“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.