An Underground Mission!

by tmz112

Chapter 1: A Suprise

As the blazing fire lit the large cavern, Truestrike looked into the heart of it reflecting on the past few days.

Ponyville was recently attacked by a rather large group of Diamond Dogs, all wearing the signature metal armor. Though there were no deaths and only a few wounded, the town was left ravaged of almost all of its precious gems. Rarity, the local fashion designer, was hit the hardest. The Diamond Dogs took every last jewel in her enormous stockpile. Princess Celestia immediately took action after the attack by sending a group of 50 Equestrian military ponies to deal with the threat right at their base. The group consisted of ponies of all types, Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies. They found an entrance to a series of underground caverns just outside of Ponyville a few days ago and have been venturing forward ever since.

In all the time while in the caverns however, they had yet to find a single trace of the Diamond Dogs. They had been sent in with little intel on the enemy and the group began to wonder if this really was where the vicious dogs dwelled.

Truestrike continued her gaze into the fire as she sat on her haunches alone, thinking. This was her first mission since joining the Equestrian military and she still doubted if she could truly do this. Her whole life she had been told by other ponies that she had a great talent at using magic, especially destructive magic. After falling on hard times, she decided to join the military, it being her only choice.

She sighed as she sat there, hoping she had somepony to talk to. Since joining up with the group a few days ago, she hadn't really talked to anypony. Most of the group kept to themselves which she didn't really like but at the same time she enjoyed. She tended to wake up before anypony and relished in the time she had to herself.

Truestrike was quickly awoken from her thoughts as she began to hear a rumbling. She frantically began to look around to see where the noise was coming from, only realizing too late that the sound had been emanating from the floor of the cavern and its walls. Diamond Dogs in grey metal armor began springing from everywhere, some wielding their claws and some carrying crude, stone weapons.

A Diamond Dog lunged at Truestrike but before it could hit her, she had materialized a magical force field around herself. The dog bounced off it, sending it flying backwards. Truestrike looked around as she saw her group mates emerging from their tents but quickly being attacked by the Diamond Dogs.

Even though the military ponies were still in a groggy state, their training and fighting skill vastly outweighed the skills of the Diamond Dogs. The one thing the dogs did have though, were numbers. Compared to the 20 ponies, there were at least 50 to 100 Diamond Dogs.

Truestrike's mind quickly snapped back into battle as she heard the blood-curdling war cry of both Diamond Dogs and ponies. The two forces clashed as Truestrike saw the Diamond Dog casualties piling up. Realizing she needed to help as well, she began to charge up a large, emerald bolt from her horn. As it reached its full power, she acquired her targets, a group of 5 Diamond Dogs rushing straight towards her. She unleashed the bolt upon the group and once it hit the first Diamond Dog in the front, it caused a rather large explosion and enveloped the group of enemies in a sea of emerald fire. Truestrike watched as the Diamond Dogs writhed around in enormous amounts of pain. She cringed at the sight and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She was happy she had such powerful magic but at the same time, she hated herself for causing so much pain.

After dispatching of several other Diamond Dogs, the enemy finally retreated. The Diamond Dogs suffered heavy casualties while the ponies luckily only had a few wounded. Truestrike looked around at the all the blood and carnage and sighed, relieved that it was over for now. As she retreated to her own tent, she knew the momentary peace, however, could only last for so long.