Splinter Cell: Target Lost

King Sombra had never felt better.  After enough time, he'd finally restored his magical abilities to their complete power.  Not only that, but his dealings with the Changeling Queen went far better than he could've hoped.  Everything he worked towards was going to pay off just as soon as he put the final piece on the board.  That human, the one named "Byron", needed to know of his presence.  Then, everything would finally be set and ready.  The new world would be his, and from it, he could take what he wished... but he was getting ahead of himself.  The Changeling Queen had agreed to help in the first contact with the humans by sending a few of her children out to find the human and bring him to their lair.

Victory was so close, he could taste it...

***

Byron was pleased with himself.  His two adversaries in this world were taken care of, one incapacitated for the moment, and the other he could only assume was dead.  This was perfect!  Now all he had to do was use this window of time to his advantage... but how?  These ponies hadn't done anything to him, necessarily.  In fact, they seemed very helpful (emphasis on "seemed").  Yet, something in the back of his mind kept telling him one word.  Kill.  The blood, the violence, the screaming... he couldn't get away from it.  It was his nature to want such things.  But he needed a reason to oppose those ponies in Ponyville, otherwise he wouldn't feel justified in killing them.  As much as he loved to cut living things apart, he also wanted it to be for the right reasons.  His brother had taught him that, and he always knew what was best.

So when a shady group asked him to join in on some kind of revolution, he agreed.  Why not?  If some ponies wanted to take over, he was with them.  It was his place to cause mayhem and death.  If that wasn't it, he would at least want to rule this world, as pitiful as that sounded.  What use was a planet full of ponies who wouldn't listen to him?  Perhaps these new friends could help him where he was lacking, such as in magical ability, which he saw as a very versatile... science?  Presence?  He didn't know what to call it, but he knew it was useful.  He knew one of them was a powerful unicorn, and the other had an army.  It was just like his plan back on Earth.  He pondered whether it was a better idea to feign alliance with the ponies in Ponyville, just as he had.  After what he had learned, they would in no way help him accomplish his goals, and may in fact get in the way of his plans.  All he had to do was be courteous, kind, and obedient and try not to snap their necks.  Simple.  That way, he could get what he wanted... in time.

Byron was surprised by the amount of planning that went into the takeover.  It was all whittled down to last detail (the last detail being Byron's alliance, of course.)  He wondered how they had predicted such a phenomenon.  Now he wished he hadn't gone and killed Masters, as he could've helped with that.  Only a little bit, though.

The plan was simple: create an empire.  Now, that may not sound simple, but with Sombra's magic, it could be done in a day, if not shorter.  All they would have to do is create a large castle. A big, beautiful castle made of darkness and hate -- which is a little contradictory, when you think about it -- that would tower over the land and become the center of the takeover.  Byron would stay in Ponyville and act as their spy, gaining trust wherever he could.  The changelings would be the surrogate army, as they were not fighters, but they could look and act the part.  Then, Sombra will announce his presence, and... that part of the plan was to be discussed later.  In the meantime, the castle must be prepared, and summoning it will take a while.  Once it is up, though... everything ends, and they win.

Now one may ask: Why?  Why would Byron O'Malley, psycho serial killer, join up with evil ponies to take over a land he didn't want?  Well, one promise that was made to him would clear everything up.  He knew these ponies could get him home.  They showed him how they would do it.  He had complete confidence in their abilities, and as soon as this was all over, he would be revered in this world and return to his own, where (hopefully) he would be revered there, as well.

"Are you prepared, human?  The war is beginning, and you must be ready to play your part." Sombra had asked him.

Byron had a smile on his face, and with confidence responded, "Yes, I believe so."  He turned his head to Ponyville. "I can only hope they aren't."

***

Harper awoke hours later, feeling quite refreshed.  With the radiation out of his system, he felt like a million bucks!  However, he felt quite cold.  He picked himself up off the steel floor of the train car.  He stretched a bit before looking around.  Immediately, he wished he had observed his environment sooner.

An innumerable amount of guards stood with spears turned toward him.  Some of them were shaking in their boots.  Harper knew he couldn't be in Ponyville anymore.  They didn't have this kind of defense system.  Harper attempted to move, but they pushed in closer to block him.

"Stand back!" the guard captain shouted. "You're not going to attack Canterlot how you attacked Ponyville!"  Unbeknownst to Harper, Twilight's older brother was shouting at him.

"Attack Ponyville?  What are you talking about?" Harper asked.

"The evidence is right in front of us!  We can see it from here!  Your dark magic!"

He looked around in the distance and saw a black, crystalline castle that towered above the underwhelming Princess Twilight's castle.  He may have seen stranger things, but this was beyond him.  How could this happen?

"What on earth...?" Harper asked under his breath.

"HE'S CHANTING A DARK RITUAL!" a nearby guard shouted. "I HEARD HIM WHISPERING!"  All of the guards tensed up.

"Clam down, soldier, he can't hurt us.  So long as he stays in the container, we're safe." the captain reassured his troops.

Harper didn't understand it.  How long had he been out?  Hours?  Days?  It couldn't have been that long... right?  If it had been long enough for that to appear, how long had he been gone for?  More importantly, where were Kestrel and Byron?

He noticed a disturbance in the crowd of soldiers. "Excuse me!  Pardon me!  If you could just move a bit... HARPER!  IT'S ME!"

He couldn't confuse that voice with any other. "Ms. Brittle?  Is that you?"

He saw her climb out of the crowd to Shining Armor. "Call off the troops!  He's with me."

"I don't take orders from a low-level like you!  However, seeing how powerless he is in his current state, there's no need for violence.  GUARDS!  BACK TO YOUR POSTS!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" the guards shouted dispersing in all directions.  Harper let out a sigh of relief.  Those ponies probably would've killed him had it not been for Butter coming along.

"Harper, get out of there before you turn into a loony like Kestrel!" Butter shouted to him.  Harper obeyed, exiting the box.

"Captain, what the hell were you thinking?  The humans are our allies, not our enemies!" Butter shouted at him.

"Is that why they attacked us when they arrived?  Is that why there's a giant tower that is going to kill us all?" Shining Armor asked angrily. "Those humans are violent traitors, and I will not see them in the capital any time soon!  I will defend this country if it's the last thing I do!"  He pushed past her rudely. "You do want you want with him, but I'm not letting him near anypony until I see concrete proof of his allegiance.  Good-bye, Ms. Brittle."

Harper watched the captain walk off. "Not too fond of me, is he?" he asked Butter.  She sighed. "He's just as thick as his sister.  Nopony around here is going to trust you, friend or foe.  It's not good if we're going to defeat King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis."

"Uh... okay, lots of questions running through my head right now..." Harper said.

Butter inhaled deeply before saying, "You were knocked cold for two days, King Sombra's an evil unicorn, Chrysalis is an evil changeling, changelings are shape-shifters, Twilight's still pissed at you, the Royal guard captain is her brother, he doesn't like you either, and generally the entire country of Equestria is going to be destroyed if we don't stop the invasion of the King and Queen.  That enough information?"

"Where's Byron and Kestrel?" Harper asked.

"Kestrel's in Ponyville, assessing the situation with Twilight.  Somehow he got on her good side, Celestia only knows how.  As for Byron, he's with them in the briefing.  Says he wants to help under the supervision of Discord."

That didn't sound right at all.  Harper knew Byron too well, and it wasn't like him to join up with Fourth Echelon units.

"How'd I get here?  This clearly isn't Ponyville." he noted.

"You were on a train car, so how do you think you got here?" Butter asked.  Now Harper felt he was asking dumb questions.

"Oh, yeah.  That.  Heh.  So, what's the quickest way back?"

"Through Celestia, actually.  You have to consult with here before you go anywhere, or else you'll be marked as an enemy to all Equestrians.  Kind of a hassle, if you ask me."

"Seems like it." Harper agreed. "Let's pay her a visit."

Butter was shocked.  "Harper, you can't just go in and see the Princess whenever you want!  She needs to know of your arrival, and it all has to be planned out!"

Harper related this description to '"following protocol".  He hated following protocol.

"Well, I guess she's just going to have to learn to be surprised, isn't she?  I'll just pop in, ask her about it, and be back in time for tea, as the saying goes."  Harper turned his sights to the castle. "I've done stealth missions before, and I know I can sneak past these guards."

"Harper, you can't just go off and do this!" Butter shouted at him. "You'll get in major trouble with the Princess!"

"Oh, really?" he asked, already setting up the colloquialism. "Watch me."

He started walking to the castle.  Butter stood behind, shaking her head, but by the time she raised it again, he had disappeared.  For a smart spy, he sure didn't think through what he said before he said it.

***

Harper reached the castle and allowed himself a moment or two to admire the architecture that these ponies could make.  The entire thing was built into the mountainside, and it seemed like it was unrealistically jutting out with tall spires and gold all over it.  Then, the moment passed, and he got back to work.  There were four guards at the gate.  He knew hurting them or drawing their attention would make his infiltration nearly impossible.  After all, he did have to stay on these ponies' good sides.  He looked around to see if there was a way to climb up over the gate.  A nearby hedge gave him a way in.  Climbing to the top of it, he could clearly see the courtyard full of statues off to his left and the direct path to the castle to his right.  To avoid detection, Harper went left, as it had many more points he could hide.  A few guards patrolled this part.  It was still broad daylight, so seeing a black-clad figure would probably attract their attention immediately.  Harper couldn't wait to get inside the castle, as then he could disable and lihgting they had inside to give himself a path through the darkness.

As he made his way through the lines of statues, he heard two of the nearby guards talking.

"Were you at the train station today?  I heard something big was going down there," the first one asked.

The other seemed appalled by this question. "That was only a few minutes ago.  What, you weren't there?"

"Nah, I was stuck with the newbies," the first replied.

The second one laughed. "Oh, yeah, that's right.  How's training going for them?"

"Well, they're still new to everything, so they're not quite guard material, but they're on duty inside the castle today so they get a little experience," the first one explained.

The second one scoffed. "'Experience'.  Honestly, there is hardly anything to stave off around here, so there's really nothing to learn.  Guarding's a pretty easy job for a big paycheck.  I don't know a single stallion that wouldn't want this job."  Suddenly, the second one changed to a serious tone. "Well, now there is something, I suppose.  That train station deal was the human waking up.  That's as scary as it gets.  He could be crawling around here and we wouldn't even notice."

"Hey!" a third one shouted, running over to the other two. "You two aren't paid to sit around and chit-chat!  Get back to work!"

"Yes, sir!" they shouted, slightly irked by the interruption.  Harper liked what he heard.  A bunch of rookie guards stationed around the castle was nothing he couldn't handle.  He smiled at the simplicity of the job he gave himself.

Finally crossing the courtyard, Harper ducked in through one of the windows.  It was all too convenient that it was left open.  Harper kept to what little shadows there were and snuck past the rookie guards.  Most of them were distracted, and the others were just plain inexperienced.  They kept turning in the wrong direction towards sounds that they heard, and their 'investigations' always came up empty-handed.  Or, hooved.  Harper didn't care anymore.  So long as there wasn't a human-to-pony dictionary, he felt fine calling the ends of their forelegs "hands".

It was all so easy.  After sneaking through the royal court and throne room, Harper knew something was up.  There was no way all of this was a coincidence.  Somebody -- or somepony -- had planned this.

"I see you you've enjoyed your little tour of the castle."

Harper jumped at the voice.  It was loud and confident, unlike most of the ponies he had heard talking.  Harper ignored the voice at first, hoping that it was just a ploy to get him to speak up and get caught.

"Harper, if you do not converse with me, how am I supposed to tell you you're allowed here?" the voice asked politely, before commanding, "Respond, Harper!"

Harper was shocked into responding.  "If that's you, Princess, I would very much like it if you showed yourself!"

"As would I, Harper.  Now, show yourself and I will meet with you face-to-face."

This entire scenario was just filled with uncertainty.  Harper knew the voice, he just didn't know if he could trust it.  He stepped out the shadows, hoping his intuition was wrong.

"Good.  now we may speak directly."

Harper saw not Celestia, but Luna step out from behind the shadows of a nearby corridor.

"You again?  Oh, shit, is this all a dream?" Harper asked.

"I assure you, this is no dream, Harper.  I have come bearing good news." the Princess replied.

"Good news?  The hell are you talking about?" Harper asked with great suspicion.

"You were never responsible for Hastings' death."

Harper had completely forgotten their discussion on the matter.  The one memory that had plagued his mind, and somehow he had forgotten all about it.  Oh, he was gonna beat himself up mentally if he forgot something that important ever again.

"All right, you had my attention, and now you have my curiosity.  How am I not the one responsible for Hastings' death?"

The pony smiled as the world around them warped to match the scene again.  Everything, down to the last little detail was refined and realistic.

"I thought you said I wasn't in a dream." Harper said, somewhat disappointed.

"You weren't before, but now you are." Luna explained simply. "Now, I watched your memory a lot since you first produced it.  Now, do you remember what you felt at that point?"

"Of course I do." Harper said, the words forming around him again.  Hate, Anger, Confusion, and so many more circled around him like magic runes. "No matter how any times I delude myself into thinking this never happened, I will never forget how tragic that day was.  That was the day I lost my mentor and my friend."

"And how did it happen?"  Luna asked, sinking into the background of the dream.

"I... I fucked up.  I let the target slip out and he... he..."  The words surrounding Harper blurred into a blood red color. "I let my own friend die."

"That is incorrect, Harper.  You didn't do it.  This 'target' you had did not kill him either."

"What?" Harper asked. "That's impossible!  He was the only one who could've shot him!"

"Then let me ask you, Harper, who is this?"

He felt himself shrink as the world zoomed into the goggles of Hastings.  Harper remembered looking him in the eye before he died, as to send a signal to him to get out of this mess.  Of course, that never happened.

"How does that explain anything?"

"Look closely.  What do you see in the glass?"

Harper peered at the googles lenses and saw the most surprising thing he had never known.  Having photographic memory was something he never thought would help him here.  In the reflection, he could clearly see the silhouette of a sniper perched on the rooftops.  It was one hell of a thing to notice, and Harper was now more intrigued than ever.

"What on earth?  How is this possible?  Who is this?  Why? " Harper asked.  His confusion and rage subsided into a curious hate.

"I understand your need to find answers to these questions, but I am sorry to say I do not know.  Whoever this is is the true reason Hastings died.  You didn't let him die... he was being hunted from the beginning.  It's not your fault.  Your partner must have had someone after him for a long time, and only now did they get the chance to end his life.  It was misfortune that ended his life, nothing more."

"I don't think so. I think there's a helluva lot more going on here.  I need to find this guy, and when I do..."

"Then what, human?  You will end his life as well?"

Harper hesitated.  "I don't know.  Probably, if that's what he deserves."

"You know, even if you kill him, that won't bring Hastings back."

Harper knew this all too well.  The war taught him that.  He let all his emotions flow away and be replaced by new ideas: Focus, Precision, Execution, Investgation... the list went on.

"He will pay, one way or another," Harper said. "I think we're done here."

The whole world went dark, and seconds later, Harper opened his real eyes.  He couldn't have been out for more than a few moments, as he was still standing, feeling only slightly off-balance.  He shook his head.  Somebody was after Hastings the entire time.  If he knew, why didn't his partner tell him about it?  Maybe Hastings didn't know?  Just thinking about it made him want to take this guy out with one clean shot when he found him, but only after he got the answers he was looking for.

Reality caught up with him and he remembered why he was here.  He had to find Celestia.  He slowly went through the hallway and spotted the Princess standing in a room full of blinding light.  Harper stepped out of the darkness and approached her.

"So this is where you've been," he said, eliciting a spooked gasp from the Princess.  She turned quickly to face him.  Harper raised his hands up. "Calm down, Princess, I am not here to hurt you.  I just want some answers."

"You're one of those humans," Celestia noted, "the ones I've heard so much about."

"I am.  Perhaps Princess Twilight informed you of my presence and her reluctance towards me and my comrade's behaviors.  I hope you have more trust than she does."

"I don't know what to think of you, Harper.  It's not everyday we see humans."  Celestia turned her head away from him.

"I've wondered how you knew what we were, Celestia.  Would you mind explaining?" Harper asked.

"You knew we were ponies, as you referred to us as such when you saw our kind.  How did you know that we were called that?" Celestia countered.

"Touché," he said. "I suppose its just a coincidence that we are familiar with each other's species."  A brief moment was silence followed, probably to signify the dead topic.  Then, Harper remembered what he came here for. "Look, I need to get to Ponyville and help stop Sombra and Chrysalis, but I need your permission before I go, so I heard."

Celestia laughed a bit. "Oh, poor Butter Brittle.  She must've told you this so you'd stay safe.  She doesn't want you to go to that dark castle, fearing that you won't return.  You, do not need my permission to go anywhere, human.  That is up to you.  But for your troubles, I can teleport you to your destination."

"How generous.  Wait, then what is with all the guards hating my guts if that's the case?" Harper asked.

"I do not think they mean to strike at you personally, Harper.  I will admit, those guards seem to be ruder and ruder every day.  I'll send out a request to change their training, hopefully giving them a new attitude," Celestia explained.

"So, teleportation...  That sounds efficient," Harper noted. "Wait, why wouldn't she want me to go there?"

Again, Celestia chuckled. "You'll see, Harper.  Now, off with you!"

Her horn glowed for a few moments and magical wisps transported Harper back to Ponyville.

Well, that was something, Harper thought to himself.  Celestia sure seemed nice for an all-powerful ruler.  There was little time for thinking, as he was immediately being shouted at.

"Harper!" he heard Kestrel shout. "Where the hell have you been?  It's been almost an two days!"

"Kestrel?" he asked, surprised.

"God dammit, I knew this would happen!  As soon as you got out my sight, you go and get yourself in a heap of trouble!"  He shook his head.  "Forget it, we need to move!  We're setting up an attack on that tower, and you're going to help.  C'mon!"

Kestrel began leading Harper to Twilight's castle. "Kestrel, you sound kind of dire.  What the hell's been going on around here?"

Suddenly, a giant magical bolt flew down from above, threatening to strike the town before it was intercepted by a magical shield.  While the shot was blocked, the shield seemed to waver and crack a bit.  From what Harper knew, that shot could've very well wiped out the entire town with that much power.

"That's what!" Kestrel shouted. "Keep moving, there isn't time for questions!"

They rushed into the castle, where the mane six were gathered.

"Harper!  Glad you could make it." Princess Twilight said all too enthusiastically.  Harper was confused by her tone and said nothing.

"All right, let's recap the events for Harper here, since he missed out on everything.  As we all know, the tower outside this town is planning on destroying it and everything else in around a square mile of this place with a giant magic cannon.  While it is deadly, it takes a long time to prepare and shoot each shot, allowing us time to defend and launch our counterstrike, which is what this mission is about.  Our mission is to infiltrate that tower, sneak past its defenses, and sabotage the cannon.  Are we clear?"

"What happens if we fail?" Harper asked.  Twilight recognized this question and knew the answer immediately.

"You won't" she reassured him.

Harper sighed. "All right, then how do we plan on doing this?  That tower has to be taller than anything I've seen.  Reaching the top would be a challenge."

"You should put a little more emphasis on 'would be' there, Harper.  Sombra is a big fan of long staircases, but Twilight here knows just the spell to get us up them."

"And the cannon?  How do we deal with that?" Harper asked

"Not sure, but we'll find out when we reach the top.  Its power source cannot be far from it."

"And what if the power source is Sombra or Chrysalis?" Harper asked. "Then what?"

"Then we stop them with our own power.  Twilight and her friends have a pretty powerful spell to stop all this indefinitely."

"Then what are we 'mere mortals' for?" Harper asked. "It seems like they have it under control."

"Two reasons, Harper.  First, we need to keep Byron in check during this mission.  Second, we owe these ponies for taking us in like they did.  It was very generous of them."

"Sappy, but okay." Harper replied. "Wait, Byron??"

Harper had missed seeing the dangerous psychopath in the corner of the room.  He had an evil smile on his face , and Harper could hear him snickering to himself.

"So you're telling me we're bringing that bastard with us?!" Harper shouted. "Kestrel, that's insane!"

"I know that you think that, but for now, you have to trust me when I say he'll be more helpful that not.  After all, he did get intel on the layout of the enemy base."

Harper didn't believe this.  Hastings would've known better than to trust that double-crossing, backstabbing son of a bitch, and he trusted Hastings.

"And you don't think he'll turn on us in the middle of the fight?" Harper asked.

"Of course not." Kestrel said.  Then, he leaned in and whispered. "I don't trust the recipe, and the first signs of the dish burning, I'll fetch the fire extinguisher."

"Sounds like a plan." Harper replied. He could translate the metaphor easily:  Should Byron show any signs of betrayal, he would be quickly neutralized, end of story.

"Last but not least, Discord will play the important role of guarding our guide here to make sure he doesn't get hit, leaving us without the information we need to complete the mission."

Harper didn't see the being of chaos either.  He wondered if the container tampered with his eyesight.  He feared the idea of having less-than-perfect eyesight.

"Very well," he said flatly.

"One more thing." Kestrel said.  He handed Harper his pistol and his knife. "You'll need these."

Harper was glad to see his weapons again, which he realized made him look like a terrible person.

Kestrel continued, "Since the latest cannon shot hit not long ago, we have our window of opportunity open for another ten minutes.  That's enough time to get into the tower before the next shot goes off, and hopefully enough time to shut down the cannon altogether.  Let's go."

As they left the castle, the tower's shadow fell over the town, leaving everyone  and everything in complete darkness.