Blood in the sand

by Bronycommander

Chapter 8 Germany

Chapter 8: Germany

“He can’t be dead!” One of the younger soldiers exclaimed in shock and disbelief as several soldiers removed the bell of the body.

As the dusk cleared, Konrad whispered, “Dear god…Oh god…” as he was still a bit in shock. The body looked barely injured on the outside, but the private knew that the internal injuries would be the most concerning, most likely fatal.

He didn’t want to imagine what would happen to his home, should the Führer be dead, despite never believing in his messages.

The Führer was checked for a pulse by Konrad, all hoping he wasn’t dead as the soldier finished.

“He’s gone.” There was no pulse.

“This can’t be! We can’t win without him!” The same young man exclaimed, fearing that they would lose the war.

“Calm down, soldier! We still have capable leaders that will lead us to victory and the Führer will be with us even in death.” The officer who had saluted the guest pointed to Konrad and Willi. “You two, take care of the body.”

“Yes, sir.” Both replied, taking care of it.

The children stared in shock as Fletcher tried to comfort them. “Don’t look.”

Matteo joined them, Dinky asking him, still in shock, “Is he…is he dead?”

With a sad expression, regretting to say this, he replied, “I’m afraid yes. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe, children.”

They just nodded and went back to bed. Fletcher went too, making sure they were comfortable before heading back to bed himself.

The soldiers stayed on alert for the rest of the night. Konrad, Matteo, Willi, Hans and Linus wondered if the real Führer got killed. The Intel they had read suggested it was a double. Not that they’ll ever know for sure. Then again, history might disagree.

In the morning, they all breakfasted, enjoying the morning sun.

It didn’t take long until a transport ship of the German Kriegsmarine arrived in the harbor, being Konrad’s ride home.

“Konrad, can you do me a favor?” Matteo asked.

“Sure thing, my friend.”

“Could you send your wife my regards?”

Escher smiled. “Of course.”

Hans and Willi helped the sailors to get Linus on board, while Konrad got with Fletcher and the children on board. “I hope that none of you get seasick.” He said with concern.

“Nah, not me!” The colt shook his head.

“Me neither.” His sister replied.

“I don’t get seasick either.” Dinky added.

“And I did this before.” Fletcher assured.

The children shared a cabin with Fletcher, they didn’t mind it, they enjoyed his company and he enjoyed theirs.

Konrad shared a cabin with Willi, Hans and Linus.

The crew of the ship, wearing blue colored uniforms most of the time, while the officers had midnight-blue double-breasted reefer coats with ten gilt buttons and matching peaked caps as uniforms, were not bothered at all by their guests, treating them with respect and making sure they had a comfortable stay.

The sailors were even so nice as to make life vests for them, thinking better safe than sorry.

There was, of course, a danger of being attacked by allied planes or submarines from Malta, and even if they had used a plane, there was a risk of getting attacked. Both risks that had to be taken into account if the soldiers wanted to get home.

During a calm day, the children enjoyed the view, despite the fact that there was only water as far as they could see.

“The sea air is just beautiful.” Blau Streifen took a deep breath of it.

“Yes. By the way, where is that ship heading?” Katja asked Konrad.

“Italy. From there, we take the train to Germany.” He explained.

“Say Konrad, how big is your navy?” Dinky was curious about it.

“Well, when the war began in 1939, our navy had some good battleships at its disposal, the biggest ship in the Kriegsmarine was the Bismarck, the jewel of the German navy, named after the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. It also has a sister, the Tirpitz, named after the State Secretary in the Reichsmarineamt Alfred von Tirpitz.

The Bismarck was sunk by the British in 1941, and thus, our U-boats and fast attack crafts became the main force of our navy, commanded by Admiral Karl Donitz, a caring commander like Rommel is.” He explained being well informed about it. He actually had got a friend that had served on the Bismarck, who had lost his life as it sunk.

“I see, sounds like a very dangerous position to be in a U-boat.” Dinky didn’t want to imagine.

“Some say it is the most dangerous job in the military. As such I have deep respect for those brave men.”

“I believe you.” Dinky replied, feeling sorry for the men who would crew U-boats.

One night Escher couldn’t sleep, so he walked outside, leaning on the railing and enjoying the view of the stars and the moon.

“Can’t sleep too?” Fletcher’s voice greeted him from behind, the unicorn joined him, leaning on the railing too.

“Yeah, kinda nervous how my wife and children will react to you and our young friends.” Konrad told him with worry in his voice.

Fray smiled slightly. “I’m pretty sure they will understand, knowing their company. About me, I go back to Africa to take out this interference once Dinky and the siblings are in Germany with you.”

“I like your optimism about it. You should stay too, you have earned some rest.” The German replied.

Fletcher raised one eyebrow, confused. “Appreciated, but why should I stay? I should take care of that interference as soon as possible.”

“Yes, but I think the children would feel more comfortable if you stay. Plus, did you Eternal Knights never get granted leave or some spare time?” The young man asked in return.

“I guess you got a point, some rest from all the fighting would be nice.” Fletcher let out a sigh. “I couldn’t sleep because of the thought how worried their parents will be, which will worsen the longer it takes me to get their children home.”

“I can understand that.” Konrad looked at the calm sea, having to chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Fletcher wondered.

Grinning, the soldier replied, “Oh, nothing. Just had a funny thought. One of the ships in the Kriegsmarine is the Prinz Eugen, a heavy cruiser, named after Prince Eugene of Savoy, an 18th-century Austrian general. Did you have a navy? Couldn’t help but think that one of your ships would be named after the princess or after you and your fellow Eternal Knights.”

The Knight looked into the water, blushing slightly. “Well, that would have been pretty embarrassing. We had a small navy in the war, our greatest ship was the Astralcraft, a silver-plated battleship that could come close to the Bismarck. Our naval command ship was the Polar Dryft, named after the father of Prince Artemisia, a very kind ruler. But what would be equivalent to the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in terms of names would be the Fabelhart, a masterfully designed Farman Ironclad Warship, named after my father, I was in command of it.”

“Must been a great honor for you to command a ship named after your father.”

“Of course it was, I wasn't the best captain on the seas but nevertheless a capable captain.”

“Well, in my opinion, you’re one of the most capable soldiers I have seen. And you really earned a break from the fighting.” The private smiled.

“Thanks for the compliment. I must admit that that this conversation was very…nice.” For some reason, it helped Fletcher feel better.

“You and me both.” The soldier replied with a smile before they both went back to their beds.

One day, Fletcher had a conversation with Dinky. “I know your father, the time-traveler.”

“Yeah, he's the best dad ever! Are you one of his nice friends from long ago?” The filly asked him, proud of her father.

Fletcher felt ashamed for saying this. “Actually I was ordered to kill him...twice.”

Dinky’s eyes went wide in shock, trying to process what he had just said.

“We...had a bit of a misunderstanding...” He tried to explain, feeling awkward about it, fearing he might have lost Dinky’s trust and respect.

The filly stayed quiet for a few minutes before breaking it. “I guess you also volunteered to atone for it?”

“Yes, despite that it is in the past now.” The Eternal Knight replied a bit embarrassed about it.

Dinky’s response surprised him. “It’s okay Fletcher, I don’t blame you. Mistakes happen.” She gave him a hug to show she was honest.

He returned the hug, relieved it didn’t upset her. “Glad to hear it.”

The next day the ship reached the Italian coast and its passengers got off board, taking the next ride to the train station and then the next train to Germany. They would have to change the train due this train ending at a Trainstation close to the border.

During the ride, the children chatted about what they could do in Germany, enjoying the view of forests and fields.

“Before I forget it how do you want to make sure the people won’t freak out when they see me or Dinky?” Fletcher asked Konrad, still a bit unsure about the idea.

“To be honest, I hadn’t thought about that yet.” The private put a hand to his chin, thinking, trying to come up with something. “Maybe, we could say that Dinky and Blau Streifen are children in costumes and you are their big brother?”

Fray raised an eyebrow. “That’s the best you can come up with?”

“Can’t think of anything better at the moment. Do you have a better suggestion?” The German asked in return.

Fletcher tried to get up with an answer. “No.”

“Well I guess if you both don’t use your magic, it could work.”

“It’s worth a try, Fletcher.” Dinky liked the idea, Blau Streifen nodded with a smile.

“Well, I’m experienced in acting, so that should be problem for me.” The mature unicorn shrugged.

Once at the train station where they had to change trains, they strangely found that there was no train at all.

“Shouldn’t’ there be a train heading for Germany?” Linus asked confused, looking at his watch as the train should have been there already.

A conductor came up to them. “Sorry but the train is delayed.”

“Delayed? How much?” Konrad asked him.

“About an hour, but it could be more.” The conductor replied and then left.

The private let out a sigh. “Great. Just great. And to think that I could have been reunited with my family today. Looks like it will be tomorrow given the travel time.

The children hugged him. “Don’t be sad, you still have us.” The young girl said to him, trying to cheer him up.

Escher smiled. “I know, it’s just that my family would have picked me up, but now that will be in vain. And I informed them that I would bring some guests.”

Fletcher felt pity for him, but this also meant it would take longer to get the children to a safer place and he didn’t want them in too much danger. Unless…

“Maybe I could help. I could teleport them and you to the train station at your home. All I need is the name and its location.” He offered.

“Didn’t you say something blocks your teleportation spell?” Hans asked.

“Yes, but only the teleport spell that brings me and the children back to Equestria, teleporting here is still working.” Fletcher explained.

“I guess it’s worth a shot. I live in Volkach, a town in the district of Kitzingen, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, I bought my watch in a shop here if It helps you.”

The green stallion, smiled, mumbling,” Kitzingen…a relative of mine lives near its equivalent in Farmany. Anyway, that helps me very well to pinpoint it.” He scanned it with his horn.

Before the soldier could ask about his friends, Linus said, “Don’t worry about us, we’ll take the train. You have earned it.” The officer smiled warmly, Hans and Willi didn’t mind it at all, since they weren’t married like Konrad was.

“Dinky, would you be so kind to assist me in strengthening the spell?” Fletcher lit up his horn.

“Of course.” She wasn’t experienced in such spells but still could cast levitation spells or help others to strengthen their spells.

Before they vanished in a white light, Hans mumbled, “I hope the Field Marshal can really keep the Gestapo away.”

“Oh, I think he will be very successful with that. Something tells me he will.” Willi replied with a smirk, imagining the look on the Gestapo’s faces upon getting told by Rommel.

---

Meanwhile, somewhere in North Africa

The famous desert Fox was just about to plan the tactics of his next battle, when a man wearing a black trench coat with flipped-up collars, a fedora, and glasses walked to him.

“What do you want?” The officer asked with disgust at being interrupted.

“We have heard that you collude with the Green Knight. This cannot be tolerated.” The agent said in a slightly threatening tone.

“The Green Knight is not an immediate priority. He is presenting himself as a neutral. That is all that should concern us.” Rommel replied calmly, not impressed by the agent.

“Would you care to take it up with the Fuhrer?” The member of the secret police had clearly lost his patience.

“Would you care to take it up with his men?” The Desert Fox pointed to his troops, who all looked quite murderously at the Gestapo agent who just smirked.

“Excuse me but which one of us is a senior member of Hitler's hand-picked task-force?”

“Better question, which one of us is outnumbered?” Rommel countered.

With an expression of shock the agent replied, “You wouldn't dare!”

“Wouldn't I? I am known to be a daring man, I'm quite famous for it.” Erwin now smirked.

After some minutes of silence, the agent said, “If I do not report in time, they will take the Knight and the children anyway.”

“We are a long way from Berlin, sir. Anything can happen.” Rommel remembered his interlocutor.

Knowing what Rommel meant, the Agent replied defeated, “...Very well, we shall not interfere...but we expect progress. The Fuhrer is not a patient man.”

“I'd advise teaching him some. Patience is a virtue.” Rommel now smiled, proud of his little victory.

---

Back in Germany

Quick as a flash, Konrad and the children found themselves at the Trainstation of the soldier’s hometown, with no people in sight.

“Good that nobody is around, I was worried that we would appear in a crowd, that would have been pretty awkward.” Konrad said in relief.

“I got that covered as you see, plus, I made sure we’re on time. As Patch would say: on time to the tea, he-he.” The stallion laughed as the private looked on his watch, they were here exactly at the time the train was supposed to arrive.

The loud whistle sound of a train startled them for a moment, as said train arrived on schedule, much to their surprise.

Willi and Hans got out. “Wasn’t this train delayed?” Konrad asking his friends.

“Well, yes, but turns out it was a misinformation, the train was only a few minutes delayed. Ah, there they are.” Willi pointed to the road, two cars pulled up.

The first car was a red BMW 326, the other car a dark blue Mercedes-Benz W 143.

A woman with black hair and green eyes, along 2 children, who also had black hair, the girl had blue eyes, and the boy green eyes, visible as they stepped out of the red car, while a young man with brown hair and brown eyes stepped out of the other car.

“Daddy!” The children exclaimed happy, hugging their father, Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen smiled at the heartwarming moment.

“I missed you too, children. Kerstin, you haven’t changed a bit.” The private kissed his wife, his friends watched the moment with smiles.

“Hey, Tim, long time not see.” Willi hugged the man, who returned it.

“Indeed, I missed you, Willi.”

“Konrad, you said you would bring some guests with you.” His wife was eager to meet them.

Nervously, he said, they’re standing right in front of you.” He pointed to his friends, Fletcher gave a short wave, while the younger unicorn, along the colt and girl waved with smiles.

“Do…do I see that right?” The mother asked confused, blinking and shaking her head, but what she saw wasn’t vanishing. Her children and Tim shared the same reaction.

“It’s a long story. But may I introduce them to you?” they nodded as Konrad continued, “Fletcher Fray, Dinky Hooves, Katja and her brother Blau Streifen.”

The stallion said in a friendly voice, “Greetings.”

The 3 children said in unison, “Hello.”

The family members remained silent, surprised for a few seconds. “Did the ponies just…talk?” His wife asked, not able to believe this.

“Well, yes. Can we talk about it at home?” The young father asked, a bit embarrassed and scratching his head.

“Of course. My name is Kerstin.” The woman introduced herself, still trying to understand.

Her children were still curious about this. “Hello, my name is Nico and this is my sister Anny.”

“And I am Tim, Willi’s nephew.” Tim introduced himself.

“Has anyone seen Linus?” Escher asked, now noticing that only Hans and Willi had got off the train.

“He got sent straight to the next hospital.” The tailor explained.

“Pity, I was looking forward to celebrating my homecoming.” The man let out a sigh.

“Hey, cheer up, we can celebrate a second time after he’s recovered. I hope you took good care of my bakery, nephew.” Willi turned to Tim, waiting for an answer.

With a smile, he replied, “Of course I did, it’s exactly like when you left.”

“Good.”

“I don’t want to interrupt the happy moment, but, uh, how should we get there? It could get very tight in the car.” Dinky saw a problem in means of transportation.

Konrad thought for a moment. “Got it! Dinky, you could drive with me, Fletcher, you and the siblings could drive with Willi.”

“Sounds good to me.” The filly smiled.

“Good idea, what do you think?” The stallion asked the 2 siblings.

“Agreed!” They both replied with smiles.

“I still have something to do, I’ll join you later.” Hans said to them.

“Okay, see you later.” Willi said goodbye as his friend left.

Then they drove to the bakery. Dinky chatted with Konrad’s children, also enjoying the view of the town. Volkach may be a small town but the sights like the old town with two city gates made in the 16th century, the marketplace with a fountain, while next to it was the town hall, build in 1544 in the Franconian style,characteristic for it was the basement.

The siblings enjoyed it too, even Fletcher, the buildings of the 16^th century reminded him of his hometown.

The bakery was located just next to the market place, a big pretzel with the name “Willi’s bakery” as sign as on the roof.

The baker smiled proudly at his nephew. “It’s exactly like when I left. I knew you could do it.”

“Hey, if it wasn’t for you teaching me, I could never have done it.” Tim replied as he unlocked the door, letting them in.

“It feels so good to be back!” Willi went behind the counter to serve his friends, in his assortment were like it was typical for a bakery, bread, buns, croissants, pretzels and other kinds of baked goods, and there were also some sweets like cake.

“What can I get for you? It’s on the house.” Willi awaited the orders of his friends.

Fletcher took a coffee with a croissant, Konrad and his wife took also coffee and cake. Dinky took a glass of lemonade and a pretzel, her friends too, while Nico and Anny had croissants while drinking some juice and chatting with their young guests.

Konrad took this moment to explain to his wife why he brought Fletcher and the three children and their origins, which the unicorn confirmed.

The mother looked with sympathy at the three children, who were happily chatting with her own. “Poor children, they don’t deserve this. But I’m proud of you, Konrad. Mr. Fray, you can be proud too, for getting them home.”

“I’m just doing what I know is right, Mrs. Escher, and Fletcher is just fine.”

“Please, you can call me Kerstin.”

The door opened and Hans joined them. “I hope I’m not too late.” He said with a smile.

“Just in time, my friend. What do you want?” Willi asked, happy to see him.

“A pretzel and a cup of coffee.”

“Coming right up!”

Hans took a bite, enjoying it. “As good as back then!”

Willi smiled at the compliment. “It pleases me to hear this.”

After having enjoyed their meals, Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen took deep breaths of the fresh summer air; warm, but not as hot as the desert before they got into the cars, saying goodbye to Tim and Hans.

The cars drove past a hospital, over a small bridge where a river was located under it, and a park next to it.

Kerstin drove into a housing development on a hill, stopping into a carport of a house with a terrace connected to a garden.

“I’ll see you later. Fletcher, for you and your young friends, a meal at my bakery is always free for you” Hans drove home after his passengers had stepped out.

The furnishings of the house had a nice and relaxing effect, a telephone and radio in the living room, and several pictures hung at the wall. “Looks very comfortable.” Dinky liked it.

“Thanks. Make yourself comfortable, children while I make dinner.” The young mother left with her husband for the kitchen.

Nico turned the radio on and it played Lili Marlene, a German love song, it was very popular.

It wasn’t Blau Streifen’s taste, but still he enjoyed the song as he danced with the others to it.

“Mind if I help you with making dinner?” Fletcher asked politely.

“Not at all.” Kerstin smiled at him.

They made a potato meal together, as potatoes weren’t as muchaffected of rationing as other foods.

“Didn’t know you can cook so well, Fletcher.” Konrad was a bit surprised by it.

“Just because I grew up in a noble family doesn’t mean I don’t know how to make a good dinner.” The Knight replied, a bit embarrassed about it, yet enjoyed helping out in the kitchen.

After they had everything prepared, the family along with their guests had dinner, Dinky and Fletcher enjoyed it, and Katja and Blau Streifen ate with manners they were raised with, not wanting to upset their hosts, and enjoying their meal too.

“That was very delicious. You are a very good cook, Mrs. Escher.” Dinky complimented Konrad’s wife with a smile, while her friends nodded in agreement.

“Glad to hear it Dinky, and you all don’t need to be so formal with me, Kerstin is just fine.”

As it was already evening, the young colt struggled not to yawn but it was in vain.

“You should catch some sleep, you have earned it. Konrad, would you to so kind?” His wife asked.

“Of course, my dear. Follow me.” He replied with a smile, leading their young guests to the guest room.

The guest room had only one bed that Dinky and Fletcher had already decided where to sleep.

“I’ll take the couch. The bed is yours, children.” Fletcher said, thinking that the kids should have the comfortable bed.

“Konrad, do you have a sleeping bag? I think Katja and her brother should have the bed.” Dinky asked, which surprised the siblings and Konrad.

“Of course, let me get one for you.” The man left the room.

“We appreciate it, but why?” Katja was confused.

“The bed has only room for two, and you shouldn’t be separated from each other.” The filly explained.

“I guess you have a point.” Blau Streifen replied.

As Konrad returned with a sleeping bag, the three children took their bags and headgears off before climbing into the beds. Katja took her shoes and socks off, and thought the feeling of an actual bed was very comfortable and welcoming, compared to the cots for both siblings.

“Goodnight, Fletcher. Goodnight, you two.” Dinky snuggled herself into the sleeping bag, it was way more pleasant than the cots in Africa.

“Goodnight, Fletcher and Dinky.”

“Goodnight, children.” Fletcher replied, heading for the couch in the living room, hearing how Konrad also wished a goodnight to his young guests before heading to Fletcher.

“Are you sure? I can get you a sleeping bag ,too.” He offered.

“No, thanks, the couch is enough for me.” The stallion politely declined, taking his gear and armor off and climbing on the couch.

“Okay, goodnight.” The father brought his children to bed.

The living room had also a pendulum clock that rang nine times, showing it was 9PM. It didn’t bother Fray at all, he loved those kinds of clocks.

The couch was also more comfortable than the cots, causing the knight to let out a relieved sigh as he fell asleep.

As the parents tucked their children in, they told them the origins of their guests.

“Sorry to hear that, daddy. We’ll make sure they have a comfortable stay with us.” Nico said to his father.

“Fletcher sounds like a brave and honest soldier like you are, dad.” His daughter added.

“Thanks, Anny. Goodnight.”

“Night, daddy!” the siblings exclaimed as their parents went to bed.

“I love you.” His wife kissed him.

“I love you too.”

In the morning, Katja stirred in her sleep, slowly opening her eyes, still a bit sleepy, and seeing that her brother had one leg wrapped around her, his chest lowering and raising before also stirring in his sleep, waking up.

“Good morning, sis.” He smiled.

“Morning, brother.” She smiled too.

Dinky in that moment, yawned, rubbing her eyes. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Dinky. Slept well?” The colt asked, still sleepy.

“Like a stone. You?”

“Can’t complain.”

The door opened, and Nico and his sister walked in, bothcarrying Breakfast Boards. The boy’s had two bowls of oatmeal and two glasses of juice, while the girl carried only one bowl and glass. “Good morning, we made you breakfast.” Nico greeted them.

“Good morning.” Dinky greeted back, then they all enjoyed their breakfast.

“You’re welcome.” The girl was happy to see that their guests enjoyed it.

They walked out, seeing that Fletcher was still asleep on the couch, and the parents also still in their beds, and the children had a wonderful idea.

“How about we make breakfast for them?” Blau Streifen suggested, and the others nodded with glee.

“Great idea, brother!”

Fletcher awoke to a delicious smell coming out of the kitchen. “Good morning Fletcher, I made you breakfast!” Dinky’s voice sounded happy as he opened his eyes. The filly was standing in front of him with a breakfast board with toast and a glass of juice, having a very happy smile on her face.

It pleased him to see such a generous offer from her. “Thank you, Dinky.”

As he breakfasted, he saw the others walking towards the bedroom of the married couple, the human siblings carried breakfast boards with toast and juice.

“Good morning, we made you breakfast”. Katja smiled as she opened the door, the adults were smiling at this nice act.

“Thanks.” Kestin smiled as she and her husband breakfasted, enjoying it.

As the two got ready for the day, Fletcher and his three friends took a look at the pictures on the wall. The first picture showed Konrad and Kerstin at their wedding, both smiling very happy. The second and third were showing the woman with a newborn baby in her arms, her husband smiling proudly. The next picture was showing Konrad in his uniform, next to it was a picture of a group photo of him and several other soldiers, one of them was wearing what seemed to be a pilot uniform, and another was wearing a navy uniform.

Then they took notice of 3 other pictures. The first showed a soldier in an older uniform, his helmet having a tip and a rifle with attached bayonet, being almost twice as large as the man himself. The other picture was a man in medic uniform and the last one was a group photo of both and other soldiers. They noticed that one of the soldiers was also wearing a medic uniform, looking almost identical to the pilot in the other group photo.

Konrad came in with his wifewearing a blue suit with matching hat and red tie. “What about we show you the town today?” He suggested.

“Good idea, Konrad. That must be your father and grandfather, right? They look very good in those uniforms.” Dinky pointed to the pictures.

“You are correct.”

“Can’t imagine that such a long weapon is easy to handle. And why does his helmet have a tip?” Blau Streifen asked.

“Indeed, it was very unwieldy in the trenches with those, thus the SMG got invented. As for his helmet, its origin is from the time when fights were fought with sabers. The tip had the function to distract attacks to the side. However it was outdated when the First World War began. It was called the pickelhaube.” He explained. “To solve this, it was removed later or it could be unscrewed.”

”Makes sense. Had you such problems, Fletcher?” The colt asked, interested.

“Not that I can remember.” The unicorn replied.

“Anyway, let’s enjoy the day, shall we?” Kestin asked everyone with glee, seeing the beautiful morning sun.”

“Agreed!” The children exclaimed with smiles.

Fletcher nodded, leaving his armor here and firearms there, and putting his bow into his saddlebag to avoid suspicion. They walked, enjoying the weather.

Being a warm summer day, he, Dinky, and the siblings enjoyed the tour of the town. It was maybe a small town, but still had a lot of interesting sights to offer, like the office of the prince-bishops, named after Prince Bishop Julius Echter of Mespelbrunn, the Catholic church of St. Bartholomew and the evangelical church St. Michael, just to name a few.

At first, Dinky and Blau Streifen were a bit nervous, afraid Konrad’s idea wouldn’t work but everyone who saw them and Fletcher commented how well made their costumes were, raising their confidence in the idea.

What they all noticed, apart from propaganda messages about saving resources, some banners, soldiers on leave and some military trucks driving around, there was almost nothing that hinted of war.

“It’s so peaceful and quiet here.” It reminded Dinky of her home.

“Yes, it’s a quiet town, that’s why I like it here so much. I was born in Würzburg but it was a too busy town for me to live. If you don’t mind Fletcher, where were you born?” Konrad asked.

“Well, Stuttgart as you would call it here.” The Eternal Knight replied.

“I see.” Seeing the bakery, the young man had an idea. ”What about some ice cream?”

“Great idea!” Dinky exclaimed happy.

All the kids took chocolate, which wasn’t surprising, since chocolate was loved by children after all.

He took strawberry for himself, his wife banana and Fletcher took apple.

They walked to a small park where the adults sat down on a bench in the shade, watching the children as they enjoyed the ice cream to the fullest.

Blau Streifen had finished his, only the waffle was left, when he tripped over a stone. “Ow!”

“Are you hurt?” Dinky asked with concern, helping him up.

“I’m fine.” He replied, noticing that the waffle had landed on his forehead, making him look like a unicorn.

“Look sis! I'm a pretty unicorn!” He made a heroic pose, causing Fletcher and Dinky to suppress a giggle before he took it off and ate it.

Then they took notice of a large truck passing by, much larger than the military trucks.

“What’s that?” Katja asked, pointing to the truck.

“A talkie car, they bring movies into towns that don’t have cinemas and also the… news, so to speak.” The husband explained.

“News?” Dinky asked, not understanding.

“The Deutsche Wochenschau. It shows the successes of the military and is a compulsory program.”

“Great.” Blau Streifen complained.

“Let’s go.” Kerstin said and they walked back to the marketplace. The truck had pulled up there, and the crew already was setting up everything and a crowd was forming up to watch it, the family and their guests with them. The other people didn’t notice the ponies at all, too focused on the movie.

The intro started, showing a War reporter who supplied the front shots before it actually started.

First shown were how Axis troops attacked the British lines at Bir Hacheim and the Gazala line at the end of May, with Rommel being on the front line, personally giving the final orders before the attack started. The pictures changed to prisoners and destroyed vehicles and guns. The announcer said that in the first 10 days, the British had lost over 10,000 prisoners, 550 tanks, 200 guns and several hundred vehicles.

The outcome was hinging on the fate of Bir Hacheim, showing an aerial view from Axis planes flying towards it. In the first days of June, the Germans and Italians surrounded the fortress, seizing it on June 11. Right after the capture of the fortress, the retreating British troops got surrounded, every attempt to break out towards Tobruk repulsed with heavy losses. After breaking through the Gazala line, the fate of the Allied troops was sealed, with over 6,000 prisoners, 224 tanks, 85 artillery pieces and considerable military captured.

On June 18, the fortress of Tobruk was totally encircled. It was the strongest in North Africa, with Anti-tank ditches, wire barriers, concrete bunkers, AA guns and minefields protecting the vital port. After hundreds of attacks by German and Italian bombers and Stukas, the assault started in the early morning of June 20, shown by Axis artillery fire.

Rommel was shown in his command vehicle, conducting the battle on the front line, then showing prisoners. The announcer said that at the evening of the first day of the assault, most key fortifications were in Axis hands. Dinky and the siblings were impressed by it; most impressive had been the aerial view of Bir Hacheim so far. Even Fletcher was a bit impressed, yet showed a neutral expression.

After showing a few destroyed British tanks, the camera showed the Field Marshal inspecting a dugout casemate, then how German flak destroyed from the beach of Tobruk small British vessels trying to escape, in vain.

In the early morning of June 21, the Allied commander capitulated, and the announcer praised how the Luftwaffe supported the ground forces in a true show of military comradeship, contributing greatly to this glorious victory, showing an aerial view of lines of prisoners and Tobruk, also showing sunk ships.

Then the announcer said that the enemy had unusually high losses, with over 1,000 tanks destroyed or captured. Hundreds of guns, vast amounts of war material and supplies of all kind fell into Axis hands. 33,000 prisoners were made by German and Italian troops.

“Can’t say I’m a fan of it, but I must admit, it all looks very impressive and well made.” Katja commented.

“Yes, the German propaganda really knows how to impress.” Konrad replied, feeling proud for some reason, seeing their success in Tobruk.

“We also used propaganda in the wars I fought in. but nothing of it could top that.” Fletcher added upon having seen everything.

The next scene showed how the German troops moved out to the border in pursuit of the remaining enemy troops, then something that surprised the family along with its guests.

“The Green Knight talking with our troops boosting their moral.” The announcer said, the scene showing Fletcher as he talked with the German and Italian soldiers at the Halfaya Pass, and the Eternal Knight stood there, stunned upon seeing himself in the German propaganda.

“Wait…wha- what?” He stuttered, not believing his eyes, completely shocked, while his friends were also shocked.

The scene changed, now it showed him, talking with Rommel, the kids couldn’t be seen anywhere. “The Field Marshal and the Green Knight chatting together, the Knight swears to watch over all trueborn sons of Germany and will hunt down any who stray from the cause.”

Then the show moved on the Attack on Sevastopol on the Eastern Front, the family slowly recovered from their shock.

“Okay…how had they managed to do that?” Konrad asked first.

“And how did we not notice it?” Dinky wondered.

“However they managed to pull this off, the one responsible for this will hear from me.” Fletcher’s voice was slightly disgusted and had a hint of anger.

“Well, I think it must be the local Propaganda minister; he’s in charge of everything regarding propaganda here. He is mostly seen in the town hall.” Kerstin pointed out.

“Thank you, I’ll be right back.” The unicorn moved swiftly towards the town hall, unnoticed by the crowd.

“I guess we should leave, something tells me this will be…not going well for the minister.” Konrad said with a hint of fear, the others nodded, keeping their distance from the marketplace.

The Eternal Knight entered the town hall, seeing a young female secretary on a reception counter. “Excuse me, where can I find the propaganda minister?” He asked, friendly.

The young woman reacted a bit confused upon seeing him, blinking several times to make sure it wasn’t her imagination. “Just upstairs, sir.” She replied, confused.

“Thank you.” He replied, walking upstairs, and seeing two doors on the right side.

“I don’t know what I should think of this; it’s a good way to play down the deaths of the SS troops in Africa but…the Green Knight won’t like this.” A young voice sounded from the door on the right.

“Orders are orders, it will be in our benefit, that is all that counts.” A second voice replied.

Bingo.
Knowing that he was right, the green unicorn opened the door, a man sitting at a desk, another standing in front of him, appearing to be scared, having blue eyes and blonde hair, seeming in his early twenties. The other one was surprised, but showed no sign of fear. Fletcher judged he was the major.

“What do you want?” The major asked in an aggressive tone.

“I think you know what I want. I wasn't informed that I was a star in your propaganda projects...probably because I would have said no.” The Knight countered in a light angry tone.

The young man held up his hands in surrender. “I had no other choice, the order came directly from Reichsmarschall Goebbels! I never intended to…”

Fletcher cut him off, “You probably think you've made me angry. You haven't. Just slightly annoyed. With that in mind, I strongly suggest you stop while you're ahead. Otherwise I really will get angry...and people will die.” His voice was slightly threatening.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that the major reached slowly for his pistol, a mistake, as Fletcher quickly levitated it out of his hand. “Don’t even think about it. I hope my message is clear.”

Nervous, the young propaganda minister replied. “O-of course, sir Green Knight.”

Seeing a picture of the Reichsmarschall on the wall, Fletcher mumbled with a disgusted expression, “I always wondered what humans would look like if you sucked all the moisture out with a straw.” He turned back to the two men. “Would you be so kind as to send Goebbels a message?”

“O-of course, we can do that.” The minister replied stuttering.

The family and guests saw Fletcher coming out, looking very satisfied. “I took care of the propaganda, let’s go home.”

The others agreed and nodded, not wanting to imagine what Fletcher had done to stop the propaganda of him.

They took a walk through the park they had seen at the river. The children played tag while the three adults sat down on a bench, watching them with smiles until the church bells rang, seven times, showing it was 7PM, so they walked home.

After dining, the children got ready for bed while Konrad had a chat with Fletcher. “If you want to do a walk or some errands, there is a second house key on the key board.”

“Good to know.”

“And if you don’t mind, what have you done to make them stop using you for propaganda?”

Smirking, Fletcher replied, “Just talked to them and sent a message to Goebbels.”

As it was late, the father said, “Okay, goodnight.”

The married couple and the children had all the same thought as they went to bed and fell asleep. Wonder what the message is.

---

Berlin, Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda

The Reichsmarschall was sitting at his desk, doing paperwork as someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”

A messenger walked in. “Herr Reichsmarschall, a telegram for you.”

“Put it on the desk.” The massager did as told.

Goebbels read the telegram, shocked upon seeing who the sender was.

To Herr Reichsmarschall Paul Joseph Goebbels.

I'm writing to you from El Alamein. I have just seen your take on me and the undertones you've taken the liberty of drawing for yourself.

I'm asking, politely I trust, for you to stop.

Much as I would normally be touched by such a statement, your hand in it is making me feel incredibly unclean.

I do not support your Fascist doctrine, nor do I ever intend to. So please stop using me as a mouthpiece for such a creed.

I am writing to you as formally and politely as I can.

I hope you understand that, should you continue perverting my name and all those beside me, the collective force of Churchill, De Gaulle, Stalin and Roosevelt will be the second greatest threat to the Third Reich.

While I exercise such courtesy, however, you are quite safe.

But that will end swiftly and violently should you or your subordinates harm me or those I love in any way.

You have no comprehension of the powers at our Princess's disposal. I say with certainty that we are capable of wiping you off the map.

Do not tempt us. Do not cross us.

Wishing you the best of luck in the war to come.

Sincerely,

The Green Knight

It was at this moment that made him know that he shouldn’t have done that. “How am I gonna explain this to the Führer?”

---

In the morning, Fletcher stretched himself as he woke up, the pendulum clock ringed seven times: it was 7AM in the morning.

Seeing that the others were still asleep, he decided to visit the bakery for breakfast, taking his bow just in case, concealed of course, and put the house key in his saddle bag, also writing a note to let the others know where he was.

As it was early morning, the streets were empty, as most of the people were still asleep, only the wind and the singing of the birds could be heard.

Fletcher enjoyed it as he walked through the park towards the bakery, the rising morning sun was a beautiful sight.

Upon reaching the bakery, Willi and Tim greeted him with smiles. “Good morning Fletcher, what can I bring you?” Will asked, happy to see him.

“I think I take a pretzel and a coffee please.”

“On the way!” The baker replied, giving his customer his order.

The unicorn took a bite of his meal and a sip of his coffee. “It tastes very good, you really understand your work.” He complimented Willi, who blushed slightly at the compliment.

“Glad to hear it. My family has been in the bakery business for years and this bakery is the best in town, so say most people.”

“I think they are right with that.” The Knight couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten so well in a bakery.

“Hello!” a new voice called out, Fletcher turned around, seeing a man in a SS uniform came in, rather boisterously.

While Fletcher couldn’t see the rank of the SS member exactly, the peaked cap hinted that it seemed to be a commander.

The stallion went back to his breakfast, trying to keep a low profile as the commander walked up to the counter.

“You! A coffee, please.” He said to Willi, who did as told.

Then the German turned his attention to the Eternal Knight. “Oh, I hope you don’t have to hunt someone down back there. If so I’ll come back another time.” He joked with a laugh.

“I’m sure that can wait, Herr Kommandant. One coffee, coming right up.” Willi prepared the drink.

“I recognize your face. Very Aryan face it is, too. While I wonder why they use a unicorn for propaganda, they suited your appearance very well and you can act well.”

Fletcher didn’t reply but understood what the SS member meant. He thought that Fletcher was the actor for the Propaganda regarding the Green Knight.

“There you go, Kommandant.” The baker handed the coffee over.

“Oh, thank you.” The SS soldier took a sip, enjoying it clearly. “I love coffee. There’s nothing better to drink in the morning than a good waking coffee.” He said to the two bakers, turning back to the stallion again. “Do you have any ID? I would like to know who you really are.”

Fletcher stayed quiet. “Speak up.” The Kommandant added.

“I’m afraid he can’t speak, he’s hoarse and I heard it’s to be held secret who he really is.” Tim interrupted quickly, trying to get Fletcher out of this.

“I see. A pity about old Sergeant Metzenberg. I knew him from school. I never liked him but he was good at his job. Shot with a bow and arrow according to the records. Probably one of the local tribes. The Skorpion will soak their sands red for that.The whole town's been talking about it. The unicorn appears, out of the storybooks and now here in the Third Reich. A sign perhaps. If there is a master race of the animal kingdom, I can't think of a better choice.” The officer took another sip suddenly, as a lower ranked SS soldier came in.

“Kommandant, you are needed at the HQ.” The soldier reported.

“Can this not wait? I am enjoying my coffee.” He took another sip.

“I’m afraid not, Kommandant. Your presence is needed at the HQ immediately.”

“Affirmative. On my way.” The Kommandant replied, finishing his coffee as the other SS soldier left.

The officer then walked out too.

As Fletcher finished his coffee, he didn’t notice how his bow got loose, falling to the ground with a loud thud and getting the officer’s attention.

He turned around, seeing the bow. “Oh my god…” He inspected the bow, before looking at the unicorn. “Oh my god, it’s you…It’s you!” The officer attempted panic-stricken to draw his gun, but Fletcher quickly lit up his horn to defend himself before Tim hit the SS soldier with abaking sheet on the head, knocking him out.

“Thank you.” Fletcher said, casting a spell on the knocked out man, since nobody was outside that could see it.

To the bakers’ surprise, the officer woke up and stood up, grabbing his cap as Fletcher spoke, “This is not the unicorn you're looking for.”

“This is not the unicorn I’m looking for.” The officer repeated in a neutral voice, like he washypnotized.

“It's a prank from the soldiers. You know unicorns aren't real.”

“It's a prank from the soldiers. I know unicorns aren't real.”

“You're going to forget this ever happened and move along.”

“I'm going to forget this ever happened and move along...yes...that sounds sensible.” The officer left, having completely forgotten what had just happened.

The ponysat down, rubbing his forehead with a hoof and breathing slowly, then smirked. “Mind trick spell. Useful to get out of trouble or avoid it.”

“Nice one. That was the local SS Kommandant, he caused me trouble sometimes but now, I don’t think he ever will make me problems.”

“Your welcome, Willi. I’m curious, who is that Scorpion he mentioned?” Fletcher asked as he made sure that his bow was secured this time.

“Oh yeah, him. Axel Zornhauff. He's trash, even by SS standards. Word is, Zornhauff and Rommel used to be academy rivals. But Zornhauff never made it big. So, when Hitler started handing out fame and glory to anyone who'll kiss his backside, guess who jumped at the chance. Now he's placed in Africa to keep an eye on us. He's a wanna-be. A fraud. Just because he's SS, he thinks he's equal to Rommel but he's just a Sturmbannführer, technically not much higher than a Major. He has this scar across his cheek and he likes people to think he got it in battle. He got it a bordello and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. And when Rommel got the name 'Desert Fox', Zornhauff needed a name as well. So he started calling himself the 'Scorpion'. Pathetic, clownish pretender, nothing more. Of course, his men worship him but only one in ten of them have the wits God gave a sheep. But he has the Fuhrer's ear so while Rommel does the work, he tries taking the glory. That's if he finds anyone who believes him. The leader of the SS squad you took out was his confidant. Can’t tell how glad we are you took care of him.”

“I see, he’d better be on his guard when I get back to North Africa. By the way, has Konrad something planned for today?”

“Well, while you were talking with the minister, I, Hans and he agreed to meet each other at the gun club today to practice; would you like to come too? I can drive you there,” Willi offered.

“Sure, why not.” The pony replied after finishing his pretzel.

And so, Willi and Fletcher got into the car, driving to the gun club of the town, hearing some gunshots from inside as they arrived.

The Eternal Knight stepped out of the car only to be greeted by three very happy children. “Fletcher!” They exclaimed, hugging him.

Fray smiled at Dinky, Katja, and Blau Streifen. “Glad to see you, too. Where are the others?”

“Inside. Follow us!” Dinky hopped ahead, followed by the siblings, Willi and Fletcher, seeing how Konrad and Hans were shooting air guns on targets, wearing earflaps.

They took them off to greet their 2 friends. “Hello, glad you could come. Want to try too?” Konrad asked.

Willi grinned. “With pleasure!”

“Thanks, I’ll pass.” The Knight replied, not interested at the moment. Instead he, along with Kerstin, watched the children play outside in the grass where the shooting range for Archers was. It pleased him to see them so happy; it reminded him of when he was a colt.

“You seem to enjoy their company.” The woman noticed, smiling as he leaned against the wall, watching her children.

“Yes I do. It warms my heart to see them so happy.” He replied, smiling too.

“I think you would make a good father, despite the things you went through.”

Fletcher never expected that someone would say something like that to him. “You…really think so?”

“Yes. The way you care for Dinky and her two friends, just like a father. I can tell.” The mother sounded proud of him.

Looking down to the ground, feeling embarrassed, Fletcher said, “Thanks.”

The children stopped to play as a Kübelwagen stopped in the parking lot as two men stepped out. The passenger was wearing a black suit with matching hat and red tie, having brown hair and eyes, while the other one was wearing the same suit and hat. Konrad, having blond hair and blue eyes, Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen noticed that he looked very similar to the pilot and medic on the group photos.

Escher just finished his practice as a new voice greeted his ears. “Konrad, nice to see you, how are you doing?”

Turning around, he saw 2 old friends. Jessie Günther and Frank Lange, also members of the Africa Corps like he was.

“I’m doing good, what about you?” He asked Jessie, who was a Stuka pilot in the Africa Corps and a loving husband, also a veteran of the Great War, visible by the Iron cross with the date 1914 on it, having also the current iron cross on his suit, having earned it in the battle of Britain. As far as Escher knew, Jessie was actually a German-American born in Texas in the USA but immigrated to Germany where he fought as a medic and as a Sniper due his excellent marksmanship. He was named after a Cowboy named Jesse James. Most people nicknamed Günther as James. Konrad had also heard once that James suffered an accident with Poison Gas, but how he survived it was a mystery to him.

“I’m doing well too. How are your wife and children?” James asked in return.

“Fine, how’s your wife?”

“My wife? She’s doing her job in the hospital, working tirelessly to treat the patients.” His wife was a nurse. “How’s the business, Willi?”

“It’s going well as can be. Frank how are your wife and daughter?” Frank had been along with the men who got awarded with the iron cross, being a husband and father of a young daughter, being in theresupply troops of the Africa Corps.

“They’re fine.” Lange replied.

Due their roles in the military, Konrad, Hans and Willi doubted that James and Frank had heard of the Green Knight.

“I hope your marksmanship hasn’t gone rusty from being a pilot.” Hans said.

James smirked. “Watch this.” The children and Fletcher watched from the outside, seeing how James drew an odd looking pistol, a Mauser M712, firing at several targets with great accuracy. The recoil was no problem for him, firing short controlled bursts. Then he blew the smoke of the barrel, spinning his pistol before holstering it. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yes.” Hans replied, being impressed.

“Want to join us for some target practice, Frank?” Willi asked, only for him to shake his head.

“No thanks, once my leave is over I get transferred to the Eastern front, so I want to spend time with my family.”

“Okay, enjoy it. Give your family our regards, Frank.”

“Of course. See you later.”

“Bye!” Konrad, Willi and Hans called out as their friends left.

Katja, her brother and Dinky were also impressed, James had some things in common with Fletcher, and it made them wonder if he could be a human counterpart to Fletcher.

“Excuse me?” the voice of a young man tore them out, turning around.

The man was carrying a bow in his hand. “Care to put your skills to the test, good sir. I find so few challengers in this particular field.” He asked Fletcher, friendly.

Being a bit taken back by being asked that question, the archer hesitated. “Uh, sure.”

“Thank you.” The man prepared his bow, firing an arrow on the target that wasfurthest away, scoring a hit on the red area. “Think you can beat that?” He showed off with a grin.

Fletcher just sat down, grabbing his bow with an unimpressed expression and fired a shot, his arrow landed directly in the middle of the yellow area.

The young archer dropped his jaw in disbelief. “I can’t believe this!”

“Can you beat that?” Fletcher asked in return, smiling.

The man shook his head and left, muttering something they couldn’t understand.

“Nice shot, Fletcher.” Konrad joined with Willi and Hans. If you’re wondering, this guy was the best archer in the gun club, often showing off, although I don’t know his name. Nice to see you beat him.”

“What can I say, I’m one of the best archers in Equestria, runs in the family.” The unicorn replied proudly.

“I knew I'd find you here. You always loved this place...ever since you were a young boy.” A new voice caused everyone to turn around, seeing an elderly man with green eyes and grey hair, having the same cross from 1914 as James on his clothes.

“Dad!” Konrad exclaimed surprised, not expecting to see his father.

“I heard of your award, so I thought I should congratulate you on it. I’m also very proud of you, Konrad.”

“Grandpa!” Nico and Anny hugged Konrad’s father with smiles.

“Glad to see you too, children.” The elderly human replied with a smile.

“Where is mother?” The young man wanted to know.

“I’m afraid she couldn’t come but sends her regards. Who are your new friends?” His father asked upon noticing Fletcher, Dinky, Blau Streifen and Katja.

Taking a deep breath, the North Africa veteran said, “It’s a long story. Please, keep this a secret.”

While the former soldier wondered why, he listened with patience to what his son told him, Fletcher and the 3 children confirmed it.

The grandfather stayed quiet for a few minutes, trying to process everything. “Well my son, sounds like I have one more reason to be proud of you. You did the right thing. Sorry to hear what happened to you, children.” He turned to the Eternal Knight. “Heh...Old soldiers, eh? I reckon you've a tale or two to keep the kids quiet.” He joked.

“Yeah, I do have some stories.” Fletcher had respect for the veteran.

“I can tell that you’re a good soldier, like my son is. You seem at home in that armor. Wear it with pride.”

“Thank you sir, and I will.”

Before Konrad’s father left, he said, “It’s always nice for me to meet another veteran.”

As the day was still young, the family enjoyed the warm sun, spending the day mostly outside until it was evening.

After dinner, Fletcher spoke with the family. “I don’t know if I can return to Germany once I took care of the interference. If I can’t go back, I will cast a portal spell, so they can reach me and I can bring them home, so don’t be surprised if a portal suddenly appears in your house.”

“I understand. That way, we can also say goodbye to Dinky and her 2 friends.”

“Yes, Kerstin, that was exactly my thought. Are you okay with that?” Fray asked Nico and Anny.

“I think that’s a good idea, Fletcher.” Dinky smiled at him.

“Us too!” Her friends said happily in union.

“Glad to hear it.” It pleased him every time to see them happy.

As the children brushed their teeth to get ready for bed, Konrad took his suit on. “Do you have plans to spend the evening somewhere?” The stallion asked, not expecting him to go out so late.

“Well, I, Willi and Hans wanted to go to the local tavern to enjoy ourselves. And guess what, it’s in your name.”

“What? You make that for me? Why?” Fletcher was quite surprised about that. Why would they do something like this for him?

“Because if you hadn’t saved me too from the crashing bomber, I wouldn’t be standing here now. I owe you something. And we all think, given how hard you work to keep them safe and bring them home, you should enjoy yourself too.”

The stallion blinked, trying to understand. “I guess that makes sense.”

Before they could go, faint crying could be heard from the guest room. Fletcher took a look, opening the door. “Children, are you ok? I thought I heard crying.” Fletcher asked concerned, noticing how they had their heads buried into the pillows.

Dinky slowly raised her head, not looking at him. “We’re…f…fine, Fletcher.” Her voice sounded very sad, close to breaking down, betraying her attempt not to show it.

Fletcher could tell what was wrong. “You can talk with me about it.”

The 3 friends looked up, their eyes were filled with tears. “We miss them!” Katja exclaimed, being homesick.

The Archer knew how hard it could be, suffering the same feeling after having lost his parents and home. Fray wasn’t the best at comforting but they needed somepony.

Using his magic, he levitated them up, causing them to laugh as he moved them to him for a group hug. “I know your feeling and how hard it can be. I met many foals in my childhood but no foal was as nice and friendly as you are. It may take some time, but I promise I will get you home, no matter how long it takes.”

The 3 children sniffed, before returning the hug with light smiles. “Thank you!”

“Now that’s better. Catch some sleep now, it’s late.” He said with a smile of his own.

“Yes, Fletcher.” They replied, climbing back into their beds, falling quickly asleep.

Kerstin had watched everything, smiling proudly at him. “You would make a great father, I just know it. And I think I might have an idea how to help them against homesickness.”

“Something tells me it will be quite a surprise for me, too.” Fray mumbled as he got outside with Konrad.

The full moon was a beautiful sight as they walked to the bar, Fletcher enjoying the view until the bar was in sight, a beer mug with the word “Techtel” was on the roof.

In the moment Konrad opened the door, Fletcher saw Willi and Hans along many other soldiers; he recognized most from his stay in the Halfaya Pass and Tobruk, they were all happy to see him.

“Glad you could come, Fletcher. What would you like to drink?” Willi asked as the stallion sat down at the counter with Konrad.

“One alcohol-free beer, please.”

The barkeeper gave him one. “Guess you want to be a role model for the children, right?”

“Yeah.” The unicorn took a sip, enjoying it, it tasted exactly like the beer in Farmany. The soldiers chatted to each other or played cards, while one soldier played a piano.

I am not going to question the value of their activity.

They even chatted with him, treating him with respect, like he was one of them.

While never being so much social before, he understood that they wanted him to enjoy himself and for some reason, he did.

“To Fletcher Fray, the Green Knight!” Escher raised his mug, speaking a toast on him, the others raised their mugs too.

Hans gave the piano player a tip. “Yeah, I know that one.” He practiced before playing.

Everybody, even Fletcher starting to sing, he felt a joy he hadn’t felt in a long time, it reminded him of the old time of celebrating with his friends back then.

They had so much fun until they went home, but Fletcher had lost track of time, maybe it was midnight or even past it, he couldn’t tell. “And, did you enjoy yourself?” The German asked him, hoping he did.

With a smile the pony exclaimed happily, “you bet!”

As home was insight, the two could see that the light in the living room was still on.

Kerstin was reading a book as her husband and their guest came back. “Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed the party.”

“Of course we did.” The unicorn replied.

“Ah, before I forget it, there is something you both should see.” She pointed to the fridge in the kitchen.

Two drawings were hung on it. The first showed Dinky’s family: her Pegasus mother Derpy with her grey coat, yellow eyes and blonde mane, her Earth pony father, having a brown coat, with a dark brown mane and blue eyes, and her two sisters. Sparkler had a magenta coat with violet eyes and matching mane. Tootsie had a baby-blue coat, a lavender mane, and purple eyes. Under them were the words “I miss you.”

The other drawing showed Katja’s and Blau Streifen’s parents and their grandmother. Their mother Ruby had a grey coat, yellow eyes, anda light blonde mane with lighter orange highlights. Their father had brown hair and blue eyes, looking very similar to a good friend Konrad had once met at the Olympics in 1936. Ruby’s mother Mitta had a light grey coat, red eyes and a dark red mane. The words “We miss you” were written under them.

“They are very well drawn draw by them.” Konrad’ commented, liking it.

“Indeed, made from the heart.” Fletcher replied before they headed to bed.

In the next morning after breakfast Kerstin saw this as a good moment to show her guests what she had made for them. “Dinky, Blau, Katja, I have a little surprise for you. Close your eyes. Applies also for you, Fletcher.” The kids did as they were told. Fletcher wondered why but also closed his eyes.

The woman walked out of the room, coming back after a few minutes. “Open your eyes.”

The 3 children were very happy when they saw the surprise. 3 plushies looking like a pony with green coat, blond mane and blue eyes, with a crescent on the right flank and a small horn on the head. They resembled Fletcher. “Thank you! They exclaimed in joy, hugging the woman.

“Glad to hear that you like them. I hope you won’t mind, Fletcher.”

He waved a hoof. “Not at all.” While he was okay with it, knowing that this could help them against homesickness, he thought, Oh, the second Wolf sees this I'll never hear the end of it.

“I thought it could help you 3 against homesickness after I saw your pictures.” Kerstin explained, pointing to the drawings.

Dinky let out a sigh. “I just miss them so much.”

“Yes.” The young colt added, looking to the ground, his sister too.

Nico and Anny looked at each other, nodding before approaching her three friends without saying a word. The girl started to tickle Blau Streifen, her brother tickled Dinky, and both ponies broke out in uncontrollable laugher, their pleads to stop where unheard. Fearing she might have the same torture, Katja backed slowly up before the sound of magic reached her ears, stopping her dead in her tracks, seeing Fletcher having a mischievous grin. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She was at his mercy as he removed her shoes and socks, placing her gently on the ground, then the young woman started tickling her feet, causing the girl to break out in laughter too, unable to beg for mercy.

The tickle torture went on for several minutes before the 3 friends were granted mercy, trying to catch their breath. “Always works when you need to cheer someone up.” Konrad commented with a smirk.

After having caught their breath, Dinky looked at her 2 two friends, then at Fletcher with amischievous grin. It took him a few seconds to understand what the kids had in mind.

Uh-Oh.

He took a step back but Blau Streifen rammed into him, throwing him to the ground and pinning him down, while the other children gathered around him, tickling his hooves and chest.

“HAHAHAHAHA!!! PL-PL-PLEASE!!! STOP!!!” He begged at their mercy, unable to contain his laughter.

It went on for several minutes before they stopped, letting him catch his breath.

“There’s nothing better to start the morning than a good laugh.” Konrad joked, smiling.

The day was quiet. Fletcher and the 3 children helped out in the house as well as they could to reciprocate the Escher’s hospitality.

At noon, Dinky and her two friends were drawing something. “Look Fletcher, we drew you!” The filly exclaimed proudly, the picture showed him smiling with his bow by his side, the words 'I'm here to Help.’ and Fletcher is awesome!’ were written under it.

The stallion smiled. “That looks very nice, children.”

“Glad to hear you like it.” Blau Streifen was happy to hear this from him.

In the evening, Konrad looked at the calendar. “It is already that time again?”

“What time, Konrad?” Dinky was curious.

“The wine festival of Volkach. It’s held every year on the second Friday of August until 15^th August. I go there every year with my family, would you like to go with us?”

The filly grinned. “I would love too! What about you?” She asked her 2 friends with glee.

“Count us in!” They replied together before looking with Dinky at Fletcher.

He just shrugged. “I don’t mind coming with you.” Yet, his voice had a small hint of eagerness for it.

“Nice.” The German smiled.

The family led Fletcher, Dinky, Katja and Blau Streifen to the marketplace, the music could be heard in the distance as they walked to it.

Once arriving, the eyes of the three children went wide. There was a stage for a band playing music, several stands selling food and drinks scattered around and benches for the visitors.

“Reminds me when my parents took me to the wine festivals in Farmany when I was a colt.” The Eternal Knight smiled at the memories.

After having found a free bench, the children ate pretzels, while the adults took salad for dinner, enjoying the music.

Konrad’s father, Willi, and Hans joined them. “Good evening.” The WW1 veteran greeted.

“Hello again, nice that you could join us.” Fletcher was happy to see them.

“The pleasure is all mine. If you don’t mind me asking, what is the symbol of the Eternal Knights?”

“A silver Harvest Moon in front of a platinum white point with a black border. Why do you want to know?”

“Just out of curiosity. A silver moon…” The elderly man tipped his forehead.

“Is something wrong?” Fletcher asked, confused by this action.

“It’s nothing. I was part of an excavation back in the Great War and we found remains of Knights from the Crusaders, the symbol on their armor was very similar to yours.” The veteran explained.

“Really?” Fletcher was bewildered.

“I can’t remember exactly, it’s been so long. Maybe I remember it wrong.”

“Could be.” Still it made the unicorn wondering if those Knights could have been a counterpart of the Eternal Knights.

Blau Streifen looked at the stars. “The music really suits this beautiful night, don’t you think, Dinky?”

“Yes it does. That reminds me when I had fun with my friend Pipsqueak, always knowing a way to make me happy. Little guy but a big heart.” She mumbled.

At this moment, the world seemed to stop for the young stallion, his hopes of getting close to Dinky was crushed, hearing she had already a colt friend. Yet, he had to be strong, like his father.

I’m a big colt, I can handle it!

Taking a deep breath, he mumbled, “It was worth a try in any case.” His sister smiled proudly at him.

“But that doesn't mean you're no good friend Blau. In fact, you remind me of him, being like him.” Dinky kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush.

“R-really?” It had caught him completely off guard.

With a warm smile, the unicorn filly replied, “Yeah, you're a great friend and that means a lot to me. Now come, dance with me.” She grabbed him by his hoof.

“W-wa-wait!” He exclaimed as the filly dragged him away to dance with him.

After a few moments of gathering himself, nervous about it, he danced together with her, enjoying it, Katja looked happy at him.

“May I have this dance?” Nico asked politely.

And so, the children danced together, Fletcher, Kerstin, Konrad, Willi, and Hans joined shortly after, enjoying every second of it. Due to his age, the veteran of the Great War watched them with a smile.

Later in the evening, Nico and Anny enjoyed cotton candy, while the 3 ponies and Katja enjoyed apples covered with chocolate.

“If I may ask Dinky, who is Pipsqueak?” Blau Streifen asked her.

“Well...I have a lot of friends but...” The unicorn shifted nervously, trying to find the right words. “You know you spend a long time worrying if you'll lose your friends if you mess up...But then you meet somepony who you know will never stop being your friend? That's what Pipsqueak's like. He's a pinto colt from Trottingham but he goes to Ms. Cheerilee's in Ponyville. He's like me, came out really small, still is actually. And he's really cute. Every time I smile at him, his cheeks turn really pink and he kind of babbles right until the school bell rings. I think you two would make very pretty good friends.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, he’s kinda like you actually, Blau, being a good friend.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Back home, Fletcher yawned, since the festival had cost him a lot of energy. “I haven’t had so much fun in a long time. “Goodnight, everyone.” He climbed on the couch, falling asleep immediately.

Katja grabbed a blanket which her brother and Dinky put over him. “Sweet dreams.”

Then they went to their beds, hugging their new plushies as they fell asleep.

---

“Fletcher, wake up, we’re almost there.” Midnight’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Hm? Ah sorry, I dozed off for a moment.” He replied upon waking up, finding himself in a carriage with the bat pony and White Wolf, dressed in dark blue coats with hoods.

“It’s okay, just stay sharp. Here it is – the Ponysec arena. This DJ Pon-3 is the biggest show it’s seen. Let’s make sure it goes down in history.” The carriage stopped in front of a huge arena, it was very impressive. They stepped out.

“If we can get through this quietly, we should be able to just melt away with the crowd.” Midnight said over the radio as they moved towards the lower levels where the supply closets were located. They masked up behind a wall by putting the hoods up. A unicorn wearing avest with SECURITY written on the back walked past, belonging to a security company instead of the royal guards.

“Okay, we need to find the supply closets marked with a red X. That’s where the C4 is.” The bat pony explained as they moved towards it, avoiding guards along the way.

“Okay, Fletcher, you look here, I and Wolf look on the upper levels.”

“You got it.”

Avoiding a patrolling guard, Fletcher looked around, seeing two closets next to each other, both market with a red cross. My lucky day. He lock picked the first door, searching the cartons for the explosives. After having found it, he waited until the guard passed again, before doing the same with the other closet.

“I found them, what’s your status?” He asked Wolf and Blade over the radio.

“We found the explosives too. Get down to the garage. Our Inside pony has marked up where the C4 must be placed.” The stallion replied.

Getting down to it, he saw that the mare had already taken care of the 2 guards down there, waiting for his friends.

It took only 30 seconds for them to arrive. Midnight pointed to a camera overlooking most of the garage. “See that camera over there? Loop it, so we can get to work.” The unicorn casted a looping spell on it, so his comrades could place the C4.

“Now, to mask the explosions, we need to time the concert pyros. Get up to the booth and patch me in. We wait here to collect the money after it.”

“Roger, Midnight.”

The only way to it was through the public areas containingstore-fronts that led also into the backstage areas but due to his experience, he could easily get to it without being spotted.

Unfortunately, there was a guard blocking the entrance to the pyrotechnics booth, so Fletcher had no other choice but to take him out, firing a silent arrow at the guard, then hiding the body in a dark corner before getting in.

The pyro technician held his hoof in surrender, trembling as he spotted the masked unicorn. “Down, I don’t want to kill you.” The scared pony obeyed, Fletcher tied his hooves before hacking into the console.

“The crowd is heaving tonight. Let’s give them a great show. I’ll guide you through, and time it with the C4.” Midnight informed as the hack was in progress.

“Answer the intercom.” The DJ’s voice sounded through it, Fletcher answered it. “Alright, let’s do this!”

Midnight told Fletcher which of the 3 buttons he had to press, the show was very impressive, showing a flaming Alicorn. Fletcher couldn’t help himself but to dance to the music, bopping his head as he pressed the buttons when told to do so. “DJ Fray is in the house!”

The ground rumbled, making the Unicorn know the first explosion happened. “That was outstanding!” Vinyl Scratch liked the show.

Then the second part started, same steps, DJ Pon-3 cheered, “Great work! Those foals are gonna remember this as the greatest night of their lives.”

After the last scene and explosion, the crowd cheered. “And *that* is how you put on a great show. Great work!” The mare praised after it was over, and the stallion made his way to the basement.

“Money, money, money! Lots of money! In a rich mare's world!” Wolf sang over the radio as she and Midnight got the cutters to work.

After the cutters were done, two plastic-wrapped blocks of cash fell from every hole, making 18 in total. “That chute there can transport the loot to the back rooms of…Capitol Hill Candy!” the bat pony explained as all 3 filled the bags, throwing them into said chute, then moved to adesignated closet, where they could throw in the bags into the overhead vent in order to secure it. Fletcher opened the end of the chute, causing all bags to spill out of it.

Piece of-

“Freeze!” The yell of a guard tore him out before a knife landed between the guard’s eyes.

“Nice throw, Wolf. Once all bags are in, we let our inside pony know when we’re ready to de-mask. He’ll move the loot.” Midnight threw a bag into the vent.

After all bags were secured, Fletcher took the call from the panel outside the door, to let the inside pony know they were leaving and stepped inside the closet to de-mask.

“Okay, blend in with the crowd and we won’t have any issues. The carriage is waiting outside.” Midnight said as they walked out. Lines had formed around merchandise stands that belonged to different companies and guards had formed walls, forcing the Knights to navigate around it to get to the exit, which was no problem.

“Great work, my friends, great work!” Midnight cheered after they had made it.

---

Dinky woke up in the morning as the sun shined on her, she yawned and stretched herself, seeing the siblings were still asleep, cuddling their plushies.

Getting up, walking towards the kitchen for breakfast, she saw Fletcher sleeping peacefully on the couch. It was 9AM, so she decided to wake him up by gently shaking his shoulder. “Fletcher, time to wake up.”

The older unicorn turned his back to her. “No mother, five more minutes…” He mumbled in his sleep.

She shook him harder, causing him to slowly open his eyes. “Oh...right...Morning, Dinky...” His voice was still sleepy as he got up.

“Morning, Fletcher.” She replied as they walked into the kitchen, the others joined them shortly, greeting them.

After breakfast, the phone rang, and Konrad answered it, letting his guests wonder who was the caller.

“Good news! That was Linus. His recovery is going well and he should be able to leave the hospital soon. My friend asked if we would like to visit him in the hospital in Berlin.”

“I wouldn’t mind that, he must feel pretty lonely in the hospital. Plus we should wish him a good recovery.” Dinky suggested.

“Agreed!” Katja and Blau exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t mind it too, but as Berlin is the capital of Germany, wouldn’t that be too dangerous?” Fletcher had doubts about it.

“Well, he told me that he would like to see you again and as nobody has bothered us here, I don’t think they would attempt to do this in Berlin.”

“I guess you have a point.” The Knight replied in defeat.

They took the next train to Berlin, it was a long ride, taking several hours, arriving at noon in the capital of Germany, Willi and Hans joined them.

Dinky, Blau Streifen and Katja looked in awe at the buildings, the city was very busy, not as quiet as Volkach was, as they followed Konrad to the hospital.

At the reception desk, the young man asked, “Excuse me, in which room is Linus Fischer?”

The young woman replied, “Room 115, sir.”

“Thank you.”

The group took the stairs, looking at the doors until they saw the door labeled 115, Escher knocked on the door. “Come in.”

Inside was the young officer, lying on a white bed in a white room, his leg still bandaged. He smiled. “Glad that you could come.”

“Nice to see you too. How are you?” The private asked.

“Apart from literally having to pass the time by staring at the ceiling, I'm good. From time to time, I’m allowed to get outside but that’s it. But as comfort, I got awarded with the Wound Badge.” He pointed to it, it was a highly innovative pin badge. The edges of the front side showed a laurel wreath on both sides, which is united at the center with a loop. In the middle of the front, on the model of the wounded badge of 1918, a stylized steel helmet of the German Wehrmacht was placed, resting on a pair of crossed swords in the background, worn on the lower left breast of the uniform, being black in color.

“It pleases us to hear that you are better.” Dinky said to him.

“Well, I should be out in a few days. What did you experience so far?”

“A lot of fun!” The three children exclaimed, telling him what how much fun they had in the last days, warming his heart.

“Glad to hear how much fun you had with him and his family. Pity I couldn’t join. Kerstin, you and your children haven’t changed a bit.” He said, happy to see them too.

“You haven’t changed, either.” The woman replied.

They all chatted happily for a few hours before the visiting hours were over and they had to go, the sun slowly going down, as it became evening.

Fletcher just walked with Konrad out first as the sound of server engines sounded in their ears, seeing a convoy of armed motorcycles escorting a black limousine.

It was the same car the Führer was known to use and to their surprise…the Führer was sitting in the backseat, alive and well.

Konrad stood frozen in place, shocked to see the Führer was alive, he had seen him dying in Africa. It can’t be! Unless…this is a double or the Führer in Africa was a double.

His brain was a storm of information; the news would never mention that the Führer died for the sake of the war and morale but he couldn’t be sure if this was the real Führer or just another double.

Even Fletcher’s brain tried to get up with an explanation, as the car stopped in front of the hospital, a soldier opened the door for the Führer and he stepped out.

He saw Fletcher and asked, confused, “Do I see this right, a unicorn?”

Kerstin stayed with the children inside to avoid trouble, they all looked out worried.

“Apologies, mein Führer...that's my horse...Wagner.” Konrad quickly came up with an explanation.

“...Your horse?” The leader couldn’t believe what he just heard.

”Yes, sir.”

“...Why is he green?” The Führer wanted to know.

“Well...you see...he's...dressed up in celebration for our victory in Africa. Haven't you heard? Those are the colors of the Green Knight, the Guardian of El Alamein. So we dress up our horses in his colors. Isn't that right, Wagner?”

The Eternal Knight quickly understood what Konrad was trying to do and played along, neighing in response. Neighing was a rare sight in Equestria, mostly as a form of battle cry.

“I…see. Carry on, soldier.”

“Yes, sir!” The private saluted as the Führer went into the hospital, seeming not to notice Kerstin and the five children as he walked past them, they used his cluelessness to get out of the building.

Upon having reached some distance from the hospital, the green pony let out a sigh of relief. “I literally cannot believe that worked!”

“Well, he isn’t the smartest. Look at the battle of Moskau and how it went, thanks to him.”

“Makes sense. Wagner?” Fray asked irritated.

“Reckon I had to say something, couldn’t think of anything better at the moment. Could you think of anything better?” the young man asked in return.

Fray thought for a moment. “Probably not.”

“We can consider ourselves lucky that this worked at all.” Katja commented, having been afraid what could have happened if it had failed.

“Yeah.” Dinky replied, being relieved too as they walked back to the train station, not wanting to miss the train, as the sun was almost down. Dinky saw a very large building made out of concrete, looking like a fortress. “Wow! What is that?” She asked in awe.

“That? It’s a-“

Suddenly, the street lights went out, large spotlights illuminated the sky, sirens sounded. “What’s going on?” the filly asked, scared, as explosions illuminated the sky as well.

“Air raid. Quick, follow me!” They followed him and the other soldiers to the fortress-looking building, seeing other civilians entering it as well as they got there. The soldiers and the woman led the kids and Fletcher to one of the many accommodations.

“Just in time. Now, this is a flak tower, Dinky.”

“Flak tower?” She asked confused.

“Yes. Hitler loses a battle, he bombs London. Churchill loses a battle, he bombs Berlin. Now they sit back in their hiding-spots, watching their own cities burn, and seeing who wears out first. This is what war has turned into, making a vicious circle out of it. To protect the civilians in Berlin, the flak towers got built, offering protection from air raids having their own electricity and water supply. With walls and ceilings made of reinforced concrete up to 3.5 m thick, and several heavy AA guns, these flak towers are some of the safest places in Berlin and an engineering art.”

“Did…did your town get bombed?” Katja asked.

“No, Volkach hasn’t any war important industry as Dresden or Hamburg have.” Funny how things can turn out. Goebbels said once: ‘If ever a bomb falls on Berlin, you may call me Maier.’ And you see what happened.”

Blau Streifen snickered. “Bad for him, not that I feel sorry, since it was his own fault.”

“Yeah. I suggest you catch some sleep, it will be a long night. Tomorrow we go home, provided the train station still stands.”

“Okay.” The children yawned, climbing into the beds, falling asleep quickly.

“I think I’ll catch some fresh air; do you want to join me?” Konrad asked Fletcher who just nodded while Kerstin, Hans, and Willi watched over the kids.

They walked to the room, past the radio room. “Bomber coming from the west. Redirect all guns.” The commanding officer ordered.

The loud shots from the AA guns were deafening, but Fletcher and Konrad were used to it. The German walked up to a railing, leaning on it, looking into the city. Parts of Berlin were burning, some bombers got shot down, crashing into the woods. “If it continues that way, nothing but ruins will be left of Berlin.”

Fletcher sighed. “Yes. That reminds me of Mondelin. The city got completely destroyed, burning to the ground, nothing left but ruins. But I must say the construction of the flak towers is very impressive. Yet, I doubt if we have had something like those towers, that Mondelin could have been saved.”

The city still had some beauty combined with the night. “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. Swarms of troopers storming Paris, the power of the Blitzkrieg…a beach made fortress. The beauty of the war machine has subtle power.”

“Yes, it has, I have also seen many things in the wars that could be seen as beauty of the war machine.”

In the morning they could leave, seeing the destruction: houses partially or completely destroyed, rubble blocking streets, but luckily for the kids’ sake the bodies had been already brought away of those who had died, with helpers and firefighters worked tirelessly to clean everything up.

“Oh my…” Dinky couldn’t believe it.

“That is what we get for killing civilians, our punishment for Birmingham, Liverpool and London.” Konrad patted her as they walked through the city, even Fletcher was uncomfortable at the sight.

To their surprise, the train station was completely undamaged and the train home ready for departing. Upon getting in, Katja asked, “How long do you think will it take until the Führer realizes that you were lying to him about Fletcher?”

He thought for a moment. “I dunno but sooner or later he will figure out.”

Meanwhile in Berlin

“I didn't know Berlin had its own Mounted Division.” The Führer said to Goebbels who replied dismally,

“Nobody ever tells me anything.”

Time passed, Katja, Blau Streifen and Dinky enjoyed it in Volkach, it reminded them of their hometowns, quiet and peaceful. The plushies helped well against homesickness, and Nico and Anny made sure they were comfortable and Linus, along with Hans and Willi, came regularly to visit, while even Fletcher enjoyed his time in the German Town.

In October Konrad’s leave was over so he had to go back to Africa with his squad mates, and Fletcher joined them to take care of the interference. At the train station, Konrad’s children gave him a final hug. “Be careful, daddy!”

“I will, children.”

Dinky and her two friends said goodbye to Fletcher. “We will miss you! Be careful!”

“I will too and careful is my middle name.” He replied before he and the others got on the train.

“This time, we will use a plane. Have you been in a plane before?” Linus asked, wanting to be sure should the Green Knight be afraid of heights.

“Well, I’m a proud owner of an airship, does that count?”

The officer thought about it. “Kinda. I hope you enjoy the flight.”

At the airport, the transport plane was fueled and ready to go, its propellers spinning.

The group walked past a radio as it suddenly came to life. “*static*...examination results showed extreme damage to the...*static*...repeated suicide attempts over a long period of...*static*...function significantly impaired...*static*...ect regained consciousness during the...*static*...ject showed massive resistance to death...*static*...help us all. *static*”

What in the?” The radio operator wondered as he checked the radio but found nothing. “I guess it was a small malfunction, or someone did a prank.”

Fletcher however stopped in surprise. “That… I think I have heard it before but I can’t remember where.”

“I guess it’s nothing important.” Hans shrugged as they got into the plane, Fletcher followed while lost in thought, trying to remember why that was so familiar.

“I heard this transmission before but…where?”

Author's Note:

Even a Eternal Knights needs to have a good R&R to be effective in the next mission. My longest chapter of this story, hope it was worth the wait.

Comments

[Purple Patch]

Looks pretty good so far.

Biggest advice is to paragraph it properly. It helps show pauses or shifts in the scene.
Also, I'd have Hitler question Goebbels about the 'Mounted Division' after they get away, otherwise too much time's passed and the audience feels a bit thrown-off.

And during the festival, I'd have the foals enjoying themselves at first with the music and colours but then when the soldiers and war propaganda starts playing, they stop and just feel...confused.
I mean, in Equestria, the idea of glorifying war seems almost alien.

“However they managed to pull this off, the one responsible for this will hear from me.” Fletcher’s voice was slightly disgusted and had a hint of anger.
“Well, I think it must be the local Propaganda minister; he’s in charge of everything regarding propaganda here. He is mostly seen in the town hall.” Kerstin pointed out.

I'd cut this. Just have Fletcher give an angry look and go "I'll be right back."
More humorous.

Also, try using bold and italics more in dialogue. Emphasis on words is a useful tool.

[Bronycommander]

8950077
Glad to hear you like it. The Propaganda, somehow Fletcher needs to know who he needs to talk to and where he is than blindly going. And while your festival idea sounds good, I justed wanted them to have a good time without any interrruption frokm the war and such, they earned it.

Do you liked any scene in particular? My favorite write was Fray's intereaction wth the kids by cheering them up and the festival with Dinky and Blau. The latter is supposed to show that she sees him as friend in the same way as she does Pip.

[Purple Patch]

8950103
Yeah but he's a pretty decent tracker in any case and he's following the signs. It wouldn't be too hard for him.
He could just ask.
Where's the guy who makes this?

I did quite like the scene where he's duping the SS officer.
And the radio transmission. Pretty mysterious.

[Bronycommander]

8950109
Glad to hear it. I hope you liked his interaction with the children too. I really could imagine that Dinky would also drag Pip away if she wants to have a dance with him.

[Purple Patch]

8950115
Yeah, I can imagine.

[Bronycommander]

8950139
Yeah. And the division, Geobles wasn't with the Führer when he visited the hospital, so the day after the bombing looked most suiting for me. Overall, Fray is for me the knight that could disguise himself as normal horse, with pretending the horn is just decoration. Wolf and Midnight would be harder to disguise due their fangs and how would you give a normal horse MIdnight's eyes?

[Purple Patch]

8950146
I'd have Goebbels with the Fuhrer though.
He was kind of always skulking behind him. At least that's the image he has in a lot of media.

Wolf and Midnight are experts at hiding from sight altogether so that probably wouldn't be an issue.
And if not, Wolf knows a sure-fire way to make others forget all memory of seeing them.
...
A solid hoof to the face.
It's simple but effective.

[Bronycommander]

8950158
I see. Still, punching the Führer would be a deathwish, plus, Fray was too surprised to get out of sight in time. His apperence is most suiting for a normal horse, the trick could be hard to be believed with Wolf and Midnight.

[Purple Patch]

8950162
I get that.
That's why they use other methods.

[Bronycommander]

8950723
Solomon could work too, by prenting his armor is based off the romans I suppose

[Purple Patch]

8950731
Not sure about that.
He wasn't hard to spot in a crowd if you catch my drift.

[Bronycommander]

8950734
Of course. Just if he would see the führer face to face like Fray did, I suppopse this explenation could work.

[Purple Patch]

8950736
I suppose you had to be there.

[Bronycommander]

8950745
Yeah, sorry. Shouldn't Think about it but his Armor is similar to

[Purple Patch]

8950752
I know.
Still, almost everypony wore armour of similar build in the war so you can't really compare the one stallion.

[Bronycommander]

8950758
Yes.

[KingSombraTheTyrantRuler]

I had a feeling your counterpart would make a cameo here after Patch's pony one did (unless I got it wrong).

And I can't believe that excuse actually worked. Though, who exactly is the Führer? I think something was mentioned in an earlier chapter but I seem to have forgotten. And at least Konrad wasn't asked about where his "horse's" saddle and bridle was.

[Bronycommander]

11566351
well, Hanzal was not created yet back then. ANd the Führer, Hitler? silly