For The Fatherland

Chapters

Timeline
Prologue
An Unexpected Awakening
Colorful On The Outside
Liquidation
Questions
Wald der Träume
Dawn
The Birth of a Revolution
The Man Beneath The Uniform
Purpose
A German and a Princess
Code Moon

Timeline

June 0 ALR: Nightmare Moon returns, only to be defeated by the Elements of Harmony and returned to her natural form of Princess Luna.

May 3 ALR: Twilight Sparkle is Coronated as Equestria’s newest Princess

April, 4 ALR: Twilight disappears mysteriously for about a day or two before coming back to her castle, seemingly unharmed. When asked by her friends what happened, she tells them that she had been out on a research project.

August, 4 ALR: After a large dispute over taxes and the desire for self governance, the Crystal Empire secedes from Equestria. Not wanting any bloodshed, Princess Celestia allows the secession a decision that angers many of the citizens of Equestria who believe that the Crystal Empire doesn’t deserve to become it’s own nation.

November, 4 ALR: Twilight publishes a paper called “Equestria Needs To Wake Up”, a paper which heavily criticizes Princess Celestia for being a weak leader in the Crystal Empire Crisis and calls for the public to rise up and help Twilight take the throne so that Equestria may have a “True” leader. Celestia tries to crack down on the paper, but it soon spreads through all of Equestria, triggering a large public outcry against Celestia.

January, 5 ALR: Twilight gathers a large group of her supporters and storms the Royal Palace in Canterlot. The mob manages to defeat the guards and capture Celestia, who quickly submits to Twilight’s demands and hands over the throne. However, in the confusion of the coup d'etat, Princess Luna manages to escape, never to be seen again. Discord also disappears without a trace. A new age dawns on Equestria as Twilight’s reign begins.

February, 5 ALR: The Death Hooves are formed, an elite unit dedicated to enforcing the will of Twilight. Any pony who dares to speak out against Twilight ends up being brutally silenced as she consolidates power.

April, 5 ALR: The Forced Relocation Act is passed as Twilight’s government releases fabricated reports that earth ponies and pegasi are “Exceptionally prone to commit violent crimes”. The earth pony and pegasi populations are moved to various population centers around the country.

June, 5 ALR: Rarity is drafted into the Death Hooves by Princess Twilight

September, 8 ALR: Pegasi in the Pegasi Relocation Zone Cloud near Cloudsdale riot due to poor conditions and abuse from the hooves of their unicorn guards. Death Hoof forces under the command of then Lieutenant Rarity storm the camp, massacring many of the rioting pegasi and forcing the few survivors to surrender. Twilight, impressed with how efficiently the riot was put down, promoted Rarity to Captain and gave her command of a special unit that was responsible for dealing with only the most concerning situations.

September, 15 ALR: Current Date

Author's Note

I just wanted to establish the timeline of the events leading to the story for use in keeping the story going smooth in terms of important dates. I hope you enjoy!

TIMELINE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT

Prologue

Applejack breathed in the crisp, Autumn air as she sat on the porch of the farmhouse, watching the rest of the earth ponies on her farm got their tents ready for the night. The hearty orange farm mare loved watching the night sky every night, soaking in the universe in it’s infinite splendor and beauty. It reminded her of simpler times, back when she spent nearly all her free time hanging out with her best friends Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, with stargazing being a favorite of all of them.

However, as she pictured Twilight, Applejack couldn’t help but sigh deeply. It was such a shame to watch her former best friend go from a loving friend to a power hungry, delusional leader after her ascent to alicornhood. AJ remembered her coup vividly, watching in despair as Twilight's supporters dragged Princess Celestia away to some unknown location, never to be seen again. After that moment, all Applejack could do was watch as Twilight consolidated her power and segregated the races, placing the unicorns on top.

As Applejack thought of the events leading to the current Equestria, her mind wandered to the rest of her friends...how they were faring in this new world. After the Forced Relocation Act passed in 5 ALR (After Luna’s Return), she heard nothing from the others as they were all split up and sent to different camps. Applejack was at least thankful that she wasn’t moved from Sweet Apple Acres, but she couldn’t help but constantly worry about what was happening to the rest of her friends. Were they suffering? Were they managing with the new world? Maybe finding happiness and new friends? The more Applejack thought about her friends, the more upset she found herself becoming as tears began rolling down her cheeks. Why did Twilight have to do this? Why would she break our friendship and separate us?

As Applejack desperately sought answers from nopony in particular, a movement in the sky caught her attention. A whitish streak, going rather quickly across the sky. Without thinking, she closed her eyes, and wished on that streaking star. I wish something would come and return everything to how it was before Twilight lost it.

Then, Applejack heard a bang from behind her, only to find her brother Big Mac standing right behind her. “You should probably head to bed soon sis.” he said bluntly, taking a seat next to her. At first, Applejack said nothing, then nodded. “I know I should….but before I go, can I ask you something Big Mac?” she replied. Her brother looked at her for the longest time, then nodded.

“Do you believe in wishing upon a shooting star?”

The whole building shook as an mortar shell landed near it, signaling the start of another Soviet attack. Within seconds, Soviet soldiers were swarming towards the German occupied store, fully intent on taking it back. However, the Soviet soldiers quickly found themselves under intense pressure from German gunfire, and were instantly bogged down, soon falling back to the safety of the ruined bakery across the street.

For Soldat Conrad Schmidt, this had become the norm after the Soviets broke through the German lines outside the city of Stalingrad and encircled the entire 6th Army, forcing the Germans to dig in and assume a defensive strategy. Soviet attacks would always start with a loud noise, whether it be a mortar explosion or a large cry of “Uraaaaaa!”, followed by a horde of Soviet soldiers and a hailstorm of gunfire before they beat a hasty retreat, leaving countless bodies behind as they ran. Despite the heavy casualties, the Soviets seemed to have no intentions of stopping.

It had only been six months since Conrad had joined up with the Heer, eager to serve the Fatherland just like his older brother Hans did, and he already wanted to go home and forget about the damned war. At the beginning, he was thrilled to be taking part of the capture of Stalingrad, one of the most iconic cities in the Soviet Union. But it wasn’t a walk in the park like Hitler predicted it would be. Instead, the Soviets threw everything they had into holding the city, fighting like the dogs of hell. Conrad had seen so many of his comrades either die or become horribly disfigured that whenever he tried to sleep, his dreams haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

Breathing out, Conrad reloaded his rifle and crawled under the window over to his commanding officer, Unteroffizier Hessler. “When do you think we’ll break out of this encirclement sir?” he asked, taking a position beside the window. Hessler was silent for the longest time, then sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know Schmidt….I don’t know. All I know is that we need to hold our position for as long as possible, and pray that we’re relieved soon. I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up.” Hessler replied. Conrad took in Hessler’s words for a few moments, then nodded. “Alright sir...thanks.” With that being said, Conrad readied himself to cross the window, inching towards the edge of the window and looking out of it as much as he could without exposing himself. Seeing no movement, he gripped his rifle, then went to move across the window when….

BANG

Next thing Conrad knew, he was on the ground, a fiery pain in his left shoulder as all hell broke loose once again. The Soviets were once again pushing across the street, this time supported by snipers from the upper floor of the ruined bakery. Time seemed to slow down as Unteroffizier Hessler screamed for his squad to open fire and reached down to grab Conrad to pull him to safety.

Conrad couldn’t help but scream as he clutched his wounded shoulder in agony, the fiery pain being some of the most intense pain he had ever felt. “Good god that hurts sir! Goddamn snipers!” he cried as Hessler pulled out some dressing from his bag. “Don’t worry Conrad, I got you. No Soviet is taking you to hell without my permission!” he said calmly, quickly applying the dressing onto Conrad’s wound.

As the Unteroffizier treated Conrad’s wounds, the Soviet’s pushed hard, throwing everything they had at the building. Screams broke out from the downstairs of the shop as the Soviets overran the defenses, killing any Germans they encountered. As they advanced up the stairs, Hessler readied his pistol, waiting for the Soviets to burst through the door. Then, with a roar, the door was broken down.

A hail of gunfire followed before the thud of bodies hitting the floor reached Conrad. He managed to turn his head to the side a little, only to see Hessler’s bullet riddled body, blood already seeping out from his wounds. Then, he heard the sound of boots approaching him, and he slowly lifted his head, only to see a young Russian soldier staring at him, rifle leveled straight for his head.

For a few seconds, nothing happened before the soldier growled. “This is for Nikolai you son of a bitch.”

Then there was a flash, followed by darkness.

Author's Note

I needed to rewrite this....I just felt as though it'd be better to start clean and try again. With that being said...I leave you with a simple question:

Do you believe in wishing on a shooting star?

An Unexpected Awakening

“An Unexpected Awakening”
Applejack
September 4th, 15 ALR (After Luna’s Return)

“Hey Applejack, pass the cider already! I’m dry as a board over here!” Rainbow Dash cried, throwing her hooves up in the air in frustration. It had been a good night for Applejack and her friends as they sat around the campfire, basking in the pleasant warmth that emanated from the firepit. It was always nice to spend her downtime with friends, and no group of friends were tighter than Applejack’s.

“Give me a break Rainbow, you’ve already drank like four mugs!” Applejack retorted, taking a sip from her own mug of cider. Rainbow, clearly annoyed, opened her mouth to say something in her defense when Rarity raised her hoof. “Rainbow dear, Applejack’s right. At the rate you’re drinking the cider, we won’t have any left for the rest of us. Let us have our fill, then you’ll get more.” she exclaimed, eliciting nods from the rest of the group. Rainbow groaned, dropping her mug to the ground before crossing her forelegs across her chest. “Fine.” she replied sharply, knowing full well that she wouldn’t win this battle.

The group was silent for a while, enjoying their cider when Twilight coughed, drawing the attention of everypony to her. “So girls...I have a question. Do you believe that there’s life out there in the universe? You know….aliens?” she asked quietly, holding her mug close to her. The first one to answer was Pinkie Pie, who jumped up from her seat, a smile on her face. “Of course there is Twilight! I mean with how big the universe is, there’s gotta be something out there! Maybe there’s space slugs that take pretty princesses to evil lairs, or maybe there’s cute little bears that live in treehouses! Maybe...maybe there’s a species of apes that walk on two legs and ride aro-” Pinkie began before being cut off by Applejack’s hoof stuffing her mouth. “There might be Twilight, but it’d be incredibly hard to find it. Like Pinkie said, there’s a lot of universe out there...too much for anypony to explore.” she exclaimed, pulling her hoof back to herself. Twilight sat there for a moment, then nodded slowly, leaning back a bit on the log she was sitting on. “You have a point Applejack...but what about the rest of you? What do you think?”

There were a few nods from the rest of the girls, but the group was strangely silent, as if they were all thinking deeply about what Twilight just asked. Twilight mentally recorded all of their responses, taking a few moments to formulate herself. “Alright...thanks girls. The reason I asked was because I spent all of today in the library, reading about the history of Astronomy and couldn’t help but wonder about if there truly was other lifeforms in the universe, or if we were alone here.” she explained finally.

The mares were quiet for a moment before Fluttershy coughed softly. “It’s understandable Twilight. Speaking of which...AJ, you need to wake up. Something’s been found in the West Orchard and we need your help.” she exclaimed. Applejack looked in confusion at Fluttershy, wondering what the hay what she was talking about, nothing full well that she was awake...only for everything to vanish as she felt herself being forcefully yanked from her dream, awakening with a start.

Instead of the woods, Applejack found herself in her bed, with Big Mac standing next to her, a concerned look on his face. It had all been a dream...there was no campfire, no happy circle of friends….just a twisted reality that Applejack dreaded waking up into.

Groaning, she sat up in her bed and turned her head to face Big Mac. “Wha….what’s going on Big Mac? Is it 8:00 already?” she asked groggily. Big Mac was quick to shake his head, taking a step back to let Applejack get off the bed. “Nope...the morning shift found some unconscious….thing in the west orchard, and we’re not sure what to do with it.” he said curtly. Applejack took a moment to compose herself and process the information Big Mac had told her, then jumped out of her bed. “Alright...Ah’ll take a look. Take me there.” she replied, taking a moment to stretch out her limbs. Big Mac nodded, quickly walking out the door with Applejack in tow.

The crowd murmured to themselves as they all watched Applejack inspect the strange unconscious creature that was taken from the West Orchard, unsure of what to think of the thing. The thing looked almost like a Minotaur without the aspects of a bull with thin, lanky limbs and dressed in some sort of gray uniform. It’s pale skin was bare under the uniform with no fur to be seen except for a short layer of brown on it’s head seen, barely visible from underneath the cold steel helmet it wore.

Applejack couldn’t help but be amazed at this strange creature lying in front of her, lying there almost like it was in a peaceful sleep. Whatever it was clearly had seen its fair share of rough encounters as there were a few scars visible on it’s arms and face. It had also been found with a long, slender device made from both wood and steel which Applejack was now inspecting.

The device, while clearly designed with care, looked like it had taken quite a beating. The wooden parts were covered with random splatters of mud and dirt, while the steel portions had plenty of scratches all over, random in their size and placing. Whatever this thing was used for….it was clearly used a lot.

After spending a few more minutes inspecting the thing, Applejack stepped back and turned to look at the crowd. Everypony fell silent as they waited for Applejack to say something, knowing full well that this creature’s fate hung on whatever Applejack instructed. “Ah don’t know what the hay this thing is, but Ah can say one thing: it stays here. Ah’ve never seen anything like it, and I want to know more about it before we do anything about it. Any objections?” she announced.

At first, there was no response before Big Mac pointed to it. “Uh AJ…. it’s waking up.”

Sure enough, the creature was stirring, letting out a groan as it opened it’s eyes. It sat there for a few moments, doing absolutely nothing before sitting up and looking around, a confused look on it’s face. It didn’t take long for the creature’s eyes to find the crowd of ponies staring at it, and it froze for a second, then scrambled to it’s feet, towering above the crowd.

Time itself seemed to stand still as everything held its breath, waiting for a reaction as the stare-off drew on. Finally, to everypony’s surprise, the creature spoke.

“Please tell me that I’m dreaming.”

Author's Note

I made an obvious reference in this chapter....if you can find it, you get brownie points!

Colorful On The Outside

“Colorful On The Outside”
Conrad Schmidt
Earth Pony Relocation Zone 4 “Sweet Apple Acres”, Ponyville, Equestria
September 4th, 15 ALR (After Luna’s Return)

Surely he had to be dreaming...after all, he was surrounded by very colorful horses, all looking up at him with looks that were best described as a mix between fear and awe. There was no way in hell that he could have gone from the hell that was Stalingrad to a colorful, bountiful farm filled with horses. He gave himself a few slaps on the face and even a pinch, yet the illusion continued. Then, to his complete surprise...one of the horses spoke, an orange one with a blonde mane and a brown cowboy hat on it’s head.

“Ah’m sorry..but you’re as awake as you’ll ever be,” it said bluntly in what sounded like a stereotypical cowboy accent. Judging by the horse’s voice, Conrad could tell that it was female, but that was a minor detail considering that the thing had just spoke. Taking a deep breath, Conrad let himself calm down and process everything he was experiencing before responding. “I….did you just speak? How….how in the hell can you speak?” he finally asked the orange mare in calm, collected voice.

The mare gulped, nervously looking up at the intimidating soldier standing before her. “Yeah….ah can speak...along with the rest of the ponies here. Ah’m surprised that you can speak mister,” she replied shakily. Conrad looked back at the pony for a few quiet moments, then sighed, getting down on one knee to look her in the eye. He could tell that she was scared, and he couldn’t help but feel pity for her. “Yeah...I can speak. How about you tell me your name, and the name of this place?” he finally asked in a soft, gentle tone.

The mare stared back at Conrad for a few moments, a bead of sweat rolling down her face before she gulped again. “Mah name….mah name’s Applejack Apple, but you can just call me Applejack. As for this place...you’re standing in the middle of my farm, Sweet Apple Acres. How about….how about you mister? What’s your name...and more importantly, what are you? You’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen before?” she replied. Conrad smiled, taking a mental note of Applejack’s answer as he formulated his own. “Well...my name’s Conrad Schmidt, but you can call me Conrad. As for what I am...well I’m what you could call a human. It’s nice to meet you Applejack.” he finally answered.

Applejack took a few moments to compose herself, then gave Conrad a small smile, the nervousness disappearing from her face. “It’s nice to meet you too Conrad. Can I ask you how you got here on my farm?” she finally asked in a firm, yet warm tone. Conrad frowned, pondering the question for a few minutes before shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know to be honest Applejack. All I know is that one moment I’m bleeding out on the floor about to be shot by this angry Soviet, and the next I’m waking up here, surrounded by bright color and ponies.” he explained, as he slowly brought himself back up into a standing position.

Conrad’s response was met with a hail of whispers and murmurs from the crowd as they all deliberated on what could possibly have brought this human to their farm. Applejack waited for the crowd to simmer down a bit before finally responding. “That’s….incredibly odd, but I guess that’ll do. Ah’m not sure what I should do with you, as resources here on the farm are incredibly tight with all these earth ponies here, but I think I might be able to squeeze something your way, at least until you gain your bearings, and figure out why you’re here.” she announced.

Murmurs of resentment rose from the crowd as Applejack offered resources to Conrad, several ponies pointing out how terrible it was already without the human being there. Taking in all that he could from the crowds murmurs, Conrad couldn’t help but notice that something was wrong here, as all of the ponies gathered there were incredibly thin, with some being little more than bones. Picking up his rifle, Conrad scanned the crowd for a little bit longer, then turned his gaze back to Applejack “Looking around at the rest of these...ponies, I couldn’t help but notice something disturbing. Why are so many of your ponies starving? I see plenty of apple trees here, more than enough to feed you all, yet here you are starving...I just don’t get how this is happening to you.”

Now the murmurs grew louder as Conrad spoke, causing Applejack to breathe out nervously, clearly starting to feel some pressure. “Well… we don’t get all the apples that are grown here. You see..the unicorns in the government come in and set a quota on how many apples they need before collecting them. If we can’t meet the quota….then the unicorns punish us. Since the quotas are very high...we have to ration what little is left.” she explained, hanging her head low. Conrad frowned, shaking his head. “That sounds messed up...nopony should be starving, especially if they’re working hard.”

Applejack’s face had a myriad of emotion on it...it was hard to tell what exactly she was feeling, but the best way Conrad could describe it was a mix between sadness and anger. “I know...but under the current circumstances, I can’t do anything to help my ponies...it’s the worst feeling.” she replied shakily. Conrad thought on this for a while, then crouched down once more. “Maybe I could try talking to the unicorns in the government. I’m no politician, but it’s worth a try. Ponies starving is not a petty issue, especially when it’s the govern-” Conrad began before a shout cut him off, causing him to shoot up to his feet again.

A lone pony came running from one of the orchards, a look of terror in his eyes. The pony moved as quickly as he could, finally stopping when he reached Applejack, panting. “There’s….there’s a unit of Death Heads coming down the road….my guess is that they’re heading here!” he reported.

The crowd of ponies was thrown into an uproar at this news, clearly terrified by the news. Conrad however, was confused. What the hell are Death Heads?

Applejack however was quiet for the longest time, waiting for the uproar to calm down before clearing her throat. “If what ya report is true Caramel….may the Goddess have mercy on our souls.”

Author's Note

I apologize for the delay.

I was watching glorious service to the greatest country.

Glory to Arstotzka.

Also, special thanks to my pal Callsign Eagle for proofreading my stuff. Should be a bit easier on the eyes now :twilightsmile:

Liquidation

“Liquidification”
Captain Rarity
Equestrian Death Head Units
Earth Pony Relocation Zone 4 “Sweet Apple Acres”, Ponyville, Equestria
September 4th, 15 ALR (After Luna’s Return)

“Captain Rarity, the squad is waiting at the entrance to the farm. We’re expecting things to go smoothly with how little food the earth ponies are getting; they’ll be far too hungry to question where we’re taking them,” Sergeant Steel Resolve reported as Rarity stepped off her personal wagon and looked around at the massive orchard spanning out in front of her behind the fence. While she didn’t want to go back to the muck and filth that was Sweet Apple Acres, Princess Twilight had personally ordered her to oversee a squad of troops charged with liquefying the relocation zone and transporting the inhabitants to the “Processing” camp known as Everfree Point, making sure the job was done right.

Having joined the Death Heads right after they were formed in 10 ALR, Rarity would watch the organization grow from a simple personal guard for Twilight to a nationwide police force, executing Twilight’s will with deadly efficiency. She ended up proving herself a capable commander, quickly rising to the rank of Captain and earning herself a position in the elite Special Activities Unit, a section of the Death Heads that only went out to camps that Twilight considered “problematic”. Along with her rank, she earned a fearful reputation amongst her comrades and civilians alike as a cold, deadly efficient officer who showed no mercy to the ponies that dared defy her and generous to those who pleased her.

Rarity took a moment to fix her helmet and inspect her glistening purple armor for any dust before turning her attention to Steel Resolve. “Very good, Sergeant. Are your soldiers ready to move?” she finally asked him.

Steel nodded, walking with Rarity as they approached the main gate where four other soldiers were waiting. “Yes ma’am, they’re just awaiting your word to move in.”

Once Rarity reached the gates, she turned to look at the squad that would be overseeing the transfer, taking note of the determined looks on their faces before chuckling. “Wonderful, then let’s get to it! The less time I have to spend here, the better!” she exclaimed as she turned around and pushed the gates open.

However, in the deep pits of her mind, Rarity felt uneasy. For located in this camp, was none other than Applejack. The mare that was once her best friend was now considered a threat for the fact that she was a Bearer of Harmony, and Twilight demanded that Rarity make sure she didn’t weasel her way out of the relocation, or kill her if she proved uncooperative. Rarity prayed to the Goddess that it didn’t have to come to this, that Applejack could be left alone here in Sweet Apple Acres where she would be safe, yet here she was with orders to bring her to processing.

It hurt... it hurt Rarity so bad. Even if Applejack was an earth pony, and a potential threat to Twilight, she was still a friend in Rarity’s eyes and that was something that was very hard to look past. The fearsome Captain Rarity, cruel and unforgiving, had a softspot, and her friends happened to be it. Despite all her inner turmoil, she knew she had to do this or face the excruciating wrath of Twilight, something that would spell certain death to not only Rarity, but her entire family as well.

The squad advanced through the orchard in silence, watching the trees around them as they headed for the center. They all knew their mission, and with the exception of Rarity, had no regrets. To the other soldiers, this was just another camp of filthy mud ponies that needed to be removed completely from society.

In no time at all, the squad finally arrived at the central clearing, finding a huge gathering of earth ponies, all clustered behind Applejack and a strange creature that vaguely resembled a minotaur. The soldiers quickly came to a halt, forming up behind Iron Hooves and Rarity as they kept their eyes trained on the crowd, spears out and ready to attack if needed.

Rarity stared at the creature standing next to her friend, studying it carefully as she formulated what she would say. The one thing about the creature that worried her the most was the object it held firmly in its hand; a long object made of steel and wood with a long, sharp knife fixated on the end of it, something she assumed was used like a spear. Taking note of all the factors, Rarity finally cleared her throat, and spoke.

“Applejack darling, it’s nice to see you’re alright and well. You do know why I’m here, don’t you?”

Applejack snorted in response before nodding her head. “Why of course ah do Rarity. You’re here to make sure that we’re behaving ourselves and fulfilling our roles as productive members of society. It was a waste of time coming here though, we’ve been doing everything the way the Department of Food wants us to and haven’t deviated one bit.” she replied harshly, almost spitting out Rarity’s name.

Rarity flinched a bit at Applejack’s response, then shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Applejack dear. By order of Princess Twilight herself, this Relocation Zone is to be liquidated and all of the inhabitants moved to Processing Camp Epsilon in the Everfree Forest. Your cooperation is required, and I am allowed to use deadly force if you choose to resist,” she announced.

After hearing this, Applejack’s face visibly fell as she sat down. “I… what will happen to mah ponies in this ‘Processing’ camp? Can you guarantee their safety?” she asked slowly.

Rarity took a few moments to think of an answer, then slowly nodded. “I can try my best, but I’m ultimately not in charge of the camps.”

The crowd of earth ponies behind Applejack murmured softly amongst themselves as Applejack got to her hooves. However, to Rarity’s surprise, Applejack was cut off by the strange creature reaching out its hand to gesture that Applejack get back down as it took a step forward, and spoke.

“Ms… Rarity, is it? I’m awfully sorry to interrupt, but you can’t honestly expect to take any of these ponies anywhere in their current condition. Many of these ponies are starving. If they were forced to march anywhere they would probably perish on the journey,” it stated in a calm, yet determined voice. Rarity assumed that this thing was a male by its voice, but couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that this thing spoke in a language that she could understand. She tried to formulate how to respond to his statement when Sergeant Resolve stepped up next to Rarity, giving the creature a hard glare.

“They’re certainly going, we’re not giving them a choice. As for you, I think you should come with us as well. I don't know what you are, but I certainly don’t like the way you’re speaking to the Captain. So I ask that you drop your weapon and be quiet so that the Captain can conclude her conversation with Ms. Applejack over here,” he growled. Rarity shot him a glare, but the damage had already been done as the creature chuckled.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way that’s happening. My rifle will stay with me, it’s the only thing that keeps me safe. And to answer your curiosities about what I am, I’m a human. Name’s Conrad Schmidt, soldier in the German Wehrmacht,” he replied flatly.

This response only angered Sergeant Resolve, as he lit his horn and drew his sword. “How dare you defy me? Mr Schmidt, I’m only going to give you one last chance to comply and drop your weapon, or I’ll bucking kill you where you stand.”

Loud murmurs escaped from the earth ponies as the tension in the clearing reached a climax, nopony knowing if Conrad would stand down or not. Rarity thought of intervening, but ultimately decided to see where this went. Certainly this human would see that he was biting off more than he could chew and stand down, but there were doubts in Rarity’s mind that this human would continue his defiance and this could turn bloody.

Unfortunately, Rarity’s doubts were confirmed as Conrad shook his head, raising his spear and pointing it straight at Resolve. “I doubt you would sir, you clearly don’t know what you’re up against. I suggest you stand down before you end up regretting it,” he replied calmly. This was met with gasps from the crowd as they waited for Resolve to attack... they didn’t know what to expect, but many feared that Conrad probably would be killed.

Sergeant Resolve growled, then readied himself and shook his head. “You’ll regret your words human. Now die!” he shouted before rushing forward.

He made it about half way across the clearing before the end of Conrad’s spear erupted in a loud explosion, followed closely by Sergeant Resolve’s head exploding in a mess of blood, bone, and brains. Everypony gasped as Resolve’s body skidded to the ground, a mix of horror and amazement in the air as Conrad fiddled with his spear for a brief moment before levelling it at Rarity.

Rarity was speechless, unable to comprehend what had just happened. One moment Steel Resolve was running at Conrad, the next he was lying dead in a growing pool of his own blood. The rest of her troops were quick to turn tail and run for their lives, leaving Rarity alone in the clearing with the earth ponies and the humans.

The clearing went deathly quiet as everypony waited for Conrad to do something, all eyes on the human. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, Conrad lowered his weapon and cleared his throat.

“I tried to warn him, but he didn’t listen. Let’s hope that you are more sensible Ms Rarity.”

Author's Note

I've gotten questions on how language works, so here I am to clarify. The answer to that question, along with how Conrad even got to Equestria all tie together, and will be explained in a later chapter by a special character. You can speculate who it is, but until that chapter happens, you're just going to have to formulate your theories and wait for that chapter.

Special thanks to SolidFire for putting up with my terrible writing skills and proofreading this chapter. He's a real bro, go check him out and follow his shit. Also, while you're at it go convince him to write a fic. He's a great writer, he just doubts himself and it's quite annoying to see such talent go to waste.

Also, I think this is one of the longest chapters I've written. Slowly, ever so slowly, I'm getting better at extending what I write. Let's hope I can break 1.8k next time!

Questions

“Questions”
Conrad Schmidt
Earth Pony Relocation Zone Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville, Equestria
September 4th, 15 ALR (After Luna’s Return)

It was all too quick for him to really process. One moment, the soldier pony was ordering him to drop his weapon, the next he was laying dead in a pool of his own blood. He didn’t know why he spoke up in the Earth Ponies defense, or why he disobeyed the orders shouted at him, but there was no way he could reverse his actions now. All he could do now was press this Rarity character and pray the government would not send more troops, knowing full well that the chances of that were astronomically slim.

Rarity just stood where she was quietly, still gaping at her dead comrade. Conrad couldn’t help but feel pity for the terrified mare... after all, there was no way she could’ve known what his rifle would do and just how deadly it was. She must think that he was using a stick of sorcery or something similar.

Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Conrad got his response as Rarity unsheathed her sword and placed it gently on the ground. “I know when to give up, and clearly this is one of those times. All I ask is that you spare my life,” she said slowly. Conrad could clearly hear the wavering tone of Rarity’s voice, knowing full well that she was absolutely terrified.

He immediately walked towards Rarity, stopping a few feet in front of her before looking down at her. “You’re very wise Ms. Rarity, and I respect that. I sincerely apologize for killing your comrade there; you must understand that I was defending myself. As long as you cooperate with me and answer all of my questions, I’ll be certain to let you live,” he explained. Rarity nodded as she took a seat on her rump, raising her gaze to meet Conrad’s.

“Very well, I’ll tell you what I can. Just ask away.” she replied, her voice taking on a more calm tone. Conrad gave a short smile, then got down to a kneeling position and looked at Rarity, observing her polished armor. The whole thing was painted a rich shade of purple, with a large diamond fixed onto the chest piece.

“Let’s start off easy. What’s your rank and why do you wear such... flashy armor?” Conrad finally asked, keeping a neutral look on his face. Rarity thought for a few moments, and then grinned.

“I’m a Captain, responsible for dealing with only the most worrisome Relocation Camps for Her Majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle. As for why I wear such wonderful armor, it’s because I have a reputation to uphold. I want to look my best as I uphold Twilight’s will, to show that while I’m a mare who shows no mercy, I’m also a mare of class.”

Conrad listened with interest, taking note of how much pride was in her voice. Once Rarity finished, Conrad took a bit to think of what else he wanted to ask her when Applejack walked over to the both of them and cleared her throat.

“Ah got a question for ya Rarity. How the hay did ya go from generous and friendly to cold and merciless? I know y’all are part of the Death Heads and all but you were never like this, getting down in the mud and killing ponies without hesitation. It’s just not like ya to join such an organization like the Death Heads and kill ponies who resist Twilight.” she asked slowly, clearly struggling to not let much emotion in her voice. Rarity froze at this, looking deep into Applejack’s eyes as she pondered her answer.

Meanwhile, Conrad watched both of them with interest, wondering why Applejack had asked such a question. It was almost like they were friends before the relocation camp, something that intrigued Conrad deeply. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rarity cleared her throat before looking at the ground.

“I... well I had no choice Applejack, darling… Twilight personally asked me to join the Death Headss. At first I didn’t want to, but then… then she threatened Sweetie Belle, and I had no choice. From there, my only goal was to impress Twilight, so I did my best to be as ruthless as possible. It was the only way to keep Sweetie safe…” she explained softly, tears forming in her eyes. Applejack sighed, walking over to Rarity before wrapping her forelegs around her in a hug, trying her best to comfort her as she began to cry.

Conrad watched the embrace calmly, bringing himself back up to his full height and taking a step back. These two would need time to recover the time that had been lost between them, and Conrad knew it would be best to let them have their space. Taking his rifle off his shoulder, he quickly pulled the bolt back and forth four times before loading a fresh stripper clip and placing the rifle back on his shoulder. He then reached down and grabbed the four rounds that he ejected and put them all in his ammo pouch before crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for the two old friends to break off their hug.

After a few minutes, Applejack pulled away from Rarity, giving the Captain a small smile. “Ah’m happy to see you back Rarity... I missed you and the others so much. When ah heard that you were this evil, relentless officer in the Death Headss, ah thought ah lost ya to Twilight’s evil. Ah just wish Twilight hadn’t changed so much. It’s heartbreaking to see what she’s become, a tyrannical dictator with no sense or proper morals anymore.” she said shakily, taking a seat on her rump. Rarity nodded slowly, looking deep into Applejack’s eyes for a while before suddenly turning her gaze to Conrad.

“Maybe you can help us Mr Schmidt. I mean you killed Steel Resolve with ease from a distance with your weapon there. If you managed to kill him so easily...maybe you can help fight back against Twilight!” she exclaimed as she rose to her hooves. Conrad’s eyes widened as he heard this, completely astounded that Rarity would ask him to do such a thing. It was one thing to kill a guard pony who was charging him, but to help a bunch of ponies rebel against a tyrannical government by himself? No way in hell that would work.

“I’m sorry, but there is no way in hell I’ll fight against this Princess Twilight. I’m just one man, and to be frank I just want to get home. I killed Steel Resolve in self defense, if I had any other option I would of had taken it.” Conrad replied rather sharply, eliciting murmurs from the crowd of earth ponies. Rarity opened her mouth to retort against this when Applejack held up her hoof to stop Rarity and turned to look at Conrad.

“Ah understand you’re want to get home Conrad, and that ya killed Steel Resolve in self defense, but Rarity has a point. We need your help if we’re ever going to survive. If Twilight gives up on sending us away, we’re still going to slowly starve here on the farm, live our days in suffering. Ah have a feeling that we aren’t the only ponies in this situation... ah think that all earth ponies are suffering in this way. Please Conrad. The fate of our entire race hangs in the balance here!” she exclaimed in a sad, pleading tone.

Deep in Conrad’s mind, he knew what Applejack was saying was true, yet he was unsure on if he should stay and help or continue to try to get home. If he stayed, he’d be facing overwhelming odds, and would probably be killed in his efforts. However, if he went back home to Earth, perhaps he’d have better chances with his brothers in arms in the 6th Army in Stalingrad. He thought about it for a while before finally clearing his throat and looking at Applejack.

“Give me till tomorrow morning to think about it. I’ll give you your answer then.” he replied rather curtly. There were murmurs of disappointment from the crowd, but Applejack smiled a bit.

“Thank you for at least considering it Conrad. It means a lot to the rest of the ponies and me here on the farm. Now, let me take you to a place where ya can rest your head. Rarity, ya can come with me too. As for the rest of y’all, get back to work. Ah think we’ve had enough excitement for one day.” she exclaimed. The crowd was rather quick to disband, a lot of them muttering as they went back to working the orchard leaving Applejack, Conrad and Rarity alone in the clearing. There was a moment of silence between the three before Applejack finally gestured for them to follow her as she started walking towards the barn. Rarity and Conrad stayed back for a few seconds, eyeing the body of Steel Resolve for a few seconds. Conrad shrugged at the body, without much emotion, while Rarity took the small period to honor her comrade before reluctantly following.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Echo_Off for editing this chapter, and become the official editor for this story. He's a brave man to delve into my shitty writing to fix it up, and he deserves all the respect.

Wald der Träume

“Wald der Träume”
Conrad Schmidt

Conrad fired another shot at the Soviets charging his position, determined to keep them from breaking the line. It was the second day of the Soviet counteroffensive and things were looking grim for the German soldiers of the Sixth Army as the German front line was slowly squeezed tighter and tighter by the encroaching Soviets. However the men fought on, knowing that surrender was not an option and that the eyes of Germany were on them.

Another explosion rocked their building as the Soviets pressed on, seemingly unfazed by the massive casualties they were taking. Conrad’s friend, Friedrich Dresler, quickly ran over to him firing off a burst of rounds from his captured Soviet submachine gun as he ran by the window. “Goddammit Conrad, there’s just so many of them! It’s like fighting a swarm of goddam bees!” he shouted as he loaded a fresh drum mag into his PPsH.

Conrad nodded as another explosion rocked the building, making him flinch a little. “Yeah... they just coming back for more, they don’t care how many we kill. At this rate, we’ll be overwhelmed in no time.” he replied quickly before peeking around the corner of the window, taking a shot, then pulling himself back quickly behind the window. Friedrich however disagreed with Conrad’s assumption, firing off another quick burst of rounds out the window as a few more Soviets bit the dust.

“Nonsense, we can take them. All we need is for the Luftwaffe to continue delivering ammo and food and we should be able to keep them at bay. There can only be so many they can throw at us,” he finally retorted. Conrad chuckled, taking one last shot out the window before reloading his rifle. However, he was unable to reply as a large artillery shell slammed into the building, causing a massive amount of damage. With a loud crash, the portion of the second floor that was above Friedrich gave way, instantly crushing him. Conrad had managed to dive out of the way to the center of the room before scampering to the other side of the room as the debris crashed down, causing smoke and dust to quickly fill the room.

Coughing violently, Conrad tried to collect himself as he tried to figure out what had just happened. One moment he was sitting there, the next moment… Friedrich! When it finally hit him, it hit like a sack of bricks as he rushed over to the massive pile of rubble that he had just been in a few moments ago, trying his hardest to pick through the rubble and find his friend as tears streamed from his eyes. One moment he was there, the next he was gone.

The world seemed to go quiet as Conrad tried to dig his way through, as if to grieve for the fallen Friedrich. Unnoticed by Conrad, the remains of the building started to disintegrate around him, slowly being replaced by the dark, tall trees of a pine forest. Only when the sound of rustling branches and the smell of pine entered his nostrils did he finally notice that something had changed. Confused, he took a look around and noticed the incredibly tall pines around him.

“What the... how the hell did I end up in a forest?” he asked himself softly as he slowly turned around and marvelled at the trees, not noticing the concrete rubble that he was just digging in disappear. Then, seemingly from nowhere, a woman’s voice answered his question.

“You’re in the Forest of Dreams Conrad Schmidt. I felt like it would be a better place to talk than that physical manifestation of Tartarus that you call Stalingrad.”

Conrad was even more confused by this, and quickly turned around in an attempt to find the source of the voice. “Who said that? Show yourself!” he called out, gripping his rifle tightly. The forest remained quiet for a few moments before the woman chuckled.

“I’m sorry about that, I forgot that I hadn’t manifested myself into a form that you could see. Let me fix that,” it exclaimed before there was a bright flash in front of Conrad, forcing him to cover his eyes as he was temporarily blinded. When the flash subsided and he lowered his hand, Conrad found himself staring at the most awe inspiring creature he had ever seen in his life.

Standing before him was a rather tall, dark blue mare with a purplish mane sprinkled with white dots that flowed elegantly behind her, almost as if to simulate a shimmering night sky. The mare also adorned two furled wings on her sides, and a very long horn on her head. Lowering his rifle, he just stared at her for the longest time, completely speechless.

“I am Princess Luna, Princess of the Night and former co-ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria. I’ve watched your dreams for a long time Mr. Schmidt. You’re probably one of the first humans that I’ve ever watched actually. Your grief for your fallen comrades, weariness of war, I watched it all. However, the strongest thing that I detected beyond all that grief and weariness was your loyalty to your country. The belief that you were serving your country and your people,” she explained, walking slowly until she was right in front of him. Looking down at the Princess, Conrad took his time to process what she said as he formulated his response. She was certainly right about his belief about serving his country, for that was the only thing that kept him from deserting.

“I’ve always wanted to serve Germany the best I could, even if the war was hell on earth. However, why do you intrude on my dreams? Why are you here speaking to me now?” he asked calmly. Luna chuckled, taking a seat on her rump.

“Well, I’m here to tell you why you’re here, in Equestria, and not dead in the ruins of Stalingrad. You see, I needed someone to help me out with a major problem, and it just so happened that you were a perfect candidate for who I needed. It also just so happened that you were about to die when a pony wished on a star for someone to help them, and I used that power to summon you here to Equestria.” she explained. Conrad scratched his head, wondering just how powerful this Princess was to pull him to another world, but quickly dismissed the thought, as it wasn’t nearly as important as the fact that she had summoned him here for a purpose.

“So, you need my help. I’m going to go ahead and guess that it has something to do with toppling Twilight?” he asked calmly, making sure to keep his voice devoid of emotion. Luna simply nodded in response, getting to her hooves.

“You guessed right Mr. Schmidt. While Princess Twilight passed the Forced Relocation Act five years ago, very recently she’s been accelerating her plans for the non-unicorns of Equestria. Thanks to my inside pony in Twilight’s government, I now know that she’s liquefying the Relocation Camps one by one and sending them to remote ‘Processing’ camps. Once ponies are shipped there, they don’t return. This is incredibly concerning; I fear that Twilight is beginning a genocide against the non unicorns in Equestria. I believe the processing camps are actually camps where they indiscriminately kill ponies but I cannot do anything about it, at least by myself. Hence why I summoned you,” she explained.

Conrad frowned deeply, thinking about what Luna had said. Things were clearly going downhill in Equestria, but Conrad still noted the fact that he was only one man, and that he could only do so much. “I’m sorry Princess, but I don’t think I’ll be able to help your here. I’m just one man, and you’re asking me to go up against an entire government and topple it. I’d need an army behind me, one that was professionally trained and equipped to do such a task, something clearly I don’t have. I wish I could help you, but it’s just impossible under current circumstances.”

Luna remained quiet, looking at Conrad for a bit, then walking around him as if she was analyzing him, before quietly shaking her head.

“You underestimate yourself Mr. Schmidt, and what resources are at your disposal. You have an entire camp of ponies who hate their current living conditions, and want to fight back around you. They could be trained to fight with what they have. It may not be the best, but by fighting back you could prove to all of the ponies suffering in relocation camps that they aren’t doomed to suffering, but can pick up arms and fight. I picked you Conrad because you were one of the best examples of a soldier that I had ever seen. You’re loyal, brave, unwavering when you fight for a cause. Look deep into your heart, and know that you have a chance to win here, but only if you take it.”

It took a few moments for Conrad to realize what she was saying, and when he did, it hit like a freight train. Luna was right, he wouldn’t be alone if he started the fight against Twilight. He knew for a fact that Applejack would stand by him, and would probably draw the others from the farm to fight as well. It didn’t require conventional warfare to defeat an enemy, sometimes you had to break up and harass them anyway you could, just like those Soviet Partisan fighters back on Earth. The more he thought on it, the more confident he got in himself. He would help these ponies be free... it was definitely better than the alternative, being dead on Earth. A good man repays his debts. Grinning, he finally nodded in approval to Princess Luna.

“Perhaps I’m not as powerless like I think I am. I’ll do my best to free the Earth Ponies,” he exclaimed in a confident tone. Luna smiled at this, dipping her head in thanks.

“Thank you Mr. Schmidt, Equestria will never forget your decision. Now before you go, I need to tell you something. When you wake up, go to Captain Rarity and ask her about freeing the Prisoner of Sunny Hills. Once you rescue the Prisoner of Sunny Hills, tell her the following phrase, and she will know what to do: ‘"Where the Nightmare began, a nightmare will end"’ Good luck Mr. Schmidt, the eyes of fate are upon you.” she replied before turning around and slowly walking back into the mist.

With Luna gone, the forest started to shimmer, breaking apart quickly as Conrad split from the Forest of Dreams back to the waking world, ready for the coming storm.

Author's Note

I went back and changed a few dates around. And yes, I know I didn't explain the language issue in this chapter...basically, Luna's teleportation magic gave Conrad the ability to speak Equestrian. Next chapter I'm looking forward to writing...and I hope you look forward to seeing what I got in store for you next :D

Dawn

“Dawn”
Conrad Schmidt
Sunny Hills Maximum Security Complex, Whitetail Woods, Equestria
September 6th, 15 ALR

Conrad looked through his binoculars once more, scanning the walls of the sprawling prison complex in front of him one last time to affirm the guard’s patrol pattern. It was surprising to see just how few guards were patrolling the outer wall, only seeing a handful of guards keeping a constant patrol around the perimeter. Rarity explained something about a planned offensive known as “Operation Shattered Crystal” potentially being the reason why there were significantly fewer guards, a fact that Conrad noted as he finalized his entrance plan.

Conrad would have to wait until Rarity sent a pulse through the signal crystal she had given him before scaling the wall, using the darkness as his cover. Once on the top, he would have to move as fast as possible to make it into the nearest watchtower to avoid being spotted. From there, he would have to rely on instinct and intuition, for he had no clue as to what awaited him in the prison.

Exhaling, he put his binoculars down and slowly made his way to the barbed wire fence, pulling out the small pair of wire cutters that Applejack had given him. They weren't the best, but they’d have to do. He started cutting away at the wire, slowly and carefully, making sure to get low again once a guard rounded the top of the wall. After a few minutes, he had successfully managed to cut the wire, pulling it aside and allowing him a clear path to the wall. All he had to do now was wait for Rarity’s signal.

Rarity was nervous. She had been given the job of getting into the prison, using the guise that she was bringing Applejack in like Twilight had ordered, which included getting through the brunt of security at the front gate without arousing suspicion. If even the smallest detail went wrong at the gate, the whole plan could be thrown in jeopardy.

She lead Applejack down the beaten path to the main gate, making sure to keep her composure the best she could despite how nervous she was. Once there she was stopped by guard, a dark brown mare with a jet-black mane and bright green eyes. The guard looked her over for a bit before clearing her throat.

“Welcome to Sunny Hills, state your business Captain.” she announced, her voice devoid of emotion. Rarity took a moment to compose herself before answering the guard.

“I’m here under the orders of Her Majesty Twilight Sparkle, transporting the prisoner known as Applejack for immediate incarceration here in Sunny Hills, authorization code Cerberus.” Rarity replied calmly as she pulled out her identification papers and gave them to the guard. The guard took her ID paper and took a quick look over it, frowning deeply.

“You’re not known for being late Captain Rarity, what happened that delayed you for two days?” she asked as she handed back the ID paper. Rarity took a moment to compile something in her head, and then chuckled.

“She tried to run, I had to tear apart Ponyville before being able to apprehend her and taking her into custody. Damn mud ponies sure know how to hide in corners, almost like rats.” she explained, eliciting a chuckle from the guard and a frown from Applejack. The guard then proceeded to step back to her post and rang the bell to open the gates.

“That’s pretty funny, getting fooled by a Earth Pony. You’re losing your edge Captain; you should work on getting it back. Anyways head on in, a guard should guide you to a cell for the prisoner.” she exclaimed as the heavy iron gates to the prison slowly opened. Rarity breathed out, giving the guard a nod before walking into the prison.

I hope this is worth it, she thought, then briefly activated her magic sending a signal through the crystal she had in her saddlebag. Now it was Conrad’s turn to shine.

Conrad watched the guard make what seemed like his fifth pass on the wall when the crystal in his pocket vibrated, signalling that Rarity had gotten in. Relieved, he reached into his bag and checked his Luger, satisfied that it was ready for action. He took a deep breath, and then ran as fast as he could towards the wall and jumping.

Once his hands had connected with the wall, he quickly pulled himself up the wall and pulled out his knife, ready to deal with any pony that saw him. Below him sprawled the large complex, with several large blocky buildings, most of them being indistinguishable from the rest. Getting in was the easy part for Conrad, but finding the target inside was a different matter entirely.

Once Conrad had finished surveying the compound, he started moving along the wall to where one of the guard towers rose up from the walls, keeping his wits about him as he moved along. Once there, he opened the door leading inside and moved up the tower, slowly and carefully to not tip off the guard manning the top. He’d take him by surprise and find out where the prisoner was being kept.

The guard was busy paying attention to the surrounding woods when suddenly he was grabbed at the neck, a knife appearing a few centimeters from his throat. “Scream and this knife goes straight through your neck, do you understand me?” came a voice from behind him, a certain intimidating note in his voice. The guard nodded frantically, keeping incredibly still in Conrad’s grasp. Conrad grinned at this, then coughed.

“Where is the Prisoner of Sunny Hills being held? Give me directions, and I might just spare the pathetic thing you call your life.” Conrad asked, placing the knife gently on the guard’s throat to drive the point home. The guard tensed up, sweat rolling down his face as his eyes locked onto the knife on his throat.

Conrad waited patiently for the guard to answer, getting one a few moments later. “The prisoner... is in the Central Building. If you head to the base of this tower, you will be able to access to Access Tunnel 472 which leads straight to the cell block where she’s held. She’s kept under a magic barrier at all times, guarded by four of our most elite ponies at all times. Even if you were to sneak past all the guards on your way to the Central Building, those guards in her chamber will mess you up. I’d suggest you forget your ambitions and just get out of here, it would be foolish to continue your plan.” he replied, a bit defiant at the end. Conrad simply chuckled quietly at this, shaking his head firmly.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ll do just fine.” he exclaimed before quickly slitting the stallion’s throat. The guard gurgled as he choked on his own blood for a bit before going limp in Conrad’s grasp. Once Conrad was sure the guard was dead, he slowly let his body down and wiped off his knife. Now that he knew where he was going, all he had to do now was make his way to the prisoner and deal with the guards there. With a sigh, Conrad straightened his belt and made his way back into the tower.

“So, let me get this straight. You had to chase this mud pony around town for two days before you found her? How much you’ve fallen Captain Rarity, you’re nothing like they hype you up to be,” exclaimed the guard as he walked Rarity through the compound towards the central building. It had been pretty straightforward from the gate for Rarity, having immediately met up with a guard once inside and being led further into the compound. Rarity had spent the entire walk so far looking around, noting all the guard posts and exits that she could see. For a moment, she could of had sworn she had seen a guard on one of the watchtowers be pulled off to the side, but it was so quick that she dismissed it as her seeing things.

Rarity chuckled, shaking her head as she walked with the guard. “You do know that I can still kick your flank, right? Just because this pony is particularly slimy, doesn’t mean that I’m bad at what I do. I suggest you show me some respect soldier, or I might just knock your teeth out. Being part of the SAD comes with the freedom of being able to do what I please, and beating the snot out of some disrespectful guard is part of that freedom.” she replied sharply. The guard laughed as they reached the main door to the central building, unlocking it with a bronze key.

Once inside, Rarity was immediately greeted with a large row of jail cells, most of them holding prisoners. She knew that most were nobles and intellectuals who refused to support Twilight. As they walked through the hall, Rarity wondered how far they would be heading into the building. “Where are we taking Applejack?” she finally asked idly.

The guard chuckled as they approached a large stairway leading down. “She’s being taken to a special cell next to the Prisoner of Sunny Hills. Twilight gave us strict orders to make sure she would be secure, and the Celestial Section is the securest part of the prison, even if we’re running on a thin garrison.” he explained. Rarity grinned at this information, happy to know that she wouldn’t have to go far after disposing the guard.

The group continued down the steps and through a long, empty hall before finally reaching a large set of double iron doors. The guard then proceeded to pull out a golden key from his pocket, whistling to himself as he put it in the lock to the door and unlocked it with a loud kerchunk. The sound of gears turning could be heard as several other locks began unlocking, slowly but surely. After a few minutes, there was a final chunk, followed by a loud creaking noise as the doors swung open.

The guard then proceeded to clear his throat, and turn around. “All right Captain Rarity, this is the part where I take the prisoner to the cell, and you return to Canterlot.” he said flatly. Rarity hesitated for a moment, taking a moment to look around before chuckling and walking up to the guard, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

“Actually sir, this is where you take your leave” The stallion had no time to react before Rarity drew her sword and shoved it through the stallion’s neck. He only gurgled as he crumpled into a pile on the floor. Satisfied with the kill, Rarity wiped the blood off her sword with her magic and turned to Applejack, removing her gag and her binds.

“Sorry if you were uncomfortable there darling, I had to keep the disguise up.” she exclaimed as she sheathed her sword and floated over the guard’s sword belt to Applejack. Applejack simply snorted at this as she took the belt from Rarity, securing it on her torso before unsheathing the sword and giving it a few test swings.

“Ya could of had done that without referring to me as a filthy mud pony,” she replied flatly as she sheathed her sword. Rarity giggled, and opened her mouth to say something when one of the doors built into the side of the hall opened up. Rarity and Applejack spun to face whoever had come out, only to see Conrad standing there, a flat expression on his face. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, waiting for Conrad to walk up to them before giving him a smile.

“Glad to see you could join us Conrad. I do hope the journey into the prison wasn’t difficult for you,” she said in a rather cool tone. Conrad simply nodded, taking a moment to look at the guard’s lifeless corpse.

“It was a walk in the park. I assume beyond these open doors is the prisoner?” he asked. Rarity nodded, taking a quick step over the guard’s body.

“According to this fellow, yes. Now let’s get moving, I want to get out of this place as soon as possible.” she replied before walking through the open doors. Conrad and Applejack looked at each other for a few moments, then took off after Rarity, not wanting to be left behind.

The group had to round a few corners until they found themselves at another set of iron doors guarded by two guards. As the group approached the doors, both guards unsheathed their swords, one of them taking a step forward and shouting for them to halt. In a swift motion, Conrad drew his Luger and fired two shots. Each shot hit the guards in the head, killing them instantly. Once at the doors, Conrad pushed them open and stepped inside.

The doors lead to a very large, square room hosting nothing but a large rectangular stone box in the middle, surrounded by a large pink bubble generated by some obscure crystal being suspended from the ceiling. Conrad readied his pistol to take a shot when a shout interrupted him. Whipping his attention to where the shout came from, Conrad saw three guard ponies, all dressed in suits of plate armor with swords drawn. One of them stepped forward, the plume on her helmet signalling that she was probably the group leader and snarled. “I’m going to give you one chance to surrender peacefully, and I suggest you take it. The whole prison’s been alerted, you have only minutes before you get swarmed by every soldier here.” she announced calmly.

Conrad laughed, readying his pistol as Applejack and Rarity both drew their swords. “I still got plenty of time to get what I came here for, that’s for sure. I’d suggest you back off, while you still breathe.” Conrad replied confidently. The leader grinned, shaking her head as she stepped back.

“Your mistake buddy. Attack!” With a loud battle cry, the guards charged towards Conrad at full speed only to be stopped dead in their tracks as Conrad fired off two shots, each one easily punching through two of the guard’s helmets and killing them instantly. The last guard managed to reach Conrad’s position before his attack was quickly parried by Rarity, giving Conrad enough time to take aim and finish him off.

“Those weapons you wield are incredible Mr. Schmidt, how do you even make them?” she asked curiously as Conrad walked over to the dead guards. “I don’t make them.” he replied sharply as he picked up a key ring from the leader and walked back over to Rarity and Applejack. Rarity frowned but said nothing as she watched Conrad carefully. She still couldn’t get used to just how deadly he was, killing with such brutal efficiency

There was a few moments of silence as Conrad raised his pistol and took careful aim at the crystal powering the pink bubble before pulling the trigger. The crystal shattered, raining bits of it down as the containment shield flickered then died. Smiling internally, Conrad reloaded his Luger and walked up to the large iron door that held back the prisoner inside. He steeled his resolve as he inserted the key into the lock and unlocked the door, readying himself mentally. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and pushed onwards.

Sitting on a bed inside was an elegant white mare with a colorful flowing mane and brilliant light pink eyes. Like Luna, she had a combination of wings and a horn, though the most glaring attribute of this pony became clear to Conrad when she got up off her bed and looked at him. She was imposingly tall, to the extent that she was eye level with him, giving off an aura of intimidation compared to other ponies. Slightly nervous, he cleared his throat before giving her a quick smile.

“You must be The Prisoner of Sunny Hills that Luna wanted me to free. She wanted me to tell you that ‘Where the Nightmare began, a Nightmare will end.’” He explained slowly. The mare gazed at him for a few moments, then laughed, giving him a warm smile.

“It’s nice to know that Luna remembered me, after all it only took her eleven years to find someone. I’d love to find out more about how this rescue came to be, but I fear we are running out of time. Quickly, take that crystal ring off my horn, and we can get out of here before the guards swarm us.” She responded warmly. Conrad was surprised at how warm her voice was, but he did what he was told and reached up to pull off the crystal ring off of her horn. The mare sighed a breath of relief, lighting up her horn quickly to test her magic before motioning for Applejack and Rarity to come into the cell as well.

With everyone inside, the mare took a second to collect herself, then cleared her throat. “I want each of you to touch me, and whatever you do, do not let go.” She explained quickly. Shouts could be heard coming from the corridor outside the room as guards rushed towards them in a desperate attempt to stop them. Without delay, everyone in the cell took grip of Celestia as she lit up her horn. It glowed softly at first, gradually increasing intensity until it became a glaring light on top of her horn. Just as guards reached the cell, she finally cast the spell. With a loud pop and a brilliant flash, the group was teleported out of the cell.

Author's Note

I apologize for the absurd delay, so sorry that I'm giving you all something to show you how sorry I am:

Songs. German songs....or at least links to German songs, since the mods are twitchy as fuck.

Erika
(Easily my favorite)

Heia Safari (1941)

Panzerlied

Funkerlied

Aaaand finally....

I really don't know if this is actually called "Lisa Lisa!" or not, I can only go off of the video title.

I hope you accept my gifts, and I thank you all for reading and being patient :D

ALso....this is the longest chapter I've ever written, and I'm incredibly proud of that.

The Birth of a Revolution

“The Birth of a Revolution”
Conrad Schmidt
The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, Everfree Forest, Equestria
September 6th, 15 ALR

With a soft pop the group landed in the ruins of a large, derelict throne room, Conrad falling over at the sudden shift in position. He groaned, disoriented from his fall as he heard several giggles coming from the ponies accompanying him. “Ha ha, very funny,” He muttered as he climbed to his feet and looked around.

While the room was in a state of disrepair, it seemed as if at some point there was an attempt to restore it. The floor was clear of all debris, and the large hole in the ceiling was covered by a large pink tarp. His eyes locked onto the two large thrones at the back of the room. Made of wood, the chairs had a large amount of detail in them, so fine that Conrad couldn’t help but be amazed at the spectacular craftsmanship. Above the two thrones hung two large tattered banners, one having a sun symbol and the other a moon.

He stared for what seemed like an eternity until he heard Rarity snort. “This room still looks hideous... I wish we had put more work into it before Twilight insisted we focus on that silly reading room of hers, I mean look at those banners! Utterly ruined, disgraceful!” She exclaimed as she trotted up to the thrones and looks up at the ruined banners. While Rarity inspected the banners closely, Conrad turned to face the tall mare that they had rescued and cleared his throat.

“Luna didn’t tell me your name miss, would you mind telling me?” He finally asked. The mare chuckled softly, giving Conrad a soft grin.

“My name is Celestia, former ruler of Equestria and her territories. How about you? I’ve never seen a creature like you before,” She responded. Conrad returned a short smile before removing his helmet.

“My name is Conrad Schmidt, a human soldier from the Germany. To be fair, you haven’t seen a human before because I’m not from this world. Luna somehow summoned me here and told me that I was her only hope of liberating Equestria. Other than that, she didn’t tell me much other than to rescue you. I was hoping you’d have an idea on how to proceed.” Celestia looked at Conrad for a few moments, then slowly nodded her head and started walking towards the two thrones, stopping just in front of the two staircases.

“There is a way you can help, but we best meet up with Luna before I can tell you how exactly. We’re about to enter one of the castle’s many secret rooms, please stay close to me,” she explained neutrally as she lit up her horn. There was silence for a few moments before a deep rumbling could be heard coming up from the floor. Soon enough, the floor between the staircases started parting revealing a decrepit, but still solid stone staircase. Rarity and Applejack let out a soft ooooh as they watched the staircase revealed itself, but Conrad was silent as he observed. It reminded him of the tales of a nearby castle from his childhood, Burg Hohenzollern, which was rumored to have interesting trap doors and secret passageways. Once the passage was fully open, Celestia took no time in heading down into the darkness, using a lighting spell to guide the way. The rest of the group was quick to follow, not wanting to be left behind in the derelict throne room.

The passageway itself was rather thin as the group passed through it, with large chunks of stone making navigation rather hazardous. After a few minutes of walking and avoiding the rubble, the group finally emerged into a circular room surrounded by ancient looking maps. In the center of the room sat a table with a map on it, surrounded by many stone chairs. On the opposite side of the table, illuminated dimly by a single torch, sat none other than Princess Luna, a grin on her face as she got out of her seat. “Sister, it is good to see you again. I hope your journey here was a safe one?” She asked warmly. Celestia nodded, using her magic to ignite the rest of the torches in the room as she walked over to Luna and hugged her tightly.

“Indeed it was, Luna, thanks to Conrad here. I hoped you could get me out of that prison sooner, but I’m still glad that you still managed to get someone to rescue me. Can you give me a full report on what’s happen to Equestria since Twilight took over? News has been impossible to come by in Sunny Hills,” she finally responded as she let go of Luna. Luna nodded, then gestured for everyone to take a seat in one of the stone chairs. Once everyone had been seated, Luna took a moment to look around before responding.

“After you were captured, I managed to flee with General Night Wolf and a few members of the Lunar Guard. We waited a while for Twilight to stop looking for us, then regrouped here and planned our moves. We ended up setting up surveillance in Twilight’s government, using a system of bribes and covert operations to gain as much information on Twilight’s moves as possible. She was quick to set up her own personal guard, known as the Death Hooves which she used to silence any resistance to her rule. In fact, Ms. Rarity here was part of them. She could tell you so much more than I can, for that organization is tightly knit,” Luna reported, turning her gaze to Rarity. A bead of sweat rolled down Rarity’s face under her helmet as all eyes turned to look at her.

“Uhh... why don’t we let Princess Luna finish her report before I tell you about the Death Hooves?” She asked softly. Applejack, Luna and Celestia frowned at this, but Conrad smirked at this statement, placing a hand on his pistol holster.

“Why don’t you tell us now, Rarity? Prove that you want to see Equestria freed from Twilight’s rule and tell us what you know about the Death Hooves. After all, you were quite eager to help back at the farm,” He exclaimed. Rarity gulped, shaking a bit as she shrank back in her chair.

“We... well... alright, if you insist. The Death Hooves are a division sized unit, holding control of approximately 15,000 troops. They serve as Twilight’s military police units, deploying to domestic situations such as riots, as well as serving as her personal guard. Death Hooves are trained to fight without mercy, only taking prisoners if Twilight orders it. While most Death Hooves are very loyal to Twilight, the Royal Protection Detachment is fanatical in their devotion. This fanaticism makes them incredibly dangerous, even more so than regular Death Hoof units,” she replies, not bothering to hide the sheer amount of nervousness in her tone. Conrad smiled, taking his hand off his holster before gesturing for Luna to continue. She looked around the table, making sure that nobody else wanted to speak before coughing and continuing.

“As Rarity explained, the Death Hooves are a very dangerous threat to any upstart revolution, as they proved in the Cloudsdale Riots of 8 ALR, which brings me to another, very disturbing topic. About ten years ago Twilight passed the Forced Relocation Act, a law that forced non unicorns to specialized zones, away from the rest of the population. They’re treated very poorly in these camps, and conditions are reported to be exceedingly harsh. What most disturbs me is that recently, Twilight has ordered these camps to be liquefied, with the occupants being sent to some other camps in the Everfree. Whoever gets sent to these camps, never returns. I have good reason to believe that we’re witnessing a genocide in progress here,” she finished. There was a few moments of silence as Celestia processed the information given to her, a deep frown forming on her face as she got to her hooves.

“If what you say is true Luna, then we are facing very grim circumstances here. It’s one thing for Twilight to take over the Kingdom, it’s another thing to begin a genocide against her own subjects. Do you have a plan?”

Luna was quick to nod in response, getting up as well. “It’s quite simple really. While the unicorns rely heavily on magical constructs to fill the gaps left by the non-unicorn races, they still face a major problem in the fact that they are severely outnumbered... at least for now. What we need to do is to have Rarity here train the ponies from Sweet Apple Acres in the art of battle as quick as we can, then strike a relocation zone. If we can liberate the ponies of the relocation camp that we choose, then we will not only swell our numbers but also send a strong message to the rest of Equestria that Twilight can be beaten. From there, it’s just the challenging task of liberating the rest of the relocation camps, followed by a directed assault on Canterlot,” she explained.

Celestia listened thoughtfully, closing her eyes once she had finished. “This will be a significant challenge, but we have no other choice if we are to free our land from Twilight’s tyranny. This Dawn Rebellion will succeed, but only if we move with haste!”

The room went quiet for a few moments as Luna thought of a response, followed by her coughing. “The ponies of Sweet Apple Acres should be camped in the plains outside Appleloosa, we must regroup with them quickly. If there is anything else that needs to be said, please say it now.”

Everyone shook their heads, all getting up as they prepared to depart. As Conrad stood up, he exhaled, feeling a bit nervous as the prospect of what loomed in the future for him hit him fully. He had crossed the line of no return.

Author's Note

I'm sorry this took so long, school and other shit piled up on me. I also come bearing bad news (for you guys at least), I'm going on an eleven day trip to Germany today (so fucking hyped :pinkiehappy: ), so I'm not going to be able to write at all until I get back on the 24th. I'm not looking forward to coming back and looking at my feed (holy shit that's going to be a nightmare and a half sifting through), but goddamit I really want to go to Germany, it's always been my dream. So with that being said...thank you all for reading, and I'll be seeing you all on the 24th :D

Also, this chapter was edited by my good friend Flyerton as well as Echo. Go give him some love for me will ya? :D

The Man Beneath The Uniform

“The Man Beneath The Uniform”
Applejack
Camp “Plains”, Appleloosa, Equestria
September 16th, 15 ALR

A bird swooped overhead, chirping happily as Applejack slowly made her way through the camp. It had been nearly two weeks now since things were turned on their head by Conrad’s arrival, yet Applejack still couldn’t get used to how quickly things had changed. The situation had gone from desperate times at the farm to a life on the run, training to fight against a government that was bound to show no mercy, something that nopony could have really predicted.

As Applejack walked through the various rows of tents, she caught a glimpse of Rarity training the strongest ponies how to fight using rakes and shovels. While Applejack struggled internally on whether it was right to be training these ponies to fight, she did like the fact that Rarity was here with them, helping to train the ponies. Conrad also contributed to the training of the ponies, but he taught them more about discipline rather than actual combat skills.

As Applejack’s thoughts drifted to Conrad, she frowned deeply to herself. Despite being with Conrad for nearly two weeks, she knew very little about the human soldier who had saved them from a worse fate. He always seemed solemn and quiet, keeping to himself whenever possible. Whenever he did talk, his voice was always flat and distant, preferring to keep his talks curt.

As she walked along, she unwittingly passed Conrad’s tent before her ears caught something strange... something she never heard from him before: singing. It was rather soft, but Applejack was sure it was singing. Perplexed, she slowly crept up to the tent and listened in.

“And it is as if it spoke aloud:
‘Are you thinking of your fiancée?’
Back at home, a maiden weeps for you
and she's called Erika.”

Applejack was mystified. Not only was Conrad singing, but he was singing about a mare of some kind. To hear that he cared about a mare enough to sing about her was something that she never thought she would witness.

Finally, after a few minutes of listening she finally decided to be brave, and entered the tent to investigate this side of Conrad that she had never before witnessed. Sitting on a makeshift bed in the back of the tent was the German soldier, too busy fiddling with and cleaning several parts of his weapon to notice Applejack’s presence. His helmet was thrown off to the side, and he sat in a relaxed manner on the bed.

Applejack took a moment to compose herself, then sat down on a chair across from Conrad. “Who’s Erika?” she asked softly.

Conrad jumped a bit, hand shooting to his belt for his smaller weapon before he saw that it was Applejack and relaxed again. “Please don’t sneak up on me like that, I could have killed you,” he said sharply as he picked up the weapon he dropped and inspected it for any blemishes before looking up at Applejack. Applejack smiled sheepishly, her ears drooping a bit.

“Sorry Conrad, ah just heard you singing about someone named Erika and wanted to know about her, if you don’t mind me askin’,” she replied calmly. Conrad stared at her for a few moments, then smiled softly at her.

“Erika isn’t a real person really, it’s just a song that we sang back in the Heer. As much as I’ve always wanted to meet a girl of my own, I joined the army before I could find one,” he replied calmly. Applejack frowned at this, getting to her hooves and walking over to Conrad. She looked him over a bit, and then sat down on the bed next to him.

“Ah’d think that someone like ya would find a special girl to fall in love with... to hear that isn’t the case is a bit shockin’ to me. Why did ya join the army anyway Conrad?” she asked. Conrad sat there quietly for a while, then slowly put the piece he was cleaning back into the weapon and placed it on the other side of him.

“Well, I joined because I wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps and serve my country. You see, Germany went to war about two years before I joined, and my brother decided to join the SS. Before he left, he told me not to be sad that he was leaving, but proud that he was serving his country, and urged me to do the same. So I waited two years to finish school, and when I turned 19, I joined the Heer,” he explained. Applejack listened quietly, nodding as Conrad finished.

“Ah see. You mentioned that your country went to war... do ya know why?” she inquired. Conrad frowned at this, then thought on the question.

“It was more of a pride thing really,” he responded absentmindedly. Applejack’s frown returned at this, a bit disturbed at how he described the cause of a war to be pride. After all, the Relocation Act was passed to “preserve Unicorn pride and society”. Uncomfortable, she shuffled her front hooves and looked at the ground.

“A... pride thing? Why go to war over pride? Surely there are better ways to boost national pride than war,” she asked slowly. Conrad turned his head to face Applejack, clearly sensing Applejack’s discomfort. He went quiet for a long time, then looked at the ground.

“Well, there was this huge war a few years before I was born, something that everyone called the Great War. It was called the Great War mainly because it involved most, if not all of the great powers of the world. Millions died, and in the end Germany was defeated due to strategic betrayals. Our enemies took the chance to humiliate us, and we were soon after devastated. Our economy was dying, and our morale was at an all time low. Then, out came Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. They promised to make Germany better, and with no better alternative people all over our country were supporting Hitler, waving flags and marching in the streets. We wanted to prove to the rest of the world that we were still strong after losing the Great War. For the first time in a decade, Germany actually believed in itself again,” he explained.

Applejack pondered Conrad’s words for a bit, trying to comprehend a war in which millions of lives were lost. Were humans really that violent? How many lives had Conrad taken in his war? The more she thought on it, the more fearful she became of the soldier she sat with. “Are humans really that cruel? Killing each other by the millions, then humiliating each other instead of working together to rebuild society?” she asked softly.

Conrad looked straight ahead, his face changing to a more solemn expression. “Usually when humans fight, we don’t draw as much blood as we did in the Great War. My dad once told me that the Great War was when the world finally perfected the art of killing each other, as firepower outclassed mobility and the world was drawn into a battle of attrition. When I was in Stalingrad... I saw things that no man should see. So many of my comrades gunned down, only to be replaced with fresh faced men who had only one destiny, and that was to die for the Fatherland. In fact, I would be among the dead if it wasn’t for Princess Luna,” he replied in an ominously distant voice.

The tent was silent for a while as Applejack struggled to come to terms with what Conrad had just told her. She felt a burning pity for Conrad in her gut, knowing that Conrad was suffering greatly from his experiences. Her ears drooped as she looked at the ground. “Ah’m sorry ah asked Conrad. Ah shouldn’t have brought up such painful memories with mah nosy questions. Ah just wanted to know ya better, since you’ve always been so distant,” she apologized.

Conrad stood up, turning to face Applejack with a very small smile. “It’s alright Applejack, there was no real way of you knowing about my past experiences, after all I haven’t been the most talkative to you. It’s hard for me to open up to others especially when I know that the threat of death looms above, but I’m going to try and change that, starting with you. You were the first pony that I met, and as your protector... I guess I owe you more than to leave you in the dark,” he explained. Applejack returned the smile, standing up as well.

“That’s... that’s very nice, thank ya Conrad. Ya don’t have to open up to me if ya really don’t want to, it’s not right to force ya to do anything ya don’t feel comfortable with,” she responded warmly. Conrad laughed, and then shook his head.

“It’s okay Applejack. If we’re going to see your people free... then I should be more open with you. After all, openness breeds trust.”

Applejack nodded, walking to the entrance to the tent before turning to face Conrad. “Thanks Conrad. Ah gotta go talk to Princess Celestia, but I’ll keep you in mind in case I got any more questions. Hopefully our next conversation will be about a nicer topic, but until then, goodbye,” she finished warmly before leaving the tent.

Author's Note

I actually made the deadline. WOOT :D Let's celebrate with...a picture.

Here

You get one picture. And if any of you out there are good artists, and draw *gasp* fan art, I'll be certain to stick that art in the description :D

Purpose

“Purpose”
Conrad Schmidt

“This is for Nikolai you son of a bitch!”

The Soviet soldier’s rifle fired, but to Conrad’s utter surprise it hit the wall next to him. Silence reigned as the world around the two young men ground to a halt, holding it’s breath as the they stared down each other. It only took a minute of silence before Conrad broke the silence.

“What... you didn’t kill me. I thought you killed me!” he exclaimed in disbelief, pulling himself to a sitting position as he clutched his shoulder. The Russian chuckled as he lowered his weapon, giving Conrad a firm nod.

“Well, Vasily Nemtsov did kill you... or at least he was about to before your soul and body was pulled from Earth by Luna’s magic. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, you’re dreaming. And before you ask, no, I’m not Princess Luna,” he replied with a toothy grin. Conrad pulled himself to his feet slowly, wobbling as he kept his eyes on the Soviet in front of him, getting a good look at him.

At first glance, he was a perfectly normal Russian, with short brown hair and a messy yellow uniform, but what stood out about him rather quickly were his unnaturally bright yellow eyes. A bit disturbed, Conrad looked at the ground awkwardly, not wanting to stare into the strange eyes of the man in front of him. “Well if you’re not Princess Luna, then who are you?” he finally asked.

The man in front of him laughed, snapping his fingers as the world around them disintegrated into a large grassy field. “You can call me The Puppetmaster for now, I’m sure you’ll learn my true name soon enough. I’ve been watching you for a long time now Mr. Schmidt, and quite frankly you impress me. You’re just one man, one soldier against an entire regime. Many would call your situation suicidal or even hopeless. You on the other hand have promised to press on, despite such terrible odds,” he explained, tossing his rifle to the side.

Conrad frowned at this statement, trying to pull apart the Puppetmaster’s statement and figure out what exactly he wanted. “Well... yes, I will press on to help free the earth ponies from Twilight’s regime. Not only is it a right thing to do, but I can’t do much else now that I’m stuck here on this planet,” he responded flatly.

The Puppetmaster’s grin only widened at this as two chairs and a table materialized in front of him. Taking a seat, he gestured for Conrad to join him before two cups of milk appeared on the table as well. “Very noble goal Mr. Schmidt, but do you honestly believe that there is such a widespread genocide going on? How could the unicorns possibly take on the extermination of so many with so few forces? If you ask me Mr. Schmidt, I believe that Luna used one camp that just happened to be having trouble with the government to incite a rebellion, knowing full well that she’d be able to trick you into doing her bidding. After all, to her you’re nothing but a simple pawn in a game for power,” he said calmly. Conrad was hesitant for a moment, then sat down on the other chair and grabbed the cup of milk. This “Puppetmaster” character was trying to manipulate him in a way that was way too obvious for comfort.

“Nonsense, if you saw those ponies you’d know they were being starved on purpose. There were plenty of apple trees full of apples, yet they were forced to starve thanks to the unicorn’s regulations. If the unicorns are so willing to starve one camp, why wouldn’t they starve others?” he retorted calmly. The Puppetmaster simply shook his head, taking a drink of his milk.

“It’s because Sweet Apple Acres has always been a hotbed of talk against the government. You personally should know how important it is to control the population and eliminate the naysayers...after all, the SS did it all the time back in Germany. Didn’t your brother Albert ever tell you about the work he did in Dachau?”

Conrad froze at this statement, his eyes narrowing as he put the cup of milk down on the table. “You can’t be serious. My brother told me in a letter that he was busy guarding one of the big party officials...why would he lie to me?!” he inquired. The Puppetmaster simply smirked as he finished his milk, placing the glass down on the table with a dull thud and materialized a folder with the signature eagle and swastika emblazed on it.

“Oh dear, Albert lied to his brother! How very noble of him... shielding his brother from the harsh realities of the SS’s Totenkopfverbände. Unfortunately for you Conrad, your brother was actually assigned to Dachau, and while he was there he did some particularly nasty things that I don’t think you should really know about. It’s amazing really how good the SS are good at training their troops to not care about the people that are unfortunate enough to cross paths with them, I mean they turned your brother from such a caring individual to such a cold blooded killer…”

Conrad shot to his feet, reaching for his pistol only to find that it wasn’t in his holster. The Puppetmaster only laughed at this, getting up as well as the table and chairs dissipated. The two men stared each other down, silence reigning for what seemed like an eternity until Conrad finally spoke.

“What exactly do you expect to achieve by this? You come into my dreams and hurl these lies at me, but what do you honestly expect to get from me?” he growled. The Puppetmaster only grinned, folding his arms onto his chest.

“I want you to know who you fought for back home. You didn’t fight for the Fatherland... you fought for a regime that quite frankly be one of the worst regimes history has ever known. You want to fight the unicorns because you believe you’re fighting for a good cause, but you’ve never fought for a good cause before, only a maniac who will go down in infamy,” he responded calmly. The surroundings flashed to Berlin, where the two men stood on the sidelines of a large military parade, where hundreds of soldiers were marching past Hitler who stood on an elevated platform, his hand held out rigidly in a salute as he observed them pass. Then as soon as the vision had started, it was over, but their surroundings had changed. Now, instead of a green field, there was a flat mud field devoid of life.

Conrad’s mouth was dry. He tried to formulate a response, but the words died before they could pass his lips. The Puppetmaster’s words sank deep, chilling his very soul. He remembered vividly the oath he made during his training, how he pledged his allegiance to the leader of the German empire and people, Adolf Hitler. Was he actually serving Germany, or was he really just serving Hitler?

As Conrad debated internally, the Puppetmaster walked over to Conrad, placing his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Remember your place Mr. Schmidt. You are no better than Twilight’s troops, and fighting her will not earn you redemption. I can give you a chance at real redemption...all you have to do is walk through this door and go home. When your father asks if you wish to follow your brother’s footsteps... you say no. Only then will you truly be redeemed,” he whispered as a white door materialized in front of him.

Conrad looked at the door quietly, wondering if the Puppetmaster was right. Deep down, he knew the Puppetmaster was giving him a chance to go back to before he ever joined the Wehrmacht, a chance to avoid the hell of Stalingrad. Tentatively, he reached for the doorknob, only for the door to suddenly disappear.

Standing there instead of the door was none other than Princess Luna herself. The Princess of the Night stood there quietly for a few moments, glaring at the Puppetmaster before clearing her throat. “I wondered where you went after Twilight’s coup. Tell me, what exactly are you trying to do here Discord?”

The man chuckled at this as he stepped forward. “I’m trying to give this man a second chance instead of using him as a pawn of war, Princess,” he replied calmly. Conrad looked at Princess Luna for a few moments, then back to Discord as he waited for one of them to make a move. Finally, it was Princess Luna who moved first, shaking her head firmly.

“He is the only hope for the earth ponies and pegasi Discord. If you just send him home to forget about all of this, you are consciously allowing a genocide to happen. Is that really what you want?” she replied sharply. Discord simply laughed, shaking his head slowly as he closed the gap to stand right in front of Luna.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that Luna, you just assume that the earth ponies and pegasi are being massacred because a few disappear from camps. You wouldn’t understand because you’ve been busy trying to sabotage Twilight in any way possible, all because you lost your power to the unsatisfied public! So before you go around accusing me of supporting genocide, make sure you know just what you’re fighting for Luna. I’ll be waiting for you at the end of the road you choose.”

And with that, Discord snapped his fingers, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke leaving Luna and Conrad standing in the field alone.

Luna then turned to Conrad, a deep frown on her face. She opened her mouth to speak when Conrad raised his hand to quiet her. “Save it Princess, I’ve already heard enough tonight,” he said rather sharply.

Luna looked at the ground for a bit, then nodded. “Very well Conrad.”

And with that, she disappeared as well, leaving Conrad alone in the green field of his dreams.

Author's Note

Deadline number 2 has been met...I think I can get used to making deadlines now :D

A German and a Princess

“A German and a Princess”
Conrad Schmidt
Camp “Plains”, Appleloosa, Equestria
September 17th, 15 ALR

Conrad stood in front of the Royal Tent, breathing deeply as he prepared himself to face Celestia. After the... nightmare of last night Conrad had spent most of the day shut in his tent, struggling deeply with what Discord had said to him. Deep down, part of him knew that it was just pure lies, an attempt by Discord to try and steer him away from the path he had chosen. At the same time, he knew that there was a hint of truth in his words.

Taking a second to clear the flurry of his thoughts, he instead chose to focus on the path ahead. No matter what, these ponies needed his help, and he would help them be free if it was the last thing he did. Once focused, he pulled the tent flap aside and ducked into the tent.

Despite being the temporary home for the Princesses, the tent was surprisingly plain, with little more than two beds, a table, and a few chairs decorating it. Seated at the table was Celestia, a neutral look on her face as she watched Conrad enter. Conrad removed his helmet and took a quick bow before putting it back on. “I came as fast as I could Princess Celestia, is there something you need?” he asked calmly.

Celestia looked at Conrad for a few moments, and then gestured for him to sit down, floating over a pot of tea and two cups. “I wanted to speak to you before we start plans for the first strike in the revolution. Pull over a chair and make yourself comfortable, and then we’ll continue,” she replied warmly. Conrad simply nodded, putting a chair in front of Celestia’s table and sitting down.

Once Conrad had sat down, Celestia poured tea into both of the cups before pushing one to Conrad. “I hope you enjoy the tea, it’s made by some of the highest quality leaves in Equestria. Do they have tea back in your country?” she exclaimed. Conrad thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly.

“We don’t usually have tea in Germany, but you can get some if you really want it. It was lot harder with the war going on though,” he explained, taking a sip of the tea that Celestia had provided. It was a bit bitter for his tastes, but otherwise tasted fine.

Celestia sat there, drinking her tea silently for a few moments before giving Conrad a warm smile. “Luna didn’t really tell me much about you, just that you were a soldier that could help us fight back against Twilight, yet there is so much more I wish to know about you. From the look of you, you’ve seen your fair share of struggle and conflict... how bad is it back in your world Conrad, if you don’t mind me asking?” she asked softly.

Conrad thought on Celestia’s question for a bit, wondering if he should lie about the experiences of Stalingrad and the daily suffering he endured. “Well... it was terrible. Before I was brought here, I was fighting in one of the biggest battles Germany had ever seen. Hell isn’t a strong enough word to describe Stalingrad, for the suffering we faced daily was simply unfathomable. I spent my every waking moment on my guard, wondering when the next attack would happen. I would be helpless to watch my comrades die next to me, feel that emptiness grow more and more inside of me with each passing day. There was little rest for me and the others on the front line, just the shriek of Stukas ahead or the shattering booms of Soviet artillery…” he began before tapering off, feeling an emptiness grow inside of him.

Celetia listened thoughtfully, placing her teacup on the table. “You've experienced a lot Conrad, and if you need a minute, I can give you some space. Only the strongest could have possibly survived what you went through, I can clearly see why Luna chose you,” Celestia said softly. . Conrad sat there silently, pulling himself together before shaking his head, looking Celestia straight in the eye.

“I’ll be alright, thank you. If anything, Stalingrad forged who I am today. It taught me to detach myself from the world around me, to focus on nothing more but surviving to the next day. Useful if you’re up against overwhelming odds,” he replied softly. Celestia simply nodded, giving Conrad a slight smile.

“I hope so, because things are looking bleak for us right now. Anyways, I’ve been curious for a while about that weapon that you carry on your back. Applejack mentioned that like that smaller weapon you used in the prison while freeing me; it kills in one shot. Weapons of such power are hard to find in Equestria... would you mind telling me about it?” she inquired. Conrad hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should really explain the concept of his rifle to Celestia. After a brief internal struggle, Conrad ultimately decided to tell Celestia about his Kar98k and removed it from his back before putting it on the table.

“This is a Karabiner 98 Kurz, the standard issue rifle for the German Army. It fires these small pieces of metal called bullets at high velocities, and can kill targets up to 500 meters away. It holds five bullets, and gets loaded through special clips. I also have a bayonet that I can mount on the end of the weapon in case I get into melee combat, in which the rifle can be turned into a type of spear.” Conrad explained as Celestia held it up with her magic, looking at the details of the weapon. Once Celestia finished inspecting the weapon, she placed it back on the table before chuckling.

“That’s very interesting... if only we could find a way to produce this rifle for our ponies, then we would be certain to get an advantage in our battles. Maybe find somepony who could reverse engineer it or something for use by our forces when we grow big enough. Anyways, thank you for telling me about your weapon, it will certainly help us. I assume you know what our next step is?” Celestia replied warmly. Getting no reply from Conrad, she smiled, pulling out a map of Appaloosa from under the table and placing it down in front of them.

“We’ll launch our first attack in about three days, and our target is the relocation zone in Appaloosa. They turned the entire town into a camp, so it’s slightly fortified, guarded by a small garrison of magical constructs and a unicorn commander. You’re going to lead Applejack’s group and break through the southern gate, getting out as many residents as you can. If ponies are too weak to get out, then try to focus on aiding the strongest ones out first. We’ve got a limited timespan for this attack, roughly two to three hours before the unicorns arrive with reinforcements, so act as fast as you can. With luck, we’ll all regroup at our fallback camp in the Macintosh Hills. Any questions?” Celestia explained. Conrad pondered for a few moments then nodded.

“You mentioned magical constructs. What exactly are they and what are their combat abilities?” he asked. Celestia paused, taking a moment to formulate her answer.

“Since the unicorns are a bit thin on numbers, the unicorns make these ponies out of magic to fight for them and work places. They look like normal unicorns except for the pure red eyes and shimmering coats. Constructs are pretty dumb, but they are strong in combat and can sometimes even use offensive spells such as fire or ice spells. Any other questions?” she replied.

Conrad shook his head, satisfied with the information that Celestia gave him. Seeing that Conrad was ready, Celestia smiled, then stood up and put the map away. “Wonderful. You’re free to leave Mr. Schmidt, have a nice day.” she exclaimed. Conrad stood up, gave a quick bow to the Princess, and then left the tent. For the first time in a while, he felt good about what was left to come.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long D:

Code Moon

“Code Moon”
Her Majesty Twilight Sparkle
Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria
September 5th, 15 ALR

Twilight read over the report for what seemed like the fifth time. A large amount of sudden magical energy was detected inside the relocation zone designated “Sweet Apple Acres”, and when she dispatched a squad of Death Hooves to investigate under the pretence of liquidation, a strange creature called a “human” with a powerful weapon forced the squad to retreat when he killed one soldier and captured Captain Rarity. The Corporal who wrote the report then urged Twilight to send additional troops to Sweet Apple Acres to neutralize this threat, stating that the situation could very well escalate if the creature managed to escape.

Sighing deeply, Twilight put down the report and took a sip of her special tea. This report could not have come at a worse time for Twilight, as she was on the cusp of completing preparations for Operation Shattered Crystal, the attack that would deal with the Crystal Empire’s independence. It had taken months to move army units to the border, all while keeping the guise that Equestria was simply conducting military exercises. This operation would be one of the biggest attacks ever conducted by the Equestrian Military, with a vast majority of the military taking part. However since she was preparing for the operation, she had little troops to spare when it came to internal affairs.

Twilight placed her cup of tea back on the table next to her chair as she thought over the developing situation, trying to unravel exactly just what had happened in that zone marked for relocation yesterday as she pulled out the paper that analyzed the burst of magic from the report folder. According to the readings, whatever cast the spell must of had either been an immensely powerful mage, or was drawing from an incredible source of magic. As she looked at the analysis closer she noticed something in the magical readout, something that deeply disturbed her. The spell had faint traces of alicorn magic in it, so small that it was easy for a common unicorn to look past.

A cold bead of sweat rolled down Twilight’s face as she put the pieces together. The only way a pony could cast a spell so large in magnitude would be if they pulled power from a shooting star, something that only one pony had mastered: Princess Luna. If Princess Luna was back, it would mean that one of the last threats to Twilight’s absolute power had returned.
Getting up quickly, she ran to the bell to summon a servant and rang it. It took a few moments for the servant to get to Twilight’s chambers, the mare immediately bowing to her Princess. “You ne-” she began before Twilight cut her off with a raised hoof.

“I need you to run to the barracks and get General Armor for me with haste. Tell him that we have a Code Moon. Is that understood?” she explained. The servant nodded, turning tail and running back out of Twilight’s chambers. Once the servant had left, Twilight trotted over to the doors leading to her balcony and opened them, taking a step outside. The balcony offered a stunning view of Canterlot and the surrounding areas, along with a telescope for observing distant objects of interest during the day and the stunning stars at night. She pointed the telescope at the distant town of Ponyville, locking her view on her former castle. It was a truly majestic sight. At first she didn’t want to move from it, but in the end her advisor managed to convince her to use the Royal Palace here in Canterlot instead. She didn’t know why she hated her advisor before; he was quite clever and efficient when he wanted to be.

She continued to gaze at her castle and ponder about the implications of the return of Luna when a knock on the door snapper out of it. “Come in,” she called as she turned and walked back into the room. The door creaked open, revealing none other than her older brother, General Shining Armor as he strode into the room.

“When the servant told me that we had a Code Moon, I came as quick as I could. Has Luna really returned?” Shining asked, taking his helmet and placing it on Twilight’s bedside table. Twilight simply nodded in response, floating the magic analysis paper over to Shining.

“Yes Shining, I’m quite certain that she’s returned. I don’t know what she’s up to, but the large burst of magical energy in Ponyville has traces of alicorn magic in it, and I’m sure our units on the border would of had spotted Cadance if she were to have crossed.” Twilight responded rather curtly, pulling out a file from one of her drawers. Shining thought on Twilight’s words for a bit, then exhaled.

“Well, if that’s the case then we should mobilize a division to Ponyville immediately. I know Shattered Crystal is coming up soon, but we must capture Luna before she can escape again.” Shining said firmly, looking his sister straight in the eyes. There was a few moments of silence in the room as they stared at each other, until Twilight broke the silence.

“I guess you’re right Shining, she’s forcing my hoof here. Notify Captain Dusty Trone and tell him to send a detachment of troops to Ponyville as soon as possible. Order him to not let anypony leave that town until we’ve found Luna.” Twilight ordered. Shining hesitated for a moment, knowing full well that sending troops from the already weakened garrison at Sunny Hills was a bad idea, but ultimately nodded his head in agreement as he put his helmet back on.

“It shall be done Twilight.”

“You’re kidding, right? You can’t honestly think you can break into a maximum security prison with nothing but a small group of half starved farmers backing you up, that’ll be certain to get you and the rest of the ponies here killed!” Rarity exclaimed, a frown deeply implanted on her face as she tidied up her mane in the small mirror she had packed in her bag. She had been having a nice dream about this hunky stallion living in Canterlot when Conrad, the human soldier that had killed Steel Resolve, rudely woke her up. He then proceeded to explain to Rarity how Princess Luna visited him in his dreams and how she had told him to go free the Prisoner of Sunny Hills, something that baffled her.

Conrad nodded taking a seat next to the unicorn as he watched her take care of her elegant mane. “I don’t think Princess Luna would of had mentioned it if she didn’t believe I could pull it off. There must be some way to get into that prison. After all, nothing is impenetrable. You were in the Death Hooves, there must be some way to get into the prison and free the Prisoner. Maybe a weakness in the wall around the prison, or a gap in the guard postings.” Conrad replied thoughtfully. Rarity put down her hairbrush, turning around to look at Conrad in the eyes.

“I’ve only been there a few times, not nearly enough times to map out the guard routes or weak points. You also must keep in mind that Sunny Hills is a maximum security prison, it’s not going to be as easy as smashing through a wall and waltzing into the prison. I’m sorry Mr. Schmidt, but we simply don’t have the pony power or equipment to pull off such a rescue.” Rarity retorted firmly. Conrad thought on this for a while, throwing ideas around in his head until suddenly, he hatched an idea, an idea so glorious that if it worked, would get him inside the prison without firing a shot.

“What if I sneak in? If you can distract them somehow, I can sneak past the guards and make a run for the Prisoner.” Conrad pondered, getting to his feet. Rarity paused, considering this idea for a bit before putting her hairbrush away.

“That’s an interesting, but dangerous idea Mr. Schmidt. You do realize that if you get spotted at all, you will most definitely trigger an alarm and immediately have every guard in the prison bearing down on you, correct? I doubt you’d be able to survive that many guards coming for your guts, even with that... weapon that you have.” Rarity replied curtly. Conrad frowned at this, looking at Rarity with a judging gaze.

“You don’t think I can pull it off, do you? After all, it was you who suggested I stay here and help fight back first, but now; all I can get from you is doubt and uncertainty. Why is that Rarity? You know that the only way we can start something is if we try things, whether they’re crazy or not. It is almost as if you really don’t actually want to help out, and just prefer to stay around for the ride,” Conrad pointed out, getting down on one knee. Rarity froze at this statement for a second, taken off guard by the German’s words. Trying to formulate a response, she giggled nervously as she got up off the hay bale she was sitting on and stretched her legs.

“Nonsense darling, I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing. I’m happy to help, in fact I’ll be thrilled to help serve as some sort of distraction, so that you can sneak in. After all, you must be very well trained, stealth shouldn’t be too hard for you.” she replied curtly, fumbling a few choice words to boost her credibility. Conrad pondered Rarity’s response for a bit, then nodded slowly. While he made a mental note to keep his eyes on the white unicorn, he knew he would need Rarity if he is ever going to be able to successfully carry out Luna’s instructions.

“Alright then, get your stuff ready, I’m going to tell Applejack my plans.” With a final look at her, picked up his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the barn leaving Rarity alone to herself.

Author's Note

Dusty Trome belongs to the generous undeadponylord. Thank you for allowing me to use your OC