Hochstetter walked along the pier next to Admiral Lindemann and the Princess'. His mind continued racing with wonder about what kind of questions they may ask. But he had one for them first.
"Where are we going Herr Admiral?"
"Captain we dropped the Herr a long time ago, and we are going to the airfield."
"An airfield?"
"Yes. You see after we arrived here some ponies began to build their own planes after seeing the ones that our battleship was equipped with. Eventually they copied aircraft designs from our world that they learned from our pilots, including zeppelins."
"Well I suppose if there are things they learned from us then it might make our stay more comfortable."
"Trust me Captain it will. Another thing they leaned to build is automobiles but until they get the assembly lines going only the rich can afford them."
"Then I have another question Admiral."
"Yes?"
"Is my license good here?"
The four approached a car that to Hochstetter looked like the Mercedes staff cars that the High Command rode in. When they got closer a pony in a black suit opened the back door for them. As he climbed in behind the Princess' Hochstetter kept an eye on the pony. If they had copied things from Germany then they could have very well have made their own version of the SS. As he sat down in the middle row of seats next to the Admiral he turned to see his crew and some of the dock workers breaking open a case of cognac that had been stowed on the sub. As the car began driving through the crowded streets along the docks Hochstetter began to notice some of the other ships in the harbor. There was every type, from ocean liners to small sail boats, but one stood out in particular. It was a giant ship with four funnels painted yellow and black with a black hull and white paint along the promenade decks with a narrow yellow line separating the black and white. As the car drove past he could see it was at least ten story's high and had to be over a hundred feet longer then the Bismarck. Even after the car had left the docks the size of the ship still had Hochstetter in slight shock. 'They've done in a few years what it took us one hundred to do.'
As the car picked up speed outside of the city Hochstetter could see a silver cigar shaped blob ahead. When they got closer he could see it was a zeppelin almost identical to the Hindenburg in size. Then he began to notice the smaller aircraft and their crews scattered around the airfield. Among them was a mare in a flight jacket with a shaggy blonde mane climbing in a silver twin engine airplane with red leading edges that sat near the fence. His attention turned from the mare to the passenger planes parked near the small terminal. He could see all different designs like the Ju-52 and the DC-3 but he also saw a silver FW-200 Condor sitting alone on the other side or the airfield. The car turned and drove through the grass before pulling up next to the Condor. When the car jerked to a stop next to the aircraft a small team of ponies began pushing a small set of stairs up to the door of the plane. As they climbed out of the car the pilot began descending the stairs. When they met halfway Hochstetter could see it wasn't a pony in his thirties like he expected but rather he appeared to be in his early teens. 'As if I didn't have enough to worry about with the questioning but now we're being chauffeured by a damn choir boy.' The first to speak was the taller princess.
"Captain Hochstetter, this is Thunderbolt our personal pilot."
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Thunderbolt. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"I'm fifteen sir. I hold the altitude, airspeed, and endurance records for pilots under seventeen."
"Well that's a little reassuring. What age can you get your aviation license here?"
"Thirteen sir. But the government requires you to have so many flight hours before hand."
"Good. I never did get your names by the way princess."
"I'm sorry Captain. I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister Luna. We are the co-rulers of Equestria. I'm a bit surprised Twilight didn't tell you about us before you arrived."
"She did mention that you two would be meeting us at the docks but she never told me your names. Perhaps the submarine distracted her from it. Are there any other nations near yours?"
"Well just a couple share the southern border with us. We're allied with the dragons but recently talks with the gryphons went downhill so we're transferring more forces near the border."
As they walked up the steps and on to the plane new things raced in Hochstetter's mind. 'Ok so there are other countries but she said talks broke down and mentioned more forces. Does this mean we're getting into a new war with things we don't know how to fight?'
The four took their seats in the plane and watched as the ground crew finish prepping the plane for takeoff. Thunderbolt walked up the isle and into the cockpit where he began the preflight check before turning four small switches and pushed in buttons above them. As he did the engines sputtered before roaring to life. The plane began to roll down the taxiway towards the runway. After a few minutes of taxiing the Condor turned onto the runway and began to gain speed before it clawed its way into the sky. When the plane began to level out another pony in a tux appeared with a silver platter with four small cups of tea. Taking a cup Hochstetter began to sip before he noticed Celestia glance over at him. Lowering his cup on to the small saucer he cleared his throat before he began to speak.
"Is there something you want to ask me your highness?"
"Well I was just wondering what your life might have been like before you came here,"
"Well it was pretty boring. I grew up in a fairly privileged family with my brother."
"Is your brother a nice man Captain?"
"Well he's a Major with the Gestapo so not really. But most of the time he has to deal with a Stalag outside of Dusseldorf and its Kammandant."
"That wouldn't happen to be Stalag 13 would it?" Admiral Lindemann asked.
"Yes it is."
"Are they still having problems with that troublesome Colonel Hogan or whatever his name is?"
"Most of the time that's why my brother Wolfgang is there." Hochstetter replied with a chuckle.
As the plane bounced along in the sky's over Equestria Hochstetter had a question for them that had been in his mind since he had first seen these ponies.
"Princess?"
"Hmm?" Celestia lowered her cup and looked over at the Captain.
"What's that thing on your ass?"
A roar of laughter erupted from Luna and Lindemann while Celestia sat slightly stunned by the question. When the Admiral and Luna had regained their composure Celestia began to explain it to him.
"It's a cutie mark. It appears when a pony finds their special talent in life. For me it represents how I raise the sun and Luna's how she raises the moon."
"Makes sense to me." Hochstetter replied as he took another sip of his tea.
In the distance a large castle on a mountain side was barely visible out the windows of the plane.
"Five more minutes and we'll be over Canterlot Airfield!" Thunderbolt called back to them from the cockpit. They put the cup's away and began to descend over the castle, which by this point Hochstetter could see appeared to be almost as tall as the Empire State Building that he had seen in King Kong. The plane did a couple of circles over the city below before it leveled out and the drone and clanks of the landing gear lowering filled the plane. The ground continued to grow closer until the plane made contact with it, causing Hochstetter to bounce in his seat. When the plane slowed to about walking speed it turned onto a taxiway towards a large hanger at the end of the parking area. As the plane approached the hanger Hochstetter saw the doors slide open to reveal several more aircraft, amongst them three Spitfire's and what looked like an American P-38 Lightning under repair. The Condor rolled into the hanger and shut down it's engines before a loud click was head as the main door swung open to another small stairway down to the ground. Hochstetter again saw that none of the ponies even cared about his presence.
'Um, Princess. Why is it they don't seem to care that I'm here?"
Celestia turned to him and seemed to have known that question would have come eventually.
"Well Captain, to be honest with you, you're not the first human to come here. Remember that mare you saw at the airfield in Manehatten?"
"Yes. What about her?"
"Well we found her, the navigator, and her plane on an island in the middle of the ocean. We kept the plane in a secret hanger until ponies began to build their own planes due to the Admiral's sudden appearance. As for her and her navigator, they let us turn them into ponies so they could blend in."
"And that's how I'm assuming you got these Spitfire's?"
"Some of them."
"So why were those ponies you sent so surprised by me?"
"Well we would always find the humans that came into our world before they could be seen. All the guards involved were sworn to secrecy and all evidence was covered up. But there is a unicorn mare in Ponyville who seems to know more about human's than we'd like."
The group then proceeded to walk through the hanger and through a doorway. After going down a long corridor then up several flights of stairs which, to Hochstetter, seemed like they would never end, they finally entered another corridor which was lined with some of the most lavish decorations he had ever seen. They entered a room halfway down the corridor and began to take seats at the boardroom table situated in the middle of the room. Celestia sat down in the chair on the far side of the table leaving the other seats open for Luna, Lindemann, and Hochstetter. After taking their seats Celestia placed a stack of blank paper and a quill on the table in front of her with her magic.
"So Captain, where shall we begin?"