“Prologue”
Field Marshal Nightwhisper
Maremacht
1st Panzer Army
Germane Government House, Marelin, Germaney
Saturday, June 25th, 1942 E.S (Equis Standard)
“We’re here, sir,” announced the driver of the car as it turned into the bustling street where the Government House was located. For Field Marshal Nightwhisper, his entire Saturday had been ruined. It was his daughter’s first birthday today and his had wife begged him not to go in, but when you receive orders to head to the Germane Government House and meet with the Germane Füher Adolf Hoofler himself, you don’t refuse.
As soon as the vehicle came to a complete stop, Nightwhisper opened the back door of the car and stepped out. The bright midday sun shone brightly on the street, making the light gray unicorn’s fur almost seem silver to anypony who happened to glance at him. Looking around, Nightwhisper made careful notes about his surroundings as he noticed an orange unicorn stallion dressed in an officer’s uniform trotting over to him. The unicorn stopped directly in front of him, looking him square in the eyes and saluted.
“Field Marshal Nightwhisper,” he said as Nightwhisper returned the salute before both of them dropped their forearms, “It’s good to see you again. How was your ride from Flankfurt?”
Nightwhisper scoffed, quickly grabbing the bag that the driver had taken out of the car for him and turned his gaze to the stallion. “Same dull ride as usual, Field Marshal Savage. I don’t know why you insist on asking me that every time I come here,” he replied, a neutral tone in his voice. Savage glared back at him as he turned around and started walking toward the Government House with Nightwhisper.
“Why must you always be so bland, Nightwhisper?” he said with a bit of mirth in his voice. Getting no response from Nightwhisper, he cleared his throat as he continued, “Anyway, the Füher seems to be in a good mood today, so I suggest that we do not keep him waiting.”
Nightwhisper frowned, but kept his pace with his fellow officer. “Do you have any idea why the Füher would need me, Savage? There hasn’t been another damn dirt pony revolt in one of the camps again, has there?” Nightwhisper asked pensively as he opened the door leading into the Government House.
During the last three years of Adolf Hoofler’s reign, a decree had been passed stating that all Earth Ponies were to be moved to the designated ‘Work’ Camps where they would be put to work in the name of the Germane Fatherland doing any and all dangerous and tedious work that would be deemed degrading for a Unicorn to be doing. Thousands of Earth Ponies had already perished from the horrible working conditions and in turn, created a burning hatred and contempt for Adolf Hoofler and his reign amongst the Earth Pony population. Eventually, the hatred ignited into an all out rebellion in one of the Work Camp known as Auschwitz.
Hoofler had immediately ordered that the 1st Panzer Division under Nightwhisper’s command to assault Auschwitz and recapture it with strict orders to eliminating all resistance encountered. Nightwhisper, a Major General at the time, was quick to gather the Division and encircle the Work Camp, effectively blocking all escape routes so the rebels could not flee. On January 23rd, 1942, Nightwhisper’s force attacked with a mix of tanks and infantry. The camp’s makeshift defenses had only consisted of a few hundred Earth Ponies armed only with whatever weapons they could salvage from the guards. Unequipped to fight the overwhelming Germane forces, the assault was swift and brutal. There were heavy casualties for the Earth Ponies and in less than 2 hours, the remaining rebel’s morale was shattered and they were quick to surrender. The ones that had given up were rounded up and sent to other Work Camps and executed by members of the Germane SS in front of the other Earth Ponies as a reminder to what would happen if they tried to take up arms against them.
Savage shook his head as the two of them entered the Government House. He stopped and turned around to face Nightwhisper. “No, the camps are quiet from what I have heard. As for the reason why Hoofler called for you, I don’t know the exact reason but I hear it may have something to do with the plans to finally start spreading the Great Cleansing,” he replied, as Nightwhisper nodded, then motioned for Savage to continue leading the way.
The two officers continued walking through the building until they turned down a rather small hallway. At the end of the hallway was an ornate door which was guarded by two veteran SS members. The Field Marshals stopped as one of the SS soldiers took a quick step forward; his hoof hovered over his holstered sidearm.
“Halt!” he gruffly ordered, “By order of the Füher, you are to identify yourselves at once!”
Field Marshal Savage nodded, pulling out his papers as he stepped towards the SS soldier. “Field Marshal Savage, 3rd Panzer Army. Accompanying me is Field Marshal Nightwhisper under orders of the Füher himself,” he stated in a clear tone as he hoofed over the identification papers to the guard. The guard scanned them over seemingly taking longer that should have been required before handing them back and saluting. “Field Marshal Savage, Field Marshal Nightwhisper; the Füher has been expecting you,” the guard replied as he stepped aside and nodded to the other guard by the door.
The guard nodded back and turned to the door and opened it. The two Field Marshals were quick to enter the room, as the SS guard closed the door behind them.
Sitting behind a large desk in front of a large portrait of himself, Adolf Hoofler looked up from his paperwork and watched as the two officers entered his office before slowly getting out of his chair. The two were quick to salute the smaller brown unicorn stallion, until Hoofler motioned them to return as they were. “Welcome Nightwhisper, have a seat,” he pointed to a chair close to his desk, “As for you Savage, you’re dismissed,” he briskly stated. Savage nodded, giving a quick salute to the Füher before walking out of the room.
There was an uninterrupted moment of deep silence as Nightwhisper watched Hoofler’s face, trying to get a read of the situation at hoof. After a moment, Hoofler took his place behind the desk and smiled at Nightwhisper. “I’m glad to see you’ve made it safe and sound from Flankfurt.” he said as he rested his elbows on the desk and put his hooves together, “ I’m going to keep this rather short, since time is of the essence. The time for Germaney has come to spread the good of the Great Cleansing across the entire world. The first step is to cleanse the lands of Equestria, which poses the greatest threat to our Great Cleansing.” Hoofler began. Nightwhisper frowned, but remained silent, waiting for the Füher to continue speaking.
“You may be wondering, how will we overthrow Equestria when it has the largest military in the entire world?” he smirked as he picked up a folder that was labeled ‘OPERATION GALE', briefly thumbing through its contents before continuing, “With the engagement between Prince Cobalt Shifter and Tailwind, we have finally found a way of bringing Equestria to its knees with one swift blow. Your army has been tasked with capturing Tailwind and bringing her to Germaney. Do you have any questions, Field Marshal?” Hoofler asked as he stared at his officer.
Nightwhisper thought for a moment, before he nodded. “A couple, My Füher. What is the operation’s codename? Where will I catch Tailwind? And finally, when will the attack commence?” he asked, his voice void of emotion. Hoofler chuckled as he closed the folder and threw it to the Field Marshal. “The General Staff and I have decided to christen this plan under the codename ‘Operation Gale’. Any and all other details are included within that file.” He explained. Nightwhisper nodded, taking the file, quickly perusing it, and placing it in his saddlebag. “Understood, my Füher. Is there anything else?”
Hoofler shook his head before slowly getting up. “Nothing else Field Marshal. Remember, the eyes of Germaney are upon you.”
“Preparation”
Field Marshal Nightwhisper
Maremacht
1st Panzer Army
Old Manich-Trottingham Railroad Tunnel, Germaney
Saturday, June 25th, 1942 E.S
“Welcome to the once defunct Manich-Trottingham Railroad Tunnel, Nightwhisper. This is your way into Equestria. Its current state is the end product of three months of careful planning and hard work from the Maremacht Engineer Corps,” exclaimed Savage, as the two Field Marshals stepped out of their staff car.
Nightwhisper had been swift to organize his forces, and had quickly mobilized in preparation for Operation Gale. The majority of the 1st Panzer Army went to the narrow Hoofstav Pass on the southwest border of Equestria, where they assumed defensive positions until further orders were received. This was a diversionary tactic to make the Equestrians think that Germaney would be invading in full force through the Hoofstav Pass, therefore turning the eyes of Equestria to the pass. However, a small force of King Tiger tanks were gathered and moved to the secretly restored Manich-Trottingham Railroad tunnel, where they would actually cross into the country.
Nightwhisper nodded slowly in acknowledgement to Savage’s statement as he looked around at the clearing before him. Several King Tiger tanks were assembled, the crews all strewn around their tanks casually talking as they awaited further orders. After analyzing the force under his command, Nightwhisper faced Savage and took a deep breath.
“Are the Equestrians aware of our activities here?” he asked in a neutral tone.
Savage chuckled, waving his hoof at the lit tunnel entrance. “The Equestrians are too stupid and complacent to realize what we have been working on. To them, twelve years of neglect would have made the tunnel inoperable. They do not know the strength of Germane engineering though, and the tunnel was mostly intact when the Engineering Corps came here three months ago. They just reinforced the supports throughout the tunnel, and replaced the tracks with pavement.” Savage explained.
Nightwhisper nodded again, taking a few moments to marvel at the large train tunnel in the back of the clearing before clearing his throat and stepping forward.
“Attention! All of you are to line up for inspection at once!” he shouted, his voice filled with authority. The soldiers were quick to react, all rushing to get lined up in front of the tanks, and standing at attention. Nightwhisper smiled at the quickness of his stallions, then took a deep breath and walked to the very end of the line as he started inspecting them.
Each stallion had an air of determination amongst them, their manes and fur groomed and clean cut, and their uniforms spotless. Nightwhisper couldn’t help but feel proud of his tankers, and their sense of determination to serve the Fatherland. Stopping in front of one of them, Nightwhisper looked at him, motioning for the stallion to step forward.
Without hesitation, the soldier stepped forward, crisply saluting the Field Marshal before waiting to be addressed. Nightwhisper took a few seconds to look him over completely, and then cleared his throat.
“Tell me, what is your name, soldier?”
“Wolf, sir.”
“Tell me, Wolf, what is your role in operating your tank?”
“Gunner, sir.”
Nightwhisper nodded slowly, and then placed his hoof on Wolf’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Wolf. You now have the honor of gunning for my tank,” he announced.
Wolf looked at Nightwhisper with a look of complete surprise, but quickly regained his composure. “Thank you sir. It is an honor, sir.”
Nightwhisper smiled, and motioned for Wolf to return to his spot in a line up as he looked down the line. He took a few steps backwards, clearing his throat.
“Fellow sons of Germaney! Tonight, we embark on the beginning of a great crusade! Tonight, we move through the newly restored Manich-Trottingham Railroad Tunnel into Equestria, where we will track down the soon-to-be bride of Prince Cobalt Shifter and capture her for the glory of Germaney! Without his precious mate, Prince Cobalt will be forced to surrender himself, and end all Equestrian opposition to us. We cannot fail, for the eyes of the Füher himself are upon us. I have faith in each and every one of you to do your duty with the utmost precision, so that we may succeed. Go now, and prepare to move out. I also want Wolf, Valiant Spirit, Sky Hawk, and Water Fire to report to me at once. Dismissed,” he shouted.
Everypony in the clearing shouted a loud —YES SIR!— before they started running to their assigned tanks.
Nightwhisper waited patiently for the four stallions that he summoned to reach him. When they had all arrived, he motioned for them to sit down. They were quick to follow his order, sitting down in a square facing the Field Marshal and waiting patiently for him to give them further orders. Nightwhisper grinned, sitting down as well.
“You were all chosen for my tank crew because you are the best of the best. Our tank is tank number 01, the one farthest from the tunnel, and adorned with a red stripe on the side of the turret. It may look like a standard King Tiger, but it actually isn’t. Ours is a tad bit bigger, so we can fit Tailwind when we capture her. Questions?” Nightwhisper explained.
The four crewmembers were silent for a few moments, until Wolf raised his hoof.
“Where will be intercepting Ms. Tailwind, and how much resistance can we expect when we arrive?” He asked, his voice carrying a neutral tone.
Nightwhisper smiled, then leaned back a bit to make himself more comfortable. “We can expect Tailwind to be at the Red Shadow Cabin outside of Trottingham for the entire day tomorrow. As for any resistance, we can expect a full protection force of about twenty Royal Guards, lead by the famous Captain Thunder Chaser. However, these Royal Guards will be nothing when they encounter our King Tigers.” Nightwhisper replied, his voice filled with confidence. The rest of the stallions let the information sink in for a few moments, then all nodded. Sure that all questions that needed to be asked were asked, Nightwhisper stood up, then clapped his hooves together. “Alright, now that questions are out of the way, we can begin. Let’s get ready to move.”
