~~~~~
9:30 Hours
May 5, 1987
Area 13
~~~~~
I paced back and forth as a cleaning crew finished polishing the bare metal of the wing. From his seat to my right I could see Chris with his arms crossed and his eyes followed me like a hawk’s.
“I’m surprised at you James. I really, truly am.”
“Can it, Chris. I was drunk.” I said as I turned on my heel to go back the other way.
“James, people tend to do what they secretly want to when they’re drunk. Or apparently who they want. Now look, I’m willing to hide this but I’m not happy about it. For god’s sake James, your wife is pregnant! And then you did this. I can’t believe you.”
“Just shut up already! Jesus H. fucking Christ! I made one mistake, alright?!” I sat down in a chair by the plane and ran a hand through my hair before looking down at the concrete floor. “One very big mistake and I would give anything to undo what I did. I need no further punishment than having to live with the knowledge of what I did. Because what I did will haunt me for as long as I live. I don’t need your help to remind me of how horrible I am.”
“What if you told her?” A female voice said and I looked around for its source. Around me were only stallions and Chris.
“Who said that?” I stood and looked around, Chris looking at me like I had gone mad.
“I did.” The voice said again and I spun around again. Still, I didn’t see the mare who spoke. “Oh, silly me. I forgot to mention, I’m in your head.”
“Then get out of my head!”
“James, what the hell is going on?” Chris asked as he stood up from his seat.
“Please calm down. It makes it harder to make the connection.” The voice said. “My name is Mind Reader. I’m here at the base. Can you bring me a book or something? It’s pretty boring in this room. Oh and just think what you want to say. Ponies are looking at you funny.” I looked around and everyone in the hangar was staring at me like I had lost my mind.
“Alright, so what was it you wanted?”
“Just a book or two if you’d please.”
“Where are you?” I asked her as I started walking outside.
“They set me up with a room here on the base but I can’t seem to get the door open. Can you maybe unlock it for me?”
“They locked you in a room?”
“It’s actually quite nice. And the guard is really chatty but his thoughts are really perverted.”
“Heh, what can I say? Every guy is the same.” I replied as I entered the main building. The guards in the corridor snapped to attention and saluted as I walked past. I opened the door to my office that had been built at the base and went over to the desk. Opening the top left drawer I retrieved the universal key that sat under a pile of papers and walked back out into the hallway. “What does the guard look like?”
“Oh, he’s got a red coat with a shaggy blue mane. And he really likes garlic bread. Just follow the smell of garlic.” I smiled a bit to myself as I began walking towards the holding rooms. After a few minutes I entered the hallway where the long term holding rooms were. A single soldier was in the hallway and he was sitting directly in front of a door. I approached him and I saw he held a Playcolt magazine in his hooves.
“Sergeant.” He looked up and snapped to attention, tossing the magazine aside when he did. “I demand you open this door immediately.”
“Yes, sir.” He replied with a salute and he turned around to face the door. He grabbed a key from his pocket and placed it in the lock. The stallion turned the key and then pulled on the door. Looking inside the room I saw a smiling pegasus mare. Her coat was a green color that resembled the sea and her mane was white like snow.
“Mind Reader?”
“That’s me.” She replied as I waved for her to follow me. I lead her through the hallways of the building and I would occasionally glance over my shoulder at her. “So where are we going?”
“Well, you said you wanted a book.” I answered as I threw open the double doors of the base library and stepped inside. Waving my hand at the books that lined the shelves I smiled at her as she stepped inside. “Welcome to the library of Area 13. Banned, human, and any other type of book you can possibly imagine. All under one roof. Books not even in the Royal Library can be found here.” I told her as I began to stroll through the library that was as long as a hoofball field and as wide as it was long. Looking up at the signs along the rows of shelves I began to read them off. “You’ve got your choice of Equestrian, human, Gallopfreyan , griffin; just about everything you could ever want. Books on everything that is, was, and ever will be. Where do you want to start?”
“Human.” She replied as she turned down the aisle of shelves that were stacked top to bottom with books. As she grabbed a book of a shelf I turned down an aisle that only had a few books in it.
“Where’re all the books at?” I asked myself as I slowly walked through the aisle.
“Destroyed.” A voice replied and I turned to look at the stallion who had answered me. “They all burned with their libraries. These were the few that survived. The knowledge of a lost race is contained within the pages of these books.” The red stallion said as he picked one up in his hoof. He looked at it before setting it back down; the sleeve of his black leather jacket sliding down almost to his hoof when he placed his hoof on the floor. “The writers of all these books are dead. I knew one of the authors on this shelf. He’s long gone now.” I looked up at the sign above the aisle; Gallopfrey. “I’m the Doctor by the way.” He said as he extended a hoof. I shook it and flipped through my mental rolodex looking for where I’d heard that name before. And then I found it.
“I know who you are Doctor.” I said and he simply raised his eyebrows at me. “You’re the stallion who leaves only destruction in his wake. You would make a very good human.” He let his face go neutral as I picked up one of the books. “The last of the Time-Lords. The stallion who hates war but can get entire armies to turn and run at the mere mention of his name. You and I have some similarities Doctor. I never asked for this war. But I serve because I feel it’s my duty to protect those I love. Those who I would lay down my life for without question. Tell me, do you have a family Doctor?” I set the book down after looking it over and turned my head to look at the stallion.
“I did.”
“So you know where I’m coming from when I say I must fight?”
“Yes. I suppose I do.” He replied as he looked over at the few books left from his race. We stood silent for a few moments before a thought struck me.
“Doctor, can you do a favor for me?”
~~~~~
10:00 Hours
Las Pegasus
~~~~~
Lancaster sat on the couch in the living room of the suite with the crusaders and Rumble, their attention focused on the black and white TV in front of them. As they sat watching an older stallion walk around a control console in a room, a noise made Lancaster’s ears perk up and he turned to look towards the hallway. There in the entryway to the hall stood a red stallion in a black leather coat. “Don’t tell me you’re watching that old one. Those adventures were all so boring.” The stallion said.
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m the Doctor.” He replied. The kids immediately launched themselves off the couch and galloped down the hall past the Doctor.
~~~~~
14:20 Hours
May 5, 1987
Las Pegasus General Hospital
~~~~~
I held Sabre’s hoof with my hand and looked down at the floor in shame after telling him what had happened. Steeling my nerves, I looked up at Sabre. He had an eyebrow raised at me as though he had no idea what I was ashamed of.
“Am I supposed to say something?” He asked me and I looked at him in shock.
“I slept with another mare. It’s completely wrong!” I exclaimed as I adjusted myself in my chair. He let out an amused laugh and my confusion increased even more.
“Nine months on this planet and you still haven’t learned much. James, it’s not uncommon for married couples to have other partners in their relationship. There was nothing wrong with what you did. Just tell mom what happened and she’ll understand. Trust me, she had two coltfriends at once back in Manehattan. She won’t be fazed by this.” Sabre told me as he patted my hand with his hoof. I nodded in understanding and smiled to him. “And if you want, I get out of here tomorrow. I can help you tell her then if you’re still feeling bad about it.”
“Thanks, Sabre. But I think I can do it on my own now.”
~~~~~
22:13 Hours
May 5, 1987
Las Pegasus Airfield
~~~~~
I sat on the wing of the Electra and looked up at the stars as Thunderstreak wrapped her wing around my back. The cold desert air made me shiver and she pulled me closer with her wing and I began to feel as though I should just stay quiet. But I thought about what Sabre had said and decided to just go forward with it. “Thunderstreak, I have something to tell you.”
“You slept with Rainbow Dash?” She asked as she set her head on my shoulder. I immediately looked at her in shock and she turned her head to stare back at me. “What? I’m not an idiot James. Besides, I know I’m kind of moody sometimes and I certainly haven’t felt like doing any of that in weeks. I know how guys are when it comes to that. If they can’t get it at home they’ll get it somewhere else. I’m just happy it was with Dash and not some bimbo off a street corner.” She looked back up at the stars and I leaned my head on top of hers.
“While I know it’s not uncommon, I want you to know that I’m never doing that again.” I told her while looking at the stars. We sat there on the wing for what felt like hours but were likely minutes when the drone of an airplane made me look around in surprise. “I thought we were the only plane flying right now?” I questioned aloud as I finally saw blue formation lights in the distance. As the plane got closer to the airport I could see the blue exhaust flames from three engines. “B-17.” I said to myself as the plane lined up for approach. Hopping off the wing I noticed a small plane next to the bomber. As I slowly walked towards the runway I could hear the engines of the bomber staining to keep it in the air. Suddenly two red flairs arced out of the tail of the bomber and I turned to look at Thunderstreak.
“Get to the terminal and call for some ambulances!” I shouted as I took off running for the runway. The bomber cut its engines just before touchdown and the tires let out a squeal as they made contact with the runway. Over head the fighter plane circled around before landing, its silhouette barely visible in the night. As I got closer to the bomber I saw its rudder was almost completely shot off and the fuselage resembled Swiss cheese from the amount of bullet holes in it. The bomber’s engines shutdown as it turned off the runway onto the grass. It rolled to a stop just before I reached it and up close I noticed the nosecone was blown open and the tail gun position was splattered with blood. The nose hatch swung open and five men dropped down to the ground. “How many wounded you boys have onboard?” I asked them as I approached them.
“At least two plus one casualty.” One of them replied as the man I assumed was the pilot sat down with his back against the left main gear. Looking towards the main gate for the ramp I finally saw ambulances coming to help.
“Well gentlemen, you did your duty and as the general of the air force, let me be the first to welcome you to Las Pegasus. We’re gonna get your boys help but there’s some things you probably need to know first.” I told them as I produced a small flask from the inside pocket of my smoking jacket. Handing it to one of the men with pilot’s wings, he took a quick nip of it before passing it to another member of the crew. The small fighter taxied up next to the bomber and shut down its engine. Looking over at the fighter I was amazed to see a swastika on the fin and a Balkan cross on the body. The canopy flipped open and a pilot hopped out and walked around his plane towards us. The bomber crew saw this and they all looked ready to fight as the ambulances pulled up to the tail of the B-17. Stepping in front of the crew I turned to face the fighter pilot who stopped in front of us. He clicked his heels and snapped to a salute for the American airmen. Looking behind me I saw them looking at each other in confusion. I turned around and returned the salute from the Luftwaffe flier. He broke the salute and extended his right hand towards the crew and I. The crew again looked around at each other in confusion just before shouting pierced the darkness. I turned and ran towards the tail of the bomber as one of the gunners shouted of monsters in the plane.
Stopping next to the tail door I saw the paramedics backing away and I climbed in to the waist. “Boys, I need you all to stay calm and listen to me.” I kneeled next to a gunner who was cradling one of the injured crew. “Those are medics out there who are trying to help you. I know they may be monsters to you but believe me when I say that they are not going to hurt you. You have my word as a general and a gentleman. Now let the medics take care of them boys.” He nodded and I stepped back to wave the medics in. Jumping out of the plane and out of the medics’ way I walked towards the crew who was now standing under the wing in shock. Calling over a unicorn who was one of the ambulance drivers, I asked him if he knew a translation spell.
“Of course sir.” His horn began to develop a white glow as I pointed to the German pilot under the nose of the bomber. The unicorn cast the spell and the pilot shuddered as he felt the unicorn’s magic begin to take effect on him. The unicorn’s horn ceased to glow and he turned to walk away. I walked over to the pilot and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned towards me with a small smile that showed friendliness but exhaustion at the same time.
“Can you understand me?” I asked him as I stuffed my hands into my pockets.
“Of course. Your German is very good for an American.” He replied.
“Actually you’re speaking English through the help of a translation spell.” I told him before I raised my eyebrows. “Wait, how did you know I’m American?”
“It was day and then suddenly the middle of the night. I’ve heard about your comic books. If anyone could do that it’d be the Americans.” He said as he gave a small wave of his hand as though it obvious.
“Alright. Oh, and I don’t believe we’ve properly introduced ourselves. I’m James Jones.” I said while extending my hand to him. He grabbed it and shook it.
“Stigler; Franz Stigler.”
~~~~~
10:00 Hours
May 6, 1987
Area 13
Interrogation Room 4
~~~~~
The shot glass clinked on the metal table as I set it down as well as a bottle of whiskey. Sitting down in a metal chair, I poured a shot of whiskey and slid it across to the B-17 pilot. “Standard procedure. Loosen up your tongue a bit.” He downed the shot and I poured another one with a grin. “No one’s counting here.” He gave a small smile and downed the second shot before setting the glass aside. I unbuttoned my khaki uniform jacket, which I wore to assure them I was somewhat like them, and slipped it off. Setting it on the back of my chair, I pulled out a pen from my shirt pocket and opened up the notepad on the table. “Now,” I unscrewed the cap and lowered the pen towards the paper “let’s start with your name and rank.”
“Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown.” I wrote down what he said and looked back up at him.
“Your position on your aircraft?”
“Captain.”
“You have been briefed on your location; yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, the question that’s been on my mind, what’s with the German pilot?” I asked as I put the cap on the pen. “This part is all off the record.”
“Well,” He paused and contemplated it for a moment “he seemed to have escorted us out of Germany.” I raised my eyebrows and he looked at me just as surprised as I was. “I know. Sounds crazy to me too.”
“That was real Eddy Rickenbacker of him to lead a crippled enemy plane out of his own turf. Not the first time I’ve heard of a fighter pilot doing that though. I went through something kind of similar a few months back but it was two defectors on my wings.” I poured myself a shot in the same glass I’d given Charlie and downed it in one quick go. “Now Charlie,” Setting the glass aside I made sure to lean forward and look him in the eye “your two wounded crewmen are going to make it.” He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little bit. “But I’m going to make you a proposition. I need men who are willing to not only serve this country but to also train others who want to defend it. I was hoping that you and your crew would agree to become instructors for the B-17.”
“Hold on now.” Charlie replied as he leaned forward again, now our faces were only about a foot apart and he had a serious look in his eyes. “I volunteered to serve the United States. Not another country and certainly not one filled with mythical creatures.” At hearing this I reached into my left pocket and pulled out my wallet. Opening it up for him to see, I pointed to the picture in the middle of it.
“You see these kids here?” I asked him as I continued to point at the family picture. “These are my kids and we’re expecting two more. Kids are kids no matter the species. I know you didn’t sign up to defend this country and you can say no to my offer, but before you turn me down I want you to think about this. My youngest boy’s childhood memories are going to be filled with the sound of air raid sirens. The only way I can keep more of those memories from being made is if we can knock out the enemy’s ability to make war materials. I’m not asking you for this as a general; I’m asking as a man who cares for his children.” He sat for a moment before giving a small nod.
“I’ll do it. You’ll have to convince the rest of my crew though.” I smiled at his answer and nodded in satisfaction.
“Thank you Charlie. There’ll be a promotion in this for you. I can guarantee it. Someone else will be along to get more information for your file. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s Mister Stigler’s turn to answer some questions.”
~~~~~
Twenty Minutes Later
Interrogation Room 3
~~~~~
I slid the full shot glass across the table to Franz who was dressed in his blue Luftwaffe dress uniform. His grey/blue cap showed wear around the edges of it and the leather brim was beginning to crack along the front. Franz made quick work of the shot after he took ahold of the glass and set it aside once he was finished. “Now, Lieutenant Stigler, I have a request for you.” He nodded in acknowledgment for me to continue. “Tell me why you spared that bomber.”
“You saw that bomber for yourself general. To me it was as though they were in a parachute.” He replied as he leaned back in his chair.
“You remind me of another Luftwaffe pilot I’ve read about. Rödel, I believe his name was.” His eyes widened and a large smile spread across his face.
“I was trained by Rödel in Africa!” Franz said with both happiness and pride in his voice before he pointed to the tan Afrika band around the cuff of his sleeve.
“Franz, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”
“Why is that general?” He asked as his brow raised in confusion.
“Because I’m going to ask you to help us. We already have some well-known faces on our side as of this time.” I told him as I slid a tan folder across to him with a list of our people he no doubt had heard of. He opened it up and looked through the list, his eyes growing wider with every name he recognized. “So Franz,” Franz looked up at me over the folder with a serious look now on his face “what do you say? Will you help us in our fight against the Party?” He sat there for a moment and thought it over. And then he nodded. He set the folder aside and we both stood up. He clicked his heels and was about to salute when I stuck my hand out. Franz smiled a bit and shook my hand before reaching down and ripped the Luftwaffe eagle off his chest. I smiled at his action and opened the door for the room. “Now Franz,” Waving my hand to a guard at the end of the hallway I looked back to Franz with a smile “I have a bit of a surprise for you. I understand you were both in the same group in Africa.” A man in a tan uniform walked into the doorway and smiled at Franz. His brown hair was slicked back and his eyes were as blue as the sky. “Franz, I believe you know Hans Marseille.”
~~~~~
Two Weeks Later
19:55 Hours
May 20, 1987
Ponyville Town Hall
~~~~~
I looked over the paperwork in front of me, making sure I read every stipulation of the deal. Celestia looked at me from across the table. “James,” I looked up at her from the paperwork “why would you want to do this?” I smiled as I put my signature on the paper and then put the cap on my pen. Reaching up to my shoulders, I removed the general’s stars and picked up the gold lieutenant’s bars that sat next to the papers.
“Let’s just say that I’m trying to make up for past mistakes. Besides, it’s only for twenty five missions and it won’t happen until after Thunderstreak has the kids.” I replied as a B-17 roared overhead for a landing. Three days prior to that, all the major flaws had been found in the designs and the list of required repairs had been sent to every airbase and carrier under Equestrian control. Now there were dozens of squadrons who had worked day and night to get their planes back onto the air. I reached down and removed the wings from my chest and replaced them with ordinary old pilot’s wings. Standing up to leave, I smiled at Celestia and gave her a sharp salute. Walking out the door, I went down the stairs and out onto the street. Above, the sky was so dark that it was almost black. In the distance, thunder roared and lighting danced and snaked across the sky. Picking up my pace I noticed that several ponies were closing their shutters to ensure their windows survived the coming storm. The wind picked strength and I had to place my hand on my cap more than once to keep it from flying away. Walking up the sidewalk to the front door of the house I saw that all the windows had been covered and even the mail slot was secured. Opening the door, I could hear frantic movement upstairs.
“Put the boards on your windows!” Thunderstreak shouted and the banging of hammers echoed through the house. Removing my jacket and cap I placed them on the rack by the door. Going upstairs, I went into the bedroom where Thunderstreak was taking a quick break as Luna finished putting a large sheet of plywood on the window. Thunderstreak turned to face me and gave me a small smile before flinching and putting a hoof to her stomach. Just as I was about to ask her what was wrong I saw a wet spot on the floor. Her eyes met mine and I felt my breath catch in the throat. Luna turned to look at us and took a step but stepped in the wet spot on the floor.
“Did she sneeze again?” Luna asked as she wiped her hoof on her other foreleg. Luna looked between us and her brain finally realized what she had actually stepped in. She immediately grabbed Thunderstreak with her magic as the storm outside began to send down its rain upon the town. “James, fetch Typhoon for me.” Luna said as she prepped herself. Running down the hallway to Typhoon’s room, I flung open the door and saw Charger fall off the bed in shock while Typhoon attempted to catch him. She turned to look at me but before she could say anything I said what I had to.
“Your mother’s going into labor! Luna needs your help.” I said before turning around and running back to the master bedroom. “You do know what you’re doing right?” I asked Luna who was sitting at the foot of the bed.
“I was three times a midwife for my sister. I do believe I know what I’m doing. Now get out.” She replied while Typhoon squeezed past me into the room. Luna pushed me backwards with her magic and shut the door once I was in the hallway. I stood and stared at the door before stepping back and sitting against the wall. My eyes stayed firmly glued on the door and more than once I considered barging in when Typhoon would hurry out to fetch something for Luna. As I continued to stare at the door I felt a hoof on my shoulder and I turned to see Lancaster looking at me with worry.
“Dad, it’s after ten. You should probably take a nap or something.” He said as he gently tugged my arm to tell me to get up. I sat there and looked back to the door again.
“Why can’t I come inside?” I asked myself aloud as Lancaster sat down next to me.
“Cause that’s how this whole thing started.” He replied and I continued to look forward at the door. “Dad,” I looked back over at him again as my eyes continued to grow heavy from exhaustion “in most of Equestria and other equine nations, it’s tradition for stallions to be forbidden to enter the room when a mare is giving birth. Only now are such traditions starting to be broken down.” He explained. “Luna has been back less than two years. She still sticks to pretty well every tradition at times like this. Now, let’s get you a nap or some coffee.” Lancaster placed his hoof on my shoulder again. I decided he was right with what he had said earlier and I stood to go downstairs. Just as I was about to walk away, there was a bright flash from the window at the end of the hall. The lights in the house immediately went out and a thunderclap that rivaled the explosion of a bomb, echoed through the house.
Typhoon came flying out of the room and almost ran into me in the darkness. There were thumps every time she ran into the wall and I could hear her swear under her breath. Reaching into my shirt pocket I pulled out my lighter and flicked it open. An eerie orange glow illuminated the wall next to me and I walked down the hallway and found Typhoon by the stairs. Leading the way downstairs I heard her peel off to search for flashlights and lanterns. I sat down on the couch and flicked the lighter shut. The room went black and around me the shadows of items seemed to creep through the darkness towards me. A thump on the couch next to me made me look over to see that Typhoon had tossed me a flashlight on her way back upstairs. Laying my head back against the back of the couch, I closed my eyes and fell asleep to the sound of rain and thunder.
~~~~~
00:17 Hours
May 21, 1987
1247 N. Main St.
~~~~~
I opened my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Lifting my head up I saw through the living room window that the rain had let up but in the distance thunder continued to roar. Standing up, I grabbed the flashlight off the couch and looked around. And then I heard it. From upstairs came the sound of a baby’s crying. Running around the end of the couch I hurried towards the stairs but tripped over something in the dark. Picking myself up I continued my run to the upstairs with a gigantic smile on my face. Grabbing the railing at the top of the stairs, I slid around the corner and skidded to a stop in front of the bedroom door. Flinging it open, I saw Luna holding a foal in her fore-hooves and Thunderstreak laying her head back on a pillow. Grabbing Thunderstreak’s hoof, I smiled at her but she looked back over at me with tears streaming down her face. My smile faded and I looked over at Luna. “Where’s the other one?” I asked her as I looked at the small blue filly that she had wrapped in a blanket. She looked down and I followed her gaze. There on the bed sat a green colt wrapped up in a blanket like his sister. But there was one thing that I noticed was wrong. He wasn’t breathing.