Flashback.
"It's almost time, Yuri." John Soap MacTavish said as Yuri loaded a sniper round into a magazine. Soap looked at him. They were in a tall tower, waiting for Vladimir Makarov to get to the hotel."The meeting will be on the second floor." Soap then looked outside and aimed his sniper. Yuri did the same.
"Heads up. Makarov's convoy is arriving now." Captain John Price said through the radio.
Soap nodded."I see it. Four armored vehicles. No visual on Makarov yet." The vehicles then stopped driving."They're stopping in front of the hotel."
"Do you see him?" Price asked.
"Aye. There's the bastard. Third vehicle." Soap answered.
Vladimir Makarov was sitting in the car as he talked to a guard. Makarov had been the protégé to Imran Zakhaev and was the world's most dangerous terrorist who had started World War Three. After Makarov was done speaking to the guard, he looked at Soap and Yuri's direction.
"Shite. I think he's looking right at us." Soap said, a little worried. He groaned a little. His head ached and he felt like he was staring at a bright light.
"Easy. Just sit tight." Price said.
"They're pulling into the garage now." Soap told him, looking at the vehicles drive in there.
"Alright, Kamarov. You're up."
There was no response.
"Kamarov, do you read me?"
"Probably forgot to switch it on." Soap muttered.
"Doesn't matter. Makarov's here. We move forward with the plan. I'm in position. Ready?" Price asked.
"Yuri, find Price in your scope. He's on the top of the hotel." Soap instructed. After they spotted Price, the captain rappelled down from the tower and stopped short of the bottom of the clock."We got some activity on the balcony. We'll take them together, Yuri. On you."
Yuri shot the guards patrolling the balcony and Soap fired as well. Price rappelled down to the balcony, pulled down the window curtains, and entered the room. Soap and Yuri took out the guards that came into the room.
When the room was clear, the elevator doors opened. Soap saw a man strapped to a chair with a C4."What the hell? Price, who is that?"
"Kamarov." Price answered.
"I'm sorry, Price." Soap heard Kamarov on the radio.
"Captain Price." Said a familiar voice through the radio. It was Makarov's voice."Hell awaits you."
Through his scope, Soap saw the C4 beep."Price! Get out of there!"
Price ran out of the room as the C4 detonated. The explosion's shockwave scared off all the pigeons in the area.
"Yuri, my friend." Makarov said."You never should have come here."
Soap looked at Yuri, shocked and confused."What the hell's he talking about?!" He asked angrily. Soap then heard a device beep in the tower. He looked at Yuri again."Get out! Now!"
He pushed Yuri out of the tower. Soap then jumped but felt the heat of the explosion behind him. He rolled off the tower and fell onto some construction boards. He hit the ground and felt the debris hit him.
"Soap!" He heard Price.
The light Soap saw was getting brighter. He then saw nothing but a bright light.
On the Island.
"Yuri...Yuri knows Makarov." The injured man muttered."Yuri..."
"Try not to move." Nurse Redheart said. Stuhlinger had helped take his hand of Redheart's throat. He then left to find some medicine for the man.
"I have to find Price. I have to tell him."
"Yeah, you keep saying that." Redheart wondered what he meant. Who were Yuri and Makarov and Price?.
"We should make camp," Zuud said as they walked. They had been silent for a moment, no one talking about what they heard on the radio.
"What, here?" Asked Lightning Dust.
The Imperial Lieutenant nodded as she stopped."Yes, here."
"I'm not stopping." Said Billy Handsome."Have fun."
"Excellent. Walk through the jungle in the dark." Zuud said."Have you forgotten what could be in there?"
"If your so worried about me, how about you give me my gun back." Handsome asked.
"Zuud is right." Luna agreed with her."If you keep walking, you're not gonna make it to the beach."
"Yeah, why's that?" He questioned.
Luna gulped as she remembered the captain's blood splattering all over the window."Are you okay, Luna?" Somnambula asked.
She nodded."Yes...I'm okay." She looked at Handsome."Trust me."
When it became night, they had started a campfire.
"So, how did we get here?" Lavernius Tucker asked."I remember my head was hurting and I saw a bright light and then...nothing."
"Same." Said Lighting Dust.
"That also happened to me," Somnambula said.
"Fantastic. Now we know how we all got here." Beilert Valance interrupted."Now, how about we talk about that other thing? You know, the transmission this Imperial picked up on her little radio. The woman on the radio that said 'They're all dead.' The transmission's been on a loop for...how long was it, moonbutt?"
Luna sighed, annoyed by this nickname he had given her."16 years."
"Right. Let's talk about that."
...
"Well, we have to tell the others when we get back," Tucker said.
"Tell them what, exactly?" Lightning Dust raised an eyebrow.
"What we heard," Tucker told her.
"No one's going to tell them anything," Zuud said. They all looked at her."To relay what we heard without fully understanding it will cause a panic. If we tell them what we know, we take away their hope."
Somnambula nodded in agreement."She is right. Hope is a very dangerous thing to lose. Hope is what will get us off the island." Handsome rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"So...we lie," Luna said, uneasy. She thought of Applejack, who she had seen at the wreckage. Luna knew lying was wrong but she also knew they would be lying for a good reason.
"As you and the others know," Zuud said to the crowd of people and ponies at the wreckage. They had returned to the wreckage in the morning."We hiked up the mountain in an attempt to help someone locate us. The transceiver failed to pick up a signal. We weren't able to send out a call for help."
Everybody was suddenly worried."But we're not giving up." Zuud said quickly."If we gather electronic equipment, I can boost the signal, and we can try again. But that may take some time, so for now, we should begin rationing our remaining food. If it rains, we should set up tarps to collect water. I need to organize three separate groups. Each group should have a leader."
As Zuud talked, Luna noticed something near the crowd. Ocellus? She thought, surprised. The young changeling was hiding near a big chunk of metal but her head poked out so she could hear Zuud.
Luna walked over and saw her."Ocellus? Your here as well?"
"Princess!" She said, shocked. She quickly bowed. She looked very nervous.
The alicorn smiled as little as Ocellus reminded her of Fluttershy."There is no need to bow, young one. But how come you are not with the others?"
"Well...everyone here is just so scary. I don't know any of them and they all seem just so mean." Ocellus said.
Well, she's not wrong. Luna thought, remembering how rude Handsome and Valance were.
"Do not worry, Ocellus. I will sure nothing happens to you or anybody else from Equestria that is nowhere."
That seemed to calm Ocellus down a little. Luna then remembered how she and Vanto and Tucker found the changeling skeleton when they went to find the transceiver. She was going to ask Ocellus if there had been other changelings on this island before when she noticed Vanto."Uh, I'll be right back." Luna said.
She walked over to Vanto."Hi." She said, smiling.
Vanto smiled back."Hey."
Luna was silent for a moment."I, um...I need to tell you something."
He nodded."Okay. Sure."
They walked away from the wreckage and everybody else."We couldn't send out a signal because there was another signal blocking it." Vanto stopped and looked at her, confused."The other signal...we heard it. It was a distress call from a woman who spoke french. She said that the others were dead. That something had killed them all. She was alone on the island. It's been playing for 16 years. I wanted to tell since I can trust you."
Vanto was silent for a moment, processing this."Thank you." He said."Thank you for telling me this."
Luna nodded. She then noticed the tent they had built for Nurse Redheart and the injured man."How is he? The man with the shrapnel in his side."
He shrugged."I don't know."
"Did he wake up?" Luna asked.
Vanto shrugged again."You'll have to ask Nurse Redheart."
"Richtofen...?" Sameul J. Stuhlinger said. He had walked away from the wreckage so he could be by himself."Richtofen? Hello? Uh...are you there?"
...
"Richtofen, please, say something! Did you send me here? Why the fuck would you send me to an Island?! I mean, you have taken me and the others to a lot of crazy places but why here? Where the hell are Russman, Marlton, and Misty? Are they...dead? Richtofen?"
"Are you okay?" Asked a female voice. Stuhlinger jumped and yelled in fear when he turned around and saw a weird, colorful creature.
"Ah! What the fuck are you?!" He yelled, scared.
The creature was also scared."I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to scare you..."
Stuhlinger quickly calmed down. He stared at the creature. It looked like one of the ponies but also a bug."Who are you?"
"Oh. I'm Ocellus." She said shyly.
"Uh...okay. I'm Stuhlinger."
...
"Who were you talking to?" She asked.
"I was trying to talk to my friend...but I don't know if he can hear me." Stuhlinger sighed."So, how did you get here?"
"Well, I was with my friend, Smolder. But my head started to hurt and I saw this bright light." She said."Do you know how we got here?"
He shook his head."No...but maybe it was the government! Or the lizard people! Maybe they sent us here!" Stuhlinger was a conspiracy theorist. His theories, though, always annoyed the rest of the Victis crew."You probably don't want to hear what I'm talking about." He said sadly.
"Actually, I do." Ocellus said, genuinely interested.
Stuhlinger looked at her, surprised."Really?! Well..." He cleared his throat and told her his theories.
Vanto was in a part of the wreckage, looking for more medicine for the injured man. He heard a thud. He turned to the flashlight to the source of the noise.
"Boo." Said Billy Handsome, turning on his own flashlight. Luna had told Vanto the man's name and that he had had a gun before she took it from him.
"What are you doing in here?" He asked Handsome.
"Just finding some supplies." He smiled.
"You're looting," Vanto noted as Handsome checked the corpse of an Imperial Officer. Handsome only ignored him."What's in the bag?" Vanto asked him.
"Just some booze." He said."What's in your bag?"
"Medicine," Vanto answered."So, is that what you do in your world? Steal from the dead?"
"More like try to kill the undead." Vanto heard him mutter. Before he could ask what he meant by that, Handsome was gone.
"How's the baby?" Tucker asked Jeela Brebtin. He had offered to help her carry some bags.
"It's okay, I think." She said.
"Good." Tucker nodded."So, your, uh...is your husband here?"
"Oh, no, I'm not married," Jeela said.
"Oh." Was all Tucker said as he helped her.
"I'm telling you, the government must have some kind of teleporter that brought us here!" Stuhlinger said to the changeling.
"Uh...Ocellus?" Princess Luna said as she walked over to her."Who is this?"
"This is my new friend, Stuhlinger."
"Wait...we're-we're friends?" Stuhlinger said, surprised.
Ocellus nodded."Of course." Stuhlinger smiled a little at this.
"I'm glad you made a new friend, Ocellus." Luna smiled."But I speak with you alone."
"Oh, I'll leave." Said Stuhlinger."I'll come back when your done talking. In the meantime, I'll see if I can talk to Richtofen."
Luna raised an eyebrow as he left. She looked at the changeling."Richtofen? Who's that?"
Ocellus shrugged."I don't know. I think Richtofen is his imaginary friend. So, what do you want to talk about, Princess Luna?"
The alicorn was silent for a moment."Ocellus...have the Changelings been to this island before?"
The young changeling looked at her, confused."What do you mean?"
"When me, Vanto, and Tucker were walking through the jungle, we found...we found a changeling skeleton." Ocellus gasped. Luna nodded."I think it has been here for years. So, have the changeling been here before?"
Ocellus silent for a moment."I...I don't know. I've never heard of a changeling living on an island before. And me and the other changeling don't know our own history."
"I see." Luna said."Well, thank you for talking with me. I have to go see how our injured friend is doing."
"I won't lie, Princess Luna," Nurse Redheart sighed."I...I don't think he'll make it."
Luna's eyes widened and so did Somnambula. Somnambula was in there to help the injured human since Mage Meadowbrook had taught her some medical herbs. Eli Vanto was also with them."But...but..." Luna swallowed."Are you saying that he will...die?"
Redheart nodded slowly."I'm trying my best but..."
"We may need to kill him." Said Vanto. They all looked at him.
"Wh-what?" Luna said, confused.
He sighed."I'm sorry, Luna, but we have to...we have to kill him if we can't heal him."
Somnambula shook her head."We can't do that! We just need to have hope that he'll get better."
"You can't always rely on hope," Vanto said. He looked at Luna."Listen, killing him will be an act of mercy-"
The alicorn quickly shook her head."We are not going to kill him."
Applejack got under a blue tarp as it rained. Her sister, Applebloom, was just sitting."Hey, Applebloom, who was that fella you were talkin' to earlier?"
"Huh? Oh, you mean that old guy with the grey uniform? His name's Tarkin." The filly said.
Applejack had seen Tarkin a few times. All he did was just sit in the sand, looking at the ocean. She didn't trust him at all."I don't want you hanging around him anymore." She said to her sister.
"Why not?" She asked."He's my friend."
"Hey, I'm your friend, too." Applejack smiled at her.
"If you're my friend, you'd find Winona."
"Applebloom..." Applejack sighed."Look, I haven't given up on your dog. I'm gonna do everything I can to find her."
"No, you won't." She said sadly."You don't care about Winona."
"I'm gonna get your dog back as soon as it stops raining."
The rain then suddenly stopped. The two stared at each other for a moment before Applejack left.
As the sun was slowly setting, everybody heard the injured man groan loudly."I wish he would just die already." Cersei Lannister muttered. Her brother, Jaime, just ignored her.
"Anything I can do to help?" Zuud asked Princess Luna as the man continued to groan in pain.
Luna shook her head."No, we're good."
"The others are getting upset," Zuud told her."They think that nurse..."
"Redheart." Luna said.
"They think Redheart can't save him."
Luna looked at her but said nothing.
When it was night, Luna had gathered some sticks to make a campfire."You need a light?" Asked Beilert Valance, holding a lighter. Luna looked at him and wondered if she would ever get used to his metal face.
She nodded slowly. Valance then lit the stick on fire."You took it back, didn't you?" He asked her.
Luna raised an eyebrow."Took wha-"
"The gun. After you gave it to Zuud, you took it back when she wasn't looking. You don't trust." He said.
The alicorn stared at him for a moment. She then sighed. She had taken the weapon when they were returning back to the wreckage. She then hid it."I don't understand that weapon. How did Handsome kill that bear with it?"
"Do you have it?" He asked.
...
Luna left and came back with it. She didn't hand it to him but he did look at it."That's a slugthrower." He said.
"Pardon?"
"A slugthrower is a weapon that's used on primitive planets." Valance explained. They heard the man groan again. Valance smiled a little."Everybody in the camp knows what needs to be done to that poor man. And the only one that can do it is the one with that gun."
Luna was starting to feel like the injured man would not get better.
Flashback.
Princess Luna ignored her headache as she walked down the halls of the Canterlot castle. She was heading to the balcony to raise the moon. When Luna went into her room, she groaned. She started to see a bright light and her headache was getting worse.
Soon, Luna saw nothing but a bright light.
On the Island.
The Princess of the night looked at the injured man in the tent. He was awake but he looked very pale. He looked at her, surprised."You and that white horse...you can talk?"
"I can." She said.
...
"What's your name?"
"Soap. John "Soap" MacTavish." He said before he coughed."Where...am I?"
"You're on an island."
"How...how the bloody hell did I get here?"
"I don't know," Luna said.
Soap groaned."I'm...I'm dying, aren't I?"
Tears came to her eyes."We tried our best but...there's nothing we can do...I'm sorry..."
He was silent for a moment."It's okay." He coughed."I'm a soldier. Sometimes, soldiers die." He went into a coughing fit."Listen...I need you to do me a favor. If you ever meet a man named John Price...tell him...tell him..." He coughed again.
"Tell him what?" She asked.
"Tell him...Yuri...knows...Makarov."
"Wha-What does that mean?"
"Please...if you ever see him, tell him." He pleaded."And here...take my journal..." He said, handing it to her.
Everybody at the wreckage woke up when they heard a loud gunshot. Nurse Redheart, who had been getting some water, had heard this. She gasped when she saw Princess Luna walk out of the tent.
"Princess...did you-"
"It was not me." Luna said with tears falling down her cheeks."Valance did it."
Beilert Valance walked out of the tent with the revolver in his hand. Everybody stared at him.
There was nothing but silence for a few seconds before they heard groaning again. Redheart ran into the tent and saw the wound."You shot him in the chest?" She asked Valance who also came into the tent.
"I was aiming for his heart." He said, surprised.
"You missed. You hit his lung. It'll take hours to bleed out.
"I...I only had one bullet."
"Get out," Redheart said. Valance was still there."Get out!" She yelled. Valance slowly left the tent as Soap MacTavish died.
In the morning, Applejack slowly opened her eyes and saw Tarkin."Shh." He said softly."I found your sister's dog."
"What?" She said, surprised. She saw that Applebloom was still asleep.
"I tethered her to a tree just over there." He pointed.
"Uh...thank you..." She said.
Tarkin smiled and left.
Vanto was sitting in the sand, staring at the ocean. Luna sat down next to him."Vanto...I need to tell you something. A very long time ago, I was...I was somepony named Nightmare Moon. I was going to terrible things-"
"I don't want to know." Vanto interrupted."It doesn't matter, Luna. Who we were, what we did before this. Three days ago, we all died. We should all be able to start over."
Luna nodded."Okay."