A Whole New World

Winter's Dawn
Canterlot

A single earth pony headed towards the Canterlot armoury behind the castle. His personal schedule would normally have him working out right now, but after learning of a new development, he had quickly abandoned that and started improvising. As the armoury came into view, the pony saw a lone guardsman standing in front of the door. It looked like he'd have to blag his way through him. There had been an accident the day before, resulting in the death of one of the forgers. Normally the earth pony would have simply chalked it up to bad luck, but the circumstances, coupled with the nature of his cutie mark, forced him to investigate.

"Guardsman," he announced his presence as he approached, "I need access to Black Smith's forge."

"I can't do that Trooper," the soldier replied, "I have orders that nopony enter until an investigation team arrives."

The pony's eyes narrowed, "I am under instruction from Commander Swift, soldier," he said sternly, before leaning closer, "Plus, it would also be a terrible shame if your wife found out about your current... experiences."

The Guardsman's jaw dropped, and he stood with wide eyes, "H-How...?"

The earth pony maintained his expression, and the guard sighed, "Fine. But you'd better keep your bucking mouth shut."

He stepped aside, and the earth pony walked into the armoury without a word. His words about Commander Swift giving him orders were lies, and blackmailing the guard had been unfortunate, but necessary.

Stepping into the forge, he ran a hoof through his spiky black mane and headed towards the back office, making sure not to leave marks of soot on his light-grey coat. Upon entering the office, he opened a nearby filing cabinet and began flicking through the files, his blue eyes scanning the labels on the folders for what he was looking for.

Finally, he found a file filled with blueprints. Pulling it out, he laid the papers out on the desk. He wasn't familiar with the designs, but it didn't take a genius to see that they were not Equestrian. Smiling, he looked back at his cutie mark, a set of four-leaf clovers, and smiled.

"You never cease to fail me."

Chuckling at his own wit, he put the file back in the cabinet and left the office. He wasn't planning on taking the documents with him; it would be obvious they were stolen, and the only pony who knew how to create the device - a unicorn named Black Smith - was dead. He was simply confirming some suspicions he had had since he spoke to an upset pegasus a few months earlier.

His job done, he walked out of the armoury and back to the castle, not even glancing at the guard as he left.

FOB Gold seemed a lot different than Zinc. It looked like a classic Afghan compound, with a few trees dotted around and fields of sand and earth covering most of the surrounding area. Inside the compound, ponies were joking, laughing, and playing games to celebrate the Hearth's Warming holidays. Even the threat from the dogs' bombs wasn't deterring them from standing outside where a blast would easily take down several soldiers at once.

With the arrival of Winter, the uncontrolled weather of griffin territory changed. The once clear blue sky was now covered in cloud, with an ominous, dark-grey one slowly heading towards Gold. I was sat in one of the corners with the rest of my squad, explaining the traditions of Christmas, when a pony walked over to us carrying an old camcorder.

Doing a commentary for the video, he said, "And here we have our local human, Captain Jones. Sir, any words for the camera?"

"Happy Hearth's Warming Holidays!" I shouted, raising my arms and grinning. The rest of the ponies around me did the same, laughing and cheering all the while.

All of a sudden, the heavens opened, and a downpour started over the base. There were several groans of annoyance, and a few ponies started covering items that could be damaged by the rain, like books and food. Shadow disappeared into our accommodation and stashed his own novel under his bed, before rejoining us outside. Despite the chill it gave us, it was nice to have some rain after the intense heat we'd had over the past few days.

After recovering at Coltson, Steel Sword was sent back out, and was more than happy to see us again. The bandages were gone, and he now had a small patch of thinner fur where the bolt had hit.

"This doesn't seem right," he said, looking up in the sky, "We're getting rained on... in a desert."

"If you ask me, it reminds me of British weather back on Earth," I said, "We could never control the weather, only predict it. In a way, our planet was essentially one giant Everfree Forest."

Flurry shuddered, "How do you humans cope?"

I just shrugged. We continued talking for another few minutes, ignoring the rain, until a carriage arrived at the front gate. They were promptly let in, and a pony swung open one of the doors and pulled out a sack, shouting, "Hey everypony. Mail's here!"

Any morale that was lowered from the rain was brought right back up at the prospect of receiving letters from family and friends. I don't think there was a single pony, myself included, who didn't attempt to run over and pull the sacks out of the carriage in an attempt to speed up the process.

Once the letters were safely inside, they were taken to the largest room on the base; the mess hall. We wasted no time in taking out letters and parcels, calling out the names of whoever we found. After a few minutes, I heard a pony shouting, "Captain? Captain Jones."

I waded through the crowd and took a envelope from the pony who had found it, giving him a nod of thanks. I quickly opened it, and found two letters, one with my name, and one with Shadow's.

"Hey Shadow!" He looked at me through the crowd, and I waved him over. When he arrived, I said, "They sent our letters together," and passed him his.

Unable and unwilling to hide the grin on my face, I read the letter addressed to me.

Hey Dutch,

We all hope you're doing well in the north. It certainly feels different without you and Shadow. I'm not sure what kind of different, but definitely not quiet. Pinkie more than makes up for that.

You wouldn't believe what Rainbow Dash has done. Since you left, she's gotten into a relationship with Sarah, your human friend! None of us saw it coming. It's not official, but they've told us they're giving it a trial run and seeing what will happen.

Fluttershy's doing well with the foal. She wanted to write her own letter to Shadow, and we sent it in the same envelope, along with something else that should raise your spirits, whether they were high or low to begin with.

And don't worry about me, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about. We're all worried. I keep reading the news, and there's always something that talks about a soldier getting killed on the northern border. I know I'm just being paranoid, but I'm always thinking what could happen.

Anyway, I shouldn't talk like that, otherwise I'll never get any sleep. I'm looking forward to you getting back.

With love, Lyra.

Shadow trotted back over to me, apparently finished with reading his letter. Curious, I looked back into the envelope to see two more, smaller pieces of card inside. Pulling them out, both of us had to hold back a gasp.

They were identical pictures of all our friends back in Ponyville. Five of the six Element bearers were standing side by side, all smiling at the camera. Rainbow Dash hovered above them, with Sarah standing behind the row. Both of them had an arm and a hoof over each other's shoulders, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Fluttershy was on the end of the row, and I could see a slight but definite bulge in her belly. Shadow noticed it too, and the tear rolling down his cheek confirmed it. Seeing this, I rubbed his mane.

"Congrats buddy." He pushed my hand away, but the grin remained.

Lyra sat in the centre. She was resting one hoof on the shoulder of her old friend, Bon-Bon, with the other on top of Scootaloo's mane. Everyone had massive smiles on their faces, and underneath the pictures a small note was written.

With love from everypony at Ponyville!

After spending god knows how long looking at the photo, I put it inside my trouser pocket. Shadow put his in a pocket on his armour.

"Any idea where we can get some blank paper?" he asked me.

Any chance to write a reply was eliminated as Ironhoof strode into the room, "Element 0-5 and 0-2, gear up! You're moving out."

"...Well that's depressing," Steel commented as soon as the Commander was out of earshot.

"Don't worry guys," said one of the ponies who had arrived with the mail, "We don't leave 'til tomorrow. You can write to your friends when you get back."

"Well that solves that problem," Hammer said, "Let's get this over with."

The plan was for two platoons, consisting of ponies and griffins, to move east into Diamond Dogs territory in an attempt to find areas which the dogs could use for entry into their cave systems underground. It was essentially recon and baiting, but then again, both of those were part of our job description.

The griffins were primarily in charge of this patrol, so they were at the front with one of their two point soldiers being an NCO. My squad was closer to the back, mainly playing a support role. No one was going to deny that unicorn horns could get fire down faster than crossbows.

The other platoon, Talon 1 was a few hundred metres north of our location, patrolling through a nearby village. We were in the small orchards south of the village, surrounded by shoulder-high mud walls. We'd been walking for a couple of hours now, but couldn't find any signs of the dogs, or their entrances.

"Are you sure we're supposed to be out here, sir?" Flurry asked, "There's nothing out here."

"How should I know? I'm just following orders."

"Do you think Talon 1 is having any more luck than us?" Hammer asked.

"I sure hope so," Shadow said, a hint of negativity in his voice.

There was suddenly the sound of one of the dogs' bombs further down the line. All our heads raised, and I heard a distant voice shout, "Contact front!"

"Eyes to the side, keep our flanks secure," I said, springing into action, "Flurry, you're on rear guard."

"Roger that." said the yellow unicorn.

The patrol was spread out in a long line formation through the orchard, and while we had the griffins with us, that didn't mean we had the advantage. I just focused on keeping our flank secure, and hoped the soldiers on point would be able to assess the situation and send me a sitrep, hopefully engaging the dogs trying to outflank Talon 1.

"Boss!" Flurry called, "Talon 1 just had a ten-metre contact with the dogs on their southern flank."

Shit. Not only did that show how close we were with the enemy, but it would also mean that any dogs that retreated away from Talon 1 would run straight into us. Talon 1 would hold their position until they were clear of the contact, and since that wasn't happening anytime soon, we would have to put pressure on anyone who came our way.

Suddenly, voices started coming down the line. I could tell it was someone different every time, but they were all saying the same thing.

"Griffin down!"

My instincts as a leader suddenly kicked in, and training took over, "Steel, Shadow, keep our rear secure. Battle, Flurry, on me!"

As I rounded the corner, I shouted, "Where is he?"

Hammer Strike looked back at me, "Up front sir. I think it was one of the point griffins."

I passed a line of griffins taking cover by a mud wall and said, "Two of you, come with me." I came out from behind the wall to see the area in front of me was filled with tall vegetation, reaching up to my shoulders. There were a few griffins holding back, trying to get a good view on the enemy, but we could see nothing through the grass.

I looked at the two griffins who had followed me, "You two, with me. Battle, you too. Flurry, stay here and be ready to send a casualty report."

I ran into the brush, following the voice of the other griffin on point. When I reached him, I saw him firing bolts into the bushes in front of him. The other griffin was lying face down in the grass. There was blood flowing across his arm and wing, staining his armour.

"Who is it?" I asked. I probably wouldn't have known him, but other griffins would, and they would need to know who it was.

"Razorclaw." the other point griffin replied.

I crouched down next to him and rolled him over. A bolt was buried deep in his side, and I was worried they had found a way to breach our armour. There was no movement on his part, and his eyes were staring blankly into the sky. He looked completely lifeless.

"...He's dead," muttered one of the griffins.

Undeterred, I said, "Get his kit off him!" and let Battle do what he could to identify the griffin's condition. As the pony crouched over the body, we all held our breath.

After a few seconds, he said, "I think I've got something... yeah, he's still alive. I've got breathing and a pulse, but it's weak."

"Right, get him back, I'll take his kit."

The three griffins did their best to lift the wounded soldier and carry him back to our own forces. After two steps, the other point griffin fell with a yell of pain.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!" I checked him over. Another bolt had hit his arm, and I shouted, "Battle, help get Razorclaw back!" I put Razorclaw's kit onto my shoulder and lifted the other griffin, putting his arm on my other shoulder and carrying him back to our line.

When we arrived, Flurry was ready to send a casualty report, and he asked, "What is he? Is he P4?"

Before I could reply, I heard a few other voices saying, "Yeah, he's P4," and I felt something snap inside me. This casualty was their friend, and they were simply declaring him dead after a brief glance at his body. Something boiled inside me, and it could be described as fury.

Flurry was about to call the base again, but I stopped him, "Do not fucking send that yet! He's still alive! Battle, get him stabilised, now! Flurry, tell them we've got a P1 casualty and we need a medevac right now."

Battle was doing what he could for Razorclaw, saying out loud what he was finding, "The bolt's missed his armour and went under his arm. It's gone straight in. We need to move him back now, sir."

"Right. Get him on the stretcher and pull back!" I shouted. It seemed to snap the griffins out of their trance, and they carefully lifted Razorclaw onto the stretcher and started carrying him back down the line.

"Keep fucking moving!" I ordered, turning round and keeping my eyes peeled for any movement as the griffins moved back to a safer location. I saw a canine head appear through the bushes, and fired off a round from my rifle. The splatter of blood on the leaves confirmed my hit.

"Sir, they're sending an airship with medics aboard 300 metres west of our location." Flurry said to me.

"Copy that." I turned and ran to catch up with the griffins. When I got there, I couldn't believe what I saw. The griffins carrying the stretcher had put it down and were just standing there. They must have either been waiting for me, or taking a breather.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I shouted, "Get him up! If he dies because of you, there will be hell to pay later."

I knew that this was a first contact for a lot of these griffins, but they needed to get in gear if this griffin had a hope of making it out alive. Shock tactics were cruel, but sometimes necessary. There were no more complications after that, and nine minutes after the casualty was hit, we arrived at the LZ, where an airship was waiting for us. The griffin medics ran out to meet us.

"How is he?" one of them shouted over the thumping of the airship's propellers.

"Not good." I replied. The medic saw that as answer enough, and four griffins from the ship replaced the ones carrying the stretcher, taking Razorclaw inside to be treated. Once he was out of sight, the doors closed and the ship lifted off again, heading back towards the griffin's base.

We were on our own again. I looked over at the rest of the group. Shadow, Steel and Hammer still looked fairly alert, as they had been holding the rear and didn't see the casualty. Battle and Flurry were exchanging words, though I couldn't hear what they were saying.

A lot of the griffins were sitting against the wall, catching their breath. Some of them had the thousand-yard stare on them, so I started walking down the line, asking each of them if they were alright. Twice I had to stop and check a griffin after he didn't respond, but it seemed that the lack of energy after the adrenaline rush had made them fall asleep.

I nudged them awake, "Come on. We need to finish our patrol. Talon 1 is waiting for us."

"Sir, what about Razorclaw?" one of them asked.

"I'll take point this time," I reassured, "If anyone's going to get shot, it's me."

Nodding wearily, the rest of the patrol climbed to their feet and followed me and Hammer as we reentered the maze of mud walls. Upon entering the area where Razorclaw was hit, it was absolutely quiet. We passed through the grass, exiting the orchard, and we still hadn't been attacked. The dogs had simply up and left after doing their damage, burrowing back down into their network of tunnel systems.

Not a single word was spoken apart from orders until we reached Talon 1. After a brief talk with their patrol leader, we turned round and began the walk back to base.

As we walked into the base, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and I had to focus to stop myself falling to my knees. Not from fatigue, but from stress. I had experienced my worst casualty since the tour began, and although he wasn't a pony, I still felt responsible. I didn't even know if he was going to make it or not.

I sat against a wall and took out my canteen, resting my head on the rock as the water moistened my mouth and calmed my nerves. Next to me, Shadow raised his own canteen, only to find it was empty. He sighed, and I passed him mine. He seemed too knackered to reply, and swallowed a few mouthfuls before handing it back.

Time seemed to just carry on without us after that. The rest of the ponies knew we had been in a serious contact, so they simply passed us by. After half an hour, Flurry was called to the Ops Room. He came back a few minutes later, with a somber expression on his face.

"Razorclaw didn't make it."

I gave a heavy sigh. We tried our best - Battle tried his best - to keep him alive, but to hear he had lost his life was a shock. It affected me, seeing as he was partially under my command, but I couldn't imagine how the griffins were taking it. Today had been an overall victory for the dogs. They killed one of ours, and we only found two possible entry sites for their caves. Not a good day at all. The only good thing was that the griffins from Talon 1 had managed to capture one of the dogs. I imagined they were going to ignore the rule book after today.

Battle nudged me from where I was sitting, "You ok Dutch? I've never seen you like you were back there."

"I'm fine," I said, "I was presented the possibility of someone dying under my command, and I guess I just snapped."

He nodded, "Fair enough. Just take it easy, got it? I've heard about soldiers who let it get to them."

I gave a small smile, "Yes doctor."

"Anyway, no good thinking about it now," Flurry said in a motivational voice, "Come on, maybe a letter home will take our minds off it."

I nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good."

I had barely given Ponyville or Lyra any thought since I had got here, with the letter they had sent being the first reminder. Now that I did, it felt very strange. My mind went back to Lyra's cosy little house near the town hall, the laughs we had at Vinyl's club, the time we spent in the park, her playing her lyre while she rested on one of my wings. It all seemed a very long way away now. It was only a couple hundred miles, but it felt like a completely different world, almost in the same way Earth did.

I walked into our 'bedroom' and put a blank piece of paper on a box by my bed, starting the letter.

Hey guys,

It's me. Sorry if this takes a while to get to you, I don't know how fast the postal system is over a distance like this. Anyway, I'm just writing to let you know that Shadow and I got your photos, and that we're both doing fine.

Rainbow Dash, congratulations with Sarah. Was it dinner and a show? Also, good luck at the Best Young Flyer's Competition. And Applejack, if I don't get back before Winter Wrap Up, promise me you'll get a new ladder. I've seen the pieces of string holding that old one together.

Fluttershy, you should have seen Shadow's face when we saw the photos. I've never seen anyone look so proud. He's writing his own letter while I'm writing this, and I can see the goofy grin on his face.

I paused. I was desperate to tell them all about what we had been up to; the excitement, the amazing highs and the grim lows. The warm satisfaction of helping the locals, and the thrill of a contact. But now, the sight of the griffin soldier lying face down in the grass made me stop, and I reconsidered. I just couldn't find any words that they would understand. How could they understand what it's like out here?

I let out another sigh as I rethought my words, and continued writing.

Look, I know you guys are going to be reading the news, and I understand that you're worried, but most of the fighting's been going on in the west, dozens of miles away. Our equipment's been collecting dust, and our biggest threats right now are the heat and the bugs. Most of the time I'm trying to find things to do to keep my guys out of trouble.

But if trouble does find us, these ponies are as tough as nails, and they'll be ready to defend themselves should the time come. But don't worry. We're Royal Guards; this is what we do. Besides, it'll take more than a few mangy mutts to take down this human.

Lyra, I love you and Scootaloo very much. I'll be home soon.

Happy Hearth's Warming Eve.

Dutch

P.S. Maybe the reason it feels different is that there aren't two handsome hunks nearby.

I folded the piece of paper and slid it into an envelope. Shadow came over and gave me his letter, which I put in too.

"They're taking pictures over there. Maybe we could send something back." he suggested, his voice monotonous.

I nodded, and we walked over to a pony holding a camera. As we waited for our turn to be photographed, I thought about what I had written. I didn't like the fact that I was lying, and that I could be dead by tomorrow, but I didn't want them to worry. I suppose that's what goes through every soldier's mind in these circumstances. That was also why I added the humour; to keep them calm.

When our turn came, I thought of Lyra, and managed a genuine smile as I crouched next to Shadow. Just before the picture was taken, I stuck two fingers up behind his head, and there was a flash as the picture was taken. A photo was ejected from the camera, and the pony pulled it out, waving it to get the image to form.

I took it from him and examined it, "I think that's a keeper."

I put the photo in the envelope too, before sealing it up and putting it on a pile of mail to be sent back.

"So what did you write for Fluttershy?" I asked Shadow.

He had a puzzled look on his face, "Just that everything was fine and that there was no need to worry. I don't know, I had all my stories lined up, but when I got there, I didn't write anything. I just didn't think they'd get it."

"Me neither. Weird."