A Black Sun Rises

Chapters

Chapter 2 Cold Hooves
Chapter 3 Infinite Mischief
Chapter 4 The legend returns
Chapter 5 Prisoners of war
Chapter 6 Training
Chapter 7 A long stay
Chapter 9 The show
Chapter 10: Familiar faces
Chapter 11 Madness
Chapter 12 Into the city
Chapter 13 Crucible
Chapter 14: Storm Front
Chapter 15 Manor House Rally
Chapter 16 Under siege
Chapter 17 Experiment
Chapter 18 Purgatory
Chapter 19 Army of Darkness
Chapter 20 Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Chapter 21 Unusual things
Chapter 22 New and Old faces
Chapter 24 Final struggle
Chapter 25 Hearts of Iron
Chapter 23 Eyes in the sky
Chapter 1: A Surprising Find
Chapter 8 A spark

Chapter 2 Cold Hooves

Chapter 2: Cold Hooves

It was early morning when the sun shined through the window, causing the children to stir in their sleep and woke up, yawning. “Good morning.” Dinky smiled at the siblings, who returned it.

“Morning, Dinky,” Katja replied before they walked out to the dinning room, seeing that the squad of Konrad and Karl already had prepared breakfast, warm buns were on the table together with cheese and salad.

“I hope you slept well, children.” The Sergeant smiled at them and they nodded, enjoying their meal.

“It tasted great, thank you,” Blau said to the soldiers, who looked at him with satisfied expressions.

“Glad to hear it. If you want to take a look around, feel free to do so, we already made sure the others won’t bother you. Just stay clear of cameras, they are for Propaganda.” Mateo explained.

“Alright,” Dinky replied and she walked out of the villa with her friends, watching the sunrise on the coast, it looked beautiful as it reflected on the ocean.

“Let’s check out the small town.” The grey colt suggested and his sister and friend nodded, walking towards it, with the soldiers barely paying attention, some gave them a quick look of surprise or unease.

On the way to the town, they came across the camp of their caretakers, noticing an opened letter in one tent and curiosity got the better of them, reading it, it was dated 23rd January 1943.

Dear Bruno,

I hope you are well. Haven’t heard from you in a while. I suppose you might have written to me and the mail might have passed in the post. Or maybe you haven’t been able to post your letter yet. Or don’t feel like writing. I don’t know.

To be honest, I am all of a jitter. The bombing started again last night. Five people dead, I think, but a lot more injured. Hasn’t Cologne suffered enough?

Do write to me, darling. Anything to know you’re still okay.

I love you.

Helma

“Oh my, sounds like the bombings got worse.” Dinky commented with pity and sadness.”

“Yes, good that Konrad’s family is safe,” Katja replied as before spotted another letter, dated 12th May of the same year.

Dear Jost,

I hope you’re taking care of Mother and Father. You asked me to write just you, so here you are. Your own special letter.

To answer your question – yes, I’ll think I will make it home. They tell us we should consider writing ‘last letters’ to tell our families and friends we love them in case we get killed, but I haven’t bothered. Seems like giving up, somehow.

To answer your other question – yes, I think the war will end soon. I can’t tell you much but we got something up our sleeves that will make the Yanks and Brits surrender as quick as you like. Then we can join up and take on the Reds together. How’s that for a plan?

Anyway, stay out of trouble little brother.

I’ll see you soon.

Victor

Do you think that secret has something to do with the absence of civilians here?” Blau asked Katja and Dinky, unsure of it.

“Could be, but I think its best we don’t think about it.” His sister suggested before they moved on, reaching the small town, seeing parked cars and tractors, but otherwise, the town was empty of anything that hinted of residents having lived here.

“Looks actually pretty nice if you think about it.” The little unicorn looked around, adoring the buildings.

“Yeah, it does,” Katja replied as she looked around, feeling sorry for them as she spotted another letter on a table, dated 5th March.

Dear Poldi,

Are you okay? Schulau was bombed last night. It was terrifying. Papa thinks they were aiming for Hamburg but that something went wrong.

Stupid British, stupid Lancasters.

Have you killed many people yet? Papa says what you’re up to is ultra-secret and no-one knows you’re there. What is it? Can you tell me?

Papa says I have to stop now and do my homework. The league of young Girls is having a parade tomorrow. I’m so excited.

Take care, big brother.

Ulrike

The young girl shivered a bit. “I feel…sick. How can someone ask his family of having killed someone?”

“It’s…disgusting just to think about it…” Dinky commented with an unwell expression. “But if its secret here, why do they tolerate us?”

Blue thought for a moment. “They care for us, they won’t let get us hurt, I think they just need time to get us to a safer place.”

“Let’s hope so.” The filly replied as she spotted another letter on a briefcase in the corner, dated 12th April 1943

Dear Diary,

The Germans are here in force. They want us all to leave. Heaven knows what they need San Celini for. What with the food shortage, the dammed typhus…and of course the resistance.

It’s been squashed so long, but now it’s growing here and there, like so many wild flowers. I swear It’ll erupt most forcefully in the north.

Communists, sure, but Christians, monarchists and democrats too. We’re just waiting for our moment. Allagra, Bitanti, Volturnia, that whole area. It’s a premonition of what will happen. War’s coming to Italy.

There’s no point being afraid.

It’s our fate.

“Poor people, I don’t want to imagine the feeling of having to left home like that.” She said with a hint of fear.

“Yes, I can now understand what Konrad and the others meant,” Katja replied and they walked back, yet spotted another letter on a workbench, having the same date as the last one.

Dear Diary,

Our last day on San Celini. The Nazis have “invited” us to leave. It seems they have plans for our dear, precious island. They’re behaved like an Occupying force from the beginning, as far as 1941.I read even Mussolini complained to Hitler about their behavior. (That and stealing our Italian workers for Germany’s war effort.)

And what if II Duce now? There are rumors he’s ill, that he’s cracking up. Not that official propaganda says as much. They treat our defeats as victories, and the Allied bombings as nothing more than gnats attacking the great Capitoline Wolf.

We’ll see.

“Doesn’t look they ’re very fond of the Germans, but it’s understandable if they were forced to leave their home,” Dinky concluded.

“Yes, let’s hope wherever we got sent, that we are treated well.” Her female friend hoped for the best as they walked back to the villa, seeing Tobias together with other officers on the balcony.

“So, it's ready then?” An officer asked Tobias, who nodded.

“To the necessary degree. The scientists won't stop badgering us to test the damn things out.”

“Well, if there's any chance they'll do what they're all saying they will, I'm at least interested.” Another officer added.

“Can you believe the Cabinet wanted to cut funds on this project?” The first officer asked, getting a look of irritation by the other officer.

“Really?”

“That's what I heard. Those Thule Society lunatics wanted the funds diverted to fund another of their idiotic excavations.” Tobias explained as the officer asked,

“Digging up another 'ancient, magical Aryan superweapon' are they?”

“Ja. In Tibet, I believe.” The first officer replied.

Schmidt raised an eyebrow. “Tibet? I heard it was Patagonia.”

“It's odd how few excavations they actually make in Germany. Something like Charlemagne's swords or...I don't know, Alaric's helm? One would think if they're so set on proving German perfection, you'd look for this perfection in Germany.”

“I bet it's just their excuse to get faraway holidays on war expenses, pompous, playacting, whiskey-sipping morons.” The second officer taunted.

“You'd think they were English Lords with the way they hold their noses in the air.”

Schmidt took the word, “Alright, quiet down. Now, let's see...” He checked his watch. “Aha! Right on cue. Come gentlemen.” They walked up to the balcony and he pointed to the sky.

“Now, silence please. I received word from Dr. Kessler early this morning and you will be happy to know that this time tomorrow, gentlemen...”

They and the children saw a plane flying by and a ship in the distance, the former dropped what looked like a torpedo at first, then it flew at high speed towards the ship like a rocket, destroying it in a big explosion, it was fascinating, as well as scary for the young visitors.

“We will truly be the ultimate power of the skies. The Henschel HS 293 is to be given to our unit to test in the field. We will be facing a small but ponderous fleet of Allied battleships intent on landing on the shores, very little in the way of anti-aircraft weaponry. Here, gentlemen, on these beaches, we will sink the bastards before they even hear us coming. The Fatherland's glory will be witnessed by all the world and it will be the Luftwaffe who deliver it.” Tobias told his fellow officers and they applauded. “Make preparations. We disembark first thing tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”

The children looked at the sinking, smoking wreck in silence before Dinky decided to break it. “So this is the new weapon they talked about. Quite…effective and deadly…”

“Yes, I'm not sure I want to be on a boat with that thing in the skies.” Blau shivered at the thought.

“And those poor souls. Think anyone survived?” Katja asked in shock as Konrad walked up to them.

“I’m afraid, there won’t be any.” He sounded rather concerned about it.

“W-what do you mean?” The filly did not understand and he sighed.

“Because of a new order, the Kommandobefehl. This order says that enemy commando units shall be killed immediately without trial, even if in proper uniforms or if they attempt to surrender. And if you’re part of a small group, an agent or Saboteur and caught, you are handed to the Security Service of the SS, which is worse than a bullet in your head or water in your lungs any day. Failure to carry out these orders by any commander or officer will be considered to be an act of negligence punishable under German military law.”

“That’s horrible. I hope Fletcher won’t be victim of it.” The filly said with dread in her voice and the Sergeant put a hand on her shoulder.

“He may technically be a commando, but we all know how experienced he is, I doubt this will be a problem for him.”

Dinky smiled weakly. “Right. Say, it is true what they say about those…last letters?”

“Yes. I had to write one too.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a letter, the children read it.

My dear family,

If you are reading this, it means something happened. Something that will mean that I can't ever come home. Whether they know I'm gone or not, depends on those who are left. But I want you know, most importantly, that whenever and however this happened, my last thoughts were of you. My dearest wife and my wonderful children. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and you will always be in my heart, in this life and the next.

Your loving husband and father,

Konrad.

“I can’t imagine this is easy to write,” Katja commented on it.

“Yes, it isn’t easy to think of the right words, compared to writing your family normally. I just pray every day I survive the war and use my experience to the fullest to stay alive.”

That made the friends think of something. Fletcher barely told them about his past military experiences, but they wondered if he had written last letters to his family members. He had told them about his family during the civil war, a mare and filly called Ruhlinda and Adalie. Once he said that Dinky reminded him very much of Adalie, and was sure, culture differences aside, they both would make very good friends. It made them also wonder how his letters to them could have been.

“Konrad, as you are now an officer yourself, why aren’t you wearing the correct uniform and use the MP40?” Blau asked him, changing the subject and the Sergeant shrugged.

“I am used to the K98 and my uniform, many officers don’t carry their rank insignia in combat, to prevent being identified as officers by enemy snipers and get killed by them. I do the same to increase my chance to survive.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Blau liked it as Conti joined them.

“Good news, we decided where you will be safe.”

“And that is?” Dinky wanted to know.

“Bitanti. It’s my hometown, you can live with my family.”

The unicorn smiled. “Sounds good.”

They entered the back of a truck with roof, Hans drove, while Konrad took the passenger seat. Katja looked at the officer, becoming curious. “Would you mind telling about yourself?”

Karl smiled. “Not at all. I come from an officer family, so it was natural to become officer myself. In my spare time, I like to do fencing and became quite skilled, renowned for my swordsmanship.”

“Uh-huh. And you, David?”

“There’s not much to tell. I grew up on a farm, so I was used to the heat and cold, having served on the Eastern Front since 1942, but luckily was never deployed to Stalingrad or met the She-Bear.”

Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and Escher shouted, “For the last time, stop grinding it!”

“Sorry, Hans has the habit of doing that.” Karl apologized and Dinky waved a hoof.

“It’s alright.”

Around half an hour, the Italian announced, “We are here.”

Dinky, Katja and Blau smiled at the sight of Bitanti, it was a coastal town, looking very nice and good to get some quiet. “Welcome. My family already awaits you.”

“Okay. Goodbye, Konrad.” The filly looked at the German with a sad smile and he tipped his cap.

“See you later, children.” He then stepped into the truck again and drove away with his squad mates.

“Padre!” Two young voices, one male, one female called out and two children hugged Matteo, looking very happy to see him, he returned it.

“I missed you too, children.”

“And I too.” He looked up and saw his wife, kissing her, the three friends didn’t mind at all, knowing he earned it, watching with smiles.

“You said you would bring guests?” Matteo’s wife asked curiously and the three children got a good look at her. She was a woman with athletic build, her hair was brown, her eyes having a green color. Their children, a boy with brown hair and green eyes, his sister green eyes and black hair, looking also curious at him.

“Yes, remember what I told you when I was on leave last year?”

“Yes, why?” His wife raised an eyebrow and he pointed to the three children, who waved with smiles. “Uhh…”

“It’s a long story. “He pointed to the children. “But may I introduce them to you? Dinky Hooves, Katja and her brother Blau Streifen.”

“Hello, Mrs. Conti.” They said in unison and the woman took a step back in shock.

“Did... the ponies just talk?”

“Yes, they did. Can I explain at home?” Her husband asked, sounding slightly embarrassed.

His wife took a deep breath and her children stretched slowly one hand out. “Ciao, I am Antonio, my sister Viola and our mother Rebecca.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Dinky shook his hand and they walked through the town, like Volkach, apart from propaganda speakers and some soldiers, there was barely a sign of the war.

Inside, the three guests were greeted by a nice and cozy living room, with a TV and Radio, Antonio turned it on and they danced together while the parents made lunch, Mateo used this to tell his wife about how he met them in Africa a year ago.

“Mio dio. They really went through a lot, but I am proud of you.” She smiled at her husband.

“I know, what was I supposed to do?” I couldn’t leave them.”

“It was the right thing, Matteo.”

As lunch was ready, they got together at the table, the two foals and girls noticed the pods were steamy, as they got brought him.

“Delicious, Pasta!” Viola exclaimed in joy, their guests knew this meal from Ruby’s husband who made it sometimes, but Blau had a slight unease expression. Pasta wasn’t really something he liked.

“Kat...This is pasta.” He whispered to his sister, who’s expression was neutral.

“Yes, I know.”

“...I don't like pasta.”

“It won't kill you.”

“I know, I just really don't like it.” Blau pointed out and Katja’s expression became slightly displeased.

“Come on, Blau. Mrs. Conti went to all this trouble...” Her brother in response, prodded at the pasta with a doubtful expression and she threatened, “If you don't eat it, I'll tell mom.”

“Okay, okay!” Blau said with a slightly scared expression, the others did not notice the siblings’ argument at all.

Still, they all eat with manners, not to upset their hosts and as the colt took a careful bite not to burn himself, he slowly started to grin. “Hey...This isn't actually that bad.” He mumbled and Katja gave him a glare. “I mean, er...Of course! It's delicious...just as I knew it would be.” He then laughed nervously with a smile, starting enjoying it and the mother smiled at him.

“Glad to hear it, it’s an old family recipe.”

Dinky had eaten a few times at the siblings’ home, the pasta of their father was also very delicious, he understood very well how to cook, something she appreciated.

After having finished, they helped clean the kitchen and the boy asked his parents, “Can we show our guests the town?”

“Si, my son.” Mateo replied with a smile and the children walked out.

“Let’s show you around.” Viola took the lead, showing their guest the docks of the town, having a wonderful view of the sea.

“It looks so beautiful, don’t you think?” Katja asked and the others nodded.

“Yes, I agree, sis. What’s that?” He turned to his right to spot a letter on a chair, it’s content filled them all with grief and sadness.

Dear Walter,

I write with the most terrible news.

That monster Churchill killed our beloved Mila. A direct hit on the house. What little consolation there is lies in the fact that she didn’t suffer.

Walter, you must make them pay for what they did to our daughter and to Dortmund. Make those Partisans suffer the way we have.

Your loving wife,

Ottilie.

“That’s very sad to read…” Dinky suppressed a tear, she and her two friends knew how their parents were worried when they went first missing, knowing that their death would break them. Dinky still remembered how she became terribly ill, with Derpy praying day and night she would make it.

“Yes, and they let out their anger on the Partisans, it’s a sad thing. And Italy isn’t spared from the bombs either.” The Italian girl explained with a voice of pity.

“Partisans?” Blau did not understand.

“The Resistance fighters in Italy. They do fight bravely, but the German and Duce go hard on them, showing no mercy but deep hatred. I just hope our home won’t be victim of this all.” Antonio shivered at the thought.

“I hear you.” Dinky replied and they continued to look around, the people greeted the children friendly, commenting the two ponies how good their “costume” looked like, they all returned it.

Yet, they discovered another letter on a bench, folded open.

Dear Willi,

How are you, my boy? Truth to be told, things are not so good here in Cologne.

The British have rained bombs upon us for months. There were many, many victims, including, sadly, your own mother.

I know this is a terrible shock for you.

All I can say is she did not suffer

Your father

“Oh dear…” Dinky mumbled, neither she nor her two friends could imagine the thought of getting informed by their respective father that their mother had died.

But as they were about to walk back home, they saw another letter on a balcony, it’s content was even worse to see, despite the grammatical errors in it.

Dear Papa,

I am writing this letr to you that our mommy deaded. A big bomb came and hit her right on the head.

BANG!

A policeman came and dug us out.

We live with Herr Lieder now.

But I hope u r okay.

Lots of love and kissy-kisses.

Alfred.

“Oh my…” Blau gasped. “I don’t think I could bring myself to write dad that mother died…”

“Neither could I…” Dinky said with dread before Viola cleared her throat.

“Then, may I suggest a walk at the shore?”

The filly smiled weakly in return. “Good idea.”

It was a calming and relaxing sight to see the sand and water, Dinky took a deep breath of the sea air. “It’s really a nice place to live here, reminds me of home.” She said with a slightly sad voice and the boy asked,

“How is your home, if I may ask?”

“Oh, it’s a peaceful and quiet town, just like Bitanti. It may be not a coastal town but is also-“

Dinky never finished as she tripped over a stone and landed on something hard, yet kind of soft, mushy and she started in shock once she saw what it was.

She screamed and tried to get break free, her friends started in shock as Matteo and his wife ran up to them.

“We heard a scream, everything alright?” Rebecca asked with worry and her children hugged her, the unicorn and her 2 friends did the same with Matteo. “Shh, calm down.” He spoke in a comforting tone as he saw what was wrong.

A body was lying in the sand, wearing a commando uniform of the British Forces. It took the children a few minutes to calm down and the soldier decided to report and check the body, he appearing to be dead for a few weeks now, having something interesting in the pocket, dated 19th April.

My dear Sam,

I’ve taken this opportunity to send you a personal letter. I can absolutely vouch for the chap carrying it.

Regarding Husky, we’re close to completing our plans. The target remains Greece and the troops will come from Egypt and Libya. Maitland Wilson will take command, as agreed. He’s a good cove, if overly fond of sardines.

See you in Washington.

Warden

Matteo realized quickly this was war important Intel and reported that too, having an idea to cheer up his guests. “Would you like some chocolate?” They slowly smiled weakly and nodded.

He pulled out a small round box out of his pocket. “This is Schoka kola, Konrad gave me it before, is very favored and gives strength.”

They all took a piece and it and chewed it, it tasted bitter but good. “Delicious!” The young unicorn exclaimed with glee.

It was quiet for the rest of the day, Rebecca made pizza margarita for dinner, which the three children enjoyed. “It’s tastes very good, Mrs. Conti.” Dinky smiled at her.

“Glad to hear it, but Rebecca is just fine.”

“Say, is it true about the Partisans?” Katja asked Mateo, who sighed in response.

“Yes, for every loss the Germans suffer, they make the resistance pay. But we haven’t it any better. Since we entered the war in 1940, the allies bomb our industries. And the air defense and civil air defense are much weaker than in the German Reich. With the defeat in Africa, many are tired of the war and want it to end, and I think II Duce is overwhelmed with everything.”

“We can just hope it ends quickly and well for all of us.” Dinky pointed out.

“Yes.”

Matteo told his children about his guests' origins as he tucked them in.

“Sorry to hear that, Padre.” Antonio had a sad expression. “But we are proud of you for helping them.

“And we will help them as good as we can.” His sister added.

“I know you will, children,” Matteo replied with a smile.

Like with Konrad’s family, Dinky, Katja and Blau could use the guest room, with Dinky taking a sleeping back, leaving the bed for her two friends. “Goodnight.” She said to her friends and fell asleep fast.

A few days passed, they helped out as good as they could in the house to repay the hospitality. There wasn’t any sight of Fletcher yet, but something told them he was already looking for them. Compared to Africa, Italy was of several different terrains and towns, so it could be he was slowed down by it, like having to avoid the towns.

As it was early July, they watched the sunset, looking beautiful over the sea. “I hope Fletcher is doing well.” Blau said with worry and Dinky wrapped a hoof around him.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine. After all, he’s very experienced.”

“I think he’s delayed because he’s admiring Italy’s beauty.” Katja joked and they all shared a laugh.

“Yeah…” Blau chuckled before they went to bed, sleeping peacefully.

None of them could count how long they had slept until started by a loud sound and screaming. “What’s going on?” Katja asked as they heard the children of Matteo screamed and the man himself protested, but it was incomprehensible before the door was kicked open and several men in black uniforms stormed in.

They all screamed and struggled as they got dragged out towards the marketplace, seeing how more soldiers rounded up civilians and led handcuffed away, with propaganda speakers sounding as well. As the kids got dropped, fear took them slowly over as they saw the Conti family looking at them with worry.

“Why does no one talk?” One of the soldiers asked fatly into the crowd with an Italian accent, the children started to sob as the residents stayed silent. “Now those children must die.”

In that moment, Dinky, Katja and Blau looked to the civilians pleadingly, in their heads begging any of them to speak up and help them. Matteo had an expression of anger, but was held back by two of those black uniformed soldiers.

Well children, it would seem that, sadly, no-one wants you. Most unfortunate...” The soldier standing next to the children clicked his pistol and lowered it to Dinky’s head.

“And we see no point in keeping things no-one wants.”

All three shivered, it seemed like the end and they made a final prayer.

“Stop right now!” A German voice yelled all of the sudden. “They are not to be harmed, being under my care!”

The children looked up to see Karl and Konrad, their expressions slightly angered and the Italian soldier turned towards them.

“Not very smart of you to admit to that.” The soldier pointed his gun at him. “The rules against sheltering a partisan or suspected partisan are very clear. And the penalty very final,”

A loud bang sounded and the Italian soldier fell backward to the ground and all hell broke loose. The three children saw how several civilians drew weapons, firing on the soldiers, other ran to safety, including the Conti family and a group of armed men, wearing blue clothes around their necks ran up to the kids. “Come with us!” One of them yelled and the children followed them out of instinct.

As they were led away from the battle, Dinky could swear she saw faintly how Konrad and Karl were struggling with two of the armed men before they ran out of sight, towards a church.

Once led inside, the children started to take deep breaths, calming down. “Thank you. I thought we would die…” Dinky said with a shocked voice.

“It’s nothing, children. Don’t worry, help is on the way.” one of the men replied.

“Are you…resistance?” Katja figured out, feeling uneasy.

“Si, the Fascists and Nazis swept the town.” The Partisan replied with hate in his voice and suddenly, the doors to the courtyard of the church were blown open. “Accidenti! We keep you safe, children, promise!”

The men ran out to fight, while the kids stayed inside the church, hiding behind the benches, covering their ears from the loud gunfire.

“Death to the Partisans! Devils! Show no mercy! No survivors!” A German voice yelled, filled with hate.

“Do…D you think we’ll make it out alive?” Blau Streifen asked with fear in his voice.

“I don’t know, let’s hope we will,” Dinky replied as the fighting went on for minutes, the resistance fighters stood bravely their ground, holding the Germans back.

Out of nowhere, a loud shot made the children flinch, and several more followed, then silence.

“Thank you, sniper!” One of the resistance fighters said grateful, making the kids wonder if the sniper could be Fletcher and they slowly walked out of the church. Who they saw surprised them.

A man with a sniper rifle, dressed in an olive drab coat and pants and black boots, the same man that had helped Fletcher in Africa at the factory. His expression was neutral as he looked at them. “Fancy meeting you here.”

None of them could bring out a word before one of the Partisans said, “We just barely managed to save them from getting executed as the Fascists swept the town. We get them to safety.” The sniper nodded in response.

Dinky and the sibling followed without a word, seeing that the streets were littered with killed soldiers and resistance fighters, making them hope Karl and Konrad were still alive, seeing also that a building had caught fire.

Upon coming to the city limit, they saw a parked truck, getting led towards it as suddenly someone shouted, “Freeze!”

They all did as told, the Italians dropped their weapons, knowing there was no way out of it without endangering the children. “Get out of here.” The voice said, surprising them quite, but they didn’t hesitate to walk away and the children turned around.

“Konrad, Karl!” Dinky exclaimed in relief, happy to see they were alright. “It thought…”

“No, the Partisans only knocked us out, probably for trying to save you,” Konrad explained as they got into the truck.

“Are Matteo and his family alright?” Katja asked, fearing the worst.

“Yes, they used the chaos to escape, he brought his family to another town. I am actually here to tell him we get redeployed to Adanti, a village in the southernmost point of Sicily.”

“Okay.” She and her friends let out relieved sighs, they were still alive.

It took a few hours for them to arrive at the village, seeing that a large ornate building in the middle of the village was heavily fortified and had two AA guns on the roof.

“Welcome.” Hans greeted as they arrived, happy to see them.

“Nice to see you too. Anything we can help with?” The filly asked him.

“Sure, you can help with the supplies.”

And so, they helped to carry the supplies where they were needed for the rest of the day, seeing that the stationed soldiers here were all Italians, wearing the same black uniforms as the ones in Bitanti.

“Those are the Blackshirts, they are the Italian version of the SS, but don’t worry, they won’t bother you with us around,” Karl explained to them.

“Thanks for letting us know,” Blau said and he went to bed with his sister and friend in a tent as it became evening, being asleep fast.

It was there, where Matteo got back to his German friends. “I owe you one, who knows what might have happened, if you hadn’t shown up.” He was grateful.

“That’s what friends are for,” Konrad replied with a smile.

“And I know to appreciate that. I really should have tried to go for them.” The Italian had regret in his voice, lowering his head, but Konrad put a hand on his shoulder,

“Don’t be it was out of instinct, keeping your family safe.”

Matteo smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

In the middle of the night, the children stirred in their sleep by a strange noise, sounding faintly like an engine. “Did…you hear that?” Katja asked sleepily.

“Yes, I did. Better check it out.” Dinky suggested and they nodded, walking outside, seeing a squad of German soldiers next to an AA gun, watching the moon, yet saw nothing that hinted of danger.

“You should have seen how the Brits fought in Africa. More skilled than the Yankees, that’s for sure.” One soldier said to his comrade.

“At least we have the night.” His comrade replied.

“The Darkness is always still to unseeing eyes.”

As the German had said this, the children could swear they saw something in the bushes, looking like a human. But the darkness made it impossible to tell for sure.

Dinky opened her mouth to warn them, but no way came out, stuck in her throat.

The siblings pointed at the shadows, but the soldiers didn’t notice them.

Maybe it was just their imagination, or a squad of fellow comrades, but the children knew to be better safe than sorry.

“You want a drag?” A third soldier asked, smoking a cigarette. “Calms the nerves.” What happened next terrifying the three young friends.

The moment he threw it to his comrade, flashes of gunfire occurred and screams sounded in the ears of Dinky, Katja and Blau, watching in horror how the soldiers got gunned down by human-like shadows.

They were frozen as one of the humans picked the cigarette up and took a drag.

“This Hun’s Ciggy isn't half bad.”

Chapter 3 Infinite Mischief

Chapter 3: Infinite Mischief

The night was quiet and the squad guarded an AA gun, Tim was sleeping peacefully, while the other shared some coffee.

Konrad took a slip and almost had to gag at the bad taste. “No offense, Hans, but your coffee sucks. I can’t drink that.”

“Hey, better than nothing, or want to make your own coffee?” He joked in return and the others laughed as the Sergeant could swear he saw something in the sky.

Maybe I just… He could never finish as several lights went on in the distance, lighting up the sky, followed by AA gun fire, making his eyes wide in surprise.

“Hey! Wake up! We are under attack!” David yelled at Tim, who wake up instantly in alert as the AA gun also started to fire.

“Go, make sure the children are safe!” Karl ordered before a young voice sounded in their ears.

“Konrad!” The two foals and girl ran towards him, their expressions one of fear. “One of the crews got…”

The man held up a hand. “Calm down, calm down.” The children took his advice and breathed deeply.

“One position got….ambushed…” Dinky managed to say with a shaken voice.

“Darn it! The note we found was just a decoy! The Allies want Sicily! But we can still repel them.” Karl said with confidence as Dinky, Blau and Katja looked up into the sky.

The night, lighted up by the searchlights, together with the fire of the AA guns had somehow a majestic effect as they also saw the planes flying overhead, some got shot down, crashing in a ball of flames.

“Our enemy falls from the heavens, Konrad,” David commented at the sight.

“Yes.” As he said this, the children could faintly see parachutes in the sky too, meaning the Allies used paratroopers.

“Tell me, you think we will get through this?” The youngest member of the squad asked with fear and Escher put a hand on his shoulder.

“I make sure of that. Don’t worry.”

It also gave the kids hope they would survive as suddenly yelled, “Watch out!”

“My god!” Karl yelled and the kids turned around, their eyes went wide as a plane was crashing towards them before the explosion knocked them over and everything became black.

“Ugh…We…are still alive?” Dinky asked as she came to with an aching head, seeing the wreck had destroyed the AA gun, Konrad and the others were nowhere to be seen,

“I think so…” Blau replied as he helped his sister up and the heard a voice.

“Hey, we got some civilians here!” It was male and they saw a man in a tan uniform walking towards them. His hair was black, his eyes brown, having a short beard, looking rather surprised at them. “Are you hurt?”

“No, we are fine,” Katja replied.

“Good. Stay behind me and keep your heads down. Call me Travers.” The soldier said with an American accent, making them realize it was an US soldier.

They followed him towards the large ornate building, the Blackshirts defended it with everything they had, preventing the paratroopers from storming it, Dinky and the siblings went to cover behind sandbags.

“Here comes Travers! Give him some covering fire! Somebody find a flank!” A fellow soldier yelled.

Dinky saw how Travers aimed at a mounted MG on the balcony with a rifle that looked similar to the Gewehr 43 but lacked a visible magazine. The moment he fired, the rifle made a loud “ping!” sound and a stripper clip was ejected from the top, with the man quickly loading a new one in, as the hostile soldier fell backwards, having been killed by Travers.

The children saw how the other paratroopers fired the same rifle, others used SMGs that looked similar to the MAB 38, some fired what looked like a light machine gun, due to having a bipod.

Peeping over their cover, the filly, colt and girl saw how Travers made a dash for a side entrance, throwing a grenade in. An explosion and screams followed and he entered.

They couldn’t tell how long it took until shots came from the inside and the defenders turned around in surprise, allowing the other Americans to storm the building, while a squad stayed outside with the kids, one of the soldiers was a radioman, carrying a radio on the back.

“All Airborne units within range of this transmission, be advised that we have a platoon-sized unit pinned down and under heavy fire in the northwest sector of Adanti. All units receiving this signal are ordered to procced to that area and to relive and reinforce.” The radio buzzed as another radio operator gave out orders, with Travers coming back as it ended.

“No time to waste, let’s go!” He said to his fellow soldiers and they nodded, moving out, with the children closed behind.

The street was littered with sandbags and a few crashed or destroyed Halftracks, along with bodies of killed soldiers of both sides .It made them unsure which side would win and if they would survive themselves.

Yet, they somehow felt safe with Travers. But it looked like the battle was far from over, having just begun.

On the way, the three friends noticed green smoke on certain areas of the town, realizing those were the drop zones for the Allied troops with supplies next to it before they came to an archway with bullets flying past it.

It looked like a stalemate, apparently, the Italians put up a good fight, which was understandable, it was their homeland after all.

Dinky, Blau and Katja were scared, yet tried to stay calm as good as they could withal the battle around them, the screams, blood and bullets.

“Grenade!” Somebody yelled and the kids startled as an American was blasted away by an explosion, coughing from the smoke, yet didn’t hesitate to check on him, but he was dead. Another Allied soldier leaned against the wall for cover, with two more on the other side of the road, taking cover in a doorway. “Where’s Sergeant Dane?!” The First solder yelled at the other.

“Holding position, sir!”

“Lazy bastard…Are you two my only reinforcements?”

Yes, s-“ The other soldier got interrupted by bullets hitting the ground near him.

“Go back to CP. Report to the Colonel!”

“What should I tell them?”

“Tell him we’ve encountered the enemy and lost contact with our sniper team. And get us more reinforcements!”

“Yes, sir!” The second soldier moved out and the first turned towards Travers.

“You. Travers. You fight with us. See these troopers up here?” He asked and Travers and the kids peeked over the corner, seeing soldiers in light green uniforms, tan pants, and tan helmet, armed with MP40s. “Those are Germans. Unlike the eye-ties, they know how to fight. Watch yourself. We need to find that sniper team.”

The man barely finished before Dinky yelled, “Grenade!” Seeing another one flying towards them, yet Travers quickly picked it up and threw it back, the explosion destroyed the MG nest on the other side, together with the remaining German soldiers.

They then moved down the alleyway, with more fighting sounding in the distance, with a fellow soldier yelling, “Damn! These Germans are tough!”

At a house at the end, the Germans held a defensive position, the children pressed themselves against the wall as Travers took aim with his rifle and fired, raking the defenders out one after another until the way was clear and they moved into the house and up the stairs.

Dinky saw a dead body on the floor, a scoped rifle next to him, with another man, leaning wounded against the wall next to a window, holding his stomach. He looked at his fellow paratrooper. “’Bout time somebody showed up. Stay clear of the window! There’s a sniper across the way! He got Harding here.” The man looked at the dead body with grief. “Thinks he's got us both. He’s been on the radio for reinforcements. You gonna have to take the shot.”

Just as he finished, the radio on the table sprang to life. “Infantry divisions, assemble near Adanti. Strike back with all your strength!” A voice ordered in German.

“Damn. He’s gotten through. The Germans are moving in. They’re trying to re-take the town. Hurry!” The wounded man said to Travers as he took the scoped rifle. “Just like basics. Squeeze, don’t pull.”

Travers took a deep breath as he looked through the scope, seeing how a German rose from a window of the opposite building, squeezing the trigger as he also saw the glint of the sniper’s scope and fired, scoring a headshot.

“A significant enemy force remains in the defensive on the outskirts of Adanti. S2 is reporting that there may be a regimental level commander present on those defenses. All units are hereby instructed to engage these defenses with the objective of either killing or capturing that officer.” The allied radio chatter ordered as Travers kneeled down to his wounded comrade.

“Let me take a look.”

He just finished his sentence as the radio buzzed again. “Enemy armor approaching from the north! All units are instructed to fall back to the town square and provide immediate support!”

“Don’t worry, we will help your wounded friend.” Dinky said and their protector nodded, moving out as she and the siblings bandaged the wounded spotter as good as they could, with the same squad stayed with them as protection, as gunfire sounded in the distance.

“Thanks…children…” The wounded man managed to smile.

“No need, we just try to help where we can.” The unicorn replied.

They all couldn’t really tell how long the gunfire lasted, maybe 15 minutes at least before it ceased completely and the radioman announced, “It’s over, the attack is repelled and the enemy is retreating to the north.”

“Good, let’s join up with the others.” One of the other soldiers said and helped his wounded comrade up.

At the town square, the children saw how the paratroopers led captured Italians and Germans away, a group of officers, wearing field caps were among them.

Remembering that they hadn’t seen their caretakers, Dinky, Katja and Blau hoped they had survived and got away or got captured. They knew the latter also gave them a chance to survive all this.

Travers walked out of the building, smiling at them. “You did great tonight for your age. Now get some sleep.” He pointed to a tent the soldiers appeared to have built up recently and they nodded, falling asleep fast once they were comfortable on the cots.

None of them could tell how long it was before a loud rumble started them, falling almost out of their cots. “What was that?” Dinky asked in fear.

“I don’t know.” Blau replied and they carefully looked out, seeing a thunderstorm raged outside.

“Hey, isn’t that Trottingham in the distance?” Katja pointed to a town, but the darkness made it impossible to tell for sure.

“I think so.” Dinky replied as she heard a loud roaring sound and they saw several big planes flying towards the town, escorted by smaller planes. The bigger ones seemed to drop something and suddenly the town was engulfed in explosions, causing Dinky to gasp in shock. “No…Pip…Nancy…Tungsten….”

“Look!” Katja pointed into the sky and they saw a group of five smaller planes flying towards the bigger ones, engaging them as the sky lighted up in bright flashes and an explosion followed as one of the bigger planes broke apart in flames, crashing to the ground.

Then one of the defending planes got shot down, crashing near the children and they wasted no time to check on the pilot.

The wreck was in flames but the cockpit open, meaning the pilot had escaped, yet the emblem on the wings caught the interest of the three friends.

A golden yellow lightning pattern next to a silver and gold badge with Twilight Sparkle's purple star in the center.

“How…What are they doing here?” Dinky wondered as she recognized it before a bright light blinded her.

Opening her eyes, she find herself in the tent, the sun shining in, her friends were also awake, blinking. “Just a dream…” The filly mumbled as he realized, her friends did the same as the spotter walked in, bandaged but otherwise fine.

“Good morning, kids.”

“Morning.” They replied in unison and breakfasted with them.

Katja asked, “What happens now?”

“Well, I got assigned to the squad who kept you safe, our orders are to advance. Since we go by foot, we have no choice but to take you with us. Oh, almost forgot, my name’s Jack.”

“Its fine, Jack, I’m Dinky, my friends Katja and Blau Streifen.” The filly replied.

“Okay then, let’s move.”

It was a warm morning, the sun shining, the children enjoyed it as they walked with the squad out of town, yet Blau got a bit curious. “What weapons do you use?”

Jack pointed to his weapon, the same rifle Travers had used. “That’s the M1 Garand, the standard rifle of the US Forces. Semi-automatic, powerful, accurate and reliable. It’s notable for its distinctive metallic ping sound when an empty clip is ejected. It can be reloaded without expending the clip but that’s takes longer and is complicated. As standard issue sidearm, we have the M1911A1 .45 also known as Colt.45.”

He then pointed to two others solders, carrying the SMG and the machine gun respectively. Our standard SMG is the Thompson M1A1, effective at close range and fires the powerful .45 ACP round. Our squad support weapon is the Browning Automatic Rifle, BAR for short.

“Uh-huh. And what is that?” The colt pointed to the rifle the radioman was carrying, it looked similar to the Garand, but had a magazine in the bottom.

“Oh, that? That’s the M1A1 Carbine. Also semi-automatic, lightweight, accurate and compact. Ideal for soldiers that work behind the front or have to carry heavy equipment like me.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

He, his sister and Dinky enjoyed the view of the landscape as they marched for quite a while, while the paratroopers talked about home.

“I’m telling ya…Yankees and Cubs, Game one, Thirty- Eight World Series. Lefty Gomez was the winning pitcher!” One of the Americans said with joy.

“Hey, Lewis? Aren’t you a lefty too? Heh, heh.” The SMG gunner joked.

“So, who do you think it was?”

“I don’t know. Ruffing, maybe?” Jack asked.

“I love a man with conviction.”

“Well, I don’t know.” My kid brother would though. He’s a damned baseball encyclopedia.” His comrade replied.

“I guess being dull runs in the family!” The support gunner added.

“Ain’t that right.” The Radioman agreed.

“Alright pipe down and spread out…and keep your eyes open people, we’re entering enemy territory.” The Squad leader warned as they moved towards a town, appearing to be abandoned.

Dinky and her friends moved towards a stone wall for cover as the soldiers carefully moved in.

Carefully Dinky peeked over the wall, seeing how two soldiers moved out in the open and in a flash, got mowed down by a quick rattling sound. “Ambush! Get to cover!” Jack yelled and pressed himself against an abandoned car, trying to figure out where the fire came.

“The café! MG42! Second floor!” He ducked as shots hit the car, missing him by inches.

The children did the same, covering their ears before a loud explosion threw them over, deafening their hearing for a moment.

As it returned, they heard a click of weapons and a voice shouted, “Hands up, drop your weapons!” They found themselves surrounded by Germans in green camo uniforms and helmets, having two lightning bolts on the collars.

Slowly looking around, Dinky and her friends saw that the car was in flames, having been blown up, presumably by a grenade. The German soldiers had cold, unemotional faces, looking like they weren’t afraid of anything.

“Are you deaf?! I said up! Or I put a bullet through your heads!” One of German yelled and made the kids realize they had their weapons trained on them.

Dinky looked around, the soldiers had them completely surrounded and they looked like they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her or her friends if they would try to flee.

Fear took over and the kids did as told, trembling. “Please, don’t shoot….” Katja begged.

“Sir, the Geneva Conventions clearly state that child civilians are to be-“ One German soldier, appearing to be very young, protested before another, apparently the commander spit in his face, his eyes blazing.

“Do not speak of the Geneva Conventions again, that diatribe of excuses and pretentions is what nearly brought our fatherland low. Why do we fight if not to prove them wrong? This is war. The weak die, the strong thrive. Oldest rule in military history, one you would do well to remember.” Take them away. The rest, execute Kommandobefehl.”

“Yes, sir! Get up!” One of the Germans yelled at the kids, Katja kept her hands up in the air. Her brother and Dinky had their head lowered to show they gave up, seeing how Jack and five other paratroopers got lined up against the wall, all others were dead.

Jack looked at the children, an expression of fear in his eyes, as the German commander raised his arm. “Aim!”

Dinky, Katja and Blau closed their eyes.

“Fire!”

The sounds of several shots sounded in their ears, and then silence as the bodies hit the ground.

Chapter 4 The legend returns

Chapter 4: The legend returns

Once again, Fletcher Fray was en route on Earth, just as the children had thought.

He hadn’t expected to be on Earth again, or with the same objective as last time, but he was ready to do it again, not hesitating a bit.

There was no telling what kind of danger they could get in, and he was their uncle and friend, he couldn’t just leave them.

Fletcher was walking through a landscape, meadow and forest as far as he could see, wearing a camo-cloak and hood, not bothered at all by the warm sun.

The stallion could still remember how everything was when he and the others found out what happened.

“Why would they leave the blanket behind like that if they were playing?” Midnight was suspicious.

“They could have been kidnapped.” The unicorn suspected.

“Possible, but I think that thing might have the answer.” Wolf pointed to what looked like a weakly glowing crystal on the ground.

“Never seen anything like that before.” Fletcher said as he inspected it with a scan spell. “Teleportation...No...Trans-dimensional magic. Portal-creation crystal. I can't tell what kind it is but that's definitely the kind of magic it resonates.”

Midnight groaned. “And it just so happens to wander into the hooves of a pre-teen picnic. Fan-bucking-tastic! Right, Princess Luna will need to be informed.”

“Let’s hurry, there is no time to waste.” Wolf concluded and they moved out.

“Any idea how that crystal could have appeared here?” Midnight asked Fetcher who shook his head.

“Not a clue, but I’m sure it’s not from here. Doesn’t really look like its Equestrian magic at all to me.”

“If it was used by somepony to capture them, we must be careful.” Midnight added. “But I doubt that’s the case, I mean, if it was, the crystal shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m sure Wagensroll and Patch can find it out. Until then, we can only hope and pray for the best.”

“Yes. Still, I dread to tell their parents the news.” Wolf said with pity in her voice.

Once in Canterlot, Luna was quite surprised to see them. “My loyal knights, what is it?” She asked with a smile as they bowed.

“Your highness, we afraid to report that Dinky and the siblings may have gone missing again.” Midnight said with regret in his voice.

Luna’s expression became slightly shocked upon hearing it. “Do you have an idea how this has happened?”

Fletcher showed her the crystal. “We found this near their picnic side. I did a scan on it and it showed recent portal magic.”

The princess of the night put a hoof to her chin, thinking for a moment. “Then we should hurry. May I say it myself?”

“Of course.”

As Luna took a look, she became curious, noticing something odd. “Strange, I know this magic signature but I can’t remember from where.”

“I’ll inform Patch and Wagensroll.” Midnight said and walked out.

Thanks to the previous incident, Patch and Wagensroll could figure within fifteen to thirty minutes, yet Fletcher saw the worry in Derpy’s and Ruby’s eyes.

“They barely escaped death the last time…” Ruby trembled at the thought.

“I bring them back safe and sound, that, I promise.” Fletcher said in an attempt to calm them down as Patch had news.

“I and Wagensroll finished analyzing the portal power of the crystal. It appears it sent the children again on Earth, this time into a rural area.”

“Okay.” Fletcher replied and put the clothes provided for it on, together with his armor, a jacket, belts and medallions of black, navy and silver. He also took the two awards he got in Africa and the German weapons. “The awards, lucky charm.” He explained before he concentrated to activate the portal spell.

“Let us go together on this one, Fletch.” Wolf pleaded.

“Yes, together, we are strong.” Midnight added.

“It’s worth a try.” The unicorn replied and tried to calibrate it so they all could get through, groaning and it flickered before he had to stop, catching his breath.

Midnight tried to touch it, it buzzed and he pulled his hoof back with a slight hiss of pain. “Damn it.”

They all three looked at each other, unsure what to say until Fletcher broke it.

“I’m afraid I have to do on my own.”

“Fletch…” Wolf looked at him with an uneasy expression.

The green stallion gently took the mare’s hoof. “I’m sorry, I have to do this alone.”

“Fletch...The last time you went in alone, you crossed paths with one of the worst ponies we've ever met and found yourself an inch from death...twice. We don't get unlimited chances, not even in our line of work” Wolf said concerned, raising her eyebrow with uncertainty.

“I’m really sorry, but it’s the only way. Sending us all through would need too much magic.”

Midnight sighed. “Alright. Now go! Let the legend come back to life!”

Fletcher chuckled. “Of course, I will.” Then he lit up his horn and cast the spell.

Fletcher kissed both awards, hoping the children were fine and that he wasn’t too late. The German weapons had no ammo, but he was sure he would find some soon or later.

Still, it didn’t take long for him to realize where he was exactly as he read road signs. They looked very familiar to the Bitalian language back home, a language which he was very familiar with.

“They're in Italy? Way better than the desert. I wonder if the pizzas and spaghetti taste really as good as they say. Always wanted to try it.” He mumbled distracted before realizing what he just said, shaking his head. ”What am I thinking? Stay focused!”

He had eaten a few times with the Ford family, enjoying the pasta Konrad had made every time. “Never thought that could be a disadvantage for me.”

The stallion was interrupted as he saw smoke in the distance and ran up a hill to get a good view and looked through his binoculars.

Fletcher saw men black or green camo uniforms holding up civilians near a burned house at gunpoint, with the Archer having a dark expression. Without a word, Fray took aim with his bow and aimed at the two men who were apparently in charge as they held one arm up and fired, scoring headshots as the men stumbled and hit the ground.

The other soldiers startled and stared in the direction the shot had come from, frozen. Some soldiers looked at each other and aimed their weapons into Fletcher’s direction, only to be killed too by his arrows, motivating the remaining to run. “That should show the Green Knight is back.” The unicorn commented at the sight and the civilians also moved.

Fletcher then moved down to the side and checked the bodies. The black uniformed men were Italians, members of the Blackshirts, the others belonged to the Waffen-SS. As the letter used the same weapons he processed, he decided to take some ammo.

Feeling thirsty, Fletcher took a sip from his canteen and moved on, towards south as far as his tracking spell showed where the position of the children was.

He stayed away from the roads and towns to avoid getting into trouble with the locals, yet eventually, it became evening and he set up a campfire for the night, away from the roads to avoid being seen.

A loud banging noise tore him out of his sleep, finding himself in the bed of the guest room in the Hooves’ house, wondering what caused it before he heard the crying of a young foal. “What’s going on?” He asked sleepily.

The banging was frantic, and he recognized the voice, his expression becoming one of worry.

He ran up to the door where the noise came and opened, what he saw shocked him completely.

Before him was the young unicorn, crying her heart out, but her body was wrapped up in steel, only her hooves and ears were untouched. Her face was covered in a mask of steel, several tiny eyeholes were where her eyes should be, tears pouring out. “F-Fletcher…”

“Shh…I am here for you.” he hugged her to comfort her, patting her back, “it’s gonna be alright.” He said, although he wondered if this really could be reversed.

The filly sniffed “Please… run… before it’s too late…”

“W-what?” Fray asked confused before the filly started to growl and struggled to break free, trying to bite him, he struggled with all his strength out of instinct.

“Dinky! Calm down!” The stallion yelled, but something told him it was caused by whatever had happened to her.

She managed to overpower him, throwing him over, inches away from his throat. “No! Don’t!” He yelled in vain before…

“NO!” Fletcher screamed as he shot up, panting heavily as he looked around, realizing it was just a dream. “Phew…” He wiped the sweat of his forehead and fell asleep with a sigh. Yet, he feared it could mean something, similar to his second nightmare in Africa.

Nevertheless, he slept well for the rest of the night and breakfasted before moving on again.

The sun was shining again and he enjoyed the warm weather, yet the dream refused to leave his mind. “Wasn’t that the unfortunate fate of Dinky’s counterpart in that other Equestria?” He mumbled as he started to remember. “Then I hope Dinky here, won’t have the fate…” He dreaded to imagine.

“No…I have to stay positive! I can’t let-“ Fletcher was cut off as he tripped over something and tumbled a small elevation down before coming to a stop with a cry of pain. “Ow…” Fray slowly got up, his body aching a bit as he suddenly heard a clicking sound.

Slowly looking down, his eyes became small as he realized his right hindleg was standing on a mine. Worse, he looked around to find out he had landed in a minefield in a forest, seeing mines everywhere. “Oh, no…”

Then the sound of a truck engine reached his ears and he saw an Opel Blitz coming to a halt on the road near him and two Waffen-SS soldiers stepped out, looking at him with surprised expressions before one of them looked down at a pinecone next to him and grinned at the unicorn.

Before Fletcher could fully realize what they had in mind, they threw pinecones at him to make him stagger and trigger the mine he was standing on, yet he managed to keep his balance while yelling in pain and stumbling slightly, with the two Germans mocking his actions.

Luckily, the two soldiers ran out of pinecones after having thrown around fifteen, looking around for more in frustration. Fletcher gasped in fear as they spotted another one just a few meters in front of them and made a dash for it.

One of them tripped and fell over, with his comrade coming to a halt, his expression terrified, as both realized something.

They were now trapped in the minefield too.

As Fletcher saw some pinecones near himself, he decided to return the favor and threw some at the standing man with his magic, he also stumbled, barely keeping his balance before he got hit in the face and fell over.

The unicorn shook his head as the soldier had landed in arm reach of the pinecone he and his comrade had went for, slowly reaching after it.

“Ha!” The soldier cheered as he picked it up and heard a clicking sound. “Ah!” He gasped as it was on another mine before the explosion came.

And so the legend of the Green Knight ended.

Or did it?

Fletcher coughed as the smoke cleared, having cast a teleport to get clear of the blast just in time. “Could have gone worse…” He commented, glad to be still alive.

However, he felt a sharp pain in his right hindleg and hissed, looking down. Shrapnel was stuck in it, bleeding slightly. “Darn it. This will slow me down.” The stallion said as he carefully pulled the shrapnel out and bandaged his wound, casting a healing spell on it.

Apart from moving slower, he knew in this condition, he couldn’t afford to get into a fight, so he was more careful on the move, taking regular breaks.

Good for him, his injury went slowly better with every day that passed.

After a few days, he inspected his wound, seeing it was nearly healed. “Guess my luck hasn’t left me.” Barely having spoken, thunder sounded and it started to rain. “Guess I spoke too soon.” Fray added in a defeated tone and looked for shelter where he could wait the thunderstorm out, spotting a small bridge not far head, making his way towards it.

“What are we gonna do, brother? Madre will be worried.” The voice of a girl greeted the unicorn’s ears and he saw two children under the bridge, a girl and boy, both slightly trembling.

Upon spotting the unicorn, they looked at him in surprise and awe. None of them said a word for what seemed like hours until the girl broke it. “Please…don’t hurt us…”

“I mean no harm, children. Are you lost?” Fray replied politely and the two looked at each other in confusion and the boy slowly nodded.

“Y-yes. We were playing outside before the thunderstorm caught us off guard.”

“I see. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.” Fletcher replied and used his cloak to shield them from the rain.

“T-thank you.” The boy replied with a weak smile. “But how shall we find the way back home?”

“Leave that to me, children.” Fray lit up his horn and used the tracking spell to find out where the two had started, following it and after a while, they came to a house.

“T-that’s our home.” It was the girl’s voice in Fletcher’s ears and she knocked on the door once they reached it. A woman opened the door and her face was one of happiness and relief s she saw the children.

“Antonio! Vila! I was so worried!” She hugged both.

“We were caught up in the rain but he helped us!” Viola said and pointed at Fletcher, who smiled.

Vila’s and Antonio’s mother looked slightly confused at the stallion before smiling weakly. “Thank you…”

“Fray. Fletcher Fray, but Fletcher is just fine.”

“Fletcher Fray?” Antonio blinked in awe. “Dinky and her two friends told us a lot about you!”

Fray raised an eyebrow. “They did?”

The mother cleared her throat. “Can we please tell you inside?”

“Of course.” He said and walked in with the children, enjoying a hot chocolate to warm themselves up.

“Oh, how rude, I am Rebecca. Rebecca Conti.”

“Pleasure to meet you. So, how did you meet Dinky and her friends?” The unicorn was curious as the boy beamed a smile.

“Our father brought them here and told us how he met them and you in Africa a year ago.”

It clicked in Fray’s head. “So you’re his family.”

“Yes. And it is an honor to meet you. I owe you something for helping my children.” Rebeca said to him with a grateful expression but he waved a hoof.

“It’s nothing, I just help those in need, being honorable. How are Matteo and my young friends?”

Rebecca sighed. “It’s hard to tell. Our home was swept for Partisan activity yesterday. Matteo managed to get them to safety, but then the Allies invaded Sicily. Italy was thrown into chaos, as the Duce was arrested and the Germans occupied the country, arresting Italian forces. We haven’t heard from Matteo or the children ever since.”

“Then I should hurry.” Fletcher concluded.

“I understand your worry, but the only way on is through a river close here, but the heavy rain makes it a deluge, impossible to cross.” She pointed out and Fray sighed.

“Alright, I’ll stay until the weather gets better. Do you have a guest room?”

“Si.”

The woman led him to it and wished him a goodnight as it became evening and he was asleep fast.

As he opened his eyes, he found himself in front of a big machine, looking like a tower, a green glow surrounded it.

“Great work!” Midnight’s voice sounded next to him. “It’s destroyed. Glad that, at least, went to plan.”

The machine let out a low pitched sound, followed by groaning, causing Wolf to ask, “Was this part of the plan?”

“Uh...no…” Midnight replied with unease in his voice.

“Halt! Don’t move!” Several Waffen-SS soldiers surrounded them. “Surrender immediately!”

The Knights looked around for a way out, but they were completely surrounded.

But all of the sudden, the machine sparked and made a high pitched sound, rumbling and they all looked in fear at it. “That’s not good!” Fray exclaimed before a green shockwave threw him over, together with White Wolf, hearing screams.

“Ugh…that hurt…” Fray mumbled as he got up, checking himself, relieved he was just fine but the soldiers hadn’t survived. “Are you okay, Wolf?” he asked the mare who pointed behind him with a slightly shocked expression.

“M-Midnight…”

Fletcher turned around and startled slightly as he saw the batpony with his back to him. A green glow surrounded him and he bent slightly over. “Midnight? Are you okay?” Fletcher asked worried as he slowly came closer to his commander.

Without warning the grey stallion turned around and let out a terrifying groan and Fray gasped at what he saw.

Midnight was no longer a pony, but a burning skeleton and roared into the sky before charging at the unicorn.

“Fletch!” Wolf yelled and pulled him back, getting punched by the batpony and to Fra’s horror, she disintegrated into a green dust, letting out an echoing scream.

The unicorn stared in shock at what happened before Midnight lobbed a green ball of energy at him and he screamed in pain, getting disintegrated as well.

It was at this moment where Fletcher woke up with a gasp, panting heavily, trying to process what he just dreamed. “Just…a nightmare…” He mumbled relived between breaths and fell asleep again.

The rain continued in the next days, so Fletcher helped out in the house as good as he could, telling the children about his adventures before Africa, fascinating them. Although he was happy they were safe in this house in the countryside they owned, even he was worried about Matteo’s fate.

Eventually, the rain stopped and Fray prepared to move on. “Thank you for the hospitality.”

“Wait.” Rebecca said with worry. “You know about Kommandobefehl?” Fray nodded.

“The Führer can order whatever he likes.” He replied calmly.

“But you are technically a commando. They will shoot on sight, rather than accepting surrender.” She countered with concern.

Fletcher shrugged. “Occupational hazard.”

“Death doesn’t frighten you? Italy has seen a lot of it.”

“I have seen it a lot too.” He said before the siblings gave him a hug.

“Be careful, Fletcher.” They said in unison and he stroked their hair with a smile.

“Of course I will.”

Then he walked out, towards the river. It was still high from the rain but could be crossed. “A little swim won’t hurt.” The unicorn commented as he swam to the other side and used his dry spell.

The warm sun shined on his coat, he enjoyed the nice feeling as he continue to walk along the countryside, yet the second nightmare didn’t go out of his head either.

“Could it mean something too? I hope not…” he mumbled slightly afraid before stopping as he spotted something strange in the distance.

“What the?” He said confused as he could swear he saw a transparent unicorn of the Royal Guard in the distance near a forest.

He decided to check it out but as he blinked, it was gone. “Strange, for a second, I thought I knew it from somewhere…”

A young scream startled him, coming out of the forest. “Please! You promised us to help us! Don't!” It took him only a second to realize the voice.

Dinky!

Author's Note

The minefield, got the idea from this

Chapter 5 Prisoners of war

Chapter 5: Prisoners of war

Dinky, Blau and Katja stayed silent as they were brought on a truck, too scared to say anything as the soldiers kept their weapons trained on them.

They had no idea where the truck was heading, they feared the worst, like a lab, trembling the entire time.

The children had lost count how long it was before the truck came to a halt. “Get out!” One of the soldiers yelled and they did as told.

Before them was a compound, secured with fences and guard towers, making them realize what it was supposed to be: A prisoner of war camp.

Once led inside, one of the guards walked up to them. “We have three rules here. Rule one: You attend roll call every morning and evening. If you fail to report as required, or you enter an illegal area at any time, you will be punished. Rule two: Stay clear of the perimeter fence at all times. We have order to shoot prisoners who stray over the line on the ground. And rule three is to obey all the rules. Complains, a day or two in solitary confinement should change your mind.” He spoke without emotion and they just nodded.

Dinky watched the guard until he was far away enough and took a deep breath. “Well, it could be worse, we’re still alive.”

“Y-yeah, but…they have brought us here for a reason and I doubt it’s good…” Katja said with a stuttering voice.

In response, her brother gave her a hug. “Shh, calm down, sis.”

Before she could give a reply, a new voice sounded in their ears. “I have seen a lot prisoners, but children? In a prisoner of war camp?”

Dinky, Katja and Blau turned around to see a bald man with blue eyes in a brown officer uniform, his voice featured an Irish accent, looking slim in his appearance. “I don’t know why they brought you in here, but as long as you stay out of trouble, you will be fine. Get to know the routine.”

“Thanks for the advice, sir.” Dinky replied, “What’s your name?”

“I am Sergeant Sean O’Brian. And you?”

“I am Dinky Hooves, and those are my friends Katja and Blau Streifen.”

The man smiled weakly. “Nice to meet you. If you are wondering why I am so calm about speaking ponies, your presence during Operation Husky got around quickly.” Before they could reply, a banging sound ringed in their ears, sounding like metal. “Dinner time already? Time goes fast.”

They walked to the mess hall, sitting down at a table. There were some vegetarian menus and they tasted quite well before the evening roll came.

A German officer walked up the prisoners, looking also slim, his eyes green, the hair brown. “Good evening, gentlemen. I hope you all had a pleasant day. Dismissed.” He said in a friendly voice, the other prisoners didn’t’ seem to care or bother much, having neutral expressions.

The siblings shared a bunk with each other while Dinky had one for herself. They slept well but hoped it would end well for them.

Dinky and her friends woke up yawning as the rolling call came, seeing on the clock that it was 7 AM, feeling still tired.

“Good morning, gentlemen. I am delighted to see you all so eager to face the day. Dismissed.” The same officer said in the same voice, earning neutral reactions.

“So, what could we do to pass the time?” Katja wondered.

“Hey, children.” A familiar voice said and they turned around in surprise.

Before them, were Hans, David and Tim, but Konrad, Karl and Matteo were not among them. “Glad to see you’re okay, though I wish we met in more comfortable circumstances,” Hans added with a weak smile.

The three children smiled at them in return, happy to see them alright. “You’re okay, we had feared the worst. Where are the others?” The young colt asked.

Hans sighed. “After the plane crash, we got separated in the heat of battle, haven’t heard of neither of the three. After we came too, a patrol found us and we serve as guards of this prison camp.”

“I see. Then we can only hope for the best.” Dinky concluded.

“Yes. If you need sine entertainment, I got a ball if you like.” Hans said and held it up, with the three young friends grinning.

“I’d love to!” Blau exclaimed.

And so, the children together with the soldiers, threw the ball to each other, laughing all the while, enjoying it to the fullest, until it was lunchtime.

While eating, Katja looked at the Irishman. “Do you mind telling us about yourself?”

“Not at all. I was captured by the Krauts in Africa in late 1942, together with Clancy over there.” He pointed to a man in a tan colored uniform, his build was average, his eyes blue and black hair, barely paying them attention. “He used to be a real feisty one. He’s been through so many escape attempts he gave up.”

“Really?” Blau asked, not able to believe what he just heard.

“Aye. I supplied him with the tools and the like for his escape plans. I wish you could have seen him back then. Scourge of the guards he was.” Sean said with a smile of pride.

“Sounds like you are quite good friends.” The colt replied, earning a nod.

After eating, Dinky saw the officer walked up to them. “May I speak with you in my quarters?” He asked friendly and they nodded, somehow knowing they had nothing to fear.

“Why do you want to speak us, sir?” The young girl asked politely.

“Because, I have led this camp for quite some time, but never had civilians here, or children for that matter, not to mention talking ponies. I am curious, what brings you here?” He asked with a friendly expression.

“It’s kind of a long story.” The unicorn replied and she and the siblings told him everything, he listened patiently.

The commander took a deep breath. “Sounds like you went through a lot, I am sorry to hear that. But I will make sure you are treated well, children.”

“Thank you.” Katja smiled in relief and they walked outside, seeing Clancy leaning against a tree. “Hello.”

“Hi. I heard my friend told you about me.” He said with a disinterested expression.

“Yes. It is true what he told us about you?” The little filly asked, and he weakly smiled.

“Yeah… I tried going over the wire, under the wire, through the wire. Now I reckon I’m content just to stare at the wire. But in my heyday, I was near-invisible. Boy I was good. This place is just a temporary holding camp and a stop-off point for supply trucks. So, soon or later, we all will be transferred.”

That made the three friends look at each other with slightly scared expressions. If it was just a temporary holding camp, where would they be sent? How long would they be here before transferred? And why had they been captured?

“Hey, want to continue our game?” Tim asked, tearing them out.

“Huh? Oh, of course.” Blau replied and they played for the rest of the day until it was dinner time, followed by the rolling call.

“Good evening, gentleman. I am pleased to see you all are here. Dismissed.” The camp commander said and the children fell asleep fast, yet were slightly nervous about why they were here.

He then looked at the three soldiers. “Come with me.”

“Yes, sir.” Hans saluted.

They saw a group of other soldiers and officers in his quarters as he spoke up. “Listen up, I just received a message that a high ranking officer of the SS is visiting the camp, and we know there have been a few escape attempts in the past. We can’t tolerate this any longer.”

“But Herr Kommandant…” One of the officers replied.

“With no exceptions. We cannot afford any further lapses of security. If there is the merest hint of an escape during the visit of the SS-Obersturmführer...we will all become cannon fodder for the Bolshevik tanks and...her - myself included.” The commander said with fear in his voice, slightly shivering.

“Yes, sir.”

“I find this as painful as all of you. Let’s just do our job and hope for the best.”

As the three men walked out, Tim looked through the window at the sleeping children. “I…I fear this Obersturmführer is coming for the kids. Why else would an SS-member visit a prison camp of so low importance?”

“I think you’re right but…we can’t sacrifice our comrades here to be sent to the Eastern front,” David concluded.

“I know but who knows where the kids will be taken and what will happen to them!” The young private exclaimed before Hans laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Take a deep breath, Willi, we’ll think of something.”

Willi sighed in response, knowing they hadn’t much time.

In the next morning, it was raining, so the children stayed inside after breakfast, playing a round of Mau-Mau.

“I'm soaked to the bone.” A guard said outside and the children turned into his directed, pausing their game.

“Forecast says we got this for the next few days.” Another guard replied.

”Looks like they're right - for once. I don't get it why we have children as POWs.”

”Me either.”

”They are civilians, not soldiers. What did they do?” The first soldier wondered.

“Nobody knows, but I won't let them get harmed. They have their lives yet ahead of them.

Hearing this filled the children with relief that even the other guards seemed to care for them but what came next was beyond their imagination.

“Agreed. Have you heard the news about the Falkner Squad?” The first guard asked his comrade, who nodded.

“Not directly, I only know they fought on the Eastern front.”

“Well, I heard, the Sniper of the squad eliminated an entire battalion from his position.”

“No way!” His comrade exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes wide.

“One of the squad members eliminated an entire squad, just using his knife after running out of ammo.”

“Unbelievable!”

“And their leader, he did the same, fighting only with pistol and knife.”

Again, the other soldier couldn’t believe it, shaking his head. “You’re kidding!”

“That's what the propaganda says and some rumors. If they are true, I don't want to meet them.”

“Sounds like they really have been through hell...Why do you think is the reason that this SS officer is coming?”

“Not really, but I think it has something to do with the kids. The heavy rain makes traveling difficult though, so he’d delayed for a few days as far as I know.”

Katja shivered at the thought. “That really sounds like this Falkner squad saw the worst on the front. B-but if that’s true that this officer is coming for us…”

This time, Dinky gave her a hug. “Shh, don’t worry, Hans, David and Tim will be here for us. I just hope the others are okay.”

Just as she said this, the three men walked in. “How are you?” Hans asked with a smile.

“Apart from the weather, fine.”

“Glad to hear it. The Allied invasion of Sicily created quite some disorganization. Italy was thrown into chaos, as the Duce was arrested, with us disarming the Italians. It is likely that Matteo got arrested too.” He told with regret in his voice.

Dinky’s expression became slightly sad. “A pity to hear. I hope he’s okay.”

“We hope so too.”

None of them was aware that Sean and Clancy heard everything from outside. “That doesn’t sound good. We should try to get them out of here.” Sean whispered to his friend.

Clancy smirked. “Just like old times, eh? Just give me some time to think of a plan.”

“Sure, but we don’t have much time.”

The rain continued for the next days, so the kids stayed inside, chatting with Clancy, Sean or their caretakers to pass the time. Yet for a nice change, the rain stopped one day. “Finally! I thought it would never stop!” Blau Streifen exclaimed in relief.

“You tell me,” Dinky replied after the roll call and breakfast, seeing that Hans walked up to them. “Good morning!”

“Morning. I have been informed that a farm not far from here requests some help and I thought it could be a nice change for you.”

“Yes, it would.” Katja smiled, only for the man’s expression to become one of regret.

“Sorry, but the overseer showed particular interest in your brother and Dinky.”

In response, she looked at him in sadness. “But I don’t want to be separated from him and be alone.”

“Me neither,” Blau said with fear.

“Don’t worry, you will see each other at the end of the day.” Dinky assured them in with a weak smile.”

Blau sighed. “I guess you have a point. See you later, sis.” He hugged his sister to say goodbye and was led by David with Dinky to a truck.

Katja watched after it until it was out of sight. “What I am gonna do now?” She wondered.

Both foals couldn’t’ tell how long the ride was until they reached the farm, seeing allied prisoners working on the fields, watched by guards. “So you’re the foals I was told about?” They saw a man in officer uniform walking towards them, apparently the overseer.

“Yes, we are,” Dinky replied.

“Good. There’s plenty of work, help yourself.” He pointed to the field.

The two nodded and walked over it, helping to buck tress for the apples and pulled farm machinery where it was needed, with the other workers barely paying them attention.

It was a warm day and a welcoming change, enjoying the work, yet Dinky noticed how Blau had a slightly worried look. “Something wrong?”

“I’m just thinking how my sister is doing.” He said with a hint of fear in his voice.

“I’m sure she’s doing fine, think positive.” She tried to cheer him up, earning a weak smile.”

“Right.”

Hans and Tim got called by the commander to his quarters. “What it is, Herr Kommandant?”

“Important.” The officer sounded slightly worried. “I got another message. The SS-officer is will arrive tomorrow and I got conformed he’s coming for the children, as I got order to keep the presence of the foals secret. You should get them out of here to safety."

“Sir, with all due respect, we can’t risk that you and the others get sent to the Eastern Front for this.” Tim replied with concern.

“I know, as such I’ll take full responsibility and will stall him. Can I count on you?” He asked and both soldiers looked at each other.

“Yes, sir.”

Katja was spending the day playing cards with Sean and Clancy, she enjoyed it yet hoped her brother and Dinky were alright. “Say, do any of you have family?” She asked.

“No, neither of us, “Clancy replied, “I was driven by the will to fight for my country. But the Krauts aren’t stupid. They know some prisoners tried to escape on the trucks and guard them heavily, thus they made sure the only way into it is through the driver’s compound, and its door is padlocked. I gave it a go myself once. Got busted when a guard heard me going at the door with a crowbar. If I’d waited till he was out of earshot you probably wouldn’t be taking to me right now.”

“But it had been worth a try.” She replied and he smiled.

“Yeah, It was.”

The moment had spoken, David walked in, smiling at her. “Hey there. How’s it going?”

“I’m fine, I just hope my brother and Dinky are okay.” She replied with worry.

David thought for a moment and got an idea. “I was just about got pick them up, what about you come with me?”

The young girl slowly smiled at what she heard. “I’d love too.”

“See you later.” Sean called out as the two left.

Dinky and Blau Streifen had worked until the afternoon, resting in the shadow of a tree as they had finished their chores. “Time went fast, didn’t it? The filly asked her friend who nodded.

“Brother!” A female voice called out and they saw Katja running towards them, David close behind.

“Sis!” Blau Streifen exclaimed in joy and they both hugged each other.

“I thought you would be pleased if I take her with me to pick you up.” David said with a grin.

“And how!” The colt exclaimed, Dinky just nodded with a big smile of her own.

“Reminds me, as we pay our prisoners for work like this, what about some chocolate?” David reached for some chocolate in his pocket, with the children gladly took, enjoying the sweet taste as they drove back to the camp.

“How was it on the farm?” Sean asked as the returned.

“Pretty nice, actually, was fun and you kill time fast.” Blau replied.

“Glad to hear it.” Hans said as he joined with Tim. “I also have news for you.” His voice was one of unease.

“What is it?” Dinky asked in confusion and he took a deep breath.

“We got confirmed by the camp commander that this SS officer will be here tomorrow and is indeed coming for you. As such, the commander wants that we get you out of here. I’d say by hiding in one of the trucks.” He explained and turned to Clancy. “As you have the knowledge, can you lead them through?”

Clancy said nothing for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, it’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you.”

The children stayed silent, trying to process what they had just heard until Dinky broke it. “When would be the best time to get to them?”

“At night.” Clancy replied. “Just north of the mess hall, over the fence. There’s a guard tower in the middle and a total of three guards. Two patrol the main road but I noticed they tent to stop off for a chat each time they meet, so I got past them. The third one is patrolling outside the driver compound, had to hide behind some lodges to avoid that fella. Actually, I and Sean overheard you talking about that SS-officer earlier, so we decided to help you out, I also stole a crowbar from the tool store last night for the lock.”

“Good. See you later.” Hans left with his two friends.

“Are you ready to do this? It will be our only chance.” Sean asked the three children and they slowly nodded.

“Yes, who knows where this Officer will bring us.” Blau shivered at the thought.

“I’m ready too.” His sister added confident.

Time seemed to race as the prisoners assembled for the evening rolling call. “Good evening, gentlemen. I wish you all a pleasant sleep.” The commander said.

Once in the barrack, the children and men waited until the lights were turned off, the former were nervous, trembling slightly but were also ready as Sean opened the door.

The guards at the prisoner compound had their backs to them, so they had little trouble to get to the fence. Clancy and Sean helped the three kids over it.

It seemed their timing was well chosen as the two guards just had their chat, allowing the children and soldiers to sneak past them, towards the door of the driver compound. The padlock was still there and the third guard nearby, so they waited patiently, seeing how David led him away, engaging him in a chat to keep him busy, allowing Clancy to use his crowbar to remove the lock.

The American slowly opened the door, seeing a soldier sleeping in his bed. Dinky, Katja and Blau saw his friend putting his finger to his mouth to signal to be quiet, not to wake the driver, they nodded in response.

At the other door, he opened the door a little, noticing the searchlight was moving towards it, waiting until it moved away, then made a signal to move.

Just around the corner was a truck and they wasted no time to get in the back

Glad they had made it Dinky let out a breath of relief. “We made it.”

“Yes, you did great. Better get comfortable – it’s gonna be a long night.” Sean whispered in response and they all closed their eyes to catch some sleep.

In the next day, the sound of the engine getting started woke them up. “Looks like we’re on our way, keep low.” Clancy advised his young friends.

“Did you have any plan what you do when you made it out of here?” Blau asked him.

“Not really, I guess making sure you get to a safety place, then try to get back to my comrades together with Sean.”

Suddenly, a horn sounded and the truck stopped violently with squeaking tires. “You idiot! I should have you shot for this outrage!” An angry voice yelled, they assumed it was the SS-officer.

“Sorry sir, the sun blinded me.” Hans apologized in a calm voice.

“I don’t want your excuses! You’ll be digging trenches on the Eastern Front before the month is out!”

“We’ve blown it. I knew this was too good to be true.” Katja slightly panicked, fearing they would be discovered.

“Take a deep breath. We’ll probably be on the move again soon. If we have to run, there’s a forest nearby.” The Sergeant replied and she did as told.

“I hope your cargo is worth the trouble!” The other German yelled and walked to the back to inspect it, only to be hit into the chest by Clancy with the crowbar, falling over and the escapes made a break for the woods.

“Halt! Halt!” They heard the same voice. “Shoot them!” He added, but saw that none of the guards in the towers raised their rifles, so he took matters into his own hand.

A shot ringed in the ears of the children, followed by a cry of pain, seeing out of the corner of their eyes how the Irishman fell to the ground, bleeding from the knee.

They stopped in shock, looking at him. Come on, we need to go!” Clancy yelled at them, but they couldn’t leave Sean behind.

“Go! Leave me! Save yourselves!” Sean yelled as he looked up with a painful expression, the SS-officer slowly walking up to him.

Still, they just stared at him, frozen on the spot. They wanted to go back for him, but that meant they would be recaptured.

Bang!

The children flinched, blood splattered from Sean’s head as he fell lifeless to the ground in a puddle of the blood, the officer slowly looking up.

Now the three friends started to run, knowing there was no turning back now.

“Who’s responsible for this?!” The SS member yelled in anger and the Camp commander walked up to him.

“I’ll take full responsibility, sir.” He said, ready to face the consequences.

“You…” The other officer pointed at him, taking a deep breath. “I’ll deal with you later. And you,” He pointed to Hans, “Your superiors will hear of this! I will take on getting them back myself.”

Konrad couldn’t remember much. He passed out from the plane crash and woke up several days later in a German base, getting informed his squad mates had found back to their lines and severed as guards in a POW Camp, Karl was deployed at a German outpost, but couldn’t find out anything about the children, which made him worried.

Right now, he was called to deploy a SS-Obersturmführer in finding escaped prisoners in a forest, hoping it would be over soon.

As far as he knew, the officer had the name of Steiner. He was a friendly and polite man on the outside but when it came to tasks regarding the war, he was very serious to get it done.

Steiner’s hair was short and black, his blue eyes having a calming effect, his build was slightly athletic and his face and chin broad. Unlike most officers, he wasn’t clean shaved but had very short stubble.

Steiner took a sip from his flask. He offered Konrad it who took a sip, only to cough from it. The SS-Obersturmführer chuckled. "Too strong for you, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir." Escher replied as he never was much of a drinker.

"Now, you can feel the warmth spreading in your chest?"

"Yes, sir." Konrad replied as quite a cold wind was blowing today.

The officer looked at the forest. "Those tree here, the lay of the land, it reminds me of home. Good hunting country." He grabbed Konrad's rifle and took aim. "Look around. Deer. Wild Boar. Wolves. Bears. Everything. Have you ever hunted before, Sergeant?”

"No, sir." Konrad replied truthfully, it had never interested him much.

"No?” His comrade asked in surprise. “I doubt you realize then when a hunter makes his first kill, he is anointed with the animal's blood." He made a gesture on Konrad's forehead, they both shared a short laugh. "So we begin. Come on. Our prey will not wait. We must find their spoor."

"Yes, sir." The Sergeant didn’t know why he laughed too, he never liked the SS, maybe it was just to avoid trouble.

Dinky, Katja and Blau ran through the forest for their life. They wouldn’t spare them, they knew it after they saw what they did in Bitanti and to Sean.

"Halt!" A voice yelled, it was the SS officer, firing his Luger but missed. "Shoot. Shoot him." He ordered and Konrad took aim.

Seeing that three of the prisoners were the children, his hands started to shake, his breathing rapid, not able to fire. "Shoot him!" The SS-Obersturmführer ordered. "Give me that." He grabbed Konrad's rifle. Taking aim, he shot an allied soldier, an American by the look of the uniform, who tripped into the head, Konrad watched in horror as he fell to the ground.

Steiner gave the rifle back with a disappointed expression. "You've let yourself down." He inspected the body. “Sergeant, come closer. Look at our first kill of the day. Such a good clean head shot." As he wanted to anoint the blood on Konrad's forehead, the Sergeant took a step back in fear. "What? Are you shy of a little blood? My god, what where you before the war, Sergeant, a choir boy?" He asked with a slight hint of anger.

"No, sir." Konrad quickly replied, still a bit shocked.

"What must you do know?"

Escher know exactly what, although he disliked to say it "Find the others, sir."

"Yes, very good, Sergeant, you will find us our second kill and then you will kill it. What was the matter with you?"

"I couldn't see. It was too dark under those trees." Konrad lied, he could never bring himself to kill children.

"Darkness had nothing to do with it. You failed to act. It was your duty as a soldier to obey my direct command." The SS-Obersturmführer pointed at him with a dark tone.

"Sorry. It's only three prisoners. We've got thousands of them." Konrad countered.

“Doesn’t matter, the principal is the same, it's our job to hunt them down."

"They'll be dead of the cold soon." Konrad quickly replied out of instinct, although he didn’t wanted them to die of anything.

"We can't take that risk. We must all answer to our superiors, and now I'm afraid that that the colonel will have no other choice to shoot you and your men. You and your incompetent men will be blamed for this. A demonstration to show what is soldierly duty." His comrade said with a hint of disappointment, yet Konrad had only one thought, saying it quietly.

"You'll be dead by the Green Knight anyway."

"What?" The officer turned around to face him.

"Nothing."

Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen wandered lost through the forest after having lost Clancy, not knowing where to go, he had been their guide.

Suddenly they spotted two soldiers in the distance. They quickly noticed they wore green camouflaged uniforms, realizing that they belonged to the Waffen-SS, they walked backwards before turning around, running for their lives as the soldiers gave chase.

Dinky heard a shot, then pain in her hindleg, falling to the ground with a cry of pain.

The siblings stopped and ran back to her, grabbing their forelegs to help her up before they got hit by the butt of a rifle, falling over.

Seeing the soldiers were now next to them, they crawled backwards against a tree, one of the soldiers wearing a cap, appearing to be very young, held them at gunpoint. "No, please! Don't shoot!" Dinky pleaded.

The other soldier ordered, "Kill her." The unicorn froze in fear, the siblings held each other for dear life, the young soldier trembled, sweat ran down his head, not able to pull the trigger. His comrade shook his head. "Coward." He reached for his rifle, taking aim at the terrified children who closed their eyes.

Dinky and her friends flinched as the shot ringed in their ears, but they felt no pain. Slowly opening her eyes, she and her friends saw that the cap wearing Waffen-SS soldier had shot his comrade, the body in the foliage. He lowered his rifle and took his cap off, thinking about what he had just done.

It took them some time to process it "What are you waiting for? Go." The soldier tore them out of their shock before he walked deeper into the forest.

The young unicorn groaned in pain as her left hindleg was bleeding with Blau examining it. “Just grazed, you were lucky." He said and took a bandage out the bag of the dead soldier, bandaging her leg and helped her up.

While Konrad carried on searching, the officer stopped. "We...no, you have lost her.” He pointed at him. “All this happened on your watch. To be honest, you couldn't even do the simplest of duties. This is now your punishment."

"I’m sure she went... this way." Konrad pointed into a random direction.

"Oh, now you are sure. Now that I have my boot in your backside, suddenly you are sure." Steiner taunted.

"I'm sure." Escher replied hastily and moved on.

The children were exhausted from the running, leaned against a tree, panting, trying to catch their breath, with Dinky trying also to overcome the pain on her leg

The officer drew his Luger. "I could of course save the army a lot of time and trouble, and shoot you right now. Give me one good reason not to. I warned you. You knew there would be more than just trouble, if she escaped. I suggest you go, now. At least you'll have a sporting chance. There is still time to show to show your skill and mettle."

"Spare my men at least." The young man begged, not waning any of them to die.

"The thought of the gun at the back of your head, is such a leveler. Such a great witness to be profound truth of the human soul, isn't it, Sergeant?"

Dinky, Katja and Blau still tried to catch their breath as they heard the sound of boots. A Wehrmacht soldier and an SS-officer were coming closer but they all were too exhausted to run and Dinky’s injury made it almost impossible to do so.

"There they are, Sergeant. Shoot them." the officer ordered. Dinky and the siblings recognized the soldier, it was Konrad.

Even if she knew there was no point in pleading for mercy, Dinky knew Konrad could never do something like this. "Please! You promised to help us! Don't!" she cried, Konrad aimed but hesitated, his hands shaking as the officer yelled,

"What did I tell you? Shoot her."

Dinky had lowered her head, sniffing, tears dripping down. "Why...How could you...I thought you were our friend..." Katja and Blau hugged each other instead, also crying.

"Shoot!"

Konrad switched his aim from the crying children to the officer. He showed a light surprised expression before Konrad pulled the trigger.

Dinky looked up, still crying. "K-Konrad?" He took her on his arm, patting her back.

"Shh, calm down. You know I would never, ever do this to you."

"He's right, Dinky." They heard a new voice and saw a green unicorn stallion joining them, happy to see that they were alright. “I was about to put an arrow in the officer anyway. Now that I'm here, let's get out of here."

"As the legend says: Wherever they might be, the Green Knight is near." Konrad replied with a smile as Fletcher took Dinky on his back.

The Forest was endless, endless. From horizon to horizon. You could hide an army there, you could hide a man there, a child, a knight. The thing you couldn't hide was the truth.

Chapter 6 Training

Chapter 6: Training

Neither Fletcher nor the children said a word as Konrad led them through the forest, still trying to process through what they just went through.

They wondered where the man was taking them, it seemed like hours before Dinky broke the silence. “Where are we going?”

“To the outpost Karl got deployed after the Allied attack. I know from the terrain where it is, on the other side of this forest.”

“I hope the others are doing well after this,” Katja mumbled with worry.

“I’m sure they are. Fletcher, you surely want to know what happened and what you missed, but can this wait until we are there?” Konrad asked the stallion, who nodded.

“No problem.”

“What happened to you, Konrad?” Blau asked him.

“Well, a German patrol found me and took me to a German base, where I was standing guard until Steiner called me. He I was also informed where my squad mates were, but couldn’t find out anything about you though.”

“We’re escaped with the help of two allied soldiers. They’re…” Dinky couldn’t finish, sniffing.

“Children,” Fletcher started, looking at them with a weak smile. “If it hadn’t been for their efforts, you had never made it, coming this far. They knew the risks.”

“I guess you have a point…” Dinky mumbled with a weak smile of her own.

“And there we are,” Escher announced as they came out of the woods to a checkpoint, a small town was in the distance behind it, together with what looked like a Viaduct in the middle of the Viaduct.

“Who goes there? Identify yourself!” A male voice shouted and they saw themselves faced by an officer, together with a soldier, weapons trained on the group.

“It’s me, Konrad.” The Sergeant replied and both men lowered their weapons.

“Fancy meeting you there, Konrad.” The officer holstered his pistol. “Same for you, kids.” They recognized him, it was Karl.

“Indeed it is. May I introduce Fletcher Fray to you?” Konrad pointed at the stallion and Karl smiled.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Lieutenant Karl Vogel, at your service.” He gave Fray a salute, which he returned.

“Likewise.”

“The kids have told me a lot about you. But for now, take some rest. Conti, would be so kind?” The officer looked at the other soldier.

“Of course.”

“Wait, Conti? I thought…” Konrad said in surprise as the Italian waved a hand.

“You aren’t mistaken, I was arrested too. But Rommel was my salvation. As he overlooked some of the captured Italians, he noticed me and ordered my release. Official, I am serving under German command and supervision, in that case under Karl. Unofficial, he got me out because of my actions in Africa and to keep you three safe.”

“That was very nice from him.” The little unicorn said with a grin.

“Yes, it was.”

Fletcher and the kids ate some fresh bread with a salad, enjoying the meal as the stallion got told what he had been missed and what had happened. “Congratulations to your promotion, Konrad. My condolences about Frank though. And I am also happy to hear that your friend Günther has become a father.” Fletcher said with a forced smile, feeling uneasy about knowing that the former had survived and lived in an alternate Equestria and that Günther’s family would meet a tragic fate two years later. He had never told Dinky and the siblings about the family of his creator, fearing they wouldn’t take it well.

“Thank you and its fine. Say, do you ever had a lover?” Konrad asked, catching him off guard.

“N-not really. I was never much interested in marriage but had a few mares here and then in my long lifetime.” Fray replied, but his subconscious betrayed him and a certain mare popped in, causing him to shake his head.

Of all mares, not her!

“You’re okay?” Escher asked confused and Fletcher slowly nodded.

“Yeah, it’s just, ever had a moment where you think of something you want to forget immediately?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

In that very moment, he had to think of how Wagensroll had told him how he met James.

With an aching head, the Earth pony came to, holding his head. What just happened? Where am I? Wagensroll looked around, finding himself in an alleyway, also noticing it was raining. “Okay, stay calm, panic won’t get you anywhere.” He spoke to himself before noticing something odd as he looked at himself.

“I am a colt now? Uhh…” He stared in confusion and shock before a loud thunder came, causing him to shriek.

“Hello? Someone there?” A male voice sounded in his ears, apparently having heard him.

“Uh, yes, I appear to be lost.” Wagensroll replied in confusion, it just slipped out.

The colt slowly stepped out of the shadow, seeing a silhouette of what looked like a human at first.

He froze completely at the silhouette was completely visible.

It was a human indeed. A man in what appeared to be a high-ranking officer uniform, looking slightly surprised at him.

While Wagensroll knew what humans were due to the adventures of his relative and had met two of them before, in this case, Katja and her father, he never thought he would see one again.

The man started to smile. “Hey there, little guy. Come with me, you’re freezing out here.”

Of course Wagensroll knew he couldn’t trust a stranger, but something told him the man was honest. “Okay, sir. Where do you live?”

“Not far from here.” The man replied and gently took him on his arm and walked, the streets were deserted, so he reached his home without anyone seeing the Earth pony.

Wagensroll shivered a bit from the cold weather as they got in and the human got a towel to dry him. “Thank you, sir.” He thanked the man.

“You’re welcome. My name is Jessie Günther, but you can call me James.” Now, Wagensroll was able to see him fully. Jessie was a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, having a round face and narrow chin, with a slightly muscular build.

“Pleasure. My name is Wagensroll.”

“A nice name. Would you like a hot chocolate to warm yourself up?” Jessie asked with a smile and the colt nodded.

It was done in a few minutes and Wagensroll enjoyed the warm taste to the fullest. “Much better!”

“I am pleased to hear that. Now, can you tell me what a boy like you ends up lost in an alleyway?” Günther asked, sounding rather curious and Wagensroll tried to remember what happened.

“As far as I can remember, I, together with my relative Fletcher, his two friends Midnight Blade and White Wolf, along with my friend and colleague Purple Patch helped Princess Luna to try out a new portal spell, but something went wrong. I woke up in that alleyway, being turned physically into a colt for some reason.” He explained in embarrassment.

“I see, could have been worse. I take it the princess is your ruler?” James asked and the colt nodded, although slightly surprised. “Educated guess, as a princess is mostly the ruler a kingdom.” He added calmly.

“That's right. There are actually two rulers. Princess Luna, being in control of the moon and her older sister Celestia, being in control of the sun in Equestria. I am an Earth pony but there are also Pegasus and Unicorns.”

“Interesting. I take you are actually an adult?” Günther asked and again, Wagensroll nodded.

“Yes. My relative, Midnight and Wolf are actually the specialists of Princess Luna’s bodyguards, the Eternal Knights.” The Earth pony explained and James smiled slightly.

“Sounds like you can be proud of your relative.”

“Of course I am.” The green colt replied with a grin. “He’s like a brother to me. If I am not mistaken, I am on Earth and you’re a human, right? Fletcher had a few…adventures on Earth, so I am a bit familiar with it.”

“Fascinating and you are correct indeed. Now, how about dinner?” Jessie suggested as it was getting late.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that.” Wagensroll replied and his host made some cooked potatoes with salad, which both enjoyed. “It tasted very well, thank you.” He said after having finished and struggled to suppress a yawn.

“You should get some sleep, it was an exhausting day for you. I got a guest bed.” James smiled slightly at the colt.

“Yes, I should.” Wagensroll agreed and got tucked in by his host.

“Goodnight, sleep well.”

“You too, James. I just hope the others are alright.” His guest had a worried expression and he patted his head.

“I’m sure they are. Hope dies last.”

In response, Wagensroll smiled weakly. “Yes, it does.”

After getting comfortable, he saw how James walked out as suddenly, music came from his jacket pocket and he reached for what looked like an i-phone, if Wagensroll remembered correctly.

“Ah, always on time, my tea-drinking friend.” He heard James mumbling before falling asleep.

The little colt, while worried for his relative and friends, slept quite peaceful this night, hoping they were okay.

In the next morning, Wagensroll stirred in his sleep as the sun shined on him, having slept well, stretching himself.

“Looks like it’s going to be a wonderful day outside.” He commented and went to the kitchen for breakfast, eating some oatmeal, then checked on James. He was still asleep, getting the colt an idea. “I should make breakfast for him, I’m sure he will like it."

Günther awoke as a fresh smell entered his nose and the door opened. “Good morning!” The green colt greeted as he carried a breakfast board, a toast with strawberry Jam and a glass of juice on it.

“Thank you.” Jessie smiled, appreciating the generous action.

“It’s the least I can do to repay you for your hospitality. You are a soldier, like my relative, aren’t you? Your uniform and the pictures of you in the living room hint it.” The colt asked, as he had said the pictures of James in uniform in the living room, and the man chuckled.

“Correct. How much do you know about Germany’s history?”

“A lot, as I am from Farmany, the pony counterpart of it.”

“I see. I fought in the Great War and in the Second World War, yes. In the former, I met my future wife.”

“I hate to interrupt you, but how comes you still look so young?” The pony wondered curious.

“It’s a long story, can I tell this another time?” James replied a bit embarrassed about it.

“Sure thing.”

“Okay. As you can see on the pictures, I was a pilot in the Second World War and had a son. But sadly…” James took a deep breath, slightly trembling. “He and my wife were killed in the final stages of the war.”

“Oh…” Wagensroll slightly gasped. “I’m so sorry to hear that. Forgive me that I woke bad memories.” He lowered his head in shame and guilt.

“Wagensroll,” Jessie patted him with a weak smile, “It’s fine, you couldn’t know that.

With a weak smile, slowly nodding, the colt spoke, “...Okay Reminds me, my other colleague, Dawnwind, a deer, managed to get away in time if I remember correctly. She’s very serious when it comes to her family, but otherwise a nice and good friend. Still, my parents think she has a crush on me, despite having a friendly and professional relationship with me.” He told with embarrassment in his voice. “My friend Patch hasn’t it any better with his parents, due to being befriended with a mare called Nancy.”

“Well, that’s how parents are, embarrassing their children.”

“I guess.” Wagensroll let out a sigh. “Are you still a soldier?”

“Kind of. After the war, I volunteered for the military until my service was over. Yet, I failed at weaning myself from the battlefield. So I founded a PMC.”

Wagensroll shivered slightly. “In Equestria, we don’t have good experiences with PMCs.”

“You have nothing to fear from me. It was never about money. It was opportunity.” James countered.

“And how?” The colt wanted to know.

“In the final stages of the Second World War, I heard rumors about secret weapons beings stored somewhere underground. After the War, I investigated it and discovered they were real. When I discovered it, I knew at once they couldn’t be allowed to fall into the heads of the soviets. And with that, I founded my own PMC, using the secret technologies to keep the German WW2 equipment updated to today’s standards. Originally a militia that operated within the Federal Republic, it became known and respected, changed into the PMC it is today. I only pursue the goal to make the world safer.”

“That’s…amazing!” The colt’s eyes sparkled. “How did you manage to accomplish all of this?”

Again, Günther chuckled. “Wasn’t easy, I can tell you that.” He then swallowed, noticing his throat was a bit dry. “Could you get me a glass of water?”

“Sure thing!” Wagensroll replied and walked into the kitchen, getting a glass of water as told and walked back into the living room, noticing that James was holding a picture in his hand. “There you go.”

James looked up with a surprised expression before smiling. “Ah, thanks.”

As he was drinking, Wagensroll asked, “What’s that?” And pointed at the picture his host was holding.

“Oh, that? Nothing important.” James quickly replied.

“Still, can I see it?”

“You don’t have to know everything, young stallion.”

“Please?” The colt asked with an innocent grin and Jessie sighed.

“Fine.” He gave it to his guest and Wagensroll saw what looked like a wedding picture of Günther and a woman with dark-brown hair and green eyes, both smiling happily.

“Is that…”

“Yes, that’s my new wife. I got to know her when I was inspecting a base over in the USA. She lives there, waiting for me. I guess I miss her too.” James explained with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Wagensroll understood, James’ job made it difficult to be with his wife regularly. “She looks very pretty.”

“I know, at first, it started just as a good friendship, but eventually, it became more. Just please, would you keep it for yourself? I don’t want that it gets too public.” In response, the colt made a zipper gesture.

“I wonder though, if this SS-officer was tasked to pick us up, why tried her to…kill us?” Dinky shivered, feeling uneasy to speak of killing, tearing Fletcher out of his thoughts.

“I guess he wanted to cover up your escape attempt and his failure, but it’s over.” Karl calmed her down “I will arrange that Hans, Tim and David can join us. In the meantime, would you look over the new recruits we got?” He asked Konrad, who nodded.

“Sure, thing.” The sergeant turned to the ponies. “Would you come to? You could pass the time.”

“Sounds good to me.” Fletcher replied, the kids nodded.

“Alright, follow me.” He led them to a Meadow near a river, where a group of dour soldiers waited. This will be your final exam. I will wait for you at the final gathering point. Good luck.” He said to the recruits and they saluted.

Escher then took his friends to it, which was a small Forward base next to a Railway bridge, they could overlook the recruits perfectly as they swam on the other side, hearing one of them commenting, “Good! The water’s warm today.”

Once on the other side, they came to a fence with a gate, but it was closed from the other side. Quick thinking, one of the recruits crawled through a hole in the wall and opened the gate for his comrades.

Then they climbed up a ladder, vaulted over a fence, coming to a shooting range, where they fired K98 rifles, MP40s, MG42s and sniper rifles on the targets.

“For recruits, they are very precise with their weapons.” Blau commented as they were very accurate with their shots.

“Yes, back during the ideas of the German Empire, it was recognized in having the most efficient army in the world, emphasizing high-quality training, while maintaining a high number of experienced officers. The Wehrmacht continues this.” Konrad explained with pride in his voice. “And I’m sure the Farman army was just like that?” He asked Fletcher, who just grinned.

“You should have seen them, they were very efficient, no matter the task.” As he said this, the recruits moved to another shooting range where enemy tanks made out of woods were parked and threw grenades on them, destroyed every target. They did then threw grenades into pits.

The last part before the bridge was a small ruin of a backyard, littered with wooden tanks and targets. The recruits used squad tactics to deal with everything systematically, then used suppressing fire on the last group of targets before moving to the bridge.

“Well done. Goodbye and good luck.” Konrad dismissed the recruits.

“They did done well.” Fletcher added.

“Yes, they did, I hope they will survive this war.” Escher said as a truck pulled up and his three squad mates stepped out. “Glad you could make it.

“Likewise. And we are all happy to see you’re okay, children.” Hans replied with a weak smile.

“I am glad to see you’re okay too. Is the commander alright?” Dinky asked worried.

“He’s fine. With the death of Steiner, none of us has anything to fear, we covered up by saying he got killed by Partisans.”

Blau Streifen let out a sigh of relief. “I was worried we would get you into trouble. Is there anything we can help you with?”

David took the word. “Yes, we are bringing supplies, you could help carry them to the base on the other side of the bridge, including two portable radios.”

“Okay.” Blau said and looked at one of the radios. “May I?”

“You sure about that?” David asked, “They are heavy.”

“No problem.” The colt assured.

“Fine.” The soldier then grabbed the radio and carefully strapped it on Blau’s back, the foal got slightly pushed down by the weight but still managed to stand.

“Can I take the other?” Dinky asked and David shrugged, strapping the other radio on her back, getting also slightly pushed down, before putting the caps with headsets on their heads. “And here we go.”

The two foals walked towards the bridge, it was wide enough to walk alongside the tracks if a train would come. Katja followed, carrying a box of ammo.

Fletcher looked after them, about to join as Vogel walked up to him. “Say Fletcher, are you familiar with fencing?”

“A bit, yes. Why?”

In response, the officer grinned, holding a fencing sword. “As you know, I am very skilled, wanna train with me?”

Fletcher switched to his spear. “So am I. En Garde!“ The German struck first with swift strikes, which Fletcher blocked easily and returned the attack, but his opponent blocked them too.

The stallion wasn’t as specialized in melee as his fellow knights, but still was a very skilled fighter when he had to.

As the kids walked, Dinky took notice how Blau was slightly staggering, causing his sister to ask, “You sure that radio isn't too heavy for you?”

“Not at all! I'm an earth pony after all and they are strong!” Her brother replied with confidence before tripping and falling over from the weight, waving his legs like a fallen over ladybug as he tried in vain to get up. “Okay, maybe not.” He added in a defeated tone as his sister and friend helped him up.

Halfway there, Dinky walked past a transport deport, noticing that one of the soldiers had goggles on the helmet and a flare gun in a second holster, before a horn was honked, startling slightly.

She turned around to see a SdKfz. 222 coming from behind, having honked the horn so Dinky would step aside, which she did and the armored car drove past her.

After that came the base, most noticeable by the large radio tower that could be seen in the distance and she asked one of the soldiers, “You need this?”

“Yes, thank you.” The soldier, together with two comrades took the radios and ammo from her and the siblings, with the ammo carrying soldier inspecting the box, his expression became one of surprise.

“Well, didn’t expect to see one of these.” He held up a very tiny pistol, comparable to a coin in size.

“What’s that?” Blau asked completely puzzled.

“It’s a Kolibri, named after the same bird, made by a watchmaker. It was thought as a lady self-defense weapon as it was compact enough for a handbag back in 1914, but as you can imagine, it was a failure due to the very small cartridges. Still, many soldiers liked it as souvenir. I guess your friend Fletcher could like it.”

“Maybe. Mind if we take a look around?”

“Feel free to do some.”

“With that as reply, the three children did a walk, enjoying the warm sun and fresh air, with other soldiers greeting them as they passed by. The friends came past a small house, as suddenly, the sound of fluttering pater greeted their eyes and they saw a letter getting thrown out by the wind, Dinky used their magic to catch it and placed it back on the table, but the content was tragic.

Dear Viktor,

I hope this letter finds you well thought I must be the bearer of bad news.

The bombing has been terrible over the past week. Last time they hit a gas main. Took out the whole street.

Your Mum and Dad were in the shelter but in the end it wasn’t much protection. It was awful.

They found their bodies in the morning. They were hugging one another.

Viktor, I’m so sorry. There was nothing anyone could have done.

Lyssa.

“Oh dear…” Dinky’s eyes went wide in shock and sniffed.

“I dread to imagine finding Mama and Papa like that…” Katja shivered at the thought, her brother nodded before they moved on, coming to a small camp, noticing another letter in the tent, dated 19th June.

Dear father,

I killed a partisan today. There were a group of them, trying some half-arsed attempt to destroy the Railway gun. Couldn’t believe it when I turned over the body. He was younger than me, maybe 18. Looked a bit like Helmut. He was still alive for a while, crying for his mother. I thought I should shoot him in the head - put him out of his misery - but the others wouldn’t let me. They wanted him to suffer. One of them even kicked him.

Shouldn’t bother me, I know. I'm a soldier, and he was attacking. It’s just...I don't know what. I hope this war is over soon.

Your loving son.

Arnulf.

“Oh, my…sounds like Matteo’s children were right. But how could they let a young man suffer just that for the action of others?” Blau asked. “it’s just wrong.”

“I couldn’t watch something as this,” Dinky added in disgust.

They then decided to get back to Fletcher, seeing how he was fencing with Karl, one of the two seemed to gain the upper hand before Karl blocked a strike and pushed Fray’s spear away. “A good fight. You really are familiar with fencing.” The German complimented him.

“Experience is the best teacher,” Fletcher replied and saw how Tim came to them with a letter.

“I found this, Lieutenant.” He gave it to Vogel and they all read it.

Allagran Liberator

The Fascists starve us, torture us, hunt us down.

Even the Allies accidently drop bombs on us. We will not be beaten. There will come a time when we will push our oppressors back, when we will make them pay for what they have done.

And when we have dealt with them, we will build a new Italy, where poverty and persecution become distant memories, where man, woman and child irrespective of class, creed and religion, will be treated equally.

Remember the victories! Remember the Risorgimento!

“A Partisan news-Sheet. The landing on Sicily surely gave them hope. Question is how much it will be enough.” The officer wondered as suddenly, the young colt cried out in pain as another letter was blown into his face by the wind.

“You’re okay?” Dinky asked concerned.

“I’m fine,” Blau replied as he took a look at the letter.

Dear Ingemar,

I have something to tell you my love. The RAF attacked Krefeld. We headed for the shelter but Lula wasn't fast enough and a section of the wall collapsed on her.

We dug her out but they couldn’t save her leg. She bares her injury bravely but I feel so guilty. I should have been faster but the bomb came out of nowhere

I'm so sorry, my love.

Your wife,

Beate.

“That must have hurt.” Katja winced at the thought. “But at least she has survived.”

“Yes, but the pain of the lost leg and her mother blaming herself for this will be there for the rest of their lives,” Fletcher added with a small hint of sadness in his voice. “I have seen it too many times already.”

“I believe you that. Reminds me, one of my comrades wanted me to give you this.” Konrad reached for his satchel and pulled out the same Kolibri the kids had seen earlier.

“A Kolibri? I have read about that. You want me to have it as souvenir?” He concluded and the Sergeant nodded. “Alright, not that it would have much use to me anyway.” He put it in his saddlebag.

Maybe this could suit Fleur de Lis...Though knowing her, she's already got one.

He slightly jumped into the air by the sound of a train whistle, and they all turned around to see a train coming to a halt on the middle of the bridge, a very large gun was pulled by it, mounted in a cart, the barrel several meters high.

“What’s… that?” Blau Streifen looked at it in awe.

“It’s a railway gun. They are basically large-caliber guns with long ranges. They are designed to destroy massive fortifications and fight bunkers, another field of action is the shelling of strategic targets or deployments behind the enemy's frontline that was beyond the reach of ordinary field artillery.” Konrad explained.

“So that's a railway gun...Strange, the artillery in Equestria is so much more...shiny.” Fletcher mumbled as he looked at it.

“You mean you had similar artillery back then?” Hans asked him.

“Not directly, but Earth pony engineers had similar ideas in the civil war. There was a bit of bad blood there, on both sides. When Princess fought Princess, the villagers outside of the capital were going ignored. When famine and crime grew worse and worse, they looked for a new savior. That was how Solomon became so popular. It worked best when they'd only heard of him, this wondrous leader who cared for all who served him. An ordinary pony, born from nothing, who could stand against Nightmare Moon and do what Celestia could not. They revered him like a god. To those, who actually knew him, to those who had looked into his eyes and seen the madness lurking within...it was different…” Fray shivered at the memories.

“I see. Better cover your ears, this will be very loud.” The German warned as the Railway gun was loaded and about to fire, all did as told but nothing could prepare them for the shot.

It was extremely loud, making their ears ring and the ground shook from the recoil, making them almost lose their balance, staggering for a moment. “My poor ears!” Dinky whined as her hearing returned.

“Yes, it’s really is loud, let’s get some distance,” Karl recommended before he noticed how Fletcher cast a spell on them all.

“A sound-softening spell to conserve our hearing.” The unicorn explained as they walked away before shortly afterward, the railgun fired again. This time, it was much more bearable, hearing only the bang of the shell being fired as echo, but it was still loud enough to suppress other sounds.

They all walked towards the checkpoint they had come from, noticing a squad of Fallschirmjäger. Instead of MP40s, they were armed with what looked like a more bulky SMG with a slightly curved magazine.

“They look well-armed,” Katja commented with a hint of fear.

“You got that right. As far as I know, this weapon is a prototype of a rifle that combines the compactness and fire rate of an SMG, called the Maschinenkarabiner 42 or MKb 42 for short. Those men have the honor to test it in the field. Due to being respected and feared, as well as being amongst the most efficient and brutal of Germany’s specialist troops, we call them Jäger. In the military, it’s a term originally referred to light infantry, but has come to have wider usage.” Karl explained as he paused for a moment.

“In German-speaking states during the early modern era, the term Jäger was used to describe skirmishers, scouts, sharpshooters and runners. Jäger came to denote light infantrymen whose civilian occupations made them well-suited to patrolling and skirmishing, on an individual and independent basis, rather than as part of military unit. And those men do their job well, being less chatty than everybody else.”

“My trigger finger is itching.” One Jäger mumbled, only for another Jäger to reply,

“Be quiet, I need to focus.”

It showed that the lieutenant was right, yet it reminded Dinky of something. “I saw a soldier with a flare gun, is he a scout?”

“Why yes, for the artillery, using the flare gun to signal its strikes. This reminds me, the Railway gun is targeting Partisan hideouts. A bit of a waste for a gun like this if you ask me, but orders are orders.”

Suddenly, a high pitched sound greeted their ears and they saw something fast in the sky. “What is that?” Katja asked before her eyes went wide as she realized with all others what it was.

A burning plane going down towards them.

“Watch out!” Fletcher yelled and they all barely managed to dive out of the way, becoming dazed from the loud impact.

Konrad’s ears ringed, his vision was blurry as he slowly got up, noticing how three soldiers checked the wreck before getting shot, seeing a slightly wounded pilot climbed out of the cockpit, an American by the looks of the uniform.

The pilot was running away, firing his pistol in an attempt to suppress the Jäger troops as one of them shouted “Halt! Halt!”

The moment Konrad could clearly see again, a Jäger took aim and fired, scoring a clean headshot on the pilot and the American fell to the ground in a puddle of blood. Yet Escher was only focused on one thing.

“Anybody hurt?” He asked his squad mates and kids as they also got slowly up.

“I’m fine,” Fletcher replied.

“Count me in,” Dinky added, the siblings nodded, with Karl and the others waving a hand.

“That was a close call.” The Sergeant added as he inspected the plane, a white star in a blue point was pointed on it, making it clears it belonged to the US Air force. “Never saw anything like this before.”

Me neither. It appears to be a prototype recon plane, having been shot down.” Karl said as he inspected the pilot, having what looked like a film canister.”

Another squad led by an officer joined them, “Then let us take care of everything, take the kids to safety.”

Vogel nodded in response and led them away, Katja looked at the dead American in pity, trembling bit. “I thought that would be it…”

“We were all lucky.” Fletcher looked at her with a weak smile. “I hope that will be it for the day.”

“I hope so too,” Karl added. The Partisans tried several times to destroy the railway gun, but failed every time. If they attack again, we will keep you safe, you have my word.” He looked at them with an honest expression.

“Much appreciated.” Fray replied as they walked back towards the bridge, the guards around it keeping their eyes open for anything suspicious.

Blau walked near a sandbag wall as he suddenly heard a snap sound, coming from the woods. “Do you hear that?” He asked and stopped, swearing he saw something moving for a second.

“Yes, I did. Careful, men.” Karl drew his Luger, better safe than sorry.

Fletcher stayed with the kids at the sandbags as the squad checked it out, ye found nothing. “Guess it was nothing,” David mumbled as they walked out again.

Clang!

“Grenade!” A guard shouted before an explosion followed, startling everyone.

“Partisans! Take cover!” Vogel yelled and blew his whistle in alert, Fletcher and the kids took immediately cover behind the sandbags, the unicorn had his bow drawn, should he be forced to defend himself and the children, as the squad took defensive positions.

“Enemy in the woods!” Hans called out the resistance fighters and fired his rifle, all others did the same in an attempt to defend the railway gun.

While operating the bolt of his K98, Konrad took notice how Tim was shaking, breathing heavily as he slowly poked out of cover and fired, his shots mostly missed and he reloaded in a frantically manner. None of his friends could blame him, unlike them, he never had seen actual combat. This was his first true battle.

The guards held the partisans back so far, before the Jäger troops with a Halftrack joined the battle, mowing the resistance fighter down, those who survived, retreated into the woods. “That will teach them!” A sniper raised his fist into the air.

“Shall we chase them?” A soldier asked another officer, who shook his head.

“No, we need to keep the railway gun secure. Stay alert.”

With that, the soldiers went back to their posts, Tim was still breathing heavily. “I…I..."

Escher put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It happened to all of us.” He then turned to Fletcher and the children “Are you hurt?”

“We are fine.” The green stallion replied, his young friends nodded.

“Glad to hear it.” Escher smiled in relief at them. There’s a lake nearby why don’t you go there to get some quiet?” He suggested due to the recent events.

“Sounds good to me,” Fray replied and Konrad was about to lead them to it before a loud clank sound startled them.

They turned around to see that Tim had attempted to pick up a box of ammunition, but had dropped it due to intense hand tremors, showing he was still in shock.

“Poor guy.” Blau felt sorry for him.

“Yes, the first battle is never easy,” Fray added, speaking from experience.

However, the subject quickly as the children giggled. Konrad smiled as he looked after them, seeing how they chased a butterfly into the forest. It warmed his heart to see them happy.

Suddenly he heard a snap of a twig.

"One of those partisans has survived! Get him!" An officer ordered and the Sergeant, along with his Italian friend, his squad, and a Jäger gave chase as the resistance fighter fled into the woods.

The children still chased the butterfly before the sound of running greeted their ears and they saw a man in civilian clothes running towards them, his expression one of panic.

Before they could react, he grabbed Katja’s arm, who struggled. “Hey! Let go!”

“Leave my sister alone!” Blau Streifen yelled and charged at the man, only to get kicked by him, hitting a tree, staying lifeless. Dinky quickly realized she shouldn’t try the same and checked on him. He was still breathing.

Her male friend looked at his sister with fear in his eyes, but had no feeling in his body as the girl still struggled, to no avail.

Deep into the woods, the soldiers caught up to the partisan, only to see that he used Katja as shield. "Put your rifles down-down!" he yelled desperate, Konrad could see that he was no older than 18 to 20. Katja trembled, her eyes filled with fear.

Not wanting to endanger her life, the soldiers, save for the Jäger, lowered their weapons.

Before anyone could do something, the Green Knight stepped forward, having followed the soldiers to make sure the kids would be safe. "I know you're scared, but taking her hostage won't help you. Think again. Do you really think you can get away with this? It makes it only worse for you." The man blinked, his grip became slowly less as he realized that the Knight was right.

The Fallschirmjäger then suddenly started to grin. “Sorry, Katja. But we have orders. And you're in the way.”

Chapter 7 A long stay

None of them had any clue what the Jäger meant with that as he sniffed for a second.

What happened next surprised and terrified everyone.

The soldier fired a single shot from the hip and the bullet went right through Katja’s gut, also injuring her captor, both fell to the ground with a cry of pain, clutching their wound.

Blau, Dinky and Fletcher gasped in shock. Katja! No! The Stallion became horrified, knowing that he had possibly failed his mission to bring them all home safe, and was terrified at how their families and friends would take it back home.

The Elite soldier turned to the wounded resistance fighter, aiming at his head. "Partisan scum."

The young man closed his eyes, waiting for the bullet that would end his life. But instead of a gun, he heard a hissing sound.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the Fallschirmjäger had an arrow between his eyes, stumbling before falling over.

“Go,” Fetcher said after he cast a healing spell on the man, he nodded and limped out of sight, deeper into the woods.

“Katja! Katja!” The grey colt yelled with desperation in his voice as he ran up to his injured sister, she was lying on the ground, a buddle of blood slowly forming under her. “Please say something!”

“H-hurts…its hurts so much!” The young girl cried with tears in her eyes.

“Shh, let me take a look.” Konrad knelt down to her and carefully turned her around, she groaned in pain as he did so. Her skirt and the lower part of her shirt were crimson red from the blood she was losing, Dinky tried to look away, not able to imagine how painful it must be, as the soldier examined it.

“Clear leading. Hard to say if any organs are damaged. Get me a medic, quick!” Escher told his comrades. “This might sting a bit.”

Katja screamed as he applied pressure on her wound, Blau and Dinky took her hands and whispered comforting words to calm her down.

“Let me through! I am a medic!” Another German voice yelled and they saw a soldier in white uniform with a red cross on it running up to them, caring a medic bag. “Hold on just a little longer, girl. It’s gonna be alright.” He spoke in a comforting tone as he disinfected and bandaged her wound, the young human let out cries through gritted teeth. “We may have to do a surgery to avoid any further internal injuries.” He added with concern.

Fletcher stepped forward. “It won’t be necessary, I can help.” He said and walked next to the injured child, his horn starting to glow. “Everything will be alright, Katja.”

She looked up to him as his magic was flowing through her body and wound, slowly closing her eyes as a feeling of fatigue overcame her.

“What…what did you do?” Her brother asked confused.

“I cast an advanced healing spell. It will slowly heal her internal injuries, but it leaves her unconscious to avoid her going into shock.” Fletcher explained as he gently lifted Blau’s sister on a stretcher and they brought her to the infirmary of the nearby base.

They all looked after the injured child, hoping she would make it.

Blau looked after his sister with worry. “How…”He mumbled…”How could the Jäger do this? He could have killed her!”

Karl put a hand on his shoulder. “Most of them are veterans and war…brings out the worst of us. I guess he was led by his hate against the partisans, wanting to make him suffer.”

“But…couldn’t he…” The colt stuttered.

“I wish he hadn’t but it happened, we can’t change it now, only hope for the best,” Vogel said with a sigh.

The colt slowly looked up to him with. “I just hope she makes it.”

“Me too. Never thought the Jäger under Böhm’s command would be like him.”

“Who’s Böhm?” Dinky asked him.

Karl took a deep breath. “A sadistic, ruthless, and cunning SS general whose reputation is well known. He’s also known as ‘The Butcher of Bologna.’ He commands the Jäger troops that are here to guard the Railway gun. I never saw him personally, only his adjutant Major Hans Dorfmann. He inspected the propaganda recordings at San Celini shortly before you showed up.”

Dinky shivered upon hearing this. “Then I hope...we won’t meet Böhm…

“Don’t worry, Dinky, he will have to get through me first.” Fletcher gave her an assuring hug. “The same counts for you and your sister, Blau.” He turned around, only to see he talked to thin air. “Where did he go?”

“I think I know,” Dinky replied and walked towards the infirmary.

Once inside, her heart was filled with sadness as she saw that Blau was looking over his unconscious sister, crying. “Hold on, sis. Please…” He sniffed.

“Blau,” The young filly walked up to him, giving him a hug. “I’m worried too but I’m sure she will make it.”

“I…I just don’t want her to die!” Her friend exclaimed in fear with a tear-filled face.

“She’s tough, Blau. She will pull through.” Fletcher added in a comforting tone as he joined them. “When I cast the healing spell, I also scanned her injuries and it seems she was very lucky. No internal Organs are damaged, which means her survival chance is quite high. It just needs time.”

Again, the colt sniffed. “Are you sure, Fletcher?”

“Of course I am.” He replied with a weak smile before he found himself hugged by the boy.

“Thank you for helping her!”

“I’m just doing my job.”

Yet, one thing refused to leave Blau’s head. “He said they had orders. What did he mean with that?”

Karl answered it for them. “Well, we have orders to hunt down partisans by whatever means necessary. I never know that Jäger personally, but as far as I heard, he followed orders to the latter, putting them above anything else. He must have seen her as obstacle and dealt with it as orders say, remove it.”

“Uh-huh.” The boy nodded, trying to make sense of it

The group then walked back to their German friends, as suddenly, a grenade landed in front of them and the kids’ eyes went small in shock. “Down!” Fletcher used his magic to teleport them out of the blast radius, the explosion followed shortly after.

“Where…what just happened?” Dinky asked dazed as she saw the young soldier walking up to them with a horrified expression.

“Sorry! I…I misjudged my throw!” Tim yelled with guilt and fear as everyone got up.

Hans took a deep breath, holding up a hand. “It’s okay, it happens. Fletcher?” He asked, yet he couldn’t see him anywhere.

“F-Fletcher?” Dinky asked slightly in panic, looking around, seeing only smoke where the grenade had exploded.

Coughing came out of the smoke. “Who’s throwing grenades here?! Watch it!” They saw Fletcher coming out of the smoke, covered in dusk and coughing a bit.

“Fletcher…I’m terribly sorry…” Tim mumbled in fear as he saw the angry expression of the stallion.

Fray’s expression became slowly one of sympathy as he looked at Tim. “It was you…Please be more careful next time.” He said in a more relaxed voice.

“O-okay…Wind’s pretty strong today.”

“Yes, it is. Better be careful near the trees, not that a branch hits you.” Konrad warned.

Barely had he spoked, a loud cracking sound came and both foals shrieked as a branch landed just in front of them, having them missed by inches.

Dinky and Blau breathed heavy, looking at the branch, yet a faint cracking noise greeted their ears, becoming slowly more intense and a shadow cast over them.

They looked up and screamed as a tree was about to fall on them. “Children!” Fletcher yelled and they felt how he pushed them out of the way.

A loud scream of pain followed. “Get this off me!” Both children gasped in shock as they saw that Fletcher’s right hind leg had been trapped under the tree trunk.

“Everyone! Give me a hand!” Karl yelled, and without hesitation, Tim, David, Hans, Dinky and Blau helped to lift the tree trunk up, with Konrad carefully pulling Fletcher back as they lifted it up.

“Oh, Luna!” Fletcher cried in pain, holding his leg.

“Oh my…” Dinky gasped with Blau as Fletcher’s leg was bloodied, he screamed at the top of his lungs as a medic examined it.

“Yep, it’s broken. We better get him to a base with the necessary medical capabilities before it gets worse. He bandaged it and the stallion cried tears, gritting his teeth from the pain.

Hans and David carefully helped Fletcher up and got him into the back of a truck, Konrad with the same medic, got Katja on a stretcher and loaded her also in. “It’s not so bad, okay? You survived worse, Fletch.” Blau said in an attempt to calm him down.

Fletcher managed to smile, despite the pain. “Thanks…Still, hurts like….no, shouldn’t say it…”

“Where are we going?” Dinky asked Hans.

“To the Lorino Dockyard, we have here the necessary medical treatment for Fletcher.”

“Okay.”

It took around an hour to arrive, the stallion got brought to the infirmary with Katja, Blau and Dinky waited patiently outside. It seemed like hours before a medic came out. “How is he?” The filly asked with fear in her voice.

“He will be okay, it’s not so bad as we feared at first. Yet it will take some time to heal.”

“Can we see him?” Blau asked and the man nodded, leading them to the stallion’s room.

Inside, they saw him lying on a bed with his leg bandaged, smiling warmly at the two children. “Hey there.”

“How are you, Fletcher?” Dinky asked him.

“Apart from the leg, fine. It’s also unfortunate, as it will take around a month to heal.”

“At least they hadn’t to amputate it,” Konrad added with relief as he walked in.

“Yeah…” Fletcher mumbled before he chuckled. “Reminds me of an old friend, had the same name as you. He lost a leg and I managed him a prosthesis to replace it. If I would ever suffer the same, I’d make a prosthesis for myself.”

In that moment, Katja started to stir, groaning. “I’m…alive?” She held her head as she got up.

“Sis! You’re awake!” Her brother exclaimed with Joy, giving her a hug, only for her to groan in pain and he let go. “Sorry.”

“Its fine, brother.” She managed to reply with pain in her voice. “I thought I would not…” The girl shivered at the thought.

“But you did, I managed to stabilize you,” Fletcher explained and she winced, lifting her shirt up, seeing the slightly bloodied bandage around her gut. “Don’t worry, no Organs are damaged and the healing spell I used prevents any permanent marks.”

In response, Katja hugged the green unicorn. “Thank you. You’re a good stallion!”

“Please, I’m just doing what is right.” Fletcher blushed slightly before the girl looked at his injured leg. “A tree fell on it.”

Then someone cleared his throat and they saw Mateo walking in. “I hate to interrupt but after all this, I think you deserved something special.”

The four smiled at him.

Before anypony could reply, however, the pizza was brought in. A thin, wide bed of cheese and tomato dotted with mushrooms and peppers, olives and capers, sprinkled all over with herbs and garlic. Warm, crisp and topped with something for everypony, the hungry youngsters and adult dug into the dish happily.

“Thank you very much.” Dinky grinned with happiness at the Italian.

“You’re welcome. Now you two, get well soon.”

A few weeks passed. It was now August and Katja’s recovery was going very well as the doctor checked on her. “It seems your wound healing quite nice. You can leave now. Your friend still needs to recover, but he can get out with a pair of crutches.”

“Well, better than nothing,” Fletcher commented and they all took a stroll outside of the docks. Dinky and Blau had spent most of the time with Fletcher and Katja to keep them busy.

It was like every dock would be, storage houses as far as they could see, with cranes near the water. A few searchlights and AA guns were scattered around, and a torpedo boat was patrolling in the water.

It seemed like a well-defended base, understandable given it was a supply point. Still, they all took notice of Jäger troops that wore jumpsuits and were armed with a rifle that was almost as long as the MG42. “What is that?” Blau wondered.

“As far as I know, that’s the new Fallschirmjägergewehr 42, FG42 for short. As the name suggests, it’s specially made for our paratroopers. At Greta, they carried only pistols and hand grenades on them during parachute jumps, with submachine guns, rifles and crew-served weapons stored separately in containers that were dropped from the wing of the exit craft, as the parachutes did not allow for heavier equipment such as rifles and machine guns to be safely carried during jump. So, they made a rifle that could be carried on the person of the paratrooper, the FG42. Haven’t heard of its performance yet though.” Karl explained.

“Uh-huh. Sounds like a good idea though.”

Blau replied and spotted an officer in a white colored uniform, apparently inspected the base as the Jäger troops saluted him. “I take he’s a high-ranked officer?”

“Yes, he’s the Overseer of this base. Only veteran officers are entrusted with the safekeeping of militarily important facilities. Such overseers necessarily have sweeping experience of the battlefield and can make split-second decisions when the moment demands it. I doubt I could ever be an overseer.” Vogel commented as the Overseer walked out of sight.

“It sure does sound like a very stressful position,” Dinky commented.

“I agree in that, being an Eternal Knight is also not very easy at times,” Fletcher added. “I wanted to get you home as soon as possible, but with my leg injury, it will be delayed. Not to mention the magical blockade.”

“Blockade?” Katja blinked in confusion and he sighed.

“Yes, something is blocking my teleportation spell again I found out in the last weak while I practiced my magic.”

“I’m sure you will get rid of it eventually, just like in Africa,” Konrad said, sounding confident of it.

“Let’s hope so.”

They then walked back and the young filly noticed several creates marked with a green TP in a white circle. “What’s this?”

“Vaccines against Typhus, an Infectious disease. It causes a high fever over several days; weakness, abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, and mild vomiting also commonly occur and without treatment, symptoms may last weeks or months, also leading to death. It sweeps through the region, so we want to be sure. I recommend you get also vaccinated for your own health.” Konrad sounded slightly worried for them.

Fletcher nodded. “My nanomites make me highly resistant, if not immune to most disease, but better safe than sorry I guess.” The children nodded and they all got taken to the doctor. Fletcher gently took the hoof of Dinky and Blau as they got vaccinated, then took Katja’s hand. As he got vaccinated, they all three took his hoof. While not needing to be calmed down, he appreciated it nevertheless.

Again, a few weeks passed, it became late August, Fletcher's leg was healing nicely as the doctor checked it in the evening. “Good news, it’s fully healed, you can leave by tomorrow.”

“That’s good to hear, we can work out in the next day what to do next,” Fletcher said before yawning.

“Okay. Good night, everyone.” Tim said and left with the other soldiers, with the knight and children quickly falling asleep.

Dinky opened her eyes and she found herself with the siblings in Fletcher in a small town in the middle of a forest.

Sunny town.

They saw Grey Hoof in a grey uniform with peaked cap walking around, an officer uniform.

Next to him was Ruby, she was also wearing a grey uniform, but wore a helmet with goggles on it, a flare gun in a holster.

Her mother, Mitta was right behind her, she was wearing a cap with headset, carrying a radio on her back.

“Hey my love, everything alright?” Dinky heard the voice of Ruby’s husband, seeing he was wearing a green-grey uniform with fingerless gloves, the same uniform of the Jäger troops.

“I’m doing well. I just wish something exciting would happen.” the mare replied with boredom in her voice.

“Me too, but let’s enjoy the quiet while it lasts.”

“What?” Dinky heard Fletcher mumbled, noticing a flash in the trees in the distance and suddenly, he shoved her to the ground as a loud shot sounded. “Sniper! Take cover!” The stallion yelled, he hadn’t to say it twice.

“Find him! Mitta, call reinforcements!” Grey Goof yelled, using a whistle and Mitta put her left foreleg to her headset, making gestures with her other foreleg, while having a slightly angry expression.

Dinky, the siblings and Fletcher stayed in cover as the other residents of Sunny town arrived, all armed and dressed in German uniforms as Ruby pointed to the forest. “I see him. Let’s see how he likes that!”

Dinky saw how Ruby fired a red flare towards the woods with her flare gun and the fire of artillery echoed in the distance before explosions hit the spot the flare had landed, making Dinky realize that no one could have survived this.

“Did we get him?” Roneo asked.

“There’s only one way to find out.” The father of the siblings replied and carefully moved towards the spot the explosions had hit, looking around. “Nothing! Must have been fled.”

The moment he had said this, Dinky heard a clicking sound, followed by another artillery strike, seeing how the man looked into the sky with fear and surprise. “Oh, son of a…”

A loud siren tore the child out of her sleep, falling out of the bed. “Ow! What’s going on?” She asked the others scared as Konrad ran in.

“The Dockyard is under attack by bombers! We need to move!” He yelled and they didn’t hesitate to follow him to a truck parked just next to the infirmary and got it.

Dinky, Blau and Katja screamed as explosions sounded all around them, with the truck driving in hard zigzag maneuvers to avoid getting it.

Fletcher did his best to calm them down, hugging them as he looked out of the back, seeing how the Dockyard got destroyed in a firestorm of explosions as they barely made it out.

Tim breathed heavily. “We made it…I thought we would die…”

“Yes, it was a really close call,” Fletcher replied, also glad they had made it. “Where are we going now?”

“Well, the next base would be the Magazzeno Facility, but we would need a day to get there. The closest Axis outpost is the Abrunza Monastery. We should take a rest here and move on to the Facility.”

Fletcher thought about it. “Good idea, but we should rest for the night, no good in driving overtired.”

“I agree.” Konrad stopped the truck and they made a campfire, the children took deep breaths.

“How…how could this happen?” Dinky wondered.

“Since the Allies took Sicily, they have the resources to use their Bombers in the area and the Dockyards were constantly overflown by recon planes. The one we saw crashing at the Viaduct was one of them as far as I’ve been told. But it’s over.” Karl explained, warming himself at the campfire.

The three young friends ate some rations, looking at the mountain in the distance before they heard ghostly voices. This time, they saw soldiers in blue and field-grey uniforms passing by before they vanished and got replaced by soldiers in green uniforms.

They were leaded by a soldier that was wearing heavy armor and was armed with a large looking MG. They did a battle cry in the Italian language before charging at the soldiers in blue and field-grey uniforms. Again they vanished.

But then, Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen heard a sound of engines in the sky, seeing many ghostly planes in the sky, getting under AA fire from it.

What happened next terrified them.

The planes veered away, the mountain exploded, creating a landslide, burying everything on the ground. The children screamed as a large rock headed for them, only to vanish right when it reached them.

“Children, what's wrong?" Konrad asked worried.

Dinky slowly uncovered herself, taking deep breaths as she looked at Escher. "You remember when we had that moment at the campfire in Africa?

"Yeah, I do. My grandfather told me that this was once a battlefield between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy. To stop the advance of the Italians, they blew up the Mountain, buring themselves and the enemy.”

“I know it too.” Matteo spoke up, “The Arditi – the Royal Italian army's elite storm troopers fought in the Mountains against them. They captured their main objective, a fort, with heavy casualties. They were specialized in high-risk tactics. The motto was: ‘Either we win, or we all die.’”

Karl looked up with a weak smile. “They knew how to fight, just like the Bersagliere. Funny though is, the Austro-Hungarian Army had a large diversity in ethics and 80 percent of all officers were German speakers. Imagine you would be in such an officer role, of Farmany’s allies.”

The unicorn chuckled. “That’s what’s the translation spell is for.”

“Yeah…But now, let’s gets some sleep.”

“Right.” Fletcher said and the kids snuggled themselves against him as they all drifted off to sleep.

In the early morning, they reached the Monastery, or better said, a small town overlooked by it. They all were fascinated as they saw it on a high mountain. “Must be a wonderful view up there.” Dinky commented.

“Yes, it is. Feel free to take a look around, but it won’t be long until we move on.” Karl replied.

“Okay.” She replied and moved along the street with her three friends, noticing that the road was in pretty bad shape, torn open by what seemed heavy gunfire, apparently by the Anti-tank guns placed in concealed positions along the road, two Panzer III and a Autoblinda AB41 were patrolling around, as the group came to a small house, spotting a small note on a shelf. It seemed forgotten, dated 14th June.

Dear diary,

Most people are too frightened to leave their house. Except sometimes you have to – if you want food and fresh water.

Not that there is any. I guess maybe the Nazis think they can starve us out.

Maybe they’re right.

“Oh my…how can they do this?” Dinky wondered.

“I guess it’s a way to deal with the partisans.” Fletcher suspected.

As they walked out, he noticed a paper flying in the wind and caught it with his magic.

Allagran Liberator

The Royalists have removed Mussolini and placed him under house arrest. But we must be wary – the Fascists and their Nazi supporters will do anything to get him back to power.

When the moment comes, the Partisans will rise up and take back their country.

Remember the victories! Remember the Risorgimento!

“Another news-sheet from the Partisans. Removing the duce from power will sure have an impact of the Axis forces, but I doubt it will be enough.” Fletcher spoke as he remembered the news from Matteo’s family.

“So it seems. Mind if I try some grapes?” Blau asked, “I saw some panicle and I wondered how they taste, are they poisonous?”

“No, they aren’t.” Fletcher replied and they followed the colt to the grapes he had seen.

The grapes were light green in color, looking ripe. Fletcher picked some and they all ate them.

Blau, his sister and Dinky grinned, the grapes tasted sweet. “Tastes good to me.”

“And are healthy at the same time.” His sister added.

“Hey, what’s this?” Dinky pointed to a piece of paper lying on the ground and she picked it up. It was dated 2nd June.

Dear Enzo

I hope you’re well, my dear. It seems like an age since your last letter.

We don’t have much to eat, but otherwise we’re all well.

You won’t believe what happened last week, though. Took my food stamps to the grocer’s and he said they were counterfeit! The wrenched Allies are causing havoc.

All my love,

Mother

“Sounds like it’s not going well for the population. I hope Mateo’s family has still enough food. “Katja commented with worry in her voice.

“I’m sure they are doing well. They seemed to have enough when they offered me shelter.” Fletcher replied with a weak smile before Tim walked up to them.

“There you are, we are moving on.” He informed them and they nodded, getting back into the truck.

It took an around one hour to arrive, the children looked in awe as they saw that the facility was located at the coast, several AA guns were placed near, together with big naval guns placed around the place, look like the guns normally seen on a battleship. But what was most noticeable, was the big radio dish in the middle of the base.

“Wow…” Dinky mumbled, surely impressed.

“Yes, this Facility is well defended, so the Allies will have trouble to get even close, the naval defenses have little trouble to keep their ships at bay. So, it should be a safe place for you.” Karl explained.

“Can’t you send us to Germany?” Blau asked him and he sighed.

“I wish we could, but unfortunately, none of us will get leave anytime soon, so keeping you safe while being with us is the only option. Still, feel free to take a look around.”

The four friends nodded, thought it looked not very special. The Facility had barracks, storehouses, two Panzer III were patrolling around and two torpedo boats patrolled the coast.

Still, they took notice of a soldier that was carrying what looked like a tube with a grenade in it on his back. “This that…?” Blau was lost for words.

“Oh, that? It’s a new Anti-tank weapon we just developed recently. The Panzerfaust.” The same soldier explained to them.

“Tank fist? Who comes up with a name like that?” The colt couldn’t understand and the German shrugged.

“Beats me but it’s very cheap to produce and use. Basically, it’s a recoilless gun that fires a high-explosive anti-tank warhead. You just take off the safety, aim, and with a little squeeze, fire the projectile. So simple, even you kids could use it with ease.”

“Uh-huh. “Not sure if I’d want to use it, it is safe?” Blau asked in return.

“As long as you watch the back blast and fire it from the crook of the arm. Firing it from the shoulder or to the chest…well, you can think what I mean.”

Dinky shivered. “That must hurt.”

“Fortunately I didn’t make that mistake yet. The tube is to be discarded after firing, so the Panzerfaust is a disposable weapon, but you could still use as a club in hand-to-hand combat.”

“Sounds useful.” Fletcher commented, while the children had to suppress giggles at the thought of a soldier trying to bash people over the head with a tube. Anyway, we should go back to the others.” He suggested and they nodded.

“...You know, Fletcher’s injury reminds me a bit of Fischer.” They heard Karl’s voice as he was chatting with Konrad.

“Who’s Fischer? A friend of yours?” Dinky asked and the officers face slightly fell.

“Used to be. He, together with another officer called Alexander were with me in boot camp. Both unfortunately were killed on the Eastern Front, the latter in Stalingrad, the other during the winter of 41. Fischer had the bad luck to get always hit in his right side. Thus I had to think of him when I saw your injured leg, Fletcher.”

“I see. Sorry about your loss.” The knight replied with sympathy in his voice.

“It’s okay.”

“Well, what got we here?” A new voice said and they all turned around to see a man in a black suit, his hair was dark brown, the eyes matched the same color. “I heard the stories, but never thought them to be true.”

“Sir.” The squad saluted. “What brings you here?” Karl asked.

“Just inspecting the base, Lieutenant. Would you explain to me?” The man asked in a neutral voice.

“Of course, sir.” As Vogel did with his men, the children watched nervously, fearing how the man would react to it, Fletcher whispered comforting words, before the man looked at them.

“So this is the Green Knight…I should shoot you on the spot, Berlin would celebrate me as a war hero!” He exclaimed, the kids gulped, Fletcher slowly reached for his pistol.

“But…then all your efforts to get the children home would be in vain. Major Dorfmann, at your service.” He started to grin.

“…Nice to meet you, Major.” Fletcher replied, not sure how to take this. “We don’t intent on staying long.

“In that case, I may be able to organize a ride to a safe place for you. I’d like to stay for a chat, but duty has priority. Gentlemen, ladies.” Dorfmann said and walked away.

“Was that…” Dinky was lost for words.

“Yes, that was Major Dorfmann, he is quite known for those jokes.” Karl explained. “Anyway, let’s enjoy the rest of the day.”

It was quiet as time passed, with the navel guns firing occasionally at Allied ships in the distance, the noise was bearable as long as they kept their distance until it became evening and the children became tired.

“You should catch some sleep.” Fletcher suggested as the kids yawned, tugging them in. “Sleep well.”

He then walked out of the barracks to see Karl looking at Konrad. “I go called to an important meeting, you’re in charge while I’m gone.”

“Sure thing, just watch out you don’t end up as Linus did.” The Sergeant had fear in his voice, remembering still.

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch myself. Reminds me, I got a new recruit, could you watch over him until I come back?” Konrad saluted in response. “Good, I see you later.

“Private Leon reporting for duty!” A young man with pure blue eyes and blond hair then saluted Escher, his build was athletic. Konrad had seen him before, he was there when Tim got assigned to the squad, having just finished training.

“At ease, private.” Konrad replied.

“Yes, sir.”

“I will hit the hay, goodnight.” Fletcher said and went to bed himself.

“Sergeant…” Leon trembled slightly. “Is that…”

“Yes, that’s the green Knight.”

“Then…did you really fought side by side?”

In response, the NCO slightly looked to the ground, not sure how to answer this. “Not directly. We were trapped and had to fight together to survive in Ras el-Hadid.”

“I see, sir…” Lean sounded amazed. “What are my orders?”

“Patrol the area and watch out for anything suspicious.”

“Yes, sir.”

They all watched after him. “I’m confident he will be a fine soldier, just like you, Tim.” Konrad smiled with pride and the young man lowered his head in embarrassment.

“Provided he survives his first battle, our losses on the Eastern Front are quite high and with the Allies having taken Sicily, it isn’t any better here.” David sounded concerned about him.

“But still it is much better than on the Eastern Front.” Tim pointed out before they hear Leon mumble.

“Ras el-Hadid… Zornhauff died here. Could it be? It’s… possible….”

The entre squad gasped slightly in shock at what they heard. “Did he just?” David stared at his comrades.

“It’s doubtful it’s what we think, he has no proof.” Konrad concluded quickly. “Still…”

“I suspect he knows what really happened in Ras el-Hadid.” Hans mumbled with unease as the young recruit was out of hearing range.

“You sure? He could just mix up something.” Tim replied.

“Still, we should check on that, better safe than sorry.” David suggested, “And does something if he really knows. It will be our doom if he reports us, Konrad.”

Escher hesitated, looking away from and blinking rapidly. “…Alright…just give me some time to think of something.”

“Okay, but don’t take too long.” Hans said with a slightly worried expression as the Sergeant took a walk, thinking about his current situation.

What am I gonna do? We can’t kill him, this would make everything worse… Oh, I wish Karl was here to help with this. Or Linus.

He then walked into the barracks, seeing that Fletcher and the children were sleeping peacefully. But I have to solve this on my own, they are in danger too if the truth is revealed.

As he walked up to his bed, he noticed a note on it and he read it.

Konrad,

Leon knows about Zornhauff, about what happened in Ras el-Hadid. And about what we did. You know he won't keep quiet. No matter what it'll mean for the rest of the squad.

It's as simple as this. Do something about him, or one of us will.

Hans.

Fletcher stirred in his sleep, yawning as he looked around, seeing it had become night, Dinky, Blau and Katja were still sleeping peacefully.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of paper lying on a nightstand and curiosity got the better of him.

Leon knows. Somehow he's pieced it together.

The boy's fresh out of the Hitler Youth. He doesn't understand loyalty to your comrades, the realities of the battlefield. He just sees his beloved Führer. He'll rat us out, I'm sure of it.

If I don't do it, David will. Or Hans.

But I'm squad leader.

Oh god.

That doesn’t sound good. I should find a way to help them.

Slightly worried he walked outside, seeing Konrad walking up to the others. “Well? What shall we do?” Hans asked.

“Can I help? What’s going on?” Fletcher spoke first, causing all to look at him in surprise and Konrad sighed.

“Leon, a new recruit we shall watch over while Karl attempts a meeting, has somehow found out what really happened to Zornhauff. We have to deal with him.” Konrad explained with unease.

“I see. Allow me to help. Where is Leon?”

“I saw him last overlooking the coast just down the street.” Hans pointed out.

Thanks.”

Leon was watching the coast, writing in his diary.

God, I wish I could sleep. Can't stop thinking about him, Hans said he was a bastard. A Monster. The things he did...

But he was a Sturmbannführer, a Major. He was their commanding officer here. They should have reported him. What they did...

So now I'm stuck. Do I grass them up? Or forget about it? Which is it? Maybe the view will help me make up my mind.

Maybe it'll help me sleep.

“Hello.” He heard a new voice and turned around. His eyes went wide as he saw a green unicorn stallion, the Green Knight himself.

“You’re…Y-you’re…” The man stuttered in awe.

“Yes, I am the Green Knight. We need to talk.”

“It’s about Zornhauff, isn’t it? What they did?” Leon quickly concluded.

“Correct. But thing his, they never killed him. I did.”

“W-what?” Leon couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“I killed him. He abandoned his men when a tomb came down on us. Then I caught him and his remaining men taking out their anger on locals, innocent villagers, men, women and children. I intervened...And I'd do it again, in very much the same way.”

“So…”

“Yes, we were present at the time, but knew his time was up.” Konrad added as he joined. “But for the sake of ourselves and friends, we kept it secret, can we count on you?”

Leon took a deep breath. He had never seen the kids, only heard of them but understood what Konrad meant. “Yes, you can, Sergeant!”

“Good. Now, get some sleep, you earned it.”

“As you command, sir.” Leon walked up to the barracks, only to see a group of Jäger passing by, walking up to Konrad and the others.

“What do you want?” David asked.

“We got sent by Major Dorfmann, he has organized a safer place for your young friends.” One of the Jäger replied.

“And why in the middle of the night?” Konrad demanded to know.

“With the threat of Allied airplanes during the day, it seemed for him the best to get the children as soon as possible to safety.”

“Makes sense. I go wake them.” Escher replied and walked into the barracks, gently shaking Dinky’s shoulder.

She stirred and yawned, looking at him with tired eyes. “What is it? I just dreamed so nicely.”

“Sorry to wake you in the middle of the night but we are moving out.”

“Okay…” The filly said with a sleepy voice as he shook the siblings too and told them, they also yawned and were sleepy, yet didn’t protest as he lead them to a truck, helping them in.

“You get into the other truck.” The same Jäger added as the truck with the kids drove away and the soldiers nodded in acknowledgement.

Fletcher however noticed something odd. The second truck had enough space for all soldiers but not for himself and he saw no third truck. “Uhh, what about me?”

“Oh, it seems he forgot about you. Don’t worry, we’ll organize a transport for you.” One of the remaining Jäger replied as also the second truck drove away and turned to his fellow paratroopers. “Alright, the prisoners are en route."

“Prisoners?” Fletcher asked with suspicion and the German’s voice became one of slight panic as he realized what he just said.

“Uh…not that…I meant…” And in a matter of seconds, all Jäger opened fire and Fletcher dove behind a barricade for cover. Damn it! He cursed as the four soldiers had him pinned down.

In the moment he peeked out of cover, he saw a flash in the corner of his eyes and all four Jäger filched, blood slowly came out of their heads and they collapsed.

“What was that?” He wondered before a new voice sounded.

“Need a hand?” The unicorn turned around to see a man with a sniper rifle, dressed in an olive drab coat and pants and black boots.

“Karl Fairburne, never thought we would meet again.”

“Likewise. I may be able to help you, follow me.”

Fletcher did without hesitation, following the American into one of the barracks, the stench of alcohol entered his nose and he saw a elderly man sleeping on a cot. “Andreas Kessler.” Karl spoke up.

“Who the hell are you?” Kessler asked in a drunken state.

“You’re coming with me.”

“What’s going on? Am I defecting? Hic.” Kessler mumbled in confusion as the American grabbed him and led him on a truck, Fletcher followed without a word.

The Professor might know where the kids would be taken, yet the Knight prayed it wasn’t too late.

Author's Note

Before anyone asks, I know the FG42 was first used after Avalanche, but German Paratroopers with them are first encountered at the dockyards in Sniper Elite 4, so this is my explanation for the story.

Chapter 9 The show

Chapter 9: The show

Everyone groaned as they slowly woke up, feeling slightly numb, having the same thought. I’m…alive?

Dinky held her head as she looked around, finding themselves in what looked like an infirmary. “Where…are we?”

“Ah, you’re awake.” They heard a voice and saw Konrad with his squad mates walking in. “It was a close call. We had overheard one of Böhm’s officers talking about you and got you out just in time.” He sounded relieved.

“Thank you for the help,” Fletcher replied with a smile before noticing that the expressions of his three young friends became slowly one of guilt.

“We’re so sorry, Fletcher…” Dinky lowered her head, sounding sad. “It’s our fault the Angel died…”

In response, Fletcher hugged all three. “Shh, you aren’t to blame, she sacrificed yourself so you could live. I don’t blame you either for being fooled, that you are okay is the only matter for me.”

Dinky sniffed. “…Okay… It’s still sad she died, she inspired so many.”

“Yes, she did. The sacrifice she had made, and news of her death spread like wildfire. I heard in the town of Bitanti, the population had forced us out of the town, and liberating it themselves.” Konrad explained. “And you probably did us all a great favor by stopping Böhm, Fletcher.”

The stallion waved his hoof. “I did only what was necessary to keep the kids safe, Karl had it also made it without me.”

“Can you please say where we are?” Blau interrupted and Karl stepped forward.

“On Sendari, an island to the north of Crete. We have a naval base here. The allies don’t know about it, so we thought this might be a safe place for you.”

“Okay. How did you manage that? You are deployed in Italy, not here.” Katja asked and the officer grinned.

“I have good connections. It's built into the rock, so Allied bombers will have a hard time. Come, we’ll show you around.”

He led them to a balcony, overlooking the interior of the base. A U-boat pen was in the middle of it, a workshop to the far left of it, with an armory to the far right. As usual with a navy base, they saw many navy soldiers patrolling around, but also a few Heer soldiers were guarding it.

As Karl led them outside, the PA system sounded. “And I asked him: ‘Did your mother made your uniform?’ Wait, is this still turned on?” This caused the kids and Fletcher to chuckle.

“Had been funny if this happened to Solomon. Or did it and I can’t remember?” Fletcher mumbled as they get outside, seeing that the base had some connected bridges outside, patrolled by Heer soldiers and Jäger troops.

Nevertheless, it was a beautiful view of the sea.

They spent their time helping out in the base and watching U-boat coming and leaving, until they decided to eat in the cantina.

“It’s pretty nice here, but kinda boring.” Blau sighed. “I wish something exciting would happen."

“I hear you. But at least it’s nice and quiet if you need some rest.” Hans replied as they saw David walking past, carrying what looked like a gramophone, appearing to be wet.

“What happened with that?” Blau asked surprised.

“Found it in a U-bend.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” The colt said, not able to believe what he just heard.

“No joke – someone must have stuffed it down the U-bent,” David replied.

“Ugh. Does it still play a tone?”

“If you want to try it it’s up to you.”

“Uhh, no thanks,” Blau said with slight disgust in his voice.

Suddenly Tim ran in, completely out of breath. “What’s wrong?” Konrad asked him.

“We…got visit…The Führer inspects the base.” He said, trying to catch his breath, everyone looked at him in surprise.

“The Führer? Here?” Hans blinked in disbelief. “Ten Reichsmarks it’s a double, like in Africa?”

“Maybe, but I doubt the trick we used in Berlin will work a second time.” Dinky feared before an announcement was made.

“Attention! The Ceremony is about to begin. The Führer will shortly be in attendance.”

They all walked on the balcony, seeing how the Führer was led by a navy officer, two Jäger as bodyguards behind him, walking up to a podium, a large stone eagle was hanging above it.

What happened next, was nothing anyone could have expected.

The chains holding the Eagle snapped and the Führer looked up in shock before he, the officer and a few unlucky soldiers got crushed under it.

The children gasped in shock at what they just had witnessed.

“No! Kill the Assassin!” The voice on the PA system sounded and an alert with red lights was ringing in the entire base, with all soldiers inside sweeping the base.

“Oh god…” Tim mumbled shocked.

“We better get you out of here, I got a bad feeling about this!” Karl suggested and they all nodded without hesitation, following him to a boat outside.

They barely drove a few meters before a gigantic explosion raged through the base, destroying it completely, sending a few debris towards them.

“Watch out! Katja yelled as a big piece of metal was hurled towards them, Fletcher lit up his horn to brake it’s fall, but it hit them still at a high speed, knocking them instantly out.

“Ugh…not again…” Fletcher mumbled as he woke up, seeing that he and the others were again in an infirmary. Where are we now?”

“At Paestum, outside of Salerno,” Konrad said and they all saw him sitting in a chair next to him. “We got back to Italy after the base got destroyed, being the only survivors.”

“What happened?” Dinky asked him, but able to understand how the base could blow up.

His expression became one of unease. “Well, it appears the safe-fail of the ventilation system was a bit faulty but the base commander didn’t care…until it probably overheated and created a chain reaction.”

“I see. Good thing you reacted so quickly. Can we help you out?”

“Sure thing.” The NCO replied with a smile.

As Fletcher and the kids walked out, they saw that Paestum was a series of Roman ruins, with a communication center in the south, a motor pole in the north, a munitions stockpile stored in the excavation and a temple on a hill.

They Germans were dug-in and well protected among the ruins, so Fletcher and his young friends knew they had a good chance of survival, should the allies attack here.

It slowly became evening and they dinned together. “Get a good sleep, we keep watch.” Konrad said and Fletcher nodded.

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

None of them could tell how long they had slept before an explosion started them, almost bolting out of their cots. “What the?” Fletcher wondered and grabbed his weapons, running outside with the kids and they saw searchlights pointed towards the sky AA-fire lighting it up too, realizing what was going on.

“So Avalanche has begun.” Fletcher commented as he saw Allied Paratroopers in the sky.

“Yes, it goes as the Allied High Command has planned. Might be better for all of us.” Konrad commented.

“It’ll be all over by Christmas.” David added, sounding rather tired of the war.

“Or us right now!” Katja yelled pointing at a plane that was going down, crashing towards them and they all jumped instinctively out of the way, the explosion was deafening.

“That…was close…” Fletcher said dazed as he looked around, the kids were fine, yet the others were nowhere to be seen and the wreck was on fire, blocking their view of the other side.

The motor pole and munitions were also burning, probably from the Allied paratroopers.

“Look who we got here.” The kids turned around as they recognized the voice, it was the paratrooper known as Travers. “Stay behind me and keep your heads down.” He said, apparently not paying attention to Fletcher and they nodded, hoping Konrad and the others had survived.

They all joined another squad with a radioman, his radio buzzed.

“All Airborne units, enemy radio traffic is heavy. Command has instructed all units to locate and sabotage all enemy communications equipment.”

“Let’s go!” Travers said and they all moved out, towards a ruin with Scaffolding around it, propaganda messages echoed from it but all the fighting noise made it unintelligible.

Fletcher and the kids stayed in cover behind the Allied soldiers, hoping none of the German troops were their friends as the Americans slowly gained the upper hand, pushing through to the tent on the other sides were the communication equipment was located.

The tent on the far left had the one they looked for and the paratrooper threw a grenade in, destroying it. “Great work, Travers!” The radioman praised him before his radio buzzed again.

“All units within range of this transmission. Be advised, General Clark has sent a demolitions team up from the beaches. Rendezvous with the friendlies near the amphitheater.”

“Let’s go then!” The radioman ordered ad they all moved out.

It was only a short way and they saw the rounded building, two trucks with ammo crates were parked, before two soldiers jumped behind crates for cover. “Get down!” One of them yelled before the trucks exploded. ”Good work. Now let’s get out of here!” He added before a loud metal clang sound echoed in everyone’s ears and he fell to the ground, his helmet was shot off.

“Where’d that come from?” The radioman asked as Fletcher and the kids got to cover.

“Don’t stop firing! No prisoners!” They heard a German voice and saw Waffen-SS infantry surrounding them from the upper parts of the building.

“We’re outnumbered!” A fellow soldier yelled to the radioman as bullets’ hit the ground near them.

“Stay low everybody. We gotta hold em’ off!” The radioman returned fire, the children pressed themselves against their cover, covering their ears, with Fletcher firing his MP40 blindly to suppress the enemy.

He knew the situation wasn’t the best, but he had to protect the children, no matter what. He had been in worse situations and survived, why shouldn’t he survive this too? He stayed calm, the Americans did too. Dinky looked at her friends with a slightly scared expression, they returned it. They didn’t wanted to die, the words of making no prisoners made them scared they would die, slightly trembling as the bullets hit the ground next to them, but at the same time, they felt safe with Fletcher by their side, even though they were outnumbered. Both sides tried to suppress each other, not moving from their positions.

Out of the corner of his eye, the stallion saw how Travers used this to run up the stairs, flanking the Germans, taking them out with well-placed headshots before they had a chance to react.

Having survived the ambush, the Allied soldiers with their four VIPs then moved towards a big metal gate at the hilltop temple, flak fire could be heard from the other side and one of the soldiers pointed at the gate as two others planted explosives on it.

“There’s our target.” He looked at Travers and the stallion. “Travers and the Green Knight, huh? We hit the beaches yesterday. General Clark sent me and my men here to mark those eighty-eights for destruction. He’s got Warhawks ready and waiting to do a fly-by. You sure know how to fight, care to join us? I guarantee ya, it'll be a blast.”

The American nodded and Fletcher replied, “I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep them safe.” He gave the kids an assuring smile, they returned it before the gate was blown open, blurring their vision and making their ears ring for a moment before the Airborne troops moved in

Dinky and the siblings went behind a fallen over column, pressing themselves against it and shrieked as bullets hit the stone.

“MG42, top of the stairs!” Travers pointed out and Fletcher saw it too as he took cover behind the same pillar.

Switching to his rifle, Fray took aim and fired, the shot throw the SS-soldier backwards, also shooting the helmet off, allowing the Allied troops to push forward.

As it was not their fight, Fletcher and the children stayed back, waiting for a short moment, hearing screams and shots before they saw the paratroopers running towards them. “Get clear!” one of them yelled and they didn’t hesitate.

Just as they reached the end of the stairs, the Warhawks arrived and dropped their bombs, engulfing the temple in a gigantic explosion.

“Okay, the AA guns are destroyed and the area is secure. You all did great.” Travers praised them. “Get some rest, you earned it.”

“You did well, too.” Fletcher replied as he led them to a tent the demolition squad had apparently built up and they all fell asleep fast on the cots, glad it was over for now, yet hoped their German friends were alright.

In the next morning, they breakfasted as they saw Travers, together with the paratrooper that had invited them to join, walking towards them. “Good morning. How is the situation?” Fletcher asked both.

“The enemy is retreating to the north. Our commanding officer is aware of your young friends since Sicily, and for their safety, he has ordered us to escort them out of Italy. With a plane to Africa and there to Britain.” Travers explained to them.

Fletcher and his young friends looked at it each other. It sounded like a good idea, Dinky and the siblings would be safe from the war, and Fletcher could take care of the interference without having to worry about them.

“Okay, led the way.” Fray replied.

“Sure thing. Oh, by the way, I’m Corporal Kish, 36th Infantry Division.” The other man said and only now they realized he had a different uniform, lacking a parachute as he led them to a truck and they got into the back.

It was only a short ride before the truck reached an airfield and they stepped into a plane, together with a few other soldiers, mostly wounded paratroopers, having bandages around their bodies.

“Oh, this will be fun! Remember the airship flight, sis?” Blau asked her with glee and she nodded with a weak smile.

“I do.”

They all got comfortable as the plane took off, leaning back, enjoying the flight. Dinky, Blau and Katja were eager to see Britain, wondering if they could meet William’s family, also hoping he was still alive and doing well.

Fletcher also hoped they would have a great time in Britain, yet a slight worry refused to leave this head. “Are sure this route the pilot takes is safe?” He asked Kish, who nodded.

“The route we take is the same we used to get here, and with the Germans retreating to the north, there is no way of enemy AA guns or fighter planes being a threat.”

“I hope you’re right.” Fletcher replied with unease.

“Hey!” One of the paratroopers spoke up and the others started to look at him with smiles. “I got a good one! Whaddya get when you cross Hitler and a cockroach?” He asked and all waited for the answer.

“You get-“

He never finished as a metal clang sound greeted the ears of everyone and a blood splattered from his forehead, with everyone screaming in shock upon seeing it.

“What was that?” Dinky exclaimed and Katja screamed as more metal clanks followed, pouring holes into the plane, with the sunlight shining through, and Fletcher clutched the screaming kids protectively, casting a shield spell around them.

He did it just in time as the plane got shot up more and everyone safe for them, Travers and Kish got killed, as they were right next to the knight and children, their expressions were also slightly shocked.

Suddenly there was a loud rumble and Kish yelled at the pilot, “What was that?!”

“Just a piece of the tail! I think it’s okay…” The pilot replied before there was a loud groan.

“It’s tearing apart!” Blau yelled as the back of the plane broke in two, he, his sister and Dinky tried to hold on but the G-forces were too much and they got thrown out, screaming.

“No!” Fletcher yelled and grabbed a parachute from one of the dead bodies, jumping after the kids with Kish and Travers.

The children screamed, It felt so natural to scream as their lives flashed before them, the ground coming closer and closer, knowing it was impossible to survive a fall from this height.

“I got you, Dinky!” Fletcher yelled as he felt how he grabbed her in midair, holding her tightly as he opened his parachute, Travers caught Katja, Kish caught Blau.

“Everything’s gonna be fine.” The stallion said as they softly touched the ground, with the children trembling heavily, not responding, just staring.

It seemed like hours before they slowly hugged their saviors. “T-thank you…” Dinky stuttered and Fletcher hugged her back, patting her back.

“Don't worry.” He replied with a smile.

Kish’s expression became one of disgust as he noticed something wet on his clothing, realizing what it was. “Eww, I was carrying you!”

All three children lowered their heads in shame before Travers spoke up. “Hey, would you react different if you had been in their situation?”

Kish thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, but we should move on.”

“Right.”

They had landed near a country road, moving along it, having no idea where they were or where the next town was. “How…how could this happen?” Dinky wondered.

Travers thought for a moment. “Maybe, the Germans got some hidden AA positions recon didn’t discover. Can’t be our own, they know we were coming. But it’s over now.”

None of them had an idea how long they walked, maybe an hour before a town was visible in the distance. Somehow, it was familiar to the children but they couldn’t tell why.

Only as they came closer they saw it was a coastal town and the kids stared to smile as they realized what the town was.

Bitanti.

Chapter 10: Familiar faces

Bitanti, the hometown of Matteo. Fletcher and his young friends still remembered how they had been told the Germans had been forced out of here.

“Well, here goes nothing. Careful.” Travers warned and they slowly moved towards the town, expecting enemy patrols in the town, but what they actually saw, was surprising.

Civilians, doing their daily tasks as if the war wasn’t there, looking cheerfully at the two Americans as they spotted them. “The Allies have arrived!” One of them shouted and they all welcomed the two soldiers, together with the knight and children.

“No, no, the main force is still on its way, we just got separated as we tried to bring those civilians to safety. “Kish explained and the citizens of Bitanti slowly nodded.

“I see. Well, you are welcome to stay until the Main force arrives. Your caretaker is welcome too, children.” One of the citizens said to them.

It turned out the citizens still remembered Dinky, Katja and Blau, giving them food and shelter, also welcoming Fletcher, having heard of his actions as the Green Knight while he had been searching, not bothered at all by his German accent.

Still, Dinky and the siblings were worried about how Matteo would be seen by his fellow citizens and neighbors, but they were told he was actually valued and loved by them due to his friendly behavior and his neutral view of the duce. And despite having thrown out the Germans, they didn’t hate Konrad and his squad mates, as they had been always shown a goodwill, compared to their comrades.

Around noon, the main force arrived, and the kids saw an elder man with Fairburne looking at the Angel statue near the church. “They did it without us. The Townsfolk.” He commented impressed. “Pushed ‘em out before we even got here.

“All it took was a spark,” Karl replied with a slight smile.

“Talking of which, I apologize our escape was so tight, children, but I’m glad to see you’re okay.” The man said to the kids, who just nodded.

“You could have given us a bit more leeway,” Fletcher replied to Weaver.

“I wish I could have done that, but we are utterly expandable,” Weaver told with regret in his voice as Fairburne looked at Kessler sitting in a jeep, guarded by a member of the military police.

“Not like your man there.”

“The Professor hasn’t got long left. Trust me, though, we’ll squeeze what we can out of him. More to the point, er…What about you, Karl? What you gonna do?” Weaver wanted to know. “The man who saved Eisenhower.” He chuckled.

“OSS could sure need someone with your talents.”

“That sounds like a job offer.”

“Doesn’t it though?” Waver asked in return.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Sure thing.” They both shook hands ad Weaver got into the driver seat of the jeep. “Don’t think about it too long – We got a war to win!” Then he turned to Fletcher. “And Eisenhower sends his gratitude for your help.”

“I did only what I had to do to keep my young friends safe.” Fletcher waved a hoof before Waver waved back and drove away.

“Well, we have to go too, see you and good luck,” Travers said before he, Kish and Fairburne walked away.

The four watched after them until they were out of sight and Dinky sighed. “What should we do now?”

“Say hello to an old friend, perhaps?” A British voice greeted them and they turned around, seeing a British soldier smiling at them. They recognized him.

“William!” The three children exclaimed happily and rammed into him for a hug.

“I’m happy to see you too, children. And surprised to see you again. Same for you, Fletcher.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Is the family doing well?” He asked with a smile of his own.

“As well as can be. I don’t mind hearing how you ended up here, but the unit I belong to isn’t staying long, we prepare to move on. And it would be too dangerous to take you with to the front.” He told with regret.

“It’s fine. We can stay here.” Fletcher replied. “The last attempt to get us out of Italy, as you see, ended in a failure.”

William’s expression became a weak smile. “But it’s a relief you are still alive. And there’s always a second try. I could arrange that.” He offered and they all nodded.

The moment he walked towards an officer wearing a red Barret, the children took notice of a US truck pulling up and a few soldiers jumped out. One of them was of the same build as the father of Katja and Blau, also matching the blue eyes and brown hair, appearing to be in his early 20s at first, yet could be older and they remembered the photo from the Olympics.

Blau saluted him as he grabbed a box of ammo and walked towards them. “Hello, sir.”

The American took a step back in surprise in shock, staring for a moment, before slowly smiling. “Ah, hi there.”

“I see you just met them, old chap. Those are Fletcher Fray and his three young friends, I told you about. Dinky, Blau Streifen and Katja.” William said to him and he looked at him dumb folded.

“You…mean to say….” William nodded. “Okay…And I thought…” He mumbled before shaking his head. “Nevermind.”

The Captain waved a hand. “It’s fine. Can you load the ammo, I have to discuss something with the Major and Captain MacKay.”

“Sure thing.” The US soldier replied and Hill walked away, towards a few officers chatting to each other “I’m Private Christopher Robin Ford.” Then he gave the siblings a slightly confused look. “How can you be siblings?”

Answering his question, Blau Streifen eagerly replied, “Well, Daddy helped Mommy make us with magic!" Fray’s eyes went wide as he realized how this would end.

Before Fletcher could even reply, Katja quickly interjected, "No, they had sex!"

"Kids..." –Fletcher spoke up but was not heard

"Nu uh! It was magic! Daddy and Mommy said so! Also, what is sex?" The colt asked, having no clue

"It's where Mom and Dad...do something. I dunno, Fletcher how does that work?” Katja asked the unicorn. “I heard my grandma say that once but she didn't explain."

Fletcher face hooved while Pvt. Christopher's eyes went wide as saucers, with a confused Dinky sitting on her haunches trying to make sense of the scene before her.

"KIDS! Enough! It's quiet time, pick your things and follow Pvt. Ford." Fletcher raised his voice and Ford waved his hand

"Christopher is fine."

"What he said! Enough of this! Let's go!"

The brother and sister lowered their heads, afraid of upsetting the stallion adult, while Dinky trotted up to Christopher and whispered, "What’s sex?"

Rolling eyes, he replied, "Puzzle that confuses youngin's like you. You won't know all the pieces until you get older, and I ain't tellin ya!" He yelled, sounding slightly frustrated.

With a look of puppy eyes and lowered ears, Dinky tried to plea with the Private, "But-"

"Nope! No way kiddo! Ask your mom, not me."

With a cute pout on her face, Dinky trotted up to the siblings to help carry the supply load.

"I need a cheeseburger. I'm here to fight, not babysit....damn war...." Ford mumbled and Fletcher had to shake his head.

Ohh...great...now that old memory pops up where I asked my parents what sex was.

Nevertheless, they did their tasks as told and William came back to them. “Okay, I got ordered my Major Blackmore to get you on a plane to England. Christopher, you will accompany us.”

“What? Why?” The private asked in surprise.

“Orders by your Captain.”

Ford sighed. “Fine.”

“Hey, see it from the right side. You avoid getting shot and they are quite a company to enjoy.” As William said this, the three kids smiled with innocence and the American could swear he saw halos above their heads.

The two Allied soldiers led them to a truck and Blau mumbled, “I hope this ends well, not like last time.” He shivered at the thought and William patted him.

“Don’t worry, recon did a double check after we heard what happened and the Luftwaffe is pretty much defeated in the area, so we should have no trouble.”

“I hope you’re right.” The colt replied with a weak smile.

It was a quiet ride until they reached the Airfield. Once on the plane, Fletcher and the kids told William about how they ended up here.”

“Awfully sorry to hear that, but It’s nice to hear Konrad is well and he earned his promotion.” Ford nodded with a barely noticeable smile.

“And what about you?” Dinky asked him.

He shrugged. “Not much to tell, I served under the famous Desert Rates in Africa. After the Axis were defeated, I got transferred with Cutting and Duffy to the British 3rd Battalion, also called ‘Boudica's Boys.”

“Uh-huh. And what about you, Christopher?” Katja asked him.

“Able Company. There isn’t much to tell. As America entered the war, I wanted to do my part. I may be a private, but I fought in Africa before, so I am experienced. At the start, it was hard for me, due to having German and Italian ancestry, but I made my point.” He told them a neutral expression.

“I can’t imagine it’s easy to fight your fellow countrymen,” Dinky said with unease in her voice.

“No, it isn’t. But I do what I have to, to end this war. I make sure it’s quick and painless.” He replied, sounding uneasy about it, which was understandable.

Yet this was very awkward and confusing for the siblings. He was a relative of their father’s family. Could they affect their own history? Their existence? It was a difficult thought, something they feared, looking at each other with unsure expressions.

Clang!

A loud metal clang sounded and the plane rumbled causing Fletcher to yell, “What the hay?!”

“Enemy AA gun!” One of the pilots yelled, the kids saw black clouds around the plane, hugging Fletcher tightly as they remembered what had just happened recently. He did the same, trying to calm them down, the two soldiers held on tightly as the plane was rumbling more.

“Stuka, three o clock!” Ford yelled and they looked out of the window, seeing said plane strafling them, the bullets missing them by inches as Fletcher cast his shield spell before an explosion sounded.

“Right engine caught fire!” One of the pilots reported and the passengers saw the smoke of the engine and they saw the German fighter-bomber turning around for another run, firing again, turning the plane into a sieve and it started to drive.

The children screamed and the two men tried to get to the cockpit but the high g-forces made their vision blurry and everything became black.

Their heads ached as William and Christopher came to, hearing a shriek. It took then only seconds to come back to their senses and scrambled into the cockpit seeing that both pilots were dead, as their heads were bloodied and they both attempted to stabilize the plane by pulling up, despite having little experience in flying.

“Come on!” The American screamed as they barely succeeded, just moments before hitting the ground. “That was close.” He said in relief, turning around to see that Fletcher and the kids were still unconscious. Their plane was in pretty bad shape, bullet holes almost everyone, barely keeping in the air. Overall, it was a miracle it was still flying.

“Hey look!” The Brit yelled and pointed to their left side, seeing how the Stuka pulled alongside them, with the German Pilot making hand signals and they understood quickly what he tried to do.

He wanted them to land, by escorting them to a nearby airfield. But that would mean, the kids and Fletcher would end up in a Lab of Germany or worse, something both Allied soldiers knew couldn’t be allowed to happen, so they just focused on keeping the plane into the air.

Yet the pilot stayed with them, flying in formation beside them. They couldn’t tell for how long until the pilot with his co-pilot saluted and flew off.

“Nobody will believe this…” Ford mumbled in disbelief.

“Righto, but we are still alive and most importantly, they are,” Hill replied as he looked at his four friends. “This pilot just saved all our lives.”

“Ugh…We’re still alive?” Fletcher mumbled as he came to, looking around. He and the kids appeared to be in a field hospital, they were also waking up, just as Ford and Hill walked in, having relieved expressions.

“Yes, the same pilot who attacked us, granted us mercy, allowing us to get back to the ground in one piece.” William explained, “Unfortunately, we now have no other choice but to take you with us.” He added with regret in his voice.

Fletcher weakly smiled. “It could have been worse. What’s your objective?”

“To capture the town of Elio-Gabalo. It’s an important supply point for the enemy, connecting their controlled territory with the south we have liberated. In order to have to have a good position to move in, we capture a nearby hill.” Christopher took the word.

“Gear up, men, we are moving out!” One of the officers yelled and both men saluted. Dinky and her three friends noticed that William was saluting with his palm facing outwards before they helped to load up some gear.

“Your hear what happened to Sergeant Percy?” Dinky overheard two soldiers chatting to each other.

“Just that he was KIA.”

“Yeah, he was trying to surrender and a squad of Germans and Italians cut him down. But that’s not the whole thing. They captured his squad and forced them to bury their dead.”

“They’d have to shoot me first.”

It made the three friends think, looking at each other. How could someone do something as this? They could only imagine the SS and Blackshirts, yet hoped they wouldn’t run into such people.

“How are we travelling?” Fletcher asked the two men and the private pointed to a halftrack, looking like an elongated truck the back having medium-armored side panels, initially covered by a thick canvas sheet.

“With this M3 Halftrack, get in.” He said and manned the MG mounted on a pintle at the top-front of the vehicle and they moved out with a convoy of tanks, once all stepped in.

“Never saw those before.” Blau commented as he looked at the tanks. Some of them looked similar to the Panzer IV in terms of height and length, having the white star pointed on the side, the others were as wide and big as a Tiger tank, but the barrel was still short.

“That’s because the first once belong to the US troops, being their workhorse, the M4 Sherman. Reliable and fast to produce. The other one is the Churchill Tank Mk. IV, the successor of the Matilda, capable of engaging most targets. It’s named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill and the leader of the British Army in the War of the Spanish Succession. The Sherman is named after Union General of the American civil war.” The Captain explained to them and the colt grinned.

“Sounds like a nice idea to keep them honored.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Still, I wonder where that Stuka came from…” Fletcher mumbled in thought.

“Probably from a hidden airstrip, would explain the AA guns, being the defense of it. As we stated before, our landing completely caught the enemy air force off guard, thus had no time to prepare. “Christopher suspected and looked up into the sky, the others peeked out of the sheet, amazed and saw how the sky was filled with the contrails of the bomber streams, thousands of bombers so high above, it looked somehow magnificent.

And then they saw a small group of contrails, five tiny jets of steam streaking towards those massive bomber formations, trying to achieve something impossible. Dinky, Katja and Blau felt sorry for those German or Italian pilots, it was a desperate action, yet suicide.

“Well...would you look at that? Machines hiding in clouds, lying in ambush like wolves...In wars like this, not even the skies are safe.” Fletcher commented with awe at the sight and they heard a US officer praising his comrades.

“There you go boys, keep pounding them.”

“Hey, did I ever tell the story about the major?” They heard Cutting’s voice, seeing in sitting on the Churchill tank in front of the M3, chatting with another soldier, who shook his head.

“No, but I heard he faced a wall of Germans.”

“Seven, Dillingham, seven.” Cutting corrected him. So, back in Africa, Major Blackmore emptied his clip on the enemy and realized: There’s one left! He dives on poor Jerry, grans his bayonet…” He mimicked the action of holding it, his expression determined, “Two cuts.”

“Two cuts?”

“Baldy didn’t even lose his pipe!” One of the other officers joked and they all shared a laugh.

“Reaching the city shouldn’t take long. The General said Elio-Gabalo isn’t too far.” William suspected before he saw smoke, and they drove past a bomb crater with dead Italians and a destroyed halftrack and Kübelwagen, still smoking.

“They never stood a chance,” One of the tank commanders commented on it.

“I'm guessing ‘no’ to the open casket,” Another one added.

“That's somebody's son.” Ford pointed out, showing that he had respect for the enemy, something Fletcher and the kids appreciated

“Naw, it's a Greaseball!” The tank commander replied, showing little sympathy for the Axis soldiers.

“Ford is right. They’re not all bad.” Duffy countered.

“They did give us Avogadro, Galvani …” Cutting counted up.

“And don’t forget about their inventions. You got the glasses, batteries…” Hill continued.

“Pasta.” Ford raised a fist.

“You guys are killing me.” The Tank commander replied annoyed.

“Hey, hasn’t Italy surrendered after we took Sicily?” One of the British soldiers asked into the round.

“Yes, but it seems not all accept the surrender.” Ford pointed out.

“Very likely. Say, Fletcher, do you need also only two cuts?” William asked with a joking tone and the stallion chuckled.

“Takes more than two cuts to take me down, or any Farman soldier for that matter.”

“Oh, really?” Hill asked. “You guys must be like the Prussian, all with the elegant uniforms that makes them stand out.”

“Listen, smart-flanks, they're called Landsknechten and they're the best soldiers Farmany has to offer. A good friend of mine was one himself in his early years.”

“So they are like the Imperial German Stormtroopers back on the Great War?” Christopher asked into the round and Fletcher nodded.

The ride through the country road was very quiet, but suddenly, Dinky’s ears perked up as she heard a strange whistle and suddenly…

Bang!

They all started as the leading Churchill tank exploded, the turret was blown off, forcing them to a stop. “What was that?!” Ford yelled in alert as the tank commander of the other Churchill gave out orders.

“Driver! Reverse! All tanks, back up! Get behind the rise on the right. Everyone button up.” He yelled into his radio before another explosion followed close to it, strong enough to throw the M3 onto its left side, with the passengers screaming, dazed from the impact.

“Everyone ok?” William asked and his friends nodded before climbing out, staying in the ditch for cover as the radio buzzed,

“That was an 88. It's a goddamned tank.”

In that moment, the kids and their friends saw another explosion happening close to the tanks before they moved forward to meet the enemy, seeing a Tiger Tank driving out of a camouflage blind in a hay field.

The three Allied tanks opened fire, but the rounds bounced off the Tiger harmlessly and returned fire, and with a shattering explosion, the turret of the Churchill was lifted off, hitting the ground, with the burning tank coming to a stop.

“Oh my gosh…” Dinky mumbled in shock and Fletcher scrambled to the radio in the halftrack, having an idea.

“Flank it from both sides, aim for the rear!” He ordered and both Sherman tanks did without hesitation as they closed the distance and fired again, but yet no success as the shot just bounced off.

In response, the Tiger’s turret aimed at the Sherman on the right and fired, destroying it in one hit in a big explosion.

But this gave the last Sherman tank the chance it needed, getting closer and the German tank backed up to protect its weak point. “That's it! Drive in a circle around him. You can move faster than he can swing his gun.” Fletcher ordered as the Tiger’s turret tried to catch up.

The others held their breaths as the Sherman managed to get into position and fired, having a clear shot.

In a quick flashed, an explosion in the mud flowed. “Damn, they missed!” Ford realized frustrated and the turret of the Tiger started to catch up.

But Fletcher had another idea. “Back up! Now! Reverse! Reverse!”

His order was acknowledged as the Tank did as told, the Tiger managed to line up a shot and fired, but only ripped the sandbags off the front before the US tank took the shot.

The round ripped through the engine and fuel tanks. There was a fireball of burning gasoline, followed by black smoke and the German crew abandoned their tank.

“They did it!” Blau cheered before he ducked as a bullet hissed past the ditch. The private looked up to see the enemy commander firing his pistol from his hatch, so he took aim with his M1 Garand and fired.

Blood splattered from the German as he fell forward, his arms lose in the air.

Now they all let out a breath of relief. “That was a close call. Thanks for the advice, Fletcher.” The Sherman commander poked his head out, then got a cable from his tank to tow the Halftrack out of the ditch, onto it’s wheels and tracks again. “There you go.”

With that over, the ponies and two soldiers stepped back into the transport, moving on, with the last remaining tank informing HQ about their losses.

“Capturing the hill will be very difficult.” Ford mumbled.

“Why?” Dinky asked and he sighed.

“Well, Charlie Company was tasked to capture this hill but we lost contact. This makes me a bit nervous how strong enemy troops are there.”

”I’m sure we can do this together.” Fletcher sounded very confident, his expression showed no fear.

“We are here.” The Driver announced and they got out, seeing that the commanding officers of Able Company and 3rd Battalion were already here.

“Right on time.” The British officer with the red beret said. He had a slight beard, brown hair and matching eyes. His face was broad just with William.

Unlike the other soldiers, he wore a completely brown coat and appeared to be on his late thirties to late forties, understandable given his rank.

Fletcher and the kids had little doubt it was Major Blackmore, a pipe in his mouth as he moving a bush so they could all move through and Duffy stared in shock as he was on the other side.

“What's the matter? Never seen a dead body before?” The major asked, apparently not affected at all and the kids peeked out behind the unicorn, they regretted it. Bodies of American and British were scattered everywhere, the wreck of a Sherman Tank was next to them.

“Oh my...” Dinky said in shock before Fletcher used his horn to put her and Blau on his back, with Katja being hugged by him.

“Don't look.”

The three had to threw up, but to the side, not on the knight.

“How can a whole battalion get wiped out in a single battle?” Duffy asked in disbelief.

“...Slaughtered like sheep...mowed down by guns they couldn't even see over the hills...” William mumbled and Ford took a deep breath at the sight.

“It’s never easy.”

As Fletcher stepped ahead to get the kids to a currently build up base, he slipped and fell into a muddy ditch, the two foals just barely managed to avoid sharing his fate by getting thrown off him. “Ugh...Where am I?” He mumbled dazed as he got up and felt something being stuck in his left forehoof and looked down, his eye went small. “SWEET LUNA AND TIBERIUS! GET OFF! GET OFF ME!”

His hoof had been stuck in one of the rotten, with maggots littered corpses, he managed to wrench himself free and caught his breath, using his knife to shave the maggots of himself. “Okay...okay...There were rotting corpses...I put my hoof in one and...okay...”

“You alright down there, Fletch?” William asked in a neutral voice.

Fletcher glared at him with a clearly angry expression and yelled sarcastic, “Oh yeah, I'm just peachy! I do this aaaaaaall the time! You know, it's not like I really need to eat nowadays, is it?!”

William just grinned. “I know sarcasm when I hear it, Mister Fray...I'm British.”

“Whatever.” Fletcher replied as he climbed out, with the major looking at a map with the leaders of Able, giving a briefing.

“This hill at the mountains has a fuel depot we could put to good use, apart from being a good base for the attack on Elio-Gabalo. But we have reports of enemy artillery up the mountains. So, as Charlie Company and 4rd Battalion were wiped out trying to take this hill, It’s up to us. Able Company will take the fuel depot, 2rd Battalion will support by taking out the enemy Artillery.”

“Is there any way we can help?” Dinky asked the officer, catching them off guard.

“Well...you could help supplying the troops, as we thought we destroy the enemy artillery with our own. Mr. Fletcher, Able Company is in need of a good scout, could you take that role?” The Brit asked and he nodded.

“Of course, whatever is necessary to keep my friends safe.”

The three children gave him a hug. “Be careful.”

“Of course I will.” He returned it before moving out with the US troops.

The British troops got a few howitzers into position and Dinky, Katja and Blau helped by carrying the ammo to the guns as they fired on the enemy positions on the mountains for a while.

None of them could count, maybe half an hour?

“Okay, that should be enough, let’s check on it.” William ordered as he grabbed his Sten, Dinky and her friends followed, cautious of danger.

The first thing they saw was smoke, followed by craters, dead bodies and wrecks of Eighty-Eight guns scattered around. “Looks like our barrage had the desired effect, Able Company will have it a lot easier with that artillery removed.” Peter commented satisfied at the sight.

“Over there!” Blau pointed to black clouds over the next ridge, seeing a US fighter plane going down.

“I see it.” Cutting acknowledged and moved in with his fellow Brits, catching the weapon crew by surprise, shooting them before they had time to react.

“All threats neutralized, Able Company owns us a pint or two.” William said after it was over.

But then, the three children heard a very loud engine sound. Looking up into the sky, they saw an entire squadron of Germans bombers.

They were targeting Able Company below them, so they did the only thing they could do.

The soldiers manned the gun, Dinky, Katja and Blau brought the ammo to the triple-AA gun.

William, Cutting and Duffy fired on every Bomber they saw, knowing they couldn’t afford to lose Able Company. For the children, it was the lives of Fletcher and Christopher

But then the planes veered away. They all looked after them before an explosion behind them knocked them down. The bombers bombed the mountain, creating a landslide, burying all of them on the ground.

Watch out!” Duffy yelled as one of the bombers got hit by the debris crashing towards him and his friends

They tried to run as the plane hit the ground in what seemed like slow motion for them. The noise of the impact was loud, deafening and the force of impact was so strong that it blasted Dinky and the siblings away, making them briefly wonder if they would survive this before everything went black.

Author's Note

A little tribute to the 2006 game Company of heroes, one of my favorites. And the Stuka scene, is based on a real event

Chapter 11 Madness

Chapter 11: Madness

Dinky, Katja and Blau awoke with a gasp, panting heavily. When they got up, they all thought they had died and gone to Tartarus. They blew up the mountain. They buried the Allies. They buried themselves.

Getting up with a grunt of pain, the children looked around. The crashed plane was next to them, still burning, it was night and raining, small fires were scattered around the area.

Despite being in shock, they looked for their three friends, hoping they were still alive after this.

“Over there!” Blau yelled, seeing them lying next to the wreck of the AA-gun, checking for a pulse. “They are still alive!”

Barely he had finished, the three soldiers also awoke gasping, looking around in shock. “Jesus Christ…” Duffy mumbled in shock as he got up, seeing the destruction, the William and Cutting did too.

“Are you hurt?” Katja asked and they checked themselves, shaking their heads.

“We’re fine,” William replied as Dinky looked down, towards were the fuel depot was.

“This is Madness! They blew up this mountain and buried themselves!”

No...this isn't just like last time. The Austro-Hungarians were desperate, surrounded, they'd do anything to hold the line. The SS...They did this just to show they could.” The Captain replied, slightly trembling. “I have read the reports about the Austro-Hungarians and saw how brutal the SS fights when we landed at the beaches."

“W-wait… Fletcher!” Dinky exclaimed as she realized he had been down there.

“Christopher!” The siblings exclaimed in unison, “We have to find them!”

“But-but do you think anyone could have survived this massive rock-slide at all?” Cutting asked, fearing the worst and Hill picked up his Sten.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

They had to find them – so they all went into that hell. It was the only choice.

Slowly moving down the hill, the group reached a trench system, German soldiers were patrolled around. They all had their back towards the intruders, so it was easy to sneak past them.

As the kids moved toward a corner, they noticed a shadow coming from it towards them, freezing in place as they realized they couldn’t get away in time. Strangely, a sharp stench entered their nose too, coming from the same direction.

A SS soldier came stumbling around the corner, almost running into the wall, catching himself barely before he dropped his MP40 and fell to the ground, falling asleep to the surprise of the children.

“Drunken fool,” Duffy whispered as they stepped over him, the stench coming from him.

The way apparently led closer to the front, confirmed by the bullets that hit or flew over the trenches and the behavior of the soldiers.

Some were aiming at the enemy front ready to shoot, some were leaning against the wall for cover, while others were using helmets as sniper decoy, only to see that the decoy got shot instantly.

But it also meant some of Able Company had survived and were still fighting, boosting the morale of the kids that Fletcher and Ford had survived.

Yet, what the saw was behind their imagination.

A wasteland, littered with wrecks of vehicles, fires and corpses in the mud, screams and gunfire echoed in the distance.

Dinky took a deep breath, Katja and her brother did too. They had to go through here if they wanted to find their friends.

“Stay low,” William warned as they all crouched to avoid getting hit, moving carefully as they saw raiding parties of both sides trying to get behind the enemy lines but got mowed down by MGs before they had a chance to get far.

“Careful.” Cutting said as spotlights moved around, they stayed in cover, moving to the next when the light went past them, repeating the progress until they came closer to the other trench.

“It’s one of ours! Cease fire!” It was the voice of Ford, looking relieved to see them “You’re alive! I thought nobody had survived up there!”

The Captain waved a hand. “Aye...fortunately. What’s the situation?”

“Well, a small number of us just barely survived by taking cover into those lodges here. The rest got cut off but they try to get here. 3rd Battalion also tries to attack the rear of the Germans to join up with us.”

“Where’s Fletcher?” Dinky asked with worry in her eyes.

“The unit he supported had made it further up before the Mountain came down. Jerry’s still holding the fuel depot though and we are not enough for an attack.” He told with regret.

“Then we try to flank them, the front isn’t the only option.” Duffy suggested, “Is there anyone else?” Ford just pointed to one of the lodges and the kids took a look.

It was horrible.

Those that were still alive, huddled against the wall, crying, completely shocked, no longer able to fight. There were also some dead bodies, bloodied, scattered everywhere, the stench terrible, hard to bear, causing them to cover their noses but it didn’t help.

Still, they needed everything they could get to Fletcher. “Listen…please.” Dinky started and to her surprise, the soldiers looked up. “I know this is bad, but there is still hope.”

Blau tried to think of the right words. “They may think they have won, that we all died, but we are still alive. We got the elements of surprise on our side.”

“And you all want to see your families again, don’t you?” Katja said, “Only together you can achieve this.”

The Americans looked at each other, then slowly nodded and stood up, grabbing their weapons.” Right. Let’s do this! There is a side entrance we discovered, we can use this to sneak in.”

“Lead the way.” Christopher took his rifle and they moved out, coming to what seemed to be an underground tunnel. He entered first, only to see a hostile at the end, getting spotted.

“Alarm!” The German yelled before taking a bullet to the head and the Allied troops moved in, not wasting any time, taking the defenders completely by surprise as they moved up the stairs.

“Hey! He's getting away” Dinky yelled as she spotted a German running away and Ford gave chase.

It didn’t take long until we found out why. At the end of the corridor was a detonator, the SS-soldier wanted to blow up the fuel depot, almost reaching it.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” The private took aim and fired.

Blood splattered from the head of the enemy, staggering from the hit.

“No, no, no!” The private yelled in fear as the body threatened to fell on the detonator, killing everyone.

Christopher held his breath as the German fell forward, landing next to the detonator. “That was a close call.”

The kids stayed in cover, hearing shots for a few minutes before William yelled, “Clear! Depot is secure!”

They didn’t know how, they just knew that Fletcher wasn’t here.

Dinky and her two friends walked to the front door, opened and walked outside.

They'd almost stopped looking-started giving hope that Fletcher had escaped. And then...

"No! No!" Dinky yelled as they saw the unicorn lying against a tree, not moving, his eyes closed.

She checked his pulse.

There was none and she shook her head.

“No…It can’t be…” Katja sniffed.

“F-Fletch…” Her brother stuttered, not able to believe it.

Overcoming with grief, they mourned the loss of their friend, a hoof/ hand wrapped around him as they collapsed beside him, tears leaving their eyes.

Their friend, their only hope of getting home was dead. They would be stuck here, forever, separated from their families.

But suddenly, They felt a hoof around them.

"Ouch...In all my years in the military and the civil war, I never saw an enemy force doing something like this. Not even Celestia's forces had dared to blow up a mountain to stop us in the war.”

“F-Fletcher?” Dinky asked through her tears.

“I’m alright…” He couldn’t finish as they hugged him tightly.

“We thought you died!” Tears of joy were leaving Katja’s eyes.

In that moment, Ford and Hill joined them, gently grabbing the stallion by his forelegs to assist him, bringing him to a medic to check him. “Only a few bruises and scratches, you were very lucky to have survived this so well.” The medic said after the check was done.

The unicorn smiled weakly. “I survived a lot I thought I wouldn’t survive. What’s the situation?”

“Well, we managed to capture the fuel depot, and while the rest of Able Company and 3rd Battalion are still struggling to get here due to the rockslide, they both managed to get some troops through to secure the area, having broken through the trenches,” William explained.

As soon as he finished, they all saw American soldiers wearing gloves and backpacks, also having googles on their helmets, armed with SMGs that looked similar to the MP40, together with British soldiers wearing the same equipment but carried Lee-Enfield rifles instead.

“Combat Engineers and Sappers reporting!”

“Set up defenses, we don’t know if the Germans attempt to counterattack,” William ordered and his fellow soldiers saluted, building up trenches and sandbags, with the kids and Fletcher helping as good as they could.

“What’s that?” Blue asked one of the American Engineers, pointing to his weapon.

“Oh, that? That’s the M3 "Grease Gun’, a cheaper alternative to the Thompson.”

“Guys! Guys!” Duffy yelled as he ran towards them, completely out of breath.

“What is it?” Ford asked.

“One of our forward positions got attacked…It's hell out there, guys. It looks like a whole division of SS has moved in and they aren't giving up this fuel.” He finished, slightly terrified.

“Then get into position! Fletcher, you and the kids get in the back.” They nodded and saw how a weapon crew set a heavy MG in the first trench.

“Muniplo, Williams, weapons and ammo!” The American manning it ordered and the siblings helped to carry an ammo crate to it as a British weapon team also set up an HMG, before the kids and Fray went into the trench at the back.

“Here they come!” Duffy yelled and they all opened fire at the incoming enemy. Dinky, Katja and Blau trembled but felt safe with Fletcher, he had his MP40 ready, watching how the SS troops fiercely tried to break through, getting mowed down but still pushed on.

William, Ford and the others fight bravery, firing at every enemy they saw, barely keeping them from their trench as the enemy retreated. “Don’t let your guard down! They will come again!” The Captain warned and only a short moment later, smoke was dropped and the next wave came.

But this time, the Germans managed to reach the trenches, engaging in brutal melee combat with the allies. Ford grabbed the knife of his attacker as he got pushed against the wall, struggling as he drew his Colt M1911 and fired the SS-soldier into the head, throwing the body off him. Hill was thrown back to but managed to block the strike and punched his opponent into the head, knowing him out and the enemy retreated again.

“Jesus Christ! That was a second wave…They’re just throwing themselves at us!” Duffy exclaimed in shock as suddenly, a loud shrieking greeted their eyes. “Nebelwerfers!”

Out of instinct, Fletcher cast his shield spell as the artillery hit the ground, creating explosions everywhere, the kids screamed, it was deafening.

None of them could count how long it lasted before it stopped and they heard screams.

“Medic!” A few soldiers had been unlucky to be thrown out of the trenches by direct hits, bleeding badly.

Before anyone could do something, Fletcher and the kids ran to them to help them.

“Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine,” Fletcher spoke calmly as he cast a healing spell, with the kids bandaging the wounds.

The battle seemed over for now, so they could help the wounded without trouble.

Or so they thought.

“Watch out!” Ford warned as the enemy made another push and the four quickly tried to get the wounded into the trench as suddenly…

Kaboom!

A big explosion threw them over, screaming as they wondered what had just happened. “Ow…What…” Dinky turned around, her eyes went small at what she saw. “Oh my…”

The entire fuel depot went up in a giant fireball, even the SS-soldiers turned around in surprise and shock, some were unlucky to get caught in the explosion, screaming in pain as they burned to death.

Fletcher just stared at the gigantic fire, frozen in shock. “Fletcher?” Katja asked concerned.” Are you okay?”

He started to shake and without out warning, roared.

“SOLOMON!”

What happened next, terrified everyone.

The stallion switched to his spear and charged towards the Germans, dealing mortal strikes, giving them barely time to react. Those who managed to react by trying to block his attacks, got thrown to the ground by his magic and he violently stabbed them it the chest, not stopping even after they were dead.

Neither of the youngsters could ever imagine him being so brutal and mercilessly as he slaughtered the attackers.

“No! Wait! I beg you!” One of the Germans pleaded as the unicorn had him at his mercy against a rock, raising his spar to strike.

“Fletcher! Stop!” The kids yelled and he flinched, allowing the terrified SS-soldier to flee, yet they froze as he now looked at them with an angry expression, Cold blankness in his eyes.

“Fletcher! Stop! Don’t hurt us!” Dinky yelled as he came closer towards them in a slow, threatening walk.”

They covered themselves as he raised his spear.

Was this the end? Would the die by the one who was tasked to protect them?

Faintly, they noticed that he trembled, or twitched.

The stallion stumbled, like he was having trouble keeping his balance.

“Dinky...Foals...Yes...Save-foals...For Luna...For...For home...Save the foals...Get them home...” Fletcher mumbled and they slowly uncovered themselves, looking up.

They saw how he looked at his spear, wide-eyed and shaking, it and his forehooves were covered in blood, then he looked at the dead bodies in shock before turning back to the kids, dropping his spear with a loud clang!

“Children…I….I…” He stuttered and without warning, buried his head in his hooves, starting to cry, having a breakdown.

Dinky looked at her friends, blinking at each other and nodded.

“Shh...Let it out…” She hugged him with her two friends, trying to comfort the stallion.

Out of the corner of their eyes, the kids saw the ghostly Royal Guard again, standing on a small hill in the distance. The ghost looked at the crying knight, then lowered his head as if he had sympathy, or felt guilty.

The Allied soldiers looked at each other, still trying to process what had just happened, unsure what to say.

“Fletcher…” Hill started to speak, still shocked. “What you just did was beyond anything I’ve ever seen….. But I understand your pain. We all saw horrible things that haunt us.”

His pony friend said nothing, making a barely noticeable nod as he slowly got up with the kids, collected his weapons and walked slowly back to the trenches.

“What…What could have caused the fuel to blow up?” Cutting wondered as he looked at the flames.

“I guess it was a misfire by the Nebelwerfers. It can’t be caused intentionally by the SS, otherwise, they hadn’t been shocked by it too or pushed forward.” Duffy suspected. “It also seems to have blocked their way to attack us.”

“Well, that’s one advantage for us I guess,” Ford replied as he sat down, breathing heavily. “That was one battle…”

“Yes, it was.” Fletcher took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, children. I lost control over myself. Ever since a battle against Solomon where things went very bad, I can’t stand large fires.”

Dinky, Katja and Blau hugged him again. “Everypony has his fears, Fletcher, It’s no shame.” The filly said with a weak smile.

He returned it. “Thanks.”

“Uhh…guys? I think I see something coming through the fire.” Duffy pointed to something but nobody could really see anything.

“You sure?” Ford asked him.

“Pretty sure…”

“We are better safe than sorry.” William grabbed his weapon and aimed into the direction the SS troops had come from, all others did too.

Dinky tilted her head as she could swear she saw something moving in the fire. But nothing could prepare them for what happened next.

Bodies rose out of the fire, burning and screaming, charging at them.

“Mother of…” Fletcher’s eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. The Waffen SS soldiers stormed through the fire, a last desperate attack, wanting to take the Allies with them

“Fire!” William ordered and they all opened fire, Fletcher did too with his MP40.

Katja, her brother and friend trembled at the sight, their eyes small in fear at the horrible sight. It looked they're charged out the gates of Tartarus, still firing their weapons.

“Why won't you bastards just sodding die?!” Hill screamed in frustration as the Germans kept coming, no matter how many they killed.

Fletcher couldn’t tell why he joined, maybe it was just instinct. His breath was rapid, slightly shaking to his fear of fires, but he knew he couldn’t let the children die and if the burning soldiers would reach the trenches, it would all be over.

I can do this, I can do this… He assured himself over and over again, despite looking very grim.

Wave after wave came and he realized this wasn’t enough, taking a deep breath.

“I go out!” He yelled and climbed out of the trench, fired his bow at the burning enemies, switching to his spear as he charged at them.

His allies and friends just watched in awe as he single-handily killed many of the burning soldiers, preventing them from getting through.

Yet some soldiers made it past him, and the kids screamed as they saw one burning soldier coming right for them. “Die by the flames of the Führer!”

He was about to jump on them, their lives flashed before their eyes.

Bang!

Blood splattered from the head of the German, falling into the trench, just inches before them, they looked at the body in shock.

“You don’t die by my side!” It was Christopher, the barrel of his pistol smoking, having a determined expression.

“Watch out!” Blau warned as another SS-soldier reached the trench. The private shot him also in the head in mid-air, jumping to the side to avoid getting burnt.

Fletcher just stabbed another burning soldier before he felt a hard hit on the back of his head, falling to the ground. It belonged to the shovel of an SS-soldier. He was not burning, raising his shovel to finish the knight.

“Artillery! Get down!” Someone yelled before shells smashed into the ground, the soldier looked up in fear, being distracted, and the stallion crawled backward before an explosion knocked him instantly out.

Fletcher slowly regained consciousness after some time. The battle was seemingly over. Dead bodies of both sides were scattered around.

He wasted no time to check on the kids, relieved to say that they also just regained consciousness. “Ugh…my head…” Dinky mumbled as she got helped up my Fletcher, happy to see that William was alright too.

“That was something…” He mumbled before he spotted a lone German soldier.

They both pointed their rifles at each other.

At the same time, Fletcher and the kids blinked in confusion, as they could swear they saw two ghostly soldiers wearing WW1 uniforms right beside them, doing the same action. The was dressed like a British soldier, looking very familiar to William, the other one had a spiked helmet, making then realize it was a German soldier

After a short moment, William and the German realized the pointlessness in adding ourselves to the high body count of the battle and lowered their weapons, the ghostly soldiers did the same before they vanished.

“Konrad, never thought I’d see you again,” Hill said surprised and smiled.

“Me either.” They then checked for any survivors, but sadly, only Ford, Cutting and Duffy had survived, still knocked out.

“I can’t believe I did something familiar as my father did in the Great War,” Konrad mumbled.

“Uh-huh, if I remember correctly, my father told me he did the same in the war,” William replied and the ponies realized that the ghosts they saw that been the fathers of the two men, barely able to believe how things could repeat itself like that.

Knowing that there wasn’t much else they could do, they made a campfire, waiting until the others would wake up. Fortunately, it took only a few minutes before Christopher groaned. “Ugh...mother of all headaches…”

“Glad to see you’re still alive,” Konrad said in English with a smile and the American looked at him puzzled before smiling too.

“Konrad? Long time no see.” He replied and Fletcher and the kids realized he was the third man on the photo they had been shown in Africa. Just after that, Cutting and Duffy woke up too.

“That Artillery strike was right on point…” Duffy mumbled Dazed before seeing Konrad, blinking puzzled. “Okay…Never thought I’d meet you again.

“Same here. How’s it going, Ford, apart from the war”

“Apart from it, well, except now of course with the mountain and blow up the fuel depot. Your family okay?”

“As well as they can be. Though I wish we would have met under better circumstances.” The Sergeant told with regret in his voice.

“How did you two met?” Dinky asked into the round, although it was obvious for her.

Christopher chuckled. “During the Berlin Olympics in 1936 as I took part in it.”

The others smiled warmly upon hearing this and Blau turned to Escher. “How did you end up here?”

“Well, I woke up at the hill after knocked out from the crashing plane, separated from the others. I know this city is very important for supplies and as a bridgehead, but I never thought they would go as far as blowing up the mountain, or so determined to stop you through fire.” He slightly shivered.

“Yes, it was crazy, but finally over. Yet I doubt the city itself will be easier.” William feared.

“I fear so too. Heavy losses are to be expected, so I hope you all will survive.” Konrad replied as he stood up.

“Where are you going?” Katja asked him and he sighed.

“Finding the others. It was good to see you again. Good luck, and keep them safe.”

“Of course, my friend,” Ford assured him before the German walked away.

Shortly afterward, the sound of engine greeted their ears and they saw a convoy of Allied tanks pulling up, together with trucks.

“Dear god….You were very lucky.” An American officer walked into view, his expression slightly shocked, grim, grey-eyed, angular face and Ford saluted him.

“Captain Mackay. We managed to secure the area with heavy casualties.”

“At ease, private. Conti, give me a casualty report and report to HQ that the hill is secure.”

“Yes, sir.” Conti walked into view, a man with a sullen, furrowed, square-jawed face with prominent stubble, saluting, then walked out of view before Major Blackmore” walked up to the group.

“Get some rest, you've earned it. We move at Dawn. Thanks to you, the liberation of Elio-Gabalo is at hand. Bomber Command makes sure that by morning, all enemy positions will be rubble.” He paused with a smile.

“Today, Elio-Gabalo. Tomorrow, Rome.”

Author's Note

This was only the beginning. What next?

Chapter 12 Into the city

Chapter 12: Into the city

William was waking up in the middle of the night. He heard the explosions in the distance, seeing AA fire and spotlights where the city was, turning to his American friend who was sleeping soundly. “Must be hell in there. Ford? Ford?” He asked as his friend didn’t respond before he stirred.

“Eh?” The American mumbled sleepily.

“I said, it looks like hell in there.” The Captain pointed towards the city.

“Tommy boy, can’t a man catch a little rest without your blabbering?” Ford mumbled as he turned his back to Hill.

“Thing we’ll get ‘em this time?”

“Yeah, yeah, alright old man. We’ll get ‘em, get ‘em good!” Christopher mumbled before a strange sound, opening his eyes. “What’s that noise?” He wondered as Fletcher walked up to them and looked towards a tent.

It came from the children, whimpering and sobbing in their sleep, lightly trembling. “Must have a nightmare,” Ford said with sympathy in his voice as Fletcher walked up to Dinky.

“Shh, don’t be scared, I’m here for you.” He wrapped a hoof around her. Without warning, she screamed and kicked around, the siblings did the same, and the two soldiers ran in to calm them down.

“Get some Morphine!” William yelled as he grabbed Katja who tried to break free but Fletcher shook his head, lighting up his horn, its glow encasing the kids for a moment and they stopped struggling, breathing calmer and snoring peacefully.

“A spell that calms down.” He explained and William stroked the girl’s hair.

“I fear the experience with burning soldiers is hunting them,” Christopher said as he gently laid the colt back into the cot.

“They will be alright.” Fletcher was sure of it and they stayed with the children for the rest of the night.

As morning came, they breakfasted together and Fletcher noticed how Dinky lowered her head in guilt and shame, Katja and Blau did too. “We’re sorry for tonight…” She said in a sad tone before Fletcher gave them a hug.

“It’s okay, it happens to all of us.”

“Bright and early to you, Captain.” Blackmore greeted as he walked up to them.

“Morning, Major.” Hill saluted and they followed him to a tent where they all saw two officers, an American and a British one, looking at a map with Conti and MacKay.

“Seems the bombing made Jerry dig in harder… Elio-Gabalo won’t fall without a good fight.” The British officer, Colonel by his rank insignia, explained.

“Able Company and 3rd Battalion will advance into Elio-Gabalo and destroy all enemy positions. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely. We will pay dearly for Elio-Gabalo.” He finished and the American officer spoke up.

“We should do some recon first. Captain, Major, can you send out a squad?”

“Yes, Colonel, Sheridan.” MacKay acknowledged. “Private Ford, Captain Hill, get to it.”

They both saluted. “Yes, sir.

“Can we be of assistance?” Dinky asked, getting the attention of the four officers, seeing Sheridan’s face. His face was broad, clean-shaved, brown eyes and Black hair.

“Given how you helped before, I see no reason why you shouldn’t. Any objections, Campbell?”

Campbell was the British officer, appearing to be an elderly man, proven by wrinkles in the face and blue eyes, having also a small beard.

“Not at all, just keep them safe.”

“Of course, sir,” William replied and led them with Fletcher to a few jeeps, with Ford getting some helmets for the children.

“Better safe than sorry.” He said and just nodded as they got into the jeeps, a US radioman was with them.

The radioman took the lead of the small convoy, driving along the country road and the kids looked in awe as they saw smoke, or better said what was left of the city.

If there were any sights that were well to see, they would never know as only ruins were left, making them and Fetcher wonder how any defender could have survived this.

“Alright, we have arrived.” The radioman announced and stopped the jeep, just so that the city was visible in the distance and they all scanned for enemies with binoculars.

“Do you see anything, uncle?” The little filly asked Fletcher.

“No. Anybody else?” He looked at the soldiers, who all shook their heads.

“But I think I see something!” Katja pointed with her left hand to a small forest near the town and they all took a look too. They saw a small squad of soldiers with radios and binoculars, strangely only armed with handguns.

“Well done.” Ford praised her, then paused in confusion. Now…what’s this? Those are Italian soldiers."

“It can’t be! Italy surrendered!” Duffy exclaimed in disbelief as the Radioman reported their discovery in.

“…Yes, sir. Okay, orders from HQ are to tell the Italians that when we meet them!” He cocked his rifle, it looked like a shorter version of the Garand and the five soldiers moved it to engage, with the ponies stayed behind, watching.

As they only had handguns, the Italians never stood a chance or were able to react in time as the Allied soldiers opened fire and took them out, then moved back to the jeeps. “Okay, they’re done for, let’s get back to HQ.” The radioman said and the ponies nodded.

“Is your rifle a variant of the Garand?” Blau asked on the way back and the soldier shook his head.

“No, that’s the M1A1 Carbine, lightweight and compact. Ideal for soldiers that work behind the front or have to carry heavy equipment like me.”

“Sounds like a smart idea.” Blue liked it.

“…we are indeed facing Italian troops.” Campbell’s voice sounded from inside the command tent as they came back.

“I thought the Italians were finished!” Sheridan yelled in disbelief.

“Well the regular army, yes, but those belonged to the Social Republic founded and supplied by the Germans.”

“According to Wetherby's "brilliant plan, we're only facing Germans.” The US officer stated annoyed.

“Yes, but it seems they reinforced their position with their new allies.”

They saw Sheridan lowering his head as they walked in. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this…I’ll let Wetherby know that his wonderful plan has to be canceled.” He turned to a soldier behind a radio. “Kowalski, get me Wetherby on the horn.”

The soldier did as told, but the answer was not what Sheridan had hoped for. “Out of the question! The attack will proceed as planned. Is that clear?”

“Idiocy!” Campbell exclaimed.

“What is his plan?” Fletcher asked into the round.

“Well, his plan was to attack the Germans from the other side of the town, so we would surround them as we advance. But with the unexpected presence of Italian forces, this might be a lot more difficult. Plus the shelling has really created a mess for us. They’re holed up in the rubble like rats. It is to be expected that the area is riddled with Snipers, MGs, and concealed weapon teams creating a massive kill-zone.”

“It will be difficult to proceed, no doubt,” Fletcher concluded.

“As such, proceed with utmost caution,” Sheridan ordered his troops and they all saluted.

“Let’s move out!” Mackey yelled and they all got ready.

On the way towards Elio-Gabalo, a feeling of uneasy overcame everyone. They had no Intel about the enemy troops in the city and the creating of the rock slide yesterday showed that the enemy was cunning enough to sacrifice everything to defend it.

It would be a very bloody battle as high-command assumed, the kids slightly trembled as they came closer to the city limits. It consisted of a bridge leading into the city fully intact, but completely undefended.

“It’s too quiet….” The radioman was suspicious as they were about to cross the bridge.

Fletcher’s ears perked up as he heard a ratter sound. It sounded like a tank and they all stopped. Everyone looked confused as they saw what looked like a small on tractor-like wheel at first. It drove towards them at a quick speed. Then stopped in the middle of the bridge.

“What the?” Ford looked at it in surprise.

“What is that thing?” Duffy asked confused and the two soldiers stepped closer.

William, Fletcher, Cutting and the kids looking at each other, then their eyes went small as they realized what this could be.

“GET BACK!!!” The Captain yelled and grabbed Ford, pulling him back, Cutting did the same with Duffy, just seconds before the small “tractor” exploded.

It blew the bridge with it, it collapsed into pieces, only the pillars were still standing as the smoke cleared.

“Phew…I owe you one.” Ford said relieved as he got up.

“What in the world was that?” Duffy asked in disbelief and Fletcher thought for a moment

“Some sort of remote-controlled bomb I think.”

The radioman groaned. “Great. Just great.”

“It will delay us a bit, but not much. Yet, it will give them time to prepare their defenses.” William suspected and caked for a squad of Engineers and Sappers.

They created a pontoon bridge, Fletcher and the kids helped by carrying the materials to the soldiers. The floating bridge was just done in around 15 minutes.

“Okay, let’s go.” The Radioman ordered and the squads moved out, with Fletcher and the kids being at the far end in the rear. “Our first objective is a hotel that is at the end of this street. Keep your eyes peeled.”

With that, they moved in, carefully of their surroundings. The kids could not believe what the saw. Most buildings were ruins, barely standing, debris everywhere. None of them had ever seen anything like this before.

“Hey, why is it Able Company’s always up front getting shot at first?” One of the Riflemen asked.

“Naw, Johnson, It’s not Able, it’s just you up front getting shot up!” Another one replied with sarcasm in his voice.

“Shut up! You’re going to get us all killed.” The first one hissed back before a voice echoed through the streets.

“Soldiers of Great Britain and the USA: there is no need for this senseless bloodshed between our nations. The German and Italian people are not your enemy. If you surrender you will be treated well. You'll be given plenty of good hard food and warm clothing, and if wounded, proper medical attention. The German and Italian armies are your friends.”

“Hot food, drink, medicine and safety. Would that be before or after they send us to some camp, strap us down on a table and cut open our bodies to have a look inside?” William asked in doubt. “Ignore that propaganda, they just want to soften us up.” He added as they came to a turn.

Fletcher and the children took cover behind some sandbags as the soldiers checked their surroundings. “Area-“

The first Rifleman never finished as blood splattered from his forehead, falling on his back. “Ambush! Take cover!” William yelled as he saw muzzle flashes coming from a house at the intersection and they returned fire.

Dinky and her three friends pressed themselves against the sandbags as bullets flow past them before she heard a loud clang! And she saw how Blau’s head snapped violently back and forth, getting thrown to the ground, his helmet was shot off.

“You’re okay?” She asked concerned as she and her human friend helped him up.

“I’m fine!” He said as he picked his helmet up and put it on again.

Daring to peek over his cover, Fletcher saw a glint coming from the same hose and quickly ducked again as a shot was fired, hitting the ground next to him. Damn. This guy’s an expert marksman!

“Incoming!” Ford yelled as a squad of Waffen-SS and Italian troops coming from the other side, opening fire too.

This time, Dinky peeked over her cover. Both sides were shooting at each other, but none seemed to gain the upper hand, as the troops in the house were well protected, suppressing the Allies. Then she saw how a young American charged towards a German with his bayonet. The German quickly pushed the bayonet away and rammed a dagger into the American’s chest. The Rifleman cried in pain and looked at the dagger in shock as the SS-soldier pushed it deeper into the wound. Dinky looked in shock at it, swearing she saw the German slightly smile, as he did this, as if he enjoyed every second of it.

“Keep firing! We got this!” Another German yelled, apparently an officer as she saw he was wearing a cap rather than a helmet, armed with an Assault Rifle.

“They have suppressed us! Duffy, Rifle grenade!” William yelled and his mate did as told.

The moment the grenade hit the house, it collapsed into himself, the remaining hostiles looked at it and the officer shouted, “Smoke! Retreat! Fall back!”

Smoke was popped and the soldiers retreated, having lost their tactical advantage.

“I guess the house was badly damaged by the bombing. Anyway, move out!” The radioman ordered. “Why do I have to take kids with me…” He mumbled to himself after having given the order.

“What’s his problem? He seemed fine with us earlier.” Blau whispered to Christopher, who sighed.

“He’s my squad leader, called Jackson. He’s a good leader, but can be cold, distant, strict and callous, dedicated towards the mission.” He whispered back and now they saw him fully.

He was slim in build overall, green eyes and blond hair.

Blau looked at his helmet, seeing it had a dent in it. “I was lucky.” He commented on it and Ford nodded.

“You really think this helmet can stop a bullet? It can stop a pistol bullet but that’s it. Those helmets are made to protect us from splinter and fragments.”

“And it saved my life.” The colt smiled weakly as he put it back on again.

“Soldiers of Great Britain and the USA: We have nothing against the common British and American soldier. It is your leaders we are fighting who send you to battles you cannot win. The German and Italian armies are not your enemy. Surrender and you will be treated with compassion and respect.” Another broadcast echoed through the street.

The road split into a crossroad, debris everywhere. “Where now?” The private asked his squad leader.

“Hard to say, the debris make the streets hard to recognize.”

Blau Streifen went to cover behind some crates next to a piano, peeked out to take a look at the road going straight. He saw a large building with big letters on it and went back to cover. “I think it’s-“

He never finished as he suddenly felt pain in his chest and screamed, hitting a dissonant chord on the piano as he collapsed on his back.

“Sniper! Take cover!” The Radioman yelled and everyone did as told, with Katja and her two friends taking cover behind a car.

“Brother!” She called out, attempting to reach him but Fletcher held her back. “Let me go!”

“No, we can’t risk it with the sniper out there!” He yelled and she realized he was right, but still looking worried at the colt, as a bloody puddle formed under him, he was crying.

“H-help…”

Dinky looked at him frantically, she knew they had to act fast, or he would bleed out and die.

“Where did that come from?!” Duffy asked.

The stallion carefully peeked over the car, seeing a high building on the right end of the crossroad, a glint coming from it. “I see him. 411 meters. Taking the shot.” He stayed low as he snuck around and took aim behind some rubble.

“I stand among the Knights Eternal, the instruments of Luna's wrath on Equestria. To deliver it upon those that wronged her we do avow and unto their dreams of greed and vanity. We take icy daggers to their hearts and hoarfrost hammers to their skulls. We erase the filth from our Princess's domain and prepare for her glorious return.”

The sniper scanned the area, feeling guilty as he saw the target he had shot, was a grey colt. A child. He had heard of the three children. He couldn’t bring himself to kill the colt. From the looks of it, the wound looked not so bad, he had a good chance of survival.

Then he spotted a green glow in the ruble, noticing it was a unicorn, holding a bow. He can't be serious, there's no way he could hit me from that dist- It was the last he saw before it went through his scope and eye, killing him instantly.

“He’s down.” Fletcher announced and they ran to Blau, he was bleeding from the chest.

“Get me a medic!” Hill yelled.

“Mama...can you wake me? I'm...having a really...bad...dream...” The colt mumbled with a tired voice, his eyes half open.

“No! Hold on, brother! Please!” His sister panicked with a scared expression as Fletcher took a look, weakly smiling as he saw the creates had a hole and figured it out.

“He was lucky, the sniper shot through the cover, lowering the stopping power, so the bullet did not enter deep, thus it’s not as serious as it looks.” Fletcher calmed her down and lit his horn. “Can you hold him?”

The girl and Dinky did not hesitate, gently taking each of Blau’s hooves, whispering comforting words as the knight started to look for the bullet, his green aura passing through the colt, also casting a healing spell.

Blau Streifen’s eyes snapped open and he screamed as Fletcher’s aura entered his wound, but slowly his screams of pain reduced to cries through gritted teeth.

He let out one final scream as Fletcher removed the bullet from the wound with his magic and started to bandage him. “T-thank you…” Blau managed to smile.

“It’s nothing,” Fray said before he levitated the colt on his back.

“That's why we can't take children,” Jackson stated and William countered,

“Our orders are to keep them safe, regardless if you like it or not. Besides, it looks like Blau was right, the hotel’s straight ahead. Any volunteers for point?” He asked but no one of his fellow Brits replied. “I didn't think so.”

Then they moved out. “I can’t imagine how that Sniper could shoot a child...”Duffy mumbled in shock.

“I can’t either, only that he mistook him for a soldier due to the helmet, but once seeing what he did, couldn’t finish it.” Cutting suspected.

“Honored soldiers of the British and US army - you have nothing to fear from surrender: the German and Italian armies are well disciplined and will take you with dignity and compassion - if you wish to live do not resist. Throw down your weapons and approach the nearest patrol with your hands above your head. This is the proper signal that you wish to surrender. You will then receive hard food drink and medical attention. Once the war has ended you will be free to return to your families.” Another broadcast came as they walked down the stretch, seeing the hotel but the end of the street was blocked by an abandoned German truck.

“That truck’s blocking our path,” Duffy said as he saw it.

“We’ll push it. Christopher, pop the brake and steer. Rest of you put your backs into it,” The Sergeant ordered and everyone did as told.

“The tires still look good. It’s got some gas. Battery works. I think I could hotwire it if we need it.” Ford commented as he inspected the truck before they moved on. Luck seemed on their side as the hotel had a hole in the wall, allowing entrance and The Radioman gave out orders.

“Fletcher, you and the kids wait until we secured the lobby. Duffy, take right! Ford, left with me! Hill and Cutting, second floor!”

As they stormed in, William yelled, “They’re dug in by the main staircase, far side!”

“MGs on the stairs too! Push around to their flanks!”

Fletcher and the kids waited for a few minutes before the gunfire stopped and the US officer yelled, “Lobby is clear! We need to secure the basement.”

The group stayed behind the soldiers as they walked down the stairs, using flashlights as it was very dark at the end, opening a door, coming to what looked like a cellar.

Strangely, Dinky and her two friends could swear they heard the young voice, whispering something. “Sounds like a kid. Christopher, you still got that chocolate bar?” Hill asked him and he nodded, pulling it out and walked forward.

“Bet y’all hungry. Go on, take it.” Barely had he spoken, a little girl with a teddy bear ran forward and grabbed it.

“Sara!” A woman ran out of the shadow, standing protectively in front of the young girl, holding a rifle.

“It’s alright, it’s alright!” William yelled, holding out his hand, slowly walking closer. “We’re not gonna hurt you, we’re not gonna hurt you.” He gently grabbed the rifle, lowering it.

“No food, my daughter, please. Help us.” The woman spoke in broken English.

“No, no, enemy reinforcements will be here any minute. We don’t have time to be baby sittin’ civilians.” Jackson argued.

“There are only two of them,” William replied.

“Sir, you better come see this.” Duffy removed a curtain, revealing a group of civilians, hiding in here and the Sergeant’s eyes went wide.

“Ahh, just perfect.” He deadpanned but Hill got an idea.

“We passed that truck earlier. We can drive it back here and get them out.”

“With all due respect, our mission was to secure that hotel,” Jacksons stated before the woman started to speak to him in her language, sounding desperate. “I don’t speak Italian.”

“I speak Italian. Don’t worry It’ll be alright.” Christopher spoke to her in the Italian language, surprising everyone.

“You speak Italian?” His superior asked dumb folded. “When would you tell us?”

“I wasn’t.”

“Alright, we’re getting these people out of here. Ford, Duffy, you take the truck, rendezvous with us on the west side of the hotel. Get moving!” The Captain ordered.

“Makes me wonder what else you’re hiding from us, Mr. Ford,” Jackson mumbled with suspicion.

“Cut me some slack, Sarge.” Christopher just said as he walked up the stairs with Duffy.

“Can’t believe we gotta worry about a bunch of locals.” The Brit sounded disappointed.

“They got a kid in there. Old folks too.” Ford countered.

“Can’t save everybody.”

“They’re civilians. We send ‘em to the rear. That’s what we do.” The American pointed out.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Cover me.” The Rifleman climbed into the driver seat and hotwired it, and Duffy kept his eyes open with a few other soldiers, as there was the sound of engines.

“APCs!” He yelled as Halftracks entered from the back of the truck and they opened forte, keeping the Axis troops busy. The shootout lasted for a few minutes before the enemy troops retreated. “I think they might be regrouping on the north side!” He suspected as he climbed onto the driver door.

“Then we must inform the others and get those folks out fast.”

“That, or dig in,” Duffy suggested.

“Too risky. We don’t want them to get caught in the crossfire.” Ford replied with worry.

“As much as I hate to say it, Jackson’s right, Christopher. We don’t have time to worry about these people.”

“They’re civilians! They need our help!” Ford stated as he reached the lobby

“Drive through and park it on the street!” The Sergeant ordered and the private did as told.

“Sir, enemy reinforcements are on the way!” Ford reported as the civilians walked out, Fletcher and the siblings noticed how the mother looked around with a confused look, becoming worried.

“Sara? SARA!” She was about to run back in but got stopped by William.

“My daughter is still in there!”

“Well then that’s where she’s staying. We gotta get these people outta here. Come in.” Jackson replied cold.

“Sergeant, let me and Fletcher go.” Ford volunteered, the stallion nodded as he realized Dinky was gone too.

Before Jackson could argue, Hill said, “You got two minutes.”

“Will do, sir. I take the left of the basement, you the right.”

“Sure thing.” Fetcher gently took Blau of his back, he and Katja looked with worry after the two as they separated.

Fletcher opened the door, only to see an Italian soldier on the other side. “Bick!” He exclaimed in surprise, the Italian did the same in his language before the man threw him to the ground and they both struggled. The stallion used his magic to grab the Italian’s knife from his belt, stabbing him into the side. The soldier let out as pain of scream, getting shoved to the side by the unicorn.

The door at the other end was kicked open and a group of Italians moved in, so Fray made a dash for the door he had opened and locked it. The enemy fired through the door, the bullets missed him but in an attempt to cover himself, he lost his balance and feel down the stairs with a cry of pain.

“Not my finest moment.” He mumbled as he got up and quickly moved towards the cellar, meeting Ford as he came from the other side. “No luck either?” The man shook his head and both searched the cellar.

“Dinky! Sara!” Both called out, checking the chambers, but they all were empty until they got to the last one in the far back, seeing both girls hugging each other.

“Sorry, a retreating enemy almost caught us, so we had to hide.” Dinky explained and Fletcher just took her on his back, Ford gently took Sara on his arm.

“I heard him coming here!” A voice yelled and a hostile squad moving in, both soldiers crouched, the young girl whimpered, with Dinky giving her a brave look.

“It’s alright.” She whispered as the two soldiers sneaked from cover to cover, avoiding the enemy until they were outside and in the corridor.

“I heard something!” Another voice yelled and they quickly hid in another chamber as another squad came down the stairs but in the hectic, Sara accidentally dropped her teddy, it got caught in the doorway.

They all held their breath as the soldiers stopped in front of the door. “What are you doing, get up here at once!” One of the Italians yelled. “We are under attack!

“We are looking for someone who must been through here.” one of the others replied.

“Get up and support, quickly!” The first soldiers ordered and the others moved out but he spotted the Teddy. “What is that?”

He ducked to pick it up and Dinky slightly trembled.

“We are under attack!! A fellow soldier yelled up stirs and the Italian at the door stud up.

“Si!” And ran upstairs, with the four letting out a breath of relief, Ford picked up the Teddy, Sara hugged it tightly.

“You're doing great, we're almost there. Just need you to be brave a little longer.” He praised the girl as the moved upstairs, hearing gunfire.

True to the sounds, a battle had started, causing Christopher to wonder, “Where do they all comin’ from?” But it also allowed them to slip past unnoticed, using a destroyed wall on the far left, coming out right next to the truck and Ford gently put the girl in the back.

“Sara!” Her mother exclaimed and looked at the American with a happy expression as the enemy retreated. “Thank you!”

“Just doing what is right.” He replied as the two got on the truck and it was driven away by one of the civilians.

“Dinky, you’re okay!” The siblings exclaimed, glad to see her.

“Yes, I am fine.”

Shortly afterward, the main force arrived and Major Blackmore looked at Jackson and William with a stern expression. “Your orders were to take the hotel, not evacuate civilians.”

“Sir, with all due respect, they had been caught in the crossfire otherwise,” Hill explained, ready to accept whatever punishment he would receive.

“I know, and you did well.” Blackmore started to smile. With the hotel as forward base, we can advance deeper into the city.” He said as a Sherman tank and a Churchill tank also arrived, the former having a heavy machine gun on a pintle mount at the top of the turret.

“Sergeant, get an MG on the roof of this tin can. It's time to shred some krauts!” The tank commander said as he manned it and Mackay raised his arm.

“Move out!”

“Brave soldiers of the USA and Britain. The Third Reich and Social Republic have no grudge with the common British and American citizen. It is your own false leaders Roosevelt and Churchill who wish to fight this war for their own benefits. Do such men deserve your loyalty? Are they really worth dying for?” Another broadcast echoed through the street as they moved on, Fletcher and the kids stayed behind the tanks.

Duffy peeked over his cover and ducked as gunfire came out of one of the houses, missing him barely and the tanks opened fire, collapsing it completely. The rubble made it very difficult to use anti-tank weapons, so the allied troops pushed through the Axis infantry with little trouble until the tanks stopped at a barrier of barbed wire, causing Hill to ask, “What's the hold up?”

“The only way through is into that parking garage and out the other side! We're going to have to take it slow – not sure if it can handle the wei-“ The tank commander stopped abruptly as a bullet hit him right into the head and blood splattered.

“Sniper!” Ford yelled.

“Carter's hit! He's hit!” The tank gunner shouted and Ford spotted a glint in the distance.

“Top floor of the building in front of you! Hit it now!” The Sherman fired and destroyed the building.

“Ford, get on the 50 caliber!” Jackson ordered and the private obeyed, climbing into the hatch and the tanks moved through the barricade, with him firing at every infantryman he saw.

Spotting an enemy with a Panzerfaust, he barely ducked into the tank as it exploded right in front of him, muffling his hearing for a moment but the tank was undamaged. “Everyone OK?! Talk to me, 2-2!” The Churchill commander asked worried on the radio.

“We're good!” The radioman of the Sherman replied.

“Alright, let's roll!”

They then moved on, an enemy Semovente 75/18 rolled up at the end of the street but the Sherman fired first and hit the engine, destroying it as it went up in flames before they reached the parking house, seeing Axis troops retreating into it. “They're falling back to the garage.” The Sherman radioman pointed out.

“Alright, we check the lower decks, it would not be able to hold our weight. After you, 2-2.”

The tanks moved in first, followed by the infantry and their friends at the back, keeping their eyes peeled before engaging more infantry. Fletcher and the kids waited patiently in cover, moving on when it was safe.

However, as the Sherman moved on the ramp, it begins to crack, and Ford shouted, “Back it up! Back up!”

“Oh crap!” The driver yelled as the tank fell through three floors of the garage. When he landed, cars from above floors fell down around the tank. Ford looked up and saw a car tip over. He quickly dropped inside the tank just as the car hit the top of it and got stunned for a moment.

“2-2, you alright?! 2-2, come in!”

“You ok? You alright, man?” The gunner asked and Christopher nodded, still a bit dazed and they all climbed out.

“Everything alright?” Fletcher asked concerned as he and the kids dropped carefully down, together with the other soldiers.

“Yeah. We're good.” The gunner replied.

“Can you shoot?” Cutting asked him and he held up his M3.

“Yeah, I can hold my own.”

“Alright, basics mates. Find cover, return fire. Let us know if you need any help.”

They had barely moved before Duffy yelled, “Contact!”

As the kids pressed themselves against the tank, they saw the Rifleman look at them with a determined expression. “Stay by me, and I'll keep you alive!”

Dinky, Katja and Blau nodded, weakly smiling to see he cared for them as the Allied soldiers slowly fought the way out of the parking house, only to see a Panzer Iv moving up the street.

“Tank!” Jackson yelled and reached for his radio. “2-1, where are you?!”

In response, the British tank crashed out from a brick building on the right. The Churchill and the Panzer IV turned to each other, but the Brits got the shot first and destroyed the German tank. “Threat neutralized. We're moving up.”

“Move up! Push forward!” Jackson ordered as the enemy retreated down the street, with the Allies close in pursuit.

“This is too-“

Fletcher couldn’t finish as an explosion on a very tall building to the left knocked him and the kids down, Dinky and the sibling let out a cry of pain as they landed hard on their backs. The explosion blew off the columns of that building and a car was thrown towards the kids, missing them by a few meters. The building collapsed across the entire street and crushed the tanks, generating a large cloud of dusk. A piece of debris hit near Dinky and she temporarily blacked out.

The filly woke up with ringing ears and looked at her hooves which have sustained major injuries, bloody cuts. Everything she heard was muffled and echoing. Katja and Blau shared her reaction, having also suffered cuts.

They saw some of the allied soldiers stumbling around before either passing out or sitting down on the ground stunned. Fletcher stumbled around, dazed before he shook himself and gasped.

As their hearing recovered, they heard him moving to her. “Move! Move! Head for the building!” He levitated them towards the collapsed building as more debris were fell down, missing them by meters.

Just as he had levitated them in, he looked up and dove out of the way, a large debris landed in front of the entrance. “Are you okay?” He asked through the blockade, it was lightly dimly lit.

“W-we’re fine.” Dinky managed to say in shock.

“Good. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to you.” He said and his hoof steps got quieter as he walked away.”

Dinky still breathed heavily, trying to process what had just happened. “We need to find a way out of here.”

“R-right….” Blau stuttered. “Still…blowing up an entire building…that’s insane!” He exclaimed as they moved across a particularly destroyed floor with plenty of gaps.

Suddenly a very sharp, foul entered their noses. “Ugh…What’s that stench?” The colt wondered and the eyes of his sister went wide.

“Gas!” Then an explosion threw them over, slightly dazed. “Must been a leak! We must get out we are burned alive!”

They all stayed low to avoid the smoke and flames, crawling along a corridor. A book case fell and almost crushed the children had it not landed on a table.

“I don’t wanna die! There must be a way out of here!” The colt exclaimed in panic as the fire was spreading and no exit in sight.

“Keep moving! Don’t stop!” his sister yelled with fear, looking around.

“We will make it! We will make it!” Dinky tried to stay calm, feeling the heat of the fore but it seemed hopeless.

Would they die a painful death and never see their families again?

It can’t end that way! It can’t! The filly thought in panic as they came to the end of the corridor.

There was a giant hole in a wall at the end. “Jump!... GO!” Dinky yelled before another explosion blasted them out and they were dazed on impact, their visions blurry.

“Hey! Over there!” A voice called out before everything went black.

Author's Note

Yes, Ruse, and a movie reference you might know

Chapter 13 Crucible

Chapter 13: Crucible

“Ugh…We’re alive?” Dinky groaned as she got up, finding herself with the siblings in what looked like an Aid Station.

“I…think so.” Blau held his head.

“Ah, you’re awake.” A familiar voice said and they saw Konrad walking in. “We heard the explosion and found you as we took a look. Fortunately, you only suffered slight burns.” He said with relief and they noticed that they had bandages around their limbs.

“Thank you. Again.” Katja said with embarrassment in her voice, but he smiled warmly.

“Keeping you safe is my duty.” He replied and led them outside, it looked like small Forward base, seeing also the rest of his squad mates.

“Glad to see you’re okay.” Karl smiled at them.

“We are also happy to see you’re fine. “How did you end up here?” Dinky asked him and he sighed.

“We found ourselves here after the plane crash. Here, the Waffen-SS is fighting at the front, we are the rear guard, the only Wehrmacht unit too. Blowing up the building was a cruel but effective tactic, I admit.”

This reminded the children of Fletcher and the others. “I-I hope Fletcher and the others have survived…” Dinky whimpered before Escher put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sure they do, they have much experience after all. And we do anything to keep you safe and reunite you with them.” He had an honest expression.

“I know and we appreciate your hard work.” She replied with a weak smile.

A sigh, escaping Matteo’s mouth and they saw him looking at the destruction with a sad expression. “What’s wrong?” Katja asked him.

“I used to live here. Grew up here, met my wife. We moved to Bitanti as it was quiet, not as busy as here. It will probably take years to rebuild everything.” He saw a bar in the distance. “This place once echoed with conversations of friends and lovers. No longer.”

The three friends looked at each other, none of them could imagine the pain he just went through, seeing his old home destroyed.

“Speaking of, what should we do? The Falkner squad will definitely take them.” Tim asked with worry in his voice.

“Falkner Squad?” Dinky asked, remembering the conversation she and her friends had overheard at the camp.

“Yes, a squad of special Waffen-SS, in command of the defense of the city. I haven’t met them personally, but they are battle-hardened veterans of the Eastern Front, having made themselves a bloody reputation there.” Karl told her with unease in his voice. “But as they led personally their troops, it’s unlikely we will meet them.”

That made the kids realize, the German squad they had seen when the allies entered the city, had been the Falkner squad. “So, had they been ordered to blow up the Mountain and the building?” Blau asked with fear.

“Yes, it was the idea of the Commander of the squad. He has one of the highest success rates on the frontier. Minimal losses to his team and a devastating kill-count.”

“I hope Fletcher won’t run into them.” Katja shivered at the thought.

Fletcher groaned as he woke up, finding himself in a Medic Station, having bandages around his limbs. What happened? He wondered before starting to remember. The children!

He shot up, looking around, but couldn’t see them in the station. “No…It can’t be…”

William walked in with Ford, “Ah, you’re woken up. A debris hit you right on the head.” The Brit said before seeing the panic in Fray’s eyes.

“Where are the children? Are they okay?”

William sighed. “No. We lost sight of them as we had to retreat, you were out for the rest of the day. But calm down, we will find them.”

Fletcher took a deep breath, slightly trembling. “I just hope they didn’t…”

“I’m sure it didn’t come to that.” Ford put a hand on his shoulder. “But we got a problem and you might be able to help. Follow us.”

Fletcher did without a word, getting led to the command tent, seeing the two Colonels looking at a map and a very long list. “My god, it’s a massacre! The loses we’re taking…” Campbell mumbled in shock and Sheridan slammed his hands on the map.

“That idiot! I told him to cancel the landing.”

“Well, Wetherby has asked us to reinforce him. What should we do?”

“If he was alone I’d say let him die. But he has a lot of good men that deserve better than him. What can I do?” The US officer wondered.

“If I may suggest, as he had the task to help you encircle the enemy, this task is now up to you. We could take the pressure off him that way.”

“Good point. But thing is, his incompetence was what made the enemy able to blow the building up. Had he canceled the attack, he could have come from another flank, preventing the explosion.” Campbell explained and Fletcher looked down, quietly hissing.

“When I get my hooves on him…”

Pardon, sir?"

"Nothing.” Fletcher quickly replied. “Anyway, how can I help?”

Sheridan took the word. “There is an AA position not far from here that makes our planes trouble, If you can help to take it out, we could send it a recon plane to help find the kids.”

“Sure thing. Lead the way, Captain.

“Of course, there’s a church nearby, it will make an ideal sniping position.”

But as they moved out, they heard another broadcast.

“People of the USA and Britain. Yesterday afternoon brave German soldiers from the rescued 3 children trapped in a burning building in the subtle part of the city. The fires were caused by heckels bombardments from allied aircraft under direct orders from Roosevelt and Churchill with no regard for the safety of the citizens. Thanks to the efforts of our compassionate German soldiers, these adorable children can look forward to a bright safe future with Germany.”

“Wait…what?” Ford, asked in surprise.

“Could…Could it be?” Hill wondered and Fletcher let out a growl.

“Okay, using Dinky and her friends for Propaganda is crossing the line…”

“Hey, see it from the bright side, they are still alive, we just need to find them.” Ford pointed out and Fray sighed.

“I know…How shall we proceed when we reach the church?”

“We give cover for the squad taking out the AA guns. Simple as that.”

“Okay.”

The church was just on the right end of the crossroad, they could hear and see the AA fire in the distance as they entered and got into position at the top, with Fletcher readying his rifle.

“There they are! Suppressive fire!” William ordered as they saw a squad of Combat Engineers and Sappers moving up.

The stallion exhaled, firing with the others on infantry to clear the way. As the Allied soldiers moved on, armed Kübelwagen and Halftracks arrived, but the unicorn quickly took the gunners out.

Thanks to this, the Allied soldiers managed to reach one of the AA guns, planting demolition charges and blow it up once they were at a safe distance.

“Sir, the other flak cannon us targeting us!” Duffy warned and Hill yelled,

“Everyone out, now!”

The hit from it, threw Fletcher over, dazing him for a moment. “Look out! GET OUTA THE WAY!” Hill shouted as Fletcher looked up, his eyes went wide as one of the bells fell towards him and he quickly crawled back to avoid it and made a dash for the ladder.

But luck seemed not to be on their side as the bell broke through the scaffolding, still attached to the rope and swung towards the ladder, breaking it and sending Fletcher down on his back, he cried in pain.

He barely had time to react as a beam landed on his hindleg, crying out in pain as Hill warned. “THEY’RE COMING DOWN!” The bell swung heavily and the lifted the beam off him and crawled backward. Just a moment later, the bell hit the ground next to him, getting stuck on the ground.

However, the building still crumbled and the unicorn quickly ran down the stairs. “Watch out!” Ford shouted as the bell came down, shoving the pony through the door, diving out after him with the others.

They looked up to see the top of the church collapsing, creating a large cloud of dust and debris, coughing from it.

“I hope that was worth it…” Fletcher said as he got slowly up.

“Yeah. It will be up to the others to take out the other flak gun. Also, the collapsed church blocks our way back, we’re behind enemy lines now. But maybe, we can find the children that way.” William replied.

“Okay, stay low, we can’t afford a large firefight or let the enemy know we’re here,” Ford said and Fletcher took the lead, walking down the only road that was not blocked, sneaking past Axis patrols.

“The German and Italian armies medical corps is ready to assist any and all honorable allied comrades who request care and treatment. Simply put down your weapons and surrender to the nearest patrol. It is truly that simple.” Another broadcast sounded, being very near them and the saw a loudspeaker mounted on the wall on a house in the corner. Fletcher walked up to it and cut the cable powering it with his knife.

“Good thinking, our boys will be in better spirits without these propaganda broadcasts,” Duffy commented and Fray just shrugged.

“I’m just doing it because it’s annoying.”

The way then led to a being market place. “Hey! Look!” Cutting pointed to a lone US soldier in the distance. “Poor guy must have been separated from us after the building came down.” He suspected before a loud shot echoed in their ears and the soldier fell dead to the ground, blood flowing from his head. “Sniper!”

The group went prone behind a piece of debris. “We have to take him out, but from where did that come from?” Duffy wondered and Fletcher gave him an assuring smile.

“I take care of that. Patience, a classic sniper duel.”

The German sniper had taken position in a house with a fellow soldier, being aware the Green Knight was here. “Once I got him in my sight, he’s doomed.” The sniper was confident.

“Oh, for sure, Merlson. Show him you deserve the nickname Vulture.” His comrade prepared a helmet, pulling it up with a string at the window. “He will think you get up to confirm your kill, aims for the helmet, fires, reveals his position…and is shoot in turn.” He added as he lifted the helmet up and waited for a few minutes.

“Except…the Green Knight doesn’t fire…” He dropped the helmet and sighed. “Because the Green Knight isn’t there.”

“Then we should meet up with the others. You first.” The sniper said as they had to jump over a gap in the floor, with the wall destroyed, exposing them.

“Sure.” The soldier made an approach run and jumped but what happened next took the Sniper completely by surprise.

His comrade got shot in midair pinned at the wall by an arrow through the head. “Whoa!” He exclaimed and crouched to avoid sharing the same fate, breathing heavily. Yet he knew he had to take out the enemy to get out of here, so he peeked over his cover.

He couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw the Green Knight emerging out of a piece of debris, apparently admiring his work.

Seeing this as his chance, the sniper took aim and fired. Blood splattered from the stallion’s head and he fell dead to the ground. “All this distractions and I could still hit a Reichsmark at a thousand meters.” He cheered at his kill and climbed down to inspect the body.

Still, he moved carefully from cover to cover, better safe than sorry.

So much for the Green Knight! The others will be very pleased to hear this!

Then he saw something out of his perifial vision and stopped, not able to believe what he saw. No…

The sound of a cloak flattering in the wind greeted his eyes and he turned his eyes into the direction it came from. To his right side stood the Green Knight, bow ready, a neutral expression.

Merlson sighed. Accepting his fate, he removed his hat and turned to face the stallion.

“Get out of here if you want to live.” The stallion said without emotion and the German stared, not able to believe what he heard.

There was silence for a few minutes before the German walked away.

“You should have killed him,” Ford commented at the sight.

“I only kill if I have to,” Fletcher said as he looked after the man. Although being a member of the Waffen-SS due to the Oak A cameo, behind the dark grey hood and cap, the man with his blue eyes and blond hair somehow reminded Fletcher of himself. “Besides, you don’t spread fear among the dead.”

“If you say so. Let’s get moving.”

“How can we get them t safety without deserting our post?” Tim wondered, “I don’t want them to be in more danger than they are now, but I don’t wanna die as traitor either.”

“We’ll think of something, just give us time,” Karl assured him. “As long as the US troops on the other side of the town are held back, there will be a way out.”

“Karl’s right.” Dinky smiled at the young man. “Hope dies last.” The siblings nodded at her confidence with smiles of her own as suddenly, the radio buzzed.

“All rear guard units, this is Commander Von Treffler of Falkner Squad. We got reports about Allied units separated from the main force behind our lines. Sweep our lines and eliminate them.”

“This is Lieutenant Vogel, order acknowledged,” Karl spoke into the radio.

“Sir?” Tim asked confused.

“Orders are orders but we can use this as cover to get the kids out.” The officer replied and they all understood. “Matteo, take point.”

“Yes, sir!” He saluted and they moved out, with the kids at the back, fully trusting them.

The Italian soldier led them around a corner as gunfire greeted their ears and they saw a squad of Italian soldier fighting a squad of American infantry. They wore green colored uniforms, firing Thompson SMGs. The Italians put up a good fight the Allied soldiers pushed on aggressive, wiping them out.

It took them only a second before they spotted the German squad. “Give them hell, rangers!”

Konrad, his friends and the kids went to cover behind sandbags and the soldiers returned fire, suppressing the Rangers, as suddenly, Dinky heard one Ranger yell. “To Jerry, with love.”

A pineapple made out of metal landed next to her and her two friends and their eye went wide as they realized what it was. “Grenade!” They yelled and Tim picked it up, throwing it back at the Rangers.

The explosion, took out most of the squad, only two had survived it, staggering a bit before they aimed their weapons again, but Konrad and Karl were faster, pulling the triggers of their weapons. Blood splattered from the heads of the Rangers as they fell dead on the ground. “Enemy squad neutralized, let’s move!” Karl ordered as he reloaded his MP40.

Dinky, Katja and Blau looked at the dead Americans with grief, but they knew their friends were only defending themselves and they knew the soldiers had no other choice, this was war.

Matteo led them all towards the end of the street, then took a right turn, only to run into another firefight. This time, it was a squad of Germans against British soldiers, wearing red Berets, armed with Sten guns.

Like the Italians, they also didn’t last long before being wiped out and the Allied soldiers focused their attention on the others. “Commandos!” Karl exclaimed as he and his comrades turned fire, with the kids pressing themselves against cover as the bullets flew past them.

Although outnumbered against the six men squad, Tim managed to kill one hostile with a hit to the chest, Hand and Matteo got another two with headshots before smoke was popped. “They’re retreating!” Karl was relieved. “Good. Sometimes, it’s honorable to avoid the fight. Pretty sure Fletcher and his knights can relate to that.”

“I’ll ask him when we see him again. Those guys were the ones who took out the AA gun when the Allies attacked Sicily.” Konrad replied and the kids looked at each other, realizing these had been the men they had seen in the dark.

As they moved on, Blau looked in disbelief at the rubble. “All this destruction…” They then heard yells, seeing in the distance how a squad of Rifleman was apparently retreating in a panic from the right of a crossroad to the left, chased by a Panzer IV.

Some buildings were on fire, others barely intact, or completely destroyed, it was truly unbelievable.

Would the city ever be rebuilt? When would it all end? Or would be there anything left? None of the kids could think of an answer as they passed through a ruined alley.

“Attention brave and noble defenders. All civilians have been evacuated from the city. The duce protects and cherishes all of his citizens. You all are important, all valued. Lions amongst men and that your cause is just and good.” A propaganda broadcast echoed through the street, but they all looked in disbelief and shock at wrecked tanks, probably from the bombers or the separated soldiers, seeing also a few dead civilians in the rubble.

The kids could clearly see the disillusionment in the soldiers, with Tim, slightly shaking. ”Matteo, take the children out of here!”

“What?” He turned around in surprise and they saw the young man had a very scared expression.

“It's suicide and their doom! They're going to die! Don't you see? There's nothing but death in this! There're too many of them!” he exclaimed in fear, having a breakdown.

“Quiet!” Vogel exclaimed. “Take a deep breath, private, we’ll be all safe soon.

“Tim, I promised Willi to keep you safe, promised Fletcher to keep the children safe. Together, we will make it. Trust us.” Konrad said to him in a calming voice and he nodded slowly.

As they took a left turn, the came to a street blocked by rubble and barbed wire, but there was an entrance to a subway station. “I always loved to ride the trains,” Matteo mumbled at the memories before they heard a loud whistle and he looked up in fear. “Artillery! Quickly, into the metro! This way!”

They all barely made it in before the ceiling collapsed from the barrage. “We won’t get out that way,” Konrad commented at the sight.

The lights were on but went off from the loud rumbling. “Let’s wait a few seconds to give our eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. Matteo suggested and after a few moments, their vision improved.

Overall, the metro looked mostly intact but abandoned, a few train cars standing idle and forgotten, but parts of the metro were collapsing. “The place is collapsing!” David exclaimed with worry.

“We are going to be crushed... Or buried alive!” Hans added as he realized.

Dinky and the siblings looked at each other with unease, nor of them wanted to die, or suffering this kind of a painful death.

Yet after a few minutes, Matteo led them to what looked like another entrance, blocked by a gate and he tried to open it. “Dammit, it’s stuck!”

“Enemy infantry!” Karl explained as the saw squads of Rifleman coming from the other side.

“Hold them back!” Conti yelled and his comrades did as told, Dinky, Katja and Blau pressed themselves against some pillars for cover as bullets flew past them, seeing how he beats on the door in an attempt to open it before a loud rumbling noise sounded.

“What is that noise?!” Dinky wondered, having a bad feeling about this. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good.

“Return fire! Keep them off me!” Matteo yelled as the fight went on and suddenly they heard squeaking sounds.

“Rats!!!” Katja exclaimed in surprise and a bit in disgust as a few of them ran past her, away from the allied troops. Whatever caused them to run must been very scary, the kids were sure of that.

“Almost got it!"

“Hurry, Matteo!” Blau yelled at him before eyes went wide as the metro rumbled again.

Behind the allied troops came a huge wave of water, straight towards them. It was large enough to take everything in its path with it, at an alarming speed. None of them had ever seen anything like this.

Dinky watched in shock as the water sweep away everything in its path. Barrels, sandbags, barbed wire, debris. It looked like a gigantic monster, swallowing everything as the Allied soldiers turned around in surprise before it hit them.

Tim screamed, “LOOK OUT!!!”

The children stared at it in fear, not thinking anyone could survive this.

“Got it!!” Matteo’s voice ringed in their ears.

“My Gosh!!!” The little unicorn screamed in fear as the wave hit her and everyone else and her vision went black.

Author's Note

I find the last Tiger campaign of Battlefield 5 is well made. And do I need to tell where I based the ending on?

Chapter 14: Storm Front

“You will be okay... Do you hear me?” A voice echoed in Dinky’s ears as she came to, panting heavily. “You will be okay. Relax for a few minutes. Breathe deeply.” Her vision slowly returned ad she saw Fletcher looking at her with a relieved expression.

Katja and Blau were right next to her, also panting, checked by Ford and Hill. “We found you next to the Metro entrance. I was really worried about you.” The Captain told them and they realized Konrad and the others were gone.

“Konrad and his squad mates found us,” Dinky explained to them.

“They must have it made out alive too, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” Ford suspected before Jackson cleared his throat.

“I hate the break the reunion but we need to move.” They all nodded in response.

“We were very lucky. I wonder what caused this big wave…” Katja mumbled still a bit shocked.

“I can only imagine some pipes or a nearby dam that broke caused the flooding,” Fletcher replied.

“Soldiers of Britain and America. Are you hungry? Are you cold? Are you tired? Hot food, warm- dry clothing, proper medical treatment, and a safe place to sleep await you at the nearest field hospital. Our well-disciplined troops are under the strictest orders to accept all allied soldiers who honorably surrender. Death is a way which there can be no salvation. Do not permit you or your families to perish because of your warmongering governments and bloodthirsty Roosevelt and Churchill. There is no shame in surrender!” Another broadcast echoed through the streets.

“How did you find us?” Blau asked Fletcher and he smiled weakly.

“Well, we supported an advance into enemy territory and got separated from the main force. But don’t worry, we’ll find a way back.”

Blau, his sister and Dinky nodded, relieved that the stallion was alright.

The group avoided Axis patrols as good as they could until they came to what looked like a Theatre in the distance, strangely guarded by US and British soldiers. “What are they doing here?” Dinky asked confused.

“The Theatre is the second strategic position we were ordered to take, looks like the others were successful while we were separated. At least, everything goes to plan.” The Sergeant explained to her, sounding slightly tensed.

“Hey, it’s some of our guys!” One of the guarding soldiers called out surprised. “I thought you were all goners when the Church came down.”

“We were all lucky,” William replied.

“Then get some rest, you earned it.”

The guard hadn’t to say it twice, the group went to one of the tents, eating and drinking. Dinky let out a sigh, glad they had survived so far.

After their short break, they helped to carry supplies around, knowing it could help to win this bloody battle. “I hope it’s over soon, we lost too many already.” Dufy chatted with a fellow soldier.

“You and me both. But despite having taken the Theatre, things aren’t very well for us. We are only few the rest is still coming, and the enemy knows that. Surrounded, outnumbered, our only hope If they attack is, that we can hold the line until the rest of Able and 3rd Battalion manages to get here."

Hearing this filled the children with unease, looking at each other. They just barely avoided getting drowned, how god where their chances to survive this if the Germans and Italians would attack?

“The entire armies of Germany and Italy stand in front of you!” Another propaganda broadcast sounded, surprising everyone. “Turn around while you still can! Nobody can defeat us, you don't stand a chance!”

“One last show of power. They know at least that the world won't be much use to them if there's no-one left upon it." Fletcher commented unimpressed,

“But their way...It leaves only option available. Men will die at their posts than serve the men who treat their neighbors like beasts for slaughter. Hitler's losing it, the whole world knows. He'll have no place in his new world for men like Rommel, for men of honor, for the past. He'll fill his circle with fools and madmen...and fill the streets with blood and bones. Fighting's the only thing for it...And winning, if we can.”

“If you don't surrender, we will destroy every single one of you! Your leaders are fools! Do you really want to die for them? Surrender while you still can! Our way is the better way, the way into a better life!” The broadcast then ended.

Hill just shook his head at this, seeing some of the younger recruits shaking.

Better life? Marching to the tune of an insane, quasi-mystic cretin and his hangers-on! Sent to human farms if you have a drop of non-Aryan blood, whatever that means! Stomping over anyone unlucky enough to look wrong in the eyes of that hatred-spouting, smudge-lipped tyrant! No. No, I refuse to live under their way, to live as they do. Our leaders might well be fools for all we know, I don't give a damn! I'm no fool as to believe their lies! I plan on fighting and giving those fascist scum a taste of British lead and steel, right up their jacksies! Who's with me?!” He raised his hand and slowly, every Allied soldier followed his example.

However, it took its effect on the kids as they recalled the broadcast.

'If you don't surrender, we will destroy every single one of you!'

Dinky stared at the floor.

She felt her stomach tighten, her hooves shaking on the ground, leaving her unable to stand, sitting stock-still in place without a word.

They were going to kill them.

All of them.

Surrounded, outnumbered, with no way out or safe outcome in sight.

It took a lot to come to terms with what appeared most certain.

She was going to die.

She'd never see her family or friends again.

She'd never see Ponyville again.

She'd never sleep in her own bed or play with her mother or the Crusaders or study under Miss Cheerilee or anything that used to be a daily occurrence for her, now seeming so very far away.

She was going to die in a wholly different world and nopony she knew would even find her body.

Gripped by terror and heartbreak, the little unicorn filly curled up in a secluded corner of the Allied sector and shut her eyes tight as her body shook with fearful sobs. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the siblings doing the same.

None of the three could tell how much time had passed before they heard a voice

“Look, honestly, are you kids okay?” It was Fletcher, appearing to have noticed they went out of his sight, sounding worried.

Dinky forced a smile while slightly crying. “Yeah...yeah, we're okay...we're all okay...”

“Are you sure?”

Dinky started to tremble, lowering her head. “No...No, we're not...I don't wanna' die...I don't wanna die...I wanna' go home...I miss mummy and daddy so much...” While she cried it out, she curled up sobbing while Katja and Blau Streifen were hugging each other tightly, quietly weeping.

Seeing their distress, Fletcher hugged them. “Shh, shh. I know you are scared and that it’s not looking good. But I promise, you will return home safe and sound. They may have superior numbers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hold them off. I, Wolf and Midnight survived many battles where we were outnumbered. We just have to hold out until help arrives.

“He’s right, children,” Hill said as he joined them. “At Agincourt, we were outnumbered ten to one and still we won. And we will defend you with our lives.” He gave them a weak smile.

“O-okay…” Dinky managed to smile weakly.

“T-thanks…” The siblings said in unison.

“Just doing our duty. Now, he ready, the attack can start any moment.” William replied and they went into cover behind sandbags.

Barely had they gone into position, several whistles greeted their ears and Duffy yelled, “Artillery!”

The kids covered their ears as the shells hit the ground, creating deafening explosions around them, Fletcher even cast a shield spell to protect them from shrapnel.

Despite all that noise, Dinky and her friends heard faintly weeping, seeing it came from Fletcher, slightly trembling. None of them hesitated to hug him to calm him down, suspecting all those explosions reminded him of Mondelin or something familiar.

Slowly, he calmed down, forming a smile before it all stopped and Ford shouted. “They’re coming! Hold the line!”

Within seconds, all allied troops opened fire at the incoming enemy infantry, mowing them down. But it seemed like the Axis had limitless troops, as wave after wave came aggressively, with Fletcher and the kids pressed themselves against their cover.

They all could tell, it would be a battle for everything or nothing.

“I need ammo, get another belt!” One of the HMG gunners near the kids yelled. Seeing some ammo next to them, the kids wasted to time to grab it and made a dash for the HMG, Fletcher kept his eyes open before he spotted what looked like a flare in the sky coming towards them.

“Get down!” He yelled before an explosion threw him over.

As he got up, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Everything was burning. The buildings, the streets, he was trapped in a firestorm, not seeing anybody. Fletcher could on only stared in shock and horror at the scene, feeling the heat of the flames. It was as if the gates of fiery Muspell had opened up and swallowed the city whole.

“Welcome to Tartarus, Fletcher.” Solomon’s voice echoed in his ears. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“What the?” He wondered before he heard young screams and he gasped.

Dinky, Katja and Blau were on fire, screaming in pain, running towards them. He had no time to react as they reached him and he screamed as he caught fire too, trying to pat it out, rolling around.

“Fletcher!” William’s voice sounded in his ears and he found himself back in reality behind his cover. Some areas were lightly burning and he heard a young scream.

Once he got up, he was shocked.

The children were taking cover behind some debris, trapped between the fire of the two sides, bullets missing them by inches.

Dinky was bleeding from a wound close-to-the-chest. Katja was next to her with her brother, cowering on the ground in fear, her hands behind her head, Blau was looking around with a panicked expression, terror in his eyes. It was a basic human instinct, and even the well-trained soldiers could have trouble fighting the urge to keep themselves from getting killed but they weren’t soldiers but children, fearing that they would get killed. The Waffen-SS troops didn’t care that children were in their line of fire, they just kept firing.

No!

“Covering fire!” Hill yelled as he went in with Ford and Fletcher, dodging gunfire and explosions as they dashed to the kids, Fletcher quickly stopped the bleeding, as he noticed that gunfire came from a building to their right, also suppressing the SS troops.

Hill grabbed Katja, Ford picked gently Blau up and they made a dash for the building, then Fletcher checked on Dinky.

“Lucky you, the bullet did not enter deep.” He said with a weak smile.

“The pain…make it stop!” Dinky cried, tears leaving her eyes.

“Still. Lie still. And don’t cry. The pain will be over soon.” Konrad’s voice sounded in a calming voice in their ears as he gently held her hoof, the siblings did the same with her other hoof as Fletcher used his magic to take care of the bullet.

Dinky struggled and screamed in pain, but slowly her screams of pain reduced to cries through gritted teeth before letting out a final scream as Fletcher removed the bullet with his magic, casting his healing spell and Konrad bandaged her wound. “T-thanks…” You managed to say weakly.

“Just doing what is right, we just couldn’t leave you in the crossfire,” Escher replied with a relieved expression before the sound of engines greeted their ears and a voice sounded,

“The Germans are retreating!”

“That’s our signal to leave, Godspeed.” The Sergeant said and left with his squad.

Fletcher them levitated the filly on his back and they walked out, seeing that some tanks of Able Company and 3rd Battalion had arrived, deciding this battle in their favor.

Medics were taking care of the wounded and William gasped as he saw a familiar face under them. “Cutting!” He was lying on a stretcher, his chest bandaged, groaning in pain as he saw his friend.

“Captain…I’m sorry.”

The officer gently took his hand. “You’ll be home soon.”

Barely had he said this, Cutting’s body became limp and he lowered his head. “Bugger it…” The others saw him sniffing, standing up. “We went through so much together, from France to Africa…One of the best lads I’ve ever known.

Dinky also sniffed, “That’s not fair…He was such a good man…” The siblings lowered their heads too in sadness, Fletcher did too, sighing.

“Sadly, that’s how it is in the war, Dinky. I lost many good friends too in the wars I took part, I know it only too well.”

“At least, he’s in a better place now. I will never forget you, Cutting.” William did the cross out of respect.

“Had he any family?” Blau asked.

“No, he wasn’t married, but has a brother. It won’t be easy telling him.” Hill said with sadness in his voice.

It reminded them of Willi’s death, having lost another good friend. Dinky shivered at the thought of William, Ford or Konrad dying. None of them should deserve this.

Dinky looked at her three friends with a sad expression. The siblings hugged each other as comfort, Fletcher had his head lowered. Was it there fault he had died, covering them? Or was his fate sealed regardless of their actions? Had he a girlfriend or friends back home? When was the last time he had seen his brother? None of them could imagine.

Franky, the four hoped this battle would end soon, so not more lives would be lost.

As they turned around, they saw the two officers of Able Company walking towards him.

“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt this moment, but it was quite a brave action you two did,” Mackey commented with a hint of pride in his voice, yet looked at William and Christopher with sympathy.

“Just doing our duty, sir.” The private replied.

“I know. The Colonels want to speak with you.”

Ford saluted. “We will report at once, sir.” The group walked to the command tent. “You wanted to speak us?”

“Yes.” Campbell replied. “Reports on Wetherby’s attack are going from bad to worse. Allied soldiers are dying due to his incompetence! Recon reports the Germans have a small outpost in the city center. Enemy Reinforcements are moving out from here to support their defense from him. Eliminating them would take off the pressure off of Wetherby and spare a lot of his men.”

“Okay. What have we to expect?”

“It consist mainly out of armor, we found an ideal ambush position near the route they will take.” Sheridan explained.

“Yes, sir.”

Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau watched with interest as Ford and the others picked up some weapons that looked similar to the Panzerfaust and they moved out. “What’s that?” Blau titled his head.

“That’s the Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank, PIAT for short. It’s the British Anti-tank weapon. Basically, it fires a shaped charge bomb like a mortar. As such, it has no back-blast and can be fired from behind large obstacles like hedgerows.” Hill explained as they reached a half intact building near the outpost, entering it, Fletcher and the kids were watchful for the tanks.

“Shortly afterward, Dinky reported, “I hear something coming closer.”

“2 Panzer IV and a Tiger Tank, escorted by infantry,” Fletcher confirmed, seeing them coming down the road.

“Wait until they are directly under us.” William looked at Ford, who nodded. “The moment the tanks were in position, they pulled the triggers and the projectiles were fired in arc trajectories, hitting on the rear of the two Panzer IVs, going up in flames.

They then reloaded as Jackson with a few other soldiers attacked the infantry from the other side, flanking them. Fletcher and the kids saw how Hill placed the PIAT on its butt, then placed his feet on the shoulder padding and turning the weapon to unlock the body and simultaneously locked the spigot rod to the butt, groaning as he did so. He then bend over and pulled the body of the weapon upwards, thereby pulling the spring back until it attached to the trigger and cocked the weapon.

“Hurry! The Tiger’s aiming at us!” Katja exclaimed in fear as the Turret rotated towards them.

William then lowered the body of the PIAT and turned to reattach it to the rest of the weapon, and it was ready to fire.

But as he took aim, he saw the turret of the tiger pointed at the house they were in. “Everybody out!” He yelled, in vain as the tank fired and they all got blasted out of the building, dazed on impact.

Still dazed, his vision blurry, he and Ford saw how the kids had been knocked by the impact and a few SS-soldiers loaded them onto Truck before they got grabbed and forced towards the truck. They couldn’t see Fletcher and both knew there nothing they could do.

A loud bang sounded in their ears and they saw how their captors fell dead to the ground, blood spattering from their heads, seeing out of the corner of their eyes of Jackson and Fletcher were firing their weapons, yet the truck managed to drove away. “The children!” Christopher exclaimed and made a dash towards a jeep but was stopped by his squad leader.

“No, no, no. You’re not going anywhere.”

“They got the kids!” Ford yelled but Jackson stayed stubborn.

“Mission comes first!”

“I can’t leave them!” The Private shoved him away and took the driver seat, William and Fletcher jumped into the passenger seats and gave chase.

The Truck took random turns through the city, a soldier was firing from the back but Ford avoiding his fire, before a Kübelwagen rammed him from the side, causing him to grace the back of the truck and all three cars lost control, with the jeep and Kübelwagen turning over several times and they all blacked out.

As Ford came to he saw both cars burning, Fletcher and William were dated, the driver of the Kübelwagen was lying dead against the wreck, two soldiers stumbled near the still intact truck.

He drew his sidearm aiming at the two soldiers but his injuries causing his head to shake, missing his shots and the truck drove away and he passed out again.

Coming to again, he saw Jackson with a disappointed look walking towards him. ”You disobeyed a direct order.”

“Then you better court martial us,” Ford replied calmly. And the Sergeant kneeled to him.

“Desertion is a capital offense.” He reached for his knife. “Maybe I should do us both a favor to finish the job.”

“Sergeant!” Duffy yelled and The Radioman stared at Ford with disgust. “It’s over. You got no place in my squad. Get them out of my face.” He ordered and two fellow Rifleman helped Ford and Fletcher up, Duffy helped the Captain.

“It’s gonna be okay. You did everything you could.” Duffy said to comfort them, but it didn’t help, they all lowered their heads.

They had failed.

Author's Note

Welcome to hell, Fletcher

Chapter 15 Manor House Rally

Chapter 15: Manor House Rally

As Christopher opened his eyes, he heard an officer yell, Charge!”

He and the others attacked the Germans from the flank, completely catching of them off guard, killing them all.

Snap! He turned around as he heard a noise and aimed at it, but what he saw surprised him completely.

Out of a ditch rose Blau Streifen, wearing a German uniform. The colt smiled at him, shrugging.

The American could only stare at him, struggling to get up with an answer, yet his finger went slowly for the trigger.

Blau’s expression faded and became one of fear. Ford pulled the trigger and hit the boy right into the chest, falling over.

Christopher looked at the body, then his rifle, slowly processing the death of Blau.

Why did I shoot?

Christopher gasped as he awoke, breathing heavy as he found himself in the hospital room. “Just a dream…” He mumbled, breathing heavily.

The flap opened and he saw Mackay walking in, together with Conti and Blackmore. “Sir, tell me they found the kids.” He looked at Mackey with hope and worry, William and Fletcher did too.

“I wish I could.” The Captain replied with regret in his voice.

“Jackson didn’t give a damn about them, despite your order.”

“You got it all wrong private,” McKay said, surprising him as he sat down on a chair. “In Kasserine, he and his men were trapped with civilians in the pass. He couldn’t bring himself to let anyone behind. But he ended up losing everyone, soldiers, and civilians. He’s never been the same, trying to wipe his slate clean ever since, only doing so in an aggressive manner.

None of them could really form a reply before Mackey added, “But you don’t need to worry about Jackson. You and Captain Hill are heading stateside.”

“Are we’re looking at a court-martial, sir?” William asked, ready to face the consequences. The Major sighed, his answer was clear.

“No. We ordered you to keep the kids safe, outclassing a Sergeant’s orders. And it wouldn’t reflect well on the armies to punish the soldiers who took the pressure off of Wetherby, turning this battle in our favor. There may be an award in the future.”

“What about me?” Fletcher asked them.

“You, you still do why you are here, finding the kids and get them to safety.” The Major answered him. “You are free to choose who you take with you. We know William and Ford are your preference, but its better they recover at home.”

The three officers then left.

Christopher took a deep breath. I don’t care. My task is to keep those kids safe, no matter what. For their age, they are very brave, the bravest kids I’ve ever seen. William, you’re with me?”

He got a determined look an answer. “You bet! Those injuries aren’t so serious, we can still make it. We got your back, Fletcher.”

“Appreciated.” He said and they all walked to the tent of Jackson, seeing Duffy walking toward them.

“What are you doing here?”

“What’s it look like?” Hill countered.

“Hey, I wouldn’t go in there. Jackson’s been hitting the sauce.” Duffy warned them ad Ford nodded.

“Thanks for the warning.” He said before entering the tent with the stallion and Brit, seeing the Sergeant setting on a chair, drinking from a flask. His expression became surprised as he spotted the three.

“You got to be kidding me.”

“We are not giving up on the kids,” Ford stated.

“Tell it to the Chaplain cause I got no room for a soldier who can’t follow orders.”

“You weren’t following orders when you refused to leave those civilians behind.”

The radioman stated for a moment before standing up “What did you just say to me?” He asked in a threatening tone.

“You heard me.”

“You better leave while you stay can still walk,” Jackson warned them.

“Mackey told us. It wasn’t your fault. You were only to try right by your squad.” Ford explained before getting punched by Jackson, yet managed to catch himself.

“Get out!”

“We are not got anywhere.” The private said stubborn and the Sergeant tried to punch again, hitting the beam in the middle of the tent and cried in pain. He then winched and sat down.

“My orders were to fall back. But I just couldn’t leave them. I told them we would keep them safe until reinforcements got here but they’re never came. They never came. Now go.” He pointed to the flap.

“Not without my squad.”

“You think you got some guts, don’t ya?” Jackson taunted annoyed. “Trying to get the job done; day in and day out while your men are dying all around you.”

“I still got a mission. Keep those kids safe from the Waffen-SS. They assisted us bravely in the heat of battle and are relying on us. And we won’t leave them behind.” Ford explained with determination in his voice.

“You must be crazy,” Jackson replied cold.

“Crazy ain’t the half of it.” Ford countered and his superior sighed.

“All right, fall in.”

He just finished as Duffy walked in. “What is it?”

“We got informed by an anonymous source about where the children are held.” Fletcher, William and Ford knew at once who the anonymous source was as Jackson nodded.

“Right, let’s move out and get those kids back!”

As they got to the jeeps, it started to rain, causing Hill to comment, “And I thought it rained a lot at home.”

The British private led them all through the streets into an alleyway. A Squad of Germans and an Italian soldier waited for them. “Glad you could make it.” Konrad smiled at his three friends.

“Nice to see you too. Where are they?” Ford asked him and the Sergeant pointed to what looked like a manor at the other end of the alleyway, being surprisingly undamaged by the bombings, decorated with German banners.

“See that building? It’s an outpost and not only that, but a holding cell of sorts for prisoners in transport. We saw the kids getting brought in here.”

“Then why didn’t you get them out?” Jackson asked into the round, sounded slightly annoyed.

“Because, it’s an Outpost of the Waffen-SS, they don’t want us regular soldiers around here. But we managed to get a spare uniform of them, with ID papers.” Escher explained, with his squad mates looking at Ford.

“What?” He asked confused before getting it. “Oh…why me? Couldn’t William do the job?”

“Sorry, but you’re the only one who fits into the uniform, couldn’t mock up a better one in time, plus the guy on the ID looks closest to you.”

The American sighed. “Alright, but you owe me big time after this.” Then he got the German uniform on, it really fit him perfectly.

“I hope your German isn’t rusty.” Fletcher looked at him with worry.

“I got this, Fletcher.” He replied calmly and walked towards the outpost, looking at his ID papers. “Sturmbannführer Friedrich…I don’t think I wanna know what happened to this guy.”

A guard stopped him at the entrance holding up his hand. “Papers please.” Ford did as told. “That's a handsome photo of you. “The German stepped aside, allowing entrance.

He walked in, seeing a soldier sitting at the desk, having his legs on the desk, smoking peaceful, spotting the disguised solder and his expression was one of surprise. “You're not Friedrich! That uniform is not right. You're an imposter!”

Christopher quickly punched him into the face, knocking him out and drew his Colt 1911. “So much for sneaking in.”

He carefully went down the hall, shooting two guards posted at the stairs before they could react and took one of their MP40s. The shots had probably alerted the entire building and an SMG was better than a pistol in that situation.

Walking up the stairs, he fought his way through the adjoining hallway and came to a kitchen. One of the Kitchen Staff members, apparently the chief, as he wore the typical white cap and an apron, grabbed a knife and threw it at the Allied soldier, who barely avoided it by ducking behind a shell. “I make meat out of you!”

Peeking over his cover, he ducked as another knife flew past him before he got up and fired a short burst into the Chief’s chest, killing him as he fell over, then quickly took care of the other staff members as they tried drew their pistols but failed to do so in time.

The way was leading him to a large dining room, moving into an auditorium and bar, killing all the soldiers along the way. As the area was safe, he reloaded and collected ammo from the dead, they all used MP40s, so he had plenty of it before a strong stench entered his nose.

Turning around, he saw it belonged to a drunken soldier, drunkenly walking around before collapsing. As he was no threat, the private moved on.

Ford enters a large room, going up the stairs, seeing a Waffen-SS soldier on a microphone at the other end of the large room. “I don't hear anything. Testing, testing. You! Up there! Stop!” Christopher didn’t listen and ran into the next corridor.

“Allied Imposter, you are surrounded! There is no way out off this manor alive! It would be better for all of us if you gave yourself up before we stain the interior of this lovely home with your blood.” A man on a loudspeaker warned him but he didn’t stop.

The man went upstairs again, shooting three guards in the room and opened the door, seeing a prison cell with the kids in it. They seemed surprised, yet glad to see him. “Christopher?” Blau asked him and he nodded.

“Yes, I am here to get you out.” He took the key and opened the cell, “Follow me!”

Having the kids behind him, Ford cleared the roof of 4 hostiles before reached the edge. Dinky, Blau and Katja clutched the wooden railing, shaking nervously. “It's awfully high.”

Letting out a sigh, realizing he had to motivate the kids, Ford said, “I apologize for this.” He broke the reeling, causing the children to lose their balance falling down screaming before they noticed their fall was slowed down by a green glow around them, landing gently on the ground with Ford.

“Did you really think we hadn’t worked this out?” Fletcher asked with a warm smile before getting into the jeeps, with their Axis friends taking a Kübelwagen, driving away. However, only a few minutes later hostile Kübelwagen appeared out of an alleyway, giving chase.

The passengers fired their weapons to get rid of the pursuers, while the drivers took random turns to shake them off. “Why there's never a straight street in Europe, I'll never know!” Ford yelled as he took another turn only to see a roadblock at the end of the road.

“Dead end!” Dinky yelled but he spotted an entrance to a park.

“I got this!” He yelled back and they all entered the park. The Bombings had caused that almost all trees had been over, they all tried to avoid them as good as they could, but it was a bumpy ride, causing Hill to yell,

“Do you have to possible hit every single tree?!”

“Sorry, William!” He shouted back before he hit a stone and the jeep turned over, the siblings screamed. Jackson and Konrad tried to brake but were too slow, crashing into each other, also turning their cars over, with Dinky screaming.

“Runs in the family, eh?” Fletcher heard William’s voice as he stood up with an aching body, seeing that him passing out as he lay on the ground. The unicorn saw that the others were apparently also knocked out, but he still checked with his magic for injuries.

He sighed in relief that they were unharmed, yet knew the enemy wasn’t far behind, so he looked for a good shelter.

Fortunately, he spotted two towers located just bear the exit of the park in a backyard, providing a good sniping point.

Focusing, he used his magic to gently pick up everyone and carried them into one of the towers, then went into the backyard and walked into the other tower as he saw some explosive barrels stored in the backward, making it an ideal trap for the enemy.

Once he was in position, he pulled out his binoculars and saw enemy troops arrive in the distance. It was an entire battalion, eight-hundred Waffen-SS troops at least. They probably had heard the shots and investigated it but it didn’t impress him in the slightest as he raised an eyebrow, clicking his rifle. “Is that all?”

As the enemy was still far away, he drew his bow, shooting arrows at a fast rate. At this distance, the SS-soldiers had no possibility to locate him or fire back, scrambling to cover as their numbers dwindled rapidly.

Still, they managed to advance slowly, down to five-hundred men, being in visible range, so Fletcher fired his K98, dwindling their number even further, yet they managed to return fire, but all bullets hit his cover, or flew past him.

Due to his experience, he was able to operate the bolt quickly, also reloading just as fast whenever he ran dry, bringing the enemy down to a hundred as the slowly reached his position and he teleported into the other tower.

“Search the area!” one of the Germans yelled as they entered the backward, giving the unicorn the perfect opportunity.

Charging up an explosive shot of his bow, he fired an arrow at the explosives, creating a massive explosion that engulfed the entire backward.

Fletcher slowly uncovered his eyes as the smoke cleared, seeing dead bodies everywhere. “Guess that’s over.”

But just as he turned around, his archer sense warned him of being targeted by someone in form of and rising sound in his ears, dicing to the ground as a sniper fired, missing him. “He’s upstairs! Storm the building!” A German yelled and Fray detected around 20 survivors.

He grabbed his MP40 and cocked it, but the handle jammed. “Great,” Fletcher mumbled and grabbed Ford’s Garand, firing at the soldiers as they kicked the door open, scoring headshots, not letting them get up.

Upon hearing the characteristic ping! sound, he couldn’t help but enjoy it. It does add a magic touch, that noise.

He reloaded quickly and finished the rest of them off. “Phew…”

Yet, before he could react, another soldier tackled him to the ground, trying to stab him into the chest, he struggled against it. “I will enjoy cutting you open!” The man sad with joy before Fletcher managed to use his magic by hitting the back of the head with his rifle, stunning him.

Fletcher used this to throw the man off him, throwing him into another soldier that came up the stairs, knocking both out but saw a third one rushing at him, also knocking him down.

This Waffen-SS soldier reached for his pistol, aiming at the stallion’s head, but Fletcher used all his strength to push it away, managing to point it away.

Bang!

A shot went off, causing both to hold their ears as they were ringing.

Yet Fletcher managed to recover from it fast, punching the hostile into the face, knocking him down and drew his pistol, holding him at gunpoint.

They both breathed heavily, staring at each other. “What are you waiting for? No-one else will give an honorable death...to a man who's done the things I've done...Do it!” The soldier yelled, but for some reason, Fletcher couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.

The German sighed. “I knew you couldn't do it... You're a good warrior... but you could never take that extra step... to do what was absolutely necessary.”

“Why? Killing you just so you can live in peace? Is that really what you want?” Fletcher asked, not able to understand.

As the man looked up Fletcher saw that he had a scar across the underside of his left cheek, stretching all the way down to his chest by the looks of it but could be more. Due to that, the soldier breathed heavily through his nostrils sounding like a hog.

“Peace?” The man let out a chuckle. “I won’t see peace for the rest of my life. Death and destruction is the only thing I saw.”

“I did too. And there’s always a way to find peace. Now go, along with your men.” Fletcher replied calmly.

“Why? Why do you even care?” The Waffen-SS soldier asked confused.

“Because I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I only kill if I have to.”

“Lucky you. I lost at all a long time ago…Along with my two comrades.” The man told with a sigh and Fletcher raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“We all three were once like you, honorable. In fact, you remind me of my former self.” The German told with a hint of regret in his voice.” Where do you think I got this horrible scar?”

“What…Why do you tell me this?” Fletcher blinked, seeing out of the corner of his eyes how the other two men awoke, standing up but did nothing, their expressions neutral. They all had a slightly muscular build, blond hair and blue eyes. But the leader looked like he was in his forties, the face slightly sullen, wearing an Oak A camo smock and cap. Fletcher realized this was the officer he had seen when they first entered the city.

The other one who had tried to stab the knight was wearing the same uniform but a Helmet instead of a cap, the face rather rounded. Also noticeable was he had light stubble, his hair very short, almost shaved.

Fletcher recognized the third one at once, it was the sniper he had spared earlier.

“Because…” The German started, “You are what we once were…Normal soldiers, fighting for what they believed in. “I used to be a simple officer just known as Eberwald Von Treffler before I got the nickname Warthog…”

Long ago, Von Treffler and his two friends Merlson Karrien and Alfreck Zwingmann were serving on the eastern front, traveling in a Halftrack along the countryside, seeing dead soviets in the ditches. “Poor guys, they must have heavy losses, never standing a chance,” Merlson commented with pity.

“Yeah the sooner this is over, the better for them and us.” Alfreck replied before their commander gave out orders.

“Alright, men. See that village up there?” He pointed at it in the distance. “We have to secure it. There are reports of Partisan preset here, so keep your eyes open.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Sniper went into position at a hill where he had a good view over the village but could see no soul, like it was abandoned as his comrades slowly moved in. “Something’s not right.” He mumbled to himself.

Then, something moved into view. A group of civilians, children among them.

As his comrades came closer, one of the male civilians drew a pistol and fired, and all hell broke loose as more of them drew weapons, together with Red Amy soldiers coming out of their hiding places.

Merlson knew he had to help but he had a child in his line of fire, unable to pull the trigger before some bullets flew past him and he quickly aimed at the partisans that had him in their sights and fired.

Despite the chaotic battle going on, he could see his kill clearly and gasped in shock. The bullet had found its way to the intended target, but it had also killed a mother and her child, lying in a puddle of blood behind the soldiers. “No…”

“Damn, damn, damn!” Alfreck cursed as he vaulted through a window for cover, having to reload his MP40.

“Ura!” He heard a yell and saw a Soviet soldier kicked the door open and in a fit of panic, the German rushed at him, throwing him to the ground and stabbed him into the chest, rapidly, not hearing how the soviet protested to stop until he didn’t move anymore.

Zwingmann breathed heavily at what he had just done, seeing that his hands were covered in blood, the killed man was not older than 18.

“This is too much! Call artillery!” Von Treffler yelled to a Radioman as he fired his PPSh-41, having it looted earlier that day.

“Jawohl!”

Going to cover, he reloaded before loud whistles greeted his ears and he looked up into the sky to see the artillery was heading right on his position. “Oh, Idiots!” He exclaimed before he was thrown around by the force and blacked out.

Later, he came to on a hospital, noticing he was bandaged around his head and torso, seeing an officer of the Waffen-SS walking in. “What happened? Are my men alright?” He asked the officer in confusion.

“They are fine, and you did well in destroying the village with the artillery. It will show the Bolsheviks not to mess with us by using such dirty tactics. Maybe, you should join us, we could use guys like you.” the officer said and walked out.

Von Treffler just stared at what he had just heard. He had unintentionally destroyed an entire village and its civilian population. It was like hours until he stuttered out, “W-what have I done…”

Later, they had to defend their position against enemy tanks, taking cover in trenches, firing at the enemy infantry as suddenly, a T-34 stopped next to them, making stuttering sounds, as the engine had stalled.

“Mines, on the tracks!” The officer ordered and Zwingmann did as told, the tank exploded into a fireball as he started to move again, the explosion was deafening.

Suddenly, they all saw the burning village instead of a burning tank, staring at it before Zwingmann’s helmet was shot off and he lost his balance.

“Dammit, get up!” Von Treffler yelled as his comrade replied,

“Have to reload! How do I reload?” Alfreck panicked as he couldn’t figure out how to reload his MP40.

His superior stared at him for a moment before he and the sniper could only laugh maniacally at the madness of the world.

“…Day and night we had nightmares of the destroyed village, what we did. Joining the Waffen-SS was our way to process our experiences, or so we thought.” Eberwald said with a shaking voice. “I have no real memory of what it was like before this moment…Clearly, I come from somewhere but it is as if my life is not real. Like I only exist in that world of war. Strange, I know I have memories but I can’t picture any.”

“Yes,” Alfreck continued, “That’s how we got our nicknames of Warden and Vulture. In Russia, we quickly pushed the Soviets back, trapped an entire army at Smolensk. With planes and artillery. Dead Soviets and busted up tanks and cars for miles. Miles. Your eyes see it but your head can't make no sense of it. Then we bring the prisoners away. Those who collapsed, got shot by the SS, killing the wounded too. All day long. Sun up to sundown. Shooting wounded and exhausted men. Hot summer days. Ain't smelled nothing like it. The sound of it. Screaming. Black clouds of flies buzzing. Like being in a giant bee hive.” He told with a shaking voice, like he had been afraid of what he had seen back then.

“I had my fair share of horrors too. But tell me, why all this to capture three children?” The unicorn asked and Von Treffler shrugged.

“We don’t know. We got orders from high command to capture them if we get the chance and await further instructions. As member of the Waffen-SS, you don’t ask questions when it comes to orders.” He paused for a moment. “Anyway, you should get going. The Allies may have the advantage but shortly before your daring liberation action, a reserve got activated and is on its way towards the city.”

“Thanks for the information.” Fletcher replied as the three soldiers saluted him and left.

“Ugh…what a crash…” Ford mumbled as he woke up with the others.

“You’re okay?” Fray asked with concern and he gained weak smiles.

“A bit of a headache, but I’m good. Quite impressive shooting you did.”

“You…saw everything?” Fletcher’s expression became confused and the private nodded.

“Yeah, semi-conscious. At least that’s why I think is this condition called.”

“Still…It’s sad what happened to those men…” Dinky mumble with pity as she held her head and the stallion sighed.

“Sadly, that is very common to happen in war. I mean, look at me and my fear of fire. You can only hope to get over it someday.”

“I agree but we should get back to our lines before the reserves arrive.” Jackson interrupted as Ford got out of the SS uniform, having it worn over his own.

“Well, we have to go too. Godspeed.” Karl said as he and his men left too, going separate ways.

The group walked carefully through the enemy territory, knowing an ambush could be around every corner.

As Duffy peeked around a corner, he decked as a bullet flew past him. “Damn!”

The others looked in surprise as several SS-squads with a Panzer IV were on the other side, opening fire. They pressed themselves against cover as the tank also fired, missing them but the explosion made their ears ring. “We have nothing against that tank!” Jackson yelled.

“But I do!” Fletcher charged up a shot, with the tank slowly taking aim again, the kids looked at it in fear, praying their friend was faster.

In a matter of seconds, the tank exploded, with the turret being blown off. “Nice shot, Fletcher!” Duffy cheered but the stallion had an expression of confusion.

“I…uh…wasn’t me.” He replied before the Waffen-SS soldiers retreated and they saw a Tiger Tank coming from the side, firing it’s MGs at them before coming to a halt.

The hatches of the commander, drive and gunner opened, and they all saw to their surprise, that the tank was operated by the Falkner Squad. Von Treffler was the commander, Alfreck the driver and Merlson the gunner. “What are you doing here?” Fletcher asked them.

“Buying you time to get the kids out of here. Now go! At least, we can die for a good cause.” With that said, he and his two men climbed back down.

Despite being slightly taken back, the group didn’t hesitate and started to move, seeing how the Tiger started to fire as the Waffen-SS came back, holding its ground.

“Is that everything they got? So far I’m not impressed!” Von Treffler taunted as they fought waves of infantry.

Out of the corner of their eyes, Fletcher and the kids saw how the tank then got hit by a Panzerfaust into the fear and the engine caught fire, but the three men kept fighting, even as a StuG III drove up and their Tiger took more damaged, battered up. “Fire, and take them with us!”

Both tanks fired at the same time, destroying each other. The Falkner squad had scarified themselves but it got the group the time it needed.

“I…I can’t believe they did that just for us…” Blau mumbled in disbelief.

“Me neither but…I think they did it to finally find peace.” Fletcher suspected. Somehow the Von Treffler reminded him of Midnight, Alfreck of Wolf. Suddenly they heard gunshots in the distance.

At the end of the street, Germans and Italians were holding their position at a warehouse, holding the Allies off. “That’s the last strategic position we have to take, let’s gave them a hand!” Jackson exclaimed, taking aim.

But before they could do so, something hit Fletcher’s head hard. “Ouch!” He yelled and felt pressure on his horn, shaking his head to get it off, without success. So he looked up and, saw a pin spinning on his horn before coming to a stop. “Uh...we should run…” He said with fear, his eyes small.

“Aw, you id-“ A house exploded next to them, the shockwave was not enough to throw them over but deafened their hearing for a brief moment.

“You're supposed to throw the grenade, not the pin.” Ford mumbled a biz dazed before recovering, joying the fight with his comrades, while the ponies stayed back.

As Fletcher took aim with his MP40, another explosion occurred at the warehouse, strong enough to make him stumble for a brief moment and he heard a disoriented yell. His ears ringed, she made out a German and an Italian soldier charging out of the smoke towards him and he quickly drew his pistol, shooting them into the head before they reached him.

Then a loud bang sounded, seeing how a Sherman fired into the warehouse, the smoke obstructing his view, before Hill yelled, “Enemy spotted! They’re coming out!”

“Coughing, the remaining defenders came out of the smoke, their hands raised. “They’re surrendering! it’s over…it’s over….” The Radioman said relieved.

“There you are. Glad to see you were successful.” Major Blackmore walked up to them with Mackey and Conti.

“Sir, we did some recon and enemy reinforcements are on the way!” Jackson reported to them with worry in his voice.

“We know they are mobilizing to take back the city.” Mackey replied. “I hate to say it but can you keep a lookout? We have to secure the prisoners.”

“No problem, sir.”

Fletcher and the kids just nodded. They were exhausted bit helped here could mean they had better chances to greet to a safer place afterwards as they moved to the outskirts of town, looking around with binoculars.

“Nothing…Wait…Tiger, dead ahead!” Dinky yelled, pointing to it and they saw it parked next to a barn, camouflaged with hay. Just shorty, a Sherman and Churchill tank arrived and Ford informed the commander.

“We got a Tiger tank, right next to that barn!”

“I don’t see it.” The commander replied after looking through his binoculars.

“Just put a round in that building.”

“I can’t I have order not to cause any more damage.”

“He’s right there!”

“If I can't see the bugger, I can't bloody shoot him, can I?” The Churchill commander countered and moved on.

Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau watched with worry as the British tank drove past them and suddenly exploded, getting thrown over into a ditch. To their horror, the tank startled to roll backwards towards them. They crawled backwards, Fray yelled, “No! No! No!” And attempted to use his magic to break the tank, barely succeeding, and saw how the Tiger moved from its hiding spot.

It targeted the Sherman tank and fired, destroying it with one shot, going up in flames and they saw out of the ditch in shock how the Germans opened fire from the barn and other surrounding buildings, mowing down the Allied infantry but couldn’t see their friends anywhere in the chaos.

Seeing how the Germans were gaining the upper hand, Fletcher looked around, he saw a small sewer entrance just at the end of the ditch and made a sign for the kids to follow. Despite being still shocked, they acknowledged with scared looks, crawling towards it and hid in it.

The ally held their breaths as the Waffen-SS checked their surroundings, praying they wouldn’t find them.

A garishly light started to shine from behind and they slowly turned into its direction. With fear the kids saw a SS-soldier looking at them, holding a flashlight, his expression neutral.

With fearful expressions, the children raised their arms in surrender, Fletcher did too, knowing there was no way out.

Were they doomed?

Was this their fate?

“Hey! What’s the hold up?” Someone called out to the soldier and he turned his head around. Then looked back, turned his flashlight off and left.

Marching past, the soldiers started to sing.

♫ SS marschiert in Feindesland,

Und singt ein Teufelslied.

Ein Schütze steht am Wolgastrand,

Und leise summt er mit.

Wir pfeifen auf Unten und Oben,

Und uns kann die ganze Welt

Verfluchen oder auch loben,

Grad wie es ihnen gefällt.

Wo wir sind da geht's immer vorwärts,

Und der Teufel der lacht nur dazu!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Wir kämpfen für Deutschland,

Wir kämpfen für Hitler,

Der Rote kommt nie mehr zur Ruh'.(x2)

Wir kämpften schon in mancher Schlacht,

In Nord, Süd, Ost und West.

Und stehen nun zum Kampf bereit,

Gegen die rote Pest.

SS wird nicht ruh'n wir vernichten,

Bis niemand mehr stört Deutschlands Glück.

Und wenn sich die Reihen auch lichten,

Für uns gibt es nie ein Zurück.

Wo wir sind da geht's immer vorwärts,

Und der Teufel der lacht nur dazu!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Wir kämpfen für Deutschland,

Wir kämpfen für Hitler,

Der Rote kommt nie mehr zur Ruh'.(x2)

♫

Dinky was shaking, terrified. “They're not human....They're beasts! Demons! No...much worse than demons!” She said with fear.

“Shh…stay quiet or they hear us.” Fletcher tried to calm her down.

After a few minutes, all Germans had passed by. “With those reinforcements moving in, it’s too dangerous to go back into the city. I hate to say it, but we have to move on.”

The kids didn’t react for a moment, trying to make sense of what he had just said.

“B-but…what happens to us if Christopher dies?” Katja asked, fearing the worst but Fletcher held up a hoof.

“He won’t, he has survived worse. We can only hope for the best.”

They realized he was right and nodded, the dead soldiers were beyond recognition as they walked down the country road.

Still, they all hoped their British and American friend would be alright, not having been along the bodies.

Where would they go without them? Was there still a safe place? None of them could really think of an answer.

“Hey, I think I see something in the distance!” Blau called out and pointed to it.

Fletcher pulled out his binoculars and took a look. It was a Kübelwagen with an Opel Blitz behind, driving towards them. “Quick, off the road!” He yelled and they did as told, hiding in the woods as the two vehicles came closer.

Again, they held their breaths, seeing how the vehicles stopped on the road next to the woods, seeing an officer. Noticeable has he had two silver stars on his Pauldrons, a general by the looks of it, stepping out of the Kübelwagen. “Come out, Green Knight, I mean no harm.” He called out calmly, having apparently seen him from the distance.

“Stay here.” Fletcher said and walked out. Something told him it was worth a try, saluting the officer who returned it.

“The famous Green Knight, also known as Sagittarius. At last, we meet. I've been hoping so, it's an honor.” The General said. Craggy, weathered, with sunken, cheeks, as if the skin on his face was almost loose. His black hair was so closely cropped it could have been painted on, the front of it arching over his scalp in a thin widow's peak. His eyes were grey and outwardly appeared old and tired yet, looking into them, one could see life. More than that, perception, cunning, an edge as sharp and deadly as any blade.

Why would you want to meet me?” Fletcher asked suspicious.

“We are not to take commandos as prisoners of war anymore. Surrender now, while I can still guarantee the safety of you and your little friends. Other commanders won't be so generous”. The German replied, sounding honestly.

Fray stayed silent, thinking for a moment. “How does an honorable man like you serve them? And you know that I don't fear death. I'm not afraid to die to protect those children.”

“I'd noticed that, commander, as far back as Africa! But, do you really want to risk their young lives? Surrendering is no consent of failure but a way to keep your little friends alive. By my Officer's honor, I promise you two will be treated as equals.”

“To treat us equally would be to treat us unjustly. I have killed your men, I've taken the lives of more people than they’re ever known in their life but haven’t hurt a single living thing. Yet you ask me to let them suffer as I would? They’re not to be hurt. And if there's any chance of that happening, the deal's off.” Fray warned him.

“You do whatever the hay you like to me. I've been through more curd than you can imagine. Your methods are unlikely to make much of an impact on me. But the second those children come to any grief...at all...I will not be restrained in making my displeasure known to you and your command. Are we clear on that?” He added before waving at them to come. Dinky and her friends hesitated but did as he wanted, feeling slightly nervous.

The General had a neutral expression but nodded. “Of course. They won't be harmed. In fact, you and they shall be my guests rather than prisoners. Do you play chess?”

Author's Note

I think the title says what I passed the outpost rescue on

Chapter 16 Under siege

Chapter 16: Under siege

That question surprised Fletcher completely, not able to think of an answer for a moment. “Uh…yes, I do. Sometimes. Why?”

“Because I love to play chess and I find so few challengers. Besides, I think some friends of yours would like to see you again.”

Dinky and her friends slowly grinned as he said this. “They’re okay?”

“Yes, they are.” The General pointed to the truck. “Get in. I am General Erich Von Richter.”

Fletcher and the kids nodded, getting into the back of the truck. Von Richter seemed honest, they could all tell.

It took only a short time until the two vehicles came to a stop and they found themselves in a town. At the outskirts were fields with German tanks parked in concealed positions, along with a few garrisons. The town itself was separated in two by a river, with a church on the other side of a bridge, the garrisons in the town had a few Italian tanks parked next to them.

“Here we are. My orders are to organize an orderly retreat behind our next defensive line, the Gustav line. So don’t expect to be staying for long.” Von Richter informed him as he led them to a house. The kids started to smile as they spotted Konrad and the others.

“Hey, children, glad to see you’re okay.” Konrad smiled, happy to see them.

“Likewise. What are you doing here?” Dinky asked them.

“Well, after your rescue, we decided it was best to retreat out of the city, knowing the battle was lost. Von Richter organized that we were redeployed here to help with the retreat. With the founding of the Social Republic, I’m now officially part of their forces but can still be with my friends.” Matteo explained.

Yet before anyone could answer, Tim walked up with a ball in his hands. “Wanna play?”

“You bet!” The three children exclaimed with grins.

And so, they passed the ball to each other, laughing, while Fletcher played a game of chess with the General. “So, General, why do you like chess so much?” The Green Knight wanted to know.

“It helps me to focus on my tactics. For me, the battleground is a chessboard where I can express my intellectual supremacy, taking every variable into account to obtain quick victories with minimal losses. Rommel greatly appreciated that back in Africa. I joined in conscription due to devotion to my country rather than for the Nazi Party. As such, I know to respect honorable soldiers, like you. You gained a lot of respect by both sides.”

“I know. I’m just doing my duty like everyone else.”

“If it's any consolation, you appear to be doing it well, under the circumstances.” Von Richter said with a slight smile

As time passed, it became a cloudy day, only now the kids and Fletcher noticed that the rain had stopped long ago, shortly before the ambush and the General prepared to leave. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Herr Fletcher but I have to organize the troops at other defenses.”

“Thank you for your generosity, General,” Fletcher replied before the officer drove away with his Kübelwagen.

“So, what is the plan?” Blau asked Konrad.

“Well, our orders are to retreat to the next defensive line, in this case, the Gustav line at the mountains behind the town of Cassino. Those are the suburbia of it. When the order comes, we will fall back. We will see what happens next.”

“By the way, where’s Karl?” Katja asked as she could not see him anywhere.

“He’s inside, manning the radio, waiting for the order to come.”

The lieutenant waited patiently outside, not expecting any trouble soon, as suddenly, he saw flashes of explosions in the distance and the radio buzzed.

“We got enemies on all sides. We can’t move! The bombs!”

“Come in! Come in! Come in!” Karl tried to reach his comrades in the town east from here but had no success, only static, so he got outside to his squad. “Did you hear that? That came from the town in the east of here. The Americans must have taken over.”

“This far east already? And Tommy coming from the north. We’ll be trapped!” Tim exclaimed with fear.

“We have to warn the others! Follow me!” The officer said to his four friends and they all followed him to the church, seeing another officer with his soldiers waiting there. ”Hauptmann Funke! We have urgent news!”

“What is it, Karl? This better be important.” the Hauptman said surprised.

“The Americans, they have taken our positions east from here!”

“Deploy the 88s. We don’t want to be caught unprepared.” Funke ordered and the squad of Karl, together with Fletcher, the kids and his men pulled one 88 AA gun out of the backward of the church, posting it on the road, facing the bridge.

“Why do we need to deploy 88s to protect our Panzers? The Allies are no match for them.” Tim wondered.

“Our Panzer are superior to the American tanks. But even superior machines cannot defeat something they cannot attack.” Funke pointed out as the AA gun was in place with his man manning it. “Alert the men, they’re had enough rest. We would not want them to get caught off-guard.”

“Yes, sir.” Karl led his squad and friends to a garrison just next to the church, an Autoblinda parked next to it as they heard the sound of an engine in the sky. “Incoming! American planes!” He yelled as and the AA gun fired at an overpassing aircraft but missed. “That was a spotter plane. Must have been looking for potential targets.” He suspected before entering the Garrison.

“Wake up! Get your weapons! Americans attack! Do you not hear what is going on outside?! Get up and fight!” He yelled at the sleeping Italians. They startled but didn’t hesitate to get up and outside, but ore plan engines sounded in their ears and they looked up. “Oh no! They are dropping paratroopers! We must stop them from spotting our tanks!” The officer yelled and his squad opened fire, killing the American soldiers before they had a chance to get to the ground.

Then they moved to the next garrison just down the road, an Italian tank was parked next to it. “Wake up you fools! The Allies are attacking!” Karl yelled before spotting more parachutes in the sky. “More Paratroopers dropping from the sky!”

As they moved towards the other part of the city and the garrisons of the field, the Italian armored car and tank moved out and deal with them as they landed, notable by the loud MG and cannon fire.

Just as they entered the last Garrison in the fields, they saw how the Americans ran down the streets, out of the town. “Good job, everyone. The Paratroopers are fleeing. But the Americans cowards are sure to return.” Funke said on the radio in the building and the soldiers went back to the church for a briefing.

“The Americans are on their way. We must present a strong defense. Keep the Panzer hidden and safe until nightfall.” He ordered and the soldiers saluted.

Fletcher and the kids helped to build up sandbags, seeing how two more 88s got set up, one at the right end of the fields, one on the left. “Is there any way we can help?” Dinky asked Karl.

He thought for a moment, not wanting them to have the burden of killing on their shoulders, but had an idea. “We got some Panzerfausts. Aim for the tracks or engine to disable tanks effectively.”

“Okay.” The filly replied and grabbed one, her three friends did to and they took position in the woods. They knew by aiming at those weak points, they could take out the tanks without harming the crew.

Only a few minutes later, a soldier yelled, “The Americans are arriving in force.”

Infantry and tanks moved in, greeted by a hail of bullets from the defenders. The two Italians armored units also were there, shooting at the infantry and the lightly armored vehicles in form of Halftracks and armored cars.

The Axis troops held bravely their ground, yet Dinky got a little worried. “I hope William and Christopher aren’t under their causalities.”

“I highly doubt that, Dinky. With the SS counterattack, it’s very unlikely they made it so fast here. Those troops must belong to a different company or Battalion.” Fletcher replied in a calming voice and she nodded with a weak smile, realizing it made sense before hearing several engines.

“They try to catch our friends off guard.” The filly said as she saw two Shermans with another two tanks that had an open turret, moving up on the right side the fields. The tanks moved towards the woods, so Dinky took a deep breath, taking aim with the siblings, remembering what the soldier had said to them at the facility, making sure to hold it correctly by the crook of their arms but Fletcher held up a hoof.

“They’re still too far. Wait.” He said, and they waited until they were right in front of them and pulled the triggers. The two unicorns aimed for the tracks of the Shermans, the siblings for the engines of the two other tanks.

As the charges exploded, it caused the tracks to fall off and the engines to catch fire, immobilizing the tanks and the crews bailed out, retreating from the battle.

Yet the four noticed how the 88 on the right was slowly turning towards the wrecks, meaning it had also dealt with the tanks regardless of their action, but they hoped regardless their assistance had helped.

Upon disregarding the tubes, Katja yelled, “Watch out!” And pointed to three Halftracks, having what looked like turret at the back, one got destroyed by the AA gun in a matter of seconds.

“Give them a taste of the Quad!” One of the drivers yelled and the gunners fired into the woods with the turrets, having a rapid firing rate. The group pressed themselves against trees as bullets hissed past them before two explosions followed and they slowly went out of cover. The halftracks had been destroyed by the two Italian vehicles.

“That was close.” Blau let out a sigh of relief as they went back to the others, seeing how the American troops fell back and all German tanks were intact.

“The Americans are leaving?” Tim mumbled surprised.

“The cowards do not fight in the dark,” Karl replied and the ponies noticed how the sun had set.

“Oberst Heimchlar to all Panzer crews, darkness has fallen; now we move.” The radio buzzed. “Hauptmann, you did well today here. I pass on my recommendations to High Command. Now I will show you real leadership!”

They all then saw how the tanks moved out, driving past wrecks and dead bodies of the killed Americans. “Our Panzer will cut a swathe through their lines like a scythe through grass. We’ll give the Americans a taste of German Engineering.” The Oberst was confident as he led the tanks in his Tiger.

“As long as the Americans planes- “ Funke said with worry but was cut off by the tank commander.

“Our steel is strong! The American bombs will fall upon our Panzer like rain on rock.”

“What is he doing? He's driving straight into the Allied front lines!” Escher exclaimed in disbelief.

“High Command has ordered him to attack. What else he can do?” His superior asked in return.

“I don't think anyone has any idea what's going on anymore.”

The children, however, could just stare at the tanks that were moving out, their expressions were a mix of shock and despair. “How...How can they be so confident if they’re going to a battle wee they will very likely die?” Dinky mumbled and the Knight sighed.

“Sometimes they feel they have to. This is their last post, their final stand. There's nothing left for them here. The war's consumed them. All they want now is to go and see their fallen friends and say 'I went out bravely, just like you. Am I forgiven now, for living on when you did not?'...It's the saddest thing you can ever see.”

“Good luck, Oberst,” Funke added on the radio but Heimchlar just replied,

“Luck is for the weak, Hauptmann.”

Karl and Konrad then walked up to their friends. “You did really well. Now rest, you have earned it.” The Lieutenant said with pride and the nodded, going back to the Garrison to sleep.

The Americans were repelled for now, but they all hoped the retreat order would come soon.

In the early morning, Konrad woke up, seeing his four friends were still asleep. He let them rest, quietly going out, strangely hearing music coming from one of the buildings behind the church.

Curiosity got the better of him and he took a look not able to believe his eyes.

In a room of the building a very...round man in a clean, grey uniform. His face was broad, pale and fleshy but still possessed a flush of vigor, his half-closed eyes sharp and assertive. His dark hair was sleek and combed without a strand out of place. His small nose and wide mouth with thin lips looked almost baby-like. His features were fixed in a state of bliss, his head tilted to one side, a broad smile across his face as he took in the music- Konrad would recognize that anywhere, it was Herman Goring seated in a chair, swilling a glass of some beverage and gazing at a painting. The music played on a gramophone.

Goring turned to him, almost as if only just noticing him. “Ah, Sergeant Escher.” He got to his feet, paced over to him and shook his hand. “I must thank you profusely, my good man. You have truly done Germany, nay the world, a valiant service on this day. You shan't find me ungrateful.”

A bit taken back, the NCO replied, “Uh...Thank you, sir. Are you referring to the...”

“Your recent defense on the nearby perimeters. Your men outdid themselves. Had the Allies bombed the place, I could not imagine what may have been lost. I felt it best to show you the fruits of your efforts” He then poured him a glass. “Try some of this.”

Konrad eyed the glass with unease. “...sir?”

“Please. I insist.”

While not drinking much for the sake of his children, Konrad did as the Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe wished, then cleared his throat at the powerful drink and examined the glass, as he was familiar from the taste. “Is that...cognac?”

Goring nodded. “Indeed...Did you like it?”

“It's...a fine beverage, sir.” Escher replied, never having been much a fan of it.

“Take a guess what vintage it is.” Konrad could only give him an awkward look. “Go on, have a guess?

The Sergeant thought for a moment. “...18...65? I'm sorry, I'm not much good with these.”

Goring chuckled in response. “It is 1753.” He briefly marveled at the bottle. “This cognac, Sergeant...is older than America. Just think, how peculiar is man when we can measure our achievement in a bottle of alcohol.” He shook his head and sniffed, looking almost melancholy. “When Paris surrendered, I wept with happiness...I could not bear to see a city so beautiful, so cultured, so magnificent in design and history, reduced to rubble. I could not live with myself if it were so. This, my dear Sergeant, is my little cave of wonders. One of several. Here, for as long as I can spare, the glories of Europe's golden ages are safe from the barbarism of war...Bask in it, Sergeant. You have earned that honor.”

Konrad listened a moment and recognized it. “Is that English music on the gramophone?”

“Yes, William Blake.” Goring gave a look of feigned fear. “Ooh, don't the Fuhrer, he wouldn't like this.” The man then giggled. “William Blake had a most glorious death, captain. He passed away on the 12th August 1827, having just finished a portrait of his angelic wife, Kate, and lay patiently in bed in his little country home, singing hymns of his Lord who at last carried him to Paradise...A most extraordinary man...The Fuhrer wouldn't have liked him.”

“So...all goes well?” Escher concluded.

Goring rolled his eyes. “I believe so.” He replied in a slightly disinterested tone before pouring another glass for him and Escher. “To William Blake, the Fatherland and an end to war...However far away any of them may be.”

“Ahem...cheers.” Konrad said and clinked glasses with Goring.

“Your defense was spectacular, captain. So much was saved that day.”

Konrad nodded, feeling proud they had managed to keep all tanks hidden. “A bombing round will be unlikely, sir. And the civilians we offered shelter are safe for now and if not, we have a safe route to fresh bunkers.” He lied, hoping there was still a safe route.

“Of course, of course. But you see, recently one of my, shall-we-say, colleagues in a mutual field brought my attention to something invaluable.” The commander showed him the painting, appearing near to tears as he gazes at it. “Mehmed II Enters Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro...Only a copy, sadly, but...what a sight.”

Konrad looked at it in awe, though he couldn’t really think of anything. “Very...inspiring, sir.”

“We took Greece recently, didn't we...Hardly seems impressive when Mehmed did it first...So much more grandly. No fields alight with firebombs, no cacophony of tanks and gatlings...But a conqueror upon a white horse, banners around him catching the sun. The past gone out in a glorious clash of steel...and a new world dawning...Why, Captain, why is that not something we see now?” Hermann wanted to know and Konrad shrugged.

“We've conquered more than Mehmed did.”

In response, his interlocutor bursted out laughing. ”When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer'...Plutarch said that...The Fuhrer wouldn't have liked him either.”

Konrad just stared at him, uncertain of what to think. And Goring put his glass down

“Forgive me, Sergeant. I'm just a foolish, fat old man who's had far too much to drink.”

“No, no, sir. The fault is mine. I...I don't really know what to say here.” The NCO hastily replied before clearing his throat- “The men await your orders.”

“Of course. A few more moments here is all I ask. You don't have to stay. Here is simply the only place I can escape this ugly war...and every night, the guns sound louder.” The commander said as he poured himself another drink and dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief. “But given the stubbornness of the Allies, I will have to leave soon. Good luck.”

Konrad saluted. “Thank you, sir.”

Then he met up with the rest of his squad, sein how the kids chatted with Matteo.

“Your comrades did well with their tank.” Blau said.

“Si, they did. That’s the Carro M15/42. Originally, it was designed as a replacement for the M132 and M13 in Africa with a more powerful engine and air filters to cope with the harsh conditions of the desert, but was finished after our defeat and the surrender, so the Germans armed us with what was left of those tanks.” The Italian replied before the Lieutenant gave a briefing.

“Hauptmann Funke has delegated responsibility to me, so listen up. The Americans could arrive at any moment. They will not underestimate us again, so expect a much larger force. Our position must be defended. My best guess is we blow the bridge and focus all defenses around the river crossings. And no matter what, defend the church. If we lose that, all is lost. But General Von Richter managed to send us a Semovente 90/53. Fletcher, children, you can help with the ammo.”

“Okay, let’s go.” The stallion acknowledged and the children followed to the south of the town, seeing that the Semovente 90/53 was a self-propelled gun with open top and rear of the gun compartment, which left the gun crew exposed to shrapnel and small arms fire, stationed in the back.

A group of Pioneers placed sandbags near the shallow water, a weapon crew placed a heavy MG42 behind it.

What the group noticed, was that behind the Semovente was an ammunition carrier with a towed trailer parked, aiming them understand why Karl suggested their help for this before they heard him yell, “The Americans are pressing to the east!”

“The Americans? …They arrived so quickly.” Funke was taken back by this but the Italian vehicle crew had already an enemy tank in sight and fired.

Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau heard only an explosion in the distance, showing that the self-propelled gun had a long rage before the Italian commander yelled at his crew, “Fire! Reload! Quicker!”

Fletcher and the kids carrying the shells from the carrier and trailer to the vehicle crew, ensuring they could reload and fire quickly, holding the Allied tanks at bay.

Any infantry that tried to cross the river was slowed down in the water, making an easier target for the MG, either mowed down or forced to retreat.

Due to that and the destroyed bridge, signaled by a visible explosion in the distance, the Axis troops managed to hold off the Allied advance for some time before the Americans retreated. “The Americans, where are they going?” Tim wondered.

“It appears the Americans are easing off. Sir! We need orders! What should we do?” Karl asked Funke.

“Man the defenses! Every soldier to his post!”

Having some relief from battle, the group took a deep breath and helped to deploy tank traps and barbed wire on the other side of the river. The young colt hissed as he cut himself on it. “Geez, that hurts!” He mumbled as Fletcher cast a healing spell on his wound.

“Yes, but it prevents enemy infantry from crossing.” He pointed out before the sounds of several engines sounded in the distance and they took a look with binoculars and their eyes went wide.

A large force of tanks moved in.

“Hauptmann Funke! This is not just an advance force! This is a full-out invasion!” The lieutenant exclaimed.

“Give me time to think! Keep the bridge ways secured!”

“We cannot handle this force with our limited resources, Funke. This is too much!” Karl pointed out and the superior officer’s expression became one of unease, thinking to think of something.

“…Konrad, ready my staff car!”

“Yes, sir!” The Sergeant did as told but had a bad feeling about this.

One of the Shermans managed to avoid the shots of the Italians and fired at the MG crew, taking them out with a well-placed shot before getting destroyed by the Tank destroyer.

Karl and his men took cover at the sandbags, firing at the infantry that used the wreck as cover. The children heard screams, seeing that the Weapon crew was still alive, mortally wounded, wriggling on the ground in a pool of their own blood before medics retrieves the fallen soldiers.

Distracted by that, Fletcher did not notice how Tim walked up from behind with the LMG variant of the MG42, resting it on the right side of his shoulder as bipod. “Wait! Wait!” The stallion yelled as he noticed but it was too late as the young man pulled the trigger.

A terrible ringing was in his ear and Fray held it, screaming in pain. “Are you crazy?”

“Fletcher? Everything alright?” Tim asked concerned but Fletcher could only hear a ringing noise. “Fletcher? Are you deaf? Do you hear me?”

Dinky and her friends looked at the unicorn with concern, he groaned and looked at Tim with a painful expression. “Don’t do that again!”

Yet, their actions paid off as the Allies retreated once again and Konrad reported, “Hauptmann Funke! We have radio contact with High Command! They wish to speak with you to relay orders!”

“It is about time! We are getting out of here.”

Fletcher and the kids smiled, happy that they could finally go to a safer place, going with the squad to the radio. The signal was not very good, mostly static and the barely could hear anything. “Please repeat! The signal is very weak.” Funke requested.

“Your orders are as followed: You must hold the suburbia until the rest of the retreating forces have evacuated.”

Funke let out a frustrated groan. “No, we’re still not hearing you. Here, let me try something.” It surprised everyone as they all had clearly heard the orders

“These are your orders!” The officer on the other end stated before Funke shot the radio.

“Gentlemen, I suggest that we leave immediately.”

“Leave?” Vogel asked in disbelief. “As long as German and Italians are fighting their way to here, we must keep the door open!”

“Well then, Karl, congratulations. You are hereby promoted Oberleutnant effective immediately. You can stay if you want to.”

“You can't just leave your own men!” Dinky exclaimed in shock

“Our retreating allies have not made it yet to here. If you go now, you are disobeying a direct order from high command.” Karl warned him.

“As far as high command knows, that order never made it to here. Anyone that doesn’t want to die here is free to join me. Otherwise, good luck gentlemen.”

Karl just looked with disgust at the Hauptmann the others in shock, save for Fetcher, who had a neutral expression. “Very well, officer. If that is your choice then I will not stop you. But before you go, I want to do one thing for me...When you go to sleep tonight...and you see the faces of every man who died today defending your command...and they ask why weren't you there...I hope you have a good answer.”

The Hauptmann did not react and walked out.

“What should we go?” Tom asked into the round and Karl sighed.

“Get some rest, we’ll see tomorrow.”

They all nodded. Another day drew to a close and the suburbia was still held.

In the next morning, they all watched the Oberst coming back seeing smoke in the distance, with Karl using binoculars. “Mein Gott. The Americans knew exactly where they would be. Damn High Command!” He cursed.

“All of this is starting to feel like a grant suicide mission. Our Panzers are destroyed – what hope could we possible have? We’ve stayed longer than anyone could expect!” Konrad replied, seeing how the tanks drove at a crawling speed towards them, as the engines were damaged, most had also their main gun destroyed, the infantry had their heads lowered in defeat.

“Expected by whom? By cowards! By idiots! I will not leave my fellow countrymen behind to be swallowed up by the Americans. WE will not leave them behind.” Karl stated determined.

“But without communications from High Command, we won’t know when to…”

“Screw High Command! Our last orders were to stay. So we stay.” Karl cut him off and walked away.

Konrad lowered his head, staying silent for a moment before asking, “Then what will you have us do?!”

As the two walked away with the rest of the squad, the kids stayed quiet for a moment, then gulped slightly. “O-o-okay...okay...” Dinky mumbled and Fletcher looked at them with sympathy.

“It’s okay to be scared. Deep within, everyone is.”

“It’s just….we don’t want to die here…” Katja admitted with a fearful expression and he gave her a hug.

“Don’t worry, I keep you safe.” He smiled and they nodded with weak smiles, checking on Karl, seeing he was discussing tactics with his squad.

“In mere moments, our brothers in arms will be streaming in from the north, hopefully with some remnants of the Oberst’s Panzers. If we let the Allies take positions across the river, our men will run into a hail of bullets. We need to keep the Allies contained. Set up defenses across the river.”

“How can we help?” Fletcher asked and the officer sighed.

“You did already enough and I don’t want to put you in more danger than you are already. Take the next transport out of here.” He said with worry and caring in his voice.

“Okay then. Good luck.” Fletcher replied and Tim informed,

“Members of our comrades in arms have arrived!”

“Good! We must keep the Allies out of their way, and keep the evacuation route open!”

Among the retreating troops was an Opel Blitz. The officer flagged it down and the ponies got into the back, the driver just nodded and moved on.

“I hope they will survive this.” Blau looked with worry out of the back.

“I am sure they will. Hope dies last.” Fletcher tried to calm him down as the truck drove out of the city, joining a convoy of other trucks and tanks.

“Any idea where we will go?” Katja asked him and he thought for a moment.

“Not really. My best goes would be to find a quiet place, safe from the war for you, then deal with the interference.” He replied as he looked out of the back, a motorcycle glided past the truck.

“Alarm! Air strike!” Someone yelled and they saw two planes in the sky, coming in fast.

“Out! Out!” Fletcher yelled and they all jumped out of the back and into a ditch, just barely before the planes opened fire and the truck went up in flames, along with other vehicles of the convoy, then made another pass with bombs, destroying some of the tanks.

“By Celestia…That was too close…” Dinky panted heavy as she saw that the convoy was completely destroyed, wrecks and dead bodies were the only remains left.

“What now?” Blau asked the stallion.

“We walk.” He said as he climbed out of the ditch, helping them out as the planes flew away.

The just followed the road for some time, hoping they would get a means of transportation, but they didn’t saw another convoy for the length of their walk. Had been the defenders overrun? Or did troops that had evacuated just taken another route? They couldn’t tell.

The way led past a house and they decided to take a rest here, as the door was not locked. Inside, everything was there, but no residents, probably abandoned.

“I can’t really tell if Karl went crazy or just very heroic to stay to safe his comrades…” Dinky mumbled, not able to make sense of it.

“I guess a bit of both. My suspicion is he either lost some good men before or had some arguments with Funke before.” Fletcher replied as they sat down on chairs.

“Do you hear that?” Katja looked out of the window, seeing a truck pulling up next to the house. To their surprise and fear, Waffen-SS soldiers stepped out.

“Stay back, I take care of that.” Fletcher said and walked out of the door, his weapons ready, as he was suspicious. “What do you want here?”

”We could ask you the same.” One of the Germans countered.

“Our convoy got attacked by American planes and we took shelter here.” He explained calmly.

“Uh-huh. Then why don’t you come with us?”

“No, thanks. We don’t exactly have good experience with you guys.”

The Waffen-SS member chuckled. “Too bad.”

They drew their weapons but Fletcher reached quickly, switching to his spear and spinned it and the kids saw in awe how his action formed a shield, the bullets ricocheted back, killing the soldiers.

“Let’s take their truck.” He suggested and they nodded.

But just as they stepped out, Dinky saw a tank in the distance, aiming at them. “Watch out!” She yelled but it was too late.

The tank fired and an explosion threw her to the ground, coughing from the smoke and dusk as she got up “Are you okay?” She asked the siblings who also coughed.

“I think so…” Blau stumbled as he was a bit dazed before his sister gasped.

“Fletcher!” She exclaimed as the stallion was trapped under the rubble of the destroyed house and they all tried to dig him out.

Suddenly Dinky felt how she got grabbed from behind and she struggled before feeling a quick pain and felt sleepy, closing her eyes, Katja suffered the same fate.

Blau Streifen on the other hand, struggled as much as he could, kicking and biting his attacker, before he got slammed against the truck and chocked.

He tried to stay awake, but slowly, his vision went blurry and he passed out from the lack of air.

“Pretty though, I give him that. Get them on the truck and let’s get out of here.” The leader of the soldiers said and they left.

Had the Green Knight died?

Had his efforts been in vain?

The rubble started to rumble and a hoof shot out of the rubble.

A battered and bruised Fletcher emerged from the rubble, screaming in a mix of pain and anger into the air.

Chapter 17 Experiment

Chapter 17: Experiment

Fletcher breathed heavily, his eyes twitching. “Is that...the best...you can do?!” He exclaimed and ran after the truck, driven by anger, determined the get the kids back.

The adrenaline it easy to catch up and the soldiers opened fire on him but he cast a shield spell to protect himself and managed to jump onto the back, holding on.

In response, the driver steered hard left and right, trying to knock him off, but the stallion had a tight grip.

He pulled himself up seeing how the soldiers inside were terrified to see his strength. He used his strength to get him, seeing how the soldiers backed up, except one, who had a determined expression and got hit right into the face the man’s rifle butt and lost his balance, falling off.

He tumbled over a few times before coming to a stop, lying on the ground.

Instead of anger, sadness overcame him. “I’m sorry…so very sorry, children…”

In defeat, he sat down on the roadside, his head lowered.

After a while, he heard a voice. “Look!” And he stood up, seeing a group of Allied soldiers approaching him, his MP40 ready.

“Fletcher?” One of the soldiers asked and another pointed out,

“He’s armed!”

“It's okay, hold your fire.” The first soldier ordered, apparently an officer.

“I don't understand. What's he doing?” Another soldier wondered.

“Look at his eyes... something's not right” A fellow comrade pointed out as the stallion’s eyes looked…empty, no emotion or anything.

The officer slowly approached Fletcher, holding out his hand as squad encircled the unicorn, preparing to kill him if he would show hostilities towards them. “Fletcher, we are here to help. But first, I need you to lay down your weapon.”

“He's not complying.” Another man remarked but the officer stayed calm.

“He's shell shocked. Give him a second. Just hand me your weapon, Fletcher.”

"Can he even hear you?"

"Quiet."

The officer then took Fletcher’s MP40 and he stallion sighed as he recognized the officer. It was William, relieved to see them. “That’s some nasty injuries, let’s get you patched up.” He and his men helped the stallion into a truck.

“I failed…They got the children…” Fletcher mumbled with a depressed tone bit William laid on a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, we will find them, just as we did last time.”

“I…I just hope it won’t be too late…” Fletcher said with fear.

“It's worth a shot,” Hill said in an attempt to comfort him and the Knight gave him a weak smile.

“Right…”

After the truck arrived at the Forward Base, Fletcher got his injuries patched up by a medic and William, together with Ford and Duffy, walked up to him. “Please tell me…”

Hill held up a hand. “We believe so, Intel from the Resistance and prisoners have informed us about a train carrying enemy ammunition not fear from here. It is very likely the kids are on-board this train. Our orders are to stop this train.”

“Then let’s do this, there is no time to waste,” Fletcher said determined, grabbing his weapons.

“Righto, Fletch.” Duffy cocked his rifle.

Together with a Sherman tank, they all moved out towards the city where the train was located and William gave the briefing. “We’ve been tasked with destroying a train hauling enemy munitions. But the resistance fighters who had provided Intel were captured by the enemy so we have to free them first.” Suddenly they heard cries of help and saw two Resistance members coming towards them, one was limping, assisted by the other and fell down, but William helped them up.

“Go! Go! Go!”

The soldiers and tank moved down the road, only to be greeted by MG fire from an upper window, forcing them to cover. Fletcher took aim with his K98 and fired, taking the gunner out just as the tank had aimed at the window.

“Suppressing fire!” Jackson yelled and the BAR gunners did as told, firing at the building to keep the enemy in cover, so the others could advance.

Fletcher, together with Hill and Dufy moved to the building on the left, the stallion placed planted TNT on the wall of the building setting the timer to 5 seconds.

After the explosion, both Brits cleared the room and opened the cell door, freeing the prisoner. Ford and Jackson did the same in the building on the right.

“The Resistance fighters are free. Good job! We must destroy all radio equipment so they can’t call in reinforcements.” Hill then informed as they advanced to the town square. He also took notice how Fletcher trembled with a slightly scared expression. He could tell the stallion was desperate to avoid losing the children.

“Enemy flamethrower, get to cover!” Duffy yelled as a hostile came out of the rubble at the town square, firing it into the air and Fletcher took aim at the head.

As he was about to the trigger, a bullet grazed his foreleg and he flinched, misfiring but the bullet still found its way. It hit the fuel tank. A small jet of flame came out of the container. Then the trooper screamed it pain, as he was engulfed flames. The container exploded in a massive fireball, killing every soldier that was near him. Not a pleasant death, Fletcher knew that.

Despite this, another MG42 in one of the windows kept the Allies in cover and both sides fired at each other with little success. The Tank started to aim for the MG but before it could fire, a Panzerfaust was fired out of the rubble and destroyed it.

Fletcher reloaded hastily, knowing that every second would count to stop the train from leaving and emerged from cover, taking aim at the enemy positions but…

They were empty. “What?” He wondered before he saw the ghostly guard again, standing on a roof, pointing ahead and a train whistle sounded. “The train!”

They all rushed forward and saw in horror how the Axis soldiers jumped onto the train as it left. “No!” Fletcher yelled and tried to run after it before planes bombed the town.

He attempted to dodge them but it was in vain as one explosion knocked him down and everything went black.

“Ugh…” The stallion mumbled as he came to in a field hospital. Still, it took him only second to remember everything and he just stared, wishing it was not true. “This can’t be happening…” He lowered his head.

Just moments after, his four friends walked in, having neutral expressions. They looked at each other, unsure what to say. “Fletcher,” Hill started, “I know that looks bad but…there is still hope.”

“H-how?” The stallion looked up.

“Well, some of our fighters managed to intercept the train and we examined the train. Apparently, it made a layover at a harbor and Recon saw a U-boat leaving shortly afterwards. As we reported that to High command, they send us a message that one of our special services might know where the children are. You shall get to London as soon as you can.”

While it surprised Fletcher a bit, he said, “Okay, do you have anything that helps me to pinpoint the location?”

“I only know it’s called Office of Secret Actions, located in London. I live here and brought my watch if it helps.”

“It does, thank you,” The Green Knight replied as he scanned it with his horn and prepared the spell, the soldiers saluted him.

“Good luck!” They said before he vanished in a white flash and as it was done, he found himself in front of a big building, the flags of Britain and the USA on flagpoles, the logo of the agency was on a wall. An eagle, the name of the agency around it.

He wasted no time to enter the building and came to a man in a blue suit, wearing glasses. “I was told you were awaiting my arrival.”

The man wasn’t surprised at all and replied, “Yes, follow me.” He led the stallion into an office where an elderly man with greying hair and also glasses was sitting behind a desk. “Sir, Fletcher Fray, also known as the Green Knight.”

“Thank you, Jack.” The elderly man replied and looked at Fletcher. "I am the director of the OSA.”

“You said you had information for me?” Fletcher went straight to the point.

“Yes. The U-boat we tracked left for a German base in Norway. To be exact, it’s a German lab we discovered just recently, led by a scientist named Wilhelm Strasse also known as Deathshead.” As the director said this, Fletcher remembered the letter he found in Africa back then and started to fear the worst. “We were just about to send one of our best operatives here, you will join him. The hospital is alerted and on standby to take the children in.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As the director turned around the director added, “One more thing, Mr. Fray. According to our sources, word has been passed around the Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe of your deeds at El Alamein and Italy. Rommel himself vouches for you and you are considered something of a neutral party to the German Armed Forces, not to be crossed without provocation. Said deeds also have the SS and Gestapo fearing to speak your name and Himmler has ordered utmost caution at any sign of your presence. In summary, any Nazi that crosses you from here on out is either a Deathshead affiliate or catastrophically stupid. Either way, eliminating them benefits society as a whole so lethal force is fully authorized.”

“Thanks for the info, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Fray walked outside and got greeted by a large, muscular man with strawberry-blonde hair, chiseled square jaw and blue eyes. “You’re Fletcher Fray? I am William J. Blazkowicz, I was ordered to infiltrate Norway with you.”

“Okay, let’s go!” The stallion acknowledged and they both went to an airfield, boarding a plane. During the ride, Fletcher hoped it wouldn’t be too late, fearing what Deathshead would do to Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen.

Eventually, the plane reached its destination and both jumped out with parachutes, landing in a snowy wood area and sneaked towards a small pier where a U-boat was. They went to cover behind crates as they heard mechanical noises of stuttering, seeing a soldier trying to fix a generator.

“Gah! This worthless pile of junk still won't start!”

“Are you still trying to start that generator?” A fellow soldier asked.

His comrade sighed. “No, I'm working on my upper body strength, one arm at a time.”

“I'll bet it's because of the cold.”

“Tell me, do you often make such shrewd observations? You should seriously consider officer's training.” The first German replied slightly annoyed.

“I think you need to crank it harder.”

“Look, are you acting stupid just to annoy me?! Do you not see me here, practically tearing my own arm off?! The gottverdammt thing won't start because the gottverdammt thing is frozen solid!!!”

“Hey! Relax, will you? I was just trying to be helpful.”

“You want to be helpful? Well, go look for some anti-freeze then! Don't just stand here making idiotic comments!” The repairman yelled.

Fletcher charged a flaming, explosive shot and fired at the generator.

It was blowing blown into the pieces, sending shrapnel everywhere. The repairman and his comrade got blasted away, the bodies covered in shrapnel and blood.

“Well...Don't need to worry about the frozen crank anymore...Wherever it flew off to.” He mumbled before hearing a clanking sound and turned into its direction, seeing the ghostly guard on a hill, lying on the ground as the crank had landed it but held up a hoof as if to say ‘I’m good!’ Then pointed forward.

The two then moved own, coming towards a house, seeing three Fallschirmjäger guarding it, chatting. “So how's Eric getting along?”

“Still sick as a dog, I hear.”

“That's too bad.

“It’s nothing serious. The medics say it was bad water.”

“Heh. Lucky for me, I never touch the stuff.” The other said before having to cough, not noticing the two intruders at all.

Fletcher and William entered a workshop, two mechanics had their back to them, standing at a workbench. “I have had it! I've absolutely had it with this place! Another day like today and I'll be ready for the insane asylum!” One of them complained.

“What is it this time?” His fellow worker asked.

“It's that stinking rocket-plane again!”

“Och Gott...”

“Remember the cracked gear rings on the reverse thrusters? You know, the ones we've known about since last August?! The same ones the Lieutenant never gave a damn about?!”

“Ja, ja.”

“Well, now I have to go out in this filthy weather and change both sets because someone in their infinite wisdom decided to go to full standby in two hours!”

“I'll bet that was Deathshead himself. He came storming in here a while ago looking none too pleased.”

“Oh...” The first mechanic sounded slightly worried. “I didn't even know he was back.” He then checked the toolkit. “What the...I don't believe it, I do not believe it!”

“Now what?

“Where in bloody hell is my spline torque wrench?!”

“Don't look at me, these are my tools.”

Just as Fletcher and William reached the door on the other end, it opened and a soldier with Panzerfaust stood in front of them, a surprised expression. Fletcher quickly shot an arrow into his head to avoid alerting anyone. “Bad move, buddy.” He whispered as they sneaked out.

It was cold, but that, didn’t bother Fletcher in the slightest, as the way led to a closed gate. “There must be a switch somewhere.” The American suspected and entered the hut next to it, killing a lone guard with his silenced Sten and found said switch, using it

As the gate slowly opened, an Alarm went off. “What the? Someone must have been found the bodies!” William yelled and switched his Sten for an MP40. As the gate opened, Fletcher spotted a sniper on a railing and shot him with his rifle before he could react and they ran through and shot two soldiers in a tunnel, coming to another workshop.

Inside, they spotted two soldiers, wearing heavy coats and gas masks, armed with what looked like multi-barreled machine guns. They forced Fletcher and William to take cover behind to doorway as they fired their guns rapidly.

But that didn’t stop them for long. The unicorn peeked slowly out of cover and fired two arrows, going right through the gas masks, killing the gunners.

“I’ve seen this kind of weapon before on my last mission. It’s called the Venom gun. It will come in handy.” the operative explained as he picked one up, Fletcher nodded and did the same.

They then walked to a door that appeared to be the entrance to the lab, but it was locked as Fletcher tried to open it. “Darn it!”

“There’s always a way in.” His Ally said as he spotted a storage room with explosive barrels in it and fired at them. The explosion created a hole in the wall, opening a way into the labs.

“Good thinking, Blazkowicz!”

Determined Fletcher entered first. I’m coming, children!

Ugh… Dinky came to with an aching head, trying to remember what happened. She looked around and found herself in a cell, the hallway outside looked similar to a lab and she gulped.

There was a clanging of metal behind her and a beasty growl. The little filly spun round in surprise, suddenly aware she was not alone.

Screaming, she backed up against the wall, desperately trying to put as much distance between herself and what she saw.

A ruined husk of what might have once been a human being leered at her from the opposite cell. A bulbous, hairless head and a humongous pair of arms and shoulders pressed itself against the bars, slavering like some fever-gripped wolf.

Dinky stared, horrified.

The creature, no longer able to call itself a human, was covered entirely in cracked and shredded scar tissue. It's skin more resembled saddle fabric than anything else. One side of its chest appeared stretched across its body, showing off half its ribcage. The same could be said for the face. Sunken, scarred and permanently locked in an expression of tightened, bared-teeth fury.

Armor around its shoulders and wrists added to its intimidating form but, as Dinky glanced down, she realized the creature had no lower half. A pelvic encasement surrounded by small, crackling electric generators kept it upon the ground. As it was, its arms did all the movement, clambering about the cell like a gorilla, giant, clawed hands reaching for the unicorn.

The creature stank, most likely due to its exposed elbow joints around its wrist and opened belly above the pelvic armor where stitches across his body had broken loose, showing off its fetid intestines in a manner that would put likely Dinky off spaghetti dinner for many weeks.

The creature growled and grunted as its hands flailed. Dinky was uncertain what exactly it had in mind for her once it caught her but one thing she did know was that she didn't fancy finding out.

Crouching in the corner of a cell, she huddled in a ball, watched the beast intently and prayed the cell wall would hold.

Suddenly there was a shot and the growl stopped abruptly. “A shame…” She heard an emotionless voice and saw a man walking in front of her cell. He was bald, wearing a monocle on his right eye, his face sunken, appearing to be very old.

“Who…are you?” The filly managed to ask, but the man just looked at her with an interested expression.

“I never saw such a species before. With you, I could do great things. Young, unspoiled flesh, tender samples. Fatty tissues intact. In fact, you're the perfect test subject to be the pinnacle of all my research. My greatest project. You should feel honored.”

Dinky’s eyes went small at those words, not wanting to end up like that creature. “P-please...don't hurt me…”

“In work like this it is easy to be tempered. To sense compassion. We must learn that this is pointless instinct. Not fit for the master race.” The man said cold and her heart froze.

“No, please, don't!”

“You and her friends will be of great use for the Reich.” He replied coldly before walking out of sight.

The colt awake with a groan, rubbing his head. That hurt. Where am I?

He looked around, finding himself in a cell, he room around the cell looked like some kind of lab. Blau Streifen gulped upon realizing what could happen to him. "Katja? Sis? Dinky? Where are you?" He called out but got no reply.

The sound of a mechanical noise ringed in his ears at it came closer. What he saw filled him with awe and fear. An 8 foot or in meters converted 2 meters tall creature, covered in armor passed by. The young colt could see that this was once a human as his arms, hands and heads could still be seen. But his legs were replaced by cybernetics, giving him that tall appearance. He held a double barrel gun in his right hand, ready to fire at anything that might not belong here. His head had some kind of hat, the still visible flash was charred and rotten. The former human stopped, giving the terrified foal a look. The human's face showed no emotion, just a blank stare. It was that this moment Blau noticed that the human had what appeared to be an oxygen mask covering his mouth. From behind the mask, a noise like heavy breathing sifting through metal mesh sound sounded loudly from where his mouth would have been, like someone was working a bellows. His emotionless eyes contrasted with this sign of barely-contained rage and bloodlust.

Before the young pony could proceed this, the creature started to move on.

Then a man walked in front of his cell, looking curiously at him. “Right then...I'm told you gave your name as Blau Streifen. I am also told you chose to be quite belligerent during your capture. But it seems the strength has left you. That is a pity. Though I can't say it does not serve my purpose. I can't afford difficulties, not now of all times. Now let me make myself clear. You will behave if you want to your sister unharmed...” Blau trembled, slowly nodding, not wanting his sister to be hurt because of him and the man slowly smiled. “Good, you understood that, didn't you? I assure you she is quite safe while you cooperate. You all will be instrumental in my research.” Then he walked away and Blau whimpered.

Please, Fletcher…hurry!

Oh... my head...Where... am I? Katja’s head ached.

As her vision cleared, she saw she was in a cell, alone, her little brother and her friend nowhere to be found. Where am I? "Brother? Dinky?" She called out, but there was nothing but her voice as an echo.

"How could that Thing escape out of its cell?!" a Voice echoed through the lab hall as she saw two men running past her cell. The one who yelled about that creature was wearing a white top, and a black cap, an MP40 in his hand, the other one a grey coat, she assumed it was a Scientist.

"I don't know, shoot!" he yelled.

The soldier fired his MP40 at something that was out of her sight, but a quick lighting of electricity shocked him, he fell twitching to the ground. "Help me!" The Scientist yelled, firing wildly his Luger as he tried to flee. But he didn't get far. What the young girl saw next was the most terrifying thing she ever saw in her life.

A corpse-like giant without a waist or legs, scrambling about on massive hands, its face locked in bloodthirsty rage. It lunged at the unlucky Scientist, and now Katja realized where the lighting of electricity came from. The creature had its lower body parts replaced with some kind of small, crackling electric generator, which killed the scientist as it released electricity. As the Scientist fell dead to the ground, the monster glared at her and she covered her head out of reflex as it lunged towards her.

Good for her, the cell door held but then, there was loud noise. Slowly opening her eyes, the monster was now lying dead on the ground, a much larger creature stood next to it, covered in armor, a double barrel gun held by it's right hand.

She breathed heavily as she heard footsteps and saw another scientist walking into her view.

“Hello.” He spoke with a cold voice. “Katja, is it? I must say this is a most enlightening experience. Until now, I was not aware at how many of your kind there were. And how diverse...I might need to do something about that. Did those imbeciles regard you as little more than a curiosity in wartime? You see, young Madam. I intend to unlock the secrets of this world you live in, this world of magic and monsters. And you, Miss Katja, are going to help me. The reward shall be a swift end to your suffering. The punishment for refusing...well, let's just say that until now, you have not known suffering.” She trembled, unable to say something as he added. “Also…your father...is a human...Your mother...is an equine. The methods by which you were conceived were either brilliant...or revolting. Isn't it strange at how often those two things can work in, what's the word...ah...harmony...heheheheheh...”

“Sir!” A soldier ran up to him.

“This better be important.” The scientist turned to him,

“Yes, sir. The American agent has infiltrated the x-lab facility!”

“What? Will this fool follow me to the ends of the earth?” The Scientist asked surprised.

“What are your orders, Herr Oberführer?”

“Dispatch the remaining security force immediately.”

“And if the American gets past the security force?”

“Then I will deal with him.”

As if on cue, the room was filled with a metallic humming that bared through all nearby eardrums. The Oberführer winced, then turned to his men with an unamused expression. "Who's the fool meddling with the speakers?!" he growled.

As the guards and scientists looked to each other awkwardly, there came a voice from the loudspeakers in every corner of the lab, filling every room and flooding down every corridor.

In the cells, Dinky's little ear pricked as she, Katja and Blau Streifen listened intently.

"Attention all personnel of X-Labs," the speaker began in a calm but serious tone "This is Fletcher Fray of the Eternal Knights, Royal Bodyguard to her Highness, Princess Luna of Equestria and her Moon."

The Oberführer paused, raised one eyebrow and asked, "How did he get into the intercom system?" he asked sternly "I will know who is responsible when this is over."

"I am on a mission from the Allied Paranormal Division to bring down this base of operations. Your actions and the suffering they cause will no longer be tolerated," Fletcher continued "I am also on a mission from her Highness, Princess Luna, to find and rescue three citizens of Equestria and return safely to their friends and family"

He's come back. He made it. Dinky thought, her moist, amber eyes gleaming with hope. I knew he would. I knew it.

"I will say this once. If anyone attempts to prevent me from carrying out either of my missions...I will kill them, without mercy or hesitation. If you do not want to die, stay the buck out of my way. What I've seen this organization do turns my stomach and fractures my faith in the human race and I'm not letting continue a day longer."

They heard him take a breath.

"As for you, Deathshead" he added, his voice growing darker and more menacing "Night is coming for you...And it will last forever"

Then it ended and everyone looked around but the man as Deathshead took a deep breath. “Begin the procedures on the specimens. All three of them. Alert all security personnel. Activate every machine. Rouse every creature. I want that interfering fairy-tale anachronism brought down NOW!”

Fletcher and his American ally walked through the next door and were greeted by two guards and a scientist. They all looked in fear at Fletcher. “You heard my warning, get out of my way, or die.” He warned.

Before any of them could react, something broke through the window on their left. A corpse-like giant without a waist or legs, scrambling about on massive hands, its face locked in bloodthirsty rage, its lower body parts replaced with some kind of small, crackling electric generator.

Fletcher and Blazkowicz stepped back as it released electricity and the three Germans twitched, falling dead to the ground. Fletcher reacted quickly and opened fire with the Venom gun, tearing the creature to shreds, then winced. “What I wouldn't do for a pair of earplugs right now.”

“I saw those things before; they are called Loper, a failed experiment of Deathshead,” William explained.

“Okay.” Fletcher replied and moved through the next door, only to meet another surprise. It looked like a human at first, standing at the end of the corridor. What little of human flesh it still possessed was charred and rotten through the monstrous experiments they undertook and the clunky great rusty metal armor was emblazoned with the Swastika, the SS. With such components appearing to wear them as opposed to being worn, the human more resembled great bipedal dung beetles than anything else, befitting given the sight and stink of the decaying flesh. It aimed a large a double barrel gun at the stallion and fired a Panzerfaust. Fletcher quickly ducked behind the door to avoid then.

In response, the unicorn fired a concentrated charged shot that ripped a hole in the man’s chest-plate. Fletcher glanced round the corner as the proto-soldier swayed on its feet.

Taking three more ungainly steps, its mechanical whirring like a dying gasp, it keeled forward and slammed its full mass upon the floor, laying still. “Nice shot!” William complimented him. “As far as I know from a recovered blueprint, this guy is a Proto-soldier, prototypes to his ultimate creation. Aside from helping you, I shall find out more about it.”

Fletcher nodded, yet it sent down a shiver of his spine. Robotic and biological engineering, Deathshead’s goal was to create the ultimate killing machine. And with the children, he had the ideal specimen for this, something he couldn’t let happen.

Walking down the corridor, they came to a bigger room and Fletcher gasped at what he saw “Children!”

Dinky was in a cell but horrible altered. Her body was covered a metal shell held up with wiring. Her face was unemotional, nothing but a blank stare. One of her eyes was replaced by an eyepiece, the other eye was still normal but tears leaved it without stopping. The siblings’ limps and chests were covered in the same armor as the Proto-soldier, having also an eyepiece over one eye. “Oh my... children, can your hear me? None of them did respond or moved, he tried it with a telepathic spell. “Dinky?”

“I can't feel my legs...my hooves...my horn...I can barely see you...hear you...It hurts....it hurts so much...” Her voice was in pain, serve pain.

“Please…Help…” The siblings said in unison.

“Don't worry, I get you out of here.”

He then felt how Blazkowicz tipped him on the shoulder and pointed to a clipboard on a table, so he took a look.

Test Subject 02051412
Species: Human (Human Father/Earth Pony Mother)
Age: Approx. 14 yrs
Build: Slender
Characteristics: Caucasian skin-type. Bright vibrant hair, seemingly possessing two separate strains of pigment (Saffron Yellow/Peach Red)
Description: Subject 02051412 is a young human girl, being the daughter of a human father and Earth pony mother. Is the sibling of a younger colt. Test Subject 0251412 will be outfitted with latest ultra-light, carbon resin plates to be serving as new Type II Über Soldat. This Über soldat will be armed with a Venom Gun and a Tesla Gun

Test Subject 02051410
Species: Earth Pony (Human Father and Earth Pony Mother)
Age: Approx. 14 yrs.
Build: Stout
Characteristics: Smoky-Brown coat, dark-red mane
Description: Subject 0251410 is a young colt, being son of a human father and Earth pony mother. Is the sibling of subject 0251412. Test subject will also be outfitted the latest ultra-light, carbon resin plates to be serving as new Type II Über Soldat. Due the subject's build, the gun will be mounted on the back, able to turn 360 degrees and will be armed with a Venom Gun and a Panzerfaust

Test Subject 101016
Species: Unicorn (Pegasus Mother and Earth Pony Father)
Age: Approx. 8 yrs
Build: Average
Characteristics: Periwinkle-grey coat, blonde mane.
Description: Subject 101016 is a young unicorn filly, able to use magic. Is the youngest of all three test subjects. Subject 101016 will be outfitting with a special type of the ultra-light, carbon resin plates to be project Sleipnir, a modification of the Über soldat. As weapons, a Venom Gun, Tesla gun and Panzerfaust are intended. The Panzerfaust and Venom gun are in a turret on the back, like with Subject 0251410, while the Tesla gun will be in a scorpion-like tail.

What Fletcher just read made his blood boil as he spotted a scientist held up by William. “You! Open the cell doors!"

“I can't” The German replied scared!

“Do it!” William yelled, aiming at his head.

“I can't open it, only the Oberführer can open it, he knows the code!”

“Why? How can you do something terrible to children?!” Fletcher wanted to know.

“None of us wanted to do it or liked to do it! The Oberführer himself did the procedures! The Lopers and proto soldiers are either seriously injured soldier, or volunteers for the Super Soldier project! We forced nobody to do this!” The scientist tried to explain and Fletcher raised an eyebrow.

“Oh really?

“I swear to you. No-one else was even allowed to enter. He wanted all the pleasure of doing it himself. Three Proto-Soldiers strapped them to the operating systems and stood guard and Deathshead did all the rest. I promise. We'd never done this before. Never wanted to. Not with...children...” The man sounded disgusted and horrified.

“Where's the Oberführer? Tell me and I'll consider believing you.”

“The primary test labs. Biggest room in the compound, follow the main corridor.”

“Fine. Now get out of here before I change my mind.” The stallion said and the German did as told before the speaker system activated.

“I must admit, I find myself quite thankful for your efforts. Were you not on our radar, we would never have found these two excellent specimens. I would have given a great deal to have one of their kind to study, now I have two. I feel spoiled. And to show you how much I appreciate your help I shall mend your worries. As you see, your treasured young wards will no fears from now on. As you see...Nothing will ever be able to harm them again.” Deathshead taunted him. “Are you angry?”

“I think you'd know if I was.” The stallion replied

“Oh-ho Meister Fray. You really are a complex foe. I feel most accomplished. I have broken your childish façade of rogue debonair and make you understand. Your rage, your hatred, these are what truly drives the warrior you claim to be.”

Fletcher sighed and placed a hoof at the walls of Dinky's cell. “Dinky...I meant what I said...I'm going to help you and your friends get better...and I'm going to get you home...I promise.”

“Why this maudlin nonsense? What purpose did it hold? Accept it. Release it. Acknowledge the truth in Deathshead's creed. Only through hatred can victory be achieved.” The Oberführer taunted unimpressed.

“Once again, Strauss, you misunderstand. I am an Eternal Knight and we have been trained since initiation to, rather than deny the existence of our wilder instincts, instead channel them for when it is most proper, most acceptable. Right now, as you see, even when faced with what I believe to be one of the worst atrocities I've ever seen, I remain calm and patient, planning ahead and taking things as they come. But you are right in some ways. I do feel rage...and perhaps some hatred. But we don't waste it on tantrums or tirades or anything like that, instead we wait. I'm going to control it, hold onto it, save it up...and then when I have you on the ground, at my mercy, with your foundations reduced to rubble and the children safely healed and protected...then and only then will you know my fury.” Fray replied with determination. “You think I fear death?”

“I think you fear failure. And that is exactly what you'll receive if you are unable to return these children home. Is that so?”

Fletcher gritted his teeth, “We’ll see about that.”

William nodded and they moved on to a small hallway but the door was locked. “Looks like we have to swim.” The soldier pointed to a water supply system, build like a sewer tunnel and Fletcher nodded.

It was cold, but both weren’t bothered by it as they had to dive, holding their breath, swimming through the corridors until they came to a ladder, leading to a small storage room.

“Don’t kill me!” A scientist on the other side pleaded as he was cornered by a Loper and killed, with the creature staring at Fletcher through the armored glass before it was killed by an explosion. A Proto-soldier came from the corridor and spotted him, blowing the door to the storage open with its Panzerfaust.

The Knight fired a celestial bronze arrow into the floor between the soldier and it attracted the electricity from a nearby electrified door, directing it at the cyborg and shocked it too death. “There's always something bigger. And I'm always the one who has to kill it.”

Then they moved on.

A squad of soldiers was guarding the entrance to the main labs, everything was quiet bore they overheard a conversation. “:..Yeah, I agree. Terrible.” One soldier said with sympathy.

“Those screams, that horrible screams. Did you hear them? I can hear them still. I don't think I will ever stop hearing them.” The other one replied horrified.

“Yeah, me too. Poor children. I know the Oberführer sees this project as his life’s work but has no morality to use children for his experiments?”

“I hope whatever he does to them, it won't end like those...Loper things.” The other said with fear and the group looked at each other, slowly processing what they had just heard.

Then, they heard screams and crackling of electricity, followed by loud gunfire. “It's gonna feel extremely satisfying when all you buckers are gone for good. Seriously, if those things are failures, we does he keep them?” They recognized the voice and a green unicorn was coming into sight, surprised to see them. “Konrad? What are you and your friends doing here?”

“Long story. Is it true that…” Escher couldn’t finish as Fletcher nodded.

“Sadly, yes. But the sooner Deathshead is stopped, the better. Where are the main labs?”

“Just through this big door.” Karl pointed to it and used a switch, causing the door to open slowly with an alert going off.

Fletcher took notice of a pair of mechanical feet as the door rose, realized it were two Proto-soldiers behind it and threw a few grenades under it. “NIGHT TIME, BOYS!”

It worked as he hoped, killing the cyborgs as the door was fully open, lying dead on the ground. “Let’s move!” He said and all his allies followed him through the door, coming to a corridor which led to an opened door

It led to a large room with catwalks above and an observation room as the entered.

“Well Agent Blazkowicz and Fletcher Fray, Isn't it? You are most impressive specimens. It would be my pleasure to dissect you piece by piece.” They all saw Deathshead in the observation room, speaking over speakers. “Let me introduce you to someone. Do not confuse it with the mere prototypes you've encountered. They are the pinnacle of all my research. Das Über-Soldat. The Super Soldier. It will be my pleasure to watch them destroy you.”

As the door on the other side opened, they all stared in shock.

Metal. Were a bright periwinkle coat, a plump, healthy build and small but nimble legs made up the body of the innocent little foal, Dinky Doo...there was now metal. A shell, a prison, only the filly's head remained uncontained and not even that had been spared. A jutting eyepiece shone an electric blue, wiring and fluid tubes trailing from it as well as her nostril, ears, the corners of her lips and small incisions around her neck. Parts of her mane had been scraped off her scalp to make way for plugs and bulbs that conducted energy from the power stations and around her horn was a containment ring built like the conduits, crackling electric charge.

Dinky stared blankly at them with one single dead-looking eye, nearly devoid of its bright amber.

The body itself was held aloft by a set of nine great, spindly legs to which the energy conductors across her head and body connected, surrounding them with a deadly electric field. Like a monstrous arachnid from Tartarus, the mechanical horror crawled out of its cell and clambered round the walls, its ninth leg at the back curling upwards and over it like the tale of a scorpion, humming with charge set to fire in lethal blasts.

Behind her were the siblings, both were completely covered in the armor of the Proto-soldier, helmets covering their entire faces, wearing metal boots, making it impossible to tell if they had their legs replaced as the proto-soldiers had. Katja was carrying a double barrel gun in her right hand with little trouble. Their hair was crackling with electricity.

“Children… I’m sorry I wasn't there before but I promise...I'm here now and I'm going to get you out of there. We're going to get you back to normal and then we're going to get you back home. But you need to fight it. Remember who you are, you are not weapons. You are not this!” Fletcher exclaimed in shock.

“Thus we will see the superiority of the machine over flesh and blood!” Deathshead exclaimed and Dinky aimed her scorpion tail at Fletcher.

It fired arcs of electricity at him and he hissed in pain as he ran to a pillar for cover, barely avoiding the Venom gunfire from both siblings.

Blazkowicz did the same before seeing how Blau aimed the gun mounted on his back at him. It fired a Panzerfaust, forcing the man to run as the explosion damaged the pillar, avoiding Venom fire by Dinky.

Fletcher then saw how the filly aimed its turret at his cover and also fired a Panzerfaust, he dove out of the way, only to hiss again as this time, Katja fired arcs of electricity at him.

“Quite a scientific little toy isn't it? They may be smaller than the prototypes but are still more deadly. Even children can be a weapon.” The Obersturmführer commented at the show.

The German squad could just watch in shock. They knew they had to help somehow but they couldn’t risk hurting their young friends, just likr Fletcher and his Alley.

William tried to fire at Katja’s legs with his MP40, hoping he could incapacitate her that way but the bullets just bounced off. “The new armor makes all the difference, don't you agree?” Deathshead taunted as his attempt.

Fletcher then dashed to another pillar as cover, bullets from Dinky’s Venom gun missed him by inches before she fired anther Panzerfaust and he got thrown to the ground by the explosion as he barely got away in time.

As he tried to get up, the filly dropped from the ceiling and onto him, pinning him down, a leg raised, ready to impale him. “Dinky! Don’t!” He pleaded, unable to free himself.

Blazkowicz by the hectic dodging got backed into a corner by the siblings. The German soldiers wanted to help, but their bodies wouldn’t respond, unable to aim at the children.

Yet, none of the children did the killing blow, just staring.

“What are you waiting for? Finish him...Kill him...I said KILL HIM!” The scientist yelled at Dinky but she didn’t respond, nor did her two friends. “You stupid creature, move!”

The ring on the horn blinked and an electric current went through Dinky via her horn as she screamed and her head and neck writhed, the siblings did the same but none of moved.

“What is wrong with you?! I created you, programmed you, perfected you for this purpose?! You dare disobey me?! Do you not know who that stallion is?! He is the one who abandoned you, who betrayed you, he is the cause of your suffering! Your enemy! The object of your rage and hatred! Show him! Show him your hatred! I command it!” Deathshead yelled but again, nothing happened after the kids got shocked.

“How...how can this be possible...Why don't you hurt him? Why...” He sounded slightly sad. “Why don't you hate?”

“The horn...ring...Take...the horn...ring.” Dinky managed to say in a quiet voice, but Fletcher had doubts.

“D-Dinky...It'll hurt...It could kill you.”

“Please...just...do it!” She pleaded and Fletcher hesitated for a moment but then grabbed the ring. He resisted the electric shock, and broke it in two. The little filly screamed in pain again, then fell lifeless to the ground.

William noticed a small antenna on the helmets of the siblings, so he drew a pistol and fired at it. It had the same result as with Dinky, both screamed in pain before also falling over in the same manner as the Proto-soldier.

“What? It's not possible! We will meet again another day!” Deathshead yelled in disbelief and fled out of the room.

“We chase him, you take care of them!” William said and ran with the Germans through the door the kids had entered.

Fletcher wasted no time to check for a pulse. “Please don’t be dead!” He prayed.

A very weak pulse was in all of them and he let out a sigh of relief.

Then suddenly, the door shot and he heard a hissing noise. Gas!

The stallion reacted quickly casting a shield spell around himself but the eyes of the kids snapped open, coughing and thrashing wildly. Yet he managed to teleport them to the coordinates of the hospital he had been provided with.

“I need help, quick!” He yelled at the staffas he arrived. The doctors looked briefly surprised at him yet didn’t hesitate to get the children to the emergency room.

Katja regained consciousness, her entire body started to ache greatly but she couldn’t see anything, feeling numb. Faintly, she could hear the sound of an ECG and a muffled clashing of metal. She couldn’t scream, only endure this agonizing level of pain, her heartbeats getting faster, panicking, trying to move but she had no feeling at all.

A weak light came into her vision and she found herself strapped in a table. She saw how Deathshead injected Dinky with a syringe, the filly screamed in pain, then did the same with Blau and her, they also screamed at the serve pain.

Then all three tables moved on a conveyor belt, coming to several armor plates, held by robotic arms. They mounted the armor on the bodies of her, her brother and Dinky, screaming again as the pain was serve, almost burning before the tables moved again.

It came to a smaller lab, the scientist was already waiting. A small claw forced Dinky’s right to stay open and the man inserted a needle, it was connected to a round device, causing her to scream. He did the same the colt and girl, both screamed and Katja’s entire body cramped as if something got injected into her again.

Faintly, there was a voice yelling to stop, before everything slowly started to fade.

Fetcher waited worried outside the Emergency room, it seemed like hours until a doctor came out. “How are they?” He used the man with hope, yet feared the worst.

“We managed to stabilize them. Thanks to your quick actions, the effects of the Poison gas have already dissipated. But…” The doctor’s expression became one of regret. “This, the drugs and chemicals in their blood has weakened them much and caused serve damage to their muscles and most other inner body parts. Also; I am afraid to say…” The man couldn’t finish and pointed to the door.

With wobbling legs, Fletcher slowly walked in, his heart beating frantically at what would expect him.

The moment he entered the room, he almost collapsed.

Dinky and her friends were on life-support, EKGs kept track of their heartrates, the beeping sounds filled the room together with the constant pumps and rhythms and hiss of steam of the CPBs, oxygen masks over their mouths.

“I’m sorry to say that they are in a coma, the shock of everything was too much. Also, we may have to amputate and the need a blood transfusion, due to the drugs and chemicals.” The doctor told with regret.

Fletcher stared, having to think of what happened to Dinky’s counterpart in that other Equestria.

It all had become true.

He took a deep breath. “I can help. They donated their blood for me once, so you don’t need to look for a suiting one.”

“I was just about to ask, given you’re from Equestria as they are. I will prepare everything.” The doctor replied and as he walked out, he saw out of the corner of his eyes how the stallion cast a healing spell on the children, groaning slightly.

A Fletcher saw the doctor returning with the equipment, he used a spell on himself to keep his nanomites contained. If they would go out and enter the bodies of the kids, it could be fatal.

Donating his blood was the least he could do to repay them for their saving action back in Africa. He hissed as the doctor injected him with the peripheral lines.

Faintly, he could see the guard in the other end of the hallway, its head slightly lowered, a hoof to the chest as if the guard wanted to express it was hard to see the condition of the kids for it too.

With a sigh, Fletcher looked at his three friends.

Dinky, Katja, Blau...I don’t know if you can hear me...but if you can, please listen...You need to come back. You can do it, I know you can. You gotta tell yourself over and over, ‘I wanna wake up.’ I know it’s tough. But you gotta fight to make it happen. For your families. For your friends. Your life. And your life is everything. Not just to yourselves but to everyone who loves you. Please. Don't give up. Not after all this.”

Unfortunately, they all had to play the waiting game. They couldn’t do nothing…but wait and pray.

Chapter 18 Purgatory

Chapter 18: Purgatory

Blau Streifen and Katja awoke with a gasp and panted heavily, unable to remember anything. “What happened?” The colt wondered.

“I don’t know. Is this…home?” Katja wondered as she looked around, noticing they were in a living room, looking very familiar to their house.

But the room was partially damaged, exposing them to the sky as the moon shined in. It was dark. Too dark for normal circumstances. Also, there was green fog everywhere.

Taking a look out of the window, they were confused and horrified.

Bodies of ponies and strangely, humans were littered outside, other buildings of Sunny Town were on fire and collapsed.

They both had no idea what had caused this, wincing as the scream of a female echoed in the distance.

Then a terrible groan greeted their ears and they saw in horror how all bodies on the street rose. The humans, they were all German soldiers, their flesh was rotten, their eyes glowed yellow, skin pale grey.

The ponies had all eyes completely red, coats black and grey, some bones were visible.

Both children started to remember the tombs in Africa, realizing what those humans and ponies were. “Zombies!” They exclaimed in shock but silenced themselves to avoid getting spotted by them.

Yet, it was scary and horrified to see undead ponies.

Blood Hooves.

A Mare's tale meant to scare young ones who wouldn’t behave, saying they were an evil pack of Ponies who did nothing but pray of the unfortunate ponies that happened to come across their path.

When they had found a victim they would kill, and eat their bodies down to the bone. After they were done, they would take their soul, twist it with evilness, and reconstruct their body into a new and undead one. When all was said and done, the victim would become a new Blood Hoof and would be doomed to wander the forest forever being cursed. No one knew exactly where the curse came from or why it even happened.

Set seeing them here proved they were real.

Some of the human Zombies wore gasmasks, others wore helmets, and some wore caps, while some Zombies had no headgear at all, but a knife in their head.

As weapons, they had meat hooks, flashlights, wrenches, and many other things.

Some of them even used Luger pistols and MP40s. However, the Zombies couldn’t use them effectively. They tended to wave them around and randomly pulled the trigger indiscriminately.

Then they, together with the undead ponies, started to feed on a body. The siblings couldn’t watch this and turned around, Blau gasped.

“Mommy!” He exclaimed as he saw a skeleton of a pony in the fireplace, his sister looked at it in shock.

“No…It can’t be…” she mumbled sad. They couldn’t tell why, but somehow, they knew it was their mother.

None of the two could imagine what had happened to her, who would do something like this?

Suddenly, a terrible groan came from it and they saw how the skeleton stood up with cracking bones, turning towards them.

“Mama…please…” Katja backed up with Blau as the Skeleton slowly stumbled towards them until they were trapped in a corner.

They hugged each other, knowing their life was about to end.

Slam! Crack!

“So sorry, Ruby. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.” A familiar voice said with sadness and they slowly opened their eyes.

“N-Nana?” Blau asked, seeing she had kicked the door open, the skeleton was a pile of bones.

The mare breathed heavily, looking at her grandchildren. “Are you hurt?”

“We-we're fine…” Katja stuttered.

“Good. Please…save yourself…” She said with regret in her voice.

“W-what?” Blau asked before Mitta vomited blood, grunting in pain.

She looked at them and her eyes slowly turned red, her coat decaying, slowly looking like one of the Blood Hooves. “Run!”

The siblings nodded and ran out of the door, ducking to avoid the strikes from the now alerted undead.

In their panic, they tripped over a root, yelping in pain as they hit the ground and crawled backward as the zombies closed in.

Then loud shots greeted their ears and they saw blood splattering from all zombie heads, falling to the ground.

Breathing heavily, they heard a voice asked, “Are you okay?”

Looking up, they saw it belonged to Fletcher, behind him were Escher, Hill and Christopher. The American was wearing forearm guards and shoulder pads, the German had a bloody bandage around his right leg, Hill one around his left arm.

“We-we’re fine…Where’s Dinky?” Blau asked, not seeing her anywhere.

“I’m afraid we have to still look for her,” Fletcher told with regret.

“What is happening?” Katja asked him confused.

“We don’t know exactly. The Nazis somehow found a way to invade and Equestria and we, together with the allies defended our land and as it looked grim, this all happened. We just made our way out of Canterlot and search for Dinky, as I located her not far from here.”

“We’ll keep you safe,” Konrad assured and they slowly nodded before another groan greeted their ears.

Mitta stumbled out of the house, now a full Blood Hoof too. Fletcher sighed and aimed for the head with his rifle and fired. Blood splattered and the mare fell dead to the ground, put out of her misery.

“Let’s move out, there’s nothing much we can do here.” Fletcher took the lead.

Katja and Blau looked briefly at her now dead grandmother, then followed the group. Their mother was also dead. They could only hope and pray Dinky, as well as their father, were still alive and not part of the undead.

A Thunderstorm ruled the sky as the group moved through the forest. Only now, the siblings noticed how Konrad and Christopher were also carrying scopes on their rifles, Hill carried a scoped Lee-Enfield, his Sten on his back.

A group of undead humans and ponies was in the distance, which the four soldiers took care of with clean headshots. The children took notice that the bodies disintegrated after a few seconds, and the way led to a large building, its name was on the roof, holes in some of the walls.

Glanders Gate Asylum.

Dinky awoke with a gasp at the sound of a drilling sound and screamed.

Looking around panting heavily, she was restrained on a dentist chair, blood on the ground and walls, she was in a room which looked like a Physician's office. The windows were barricaded.

Where am I?

She wondered and saw another bloody chair next to her. Again, the drilling sound came, echoing through the room, followed by a scream of a filly and Dinky’s eyes went small in horror as she recognized it. “T-To-Tootsie? No…”

“Seems clear.” A new voice entered her ears and she saw how Fletcher, Hill, Christopher and Escher walked in, followed by the siblings. “Dinky... You're okay. Thank Goodness.” Fletcher said relieved as freed her and she hugged him for comfort.

“What’s going on?” The little unicorn asked before a horrible groan greeted them.

Down the hallway came ponies in straitjackets, eyes completely red, coats black and grey, some bones were visible.

Behind them were German soldiers, their flesh was rotten, their eyes glowed yellow, skin pale grey.

Dinky could just stare, she hadn’t seen anything like this ever before.

Without hesitation, Fletcher and his three friends opened fire, taking them out before they could get close. “Move, stay behind us, children!”

They hadn’t to be told twice, following the stallion and men, seeing how they fought wave and wave of those strange humans and ponies before reaching a Power Room. Fletcher saw the switch, held by a cut off hoof and he switched it.

A large horde of ponies and humans approached but they got all zapped by bolts of lightning, and a door leading outside opened.

Dinky let out a sigh. “It’s over.”

“No. It ain’t over. This is just the beginning.” Fletcher replied as they went outside and explained everything.

The filly just blinked at all the information. The Undead? Blood Hooves? She had only heard the latter was a tale to scare naughty foals. It scared her to see them real, but also hoped her parents and friends were okay.

Just outside was a small house, a smile drawn on it and they all entered. It contained ammo, a safe house the kids realized.

Dinky froze as she saw a dead pony in a chair next to a table, covered in blood. “Daddy! NO!” She yelled and started to cry, not able to believe he was dead.

Again, Fletcher gave her a hug, together with the siblings. “I’m sorry, Dinky. We need to get you out of here...It's what he would have wanted.” He said before the radio buzzed.

“I won’t give up! I’m going to get help for you, Doctor! There’s an antenna on the hill which we can use to send a signal for assistance. I promise you I’ll be back. I love you, Doctor.” It was Derpy’s voice.

The filly took a deep breath, realizing Fletcher was right. “R-Right…” She stuttered and looked the body of her father again.

It looked like he had committed suicide. Was it because he couldn’t prevent this? Or because he allowed Derpy to go, instead of himself? She would never know.

The other door led to the back of graveyard and Fletcher saw the glint of a scope in the distance. “Watch out!” He yelled and pushed Dinky out of the way as a sniper shot was fired, hearing an echoing angry grunt of disappointment.

Looking through the scope, the stallion saw a Sniper that wore a gas mask with green goggles and a lighter colored jacket. Fletcher pulled the trigger, scoring a shot right through the scope.

A clattering sound greeted everyone’s ears and they saw how a Tiger tank crashed through the wall of the church on the other side and came to a stop with a broken track, the turret pointing downwards.

William let out a cry of pain as a bullet grazed him and laughter echoed in the distance, Fletcher looked into its origin and saw another sniper. This one jumped from vantage point to vantage point but left a green trail, making it easy for Fletcher to track it and took aim again.

He saw through his cope that this sniper was a female unicorn Blood Hoof and he recognized her from the body build, weighty.

Blue Murder. A loving and caring mother, having gone on the wrong side to protect her son. A part of him had respect for her. Exhaling, he fired and his bullet went right through her left eye, killing her for good. He could only hope the mare had found peace and that her son was still alive.

The group then moved into the half intact church and got upstairs for a better view before a loud groan echoed through the graveyard and they saw ponies and humans rising from the graves.

The four snipers opened fire, with the kids watching in horror as they fought off wave after wave from entering, and a loud scream greeted their ears. “Tötet Sie!”

Dinky’s, Katja’s and Blau’s eyes went small as they noticed a screaming Zombie running from the back of the others towards the church. He was glowing red, wore a headband and was holding a grenade in his right hand, in addition to dynamite on his belt.

A Suicide Bomber.

Konrad seemed to notice this and shot this undead right through the chest with his rifle. The Zombie fell to the ground and exploded in the middle of other undead moments later. Some of the undead lost their heads, stumbling around before falling dead to the ground, the same happened with some who had lost their limbs in the explosion.

It also cleared most of the horde, the stragglers were finished off with clear headshots and the Eternal knight pointed to a trench system on the other side.

At the end of it was the next safe house. “I’ve made it this far. There’s no going back now. I can’t imagine how much pain Doctor must be in At least he’s safe back there. We will make it through this. In my heart I know this. Doctor is strong. And his faith gives me strength.” Derpy’s voice sounded through a radio as the soldiers stocked up on ammo.

Yet, it pained Dinky that her mother didn’t know that her husband was dead before they moved on.

As they got to the next line of trenches, they all saw Skeletons fused into the walls, before they let out terrible groans and cracking noises, they got lose.

Dinky saw that their hearts were glowing and Fletcher fired a shot from the distance at it. The moment it was it, the skeleton fell into a pile of bones. “Aim for their hearts! It seems to be their weak spot!” The filly exclaimed and shot a spell at another Skeleton in the distance, having the same result.

Despite this, two of them managed to get close to the siblings, Katja kicked one, her brother did a standard buck attack instead, it had the same result as a shot to the heart. This pleased the children, knowing they help against the undead that way.

The trenches led to a closed gate, a group of both kinds of undead banged against it in an attempt to open it, succeeding but Konrad was quick on the draw.

“Grenade!” He yelled as he threw one into the middle of the groups. The explosion took both out nicely, only a few headless remained, dying after a few seconds.

They came to a train cart, converted into a safe house. “I don’t think I’m going to make it…” Derpy could be heard gasping through the radio. “I’m losing a lot of blood. I don’t want to die alone out here…” She coughed, “Doctor…I should have never left him…” She coughed again. “I must…” Another gasp, “push on to the antenna…” A second cough. “…For Doctor!”

Dinky looked to the ground. By the sounds, it was very likely her mother would die before making it. She wanted to sob, but knew she had to stay strong, she couldn’t have left her mother’s attempt in vain.

Walking outside, they came to a railway station near a river, a pier was connected to it. The radio was just at the end of the pier, but no sign of Derpy.

“Stay inside the house, I got a bad feeling about this,” Fletcher said to his young friends and they nodded. Inside, they saw how the four snipers walked to the pier and activated the radio, followed by a loud, echoing groan.

Zombies rose out of the water and the soldiers held their ground, firing at every single one. Again, it was wave after wave.

Then the eyes of the kids went wide as they spotted a tall Zombie among the others. His eyes were glowing red and he carried an MG42, as well as multiple belts of ammunition across his chest. He also wore a helmet and a swastika arm band on its left arm.

Unlike the other, he could take a lot of headshots, screaming in pain when he was hit. After a few hits, the helmet flew off and the zombie shook his head it pain, before Fletcher finished it off with another headshot. The head fell off and the Zombie fell on its knees and disintegrated.

“Okay…A…Elite Zombie, that’s new…” Ford let out a breath of relief as they gathered at a radio in the house.

“Intel reports the princes possesses something called the Sagarmatha Relic.” A British voice explained on the radio. “It seems to be the key in controlling the zombie menace. We think we have its location. Awfully sorry chaps, but we need you to get back into the Lion’s Den.”

“What…What does he mean?” Blau asked confused.

“We have to go back to Canterlot,” Fletcher told with unease. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe.”

The kids just nodded and they all got into a truck.

It was only a short ride until they arrived, a horrible sight. Like with Sunny Town, most buildings were on fire and damaged, destroyed trucks and tanks littered the streets.

Dinky and her two friends stayed back as the soldiers cleared the ruins of the undead then moved through it as it was clear.

As they moved through the ruins, they all noticed a symbol on the ground, drawn with blood. It looked like a star. Suddenly, it glowed in a firing yellow and Skeletons summoned from it.

The group quickly kicked them and moved on, coming to a barricaded road.

Heavy footsteps sounded and the soldiers took aim, the kids went to cover, knowing an Elite was close by. The wall of a house on the other side of the street was blown open and said undead came out, together with normal Zombies, walking close to some explosives. Fletcher fired at it and the explosion took out every single one of them.

It was a welcome sight that the safe house was just at the end of the street. A small library was in it, together with a radio on a table.

Fletcher turned it on, hoping to get some information, it crackled if is it tried to get a frequency.

“This damned device continues to baffle me. I've detected signs of necromantic properties, sorcery that may raise and control the bodies of the dead. That alone was cause for concern.” A voice with a Trottingham accent said on the frequency. The ponies recognized it, it was Purple Patch.

“Equestria has known more than several prominent necromancers over their long history, some of which have posed a nearly nation-wide threat. I've consulted the Eternal Knights about the ones they've seen. Midnight Blade himself saw the end of the dreaded Pale King of Arbator far to the untamed west, White Wolf's kin banished the Necromancer of Mor-Fenn-Dunn in the Everfree, better known among the deer as the Gulgurthan, and the Armbrust family saw off Zumiel Der Shwarzerjager, Herald of the Wild Hunt, from both Stirrope and Equestria.” He paused for a moment.

“I've examined and referenced the magics and procedures involved when these three terrors gripped the land in undeath but none of them match the device. It's not just new to this world, its downright anomalous. The magic, if it is indeed magic, resonating from it is unlike anything ever recorded or even seen in this world. I need to find out more. I dread to imagine what this could do if it falls into the wrong hooves. I barely feel safe while its in mine.” The stallion said before before he gasped.

“This is insanity! This is exactly as the Tanese texts predicted! I never suspected they were to be interpreted literally. The Sagarmatha Relic is of crucial importance now! I must return to the museum to retrieve it.”

“Well, now we know where to search first. I hope Patch can spare us the time though.” Fletcher commented as they got out.

Barely outside, a huge wave of flames lighted up at the end of the street and Zombies stumbled out. The four snipers manned some mounted MG42 and mowed them down, the kids covered their ears of the loud gunfire.

Also, some burning Zombies stumbled out of the fire but evaporated after just one hit.

Then they saw a large undead human walking out of the fire. He was badly burned, shrugging off any bullets. The undead raised it’ arms and summoned some burning normal zombies before bending slightly forward, arms lose in the air, apparently exhausted as the flames died down.

This was used by the soldier to concentrate fire and the large zombie fell over and exploded, taking all other undead with it.

“Okay, let’s go!” Fletcher took the lead through the ruins, going through a half-destroyed building. They look looked in awe as their way led through a room that was upside down, furniture floating.

“How’s that even…” Hill wondered.

“I don’t know and I don’t wanna know,” Konrad replied

Coming out of it, green fog was at the end of the road and a loud groan came out of it.

Waves of Zombies came out of the fog with Skeletons. The children took care of the latter, avoiding strikes from the normal undead deal by their adult friends. A few Suicide Bombers ran out of the fog but Fletcher reacted quickly and shot them with his rifle before they came far, exploding in the midst of their common brethren.

After the threats were neutralized the fog cleared, opening the way to the next safe room.

“I understand now why the Wolfsong Expedition was so well founded. If the Princess is still in procession of the other Relic pieces, then perhaps we still have a chance to reverse this nightmare.” Patch sounded on the radio, the others shared his hope.

Leaving the room, Blau yelped as a bullet hit the ground next to him and Konrad spotted a sniper on a building in the distance, killing him with a shot through the right eye.

Right at the end of the road, they could all see the museum, but the bridge was destroyed, only a small wooden plank let over it. Yet, as they approached a suicide Bomber appeared on it and blew it up, with common undead climbing up from the destroyed bridge.

Again, the kids focused on the Skeletons while the others took care of the normal undead and suicide bombers until it was clear. “How are we supposed to get over now?” Katja wondered.

“Through the plank.” William pointed out as it was still intact and they moved over it and through a staircase to the next safe room.

“If we had only known the true nature of the Sagarmatha Relic…We should have never allowed the pieces to be separated. The texts warned what would happen but we assumed it was an allegorical superstition. I wish it were.” Patch sounded rather worried in the radio before the group moved on.

Outside, the ground level of the museum was littered with corpses and fires but none of them looked like the purple Earth pony, making them hope he was still alive.

“Hey, it appears the relic is just ahead!” Blau pointed to a small room with a small book like object on a table. But as they got closer, the door closed and a loud roar echoed through the building.

“Fire demon!” Dinky exclaimed as she saw him walking around the corner, a horde of burning zombies behind it.

Fletcher and Konrad focused their fire on the large undead while the two Allied soldiers fired their SMGs on the other undead, keeping them at bay, until the demon died in a fiery explosion and the door opened.

Fetcher then took the relic, and they all looked at a painting.

It was a mural in the Northern Renaissance style, akin to something like Bosch or Ruben. It depicted the artefact in the centre of some bizarre ancient gathering, held aloft between three small rocky monoliths. But whatever had happened to it had unleashed something terrible. A crowd of people, strapping, bearded folk with robes of red, black and grey, were screaming and recoiling in terror as the relic emitted a sickly yellow light from which monstrous, skull-faced spectres with powerful arms and snake-like waists were flying out of, swarming the helpless crowd as something awoke that was never meant to wake.

Konrad then switched on a radio and William was checking a map.

“I have it! Now I must unite with the others in The Noonfort. I hope I-“ Konrad startled as Patch started to scream in the recording, becoming distorted as he was apparently being eaten by a zombie before it cut off.

“Okay, the bunker of the princess is not far from here,” William said and Fletcher nodded.

“Alright, let’s make sure Patch’s attempt was not in vain.”

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, and they used a boat to gets to the docks, deeper in Canterlot. The kids stayed on the ship as some Zombies came out of the water as the adults went off board but were quickly dealt with and they moved through the streets, shooting more undead until they came in front of a shopping center for clothes, seeing a undead German officer standing on the roof. Noticeable was his entire head was bandaged.

He raised his hands and yelled, "Arise!" It summoned a pack of zombies and the officer clutched its head in pain. Fletcher put a bullet through his head and Ford threw a grenade to deal with the pack efficiently.

Then they got inside the shopping mall, as the first safe house was located there.

“This is the end.” The voice of Wagensroll sounded on the radio there. “I’ve been summoned to The Noonfort but I’m not stupid. Prinzessin Luna will have us die with her before she surrenders. I’d sooner die fighting out here. I will not give up!” He said determined.

“I hope Wagensroll will survive this…” Fletcher mumbled with fear as they got out, exiting the mall and walking among a long street.

The kids looked up as they saw a plane flying overheard before it got shot down by a nearby AA gun and suddenly, four of those Zombie officers appeared on the wall.

In the moment they tried to summon other zombies, the four snipers shot them all with their quick reactions and moved on, with Fletcher sniping to more undead snipers as the way led to the crash site of the plane, past the AA gun that had it shot down. At the crash sites, a loud groan greeted their ears and Blau pointed at another one of those large flaming Zombies at the other end of the backward. “Flame guy!”

Fletcher, Konrad, Hill and Ford fired on it and just managed to take it out as it had summoned flaming zombies. To deal with those, they used their pistols, then checked the wreck but the pilots laid dead in their seats.

Sighing, Fray then led the group through a building into the next safe house, turning the radio on.

“What’s happening? The dead rise from the earth! This is Sorcery! Am I in Tartarus? Have I already died? Is this my punishment for defying the princess? I must return to The Noonfort!” Wagensroll decided on the radio before the group moved on again.

Their route led them to a field hospital, littered with dead Royal Guards.

With groans, they all stood up, red eyes and red skin, just like the Blood Hooves, forcing the four soldiers to take them down.

One guard game close to the kids, they ducked the former guard’s strike and kicked him, throwing him back before Konrad shot it into the head with his pistol and the stallion led them all to the next safe house in a building behind the field hospital, again turning the radio on.

“…Must return to the…” Wagensroll let out a guttural moan, “I must…” He snarled, “…The Noonfort!” His voice sounded distorted before groaning, “…To the Noonfort!” A groan was heard before it ended.

Fletcher listened to it with unease. His relative was most likely becoming a Blood Hoof, so he hoped he and his friends had taken him earlier out. If not, they could only give the Earth pony a quick death.

Outside, they spotted a hole in one of the towers, green fog covered it and a horde of Blood Hooves came out. The soldiers opened fire, thinning them out before they came close as a Suicide Bomber ran out of the fog too. This time, Christopher managed to score a hit, the explosion cleared the way and they could enter through the hole into the fort.

Inside, blood was splattered on the walls, dead guards everywhere and the kids startled as an echoing scream ringed through the Bunker.

“Equestria will not fall!!” The Royal Voice gone wrong, tearing its way through the corridors and making every hair on those who heard it stand on end.

It had a very scaring atmosphere as they moved on, coming to a corridor as it sounded again.

“Execute Plan Z!”

At first, none of the kids wanted it to be true, but they had to realize that Luna and caused all this in an attempt to prevent to let Equestria fall to the enemy, unaware of the consequences as Patch’s messages hinted. Still, it didn’t made sense. Why would she even allow something as this?

The corridor led to some stairs and a few Skeletons came up, the kids kicked them to free the way, hearing Luna again. “This was supposed to protect us!”

“Oh, Luna, what did you do?” Fletcher wondered and her voice ringed again.

“You…tell…me…this…now?!”

Suddenly the heard screams at the next room, but what they saw was beyond their imagination.

Fletcher saw, a green unicorn stallion hanged up by changes, screaming and withering in pain. Three humans were around him, impaled, wrench themselves free, in vain.

The stallion was none them himself, the humans his three friends. “Wh-what? What is this? How’s that…possible?”

“I have no idea…” Hill said puzzled.

Not even the kids could imagine this horror as they looked at it.

With a loud bang, the wall next to them got destroyed and they saw one of those MG gunner Zombies walking out. “Please…don’t!” Katja cried out as she crawled backward with her brother and friend, getting up as the four snipers fired at the zombie.

They had to back up to keep the distance from the MG fire, Konrad threw a grenade at the Blood Hoofs behind it and Ford managed to take the tall undead out with a clear headshot.

After he was down, they walked into the bunker, seeing another relic on a table, but no sign of Luna. Yet, the body of a bat pony with a bloodied head was lying on the ground, Fletcher recognized him. Supernova, Midnight’s relative.

Dinky and her friends looked away as Hill studied another map and Fray examined the relics, holding them close together. To his surprise, they attracted each other like magnets and became one. Two yellow bar glowed on it.

“Got it! The last relic appears to be outside of Canterlot in a fortress!” The Brit pointed at it on the map.

“Okay. We get best get there by rail. Let’s go to the Train Terminal.” Fletcher suggested and they moved through an underground tunnel, which served as evacuation route for the Noonfort. The ceiling rumbled, creating dusk.

They came past a radio that Fletcher turned on. “We’ve carpet-bombed the local area to thin out the threat. This should give you a slightly better chance of making it to the train Terminal. From there, you may be able to find transportation to the location of the final piece of the Relic. Good luck!” A British officer informed them.

Once they made it up a ramp, a wasteland of debris greeted them, showing that the bombing had reduced most to rubble before an explosion happened in the rubble. The smoke cleared and another of those large flaming Zombies came out.

Fletcher and his friends focused fire on it, managing to bring it down before it could summon any other Zombies and moved on to the first safe house. An undead sniper guarded the entrance from a window above but Fray shot first and took him out.

An armchair and a lamp were in the house, with a radio, which the stallion turned on. “This area is a wasteland No way any vehicles can get through.” A male voice said and the pones recognized it as Shining Armor. “I’m going to try it to the Terminal – it’s the only way out. The buildings are crumbling –this is worse than the bombings. What is happening here?”

Dinky and the siblings waited at the exist as the four soldiers cleared out the ruined building with their SMGs, then followed after into the street, seeing a crashing bomber, a still intact bomb stuck in the ground near a collapsed tunnel.

“If we trigger this bomb, we should be able to blast our way into the tunnels,” Fletcher suggested and activated it, the timer started to count down.

Just as he had done this, green fog appeared from both sides followed by a groan. “Quick, get back!” The stallion said to the kids and they nodded.

Dinky, Katja and Blau watched out of their hiding spot with worry how their friends fought off waves of undead ponies and humans, among a few Suicide Bombers before the bomb exploded, opening the way.

The tunnel led to the outside of the train Terminal, a few Skeletons blocked the way, but Dinky shot a few with her spells, the siblings kicked the others and all got inside after it as clear.

“I hope the rail tracks are clear between here and the outer Fortress. I don’t know why they built one so far from the Capital. It must be protecting something important to Equestria…But what?” The Captain of the Guard wondered.

Going outside, they had to see that the access gate was closed so they went into a tower with the switch to open it. An Alarm went off and another groan sounded in the distance, so Konrad manned a mounted MG42 and fire in the incoming horde, assisted by the other soldiers. “Watch out! Suicide Bomber on the right!” Katja warned and the German mowed it down, the explosion took a few more with it.

“Fire guy, dead ahead!” the grey colt warned and the soldiers focused fire, taking it down quickly.

Then they moved through the maintenance shed, dealing with a few snipers through it. Everywhere were wagons but no engine to use.

An MG gunner waited at the safe house, the kids went behind a crate for cover to avoid its bullets as their protectors took the large undead down and got into the safe room.

“I’m not going out there again. I’m going to wait here, where it’s safe, and wait for rescue. The princess must have a plan. She wouldn’t abandon us to this Tartarus. Hail Luna!” Shining Armor said determined on the radio, Fletcher had pity for him, knowing he wouldn’t probably survive that way.

Outside, the soldiers took care of few undead, then got with the kids into a small underground part and it rumbled before Skeletons summoned from the ground. Dinky and the siblings showed no fear as they attacked the Skeletons, with the adults fired at two snipers in the distance, scoring headshots.

The way then led to a bridge, going over a wagon, leading to a still intact engine. Suddenly, suicide Bombers appeared on both ramps and exploded, blocking the with large fires and a large horde of undead moved in.

Fletcher, Ford, Escher and Hill manned some mounted MG42 and fired on the horde, Dinky, Katja and Blau covered their ears from the loud gunfire, seeing how their friends fought of more Bombers and even an MG Zombie, which fell quickly to its own weapon before it was clear and they could use the Engine.

After a short ride, they could see the fortress in the distance, being a large tower. A great hulk of silver and black with jagged crystal spires emitting an eerie blue light, small floating tower-tops circling around it. Quite a sight to behold, being an artillery system harnessing light energy from the moon to launch hails of explosive ice at the enemy from staggering distances, as far as Fletcher knew.

They moved through a fuel dump, taking out any undead they came across until the way was blocked by a parked truck, a fuel canister next to it. Fray blew it up with a well-aimed shot and a scream came out of the flames, seeing another one of those flaming Zombies. He managed to summon a horde of flaming normal zombies before succumbing to the sniper fire, his lower brethren were quickly killed by the pistols of the snipers.

Coming to a long bridge, the soldiers shot an MG Zombie at the other end and entered the first safe house, located in a watchtower, also noticing a plane passing by.

“Hello down there! Amazed you’re still alive! Jolly good show! Don’t fancy your chances, mind. I’m looking for a place to land. Keep moving and I’ll be in touch!” The pilot of the plane informed them over the radio.

“Good, we have a ride out of here once this is over,” Konrad commented with relief.

Outside, He and his comrades fought a large horde of undead coming out of the mist, using grenades to thin out the horde and eliminated 2 snipers firing from guard towers.

Once it was clear, they moved on, seeing the next safe house just art the other end.

Or so they thought.

As Dinky got close, the wall exploded, throwing her over and she saw a horde led by an MG undead coming out. She crawled backward as demonic laughter echoed, managing to get up and get behind her friends as they fired at the undead.

After the horde was defeated, she noticed the smile was now an evil wicky face, but the real safe house was just behind the wall and the pilot reported again.

“I don’t know how it looks down there but it’s not looking pretty from up here! Command have kicked off Operation Red Harvest. That’s wiping out the entire region with atomic bombs to you and me. I’ll stay in the area as long as I can but you really need to get a move on!”

“Do…Do you think we’ll make it in time?” Blau asked scared, shivering at the thought of dying here but Christopher put a hand on his shoulder.

“We will make it. We have not made it this far to die now.” He said with a smile and the boy nodded.

And true to his words, they came closer and closer to the fortress, entering a trench system with to MG bunkers as green fog was around it, an echoing scream came out of it. Fletcher and Konrad got into one bunker with Dinky, the Sergeant manned the MG 42, the siblings followed into the other bunker, Ford manned the MG here.

They fought a horde of Skeletons coming out of the fog, wearing armor, but the MG tore through it like it was nothing.

Upon the area being clear, they moved into a third bunker at the end of the trenches, being the next safe house.

“Hello? I’ve found a spot where I can touch down but it’s crawling with zombies! And this place will be blasted into an atomic wasteland any minute now…I’ll circle a couple more times but then I’m going to have to bail. Awfully sorry chaps but unless you pull a miracle, you’re gonna be on your own!” The pilot warned, yet they weren’t ready to give up now, being so close to their goal.

Leaving the bunker they found themselves right at the entrance of the fortress, the doors opened and a demonic voice said, “Welcome.” And a large undead horde came out.

The four snipers quickly manned some mounted MG42s and fired on the horde, thinking it out before they got too close.

Then they moved into the fortress blood was splattered on the walls, with corpses on the ground.

Walking up the stairs, they came past a closed room, hearing a voice from the other side. “Shadowplay, help me get this door open, we must get out of here!”

Fletcher recognized the voice, it belonged to Tybalt, a friend of Blue Murder, being the only one left with Shadowplay. “Shadowplay?” Tybalt asked before they heard a terrifying groan, followed by Tybalt screaming, seeing flashes of gunfire through the door slot and blood poured out.

The green pony winced as this, not even somepony as Tybalt had deserved such a fate, all his friends looked also with shock at this before they walked up the stairs to the roof.

On it, they heard grunts of pain and could only stare at what they saw.

Grey Hoof was held into the by four undead officers, a green glow all around them. “Help me please…I can’t hold on! No!” He yelled with a distorted voice before there was an explosion, throwing the undead officers away.

As the dust cleared, they started in shock at where the stallion had been. There was now a transparent spirit, his head was a skull flaming eyes, floating in the air. “Join us!” He said in an echoing demonic voice as he summoned Zombies.

Despite being shocked at the sight, the kids took notice of three floating skulls orbiting him. “Shoot those Skulls!” Katja yelled and their friends took aim, avoiding the zombies and hit them.

The moment the last Skull was destroyed, a white light engulfed Grey Hoof.

As it vanished, they all saw him in his full body. He looked around for a brief moment, then raised his hooves as if he tried to charge up something.

Fletcher quickly took aim shot him into the head. The stallion let out an echoing scream in pain and became transparent again.

Yet it became hectic, so Dinky with her young friends went down the stairs to stay out of harm. Then they saw two undead ponies climbing over the wall.

One of them was an Earth Pony stallion, wearing a Stetson hat, his ribcage was visible among the black and grey coat, holding a pistol in his hoof. The other one was a batpony stallion. Noticeable was he had only one eye, the other one was gone, with the other half of the face horribly scarred, they could swear they saw parts of his skull.

The Earth Pony aimed his pistol at them and fired, but the bullets spread all over the place. In response the Batpony roared and lunged at them at a horrifying speed, a knife held over his head, they barely dove out of the way.

Recovering, they saw how, a bullet hit the Earth pony stallion from behind into the head, and he fell over, the hat falling off, and the batpony turned towards the shooter.

It was Fletcher, he could barely react before the undead bat pony lunged at him in the same manner, knocking him down. Using his left hoof, Flecher held the knife back and drew his pistol with his other hoof, shooting the undead stallion several times into the side of the head and threw the body off him as the red eye ceased to glow.

He then aimed at Grey Hoof and shot him into the head again as the other had taken out the Skulls and Grey Hoof screaming in pain again, falling to the ground.

“No! Curse you!” The all heard him yelling as a green light engulfed him and all other undead fell lifeless to the ground.

The light vanished as they saw the stallion lying next to the last piece of the Relic. “Is he…” Blau asked with fear as the Knight checked him.

“No, just unconscious.” He replied and checked the relic, holding the other pieces close to it. They connected and a bright yellow light blinded them all.

“I see you. Hold tight I’m coming to get you!” They heard the pilot and wasted no time to get it as he landed, taking Grey Hoof with them. “Welcome aboard! Hold on to your hats!”

Just moments later, an atomic explosion went off in the distance and they were all glad they had made it. Fletcher eyed the Relic as it ceased to glow yellow and smiled, relieved it had worked.

Then loud demonic laughter echoed.

Chapter 19 Army of Darkness

Chapter 19: Army of Darkness

Fletcher woke up with a slight gasp, looking around. He was still in the hospital room, he had just dreamed again. Ever since the kids were in a coma, he suffered the same nightmare over and over again, protecting them from a with Zombies overrun Equestria.

“I don’t want to bother you, Fletcher, but you should eat something.” He turned around to see a nurse with brown hair and matching eyes walking in, carrying a plate with broad on it. He recognized her, it was Wendy Thwaites, the same burse who had him patched up in Africa.

“Thanks.” He replied and took a bite. The stallion stayed with the kids, not leaving their side, praying day and night they would wake up, not able to imagine telling their parents and friends the news of them never waking up.

Wendy looked at the children with pity. “Poor things. I can't imagine how someone could do something so terrible. It's a miracle that they survived this. Someone's certainly watching out for them, thank the Lord. I'll do all I can but rest assured, I won't let them come to any more harm.”

“I know to appreciate that.” Fletcher gave her a weak smile.

“I know. When you were injured, they also stayed with you, not leaving your side. Like them, you must have a strong watcher, having survived at all.” She then sighed. “I don’t want them to suffer as my son did.”

“You had a son?” Fletcher asked surprised.

“I was mother and wife. Now I am neither. During the blitz, my son was trapped in a building and my husband went in to save him, but they never came out. I became a nurse to prevent others would have the fate I had.” She said with sadness in her voice.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Fletcher said with sympathy.

“Don’t be. Reminds me, we found out what purpose the eyepieces had. Turns out, they were a cross between a contact lens and acupuncture. A tiny needle pierced the pupil and send Deathshead’s orders to the brain. Wasn’t easy to remove, to avoid the shock killing them. Also, the drugs and chemicals were to boost their muscles, so they could carry the armor and weapons without trouble.” She told him and he took a deep breath.

“Did Blazkowicz get him?”

“Sadly, he escaped, but we managed to find out something…unnerving. The mission of William was to find out more about an Operation called Resurrection. As far as I know, it was led by Himmler, planning to resurrect Heinrich I. To do that, he needed an advanced synthetic humanoid host, in that case, Deathshead’s Super Soldiers.”

Fetcher shivered at the thought of the kids being used for this and becoming undead, something he couldn’t reverse. “Then good I managed to get them out quickly.”

“Yes. Your quick arrival forced him to rush things, thus the weak point in the antennas and ring, as well that he couldn’t replace anything as he did with his prototypes. But I think he wanted to directly utilize the kids as weapons of war against us.”

The unicorn then let a sigh, looking at the three children. Where the eyepieces had been, was a bandage now. “Then good we managed to act so quickly.”

He couldn’t tell how long it was before it became evening, only a lamp on a nightstand provided light and he blinked as he looked at the kids. They had a dark stripy pattern around their shoulders.

“What? No, it can’t be…” Fletcher mumbled in disbelief, the nanomites couldn’t have gone through and blinked again.

Their shoulders were normal and he groaned. “Maybe some sleep gets my head clear.” And he closed his eyes, drifting off.

“Fletcher, you’re okay?” A voice asked him and he opened his eyes, finding himself on a rooftop in Canterlot next to a radio with a loudspeaker attached to it. Behind him the kids, his three comrades and Grey Hoof, now awake.

“I’m fine. You?” He asked the Earth Pony.

“A bit exhausted but otherwise I’m good.”

“Ah! I see you made it back to the city!” a voice on the radio said, it was familiar to Fletcher but he couldn’t point his hoof on it. “We’ve established a base of operations near your position – if you can make it over here, I’ve got a mission for you!”

Just as they got to the stairs, the siblings pointed to two ponies in the rooftops in the distance, they were yelling for help as a Blood Hoof came from behind but Fletcher shot it and saved them both.

Then they moved down the stairs, coming to a bar with a Royal Guard and Allied soldier staying guard. “It’s getting pretty heavy out there. Someone needs to clear this place out.” The human said to the Royal Guard.

“I hear you. We’d better stay alert until we hear from Operations.” The Guard replied, then took notice of the group. “The grandmaster’s waiting for you at Operations. It’s just another couple of streets away, you must have seen it from the roof. Be careful!”

“Okay. Children, Grey Hoof, stay here, we’ll clear the streets.” Fletcher said and they nodded.

Outside, they saw barricades and mannequins with loudspeakers on the streets. “We’ve set decoys to clear Zombies from your path! Feel free to activate them!” The loudspeaker voice informed them and they tried it out.

The decoy played music that attracted the undead and they tried to hit it before it exploded, taking the zombies with it. Using this and their weapons, the soldiers cleared the streets quickly.

Together, they all moved across the street, coming past a bunker with a barbed fence next to it and into a ruined house, climbing up a small elevation before coming to a steel door with a caged zombie next to it.

“Excellent, you made it! Now just give me a few seconds while I run through the decontamination protocols!” The loudspeaker voice said and they heard a hissing sound. “Don’t worry, this stuff won’t hurt you, but it’s effective on Zombies!” True to the words, the zombie died and the door was opened.

Entering the first room was a small prison block. “Head on in, the Grandmaster’s waiting for you.” One of the guards said and they walked through, passing by another guard.

“We were hit hard. We lost quite a few good soldiers.” The second guard said to them.

The second room was a small hospital, leading to a big corridor connecting all other rooms.

Fletcher blinked in surprise as he saw a unicorn stallion in golden armor sanding at the doorway to the kitchen. Noticeable was that he wore a golden mask of a tranquil, cherubic young steed and his armor was damaged, exposing burned spots of his fur.

Fletcher recognized him. Solomon, his former archenemy. But the Knight knew there was no reason to attack him, they were all in this together.

“Good to see you kept the children safe, Fletcher,” Solomon said to him. “We have a situation. Your friends Wolf and Midnight were forced into the nearby hospital on their way back. That place was overrun long ago and we’ve not heard from them. I need you to find out what happened to them and the Intel they were carrying. Don’t worry, the kids are safe with us.”

“Okay. We see you later.” Fletcher smiled at the kids, they returned it.

“Be careful,” Dinky replied before he left with his three friends and Solomon stepped aside, so they could get into the kitchen.

They all three had a smile at the small toy train driving around the big corridor, somehow it made them happy.

“Hey there, children.” A female voice said and they turned around to see a unicorn mare with a light gray hide that had a hint of blue, a henna mane and tail, and a frying pan cutie mark. “Are you hungry? After that long journey, you should eat something.” She pointed to a table.

All three followed her, they hadn’t eaten something since Fletcher’s group found them and could need something warm in their stomachs, seeing also a Pegasus stallion, having reddish-brown hide the same color as the mare’s hair, and a dark brown mane and tail, as well as a small goatee, standing at a stove, a sting flame came out of it.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not normal!? I was only trying to make a cup of tea.” He said dumbfounded before serving the food with the mare. As they were eating, they took notice of a gramophone playing music. It sounded nice and relaxing.

The kids heard the mare sigh. “I hope my son’s okay…”

“She got hugged by the stallion. “I’m sure he is, my dear.”

Fletcher and his friends just moved on as they heard the PA saying, “The generator sounds like it’s on its last legs. Someone go check it out.”

He nodded at his friends and they returned it, walking down to the generator room, seeing that the machine was smoking and stammering. The all did their best to fix it, not wanting that the children could be endangered if the generator would fail, then moved on the bunker door, where a US soldier waited for them.

“I’m sorry, I can’t open the gate just yet, the streets are swarming and our bunker is almost overrun! We could use your help in there, thinning them out! We’ve set up a radio out there. That seems to attract them – Turn it on when you’re ready!”

“Okay, let’s do this!” Fletcher walked out, followed by the others.

After finishing their meal, Dinky and the siblings smiled at the two adults. “Thank you, it was delicious.”

“Glad to hear it, Dinky.” The mare replied as Grey Hoof went to the medic to for a checkup and rest, before a voice called out,

“Dinky!”

She turned around and started to grin as she saw to whom the voice belonged to. “Pip! You’re okay!” She hugged him, seeing that behind him was his mother, Pinch, Noi, Rumble, the CMC and Tungsten, even Tootsie to her surprise.

“Yes. We managed to get out of Ponyville before it was overrun.” The little colt said with a sad voice. “Twilight…her friends…Blue Murder…they all held back the hordes…”

“We had never made it without them.” Nancy added.

“I see…” Dinky took a deep breath at the news and looked at her cousin with a relieved smile. “Tootsie, I thought I had lost you, when I…”

She couldn’t finish as Tootsie hugged her. “I thought so too when the Nazis captured us for…experiments. Sparks managed to save me just in time, but… the Blood Hooves got her.” She trembled slightly.

“I’m sorry, Tootsie. She was a great Big sister.” Dinky replied with sympathy.

Tootsie just nodded with tears in her eyes.

“I suggest you get some rest after all this.” Nancy interrupted and Dinky nodded, feeling a bit exhausted.

“Rest well.” Pip added as the three went to the beds and the unicorn fell instantly asleep.

“What the?” Blau mumbled in surprise as a green mist engulfed Dinky and suddenly…she was a Skeleton.

“Uhh…” Katja could only stare in confusion and fear.

Dinky wake up to find herself in a cave of blood and bones, Skeletons were fused to the walls, trying to reach out for her. “Where am I?” She looked around in fear and started to walk as she heard grunts of pain at the other end and gasped.

Luna was lying on the ground, a key rammed into her chest. The filly wasted no time to rush over and tried to pull it out.

“Arise!” A demonic voice said as she got thrown back and to her horror, she saw Luna standing up, now being a Blood Hoof.

Quick as a flash, Dinky opened her eyes and stood up, her friends looking at her with scared expressions. “Something wrong?”

“You…you turned into a Skeleton right in front of us!” Katja exclaimed in shock.

“What? I can’t remember anything, just drifted off to sleep.” She replied confused.

“Maybe...we just really need some rest right now...” Blau concluded.

After a hard battle, Fletcher and his friends had thinned the undead out that it was safe to move, getting informed that there was a radio in the hospital they should use.

With the streets now safer, Allied soldiers and Royal Guards patrolled the streets, taking care of stragglers, with the group, coming to the hospital just a few streets away.

“You down there! Help me!” Fletcher looked up to see Doctor Stable on the roof of the hospital chased by a Blood Hoof and quickly took it down. “Thank you!” The doctor said and ran out of view.

Then they entered the lobby, fighting some Blood Hooves as a loudspeaker turned on. “They turn on the living but not each other! They are changing before my eyes! Ah, my children!” It sounded like one of the other doctors, having gone insane.

As the group fought their way through the rooms, they heard it again. “I’ve infected all the patients now! They are unified, perfect!”

The way led them to a Surgery room and Fletcher took notice of something written in blood on the wall. You can still save them.

He had barely time to think about it as he heard the mad doctor again. “Ah! I have been infected! Now I will join them” He giggled insane.

Then they entered what looked like a morgue, bodies of Blood Hooves everywhere. A recorder was on a Table, Fletcher turned it on.

“This is…Midnight…” He sounded in pain. “I’m not going to make it…I know Command will…send someone to look for me and Wolf…Paradise knows whoever that is…If you’re hearing this…you have to send the attached message…to Operations. They can...decode it…the information is crucial! It…could reverse…this nightmare…”

Then it ended and the bodies groaned, started to get up, the soldiers stomped their heads or shot them into the heads with their pistols, yet Fletcher froze in shock as saw that one of the Blood Hoof bodies was a Pegasus mare, the lower part of her lips were missing, exposing two fangs. White Wolf.

She growled and lunged at Fletcher who tried to get her off him as she tried to bite him, holding her back as best as he could. Konrad shoved her of the unicorn and fired his pistol, knocking her back with every shot before the final bullet went through her head. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Fletcher said as he got up and spotted a Blood Hof on a balcony above, looking like a bat pony.

It raised its hooves. “Arise!” The undead yelled and all killed Blood Hooves, Wolf included got engulfed in a firing orange, standing up again.

The zombie was Midnight. Fletcher took a deep breath, aimed down his rifle and fired. The bullet went right through Midnight’s left eye and through the brain as he clutched his head, uttering gibberish.

Midnight’s body fell from the balcony on the ground and Fray lowered his head. Both his fellow knights were dead now, but at least he had put them out of their misery.

Knowing that he had to finish their mission, he moved on with his friends, coming to the radio, Doctor Stable checked his bag in a table next to it.

Suddenly, Fletcher got an idea, he couldn’t tell why or how, remembering the words on the wall and grabbed Stable’s bag, running back to the bodies of his fellow knights. “Hey, what are you doing?” Konrad yelled and they ran after him.

To their surprise, they saw him using a syringe and the two bodies got engulfed in green mist, rising and…they were alive again. “It’s weird, I really do feel much better!” Wolf mumbled surprised, while Midnight held his left eye.

“Argh...Gonna' feel that in the morning. Did you have to shoot me through the eye?” He asked Fletcher, who countered,

“Had you liked it somewhere else?”

“No. Finish the mission for us, we are too weakened to do it ourselves. We better get back to Operations and rest.”

“Good luck, Fletch.” Wolf said and the two left with Doctor Stable close behind, Fletcher yet wasted to time to transmit the Intel.

“Transmission received! I’ll start decoding this straight away!” Solomon acknowledged on the radio and they moved into a safe house where he had news for them. “Top notch Intel from your fellow knights. It mentions something about a ‘vault of power’ and a ‘keystone’ but it’ll take time to decipher all of that. In the meantime, their Intel says Nightmare Moon’s got her filthy hooves on the Book of Souls and she’s using it to marshall the zombies over on the east side of the city! This could be your chance to take her out!”

Again, Fletcher took a deep breath. This wasn’t the princess anymore he had sworn loyalty anymore. The safety of the children and all of Equestria was depending on him.

Going out of the back of the hospital, a strange sight greeted them. Several ponies on the streets, frozen as statutes.

“Deputies!” The voice of Nightmare Moon echoed through the streets. “Your dedication to Equestria is commendable! Your sacrifice will be rewarded in the fires to come!”

The group then reached the entrance to a tunnel behind a closed gate, so Christopher placed an explosive charge on it. The explosion created a chain reaction, setting the buildings next to it on fire and flaming undead stumbled out.

They all used mounted MGs against the undead, mowing them down until was safe to enter.

Then they moved through the tunnels, shooting every undead they saw until they came to an elevator shaft for a cargo elevator, with Fletcher calling it. Two Blood Hooves climbed out of the shaft but were crushed by the elevator as it came down and the four friends entered it, realizing it was a safe room as it rode up.

The elevator stopped at what looked like a train station, a train was parked there. “For your own safety, please stand away from the platform edge.” A PA system warned, “Your luggage and equipment must be kept with you at all times. Loss of equipment will not be tolerated!” It added as Fletcher pulled a lever to release the train.

“This is an all-passengers notice: Stand back from the platform edge. The train at Platform B is preparing for departure. There may be loud noises and noxious fumes while the engines are tested and brakes released.” The PA system informed as the group defended itself from zombies coming from all sides out of burning elevators.

Among the normal were Skeletons, noticeable by the glowing hearts. Loud screams came from behind, seeing a zombie with a grenade in his hand, another Suicide Bomber.

Some zombies got mowed down by a stream of bullets from behind. It was a large zombie in a black uniform, another of those MG zombies.

Ford kicked the Skeletons and Hill managed to shot one Bomber in the middle of the horde, dealing massive damage as it took out most of the normal zombies, some lost only their arms. Fletcher and Konrad stayed on the move to avoid the MG fire, shooting the Elite whenever they got the chance. It was overwhelming but they brought it down eventually and the PA system notified them.

“The train is now ready for departure. You may proceed to board. Please ensure you have all of your assigned equipment and always give priority to higher ranks.”

With that, they boarded the train car at the back, being a safe house. “It seems Nightmare Moon’ using the trains to transport her troops to her zombie headquarters! You’d better keep your wits about you on this this train – who knows WHAT’s on board with you?” Solomon warned them on the radio. “Good luck!” He added before they moved out towards the engine.

On the freight cars, they fought zombies breaking out of wooden crates, some were armor, requiring several shots until the head was exposed until they came to the next safe house in the next car.

“My, my, what is Nightmare Moon up to? Crating up zombies for transportation and now she’s got body parts in storage? She’s planning something big. This ‘vault of power’ the Intel mentioned seems to be the source of this zombie outbreak – maybe you can stop this madness from here! I’ll keep looking into it. In the meantime, the sooner you deal with Nightmare Moon, the better!” Solomon informed them on the radio and Fletcher couldn’t agree more.

They came across a few Allied soldiers and a Royal Guard held in cells. “You’ve got to find the key!” One of the Allied soldiers said to the group and they looked for it, coming past zombie also trapped in cells, trying to reach out for them.

As they came closer to the engine, they strangely saw Skeletons in Stasis pods. “Okay…” Hill mumbled in disbelief as they reached the engine.

The door was thrown open and two MG zombies walked out, together with normal zombies. “Back up!” Fletcher yelled as the bullets of the MG42s hit the pods and the Skeletons jumped out as it cracked.

Taking aim, Fletcher and Konrad focused their fire on the elites, Hill took care of the Skeletons and Ford threw a grenade to deal with the normal zombies.

Just as they reached the cell car, they defeated all hostiles and moved to the engine, seeing two deceased guards in the driver sears, and a key hanging on the wall.

Fletcher took it and ran back to the prisoners and released them all. “Oh thank God we’re free! We’ll take our chances in the tunnels from here. Thank you!” One Allied soldier said to him and he nodded, going back to the engine.

Konrad used the breaks as the unicorn came back. “The old world is finished! The new Equestria will cover the globe and reshape history!” A female voce echoed and they saw a Blood Hoof unicorn in armor on a rostrum, the train station above it. Also a huge crowd of Zombies, both human and pony stood in front of the Alicorn.

The Pony race shall become one perfect species in death! All evil has been waiting for this moment, this time of ultimate rebirth!” Nightmare Moon announced as the stallion took aim, knowing he could end this here. “Unliving, undying, we have reached our perfection!” She finished and Fletcher pulled the trigger.

But what happened next was surprising and shocking.

The bullet stopped midair, just inches from Nightmare Moon’s face, falling to the ground and she looked at them, with she fellow Zombies turning around, way too many to fight.

They all took a step back, unsure what to do before William grabbed the Relic from Fletcher’s back and held it into the air. It glowed yelled and the undead stood down, turning back to the mare. She made a gesture for them to pass.

“How did you know?” Fletcher asked confused.

“Instinct I guess. We should move on, maybe there’s something in the woods that help us.”

Fletcher nodded and they walked through the woods.

It was a quiet walk for some time before they spotted a castle in the distance on a mountain. “That’s where they need to go.” Fletcher announced, he couldn’t’ tell how or why he knew this, seeing it was the castle of Sunless Island.

As they moved through a glade, the ground in front of them caught fire and burning ponies stumbled out screaming. They startled and took a step back. “Turn back…or stay forever…” A demonic voice warned before the ponies and fire vanished.

Yet they moved on, there was no turning back now

The way led to a house, the doors were locked. “Don’t come in here!” A female voice warned from inside. “Something’s happening to Aversion – it’s like he’s possessed! Aversion, you have to fight it!” She yelled before zombie screams sounded in the distance. “Oh gosh, I can hear them out here! Aversion! Aversion, don’t let it take you!

In response, the soldiers took positions, Konrad manned a mounted MG42 behind sandbags and they fought off a horde of undead, while the mare tried to encourage the stallion he could do it, saying mother’s here for him.

Suddenly they all heard him speaking in a foreign language and the mare pleaded him to snap out of it as a Fire Zombie appeared. He did fall quickly to the MG42 and the mare yelled, “Wait, Aversion! What are you doing?” And she screamed, followed by sounds of slaughter.

“Oh my…What have I done?” The stallion asked in shock as the door opened and the four took a look. A large buddle of blood was on the floor, Aversion, a earth pony with red mane, grey coast and a blue flame as cutie mark, clutched his head. “The voices! It was the voices! I can still hear them! They’re coming for me! Please, kill me!” He pleaded with a pained voice and Fletcher granted it, shooting him into the head with his pistol.

“Turn back…or stay forever…” The demonic voice sounded again. “You are not welcome…There is only death here…”

Yet they moved on and came to a safe house, being a bunker.

“They…they caught us by surprise!” A female voice sounded on a radio on a table. Fletcher recognized it, it was Fleur de Lis. “We escaped the city, we thought we’d be safe in the forest. They must be looking for the grave of Murgan the Red! They’ve started taking captives and…oh, the things they do! It is as if Murgan the Red itself has returned! My husband…oh Gosh, they took my husband!” she sobbed as they moved deeper into the forest and saw a terrifying sight as they heard the demonic voice again.

“Your blood will nourish us…The worms await your flesh…”

Sparkler, Carrot Top, Thunderlane, the other residents of Sunny Town, all were hanged up by chains, screaming and withering in pain. Fletcher took a deep breath and shot Sparkler into the head with his rifle, granting her mercy, his three friends did the same with the others, there was nothing else they could do for them.

Then they moved over a bridge. “We will rend you…Scream…scream for us…” The demonic voice echoed once again as the way led to what looked like a Sawmill, the gates locked.

But Fletcher took notice of a blue truck standing at the elevation, a Blood Hoof trapped under the wheel. It was the car of the siblings’ father, yet the car was empty, giving him hope the man was still alive, Christopher stomped the undead pony and the truck rolled towards the gate, creating a large explosion and fire, with burning undead stumbling out.

As they took care of them, they heard the echoing sound of a chainsaw getting revved and gasped in shock. A Large zombie with an armor plate covering the head, holding a chainsaw came out of the fire.

It charged at Fletcher and he ran as fast as he could, barely avoiding to cut torn apart, with his friends firing, getting the Zombie’s attention. Going prone to lower his heart rate from the running, Fray noticed the back of the head was exposed, so he fired his rifle and scored a headshot, taking the undead down before it could reach his friends. “Zombies using chainsaws…now I’ve seen everything…” He mumbled out of breath.

As the entered the sawmill, they saw Zombies getting transported on hooks out of the building. It looked like a ski lift as they came to the next safe house.

“Oh Gosh, what now? I’ve seen them dragging captives to the old quarry! They must be looking for the grave of Murgan the Red! But…this means there’s hope – perhaps my husband has been put to work in there! I pray he’s not part of one of those…those Blood Hooves.” Fleur said scared on the radio. “Oh Gosh, I can’t bear to think about it!” She added with a sob as the group entered the backyard of the sawmill.

The sound of a chainsaw being revved greeted them again, as they came to a small building in the backyard, seeing a chainsaw Zombie cutting open a body before the undead noticed them and they backed up.

Fletcher noticed a bunch of tree trunks hanged up by a crane and lured the Zombie under it, then shot the hook of the crane, causing the undead to be crushed by the tree trunks.

With that be dealt with, they moved on and entered the old quarry, exploring the dig site and came to what looked like an opened and dug out coffin.

As they blinked, they saw a ghostly Luna standing over the coffin with a ghostly Solomon and Supernova. “We have found it! Murgan the Red is here after all! Our collection is complete! Victory is assured, thanks to you, Solomon!” Luna praised him as it vanished and a loud scream greeted them.

Skulls hooved around the three pillars of the cave and the soldiers understood. They had to bring the cave down.

Konrad quickly manned a mounted MG at the end of the dig site as the zombies came, holding the horde back as the others shot the skulls.

As Fletcher shot the last skull, the cave started to collapse and they made a dash up the ramp into the safe house next to the MG.

“I can’t stand it,“ Fleur sobbed on the radio here, “I found him…oh, it was horrible. I already he was already dead before they did…that…to him. I…” She was interrupted by a chainsaw revving sound. “Oh Gosh! Oh Gosh, no! No, please, I-“ The mare pleaded before letting out agonized screams in a mix of ugly, wet, carving sounds, causing everyone to cringle and wince.

“Jesus Christ…” Ford mumbled in shock.

“Poor mare…” Hill added before they moved on.

Still, having seen Solomon at the dug site made Fletcher realizing something. “He was there, he is also responsible for this.” He mumbled with a hint of disgust in his voice.

“He may be, but I doubt he was aware of what this would trigger.” Konrad replied to him.

“Well, I'll know when this is over. I'll know if it's the last thing he ever tells me!” Fletcher slightly yelled with anger as they came closer to a cable car station. He wondered why his home was now on a mountain and no longer on an island but decided to think later about it.

As Fletcher came closer to the entrance, the doors got blasted out open, causing him to take a step back in surprise. It was a man wearing green camouflage with a cloth covering the mouth, armed with a MG42 and Fletcher stared in shock. “Konrad?”

“You left my children in a coma!” The father yelled angry and fired, forcing Fletcher to cover behind sandbags. “Don't you get it? It's all a lie!”

“No!” Fletcher yelled.

“You’re no hero!”

“I tried to save them!” Fletcher yelled back but it didn’t matter for the angered man.

“You can't save anyone!"

“I tried!!!” Fletcher yelled almost desperate.

“This is all your fault! YOURS!” The father yelled angry, not flinching by the bullets of the others.

Realizing he had no other choice, Fletcher took aim and fired his rifle, scoring a headshot on the father of the siblings and he fell dead with blood splattering from his head. “The only villain here is you, Fletcher. There's only you.” His voice echoed in Fray’s head before Escher put a hand on his shoulder.

“We had no other choice, we had to defend ourselves.” He said with sympathy as Fletcher sighed.

“Yeah…” Yet he had caused that the siblings were now orphans, just as Dinky. The only thing he could do after this was over, was to take care of them.

After they took the cable car, Fletcher saw Lyra, together with a blue unicorn stallion hugging her, sitting on a bench.

Are you okay?” Fletcher asked both, “What are you doing here?”

The stallion looked up to him. “We escaped from the castle, but we dropped our supplies when zombies attacked us further up the path! We daren’t go back for them – can you find them for us?”

Although the knight had already another mission, he knew he couldn’t leave them here.

“Sure thing.” Fletcher replied and he moved on with the others

Just before the castle was a small hut, and he saw another pony sitting on another bench. “Are you lost too?” Fletcher asked and the pony looked at him.

“The princess’ expeditions have been raiding burial sites across the globe and taking their contents. I believe there’s such a site direct under this castle. My research convinces me there is a treasure in that crypt. It should be in a secret comportment under one of the coffins – the princess might have missed it! I don’t care if the world’s gone mad – that treasure has been my life’s work! Please recover it for me” Remember, the big coffin in the Crypt!”

Even though Fray saw little reason in this kind of situation, he realized recovering this treasure could probably prevent worse if Nightmare Moon would get it too.

“Alright.” Fletcher replied, although he couldn’t remember anything about a crypt in his home as they approached the castle, finding a saddlebag next to a killed Blood Hoof. Then they moved to the front gate, it was closed, seeing several large zombies covered almost entirely in thick durable armor on the other side, stumbling around.

With the front entrance blocked, they walked over a wooden bridge to the right and came to the right side of the castle before an air raid siren sounded.

Two snipers appeared on the roof and three officers became visible in the upper windows. Fletcher and Konrad shot the snipers before they could react, the Allied soldiers managed to do the same with the undead officers before they could summon their minions.

At the ended of the way, were some crates and armored zombies broke out, one of them was a large armored zombie. The group seemed lucky as they fired, managing to shoot through the helmet's eye holes, killing all with only one bullet each

The wall to the left was bricked, so Ford placed an explosive charge and shot it, blasting it open, then moved through the cave and came to what looked like the crypt. Fletcher examined the big coffin and found the treasure, putting it into his saddle bag.

By this action, some Skeletons awoke from other coffins, but the group quickly took care of them by kicking them, then moved into the first safe house that looked like a wine cellar. Two dead ponies lay on the ground, Fletcher recognized them as service personal of the castle as a recording started.

“Are you ready for this, my friend?”

“Yes – this is better than remaining in my cell until they come for me. I thank you for releasing me.”

“No-one deserves a fate like that. But now, it is time. Goodbye, my friend.”

“Goodbye.” The gunshots sounded, followed by the bodies clashing against bottles as it ended.

Going out, they were now in a kitchen, seeing a cell in a small room on the right, with a trapped staff member. “Oh, thank you, you’re here to safe me! All the others…HE took them and…ATE THEM!” The staff member exclaimed in horror. “He’ll come for me soon, I know he will. Please, you have to get me out!” Suddenly there was a loud roar and the eyes of the staff member became small in terror. “My Gosh! That’s him now! He’s coming for me this time! Help me, please!”

A door at the end of the kitchen opened and a large unicorn Blood Hoof came out.

It fired lethal spells while slowly walking towards them.

The group backed up to avoid getting it but the small kitchen didn’t allow much space to move, so they tried to kill it as fast as possible.

The undead unicorn screamed in pain with every shot it took, but was not stunned at it.

Come on, come on! Fletcher cursed as he reloaded and the undead came closer, firing again and it finally fell. And he went into the room the undead had come out, finding a key amongst half eaten bodies and freed the staff member. “You saved me from becoming this thing’s breakfast! Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine now. I’m sure I can find a way out. Goodbye!”

Moving on, they came to a large dining room and saw several Skulls floating and Skeletons in armor were summoned from the ground.

Christopher and William kept them busy while Fletcher and Escher shot the skulls, with all Skeletons falling apart the moment the last skull was destroyed. Then the door at the other end opened and another large armored Zombie stumbled out.

“Help me! They’re going to get me!” Fletcher looked up at a balcony, seeing another staff member chased by two Blood Hooves, and quickly killed them with headshots. “Thank you!”

Then Fletcher saw how Ford shot the armored undead and the helmet flew off, so the unicorn finished it and they moved through the corridor to a large hallway and with a echoing scream, a MG and fire Zombie summoned from the ground.

Fetcher and the German officer focused on the armed Zombie, the Allied snipers on the fire zombie, keeping it’s minions at bay by kicking them. All relocated to stay at a distance, defeating both zombies eventually.

They entered a conference room with a painting of Luna at a wall and the key on a desk, Fletcher collected it and they saw Luna sitting at the desk, Supernova next to her, her guards sitting on chairs.

“The Wolfsong Expedition reports success! When we gather the remaining materials, we will be ready to begin! Success, my deputies, is inevitable! Now, return to your duties!” She ordered and walked through the painting. Fletcher removed it and behind it was the next safe house.

To their surprise, they saw Blood Hooves trapped in an incinerator and Ford turned it on, burning them to avoid having to fight then later as the radio turned on.

“My work for the princess is almost complete. Once I find the first…ah…’volunteer’, I can power up the machine. It will be a revolution in communication! Our enemies will finally they shouldn’t have attacked Equestria and accept the princesses’ superiority…” An unknown male voice said before Fletcher opened the door and walked down a corridor. What they saw at the end was beyond their imagination.

A large machine, a pool of blood and stumbling Blood Hooves in the middle, conveyor belt going into the pool and up, a large tesla ball at the top of the machine.

“You down there. Oh, thank goodness. You’re still normal! You can put a stop to this!” A female voce said and they ran up the stairs to the top, seeing a deer siting in a chair next to the ball. The fur was completely blue, along with the eyes, twitching. “I can help you – I’m connected to everything that goes on in this castle. If I can hold out…just a little longer, together we can find a way to destroy this place!” The deer explained with a pained voice and Fletcher recognized the voice. It was Dawnwind.

He and the others nodded, going through a door leading on the balconies. “I’m unsealing the doors now.” She said over the intercom and an alert sounded. “Okay, there must be something around that can destroy this machine! Search every room!”

Fletcher went into a library on his left and found an explosive charge and heard a phone ringing on a table. For some reason, he couldn’t help but answer it and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, screaming and clutching it as he saw how a copy of him got impaled on the wall before it stopped. “What the hay was that?” He groaned.

“Perfect! Keep looking for more explosives like that!” Dawnwind’s voice sounded on the intercom.

As he walked out, he saw that the others had separated to search the rooms and the female deer sounded again on the intercom. “That’s it! Now, return the explosives to me – quickly!” She said and opened a safe house for them, where a recording started.

“Who would have thought it…” It was a female speaker, Lyra as Fray recognized. “… Mosquita, Gyps the Glorious, Qiron Khan, and now the princess believes she’ll find the bones of Murgan the Red herself in the forest! Could she really be planning to complete plan Z?”

Then it ended and Ford picked up a Panzerfaust as they exited the safe house, coming back to Dawnwind.

“Ah! You made it! Quickly now, place those explosives on the generators!” She explained and they did as told, walking to four generators placed around the ball. “Now you must leave me here! It’s too late for me – save yourselves! I can’t hold on much longer!” The deer yelled in pain and Fletcher wasted no time with his friends to ran through an opened door before the charges exploded and the entire castle rumbled.

In a matter of seconds, everything was on fire and burning Blood Hooves stumbled out of the rooms as the group ran down the stairs and through the front door.

Both they were now between the gate and the armored zombies seen earlier. Ford fired the Panzerfaust at them and tore them apart, clearing the way and Fletcher operated the gate controls to open it and they walked back to the cable car. It saddened him a bit to see his home in flames, but knew it could be rebuilt.

He then gave the treasure to the Archaeologist, who was surprised. “You found the treasure? That’s incredible! Exactly as my research told me! And the body was still there – so the princess’ only retrieving certain corpses. What on Equestria is she up to?” He wondered, though Fletcher had no clue and gave the supplies back to Lyra and the other unicorn, who smiled at him.

“You found our supplies! Thank you! Now at least we have some small hope of reaching civilization!”

“We must help each other in times like these.” Fletcher replied as he saw the two staff members next to the cable car, both also smiled at him.

“I had died on that balcony hadn’t it been for you.” The first thanked him.

“It’s actually a pity about the pony you had to kill, he was our best cook before…you know…” The other shivered at the thought and Fletcher just nodded looking at the key and relic.

Both started to float into the air and the relic pieces turned outwards as the key inserted before falling back into his hooves, he looked at it in awe with his three friends.

Then they took the cable car down and went back to Nightmare Moon’s fortress, seeing undead humans and ponies walking over a bridge into it before a gate closed.

Fletcher then moved a large bolder and it rolled through a cave, it led to a cliff under the base, connected by catwalks and managed to it through a side entrance.

The way ended at a console next to an elevation, undead humans and ponies stumbling near a fan. Fletcher pushed the button on the console and activated the fan, sucking the undead in and tearing them apart, clearing the way.

Walking through the facility, this part looked like a processing plant as they saw undead moved on hooks before coming to a hatch and jumped down, and ended up at a filled charnel pit, so Fray used the wheel to drain it.

“I sense intruders in the charnel pit! They must not be allowed any further!” Nightmare Moon ordered through an intercom as the group dropped down and Blood Hooves rose from the ground. “Drown! Drown and rise again as my minions!”

Yet the group didn’t have any of that and dealt with the undead quickly, stomping them before they could get up. “I will not put up with this insurgency! Destroy them now!” She yelled and a group of heavy armor zombies broke through a gate on the right.

Despite needing several shots to get rid of the helmets, the group mastered it with easy due to their previous experience. “Enough! Seal the Charnel pit! Crush anything inside!” The Alicorn yelled angered and the ceiling slowly came down, together with a Chainsaw Zombie coming from the same gate.

Escher, Hill and Ford made a dash for the gate as Fletcher kept the undead busy, seeing how he lured them around until the celling was almost at head level, then, dove through the gate and the undead was crushed by the ceiling.

The first safe room was just at the end of the gate, looking like an improvised armory and a recording started.

“I’ve been sneaking around the tunnels long enough to see everything now.” A male voice said, Fray recognized it as Peregrine, an officer in the Royal Guard. “The dead arrive by the hundreds. And they’re being armored…and trained! This army is unstoppable! Everyone they kill just makes their way back here – and joins them! I doubt I can remain undetected forever…there is no hope…”

Then it ended and the soldiers fought Blood Hooves through a factory part, coming to a large gate and Hill picked up a Panzerfaust as the gate opened. At the other end, was a large machine, armored Zombies stepped out and they realized: It was an armoring machine, “producing” The large armored undead.

“We hold them off, find a way to shut it down!” ill yelled at Escher and Fletcher, fired the Panzerfaust at the horde, creating a large explosion and the two ran down a ramp, coming to what looked like the heart of the machinery, judging by the large gear wheels.

A MG Zombie guarded it and opened fire, hinting they were on the right track as they returned fire until it went down and saw an open hatch, leading into the machine. Konrad threw a grenade into it and it created a large chain reaction.

“Remain at your posts! This is merely a minor setback! Nothing will stop my Army of Darkness!” Nightmare Moon ordered as the machine went up in flames and the two got back to the others and into the next safe house just at the end of the gate.

“The others have left me.” An unknown male voice said on the recording. “They seem to think they can do something about the princess’ dark shrine. But there’s nothing anyone can do! Hay, what if they were right? We should at least try to stop this madness. I mustn’t be such a coward, I should follow them, help them! Yes, we must stay together. Wait, my friends, I’m coming with you!”

They then walked among the corridors until they came to a large window, sein the undead Alicorn making a speech to her undead soldiers.

“The ancient vault beneath our hooves promised power but we did not realize how much until we were released from the bonds of life. To hear it’s true message! Plan Z was just the beginning! We are indomitable! Victory over pain! Victory over fear! Victory over death itself! None can stand against you! If any of you fall, then more shall rise to take your place! The flames of the old world will warm our cold limbs! We will bring the gift to death to all, and swell our ranks! We shall be united, one race of death! We will bring not a new dawn, but an eternal night that will consume the world! Only the dead will remain to rule this realm of Darkness! March out to crush them all! Now I will unleash the full power of the Hellmouth! Now…the world will BURN!” She exclaimed and walked through a portal.

Then they moved down a hallway, coming to what looked like an ancient chamber and it led to an ancient vault, a Plinth in front of it. Fletcher placed the Relic on it and it started to glow. “They are unlocking the vault! Get down there and stop them!” Nightmare moon yelled and Blood Hooves fell through the ceiling.

The group stood their ground, fighting them off with easy. “Enough meddling! Slaughter any living thing you find!” The Alicorn ordered as her minions got killed on by one. “Kill them all! For Equestria! And the new order!” She yelled frustrated before all her minions got defeated.

“Persistent fools! You only delay the inevitable! Very well. Come to me. It is time I dealt with you myself!” She announced as the group entered the next safe room, with another recording starting.

“Everything is in place.” A female voice said, sounding like Daring Do. “If the ritual in the Book of Souls is completed, the spirits of the most evil people in history will be revived. Their combined power will open the Hellmouth and the dead will rise! If we only hadn’t found those Tanese texts. I truly hope the princess wins this war and never resorts to this terrible plan!”

Knowing it had to end here, the group left the safe room and came to a portal, statues of frozen ponies in front of it, probably the ones who had tried to stop her before and they walked though. Before them was a statue of Luna, the undead Alicorn on a platform high above it. “Dead will come to all!”

The entire ground shook heavily as the statue collapsed and a giant demonic version of herself rose out of the hole. “Equestria will never fall!”

Fletcher looked around and saw a door on his left. “Cover me!” He yelled and bashed on it as the others kept the Blood Hooves at bay Nightmare Moon had summoned.

As he did so, the Alicorn taunted how death was their only escape, that she commanded the dark powers, that she shall rule alone as he succeed and came to a door with floating skulls over it.

Fray used his MP40 to destroy them and saw a Skeleton inside and got an idea. He picked it up and carried it towards the Hellmouth, covered by his friends and threw it in. “No! Mosquita! How dare you!” Night Moon yelled as her demon version retreated into the Hellmouth and she clutched her head in pain. Fletcher took aim and fired at her head. “You will not stop me!” She yelled as her large version came out again and Fletcher went to the door on his right, bashing on it until it was open while his friends held the undead back.

He had to shot some skull again and found another Skeleton behind it. It looked like a Griffin, yet knew what to do with it and carried it back to the Hellmouth, throwing it in.

“Gyps the Glorious may be gone, but I am invincible!” the mare taunted before clutching her head again and Fletcher fired another shot.

Having seen a third door to his left, he shot again some skulls and found a third corpse. Again he was covered by his friends and threw the Skeleton in.

“Murgan… the Red… lost! I…will…not…give… in!” Nightmare Moon yelled as her demonic version turned around and grabbed her. “No…impossible!”

It turned to stone and broke into pieces, with she landed in front of the snipers, not moving. But Fray knew that wasn’t the end and threw her body also into the Hellmouth.

“It’s over…” He let out a sigh of relief.

“No, we must close the Hellmouth.” Hill replied and grabbed the Relic from Fletcher’s bag, throwing it into the Hellmouth and Fletcher shot it. It started a chain reaction and everything started to collapse, and they ran out a fast as they could.

Konrad barely avoided a strike by a undead human and reacted by punching him with his fist in his face as strong as he could. The head of the Zombie was gone, still, Escher shook his hand in disgust.

Christopher head-butted two Blood Hooves that were in his way, but slipped and fell to the ground. Hill quickly helped him up and they ran out of the front gate.

As Fletcher ran outside, he ducked to avoid a strike by a Blood Hoof and raised his rifle like a bat, hitting the undead pony with it and cut the head clean off.

Then he ran into a dark tunnel, losing track of the others. “Guys?” He called out but got no reply.

Walking through the tunnel, he saw at the end of it a great expanse of sheer, black stone that felt oily on the hand. The space between the floor and the podium where the bed was placed covered by even rows of a candles burning blue flame, the holders carved into the shape of alicorns calling down falling-stars. A true majestic sight and he recognized it as Luna’s chamber.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something golden flashing. Curious, he walked towards it, seeing a unicorn stallion in dazzling golden armor and a trailing gown of white with ribbons of saffron, ochre and crimson, having a collar made of giant dove wings and the back of his shoulder pads curved upwards into a great arch above him like a halo, his hooves being made of brass and a golden mask of a tranquil, cherubic young steed, painting a picture of the children being on life support.

“No matter how hard I tried, I could never escape the reality of what happened. That was my downfall. There. Finished.” He turned towards Fletcher. “I hope you like it.”

“What the hay is going on?” Fray asked confused.

“Your eyes are opening. It hurts, doesn’t it?” The stallion replied and pointed at the picture. “Go on - What do you think?”

Fray looked at it for a few seconds. “You did this.”

“No. You did. Your actions brought four children into a coma. Somepony has to pay for your failure, Fray. Who’s it gonna be?” He walked away, Fletcher followed him.

“Solomon, is that you?"

"You tell me, Fray."

“I'm done playing games, Solomon."

"Oh, I assure you, this is no game.” As Solomon said this, Fletcher came to a hospital bed with a body on it, covered by a white blanket.

He removed it, seeing the dead body of Solomon. He looked at it in surprise before taking the Luger out of Solomon’s holster and it crumbled to ash and the slight sound of Celestia crying echoed. “It seems reports of my survival have been greatly exaggerated.” Solomon said as he walked up next to him.

“This is impossible.” Fletcher looked at him.

“Oh, I assure you it is.

“How?”

“Not how. Why!” Solomon exclaimed. “You never meant to come here...” Those words made the Eternal Knight realize: He should have get them back to Equestria straight away.

“What happened to them was out of my control.” Fletcher mumbled.

“Was it? None of this would have happened if you’d just stopped. But on you marched. And for what?”

“...I tried to save them.”

“You're no savior. Your talents lie elsewhere.”

“That isn’t my fault.”

“It takes a strong stallion to deny what’s right in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable...You create your own.” Solomon countered. “The truth, Fray, is...that you’re here because you wanted to feel something you’re not. A hero.” He paused.

“I’m here because you can’t accept what happened to Dinky, Katja and Blau. It broke you. You needed someone to blame. So you cast it on me.” Solomon looked at where his body had been, then at Fletcher. “A dead stallion. I know the truth is hard to hear, Fray. But it’s time. You’re all that’s left. And we can’t live this lie forever...”

Solomon pointed a Luger at him. “I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger.”

Fray held his head. “You're not real... This is all in my head...“

“Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. ONE.”

No... everything... all this... It was your fault.” Fray pointed his pistol at him.

“If that's what you believe, then shoot me. TWO.”

“I didn't mean to hurt anypony.”

“No one ever does, Fray...THREE.”

Fletcher pointed the pistol at himself for a moment as Solomon said, “FOUR. Is this what you really want, Fray?”

Then Fletcher fired at Solomon. He dropped his gun, which shattered like glass. “It takes a strong stallion to deny right in front of him... Stronger than you were.” He saw Solomon slowly shattering like a mirror.

“Whatever you say, Fray. No matter what happens next, don't be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home. Lucky you.”

With a slight gasp, Fletcher woke up in the hospital room, the beeping sound of the EKGs sounding in his ears, looking at the children who were still in coma.

He couldn’t tell if this had been a dream or what it was exactly, but it made him realize: It wasn’t his fault. He had done what he could.

The stallion stared as he realized he had pointed his pistol at his head and dropped it.

Fray breathed heavily, not able to believe he had almost committed suicide. He then sighed and walked over to the kids. “Please, children, hold on. I don’t want to lose you.”

Then he started to sing an old song he knew.

♫ Hold on just a little while longer

Hold on just a little while longer

Everything will be alright

Fight on just a little while longer

Pray on just a little while longer

Dinky, Katja and Blau were currently playing with their friends, hoping Fletcher was alright. “Do you think Equestria can recover from this?” The grey colt asked everyone, but none of the, could form an answer before Solomon walked up to them.

“Be not afraid, children. Celestia protects.” He said with hope and the three smiled weakly.

“You are very optimistic, despite all this. What happened to Celestia?” Dinky asked and he lowered his head slightly.

“She went missing shortly before the Attack. Celestia had ordered me to assist Luna I had no idea what Plan Z would unleash.” Solomon had a slightly sad tone, then rose his head. “But I’m confident Celestia’s still alive out there. After all, she survived many things.”

Katja then pointed at this burns. “How did this happen?”

The unicorn looked at it for a moment, then back at her. ” One of the damned creatures struck me. But fear not. Celestia's fire protects. I cannot imagine what drives Nightmare Moon with such hatred. Evidently, she did not wish to disappoint her sister.”

Before anyone could reply, they heard hoof steps and saw Midnight and Wolf walking in. “Welcome back. Your Intel proved to be very vital.” Solomon greeted them.

“We know.” Midnight replied and Dinky had to think of Fletcher.

“I hope he will make it.” She shivered at the thought of being becoming victim of the undead, before Solomon gave her a hug.

“I’m sure he will. He went so far to get you here, I doubt he will fail now.”

“Mom!” A male voice called out and they saw a blue unicorn stallion hugging the mare that had served food.

“My son! You’re okay!”

The kids saw Lyra next to them, smiling at the heartwarming scene. They did too, it looked like a good ending for all.

Suddenly an alert went off and red lights blinked. “What’s going on?” Dinky asked scared.

“We got a breach! Quick, get to the safe room!” Solomon advised before the saw Blood Hooves coming up the stairs and he fired a MP40 at them, Wolf and Midnight did too. “Back into the grave!”

They ran towards the safe room, hearing screams, not seeing their friends anywhere before tripping.

Hearing a terrible groan, they couldn’t believe their eyes. A Group of Blood Hooves closed on, and they crawled backwards. Among them were Nancy, Lyra, the two unicorns and the Pegasus, all having bite marks on their throats. But most horrible was, the other foals were among them too, a chunk of flesh on their shoulders was missing.

Also, they saw Solomon and the two knights. The former had his mask torn off, reveling the red eyes and coat.

“Pip…no…please…” Dinky whimpered at her friend as he came closer to her and she closed her eyes, hugging the siblings and they hugged her.

This was the end. They would die.

Clash!

The sound of bodies hitting the ground greeted them and they slowly opened their eyes. All blood Hooves laid dead on the ground and a ghostly unicorn with two knives stood in front of the bodies “Fear not, children, you are safe.” He said and they recognized the voice.

“Y-you? Q-Quince…” Dinky stuttered in disbelief and he held up a hoof.

“I mean no harm. I am here to help”

“H-help? W-why?” Blau and Katja asked in unison.

“Because, thanks to you, I finally found peace.” He paused for a moment and weakly smiled. “You helped me, so I help you. It’s all a dream.”

“He’s right, children.” Another male voice said and they saw a stallion covered in bright light, unable to recognize him. “It’s all in your head.”

“Who are you?” Blau asked confused.

“A friend of your parents, Blau Streifen. And I only want the best for you.”

“And for Fletcher’s sake.” A young female voice said an as the three blinked, they saw four entities in a great green glow, also looking like ponies, one of them a foal. “He suffered so much, already.”

“Yes, he has.” A more mature female voice next to the foal said. “He blamed himself for many things he isn’t to blame.

“And he blames himself for what happened to you, thought he did what he could.” Another voice, belonging to the third of the entities said with pity.

“He needs you, children. It’s time for you to wake up. A third female voice said before everything faded and they heard an echoing sound greeted their ears.

♫Sing on just a little while longer

Sing on just a little while longer

Everything will be alright

Everything will be alright♫

Hearing also a faint beeping sound, Dinky and her two friends opened their eyes and they quickly realized they had oxygen masks over their mouths, connected to EKGs, feeling numb.

As their vision cleared sufficiently, they saw a unicorn stallion sitting on a hair beside them, humming something and Dinky managed to smile weakly.

“Fletcher…if I could…I would hug you…”

Author's Note

Do you feel like a hero yet?

Chapter 20 Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Chapter 20: Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Fletcher blinked in confusion, then smiled weakly. “Children…I was so worried…” Tears of joy left his eyes as he gave them a gentle hug.

Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a nurse also crying a tear of joy before walking out of the room and returned with a doctor.

“How are you feeling?” The doctor asked them.

“Numb, Doctor,” Dinky replied, her friends managed to do a weak nod.

“Okay. Please try to relax. There’s plenty of time. I need to tell you something. Please listen, and try not to panic.” He said with an uneasy voice, making the kids wonder why. “You've been in a coma for…quite some time. Yes, yes, I know. You’d like to know how long…” The doctor paused, it was not easy to tell. “I’m afraid it’s been two months.”

Dinky, Katja and Blau felt their hearts steadily pound harder and faster, breathing rapidly, trying to move as Fletcher grabbed them and lit up his horn. “Calm down.” He said as his magic engulfed them and they tried to stay awake but felt quickly sleepy, closing their eyes. “Now then…You’ll be alright.” It was the last they heard before everything went black.

None of them could tell when they woke up again. Their brains were in a storm of cross-information and confusion. They had been in a coma for two months. How long had been that in Equestria? Had their families and friends still hope? Or had they been declared dead?

I can’t imagine how worried they must be… Dinky thought before the door opened and Fletcher walked in, followed by the doctor and the nurse, a weak smile on his lips.

“I am happy to see my efforts to save you weren’t in vain. You’ve lost some strength but I’ve maintained your muscle mass through some healing spells.”

Yet, Dinky could only think of one question. “We’re we really in a coma for so long?” She asked with fear and Fletcher nodded with a sigh.

“Yes, it’s late November now. But I’m sure your families have still hope.”

“He’s right, children.” The nurse added and they recognized her as Wendy Thwaites.

“Indeed. You should try on recovering for now, trying to get out of the bed.” The doctor said and Katja then noticed that she was wearing a white robe, her clothes folded on a table next to her.

“Also, you have a visitor.” Fletcher stepped aside and they saw William walking in, happy to see them.

“Hello, children. It’s nice to see you have woken up.” He said and Dinky returned it.

“Likewise, William. We thought you had died when the Germans counterattacked.” Dinky said with relief in her voice.

“Luckily, I didn’t, nor did Ford or Duffy. We managed to repel the counterattack with heavy losses. For that, 3rd Battalion and Able Company were allowed to rest and to prepare to liberate France. When I heard what happened to you, I feared the worst. Now, focus on recovering, children.”

In the next days, feeling slowly came back to their bodies, tickling as they tried to move an arm. Then they tried to walk. “Okay, here we go,” Dinky said as legs wobbled, the same was with the siblings, shakily making a first step, only to trip with the friends but Fletcher caught them.

As days passed, it went better and better, their more and more stable, slowly walking normally again. “Your healing is very well progressing and I’m admitting I’m impressed how fast you managed to walk again. You can go home.” The doctor said to them and Blau smiled.

“Nice! But…where are we staying?” He wondered and Hill held up his hand.

“At my home, my family is already informed.” He said and led them outside, a cold wind brushed against their skin as two Bentley Mark V pulled up. The first was dark blue in color, the other dark red.

Out if the dark blue war stepped a woman and boy. The former seemed to be in her late thirties, black hair and green, eyes. The boy seemed to be about thirteen, his hair was black, but had Williams’s eye color as he hugged his father. “Dad, nice to see you.” Then he let go and saw the others. “Are those…”He asked a bit confused, pointing at the ponies.

“Righto, my son. Fletcher Fray, Dinky Hooves, Katja and her brother Blau Streifen.” He introduced and the four waved with smiles.

“Hello there,” Fray said friendly and the boy and woman took a step back.

“Did the ponies just…talk?” She asked, not able to believe this.

“Well, yes. Can we talk about it at home?” The Captain asked a bit embarrassed and scratching his head.

Of course. My name is Irene but most call me Reney.” The woman introduced herself, still trying to understand.

“And I am Clifford.” The boy smiled at them.

“Are we got to go?” Duffy asked, pointing his head out of the driver seat of the red car and they nodded, the siblings driving with him, Dinky and Fletcher with William.

The kids were told they were in London, enjoying the sight as the radio played Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark Baby It's Cold Outside. Despite the war going on, there were barely sights of it, save for some soldiers on leave and military trucks driving around.

As the cars arrived at the Hill’s home, a loud engine sound echoed in the ponies’ ears, looking up into the sky, seeing two Lancaster flying overhead, making them look at them in awe.

The home of the family looked very comfortable. A telephone and radio were in the living room. “Nice place you have here,” Katja commented, liking it.

Then she noticed what looked like a cat tree in the corner, with two caves and two green eyes peeked out. “Meow?” It sounded from the upper cave and a cat came out. Its coat was similar to a tiger, black stripes and a cream/white color.

“Ah, say hello to our guests, Emmeline,” Clifford said and the cat climbed down, eyeing the four with curiosity.

The girl smiled and crouched. “Hello, Emmeline.” She held out her hand, the cat sniffed at it and started to purr and smooched it, doing the same with the ponies and the boy grinned.

“She already likes you.”

“You can listen to music until Dinner is ready,” Irene suggested before she and her husband walked into the kitchen. While they made dinner, William told her about Fletcher and his young friends causing her to look with sympathy at them. “Poor kids, separated so far from home and then this…But you and Fletcher can be proud of yourselves. And I am proud of you that you helped them.” She kissed him and he smiled.

“I know. Somehow, Dinky and her two friends reminded of our son when I first saw them back in Africa.”

“Oof!” Dinky cried out and the two saw how she was lying on her back, getting up. “Hey,” she said with a grin to Emmeline before the cat poked her nose and she fell over again, doing the same with the siblings and even Fletcher, causing both parents to chuckle.

Then Dinner was ready, a warm potato soup, very suiting for this time of year and all guests enjoyed the warmth of it. “That was delicious, Irene.” Dinky smiled at the woman.

“Glad to hear that. We have a guest bed and sleeping bags for you.” She replied as it became late and led them to the guest room. The siblings took the bed, Dinky a sleeping bag and Fletcher the couch, all were asleep fast.

“I’ll make sure they have a comfortable stay with us,” Clifford said as he went to bed.

“I'm sure they will, son.” William smiled at him as he went to bed with his wife. I love you.” He kissed her.

“I love you too.”

Fletcher woke up as he heard a strange noise, yet found himself in complete darkness. He drew his spear as he heard a deep breathing sound and turned around, he saw a red glow.

A figure walked into his view, it was a unicorn in a large armored suit, the red glow coming from goggles it was wearing, with a helmet and metal mask covering the face and drew a spear.

It charged at him, but Fray reacted quickly, clashing spears with it and used all his strength to push his opponent back and struck it across, it’s helmet and mask, causing it to fall off.

His opponent held its face in pain before looking up and Fletcher couldn’t believe his eyes.

The other unicorn was…himself. But the eyes were glowing red.

In disbelief and shock, Fletcher took a step back before jumping out of the way as his counterpart charged at him again and managed to hit him across the chest, stunning him.

Fletcher then rammed his spear into the back of his enemy. His counterpart let out a cry of pain and Fray pulled it out, his enemy fell dead to the ground and a white light blinded him.

A loud bang tore him out, causing him almost to fall off and gasped as he looked around, then realized, it was just a dream. Outside, it was raining, a Thunderstorm.

Then a scream and he ran to the guest room, seeing the three kids shaking and shivering, with Dinky looking at him, crying. “It hurt...It hurt more than anything I've ever felt.” She told with a shaking voice, her friends trembled. “I asked him to stop. I begged him to let me go but he just...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, I-I"

Before she could say anything else, she found herself with her friends hugged by Fletcher. “Shh, I don't blame you, that wasn’t you, you had no control of your actions. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He said in a comforting voice and lay down next to them. The stallion could tell they were scared by the thunderstorm and it had reminded them of what Deadhead had forced them to do. He was scared of Thunderstorms too at times, as they reminded him of the battles he fought, even Midnight and Wolf were sometimes scared of it.

Fletcher did not notice how the Hill family smiled at the scene from the hallway as he fell asleep with the children.

In the early morning, they all stirred as they woke up, noticing something heavy on their legs. Emmeline was lying on her legs, effectively preventing them from getting up. “Hey…” Blau said sleepy before Clifford walked in and chuckled at the scene.

“Emmeline, our guests have to get up now.” He said and gently lifted her up. She let herself be picked up but her claws were tugging the blanket up, as if she wanted to say "If I'm going, the blanket comes with me.” Still, the four could get up and breakfasted, noticing how the woman got their measurements down.

“Just so you have some warm clothes for the winter.” She explained and they nodded, not minding it at all.

Shortly after, she came back with the clothes. Caps and coats in four different colors. One in dark grey, the other in greyish-blue, a cream-colored version and the last one was completely white. “The dark gray is for you, Blau Streifen, the other one for you, Dinky. Katja, you have the cream color and Fletcher, I thought white could suit you for missions during this time of year.”

“Thank you. What have you planned for today?” The stallion asked.

“Showing you the city and visit, Ford and Duffy in the barracks.”

And with that the family showed them the city, they all four enjoyed it greatly, the Big Ben rather startlingly similar to Trottingham's own 'Tall Toby'.

Then they walked to the barracks, which were not far from their home.

At the entrance, a guard stopped them. “Sorry, this barrack’s closed.”

“What do you mean?” William asked confused.

“Due to ongoing training, absolutely no visitors are to be allowed for the next 24 hours. By orders of the base commander.”

“But I am stationed here too. Get the commander on the phone, I’m sure he’ll make an exception.” The Captain stated.

“Sorry, we are completely blacked out.” The guard replied.

“What?”

“Due to ongoing training, absolutely no radio communications will be allowed for the next 24 hours.” The guard stated firm.

William sighed. “Ah, bugger it. Sorry, my friends.” He said with disappointment in his voice but Dinky gave him a smile.

“It’s okay, we can visit Ford another time.” The other nodded in agreement and turned around.

“Soldier, what’s the problem?” An officer walked up and they all turned around, seeing it was Major Blackmore. “Ah, it’s you, Captain. I see you wanted to visit your friends here?” He asked friendly.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then enter.”

“Uh, sir, with all due respect, you ordered no interruptions by anyone.” The guard pointed out to the Major.

“But he’s a soldier stationed here, he is an exception with his family and friends.”

The guard saluted. “Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Major. Have you seen Christopher?” William asked and Blackmore just pointed ahead, seeing the American trying to repair a generator with a fellow soldier.

Gah! This worthless pile of junk still won't start!” Ford complained.

“Are you still trying to start that generator?” HIs fellow soldier asked and Ford sighed.

“No, I'm working on my upper body strength, one arm at a time.”

“I'll bet it's because of the cold.”

“Tell me, do you often make such shrewd observations? You should seriously consider officer's training.” Christopher replied slightly annoyed.

“I think you need to crank it harder.”

“Look, are you acting stupid just to annoy me?! Do you not see me here, practically tearing my own arm off?! The goddamn thing won't start because the goddamn thing is frozen solid!!!”

“Hey! Relax, will you? I was just trying to be helpful.”

“You want to be helpful? Well, go look for some anti-freeze then! Don't just stand here making idiotic comments!” Ford yelled.

“Excuse me?” William asked and the Rifleman filched, looking up with a frustrated expression before smiling.

“Ah, it’s you. Nice to see you are doing well after all this, kids. Sorry, just a bit stressed right now.” He apologized and lowered his head.

Blau Streifen waved a hoof. “None taken, we are happy to see you. Where’s Duffy?”

“At the Firing Range, practicing.” He pointed to it and they all walked over, seeing how Dufy was shorting his rifle, also noticing that he was operating the bolt with the thumb and index finger and pulled the trigger with his middle finger. They had seen him firing like this before in Africa and Italy.

“Nice shooting.” Fletcher complimented and Duffy smiled at them.

“Thanks. Practice makes perfect.” He replied proudly.

“Why do you shoot like that?” Blau asked curiously.

“Simple, really. To achieve to high rate of fire. It comes from a pre-World War I bolt-rifle speed shooting exercise, called ‘The Mad Minute,’ where you have to fire 15 rounds within 60 seconds. It’s used to grade a soldier as a marksman, first-class or second-class shot, depending on the scores he had achieved.”

“I see. And you did really master it.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, Jack, how’s it going?” William asked and the four saw him chatting with a fellow Brit at the end of the firing range.

“Lola and Lucy, they’re doing well. The little girl’s so smart for her age. And how are your wife and son doing?” Jack asked, he had, dark brown hair, a broad face, an average build, and green eyes. He was visible younger, appearing to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

“They’re doing well too. Send my regards, will you?”

“Of course, old chap,” Jack replied with a smile and walked away.

Then William walked back to his friends. “That was Jack Wilson, an old friend of mine. We got to know each other in training.” He explained to them before the Rifleman interrupted them.

“Speaking of which, there is a letter that is for you and your young friends, Fletcher.” Christopher pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to Fletcher.

“Thanks.” He replied a bit surprised, but decided with the kids to read it back at the Hill’s home. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw how Duffy chatted with Wendy, both slightly blushing.

Back in the house, the four were curious to read the letter, slightly smiling as they saw who the sender was.

To my friends, Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau,

I’m writing you to tell I am now a prisoner of war of the Western Allies, but I’m doing well. I was also informed in secret about what happened to you and tell you my condolences but I am also happy to hear you’re recovering well.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell what happened to the others, but we managed to hold the line until all remaining forces had evacuated.

I hope you all can go home soon and that our German friends will survive the war.

Faithfully yours,

Matteo

“Let’s write him back,” Dinky suggested and the others nodded, with Fletcher writing as the kids dictated.

Dear Matteo,

Thank you for the letter! We are living with William’s family in London at the moment. It’s very nice here, just as it was with you at Bitanti.

It pleases us to hear that you are well and hope this war ends soon, so that you can go back to your family.

You are a good friend and we know to appreciate that.

Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau

“I get the letter mailed tomorrow. Actually, it was him we got the Intel of the train, confirmed by the Resistance. Though we had discovered the train even without him.”

“What?” Katja asked confused.

“Yes…” William replied and started to tell.

“Okay, we did it. We held them off…” Duffy let out a breath of relief. “I hope the children are okay…” He said with worry.

Hill laid a hand on his shoulder. “I am sure Fletcher keeps them safe.”

After they had replied the counterattack, they had been ordered to move in to support their allies that tried to cut off the enemy retreat.

“Get after them!” Jackson yelled as they caught up with the allied troops, seeing that the Axis troops were slowly falling back.

Hill and his fellow soldiers gave chase, firing on the enemies that tried to stall them and he threw a grenade at a group. It blasted them away and he moved in.

To his right was a squad of Axis soldiers, one Italian and two Germans. They raised their hands in surrender. “I won’t return fire! I’m no fascist!” The Italian said and they recognized him. Conti.

“Down!” Hill ordered and three knelled, with Jackson looking a two other Americans.

“You two, secure those prisoners!”

“Yes, sir.” One of the Riflemen acknowledged, yet eyed Conti with hate. “You’re all the same.” He hit the man with the butt of his rife and the Italian cried out in pain.

“Just another stooge of that bloated idiot you call 'Il Duce'!” The other one exclaimed and prepared to do the same before Hill grabbed his rifle, effectively stopping him.

It wasn’t only because of respecting him, but he knew Conti might know where Fletcher and the children were. If Conti would die, they would never find out.

“Stop right now! He has surrendered and thus quarter is to be given. Harm him and you will not find me a lenient man.” The Captain warned and Jackson nodded with disgust.

“Stand down, right now, that’s on order.” He yelled as he, Duffy, Ford and Hill saw the fear in Conti’s eyes, afraid of never seeing his family again. It was their duty to make sure prisoners were treated fairly, otherwise, they wouldn’t be better than the fascists and Nazi. A difference had to be made.

“I…I may have Intel that could help you…” He said with fear and pulled out a document, Ford took it and read it.

“This is a schedule about an ammunition train not far from here.”

“Ain’t that something? Still, we should confirm this.” The Sergeant pointed out.

“It’s good information, I swear! I got it from an Italian officer!” Their prisoner exclaimed fearfully, but Hill smiled.

“Don’t worry, I make sure you are treated well.”

“Thank you for helping him!” The three kids hugged the Brit with grateful expressions.

“It’s nothing, children. I just couldn’t let your friend suffer, after all he had done to help you, and for Konrad.”

Time passed and it became evening and they had dinner. The radio was playing Dean Martin - Let it snow and the fireplace was warming the house.

“Dinky, is the fire still lit enough?” Irene asked and the filly took a look.

The glow was slowly dying and she was about to call out but then, she saw the ghostly Royal Guard with her friends again. The guard looked at the fireplace and after a short moment, it ignited again and the guard tipped its helmet at them and they just stared. “What about the fire?” The woman called out after getting no response from them.

“Still glowing,” Dinky replied.

After Dinner, Dinky and the siblings played in the living room, while Fletcher helped with cleaning the dishes and had to smile as he looked after Dinky, Katja and Blau.

They all had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace, Emmeline snuggled against them, drawings in their arms.

The three young children had drawn their families. “Ahh, that’s really well drawn. I think I got a good Christmas present idea…” She smiled.

Time went fast and it became December, with London being snowy and decorated for Christmas. William went shopping as his guests helped out in the house and called out, “I am back!” as he got home.

“Welcome home!” The three ponies and girl gritted them, seeing he carried five large rectangular cards with "windows”, counting one to twenty-four and they realized what it was supposed to be.

Advent calendars. “I thought you would like it too, my friends.” The Captain smiled at his guests, with the children grinning.

“Thank you!” Dinky exclaimed, Fletcher looked rather surprised at it.

“For me? I know to appreciate it but…I’m no colt anymore.”

“It’s filled with chocolate and you are never too old for that.” William countered and Fletcher nodded.

“Point taken.”

“What do you want for Christmas, uncle?” The filly asked curiously and he thought for a moment.

“Well, I enjoy watching sunsets and sunrises, and like the sound of the ornamental clock.” He said before getting his calendar into the guest room and Dinky grinned.

“That got me an idea. Do you have a workshop, William?” She asked and he nodded.

“Just down in the basement.” He said and the three kids walked down, something told him what they had in mind.

Fletcher woke up as he heard a strange noise and saw a shadow at the end. Taking a look, he saw a shadow of a unicorn stallion with a halo around the corner. “Solomon?!” Fletcher exclaimed and carefully moved around the corner.

To his surprise, it wasn’t his archenemy, but an action figure of him, positioned in front of a flashlight, so it looked like Solomon himself was standing around the corner. “Who would come up with this?” He wondered before the horn of the toy started to blink.

“Burn, Heretics!” The toy yelled in a mechanic, yet high-pitched voice, firing small BB pellets, that looked like flames at Fletcher, and he couldn’t help but be amused by this. “I guess Blau would like it. Pip or Tungsten probably too.”

Then he woke up, realizing it was early in the morning of 24th December. Time went fast went it was evening and he saw how Dinky put the star on the tip of the Christmas tree with her magic before smiling at him. “You first.” She said happily and handled with the siblings his present, a large rectangular form.

He unwrapped it and his eyes went wide. “Children…” He mumbled stunned. It was an ornamental clock, dark blue in color. The dial had a sun and moon, slowly rotating. “That’s a wonderful gift!”

“Glad to hear it! We all worked on it together.” Dinky explained proudly, “I worked on the mechanic, Katja and Blau did the design! And a little special. Watch.”

As she said this, the moon reached the top and a small flap above it opened, a small, blue metal Alicorn came out. “Huzzah!” a female voice called out and Fray grinned.

“A Cuckoo clock. A really nice idea. Now, open your gifts:”

They did as told and all three smiled. “Wow!” It was three badges with a symbol on it, divided into four parts.

First was a full moon on a black background.

Then a black sword over the moon, pointing north.

Then two crisscrossed daggers with silver blades and blue hilts over the sword.

Then three golden arrows with green fletchings pointing south, south-east and south-west.

The symbol of the Eternal Knights, the Seal of the Watch Eternal. “Thank you, Fletcher!” They all hugged him and he smiled back.

“Don’t forget the other presents.” Clifford gave the three friends his presents and the unwrapped them too.

Blau Streifen smiled as his present was a small bow and arrow set. “Now I can be an archer like you, Fletcher!”

The stallion chuckled as Katja looked at her present with glee, a ruby red bracelet. “Thank you!”

Then Dinky looked at her two presents. A pocket watch with a blue phone booth on the dial and a periscope. “That’s very nice!”

“Glad to hear it, I figured out given your interests you would like this,” Clifford replied, then his parents have the three children their presents.

Four toy horses that resembled Derpy, her husband, Ruby and Mitta, their cutie marks sowed on in form of fabric. “We worked on it together. Merry Christmas, children.” William said and they all smiled at him.

In the next morning, Fletcher awoke as the sun shined it and the flap opened as the sun reached the top of the dial. A black Alicorn, wings spread, with a golden mane on a yellow background with a red borderas as Cutie Mark came out of the flap. The national symbol of Farmany.

“Guten Morgen.” It said in a low, calm voice before retracting and the unicorn smiled.

That was really a smart idea from them.

New Year’s Eve came fast and he counted down with the three children. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy new year!” They exclaimed, clinging a glass of juice with the others, celebrating the New Year, also hoping that Conti as POW, Escher and his squad mates could enjoy it too.

A few days later, Fletcher taught Blau how to use his toy bow, it had suction cups at the end instead of a tip to avoid injuries. “Okay, remember, control your breathing, keep it steady.” Blau did as told, exhaling as he fired at the target in a hall of the base, scoring five points out of ten as he hit the outer blue area. “Impressive for your first try.” The stallion commented.

“Thanks!” Blau grinned with joy.

“I go shopping, want to come?” Irene asked, Dinky and Katja were already with her, Blau nodded, while Fletcher stayed at home with Clifford.

As he looked after the boy, he took notice how Emmeline walked up to his bow, which was in a bow stand and hit the bowstring with her paw.

Zoing!

Fletcher just chuckled at this. “Curious cat.” Then he checked on the boy. “Clifford, how’s it going?” He asked as he saw him reading a book in his room.

“Reading about horse biology and a bit of Greek mythology. Mind if I ask you something?” Clifford was curious.

“Not at all.”

“So the unicorn's horn is made of keratin?” That question surprised Fletcher but he answered it

“Only the outer layer. The interior is a thin bone containing a marrow-like pulp made up of tissue and blood and connected to both the heart and nervous system which circulates magic around the body and allows it to be channeled as spells.

“Quite fascinating. Does it regrow if broken off?

“It can do, sometimes. But often the loss is enough to trigger shock which stunts its regrowth permanently. Although it can be reattached with careful procedures.”

“This really is quite fantastic. And is there any sort of creature that attempts to steal the horns?” The boy asked interested.

“Now and again. There are some Changeling variants that actively dislodge horns from unicorn bodies and feed on the memories. Nasty business. There's also Gloom Hags, Centaur Shamans, Ripper Boggarts, Dwimmer Dogs, Blood-Moon Batponies...For one reason or another.”

“Any cultures that use them as an aphrodisiac?” Fletcher blinked at Clifford’s question

“...Excuse me...what did you say?”

“Aphrodisiacs. Apparently there are many animals that are hunted across the world for body parts that are meant to increase sexual potency in the human male. Ground up into powders and oils and such. I was wondering if you have the same problems in Equestria?” Clifford asked with innocence and Fletcher hesitated.

“Aren't you a little...young to know about this?

“No, it says so in my book.”

Fletcher just glanced at the book and shook his head “The things they let kids read these days!”

“If you say so, sir. “Clifford said, “Also, could you help me with my homework?”

“Of course, where do you need help?” Fletcher replied, knowing this was a nice change.

“Geometry.”

“Well, this should be easy.”

Dinky, Katja and Blau returned from shopping as they heard Clifford’s voice. “Calculating circumference, you must calculate the total of the triangle’s sides. And for the area, you need to multiply the base with the corresponding height and divide the product by 2. Given your skills, you should understand it easily.”

“Course when I was a colt I spent most of my time learning how to peg a harpy through the eye at fifty yards,” Fletcher replied and they all saw the two doing math calculation, with the boy explaining to Fletcher.

“Having a little trouble?” The elderly man asked and Fletcher nodded.

“Yeah, I wanted to help with the homework but turns out my geometry knowledge is a bit rusty.” He admitted in embarrassment, his head slightly lowered.

“That’s fine, I’m sure you get it the hang of it in no time,” Dinky said confidently and he smiled weakly.

In the evening, Fletcher brought the three kids to bed before William asked him, “Might if I invite you to the Pub?”

“Not at all.”

Enjoying the sunset, they both walked through the streets until they came to the Pub, seeing Duffy, Ford and Jackson there. “Glad you could come. It’s for you, Fletcher.” Duffy said with a smile.

“Thanks, I know to appreciate that,” Fletcher replied and took an alcohol-free beer, enjoying the taste, while the soldiers chatted.

After a while, three young men walked in and one of them looked at William with a smile. “Bartender, give that man a drink!” He did as told, yet William had a neutral expression. “Sir, we are going to volunteer for liberating France. We will be heroes just like you!” The young man said excited. “What was it like over there back in 1940?”

Hill raised his glass and said, ”Bugger it."

The three men did the same, toasting with him. “Bugger it!” Then they walked out, with the Captain glancing at them, grinning.

“What was that about?” Fletcher wondered, though he had a suspicion and Hill sighed.

“I know to appreciate their willingness to serve and their respect of me, but they have no idea what it really is on the front. The landings in Italy, we landed under heavy fire and I doubt France will be different…They will learn this all the hard way.”

“I hear ya. I see it also too often…” Fletcher understood this feeling well.

Despite this, they enjoyed the evening and in the next day, Fletcher and the kids cleared the snow outside, singing as they did this.

“Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

And we'll all stay free

Praise the Lord and swing into position

Can't afford to be a politician

Praise the Lord, we're all between perdition

And the deep blue sea

Yes the sky pilot said it

Ya gotta give him credit

For a sonofagun of a gunner was he

Shouting Praise the Lord, we're on a mighty mission

All aboard, we ain't a-goin' fishin'

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

And we'll all stay free”

The kids were making a snowpony, using a carrot for the tail and another that made it look like a unicorn. “Look, Uncle Fletcher, that’s you!” Dinky exclaimed happy and Fletcher grinned.

“Looks very nice.” Then the house started to crack and he looked up in fear. “Uh-Oh.”

In a flash and with a loud rumble, a roof avalanche buried him, now looking exactly like the snowpony before freeing himself from the snow. “Are you okay?” Blau asked with concern and Fletcher waved a hoof, although he was shivering slightly.

“I am fine.”

In the morning as William checked on his guests, he heard coughing from the living room and saw that Fletcher’s nose was red, the coughing came from him as he laid on the couch. “I guess the snow has taken its toll?” He asked and the stallion nodded.

“Yeah…normally the nanomites prevent that I get sick easily, but I guess that the shock was too much,” Fletcher replied before coughing violently.

“Don’t worry, Uncle, we’ll take care of you!” Dinky smiled and brought him a bottle of water, the siblings went into the kitchen to make him a warm soup.

“Thanks, children.” He said with a smile as they put it on the table, getting up to ate and drink. But then, Emmeline jumped onto the couch and poked his nose and he fell back. She repeated the process as he got up and Clifford chuckled.

“That means: You’re sick, so stay down.”

“Bed rest is a good medicine anyway.” Fletcher chuckled at this, taking it easy.

“But, what about your magic?” Blau asked, remembering how they had ended up in Africa because of their friend getting sick.

“Don’t worry, as Portal-travel effect, unicorn magic is limited, so this won’t be an issue.” The stallion assured them.

“Good to know.”

As Fletcher focused on recovering, William took the time to visit Duffy, chatting with him. “And old Cousin Elizabeth says, in her usual high-strung manner 'Society is simply cascading down around us!' Don't ask me why she didn't just say 'fall' like normal chaps.” He said.

“But this is to which my boy, who's been quiet for a time, suddenly cries out 'Cascadius! That's the name! Perfect!'. We all ask what the devil he's talking about and he says he was trying to come up with a villain for a book he says he's writing, a villain who plans to bring down society and he didn't want a name that sounded 'too' evil, a neutral name, he said, one that could sound both good or bad. And he wouldn't 'look' good or bad either. He would look and sound quite normal, he said, deceiving those around him but his actions would determine him and those actions would be unspeakable, making us question the whole 'beautiful hero, ugly villain' stereotype.”

Duffy raised an eyebrow with a confused expression. “Your boy sounds...a bit strange.”

Hill chuckled. “Oh doubtless. But then again, name one man who went far in life who wasn't a bit strange. I don't know if he'll ever get around to writing it but he keeps notes and you know someone'll find them one day.”

“Very likely….”

Around late January, Fletcher had recovered from his cold, taking a deep breath of the evening air. “Much better, able again to breathe, not having a dense nose.”

“Indeed. Now, let’s hit the hay.” William suggested and Fray nodded.

“Right. Thank you for the hospitality.” He replied before the street lights went out, large spotlights illuminated the sky, sirens sounded. “An air raid?”

“Yes, follow me!” William said with a hint of fear, the four children had scared expressions as they got led to a shelter not far from the house. “It's handy to have a shelter just around the corner. Now, get some rest, it will be a long night.”

They all slept peaceful, during the air raid.

To their surprise in the morning, they saw barely any damage on the buildings on the way back, with the hill’s home completely intact. “It seems they missed their targets.” William suspected with relief.

“Was…was your home destroyed by bombs during the blitz?” Katja asked, sounding rather afraid of this.

“No, it wasn’t. Actually, our home is far on the outer limits of London, so we were mostly spared from the bombs. And it’s surprising they try it again, back in 1943, they only did three night raids on the capital.” The elderly man mumbled as they got back into their home.

The days passed and it was now early February, Fletcher got awoken by the ornamental clock and he got up, making breakfast for his three friends. “Good morning-“ He cut himself off as he saw them coughing, noses red.

“Uncle…” Dinky said with a pained voice. “I’ think… we got sick too by you…”

The siblings nodded before coughing and he smiled weakly. “Then let me repay your caring.”

With that, he brought them some water and made warm soups, happy to see their smiles as he carrying the drinks and food to them. Like with him, Emmeline made sure they stayed in bed, not that they minded, having to chuckle when they got poked by the cat.

As time passed, the three children chatted with Clifford. “That’s really a nice pocket watch. How did you get it?” Dinky wanted to know and the boy looked down.

“From a man that helped me back in 1940. During an Air raid, I got separated from my parents and got lost. I was scared out of my head, alone on that street so I ran through the alleys but I just got even more lost. Then I found him in the alleyway. He looked like he'd been running too. He was all in a rush. I didn't get a good look at him, it was too dark, except he had a Northern English accent. I didn't have much other way out so I followed him out. We found the shelter and my parents were there.”

He looked up with a smile. “I thanked him. He said there wasn't any need though. That's when he gave me this pocket watch. He said it could come in handy and that I'd need it more than him. He kept saying this watch was 'fantastic'. I think he liked that word a lot. I never saw him again after that. But what you went through, what my parents told me about, I think you could use this more than me. Think of it a good luck charm.”

The filly managed to smile. “That’s very nice from you. I will look after it.”

During their recovery, The Luftwaffe attacked London six times, but most bombs missed again, with them all getting to the shelter without problems. It was early Match when the kids had fully recovered.

Fletcher looked in the early morning after the kids and saw they were still asleep, so he decided to take a stroll, leaving a note.

Barely outside, he heard the rustle of a bush and Emmeline poked her head out with a friendly meow. “Ah, good morning, Emmeline. Watch the kids while I am gone, okay?” He said, petting her and she purred. “I take that as a yes.”

As he walking through the countryside, enjoying the sun, he had to stop as a few US soldiers ran across the street, doing a maneuver, so he turned around.

But as he walked a few steps, he saw another squad in front of him doing the same, so he turned around again, only to see a third squad running towards him, Christopher among them.

Ford stopped as he saw the stallion and Fletcher raised his hooves in surrender with a grin. “You've done it now yanks, you've captured me.” Fray joked, causing the private to grin before both heard a yell and saw another squad marching down the road. “Would that be the enemy?”

“As a matter of facts, yes,” Ford replied and tipped his helmet before both moved on.

Then the stallion walked back, enjoying the soft wind breeze, not suspecting anything as suddenly, a black car stopped inform of him and the driver asked, “Fletcher Fray?”

Surprised, the stallion hesitated before replying, “Yes?”

“Please come with us.” The driver said and his co-driver opened the passenger door in the back.

“Why should I?” The stallion asked it distrust.

“It’s for the safety of your young friends.” The driver stated. Fletcher eyed him with distrust, but something told him, yet something told him not to argue.

Knowing he had no other choice, the unicorn got in without a word.

He wondered where he was taken to until the car reached the OSA building , which surprised him as he entered. “Mr. Fray, come in.” The director greeted him. “I apologize for the circumstances but we have found out something you should know.”

“What is it?” The knight asked curious.

“Agent Blazkowicz recovered a strange Medallion from his recent mission.” The director showed him a picture of a hand-sized device resembling a clock face, composed of a disk-shaped body with a four-bladed rotor above it.

“What has to do this with me?”

“The medallion's a symbol that was used by an obscure clan of mystics; they worshipped something called the Black Sun. Who they were was lost centuries ago when the group was killed in a cataclysmic event. Then just a few decades ago, the symbol was adopted by the Thule Society; a German occult group that has a number of high ranking Nazis among its members.” Jack explained.

“But even more intriguing than that are the crystals the medallion contains. We believe one of those crystal was what started your mission to get your friends home, based on what we got told about you.” The director added and Jack continued.

“They can only found at one place on Earth; a city in Germany called Isenstadt.”

“We made contact with resistance fighters of the Kreisau Circle there. They had some very interesting information.”

Jack showed Fray a picture of a SS officer, looking very broad. “This is General Victor Zetta, a rising star in Himmler's Paranormal Division. In the last few weeks he established a large operation in Isenstadt - but what they're doing there is unknown.”

“So you want me to find out with Blazkowicz what is going on there?” Fray concluded and the director nodded.

“Yes, Travel arrangements have already been made. We also believe it might help you to stop the interference. Sorry to send you back into the field, Mr. Fray, but you've dealt with this kind of thing before.

“Not a problem. Can I at least say goodbye to my friends before I go?”

“Sure.”

With that an answer, Fletcher got back to the Hill’s house and informed everyone. “Can we escort you to the transport?” Dinky asked with a hint of sadness in her voice and he nodded.

But as they barely got far, Dinky saw a large dog running out from one of the neighbor houses, towards them, barking aggressively.

This startled the three children and they took fearful a step back, with Fletcher taking a protective stance, but what happened next, surprised everyone.

Emmeline ran towards the dog with a hiss, his expression became one of fear as he saw the cat and ran back into his house, the cat in close pursuit. Seconds later, Emmeline walked out of the house, her tail proudly into the air, with the neighbors applauding her action.

“Uhh…” Fletcher was lost for words as William chuckled.

“This dog of our neighbor is quite known for scaring everyone that walks past his house, it’s about time someone taught him a lesson.”

Fletcher then chuckled, as he could not help himself but imagine one of White Wolf’s wild silver winter wolves was in the dog’s place and how embarrassing that would be for her.

Despite this, they reached a harbor town, where he hugged the three children. “Goodbye, I will come back as soon as possible.”

“Be careful, uncle.” The three said in in uision and he gently broke the hug.

“Of course I will.”

Then Dinky, Katja and Blau walked back home, their minds filled with worry. “I hope he comes back alive…Remember what happened in Africa when he tried to take care of the interference?” Dinky shivered at the thought.

“We can only hope and pray for the best.” Blau pointed out.

“I just hope it won’t be so-“ Katja couldn’t finish as the street lights went out, large spotlights illuminated the sky, sirens sounded “Air raid!” She exclaimed in alert, but the darkness made it very difficult to recognize the streets.

Knowing they had little time, Dinky looked around and spotted a weak light at the far end of the street.” Over there!”

They ran towards it as fast as they could, coming to a small hatch and they climbed in, Dinky closed the hatch, breathing heavily. “We made it…”

Then suddenly, everything started to move and they quickly realized that wasn’t a shelter. “What…Where are we?” The young girl mumbled confused.

“Children?” What are you doing here?” Fletcher's voice came from behind, but they could just stare at him as realization slowly took them.

They were now with him on the transport to Isenstadt.

Chapter 21 Unusual things

Chapter 21: Unusual Things

None of the three children could believe this, just staring at him. Was there any way back?

“Children?” Fletcher asked again and Dinky sniffed.

“We’re sorry…We tried to find shelter from an Air Raid and…”

She couldn’t finish as Fletcher gave them all a comforting hug. “Shh., It’s okay. It was unfortunate, you aren’t to blame. We’ll keep you safe.”

“Well, that wasn’t part of the briefing.” A man walked up to them, large, muscular, with dark brown hair, a chiseled square jaw and blue eyes, dressed in a leather jacket. “I am William J. Blazkowicz. Unfortunately, we can’t return to England.”

The children took deep breaths, realizing he was right. “O-okay…How are we going to Isenstadt?” Dinky asked.

“With a submarine of the Royal Navy, we got undetected to the coast of Germany, the take a train to Isenstadt,” Blazkowicz explained. “Don’t worry, I will get a message to the Hill family.”

The smiled weakly at him, appreciating it. After a while, the submarine reached the coast and they got off-board, led to a carriage.

None of the five said, word, afraid they could get detected if they did, and after a while, it arrived at a train station and a man opened the door.

“Agent Blazkowicz? I’m with the Kreisau Circle. Come with me, your cover is already blown here.” He warned.

“All civilians are to evacuate the station immediately.” A PA system sounded.

“There he is! The American!” A German voice called out as the group got led to a back door with a hatch.

“Quickly – down here. We have Kreisau agents waiting on the other side.” The man said and they jumped down, into the sewer and he closed the hatch.

“On your knees! Schnell!” The other German voice ordered from above. “Where is he? Where are the American and the Knight?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tell us where they are!”

“I don’t know. Wait, no!” The man pleaded before there was a gunshot.

“Was the informant right? Was there an American and the Green Knight on the train?”

“Ja, but the Kreisau Circle got to them first.”

“Damn. General Zetta will be outraged.” The second German sounded concerned.

“That’s why we have to find them. Take your squad and search the engine house. My squad will continue searching this area.”

Neither the kids nor the adults said a word, knowing that they had to move on, as Katja pointed to something shiny in the water and Fletcher took a look. It was a gold bar.

“All squads, be on the lookout!” The PA system sounded again.

The way led to a wine cellar and a ladder which they took up and got greeted by another man with brown hair and eye. “I am Erik Engle, I work with the Kreisau Circle. Listen, we don’t have long, there are Nazis fanning out through the station, somehow they know about you. But we can’t leave yet. Turns out we’ve been handed an opportunity; a Special Operations train carrying experimental weapons is sitting at Platform 1. I hear you’re up for a little diversion, so grab some weapons from the table and fall in. Oh, once you’re in town you can get more ammo at the Black Market.” He explained as Blazkowicz picked up an MP40 together with grenades and Dynamite.

“Gut, my friends, now come. The Special Operation train won’t wait long.” He added as they entered a cafe's pantry, seeing a German patrol outside.

“Has this building been searched?” An officer asked another as the kids pressed themselves against the wall.

“I’m not sure.”

“Then be sure. Check it out.”

Dinky held her breath as a soldier looked through the window. “It’s too dark. I can’t see a thing.”

“Go inside and look, dummkopf.” Another soldier remarked.

As the squad opened the door, the Resistance members and American opened fire, mowing the squad down, before they could react.

“Additional squads had been dispatched to platform 1.” The PA system reported.

The then moved to a door at the other side of the tracks. “Let’s see how you fare at demolitions, B.J.” Erik said and the American planted the dynamite at the door, setting the timer.

As it exploded, the PA system warned about the occurred explosion and William picked up a K98 from a German soldier that had been caught in the blast. He uses it to shoot a soldier on the left behind a fence.

Fletcher, stayed with the kids behind the others, giving suppressing fire with his MP 40, moving when it was clear. There was a risk that Escher and the others may be there, a risk he did not want to take.

It was only a short walk until they reached platform 1, with the PA system informed it would depart shortly and Blau pointed at something on the other side. “MG42!” He warned and pressed himself with his sister and Dinky against sandbags as bullets flew past.

B.J. used the suppressive fire from his allies to move among a train cart and aimed with his rifle at the MG gunner. Having a clear headshot, he fired and took the gunner out.

“B.J., we need you on that gun!” Erik yelled and William did as told, with all others taking defensive positions, while Engle planted a bomb on the train car.

The Agents opened fire at the incoming soldiers, the children covered their ears from the loud gunfire until Erik was done and they retreated to a safe distance.

With a cloudy flash of electric teal, the entire train blew up in pieces, all carts getting deformed, the engine blasted through the wall, with everything and everyone getting levitated into the air.

“Whoa! Can someone get us down?!” Dinky exclaimed in slight panic, waving her legs in an attempt to hold onto something before Fletcher used his magic to get her and the siblings gently on the ground.

“The Special Operation train has been destroyed! Fire teams, report to platform immediately!” The sound of the PA system echoed through the station

They then heard William gave a grunt as he landed but was okay, yet saw one Resistance member lifeless on the ground as Erik checked him. “Don’t worry. He’s wounded but I’ll deal with it. Meet us at the Kreisau safe house.” He then pointed to a door and they all nodded.

To their surprise, the explosion had caused quite some damage, parts of the wall were collapsed and slightly burning as they got up some stairs. “The American is here!” A Wehrmacht soldier yelled as he and a fellow soldier tried to intercept the group at the top of the stairs but another explosion occurred, levitating everyone. “What the hell is this?! Help!” The German yelled in confusion before falling to the ground.

Fletcher did a quick check, noticing both were dazed, so there was no need to fight them and they moved on. A few more Wehrmacht soldiers crossed their way but a series of explosions occurred, having the same result as the last one, indirectly clearing the way without a fight until they came to the exit where another Kreisau member was waiting for them. “Follow me.”

“No doubt you need to resupply after that battle at the train station. Follow me to a Black Market hideout that’s close by. Then I’ll take you to meet Caroline.” The agent added and led them, into a house, pointing to a door in the hallway. “The Black Market hideout is right through this door. Go in and talk to the vendor. Then I’ll take you to the Kreisau Circle Safehouse.”

They did as told, coming to a man behind a desk with all types of weapons and ammo. “Have you seen Stefan and Anton? They’re brothers, they run the place. Stefan’s the brain of this operation while Anton takes care of things on the street. They share a passion for one thing – money. Mind you – were no criminals – just businessmen. And since the Nazi came, business is good; we make a killing on food and medicine alone” He laughed. “I-I hope this war never ends!”

William just rolled his eyes with Fletcher and the kids and showed the collected gold, buying silencers for their weapons, then met outside with the Resistance fighter again.

“Sehr gut. Follow me; I’ll take you to the Kreisau Circle Safehouse. Caroline is waiting to meet you.” Their contact led them past patrols and they all took notice how the entire town had sandbags, MG nests and damaged buildings from fighting. Also, a colossal armored Zeppelin hovered ominously over the town.

While sneaking past patrols, the group took notice of two wanted posters, one of Erik, another of a woman.

WANTED FOR TREASON
Erik Engle: Second in command of the Kreisau Circle.
Erik Engle is the mastermind behind a number of violent acts perpetrated by the Kreisau Circle. He is also directly responsible for the loss of numerous civilian and military lives. Any information that leads to the capture of this criminal will be rewarded.

WANTED FOR TREASON
Caroline Becker: Leader of the resistance group known as the Kreisau Circle.
Caroline Becker is wanted for numerous crimes against the state. Her seditious group of thugs have caused numerous civilian deaths. A reward is offered to anyone who gives information that leads to the capture of this dangerous outlaw.

After a short while, they came to a door with a yellow K on it. “This is the entrance to the Kreisau Circle safe house. Go in. Caroline wants to speak with you.” Their guide said and they did as told.

“Have trouble finding us?” Another agent asked them inside and they shook their heads. “Caroline, she’ an impressive woman, and not just to look at. Her brains and leadership have kept us all alive. She was a school teacher! Until General Zetta came and brought martial law. Her father was shot in the streets. Now she’s determined to free Isenstadt from Nazi rule.” The man told them. “My advice? Behave yourself around Caroline and don’t get any ideas, or she’ll…how do you say? Rearrange your face.”

They just nodded, Katja gulped as they moved up the stairs. Apart from ammo, maps and radios, it looked like a normal house from the inside. William came past a Kreisau member who eyed him with distrust.

“So Erik says you’re trustworthy, I think he’s too quick to trust. That’s his nature. But Caroline trusts him and he’s done a good job as her lieutenant. When he wandered in here, bleeding and delirious, his wife dead from a Nazi beating, he was nearly insane. Caroline took him in like her own father. Tended his wounds. So she offered him a job. If she’s the brains of this operation, Erik is the heart.”

Again they nodded, with the kids slightly smiling at the caring gesture of Caroline, before coming to a basement, seeing Erik with a young, blonde woman and blue eyes, both looking at a map, before the man smiled. “Ah, there you are. This is Caroline Becker, she leads he Kreisau Circle.” He pointed to her and she slightly smiled.

“The Kreisau Circle thanks you for your assistance at the train station. But we can’t help you here. We are busy as it is freeing Isenstadt.”

“Oh, they won’t need our help, Caroline, I’ve seen them in battle. I think they could be strong allies and the children are very brave for their age.” Erik replied.

“I’ll be the judge of that. If it’s true your target is General Zetta, we last spotted him at an archeological dig just outside of town.”

“Security will be drum-tight. We have no idea what the Nazis are up too there.”

“It’s a waste of time, you’ll be shot on sight. But if you insist.” Caroline pointed out, “And you shouldn’t endanger the lives of your young friends.”

“The will be safe with us, and staying undetected is my specialty,” Fletcher replied and the kids smiled at him. But If would be better if you stay here for your own protection.”

“But uncle, we could be of assistance, looking out for Intel and supplies.” Dinky protested, “Let us help you.”

“Yes, you helped us so much, let us help you,” Blau added, his sister nodded and he sighed.

“Fine. Just stay behind us.” Blazkowicz just nodded with a barely noticeable grin.

“One more thing,” Caroline interrupted, “If the Nazis knew you were coming to the train station, then we have a mole. Watch your backs.”

This filled the Knight with unease. Was the informant also aware of the children? This could increase the danger, he knew that as they walked out and the guide told them, “Follow me, I’ll take you to a truck that’s headed to the dig site.”

They nodded and he led them past German patrols, through the down, until they came to a garage in an alleyway. “It’s right through that doorway.”

“Thanks.” Fletcher opened and saw another Resistance agent next to the truck.

“So you want to go to the dig site, eh? That truck’s about to make a delivery here. Sneak onto the back and keep your heads down.”

They did as told and shortly after, a soldier took the driver seat, driving outside of town onto what looked like an underground elevator. As soon as it reached the bottom, they jumped off and made a dash to a tent on their left. Blazkowicz held a hand up as a soldier stood with his back in the flap and knocked him out, seeing a young man with black hair and blue eyes, surprised to see the American. “Please, get me out of here – the Nazis are going to kill me.”

“How do you know I am not a Nazi?” William asked him with distrust, pointing his MP40 at him.

“You’re B.J. Blazkowicz and Fletcher Fray. I know all about you and your mission.”

“Who are you, kid?”

The man stood up, holding his gut in pain.” My name is Sergei Kovlov of the Golden Dawn – we are a group of scholars we study the occult. I came to retrieve an artifact. But the Nazis captured me…they tortured me…I, I broke down…I told them where the Thule Medallion is.”

“The Thule Medallion?”

“It’s a very valuable artifact that’s located in a chamber just ahead. Please, you have to stop them. If the Nazis get their hands on that Medallion, all will be lost.” Sergei pleaded.

William looked at his friends, they nodded. “All right, kid. Stay here and we’ll make sure it’s safe for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank us yet,” Blazkowicz remarked.

With that, the group moved quietly towards the dig site that looked like an ancient temple with the symbol of a sun on it. Both soldiers knocked out any Wehrmacht soldier that was in their path, clearing the way and the kids took notice of a letter on a table.

To: Special Projects Committee
From: Dr. Bohren

This dig has barely scratched the surface of the entire site, but what little I've seen indicates that the Thule were an amazing people. Their culture was one of great technological and spiritual advancement. I'm quite certain they migrated here, but it's a mystery as to why they left ... I suspect it had to do with a disaster of some type.

I wonder what could have happened. Dinky thought before they caught up to Fletcher and William, entering a temple, finding a report on another table.

To: General Zetta
From: Captain Gudenreich

Interrogation of the young Russian has proven fruitless so far. He is much stronger than I had anticipated. But I suspect he knows a great deal about this dig site; perhaps he might even be able to solve the mystery of the crystal. I've sent for a Scribe - once he arrives I'm sure the Russian will tell us everything we want to know.

"Looks like we just got here in time.” Fletcher suspected as they walked through the corridor and heard a strange voice.

“Acerrimus ex omnibus nostris sensibus est sensus videndi. Magna res est vocis et silenti temperamentum. Respice post te, mortalem te esse memento.”

They recognized it as Latin and at the end, they saw a man it a black coat, standing with a few Wehrmacht soldiers around a socket. His arms were raised and hands glowing in the exact same color as the train when it exploded.

“Aut nihil est sensus animis a morte relictum aut mors ipsa nihil.” He added in a menacingly deep echoing tone before Fletcher aimed his rifle and fired at his head. Blood splattered and he fell dead to the ground, the soldiers had no time to react as William fired quick bursts, taking them all out.

“I guess that must be those scribes mentioned in the report.” Fletcher suspected.

Then they all took a look and Fletcher saw two Medallions in it, one of them had a blue Crystal inserted and he took it, while William grabbed the other.

“Did you locate the Medallion?” The Russian asked as he caught up with them.

“It’s right here. Together with a second one.” Blazkowicz held it up, Fray did too.

Sergei’s expression was one of surprise before he said, “Give them to me. The Nazis will be here soon.”

Both soldiers stepped back however. “Sorry, not until we heard more about the Golden Dawn.”

“But the Nazis!” Sergei protested before sighing. “Very well, it seems I have no choice,” He said and held up a blue crystal. “Here With this, you can save us all.”

William took it and inspected it with Fletcher. “I've seen something like this before.”

“Me too.” Fletcher did a magic scan. “This is the same signature I found on that crystal in Equestria. It’s definitely one of those, we are on the right track.”

The kids looked at each other, wondering how that crystal could have appeared in Equestria.

William did insert the crystal and both Medallions started to glow, the children looked at it in awe.

“The Nachtsonne crystal I gave you has energized the Thule medallions; activate them,” Sergei explained and they pressed a button and in a blink of an eye, everything was in a blue-green color, hearing a hissing sound. “You are now in the Veil, a barrier between the Black Sun dimension and ours. Inside the Veil, you’ll move faster and see enemy weak spots. Use the medallion again to leave the veil.”

They did as told and Blau exclaimed, “Cool!”

“You can go in and out of the Veil any time, but you have a limited energy so use it wisely,” Sergei added, and the soldiers noticed a blue bar in the Medallion, slowly but steadily draining as they went out of the Veil. “Now, re-enter the veil and look for a glowing pool of light.”

They did as told and Blazkowicz saw one on the corner, walking over to it. “That is Black Sun energy. Step into the pool and recharge your Medallion.” As the American did this, Fray spotted a canister glowing electric teal and aborted energy from it, also refilling it.

“While in the Veil, watch for creatures called Geists. Some can become angry and attack.” The Russian warned and they all now noticed several blue-skinned fleas floating around, not bothered at all by them and also noticed a glowing entrance behind the Russian.

“Behind me is a passage covered by a Veil door – solid matter that disappears in the Veil. The Nazis have learned how to create those doors but you can identify them by the ancient symbol.” He pointed to the sun.

“Take that passage and find the Nachtsonne crystal hidden in the temple. With it, you will be able to use the Medallion as a weapon. Additional crystals give you additional abilities. I’m telling you this because the Nazis spoke of an ancient portal they recently excavated. You must use the Medallion and stop them. Meet me later at the Golden Dawn safe house in Isenstadt. Best of luck.”

With that in mind, the group moved through the passage and came to another part of the dig site, noticing a squad of soldiers with another scribe, all highlighted in bright green with glowing blue eyes, and the scribe saw them.

“Indivisibiliter ac inseparabiliter.” He raised his arms, they glowed and oval shields appeared in front of the soldiers, with the scribe grunting, as they opened fire.

The group went to cover and William threw a grenade between the soldiers. They couldn’t react in time as the shield was useless against the explosion and Fletcher finished the Scribe off with a controlled burst to the head.

“Sniper! Up there!” Katja yelled as she saw a glint on a scaffolding.

Fletcher switched to his rifle, taking, firing before the sniper could do so, scoring a shot through the scope.

With the area clear, they moved on, finding another report on a table.

To: Dr. Bohren
From: General Zetta

I should never have allowed General Shosshund to take the first Thule Medallion from Isenstadt, but I was being pressured by Berlin. Why that fool Shosshund chose to take a side trip aboard the ill-fated, experimental Caprivi will always be a mystery to me. But make no mistake, there is a second medallion at this dig site and you will find it ... or you will suffer my wrath.

Then they moved on, coming to another socket, guarded by another scribe and a squad of soldiers. Blazkowicz quickly eliminated the infantry with his MP 40 before the Scribe fired spherical energy blasts from his hands at him and he ducked to avoid hit before returning fire. But the hostile reacted quickly and shielded himself.

Fletcher used the Scribe’s weakness of having to stand still and charged forward, ramming his pear through the shield, into the chest, killing him instantly. Then they took a look at the socket and a yellow crystal was stored on it.

“That must be it.” Blazkowicz took it and inserted the crystal into his Medallion. In response, the socket lowered into the ground and Dinky gasped as the ceiling came down, threating to crush them, the siblings looked around in panic

“Stay calm!” Fletcher activated the yellow crystal of his Medallion as it started to glow too and suddenly, the ceiling came down slowly, like in slow-motion, but they still moved normally, as William pointed to some stairs leading that that just activated, vaulting through a hatch.

“That was too close…” Blau let out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah…looks like we are now deeper into the temple.” The OSA agent suspected as the walls at the end of the corridor moved, having spikes. Guess we have to use that time-slowing crystal again. Ready?” He asked and they all nodded.

The moment the walls closed in, they sprinted through, easy making it thanks to the new crystal. But at the end of the next corridor, the next trap was waiting. Sharp arrows fired rapidly against the wall.

Yet with the new crystal, they saw they were fired alternately, making it able to avoid them by moving towards the other end in a zig-zag course, with the way leading to a bridge.

The moment, the group set a foot on, it started to collapse rapidly, required the crystal to get across in time, which they did with little trouble.

At the end was an entrance, the portal they looked for was in here, guarded by some soldiers. Using his newly acquired power, William eliminated them before they even know what was happening, then planted Dynamite on the portal.

“Okay, that’s done, let’s look for an exit.” He said and Dinky pointed to a mine shaft.

“I am sure this leads back to the elevator.”

“Only one way to find out.” Fletcher took the lead, yet they didn’t encounter any resistance as it led indeed back to the elevator and they rode it up.

Upon back at the surface, they walled back, as it wasn’t far. “I am pretty sure this Medallion will come in handy.” Fletcher eyed his with awe.

“For sure. Caroline will be very happy about our success. We better move through the sewers to avoid patrols.” Blazkowicz suggested and the others nodded as they reentered the city.

Gunfire sounded in the distance, the sewer entrance was at the other side of the road, so they wasted no time to move as fast as they could.

Dinky’s ears twitched as a loud whistle greeted her eyes and she looked up in fear. Mortars!” The filly yelled warned but was already on the way down and rolling around at the explosion.

Dinky couldn’t tell how much time had passed as she opened her eyes, her vision came and went. Katja and Blau were next to her, also dazed, surrounded by dead and dying Resistance fighters in a fountain.

A squad of German soldiers in black uniforms moved past. They executed the wounded Kreisau members. A soldier with an MP40 stood on a ledge and shot a dying agent beside Dinky. Another dying agent beside the siblings tried in panic to crawl away but got also shot.

They held their breaths, hoping not to get shot too.

After they left, all three let out a breath of relief that hadn’t been noticed, yet Fletcher and William were nowhere to be seen.

“Are you okay?” The unicorn asked her friend and they nodded. “We have to get back to the safe house.

But as they stood out, they heard a voice. “Move Out!” At the other end of the street was a Scribe leading a Wehrmacht squad, coming closer.

In slight panic, the children looked around and spotted a slightly opened door in an alleyway, making a dash for it.

“That was close…I hope Fletcher and William are okay…” Blau breathed heavily. “Where are we?”

“A warehouse I believe,” His sister replied as they saw several shells with crates and other goods on it.

“Hey, you!” A voice called out and the saw a soldier coming down some stairs. “This is a restricted area!”

“S-sorry, sir, we had to find shelter from a battle going on outside as we were on our way home,” Katja replied slightly afraid, with her Brother and friend hiding behind her.

“Then you better get going. I have order to shoot trespassers on sight but…” The soldier’s expression became one of sympathy, a weak smile.

“B-but, were else is it safe?” She asked him and he sighed.

“There is a small bunker right at the end of the street, you can’t miss it.”

“T-thanks,” Katja replied as suddenly, she saw out of the corner of her eyes a flash, followed by something hitting the soldier from behind and he fell knocked out to the ground.

The moment they blinked, they saw William and Fletcher before them. “Are you okay?” Fray asked concerned.

“We are fine.” The filly replied and he smiled weakly.

“Good. That mire ability sure does come in handy.”

“Mire?” Dinky titled her head.

“Yes. If I remember correctly, there was a spell that had similar effects way back then and had this name. As this yellow crystal has the same effects, I thought I name it so.”

She nodded. “What are you doing here?”

“To retrieve a codebook. On our way back, we encountered a wounded agent who wanted us to continue his mission.”

“Okay.” She said and they walked up the stairs, across a catwalk and came to a gate, leading to a backyard and William made a stop sign as he spotted two officers on a catwalk at the opposite building. One among them, a grizzled, bearded individual, wore a grey SS-uniform and trench coat before a Wehrmacht soldier ran up behind them.

“Sir, a spy has been reported in the area.”

“No doubt the Resistance is making another attempt on my life – the fools.” The SS-officer taunted unimpressed.

“You must get to safety immediately, sir.” The Wehrmacht officer advised.

“Very well…But, you – place the guards on full alert.” The other officer ordered the soldier.

“Yes, sir.” He acknowledged and ran back in as the SS-officer turned back to his fellow officer.

“Here, take this codebook and put it into the safe. I’ll be at my home. Contact me should there be any problems.”

“Yes, sir.” Then both walked also into the building.

“Now we know where to find it. But with the guards on alert, we have no choice but to fight our way through.” Blazkowicz concluded. “Stay behind us, kids.

They nodded as a soldier called out, “That man is a spy!” A squad came out of the gate on their right but William reacted quickly, firing short bursts with Fletcher to sureness them, forcing them back inside, then threw a grenade, taking them out.

Then they moved through the gate, up the stairs, entering the other building, the kids stayed in cover, moving up whenever it was clear, coming to a room full of stacked crates with a narrow passageway leading to a floor with a sun symbol on it. Both soldiers activated the Veil and went through the floor with the children. They were now in a small storage room with a safe. “Bingo!” William exclaimed and cracked the safe, finding the codebook inside. “We got what we came for, let’s get out of here.

He then provided covering fire on the way out as the remaining guards tried to stop them, following shortly after and they went back to the safehouse and the partisan took a look at the codebook.

“It’s encoded. You’ll have to steal the code wheel from the officer’s home.

“No problem. You’re ready?” The OSA operative asked his friends who nodded.

The home of the officer was just down the street, looking like an ordinary civilian residence within the town.

Inside, the two soldiers, quietly knocked out guards from behind, with the kids searching the rooms once the guards were neutralized.

Dinky opened a door, entering a bedroom, seeing a soldier with white pajamas sleeping on the bed, so searched quietly and closed the door as she didn’t find anything.

“It has to be somewhere,” Katja mumbled slightly frustrated as they had searched the entire house, but not found anything as they came to a library, noticing one of the books was poking out of the shelf. She touched it and one of the shells moved aside, revealing to be a hidden chamber.

“What the?” a voice sounded and she found herself face to face with the SS-officer seen at the warehouse, a look of fear in her eyes as he raised his MP40.

“Sis!” Blau pulled her with Dinky out of the way as Blazkowicz fired his SMG, blood splattered against the walls as the officer got thrown back, bleeding from the chest as he died.

“That was Obergruppenführer Wolfgang Statz, the supervisor of Zetta. His death will make things easier for sure.” He said and noticed a safe on the wall, cracked it and found the decoder inside.

Having acquired their target, they left the house and Blau asked, “What now?”

“Caroline asked us to support an attack team at an abandoned church, as the Nazis constrict some strange device,” William explained as a Resistance member walked up to them.

“Good timing, I will lead you to the church.” He said and took the decoder, guiding them past patrols and out of the city. They saw it became slowly evening as it was quite a long way, also noticing a glowing light in the distance, raging in the sky, which was slightly green. “That light in the sky is the Nazis’ doing! We have to stop them before it’s too late!” The agent pointed out as they reached many ruined houses, scene of a fierce battle between Kreisau Circle resistance fighters and Wehrmacht soldiers.

They all took cover in a ruined house, pressing themselves against a wall as an MG42 fired from a window of an opposite building. Blazkowicz took aim with his K98 at a window, having mounted a scope he had bought from the Black Market earlier and fired, but the bullet did no damage and he noticed a small electric teal colored shield in front of the gunner.

Fetcher saw it too and drew his bow, firing a charged shot. It went through the shield, killing the gunner, allowing the partisans to move up, pushing the soldiers back.

Dinky took notice of some papers near some sandbags and pointing at it, Fletcher and William took a look.

To: Church Security Officers

From: Central Command

Central Command has ordered that Heavy Troopers be deployed as patrols along the roadway leading to the Church. Beyond supporting our base troops with heavy firepower, this will test how viable the Heavy Trooper is as a mobile weapon system. There are concerns about serious malfunctions of the shoulder venting system, but we trust this is a minor issue which will be worked out in time.

“This might come in handy.” William suspected as they assembled at a gate at the end of the street before a red flare was fired into the sky from the church.

“Damn! The Nazis are signaling for reinforcements! We have to move fast!” The guide yelled.

Suddenly, the wall on their left exploded, throwing everyone over.

As the smoke cleared, they saw a soldier in a large armored suit coming out of the wall, wearing a metal mask over the face, the eyes protected by red goggles and a helmet.

But that wasn’t alarming. In his hands was a large weapon.

A hulking mass of silver cylinders, pistons and wires. In place of a barrel was a metal dome with rotating needles, pulsing with energy. Two surviving agents fired their MP40s but the bullets bounced harmlessly off. In response, the hostile’s weapon spun up with a mechanical wail and fired a continuous twisting beam of energy that disintegrated the two partisans into green dust, with echoing screams.

Then he focused his attention on Fletcher and Blazkowicz, its weapon spinning up again and they dove behind a wall for cover. The children could just stare in shock at what happened, yet took notice that the hostile was wearing a Veil-infused backpack, having two glowing vents on his shoulders. “Fire on the vents!” Dinky yelled.

William activated his Mire to have more time to aim, noticing that the vents were glowing red, being weak spots and shot both with well-aimed shots from his Rifle. Fletcher then saw how a third, smaller vent extended from the top of the backpack and fired his K98.

Something at the top of the trooper's backpack started gushing this pale green mist. Sluggishly, almost nonchalantly, the trooper reached at it, trying to staunch the leakage. As those around drew back, the weapon pack, and its wearer, flew to pieces in a powerful explosion, leaving behind a pile of gore, leaving only his weapon intact.

“You’re okay?” Blazkowicz asked the kids as none of the partisans had survived.

“We’re good,” Blau replied.

“I guess those must be those Heavy troopers,” Fletcher commented and realized the armor was identical with that seen in his nightmare, also noticing something else.

Hadn’t the Night squad used the exact same armor but without those vents?

“Come on! Come on! Let's go!” A voice on the other side of the gate tore him out. “Are the Demolitions ready? The charge is set!” It blew open and a squad stormed out, Blazkowicz quickly picked up the experimental weapon and fired it on the enemies, also disintegrating them.

“This thing got a lot of firepower, a Particle Cannon I believe.” He said as he put a shoulder strap on it, able to carry it with ease due to his strength.

Then they fought their way through the ruins, until they came to a hotel, the sign said, “Schloss Hotel.“ A pair of stairs led down to corridors of catacombs until they came to another agent.

“You’re the only ones who made it? Where are the rest?” He asked surprised and in slight panic before adding with a deep breath, “It doesn’t matter. We have to get inside that church and destroy the Nazis’ machine! Let’s go!”

He led them up the stairs and the moment he reached the top, a bullet to the head killed him and he fell down again, leaving a bloody trail. But despite this, William and Blazkowicz had little trouble to take care of the defenders of the church, being just a few soldiers.

Going inside, they saw that the machine appeared to be a sphere of Veil energy, surrounded by 2 rotating rings, casting the light into the sky.

“So…How are we gonna destroy this thing?” Blau Streifen wondered.

Several glowing nodes were mounted on the rings, they glowed red in the Veil as both soldiers took a look and fired on them. As the last node was destroyed the rings fell apart.

The machine let out a low pitched sound, followed by groaning. “What the?” Blazkowicz wondered in confusion, his friends did too.

“Halt! Don’t move!” Several soldiers in Black uniforms surrounded them. “Surrender immediately!”

Both soldiers looked around for a way out, but they were completely surrounded and an officer walked up, his pistol trained at them. “Drop your weapons!” But all of the sudden, the machine sparked and made a high pitched sound, rumbling and they all looked in fear at it. “What is that?” He exclaimed before a green shockwave threw everyone over, the kids heard screams.

“Ugh…What was that?” Fletcher mumbled as he checked himself and the kids, all were fine, William too but there was no sight of the soldiers, having probably been disintegrating.

“F-Fletch…” Dinky pointed at something and he saw the SS-officer with his back to them. A green glow surrounded him and he bent slightly over.

Blazkowicz slowly closed his, MP40 ready before taking a step back as the man turned around and let out a terrifying groan with the kids gasping at what they saw.

The officer was no longer a man, but a burning skeleton, only parts of the uniform were still intact and roared into the sky before charging at the American.

He barely sidestepped, firing his SMG but whatever the German was now, only flinched slightly before lobbing a green ball of energy at Fletcher, who dove out of the way.

The kids tried to make a dash for the exit, screaming in fear but the creature noticing them, running towards them at a fast speed.

“No! No!” Katja yelled terrified, not wanting to die as it came closer.

“Hey!” William yelled and the creature turned around, facing him as he held the Practical Canon. “Take this!” He fired and to their surprise, instead of getting disintegrated, it fell with a dying scream to the ground, the burning energy extinguishing itself.

“Okay…that way something…” Fletcher breathed heavily as he hugged the kids for comfort as they trembled.

“Any idea what this creature was? William asked.

“I…I only saw something familiar as this long ago. We called it Despoiled.” Fletcher said as he faintly remembered.

“Okay. Let’s get back to the safe house, you earned some rest, children.” William smiled and took the driver seat of a parked truck, the others got on the back. Fletcher decided to think another time about the Night squad Armor.

It wasn’t a long way and patrols were nowhere to be seen as they reached the safe house, with the kids yawning as they got tired. After having Dinner, they got led to the beds and made themselves comfortable as they saw Caroline walking in.

“Hey, children. I am terribly sorry to hear what happened to you, but I promise I’ll do what I can do get you out of the town of it’ gets too dangerous for you.” She said with a smile.

“We know to appreciate that,” Dinky replied. As Caroline used to be a school teacher, she wasn’t surprised that she was so good with children.

“You know, under all those children I had in my class, I never saw any of them being as brave as you three are.” The woman admitted impressed. “Goodnight.” She then left and they all were fast asleep.

Despite what had happened yesterday, all had slept well, breakfasted and Dinky asked. “Where are we going to next?”

“To the Golden Dawn safe house, seeing what they have for us.” William answered her.

“Okay.”

They entered the sewers right next to the Kreisau Circle safe house, seeing through the hatches how now also Heavy Troopers patrolled on the streets.

As they reached the safe house, they took notice that on the wall were all kinds of religious symbols, and all members were wearing a necklace of a yellow circle.

“Greetings, and welcome to the Golden Dawn.” A guard said to them, “We are… scholars who specialize in the occult. Our leader, Dr. Alexandrov, founded this group over 50 years ago. We defend against those who would upset the balance of nature through the use of supernatural forces. Dr. Alexandrov’s reputation may have suffered, but our mission has not.”

They came to a table with an elderly man, noticeable due to having white hair, his eyes grey, a neutral expression as he saw them.

“I am Dr. Leonid Alexandrov, the leader of the Golden Dawn. Time is short, so listen carefully. We have come to Isenstadt because the Nazis have unearthed the Nachtsonne crystal. They tamper with powers they do not understand. You’ve refused to give us the Thule Medallion, I won’t waste time arguing about that right now. Since you are skilled fighters, I would ask for your help.” He paused for a moment.

“A group of our brethren recently attempted a reconnaissance mission and were never heard from again. But an operative from ours just discovered information as to what happened to them. Meet him at a tavern called the Raven’s Nest. Oh, no one must know about our work, not even your other allies. Loose Lips.”

They all nodded and William said, “You go ahead, I still have to discuss something with Sergei.”

“Okay, Blazkowicz, we see you at the tavern,” Fletcher replied and they left, with him looking at the map. “Ah, great, it’s on the other side of Midtown. It will be a long walk.”

“Look on the bright side, it keeps healthy.” Blau pointed out and he smiled as they entered the sewers again to avoid the patrols.

Still, despite the long walk, they reached their destination, seeing the words on a house at the end of the street and entered.

Inside, a pleasant sight greeted them. A piano player was playing music, with civilians and soldiers eating and drinking, not minding each other.

The stallion smiled as he spotted a soldier sitting at a table in the middle. “Look who we have here, didn't expect to see you here.”

The man looked up, his expression becoming surprised. “Fletcher? What are you doing here?”

Fray chuckled. “Do you really what to know?” He asked and the Sergeant shook his head. “Anyway, our young friends fully recovered."

They hugged the German with happy smiles. “Konrad! We missed you!”

Escher also smiled. “You're okay! Thank the lord!”

“Yeah, it took some time and it was very complicated but I and the doctors could save them,” Fletcher explained.

“I can't tell you how glad I am. I don't know what brings you to the Raven's Nest, but can I offer you something?”

“Wouldn't mind if you're offering, though unless you have something non-alcoholic, I wouldn't want the children to go thirsty.”

“I'm hungry too, what's on the menu?” Dinky asked and took a look.

“I pay for everything,” Escher said.

“I think I take Chipped Potatoes and a lemonade.”

“I take the same. You sis?” Blau asked Katja.

“Count me in."

Fletcher just shrugged with a smile. “Guess a small snack can't hurt. Chipped Potatoes with a salad and a glass of water would be enough for me.”

“Okay.” Konrad then gave the order to the bartender, who nodded. The other guests seemed not to pay attention to the newcomers, but an officer among grinned warmly.

“Hey, nice to see you.” It was Karl, David was sitting next to him, having an MP40 now, Hans and Tim shared another table.

“What are you doing here?” Fletcher asked him.

“Well, after the X-labs, we got redeployed here as part of the occupation force. But we are all just glad when we can leave. It’s a nice town but it doesn’t feel good to fight fellow countrymen and those experiments keep me out.” He shivered slightly.

“Right now, we have our break. My family’s doing well and we all got praised for our defense back in Italy. Karl’s got the Knight’s Cross for that.” Konrad explained and Vogel proudly presented it. “And I got nice news: James child was born in September last year, its a boy. He named him John, that was the name of his brother that went missing in the Great War.”

The children smiled at the news. “That’s nice to hear. And I think it’s a good idea to remember his brother.” Katja grinned happily before their orders were brought and they enjoyed their drinks and food to the fullest.

As they ate, they heard how David and Hans chatted. “Have you noticed? There’s something ‘wrong’ with General Zetta.” Hans pronounced wrong. “He talks as if there were invisible people standing around him.”

“Maybe he’s just talking to himself.” David suspected but Hans shook his head.

“No. I don’t think so. I think he’s insane.”

Then a strong stench entered their noses and they saw a civilian stumbling around, clearly drunk, grabbing a soldier sitting in a corner to keep his balance.

“Keep your filthy hands off me. Don’t make me drag you down to headquarters for questioning.” The yelled warned in a rude tone and Fletcher shook his head at this behavior.

“You Nazi bastards…” The drunk man mumbled, “You gonna pay for everything!” He exclaimed and threw the soldier to the ground, beating him.

Some civilians watched, while the kids could just stare in shock. “Please, do something!” Dinky looked at Konrad and the others with hope, yet Konrad shook his head with a slightly scared expression as suddenly a loud yell came.

“Where is he? Where is he? Which of you swine would dare to touch a German soldier?”

The drunken man had punched the soldier unconscious and looked up to see a muscular man with shaved head and green eyes, standing in front of him, making a gesture to get up.

With a confident expression, the civilian did as told, only for the muscular man to laugh before cracking his neck. “Guten Tag.”

The civilian fought with all his strength, but his opponent shrugged everything off, laughing before getting defeated with one punch to the face, Fletcher covered the eyes of the children, slightly shocked himself at the scene.

He was about to get up but Konrad held him back and the muscular man left the tavern with a stratified smile. “How…How could he do this…” Katja asked in shock as two civilians brought the body away.

“I hate to say it but we couldn’t save that man, we’d have been gunned down the moment we tried.”

“Who was that guy?” Fletcher asked.

“Hans Grosse, An imposing and ruthless German engineer. I wouldn’t recommend getting one on one with him, you saw what he did.” Escher explained with a slight hint of fear.

“A toast to Hans! The greatest German soldier to be alive!”

“Ja! To Hans!” Two soldiers at the bar cheered and Konrad shook his head in disbelief before a man in a leather jacket walked up to him.

“This town of yours, Isenstadt…It’s unlucky – I can feel it. Something very bad is going to happen. I just know it. This town is nothing but trouble.” Konrad said to the man with unease, who nodded before walking into the kitchen area.

“You just wanna be out of here, right?” Fletcher concluded and the Sergeant nodded.

“Ja, those brave men and woman fight for their homes, just like we do on the front.”

Fletcher then saw William made a sign and he nodded, turning to Konrad. “Sorry, we gotta go.”

“It’s okay, do what you must do.” The German turned to the Bartender to pay, but he shook his hand with a smile.

“It’s on the house.”

Not much bothering to know why, he just shrugged.

Outside, Blazkowicz told his friends, “Our mission is to free a captured Golden Dawn member at the farm.”

“Okay then, lead the way,” Fletcher replied, the kids nodded.

“Maybe, we can help you?” A voice said and they turned around to see Karl and the others. “We are stationed at the farm, we could give you a ride there."

“A nice offer, but you shouldn’t put yourself into danger just for us.” Fletcher declined with concern.

“Deathshead didn’t realize we were assisting you at his X-labs, why should anyone there? It’s our mission to help you get Dinky, Katha and Blau home.” Konrad pointed out and Fray sighed.

“Point taken. Do you mind, Blazkowicz?”

“Nope. You, children?”

“No. Just be careful,” Dinky said with fear and Konrad petted her.

“Of course, I will. Now, get into the back and stay low.” He pointed to a truck and took the passenger seat, with Karl driving as all entered.

“Oh, before I forget, this letter came for you, hadn’t time to show it yet,” Karl said and gave it to Konrad who read it with a slight smile.

Dear Konrad,

I write to you because I need to share something I can only trust to you. Back in Italy in September, I was intercepting an enemy transport plane and damaged it heavily. Yet it was still flying.

I took a closer look and saw it was perforated like a sieve, with two of the passengers barely keeping it into the air. I just couldn’t bring myself to shoot it down, it was like they were in a parachute. But seeing the heavy damage, I knew they would never make it to Britain. So, I did escort them.

Please, keep it for yourself, or I get executed. I dreamed night after night of this moment, and need to get it off my mind.

Your friend

Jessie.

If you would only know how many lives you saved on that day through your action.

Peeking over the back of the truck, the kids, Fletcher and William saw the farm, the outside patrolled by Wehrmacht soldiers.

Karl stopped the truck right in front of the farm, allowing everyone to get in unnoticed. “We were only guarding the outside of the farm, so we have no idea what’s inside.”

“Okay,” Blazkowicz replied and the squad moved ahead, chatting with the guards at a hatch, keeping them distracted, so that the others could get down.

The moment William got down, he spotted another soldier in black uniform, who started to ran as he saw the American. “The spy is here!” He yelled and an alert went off.

“Damn! We keep the children safe!” Karl yelled after he and his squad knocked the guards out and climbed down too, William and Fray nodded, taking the lead.

They came to a small crew quarter, a squad of those black uniformed soldiers was waiting for them, opening fire with Assault rifles, forcing them to cover.

Using Mire, William flanked them and took them out with short bursts. “Argh! Mein Leben!” One of them, an officer yelled as he died.

Konrad looked at the bodies and recognized them. “Those are members of the SS, they use the MP43, an improved version of the MKb 42, distributed in September last year.”

“Okay.” Fletcher acknowledged and they moved on through the tunnels.

Around a corner was another squad, shielded by a scribe, so William threw a grenade to take them out. In response, the Scribe charged forward, moving very fast as they only a blurry trail before he stood in front of them, shielding himself as Fray fired his MP40.

William then charged forward and hot him with a bayonet he had bought from the black market at the tavern, into the throat, though the shield. The scribe held his wound as blood spluttered before dying.

Resistance consisted of SS soldiers only, so Fletcher picked one of the MP43s up, realizing he would run out of ammo for his MP40, as none of them used it. His American ally used his K98 instead, as some SS soldiers also used it.

Eventually, the tunnels led to an elevator and they took it down. “Wow…” Dinky was lost for words as they saw the large facility in the caverns below.

“An intruder has been detected! He is to be shot on sight!” A PA system ordered as the elevator stopped and the two operatives fought their way through the SS forces, with the German friends and children stayed back, moving up when it was safe.

As the came to an office, Dinky took notice of a clipboard and pointed to it.

Manmade Crystals

By Dr. Rudolf Schiller

While initial experiments had shown promise, we are quickly coming to realize how difficult it is to artificially create Nachtsonne crystals. Because of the accelerated growth rate, their lattice structures are quite often misaligned causing a high percentage of them to be useless. But we have overcome that difficulty by growing a large number of crystals and using the Blutschleicher to locate the purest ones.

“Blood Skulker?” Dinky blinked puzzled at the word.

“Yes. I only overheard conversion from a scientist but apparently, those are a twisted result of human exposure to Veil energy and only good for their ability to sense the purity of artificially manufactured Nachtsonne Crystals. As such, they are also called Sniffers.” Vogel explained before Blazkowicz saw a tied up man on a chair, also blindfolded and untied him.

“Oh, it’s you. Why are here soldiers with you?” The man asked, being the captured Golden Dawn member.

“Defectors.” The American replied.

“Okay. The Nazis are using a Nachtsonne crystal at the bottom of this cavern. It is of utmost importance that you retrieve. While you do that, I’ll go and search for an escape route.”

“Got it.”

As they moved down the hallway, Escher asked him, “Changed your appearance to blend it?” B.J. nodded. “Kinda sits you.”

“Thanks.” He replied before taking another elevator down.

The two soldiers then fought their way through more SS soldiers, coming to a hallway with a small window at the end. “MG!” Blau called out as it fired, protected by a shield and they pressed themselves against the wall for cover.

Seeing a sun symbol on the right wall, Fletcher activated his Veil and walked through, getting right behind the MG and shot the gunner with his MP43 before he could react.

In the next room, the Medallions stopped to glow and they saw a SS officer checking what looked like a valve. William stabbed him with the bayonet and hit the valve with the butt of his rifle. It blew up in a small explosion and the medallions glowed again.

“Inhibitors for the Veil? Why would they need that?” Fray wondered and his ally shrugged as they moved on, coming to a pair of stairs.

“I heard last week one of the creatures broke loose and killed an entire squad.” They heard a German voice.

“Ja, it was quite a mess; but don’t worry, the Handlers can control the creatures. I just wish we had more than two for the whole facility.” It belonged to two Scientists, working at some machines before seeing Blazkowicz and Fletcher, becoming scared. “Please don't kill us!” One of them begged.

“Get out of here!” William said and they nodded with grateful expressions.

They then moved through a generator room and seeing another two scientists, working on the machines. “What activated the alarm?” One of them asked his co-worker.

“Maybe the creatures escaped.”

“Don’t even joke about that. Those things give me nightmares. I just wish we didn’t need them to sniff out the proper crystals.” Then they saw the American. “Please don’t shoot!” He just made a sign for them to get out of here.

The way then led over a catwalk to a vault door. Blazkowicz had no trouble to open it and they came to what looked like a Glasshouse for crystals, a large machine at the other end.

Blazkowicz examined it by pressing a button and two blue crystals came out, he and Fletcher inserted them into their Medallions and the machine turned off.

“We need the shields back online right now!” The intercom ordered and several SS soldier ran it opening fire.

The children screamed at the incoming bullet, closing their eyes.

“The bullets do not hurt him!” They heard one of the soldiers yelling and heard popping noises.

Opening their eyes, they saw a bubble-shaped energy field around them and the others, getting absorbed by it. Some of the bullets got reflected back to the attackers, killing them. One soldier tried to hit the bubble with the butt of his weapon but got disintegrated with a scream the moment he touched it.

Despite this, the Wehrmacht soldiers, stallion and OSA agent could still return fire through the shield, eliminating all hostiles.

“Well, that’s useful. Only a few unicorns can cast a shield spell like that, not even Shining Armor comes close to that.” Fletcher commented impressed.

“Yeah, but we need to get out of here!” Karl yelled as an alarm sounded and they all nodded.

“Alert! The shields around the pen have been shut down. The Blutschleicher are running free! “The PA system warned and Dinky saw blood on a window, with the shadow of a human-like creature moving away. “We're being overrun! Send backup troops immediately! Repeat! Send backu-“ With a rush it cut off and they saw a blood trail on the ground.

She and her two friends ran as fast as they could as suddenly, they fell over through a strong force.

Looking up, they saw that it had had been a vent on the ground that had been thrown open.

Their hearts skipped almost a beat as some sort of human-like creature climbed out. The skin was pale, very large feet and hands, wearing a strange mask that somehow reminded them of a hockey and body brace. But most concerning were the very sharp teeth it had.

They crawled backwards as it moved rapidly towards them, but Fletcher rammed his spear into it and the creature let out a dying groan. “That must be those Sniffers…no matter, let’s move!” Fletcher yelled.

Bodies of scientists and soldiers were scattered they moved through the corridors, seeing how the generators exploded, with more Sniffers crossed their way.

Taking a deep breath, Dinky shot a non-lethal spell at it. The sniffer got thrown back, crying out in pain. William finished it off with his bayonet, ramming it into the sniffer’ chest. It groaned and then became limp.

Katja and Dinky kicked them, allowing the others to finish them off with melee attacks by using their weapon butts or Bayonets, throwing them back and killing them as they hit the head or chest, with cries of pain.

Coming up the stairs where they had seen the scientists, they had to see that one of the machines was damaged, shocking the hallway for a few seconds, then stopped for a moment and lighted up again. “Stay close!” Fletcher said and activated with Blazkowicz the Mire ability.

They stayed close to the unicorn, their German friends stayed near William as they used the ability to get past the machine, seeing how other parts of the facility were in flames and steam came out of the bursted pipes.

But at the next door, a generator was heavily damaged, sending electricity everywhere. “Shield!” Fray yelled and he activated with William their new Veil power, allowing everyone to get across unharmed.

To their luck, the elevator up was still working.

“Hurry, we've almost made it!” Karl yelled as he saw the sign for the emergency exit at the end of the corridor.

Suddenly, an explosion threw him and the kids over. Their hearing was ringing, vision blurry, groaning as everything ached. Slowly, everything became clear, hearing a faint voice yelling something.

A loud groan followed and the kids screamed as a large beam heading towards their eyes. In a split second, they felt how someone pushed them away and a metal clash.

They stared in shock as they saw their savior had been Karl, now lying lifeless on the ground, as the beam had impaled through the chest, his left hand was torn off.

None of them had time to process it as they felt Fletcher’s magic engulfing them, levitating them on a train, the others were already open it, the prisoner included.

The moment the train started moving, the group opened fire at sniffers that tried to escape through the tunnel, a chain reaction of explosions destroyed the tunnel more and more, threating to catch the train.

Yet the train got out of the tunnel in time. “We made it!” The Golden Dawn member cheered, all others breathed heavily, barely able to believe that they had survived this.

As the train reached Isenstadt, they all jumped off, with Dinky slightly shaking as she processed what had happened. “It’s our fault…” She lowered her head in guilt, the siblings did too. “Karl died because of us…”

“Children…” Konrad began, his expression one of unease. “It wasn’t your fault. If he hadn't pushed you out the way, you'd have died too. There was nothing any of you could have done. He knew what he was doing and he did it right.”

They stayed silent, trying to make sense of what he had just said. Slowly, they came to realize Vogel had saved their lives.

“O-okay…” Dinky stuttered. “But what about you? Won’t you get into trouble?”

He sighed. “He was a good leader. I will do my best to lead the squad. And there won’t be trouble, as at the time this happened, we stay had our break. With the destruction of the faculty, we will see where we are deployed next. Maybe, it’s our ticket out of here. If not, we will assist you until you can go home.” He said with an honest expression.

The filly smiled weakly. “Th-thanks. William, mind if-“

He held up a hand, cutting her off. “Not at all.” He said and walked away.

To avoid enemy patrols, the group went into the sewers, taking a breather. “The destruction of the farm is definitely a huge setback for Zetta,” Fray concluded. “But I doubt it will be enough to stop the project.”

“Yes, I heard they moved equipment to the local hospital, it is very likely we all have to go there,” Konrad told him.

“Uh-huh. I guess you were never before here?” Konrad nodded.

“Yeah, but whatever they do here, I doubt it’s good. Though I wonder why they choose a hospital for their operations…”

“Speaking off…” They saw William coming down the corridor. “The Golden Dawns wants us to investigate the Hospital, saying some strange things are going on there.”

“Called it. Come, we led you to it.” Konrad said and took the lead through the sewers until they reached the hospital. He and his squadmates waited outside, while William walked up to the reception.

“Greetings, sir. How can I help you?” The Nurse asked friendly.

“The name’s Blazkowicz.”

“I was beginning to think you’d never made it. There are things going on here that defy explanations.” She told him and the kids with Fletcher took notice how the door behind the nurse opened on his own but the words were stuck in their throats. “The Nazis are performing some kind of experiments on the patents in the surgery unit.”

Just as she finished, her co-worker screamed and she started, seeing a human in a black grey coat, having impaled the other nurse with two blades before vanishing in a blue/green cloud.

The nurse William had spoken too attempted to reach the other door but it closed too and he banged on the glass. “Get out! Get out of there!”

“Help me!” The nurse yelled before the human appeared in front of her and stabbed her into the chest, she withered in pain before dying. William then grabbed a chair and attempted to break the window with it before the killer appeared behind it, laughing at him and vanished again.

“What in the world was that?” Konrad asked in shock as he ran in with the others, the children trembled slightly, Fray was also slightly shocked.

“I don’t know, but I think we will find out,” David suggested and everyone took deep breaths, moving carefully to the hallway, seeing through a window two scientists watching over a body in a room, covered by a white blanket, slightly bloodied.

“It seems the cybernetic implants and mental conditioning are more than the human mind can endure. I believe all the Assassins are mentally unbalanced.”

“Nonsense. They just need time to adapt to their enchanted abilities.” The other scientist countered before William broke the glass, starting both. “Please, don’t kill us!” They held their hands up in surrender.

While being disgusted, the American made a sign for them to leave, then read a clipboard next to the body.

Observational Notes by Dr. Bernhard Steiner

Current subject is only a third of the grafting process and is already experiencing severe cardiac arrhythmia. I don't expect him to live much longer. This is most disconcerting. We really must be given test subjects in better condition. I will take this matter up with High Command.

“Whatever they do, it’s costly,” Fletcher commented with disgust.

Moving on, they saw a patent behind a locked door, his expression terrified. “There’s something in here. It’s trying to kill us all. You have to…” He never finished as the same murder from before appeared behind him, stabbing him before vanishing again.

“This… Assassin creeps me out!” Tim exclaimed in fear, the kids slightly trembled.

Konrad gave them an assuring smile. “Stay calm, together, we can do this.”

They came through an office with another clipboard.

To: Major Vorsichtig

From: Dr. Bernhard Steiner

It was bad enough that you stormed into our hospital and took over, but now I hear you're stealing patients from their rooms. Exactly what are you doing with them, Major? If this has anything to do with the project you're working on in the lower levels, I will contact your superiors. I will not allow you to endanger the lives of patients at my hospital.

“So…they’re using patients for this?” Dinky mumbled in disbelief.”

“It appears to be so, but we are putting a stop to it,” William replied.

Upon coming to a small storage room, they heard a menacingly deep echoing tone, followed by laughter. “I can see you. Can you see me?” It unnerved the children a bit gulping, as they saw a patient, hiding in the storage room.

“This place isn’t safe. The Nazis are keeping us as tests subjects, doing awful experiments – and now there’s some kind of horrible monster around.” He warned them.

As they moved on, an intercom informed, “The hallways are off-limits for all patents!”

Blood was splattered on the walls, bodies of patients and nurses scattered around, laughter echoed and Blau saw one of the dead staff members holding a paper.

To: Hospital Personnel

From: Major Vorsichtig, Acting Security Officer, Reich Special Projects

Due to a special project that is underway in the lower level of this facility, I am taking full control of hospital security. Be warned: under no circumstances are unauthorized personnel to enter this area. Also, patients must remain in their rooms in all times. There will be severe penalties for any patient caught wandering the halls.

The group came across a wounded patent, lying on the ground, coughing. “That creature stalking the hospital was created by the Nazis. They making-“

He could never finished, as said creature dropped from the ceiling and impaled him before jumping ahead and vanished again, startling everyone and Fletcher let out an annoyed groan.

“I suppose you must think I'm easily intimidated. It doesn't matter how fast you are or where you can hide. Nothing escapes my arrows and once you make a move...You have nothing to laugh about!”

Katja shrieked as she heard a hiss, something had almost scratched her. “Stay alert! He’s here somewhere!! Blazkowicz warned, his MP40 ready.

The moment he turned around, he heard Fletcher’s magic and saw the stallion aiming his bow at him. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t move,” Fletcher said calmly and fired his bow.

It flew past Blazkowicz and he heard a clang sound. Turning around, he saw a now dead Assassin behind him, an arrow stuck in his head and Fletcher grinned at his kill.

Taking a closer look, they all saw the Assassin had a power pack with two large diagonal coils on his back, probably giving him his ability to turn invincible and was armed with a pair of Veil energy blades mounted on heavy gloves or gauntlets.

“Okay, one Assassin down for the count. Let’s find this lab and end this.” Blazkowicz pointed to a sun symbol on the wall and activated his Veil, walking through it with the others.

Waking down the stairs, they came to what looked like a secret lab, seeing imprisoned civilians, mumbling about the black sun, with one being supervised by a scientist, who reacted quite calm as he saw the intruders.

“So you’re the spy. Well, you don’t frighten me. No matter what you do, we will win this war. Our creations are just the beginning – we have tapped the true potential of creating ultimate fighting machines. Your armies do not stand a chance.” He said confidently before William knocked him out.

“We’ll see about that.” He then picked up the clipboard the scientist had been holding

Observational Notes by Dr. Bernhard Steiner

Subject has survived the grafting process and is being moved to an isolation tank for imprinting. Apparently, this individual was a member of the Resistance . . . which would explain why he was in such excellent mental and physical condition. Perhaps all future Ungesehen candidates should be taken from the ranks of the resistance fighters.

“That explains where they got ‘volunteers’ for it. Poor guys….” Hans said with a hint of sympathy, coming to a closed door, hearing voices on the other side.

“So, Sergeant, this portal we discovered at the dig site, what does it do?”

“I don’t know but the tests subjects who enter it either die or are transformed into beasts.”

“What’s being done with the creatures?”

“We’re training them to fight for the German army.”

Now knowing there were soldiers on the other side, Konrad and his comrades engaged them in a chat, allowing the kids, Fray and William to sneak past unnoticed, then joined up with them.

Getting past patrols via that method, they saw a horrible sight.

Several bodies in some sort of tanks with a brown liquid, unconscious. A clipboard was next to one of them.

To: Deputy Reichsminister Kaufmann

From: Dr. Bernhard Steiner

As expected, use of the Nachtsonne crystal has greatly increased the survival rate of Operation Ungesehen candidates. Unfortunately, it does produce a number of psychological side effects, including paranoia and schizophrenia. But these problems are manageable and I see no reason why the Ungesehen soldiers cannot begin field tests immediately.

Very familiar, if not almost like with Gringore…Except they don’t have chainsaws… Fletcher thought as they moved on through another veil entrance, coming to what looked like a generator room. It created a large sum of electricity.

“No way we gonna get past that. We must deactivate it.” William concluded and spotted a ladder, leading down to a catwalk.

At the end of it was a smaller generator, a strange looking weapon, its front was spinning, powering the machine, overlooked by a single scientist, who held his arms up in surrender as Blazkowicz came closer. “Take where you want. Just don’t kill me.”

The American grabbed the weapon, disabling the generator. “They will coming to see what happened. You’ll never escape!” The scientist yelled before laugher sounded and Blazkowicz fired his new weapon at the incoming Assassin.

The weapon discharged multiple arcs of electricity as it hit the enemy, causing him to fall dead to the ground, twitching.

Then he made a shoulder strap for it and climbed up the ladder again. “Whatever you did, you disabled the barrier. What’s that?” Konrad pointed at the strange weapon.

“It’s a Tesla gun, it was powering the barrier. The same weapon, Deathshead had used for you, children.” William explained and the young friends slightly shivered at the memories.

The way led to another door and William entered first. He saw the same portal he had seen at the dig site, hanged up by pillars in the middle of the room. It glowed green as it was activated, a scientist and SS officer stood before it on a platform.

“Tuning the harmonic frequencies has proven much harder than we thought. Every test subject that passes through the portal still returns to us altered.” The scientist explained before spotting the intruder. “Mein Gott! its’s the spy! You must protect me.” He said to the officer, who just grinned.

“Nein, Herr Doctor. You will be the one who protects me.” He shoved the scientist through the portal, then turned back to William. “Now you will witness just how powerful the German Army is destined to be-“

Before he could finish, the officer was pulled into the air, then apart, by two massive, tortured-looking hands, his body coming apart in two bloody pieces, barely having any time to scream.

What emerged from the portal could only be described as savagery given form. A grotesque mass of flesh and muscle wrapped around some form of evil, otherworldly energy. An pale, hairless, hunched semi-human of immense size. Every limb was swollen morbidly. Its face barely showed through the furrowed brow, slavering jowls and rows of lipless teeth. Grashing and growling like a beast, it honed in on the horrified onlookers, determined to crush its observers for seemingly no other reason than pure rage at everything it saw.

The platform creaked and collapsed under the weight, causing the creature to fall down. Yet it got up fast and punched the ground in anger.

As it charged at them, all soldiers vaulted over the small terrace to keep it away from the children, firing their weapons and dodged it’s charging attacks as good as they could.

“How are we gonna kill that thing?!” Has yelled in frustration as the bullets seemed to have no effect.

The kids looked with worry at the ongoing battle. “There must be a way to help them!” Katja looked around, then got an idea. “Lure it into the pillars!”

William nodded, taking position behind one of the four pillars and fired at the beast as it was charging at Fletcher, who teleported out of the way.

Provoked, it charged at William and hit the pillar, destroying it completely, being briefly dazed.

Fletcher quickly took position behind another pillar and fired his MP43, provoking the beast to charge at him, the same result as with Blazkowicz. Konrad fired behind the third pillar, and took a step back as the beast charged at him and destroyed the pillar.

“Hey! Beast!” A young male voice called out and they saw the kids standing behind the last pillar with brave expressions, Dinky fired a non-lethal spell to provoke it and it worked.

With the last pillar destroyed, the portal fell down but started to glow brighter and brighter, and everyone felt how they get pulled towards it.

“No! No! No No!” Tim tried to hold onto something, it was in vain.

Slightly dazed, they opened their eyes and could only stare at what they saw.

They found themselves in a ruin, the beast in front of them, getting up but suddenly, got sucked into the air, screaming and struggling.

Looking up, they all saw how debris and the creature got sucked towards a black star.

It was unlike anything they'd ever seen. The air itself was different, musty, oily, coppery, so many bizarre senses that shook and stung. The light was different. The Black Sun gave off an eerie viridian luminosity to everything, bathing the place in a teal. The place they stood upon were ruins of some kind. Like those one might find in vestiges of past in Europe. Ancient Greek or Roman structure but something...off.

This place was a backwards land where the rules they were used to meant nothing.

“Wow…So this must be the Black Sun dimension…”It’s beautiful…” Fletcher mumbled, he couldn’t help but admire it before everything went white and they were in the hospital again.

“Okay…portals gone, let’s get out of here.” Escher let out a breath of relief, the children breathed heavily.

William inspected a generator that had powered the portal, finding two red crystal in it. He and Fletcher inserted them into their Medallions. They glowed red, and their weapons had a red aura too.

Blazkowicz tested this new power by firing at a generator behind a Veil shield and table. His shot went right through the shield and table, leaving a hot bullet hole on the later and destroyed the generator, disabling the shield.

Behind the shield was a staircase leaving an emergency exit, which they all took. “Okay, we should report to Caroline about our progress,” Fray suggested and Blazkowicz nodded.

“And we will be there if you need us,” Konrad said before they all went their separate ways.

The two operatives took the sewers with the kids again to avoid conflicts, now seeing that also SS soldiers patrolled the streets on their way to the safehouse.

“Welcome back.” Caroline greeted them with a smile. “We got a message from the Golden Dawn. Several of their members have been taken for interrogation. They asked for your help, saying the captured men are at the local SS Headquarters. We also tracked some parts from the device you destroyed to an abandoned cannery in Isenstadt. I need you to do some reconnaissance.”

“No problem, But can you get Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen out of town? It’s getting too dangerous here.” Fletcher asked her. He knew it became too risky after seeing the Assassins and that beast at the hospital.

“Of course, I already thought ahead. My agents can get them to a transport out of town to a safer place.” She said, smiling warmly at the children.

This time, the children didn’t mind, they knew themselves it the danger had become too high for them. “Be careful, Fletcher.” Dinky gave him with the siblings a hug, he returned it.

“Of course, I will.” Then he moved out with Blazkowicz.

A group of Kreisau agents walked up to the kids. “Are you ready? We will bring to a building at the city limits, from there, a truck will of town bring you out.” One of them said and they nodded, looking with grateful smiles at Caroline, who returned it.

“It’s the least I can do.”

The group led them past patrols with ease, coming to a two-story building and got in.

“Strange, the truck should be already here. Guess he got delayed, let’s wait.” The leader of the agents suggested and the kids nodded.

But little did they know, a SS squad was moving up near the building. “General Zetta wants the children alive. Do NOT screw this up.”

Dinky looked out of the window, enjoying the view, as she suddenly saw some SS soldiers coming closer and pointed at them. “I think we got trouble!” She yelled and the leader of the group now saw them too.

“Damn! Hold them off, I get them to the next floor!” He yelled to his fellow Resistance members, they all nodded.

While scared, Dinky and her friends followed without hesitation, coming past a window as they heard gunfire.

There was a loud bang and the window shattered, causing them to shriek, covering their heads. Uncovering them, they saw to their shock how the leader of the group was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, having been killed by a sniper outside.

“Go to hell…Nazis scum!” A wounded voice sounded from downstairs.

“You first, pissant.” Another voice replied, followed by a gunshot.

In a panic, the children ran upstairs unto they came to a dead end, hugging each other for dear life, as they heard another voice.

“We have you surrounded. Surrender and you will not be harmed.”

Dinky looked around for a way out, but a jump out of the window from this high would be fatal and the stairs were the only way down.

The sound of boots greeted their eyes, seeing a few SS soldiers coming up, their weapons trained at them.

Shaking, Katja held up her hands in surrender, her brother and friend did the same with their hooves. “Don’t shoot…We’re coming with you.” Dinky said with a scared voice as they stood up.

“Securing prisoners. Prepare an interrogation room.” One of the soldiers, an officer ordered another soldier.

Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen knew it was their only choice if they wanted to live. But they dreaded what would happen to them.

Chapter 22 New and Old faces

Chapter 22: New and Old faces

None of them said, a word, afraid it would get them killed as they got brought to what looked like a garment mill and were put into a cell, with a single window.

“What are we gonna do? I-I don’t wanna be back in a lab…” Blau shivered at the thought, his voice cracking.

“I don’t know…” Dinky said, trying to think of something. “Hope and pray for the best?”

“I am sure Fletcher will look out for us upon hearing what happened…But will he be there in time?” Katja wondered as the sun was going down.

Two SS soldiers were assigned to guard them just starting their guard duty. They both saw how the children had fallen asleep on the cots. Yet, they were tossing and turning, scared looks on their faces,

“Poor kids, must have a nightmare.” One of them said with sympathy.

“Who cares, we shall only guard them!” The other one replied slightly annoyed.

“I do care for them!”

“I don't believe it! You're a member of the SS, you're not supposed to be showing pity! We're the best-trained soldiers, why did you even join the Waffen-SS?”

“For the last time, they forced me!” The first one yelled and his comrade just rolled his eyes.

“Whatever…”

Dinky and her friends wake with a slight gasp, shivering. They had dreamed of being put before a firing squad. A SS soldier walked up to the cell and unlocked it, they all looked at him with fearful expressions. “Please don’t kill us…” The filly pleaded.

The soldier just gave a weak smile. “Calm down, I’m not going to harm you.” He said and gave them a board with bread and water. “Here, you should eat something.”

It surprised them, yet they gladly took it. “Thanks,” Dinky replied, then they started to notice the man was familiar and they remembered. “Wait…aren’t you…”

“Yes. I am the soldier you saw in the forest, who protested at your capture before it and with the reinforcements in Italy. Just call me Dennis.”

For the first time, they saw his face fully. Pure blue eyes, brown hair, clean shaven, an athletic build. Overall, he looked like he was in his late teen years, making them wonder how he could be in the SS.

“How can you be with the SS?” Katja asked and he sighed.

“I didn't choose at all. They chose me. They wanted young, healthy men to fight their battles for them. They saw me helping my dad load up our car for the market and before you know it, here I am in the clean black suit and bloody gloves...Or they would have taken everything. I never believed in the propaganda are anything what they think in the SS.”

“Oh my...I am so sorry to hear that.” Blau said with sympathy in his eyes.

“My father told me before I left that when you give your word, you keep it, that it is your actions that define you,” Dennis said with a sad voice, looking down for a moment. Then he looked at the kids. “...How can I ever face him after what I have done, what I have seen being done to others?”

None of them could answer it for a moment. Then Dinky spoke up, “Try to speak in a calm manner to him, let him hear you out, I am sure he will understand you. My father always does when I need to speak with him about bad things.”

“That could work.” He replied with a smile.”

Suddenly, an SS officer walked up to him. “Come with me, I have to discuss something with you.”

“Yes, sir,” Dennis replied, though he doubted it was good.

The officer led him into another room. “Our orders got changed.”

“Changed? How?” David asked confused.

“The prisoners are to be disposed of.” The officer told cold.

“S-Sir?” Dennis asked in disbelief. “With all due respect, they are still children.”

“Are you disobeying a direct order from your superior?” The other SS member asked in a strict tone.

“No, Sir. I just….feel uncomfortable about it.”

“Comfortable you say? You know, disobeying a direct order is a serve crime. And it would affect your family as well.” The officer reached for a pistol. “You don’t want that, don’t you?”

“N-No, Sir.”

“Then prove your loyalty to the Reich.” He gave him the pistol and led him outside. To his horror, Dennis saw the three children tied up and blindfolded against the wall, shaking.

Dennis couldn’t believe it, he could never do this. But if he would refuse, his family would suffer.

The pistol shook in his hand as he lined up the sights, aiming at Dinky’s head, wanting to give her a quick and painless death.

Click!

Confused, he looked at the weapon and noticed from the weight: It was empty. Regardless, the shot had missed anyway, seeing how the officer walked away without a word.

Fletcher and Blazkowicz moved through the sewers to the SS HQ, it was located just right next door at the Hospital. Blazkowicz opened the door and saw a SS soldier sitting at the reception, quickly shooting him into the head with his MP 40 before he could react.

Then they started to check the file cabinets and desk for information, but found nothing, so they continued to search, walking up the stairs.

“Hey! We got a man down!” A soldier yelled downstairs and both operatives knew, they had to fight their way through.

They quickly surprised the SS squad in the next office and searched for information, with Fletcher finding a document in a cabinet that made him concerned.

To: General Zetta

From: Captain Richter

Sir,

Ordering the capture of the children that were with the Green Knight and American was a sheer genius. I'm certain they will crack quickly. Then our Scribes will pluck all the information held in the depths of their minds. It will of course render them insane, but such are the fortunes of war.

“Oh dear… we better hurry.”

“Agreed, Fletcher.”

They then fought their way through the next floor and offices with ease, coming to another officer, with a map on the wall, also having photos of the captured agents on it.

“That must be it. A garment mill taken over by the SS Paranormal Division. It’s not far from here.”

“Then let’s move!” They took the same entrance out they had taken it and to the sewers again to avoid unnecessary fighting, coming to the garment mill shortly.

The front door is completely barricaded, guarded by a squad of Wehrmacht soldiers, which both recognized as they came closer.

“Fletcher, didn’t expect to see you so soon again,” Konrad said surprised.

“Me neither. We are on a mission to rescue captured Golden Dawn members from the garment mill. Plans went south. They got the foals. I'll need your help.”

“What?” Escher asked in slight shock, blinking as Fletcher nodded. “Alright, this is crossing the line…” He said with a dark tone. “We’ll help you. There’s an entrance on the left side of the rooftop, a ladder.”

“Thanks.”

They all took the ladder inside, coming to a cellar. Right at the end was a tied up and blindfolded man on a chair, guarded by two SS soldiers. William and Fray killed them with synchronized shots of their rifles, then untied the man.

“Thank you. You go on – I’ll find my way out of here.” The Golden Dawn member said as he stood up.

They then moved up the stairs, taking out any SS soldiers that dared to stop them. In a small room was the next prisoner, freeing him.

Coming across a catwalk, they saw another room with a prisoner inside, guarded by a Scribe. He shielded himself from Blazkowicz’s fire but Konrad lunged forward, stabbing him into the throat with his Bayonet.

After the last prisoner was freed, Fletcher looked around. “The children have to be here somewhere!” He cast his tracking spell and smiled. “Got it! Right on the top floor.”

The group wasted no time and came to a door, Blazkowicz kicked it open.

Inside were the children, also tied up and blindfolded on chairs, trembling. Two SS, soldiers one of them an officer, guarded them.

The soldier had a slightly scared expression, the officer rather determined to stop them. “Surrender, or they die!” He threatened, aiming a pistol at the children.

Fletcher looked for an opportunity to shoot, but the officer stood directly in front of the children. Any shot at him would hurt or kill them too.

It looked like they had no other choice, if they wanted the kids to live.

But what happened next, surprised everyone. The other soldier punched the officer right into the face, a slight hint of rage and disgust in his expression. “I had enough!” Then he untied the kids, who instantly ran into Fletcher for a comforting hug.

“Shh, it’s okay.” He said in a calming voice and looked at the young man, recognizing him. “You have my gratitude, kid.”

“I did only what was right, what I had to do. My name is Dennis.”

“Great job, kid.” Blazkowicz praised him.

The young man nodded, then looked at Konrad. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all. You don’t deserve to be with those guys.”

“Now, we get you back to the safehouse,” Fletcher said to the kids and they nodded as the three Golden Dawn agents walked up to them.

“We’ll get them there, so you can continue with the mission.” One of them said and Fletcher nodded, the kids did too.

“And we better get going. See you later.” Konrad spoke and left with the others.

As the kids left with the Golden Dawn members, Fletcher and William made their way to the exit sewer entrance, only to stop as they saw it was guarded by a new enemy.

A blonde woman wearing a black SS uniform. “I saw them before. Elite Guards, once under the command of Helga Von Bulow.” William told Fletcher.

Barely he had spoken the woman spotted them and lobbed a green ball of energy at William, he quickly ducked to avoid it. Fletcher aimed his weapon, but the woman moved towards him very fast and tried to hit him with retractable blades attached to their wrists.

He managed to block it with his spear, seeing briefly a skeletal pattern on her chest and face.

Using his strength, he shoved and back and hit her across the chest, blood splattered as she clutched her wound and died.

“Okay, let’s go,” Fray said as the way was clear and climbed through a hole in the sewers. Still, the Elite Guard reminded him of someone.

Kinda like Domino and Saracen. Wonder what happened to them. I know Midnight still thinks they’re alive, but they don’t have means of agelessness like we do…I just miss them…Saracen would definitely be by my side here…Could he be that ghostly guard that I saw before? Given how we were best friends, it would be very likely. But then again…

“I swear this place is hunted I heard laughter again – and no one was there.” A voice tore him out, and he peeked around the corner, seeing two Wehrmacht soldiers chatting.

“I know what you mean. I keep hearing a buzzing sound.”

“Why do we have to guard down here anyway? No one’s going to come through the sewer.” The first soldier replied, his back to the two intruders getting knocked out with his comrade.

As they moved on, Blazkowicz switched to the Tesla gun, knowing that by buzzing and laugher, an Assassin was nearby. Activating the Veil, he just saw him running towards him and fired, taking the hostile out before he could do any harm.

The way led to a ladder, which they took up, hearing another German voice.

“Those Drache Troopers are unsafe; the resistance has taken to shooting their fuel tanks. The explosion usually takes out anyone else close by.”

“Well, now I know not to stand near anyone carrying a flamethrower.”

Around the corner were also to Wehrmacht soldiers, having their backs to the intruders, getting knocked out bore they could react.

But as Fletcher came to the mouth of an extremely narrow corridor, he stopped abruptly as a hostile soldier came around the corner. He wore a black trench coat and a white gas mask, with red lenses and a helmet, carrying a fuel tank on his back.

Burn!” He yelled in a menacingly deep echoing tone, firing a jet of flames. Fletcher quickly cast a shield spell, then fired a powered arrow that head of the soldier, killing him instantly.

“So this must be one of those Drache Troopers.” William switched his Particle Cannon for the still intact Flamethrower.

Hearing laugher again, he activated his Veil once more and burned the incoming Assassin before he could get close.

They came to some stair that led to a ladder. Climbing up, they came to the outside of a factory. An MG nest on the other side saw them and opened fire. They both activate their Veil shields and took the soldiers out with their rifles.

A train car next to it was busted open and a heavy trooper walked out, firing a shotgun-like burst of energy balls, which the shields absorbed. Fletcher in response fire three arrows at once, two headed for the shoulder vents, the third for the emergency vent, blowing the trooper up.

Suddenly the ground shook as a heard an echoing energy sound, sounding like a massive explosion. “Whatever it is, it comes somewhere in the inside of the facility.” William concluded.

They then fought their way through the facility, coming across workshops for the armor of the heavy troopers, the strange echoing sound occurred everyone in a while with a countdown.

Eventually, they came to what looked like a repair shop, seeing a large tank hull, as they eliminated the SS troops, with Fletcher stabbing a scribe as he shielded them.

Then they moved towards what looked like a firing range. On the other end was a tank turret, mounted on a railway carriage. It fired a spherical globe of energy and they took cover behind a concrete barrier. While protected by it, the barrier got obliterated the barrier completely, the small debris floating in the air for a few seconds before falling to the ground.

But by moving from barrier to barrier, both managed to get past the tank gun and stormed the control booth behind it. Fletcher shot two scribes with his arrows before they could react, William took care of the SS soldiers.

Seeing a large number of SS moving in after the booth was cleared, Blazkowicz ran to the buttons that controlled it and fired the gun at them. Fletcher took notice how the gun was instantly disintegrating the soldiers into a bile of bones, and that it apparently used Veil Barrels as ammunition, as it ejected a spent barrel every time it fired. Also, the gun was rigged to two coils on each wall of the firing range; these flashed with electricity when it fired.

It was very impressive, yet terrifying.

After the enemy threat was eliminated, they both nodded at each other, knowing that this gun had to be destroyed. They activated the veil and saw that the coils were glowing red and used the gun to destroy them. As soon as the last coil was destroyed, the gun exploded in an electric teal color, being disabled.

They then moved through a backdoor in the booth, coming across to what looked like production machine for Veil Barrels before getting through another door.

It led to a large room with three conduits in it, themselves were on a catwalk, seeing a broad SS Officer in the middle of the room, his back to them, hands behind his back.

“Finally I get to meet the man and stallion who have caused us such so much trouble… But I'll put a stop to that now.” He said confidently.

“Like hell you will,” Blazkowicz said and took aim, but what happened next surprised him and Fletcher.

The bullets passed right through him. And he chuckled as Blazkowicz reloaded and fired again, with the same result. “You really don't understand, do you?” The German taunted and raised his hand. The catwalk started to creak and both tried to run before it collapsed and both landed on ground level with a groan.

Getting up, they saw that the man had brown eyes and hair and realized: It was General Zetta himself. “You of all people should know you cannot trust what you see.” He taunted.

Fletcher took a step back as Zetta ran towards him, strangely moving as if on puppet strings, making a distorted groan as he attempted to punch, Fletcher, who jumped out of the way.

That’s supernatural! He realized and activated his Veil, being surprised at what he saw. In the Veil, Zetta was not a man but a huge worm-like monster.

He fired at his veil form, Zetta fired solid rings of expanding energy at chest level at them, Fray ducked to avoid it.

Blazkowicz on the other hand, did not use the Veil, still firing at a human Zetta, with the bullets still going through him. “What is this?! Die already!” He yelled frustrated, avoiding the punches as good as he could.

Fletcher kept on firing until Zetta’s carapace was blown off.

In response, he went to one of the conduits, it activated and slowly restored him. Fletcher saw outside of the Veil a ghost-like form of Zetta’s slug appearance, and the human body was full of holes. Despite this, Fray didn’t hesitate to destroy the generator with a charged arrow, causing Zetta to scream in pain as exploded violently, damaging him in the process.

Upon seeing the ghost-like form and bullet holes, William realized he had to use the Veil.

The SS officer then fired solid rings of energy that ran along the ground this time, but his enemies jumped over it as they fired at him and he was forced to go to the next generator. Fetcher destroyed this one too with a charged arrow.

This time, Zetta fired scatterings of energy projectiles in a diagonally tilted ring but Fray and Blazkowicz jumped up the side and kept firing until he collapsed.

Now, they saw the slug perfectly outside of the Veil, as William walked up to him, his MP 40 pointed at the head. “You think this makes any difference, you simpleton? We will prevail, I promise you. We serve one with power you cannot comprehend.” Zetta taunted with a distorted voice.

“Hitler's already half a corpse and I'll make sure he's all the way once I see him again.”

Zetta just chuckled- “Oh you poor fool. I wasn't talking about the Fuhrer...He is coming. His hand reaches out for your little associates...And he has so many things planned for them.” He said before the American fired, causing blood to splatter.

But the destruction of the generators caused a chain reaction of explosions and they both wasted no time to get to the exit door, vaulting over the wall outside.

“Phew…Glad that’s over. Any idea how he became that thing?” Fletcher asked his ally.

“I suspect it’s a mutation as a result of exposure to the Veil. No doubt Berlin will send a replacement. The new guy can't be any worse. Let’s get back to Caroline.”

Fray nodded, yet Zetta’s last words made him think. Who did he mean with “He is coming?” He thought hard, but could not get up with an answer.

“Back at the safe house, the resistance leader and children smiled warmly at their return. “You did well. Maybe the impossible can happen maybe we can kick the Nazis out of Isenstadt, live free again. But only if we keep it up. The Nazis are retaliating for the death of General Zetta by attacking this section of Isenstadt. We must move to downtown.” She explained.

“Take the sewers northwest, then once you’re downtown, travel along the waterways, the Nazis shouldn’t see you there.”

“Okay. What about the children?” Fletcher wanted to know, being slightly worried.

“I will organize their safe passage out of the city personally, as I will meet an informant about the commander who’s coming to replace Zetta. I don’t see how this Nazi could be any worse than Zetta, but you never know. I want to find out everything about him I can.”

“Good. See you in downtown.

“Good luck. Fletcher.” The children said in incision as he left with Blazkowicz for the sewers.

As they walked thrown, the stepped as they heard footsteps, leaning against the wall as they saw several shadows.

“Someone will pay dearly for putting me down here.” They saw a scribe walking past, a pack of Sniffers following him, apparently controlling them. William sneaked behind them with his flamethrower and burned them, Fray looked away in disgust, not able to bear the screams.

Nevertheless, they moved on, seeing two chatting SS soldiers through a hatch.

“The fighting of Midtown has ground to a standstill. What got into the townspeople to make them suddenly put up a fight?”

“It’s that American agent, Blazkowicz. When he killed General Zetta it made them think they could fight back.”

“What’s this Blazkowicz look like?”

“Tall, blond – and if I ever see him, dead.”

Reaching the end of the sewers, the two climbed up, seeing that the buildings of Downtown were much more heavily damaged than in Midtown, possibly due to Allied bombing.

Taking Caroline’s advice to stay by the waterways, they reached the new safe house without any enemy contacts, seeing Erik with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?” William asked him.

“Caroline has been taken prisoner by the Nazis. After she left with the children, the informant turned out to be a trap.”

“What?” Fletcher asked in shock and disbelief.

“We just received word they’re being held at a castle outside of town. Needless to say, we’re preparing a rescue.”

Fletcher gritted his teeth with a growl. “They will regret that. There is no time to waste.”

“Ja. A short distance from here there’s a truck waiting to take you to the castle.”

Both nodded and moved out.

The stallion dreaded to imagine what would happen to the Children, hoping they weren’t too late, seeing a Wehrmacht squad with a SS soldier up ahead on the street.

“So we meet again. Fletcher.” Konrad greeted with a smile.

“Glad to see you too, but we have a problem. Dinky, Katja and Blau got captured again and brought to the Castle outside of town.” Fletcher told him and his expression became slightly shocked.

“What?” He blinked, then sighed. “Alright, we’re with you. There was something we were about to warn you anyway.” He said as they all moved.

“And that this?

The Sergeant pointed at the Zeppelin in the sky. “We got informed, when a signal is given, immediately withdraw to the city limits of Isenstadt and that the signal will be transmitted once the Zeppelin has reached optimal position and its weapons system is fully operational. So we better do it fast to rescue them.”

“Right.” William nodded.

The squad took a second truck once Blazkowicz and Fra reached the agents at the truck that was waiting for them.

It was night when they reached the castle. Konrad and his squad were determined to save the children, ready to do whatever it would take and the Sergeant yelled to his men, “Squad, advance! Keep moving forward!”

Together with the Kreisau agents, Fray and Blazkowicz, they stormed the outer country yard, quickly overwhelming the SS defenders. An MG was firing from a window, but Fletcher took aim with his K98 and fired, taking the gunner out and opening the way.

William saw a glint on a balcony and took aim with his rifle, scooting a sniper right through the scope.

Having overtaking the first bridge, they entered the next one, hearing a loud roar in the sky. They all were quite surprised to see two soldiers, flying in the air with jetpacks, armed with two four-barrel rocket launchers.

They fired at the resistance fighters, circling around, but Fletcher cast a shield Spell and fired an arrow at one of the enemies with little trouble. It hit the jetpack, it sparked and the soldiers lost control, crashing into his comrade and both exploded.

“For Isenstadt!” One Kreisau member yelled as they advanced to the inner courtyard, and were greeted by another Despoiled.

It fired its energy at Fletcher, he jumped out of the way, then concentrated fire with William and the soldiers on it, defeating it quickly. He let out an aggravated sigh.

“Well...You tested it on yourselves...Smart...Do you people just...not believe in Health and Safety Codes?! Is that forbidden in your Fascist Doctrines or something?! You're doing this on purpose aren't you! You're being as crazily evil as possible just to piss me off!”

The way then led to a closed portcullis. “Find a way to open it, we wait here!” One of the agents said to the soldiers, they all nodded, taking a side entrance.

They came to the other sides of the portcullis with some Veil machines. William took notice that one of them held a large weapon, similar to the Particle Cannon in form.

“That should do it.” He said and picked it up, aiming at the portcullis. As he pulled the trigger, it fired a spherical globe of energy that detonated and lifted the gate up before the tip of the weapon spun for a short moment, as if it recharged.

“It’s like a mini version of that tank gun we saw at the Cannery.” Fletcher commented at the sight.

“Yes, I overheard a scantiest that they call it Leichenfaust.” Konrad explained as they got outside. They had to see another of those altered beasts, fought by both SS and Resistance with no success.

Blazkowicz aimed the Leichenfaust at it and fired. The altered got instantly disintegrated into a pile of bones, floating for a moment before hitting the ground.

With the area secure, they all advanced into the inner Keep and eliminated the SS there. “We’ll hold this area. You go save Caroline and the children.” The same agent from before said and all soldiers nodded, walking up the stairs.

They all fought their way through a dinning room, Blazkowicz used the Leichenfaust to eliminate another Despoiled among the way, before hearing a voice.

“I’m taking this prisoner to the roof. Do not let the American through!” It was Grosse, seeing through a bared window how he dragged a struggling Caroline up the stairs.

Fighting through the SS soldiers, the group’s route led through a radio room and a library, hearing laughter. Two Assassins charged at them, but the flamethrower of William burned them with screams before they could get too close.

After that they came to a storage room, the stairs leading to the roof. “We secure this area, so no Reinforcements get to you,” Konrad said to the stallion and American.

“Alright,” Fray replied and moved up.

B.J and Fletcher Fray entered the roof of the castle, a huge machine was on it, harnessing the power of the Black Sun Dimension as it looked identical to that in the Church. The agent spotted an SS-officer dead ahead. "Deathshead..."

Deathshead chuckled.” Agent Blazkowicz, Fletcher Fray. When I heard reports you were in town, I could not believe my good fortune - finally, I can have my revenge." He clenched his fist.

"You forgetting we the ones with the guns. Shut that thing down.” B.J. said with authority, training his MP40 on Deathshead, Fletcher Fray his bow.

"You're not the one giving orders here. Drop your weapons, especially you, Fletcher Fray, if you don't want that your little friend dies."

He stepped aside, revealing that Hans Grosse held Caroline as hostage, while an SS-Officer held Dinky at gun point. The unicorn saw the fear in her eyes.

"No! Don't" Caroline struggled while Dinky trembled in fear.

Both dropped their weapons, Fletcher did it only to not endanger the little foal.

"And that is why Germany will triumph. We are willing to risk everything to win. Many had thought this device would tear the barrier between our dimension and the Black Sun. But we persevered and now possess an inexhaustible source of power. With it, Germany's war machine will conquer the world.” Deathshead told them with triumph in his voice.

"I’m tired of their continued existence, Hans. Shoot them."

As Hans was about to shoot, the machine suddenly exploded, making him miss. Caroline struggled to get free but Hans managed to shoot her, causing both operatives to gasp slightly in shock.

Yet they got their weapons as Deathshead looked at the damaged machine in horror as it sparked and caught fire.

“Nein! Nein!"

The machine sent out Veil energy, disintegrating the officer along with Hans. The filly herself was unharmed but dazed as she hit the ground.

"Dinky!" The knight was about to came to her.

But in the moment he almost reached her, the machine exploded into pieces, knocking him over and opening an uncontrollable portal that sucked the filly and B.J. in before they could react.

"Dinky! NO!" Fletcher tried to reach out but it was too late.

As he saw Deathshead fleeing, he fired a short burst of bullets from his MP43 but missed.

Suddenly, he heard a terrifying scream coming out of the portal. It sounded like the same the despoiled made when Fletcher and B.J. destroyed the machine at the church, accidentally turning an SS-officer into one of those horrible creatures. For the first time in years, he was really scared, his yes becoming small. "Uh-oh..."

The Eternal Knight trained his bow on the portal, ready to face whatever would exit it. At first, he thought it could be B.J. but he remembered that the Thule Medallion protected him from the portal back in the hospital.

Then, it hit him like a train who had made that scream.

No, no, no, no, anything but that!

Chapter 24 Final struggle

Chapter 24: Final struggle

At the other end, they came to a ruin, a catwalk led to another portal, large cables connected both portals. Seeing some supplies on a table, they all restocked before heading through the next portal.

Coming out, they were now on a large platform, a huge mechanical structure with multiple rotating pillars in the middle of it. Deathshead stood before it, turning around as he spotted the American.

“Agent Blazkowicz... you have an annoying tendency to appear at the worst possible moment. Which is why I have taken certain precautions.” He pointed behind him and the group saw Fletcher in the Heavy Trooper armor, a Leichenfaust his up by his magic.

But to the horror of Konrad and his squad, they saw Dinky on a platform, altered in a way they couldn’t imagine.

Dinky looked untouched at first. But what was unnerving was the way she was standing...on two back hooves. Her forehooves hung limply at her sides while her eyes stared out at the oncomers. At last, her back-hooves left the ground as Dinky Doo hovered in mid-air, slowly holding her forehooves out to either side of her. Her mouth opened wide. Then wider. It stretched further than any normal pony could manage, her cheeks going taut like rubber bands. Her eyes turned blank then bristled with volts of veil energy as a pale green light burst from out her mouth. It formed a trail, snake-like, and out of its head emerged a screaming, sharp-toothed equine skull gliding towards them, a face from hell with a voice to match

“It is amazing how powerful Unicorn magic and Veil energy combined can be. Fletcher Fray, he may be in the armor of a heavy Veil Trooper but make no mistake. He has no shoulder venting system like the others you encountered. He is the final stage of it.” Strasse then pointed to the siblings, they stood behind Fletcher.

Katja's body was enshrouded, as if a thick layer of shadow was enveloping it, blotting it from sight. The shadowed figure was hunched, crouching, shuffling in a pained, warped fashion. A dusky indigo mist was emanating from the figure's shoulders, forming a ghostly silhouette of Katja, coursing with veil energy. The face of the ghost was monstrous, skeletal, grim, dead lights in her eyes illuminating a skinless face. As it rose higher in the air, spreading out its arms, its hair floating in a mad weightless mess, the creature from the veil, inhabiting Katja's body, opened its mouth wide and let out a screech.

“The young girl... Fascinating, isn't it? How much work the human body goes through in order for us to simply hear something as small as a bird call or a wind chime. Literally countless organs, muscles and nerves orchestrate our ability to detect sound. Presently, Miss Katja's ability is being amplified significantly. Where a normal individual would hear a small noise, Katja now hears as if it were echoing across the landscape. A gunshot? The noise alone will cause her incredible pain, more than she's ever experienced. But through pain...we learn...Is that not so? Her ability to detect sound is also amplified. Move, blink, breathe...and she will know. She will find you...and make you experience the same pain. And I very much fear you will not live to learn from it.” The scientist explained and pointed to the colt.

Blau's body was aflame. But the flames seemed controlled, connected, working around the body they'd possessed to create their own. A creature of fire and smoke stood in Blau's place, all muscle and armor with a twisting tail of flame in place of a back-half. The face of Blau Streifen was swallowed up from the lips-down as a set of ferocious, sabered, scorpion-like jaws gnashed and spat embers in a feral display of menace. Flickering forehooves stamped like sledgehammers on the floor, scratching and scraping with rage. The creature represented the fires of war in shape and mood and was intent on spreading it to everything it touched.

“Her younger brother.... Fire. Said to be man's first creation and its greatest. Our knowledge of fire begat our knowledge of navigation, settlement, cookery, metallurgy, the list is endless. From fire comes life...and death. From fire, young master Blau Streifen shall be born anew, rechristened if you will, into a living missile, seeking out any who would harm the Third Reich and burning them to ash. These veil-powered radiator systems are filling his body with raw energy. His speed, strength, resilience and, not least, his ferocity will be unmatched by any living thing. Through the veil comes power and young Blau Streifen is privileged to be the subject of that power.”

Deathshead then looked at the machine and Dinky.

“Beautiful, isn't it? Such raw unbridled power. It destroyed the Thule Civilization; but where they failed, we will succeed. I have the technology to control it. And our first demonstration will be the city of Isenstadt. After that, I will destroy everything that stands in my way - the world will fall on its knees before the Third Reich.” He exclaimed in triumph.”

“I have to say, for all you've cost me, I can't help but be impressed. You've managed to get this far. Only appropriate I give you a sight worth seeing. I chanced upon your friends and found them...wanting. The last time they fell into our grasp produced unsatisfactory results. This time however, there will be no mistakes. Direct contact with the veil and all it grants mortal flesh shall strip her of her weaknesses. Her magic shall be brought to its fullest potential. No human weapon will withstand against it. And from the wreckage of our last great war, we shall at last claim victory. You are confident in your abilities, Agent Blazkowicz, and I admire you for it. But in the end, you could only venture so far. Behold the veil, Blazkowicz! Behold the future!

A shame you won't get to see the swastika flying proudly over Washington D.C. Kill him!” He ordered and walked away.

Konrad and his squad could only stare at the children. Was whatever Deathshead had done to them even reversible? Were they still alive?

None of them had time to react as Katja let out a loud shriek, causing everyone to cover their eyes and William saw Fletcher aiming at him.

Fletcher..." B.J struggled to stand, holding up a hand before the armor-encased unicorn bearing down on him "Fletcher, it's me! Snap out of it"

Snorting and growling dementedly, the Eternal Knight stared.

No human met his gaze. No friend.

He was staring instead at Grand Master Solomon, dressed in his fine robes and gleaming armor, looking down at him with that smug, contemptuous little sneer of his, those venomous eyes furrowed in disapproval, as he were the murderer, the traitor, the infidel.

Then Solomon laughed.

"You spent fifty years at war and nine-hundred and fifty in hiding...to put a princess on the throne. And then, when she returned, she refused it. You lived on as countless comrades died...and now you can never avenge them. You fought to save Equestria from tyranny and are now labelled the servant of a usurper, a destroyer, a demon" he laughed again "You have failed, Fletcher Fray. Your entire thousand-year struggle has all been in vain" His pale eyes glinted arrogantly "You are weak...Say it"

A roar that neither man nor beast could imitate escaped Fletcher Fray's lips, lost in rage as the sight of his most hated foe disguised the sight of his friend.

“Hello, Solomon. This thing that matches my bow and it hurts a whole lot more! This weapon fires disintegrating inter-dimensional pulses of electric death and it really wants to make friends with you! I hope you enjoy screaming, you sick son of a nag! My magic is just as powerful as yours - so now we are equal.”

He fired the Leichenfaust and Blazkowicz barely dove out of the way, managing to use one of the pillars for cover. In response, Blau charged forward, trying to engulf the pillar with fire but William used his shield to block the flames.

Walking out, he saw Fletcher standing before the machine. He knew he couldn’t kill the stallion but had to incapacitate him somehow, so he fired a short burst of his MP40 but the bullets just bounced off.

Looked up, he saw a blue glow from Dinky, realizing she was casting a shield around Fletcher and that he had to use Empower to get through before he was forced to his knees as Katja shrieked again.

“We have to do something!” Dennis exclaimed, but they all couldn’t bring themselves to hurt the stallion.

Konrad looked around, there was no ladder or anything to get to the platform Dinky was standing on and Fray took aim again, so he did a quick thought.

“What are you doing?!” Hans yelled in disbelief as he saw his NCO running front of Blazkowicz, as if he wanted to be killed.

To their surprise, Fray held his weapon up into the sky. “Out of my way, soldier!”

They started to realize, whatever Deathshead had done to Fray, it caused him to see them as allies, something they could exploit.

Blazkowicz shoved Konrad away and activated Empower to fire through the shield. Fletcher did not flinch at all but Dinky did slightly stumble. Apparently, it took her a lot of effort to maintain the shield.

As the energy for Empower ran low, William used one of the pillars again for cover, only for the girl to shriek again, with Blau trapping him with flames.

“Squad, scatter!” Escher ordered and they did as told, taking position around Blazkowicz, aiming at him, but also blocking Fletcher’s line of fire again, forcing him to stand down.

Blazkowicz used this to activate his shield and escaped the flames, using then Empower to fire at Fletcher.

Surprisingly, the stallion after a few hits fell to his knees, the shield vanished, with Dinky holding her head, the siblings did too.

That gave Blazkowicz an idea and he ran up to Fray, pulling out his shield crystal.

Fray struggled as Blazkowicz grabbed him,

Fletcher roared before William slammed his shield crystal into Fray’s Medallion located on the chest.

Konrad and his squad mates looked in shock as the machine send out lighting, directed at Fletcher, he screamed in pain, his skeleton briefly visible, making everyone hope he would survive this.

The machine caught fire and sparked.

It exploded in a shockwave, destroying the platform and the group got gently levitated beneath the top of the machine, in the inner workings.

“What a trip…” Tim commented slightly dazed as he saw that the inner workings with the gears made it look like a mini-maze with plenty of corridors.

“No shields? Well, I don’t need it since I can alter time itself.” Fray’s voice sounded. “Where are you hiding, Solomon? It’s time to die.”

A loud shriek made them cover their ears and as they uncovered them, they saw that Blau Streifen dashed around two corridors, blocking them off with his fire.

In a flash, Fletcher stood at the other end of the flames, firing his Leichenfaust again. William used Mire to dodge it before they saw Fletcher running away, Dinky close behind him.

The group moved carefully through the corridors before Blazkowicz got suddenly shocked, grunting in pain, twitching and the squad saw Dinky before him, Fletcher close behind. But the stallion couldn’t fire as the squad was in front of the American.

William recovered quickly and fired a short burst at Fray, he slightly grunted, then retreated at an incredible speed due to using Mire.

Again, the soldiers moved carefully, before they saw Katja slowly moving towards them, shrieking upon spotting them. As William covered his ears, he saw a flash again, managing to shoot at it and he heard a grunt.

“I’m going to enjoy putting out your flame,” Fletcher said as he fell to his knees, with the children holding their heads. William noticed as walked closer that the armor was damaged, exposing some parts, seeing that Fletcher’s eyes glowed red in the Veil.

Blazkowicz slammed his mire crystal into the unicorn’s Medallion, causing him to be electrocuted again.

“Solomon! You son of a nag! I’m not done yet with you!” Fray screamed in pain as another explosion occurred, sending the group gently to a stone path under the machine.

Blazkowicz picked up some supplies in a small camp of the Nazis.

Then they moved up the path, back to the top. On a hill, they saw Fray with Blau Streifen, the colt hovered next to Fray’s bow, lighting up the tip and Fletcher fired.

Blazkowicz dove out of the way as the arrow hit the ground, creating a barrier. He just got up as Fletcher fired the Leichenfaust again, yet his target avoided the shot by moving down the bath and returned fire with his K98.

Fletcher got thrown back by the hits, losing his balance and fell over the edge, the German soldiers gasped slightly, yet did not hesitate to move on, taking care of a few sniffers along the way.

It ended at an edge of floating Veil energy. “Only one way to go.” The American said and jumped into it, getting levitated up. Konrad and his squad did the same and they came back to the inner workings but the gears were gone, along with most of the ruin walls.

“Solomon! This ends...NOW!” Fray screamed and they saw him, together with the children on a platform of the center tower.

It slowly lowered, making him a sitting duck, as Blazkowicz had no trouble firing at him while avoiding his shots, while the squad went to cover. The moment the platform touched down, Fletcher fell to his knees once again, with the kids holding their heads.

“How can this be? You're nothing but a spoiled schoolcolt!” Fray exclaimed in disbelief as William got closer.

The American saw that the helmet was gone, seeing a ring on Fray’s horn and scars on his face, they were barely visible in the dark light, as they were healed and dried.

“Don’t you dare touch me! You traitor! You’re just one pony! You can’t defeat the lunar republic! Soon we will liberate Equestria!” The unicorn yelled before William slammed his Empower crystal into his Medallion, getting again electrocuted.

“You can’t win. You hear me? YOU CAN’T WIN!”

A bright light blinded everyone and as it stopped, they found themselves in back into the real realm. Fletcher and the kids were lying on the ground, the letter normal again. William checked for pulses and nodded. “They’re exhausted but okay.”

“Ugh…that…hurt…” Fray mumbled as he slowly got up.

His entire body ached, he groaned, struggling to get up.

William smiled to see that the ring was lying on the ground, broken in two.

The children managed to get up with shaking legs, grunting in pain as they collapsed again.

Konrad and the others smiled, happy they had succeeded in making their friends normal again.

They had done it, what they thought was impossible. But they knew the kids were in no state to go on their own

“Damn you Blazkowicz!” Deathshead yelled and they saw him fleeing towards the other portal, with the machines around the catwalk exploding.

“Get the kids to safety, I’ll deal with him!” Fletcher said to his allies.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Konrad asked with worry.

“I’ll be fine! Go!”

Nodding, Escher gently picked up Dinky, Hans took Katja and Tim took Blau. They all ran as fast as they could towards the other portal, seeing that the Zeppelin was also damaged.

Holding the children tightly, the group jumped over a railing, Dennis and Tim screamed as they fell before opening their parachutes, landing at the outskirts of town.

“F-Fletch…” Dinky said weakly, as the Sergeant gently put her down, seeing how the Zeppelin was a burning wreck, crashing into the castle in a gigantic explosion. “N-no…” She looked in shock at it.

Even Blazkowicz with his allies looked at the burning castle.

Had Fletcher perished in the crash?

Had been the rescue attempt been in vain?

The siblings sniffed, not able to believe he had died.

“Hey! Look!” Dennis pointed at something in the sky, reflected by the moonlight and the children managed to smile weakly.

“Fletch…”

They saw him flying towards them, using his mechanical wings, smiling as he landed next to them.

“Just because I don't fear death, doesn't mean I planned dying up there.” He said before he felt dizzy and everything went black.

Chapter 25 Hearts of Iron

Chapter 25: Hearts of Irion

Opening their eyes, Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau found themselves in pure darkness but saw a light in the distance.

Walking closer, they saw it belonged to a mare with glowing eyes and the siblings blinked in confusion. “Mama?” The colt asked.

Getting closer, they all saw it was Ruby indeed, running away from something.

“I am not that kind of ghost!” She yelled and they saw her getting chased by a car that looked like an Ambulance, it’s siren was high-pitched, a crossed out ghost painted on the doors.

“Uhh…what’s going on?” Katja stared in confusion.

“I have no idea…” Dinky replied.

“I have seen any, but that is ridiculous,” Fray commented.

Then everything went slowly white.

Struggling to open their eyes, they woke up in a hospital room. Everything ached, and their vision was slightly blurry.

“Ah, you’re awake.” A faint voice said and they saw Erik walking in, followed by Blazkowicz and Konrad’s squad. “You’re in the hospital of Isenstadt, as the after effects of the Black Sun took quite its toll on you.”

They barely hear it, it was very quiet, as if they were underwater. “O-okay…” Fletcher managed to say weakly.

“I am happy to see you are all alright. The portal is destroyed and all access to the Black Sun is permanently cut off. Unfortunately, our Medallions are now a burnt hunk of metal and glass, ruined when the portal was shattered.”

“Ah, a pity, but I keep mine, I am sure Luna can still study it. But about the Golden Dawn?” Fray asked with guilt, knowing he had killed their leader, although he was the informant.

Blazkowicz sighed. “Shortly after the Zeppelin crashed, the Golden Dawn vanished. They would have made good allies. Also, there was a second informant.”

“Second informant?” Fray asked puzzled.

“Yes. Anton, the younger brother of the two Black Market dealers. Stefan told me when he left the Black Market, his brother told him he was setting up Caroline and told them about us being at the train station, possibly working together with Dr. Alexandrov.”

“Okay. What about Isenstadt?”

“The Nazis have withdrawn and we have control again.” Erik replied.

“B-but…how can you still be here?” Dinky asked Konrad.

“Well, remember that codebook you’re recovered? The Kreisau Circle used it to send a false request for a rearguard, in that cause us. Plus, we had always shown a good will and treated the locals with respect, which they appreciated. That was also the reason the bartender put your orders on the house.”

“That was very nice. I wish Caroline was still alive to see her home being freed.” Blau said with pity, his head lowered.

“Did somebody say my name?” A female voice asked and to their surprise they all saw Caroline moving into the room, sitting in a wheelchair.

“Caroline, you’re alive.” Fray couldn’t trust his eyes.

“Yes, I got shot through the spine, paralyzed from the waist down but otherwise fine. You all did great work in freeing Isenstadt.” She praised with a smile.

“T-thanks…” Dinky managed to smile. “But…what if they come back?”

“They won’t, Dinky. As Hitler came to power, apart from the propaganda and allies bombings, you barely noticed anything from the Nazis. When General Viktor Zetta came to Isenstadt to mine Nachtsonne crystals and investigate the possible applications of the Veil, he hanged the mayor and town council, and declared martial law. A massive German garrison was established, with many sites in town turned into research facilities or military strongholds. Also, the Nazis did a series of brutal crackdowns on any actual or perceived sympathizers, terrifying the locals.”

“I see. Reminds me, what actually made you discover that Medallion, William?” Fray asked the OSA agent.

“On the night before you were called to this mission, our radar discovered a German Battleship five miles off of the English coast. As there was no time to dispatch fighters in time, I got dispatched to infiltrate and destroy it, as it was about to launch experimental missiles on London. As I took out the commander of the ship, I discovered the Medallion in his uniform. At first, we thought it was the Tirpitz, as it was a ship of the Bismarck class but investigating the wreck, we discovered it was a special modified Bismarck class battleship, called the Caprivi, having used Veil energy to get close without being detected.”

“Uh-huh.” Fray nodded as Katja suddenly held her ears with a hiss.

“Argh! My ears are ringing!”

“A side-effect of what Deathshead did to you but it should wear off soon,” Konrad explained before Blau had to hic, a small flame came out of his mouth.

“Ugh...” the colt groaned, feeling not well.

Dinky attempted to pick up a glass of water on the nightstand but her horn sparkled, meaning she was unable to use magic. He stretched her hoof out to grab out, missing it a few times as her vision was blurry, with her movement looking blurry as well, like a ghost, before she got it, her hoof slightly shaking.

“Anyway, you should focus on recovering,” Escher said as a nurse brought them dinner.

“I don’t feel hungry…” Katja commented at the sight. Blau tried to took a bite of his meal but had to hic again, almost burning the food.

“That’s so annoying!”

“I could eat a Bratwurst or a Schnitzel, even a Weißwurst right now...” Fletcher mumbled contemplatively at his meal, earning confused looks by all Germans. “Uh...I mean it's vegetarian Farman counterparts of course.”

“Right… Anyway, get well soon.” Dennis said before he walked out with the others.

The food had almost no taste, as their tongues felt numb.

In the next days, they felt very tired, often sweating when they tried to sleep at night, yet it became less and less as the day passed, together with the other side effects.

But after a week or two, they were released from the hospital. “Have a good journey home, my friends,” Konrad said goodbye, saluting Fletcher, his squad mates did too.

“Farewell and thank you once again for all your help,” Fletcher replied and the children hugged the soldiers before gathering around Fletcher as he cast the spell, causing the humans to cover their eyes as it grew brighter, until it faded, the Eternal Knight was gone with the kids again.

“So…what do we now, sir?” Tim as asked his NCO.

“What we did before. Do our best to survive this war.” Konrad replied.

Fletcher had teleported himself at the children back to London to say goodbye of William and collect the Christmas presents, knocking at the door and Clifford opened.

“Welcome back!” He said with a smile and led them in.

“It’s nice to be back, but it’s time for us to go home,” Fletcher told William and he nodded with a slightly sad expression.

“I know. But before you go, let me show you something.” William said to them and showed them a badge, it showed a unicorn carrying a bow, behind him a unicorn filly, an earth pony colt and a girl, carrying quivers. “Me, Duffy and Christopher thought of it as a way to remember and tribute you.

“Looks very nice,” Fletcher commented, the kids nodded with smiles.

The captain then arranged for Christopher, Duffy and Jackson to be here for the final goodbye as Fletcher collected the Christmas presents, also writing a final letter to Matteo. “It was an honor to fight by your side.” The Radioman saluted with the other soldiers, Fletcher returned it while the children gave hugs.

“It was nice to know you,” Clifford said with tears in his eyes.

“Meow!” Emmeline ran in, saying also goodbye by cuddling them, they all petted her in return.

“Farewell. Live long, and prosper.” Fletcher said before casting the spell and vanished with the children.

Clifford sniffed. “It’s sad they that they are gone now.”

His mother hugged him. “It’s sad indeed, but they’re finally back home, where they belong." She turned to the husband and his three friends. “And you can be proud of yourselves, they had never made it without you.”

They all nodded with proud smiles, happy that Fletcher and the children were finally home. And they would never forget them.

With a groan, Fletcher woke up with Dinky, Katja and Blau in the Ponyville hospital, surrounded by their families and friends.

“Dinky…” Her father cried tears of joy as he hugged her.

“Katja, Blau Streifen…I was so worried…” Ruby hugged her children too.

“Fletcher, we were so worried, what took you so long? It’s been a month.” Midnight asked him with a weak smile.

“It’s…complicated but it was like through Tartarus and back multiple times, nothing compared to Africa.” He told, slightly shaking and Luna stepped forward.

“Allow me.” She touched his forehead with her horn, and once again, everyone was transparent seeing the cave the children had found themselves, looking confused at the ghost guard.

“Who is that?” Wagensroll asked.

“I could swear it’s familiar but I can’t put my hoof on it.” Midnight replied and they all smiled when they saw Konrad again.

“I think he really earned his promotion.” Patch commented and everyone nodded, with Ford grinning at his son enjoying the pasta of Matteo’s wife.

“I told you pasta isn’t bad.” Blau in return looked down embarrassed.

Mitta slightly gasped when the Blackshirts came but smiled in relief as she saw how Konrad and his comrades protected them.

Pip looked away with an expression of sympathy as the tree fell on Fletcher. “That must have hurt.”

“It did, but I survived worse,” Fray replied with a weak smile.

As the memory of the plane getting torn apart got shown, Tootsie gasped. “That was very close.”

“Yes, it was and it wasn’t over,” Fletcher said as William and Christopher got shown, with the father of the siblings blinking.

“That’s…my grandfather!” He exclaimed in shock.

“The apple does not fall far from the three, doesn’t’ it? Fletcher commented.

“Yeah…he survived the war and married a German woman as part of the occupation force, but sadly died shortly after my birth. I only saw a picture of him holding me as baby. And I was told the battle of Elio-Gabalo was one of the bloodiest, next to Monte Cassino.”

“Yes, we experienced that.” Katja trembled slightly as al the battles were shown, with Luna and Celestia using their wings to shield the other foals, the adults looked in shock at everything.

“Oh dear…” Wagensroll mumbled. “But I’m proud you got over your fear, Fletcher.” He then smiled.

“Yeah, I guess that’s one positive thing of that.”

Derpy and Ruby hugged their children tightly as they saw the x-labs and the aftermath. “My poor baby!” Derpy exclaimed, getting reminded when Dinky got terribly ill.

“It hurt so much, but…Uncle Fletch saved us all…” Dinky replied shivering and the nightmare was shown.

“Oh my…It's rare for me to see such an intensive nightmare. The shock and distress must have been created it.” Luna suspected.

“I thought so too but…I can’t explain the reason that caused me to wake up.” Fletcher also shivered.

“What do you mean?” Wolf asked before seeing him walking into Celestia’s chamber and could only stare.

“I…I never saw anything like that…” The white Alicorn mumbled confused, not able to get with an answer for this, even when seeing the ghost of Quince.

“Strange, I know that voices, but I can’t remember from where.” Fletcher tipped his forehead upon seeing the green entities, but couldn’t get up with an answer before the next memory was shown.

“Ahh, that’s so nice.” Mitta smiled warmly at the Christmas scene.

“Yes, it was quite nice.” Blau Streifen said before Isenstadt was shown.

“...Interesting...Certainly not of this world.” Dawnwind looked in awe at the Thule ruins and the Veil.

“But also destructive,” Fray warned as the rest got shown with the Altered and Despoiled, causing anyone to gasp slightly in shock.

But it was a much bigger shock to see the three friends themselves as Despoiled, as the memory showed how this happened to the siblings.

They both were held at gunpoint, being brought to a portal that was turned on, with a SS officer turning to a scientist. “Are you sure you had success in tuning the harmonic frequencies?”

“I believe so but we hadn't time to test it yet.”

The officer then looked at Katja with an evil grin, she looked at him with fear. “I think we just found our test subject. Throw her in!”

“No! Please don't!” She yelled terrified as she struggled against it, with her brother managing to break free, his expression was one of anger.

“Leave my sister alone!” He yelled and bite the officer in the arm he cried in pain and tried to get him off, punching him into the face.

The boy had no time to react as he got thrown into the portal by the force the officer had used.

“Brother!” Katja exclaimed in shock.

“Why don't you join him?” The officer asked sadistically and grabbed her, she struggled before getting shoved into the portal.

“How did you survive this?” Tootsie couldn’t believe her eyes.

Her cousin thought for a moment. It was hard to explain, she could only remember how she touched the portal and then…blackness. How she survived that with her friends was a mystery.

She started to shake slightly.

“I-I don’t know…” Dinky stuttered.

“What did they do to you?” Pip starred at the next memory, seeing his friends in tanks with a brown liquid and got his answer as the fight in the Black Sun Dimension got shown.

“Fletch…you were very lucky to survive this at all.” Midnight said as he saw his friend electrocuted three times.

“Yeah, Deathshead wasn’t so lucky…” Fray said with hate as it got shown through his eyes

Everything ached and he saw that the Zeppelin was burning, going down. But that didn’t stop him, running after Deathshead as he saw him in the corridor.

Upon reaching it, his head started to ache and he held it in pain, seeing Solomon in front of him.

“Get up! Get up, you useless creature! Do as I command! This is your purpose! Your function! Obey!” His enemy yelled at him.

Fletcher slowly rose to his hooves and titled his head up to look at Deathshead with his own eyes once again, saying one word, quietly and darkly.

“...No.”

Strasse took a step back in shock before being grabbed by Fray.

“I've been used as a weapon before, you smug pile of curd...Never again. Once I start on something, I always finish it. I've started on bringing you down and ending your life...I suppose you know where this leads. You're done, old man. Whether with the Resistance, the Allies or me, this was a war you could never hope to win!”

With that, he stabbed the man into the heart with his spear. Blood splattered and Strasse withered in pain, grabbing the spear in shock before becoming limp.

Pulling it out, he saw he was next to a storage room with parachutes, and to his luck, his armor and saddlebags.

Grabbing both, he jumped over the reeling and equipped his mechanical wings in free fall, activated them and flew towards his friends.

As everything was over, Fletcher said, “It was a hard and long journey, but it’s finally-

“Fletch!” Midnight, Wolf and Wagensroll exclaimed, pulling him into a group hug.

“Guys…Can’t breathe…” Fletcher managed to say and gasped for air as they let go of him.

“Sorry, we are just happy you’re back in one piece after this. You stay have that Medallion?” The bat pony asked and his fellow Knight nodded, pulling it out of his saddlebag and Luna took a look with a scanning spell.

“It’s the same magic signature I detected on that Nachtsonne crystal. Wait….” He eyes went small in shock. “That is Alicorn magic…my own magic when I was Nightmare Moon…” She lowered her heard with a guilty expression. “Fletcher, children, I am so terribly sorry.”

“Your Highness, you aren’t to blame, nopony could know that,” Dinky spoke up and Luna smiled weakly.

“She’s right.” Dinky’s father added. “But I wonder, how is this even possible and why hasn’t blocked the teleport spell when you were in Africa?”

“I can only imagine that the discovery by the Nazis or your contact with the crystal caused it.” Luna suspected, “As for how this got created, my magic must have been scattered as I got banned or defeated with the Elements of Harmony.”

“Very likely. Still, there is one thing that doesn’t add up.” Midnight mumbled.

“And that is?” Fray wanted to know.

“You remember James and his PMC?” The green stallion nodded. “He said the reason how he got his forces here, was the portal technology of the veil, having been salvaged. That Zeppelin with the portal got completely destroyed, there’s no way the portal onboard survived that.”

“Maybe, they found another portal but couldn’t use it as the war ended, like many others of their new technologies, or they actually recovered what was left.” Fray suspected. “But we will never know for sure.”

“Yeah…but you really had much luck or a strong guardian angel to survive getting electrocuted three times in a row like that.” His relative commented.

“And indeed he has.” A new voice said and they all turned around, only to stare.

Before them were four green entities, the three friends recognized them as the same ones from the nightmare. “Who are you?” Fletcher asked confused.

“Don’t tell you don’t recognize us, Fletcher.” One of them, a mature female voice said to him and he gasped.

“No way…Ruhlinda…Adeline?”

“Yes. We watched over you for a long time, Fletcher.” The filly replied. “We all.”

In response, Fletcher lowered his head, Dinky saw a tear dropping to the ground before he looked up. “Mama…Papa…” He cried tears of joy, hugging them all.

His friends just smiled at the heartwarming scene, not caring at all how this was possible and Dinky heard sniffing, seeing that Dawnwind had tears in her eyes.

“Just something in my eye!” She claimed upon noticing that the filly looked at her.

“We are so proud of you, my son. It honors you how you helped Dinky, Katja and Blau. And I am happy that you got a marefriend.” his mother looked at White Wolf with a smile.

“Mom!” Fletcher exclaimed, his head red like a tomato and the Pegasus lowered her heard with a slight groan.

“Ah, hay, here we go again…”

The siblings giggled at this, Midnight just rolled his eyes with the other adults, yet Konrad looked briefly away, muttering something.

"I could swear my parents named me after Escher. I wonder if he survived the war…”

They all were unaware that they were watched by the ghostly guard from a distance, also smiling at the scene.

“Do you really think I let you die so easily?”

After Isenstadt, Escher’s squad got redeployed t the Western Front by Rommel, fighting against the Allies at D-day, defending the borders of Germany during the Siegfried campaign and fighting at the last major offense, the battle of the Bulge, in the winter of 1944.

Konrad met his friend James occasionally, fighting side by side.

It had seemed so clear, so necessary. But in the end, Senior command had lost its way, and unfortunately the fatherland followed.

The Allies entered Germany in March 1945 and Konrad’s squad end up getting deployed at Berlin in April with the 12th army to liberate the capital.

But instead of facing the hopeless Situation they refused to obey the Führer's order, instead they, by order of their leader, General Walther Wenck, created an escape corridor out from the ruined city together with the remains of the 9th Army. Their destination was the US occupied territory in the West, where they wanted to surrender. For them all the Battle of Berlin was not a battle, but a rescue operation. saving more than 200,000 refugees.

The war ended on 8th May 1945, with the unconditional surrender of Germany. The entire squad survived the war.

Konrad returned to his family, living a happy life afterwards, maintaining his friendship with Christopher, William and Matteo as they had also survived.

Tim reopened the bakery afterwards, Hans continued his work as tailor.

Dennis, as member of the SS, faced a trial at the Nuremberg trials after the war, but the townsfolk of Isenstadt vouched for him, clearing his name, being found not guilty and acquitted. He reunited with his father, who was proud of him, completely understanding his son.

William found safer, quieter work in the country, living with his family in a small, quiet town, in the countryside.

Duffy fell in love with Wendy and they married after the war was over, enjoying their married life to the fullest.

Years later, a now old Konrad and his squad mates stood in Berlin watching the reunification, knowing that their sacrifice had not been in vain at last.

“You can be proud of yourself, Konrad.” James walked up to him with a proud smile, now being leader of a PMC. “You saved many lives back then, they can finally return home. This day will be long remembered”

“I know, James. I am proud of what I did, and I will never forget it. Nor I will my friends.” He replied, still remembering Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen. They were also part of something he would never forget.

Ever.

Author's Note

Phew, finally done. I hope you enjoyed it

Chapter 23 Eyes in the sky

Chapter 23: Eyes in the sky

As Fletcher realized what happened, his worst fear came true.

The children came out of the portal, altered, in a horrible way.

Dinky was nothing but a skeleton, her body engulfed by red burning energy, only a few parts, like her horn and hooves were still normal. Blau Streifen was not different, except green energy engulfed him. His sister was also engulfed by green energy, her hair and surprisingly, her clothes were still intact.

Fletcher wondered if they were still alive or dead, like the other Despoiled. He hadn't time to think about it, as they like the Despoiled at the church, let out a terrifying scream into the sky.

The siblings lobbed Veil energy at him, he barely dove out of the way. Dinky punched the ground, sending red energy through it towards him and he barely scrambled to get up and jumped over it.

Before he could recover, all three charged at him trying to punch him and he did his best to evade them.

I can’t hurt them! He thought in a slight panic. There has to be a way to change them back!

But even if he could, were they still alive? He dreaded to imagine. Yet he knew he had to try, but how?

In this hectic situation of evading their attacks, he couldn’t get up with anything, yet he couldn’t dodge their attacks forever.

Was that his doom?

Had he failed?

Out if the corner of his eyes, he saw his Medallion glowing. Got it!

It was only a quick thought but worth a try. He switched into the Veil and engulfed the Medallion with his most advanced healing spell, firing it at Dinky as she charged at him.

As the combination of his magic and Veil power hit her, Dinky fell to the ground with a distorted scream, burning energy extinguishing itself, yet the glow of his magic engulfed her.

Just then, Blau hit him with a punch full force into the chest, throwing him back with a cry of pain.

Looking up as he landed on his back, the siblings slowly closed in on him to finish him off and he just closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

He would die by the once he should protect.

"Katja! Blau Streifen! Don't hurt him!" He heard a desperate yell and opened his eyes. His eyes went wide as he saw Dinky fully normal again, lying exhausted in the ground, apparently hoping they could still hear her

To her and Fetcher’s surprise, they stopped, turning into her direction. She expected they would attack her, but they just stared into her direction.

"C-can you hear me?" She asked slightly shaken and they nodded. "Please, listen. You aren't those creatures. You are my friends. You are two siblings loved by their parents. You want them to see them again, don't you?" They slowly nodded. "Only by working together, we can achieve this. Are we friends? Are we working together to get back home?" She lifted her hoof up, the Despoiled mimicked her movement.

With a weak smile, Fletcher sighed and did the combined spell again, this time on the siblings. They also fell to the ground with a distorted scream, burning energy extinguishing itself and the glow of his magic engulfing them.

He couldn’t imagine how this happened to them as they were not with Dinky, or how they all three survived this at all. But he smiled happily as the glow faded, seeing them also exhausted on the ground.

“For one moment I thought…” He mumbled before shaking his head. “Let’s just get you out of here.”

“B-but….what about Blazkowicz?” Dinky asked weakened.

“I am sure he’s fine.” He replied and attempted to pick them up with his magic, but his horn only sparked. “Huh? Guess it took a lot of energy.”

“W-wa-watch out…” Blau tried to warn him but it was too late as he felt how someone grabbed him from behind and injected something, making him sleepy.

Dinky and her friends watched in shock as an SS officer brought the stallion away, paying them no attention.

“Hello? Fletcher! Anyone there?” A radio on a nearby table buzzed, it was William.

Gathering her strength, Dinky slowly got up, shaking and stumbling as she made her way to the radio. The siblings also attempted to get up but were still too weak, collapsing.

“B-Blazkowicz...”

“Dinky? Is that you? What's wrong?” He asked surprised.

“They...they took him...Deathshead...they took Fletcher...”

“Dinky, are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

She coughed. “You need...to help...Fletcher...” It was all she managed to say before she fainted

“Dinky! Don't move! We're coming to get you! Stay with us, Dinky! Are you still there?! Dinky?! Dinky!”

Fletcher awoke with an aching body, wanting to massage his temple but couldn’t move at all. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself restrained on a lab table- He tried to use magic but nothing happened and saw a ring on his head.

Before he could think, a door opened and Deathshead walked in, smiling.

“You have caused our organization a great deal of inconvenience, Meister Fray. For obvious reasons, I must put a stop to that.”

“Your mistake is thinking I'm done...” Fray said with anger yet Strasse stayed calm.

“But I take every opportunity to turn a loss into a gain and you are quite the prize. I believed the security of my project and, indeed, the project itself...was unstoppable. But you proved me very wrong. I thank you for enlightening me. To show my gratitude I am giving you the opportunity to be the greatest warrior in history. You see, Meister Fray, the way war progresses is not through better weapons and armor...but better soldiers. Hitler, imbecile that he was, believed all you needed to win a war is a roomful of strapping, blue-eyed blonde fellows but I know better. Through research and technology unparalleled, you shall become my greatest creation. I'm afraid to say the procedure will likely be extremely painful but, quite honestly, after all the trouble you have given me...I rather want it to be."

The stallion showed no fear as the scientist walked out, yet tensed himself for the worst.

Everything ached as Dinky and her two friends came too, finding themselves in beds in the Kreisau Safehouse, feeling still weak.

“Blazkowicz came into their view, slightly smiling. “Save your strength. You were out for the rest of the night and the morning.”

“Okay….but…Fletcher…” Dinky spoke with worry and he held up a hand.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find him. I am not alone.”

Konrad and his squad walked up from behind. “Yes, we will. Deathshead won’t get away. This will end today.” He said determinedly.

“A-And Caroline?” Dinky asked, hoping it was not true.

Blazkowicz sighed. “She’s gone. But Listen. You didn’t cause her death. She knew the risks, just as I, Konrad and Fletcher do. All we can do is to ensure her sacrifice will not have been in vain.”

Just as he said this, a Kreisau agent walked up to him. “Herr Blazkowicz, it’s good to see you. I think Erik went to find you at the Golden Dawn safe house; he was some vital information for you.”

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded, startling everyone. “Mein Gott – it’s an attack. I need to man the radio. You’ve got to get out there and stop the enemy attack!” The same man yelled in surprise.

“Right. Don’t worry, children, they won’t get far.” Konrad assured them and they nodded, slightly trembling.

He, together with his squad, William and other agents fired at squads of SS that tried to enter through a hole, mowing them down before they could get in.

Moving towards a storage room, another explosion followed and a Heavy Trooper marched through the hole he had created. The defenders went to cover behind creates as he fired.

The woman he ceased fore, Konrad and Hans shot both vents, Blazkowicz fired at the third one, blowing the trooper up, together with another SS squad that was unfortunate to be near him.

Then they got through the hole, William maned a mounted MG 42, fired with his allies at incoming SS troops.

It was waves and waves of enemy infantry, like they wouldn’t run out of men but eventually, they retreated.

“They broke off so soon? Why would they do that? They had us, that doesn’t make sense.” One resistance member wondered as they got back inside.

“Maybe they just tested our defenses. But we should use this to get the kids out of here.” William said as they walked back to the beds. "Children, it’s over…” He said but stopped abruptly.

The beds were empty. “Damn! This was just a ruse to get them!” Konrad cursed, then took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s get to Erik, there is no time to lose!”

They evaded the patrols in the streets, quickly getting to the other safe house, where Erik and Sergei waited for them, overlooking maps.

“We’re hearing Deathshead is demanding revenge for our attack and has moved to the Zeppelin,” Erik explained and the Russian continued.

“Just recently we have detected a massive surge of Veil Energy coming from the Zeppelin. We think they’re preparing to fire some kind of Black Sun-powered weapon.”

“So, you need to get aboard the Zeppelin and stop Deathshead. We can sneak you onto the airfield, but you’ll have to get the rest of the way yourself.”

“There is something else; Dr. Alexandrov has gone missing. He may trying to disable the weapon himself. We’ve already lost one leader; so if you see him, save him.” Sergei added with worry.

“Okay. I got informed before we got to the castle, that until further notice, all vehicles entering or exiting the airfield are to be thoroughly inspected and all paperwork is to be up to date. Compliance is mandatory. But we have the correct papers, so getting in should be no problem.” Konrad said to Blazkowicz, who shook his head.

“Good for you, but it’s better we use separate trucks. Seeing soldiers with a civilian might raise suspicion.”

“Okay, let’s move out!”

They used the sewers and waterways to avoid unnecessary conflicts that would cost precious time, coming to the trucks, but saw they were guarded by a Tiger Tank, together with an SS squad and an Elite Guard. The woman was a Brunette, wearing a sleeveless uniform.

Blazkowicz threw a grenade around the corner, taking the SS squad by surprise before they could react as it exploded and killed all of them.

He quickly ducked as the Woman threw a shuriken. “Try this for size, American.” She said and raised her arms. The body of the SS officer got lifted up into the air and started to glow in green flames, becoming a Despoiled.

The Wehrmacht soldiers and Dennis opened fire at it, as the creature with the woman charged forward, the latter tried to hit William with a green glowing Veil-powered whip.

He ducked to avoid it and punched the woman into the face, making her stumble. The moment she recovered he rammed his bayonet into her chest, she clutched her wound before dying. Her minion didn’t came far, getting defeated quickly by the combined firepower quickly.

With only the tank left, William made a dash for an anti-tank rocket launcher laying on the other side of the road, called Panzerschreck as far as he knew. The Tiger fired his main gun but missed, hitting a car wreck at the other end, destroying it in an explosion.

Blazkowicz then took aim with the Panzerschreck and fired, blowing the turret off as the rocket hit the Tiger, destroying it and opening the way. “Let’s go!”

“Ugh… Do they always have to be so rough?” Blau mumbled as he came to with the others, finding themselves in a cell. “Not again.”

We need to get out of here. I...I don’t want to…” She shivered at the thought as Dinky gave her a calming smile.

“We can get out if we're careful. If we can make it out of this cell, we can find out where Fletcher is and catch up with him. Start searching. There’s got to be a way out.”

“I beg to differ.” A voice said and they saw Deathshead walking into view.

All kids took a deep breath and Dinky spoke up, “It won't work. Whatever you're doing, whatever you want with us, it won't work. We'll find a way out of here.”

Deathshead in response, smiled, almost pityingly. “Fletcher Fray didn't.”

“Wh-what? Wh...what did you do with Fletcher?” She asked in confusion, her eyes small

“Ah, I thought that would get your attention. Ages past, when going into battle, there were two things a soldier always carried. The sword to attack his enemies and the shield to defend himself from the attacks of his enemies. And though the sword and shield have long since become redundant, their practices are still as essential today as they ever were. There is the sword that attacks, guns, cannons, bombs and missiles. And there is the shield that defends, bunkers, trenches, armor upon artillery and indeed soldiers. That is what I require from all three of you. I feel it would be most appropriate. The sword...The shield... And the warrior who wields them.”

It was evening, as the sun slowly went down when both trucks arrived at the entrance to the airfield, Konrad drove the first truck, Dennis on the passenger seat, the others in the back. He showed the SS guard the papers.

The guard made a sign. “Move along.”

Doing as ordered, Escher drove through the checkpoint, parking the truck outside a vehicle workshop, seeing how the truck with Blazkowicz, driven by a resistance member, followed shortly after.

However, after the papers got shown, the field telephone ringed and Dennis said, “I think we may have trouble.”

Just as he said this, the guard answering the phone turned alerted around. “Halt! Out of the truck! Schnell!” He yelled as he and the other guards surrounded the truck.

But what happened next, surprised everyone. The driver accelerated, breaking through the barrier, with the guards opening fire. The driver got hit and William took over the wheel, steering the truck into the vehicle workshop and crashed against a pillar.

Konrad and his squad wasted no time to check on him, seeing him stumbling out, the drive had not survived. “You’re okay?” Konrad asked worriedly.

“A bit dazed but fine.” He replied before a scribe ran through the doorway, getting stabbed into the throat by Escher before he could react, holding his wound as he died with gurgling sounds. “Move!”

The group moved up the stairs, fighting their way through the SS soldiers as an intercom warned, “Allied aircraft are on a direct path to Isenstadt!”

Coming up a catwalk, another squad, with a Drache trooper moved up. Remembering what had been said about the latter, William shot the fuel tank with his MP40, blowing it up.

The flames engulfed the Drache Trooper and SS soldiers, all screamed, flailing around in an attempt to put the flames out as they burned to death.

Then they moved outside, only to be greeted by a hail of bullets, forcing Blazkowicz to activate his shield. The moment he took aim with his K98, he and his allies saw how soldiers in blue uniforms ran out of a nearby building, killing the SS soldiers with their MP40s and waved at William.

“Why?” Tim asked one of the Luftwaffe soldiers as they got closer.

“We won’t let them destroy a town of our own country, this is crazy. Stopping Deathshead is best for all of us.”

“Okay, thanks for the help.” William nodded and they moved on.

Turning towards a hanger on the other side, to more of those Rocket troopers appeared in the sky, yet the combined firepower of all three defeated them quickly before they could fire their rockets.

Upon getting closer to the hanger, an air raid siren sound and they took cover under the Veil shield of Blazkowicz as an Allied bomber came into view. The bombs destroyed some planes and vehicles, but the buildings were still intact, making the bombing run rather ineffective.

Out of the hanger came a pack of sniffers, dynamite attached to their bodies, so Konrad quickly shot the first one in the head, creating a chain reaction that killed them all.

Getting inside the hanger, they saw a brunette Elite Guard in a sphere of Veil energy, surrounded by several rotating rings, connected to several generators.

“Ha ha ha! This machine protects me from your bullets, American! Besides, you might want to save for a little surprise I have for you” She taunted and out of a hatch climbed a Despoiled.

This one was engulfed by red burning energy, carrying an MP43. It punched the ground, sending red energy through it towards Blazkowicz, who barely jumped out of the way.

Then it charged forward, attempting to hit him with the weapon, he ducked and fired his MP40, combined with Empower, bringing it down quickly.

They then shot one generator after another, destroying them until only one generator was left, as a green Despoiled climbed out of another hatch. Blazkowicz switched to the Leichenfaust and eliminated it in one shot, the explosion of the projectile also blew up the last generator.

“You pathetic little man! How dare you destroy my pets! Now, I'll just have to kill you myself!” The woman cursed and jumped down as the machine deactivated.

Yet she never got close to him as he and his allies concentrated fire, taking her down quickly.

With the hostile taken care off, they moved to the east of the airfield, using the underground utility tunnels, fighting their way through the SS guards, coming to a hanger and storage room along the way until they came to an elevator.

Riding it on the upper floor, SS soldiers with a few Elite guards crossed their way but again, Luftwaffe soldiers shot them from behind, opening the way. They even brought the Despoiled down with ease.

Now free to go, Blazkowicz and his allies moved up the stairs to a catwalk, where a supply Zeppelin waited for takeoff.

A Luftwaffe officer, noticeable by the patrol cap waited there too. ”You want onboard that Zeppelin to stop the destruction of Isenstadt? Then you’re in luck, this supply Zeppelin is just about to make a delivery. But once you’re on board, I have to steer it back to base.” He explained to them.

“No problem, we’ll find a way out,” William said with confidence as they boarded it.

None of the children could imagine what the scientist meant as he walked out of view, just staring.

“Did...did he really get Fletcher first?” Katja asked with dread in her voice.

“I don’t want to believe it.” Her brother replied slightly scared

“If it is true, we have to try to save him,” Dinky added with confidence as she took a deep breath. “Are you with me?”

Her two friends looked slowly at each other, then nodded. “Yes. He saved us, we have to try to save him.” Blau said, “Any idea how we get out of here?”

The filly put a hoof to her chin. “Hmm…Got it!” She walked up to the cell door and lit up her horn, touching the lock with it. After a few seconds, it started to melt.

“Wow, where did you learn that?” Katja asked in awe and the unicorn grinned.

“From Sparkler, she told me once she used it once to free Tootsie when she accidentally locked herself into her room once. "Now, stay low.”

They sneaked out of the door, into a hallway, seeing no guard whatsoever.

“Strange…” Blau was suspicious as they reached the end of the hallway and Dinky stopped abruptly, looking down with fear. “What’s wrong?” He asked and also looked down his eyes went wide, Katja too.

Below them was the sky, it was a long way down and they realized: They were on board of a Zeppelin.

Then a loud clanking noise entered their ears and Dinky saw the shadow of a unicorn coming around the corner. “Fletcher?” She asked with hope but gasped as the shadow came into view.

It was a unicorn indeed, but in the armor of a Heavy Veil trooper, staring at them.

“No...They couldn't have...not you...” Dinky whispered in shock and disbelief before the stallion lit up his horn and suddenly, they felt all tired.

Night had fallen by the time the supply Zeppelin reached its destination and docked at a cargo station of the massive armored airship.

They all walked over the catwalk and shortly after, said catwalk rose up and the supply Zeppelin got left behind, flying back to base.

“Okay, let’s sabotage the controls and engines, that should buy us time,” Blazkowicz suggested before a bullet flew past him, as a SS soldier had spotted him. Konrad rushed up to him and shoved him over the reeling, causing him to scream as he fell through the sky.

A Heavy Trooper walked up at the other end of the catwalks, Escher and Hans shot the vents, Dennis shot the last went, blowing him up before he could use his Particle Cannon.

Getting inside, they saw that the Zeppelin used Veil technology rather than hydrogen or helium to stay aloft, as giant cylinders of Veil condensate were visible inside the envelope.

A squad of SS blocked the way but got shot from behind by Luftwaffe officers. “Go on, save the town.” One of them said to the group and they nodded.

The aft control room was just at the end, monitored by two scientists, who surrendered the moment they saw the American. “Nein! Nein! I don’t want to die!” One of them yelled in fear before William made a sign for them to leave and planted Dynamite on the control panel.

“That should impair the Zeppelin’s flight controls. Now for the engines.”

Using an Elevator to get down to the next level, a SS squad and a Drache trooper waited at the other end, so Blazkowicz activated his shield to protect himself and his allies from the gunfire, firing at the fuel tank, taking every hostile out.

They now had also a good view of the engines, but Rocket troopers flew up into the sky to defend them. The group manned one of the many Flakvierling 38 on the gondola to shoot them down with ease, then fired on the engines as all defenders were gone.

A loud, mechanic wail followed, showing that the airship was now severely limited in its speed.

Then they moved on, coming to a catwalk overlooking a large room with a portal in the middle, protected by bulletproof glass.

Deathshead stood next to the portal, together with an elder man. “That’s…Dr. Alexandrov…” William mumbled in surprise.

“I have much to thank you for, Herr Doctor. Without you, we would never have known where to excavate for the portal.” Deathshead turned to the Golden Dawn leader.

“My information is always correct – did I not tell you the American would be at the train station, and where you could trap Caroline Becker?” The doctor replied.

“Very true, but I have still have doubts about your latest data on the portal. How can we be certain it will remain active?” Deathshead asked in return.

“I assure you, my students properly translated those Thule manuscripts. The portal will work.”

The SS officer chuckled. “Ah yes, your students...weren't they even vaguely suspicious about your true intentions? That you dragged them to Isenstadt to translate the Thule Manuscripts for the Third Reich?”

Alexandrov took nervously a step back before replying, “No, Blazkowicz kept everyone so focused on his antics, no one had time to think of much else. The Golden Dawn has no idea I work with you.”

“You work for me, doctor. Not with me.” Strasse warned him in a serious tone.

“As you wish, but please let us pass through into the Black Sun Dimension. I wish to see it and be redeemed after a lifetime of ridicule.”

“I am sorry Doctor, but you're taking a different journey,” Deathshead said cold and the group saw something walked out of the shadow.

From the shape, it was a Heavy trooper but it looked like a pony. It walked behind the Russian and the eyes of the group went wide.

It was indeed a pony, dressed in the same armor as the Heavy trooper, but the vents were missing and a horn was poking out of the helmet.

“N-no…” Hans mumbled in disbelief.

“Auf Wiedersehen,” Deathshead added with a laugh before the unicorn lit up his horn and fired a spell at the Russian and he twitched, falling lifeless to the ground.

“Come with me. The weapon will be firing soon.” Strasse said to the unicorn and both walked through the portal.

The group could just stare in surprise before Blazkowicz broke it. “So Dr. Alexandrov was the informant…”

“Was…was that Fletcher under that armor?” Tim asked shocked, and Konrad balled a fist.

“Deathshead's going to regret everything he did to him…” He said with anger in his voice.

Moving on through the corridors, they entered an internal launch bay with jet fighters. Another SS squad, supported by a scribe defended the area, but as the agent and his allies took cover from the shielded soldiers, the Luftwaffe soldiers shot the SS and scribe from behind, opening the way. “Go, you’re almost there!” The leader of the Luftwaffe members pointed to an elevator.

It came to the bridge of the Zeppelin, a SS officer was at the steering wheel, a scribe next to him, his hands on his back. Two Luftwaffe officers worked on control panels, while SS soldiers looked at maps for navigation.

“Altitude control. Climb to twenty thousand feet.” The officer ordered.

“Jawohl. Twenty thousand feet.” One of the Luftwaffe members acknowledged.

“Navigation. Set heading for firing at Isenstadt.”

“Affirmative. Isenstadt is at north east bearing zero two seven.” One of the SS soldiers replied.

“Signal engineering to prepare to fire on Deathshead’s command.”

“Alerting engineering now.”

“Gut. Gentlemen, this will be a day that is remembered forever. Long live the Third Reich!” The SS officer exclaimed triumphantly.

Blazkowicz active Mire and shot the Scribe into the head, the others shot the SS soldiers, they had no idea what was happening.

The officer startled as he turned around, about to draw his pistol as the two Luftwaffe officers held him up with their MP40s. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“Isenstadt will not fall!” One of them said and knocked him out.

The other one pointed at some parachutes on a shelf at the wall. “There is only a limited number onboard but you will need them more than us.”

The group equipped them as William took notice of a document on the table.

To: Bridge Crew

From: Deathshead

Once we have successfully test fired the weapon and destroyed Isenstadt, coordinate all remaining Luftwaffe to eliminate the remaining allied aircraft. Then set a course for London. This day marks the beginning of the end for the Allies.

“I don’t think so, Deathshead.”

Walking through the corridors, they came to the room containing the portal. It was now turned to its side, still glowing.

They quickly eliminated the SS guards and got into a control room, two Scientists, held their arms up in surrender before being dismissed by William. He then pulled a switch and the portal moved back into its original position.

“That should deactivate the weapon.” He said before reading clipboard next to the switch.

To: Science Team

From: Dr. Eichelberger

I must emphasize the importance of closely monitoring the Black Sun power siphoning devices. An energy spike could cause an overload that would transmit from the Black Sun realm through the portal artifact, creating an uncontrollable and massive power surge. An overload of this magnitude would be catastrophic to the Zeppelin.

“Good to know. We better hurry after Fletcher and the kids are saved. Are you ready?” He asked his allies as they prepared to enter the portal.

“Whatever is necessary,” Konrad replied determined, his squad nodded.

They all together entered the portal.

Chapter 1: A Surprising Find

Dinky stirred in her sleep, her muscles felt stained for some reason, blinking, but her vision was blurry and everything was dark. What’s going on? She wondered as she couldn’t move or anything else.

Slowly, her vision became clear, and her heart skipped almost a beat.

Dinky was restrained on a dentist chair in a very dark room, only a light bump provided light, the walls were covered in blood.

“Well, looks like our patient finally woke up.” A deep voice with heavily breath said and she saw a unicorn stallion in surgeon clothes walking in.

The filly started to tremble as he held all kinds of surgeon tools with his magic, all covered in blood. “It will be my pleasure to fix you up.”

She tried to break free as the tools got closer, not wanting to die a painful death or be disabled in a horrible way for the rest of her life.

Zap!

With a scream of pain, the stallion dropped everything and Dinky saw a purple glowing light coming out of the shadow, apparently a unicorn, dressed in dark blue armor, face concealed by a black iron mask.

A Dark horse member.

“Leave her alone!” The pony yelled, the voice distorted by a voice changer as it threw the stallion to the ground, who simply knocked his opponent off him.

“Oh, you wanna be fixed too? So be it!” He lighted up his horn and fired a few spells, which the Dark Horse member blocked with a shield spell, blocking any other attack with defensive spells that knocked the stallion back, being very advanced.

Dinky watched in shock as the Dark horse member was unaware of a saw being levitated from behind by the stallion and got struck across the mask, getting thrown back. It breathed heavily as a part of the mask was damaged, exposing the face.

A mare with purple coat, eyes and mane, Dinky knew her. The mare’s expression was dark as she looked at the stallion. “You pay for that!”

Her horn light up and fired what looked like lighting towards the stallion, he could barely react as it hit him into the chest and he twitched, falling motionless to the ground.

“Dinky, are you alright?” The mare asked worried as he freed her and the younger unicorn hugged her savior tightly. “Shh, it’s over now.”

Dinky awoke with a slight gasp, breathing heavily as she looked around, finding herself in her bedroom, not restrained, no blood.

She sighed. “Just a dream. Just a dream. But her being a dark Horse member…” The filly mumbled before falling asleep, unaware of being watched.

“She was just dreaming it. For a moment I thought she know my secret.” The same mare from her dream let out a quiet sigh of relief as she stood in the hallway with her armor equipped before moving out.

As the morning came, the young foal stirred and stretched herself with a yawn. “I think it will be another wonderful day,” Dinky said as she walked to the window and opened the roller blind, only to be surprised.

“Snow?” She mumbled in confusion as Ponyville was covered in the white color of it. “Okay…” Dinky blinked and walked down for breakfast.

“Good morning, Dinky!” Her mother greeted her, her father did the same.

“Morning, Mommy, daddy!” She replied with a smile and breakfasted, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door and Derpy answered.

“Rainbow Dash, what brings you here so early in the morning?” She asked with a friendly smile.

The Pegasus chuckled nervously. “About the snow…the weather facility had a small malfunction.”

Dinky then walked up to her. “I don’t mind, I love snow!”

“Well, I'll let your friends know. If they're awake enough during the day. ”Her father said as he stepped into the Tardis.

Ever since Dinky met Blau Streifen and Katja, they regularly visited each other with the Tardis, it had been a few weeks now since the incident in the desert of North Africa on Earth.

The filly out on a winter cap and scarf as it was quite cold due the malfunction, grabbing a shovel to help clearing the snow, seeing the Eternal Knights, together with Patch, Wagensroll and Dawnwind helping too. “Good morning, uncle!” She smiled at the green unicorn who returned it.

“Morning, Dinky.”

Shortly afterwards, two young voices echoed in her ears. “Dinky!”

“Guys!” She hugged the two siblings, happy to see them too, they wore suiting clothes themselves, together with the saddlebag and back bag they had received I Africa back then. “Sorry for the weather, I hadn’t expected that.”

Blau waved a hoof. “Its fine, let us help you.” And together, they cleared the snow pretty quickly, enjoying.

White Wolf shoved the snow near a house away, it started to crack and she looked up in fear. “Uh-Oh.”

In a flash and with a loud rumble, a roof avalanche buried her, although she poked her head out quickly, spitting some snow out and male laughter could be heard.

“I guess that is why they call you White Wolf.” Caramel joked with a chuckle and the blue mare growled.

“Wow…that sounded really clever in your head, didn’t it?”

Caramel stopped to laugh with a slight scared expression.

Dinky then smirked, looking at the deer.

Dawnwind filched as something hit the back of her head, turning around with a scowl. “Who did that?!” In response a few more snow balls hit her, thrown by the three children and she slightly grinned. “Oh, you would wish you hadn’t done that.”

She, together with the Knights had a snowball fight with the kids, who were outnumbered, yet gained the upper hand, laughing the entire time.

Eventually, the adults gave up, yet the deer smiled. “I admit I hadn’t that much fun for a long time.”

Suddenly Wolf sneezed, followed by slight coughing, shivering slightly, causing Fletcher to ask with worry, “Are you okay? I hope you don’t get sick.”

The Pegasus waved a hoof. “Nah, just the cold from the snow, nothing more.”

It took them all until forenoon to clear the snow, getting greeted by the warm sun. The children used this to take off the winter clothes, going to a Meadow.

They all used the head gear they had been given back in Africa, Katja had folded her shemagh into a summer hat, sitting on a blanket, eating cookies and muffins they had been carried in their bag. “It’s a nice day, isn’t it?” Dinky asked.

“Yep!” Blau took a bite of his cookie. “You know, when that General hadn’t appeared with his army to save you and the others, who know what might have happened. It’s very impressive how they used this outdated equipment to the fullest extent.” He said as he and Katja had been told by Dinky about the Harmonious Guard, having been busy back then, thus not able to visit her at the time.

The filly shivered. “Yeah, it was good they had been there, I don’t want to imagine what those bad ponies had done to you.”

“Yes.” Katja looked at the sky, sighing. “It’s almost a month since Africa, I sometimes wonder what happened to Konrad and the others, if they have survived the war and such.”

“I couldn’t agree more, sis, without them, we hadn’t probably survived, but we will never know.” The young colt said and stood up, walking down, only to trip over something. “Ouch!”

“You’re okay?” Dinky asked as she helped him up.

“I am fine. Wait, what’s that?” He looked at what he had tripped over, having a trapezohedron-like form and dark green color.

Katja picked it up and inspected it. “I think it’s some sort of crystal. Maybe your father can figure out what this is exactly, Dinky.”

Suddenly, the crystal started to glow and the girl dropped it in fear. “What the?”

“What did you do?!” Blau yelled in alert and the crystal glowed brighter and brighter, they all covered their eyes before it overpowered their senses.

“Oh….my head…” Dinky groaned in pain as she came to, seeing her two friends were also waking up. “Are you hurt?”

“My head aches, but otherwise I am fine.” Katja said in dazed voice and looked around, finding themselves in a dark cave. “What happened?”

“If I would know that.” Her brother replied and noticed something. “Wait, where’s that crystal?”

“Gone.” Dinky was surprising as she couldn’t see it anywhere and took a deep breath. “Whatever just happened, stay calm. First, we should get out of tis cave to know where we are.”

The siblings nodded. “Right.” Katja said and her expression became confused. “What is this at the other end of it?” She pointed to it and they all weren’t sure if they saw it right.

It looked like a unicorn of the Royal Guard, waving at them to come close and pointed to a light source, appearing to be transparent. The children blinked to make sure they saw it right, but the unicorn was gone after they did so.

“Uhh…okay. Let’s take a look.” Dinky suggested and they walked towards it, covering their eyes from the light as Blau accidently kicked a small stone away.

“Hey, did you hear that?” A voice asked from the other side, it sounded familiar, but they couldn’t really tell.

“May be nothing, but…” Another familiar voice replied.

Another light flashed towards them and they heard the second voice again. “What? Never thought I would see you again.”

The light stopped and they uncovered their eyes, seeing a man in a field grey uniform with a matching cap, next to him another man in also a grey uniform, both were very surprised and so where the three friends.

“K-Konrad? Mateo?” Dinky asked in confusion.

Escher hesitated but replied, “Yes, it’s me and him. What are you doing here?”

“We don’t know, we were at home, enjoying the weather, and suddenly we found what looked like a crystal and it glowed…then we woke up in that cave.” Blau explained, still in shock.

Matteo took a deep breath. “First, try to calm down.” He looked at his friend with unease. “What should we do? The others would freak out.”

“We don’t have a choice, we got to risk it and hope they understand.” His friend pointed out.

“Right.”

Dinky, Katja and Blau followed them outside, getting greeted by a gently breeze and the warm sun, seeing a small camp up ahead with a Opel Blitz parked next to it, a few soldier were sitting around a campfire.

The three children looked around, a few houses adorned the environment, meadows and bushes as far as they could see.

One of the men stood up, looking at Konrad and Escher. “There you are, everything alright-“ He cut himself off once he saw the girl and foals, blinking on confusion, then slowly smiled. Hey, children, long time no see.”

They recognized him, it was Hans, wearing the same uniform as Konrad, but with a helmet.

“Uhh, can somebody explain this?” One of the other soldiers asked with confusion, his face and chin were broad, his eyes were green, hair black, having a slight athletic build.

“Of course, but it’s a long story. Do you remember the green Knight?” Konrad asked and the man nodded.

“Yes, I do. Wait…do you mean…” Escher nodded and the man blinked for a few seconds, trying to make sense. “I see, sir.”

“I don’t want to be impolite, but where are we?” Katja asked with uneasy in her voice.

Conti smiled weakly. You are in Italy, to be exact in San Celini, a secluded island to the south-west of Italy.” Before any of the kids could reply, Dinky’s stomach growled.

“Sorry, we haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”

Konrad waved a hand. “Then, join us at the campfire.” They accepted and sat down taking out some sandwiches they had been provided with by their parents. “So, how’s it going?” He added and the filly smiled weakly.

“Well, almost a month passed since our adventure in Africa, Fletcher became our uncle and Katja and Blau were reuniting with their parents.”

“We visit each other regularly though.” Blau Streifen added.

Escher smiled weakly. “Glad to hear it. Here, things changed a lot. It’s now 1943 and the tide of war has changed.”

“How?” Katja wondered and he sighed.

“Well, with the Americans helping the British in Africa, we got defeated and the Africa Corps surrendered back in March. Ironically, Quince was our salvation.”

Dinky titled her head. “How that?”

“Due to the injury I suffered from him, I get sent home for recovery and Rommel arranged my friends got leave for our brave actions in fighting Quince and keeping you safe, thus sparing us all from sharing the fate of our captured comrades.”

“What about your friends?” The grey colt asked curious and he took a deep breath.

“My friend Frank was deployed in the Eastern front In Stalingrad last year in August after his leave was over. He belonged to the 6th army, which was defeated in early February this year, many died, went missing or got captured. He was repeated missing, and sadly, his family died in a bombing raid in December.”

“Sorry to hear that.” Dinky had sympathy in her voice.

The soldier smiled weakly. “It’s okay. Strangely, there were rumors of a unicorn in Stalingrad, but I think it was just the imagination of battle shaken soldiers.”

“What about James?”

“Oh, him?” Escher chuckled. “He got injured too, in a fuel canister explosion if I remember correctly, getting also sent home for recovery. Rommel thinks highly of him, saying he’s one of the best and most honorable soldiers he has ever seen under his command. Also, he shared something wonderful with me.”

“And that is?” Katja asked and he smiled.

“His wife’s pregnant.” All three children had a wide grin on their faces, beaming ear to ear as they heard it.

“That’s very nice to hear!” Dinky exclaimed in joy.

“Yes, given how good he is with children, I have no doubt he will make a good father.”

While Fletcher had told the young children about the man who created him in the fandom, he had never mentioned anything about his family, but it was nice to hear.

“Yeah, I wish him the best too.” The other soldier added and the kids now recognized him.

It was Tim, the young man had his sleeves rolled up and they remembered what had happened to Willi, a feeling of guilt overcame them.

“T-Tim…” Dinky trembled, her voice stuttering, “We are so sorry about Willi.”

“He died, because of us…” Katja lowered her head.

HIs expression was neutral, making them fearing he blamed then, disliking them.

“I don’t blame you, children.” He said, surprising the, slowly smiling weakly.

“You…don’t? But Quince killed him because…” Blau stuttered too as the young man held up a hand.

“He died on the front to protect you, he knew the risks.”

“Why are you here?” Dinky asked him and Konrad answered it for her.

“He serves as Willi’s replacement, the bakery was closed down, being war unimportant, as Goebbels has called out the total mobilization of all human and material resources. I keep Tim safe as good as I can, it’s the least I can do for Willi as the new squad leader.”

The children blinked, looked at his rank insignia to see if they understood it right and it showed a U-shaped lace. “Congratulations for your promotion!” Dinky smiled warmly at him and he laughed.

“Thank you. Finally, Linus had sent requirement for this promotion months ago. Ah, almost forget, this is David, our newest squad member and Eastern Front veteran.” He pointed to the man who had asked him earlier if everything was okay, tipping his helmet.

“Hello and pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” They replied in unison before they noticed he was holding that looked like a SMG looking similar to the Sten, having wooden parts and strangely a double trigger. Hans was carrying what looked like a rifle with a detachable magazine in the bottom.

“What are those?” Blau looked at them with curiosity.

“That’s the Gewehr 43, a semi-automatic rifle, produced to counter the semi-automatic rifles of the soviets, in fact, they copied some parts of the soviet rifle for it.” Hans explained.

“And this is the Beretta M1938, also known as MAB 38, the SMG of the Italian Army. I use it as the German and Italian troops are sharing weapons and resources, plus it’s very robust and favored.” David inspected it as he told them about it.

“And why has it two triggers?”

“Simple, for single and automatic fire. The fore trigger is for semi-automatic fire and rear trigger for full-auto, a very smart idea I have to say.”

Before any of the kids could answer, a new voice sounded. “Everything going well, Sergeant? And I thought all civilians were evacuated long ago.”

They turned around to see a German officer with the rank of Lieutenant, visible by the Collar mirrors: a silver oak leaf semi-circle, an aluminum-colored double rocker and silver piping on it. His build was average, the face and chin thin, his eyes had a calming blue, his hair blond, looking confused at the children.

Konrad saluted. “Allow me to explain, sir.”

“Granted.”

“Do you remember Africa and the Green Knight?”

“Yes, I do.” He paused for a moment, his expression was neutral. “You mean to say, those are the same children you took care in Africa?” He concluded, much to Konrad’s surprise.

“Uh, yes, sir.” He replied and told the officer everything, who listened patiently.

“So, it is true, what I heard, my condolences, children. I am Karl Vogel, Africa veteran and Konrad’s new superior.” His expression was friendly.

“Thank you.” Dinky replied with a weak smile.

“What shall we do, Lieutenant?” The Sergeant asked him.

“Get them a place to sleep, it’s getting late. Don’t worry, I do the talking.”

Only now, the threw young friends noticed the red evening sun over the ocean, it looked beautiful as they were led to a red villa, looking quite majestic.

“What is it, Lieutenant?” An officer in a blue Luftwaffe uniform asked, he was bald, his eyes blue.

“Reporting, Generalmajor, we found civilians in distress, requesting permission to give them shelter.”

“All civilians have been evacuated long ago, what’s the issue?” The high-ranking officer asked, looking at the kids with a neutral expression, as Konrad stepped ahead.

“Allow me to explain.”

“Explain.”

With that, Escher told the Generalmajor everything, his expression became one of fasciation. Well...Not to worry, young ones, you are quite safe among old friends. I heard the stories, but never thought they could be true. You can take the guest rooms in the villa.”

“Thank you, Generalmajor.” Katja appreciated it.

“It’s nothing, I just do my job.”

Inside, the three friends ate some bread for dinner, then went to the guest rooms, looking at two very big beds. “Goodnight, sweet dreams.” Konrad said as the children climbed in.

“Goodnight, my friends.”

“Night, Dinky.” The siblings replied and they all fell asleep, hoping that Fletcher would find them soon.

Author's Note

The actual sequel to Blood in the sand. I took Italy, that this part of WW2 is barely seen in movies and games

Chapter 8 A spark

Chapter 8: A spark

Fletcher stayed silent as Karl brought Kessler into a shed and tied him up on a chair, a woman with green eyes and brown hair, as well as an elderly man with greying hair and blue eyes were awaiting them, paying no mind to Fletcher.

The Knight watched without a word as the woman walled back and forth, a knife in her hand, eyeing Kessler with disgust and hate.

“You? You’re just a little girl playing at being an adult. What could you possibly do to hurt me?” Kessler taunted and the woman lunged at him, holding the knife at his throat, he was unfazed by it.

“I was a nurse, did you know that? Before this all started. Which means I know exactly how to hurt you.” She threatened. “Do you understand me, little man?”

“Meine Liebe, you can’t kill me.” The scientist calmly countered, looking at the elderly man. “Tell her.”

“He’s right - Sofia.“ He slowly walked over to her, stretching his hand out. “Give me the knife.”

Sofia looked at him, not removing the knife at all. “Do you know how he builds his precious rockets? How many slave laborers died to make those missiles fly?” She yelled.

“We need him.” The man pointed out, “Just like Dinelli.”

“This man is Nazi scum.” The woman replied with hate in her voice. “Dinelli is a mass murdering criminal.”

“We need him.” The man raised his voice. “Both of them.”

“You might.” She eyed Kessler with anger. “Not us.” Then put the knife away and laid it into the hands of the other man. “We’re better than that.”

“You know what,” Kessler started, “I will tell you something, Meine Liebe. About your precious father.”

“My father?” The Italian asked suspicious, walking up to him. “What do you know?” She grabbed him by the collar. “Tell me what you know!”

The scientist hesitated for a moment. “The others must leave.”

She looked at them all. “Okay…but Giancarlo must stay.”

The other man, Karl and Fletcher walked out, waiting patiently. “Think they’re safe together?" Fairburne asked the other man.

“Why d’you think I took the blade?”

Then the door was thrown open and the woman stormed out and walked past them. “Better find out what he told her. Sofia!” Karl called out but she didn’t react before all three entered again, with the sniper looking at the German. “That’s quite a stench.”

Kessler just laughed. “Is this your interrogation technique? Ah, you don’t have to be a genius to know who’s going to win this war.”

“You’re, uh, quite sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Karl asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m unique. I’m of equal value to either side of this conflict. As such, I cannot be harmed.”

“There’s something you’re not telling us.” The sniper figured out.

“How perceptive of you, lieutenant. I’m dying. My liver is, uh, kaput. I’ll be lucky to see Christmas, let alone the end of the war.”

“Expect me to feel sorry for you?”

“I expect you to realize why it was so easy to kidnap me.” Kessler countered and Karl’s expression became slightly dark.

“Sofia’s father…”

“…Died many months ago.”

“You set us up. Dorfmann set us up.”

“Ah, all that effort and I’m of no use to you or the Fatherland. I am, uh – what’s the expression? – ‘a busted flush.’”

Fletcher wondered what Böhm had to do with this, yet suspected he might be a double agent. And he had heard of this Sofia. He had been told she was the leader of the local partisans, being called ”The Angel.”

He saw then how Karl walked over to the partisan called Giancarlo, who was coughing. “What’s happened?”

“She’s taken the others. All of them. There’s an interrogation block then miles from here…”

“Because of what Kessler said to her." Karl concluded.

“Her father, Karl. Kessler said her father is still alive.”

“Where is this place?”

“At Giovi Fiorini, to the north-east of here. Karl, the things they did to our people in that place, you cannot imagine-“

“Why did she trust Kessler?” The American wanted to know.

“The details…he knew too much about her father’s kidnapping, Karl. Plus…”

“What?”

“Sofia doesn’t trust you… the Green Knight or Weaver.” The Italian looked at the other man. She thinks you betrayed her, the OSS betrayed her father.”

“By not preventing the kidnapping. By…by not attempting a rescue.”

“Exactly.”

Karl gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned to Weaver, which Fletcher assumed was his superior. “Karl! The Partisans have done us a huge favor.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Kessler – he had told Sofia her father’s still alive and being held at an interrogation Block somewhere in Giovi Fiorini.”

“Rothbauer.” Fairburne figured out.

“You got it. This is the distraction we needed. We know Rothbauer and Böhm meet about a week ago. Rothbauer is, uh, Böhm’s confidant.”

“In my opinion high-up Nazis don’t talk – they’d rather swallow cyanide.” Karl replied.

“Rothbauer’s just a pawn. See what we need is evidence of Böhm’s plan.”

Karl nodded in response and turned to Fetcher. “Go ahead, I join you shortly.”

“Alright.”

After a few minutes, the two got onto a truck, driven by Giancarlo, bringing them to the town, yet Fletcher’s mind raced.

If there’s an interrogation block, Dinky, Katja and Blau might be there. I hope they aren’t… he dreaded to imagine, given Böhm’s reputation and what Giancarlo had been said, yet shook his head. No, stay positive.

As the truck reached the town, the two snipers jumped off. “You go for Rothbauer, I will create some distractions for you.” Karl said and Fletcher nodded.

The stallion sneaked his way through the patrols along the main road, having little trouble, also avoiding a PT boat in the water

Yet as he came at the end of the road, it split into two, the left way led to a Mansion, the other one into a wooden area with a bunker at the end. Which way do I go first?

An explosion in the town answered that for him, as troops out of the woods moved out to investigate it, hearing also gunfire, so he went for the bunker first.

Near a farmhouse, he saw that the gunfire came from a skirmish between Partisans and Jäger troops, do Fletcher decided to help the Italians and drew his bow.

Aiming at the four Jäger, he fired several arrows, all headshots, the Partisans looked around in confusion as the German soldiers fell dead to the ground.

“What happened to the others?” Fletcher asked

“We don’t know, we were cut off as the ambush started.” One of the Italians replied.

“Okay, get to a safe place.” The Partisans nodded and Fray continued on to the bunker, doing a scanning spell to locate enemies. To his luck, the spell showed only two enemies inside and a safe.

Knowing their location, he easily sneaked past them to the safe. As he couldn’t allow himself to alert them, he lit up his horn and cast a spell on the safe, The lock melted, allowing him to open it without a noise, fining a document inside of it.

Top secret

Subject:

HALTING THE AVALACHE

For the eyes of Major Klaus Rothbauer only.

Sighed by: Major Hans Dorfmann

On behalf of General Heinz Böhm

Böhm’s insignia. Looks I’ve struck gold.

Then he moved towards the Mansion he had seen, on a small elevation where he had a perfect view of it, noticing a convoy moving out from the building

Using his binoculars, the stallion saw a bald man with glasses in officer uniform, chatting with a soldier at a window. “The convoy is moving out, sir.”

“Excellent. The propaganda about the defeat of the local Partisans will discourage other resistance. Carry on.” The officer replied.

“Yes, sir.”

That must be Rothbauer. Fletcher saw a generator next to him and kicked it, causing it to spark loudly, like a backfiring car. Once the soldier left, the unicorn took aim and fired when the generator sparked, masking the shot. Blood splattered from Rothbauer’s head and he fell dead to the ground.

“Okay, that’s done. Now, to the town square to meet up with Karl.”

On his way there, he noticed 3 more explosions, two in the town, one in the woods, noticing that one of them was the convoy, only wrecks of the trucks were left.

Upon reaching a bridge overlooking the town square, he saw in shock how a few buildings were burning and the square was littered with bodies of Partisans, with a sniper overlooking everything from a balcony, but hadn’t spotted the pony yet.

Fletcher used this to teleport to the entrance of the building the Sniper was in, sneaking up the stars. He took notice of a few trip wire bobby traps, defusing them and once he was on the same level as the sniper, slit the German’s throat, then moving back as he saw that Karl was just arriving,

“A massacre…” The American commented with disgust as he looked at the bodies before they both reported to Weaver.

Giovi Fiorini – the town’s name will be forever associated with the massacre of the Allagran Partisans. They fought bravely by all accounts, but stood no chance against the German War machine. How could they? They’d walked directly into a trap. They couldn’t find Sofia, the Angel, amidst the carnage. But then, many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. The Partisans hadn’t died in vain though…

Their sacrifice meant they’d been able to grab the intelligence they needed…Böhm knows about Operation Avalanche, the Allied plan to invade mainland Italy. If the fleet is attacked the results will be catastrophic…The Nazis’ grip on Europe will become ever tighter, squeezing the life out of her…

There’s something else. Something vital. USS Ancon is the command ship for Operation Avalanche. Which means the primary target is the Allied Commander-in-Chief-Böhm is going to kill General Eisenhower.

The strike will be launched from a base in the mountains of Allagra. With the Partisans wiped out, Dinelli’s mobsters are the only people capable of guaranteeing safe passage through the mountains.

Weaver is setting up a bombing run but it would be up to them to call it in.

In the end it comes down to this: They have to stop those missiles.

For Fletcher, it was also to save the kids, praying to Luna they hadn’t been transferred somewhere else, plus if those missiles would remain active and Avalanche failed, it would make his task a lot harder.

The mafia boss wished both the best of luck as the two got into a mail truck, driven by his mobsters, getting driven to an access point where they could climb up the mountain. Once on the top, both snipers stopped to catch their breath.

Barely having gotten up, the sound of tricks greeting their ears, seeing a convoy driving towards the base, giving Fletcher an idea. He lit up his horn and fired a spell on the road, the trucks started to slide out of control and crashed, creating a distraction, as a few of the guards, all Jäger troops, ran towards the accident.

Seeing that the main entrance was guarded by two pillboxes, the two snipers sneaked over the frozen lake to a side entrance, which was a small radio room, entering the base.

Two snipers were keeping watch on a catwalk up ahead, but luckily, a generator was next to the small entrance, so Karl kicked it and he with Fletcher used it to mask their shots before the enemy snipers could spot them, scoring a hit through the scopes.

It was cold, but it didn’t Fletcher in the slightest, his clothing and armor kept him warm enough.

Then two separated, with the American going for a technic room and Fletcher entered a bog storage room with a half-finished missile. The “Head” was open, exposing the electronics, so he pulled out some wires, causing sparks and leaving the missile useless. For the safety of the children, there shouldn’t be any left operational.

He then decided to check for other missiles, moving down the hallway which looked like a repairs shop for vehicles, a Halftrack and Panzer II were parked here, seeing a valve on the wall and realized something. A hydrogen peroxide plant... Must be how they’re fueling the missiles. Overloading them would show the bomber their target.

With that, he turned it and steam came out of, the pressure needle going in the red area. Just on the other side was another valve and he repeated the process. “Two done.”

Looking at a sign, he reading it showed the word “command tower”, so he sneaked his way towards it, coming to a catwalk with a sniper overlooking the area. He quickly killed him with an arrow to the head before the German could spot him, then overlooked the area.

Several train cars hinted it was a freight depot, seeing also three other half-finished missiles, with an officer and a squad of Jäger patrolling around.

On the other catwalk, he spotted Karl, having a suppressor on his rife and fired on a fuel barrel, the explosion took about the entire squad, leaving only the with shrapnel littered bodies.

This in return allowed the two to sabotage the other missiles by pulling the wires at the heads. “That’s all the missiles dealt with. I sabotaged another one in the factory, as well as found the technical data and strategy for them. And overloaded a valve. Only the centrifuge is left.” Karl explained.

“Good, let’s get this over with.” The Green Knight replied, he hadn’t seen any kind of cell in the entire factory, so he believed the kids or at least a hint about their whereabouts were in the command tower. “Have you found out anything about them?”

“No, it looks like they aren’t here.” Karl told with regret.

“Okay. It was worth a try.” Fletcher said in a slightly worried voice.

Fortunately, the centrifuge was just on the catwalk next to the command tower and Fletcher took the honor of pulling some wires, causing the plant to blow up in a gigantic explosion, leaving a big smoke cloud, and an alarm sounded, so both went to the radio in the tower to call in the bombers.

“Mother Hen, this is Red Fox, send your regards, I repeat, send your regards to Allagra…” Karl spoke as suddenly they heard a weapon being cocked.

“All I wanted was the Angel. I didn't know the Partisans would follow her to their deaths.” Dorfmann’s voice sounded with a chuckle, yet both didn’t turn around.

“Angels are difficult not to follow. They give people hope, even in the worst of times.” Fletcher replied calmly.

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man'- Friedrich Nietzsche.” Dorfmann countered with another chuckle.

“Sounds like he lacked for friends.” Fletcher replied and turned around, looking at the man. “General Bohm, I presume.”

“The worst terrors are shapeless, formless. If no-one knows who I am, I can be whoever I need to be. I can manipulate. I can avoid detection if need be. I can be a man...Or a monster...” The General explained with a cold voice.

“I'd say you're somewhere in between.” Fray eyed him and he grinned.

“It helps to be.”

“Oh believe me, I know. Dorfmann or Bohm?” The unicorn asked unimpressed, having seen it before.

“Ja, exactly.”

“Bohm. You can put a bullet anywhere you like but Kessler's ours and your facilities aren't making any more war machines for a while. It's over. Your work here is finished.” Fletcher pointed out yet the General smiled.

“That's for me to decide, Mr. Fray. You clearly underestimate our reach. Kessler will be dead before he's any use to the allies. And as for your little...erm...mischief, heh-heh...in the production facility, well...It's just too late.” In response, both snipers eyed him suspiciously.

“Ja, I'm going to start with the USS Ancon. The illustrious General Eisenhower. Very kind of you to bring his attention here, I must thank you profusely...for dooming your entire cause. I'll take the Allied fleet, ship by ship. Operation Avalanche will be extinguished before its even begun.” He paused. “See, if only this was enough…But, uh, it’s not.” He turned around and yelled, “Bring them in here!”

With a hint of anger, Karl and Fletcher saw how a group of soldiers brought in Sofia and the kids, forcing them on their knees, the woman looked up with a guilty expression, the kids had scared expressions.

“I failed. I failed them all. I failed my father.” She said in a defeated tone.

“We so sorry, Fletcher…” Dinky said in a sad tone, apparently blaming themselves for being fooled.

Böhm made a taunting tut sound. “Ja. See, there is no hope. No, not anymore. We’re going to torture them. Ja. And, uh you two going to watch” He laughed.

The kids flinched at the word of torture and it made Fletcher’s blood boil, but he stayed calm, tilting his head. You seem very proud of yourself. You know what comes after pride, don't you?” He asked and the man raised an eyebrow. “The fall.”

“All it takes is a spark.” Karl finished, looking at the Angel, who baled her fist, looking up to the General with anger in her eyes.

In the moment the German took aim again, Sofia lunged at him with a scream, struggling for the gun, the soldiers opened fire and both snipers slid behind a desk for cover, with Fletcher quickly teleporting the kids behind the desk too.

They saw hoe Böhm managed to gain the upper hand, grabbing Sofia by the throat and fired a bullet into her head at blank-point range. “General! Der Flieger!” One of his soldiers yelled and led him away.

The General let out a taunting laugh. “Abandon hope!”

Fletcher and Karl quickly took out the enemy soldiers with headshots, knowing there was no time to waste. “Are you hurt?” The unicorn asked with concern and the kids slowly shook their heads, looking in shock and grief at Sofia’s body. “We can grief later, we have to get you to safety.”

While being still in shock, Dinky and the siblings nodded, following Fetcher and Karl through the corridor as explosions and alerts sounded in the entire facility.

It led to a catwalk overlooking an airfield, with what looked like a jet plane preparing to take off. Böhm was ranting and gloating in a frenzy from a speaker in the plane, it’s gunner suppressing the snipers and forced all into cover as it rolled out of the hanger.

Yet both know they couldn’t fail and Fairburne shot one of the engines with his rifle, causing it to catch fire, but it seemed not to affect the plane at all.

Now, a few soldiers came out of the hanger, also firing, forcing Karl into cover again and Fletcher noticed how the Böhm was taking off. He knew Böhm couldn’t be allowed to succeed, so he took out of his bow and focused to fire an enhanced arrow.

He and Karl fired at the other engine simultaneously, scoring a direct it as it caught fire too.

In response, Böhm turned around and tried to land, but his plane crashed on the airfield in a giant fireball.

They all let out a breath of relief that it was finally over, looking at the wreck before again the sounds of engines greeted their ears, looking up into the sky.

Allied bombers closed in and Karl said, “Time to go…”

Just in the moment he had said this, an explosion concurred just in front of them as the bombers dropped their payload, and they ran before another explosion threw them over, crying in pain and everything went black.