lot safer for them.

Dinky and her friends enjoyed helping out, seeing that the Soviets appreciated the help.

“...I got a letter from Grigoriy. Sasha is dead.” They overheard the truck driver talking to a fellow soldier with pity.

“So he didn't make it... Damn it! And last week, the new guy lost it and got pulled out. It never stops...” The other Russian told the driver with frustration.

“We're doing better than others. A comrade at the regimental headquarters told me a third of the platoon at Panjshir is replaced every six months.”

“That many?” The other soldier asked surprised.

“Across the whole force, we lose over 100 men every month. It's been that way since the past three years.”

“But we're killing more of them!”

“I hear you, comrade. Calm down.” The truck driver said but his fellow soldier lowered his head.

“It feels like we're getting nowhere...”

“Maybe I'll be next...” The driver mumbled before his comrade looked up with an annoyed expression.

“Stop it. Ne karkat.”

This caused the kids to look at each other. Was it really that bad?

It made them afraid that their caretakers could be next. That they would be left stranded in a warzone, where the enemy could be anywhere.

“W-what if…” Lily stuttered. “They die because of us?”

“I don’t want to imagine…” Katja shivered.

Dinky and Blau looked at each other. “Even if the rebels wouldn’t strike here, there was a risk they could strike elsewhere.

And with such high losses, it was very likely.

“We…We should try to stay positive.” Dinky managed to say, sounding unsure, yet earned weak smiles by her friends.

“Right…” Lily said and they continued to help out at the outpost.

After some time, they rested in the shadow, drinking some water. “Phew…It’s just as hot as in Africa.” The young colt wiped the sweat off his forehead.

As Blau turned around, he was facing a poster of a woman in a bikini that was hung up on a wall. “..Whoa...

“Blau, stop staring.” His sister said with a disappointed look.

”Why?” He asked, not able to understand.

“It's not decent. Those posters are demeaning.” She pointed out.

“How? She looks happy.”

“I meant to other girls.”

“How?” The colt asked again, noticing that his sister was having an uncomfortable expression. “Wait a minute, why are you staring?”

“None of your business.” She quickly replied and turned away from the poster.

Dinky and Lily looked at each other, understanding why her human friend acted like that.

“Ah, I see you noticed that poster,” Arkturi said as he walked up to them. “It’s for raising moral; though it makes the men more distracted than helping them. And I can understand you, Katja.”

“You do?” She blinked in confusion.

“Da. I am the son of a well-known officer of the Red Army that got famous during the Second World War. As such, I got a lot of attention when I was growing up, much to my discomfort.” He told her, slightly lowering his head in embarrassment as he remembered.

“And who is your parent?” Blau asked curiously and the soldier showed him and the other children a photo of a woman. They recognized her, not able to believe their eyes.

No way… Dinky thought in surprise.

“Katyusha Medveditsya Kallistrovich. Colonel in the Soviet Armed Forces, Artillery Expert, Trench Breaker, a mother to all the men and women under her command. They called her the She-Bear of Krasnodar. The SS feared speaking her name. She mowed them down in torrents and protected Mother Russia from the Nazi Invasion. She was a Four-Star General serving Comrade Stalin until his death.” Lovec explained with pride, smiling.

“After the war was over, she married her second in command, Lieutenant Hector Lemkin. They are both still alive. Yet, my mother made things very difficult for Brezhnev. And now that he's in power, he wants Russia to forget she existed. A statue of her was just taken down in Krasnodar City Square two days ago. The Union was not what it once was. Once, we dominated all of Eastern Europe and made Germany tremble at the sound of our march...Now look at us. We can't even control a few miles of desert!” He exclaimed, “And as that fallen statue proves, it has no respect for the men and women who died to make it strong, who died fighting the real enemy.”

The kids were silent for a moment. “I see…Sounds like you had really bad luck to land here with the reputation of your mother,” Lily replied with pity.

“Yeah…this war is extremely unpopular amongst us. We are the 40th Army, 100,000 men strong, and you heard how it goes for us. We made our own Vietnam. As such, my parents are very worried about my safety.” He told them with unease. “And things are getting worse every day.”

“Hey, did you see the new board they put up at the relay base?” A fellow soldier asked another, interrupting the Sergeant-Major.

Yeah. "Ethnic Solidarity." Who are they kidding?”

“Right. And now the brass is prioritizing sending in more Russian-born guys instead of Central Asians. Those guys don't have the morale because ethnically they're close to the Afghans.”

“Makes sense.”

“Well, catch you later.”

“Sure.”

Katja could just stare at those words. “How, how can they do this? Forcing them to kill their own?”

“It isn’t right!” Blau exclaimed in disbelief.

“And sad,” Lily added.

“Yes, but as this country is in Central and South Asia, it was seen best to send troops from Central Asia, to save time and resources, instead of going the long way from Russia,” Arkturi explained.

“Is, it is really that bad?” Dinky could not believe what she just heard.

“Yes. A lot of the Soviet troops came from Central Asia before, but lately, we Russians replace them. Simple really - there's less hesitation to pull the trigger if we're not fighting our own race. Morbid cynicism, but it gets results. That's humanity for you.” Lovec sounded disgusted. “I am just glad when I can go home, I haven’t seen my parents for a long time.”

That reminded the children how far they were away from home again, but they knew they had to be strong.

“Sounds horrible.” Lily shivered, then smiled weakly. “But I guess you got your rank because of your mother?”

Now, Arkturi chuckled. “Indirectly. I got to know Sergei and Chernov in training and we are best friends ever since. They both still respect my mother’s legend. I am actually an interpreter, a language specialist to translate information relating to the West into Russian. I took this because I was curious about how the West sees my mother. And it quite surprised me what I found out.”

He produced a comic book and smiled. “Kallistra: Soviet She-Bear, Bane of the SS. By Alexya Tartikova.”

Curiously, the children took a look and saw how the colonel was turned into a superhero, fighting Nazis and other bad guys, called the “Soviet Wonder-Woman.”

“Though I don't ever recall hearing she fought giant swastika-branded tyrannosauruses...while wearing a red and gold metal bikini...” Chernov mumbled upon seeing it too.

“The Americans call it artistic license. It appeals to the demographic.” Lovec pointed out.

“Wouldn't she get cold?” Chernov asked and his friend groaned.

“It’s a comic, you don’t question such things here!”

“Right…”

“Speaking of questions, mind if you tell us about yourself, Chernov?” Katja looked at him with a smile.

He shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell. I come from a German-Russian family. All the first-born sons in my family are called Chernov. My Dad’s a Chernov, and my son’s son will probably be a Chernov too.”

“A whole clan of Chernovs.”

“Yes.”

The kids then looked at the commander. “As for me, I come from an officer family, stepping into the footsteps of my father and keeping his honor by sparing civilians. And I’ll do anything I can to keep you safe.”

“Thank you.” The kids said in unison before they noticed music coming out of the room they had been in before. It was English, the singer was a woman singing about the kids in America.

“Nice music, but why English?” Blau asked the soldiers.

“For the moral, the current music of the East doesn’t sound well and it’s somewhat catchy,” Lovec replied.

“Yes, it is.” Sergei added, “Reminds me, Chernov and Lovec will get you to the Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost, it’s much safer here. I will arrange for safe travel out of Afghanistan for you.”

All children nodded and got back to the jeeps, looking briefly at each other. Should they tell Lovec they met his parents? They couldn’t get up with an answer.

It was only a short ride into the north before they saw a base surrounded by thick high walls. “We are here.” The officer announced and led them inside. The outpost was well-furnished, it had medical facilities, a TV and several refrigerators.

“Looks very well equipped.” Blau commented on the sight, liking it.”

“Yes, it is. Let’s gets you lunch.” Lovec pointed to the kitchen and they notice it was now noon, time seemed to pass fast.

He held some noodle blocks in his hands. “Those are Instant Noodles, very popular among us and as the name suggests, quick to make.”

Dinky and her friends nodded, enjoying their warm meal after it was done. “Delicious!”

“Glad to hear it.” Chernov smiled. “I made you some caps for the sun.” They looked just like the cap he was wearing and the kids gladly took them.

Then an engine sound greeted their ears and they saw what looked like a square formed wheeled armored car, with a turret on the roof driving out of the outpost, followed by a tank that was similar to the Tiger tank in size.

“What are those?” The young colt asked fascinated.

“The first vehicle is the BTR-80, an armored troop transport and backbone of our Mechanized Forces, also having a self-propelled rocket launcher variant. The Katyusha system may be old, but still packs a punch.” Lovec explained, then pointed to the tank.

“And this is the T-72, our main battle tank in Afghanistan and the core of the Mechanized Forces.”

As he finished, a loud noise rang in their ears and the saw a chopper in the sky, being armed with a machinegun at the noise and missiles on both sides of its hull.

“And that’s the Mil Mi-24, also called ‘Hind’ by the NATO. It is unique in that it can be a troop transport and attack helicopter, due to a troop compartment in the lower fuselage. The Mujahideen fear our gunships, barely able to scratch them with their small arms.”

“Uh-huh. And what are you’re using? My dad’s also a soldier, his weapons look familiar to yours."

“Oh, that?” Arkturi held up his rifle. “That’s the AK-74, our main Assault Rifle. Not the most accurate but very reliable, even in this kind of terrain. And our sidearm,” He pointed to his holster, “Is the Makarov.”

“Okay.”

For the rest of the day, the four friends helped out in the base. It was evening and they had dinner as they overheard two soldiers.

“Hey, do you know anyone in the Strategic Rocket Forces?”

“What's this, all of a sudden?” The other soldier asked confused.

“I just heard about that lieutenant colonel, the one who saw through the malfunction in the nuclear arms early warning system. He got an official reprimand.”

“Reprimand? But he was right - there was no strike!” The second soldier exclaimed in disbelief.

“It's protocol. If the system goes off, you have to launch a retaliatory attack without hesitation.”

“If he'd followed protocol, there would have been a counterattack from the Americans.” The other soldier stated

“Yes. It would have meant nuclear war, no doubt about it.”

“Then this lieutenant colonel, he saved the world.”

“That's right, but protocol comes first, not whether or not his judgment was correct.”

“Unbelievable...”

“What would you have done in his shoes?” The first soldier asked, “Me, I might have pressed the button.

“I hear you. You break the rules, they break you right back.”

“No use thinking about it. Okay, all yours.”

“You got it.”

The kids could just stare in awe at what they heard. “Wow…Is…is that really true?” Dinky asked Lovec, who nodded.

“Yes. I have only heard of it but as far as I know, it was a serious flaw in the Soviet early warning system. The lieutenant colonel was the duty officer at the command center. I think his name is Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov. He truly saved the world from a nuclear war a year ago.”

“Unbelievable indeed…” Lily mumbled.

“Da, but if it hadn’t for him, humanity wouldn’t exist anymore.”

This again reminded the kids of their previous adventure, looking at each other and nodded without a word as they were alone with the two soldiers.

“Mind if we ask you something? Dinky looked at Lovec.

“Shoot.”

“Would you believe us if we tell you we met your parents?”

In response, the interpreter blinked puzzled. “You…have?”

“Yes.” And so, they carefully told him and Chernov how they landed on Earth before a few ties, with their latest adventure involving Lemkin and Kallistrovich.

He stayed silent for a moment after they were finished. “Okay…Sorry, but it’s hard to believe.

“We know, but do we look like we would lie to you?” Dinky pointed out and he sighed.

“No…I just need some time to process everything, if that’s okay.” The kids nodded in understanding.

“Woof!”

Everyone got startled by the sound and turned around. Before them was a puppy, grey in fur, having one its left yellow eye, the other one was missing. Despite this, it barked excitedly.

“Where did you come from?” Katja asked surprised, yet crouched to pat the puppy. He growled in affection, all others smiled at him.

“A wild puppy…Must have been sniffed the warm food.” Lovec suspected. “I am no expert but I think it’s a wolf.”

“If it’s a puppy, it’s mother must be near…” Chernov pointed out but his friend shook his head.

“I doubt that, he wouldn’t have entered if he had a mother. I think he lost her, thus probably the lost eye.”

“Can we keep him?” Dinky asked as the girl picked the puppy up, he licked her face in response.

Both men looked at each other, then shrugged. “Sure, why not? But we better do a checkup.”

They brought him into one of the medical facilities and a doctor took a look. “I may not be a vet but apart from the lost eye, he’s fine.”

“Glad to hear it. What are we gonna do with him?” Lily asked.

“Give him some food.” Chernov took some meat out of the refrigerator and cut it into small pieces, the puppy ate it without hesitation.

Then the children started to yawn, becoming tired. “You should get some rest, it’s getting late,” Lovec suggested as the sun went down and the kids nodded, going to the beds, with the puppy following, lying down on the ground next to them. “Sleep well. We'll see you tomorrow.”

The four friends nodded and fell asleep, both soldiers got back into the jeeps and drove back to the guard post they were stationed at.

“If it’s really true what the say, then they really went through a lot, being very brave to get through all this.” Chernov was slightly fascinated.

“Da, though I wonder about my parents…They never told me, not that they would, given the situation back then, but…they heard of the Green Knight, the friend of the children, what was his name again?” Lovec tipped his head.

“Fletcher Fray. And I think your parents would be proud of you for helping them, as they did before."

“Yeah, they would.” Lovec started to smile and his friend scratched his back.

“Can I ask you something? Interpretation section for Western information must be pretty hard, right? I see the light turned on until late in the evening."

“Yes, we read their newspapers or magazines the whole day.”

“Really? Tell me something interesting that I can tell an American someday.” Chernov replied, being eager to learn and the interpreter chucked.

“Alright, then repeat after me. I spent…”

“I spent…” Chernov had a strong accent as he did as told.

“...last night...”

“...with your girlfriend.”

“Not bad.” Lovec praised his comrade.

“Fine. What does this mean?”

“It means, ‘I'm a good friend of your friend.’ Lovec joked, allowing himself a little prank with his friend.

“Okay, great! Even in the Cold War, nothing is better than to be friends.”

“Yeah, so that we can exchange blows.” Arkturi joked and Chernov laughed.

“Indeed! Teach me more someday”.

“Sure. But for now, let’s focus on our duty.”

“Of course.”

Suddenly, he felt a sting. At first, he didn’t bother it but without warning, he felt dizzy, tried he tried to catch himself. His vision became blurry, unable to see anything clearly.

His body felt tingly, losing all feeling as he collapsed, seeing that the same happened to Chernov before both hit the ground.

They both tried to get up, but their bodies didn’t respond, feeling tired.

Then, Lovec could faintly felt how he was lifted off the ground and into the air. “Uh…”

In a split second, he felt getting thrown into the air and screamed before everything went black.

It was early morning when Dinky, Lily, Katja and Blau woke up, having slept well, yet noticed something. “Hey, the puppy’s gone,” Lily said as he couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Maybe he had a mother and she picked him up?” Dinky suspected.

“Could be. But for now, let’s breakfast.” Katja suggested and they went into the kitchen and she heard her brother giggle. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, just…you saw what the West made out of the Colonel, imagine the Enteral Knights would be in a Daring Do or Power Ponies comic.”

His sister and friends then giggled too at the thought. “I could even imagine them having their own comic,” Dinky replied as they enjoyed their meal.

“You've been hearing stories of the man with one eye?”

A soldier asked his comrade, getting the attention of the kids.

“Yeah, that he's made a lot of our boys MIA... Is he dushman?”

“No, but I heard he was sent here by American imperialists to support them. Someone who survived says that he has a horn in his head, and fights like a man possessed by a demon.”

“A man with a horn? Sounds like he panicked and lost his mind.”

“Perhaps.”

Lily shivered slightly as she heard this. “Sounds scary.”

“Yeah…A horn in the head? I doubt anyone could survive this without serve damage.” Dinky shivered too before one of the soldiers walked in.

“You are the children Sergei mentioned, right?” He asked and they nodded. “He managed to arrange that you get brought to the motherland. Come, we get you to the Base Camp, and from there, an airborne transport gets you out.”

“Okay, where is he, Lovec and Chernov?” Blau asked, not able to see them anywhere.

“I’m afraid, this man with one eye got them. He’s good. Whoever he is, he leaves no traces, we only heard about him through comrades that claimed to be held up and saw how he knocked several men out in quick succession. But due to this, we don’t take any risk.” As he said this, a BTR-80 pulled up and opened its hatch, honking its horn. “Get in. The sooner you’re safe, the better.”

They did without hesitation, yet feared what had happened to their friends. Where they dead? Or still alive?

Again, it was a short ride to the north, and they got out, seeing that the camp had three big hangars, one of was partially destroyed, and several smaller ones, a shooting range, and a variety of smaller buildings used as barracks and warehouses, getting led to one of the barracks.

“The transport should be arriving soon.” The soldier said, the walked out.

“Do…”Do you think they’re still alive?” Dinky asked with dread in her voice.

“Could…could have the rebels got them?” Katja shivered at the thought of seeing them cut into pieces.

“I don’t wanna imagine it,” Blau added with fear in his voice.

“Y-yeah…This man with one eye could have captured them…” The little unicorn feared before Lily hugged her.

“They were reported missing, not dead, so there’s still hope. And you said yourself: Stay positive.”

Right…” She replied with a weak smile.

“Hey, remember the guy who left with the refill platoon?” The same soldier that had talked to them asked a fellow solder outside

“Ivan Ivanovitch Ivanov. Quiet type - some kind of science fiction nut?”

“He left a book behind, this British novel called ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’”

“What, it's published this year?”

“No, no, it's written, I dunno, 30 years ago”

“What's it about?” The other soldier asked curiously.

“I couldn't read it. It's in English, but it's about a utopia where the entire world has been communized.”

“Woah, seriously?” The other soldier’s eyes went wide.

“It's a British author. I don't think we're the heroes. More ‘communism is evil’ dressed up in fiction, you know?”

“What, they think a capitalist world would be so much better? Pah.”

“Mmm. I'm no die-hard communist, but that...”

“Anyway, I'd better get going.”

“Roger that.”

Then an alarm sounded and both men looked up, the wind getting stronger. “Sandstorm!” One of the soldiers called out.

But the children saw that the sandstorm was dark, having the same color as the mist that somehow brought them here. “Something’s not right…” Blau mumbled, being suspicious.

“Yeah, never seen such a dark sandstorm…” Lily added.

They startled as they heard screams and gunfire in the distance, seeing how some soldiers scrambled to cover. “What’s going on?” Katja asked scared.

“All fire teams, this is CP!” A loudspeaker echoed through the base. “All units to combat positions! Repeat, all units to combat positions!”

Scared, the four friends held each other as the screams became more and more, realizing the Soviets were losing, seeing how one of the two soldiers reached for his radio.

“CP, CP, this is Zoya 6!! We’re getting our asses kicked! Send reinforcements now. Damn it! Over!!” He yelled in terror, sounding scared and frustrated.

“Negative. You’ll have to hold out until we can spare something. Out!!”

“Blyat!” The soldier cursed in his language before blood splattered from his head and he fell faded to the ground.

The other soldier startled, gasping and the kids saw a flash out of the storm, followed by a clashing sound and the man filched, blood flow down his chest and he also fell over.

Despite the chaos, the kids saw clearly green glowing eyes in the storm and the eyes if Dinky, Blau and Katja went small “No…It can’t be…It can’t be!” Dinky yelled in fear as the eyes got closer.

As the eyes were almost out of the storm, they felt the air getting thin, gasping and coughing, collapsing as their bodies started to cramp before they blacked out.

Chapter 3: A new mission and old Allies

Dinky, Katja, Blau Streifen and Lily woke up, finding themselves back at the guard post where the two soldiers had found them. “Hey, isn’t that-

Blau was cut off by a grunt of pain coming out of the house.

A man in desert colored uniform stumbled out, gasping for air and collapsed. “Dad!” The colt exclaimed and was about to run towards him with the others but stopped in fear at what happened next.

Konrad twitched and rose again, stumbling a bit. He had deathly pale skin, whitened pupils, blackening around his eyes and mouth, slight sores near the neck, enlarged veins, and several small blue orbs emitting from his head.

“D-dad…” Blau could only stare in shock before his father walked slowly towards them in a zombie-like gait. “N-no…”

They all stared in fear and shock before he broke out in an animalistic sprint towards them.

“Dad, don’t!” Katja yelled in vain and they screamed as he lunged at them.

In that moment, they awoke gasping, cold sweat running down their faces, breathing heavily as they looked around. They were in a prison cell.

“This is not good.” Lily realized, trying to catch her breath.

“Yes, but stay calm, panic won’t help us.” Dinky pointed out, trying to think of something.

Their ears perked up to the sounds of footsteps, seeing the shadow of a man coming closer.

But what they saw was beyond their imagination.

It was indeed a man, wearing a black suit with trench coat and hat, with a black mask covering the face. Yet this wasn’t what was so horrifying.

The man had facial scars, burns, and discolorations. One of the scars was most noticeable the shape of a smile, known as Glasgow smile as far as the kids knew.

His expression was neutral as he looked at them. Overall, all those injuries gave him a pale skin, either rotting or frozen, as if he had died several times and lived again.

“My, my, what have we here?” He asked in a slightly fascinated voice, causing Lily to whimper, hugging Dinky, who patted her back with a brave smile, the siblings did too.

“Whoever you are, you won’t hold us long!” Blau exclaimed and the man smiled slightly.

“Are you sure about that? If you escape, then what? The nearest Pakistan border is several miles to the east. Several miles of a war raging soil. Think you'd make it? You wouldn't get any help from them. Besides, you intrigue me...I think we should get to know each other.”

They all looked at each other, wondering what he meant as he turned on a radio, playing a tape.

Thanks to the quick response of Pip, Nancy and Tungsten, Fletcher could act quickly and go to earth shortly after they reported what happened.

Upon arrival, he found himself in a desert, wearing the same clothing he had worn in Africa, walking through the sand. “The desert again, eh? Better than -40 degrees in my option.” He commented before Ifrit appeared, walking next to him.

“First you trudge through biting winters now sweltering wastes. I fear for your sense of equilibrium.”

While appreciating it, Fray asked in return, “And how is a flaming spirit helpful in the hot desert?”

“More ways than one, Fletcher.” Ifrit countered calmly.

“Okay. Have you ever seen Mist like that?”

“No...But I sense the aura of very strong magic...unknown to me, or unfamiliar at least.” The spirit suspected.

Eventually, it became evening and he set up a campfire for the night at a small Oasis, with Ifrit providing the fuse. “Here. Rest well.”

“Thanks.”

The knight fell asleep fast, having peaceful rest before the next day came and breakfasted, moving on afterward.

Using his tracking spell, he walked towards north, having to cover his face as a Sandstorm approached.

After it cleared, he gasped slightly in surprise, coming to what looked like the remains of a burned down village, only the damaged buildings remained, still smoking.

“Oh dear…” He carefully examined the village, finding a still intact calendar, showing that the year was 1984 and he realized where he was. “Afghanistan…”

“A war-torn land. Scarred in this age in ways it may never recover from." Ifrit said gravely, "We must be cautious. This is not the Second World War, revealing yourself could have a much graver effect at this time.”

Fletcher nodded, knowing what his helper meant. The locals let out their anger on the invaders, which burned down a village in retaliation, creating a vicious circle. Killing any soviets or rebels could only spin it faster.

Yet their way proved lifeless. And as the sun fell, the single remaining threat of the heat steadily waned and left his shoulders.

The night was peaceful again.

In the next day, he walked for some while, seeing a small building in the distance and took out his binoculars. A few soldiers were posted around it. “A soviet guard post.”

Still, he was unaware he got watched himself.

A man with binoculars watched from a safe distance. He used his radio to call for possible Intel.

“Well...any day I would have worried about what medication you were taking, if any. But I checked around and pulled something up. Classified Information, still relatively uncertain, but the description matches a WWII anomaly known only as Sagittarius the Green Knight. He was last seen in Tunisia in 1942 and then in Italy 1943.” The watcher of Fletcher got informed.

“As to what he's doing in Afghanistan, your guess is as good as mine. He hasn't presented himself as an enemy of the Soviets or any local splinter cells. The only people he insisted on fighting were the Schutzstaffel. Made things pretty difficult for their military projects. All details suggest he is intelligent and not automatically hostile. Nonetheless, approach with care.”

The unicorn kept his distance from the Soviets, yet stumbled over something and cringed as he saw what it was.

The corpse of a soldier. There were no signs of decomposition, meaning his death hadn’t been too long ago. His throat was cut open. “Poor guy, must have fallen victim to a wolf or something.” Fletcher suspected.

“Watch out!” Ifrit warned and the stallion turned around as he heard a growl.

Just a few meters away stood a wolf, growling at Fletcher, baring his teeth at him, the menacing eyes blazing with rage, yet the stallion looked calm at it.

Still, he had no time to react as the wolf charged towards him and lunged at him, getting thrown to the ground. Fletcher used his left foreleg to hold the wild animal back and preventing it from biting his throat.

His armor absorbed the bite, so he felt no pain, yet knew he had to act fast, he couldn’t hold the animal back forever.

Ifrit was quick to respond and fired a garishly spell that blinded the Wolf, allowing Fray to kick him off, knocking him out in the process.

“Okay…one wild animal less to worry about…” He mumbled, catching his breath.

His ears perked up at a noise. “Kept you waiting, huh?”

Slightly startling, the unicorn turned around to face what looked like a muscular man with a slight beard, blue eyes and brown hair. Noticeable was an eyepatch over the right eye. “You’re pretty good.” He added with a slight distorted voice.

Fletcher carefully walked up to it and touched the man, he slightly fell back, then forward again and the pony realized: It was just a balloon.

In response, he grabbed his spear. “Make fun of ME, will ya!” Fray yelled frustrated, slashing the balloon, popping it. Breathing heavily, his ears perked up again at footsteps behind him but he wasn’t able to react in time.

“Freeze!” A male voice ordered.

Knowing he was held up, Fray knelled, laying his spear down. But he wasn’t one that gave up easily.

Fletcher turned around in a flash, fired a spell at his attacker, throwing him back. To his surprise, the attacker looked identical to the man the balloon had resembled, except he had a piece of shrapnel in his forehead in the shape of a horn and his left arm was a bionic arm as far as Fray could tell.

Despite having fallen on the ground, the man recovered quickly and kicked Fletcher’s legs, causing him to fall down, slightly groaning in pain.

Yet he managed to get up quickly and fired a few non-lethal spells at his attacker. The man looked briefly surprised but managed to avoid every shot by jumping or diving out of the way, showing that he was very skilled.

In a quick sprint, the man was charging at the stallion, dealing a few punches which the stallion managed to block. Still, the attacker managed to deal a blow to Fray’s head, making him stumble a bit, being disoriented.

Dazed, Fletcher’s vision was blurry and he felt how he was getting thrown to the ground, landing hard on his back.

“Don’t move!” The man yelled. Fletcher was still dazed and quickly realized in this state he couldn’t do anything as the human was pointing a pistol at his head, so he placed his hooves on his head.

“Alright…”

“Talk.” His captor ordered without emotion.

“I won't say anything. I'm a soldier like you, not afraid to die.” Fray said without any fear. “To get this close to me...impressive.” He had to admit, it was very rare for others to succeed in holding him up or knock him down so easily.

A quick stinging pain followed in his neck and he moved his eyes, seeing that a small needle was stuck in his neck. His vision got slowly blurry and he realized what it was.

A tranquilizer gun…damn it…

He wanted to move but felt tired, his body no longer responding, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Yet faintly, he felt getting lifted into the air and managed to look up, seeing he was attached to a balloon. Uh-Oh.

The stallion could only scream as the balloon rose into the air at a high speed before he blacked out.

“Ugh…” Arkturi groaned, holding his head as he woke up. “What happened?” He mumbled looking around. He was in a cell. “Where am I?”

“In a safer place than Afghanistan, comrade.” A male Russian voice said and a man walked into view.

He had grey eyes and hair, wearing a red scarf around the neck. Most noticeable was that he had bandoliers around his chest, two revolvers in holsters and was wearing cowboy boots, complete with duster and spurs.

“I am here to offer you a better job. As an interpreter for the free West.”

Lovec blinked at what he had just heard. While he had found out that the West kept the legend of his mother alive, it made him wonder at sometimes if the West would be really that good. He even dreamed at times of living free here, able to tell about the She-Bear without fearing the communist suppression. It sounded like a good offer.

“I…could do that but for who?” He wanted to know.

“Have you heard of the legendary Big Boss?” The man asked in return.

Slowly, Lovec nodded. Through his reading of Western newspapers and such, he read about the man known as Big Boss. For the Soviet Union, he was a hero because he had killed Colonel Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin back in 1964, having had a reputation for being the most brutal and cold-blooded of the Soviet spymasters.

The renowned Big Boss had later founded a private force in the early 1970s, but on March 16, 1975, an off-shore plant near the coast of Costa Rica was destroyed.

The Private force was blamed, being a bunch of "money-grabbing private militias," as well as causing a scandal among the United States and various other nations and groups when it became apparent they were among the clients list. However, the United States Secretary of Defense publicly denied that America or its allies had any involvement in the incident, with the UN and the IAEA making similar denials when reports came out that IAEA inspectors had visited the site, and the other countries avoiding any comment altogether. Officially, the casualty figure was uncertain other than there not being any known survivors, although military choppers had been sighted in the area both prior to and during the incident.

Hearing that the legendary Big Boss had survived filled him with uncertainty, but it was an offer he would only get once in life and what had he to lose?

“Okay, I’m in.”

“Good. Welcome to Diamond Dogs.” The other Russian replied and opened the cell, leading Lovec to a dressing room. Once inside, the former Soviet Soldier put on a Beige uniform with dark green gloves, armed with a Colt M1911A1 as sidearm and a nFN FNC light carbine as primary weapon.

At the door outside, the man gave him a smile. “Call me Ocelot. And this,” He pointed to a man with sunglasses, wearing a green suit with a red tie, as well as a khaki trench coat and a black beret depicting the Diamond Dogs logo, a cut diamond, with a black Rhodesian Ridgeback hound's head snarling in profile. A yellow banner underneath featured the name of the organization.

“Commander Miller.” Ocelot finished and Lovec gave a salute.

“Your codename is Ochre Capybara and you will be in the support unit, doing Russian interpretation,” Miller said with a neural emotion and Lovec nodded walking outside. He took notice that Miller had his right arm and left leg missing, thus wore a prosthetic leg and used a walking crutch.

While accepting it, the Sergeant-Major looked gave Ocelot a confused look and asked, "...Why?"

Ocelot stayed silent for a moment, shrugged and answered, “Random codename. Standard procedure. I don't make the rules.”

Lovec just nodded and moved on.

The sun shined as the Russian got outside, taking a look around. The base of Diamond dogs was also an offshore plant, still under construction with white tarps.

Still, he wasted no time to get to work, his fellow workers welcomed in, being Soviets too for the most part. But due to that, he slowly worked out how things were.

Diamond Dogs was a Private Military Company. Mercenaries. They recruited mostly by abducting enemy soldiers or rescuing POWs via Fulton Recovery using modified choppers, like him. But yet, he knew this was way better than Afghanistan in terms of safety.

As he took a short break, a voice called out, “Lovec! There you are!”

To his surprise, as he turned around, he saw Chernov and Sergei. The former wire a dark green uniform, the later the same uniform as him.” Guys!” Arkturi exclaimed surprised.

“Yes, we got recruited too. What’s your codename? Mine’s Silent Mastodon.” Sergei asked his friend.

“Ochre Capybara. And what’s yours, Chernov?”

His friend scratched his head “…Agama…”

“Isn’t so bad,” Lovec said with a smile.

“I guess. I also practiced English and I have to say, teaching me an innuendo-laced phrase was a smart and vicious idea.” Chernov replied, grinning. “You really have the humor of your father but the viciousness of your mother.”

Now, Arkturi chuckled. “Nothing wrong with a little humor. But what are you doing here, Sergei?”

“Well, turns out the Diamond Dogs aid the Mujahideen in trying to drive out us out and I was one of the first targets due to my involvement in the Scorched Earth Operation but Miller and Big Boss thought my skills would prove very useful to Diamond Dogs. And I can’t complain, they wanted me dead and I have a second chance here.”

All of a sudden, Lovec’s expression became one of worry, getting reminded of an important thing. “Wait, what about the children? If you got recruited, then who-“

Sergei held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I had everything organized before my…recruitment. Our fellow soldiers should get them to Russia today, probably even as we speak right now. Still, we can only hope for the best.”

“Right.” Lovec nodded before he heard the sound of a chopper and saw a UH-60 Black Hawk landing, a man with an eyepatch and a horn in the head climbed out. They all recognized him, saluting. “Boss! Welcome back!”

He already was informed, that was the legendary Big Boss, also called by his codename Venom Snake, or just Snake. Shake returned the salute before getting led away by Ocelot.

“So that’s Big Boss.” Arkturi was impressed and honored at the same time.

“Yes. I wonder what is going on.” Chernov replied as their new leader was led towards the brig.

The three friends decided to follow, hearing a voice. “You think this is a game?! I'm going to be somewhat hesitant in joining the men who looked me up in a cage!” It sounded German.

All three looked in surprise to see a green unicorn stallion in one of the cells, an angry expression.

“Boss, what were you thinking? We don't know if he's working for Cipher. He knows our location.” Miller asked in protest, yet Snake said nothing, his expression neutral before Ocelot stepped in.

“Calm down! We recruit enemy soldiers all the time. What's the big deal? We can use a soldier with his skills.”

“He's not just some grunt, but a talking, magic-using unicorn!” Miller exclaimed, causing the three Russian to look confused at each other, wondering if they heard that right. Snake on the other head was not confused at all, staying neutral.

“Yes, he’s unique and could be of use for us. Besides, why should Cipher use a legend that existed before they existed themselves?” Ocelot countered calmly. “And in the end, It’s the Boss decides.”

“I’m not interested in your cause, I am on a mission.” Fray interrupted and the three Soviets looked at each other, realizing something.

“Sir, permission to speak?” Lovec asked, getting the attention of his new superiors.

Snake, after a brief moment, gave a nod to show it was granted.

“We may know who he is.” He spoke up and the unicorn raised an eyebrow.

“And how?”

“We found and took care of the children you’re looking for,” Arkturi replied and told the stallion with his friends everything.

Slowly, the stallion smiled. “You have my thanks for helping them. But if they are in Russia, I waste only my time here.”

“I am afraid, this won’t be so simple. This base has to be kept secret.” Miller pointed out, yet the stallion just shrugged.

“I can keep a secret.”

“But there’s also another thing. Our contracts in the Mujahideen informed us that the Base Camp was attacked by an unknown force not too long ago.“

“What?!” Sergei exclaimed in shock, the eyes of his fellow men went wide.

“Yes, whatever that was, all personal was wiped out within seconds.”

In response, the stallion got up, his expression serious. “Then let me take a look, I may be able to find out more.”

“No,” Ocelot said, “After that attack, the base and its guard posts were put on high alert, full lockdown. There is no way you could get in undetected, as they have heavily armored guards and I doubt there’s anything left that hints who attacked.”

After a short moment of silence, a sigh escaped the pony. “I guess that’s a point.”

“But we can help you to find them. Work with us and we help each other.” Ocelot offered and Miller slightly gasped.

“What?!”

“Helping him could aid us in our goals.” The Russian simple countered, “But it’s eventually your decision, Boss.” He looked at Snake, he simply nodded and Ocelot looked back at the unicorn. “What do you think?”

Their captive and possible recruit didn’t answer, appearing to think about it.

“This could work to our favor. These folk seem the keenest eyes in the desert and the farthest-reaching hooves.” Ifrit advised the Green Knight In his mind.

“It’s a good point, but still, I should be careful.”

“Alright, I accept,” Fletcher answered Ocelot and Miller slightly groaned.

“Fine, but I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Fray just nodded as Ocelot released him.

Then he informed himself where he was and who his captors were, slightly impressed once he knew everything.

“Heh, never thought I would ever be a mercenary myself…” He mumbled.

“Be careful. Sellswords are not to be trusted” Ifrit warned

“Yeah…Would you if he had extracted you?”

“Maybe…It would really depend on the situation, just like with you.”

“Right. Having their base located near the Seychelles off the eastern coast of Africa is a good staging area for various global hotspots.”

A few days passed, he worked tirelessly to find out about the whereabouts of the children, but couldn’t find out anything and his tracking spell was blocked by something. They could be anywhere in the world, so working with Diamond Dogs was an advantage, they could bring in to them wherever they were.

The staff was a bit uneasy at first but got along with him quickly.

One day at evening, he chatted with the three Russians as Ocelot walked up to him. “I think we got something. The rebels informed us about some…usual prisoners held at the Lamar Khaate Palace.”

“Okay, I take a look,” Fletcher replied and the three soviets saluted him.

“Good luck!” Lovec said before Fray made his way to the helipad, equipping a radio for Intel, Fulton recovery balloons, which Snake had used to get him here and an iDroid, a hand-sized device that displayed a holographic map of a given area, which came in a satellite-based map or gave a general layout of the area.

“This is Pequod! On station at LZ!” The pilot if the chopper informed as he arrived and Fletcher got in. “Gaining altitude,” Pequod added as he flew away, towards Afghanistan.

Yet, Fletcher was wondering. The palace was under Soviet control. If they got attacked when they tried to get the kids to safety, the children couldn’t be said prisoners, but who else would be it?

He could only wait and see as he played a cassette with Intel via the IDroid, spoken by Miller.

“The palace is a holding place for a lot of POWs. Civilians, guerillas, suspected guerillas... The Soviets turned the place into their own black site.”

As the chopper arrived near the Palace, Fletcher jumped out and made his way towards it.

Arriving on a hill with a good view, he used his binoculars to take a look, seeing that the palace was immense, and was at least two stories in height. However, because of it not standing the test of time, it also had a lot of rubble throughout the area.

To the north of the palace itself, two purpose-built living quarters were erected by the Soviets accompanied by two holding cells for any prisoners they took. Also littered around the compound were sandbags and gazebos for use by them.

Fray tapped his radio to get further intel and Ocelot told him, “The place Lamar Khaate Palace was originally built by progressive royals as a separate palace away from Kabul. With its Western architecture, it was their declaration of a new dawn. I'd say their prosperity didn't last... ‘Lamar Khaate’ means ‘sunrise.’”

“What irony.” The Green Knight commented before spotting something in the desert. A pony trying to get away from the palace, forelegs tied up, so it was forced to move on two legs, staggering strongly as it tried to keep balance.

His eyes went wide as he recognized the pony. “Wagensroll!” He exclaimed as he saw a soldier chasing the Earth pony and quickly took aim with his bow.

Wagensroll was thrown to the ground by the soldier, his rifle raised. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” The stallion pleaded with a terrified expression, not wanting to die.

The soldier kept his weapon raised, so Wagensroll closed his eyes, waiting for the bullet that would end his life.

But it never came.

Instead, he heard a sound of something hitting the ground, slowly opening his eyes. The Russian was lying on the ground, sleeping.

“Wagensroll! Are you okay?” Fletcher yelled as he ran up to him, cutting the rope with a knife.

“Fletcher…” His relative managed to smile weakly. “You saved my life…Patch…” He pointed to the Soviet outpost. “…Still in there…”

“Shh, save your strength,” Fletcher said with a smile of his own and attached the Fulton on Wagensroll. He cheered as the balloon went up and Miller confirmed his extraction.

“Subject on board. Leave the rest to us.”

With that done, Fray moved towards the outpost, having little trouble in avoiding the searchlights and guards, but had to stop at the entrance as a soldier guarded it, making entry impossible.

Knowing he had to get past, Fray fired a spell past the guard. It created a noise, causing the soldier to take a look, so the pony could get in.

Walking down the stairs, he saw Patch, slightly gasping at what he saw. The historian was cuffed to a pipe, a black bag over his head, his glasses on the ground next to him.

Fletcher quickly removed the cuffs and took the bag off, then put his glasses on. “Patch…”

Purple Patch looked up, his face had a few bruises, yet he managed to smile. “Fletch….Is it time for tea then? I'm quite parched...”

“Sure, after you are safe,” Fray replied and used his magic to put Patch on his back, seeing that he had several bruises all over his body, in no condition for a Fulton extraction.

The guard was back on his post, but Fletcher distracted him again with his spell and got away from the base unseen, calling the chopper as Miller radioed in.

“Fletcher, your relative informed us there are two more prisoners, held at the Wakh Sind Barracks as far as our Intel suggests. I marked the location on your IDroid.”

“Copy that.” Fray acknowledged, yet wondered who it could be and it hit him like a brick.

“Midnight and Wolf?! How did they even…” He exclaimed in disbelief and irritation before catching himself and used his radio. “Keep an eye out for individuals similar to myself calling themselves Midnight Blade and White Wolf.”

“Copy. How will we know when we've found them?” Ocelot asked.

“Trust me...you'll know.” Fray replied and looked on the map. The Barracks were not far from here, so he moved out after the chopper arrived and Patch was loaded in.

“Thank you.” The historian said before the Blackhawk flew away.

It was a short walk and he overlooked the base with his binoculars. The conditions were rather poor and one of the buildings on the base remained unfinished, although each barrack did have air conditioning and a cassette player.

“We know from a mission that prisoners are kept in the unfinished building,” Ocelot informed.

“Roger that.”

And so, the knight sneaked his way towards the building, seeing a Soviet was guarding the stairs, so he lured him away with the same spell he used before and walked down, only to see another guard at the end, having his back to him.

Fletcher got silently behind him and said, “Hands up!”

“Don’t shoot!” The soldier laid down his weapon.

“On the ground.” His enemy did as told and Fray moved towards a cell door, hearing a voice from the other side.

“Hold still, so I can...” It was male.

“I can do this myself.” A female voice replied.

“Relax. Can’t believe how tight...”

“You’re pretty good at this.” The female voice was slightly impressed.

“You too.”

As Fletcher worked on the door lock, he saw two shadows on the wall in a rather suggestive pose. I hope it isn’t what it looks like.

Me either. Ifrit replied in his mind as he opened the door.

“Almost...Almost...” Midnight mumbled as Fray walked in and the unicorn saw his fellow knights with tied forehooves and wings.

The batpony was lying on top of Wolf, all three blushed in embarrassment. “Uhh...Fletch, this isn’t what it looks like, we tried to...” Midnight tried to explain before getting gently off the mare.

“We tried to free ourselves but it failed, so, would you be so kindly?” Wolf finished, holding up her tied hooves.

After a short moment of silence, Fletcher replied. “:..Sure.”

As he did so, he saw that they had a few bruises on their legs and wings but were fine, their equipment on a table next to the cell, noticing that the ceiling had a hole, big enough for a Fulton.

“It will get you to safety quickly.” He said as he attacked it to Wolf and she looked at it with unease.

“Fletcher, are you sure that's sa-AFFFE!” She yelled as she got pulled up and he attached one to Midnight, who shared Wolf’s expression.

“Uh, Fletcher, are you sure that's the only w-AAYYY!”

“Now that’s some lateral thinking!” Miller commented at Fletcher improvisation.

With his friends safely extracted. Fray collected their gear and got unnoticed out of the base, calling the chopper and got back to Mother Base.

His friends and relative already waited at the helipad for him. “Are you okay?” He asked concerned, yet Midnight waved a hoof.

“A little shaken from the ride but otherwise fine. Wish we had used it not so rare back home.”

“Speaking of, how did you end up here?” Fletcher wanted to know.

“Well, we used the time to take a closer look at the lab. Turns out, the teleporter is a bit faulty due to the inactivity and lack of maintenance over time. The power cut out and as we restored it, the teleporter went on.” Midnight explained. “As for how we got captured, the aftermath of the teleport made us quite disoriented, and I guess the Soviets freaked out when seeing speaking, armed ponies.”

“I see, then let me use the spell that gets you right back home.”

Now, Wolf held up a hoof. “No, Fletch. Dawnwind’s still missing and we got informed about the situation. Let us help you. Miller already organized quarters for us.

The unicorn sighed. “Aright. But for now, rest, we all need it.”

Everypony nodded, the knights shared a quarter, Patch and Wagensroll shared another, all slept well, yet hoped it wasn’t too late for Dawnwind and the kids.

In the next morning, Ocelot had a message for them. “I think we located Dawnwind, she’s held at the Aabe Shifap Ruins.”

“Okay let’s go! There’s no time to waste!” Wolf exclaimed and boarded the chopper with Midnight and Fletcher.

The pilot let them out near the ruins, so the Soviets wouldn’t be alerted and they moved out, overlooking the ruins from a cliff. It consisted of partially collapsed towers and pillars.

“Look!” Midnight spotted Dawnwind, she was lying in the middle of the ruins, tied up.

While wanting to get her to safety as soon as possible, Wolf looked around. “Something’s not right…”That’s too easy…” She mumbled and saw several laser sights near the deer. “A sniper ambush. Mind If I take care if it?”

“Go ahead.” The bat pony replied and she took off into the air, using a cloud as cover.

Once in the middle of the ruins, the Pegasus, punched the cloud with her storm magic. Loud thunder echoed through the area, lighting spread out in all directions.

The snipers looked up, barely able to react as lighting headed straight for them. They all twitched in pain, muttering gibberish as they got shocked into unconsciousness

With the threat gone, the mare flew down to her family member.

Wolf... I knew you would come...” Dawnwind said with a weak smile as the mare cut the rope, seeing that her mentor had a few bruises but was otherwise fine.

“I would never leave a family member and friend behind. Now, please stay calm.” The blue pony was about to attach the Fulton but Dawnwind pushed it away.

“This isn’t necessary, I’ll be fine…”

“But you’re in the middle of enemy territory!” White Wolf exclaimed concerned but Dawnwind smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Wolf sighed. “Alright.” She then watched how Dawnwind walked away, her fellow knights joined her. I think the Soviets found out about you having rescued us and wanted to surprise you.”

“Perhaps but it doesn’t matter anymore,” Fletcher replied before his radio ringed. “Yes?”

“Sorry, but we got more strange reports, can you take a look? I marked them on your map.” Ocelot informed and Fray looked at his fellow knights, they nodded.

“Sure thing.” The nearest location was in the desert near the palace.

They arrived in a few minutes, looking around with their binoculars. “I wonder what it could be…” Fletcher mumbled curiously.

“I guess we’ll see.” Midnight replied and he saw Wolf pointing at something.

“Over there!”

They all three looked and couldn’t believe their eyes.

A unicorn dressed in a starry-patterned hooded cloak, black sap-silk, its face concealed by a black iron mask. The uniform, looking similar to a Samurai armor, was dirty, the pony was staggering as it walked around, carrying a large sword on the back.

“Is that... A dark Horse member?” Midnight blinked in disbelief. “I remember him...He went missing on a mission 7 months ago. Let’s bring him home.”

He walked up to the Dark Horse member, but he wasn’t prepared for what happened next.

The operative stared at him for a moment, then without any warning, swatted the batpony, strong enough to throw him dazed to the ground and fled erratically.

“W-what was that?” Midnight wondered as he got up, not understanding.

“I think whatever happened to him made him erratic, thus he does not recognize us. Still, there must be a way.” Fletcher suspected.

“What about the vow of the Dark Horse squad? The IDroid has a recorder and loudspeaker.” Ifrit suggested.

“That will work for sure! Thanks, Ifrit.” Wolf smiled and started a recording.

“We are the heroes unseen and unsung. We are servants and yet masters, forever fighting in battles without heroes”

“We are the hammer, white-hot, against the anvil of harmony. We ring, deafening, upon the coarse metal that bleeds and scars the land”

“We are the burning embers in the fires of the sun. We are the biting frost on the dark side of the moon”

“We are the Heroes Unsung, the Army Unseen. We are...The Dark Horse Squad”

“And we are there when the world needs heroes”

Once it was done, she activated the loudspeaker and all looked in awe how the Dark Horse stopped, turned around and slowly stumbled back to the knights, eyeing them for a moment.

“Wait... ah, it's you!” The operative exclaimed in surprise, sounding male under his mask. “No, that's impossible... I never expected to find you out here, of all places and times!”

He then removed his mask, revealing he was a unicorn stallion with teal eyes, a grey mane and dark blue coat, saluting. “As I have a contract under you, I am always prepared for your orders, no matter how belated they have come! Everyone thought you were dead... but not me.”

Fray smiled. “Glad to have you back, Abstraction.” He then attached a Fulton and the other unicorn cheered as it went up, with Miller conforming.

“Okay. Subject is in.”

“Now, to the next.” Midnight took the lead, and again, it was only a short walk, this time coming to a mountain area.

Yet, one thought entered his mind. “I wonder though, how did Abstraction end up on Earth like the children did before?”

“Maybe, some sort of fail-safe?” Fletcher suspected. “Could explain the accidents with Dinky and me back then. I never looked into teleportation that much.”

“In any case, we can ask him once back at Mother Base,” Wolf added.

“Right.” Midnight nodded.

Looking around, they kept their eyes peeled and Fletcher yelled, “I see another one!”

Parting to it, they saw it was indeed another member of their personal squad. This one was a Pegasus.

The pony was lying in a small cage, tied up, guarded by a group of men wearing shemagh scarves, ammunition belts around their chest and waist, camouflage jackets, backpacks, and harnesses, occupying a cave. A mace was on a table next to them

“Who had thought of that?” Midnight commented, “Those are Mujahideen. Must have been separated. We must be careful.”

And so, the three slowly closed in, with the rebels spotting them quickly. “More of them?!” One of the men yelled and they aimed AKs at the ponies.

“We mean you no harm.” Midnight explained calmly.

“he first of you creatures came at us like a mad things, screaming and ranting. What in hell are you anyway?!”

“Even if that happened, we are not.” Midnight stated before one of the rebels fired a warning shot, hitting the ground close to him.

“Not another step!”

The bat pony sighed. “Listen, we don’t want to hurt anyone, we are here to retrieve our friend. You are separated from your fellow countrymen, aren’t you?”

One of the rebels slowly nodded. “Y-yeah, we barely survive by ambushing Soviet supply trucks.”

“Then, take this.” Midnight gave them some medicine and rations. They hesitated but took it gladly.

“Thanks, this will help us to get back.” The leader of the group thanked and left, allowing the grey stallion to work on the lock.

“Oh, Triarch preserve me, what now?! Was I horribly cruel to penguins in a former life to warrant such haphazardry?! Who approaches?! Know that I am armed and possess great skill in powers beyond your...” The Dark Horse member mumbled before Midnight quoted the vow.

“Oh, it's you. Marvelous.” It said with clear sarcasm. “Now I have never been more assured that the Hasbrood despise me. Forbidden artefacts, transcending dimensions, hordes of humans in all their accursed degradations and now the thousand-year old soldiers come to drag me into yet more unsavory endeavors! I mean, really, I-What?”

Midnight opened his mouth to speak but was cut off. “No, shut up a moment, I'm talking. Yes? No, no, my lords, I only...Of course but...But these humans they're so repugnant, so loud and crass and no respect for the elegance of war and absolutely drowning in their own ignorance, I...Yes, yes, as you wish.”

Then the Pegasus sighed. “Are you here to free me? Or does another reason lend itself to seven months of bucking abandonment!!!”

Despite this, the Dark Horse member grabbed the mace and removed its iron mask.

A sea-green stallion with neon-green eyes over heavy bags and bright purple mane, slightly smiling. Noticeable was that his eyebrows were huge, bushy and curly at the edges, like two big purple caterpillars and his shoulder pads and cuirass were fashioned into three bronze horse-heads.

“You’ve fallen a long way from the glory days, Abundo.” Midnight smiled at him. “But now, welcome back.” He was about to attach the Fulton and but Abundo pushed it away.

“Certainly not. The Hasbrood disapprove of such things. Contraptions of human-make are...unclean.” He said with distaste.

“But how will you get to Mother Base?” Fray asked and the male Pegasus gave him a look of derision

“You fail to notice, I take it, the pair of wings upon my shoulders?”

“It's Luna-knows how many miles and you don't know where you are.” Midnight pointed out and Abundo just scoffed.

“I shall fear no waylay for the Triarch shall be my guide...though a map would be appreciated.”

Midnight in response tossed him the coordinates. “Don't take too long and don't go drawing attention to yourself.”

Abundo just rolled his eyes. “These humans are a dull-witted sort. They shan't think much of a horse in the clouds other than their own intoxications. As for speed, I fly upon fortune's fair winds. I shall be with you sooner than your mind would assume.”

“To be sure. Adieu.” The batpony said and waved him goodbye sarcastically as Abundo took off.

“Why did you let him go? Anything could happen to him.” Fletcher asked.

“Most of it already has. Abundo's a resilient type and he always finds his way somehow. Frankly, though, the less I see of him the better. Hasbrethren Warrior Priests are good to have beside you in a fight but outside...if you thought Dawnwind was bad, just you wait...” The lord commander warned and Wolf rolled her eyes with a slight smile.

“Yeah. That reminds me, do you still know how many went missing back then?” She wondered.

Midnight tipped his head. “If I remember correctly, there were six members that went missing back then. Given that those two reports were Abstraction and Abundo, the other reports must be the other members.”

“Only one way to find out,” Fletcher stated as they moved to the next location, being near a river under a bridge.

A lone Pegasus was wandering around, the armor was featured leather, several utility belts were attached to it, carrying a grappling hook and crossbow device based on an ancient design.

But upon spotting the knights, the pony ran away, towards the end of the river into a stone wall and the cliff rumbled.

“What the?” Fletcher looked up and his eyes went small as he realized. “Uh-Oh.”

“Everything but that!” Wolf exclaimed in fear, hoping it would not happen and that they would lose their comrade.

A loud crack followed.

“Rockslide!” Midnight yelled as the rocks came down, blocking the way. “Damn it!” He cursed as they now had no way of reaching the Dark Horse member.”

“Stay back!” Fray warned before firing an explosive arrow, blowing the barrier up.

Midnight quoted the vow as coughing came out of the smoke, seeing the Pegasus stumbling out.

“Commander Fray...Thank you…” It said happy with a female voice and took her mask off.

Underneath was a mustard-yellow mare with a burgundy-red mane and cornflower-blue eyes. A broad, muscular, slightly masculine build was clearly visible under the armor as she smiled. “

“I feel half-suffocated, like I've been trapped under a rockslide for Celestia knows how long...” She shielded her eyes. “It's brighter than the Badlands here! Can we go underground, where it's nice and cool?”

“Of course, Neolith,” Wolf said happy and attached a Fulton to her. Neolith cheered too as she got extracted.

“Another one done for the count.” Midnight announced with a happy smile. “I wonder though…there’s a fourth location on the map…”

“Why?” Fray asked, “If I remember correctly, it were six in total that went missing that day, so it’s likely we find another here.”

“It’s just…I have an odd feeling about this…” Midnight replied as they moved out.

Half way there, Miller radioed in. “Your ally Abstraction informed us he and the other two were the only ones in Afghanistan. Whatever the last signal is, it is different from the Dark Horse members.”

“Called it.” The grey stallion deadpanned as they came closer, again a mountain area.

They all looked around to investigate the Report. They wondered what cause it was, all missing Dark Horse Members had been found.

Then they saw a Pony in the Distance, walking aimlessly around in an erratic manner. Looking through their binoculars, they were not able to believe their eyes.

It was a unicorn mare. She had a cobalt blue Coat and Dark Red mane. Overall, she was bit portly, carrying an empty holster on her hip, her eyes looked tired with noticeable bags sagging below them. "Is that..." Midnight wondered before Miller interrupted,

"That's the Target."

“Blue Murder? How did she end up here?” Wolf wondered.

“We can ask her after extracting her.” Fletcher replied, carefully closing in on the unicorn “Blue…” He said and she looked at him for a moment.

A sudden strike from her took the fight out of Fletcher before he could react.

A sharp pain came from his lower body parts and his eyes went wide. His jaw opened up and let out a howling screech of pain as he clutched his crotch, collapsing in pain.

His fellow knights ran up to him as Blue Murder fled erratically. “Don't worry, Fletch, I’ll get her,” Wolf said in a comforting voice and flew after the blue pony.

As Fletcher winced in pain, Midnight carefully helped him up, a look of grim awkwardness. “You’re going to be fine, Fletch. You cheated Death, you'll survive this.”

“Let me help.” Ifrit appeared and casted a spell on his aching body part. The stallion let out a sigh of relief, as a cooling feeling, like that of an icepack engulfed his crotch.

“T-thanks…” He groaned and the spirit gave a nod.

White Wolf caught up quickly, holding one hoof out in a stop gesture, the other one near her leather band. “Blue Murder, don’t force me.” She tried to reason with her. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

To her surprise, Blue Murder flinched at her words, staring towards Fletcher, then rubbed her eyes and looked back to the Pegasus.

“Well...honestly, I'm not sure whether this is a step up or down fortune-wise. Still, anything to break up the monotony is much appreciated, sir knights...You don't happen to have any tea, do you?”

Slowly, Wolf nodded and pointed to her fellow knights and Blue Murder slowly moved towards them.

Blue looked slightly confused at Fletcher, then felt guilty as she realized. Er...Whoops…

“Wasn’t intended, I swear.” She said with clear awkwardness in her voice, Fray did not react, hissing slightly in pain.

Midnight took a close look, Blue’s fur was dirtied but otherwise, she seemed fine. “Can you walk?” He asked, just to be sure as her expression was one of exhaustion.

“I can, but not long distances, I fear.” She replied and the lord commander sighed.

“Then the quick way.” He mumbled and attached a Fulton on her. The blue mare looked at it in surprise, yet cheered as she got pulled up. “Okay, we got all. Let’s head back to base.”

“You got it.” Wolf looked on the map and face hooved all of the sudden. “Doh!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Our current position is a landing zone for the chopper, so we could have saved the Fulton.” She deadpanned and Midnight shrugged.

“Too late anyway.”

It took only a minute for the chopper to arrive and they got it, feeling happy to see their missing comrades again. All three, Blue included, waited already at the helipad at them. And strangely, Dawnwind too.

“How did you get here?” Wolf asked and her mentor opened her mouth but hesitated.

“How did I?” She looked at Patch, who pulled out a map.

“Well, you got me. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense.”

Dawnwind shrugged in response. “Oh well. Quite some friends you brought back.”

“Yes, some of our personal squad, they went missing some time ago. Experienced sword fighter Abstraction, expert healer, apothecary and defender Abundo, explorer, tinker and excavator, Neolith. And of course, Blue Murder.” Midnight introduced and they all nodded.

“We have been already informed about the situation and we are ready to assist you.” Abstraction sounded determined and the knights noticed that the armor of the Dark Horse members had been cleaned. “And your caring for those children honors you, commander Fray.”

Fletcher looked slightly down, trying not to blush. “I know. What about you, Blue?”

She gave a simple nod. “I help where I can. We are in the same boat now.”

“Even if she’s cooperative, we all must stay vigilant around her.” Ifrit warned the knights and they nodded.

Despite working together, they couldn’t find anything new and the sun was setting. “I already organized a quarter for you three,” Wagensroll said to the Dark Horse members, they nodded. “Dawnwind, you share a quarter with me and Patch. Blue Murder, you would share one with my relative and his friends, if you don’t mind.”

She waved a hoof. “Not at all. Is better than when I had to share a room with Corax. Ugh…he quoted Shakespeare even in his sleep.” She groaned. “Worse was when he fancied a midnight snack. The things he kept in those jars. Eurgh!”

“I can imagine…” Midnight shivered. “But if it hadn’t ended for him, I think he had made a great Shakespeare actor, no doubt.”

“Maybe…” Blue replied before they all went to bed.

As morning arrived, they breakfasted and the three Soviets walked up to them. “Good morning.” Blue greeted as she took a sip of her morning tea. “Quite some good tea you have here.”

“Thanks,” Sergei replied, sounding slightly worried.

“Something wrong?” Abstraction asked and the former Spetsnaz sighed.

“Yes. Snake was leaving not long ago, undergoing a mission for the CIA at Da Smasei Laman, a fort that belonged to Mujahideen fighters. It was wiped out and they thought I was responsible, but I wasn’t. This area is controlled by... an unknown group.”

“Mhm…then we should keep an eye but for him. Know he’s skilled but better safe than sorry.” Midnight thought about it.

“If that’s your decision, we’re with you.” Abstraction said, his fellow operatives nodded, Blue did the same.

“In that case, I already took the liberty to make some equipment for you.” The green earth pony pointed to the armory.

Inside he gave very knight and Blue a pistol with built-in Suppressor. “That’s the AMC Auto Mag Pistol, converted to fire tranquilizer rounds. Hit an enemy with that and it's good night, sleep tight. It uses a slide-lock mechanism, so you have to load a new round into the chamber by manually every time you fire.”

“Won’t be a problem. What else do you have?” Fletcher asked his relative, who smiled.

“For you, I made a tranquilizer sniper rifle, based on the Czechoslavakian Vz. 54 Sniper Rifle, which itself is a variation of a Mosin-Nagant Rifle.” He gave it to the unicorn, it was outfitted with a suppresser, the body colored in dark blue to show it was a non-lethal version.

“Thanks. The Mosin-Nagant is a very reliable rifle after all.”

“And that’s not all. If you ever need actual bullets, here are some AK-74s. They are better than the FN FNC, as the latter has a relatively low rate of fire and limited suppressor lifespan, not to mention the reliability.”

“Fine by me, it’s very known for its reliability after all, no matter the condition,” Fletcher replied with a grin.

“As for you, Blue Murder, this is a tranquilizer version of the Heckler & Koch MSG90. Semi-automatic. Of course, I attached a suppressor and even thought of suiting clothing for action in the field.” Unlike Fletcher’s rifle, the MSG60 had only a small blue stripe on the magazine to show it was non-lethal.

He gave her the rifle and pointed to a table. It was a camouflaged coat in the color of yellow with black stripes, a Tiger Stripe. It had also a helmet and goggles.

“Thanks. You surely know a lot about military things.”

Wagensroll scratched his back. “Well, that’s an advantage when studying historic military technology and tactics.”

“Speaking of, you think Miller and Ocelot will allow this?” Patch asked unsurely.

“Yes, we do.” They all startled and turned around, seeing Ocelot standing behind him together with Miller. The boss prefers to work alone, but I am sure he appreciates your help if anything goes wrong.”

“Okay then, let’s go!” Midnight exclaimed and Abstraction took also a rifle and tranquilizer.

“Just in case.” Abundo and Neolith stayed with their own weapons as they all boarded the Blackhawk.

As the soviets had anti-air defenses near the fort, the pilot was forced to drop off the ponies short distance away from it, near a checkpoint to the fort, that was also a relay base.

Fletcher and Blue teleported on a canyon, moving along it, the Pegasus used the clouds for cover, while Abstraction moved near the canyon to avoid enemy patrols and guard pots, having little trouble to keep up.

It was only a short walk until they arrived at the base. It covered a bridge stretching over a canyon, two small Soviet bases on either side of it and a small outpost on the bottom of the canyon.

“Does anyone see Snake?” Abstraction asked on the radio.

“I see, him, snaking among the lower parts of the bridge,” Blue reported as she spotted him through her scope, watching over him with Fletcher.

Yet, he had no problem to get past the guards, distracting them by throwing empty magazines near them or neutralized them with his tranquilizer pistol or various techniques of hand to hand combat, like throwing them to the ground.

Midnight, Wolf, Neolith and Abundo took notice of a prisoner being interrogated by the Soviets, waterboarding him with a canteen. Due to the distance, the flying ponies couldn’t understand what they were saying but sounded frustrated, as the prisoner did not respond.

Eventually, they loaded him onto a jeep and drove towards the fort. Yet Snake didn’t seem to be fazed by this as he made it across the bridge, whistling.

The sound of neighing greeted their ears and they all saw a white Andalusian horse ran up to Snake and he mounted it, running through a canyon past the jeep and stopped a few meters ahead on the road, behind a rock.

“What is he...” Wolf wondered before she saw the horse defecating on the road and stepped aside. “Okay…”

To the surprise of the ponies, the jeep spun out the moment it drove over the defecation, putting the occupants in a brief daze. The Boss used this to tranquilize the three soviets inside and cut the retrains of the prisoner.

Both exchanged hand signals of sign language, with Snake showing a photo.

“A survivor – one of the Hamid.” Miler pointed out on the radio as the prisoner pointed to his throat. “Is he mute?” He wondered before the Hamid member pretended to hold a rocket launcher and Miller understood. “He knows about it. This is our chance!” He exclaimed as the now freed Mujahideen pointed towards the fort and Snake extracted him with the Fulton.

“We know the location of the target. It’s on your iDroid. Head over there and retrieve it.” Miller added and the Boss looked at the map before getting back on his horse, riding towards the fort.

“Smart move, Snake.” Midnight commented impressed as they all followed him.

Upon arrival, they saw that the Soviets had converted the fort into an outpost, base buildings and fortifications everyone.

Again, the ponies took positions watching over Snake as he crawled among the ground to avoid getting seen by the guard towers, moving towards the inner part of the fort, built into the canyon, vanishing out of sight.

“Shall we go in?” Abundo asked and Midnight shook his head.

“No, we better secure his exit, he knows what he’s doing. Still, I have a bad feeling about this.”

Slowly, they all felt how the wind got stronger. “A sandstorm is approaching.” Blue realized and put her goggles over her eyes.

As it fully covered the fort, they all could barely see anything but noticed the storm was very dark. “That is no sandstorm…it’s…Mist…” Neolith pointed out. “Strange…”

Then, they saw a faint silhouette floating by, looking like a boy before a loud roar echoed, sounding like a T-rex or something.

“What was that?” Wolf asked in alert before a voice sounded through the radio.

“You look well-rested, Big Boss.” It was a male voice, but the mist made it impossible to see where it came from. “…My, my, how you’ve changed. You became a demon for little weapons as that?” It asked and paused for a moment. “Well, I’m sure you’ll see the bigger picture eventually. If you get out of here alive.”

Screams and gunfire echoed through the fort and the ponies saw, how some soldiers scrambled to cover as the voice finished, “Rest in peace this time. I’ll see you in hell! Boss!”

Loud, rumbling steps made them slightly stumble, seeing something big walking away as Miller radioed in. “What the hell was that thing?! It was huge!”

Abstraction then did a magic Scan and located Snake, passing it to his fellow ponies and they moved to his location, finding him alright.

He pointed ahead with a slightly surprised expression and they saw a soviet soldier stumbling towards them before collapsing and four human like-creatures leaped forward. The soldier rose again but had deathly pale skin, whitened pupils, blackening around his eyes and mouth, slight sores near the neck, enlarged veins, and several small blue orbs emitting from his head.

One of the creatures landed in front of the soldier, the eyes glowing brightly green.

“It’s the Mist Unit…The Skulls!” Miller exclaimed, “What’s he doing to that soldier?”

The knights realized it from Quince what this was, the Dark Horse members and Blue could only look in shock at what they saw.

Nevertheless, the knights, Blue and Abstraction drew their AKs, removed the suppressors as they weren’t of use here.

Blue aimed at one of the Skulls and fired. Without warning, a metallic spike structure erupted from the ground, shielding the Skull from her bullets and one of the Soviets lunged at her, trying to feast upon her. The mare held her attacker back and punched him several times into the head, knocking him down.

Just then, she saw how the same Skull jumping into the air to strike her with a machete and she raised her hooves to praise herself.

In a split second, Snake sprinted forward and grabbed the machete, spinning it around. Blue saw how he rammed it into the Skull’s back. The Skull let out a distorted cry of pain and stumbled, being stunned. Blue Murder used this to finish it off with a bullet to the head, the Skull fell over in a blue liquid.

Neolith and Abundo flew around, trying not to crash into the walls due to the limited visibility, avoiding Shots from one of the Skulls that fired a bullpup assault rifle at them.

Abstraction used this distraction to fire a few rounds at the Skull. It filched from the hits and turned towards him. The Blue stallion had no time to react as also a metallic spike structure erupted from the ground and it did burst, throwing him over with a cry of pain.

He barely managed to raise his sword to block the melee attack of the Skull, using all his strength to push it back.

Neolith fired an arrow into the back of the Skull, allowing Abstraction to throw it back as it got stunned. Then she fired her grabble hook, pinning it down and Abundo prepared to bring his mace down.

“Take this!” He yelled as he bought down from high above, slamming the Skull into the ground, neutralizing it.

Midnight clashed blades with the third of the four Skulls. He kept it busy as Wolf dealt fast, yet effective strikes with her knives, knocking the Skull back. Fletcher then fired a charged arrow scoring a hit on its chest and it fell over.

The final Skull charged at Snake, machete at the ready. Snake countered by grabbing it, breaking the Skull’s arm in the process and rammed the machete into the neck of the Skull.

As it stumbled around, Midnight finished it off by ramming his blade into the chest of the Skull.

It fell to the ground and the Mist cleared, with all Soviets fell to the ground, reverting to their normal state, albeit in a state of deep unconsciousness, twitching.

Now the ponies could see the Skulls clearly. They wore technologically advanced suits, with a gas mask covering their mouths and headphones on the head. Only their eyes and forehead with a 2 on it were visible.

Suddenly without warning, they got up while regenerating their bodies and vanished by jumping high into the air before anyone could react.

“Uh…okay…” Blue mumbled unsurprised.

“Are you okay, Snake?” Fletcher asked worried and he nodded.

“Thanks for the help, although I had managed on my own.” Then he saw a big trailer with radar on it and threw a grenade on it, destroying it.

“You destroyed their anti-air radar?” Miller asked surprised, “It wasn’t one of the targets, but that’s put a hole in their air surveillance. The chopper will be able to get in close now. You can designate a landing zone near the outpost.”

Snake did exactly that with the ponies and extracted as the coopers arrived.

“So, this unit in the mist…” Miller mumbled on the radio, “Their speed, the way they jump…it’s not human. And those deformities…”

“They attacked the Soviets, too.” Snake replied.

“And that Grim Reaper lookalike in charge of them…that giant THING that carried him off…What the hell are they?”

“Cipher.” Snake simply answered.

“Well, what do they want? What’s their objective? Why Afghanistan?!” Miller wondered, “There’s one more thing troubling me…”

“What happened to the Hamid.” Snake figured out.

“Exactly. Whole squads of hardened Mujahideen killed without a fight, and no trace of BC weaponry. What does it all mean?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out.”

“Yeah. Right. If we really need to know, the truth will reveal itself. Even if it’s ugly…”

The ponies looked at each other without a word. They knew they were now into something more than they had thought. Cipher, they had been told about it.

It was the main enemy of Snake. A secret organization that was formed to fulfill the ideal of a unified world, soughing to control the entire world to ensure this. Apparently, said ideal had been the wish of Snake’s mentor, named the Boss.

Snake himself was chosen to be an icon for the group, having known The Boss better than anyone else. But eventually, Friction developed and Snake left, drifting from country to country as a lone soldier, forming the Militaires Sans Frontières in 1970 to provide military force to anyone who needed it, regardless of nation or ideology.

However, this was seen as danger to Cipher, and so a strike force was sent on March 1975, destroying the base of MSF under the disguise of a nuclear inspection.

Having barely survived, Miler had formed the Diamond Dogs as successor 9 years later.

“Do-do you think this…Cipher might have the children?” Wolf asked with fear in her eyes.

“It’s likely but we’ll find them, as we did before.” Midnight said confidently. “Plus, we got help on your side. “He looked at Blue and the Dark Horse members, they all nodded.

“Whatever is necessary, commander.” Abstraction said, ready to help where he could.

As the choppers arrived at Mother Base, Ocelot had information for the ponies.

“I and Miller created an Intel Team and a Medical Team. We thought Purple Patch can help with Intel and support, Dawnwind in the Medical Team, along with Abundo as needed.

“No problem, I help where I can and medical attention is one of my specialties after all.” Abundo replied.

Hearing that reminded Blue of something, turning to Fletcher. “About that earlier when you found me…Er...sorry. Reflex action. No hard feelings?” She asked with guilt.

There was a moment of silence. “Not at all, you had no control over your actions. I guess bad experience from the past?” Fray asked calm and she nodded.

“Yeah…”

A few days passed, Snake went on more missions, alone this time. He “eliminated” Three commanders of key Soviet units by extracting them as they had held a meeting to discuss how to deal with Venom Snake, namely reinforcing their troops with more gear, as well as dealing with the Mujahideen overall. Another mission involved stopping a Lieutenant Colonel that wanted to reinforce Da Smasei Laman to ensure better efficiency of the Soviet forces in the region.

Another two missions involved assisting a rebel offensive by eliminating as much as he could of the Soviets' mechanized unit that served as reinforcements, and the other mission was to extract a Mujahid captured by the Soviets, being the dying wish of his father. But it turned out that the father of the prisoner was dead and that he never heard of the client.

This left Miller to suspect that their "client" was most likely Cipher itself in an attempt to clean up loose ends, as the home of the rebel village was destroyed long before he was ever taken prisoner. Apparently, it fell victim to some sort of disease, then was completely burned to the ground. The prisoner himself was out on a mission at the time, and that was the reason why he alone survived. As such, the rebel, named Mulak, joined Diamond Dogs since he didn't have a home or family to go back to due to his village's destruction and because they shared a common goal of revenge against Cipher for the organization's role in personal losses.

For the ponies, it was only to find the children safe and sound, but also to make anyone pay who’d harm them, so they had indirectly something in common with the goals of Diamond Dogs.

In the next morning, they chatted as they had breakfast. “We hadn’t an opportunity to test the tranquilizer rifles, but they look they’re solid work.” Fletcher complimented his relative, who smiled.

“Thanks, though Dawnwind helped me in getting the medicinal plants for it.”

“Yes. Golden Crescent is rare to find in Afghanistan but has analgesic and sedative properties, perfect to strengthening tranquilizer rounds. You could easily stop an Elephant with this.” The deer added.

“And you did well,” Blue said as suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the base.

“What’s going on?” Midnight wondered and they all took a look.

They saw a chopper coming in, escorted by two others, a group of soldiers taking aim at it.

Miller, Ocelot and a few soldiers wearing full black combat gear and red berets, the personal unit of Ocelot as far as the ponies knew, stood at the landing pad, a pilot in beige trousers, yellow T-shirt, yellow head covering and a headset waved red lights to signal the chopper in the middle away.

“No way is she setting foot on this base…” Miller stated, looking at the chopper in the middle.

For a second, all pones saw a woman jumping out of the chopper in the middle, vanishing in thin air.

Then a loud “Clang!” startling the soldiers and the woman materialized behind them. She had green eyes and brown hair, just wearing underwear and very thin stockings.

The moment the soldiers tried to surround her, black markings appeared around her eyes and she vanished again. “Thermals!” Ocelot ordered and three soldiers activated their thermal goggles, looking around.

Faint, soft humming greeted the ears of all ponies before the three soldiers formed a circle and the woman appeared again in a flash.

“Seize her!” Ocelot ordered as the soldiers surrounded the woman, fingers off the triggers but Miller stepped ahead.

“Fire!” He ordered but the men hesitated.

“Miller!” The Russian protested, “She saved the Boss.”

“She was saving herself. Fire!” Kaz exclaimed, yet the men hesitated again.

“Put her in the cell.” Snake’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears as he walked up from behind, lowering the guns of his men.

“Boss?”

”Keep an eye on her.” He added firmly.

“Right, take her away.” Ocelot acknowledged but nobody moved. “What are you waiting for? Move!”

Snake then put a hand on the woman’s shoulder, both gave each other a barely noticeable nod and she got led away.

“Boss, you are going to regret this. That woman…” Miler warned but got cut off.

“I know, she knows our location. Either way, one of these days we’re gonna to have to kill her. But now is not the time.” He explained. “When the time comes, I’ll pull the trigger.”

The ponies watched after him until he was out of sight. “Who was that?” Wagensroll asked confused as Sergei and his friends walked up to the group.

“I think that was Tixij, Russian for Quiet, a crack sniper. We lost some officers to her but there were never any sightings, and only corpses were left behind. While Miller wanted her dead, Ocelot thought it might be better to capture and interrogate her. I guess we will see how this will work out.”

“Very likely.” Midnight replied.

They then returned to finding clues where the kids could be, as during noon, Ocelot sought their attention. “Sorry to bother but the Boss’ about to go on a mission where your help could be of use.”

The ponies looked at each other and nodded without a word. “What is it?” Midnight asked him.

“The Boss is about to go on a mission to help a scientist defect from the East. I have a bad feeling about this, so cold you watch over him, just in case?”

“No problem.”

They boarded the chopper and were dropped near the Serak Power Plant, bear the Base Camp in the north. Again, the two snipers stayed on the canyon, moving along it, the Pegasus used the clouds for cover and Abstraction moved near the canyon.

A moderately-sized plant in itself, it was filled with numerous substations, they quickly spotted Snake as he lock-picked a door at the other end, next to a closed gate, leading into a large cave that had been modeled into a makeshift hangar.

He went behind a concrete wall as a truck drove through the gate into the station and the eyes of the ponies went wide.

At the far end, a giant anthropoid bipedal machine was standing on a moving platform, it’s “head’s” "muzzle" if looked closely had a motif resembling a skull.

“Just a minute!” An English voice called out, “This isn’t what we agreed on!”

“The changes have already been finalized.” Another voice replied.

“It’s not operational yet! The remote piloting and A.l. control haven’t reached the application stage.”

“Who said anything about an A.l.? That was Coldman’s mistake then years ago.”

The ponies looked around to locate the source, seeing two men on a catwalk. The one speaking was wearing a black suit with trench coat and hat. The other one was wearing a shirt with green tie and black pants. Noticeable was that he was also wearing a powered exoskeleton around the legs.

“Be that as may be, we’ll need to modify postural control to accommodate a human pilot. I share your urgency. But…we need more time to finish it.

He was unaware that a soldier in a Grey drab uniform with Balaclava and goggles walked up to the other man. “We analyzed the transmission log – he’s been in contact with Big Boss.” The soldier whispered and the man in trench coat nodded.

“Right. Planning on leaving us, Doctor, huh?” He asked the other men and grabbed him. “I’m taking your ‘legs’ back!” He then shoved him down the stairs.

Now, the ponies could see that the man with exoskeleton was wearing glasses, having wet himself as he looked at the human in trench coat with a fearful expression. “So you’re just gonna…kill me?”

“Sahelanthropus is mine now.” The trench coat wearing man said as he walked down and grabbed the doctor by the collar. “Listen! I may dwell in the dark, but I refuse to be judged by your standards, traitor.” He said with disgust before letting go. “I hope your friends give you what’s coming to you. Take him to the base.”

A soldier steering a small bipedal machine grabbed the doctor with an arm of his machine. “Yes, sir. Transporting Emmerich to the base camp and returning to base.”

“We’re shutting down. All units, strike camp and clear out.” A PA announced and all soldiers got into jeeps and trucks, with the large machine being brought deeper into the cave as a gate behind it closed.

“We still have use for him.” The trench coat wearing man commented before he got into a jeep as well and everyone drove out.

Despite this, the ponies could tell that those soldiers weren’t Soviet at all.

“No doubt about it, Boss. That man is your extraction target, Emmerich, The weapon system that disappeared into that cave, and the man who was with it…Emmerich must know something about what’s going on. I’ve marked the base camp on your map.” Miller said on the radio as Snake took notice of an Intel file on a table and scanned it with his iDroid. “Nice find. Analyzing the Intel file you picked up. We’ve got a fix on the target. I updated your map info.” Miller added as they all moved out.

Upon arrival, the ponies saw a Hind was in the sky, so the unicorns and Snake went prone to avoid getting spotted, with the bat pony and Pegasus carefully moving through the clouds.

Looking on the map, the location of the target was at one of the hangers in the back. Also, three of those small bipedal machines patrolled around the base, operated by Soviets.

Despite this all, Snake had little trouble moving to the marked location, but two soldiers were guarding the entrance.

Both snipers saw Snake looking in their direction, pointing at the guards and said on the radio, “Fire!”

Fletcher took out the left guard, Blue the other one from their elevated position with synchronized shots, allowing Snake to get in, followed by Abstraction to cover his back.

Snake drew his colt from a second holster, slowly advancing, as suddenly…

“Who are you?” A female electronic like voice asked and he turned altered into its direction, facing a large pod. “Snake?” A red light blinked in the upper middle. “It’s not you…is it?”

“Hey!” a male voice called out and he turned towards it, pistol drawn. “It’s just a machine.” It belonged to the man with Exoskeleton, using them to “sit” at a desk before getting up and facing the leader of Diamond Dogs. “Are you?” He asked with a confused expression.

“Dr. Emmerich.” Snake replied.

“Snake?” The doctor wondered before the Boss put a black bag over his head and cut a cable of the exoskeleton to disable it. “Hey! What gives?” Emmerich protested, “Let me go! No! Give me back my legs!”

“Right on schedule. Now bring him back to Mother Base.” Miller ordered.

As Abstraction escorted Snake, he and the others via radio, heard how Emmerich talked about developing a bipedal weapon for the Soviets but wasn’t deployed yet, and that those small bipedal machines were called Walker Gears, that they and his “masterpiece” would help them win the war, making Miller wonder what Cipher was interested in.

“Stop!” He held back the humans as he spotted a laser sight near a wall. “Sniper on one of the hangers. We need to get rid of him.”

“I’ll take care of that.” Neolith flew over him, using a cloud as cover and fired a tranquilizer arrow, putting the Sniper to sleep.

But Abstraction’s ears perked up as he heard a faint stomping sound, seeing one of the Walker Gears moving near them. As the pilot was having his back to the intruders, the stallion drew his sidearm and put the soldier to sleep with a well-placed headshot.

A loud whistle entered their ears and they saw something in the sky as they got close to the LZ. Then a loud rumble and a large cloud of dust, forcing the extraction choppers to aboard.

“What the?” Midnight mumbled and his eyes and those of his fellow ponies went wide as the dust cleared. Before them stood the large machine they had seen on the cave.

“Sahelanthropus?” Emmerich exclaimed in disbelief. “How?!”

“So that’s the Metal Gear he devolved for the Soviets…” Ocelot competed at the sight.”

“Impossible! It can’t be active!”

“Doctor,” A familiar voiced called out, and they saw the man in a trench coat again, standing on one of the hands of the Metal Gear. “You’re as useless as I thought. This is the real Sahelanthropus.” He pointed at Emmerich and Snake. “You and your friend will die here! Behold!” He exclaimed, raising his arms. “Today is the day weapons learned to walk upright!”

A second Blackhawk with the inscription XOF then hovered next to the machine and the man climbed from the hand into the chopper. The Metal Gear faced Snake and roared.

He in response whistled for his horse, put Emmerich on the back and ran away, with Sahelanthropus close in pursuit, sensors in its head glowing red.

The ponies could only watch in shock, being ignored completely.

After what seemed like hours, Blue exclaimed, “There’s no way we can damage that thing with our current weapons!”

“But we must do something!” Abstraction exclaimed as Snake managed to find cover behind a rock, the machine couldn’t find him.

Its sensor became blue as it looked around, remaining cautious and Fletcher got an idea. “Wolf, can you use your storm magic to disable it?”

“I can try!” She flew above Sahelanthropus and punched the cloud. It sent out lighting towards the machine and it let out a loud, painful roar, twitching and sparking from the electricity.

The machine fell slightly backward, arms lose in the air. “That should do it! Let’s get to the chopper.” Wolf looked happy at her success.

However, as they got on the choppers, Sahelanthropus groaned and started to move again, causing Snake and Fletcher to man the miniguns of their respective choppers as it turned towards them.

“Shoot that thing! NOW!” Ocelot yelled as Sahelanthropus attempted to jump into the air and strike the choppers. They did as told, Blue, Abstraction, Wolf and Midnight also fired their rifles to assist.

Moments before the machine had touched the choppers, the Metal Gear exploded with a loud groan, its left arm and leg were destroyed, crashing back into the ground, leaving a big cloud of smoke.

They all looked in relief at it as Emmerich mumbled, “An upright bipedal weapon. In terms of hominids…It’s a Sahelanthropus. How did they complete it without me?”

“We’ll hear the rest back at base.” Miller radioed in and Snake saw that Emmerich had pulled the bag up, putting it back then.

Upon being back at base, the ponies took the time to rest while Ocelot questioned Emmerich. “That was truly something…exiting…” Neolith let out a breath of relief.

“Yes. We should catch some sleep, it’s getting late.” Abundo suggested as the sun was setting and everypony nodded.

As the morning arrived, they saw the three soviets walking up to them. “Good morning. We got something that could interest you.” Lovec told them and Midnight raised an eyebrow.

“And that is?”

“Remember Quiet? Although the Boss captured her, we got still reports about Soviet officers getting assassinated, again without a trace. Still, there are rumors about ponies being near before it happens.

“It could be a potential hint, we should take a look.” Ifrit suggested.

“Okay, where was the last report?” Midnight asked.

“At the Aabe Shifap Ruins. Exercise extreme caution.”

“Of course.” The grey stallion replied and took his gear with the others. Snake also waited for them, they just nodded and boarded the chopper.

With them was a dog with grey fur and a left yellow eye, the other one was covered by an eyepatch. The ponies had seen him before, DD or D-Dog, the pet canid of Diamond Dogs, having found alone by Snake in Afghanistan some time ago as puppy, now fully grown and been trained for a combat support role.

They got dropped a bit far from the ruins, so they wouldn’t alert the assassins and made their way towards the ruins.

“Be careful, we don’t know how they operate or how many there are. Midnight warned his fellow ponies.

All looked carefully around. “I can’t see anything,” Neolith reported.

“Me neither,” Abundo added.

“Nothing.” Abstraction shook his head.

Blue stopped as she could swear that she saw a glint in the distance, coming from one of the towers. “Huh?”

She took her binoculars out and scanned the area, yet couldn’t see anything.

Putting it back into her saddlebag, her eyes went small to see a laser pointer near Fletcher, he didn’t notice it at all.

Everything went in slow-motion as she sprinted towards him.

“Down!” She threw him to the ground, just seconds before a loud bang followed and a bullet hit the ground near them, with all scrambling to cover.

“Sniper?! Where?” Wolf called out in surprise.

Fletcher peeked over his cover and spotted a glint, looking carefully through his binoculars. His eyes went small as he saw a girl in a tower, wearing the same uniform as the soldiers in the cave. “No…It can’t be…”

“Those are children!” Miller exclaimed on the radio in disbelief and shock. “In XOF uniforms?! Boss! Non-Lethal Force! Repeat! Non-Lethal Force!”

Author's Note

midnightwolfGX, I hope you like the appearance of your OC Abstraction

Chapter 4: Contact!

At first, none of them could believe what they just heard. Fletcher peeked again over his cover, only to duck as a bullet hit the wall next to him. “Damn!”

Yet, he could swear that Katja was apparently armed with the same rifle he had, her brother was prone next to her with binoculars, being her spotter.

“We got to take them out without harming them!” Midnight pointed out, trying to think of something. “Neolith, Abundo, try to flank them while we suppress them!”

They all nodded. “One, two, three…suppressing!” He, his fellow knights, Abstraction, Blue, Snake and the three Soviets fired their rifles, forcing the siblings to take cover.

Both Pegasus used this to take off into the air and flew towards the two soldiers.

But as they closed in, a hail of bullets buzzed past their ears and they instinctively dived for cover to avoid the gunfire. Landing behind a wall for cover, they saw in horror where the gunfire came from.

An Earth pony filly wearing riot gear, firing a light machine gun. It appeared to be a PKM Machine Gun by the looks of it, standing on her hind legs without any trouble of keeping her balance. In front of her was a unicorn filly in the same uniform as the soldiers at the cave, holding a ballistic shield with her magic, also firing a machine pistol that looked like a Micro Uzi.

Both foals slowly advanced towards the two Dark Horse members, the former walked on three hooves, firing the LMG with one hoof with little trouble. The ruins gave the foals the perfect cover from the sides, making it impossible to flank them.

They tried to push the Dark Horse members into the open, into the line of fire of the siblings. “I can’t go out or else I get mowed down!” Abundo yelled as they tried to stay in cover, getting pushed back to the others.

Fletcher looked out slightly desperate, Dinky and Lily worked well together and his non-lethal rifle couldn’t penetrate the shield or Lily’s armor at all.

“What are we gonna do?!” Blue yelled, she also knew they couldn’t hurt the children.

“What about your teleport spells?” Snake asked her and Fletcher and she understood what he meant.

Both unicorns teleported to the tower the kids were in, appearing at the entrance and were about to storm in. But they were surprised by the reaction from Blau and Katja.

The girl turned around, she was wearing goggles over her emotionless eyes, together with a Balaclava, her brother did too. Katja threw a grenade on the ground, also drawing a Makarov and fired to suppress both adults as smoke was released from the grenade.

As the smoke cleared, Blue and Fray saw the siblings running out of another entrance. Blau Streifen turned briefly around, shortened carbine version of the AK-74 was slung around him, standing on his hind legs to fire a few suppressive shots before retreating.

None of the knights could imagine how the children were able to operate so efficiently. They never wanted to kill or use guns.

“We lost sight, does anyone have a visual?” Blue reported on the radio.

“No!” Midnight replied before DD barked, looking towards a tower at the far end of the ruins.

They all moved in carefully, going from cover to cover before they got to the ground as a bullet hit a stone near Snake.

Again, Dinky and Lily came from a flanking position, trying to force the group into the kill zone of the siblings.

Yet, Venom Snake had an idea. “Keep them busy, Silent, Ochre, on me!”

Both nodded to acknowledge while the knights gave suppressing fire, Abstraction and Blue fired on Dinky’s shield, forcing her to stop in order to absorb the force of the impact, also indirectly forcing Lily to stop too.

The siblings got distracted by that, focusing their attention on the ponies, allowing Snake and his fellow soldiers to sneak up on them.

At the same time, Neolith and Abundo used the wings to flank the two fillies, shoving them to the ground and Abstraction quickly closed the distance. “Freeze!” He yelled, aiming his rifle at the two fillies, yet showed a good trigger discipline, not to hurt or kill them by accident and DD growled at them.

“Don’t move!” Snake yelled as he held up the siblings with the Russians.

Katja slightly startled, dropping her weapon and started to tremble as she raised her hands. “D-don’t kill me!” She pleaded scared.

Her brother dropped his weapon too but quickly turned around and tried to draw a knife on Snake. The mercenary leader reacted quickly, grabbing Blau’s leg and twisted it, causing him to drop the knife before being shoved on the ground and Lovec held him at gunpoint. This caused the colt also to tremble, putting his hooves on his back.

“Please…don’t!”

As Fletcher moved up to Dinky, he heard faintly sobbing from her. “Wh...wh...what did I do? H-h-how...how many...how many did I...” She looked up to her uncle, breaking into tears of guilt. “How many I hurt?”

“Shh…” He just gave her a comforting hug, Blue did the same with Lily. Blau ran into Midnight, Katja into Wolf for comfort, they whispered comforting words, with all other having looks of sympathy as Snake called the chopper.

D-dog stopped to growl as he noticed that the children were crying, and gave them a gentle poke, also giving a sad howl, as if he had also sympathy for them.

None of them could imagine what the children had gone through, the guilt they had to carry now as the choppers arrived, comforting them the entire way back to Mother Base as they still sobbed about what they had done.

Patch, Wagensroll and Dawnwind waited their arrival with Miller, the latter eyed with the kids with distrust. “Are they…” Snake just nodded at the question. “Never liked kids. Especially ones with guns…”

He hit Katja’s shoulder with his cane and to the surprise of the ponies and Soviets, she grabbed Snake’s rifle, pointing it at Miller while breathing heavy, a scared expression.

After a short moment, she looked confused at the rifle, as if she hadn’t been aware of her action before Miller grabbed the rifle and clamped it under his shoulder, taking the magazine out, as well as emptying the chamber, effectively disarming her.

“Bring them to the Medical team.” He said and the three Russians saluted.

“Yes, sir. Come along, children.” Sergei led them away to the sickbay.

“Whatever happened to them, it will be difficult to process,” Fletcher commented with pity and concern. “Dawnwind, Abundo, can you take care of them?”

“Of course, it’s the least I can do, being their counselor,” Dawnwind replied.

“No problem, Fletcher, It’s my job and no one at such a young age should suffer like that.”

Once arriving at the sickbay, the children got out of the uniforms, Katja’s normal clothes under it and the three soldiers gave them some hot chocolates, which the enjoyed, although shaking while they drank.

“I…I thought you…” Lily couldn’t finish as she looked at Sergei, who weakly smiled.

“No, as you see, we are all alive and well.” He then told with his two friends what happened and where they were and such before Dawnwind and Abundo walked in.

“Now, I know this is going to be difficult, but we need to know what happened, children.” The deer said with clear regret in her voice as the kids started to shake more, yet Dinky managed to take a deep breath.

“W-we’re got…captured by this….m-man…” She told with a shaking voice as the memories came back.

As soon as the music started, the scary man asked, “So, who and what are you?”

“Why should we tell you?” Blau managed to gather some courage and the man smirked.

“As I said, you intrigue me. And I may need your... services.” He said without emotion and Lily looked up in confusion.

“Huh?”

“I heard that your friends went missing. If you help me, I could help you.” He offered.

“Yeah, right. You expect us to trust you? After kidnapping us and killing all those soldiers?” Katja said with clear distrust in her voice.

“It was a misunderstanding by my men. It is only a small favor.”

“Even If it is, we’ll never help you.” Dinky said stern.

I give you a free choice, their survival could depend on you.” He pointed out, “I've never known choice. Where I was born, the language I speak... I've never had the freedom to choose for myself.”

The children looked slowly at each other. The thought of them being responsible for Lovec and his friends dying was something they couldn’t imagine.”

After a brief moment of science, Dinky replied, “Alright…what is the reason you need our help?”

“One of my soldiers has a very important job and I need someone as backup should go something wrong.”

It took the kids only a few seconds to realize what he meant.

“No!” Lily exclaimed in terror. “I could never k-k-kill…”

“We n-neither…” Katja stuttered in shock and the man sighed.

“Then the hard way.” He left the tape on loop and left.

While it was only music, eventually, hearing the same song over and over again for what seemed like hours made them irritated, as Blau tried to cover his ears to block it out. “Gah! Make it stop! Please!”

Footsteps echoed in their ears and they saw the man coming back. “Well?” He just asked.

“We’ll do it! Just please, make it stop!” Dinky pleased and he did as told, opening the door and they followed him without a word.

None of the children could describe why they tolerated being outfitted with uniforms and firearms, it felt so natural. As they were trained in firing them, they quickly got the hang out of it. Still, none of them could imagine why. Was it the magic of Equestria? Or something they had inherited from their respective parents?

Their minds scrambled for answers but couldn’t find any before the order came to assassin Soviet officers.

“That is all.” Dinky finished and both healers nodded.

“Okay. Mind some music?” Dawnwind asked and the children shook their heads. In response, the female deer put on a relaxing song on the radio and got to work with her fellow healer.

“I am aware this is all difficult given the situation but apart from music, watching TV or a movie or looking at paintings or pretty scenery can help. And sometimes even it helps if you stand by a river or a pond.” She advised.

“I agree. All those things are great stress relievers.” Abundo added.

Then without warning, the stomachs of the kids grumbled. “You must be hungry. Abundo, would you please get them some food?”

He sighed impatiently. “Very well but do not make this a habit. What should I look for?”

“Fish, please.” Katja replied. It wasn’t odd for Dinky and Lily. While ponies were vegetarians, they also ate fish and poultry on special occasions, though it was rare. And Katja had told her back in Africa that she was squeamish at the thought of eating animals but fish was for her okay, so she ate that during while they were on Earth in 1942 and 1943 to have the nutrient that meat provided.

Dinky was okay with fish, her father had the unusual habit to eat fish sticks with vanilla sauce sometimes, which took her some time to get used to it.

Still, she let out a sigh. She and her friends had killed others, something none of them ever wanted to do. Can I ever live with the fact that I…

Dawnwind saw her unsure expression, having seen it before when she had to treat traumatized members of Wolfsong.

“You're quiet.”

“Well...yeah,” Dinky replied and the deer nodded.

“Suppose that's to be expected.”

“I mean...” Katja shivered, “After what's happened...what we've done...”

“It wasn't you doing it.” Dawnwind pointed out with an honest voice, getting a confused look by the grey colt.

“But...”

“If a pony slays another with a sword, is it the sword's fault?” The deer interrupted with her question.

“Wh...Well...no but...We're not swords. We're ponies. With hearts and minds.” Dinky tried to make sense, not really understanding

“You weren't then.” Dawnwind countered and passed so the children could think about it. “You know...the Wolfsong take a lesson from the centaur in weapons. We believe that weapons that have been used for cruel and cowardly purposes have led a life of suffering and regret, longing to find themselves in safer hooves, kinder hooves.”

“You sound like...pretty wise people...ponies...deer, even.” Katja slowly smiled and Dawnwind returned it.

“I should hope so. Still...our traditions are often lost on ponies. And when taken up by the 'Uncloven' as some call them, they can lead to...unpleasantness.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know that male deer sometimes clash their antlers together?”

“Yes, why?” Blau wondered.

“Because Wolf saw that once and… charged at Wintermist, head-butting her and knocking both of them out. I found her walking round in ever-diminishing circles, eyes crossed with a silly grin on her face, blithering about how 'That dumb Ronno ain't so tough now'.“

This caused the children to giggle, just as she had hoped, cheering up their spirit.

Abundo made his way towards the mess hall, seeing the others having lunch and told them what he and Dawnwind had found out.

As expected, he earned shocked reactions and also of disgust. “Oh my…poor children,” Neolith commented with a slight gasp. “But whoever this trench coat with galleon-hat guy is, he will pay for that!”

Wolf just growled, the others nodded. “Using them as assassins is crossing the line for me,” Fletcher said with anger before taking a deep breath. “Yet, I hope they can recover.”

He still remembered how they suffered the last time. It wasn’t as bad as back in Italy but the guilt of having killed would be with them forever He and his fellow knights knew PTSD only too well, having experienced themselves, as well as seen countless allies suffer it during their years of fighting.

Abundo, Neolith and Abstraction had also seen it from other Dark Horse members, with the healer treating them whenever it was the case.

Patch and Wagensroll knew it from veterans they had interviewed.

Blue Murder, on the other hand, had suffered from PTSD when her husband died back then. She eventually came over it but still, she saw it from her former mercenary collogues from time to time due to their pasts, like witnessing Shadowplay or Tybalt having nightmares from their respective pasts of almost being burned alive and a slave respectively.

“It will be difficult, having to carry the guilt of killing, but I am confident they will recover, Fletch.” Midnight pointed but with a weak smile. “After all, they recovered from what happened to them in Italy and Isenstadt.”

“Right…”

“Abundo, what takes you so long?” Dawnwind called out as she walked in.

“My endeavors are not your concern, shaman.” He replied dismissively.

After Dawnwind walked out to look after Abundo, the children were lost in thought. How would their families and friends react to this? Could they cope with their actions?

Dinky let out a sigh. “Mommy…Daddy…I hope you can…forgive me…”

“I know it’s difficult, children, but I also know you can get through this.” Ifrit appeared in front of them.

“What makes you so sure?” Lily asked him in disbelief.

“In my life time, I saw a lot of traumatized ponies, Fletcher included.” Ifrit told with regret in his voice. “He suffered greatly and yet, he managed to recover from it, in no small part due to your help as well. So, if he could recover from such a deep traumatic experience, why shouldn’t you? You made it through the painful experience of that scientist.”

Dinky and her friends looked at each other, slowly realized he was right.

“R-right…Thanks, Ifrit.” Dinky managed to smile weakly and he found himself pulled into a group hug by the children.

While surprised by this action, he smiled slightly and gently broke the hug. “It’s my mission to help you.”

He then vanished as Dawnwind and the others walked in, bringing the food and the kids took it gladly.

They also now saw the three Dark Horse members without their armor, able to see their Cutie Marks. Abstraction had a paintbrush, a golden whirlpool but was tattooed three symbols representing pony heads at three points around his cutie mark and Neolith had a silver prehistoric pony skeleton embedded in clay.

“Hey there, children. Terrible sorry to hear what happened to you.” Abstraction said with pity in his voice. He, Neolith and Abundo had been introduced earlier to them on the flight to Mother Base.

“It’s fine….Abstraction.” Dinky replied, though seeing him without his armor, he was somehow familiar. “I could swear I saw you before…”

He chuckled. “Well, I am sure you saw me a few times with Lyra.”

“Wait…” Dinky’s eyes went wide as she realized, “You were the one I saw with Lyra when I was younger? But she never mentioned that she had a lover or anything.”

“That’s why because Bon-Bon promise me if anything happens to me, that she would take care of Lyra and my vanished seemed to have a deep effect on her.” The blue unicorn replied slightly embarrassed, blushing for a moment. How we went missing, it all started to months before the incident with the paymaster…”

Interlude

“We’ve found them.”

Midnight Blade stabbed a knife into the map. The map seemed bare until Abstraction noticed it depicted the sea, the North Luna Ocean far to the North-West, better known to the locals of Vanhoover as the Inua Sea after the old Musk Oxen Moon Deity. The place, as any local knew, was a misty, frozen death-trap filled with Luna knew what, where ships would sail forth and lose themselves in the fog.

“Vamponies on the sea. It only makes sense.”

“I thought Vamponies didn’t do well on the waters? Certainly not seas blessed with Alicorn magic” Neolith pointed out.

“Something’s allowed them to traverse the waters.” Aversion piped up beside Abstraction “We suspect it’s the Eligo Calque. Rue can explain.”

Here, an unwelcome guest at the fort stepped forward. A Vampony mare. Like all Vamponies, she had a thin coat that appeared hairless, Her back was a dark indigo with her face and underside deathly white. Her mane was ruddy and wild and upon her forehead was a blood-red disk like a red full-moon, veins running down her brow to give it the look of bleeding. Her irises were a brilliant blue, fully encompassing her eyes. Her sharp teeth showed whenever she spoke but shorter and closer together than the normally shark-like jaws of the typical Vampony, more like a tiger or a bear than anything else.

Her better-kept appearance denoted a ‘pureborn’ upbringing, a creature born as a Vampony, likely from parents of the same upbringing. Yet her venomous blood-magic was nulled of her own volition.

Aversion had befriended her in the early stages of their investigations and now she was their best chance of putting an end to the threat.

Monardaruta iz Ululo, or Rue for short.

She spoke.

“My uncle’s obsession with the Eligo Calque began when my father discovered it. My father was able to hide his curse from ponies and lived as an excavator. Neolith would know of him.”

“I have?” The archaeologist asked skeptically.

Rue nodded.

“Among ponies, he went by the name of Professor Pupilloid.”

Neolith’s eyes widened.

“Your father was Professor Strobius Pupilloid?! Sweet Luna, I have all his books!”

“Well, yeah.” Rue shrugged bashfully “I didn’t have much to do with that. But the Eligo Calque was found by his hoof, an old experimental Hippomorphian invention that would essentially remove physical defects from a living body.”

“And take them where?” Fletcher asked.

“He never got that far. His work only took him so far until my uncle found out.”

“Your uncle being King Orculus iz Ululo?” A bright blue unicorn stallion with black mane arranged in elegant curls and a trim mustache pointed out, brow furrowed at the creature.

“Yes. And I’m no happier about it than you are. It feels like an age ago...It probably was. My father was examining the Calque one evening, nothing out of the ordinary. But then...creatures come after him...Creatures like me. My uncle had sent the family retainers to take his Calque and his daughter from his possession. They tried to kill him. I don’t know if they succeeded. When I was brought back to Castle Ululo, my uncle was waiting for me with my mother, Alvarielle. Uncle Orculus had lost his mind! He said he was going to use the Calque to remove all the weaknesses the alicorns gave the Vamponies. Make them gods of the new world. A ritual was in progress. A ritual to Mov Carnis.”

“Is that some sort of god?” Abundo asked with distaste.

“It’s our name for him. The old name is lost but ponies used to call him the King of Salt and Screams. A daemonic prince, patron of domination, bloodshed, cannibalism, torture and...violation.”

“By that you mean...

“Not the civil kind, no.” Rue interrupted White Wolf’s question “I don’t know by what means he heard him but Orculus did as Mov Carnis bid. He...impregnated my mother. In what seemed like hours, she gave birth. They poured some kind of salt into my eyes. I was blinded but I heard the baby’s screams. My uncle held something up to me and I was told to feed. I did...I was still a fledgling and terrified. I bit into something and the baby’s screams grew louder, horribly loud, and then...stopped.” She gripped her chin with a shadowy red claw and choked slightly, red tears escaping out the corners of her eyes. Those around looked at her with something resembling pity.

“They made you...eat the child?”

“...yes.” She answered quietly “And when I did...I had this on me.” She pointed to the red moon on her forehead “According to my father’s calculations, me and Luna share a date of birth.”

“But that would make you-”

“Just a bit younger than you, yes.” She gave Midnight Blade a half-smile “I don’t know if he was correct but it convinced my uncle. He seemed convinced I was part of some prophecy. My essence added to the Eligo Calque would allow him to strip away the weaknesses of Vamponies, make them perfect, make them invincible.”

“Well then, I’m afraid to prevent him acquiring your essence, you will have to remain under our custody for the time being.” Midnight began.

“No, no, it’s too late. He already has it.”

“You gave him the means to use the Calque?” The bright blue unicorn stallion growled.

“I didn’t want to...Not until my uncle gave me to Mov Carnis.”

There was another pause.

“And...that gave him...”

“My blood...my tears...other things.” Rue’s face was flat but looked a hair’s width from shattering to pieces“...I’m sorry.” Aversion said flatly.

“So he has the Calque?” Atgeir supposed “And it obeys?”

“Well, that’s the thing. He doesn’t seem to know how to use it. He burned father’s workshop with all his notes with it. Uncle Orculus lacks my father’s knowledge...and patience. He’s been able to use it recently but only slightly.”

“I’d hardly call giving Vamponies the ability to traverse salt-water ‘slight’. Already, they gain a severe foothold in the war against the living.” Fletcher said gravely “We must act now while there’s still time.”

“We gather a warhost.” The bright blue unicorn stallion announced, “We storm the aberrations and scourge them upon the light of dawn.”

Rue gave an uneasy look. Aversion patted her shoulder and whispered.

“Don’t worry. They don’t mean you.”

“I’ll gather some folks from back home.” Wolf gave a sharp grin “Vamponies are their specialty.”

“Right. Rue’s supplied us the castle layout. We can hit them where it counts.” Midnight said, removing the knife from the map “It’s do or die, chaps. These are master Vamponies, necromancers, who knows what else? We may not live through this. But we have to stop them, here and now, or before too long...everypony you have ever known will be one of them.”

The cacophonous cries of skull-hawks sounded above in the icy haze. Bitter snow rained down upon the two armies gathered upon the great bridge of Castle Ululo.

A host of black iron stood to attention on the shoreline, dotted with anomalous colors. The Lunar Sentinels had gathered, mares and stallions in full-body dark armor with plumes or streamers of navy-blue and white, steely eyes looking out of silver visors. Possessed of the hallowed silver arsenal, the Sentinels were Equestria’s anti-undead specialists.

Standing beside them were other specialists. Members of the Dark Horse Squad, each in their own element. Members of the original Slayers Guild or the Paladins or other, stranger members. The Alchemists of Allia-Sativa, the Knightly Order of Nocturna Redemerant, the Chi-Oni-Ryoshi Dojo, whomever was strong enough and insane enough to charge into battle against an army of Vamponies.

Before them stood the tide of bloodthirst that was the Ululo Army. An assembled horde of brutality and egotism.
At the front were the Haemomancers, expert practitioners of blood magic, bedecked in fine black and red capes, their skin grey, a lifetime of the abuse of such forbidden arts reducing them to near corpses. It was they that commanded the bridge-defense with powerful spells and zero mercy.

In front of them were the Unstaunched, fiends in spiky carmine armor. Looking more like bizarre, red mantises than anything else, they carried weapons decidedly more suited for torture than actual battle, blades, axes and flails with awkwardly long jaggs and points. Nonetheless, their Vampony reflexes, combined with the sheer viciousness of their individual dispositions, would surely give them an edge.

And in at the head of the army, glorified cannon-fodder, were the abominable creatures known as Drybloods, hulking, hunched, hairless maniacs with grotesquely overgrown limbs and shoulders and mouths of sharp teeth and tusks crammed into gaping mouths. Their wings had grown small and stunted, twitching uselessly at the tip of their massive shoulder-blades but their speed, strength and raw ferocity were not to be underestimated.

The two sides were mostly making glares at each other but each one knew the first step forward would send blood flying high. And wouldn’t that be most appropriate in a Vampony den.

Atop the high, squat, stone towers on the side of the bridge, Fletcher Fray, Neolith and the ranged troops crouched under the walls, ready to fire. The tower opposite was too damaged to serve as a firing platform but it would be perfect for the fliers to disembark from.

Then again, around a Vampony castle, would could barely trust the air one breathed, let alone the sky.

At the front of the Lunar Army, Midnight Blade, Aversion and Abstraction stood, hooves hovering over their blades.

“Stick by me, lads.” Midnight whispered “You’ve got us this far. But that doesn’t mean you go ahead.”

Abstraction gave a quiet, impatient tut while Aversion nodded.

Behind them, a cowled mare drew cryptic symbols with mader dye in the stone beneath her hooves.

Midnight took a deep breath and, shaking his cape off his shoulder, drew up one wing.

Fletcher Fray stood and fired into the sky. A streak of azure flame soared high and pierced the clouds.

One of the Haemomancers screeched a Camnetic curse.

The arrow exploded in mid-air, a blinding blue light enveloping the bridge for a brief moment.

Blades drew, hooves thundered, wings spread, horns lit...

And all hell broke loose.

The Drybloods flung themselves forward, hissing and screeching. The Alchemists threw their anti-Vampony ingredients forward in bomb-like clumps but against such advanced vampiric creatures, it did little more than stun them for a moment.

But a moment was all Rue needed.

Throwing off the cape, the fallen Vampony princess stamped the symbols and screeched at the sky.

The mist subsided. The clouds parted.

Sunlight bore down on the Vamponies. In their previous endeavors, Rue had found the cure for her weakness to sunlight with Aversion and Abstraction’s help. Now, against her former jailers, it was her weapon to wield.

Midnight’s namesake pointed straight at the gates to Castle Ululo as the Lord Commander of the Eternal Knights bellowed the war-cry.

“NIGHT COMES FOR YOU!”

A guttural chant echoed throughout the castle exterior as a black smog ran like horse’s hooves across the stonework. Silently pulling themselves from the ground and walls, pitch-black skeletons emerged, eyes glowing red. At the steps toward the courtyard, Viceroy Graveleon completed his throaty incantations as the dead rose across the walkways.

Graveleon was a ghoulish goat, fur of dirty grey with twisting horns, clad in pale bone-armor and dusky ribbons. His incantations finished, he cackled as the horde of black bones and barbarism stood ready to entrap the attackers on the bridge when the time was right.

Then a boat honed into view. Graveleon’s dull black eyes narrowed in suspicion as his skeletons stared blankly at the oncomer.

The ship was a modest afar, a ramshackle beast-carrier with frayed sails, slow, silent and unimposing. But what was noticeable was a borrowed figurehead. A great, ash-wood carving of a coiling, curving tree with the heads of four stags arching out of the woodwork in all four directions.

The World Tree of the ancient Northern deer and their four seer kings, Dauthinn and Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Durathror.

It stopped off the rocks before the steps, nearly aground. Off the ship, a silent host of tall, antlered creatures emerged, flanked by a hundred-strong pack of huge blue-eyed wolves.

A blue Pegasus with a shock of snow-white mane and pointed incisors drew two knives as she took her place between her adopted parents. Before the Wolfsong Clan however, stood two dozen long-haired ponies and deer, at the head of which stood an enormous blue-furred elk with arching antlers as long and wide as a horse.
Amarok the Frostfur, last of the Megaloceros.

Cricking his neck, he spoke, his voice like the biting frost of the mountain winter.

“We delve into the rock, brothers and sisters. Send those robbed from death to their place of rest and those who cheat death to the mouth of Hel.”

“I envy whoever gets to judge the bastards.” White Wolf the Stormrunner spat as the undead turned to face them.

“In this life, we are their judges. Whatever comes afterward is in the gods’ hooves.” Amarok said gruffly to his part-time student “Show no mercy to those ripped from the afterlife! Condemn their summoners to the end they fear so dearly!” He raised his hoof as the clouds parted. The outline of the full moon shone with a metallic hum.

“May Fenrir’s bite grant us teeth and claw!” Amarok yelled to the heavens “Glory or death, blood of the wolf!”

There came an almighty howl as the shaggy creatures at the head of the warhost crouched, gripped themselves and shook in agony as their bodies warped. Their forehooves sprouted fingers and claws, their back hooves spread to paws. Their muzzles grew dark, wet noses and sharp, canine teeth. Their eyes furrowed, their ears grew tufts, their shoulders arched and they steadily stood on two back-legs as hunching hulks of muscle, fur and fangs.

Lycantheres, fole-wolves, geit-wolves and hirt-wolves. Carnivorous, moon-worshipping powerhouses.

Fighting the Vamponies with their favored weapon; savagery.

Atop the stair, Viceroy Graveleon stared in horror as the horde of howling monsters ploughed through his skeletal guard, the deer behind them firing off enchanted arrows, rendering the undead not so ‘un’.

As he prepared a spell, he cried out in pain as a knife landed deed in his shoulder. From above, the blue pegasus dived, back-hooves first, and landed a powerful kick into the goat’s face.

Struggling for his hooves, his horns coursed with red lightning as he fired wildly into the sky. Raising his hoof and keeping the Pegasus in his sights, he prepared a spell that would surely send her down upon the rocks.

The next instant, he was staring at the leaking stump that was his forehoof, feeling powerful cobalt-colored claws clutch his shoulders, lifting him off the ground.
The last thing Viceroy Graveleon could do was scream in dismay as the jaws of the Amarok Frostfur closed around his face.

Blades, arrows and bolts of magic rained across the bridge like iron hail.

The Sentinels were pushing through, the Dark Horse squad leading their detachments forward.

Leading the charge was Siyarjit, his mighty golden mace sending tremors through the air, brightly-colored lightning crackling wherever it lay its mark. Spinning round, the handle of his mace extended and coiled and with a snake-like hiss as loud and sharp as thunder, a great whip of blue-flame snaked across the bridge, cutting his way through to the gatehouse. With a cheer from his command, he surged forward.
Then out of the gatehouse stepped a giant. A towering stallion, at least as tall as a fully-grown Alicorn, but reed-thin and draped in an ugly, puce coat. With a hoarse, screeching cry, like a dozen vultures calling out at once, he lurched forward.

The sight of him set Siyarjit stumbling as he realized the coat was in fact skin.

The wearer’s skin.

The beast had been flayed alive and yet lived still. His wet, crimson, skeletal frame, exposed to the elements, writhed and flailed wildly as the skin-cloak flapped morbidly around it. Trailing along the stone in its forehoof was an enormous rusty scythe, screaming as it scraped the rocks and cut swathes in front of its wielder again and again. The bright blue unicorn barely had time to duck, which was more responsive than the six unfortunate sentinels following up behind him who, as one, jerked macabrely as they fell to the ground, their heads rolling down the bridge or into the waters below.

He cursed as the gatekeeper kept up his relentless assault, the Ghoran unicorn fighting for space as he drew closer to the tight, chaotic battle-scape.

“To the gate!” He yelled, “Kill the beast!”

Midnight raised his head above the madness of blades and cursed. The Gatekeeper was sure to cut down the first pony to came to the blue stallion’s aid. For this, one would require a special blend of strategy and ferocity.

“Rookie!” he yelled to Abstraction who was busy cleaving his way through the Unstaunched with his phenomenally large blade he held in his magical grasp, utilizing stance and equilibrium to better wield it without exhausting his magical power, as is he were holding it in his grasp and moving as it did.

Midnight always called him ‘rookie’. He wasn’t anymore but the name had stuck and would until the next one came along.

He looked to the gatekeeper, worked things out in his head, and nodded.

Batpony and unicorn charged forward on the left and right side of the bridge.

The Gatekeeper shrieked and brought his scythe round and both oncomers teleported, one in light, one in shadow.

Midnight appeared above the blue stallion, falchion up in front of him sideways-on. The scythe met it with an almighty clash. Then a blade about as big as the scythe came down from above.

The screech from the Gatekeeper stopped abruptly as the scythe fell to earth, then the Gatekeeper, then his head.

Midnight gave the stallion a dutiful nod, ignoring the conflicted face the Ghoran Prince wore, and slid his blade between the doors, dragging it up and snapping the metal locks like dry straw. He bellowed to his victorious force, battle-worn and wide-eyed.

“Into the monster’s mouth!”

Rue and Aversion navigated the walkways under the shadow of her mother’s magic.

Her mother, before her death, granted her blood, blood from the Melehid family. Unlike the Ululo, the Melehids still kept their batpony origins rather than fully-transformed Vamponies. Shadow-magic was in her capability and the Ululo household, having been so willfully dependent on blood-magic for so many centuries, were unable to transcend it.

As the shadows finally subsided, brushed off them like a veil, the two found themselves in the dungeon corridors.

“So...” Aversion said, taking in the dark nothingness of the Vampony dungeon, dreading whatever lay behind any door he saw “Which door would it be?”

Rue was staring at a high door of rusty, flesh-colored steel with bizarre runes that were bleeding copiously. Faint screams and groans from Luna knew where were emanating not from behind the door but seemingly from the door itself.

Behind, the sound of powerful thumps and a ghostly mechanical murmur grew louder and louder.

“Well...” the Vampony mare said flatly “Probably this one...but I wish it wasn’t.”

Sighing the two raised their weapons, prepared spells and after a short count, threw open the door.

The Eligo Calque stood rigid in mid-air inches from the ceiling.

Around it was a slow but mighty tornado of winding sickly yellows, reds and greens, all the colors of sepsis, from which ghostly skulls, hands and screaming mouths reached out blindly in the swirling matter.

Aversion and Rue stared.

“Well...we found it.”

“It’s just standing there...” Aversion murmured “...menacingly.”

“Should we take it?”

“You tell me! This is the first time I’ve ever seen this thing.”

“Sorry, I just...feel it should be harder than this.” Rue checked her sides, spread her wings and hovered up. The twister didn’t touch her. It made way for her like river-water. Aversion kept watch.

He heard a scraping along the stone floor and the air seemed to warm.

Not in a natural way. it felt like a rash or bruise spreading across his body.

Bubbling.

Growling.

Rue’s voice brought him out of his fear as she held the calque high, the tornado subsiding.

“Got it!”

“Got you!”

The twister’s eerie green glow had drained all other light from the room. With it gone, the full-figure of a hidden predator was revealed.

Rue was clasped by a vine-like set of claws, pulsing like each joint in the limbs contained a beating heart.

The Vampony screamed, her shadow-magic diminished, as she flung across the room. Aversion caught her in mid-air, stood her back up and both drew their blades and spells before them.

A creature out of one’s nightmares stood before them. A mass of muscle without skin, grey and ulcerous with bright red tentacles writhing across its shoulders. One forearm was trailing along the ground, twice as long as the other, the hand. A face crammed between a furrowed forehead and a swollen jaw of tusks stared madly.

Aversion stared at the beast, dumbfounded.

“What the bucking hay is that?!”

“Your guess is as good as mine!” Rue answered.

The face leered, half its lip twisted into one side of the crooked jaw of tusks, the other side independent of its mouth.

“Oh, you wound me, Monardaruta.” his voice, like bubbling oil, sounded oddly tender “You do not recognize your own kin?”

Rue blinked, then stared in horror.

“Uncle Orculus?!”

“Changed somewhat, but for the better, would you not agree?”

“That thing used to be a pony?!” Aversion squawked.
“Well...close enough to one anyway.”

“I did what your father never could!” the beast spat “Hiding himself away, sipping berry juice, living among the livestock! I used his little toy to bring our kind back to the top of the food-chain!”

“And for that, you had him hunted down and my mother killed?” Rue screamed.
“We all must make sacrifices for our kind.” Orculus pointed to the Calque “That was your father’s.” His hand hovered over his mutated form “This was mine.” His hand then coursed with the same septic colors as the tornado swelled around it as his grin grow large enough to nearly tear the side of his face open.

“And this is yours!”

“Hey, plot-hole!”

The sound of breaking stone deafened the three in the room as the figure of Abstraction, followed by the full measure of his sword, crashed through the wall. He was followed by bright blue unicorn and Neolith. Another part in the stone wall broke open as Abundo’s hammer found its mark.

“Rejoice, blessed flock! Your slavery under the blood-drinking ab-equines ends to-”

He disappeared under Orculus’s fist.

There was silence.

Then the monster’s hand steadily pushed back as Abundo snarled behind his hammer.

“Ends...Today!”

Orculus grave a cry of pain as his hand disappeared under the hammer, crushed between the rock and the brazen head.

“Interrupting a priest of the Hasbrethren in the midst of proclamation is an act of blasphemy!” the cantankerous priest roared.

Behind them, a flash of white light filled the room as a crystal mage of lapis lazuli and a hulking, shaggy-haired earth pony in bear hide materialized in the room.

“The courtyard is clear. The castle is ours!” A white coated and wine-red maned Earth pony stallion thundered.

“Orculus iz Ululo, you are hereby ordered to surrender.” a tall unicorn mare, lithe and deep-indigo in coat with a long, trailing white mane called “You and your kin will be judged fairly.”

The monster gave a hiss of fury and reached for the Eligo Calque.

Rue was on it first.

The device gave a deafening clang as the Vamponies’ blood-red claws locked onto it, pulling in opposite directions.

“Give it to me, wretched filly!” Orculus snarled “Your father would have us hide away! I will give us the respect we deserve, our place above the heavens! Your father cannot protect you or any of us!”

As Rue was dragged forward, closer to her monstrous uncle, she reached a free forehoof behind her head and pulled some form of pin out of her mane.

“He can still protect me...from you...and your toy!”

Raising it high and jamming it into the device, Rue grabbed it with both hooves as the Eligo Calque shook and screamed, light beams waving in all directions.

Orculus’s distended hand shook and broke apart as the energy from the breaking Calque sucked away what it given him, along with everything else.

“What have you done?!” His screams filled the castle as his body disassembled into countless scraps, holding their place until, one after the other, they disappeared into the nether.
“What have youuuaaaarrrrggghh!”

“Rue!” Aversion yelled “Let go of the Calque, we’re getting out of here!”

At this, Rue slowly turned to the one stallion who ever trusted her and spoke, tears of blood appearing in the corner of her eyes.

“I...don’t think I can.”

Aversion and Abstraction gave a look of horror.

“Wh-what do you mean, Rue?”

“It...It’s not letting go!” Rue answered remorsefully as she gave her forehoof a tug, the energy pulse on the Calque fragments forcing her grip tight “If I let go, we’re all dead! The magic in this thing, it’ll destroy this whole island, maybe even half of Equestria, maybe the world itself! I can’t let it implode!”

“But Rue-”

“It is worth my life, Aversion! Nothing else counts...” she sniffed, her cry heard over the surging magical din “Thank you...thank you for making me more than a monster...I’m sorry it has to end so soon, right when we were getting along so well.”

“Rue...”

“Just go! Please!”

“No.” Rue looked up, stunned, as Abstraction stood before here, holding his own forehoof over the floating fragments.

Aversion stared.

“Abstraction! Let go!”

“Not happening.” The unicorn tensed himself “You’re one of the best things to ever happen to my friend there and I’m not letting either of you throw it away!”

“You don’t have the power!” Rue screamed as the din grew louder “It’ll rip you apart and keep on spreading!”

Abstraction sighed.

“I was afraid you’d say that...” He craned his neck around “Are you with me?”

Eyes turned. Minds were made.

Five members of the Dark Horse Squad waded forward as the magic surge grew wilder and wilder, shielding their eyes and reaching out with their forehooves, holding the fragments in place.

“The Hasbrood watch over those who give their lives for the good of many.” Abundo declared, his voice shaking.

“What are you doing?!” Aversion yelled “Let go! For Luna’s sake, let go! You’ll all die!”

“Lad...” The white-coated grunted, “A pony does not join the Dark Horse if they are not prepared for death!”

“We are as precious stones in death...” The tall unicorn prayed “Buried for many ages but not broken...and still bright.”

“We’ve got this...” Neolith said boldly “Somehow I always know I’d die under falling stone...not the worst way to go.”

“Tell the Lord Commander to pull his troops back as far as he can!” The bright blue pony ordered “Today, we are more than shadows. Today, Aversion...We are shooting stars!”

Abstraction lowered his head. “Tell Lyra…I love her.”

As his friend got dragged away by Rue, Abstraction’s eyes became small as the light grew brighter and brighter. “Oh no…” It were his last words before it exploded and everything became black.

With a groan, he came to, blinking several times before getting up. Abstraction held his head as he tried to remember what happened but his mind stayed blank. Looking around, he found himself in a desert and started to wander aimlessly through it.

Author's Note

I thank my friend Purple Patch for helping me out with this. You're great, mate! :yay:

Chapter 4: Contact! Part 2

The children were speechless after he finished. “Wow…you…sacrificed yourself so Uncle Fletcher and his friends would survive?” Dinky was fascinated.

“Not directly. We tried to buy them time to escape while we would run but the machine exploded quicker than we expected.” Abstraction replied and looked at Fletcher with a smile.

“The explosion destroyed the Den completely, so we had nothing to work on in order to search for you. But we never gave up hope. And if you landed here, it’s very likely the others are on Earth too. And with Diamond Dogs, we have the resources for travel.”

“Abstraction,” Lily spoke up, “How did you get to know Lyra?” She sounded curious and he chuckled.

There isn’t really much to tell, we met in school. When I was just nine years old, my father died in an airship crash.” This caused the children to gasp. “It hit me and my mother very hard, getting very depressed. But Lyra, she tried to comfort me, kept me going. She always said she liked when drew and thanks to her, I got my Cutie Mark.”

Katja slowly smiled at the blue stallion. “That was a very nice and sweet story. Are you…”

“Not, we are not. Yet. Me and Lyra are engaged but didn’t feel ready for marriage yet.” He replied, head slightly lowered, “But I joined Dark Horse to protect for from threats. If you are wondering, I got my fighting skills from a medic that had been one of the first responders at the time and consoled me and mother, also teaching me first-aid and self-defense. He’s like an uncle to me, similar as Fletcher is to you. He also taught me some technical skills, which came in handy at the Rejuvenation Play when you were born.”

Back then, Lyra was supposed to play Megan (Pronounced Meh-Ghan) the Mysterious, who came to the main characters to herald the birth of the Firsticorn with her friend Bon-Bon. A legendary being from another world that walked on two legs and possessed strange appendages. Abstraction helped his lover to make the costume and the two mares stood atop each other and controlled her arms and legs with a hoof-made system of stilts and levers.

“Are you sure this will work? We hadn’t time to test it properly.” Abstraction looked at Lyra with worry.

“Don’t worry, Abby, it will work.” She gave him a kiss and climbed into the suit.

He watched with the rest of the audience as she did her part of the play.

“Hear me, gentle four-legged beings!" Lyra beckoned "For I am Megan of the Lost World of Five-Fingered Ones. Behold my flat face and complex system of extremities!"

"Lo! By the semi-transparent wings of the Summerwings! I do believe I see an otherworldly guide come to bring us tidings of great joy!" Carrot Top leapt to her hooves and made a show of surprise as the figure of Megan slowly pointed one of her fingers in the direction of Ponyville.

"That way, my dear friends, lies salvation" Megan's voice, projected through several speaker devices, sounded deep, booming and almost ghostly "Close by lies a humble town where you shall bear your precious foal. You know this to be true, for I am Megan the Mysterious, Avatar of Happiness! Ancient and glorious am I!" And the figure raised her arms and breathed fire before striding off towards the farm on the outskirts of town. The audience cheered and whooped at the spectacle.

Yet Abstraction’s eyes went wide in alert, that wasn’t supposed to happen. Slightly panicking, he ran to the outskirts of Ponyville with a fire extinguisher levitated by his magic. As he arrived, he gasped to see Megan burning, yet didn’t hesitate to put out the fire, seeing Lyra and Bon-Bon next to it, faces blackened with ash.

“Are you hurt?” He asked with concern, yet got a smile by the mint-green mare.

“We’re fine.”

Abstraction sighed in relief. “And I thought….” He couldn’t finish as the same mare kissed him again.

“You talk too much.”

“Yeah, mommy told me that was quite spectacular back then.” Dinky chuckled nervously.

“Yes. I hope though she wasn’t…unsetting towards you, Katja.” Abstraction looked at her with unease, yet she waved a hand.

“Nah, despite being fascinated that I am a human, she was friendly and respect towards me, just like anypony else.” She then turned towards Neolith and Abundo. “Mind if you tell us about yourselves?”

“Why not?” Abundo shrugged. “As you know, I am a healer, but also a priest of the Hasbrood, known as Hasbrethren. It’s a three-headed god of fortune or misfortune, the heads named 'Herm, Hainn and Hiln' judging the value of others and their work on this earth and deciding whether they deserve their favor. If one has their favor, it is said, they will want for nothing and see all their needs provided. The tattoos around my cutie mark show that I am a part of them.”

“I see. What about you, Neolith?” Dinky asked.

“Well, I am an explorer, tinker and excavator. I make a living by delving into various tombs and archaeological sites, that’s how I modified my crossbow.” She explained and Blau had to chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“I just had to think how well you and Daring Do would suit together. If they ever make a movie with her, I think you would suit as her double.”

Neolith rolled her eyes dismally. “Daring Doo's a glory-hound. She's not the only excavator in Equestria, you know. My objective is knowledge.”

“Reminds me, how did you end up on Earth, Blue?” Midnight looked at her with interest and she thought for a moment, putting a hoof to her chin.

“To be honest, I can’t remember much, only that I tried to flee from a pony that hunted me and tried to use a teleport spell. I guess something must have gone wrong.”

“In any case, we all should get some sleep, it’s getting late.” Sergei interrupted as the sun went down.

“Right. Sleep well, children.” Fletcher looked at Dinky and her friends with a weak smile before heading to bed.

None of the adults could get much sleep before they were awoken by screams and they looked after the kids. They were trembling and crying.

“Shh…It’s okay, It’s okay…” Fletcher gave Dinky a comforting hug, Midnight and Wolf did the same with Blau and Katja, Blue took care of Lily.

They all knew that the children had re-experienced the events through nightmares, with the other having expressions of pity as they went to bed again, the knights and Blue fell asleep with the children.

In the next morning, Dinky stirred in her sleep, yawning as she woke up, seeing that all adults save for Blue were gone. “Good morning.” She greeted her friends and the mare.

“Morning,” Lily replied before she heard Blue Murder grumbling. “Sleep not so well?”

“I did sleep well, just had a strange dream. Bovril made a cardboard box that looked like a tank and the boss was totally amazed by that…”

“Yeah, I had a strange dream about you once, Blue,” Dinky said and told her about the dream she had when she was with XCOM back then.

Blue blinked at what she had been told. “Okay…I admit I can take many roles but a constable watching traffic…Might think twice about that.”

“Why? Why do you help us?” Blau asked, catching her off guard.

She hesitated to answer, yer smiled weakly. “Because it’s the least I can do, being a mother myself. And I am aware of what you three went through before, due to secretly visiting my son. That Tungsten could suffer like that…” She shivered at the thought.

“Blue,” Dinky started, “Pip and Nancy…”

“I know, I have to live with that…” The mare lowered her head with regret in her voice. “I never wanted to do this, I told them…”

“They both never blamed you for this.” Dinky continued, earning a surprised look by Blue Murder.

“What?”

“Yes. They still see you as the good friend you are to them. Pip always told me that you’re the best godmother he could ever wish for, having taught him so much.”

Slowly, Blue let the words into her and after what seemed like hours, smiled weakly. “It relieves me that they forgive me. I never worked for money, but to keep my son safe. But in the end, my boss pulled me down that terrible path…” Blue let out a sigh.

“Tungsten misses you terribly. You deserve a second chance.” Dinky added with a smile.

“I guess…” Blue replied before she walked out for breakfast and decided to hit the shower after it to get the sleep out of her eyes.

While the staff of Diamond Dogs were mostly male due to recruited from enemy soldiers, there were also a few female members, recruited from rescued prisoners and volunteers, so there were gender-separated showers and locker rooms.

Dawnwind, Wolf and Neolith were already there, giving Blue a friendly wave as she walked up to a free shower and turned it on.

There were portable showers if had had to be done quickly but they all preferred to do it thoroughly and were more comfortable to have space.

The former mercenary enjoyed every second of this feeling of bliss before a voice sounded. “So you are those speaking ponies, huh?”

It was one of the female staff members. “Yeah, so what?” Neolith asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You really think you got what it takes to be a member of Diamond Dogs?”

“We proved that already in assisting Snake,” Blue stated firmly.

“Oh yeah? Let’s see if you can pass my test.” Without warning, she towel-whipped the Blue and the other mares, all jumped into the air with a high-pitched yelp. Passed!” The woman laughed as she walked out.

Wolf growled, Blue and Neolith had a dark expression but Dawnwind held them back with a hoof. “Leave this to me.”

Fletcher, Midnight, Abundo and Abstraction entered the male section, walking up to free showers and starting cleaning themselves, enjoying the bliss of the warm water.

“Look who we got here.” A male voice commented and they saw a man walking into the room. “The speaking ponies that helped the Boss. How was it for you?"

“Exciting.” Abstraction replied calmly and he turned back to cleaning himself with others before all felt a quick pain on the flanks, causing them to jump up with a masculine yelp.

“Exciting indeed.” The man chuckled before screaming as he felt how Abstraction’s magic engulfed him and threw him out.

“That should teach him a lesson.” Abstraction commented flatly as he went back to cleaning himself.

After being done, they all walked out and heard a female scream in the woman locker room. “Who put a spike into my boot?”

Dawnwind chuckled evilly at this, the others grinned.

Blue was watching the sunrise, thinking about her situation as Abstraction walked up to her. “Can I ask you something?” She nodded at his question.

“Of course.” He in response pulled out a wedding ring and she instantly realized what this was about. “You need advice how to confess to Lyra?”

Slightly ashamed, the stallion nodded. “Yeah, I am uncertain how to do it and you’re the only one who is married.” He pointed to the wedding ring on her horn.

“Well, while my story how I met my husband is similar to yours, my best advice is to do your best when you find a moment and…do not make the same mistake as I did.” She said the last part with a slightly shaking voice.

“Thank you, I give that a try and I won’t.”

Both then decided to look after the children, yet she took notice that Patch was slightly trembling as he stood next to the entrance of the room to the kids. “Something wrong?”

“N-no, e-everything’s f-fine.” He replied hastily and she quickly realized why he behaved like that.

“It’s because of Nancy, isn’t it?”

Patch gulped. “Y-yes.”

“Calm down, I will not rip your head off or something.”

“You’re…not?” Patch asked dumb folded.

“Why should I? I may be a little protective her after she threw her husband out, yes, but I know for a fact that you’re a good friend she can trust and a good example for Pip. And after all they went through, they deserve someone like you, Patch. Stay that way.” She told with a hint of pride and he slowly nodded.

Upon looking after the children, the Blue and the others saw how Dawnwind played a tribal chant via rain in small crystal bowls, gathered earlier. It worked simply: Through a spell on her staff, the rain made a sound not unlike a piano bar, with the different sized bowls playing different notes.

It had a relaxing effect on the children, letting out sighs before DD ran in, barking happily to see them and Dinky laughed.

“I like you too, DD. You're a good boy, yes you are, yes you are!” She patted him and Lovec walked in with his two fellow soldiers.

“Ah, there you are, DD. Looks like he’s happy that you are okay.” Lovec smiled at the scene. “Because I found out something interesting. He’s the puppy that we found in Afghanistan. Turns out Snake found him and took him here.”

The kids took a closer look, noticing that DD was wearing an eyepatch over his right, yellow eye, looking very familiar to the puppy.

“You grew fast,” Lilly commented surprised.

“Yeah, I guess it’s because of the breed,” Sergei suggested.

“Possible.” Lovec added, “We would like to stay but we got still some things to do.”

“Okay.” Lily smiled.

As the day passed, the adult ponies helped out on the base, while Dawnwind and Abundo continued on treating the children, seeing around noon how Snake visited a apart of the Medical Platform that was still under construction, also overhearing how Lovec and Chernov talked about that as they helped out on the same platform.

“I heard the boss has been going to that area under construction a lot lately,” Chernov told his friend.

“Yeah, saw him myself.”

“There's something in there...” Chernov suspected bit Lovec shook his head.

“He's... probably just keeping tabs on the building work. I've seen him watching us too. Don't let him catch you slacking off.”

And while having been told about Diamond Dogs and Snake, the children overheard a conversation about Snake’s past.

“Hey, you know why the boss is called Big Boss?” A soldier asked a comrade.

“Tsk. Everybody knows that. There was this unit in World War II called the Cobras, and their commander was a woman called The Boss. They say she was the mother of modern day special forces. Anyways, so she defects to the Soviet Union. America's afraid she'll leak all kinds of military secrets, so... they assign a man to kill her.”

“Yeah, our boss, Big Boss. And once The Boss was dead, he was given the name to signify that he had surpassed her.”

“He carried out a one-man infiltration of the Soviet Union, even though he was injured. He's one tough guy.”

“Yep. But I also heard that The Boss was his mentor, and that they were... involved. And that was why he turned his back on America.”

“He really has been through hell...”

While having been told about it, the kids couldn’t imagine what kind of struggle Snake must have been went through back then to fight his mentor.

“So why'd the boss's old organization get taken out? Just because the U.S. didn't like having a threat like that on its doorstep?” Another conversation greeted their ears.

“You hear all kinds of stories... but from what Commander Miller says, there's more to it than that. They had a feud with this American covert intelligence agency called Cipher. During the Peace Walker incident, the boss built a merc outfit that fought alongside the Sandinistas. An army without a country - by mercs, for mercs - something with no government holding the reins. Cipher wanted their military muscle, but the boss said no.”

“So they moved on the Caribbean base and massacred them. Huh...”

“I hear you...”

Again, none of the children could imagine the pain Snake and Miller had gone through back then.

The next day, Abundo played some music. His instrument was a Chororbis, a gilded sphere with glowing etchings that played music and echoes voices if the right word and note is sung to it when held in the wind. He told them that the religious orders of Pegasi carried them and it was also very relaxing.

Around noon, they all had lunch and Sergei got an idea. “Wanna see the Animal Conservation Platform? We got hired by an environmental NGO to look after animals. They were originally supposed to pick up the animals directly from us, but they are delayed picking them up, so we constructed a separate, unconnected strut to hold the animals until they are ready for transfer. It’s very relaxing to visit.”

Dinky and her friends looked at each other. “Sure, why not.”

And with that, they took the helicopter at it, looking in awe at what they saw. The platform consisted of three prongs connected to a central strut.

Birds, wolfs and bears were in caged areas, the herbivore in form of sheep and donkeys were in open enclosures.

It had the desired effect, as the children started to smile, taking deep breaths and listen to the songs of the birds.

They spent around half an honor before getting back to the main struts, overhearing an interesting conversation of two Mother Base soldiers.

“Hey, can you believe we got the Green Knight on our side and those other speaking ponies?”

“Barely. At first, I was wondering what the Boss was thinking but they are very skilled. Still, I hope those kids can recover.”

“Me too. Coming from a normal life, then getting kidnapped and forced to fight…we’re not exactly the best role models.”

“Yeah. Still, they have no place to go and it's safe here until they can go home.”

The four friends smiled upon hearing how the other staff members cared for them too as they walked back to the medical platform, seeing how some soldiers practicing with their pistols, watched by Ocelot.

One of them, a young man with brown eyes and black hair fired from the hip. “Again,” Ocelot ordered.

The man did as told but after one shot his gun jammed. Ocelot took it and fixed it.

“You see that in the movies? That’s an automatic, don’t bother trying to dampen the recoil. You do that with a revolver. We Diamond Dogs, are now a force to be reckoned with. We’ve got the world’s attention.

We’re not some tribal militia. So don’t act like one. You will learn how a real soldier fights. You will forget everything Hollywood taught you. And if I catch you doing something else…you’ll know it.” He inspected the pistol.

“Engravings… …Give you no tactical advantage whatsoever. That was some pretty shooting. Pretty good.” He gave the pistol back and walked away.

The young man had a confused expression that said, “D-did Ocelot just praise, or scold me?”

Blue had to chuckle at this. “Ocelot sort of reminds me of Tybalt. Despite having been the newest recruit back then, he taught one of the other guys how to use his gun right, just like Ocelot did.”

“Quite ironic, as he used revolvers himself,” Fletcher added.

Time passed Dawnwind and Abundo worked tirelessly on treating the kids, with all seeing how Mother Base got expanded, adding 3 additional struts to every section, connected by long roads. Slowly but constantly, the treatment showed good results.

About two weeks, Dawnwind had good news. “I am happy to say that your treatment is going well. If you want, you can go out.”

“Finally! I’d want to see Fletcher.” Dinky exclaimed in relief.

“We’re having our quarters at the command strut. It’s a long way but I saw Snake exploiting the mailing system a few times, by getting in a cardboard box when on a cargo hold, and having it mail himself instantly to the next cargo hold that he wanted to go to.”

That gave Dinky an idea. “Then what about surprising Fletcher and the others? Me and mother loved it to surprise Daddy that way.” Her friends nodded with smiles.

And so, Dinky climbed into a cardboard box with Lily, the siblings into another, waiting at the cargo hold until the mailing truck arrived.

“Is this all there is to load?” A soldier asked outside. "To the command strut, huh…”

They felt how he loaded the boxes onto the truck and knocked on the back to signal everything was ready and the truck moved.

The Eternal Knights discussed with their friends what to do next. “It isn’t our fight, but whoever this guy was that captured the children could become a threat to Equestria.” Midnight explained.

“Yes, not to mention that we should look for the other three Missing Dark Horse members as well,” Fletcher added before there was a knock on the door and he looked outside to see two cardboard boxes. “Can’t remember I ordered something. You?” He looked at his friends, they all shook their heads.

Suddenly, giggles could be heard inside the boxes. “Oh…” Fletcher smiled and opened them.

“Surprise!” The children shouted and everyone grinned at their funny action. It woke an old memory in Blue. Tungsten, when he was younger, did exactly the same with his father to surprise her sometimes, she was happy every time.

“I am glad to see you are recovering well.” Fletcher gave Dinky a hug.

“Have you seen Lovec? We want to tell him.” Lily asked and Abstraction pointed towards the quarters at the end of the corridor. “Thanks!”

Little did they know he was busy, writing an important letter.

Dear father and mother,

You must be worried sick since I was reported MIA but I want to let you know that I am alive and well. Unfortunately, I can’t say where I am but I am treated well and fair.

Despite this, I will regularly write you. If you want to reply, use the address given in my letter.

Your son,

Lovec

“Hello, Lovec,” Katja said as she, her brother and friends walked in, slightly startling him.

“Ah, it’s you. Glad to see you are doing better.” He said with a smile.

“What are you doing?” Dinky pointed to the letter.

“I was just writing a letter to my parents, that I’m alright.”

“If you don’t mind, how was it with them as parents when growing up?” Lily asked curiously.”

“They raised me well, caring for me just like they did for their soldiers in the Second World War. And thanks to their reputation, I had little trouble with bullies at school. But if there was one, my mother came and thought him a lesson.” He grinned at the memory.

“I can imagine that,” Blau replied with a chuckle and they walked back to the knights and Blue. “So, what do we now?”

“Well, in light of how the other missing Dark Horse members could also be on Earth, we stay here to find them. And to find out more about the man who kidnapped you.” Fletcher explained and the kids looked at each other.

He had a point, they didn’t know what he was capable off and could come back for them, something they didn’t wanted to imagine.

“Can…can we help you?” Lily spoke up, surprising the adults, Dinky and the siblings nodded.

“We know to appreciate your helpfulness but it would be too dangerous, children,” Blue said with concern, but Fletcher waved a hoof.

“There is nothing to worry about. Dinky helped us very well when we landed in that alternative universe and she proved very useful with the siblings in Italy too. They just need the right role and equipment.”

The mare let out a sigh. “Fine. Still, we should discuss this with Miller and I doubt he will agree.”

“Still, it’s worth a try.” “Midnight pointed out.

As expected, Miller was not fond. “No way, that’s too dangerous!”

“But, sir…” Dinky stated.

“Sorry, but the answer is no.”

“With all due respect sir, they could prove useful and they don’t have to be directly in the field. They could monitor the mission are from a safe distance and we guard them.” Lovec suggested.

“That could work. I could make the suiting equipment for this.” Wagensroll offered and Miller sighed.

“Fine. What do you say Ocelot? Boss?”

Both nodded, showing their agreement.

With that and answer, Wagensroll designed some suiting helmets and light-weight body armor for the protection of his young friends.

“They suit perfectly.” Dinky complimented him.

“Glad to hear it. I also made with Fletcher some means of self-defense for you, just in case.” He pointed to a table with some suppressed Micro Uzis, they had blue colored barrels and magazines, with the kids eyeing them with unease. “Don’t worry, they are loaded with rubber bullets. They knock enemies out cold - just like that - no fatality.”

Hearing that they were designed to be non-lethal put the children at ease. “Good idea by you and Uncle Fletcher.” Dinky smiled weakly and she grabbed the SMG with her friends, trying them out on the firing range.

They all took deep breaths and aimed down the sights. The iron sights were replaced with Red Dot sights for easier use and they pulled the triggers, firing a few shots, hitting the targets dead on.

“I also modified the Fulton, apart from being able to extract vehicles and resource containers, you can use it too if you have to get out quickly. And don’t worry about the suppressors, thanks to a spell by Fletcher, they’ll never wear out.”

“Good to know,” Blau commented as Sergei walked up to them.

“The Boss is about to go on a mission, that gives us an opportunity to try it out.” Dinky and her friends nodded and followed him to the next helipad.

“Our weather surveillance indicates turbulence out there. Try not to get knocked out of the sky.” Ocelot warned Snake.

“Got it.”

Fletcher took notice how Miller was looking around with a suspicious expression before he hit the side of the chopper with his crutch and Quiet metalized where he had hit.

“Quiet?” Snake asked surprised.

“Where does she think she’s going?” Miller added and Ocelot figured it out.

“You want to head out with the Boss?”

“That’ll be the da,.” Miller commented sarcastically.

“I don’t see a problem with it, as long as she’s with you.” Ocelot countered and looked at Snake. “She’s a crack shot- a damn fine scout. Well suited for a clandestine op."

“There’s nothing ‘damn fine’ about this…thing!” Miler protested and the black markings appeared around her eyes.

Ocelot drew one of his revolvers, spinning it a few times before offering it to Quiet. “Here.”

“Hey! Miler exclaimed as Ocelot pointed to the blades of the chopper.

“Blades.” Quiet took aim in response.

“Wait a minute! That thing costs a lot of money!” Miller yelled but was held back by Ocelot, who nodded at Quiet.

To everyone’s surprise and fasciation, Quiet fired between the blades without any issues before giving the gun back to Ocelot and her markings vanished.

“She can see each individual blade. And her depth perception…”

“You want in?” Snake asked the woman.

“This is ridiculous! She doesn’t talk! How could you possibly stay in communication?” Miller pointed out to his superior.

After a short moment of silence, Snake replied, “Right.” And without another word, he boarded the chopper, the others did too.

“Wow…how did she did that?” Blau Streifen was lost for words.

“They still look into it, but we should focus on the mission.” Midnight said and the colt nodded before the batpony started the mission briefing, recorded by Miller on a cassette.

“Boss, this contract comes out of Angola. That's right - Central Africa, where Emmerich claimed they were working on "a weapon to surpass Metal Gear." There's been a massive oil spill from Mfinda Oilfield. It's flowing into the river and contaminating the water supply. An Environmental NGO has asked us to stop the spill... by destroying the facility. Environmental activism isn't exactly our line of work, but it's not that simple either. The group operating the oil facility and causing the spill is the rebel group UNITA. And word has it that UNITA is getting supplied with U.S. military weapons. That sounds to me like Cipher's pulling their strings. Boss, it's time to give Cipher a little surprise.”

Then he started an info tape about the enemy forces in the area.

“Apparently there are three major PFs who've expanded in Central Africa: CFA, Rogue Coyote, and Zero Risk Security. HEC's investigations have shown there's almost no overlap between their areas of operation. It's not so much a turf war, more like they have a gentlemens' agreement. If you do cross paths with them, you probably won't have to face more than one at a time. Still, don't expect a walk in the park.

The CFA - Contract Forces of Africa. These guys are a major player. Their head office is in Pretoria, South Africa. That's also where the South African Defence Force is headquartered. We think the two are closely connected. An HEC investigation revealed that most of the CFA's operators are former SADF soldiers. South Africa has been locked in struggles with neighboring regimes for years. That means constant action - and we know better than anyone that's the best kind of training. A company drawing its recruits from hardened military vets. You can bet they know how to handle themselves. Do not underestimate them.

Within the CFA is a company of soldiers made up mainly of locally hired operators. They speak Afrikaans to communicate with personnel from the CFA, but if you notice any speaking the local language, that's them. Though hired from the local population, they were originally part of a paramilitary group, so they'll have plenty of combat experience. And unlike their days shooting junkyard rifles out of beat-up pickup trucks, the CFA now supplies them with the latest gear from the West. On top of that, they've been combat-trained by South African Army. All that adds up to a much stronger fighting force. So don't brush them off.”

With that in mind, they patiently waited until the choppers arrived in the Angola-Zaire border region of Central Africa at late noon as Miller reported in.

“Came from Intel. The target is Angola’s Mfinda Oilfield, upstream from the landing point. A spill has covered the whole area in crude. A pipeline that crosses the Munene River has failed, now the shore’s a mess. Not to mention the villages downstream have no drinking water.” He paused for a moment.

“The oil runs to the pipeline of that facility. Taking it out should end the leak. The client this time is an environmental NGO. Destroy the facility. Stop that leak. This may seem like straight-up-philanthropy, but there’s another reason we agreed to it. The Mfinda Oilfield was outdated, abandoned. Then the rebel group UNITA moved in, taking it upon themselves to kickstart operations. UNITA’s been rapidly modernizing its arsenal. Rumor has it someone’s been seeing them U.S. military hardware. Intel’s analysis suggests the broker’s a front company – Cipher’s. Keeping taps on UNITA could tell us who’s pulling its strings.”

At a glade near a river, Snake’s chopper let him out with DD, Abstraction joined them, as the other chopper let the ponies and children with the Soviet’s out on a cliff overlooking Snake as Miller added, “That’s step one to tracking down Skull Face – and Cipher with him.”

Skull Face, that was the apparent name of the man that had captured the kids, this had been revealed by questing of Emmerich.

Sergei, Chernov and Lovec wore body armor with helmets, armed with suppressed AK-74s and tranquilizer converted Makarov pistols. Lovec took the driver seat of a UAZ that Snake had captured in Afghanistan, Sergei took the passenger seat, Dinky and Lily took the rear seats, while Chernov drove another one with the siblings as passengers towards the outpost that was between the Oilfield.

Blue and Fletcher used their teleportation to get into position, the pegasus and Batponies followed above the clouds, as Miller gave further instruction.

“First make your way to the oil facility. It’s to the north, past Bwala ya Masa. The war industry we started has taken a pretty crooked course these past nine years. With no other options, soldiers have become dogs of war, sent to conflict zones as ‘private forces,’ or PFs. Guys we fought alongside are dying all around the globe for no reason – no banner. But it’s how they survive.”

This filled the Eternal Knights with unease, remembering how James used to be a simple soldier before becoming a mercenary. He had a reason to be one but also how he survived.

“The demands for PFs here in Africa is especially high. Cold War standoffs, resource exploitation, tribal clashes…What’s big business for developed countries has only brought conflict here. That mess you’re standing in…is just the latest example.”

Upon arrival, at Bwala ya Masa, a village made into a supply camp by the CFA, the children went prone and reached for their binoculars, their Soviet friends took defensive positions.

They marked all CFA personal they could spot. Those soldiers wore beige uniforms that possessed two breast pockets, epaulets with a red stripe, shorts, and the PF's logo on their right sleeve, which was a green shield background with a yellow circle in the middle. Within the yellow circle was a dagger with two hunting arrows formed in an x-shape on top of the dagger. Above the dagger/arrows was a rectangle that had a red center and a white left and right edge. Within each of the squares encompassing the logo was one of the initials composing the name of the PF.

Also, many wore green busker caps, and had black boots with beige socks that reached up to the upper calf, some had a waist equipment harness, bandoleer belts or even medals attached to the breast pocket, presumably from their time in the SADF.

But at the other end of the outpost, Dinky saw something that horrified her. “Oh my…”

Four boys, armed with AK rifles, two wore helmets, the other two had balaclavas instead.

“Children?! Child soldiers.” Ocelot commented at the sight. “Children there are abducted and trained to be soldiers. They’re only taught to fight. Then one day they grow up, and teach the next generation the same way. With a gun in his hands, a kid is as dangerous as any adult. Only they don’t know a think about right and wrong.”

This was only too true, as Dinky, Lily, Katja and Blau had experienced themselves, having been a danger to their adult friends too.

“Boss,” Miller called in, “do not hurt any child soldiers. If you do, the mission is over.”

“Can…Can we save them from this kind of life?” Dinky spoke into the radio with pity.

“I understand your worry, but there’s sadly no way,” Blue replied.

“There is a way.” Snake countered as he sneaked past the soldiers, towards the child soldiers who got trained by two other CFA members. “Blue, Fletcher, take aim. Wolf, prepare to neutralize the child soldiers on my command.”

“Copy that.”

“Acknowledged.”

Only after a few seconds ,the targets stood in a straight line and Snake said, “Do it!”

Both Snipers neutralize the soldiers and Wolf used her speed to knock out the child soldiers in a flash.

DD barked and pointed to a building behind Snake. “Enemy coming out!” Neolith warned as he was in a blind spot for the children and snipers, so she neutralized him with a well-aimed, non-lethal crossbow shot from above.

“What’s wrong?” Another CFA mercenary asked as he spotted his fallen asked comrade, also in the blind spot but Abstraction quickly drew his sidearm and fired before any alert could be sounded.

Yet DD barked again and Abstraction had to see how two squads came from both sides towards them. There was no time to hide.

But Midnight reacted quickly, using his blood magic to teleport around and knocked the squads out.

This allowed Snake and his unicorn companion to extract the child soldiers with the Fulton, thanks to Wagensroll’s upgrade and then get on the other side of the outpost, with the former getting into an M151 MUTT parked at the exit, with DD taking the passenger seat and Abstraction got into the rear.

The recon team got back into the UAZ, Blue and Fletcher had little trouble keeping up.

“You’ve made it past the village. Continue heading for the oil facility. It’s located upriver.” Miller informed on the radio as they traveled through the trophic forest area, “Mfinda Oilfield is the property of SANR – South African Natural Recourses. SANR drills oil wells wherever they can throughout that region. And when the oil dries up, they abandon the facility.

Then it’s only a matter of time before the aging equipment starts leaking crude. That means UNITA’s takeover is the perfect cover for SNAR. Now that they can blame the spill on a bunch of ‘Oil thieves.’ However you look at it, SNAR’s far from squeaky clean.”

The group came past a burned down village before arriving at the oilfield and Miller reminded Snake of the objectives. “There it is – the oil facility. To stop the leak, you need to shut down the oil transfer pump and destroy the oily water separator tank.”

“Begin covering fire!” Snake ordered Fletcher and Blue as he climbed up the catwalk, seeing that some guards stood on the upper parts of the catwalks and buildings, thus could easily spot him and Abstraction, with the children calling them or calling them out as the two sneaked towards the tank behind a fenced area.

A CFA soldier was guarding the door, but luckily for Snake and Abstraction, a fellow CFA member brought him into a chat, distracting him, although only he stallion could understand it.

“You getting the hang of the job?” The guard got asked.

“I guess so. You've been in the business long?”

“Yeah, ever since 5 Commando.”

“No way! Back when Zaire was still the Congo?” The guard asked fascinated and surprised.

“Almost 20 years now. I replied to an ad in a South African newspaper, and that was it.”

“In South Africa?”

“Back then I was just interested in a quick paycheck. Never thought I'd still be doing it. Life's funny. The industry's changed a lot now, though.”

“Changed how?”

“It used to be, the nation gathered the mercs together for a specific cause. Nowadays, mercs form their own organizations, sell themselves to the nations and warlords.”

“Thanks to Big Boss?” The guard figured out.

“Yeah. The legendary mercenary - he set these times in motion. Well, I've got to get back.”

“Hey, you mind if we talk some more later on?”

“No problem. Keep your powder dry.”

They didn’t notice how the two intruders planted C4 on the tank and moved toward the middle of the base and up the stairs towards the building.

“There’s the transfer pump control room. The Emergency stop button is probably inside it.” Ocelot suggested and Snake pushed the button.

What happened next terrified everyone. As the oil stopped to flow, bodies came visible under it, completely covered in it, yet the lungs were covered in blisters, like they had become liquid.

“Bodies? Why?” Miller wondered in disbelief at the sight of the mass grave.

“Oh my…” Dinky mumbled in shock as Miller caught himself.

“Oil transfer pump shutdown conformed. Next, destroy the oily water separator tank. That’ll ensure they can never use the facility again.”

Snake pointed at some resource containers at the other gate and Abstraction nodded, following him there before the man activated the C4.

The tank got destroyed in a gigantic explosion, starting every CFA solder in the outpost and Miller warned, “Security’ll be together after that explosion. Get out of there ASAP.”

“He’s right, we see several soldiers and at last 4 Walker Gear coming towards your position!” Lily exclaimed on the radio as the base alert was sounded, with the guards searching the area.

“Got it.” Snake said calmly and climbed on a fuel container, attached a Fulton and held on as the container went up. Abstraction understood and did the same with another resource container, this was had metal loaded.

Seeing that they were out of the hot zone, the others had little trouble to get to the next landing zone and extracted as well.

Still, it filed all ponies with unease. What was they just discovered? How worse was it? How would it affect their stay? None of them could get up with an answer before their radio’s buzzed.

“Patch here. I, together with Miler looked into SANR and thought it could interest you. Patching you through.”

They all listened with interest at what Miller reported to Snake.

“Boss, we took another look into SANR, the owner of the oilfield. They were behind what happened. They hired the PF, not UNITA. They restarted the facility all the while pretending they were the victims. One other thing. SANR's Johannesburg "head office" is just a room in a multi-tenant building. Company's essentially non-existent. Three years ago, that investment fund stepped in and started gutting it through a series of mergers and sell-offs. And, get this... the fund itself no longer exists, either. It's a shell corporation... meaning someone is just using SANR's name from the shadows. But what about those strange corpses? Just what the hell were they doing over there?”

Chapter 5 Fight as One

Chapter 5: Fight As One

They all stared at what they just heard. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Instead, they had discovered something terrible.

“W-what did we get ourselves into?” Lily stuttered yet got hugged by Fletcher.

“Shh, calm down. Whatever it is, we’ll keep you safe.” She gave him a weak smile, her three friends did too.

“Still, it will make your job harder, no doubt. But for now, rest, all of you. You have earned it.” Midnight added and everyone nodded as the choppers arrived at Mother Base.

The knights had a short break, eating a snack as Patch and Wagensroll walked up to them.

“We might have found the locations of the other Dark Horse members.” Patch said and Midnight smiled.

“Really? Where?”

“In Africa, to be exact in the same area you just operated.”

“Then let’s go! There is no time to waste.” Fletcher pointed out and the three knights called the chopper.

They got brought to the same cliff the children had been dropped off, the map showed that the signal was near.

Looking around they spotted an Earth Pony stallion in the distance. His armor was made out of furs and leather, wielding a pair of throwing axes. He was white-coated and wine-red maned, long and shaggy with a beard and tail to match, tied up in knots with bronze rings, also staggering around.

“Careful.” Midnight warned as he and his friends closed in to be in hearing range.

But as the Earth pony spotted them he roared and started to charge, like a wild beast and the knights dodged his attacks as good as they could.

“Easy! Easy there!” Midnight exclaimed as the Earth pony tried to slice him with his axes.

Fletcher and Wolf managed to combine their attacks, with Fletcher firing a stun arrow that worked like a Taser, causing the Earth pony to drop the axes as it grunted in pain and Wolf attempted to knock him out but the stallion recovered quickly.

She dodged a series of wild punches, trying to stay calm, with Fletcher and Midnight trying to restrain him by tackling him to the ground.

They had to use all their strength to do so and Wolf quoted the vow.

It caused the Dark Horse member filched and groaned.

“By Gods and Horses, where have I ended up?! Humans?! Sand?! Loud, ugly guns everywhere?! Am I in Tartarus?!”

“No, you’re not, Atgeir.” The batpony replied with a smile and attached a Fulton and the Earth pony screamed upon getting extracted.

“According to the map, the next signal is near that burned down village we came across earlier,” Wolf said after looking at the map and they made their way to the forest area next to it.

It didn’t take long to spot another Dark Horse member. It was a tall unicorn mare, lithe and deep-indigo in coat with a long, trailing white mane that nearly reached the ground, her eyes hidden by a blindfold of azure cloth, and a gold circlet with prisms of lapis lazuli rising high upon it. She also wore a dress in the same color as the blindfold. Several crystals floated around her as she stumbled through the forest.

However, the moment she spotted the knights, her crystals glowed and the forest was engulfed in storms of flying crystal.

“Don’t worry, I got this!” Fletcher cast a shield spell in response, protecting Midnight and Wolf as they closed in.

Midnight threw some smoke bombs to break the mare’s concentration and as she coughed, he quoted the vow.

Upon the smoke clearing, they saw how she grabbed the sides of her head and mumbled, “Oh...dear...The eyes of ancient Emperors glow blue once more...the bloody haze lifts...the voices dispel...I am in control again...” She raised her head, weakly smiling. “I didn't hurt anypony did I?” Her tone was calm and compassionate.

“We are fine, Insistra.” Fletcher replied, “How’s your teleport?”

“It’s working just fine.”

“Okay, here’s a diamond of where we have our shelter,” Fletcher replied, having found it hidden on Mother Base, as some soldiers intended to hide them for some reason. Insistra nodded after grabbing it and licking it.

The crystals started to spin round her at ever-increasing speed, a white light slowly emerged from the center of their orbit, spoke softly in an unfamiliar tongue,

“Natte-Ard-Safara.”

She got engulfed in the white light and vanishing once it was gone.

“Only one left. It’s near the oilfield.”

Following the signal, it led the three ponies to a cave, hearing groans of pain.

The slightly gasped to see a bright blue unicorn stallion with black mane arranged in elegant curls and a trim mustache and beard in heavy, golden armor, decorated with depictions of cobras, lying on the ground, a great mace next to him.

He was twitching and trashing, having a seizure, so the knights tried to grab him in an attempt to calm him down, quoting the vow.

After a view minutes, he stopped, slightly panting and exclaimed, “The Gods are good. Aid has come at last! I...” He stopped abruptly as he stood up and faced Midnight, his expression becoming one of dismay. “Lord Commander...Is there somewhere the situation may be explained to me?” He asked in a blunt, forthright tone, as if he had little respect for the knights.”

“Yes, there is one, Siyarjit. Are you fine?” The Lord Commander asked and the unicorn nodded, walking out of the cave.

“I can handle things myself from here on. No need for your...spells.” Siyarjit insisted, pushing the Fulton away.

Midnight shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Once in the chopper, they briefed Siyarjit about the situation. “Your shadow-magic wouldn't have anything to do with this, would it?

“No.” Midnight replied icily.

“I am merely concerned. Such arts are catastrophic when control is lost and this could be-“

“This is beyond any of our control, Siyarjit. And considering we have the most experience dimension-hopping, I suggest you take our advice from here on.” Midnight interrupted him.

In response. Siyarjit fixed the knights with a resentful glare. “Then I will do so...however much I feel is necessary.”

As the chopper arrived at Mother Base, they saw, saw Atgeir and Insistra waiting at the helipad with the others. “I take you got briefed about the situation?” Midnight asked.

“Yes, Lord Commander and we are ready to serve you again,” Insistra replied.

Just then, Snake walked up to them. “Sorry to bother, but we got another mission.”

“No problem. I just hope it’s quick as it gets late.” Midnight replied as the sun was setting, yet the kids smiled, showing no sights of getting tired before they boarded the choppers and played the info tape.

“There's a violent power struggle going on within the contract forces of Africa - the PF that ran security for the Mfinda Oilfield. Most of their key people are Afrikaners, but naturally for a South African organization, some of its founders are British. Details are sketchy, but apparently the Afrikaners are holding the British personnel for interrogation near Kiziba Camp. We've been asked to rescue one of them, a man known as the "viscount." We don't know the viscount's exact location, but he doesn't speak the Afrikaner's language, Afrikaans. They'll need an interpreter who speaks English in order to interrogate him. Meaning if we tail the interpreter, he'll lead us straight to the target. By the way, the contract specifies that it's alright to ignore the other British prisoners... But the final decision is yours, Boss.”

As the choppers closed in, Miller informed on the details.

“Several high-level British CFA officials are being held by their Afrikaner colleagues. One of those prisoners is the rescue target, a guy known as the ‘viscount.’ The target location is unknown, but they’re bound to have an interpreter present when they interrogate him. We’ve used info from the Intel unit to predict the interpreter’s location. It’s on your iDroid. Follow the interpreter and extract the target when you find him.”

As the chopper touched down, Abstraction, together with Siyarjit, Atgeir and Insistra followed Snake and DD, the Pegasus and batpony used the clouds, scouts and Snipers got dropped off near good vantage points of the camp.

“I think I see him, south entrance,” Blau reported as he spotted a soldier with a green beret, just like Lovec had worn next to him was a soldier with a red beret. Both walked up to a tied-up man having blue colored clothes with red and white stripes, being escorted by a guard.

The guard and man with Red beret had a short chatter before the prisoner was led away.

“I found another prisoner, southeast in a small booth,” Katja said and the flying ponies took a look, with Snake and his companions following the interpreter to said prisoner, who stood up as they arrived, with the red beret soldier saying something in his native language.

“This is your last chance.” The man with green beret said in English and the ponies realized that this was the interpreter, the other one was the interrogator. “The MPLA's oilfield rights - where did you get this information?”

“I told you, I only know it was an anonymous source…” The POW replied and the interpreter translated before replying,

“You're not fooling anybody.”

“Ask any of the others. Nobody knows anything.” This response from the POW caused the interrogator to say something in an angry tone.

“You made up a story with the others. You British are all liars. You know how much the Afrikaners suffered because of you in the Boer War?”

“That wasn't me.” The Brit replied at the translation.

“But it was you that betrayed us.” Was the counter of the interpreter.

Slightly panicking, the Brit answered, “It wasn't me, it was the viscount...!” But got swatted by the interrogator’s rifle and the two CFA members walked away.

“So, our rescue target was behind some kind of plot.” Ocelot concluded as Snake made a sign for Siyarjit and Atgeir to take care of the POW.

The Earth pony rushed forward and knocked the CFA guard out with several punches before the mercenary had even a chance to react and the unicorn extracted the prisoner with a Fulton.

“Two more POWs, man and woman, to the east of the camp in cages,” Dinky reported as she looked around, seeing also that three CFA members guarded them, with the two officers arriving shortly.

As both POWs were brought out, the interpreter started the questioning “Now you will both talk. Where did you get the information on the MPLA's oilfield rights?”

With a scared expression, the male prisoner replied, “We don't know anything, I swear!”

“Believe us...” The woman sobbed.

“You mean you attempted to contact the MPLA based on information from an unknown source?” They both got asked by the Interpreter.

In response, the male POW answered, “We thought it was suspicious, sure. But we stood to make a lot of money out of it. We're businessmen...”

“You're a joke, not businessmen. Failed mercenaries trying to skin this country.” They got accused.

“We didn't... we didn't try to hide anything... The viscount said to keep quiet for now, that's all...” The woman tried to explain and the English-speaking African translated for his superior,

“Then the viscount can tell us the rest.”

“W-wait! She had nothing to do with this!” The male Brit pleaded before getting swatted by the other officer.

After the officers left, Insistra whispered, “Go, Go gadget stun shot!” And her crystals hovered over the guards unnoticed, shooting blue lasers that had the same effect as a Tranquilizer, putting them to sleep. Abundo checked the two prisoners then for injuries. Having not found any, Midnight and Wolf extracted them.

As Abstraction followed the officers he took notice of a piece of paper in the radio building on a table with the radio, next to a sleeping soldier on a cot. Using his magic, he acquired the paper without a sound and scanned it with his IDroid.

“This is…a list of prisoner detainment locations…” Miller realized and marred the location of the last prisoner, being on the west side of the camp.

Seeing how well everything well pleased the children. But suddenly the sound of an engine greeted their ear and they turned around. “Incoming truck!” Stay down!” Sergei warned as their vantage point was next to the road, staying prone.

They held their breaths as the truck stopped in front of them and both passengers took a look, apparently alerted by the parked jeep.

Lily’s heart raced as one of the soldiers came dangerously close to her and pointed a flashlight into her direction. Please don’t see me!

“Huh? What’s that?” He ordered and the filly quickly realized she had to neutralize him or the alert would be sounded and the prisoner executed.

As he spotted her, his expression was one of surprise, yet grunted in pain as Lily and Dinky opened fire, throwing him back as they aimed for the chest, the siblings did the same with the other CFA soldier.

This gave Sergei and Lovec a chance, rushing over and knocked them down with the butts of their rifles. Despite not speaking Afrikaans, holding the CFA members up was enough to show that they should stay down and the kids let out a breath of relief.

The Eternal Knights and Dark Horse members reached a house, where a prisoner was led in, Miller confirmed it was the target and DD barked as the two officers came into sight and entered too.

“Sorry we kept you waiting.” The interpreter started, yet the Viscount had his head lowered.

“You're gonna kill me anyway...”

In responses, the language specialist replied, “Perhaps not - depending on what you tell me.”

“We don't know the informant's identity.”

“He does not believe you. If you want to die, we will make it happen. We never should have worked with the Brits.” The interpreter translated what his superior said and the Viscount looked up.

“You're a nationalist? Apartheid's on its last legs already - get with the times.”

“That's some attitude from a traitor.” Was the cold response of the CFA officer.

Slightly desperately, the Brit said, “What am I supposed to say? Trust me? But how about we make a deal?”

“That door is closed already.” The interpreter finished and both left

Snake watched after both officers until they were far enough from the house and said, “Fire!”

Blue neutralized the specialist, Fletcher the interrogator. Both knew why Snake wanted to extract them, the former would allow him to understand Afrikaans in future missions, the other one had very likely his skills that would be of use for Diamond Dogs.

At the same time, Abstraction vaulted through the window and knocked the guard out, then carried the Brit outside and extracted him, just as Snake did the same with the CFA soldiers and they all extracted out of the hot zone.

“Debriefing coming right up!” Patch informed his friends and they all listen to Miller.

Boss, one of the other British prisoners filled us in about the viscount. It turns out he's a real two-faced son of a bitch. He was planning on securing the MPLA's oilfield rights for himself in exchange for swapping the CFA's alliance from the anti-government UNITA rebels to the state-backed MPLA. He hid this from the Afrikaners, but once he thought the jig was up, he tried to pin it on the other British personnel and take off. The Afrikaners captured him, and that was when he asked us to rescue him and only him. I'll throw him in the Brig for now, but... we may have to be extra "persuasive" with this one.” He paused.

“By the way, Boss, we got some interesting news out of our friend the "viscount." He mentioned that more than a few PFs in the region have purchased Walker Gears. The CFA's the same. That's Soviet Army technology... and it's still a prototype. Only Cipher could be leaking it to the PFs. But the question is... why?”

“I hope the viscount will set in the brig for a long time for betraying his own.” Wolf slightly growled with disgust, the others nodded, yet Fletcher had to smile.

Dinky, Lily, Katja and Blau had fallen asleep, snuggling with each other and Blue put a blanket over them with a smile of her own.

“It’s…fascinating. They went through so much, things that would scar children of their age for life, and yet they want to help where they can.” She whispered, not to wake them and everyone nodded.

“Their parents can be proud of them,” Insistra added.

Upon arrival at base, Fletcher and Blue brought the children to bed, before resting for the night.

In the next morning, they all breakfasted and Dinky asked, “Siyarjit, do you, Atgeir or Insistra mind to tell about yourselves?”

“Not at all,” Siyarjit replied, “I’m a Ghoran unicorn warrior-prince. I was famous for leading a group of Najiksatra across Ghora to root out Glamourling influence among the ruling classes.”

“And I am an Erdornish beastmaster. I get often hired by villages close to the Frozen North to deal with monster threats.” Atgeir told the kids.

“As for me, I am mage of the Crystal Empire of the School of Lapis Lazuli. Though the scholars always wear blindfolds, I have no trouble of my surroundings, as you have seen.”

“That’s very interesting.” Blau smiled as Snake walked towards them.

“Sorry to bother so early in the morning, but the next mission just came in.”

None of them minded, they nodded and got their gear and boarded the chopper, listening to the info tape of Miller.

“Boss, this contract comes from the MPLA - the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola. Apparently, "new, Western bipedal weapons" have been deployed to Ditadi Abandoned Village and are a threat to their troops. Our job is to eliminate them. The "bipedal weapons" they're talking about are of course Walker Gears. As I've previously reported, they're already in active service with PFs in Africa. But don't you find it strange? A PF employed by the West obtains a prototype developed by the Soviets... Yet the Russia-backed MPLA don't know the details. Eastern weapons technology developed in Afghanistan is being supplied to the West in Africa. Only Cipher would be capable of making something like that happen. So Boss, eliminate the Walker Gears at Ditadi Abandoned Village just like the MPLA have asked. Once you do, the PF will need to contact its supplier. Giving us a chance to close in on that supplier - Cipher.”

Again, Miller gave them the details as the choppers closed into the area of operation.

“Destroy them, extract them, whatever you see fit.”

As they all got out, the ponies and soldiers saw how Snake had Quiet with him, she moved towards the outpost at every fast speed, looking as if she leaped through the air, similar to the Mist unit

“Wow…” Lily mumbled fascinated.

“Yes, I never saw such abilities before,” Abundo commented on it.

Getting into position, they all saw that Quiet had already scouted ahead, having marked all targets and soldiers at the burned down village, saving them some work.

Still, the children marked the soldiers that were out of Quiet’s sight, seeing that the four Walker Gears were beige in color, armed with either miniguns or missile launchers, pared next to a tent.

“I see two prisoners, one in the tent, the other one in a ruin,” Katja reported.

“Leave it to me,” Insistra replied and sneaked towards the ruin, stunning the guard with her crystals.

“Thank you…” The POW said weakly as he got extracted.

Sneaking towards the tent, she overheard a conversation between two CFA soldiers.

“So, what do you think of the biped?”

“It's not bad. Whatever the terrain, you can just charge right in.”

“Yeah, but riding it is hell on your knees.”

“How did a PF get the money to buy the things, anyway?” The other soldier wondered.

“Rumor is, it's kind of a scam. They sell the units cheap, but then rack up the price on the optional on-board weaponry.”

“Like what? Surface-to-air missiles or something?”

“Well, that's the thing... This is just a rumor, but I heard it's a nuke. Ultra-compact.” This caused the other CFA member to be surprised.

“Are you kidding me? Mercs like us with nukes? Nuke tech is a nuclear power's biggest secret. No way we could just buy 'em. Even the South African government's having trouble developing nukes.”

“Hey, it's just a rumor. I gotta go.”

“Sure…”

At the tent, she also used her crystals to stun the guard.

“But...why?” The POW wondered as he got freed.

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” She replied and extracted him with the Fulton once out of the tent.

“Destroy or extract?” Abstraction asked Snake.

“Extract, they may come in handy for future missions.” He replied and attached a Fulton to the first Walker Gear. Abstraction took care of the second, Siyarjit and Atgeir of the other two and once that was done, they all extracted.

The debriefing by Miller on the way back was interesting.

“Boss, we were right. Once you'd eliminated those Walker Gears, a resupply call was made from Ditadi to CFA headquarters. The CFA then contacted none other than SANR... that's right, the shell company that "owned" Mfinda Oilfield. So SANR was just a front for Cipher... The resupply won't be happening just yet, but we did learn that the Walker Gears are transported out of Nova Braga Airport. Apparently there's a distribution network on the savanna that links all the PF outposts. I'll have the Intel Team investigate this network. If Cipher is supplying PFs with Walker Gears, the PFs have to be offering them something in return. We follow the money trail, and we might just find ourselves on Cipher's doorstep.”

“Sounds like are on the right track.” Midnight was confident of that.

For the rest of the day, they helped out at the base, with Lovec chatting with his fellow soldiers. “I haven’t received a reply from my parents yet. I hope they understand.” He said with worry.

“Think positive, my friend.” Chernov gave him a smile. “It’s a long way, give them time.”

“Da. I am sure they will understand.” Sergei added.

Lovec smiled slightly. “Yeah…”

It was evening as the next mission started for them all, listing to the briefing.

“Boss, about those Walker Gears deployed by the CFA... It appears that it's not just the CFA, PFs all along the Angola-Zaire border are also getting equipped with them. The bipedal technology was developed by the Soviets... but Cipher's the one supplying it to the PFs. The question is why? What's in it for them? The answer may lie in the "compensation" being traded to Cipher by the PFs. Many outfits operating in Africa get locally-mined resources as spoils of war. Diamonds, nuggets of gold, and rare metals. According to the Intel Team, there's a PF convoy that regularly transports the goods. Escorted by armored vehicles, no less. Pretty heavy security for crossing the Angolan savannah. I can't imagine Cipher would be so interested in minerals alone. Those convoys have to be transporting something else. Something that holds the key to Cipher's plans. Boss, I want you to extract the truck, cargo and all, from the PF convoy. Let's find out what Cipher's real goals are.”

They also informed themselves about Zero Risk Security, as Intel suspected they were here too.

“Zero Risk Security aren't as hardcore a military outfit compared to the other two PFs in the region. The company sends operators to conflict regions around the world, not just Africa. They have decades of combined experience. They're also based out of South Africa. Their headquarters is in Johannesburg. A lot of their work involves corporate security for South African companies, but a good number of their operators are retired South African military. So don't mistake them for a bunch of security guards.”

As usual, Miller gave the details to everyone. “Your objective is to steal an entire truck from a PF convoy. We don’t have a fix on the truck we want. But the Intel Team has spotted the unit that’s tasked with escorting it. They’re stationed at the guard post to the north of Nova Braga Airport, on the savannah. The rendezvous with our target will be any time now.”

With that as info, they all made their way towards the outpost, with the kids marking the guards from a good vantage point, seeing how Snake sneaked towards a tent.

“You’ve found an intel file. It’s the escort plan for the transport truck. I’m putting the predicted route on your IDroid.” Miller informed as Snake came out of the tent and they all took a look.

The route was from the airport, to the camp and ended at the Oilfield. And just then they spotted the escort moving up, consisting of a jeep with heavily armed soldiers of ZRS, and two Stryker IFV, one of them had a tank cannon fir fire support.

Despite the darkness, they all had a clear view of the Zero Risk Security personal. The vehicles were colored in navy blue, so were the uniforms, looking almost identical to the CFA, except for wearing long dark pants. The logo was visible on the shoulders and caps, a yellow and black circle, with the name of the company being formatted to fit around the circumference of the circle (with "Zero Risk Security" being at the top, and "Special Protection Service" being at the bottom), as well as a globe within a hexagon with 12 stars forming a slight circle around the wireframe of the globe, as well as 12 spokes jutting out from the hexagon center. The spokes varied depending on whether they were located on the sides of the hexagon or the corners, with the latter being longer than the former. At the topmost spoke, a crown was adorned on top, while on the northwestern, southern, and northeastern spokes had the "Z", "R", and "S", adorned on them, respectively.

“Let’s go to the airport.” Snake suggested and everyone agreed.

At it, the kids looked around and spotted a navy blue truck with the back covered by a canvas. “That truck is the target.” Miller confirmed but they couldn’t make a move as the escort arrived.

“HQ, this is transport. We’ve rendezvoused with the security escort. Heading to the destination now.” One of the ZRS soldiers spoke into his radio, presumably the driver and walked up to a fellow soldier, who asked,

“You ready to set off?”

“Anytime.”

“What is it under the canvas, anyway?”

“You're better off not knowing. Besides, you'd violate our contract if you look.” The driver warned.

“I've heard rumors... You think it's true that anyone who you looks under the canvas will be possessed by Nzambi?” The soldier asked with unease but the driver’s expression stayed stern.

“Do not look under the canvas.”

“Right. So you're driving to the Munene River?”

“Yeah. Do me a favor and contact the outpost there.”

“You got it.”

“Watch my back out there, guys.” The driver said before getting into the truck and the convoy moved out.

Snake and the others followed it, trying to find a good opportunity to stop it but the APC would spot any attempt to get close.

The convoy stopped at the guard post before the camp and the guards surrounded the truck, so Snake and his companies could only watch as a CFA soldier asked the truck driver, “What's up?”

“You notice anything odd?”

“Nothing really. But...”

“But what?” The driver was curious.

“A lot of guys have gone missing around these parts, lately.”

“Gone missing... Like, abducted?”

“Beats me. But, you ever hear this rumor? There's this jungle around the Zaire border, full of ghosts. And anyone-“

“Anyone who goes in there never comes out.” The ZRS driver finished.

“So you know about it?”

“Listen, don't go talking about that stuff, OK?”

The expression of the CFA member became confused. “What do you mean?”

“I owe you guys out there. So just take my advice.” And with that, the driver got back into the truck, unaware of his pursuers.

Again, they followed the convoy until he was stopped by a guard at the camp. “Something wrong?” The truck driver asked.

“Need to inspect your cargo.”

“Hey, cut it out! You know the rules. Open that canvas and my client will go berserk.” The driver warned slightly surprised and Snake used this together with his allies to get in close, knowing this conversation would take a while.

“You think I give a shit?” The guard countered calmly.

“We have an agreement. You'll be charged with a breach of contract!” The driver yelled, yet the CFA member wasn’t impressed.

“Tell your boss to send a bill.“

“What the hell, man?” The driver did not understand.

“There's an infectious disease going around our post downstream. It's likely it was set loose by another PF.”

“And you're blaming us?”

“I never said that. But right now we're all a little touchy about outsiders. Just one look and we can clear this up.” The guard replied, yet the driver became annoyed.

“I ain't taking the fall for this...!” He exclaimed before the guard’s radio buzzed.

“This is CP. Let the convoy through. HQ has just contacted us. The message is: ‘We have a collaborative relationship with Zero Risk Security in this matter. Unilateral actions in the field will not be tolerated. Unilateral actions in the field will not be tolerated.’ Those were HQ's orders. We have no choice.”

Snake and his allies were just about 35 meters away as they got a surprise.

4 flashes came out of the truck and before the operatives could blink, four humanoid rock stood at each side of the truck. An armor-like walking flesh-form made up of craggy rock with an eerie glow between the fragments. Goggle-shaped chunks of stone made up the eyes eyes giving them an insectoid look.

“The Skulls!” Miller exclaimed in disbelief, “If these bastards are pulling guard duty…That proves that the cargo IS headed to Cipher.”

“Those guys look tough, I don’t think any of our weapons can harm them much.” Fletcher suspected as she looked over to the kids, noticing that they were gasping and coughing, the Soviets were too and his eyes went wide. “Oh no…”

“F-Fletch…” Dinky said I pain over the radio and everyone saw how all PF soldiers got proceed by the Skulls, just like in Afghanistan.

Realized he had to act fast, Fletcher teleported over to the children. “I can help,” Ifrit said and both unicorns cast a healing spell.

The kids and their bodyguards groaned, holding their heads, yet stopped to cough. “That should keep those…things from controlling you.”

“Th-thanks…” Sergei said with a slightly pained voice. “Still, how are we gonna deal with them?”

Fray thought for a moment and got an idea. “This might do it.” He drew his bow and fired an arrow right next to the truck. Blue gas released from it and the Skulls stumbled for a moment, before they collapsed. “Sleeping gas.” He explained as the Mist cleared.

All PF soldiers stumbled for a moment, struggling to stand.

t was in vain as they all fell to the ground, becoming unconscious as they twitched and reversed to their normal state again.

“You defeated the Skulls! I can’t believe you took those things out…” Miller commented surprised, “Now you just have to extract the target.”

Fletcher did as told, attaching a Fulton to the truck and Abundo spotted an Anti-Air radar on a hill, destroying it with his hammer, so the extraction chopper could land here.

“Go ahead, I join you shortly.” Snake waved a hand, extracted the truck driver, some soldiers and the APCs as the ponies extracted. They understood, Diamond Dogs could need the manpower and listed to Miller’s debriefing.

“Boss, we searched the truck you recovered. There were two primary types of cargo. First, drums of malachite, a copper ore. That took up most of the truck bed. But malachite isn't valuable enough to warrant an escort. The real cargo was most likely the second item, a shielding container. The contents? Yellowcake. That's right. The raw material for a nuclear weapon. That might point to the "weapon to surpass Metal Gear" Emmerich told us about, but who can say... Thing is, there isn't a lot of it. Not enough to make a nuclear warhead. Give us some time. We'll look into it, try to figure out why they had this under such close guard.”

“Looks like we hit something big.” Siyarjit commented.

“Yes. But we can think about it tomorrow.” Midnight replied and they all hit the hay once arriving at Mother Base.

As the morning sun came, everyone breakfasted, with Blau asking, “How is Snake doing?

“Currently coming back from a mission.” Patch took a sip of his tea. “He rescued two Intel Members that got captured by the CFA. I heard that CFA soldiers died from a decease lately and the CFA blamed Diamond Dogs for this. But the symptoms of the infected soldiers are similar to the bodies of the Oilfield and it happened after the Oilfield was destroyed, especially among local hires sent to the Masa Village area.” He told with concern. “I fear…we might have really caused this.”

“We don’t know that, Patch, it could be something different.” Dawnwind pointed out. “Right now we can only investigate this further.”

“Righto.”

Dinky and her friends looked at each other, hoping it wasn’t really their fault.

The day passed without anything unusual as evening came once again. “What do you think of the Africans the Boss extracted?” Lovec asked his friend.

“They decent, just like us. That African Interpreter understands me well. And you?”

“Me, I learned a little but Afrikaans, even a bit Kikongo.”

Lovec smiled. “Nice!”

“Men, get ready, the next mission is up!” Sergei called out and both saluted, the kids stood behind the former commander, smiling warmly.

Onboard the chopper, Midnight started the recording of Miller’s briefing.

“There are six targets. They're soldiers. The contract is to kill them. They used to be with a platoon of Mbele rebels, but then the Buta authorities captured them. They're at two locations - the Bampeve plantation and the Kungenga mine. The client is none other than the general they served under. He wants them dead to keep them from talking. A commander murdering his former men. That's what this boils down to.” Despite this, the children were at ease, they knew Snake would choose to extract over killing and Midnight did start a recording about the enemy forces.

“Rogue Coyote operates mainly out of Africa these days. Of the three PFs, they're the smallest. However, they scooped up most of the Rhodesian SAS after the country collapsed four years ago. Picture their entire organization as one big special forces unit. With Rhodesia a British colony, the Rhodesian SAS had its origins 22 SAS, C Squadron. They started out as a group known as the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers, but in '51 they were incorporated into 22 SAS as members of the British Commonwealth, and deployed to fight guerrillas in the Malayan Emergency. Even now, 22 SAS keeps the "C" squadron designation empty in recognition of their service. In a way, you could say the SAS almost makes up the core of Rogue Coyote. Later on, they were bolstered by other talent including former Selous Scouts and 32 Battalion. These guys are direct descendants of some of the best special forces in the world. They won't go down without a fight. Don't get careless.”

“Funny, Ocelot told me that Rogue Coyote lacks any kind of company-wide doctrine. It's made up of multiple commanders, each operating a unit at his own discretion. Not so much a corporation as a mixed bag of hired guns working together under a single banner.” Blue added with a taunting tone.

“I guess having been with the SAS makes up for that,” Fletcher replied.

The snipers, together with the children and their friends got dropped at the hill near the plantation, having a perfect overview, the rest a bit away to avoid alerting the enemy.

“Okay, I see three Mobile Gun Systems patrolling around the area,” Dinky reported, having been told the actual name of that variant of the Stryker by Wagensroll earlier.

They were colored navy blue, with the logo of the PF on the sides. It was primarily black and white, featuring an upside-down black spade as well as the center featuring a white Coyote skull to the upper jaw, two AK-74s with their barrels facing away at the bottom, and two palm leaves, with the tip of the spade featuring the name of the organization.

The soldiers themselves wore brown BDU shirts and beige cargo pants, and Lily spotted a man wearing a black beret and a white shirt emblazoned with Rogue Coyote's logo. “That’s the target.” Miler confirmed before a loud roaring sounded in their ears.

“Down!” Sergei yelled and all did as told, seeing a Hind with a searchlight flying past them.

“That’s an enemy gunship. A single burst from its machine gun could cut a man in half. Tread carefully.” Ocelot warned.

“How in the world does a western supplied PF end up with a Soviet chopper?” Chernov wondered.

“The other side of this conflict is supplied by the East, so I guess they must have captured one from them.” Lovec suspected.

Seeing that the target went into a building, Snake leaned against the wall and spun his bionic arm, creating a sound that lured the commander out. The moment the target stepped out, Snake grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, knocking him out.

Abstraction then levitated the man over the wall and Siyarjit extracted him.

“Extracting the target. Our contract was to kill the target, but I’ll go with your decision.” Miller commented at Snake’s action as the leader made his way towards the mine with the others.

One of the APC came towards them but Insistra said, “Mine!” And one of the crystals buried itself into the ground in front of the vehicle. As it drove over it, it started to spark, being disabled, allowing them to get past undetected, with the crystal coming out of the ground afterwards.

However, just after a few meters, Snake, the knights and three Dark horse members were forced to go prone as the Hind came back. “The Hind could make problems when we get to the prisoners.” Abstraction feared.

”I’ll take care of this!” Wolf flew over the hind with the cloud she was using and punched it. Lighting hit the chopper and he smoked. Due to the damage, the pits were forced to leave the area for repairs. “That should do it.”

Getting into the view of the mine, they saw that Quiet had already scouted ahead, waiting for the others to get into position, humming calmly as it started to rain.

A large outpost, made of several rock formations, with the actual mine being all the way to the bottom. “Cover me!” Snake ordered.

With that order, the snipers took out the soldiers in the watchtowers, Quiet fired a non-lethal, suppressed Czechoslavakian Vz. 5 too. The Dark Horse members and Knights knocked out any soldiers that were in Snake’s way.

After the outpost was secured, the mercenary leader moved into the mine, Abstraction, Atgeir, Insistra and Siyarjit behind him.

They carefully moved through the tunnel until they came to a cell, seeing five…children. They all had their heads lowered.

“Bingo. You know what to do.” Miller reminded Snake as one of the boys looked up. He put one hand through the bars, holding a diamond and Snake eyed it for a moment as the boy had an expression of hope. The others did the same. “Their lives for a fistful of Diamonds, huh? And what happens after that? They can’t go home…They’ve only got two options, Heaven or Hell.” Miller pointed out.

Siyarjit’s and Atgeir’s eyes went wide as they saw Snake checking his rifle and the kids backed up in fear. “Snake, wait!” The prince exclaimed but got held back by Abstraction, the mare held Atgeir back, they both struggled but couldn’t get free.

“No. There’s another.” Snake stated.

“Outer Heaven? Tape’s rolling, Boss…”

The child soldiers screamed as Snake pulled the trigger.

Silence.

“How about it, Kaz?” Snake asked. “Looks like our client just got outbid...” The two stallions and the children looked at him surprised, seeing he had shot a bucket instead.

Kaz took a deep breath. “We got the recording. Objective accomplished.”

“Let’s go.” Snake said as he opened the door, yet noticed that one of the kids had a bandaged leg, unable to walk, so he carried him.

“I already took care of the radar, the chopper’s safe to land,” Abundo reported as the group let the mine and the child soldiers got loaded into the chopper and everyone extracted.

Dinky and her three friends smiled, proud and happy that Big Boss had helped those poor kids.

Back at Mother Base, the child soldiers were amazed at what they saw. As Miller walked up, one of the kids accidentally bumped into him, causing him to lose balance and fall. Lovec helped him up.

“Whatcha thinking, Boss?” Kat asked Snake.

“I’m thinking he’s tougher than he looks. A little training, he’ll make himself useful.” The leader looked at the kid who had bumped into Kaz.

“Never liked kids. Especially ones with guns…” Kaz repeated the same when first seeing Dinky and her friends and hit the kid’s shoulder with his cane.

The boy then grabbed Snake's rifle and pointed it at Miller while breathing heavy, a scared expression.

“See? Kid’s a natural.” Snake commented.

“No…He’s no natural.” Just like with Katja, Miller grabbed the rifle and clamped it under his shoulder, taking the magazine out, as well as emptying the chamber, effectively disarming the boy. “Far from it.”

The child soldiers then got brought away by the three Soviets, with two members of the Medical team taking care of the wounded child on a stretcher.

You probably noticed on the way in, we’ve expanded housing. They’ll have their own quarters, separate from ours. Won’t be counted as staff.” Miller told his Boss.

“So we’re running a daycare, now?”

“They’ll learn how to read and write, do basic jobs.”

“A chance at a real life…” Snake figured out, “Just not from behind a gun.”

“Being behind a gun‘s what we do, Boss. There’s no room for angles in our heaven.” Miller replied and walked away.

Dinky and her friends looked with slight pity after the child soldiers, the adult ponies did too, hoping those poor kids could get a chance.

But none of them would know what those child soldiers would cause.

Chapter 6 Trouble

Chapter 6: Trouble

Fletcher opened his eyes, finding himself with Snake in a chopper, the man listed to a cassette tape.

“Cities and villages have been subject to a strategic bombing campaign the past several weeks. The damage is spreading. It's part of the Celestia's scorched earth operation aimed at wiping out the Lunar republic. The target is the commander of a Celestia's army. He's been key to the operation's success. People say this guy's responsible for annihilating Mondelein overnight. He's a tough, experienced commander. Don't underestimate him, he's one of the best, if not the best of her forces.” Miller explained and Fray realized who the target was.

Solomon.

Pequod dropped them near an outpost and they took a look with binoculars. Both spotted the stallion in his golden armor. He stood in a backyard of the base, standing a map.

Having spotted the target, Fletcher and Snake sneaked though the guards, towards Solomon.

“I watch your back,” Fletcher whispered and wasted the entrance to the backyard, yet saw how Snake sneaked up on the Grandmaster.

The stallion turned around but couldn’t react in time as Snake punched him several times, with the last pinch landing in his face, strong enough to knock him out and threw his helmet off. Yet he landed in the shadow, so Fray couldn’t see his face.

To his surprise, instead of dealing with him right away, Snake kicked Solomon, causing him to wake up with a cry of pain before being held up. Strangely, the Grandmaster stayed down, not doing anything.

“I saw you die in the flames...I watched your body burn...I watched your bones turn black and turn to dust...I hear your screams carried away in the wind...It is soon, heathen...So very soon...” Solomon spoke in an emotionless tone. Yet Snake wasn’t impressed and attached a Fulton. Fletcher suppressed a chuckle to see his archenemy helplessly struggling to get free. “Release me, you filthy savage! I'll make you beg for mercyyyyyyyyyyy!” Solomon yelled as he got pulled up.

Slightly groaning, Fletcher woke up from his dream. “That was strange.” He mumbled and fell asleep again.

As Blue opened her eyes, she found herself in a room with her former Boss, he was sitting at a desk as Tybalt walked up to him. “Here’s the tax report, Boss.”

The paymaster took a look at the report and fell out of his chair, screaming.

Bloodhound walked up and took a look at the report himself. “137 million?”

“Yes. And If I don’t pay, I go to jail for tax evasion.” Cascadius replied and grabbed him. “I’m genius enough to take on Equestria, but the IRS, no thank you!”

He let go and walked out of the room, leaving Blue confused. “Since when does he pay taxes?”

“The boss has a few legal businesses, did he never tell you?” Tybalt asked and she shook her head.

It was at this moment where the unicorn mare woke up from her dream. “That was weird…”

Nevertheless, the rest of the night they had a good sleep. “At morning, Wolf asked Patch, “Anything new from Snake?”

“Yes. After we hit the hay, he extracted a commander of Rogue Coyote, simply "the Major" to his men. That's his rank from his army day He was a target as he’s been talking about dealing in nuclear arms. But turns out, it was just a rumor he was paid to spread around. He doesn't even know who's paying him. All his instructions came through a cut-out. Also, he investigated ZRS and found out that they are trying to kill some old man.”

“That can only be Cipher that paid him. About that old man, I think we’ll find out soon enough.” The prince commented and the next mission was up, they all listened carefully to the briefing of Miller.

“Boss, the client this time is a child. One of the children you rescued from that mine. He wants us to save the boy who was their leader. His name is Shabani, and he was the oldest among them. Several days before you went into the mine, he was taken away to Nzo ya Badiabulu. Our search turned up a place the locals call by that name. Ngumba Industrial Zone. Nearby residents are terrified of it. They say "the Devil" lives there. And that anyone who sets foot in it never returns. This industrial zone has long been abandoned, but it seems it was sold off a few years back to a certain corporation. SANR. And now the perimeter is tightly guarded by a PF. The reason is unclear. The same goes for why Shabani was taken away. But something is obviously going on there. Those kids from the mine really looked up to Shabani. The "client" has given us the last of their diamonds in return. Go get Shabani out of there, Boss. Whatever Cipher's up to in the region, Shabani might just be our best lead.”

Almost at the drop point, Miller told the details. “The target is Shabani. Shabani was the leader of the boys being forced to work at the mine. He was separated from the others and taken away to Ngumba Industrial Zone. The locals call this place ‘Nzo ya Badiabulu’ - the Devil's House. Find Shabani and extract him safely.”

They got dropped near an outpost located at a sunken road, causing Ocelot to comment, “An outpost in a sunken road... Munoko Ya Nioka – ‘the Snake's Mouth.’ I get it. Looks like that's the only way to the objective area.”

The children and snipers marked the Rouge Coyote guards from their vantage points, so their companions could easily sneak past and saw how they climbed into the back of a parked through at the guard post further ahead.

“Haven't seen you before. You new?” A Soldier asked another, indirectly creating a distraction for Snake, allowing him to sneak into the tent and found a map to the objective area and got back on the truck.

“Yes. I'm transporting provisions. Is the riverside guard post up ahead?” The other soldier replied, being the driver of the truck.

“Yeah, but you can't make it to the river by vehicle.”

“So it's true that the last driver died there...?”

“What? No…” The officer said surprised.

“Should I be worried about those burned-up bodies at the station?”

Rogue Coyote officer: Enough questions. That happens all the time on the battlefield. The route map is in the tent over there. Better study it.”

The driver saluted. “Yes, sir.” He took a quick look and entered his vehicle, the scouts had little trouble to follow from the cliffs until he stopped at another guard post.

“HQ has new orders for you. Relieve the guard up ahead.” One of the guard told the driver.

“Huh?”

“His shift is over, and we're short-handed.”

“Understood. Where am I going?”

“The guard post before the tunnel. Once you get to the riverside guard post, head into the forest.”

“Right.”

“Keep your eyes open. That mist up ahead never clears. Then there's the stories of...’them.’” The guard warned with unease.

“’Them?’”

“Evil spirits. ‘Devils’ who whisper curses at you and whatnot. The last guy, he went into the tunnel and...Look, just be careful. Now go.

“Yes, sir.”

The driver got back into the truck and drive towards a valley with a collapsed bridge, forcing him to stop and go on foot through it.

“That mist block our line of sight, you are on your own.” Midnight spoke into the radio. “We will scout ahead.

“Alright.” Snake replied and Ocelot informed that supposedly the valley was covered in mist almost year around.

As Snake and the four Dark Horse members went through, an African Wild dog crossed their way but ignored them. “They see me as one of their own, so there’s no danger from wild animals,” Atgeir explained.

The slowly came into view of the guarded post, with one Rouge Coyote soldier having the river in his sight, so Snake threw an empty magazine behind him. Hearing the sound, he turned around, allowing the operatives to move on.

Near a tunnel, they saw the truck driver getting asked, “You here to take over? Just remember this... That tunnel is off-limits. Do not go in there.”

“Is there something special on the other side?”

“Don't get curious. You want to end up like the last driver?” The guard warned.

“So something did happen to him.

“He went through the tunnel, and saw inside the factory on the other side. Then maybe his conscience got the better of him, 'cause he tried to free the people inside. I was on duty at the station and stopped their truck... I didn't know what to do, so I reported it to command, and then... Before I knew it, this crew I had never seen before showed up and shot him on sight. They then burned the truck with everyone in it, and were gone just like that.” The guard told slightly shocked.

“Who were they?”

“What difference does it make? You just watch yourself. Stay the hell out of that tunnel.”

“Right...”

The tunnel itself had visible traces of erosion, making it structurally unstable.

“What do you see?” Abstraction asked on the radio as he got with the others through the tunnel.

“No guards at all,” Dinky replied. “It’s odd…”

Ocelot gave them some information about the place. “Ngumba Industrial Zone was developed with a lot of fanfare when the Zairian government was able to lure in foreign capital. That was decades ago. Later, President Mobutu nationalized it as part of his Authenticite campaign. But the new management didn't have the know-how to keep it running properly. It wasn't long before the zone shut down. Now it's just another ghost of glories past.”

One of the doors stood open and Snake carefully entered it, followed by the four Dark Horse members, yet what they saw was horrible.

The ground was bloodied. Static from a radio greeted their ears and Snake moved a curtain aside and they saw a man strapped to a bench, his chest was covered by a blanket, the throat by a plaster

Snake removed the plaster and the saw a white cable stuck the man’s throat. “Is that…” Abstraction asked with fear as Snake pulled it out, causing the man to grunt in pain and it was…an earplug. It played news in a foreign language, as it was connected to a radio next to the bench.

Snake then removed the blanket and they saw how the lungs of the man were becoming liquid. The mercenary leader brushed a finger on it to take a closer look before shaking it.

Going through another curtain, the group saw an entire row of people having the same “conditions”, causing Miller to ask horrified, “What is that? Is Shabani?”

The three pones looked at each other, it was creepy and filled them with unease.

At the other end, they saw the boy, also retrained on a bench, eyes closed. Snake put an ear to his chest and notice he was still breathing and that he held a necklace on his right hand, so the man took it and cut him loose.

“Shabani?” Snake asked and the boy looked at him. “Your boys sent me.”

Then they heard a creak and all ducked. Skull Face walked towards one of the patients. “I accept your disgrace, your sorrow, unto myself.” He said in Hungarian and aimed a lever-action with short barrel at the patient. “Rest in peace.” Then he pulled the trigger and took his hat off, showing respect to the test subject he had just killed. It hinted he did have empathy to a certain degree.

However, Shabani started to trash and cry in pain, Snake and the stallions tried to keep him call but Skull Face noticed it and spin-cocked his rifle, aiming at them.

“You.” He said cold and lowered his weapon. Burn with the rest of them!”

For a second, the floating boy was behind and suddenly, a roar.

The stallions and mare had no time to react as a strong force knocked them over. They recovered quickly, only to see that Snake was tackled down by what could only be described as a man on fire.

It wasn't simply that the man was 'on' fire, he was 'as' fire. He wasn't just burning, he was the burning itself. He wasn't merged with the fire, he was comprised of it. A living, human flame. And angry, by the look of him.

But Snake managed to crawl away in a struggle, as the Man on fire just stood there, doing nothing.

Out of the corner of their eyes, the saw how the floating boy looked over Shabani, with the former child soldier dying from smoke inhalation, the necklace briefly visible on the floating boy.

Then the burning man roared and all four ponies realized they could only run, moving as fast as they could with Snake back to the entrance.

Outside, they saw that the others looked with shock at the hostile creature as it bursted it of the building.

“We got to take it out or it will bring down the choppers!” Midnight yelled, though he had no idea how as Snake dodged fireballs from it.

They all knew they had to help, that Snake wouldn’t be able to do this forever.

“Fire on my command!” Snake yelled as he stood near a pool of water, a fuel tank next to it and they understood.

As soon as the Man on fire was near the fuel tank, Abstraction fired on the tank with his rifle. It exploded and threw the burning human into the pool. He let out a distorted scream of pain, engulfed in steam.

“Did that do it?!” Miller wondered. “Quick, now’s the time to get to the chopper.” He added as the steam cleared and the Man on fire was gone, with Snake and the pines wasting no time.

“That was…creepy and thrilling…” Abstraction let out a breath of relief.

“Yeah…We can be lucky that water was this thing’s weakness.” Dinky added.

“Still, how did you not notice Skull Face?” Atgeir asked Midnight.

“Must have come from a blind spot.” He suspected as Miller gave the debriefing.

Skull Face. So he was in Africa after all. Working behind the scenes, with even that ‘Man on Fire’ at his beck and call... But what the hell was going on at "the Devil's House"? Earphones embedded into people's throats, tapes playing voices... And those lumps on their chests... It looked like the ones on the bodies at the oilfield. The Man on Fire burned everything to the ground... But we were recording audio the whole time you were there. We'll conduct a thorough analysis of it.”

Back at base, they saw the child soldiers looking at the horizons, then with hope at Snake as they noticed him. He gave one of the boys the necklace, lowering his head in a gesture of grief. The boy then hung it around his neck and the group walked away.

“I can’t imagine the sorrow the must feel.” Lily looked after the child soldiers with pity.

“Me neither. I really wish it hadn’t come this way.” Katja said with an expression of pity.

After that, Snake, together with Abstraction, Siyarjit, Atgeir and Insistra and their gear got disinfected, none of the ponies minded, given what they just had been through.

Yet, they rested until noon, as the next mission called, Miller gave the briefing.

“The contract is to eliminate a high-ranking CFA official. CFA doesn't just hire UNITA soldiers as mercenaries. They're also supplying UNITA with weapons. It just smacks of Western nations manipulating them against the Socialist MPLA. Naturally, the MPLA's not happy with the situation, and wants us to put a stop to it. Your standard issue East-West proxy war... except, it appears our target is the man in charge of how many weapons get supplied to UNITA. Apparently his MO is to keep the civil war going as long as possible, so CFA can keep making a profit. Bad for business if UNITA wins too soon. So they sit back and suck the people dry. Parasites of war. Our intel suggests the target rarely ventures outside of Nova Braga airport, but rumor has it that a Western arms dealer is headed there soon for an inspection. That could be your chance to eliminate him from a distance. We also heard he plans to leave the country following the inspection. This may be our only opportunity to take him out.”

Halfway there, Miller mentioned, Eliminate the high-ranking CFA official in charge of supplying weapons to UNITA. “The target stays at Nova Braga Airport. Head to the airport first.”

They all did as told, moving towards it before the radio ringed again, this time in a high pitched tone. “Boss, we got an emergency. Mother Base in under attack.” Miller reported, causing everyone to be surprised. “The enemy has overrun one of our platforms, and they’re holding some of our staff hostage. If we don’t do anything, they’ll try to take off with our men. That would mean losing some of our finest manpower. Boss, take back that Platform! This is a race against time. For all of us…get on this mission right away.”

“Copy that.”

“Don’t worry, Snake, we’ll finish this for you.” Midnight said and the mercenary nodded.

“Shouldn’t we help him?” Dinky asked as Snake called his chopper and flew away.

“He can do this on his own, Dinky, or he wouldn’t be Big Boss,” Sergei assured her. And she smiled weakly.

“Right.”

“I hope Wagensroll is okay,” Fletcher mumbled worried and Blue patted his shoulder.

“Snake's got this.”

He also smiled weakly in return.

“I suspect the target is in the command tower.” Midnight commented as they closed in, with the scouts taking positions.

“I see snipers on the roof and a Walker Gear patrolling the streets,” Blau reported and Lily saw a man in riot gear but without helmet looking out of a window of the tower.

“That the CFA official,” Miller confirmed.

Abstraction, Atgeir, Insistra and Siyarjit entered the outpost through the west entrance, staying out of the line of sight of the enemy snipers, also avoiding a surveillance camera before entering the tower and hid behind a wall as Blue had news.

“We got a Hind incoming!”

“It’s the Arms dealer, “Miller explained, “He’s on his way for an inspection of the airport and will leave the country with the target after that. Take the target out before that happens.”

Shortly afterwards, the chopper landed on the other side of the Tower and a man in a business suit stepped out, carrying a machine pistol and the chopper patrolled around.

The man walked into the tower and the official was delighted to see him.

“A visit from the president! It's an honor, sir. We owe all our successes in Central Africa to SANR. That Mfinda Oilfield incident really was a shame.”

“Shame is right. Now a bunch of mercenary dogs've gotten wind of us. Phantoms of a dead age.” The president replied.

“Sir, I've been hearing that man at the oil field was Big Boss. The legendary mercenary. I was never told we'd have to face someone like him. Our contract only specified protecting the facility from the local villagers and militias. Protection against PFs backed up with modern tech is a different deal altogether.”

“I've heard it all already. For now, we have an inspection to do. Show me around.”

“Understood. Let's start with the south hangar. Step this way.”

“He said something about SNAR. It was SNAR behind the Oilfield incident…How do you want to handle him?” Miller asked.

“We go on the roof and see if they have more interesting to say. “Siyarjit suggested, his fellow operatives nodded.

Going out and up the stairs, Abstraction held up both snipers and told them to get down, they obeyed- Ten the four ponies went prone to avoid getting seen by the chopper, the stallions watched the official and president with their binoculars.

“This is the south hangar. The roof has seen better days, but we can fix it up in no time.” The executive told his visitor as they arrived.

“Lots of space - that's good. Is the north hangar as big as this?”

“Yes, they're of the same design. It's a little far for walking. Let's take the car.

“Sure.”

“It's just over there.” They both stepped into a truck parked outside and drove to the Hanger on the north side.

“This here is the north hangar.” The CFA official announced as they arrived

“Same size... this'll do fine. We've got all the space we need here.”

“What do you need hangars this big for? Isn't it about time I knew?” The CFA member got curious.

“Sure, why not? You and your men will be crucial to the next phase. We're gonna use this airport as a trading point for selling nukes.

“Selling... nukes? You're... that's...” The CFA soldier asked skeptically.

“That's what we're doing. Of course, distributing actual nuclear warheads is a big bag of problems. But what if you could assemble a nuke anywhere? Without specialized facilities. Without high-grade yellowcake. That's the new business model. Just imagine the market we'll be cornering.” The president explained.

“You're not serious...”

“I'm always serious. Your sales are going to be indispensable. And think - once UNITA has a nuke - the MPLA'll want one too. Payment will end up being more mining rights and the like... But ever since the oil barons crushed America's rail systems, there'll always be a market for oil. UNITA's diamonds will be quite a payday too. A girl's best friend, right? Ha! Now that's PR - every sucker's whining girlfriend is our marketing team. And the Africans are just wasting all that money, buying weapons to kill each other. The real world. Funny shit, right?”

The CFA soldier replied with unease. Groaned. “...Tell it to whoever takes my place. We're warmongers. I'll admit that. We make a living on blood money. Without war, my men are out of a job. But we only got this way because all other industries were driven out of the region by colonial powers muscling in. I've had all I can stomach.”

“Hypocrite.”

“Have you seen enough? Once the inspection is over, take me to Kinshasa like we agreed."

“So you wanna pass up the biggest business you'll ever see? Fine by me. Somebody'll take your place. It doesn't matter what you or I do. Nothing stops the tides of economy. Not as long as the big powers keep squabbling over all the wealth.”

“...The control tower is this way.” They got back into the truck.

“They feed off the conflict, then turn around and blame the colonial governments? Now that's hypocrisy.” Miller commented as the chopper landed in front of the tower and the ponies got back into it, hidden behind a wall as the two men entered.

“Almost forgot to ask. I hear there was some sort of disease going around Bwala ya Masa?” The president wanted to know.

“Yes. A very strange disease. That region was in UNITA territory. On paper, they were signed up with us too, but in reality it was "Gunsmith" running the show. But then they all died... Now that area's occupied by a bunch of brats that ‘Gunsmith’ scraped up. Apparently they don't get sick. Why do you ask?

“Just curious.”

“I see... Look, don't bullshit me! You know something. It's got something to do with those "experiments" your people are doing at the Devil's House, doesn't it? Even we can find out that much.”

“Knowing too much is bad for your health. You're leaving Africa anyway. Just go on and live a life of luxury on the pennies you've saved up selling guns. Cool down and forget about hot places. Let's go, the chopper's waiting.”

“They know something about the experiments going on in that factory? Well. There’s no time now. Act now, or the target will leave the airport.” Miller warned.

In response, Siyarjit used his magic to make the men head-butt each other, knocking them out, then carried them outside and extracted them before they all extracted themselves and listen to what Miller had found out.

“About that target you extracted... he says he wants to work for us... Having talked to him, he doesn't seem that bad a guy. Apparently the arms dealer's people demanded they prolong the conflict, and he couldn't go against the management. That doesn't excuse everything he did, but his skills will make him a useful asset. Let's put him to good use.

I've tossed that arms dealer in the brig. The way he tells it, he worked in logistics with the South African Army, but he was headhunted by SANR. Whoever gave him the orders would only have been a pawn of Skull Face anyway... but apparently he hasn't been in contact for some time. He doesn't know much about SANR... not even what the president looks like. Just another cog in the machine.”

“This is getting more and more interesting,” Neolith commented.

“Yes, let’s hope it isn’t too late, Abundo added.

Back at base, Fletcher was relieved to see his relative alright. “Wagensroll, you’re okay!” He hugged him.

“Yes, I managed to flee once the enemy force attacked.”

“Speaking of, is it over?” Blau asked.

Wagensroll nodded. “It is, the hostages are saved. Turns out, the enemy commander was a survivor of the old Mother Base. The events greatly haunted him, causing him to break off from his comrades under the paranoia that the group that attacked Mother Base would send a clean-up squad. The isolation screwed with his sense of loyalty. A rumor, source unknown, had him convinced... that the attack nine years ago, was orchestrated by Snake yourself. That Big Boss sold out his comrades to hide from the world. He thought that's why Snake was not at the base that day. He was so desperate to take Diamond Dogs down, he built up his own PF, copying them in every way. His idea of the perfect revenge. But in the end... he was just a victim of disinformation.”

“I hope Snake can forgive him,” Dinky said, having pity.

“The guy is still in the brig but Snake already did. In response to that attack, Miller decided to create a Security Team, which is a sub-unit of the Combat Unit and also a Forward Operating Base to divert some of the risk enemies posed. Ironically, Miller meant the enemy commander, which goes by the codename Mosquito, makes a perfect member for that.”

“Ironic indeed.” Abstraction nodded.

As they rested from their mission, Wagensroll used the time to develop security options of cameras, anti-theft alarms, infrared sensors and the deployment of UAV camera drones. Dawnwind on the other hand, helped in the medical team to create Anti-tranquilization drugs, s the security team could be longer in the fight.

Around noon, the ponies were ready for the next mission.

“Boss, the CFA soldiers deployed to Bwala ya Masa have been annihilated. There are no signs of combat, nor any endemic disease. All the adults just... disappeared. Only children were left. All those kids were ever taught was how to fight, and now they're free from the control of adults. They've become a regular bunch of marauders, raiding nearby villages, beating people, and destroying property. Our contract comes from the government. We're to locate this "militia," these kids... and kill them. But I suggest we do this the Diamond Dogs way. The government wants to see these raids stop? We can see to that. But not by killing kids. We're going to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate them. A DDR operation. To begin with, extract their commander to Mother Base. Once they lose that kid, the one they call "White Mamba," the rest of the group will fall apart by itself.” Miller briefed everyone.

As the choppers arrived, the scouts took positions on the same vantage points they had during the Oilfield mission.

“I count 20 child soldiers. “Katja reported as Snake put 5 of them to sleep at the guard post next to it, seeing that DD was crying a green bag.

“Extract!” Snake said to the dog and DD walked over to one of the sleeping children and used his teeth to pull out a futon of the bag and attached it to the boy.

“That’s smart,” Atgeir commented at the sight.

“Fire at will!” Snake then ordered, so Neolith, Fletcher and Blue fired their tranquilizer darts at every child soldier they saw, their comrades knocked the child soldiers out instead and extracted them until everyone was extracted, also freeing a female prisoner in one of the buildings.

“Now, I take care of the commander myself.” Snake pointed to a shipwreck, were a Caucasian boy with blue eyes and blond hair enjoyed the view, not noticing the intruders. He was wearing a dark green jacket, “Never Be Game Over” was written in the back of it.

Yet someone, they all knew he was different. His eyes seemed aware if any danger, as if he expected trouble. Something told them he was tougher than the others.

As the White Mamba walked into the ship, Snake followed him, seeing how he was a throne-like garden chair with the head of a pig on a platter.

“So you’re the so-called ‘White Mamba.’” Snake spoke in the native language. “Something tells me that’s not the name your parents gave you.”

In response, the commander lowered his head for a moment before looking up with a stern expression, as if he despised those words, his eyes filled with rage. After standing up, he grabbed a knife and threw it at Snake.

The man simply blocked it and the boy vaulted over him.

The ponies looked in awe hoe the legendary mercenary blocked another attack with ease, as the commander charged at him with a pipe and Snake knelled him into the gut and threw him over.

This time, the boy climbed up the wall and came from behind, throwing a bottle at Bog Boss but again he blocked it.

Yet the White Mamba didn’t seem to leant, as he repeated the same attack pattern a few times before he yelled, “Not yet Snake, it's not over yet!” And ran out of sight.

Despite this, Snake saw how he tried to hide in his “throne room” and sneaked up on him, throwing him to the ground.

Unwilling to submit, the boy pinned Snake to a wall using a chair, then proceeded to draw a knife in an attempt to stab him. But the man managed to grab his arm and twist hit, disarming him and threw him to the ground, driving the same knife into the ground beside the boy’s head.

“You lose, commander,” Snake announced before the boy passed out.

With that done, he picked the White Mamba up and carried him to the chopper and the ponies extracted too.

Back at mother base, the ponies saw how Snake offered the White Mamba a hand but he refused, jumping out with a stern expression, taking a look at the base.

“Welcome to Outer Heaven.” Snake gave him a playfully slap on the back and the foals gasped as the boy baled a fist and stole Snake's knife off his back and attacked him with it.

Yet again, the mercenary leader easily blocked it, threw him down and dislocated his arm with the child crying in pain before Snake grabbing the knife.

“We have rules around here. Never draw a weapon on a fellow soldier. You got that?” Snake asked Snake popped the arm back into place. “Anyone here can use a knife or a gun. What you’re going to learn is how to use your head. When you get that under your belt, you’re free to leave.”

The White Mamba looked briefly at Snake before walking away.

“Let’s hope he will learn,” Lily commented at the sight.

“It’s hard to say, I feel deep hatred in him, towards Snake, but can’t tell why.” Insistra looked after the child commander.

Yet they took their rest as usual, enjoying it to the fullest, as in the evening, their services were needed once again.

“Two engineers are being held in the observation post southwest of Ngumba Industrial Zone. Boss, your mission is to rescue them. The targets are civilians - one male, one female. They were dispatched to the area by an international health organization, but disappeared shortly after. Extract the two targets, and help them escape the country.” Miler briefed.

Again, he gave a detailed report as the choppers were en-route.

“Rescue the two prisoners being held in a guard post to the southwest of Ngumba Industrial Zone. The targets are civilians – one male, one female. Apparently they’re specialists sent out there to investigate infectious diseases. They were frequent visitors to that ‘Devil’s House’ at Nzo ya Badiabulu. If you recover them, we’ll finally be able to get firsthand accounts of what’s been going on in that place.”

As the scouts got in positions, they marked all guards in the area, with Dinky spotting a man in POW uniform near the tent of the guard post. I see one of the targets he’s trying to escape on his own.”

“Copy that.” Snake acknowledged and moved towards the man, who smiled weakly as upon getting cut free of his restrains.

“So... You're here to save me.” The man mumbled weakened.

“I was called here to... Transport and set up equipment at a medical facility... And examine the patients there. But never did I imagine... What was that?” He wondered horrified, as if he could never forget those sights.

“I never seen those symptoms before. And that ‘treatment’ was no treatment at all. It was like we were cultivating the pathogen.” He paused for a moment.

“Are you from around here? You don't know anything? You never seen that disease before?” Snake shook his head. “Yeah, I escaped by myself. Left her behind... I had myself to think about. And besides... It was too late for her anyway.” The technician told with regret.

“During an examination, her protective suit's seal was broken, ever so slightly. Yeah, no doubt about it. There's nothin' I could do for her. I'm still not sure how the disease is transmitted, but... She's probably already just like... Yeah, she must be. Forgive me...”

“I’ll save her, don’t worry.” Snake assured as Abstraction moved towards the tent.

“Thanks…I’ll pay you back somehow.” The technician replied before getting extracted.

“Guys, we got two jeeps coming from both sides!” Lily warned.

“I got this,” Insistra replied and use her crystals as mines again. Both jeeps got disabled as they drove over him, the passengers knocked out, as like the APC near the plantation back then.

Inside the tent, the stallion found the woman. She looked at him confused, yet smiled as her brought her out.

“You've come to rescue me...?” She asked the stallion weakened and he nodded.

“I was asked to show that man around here. Dangerous work. I hated every second. I wish I'd said now, but I was the only one on the team who spoke English.” She told with disgust.

“So we went to that factory... Bodies don't scare me, I'm used to seeing them, but... What could that be? Bullous pemphigoid... dermatomes... Dermatomes? But what's the cause? Who would do such a thing...?” She wondered.

“Hey... Are you researching it as well?” The woman asked the stallion but he gave no answer, focused on bringing her out.

“Better quit while you can. I've been here five years, but I've never seen anything like that. That coward ran off without me. Not that I hold it against him, really. He'd suspected that I was infected for quite some time. Obsessed over it. That place must have really spooked him.” She paused.

“But I always wore full protective gear during the examinations. There's no way I could be infected. So you needn't worry. I'm alright. Please... get me out of here...” She pleaded weakly.

“That’s why I’m here.” Abstraction replied but stopped as two guards came towards him. “I could use some help.”

“Dear me, we can't have that.” Blue replied, taking the guards out with Fletcher.

“Thanks…you saved me.” The woman said before the unicorn extracted her and they all called the choppers.

“Boss, we've placed the two targets in quarantine. They don't show signs of anything, but we'll monitor them just the same. If they had access to the Devil's House, I doubt they were sent there by some health organization. Cipher used them, and would've eliminated them eventually. But we'll protect them here. They've agreed to that. After all, we helped them out of the country as promised. The mission's complete... But Boss, they've been behind the curtains at Ngumba. They examined the patients there nearly every day. They told us the patients were being made to listen to voices on tape. But the male target added something interesting. He said he doesn't know what was on the tapes because there was no English version. Of all the voices that were "shoved down" those people's throats... ...English wasn't one of them.” Miller reported in the debriefing.

“If that’s the case, we might have little to worry, given that almost everyone on Mother Base speaks English. Chernov suspected.

“Yeah. Still, we must remain cautious.” Sergei replied.

Upon arrival, they saw the White Mamba with another child soldier walking by.

“Hey, you know my Papa, when he was working in the mines…”

“You love your Papa so much?” The White Mamba asked the other boy slightly aggressive.

He sounded like he despised even the slightest mention of parents.

There was silence for a moment, as the other boy didn’t know how to answer, seeing the rage in the eyes of the White Mamba.

“Ah- Eli, I’m sorry.” He replied slightly scared, “I didn’t mean-“

“What do you call me?” Eli shoved him.

His eyes were blazing, showing he seemed to hate even his real name, with the other child gilder being too scared to answer

“What…did you call me?” He shoved him again, an aggressive tone.

“Etepe, Eli, what’s the matter?” A soldier that passed by asked. “Fighting will get you nowhere Eli.” He added before the boy charged forward and grabbed the soldier’s knife, throwing it back and forth between his hands. “Cut it out, kid! That ain’t a toy! Eli.”

“Don’t call me that!” The boy yelled and charged again, with the soldier managing to block it but Eli overpowered him and threw him to the ground, holding the knife by the man’s neck. “I’m not a kid! You hear me?!” Eli yelled before Ocelot grabbed his arm.

“Enough.” The Russian pulled him up and shoved him away. Eli charged at him but Ocelot grabbed his hand and threw him to the ground, causing the knife to fall to the ground. Eli charged again but Ocelot shoved him, causing him to hit the ground again.

Eli spit and walked way, reluctantly accepting his defeat.

“On the battlefield, they used one another’s nom de guerre. But here, we insist they use their real names. That hasn’t sat too well with Eli…” Ocelot told Snake as they looked after the boy. “Or should I say ‘Nyoka ya Mpembe?’ He thinks his boys are letting grown-ups walk all over ‘em.”

“We should better avoid Eli as good as we can,” Blau suggested slightly trembling.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Dinky replied, the others nodded and they went to bed.

Despite this unsetting event, they all had sept well. “So, Patch, what’s the news?” Abstraction asked at breakfast.

“Currently, the Boss is coming back from a mission where he should rescue a hostage from a rouge child soldier group. The hostage was the brother of that same general who wanted the kids at the mine dead. But that hostage wasn’t related to the general at all, the general's true brother was the man who gave them the mission request. So, In order to protect them from potential retribution from the Mbele forces, Snake saved the hostage and commander of the child soldiers, with the former stating, ‘If I'm working for you, I can be No. 2 or No. 200 for all I care.’”

“The Boss is back. Let’s go refuel and load up on artillery.” They heard a soldier outside.

“We’re good to go, chief.” Another replied as suddenly a completely terrified soldier ran into them and fell to the ground.

“What’s the matter?” The first soldier asked and his terrified comrade pointed towards and they saw Quiet walked towards them, a knife in her hand.

The two soldiers with another had blocked her way but she simply threw them to the ground and lunged at the terrified man.

She tackled him and attempted to stab him, he barely held it back by using his teeth, causing the ponies to gasp in shock.

The moment the adult ponies were about to rush outside, Snake yelled, “Stop this! Now!”

Quiet turned around to stab him instead but he blocked it and managed to tackle her down.

The terrified man looked at this bloodied mouth. “What the hell, you…freak!”

Quiet struggled, so Snake ordered, “Gimme a hand!” The three soldiers that she had beaten, stood up and did as told, the adult unicorns assisted with their magic as Ocelot injected the woman with a sedative.

After she was pacified, the three soldiers brought their wounded comrade away.

“Payback for how they treated her?” Ocelot suspected.

“Doesn’t explain the others. She had every chance to kill them. Tighten security on her cell. This happens a second time…There won’t be a third.” Snake warned and brought her away.

“W-why did she do this?” Katja asked still in shock. After her captured, Quiet had been locked up in a cell on the medical platform, thus not any contact with the ponies but they had heard that she refused to wear clothes, and anyone who tried to put clothes on her ended up injured to the point of needing breathing tubes.

“I don’t know. And she won’t tell us.” Sergei replied.

“By the way, anyone saw Chernov?” Lovec changed the subject.

“He’s in the sickbay, having felt ill this morning. Actually, a lot of the staff fell ill recently but I and Abundo pulled through so far.” Dawnwind explained.

A fellow staff member walked out of the cantina, coughing heavily. “Are you okay?” Dinky asked before the man coughed blood and collapsed.

They all stared in shock but Lovec was about to check him before Abundo held him back. “Don’t touch him!” He pointed to the man’s chest and they saw blisters on it, worms were visible in it too.

“Is that…” Midnight mumbled shocked.

“Yes, the same symptoms we saw at the oilfield and the Devil’s house. We got an epidemic, we must inform the others.”

Everyone wasted no time and once alerted, Ocelot and Miller alerted Snake as well and they realized that all the ill staff had the same symptoms.

“It’s gonna be very difficult to find out who’s infected, as during incubation, there’s no sign of infection, only when they become symptomatic and I have never seen anything like this.” Dawnwind realized.

“Nor have I. Still, there must be something. Let’s check the files of those who got infected.” Abundo suggested.

And so they did, checking backgrounds of everyone, yet all infected were Russians and Africans, so this helped little.

“This is pointless…” Lovec became frustrated, “We only lose time and Chernov could die!”

Dinky took a closer look and noticed something. “Kikongo.”

“What?” Blue asked confused.

“What they all have in common, is that they speak Kikongo,” Dinky explained and showed it to them.

“It could only be coincidence, but we can’t take any risk,” Midnight commented, “Siyarjit, inform Snake and help with the others to coordinate the quarantine of everyone speaking Kikongo. I and my friends will help Snake to find a cure for this.”

The prince nodded. “At once, Lord Commander.”

With that, the knights, Blue and children boarded the chopper, as a mission came in that could be the next step in finding a cure.

“Boss, there's a target on the run somewhere on the savannah. Your job is to find and eliminate him. He's a logistics officer for the PF known as Rogue Coyote. On the side, however, he colluded with the Buta regime, abducting people from Mbele villages and ‘supplying’ them as slave labor. That's right - he's a human trafficker. His victims ended up all over the place - brothels, black-market organ trade, diamond mines... And he was the one who sent Shabani and the other kids to the Devil's House. But then an Mbele rebel group finally added him to their hit list. The target decided it was time to quit, and now he's trying to leave the country. If he makes it back to his country, he'll be no more than a civilian and he'll avoid facing a court-martial. Like so many other war-biz junkies... I'll bet he plans on enjoying a new life financed with his blood money. The client's order is to take him out. How you go about that is up to you, Boss.”

Again, Miller gave out details.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know what route they’re taking. All we have to go on is a coded transmission sent by the PF at the Ditadi Abandoned Village. It appears to be a work-up of the target’s security plans, but to decipher it we’ll need an Intel file with the encryption key.”

Knowing that, the scouts went into position, marking the targets in the outpost, also seeing four prisoners in the tents scattered throughout.

Snake sneaked towards the radio of the outpost where the Intel was suspected to be, Midnight and Wolf took care of the prisoners.

“That prisoner you extracted was a civilian abducted by the target. He says the trafficker is trying to make contact with a human rights NGO. He hopes that by handling over his list of buyers, they’ll guarantee his safety.” Miller reported, “But I don’t get it. Why an NGO? Why run to someone else for help?”

Two guards stood before the radio but had a conversation, allowing Snake to get past them.

“So I hear you're into some high-paying stuff recently. Escorting that trafficker, right?”

“Yeah. Why don't you get in on it?”

“I don't want to get involved in any kidnapping shit.”

“Whoa, cool it. I thought you needed the money! Didn't you just have a kid?”

“That's why, man. I heard about him. Some of his ‘products’ get delivered to the Devil's House.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Uh... you know, just a rumor.”

“Listen, if you don't want in, fine. Just don't go shoving your nose in where it doesn't belong.”

“I don't know anything, and I don't care.”

“Smart man.”

“See ya, I guess.”

After Snake had the Intel, Miler updated them.

“According to this information, the target is headed for Kiziba Camp. We also have hos movement route. Eliminating him will be much harder if he makes it to the Kiziba Camp Take him down on the savannah.”

With that, the scouts kept an eye on the road, seeing a man with 5 CFA soldiers moving along it. “Open fire!” Snake ordered and both snipers did as told, assisted by Midnight and Wolf from the clouds, putting all to sleep and Snake extracted the target before they called the choppers.

This time, Ocelot gave the debriefing.

“Our trafficker was very talkative. ‘Guinea pigs...’ That's what became of his kidnap victims. Says he got a good look at that "factory" at Nzo ya Badiabulu when he dropped off some fresh guinea pigs for them. Along with our man without a face. His instincts told him to run like the rat he his. Said it wasn't worth the money. Figured he could be next. That's why he went to the NGO for help. He thought that in exchange for his buyer's list, they could set him up with a new identity someplace far away. He had an idea of who he was up against, and he didn't want to take any chances. A true rat. But like us Dogs, he knew when he smelled trouble. And something else - he says ‘The 'specimens' come from deep in the forest...’ We don't know what he meant by ‘specimens’ just yet. But those guinea pigs' symptoms match what we've seen on the infected at Mother Base. Deep in the forest... maybe that's the clue we need to beat this infection. Boss, the truth could be right around the corner.”

“Looks like we got a good hint.” Midnight commented as they were back at Base. “Still, given what was happening at the Devil’s house, I can’t blame the trafficker for trying to run. How’s the quarantine?” He asked Abundo.

“It seems Dinky was right, Kikongo was the common point between the infected. We managed to keep the number of new infected low. But we keep our eyes open.”

“I guess all of Mother Base owes you one, Dinky, Sergei said and she blushed slightly.

“Please, it was just focus…”

A few hours passed, with the Intel team hard at work investigating the cause of that illness spreading through Mother Base until a distress call came in, with Snake responding to it.

“Great news!” Patch reported to his friends. The Intel member Snake rescued has found out about ‘the pathogen.’ and the old man who knows how to treat it... Code Talker.’ He even told us where he is.”

“Okay, let’s go, there’s no time to waste!” Midnight pointed out.

“Allons-y!” The children exclaimed, earning a chuckle by the adults.

Miller briefed everyone.

“Boss, you need to make contact with the Code Talker, the old man who's supposed to know what's behind this infection. The Intel Team member you extracted was able to pinpoint his location. A forest that stretches across the Angola-Zaire border. The locals call it Lufwa Valley - the Valley of the Lost. The target's in a mansion deep in this valley. A PF is deployed there, but we've also spotted an unidentified group operating in the area. If Cipher developed this pathogen, there's a good chance our target played a central role in that process. But is this their "weapon to surpass Metal Gear...?" Will the pathogen, or its cure, lead to Cipher? This guy is the key to everything. Boss, make contact with Code Talker, and extract him if you see fit. We can't afford to lose any more men. We have to stop it.”

“He’s a high-value target who’s probably involved with Cipher’s research. This information came at a heavy price. And you can bet security on-site is gonna be tight. Watch yourself out there, alright? Make contact with the target – Code Talker, and if the treatment requires it, extract him to Mother Base.”

As they landed and moved through the canon towards the mansion, Ocelot commented, “No sign of the enemy. Judging by security in the area, I'd expect to see a patrol by now...”

Barely had he finished, Lily explained, “Look!”

Out of the left, where the woods were covered in mist, four female creatures appeared, wearing what looked like electronic eyepieces. Three of them leaped into the air, the other one knelled and imitated holding a rifle before a sniper rifle metalized in her hands.

“Is that…It’s the Skulls!” Miller exclaimed, “Damn it, so Cipher is behind this!”

“We can’t afford a fight, time is crucial here.” Blue pointed out, “We must avoid them.”

“I agree, any ideas?” Snake asked on the radio.

“I see a crack on the canyon near the waterfall, maybe you can climb it up?” Wolf pointed to it.

In response, Snake sneaked over to it and climbed it up, with his companions follow him as good as they could as he moved across it, coming eventually to a wooden bridge.

“No sign of those snipers…Did they give up?” Miller wondered, “Whatever – just get to the mansion. Pronto.”

The way led to the backside of the mansion and the scouts saw that it was guarded by ZRS.

“That's the mansion where you'll find Code Talker. Not something you see every day in the African wilderness. It was built by a local warlord. Must have lived a life of luxury... Until his government conspired to murder him. Local legend has it that his ghost roams the area around the mansion seeking revenge. None of the villagers dare to go near the place. Crackpot superstition... or a rumor designed to keep prying eyes away.” Miller told everyone as Snake managed to sneak past the guards and entered through the front door.

He moved towards the basement, noticing lit candles along the way until he came to a locked door. After pick-locking it, he saw candles everywhere and they went out the moment he stepped in, also noticing a man sitting in the middle, drawing his pistol.

“I’ve been waiting, tl’iish.” The man spoke calmly. “Or should I say bidee’ hôlôni?” He added and all candles went on again and Snake could see him clearly.

An old man with white hair and eyes. “That’s him. That’s Code Talker.” Miller confirmed.

“Look familiar?” Snake showed him the pictures of the infection. “It’s infection my men. How can we cu-“

“Silence,” Code Talker held up a hand and made a hush gesture, “Or death. They could be in here.” He pointed to his throat. “Stay quiet. Your life depends on it. Sit.” Snake did without hesitation. “A parasite has infected your band. Those are its larvae.” He pointed at the pictures.

“They enter the throat and attach themselves to the vocal cords. They mimic the horst’s membranes flawlessly. No one can tell the difference.” He then handled Snake a vial with a sample of the parasite. “Upon reaching maturity, they mate. Sustained exposure to a particular sound triggers copulation. The resulting larvae then feast on the host’s lungs…killing it.”

He then grabbed an Indian pipe. ‘The particular sound’,” Code Talker took a drag and exhaled, “Is words. They attack only those who speak a certain language. Not just one. I cannot say which language your parasite are attuned to.” He offered Snake the pipe. “But silence is the best way to keep them from laying their children. This contains a herb that they dislike.”

Big Boss took a drag and had to cough a bit, yet it had the intended effect for Code Talker.

“Good. That should deafen them for a while. You have brought yourself time. Speak.”

“Is there a cure?” Snake gave the pipe back.

“Once symptoms manifest, larvae have already infested the alveoli. At which point...”He put the pipe out, “Nothing can be done. There is only one way to halt the onset, which would prevent infection.” Code Talker replied as he received the vile back and Snake offered him a hand.

“I need your help.”

“He stole the ones I sealed away, forced me to do this terrible work.” The old man said with regret and Snake concluded.

“Skull Face.”

“Even a country like America sways in his wake. I could not defy him. The fate of the Dinê lies in his hands. However…Perhaps the ni’ii’shi’a led you here. If my ‘children’ have upset the hozho of the world, it falls to me to set it right.” Black markings appeared around his eyes.

Knowing he was too old for a Fulton, Snake decided to carry him to the chopper.

“He claims they are the dream of every ruler since the dawn of time. Teach them your enemy's words, then unleash them on his lands. Destroying only those who speak his tongue. He calls them his "ethnic cleansers."” Code Talker spoke as they walked up the stairs.

“Ethnic cleansers..." That's what Skull Face is after...? Then Nzo ya Badiabulu was... Boss! He's going to wipe every language besides English off the face of the earth!!” Miller exclaimed in shock.

“Ironic, isn't it? They gave us language, and now they take it away. It was thanks to them that man first learned to speak. But now, the hands of their clock turned back, they've been warped by the hands of man.” Code Talker added.

Outside, the scouts noticed that all guars started to stumble, holding their heads.

“The guards are acting strange. Almost…Dammit, they’re controlling those soldiers. Be careful.” Ocelot warned as he realized it was the work of the Skulls.

Yet Snake managed to put all processed soldiers to sleep with his tranquilizer before they could react. “Cover me!”

“You got it!” Blue acknowledged and she and the knights neutralized all soldiers outside in were in Snake’s way until he reached the chopper and they extracted as well.

“I hope it isn’t too late for Chernov,” Katja mumbled worried.

“I hope so too.” Lovec added before they heard Code Talker and Snake over the radio over the radio.

“Tell me how to fight it.” Snake wanted to know.

“I hid the answer in a micro this one carries. It turns the male parasites into females…preventing reproduction. One parasite infecting another. However…it doesn’t affect only the parasite. It alters the host as well. Your infection will be contained, but you and your men will also be rendered infertile. That is the price you must pay to regain your speech.”

“That freak show back there…They the work of your ‘children,’ too?” Snake asked, referencing to the Skulls.

“A different strain from the vocal cord parasite, known as ‘the one that covers.’ It acts as the host’s skin, providing strength in exchange for nourishment. But I did not know those men were infected. They were forced to serve him. Then steal my research. Have you seen one of their vehicles?”

“The yellowcake…” Miller realized.

“Captured a convoy they were escorting. Cargo’s some kind of mineral.” Snake replied.

“What became of it? The metallic archaea?” Code Talker asked in alert.

Suddenly the choppers rumbled, alerts went off and both pilots shouted, “Clouds ahead!”

Everyone saw that said clouds were rusty brown and thick, not normal at all.

“It’s them?!” Code Talker exclaimed and without any warning, the chooser started to rust and the children screamed as there was a bang and both choppers spun out of control.

Midnight saw that the glass had shattered, killing the pilot. “Hang on!” He yelled as they all got thrown around and Fletcher combined a shield spell with Blue to brace everyone for impact.

The force was strong enough that they all blacked out upon crashing into the ground.

Chapter 7 Skull Face

Chapter 7: Skull Face

With a groan, Midnight regained consciousness and looked around.

They had crashed at the airport, seeing that Wolf stirred. “Are you okay?” He asked and she nodded.

Both checked on the others, they were not moving but breathing. “Unconscious but alive.” The batpony let out a breath of relief and both knights dragged their friends out of the wreck, seeing how Snake helped Code Talker out of the other wreck, being right next to them.

The leader then brushed against the rusty body of the chopper and looked up, seeing mist everywhere.

“It looks like you surrounded by mist. The support chopper can’t get close to your position right now.” Miller informed.

“Hurry! They are coming.” Code Talker warned before they heard a grunt of pain and turned into its direction.

A CFA soldier stumbled out, of a hanger gasping for air and collapsed. Then, one of those Armor Skulls stumbled out and the soldier twitched, and rose again, stumbling a bit. He had deathly pale skin, whitened pupils, blackening around his eyes and mouth, slight sores near the neck, enlarged veins, and several small blue orbs emitting from his head.

Three more Skulls stumbled towards the crash site from all directions, together with possessed CFA soldiers.

The first Skull clenched his fists and within seconds, he was engulfed in his rock-like armor.

“We are their quarry…” Code Talker mumbled.

Without hesitation, Snake, Midnight and Wolf grabbed their weapons, knowing if Code Talker would die, everything was lost.

Both ponies fired their AKs, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off.

In the moment, both knights tried to use their signature weapons, a metallic spike structure erupted from the ground and burst, knocking both ponies over, taking the fight out of them.

As Snake was busy dodging the attacks, one of the Skulls walked up to the knights and raised his machete. Midnight and Wolf closed their eyes, waiting for the strike that would end their lives.

A cry of pain.

But it wasn’t theirs.

Opening their eyes, they saw that the Skull was thrown back, a large sword penetrating the armor.

“We’re with you, my Lord!” Abstraction looked at them with a smile and they noticed how the other Dark Horse members were also there, fighting the Skulls.

Abundo slammed his hammer with great force, strong enough to send one Skull flying. Neolith used explosive bolts, punching through the armor. Insistra shielded her allies with her crystals, having the same effect as a shield spell and spoke, “Haji-Sama-Nur!” And her crystals fired lethal lasers, also punching through the Armor of the Skulls. Atgeir stunned the third Skull with his axes and delivered strong punches, knocking it back.

Siyarjit blocked rifle fire from the fourth Skull with his shield and hit it with his mace, knocking it back. Snake then gave it the rest with an AA gun and the mist started to clear. All possessed soldiers stumbled and fell over, falling unconscious as they became normal again.

With that, new choppers got sent in, Wolf carried Fletcher, Midnight carried Blue. Abstraction used his magic to carry the children, Insistra carried the two Soviets into the chopper as he arrived.

At Mother Base, Code Talker was given a wheelchair and Ocelot asked, “About the pathogen spreading through Mother Base. What’s your opinion?”

“Textbook symptoms of vocal cord parasite infestation. And judging from this casualty list, it is the Kikongo strain. Meaning, a breed of parasite that triggers symptoms upon detecting pronunciation specific to Kikongo.” He explained after having taken a look.

“So how do we keep them from becoming symptomatic?” Miller wanted to know.

“Use this.” Code Talker handled them the vile. “A type of Wolbachia introduced to a sample of the parasite. A parasitic bacteria that colonizes the parasites, turning male to female and preventing copulation. You must cultivate more.”

“Ugh…I’m…alive?” Fletcher wondered as he woke up with the others in the sickbay.

“Which means you no longer get to stay in bed all day.” Midnight said with a smile as he and the others walked in.

“Is…is Code talker alright?” Dinky asked dazed.

“He is. You were out for two days and we just finished curing the outbreak. It will leave the infected Staff infertile.” Dawnwind explained.

“That’s good to hear, but does that affect us?” Sergei spoke up, sounding concerned.

“No, only the ones who got infected. And don’t worry, Fletcher, I found out through tests that equines are apparently immune to that parasite. Must be the magic I guess.”

“Okay…”

“Hey, guys.” Chernov walked in, also cured. “I appreciate how you did this all for me and the others.”

“I can’t say how happy I am you made it. Pity though that you’re infertile now.” Lovec replied with a weak smile.

“Da, but I can still adopt a child if I found a family. I feel more pity about those who became symptomatic and died. They got cremated, so their friends and families have nothing. But for now, get well soon."

As he and the others walked out, Abstraction chuckled. “Lyra often said she sees Tootsie like a daughter and could adopt her…”

The children, knights, soviets and Blue reported quickly within the day and as Lovec walked out of the sickbay, his friend had a message.

“This letter came for you.”

“Thanks.” Lovec said and read it.

Dear Lovec,

We both can’t express how happy we are to hear you are alive. Yet, it’s hard to bear not to know where you are.

But we look forward to hear from you again and are proud of helping those children we helped years ago.

Your mother sends her love.

Not verbally, of course.

But it's there. A father knows these things

Your loving parents,

Katyusha and Hector

Lovec had to smiled, happy that his parents had replied, t wondered how they knew about the Children. Maybe, news spread?

He wondered but couldn’t get up with anything before Sergei walked up to him. “Sorry to bother, but we found out where Skull Face is.”

“Okay, let’s roll!”

It was raining as they all arrived at the helipad, seeing how Snake was about to board his chopper, with Miller next to him.

“We got word from Afghanistan. Everyone at the Soviet base camp’s dead. No sign of fighting. Parasites.” This shocked the three Soviets. “Skull Face’s men then headed north. The target is OKB Zero. That’s where he’ll activate Sahelanthropus. Unless we stop him, he’ll go down in history a conquering victor. We can’t let that happen. Wipe him out…Don’t leave any trace of his existence."

Snake turned around as he stepped into his chopper. “I’m gonna need backup on this one.”

Every nodded before he flew away and they boarded their own chopper. A third one boarded by Miller and Emmerich joined them as the former gave them the details.

“The research facility Emmerich was talking about is north of the Soviet base. That’s where Skull Face is keeping Sahelanthropus before setting it loose in Afghanistan. There’s a good chance he’s got nukes, too.”

Ocelot then radioed in. “Boss, we need to figure out what Skull Face is up to. If you make contact with him, get him to talk. The ethnic cleansing parasites…Sahelanthropus…Find out what his plans are.”

Miller added, “All we know is that Skullface’s plans are on the verge of fruition. We need to stop him while we can.”

For the adult ponies, it was about making him pay for what he did to the children. Dinky and her friends, they knew the danger Skull Face represented and wanted that Lovec and his parents could have a good future. For the three soviets, they had the same goal as the ponies, as well as avenging those they had lost to him, both Soviet soldiers and Diamond Dog members.

It was morning, but still dark as Snake and his companies got out of the choppers, with the scouts being on a cliff where they had a perfect view of the facility.

The base entrance guarded by 6 soldiers, one of them a sniper, standing on a platform with a searchlight scanning the area and a Walker Gear patrolling around.

The next area was larger, several searchlights were scanning the area, a sniper watching too on a guard tower, on the right side was a depot with a parked tank, a Hind was patrolling the sky and another Walker Gear.

The final gate had some resources and 3 parked tanks, being a narrow street, with another sniper watching as Ocelot gave out some information.

“Built during the time of Alexander the Great, it was left in ruins following one of Genghis Khan's Campaigns. It's occupants changed time and again due to war, and it was expanded on more than one occasion. Ultimately, it fell into the hands of Soviet Philosophers. The Soviet Army was using it as the headquarters of its Afghan invasion force. But it would seem that Skull Face's connections with the Philosophers gave him license to develop Sahelanthropus there.

‘OKB’ is a designation the Soviets use for weapon design bureaus. And in principle, the numbers that follow ‘OKB: are always integers above ‘1’. There is no ‘Zero’. Perhaps this was a secret facility of the Soviet and Chinese Philosophers dating back prior to World War II...”

Lovec, Sergei and Chernov had been rarely been at the OKB, only if very important things had to be done or discussed.

As Snake came close to the entrance, Miller had also some information.

“The Soviet soldiers in that area are all dead. Apparently XOF released the Russian parasite strain. To isolate the facility, they first spread reports of a chemical weapon leak. The infection won’t spread into the surroundings regions. But still…To think they’d just exterminate the men who worked with them all the time…Skull Face must be making his final play.” He paused for a moment. “Elu snuck into the cargo on board the chopper. His idea of an escape attempt? Who can say? We’ll think of how to deal with him later.”

Emmerich also said how he made up his mind, that he would work to pay for what he had done as Snake reached the entrance.

Fletcher fired an arrow with a blunt end at the sniper, knocking his helmet off and stunning him, with Blue putting him to sleep.

Insistra let one of her crystals flew behind the Walker Gear, stunning the operator beyond his protection.

Neolith, Wolf, Midnight and Abundo flew around to deal with the search lights, so Snake and the other Dark Horse members could pass the first area with little trouble, also thanks to the potion updates from their scouts.

They repeated this with the second area, with their companions being forced to stay prone, so the chopper wouldn’t spot them.

Yet thanks to this, Snake managed to get to the third area, where a catwalk to a helipad was, a Blackhawk chopper on standby.

“Leave this to me.” He said to the four Dark Horse members, who nodded.

After getting up, Snake saw Skull Face climbing into the chopper before suddenly, the floating boy was before him. The boy was wearing a gas mask and a black straitjacket, having messy red hair.

He vanished in a flash and Skull Face was now facing Big Boss.

“You too have known loss. And that loss torments you still,” The leader of XOF said before his men jumped out and aimed at Snake, Skull Face subtly ordered them to stand down lowering two of their guns. “You hope hatred... might someday replace the pain. But it never goes away. It makes a man hideous inside and out.” He added as he walked up to Snake and took his hat off.

“Wouldn't you agree? We both are demons. Our humanity won't return. You. Me. We've no place to run, nowhere to hide.” He looked Snake into the eye.

“And that is why I will show you my demon.” He put his hat back on. “Follow me, Big Boss!”

Snake did without a word, following him down the stairs.

“Whatever the Navajo told you... it's just one possible solution derived by Cipher. My will is different.” Skull Face started to tell, with XOF soldiers watching Snake, his allies keeping up out of sight. “I've known you since your time at Langley. I've long been the other side of your coin. 1964, Soviet territory. FOX's first mission. Any mess you made, I was there to clean up. You completed your task - and admirably. The 'information' you returned was far more than enough to fill our pockets. With it, our futures became - more or less - set in stone.” Again a pause.

“And then the major came to me with an idea. ‘Washington doesn't know how to spend money,' he said. 'I'd like to... redirect it'. His goal was an organization dedicated solely - covertly - to supporting America. Cipher. You know the rest. To him, it was mourning - the loss of his friend. Or rather, an act of revenge. On the world, but America most of all.” He led the legendary merc to an elevator, facing him.

“America is a country of liberty. A meeting of immigrants. Instead of simply assimilating, its citizens live along side others. Their roots are varied. Diverse. America's never been made up of just one people. But he tried to forge a single consciousness. For it, and from it. The idea that every citizen would use free will to unite behind their country... Unilateralism like that can't be entrusted to any one individual. So the major sought a system which used information, words, to control the 'subconscious'.” The elevator moved down and they both got into the back of a jeep.

Snake gave him a snarky look as he continued.

“To unite America and the entire world. The major thought this was his friend's will. But I think he never understood what she wanted. Before he ever walked, or cried - even before he was born - his mother tongue was English. He doesn't know the pain of losing his own language. Not yet. He cannot understand her will. I do. I was born in a small village. I was still a child when we were raided by soldiers. Foreign soldiers. Torn from my elders, I was made to speak their language. With each new post, my masters changed, along with the words they made me speak. Words are... peculiar. With each change, I changed too. My thoughts, personality, how I saw right and wrong... War changed me - and not only my visage. Words can kill. I was invaded by words, burrowing and breeding inside me. A philosopher once said, 'It is no nation we inhabit, but a language.' 'Make no mistake, our native tongue is our true fatherland.' My fatherland - my truth was stolen from me. And so was my past. All that's left is the future. And mine is revenge. On those who'd leech off the words of their fellow man. This is what I learned from the major. And then it hit me. It was he who should feel my wrath.”

They drove out of OKB, past the base camp and Snake saw burned bodies on the side of the road, presumably those of the killed Russians.

“He and the code he chose as basis for control. Language codes, information codes - beamed all around us - genetic codes spanning history. By controlling the codes, Cipher... Zero intends to unify the world. Codes implanted into our heads, sucking our minds dry as it spreads from one host to the next. A parasite upon the earth. That is what Zero is. As one born into this world, he's afflicted. I hold him responsible for killing my freedom. Killing all traces of my past... Killing any promise of a future... We are all but dead men forced to walk upon this earth. A world reduced to Zero. Cipher plans to use its codes to control the world. They think they can.” Skull Face pointed out as they drove past more burnt bodies and grabbed a small round container.

“And the 'mother tongue' of all those codes is English.” He opened it and two vials became visible inside. “The word became flesh. The final parasite. It knows English. An English strain of the vocal cord parasite” He then closed it again.

"I will exterminate the English language. With this, I'll rid the world of infestation. All men will breathe free again - reclaim their past, present, and future. This is no ethnic cleanser. It is a 'liberator,' to free the world from Zero. Let the world be.” Skull Face paused.

“Sans lingua franca, the world will be torn asunder. And then, it shall be free. People will suffer, of course - a phantom pain. The world will need a new common tongue. A language of nukes. My Metal Gears shall be the thread by which all countries are bound together, in equality. No words will be needed. Every man will be forced to recognize his neighbor. People will swallow their pain. They will link lost hands. And the world will become one.” As paused yet again, the driver fiddled with the radio and a song played. “This war is peace.”

He stayed silent until they almost reached the power plant.

“When the world witnesses Sahelanthropus, the hands of the doomsday clock will roll on, regardless of Zero. Sahelanthropus will take the first giant step into a brave new world. It is the bell with which a world - trodden upon by words - declares its independence.” He finished as they reached the power plant.

Sake saw the Metal Gear on its transport platform, being held at gunpoint by the XOF soldiers.

“Remember the Alamo.” Skull Face said as they walked towards the machine.

“This is Queequeg, on station to provide cover.” The pilot of Miller’s chopper reported.

“Get us a line of fire.” Miller acknowledged.

“We’re not the only demons in this world.” Skull Face stated, “Like you, vengeance is all he us. It’s man thirst for revenge that drives the times. Just as you live because of me. He lives because of you.” He pointed behind him then at Snake. Show him.”

The man stepped aside to reveal the man on Fire. Snake took aim as he roared and slowly stepped towards him with fiery steps.

But as he was just a step away, he suddenly stopped.

Everyone got surprised as he turned around, moving towards the transport platform, which moved towards him on its own.

“Wait!” Skull Face yelled before the burning creature got crushed with a fiery wave under one of the wheels. One of the soldiers screamed as the machine moved a foot and crushed him.

“Wait…Who is doing this?” Skull Face asked in shock as his men took aim at Sahelanthropus. “Such a lust for revenge…Who?!” He exclaimed as his men were forced to drag him to safety, with the others opening fire before they got crushed as well, others fled.

Snake could only stare in shock before the Metal Gear looked at him and roared.

Yet he managed to run out, using some crates as cover. He saw how Skull Face boarded a jeep and drove away as XOF troops arrive with Soviet tanks and two Hinds.

The tanks fired, throwing Sahelanthropus back with a mechanical cry of pain. It then returned fire with twin Gatling guns mounted on the head, destroying a tank in an explosion.

Sahelanthropus’s right claw then made a gesture as if it drew a sword and in a flash, it held a fiery red blade into the air. It roared and hit the ground, causing metallic spikes to rise from the ground in its path, destroying all other tanks.

One of the Hinds fired a missile, having the same effect as with the tanks before it got impaled by the blade, spinning out of control and got thrown into one of the towers of the plat, causing it to fall over.

Snake ran as fast as he could towards an abandoned jeep, dodging a tank got that kicked at him by the Metal Gear.

Skull Face found his way blocked by the tower and a wave of flames, staring in shock at the chaos, yet realized something.

“Cipher will rewrite the records…And I will vanish from human history. But... The thirst for revenge I have planted will infest the system. No one can stop it now. Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future.” He said confidently. “Major... I'm burning up!” He exclaimed before Sahelanthropus kicked a downed tower on him.

Snake managed to get into the Jeep and drove away, chased by Sahelanthropus as Miler radioed in.

“If the world finds out about Sahelanthropus, Skull Face will have won – his plans become reality. He won’t even need to use nukes. That thing’s mere existence would be enough to enslave humanity to the fear of nuclear Armageddon. It would tear the world apart.”

Snake looked behind, only to see a wall of spikes coming towards him and crashed as it reached him.

His companions had everything watched from a safe distance.

“Oh…dear…” Dinky mumbled in shock.

As the smoke cleared, they saw Snake alive him well, with the Metal Gear having him in its sight.

“I hate to say it, but it’s too dangerous for you.” Sergei said with regret and they the children realized he was right, so they retreated to find a safer spot.

“We must help him!” Abstraction yelled.

“Agreed. Patch, we could need some heavy firepower.” Blue spoke into her radio.

“Already done. It’s on the way as we speak.”

True to his words, a parachute with a supply container landed next to the two snipers. It contained Anti-material rifles. “That’s more like it!” Blue exclaimed with a grin as she and Fletcher took aim with them.

Patch also let drop a supply container with a rocket launcher near Snake’s position, so he had a fighting chance.

Midnight saw some fuel tanks on the back of the Metal Gear and cut them with his blade, causing an explosion that stunned Sahelanthropus. Snake used this to fire a missile at the head, creating another explosion and the machine cried in pain.

Wolf then flew over it and released her storm magic. Sahelanthropus sparked and was stunned from the electricity, locked in place. This allowed the Dark Horse members to get in close.

Abundo struck with heavy strikes on its arms, wrists, with Abstraction and Siyarjit dealt strikes to the knee joints with their swords, their power reinforced by their magic.

Neolith fired explosive bolts at the head, having the same result a Snake’s missile launcher.

Atgeir used his axes to climb up the machine and disabled the spherical radome with them.

Insistra let her crystal spin around the machine, firing lasers at it, with the snipers firing at the head.

They retreated as it started to move again and fired missiles from the thighs at Snake but due to the destroyed radome, it’s accuracy was reduced, so he could easily avoid it.

“Pequod in hot! Find cover!” The pilot of Snake’s chopper warned, firing it’s missiles and Gatling Guns at Sahelanthropus, damaging it further as it sparked. Surprisingly, the Metal Gear ignored the chopper completely, focused on Snake.

As the man tried to find a new position, the machine jumped in front of him and proceeded to aim the railgun at point-blank range. But the floating boy temporarily appeared in front of the mech's head.

Snake used this to fire his rifle at him, throwing him back and the machine was stunned, twitching.

He then fired another missile at the head, followed by another shot from Fletcher and Blue.

Sahelanthropus started to stumble before several explosions happened and with a dying groan, it fell backwards, creating a cloud of dust.

Snake and his companions breathed heavily at what they just had done before Miller’s chopper picked the former up, the latter by their respective chopper.

The laded near Skull Face’s position, seeing that he was crushed under scaffolding, gravely injured but still alive. He attempted to grab his rifle but Snake kicked it away.

He then grabbed the container and inspected it. “There were three. Where’s the other?”

Skull Face coughed blood. Very close…to you.” He managed to point at Big Boss.

Unaffected, Snake threw the vials into the fire.

“Finish me…” Skull Face pleaded in pain. “Kill me…” He attempted to reach out but Miller shoved his arm away with his clutch, causing him to cry in pain.

The knights and Blue covered the eyes of the children, with them covering their ears as Snake grabbed the rifle and shot Skull Face thrice. Ten Miller grabbed Snake’s arm and aimed at Skull Face’s left leg and right arm, shooting it off as revenge for the losses they suffered at Skull Face's hand.

After that, Miller tossed the rifle away and used his crutch to point the barrel away to ensure Skull Face could not reach the barrel in his current state. “Do it yourself.” Kaz stated coldly.

Then everyone walked away.

Bang!

Slightly flinching, they all turned around to see that Emmerich had killed Skull Face.

“I—I did it! Revenge!” The scientist cheered and the others stared for a moment before boarding the choppers.

Arriving at Mother Base the group got greeted by the other Staff members and Ocelot, with Miller giving a speech.

“Anyone can give up his fight by laying down arms. But the feeling of holding a gun - that, we'll never forget. Like our lost limbs, the sensation lingers.”

“Oh!” Emmerich cheered, getting everybody’s attention. “Here she comes! Here she comes!”

D-dog barked loudly and they all turned around, seeing how two Heavy-Lift Helicopters flew towards the R&D platform, stopping and slightly descending before eventually gaining altitude with two additional choppers to bring in Sahelanthropus.

Everyone looked in away at it as it got dropped and Miller continued.

“We hold our rifles in missing hands, we stand tall on missing legs, we stride forward on the bones of our fallen. Then, and only then are we alive.

This ‘pain’ is ours, and no one else's. A secret weapon we wield, out of sight. “we will be stronger than ever, for our peace.

‘Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future’ -those were his last words.” As he said this, Snake, the three soviets and the ponies saw a phantom of Skull Face, a ghostly reminder that though they had lost their object of revenge, Diamond Dogs were still experiencing a phantom pain.

“Kaz...” Snake tried to say but couldn’t.

“Pretentious, to the end. Still…it doesn't feel like this is over. And I'll never be whole again.” He then cleared his throat.

“At-ten-tion! Diamond Dogs! Even with Skull Face dead, our brothers are unavenged. And the phantom pain he brought us lives on. Cipher is still out there. We know they’ve planted spies – parasites – among us. Watch the man to your left, to your right. Assume nothing. Report everything. It’s the only way to protect ourselves, From here on out…” He stepped forward and took his glasses off, showing he was photosensitive. As his eye were pure white.

“You will be my eyes. The deadliest enemy’s right here – in our midst.” He put them back on. “And they will get no mercy.”

Chapter 8 Friend and Foe

Chapter 8: Friend and Foe

After this quite eventful event, everyone rested. Still, Blue was lost in thought.

“So, what now? With Skull Face defeated and the Metal Gear destroyed, we no longer have reason to be here.”

“Return home of course. But for now we should fully rest from this, so we have the energy for the trip home.” Midnight replied. “And be on our guard, there might be any leftovers we have to take care of.”

“Yeah. But still, why did they bring Sahelanthropus here?” Fletcher wondered, “The drive is busted.”

“Well, as far as I have heard, Big Boss wants it as a mark. They don't have a country to call home, that means they have no past, nothing to prove that they lived. Every one of them threw it all away when they came here. Sahelanthropus is a symbol that the likes of them brought at least one crisis to its end. A mark in history, a symbol of what they've done.” Wagensroll explained.

“Makes sense. Patch, any news?” Fletcher asked the Trottingham pony as he walked in.

“Yes, Snake just came back from another mission in Afghanistan. He saved a Soviet soldier that collaborated with the CIA and learned of XOF's plans to use the vocal cord parasites but got captured as the Soviets retook OKB Zero. As they couldn’t be allowed to learn about Skull Face’s plans, the mole is now a member of Diamond Dogs.

He betrayed the Soviets, passing information to Langley, but got scared after learning XOF used the vocal cord parasites. Then came feelings of guilt that his leaks sent comrades to their deaths, and fear that America might deploy such a weapon itself... But in reality, XOF and Langley don't have a collaborative relationship, and Skull Face was not working for America. Still, I can't blame the man for being afraid. After laying low with the Mujahideen, he tried to cut his ties to the U.S. and return to the Soviet military. And he was hunted by an XOF soldier posing as Soviet soldier, orders came through the same channel as always, despite Skull Face being dead.”

“I don’t think we will know who’s calling the shots for XOF now, but I also think we won’t have seen the last of them.” Midnight suspected.

“You are right. Snake wants you to help him in a mission in Africa, where XOF is still present.”

“Okay then, let’s go!”

In their chopper, they listen to Miller’s briefing.

“Boss, research materials have been stolen from Code Talker's mansion. The materials were packed into two containers and hidden in the jungle southwest of the mansion. You have to recover those containers. The pick-up crew coming for those documents is none other than XOF. That's right - they're still active even after Skull Face's death. Now that he's no longer in charge, their original chain of command has been restored. Meaning if XOF gets those documents, Code Talker's research ends up in Cipher's hands. According to Code Talker, the research papers account for over 50 years of study. The problem is the vocal cord parasites. If the papers documenting that research fall into Cipher's hands, they'll take another long, hard look at them. The "ethnic cleaners" we thought were history will become a reality. America - Zero - will have a weapon far more powerful than any nuke. Even worse, if this knowledge were to leak... The world - humanity - can't be entrusted with this kind of power! Recover the containers before the enemy extraction choppers arrive.”

Near the mansion, the scouts marked the guards, seeing that many were wearing Riot-gear.

But this wasn’t a problem, Snake with the four Dark Horse members easily sneaked past them, into the mansion and secured an intel file on a table.

Making their way towards the jungle, the scouts saw how both containers were guarded by Riot-gear guards.

“Our early warning radar still hasn’t picked up the enemy choppers. But it’s only a matter of time before they arrive.” Miller informed as Snake made his way towards the first container.

Atgeir used his hooves to knock out the guards before they could react and Snake extracted the container.

“Boss, our early warning radar just picked up the enemy choppers. We’ll keep you informed of their ETA.” Miller warned as the group moved towards the other container, it was located near the wooden bridge.

Again, the Beastmaster took care of the guards, allowing Snake to extract the container and they all extracted out of the hot zone, with Miller debriefing them.

“Boss, we got Code Talker's research materials back in one piece. The Medical Team has them under lock and key in the Quarantine Facility. The materials should help their research into the vocal cord parasites. Cipher won't be getting their hands on them now.”

“Quick and quiet, that’s how I like it!” Wolf cheered as they got back.

“And we made sure no one can cause another outbreak.” Abundo pointed out as Dawnwind walked up to them.

“Speaking of, turns out Bwala ya Masa a testing ground for the Kikongo strain and to contain it, the region burned eventually down, due to covered in oil. But they miscalculated. Transmission speed was far faster than anticipated. It may have been the temperature, or hygiene standards, or perhaps the parasites reacted quickly to Kikongo...Whatever the reason, nearly all the villagers were swiftly infected and the settlements reduced to mounts of corpses. Making matters worse, the dry season was ending. When it came time to burn the village, the Munene River had swelled. Many of the bodies were waterlogged...”

“...Meaning they didn't burn completely.” Abundo concluded.

“The corpses still contain viable eggs, and the larvae washed downstream...And when the people downstream drank the water...”

“That marked the end for Bwala ya Masa.” Abundo finished.

“Yes. And Cipher was the one getting the oil field back online. The oil leaks....SANR...They planned to pollute the river, prevent the spread of infection....

“But the oil flow was stopped. And downstream, the people of Bwala ya Masa started using the water again...The PF soldiers deployed at the village were locals - spoke Kikongo. They were infected.”

“So we are to blame…” Lily trembled with her friends but got a calming hug by the deer.

“No. It is no-one's fault. There is no blame to be cast. How should we have known?”

The filly looked at Dawnwind with unease. None of them could know that this was going to happen. But still, their mission in Africa started all this. Yet, it had also led to Skull Face and his plans.

“Right…” Lily took a deep breath, trying to make sense.

“But then how got this infection here?” Chernov wondered.

“Well, Code Talker explained that the parasites don't affect prepubescent hosts, as their vocal cords are not fully developed. Long story short, the child soldiers you saved at the mine were carrying eggs on their clothes, and the infection spread from them, as they were from that village.”

“Who had thought that?” Abstraction commented before Patch informed them that the next mission was up, this time in Afghanistan.

As they were still listed as MIA, the three Soviets put on balaclavas to avoid getting identified by their former comrades as Ocelot gave the briefing this time.

“Boss, we need you to get back a film canister one of our informants hid in the field. He was working under my orders to investigate the "extraordinaries" that showed up in Cyprus. The Man on Fire and the floating boy that keep showing up where they're not welcome. Apparently they were the subjects of some top-secret research conducted by the Kremlin. Unfortunately, that meant our informant drew the attention of the KGB's Directorate S, and they took him out before we could make contact. The good news is he placed a report in a film canister and hid it somewhere in Spugmay Keep. Just before he died, he transmitted VI of the hiding place to us, but the data was cut off partway though. The image is far from clear, but it might provide the clue you need. We'll be analyzing the data further to try to clear it up. For now, get to Spugmay Keep. The KGB have already dispatched a Spetsnaz squad to retrieve that film canister and cover the whole thing up. Boss, there's no time to waste. Head to Spugmay Keep and use the VI as a clue and retrieve the target. Why was Sahelanthropus mobile...? How were the Man on Fire and that kid connected to Skull Face's plan...? If we can just get that report, we can blow it all wide open. Then we can shake off the last remnants of Skull Face, the phantoms he left behind.”

The scouts went into position at the keep. It overlooked a cliff, with various pillars and debris marking what was once a building, 6 Soviets searched the area.

“I take care of this myself.” Snake sad and everyone looked in awe as his bionic arm started to spin and crackle with electricity. As every enemy was around 45 meters away from him, he rose his arm into the sky with a yell and every soldier got hit by lightning from the sky, knocking them instantly unconscious.

“Watch out, reinforcements from both sides!” Katja warned as she spotted two jeeps moving in.

Insistra used her crystals as landmines again, stopping the vehicles and knocking out the passengers.

“Sorry to interrupt but I got information about a prisoner held at the guard post east from here.” Patch informed on the radio.

“Copy that, I take care of it,” Insistra replied as the other searched for the canister and teleported to the guard post.

She easily sneaked past the guards towards the small hut, where the prisoner was located and picked him up with the magic, safely extracting him after gaining enough distance.

The knights and other Dark Horse members searched carefully. Yet it was Neolith who found it first, thanks to her experience with tombs and archaeological site. “Got it! Right into the site of one of the pillars!”

“Good, let’s get out of here.” Midnight smiled and they extracted.

Back at Mother Base, Dawnwind, Patch and Wagensroll, together with other Intel members decoded the report and Patch told the others about it.

“That floating kid we've run into a few times now... looks like he was a test subject in clinical experiments. The Soviets called him ‘the Third Boy’. According to the report, the Third Boy was easily influenced by other individuals' ‘bio fields’. ‘Evil thoughts’ in particular. They affected his mind like a virus. Extreme anger, or resentment... motives for revenge, in other words. What's unique about him is the way his acute telepathic abilities get taken over by another person's will.”

“And that means?” Wolf asked confused.

“Physically parasitize individuals experiencing extreme anger and codify the host's desires. This includes amplifying the host's natural strengths... Or, in accordance with the host's desires, he can also implant program code in another individual - making them a puppet, essentially. Human neural synapses transmit weak electrical currents between neurons. These electrical currents, though at a level difficult to observe, warp the magnetic field outside the body. The Third Boy is able to ‘pick up’ these weak fluctuations. Contrary to psychotronics, which involves controlling the human mind, his abilities as a receptor are too high” Patch paused for a moment.

“The emotions he picks up from another individual are amplified and unleashed into his body as they recur in his brain. They turn into microwaves, which then affect the physical world. Triggering paranormal phenomena like the spontaneous combustion of organic matter, or psychokinesis - moving an object without touching it. And one other thing. While he's parasitizing a host, the boy's ego gets shut away. Allowing the will of the host to take control of his powers. Like some annoying static drowning out your own voice. That means he isn't responsible for what's been happening. Somebody's extreme anger has manifested through the Third Boy's powers in ways none of us could have predicted...Which would mean this was going on somewhere around us.”

“That must have been Eli.” Insistra suspected.

“Possible. Looking back on it, a lot of things make sense now. The Man on Fire, Sahelanthropus...they both came to life thanks to the Third Boy's powers. Everything has been happening through him as a catalyst.

He parasitized Skull Face's vengeful mind. He controlled Sahelanthropus, making it do whatever Skull Face wanted. Same goes for when Snake extracted Emmerich onto the chopper. When he appeared at the Devil's House in Central Africa, Skull Face's will controlled the Man on Fire via the Third Boy's powers.”

“Speaking of, was there any mention who this Man on Fire was?” Fletcher asked into the round.

“No, but Snake managed to collect his body while we decoded the report. Ocelot’s former superior, Volgin. Despite suffering severe burns to his entire body after killed by Snake back in 1964, he still clung to life. Volgin's body was taken to a research institute in the outskirts of Moscow. Modern medicine couldn't explain why he was still alive, not that the Colonel was any ordinary man to begin with... that constant electric current he had running through his body, that he could unleash at will...” Patch paused again.

“Anyway, the institute studying him was tasked with investigating and developing human paranormal abilities. The comatose Volgin was used to further the Soviet Union's research into such abilities. It burned down as he awoke through the powers of the Third boy. If Skull Face was right, and a thirst for revenge can turn a man into a demon, and keep the dead alive, then this ‘Man on Fire’ who's been coming after Snake, well, that might just be what's left of Volgin.. That grudge is what's keeping him alive.”

“Fascinating, yet disturbing,” Abundo commented with unease.

“Then mind if we change subject?” Dinky asked into the round. Lovec, what happened to your mother after Moskau?” She asked curiously.

With a smile, he told them, “She took part in important battles. Like helping to relief Stalingrad and also took part in the battle of Berlin. And she made sure civilians were not harmed by her men when they entered Germany and the countries occupied by the Third Reich, something I admire greatly.”

“Yes, that really honors her,” Blau replied before they saw the child soldiers near a vat, held back by Ocelot and a fellow soldier.

“What’s going on?” Snake asked as he walked up.

“Shabani…Shabani’s necklace…” One of the children pointed to the vat.

“It’s down there?” Snake asked and was about to jump down as Ocelot stopped him.

“Hey! The tank at the bottom is filled with chlorine disinfectant. One whiff and you suffocate.”

“Don’t even-“ Miller warned and turned to the kids. “How could you even let it fall down there, anyway?

None of then gave an answer, as if they were too scared to do so.

“No!” One of them cried out and everyone saw how Quiet jumped into the tank.

“Hit the alarm!” Snake yelled and was about to jump after her, but Ocelot held him back again.

“You go down there and it is over. Listen to me! There is no way of recovering the body!”

Big Boss stopped to struggle and lowered his read, realizing that Ocelot was right.

“What kind of stunt was that? Trying to panic us…” Miller mumbled as they were about to turn away.

Yet, the ponies and Soviets saw how Quiet managed to climb up and Snake quickly helped her up. Significant portions of her skin burned from exposure to the gas but she had recovered the necklace.

Snake carried her to the sickbay, one of the kids took the necklace before being led away by Ocelot.

“That was…surprising…” Wagensroll commented at the sight.

“Yes, but nevertheless a good thing…” Dinky replied, “Let’s hope she can recover.”

“Agreed. Reminds me, I am on security duty in a few minutes, I see you later.” Chernov said goodbye and left.

Then a fellow soldier walked up to them. “We’ve discovered a radiation leak in the Laboratory on the Quarantine platform. It’s coming from testing equipment we installed the other day. We evacuate the members of the Medical Team who research there, can you help?”

“Sure, thing.” Midnight replied.

“Sorry, not you and your two friends, you and Blue are needed for a special mission.” The staff member pointed out.

“Okay, then. We see you later.” Wagensroll said and left with his friends and the Dark Horse members.

“Can we help?” Katja asked.

“Yes, no radioactive material has been leaked, so there’s no worry of spreading. We just need to seal off the equipment.”

“Fine. Be careful, children.” Fletcher gave them a hug, sounding worried.

“Of course, Uncle Fletcher,” Dinky replied with a smile and left too with her friends.

“So, what is it?” Blue asked the staff member.

“Upstart PFs are appearing all over the globe and we have a collaborative relationship with one of them, a rookie PF called Harmonious Guard. A FOB of them has suddenly come under attack by remnants of the Skulls. We believe some other PF with a grudge against the Harmonious Guard has sent in captured Skulls as bio-weapons. The men staffing the FOB have been turned to puppet soldiers, bringing a halt to the FOB's functions. We got asked to aid them in this emergency and Ocelot thought you could do this, Blue.”

While slightly shocked and surprised to hear that, she nodded. “Alright, I will go at once. It's location?”

“North Atlantic Ocean.”

“And what about us?” Midnight asked.

“Well, Intel discovered some strange reports in Afghanistan and the Boss thought you would be the best to take a look at that.” “The staff member explained.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Blue equipped for this an Anti-material Sniper Rifle and an LMG to deal with the Skulls effectively, while keeping her non-lethal sidearm, for the Puppet soldiers. She may be a sniper but was skilled with other firearms as well.

Yet, the mention of the Harmonious Guard made her think. She had heard of the other incidents where Dinky went first missing and such before she was caught by her pursuer. The mare would never forget the day where those brave humans saved the life of her son. She had watched him from a safe distance and visited him privately wherever she got the chance. But that day, she could only watch and pray, being very relieved how the human mercenaries saved the day, being also impressed at their braveness, loyalty and willingness to sacrifice themselves.

“Eliminate the targets. How you do it is your call.” Miller informed on the radio, tearing her out as the chopper closed in and the FOB became visible.

It was surrounded by mist, making it impossible to see any staff but she could still clearly see that the FOV had three platforms in total, single deck. The Command Platform, the Base Development Platform, and the Medical Platform. However, each platform had a few mounted weapons as defensive measures.

She landed on the command platform and despite the mist, she could see two puppet soldiers stumbling around as she got up the stairs. Both wore body armor, with one having a helmet and gas mask with red goggles. Blue quickly neutralized them with her sidearm before they could spot her.

On a tower, she saw one of the Skulls, an Armor one, so she took aim with her sniper rifle and fired at the head. With a clean hit, the Skull fell dead to the ground.

A buzzing sound greeted her ears and out of reflex, the mare turned around, just in time as one of the other Skulls leaped into the air to strike her with its machete. Blue used her magic to grab it and stabbed the Skull into the back, stunning it as it cried out in pain. She used this vulnerability to shoot her LMG, cutting through the armor in seconds and taking the Skull down.

Then rifle shots came out of the mist, missing her by inches. In response, she teleported to a mortar on a platform next to her and fired it at the origins of the shots. Cries of pain echoed through her ears and the mist cleared.

“We fought them off!” Miller exclaimed and the pony raised a hoof into the air to celebrate her victory.

Boarding the chopper, she could see from the air how the FOB staff was unconscious, reverting to normal state, 12 soldiers guarding each of the three platforms, with six soldiers wearing normal body armor, the other six the armor with gasmask.

The Eternal knights and two Soviets were en route to Afghanistan, wondering what this strange report could be. The chopper dropped them near a cliff and they move towards the area marked on the map.

Wolf’s ears perked up. “Gunshots.” Coming to the other end of the cliff, they saw several Soviet soldiers fighting Mujahideen but were losing. They were trapped in the cliff as a rockslide had blocked their retreat option, being outnumbered as the rebels fired from the cliffs and killed them slowly one by one. The Soviets bravely stood their chance but it was clear they would be wiped out eventually.

Among them was a female officer, trapped under a tank turret that had been blown off, the destroyed tank next to her.

Upon taking a look with their binoculars, the ponies and men saw that the woman had greying hair and wrinkles on her face, appearing to be in her late fifties and Lovec’s eyes became wide as he recognized her.

“That’s…my mother!” The man exclaimed in disbelief. “We must help her!”

“Sorry, we can’t,” Sergei replied and earned an expression of disbelief by his friend. “I know you’re worried but we don’t have the equipment for this and our orders were only to check it out.”

“I wish we could help her, but we can’t allow blowing our cover.” Midnight pointed out. “Plus you’re officially MIA, it could make things worse.”

Slowly, Lovec realized his friends were right, yet watched the battle with worry.

“Soldiers! Support needed! Now!” Katyusha called out and the watchers saw one of the soldiers slowly walking over with a nonchalant look.

“Is that you, commander?”

“No, it's Solzhenitsyn! Who do you think?! Get this blin thing off me! Support! Now!” She yelled with Bare-faced anger.

“Okay...So, this the way I'm thinking of this...” The soldier replied slowly, “Right now, every time you've beaten me down and sent me and my friends into hell...Every time you and your precious Union have spat on people like me, spat on the idea of freedom...Every time you've stomped on-“

Bang!

The man couldn’t finish as he staggered, clutching at his throat pouring with blood, and fell to the ground, twitching and gurgling. Another soldier stared in terror as Katyusha pointed the gun no-one saw her holding directly at him.

“Support. Now. Please.” She said in a cold and commanding tone, almost like a scolding schoolteacher.

“Yes, commander, at once!” The soldier saluted and hurried over, lifting the debris of his officer as fast as he could manage.

After she got free, the woman got to her feet, cricked her back and dusted off her uniform. “Smart man.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a glint coming from a cliff and aimed at it.

Bang!

Then a Mujahideen sniper fell down from the cliff, having had the officer in his sights. “Good shot, soldier!” She looked at the man who had helped her, yet he had a surprised expression.

“That, uh, wasn’t me.”

Everyone, even the watchers looked up in surprise. Two Blackhawk choppers were in the sky, one of them turned sideways and a door opened, with a sniper overlooking the area, his rifle smoking.

The Mujahideen couldn’t react in time as the other chopper spun up its Gatling guns and mowed them all down.

“Orders?” One of the soviets asked as both choppers were about to land.

“Hold your fire.” She said as she saw that both choppers had the letters “HG” on it, together with a silver and gold badge with a purple star in the center as logo.

Out of the chopper jumped soldiers of both genders in desert colored uniforms, wearing helmets and body armor, their rifles lowered as they saluted a man coming out of the chopper the sniper had fired from. He was dressed in a desert colored officer uniform with peaked cap and googles on it, smiling slightly at the woman.

“Looks like I got here just in time.”

“...You.” Katyusha said distastefully, as if she knew that man.

“Yes, your eyes don’t deceive you. I am here to help you.” He replied calmly.

“Thanks, but I don’t need your help, mercenary.” She said with slight disgust, “I’m looking for someone.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I am here. I got hired by your former comrade, Gordy Tartikoff to guarantee your safety. I am afraid this was a trap.”

“A trap?” Katyusha asked confused and the officer walked over to one of the killed rebels, removing the upper clothing to reveal that he was wearing a Soviet uniform under it.

“Those were Soviet troops disguised as Mujahideen with order by Brezhnev to kill you.” He calmly explained and all Soviets looked in surprise at it. “He thought by using the disappearance of your son, he could get rid of you easily. And officially, you aren’t supposed to be here.”

The woman said nothing at this.

“Now, your safety is of utters importance, if you please would get it.” The officer pointed with a polite gesture to the chopper.

“I've known for a long while that Brezhnev wanted me dead...I didn't know he'd go this far, but that's irrelevant. My place is here, with my men, guarding against the Union's enemies.” She replied sternly.

“I'm afraid that doesn't comply with my contract. Tartikoff wants you out of danger here. And as I said, you are here unofficial, on your own. Officially, you’re retired. And there’s no way out, plus even if there was, you wouldn’t make it far in your injured state. He pointed out calmly.

“If you come back to base, Brezhnev knows you alive and sends another killer commando. As long as you’re in Afghanistan, he can kill you just as he likes and covers it up, same if you go back to Russia. It would be best for you, your soldiers and family to come with us until it’s sorted out. Besides, Tartikoff waits at my base for you.”

“I think I got a better idea.” Katyusha said with distrust in her voice. “I go with you in your chopper, but only to get over the rockslide. Then we walk to the base, so I can rub it into Brezhnev. It’s not that far and that way you can properly guard me the way over. That way we may reach an accord as equals.”

The mercenaries looked at their commander, who seemed not fazed by it. “Fine by me, my contract says only the best for you.”

“I like to keep an eye on people, especially the ones I don't know,” Katyusha warned and her soldiers hesitated for a moment before following and the two Blackhawks flew away once everyone was on board.

“Who had thought of that?” Fletcher commented surprised.

“I…I guess I owe the commander of the Harmonious Guard one for saving my parents here…” Lovec mumbled.

“Yes. But one thing’s for sure, Brezhnev won’t get away with this.” Sergei added with disgust as they called their chopper and got back to base.

“How went your mission, Blue?” Midnight asked the mare once they got back.

“Very smoothly. Yours?”

“Smooth as well.”

“Hey, is…that a hole in one of the interrogation rooms?” Lovec pointed at it as a fellow staff member walked up to them.

“Uh…it seems Eli has escaped with the other child soldiers and took Sahelanthropus with him.”

“What?!” Everyone exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yeah…But don’t worry, the Boss is already working on it, leave this to him.”

Despite this, it took the group serval minutes to process this.

“That…was very shrewd by him!” Midnight managed to speak up.”

“He's in for it when I see him again,” Wolf added with slight anger.

“In any case, it won’t be your problem.” Loved said, getting surprised looks. “Eli had only grudge against the Boss, not you. And I am confident the Boss will solve this, as he did before. You shouldn’t break your head about it.” He paused for a moment. “If you don’t mind, we take a short break.” The ponies just nodded to show they were fine with that.

“Even if it’s not our problem, there is no way of telling what that boy is gonna do with that thing.” Fletcher said with concern after the two Soviets were out of hearing range.”

“I agree. But as we saw before, Snake is very capable, he can do this. Our help won’t be required.” Ifrit spoke out in their minds.

“Yes. But in a way, Lovec’s right. While we supported Snake, he could have it done without us.” Blue pointed out. “Anyway, mind if we do take a short break too?”

“Not at all.” Midnight replied.

And so, they did have a quick snack and drink before Sergei and Lovec came back.

"Sorry, but we got another mission,” Lovec said.

“No problem, what is it?” Midnight asked.

“Apparently, the containers we recovered at the mansion weren’t the only ones. We shall recover them as well. Problem is, the Harmonious Guard is guarding them.”

“Okay, then we must be careful.”

Onboard the chopper, they all listened to Miler’s Intel tape.

“The Harmonious Guard is a rookie PMC, founded not long ago, inspired by us. Their head office is in Volkach, a small German Town. Despite using German weapons from the Second World War, many operators are retired Bundeswehr members and hardened military veterans from all around the world. Their commander is apparently a veteran from both World Wars, often personally leading operations. They may look outdated, but it's effective as latest gear. You can bet they know how to handle themselves. Do not underestimate them.”

There was also a second tape with more detailed information.

“At first, the Harmonious Guard was a militia operating within West Germany but quickly earned a good reputation for its effectiveness, thus became a PF. While it’s beyond me how the commander managed to get this legally approved, he knows how to lead. And although the Bundeswehr did not take part in combat operations so far, the operators that are retired Bundeswehr members still have combat-training, so they know how to fight. Even refugees from the military of East Germany make up their numbers. And despite being a mixed bag of nationalities, they still are working perfectly as team in organization. All that adds up to a much stronger fighting force.”

The team got dropped off near Bwala ya Masa and got on a hill to overlook the area. HG soldiers were guarding it.

“It seems they are replacing the CFA forces that died when the infection spread, or are taking over until replacements come,” Miller commented on the radio. “Due to having a collaborative relationship with the Harmonious Guard, we can’t kill or extract any personal.”

As Blue marked a regular soldier, Ocelot gave some Intel.

“An HG soldier. They claim to want to make the word better. And yet, yet they can't survive in a world without war. Not warmongers but still mercenaries.”

“There's no such thing, Ocelot. I should know.” Midnight commented, although he knew that James was a good person and was glad he had helped Equestria back then.

Blue, Fletcher and the soviets kept watch while the other sneaked towards the village to find the containers. The stallion looked at an HG soldier wearing a camouflaged uniform with body armor and helmet and his radio ringed as Ocelot has more Intel.

“That’s a Horn of Harmony. They’re elite assault troops. When not directly in combat, they are the personal guard of the commander and most loyal towards him. Sort of his own Royal Guard if you will.”

The two knights had little trouble sneaking past the guards, yet had to stop as two soldiers blocked the way, chatting.

“Hey, have I ever told you that I severed under the legendary mercenary?” One of them started, having an American accent.

“No. But did you really serve under him?” The other one replied surprised, having a German accent in his English.

“Yes, back with Militaires Sans Frontières in the 70s. I was one of the few who survived, having traveled far and wide, fought throughout the world.”

“So…how was it with MSF?”

“Great. In Costa Rica, we often caught fish for food and every month, the MSF held birthday parties for the soldiers. They primarily consisted of drinking large amounts of alcohol and acting crudely, although any real fights were rare. At times, Big Boss even personally trained with us.” The first merc told with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Sounds cool to me. So why did you join us, instead of Diamond Dogs, as Big Boss is back?”

“Well, when first hearing of them, I thought it’s just a lie or an imposter. And even after knowing it’s really him. I feel bound to the Commander. He’s kinda familiar to Big Boss.”

“I hear ya.”

Then they walked away. Wolf moved but tripped over a bucket. “What was that?” One of the two soldiers asked.

Being behind a house wall in cover, Wolf knew she couldn’t move without being seen as both soldiers moved in. Then she got an idea.

She started to howl, like an actual Wolf and both mercenaries stopped. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” One of the humans said and they went back to patrol, with the mare letting out a sigh of relief.

Midnight vaulted through the window to her. “I found some Intel, the Container is on the other side of the outpost. While accidental, it was still a useful distraction.”

She nodded and they moved on, seeing the target on the outskirts of the outpost, guarded by first soldiers in body armor with gas mask, the “night” squad as far as they could remember.

“As far as I could find out, those are the commando units of the Harmonious Guard. They’re using some experimental armor the Nazis researched in the late stages of the war. Be careful.” Ocelot warned on the radio.

“Got any idea why those guys are called ‘Hubris Squad?” Another soldier asked a comrade, overheard by the knights.

“You hear all kinds of stories. I heard once that some of them had to defend civilians during a humanitarian mission. They were holding out for days but realized they would eventually be overrun. So, they did a cunning tactic.”

“And that was?”

“During the cover of the night, they hid amongst the bodies of the fallen and waited for the enemy's attack. Blood from the bodies dripped over them. When the enemy soldiers finally advanced, the soldiers rose from the bodies and ambushed them. Due to their armor, the enemy only saw their red googles and the blood on their armor, the hostiles unable to defend against.

In the end, the enemies retreated terrified and reported they were met by ‘a force so menacing and unbeatable, it can only be described as supernatural,’ and called them ‘Hubris’. Hubris was essentially a term in Ancient Greek mythology for foolhardiness or do-or-die behavior."

“You think the legend is true?”

“I guess it must be. In any case, that German WW2 equipment still kicks, doesn’t it?”

“Yep! I love how the STG has low recoil, thus can be easily controlled. And keeping those tanks updated, impressive.”

“Yes, that’s German engineering.”

As the two mercs walked way, one of the special operatives gave a report. “Area secure, CP, over.”

“We can’t deal with those special units through conventional means.” Sergei realized, given that armor was like Riot Gear.

“But I can.” Midnight said and used his blood magic to teleport between the guards, knocking them easily out with his Earth pony strength, then extracted the container and they got out of the hot zone.

Miller gave the debriefing.

“The cargo is secured. I made some research. Apparently, the Harmonious Guard was hired under the belief to guard some hazardous materials that their client would pick up to dispose of it. But in reality, Cipher was the client. They got played like a fiddle. As we caused their contract to fail, I will arrange to send them some of our GMP as compensation. A friendly gesture due to cooperating with each other.”

“It’s a pity, they believed they would help the world, only to be another pawn of Cipher without knowing,” Fletcher commented.

“Yes, but at least we assured that their goal here got accomplished nevertheless.” Midnight replied with a weak smile.

Wolf chuckled. “If James would only know that we were behind that.”

“You are…familiar with him?” Lovec asked surprised.

“Uhh…it’s kind of a long story…” Wolf replied, not knowing how to explain this, Fletcher and Midnight had awkward expressions.

Then the radio buzzed in a warning tone, Miller’s message was alerting.

“Boss, we have an emergency. There's been another outbreak of the vocal cord parasites on the base. Several men are dead. It started in the Laboratory on the Quarantine Platform, where that radiation leak occurred. I'd only just deployed the Security Team... I've sent in a rescue team to help, but they haven't returned. Boss, I need you on this. Come back to Mother Base ASAP.”

Chapter 10 A Quiet Exit

Chapter 10: A Quiet Exit

It took Lily a moment to calm down. “Right…Where is this container heading?”

“As it was in a media platform, medical supplies most likely.” Dinky suspected and they looked around, seeing medical and food supplies before they heard a sound behind them.

Turning around, they saw Quiet with her head lowered. “Why do you run?” Katja asked her confused.

“I am sorry…” Quiet spoke in a foreign language. “So very sorry…you got into this because of me…”

The children quickly understood what they meant and gave her a gentle hug. “We don’t blame you, Quiet. How should you have known?” Lily spoke in a comforting tone and the woman smiled weakly.

Without any warning, there was a loud bang and the container shook violently, the kids screamed and Quiet clutched them protectively as they felt how it went down fast.

The impact was so strong that they got dazed.

Groaning, their ears ringing, they could faintly make out how the container was opened.

“Freeze!” A voice yelled as their vision and hearing recovered. The eyes of the children became small as they found themselves held at gunpoint by Soviet soldiers.

All raised their hands/hooves in surrender, knowing there was no way out.

The ponies were chatting what to do next. “It will take a lot of magic to get us all home. We have to combine our magic for this to work.” Fletcher said, Abstraction, Insistra, Siyarjit and Blue nodded, the former merc had an expression of unease about what would happen to her once back in Equestria.

“Guys!” Patch yelled, running in with Wagensroll, Dawnwind and the two Soviets, completely out of breath.

“What’s wrong?” Midnight asked.

“Dinky…her friends….missing…” The historian tried to catch his breath.

“What?” Fletcher exclaimed, “How?”

“Well, apparently, Quiet managed to stow away on a departing chopper and we tracked her down to Afghanistan. The chopper was carrying a container with food and medical supplies for refugees here. It got surprised by a hidden AA position and lost the container. We suspect that the children tried to stop Quiet and accidentally entered the container just before it got moved.”

“Then we must move quickly!” Abstraction exclaimed.

The children got brought to the Lamar Khaate Palace, Katja and Lily got brought into one of the barracks, Dinky and Blau into the basement of the Palace, Quiet was brought out of their sight.

They all tried to make each other hope as the soldiers had neutral expressions, restraining them.

“Fletcher and his friends will come for us, right? Right?” Lily asked with fear.

“Don’t panic, I am sure they will,” Katja replied, although she was just as scared.

They both gulped as the door opened and an officer walked in, noticeable by the red beret, his expression one of hate.

“Who ordered you to kill Soviet officers?” He asked stern.

“P-please sir, we never wanted to do this…” Lily stuttered, yet this seemed to anger the Soviet.

“Who do you think you are fooling?!” He yelled, his eyes blazing.

“Ask my brother and his friend, they will tell you the same.” Katja tried to calm him down.

“So you made up a story together. Enough.” He swatted both with his rifle, causing both to cry in pain. “If you do not know anything, we're done here.”

Dinky and Blau trembled as the officer walked in. “All right, now you can both talk to me. Who ordered you to kill Soviet officers?” He asked in a stern tone.

“We…we never wanted to do this…” Dinky said honestly, yet the man wasn’t convinced.

“You expect us to believe that? You’re murders of people of the Soviet Union. You will pay for your crimes.” He spoke coldly.

“Skull Force was the one who ordered this.” The unicorn added, it just slipped out.

“Hah! So it's all Skullface’s fault.” The Soviet taunted.

“I beg you, we did not want to k-kill…” Blau stuttered before he got swatted by the man with his AK, crying out in pain.

“Don't worry. Hell has room for both of you.” The Officer was cold as Katja and Lily got brought in and Blau looked at his sister in desperation.

“Please, don’t kill us! Skull Face forced us to do this!”

“I find that hard to believe. If you want to be spared from your crimes, that door is already closed.”

“Wait!” Dinky called out as he was about to leave.

“Shut up!” He yelled and turned to one of the guards. “Dispose of the prisoners as per playbook.”

“Sir, with all due respect, they are children.” One of the guards pointed out with slight disgust in his voice.

“Are you refusing a direct order?” The officer asked in a threating voice.

“No sir, we are soldiers, not murders. They feel regret, they were forced to do this, it’s clearly visible.” The guard protested.

“I don’t care! I lost good men to them! Dispose of them!”

The guard sighed. “Yes, sir."

Now, the children started to tremble as the guards raised their rifles. “Please! Don’t! We beg you!” Dinky started to cry.

They closed their eyes, waiting for the shots that would end their lives.

Bang!

A shot.

But they felt no pain.

Slowly opening their eyes, they saw that the soldiers had missed. “W-why?” Lily asked confused.

“We have standards and we know you’re the children that were with Arkturi and Sergei. You don’t deserve any of this.” One of the soldiers said and untied them.

Before they could move, there was a strange sound outside. “Stay here while we check it out.” One of the men said and the kids nodded.

Lovec, Sergei and the ponies hoped it wasn’t too late as they were en route. Snake was already there and they overheard on the radio how Ocelot commented he couldn’t blame the Soviets for wanting payback, given they had lost a lot of men to Quiet, with Code Talker mentioning that she was carrying vocal cord parasites, a third English strain to be precise. A vector by Skull Face, yet refused to speak or let it treated.

As the chopper touched down, Atgeir left the group to gather a “friend”, with the others joining Snake, moving towards the palace. Reaching it, they saw Quiet stumbling out of one of the barracks, restrained and dressed like a POW, beige-colored with brief lines around the torso and white armbands on the upper sleeves.

Three Soviets chased her and one managed to grab her and drowned her in a small, open water container, then pulled her pants down.

However, this caused her to wake up and retaliated, mutilating and slaughtering him and the other soldiers in a way better left undetailed, as it was quite shocking for the group.

As Snake was about to cut her retrains, she pushed him down as another three Soviets opened fire at her. She made quick sprints and throw one over, jumping on the next one and spun him out, causing him to accidently shooting his third comrade.

The second one tried to slash at her with a knife but she stretched her arms out, resulting in him cutting the restrains and she grabbed the knife, stabbing both into the throat.

Another two came out of the barrack, so she grabbed one of the bodies and pulled the pin of a grenade attached to it, causing both soldiers to back up into the barrack, the woman close after her.

Then the explosion and both soldiers coughed from the smoke, having survived just barely, with the barrack catching fire. Gunshots followed and the group saw how one soldier got thrown out of the window, knocked out.

Seeing the barrack was slowly collapsing, Snake fired on a water barrel mounted on a tower next to the fire, putting it out. The other soldier crawled out of the door before killed with a shot to the head. Quiet walked out, now in her “normal” clothes, carrying an Anti-material rifle, and an RPG.

“Guys, what’s going on?” A voice asked and two more Soviets came out of the palace, the kids behind them, looking shocked at the dead bodies.

Quiet fixed the soldiers with their glare and they slowly backed up before running away, the kids ran into Fletcher for a hug, he calmed them down. “Shh, it’s alright.”

“Guys, we got company!” The beast master warned and they saw a tank force moving in.

Snake grabbed the RPG from Quiet. “Let’s finish this.”

The tank fired, destroyed the barrack completely and making everyone stumble for a moment from the shockwave before Fletcher brought her kids into the basement. “Stay here, for your own safety.” They nodded scared, hugging each other.

The snipers got into position on the roof of the palace, Lovec and Sergei did too, the other near sandbags. A roar greeted their ears and a bear was next to Atgeir as Siyarjit grinned.

“The Russians wanna give us one last display of brute force... Let's give them one last display of courage.”

And with that, they all attacked. Blue and Fletcher shot all enemy soldiers, Quiet fired at the tank, disabling it and forcing the crew to bail. Sergei and Lovec gave suppressing fire and called out targets, they didn’t want to kill any fellow Soviet.

Snake fired on a T-80 at the right of the palace’s road, disabling it as he hit the threads, with Neolith firing non-lethal bolts to take out the infantry escort.

Atgeir and his bear charged at a BTR-80 next at the front, evading it’s fire and punched it with enough force to throw it over.

A third T-80 came from the right, Insistra used a crystal as landmine to disable it, with Abundo and Siyarjit swinged their maces with enough force to knock out the infantry escort instantly. Midnight, Wolf and Abstraction used their signature weapons to disarm any stragglers by cutting their firearms in half, forcing them to flee.

“Damn, there’s more of them!” Sergei warned as another T-80 moved in from the front, a BTR with rocket launcher behind it.

Lovec saw a glint in the distance and ducked just seconds before a bullet hit the wall next to him. “Snipers!” He yelled, but the two unicorn snipers reacted quickly and took them out.

Snake fired his RPG, managing to disable the tank but the BTR fired it’s rockets at the palace. However, Insistra fired lasers, destroying the rockets in mid-air and the beast master and his animal ally threw the APC over.

Another BTR-80 drove up from the road on the left, Quiet fired a shot, it hit the driver and the APC crashed against a rock.

“Airborne enemy approaching!” Blue called out as a Hind was closing in. Fletcher drew his bow and fired a charged shot at it. It wasn’t’ strong enough to destroy it but damaged it heavily, forcing it to fall back as it smoked.

Snake fired at another T-80 in the middle of the desert. The moment it exploded, all enemy soldiers retreated.

“We did it…We defeated an entire Soviet Armored Division…” Abstraction breathed heavily as he looked over the wrecks.

“Is it over?” Dinky whimpered as she and her friends slowly peeked out.

“Yes, it is.” Fletcher said in a comforting voice.

Snake offered Quiet a hand. She was about to shake it but shoved him aside and grabbed his RPG as a single tank was still operational. Both fired at the same time, the tank shell knocked everyone over.

“Ugh…” Blue groaned, her ears ringing as she got up with Snake, Lovec, Sergei and the Dark Horse members, seeing that Quiet and the others had been knocked unconscious.

A fearsome sandstorm was coming and the radio was jammed by it, so they had only one choice.

Snake picked Quiet up, Blue lifted Dinky and Lily gently on her back, Insistra took the siblings, Abstraction carried Fletcher, Siyarjit took Midnight and Atgeir took Wolf as they carried her out of harm's way through the storm.

A short moment later, Quiet started to thrash as she regained consciousness and the group moved behind a rock as another mechanized unit was nearby.

Snake held Quiet tightly to prevent her from alerting a soviet soldier that moved towards them and heard a hiss. He got bitten by a cobra, yet managed not to cry in pain and threw it away.

The soldier got alerted by this and shot the cobra before a fellow soldier called out, “Hey, keep up.”

Then everyone passed out, Snake from the venom, the others from exhaustion.

After some time, they came to just barely, their visions blurry as the radio buzzed. “This is Pequod. Do you read me?” There was a lot of static. “This is Pequod. Ahab, what is your position? We can’t stick around any longer…Talk to me, Boss!”

“The Boss is here. Hurry.” Quiet spoke into the radio in a foreign language.

“Ahab, I can’t copy your transmission Repeat.” Pequod replied.

“Hurry! The Boss is dying!”

“Again, I cannot copy. Can you repeat in English? We cannot stick around any longer. We have zero visibility. We’re gonna have to pull back. Cutting transmissions.” Pequod replied and Quiet sighed.

“The Boss is with me” She spoke in English.

“Ahab? Wait, who is this? Identify yourself!! Pequod demanded.

“There is no time. Hurry!”

“Where are you? What is your location?”

Quiet took a look. “No, you’re moving away from us. Circle back to your 8 o’clock.”

“Copy that, guide me to your location.” Pequod acknowledged.

“Proceed to your 10 o’clock. Come back to your 1 o’clock. Shift lightly to your left. Now proceed straight. 1.5 miles. Slight right, a little more. Yes, there you go.” She did as told, with the pilot acknowledging every turn. “One more mile. Strong winds approaching, quick, adjust to your right! Left. A little left…Yes. Now hold your position and proceed straight! Half a mile to go.” Then she looked up. “Pequod, I can see you. I have a visual.” She waved to show their position.

“There you are, Ahab! Visual confirmed! I didn’t know you could be so talkative, Quiet.” Pequod commented and the ponies and three humans saw the searchlight of the chopper before everything became black again.

Coming to again, they saw several Diamond Dog soldier before them, helping them up, with one saying to Snake that he gave him an anti-venom. Yet the Boss had only one question.

“Where’s Quiet?” He asked as the woman was nowhere to be seen.

“I…” The soldier hesitated. “We’ve got to go.” He helped his leader up, the others helped the children, ponies and Soviets up and Dinky pointed to footprints in the sand.

They followed them, only finding a cassette tape hanging from a tree branch and Snake put the tape into his iDroid, turning the speaker on.

“I did not choose to be Quiet. I wanted to express my feelings to you. If only we shared a common tongue. Vengeance was what drove me to them...The only language left to me, revenge. But the words we shared...No, that was no language at all. That's why I...I chose the language of gratitude instead, and go back to silence. I am Quiet...I am...the absence of words.”

Then it ended and the children sniffed. “We’re sorry, we tried to stop her…” Dinky looked down in guilt but Abstraction put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t be, you aren’t to blame.” Then they boarded the chopper and listen to what Miller had to say to this.

“You have the results of Quiet's scans?”

“Yes. As I suspected, her entire body underwent parasite therapy. The parasites compensated for her burned epidermis, and provided her blood with oxygen through cutaneous respiration instead of pulmonary respiration. In addition, they replaced the digestive organs she lost, and she receives carbohydrates through photosynthesis.” Code Talker explained.

“Was Skull Face responsible?”

“There is no other possibility.”

“Skull Face ordered Quiet to assassinate Snake, only she got set on fire instead when he woke up at that hospital. But then Skull Face revived Quiet through his parasite therapy. At the same time infecting her with the English strain. That way, even if the assassination failed again, she could still kill all of us just by coming here.”

“That was the third English mating pair - correction, the first and only English pair to be carried by a person.” Code Talker concluded

“So either because she wanted to get even with Snake, or because she was working for Skull Face, Quiet approached Snake again.”

“Though in the end, for whatever reason, she did not complete her objective. Some change of heart, perhaps? We won't hear it from her.”

“I hope…she can find her peace.” Lily commented at this.

It was evening when they got back to Mother Base. As Snake opened the door, DD ran up and pounced on the children, licking them repeatedly while growling in affection.

They giggled as Wolf said, “I guess he was worried for you too.”

Feeling still exhausted, they all went to bed, trying to rest.

Breakfasting in the morning, Lovec had a message for them. “The Boss’ birthday is today, wanna join at the party?”

Dinky grinned. “I’d love to!” The others nodded and they helped to prepare everything as Snake returned at noon.

Fireworks were used and everyone started to sing.

♫”Happy Birthday! Congratulations! Happy Birthday with salutations! Happy Birthday! May your sky stay blue. Happy Birthday to you!”

Snake smiled as Sergei brought the cake, decorated with the logo of his PF and Ocelot gave him a cigar. Snake was about to lit it via one of the candles bit Miller snatched it way with a grin.

The Boss chucked and blew the candles out and everyone clapped.

Everyone had cake and danced, enjoying the party to the fullest.

As Fletcher finished eating a piece of the cake, he noticed that Blue was watching the sea and walked up to her.

“Nice view...” She looked at him and he smiled weakly-

“I've never been too good in the sun...”

The mare sighed. “So what happens now?”

“Well, that's up to Snake and the others really.” Fletcher replied calmly and she rolled her eyes.

“I meant to us, you Muppet! I can't just go back to Equestria now, can I?”

In response, the stallion shrugged. “Why not?”

Blue blinked in disbelief. “Sorry, are you ill or something? I have a body-count of literal thousands! If I am seen by anypony back home, I will spend the rest of my life in prison, no argument. I'll never get to see my son again, or anypony else.”

“Not necessarily. There are ways you can avoid that. All you need to do is prove to society that you've changed.” The Eternal knight pointed out

“Yeah, I don't think the 'Turning Over A New Leaf' is quite going to be enough in this case.” Blue replied with a slightly irritated expression.

“Blue, you don't seem to understand the situation at all.”

Sarcastically, she titled her head. “I'm sorry, what?”

"Tungsten knows how all this happened but he still loves you. To him, you are still the loving mother who's struggled through a very difficult time to get that privilege. That's the mare you are to him. Not a killer. And there are ways you can show Equestria that you are that mare as well. You've been given another chance, Blue. Are you just going to pass it off?” He countered.

“Fletcher...that life, the mother, the wife, the...the goodness. It was all a lie.” She told with a guilty voice.

“No. I don't think it was. I think the killer was a lie. I don't think you were born good and fell to bad, quite the opposite. I think you were born bad and rose to good. And if the work of six very incredible mares is anything to go by...you can only go up from there.”

Now, Blue looked at him with a tired look, her eyes showing regret. “You do... whatever you want to me... as long as I'm with Tungsten... I'm ... I'm a happy mare. If it means I go to prison, let them do what they must.”

Fletcher smiled as the other ponies joined him. “I think we can work something out for you.”

“Yes, Tungsten, Pip and Nancy, they all miss you.” Dinky added with a smile of her own.

“You had a troublesome past, but you’re not a bad pony, Blue. You are a caring mother deep within.” Insistra pointed out.

“Goodbye, you two. Thank you for everything!” Lily gave Lovec and Sergei a hug, with her friends, they returned it.

DD also ran up to them and said goodbye with a bark, getting petted by the kids.

“Ah, before I forget.” Abstraction lit up his horn and in a flash, a painting was before the two men. It was a drawn group photo of them with the children and ponies. “I hope you like it.”

Both Soviets smiled. “It’s beautiful! You really have talent.” Sergei exclaimed.

“Goodbye, have a safe trip home.” Lovec saluted them with his friend and commanders before all unicorns lit up their horns, Insistra assisted with her crystals and the group vanished in a white light.

He sighed. “At last, they finally are home, safe and sound.”

“Yes and not only them.” Ocelot said, getting a puzzled look by Arkturi. "The commander of the Harmonious Guard contacted us. He said someone’s waiting for you.”

Arkturi grinned, knowing who it was and boarded the chopper.

He hoped they would understand his situation.

Chapter 11 Reunited

Chapter 11: Reunited

Blue’s head ached as she came too, like after having too many glasses of wine, though she rarely drank. Looking around, she found herself with the others in hospital beds.

Ugh…I think I need a long time to get used to that…

Shortly afterward, the others awoke too and hoof steps sounded.

A colt with a cobalt blue coat and ginger/orange mane walked in. He looked at Blue with a smile. “Mama…I missed you!”

“Tungsten…come here.” She hugged her son and both cried tears of joy, with all others smiling warmly at the scene.

Then the unicorn saw Nancy and Pip entering, both having slightly apprehensive expression.

Blue knew they had forgiven her, yet she didn’t know what to say. “I…I…”

Without warning, both gave her a hug.

“We both never blamed you for this. You’re the best godmother I could ever wish for, you taught me so much.” Pip said, slowly smiling.

Nancy stayed silent for a moment, then a weak smile.

“Taking care of Tungsten was the least I could do for you, Blue. It’s alright.”

Then the families of the children and knights walked in, happy to see them safe and sound. “Welcome back, my loyal soldiers,” Luna spoke to the Dark Horse members.

“Itis nice to see you again, your highness.” The prince smiled warmly.

“And there’s visit for you, Abstraction.”

As Luna said this, a mint-green unicorn walked in with Bonbon, both looking happy at him. “Abby…I thought you were dead!”

The unicorn hugged him and he returned it. “I missed you too, Lyra.” They both cried tears of joy, with the stallion remembering his last thoughts before he landed on earth.

In a corner of his mind as his forehoof went numb, followed by the rest of him, Abstraction thought of the unicorn he'd left behind. A mint-green mare full of laughter. The hug they'd shared before leaving.

'I'll be right back.' he'd said 'Once I'm done saving Equestria.'

That was all he'd said, so nonchalant.

The side of his face tensed, as if his tear ducts had shut themselves off as the energy swamped him.

Perhaps Bonbon would take care of her. They'd always been close, ever since they were foals.

Maybe Aversion would help her out. And the rest of his squadmates.

Maybe Twilight Sparkle would come and help her, an old school friend helping a pony with a problem as he often did.

But uncertainly filled his mind as forbidden magic surrounded his body.

'Lyra...' he thought, losing sense of every speck of himself as the deafening crackling from the spell threatened to split his skull.

'I'm so sorry...We were going to do so much…together...'

“Abstraction, good to see you.” A male voice spoke up and he saw an earth pony with red mane, grey coat and a blue flame as cutie mark. Next to him was a Vampony mare.

“Aversion, Rue, nice to see you.” Abstraction smiled.

“We owe you our lives, my friend.” Aversion replied.

“We did only what we had to do, our duty.” The blue stallion said in return.

Behind them were a Unicorn mare with a light gray hide that had a hint of blue, a henna mane and tail, and a frying pan cutie mark, and a Pegasus stallion of reddish-brown hide the same color as the mare’s hair, and a dark brown mane and tail, as well as a small goatee. The group almost overlooked an orange unicorn stallion in the doorway, he had purple eyes and a blonde mane, his cutie mark were two hooves shaking, one of which would have a Red Cross on the sleeve. They all three smiled warmly at the scene.

“Speaking off, what about that mist?” Lily asked into the round.

“We did report it as fast as we could, yet it quickly dispersed after that, no traces were left,” Nancy explained.

“Now, what happened after the mist?” Dinky’s father asked and the four children started to tremble.

“We…found ourselves in something horrible…” The filly said with regret and Sparkler hugged her gently.

“We are all here for you, just like before.” She spoke in a gentle tone and Luna cast her memory spell.

Their friends and families watched with smiles as the saw how the three soviets found and cared for the children, yet watched in shook when they saw hat Skull Face had done to them.

“Oh my…Dinky…” Derpy mumbled and wrapped her hooves around her daughter.

“I…I…” The little unicorn stuttered, unable to say anything.

“Children, listen, that wasn’t you.” The doctor spoke out calmly. “I know it’s hard, but you will get over it.”

“And you will be our children, no matter what,” Ruby added.

Lyra, Bon-Bon, Aversion and Rue smiled as they saw how the knights picked Abstraction up.

“I…never knew you could so temperamental, Blue,” Nancy commented with awkwardness as the scene of an erratic Blue Murder kicking Fletcher in the crouch got shown, causing the unicorn to chuckle nervously.

Despite this, they were amazed how the knights, Dark Horse members and children worked well together.

“Well, for a mercenary, you seem to get pretty well among with this Big Boss.” Supernova commented.

“Well, we only did it to prevent Skull Face could do any more harm to our young friends. And we did encounter an old friend.” Midnight replied.

“What do you mean?” His relative asked before they saw how Blue helped out on the FOB of the Harmonious Guard, as well as the other two encounters. “I see, who would have thought of that?”

“Oh my…poor Snake…” Tootsie had pity with him as they saw the second Outbreak.

“Yes, it was very unfortunately,” Wolf replied.

After seeing how Quiet left, “The doctor commented, “Whatever her reason was, it honors her that she helped.”

Upon being back in the hospital, Lyra spoke up, “Fletcher, we all owe you one.”

“Why?

“Because, hadn’t you been searching for Dinky and her friends, neither Blue, Abstraction or any of the others would have come back.” She pointed out and he lowered his head in embarrassment.

“Oh please…”

“You have my thanks, Mr. Fletcher. And I am proud of you, my son.” The light grey mare smiled at him.

“I know, mother.” Abstraction then turned to his friends. “My mother Pan Fry,” He pointed to the mare, then the Pegasus stallion, “my stepfather Medium Rare and my uncle Resilience Redcross.” He looked at the orange unicorn, who gave a friendly wave with Abstraction’s parents.

Following that, the Dark Horse member took a deep breath. “Lyra, I wanted to ask you something, long before this incident.” He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a small box. “Will you marry me?”

Lyra stared in shock before she sniffed, a tear leaving her eye. “Oh, Abby…yes. A thousand times, yes!” She exclaimed in joy and everyone smiled at the scene.

Then suddenly, a sound of clearing a throat got everyone’s attention and they saw a Pegasus stallion with a speckled navy back and face and a cream-yellow chin and belly, a light brown ponytail of a mane and steely ebony eyes, wearing intricate armor with shoulder pads shaped like an Alicorn taking flight. A black cloak with a white sun upon it and a sash with a flaming eye on black was across his chest. Also, it was inlaid with pearl and obsidian.

“I am terribly sorry to interrupt this lovely moment, but can I speak you outside, Eternal Knights?” He fixed Blue with a glare.

“Mum...who's he? Wh...What’s going to happen?" Tungsten asked with a fearful look but his mother gave him a calming hug.

“I’ll be alright, Sweetheart.”

“I assure you, it will be a fair trial, Tungsten,” Celestia spoke with an honest expression.

The three and Blue followed him outside.

“Still, how could you even think it was a good idea to bring her back?” The Royal Guard asked sternly.

“What else was I supposed to do, Peregrine? Just let her wandering aimlessly in an erratic state?” Fletcher asked irritated in return.

“In any case, you won’t take part in the questioning,” Peregrine replied and two fellow guards took Blue away.

The judges were the Equestrian Military High Command. Apart from Shining Armor, Fancypants and Sunset Shimmer, they were the highest-standing non-alicorns in Equestria.

An old, distinguished unicorn, a grim and uncompromising Pegasus mare, a female crystal mystic, a gigantic earth pony stallion, a tall and busty unicorn and a flamboyant pegasus.

The distinguished unicorn tapped his gavel.

“Citizens of Equestria, the Royal Custodial Tribunal calls the court to order. The judgement of the known fugitive, Blue Murder, unicorn mare from Trottingham, underway. The judges will stand. I, High Magister Ambrosias of the Canterlot Chamber of Causality will hear the accused.” He spoke in a low but soft voice and his manner was courteous but formidable. His coat, eyes bright purple and a long and winding white mane and beard, wearing a pair of spectacles dressed in robes of gold and silver and a tall mitre of office.

“I, Sky Marshall Cry Thunder of the Cumulonimbus Calvus Cloud Fleet will hear the accused.” The Pegasus mare with a dusky-navy coat and a billowing mane of white, lemon and turquoise streaks spoke up in an almost yelling voice. Her eyes were bright orange and one was paled and scarred from a fight. She was clad in armor of wyvern bone, wearing it's talons on her hooves.

“I, Archseer Bright Eyes of the Divine House of Empathos will hear the accused.” The mystic with deep-blue coat with a trailing mane of pink, red and orange spoke up. She wore a deep-red silk dress and veil fastened with jet-black beads. Her face was thin and nearly hairless with black veins running out from her eye sockets across her brow and over her cheeks. Her eyes were actually replaced with twin spheres of moonstone.

“I, High Protector Bulwark of the Western Frontier will hear the accused.” Bulwark said with a nod. A scarred, grey coat, steely silver eyes and a long, spiky head of crimson mane with enormous sideburns was his appearance. He was clad in intricate bronze armor with golden inlays and his army's banner of the crimson horseshoe decorating every plate of his garb, the helmet resembled the spiky skull of a tarasque.

“I, Chamberlain Honeydew of the Archive of Regrets and Remorses will hear the accused.” The tall unicorn added, slightly close to fat, with a bright yellow coat and a pale green mane tied up in an intricate bouffant. Her eyes were bright blue, lined and shadowed a dark purple. She wore simple jewelery of earthly pearls across her mane and ears. She was clad in a lavender combination of armor and robes.

“I, Outlaw-Hunter General Fandango of the Order of Martingale will hear the accused.” The Pegasus with a deep magenta coat and a long curly black mane with elegant mustachios and bright green, feline eyes finished. He was dressed in dark maroon cavalier garb with a wide-brimmed hat with purple plumes and thin black-iron armor arranged asymmetrically across his suit. A black rose was behind one ear.

“The charge is that of most gravity, my lords and ladies. The mare, Blue Murder, stands accused of high treason, collaboration with active enemies of Equestria, espionage, possession of illegal weaponry and, most severe, mass murder of over a thousand ponies across the Known World by way of paid assassination.” Ambrosias started.

“A killer for hire...” Cry Thunder Hoof grinded a hoof on her desk. “Repugnant.” She spat in disgust.

“Miss Blue Murder...how do you plead?” High Magister Ambrosias asked.

”...Guilty.” She said honestly

Yet your statement requests leniency?” Bulwark added.

“...Yes.”

“Do you intend to represent yourself in this request?” Bright Eyes asked next and Blue shook her head.

“No.”

“We would ask the reason why.” Honeydew was curious to know.

“Well, frankly...I don’t think my word carries much weight in here, knowing what I’ve done.” She stated and the navy colored mare nodded.

“True.”

“Fletcher Fray of Princess Lunas’ Eternal Knights, it is your wish to represent the accused as defense?” Ambrosias looked at him.

“It is.”

“And what have you to say in defense of a known assassin?” General Fandango spoke up.

“She’s not who you think she is.” He stated calmly.

“But is she what we have heard she is?”

“You need to understand that she is more than just a criminal.” Fletcher explained and Cry Thunder gave him a glare.

“She’s a murderer.”

“She’s a mother.”

Everyone stayed silent for moment, taking in those words.

“And?” Thunder raised an eyebrow.

“My lords and ladies, Blue Murder’s husband has long passed away. Put her away for the duration of her sentence and you will make her son an orphan.” Fray pointed out, only for Bulwark to slam on the table in anger.

“And how many foals has she made orphans?!”

“That was never her wish.” The green stallion countered calmly.

“Then all the worse for her doing so in the first place. Sentiment is far from worthless but in the face of so many actions vile and bloody, it avails little.” Bright Eyes was not convinced.

“Let us understand this...Is it your belief that she murdered ponies to ensure her son’s survival?” Fandango tied to conclude and Honeydew raised a hoof.

“We have no evidence to suggest he was ever in any danger.”

“Judges of the Equestrian Royal Court, I ask you to understand that Blue Murder has...not had an easy time as all of us.” Fletcher said with a hint of sympathy in his voice.

“So do a lot of ponies. It doesn’t turn them into crazed mass-shooters.” The deep magenta Pegasus pointed out in an unimpressed tone.

“Can I just point out something?” Blue asked into the round. “I wasn’t a ‘crazed mass-shooter’. I was an assassin.”

Cry Thunder blinked. “...There’s a difference?

Blue Murder nodded. “Well...strictly speaking, one is a job, the other is mental sickness.”

In response, the Pegasus slammed a hoof on the desk. “You’d be a damn sight more sympathetic if you were simply insane! To kill for money, I shouldn’t have to say to anypony, is sick in theory, evil in practice and wrong in every circumstance.”

The blue mare was not fazed by this. “...Just thought I’d be clear on that.”

“Royal judges, I simply ask that you consider the fact that no option presented itself to her.” Fletcher tried to defuse this situation but Ambrosias held up a hoof.

“No other option she accepted, Sir Fletcher Fray. She is not uneducated, unqualified, unprofessional, she would have had many options available to her.”

“The mercenary leader known as Cascadius sought her out at a young age.” Fray added, yet got cut off.

“Then it was her duty, as a citizen of Equestria, to report this.”

“Lives would have been put at risk.” Fletcher added, now Bulwark held up a hoof.

“More than the number of lives she took?”

“The circumstances involved...” Fray started, but now Cry Thunder cut him off.

“Change nothing about the lives lost and the tragedy incurred.”

Ambrosias tapped his gavel to get every to quiet down. “Order...Mrs. Blue Murder, do you concur with Sir Fletcher Fray’s statements?”

“...Well...if it carries any weight.” She replied and he nodded.

“As sympathetic as your situation is, Mrs. Blue Murder, you are not the victim here. And, strictly speaking, neither is your son. You murdered thousands across a lifetime of criminal behavior. How many of them had children of their own? If that did not factor into your judgement...it will not factor into ours.”

“I understand that.”

“All I am asking the judges is to administer mercy. All Blue Murder has done, she did with her son in mind.” Fletcher tried to explain as she gave him a glare.

“Shut up!”

“But...”

“I said shut up! Keep him out of this! Tungsten's my son and I love him. He's about the only thing left that I love...But I never killed for him. He was not responsible for what I did and you'll keep him out of this, as will I. I am a killer...I knew what I was doing...I would rather my son believe I was a monster from the very start...than believe he made me one.” Blue told with regret and Fandango asked in return,

“Is that a confession?”

“...If you want it to be...” She mumbled.

“Law is law. We cannot allow such a pony to remain unpunished. The blood on her hooves spans many fathoms.” Cry Thunder pointed out and Honeydew added,

“Indeed...yet we cannot rule out every measure.”

“Blue Murder,” Bright eyes started, “You have clearly put the life of bloodshed behind you. It is clear the life for your son motivates you now, if not before. Your recent exploits into rescuing the citizens of Equestria cannot be ruled out. It is clear to us that you are no longer a danger.”

“Nonetheless, these good deeds come very late and very far between. Your redemption cannot be found without long and severe imprisonment.” Bulwark finished and Blue lowered he head, accepting her fate.

“...I see.”

“With one alternative, we should point out.” Ambrosias continued and she looked up in surprise.

“...Yes?”

“Servitude. Under Princess Luna. As your associate, Sir Fletcher Fray chose to undertake many years ago. In order to absolve oneself of high treason in the eyes of Equestria.” Fandango explained.

“And...how long would I be serving?”

Honeydew answered for her. “Very likely the rest of your life.”

Blue Murder stayed silent at this.

“Or you can spend the rest of your days in a prison cell.” Bulwark stated.

“...So either I can rot away in a cell...or serve as your henchpony?” Blue wanted to know.

“Let us not ignore the fact you’ve killed thousands for coin. You’ve no place judging our moral caliber from where you’re standing, Mrs. Blue Murder.” Cry Thunder added.

“And if I join the Eternal Knights, I’ll be able to see my son?” She asked

“If they permit it. That’s their business. But you will be a cypher. For as long as they deem it necessary, the citizens of Equestria will consider you a criminal, though the fact that you are making amends and seeking redemption will not easily be ignored. Should you desire their forgiveness and friendship, you shall earn it by whatever means you can find. “Fandango answered her and Ambrosias finished,”

“Nopony is cut off from the Magic of Friendship unless they choose to be.”

Blue Murder didn’t mind that at all, she could still see her son that way, and her skills were put to good use.

After that, she attended a party at Sugarcube Corner, as Ponyville celebrated the return of Abstraction. The former mercenary enjoyed the cake, watching how her son danced with the other children.

“Blue,” Nancy started, “Tell me, why were you a mercenary?”

The female unicorn sighed. “It wasn’t for money or the thrill. He found me as a foal and brought me into this life. And ever since, I felt…like it was the only thing I could ever be good at. Until my husband and son came into my life.”

“And yet, you proved you can be good at other things, you showed that on Earth.” Fletcher pointed out and she smiled.

“Righto.”

With a slight smile, Blue watched how her son chatted with Sparkler.

“See, Tungsten? I told you, hope for the best. And it worked.” The unicorn said to him with a warm smile and he blushed. Like he hadn’t expected that.

It was clear she cared for him and Blue could see how he was touched, trying to get up with an answer.

“R-righto…Thanks, Sparkler. For all the support you gave me.” He said stuttering, yet managed to smile.

“Anytime, that’s what friends are for.” Sparkler gave him a hug, causing him to blush again.

Then Lyra walked up to Fletcher. “May I have this dance, Mr. Fray?”

While slightly surprised, he said, “Of course.”

“I guess that’s her way of saying thanks,” Wagensroll commented as he and the others watched the two dancing.

“Yeah.” Patch nodded.

After the dance, Lyra enjoyed some cake with her lover and friends. “You have my gratitude for taking care of Lyra, Bonbon.” Abstraction smiled warmly at her and she slightly blushed.

“It was the least I could do for you. For a good friend, I’d do everything.”

After the party, Lyra and Abstraction went to the home of Pan Fry and Medium Rare to get some time for themselves.

“I can’t believe you finally want to marry,” Pan said with happiness, “I knew you would one day.”

“And while I never knew Rigger Bristl, he would be also proud of you.” Medium added.

“Yeah, he would.” Abstraction looked with a weak smile at a family picture, on it were a younger Pan Fry, holding a colt Abstraction, together with a Pegasus stallion with a briefcase cutie mark, cyan hide, and a short blue mane and tail, his eyes the same as those of Abstraction.

“And so am I.” Lyra kissed her lover, he returned it, enjoying the moment.

“I know. I hope you were respectful when meeting first Katja back then.”

Now, Lyra chuckled. “You kidding?! I couldn't wait to see her. I mean, obviously I wasn't prodding her with a stick or anything but know...a lot of things finally made sense. Of course, we wanted to help her, lost kid and everything...sorry, I'm rambling."

The doorbell rang and Abstraction opened it, revealing his friend Aversion, together with Rue. “Hello!”

“Hi, I hope we’re not interrupting.” The Earth pony replied and the blue unicorn waved a hoof.

“Not at all.”

“Hello, what brings you two here?” Lyra asked with a friendly smile.

“We just thought you spend some time with you,” Rae explained and they had some tea together.

“That is very good tea, “Mrs. Pan.” The Vampony enjoyed it.

“Thank you. If I may ask, what about you two?”

Aversion scratched his head. “Well, we can’t marry like you, as Rue’s a Vampony. But we feel honored to be at the wedding.” He finished with a smile.

“You are friends, why shouldn’t you be here too?” Abstraction countered. “But…what exactly happened after the explosion?”

Aversion and Rue slightly lowered their heads, it wasn’t easy. “Back then, we made sure you wouldn’t be forgotten…” The stallion started to tell.

Aversion’s hooves stood stock-still on the stone floor. Only Rue dragging him back out of the dungeons made him feel anything but numb as his friends disappeared in the luminous haze.

Midnight Blade narrowly dodged a falling lump of stone the size of a fully-grown yak. He held the gate, shadow magic holding the pillars high as the Sentinels, Lycantheres and Dark Horse members evacuated.

At last, Aversion and Monardaruta appeared, holding one another steady as they limped exhausted.

“Where are the rest?! Rookie! Who did you go in with?!” Midnight bellowed.

Aversion’s eyes were staring into nothing, trapped in shock as part of his life had broken away from him.

Rue looked up at the fierce batpony.

“They’re holding the line. The Eligo Calque’s broken. It’ll tear this place apart...They’re giving us time to run.”

Midnight’s sheer white eyes flickered.

“You left them?”

“They ordered us. They knew what they were doing. We need to go! Now!”

Midnight stared into her eyes, searching for falsehood, a foulness he could smell like carrion.

There was none in her.

Nodding gravely, casting one last look down the toppling corridors. He spread his wings as shadow enveloped them, right before the last of the stones crashed to earth.

Materializing outside on the misty shores, Midnight Blade, Rue and Aversion stared helplessly as the magical surge, and the six trapped within it let out a blinding blast of light that spread out then shot back inwards in the same breath.

The floating stones of Castle Ululo tumbled lifelessly into the seas below. All that was left of the magical implosion was a faint dusky mist and a whispering echo.

Then silence.

“Snow.”

Rue’s voice was quiet and near-lifeless.

Snow had begun to fall on Castle Ululo. The first time in over a thousand years since the first Vampony set up stronghold.

Now at last, the carnivorous line was extinguished. Rue was a monster no longer.

Midnight Blade slowly raised a hoof and caught a snowflake on his hoof. He turned to Aversion, quietly weeping, and passed him a long ornate pole, jet-black. As Aversion steadily took it and held it up, the banner of Luna’s moon unraveled.

Slowly walking to the top of the castle wreckage, he raised the banner high.

For a moment, he felt certain he heard Abstraction’s voice.

He sounded well.

Slamming it into the stone, the lodestone base of the standard constricting the stone and the sand below it like vines, it stood rigid in the wind and snow, unremovable unless the princess herself willed it.

The Dark Horse raised their weapons high and sounded the names of the fallen.

“Atgeir.”

“Neolith.”

“Insistra Emphaseon.”

“Abundo.”

“Siyarjit.”

“Abstraction.” Aversion and Rue sounded at once as Midnight Blade held the hilt of his falchion to his muzzle and murmured the Lunar prayer.

“In darkness was your life given. In darkness was your life taken.” He closed his white eyes “Unsung heroes.”

“I prayed that you would return as I suffered nightmares from that day.” Aversion, shivered. “Seven months…I had almost given up hope.”

“I don't think you had. I've known you enough to realize that you never give up hope. It's why we both got this chance.” Rue said before kissing him, with the other smiling warmly.

In the next days, they made preparations for the wedding, with Rarity making the clothes for the couple.

“It is really an honor for me.” The white mare said as they took the measures of both down.

“We know to appreciate that, Rarity.” Lyra smiled.

After a moment, Rarity presented her work. A white dress with veil and a black suit, with the couple trying it on. “Suits perfectly. How do I look, my dear?” The green unicorn asked.

Abstraction blushed as she said, “Like the most beautiful mare in Equestria.”

“Oh really?” She grinned. “I thought more like the most powerful one.”

Now, Abstraction laughed. “You can’t beat Luna.”

“Doesn’t beat that I am a very skilled unicorn.”

“Right you are.” Both shared a laugh, with Rarity rolling her eyes

Sugarcube Corner organized catering, together with Pan Fry. Lyra and Abstraction wanted a small wedding, with the Mayor of Ponyville taking care of that.

But while the wedding came closer, Blue Murder had still one thing to do.

She was led by a Night Guard through a prison to a cell. “Hey, Shadowplay, you got visit.” The guard spoke in a friendly, female voice and Blue saw him smiling at the fellow Bat pony.

“Thanks, Clear Amber.” He replied with a friendly voice as well, as if he was happy to see her, causing Blue to look after the guard with a suspicious expression as she left the two alone.

“Blue…” Shadow’s smile fell as she saw her. “You’re survived….” He sounded guilty.

“Yes, I have. But tell me…why?” She asked in a neutral voice.

He sighed. “So you think I liked what I had to do? I never wanted to do this, I regretted every second. Every night after that, I suffered nightmares. I understand if you hate me, won’t forgive me. I just want to let you know, I’m sorry, regretting what I had to do.” Shadowplay lowered his head.

Blue took a deep breath, knowing that this wasn’t easy. “Shadow, I don’t blame you, neither does Tungsten.”

“You…don’t?” The stallion looked up confused.

“Why should I? We were both in a critical situation, acts we didn’t want to do. We are in the same boat.” She pointed out.

“And so am I, sort of.” A new voice said and Blue saw a silhouette of an Earth pony coming towards from the opposite cell. It was Tybalt, weakly smiling.

“Tybalt? I thought you died.” Blue said surprised.

“I thought so too.”

“How did you survive?” She asked and he shrugged.

“Franky, I can't remember much. Only that I blacked out and faintly saw a light. I thought Tartarus had come to collect its dues at last. Then I woke up in a hospital room. When I asked what happened, a nurse only told me that a doctor managed to save me, because he meant I was still young and had my life ahead of me, that I should get a second chance.”

“In any case, I am glad to see you’re okay.”

“Me too. So...it seems here we are at the conclusion. The three of us...the last survivors of the bloody war.” The black-and-white-speckled stallion lowered his head slightly.

“Yes, but it is up to us to make the best out of it.” Blue pointed out, “And I might have that opportunity for all of us.”

“And that is?” Both stallions asked curiously.

“You will see. If you excuse me, I got a wedding to attend.”

Mayor Mare served as the pastor at the wedding, with Aversion bringing the rings, Dinky and her friends the flowers as she said, “I now pronounce you mare and stallion!”

Everyone cheered as Abstraction and Lyra kissed, with Pan and Medium crying tears of joy.

“Let's get this party started!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed and DJ-Pon3 made some dancing music.

After some time, Blue decided to take a break from dancing, going to the drink stand, drinking some lemonade as she watched the others enjoying themselves, looking at her son and the new married couple with a sigh.

I wish you could see this…Marmalade…

Nancy took notice and walked up to her. “I know this wakes bad memories, Blue, but he would be proud of you.”

“Yes, he would.” The unicorn smiled weakly.

“And he had wanted you to enjoy this moment. After all, none of this would've been possible without you and the others.”

“You’re right.”

Eventually, it was time for the freshly married couple to enter the carriage and Abstraction asked his wife, “Ready to go?”

Lyra nodded before exclaiming, “Oh! Almost forgot.”

She threw out the bouquet and Bon-Bon caught it, together with Patch and Nancy. Both Trottingham ponies looked at each other, slightly blushing before looking at Bon-Bon. “You can have it!”

Blue Murder just chuckled at the scene.

As the carriage moved out of Ponyville, the crows looked after it with smiles.

“This is thanks to us. Abstraction’s reunited with Lyra and they can finally live together.” Dinky said with a smile.

“Yes, we can be proud of it.” Lilly added.

They wished Lyra and Abstraction all the best for the future.

A new chapter in their life had begun.

After Lovec arrived on the FOB, his parents waited for him with smiles, happy to see him. He was too, crying tears as they hugged each other. He saw that in the shadow behind his parents, an officer was smiling warmly at the scene.

It wasn’t easy for Lovec to tell his parents this. “I’m sorry that I got you worried but it’s…difficult.”

“W-what do you mean?” His father asked confused.

“You see, I am no longer with the troops in Afghanistan.”

His mother just blinked in turn, a cold look on her face. Lemkin walked up to her but she pushed his hand away and spoke through closed teeth,

“I see…” Her tone was one of anger, not able to believe what she had just heard.

“When I was reported MIA, I was tricked and had nowhere else to go,” Arkturi told with an honest voice.

His mother looked confused for a minute before quietly asking, “You could have just told me...I could have helped.

“I know…I just…” Lovec sighed, “Didn’t want to worry you more than you were already.”

“My son…” Katjuscha started, “I…I…” She turned around, fighting tears. “Leave us…”

His father walked up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Just give her time, she will understand.” He gave Lovec a weak smile, he returned it.

“Right.”

Arkturi promised them to visit them regularly, which he did and used his earnings as mercenary to support them.

Eventually, Diamond Dogs had developed a nuke in fear of others doing so, but decided to follow the world's example of disarming their own nukes.

They even managed to disarm every nuke in the world, with Miller proceeding to give a speech.

“The last nuke was deactivated; that is a fact. But the knowledge that built it is still out there. How long the world remains nuke-free is up to us. Will this moment persist? Or will human ambition cast us into the flames once more?” He then pointed to a monument as one of the African kids placed a wreath on it, bearing a reference to the 1945 Alamogordo test as well as quoting The Boss.

“Our duty is to pass on what we've learned to the next generation. The memories, the experiences... The sins. Only when our children show the wisdom not to forge new spears... Only then will we be truly triumphant.”

It was only a brief moment and maintaining a nuke-free world was going to be much harder than disarmament, but both Soviets were proud of this.

Also, they learned that Venom Snake was not actually the real Big Boss, but nonetheless pledged their loyalty to him, citing they will still serve him no matter who he was.

Later the same year, Diamond Dogs found Eli, about fifty miles inland to Africa from the Seychelles waters. Snake managed to defeat him and Sahelanthropus again but the idea showed symptoms of the English vocal cord parasite's effects, having acquired the third vial with the Third Boy. With the island completely contaminated by the vocal cord parasites, the mercenaries salvaged remains of Sahelanthropus and burned the entire Island to prevent it from spreading.

In the late 1980s, Diamond Dogs was absorbed into Outer Heaven, Big Boss’ mercenary stronghold located in South Africa 200 kilometers north of Galzburg, led by his phantom to offer soldiers a life outside the control of the Patriots, where they would always have a place, whether it be in battle or in society in general. A gathering place for the world's foremost mercenaries, Outer Heaven dispatched arms and soldiers to battlegrounds throughout the world with the intent to control wars.

Due to growing unrest, the war in Afghanistan being one of many reasons, the Soviet Union fell on 26 December 1991, dissoluted into 15 independent republics and the ending of the cold war, with Russia becoming a federal semi-presidential republic. While it was sad for both Soviets, they were glad that the Cold War ended, with Lovec still supporting his parents.

However, in 1995, the Western powers received intelligence that warned of a weapon of mass destruction that was supposedly being constructed deep within Outer Heaven, which was a new metal gear weapon, which was an insurance by Big Boss.

The US government sent a Special Forces agent to infiltrate the enemy fortress, assess the situation and neutralize whatever threat the weapon posed to the West and succeeded. Venom Snake was killed by the agent, with the fortress subsequently destroyed after its self-destruct sequence was enacted and afterward, NATO launched a massive aerial bombardment against Outer Heaven, with the truth hidden from the media.

While many got killed, those who survived the bombings were rescued by Big Boss, Lovec and Sergei among them. While honored to have met the real Big Boss, they decided to go back to Russia and live their lives in peace, as they felt their time as Dogs of War came to an end, with Big Boss supporting their decision.

While the reorganization of Russia made it difficult to get normal jobs, they were given desk jobs in a FOB of the Harmonious Guard in Russia by the commander of it, as a way of generosity, being told it was the least he could do for the son of the famous She-Bear.

Eventually, Lovec found love and married, becoming father of a son as well, with Lovec being the uncle.

At a nice evening, Arkturi enjoyed the sunset with his son. “When I grow up, I just wanna be like you and grandma, dad.” His son smiled at him.

“I am sure you will make me proud, my son. But now, time for bed.”

“Yes, dad.”

As his son and wife went into bed, Lovec used this to look at the painting of Abstraction he was still keeping, having it hidden behind a canvas of his desk.

“Good old times…” He mumbled with a smile.

He would never forget the legend of Venom Snake and Diamond Dogs.

Neither would he forget the children he helped as his parents did before them, or their friends.

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed the story!

Chapter 1 Land without End

Chapter 1: Land without End

A yawn filled the room as a pink filly awoke from her peaceful sleep, stretching herself. “A wonderful morning.”

Lily smiled at the sunrise and made her bed before joining her parents for breakfast. “Good morning!”

“Morning, sweetheart.” Her mother replied with a smile and they breakfasted together.

“So, any plans for today?” Pine Marten asked his daughter.

“Meeting with my friends again!” Lily replied happily.

It was one a week or two after her accidently adventure on Earth with her friends, yet they had recovered quickly and wanted to repeat what they couldn’t.

“Of course, my dear. I hope you will enjoy it.”

“I will, dad!” The filly said before helping with the cleaning, then walked out of the house, with her parents watching until she was out of sight.

“There she goes again. She really has some good friends. They watch out for her and she for them. A true friendship.” The Park Ranger added with pride in his voice.

“Yeah, it is. I can still remember how Dinky was one of the first friends she made, understanding her completely with her strength.”

“Me too. And I have no doubt Katja and Blau will make good friends too for her. Frankly, I wonder from a medical standpoint how it is possible…”

Pin Cushion couldn’t finish as her husband, said, “Some things shouldn’t be looked further in, honey. Though, they all were very lucky when…” He cut himself off when he sniffed. “Sorry.”

The mare sighed. “Even if she recovered quickly, the image of seeing her on life-support still haunts me.”

Her husband hugged her. “Shh…I know it was a horrifying sight but it’s over now.”

“Sure, but…I am afraid of seeing it again…that she might not wake up this time…”

“Honey, don’t say that, think positive.” He gave her a weak smile and she sighed again.

“Right…”

Lily hummed to herself as she walked to Dinky’s house, enjoying the sunrise on the way and knocked on the door as she arrived.

Dinky opened with it a smile. “Lily, nice to see you!” She hugged her friend.

“Me too! Ready for the day?”

“You bet!” Dinky exclaimed as she stepped aside revealing the siblings behind her.

“Hi, guys.” The Earth pony filly greeted them and they nodded with smiles.

“Hello, Lily. Let’s starts the day, shall we?” Blau asked and she nodded.

They all four then walked through the streets, enjoying the warm weather, seeing Pip, Nancy and Tungsten at a café, drinking tea. “Good morning!” The little pinto colt smiled at the group.

“Morning, Pip! I hope you slept well?”

“Yep!” he exclaimed smiling, his mother nodded with a smile of her own.

“Lovely weather indeed.” Nancy took a sip of her tea, noticing that Tungsten was looking away. “What’s wrong?” She asked, yet suspected what it was.

“I…I…” His voice cracked as she looked up with a sad expression, fighting back tears. “I am fine, just got something in my eye.”

“Tungsten, it isn’t good to keep it in.” Pip tried to calm him down.

“Yes, Tungsten, we know it’s hard, neither of us wanted this to happen,” Dinky added and he sniffed.

“I miss my mother so much…” Before he could say anything else he was hugged by Nancy and his friends.

“Shh…I told you before, I and Pip don’t blame her for what happened.” The mare said in a calming tone.

“I just miss her so much…” Tungsten sniffed, “She…visited me from time to time but after you and your friends landed in Italy, Dinky…I didn’t saw my mother again…”

“I am sure you will see her again.” Pip said to him with sympathy, “Blue’s very adaptive after all.”

“She may have ended up on the wrong side but she was never a bad pony, only wanting to keep you safe,” Dinky added and he sighed.

“Yeah…I hope she’s alright…”

“Think positive, Tungsten,” Pip said in an attempt to cheer him up, then looked at Dinky with a weak smile. “We join you later, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

The small group then walked on, coming across Lyra and Bon-Bon. “Good morning.” Dinky greeted and they returned it.

“Morning, children,” Lyra replied with a smile, her friend waved a hoof.

As they walked past, Dinky’s ears twitched as she heard a sigh escaping Lyra’s mouth. “What bothers you?” The earth pony mare asked concerned.

“It’s…him. I miss him…It’s been so long…” The unicorn hung her head before her friend hugged her.

“I know, Lyra…But hope dies last….”

This made Dinky think. Lyra had ever mentioned a friend that went missing but…

When I was very young, didn’t I see her with a…

“Dinky? You’re coming?” Lily called out, tearing her out of her thoughts.

“Wha? Sorry, right behind you.” The little unicorn replied slightly confused.

Going out of town, the knights crossed also their way. “Hello, Uncle Fletcher.”

“Morning, children. Slept well?” He asked with a smile.

“Yes, we did. How’s Ifrit?” The grey filly asked smiling.

“I am doing fine.” The spirit replied as he appeared next to the green stallion. “Well, as well as you can be as spirit.”

“Glad to hear it.” They got quickly got used to him and he assisted Fletcher and his fellow knights by giving advice or by supporting with defensive spells whenever they were on missions.

He tipped his helmet and Dinky could swear she saw a halo on it. “Now, enjoy the day, children.”

“Of course.”

The group did a walk through the meadow as Lily spoke up, “Do you think Katyusha survived the war?”

Blau put a hoof to his chin. “Well, Konrad mentioned her in Africa, which was 1942, so she must have survived Moskau. But after that…I don’t think we will ever know.”

“Yeah…I wonder more about that lab we discovered. It The state of it and such hints it was from the civil war but…when we found it, it looked like it was abandoned in a hurry and with Ponyville being abandoned back then, there is no reason for that…” Katja mumbled.

“I am pretty sure Fletcher and the others will soon find out more.” Dinky was confident of it.

“Still, the Grye family could have something to do with this. It’s likely.” Lily added.

“We can only wait and see…” The little unicorn mumbled before stopping abruptly.

“Why did you stop?” Katja asked confused before her eyes went wide. A large gas cloud was coming towards them.

“Mist? At this time of year?” Lily wondered.

But the mist was dark, not the usual white color it had normally.

“That definitely not normal…” Blau realized, sounding suspicious.

“Yes, we should warn the others,” Dinky concluded and they ran back towards Ponyville, seeing Pip just walking out with his mother and Tungsten. ”Wait! Stop!” She called out to them.

“What’s…” Pip cut himself off as he saw the mist too. “What in the world?”

“I don’t know, it just…” She could never finish as she saw something lighting up in the mist and she felt how she and her three got sucked towards it.

“No! No! No! No!” Lily yelled as she tried to hold onto something, the siblings screamed, Dinky did too.

“Guys!” They heard Pip’s voice before everything went black

“Uhh…what just happened?” Dinky asked dazed as she came to.

“I don’t know. Where’s Lily?” Blau asked, not seeing her anywhere. They were in a small room, it was dark.

Suddenly, a bright light shined in through a window, followed by a voice. “CP, this is Dimitri 3! Just saw a suspicious person. Gotta check it out. Over!” Then a clicking noise.

“This is CP - understood! Keep your guard up. Out!” A distorted Russian voice, like on a radio replied.

Before they could react, the door opened and flashlight got shined into their direction, causing them to cover their eyes.

“Huh?” The light stopped and they uncovered their eyes, seeing what looked like a human in the doorway, a colorless question mark over the head, followed by a colorless exclaiming mark.

Another human was next to him, having the same reaction but due to the darkness, they could see any details.

A slight groan sounded and they all turned towards a cardboard box at the corner of the room. One of the humans walked to it and opened it, startling slightly, also hearing a gasp out of the box.

“Don’t shoot!” It was Lily and Dinky cleared her throat.

“Can you help us? We appear to be lost.” She asked in a calm manner.

Both humans looked at each other for a moment before one of them said, “Yes. Follow me.”

While still a bit shaken Lily followed her friends outside, taking a look around. The house was surrounded by sandbags positions at a road, a mortar in the middle and mounted machineguns at each ends, realizing it was a military guard post, a dusty environment, showing they were in a desert.

Now they could see both humans, both were men. The first one was of athletic build, clean-shaved, reddish-brown hair and forest-green eyes, the face featured a narrow chin and high cheek-bones. His uniform was of a beige color, a green beret on his head.

The other soldier also athletic, but had black hair and blue eyes. His uniform consisted of a field cap, a blue stripped shirt and fatigue pants. His face had light stubble.

Both carried rifles that looked similar to the MP43 Dinky and the siblings had seen in Isenstadt. “So…who are you?” The beret-wearing soldier asked in English.

“I am Dinky, those are my friends Lily, Katja and Blau Streifen.” The filly introduced herself and her friends. “About where we come from, it’s a long story.”

She and her friends then told where they came from, how they landed here, and that they did meet humans before.

Both men looked at each other for a moment. “Okay…I am Sergeant Major Arkturi Lovec and this is my friend, Chernov. You are in Afghanistan, March 1984.” The man in beige uniform explained. “Your English is pretty good.” He added impressed.

“English? For me, it sounds more like Russian.” Chernov said confused and Katja raised a hand.

“The magic of Equestria allows ponies to passively understand some languages.”

Again, the soldiers looked at each other, trying to understand.

The confusion was understandable for the children, the men had never seen like this.

It seemed like hours until the science was broken.

“Uhh…okay…” Chernov replied and turned to his friend. “What are we gonna do?”

The officer thought for a moment.

“The only thing we can do, help them.” Lovec reached for his radio, being a small handheld version. “CP, this is Dimitri 3. I have found lost civilians. Request permission to give them shelter. Over.”

“CP copies. Are they local people?” A Russian voice asked on the other end.

“Lost children.”

“Copy that. Permission granted to give them shelter temporarily. Out.”

He then attached his radio back to his belt. “Okay, that’s sorted out. It’s getting late, you should eat something and get some rest.”

As he said this, the kids took notice that the sky had a wonderful red/orange color, meaning it was evening and that this had been the reason why it was so dark in the house.

“Thank you. But won’t you get into trouble for this?” Lily asked and Chernov’s expression became unsure.

“Likely, you really think it’s worth, Arkturi?”

“Hey, it’s the least we can do and CP gave permission, we only follow orders. Besides, it may be a ticket home.” He pointed out and his friend shrugged.

“Here.” Both soldiers held up two hexagonal metallic containers. “Take some of our rations.” The Sergeant Major smiled.

The kids took them gladly, sharing them with each other. Apart from meat. There were also vegetables in it, but as they took bites, their faces twisted in disgust.

“No offense, but this tastes horrible!” Blau complained, trying not to gag, his sister and friends nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, they don’t taste well but they fill the stomach and are designed to last. No matter how long you keep a ration, it'll never go bad.” Chernov pointed out before pointing to the house.

Inside were cots, Dinky and Lily shared one, the siblings shared another one. “Goodnight. “Arkturi said before walking out with his fellow soldier.

“Goodnight, my friends.” Lily smiled weakly at her friends before falling asleep. They all knew they could only wait and hope for the best.

Author's Note

The next story, this time a crossover of Metal Gear 5. Why? Because it's one of the few games that show Afghanistan and the Soviets in a detailed part, perfect for the setting of what happened to the She-Bear

Chapter 9 Shining Lights, Even In Death

Chapter 9: Shining Lights, Even In Death

None of the adults could believe what they just heard, yet wasted no time to get back to base as Mille gave further information.

“Here we go again…There’s been another outbreak in the laboratory – the Quarantine Platform. We sent a team to investigate and recover the survivors, but they haven’t returned.” He sad as the chopper of them and Snake arrived, stepping out.

“Nothing on the radio, either. We’ve got a backup team ready to go.” To Miller’s word, four soldiers stood at attention. “Just give the order…”

“I’ll go. Alone.” Snake cut him off and turned around, but Miller grabbed him, his clutch falling to the ground.

“Boss, what are you- There’s no need for that.“

“We can’t afford to lose anyone else.” Snake countered.

“We have no idea what’s going on in there!”

“Exactly. Anyone still alive’s at their breaking point. Last thing we need is another unit storming in.” Snake picked the clutch up and gave it to his second-in-command. “No telling how they’d react.”

Miller looked away for a moment. “Fine. First off, check how much of the infection has spread. Rescue comes next – after we know the situation.”

“Boss, allows us to go with you.” Lovec spoke up, “The children and our friends are in there.”

Snake just nodded, knowing how much they cared for their friends. He did too and he didn’t want that young lives would be lost here.

Before boarding the chopper, they all got outfitted with gas masks covering the mouth and nostrils yet otherwise leaving the eyes exposed, as well as protective boots, with the ponies and two soviets switching to normal Makarov pistols.

“Let’s go over the situation again,” Miller said as a video of the rescue team looking at a few dead bodies of the R&D team, who wore white lab coats and black trousers and shoes, with ID Cards on their person. The throat was bloodied

“Damn it!” One of the team members cursed as suddenly one of the bodies twitched. “What the? They started to rise. “Stay back! Stay back!” The rescue team member yelled before the infected persons lunged at them and the video cut off.

“We’ve sealed off all the exits to keep it from spreading. No one’s getting out.” Miller explained, “One of the researchers inside managed to isolate the parasite behind the outbreak. He faxed over his findings; Code Talker’s analyzing them now.”

“Why this new outbreak, despite our inoculation?” Code Talker wondered. “This is still unclear. Introducing the Wolbachia to the infected prevented symptoms during the last epidemic…The parasites lodge in the victim’s throat, forming a mating pair, but the Wolbachia turns the male to female. Two females can neither copulate nor lay eggs.”

“That’s why the rescue team went in with more Wolbachia.” Miller pointed out, “But the outbreak still isn’t under control.”

“They should not be capable of laying eggs…Yet, we have a new outbreak, and the Wolbachia have no effect…I pray this is not some new strain. If it is…”

“Then someone may brought it here.” Miller suspected, “If there’s a spy running around…”

“For now, we must focus on discerning the outbreak mechanism. The cases show another alarming new development. It is now even more difficult to tell who’s infected. The eggs propagate out of sight – no external symptoms. One who appears healthy, may be dying inside.”

“What the hell happened in there?” Miler wondered, “Boss, I still can’t raise the rescue team I sent in. We’d know how to proceed if we just knew how to ID the symptoms. Finding that out is part of your job in there.”

At the Quarantine platform, the group moved towards a sealed tent connected to the entrance as Miller reported in again. “Hang on. We’ve just had a transmission from inside. Here’s the audio…”

Heavy breathing could be heard. “It all makes sense now. I…I win.”

“Where is it coming from?” Snake asked.

“Unknown. It cut off before we could get a fix. ‘It all makes sense.’ Think he means the parasite?” Miller wondered. “No way to know, but right now that’s all we got. Hopefully he can tell us something. We’ll…have to close the tent behind you.” Miller added as the group entered. “Don’t think the infection’s airborne, but…Find the source of that transmission. Find our man.”

“You never know.” Snake commented as they came to the entrance and got in. A strange smell entered their noses. “Something sweet. We can smell it even through the masks.”

“The rescue team reported that, too. Said it smelled like ripe fruit.” Miller informed.

“We cannot allow the infection to spread. If anyone shows symptoms, you must put them out of their misery.” Code Talker warned.

This filled the ponies and two Soviets with unease. There was a chance that the children and their friends could be infected, they prayed it wasn’t too late as they entered and a terrible sight greeted them.

The walls were covered in blood, an alert was ringing and bodies of R&D members scattered around, causing Miller to comment, “Guess the pastes killed them. Don’t touch them. They’re covered in blood.

Moving through a corridor, they saw more bodies before a gunshot sounded out of a patent room, following by a cry of pain. “Stay back! Stay back!!” a soldier ran out of the room, firing his rifle at the group, yet missed completely.

Looking into the room, they saw a dead soldier with mask. “He’s got a mask. He’s with the rescue team. That the guy from before?” Miler wondered.

Sergei took a look at the body and shook his head to show it wasn’t Chernov and they moved on through the bloodied corridor, seeing an R&D member leaning against the wall, scratching his throat before static came through the radio.

“Was that more of the message? We’ll try to clean it up.” Miller said as the group got up the stairs, with the R&D member pleading for help as he saw them and another R&D member stumbling at the top of the stairs before collapsing dead.

Then again static, causing Kaz to comment, “Another transmission.”

In another patent room, they saw the soldier that had fled, with Snake approaching him and he looked at his Boss with fear in his eyes.

“Step aside, Boss. I just want to go outside.” The soldier said with desperation in his voice. I can’t die in this hellhole. I’m not infected. I can’t be right?” If I am…” He dropped his rifle and drew his pistol. “I don’t want to go out like this.”

Bang!

He shot himself in the head.

“Oh dear, this is very bad,” Blue said in shock and they slowly advanced, seeing other staff members that were still alive, starching their throats.

“Hang in there. The Boss’ll come.” A voice said from a room at the end of the corridor and Snake opened. A member of the Rescue team held him at gunpoint, two R&D survivors behind him and he lowered his weapon.

“Boss, it’s you…” The rescue member said with relief, it was Chernov.

“He’s wearing a mask. He’s part of the rescue team. Looks like he’s not the one who sent the message. I’d like what he has to say, but you need to keep going. “Miller reminded his leader.

“I’ll keep watch here. They opened fire on us when we entered. But I couldn’t bring myself to shoot back. Like you said, Boss – never point a weapon at one of your own.”

“Have you seen the others?” Fletcher asked worriedly.

“Sorry, no.”

They nodded and went up the stairs again as Code Taker radioed in. “I have analyzed part of the data that was faxed out. It appears even those who barely spoke became symptomatic. This must be some kind of mutation.”

“If it is a mutation…then…our friends could be…” Wolf trembled at the thought.

“We can only hope for the best,” Blue said with unease as they got up to the top floor, hearing gunshots and saw another survivor had killed another Rescue member, lying against the wall, his pistol drawn.

Snake took the lead through a door and saw a researcher lying against the wall next to the roof access. He was impaled and wore night-vision goggles.

“Boss…”

“What the hell happened?!” Snake wanted to know.

“At least…you’re okay.” The researcher took his goggles off, managing to smile. “I win…I’m no sail.” He said before dying to his injuries and the group saw a radio next to him.

“So he sent the transmission. Seems like he had a way of ID’ing who’s symptomatic.” Miller said as Snake picked the googles up. “But what was he trying to say?”

“Sail…yes, of course. It all makes sense now.” Code Talker understood, “Do not let ANYONE showing symptoms get outside. As infection progresses, it triggers an overwhelming urge to get out in the open That’s the parasite controlling them. Once outside, the birds will feed on the infected bodies, spreading the parasite on land.”

A loud banging noise startled the group and they aimed their weapons at a closed door. It got thrown open and a group of infected stumbled out. They struggled with the rescue team, holding them back as another group stumbled towards the roof.

While being overwhelmed, Snake and the others managed to draw their sidearm, shooting the infected in the heads, getting free but the other group managed to get outside, causing everyone to look in shock at it.

Had they failed?

Was this the end?

“Light ‘em up!” Miller yelled and a bomb got dropped on the roof while the rescue team dove to the ground.

They could only stare as the roof access was engulfed in flames, the infected screamed in pain and rolled around before dying.

None of the group could say a word, only staring at what had just happened.

Then a groan greeted their ears and the saw three more infected stumbling into the room.

“You have to shoot! We can’t let them outside!” Miller yelled on the radio.

Snake, Lovec and Sergei quickly fired their rifles, killing the infected with headshots, breathing heavily at what they just had done.

“Do you still have those goggles? If you see a glow in someone’s throat, that means they are infected.” Code Talker explained and Snake out them on.

Fletcher used a spell that allowed him and the others see the glow as well through the modified thermal goggles. He and his friends looked at each other with unease, unable to say a word at what they had to do.

Going back down the stairs, they saw that everyone wounded they had encountered was infected.

“Why me…Why me? Why?” One of the infected exclaimed in desperation as Snake aimed at him. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger, killing the staff member with a headshot.

“You’re kidding…right?” One of the R&D members cried out as Lovec aimed at his head.

“Comrade…I’m sorry…” Lovec said with regret as he fired and killed the researcher.

He and his friends were slightly trembling, they didn’t wanted to do this. But there was no other choice. The ponies hadn’t much contact with the other staff, yet were treated equally and with respect, thus also had a comradeship like feeling to the infected.

“Snake you just…killed your own!” Emmerich exclaimed in horror on the radio.

“Emmerich? What the hell? Nobody asked for your opinion!” Miller scolded.

“You expect me to just stand by and watch this?”

Snake had a neutral expression, yet felt regret for having to do this.

I’m sorry, men…It’s the only way. I know I said myself never to point a weapon at a fellow comrade… He thought.

Sergei shot an infected near the wounded soldier who had still his pistol drawn.

“So you ARE here to kill us!!” The infected yelled in disbelief and anger, aiming his pistol at Sergei, who took cover until the pistol ran dry, then shot him too.

“You’re insane! He was one of your own men!” Emmerich exclaimed, “You said yourself we’re a family. Or was it all lies?!”

No Huey, but don’t see the suffering? Their misery? All I can do is to make it quick for them, to end their pain.

The other infected pleaded the ponies and men to put then out of their misery, thanking as they did so. But Lovec noticed that Chernov was no longer there.

One of the R&D members looked with fear at Snake. “Wait…”

Snake hesitated and sighed before pulling the trigger.

Seeing not any more infected, they followed a bloody trail, coming to a locked door, music played from the other side.

“Let go of me! I’m going outside!” A voice yelled from inside.

“No! We’re dead anyway!” Another voice replied as Snake opened the door.

He saw a staff member being forced to his knees, another aimed a pistol at him, yet dropped it as he saw their leader. “Boss?!”

“Hey, let’s let the Boss decide.” All three, together with five others struggled to salute. “We live and die by your order, Boss.” One of them said and they all started to hum the music that was playing from a radio.

The ponies and two Soviets were shocked to see the other ponies and the children behind the staff members. They all lay against the wall, holding their throats with painful expressions.

“H-Help me…” Patch cried.

“It hur…it hurts so much…” Dinky’s voice was one of pain, tears leaving her eyes.

Wagensroll and Dawnwind managed to stand up. “Make it stop, Fletch…please…” The green Earth pony said with a weak smile, “I will always be with you…in your heart…”

The deer’s eyes were bloodshot as she looked at White Wolf. “Do what you have to do…Wolf…”

Abstraction also stood up with his fellow Dark Horse members, struggling to salute. “We die and live by your order, Enteral Knights."

The ponies raised their weapons. As Blue looked at the crying children, she saw that they had the same fearful expressions as Pip and Nancy back then. She trembled, she didn’t want to this, couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger.

Fletcher and his friends couldn’t either. They were there to get the children and Dark Horse members home. How could they tell their families at home that they had killed those they were supposed to bring back?

“I am sorry, children…so very sorry…” Fletcher had regret in his voice as he took aim, they looked at him in horror.

“Wait!” Snake exclaimed, “Look.”

In response, his companions lowered their weapons and noticed something.

There was no glow in the throats of the children and ponies.

A stone fell from the hearts of the knights, Blue and Soviets to see that their friends weren’t infected. Chernov was also next to the children, holding his chest but had no glow either.

“At least you are okay,” Fletcher spoke with relief as he levitated Dinky on his back, the siblings were carried by Midnight and Wolf, and Blue carried Lily, Patch and Dawnwind got assisted by Midnight and Wolf, the Dark Horse members managed to get up and walk on their own, with Lovec and Sergei leading them to the exit.

Chernov looked up as Snake took aim.

Bang!

Then the body hit the ground. Another gunshot and another body fell to the ground.

“Shooting your own men…That’s not the Big Boss I knew!” Emmerich exclaimed disgustedly.

As all infected were put out of their misery, Snake walked over to Chernov, who managed to smile under his mask. “Thank you…”

“Got a survivor, unlock the door.” Snake called to the guard on the other side after carrying him to the exit, yet the Soviet felt a pain in his throat.

“Wait.” Chernov said weakened, “I…I don’t think I after it after all.”

“What?! You just checked him.” Miller couldn’t believe it.

“Could it have progressed this quickly?” Code Talker wondered as Snake took another look after gently dropping him and to his horror, Chernov’s throat started to glow. “So he is infected…”

“Maybe it got in through my wounds.” The soviet suspected and looked Snake into the eye. “They’re waiting now. All of them. Do it.” He held out his arms, accepting his fate.

Big Boss took aim. “You were a good soldier.”

Bang!

The knights, Blue and the two Soviets brought their friends to the medical team, where Code Talker took a look.

“It seems you are immune to the mutation as well. Looks like the infection caused only a serve cause of Sore throat.”

“That’s good…” Dinky managed to smile.

As treatment, the medical team brought them herbal tea and throat drops for first relief, which as very pleasant for them all, but also antibiotics for a quick recovery.

“Wait, what about Chernov?” Lily asked Lovec, who sighed.

“I am afraid he was infected too. You are the only survivors of the outbreak.”

The filly stared for what seemed like hours before she sniffed with her friends and mourned him. “No…”

“But he will always be with us in our hearts.” Sergei pointed out before Snake, Ocelot and Miller walked in.

“Sorry to bother, but can you tell us what happened in there?” Ocelot asked.

“Well, we can remember much,” Wagensroll started, “Dr. Emmerich inspected the x-ray equipment that is used to monitor the parasites. After his inspection, we used them as usual, radiation doses in mind and shortly after that, the outbreak started, just like that.”

“Okay. Miller, I guess we should have a chat with the Dr.”

“Agreed. Get well soon, all of you.”

The treatment was going well and they were allowed to attend the burial at sea in the next morning. As they arrived, they heard Emmerich yelling at Snake, who stood at the edge of the helipad, watching the sea.

“It’s your fault! They’re dead because of you!”

“What?!” Miller couldn’t believe what he just heard, glaring at him. Wolf growled, while the others stared in shock. They hadn’t had a choice in there.

“He’s right.” Snake stated clammy, “I killed them with my own hands.”

“They were on your side. I’m on your side! And you turned them all to ashes.” Huey said with disgust before Ocelot put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

Miller walked up to Snake. “They wanted you to shoot. It was that, or burned alive. C’mon. Let’s get this over with.”

Lovec and Sergei brought the Urns forward but Snake held up a hand. “Wait!” He took the Urn Lovec was carrying and kneeled at the edge of the helipad.

“I won't scatter your sorrow to the heartless sea.” He opened it and painted his face with the ashes. “I will always be with you. Plant your roots in me. I won't let you end as ashes. You're all diamonds.”

“We're not burying them at sea? What then?” Miller asked.

“We'll mine diamonds from their ashes. Take them into battle with us.”

“A shining light to our brothers in arms, even in death.” Miller understood.

“We are Diamond Dogs.”

After that, the kids and their friends got back to the Medical platform and focused on getting well. At lunch, they saw Lovec with a Diamond attached to his chest pocket.

“That way, Chernov will always be with me.” He said and they nodded.

“A good idea from Snake. Yet, it will be a hard burden of having killed his own men.” Insistra replied with pity.

“Yes, it wasn’t easy for us either, “Midnight added, “We may have been little social with many but they treated us still equally.”

Suddenly the door was bashed open and a staff member with angry expression walked in. “What’s wrong?” Sergei asked.

“That scientist betrayed is, he caused the outbreak on the Quarantine platform!”

“What?” The former commander was surprised.

“Commander Miller is about to trial him, I can’t wait to see this traitor punished!”

As the fellow soldier stomped out, the group looked at each other before following to a warehouse, where they saw Emmerich handcuffed on his knees and his prosthetic legs removed next to him, watching from a catwalk how Ocelot spoke up.

“Nine years ago, this man acted as accomplice to the attack on Mother Base. He then provided support to Skull Face. Conspiring with Eli, he repaired Sahelanthropus in secret. His ‘research materials’ caused the leak at the quarantine facility. Which in turn caused the Wolbachia mutation, letting the parasites off their chains. We lost a lot of good men.

He also stands accused of murdering one of his own family, hiding the body.”

“I haven’t killed anyone. The rest is all wrong, too. The inspection was supposed to help everyone! I sacrificed myself for my companions just as much as any of you…Why won’t you believe me?!” Huey exclaimed before the crow made way for Miller.

“The prosecution calls a witness.” He said and the soldiers stepped aside as the pod Abstraction had seen in Afghanistan was brought forward by a crane. “Strangelove’s gravestone. Haunted by her phantom.”

“It’s just a machine…” Emmerich mumbled as suddenly, the red light went on and it beeped and sounds of someone knocking from the inside could be heard.

“Open this thing!” A female voice cried out muffed, “Huey! Damn it, Huey! Open it now! Please…Let me out…Kill me…”

Huey’s expression was one of shock as Miller stated, “It recorded it all.” He threw some family pictures and memories from MSF on the ground. “Everything…Everything you did living together.” He put his clutch on a group photo, covering Huey’s person on it.

“How could a machine…” The doctor mumbled before Miller continued.

“You forced your own son into the cockpit of a Metal Gear. A test subject.”

“Hal…”

“His mother had to hide him away…And for that you locked her into that coffin.” Miler looked with hate at the pod.

“No!” Huey exclaimed, stuttering a bit, “She...She did it herself! It was suicide! And even if I did, what right do you have?”

“There’s more. We have you to tell us everything you’ve done –everything you’ve thought – all this time.” Miller walked back and forth, “Nine years ago, you agreed to the inspection in return for Cipher’s guarantee that you’d be spared.”

“I thought it was real!” The doctor stated.

“We reviewed into everything else that’s happened since you arrived here.”

Huey just stared for a moment “Please…”

“Guilty. All counts.” Miller announced and hit the ground with his clutch to simulate a hammer of a judge.

All soldiers percent cried to kill Huey, making suiting gestures, Lovec and Sergei did too.

The children could only stare in shock, seeing how the ponies had neutral expressions. Yet, they could understand the fury of the soldiers, they had lost many good friends in the Outbreak.

Bang!

Everyone became silent, seeing that Ocelot had fired a shot into the air and Miller stated, “We exist outside the law.” He turned to Snake. “What should we do, Boss? Just give the order…” He turned back to Huey. “We’ll handle the rest.”

Snake walked up to the Doctor with a neutral expression and the kids held their breaths at what he would do. After all, he was forced to kill his own men thanks to Emmerich.

“Prepare a life raft.” He said, surprising everyone. “Big enough for one. Food and water, too.”

“Boss?” Miller was puzzled.

“He’s leaving.”

“You…He’s responsible for…all of this.” Miller raised his voice, “Think of all the men…He didn’t lose a damned thing. This is the enemy, and he’s here – on his knees!” He yelled, pointing his clutch at Emmerich.

“Kaz,” Snake replied calmly, “You are right. He is not one of us. But we are not responsible to judge an enemy. He leaves Mother Base and that’ll be the end of it.”

Miller looked irritated at his leader, then walked away.

Still, Snake’s men did as told and one of the soldiers placed a care package onto the raft.

“I’m innocent! You’re the murders! Snake, you should be in this boat!” Emmerich pointed at him. “There’d have no inspection if it weren’t for your precious nuke! I risked my life trying to save you all! How can you do this?!” He protested as the raft got lowered.

“Am I the only sane one here?! I…my…It’s not my fault.”

To his horror, the raft was too small to support his legs' weight, forcing him to dump the legs overboard to stay afloat.

“Look…You can’t disregard your phantoms forever, Doctor.” Ocelot commented as they watched him drafting away.

“He’ll make it, you know. I can see it now. In no time he’ll be telling tales about the black-hearted Diamond Dogs. The shining white knight. Blabbering on about our injustice, hiding behind his fool’s idea of morality…” Miller said, “And all other fools will stand around, nodding with every word he says.

“No.” Ocelot objected, “One day he’ll see through the lies he built up. Realize what kind of man he really is. What goes around comes around. You can’t run from yourself forever.”

With that, everyone went back to his business.

“I had loved to see him executed who his disgusting actions but it’s very poetic at what Snake did.” Siyarjit had hate in his voice.

“Yes. It was very wise and humane by Snake, exercising restraint with his authority. He managed to bridle his anger and act reasonably, that’s a good example.” Insistra added.

The kids said nothing as they walked back to the medical platform, still trying to process how Huey could do such horrible things

For the rest of the day, they focused on recovering, the knights, Blue and two Soviets helped out on the base.

As they had dinner, Abstraction spoke up. “You know, I thought about the wedding when I ask Lyra to marry me.”

“So?” Blue asked.

“Well…”He lowered his head, slightly blushing. “Would you want to be the groomsmen? I think you should have this honor after we did so much together.”

The others looked at each other and the prince slowly smiled. It would be an honor for me.” The other dark horse members nodded.

“I am touched and I accept,” Blue added.

“Count us in, Abstraction, you proved yourself.” Midnight spoke for his knights.

“It would be a pleasure for me,” Dawnwind said, Wagensroll and Patch nodded.

“And we could bring the flowers,” Dinky said with pride, her friends smiled.

“Glad to hear it.” He smiled at them.

In the next morning, they had fully recovered, breakfasting as Wolf asked, “So, how did Huey cause the mutation?”

“Well, he modified the x-ray to also emitting beta ray. The mutation was caused as the beta ray had high concentration of radiation.” Wagensroll explained, “Huey’s been in frequent contact with people in America: a private biotech company, a client of which is DARPA, and they are connected to Cipher. He made a deal with them. He offered them a new parasite in exchange for his safety. This was the only place in the world where the vocal cord parasite still exists. And he used it as a testing ground, tried to resurrect their bioweapon.”

“Bastard. He can be lucky Snake let him alive.”

“Mind if we play outside?” Dinky asked, “I could need some fresh air.”

“Not at all. Have fun.” Fletcher smiled warmly at them.

With that, the kids got outside, taking a deep breath. “It’s so nice to be outside again.” The little unicorn smiled at Lily, who returned it.

“Yep! Tag! You’re it!” She ran away, laughing, her friends chased her across the struts of the medical platform, the soldiers who saw them smiled happily.

Blau managed to catch the Earth pony filly. “Got you!”

Lily laughed, Katja and Dinky did too before the girl looked around and saw Quiet walking around. “Good morning!” She called out.

To their surprise, the woman staled and started to run. “Wait!” Dinky called out and they ran after her out of instinct.

Quiet ran towards an opened container and the children followed her inside. “Where did she go?” Lily wondered as they couldn’t see the woman anywhere.

Clang!

They all startled by and turned around to see that the container got closed the sound of a chopper greeted their ears.

“No! No! No! Anyone! Help!” Lily yelled and hammered against the door.

“It’s useless, the chopper drowns out any sound!” Dinky realized before they felt how the container got lifted up.

“Calm down, Lily, I am sure our friends will notice our absence.” Blau tried to calm her down.

Yet they could only pray for the best.