A Whole New World

21st Autumn's Apex

Lyra and I stood alongside each other as the train pulled into Canterlot station. She had insisted to come with me, not wanting to say goodbye until the moment she absolutely had to. Unfortunately, that time was now. She needed to get back to Ponyville, and the train wasn't going to wait for her.

She'd been kind enough not to talk to me about my family, and had taken Twilight to one side to explain when she had asked before I had become too emotional. The rest of my friends didn't know, and I think I wanted to keep it that way, at least until I was recovered enough to talk about it. I tried not to let it get in the way too much though; that wouldn't help anyone.

I knelt down and looked straight into Lyra's eyes, a difficult task with the massive pack on my back, but it was worth every second. She was the first to speak.

"I suppose this is where we part ways," she said, "It's a shame you'll miss so much. The Best Young Flier's Competition, Hearth's Warming Eve."

"They'll have a postal system," I said, "We can keep up with each other through letters. I'll let you know how I'm doing. Twilight subscribes to all the newspapers too; Equestria Daily will probably talk about this place."

She nodded, and mumbled, "Be safe."

"You know I will," I answered softly.

Lyra broke down there and then, wrapping her hooves tightly around my neck, sobbing and sniffing, "If something happens, you just... keep your head down, ok?"

"I will, I promise," I said resting my free hand on her back. After several seconds, she pulled away, and I said, "I'll see you in three months."

We kissed, ignoring the other ponies around us. For me, only we existed at that moment in time. We held the kiss for a full minute before a stallion's voice said, "The train's departing. All aboard who's coming aboard."

We pulled away, and I noticed the tears were still present in Lyra's eyes. I put my hand on her cheek and gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about me. I'm a human, remember? If I find a problem, I'll adapt."

She smiled weakly at my wit, and pulled me into another hug. It was shorter this time, and she whispered, "Bye Dutch, I love you."

With that, she turned and climbed back onto the train. I looked further down the platform, and saw Shadow Breeze talking to Fluttershy. Like Lyra, she had wanted to come too. I imagined what they were talking about, most likely their child, promising to take care of it until he got back.

Ten seconds later, she appeared at a window, waving at me through the glass. I shifted my pack and waved back, placing a hand over my heart. Another tear flowed from her face, and she copied my movement, moving a hoof over her chest. The train's whistle sounded, and it slowly pulled out of the station, heading in a circle back towards Ponyville.

I continued to wave as my view of Lyra became smaller, until she inevitably disappeared from sight as the train turned round a mountain. I sighed as the knowledge that I wouldn't see her again for three months finally hit me, and I turned and headed into Canterlot toward the castle. If any of the ponies who hadn't seen me before were giving me funny looks, I didn't notice. I simply looked ahead, my legs operating on autopilot as my mind thought of my friends. I heard a constant clopping of hooves behind me, looking back to see Shadow a few metres behind, a similar expression on his face.

The castle came into view, and I headed round the back towards the barracks as the guards let me through. I had hoped that I could reach there and get started without any trouble, but fate had other ideas.

"Captain Jones!" A voice I knew all too well sounded across the grounds. Commander Ironhoof strode towards me with purpose. I looked back at Shadow and gestured at the barracks, signalling him to go on without me. He nodded, and walked past me. Ironhoof paid him no mind as he approached me, his face showing that familiar expression of hate.

"I wasn't expecting you to come back after what happened with your squad," he said, though there was no surprise in his voice, "I didn't know the Guard was this desperate."

"With respect sir," I said, keeping my gaze ahead and trying to keep my cool, "I'm simply answering the call of duty, much as you are."

He stomped his hoof, "Don't even try to compare us Captain! We are nothing alike. I had hoped you had learned that lesson the last time I spoke to you."

He stared angrily at me for a few seconds longer, before saying, "They'll be issuing you equipment at 0930. I would recommend you stay out of my way until then. Any more remarks like that and I'll court-martial you for insubordination."

"Yes sir." I said through gritted teeth. Ironhoof began to walk back toward the barracks, and I almost found myself snarling at him. Whether that was just me or a bit of wolf instinct left over from the other week, I don't know. I shrugged it off and continued towards the barracks, though my mood was considerably lowered since I had run into the Commander. How dare he talk about Thunderlane and Rumble like that. He didn't even approach me for any specific reason, just some petty attempt to piss me off. Fortunately, he'd have to try harder than that.

I met up with Shadow and Steel Sword as we lined up for equipment. The first thing I noticed was that the armour the quartermaster was giving us was different. For one, it wasn't metal like the golden armour we had been issued before. It was a thick fabric vest, but it was heavy despite it's outward appearance. I turned it over, looking for any sign of the extra weight, but there was none. It had a sandy colour to it, its colour ranging from cream to dark yellow, with the occasional brown stripe. I put it on over my t-shirt, and tied the leather straps together on either side. It was a snug fit, and felt a lot like a military vest back home, only without the Kevlar, and it covered almost my entire torso. Only my shoulders and the small areas on my back where my wings stuck out were exposed.

"What is this, some kind of upgrade?" Shadow asked.

"What you are now receiving is your new combat armour," a voice instructed, "It is a fabric mesh enchanted with a new hardening spell. You will wear this at all times whilst on operation except for washing and sleeping. Anypony who loses their armour will be court-martialed for destruction of royal property."

"If we're shipping out soon, we might as well put this new gear on now," I remarked, "Saves us having to do it later."

"Suppose so," Steel said. I pulled on a pair of lightweight desert trousers I had been issued, as well as an under armour shirt, before putting on the vest. Despite its weight from the spell, it was surprisingly flexible, certainly unlike what I assumed a Kevlar vest would be like. I fished into one of the pockets on my pack and pulled out the badges showing my rank as a Captain, pinning them onto my sleeves.

Steel shifted in his new armour, pulling his wings through the holes in the side, "While it's still heavy, it's certainly not as clunky as the old armour we were wearing, and hopefully it'll offer more protection."

"I just hope we don't have to test that." Shadow remarked. I looked around to see that a few other ponies had tried on their new armour.

No sooner had I packed away my civilian clothes before we were ferried back outside. There was a massive airship waiting for us, and I noticed for the first time how many ponies would be coming with us. There must have been about two hundred ponies in the field, either wearing or carrying their new kit. I climbed onto the ship, wondering how it was going to lift such a weight. Ten minutes later, my curiosity was sated as the heavy thumping of the propellers filled our ears, and the ship slowly rose into the air. I chalked its unusual strength down to magic, and simply left it at that. Figuring that there wasn't going to be much happening on our journey north, I pulled out my Ipod, set it to shuffle, and rested my head against the wall, the music doing its best to drown out the propellers.

The airship touched down with a heavy thump on the patch of flat ground inside Fort Coltson. The impact made everyone shake in their seats, waking up the few ponies that had managed to sleep through the noise of the propellers. It was almost noon by now, the sun was high in the sky, and there was nothing but desert around us. I could pretty much guess what was going to accompany all of those.

I had found that wearing our new armour on the way over had been a requirement anyway. I wasn't sure why, but I wasn't going to argue with my superiors, especially if one of them was a certain dark red earth pony. It had been alright in the cool Equestrian morning, but as soon as the doors to the outside world opened, the warm air flooded through the airship and drowned out the air conditioning effect from the air at Canterlot within a matter of seconds. Even if we hadn't been wearing the extra weight, stepping out into the midday sun would have been like walking into a furnace. Winter was supposed to be only around the corner, and it was still about forty degrees Celcius. From the shaded interior of the airship, the sun was blinding, and within ten minutes, even I was covered from head to toe in sweat. I couldn't imagine how a dark-coated pony like Shadow would feel.

The first sight I saw was the relieved smiles of the members of the Celestial Guard we were taking over from. They were lined up outside with their gear next to them, getting ready to climb onto the airship we had just got off. They were going back home, and our arrival was final confirmation of that. Needless to say, the joy on their faces was abundant.

As we filed into a giant tent for our welcoming speech one of the soldiers called out, "Hey everypony, nice of you to join us." Another asked, "How long have you guys got here? Three months? Oh dear, that's such a shame, ain't it? Did you know we were flying out today?"

He got a laugh from his friends, and I smiled too. It was the typical winding up that had been present in the British Army, and it was no surprise that the Equestrian forces had it too. The next remark, however, definitely caught my attention.

"Hey, what's with the ape? You Royal Guards bring your mascot too?"

I looked over at the line as an earth pony began laughing with his mates, before noticing the symbol of a sword on his uniform. Holding back a grin, I lowered my shoulder to show him my own rank slide.

"That's 'Captain Ape Mascot' to you, soldier."

The pony went silent and stared at me for a few seconds, eyes wide, before his voice returned and he said, "Yes sir. Sorry sir."

The Royal Guards around me shared a loud laugh of their own, silencing the Celestial Guards as they made their way onto the airship. The tent we entered was large and featureless, apart from a giant white board along one wall, and an old-fashioned projector in the centre of the room.

We all sat down on the sand, while Ironhoof stood on a podium in front of the board. The projector came to life, and displayed a map of the local area on the wall. We could see Fort Coltson in one corner, with three other constructs marked out around the map. Smack in the centre of the map, west of Coltson, was a small city, with one of these constructs located inside.

"Gentlecolts, welcome to the North Border," Ironhoof announced, "Our superiors have sent us to this Celestia-forsaken hole of Equestria because it seems the griffins can't handle their own problems. I'm sure you all know about the slave trafficking that local Diamond Dogs have been taking part in. That's been going on for some time, but recently, they've been shipping illegal weapons too. Spears, crossbows, explosive chemicals, if it kills, they'll pay in gems for it. While our primary objective is to act as support for the local authorities, our secondary role will be to intercept and disrupt Diamond Dog operations in the area.

"Don't underestimate the Dogs simply because they're thick as bricks. They're tenacious, work in packs, and already have some control over the local population of griffins through intimidation. Extortion, vandalism and kidnapping are their most common methods. We'll also be working alongside local griffin forces when patrolling the city, as they know the area and what to look for. I'll give you a word of warning now: Don't screw around with the griffin military. If they think something's up, they'll shoot first and ask questions later, because that's how they're trained. Never give a griffin a reason to mistrust you. Just stay out of their way, and they'll do their job, just like us."

The slide changed, and zoomed in on the three smaller collections of buildings as Ironhoof continued his briefing, "These are our Forward Operating Bases, codenamed Gold out on the plains to the southwest, Silver in the northwest mountains, and Zinc in the city. After you get acclimatised to the desert environment, you'll be split into four platoons and sent out to each of the FOBs. After one month at each, you'll switch and move on to another. Whichever platoon is left over will return to Fort Coltson and act as a backup force should an FOB require it."

A Lieutenant stepped onto the podium and handed Ironhoof a clipboard. He took one look at it and said, "I will now call your names, along with the FOB you will be reporting to. When you hear your name, you will leave the tent and make your way to a designated area of the camp. Those who remain here will be the backup force, and will stay at Coltson."

He started reading names off the list, and one by one, ponies left the tent. I heard Steel's name get called out, and Ironhoof said he would be stationed at Zinc, in the city. Eventually, he called out my name, and told me that I would also be sent to Zinc. I stood up and shifted through the seventy or so ponies that were left, making my way outside. There was a convenient sign outside, giving directions to each area of the camp, depending on where you would be sent. The area that Zinc ponies would be occupying consisted of five tents, each with ten simple beds inside, covered with mosquito nets. I picked one at random and went inside, dumping my pack on the first bed I saw, giving a wave to Steel when I saw him in one of the other beds. As I took out essentials, such as water and my rifle, I heard a voice behind me.

"No matter how hard we try, it seems fate has a way of throwing us back together, huh Captain?"

I turned round to see Wingfleet leaning on the doorway of the tent, "It would seem so. You going inside the city too?"

"I certainly am, as is Captain Bright Skies, though I'll only be a commanding element," Wingfleet explained, "My new rank means I'll be needed in the base, rather than out on patrol."

"New rank?" I asked. He showed me his rank slide, and I saw a full moon with a single half-moon on top, "You got promoted?"

He chuckled, "It's Major Wingfleet now. I'm happy about the extra pay, but I can't say I won't miss going out in the field."

"I can understand that, sir." I sat down on the bed and began examining my rifle. It was important I didn't get any sand in the working parts, as the stuff was like glue for a weapon. Satisfied it was still clean, I wrapped it in some spare clothes and rested it against the wall before taking off my armour and shirt, putting on a vest and putting the armour back on top. It was simply too hot to wear anything else.

"Do you know anything about the city sir?"

"It's called Neighrut. An old city that was founded by ponies, before the griffins expanded their territories and bought the city from Celestia. The name stuck though. We've confirmed that there are several Diamond Dog packs living in the city, but not all of them are the slavers you heard about in the briefing. Some just want to live peacefully, but their stereotype has resulted in a few being lynched by the griffins. It's even worse when the real bad guys actually attack, as there isn't a lot of target discrimination with griffin soldiers.

"Most of our routine there will involve going out on patrols, keeping a presence and letting the civilians know we're still there to protect them. They're not entirely fans of ponies, but that's a sacrifice they're going to have to make."

A few minutes later, Shadow joined us too. It made sense that we stayed together after training, and I figured that the ponies from Diamond, Ruby and the likes would be going with each other if they had come with us. A total of about fifty ponies would be heading out to FOB Zinc, but first we had to get used to the heat. That would involve exercising in the sand, staying outside, and drinking water.

Lots, and lots, and lots of water.