Now we all have an idea as of what World War One looks like in our heads: trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, tanks, air planes, etc. There are even stories of either ponies fighting WW1, going to the human world during this time, or soldiers from that period going to there's but I wish to talk about an idea of a group that would be interesting to see. the tunnelers.

For those who don't know who they are, during World War One both sides, having been feed up with the lack of progress on top with the trenches, decided to conduct the war bellow the surface. On the Western Front, France, Germany and Britain created Tunneling Companies; soldiers recruited from mining backgrounds to conduct subterranean warfare against the enemy. They would dig tunnels underneath no-mans land and place mines underneath the enemy trench to destroy it, as well as stop other tunnelers from blowing up theirs. It was a different type of warfare and a different type of soldier. Large and complex underground tunnel networks were created during the length of the war, and often times tunnels would be underground fro days on end, and never see the sunlight. Sound was the enemy as both sides listened for movement, thus everyone had to dig in near silence, in the pitch dark. Death could come from anywhere as tunnelers often accidental dug into each others tunnels, Then close quarter combat will happen, often in pitch darkness, with everything from shotguns, pistols, pickaxes, knifes, anything on hand. Also the enemy wasn't the only thing trying to kill you: gas, tunnel collapses, water, and other such natural dangers awaited them.

Tunnels:

More Tunnels:

Tunneler:

Mine going off:

and a (slightly) corny video:

So with that I was wondering if anyone else would think that a HIE story involving a WW1 tunneler would be interesting to see?

5411268
He'd probably love the Diamond Dogs.

I feel like an equestrian tunneler squad would be made up of earth ponies for their ability to "feel" the earth around them, diamond dogs to actually dig the tunnels, and thestrals to see in the dark, guard the ponies, and plant mines.

Has lots of potential. The hard part would be actually thinking of how to put it all together and make it work. Also, is it going to be in Equestria or not, if so where are they first discovered or came up for air?

5411268 If you write it, I'll read it