A Whole New World

It had been a few days since the death of Razorclaw, and things seemed to have settled down again. Everyone was back to celebrating the holidays, and even I was managing to enjoy myself. There had been a Hearth's Warming feast, which Cookie received ample amounts of credit for, as well as songs and dancing for the festive occasion.

Right now, it was morning, and we were on the roof of the compound, doing our shift as sentries. We only had another five minutes before our shift ended, and 0-4 would take over.

When said squad arrived, I didn't even have a chance to get off the roof before Wingfleet called from below me, "Dutch, Ironhoof needs your team in the briefing room."

"Yes sir." Wingfleet was a good guy, so I wasn't willing to argue with him, even if it did involve Ironhoof. The rest of the squad followed me off the roof and headed inside. Ironhoof was waiting for us.

"Gather round," he said. He spread a map out on the table in front of us and got straight to the briefing, "There's a road heading through the cliffs approximately thirty klicks from here. We've learned that the Diamond Dogs use it as a supply and trading route for weapons and gems as the terrain is too rocky to dig through. This afternoon, you will be transported to the cliffs to ambush and secure a convoy heading through here."

"Where did we get the intel for this, sir?" Battle asked.

"A dog we captured last week. He was surprisingly cooperative. He told us that there will be multiple vehicles, all carrying cargo. We don't know what it is, and that's what I need you to confirm."

"What kind of opposition are we expecting?" Flurry said.

"Not much. Probably less than a dozen dogs. Apparently they didn't think we'd ever know about this, so security will probably be low."

"And this dog just gave up this information?" I asked, my arms folded, "It seems a little too easy, sir."

"This intel has been confirmed by multiple sources, Captain," Ironhoof said, almost a little too aggressively, "It's trustworthy."

"Fair enough. What are the rules of engagement?" I said, doing my best to hide my annoyance.

"No wanton killing," the red earth stallion replied, "Try to detain as many as you can for interrogation, but if the subject is armed, you are authorised to engage. The terrain there is rocky, so they won't be able to dig down to their tunnel networks when you attack. When the convoy is secure, contact the Ops Room, and a larger force will arrive to extract the cargo."

Ironhoof looked around, "Any more questions?" we didn't reply, and he said, "Good. Get your gear ready, you'll be leaving at 1400 hours. Dismissed."

Glad that I could now leave Ironhoof's presence, I left the briefing room and headed for my room.

After we had been dropped off, we had gotten straight to work. I sent Hammer, Battle and Flurry to a suitable hiding spot next to the road, while me, Steel and Shadow flew up to the cliff above it to act as an overwatch. The area was perfect for an ambush. There was the cliff we were perched on, with the road below it, followed by another cliff that led down to the desert. If we attacked, the dogs would have nowhere to run.

Upon reaching the cliff, I noticed a large boulder teetering on the edge, and thought up a plan to push the boulder onto the road behind the rear carriage, effectively trapping the dogs. With everything in place and the trap set, the only thing we could do now was wait for the convoy to show up.

It was almost an hour of waiting before I heard Flurry's voice, "Sir, I have a visual on the convoy."

I looked up the road and saw three carriages, all being pulled by Diamond Dogs, slowly heading our way. I leaned on the boulder, pressing some of my weight into it and watched the dogs pass underneath us. I counted five of them now, but there could be others in the carriages.

"Flurry, Battle, standby to take out the lead wagon's wheels. On my mark."

I waited until the final carriage has passed underneath me, before saying, "Mark!" Within seconds, I heard the sound of splintering wood as the wheels of the front wagon were shattered from unicorn magic. At the same time, Steel, Shadow and I pushed on the boulder with all our strength. Eventually, it reached the edge of the cliff and tumbled down towards the convoy. It struck the rear carriage and came to a halt, blocking any attempts for the dogs to pull their cargo back up the road.

"Lead vehicle is down, Captain." Hammer reported.

"Copy Hammer, move in. We'll meet you at the centre. Steel, Shadow, on me." I hopped off the edge of the cliff and used my wings as a makeshift parachute to slow my descent. When I hit the ground, I shouldered my rifle and moved towards the centre of the convoy.

The two dogs pulling the rear wagon bolted when they saw us. We didn't chase them though, as Hammer and the others would cut them off. We'd capture and detain them when we reached the middle.

One dog however, reached into the carriage upon seeing us, pulling out a crossbow, "Filthy po--" he didn't even finish the sentence as bullets and bolts hit him. I could hear cracks at the front of the convoy, so there was obviously other resistance on their end.

We pushed on through, until we reached the centre vehicle. There had been a couple of others who had attempted to resist, but they had met a similar fate to the other dog. There were three dogs who had been smart enough not to attack when we reached the middle, and Flurry and Battle used their magic to tie them up, wrapping their wrists in beams of magic.

"That's it, we're clear sir." Hammer said as I pulled out the magazine in my rifle and inserted a new one. Satisfied that there were no more threats, I called Gold.

"Gold, this is Element 0-5. Convoy secured, 3 hostiles detained."

"Roger 0-5, get a visual confirmation on the cargo, then await reinforcements to secure." Bright Skies said.

"Copy."

I cut the connection and turned to the squad, "All round defence guys. I don't want any unexpected arrivals. Hammer, keep an eye on the dogs."

Hammer kept his crossbow trained on the dogs, while the rest of the squad faced outwards to spot potential targets, Flurry and Battle facing down the road, while Shadow and Steel watched the direction the convoy had arrived from. While they scanned the area, I opened the door to the carriage and walked inside, letting my rifle hang by my side. There were a number of boxes inside, held shut by a few rusty nails. I unsheathed my knife and used it as a crowbar. There was a moment of resistance, before the lid was wedged open far enough for me to pull it off with my hands. Inside were several crossbows, larger than a pony's version, along with quivers of bolts.

"Gold, Element 0-5. Can confirm cargo. We've got weapons and munitions here, including some of those explosive bolts they've been using, stand by," I pried open another crate, this one filled with gems of all shapes and colours, "There's also gems here. Rubies, diamonds. It looks like they were planning on making quite the deal."

"Solid copy 0-5, good job. Set up a perimeter and wait for friendly forces."

"Roger. There's one more crate here, I'm going to check that one out too, out."

I wedged the knife's blade into the third crate and pulled the lid off.

*shick*

A noise similar to a cigarette lighter was heard as I lifted the lid, and I froze when I identified the source. It was a simple flint and striker, attached to the lid and set to create sparks if opened with force, which was what I had just done. The sparks lit a metal fuse travelling along the box, which gave a green glow as it burned towards dozens of glass vials, filled with the explosive chemical the dogs used.

I wet my fingers and tried to extinguish the fuse, but it continued to burn, regardless of its condition. It was somehow burning with magic, not fire, and I couldn't stop it if I tried. Knowing this, I made the only decision I could.

"BOMB! GET OUT NOW!" I screamed as I jumped out of the carriage and ran down the road, trying to put as much distance as I could between me and the booby trap. The ponies followed suit, galloping alongside me.

"Keep running! Go go go!"

I caught no sight of Battle or Flurry however, and hoped they were right behind me. But my paranoia got the better of me, and as I turned round, the fuse reached its end.

There was a deafening explosion, something flew past my head, and my face suddenly burst with pain as I was taken off my feet and thrown through the air. I hit the ground, and blindly tried to grab onto something to slow my speed. My hand detected a rock, and I clung onto it as I felt the ground beneath my legs disappear, leaving me to dangle off the edge of the cliff.

Squinting through the pain, I saw that the convoy was now all but nonexistent. Two of the carriages were completely gone, and the third was burning furiously. Even a section of the rocky cliff side had been gouged out, and I assumed the dogs were completely obliterated.

As I began to look around for the rest of my squad, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. One vial that seemed to have survived the initial blast slowly rolled towards me, coming to a stop next to a burning piece of tinder.

"Shit," I said aloud. Any second now, the already disturbed chemicals would heat and react, causing it to explode in my face, no doubt leaving nothing left. I tried to swat it away, but it was out of my reach. It was almost like fate was taunting me.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Thinking up other options, I looked below me. There was about 60 feet between me and the ground, twice as far as what would normally be survivable. If I was lucky, some of the rocks might slow me down, and I could wrap myself in my wings to a little bit of extra protection. No way I could glide down; by the time I'd rolled over and spread my wings, I'd have hit the ground.

Needless to say, it was still going to hurt. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let go.

"Roger. There's one more crate here, I'm going to check that one out too, out."

Bright Skies instinctively nodded and cut the connection to Dutch. In a moment, she'd have to contact the support team and let them know that they were ready to move, but she allowed herself a quick breather. Communicating over such a long distance for extended periods took its toll on any pony that wasn't a unicorn.

She heard a soft rumble as she sat in the Ops Room, but dismissed it initially. It was only when there was another rumble that her ears perked up. Other ponies in the room turned their heads, curious as to the origin of the sound. Turning to look out a window, she saw a steady column of smoke rising into the air.

It was coming from the exact location of Element 0-5.

The pegasus' blood ran cold, and she reignited her communication spell, "Element 0-5, this is Gold, come in." There was no reply, and she tried again, "0-5, do you copy? What's your status?!"

Come on Dutch, talk to me, she thought to herself. Silence filled the Ops Room, and Bright Skies waited for a reply, a noise, anything from the human's squad. When there was nothing, she turned to the nearest pony.

"Get Commander Ironhoof in here, NOW!"