//------------------------------// // Raid of the Rangers // Story: From the General // by ISKV //------------------------------// A training area had been set up at the edge of the field. Some wrecks had been transformed into an obstacle course to teach the recruits on how to traverse uneven ground while others became targets for flash bangs. A blue unicorn slowly walked forwards, trying to keep her balance on the gun barrels of an Overlord. With a final jump, she landed on the cab of a Technical. “Good job.” The Ranger looked at his clipboard. “Alright Colgate, you’re with Beta Squad. Grab a vest and join your teammates.” She cheerfully trotted towards the soldier who was working with Rarity to modify human armor into vests that could be used by ponies. The seamstress insisted that they be at least partially fashionable, but gave in to the drab black and green for functionality. *** Alpha squad was on break, reluctantly eating rations. Beta squad practiced on the obstacle course to prepare for the cramped and uneven tunnels. Delta squad was on the firing line, practicing with the Flash Bangs and getting the ponies used to the loud cracks of the rifles. Three mares stood side by side. Each one had a vest that held four dummy grenades, two on each shoulder. The grenades were in sleeves that held the grenade spoon in place should the pin be removed. "Okay. Everyone listening?" the Ranger looked around, "Take the pin in your mouth and pull it. Twist and pull, twist and pull." The mares did so, with the sea green unicorn having a little trouble, "Nothing's going to happen because the spoon, the handle thing, is still on. So take the grenade, bite it, and slide it out of the sleeve quickly and fling towards the target." Results were mixed. While Berry Punch actually threw it quite far, Lyra's landed two feet away, and Carrot Top managed to throw it behind her. While the one Ranger had to endure this, the other was strapping a saddlebag with a radio in one half and equipment in the other to Big Mac, and then teaching Nurse Redheart how to use their medical equipment. The ponies each tried again. "Ack!" Everyone stopped whatever they were doing when Lyra somehow swallowed and started choking on a grenade. There were many facepalms/hoofs that day. *** A week had passed and inside the barracks, the bunks had been moved and a projector was set up. The teams stood anxiously, while all of the pegasi were being rounded up. Rainbow Dash waved to Tom, indicating that she was done. The murmurs quieted as the lights dimmed. "Good evening all. In a few hours, we will begin Operation Gemstone, our first step in liberating Equestria.” He nodded to Twilight who was sitting behind the projector. She switched the slide to show a map of the caves. “Alpha and Beta squads will enter through the main entrance to the southeast while Delta enters through the back door to the north." Tom said as he pointed to the battle map. "The center should be where all of the captured ponies and the gems should be held. We take no prisoners.” "Wait!" a unicorn called out, "Why? Shouldn’t we capture them instead of... you know...?" Tom sighed, "Because we don’t have the time, resources, or manpower to take and keep prisoners. Maybe later in the war, but not now.” The whole room was silent. True, they hated the enemy as much as the next, but to know that there would be deaths within a few hours unnerved them. He continued. "If you come across any prisoners, radio us and we'll send medics to get them. Don't worry about making noise. Diamond Dog ears are actually sub-par compared to ours, however the flash bangs should still wreak havoc. Rangers, your regular radios won't work on their own in the tunnels so your designated radioponies will act as repeaters. Medics, the usual. Most cases should be malnourishment but get ready to set some bones. When you find the main prison, wait for the other teams to arrive on the other side. Once all of the teams are in position, throw as many flash bangs as you can and hit em' hard. Send the all-clear after all dogs are down. Workers will arrive to first transport the prisoners, then the gems outside. While that's going on, the Rangers from Beta will join Delta to clear out the lower levels. Once that's done, all of the Rangers will set charges and blow that place to hell. Everyone here has trained for this all week. Don't mess up. Good luck." The room was suddenly active with rangers calling their teams. "Alpha on me!" "Beta! Let's go!" "Delta! Ready?" Over the course of the week, each had gotten better at their professions, and Lyra had finally learned not to breathe while throwing. While the squad leaders were calling for their teammates, Tom called over the pegasi in the room. "Now, as you may know, there's a second objective to this mission. Once the prisoners are evacuated, the gems will be brought up to the surface where it will be taken back here by Chinook. Before we can make the transports, we need more funds to make a Reactor and a Supply depot. That's where you come in. Each of you will grab a bagful of gems and bring them back here. Once we have enough, I will start building and make enough Chinooks to evacuate the prisoners. Understood?" Nods of acknowledgment were seen throughout the flyers. "Good luck to you all too." *** Delta squad quietly rested. Hiking miles had been tiring for all of them, but after separating with the other two teams the seven man/pony team were finally at their destination. They peeked out from behind a boulder. Three guards sat outside the entrance. One guard was trying to look awake while the other two were throwing small pebbles in a circle. "Alpha and Beta are in position." The Ranger spoke into his mike. "Delta is in position." "Roger. Any guards? "Alpha here, small group, nothing we can't handle." "Delta here, only three guards, one's sleeping and two are playing some kind of game." "Take them out quickly." The Rangers looked at each other. "You take right, I take left, and we both take sleeping one. You good with that?" The soldier nodded. "I'm good." "All right. Go." The two dogs never stood a chance. Each slumped over as the bullets hit their marks. The sleeping one jerked awake, the cracking of the rifles hurting his ears. He too was down in a heartbeat. "They're down." "They're down." "Good. All teams, proceed with caution." "Roger, Alpha and Beta are going in." "Delta is going in." *** "How... how do you do it?" Lyra asked, her voice full of fear after seeing the humans kill without emotion. The bullets completely disappeared into the dog's body, now corpse. They all looked like they were simply sleeping. She took a quick peek at them, only to feel nauseated. One of the Rangers paused for a though, "You just... don't think about it. And tip to everyone, don't look at the bodies. The other human suddenly stopped, "What the hell...?" The entrance to the hole was less "hole" and more "actual mine." With the new laborers, the dogs were able to expand and dig for more jewels. Using equipment brought down from Stalliongrad, tracks were laid down and larger carts replaced the older ones. Lanterns hung from the walls of the tunnel Delta walked through. It was a regular sized tunnel, but it was still wide enough for two sets of tracks. Needless to say, the obstacle course was unnecessary. "No way in hell did they dig this by hand..." "I'm scared just thinking about how many ponies were forced to work in this place..." Carrot Top whispered, shuddering. "Don't think about it." Berry quickly said. "But you know... aren't you wondering who worked here?" "No." "I mean, my family was in Manehattan and-" one of the Rangers cut her off. "Shh..." He motioned towards a stack of unused rails. Behind them were a few Diamond Dogs. "Carrot, throw one in front." She nodded, and threw the grenade in a well-practiced manner. While the ponies all closed their eyes and covered their ears, the dogs screamed as the blast blinded them and almost blew out their eardrums. The two Rangers made quick work of the canines. After the shooting stopped, all of them listened for movement. When nothing seemed to notice them, the ponies followed the humans deeper. *** Drops of water fell from the ceiling as Delta moved deeper in the mine. Berry kept hearing little clinking sounds. At first she assumed that she was hearing their equipment when they hit each other every time Big Mac took a step. She grew less convinced the farther they walked and when they turned a corner, she could clearly see the source of the mysterious sound. About a dozen ponies were chained to carts filled with gems, apparently waiting for the order to start pulling. Their chains clinked as they swayed from a lack of sleep. The eight guards didn't seem to notice nor did they let them rest. When a final cart came from a small side tunnel, one of them cracked his whip. "Pull ponies!" The prisoners reluctantly started moving the carts. "Alright, Lyra, you get the ones on the far left, Carrot and Berry, the big group in the middle." Lyra levitated her grenade above the guards on the left. When she nodded, three quiet clinks echoed as they hit the ground. All eyes except for Delta’s were on the flash bang. Seconds later they exploded, sending a shockwave of sound and pyrotechnics flying. The Rangers ran out and flanked the large group, their bullets tearing through the armor of the guard dogs. They fell within seconds and the ponies were huddled together to try and protect themselves from these new creatures. "Please calm down! We're here to help!" Lyra yelled. "Nurse! Could you?" "Of course." Nurse Redheart walked forwards. At this the youngest of the prisoners, who was no more than a filly, started crying. "Oh you poor thing..." As the nurse checked the captured ponies, one Ranger helped get the harnesses off as the other radioed command. "Command this is Delta." "Go ahead Delta." "We managed to find a group of prisoners hauling gems. Do you think we can get the medics to come and get them out?" Tom replied after a pause, "They'll be down in a bit. Rest easy til then." "Will do." *** "Medics, Delta has found prisoners. According to the other teams, it's just a straight road down." "Roger." Tom rubbed his eyes. It was high noon and this mission had been going on for three hours now. But with some gems found, he could finally start building. He called the pegasi who had the job of bringing back the loot. Rainbow Dash, bored with everything, had volunteered to lead. Not only would the gems be here shortly, but they could also get the medics to the prisoners quicker. "Dash you hear me?" After a moment of silence she replied. "I hear ya bossman. Get the doctors to em' and bring home the shinies. Got it." "Be fast Dash!" At this she laughed. "Ha! As if I'm not fast enough!" *** The pegasi and the medics were also awed by the tunnels. Nopony had seen anything quite like it, and the fact that the makers were simple Diamond Dogs did not help. Within a minute the ponies reached the group. While the medics tended to the prisoners, Delta moved deeper and the pegasi started pushing the captured gems towards the exit. Once outside, they started filling their bags. "Come on! They're counting on us to bring these gems back. Flitter, Cloudchaser, get the big gems! Derpy... that's Tom." "What?" Derpy asked, confused. "The rock Rarity thought was a diamond." "Oh. Okay!" *** "Command this is Beta! We ran into a large group of guards! Looks like they were expecting us!" "Roger. All teams be on guard. The enemy knows you're here. Delta walked further into the depth. When they turned around a corner, there were no words that could describe the pile of gems that stood in from of them. At three stories high, the smallest candle flame could've caused the whole pile to shine bright enough that it could blind any who were unlucky enough to be watching it. Countless gems of all sizes and shapes were piled into the center of a huge cavern. Roughly a dozen guards marched around the pile. They peeked past the corner. "Command this is Delta." "Go ahead Delta." "Jackpot. We found the motherload." "Good. Just deeper in the tunnel?" "Affirmative." "Alpha and Beta are already at the front entrance of the main prison block. Take out any guards and move to the rear of the prison." "Roger, will do." "Alright, Lyra, you're with me on the right, Berry and Carrot with him on the left. Just keep throwing grenades okay? Nurse and Mac follow them. We good?" The whole team nodded, "Alright, let's go-" "No wait!" Carrot stopped them. She pointed at the guards. Either they got the message that there were intruders or it was a shift change. More guards started coming in. No matter the cause, it was a good time to strike. Everypony got their grenades ready. More continued entering until their numbers reached roughly three dozen. The ponies threw their flash bangs and the group closest had their eardrums blown. They quickly surrendered to a hail of bullets. The line of dogs that were shielded from the initial blast started running towards Delta with spears but the flashes and the sharp bangs from the next volley caused them to trip into each other. They died as quick as the first. By the time their bodies had hit the floor, the rest of the dogs panicked and started to retreat back through the entrance all at once. Most joined their fellow soldiers on the floor and Delta finally made it to the main prison. *** The first thing Delta saw when they walked out of the tunnel was how big and deep the mining pit was. About the same size as a football field and about four stories deep with a walkway overlooking the pit, countless holes could be seen where the gems were extracted. In the pit itself, numerous Diamond Dogs were readying to fight while their officers yelled orders. Hallways leading to the cells could be seen on all sides on the bottom floor. "Command this is Delta, we've made it to the prison cells." "Roger, do you see Alpha and Beta?" The Ranger lifted up his binoculars and scanned the opposite side. When a flash of light appeared, he could make out a bipedal form and numerous quadruped forms. "We see them." "All teams are in position. Spread out your flash ponies and get ready to throw." "Lyra, Berry, Carrot, spread out and get one ready!" "Got it!" "On my mark...Ready...Go!" At once, the air filled with flash bangs, and for a moment there was nothing but the sound of grenades clinking on the floor. The dogs only had time to look before they exploded, blinding their sensitive cave eyes and letting them hear a high pitched tone. But lucky for them, it didn't last long. What happened in the pit was no less than a simple massacre. Time slowed as the six rangers fired and the dogs fell to the bullets by the dozen. The ponies froze up. They had seen death, but not on this level. "Poor bastards didn't have a chance..." The air cleared and the last of the dogs stopped moving. "All right. Find a way down. Look around for stairs or something. Guys? Hey!" the Ranger waved his hand in front of the shocked ponies, "You still there?" Carrot closed her eyes and shook her head, "I'm...okay." "Good." "Hey! There's stairs on the side. Get ready to find some keys or kick open the cells." *** A loud snap made everyone jump. The Ranger held up a broken key with an unamused face. The shaft had snapped off inside the keyhole, leaving the both the lock and the key useless. “Mac, do it.” The stallion nodded. He turned around while the ponies in the cell backed off. One heavy buck was all that was needed before the rusty lock succumbed. The Ranger raised a sledgehammer to completely remove the mechanism. With a clatter that echoed throughout the entire cell block, the cell door was free to open. Volunteer ponies helped their liberated friends out onto the surface where they would be airlifted by Chinook. *** "Blades in motion." Chinook number eight was finally on its way towards the mine. It was loaded with workers and would return with prisoners. Tom reached for his radio, "Alpha, how many more ponies need to be delivered over here?" "Uh... No more than five loads. Four if we squeeze, but I think they had enough of that down there." "Good. Any word from Delta?" "Nothing. Should I call them?" "Just make sure they're alive." "Will do." In the distance, another Chinook could be seen arriving with prisoners. The volunteers had taken advantage of this spare time to make accommodations for the new arrivals. Shelters, food, and water were plentiful that day. At the landing pad, Pinkie could be seen with a grin and a banner that read- WELCOME TO CAMP Enjoy your stay! As the ponies stepped out they simply stood there and enjoyed the sunlight, a luxury they had been denied for too long. Some blinked, their eyes not used to this brightness. Eventually the smell of actual food reached their nostrils and not being able to resist, the food table was soon overcrowded. *** "Delta, this is Alpha, you still alive down there?" "Delta here. We're alive. What, did you miss us already?" "Nah. Just needed to make sure you're still with us." The Rangers from Beta had joined them while their ponies helped with the moving of prisoners. The mixed squad was moving down further into the mines. These areas had been carved out decades before and had fallen into disuse until the captured ponies arrived, in fact the tunnels here hadn't been carved smooth keeping the cave like appearance of the original Diamond Dog holes. "What do you thinks down here?" "Dangerous prisoners? I dunno. Why ask me?" "Just tryin' to stay alive from boredom." Old rusting riveted steel doors stood on the sides. All of them were unlocked, but took quite some strength to open due to all the rust. With the help of Big Mac who bucked the doors open, the rooms behind them were found to be empty, but what got everyone's attention was that the door at the end of the hallway was locked and not simply closed. "Bah! Anyone find some keys?" They all looked around only to see metal and stone. Carrot opened up an unlocked door to find what looked like a storage room. It was mostly empty, save for a few rusty buckets and shelves but what caught her eyes was the ring of keys hanging from a pin. "Ere we goh." she said with the keys in her mouth. "Nice. Okay here we go hang tight." The key fit in with minimal grinding, and with a click and a thunk, the lock yielded. The Rangers readied their rifles, and the ponies pulled the pins from their flash bangs. All braced for whatever monstrosity the dogs had locked away in such a depth. The door opened with a soul shuddering squeal. The only thing in the cell was a frightened, shivering griffon. Feathers lined the floor and patches of new ones were visible on her, only a mere idea of what she had to endure during her time here. She was in the corner covering her eyes, waiting for whatever hell the dogs decided to bring. When a whole ten seconds passed the griffon, now confused, looked up. They all stared, not expecting each other. One of the Rangers shook himself out of his stupor. "Come on, let's get you out of here." *** "No more supplies from this source." The operation was finally over. All the gems except this one final load had arrived at base. The Rangers were hard at work setting the explosives while the pilot was in his Chinook bored out of his mind. Salvation came in the form of the Rangers coming out of the tunnels carrying what looked like a ball of feathers. "Pilot let’s go!" As they all got on, the Pilot started the helicopter and a Ranger got readied a remote detonator. "Hey, where did we get explosives again?" "I think they're from Burton's locker." "Man, he's gonna be pissed." Once the helicopter flew a safe distance away, the Ranger pushed the red button, and detonator was set off. The whole mine seemed to implode as the explosives went off. Plumes of dust multiple stories high blew into the air as what was once an impressive mine transformed into a giant hole. The final Chinook returned to base, just in time for the sunset. *** With a flash, a scroll appeared before Luna. For the past few days, she had been writing letters to Ironside, mostly about to the "reinforcements" he gave them. She opened the scroll. "What is a... Pizza?" "It's a flat bread based food with various toppings...Why?" Tom replied. "The General's reply mentions Pizzas and I do not know what to make of it." the lunar princess said as she passed Ironside's reply to Tom. Dear Princess, I'd like to order a pizza, Pepper Jack cheese, half sausage, quarter pineapple, quarter more cheese. I'd also like to order several incompetent generals to yell at and beat. And if you could get it all by Friday it would be very nice. "Princess, I think it’s clear that he thinks it’s all a joke." Tom said with a shrug, "Did you tell him that you were ponies?" "Not directly, but do I think he picked it up by the eighth letter." "Sorry, but now we can't convince him that we really do need help. Once that guy believes something, he's not going to let go." Luna sighed, "Well, it would have been good to be backed by a full army. Was the raid productive though?" "We have enough for a small army, but still an army. Enough for a base too." She stood up and started pacing, "And what of the ponies here? It will be winter in the upcoming weeks. It is already getting cold and one of our pegasus scouts reported seeing snow to the north..." "We can get shelters up with the base in the Appleloosan plains. At least until we can get a hold of one of the major cities. Canterlot is our priority and it's not too far, but the towns to the north still have ponies... How does Canterlot hold the majority of the population anyways?" "The mountain Canterlot is built on is actually hollow. It is not the best place to live in, but it works in emergencies." "That must be one hell of a mountain." "Yes..." Luna sipped her tea, "Oh, has the griffon spoken yet?" Tom shook his head, "Nope, I have Rainbow and Fluttershy talking to her." Luna seemed puzzled, "I would understand Fluttershy, but why Rainbow Dash?" "Apparently she had a friend that was a griffon. She thought it would help." There was silence as the two thought of the future. "So is there any chance that the war will end next week?" "Not a chance in hell."