Vanhoover, Cosmo’s Loft
Cosmo

There really wasn’t much else to say after the morning trip to Canterlot. Archer and Trixie had both been quiet the whole ride back, and remained wordless on the trip up the elevator back to the loft. It’s almost like I said something wrong. We finally made it to the door with still no words out of either of them. Are they mad?

I didn’t have to open the door; Sky took care of that for me. “Inside, now.” She practically dragged me by the collar into the loft and shoved me down on the couch. I looked around and realized that Sky had been busy. The coffee table had a number of manila folders strewn about and a board with a number of pictures pinned to it had been rolled into the room.

“Everyone here?” Asked some onxy-coated stallion.

“Just waiting on Phalanx.” Sky said. “Anyway, Cosmo this is Sombra. I called him in to help us with De Witt.”

“I’m sorry, but Sombra?” I asked. “As in that nutcase who the Princess let run around looking for a bunch of crystals?”

The stallion rolled his eyes. “I prefer the term reformed, thank you very much.”

“Whatever. What the hell is this all about?”

“You friend De Witt.” Sombra stated. “I’ve had my dealings with him during my search for the pieces of Princess Amore, so that makes me one of the best you have at your disposal to bring him down.”

“Then elaborate!” Off to the side Phalanx had slipped in and was remaining silent.

Sombra nodded and walked over to the board, slapping a picture of a burnt out mansion. “This is the aftermath of an attack by Blaze Squad roughly a decade ago. From what files I read Dusk and one of his new recruits, Steeljack, went on what is classified in their files as an reconnaissance operation.” He then motioned to a picture of a group of mares in a hospital. “It was discovered that he had a number of Equestrian civilians in his employ, all of them against their will. By the end of the night the villa had been torched, a number of the guards were dead, the servants returned to Equestrian territory, and the more interesting fact. De Witt was reported dead by the recruit that was with Dusk from a bullet wound to the face.”

“That sounds familiar.” I mumbled.

“I'm not surprised you think that with the recent events surrounding General Wind.” Sombra said.

“You sure that report is accurate?” Phalanx asked. “I never heard anything about De Witt getting killed in a raid.”

“So we have no solid explanation as to why he’s still kicking.” I added. “There has to be some sort of club for this.”

“Club for what?” Trixie asked.

“The ‘Dead-But-Not-Really’ club.” I snipped. “First there was Meteor Shower, then Dusk, then his parents, followed by Sky and Phalanx. Unless I missed something, dead is supposed to be dead.”

“You’ll find no arguments from me.” Sombra assured. “But the fact remains that De Witt survived his encounter with the recon team.”

“Then where is he hiding now?” Trixie asked.

Sombra moved aside to reveal a map with some photographs pinned to it. “The island of Carniola. Conveniently the home port of his cargo ships.”

“I had Spirit of Fire send out a recon flight, and they have confirmed that the present course will take those ships right to Carniola.” Sombra passed me a folder that he had on the top of the TV stand next to him. “Aside from the food supply, De Witt is the reason that Carniola even has a functioning economy. While the businesses are all privately owned he’s the sole customer for many of them, ranging from gunsmiths to carpenters and contractors.”

“How the hell did do all this?” Phalanx asked. “De Witt was always in the country when I needed something. If I asked, he was with me within half an hour. And you’re telling me he’s holed up on an island more than a day away?”

We were all silent as the point that Phalanx made sunk in. Me? I was racking around my head for a possible explanation. “What about Changelings?” Cloud asked. “He had at least one working for him when we rescued Palmer. Maybe he had others going around disguised as him.”

“It’s a valid theory, but we’d need more information to either prove or debunk it.” Sombra retorted. “Now if you find a Changeling willing to confirm your idea, feel free to prove me wrong. But they’re a secretive species as a whole and I highly doubt that one will openly communicate with you regarding the activities of its kind.”

"So that idea's out. We'll just have to roll in and hope we don't get blindsided." I said.

"With who?" Palmer asked. "The recruits?"

“You honestly think I want to take a bunch of greenhorns with me?” I asked. "I can have a platoon of marines here in an hour."

“Need I point out the obvious?” Phalanx asked. “We go in with regulars and we’re opening the door to a war with Griffany. We'd still be invading their territory, whether they have control there or not.”

“That’s assuming we don’t get their permission first.” I retorted. “Sombra, you obviously have some sort of contacts. Think you can get me into a meeting with the Griffin Prime Minister?”

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”

I leaned over the coffee table and sifted through some of the pictures. A handful of them were ponies. “These ponies associates of De Witt?” Sombra nodded out of the corner of my eye. “Alright. Cloud, Phalanx and Sky, go to Canterlot and see if they can help identify some of these ponies. If we're lucky one'll talk if we squeeze him right.”

“What about you?” Cloud asked.

I shrugged. “Gotta make myself presentable.” And make sure my suit still fits. Damn, the things I do for work…

______________________________________________________________________________

Canterlot Castle, Three Hours Later
Cloud

Two hours. That’s how long we’ve been in Canterlot. In that time we’ve been told to go home, kicked out of the Guard office when we walked in, and the Princess has been in some sort of national security meeting. Long story short, we’ve gotten nowhere.

We were sitting outside in the garden examining the photos ourselves, but without more information to go on… “Fuck, this is hopeless.” Phalanx groaned. I’m inclined to agree with him. But as I stared at this one picture of a brown-coated stallion, I couldn’t help but think he looked familiar.

“So just another day in paradise.” Sky retorted. She finally noticed me staring at the picture I was holding. “Something up Cloud?”

I just bobbed the picture around in my grip before putting it down on the bench with the others. “I swear I’ve seen that one somewhere. Just can’t put my-”

“Surprise!” I heard someone yell as I was wrapped in a bear hug. Shit, I forgot all about my parents. “I was starting to think you forgot all about us.” My mother said.

“Just busy Mom.” I said. I glanced over at the picture before grabbing it. “Hey, does this guy look familiar?”

Mom just blanched when she saw the picture before she snatched it from my grip. “Sail! Sail, you need to see this!” She started yelling. She finally saw my father at the door to the garden and ran over to him, pointing hurriedly at the picture. He had a similar reaction.

“That doesn’t look good.” Phalanx muttered. “You said you think you recognize that pony?”

I nodded. “And if both of my parents recognize that stallion…” I elected to shut up as my parents walked over with worried looks plastered across their faces.

“Cloud… Where did you get this?” Dad asked.

“He’s a suspect we’re investigating for connections to organized crime.” Phalanx said. “Beyond that we can’t say much more.”

I just shrugged. “What he said.”

Mom and Dad exchanged looks before Mom knelt down in front of me. “Do you remember when Dart was taken?”

Wait, Dart’s kidnapping? Think Cloud, think. There were a bunch of stallions in masks, but one… Holy shit. “That’s him.” I muttered. “That’s the ringleader.”

“So this guy was working for that Gryphon… What was his name again, De Witt?” Dad asked.

“Wait, who’s your sister again?” Phalanx asked.

“Dart. Her name is Dart.” I said with a sigh. “Special Forces operator, certified badass? Damn… How’d I forget that Dusk and Steeljack were the ones who rescued her?”

“I really don’t think it matters.” Sky added. “We know who we’re looking for and he obviously has a link to De Witt. We find him, getting intel on De Witt becomes far easier.”

“I thought that Griffon piece of shit was dead.” Dad said.

“Trust me, he isn’t.” Phalanx assured. “Alright, we’ve been stonewalled long enough. Right?”

“Right.” I said.

“Then it’s high time that we get a private meeting with Captain Sentry.”

I can’t help but agree as I followed Phalanx into the palace and down the hall in a brief walk to the Guard office. I cut in front at the last minute and threw the door open, the silence broken by glass of a picture frame behind the door shattering at the impact. “Captain!” I yelled. “We need to talk.”

The Captain, understandably, didn’t come out of his office. Instead a disturbingly familiar face stepped out and walked over. “Something I can do for you folks?”

I looked back down at the picture in my hand and chuckled. “This has to be a fucking sign or something.” Off to the side I heard Sky click off the safety on her pistol. I tossed the picture of the guard down on the receptionist’s desk. “You’ve got a lot to answer for you fucker.”

“Shit…” The Guard muttered. In that brief moment I saw something akin to fear in his eyes before he rushed forward and grabbed me. I felt some pressure on my arm as he turned me around and used me as a shield. “Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

“Well you found some anyway.” Phalanx said.

I felt the Guard try to bend my lower arm as he put his weight into it. I think he’s trying to break it… Wait, that isn’t gonna work. Augmentations, who’d of thought they’d be of more value? “What the hell are you made of?” The guard muttered.

“Not a clue.” I retorted. “But payback’s a bitch.” I dropped to my knees and felt the Guard start to topple forward. With a roll and a wrench of his arm he flew across the office and smacked into the wall with a resounding crack.

“Holy shit, where’d you learn how to do that?” I heard my mother ask.

Again, no clue. Not that it matters because that bastard is already back on his feet. I rushed forward and it was almost like time started to slow down a bit. I saw the sweat on that Guard’s brow, his muscles on his right arm start to tense as he reared back to throw a punch and the look of unbridled rage in his eyes. As his arm began to swing I ducked around it before bashing his elbow up with a resounding snap and his screaming. But I blocked it out as I threw two quick punches to his chest and the following cracks of breaking ribs as I forced him back into the wall. “De Witt, where is he!” I screamed.

“I don’t know. Why the hell you asking me?” The Guard grunted.

I threw a punch and smacked the wall next to his head, shattering the drywall that lined the room. “WHERE IS HE?” Still nothing, so I threw another punch and blew a hole through the wall on the other side of his head. “WHERE IS HE!?!?”

“Cloud, calm the fuck down!” Phalanx yelled as he tried to rip me away from the Guard.

I shook him off and bashed the Guard’s forehead. “Last chance.” I muttered.

"I'd recommend talking. There's no telling how long we'll be able to keep our friend here in check." Sky said. Holy shit, she's playing the good cop.

“He never leaves Carniola.” The Guard sputtered. “For years he’s had Changelings disguised as him go out to hand down the orders.”

“What hive?” Phalanx asked.

“They don’t have a hive. They’re castoffs that couldn’t be fed.”

“Why use doubles?” I asked, forcing the stallion further up the wall.

“He got shot in the face years ago during some raid on his old compound. He’s been paralyzed from the waist down since then.”

“Thank you.” I grabbed the Guard’s muzzle and pulled him towards me before I forced his head back into the wall to knock him out. “I’ll go grab my gear.”

“What?” Sky asked.

“You heard me.” I retorted as I walked across the hall to the armory. “Now where is it…” I finally spotted the grey sheet on the far wall and strode over to pull it off. Under it was the armor that the humans had given me. The visor didn’t have a scratch, and the paint still had that glossy sheen.

“You have a plan to get to Carniola?” Phalanx asked.

I grabbed the undersuit and pulled it on before hitting the breaker to power up the armor rack. “I’ve got an idea.”

“And what about Cosmo? Don’t you think it would be wise to wait and see what the Griffons say?”

“Look, just trust me.” I felt the last of the armor latch into place. “We’re just gonna go have a quick talk with the Princess.” I spotted a rifle on the wall and grabbed it and five clips before packing the clips into their new homes, and latching the rifle to my back.

The walk to the throne room wasn’t a long one, not that I paid any attention. That didn’t change as I kicked the door open and blew right into the middle of that same meeting that the Princess was in when we first got here. Oh and I found Captain Sentry. “You know we’re busy.” Snorted an older looking human, decked out in an Equestrian Navy uniform.

“At ease Captain.” The Princess assured. “Don’t worry Cloud, we’ve been discussing De Witt and his holdout on Carniola all morning.”

Alright, now it;s “Come again?”

The Princess nodded and motioned for the table. “Have a look.”

I finally noticed that Phalanx had followed me when he walked up to the table and picked up a newspaper. “Carniola Falls…” He read. “Local insurgents take control of outlying Griffon territory.”

“We finally decided to offer Griffany our support.” The Princess added. “Captain Baxter is to take the Paris to Carniola to aid in the liberation of the island.”

“Of course we don’t have much to spare.” The Captain added. “We’re keeping Spirit of Fire out of this one, only because it doesn’t involve the UNSC. And after our losses at Dodge City and here in Canterlot…”

“Only one of the two Ranger companies is combat ready after that ass-kicking we took. We’ve got a platoon of Marines we’ve pulled from the reserves, and two combat-strength Special Forces squads. All said, we’ve got just under three hundred thirty ground troops.” Captain Sentry added. “Additionally our intelligence shows that De Witt has a battalion-size force at his disposal with three separate support companies maintaining and constructing their defenses.”

“Long story short, we’re at nearly a three to one disadvantage.” The Captain finished. “And we still don't have Paris at peak operating status after ONI's attack a few days ago. Those guns they have on the beach are liable to cut us to bits."

“So it’s a crapshoot.” Phalanx muttered. “What if told you lot that Cosmo is already on his way to meet with the Griffon prime minister?”

“It’ll mean that we need to be ready to roll once we get the green light.” Captain Sentry noted. “Captain Baxter, prepare the assault force.”

I stayed silent as the meeting broke up and the officers all left, bar Captain Sentry and the Princess. “Something on your mind Cloud?” She asked.

“Princess Celestia…” I mumbled. “I found the stallion who kidnapped my sister.”

She nodded. “I’ll see what we can do to find him Cloud.”

“He already found him.” Phalanx said, tossing the picture down on the table. “He was working for you.”

“Shit, that’s Caliper.” I heard the Captain swear.

“You’ll find him in your office Captain, a bit beaten but he’s still there.” Phalanx said. “That isn’t even the best part… You two have time for a story?”

______________________________________________________________________________

Stuttgart, Griffany
Cosmo

“I still don’t know how you got me in here this quickly.”

Sombra shrugged. “Prime Minister Galland owes me a favor.”

“For what exactly?” Trixie asked.

“I did say I’ve had dealings with De Witt before, didn’t I?”

That answers that… The door finally swung open and one of the guards led us into the office. I’ll admit, it’s kinda swanky in here. “Sombra!” I finally noticed the old Gryphon, the feathers upon his head starting to turn grey with age.

“Good to see you again Galland.” Sombra motioned to us. “Anyway, this is Cosmo and Trixie.”

The Gryphon nodded and motioned to a set of couches off to the side. “Can I get you or your friend something to drink?”

“Galland…” Sombra muttered.

“I take it that this isn’t a courtesy call then.” The Gryphon said with a sigh. “So what’s the situation then?”

“Does the name De Witt sound familiar?” I asked.

Galland looked surprised for a brief moment before he made for the door. “Come. The War Council is meeting right now regarding our friend.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” I muttered as the Prime Minister lead us across the hall to a meeting room.

“Gentlemen.” He said to the Generals around the table. “It appears we’re not the only ones having issues with De Witt.”

“Well they’ll have to wait their turn.” The older of the Generals barked. “We have enough of a headache in Carniola as it is. We don’t need Celestia’s dogs humping our legs.”

I just rolled my eyes. “Hate to break it to you General, but he’s been our problem longer.” I pulled a copy of Dusk’s old report out from my coat and tossed it on the table. “He enslaved our people, kidnapped one of our soldiers at Midlothian and tortured him, and is the primary source of weapons and drugs flowing into Vanhoover, with his agents acting as brokers. What’s he done to you?”

“He’s destroyed ships in our navy, killed almost a thousand of our sailors and has turned Carniola into his own personal fortress.” The General insisted. “It’s an internal matter.”

“Then lucky for you we’re not Celestia’s dogs.” Sombra added. “To my knowledge she doesn’t even know we’re here.”

“But she knows about the situation.” Galland said. “She’s already been questioning our ambassador. We gave her what information we have in an attempt to persuade her to allow us to handle the situation ourselves… We’re just not sure how long that’ll last.”

“Buddy, I’m a merc… Sort of.” Well, it’s not a lie. “I’ve got enough resources to arm a platoon of soldiers and keep them supplied for months. And if you doubt my experience I’m sure by now you’ve all seen the reports on the siege at Dodge City by the Enclave and their former allies from ONI.”

There were some brief glances between the Generals before the senior one finally looked at me. “You were in Dodge City?”

“Oversaw the operations of the Ranger Corps personally while serving as the second in command to General Meteor Shower.” I just can’t help but smirk. “What do you have for experience. A few border skirmishes?”

“We were all at Midlothian.” Galland muttered. “At the time all of us were serving under De Witt, so we all know first-hand as to the capabilities of General Shower.”

“I will be blunt. We’re of him, but that’s only because we’ve been on opposite sides of the field over the course of our careers.” The General said. “But if you were considered good enough to be hired specifically to serve as his understudy during that shitshow at Dodge City, you have the same respect I afford the good General.”

“And if my friend here is vouching for you, I'd be stupid to deny you a favor." Galland cocked his eyebrow at me and smirked. "So what is it you want from us."

“Let me take my team in.” I insisted. “We all want De Witt out of our hair, and I’m confident we can handle him.”

“Confidence is one thing.” The General added. “But we'll do what we can on our end to help ensure your success..”

“How quickly can the schnellbomber be ready?” Galland asked.

“They’re already on the tarmac at Holstein Air Base.” The General replied. “They can launch on your orders.”

“Uh… What’s a schnellbomber?” Trixie asked.

“It’s Griffon for fast bomber.” Sombra said. “At the moment it’s the only fixed-wing aircraft project meant for military use outside of Equestria.”

“And while they’re the quickest way to get you from here to Carniola the various models have ranged from decent to barely viable.” Galland added. “The Model 17 has proven capable of high speed, but can’t carry a viable load of ordinance over a reasonable range, the Model 111 is too slow to be considered a schnellbomber and the Model 88 is still in prototype form.”

“And that’s been with the aid of Equestrian engineers that are familiar with the human motors that we’ve hired.” The General groaned. “For right now what you see is what you get.”

Before the bitching and moaning could continue an aide walked in and interrupted. “Sirs, we have an Equestrian officer on our comms.”

Galland just rolled his eyes before pressing a button on the conference table. “This is Prime Minister Galland. Who am I speaking with?”

“Prime Minister, I’m Captain Baxter of the HMS Paris. From what we understand you’ve got a bit of an issue in Carniola. Something about losing control of the island?”

Galland clicked the button to mute the comms and looked over at Sombra. “How the hell does he know that?”

“Sir, with all due respect we haven’t done a good job of keeping this situation internal.” The General noted.

Galland rolled his eyes and unmuted the comms. “That would be correct Captain.”

“Then I’ll be blunt. We’ve got a hand in this game as well. As we speak our assault force is completing its final preparations, and from the looks of it you could use all the help you can get.”

“Any particular reason that you all want De Witt out of the picture?”

“I'm just here under orders. As for the Princess I can't say.”

“I see…” Galland sighed. “Give us a few hours to get our resources into position.”

“Understood Prime Minister. Paris out.”

Galland clicked off the radio and glanced over at me. “Well Cosmo, it’s looks like we have a deal.”

Author's Note

By now everyone should notice that I'm drawing my Griffany from some parallels with Germany. And those schnellbombers? German World War Two aircraft, specifically the He 111, Do 17 and the Ju 88, are the inspiration for them. And those same problems I described for the Model 17 and 111 are similar to issues faced by variants of the real models while in operational service (for example, the definitive version of the Do 17, the Z-model, never quite solved the issue of being underpowered that the previous versions had. Additionally, the Ju 88 was still being developed when the early versions of the Do 17 and He 111 first entered service with the Luftwaffe. Same deal with the Model 88.) Pictures for rough ideas of what I picture the earliest additions to the Griffon Air Force below;

He 111

Ju 88

Do 17

...I look like a huge nerd now, don't I?

Addendum 3/21/16: See this blog for info on why the story is marked as complete.