Splinter Cell: Target Lost

Harper wiped the sweat from his brow.  The work was hard, but it was all worth it in the end.  He and these two ponies finally finished the building (which he learned was called "Sugarcube Corner") just in time to see the sun rise in the hypothetical East.

Applejack inspected the work before saying, "That about does it.  C'mon, Big Mac, let's get going."

Harper saw as they began to walk away, taking the cart and the saddlebags with them.

"Wait!"  he called to them.  They stopped in their tracks and turned towards him.  Harper took a deep breath before saying, "I cannot thank you enough for your help, and I know that you ponies don't just do favors all too often.  I have to pay you back somehow!"

Applejack remembered hearing those words before. "Please don't tell me there's some 'human code' you have to follow where you have to help me."

Harper was confused as to why she would ask this, but replied with the truth. "There isn't, I just--"

"-- then it's just a favor, sugarcube.  Some of us ponies are decent enough to help without getting anything in return.  If it makes you feel better, I swear I will never ask you to pay me back for this.  And I always keep my word."

"Eeyup." Big Mac agreed.

Harper was stunned by this.  He thought all these little ponies would simply hate humans, but with this... he didn't know what to say.

"Well, uh, thank you.  For everything." he stammered.

The two gave a simple nod and walked out of view.

It wasn't even ten seconds later before he heard the sound of hooves coming his way.  The purple pony was back to scrutinize his-- no, their work.

"Well, well, well.  What do you know?  You're actually capable of more than just breaking things, human." she taunted. "I'm surprised you got all this work done in time."

"I told you I would.  I never go back on my word, Your Highness." Harper said with a salute.  He never thought his training in the army would start being applied here.  Basic training had taught him one fundamental rule: When in doubt, kiss ass.

Twilight raised her eyebrows. "And you somehow learned respect in one night as well.  Seems you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Did somebody say 'surprises'?"

Twilight didn't say this.  Nor did Harper.  No, the voice that spoke was far too enthusiastic, far too high-pitched, and far too--

Suddenly, the paragraph was cut off by the sound of party horns.  The super party pony couldn't wait for something as silly as details.  She popped out from behind the doors of the rebuilt shop, wearing a party hat and setting off her party cannon, covering everybody in front of it with confetti and streamers.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight shouted. "What in the wide world of Equestria are you doing?"

The pink pony laughed. "I'm throwing a party, silly!  I thought you'd know that much at this point.  Besides, we have a new human-thingy-guy here, so you know I have to put together a party for him-her-it!

"It's 'him'!" Harper interjected quickly.

"Now is not the time for this, Pinkie," Twilight growled.

"Oh, you're such a downer, Twilight." Pinkie said, ignoring her wishes.  She used her hooves to force a smile onto Twilight's face. "Turn that frown upside down!  I know Gummi is ready to have some fun, right Gummi?"

The toothless, motionless alligator simply stared with his unblinking eyes.  Harper had already learned not to be disturbed by such things.  He'd seen stranger things in his lifetime.

Twilight sighed deeply at her energetic friend. "Pinkie, I already told you we're not doing that--"

"No you didn't." Pinkie said, her face losing her smile.  She pulled a piece of paper out of nowhere and showed it to Twilight. "You said we should vote.  I did a re-vote while you were off doing your princess-y stuff, and guess what?  Everybody wants to have this party!  Isn't that great?  It'll be sooooooooo fun!"

Twilight saw she wasn't going to win this one. "Fine, have your little party for him, but nothing more after that.  There's still more work he has to do."

"Yay!  Party!" she squealed in delight. "Here, I'll give you your invitation right now!"

"There's no need for that," Twilight said, holding up a hoof. "I'm not attending.  I don't trust that human, and neither should you.  Quite frankly, I find this whole party business to be a huge waste of time.  Besides, I have other things to attend to tonight.  I'll stop by after the party to check how things went."

Pinkie shrugged. "If you're really that busy, then you don't have to come.  I mean, it's not like Princess Celestia has time for parties either.  Or Cadence.  Or Luna!  None of the princesseseseses have any fun time at all!  I mean, they have celebrations all the time, but that's all formal and stuff, so there's no fun for them!  Isn't that weird, Twilight?"

She realized that her lengthy talking had driven her attention away from reality, and that Twilight had now gone. "Oh well!  I guess she just doesn't have time for your party, Harper!"

"I guess not." he replied.  Then the fact of what happened hit him in the face. "Wait, we've never been introduced.  How do you know my name?  You didn't even know my gender a minute ago."

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin. "Huh.  Dunno."

They sat there in complete silence for a few seconds.

"Well, I gotta go pass out invitations!  Cya, Harps!"

She bounded away happily, humming a happy made-up tune as she went.

"A party, huh?  Sounds nice."

Harper flipped around to see Butter Brittle standing not a yard behind him.  He didn't even hear her approach.  His suspicion was only matched only by his curiosity.

"I guess.  I'm also guessing that's not why you're here."

She nodded. "That's right.  It's time for your friend to come out of the Magic-Lock Chamber.  Hopefully you and I can talk some sense into him.  That is, if he's not really tired or something..."

"What do you mean by that?" Harper asked.

"Well, given you told us about your whole telepathy thing, we assumed he had magic too.  What that chamber does is gradually take most, if not all, of that magic away."

"Oh, humans aren't magical.  Magic doesn't exist in our world.  It's a completely foreign concept!"  Harper laughed.

"Oh, of course not, I'm so foolish to think so," she replied with a chuckle.  Her face immediately turned to a huge, surprised frown. "Wait, YOU'RE NOT?!"

"We have other methods!  I can explain them!" Harper said in his defense.

"No, no, no!  I don't care if you didn't have magic for that!  Your friend could be in danger!  We have to hurry!"

She dashed away as quick as she could.  Harper chased after the pony quickly.  What was all this about?  Why was this suddenly a dangerous thing?

***

Kestrel was losing it.  He had been out of the light for so long that his night vision goggles stopped working, and now he was starting to depend on his hearing and feeling ability to navigate around the box.  However, it didn't matter where he sat or lay, as he was always uncomfortable.  The cold metal never warmed, leaving him sleep deprived.  There was no food, no water; his stomach growled and his throat felt impossibly dry.  This was his own personal hell, and for what reason?  Just because he was human, because he was different from all the rest, this is what he gets?  Or was he truly paying for the acts done against this alien race?

Before he could finish this thought, something blinded him, making his eyes burn and his skin tingle at the warmth.  The sun was lower in the sky, allowing the assumption that it must be the equivalent of morning right now.

He saw the silhouette of one of those ponies outside.  The same beast that probably trapped him in this hellhole.  However, he had no choice should he choose to keep what little was left of his sanity.  Kestrel, disobeying every urge within him, walked towards the light.

As he got closer, the outside world grew more colorful and vibrant.  Everything seemed right.  He was no longer hungry, no longer thirsty.  He felt like a million bucks!

"Oh my Celestia, he's alive."

Then, Kestrel fell face-first onto the ground and passed out.

Butter Brittle simply stared at the human as he fell over outside the Chamber.  Harper moved in to check his pulse. "He's not dead yet.  Is he in any danger once he's left that thing?"

"He shouldn't be in any danger.  Unless he's sick or something, which I really doubt.  That container is completely germ-free.  He just needs some rest, and he'll be up on his feet before your party begins.  Heck, maybe he'll be able to attend, if he's up to it."

"What happened to him in there, anyway?" Harper asked.

"I believe that instead of reducing any magic he may have had, it started sapping away any energy he had, including the energy in his system that was keeping him alive.  It was the closest thing to magic that he possessed.  It's no wonder we don't put Earth ponies in this thing..."

"I see..." he replied slowly.  He was inspecting Kestrel's gear.  Any electronics Kestrel had on him had run out of power.  They probably kept him alive long enough for him to get out.  On the one hand, it would make all communications between this operative  and Fourth Echelon shot, but on the other, it saved his life.

"I also believe that the position he is in is not the most comfortable one," Butter assumed.

"It's not," Harper told her. "Hopefully you have someplace we can keep him until he regains his strength?  Like maybe a hospital or something?"

"I'll take care of that."

Twilight stood behind the human, tapping her front hoof in disapproval. "Ms. Brittle, I thought I told you to inform me before releasing that particular human."

"But, Princess--!"

"But nothing, Ms. Brittle.  Your work here is done.  Return to Canterlot and inform Celestia that peace has been made, and the problem is solved.  That is all you came here to do, right?"

Butter grit her teeth. "Yes, you're right.  I'll be on my way, as soon as I can leave, Your Highness."

"That's right, you will.  Guards!  Carry the limp one to the hospital.  As for you, Harper, you helped Butter in this endeavor.  You shall receive suitable punishment after your 'party'."

Harper was really starting to hate this stuck-up little... pony, to replace all words that he wanted to say there.

"Oh, and I found out that you were never given any nails to fix Sugarcube Corner, yet there are ones in the boards you used.  Also, you were never supplied any boards either, so that should've been a red flag from the beginning.  I'll find out how you deceived me into thinking you did it yourself soon.  You're lucky I'm still allowing this little get-together Pinkie planned after all this."

Oh, she really knew how to get under his skin.  He wasn't about to rat out Applejack, though.  No, this princess would find that out in due time anyway, wouldn't she?  Why was it he was always at a disadvantage when it comes to these conversations?

"Wait just one minute, Princess.  I have a question for you."  Harper said. "Am I allowed to deny any order from any pony living in Ponyville?"

"No, you can't." she replied. "Everypony in Ponyville has authority over you.  In fact, that is now of royal decree as of this very moment."

"Well, that changes things.  A pony, whose name will not be released for his or her safety, told me that he or she wanted to help me.  You have told me I couldn't have said no anyway, thus I'm simply doing what he or she had told me to do.  I had to accept his or her offer."  Harper anted to keep the identity gender-neutral, keeping the amount of limiting factor towards guessing the pony to a minimum.

Twilight rolled her eyes, saying, "Fine.  If that's really what happened, I'll let it go this one time.  You've still got a lot to learn, Harper.  You should take a page out of Byron's book for once and start acting properly.  Maybe then there will be hope for you."

"Yes, ma'am." he said.  He was hardly going to start acting like the enemy at this point.  That, and she was doing a very good job at pissing him off.  He was justabout ready to explode if she taunted him one more time.

"Please, Twilight, can't you ever be reasonable?"

What was with these ponies and shady introductions?  Harper turned, once again, to see something that certainly wasn't a pony.  No, it was the being of chaos himself.

"Oh.  What are you, now?"  Harper asked calmly.  To reiterate, he'd seen much stranger things in his lifetime.

"Well, that's a different reaction than the first."  Discord said.  "And what a boring one at that.  I do hope you have some sense of humor.  However, that will have to wait."

He swooped over to Twilight and rested his elbow on her head.  "I'm here to talk to you, Princess.  You seem to be giving these humans such a hard time.  Why not give them a break, hm?  It would only be fair after all their obedience."

"First of all, I've been searching for you, Discord.  I should've known you'd find me instead.  Second, you don't seem to understand the situation." Twilight began.

"Oh, I'm the one who doesn't understand!  Well then, Princess Twilight, why don't you explain to me why you treat these humans so poorly.  I'm so very curious."  Discord made a chair for himself to sit in, now using Twilight's head as a footrest.  Harper couldn't help but stifle a laugh.  This guy was showing up the princess, and by the looks of it, he really knew how to play his cards around her.

"Well, we don't know what they're capable of!  They could destroy everything and everypony!"

"Oh, please.  That's the least of your worries.  Should I remind you that over a hundred different things can destroy this town in a blink of an eye?  An angry buffalo stampede, a pack of Timberwolves, me, the Changelings, some Manticores, and possibly just a lot of fudge when you really think about it..."

"All right, I get it!  There's lots of dangerous things all around!  I'm talking about danger nearby!  These humans are allowed to be here, even though they may stir up trouble."

"Is that so?  Tell me, Twilight... you've been around these humans for a day or two.  What do you know about them?"

"I know they have the ability to destroy things easily." Twilight said, annoyed by the question.

"No, no.  That's just what they can do.  I'm asking about what you know about him as a being.  Do you know how he makes friends?  Do you know his way of life?  Did you even ask him why he's wearing such a ridiculous get-up?"

"Hey!" Harper interjected. "I'll have you know this is standard-issue stealth gear, and it is not ridiculous!  You can disrespect me all you like, but do not disrespect the suit!"

Discord ignored his comments, focusing only on the raw data. "See?  He does have reason.  I bet you didn't know what it was until now, did you, Princess?"

"No, I didn't..." Twilight admitted.

"Then I've learned more than you have simply by insulting his appearance.  I thought you were the Princess of Friendship, Twilight.  Friends get to know each other, and if one insult gets me that much information, I can only imagine the results from your conversations."

"There were no conversations..."

"Yes, we haven't talked much... but we are friends, right?" Harper asked.  If this weird being could be a nuisance to her, so could he, so long as this being was around.

"There are some things I don't make friends with, human.  You're one of them." Twilight explained.

"His name is Harper, so I heard, not 'human'." Discord retorted. "At least try to learn it, Princess."

"You know just as well as I do that he is a human.  Quit messing around!" Twilight shouted at him.

Discord simply laughed. "Oh, your angry little face is just so cute!  It's as if just being around him makes your emotions spike, just like with your other friends.  It's as if the bonding has already begun!"  He pulled the two together, one under each arm, with a devious smile appearing on his face.  He was enjoying every second of this.

Twilight sighed and reminded herself to ignore Discord. "All right then, Harper, since Discord won't get off my back about it, I guess I'll be your friend... but don't get hopeful or anything.  I'm not about to let you off the hook for work.  I'm leaving now.  Discord, you come with me.  There's something I need you to do."

The beast and the pony walked off.  Butter sighed and said, "Well, I had better get going.  I need to report back to to Princess Celestia on the true nature of all of this business.  I'll see what I can do to help you humans, Harper, but don't expect any favors."

Then she walked away.  Harper was alone.

Suddenly, his OPSAT started making noises.  Ringing noises.  He held the computer mounted on his left arm up to see what the news was.  An incoming call?  Who was this?  He tapped the screen and a face appeared on the screen, smiling a huge, evil smile.

"O'Malley." Harper growled.

"Harper." O'Malley copied, though in a much more controlled tone.

"If you have something you'd like to discuss, just come out here and let's talk face-to-face."

"I'm sure the both of us know how that ends, don't we?  You and your little assassin buddy come and take me out, no matter the consequences.  I'm afraid this is the only form of communication I'll be using from here on out."

Harper grit his teeth.  His enemy was in hiding, contacting him through his own specialized device, and he would have to sit through the taunts.  Great.

"Anyway, I decided that I want to keep you safe.  You should thank me."

"Thank you?  What are you talking abou-- AGH!"

Harper felt a huge rush of pain run through his right arm.

"What have you done?!" Harper shouted at him.  O'Malley laughed at his pain.

"I didn't realize you were that close to under-dose!  Haha!  Hurts, doesn't it?  You see, I haven't done anything.  You did this to yourself."

Realization hit Harper in the face. "That shot--"

"-- would keep you safe temporarily from the radiation before, yes." Byron finished. "However, you're starting to lose what you carrying in your system, and since the BACs only absorb the radiation, you'll die soon without another shot.  Your only choice is to keep taking more until you can get all of them out of your system, which won't happen.  Ever."

"God damn you--"

"Tut tut now, Harper.  I told you I'd keep you safe.  I have several more of those BAC shots with me right now.  All you have to do is be my servant for the rest of the time you're here in Ponyville and follow my orders.  Simple enough, wouldn't you say?"

Harper was a logical man, and he didn't want to be a servant any more than he had to be.  Having these ponies boss him around was enough already.  "How are you going to get those to me on time?  I'll bet you're close to do something like that... All I have to do is flush you out of your hiding hole."  Harper started searching around, holding his arm close to his body to reduce the pain he felt.

"Oh, you'll fall dead long before you even get a chance to reach me, Harper, I promise you that much.  However, if you agree to my terms, you might live.  So which will it be?  Life or death?"

Harper had to think about this.  It seemed like he only had those two choices.  If he followed Byron, maybe he'd be able to capture him-- no, those ponies would stop him before he could lay a finger on him.  If he refused, the radiation in his system would most certainly kill him.

"Clock is ticking, Harper." Byron said. "You had better make your decision soon."

"Death's better than a life of servitude." Harper spat.

"So be it.  Good bye, Harper.  Oh, and when you get to hell, tell your Fourth Echelon pal Hastings I said 'hi'." Byron said, closing the channel to the conversation.  Harper felt another sting of pain going through his torso and spine, enough to make him fall to the ground, writhing pain.  The radiation caused his insides to be the equivalent of burning up in flame.  For a moment, he thought he was going to die...  he closed his eyes, prepared to see the flashback of memories in his mind... but then he remembered something else entirely.

"I believe that instead of reducing any magic he may have had, it started sapping away any energy he had, including the energy in his system that was keeping him alive."

Harper's eyes snapped open.  He still had a chance!  That chamber could save him, and it couldn't be more than a yard away!

He started crawling to the chamber.  Life energy may or may not exist, he didn't care about that, but he knew that radiation was energy.  It would take that out of his system and he would live!  So long as he didn't get trapped in there, he would be just fine.

Cold steel had never felt better in his entire life.  He made his way into the chamber, and shortly afterwards he passed out.