//-------------------------------------------------------// Splinter Cell: Awakening -by ILVEG- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-1:Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-1:Prologue Kestrel) Real name: Mikhail ‘Andreyevitch’ Loskov Nationality: https://camo.fimfiction.net/flBymKjsU5gh_ToUG7biVEZW2CNSQT1gJ69MsYsWI0A?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fsplintercell%2Fimages%2Ff%2Ff3%2FFlag_of_Russia.svg%2Frevision%2Flatest%2Fscale-to-width-down%2F22%3Fcb%3D20130328103350 (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/splintercell/images/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/revision/latest?cb=20130328103350) Russian Known aliases: Glib lakeev Call signs: Kestrel Born: August 7, 1982 Novgorod, Russia Age: 29 Gender: Male Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Height: 175 cm (5′9″) Weight: 75 kg (165 lbs) Affiliations: Foreign Intelligence Service, Spetsnaz Special Forces, Voron Archer) Real name: Daniel Robert Sloane-Suarez Nationality: https://camo.fimfiction.net/2O8zlVqz5TyIIbyYu-CLW_OD2SeKl2es2uNBiO2jLVc?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fsplintercell%2Fimages%2Fa%2Fa4%2FFlag_of_the_United_States.svg%2Frevision%2Flatest%2Fscale-to-width-down%2F22%3Fcb%3D20130318120639 (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/splintercell/images/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/revision/latest?cb=20130318120639) American Known aliases: John 'Drake' Archer Call signs: Archer Born: March 23 , 1982 Miami, Florida Age: 29 Gender: Male Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown Height: 178 cm (5′10″) Weight: 75 kg (165 lbs) Affiliations: National Security Agency, Third echelon [Location: Aboard the transport plane] [Time: Dusk] After a long battle, Archer and Kestrel finally managed to complete their mission to retrieve all stolen Russian E-M-P (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) warheads and were now onboard a cargo plane, heading back home. Kestrel, a highly trained ex-Spetsnaz and current Voron field operative on loan to Third Echelon, found himself resting in the cargo hold of the plane. Leaning against a wall, trying to get some well-deserved sleep. Though he wasn't a Splinter Cell, he was considered to be on par with one. Meanwhile, Archer, a well-trained Splinter Cell from Third Echelon, was in the aircraft's bathroom. After finishing washing his hands, his earpiece suddenly rang. "Go for Archer," he answered, turning on the earpiece. A commanding voice came through the radio, asking in a frustrated tone, "Why aren't you answering your OPSAT?" Archer, cursing himself for his carelessness, replied, "I don't have it with me. What's wrong?" "Where's Agent Kestrel?" the voice on the radio asked. Taken aback by the question, Archer responded after a slight delay, " on the cargo deck, sleeping. Why?" After a brief pause, the voice ordered, "Terminate him." Archer's eyes widened, questioning the reason behind the order. 'Why? Why would they want him dead?' he thought to himself. Nevertheless, it didn't matter anymore. Orders are orders, right? As much as he didn't want to do this, he couldn't disobey his commanders. he stormed out of the bathroom and into the cargo deck, his Five-Seven handgun in hand, ready to get shit done. Over with Kestrel Kestrel was awakened by the sound of a phone call. "Chyort!!?... Archer, answer your com... moy droog," he called out loudly, still feeling a bit sleepy. Upon realizing that Archer was nowhere to be found, Kestrel let out a sigh and stood up, making his way to his partner's OPSAT. As he picked it up and read the message, his eyes widened. "Eliminate Agent Kestrel." Without hesitation, he turned around and headed towards the second floor of the cargo deck, gripping his Five-Seven tightly in his hand. prepared to defend himself against his former ally. He ran behind a large box, taking cover and carefully observing his surroundings. There was no sign of Archer. With caution, he stood up and descended to the first floor, checking every corner closely as he moved. Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past him from behind, narrowly missing its target. Reacting swiftly, he dove behind another large box, seeking shelter from Archer's onslaught of bullets. Once Archer ceased firing, Kestrel emerged from his cover and began shooting rapidly, not bothering to aim precisely. Archer sought refuge behind a wall, taking the opportunity to reload his pistol. From his position of cover, he returned fire. While that was happening, Andriy Kobin, a Ukrainian arms dealer, watched the events unfold from behind a container on the second floor. He reached for his mobile phone and dialed Tom Reed, the director of Third Echelon. "Reed, can you hear me? It's Kobin. Uh, what did you want me to do again?" Kobin asked, his voice tinged with slight nervousness as he forgot his assigned task. "For now, do nothing. Just wait until one of them dies, and then proceed to eliminate the other," Reed explained, his voice coming through the phone. "Okay," Kobin replied, ending the call. Back in the midst of the battle, Archer fired every round he had, while Kestrel remained behind his cover, contemplating an escape from this sticky situation. Unfortunately, Kestrel had run out of ammunition. That's when a brilliant idea struck him: 'I need to take him by surprise. Maybe if I climb up and drop down behind him,' he thought. He looked up and spotted a suitable opening on the second floor. With determination, he jumped up and grabbed hold of the metal fence. Archer ceased shooting and cautiously moved towards his "cornered prey," keeping his gun aimed. Suddenly, he sensed movement behind him and swiftly turned, pulling the trigger. However, he realized his gun was empty. "Crap!" he cursed inwardly. Lifting his gaze from the gun, he saw Kestrel about to strike with his combat knife. Archer swiftly sidestepped to the right, narrowly evading Kestrel's lethal swing. Drawing his own knife, he assumed a battle stance. "Here we go," Archer thought as he began circling his opponent. He possessed skill in knife battles, but Kestrel's years as a Spetsnaz granted him the upper hand. Archer needed to exercise caution and avoid underestimating his adversary. Kestrel patiently waited for Archer to initiate the first move, standing firm and taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Archer finally broke the ice and launched an attack, swinging his knife. Sensing the opening, Kestrel swiftly parried Archer's swing and commenced a relentless assault, continuously attacking while Archer struggled to defend himself. Kestrel had a plan, knowing that fairness had little place in a knife battle when their lives were at stake. So, he delivered a kick to Archer's knee, catching him off guard amidst his attempts to parry. Archer grunted as he absorbed Kestrel's kick, dropping to his knees. This provided Kestrel with a prime opportunity to bring down his adversary. Locking eyes with Archer, Kestrel tackled him to the ground, positioning himself on top and seizing the wrist that held the knife, forcing it to drop. He then unleashed a rapid barrage of punches upon Archer using his free hand. Archer grunted with each blow as Kestrel relentlessly struck his face. When Kestrel finished his assault, he gripped the knife in both hands, attempting to thrust it into Archer's chest. However, Archer swiftly intercepted him by grabbing his wrist, leaving the blade mere inches away from his chest. The two of them clenched their teeth, their eyes locked in a fierce glare. Regrettably for Archer, his struggle for survival proved futile. "Sorry, moy droog," Kestrel uttered, just before forcefully plunging the knife deep into Archer's chest. "GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Archer cried out in agony as the knife impaled him, blood gushing from his mouth and the wound. After a minute or two, Kestrel rose from atop Archer and crouched beside him, breathing heavily, while listening to his partner's agonized groans. Archer struggled to breathe, his labored gasps filled with pain. He looked up at Kestrel, observing the sorrow etched on his face. With his bloody hand, Archer reached out, and Kestrel took hold of it, their eyes locked in a final exchange. "It... it's... how it is, right... moy droog?" Archer spoke, mimicking Kestrel's earlier words. Kestrel nodded, understanding that this was the end. With one last breath, Archer's body went limp. Kestrel let out a sigh and gently closed his deceased friend's eyes. He hadn't wanted this outcome, but he understood the risks they both faced. Overwhelmed by grief, he sat in silence, covering his face with trembling hands and shaking his head. Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind a nearby container, positioning themselves behind Kestrel. Without warning, they aimed their pistol at his head and pulled the trigger... BANG. "Reed, it's done," Kobin, who had shot Kestrel from behind, now spoke with Reed over the phone, reporting his completed task. Reed chuckled on the other end of the call. "Good. It seems you're not as worthless as I thought you were." "Hey, fuck you, man," Kobin retorted, but before he could finish his sentence, he noticed a flicker of electricity surrounding the lifeless bodies of our heroes. "What the fuck!?" he cursed silently in his mind. Taken aback, he took a few steps back as the sparks intensified. Suddenly, the plane began to shake, and the lights on board flickered off. "Holy shit!" After approximately two minutes, a buzzing sound filled the air as a massive orb of electricity materialized and engulfed the bodies. Kobin's eyes widened in disbelief as he witnessed the spectacle. When the orb vanished, everything returned to normal—the lights came back on, and the plane stopped shaking. However... the bodies were nowhere to be seen. "what......the.....fuck?" Kobin muttered, bewildered by what had just transpired. [Location: Canterlot castle, princess Celestia’s royal chambers] [Time: Night] Princess Celestia gazed down at the capital city of her kingdom from the balcony of her chambers. She wore a majestic yellow dress, her glowing mane flowing gracefully as the cold wind brushed against her face. It was a truly magical moment. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the tranquility of the night. After a few seconds, she exhaled and directed her gaze toward the moon. As bedtime approached, she realized it was time to retire and find some rest. Stepping back from the balcony, she reentered her room and gracefully settled onto her bed. Pulling the sheets over herself, she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to gently embrace her as she drifted off into dreams. [castle library] Princess Luna sat on a chair in the royal library, reflecting on the enjoyable time she had spent in the little town of Ponyville two hours ago. Her sister had invited her to join the special celebration known as Nightmare Night, and Luna had gladly accepted the offer, enjoying the company of her little ponies. Now, however, she found herself back at the library, wearing her usual dark blue dress and going through the mundane task of reading letters, most of which came from Canterlot's nobles. It was a tedious job, especially during the nighttime when she had to endure the childish requests of the nobles. One letter caught her attention, sent by her nephew, Blueblood. He complained about a restaurant manager asking him to pay for his meal and expressed his intention to sue them, citing his status as Prince Blueblood and his proximity to the royal family as reasons why no pony should dare ask him to settle his bill. Having finished reading the letters, Luna stood up and stretched before using her magic to teleport to the throne room. Once there, she settled into her throne, leaning back until her head rested against the backrest. Closing her eyes, she sought to relax. Suddenly, she sensed something unusual. Luna employed her magic tracking spell, (a spell that allowed Alicorns and unicorns to detect and locate powerful and unknown magic). Her dark blue horn glowed as she attempted to trace the source of the immense energy she felt. To her surprise, she detected two sources of magic. "Ahhh," she gasped in pain, closing her eyes tighter. It was an incredibly potent force, the likes of which she hadn't experienced before. Luna instinctively held her head in her hands, hoping to ease the pain. After a minute or two, the unknown energies simply vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place. Luna breathed heavily, slowly opening her eyes, standing up and making her way to the balcony of the throne room. Gazing up at the moon, she closed her eyes again and took long breaths, attempting to calm herself. "That's not good," Luna murmured to herself. She couldn't comprehend what kind of magic it was. Her tracking spell had failed to provide answers, leaving her with a sense of urgency to investigate further. However, she knew she needed to inform Celestia before taking any action. Luna decided to wait until morning, as her sister had a hard day and needed some rest. Letting out a sigh, Luna employed her magic to assist her sleeping subjects by tending to their nightmares. She charged her horn, focusing on the spell. With a flash of blue light, she disappeared. Author's Note yeeeee-haaaaaa finally its done. the first chapter is done, phew. now listen, this story is going to be great, just give it a chance okay? Archer (https://splintercell.fandom.com/wiki/Archer) Kestrel (https://splintercell.fandom.com/wiki/Kestrel) Voron (https://splintercell.fandom.com/wiki/Voron) Third Echelon (https://splintercell.fandom.com/wiki/Third_Echelon) Andriy Kobin (https://splintercell.fandom.com/wiki/Andriy_Kobin) words in English: “що це було за біса?” === what the hell was that? in Ukrainian moy droog=== мой друг === my friend in Russian thanks for reading and be ready for the next chapter.(i go to school so it wont be so easy, plz understand me) //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-2: Awakened //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-2: Awakened [Location: Manehatan] [Night] It was a peaceful night in the big city of Manehattan. Most ponies were asleep after a hard day's work; those who were still awake were either guards or those on the night shift. Still, it was a quiet night—almost too quiet. The silence was broken as two balls of energy suddenly appeared in the sky, making a strange "vurrrrr" sound. After a minute or two, both energy balls started moving: one of them went towards Central Park, and the other towards downtown. [Manehatan central park] The first ball of energy that had been directed towards the park crashed into the ground before vanishing. In the midst of the eerie surroundings, a figure lay on the park floor, donning a distinctive outfit that included a mask concealing his face and red, two-lensed monocular sonar goggles over his right eye. Yes, it was Kestrel, but contrary to expectations, he was alive and breathing. He wore his VR SV1 Akula uniform. Suddenly, his eyes shot open wide, and he swiftly sat up, gasping for breath. "Ughhh," he groaned loudly, experiencing the most excruciating headache of his life. The pain was unbearable. Despite the difficulty, he managed to stand up, his head throbbing with agony. He surveyed his surroundings, taking in the sight of trees and grass. Confusion overwhelmed him as he muttered to himself, "Where am I?" Memories of his recent battle with Archer flooded back into his mind, along with the realization that he had killed him in self-defense. But, there was one more memory that resurfaced—he had been shot and.... died. Yes, he remembered it. After a few minutes of contemplation, Kestrel glanced down at himself and noticed he was wearing his uniform. It perplexed him since he had been in his regular clothing on the transport plane. "Strange," he thought to himself. Did someone help him put on the uniform? He stood up and made his way toward a chair that was not too far from him and sat on it, resting his head on the table in front of him. He took off his sonar goggles and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, hoping the pain in his head would end soon. After a minute or two, the pain died down. Kestrel sighed and slowly opened his eyes, removed his head from the table, and leaned back in his seat. Looking around, he realized it was nighttime and he was in a park, which puzzled him. "How did I end up here?" he thought to himself. Wanting answers, he stood up from his seat, put his sonar goggles and headsets back on the right side of hes head, and started jogging, wanting to get out of the park. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something on the ground to his left, hidden in the grass—something shiny. Curiosity got the better of him, and he made his way toward the object. Upon arrival, he crouched down and slowly grabbed the metal object. He picked it up and realized it was his fully upgraded spas-12 shotgun. He examined the weapon and wondered how it had ended up here with him. "This doesn't make sense," he thought. Kestrel examined the weapon, it had a red dot sight on, extended ammo with 12 shells, he pumped the shotgun, to get it ready. Kestrel put the weapon on his back and started walking to find an exit. After a minute or so, he came to a sudden halt when he felt something on his back brushing against the grassy ground. It was... unusual. He looked over his shoulder and looked down; it was... something black and hairy. He touched the strange thing with his hand and realized it was somehow attached to him. Kestrel grasped the thing and gave it a tug. "GAHH!" Kestrel grunted as he gritted his teeth and gave it another tug, which caused him to grunt again. Kestrel stopped tugging on the thing as he felt it twitch. He let go of the hairy object and felt it swish left and right; the problem was that it felt like it was part of his being. Kestrel took off his mask and goggles, and touched his face. "what is going on?" he stammered as he felt his face was in a strange shape. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a pool of water. He quickly ran towards the water and looked down at his reflection; the sight caused him to gasp and go wide-eyed. Staring back at him was the face of a horse-like creature. It had a dark gray coat with a black mane and tail, orange eyes, and a large scar from its left eyebrow all the way to its cheek. The horse guy looked terrified, just like him. He blinked a few times to see if he was seeing things, but it was still there. Fear gripped him, an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. Pure terror consumed his soul. "[Что, черт возьми, со мной случилось!!!!!?]" he yelled, his voice carrying beyond the confines of the park. [downtown Manehatan] The second ball of energy, however, went towards downtown. It made its way above an apartment and disappeared, dropping a figure on the rooftop. I think you know who it is, right? Well, you're right; it's Archer, in his 3E eclipse uniform. He's not aware of it, though; hell, he's not even awake yet. His eyes started twitching beneath his sonar goggles. His goggles were gleaming with green light, unlike Kestrel's, which were red and it was positioned on his left eye. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide, and he sat up, clutching his chest, his breaths coming in short gasps. His chest was in excruciating pain, making breathing difficult. After a few minutes of failed attempts at taking a deep breath, he could feel the pain slowly going away, making breathing much easier. After taking a few deep breaths, Archer opened his eyes and looked around him. It was clear that he was on the rooftop of an apartment in a city, which puzzled him. "What the fuck?" he thought. Archer slowly stood up, examining himself. To his surprise, he was wearing his 3E Eclipse outfit, and he raised an eyebrow at that. He checked himself more carefully and realized he had all his gear: his goggles, OPSAT, gadgets, and his Five-Seven handgun. He was in shock. In the Pelican, he had been in his normal shirt and pants, but now he was in his uniform with all his things. Last but not least, he was in a city, on a rooftop. "Damn," he whispered. He was trying to remember what had happened in the Pelican. He had been ordered by Director Reed to eliminate Kestrel, his Russian friend, but somehow, Kestrel had used his plan against him and shoved a knife into his chest after a fight. Well, that was it; he couldn't remember anything else. Archer decided to leave it at that and try to find out where he was first. He made his way toward the ledge of the rooftop and looked down at the city. First of all, it was nighttime. Second of all, he realized he was in a downtown area or something, judging by the fact that all the apartments were dirty and old. Thirdly—"What the actual fuck!?" Archer exclaimed as he saw something he wouldn't even dream of. Down in the streets stood a figure whose appearance was something that could only be from a little girl's dream. The creature was something like an anthro horse or something like that; it had a yellow coat with a green mane and tail. It looked like a female, a mare to be precise. She was dressed in a pink t-shirt and blue jeans. She looked stressed and kind of scared, glancing side to side to make sure no one was following her. The man began walking, and he decided to follow her, rooftop to rooftop. He was going to climb up to the next flat that was taller than the one he was currently on when suddenly his eyes caught sight of his reflection in a half-broken mirror that was leaning against a wall. Slowly making his way towards the mirror, his heart pounded more rapidly at what he saw—or thought he saw—in the mirror. When he was close enough to the mirror, the sight was something he couldn't believe. It was him, for sure, but his head was in a strange shape, covered by his mask and goggles. He gulped and slowly brought his hand to his head, taking off his mask completely. The sight made him gasp and back away a few steps, eyes wide. In the reflection, just like the horse lady from before, stood a tan-colored horse guy, or stallion, donned in a special uniform. He had dark brown curly hair, or mane, and light brown eyes. Archer felt something on his ass and looked back and down: a tail, a fucking tail. "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Author's Note Sorry for the long long wait, I almost forgot everything. But I managed to write this, don't worry the next chapter will come way sooner. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-3: Reunion //-------------------------------------------------------// Author's Note The next chapter is out, hope ya'll like it. A/N: whenever you see dialogues written in red or green, it means Archer and kestrel are talking in their radio. The colour green for Archer and red for kestrel. Please like and comment, it makes me more confident about this fic and myself as a writer. Chapter-3: Reunion “Did you find it, Blossom?” A frustrated yellow-colored pegasus mare with a gray mane and tail asked a pink unicorn mare who was looking for a book in the bookshelves of Manehattan’s main library and had failed to find it. Blossom looked at her friend and shook her head. “No, Star, I looked at every shelf, but I can’t find it. Ugh, Mrs. Bookmark is gonna kill me,” she said with a facepalm. Star just rolled her eyes and opened the doors to the library. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Let’s just go home; I’m tired.” Blossom looked at her and then at the library. Being a librarian’s assistant meant she had responsibility for all the books, and now one of the most important ones was missing. Equestria’s history book. Blossom sighed and nodded her head, following her friend to the exit door. Star patted her on the back, turned the lights off, and closed the door behind herself. A click could be heard, meaning they had locked the doors. A few minutes passed in the dark and quiet library without anything out of the ordinary until a figure emerged from behind a bookshelf. The blood-red light of his sonar goggles indicated who he was. Kestrel. He managed to get out of the park and check the city he was in. He was pretty shocked to see a few horse people walking around, though it wasn’t that surprising, as he himself was a horse guy now. At first, he had panicked and didn’t know what to do. None of this made any sense. “How did he end up here and in this body?” he didn’t know. He decided to do what was best: gathering information, and the best place for that was the library. After finding the library of this city, which was called “Manehattan” (which made him chuckle at how stupid it was), he sneaked in from the rooftop and managed to find the book he wanted: the history book. But when he was about to leave, those two horse girls—or ponies, as they called themselves—showed up. He hid behind some of the shelves and decided to wait for them to leave. And now, there he was, stealing books from the public library. He left the library the same way he entered and crouched on the floor of the rooftop, opening the book to read about this place. It was labeled “Equestria History,” and he guessed it was the name of the country he was in. Kestrel opened the book and started reading about this strange place. The information he got from the few first sheets was that this Equestria place is populated by three types of ponies: the first being the earth ponies, who have stronger bodies and mostly work on farms. The second tribe is the pegasi (which surprised him). The pegasi are able to fly with their wings and have the ability to control the weather. Last but not least are the unicorns, who have the ability to use magic with their horns. “Hm, magic? That’s just childish,” Kestrel chuckled as he didn’t believe what he was reading, but still, he had a feeling that MAYBE it could be true. The further he read, the more information he gathered. It was written that this place is ruled by two alicorn princesses who are a mix of the three tribes. The older sister, Princess Celestia, is the princess of the sun, and her younger sister, Princess Luna, is the princess of the moon. He saw a picture that looked like yin yang but had a sun and moon in it. (https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fih1.redbubble.net%2Fimage.131083789.9094%2Fbg%2Cf8f8f8-flat%2C750x%2C075%2Cf-pad%2C750x1000%2Cf8f8f8.u2.jpg&tbnid=w5iL__PW9URP9M&vet=1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redbubble.com%2Fi%2Fsticker%2FCelestia-and-Luna-Yin-Yang-by-Aryon86%2F9809094.EJUG5&docid=2cMyGXIWZtb-GM&w=750&h=1000&itg=1&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim%2Fm5%2F2&kgs=6021586cbb3b0c89&shem=abme%2Ctrie) “This night is getting more and more confusing every minute,” he sighed. Just then, Kestrel’s pony ears twitched as he heard his earpiece start to beep, meaning there was somehow someone on the line. He turned the earpiece on and decided to see who it was and where they were. “(Static)..this..(Static)..Agen..t..Arch....(Static)....any..one...cop..y?” Kestrel's ears twitched again as he could make out a few words. His heart started to pound faster, but he kept his poker face beneath his mask. He stood up and put the book on the ground. He grabbed his tactical phone from one of his pockets, turned it on, activated his radar, and tried to find the location of the “man” behind the radio. They weren’t far, only 7 minutes away from where he was; he could easily get to him by rooftop-to-rooftop parkour. So many questions flooded Kestrel’s mind: How was he here? Why is he a humanoid pony? How is he alive? Magic? Pegasi? Alicorn? And, more importantly... How is his American frienemy still alive? There was only one way to find out, so he jumped and climbed his way toward his destination. “This is Agent Archer, anyone copy, over?” Archer said through his earpiece as he finished cleaning his fully upgraded SC3000 that he found lying on the ground. After he panicked by seeing himself as a horse guy, he calmed himself down by organising his gear, to his relif and confusion he had all his gear, rifle, handgun, and all his gadgets. He also moved on from the apartment he used to be on when he first woke up in this place. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember anything after Kestrel shoved his knife in him, how did he end up here? It was all confusing, he thought he would go into hell or heaven after his death, now the question is here, is this hell or heaven? He stood up and put his SC3000 on his back. Put his mask and goggles on and went on the edge of the apartment he was currently on and looked down on the city. Right down there he spot a coffee shop that some of the pony people were in, and looked like a decent place. He still couldn’t believe what he was seeing, anthro ponies with wings and horns, it was all unheard of. He wouldn’t mind a hot coffee right about now but going there looking like this was the stupidest thing to do. He just decided to wait until morning. He took out his tactical mobile phone and turned it on to play afew games he have secretly downloaded. Just then Archer saw the GPS logo in the screen is flickering, he pressed it to enter the radar. Once in, his eyes widened as the radar was showing a red dot right above a green dot that was himself. He looked up and saw a figure jumping him. He quickly rolled to the side, dodging the death from above. Archer had no time to recover as the assailant kicked him in the chest. Archer grunted as he crashed to a pile of crates. He looked up and saw the attacker about to punch him, he pulled he’s head out of the way, causing the fist to punch the wall behind him, leaving a mark. This gave Archer a chance, he brought his elbow up and hit it on the assailant’s arm, then elbowing his face, causing him to back away and grunt in pain. Archer then did a roundhouse kick on his head, staggering him and then tackled the attacker to the ground, pulled his gun out and aimed it at him while sitting above him. “Wha..what the? Kestrel?” Archer stammered as he finally could get a good look at his attacker. He could say it was Kestrel from his attire, the uniform, the mask and the two lighted red sonar goggle on his right eye. But he’s body looked like a anthro pony, just like him, but with black tail and... Kestrel looked up at Archer with a glare before kicking him in the crotch, causing Archer to groan and collapsing on the ground beside him. Archers armor took most of the damage but it was still painful. Kestrel quickly straddled him and grabbed him by the neck, not hard enough to choke him but still hard. “You Backstabbing Amarican” Kestrel growled “what are you doing here?” He demanded. Yup, the guff, scratchy, Russian accented voice, this guy IS Kestrel " Ughhh, i could ask you the same question, chief” Archer groaned. Kestrel squeezed his throat a bit harder “Dont. Call. Me. Chief " he growled again “how are you still alive? I thought i killed you” “Hehe, well im just built different....CHIEF” Archer laughed, smiling and winking at him with his right eye. Kestrel gritted his teeth but shoved him on the ground and released him then stood up. Archer gasped a little but stood up as well, massaging his neck a bit “man, they said russians are good at choking, looks like they were right” Archer said. “And they said Amaricans are not to be trusted, that was true as well” Kestrel said while looking at Archer with a small glare beneath his mask while aiming his pistol at him. Archer sighed, shaking his head “you know it better ‘orders are orders’ i didn’t wanted to do that but, heh, i had no other choice ” Archer shrugged, keeping a warm smile beneath his mask. Moments passed until Kestrel slowly lowered his gun, remembering that Archer was indeed following orders " maybe your right ” Kestrel said “but that doesn’t mean i trust you” he finished. “Heh,me, neither” Archer said as he crossed his arms “hey, let me see your face, haven’t seen you in your horse form” he asked. Kestrel chuckled softly and prossed to take off he’s mask and goggle, Archer did the same, showing each others faces. Kestrel was a stallion with dark gray fur with short black mane and tail with dark orange eyes, while Archer had tan collored fur with dark brown mane and tail with brown eyes. “(Whistle) you look good, chief” Archer said. Kestrel rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject to the important matter “do you know anything about this place” he asked. Archer became serious as well and shook his head “no, you?” For the next 4 minutes, Kestrel told Archer everything he knew and found out from the history book. “She raises the sun all by herself? Well this is just total bullshit” "I know, but right now we can expect everything from this....new world" Archer nodded, he’s hands on his hips and looked down on the streets. “Hey, look” Archer said as he pointed down on the streets. Kestrel looked where Archer had pointed and saw a pony mare and something that looked like a Griffon male coming out of the cafe. But something was off with the Griffon, because the pony mare looked like she was stressed and nervous while the Griffon looked angry and was forcing the mare somewhere as he was gripping her arm tight. Archer rememberd this mare, she was the pony he first saw when he have woke up in this place. “We should follow them” Kestrel said as he put his mask and goggles on. Archer nodded and did the same thing. Our joint operators were yet again together, ready to kill anyone who stands on their way. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-4: Griffon cartel //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter-4: Griffon cartel https://img.youtube.com/vi/bDcI6ntpplQ/mqdefault.jpg “Is everything ready Raven claw?” A middle aged Griffon male asked a young griffon who was carrying a crate full of stuff to a large cargo carriage. Once done he closed the backdoor of the carriage and turned to his boss” Almost done boss, just afew more crates” Raven claw said blankly,the lead Griffon nodded, pleased. They were in an old, abandoned warehouse, along with them there were eight more Griffons, four who helped with carrying the crates to the carriages and the other four guarding the place, two inside and two on the rooftop. Also two bulky minotaurs to carry the two carriages. “Come on you worthless sacks of dung, hurry the hay up” the lead Griffon ordered to two of his men that were talking to each other, the two Griffons grumbled and both picked a heavy crate up. “Oof, Wonder what is inside these that makes them so heavy " the first one said as he picked the crate up. “Heh, feathers” the second Griffon answered as he too picked a crate up and walked towards the carriage. The first Griffon looked at he’s friend in confusion and shock as he raised an eyebrow “feathers? Are ya kidding?” He said. “Nope, its mostly feathers, but what is important is the stuff hidden UNDER the feathers” the second Griffon said as he chuckled " your new in this line of work rooki, you’ll learn soon” he finished. The rooki just rolled his eyes and continued on doing what he was told. Minutes passed until there was a knock at the backdoors of the warehouse " i got it” Raven claw said as he stayed in front of the door “identify yourself” he demanded to the one on the other side. “Avalcha-maghicha” the guy on the other side of the metal door said what was supposed to be their password. Raven opened the locks and the door as he knew it was one of their own. When the door was fully opened there was another Griffon on the other side, older and taller, in a black jacket and jeans, looking down on Raven claw with a smile, his hands raised in a hug manner “hey little bro, missed me?” he said to Raven who simply looked at his older brother with not so much interest. “Not much, Eagle claw” he said to his brother with a bit of venom in his voice. Eagle frowned at that and lowered his arms. Since when they were kids, Eagle claw would run with bullies and bad boys of the neighbourhood and when they grew up, he made a bad decision and joined the Griffon cartel which in result they lost their father to a heart stroke. He had a weak heart and the news about his child joining the cruelest criminal group of the world was too much for him. And Raven claw had no other choice but to join them too. “Come on bro, cheer up, look what I found” Raven looked behind his brother and what he saw made his eyes widen. Standing right behind Eagle claw was a young earth pony mare with yellow coat and green mane and tail dressed in a pink t-shirt and blue jeans. She was blindfolded and couldn’t see anything and was shivering. Raven looked up at Eagle, asking “what did you do?” The older Griffon looked confused “ahhh, just get in fast” the younger brother said as he opened the door wide enough and stepped aside. Eagle claw grasped the blindfolded mares arm and got her inside. Raven closed and locked the door behind them, not knowing that they were all going to die tonight.....most of them. Up on the rooftop of the apartment beside the warehouse stood two individuals that we all know. “So, what do you think chief?” Archer asked Kestrel as he looked at him before he continued " got any plans? " Kestrel was thinking about a good plan for this, he activated his sonar goggles, seeing everything with heat vision and black and white, he counted twelve individuals inside the warehouse and two on the rooftop, guarding the place. He spotted a door on the rooftop that supposedly leads to the warehouse. They had to enter the warehouse quietly or else the criminals might hurt the pony mare, he came up with a good plan that might work. “First, we take out those two and then enter the building from that roof-- door over there” he pointed at the roof door as he explained his plan “once we are inside, hunting session begins” he finished explaining. Archer nodded his head rather mockingly, as he had came up with the same plan “great, so what are we waiting for?” He said as he did the ‘welcom, please enter’ gesture and laughed a little. Kestrel rolled his eyes and prossed to jump on the shorter building, Archer did the same. https://img.youtube.com/vi/7oY0oG_KoMY/mqdefault.jpg They both landed on the rooftop and crouched, Kestrel pointed to the Griffon on the right side of the building, Archer nodded as he made his way towards the Griffon while Kestrel prossed to take out the one on the left. “Ughhh, i need a vacation” the Griffon on the left yawned. Kestrel was right behind his target, so was Archer. Kestrel brought his right hand up and then turned it into a fist, signaling his Partner. He rose up from his crouching state and put his hand firmly on the Griffon’s beak who tried to shout but it was all in vain, Kestrel took out his pistol out of its holster and put it on the Griffon’s back. “Spend your vacation in hell” Kestrel growled silently as he pulled the trigger twice, shooting two rounds from his silencered pistol. The griffon made a silent groan as his eyes widened a second, he hadn’t felt this much pain before and had a hard time registering what have just happened. His body started to go limp until he finally was nothing but a corpse. First act of murder in a long time of equestria. Kestrel looked at where Archer was and saw he have done his part as well, as the other Griffon was on the floor, completely motionless, Archer have quietly snapped his neck. Second act of murder. “Lets go, chief” Archer said through the radio. Kestrel dropped the dead Griffon’s body and made his way towards the roof-door, they both silently entered the warehouse. When they were in, the warehouse seemed empty and outdated. They descended the stairs more and this time, they had a better look at everything inside the building. There were afew broken crates and barrels here and there, rusted pipes and all, but what really caught their attention was the people inside, there were twelve individuals as have forseen, 9 Griffons, two tall bull like creatures, that they presumed were minotaurs, and a single pony mare, the one that they were here to save. The mare was tied to a chair and was shivering in fright. All the criminals were gathered around the mare as a middle aged Griffon, who our heros presumed was the boss was on eye level with her, looking at her with a smirk. “Well, im gonna ask you a question that you are all too familiar with, miss Apple seed,” the lead Griffon said as he bent closer to the mare’s green eyes " did you got the money you borrowed from our boss?” He whispered that part. “Dont kill that one, his mine” “Copy that” They were both in the dark corners of the warehouse, trying to hide themselves and find a good spot to take them all out at the fastest way possible. “I appreciate what you did tonight, Eagle claw” the leader said, making the ponynapper Griffon smile in pride, “BUT” his smile faded “it was very stupid, what if somepony saw you forcing this mare here? What if you were followed?” The leader said with a glare at the younger Griffon who bent his head low. While the criminals were arguing, our heros have successfully found a great spot to ambush them. The Amarican was standing at the top of many large crates that have been put there like a tower, his years of training made him good at balancing himself. While the Russian climbed up from a pipe and was by now right above the crowd of criminals, hugging the pipe tight with his left arm and both legs, while he aimed his gun at the crowd bellow. “Do you have any idea what will sir clawmark do to those who make mistakes like these, huh?” The leader continued to shout at Eagle claw who stayed silent, even at the last moments of his life. “Ready?” “Affirmatived” Archer started taking deep breaths, just like Kestrel, they only had to take out ten, the leader was needed and the mare was not to be harmed. Archer aimed his SC3000 while Kestrel aimed his Five-Seven. “One” “I must say your in lots of trouble, you worthless orphan” the leader shouted. “Hey, you take that back” Raven interfered, taking his older brothers side. “Two” “You shut your beak, kid” ‘I’ll make you suffer’ Kestrel though to himself. “Three” Archer shouted as he jumped down from the crate tower and shot afew rounds of he’s rifle, Kestrel did the same and shot two bullets of he’s handgun and jumped down to tackle the lead Griffon. The criminals had no time to react as two of their Griffons had holes in their heads and three Griffons were injured. When Archer jumped down from the crate tower the force he’s pony hoovs made caused all the crates to shake and fall down on the criminals, creating a distraction that bought the agents some time. The screams and shouts of the cartel members filled the room, some in shock some in pain. Archer rolled on the ground and aimed his weapon at a Griffon that was about to stand up after he was knocked down in the midst of the chaos, the Griffon saw Archer and he’s eyes widened and brought he’s hands or claws or talons, whatever, up in a surrender manner but Archer wasn’t the type who takes prisoners, he opened fire, the bullets piercing the Griffon’s flesh and made him scream before he crashed on the ground, dead. “G-ge-get o-off of me, h-he-help” the lead Griffon stammered as he stared up at the tall and muscular pony in the strange uniform that have tackled him, the red light of the pony’s strange eye device and seeing half of he’s face that was glaring down at him, made the Griffon leader shiver in terror. Kestrel glared and brought his hands up and punched the Griffon under him, hard, knocking him unconscious, “i will deal with you soon” Kestrel Growled to the unconscious lead bird, as he stood up. (A/N: since Kestrel is a Russian, his voice is guff and scrachy, so whenever his talking to his enemies hes voice sounds like his growling, to make them be afraid of him, im not making things up, if you played splinter cell conviction co’op, youl know) “D-don’t m-move” Kestrel looked over his shoulder to see a wounded griffon with a handcrossbow who had tears coming down he’s eyes as a bullet have pierced through his shoulder. The Griffon didn’t know what it was that they used against him, but if it was dangerous enough to kill three of his friends, he was truly scared for his life, he never saw or heard anypony even talking about killing, yet these two intimidating pony Stallions killed three of his friends without a second thought. With hesitation the Griffon pulled the trigger of his crossbow, shooting a bolt. Faster than a rabbit Kestrel turned around completely, grabbing his pistol, crouching and shooting a round, dodging the bolt and Killing the Griffon, four down, six to go. “Ahhhhhhh” there was a roar as one of the minotaurs came out of the crates that have drooped on him. Kestrel looked at where he was and saw the minotaur standing with a glare, the minotaur scoffed and started running towards him with a battle cry. Kestrel holstered his gun and waited for the right moment, then, he dashed towards the upcoming minotaur and when he was close enough he slid under the bulls legs and kicked him in the nuts, causing the big boy to drop on he’s knees, clutching his crotch. Kestrel used this as the opportunity to kill the minotaur, the bull was taller than him for sure, even when he was on on his knees, so Kestrel jumped on his back, grabbed his head with both hands and twisted it to the side. There was a “Snap” as the black minotaur dropped dead. “A message from Voron” Kestrel said to the dead minotaur. Kestrel looked to where Archer was fighting the other minotaur, and saw that two of the remaining Griffons have got Archers arms while the bull was punching him in the gut. “Ooof, hehe, is that all you've got you weak piece of shit” Archer laughed as the minotaur punched him again. “You’ve got a dirty mouth for a pony” the minotaur said, making Archer laugh much to the bull's confusion. “Ohh, you dont know a damn thing about us, chief” Archer laughed mockingly. As the light brown minotaur was about to punch him again, he was suddenly stopped as he felt a sticky liquid splash on his face. He coughed a bit as some of it had got in his mouth, he put he’s hands on his face and looked at it “wha-what the?!” He looked at the two Griffons that were supposed to hold the pony in strange uniform in place and saw blood coming out of a hole that was on their heads. They both crashed on the ground giving Archer the freedom he needed. Archer jumped and kneed the minotaur on his jaw, knocking afew teeth out. The bull backed away and Archer jumped on his chest, brought out he’s knife and slashed it at the big guy’s throat. "From Amarica with love, Asshole" Archer said as the minotaur gurgled on his own blood and tried to cover the wound, Archer kicked him in the chest, making him crash on the ground, dead. Archer looked at where kestrel was and saw him looking at him with his armes crossed. “What? Everybody makes mistakes sometimes ” he argued, Kestrel rolled his eyes beneath his mask. As they both stayed there at the center of the bloodshed, a whimper caught their attention. They both looked and saw the mare on the chair looking at them with wide eyes. When their eyes dropped on her she did a silent scream from the gag that was on her muzzle and cried, tears coming down her green eyes, squirming to try and free herself. The sight made The agents hate themselves a little bit, they both approached the tied up mare much to her discomfort. Archer put a hand on her shoulder to calm Her down. “Easy, easy ma’am, were not going to hurt you” he got the gag out of her muzzle “just take some deep breaths, relax, were not here to hurt you” he assured her. This somehow made the mare calm down a bit, as she stared up at the stallion with the green lighted thingy on his left eye. “You are safe now miss, we are here to save you” she turned to Kestrel and shivered a bit, his voice was more rough than calming. Archer looked at Kestrel and waved his hand in a “Stop” manner. Kestrel just stood there, letting Archer do all the work. “Ughhh” Kestrel turned to the source of the groan and saw the lead Griffon slowly waking up, this brought a light smirk to the Russian agents pony muzzle. https://img.youtube.com/vi/mIt0v2Cboo8/mqdefault.jpg “About time your awake” Kestrel’s voice brought the Griffon to all his senses, as he looked up at him in alarm. Upon seeing the mysterious, terrifying stallion standing not too far from him, the leader looked around himself and saw that all of his men were on the floor motionless with blood all around. The griffon crawled away as he saw Kestrel slowly coming towards him. The griffon slowly stood up and brought his claw-hands up in a vain attempt to defend himself “D-don’t come a-any closer” he stammered as he felt a wall behind him. When Kestrel was close enough the Griffon threw a punch, but Kestrel quickly ducked under the punch and grabbed the Griffon by his throat, squeezing hard, pushing him on the wall. “Okay criminal dog, time for a walk” Kestrel growled as he was in the Griffon’s face. “What were you and your thugs doing here? Tell me” Kestrel asked, coldly. The Griffon just looked at him with a fake glare to make himself look like he wasn’t scared. “B-buck you, i-im not telling you anything” he gasped as Kestrel squeezed harder. Kestrel just glared harder beneath his mask and goggle “Wrong answer” he growled. He then punched the Griffon,a hook to the right then left then headbutted him, breaking his beak. “Now tell me, what were you doing here? Who are you working for?” Kestrel asked again. “Aghhhh, we were here to (cough) extract a cargo full of drugs out of the city (cough) thats it, i swear” the beaten up Griffon confessed. This wasn’t enough for Kestrel so he repeated his second question. " Who ordered you?, who are you working for?” The Griffon shook he’s head “i.i don’t work for anyone, i swear " The Griffon said. Kestrel chuckled coldly and shook his head. He kicked the Griffon to the side of his ankle and released him, causing the lead Griffon to drop to the ground with a scream of pain, when he was on all fours, Kestrel brought his right hoof up and kicked it at the side of the Griffon’s head, smashing his head against the wall, before picking him from the floor “You want me to rip your tongue out of your mouth? If not, you better answer my question truthfully, сука” he whispered, although he said the last word louder. “Ahhhhh(cough), okay, okay, i’ll tell you, his name is Clawmark, the leader of the biggest cartel in the world. I wouldn’t mess with him if i was you, even your princesses haven’t (cough)found a way to find and stop him, he is supported by king Grover” the Griffon said. Kestrel looked back at Archer and the Mare he was trying to calm “why did you kidnapped her?” Kestrel asked the Griffon who looked at the mare. “She, she borrowed some bits from us long ago and we(cough) have warned her to bring us back our money, but she wouldn’t, so we wanted to take what we wanted in another way” Kestrel gritted he’s teeth and squeezed the lead Griffon’s neck hard enough to choke him to death. Finally the lead Griffon’s eyes started closing as he’s body went limp, Kestrel dropped the corpse to the floor. Kestrel took afew deep breaths before addressing hes partner “Okay, Archer lets Leav-” Kestrel was cut off by someone’s voice who was talking with a speaker, outside. “THIS PLACE IS SURROUNDED BY THE ROYAL GUARD, EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMIDIATLY” Archer looked at Kestrel and Kestrel looked at him” shit, we need to leave now” Archer said, Kestrel nodded in response. “I think she will be safe here, lets go” Kestrel said as he proceed to leave the warehouse the same way they have entered, Archer followed behind. Minutes later the large double doors of the warehouse swung open and a large numbers of the Equestrian royal guard entered. Author's Note Tell what you think in the comments and share this story to your friends, it will give me the energy I need. Tell me so far, who is your favourite character Kestrel or Archer