"What's a land mine?"
"Well that certainly defused the tension of the moment." The Doctor thought to himself. "It will create an explosion in similar size and strength to the one's outside if I step off of it." His next words were laced with regret. "Spike, I'm afriad you must disarm it."
"What? You don't mean that, do you Doctor?" Twilight asked, incredulous that her friend would ask the small child to perform such a dangerous task. "Spike, you move farther down into the cave, I'll handle this..." Her horn began to glow with magic as she advanced towards The Doctor.
"TWILIGHT NO!" The Doctor yelled, giving the unicorn great pause. "This is old technology, the kind used by Griffons and Minotaurs to compensate for their lack of magic. It will react violently if you cast a spell on it!"
"But this kind of technology isn't supposed to exist for another 4,000 years!" Twilight knew what needed to be done, but was still wracked with guilt. "Alright Spike, please be careful!"
The young dragon approached The Doctor and bent down to get a good look at the land mine. "What do you see Spike? Any buttons, a primer or arming mechanism?"
"No, but it looks like this panel can come off. I need you to shift your back right leg to get a better look though."
Very carefully, The Doctor moved the leg at an agonizingly cautious rate, with both Twilight and Spike expecting the device to blow any second. Finally, the nerve wracking ordeal had ended.
The panel Spike was enthralled with had seemingly no way of removing it, only small, circular, machine cut hole in the center. While running his hand over it, Spike noticed his claw might be able to slide into the hole. Upon doing so, the top panel popped off rather easily, revealing a complicated mess of a pressure plate, a chemical container, several gears and switches and a bundle of wires.
"What do I do, what do I do!" Mumbled Spike frantically, unsure of what to touch without killing his friends. He became noticeably more relaxed upon sighting the big yellow button clearly labeled "disarm."
"Well, that was certainly an experience. Good show Spike." The Doctor spoke warmly. "And Twilight, I believe you've learned a valuable lesson."
"What!?" Twilight gasped. Not as a question of what the question was mind you, but in disbelief that this event held educational value.
"Why that magic can't solve everything, of course!" The Doctor stated as he carried Spike on his back further into the cave. "Don't fall behind now!"
As the three traveled deeper into the cave, it become obvious that it was an artificial excavation. At the end of the path was a sealed security door, as well as several crates of equipment. The groups became engrossed with examining the contents of the boxes (high grade explosives) that they didn't notice a fourth individual joining them until he made his presence known with a metal clicking.
The door had opened, and had a dragon with an assault rifle behind it.