Aces' Diary

Chapter 8: Piece of the Past

“Macht nichts, dass. (Never mind that.)” Gerhard looked away, pursing his lips worriedly. “Wie auch immer, es ist gut, dich wieder zu sehen, Schatz. (Anyway, it's good to see you again, sweetie.)” He hugged her tightly.

“Ja, Schatz…” She returned the favour in full.

Tom could only stand there and observe the couple. He gave them an envious look and turned away, Lovey dovey, he thought.

“Ich meine nicht, um die Stimmung zu ruinieren… (I don't mean to ruin the mood…)” started Franz, “aber können Sie uns sagen, wo sind wir? (but can you tell us where are we?)” he asked nervously.

Gerhard released the hug and put a hand on his chin, “Umm… Dies kann klingt verrückt, aber wir sind nicht mehr auf der Erde nicht mehr. (Umm… This may sound crazy, but we are no longer on Earth anymore.)” The paratroopers shared a collective curious look. “Ich glaube, wir sind auf einem ganz anderen Planeten. (I believe we are on a whole different planet.)”

Tom rolled his eyes, Kraut… he thought annoyingly. How much does it hurt to learn some English?!

“Gut!” exclaimed Gerhard. “Ich sage dir, eine kurze Version meiner Geschichte, (I shall tell you a short version of my story)” he said with an assuring smile. “Es begann im September 1940…(It all started in September 1940…)”

*****

The German paratroopers had been sitting on the ground since Gerhard reached the part when he was attacked by the Timberwolves. They all fixed their attention on Gerhard, staying quiet while he was talking.

“Nun noch eine Frage? (Now, any questions?)” asked Gerhard. Franz raised his arm nervously.

"Herr Leutnant, von dem, was ich verstehe: Sie war hier für ein paar Tage. Habe ich Recht? (Lieutenant, from what I understand: you had been here for a few days. Am I right?)” Gerhard nodded in reply, “Aber das ist heute 20. Mai 1941…(But today is May 20th 1941…)”

“Seltsam, (Weird)” said Ava.

“Oh!” Gerhard exclaimed surprisingly, “Enschuldigung, Princess.” He smiled sheepishly. “They sind ah…” He left off there, thinking. He didn’t find any good explanation. His eyes darted around nervously.

Tom sighed and buried his face into his hand. “Lemme handle this, Jerry,” he said, boredom in his voice. “Princess, they ar’ soldiers, same country wit’ Jerry there. They seem to’ share the same mishap wit’ us. That’s all.”

Luna was lost in thought for a moment, piecing the story together. A few seconds later, she finished her thinking, “In that case…” she said monotonously, “Willkommen in Equestria, meine Herren.”

“Jerry,” Tom whispered into the German ace’s ear, “Can y’ ask yer friend if any o’ ‘em can speak English?”

Gerhard nodded, “Männer!” he shouted, getting their attention. “Kann jemand von Sprechen Sie Englisch? (Can any of you speak English?)”

A short man raised his hand and stepped forward gingerly. He was extremely short for a paratrooper. Too short, in fact. How he had managed to pass the examination, Gerhard had no idea. His eyes were covered by his helmet, but Gerhard caught a glimpse of chestnut brown eyes behind the protection gear. Acne was dotted all over his face like rain . His windcoat covered his upper legs, making him looked even shorter. The MP 40 in his hand easily halved his height.

“How ol’ are ya, lad,” Tom approached and asked, looking down at the short man.

“Eighteen,” he replied, looking straight forward to Tom’s chest.

“Liar,” Tom spitted, “How ol’ are ya.”

“Sixteen,” he said again, his voice trembling with fear.

“Liar!” Tom yelled furiously.

“Fine…” the man muttered, “I’m fifteen…” He looked up at Tom’s face, frowning deeply.

Tom’s eyes widened in shock. Fifteen? Bloody hell! How can Kraut recruit a lil’ kid into a fight?! he thought grimly. “How did ye pass the exam?” he asked.

“The age requirement is sixteen. I lied to the inspector,” the boy explained irritatingly. He tried to remain disciplined in Gerhard’s sight; the German ace outranked the boy after all. Despite this, he couldn’t help but cross him arms and slack his leg.

“Jus’ don’t do anything stupid, boyo,” warned Tom, “Y’ may git inta a problem that yer can’t resolve.”

The boy rolled his eyes, “All right, all right, old man,” he replied annoyingly. “My name is Franz Addison, half English. German mom, British dad; don’t know his origin. I’m pretty sure he lives somewhere on the British Isle. The equivalent of my rank in your army would be…” He paused there, thinking hard. “Erm.. Herr Leutnant, hilfe? Ich bin ein Soldat.” He smiled sheepishly and pat his head.

Gerhard chuckled lightly and answered: “Private.”

“A private, yes, of course. Thank you, lieutenant,” said Franz. “Now, that I have introduced myself. What about you, old man?” Tom made a resentful expression at the given nickname; he was only thirty.

“Thomas McMorrow, Royal Air Force, Wing 127. An’ I’m not yer ol’ man, boyo. I’m just thirty.” He offered a handshake. Franz complied and jolted his hand weakly.

As they released each other’s hands, the carriage from their earlier encounter with Princess Luna landed beside them. Once again, it was towed by the bat guards.

Princess Luna simply hopped on, “We have arranged temporary dwelling for thy friends. Our guard shall lead them to it.” With that statement, a bat guard stepped out of darkness. Everyone was surprised by his trickery except Gerhard and Tom, who were wearing the enchanted shades. “Now, Herr Barkhorn, shall we proceed to the depository?”

“Aye.”

“Ja.” he turned to Ava, “Schätz, folgen dieser Wache. (Honey, follow that guard.)” She looked at him sadly, “Sorgen Sie sich nicht, werde ich unsere Wohnung so schnell wie ich kann, zu arrangieren. (Worry not, I'll arrange our dwelling as soon as I can.)” He calmed her. It definitely worked wonders as a smile returned to her gorgeous face.

“Climb on,” Princess Luna said.

They complied without any further question. “Take us to the depository, sires.” The towing bat guards flapped their wings swiftly, and then made a run into the field. The carriage gradually ascended from the ground, leaving the clear field behind as they disappeared into the darkness of the night.

*****

The carriage soared swiftly through the cold air of the night. The trip wasn’t as long as Gerhard had thought. In fact, it was even shorter than it should have been. He had almost asked the princess, but Princess Celestia’s words entered his mind:

It’s a kilometre from this town.

But Tom had no idea, so he asked: “Why is it so close, yer Highness?”

“We thought our sister hath informed thou of that?” Tom shook his head, but Gerhard, who was observing the passing landscape, nodded roughly.

“Why didn’t yer tell, me Jerry?” Tom asked resentfully.

“You didn’t ask,” said Gerhard, “und Princess Celestia caught you red handed while you were eavesdropping.”

Tom sighed. “Fine…”

A long silence followed as they landed next to a high mountain. Both aces could say that the bat guards were really professional flyers, judging from their slow descent and the gentle touching of the wheels on the ground. The towing guards gradually slowed down and stopped dead in their tracks.

Upon exiting the carriage, Gerhard noticed that there was a fairly large hole on the side of the peak, covered with bushes and vines to camouflage the cavity.

Princess Luna’s horn lit up; the bushes and vines faded away, uncovering a large metal gate further inside the cavern.

“Thine optics art enchanted with night vision arcane,” Princess Luna explained. “Illumination of the interior shouldn’t be required.” Both aces were curious about her knowledge of their newly acquired items, but they decided not to ask.

They approached the gate. Princess Luna inserted her horn into the hole and shot a burst of magic into it. The entrance softly glowed blue and slid to the side, making an entry for the group.

“Stand vigilant, sires.” Princess Luna ordered. Both of the bats saluted in reply and positioned themselves on both sides of the entrance.

“We shall proceed inside. Be aware, this storage is like a maze, thou doth not wish to get lost down there.” Princess Luna warned with a grim face.

“We understand, Eure Hoheit,” Gerhard said, craning his neck to see into the long hallway. “Für unsere safety…” he gulped.

“Then proceed we shall. Stay close to us.”

Princess Luna led them both down the long and dark hallway. With their enchanted glasses on, it was as bright as a sunny day down there. As she had told Gerhard about herself in his dream, she probably could see in the pitch black environment too. She was the ‘Princess of The Night’, after all.

They made left and right turns. True to her word: it was really a maze down there. They occasionally passed through a large room with millions of wooden crates, all of them varying in size. Tom wondered what they could possibly be; possibly artifacts and valuable items. There were also lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

How could they reach and light all that? Tom wondered idly as he stumbled upon a cracked open crate.

The crate itself was very old, judging from the colour of the wood and rust on the nails. Another thing: there was a creepy voice emitting from within the box.

Overcome by curiosity, he snuck to the box and peeked inside. To his surprise, it was a sword. Even though the time had passed, the sword was as rustless and shiny as a newly minted coin. The whisper he had heard from earlier was coming from the sword itself.

“Head… Head… Head…”

“Hello?” Tom greeted quietly and pulled the cutlass out of the crate. It brilliantly glowed green.

The sword seemed to have a mind of its own, replying: “Please… Use me to… decapitate… something…”

“Thomas, what in Tartarus art thou performing over there?!” Tom flinched, dropping the blade to the concrete floor

“Ouch…” the sword groaned quietly. The once brilliant aura diminished to a soft, green glow, leaving some kind of dark fog behind.

“Whoops, sorry,” Tom apologized sheepishly. He carefully picking the sword up again. “Ar’ ye all right, Mista Sword?”

“Please… decapitate… something… swordsman…” the sword begged, it’s voice trembling and crackling. It must have been so long since it last beheaded anything.

“Your highness, can ye portray yer story o’ this sword?” Tom asked, running his hand on the side of the blade. It radiated gentle green light upon his touch, startling him.

Luna started searching her memory for the suitable answer. It took a while before she remembered. “This sword’s origin is unknown. Our sister hath informed us of it recently. Twas found in our absence,” she coughed, “on the moon.” another cough. “Our researcher hath questioned said sword.” She gestured toward the blade. “It said that it was the sword of a mighty king called ‘Richard the Lionheart’.”

Tom’s eyes widened, looking back at the ancient sword. His eyes gleamed with fascination and excitement. Back when he was in school, he learned how to fence, and he was very good at it. His dad also trained him in the art of counter-attacking too.

“We taketh it that thou recognize this King?” assumed Luna, “Wouldst thou mind to educate us of thy knowledge?” she asked flatly.

“Aye.” Tom responded in excitement, “King Richard, or as you call him, Richard the Lionheart, was the King o’ England, which is where I live nowadays, back in the Medieval times, about eight hundreds years ago. Reigned fer ten years, more er less. Led the crusaders in the third crusade. He’s pretty famous too. That’s pretty much all I know.”

“Fascinating!” Luna exclaimed with her Royal Canterlot Voice, which made Tom stumble backwards. Some smaller crates fell off their original places, scattering random objects all around. “Oops.” She shielded her muzzle. “Remind us not to use the Royal Canterlot Voice inside any establishment…”

“Jawohl,” Gerhard said, giving her a quick salute.

“Less… talking… more… killing…” the sword whispered weakly, “I… need… power… please…”

“Wat should I do, yer highness?” Tom asked, facing the princess and lifting the sword up slightly.

“Since thou knowest its origin, the honour of returning it to its rightful place is in thy hands,” Princess Luna said.

Tom arched his brow in confusion. Oh me mother! How I hate those fancy puzzle coded talk! he thought without showing any annoyed expression. “So…”

“You kannst keep it,” Gerhard explained shortly.

The usual frown on Tom’s face transformed into a gleeful beam in an instant. He quickly searched the crate for its sheath and, after finding it, rejoined the little group and continue the journey to find the aircraft.

*****

“We were very troubled when there was a dragon dwelling on the very peak above us,” Princess Luna told the group, “but with luck, Twilight Sparkle and her friends managed to evict it.”

“Why was there ein dragon in der first place?” Gerhard asked,

“We have no idea, Herr Barkhorn,” They made another turn. “The dragon’s cave was one of many entrances in this structure. Our sister actually proposed to employ the dragon for extra security. Twas a shame that we were not swift enough.”

“A dragon ta guard the entrance? Sounds familiar, doesn’t it, Jerry?” Tom questioned with a grin.

Gerhard shared a light chuckle “Ja.”

The group walked into a dead-end. Confused, Princess Luna conjured a map out of thin air and observed it. They had made a wrong turn in the last two corners, and needed to go back.

Tom sighed, “We’ve been walkin’ fer—” He pulled out his pocket watch, “—an hour now. Ar’ we there yet?”

“Neigh, but close.” She looked the map again before making another turn.

Suddenly, a screech rang from behind them. Knowing that this wasn’t natural, Gerhard and Tom pulled out their sidearms and unlocked the safety. Tom broke the top off, checked his ammunition. (four having been used in the Timberwolf incident), and quickly reloaded it. Sadly, he only had a dozen magazines left.

“Don’ get trigger happy now, Tom,” he muttered while loading the cylinder.

Gerhard released his magazine. There were only three rounds left in the current one, the last one sitting in his pocket, fully loaded. The small caliber of 9 mm caused little damage, so that meant that he had to shoot accurately from now on.

Normally, people couldn’t see in the dark, but with the enchanted shades, they could. There were ponies lurking in the dark, moving with great speed and agility; so fast that they became a blur.

Squinting his eyes, Gerhard caught a glimpse of bat-like wings in the blur. Luna’s Bat guard?

One of them had gone out of their sight, leaving another one behind. The remaining bat charged toward them, galloping evasively.

Aiming precisely, Gerhard fired a burst at the assaulting enemy. For some reason, they missed completely. Reloading was too late at that point, so he pulled his gravity knife from its sheath in his boot. With a fluid motion, he flung the lever and spun it in his hand. The blade slid out smoothly.

The approaching foe leapt into the air, wishing to tackle him. It was the split second that he could see his attacker’s face clearly. It wasn’t Luna’s guard, but it was a bat pony. Its pupils were as red as blood, mirroring his reflection, and its jaw hung open, revealing two long fangs on the upper jaw.

“Vampire!” Gerhard shouted in panic as the creature reached him.

He grabbed its neck and stabbed it right below the ear. Blood spurted out from the wound, staining his hand. Suddenly, a burning smell erupted from the vampire’s body.

To his surprise, it was ignited by green fire. Gerhard quickly removed his knife and kicked the blood sucking monster. It stumbled backward and fell on the ground, screaming in agony.

Tom, who was watching the whole scene, jumped in with his sword and planted it into the vampire’s chest. Its heart was pierced for sure, but it was still moving.

“Ahh!” The sword roared victoriously, “Yes! Now, cut its head off!” Tom complied and sliced the leech’s head clean off. “YES! Finally after a millenia in that bloody box! Thank you, swordsman. I shall grant you the mark of the Peregrinus as my appreciation!”

With that, Tom’s left hand began to burn. He winced and knelt down, enduring the pain. A small spot on the back of his hand started darkening. When the pain died down, a cross was embedded into his skin.

“This mark shall grant me the ability to circulate my power into you, allowing you to use it,” stated the sword, “At the moment, you can only use two ability at the moment, though.”

“An’ what pray tell, is ye power?” Tom asked in a trembling voice. The sword simply radiated its green glow again. But this time, the black fog which usually came with it flowed into Tom’s head.

“Cut more head for newer and better power. However, you have your limit each day. Sleep to regenerate your power, or shed some enemy’s blood on my blade.”

All of a sudden, the last vampire materialized from the thin air behind Princess Luna, preparing to bite onto her neck.

Tom clenched his hand, the cross on his hand lighting up. “Fero,” he muttered. Within a blink of an eye, he teleported over the vampire pony’s head and prepared to finish it.

Gerhard acted fast and threw his knife at the pony.

At the same time that Gerhard’s knife penetrated the devil’s skull, Tom’s blade pierced its heart. He jumped off the corpse of the vampire just in time before it was set ablaze, then decapitated its head.

“To inform you, cutting the head off of a dead body counts as a ‘half-head’. Also, my name is Thorpe,” the sword explained.

“Nice ta know ye, Thorpe. Name’s Thomas McMorrow. Can ah call ye Thor?”

“Aye. And can I call you Tom?”

“O’ course, me metal friend!”

“I don’t want zu interrupt, but wir should get going, schnell. Before any more von ihnen show up,” said Gerhard. He removed his knife from the scorched cadaver and wiped it on his boot.

With that, they began to run instead of walking, wIth Luna in the lead, carrying her map, They finally arrived at their destination.

In front of them was a huge steel hangar gate. Both aces had seen hangar doors on a regular basis, but never in their lifetime had they seen any of this magnitude. There was the same hole in the door as the entrance they had encountered an hour ago. Princess Luna walked up to the door and repeated the same procedure she had used with the previous door.

As soon as she pulled her long horn out, the door started moving slowly to the side. Due to the slowness of the mechanism, they walked to the creak of the door in order to save more of their precious time.

In the hangar was an aircraft with three wings. It was painted red, adorned with iron crosses on both side of the wings, tail, and fuselage. A single seated fighter. Twin machine guns that faced forward were installed on front of the canopy. Anyone who knew about the first World War would recognize this legendary fighter immediately.

It belonged to Manfred Von Richtofen, or the name we all recognize: “The Red Baron…”